tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33276796777031793502024-02-20T02:30:34.376-08:00The Lusaka ConsensusAaron's back in Vancouver.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-13478328659618024912010-01-11T22:28:00.000-08:002010-01-11T22:34:59.229-08:00Vanity SiteI'm reviving this site only to inform people of my new website over at aaronleaf.com. Take a look.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-14304942453782736912009-07-29T12:42:00.000-07:002009-07-29T12:51:58.791-07:00My new projectWell maybe project isn't the best word, more like obsession. I've jumped on the microblogging bandwagon and started a Tumblr site--African Media--to bookmark and document my adventures (so colonial I know) in consuming, well, African media.So far there's a lot of stuff on African literary journals, glossy magazines and the launching of high-speed internet in the east. Use it as a list of Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-6797791308442513002009-07-20T12:29:00.000-07:002009-07-20T13:15:10.234-07:00The arrest of the Post's editor should be condemnedFrom the VOAZambia's Government Criticized for Harassing Journalists By James Butty 20 July 2009 <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-80554737765291205622009-07-17T22:51:00.000-07:002009-07-17T22:52:39.401-07:00Deportation: a beautiful video you should seeDEPORTATION from Carlos Barria on Vimeo.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-5750527624960662362009-07-13T20:02:00.000-07:002009-07-13T20:11:21.862-07:00Post Editor ArrestedFrom ZNBC via Lusaka TimesPolice have formally arrested Post News paper Editor, Chansa Kabwela, for circulating obscene materials. Ms. Kabwela who was briefly detained has however been released on police bond. Post newspaper lawyer, Sam Mujuda, told ZNBC that Ms. Kabwela will m in court on Tuesday. The arrest of Ms. Kabwela comes barely two weeks after police recorded a warn and caution statementAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-78507151217033447742009-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:002009-07-06T14:12:04.818-07:00MLK BLVD ProjectFor about five months I lived in a flat on Martin Luther King Road in Lusaka. I immediately associated it with the Martin Luther King Jr boulevards, streets and ways that I'd been to over the years: Seattle, Portland, Atlanta, Oakland, New Orleans. In the US, naming a street after MLK is about creating a symbolic connection between black neighbourhoods and a city; a repudiation of centuries of Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-9144497969500729572009-06-30T17:05:00.000-07:002009-06-30T17:31:48.329-07:00My first attempt: Little Mountain, Nat Bailey and the new Olympic curling centreInspired by the way some newspapers are using the web to tell a story I decided to try my hand at internet video. This doesn't really have a narrative and is basically me dumping my photos into iMovie and imperfectly scoring it with a Fennesz song but I kinda like the way it turned out.The greater issue though is the arrival of the Olympics, the lack of housing in Vancouver and, in particular theAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-73705143789757629762009-06-27T13:42:00.000-07:002009-06-27T13:54:01.922-07:00Doing online journalism right: grape picking in the Coachella ValleyThis article from the LA Times on the grape industry of Southern California shows how little it has come from the days of Cesar Chaves and the sixties' grape boycotts. Especially well done is the audio slide show that accompanies the piece.The work is hard, dirty and dangerous. It begins at dawn when the air is sweet and moist and stretches until midafternoon, when temperatures can top 120 Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-60151411597899713862009-06-23T22:43:00.000-07:002009-06-23T22:57:45.883-07:00South Sudanese Political CartoonsThese are cartoons from The Juba Post, South Sudan's English Language newspaper. Unsurprisingly they mostly concern Bashir. See all the cartoons,with text, at the Pulitzer Center. Unfortunately there's no mention of the artist and the Juba Post's website is currently down.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-76583372442584738252009-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:002009-06-22T13:58:11.886-07:00Ex-Zambian Leader’s High Life Awaits a VerdictGreat article from the New York TimesQuote:The judge concluded that though Mr. Chiluba had a salary of only about $10,000 a year during his decade in office, he spent more than $500,000 in a single shop, Boutique Basile, in Geneva.Rumour has it he's gonna go free. I wonder.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-24319723818104742182009-06-19T15:51:00.001-07:002009-06-19T16:41:08.149-07:00Magazines West and the Western Magazine AwardsI've been attending Magazines West for the last two days as a reporter for Masthead Magazine. Despite seminars like Surviving the Great Publishing Meltdown of 2009 this year's conference seems less gloomy than last year's with more emphasis on the role magazines will play in the new media landscape.Unfortunately, people are still pretty confused about the role of social networking. "Go be a videoAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-23573854623097727372009-06-15T11:18:00.000-07:002009-06-15T11:59:36.807-07:00Three relevant links on African photographyOn Assignment: Hard Lessons in SomaliaBy Michael KamberI learned more about Somalia through this list of photography tips from this New York Times photographer than from most feature articles on the region. Note on anarchy: In other places, clans or religious groups have created islands of stability and progress. We passed through towns where the residents had built schools, hospitals and even a Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-17461977435996119832009-06-14T14:41:00.000-07:002009-06-14T14:46:28.612-07:00Broadband African Internet: A MapFrom Many Possibilities and Zambian EconomistAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-49420061109864505182009-06-13T14:28:00.000-07:002009-06-13T14:32:12.133-07:00Are biofuels the answer to Zambia's petrol problems?No, probably not. Elaisha discusses the issue along with the threat of land grabs over at The Earth Feed.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-58416835931612496782009-06-13T14:10:00.000-07:002009-06-13T14:20:42.252-07:00Was going to be snarkyI was prepared to write about the absurdity of "protecting African wildlife" when budgets for helping human beings are getting slashed but then I read the article and realised they're talking about one of my favourite NGOs: COMACO. I like them because they're quite explicitly a pro-human organization that links fighting poverty to ecology and, yes, wildlife.NorwayAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-57464153281734239572009-06-13T14:02:00.000-07:002009-06-13T14:06:23.362-07:00Wonderfully vague Zambian political websitewww.zambiaunite4change.orgNice website with an eloquent Obama-ish manifesto. I wonder why it's so secretive though. It doesn't, on first glance, seem like something that would invite repression but you never know.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-66811272729588905592009-06-10T12:56:00.000-07:002009-06-10T14:22:33.323-07:00Hot new Zambia linksShort BBC piece about politics and music in Zambia (begins at 6:12) featuring reggae artist Michael Zulu. Also includes interview with Mathew Thembo. Some great messages and whatnot.That said, I don't like the majority of Zambian reggae music. Like a lot of Zambian rappers who have fake American accents and appalling flows, a lot of Zambian reggae sounds like a mockery of 80s Peter Tosh.A few Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-62450197849172363332009-06-07T17:09:00.000-07:002009-06-07T17:13:10.498-07:00The Onion answers my questionLast post I wondered about the potential of a vast worldwide collection of insipid party photos. The Onion has the answer. Thanks Chad.Police Slog Through 40,000 Insipid Party Pics To Find Cause Of Dorm FireAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-29866569075945245332009-06-05T17:35:00.000-07:002009-06-05T19:07:21.066-07:00great photography linksDo you ever stop to think about the vast numbers of digital photographs stuck in external hard drives around the world? Is it billions or trillions of aimless travel snaps, party pics and vain self portraits looked at once never to be seen again? I currently have about eight thousand on my laptop alone, perhaps an equal amount on a hard drive and a slightly smaller number lost to a hard drive Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-56985650154274234092009-06-04T12:02:00.000-07:002009-06-04T12:34:46.356-07:00Music: Cadence Weapon, Seperation AnxietyThis new mixtape from the poet laureate of Edmonton, Alberta is easily the best thing I've heard this year. I used to walk around Lusaka blasting his previous release, Afterparty Babies, on the mp3 player--some intensely local Canadiana is good for living abroad.Pay what you can download here. The video for Real Estate from Afterparty Babies:Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-88040046576762760812009-06-02T16:49:00.000-07:002009-06-02T17:48:26.540-07:00A year's worth of Drum Magazine, Ghana 1969Ghanaian blogger Koranteng Ofosu-Amaah managed to scan a years worth (1969 to be exact) of images from the Ghanaian edition of Drum magazine and post them on his blog with commentary. The mise-en-scène is of an affluent society interested in both socialism and mini skirts, traditional wear and sex education, international politics and the end of Ghanaian one party rule.But Drum was actually a Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-9373521103477028412009-06-02T16:29:00.000-07:002009-06-02T16:39:26.240-07:00The Munk Debates: Be it resolved that foreign aid does more harm than goodStephen Lewis & Paul Collier vs Hernando De Soto & Dambisa MoyoNo, I did not have the pleasure of attending this and, as yet, have not watched the video. I have however read an excellent recap (with analysis!) by my good friend Louis over at Governance Village.Noticed: everyone's trying to claim they're pals with Kagame now.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-55131400713116342032009-06-01T23:29:00.001-07:002009-06-02T01:51:28.522-07:00Noticed: King Leopold on one hundred trillion dollar billNo, I'm really not a fan of K'naan, believe me, but I like this recent video. Notice the Zimbabwe currency with King Leopold superimposed over the Dzimba dza mabwe which subsequently bleeds after being shot.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-59373575774618576412009-06-01T16:26:00.000-07:002009-06-01T17:47:24.926-07:00A decent documentary about the global arms tradeDevil's Bargain: A Journey into the Small Arms TradeSeen at DOXA, the Vancouver documentary film festival.If you've seen Lord of War, the largely ignored film starring Nicholas Cage as an international arms dealer, this documentary covers a lot of the same ground. In fact, Cage's character is based on the arms dealer Victor Boot who--as shown in Devils' Bargain--is simultaneously hunted by law Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3327679677703179350.post-81856779106546519392009-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:002009-05-31T19:42:03.169-07:00Just trashy TV or genocide denial?So there's apparently a new reality show on the History Channel where contestants reenact the infamous journey where Henry Morton Stanley goes to rescue Livingstone. This is what the website says:Twenty miles off the coast of eastern Africa, four modern-day explorers are sailing toward the unknown, the deep interior of Tanzania. They’ll travel 970 miles through African terrain that is as stunningAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917851782506869144noreply@blogger.com0