-
Recent Posts
- Reading Nov-Dec 2025 and Jan 2026
- AI as an existential threat – Kevane preliminary draft
- “What can it do?” A living list of computational problems that deep learning/AI/neural nets can or seems likely to “do” (at varying cost and efficacy)
- Reading August-September 2025
- The typical popular sci-fi version of AI posing an existential risk?
Archives
Categories
Friends of African Village Libraries (I post regularly here)- Photos from Gowrie Kunkua community library during the night session, Ghana
- Sumbrungu Community Library nighttime reading
- Résumé du livre Une grande mère criminelle
- Organisation d’une séance de discussion autour d’un livre à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Librarians of Tuy monthly meeting January 2026, Burkina Faso
- Impressions sur la production de livres CMH au Burkina Faso
- Compte rendu de la première rencontre des gérants de la zone du Tuy
- Science fiction books for libraries in Burkina Faso and Ghana
- Animation d’une séance de lecture à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Nyariga Community Library in Ghana, photos January 2026
Author Archives: mkevane
Readings on immigration issues in the United States
A good The New Yorker introduction to very recent (October 2018) policy issue of naturalization of permanent residents (green card holders). Hanson, Liu and McIntosh on immigration to the US by low-skilled young workers. Abstract: From the 1970s to the … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, United States
Comments Off on Readings on immigration issues in the United States
Trying to fix my old turntable in basement I turned into a voyeur
Posted in Personal Kevane life
Comments Off on Trying to fix my old turntable in basement I turned into a voyeur
Don’t watch the Sean Penn Hulu space show
Unless you really enjoy conventional, comfortable story telling. I have lot of sympathy for Sean Penn since he was visiting a relative on the same floor of hospital in LA where my mother was for a time. But I can’t … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
Comments Off on Don’t watch the Sean Penn Hulu space show
I think I may be done with Iain Banks: Against a Dark Background
I finished Against a Dark Background earlier this week. A basic adventure space opera with a sympathetic android and a fairly obvious bad guy who is slowly revealed. It moves quickly and occasionally the settings are interesting but quite often … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
Comments Off on I think I may be done with Iain Banks: Against a Dark Background
Legacy of slavery in the United States: a few readings and perspectives
Heather O’Connell and Robert Reece find sizable correlation of extent of slavery with public school enrollment and attendance in the present (see summary here): Drawing from our regression analysis, we argue that slavery history shaped the local social structure in … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, United States
Comments Off on Legacy of slavery in the United States: a few readings and perspectives
Sexual harassment in factories in Indonesia: extraordinary short documentary
Posted in Gender
Comments Off on Sexual harassment in factories in Indonesia: extraordinary short documentary
Tariffs and trade wars, some comments
We are having an informal Civil Society Institute discussion on the tariffs and trade war issue this week, so I thought I would do a little round-up. My friend Tom Prusa summarizes some of the basics for a New Jersey … Continue reading
Posted in Teaching international trade, Teaching macroeconomics
Comments Off on Tariffs and trade wars, some comments
Photo of readers in Sheigu library in Upper East, #Ghana
Posted in Reading
Comments Off on Photo of readers in Sheigu library in Upper East, #Ghana
Some recent news on the American economy
The Census Bureau a couple of weeks ago released an update on the U.S. economy for 2017. The headline was that real median household income had increased by 2.6 percent, and was about $61,000, and the poverty rate was 12.3%. … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, United States
Comments Off on Some recent news on the American economy
Good interview regarding recent dozo- koglwéogo confrontation in Karangasso-Vigué in #Burkina Faso
Le 12 septembre dernier, des affrontements ont éclaté à Karangasso-Vigué, causant la mort du fils aîné du chef de canton et de deux koglwéogo. Dites-nous ce qui a bien pu conduire à un tel drame.Yacouba Drabo (Y.D.) : Avant d’entrer … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
Comments Off on Good interview regarding recent dozo- koglwéogo confrontation in Karangasso-Vigué in #Burkina Faso
Loyola University New Orleans student newspaper article on Jesuit presidents
Despite the shift in lay presidents, Dziak said that the men and women taking over these leadership positions were not chosen on a whim. They are qualified to represent these schools and that there is no lack of qualification or … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
Comments Off on Loyola University New Orleans student newspaper article on Jesuit presidents
Excellent articles on Peulh (Fulani) mobilization in central Mali
These are in a book Biographies de la Radicalisation: Des messages cachés du changement social edited by Mirjam de Bruijn that just came out in 2018. (Gated on project Muse, here.) The first is by Modibo Galy Cissé and traces … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, Politics, Sahel
Comments Off on Excellent articles on Peulh (Fulani) mobilization in central Mali
Opposition march in #Burkina Faso set for September 29
The leader of the political opposition in Burkina Faso, Zéphérin Diabré, has called for a march of protest on 29 September against what the opposition characterizes as the failed policies of the presidency of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, at the … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
Comments Off on Opposition march in #Burkina Faso set for September 29
Good background on Katiba Macina, Fulani rebel group in central Mali
A nice summary by Manon Elissa Murray, nothing new but clearly written and organised, if the English grammar leaves a little bit to be desired. The full text is here. The purpose of Katiba Macina was originally the restoration of … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, Politics, Sahel
Comments Off on Good background on Katiba Macina, Fulani rebel group in central Mali
Reading and French movies on trip to Burkina Faso
On the Air France flight I enjoyed (the standard on a 10 hour flight is low, but they were all better than Deadpool 2) several films (that incidentally I has never heard of): Les derniers Parisiens: A low-budget film about … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
Comments Off on Reading and French movies on trip to Burkina Faso
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Read this on the flight to Burkina Faso and then over a few days. Entertaining and occasionally compelling but the writing was just not edited enough to really shine. I appreciated the central idea, but the execution left me unsatisfied. … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
Comments Off on American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Why Steve Bannon is an incoherent blowhard who The New Yorker should disinvite
I’m in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,doing good things hopefully, talking with interesting people, learning about how our programs to support village libraries are going, and this Steve Bannon-The New Yorker thing comes up and I’m sooooooo disappointed. And pissed. Why? Because … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, United States
Comments Off on Why Steve Bannon is an incoherent blowhard who The New Yorker should disinvite
Never forget this is how people died: Mrs. Fanny Longfellow in 1861
From the New York Times July 12, 1861 A sad accident,which proved fatal yesterday forenoon, befel Mrs. FANNY LONGFELLOW, wife of Prof. HENRY W. LONGFELLOW, at their residence in Cambridge, on Tuesday afternoon. While seated at her library table, making … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
Comments Off on Never forget this is how people died: Mrs. Fanny Longfellow in 1861
Sad television on situation in Arua, Uganda
No charges, tortured and beaten, and possibly disappeared. Justice in its most elementary form. Listen the the lawyers at about 22:00.
Posted in Development thinking
Comments Off on Sad television on situation in Arua, Uganda
Key leader in the Burkina Faso tri-border area interviewed about… how to spend lots of money!
Great interview with Le Pays. L’Emir du Liptako est l’autorité coutumière suprême dans la province du Seno. Sa Majesté a bien voulu nous accorder une interview à travers laquelle il nous fait remonter dans l’histoire de l’Emirat du Liptako. Vu … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
Comments Off on Key leader in the Burkina Faso tri-border area interviewed about… how to spend lots of money!