Fascism and Aesthetics
Jeremy Cronin is my favorite Communist. Astute, intellectual and a poet. Cronin is a former political
Politics
The oil complex
Video of a worthwhile lecture (recorded in February this year) by Berkeley geographer Michael Watts breaking down the workings of the oil industry.
Ali Bongo loves America
Gabon's unsavory Life President came to visit the US. Probably to discuss oil deals. He became collatoral damage in the US right's media war against Barack Obama. So less time to focus on Bongo. So a win for him then.
The Gay Judges in Kenya*
South Africa has an openly gay Judge serving on its highest court, The Constitutional Court. The
The Global Imagination of James Baldwin
An interview with Rich Blint, a James Baldwin scholar. Biggest takeaway: Baldwin lamented the fragile human impulse for categorization.
Sarah Palin is going to Sudan
The main reaction to Palin is to mock her, but the problem is someone like her got those close to the most powerful office globally. That should scare us.
An Ordinary Killing
Riveting piece of journalism in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine as well as an accompanying
Out of Africa
Vanity Fair’s June issue has a profile. of Hillary Clinton. It contains tons of information about
When You Refuse, You Say No
The intersection of rape, power, and impunity in Guinea has a history that is very recent and very dark.
Teaching about the world beyond America’s shores
The global financial crisis is real, and its consequences are grave. It should not, however, be the reason for a US government to retreat from global engagement, especially education exchanges.
Perspective on 2011 SA Local Elections
If you’re tired of the nonsense published in The New York Times or on the BBC
Crazy Bald Heads
Blackwater mostly recruits from former US soldiers and former soldiers from dictatorships like Apartheid South Africa
Paul Kagame Spins Youtube
Paul Kagame is a skilled media operator. Sending unprepared interviewers his way, is not how to do journalism.
What’s So Funny
Tracing the origins and development of newspaper cartooning in South Africa, and its political place.
Some Men in South Africa
A 13-year-old South African girl is the latest victim of “corrective rape,” in which men rape
Africa’s media considered
What is the state of the media in Africa? And how is it dealing with perhaps the biggest emerging story continent-wide, the rise of the extractive sector?
Letter from Tunis
Tunisia, which kickstarted the "Arab Spring," is in a long pause between longtime dictator Ben Ali’s flight and elections scheduled for July 2011.
The ANC Goes Pop
Political parties in South Africa have a new challenge during elections: commissioning a pop ditty people can dance to while political candidates make empty promises from stages.
Prince Amukamara of New York
It’s the socialist National Football League (of America’s) Draft in New York City this week and
Mahmood Mamdani on Uganda
The umpteenth stand-off between Uganda's government and the "Walk to Work" protests by opposition forces.