is a beautifully written blog by a South African Gay-identified man who writes about life, his partner, social justice and "We're different and that makes us a good match."

This week he is upset with President Mbeki who he officially declares is a "denialist".

"You have done a lot to get the economy where it is - but you are doing nothing to sustain it. Keeping the crime levels down is one way to keep the economy booming. Crime divides the country. I'm upset with you Mr. President. Without comparing you to any other head of State - but think of the legacy you are leaving as you are about to retire! Like Redi Direko said to you ‘Come on Mr President’ get your act together!"

Gradiose Parlor comments on Nigeria's latest census results for "sparsely populated Bayelsa State" in the Niger Delta and comes up with some interesting figures:

"The total population of Bayelsa state is 1,703,358; it’s the least populated in the nation. Bayelsa received 5,325,414,955.84 (Naira) in May 2004 from the federal account (PDF document); the second highest in the nation. This works out to 3,126.42 Naira per citizen. The highest allocation-per-citizen ratio* in the country. And this is just from federal account, the figure doesn’t include locally generated revenue."

The question is where has all the money gone because it has yet to reach the communities of the State?

"An aside: Maybe he should just send stuff to Mzalendo and KBW and we can spruce it up for him. It pains me to see people who should know better sitting with so much good info. (e.g. hello where is Gladwell Otieno?)."

Carpe Diem Ethiopia writes about Ethiopian novelist, Bealu Girma who he finds "extremely challenging":

"For starters, out of his six novels: Kadmas Bashager (Beyond the Horizon), Yehilina Dewel (The Bell of Consciousness), Yeqey Kokeb Teri (The Call of the Red Star), Haddis, Derasiw (The Author), and Oromay ("Now, at this Moment"), I have only read three—Kadmas, Haddis, and Oromay. Second, the novelist's personal life and work deserve separate volumes of their own. Bealu's life and death are of Shakespearean proportions: Julius Caesar comes to mind - much like the Roman emperor's unprecedented expansion of his empire by his sheer ability to bend the will of men, the Ethiopian author reached the apogee of creativity by his ability to gain almost a cult following that allowed him to survive unscathed through much of his career despite his persistently harsh criticism of the societies in which he lived."

Singing SouthAfricanness discusses being a white South African and compares living in the US to SA.

"Quite simply, I feel safer here (New York), and that concerns me when I consider a future at home. I also feel hemmed in by my race at home. The fact that I am white has a very strong impact on how I am viewed, and what is expected of me, and what opportunities are available to me within my own country. Here, that matters less. What does matter is that I do work that people want to know about, and that is important."

Colour in SA has an impact on everyone's lives, opportunities, imprisonment in one's community, economic advantage. All of these also impact on people in the US. Apart from other advantages, part of the reason being white in the US is easier is because as part of the majority population you are less conspicuous?

Nata Village Blog profiles HIV lay counsellor, Kehumile Baganne.

"When I first started working at the clinic, few people came into test. I would only test four people per month. People were afraid in those days and the only ARV's were in Francistown and Gaborone. We weren't even able to offer IPT (prophylaxis for TB) in those days so some of the people here could not access those services. So when IPT came to Nata and the ARV's came to Gweta, people were more willing to test. I do my counseling in a caravan and when we first started everyone was afraid to come to the caravan. Because when someone goes there, they know they have AIDS. They even called me the caravan girl. I didn't like that name at all."

Annie writing on Black Looks writes about her two week experience in Cape Town, a place I have also become familiar with - looking for Africa in downtown Cape Town is not easy:

"I want to be in Africa! CT is very ‘modern.’ Unfortunately, modern also means Western. The two words are synonymous all over the world, but never have I seen it as glaringly as here. Is it not possible to be modern and still retain that special quality of ‘African-ess?’ And this is not me pandering to a stereotyped view of “African-ess” with regards to drums and naked people. This is me re-living my own, PERSONAL, African experience, me chanelling Ghana and my high school with its 60% representation of students from over 20 African countries. This is me remembering the differences and yet that special quality that brought us together, that led us to sing in one another’s languages, that justified our motto: ‘Knowledge in the service of Africa.’ So be on my case all you like, but I do believe there is such a thing as being African, such a thing as being in Africa, indescribable as they may be…but CT leaves me homesick. I wound up in an Irish bar (don’t ask) with a Lithuanian friend who told me how at home he felt in this European-like setting. I hope my smile looked real enough."

* Sokari Ekine produces the blog Black Looks, http://www.blacklooks.org and is Online News Editor of Pambazuka News.

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org