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Ukraine: Tymoshenko’s Courtroom Drama · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

Since late June 2011, former Prime Minister of Ukraine and one of the Orange Revolution‘s leaders, Yulia Tymoshenko, has been on trial in capital Kyiv for abuse of power.
According to investigators, Tymoshenko overstepped her authority when signing a natural gas contract with Russia, as the prices she negotiated with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were too high for the Ukrainian economy. If found guilty she faces up to ten years in prison.
Since the beginning of the trial, netizens inside and outside Ukraine have actively discussed her case. LEvko of Foreign Notes found that the charges were impossible to prove:
So, “Tymoshenko is accused of causing a loss of some $190 million to the Ukrainian state because of a 2009 energy deal she signed with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.”
How can anyone be so sure of this figure?
Has Putin or Gazprom ever admitted on the record that they would have sold the gas in question for $190 million less to NaftoHaz Ukrainy in the event that, in 2009, the Ukrainian side had been represented by anyone else? Not very likely…
So to claim anyone else would have got a better deal is pure conjecture..
While, if found guilty, Tymoshenko faces up to 10 years in jail, many are questioning the fairness of the trial against the leading opposition figure in the country ahead of the 2012 Parliamentary and 2015 Presidential elections. At Opendemocracy.net Natalia Sedletska wrote:
Since President Yanukovych came to power almost 16 months ago, the opposition has been virtually wiped out. Criminal cases are being brought against members of the Yushchenko government, but is this Yanukovych’s fight against corruption? Or are these cases politically motivated?
[…]
Everyone understands Viktor Yanukovych’s main strategy is absolute power: he wishes to have an absolute parliamentary majority, so at least 226 seats out of 450 have to go to the members of his Party of the Regions. This is the stated aim of all Yanukovych’s cronies. The Prosecutor General’s Office has been chosen as the main tool for achieving this goal. Convicts cannot stand for election, which explains the avalanche-like campaign of persecution against the opposition in Yanukovych’s first year in office. All investigations against members of Tymoshenko’s team must be concluded before the start of the pre-election campaign is announced.
The events in the courtroom seemed to do nothing less than reinforce the impression of a politically-motivated trial. The first day of a pre-trial hearing took place in a room of no more than 40 square meters, which, at one time, reportedly held up to a hundred people – conditions that the Head of the European Commission to Ukraine, Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, called “inhuman” [uk] and Tymoshenko compared to a Soviet-time dissident trial.
To make matters worse, on the 6th of July, Judge Kireyev ordered Tymoshenko and her supporters to be removed from the courtroom for disturbing order. This is how blogger Taras of Ukrainiana described the events:
A joke of a trial turned into a show of force after the judge stopped tolerating habitual violations of courtroom order. The ax fell on Tymoshenko and some of her supporters, including MP Mykhailo Kosiv (BYuT), 77, a political prisoner in Soviet times.
Apparently, after police refused to use force against Members of Parliament (MPs), the Berkut special forces were called in to push Tymoshenko’s supporters and journalists out (see videos here). Opposition MP Andriy Shevchenko, who was also present in court, tweeted [uk] about the special treatment he received by Berkut officers:
Вивихнули руку, здається. Не звернув увагу зразу
According to Yulia Tymoshenko, her lawyer was given [uk] one and a half days to familiarize himself with the case of 5000 pages, which resulted in him sleeping for 2-3 hours a day for three days in the row, while also going to the hearings.  On the 8 of July he had to be taken to a hospital.
All of this, however, seems to have only spiked Tymoshenko’s popularity in both Ukraine and abroad. Alexander Motyl of Ukraine's Orange Blues explained it in the following way:
The very last thing you do with a prominent, influential, charismatic, smart, articulate, rich, and photogenic political opponent is put her on trial—for anything. Unless, of course, you really do have a smoking gun and your evidence is incontrovertible. A bad case against a tough defendant is guaranteed to transform Tymoshenko into an international cause célèbre and bring down fire and brimstone on the regime—especially in Europe, which Yanukovych says he wants to join.
The growth of Tymoshenko’s popularity was also evident on Twitter. She currently has accumulated 23,501 followers – a number which rose [uk] sharply from the moment she launched a personal Twitter account and started a live Twitter feed from the courtroom.  Attention to her account was also accelerated by the judge's Wednesday ban on live television broadcast from the hearings.
Twitter user Slavik (@Slavik_Krayevsk) reiterated [uk] a popular conclusion in his message to Tymoshenko:
@YuliaTymoshenko: Незвиртайте уваги на той тиск який чинить на вас янукович, тільки на твіттері ЗА ВАС майже 23,500 тис. Громадян

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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Videos: Tortillas, Chapatis, Bread and More Around the World · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Puto, steamed rice cakes from the Philippines. Image by highlimitzz on Flickr (CC-BY-2.0)
Most cultures accompany their meals with a grain based product; bread, flatbreads and steamed buns are part of people's meals in many places of the world. Today we visit artisans and cooks to see how they prepare and make the food that feeds them and their families.
First we make a stop in France, as baker Vincent Talleu makes croissants, chocolate bread and other similar products using the same dough as the base:
In India, the flatbread known as roti, chapati or parottas accompanies most meals and the technique for making it can get quite showy. Here, we watch a woman cooking roti chapatis in her kitchen, flattening them with a rolling pin on a wooden board, cooking them on a tava or flat metal skillet and then finishing them off on an open flame where they puff up like ballons:
These next videos show variations on the showmanship of flatbread makers: from speed and agility in shaping, flattening and slapping chapatis to cook on the inside of a brick oven to a production line where parottas fly through the air before getting put on a stove:
http://youtu.be/1AbsFDVeQHc
Throughout Central America, the corn tortilla is the staple food of many; although you can purchase freshly made tortillas, some people still cook them following the traditional techniques. In Zacualtipán of Hidalgo, Mexico a century-old kitchen is the stage for corn and masa grinding on a stone metate, palming the tortilla into its round shape and then cooking them on a wood stove:
This woman flattens the tortillas using a piece of plastic bag on a table so that the tortilla can spin while it's being shaped:
In Turkey, the flatbread of choice is the yufka. This next video shows a man rolling the dough out into giant paper thin rounds:
In the Philippines a steamed rice cake called  puto is traditional and can be either eaten on its own or with sweet and savory toppings. Here is a variety using coconut milk and rice flour:
And this one uses regular flour, the result is very similar to pancake batter, but steamed:
http://youtu.be/eKl10kOahi4
In Colombia and Venezuela, the corn masa is used to make arepas, which are thicker than tortillas and come in different varieties and sizes. This next video was uploaded by an itinerant arepa vendor in Cali, Colombia who posts the locations where they can be found throughout the day to sell their cheese arepa, eaten on the street with butter and sometimes condensed milk:
Food blogger Chef John of Foodwishes.com tried his hand at making Venezuelan arepas which he stuffed with pulled pork making his version of what is known in Venezuela as a “hairy” arepa:

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Watching football in Myanmar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

dawn_1o9 blogs about the recent victory of Myanmar's football team against Mongolia. She posts pictures of the game which give a glimpse of the popularity of football in the country.

author: Mong Palatino


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Zambia: Tourism Body Ignores Local Musicians For Rebranding Event · Global Voices
Gershom Ndhlovu

The Zambia Tourist Board, a quasi-government organisation charged with the duty to market the Zambian tourism market, has just rebranded with a new logo. However, to the chagrin of local musicians, the board invited a Paris-based Congolese musician Fally Ipupa to perform at the rebranding function in the capital, Lusaka.
ZTB changed its logo from the decades old “Zambia, the real Africa” to “Zambia, let us explore”. Tourism is Zambia’s third foreign exchange earner after copper mining and agriculture, but in terms of tourist numbers, the country lags behind the big tourist destinations such as Kenya, Egypt and South Africa.
Zambia has over 20 national parks, over 60 waterfalls and a number of other tourists attractions and yet only the smaller South Luangwa National Park is marketed because of its developed infrastructure, and similarly, the Victoria Falls, shared between Zambia and Zimbabwe, is touted more than others waterfalls including the equally magnificent Ntumbachushi and Kalambo Falls which, although narrower, is twice the height of the Victoria Falls. Kafue National Park, which is the largest in Zambia, is half the size of Switzerland.
The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya. The photo has been released into the public domain by its author, John Walker.
In terms of music, the Zambian music industry has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years after lagging behind Congolese Soukous (the African version of Cuban Rumba) and South African Mbaqanga and its other genres. The country has produced good musicians who are now performing in most of Southern African countries and their music being sold all over the world, some of it on iTunes.
Exasperated Zambian tweeps were quick to pick on the ZTB faux pas and quickly took to their gadgets to express their disapproval of the move. One internet radio station, Zambezi Radio which specialises in playing Zambian music even spoke with the chairman of Zambian Union of Musicians (ZUM), Maiko Zulu, a musician himself.
Tweeps did not only discuss the invitation of the foreign musician, they also discussed the weak tourism strategy employed by the Zambian government through the ZTB. @Missbwalya opened the discussion by stating the number of people who took part in the rebranding exercise:
Over 10,000 people around the world participated in the initiative to re-brand Zambia's tourism logo.
@ZedBeats wondered why the Zambia Tourism Board had to use a foreign musician:
I dont know about you, but it doesn't make sense to me that the Zambia Tourism Board will be using a FOREIGN (artist)… http://fb.me/13G0i6O3O
Zambia: Let's Explore. New logo to market Zambia tourism. Photo source: Zambia Tourism Board.
“Typical old-fashioned Zed mentality…,” said @geshgroove:
RT @fytzm: @geshgroove @BradleysEvents @Cephasong Typical old-fashioned Zed mentality that thinks ‘foreign’ is better. #pathetic
@simunza tried to explain why the Congolese musician was chosen:
@missbwalya somebody at the ZNTB is mad that they didin't get to see Fally last year (when he visisted Zambia). The brand relaunch is their excuse for a personal show
@zambeziradio noted that Zambia has many artists:
Oh hell no–>>>Zambia Tourist board bringing which foreigner artist launch Zambian tourism? What Irony? Kupaka ma artists pa Zed [There are a lot of artists in Zambia]!!
@geshgroove posed a question for @missbwalya and @GNdhlovu:
@missbwalya @GNdhlovu have you guys ever attended the world tourism fairs in Europe?you would be upset if you visited Zambia's booth!
@GNdhlovu responded:
@geshgroove @missbwalya Tourism fairs are not enough mwanawesu [my brother]. Nichifye [it is only that] I have proprietary rights to what I'd like to tell Namugala [Zambian Tourism Minister Catherine Namugala] 4 a fee
GNdhlovu again:
@missbwalya The marketing targets wrong people. Tell Namugala to fetch me and I'll tell her one or two things to attract tourists. #Zambia
Do people even know where Zambia is?:
@missbwalya A lot of people abroad don't know jack about #Zambia. They think it is (in) Nigeria or South Africa. Or the Vic (Victoria) Falls is Niagara.
Why does Zambia receive so few tourists?:
Zambia only receives 800k tourists annually. Can someone say “missed opportunities?”
@missbwalya pointed out the height of Zambia's hopelessness:
@GNdhlovu The height of our hopelessness was inability to attract tourists who came for #WC2010. Even unstable Zim [Zimbabwe] does better.
As if the change of logo and invitation of a foreign musician were no enough, one tweep who owns a lodge in Livingstone, the city that is home to the Victoria Falls, thinks that the new logo is uncannily similar to his lodge’s. He tweeted:
@GNdhlovu #Zambia > Check the new Tourism logo then check the Chanters Lodge logo and tell me what you see
Another tweep agreed:
@livilodge @gndhlovu The logos are similar mmmhh! Interesting
South Africa hosted the World Cup, the premier world soccer event, in 2010 which attracted millions of people to Southern Africa. Zambian is less than two hours flight from South Africa and ironically, that country’s tour operators market the Victoria Falls together with that country’s Kruger National Park and other tourist destinations.
Maybe the question that deserves an answer is: Is the hiring of Ipupa reflective of tourism marketing which largely ignores the potential in local tourism in preference for dollar wielding foreign tourists?

author: Gershom Ndhlovu


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Argentina: Incumbent Mayor Macri Dominates First Round of Buenos Aires Elections · Global Voices
Fanny Rahmouni

The day after the celebration of Argentina's Independence on July 9, Buenos Aires’ first electoral round gave a conformable victory to the center-right incumbent mayor Mauricio Macri, who won with 47.1% of the vote. He will now have to confront Frente Para la Victoria's candidate Daniel Filmus –who has the support of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner– in a runoff vote. The other main candidate was leftist politician Fernando “Pino” Solanas, who obtained a disappointing 12.8% in what turned out to be a very polarized election, as Daniel Filmus and Mauricio Macri actually raised 75% of the votes between the two of them.
The results were announced late Sunday night and took many militants of Frente Para la Victoria by surprise. Indeed, most of the opinion polls [es] were showing more balanced results the week before the election, and none of them predicted a 20% difference between the two leading candidates.
Election day in Buenos Aires. Image by Jorge Gobbi (CC BY 2.0)
In Ojos Porteños [es], Silvia Mercado underlines the fact that, in her opinion, Filmus’ results didn't live up to his expectations:
Daniel Filmus se enfrenta hoy a un dilema de hierro: perder el 31 de julio o perder el 31 de julio. Está claro que no tiene opciones…. Triste destino. Hasta el día anterior, estaba absolutamente convencido de que llegaría al 35 y hasta el 36 por ciento, que había descontado en las dos últimas semanas la distancia con Mauricio Macri. Se sostenía en la idea de que los porteños deciden siempre a último momento a quién votar.
Daniel Filmus is now facing a harsh dilemma: to lose on July 31 or to lose on July 31. It is clear that he has no options… Sad destiny. Until the day before, he was entirely convinced that he would reach 35 or even the 36 percent, that he had cut the gap with Mauricio Macri. He held to the idea that residents of Buenos Aires always decide who to vote for in the last minute.
French translator and essayist Anne Clavilier analyses the causes of that electoral reversal in Barrio de Tango [fr]:
Les causes de cette différence entre les derniers sondages… qui situait les deux candidats dans la fourchette des 30 à 40% d'intentions de vote, et le résultat du scrutin réel sont encore difficiles à identifier mais il ne fait guère de doute que le scandale Schoklender y est pour quelque chose… Il est vraisemblable aussi que, pour mettre à mal le pouvoir de séduction de Mauricio Macri (7) et la puissance des organes de presse hostiles à la candidature de la gauche péroniste, il aurait fallu au Frente para la Victoria un programme autrement argumenté alors que le candidat a beaucoup compter sur la popularité et le bon bilan de la Présidente.
Yet, when analyzing the elections’ figures, many commentators emphasize the singular political tradition of Buenos Aires compared to the rest of the country.
In the blog Artepolítica [es], contributor ‘Basurero’ puts the electoral success of Mauricio Macri into perspective:
No hay lugar para el asombro al ver el triunfo electoral del macrismo (de la derecha) en la ciudad más importante del país, tan refractaria al peronismo como a la izquierda… Y más aún cuando luego de 10 años de crecimiento económico y de un consumo popular y clasemediero, y sabiendo que la población que vota PRO no utiliza los hospitales publicos, las escuelas públicas, los medios de transporte públicos (en su mayoría), ni nada de lo que el macrismo desdeña en su gestión política… Vemos así que la ciudadanía porteña se polarizó nuevamente mostrando su tradicional perfil ideológico.
For Twitter user @AyatollahRVP , Fimus obtained a good result, given the political profile of the city:
No sé por qué tanta depresión de los kirchneristas: 28% es buen porcentaje para el FPV en capital.
Mauricio Macri on election day in Buenos Aires, after results were published. Image from Mauricio Macri's Flickr account (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Eva Row, in the bog La Cosa y La Otra [es], gives her own interpretation of the electoral tradition of Buenos Aires:
El porteño vota al macho. Macho es el que consigue superar al mayor poder… Entre Filmus y Macri, el hombre… elige votar al macho de Macri, el que sonríe y se burla el poder instituído, el poder de la política, ese mismo poder que lo tiene tan olvidado y resentido.
In her Twitter account, Cinthia Zancoli (@cinthiazancoli ) expresses a similar opinion:
Macri resulta 1 tipo carismatico y seductor para los ignorantes polítcos…
Blogger Daniel Mancuso [es] makes the same diagnosis, yet with a different assessment:
la Capital es el distrito electoral más especial de la República, y nada de lo que ocurra ahí es indicativo de lo que pueda ocurrir a nivel nacional. Es un distrito rebelde, el de la ciudad de Buenos Aires, desde tiempos inmemoriales… Hoy esa ciudad orgullosa vota de nuevo contra lo que el país dice que va a votar.
In the blog Discepolin [es], Mariana Moreno underlines the interlocking of local and national politics. According to her, it is the persisting conflict between the national government and Mauricio Macri that made the latter's electoral success possible:
El insulso Macri, que en cualquier país normal sería un candidato moderado y en la Argentina pre kirchnerista podría ser un afiliado radical, ha sido convertido por el partido gobernante en el “enemigo público numero 1″ y sometido una guerra implacable y cotidiana que paraliza a la ciudad, la priva de policía, corta sus calles, las llena de ladrones y narcos protegidos … los porteños tuvieron su momento de venganza y respuesta: votaron en masa por Macri, aumentando el caudal que obtuvo 4 años atrás a pesar de una gestión inoperante y paralizada.
For Twitter user Ariel Mayo (@mayoariel) it is time to learn a lesson from the results of this election:
Si la política fuera como el fútbol ¿haríamos cambios, no? Tipo: sale Dany, entra Carlos. Sale Juan, entra cualquiera.
Nevertheless, the electoral race is far from over, given the importance of the capital's vote with a view to the presidential caucus on August 14. The suspense still hangs in the balance until the second round of voting in the capital, planed for July 31.

author: Fanny Rahmouni


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Bahamas: Facebook Discussion Etiquette  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Rick Lowe at Weblog Bahamas thinks that “genuine discussion” on Facebook “has gone the way of the Dodo bird”, adding: “Invective might be fun, but it serves no purpose other than to attempt to cut a conversation/discussion off.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: A Conversation with Dr. Muhammad yunus · Global Voices
Rezwan

An Ordinary Citizen recently met Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus at the Social Business Day event in Dhaka and shares a conversation with him.

author: Rezwan


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Bermuda: Urgent Need for Governance Legislation  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Five years have passed since Bermuda “agreed to extend the UN Convention Against Corruption ‘at the earliest opportunity'”; Vexed Bermoothes thinks action is long overdue.


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Bolivia: Images of Everyday Life in El Alto · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Pablo Andrés Rivero shares [es] a slideshow by photographer Patricio Cooker with music by rapper Ukamau y Ke: “The pictures reflect everyday life in El Alto, one of the most sui generis cities in Latin America, because of its rapid growth and its peculiar social, economic, and political dynamics.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: Dealing with heat wave · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ministry of Tofu has collected a series of photos showing how ordinary Chinese people deal with heat wave.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Detained Tibetan Writer Severely Beaten · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

High Peaks Pure Earth translates Woser's blogpost on July 7 2011 about the detention and mistreatment of young Tibetan writer Pema Rinchen by the Chinese authority.


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China: Political Terms · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Qian Gang analyses Chinese President Hu Jintao’s report delivered on July 1, 2011, to the conference commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by looking into the frequency of CCP leaders’ trademark political terms in his speech.


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Cuba: Roldán the Composer  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

AfriClassical profiles Amadeo Roldán (1900-1939), an Afro-Cuban composer, violinist, conductor and professor.


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Cuba: The Challenges of Agriculture  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Iván García blogs about the experience of a farmer who is convinced that “the main responsibility for the scarcity of agricultural and cattle products is the Cuban government.”


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El Salvador: The Challenges of Urbanization · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Voices from El Salvador says that urbanization is becoming “increasingly problematic, specifically in terms of poverty, violence and health. […] El Salvador does not have the necessary mechanisms in place to offer everyone in the cities the resources and services they need to pursue a better life.”


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Indonesia: Rage Over Death of Maid in Saudi · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Indonesians reacted strongly when it was reported that Ruyati, 54, a migrant worker from West Java, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia last month. The woman was found guilty of killing her employer, who Ruyati claimed had abused her.
Aside from condemning the action taken by the Saudi government, Indonesia has banned the sending of maids to Saudi until a new agreement is signed that would protect the rights of migrants and maid workers.
Here are some reactions from the blogosphere. Pipi questioned why parents are allowing their daughters to work as maids in another country:
Ruyati was beheaded on June 18.
It’s just a matter of time before people start asking “What in the world are Indonesian men doing with their life, so bad that they have to send their women to Saudi Arabia?” In a country where men and women are not allowed to work together, we are sending our women to live together with men as their employer. In a country where women were forced to remain in their “proper place” our women are being treated not so proper after all. Now that we know it, what are we going to do?
This tweet became popular after news of the beheading was leaked out:
Why bother going for a pilgrimage (Hajj) to a country that can only execute beast-like punishments?
Yuke doesn’t agree with the tone of the message:
I have no rights whatsoever to choose the holy land, and make an obligation to make a sacred journey there. Thus making a correlation between governmental/law system and pilgrims embargo would be like finding a missing link between calculus and donkey. Think the way she thinks, anti-Americans will decide to stop doing pilgrimage to McDonalds and Starbucks, or anti-semitists refuse using Microsoft Windows because most people think Gate’s a Jewish and buy Mercedes Benz instead.
Multibrand hopes the government would be more aggressive in protecting the rights of migrant workers:
I hope that from now on our government would pay much more serious attention on our workers who are working abroad, i.e. conclude agreements with foreign governments that provide strong protection for our workers working in their countries, make sure that they are well trained and skilled before they are send abroad. All of which is necessary because our workers abroad contributed big amount of foreign currency to our country.
Colson criticizes the beheading:
And punishments should be in accordance with human rights.
However this is a disgusting regime, a desert culture, suffering from an arrogant attitude towards women, a contemptuous attitude towards minorities and a cruelly outdated justice system.
The country's population deserves much better – a touch of the Arab spring for instance.
Governments of all civilized countries should condemn loud and clear this execution and put political pressure on Saudi Arabia to modernize .
(Unfortunately all will keep silent: Saudi Arabia controls the ( oil) lifeline of the capitalist countries and the spiritual lifeline of Islam countries).
Unspun clarifies that the apology of Saudi officials was not about the beheading but its failure to inform Indonesian authorities about the execution:
Misleading headline: The Saudi government only apologized for not informing beforehand about the execution, not about executing the maid. The real problem is the beheading, not so much the lack of diplomatic niceties.
Jack Lato is disappointed over the president’s failure to promote the welfare of migrants:
A PROMISE is a commitment. That’s why, a promise coming from a feudalistic authority such as Indonesia’s, remains questionable until proven. Still, many Indonesians, particularly migrant workers who in many cases find themselves helpless in poverty without any access to justice, broke down in tears on hearing the elegant promises soundly expressed by our president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.


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Macedonia, Tunisia, Egypt: Comparing Experiences · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

SlavicaI compares the features of Macedonian protests with those in Egypt and Tunisia, based on shared experiences by participants of the Summer University at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Tarragona, Spain).

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Pakistan: Liberation Of South Sudan A Lesson · Global Voices
Rezwan

Habib R. Sulemani opines that the liberation of South Sudan has a lesson for India and Pakistan.


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Russia: Arctic environment and exploitation · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Mia Bennet at Foreign Policy Blog writes about plans for a dual exploitation and environmental cleanup of the Russian Arctic.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia: Cruiser Catastrophe Causes Questions · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

On Sunday afternoon, July 10, 2011, the “Bulgaria” cruise-ship capsized on the Kuibyshev dam of the Volga river. According to official figures [ru], 129 passengers are still missing and have supposedly perished in the waves.
How people react to disaster and catastrophe is often quite telling of the times and circumstances they live in, and what they expect from the future. In disaster-ridden Russia, such tragic events are often an opportunity to display national unity in commemoration of the victims, which people usually show great respect and reverence to. Thus, President Dmitry Medvedev declared [ru] 12 July, 2011, a national day of mourning.
Still, reading Russia's blogosphere, the sense of national foreboding seems to overshadow that of mourning, as – for many bloggers – the sunk vessel comes to symbolize the future fate of Russia.
Volga steamer the "Bulgaria" on its way up river. Image by Wikipedia.
At first though, the deplorable state of the ship was a subject of intense discussion, both in mainstream media and on blogs. Whereas information is diverse and varies, the overall impression is that of a floating coffin. The relatively moderate – and changing – data on the “Bulgaria” on Russian Wikipedia [ru] is quite telling: Built in 1955, no waterproof bulkheads, no major overhauls, name-change last year, low lateral stability, leaving port with a 5 percent starboard list, left engine out of order, 208 people on board instead of the assigned 140 maximum; all in all led it to sink in merely three minutes.
One does not have to be a sailor to see that “Bulgaria” was not seaworthy, and one can only imagine the number of hurdles the people running it must have jumped to get it past naval safety inspection and other controls.
Feelings of anger and wrath are also raging among bloggers. Voices from Russia expresses the many demands for vengeance, but also exploits the tragedy in calling for a more authoritarian Russia:
Suffice it to say, heads are gonna roll as a result of this. The responsible parties are gonna get learned, kiddies… they’re going to absorb the full meaning and implications of каторга (katorga: forced labour) in Correctional Colony 1313 in the Sakha Republic… or, they’ll have the pleasure of the multifarious joys of Correctional Colony 3131 on Cape Anadyr. They fought the law and the law won! It ain’t nice to fool around with Papa VVP… things tend to happen (like bustin’ rocks under the Arctic sun). It’s not like the Republican Wonderland of Texas… where Kenneth Lay of Enron fame (pal of GWB and loudmouthed Born-again “Christian”) didn’t serve a day in prison. You can have an attitude like Russia’s, where miscreant businessmen go to jail… or, you can have an attitude like Texas, where buccaneer businessmen are coddled. In 2012, you can choose… choose well… for you’ll not get a “second chance”.
Contrary to this, a great number of bloggers show distrust towards government authority, pointing to its recorded pattern of bad information management even when confronted by obvious crises and disasters. Thus, initial official information of the Bulgaria catastrophe spoke of an accident but no casualties.
An early comment, by LJ user 999allan999 responds to this simply by presenting [ru] a number of assorted news items on the accident with the suggestive title:
Как обычно. Сначала официально-бодрое «жертв нет»…
LiveJournal user shri_boomer – a naval officer himself – relates [ru] to this, but also voices his loathing of the people on passing ships who filmed the Bulgaria's drowning passengers:
Во время этой трагедии, поразила не только неспособность государства, дать какую-то вразумительную информацию обществу, но и  то, что мимо тонущего судна спокойно проходили другие теплоходы, а люди стоявшие на палубе снимали трагедию на видеокамеры и телефоны. Эта  дикость, от которой мурашки бегут по коже, свидетельствует только об одном: люди настолько зачерствели, что перестали быть людьми.
Recollecting merely the most recent disasters, shri_boomer goes on [ru] criticizing the government's tendency to write off everything that does not work and increase control of that which still seems to work, although nobody will obey:
Налицо все признаки того, что питерская ОПГ, теряет контроль в управлении страной [—]. Каждый день государственная власть  поражает нас новшествами по усилению безопасности граждан и обустройству России.
Взорвалась бомба в Домодедово – досмотр пассажиров ужесточить, Домодедово отобрать. [—]
Списать  самолеты «Ан», списать вертолеты Ми-8, списать речной флот. Да, что там, списать устаревшего девяносто процентов трамвайно-тролейбусного парка страны, десятки тысяч автобусов, миллионы километров водопроводных труб и линий передач, сотни ТЭЦ и ГЭС. Все это нужно списать, а досмотр пользователей  ужесточить. [—]
После всего этого можно будет списать население. И тогда наступит настоящий День Траура. Жаль только, что соблюдать его будет некому, ибо придет Время Троглодитов.
Drawing on similar sentiments, LiveJournal user dr_lunikoff compares [ru] the era of the Soviet demise with today's situation:
В связи с этим вспомнился стишок 1989 года, который ходил тогда у нас по рукам и из-за которого нас чуть из школы не выгнали. Стишок был выучен наизусть (чтоб не быть пойманным с крамолой на руках), потому и запомнился. Он описывал самые заметные ужасы катастройки (в частности, гибель теплохода “Адмирал Нахимов” в 1986 году) и до ужаса был похож на сегодняшние реалии:
Утопили пароход,
Пропустили самолет,
Наркоманов развели,
СПИД в Россию завезли
И какая-то пи..да
С рельсов валит поезда…
A ship sank,
A plane was lost,
Addicts spread,
AIDS was brought to Russia,
And whatever f…ing else
And the trains are sliding off the rails…
Finally, Viktor Perfilov of Kazanskie vedomosti sums up [ru] the feelings:
Я невольно вспоминаю ту известную фразу Путина о АПЛ “Курск”, хотя в то время мне и 10 лет не было
– Что случилось с Вашей лодкой?
– Она утонула
А Медведев пока не нашел, что сказать на сей счёт. Системный кризис [—] проявляется всё больше, а положение лучше не становится. И лучше при нынешней ситуации вряд ли станет…


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Russia-USA: Looming lobbying scandal · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

John Helmer of Dancing With Bears reports about a looming lobbying scandal in Washington, DC, where senior US officials allegedly have been intensely courted by PR-people, employed by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, trying to influence US policy towards Russia.


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Sao Tome and Principe: Saving a Cultural Crossroads · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The celebration of Sao Tome and Principe's 36th anniversary of independence, on July 12, involves cultural and traditional events being held throughout the country. These performances reflect the five centuries long colonial past of Sao Tome, during which many workers settled there for the production of sugar, cocoa and coffee. Moreover, having acted as “a transit point for ships engaged in the slave trade between the West and continental Africa”, the foreign influences in local traditions still persist to the present.
Though the Santomean “online stage” is still quite small, the blog Património de São Tomé (Heritage of Sao Tome), created in 2008 and only maintained during a school year of a class on Historical Heritage from a program on Tourism, has played a very important role in documenting the country's unique traditions. The coordinator of the class, teacher Marta Gomes, explained  [pt] :
Tchiloli by Grupo Forrmiguinha da Boa Morte – São Tomé, August 2009. Video by Alexandra Dumas on YouTube.
São Tomé e Príncipe constitui um centro de congregação de vários povos. Como resultado desta mistura, temos a assimilação de várias tradições, costumes e culturas trazidas essencialmente pelas pessoas que vieram trabalhar nas ilhas a título de trabalho contratado.
A port of entry for cultural influences
Sao Tome has inspired many foreign artists for creations linked to the diaspora. Such is the case of the famous Capeverdean song by Cesaria Evora Sodade (Longing) and the dramatization of the Capeverdean famine of 1947 (Fome 47, by Simentera), which lead the Portuguese colonial administration to bring hundreds of people to Sao Tome. But settlers didn't come to Sao Tome only from Portuguese speaking countries. International links from many corners of the world have become part of Santomean culture itself.
One of the most original examples of foreign influences in the country – leading some to argue [it] it is the most important – is called Tchiloli. The origin of its authorship [pt] and how it was introduced [pt] in Sao Tome is uncertain: whether it “has come from France, gone through Spain, eventually making it to Portugal” or if it was written by a blind Portuguese poet from the island of Madeira called Baltazar Dias or even if it has come from Brazil, opinions differ. What is known is that Tchiloli:
is performed by prominent men of certain quarters of the island (…). The main roles are transmitted from generation to generation. Dressed in European clothes (mainly women costumes) and wearing masks, the male actors narrate a Renaissance text with music and dance, turning this spectacle into an extravagant cultural manifestation of African and European heritage.
There are collections of citizen videos and photos available online, as well as a short documentary from 1988. In this interview titled  “Masks and Myths” by Inês Gonçalves e Kiluanje Liberdade (with English subtitles), one of the actors explains what it takes to be part of the cast of Tchiloli:
Danço Congo (I Dance Congo), also known as The Captain's Dance, is also one of the main cultural performances and was brought to Sao Tome and Principe from Congo by workers in the colonial time. It is thoroughly described [pt] by Angolan dancer and researcher Miriam Machado as a “frenetic, colorful, spectacular theatrical dance, with a strong – almost violent – choreography”, which can be seen in a video by Alexandra Dumas on YouTube.
Danco Congo, on the blog Patrimonio de Sao Tome
Danço Congo is often staged on the celebrations of the independence day, and Miriam tells us about an interesting particularity it has:
O Danço Congo foi proibido na época colonial porque as autoridades alegavam que o seu ritmo frenético extenuava os dançarinos, diminuindo o seu rendimento no trabalho.
Another full version of the story [pt] is also published on the blog Patrimonio de Sao Tome as told by the President of the cultural group Danço Congo Mine-Carocel de Almeirim, Libiano Frota, who regrets that the tradition is “vanishing”, due to little support from the authorities responsible for the area of culture but not only:
se eu morresse agora, o Danço de Congo morreria no mesmo instante, isto porque os jovens só querem saber de jaca, safu, mangas, cartas e futebol, nada de Danço de Congo.
A call to preserve culture
On a post in Spirito Santo‘s blog describing Danço Congo as “unbelievable cultural resistance”, Helder D'ava, a Santomean citizen, commented [pt]:
É pena que em S.T.P.(terra minha), tanto por parte das autoridades como das comunidades locais, estas actuações não são reconhecidas os seus potenciais valores, o que vem resultando no seu desaparecimento a cada dia que passa.
Danço Congo, a screenshot of Alxandra Dumas video taken from the blog Spirito Santo
Some solutions to “preserve the history of Sao Tome so that the future generations have a legacy worth of respect and appreciation” are pointed out [pt] by the students of the class on Historical Heritage:
os escritores deviam dedicarem-se mais à escrita da história (…) de todas as manifestações culturais;
a televisão São-tomense devia ter um espaço aberto para expor estas manifestações culturais;
o Estado devia actuar de forma mais activa e directa para a promoção destes grupos culturais.
Apelamos, também, à população em geral a respeitar os saberes e as tradições ancestrais como parte do património colectivo de uma nação, lançando campanhas de educação patrimonial, consciencializando as pessoas a valorizarem as suas tradições e o respeito pela diversidade cultural.
writers should devote themselves more to the writing of history (…) of all cultural performances;
Sao Tome television should have an open space to display these cultural expressions;
the State should act more actively and directly to the promotion of these cultural groups.
We also call for the general public to respect ancestral knowledge and traditions as part of the collective heritage of a nation by launching campaigns for education on heritage, to raise awareness of the value of people's traditions and [promote] respect for cultural diversity.

author: Sara Moreira


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South Korea: Skin Problems Occurred by Tear Gas Solution · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

More than seven thousand protesters clashed with the police on July 10 in a rally against unfair layoffs at Hanjin Heavy  Industries. The Wiki Tree site consolidated photos of protesters who reported skin problems after exposure to tear gas solution the police fired at them.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: Smooth Operator  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires thinks that “the People’s Partnership appears to be living in interesting times.”


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Tunisia: Registration for Elections Start, Technical Snags Reported  · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This page is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
Tunisians started registering on electoral lists yesterday (July 11, 2011). The registration process will continue until August 2. Tunisians are due to cast their votes on October  23 to elect a constituent assembly, which will write their country's new constitution. Technical snags are already being reported.
The election was supposed to take place on July 24 but the Independent Commission for the Election delayed it for “technical and logistical” reasons. The delay outraged many Tunisians who were eager to vote in a democratic environment for the first time in their lives.
"I Vote to Build My Tunisia and that of my Children", photo on Facebook Page "Tunisians Stand up and Register on Electoral Lists"
Facebookers created an event called “Tunisiens debout inscrivez vous sur les listes électorales” (Stand up Tunisians and register on the electoral lists) [fr], to encourage their compatriots to register before it is too late.
The following message was published on the blog Kissa-Online:
سارعوا في تسجيل اسماءكم بالقاءمات الإنتخابية ابتداء من يوم 11 جويلية…و توعية اصدقاءكم و افراد عاإلاتك بضرورة ممارسة حقهم الانتخابي لاول مرة في تاريخ تونس…
انشروا المعلومة…
The Independent Commission for the Election created a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account to answer all  questions concerning the different steps of the constituent assembly election.
Tunisian Twitter users used the hash tag #tnelec to express their views, feelings, and ask questions about the registration process, and the election. Here are some of their reactions:
@Olfa_Riahi: N'oubliez pas de vous inscrire sur les listes électorales du 11 juillet au 2 Août. C impératif! Je vote, tu votes, ils dégagent !
@inesTN: Ouf ! J ai enfin trouve ma carte d identite. Demain matin je m inscris pour les elections :)
@Mira404: Pour la première fois de ma vie je vais voter! Cet après-midi je vais m'inscrire à mon consulat! #tnelec
Positivity and optimism reign among Tunisian bloggers, as they are only a few steps from voting in what is meant to be the first free and fair elections in the history of Tunisia. However, some are suspicious about the inability of the Tunisian authorities to register seven million voters in three weeks.
@Houssein: Je me demande comment ils comptent enregistrer 7 millions d'électeurs potentiels en 3 semaines! Mission impossible… #tnelec #ISIE
@Ooouups: ils peuvent tous rever ms moi je dis les élections c en 2012 #Tunisie #Tnelec
Moncef Marzouki, president of the political party, the Congress for the Republic, went to register his name on Monday morning, but he claims he wasn't registered because of technical reasons. He says [ar] on his party's Facebook page:
هذا اليوم هو أول يوم للترسيم في القوائم الانتخابية(…) فقررت أن أغتنم الفرصة لأسجل اسمي وخوفا من الصف قررت أن أذهب باكرا للبلدية . الثامنة والربع تقدمت لموظف اسأله عن الاجراءات فاعتذر أنه لم يصل أحد من المكلفين بالتسجيل وما عليّ إلا الرجوع لاحقا(…)  هكذا رجعت بعد ساعتين لأكتشف ثلاثة موظفين وراء حواسيبهم استقبلوني(…)  طلبني أحدهم بطاقة التعريف وعرضها على قارئ ضوئي يبدو أنه لم يفهم شيئا من بطاقتي فأخذ الموظف ينقر على حاسوبه ربع ساعة ثم أحال البطاقة المشبوهة لزميله الذي لم ينجح في فكّ رموزها وأخيرا أعادها لي قائلا” ثمة مشاكل ، ارجع غدوة”
The Independent Commission for the Election delayed the election because of technical problems; three months remain until election day, and Tunisian authorities seem unable to overcome the issues. Meanwhile, the streets, that accepted one delay, seem to be running out of patience.
This page is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.

author: Afef Abrougui


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Ukraine: Timoshenko trial worries · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LevKo of Foreign Notes discusses his impressions that Ukrainians are becoming increasingly worried about the alleged show-trial against former Premier and opposition leader Yulia Timoshenko; worries that now arguably extend to an increasing number of President Yanukovich's supporters.


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Venezuela: 200 Years of Independence  · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

During the week of July 5, 2011, Venezuela marked the celebration of its 200th year of independence from Spain and the profound reflection that has taken place in the majority of the countries in Latin America. The country's history, told from the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors has been restated, 200 years after the idea for a nation came from the French revolution and the independence of the United States in North America.
Significant participation in the celebrations was seen online, with people sharing their congratulations, and posting joyous comments and videos of the dances, parades and concerts. Nevertheless, the division in Venezuelan political opinion did not stop for the party, and many bloggers took the occasion of the bicentennial to share their reflections on their country's history and identity.
Many are happy to mark the 200 years of national history amidst a process of change and rethinking supported by initiatives from Hugo Chávez's government. Nonetheless, at the same time, others lament the historic antecedents, still hazy and barely explored, present in social and political life within circumstances that remain difficult for the entire country.
A bit more context is possible in an article on the history of Venezuela on Wikipedia.
March for the bicentennial in Caracas. July 3, 2011. Image from Camilo Delgado Castilla, under Demotix copyright.
In his post “El Bicentenario impropio” (The Improper Bicentennial) [es], Le Corvo Mecanique reflects on and highlights the historic significance of July 5. He notes that on this day, a declaration of independence was created, “a will of separation” that must be analyzed in a profound manner, far from irrational, nationalist orders:
La independencia de Venezuela, el comienzo del nacimiento de este país, fue un parto apresurado. Si se quiere, fue el primer gran movimiento esnobista de las élites de esta región. Ser una colonia era algo ya, en los 1800, demodé para las finas pretensiones y gustos románticos de las clases educadas (…) Pero así sucedieron las cosas, Venezuela se cortó el cordón umbilical. Nació a pesar de una gestación impropia, nació de las palabras, de los impulsos franceses, de las constituciones estadounidenses, de la ambición de un hijo de españoles, de la indiferencia indígena (…)La historia se encargaría de hacérnoslo cobrar…
The text continues:
¿Qué es ser venezolano? He allí la pregunta más grande, la más difícil, la más importante ante este bicentenario. (…) Todavía somos un amasijo en plena formación, falta mucho para responder. Somos una suerte de Roma caída, que busca nuevos senderos y organizaciones culturales. Sin embargo, la claridad es menester cuando se describe lo que no somos. No podemos hallar identidad nacional en lo sincrético; no podemos enorgullecernos de ser una mezcla de razas y credos, por ejemplo. Tampoco podemos hallar identidad en lo que no hemos elegido, pues ni las “mujeres bellas”, ni los parajes hermosos, ni nuestros recursos naturales son un constructo de un esfuerzo nacional.
JDR, in his blog, El Discurso del Oeste [es], points out the disasters from the war of independence, its causes, and the aspects that very few discuss:
Así, poco después del 5 de julio de 1811 asistimos al conocido holocausto en el cual dos porciones del mismo pueblo se despedazaron mutuamente defendiendo u hostilizando en contra de ideas, propuestas o nociones de las cuales no sabía un carajo: ni los “realistas” pobres habían visto nunca a ningún maldito rey y por lo tanto no tenían que profesarle ningún afecto, ni los “patriotas” pobres sabían qué cosa era eso de “patria”, “nación” ni “república”, como no fuera algo que le interesaba mucho al patrón y por lo tanto había que defenderlo o salir a buscarlo.
Pero los próceres de la independencia nunca serán llamados realistas; sólo los pobres insurrectos, los pobres manipulados, los pobres en rebelión, hemos merecido desde siempre las peores acusaciones e insultos. Historia patria no es historia del pueblo: esta es oscura y narrada en voz baja; la otra es celebrada y glorificada con pompa y escándalo.
And so, not long after July 5, 1811, we attend the known holocaust in which two portions of the same people tore themselves to shreds mutually defending and harassing each other against ideas, proposals or notions about which they did not know the slightest: the poor “realists” had never seen a damn king and therefore did not have to show him the least bit sympathy, not even the poor “patriots” knew what this “patriotism,” “nation” or “republic” was, as it had not been something that interested the patron and therefore had to defend or go in search of it.
But the  national heroes of the independence will never be called realists; only the poor rebels, the poor manipulated people, the poor in rebellion, we have always deserved the worst accusations and insults. Patriotic history is not the history of the village: this one is dark and narrated quietly; the other is celebrated and glorified with pomp and circumstance.
In blogs Venezuela en el Ojo del Huracán [es] and Se Habla Venezolano [es] the uncertainty following President Hugo Chávez's diagnosis with cancer, after the weeks of silence and the panorama between the bicentennial celebration of Independence and the problems that the country faces, is widely discussed. Both bloggers argue Venezuela's ideological dependency on Cuba and the celebration of an independence that turns out doubtful:
Para nosotros los ciudadanos venezolanos no hubo ni el más mínimo gesto de respeto por parte ni del Presidente, ni de las autoridades a quienes les compete informar al pueblo venezolano, cual era el estado de salud que lo mantenía silencioso y gobernando desde Cuba, situación que se mantiene después de casi tres semanas fuera del país.
¿Qué independencia de qué están celebrando los Chavistas? ¿La subordinación a Cuba? ¿El desembarco de funcionarios militares cubanos por Puerto Cabello antes de ayer? . ¿La violación de las instituciones Venezolanas con la contratación de cubanos para los puestos claves?
On his part, Gabriel García, in his blog Si no Estoy ahí es que no Fui [es] mentions, with some humor, that which he felt was important during the celebration, that which did not kick some caustic ideas to the side:
Todo esto pasó en el Paseo Los Próceres (el Sam Bodromo venezolano) parecía carnaval con carrosas,corografias,papelillo y vendedores de cotufas por todos lados (pero quede mal! no dio tiempo para la samba y las garotas D:).Describieron todo lo que tenían los jugueticos (nada mas le falto decir que tipo de gasolina utilizan los tanques u.u), les soy sicero!? creo que estaban haciendo una exhibición para vender esos juegues (…)
In response to many of the criticisms, Carlos Sánchez [es] highlighted the points that made this July 5 a significant celebration and a reason for Venezuelans to unite:
Aunque algunos venezolanos se sintieron excluidos de las celebraciones del Bicentenario de Venezuela hay que evaluar el porque quizás los prejuicios hicieron que ellos mismos se auto- excluyeran de las actividades.
El gobierno venezolano desarrolló desde el 2010 distintas actividades que con estrategias comunicacionales crearon expectativas en la población venezolana que celebraron hoy el dia de la Indenpendencia de Venezuela.
Leyendo en las redes sociales, algunos solo criticaron las actividades realizadas para el Bicentenario porque quizás se sentían excluidos o simplemente por ser “opositores” al gobierno actual y quizás sintieron que tenían que contrariar las celebraciones, pero esto a quien beneficia?
Sin duda alguna que a nadie beneficia, porque quizás se crean mayores resentimientos en los venezolanos; serian estrategias comunicacionales mal enfocadas que solo presentaban las celebraciones a un sector de la población que apoya al gobierno?
Although some Venezuelans felt excluded from the Venezuelan Bicentennial celebrations, they have to evaluate the reason that perhaps the prejudice made them self-exclude themselves from the activities.
Starting in 2010, the Venezuelan government developed distinct activities that, with communication strategies, created the expectation within the Venezuelan population that they celebrate the Venezuelan Independence today.
Reading on social networks, some only criticize the activities that took place for the bicentennial because maybe they felt excluded or simply for being in “opposition” to the current government and perhaps they felt that they had to go against the celebrations, but who does that benefit?
Without a single doubt it benefits no one, because perhaps they create strong feelings of resentment in Venezuelans; why would they be poorly focused communication strategies if they only presented the celebrations to a sector of the population that supports the government?
Along general lines, the bicentennial moment is understood as one of balances, of seeing accounts to know what has happened since 1811 and understanding that which has passed after the birth of the republic.
Finally, one aspect of the discussion calls attention to itself: according to the tweets, the shared videos across the Internet and the general comments, participation of younger Venezuelans was the element that most moved and reconciled diverse opinions. In the frame of contradictions and confusion of identity, if one thing attained clarity, it was the force and significance of these groups and other expressions in Venezuela's social and cultural life.

author: Laura Vidal


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Zambia: Brenda Zulu Discusses the State of Zambian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Soneka Kamuhuza

The spotlight is on Brenda Zulu, a Zambian journalist and blogger.  Brenda’s blog provides her reflections on information, communication and technology issues in Africa. Based in Lusaka, Zambia, Brenda has been blogging since 2004 and is one of Zambia’s seasoned blogger’s.  I talked with Brenda about her life, her blogging origins and the state of Zambian blogosphere.
Soneka Kamuhuza (SK): How long have you been blogging?
Brenda Zulu (BZ): I have been blogging since 2004. Besides blogging I also teach Web2.0 applications at workshops to civil society, media and any other interested parties. This includes blogging, micro blogging, podcasting, vlogging, social bookmarking and the use of social media effectively by media organizations.
Brenda Zulu – Zambian journalist and blogger. Photo source: Brenda's blog.
SK: What is the current attitude towards blogging in Zambia?
BZ: Well there is a number of Zambian bloggers but most of them live in the Diaspora. Many Zambians living in the Diaspora blog frequently than Zambians living at home. This is also associated with issue of access to the internet for Zambians at home.  Many Zambians can now access internet on their mobile phone where they can mostly do micro-blogging. Otherwise, some even connect their mobile phones to their computers  if they would like to do some blogging. Others access the internet from internet cafes, libraries, use mobile dongles, rabbits, wifi, etc. Internet access in Zambia is not cheap even with the coming of optic fibre networks. As one moves away from the city to rural areas access to the internet doubles while losing mobile networks.
Zambians living at home are not prolific bloggers. There are many Zambian blogs online but most of them are dead blogs as they are not updated frequently. Many Zambians are good at micro-blogging and the use of Facebook. Zambians use Facebook more than any other social media platform. Very few Zambians are on Twitter and among the few that have Twitter accounts very few use their accounts. Many claim that they don’t know how to use Twitter.
SK: What do you see as the influence of blogging on Zambian media?
BZ: The Zambian media does not really blog. Many media personnel see blogging as an extra activity. If blogging was bringing in an extra income for Zambian journalists, blogging would be rampant amongst them which is not the case. There is nothing influencing Zambian journalists to blog as many still need to learn the ropes about what blogging is and why it is relevant.
If anything, very few working journalists have equipment of their own. Many journalists use computers, recorders and cameras from their workplaces and they wouldn’t necessary be blogging while at work because they would be stealing company's time. In any case, while journalist can access the internet at their work places some newsrooms are still lagging behind in terms of access to the internet. Many journalists I have taught blogging still say that they still lack internet access and that it was hampering them from blogging. Apart from this it is usually the lack of knowledge that is hampering Zambian journalists to blog.  For seasoned bloggers, blogging is just a way of life. When one has a readership and a following they always feel obliged to blog and keep their audience informed.
SK: Are there limitations to your ability to blog?
BZ: Yes there are limitations to my blogging because I now have to blog on other spaces for clients for money. My blog is actually suffering because I am busy creating other blogs and content for clients. In that case, I can safely say that blogging has opened up many closed doors as it has made me busy. Apart from blogging to create my ICT brand, I have used blogging to popularize myself and my work online.
Infact, blogging opens up new opportunities for us people in the media sector. Apart from tutoring on blogging, I have been contracted to liveblog and speak at events, I have also become a news source for media on new and social media and web2.0 issues. I believe my skills have also helped me to be part of  two fellowships as everyone wants to learn about new media and how they can benefit from it in career building and also in specilised reporting. These include the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) under the Women’sEdition fellowship  in the USA and the Women In News Programme in France which is part of the WAN-IFRA programme.
Brenda Zulu hopes that Zambian bloggers will work together in creating content and aggregate it for this year’s elections.
SK: How does technology infrastructure affect blogging in Zambia?
BZ: Well, I will talk about myself and how I have managed to blog even under difficult circumstances. I started blogging when I used to access internet at the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) resource center. I usually used to work offline on my laptop and then blog only when I had internet access.  Firstly, I started blogging because I wanted to archive my articles as the publication I used to work for had no online presence and also used to refuse my ICT articles. I only blogged articles I did on information communication technologies (ICT) as my blog allowed me to do that. Sometimes I also blogged stories that were never used by my publication.
With or without access to technology, blogging can still go on if people are just passionate about it. I blogged more after I was first to be given an award as the Best female Journalist in 2003 in writing ICT stories by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). I wanted to brand my myself in the web which I did because of blogging.  Blogging has helped me to find new strings I could contribute stories to as many editors just expressed interest for me to write for them after reading one or two of my blog posts.
SK: What do you see as the role of bloggers in the upcoming elections?
BZ: I just wish that bloggers could work together in creating content and aggregate it in this  year’s elections. The role of bloggers in this year’s election is basically to keep the electorate informed but also to create spaces of interactivity and discussion with the community.
The objective of blogging elections is also to capture information that will be presented in different areas of Zambia and also give the voice to voiceless election-aspiring candidates especially women who want to be in leadership.
Integration of data from multiple sources will be required to provide meaningful information and content. Involvement of stake holders is crucial for sharing and dissemination of information for knowledge sharing for the general public. We will need to aggregate content from blogs so that the content will be organised, highly read and it should be presented in text or data, pictures and video and audio (podcasts).
Blogging elections will help geographically dispersed people to also be sensitized. Collaborative framework for community participation even after the elections come to an end.  This will help  improve the quality of information by linking information from multiple data sources and also reduce cost of content creation and deployment for providing better access through multiple devices.
SK:  How would you describe the state of Zambian blogosphere?
BZ: The state of the Zambian blogosphere is growing at a very slow rate. There is need for bloggers to be committed and consistent.
SK:  What is the current public attitude towards blogging in Zambia? Are bloggers/online journalists under threat in Zambia?
BZ: Well, the public is ready to consume any other information from any other platform including the Internet. A wordpress based news outlet called the Zambian Watchdog has gained popularity with the owner living in exile because of some stories that were published on the site.
I was also threatened to be sued over stories published on the Southern Africa Social Forum as I was the one who in charge of content management. A journalist and also former President Fredrick Chiluba’s Press Aide Emmanuel Mwamba has been taken to court for a story he allegedly posted on Zambian watchdog.
The public reads blog posts that are circulated and aggregated by the general public.
SK: Would you say that blogging has become a new public sphere in Zambia?
BZ: Not really!!!!!!!! Unless you talk about micro blogging using Twitter or the use of Facebook in Zambia. It is now a fashion trend for Zambians to update their Facebook profile on a daily basis and also to leave comments on other people’s Facebook pages. There is still need for prolific bloggers, though, so that many blogs can be read.
SK: Are there government officials or politicians who blog?
BZ: The President has a blog but I think it is not him who updates it. It has been born as a campaign tool for this year’s elections. Rupiah Banda’s personal website was officially re-launched on Monday 21 February. Boasting a new design and brand new content, the site include more useful information and personal details about him and his wife and the nation of Zambia. The website provides a crucial channel to help President Banda reach the Zambian people. It comes as part of his pledge to drive forward progress and development and so help Zambia to achieve a better place in the world.
The website was first launched in September 2010. He also has official Facebook page and a YouTube channel. Main opposition parties have online presence and the opposition presidential hopefuls such as
Haikainde Hichilema  and Michael Sata have personal sites. In 2011 we can see the shift of election campaigns to online platforms.There are also some Members of Parliament and Minister who have Facebook pages such as Dora Siliya who is Education Minister and a former journalist. She uses the page to disseminate government information.
SK: Brenda continues to commit to sharing her experiences and expertise with the rest of the world through blogging.

author: Soneka Kamuhuza


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Zimbabwe: Socialists Facing Treason Charge · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabwe socialists are facing treason charge: “The International Socialist Organisation [ISO] Zimbabwe wishes to update all progressive cadres, socialists, revolutionaries and democrats who have been in solidarity with us since the unjust February 19th 2011 arrest, detention and torture of ISO comrades, student leaders and human rights activists that the case of State v Munyaradzi Gwisai and 6 Others goes to court on the 18th of July 2011.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Afghanistan: Ahmed Wali Karzai Assassinated · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Faheem Haider reports that Ahmed Wali Karzai, President Hamid Karzai’s close relative and the most influential person in Kandahar province has been assassinated by a close family associate.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Underage girl used for a suicide bombing · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Cassandra Clifford writes about a crying incident, in which a 9 years-old girl was kidnapped, drugged and forced to wear a detonation vest with orders to blow herself up in Afghanistan.


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Argentina: The 2011 ‘Copa América’, Lionel Messi and Argentines · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

In Argentina, July 1, 2011, marked the start of the 2011 Copa América [es], now in the defining stage for the competition's quarter finals. Twelve countries from Latin America  participate, and according to the results from Monday, July 11, Bolivia  has already been eliminated without possibilities to advance, while the continuity of Colombia and Argentina to the second stage has been  confirmed.
Blog Independiente Crece [es] comments on the results until July 10:
Con su  victoria de hoy, Colombia se quedó con el primer puesto del Grupo A y de esta manera avanzó a la próxima ronda de la competencia. Los otros equipos que aseguraron matemáticamente su pasaje son: Chile, Perú y Venezuela. Bolivia, en cambio, quedó fuera de carrera
Messi mess
Lionel Messi. Image by Flickr user Adidas Italy (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
So how is host country, Argentina, doing? Or rather, Argentines ask themselves, what is going on with Lionel Messi? Reactions are very controversial, with waves in favor and against the 24-year-old player who has received the Golden Ball Award for two consecutive years among the over 50 awards he has earned to date.
During this cup, Argentines have taken on the role of technical  directors, psychologists and critics of the  young, successful player from Rosario, the city of his birth which he left for FC Barcelona at the age of 13.
Twitter has reflected opinions through the #Messi hashtag.
Patricio Baratta (@patobaratta) says:
Vamos #Messi hoy!!! te banco. Demostrá que sos el mejor del mundo para que algunos no hablen mas.
Let's go #Messi today!!! I'm with you. Show us that you are the best in the world so that some stop talking.
Nene Lezcano from Córdoba (@nenitolezcano) sends a similar message:
Vamos #Messi todos hablan de vos tapales la boca a todos Rompela pibe
Let's go #Messi everyone is talking about you; shut them up; Break it kid
A triunfar.net (@fotosynoticias), also from Córdoba, where one of the tournament venues is found, compares two stars of Argentine football:
#Maradona fue el mejor en #Boca, #Napoli, La Seleccion etc… #Messi solo es buen jugador en #Barcelona.
Nevertheless, opinions and analysis do not come only from Argentina; in Spain, blogger Javisroad [es], Atlético de Madrid fan, comments on Messi and the Argentine national team's situation:
La Copa America 2.011, a falta de buen futbol, nos está dejando un interesante debate: ¿qué le pasa a Messi, que no rinde en la selección argentina? El anfitrión de la competición está teniendo un rendimiento muy decepcionante, y lógicamente todas las miradas se dirigen al mejor jugador del mundo, Messi, que debería marcar la diferencia en su selección pero no esta rindiendo a su nivel.
Twitter reactions arrive from Barcelona as well, such as that of Gabriel Masfurrol (@masfurroll), who defends Messi and criticizes Argentines:
#messi:Si Argentina no és capaz de querer, apoyar y emocionar a Leo es que quizas no lo merecen. Me sabria mal por Leo que si ama a su pais
#messi:  If Argentina is not capable of wanting, supporting and encouraging Leo, then perhaps they do not deserve him. I would feel bad for Leo,  who truly does love his country
Leo Messi has his Facebook page, where praise and criticism flood in, along with words of inspiration and some not so positive, like those of Facundo Rozados [es], who says:
Andate amargo a españa y juga para ellos. Te falta muchisimo para jugar con la 10. Pastore te pasa por arriba a nivel futbolistico
Or the words of Graciela Alfonso [es], who reproaches the fact that the player does not sing the Argentine national anthem:
NO BESES LA CAMISETA COMO EN LA FOTO, NO HAGAS GOLES SI NO PODES, PERO AL MENOS CANTA EL HIMNO ARGENTINO Y SI NO LO SABES APRENDELO CARAJO, PERO CANTA EL HIMNO, CANTAAAAAAAA EL HIMNO ARGENTINO O EN QUE PAÍS NACISTE ??
DON'T KISS YOUR SHIRT LIKE IN THE PHOTO, DON'T SCORE GOALS  IF YOU CAN'T, BUT AT LEAST SING THE ARGENTINE ANTHEM AND IF YOU DON'T  KNOW IT, LEARN IT DAMN IT, BUT SING THE ANTHEM, SIIIIIING THE ARGENTINE  ANTHEM OR WHAT COUNTRY WERE YOU BORN IN??
On the other hand, the Technical Director of the Argentine national  team, Sergio Batista, sends words of encouragement to all from his  Twitter account (@batistachecho).
On July 8, he wrote [es]:
Estamos trabajando muy fuerte tanto en lo anímico como en lo futbolístico.
The day of the match between Argentina and Costa Rica, he said [es]:
Queremos recuperar el rendimiento futbolístico y demostrarle a la gente que podemos
Other hashtags where all of the reactions to Argentina's poor performance can be seen are: #CA2011, #argentina costa rica, #CopaAmerica2011 and #vamosMessi. The Trending Topic #arribapendejo appeared after the Argentina-Costa Rica game, referring to Messi; it is important to point out that in Argentina the word “pendejo” means “young” and is not offensive.
In his personal blog, singer Andres Calamaro [es] asks Messi for forgiveness with the following words:
Perdon Messi….”Siempre” es asi …  Ni te aplauden por seguir jugando “tocado” … Hablamos todos del EQUIPO y despues te crucifican ?
And Leo [es] responds through his Facebook [es] page:
Gracias Andrés por el apoyo que me brindas.
This song was posted on YouTube [es] in support of the player.
In blog El Magazin [es] from Colombian daily El Espectador [es],  an analytical article from Fernando Araujo Velez, El Magazín journalist, writer and editor, generates unrest in Juan Marco, who  criticizes Argentine fans:
Que importa lo que digan los seudo hinchas argentinos, Messi es el mejor del mundo y su espectaculo nos seguira alegrando a todos. La Argentina lo perdio cuando no lo apoyo siendo un nino enfermizo…
Now with Argentina's 3-0 victory over Cost Rica, with two goals from Sergio Agüero and one goal from Angel Di Maria, opinions change, in spite of Messi still not scoring goals for Argentina, such as that of Fernando Krakowyak (@krakowiak) on Twitter:
Hoy #Messi se cansó de meter pases gol. Dentro de poco va a convertir goles de carambola usando a los compañeros como bandas.
Or from @DaveRocknRoll:
Para mi #Argentina gano porque #messi demostro un muy buen nivel pero #Higuain le falta ritmo y #Gago profundidad que para eso lo metieron..
The player's Facebook page received over 10,000 comments in a few hours, such as that of Hernán Diaz [es] who writes:
GRANDE GENIO SEGUI ASI EL GOL YA TE VA A QUEDAR, IDOLO LA ROMPISTE HOY TE FELICITO.
Whether Argentines expect a goal from Messi or not, the most important thing is to win. A number of matches still remain and for Argentina,  perhaps the tournament starts now.

author: Laura Schneider


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Bahamas: Land Use Planning  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the government considers using the Exumas island chain “as a model for land use planning throughout the country”, Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith says that “the $64,000 question is how to make all these good intentions real to the average Bahamian as well as to developers.”


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Belarus: Vkontakte Social Network Blocked by the Providers · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Update: Access to the Vkontake site is now restored. Vkontakte, Russian social network, is unavailable for Belarus Internet Users. The network hosts “Revolution Through the Social Network” [ru] group used to organize non-violent protests, telegraf.by reported [ru]. Individual Belarus-based users told GV that the page loads only header but the rest of Vkontakte is not accessible. Interfax.by claims [ru], however, that in their office, the page opens freely.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Chile: 40 Years of Nationalized Copper · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

As Setty writes in his blog, July 11 marked “the 40th anniversary of Chile’s nationalization of the copper industry.” Codelco, (Chile's state-owned copper mining company) workers went on strike that day “to protest the ‘undercover privatization’ of the company”, Setty explains.


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China: Adding shampoo into tofu · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project highlights another food scandal. A tofu workshop in Lanzhou added chemicals and shampoo into Tofu to create a sticky texture.


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China: Mining in Tibet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Tibetan Plateau shares some data with its readers on mining activities in Tibet.


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China: Teaching kids to fight · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu highlights a video showing how a father teaches his kids to fight without mercy.


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Cuba: 17th Anniversary of “13 de marzo” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban bloggers remember the victims of the “13 de marzo” massacre.


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Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: Fire Festival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana Times blogs about Santiago de Cuba's exciting Fire Festival, saying: “This year was the festival’s 31st edition and was dedicated to Trinidad and Tobago.”


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Cuba, U.S.A.: About that Embargo · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Iván García contends that despite the general pragmatism of U.S. policy, “regarding the Cuban embargo, the Americans show a notable stupidity”, calling it “an authentic mirrors game…of course, the ones who blame the embargo for all the misfortunes that have been happening are also lying.”


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Estonia: Agonizing Over History · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa reflects upon historical memory and guilt against the background of Estonian town Viljandi celebrating the 70th anniversary of Nazi occupation.


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India: Mumbai Relives A Day Of Terror · Global Voices
Rezwan

It is not the first time Mumbai falls pray to a terrorist attack. Since 1993 the bustling mega-city of India had been subjected to a number of bomb blasts and the shocking events of 2008 Mumbai attacks still haunt many people of the world, especially citizens of India.
On Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at around 7:00 PM in the evening, three coordinated bombs exploded in Javeri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar, all in crowded areas. Javeri Bazaar in south Mumbai is a busy market area which is visited by a million visitors daily. So far reports have been coming that at least 21 people have been killed and scores have been injured. Mumbai was soon placed on high alert as the citizens of Mumbai relived a day of terror.
Mumbai Police examines the blast site near D’Silva High School in the Dadar district. Image by Pradeep Paliwal. Copyright Demotix July 13, 2011.
So far no organization has claimed responsibility for today's blasts. The social media scene was equally busy, just as netizens used it extensively during the 2008 attacks. Tweeps like Dina Mehta were quick to provide regular updates on news and how to help. This time around we have seen a more comprehensive effort by many netizens:
@Dina: mumbai help spreadsheet – offers of help across the city being compiled in an open doc https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?hl=en_US&key=tE-okpwwYgQavia5opgZSEA&toomany=true #mumbaiblasts
The document in the above Tweet titled “Mumbai Help,” appears to be started by Nitin Sagar. This, along with a few more provides contact and other information for Mumbai residents, and is collating information on help they can provide. More lists of the dead and the injured were online within a couple of hours. BloodAid circulated blood donation info via Twitter.
An Ushahidi based crowd-sourcing of information titled Mumbai Unites also has been put-up online. The Wikipedia page is updating latest information. The mainstream media also did crowd-sourcing of their own like the live blogs at the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and Reuters and the Tweets of the Mid Day.
A bomb blast victim being taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai. Image by Pradeep Paliwal. Copyright Demotix 13 July, 2011.
People were horrified by some of the pictures that have been in circulation online:
AnandWrites: Some of first, horrific pictures from #MumbaiBlasts. Tragic. Click only if prepared: http://bit.ly/qRopPX + http://bit.ly/ohA1of
There had been some rumors but they were quickly dispelled by netizens.
Harini Calamur at POV critiques the television coverage:
We were generally chatting and catching up on films, life and other things when the call came. Blasts in Mumbai – 3 of them. Turned on TV. some people – ‘journalists’ screaming and yelling. the anchors sounding gleeful (switched 3 channels – same behaviour). eye witnesses played in a loop. by the third time JKD was able to perfectly deliver an eye witnesses’ lines. And then she (JKD) asked an important question – why are they not telling us exactly where the blasts happened instead of this crap. Where in Dadar, Where in Jhaveri Bazaar. Where ??
Harini continues:
If we live in a society that is fairly open and mostly free – there is a price to be paid – because there will always be people who want to break your resilience and your spirit through violence
And she is positive about the crisis management:
There will of course be questions to asked and answered. But for today – apart from some random spouting there seems to be unity.
Another blogger Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun describes how life goes on as usual in Mumbai amidst all the hullabaloo about the blasts.
Please follow real time reactions on Twitter (#MumbaiBlasts). You can also read the Storify collage of Tweets curated by Global Voices Author Asteris Masouras who lives in Thessaloniki, Greece.


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Madagascar: Honduras as an Example of Crisis Recovery · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Commenting on the publication of the report from the Honduras Truth and Reconciliation Commission on July 7th, Madagascar Tribune has published [fr] an opinion piece by Patrick A: “As the African Union still seems to be hesitating over the case of Madagascar, it is not impossible that it would take a keen interest in the treatment of the Honduran case by the Organization of American States (OAS)”.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Montenegro: Serbian not spoken here? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

M. Bozinovich of Serbianna discusses a recent Montenegro census saying that 20% of Montenegrins no longer speak Serbian, and whether this is an actual result or caused by nationalism.


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Nepal: Children Suffer In Patriarchal Society  · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Our patriarchal structure of society has given men so freedom that women highly suffer from that, which means most children suffer. Most children suffer means most children do not get proper nutrition and care- forget about the health care and schooling. This eventually means the country hardly gets capable citizens,” comments Nepali blogger Biplav Pradhan.


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North Korea Wants to Share 2018 Olympics with South Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea expressed that it would like to share some Olympic events with South Korea. Local news reports predicted that co-hosting with North is unlikely for political and logistical reasons. Kushibo from Monster Island blog explored the prospect of co-hosting 2018 Winter Olympic Games South Korean city of Pyeongchang won in its bid on July 6.


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Russia: Anti-Cop Blogger Is Granted Political Asylum in Estonia · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Savva Terentyev, blogger from Syktyvkar who was accused of inciting hatred towards policemen in 2008, was granted a political asylum in Estonia, BBC's Russian Service reports [ru]. Terentyev decided to emigrate because he couldn't find job in Syktyvkar after the trial. “All the doors were shut for me due to my bad reputation,” Terentyev said explaining his motives, adding that he's not willing to return back to Russia.


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Russia: Banksy-Style Graffiti at Child Charity Organization · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Dmitry Markov, photoblogger who works for Pskov child charity organization “Rostok,” [ru] publishes [ru] pictures of Banksy-style graffiti at the walls of the organization's building. The graffiti were created by the kids that “Rostok” takes care of together with Markov. Instead of dull white walls, now there are rainbows and silhouettes of kids helping each other.


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Russia: Infrastructure Falling Apart · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog argues that Russian infrastructure is literally falling apart due to desperate lack of reinvestment, while profits continue to go abroad, making much critical functions of society rely on things made half a century ago.


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Russia: Kremlin Critics Threatened With Travel Ban · Global Voices
Vadim Isakov

The right of movement is an essential attribute of our global society. But, as it turns out, it can be easily taken away by the same state that is bound to protect this right.
On July 6, 2011, leading political opposition activists Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov suddenly found themselves banned from leaving Russia by the country's Federal Bailiff Service.
Travel ban
The concept of a travel ban has a special place in the hearts of people who lived during the Soviet Union; the regime had a habit of punishing its citizens for thinking differently by not granting them a permission to leave the country.
Lock. Photo by ztephen/Flickr
Only “trustworthy” members of Soviet society enjoyed the privilege of traveling abroad, while actual or potential critics of communism became “travel-banned” (“Nevyezdnoy,” the word that became a synonym to a “dissident” in Russian language). The punishment was actually to force people to live in the Soviet Union. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.
Allegedly, the ban for Nemtsov and Milov has been “pushed through” by prominent businessman Gennady Timchenko who got very upset by claims about him made in a report titled “Putin. Results. 10 Years” (An unofficial translation can be found here). Produced by Nemtsov and Milov, the report claimed that Timchenko had became a billionaire due to his close ties to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
A Russian court later ordered the authors of the report to publicly retract the accusation which they did on the pages [ru] of popular Russian newspaper Kommersant.
“Mr. [Gennady] Timchenko was unhappy that the font was too small in that  retraction,” Nemtsov subsequently told Radio Free Europe. “So he demanded that we should be kept inside the country for  six months.”
Russia's Federal Bailiff Service denied the travel ban at first, but later announced the inquiry into the incident and lifted the ban calling it “premature.”
Human rights activist Oleg Kozlovsky commented [ru] this decision on Twitter:
Сообщают, что запрет Немцову на выезд из страны отменен как “преждевременный”. Время еще не настало то есть.
Outraged response
The ban has outraged Russian bloggers. Russian political activist Ilya Yashin wrote [ru]:
Эта история – прецедент. Впервые выезд из страны закрыт гражданину за  претензии нематериального характера, при том что сами приставы признают:  решение суда выполнено.
Кажется, приставы уже сами испугались  своего решения и скандала, которым оно чревато. Как еще расценивать тот  факт, что они начали сами себя опровергать?
He continues:
Судя по всему, это “наш ответ Чемберлену”: реакция российских властей на “список Магнитского”.
“Magnitsky's List” contains the names of Russian officials connected to the death of anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. In December 2010, the European Parliament voted for a visa ban for the people on the list.
“At the same time, all media post the headlines that bailiffs never banned Nemtsov from leaving the country,” commented [ru] blogger habivara hinting at a government-controlled media.
Blogger ziptop provides [ru] his (and not unlikely) version of the event:
Something happened that prevented Nemtsov and Milov from following the court's decision properly. Timchenko's lawyers complained about it to bailiffs who were scared and impressed by the influence of the billionaire and rushed to issue the ban. This turned into a scandal on the topic of “Iran Curtain” and Russian authorities realized that this only harms the image of the country and promotes Nemtsov and Milov. Russian authorities quickly decided to lift the ban.
“At the end, it turned out silly and funny,” wrote ziptop.
Russian author Andrey Malgin (avmalgin) offered [ru] his take:
Думаю, дело было так. Как только выступление Немцова на судилище в  Брюсселе было анонсировано, один человек в Белом доме стал топать ножкой  и истерить: “Да запретить ему ездить за границу и нас там грязью  поливать!” Тут же и выполнили. Но на высоком уровне (это видно по другим  опубликованным документам), вниз не доложили. А низ сдуру опровергать  начал. По-другому объяснить трудно.
“I am not ‘ALSO'”
Boris Nemtsov (his name comes up in blogs much more than Milov's, who, in turn, complained about the amount of pro-Nemtsov bloggers spinning the issue and leaving him out) has been lumped together with scandalous political dissident Eduard Limonov whom bailiffs also prohibited from leaving Russia. Although he certainly doesn't enjoy the association; “I am not ‘ALSO,'” Limonov wrote [ru] on his blog:
Я вам не “ТОЖЕ”, господа, я давным-давно невыездной,а  по постановлениям приставов, на протяжении двух с половиной лет, с 15 декабря 2008 года. […] Так что не нужно меня тут рядом с Немцовым  через запятую ставить,  который в настоящее время сидит, между прочим в городе  Страсбурге, Франция. И мотается куда ему надо, когда вздумает. Вот когда  его не пустят за границу, тогда напишите : “Борис Немцов стал  невыездным, и таким образом пополнил собой список невыездных российских  оппозиционных политиков, среди которых Эдуард Лимонов…” и так далее.
As it turns out, all's well that ends well. Nemtsov and Milov can travel abroad and travel bans still, for the most part, remain a relic of the Soviet era. It is about time to realize that punishing a person with the denial of their right to live in his/her country for political reasons doesn't have a place in the 21st century.

author: Vadim Isakov


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Russia: Popular Curse Temporarily Becomes a Worldwide Twitter Trend · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

#хуи [ru], Russian swearword for penis (plural), for a few hours became a global trend. Lenta.ru notes [ru] that the sudden appearance of this hashtag marks the launch of Cyrillic hashtag functionality.


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Russia: Return of Soviet Practises in Nemtsov Case? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Vladimir Kara Murza of World Affairs’ Spotlight on Russia claims that Russia is reintroducing Soviet practises in order to get rid of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, after he recently was threatened with a travel ban.


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Russia: Wednesday Clapping Protests Organized Online Spread from Belarus · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Anonymous Facebook group RusFlash (@RusFlash) [ru] that copies Belarus model of non-violent clapping protest has been created, Echo Moskvy reported [ru]. Organizers invite everyone to come out to the central squares of their cities every Wednesday at 19:00. “We're fed up. With thieves and crooks! With lies and lawlessness!” So far, neither the group nor Twitter account aren't popular: the overall audience doesn't exceed 200 users.


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TED Talk by Global Voices Co-Founder Rebecca MacKinnon · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon, says citizens must hold corporations accountable in order for the internet to evolve in a “citizen-centric” manner. In a TED talk on July 12, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland she describes how the internet has become a primary communication channel between citizens and governments, but warns that there is a corporate layer of “internet sovereigns” between the two.
Just as corporations have not held back from polluting the environment or employing young children on their own, she says, they can not be trusted to develop or preserve an internet that is sufficiently open and protective of free expression. We've learned how to hold governments accountable (somewhat) but what does citizen and consumer advocacy related to the internet look like?
Rebecca explores these issues further in her forthcoming book Consent of the Networked.
Our second co-founder Ethan Zuckerman gave a TED Talk in July 2010 called “Listening to global voices”. Both Ethan and Rebecca sit on the Board of Directors that leads Global Voices.
TED stands for “Technology Entertainment and Design” and the conferences are devoted to “ideas worth sharing”. Videos of the unique short-form presentations given by TED luminaries are shared online and viewed by millions of people worldwide. Volunteers add subtitles in multiple languages.

author: Solana Larsen


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Tunisia: Campaign to Free Government Critic Samir Feriani · Global Voices
Afef Abrougui

This page is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.
A group of Tunisian bloggers and activists have launched a campaign to free Samir Feriani, a former senior official in Tunisia's Interior Ministry who has been detained since May, 29, 2011.
Feriani was arrested after publishing two letters in the magazine “Al-Khabeer” (The Expert) where he claimed that people holding key positions in the Interior Ministry were responsible for the killing of peaceful protesters during the Tunisian Revolution. He also claimed that classified documents showing collaboration between ousted Tunisian president Ben Ali and Israel's secret service, the Mossad, were intentionally destroyed by officials in the ministry.
On July 11, Houssem Hajlaoui wrote on the collective blog Nawaat that the campaign aims to engage Tunisian artists in the cause. He writes:
Il n’est plus acceptable en Tunisie qu’un citoyen Tunisien soit arrêté, menacé, ou intimidé pour une position ou des propos. La liberté d’expression est une ligne rouge!Un nombre d’activistes de Nawaat, Al Machad et d’autres comme Fatma Arabica et Alé BEN ABDALLAH, nous avons lancé une action de soutien pour exiger la libération de Mr. Samir FERIANI.
The first two artists to join the campaign are Tunisian singers, Bendir Man, and Amel Mathlouthi.
During his last performance in Tunis, Bendi Man wore a T-shirt that said “Free Feriani”.
On Twitter, Eya Turki said on July 9:
Sinon c'tait sympa ce concert de @bendir_man et Baaziz, surtout leur soutien à la cause #FreeFeriani !
Singer Amel Mathlouthi on Stage Showing Support to Samir Feriani. Photo shared by Nawaat
An online petition to Free Samir Feriani [Fr] was signed by 453 persons in the first five days. A widget was also created for bloggers who want to show their support for Samir Feriani. Meanwhile Twitter users can follow the latest news about the campaign vis the hashtag #Freeferiani.
This page is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011.


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