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All Quiet in Guinea After Coup, Say Bloggers · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Confusion reigned in Conakry following the passing of President Lansana Conte and an apparently successful coup led by Guinean General Moussa Dadis Camara.
Conte had ruled Guinea with an iron fist for a quarter of a century.  His hold on power seemed to have weakened in recent years, during which he has lived largely a recluse, reportedly suffering from diabetes.
Guinea, with 10 million inhabitants, is the world's first producer of bauxite. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world despite its mineral resources.
The main question, as described by Le Pangolin, in an interview with Serge Michel, a Swiss journalist specializing in African affairs, is whether or not the situation will degrade into a blood bath:
“L'état de la Guinée est très mauvais. Le pays n'a pas été géré depuis des années. Il y a un vide au sommet de l'Etat. Le pouvoir n'était plus exercé par le Président mais par ses proches conseillers qui étaient d'ailleurs régulièrement renouvelés. De plus, le pays est rongé par une très grande corruption. Contrairement à beaucoup d'Etats africains, la Guinée n'a pas connu la guerre civile, pourtant, quand on voit l'état de délabrement dans lequel est le pays, on a l'impression que la guerre est passée par là. A Conakry, la capitale, les bâtiments tombent en ruine, la ville semble avoir été laissée à l'abandon. En ce qui concerne les institutions politiques, elles sont extrêmement faibles et n'ont pas la force de résister à une tentative de coup d'Etat. Les militaires ont un véritable boulevard devant eux. La question aujourd'hui est de savoir si la situation va dégénérer en bain de sang ou non.”
The coup was led by a previously unknown captain, Moussa Davis Camara, who cited “general corruption”, impunity and anarchy, economical catastrophes to justify the dissolution of the government and the suspension of the constitution.
“Nous sommes là pour promouvoir l'organisation d'élections présidentielles crédibles et transparentes d'ici la fin décembre 2010″, a ajouté le capitaine Camara. Mardi, lors de sa première allocution à la nation, il avait annoncé que ces élections auraient lieu d'ici deux mois. “
However the Prime Minister, Ahmed Tidiane Souare, has also said the government was still firmly in place and was preparing the funerals of the president.
France, the US and the rest of the international community have expressed their preference for a better political resolution than a coup.
“This seizure of power constitutes a flagrant violation of the Guinean constitution,” the African Union said in a statement.
On Aminata.com, Sambégou Diallo lifts the confusion and reports that “it is done”, Moussa Dadis Camara is now the third president of the republic of Guinea.
“Le cortège présidentiel vient de s'ébranler en direction de Kaloum. Il est exactement 15 heures TU. Les membres du Conseil national de démocratie et de développement ont préféré faire le tour de la capitale, passant par le centre commercial de Madina, puis Dixinn, Coléah, le Camp Almamy Samory, (dans Kaloum) avant de prendre la direction de Sekhoutoureya, et puis… et enfin le camp Koundara.
Le cortège devrait vraisemblablement revenir, après cette extraordinaire parade, revenir au palais de la Colombe pour installer le capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara dans ses nouvelles et exaltantes fonctions de président de la République.”
“The presidential motorcade has just left in direction of Kaloum. It is exactly 15 hours Universal Time. The members of the National Council of Democracy and Development have prefered to tour the capital, passing by the commercial center of Madina, then Dixinn, Coleah, then the Almamy Samory camp, (in Kaloum), before taking the direction of Sekhoutoureya, and the… the Koundara camp.
The motorcade should probably come back, after this extraordinary parade, to the palace of Colombe to install captain Moussa Dadis Camara in his new and exalted role as President of the Republic.”
While newspapers report that the coup leaders are firmly in charge of the national broadcasting headquarters and are occupying many strategic buildings across the city, Guinean bloggers report that all is quiet :
Henri Willox says :
“Ici, dans la banlieue de Conakry, tout un chacun vaque à ses occupations et la vie se déroule comme d'habitude, sauf que nous avons encore de l'électricité alors qu'habituellement, elle est coupée vers six heures du matin.
Il n'y a pas eu un seul coup de feu de toute la nuit, et la population se dit plutôt heureuse de la prise du pouvoir par de jeunes militaires.”
“Here in the suburb of Conakry, everyone goes about one's daily business, and life is the same, apart from the fact that we still have power, while usually, there is an interruption around six in the morning.
There has been no shots during the night, and the residents express their rather favorable view of the power grab by the young soldiers. “
Association des Ressortissants et Sympathisants de Fria reports the same quiet :
“Tout est calme à Fria, les gens se sont rendus au travail comme si c'était un jour normal. La plupart des commerces sont restés ouverts et il n'y a eu aucune précipitation, malgré quelques personnes désireuses de faire des provisions pour le réveillon de demain. Même les enfants ont voulu aller à l'école, mais ils ont été renvoyés à la maison. Les soldats sont dans les casernes et il n'y a pas de mouvement de troupes dans la ville.
L'annonce du décès a été faite vers 2 heures du matin. Ils ont attendu que les gens dorment pour éviter les rassemblements dans les rues. Mais la nouvelle a de toutes façons été accueillie presque dans l'indifférence. Les gens sont tellement fatigués à cause de la crise économique guinéenne et mondiale, qu'il n'y a pas eu de réaction excessive. “
“All is quiet in Fria, people went to work as on any other day. Most shops were open and there was no panic, although some people went shopping for tomorrow's wake. Even kids wanted to go to school, but they were sent back home. Soldiers are in their barracks, and there were no troops in town.
They announced the passing around two in the morning. They waited for people to sleep to avoid rallying in the streets. But the news were met with indifference. People are so tired of the economic crisis in Guinea and around the world, there were no excessive reactions.”
One reader, Bali de Yeimberein, hopes for change :
“De manière succinte, il faut espérer que des militaires réellement épris de justice sociale, de paix et visionnaires arrivent aux affaires et garantissent une authentique transition en veillan à une TOTALE REFONDATION de la Guinée (ses institutions, leurs modes de fonctionnement mais surtout une nouvelle mentalité) le tout dans un environnement d'ETAT DE DROIT.
Ce sont des préalables à tout retour de la Guinée d'abord à une situation de PAYS (normal) puis, dans un second temps, se donner les chances de pénétrer le champ du concert des Nations.
Victime de prédation sans précédent, saignée à blanc, vidée de toutes ses ressources (agricoles, minières) dévoyée de ses ressources humaines, la Guinée risque de ne JAMAIS se remettre de CINQUANTE ANS de dictature et gabegie. Ces lignes seront-elles lues par un des futurs (?) responsables du pays?”
“Succinctly, one has to hope that soldiers who are really hungering for social justice, peace and possess vision, will handle affairs and warrant an authentic transition, while keeping in mind a COMPLETE REDO of Guinea (its institutions, modus operandi, but also a new mentality), all in an environment where laws are applied.
These are preconditions to any return of Guinea to a situation of normal country, then in a second time, to give Guinea chances to join other nations.
Guinea has been the victim of unprecedented exploitation, emptied of any resources (human, mineral and agricultural), Guinea risks to NEVER recover from FIFTY YEARS of dictature and anarchy. Will these lines be read by any future official of the country?”
One blogger rejoices in Conte's passing :
“Enfin, le tyran est parti après 24 ans de règne. Délivrance générale !”
A feeling echoed by JT, a Global Voices reader:
“Now it is ended. Conte has died. That’s that. And now it begins. Now begins the hard work. Now the people of Guinea must seize their nation and their destiny. The oppressor is gone. Do not allow another dictator to take his throne. With much love and hope for the best for all of the people of Guinea,JT
Maintenant il est fini. Conte est mort. C’est ca.  Et maintenant il commence. Commence maintenant le dur labeur. Maintenant les personnes de la Guinée doivent saisir leur nation et leur destin. L’oppresseur est allé. Ne permettez pas à un autre dictateur de prendre son trône. Avec beaucoup d’amour et d’espoir pour le meilleur pour toutes les personnes de Guinée, JT”
Although Alseny Ndiaye wonders if the Guinean people's attitude, and Africans’ in general, does not have a responsibility in turning their leaders into tyrants:
“Les africains en général et ceux de l’Ouest en particulier, ont une tendance exagérée à personnifier le pouvoir et à le diviniser. Cela se manifeste à tous les niveaux. Du jour au lendemain, un homme ordinaire, de par son arrivée au pouvoir, est perçu comme un envoyé de Dieu ; on lui crédite de pouvoirs extraordinaires, d’intelligence hors du commun, de visionnaire. On le cite dans les propos les plus banals voire farfelus. On lui attribue la paternité de toutes les idées jugées bonnes, de toutes les citations, de tous les projets. Imaginez un président inculte qui a de la peine même pour écrire son nom, et qui se retrouve subitement « auteur » d’une œuvre littéraire, philosophique voire économique !.”
Some readers of the daily French newspaper Le Monde worry that the fate of Guinea after their strong man's passing may predict other African countries’ :
Turgot comments:
“Le pire est que ce qui se passe (de façon totalement prévisible) en Guinée est plus ou moins la reproduction de ce qui s’est passé en Côte d’Ivoire à la mort d’Houphouët (pas de succession préparée et guerre des héritiers) et préfigure ce qui se passera dans un certain nombre d’autres pays africains à la mort de leurs présidents: Cameroun (Biya), Gabon (Bongo), Tchad (Déby), et même peut-être Sénégal à la mort de Wade (encore que ce pays connaît un semblant de tradition démocratique).”


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Angola: On The Lack of Human Rights · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

In the mood for the month celebrations for Human Rights Day, Angolan bloggers have a lot to say. The country has not yet ceased to be mentioned in reports about violations to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Despite holding a seat at the Human Rights Council for three years (2007/2010), the truth is that local authorities fail to respect citizens’ basic rights. There are several cases, ranging from sub-human prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and people forced from their homes without due compensation, to media censorship.
Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] analyzes this dark panorama, mentioning a report released by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in which Angola is accused of not having produced reports on human rights  for thirteen years.
“Surpresa? Talvez, para uns quantos que andam arredados da realidade angolana e agarrados ao facto de Angola ser, desde Maio passado, um dos países com assento no conselho de Direitos Humanos para o triénio 2007-2010. Fui um dos que aplaudiu esta entrada. Para mim como para outros seria uma maneira de Angola mostrar que, paulatinamente, os Direitos Humano scomeçavam a fazer sentido no País. Ou seja, a entrada de Angola seria “um passo no caminho certo” como chegaram duas associações cívicas angolanas a dizê-lo. (…) “Mas quando energúmenos ameaçam – e fora de portas – angolanos (jornalistas ou comentadores) perante familiares; quando políticos são espancados e mortos por fiscais do próprio partido por falta de pagamento de quotas partidárias; quando um governador provincial é acusado de esbofetear e agredir trabalhadores e autoridades dessa província de tentarem anular a cultura regional; quando o caso Miala parece ir parir um rato e, provavelmente, os acusados serem mandados para casa e sem terem tido a oportunidade de expor em Tribunal as suas razões evocando este que as ditas estavam fora do processo embora tudo mostrasse que não; quando jornalistas do semanário “Agora” foram ameaçados por indivíduos que se dizem autoridades, durante uma inspecção dos mesmos a um mercado, tudo acaba, infelizmente, por ser muito natural. E, segundo alguns defensores angolanos dos direitos humanos, a violação dos Direitos Humanos em Angola vai acontecendo “Apesar dos esforços do Governo, continuam as detenções arbitrárias, por parte da polícia nacional” e sem que as autoridades centrais autorizem ou deles tenha real conhecimento. Quanto a isto, lamento mas tenho sinceras dúvidas. Ou seja, há um certo “deixa andar” e uma estranha liberdade na actuação e interpretação do que é ser “autoridade” e como lidar com a “liberdade”, com a “igualdade” e com os “direitos humanos”. E quem fica a perder são tão-somente Angola e os angolanos. Mas são actos que acabam por ter repercussões no continente africano e no modo como somos olhados pelos Ocidentais.”
*In September the former director of Angola’s External Security Services, General Fernando Garcia Miala, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by a military court for insubordination. He had failed to appear at a ceremony to demote him after he was dismissed from his post in 2006. Source Amnesty International Report 2008.
The lack of freedom of press in Angola led the blog of the political party FpD –Frente para a Democracia [Democracy Front, pt] to denounce cases of abuse, such as what has recently happened to a journalist imprisoned in Namibe province. A Radio Namibe reporter, Francisco Lopes, was taken for 30 days’ corrective imprisonment for, at the time of publication, unknown reasons:
“O gabinete de comunicação da FpD tomou conhecimento por notícia publicada pelo Apostolado de mais uma nódoa para os direitos humanos em Angola. E amanhã é já dia 10 de Dezembro, dia internacional dos direitos humanos.
Até quando vamos aceitar todas estas violações de direitos humanos? Até quando vamos continuar a aceitar este “desgoverno” que continua a espalhar amargura pelo povo angolano? Não se silencie, reenvie esta notícia do Apostolado a todos os seus contactos. Vamos ajudar este nosso irmão a ter justiça”.
Angola Xyami [pt] blog brings news about a report launched in the US regarding human rights in the world:
“O Departamento de Estado americano acaba de divulgar o seu relatório anual. Este ano, o Sudão, a Síria e o Uzbesquitão foram acrescentados à lista dos piores violadores dos direitos humanos. Daquela lista constam igualmente a Bielorússia, Birmânia, Cuba, Eritreia, Irão, Coreia do Norte e Zimbabué. Relativamente aos PALOPS – Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, o Departamento de Estado destaca o facto do governo de Cabo Verde respeitar, regra geral, os direitos dos seus cidadãos. Refere, contudo, que continuam a verificar-se problemas nalgumas áreas tais como a violência policial sobre detidos, as precárias condições nas prisões cabo-verdianas, longos períodos de detenção pré-julgamento, violência e discriminação relativamente às mulheres e exploração do trabalho infantil. Já em Angola, o Departamento de Estado americano conclui, no seu relatório, que a situação dos direitos humanos continua a deixar muito a desejar registando-se sérios problemas durante o ano transacto. Entre os problemas: impedimentos no que se refere ao direito dos cidadãos angolanos de elegerem os seus representantes oficiais a todos os níveis, assassinatos levados a cabo pelas forças armadas, polícia e forças de segurança privadas, torturas, violações e péssimas condições prisionais.
O relatório destaca também a corrupção e impunidades cometidas por entidades oficiais, detenções arbitrárias e falta de independência do aparelho judicial angolano. Ainda em relação a Angola, o Departamento de Estado salienta as restrições às liberdades de expressão, de imprensa e de reunião assim como os despejos sem indemnização de residentes de bairros desfavorecidos”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Clara Onofre


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Bangladesh: A Calm Election · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kristin Boekhoff posts some pictures of the street advertisements of the candidates of the Bangladesh election. She comments that so far the election has been quite calm.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Journalists Appear in Court  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press is keeping an eye on the case of the two arrested journalists, calling the open court hearing “a stunning victory by the dozens of local news media people who showed up to support”, while at the same time denouncing local mainstream media for not making an issue of closed court hearings before.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bulgaria, Russia: “Open Source AK-47” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eternal Remont writes: “Apparently, Russia's state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport is livid that Bulgaria would violate the sacred principles of intellectual property and trademark protection to produce an, um, we're going to call it an ‘open source AK-47′.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Central and Eastern Europe: A Christmas Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A holiday season roundup: Tanja of Czechmatediary recalls family Christmas celebrations of her childhood, writes about the Czech Christmas Mass, and shares a recipe of Vanocka (“Christmas bread”); CzechFolks.com writes about a calorie-free yet mouth-watering way of decorating a holiday table with crocheted Czech Christmas cookies; The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia decorates a traditional Slovak Christmas tree; the POLSKI blog writes about Polish Christmas food; Belgraded writes this about the ban of Santa Claus (aka Deda Mraz) in Bosnian kindergartens: “[…] this fear of Deda Mraz is quite possibly one of the best proofs that he really does exist! Yay! In that spirit, happy holidays to all of you out there, regardless if you’re religious or not.”


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Cuba: Be Part of the Solution  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y‘s Yoani Sanchez has the solution to Cuba's problems: “Let everyone speak, no matter whether in complaint or in support of a proposal designed to address the problems…only freedom of opinion will allow those who can advance remedies to dare to do so.”


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Czech Republic: A Politics-Free Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Politics-free posts from the Czech Republic: a charity project to help orphans organized by Czech model Tereza Maxova, bankruptcy of one of the largest Czech glass companies, and Karel Gott's lasting popularity – at CzechFolks.com; the winner of the Bravest Czech of the Year award, and tips on how to spend winter vacation in the Czech Republic – at Czechmatediary; winter travel to Moravia's capital Olomouc, and a trip to “an actual remnant of the old iron curtain that has been preserved as a memorial” in southern Moravia – at The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks.


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Fiji and New Zealand engage in ‘Diplomatic Suicide’  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Tensions between Fiji and New Zealand boiled over Tuesday when both countries kicked out each other’s chief diplomats.
In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Fiji’s Attorney General announced that ambassador Caroline McDonald would be expelled not because New Zealand refused to grant visas to three family members of senior officials in Fiji’s government who came to power in a December 2006 coup. Instead, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum reasoned McDonald’s “actions over the past year that have been contrary to the accepted international norms of diplomatic behavior.”
Sayed-Khaiyum also alleged that the New Zealand and Australian governments were tapping phone lines in Fiji.
The New Zealand government retaliated to McDonald’s expulsion by demanding Fiji’s High Commissioner leave the country within seven days. In a press release, New Zealand’s foreign minister argued Fiji’s allegations against McDonald were not specific, leading to wonder whether the real issue remained the travel ban imposed by New Zealand and Australia after Fiji’s December 2006 coup.
McDonald is the second representative from New Zealand to be expelled from Fiji in the past 18 months.
Australia’s government also learned Tuesday its South Pacific Defence Advisor would not be granted a visa, giving him seven days to leave Fiji.
Bloggers and commenters in both New Zealand and Fiji have largely found fault with their governments’ actions.
Raw Fiji News calls the moves by self-appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama irresponsible.
The second expulsion of NZ’s High Commission to Fiji by it’s military regime within a span of 12 months is diplomatic suicide. Frank has declared war against Key’s newly formed NZ government and he is gonna get it. There will definitely be swift retaliatory action not only by the NZ government but the international community as a whole. NZ will alert its citizens to cease visiting their popular tourist destination Fiji because of their government’s inability to respond fully and freely to any SOS calls by a New Zealander in Fiji. And there is good reason for them to be concerned about the safety of their citizens.
In a separate post, Raw Fiji News says the government is using the diplomatic row as a means of placing public scrutiny elsewhere.
The irrational Frank has finally made the delayed call to boot the New Zealand representative in Fiji to show NZ and the international community that Fiji belongs to him. Like Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Frank has launched a personal war against NZ which some say will be another distraction and excuse as to why the elections will be delayed further.
Writing before the expulsions took place, New Zealand’s Whale Oil Blog argues that New Zealand’s government could have handled this diplomatic row a little better.
Bluster and finger point generally doesn’t work. There is an easy solution for all but it requires New Zealand to climb down from their post-colonial posturing and Fiji to accept some honest assistance i getting them back on the road to democracy.
In Fiji news sites, forums and comment sections, the government's moves drew both praise and protest.
In FijiLive, Lis Body commented:
Frank will eventually learn … that Fiji is just a little dot on the ocean and we can't compete with countries like NZ, OZ or other democratically elected countries. NZ and Australia should close down the embassies in Fiji. People in Fiji would then like Tonga have to travel to the next country just to lodge a visa application and the costs … oh boy!
From Peni, with a reference to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key:
In your face Key, that's what happens when you keep interfering in other nation's affairs. Why don't you poke your nose other nations like China, Burma, Iran, Libya and so forth? Well, you know what. I know the answer … your country is too small to use your favourite bullying tactics on these big nations.
In a Scoop New Zealand column arguing the New Zealand government is placing itself on the sideline by engaging in the diplomatic war with Fiji, stuart munro adds a comment:
To prop up NZ’s current reactive stance on Fiji our government has acted in an increasingly petty and vindictive manner.
Bainimarama was not an enthusiastic entrant to the coup game – he sat out two without becoming involved, and his own was rather bloodless and not without a constitutionally valid cause.
Our current sanctions reflect spite more than the liberality that must prevail between mature neighbours.

author: John Liebhardt


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Gaza/Sderot: Israel and Palestine together on video · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Gaza/Sderot: Life in Spite of Everything Project is one of the prime examples of the variety of ways a bridge between different cultures and world-views can be created through online media. In this project created by ARTE.tv, a French-German cultural television station, twelve people going on their day to day business on either side of a violent border were exposed on a website for ten week project which ended on December 23rd.  The two minute videos documented snippets of the lives of 6 characters in Gaza, Palestine and 6 characters on the other side of the border in Sderot, Israel during two months.
One of the incredible advantages of online media is the interactivity: you can browse the 80 videos in a myriad of ways. You can view them according to chronological order, with a video from Palestine on the right, and a video from Israel on the left. You can also decide to follow the life of one specific character throughout the two month shoot and view the videos that way. You might also wish to pick  videos from a map showing where each one was shot or you can select a topic, and see all the videos discussing the particular theme. You can select a language as well: the content is available in Arabic, Hebrew, English, French and German. The site always gives you the option to view what is going on at the same time at the other side of the border, providing the perfect opportunity for viewers to realize that life on either side of the border is far more similar than different: people still have hopes, dreams and concerns.
For example, Heba Safi who belongs to the Young Journalist Club in Gaza, and who speaks in different videos about her life and of those around her: healthcare, the lives of youth in Palestine, being a woman, friendships, shopping, sports and her career, and the hopes that the situation will improve. In this video, she speaks about being a woman and trying to build a career in journalism:
Daniele Mordechai tells viewers about life as a 16 year old girl in Sderot, balancing school with acting and surviving. In the following video, she plays “Red Alert” with children she is baby-sitting in the only sheltered playground in the world:
The different character's conclusions from Gaza can be seen on the following video:
And the conclusions from the people in Sderot can be seen here:
There are many other stories you can view told by students, musicians, house-wives, artists, fishermen, ambulance drivers, martial arts trainers, farmers, doctors, grocery store owners, hair-dresser and boxers: all in all, stories by people who share a deep felt desire for peace.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Guatemala: Mincemeat Pie · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Christmas in Guatemala often means celebrating with food. Luis Figueroa of Carpe Diem [es] is especially fond of the dessert “Mincemeat pie.“

author: Eduardo Avila


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Guatemala: Nativity Scenes Around the Holidays · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Alfa of Guate 360 [es] writes about the evolution of the Nativity Scene in Guatemala, and how it has become much more colorful and full of scents due to the use of pine leaves as its base.


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Guyana: Bridge Opens  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living Guyana congratulates the government on the opening of the Berbice bridge, but reserves the right to ask a few questions.


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India: Improve Quality Of Governance To Tackle Terrorism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nitin Pai guest blogs at Death Ends Fun stressing the need to improve the quality of governance of India to battle terrorism. And it can be achieved: “By voting. By giving money, legitimately, to politicians to support their election campaigns. And by holding them to account.”


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Iran:Campaign to Free Jailed Doctors in Iran  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Digiactive reports about a new campaign to free jailed doctors in Iran. Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei have been in prison for six months.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Bailout Plan?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is indeed a sorry state of affairs.  Usually in times of downturn, alcohol sales increase as people look to drown their sorrows!”: As employees of a rum manufacturer are laid off, Jamaica Salt wonders whether “the government of Jamaica should be considering a bailout plan.”


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Japan: The year in Japanese blogs · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

What were bloggers writing about this year in the Japanese blogosphere? The year in Japanese blogs at Global Voices included posts on everything from an American Enka singer making waves in Japan, to debates on the regulation of “harmful” Internet content,  to the Olympic torch relay in Nagano.
Culture
The year started with new year celebrations, which include eating osechi, a traditional Japanese New Year food, and the Japanese custom of visiting shrines, called Hatsumode.
One blogger wrote of how new years celebrations had changed over the years (translation by Hanako Tokita):
昔の頃のように、古式ゆかしき伝統にのっとったお正月を過ごされたのは
はて　どれくらいあるだろう・・・
私が幼い頃は、毎年のお正月にはお約束のようにして
親戚や知人がお年始の挨拶に来られて
それはそれは普段になく　賑やかな感じで　まさにお正月!！っという特別な日だった。
御節料理だって、正月にしかお目にかかれない代物ばかり。
されど　時は平成、、、それも２０年ともなると
御節料理も普段・・・しかも年中　お目にかかる代物ばかりの食材だし
飽食の時代の申し子とも云える現在っ子達には
めずらしくもなんともないようでして、感激の欠片も無いのが現状のようだ。。。
Staying with the theme of culture, one of Japan's most well-known cultural icons, geisha, have recently taken up blogging. One blogger described how blogging had helped them become a geiko (translation by Scilla Alecci):
I tried to contact several geisha houses and organizations in Kyoto but the only replies I got were “Impossible!” or “Only if you start as a maiko”.
Then I gave up and started a normal job, but… no, I couldn't give up. And just when I was considering other ways to make it… I found a certain blog.
It was the blog of an older geisha who eventually drew me in.
I couldn't believe to my eyes when I realized that there were geiko in the north of Shinchi, an area full of classy clubs. And when I saw their pictures in those splendid kimono… it was love at first sight!!
So I asked them to contact and meet me (I couldn't help feeling embarrassed, with such beautiful women, wondering to myself, “Will they accept a young girl like me here?”).
They took me in with them as an apprentice in that wonderful teahouse, and that is how I became Sakura, the geiko.
Media
Under the heading of media, one of the most talked-about topics in Japanese blogs this year was the controversy over WaiWai, a weekly column published in the Japanese newspaper Mainichi shimbun, written by Australian Ryan McConnell. WaiWai featured some of the most scandalous articles from Japan's weekly tabloids, translated to English with added “embellishments”.
GV posts on the WaiWai controversy include a translation of an article by a Japanese resident in Ecuador at a blog entitled Nanmei (南瞑), and an article by blogger Michi Kaifu (海部美知), who contends that to women, WaiWai was sexual harassment. Blogger polimediauk, meanwhile, reacted to Mainichi's apology about the WaiWai articles, complaining about the fact that foreign and Japanese staff have been treated differently in the affair. Mainichi was later embroiled in a separate scandal revolving on a slip-up in which the newspaper erroneously identified a Wikipedia editor as involved in an attempted murder.
Citizen media was another topic discussed in blogs. 2008 saw the demise of the Japanese version of the citizen journalism website OhMyNews, as well as a debate on the collapse of journalism, as expressed in a book by Japanese journalist Takashi Uesugi. Bloggers have also recently written about the crisis in primary news reporting, and about the future of video.
Technology
The year has seen a difficult situation in the IT industry in Japan. A New York Times article explaining how the country is running out of engineers was received positively by bloggers, who expressed concern about the future of IT jobs in Japan.
Another popular topic this year in the area of technology was the arrival of Google's new Street View service, introduced in Japan in August, which brought with it a range of reactions, some supportive but others highly critical. IT professional Osamu Higuchi (樋口理) at Higuchi.com wrote a post in his blog on August 7th titled “Letter to the people at Google”, in which he asks the company: “Could you please remove the residential roads of Japan's urban areas from Street View?” In one passage, he explained how the situation of residential streets in Japan differs from the situation in the West:
米国、特に西海岸に住んでいる人は自宅のプライベート空間とパブリックな空間の境目は、所有権的にも精神的にも公道と私有地の間にあると思います。というか、みなさんの感覚では公道に面した自分の庭のほうが公的な空間で、自分の庭をきれいにしていないとコミュニティの景観上よろしくないと思っていますよね？
ところが日本の都市部生活者は逆で、家の前の生活道路、いわゆる路地のほうが感覚的には自分の生活空間の一部、庭先なのです。日本の都市部では、家の前の公道を掃いたり、打ち水をしたり、雪かきをしたりするのが居住者のつとめとされています。下町を歩いているとよくわかるけれど、家の前の路地に鉢植えとかちょっとした物置とかをはみ出して置いてあるのもその感覚の表れです。
(For follow-up posts on the Street View debate, see GV's special coverage page.)
Society
On the topic of society, the Akihabara knife massacre on June 8th in Tokyo brought with it reflection on the changing nature of labour conditions in Japan and of the difficult situation faced by young people. While some wrote about the deeper social reality which led to the actions of killer Tomohiro Kato, others debated the changing nature of social media, and still others connected the killings to Toyota's Kanban (Just-in-Time) system.
Other social issues discussed in blogs include a series of scandals related to the use of cannabis, the revision of the nationality law, Japanese immigration to Brazil, and the future of the Japanese language.
In closing
On a brighter note, the coming of spring brought with it the fall of cherry blossoms, a few photos of which are included below.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Memories of Christmas in Cameroon · Global Voices
George Esunge Fominyen

A good many Cameroonians based abroad love to remember the special moments they spent back home during the Christmas holiday. Bamenda Babe blogging at My African Father is one of them. This budding writer makes an interesting piece of her memories:
I am missing a dry, dusty Cameroon and the holiday season over there. It was always a magical time for me. My siblings and I would torture ourselves with excitement the days leading up to Christmas. We would wake up bright and early that day just to make sure the gifts were there. We would count them quietly, long before the household stirred. We would construct a deep foundation of resentment for those who got the lion's share of presents. We would cry injustice, then crawl back into bed and wait for things to unfold. “Maybe Brother has more gifts than me but mine will be sweeter gifts than his.” There was church on Christmas morning. If we could avoid it, we did, but if Father said it was necessary, then we were (at best) reluctant churchgoers. But the shiny dresses and shoes–the crisp, new Christmas outfits people wore–were always a delight. And we wore ours, too, fresh from the Chinese bubble wrap or the Bamenda tailor's shop. Then the presents and the delicious food were kissed and adored with our eyes, fingers, and mouths.
Bamenda Babe was certainly touched by the singing from a group of kids caught on video by a VSO volunteer based in the town of Bamenda in her native Cameroon who blogs at Our Man in Cameroon.  Below you can see the video that he posted on his blog:
In the comments section of that post, Our Man in Cameroon explains a bit more about the kids on the video:
….to clue you in the 2 kids on the right just turned up on that day, and the kid on the left isn’t around much – the rest of them are regulars at my door – where they knock and holler till the whiteman comes to play.
It’s beats a Christmas card anyway.
BB – the kid in the middle is Mimi – quite a little local superstar – despite having just turned 3 on the day I filmed this, she seems to be one of those kids that everyone loves.
I bumped into here, as I normally do, on my way to work this morning and she hugged me around the knees. She then waits till I walk 10 yards away and says bye, then another bye after another 10 yards – until she is hollering it into the distance.
I bought a load of tinsel for the VSO Xmas party so they’ve all had bits of it – that particular piece in the film was the last – they couldn’t decide which of them should keep it – so it was cut into 6 tiny pieces.
Have a good xmas everyone…
From another expatriate's blog in Mbingo, a village in the heart of Cameroon's North West Region, we get another point of view about the Cameroonian Christmas. Christine of Mbingo Was its Name writes about the celebration at the local hospital in which she works:
And yesterday was the party of all parties! It was a combined Christmas celebration / retirement for 9 hospital employees, including our hospital administrator, the fathers of two of our anaesthetists, and the expat physio Pat (here since 1973!). I went down to the kitchen at 7am to see how they could cook (over open fires) for 1000 people. People had been working since 5am, most of them as volunteers. My photos are all blurry because of the amount of smoke in the kitchen! One can only be impressed at what folks here pull off.
In Cameroon it is customary to have an after-party at the home of persons celebrating an event and Christine recounts how she stepped into dancing mood:
There was another great party going on there – huge amounts of food (the women had been up til 3am cooking), and the venacular church choir members were singing their hearts out, with assorted drums and shakers audible from half a mile away. Once again I was ushered inside to greet Pa, and have my coke – and when I went out, the dancing had begun. The singers were now dancing in a circle while the drummers were in the middle, and all the kids (some carrying infant siblings on their backs) were dancing in their own smaller circle in the middle. More and more people joined in, and finally one of the older expat women joined and pulled me in too. It was just so much fun – not much to it except moving your feet and going in a circle, but the atmosphere is what is delightful, just the sheer joy of being alive to recognize the goodness of God. These people really know how to celebrate, and we westerners can learn so much from them!
Back in November 2008, Meenosha of Pink Post was already giving some thought to Christmas. She revealed how she ended up not believing in Father Christmas anymore:
I was about 5 or so, and I just heard about news Mr. HoHo coming to our school. Can you imagine how I felt? I was beaming, like I was told God was coming or something. I remember the day before I didn't sleep. We all dressed up how we wanted, no uniform (I was a Hawaiian princess, with my yellow two-piece outfit and my pink flower stuck in my kinky hard-to-comb hair). We sang Christmas carols on the way to school, and eagerly waited for our hero to come….
So Santa Claus shows up in the classroom…
HE IS BLACK!
HE IS LANKY!
HE SWIMS IN HIS OUTFIT!
And last but not least: He doesn't say “HoHoHo”! He lazily says: “Bonjour les enfants”, and hands over a thin bag full of… candies! Who told him I wanted candies? I got enough of that from my mom! Didn't he get my request list? I wanted a Barbie Doll in a mansion, a princess dress, and a playhouse! My world crumbled down in a few seconds…
Speaking of shocks related to Santa Claus (Father Christmas in Africa) Jess in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon has this to say in her blog Jess does da ‘Roon:
Forgive the pun, but every Christmas in Africa’s a white one for me… just without snow. I just walked into the internet joint and next door they’re playing fantastic hits such as “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” and “I saw mommy kissing santa claus”.  I’m shocked. Lately my neighbor’s been playing this famous Nigerian gospel singer and talking back to this CD she’s heard a gazillion times.  The singer talks on the track, ranting about how people are “enemies of progress” and are jealous, and there’s some long spiel about her getting a pregnancy test… I don’t know. But anyway, my neighbor is sitting there sewing on her foot-pedal machine, just preaching back at the CD, “Hmm-mmm that’s right. Jealous fools. That jealousy will hold you down! Amen!” I’m glad that peaceful Christmas music might be replacing it soon…
While Jess is a US volunteer is living Christmas in Cameroon, Eric Tambe is a Cameroonian is re-visiting how the Day is celebrated in the US in his blog Infotambeblog:
The built up to the day itself is treated differently than say in Cameroon.In the US it is a day celebrated quietly at home with a few friends and family members.People spend money on Christmas trees,including decorating the tree.It is also a cold period in most of the US,so you would not see people dancing in the streets and children moving from one house to the other to visit with their neighbours as in the case in the African countries.People spend a lot of money buying gifts though for friends and family members.This is one period when you do not want to be broke.People will remember you for not providing them with a Christmas gift…
Merry Christmas to all then!

author: George Esunge Fominyen


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Mexico: Beauty Queen Busted for Arms · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Former Mexican beauty queen Laura Elena Zúñiga Huizar was recently busted for arms, ammunition and cash writes Jessica Uribe of Vivir México [es].


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Moldova: Transnistria Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Updates on Transnistria – at Scraps of Moscow and Eternal Remont.


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Myanmar: Shoes, politics and colonialism · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Shoes had been a symbol of politics in Myanmar. Aung Zaw of The Irrawaddy writes about a “shoe incident” involving British colonizers who didn't remove their shoes when they met the Burmese king a century ago. This became a national issue.

author: Mong Palatino


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Oversleeping in the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Going against the current traces the cultural roots of oversleeping as a taboo in the Philippines.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Pakistan: Winning The Best South Asian Blog Award · Global Voices
Rezwan

Teeth Maestro from Pakistan has been selected as the best South Asian Blog at the Brass Crescent Awards. Congratulations!


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Philippines: Music Teacher’s Memoirs · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

A young music teacher from the southern Philippines shares her experience on teaching musical expression to children.


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Philippines: Watching Pinoy Big Brother · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Overwrite views the popular reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother from a Baudrillardian lense: ‘When one watches the show, where is the center-point? Who is watching who? And which side stands on reality? Does it mean that the actors are showcasing reality because they are in the “reality show”? Or is it that they are emulating reality for the audience who is actually in reality, thus they present it as a “reality show”?’


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Romania: Revolution’s Anniversary · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A note on the anniversary of the 1989 revolution in Romania to overthrow Ceausescu – at Eternal Remont.


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Russia: Gas News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light and Robert Amsterdam's blog write about “the annual Russo-Ukrainian gas crisis”; the latter also writes about the fledgling “gas OPEC.”


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Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin’s Legacy; Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students on Soviet-era crimes; legislators’ proposal to “broaden the legal definitions of treason and espionage“; the demands of Vladivostok protesters online.


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Russia, Serbia: Gazprom, NIS, and Gas Prices · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Streetwise Professor posts an update on Gazprom's “vaporware” in Serbia, which includes a recent resignation of the “anti-Gazprom” Serbian economics minister, Mladan Dinkic (more on that – at Robert Amsterdam's blog). Meanwhile, gas costs $5.80 per gallon in Serbia, according to Bill's Blog: “To put the $5.80 into perspective, the average gas price in the USA this week is around $1.60. It is about average for Europe with Norway $7.76 being the high and Estonia being the low $4.30. I sure miss the 12 cents / gallon of Venezuela.”


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Russia: South Ossetia; Relations With the U.S.; Sheremetyevo Ceiling · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Some of the recent posts at Scraps of Moscow: a translation of a part of “a lengthy interview with former Russian army general and former South Ossetian de facto Minister of Defense which puts the region's president, former wrestling champion and phys. ed. teacher Eduard Kokoity, in a rather unflattering light”; Kommersant‘s archives as an excellent tool for researching “Russia's turbulent '90s”; U.S.-Russia relations and “the audacity of optimism”; a tribute to “the quirky ceiling rings” of Moscow's Sheremetyevo-2 airport.


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Singapore Flyer, a white elephant already? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Because of the recession, fewer people are visiting the Singapore Flyer (the world’s largest observation wheel). According to Empty Vessel, “if no drastic measures are taken to restore people’s confidence in stepping into the capsules, the Flyer risks becoming Singapore’s biggest white elephant.”


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Singapore: Quotable (un)quotes of the year · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Singapore Dino compiles the year's “stupid remarks” from Singapore's “Bungling Ministers.”


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Singapore: Unnecessary study on Tsunami impact · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

DK is surprised that the government commissioned a S$1.3 million two-year study which only confirmed a well-known fact that Singapore is protected from tsunamis.


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Taiwan: Pandas arrive at Taipei Zoo · Global Voices
David Reid

Two pandas arrived in Taiwan yesterday from China and are now in quarantine at Taipei Zoo. They will go on public display in late January. Michael Turton explains the pandas are likely to be a fad. The Foreigner in Formosa writes that accepting the pandas means sacrificing Taiwan's sovereignty.

author: David Reid


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Thailand: Blocked websites · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Freedom Against Censorship Thailand has just received a secret list of blocked websites leaked from Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. The report mentioned 1,303 websites which were censored by the government.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Booming · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Free Radio posts an interesting podcast with Trinidad rapso artistes 3 Canal.


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Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Sock & Awe  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer is playing Sock and Awe, “the simply brilliant online game” in which more than 46 million people have pelted shoes at President Bush – but more importantly, she is “plotting ways to pelt intellectual shoes, coming up with ideas on how to bobolise those who would seek to betray my land.”


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UAE: On being white and speaking Urdu · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Lucky Fatima is a white American who lives in Dubai – and speaks Urdu. In this post  she writes about how white privilege affects the way her language skills are viewed by Urdu speakers.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Ukraine: Holiday Season Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian holiday season update: music – at Natalia Antonova's blog; sights – at Greetings from Kyiv; politics – at Ukrainiana.


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Ukraine: Hutsuls and Crimean Tatars · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

My Simferopol Home writes about her dissertation plans to compare histories of exoticism in the Ukrainian Hutsul and Crimean Tatars cultures: “So, why these two groups? While distinct in ethnogenesis, history and territory, Hutsuls, the superstitious, hard-drinking subsistence farmers to Poland and Austro-Hungary’s urban intellectuals, and Crimean Tatars, the perceived inheritors of Genghis Khan’s barbarism to the Russian Imperial gaze, are the two ethnic groups on the territory of contemporary Ukraine that are the most laden with stereotypes of ‘otherness’ or, specifically, ‘wildness’.”


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Ukraine: Yushchenko’s Press Conference · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tetyana Vysotska of What's Up, Ukraine? writes about the Ukrainian president's annual press conference and his response to one of the most popular questions posed to him via the internet: “Mr. President, how much money should the people of Ukraine pay to convince you and other top authorities to leave this country?”


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Venezuela: Telling the Country’s History Through Film · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

A group of young Venezuelan filmmakers have succeeded in illustrating some of the country's history or adapting famous pieces of literature (both international and national) through films that have been well-received by the general public.  Many Venezuelan movies in the past are considered extremely violent, and the emergence of these new kinds of films are showing new expressions of creativity.
Four main examples of films from 2008, with thoughts from bloggers are:
Postales de Leningrado (Postcards from Leningrad)
Since illegal and bootlegged copies of movies are extremely popular in Venezuela, El Buho Negro [es] comments in this drawing (as if the owl were a bootlegger):
“I liked Postales de Leningrado so much that when anybody asks for it, I send them to the movies”
Miranda Regresa (Miranda Returns)
El Hijo de la Bohemia [es] says:
Quisiera encontrar un defecto para no hablar de obra perfecta, pero me temo que tendré que verla unas cuantas veces más para lograrlo. La realización es soberbia, conmovedora, arruga el corazón en muchas ocasiones y nos hace amar más a Venezuela. La música (que incluye pinceladas de nuestro “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo”) sin lugar a dudas motiva a ello, pero lo mejor de todo es que … ¡se escucha! ¿Dónde ha estado este Director de Sonido todo este tiempo?
I would like to find a fault so that I wouldn't talk about a perfect film, but I’m afraid I’ll have to watch it several times to do so. The filmmaking is superb, moving, touches the heart on many occasions and makes us love our country even more. The music (that includes brushstrokes of our national anthem) no doubt helps, but the best thing is… we can hear it! Where has the Sound Director been all this time?
Cyrano Fernández
Cyrano Fernández, an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac was not as well-received as the previously mentioned films, but it certainly raised interest among the bloggers:
Ysabel, in her blog Ventana Actual [es] says:
Cyrano es también un héroe social; es un personaje que defiende la ética y la dignidad popular a toda costa, estrellándose una y otra vez contra la realidad de todos los días (…) actuaciones conmovedoras y plenas de realismo dan solidez a este filme que rompe esquemas dentro de nuestra cinematografía
Juan, in Hoy Critico [es] makes severe comments from the technical point of view and adds some suggestions:
…me gustaria al menos solo una vez poder ver una pelicula donde el 80% de las palabras producidas no sean groserias y en las que no se trate siempre el tema del “malandreo”…
Boves, el Urogallo (Boves, the Capercaillie)
Boves, el urogallo is another historical drama and an adaptation of the historical novel written by Francisco Herrera Luque,  and a film of which the audience and the critics have been waiting.
Blogacine [es]an outstanding blog about Venezuelan films and filmmaking gives a very interesting argument on the literary piece and the character:
Pocos personajes condensan mejor las contradicciones y la tragedia de nuestras guerras de independencia como José Tomás Boves.
No hay acaso mejor manera de entender nuestra independencia que examinarla desde el punto de vista del antihéroe, del antagonista paradigmático que encarna la figura de Boves. Puede que sólo a través de su mirada, Bolívar adquiera una verdadera dimensión humana, alejado del acartonamiento dramático y narrativo al que su figura histórica parece condenada irremediablemente
There are no better ways to understand our Independence than to examine it from the point of view of the anti-hero, the paradigmatic antagonist that incarnates the figure of Boves. It is possible that just under his view, Bolívar can acquire a real human dimension, far from the dramatic and stiff figure to which he seems to be irreparably condemned.
And a very interesting argument on the industry itself:
…por un lado, nuestra producción contemporánea de ficción parece poca y, acaso (no me atrevería a asegurarlo) de poco atractivo. No obstante, por otro lado, tenemos una de las industrias más poderosas del mundo en la generación de ficción: la telenovela.

author: Laura Vidal


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Vietnam: Blogging to be regulated · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnam has introduced some new restrictions on blogging. Blog posts which undermine national security, incite violence or crime, and disclose state secrets are banned. Internet companies are also ordered to issue reports to the government every six months.


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Vietnam: Extreme street cables · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

oobject posts pictures of extreme street wiring in Vietnam cities.


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Bahrain: Comparing the Bahraini and Japanese work ethic · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Yagoob is currently studying in Japan – and has seen firsthand the legendary Japanese work ethic. In this post he compares the attitude of many Bahrainis towards work with that of the Japanese.
Yagoob starts by mentioning an extreme case of an employee trying to avoid losing a day's pay:
Then, after referring to a case of questionable employment practice, Yagoob says:
He then turns to what he has seen in Japan:


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Bangladesh: Change Lies In The Hands Of The New Voters · Global Voices
Rezwan

An Ordinary Citizen wonders whether the 27 million (34%) new voters in Bangladesh hold the key to the much needed change in the governance of Bangladesh.


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Bangladesh: The Siemens Bribery Scandal And The Son Of Ex-Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shada Kalo blog looks deep into the recent Siemens Bribery Scandal and analyzes the case of $5.3 million bribes to government officials in Bangladesh including the son of the Ex-Prime Minister.


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Caucasus: 2008 Blog Review · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Last year ended with a state of emergency declared in Georgia, but few could imagine that the events of 2008 would eclipse those of 2007. Three presidential elections, a war, and yet another state of emergency defined the South Caucasus this year, and bloggers were there to document events from the ground even when the local and international media wasn't.
True, the presidential election held at the beginning of the year in Georgia passed largely without incident, but trouble was already brewing in neighboring Armenia ahead of its vote to determine succession to the incumbent president the following month. Blogging on politics naturally intensified and mirrored the deep divisions in the country.
Signs that the 19 February presidential election in Armenia would end in bloodshed were already becoming evident.
That there would be mass demonstrations immediately after the presidential election held last week in Armenia was known long ago. Many observers also figured on yet another attempt by the radical opposition to stage a colored revolution of the type seen in Georgia and Ukraine. However, few expected it to succeed, but a week after the 19 February vote, the situation is now gearing up for what might be serious confrontation between opposition supporters and the authorities.
[…]
[…] bloggers such as The Armenian Observer still fear that it might all end in violence with a state of emergency being declared in the country.
Levon Ter-Petrossian Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons
Less than seven days later, on 1 March, a botched attempt to disperse opposition supporters protesting the outcome of the election forced a showdown that left a reported eight people dead and a state of emergency declared in the country. The number of those who lost their lives in the clashes between opposition and security services eventually rose to at least 10.
On Saturday 1 March, the inevitable came true. At least eight people died in clashes between police, soldiers and opposition supporters. Shops were looted, cars set on fire, molotov cocktails were thrown, and in addition to the fatalities known so far, 16 servicemen and 18 protesters were wounded in shooting between the two sides. Each side blames the other and protests their innocence while the majority of residents in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, resigned themselves to the worst case of election-related violence in the country's short history as an independent state.
[…]
Eventually outnumbered and out gunned, demonstrators never stood a chance against the military, and a state of emergency was declared in the capital. […]
1 March, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons
With the media forced to comply with draconian censorship introduced as part of the 20-day state of emergency that followed, blogs were remarkably untouched and came of age, although YouTube was blocked by the authorities. Citizen journalism moved in to fill the gap, albeit in sometimes mutually hostile ways between the two camps, and became the new samizdat.
Samizdat (Russian: самиздат) was the clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature or other media in Soviet-bloc countries. Copies were made a few at a time, and those who received a copy would be expected to make more copies. This was often done by handwriting or typing.
This grassroots practice to evade officially imposed censorship was fraught with danger as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials.
Vladimir Bukovsky defined it as follows: “I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and [may] get imprisoned for it.”
But even though opposition protests continued after the state of emergency was lifted, attendances were small. The inauguration of the new president, Serge Sargsyan, was held under tight security while relatives of those protesters killed on 1 March mourned their loss 40 days later on 9 April. Besides, Armenia, along with its two neighbors, Azerbaijan and Georgia, was already preoccupied with the Eurovision Song Contest.
Moreover, the authorities in Yerevan were fast becoming aware of the power of new media and were soon to allow pro-government bloggers into press conferences.
[…] not all bloggers welcomed the news and there was also much criticism in the Armenian blogosphere. Pro-opposition blogger Nazarian, for example, remarked that “The invited were palace bloggers serving the needs of the regime. The questions they asked obviously were pro-regime..” Unzipped went further, wondering if “the real intention behind recent close engagements of presidential staff with few pro-government bloggers is to discredit blogs/blogging in the eyes of population, in general, from the beginning, without even allowing their further development.”
But if events in Armenia set shock waves through the international community regarding the state of democracy and stability in the South Caucasus, what happened towards the end of the summer put the region, and Georgia in particular, on the front pages of every newspaper in the world. Although bloggers had speculated in May that war with Russia might break out over the breakaway region of Abkhazia, few expected fighting to occur in another disputed territory at the beginning of August.
With local and international media outlets reporting that fighting is spilling over into Georgia proper, the latest military confrontation with Russia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia looks increasingly like war. Wu Wei reports from Tbilisi that the Vaziani military base just outside the Georgian capital has been bombed. The signs look very ominous indeed.
After the failed attempt by Georgia to retake South Ossetia by force, Russia invaded and the blogosphere soon provided the most diverse views and opinions on the conflict between Moscow and its former satellite. The New York Times reproduced posts from Global Voices Online on its own blog and, including voices from Georgia, South Ossetia and Russia as well as elsewhere, syndicated our extensive special coverage of the war.
On August 8, 2008 while the 2008 Beijing Olympics were officially being inaugurated, fighting intensified between the Georgian and Russian military on the outskirts of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Earlier in the week, Georgia and the South Ossetian separatist government had concluded a truce after an outbreak of fighting for which each side blamed the other. The conflict has now escalated into war, with Russian forces bombing Georgia, and many dead.
Russian Roadblock, Gori, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons
Accompanied by Russian cyber-attacks on government and media web sites as well as on its telecommunications system, if the presidential election in Armenia earlier in the year marked the turning point for blogs there, the war over South Ossetia saw them come of age in Georgia. Even specialist publications such as The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) began to harness their potential in order to fully cover the conflict.
Indeed, with attacks on freedom of the press in all three countries on the increase, and especially in Armenia and Azerbaijan, blogging increased in the region in 2008, although the October presidential election in the latter was noticeably quiet and subdued in comparison, and especially considering its potential.
Emin Huseynzade: There are different groups of bloggers in Azerbaijan and they started mainly on Blogspot and Blog.com before Russian blogs appeared on LiveJournal. Then some started to appear on blog.az, but there were a few problems with that. However, Azeriblog.com created a new blogging system a few years ago. Actually, the system was created by a blogger from what some call South Azerbaijan in Iran. In fact, many of those using that system were from there. On that system alone there are nearly 5,000 bloggers out of a total of some 8,000 spread across different platforms.
Azerbaijani participants, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons
Regardless, if some of the most under-reported issues and topics were being discussed in the past on blogs by Peace Corps Volunteers in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, political blogging nonetheless intensified and was also accompanied by specialist blogs from activists and professionals denied a voice in the mainstream local media.
This was especially true for Education specialist blogs and those from the LGBT community in Armenia and its Diaspora.
[…] the number of LGBT blogs from Armenia and the Diaspora has mushroomed. In part, this is probably because of the important precedent set by Unzipped: Gay Armenia. The blogger from Armenia now resident in England truly did cover sensitive issues such as gender, homosexuality and homophobia in what still remains a largely male-dominated patriarchal society with little regard for sexual minorities or women's rights.
Admittedly, with events in the region this year taking many by surprise, it is hard to say what will happen in 2009, but with momentum reported in talks to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey following a historic visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan in September, as well as moves to resolve the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh including peace-building initiatives going online, it could be another very interesting year indeed.
Until then, Happy Holidays from the Caucasus section of Global Voices Online. Here's hoping that whatever does happen in 2009 will be accompanied by little or preferably no bloodshed.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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China: Interview with Journalism Professor · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated an interview with associate professor Hu Yong of Peking University, School of Journalism and Communication at Tianya forum.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Ethiopia: Clerics seek constitutional ban on homosexuality · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

EthioBlog reports that religious leaders in Ethiopia have urged lawmakers to amend the country's constitution to ban homosexuality, sparking a heated debate amongst the readers of the blog about homosexuality in Ethiopia with over 300 comments.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Guinea: Late President Lansana Conté’s legacy · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Sofa Jawaro of The sword of truth reflects on the legacy of late President Lansana Conté of Guinea, and about what the future holds for the country after 24 years of dictatorship.


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India: No War with Pakistan · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Acorn quotes the Prime Minister of India to confirm that there is no war ahead with Pakistan, at least initiated by India.

author: Rezwan


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Instability in Guinea could mean trouble in Liberia too · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Emmanuel of Liberia Journal expresses concern about the recent developments in neighboring Guinea because “any power struggle would be extremely dangerous, and could easily become a regional problem”.


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China: Interview with Bei Feng · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adam from DANWEI interviewed a famous blogger, Bei feng, who talks about new media space in China.


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Macedonia Timeless · Global Voices
Elena Ignatova

On December 24, 2008, there was a presentation of a promotional video for Macedonia – “Macedonia Timeless.”
The video is written and directed by Milcho Manchevski (an Academy Award nominee in 1995), and its purpose is to promote Macedonia as a tourist destination. The video will be aired on CNN, and a dozen countries in eight different languages. There is a special website www.macedonia-timeless.com, designed to support the campaign.
The video was published under a Creative Commons license Attribution – No derivative works 2.5 Macedonia, and the license will allow users to download and republish the video on other sites. Macedonia is one of the few countries to integrate a Creative Commons license in the internet promotion, although many countries use satellite TV to promote themselves.
The video quickly became the news of the day, and many of the bloggers posted it on their blogs and commented on the promotion and the website [mkd]. Although the comments on YouTube are positive, most of the bloggers had negative impression of the video, especially when they found out the amount of money spent on its production (190,000 Euros)
When the video was suggested [mkd] on the Kajmak.ot, many users commented on it. Some of them wrote:
Pero:
The video is fine from an artistic point of view, but not from an essential point of view […]
Zlochko:
I didn’t like the video also. If I may criticize a person with a resume like Manchevski, I will say that I didn’t see anything touristic in the video. Where is the village tourism, where are the smiling hosts for the tourists, where is the extreme tourism, where are the beaches…?
But, the book was a good moment. That was the most interesting thing for me.
The Arheoblog published [mkd] a post on the situation with the incoming tourism in Macedonia, inspired by the video:
[…] This is a video that needs to attract foreigners to come and visit Macedonia. I’m not bothered with the fact that there are too many motives from Ohrid, and also from the artifacts found near this city. I’m not bothered that the Muslim art and architecture from Macedonia is not represented enough. I’m not bothered with the fact that a man who doesn’t know the religion phenomenons in Macedonia will get a wrong picture that in the country frescoes and crosses are dominating. I’m not even bothered that too many things are not included, because for a country with such a rich tradition it’s very difficult to put everything in a one minute video. […]
I’m bothered with the fact that in Macedonia there is no stable infrastructure for incoming tourism […].
Razvigor commented [mkd] on the video from another angle:
For me the most important thing is that the promotional video for Macedonia is published under a Creative Commons license.
I think (correct me if I’m wrong) this is the first time in the world for a government to publish something on the internet in this way. Also, it’s probably the first time one director from this level, with an Academy Award nomination, to give one of his works in this way.
The campaign of the government has just begun and we'll see if the reaction of the citizens is wrong and if the video succeeds in achieving its goal.

author: Elena Ignatova


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Morocco: Obama to Speak? · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Algerian-American blogger The Moor Next Door has reported on a campaign set up by Moroccans to encourage President-Elect Barack Obama to make his first speech abroad in Morocco.  The blogger states:
This clever Moroccan site — Obama to Speak in Morocco — is marketing that country as the best candidate for Obama’s proposed Islamic world speech.  They’ve even drafted my post on the issue to their cause. Note that I have no realtionship [sic] with “Obama to Speak in Morocco,” whatsoever, and operate this blog and write on my own behalf and no one else’s, and recieve no financial or material gifts or compensation from any individual or organization.
In the comments section of his blog, Tidinit responds to the claim:
Interesting. Have not read your post on Obama, but I will now, because of its implications for our “waring” countries. Don’t worry if you are accused to take side. We know you are not and you are giving us some food for thought on issues pertaining to the region. I appreciated very well your past posts on Turkey and the new OPEC gas consortium. Among others, of course: Ya Khattou, Al Majlissi and your excellent post that I responded to. That is why I m checking almost every morning or night. Keep it up. We need you and you are opening our eyes on some key issues no one is talking about.
The petition for Obama to speak in Morocco originated with The Moroccan American Board, an organization based in Washington, D.C.
The campaign's major talking points follow:
Here is why It should be Morocco
What do you call an Arab, Muslim and African country which was the first to recognize the United States independence?
Kingdom of Morocco
What do you call a moderate, tolerating, peaceful country which is the strongest ally to the United States in the region?
Kingdom Of Morocco.
What do you call Obama's first speech in Morocco after his inauguration?
A historical moment.
Although only time will tell, thus far the campaign has been successful; the petitioners have even signed Washington D.C. Mayor Adrien Fenty on to endorse it at his own birthday party:
Among the invitees and contributors were Washington Moroccan Club members and friends-of-the-mayor that chatted with the mayor and informed him of the ongoing campaign to entice President elect Barack Obama to make his first foreign policy speech from Morocco. Mayor of Washington, Adrien Fenty, said ” it is a good Idea, Morocco is an ideal location for that speech” In a subsequent encounter with Jan and Phil Fenty, the mayor’s proud parents who were on hand for the mayor's 38th birthday bash. They run their Fleet Feet running shoe store in Washington for over 24 years, while Jan Fenty , the mayor's mother, worked as a DC public school teacher. His father, Phil Fenty, informed the Moroccan Community members present that his own grandfather is from Morocco. the Group members were startled by this unexpected piece of information and promptly admitted the mayor and his family to the Moroccan American community since the mayor's own great grand father was Moroccan and celebrated the event with a well deserved glass of fresh mineral water.

author: Jillian C. York


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Saudi Arabia: Attitudes towards suicide · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Saudiwoman discusses suicide in Saudi Arabia: “In general, Saudi society views suicide as deeply sad but not quite shameful. It’s better to have someone in the family who committed suicide than a daughter who elopes or a son addicted to drugs.”


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Sri Lanka: Fighting during Christmas  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Cerno reports on the ongoing civil war around Nevil in Northern Sri Lanka: “as the world celebrates Christmas lots of humans from a volunteer army are fighting a crumbling terrorist death cult in the torrential rain.”


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Taiwan: Charter 08 and Taiwan · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

David on Formosa commented on Charter 08 along with quotes from Taiwan News and Financial Times. At the end he said: “In realising the dream of a free China lessons can certainly be learnt from Taiwan. A key lesson is the importance of transitional justice. If China can transform itself into a genuine democracy and move beyond the historical legacy of the Chinese Communist Party it could even become a model for Taiwan.“

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Western Sahara: Student Reported Detained · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Saharawi-students.org reports that a Saharawi law student has been detained in Tan Tan.  The student was released after 10 hours.


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Zimbabwe: Update on Jestina Mukoko’s abduction · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Denford Magora's Zimbabwe Blog posted some photos of human rights activist Jestina Mukoko (who was abducted a couple of weeks ago) appearing in court yesterday accused of recruiting insurgents to topple Mugabe. A few hours later he reported that “although not being freed, it looks as though the abductees will be able to at least see their families and spend time with them, albeit in hospital”, and today that she had disappeared again because police didn't comply with the High Court order. Kubatana reproduces a statement issued by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) about the recent developments related to enforced disappearances.


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DRC: A “Gloomy” Christmas in Kinshasa · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Pour la première fois, j’ai vécu un Noël tranquille à Kinshasa. Pas de guirlandes dans les rues, aucune décoration, pas de musique, bref rien. Les habitants de ma ville natale semblent fatigués et rompent avec l’habitude de se dépasser pour célébrer avec faste la nativité. Dans mon quartier, la SNEL a eu la magnifique idée de nous priver d’électricité. Décidés à faire la fête malgré tout chez moi, nous avons donc renoué avec notre bonne vielle méthode de cuisson des aliments au feu de bois. Pour la musique, mon voisin a utilisé la radio de sa voiture.
Je me souviens des années de mon enfance où les parents étaient obligés d’acheter des vêtements neufs à leurs enfants et de leur offrir des cadeaux pour Noël. En ce qui concerne la bouffe, le 25 décembre, c’était l’occasion de changer les habitudes culinaires et d’offrir des plats spéciaux à la famille. Les choses se passent différemment aujourd’hui. La pauvreté qui touche la majorité des foyers congolais change les habitudes. Ce qui me surprend c’est que les congolais, ne se plaignent toujours pas.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Americas: A Look Back at 2008 · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

When a guerrilla camp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) located just inside the Ecuadorian border, was bombed by the Colombian Armed Forces, it sparked a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.  With Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez contributing to the war of words, it soon turned into a full-fledged border crisis.  The Global Voices Latin American team quickly assembled a Special Coverage page that highlighted opinions and thoughts from bloggers from all three countries.
This was just one example of our volunteers authors combing their respective country's blogospheres to highlight voices from across Latin America and provide a view into what bloggers were saying about events and news from the region.
Plenty of activity took place in Colombia in 2008, including the rescue of hostages held by the FARC.  One high-profile kidnapped victim was former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, whose release was celebrated across the globe.  Due to these deplorable tactics, the FARC was publicly rejected by a well-attended march in many cities across Colombia.
Marches were a way for the general public to express displeasure at governmental policies or the inaction of its elected leaders.  As was the case in Mexico, tens of thousands of Mexicans took to the street to protest the government's inability to control the crime, which is often associated with organized drug trafficking causing brutal deaths across the country and was suspected in the death of one of the country's top crime-fighting officials.
In Argentina, protests, marches and blockades paralyzed the country as exporters sought to reject a new tariff on agricultural exports proposed by the government.  However, in the end, the Senate voted to defeat the measure.
Other marches took place not to protest, but to show solidarity and support for the government.  Bolivian peasants and social movements walked to La Paz, the seat of government, to ask Congress to call a referendum to vote upon the draft constitution. The march also showed support for Bolivian president Evo Morales.
Presidents across of Latin America enjoy varying degrees of support and opposition.  One new president, ex-Roman Catholic bishop Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, was elected in 2008 riding the wave of change and breaking a 61-year old hold on power by the Colorado Party.
Elections and national referendums also demonstrated the public's support or rejection of the direction that a president wants to take the country.  In Ecuador, President Rafael Correa received a boost when the referendum for the country's new Constitution was overwhelmingly passed.
Other heads of state made the news with actions and where bloggers provided their opinions, such as the decision by Costa Rican president Oscar Arias to ask the spiritual figure the Dalai Lama to postpone his visit to the countrycausing many to wonder whether it was a move to appease China.
Many presidents had their hands full due to disasters caused by Mother Nature.  Ecuador was hit especially hard with the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano and heavy floodings, which led to the declaration of a national emergency.  Guatemala also was affected by heavy rains leaving the rural and poorest parts of the country especially vulnerable. Landslides and floods in Brazil's southern state of Santa Catarina left more than 80 dead and was the country's worst environmental disaster in 2008.
Even though the earthquake the ravaged the cities of Pisco and Ica took place in 2007, bloggers examined the progress or lack of progress in the rebuilding efforts one year later.
These are some of the more serious issues that took place across the region, and which were covered by the Latin American team at Global Voices.  The next article will highlight some of the best and more interesting stories published on Global Voices over the past year.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bahrain: The bunny must go · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Ammaro reports on the sudden interest of MPs in ridding Bahrain of anything with the Playboy rabbit on it: “The bunny logo has been spotted everywhere from supermarkets, to perfume and accessories shops, and it renders anyone staring at it for more than 2 seconds to be transformed into an immoral sin-making-machine.”


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Brazil: Chico Mendes lives on, 20 years after his death · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“No começo, pensei que estivesse lutando para salvar seringueiras, depois pensei que estava lutando para salvar a floresta amazônica. Agora, percebo que estou lutando pela humanidade”
On December 15, 1944, Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, also known as Chico Mendes was born in Xapuri, Acre State, Brazil. A rubber tapper (seringueiro, in Portuguese), unionist and environmental activist, not only did he fight against the clearing of land for cattle ranching through burning and logging of the Amazon forest – still a major issue in the area – but he founded the national union of rubber tappers to preserve their profession, was a pioneer in talking about sustainable exploitation of the rain forest and was a leading local member of the  Workers Party (PT).
On 6th December 1988, during a seminar about the Amazon organized by the University of São Paulo, Chico Mendes made a famous speech whose last words were a bad omen:
“I don't want flowers, because I know you are going to pull them up from the forest. The only thing I want is that  my death helps to stop the murderers’ impunity who are under the protection of the Acre Police and who, since 1975, have killed more than 50 people in the rural zone. Like me, seringueiro's  leaders have worked to save the Amazonian rainforest and to demonstrate that progress without destruction is possible”.
After being jailed, fined and threatened for his activities during the Brazilian dictatorship, Mendes was shot to death in the chest outside his home  on the evening of December 22, 1988 – one week after his 44th birthday – by Darcy Alves de Silva, son of a rancher named Darly Alves de Silva, who had been logging an area planned to become a reserve.
Twenty years later, contemporary seringeiros and bloggers remember his death and revive the spirit of resistance in defense of the Amazon rainforest, recalling a life of struggles in favor of the peoples of the forest – and an unfinished fight. Altino Machado [pt] has always dedicated special posts on his blog to Chico Mendes. On the day that marked the 20th year without Chico Mendes, he published a letter by his daughter, Elenira Mendes:
Infelizmente, ainda continuamos apenas sonhando em busca de uma sociedade melhor. Já se passaram 20 anos desde aquela noite, quando o vi pela ultima vez, se debatendo no chão, tentando nos dizer, a mim e minha mãe, algo que nunca saberei exatamente o que era.
Pai, tenha a certeza de que sua luta não foi em vão. Os seus sonhos já não são somente seus. São também meus e de todos os que ainda acreditam nos seus ideais.
Você ainda é a vanguarda da esperança da Amazônia e do nosso amado Acre.
Chico and Elenira Mendes, image by Chico Mendes Committee
Blog Babel das Artes [pt] says the cause for which Mendes lived, fought and died is still burning, despite the fact the he has been forgotten by many in Brazil.
O seringueiro Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, o Chico Mendes,  defendia o direito à exploração dos recursos naturais, mas sem seu esgotamento. A preocupação com o desenvolvimento sustentável, duas décadas depois de sua morte ainda são necessárias e urgentes.
A luta contra a transformação da floresta em pasto para criação de gado, intensificada a partir do fim da década de 1970, deu visibilidade aos seringueiros do Acre, que liderados por Chico Mendes formavam barreiras humanas para impedir o trabalho das motosserras. Sua figura e suas ações — mais evidentes e comentadas no exterior do que aqui no Brasil — chamaram a atenção da imprensa mundial. Como consequência, em 1987, foi o primeiro brasileiro a receber o prêmio Global 500, da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU).
“Chico Mendes lives!” Image from the Chico Mendes Committee, which has an interview with him translated into English, first published in 1988, the year of his death.
Cândido Cunha [pt] writes an elaborate article putting his death in a broader context, and says that the forest still exists only because of the ancient people, a culturally different population who have the greatest responsibility for the maintenance of the Amazon forest, have been using, without destroying, it.
A morte de Chico Mendes em 1988 significou que na luta de concepções territoriais distintas não estava em disputa “ecologistas” contra “desenvolvimentistas”, mas os povos da floresta contra a expansão capitalista sobre a Amazônia. Não eram homens “bonzinhos” e “conscientes” agarrados misticamente a árvores contra “bárbaros” pecuaristas ávidos por lucrar em cima da floresta derrubada. Eram campesinos florestais contra capitalistas; trabalhadores autônomos de antigos seringais contra a “Sociedade Anônima”; os “excluídos” e esquecidos pelo Estado contra os incentivos fiscais deste mesmo Estado. Portanto, uma luta de classes. A transformação de Chico Mendes em “mártir da ecologia” serviu de alerta para o que vinha acontecendo em regiões remotas do Brasil e sem dúvida deu um novo olhar para a Amazônia. Contudo, não é forçoso dizer que houve um esvaziamento do conteúdo classista da luta, em especial com a espetacularização de sua morte ao mesmo tempo em que outros aspectos da luta eram sintomaticamente obscurecidos.
According to watchdog Catholic Land Pastoral, more than 1,100 activists, small farmers, judges, priests and other rural workers have been killed in disputes over preserving land since Mendes’ murder, none of the murderers is serving a sentence today. Still now the destruction of the Amazon continues, as the government mapping system shows a 66 percent increase in areas partially destroyed in 2008, compared to 2007. Meanwhile, Mendes’ murders, Darly and Darcy Alves de Silva were convicted and jailed, escaped several years later but were recaptured and confined again. Darly has since been released on the grounds of “poor health”. Darcy remains in jail. Pedro Vicente Costa Sobrinho [pt], who had the chance to meet and interview Mendes, believes that half done justice, in this case, will not last for long:
Os mandantes e assassinos de Chico Mendes não esperavam o clamor que suscitou a sua morte. De todos os recantos do planeta se pediu justiça, punição para os criminosos. Os mandantes e coniventes ficaram impunes. Os criminosos diretos foram presos e julgados, mas poderão a qualquer momento estar soltos. Confiam na falta de memória do povo brasileiro e na impunidade reinante no país.
Marcelo Grossi [pt] wonders:
Assassinado em 22 de dezembro de 1988, Chico Mendes, analfabeto até os vinte anos de idade, escreveu mais um capítulo da tragédia fundiária brasileira. Quanto vale a vida humana e quanto custa a terra?
Chico Mendes started working as a rubber tapper at the age of 9. Image by Chico Mendes Committee
On December 10, 2008 the Amnesty Committee of the Ministry of Justice conceded a postumous political pardon for Chico Mendes and the State begged forgiveness for the persecution he suffered during the years of dictatorship for incitement to disorder and crime.

author: Paula Góes


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China: Reflection of Charter 08 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Uln from Chinayouren discusses on the impact of Charter 08 on future China political change.


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Christmas in Sri Lanka · Global Voices
Rezwan

At Groundviews, Ruki shares the experience of being in a Christmas Mass in a Sri Lankan conflict zone.


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DRC: Football match to raise money for war-ravaged Kivu · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Tomorrow in Kinshasa, the Congolese national football and a team of Congolese footballers from abroad will play a match to raise money for victims of the violence in the east of the country, Cedric Kalonji [Fr] writes.


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Egyptian and Tunisian Bloggers against Censorship · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

In December 2006 frustrated Tunisian bloggers launched the “Action Blank Post” initiative in defense of freedom of speech. Supporting bloggers from all over the world posted a blank on their blogs on the 25th of December, and now bloggers have united again in this anti-censorship tradition.
Bloggers sent out invitations using their facebook group (FR)
En décembre 2006 est née “Action Note Blanche”, une initiative de blogueurs tunisiens, frustrés de voir la censure leur interdire l'accès à de nombreux blogs et sites internet. Ce groupe a pour objectif de réunir tous les blogueurs et internautes tunisiens ou autres qui défendent la liberté d'expression et souhaitent voir la censure desserrer son emprise sur la toile.
Le 25 décembre, comme chaque année, tous ceux qui souhaitent participer devront publier sur leurs blogs, sites perso ou forum une “note blanche”, vide sans titre ou portant le logo de l'action pour cette année.
Défendons encore une fois le message!
and their anti-censorship blog (AR)
Out of Egypt, many bloggers supported their Tunisian couterparts. Wael Abbas (Misr Digital), Bella (Scattered Thoughts), Mohamed Hamdy (Blogger Times), Zeinobia (Egyptian Chronicles), Sane on the Land of Insanity (Notepad & Pen), Ahmed Al Sabbagh (Uncle Ahmed Al Sabbagh), Ahmed Abdel Fattah (Yalalaly), An Egyptian Engineer (For the love of Egypt).

author: Marwa Rakha


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Ethiopia: Most popular stories of 2008 · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

EthioBlog at Nazret.com posted a list of the top 50 stories of 2008 in this popular Ethiopian news portal. At the top of the list there's a story about Forbes magazine listing Addis Ababa as the 6th world's dirtiest city.


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Iran: Islamist bloggers support Gaza · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Islamist bloggers have launched a campaign against the Gaza Strip blockade and to ask worldwide Muslims to help Palestinians. The bloggers have used different tools such as Google bombs and banners to spread in the blogosphere and promote the campaign.
Moreover, an association of Islamist bloggers called Paygahe Blogeraye Arzeshi [Fa] (which means a base of value oriented bloggers) has collected 500 links to already published posts on this issue. Iranian FarsNews [Fa], a conservative and semi official site, has criticized Islamist bloggers for their silence on humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip.
Gaza Google bomb says:
You, oppressed people of Gaza know that we Muslims of Iran and all over the world haven't forgotten you and will not cease until complete breaking of the surrounding of your city. In the path along freedom of Gaza and our common value which is the freedom of Palestine, we will not cease and will go on.
Muslim Bloggers Association [Fa] also published a statement on the Gaza crisis:
این روز ها که در سایه سکوت مجامع جهانی و مدعیان حقوق بشر، غزه به عیان ترین مصداق نقض حقوق اولیه انسانی تبدیل گشته است… اخبار کشته شدن مردمانش بوسیله دشمن صهیونیستی به خبر عادی تلکس های خبری مبدل گردیده
Yadshthyeh Tanhayi [Fa] (which means Lonely Notes) writes:
اینبار هم مینویسم برای تو و کودکان داغدارت برای تو و مردان و زنان رنج دیده ات کمی صبور باش ، آری صبور باش غزه به خدا سوگند آفتاب مهر و عدالت طلوع خواهد کرد. دلم می سوزد برای تو و مردمانت برای مظلومیت بیت المقدست

author: Fred Petrossian


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Lebanon: Abolishing the death penalty · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Sursock posts about Lebanon's current plan to abolish the death penalty and a brief history of the activism that lead to this decision.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Jews of Lebanon blog Transforms to website · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“After nearly 3 years of work, The Jews of Lebanon Blog will close … I started this site possibly as a naive college student trying to relive the nostalgia of his parents’ memories in Lebanon but today it’s much more than that.” The blogger explains that the work will continue on the website of the Lebanese Jewish Community Council in Beirut.


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Martiniquan blogger remembers Eartha Kitt · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

le blog de [moi] notes cat woman Eartha Kitt's passing [Fr].  She died of colon cancer Thursday at the age of 81.  “Talented and devilishly sexy, she saw it all.”


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Morocco: A Moroccan Christmas · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

As Morocco is primarily a Muslim country, the majority of its residents do not celebrate Christmas.  Still, bits and pieces of the holiday can be found, thanks to French influence and a good-sized expat community.  This year, expat and Peace Corps bloggers share how they celebrated the holiday.
Emily & Jon in Morocco is the blog of two Peace Corps volunteers who celebrated Eid Al Kabir and Christmas this year.  They shared photographs from the first holiday, and stories of the second.  For Christmas, they shared the American tradition of stockings with their Moroccan host family:
Step two; stockings.
so late last night we told our family about “papa noel” and the tradition of hanging up our sock over the window (no fireplaces here folks). Jon and I demonstrated by draping our socks over the curtain rod. Unfortunately our family didn't follow, until after we turned in for the night. Around midnight we gathered the socks and tried to figure out whose was whose….which we where wrong. we got our bothers’ sock mixed up with our Moms’ and the two girls where mixed up as well…oops. but besides that, the stockings where a big hit.
The blogger behind From Warp to Weft, who also runs Kantara Crafts (an entrepreneurial fair-trade initiative between Morocco and the US), congratulates a group that helped raise money for the initiative:
December has been quite the month of holidays:
Eid al'Adha- Muslim Festival of Sacrifice. Dec. 8 (more to come!)
Solstice- Equinox Celebration of Changing Seasons. Dec. 21
Hannukah- Jewish Festival of Lights . Dec. 22-29
Christmas- Christian Celebration of the Birth of Jesus. Dec. 25
Kwanza'a- African Heritage Celebration. Dec. 26-Jan. 1
All religion aside, however, there is another reason to celebrate. Thanks to the generous donations of shoppers at Oberlin's Alternative Gift Fair, Kantara Crafts raised approximately $120 to reinvest in local education projects in Morocco.
Maryam of My Marrakesh shares her tales of the first Christmas spent in a new place: her family's newly built guest house:
And so it was Christmas.  Their very first at Peacock Pavilions.  And while this was a milestone, her happiness was tempered by all that surrounded her.  By the unpacked boxes, the bare cement floors, and the unlandscaped garden.  By the chill of life in winter without heating.
By all that remained undone.
But her dream of Peacock Pavilions remained.  In the heat of the Marrakech mid-day sun, it still seemed attainable.  It still seemed within reach.  It still seemed just around the corner, or at least the corner after that.
And so if this Christmas was not the way she had hoped, there was always the next Christmas.  Her children would not yet be grown and Santa would still be real for those who believed.
And believing was half the battle.
Merry Christmas and love from Marrakech.
And Morocco Time shares this hilarious video, from an episode of the American television show “The Office,” entitled “Moroccan Christmas”:


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Morocco: Condolences to Guinea · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Daily Maghreb reports that King Mohammed VI of Morocco sends his condolences to Guinea, a country which recently lost its leader, President Lansana Conté.  Shortly following Conté's death, the country experienced a military coup d'etat.


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Pakistan: Policies Regarding NWFP · Global Voices
Rezwan

Manzoor Ali Shah at Pak Tea House argues that the policies of Pakistan government regarding the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) need a paradigm shift.


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Palestine: No Christmas in Gaza · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In Gaza reports on the Christmas celebrations – or lack of them – of Gaza's Christians: “Father Manuel’s Christmas Eve service was lethargic. It was a desperate plea from a priest who has seen too many painful Christmases in Gaza and whose congregation has reached their breaking point.”


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Russia-Georgia: The value of Russian passports · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eternal Remont refers to an Al Jazeera news story on South Ossetia to argue that Russian citizens’ passports handed out to South Ossetians in practice are used rather as Russian domestic passports.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia: The New York Times’ LJ is One Year Old · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The New York Times‘ Clifford J. Levy writes on The Lede about the first anniversary of the paper's interactive Russian-language LJ blog: “The results far exceeded my expectations. The blog has received more than 26,000 comments, and has become an important tool for the newspaper to better understand and explain Russia. The title of the blog is, “Tell Americans and the World about Russia,” and Russians have done just that.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Serbia: Christmas in January · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded explains the advantages of celebrating Christmas in January.