Dramatic Week: Nigerian Terrorist, Togolese Team Attacked and Oil Curse

This week passed really quickly.

I went back to work, now preparing for the spring semester. I had one friend leaving town (bye Uli!) and one coming back (Hi Tuuli!). It is somehow a big relief that the holidays are over and regular life and routines are back.

But as my personal life settled down, there were some shocking news this week that I'd like to comment on.

The Nigerian Terrorist
As I am sure you heard, a man was caught on board a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit, US with explosives. Some curious facts about this incident was that he was on the list of terrorists, the 550,000 names long list. I guess that list was too long, but that wasn't my point. He hid the explosives in his underpants and is therefore now called the "underpants bomber", but that wasn't my point. He was from Nigeria and started his journey in Ghana, but that wasn't my point either. Yesterday, in a discussion someone said American medias found it suspicious the terrorist bought his ticket in cash. Ha! Last time I bought a plane ticket in Ghana I t-r-i-e-d to pay with a credit card, but was refused. It seems like it is a forgotten fact that many parts of the world runs stricktly on cash. There are many other things to say about this thing, but I'll leave that to my fellow bloggers Oluniyi and Obed.

The Attack on the Togolese Soccer Team
The African Cup of Nations that is supposed to take off tomorrow, Sunday, got to a horrible start when the Togo national team was attacked in DRC Congo on their way to Angola. The bus driver was killed and at least two players plus two other people were injured, according to the BBC. They were supposed to play Ghana for their first match, but the team do not know yet if they can play the tournament at all. This was the main discussion yesterday night and our sympathies go out to our neighbors in Togo!

Investigations into the Ghanaian Oil Sector
The first investigations (?) into Ghana's new oil sector might lead to prosecution according to the Attorney General, Betty Mould Iddrisu. Fear has been raised many times that the financial blessings that come with a big oil find, might be a curse leading to the rich getting richer...Let's see, this investigation might be good news?

Hoping for less drama next week.

Pic: Closing the door to this week and stepping out into the next.

A Degree in Digital Anthropology, Anyone?

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Some exciting news was reported by the Culture Matters blog today here and it is just typical. Only four and a half years too late the graduate degree of my dreams come into being.

Just taste the exotic words D-I-G-I-T-A-L A-N-T-H-R-O-P-O-L-O-G-Y ! Then imagine yourself reading exciting blogs and analyzing Facebook for a living.
Here's some information from the lovely institution University College London (UCL) putting forth this "so 2010!" program:

The new MSc in Digital Anthropology–begun in the Autumn of 2009–is well positioned for becoming a world leader in the training of researchers in the social and cultural dimensions of information technologies and digital media.

Digital technologies have become ubiquitous. From Facebook, Youtube and Flickr to PowerPoint, Google Earth and Second Life. Museum displays migrate to the internet, family communication in the Diaspora is dominated by new media, artists work with digital films and images. Anthropology and ethnographic research is fundamental to understanding the local consequences of these innovations, and to create theories that help us acknowledge, understand and engage with them. Today's students need to become proficient with digital technologies as research and communication tools. Through combining technical skills with appreciation of social effects, students will be trained for further research and involvement in this emergent world.

More can be found on the UCL Anthropology website here.

Too late for me, but maybe just in time for you?