Black Looks

• A 2001 post on football

  Posted: June 28, 2010, 9:04 pm by Rethabile

  One of the best football players I’ve ever watched, in the flesh or on the telly, is Mochini Matete. A short, stocky, fast, dribbling and left-footed goal-scorer, Mochini played left wing for Matlama FC, the capital’s team. The only thing he probably couldn’t do was score with his head. I’ve never seen him get a [...]

• Sustainable Linking

  Posted: June 28, 2010, 7:09 pm by Sokari

  I made this decision some time ago that whenever I needed to link to a news story I would first search African online sources and only use western media when there was no alternative. Sometimes I forget and need to remind myself but its working slowly.     I found this post on [...]

• Cleansing 3: Resident at Heart by Chinwe Azubuike

  Posted: June 27, 2010, 6:55 pm by Sokari

  We humans on earth are all faced with different issues and problems in our lives. At some point we have the urge to hide away from the world to nurse our wounds or heal them. When this happens, there’s some sort of transformation where by our ‘inner self’ is transported to another realm…a private space, [...]

• Tweets of the Week

  Posted: June 26, 2010, 11:00 pm by Sokari

  #Nigeria needs to speak up against oil companies – http://bit.ly/ddh1qW # RT @Saharareporters President Jonathan’s 140-strong Delegation To Canada: SR Stands By Its Story http://fb.me/Bt3Yjfur SPEND SPEND SPEND # Excellent resource on #Homonationalism http://bit.ly/cUg5uF # #Queers against #Israeli #Apartheid win battle against censorship http://bit.ly/ct0WQ6 # #Queer blogger – #Egypt to table anti-homosexuality resolution at the #AU meeting @alaa [...]

• Angela Davis on Judith Butler’s refusal of the CSD Civil Courage Prize

  Posted: June 25, 2010, 4:53 pm by Sokari

  Angela Davis on solidarity with queers of colour against gay racism in Berlin. “I hope Judith Butler’s refusal of the award will act as a catalyst for more discussion about the impact of racism even within groups which are considered progressive”….”that somehow people from the global south, people of colour are more homophobic [...]

• ‘I must distance myself from this racist complicity” Judith Butler turns down Berlin Pride award

  Posted: June 20, 2010, 6:54 pm by Sokari

  Press statement by SUSPECT on Judith Butler’s refusal to accept the Civil Courage Award from Berlin Pride last night. As Berlin Queer and Trans Activists of Colour and Allies we welcome Judith Butler’s decision to turn down the Zivilcourage Prize awarded by Berlin Pride. We are delighted that a renowned theorist has used her celebrity status [...]

• The Spine

  Posted: June 20, 2010, 10:51 am by Rethabile

  To a rock that towers above it and whose shadow it loves, thread is what the spine is to the head, what a child is to a parent, not caring what words come out as one doesn’t care the colour of rope that knots peoples and their gods. The world sits on one man’s shoulders. In order to know, as a nest knows the [...]

• Tweets of the Week

  Posted: June 19, 2010, 11:00 pm by Sokari

  if you speak portuguese this is a piece on #nigeria #football from brazillian blogger Guiherme Freitas http://bit.ly/a2eBKh # The sea as woman http://bit.ly/cOSDBw # #Wikileaks questions around the safety of Julian Assange http://bit.ly/9BNzL0 # Gorging on #TrueBlood # #Worldcupwatch #FIFA demands http://bit.ly/alE6kq # #ZiggyMarley & #AngeliqueKidjo “Africa Land” http://bit.ly/bXKEQm download #Africa #Music #wavingflags # #NigerDelta top of the world [...]

• Our children and your children are not the same – deporting kids back to war zones

  Posted: June 18, 2010, 4:15 pm by Sokari

  The British government’s latest actions in a long line of anti-immigration / anti-refugee policy and legislation is to send unaccompanied minors back to Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, I worked with unaccompanied children [under 16] who had mainly arrived from Somalia. Many had been sent to safety by family, many had [...]

• “World Cup” by Nomadic Wax, DJ Magee & DJ Nio

  Posted: June 15, 2010, 5:25 pm by Sokari

  World Cup is a global hip-hop collaboration featuring rappers from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, the US and Europe. Thumbs down to the drink Coca-Cola, Wave Flags and you will be happy crowd! World Cup by Nomadic Wax “World Cup” is the first of it’s kind and explores the complexities and controversies of [...]

• Bashing the poor

  Posted: June 14, 2010, 7:38 pm by Sokari

  Raj Patel on Democracy Now “How South Africa has cracked down on the poor and shackdweller movement.”

• Revising baba go-slow & speaking good of the dead: Adeniyi on Yar’Adua

  Posted: June 14, 2010, 5:25 pm by Sokari

  Just over a month since the invisible President Yar’Adua died of unknown causes, some obituaries are being used to revise history, rewrite reality. One such is this one by his former media advisor and PR man, Segun Adeniyi. According to Adeniyi, Yar”Adua’s greatest attributes were ” humility, integrity and humanity”. Though interrelated, these [...]

• Poor people’s world cup kicks off

  Posted: June 13, 2010, 7:37 pm by Sokari

  Abahlali  baseMjondolo and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign have been at the forefront of  South Africa and FIFA’s World Cup displacement and exclusion of shackdwellers, low income people and street traders from the tournament. The affected communities have therefore created their own World Cup which is accessible to everyone…. This Poor People’s World Cup [...]

• Tweets of the Week

  Posted: June 12, 2010, 11:00 pm by Sokari

  Rooooting for Africa in Europe #Whyisthierryhenryonthebench #thisiswrong @ibster # Mexico goal – me 2 son Y r u cheering #mexico goal? son 2 me because the Aztecs were #African #iampanafrikan # Damn have to work – # Watching THE GAME -love football with commentary in Spanish Gooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaal forever #WC2010 if i am nervous then its [...]

• Niger Delta Amnesty – 9 months on

  Posted: June 11, 2010, 9:28 pm by Sokari

  It is impossible to disentangle the actions of Shell and other multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta from the actions of the Nigerian Federal and State governments. The two are in inextricably tied together in an alliance which has led to the militarisation of commerce and the exclusion of indigenous communities at the source [...]

• Deportation Story: From Kampala to London and back

  Posted: June 9, 2010, 4:16 pm by Sokari

  Fighting deportation is one of the hardest legal battles you could face and fighting to return AFTER deportation is near impossible.    In 2007, 12,525 failed asylum seekers  people were deported from Britain and 63,140 in total.  Of the 24, 550 asylum claims in 2009 73% were turned down one of whom was a young woman from [...]

• Love Football: Rap Against #FIFA 2010

  Posted: June 8, 2010, 4:25 pm by Sokari

  The People’s Justice Center will be running a Fan Center and mixing up loving football with discussions on forthcoming “Apartheid Lawsuist” and other social justice issues. The Khulumani Support group is currently undertaking the prosecution of 5 major corporations complicit in supporting the Apartheid Government of South Africa during the struggle. These same companies [...]

• Chomsky Allstars – ‘The Beautiful Gain’ WC2010 Anthem

  Posted: June 7, 2010, 4:24 pm by Sokari

  Instead of the banal rainbow “we are all happy bunnies” lyrics of Waving Flags[ sung by formerly conscious rapper K'naan], The Chomsky Allstars, “The Beautiful Gain” spotlights the disruption and displacement caused by The World Cup across South Africa Tin Town – The story Behind The Beautiful Gain – Tin Town – V.2 from Barefoot [...]

• Tweets of the Week

  Posted: June 5, 2010, 11:00 pm by Sokari

  “Tweets of the Week” are a way of me keeping a handle on all my Tweets previously lost in the super fast cyberland of real time tweets. RT @negrita: RT @kenyanpundit: Tanzania NGO to launch an "adopt an Italian child" campaign…hehehehe http://is.gd/cCLBs # RT @eggheader: RT @jongambrellAP: #Nigeria More than 160 ppl, mostly children, [...]

• The Way of the Feminist Revolution

  Posted: June 5, 2010, 5:36 pm by Sokari

  Trinidadian feminist activist and performance poet, Gabrielle Jamela Hosein on feminism and the struggle for justice – an ongoing revolution – a collective revolution to liberate women and men, girls and boys – .

• The prophets have abandoned us to our lies

  Posted: June 4, 2010, 8:08 pm by Sokari

  “The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became blood like that of a dead man; and every living thing in the sea died.” Revelation 16:3 Estimated Prophet – © Geoffrey Philp The prophets have abandoned us to our lies. They’ve packed spare clothes, retreated to the Mojave Where they can still bless wild, untamed spaces Praise the [...]

• How I laughed whilst googling my great great grandfather – King Jaja

  Posted: June 4, 2010, 2:21 pm by Sokari

  As a Nigerian I guess I should be happy at UK TV’s recent airing of three programmes on Nigeria – Blood and Oil, Welcome to Lagos which caused a furoe in Nigeria and resulted in the government demanding an apology from the BBC and now New Kings of Nigeria. According to the [...]

• Workshop poem I was inspired to share now

  Posted: June 4, 2010, 12:13 pm by Rethabile

  The beginning of trees (for Geoffrey Philp) The fluttering butterfly is love’s last stand, as news of Baghdad sinks in like rain into sand, and gold settles on the width of its wings and smears fingertips with love’s smudge, and kings fall to make things budge. All of it belongs to the poet, who keeps his brushes in a pencil-case and above an orchestra [...]

• “Gay Uganda”: Blackmail & Extortion

  Posted: June 3, 2010, 3:40 pm by Sokari

  Blogger Gay Uganda publishes this email received by someone presumed to be gay. The blackmailer has his/her email address and detailed knowledge about the person. A truly frightening experience. The name of the extortionist and his email address are published – however GU has protected the victim’s identity and changed all the details. [...]

• It’s not all waving flags at the World Cup 2010

  Posted: June 2, 2010, 8:18 pm by Sokari

  The Center for Civil Society World Cup watch on the “Political Economy of the 2010 World Cup” Six red cards for World Cup elites: Trevor Phillips, former director of the South African Premier Soccer League: “What the hell are we going to do with a 70,000- seater football stadium in Durban once the World Cup is over? Durban [...]

• Cleansing: Two – Aging

  Posted: June 2, 2010, 7:33 pm by Sokari

  The beauty of imperfection – I just want to touch you! Via Gukira independence ii there are hollows on my body where your fingers left their mark as your taste smell touch recedes like memory waves from shores & i am left to merge alone with deep clear oceans mirrors of our divine self independence ii By Bernadette Muthien ©

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes