Global Voices Online

Andrew is trying to create his own electricity in Lesotho: “To bring real electricity we needed bigger 12v batteries. I got one, and the priest has one. The batteries are nice, but my little solar panel is just too small to give them a good charge. That is why we are now trying different methods of creating our own electricity. The priest had the generator which when turned puts out electricity.”

Black Looks opinions about missionary healers in Lesotho: “The clip shows Basotho being healed miraculously. The clip shows the visitors, the healers, through the grace of God, giving sick Basotho their sight back, their legs, their hearing. And it shows the healers insisting that the healees have now been forgiven and saved. I do not disbelieve in miraculous healing. I have been touched by it. But I disbelieve healers…”

Black Looks discusses the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa: “But I was quickly disappointed by the article, even if it spoke some truths that I would agree with. Shunning promiscuity is one of those. But the author also says things like, “since the condom is about safe sex and safe sinning,” it cannot be Jesus’ approach. Now, I don’t know if it would be Jesus’ approach — my worry lies in the fact that the author thinks condoms are for sinning.”

Following the explosion in Nairobi today, Thinkers Room discusses the double edged of personal media: Today has just illustrated the double edged nature of pervasive communication like blogs, email and text messaging. There is no doubt that these platforms are powerful tools for communicating information. There is also no doubt that they are powerful tools for spreading disinformation. The rumours and innuendo that have gotten to me have left me speechless. Some of the accounts have received indicate hundreds dead and the whole block leveled. Blame has been laid at the doors of Al Qaeda, clumsily detonated grenades, Mungiki, time bombs, electronically detonated bombs and mobile phone detonated bombs.

Fade Out blogs about election dispute in Lesotho over Proportional Representation (PR) system: “The Public Eye has a second story here, which says absolutely nothing… However it seems that all sides are firm in their commitment to resolve this issue peacefully.”

Idland blogs about election results in Lesotho:
It is disturbingly impressive to read how Lesotho's two major political parties have exploited the electoral rules to earn themselves about a third more seats in parliament than they were due.

the general election on Saturday:
“Dear Deity… now what? This country of about 2 million people, independent since 1966 from England, with a 30 to 35% rate of HIV infection, one nation with one language and one culture, with a lot of water to sell in the form of electricity or just plain water, this country with some of the biggest diamonds in the world, this country is one of the poorest countries in the world, this country that is often described as “tumultuous” when it comes to politics, has seen its sons and daughters die for it, this country called Lesotho, surrounded entirely by another country, having the highest low point of any country on the planet…”

Idland writes about “institutionalization of development consulting”:
You know you've been institutionalized into development consulting when your only concern about your deliverable is how it will look on the bookshelf where you know it will spend 100% of its life.

Idland has a response to the Financial Post Passport critique of Oprah Winfrey's $40M Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, “So next time you see someone with a Master's degree puffing out his chest and asking, “Aren't there better ways to spend 40 million dollars?”, take a step back and ask yourself, “Why are there only 40 million dollars, and why is it all coming from one person, and what does that tell us?” But if you ask those things out loud, don't puff out your chest, because there are too many people doing that as well.”