this & that: live from the sucking vortex

• If you haven't been following the story of Time Africa Bureau Chief Alex Perry's freakout over criticism of one of his stories, you're missing out. Africa's a Country has a nice summary here. For the record, I'd argue that the original criticism that it was more the case that the world gave Congo Mobutu than vice-versa is correct. Even the CIA Station Chief of the time more-or-less said so. It's true that Mobutu already existed before Western powers found him to be a capable ally, but it's questionable whether he would have been able to reach such a level of power on his own. You have to remember that Congo was not prepared for independence; it happened almost overnight. The Belgians were still major players in the country even after power was handed over to the Kasavubu administration. The dynamics are far more complicated than a simple sentence can convey. And the use of the term "sucking vortex" to describe the DRC? Yikes.
  
• Kate visits the Women of Kireka. I got to go two weeks ago; it's an amazing project.
• What's the relationship between experiencing high levels of violence and agricultural portfolio diversification? It's more interesting than you might expect.
  
• The Naomi Campbell/blood diamond/ICC issue is heating up.
• A fantastic post from AidData's The First Tranche blog comparing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to those of the Niger Delta over the past 50 years.
• Jina Moore is on a roll.
• Rwanda confirms that four presidential candidates will contest its August 9 elections. None of the challengers represent a significant threat to Paul Kagame.
  
• Here's some very interesting data on Islam and Christianity in Africa.
  
• Best practices in community-based child protection.
• On Guinea's efforts to change political norms.
• Somalia is broke.