* Jessica Stern of the “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program” writes an open letter to President Thabo Mbeki on “Homophobic Violence” in South Africa

In recognition of National Women’s Day, we urge you to ensure that the criminal justice system is capable of responding sensitively, effectively, and promptly to incidents of sexual and hate-based violence. A full investigation of these murders, weighing the possibility that the women’s gender and sexual orientation may have been motivations for their murders, is vital not only to achieving justice but to building trust between the South African Police Service and lesbian communities broadly. Police and other authorities should work closely with groups working for LGBT and women’s rights both in pursuing investigations and developing effective strategies and policies to improve protection.

* Science and Development has a special issue on Climate Change in Africa. One topic we don’t read about very much and maybe we should be just a little concerned?

Africa has contributed less than any other region to the greenhouse gas emissions that are widely held responsible for global warming. But the continent is also the most vulnerable to the consequences.

What are the concerns? Water supplies, food security, health (some countries are seeing increases in malaria). On the positive side there are local adaptive strategies being adopted.

* Wangari Maathai also writes on climate change in the East African

In wealthy countries, the looming climate crisis is a matter of concern, as it will affect both the wellbeing of economies and people’s lives. In Africa, however, a region that has hardly contributed to climate change — its greenhouse gas emissions are negligible when compared with the industrialised world’s — it will * be a matter of life and death.

* Zucky comments on the Yearly Whiteosphere gathering of the Yearly Kos

Shockingly, just shockingly, the blinding whiteness of the liberal blogosphere, as represented at YearlyKos, is seen as a cause for some concern and alienation to people of color who happen to be involved, and merely an annoying tangential subject to white mainstreamers who have more important things to talk about.

* Afro-European Sisters Network - is a site run by Sandra Rafaela. She publishes short stories and poems by African women. She recently started a blog of the same name.

You will read about experiences of black women. Reading the stories of these women will hopefully motivate other black women to express their lives also. The more knowledge shared the more there is to learn. This will create a network where black women can improve themselves by achieving goals an having an overall better way of living.

* Hate speech, blog lynchings, publishing private photos/videos, outing bloggers, flaming, hacking sites, death treats, are some of the cyber nasties taking place on blogs . Joan Walsh of Salon.com writes about a particularly horrible attack on a female programmer. There are others I personally know of, but does anyone really knows how often this is happening? Women seem to be a major target group however anyone could be game for the anon crowd.

* Funmi Iyanda on “new” dress code mania by public officials in Nigeria alongside awful uneducated poor people.

For years, l have told the morality brigade that the average uneducated person who is resentful of his poverty and blames all above him does not know the fine line. Therefore, the subject of indecent dressing is so subjective and potentially prone to abuse it should not be trifled with. Indecent exposure (flashing your privates) yes but indecent dressing? By what standards, religious, ethnic, class? Are these not seeds of discord and disintegration?

* Haiti Liberte is a new monthly newspaper (print and online) which describes itself as a

new forum for the airing of new ideas on how to advance the struggle for Haiti’s liberation. We will do our best, under the difficult conditions of this fight, to defend not only the fundamental rights of the Haitian people, but above all to defend our national soil.

The first edition focuses on Haiti’s long history of foreign occupations and to demanding an end to the present UN occupation. The paper is published in Kreyol, French and English.

From Microscopiq “Note to commenters: I will delete your comment for name calling or generally being obnoxious. I will not delete your comment for disagreeing with me.” Ditto