Frontline Club bloggers
Daniel Bennett on the Nick Meo brouhaha
Frontline blogger Dan is doing a great job trying to get to the bottom of a rather confused story relating to Nick Meo’s report on a bomb explosion just outside Kandahar recently. I recommend you go and read through both Dan’s posts on this. Start with the summary of the debate that continues to rage […]
The other war in the Caucasus
I’ll second Mathew Collin’s sentiments about this BBC World Service report called the PR battle for the Caucasus. It’s a fascinating 23 minute listen, The South Ossetian conflict, which began in early August this year, not only sparked a military war between Russia and Georgia, but a propaganda battle. It even made the front-page of […]
What Now for Obama and Africa?
Three ways that Kenyans think they will benefit from an Obama presidency: 1. By spending the American budget on Kenyan infrastructure Peter Otieno, one of the hustlers who crams extra passengers into already crowded minibus taxis in the town of Siaya, beside the Obama family homestead, said the president-elect should remember his roots. “When he’s […]
Plane crash “an accident”, says Mexico government
The Mexico Government maintains that there is no sign of foul play surrounding the plane crash on Tuesday night here in Mexico City that killed interior minister Juan Camilo Mouriño, the former deputy chief Federal Prosecutor José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos and more than 14 others. The victims were honored this morning in an official ceremony. […]
More on Meo and the US milbloggers
I’ve been doing some further work into ‘Nick Meo vs the milbloggers‘ to try to work out exactly what is going on. The Telegraph journalist has got in touch with me and I have also had email contact with 1Lt Amy Bonanno, the ARSIC Public Affairs Officer. I’d like to start by setting up what […]
More from the Shah Wali Kot wedding bombing
Photographs from the women’s section of the hospital in Kandahar today. Click the image above to scroll through the pictures. I am writing for the Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada for this story. In interviews at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar city, where at least 16 male victims and dozens of female victims were being […]
Nov 4th: a night of highs and lows
I thought I knew what the big story was going to be last night as I headed out of the house to a small gathering of people at the apartment of a friend of mine. We, a bunch of Mexicans and foreigners (English, Irish, Puerto Rican, Australian, Italian and, ahem, Maltese) were planning to sit […]
Always Take a Goat to the Party
Me taking a goat to the party So how do you make friends with the Obama family and ensure access to all the key players in Kenya as their relative vies to become the most powerful man in the world? The answer, of course, is always, always take a goat to the party. I found […]
Cows for McCain
Rob writes that the lovely beast above “gets it” if Obama wins tonight – Rob’s standing outside Granny Sarah Obama’s house in Kenya and blogging LIVE(ish).
Shah Wali Kot Wedding Bombing
Reports started to come in earlier today of a bombing of a wedding party in Kandahar province’s north-western district of Shah Wali Kot. I visited the hospital just now to visit and interview survivors. Abdul Zahir, 24, is the bride’s brother. He was in Shah Wali Kot yesterday for the wedding when the bombing started. […]
The Only McCain Supporter in Kenya
Basically, this guy gets it if Obama wins. He’s going to be the celebration feast.
Video: Day of the Dead in the cemetery
The Gutierrez Renteria family spent Nov. 1 in the Panteon Frances in central Mexico City, attending to the graves of their family members in recognition of Day of the Dead. This video was made for La Plaza, the Los Angeles Times blog about Latin America. Day of the Dead, 2008.
Telegraph journalist, Nick Meo vs Milbloggers: a summary
One of the ways in which bloggers have acquitted themselves in the media space is by acting as a ‘fifth estate’ – scrutinising what the fourth estate – the mainstream media – do, challenging facts and publishing corrections, clarifications, and rebuttals. A while ago, I collected some links on the way bloggers appeared to influence […]
Hack Attack
The press pack in Kogelo The press pack at Barack Obama’s ancestral home is growing steadily. Today there must have been a good 30 or so hacks assembled for the 11am press conference to hear Abongo Malik Obama (half brother to Barack Obama) say there would be no more press conferences. Fair enough, I suppose. […]
Only in Mexico: Funeral Advertising
This advertising campaign is currently running on buses, bus stops and billboards across Mexico City. The ads are promoting a funeral home, and was run in conjunction with Day of the Dead.
Change We Can Believe In
There have been a few changes recently in Kogelo, the rural homestead that the Kenyan branch of the Obama family calls home. Four years ago I made my way down a bumpy, rutted dirt track to find Granny Sarah’s little house. I was met by Said, one of her youngest sons (and a half-uncle to […]
In Photos: Dia de los Muertos in Mexico City’s Zocalo
This weekend Mexico celebrates one of its most popular festivals – Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Although that might sound rather morbid, the festival is actually a celebration of life. Mexicans build ofrendas in their homes and leave out food and drink for the returning spirits of their dead loved one. […]
Photographer documents Mara Salvatrucha in prison
The intricate tattoos on the faces, chests, arms and legs of members of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gangs of Los Angeles and Central America are on display this month in downtown Mexico City. The striking, close-up portraits of male gang members and the tattoos that tell the tales of their lives are part of an […]
Understanding Congo
[video:youtube:NC8GzpcVY_o] Fred’s put together an excellent post detailing the background to the conflict in North Kivu in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The situation in Goma is tense, as can be seen in the Sky News report above. To get a flavour of how this feels on the ground take a look at Samantha’s […]
Terrorists to use Twitter?
A report by the US Army says Twitter, the popular microblogging tool, is a weapon that could be used by Al Qaeda to help them carry out attacks. The full report put together by the 304th Military Infantry Battalion can be viewed here (pdf) and Wired magazine has a good summary of the main points. […]
An Opportunity Waiting to be Missed in Somalia
The Shabaab stepped up its campaign in Somalia yesterday taking war to Puntland and Somaliland. At a meeting in Kismayo in July the Islamists decided to open new fronts in their battle to force out Ethiopia and bring down the unpopular Transitional Federal Government. Sheikh Aweys has unfinished business with Puntland and President Abdullahi, so […]
Political Violence and the Novelist
The other day I was at a panel discussion on how the novelist should approach political violence. I blogged a review on behalf of the Complex Terrain Laboratory.
Background to the crisis in North Kivu
Recent turbulence in the financial market is a reminder that economic stability is heavily reliant on collective perceptions and ‘market confidence’. So it is with security, and nowhere is this more evident than in a so-called fragile state like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is plummeting into a different kind of recession. The seemingly […]
Grasshoppers on guard in Mexico City
Walking through Bosque de Chapultepec this morning, I did what I’ve been meaning to do for months – I took a shot of one of the many chapulines that stand guard around Mexico City’s biggest park. Chapultepec means “hill of grasshoppers” in Nahuatl, the ancient Mexica language. Luckily I had my camera with me and […]
Somalia Bombings
Bombs in Hargeisa and Bossaso. Suicide bombings and choice of targets makes it look as if Islamists behind it. Info circulated to NGOs: Reports of multiple explosions in Hargeisa. Initial unconfirmed reports indicate 3 car bombs: UNDP office site – 3 killed – 8 wounded Elections Commission – Multiple casualties Ethiopian embassy reports indicate catastrophic […]
Fish and Chips in Africa 1
English Fish and Chips, Moevenpick Hotel, Dar es Salaam And so a new project is born. The other day I posted about fish and chips in Kisumu. Then I find myself in a hotel in Dar es Salaam where “English” fish and chips is on the menu. So, following on from the failure of several […]
Two years on, dead U.S journalist remembered on both sides of the border
Activists and rights groups marched in remembrance of Brad Will yesterday in the state of Oaxaca, marking the second anniversary of the fatal shooting of the U.S videographer. Will was filming violent street battles in the southern Mexican state two years ago when he was shot dead, and controversy has surrounded the search for those […]
The Pride of Kenya
Kisumu’s ramshackle little airport is being renovated. Locals joke that it is so the runway is big enough to take Air Force 1 when Barack Obama wins and makes his big homecoming, visiting his step-granny an hour or so up the road. (Although not everyone realised it was a joke.) For now though it seems […]
Video: Naked Protesters, the director’s cut
I shot this video for the LATimes a couple of weeks ago, but due to their understandable editorial policy, I had to take out all of the naked shots. But since MexicoReporter.com is an independent publisher, I wanted my version to be complete. The nudity of the protesters is the most important part of the […]
