Dive into the archives.
- TED on Humanity
Listen to Chris Abani talk about growing up during the Biafran war (16:14). There are some serious highs and serious lows. My fave is the sheep anecdote.
Download the MP3 here if you want just the audio. More talks at TED.
- Kaplan on Malthus
The latest Kaplan is out, and our favorite journalist and patron saint is in fine form! With a comment titled “The Return of Thomas Malthus,” the MAN himself talks about the rise in global food prices and a renewed focus on the apostle of demographic catastrophe.
In the 1990s, a number of writers, including me, [...]
- Back from Tunisia
For the past 9 days, Mrs. Chirol and I have been on vacation in Tunisia. While it wasn’t one of my traditional trips full of conflict and instability, it was enjoyable and most importantly relaxing. Although I didn’t blog it as I was more than happy to disconnect for a week, I did take a [...]
- Coming Anarchy circa 2008: Exhibit A
Via Subadai come a terrifying look at the current state of Kenya’s tribal warfare. Only a year ago promoted as a stable democracy in volatile Africa that made it a darling of Washington and other donors and investors, since allegations of election rigging in December there has been ongoing tribal warfare that has not [...]
- Paying the Bill
While most of the news about Kenya’s ongoing violence and instability focuses on the human aspect, that is, individual stories of loss and trauma, tragedy will continue to visit the country even after stability and peace return. Kenya has proven that even the so-called success stories in Africa, relative success of course, are hardly as [...]
- Tuareg Rebellion
For our readers out there who’ve read Robert Kaplan’s latest books, the Tuareg Rebellion in Mali and Niger isn’t wholly unknown. Adrian over at Politics & Soccer is a masters student in Security Studies and is researching it for his thesis. If any of our readers have expertise to offer, he would surely appreciate it.
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- From Yemen to Djibouti via Bin Laden
Recently, we along with many others have been discussing the new African Command (AfriCom) of the US military. It’s temporary quarters is here in Stuttgart, Germany. Yet, a rather interesting geopolitical development could be threatening its mission, namely a bridge linking Yemen and Djibouti.
Where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, a mere 17 [...]
- Chicken and Egg
Does Africa get aid because it is poor or is it poor because it gets aid? A Kenyan economist speaking to Der Spiegel thinks the latter. Readers?
- A Senate full of War Criminals
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor will go on trial in The Hague starting on Monday, under the jurisdiction of a hybrid court called the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The charges result from the support Charles Taylor allegedly gave to rebel factions in Sierra Leone. Mr Taylor faces 11 charges of terrorising the civilian [...]
- Soldier of Africa
Via Hidden Unities comes the amazing Soldier of Africa blog about a South African infantry major on assignment in Darfur (or formerly in Darfur, now back home). It’s interesting not only because of the first-hand insight, but also because of the inter-African viewpoint, such as South Africans fascinated by camels, a common fixture in [...]
