Mali’s Democracy–Down but not out
Is the adoption of a new constitution by Mali’s military regime a starting point for getting the soldiers back under civilian rule? Let’s game this out a little bit.
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Paul Milchick
Paul Milchik is a pseudonym for the author of this piece. His name has been changed due to his status as an international student in the US during the second Trump administration, in a context where foreign students have been targeted for detention and deportation as a result of expressing pro-Palestinian views.
Cabinda is a Conflict Zone
Think tanks love to paint maps, often accompanied by short descriptions of the different crises a
My favorite photographs N°2: Scott Williams
South African photographer Scott Williams is the second guest in our new weekly series. He has,
Found Objects N°21
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQb5qJRy0QY German singer-songwriter Joy Denalane (born to a South African father who's a cousin of Hugh
Nothing To Lose? The Art of Rotimi Fani-Kayode
The artist recognized early on that his sexuality constituted an obstacle between himself and his Nigerian background.
Okonjo-Wahala
Nigeria’s very unpopular finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose last name in local slang is made to sound like trouble, wants to be World Bank President. She’s the “African Renaissance” candidate. What do Nigerians make of it all?
Music Break. Szjerdene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5AYK-MilVM Londoner Szjerdene's Blue Lullaby. Her music is produced by Glenn Nichols, while the video was
‘Really you’re African?’
New humorous, but sharp, web series on "the African experience in America" wants to "refute negative portrayals of Africans in the media" and simultaneously work "as a window into the lives and traditions of individuals from different parts of the continent of Africa."
Mali’s Coup–‘Politics is Bad’
The idea that because the coup happened, it’s no longer worth taking positions on it is wrong-headed and dangerous. We should ask why, and why now.
The dancing Senegalese man
Senegal voted this weekend. Abdoulaye Wade is gone after 12 years. Macky Sall, once Wade's protege and variously prime minister and minister of mining under the old man is now in charge. We hope to have a few post election analyses posts up in the next few days. Till then enjoy the exuberance of "the dancing man" filmed by Al Jazeera journalist Azad Essa in Dakar last night.
Soweto Soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhyqJb0VZtQ What better way to start the week than with some a cappella soul courtesy of
Paolo Patrizi’s photographs of ‘shrines to the shortcomings of globalization’
Italian photographer Paolo Patrizi says about his work on the "Italos": I used landscape shots to
Friday Bonus Music Break, N°4
Five for the weekend. I haven't done this in a while. First up Philadelphians Chill Moody (rapper) and
They talk a lot. Let them talk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YL7FUiCtsA That first line is one by Tunde Adebimpe (joined by fellow TV on the Radio
Mali’s coup—First Thoughts
A few things are worth saying about the mutiny and the coup that rocked Bamako over the last few days.
The Price of Leadership
A new series of documentaries explore the politics of leadership via an imaginative, malleable, deeply personal treatment of history.
Diplo vs Boima Redux
Remember when famed DJ and tastemaker, Diplo, got mad at Africa is a Country's Boima for
Tomorrow’s Marching Band
In the DRC, city life isn’t foremost defined by the image of the child soldier (contrary to what some campaigns would have you believe) but rather by that of the street child. Seen by many as a superfluous presence, a residue or a waste, street children become easy victims of gossip and accusations while at the same time, as a relatively new phenomenon, they are also hard to explain, ultimately turning into something of a danger and a threat that, according to all too many citizens, needs to be dealt with and ideally removed from the stuttering and improvisational city logics.
This is democracy
http://vimeo.com/37612321 In Durban, South Africa, "shackdwellers are taking their municipality to court. The government evicted poor
The coup against democracy in Mali
Here's video of the coup announcement in Mali. Ridiculous. The screen is dark at first -- they were having technical difficulties -- but the image appears after 30 seconds or so. See the scene. As for the speech, it's the usual pompous nonsense, poorly delivered by a junior officer out of his depth.