Archive for the ‘West Africa’ Category
Oh, what a small, interconnected world
The wonderful Glenna Gordon was doing her internet thing in Monrovia today, when a man named Lincoln came over and introduced himself. He had my business card, with Glenna’s email written on the back. “I’ve never seen your business card, but I recognized the picture from Twitter,” she said. And Lincoln, a friend of mine [...]
Of warlords, Judaism, and cell phone porn
Glenna Gordon has an impressive exclusive in Foreign Policy today, an interview with Liberian warlord-turned-senator Prince Johnson. One of my favorite parts of the interview is that Other (Bigger?) Warlord Charles Taylor’s then-recent conversion to Judaism came up: Johnson implied the conversion was self-serving, because Taylor thinks American leaders are Jews…while Johnson’s own, two-graphs earlier [...]
Is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf a war criminal?
The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission doesn’t quite say yes…but it does say that perhaps the much-lauded president of the new Liberia has more to answer for than she necessarily admits. In today’s TIME.com, Glenna Gordon writes: In its final report, released yesterday, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a body modeled on South Africa’s [...]
"L'chaim," Charles Taylor says. "Well, mine anyway."
Ten-gallon-hat tip to Wronging Rights for this Gem of the Week. I embellish it in obvoius ways: “Former Liberian president Charles Taylor, on trial in the Hague for alleged war crimes committed during the civil war in Sierra Leone, has adopted Judaism, one of his wives said, adding that Judaism is all they talked about [...]
Top 10 Sad Things the Palin-Letterman Controversy Says about America
I had a nice little list going, centered on the most outrageous element of all: a form letter for anti-Letterman protestors–egged on, in spirit at the very least, by Sarah Palin and the exeuctive produer of Sarah Palin Radio (“Governor Palin’s own ‘friendly’ media,” according to the site). The sample letter accuses Letterman’s advertisers of [...]
So you wanna help Africa? Here's how. (Hint: It only takes $10. But you gotta be fast.)
Some of you might remember my series on grassroots reconciliation in Sierra Leone. Fambul Tok is a local program in every sense–started by a Sierra Leonean, run by Sierra Leoneans, and welcomed by villages that want to use their traditional culture to help overcome the legacy of war. It’s not a requirement of the UN, [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [