It is very easy to just sit here and write about US political and military strategy in Afghanistan and discuss how these battles are either won or lost and lose track of what is actually happening in the lives of the individuals actually doing the fighting (and dying), both Americans, Europeans, Afghanis, etc. The iconic […]
Stories floating around that are worth your time: Timothy Kustusch has a feature for GlobalPost on the usually-overlooked conflict in Western Sahara. He thinks it might get worse before it gets any better. New York Times East Africa correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman has a travel feature on Uganda. Travel pieces on Africa tend toward fetishization — […]
On Tuesday, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg visited Russian President Dmitri Medvedev at his residence outside Moscow. The two leaders discussed cooperation in the Arctic, mainly regarding the issue of gas. Medvedev said, “The development of the region as a whole depends on how we form a coordinated position on exploring the gas fields on […]
Finally, Pakistan army is reporting success against the vicious and brutal Talibans in Swat. Thank God! The fact is, these nut jobs were destined to lose because they are only good for intimidating unarmed civilians. These so-called fighters lack every trait necessary for success on the battlefield. But, I am not ready to celebrate, at […]
Even though some reports indicated that the recent talks between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama succeeded in establishing a foundation for the renewal of the peace process, some contadictory reports indicate that the status quo has not changed. Netanyahu, speaking at a rally in Jerusalem, unequivcally asserted that the holy city remains […]
There is a fine, indeed possibly indiscernible, line between neo-imperialism and investment. Exhibit A? The Chinese, not known for being concerned about niceties such as human rights when self-interest is involved, are teaming up with Great Britain on what they purport to be a benign investment program.. According to The Guardian: China has embarked on […]
The kids are not alright. At least not at the University of South Africa (UNISA), where students, appropriating a phrase from the 1980s anti-apartheid struggle, are promising to make UNISA “ungovernable” in a campaign to drive out university vice-chancellor Barney Pityana. The students claim that Pityana is incompetent, unresponsive to the needs of students and […]
Tough stance ahead of climate change negotiations Spelling out its initial bargaining position for the upcoming climate change negotiations, China adopted a hard line. Most notably, Beijing called for developed countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels. Beyond that, China also required rich countries to help pay for […]
US Vice President Joe Biden is in Beirut today to meet with government leaders just two weeks before the Lebanese parliamentary elections. Biden will be meeting with the three heads of government: President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and Speaker Nabbih Berri. His visit is expected to last for a few hours, just long […]
As usual, we are getting some fairly mixed messages on Zimbabwe. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai continues to put a positive spin on the situation for reasons that I have pointed out before (namely that he has few options, that he knows Robert Mugabe may not be a legitimate president but the facts on the ground […]
Stories that came across the desktop today: Africa’s longest serving leader, Gabon’s President Omar Bongo Ondimba, is in a Spanish hospital and is apparently in “a very bad condition” due to what some reports are calling intestinal cancer. Given that Ondimba has been a dynastic ruler in the oil-rich (for the few) but impoverished (for […]
At his blog, Matthew Yglesias makes a point in a post, “Geopolitics and Democracy,” that, while not explicitly about Africa, has quite clear ramifications for the way that we think about and describe the political context in African nation states. I am going to quote him in full because 1) the post is pretty salient […]
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