Western Sahara is a big lake!

Well, almost. Via blog friend Justin Anthony Knapp, an article about African aquifers and the potential they hold to cause or avert water wars.

The first thing you notice, as Justin pointed out to me, is that Tindouf sadly has nothing. On the plus side, so much underground water in Western Sahara could mean water for Western Saharan agriculture once extraction methods improve.

Aminatou Haidar rocks the Senate

More later (including pictures), but UPES has the speeches.

Morocco Board fumes over Haidar RFK award

Today, a bunch of good people and I will attend a ceremony in Congress where Aminatou Haidar will receive the RFK Human Rights award she won in September. It's thrilling that she's getting such prestigious recognition for her work, and the support the RFK Center will give her in the future is even better. Plus, whenever Western Sahara people get together there's fun to be had.

But not everyone is so thrilled! Morocco Board, for example, is downright grumpy:

Several Moroccan-American grassroots organizations such as the Moroccan American Coalition (MAC) and the Moroccan Congress of USA (MCU) have expressed their displeasure with this decision and have urged those who have made it to consider that Ms. Haidar enjoys the freedom of travel in and out of morocco and has recently accepted a large amount of money from the Moroccan government as restitution and compensation but she still has not renounced violence and continues to incite violent acts

Later, Morocco Board complains that choosing this wild-eyed terrorist will embolden Polisario and sabotage the next round of Manhasset talks. That's absurd in two ways: everyone who knows her story realizes Haidar is about as non-violent as activists come, and Manhasset is dead in the water, RFK award or no.

More coverage later today of the ceremony and reception.