Tag: Africa
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Temporary Injunction on GM Rice and Cowpea Overturned in Ghana
A ruling in Ghana’s High Court Thursday morning overturned a temporary injunction on the commercialization of genetically modified (GM) rice and cowpea.
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The Continent Writes Back
The continent writes back to popular Western ideas about development, innovation, race, and neoliberalism.
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Coloniality: Africa as a “frontier”
Coloniality is alive and well in major US publications and their narratives about the African continent.
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Africa, Rising and Militarized
Discourse, both textual and visual, is a key component for maintaining and replicating everyday ideologies, processes, and structures of power. Lately I’ve been coming across images accompanying articles about Africa in major U.S. publications (e.g. the Economist and New York Times) that have caused my jaw to drop a bit. Here are a few:
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Some thoughts on the US militarized response to the ebola crisis
Last week I published a follow-up to my May article on militarized humanitarianism in Africa. Since its original publication in Foreign Policy in Focus, the piece has been republished in The Nation, AllAfrica, TruthOut, AntiWar.com, Common Dreams and InterPress Service News Agency. Six months into West Africa’s Ebola crisis, the international community is finally heading…
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Planting the Seeds of Future Occupation: Militarized Humanitarianism in Africa
Last week Foreign Policy in Focus, an offshoot of the Institute for Policy Studies, published my article on US militarism and aid in Africa. In it, I argue not that aid and security aren’t important, but rather that we should be wary of the ways in which the US is building up its presence in…
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Embedded with AFRICOM/ Dans la base militaire de l’Africom
Embedded with AFRICOM [AFRICOM recently hosted a media delegation from Mauritania and Algeria. The following article, which appeared originally in Liberte on December 15, 2013, is from one of the Algerian participants who provides a critical, and at times humorous, insight of their trip, AFRICOM personnel, and AFRICOM’s ultimate goals.] Jabari Lewis is an 11…
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Nkrumah and AFRICOM: The Danger of Misrepresentation
The following is in response to an article entitled Accept AFRICOM Now! which ran in a few Ghanaian media sources first in September, and then this past weekend. I sent my response to the sites that carried the original article, and it is now published in SpyGhana and ModernGhana. This past month both SpyGhana and…
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KLM &You: UPDATE!
Oh, well that was fast. KLM has removed “the dark continent” from their site: “Commonly used” by who???? We’re glad @KLM have changed their description of Africa as “the dark continent”. Apparently we misinterpreted it as racist BS. — Africa is a Country (@AfricasaCountry) October 18, 2013 @AfricasaCountry @KLM Glad it changed, but commonly used?…
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KLM &You: Conquering the Dark Continent Since 2013
Thanks to Africa is a Country and Serginho Roosblad for this hat-tip. I feel like I’m in a time warp. @KLM suffers from #colonialmentality by calling #Africa ‘The Dark Continent’ – http://t.co/3XF2yiqvYM — Serginho Roosblad (@SRoosblad) October 18, 2013 What is this? KLM’s latest marketing campaign for their flight destinations in the African continent. You…
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Monday Morning Roundup: Obama in Africa (reflections, criticisms, and more)
Some great commentary coming from around the world on Obama’s trip to Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania: Obama Finally Scrambles Over Africa by Solomon Dersso #ChangeCourseObama by Jumoke Balogun (of CompareAfrique) A Cooler Welcome by the Economist Obama’s Trip Needs a New Policy Overhaul by Carina Ray ———————————– Yesterday, in a talk at the University of…
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And so it begins: the Obamas in Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania
President Obama’s trip to Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa is an ongoing PR campaign to boost American interests in the continent. Specifically, the Obama’s weeklong soiree will touch three countries that are significant in AFRICOM’s quest for influence and clout. AFRICOM has long searched for a permanent home in the continent, but has yet to…
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Why are we still talking about Bono? pt. 2
Excellent article in The Guardian yesterday: Bono can’t help Africans by stealing their voice by George Monbiot It was bad enough in 2005. Then, at the G8 summit in Scotland, Bono and Bob Geldof heaped praise on Tony Blair and George Bush, who were still mired in the butchery they had initiated in Iraq. At…
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Obama in Africa: Talking Points?
The Obamas will soon be on their $60mil tour de afrique which means the US media might actually take a rare pause to talk about Africa in ways that won’t necessarily entail war, famine and AIDS. While we can’t expect the major news outlets to let go of the American insistence that Africa is a…
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Obamas in Africa! Pt. 2… or 3. Whatever.
This week it was announced that the President and First Lady will be visiting Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania June 26-July 3. Apparently the trip will focus on : #OBAMAinSA Trip will focus on economic growth through trade and investment, engaging the next generation of African leaders, and democracy. — US Embassy Pretoria (@USEmbPretoria) May…
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Why are we still talking about Bono?
If an article starts with Bono, I’m inclined not to listen. I’m not sure why celebrities continue to hold the spotlight in being experts on poverty or development. This morning I read an article by Bright Simmons of Ghana thinktank Imani, and Jammie Drummond of One.org entitled Africa: The Rise and the Rise of the…
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Morning Reads: self-determination, mining murders & AFRICOM/Congo training
“Africa Must Stop the West” by Stephen Odoi-Larbi The First Deputy Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Ebo Barton-Odro, has told the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) that the time had come for Africa to act swiftly to stop the West from dictating to the continent, when it comes to legal matters that have international character. “Chinese Kill Two…
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“Whereas other countries that don’t cooperate, we ream them as best we can.”
I’m re-reading Craig Whitlock’s April 2013 Washington Post article on Niger and the US military in Africa: Human-rights groups have also accused the U.S. government of holding its tongue about political repression in Ethiopia, another key security partner in East Africa. “The countries that cooperate with us get at least a free pass,” acknowledged a…
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AFRICOM in the Guardian and the Gulf of Guinea
There was good coverage in the Guardian last week with a piece by Mmanaledi Mataboge who was apart of a South African group of journalists who were invited to the AFRICOM base in Germany as part of what I call a wine and dine affair, Mataboge fondly termed a “media charm offensive,” and what was officially…
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Today I’m thinking about higher education in Ghana
Education with a capital E is not enough to spur “development” and “growth.” Institutions ought to closely scrutinize their curriculum to ensure it includes ways to spur creativity, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Joeva Sean Rock 