Category Archives: The Whole World’s Africa

Congo’s Not Africa’s WWI, It’s Worse Than That

If there is a European analogy to be applied in the Congo, it would be the brutal Thirty Year War in Germany that ended in 1648 Continue reading

Posted in The Whole World's Africa | 7 Comments

What the Palestinians Can Learn from Mandela


John Carlin’s extraordinary new book reveals how Mandela’s genius lay not in forgiving his enemies but in disarming and outmaneuvering them, while never compromising on his demand for justice Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report, The Whole World's Africa | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Stop South Africa’s Pogroms!

Violence against immigrants in South Africa may be a product of poverty, but my friend Ray Hartley argues, the only answer is to make them full and equal citizens Continue reading

Posted in The Whole World's Africa | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

South Africa’s Racist Present

Guest Column: Sean Jacobs. What to make of the racist torture incident at a South African campus Continue reading

Posted in Guest Columns, The Whole World's Africa | 21 Comments

The Guilty Pleasure of Fidel Castro

What fascinates me is the guilty pleasure with which so many political leaders around the world revere Fidel Castro — revere him, but wouldn’t dream of emulating his approach to economics or governance. Continue reading

Posted in Situation Report, The Whole World's Africa | Tagged , , , | 90 Comments

Bono’s Vanity: Showcasing Africa, or its Glamorous Patrons?

Can anyone explain Queen Rania’s presence? It with great pleasure that I introduce guest columnist Sean Jacobs, a fellow Capetonian who these days divides his time between Brooklyn and Ann Arbor, where he is an assistant professor of Communication Studies … Continue reading

Posted in Guest Columns, The Whole World's Africa | 51 Comments

Dead at the Apollo

If I had the time, I’d build James Brown a proper online shrine, with “Night Train” welcoming you and Tom Tom Club’s exquisite JB tribute song “Pleasures of Love” bidding him farewell… (“What you gonna do when you get out … Continue reading

Posted in New York Moments, The Whole World's Africa | 10 Comments

Hamba Kahle, Ace Ntsoelengoe

If you were a white boy in the suburbs of Cape Town during the heyday of apartheid in the early 1970s, you didn’t know any black people. Not only socially, but even as public figures. That was the whole idea: … Continue reading

Posted in From Tony's Archive, Glancing Headers, The Whole World's Africa | 29 Comments

Don’t they know it’s Kwanzaa?

Published in the Cape Times, December 1997 Only in America, as the saying goes. Africans spending their first holiday season in New York are usually surprised to find that sharing equal billing with Christmas and Chanukah (which gets pretty much … Continue reading

Posted in The Whole World's Africa | 10 Comments

World Cup 2006: Viva Angola!!

For the past month, my key chain has sported a cheesy plastic key ring depicting the Angolan flag, two simple red and black bars with commie-clip-art sickle-shaped piece of a cog crossed with a machete (where the hammer would be). … Continue reading

Posted in Glancing Headers, The Whole World's Africa | 14 Comments