Views from the Horn of Africa and Sudan · Global Voices
Vandu

The Ethiopian blogosphere has been awash with discussions spanning a variety of topics. Politically focused Ethiopian blogs such as Ethiopundit and Ethiopian Paradox continue in their tradition of providing thought provoking pieces on the current state of the Ethiopian nation and those who govern it. Ethiopian Paradox presents a write-up by Sereke Berhan in which he(she) lashes out on Western governments for their supposed “silence” over the high-handedness of the Ethiopian government. It states:
“…Westerners have shown their willingness to sacrifice innocent lives for their own benefit. It is hard to imagine that they would do such a thing realizing the magnitude of their action. This clearly shows how much they care and what our [Ethiopian] lives, future and dignity mean to them.”
Ethiopundit in an article entitled “Falling off the Climate Curve“, writes about a much talked about topic–global warming. Noting that climate change has been well documented in the past (even before the industrial revolution), this blog appears skeptical of the extent to which humans really understand global warming. It notes that it makes sense to
“take care of the planet…but be wary of all hyper-certainty on this subject [climate change]…from those who would define morality and human ‘goodness’ by the degree to which one accepts the teachings of one school of environmentalism or another. It is hard to imagine that as the economies of India or China approach a level of polluting familiar to the First World that greenhouse gas levels will not rise far faster than ever before.”
The blog Addis Ababa Rocking Fun Zone tells about trying out the 2006 Fast of Solidarity, most likely a Christian Orthodox fast. The author of the blog tells about also wanting to try out the Muslim fast when next the month of Ramadan is here. The blog Aqumada posts on series of interesting topics that relate to Ethiopia and Africa. It calls the re-election of Yoweri Museveni of Uganda a “replay of last year’s Ethiopian election.” Aqumada also presents a venereal disease lexicon in Ethiopian Amharic scripts.
Ethiopians appear to be boycotting beverages affiliated with their government according to the blog Things We Should Have Written Down. Read about the Pepsi Cola—Coca Cola ‘war’ in Ethiopia in the post “Waiter, there’s a Pepsi in my Coke!”
Sleepless in Sudan, a blog by a 31-year-old female aid worker in Darfur, is now closed. In its parting post of February 1, 2006, which attracted 89 comments as at the time of writing, it states:
“Sorry, but this blog is now closed. It's somewhat bittersweet to write those words after having ranted and raved, moaned and marvelled, and generally obsessed about Darfur for so long.”
Inside Somaliland tells of the African Union supporting the split of Somalia. Somaliland, a self-declared independent nation, has been waging a campaign to be recognized by the wider world. For now, it is being viewed as part of Somalia.
Food Crisis in Somalia provides regular updates about the current drought and food shortages being faced in Somalia. Up to 2 million people face severe starvation in Somalia. Food Crisis in Somalia appears somewhat pleased with the work being done by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) and not that by what it calls the “bureaucratic and highly disorganized United Nations (UN) agencies.”