Pauline Bax joins me to talk about Mauritania, fishing, and spam in West Africa.
Tag Archives: paulinebax
Thanksgiving and Guinea-Bissau
It is no secret that I’m a huge admirer of my friend Pauline’s travels and writing in West Africa. She is my journalistic hero and Im so excited to see how her blog is evolving. People should stop reading blogs about stupid new devices that cost too much money, and start reading about how people live their lives in places like Guinea-Bissau through the great observations of someone like Pauline.
Many of you are with family eating alot today and relaxing. That is nice and I’m certainly somewhat jealous as I have to wait another week before finally seeing my family in New Jersey. But in the mean time, I once again recommend you read Pauline’s blog as she is travelling in Guinea-Bissau and with every sentence I read I find myself wishing I was there with her. One of my resolutions in the coming months, is to do just that…
bm219 Special Courts and Presidents in Sierra Leone
It is quite hard to find an article on Sierra Leone on your average day in your average newspaper. Forgotten by some, written off by others, the country presses on – electing a new president while a special war crimes tribunal continues to do its work. We’re talking Sierra Leone today with journalist and blogger Pauline Bax in the Ivory Coast.
We Discuss:
– Recent History in Sierra Leone
– The special tribunal
– Public Opinion
– Civil War Effects
– Resources and money
– Working as a journalist there
– Media attention
Art, Violence, and Other Recommendations
Art, violence, politics, sometimes they all just hit me in the face in one sitting. And so allow me to share some links with you today to illustrate:
First, I was watching a lovely vlog entry on insanefilms.com, featuring my good friend and wonderful artist Hollye Davidson. Her explanation of how colors can be seen and how she sees colors what particularly fun for me to watch. Plus if you’re a dog person, or like me.. just enjoy watching dogs and not having one, there’s some great video of two very unique creatures.
From there I read Pauline’s latest entry from Equatorial Guinea. Not that she encountered physical violence, but her account of what I see as mental and emotional violence got me very upset. You’ve probably heard Pauline on my podcast in the past, and her blog continues to rise in terms of richness of content.
Then it all comes apart, as it so often does when I watch Euronews’ Nocomment section. I’ll spare you the video of Turkish police beating the crap out of horrified pro-democracy protesters, but what I do recommend is that you watch the Iraq entry. (follow this link, and scroll down, click on 30/04
If you watch, you’ll see amazing beauty in one of the worst parts of Baghdad. The terrible wall they have sadly laid down to divide communities, being painted in such amazing ways by local people. Instantly a disgusting wall that symbolizes so much violence and hate, becomes something beautiful to look at. (though still representing a pretty sad policy)
Don’t just scroll and take my word for it, see with your own eyes, and hear with your own ears… if you’re so lucky to be able to.
bm190 Struggle for Change in Guinea
The president of Guinea has ruled this west african nation for over 20 years. Under his rule the nation has become one of the world’s poorest and more corrupt. But recently the people have taken to the streets and declared a general strike, making demands of this president who previously seemed to answer to no one. What is really going on in Guinea and why… Pauline Bax, my friend and a journalist based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast joins us to explain.
Her Blog: West Africa Wins Always
We Discuss:
-The last month in Guinea
-The strikes
– Lansana Conté, what should we know about him
-Where the country gets income
– Working as a journalist in Guinea
– Mining and mining companies
– Who Benefits from the present situation
– Plenty more, download the show.