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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_01_naijabloggers.gif… are now so many blog awards it is sometimes difficult to keep up with the continuous series of nominations and voting that takes place. Most recently Nigeria held its second Naija Bloggers Awards (the first were held in 2006), and the nominations for the fifth South African Blog Awards have been published. The Nigerian awards were organised by Who you be?.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_02_solomonsydelle.gi… highlight two particularly outstanding blogs: Nigerian Curiosity, written by Solomon Sydelle, who deservedly won ‘best political blog’. Her second blog, which documents her life as a ‘mother and wife hanging on for dear life’, won the ‘bloggers’ choice’ award. Solomon Sysdelle
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_03_genderandme.gifMy second vote goes to The Activist, written by Standtall who won ‘best theme’, though personally I believe she deserved to win the ‘most inspiring’ award. It was unfortunate that it was the ‘theme’ of her blog rather than the excellent and progressive content that was recognised.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_04_bellanaija.gifAlso worth mentioning is Bella Naija, whose blog has single-handedly made a huge contribution to publicising Nigeria’s fashion and entertainment industry.
It is not clear who organised the Naija Bloggers Award and I believe something like this should be open and transparent from the website as to who is behind the awards. It is also not clear who is listed, or how the list of bloggers was devised, as judging from those on the site there are a number of excellent Nigerian bloggers not listed, such as Timbuktu Chronicles, Grandiose Parlor, Wordsbody, Chxta’s World, Cyblug Oro (Gbenga Sesan) and BlackLooks. It is possible that these were included, but if so then they should appear in the list of Nigerian bloggers. I am also concerned as to why there was no ‘technology’ category included in the awards list. Neither am I impressed by some of the winners in the various categories.
Nonetheless this does not in anyway lessen the awards received by all the winners. Blogging is not as easy as it appears. Many people start without realising the amount of time and energy it takes to maintain a blog on a consistent basis, month after month, year after year. Most bloggers are working alone and this is literally a second job and it is very easy to fall by the wayside as many do. So a big congratulations to all those who were nominated and who won awards.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_05_sablogawards.gifN… are still open for the South African Blog Awards and the winners will be announced on the 3 April.
Meanwhile the two stories dominating SA bloggers are the refusal to allow the Dalai Lama into the country to attend the peace conference and the announcement that the IPL will be played in South Africa.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_extra_constitutional…Constitutionally Thinking takes the view that there is nothing surprising about the decision, given the country’s human rights record and foreign policy:
‘One can only be surprised by this decision if one assumes that human rights principles come in to play in the formulation of South Africa’s foreign policy... But human rights principles have not had any role in South Africa’s foreign policy since Thabo Mbeki took over as President of South Africa in the late nineties. Our foreign policy is based on naked self-interest, power politics, a misplaced loyalty to scoundrels and the leaders of rogue nations and a wish - born out of insecurity, vengefullness and a lack of pride and self respect - to try and embarrass the United States and other Western states.’
He goes on to question the various excuses issued by members of the government, which range from the ridiculous to the contradictory. The lamest and possibly the most shameful one of all is that the Dalai Lama’s presence would distract from the 2010 World Cup and SA in general.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_extra2_thoughtleader…Accidental Academic though not altogether taken by the Dalai Lama himself whose ‘resistance’ he describes as:‘A luxurious first-class passive resistance guise was a thing that died with Gandhi, Luthuli and John Lennon’ and ‘a jet-setting freedom fighter who won’t fight.’ Nonetheless he is in agreement that the refusal of a visa is a despicable act that ignores the liberation struggle and the need for solidarity with oppressed peoples.
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http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/425/mar25_06_blacklooks.gifBlackLooks reports on a recently published book, Literature Police, which examines the censoring and banning of books during Apartheid. In The Literature Police: Apartheid Censorship and its Cultural Consequences Peter D. McDonald has brought back to life those banned books, the mindset of the censors as well as some of the subversive methods used to try to counter the book police.
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