Something about the traditional dances performed at the Youth Day celebrations in Big Bekondo was awfully reminiscent of music videos. While I recognize that the young people of even a remote Cameroonian village are influenced by North American pop culture (e.g. a young man playing Shania Twain music videos non-stop on the television in his tiny one-room abode in Kumba--a room he shares with a brother and sister), I suspect most of what looks familiar is going the other direction. Given how strongly African Americans feature in the genesis of rap and hip-hop music, I figure the moves these village kids make which bring to mind those performed by pop music dancers back home likely originate here in Africa, not in minds on North American soil.
“We’ve increased support for municipalities year after year because we know strong communities depend on reliable, stable and predictable funding increases,” Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said in an emailed statement to the Free Press Tuesday. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2026/06/23/winnipeg-transit-needs-funding-boost-additional-staff-to-follow-new-provincial-accessibility-regulations-city-report This in answer to City of Winnipeg chair of Public Works Janice Lukes plea for the province to cough up money for the needed upgrades. Listen carefully because these are words I won't often say: I gotta agree with Lukes on this one. If the province is handing down new standards, given their higher capacity for raising revenues, they ought to help the city fund meeting said standards. What Simard fails to acknowledge is that those "year after year" funding increases started at the bottom basement after Conservative cuts and likely h...
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