That’s essentially the conclusion of a long piece by Julie Flint and Alex de Waal in the most recent issue of World Affairs Journal about the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. They describe his controversial past in Argentina, his media-driven personality, his disastrous management of his office, how he miscalculated with his indictment [...]
Archive for the ‘Not just about Africa’ Category
luis moreno ocampo is apparently a piece of work
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Alex de Waal, International Criminal Court, Julie Flint, Luis Moreno Ocampo on June 24, 2009 | 2 Comments »
why Shell agreed to settle with Nigeria’s Ogoni
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Alien Tort Claims Act, Ken Saro Wiwa, lawsuits, multinationals, Nigeria, Ogoni, oil, Shell, television, video on June 18, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Britain’s Channel 4 News–hardly raving anti-globalizers–reports on the rationale behind multinational oil company Shell’s decision to pay a “humanitarian” settlement to Nigerian activists who sued the company for the role in the state murder in 1995 of Ogoni writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and a number of others. Via Real News Network
more third world solidarity
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Italy, Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi, politics, third world solidaty on June 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
The theatrical Muammar Gaddafi, the leader of (his) United States of Africa, speaking in Rome yesterday: “The Africans do not have problems of political asylum. People who live in the bush, and often in the desert, don’t have political problems. They don’t have oppositions or majorities or elections.” “These are things that only people who [...]
the royal african society
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged colonialism, Richard Dowden, Royal African Society on June 4, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I generally take the utterances and writings of Richard Dowden, the director of the 100-year old, London-based Royal African Institute, serious. Among others, the Institute also publishes (with Zed Books), “African Arguments,” which is a series of short book-length provocations on key policy questions, as well as the academic journal, “African Affairs“–in the video interview [...]
somalia is a libertarian paradise
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Andy Cobb, comedy, Glenn Beck, humor, libertarianism, rightwing politics, Somalia, Ted Nugent on June 3, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Good piece of liberal left, American satire, by comedian Andy Cobb, lampooning rightwingers’ dislike of government.
international thief thief
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged corruption, human rights, Ken Saro Wiwa, Musa Yar'Adua, Nigeria, Ogoni, oil politics, Shell Oil, writers and writing on June 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The trial by the family and supporters of Ken Saro-Wiwa (hanged by Nigeria’s military in 1995 on trumped up charges in the Niger Delta) Shell Oil will resume on Wednesday. But this time not for the actual hearing–postponed “indefinitely” by the presiding last week–but for a pre-trial conference between the lawyers of the two parties. [...]
the empty lakes
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged civil war, Congo, Delphine Schrank, DRC, elephants, John Hopkins University, resource war, The Atlantic on May 28, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In a video report (above) and print article reporter Delphine Schrank (for The Atlantic) “… visits the empty lakes and scattered elephant bones left behind by the DRC’s ongoing violence.” You can also watch short interview clips on the website of the International Reporting Project (they paid for the trip).
Ventersdorp north
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Arthur Kemp, British National Party, Chris Hani, European elections 2009, far-right, racism, South Africa, white racists on May 28, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Next week (between June 4 and 7) European voters go to the polls to elect representatives for the 736 seats of the European Parliament. Polls indicate that traditionally centrist (and Pan-European parties) will take the bulk of the seats. 72 of these seats will be contested in Britain. And there, the far-right, racist British National [...]
‘a king back home’
Posted in Not just about Africa, tagged Africans in the United States, Black Star Line, migration on May 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
“… While that may seem counter-intuitive to Americans accustomed to bleaker images of Africa, recent studies have documented the flight of immigrant professionals from the United States to their home countries. Chinese and Indian workers increasingly say they see better opportunities and lifestyles at home. And diaspora associations of Nigerians, Ghanaians, Kenyans and other Africans [...]
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