* Philip Gourevitch, of The New Yorker, probably still healing from the mauling he got over his admiration for Paul Kagame (and probably regretting losing his cool), decides it’s may be better to write about Rwanda’s national cycling team for the magazine. (Hint: It’s Tour de France month so let’s publish a piece about Africans and cycling.) Read it here. And here listen to Gourevitch talking about it.

* Rapper 50 Cent gets ambitious.

*  You know of the Zambian reality show for ‘former prostitutes’, aimed at teaching them baking and general cookery, so that they can find a husband? Winner has wedding paid for. Seriously.

* People get book deals for this kind of nonsense: First World Problems. Remember Stuff White People Like?

* “Four elderly Kenyans who say they were tortured by the British during the Mau Mau uprising have won the right to sue the Government. The decision is expected to encourage people around world to seek compensation claims against Britain for atrocities carried out under colonial rule.” And spare me the talk about reconciliation.

* Black people apparently don’t  go to Museums, tip, see a therapist or agree on what black people don’t do.  Apparently.

* The New York Times tries its hand at reporting cricket. Good publicity for new film, “Fire in Babylon,” about the victorious West Indies cricket team that dominated test and one day cricket between the mid to late 1970s and the mid-1990s.  The obligatory Joseph O’Neill quotes. But then the illustrations. That’s not Viv Richards in the picture.  I’ve been having a back and forth with fellow South Africans Jonathan Faull and Tony Karon about this and we agree that’s someone else.  I think it is Gordon Greenidge but they disagree. Cricket people?

* On film itself, this is what a Bajan told me: “…  On one hand it was great to see all that classic footage of West Indies cricket domination and I’m so happy that someone captured that remarkable time…I loved the segment on West Indies tour to Australia in 1976 and the [Kerry[ Packer years and the new team that emerged. That stuff was gripping. But most of it felt surface and obvious and I’m not sure if that’s because I know so much of the material already or because it was surface and obvious. There wasn’t really a problem to explore and it’s convenient how the history of the team ends before the abysmal plummet that any current fan of West Indies cricket is grappling with. There’s definitely a Part 2 that begs the question What the Hell Happened Next (“Who Killed King Cricket?”) which is what really consumes West Indians, the few who still care. I mean we couldn’t even get anyone to go see India play in Barbados this current test series.”

* If you don’t already, sign up for alerts from the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Africa researcher Mohamed Keita.  Here

* “Who’s created Mofongo?”:

* The “development-induced” displacement of the Ogiek people in Kenya (from Survivor International):

* The documentary film, “War Don Don,” about the trial before the International Criminal Court of an infamous Sierra Leonean rebel soldier has been nominated for two Emmys: For “Outstanding Continuous Coverage of a New Story–Long Form” and for “Outstanding Editing.”

Remember the trailer:

H/T: Our Stories, Neelika Jayawardane, Tony Karon, Jonathan Faull, and many others.

Further Reading

Not exactly at arm’s length

Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.

Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.