'African Shirts' - African Shirts (http://africanshirts.blogspot.com/2006/11/nigerias-finest.html) points to a report by Amnesty International on the rape of Nigerian women by the Nigerian police force:

“What do Nigerian police do when they're not killing innocent people, taking bribes, and doing nothing? They rape Nigerian women. An Amnesty International report is doing the rounds…”

Nothing new here. The Nigerian Police, their paramilitary brethren, the Mobile Police locally known as the hated MOPO and the Nigerian Army have been raping and beating women and girls in the Niger Delta for the past 15 years. Hardly any of these acts of violence have been reported in the Nigerian or foreign media despite numerous reports by Human Rights Watch.

'The Concoction' - The Concoction (http://theconcoction.blogspot.com/2006/11/i-should-have-used-pankhurst.html) compares the different organisational structures of traditional organisations in Northern Ethiopia with those of Western and Western like NGOs.

“I examined the organizational structures of the traditional organizations in one region in Northern Ethiopia and selected NGOs working in the country. Surprisingly, the traditional organizations are democratic, with the members on top of the organizational chart and the CEO all the way down. NGOs have the opposite - never mind the 'we-are-governed-by-our-contributors' marketing line. My recommendation to the organization that sponsored the research was you're damn fool if you don't make traditional organizations your development partners, especially in the program design stage."

Her point is that it is unfortunate that Western NGOs have failed to learn from traditional knowledge systems, not just in Ethiopia but throughout the Global South. Instead they work on the premise that their knowledge and organisational structures are superior and transferable to other cultures and systems.

'The African Uptimist' - The African Uptimist (http://agbe.typepad.com/the_african_uptimist/2006/08/putting_water_i.html) writes on the possibilities of producing and using hydrogen as a fuel in Africa.

“In a few years, we could be seeing hydrogen fueled cars, public mini-buses and other vehicles on African roads, running with nothing more than water in their fuel tanks. That was one possibility that came to mind upon reading David Adam's interesting piece ‘A fuel tank full of water’ (New Scientist, July 29, 2006). He reports that Tareq Abu-Hamed of the University of Minnesota, and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel have developed a practical approach to producing hydrogen from water.

"This approach, which relies on simple, high-school chemistry (as described below), overcomes many of the obstacles that till now have prevented the dream of a hydrogen-powered car becoming reality."

'Jangbalajugbu' Jangbalajugbu (http://www.edwardpopoola.com/blog/?p=71) congratulates a young Nigerian student blogger, Edward Popoola, for winning the Top ICT Educator in Africa, an award by Forgeahead, a South African based ICT research and consulting house.

“I got to the final rounds and was mentioned among the top three finalists. At that point, it got more interesting and I was happy with myself. I googled Forgeahead and from their loud profile all over the Internet as a respected firm in South Africa, it was not enough for me to be just among the finalists, I hoped to be the winner…I got invited to the award ceremony, but as a result of the lateness of my visa application, I couldn’t make the award night in J’burg. Though it was not a case of visa denial, I was not happy all the same. I was however able to get Titi Akinsanmi, my sister from another mother, who is based in SA to accept the award for me.”

It was unfortunate that due to visa problems Edward was unable to attend the ceremony. Interesting that it is harder to enter South Africa with an African passport than with a European one. Nigeria is probably one of the most difficult passports to hold when it comes to getting a visa to travel anywhere!

'Friends of Ethiopia' - Friends of Ethiopia - (http://friendsofethiopia.blogspot.com/2006/12/hazardous-hand-me-downs-un...) reports on an environmental conference held in Nairobi last week - The Basel Convention - a treaty which regulates the movement of toxic waste across national boundaries. Friends refers specifically to the recent dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast.

“On Thursday the Nairobi conference convened a high-level World Forum on E-Wastes to confront the growing reality that, in addition to its many benefits, the global consumer goods revolution is generating massive quantities of end-of-life computers and other obsolete electronic equipment…Some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year, comprising more than 5% of all municipal solid waste. When the millions of computers purchased around the world every year (183 million in 2004) become obsolete they leave behind lead, cadmium, mercury and other hazardous wastes…Similarly, the use and disposal of mobile phones - which like PCs barely existed 20 years ago - is increasing dramatically. By 2008 the number of cell phone users around the world is projected to reach some two billion. Leading cell phone manufacturers are collaborating through the Basel Convention's Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative to find better ways to reduce and manage this growing waste stream.”

'Black Looks' - Black Looks (http://www.blacklooks.org/2006/12/mining_violations_in_ghana.html) reports on the actions of multinational mining companies operating in Ghana. They are destroying the local ecological system as well as committing acts of violence against local communities. Only last week activists were arrested for meeting with local community leaders and are presently in prison having been refused bail.

“Ghana is presently on the edge of a biodiversity disaster as mining companies such as Anglo Gold Ashanti (AGA), Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL) and Newmont Gold Ghana (NGG). The use of toxic chemicals from the mining has led to contaminated water supplies. The forests which have been reduced from 8.3 million hectares in 1957 have been depleted to a mere 1.2 million with over 700 varieties of trees, plants, birds and animals all at risk of being destroyed forever. The Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM) has been monitoring the activities of both the multinationals and the EPA. One of the main problems is the weakness of the environmental laws plus the Ghanaian governments unwillingness (like in the Niger Delta) to insist on the multinationals meeting international standards in their mining activities. Protests by WACAM and local communities are met with violence and intimidation.”

• Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks,

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