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Mario Vargas Llosa and His Relationship with Peru · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Image from Flickr user Luis Carlos Díaz, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
“I came to Firenze to forget about Peru and the Peruvians for a while, and suddenly my unfortunate country forced itself upon me this morning in the unexpected way.”
This is the opening of The Storyteller, a not so well known, but nonetheless critical, novel composing the literary works of Mario Vargas Llosa. In it, the narrator – who is very similar to the writer (Vargas Llosa is an aficionado of what is known as meta-fiction) – describes his meanderings in Florence trying to separate himself from Peru as he falls upon photographs that rekindle his interest for his native country. This perfectly illustrates the conflictive relationship between Vargas Llosa and Peru, and is key to understanding the body of his literary work.
As has already been reported in Global Voices, Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature this year. And yet, beyond the nearly unanimous congratulations that many have extended in the media and on social networks, few have analyzed the author’s work following the illustrious prize. Nevertheless, some Peruvian writers and literary enthusiasts have written a few lines that try to demonstrate what Vargas Llosa means to them and to the country. One such writer is Gustavo Faverón, who states [es] in Puente Aéreo:
…es el autor de las primeras siete novelas adultas que leí en mi vida. … Aprendí muchas cosas sobre el mundo y sobre mi país leyendo a Vargas Llosa, … En  los años de mi adolescencia, tuve tres ídolos semejantes. Vargas Llosa  fue el primero, el siguiente fue Paul McCartney y el último Stanley  Kubrick. … En  mi vida, en esos años, y en los años siguientes, pocas personas de  carne y hueso fueron tan reales para mí como […] el Poeta, el Jaguar,  Lituma, la Pies Dorados, el Periodista Miope, Jum, Galileo Gall, Fushía,  Teresita, Santiaguito Zavala, el León de Natuba, Jurema o la Brasileña.
But it is not only the characters from Vargas Llosa’s books who leave their impressions; there are also memorable phrases about Peru, like those collected by writer Richar Primo on his blog Zona del escribidor in a post [es] in homage to the author:
La primera novela que leí de Vargas Llosa fue “Conversación en la Catedral” y – mis amigos más cercanos lo saben – fue la lectura que alteró el curso de mi vida. Aun esta misma mañana, en que que he tenido que pasar por la avenida Tacna, y después de tantos años transcurridos, las primeras frases del libro me parece que reverberaran todavía nítidamente entre sus grises edificios … “automóviles,  edificios desiguales y descoloridos, esqueletos de avisos luminosos  flotando en la neblina. ¿En qué momento se había jodido el Perú?”
Image of Juan Arellano's personal library.
In addition to his literary endeavors, Vargas Llosa has pursued political activism that has earned him recalcitrant opponents, above all because of his migration from the bastion of leftism to that of liberalism. Even more so when he ran for president in the early nineties, an experience that left him disillusioned with loyalist politics and with Peru and that eventually resulted in one of his most interesting books, A Fish in the Water.
But Mario Vargas Llosa is an untiring thinker, and his announced withdrawal from politics was only at the level of personal involvement as a primary actor in it, and not a withdrawal from political thought. In fact, the academic Camilo Fernández writes [es] in his blog La soledad de la página en blanco what he believes are the reasons Vargas Llosa merits the Nobel Prize. One such argument reads:
maneja  el ensayo con invalorable destreza. Polemista a contracorriente,  incendiario en el más ilustre sentido de la palabra, Vargas Llosa es un  demócrata que defendió la cultura de la libertad sacrificando, incluso,  intereses personales y asumiendo, si fuera necesario, el costo político  de hacer una apología de la tolerancia y de la búsqueda de consenso en  una sociedad como la peruana, donde es moneda común la corrupción y el  arribismo como prácticas consuetudinarias.
Kausa justa, the blog by the “Equipo de Indiciencia en Derechos” (Rights Brigade), includes a post [es] entitled “Seven fundamental texts by our author in defense of human rights in Peru.” Because even though Vargas Llosa is abroad most of the time, like his narrator in the fiction novel cited at the beginning of this post, he is always aware of what is going on in Peru. Writer Sonia Luz Carrillo from Habla Sonia Luz cites [es] a recent example of his participation and the consequences of his outspoken beliefs:
Hace algunas semanas apenas, nos  dio muestras de cuán estrecho es el vínculo con las circunstancias  nacionales al renunciar a la presidencia de la comisión encargada del  Museo de la Memoria al encontrar incoherencia entre su presencia y un  decreto legislativo diseñado para favorecer a los violadores de  derechos humanos durante el régimen dictatorial de Fujimori y Montesinos  y que el autor de La fiesta del chivo calificó acertadamente de  amnistía encubierta.
@font-face {   font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.Style-1, li.Style-1, div.Style-1 { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Something Vargas Llosa recalls with pride is his time at National University of San Marcos. Three years ago, Sandro Medina, a journalist who blogs on Letra Suelta, was entrusted with interviewing the author for the university [es] magazine and published [es] some parts of the interview on his blog. Among other notable statements is this paragraph dedicated to politics and university life:
Tu vida universitaria no solo estaba  ceñida a la lectura y las clases. Siempre tuviste la certeza de que en  la universidad no solo se debe dar un entrenamiento profesional. “Yo  creo que al mismo tiempo de formarlos profesionalmente, a los alumnos  deben motivarlos para que desarrollen inquietudes, curiosidades. Para  que tengan una actitud crítica frente al mundo en que vive, y esto se  vivía en San Marcos en mi época estudiantil.”
Alzas la voz y  criticas con fundamento a todos aquellos que están inmersos en la  “política mal llevada”, que tanto daño le hizo a la Decana de América. Que tanto daño le hace al país. “Insisto,  la política no puede estar ausente en una universidad, pero en el sentido más creativo de la palabra: debates, cotejos intelectuales, discusión de proyectos, de modelos.”
Your university life was not just restricted to lectures and classes. You always felt that the purpose of the university was not just professional training. “I think that at the same time we prepare students for the work world, we also need to encourage students to question, to be curious – in order for them to have a critical view of the world in which they live; and this is what we experienced at San Marcos during my student days.”
You raise your voice and give well-founded criticism to all those immersed in the “mismanaged policies” that so damaged the Dean of America, that so damaged the country. “Let me stress: politics cannot be absent from the university, but in the most creative sense of the word: debates, intellectual engagements, discussions about projects, about models.”
@font-face {   font-family: "Arial"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }p.Style-1, li.Style-1, div.Style-1 { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Finally, despite the fact that many an artist have said nothing on Mario Vargas Llosa’s relations with Peru, we return to the (almost) strictly literary reflections of author Juan Manuel Robles in his blog Manhattan Mental. He found himself in New York, where he attended a press conference given by Vargas Llosa after Vargas Llosa found out that he had won the Nobel Prize. Although he states that at first he approached the subject with some skepticism, he later relates [es]:
Entonces empecé a entender por qué este día era también importante  para mí, para todos los que tratamos de encontrar en la escritura una  forma de resistencia. Porque ver a Vargas Llosa ahí sentado es entender  también que la única lucha que importa es la que empieza con la primera  página en blanco y termina con miles de tachaduras. Me vi adolescente  sintiendo piedad por el periodista miope, fascinación por la Barbuda,  terror por el perro que mochó a Pichulita Cuéllar, compasión por  Varguitas, respeto por el Jaguar. Vi una cabina de radio y un chiquillo  que embellecía noticias. Vi a la brasileña. Vi todo eso y recordé un  viejo chiste: el del escritor latinoamericano que se despierta a las  once de la mañana y se hace una pregunta culposa: ”Qué tarde. ¿Cuántas  páginas habrá escrito ya Mario Vargas Llosa?”
La conferencia siguió con su inevitable dosis de política, pero en un  punto llegamos al Perú. Porque siempre hay que hablar sobre el Perú,  porque ya pasaron esas feas épocas en que el escritor no contestaba a  ningún periodista peruano. “¿Qué tiene que decir sobre el Perú?”. Vargas  Llosa, sonriente, se sacó la capucha que mejor le queda, la de  Flaubert. —El Perú soy yo.
So I began to understand why this day was also important for me, for all of us who try to find a form of resistance in writing. Because seeing Vargas Llosa sitting there is to understand as well that the only fight that matters is that which begins with the first page blank and ends with thousands of cross outs. I saw myself a teenager feeling pity for the Short-sighted Journalist, fascination with la Barbuda, terror from the dog that mauls Pichulita Cuéllar, compassion for Varguitas, respect for the Jaguar. […] I saw all of this and I recalled an old joke: that of the Latin American writer who wakes up at eleven in the morning and asks himself guiltily: “How late it is! How many pages must Mario Vargas Llosa have already written?”
The conference progressed with its inevitable dose of politics, but at some point we arrived at the topic of Peru. Why must we always talk about Peru if the ugly times in which the author did not respond to any Peruvian journalist have ended? “What do you have to say about Peru?” Vargas Llosa, smiling, pulled off the mask that suits him best, Flaubert's. [And said,]“I am Peru.”

author: Juan Arellano


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Mexico: The Lerma River is Dying · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

The Lerma Santiago River (commonly known as “Rio Lerma”) is Mexico’s second longest river. At the same time,  it used to be a source of drinking water for the capital and the central part of the country. During the 17th and 18th centuries, large haciendas were established along this river. Unfortunately, today this river is dying.
Fatally infected by a considerable number of sources of pollution (like factories), millions of dollars have been used in efforts to revive and clean it, without many positive results.
The blog agendahidalguense [es], quotes Mexican president Felipe Calderón when he talked about the importance of becoming a country where water cleaning is one of the most important issues in the national agenda:
Schuldes Dávila recordó que desde el 26 de marzo del presente año, el  Lic. Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, hizo un llamado a todos los actores a  involucrarse en el uso, manejo y preservación del recurso agua, para que  juntos construyamos esta Agenda del Agua, que sin duda marcara la  historia de nuestro país, mencionó que es necesario alcanzar un México  limpio, donde el 100 por ciento de las aguas residuales sean tratadas.  Un México donde toda la población,  disponga de agua potable. Un México  responsable con el medio ambiente, que preserve el equilibrio, no sólo  de los acuíferos, sino de sistemas y microsistemas ambientales  completos.
President Felipe Calderón at the Water Agenda: 2030 Presentation. Image by Flickr user Gobierno Federal, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
Pollution
According to the article “No Funds for Dying River Basin,” written by Patricia Vega Villavicencio’s and published on the ISP news website, large amounts of money have been spent in cleaning the river, with little results :
In the last 16 years, the local government of Mexico state, which borders on the federal district of Mexico City, has spent 714 million dollars on wastewater treatment plants and has only managed to clean up 27 percent of the 125 kilometres of the Lerma's course across the state.
It is well known among local people that the river is contaminated, as there are important industries and factories in the same area (those that produce meat, dairy, beverages, pulp and paper, leather goods, petrochemical and chemical products) and throw their wastes to the river. Later in the article, Vega Villavicencio continues:
There appears to be no prospect for a cessation of hostilities on the Lerma River. Environmentalists have calculated that 90 percent of its waters are contaminated, and they predict that no recovery will be possible unless strategies are changed.
Jim & Carole's Mexico Adventure explains:
Over many years, the Lerma has been sapped of its upstream water for agricultural purposes. It has also been the recipient of large amounts of industrial pollutants from factories along its course, as well as the runoff of agricultural chemicals.
The blog Cazador de la Verdad [es] (Hunter of the Truth) posted two videos showing the effects of pollution on the river.
Consequences
Lerma River pollution is costing a high price, or even an unmeasurable one, as several publications have reported that people living close to it have been physically affected.
In 2007, blogger Kristan Taylor from the blog Toluca Gringa shared her personal encounters with the river:
I'd smelled it before, every time I pass to go to Mexico City. It's especially foul at night, when the factories dump their deshechos into the water without blinking an eye. Thanks, Nestle. Powdered chocolate is criminal enough. Now this? I went there in the light of day recently. Within 10 minutes I felt a curious burning in the back of my throat. No joke. My eyes stung for a couple hours after I left. There's nothing in the water. Nothing alive, at least, with the exception of some mutant strain of something that can manage to survive the puss-bubble water whose surface reminded me of the last time I had a 3rd degree burn on my skin.
Periódico El Sur [es] (South Journal) published an article where it confirms that there has been “a noticeable increase in deaths caused by cancer” because of the pollution in the Lerma River.
In another journal, La Jornada [es] from Michoacan, author Celic Mendoza wrote:
Varios niños que viven en la cuenca, han presentado diversos cánceres  como leucemia a consecuencia de la contaminación del afluente.
There have been cases of cancer (leukemia) in children, as a result of pollution caused by industries that shed substances into the river.
Researcher Jeff Conant wrote an article published by the Earth Island Journal [es], where he tells a tragic story:
In January 2008, an eight-year-old boy named Miguel Angel Lopez Rocha fell into the Santiago River near the El Salto Falls. The boy was rescued immediately, but within two days, he had fallen ill. Nineteen days later, he was dead. One medical report said the cause of death was septicemia, a general term for a septic infection of the blood. Another autopsy indicated heavy metal poisoning; arsenic in Miguel Angel’s blood was 10 times the fatal dose. The boy’s death caused a shock and brought revived attention to one of Mexico’s worst environmental disasters.
But humans are not the only ones affected by this, as La Jornada reports in another article:
Miles de peces murieron en el río Lerma, a la altura de la comunidad  Cuatro Milpas, debido a la severa contaminación que padece el afluente,  señalaron grupos ambientalistas, mientras que autoridades municipales,  estatales y federales sostuvieron que el fenómeno se debió a “un  fenómeno natural, a consecuencia de la falta de oxigenación”.
Thousands of fish died in the Lerma River, at the level of the Cuatro Milpas community due to the severe pollution suffered by the affluent, as environmental groups said. Municipal and federal authorities confirmed that the phenomenon was due to a natural phenomenon, consequence of a lack of oxygen.
Finally, this YouTube video [es] posted by user natitachulita shows the current situation of the Lerma River. It is called “Agua para Llorar”[es], meaning “Water for Crying.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Peru: Bill on Electronic Voting Approved · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog Plan H [es] celebrates that the Peruvian Congress approved a bill for electronic voting.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Russia, U.S.: Schwarzenegger in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent visit to Moscow – at The Putin State Chronicles, The Russia Monitor, Robert Amsterdam's blog, and Russia! (here, here, and here).

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Videos of Election Fraud in Rostov Region · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

LJ user serg757 posts several videos that show various fraud cases at the recent regional elections in Rostov region.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Serbia: More on Belgrade Gay Pride and Riots · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Posts on the gay pride and the rioting in Belgrade this past Sunday, as well as on football hooligans – at CAFÉ TURCO, Gray Falcon, A Yankee-in-Belgrade, and A Slice Of Serbian Politics.


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South Africa: How Do You Fairly Select Best Bloggers?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The South African Blog Awards started in 2005 to showcase the best blogs in South Africa. The winners of South Africa Blog Awards 2010 were announced on 25 September 2010 at the annual awards ceremony at the One & Only hotel, Cape Town.
Some South African bloggers think that the process used to select best bloggers is not fair. Here is a roundup of their criticisms and suggestions.
Chris complains of being duped by the organisers:
In 2008 I won Best SA Blog about Technology and Web Development and in
2009 I won Best SA Blog about Technology and Science. Most people know
me for my blogging, I’ve been in the game since the start and it’s
been my passion since I was inspired by Damien du Toit, way way way
back. I’d like to think that when it comes to blogging, I have earned
respect from a lot of people in the industry. Hell, I’m ranked number
1 on AfriGator, Africa’s largest blog aggregator.
Now, this year was interesting: I was told that I was going to be a
judge (I’ve decided not to name the person, nor am I going to paste a
link to the proof), so I didn’t enter in for a 3rd year running (Can’t
judge and enter). I was really excited about this as I wanted to
assist in ensuring that South Africa could be represented by great
bloggers. When the judges were announced, my name was not included, so
not only was I not a judge, but I wasn’t able to enter!
To top things off, I didn’t even receive an invitation to the event.
It was embarrassing receiving text messages and tweets throughout the
evening from peers asking where I was.
I feel that I deserve an explanation from one of the people who ran
the event, JP Naude, Chris Rawlinson or Dave Duarte – Chris and Dave,
you both know my personally, what happened gents? You are involved in
this I assume because of your passion for blogging, imagine how I
feel?
From the SA Blog Awards website:
“We are proud to announce that the SA Blog Awards is still in very
capable hands, but ownership has however changed.
The SA Blog awards management structure has been somewhat
modified, and we are happy to say that you are in very capable hands.
Ownership now resides in the hands of new CEO JP Naude.”
Really?
Life isn’t fair and the event’s over, so not much can be done apart
from wait until next year to see what happens, but for the time being
I’m quite upset.
On another note: Congratulations to all the bloggers who took home
awards, well done! Respect to you for showing the world that South
Africa is great at blogging too!
Cook Sister says, “there is nothing we like less than people shouting criticisms from the sidelines without making helpful suggestions…” So she writes an open letter to the organisers with a number of suggestions to improve the process:
1. RULE CHANGES
When the rules originally went up, each e-mail address could only nominate and vote once. But somewhere between that day and the day that voting started, the rules were changed to allow voting once every 24 hours. There is absolutely no excuse for changing the rules once they have been put up. It creates an unprofessional impression and makes people wonder what else is being changed behind the scenes.
SUGGESTION: if you want to change the rules that have already been published, then wait till next year's competition! Changing the rules after they have been published is a sure-fire way to upset all and sundry.
2. THE VOTING PROCESS
One of the biggest gripes was that each e-mail address was allowed to vote every 24 hours over a period of three weeks. The argument from the organisers is that this benefited people who post regularly and “highlighted” those who have lots of loyal readers. Wrong. Despite the fact that both of us DO post regularly and DO have lots of loyal readers, we both feel that all that the multiple vote system meant was that each and every shortlisted blogger managed to annoy the hell out of their friends, family and readers by bombarding them with daily requests for votes via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. Obviously this was not compulsory, but as soon as the first blog did it, others had to follow or risk being defeated by an aggressive marketing campaign. It did NOT force people to post more often and it did not drive traffic to blogs – all it did was force bloggers to trawl for votes on social media sites to try and keep up with the competition, and forced hundreds (if not thousands) of people to visit the Awards site daily. Which made everybody wonder what sort of per-click ad revenue the Awards site might be getting from all this…
SUGGESTION: the way to weed out blogs who do not post regularly is to set a minimum number of posts per month over the past 6 months or similar. And the way to find out who has lots of traffic and loyal readers is to make Alexa traffic stats and FaceBook/Twitter followers a mandatory criterion for judging. The 24-hour voting rule did nothing to improve the quality of SA blogs or blogging – it just turned us all into vote-whores. Please don't use it again.
3. THE JUDGES AND JUDGING PROCESS
Much has been said about how the voting turned into a popularity contest, and how the judging was too subjective (and erratic). We feel strongly that both components are necessary: some sort of public vote is needed because taking note of a blog's popularity should be a criterion. But some sort of judging process is also needed, if for no other reason than to make sure that blogs fit in their category and adhere to the criteria for being nominated; and to make sure that the entire process does not solely hinge on popularity but also on some judgement of quality. The main criticisms of the judges were that their qualifications/expertise to judge were not immediately obvious; and that the criteria they applied were not clearly defined or publicised (the first mention of the criteria came only after the event, as the Awards organisers moved to defend themselves against criticism).
SUGGESTIONS:
a) Would it be too much to ask that beside each judge's name there is a one-line bio as to who they are and what their field is? Seeing that “Joe Bloggs” is judging my category does not fill me with hope. Seeing that “Joe Bloggs – Head of new media communications at Woolworths” or similar is far more reassuring.
b) Publicise the criteria right from the start (e.g. reader stats, site usability, content, frequency of blogging, reader interaction), not only to the judges but also to the contestants.
c) Make the judges write a one-line reason as to why they chose one blog over another (“good design but posts too infrequently”, or “great content but no search function and no About page” – whatever takes their fancy) and publicise this when the results are announced. It may take a little more time, but if each judge only looks at one category, that would still only have been 10 lines to write.
According to Richard Mulholland South Africa Blog Awards 2010 was a complete farce:
This year, well hey, let’s just say I’m a sucker for punishment.
I get a call from Chris asking if I’d be willing to come on board as a
judge, I said yes, and last week I get sent a list of blogs that I had
to go through in detail.
It took me a few hours but I did it, I went through each of the blogs,
painstakingly checking off on all criteria. My category was best
business blog, and in my mind there were two blogs that clearly stood
out from the pack: Quirk and Tall Horse wines.
I then see the finalist released yesterday, these two were no where in
sight, based on the wide margin I had them ahed by, I was curious so I
tweeted about it and got the following reply from one of the
organisers:
“@jpnaude release the results Sun morning after public vote tally & is
using weighted judges’ votes to determine winner out of final 2.”
Now I’m confused. You waste the judges’ time going through 10 blogs,
then tell us that our vote only counts for the final two anyway?
Basically, the finalists in each category were determined by the
initial public vote. The judges’ vote counted for shit.
I replied saying as much (in under 140 chars), and got the following reply:
“Real f*up sorry Rich. Large vote margin btwn 1,2&3rd place in all
categories so JP decided to give finalists more time to RSVP for
event”
Now, I don’t know JP, but from the look of his site he’s been blogging
for a year and has written a total of 13 posts (I stand under
correction though) and this guy is acting like Deus Ex Machina. Crazy
loco.
It sucks, but it’s sadly business as usual for the SA blog awards.
Which are this year, in my mind any way, a complete and utter farce.
This, in case you didn’t get it, is my way of completely distancing
myself from the outcome and the awards themselves.
Maybe next year will be different… just kidding…!
Update: I had a really nice chat with JP last night and I will say the
dude’s heart is without a doubt in the right place. He’s coming at
this from the outside, and a little perspective can’t be a bad thing.
I still stand behind the statements I’ve made above, but am now more
than willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. You should too.
Chris von Ulmenstein says that the blog awards have devalued South African blogging:
The SA Blog Awards is a good idea, and can be a good measurement of
success and performance in a field that bloggers were never trained
for, by raising the standard of blogging in Southern Africa.   It is a
shame that the 2010 SA Blog Awards were so poorly organised, and that
it has been dogged by controversy.  At the Food & Wine Bloggers’ Club
meeting earlier this week, long-standing blogger Dax Villanueva of
Relax-with-Dax Blog said that the controversy surrounding the SA Blog
Awards had devalued blogging, instead of enhancing it!
Ever since the SA Blog Awards were announced on Twitter about 2 months
ago, they have been criticised for their change in procedure compared
to previous years.  When the shortlist of 10 finalists for each of the
24 blog categories was announced on 1 September, there was even more
criticism and very bitchy commenting by those that did not make the
top 10 list in their category, and by those who disparaged others by
questioning why some bloggers had made the Top 10 list in specific
categories.  When the top two winners per category were announced, and
most Top 10 short-listed bloggers were excluded from the Awards Dinner
at the One&Only Cape Town last night, the knives really came out, and
the organisation of the SA Blog Awards was severely criticised.
So what were the complaints?:
1.  The announcement of the call for nominations of the SA Blog Awards
was on Twitter only.   If one was not on Twitter, or did not follow SA
Blog Awards on Twitter, one would not have known about the Awards, or
may have been delayed in participating, in seeing Tweets by others
about the call for nominations.
2.  The rules of the Awards seemed to have been made up as they went
along – the fact that voting was encouraged at Nomination stage
already was not clear, and irritated Twitterers, in that they were
bombarded with Nomination vote requests.  The process of nomination
was also not clear, with a message popping up, telling one that one
could not nominate a blog more than twice on the same e-mail address.
3.  The organisers of the SA Blog Awards were not identified on the SA
Blog Awards website, and via Tweets one could put together the
information that 2009 Blog winner in the Business category (Dave
Duarte) and Chris Rawlinson, winner in the Marketing category, had got
together with JP Naude (an infrequent blogger, by his own admission on
his site: “Yes I don’t blog much… I’m a businessman and radio
presenter” – prior to this mini-blog post earlier this month, JP had
last blogged in May! He is a presenter on Good Hope FM) as Chairman
Galo's Zone is gathering public opinion on his blog about the awards:
I will be writing a full article about my thoughts on the S.A blog
awards, it’s voting process, the judges and finally…the results.
But before I give my opinion, I would like yours.
Chris von Ulmenstein posts the official response from the organisers of South African Blog Awards 2010, “2010 SA Blog Awards in perspective”:
On behalf of the SA Blog Awards we would like to thank all of the participants who contributed this year. These include the public, the nominees, the South African Bloggers and the judges. A special thanks to News 24, our other sponsors and suppliers and partners, without who the awards would not have been possible.
A tremendous effort was made this year to move the SA Blog Awards to a new level. We feel that this has been accomplished. Where there are a few criticisms in the blogging industry, we welcome these and will look to learn from those that are factually correct. In addition we will shortly be implementing our review process, which we hope all will participate in.
The SA Blog Awards has been run by volunteers and goodwill up to now and the time and effort has been quite taxing. The new CEO, JP Naude, stepped in after a casual conversations with Chris Rawlinson and Dave Duarte, and recognising the potential of the SA Blog Awards began implementing new support structures, media policies and other processes on a very short notice, and as such was still saddled with some systems which had been in place in the previous years. JP is well aware of the current flaws and has already, in a very short time added enormous additional value. JP immediately recognised that the first priority was to re-establish the credibility and integrity of the SA Blog Awards.
Contrary to what has been written in the public space regarding the nomination, registration and voting phases. (sic) We made every effort to notify bloggers to register; we did this via the Afrigator database, email, twitter and notifications on our site. In addition we notified former voters of the nomination phase. During the nomination phase, the public vote phase and the judging phase we continually asked for nominees to register their contact details with us. After all phases had closed we still continued asking nominees to register their contact details. To date we are still struggling to get final correct details, in some cases nominees entered incorrect email addresses. During this process we manually went to the blogs and looked for contact details or mailed them from their site requesting details. Where we had contact details we used them to the best of our ability.
When we talk about moving the blog awards up to a new level, we mean an improved voting process, more awareness for the bloggers of South Africa, better criteria for the judges to understand, and ensuring an equal platform for all nominees. All of these were done, but will again be reviewed in order to find the best possible formula.
Marisa wonders why there is no space to comment on the article, “2010 SA Blog Awards in Perspective”:
I read the official response on the Blog Awards site and what irks me most is that their is no space to comment on the article! Rather ironic, considering one of their criteria for judging other blogs was “reader engagement”.
Hmmmm…
Also loved the bit where they said they wanted to give more weight to “readers of blogs” and therefore allowed the 24 hour voting systems and the 70:30 weighting. The problem is that “readers of blogs” will vote for you once and certainly not every 24 hours. Family, friends and your dog, however will vote as often as they can. Hence, the final vote outcome is (more than slightly) skewed.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sri Lanka: Female Chauvinism Spreading · Global Voices
Rezwan

Changing Perspectives blog tells that there is a trend for increase in female chauvinism in Sri Lanka.

author: Rezwan


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Syria: Gap in Private Sector Salaries Disturbing · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

“Officially disclosed salaries in the Syrian private sector range from the minimum full-time wage of $125 to $42,000 a month”, Abu Fares lashes out on the Syrian private sector, and the disturbing imbalance in the wages it offers.

author: Yazan Badran


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China: Tibetan Writer Shogdung Released on Bail · Global Voices
Dechen Pemba

Woeser reports on her blog that Tibetan writer Tagyal (pen name: Shogdung) has been released from detention on “bail pending trial”. The news comes from the family appointed lawyer Li Fangping. The short blogpost has been translated into English by High Peaks Pure Earth.

author: Dechen Pemba


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Venezuela: University Students Protest Budget Cuts · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

University students protested budget cuts in Caracas on October 14. Alejandro Tarrae reports on his blog [es] that he saw hundreds of Police and National Guard troops; he realized why so many security forces where in place when he later saw the multitude of students and professors protesting on the streets.


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Video: How to keep water clean and use it wisely · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Water conservation videos seem to be trending, as people and organizations make videos with tips and advice on how to better manage our water resources. From tips on reusing gray water or minimizing wasted water when we flush the toilet, to kids in the Valle del Colca in Peru explaining the importance of keeping community water sources clean.
These kids from the rural area of the Colca Valley in Peru represent the consequences of polluting water sources and drinking from them. Rosita and Abelito's mother sends them to get some water for the house, and off they go with their bucket to the irrigation ditch. However, community members have been peeing in the water, people have been tossing trash into it and animals have also been there to drink the contaminated water, having no other place to drink. Rosita and Abelito are thirsty after their long trek, so they take a few sips, and then go back home with their full pail of water.  Their chores having been done, their mother gives them permission to play, but it is cut short when they have serious stomach pains. Mother takes them to the health post and the doctor makes them better, warning them however, that they shouldn't drink water that hasn't been boiled to make it safe for drinking.  At the end, Abelito warns the audience not to urinate or defecate in water sources, and not to litter them either, so that we can all enjoy clean water.
The Water Savers 4 Life decided to sing for water conservation. Their ten tips are sung to the rhythm of a popular Christmas carol:
This Spanish household saves water in a literal sense. When they do laundry (using ecological soaps) the gray water that is expelled from the machine they have rerouted to a special container where it is saved, and using a hose system, they have redirected the water to a bucket in the bathroom. When they need to clean floors, they use the sudsy water, but it is also what they use when they need to flush the toilet, filling the bucket and then dumping it into the toilet.
In Singapore there are also concerns on water conservation, and this video shows some tips many of us could apply: shorter showers, washing teeth with a glass of water instead of an open faucet, reusing the rinse water from our washer to flush toilets or mop floors, washing veggies in a bowl of water, among others. It also shows that for some cultures, saving water just requires getting creative:  one tip requires saving water from rinsing rice to water plants. If we are not rice consumers, what other tips could we come up that are tailored specifically to our water consumption patterns?
As can be seen in the previous example and this following one, water supplying companies are logically one of the strongest advocates of adequate water use.  From Colombia, in the city of Cartago, the Emcartago utility company not only uploads videos on water consumption to the internet, but they also go to the different neighborhoods to train people on good water saving habits. By showing video examples of good and bad water usage, they get their message across on how to adequately save not only on water, but also on other utilities such as gas and electricity.
And last, but not least: many new houses have water efficient toilets, but the rest of households with water guzzling toilets and no money to replace them with a new model need not despair.  This following tip will give anyone the possibility of saving at least a liter of water with every flush. By filling a 1.5 Lt water bottle with water, and placing it in the toilet tank, it will save you as much water as is displaced by the bottle itself:
Remember, saving water not only saves the planet, but it can also save you money by reducing your utility bills.  Happy Blog Action Day 2010!

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Zambia: Blogging African Stock Exchanges Association Conference · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Capital Market News will blog live from African Stock Exchanges Association conference (10-12 November, Zambia): “There will be scope for important interviews and news, blogged live from the conference meeting in Livingstone, Zambia and giving the world insight into running news of Africa’s booming securities exchanges for bonds and equities…”


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Zimbabwe: A Few Facts About Water in Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Today is Blog Action Day today, and the theme this year is ‘Water’. Here are few facts about water in Zimbabwe:  * Only one fifth of Zimbabwe’s population has access to clean water * 900 cases and 25 deaths have been recorded as a result of cholera in Zimbabwe in 2010.* The United Nations says 50 percent of Zimbabwe’s rural population have no toilets and use the bush.


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Armenia: Blog Action Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on his official blog, the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale, marks Blog Action Day by writing about Lake Sevan. Situated 1,900 meters above sea level, it is one of the largest high altitude lakes in the world. However, the diplomatic blogger notes, mismanagement and policies during the Soviet era led to a reduction in the water level and moves to raise it to normal levels have also resulted in other problems which still need to be addressed.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Big Corporations, South Korea’s Human Rights Blind Spot · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Hospitals, prisons and the army are three places where absolute authority is held by one side and human rights violations frequently occur. In Korea there's another human rights blind spot: big corporations. This is not because of the massive power big corporations have over the consumer, but rather because of how they treat their own members and members-to-be. Lots of information that handed over them are treated with inconsideration and direct insults are the norm during the interview process.
Getting into a renowned big corporation in Korea has become a goal out of the reach of ordinary college graduates, especially after the world financial crisis in 2008. There are four to five stages of screening. First, the paper screening, and second, the aptitude test, followed by a first interview round, a special round (written test, group interview of SGT test) and a second interview with the CEO and leadership team. Corporate giant Samsung even has its own test, called the “SSAT” (SamSung Aptitude Test). And LG has a specially designed test called RPTS. There are institutes and scores of books purporting to teach students how to score well on these tests.
From the first round, the paper screening test, a great deal of power is relinquished to corporates. Many companies demand the applicant's height, weight and blood type. Several of them ask candidates to provide information about their parents’ educational level and social security numbers. Blogger Ethanjoh, who once selected designers for his company, wrote that he was shocked to see how much information is passed over to the company:
그리고 한 가지 놀라웠던 점은 이력서에 다들 주민등록번호를 기재한다는 것이다. 앞자리 정도면 모르겠지만 사실 그게 왜 필요한지, 왜 기업에서도 요구하는지 잘 모르겠다. 어찌보면 개인정보유출의 사각지대가 바로 그런 이력서가 아닐까 싶다. 전화번호며, 개인가족구성, 주소, 주민등록번호…등등 너무나 많은 사항들이 이력서에 들어가 있다…가족구성은 알아서 뭐 할 것이며, 부모님 직업이나 학력이 어떻게 되는지는 알아서 뭐할 건데? 사실 좀 어이가 없었다.
Image from the Skyseek internet cafe that gives tips on becoming a stewardess. Used with permission.
Two days ago, online media reported [ko] a small incident involving a mix-up in the online application process. Lots of big corporations ask applicants to submit their initial application online. In this case, whenever applicants hit the refresh button on their personal information pages, other people’s information appeared. Other job seekers’ language test results, computer skill levels and grades replaced their own and the information changed each time they refreshed the page. Many job seekers worried that their résumés could have been edited by others.
This may be ignored as an one-off isolated incident, but lots of young job seekers feel uneasy about the way companies handle the information they offer during the application process. Once the information is submitted, it is difficult to determine what happens next. In reply to one netizen's question ‘What happens to my 100 resumes?’, some people said that their companies discard the résumés they receive, while others admitted to recycling them as scrap paper, or even suggested that they are sold to others.
ID: Category. 그거 팔린다고 하는 소리를 들은 것 같습니다만. ID: 주변이. 저도 주민등록번호 유출된 것을 주워서 이면지로 쓴 적이있죠. ID : StoS. 입사지원한 기업이 늘어날수록 스팸이 늘어납니다.
After they pass the first round, candidates can expect to be subjected to an intense interview process, especially the “pressure interview.” The pressure interview, which started out as a fresher, more direct way of gauging the caliber of an applicant's, has, in many Korean companies, evolved into a mean-spirited review of the candidate’s weaknesses and disgraces. Blogger Jjkkl4 asserts that the pressure interview allows the company to pinpoint fast thinkers with a high level of responsiveness and an ability to handle tough working environments, and most of all, a higher likelihood of sticking around longer. The blogger describe two types of pressure interview – the negative and the positive style. The negative refers to an aggressive cross-examination style that plays on the job seeker's greatest vulnerabilities. The positive style focuses on embarrassing people by throwing a bunch of nonsense questions into the mix. A local media report[ko] selected last year's three weirdest questions[ko]: “how many people travel from Korea to China on business?,” “If everybody were red color-blind, how we maintain the traffic light system” and “If you were a Santa Claus, how would you distribute all the presents to every kid in the world in one night?” The blogger enlisted the benefit of the pressure interview.
최근에 입사 후 1년을 넘기지 못하고 쉽게 이직을 하는 메뚜기 직장인이 늘어나고 있거든요. 압박면접처럼 힘든 과정을 통과한 지원자는 업무의 강도를 미리 파악하고 입사를 하기 때문에 애사심, 열정, 업무 성과 등이 상대적으로 높아서 이직률이 낮다는 거죠… 압박 면접은 영업이나 서비스 업무를 많이 하는 쪽에서 진행을 하거든요. 업무를 하다 보면 자존심을 다치는 경우가 많이 생기기 때문에 이에 적절히 대응할 수 있는 인재를 뽑겠다는 겁니다.
The blogger added that in the most harsh cases, the prying questions go on for more than an hour and quite a number of interviewees storm out of the interview before it is finished and some end up in tears. The interviewers, with their deadpan faces, often toss questions at the interviewees non-stop and interrupt when the interviewee's answers sound illogical or unconvincing.
Sample case 1. Netizen ID:Nan's story posted on the Nate Pann, a casual discussion page:
들어오자마자 저를 쫙~보시더군요. 그러더니 하시는 말씀”사진이랑 많이 다르네요. 사진으론 외소하게 봤는데”…면접관: 이 이력서로는 우리같은 주식회사에선 일 못한다. 휴학생에다 자격증도 없고 특출나게 잘하는것도 없고…장점이라곤 월급 낮게 부른거 밖에 없다…차라리 능력 좋은 나이 있는 남자를 만나 시집가는게 어떻냐고 하시더군요…
Sample case 2: Netizen ID: Ggeung on the same discussion site. She had a brawl with the interviewer:
저 소위 말하는 지잡대(:지방대학교) (평균 학점) 4.2 대로 나왔습니다. 뭐 서울권에 비하면야 학점 따기 쉽지요…그러더니 면접관 여기 대학은 도대체 누가다니는거냐고 그럽니다. 돈은 있는데 성적이 안 되는 것 들 다니는 곳 아니냐고 능글능글 웃으며 말하네요…왜 휴학했냐고 여쭙길래 고등학교 때부터 부모님 손 안 빌리려고 계속 아르바이트를 해왔는데 등록금을 벌어보려고 휴학을 택했다라고 대답했습니다. 그랬더니 이 담당자 왈 “이래서 없는 것 들이란 없으면 대학을 왜가” 아주 조용히 혼잣말로 속삭이시더군요…기분 나빠서 이력서 탁 뺏었습니다.
Later, the interviewer again spoke ill of Ggeung's parents. They cursed each other and had an intense screaming match before she stormed out of the place. Still, the corporations insist that they need strong people who can handle hostile situations. Others suggest that they should switch to another approach, or at least try to change their working environments into more humane, manageable places.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Chile: 33 Miners Rescued Successfully · Global Voices
Felipe Cordero

Efforts to free 33 miners [es] trapped inside the San Jose copper and gold mine, near the northern city of Copiapó, concluded successfully on October 13. Chileans have not only used blogs and social media to react to the accident and the rescue, but also to discuss issues that are related to the accident and the rescue.
Video by YouTube user tilmorrow.
The miners’ ordeal began when part of the mine collapsed on August 5, leaving the men without an exit. The blog Tribuna Chilena [es] (Chilean Tribune) informed that [es]:
Cuando se produjo el derrumbe, lo primero que intentaron los mineros fue ascender por la escalera del ducto de ventilación, que supuestamente era la salida de emergencia con la que contaba la mina. Pero descubrieron que la escala solo existía en una parte del trayecto y debieron abortar el intento de salida. Más tarde todo el ducto colapsó y ya no hubo posibilidad de usarlo.
When the collapse occurred, the first thing the miners tried [to do] was to ascend though a ladder inside a ventilation shaft that was –supposedly- the emergency exit of the mine. Yet they discovered that the ladder only existed in part of the path and had to abort their attempt to get out. Later the entire shaft collapsed and there was no possibility of using it.
The miners survived inside a shelter with two spoonfuls of tuna fish and half a glass of milk every forty-eight hours [es]. They were found, as Global Voices previously reported, after 17 days thanks to a message they tied to a metal drill used to reach them. The small hole served as a lifeline. Food, clothing, medicines, liquids and equipment were sent through the hole.
During the Rescue
TV Caption: "The first of the 33 is safe" Photo by Flickr user Daniel Semper used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic by Creative Commons.
All TV stations in Chile broadcast the rescue without interruptions. Moreover, people in Chile and other countries took part in Twitter conversations before, throughout, and after the rescue [es]. The tweeting got serious when the first miner emerged. Elizabeth Cuevas (@JeiBiebermaniia) said [es]:
Lloré de la emoción cuando Florencio Ávalos silva salió a la tierra,fué algo maravillosamente emotivo :D
I cried of emotion when Florencio Avalos Silva [first miner to be rescued] emerged to the earth. It was something wonderfully emotive :D
Alez Ortiz (@alexis_audino) said about the miners [es]:
vamos por el cuartooooooooooooo… http://33mineros.13.cl #mineros
let’s go for the fourth…http://33mineros.13.cl #mineros
Frann (@frankaponne) from Santiago said he would stay up all night watching to support the miners [es], comparing the rescue to the Chilean Telethons.
Estibaliz Loredo (@StiLoredo) reflected on the general reaction to the rescue [es]:
Todo el mundo feliz y emocionado con el rescate de los #mineros de #chile… Como no? Si ultimament lo unico q escuchamos es pura desgracia
Everyone is happy and emotional with the rescue of the #miners from #chile… How could it not be? Because lately the only things we hear about are misfortunes
Beatriz Carpente (@AYUDEMOSPLANETA) spoke about the name of the capsule [es] built to bring the miners to the surface:
Que impresionante el rescate, que valentía , la cápsula que tiene un nombre muy hermoso: Fenix , el renacer del hombre #mineros
How impressing the rescue. How  brave. The capsule has a beautiful name: Phoenix, the rebirth of men #miners
As the rescue unfolded without problems, Twitter users seemed to have relaxed. The rescue of Carlos Mamani, the only foreigner (from Bolivia) was commented extensively. While some Chileans joked about Bolivian-Chilean relations (“weak” since the end of the War of the Pacific in 1884), such as Camilo Gomez [es], most thought of Mamani as a fellow countryman. Such was the case of Alda Fuentes [es] (@aldafuentes) and Rodrigo Castro (@rodrigocastrov). Mr. Castro replied to a tweet from Bolivia [es]:
RT @leticoro acá en Bolivia se espera especialmente a Carlos Mamani #mineros // Acá en Chile igual. Aguante el hermano boliviano
RT @leticoro here in Bolivia [we] are waiting especially for Carlos Mamani #miners // Here in Chile too. Hang in there Bolivian brother.
After more than 20 hours of work, the job was done. The citizen-run newspaper El Naveghable [es] reported that [es]:
[A] las 22:05 Luis Urzúa, el jefe que estuvo de turno por 70 días, fue el último en llegar a la superficie inundando de emoción a todo un país que se mantuvo día y noche expectante durante 24 horas a la espera de este momento que por fin y luego de dos meses llegó a su término.
At 22:05, Luis Urzúa, the boss who had a 70-day shift, was the last to reach the surface, overflowing with emotions a country that stayed waiting day and night for this moment that finally –after two months- ended.
Twitter users in Chile and elsewhere mainly used the hashtags #chile, #mineros, #rescate, #vivachile, #los33 and #miners.
On Safety
Before the rescue, Enzo Abbagliati wrote in El Quinto Poder [es] (The Fifth Power) about how the story would be told in the future. He divided this story in chapters. About the last possible chapter of the story, he said [es]:
Pero la mayor lección será la del capítulo final, ese en el que un país  completo, una vez pasada la emoción […] hizo el trabajo que correspondía: reformar las  bases de un modelo de desarrollo que permitía el lucro de unos sobre la  base de la vida de muchos, en el que la riqueza desmedida convivía aún  con carencias profundas.
But the most important lesson will be in the final chapter, where after emotions cool off, an entire country […] did the job that was required: to reform the bases of a development model that allowed for the profiting of some over the lives of many [;a model] in which unbounded wealth coexisted with profound shortages [or a lack of something].
With regard to safety in the workplace, Andrea (@gatulilla) warned that:
Hubo 8 mails del  minero que murió en La Escondida reclamando por la inseguridad de la mina, pero nunca le hicieron caso (via @FeloRockero)
There were 8 emails from the miner that died in La Escondida [mine] complaining about insecurity in the mine, but they never listened to him (via @FeloRockero)
Felipe Becerra (@FeloRockero) replied to her [es]:
@gatulilla Da rabia ver que todos están orgullosos de rescatar mineros del fondo  de la tierra, en vez de reclamar por más seguridad laboral.
@gatulilla It angers me to see that everyone is [just] proud of rescuing the miners from the bottom of the earth, rather than asking for more work safety.
The President, Sebastián Piñera (@sebastianpinera), promised to lead a profound reform in terms of work safety, not just in the mining industry, but also in other sectors of the economy.

author: Felipe Cordero


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China: Anti-Japan demonstrations erupt in three cities · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Large anti-Japan demonstrations took place Saturday afternoon in the cities of Xi'an, Chengdu and Zhengzhou; reportedly organized by university groups over the Internet through QQ and other social networking sites [zh], the protests have taken many [zh] by surprise. They come on the same day as an anti-Chinese protest was held in Tokyo, photos from which can be seen here.
[Update: China Media Project‘s David Bandurski has posted on the protests here. See update 2 below]
A large number of photos and tweets have come out of the protests, yet explanation as to what spurred them remains to be seen, however a Xinhua report that came out soon after protests began references the recent flare-up of the ongoing dispute between the two countries over the Diaoyu islands. Despite having apparently been organized online, few blog posts regarding the motivation behind the demonstrations can currently be found, and even posts about related posts being deleted are being deleted.
Anybody know what sparked today's protests?
From Twitter around 5pm today, in Chengdu:
@carlwang87: 春熙路的伊藤的玻璃被砸了，要不是警察围着，可能伊藤里面都被砸了
@carlwang87: 哎，游行的人看着就像混混似的，俺拿的索尼照的呢，当时怕怕
@carlwang87: 就是成都香槟广场这，除了一个料理店被砸，还有一个打日本牌子的餐馆被砸，游行的起点也是这 他们转了一圈，回来把这砸了
@carlwang: 伊藤门口被警察围着，但是玻璃还是被人用东西砸了http://yfrog.com/mygfcwcj
@carlwang87: 香槟广场人山人海，就是上面三楼一个日本料理被砸，二楼一个日本餐馆也被砸
Twitter user Henry Hu, who has uploaded to Flickr a large number of photos from the Chengdu protest, has tweeted a statement from the Chengdu city government which says that students from all major universities in the city were part of the protest. Among Hu's photos is one reportedly from the scene of the Zhengzhou protest:
From Xi'an, just between 5 and 6 pm:
@inxian: [西安散步]17点前后，钟楼附近的交通部分恢复了。最后一拨人马也开始沿南大街和西大街折返了。
@inxian: [西安散步]悲剧了！正要和平撤退的时候！钟楼饭店下的mizuno专卖店遭到袭击！钢化玻璃门被砸坏！有物品被焚烧！围观群众一片欢呼、鼓掌，并高喊抵制日货等口号。
@inxian: [西安散步]不只mizuno，tonywear，tonyjeans也遭殃了！他们高喊着抵制日货…
@inxian: [西安散步]里面的衣物被拉出，高高抛起…四处乱扔。然后焚烧！他们围着火堆，高唱的是国歌。然后鼓掌…
@inxian: [西安散步]西安钟楼附近现在重新集结了至少2万人。多名网友向inxian短信说：西安目前到处都是学生，到处拥挤堵塞！
@inxian: [西安散步]17点50分前后。这次人群是彻底散开了，因为防暴警察在后面催逼着。没有一辆公交车能看到钟楼附近，很多人都只好步行回家。
A photo on this BBS post shows two police cars leading the Xi'an demonstration:
See here for the latest Tweets regarding today's demonstrations.
update 2
Another anti-Japan protests took place on Sunday in Mianyang, in Sichuan province; Twitter user @kajisan has uploaded several photos:
And YouTube user luofeng0202 has uploaded video:
On Monday afternoon, yet another protest took place in Wuhan, in Hubei province. Among those live-tweeting it are Zhou Jian and @hugh19871210 who put the number of protesters in the low hundreds and police at over a thousand.

author: John Kennedy


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China: netizens find humour in Nobel Peace Prize · Global Voices
Marta Cooper

China Digital Times has collected and translated a selection of Chinese Internet users’ jokes about dissident Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize win. One netizen wrote, “News flash: At 5:00 PM, Beijing time, the phrase “2010 Nobel Peace Prize” was gloriously inducted into the list of ‘sensitive words’.” The original version is available in Chinese here [zh].

author: Marta Cooper


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China: Riot Against Land Acquisition in Guangxi · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On 13 of October, a riot broke out in Longxu town in Guangxi province. Around one thousand villagers confronted armed police against forced land acquisition. Citizen reports on the riot were originally posted at local online forums within Guangxi, but quickly deleted by web censor authorities. In order to spread the news, blogger lovol888888  compiles informations from different sources and reposts them at blog.163.com.
今日广西梧州市苍梧县龙圩镇尤如阿富汗，见到几部警车被打翻，上千村民和几百武警打交，几十老混用上了汽油弹，大棍，火砖来打警察，他们是以林水和坡尾为主，但是对征地不服的周围村，古凤，念村，恩义的村前来支持，共有上千人…
农民跟警察和武警打起来，一警察眼球被打出，一警察被打倒头破血流，苍梧全部的警察被赶到新地路口，警犬被敲死2只，后来调动梧州市武警（8个东风车武警），岑溪也调了5个东风车武警过来支缓，引起几千人来围观场面非常激烈，也很热闹，最后警方放了两次推泪弹驱逐才驱散这几千人！
According to a follow up report at nddaily, the local government officials said the villagers tried to stop a irrigation project:
官方消息将此次事件定性为“梧州市苍梧县村民阻挠自治区级重点工程长洲水利枢纽三、四线船闸施工事件”，但村民在接受南都记者采访时表示，引发冲突的土地项目并不是长洲水利船闸工程，而是当地政府主导的沧海湖人工湖项目。
According to the information provided by lovol888888, the local government has been using public interest as the excuse to rob villagers’ land. Eventually, all the public constructions would turn into property development projects.
现在我村土地就是下小河9分水田了，其它全部卖完了，，卖完地加起身地钱就连一套房都买某起啊，，。你有某了解过？？还有以后生活呢？？请问，我在苍梧二十几年了见证了政府的蒙骗，，全是房地产，林水是最好的见证了，龙湖、祥龙、广场的地，连回建地都没有的，还有！还有都坎村征地全都是以政府名义去征，我见证了我的土地全是政府蒙骗，我对政府没有太大的信心，对政府的愤怒，抱怨。…
…我们村征地大多是在繁华工路两边，有的贪腐就想尽办法要我们的地，举列，十二年前征地建二中学校前二年就建成了交警大楼和酒店房地产变更土地使用权。最近2008年征南广铁路梧州南站，本来车站征地是500亩的，根本不到我们村的地，可能因为在车站旁边，现全部要征完我们村的1000亩山田，都是以政府名义征地说建车站，政府蒙骗我们是什么目的？里面是不是有贪腐在里面我就不而而知了，1000亩的山田补尝款只有2000万，田17000一亩，山9000多一亩，请问是不是很少？里面是不是有不可告人的东西？再是《两年》了还没有动工而是把田到处勾勾也种不了，请问是不是政府在圈地？？还有林水的地要搞龙湖现变成了房地产因为地的问题全村还打架过，游行过，就是因为有了龙湖的房地产搞得上游的下小河年年几千亩水田比水淹，秋季都种不了，现还以下小河年年给水淹说要征地搞沧海湖，我想最后还是房地产吧。害的是我们农民啊，请问政府可不可以给我们入股分红的形式去做？这样农民以后的生活就有保障了。
The article only managed to stay online for one day, and was taken offline in the afternoon of October 15. (A backup of the article can be found here). However, it had been viewed more than 30 thousand times with more than 250 comments, most of which condemned the local government.
Poor Chinese people reports the situation back home:
我老家更黑，就是河北乐亭县王滩镇曹庄村，乡下的土地被政府卖掉建工厂，每人每年才给1000元，有人上访，立马给抓起来，被监视。好不容易民主选出个村长，被殴打反遭诬陷，关进监狱，还没出来呢，大家都怕得很。为什么会下面这么黑？？政府这样下去能长久吗？历史明鉴！！！！！
000wwxx wants an eye for an eye:
像那些狗娘养的贪官警察走狗还有奸商之类的，，搞死几个给他们看看，，他们就知道老百姓不是省油的灯啦，，，强顶，，，大干一场，往死里干，，，老百姓加油
tmdzf is also very resentful towards the government:
政府的枪是对中国百姓的
不是对日本人的
不是我们不爱国,是国家不爱我们
Brother Hao (浩哥）echoes:
百姓长期压抑，社会贫富不均，强权搜刮民财，大众痛不欲生！——这样的社会，不看也罢！
g points out that every one is a victim in this society, even the police:
现在的兵也是傻，在镇压别人的同时，家乡的父母也在被镇压着呢。
Li Shuangde (李双德) exclaims:
监狱里又要关进一大批失地农民了………

author: Oiwan Lam


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France: First Case of Burqa Rage? · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

Allain Jules, blogging in centpapiers from Quebec, cannot wait for the impending decision of a French court in the case of a 63 years old former teacher who ripped off the burqa of a young female tourist from the United Arab Emirates in a Parisian shop back in February. She told the police that: “she had been working in Arab countries before and she was just fed up with all the fuss about the veil”. Allain Jules sarcastically adds  that the business of luxury goods might suffer from the incident [Fr].

author: Suzanne Lehn


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India: Manipur widows stand up for their rights · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anjulika Thingnam at Voices From The Ground narrates the plights of the widows in the Manipur state of India and mentions how they can claim pension benefits from the government.


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India: Shashi Tharoor On The Ayodhya Verdict · Global Voices
Rezwan

“What the court has done is to craft a solution that no political process could have arrived at independently, but which takes the dispute off the streets,”  comments Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and UN Under- Secretary General, while discussing on the recent court ruling on the controversial Ayodhya dispute.


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Japan: Ancient anatomical illustrations · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktentacle published a series of anatomical illustrations [en] that date back to the Edo period (1603-1868). Each illustration is followed by a caption that describes the publication where it first appeared and its scientific value.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Macedonia: TEDxSkopje Participant Selection Controversy · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Many Twitter users voiced dissatisfaction with the preliminary selection to TEDxSkopje, which by the rules of the license is limited to 100 participants. In order to structure the debate, volunteer organizers submitted to an AskReddit-style group interview [MKD] through Ping.mk .

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Nigeria: Is better distribution the remedy for piracy? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is better distribution of Nigerian movies the remedy for piracy?: “For whatever underlying reasons, the Yoruba-language film world – where the average film sells 50-100,000 copies – seems to have better distribution systems. Original films are produced in larger runs and often meet market demand before unauthorized copies enter the market.”


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Nigeria: What is the Solution for Road Safety in Nigeria? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Road Safety in Nigeria – Where Lies The Solution?, Fidelis Nnadi asks: “For years, prominent Nigerians have fallen victims of road traffic accident with no enforceable policies and regulations to tackle the carnage. Among major cause of road traffic accidents in Nigeria are drunkenness, poor quality drivers, fake and sub-standard spare parts, bad roads and overspeeding.”


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Puerto Rico: “80 grados,” A New Online Magazine · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

“80 grados is a publication open to a diversity of reflections”. The School of Communications of the University of Puerto Rico and the citizen media nonprofit Prensa Comunitaria have just inaugurated the digital online magazine 80 grados [ES].

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Rwanda: Living in Rwanda 101 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Living in Rwanda 101 by British blogger Jenny Clover: “1. Don't eat seafood in a land-locked country 2. Never put liquid soap on your hands before checking the water is running 3. Never get on a moto with a fat driver unless willing to do the splits 4. Don't turn up early for anything, even a wedding, unless you have a book to read”


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Sierra Leone: Supporters of Leone Stars in Action · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Photos of supporters of Sierra Leone national soccer team Leone Stars by Sierra Leonean blogger Vickie Ramoe.


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Sierra Leone: The Vickie Remoe Show · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa is a Country introduces his readers to the online and broadcast TV lifestyle show, The Vickie Remoe Show: “I’ve been following Sierra Leonean Vickie Remoe’s lifestyle and culture blog Swit Salone for a few years now.  Blogging from Freetown since 2007, Vickie has been a consistent source of information via the web…”


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South Asia: Bloggers Discussing Water Issues · Global Voices
Rezwan

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. This year the action theme is ‘water’. A number of South Asian bloggers have also participated in this event. Let us look at what some of them are discussing about.
Water pots lined up for filling in Mamallapuram, India. Image by Flickr user mckaysavage. CC BY
Ishrath at Wandering Mist writes:
Water in India is a paradox. It has always been the boon and the bane for the length and breadth of the nation. North India gives birth to water. South India fights for the rivers that flow. Northwest India is a water-starved desert. And Eastern India has the highest rainfall that helps none.
And to top it, the water woes in India include contamination, inadequacy, denial, corruption, portability problems, access, deaths & diseases, pollution, irresponsible industrial growth dependent on water, and a whole lot more. [..]
We have forgotten our ingenious ways of life where every natural resource such as water, was used and not abused. There were no endless showers, hot tubs, rain parties, or huge water tanks to ensure that the water kept running during all ablutions. Water was rationed as per use. There was no concepts of 24/7 water supply where every household had to dig into their bit of land. We, with knowledge, cognizance and responsibility, are continually turning earth into living hell.
Aastha Kukreti at Delhi Greens provides 25 tips to save water. Abha Midha informs:
In India, in the area of sanitation the Sulabh Movement has brought about a social revolution. Started by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the Sulabh toilets are low cost and environmental friendly solution for people.
Water distribution point in Patan Nepal. Image by Flickr user Wayan Vota. CC BY-NC
Bhumika Ghimire sheds a light into the water issues in Nepal:
Water crisis is directly related to Nepal's deteriorating environment. In capital Kathmandu, many areas don't get water for six days a week, and are forced to either buy water through dealers or have to rely on local wells and rivers-whose water quality is not monitored.
Ujjwal Acharya posts a picture showing how water is associated with our day to day lives.
Although Pakistan is suffering from the worst flood in past century, some of its region are dry and suffer from desertification. Khalida Brohi, an indigenous girl from  Balochistan, Pakistan notes that indigenous people are the first ones to be worst hit by climate change:
Balochistans traditional forms of livelihood and using of agricultural land have now slowly been changing, The two methods Khushkaba and Sailaba  of agriculture are diverted, the usually making of bands to use up flood water for lands doesn’t work because floods have change course as now even the ingenious knowledge can’t predict from where the flesh floods would be attacking, once a blessing to the people of valleys in Baluchistan, mountains are now a danger of disaster them.
Marvi well in Malir village in Tharparkar desert of Sindh. Image by Flickr user Kashif. CC BY
Jalal HB at Fire Within writes about the scarcity of drinking water in the Thar deserts of Sindh province:
When it rains, the rain water gets collected in small low lying bowl shaped ponds called the “tobas” where men and animals drink together. There are no alternatives as well digging is not possible. Even if there is a success, the water is so brackish and salty that it cannot be consumed for drinking purposes.


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Sri Lanka: Artists Are Outcasts Of The System · Global Voices
Rezwan

Makuluwo at Cerebral Ramblings describes how the students pursuing creative arts and literature in Sri Lanka are considered an outcasts of the system and because of it many of them resort to a safe path.


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Tanzania: The Legacy of Mwalimu Nyerere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Elsie reflects on the legacy of Tanzania's first president Mwalimu Nyerere: “Speaking of legacy, Mwalimu would never turn down a presidential debate. Quite the opposite: he would relish the opportunity to crush his opposition with his nimble wit and oratory skills…”


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Bangladesh: Celebrating Cricket Victory · Global Voices
Rezwan

Faisal Caesar at All Round View describes how Bangladesh cricket team triumphed over New Zealand by beating them 4-0 in an ODI series.


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Bhutan: Archery And Poor Safety Measures · Global Voices
Rezwan

KarmaCW at Kuzu Bhutan Weblog writes about the popularity of archery, the Bhutan’s national sport, and the need to establish proper safety regulations to prevent freak accidents.


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Brazil: Encounters and Dialogues on Lusophone Cultures · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

From 18-22 October there are “lusophone encounters and dialogues” [pt] with Portuguese language African countries at the Federal University of Ceará. The Brazilian University hosts the 3rd edition of the festival that aims to reflect about cultural influences and common identities. Follow on Twitter. @IIIFestivalUFC.

author: Sara Moreira


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Brazil: gathering outside printers to stop spread of anti-Dilma pamphlets · Global Voices
Marta Cooper

Rodrigo Vianna at Escrevinhador [pt] writes that around 60 people gathered in front of a São Paulo graphic printers in the early hours of this morning to prevent the distribution of pamphlets allegedly commissioned by a Catholic Bishop attacking presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff. Soon after news of the gathering spread, it was discovered that the printers’ owner has been affiliated to the opposition party, PSDB, since 1991.


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Brazil: It gets better · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Hugo Lorenzetti Neto posts a moving open facebook note [pt] in support of the “struggle to end intolerance and violence against homosexuals, and suicide motivated simply by being different”.

author: Paula Góes


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China: Declaration on Liu Xiaobo’s award of Nobel Peace Prize · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Bullogger contains a declaration on Liu Xiaobo's award of Nobel Peace Prize, signed by hundreds of intellectuals, writers, journalists, lawyers and other citizens, including Xu Youyu and Cui Weiping. It is available in Chinese, English, French and Japanese.

author: Andy Yee


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Japan: Udon noodle to cause water pollution · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

On Blog Action Day, Japanstyle reported the news [en] that udon (thick wheat-flour noodle) caused water pollution in Kagawa Prefecture (Shikoku Island). According to the post, the problem would be the poor drainage system as “In the region without sewer, the water left over after boiling udon which contained high concentration of starch is drained directly into river and waterway.”


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Malaysia: Budget 2011 Announced · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who also holds the Finance portfolio, unveiled the Budget 2011 that lays down the economic plans of the country for the next few years.
Among the highlights of the Budget are: plans to build another six highways and a 100-storey tower, implementing a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) transportation system in Kuala Lumpur, building new hospitals, increasing the number of doctors, nurses and medical supplies as well as to enhance English and Bahasa Malaysia proficiency.
Although the Prime Minister had obtained wishlists from citizens in his blog, overall feedback on the budget has been largely negative.
Blogger I Am Malaysian is just one of many who do not see the need to build a 100-storey tower:
Everybody wants a tallest tower. So we should do it too. Oh, but wait,  there is definitely no way we will be building the tallest tower with  this 100-storey building, because Burj Khalifa is more than 160 storeys high. So since we’re not in it to break any  world records this time round, why are we doing this again?
Blogger James Ooi also lamented that despite the proposal to turn the country into a high income economy, he feels that with inflation his purchasing power is constantly decreasing.
However, blogger Eric Yong felt that the Budget was going in the right direction.
It does  seem like it is very encouraging for the country's economy. With the  region's outlook looking sluggish, Malaysia would be pretty ambitious to  be announcing quite a massive budget, but this is quite an achievable target as well.
The full text of the Prime Minister's speech can be found here, and the highlights of Budget 2011 can be found here.

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Morocco: “Driving to Civility” · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Moroccan writer and traveler Ahmed T.B. describes his journey in a taxi through the hellish Casablanca traffic as a new and controversial driving code is being put in place.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Saudi Arabia: Calls to Free Samar Albadawi · Global Voices
Haifa Alrasheed

Samar Albadawi, a divorced Saudi woman is currently being held in Brayman jail in Jeddah for disobeying her father. The story was on top of  the Saudi trends on Twitter -under the hashtags #samar and #Samar- since the weekend.  According to the documents published in a blog post, by Fouad Al-Farhan, the judge Abdullah Al-Othaim ruled in favour of her abusive drug-addicted father despite of the apparent evidence against him, family members testimonies against him, and letters addressing the issue from Royal authorities against the judge's verdict.
Samar's story caused a controversy on social media websites and blogs. While some stood by Samar's side, supporting her cause and “re-tweeting” blog entries calling to free her, others questioned the documents published in the blog, and whether they were official or not.
Free Samar !
Saudis are standing up for Samar in every possible way; blog entries, Facebook profiles photos, tweets and designs.
Below are some reactions from some supporters.
From Twitter, Ibrahim Falaqi calls people to use Twitter to help Samar:
Waleed Abu Alkhair justifies his support for the cause:
Free Samar Campaign Design
Meanwhile, HapHazard writes a blog on how to support Samar.
We're not sure yet!
On the other hand, some Saudis are skeptical about the Samar's story, and question about the authenticity of the documents published on blogs.
From Twitter, Bandar Bin Naif says:
Raed AlSaeed started a poll on Twitter and the results were:
Waiting
Meanwhile, the support campaign is still progressing, and now has a Facebook fan page, a CrowdVoice page, and the Samar's hashtags are still active and trending in hope that an official move will be taken.
As a last word, Eyad Qaes suggests:

author: Haifa Alrasheed


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Sri Lanka: Why The Students Protest · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Sri Lankan University students regularly protest and the police regularly beat them up,” opines Indi.ca and discusses the reasons behind their protests.

author: Rezwan


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Taiwan: Problems with renewable energy policy · Global Voices
David Reid

Michael Turton discusses how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposes policies which would increase the use of renewable energy.

author: David Reid


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Afghanistan: Peace strategy based on flawed assumptions · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding analyzes a new report by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, which reveals that the Afghan government's Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme is based on flawed assumptions.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Africa: Growth, Innovation and Transport · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Stephen writes about growth, innovation and transport in the development of Sub Saharan Africa economies: “Many people recognize that access to adequate transport services is vital for development.  Since 1987, the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program (SSATP)—a partnership driven by 36 countries—has been working with governments and regional organizations to enhance the policy and regulation environment for transport, both to facilitate growth and to lift people out of poverty.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Angola: The Origin of Angolan Kuduro · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is the origin of Angoln Kuduro?: “It all started here: an Angolan amputee, a car, and a dream. Okay, Kuduro, a genre of Angolan dance music, started long before that, but for me, it started here.”


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Barbados: Back in the Saddle  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Wuhlossssss. A day is a long time in politics in Bimshire. It's official, y'all….”: Cheese-on-bread! reports that former Prime Minister Owen Arthur is back at the helm of the Barbados Labour Party as Leader of the Opposition.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Chile: The 34th Miner · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Roberto Arancibia from El Mundo Sigue Ahí [es] writes about “the 34th miner”: the other miners that got out of the San José mine and did not get trapped. He thought about that 34th miner when the news broke that the 33 miners were alive, and when the rescued miners started receiving offers for trips, jobs, houses and money.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: Life at the bottom of the society · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Annie Lee writes a feature on the daily life (and pain) of the bottom of the society in China (via China Hush).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Vehicle smashed during the anti-Japanese Protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The youtube video shows how Chinese protesters smashed a Japanese branded vehicle during the anti-Japanese demonstration in Mianyang city, Sichuan province yesterday (October 17 2010).


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El Salvador: Demanding Local Food · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Colleen O'Brien begins her post “Growing Local Food Demand” asking, “Local food in El Salvador? It certainly exists, even though farmers markets, CSAs and advocates don’t abound in this country.” She later writes, “Fresh food for the urbanites, steady incomes for the campesinos. Is it just a pipe dream? I would like to think not.”


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Europe: EU and LGBT Rights · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Katerina Todorovska wrote [MKD] on the Macedonia in the European Union blog about EU's imperfect record on LGBT rights and its positive influence in relation to starting the debate and improving tolerance in the Western Balkans, as Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia strive to join this supranational structure.


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Guyana: How Time Passes  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Signifyin’ Woman takes comfort in Guyanese poet Martin Carter's “startling look at how time can be measured” as she mourns the sudden passing of her sister.


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Haiti: Camp Conditions  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nine months after the January 12 earthquake, Haiti Grassroots Watch examines the conditions in the country's “1,354 squalid refugee camps”.


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India: Twitter For Blood · Global Voices
Rezwan

Suresh C introduces to us an innovative tool in India called tweet4blood. Developed by Thejesh, this Twitter based tool lets you request for blood to followers @tweet4blood who are donors. Tweets are also hashtagged city wise for easy finding.


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India: Village Health Issues · Global Voices
Rezwan

Brijesh Nair visited a village in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and found that the drinking water infrastructure in a “lower caste community” was in poor condition causing health issues among the village people.


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Jamaica: A Year of Blogging  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Using social media has provided us with [a] very rewarding and effective way to communicate with existing and new audiences…”: National Gallery of Jamaica Blog celebrates its first birthday.


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Japan Blog Festival  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Todd's Wanderings hosts the October Japan Blog Matsuri (or festival), “dedicated to the best Japan has to offer…or at least what YOU think are Japan’s best places, experiences, activities…whatever.” The theme for this month is Japan Highlights and here are the guidelines [en] to submit a post.


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Jordan: The ArabCrunch Controversy Continues · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

ArabCrunch was founded in 2008.  The blog launched its Arabic version in 2009, and quickly became a leading blog in the Arab tech sector under the leadership of Gaith Saqer.  As the site states,
“The mission of ArabCrunch.NET is to help accelerate entrepreneurship and technology innovation in the Arab world by delivering an online social platform that connects participants of the technology ecosystem.”
In Aug 2010, the US State Department announced that it would fund a similar platform to support Arab tech firms.   Mr. Saqer wrote that he felt personally threatened by the US government directly competing with Arab Crunch.
He later clarified that:
We are not against competition, in fact we already have competitors in different fronts and many of them are our friends, and many of us supported each other in different ways, competition is healthy and helps everyone innovate…What we are against is unfair competition, the point about US Department of State entering in competition against ArabCrunch is that it is not just against free market principles, as our sources who are close to the US Department of Defense and the US State Department has informed us that if we do not join the US government effort, they will destroy “you.”
In September, ArabCrunch launched a series of allegations, including that the CIA acquired the company that hosted ArabCrunch’s servers, the CIA/Mossad had accessed the ArabCrunch Google accounts, and the State Department-run platform was run by former Israeli military personnel.
Saqer’s suspicions were only heightened when, in October, Saqer learned that ArabCrunch would not receive a media pass to a regional tech forum.  This forum was held in Jordan, where Saqer is from, and was funded largely by the U.S. Department.  Saqer wrote:
For the first time in our history a technology event refuses to issue a media pass to ArabCrunch! No event from Dubai to London to Washington to Silicon Valley have ever refused to issue us a media pass before. But folks at MENA ICT Forum in Jordan did not issue one for us!
Is this a new chain of plots against ArabCrunch?
In reaction, Jordanian bloggers and Twitter users asked Saqer to refocus his forum on its original purpose, that of promoting Arab tech firms:
Adel wrote:
@ArabCrunch your website is on the top now. my humble advise is that you keep focusing on what you do best: tech and startup news.
And Hanan Abdel Meguid advised:
@ArabCrunch Gaith, Focus on Technology my friend, U R among first to keep us informed…Best way to humiliate is to ignore. Skip Politics.
Others accused Saqer of paranoia:
Diptychal wrote:
Really disappointing to see that @ArabCrunch is continuing with paranoid delusions. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
Maninna similarly mourns:
@ArabCrunch I used to take you seriously until your tweets became paranoid. What happened? besides u provide no support for any claims
A new Twitter feed, KillArabCrunch, was founded to encourage others to end any associations with ArabCrunch:
KillArabCrunch @arabcrunch is still number one Arabic startup blog according to Google search. Help stop this ridiculousness and kill this website now!
And a satirical spinoff, ArabCrunchies.com, also sarcastically jabs at Saqer’s allegations:
[W]e have been trying for some time to arrange an interview with the Founder of ArabCrunch and all-round badass, Gaith “CIA Eater” Saqer, but sadly we have been unable to get through to him.
We suspect that our emails and tweets are probably being intercepted by the CIA/FBI/CNN/Mossad/MosDef in transit, as we are certain Gaith would jump at the chance to talk directly to the Crunchies readers
On October 15th, Mohammed Qwaider begged these online authors to take a step back.
Folks, this has gone too far. This is not how things should go.
Granted, Ghaith is mentally unstable and completely paranoid. Or perhaps he's playing a game of some sort. But to find people creating accounts on Twitter under the name “Kill Arab Crunch” is flat out cyber bullying and bordering on hate speech.
This is not acceptable and shouldn't be allowed in any way, shape or form.
People like that need help. Not to be bullied around like that!
Efforts by Global Voices Online to contact Mr Saqer for a comment on these allegations were met by the following email response:
We found that you had a talent in writing, would you be interested in
doing an internship or working for ArabCrunch? We can be flexible
about time and so on.
Thanks,
ArabCrunch Editorial Team

author: Betsy Fisher


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Kenya: My Life as a Transgender Girl in Kenya · Global Voices
Haute Haiku

Lindsay is a transgendered woman living in Kenya who shares her life and her journey to womanhood on her blog Living Lindsay- My life as a transgender girl in Kenya. She describes herself as “I'm a normal girl with not-so-normal traits. I am transgender, or transsexual if you like.”
This is going to be her sixth month since her surgery and she feels that she is more at ease with her life than before. Her main goal is to educate the public on transgender issues in Kenya by answering questions from the public about her journey on her blog.  She has blogged about her surgery orchidectomy, blogging and challenges she has to go through; violent encounters, how she had to move houses and her struggle with her identification documents. Her  story has also been highlighted in one of the Kenyan daily newspaper and she hopes that she will make a difference in the Kenyan society.
I recently interviewed Lindsay about her transitional journey, blogging and other issues relating to transgender community in Kenya and Africa.
Question: What inspired you to start a blog?
Answer: At the time, I felt I needed to share out my views, rant, have a place to be free and talk about my thoughts feelings and stuff. It was the perfect place where I could be myself without hiding. I also thought I could reach out to others like me and learn from them.
Q: For how long have you been blogging?
A: The blog has been operational for the last two years. My first post is dated May 2008. That's when I started.
Q: What is the life of transgendered person in Kenya?
A: That's not an easy question. We are different. Some of us have it easy (like me) and some of us have it rough. I for one was blessed enough to have the support of most of my family including my Mother, to have a source of income which enables me to purchase hormones and undergo surgery (Bilateral Orchidectomy) and simply survive. Others do not have this. Some of us have had to become sex workers so as to have a livelihood. Most of us, because of family pressure, lack of finances and other factors, still live in their assigned sexes (for example a trans man still living as a woman) and therefore is still suffering within. Others because of fear of stigma, cannot do anything.
In general, if you are discovered to be transgender, the likelihood of you being stigmatized, harassed, discriminated against, beaten up, ridiculed, publicly undressed to see what you have between your legs and the worst of all, corrective raped is high. Sometimes even such violations are done by the very peopled entrusted with the power to protect us, i.e. the police. Even more disheartening, is that the government has little policies and laws that assist the transgendered person in Kenya and. What's there is that police use laws such as “impersonation” to harass and jail trans persons.
Q: What drove the desire for your  transition? When did you start journey?
A: I consider myself a woman. I wanted to look like one. The way I felt I was, who I felt I was. This was my desire. To be me. Both inside and out. I hated pretending to be something I wasn't.
I began transitioning about a year ago in September 2009. The process is not easy. At first, because of my physical appearance, it was extremely difficult to convince people that I was female. In fact, one of the incidences I had was in a hotel where I wanted to use the ladies and this guard forcefully stopped me asking me why I was going into the ladies room and saying “Are you a girl?” repeatedly. Luckily I was saved by one of the hotel employees. I came to understand later that the said employee had previously worked in South Africa and hence was exposed to such scenarios.
After months of struggling and intake of hormones, my appearance improved and it was hard to detect that I was previously male-looking. I was excited. Later on I managed to book for an appointment with a surgeon to undergo Bilateral Orchiectomy. This in lay terms is a castration – the removal of the testes. I did this because one, I needed to save up on cost of reducing testosterone levels in my body and the elimination of testes meant that I produced virtually no testosterone, and two, I felt that it would not be a problem to have them anyway, if anything, I'd be happier without them. To me they were a nuisance. I still haven't done the main GRS as it is costly and am not yet prepared for it. Also, to have it done in Kenya is a big problem and people who have attempted before have faced numerous challenges that have proved futile.
Q: When did you learn that you are a transgender other than gay or any other labels that would be stamped on you?
A: I discovered I was different when I was about 4 years old. I knew that something wasn't right. Something about my gender. Back then I didn't know what it was. Until later in life when I was in high school and was introduced to internet and discovered the word GID (gender identity disorder). Before then, I knew about gays, but I knew that that didn't describe what I felt/was.
Q: You have a post on your blog that says “I don't exist” clarify on that. What problems does a trans person  go through in Africa.
A: I wrote that post in lamentation for the bare fact that, while I do have an identity card, it is in a name that I do not use, that I cannot use and that I refuse to use. Again, it has a picture of someone who does not even remotely look like me. Therefore, even if I tell someone that that is my ID card, they'd hardly believe me.
Also, getting a new identity card with my new name is not allowed. The current laws might allow for change of name but they don't allow for change of sex. In addition, that change of name is rarely approved if it is clearly a change from a male name to a female name or vice versa. This is why I termed myself “an alien”.
Q: How do you feel now that now that you have gone through your surgery gender reassignment surgery? What do you friends and family think?
A: Let me clarify that I have not undergone GRS yet. What I had is a castration.
Considering the reasons why I did so, my supporting family & friends have no problem with it, although the question of whether I wanted to have offspring came up often. I told them I didn't mind not having kids from my own blood/sperm for the bare fact that the means (of having the baby) would not be acceptable to me.
Q: How has your  life changed now that you are a transgender woman?
A: I am a happier more fulfilled person now. I feel rejuvenated, I feel happy practically daily and living now for me has more meaning. I am much much better than I was a year ago.
Q: How would you describe LGBT blogosphere in Africa?
A: Africa has few LGBTI bloggers (yes, people tend to  forget the “I” yet they are part of it!) but the ones I have seen  actually help improve the image of lgbti persons in society. I have  heard people tell me that their views have changed simply because they  read something on my blog or on some other lgbti's blog. I actually hope  to see more and more lgbti bloggers out there and even more specific,  have a intersex person share their livelihood, challenges and joys with  us so as to learn more and increase our tolerance levels.
Q: Has blogging helped in communicating LGBT issues in Kenya, what is the progress?
A: Yes. I think a lot has changed and by people reading blogs from lgbti persons, more awareenss is created. There are many many blogs out there being published daily and I feel that this has helped. One blogger friend called me the first Kenyan transgender blogger and I feel so honored. I am happy thay through my blogging, many have learnt a lot about trans persons and the pink community in general.
Q: What do you think about the future of blogging concerning LGBTs?
A: I think the future now needs to shift into more personal issues. Considering that awareenss is being increased every day, word about such blogs needs to be out there more. The only problem is that there are less ‘out’ or visible bloggers and that anonymity poses a certain detriment.

author: Haute Haiku


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Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan: Counter-insurgency campaign faces fuel supply pressures · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Eugene Iladi reports on the decision by Kyrgyz authorities to investigate fuel supply contracts to the Manas Transit Center and how this could detriment the American campaign in Afghanistan


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Kyrgyzstan: Elections, a view from within · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

neweurasia’s Bermet toured 12 polling stations in Kyrgyzstan to observe the balloting procedure and shares impressions of what many experts say were the nation’s most important elections since independence.


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Kyrgyzstan: Parliamentary elections outcome · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Elina Galperin writes a post about the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, which were taking place amidst anxiety over possible disorders, but turned out to be a peaceful and generally free vote.


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Maldives: A Town Without Vehicles · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hilath writes about Villingili, a satellite town without vehicles in Maldives.


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Mongolia: Fashion designer wins prize in France · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Mongolian fashion designer Tsolmandakh Munkhuu picked up the “Public Prize” at the annual Hyeres Festival of Photography and Fashion, heesco informs.