James5

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Ron Rosenbaum has more on scam-baiting.

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Nigerians have interesting ideas about romance when it comes to text messages. For example: “I swear, I will make sure I give you HIV…H is for Happiness and joy forever with an I: Incomparable love that will never V: Vanish until death do us part. I love you.”. (Via Blattman)

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Here’s a great article by Michela Wrong on the wrong way to write a book about (set in) Africa. I’m not sure about her gender stereotypes at the end, but there’s some words of wisdom for anyone who is thinking about turning their next African holiday into a book. (Via Uganda Scarlett Lion)

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I just finished listening to an NPR program on “419 Eaters”, people who try and scam the scammers who send those dodgy “I am Ndulu Mwana, former executive of the Bank of Nigeria, and I have $8 million in a bank account and I need your help…” emails. This really terrible. They scam the guy to go all the way to the border of Chad and Sudan, his brother breaks his leg, the guy almost gets killed, they tell him his mother has died, and they laugh the whole time. I just don’t understand how this is acceptable behaviour in any circles. (HT: Blattman).

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I’ve recently rediscovered the world of podcasts, and now wonder why I need a television or radio. The BBC has a a great one called BBC World Service Documentaries. It is a collection of fascinating reports from around the world. Two highly recommended ones: How Crime Took on the World Part Three - a look at the private security industry in South Africa and Policing the Union - an investigation into corruption among UN peacekeepers in the Congo.

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