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Jamaica:  McNeill Poem · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Geoffrey Philp was happy to receive a photograph of the late Jamaican poet Roy Anthony McNeill and posts a poem and podcast in his honour.


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Jamaica:  The Simple Life · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Moving back to Jamaica has also made Francis Wade move towards a different mindset: “I wonder how I used to live with an unquestioned commitment to make a lot of money, as quickly as possible.  A Move Back to Jamaica brings with it a certain kind of common-sense, a return to a life that is more simple and more immediate.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: Bloggers cry foul over plans for Henoko Bay · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, consists of some 160 islands in an archipelago stretching from Kyuushuu to Taiwan. Historically part of a distinct nation called the Ryuukyuu Kingdom, Okinawa only became a Japanese prefecture in 1879. Its people, the poorest in Japan, have struggled over the years to find a place for themselves in their new country, facing persistent discrimination from their post-war American occupiers as well as from their mainland Japanese countrypeople.
For many decades, Okinawa has borne the brunt of the post-war military burden, having been seized and occupied by American forces immediately following the end of World War Two and only finally (nominally) returned to Japanese rule in 1972. Following the Battle of Okinawa, in which 200,000 soldiers and civilians — including one quarter of the prefecture's total population — lost their lives, Okinawa was turned into an extended military complex for American forces and made to house numerous bases, espionage centres, and estates for American families. While taking up only 0.6% of the area of the entire country, Okinawa hosts 75% of all American military bases in Japan (occupying 20% of the prefecture's entire territory), a lasting testament — given widespread opposition to such bases across Japan — to the continuing marginalization of the Okinawan people.
The latest chapter in the ongoing tale of America's military presence in Okinawa involves a plan to construct a new military airport in Henoko Bay, a plan which has been opposed fiercely by local residents and environmentalist groups. Last week, officials gave the go-ahead for a preliminary survey, a move which angered many people in the area, notably bloggers actively involved in nonviolent protests and sit-ins.
Blogger nesupa writes:
久しぶりに県への抗議行動に参加した。
辺野古基地新設に伴う海域調査を防衛施設庁が強行してきた。そもそもこのような調査は環境アセスメント法によって行なわねばならない。それなのに事前調査と称して調査を行なおうとしている。順序が逆だ。言葉は事前調査をしてそのデータをアセスで使うと件の土木部長が発言しているが、アセスはそれらのデータを求める為にどのような調査をするのか、という段階から始めなければならない。順所が逆だ。
国は着工を急ぎたいが為に事前調査と如何にもよい事をしているかのごとく振る舞っているが、法の趣旨に反している。このようなことは新石垣空港でも行なわれている、だから問題をより大きくするのだ。法に則って行政を進めなければ問題が起きて泥沼になるのは過去の例から見て必至である。
国は強権で突破でき、県民世論は捻じ伏せられると考えているだろうが、力で押さえられないものもあるのだ。成田空港を見てみろ、もう40年を越えるのに未だに建設の第一歩のボタンの掛け違いが尾を引いている。その時はどうにか辻褄を合わせてもシコリは何時までも残り事を複雑にするだけだ。 甘く見てはイケマセン。
原発を見て御覧なさい。建設するための公聴会は機動隊に守られてアリバイ作り的に行なわれた、それも反対派を締め出して。近頃ボロボロ出てくる事故隠しはそういう状況で住民無視して建設を強行したことの結果なのだ。
アンゼンだ、事故は起こらないと強弁した結果、事故が起きてもアリマセンとしか言えないのだ。言い訳はありえないミス・事故でした、でしかない。100％アリマセンなんて事はあり得ない、せめてコンマ1%程度はあります、と説明してその際はこういう措置をとるので大丈夫ですと言うべきだった。
政府による今回の辺野古のアセス無視の行動は、近い将来何らかの不都合を生じる原因になるだろう。
私は反対運動に参加している、役割はアタマ数の一人と思っている。その他大勢の部類だが交渉で交わされる発言を聞いていて、県は国の言いなりになるな、もっと主体性を持って政府に当たれと思う。
法律を捻じ曲げてまで基地新設を急ぐな、そんなに金が欲しければ金とリンクした基地新設だが金の持ち逃げ、国から金だけを取って基地を造らない方策を考えなさい。オレオレ詐欺のようにフリをせよ、と言いたい。
騙されたフリをして騙そうよ、クニを。(笑)
Another blogger at Kichi Kensetsu Soshi (Stop construction of the base) gives more detail on actions against government forces, comments on Prime Minister Abe's involvement, and wonders about the mindset of the divers carrying out the investigations:
4/25夜までの情報です。今日も現況調査が繰り返されました。堂々としたアセス法違反です。阻止行動はカヌー8艇、船2隻、ダイバー3人で行ないました。施設局側が出して来た船も人数もあまりに多いため、1ヶ所については作業を阻止しました。何隻ものゴムボートで一艇のカヌーを取り囲んだり、動きを封鎖したりされたようですが、平和のための行動を止めることは出来ません。
今回の大量動員は作業着手というアリバイがどうしても欲しい施設局の焦りだと考えます。安倍さんの訪米に合わせての手みやげ程度の思いなのでしょう。腹立たしい限りです。またあちこちで憲法改「正」に意欲的なところを見せていて、手続きも進めて行く意志を露にしています。小泉さんを遥かに凌駕する暴君ぶりです。
昨日も今日施設局に雇われて、作業で潜ったダイバーたちはこの海が埋め立ての危機に瀕していることをどう考えているのでしょうか。目を見張るほどの綺麗な海に潜って、海に関わる仕事をしているダイバーとして、１人の人間としてどう思っているのでしょうか。是非聞いてみたいものです。それともお金のためならば何でも有りなのでしょうか。明日も作業は続くと思われます。とにかく集まって傍若無人な日本の真実の姿を目撃し、阻止行動に加わってください。カヌーが漕げなくても、船から写真やビデオを撮るだけでも目撃者としての役割を果たせます。是非集まってください。
昨日の全国メディアのニュースはこぞって情けない取り上げ方しか出来ていませんでした。どんな圧力が加えられているのでしょうか。マスコミや各方面に脅しで圧力をかけて政策を推し進めるという国が、本当に自由で美しいといえるのでしょうか。本当に情けないです。辺野古の海を、沖縄の海をこれ以上絶対に汚さないことが本当の意味で「美しい国」と言えるのではないでしょうか。
Blogger Youko writes about the failure of mainstream media to cover the Henoko Bay issue and describes her own eyewitness experience of government hostility at protests and sit-ins:
今回の調査強行を批判する力が、県内二紙をはじめとする沖縄のメディアには明らかに欠けていると思う。
大きなメディアがあてにならないときには、自分たちで小さなメディアを作って発信していくしかないのだ。
辺野古、という空間に、なんら共同性を持たない人々が集い、座りこむという非暴力・直接行動で権力に抵抗し、基地の建設を阻み続けている。
その行為が、「反対派による阻止行動」という言葉だけでくくられてしまっていいはずがない、と思う。
むしろ、非暴力で座り込む市民を「警戒」し、機動隊を動員し、威嚇し続け、はては逮捕までやってのけた権力の側が厳しく問われるべきではないのか。
出来事の参加者、目撃者となることは、その出来事を誰かに手渡す可能性を生み出すことだ。
そして、中立を装いながら体制に与するメディアに抵抗することだ。

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: CarPET · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new product that combines the function of pet, carpet and heating device was introduced by Edo at Pink Tentacle.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Japan: Shinzo Abe souvenirs  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe introduced a set of Shinzo Abe souvenirs for tourists.


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Kenya: government official active in Kenyan online forums · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Majonzi writes about the changing face of government in Kenya: “The first time, Bitange Ndemo, Information and Communication PS responded to an article I had sent to the KICTANet mailing list, I could not believe it. I thought someone else was doing it on his behalf.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Korea: On Parents’ Love, Power and Money · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

(head of a conglomerate) apparently watches too many Hong Kong and Korean gangster films. The CEO of Hanwha, one of the ten biggest companies in South Korea, was questioned recently by police about an alleged revenge attack for injuries inflicted upon his son, who studies in the U.S. and had returned to Korea for a while. The CEO, Kim Seung-youn, must have been upset to see his son injured to the point of requiring 11 stitches, as any parent would be. In seeking retribution, however, he may have gone too far. Kim Seung-youn hired gangsters in order to seek revenge on the people who beat his son. The businessman is also suspected of having participated directly in the attack, although he denies it. His status as a wealthy and powerful man, as a father who dotes on his son and the role of the intensely competitive media have raised several issues for ordinary Koreans.
Blogger Baram8 criticizes the media and tries to understand Kim Seung-youn as a father:
제 생각에는 김승연 회장이 재벌이란 이유로 너무 지나친 비난을 받고 있다고 생각합니다.
사실 문제의 원인은 김승연 회장의 아들을 폭행한 그 종업원들에게 있지 않나요?
그들은 말이 종업원이지 북창동 깡패 내지는 조폭이라고 생각합니다.
사람을 8명이서 패서 10바늘 꿰메게 만들고, 억울하면 북창동으로 찾아오라고 명함을 줬다는데…
힘없는 서민이 그런 일 당했으면 어디 겁나서 찾아가거나 경찰에 신고나 했겠습니까?
그나마 힘있는 사람이니 그렇게라도 아들 복수를 해준거지요. (물론 그게 옳은 행동은 아니었지만,)
경찰에 고발 조치를 했어야 옳았다고 생각하지만, 한편으로 저는 속 시원하게 복수했다고 생각합니다.
그리고 언론은 그 종업원 8명이 처음에 김승연 아들을 폭행한 것은 거의 다루지도 않더군요.
오직 김승연 회장이 직접 때렸나 안때렸나에만 초점이 잡힌 듯 합니다.
기자들은 건수하나 제대로 잡은 듯이 이슈화에 혈안이군요.
여러분들은 어떻게 생각하세요?
Bloggers like Coolcat are discussing how a simple fight turned into a big deal over time:
재벌 폭행 사건 처음 듣고 어느 그룹인지 졸라 궁금해 함..
다음날 출근하자 인터넷 뒤져보고 한화 임을 알게 됨.. 김승연 회장이라는 말에 고개가 끄덕여짐.
아들이 맞고 온거 가서 복수해준, 동네에서도 흔히 있는 일이라서 재밌다고만 생각 함.
북창동 건너편에서 근무 했던바 북창동을 아는데 거기 종업원이 재벌 2세들 노는 룸살롱에서 같이 술먹는 거 보고 놀랐음.
내용이 심각 하게 돌아감.
카더라 통신에 북창동 종업원이 조폭이라는 설이 나돌음. 이제야 말이 된다고 생각.. 업소 관리 하던 조폭이 청담동 갔다가 싸가지 없는 재벌 2세 폭행 한 것으로 생각 함.
갑자기 김승연 회장 동정론으로 급선회… 나도 내자식이 맞고 왔으면 때린놈 가서 두들겨 주고 싶음. 단지 난 힘이 없어서 깨갱 할꺼고 김승연 회장은 힘이 있어 사용 한것으로 생각. 게다가 남들 괴롭히는 조폭들이라고 하니 칭찬해 주고 싶음. 추가적으로 아들은 예일대 다니는 개망나니는 아닌것으로 알려짐.
혹시나 했는데 김회장이 산에 끌고 가서 가죽점퍼 입고 쇠파이프로 때렸다고 함. 영화보다도 더함. 아마 조폭 영화를 너무 많이 본 것 같음.
평범한 서민들만 대리 만족 느낌….. 조폭 쪼가리 한테  대리 복수해준 김회장 한테 박수를… 무소불위 재벌 회장을 폭행죄로 감옥 보내줄 북창동 쪼가리 한테 박수를…
On the other hand, Kim's action has been interpreted as the ugly face of the capitalism, as in this post from Gsong's Blog:
언론이 좋아하는 소재들을 모두 갖춘 영양식입니다.
돈
폭력
어긋난 부정
음모와 비리
이보다 더 재밌는 소재가 어디 있겠습니까?
김승연 회장은 내노라하는 부자임에도 불구하고, 사회의 기본 원칙들을 무시한 죄가 있습니다. 자기를 그렇게 부자로 만들어 준 것이 이 사회일 텐데 일말의 존중은 커녕 법 위에 군림하는 듯한 태도가 문제였지요.
김승연 회장의 둘째 아들 녀석도 참 웃기네요. 예일대를 다니는 것 같았는데, 그 좋은 대학을 갔으면 열심히 공부나 할 것이지 뭐 한다고 다시 교환학생으로 서울대를 온 건지 모르겠습니다. 교환학생이라는 제도의 취지가 유학간 한국학생들의 향수병을 달래주고자 하는 것은 아니지 않나요? 그 녀석을 받아준 서울대 동양사학과도 참 우습군요.
아무튼 오늘 잠깐 뉴스를 보니 김회장은 어제 출두해서 하루종일 자기는 모른다고 잡아떼다 나온 듯 합니다. 조만간 크든 작든 처벌이 내려질 테고, 그와 동시에 김회장의 몸상태는 급속히 악화되어 전에 없던 당뇨라든지 각종 성인병이 발병해서 병원으로 후송되겠지요. 그리고 몇달 뒤면 아무 일 없었던 듯 다시 회장노릇을 할 겝니다.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Labouring in Qatar · Global Voices
Mohamed Nanabhay

Like many of the Gulf States, Qatar is heavily dependent of foreign expatriate workforce to help fuels its growth. Demographically, Qataris make up less than 25% of the 800,000 people living in the country, with the remaining 600,000 or so people being expats or children. With a reported per capita income of $62,914 in Qatar, the country is clearly doing very well. Skilled expatriates usually negotiate healthy tax free salaries while many unskilled labourers come out with enough to send back to their families. Unfortunately, large numbers of foreign labourers are still having a tough time. From non-payment to abandonment, the plight and rights of these labourers is a topic that has been making the rounds in the Qatari Blogosphere.
Marjorie previously  blogged about the sponsorship system that governs expats when visiting a safe house for stranded workers:
Stranded workers are workers whose sponsors (i.e., employers) have abandoned them in one way or another. For those of us who are expatriate workers in Qatar, our employers have a much larger role in our lives than they would in the States. Your employer isn't just the person who hires you and pays you; they also provide your housing and possibly your food and, most importantly, they are your gateway to government services. When you first arrive in Qatar, it is your sponsor who gets you a valid visa and residency permit; when you leave, it is your sponsor who gets you an exit visa and a plane ticket home. So workers who have been abandoned by their employers are not just unemployed; they also become illegal immigrants. They can't legally get new jobs, and technically shouldn't still be in the country. Yet, even if they want to leave, they can't get an exit visa, let alone afford to fly home!
This week she was elated when blogging about a recent Migrant Workers Symposium that is being held in the Gulf since
…the issue of sponsorship was raised, with one Kuwaiti arguing that the government, rather than companies or individuals, ought to sponsor migrant workers. I think that the current sponsorship system is responsible for much of the injustice against migrant workers in Qatar, so that was exciting to hear.
Meanwhile, Cornellian, a medical student in Qatar, shared her first hand experience at a Medical Camp that was held to provide basic check-ups and health education to foreign labourers. She called it a “reality check” as she had never dealt the manual labourers in Qatar:
I went to my booth and waited for people to approach so I can start explaining stuff. Slowly people started approaching and my first thought was “Oh God!”. I know it was cruel of me, but I mean after being in Qatar for this long, you tend to avoid low-class workers. But I had to face them if I wanted to be a proper doctor, my mission was to help people regardless of who they were. And so I did.
As I started talking to more people, they started telling me about their pains, asking for advice, talking about Qatar, their life here, family, and slowly I started learning more about them. And then it hit me…
They weren't just workers. They were dads, sons, and brothers. They face problems everyday, they face a life that I could never imagine living. They face abuse and poverty, that I could never bare. More importantly, they wanted to learn. I felt like they were clinging on to my words, listening intentively, asking questions, wanting to now more. I was amazed.
Next time you walk down the street and see a bunch of workers, or drive by and see a bus full of them. Don't just look at them as a bunch of workers but see them as individuals who have been through so much and who fight for their survival everyday. These people are much braver than I'll ever be.
Vicente from Camels and Roundabouts tells the story of having to hire domestic help. He covers a few important issues. Firstly, the continual rejection of his wife's application since the system is not set up to deal with women as being a “sponsor” (as opposed to her husband). He contrasts this with his wife's male colleagues who had no problem at all in doing the exact same thing.
Second, he explains why getting domestic help is not just helpful for the family – but for the person they are trying to since :
…most importantly, we needed Donna’s help for Donna’s sake herself. She is actually Carol’s first cousin. Ten years ago, when Donna was in her third year of BS Therapy at FEU, her father working at Saudi Arabia was intentionally run over by a speeding car. He was crossing a street and signalled at an approaching car to slow down. According to witnesses, the driver must have misinterpreted the hand signal as a bad sign and so deliberately bumped him. At first, only the side mirror hit Donna’s father. He could have survived. But, the car came back and ran over him killing him instantly. The rich driver went scotch free because nobody was willing to testify. The murder shattered Donna’s dream of ever finishing her education. Then, early last year, her mother also died after a long bout with breast cancer. Since the death of his father, Donna had stopped studying and had been trying to help the family by doing odd jobs everywhere. Before coming here she was working in a pharmacy at Pampanga from 7AM to 7 PM, six days a week, with a monthly salary of US$50.
…
[now] Donna herself is doing fine. Her monthly US$600 salary is net savings for her. She can now plan for the future.

author: Mohamed Nanabhay


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Macau: May Day Protest Turned Violent · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A peaceful May 1 workers and grassroots protest turned violent as the police blocked the demonstration route. Well-armed Macau policemen fired warning shots into the air, but there were no reports of injuries resulting from the gunfire. Onemanbandwidth has a brief report. The blogger has written a background post about Macau's development in the past few years: dying to win in Macau.


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Mali: the incumbent leads the poll in Mali, opposition grumbles · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sociolingo's Mali blogs about the presidential elections in Mali: “OK, tis official, ATT [Amadou T. Toure] is leading the poll. There was a press conference last night and here are the early results courtesy of www.maliweb.net. I note that the participation rate of 37.9 is quite respectable and higher than anticipated, but this is only 52 communes out of 703 so things can change. Opposition parties are still grumbling away about irregularities etc but so far the observers seem happy.”


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Moldova: On Transdniestria · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow writes about his first impressions of Transdniestria, recommends a French documentary on arms trafficking by the Transdniestrian de facto government, reports on a recent Transdniestria conflict resolution conference held at Georgetown University – and posts photos of Tiraspol.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Morocco: Naming laws, springtime quiet and Sufi music · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The Moroccan blogosphere was suspiciously quiet this week as temperatures rose and sandals came out of hiding.  Everything Morocco explained the spring phenomenon in Fez, describing its wonderful seasonal foods:
There are a lot of reasons to love Spring in Fez. Fava beans – Moroccan cooks make a special couscous when fava beans are fresh and abundant. The couscous grain is larger and darker than the standard couscous and the dish has a rich, subtle flavor with just a bit of meat added to it. Beqola – this ‘weed’ salad may be an acquired taste, but I think it falls in the category of soul food. It's the kind of food you crave when it's not around anymore.
Springtime in Morocco also brings tourists.  Maryam of My Marrakesh discusses springtime fashion in Morocco, meanwhile giving good advice to tourists on how to dress.  She mentions the Moroccan djellaba, describing it as “the long Moroccan hooded robe reminiscent of Star Wars. (Ahem, the film stole its stylistic inspiration from Morocco and not the other way around.)”  Her advice to foreigners (“Short shorts and  short skirts really are not appropriate daywear”) sparked a bit of debate from Moroccan blogger Amine of Label Ash:
Is the “to the knee” rule not too… excessive? :-)
Whether in Marrakesh, Casablanca, Rabat, you find girls and ladies walking in the street wearing shorts, and they are not necessary on their way to the beach or the swimming pool…
That's the heterogeneity of Morocco: you can find women with scarves (… grrr) but also very pretty girls wearing clothes and you would see them in any Western Country…
Even more as a tip for foreigners, I trust Moroccans tolerate more the “Western style” without any prejudice…
Am I wrong?
Taamarbuuta of The Morocco Report wrote a short commentary on an article entitled “Netherlands: Moroccan babies get only names approved by Morocco” from the Islam in Europe blog which stated that Dutch municipalities give new Moroccan parents a list of names approved by the Moroccan government when they want to register a birth.
Francophone blogger Ibn Kafka responded in the comments of the post that there are loopholes to the naming process:
For the sake of example, you may perfectly give your child Dutch names when registering him with Dutch authorities, and Arab names when registering him/her with the Moroccan consulate. Even better, you might give him/her dual names, i.e. a Moroccan name and a Dutch name – while the Dutch authorities would register both, the Moroccan authorities would be perfectly content to register the child under his Moroccan name.
BO18 countered, stating that “the consulate in Amsterdam won’t register your child until you have registered it at your local Dutch city-council.  And they won’t register your child if the Dutch certificate doesn’t state a “Muslim” name.  It's therefore almost impossible for Moroccan parents to register their child in both countries with a non-Muslim name.”
The last noteworthy piece this week is a post from The View From Fez chronicling the opening night of the Sufi Festival of Fez in photographs.  The View's Samir lauds the festival, saying “All the extraordinary contradictions that one expects in Fez were there – musicians in suits, tinkling fountains, a robed man dispensing orange-flower water on the hands of the guests and everything working like clockwork!”

author: Jillian C. York


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Myanmar: Burmese Food in the US · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Fifty Viss is making his readers hungry with a picture laden post on finding Burmese food in the US.

author: Preetam Rai


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Oman: Public Smoking Ban? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omani blogger Sleepless in Muscat discusses banning smoking in public and increasing taxes in the Omani capital Muscat here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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ONI: Ethiopia blocks opposition sites and millions of blogs · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

According to The OpenNet Initiative, the Ethiopian authorities are blocking access to oppositions websites and blogs hosted by Blogger. “Most of the sites that we found blocked were related to freedom of expression, human rights and political opposition,” OpenNet research director Robert Faris said to Reuters. “I think it's a decision that makes the Ethiopian government look extremely hostile to free speech and to open political discourse,” said Ethan Zuckerman, co-fonder of Global Voices.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Palestine: May 1 Day of Mourning  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah says May 1 isn't a day of celebration but of mourning for Palestinians. In his post, Sabbah details the Ein al Zeitun massacre, which took place in 1948.


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Russia: Dill and Other Food · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon writes about Russian food: “Did I mention the dill? Apparently this is the only herb that grows fresh in Russia because it has found its way into damn near every dish on the table. I once loved dill. Now it too falls in the “once a year” category.”


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Russia: Good-Bye to Yeltsin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon said good-bye to Boris Yeltsin last week and wrote: “The most touching image of the day was Naina Yeltsina, his wife, gently caressing his hair and kissing his face before saying goodbye at the cemetery. It was a powerful reminder that he was, first of all, a human being.”


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Russia: May Day in Moscow – Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon spends May 1 attending various Moscow rallies – and posts a ton of great pictures – here and here: “Having spent the day with the Communists, the nationalists, more nationalists, and even more nationalists, I figured McDonald's would make a sufficiently ironic end to my story. Needless to say, I'm Lovin’ It!”


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South Africa: video from SA bloggers’ 27 dinner · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Aquila Online posts a video from South African bloggers’ gathering, 27 dinner: “Another 27dinner has come and gone and it was awesome. Apart from the rain and miserably cold weather, it was hot and happening at the Cape Town Hotel School. Excellent speakers, fantastic company, great food and Stormhoek!! Need we say more.”


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Sri Lanka: Funding for the LTTE · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Transcurrents.com on the alleged funding by two Australia based Tamils. “Two Tamils of Sri Lankan origin currently residing in Australia were arrested and produced in courts on May 1st for allegedly funding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Two Melbourne residents were produced in courts charged with providing material support and funding to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers. “

author: Neha Viswanathan


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St. Vicent & the Grenadines:  Goodbye, Cricket World Cup · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In a bittersweet farewell to Cricket World Cup 2007, Abeni writes: “So you gone and I am still wondering about the legacy word. We made some pretty stadiums and fix up the place nice nice for you.  Now we wonder if even in the long-run we will be able to recoup the costs or at least a significant part. It kinda looking as if was a debt legacy we had to look forward to all along.”


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Tanzania: a short scene from Bongoland film · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bongoland is a Swahili fim with English subtitles about Juma, a Tanzanian undocumented worker in the US, chasing the American dream. Chemi posts a clip from the film.


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Trinidad & Tobago:  The Naipaul Circus  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

On V.S. Naipaul's visit to Trinidad in honour of his 75th birthday year, Jeremy Taylor wonders, “Why did he fall for it…given his well-known disdain for his once-native land? It can only be that he enjoys performing.  I hate this idea of the writer as a sort of circus, being trundled around the place by publishers or wellwishers as if he was some sort or oracle dispensing instant wisdom.”


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Tunisia: Gay Bloggers?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisian bloggers are debating whether the entry of a blog by a gay Tunisian is welcome or not on their country's blog aggregator. ‘Houhou is the creator of TN.blog. Despite his efforts, he often gets criticized for reasons that are sometimes ridiculous. I would like to know how he manages to keep his cool despite such nonsense. Recently, “Tunisian Doctor” had a post entitled “I am leaving TN-Blog.” The reason he gave was that he “simply refuses to be associated with sexual “perverts” since a new gay blog has been added to TN.blog.” He asked Houhou to delete his link from the TN-blog list,’ explains Leilouta.


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Turkey is Typing….Is Turkey Heading for Another Coup? · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Increased tensions over the Turkish presidential elections result in more protests and even statements from the military alluding to a possible coup if the current Presidential candidate Abdullah Gul becomes elected.  What is a country to do?  As many of the Turkish bloggers point out, sit by their televisions and watch.  Watch the elections proceedings, watch the film footage of the protests in Istanbul, watch for the signs of the change to come.  This week's Turkey is Typing focuses on the waiting of the Turkish people; waiting for the future.
The Elections
Erkan's Field Diary talks about the media coverage of the Turkish presidential elections:
An unlikely time for high ratings but it is an extraordinary moment. After the last night's media event, that is BJK-FB derby, here comes another media event: People in the middle of a Friday stuck to their TV sets and watch the live coverage of presidential election sessions in the Turkish Parliament.
According to what I hear from the concerned parties 367 vs. 184 struggle is a lost one from the outset legal-technical-wise. Main opposition party (CHP) claims that there must be at least 367 MPs to start the session but the governing party insists on 184. They base their arguments on some constitutional articles but according what I understand the latter is right.
In Turkey, the President is not elected by the people but by the Parliament.  And the current ruling party has been known to have Islamic leanings in their government style which does not fit too well with political parties with a more secular approach.  One way to boycott the choice of Presidential candidate was for members of Parliament to simply not show up for the first round of elections so that the legality of the election could be contested. Mavi Boncuk gives information on just how long the legal process could take on contesting the elections:
Constitutional Court President Tülay Tuğcu earlier said if an application to call off the presidential election was made to the court it would take only a couple of days to issue a ruling. However Deputy President Haşim Kılıç stated in a recent declaration that the court might need more time in order to give its members and rapporteurs the opportunity to examine the situation in detail.
Kılıç said according to the law their rapporteurs had the right to request up to a month to examine parliamentary bylaws and related constitutional provisions to decide whether the number of deputies who participated in the voting session was adequate.
Talk Turkey illuminates us on the process of the elections and gives an excellent example of the what the elections in Turkey are like in comparison.
Imagine a vacancy occurs in the Supreme Court. Also imagine it is a few months before the Presidential elections. Imagine that the ‘lame duck’ President nominates a replacement justice. Then imagine the opposition party threatens to boycott the nomination process and asks for the presidential race to be moved up. The reason: the political leaning of the country may have changed since the last election to favor the opposition. Therefore, any appointment should be considered based on the new election's outcome and the thereby the will of the people.
In reality, Senators are elected every six years, Representatives every two years, And Presidents every four years. It's called checks and balances. Those are the rules of the game and they're not changed if the outcome doesn't look good for the home team during mathematical oddities.
The ‘imagine’ scenario above is playing out in Turkey right now. The general elections are a few months away. Although highly unlikely, a large numbers of seats may shift between the governing and opposition parties. The last general election was five years ago. But the current president's seven-year term ends on May 16. (The president is elected by the Congress.) And accordingly, a replacement candidate has been introduced by the current majority party.
The Protests
Lacking the ability to directly comment on the Presidential elections, the Turkish people took to the streets.  Many bloggers gave accounts of the protests, from Me and Others describing the people watching to Istanbul Street Style covering the fashion choices of the participants.  Idil who writes for Ignore Me If You Can and Metroblogging:Istanbul gave the most complete coverage of the protests, describing the day as “the most powerful event of my life”.  If you get a chance I highly recommend looking at her Metroblogging:Istanbul post, it has a nice narrative of the protest march and an unusual editor's note:
I realize some might feel the need to comment negatively regarding the actual rally/protest. This isn't the medium for it. What you find here is an account of the day. My day. I tried to explain what happened the best I could because it was a historical day for Turkey, it was the biggest rally in the history of this republic and is a day to remember.
If you're going to go all political and negative on me, please do not bother. Thank you for your attention :)
The Coup?
In the course of Turkey's history, the Military has intervened in cases where it has felt that the government has not gone the way “it should”, Talk Turkey described the military generals as the “the protectors of ‘secularism”.  Regardless of what your view of Turkish history is, there is a real danger of the Turkish military intervening in the Turkish Presidential elections as Mavi Boncuk illustrates:
The military issued a memorandum-like statement saying that Islamic reactionary activities were expanding in scope and vowing that it would fulfill its “lawful duties” to protect the state. The statement came on Friday night, hours after Parliament held the first round of the presidential election. In a statement released late on Friday night, the General Staff says it is following with ‘concern’ the debate over secular system in the presidential elections and would ‘openly display its position and attitudes when it becomes necessary’
In a statement posted on its Web site, the General Staff said it was following with “concern” the debate over Turkey's secular system in the presidential elections and would “openly display its position and attitudes when it becomes necessary.”
What does this mean for Democracy?
Athanasia's Daily while stating that it is the democratic thing to do for the protests in Istanbul to happen, cautions that the situation in Turkey could take a “dangerous” turn:
So no one knows what will happen. But it is obvious that a large amount of people is definitely do not want to see a president whose wife's wears turban and who has anti-secularist tendencies whereas AKP argues that it is their democratic right to elect the president. Tomorrow there will be another meeting in Çağlayan, Istanbul to protest AKP and their insisting policies on presidential elections.
It seems like Turkey is about to divide into two as secularists and Islamists. Do I need to say that I dont like this and think that it is dangerous?
Erkan's Field Diary had an interesting interpretation of the results of the protests in Istanbul:
Militarist-Secularist-Leftists to rally in Istanbul, said JTW news and at the level of organizers, I would certainly agree with this observation. At the level of lay participants, I tend to think that this is a progressive act towards democratizations. Most of those 1 million attendants desired a military coup and in this sense they have nothing to do with the progress of democratic rights in this country. But most of them so far relied on state institutions and had never thought of taking to streets and acting instances of direct democracy.
And Talk Turkey weighs in on the lack of democratic ideals in a military coup:
According to this morning's reports, the main opposition leader ‘Mr. Baykal’ says the country will be going down a dangerous path if the Constitutional Court does not cancel the Presidential election and force early general elections. I wonder what the opposite would lead to. I wonder if Turkey is not going down a dangerous path already. And I also wonder if thousands of people will sit by silently if the court and the generals ‘elect’ to cancel democracy. By the way, isn't Baykal suggesting or ‘influencing’ the court by his ‘vicious’ statements. I mean isn't he the one responsible for this mess in a way anyway? What has he been doing the past five years? Waiting for this opportunity I guess.
What is in store for Turkey?  Your guess is as good as mine, and feel free to comment here as to what you think will happen.  As for me….I think that I will be like the majority of Turks and take a wait and see attitude.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Turkey: Labour Day Chaos · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Turkey is witnessing Labour Day chaos, writes  Erkan Saka. “Because of tremendous security measures, central Istanbul districts are in a state of chaos. One of our colleagues, who was in Beşiktaş to deal with her marriage certificate was exposed to tear gas. People from the Anatolian side cannot come to their work places in the European side,” explains the blogger.


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Ukraine: Being in a Movie, Part 2 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

MoldovAnn again writes about filming of the Ukrainian-Russian movie she's in: “…I learned that my “husband” now has a name, Jack Brown, and he’s a tanned man in glasses, with a gold Rolex. I also read that Donna (i.e., me) is big, clumsy, with a lot of hair in a braid, with a purse with a peace dove symbol on it, and she looks like an aging hippie. I guess she did pretty well for herself – a fat, hairy, aging hippie who married a guy with a gold Rolex. Only in the movies, eh?”


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Ukraine: Chernobyl Scholar Serhiy Mirnyi · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On April 26, the 21st anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophy, MoldovAnn talked to Serhiy Mirnyi – “a writer, scientist, and commander of radiation reconnaissance platoon in Chornobyl in 1986.”


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Ukraine: Orphanage and Adoption · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

MoldovAnn writes about a Ukrainian orphanage, adoption and, to put it mildly, some cultural differences.


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Vietnam Bloggers Crash the Linguistic Divide · Global Voices
Mark Robertson

Ironically bloggers like Joe's Blog and Vietnamese God put the lie to the idea of a single blogosphere, a unified world of blogs that spans the globe.  Yes, blogs have become a global phenomenon, but studies show increasingly that there are multiple blogospheres defined by culture, language and different technologies.  Far too often these worlds are distinct solitudes operating in parallel.
Such is certainly the case with the Vietnamese blogospheres – there are least two: the expatriate and the Vietnamese.  These two worlds would probably be completely unaware of each other's existence even if they were being written from the same internet cafes.  A typical Vietnam blogroll makes this more than clear.
The Vietnam expat blogs have their stars – their Noodlepies, Antidote to Burnouts and its OMIHs.  These blogs come and go as do the expats that write them.  (I was one too!)
Then there are Vietnamese-language blogs.  Unfortunately I could not give a competent blogroll for predictable linguistic reasons.  The non-Vietnamese speaker has little access to this world.  Occasionally it is possible to catch glimpses of it.  For instance, last November a story appeared in English-language news sources about how the old Saigon-Hanoi rivalry erupted into a blog war when a Saigonese blogger slagged the capital in her blog.  Clearly Vietnamese bloggers are alive and well.
The obvious reason the Vietnamese-language blogosphere is off the radar for most expats is language.  Technology probably also plays a role.  Vietnamese bloggers tend to use Yahoo 360 rather than platforms like Blogger or Typepad.  And Vietnamese Yahoo 360 blogs do not generally get crawled by directories like Technorati.
Despite the distinctness of these blogospheres some bloggers, such as Joe Ruelle and Vietnamese God, are able to reach across the linguistic and technological divide.
Vietnamese God is one of the more prominent Vietnamese bloggers writing in English for an expat and foreign audience.  Tu Van Cong is originally from Nha Trang but relocated to Ha Noi.  He writes a good deal about food (he's in the hospitality business after all) but he also covers a mixed bag of other topics, everything from urban developments to nightlife to local customs.  (On occasion he has written for Global Voices too.)
If it's rare to find Vietnamese blogging in English, it's even rarer to find expats writing in Vietnamese.  Joe Ruelle's blog is very likely the only blog of its kind, and the novelty of it has made him something of a celebrity in Vietnam.  In fact he has been called one of the “best known bloggers in Vietnam”, and most of his entries receive several hundred comments each.  One entry even hit the high water mark of 8000+ comments.  Apparently it is partly his use of local slang and other colloquialisms that have made him a big hit.  And what does he write about?  In a recent interview in the Canadian Embassy's newsletter he describes his blog as “a potpourri of whimsical observations”.  “I do put a lot of effort into choosing topics that only a person in my position could write about, and I think that appeals to people’s curiosity.”
Duong Lam Anh is another blogger who breaks the mold since his blog alternates between English and Vietnamese entries.  Lam Anh is a bridge blogger in the true sense.  His hometown is Hue, Vietnam but he has also lived and studied in the United States and seeks to interpret his Vietnam for a Western audience, while interpreting American culture for his Vietnamese readers.
Bloggers like these help break down the barriers between the linguistic and culture divides that separate the various blogospheres in Vietnam.  If the immense popularity of Ruelle's blog is any indication, it would seem there is an appetite for the perspective of those who can bridge the gaps between expatriats and local Vietnamese.

author: Mark Robertson


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Yemen: Isolated Villages  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Jane Novak links to a news article which announces the discovery of a new village in Yemen. “The women team found a village mostly inhabited by blind and mad people, who is found to live in starvation, eat no food for many days, and sleep in the ground. The team added that nobody knows about those villagers’ condition,” said the report.


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Yemen: Women Abuse · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jane Novak links to an article which states that 70 per cent of Yemeni women are abused. “More than 87 percent of those surveyed said that families are responsible for abuse and violence against women, as 191 of the registered cases, accounting for 35.9 percent of the total sample, complained that they are abused by their husbands while 186 of the registered cases (34.9) told that they are mistreated by their fathers,” said the study.


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Zimbabwe: more arrests, regional neglect, and Western duplicity  · Global Voices
Zimpundit

Zimbabwe's bloggers have a wealth of information on the week that was in the troubled southern African country.  There are reports of more arrests and torture, an emergency monetary policy statement, and an indepth look at the myopic bigotry of some in the West with regard to Mugabe.  First, a look at  how South Africa's increasingly complicit role in Zimbabwe's crisis came back under the spotlight last week.  This is Zimbabwe  explains that it emerged that South Africa's national broadcaster SABC, is preventing its employees from accessing the web site of the independent Zimbabwean radio station SW Radio Africa:
Remember Snuki Zakalala, the Managing Director of SABC News and Current Affairs? The guy who has a problem with voices critical of Mugabe and Zanu PF policies..? Snuki Zakalala is the man who implemented an informal policy at the SABC (South African Broadcasting Corporation) to blacklist several highly credible commentators on the crisis in Zimbabwe, including Archbishop Pius Ncube, Moeletsi Mbeki, Trevor Ncube and Elinor Sisulu. This was an action that would have resulted in South Africans being deprived of full coverage of events in our country.
Well, this same man announced last week that the SABC would be opening a bureau in Zimbabwe. He commented, “We felt that it is important to have a presence here so that we cover the true Zimbabwean story”. Note the inclusion of the word ‘true‘, which in itself implies that the news currently coming out of Zimbabwe is a lie.
SW Radio Africa‘s transmission into Zimbabwe are currently being interfered with by the Zimbabwean government.  Apparently, progressive South Africa deems it fit to follow in the repressive footsteps of their neighbors to the north.  So much for press freedom in South Africa.
Power to the people protest
The famous Women of Zimbabwe Arize (WOZA) held an unannounced “Power to the people” sit in protest at the local offices of power utility Zimbabwe Electric Supply Authority (ZESA):
WOZA members assembled at eight different ZESA offices – Pumula, Mpopoma, Entumbane, Tshabalala, Magwegwe, Nkulumane, Nketa 6 and Luveve – holding simultaneous ‘tough love’ protests. Over 500 members from 16 different areas of Bulawayo took part in the community-level protests.
The protests at Magwegwe, Entumbane, Nketa 6 and Mpopoma took place without incident and the participants were able to disperse before police arrived. At Pumula, approximately 70 members as they were dispersing (the police station is next door to the ZESA office.) They were taken to Pumula Police Station before being transferred to Bulawayo Central Station.
At Luveve, members had protested and were beginning to disperse when police arrested people some distance away from the ZESA office, as they were catching transport back to their homes. Approximately 20 people are being held at Luveve Police Station.
At Nkulumane, nine people were arrested at the ZESA offices and are being held at Tshabalala Police station. Lawyers have been called and are trying to get access to those arrested.
The protests signify the launch of the ‘power to the people’ by March 2008 campaign. Today’s protests began with members queuing up as the offices made to open. They then marched in and handed over protest notes and either sat or stood inside and outside the offices until addressed.
In Luveve and Entumbane, officials attempted to divert the protesters by saying someone was coming to address them whilst making hasty calls to the police station. In Nkulumane, nine members were loaded into a cream Nissan pick-up, registration 846-101 Z by plain-clothed officers.
Those who were arrested, some of them with babies, were tortured and denied access to their lawyers while in police custody:
Three of the 56 members arrested in Harare on Monday have been hospitalised following the beatings they received in custody by Law and Order officers in Harare Central Police Station. Almost all of the 56 required medical treatment. The baby received medical attention but was not hospitalised. It also appears that some injuries were received when one of officers involved walked all over the members as they were lying face down on the floor.
Don't come back to Zimbabwe, traveling on a “chicken bus”
Taurai Maduna at Kubatana relates the pressure that Zimbabwean young professionals face to leave the country:
I’ve just received a reply to an email I sent to a friend informing them that I had been offered a fellowship to study at the prestigious Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC).
All he said was good luck in your studies and don’t come back until there is CHANGE. He added ‘find something else to do there to kill time’.
I just laughed off his suggestion and I wondered how do you kill time in Amsterdam after you have over stayed?
In June last year, I spent a week in Amsterdam where I was taking part in a seminar called Expression Under Repression organised by Hivos. Before my return home, I took a stroll in the city famous for it’s ‘red light district’. I met a guy from Sierra Leone, at first I thought he wanted to con me, but then I realised he was just trying to be friendly.
He told me about his wife and three kids and how he was struggling to get his asylum papers in order. He said his main challenge was the Dutch language as he was supposed to be fluent if he was to pass the integration test. This guy had been there for over four years.
My ‘guide’ then asked me if I was planning to return to Zimbabwe. I told him yes, I’m going back. He was dejected probably wondering how stupid I was not to stay.
Meanwhile Natasha, who took an urgent trip on a “chicken bus”, describes the experience:
From the back of the bus a loud, desperate voice started singing something that sounded gospel. The voice belonged to a disheveled blind woman being led by a similar looking girl most certainly less than 10 years old. The two were struggling to make their way to the front of the bus, begging each passenger for money.
When the pair got to me, I heard the young girl whisper to her mother, “apa pane murungu, ndotaura sei?”- translated loosely – “here is a white person, how do I communicate with her?” I got offended not at being called white, but at her failure to realize I was just a light skinned person who is one of them. While I’m better dressed, the fact that I was also in this bus that’s cheap indicates that I’m also struggling, just like them.
Slowly I began to subconsciously direct my anger elsewhere: towards the forces that have reduced most of our people to dirty beggars; towards the egotistical few that have enriched themselves and destroyed our economy making sure everyone else lives below the poverty datum line. I looked around the bus and thought – these are the real Zimbabweans, and among them were the real freedom fighters who ought to be the ones crying out – “We fought for this country!” Yet they are the very ones who occupy the bottom rung of society.
Threats by Western Universities under scrutiny
In “Mugabe, the West, and ‘servile’ Zimbabweans,” Zimpundit scrutinizes the integrity of threats by western universities to rescind Mugabe's honorary degrees:
What doesn't make sense is for people, you know who you are, who now claim to have always seen through Mugabe's facade yet they said nothing when he was celebrated as Africa's greatest statesman through the 80's and 90's, to now want to distance themselves from any indication that they too, where once enamored by him.
It will always remain a mystery to me exactly what grounds these pseudo-critics of Mugabe base their attacks on him, and even worse on people like myself who are only exercising our prerogative when we say this: Fact; the quality of life of many of my countrymen improved drastically immediately after independence in 1980. Besides if they were really about democracy and freedom of expression, who are they to deny the opinion held my many Zimbabweans? Isn't that what democracy is all about; “E Pluribus Unum.”

author: Zimpundit


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Bahrain: Iraqi Scholars President Not Welcome in Town  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger emoodz is enraged that Iraqi Muslim Scholars Authority President Harith AlDhahiri was in Bahrain to attend a conference. “An arrest warrant was issued last year for this man for accusations of inciting secretarial violence and supporting terrorism. Not once have he condemned the attacks of AlQaeda on Iraqi civilians; he boycotted the Iraqi elections and ordered others to do so,” he notes.


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Bahrain: Parliament Protest Planned  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Bahrain Journalists Association has called for a demonstration in front of the Parliament building this Thursday at 5pm to show to denounce the dearth of parliamentary output in its first session, reports blogger Mahmood Al Yousif. “I plan to be there, it is important to demonstrate to the “people’s representatives” that they are anything but. Especially with the ridiculous efforts exerted by them collectively to restrict personal and all other freedoms,” he adds.


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Bangladesh: “Soft” Bombs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

black and gray on the “soft” bombs in Bangladesh. “The nature of bombs that simultaneously went off yesterday morning in three major rail stations in Bangladesh is a curious one. The bombers used thick layers of paper and leather to make the bombs harmless; not only that, no traces of splinters have been found, which shows that the intention was to create “shock and awe”, rather than causing injury. According to a reporter, the bombs were harmless: “It would not have harmed him or her if he or she had sat on the bombs.””


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Barbados:  Caribbean Airlines Fare Structure  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press has done the math on regional airfares and finds that Caribbean Airlines comes up short.


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Bolivia: Nationalization Falls Short · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

One year ago, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced that the hydrocarbons natural resources would be nationalized. Martin P. Gutierrez of Vitrina de Realidad Boliviana [ES] writes that the events of the announcement was only a show to help with the election of the delegates of the Constitutent Assembly. Up until now, the results of the nationalization leave a lot to be desired.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bulgaria, Libya, France: Appeals to Politicians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Last week, the families of the Bulgarian nurses met with Segolene Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, Declan Butler reports.


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Camel Hopping in Yemen · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti-Saudi blogger Yazeez  links to a video of a new sport in Yemen. Anyone into camel hopping?


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China: Poisoned pets, our food regulations · Global Voices
John Kennedy

With American FDA officials on the way to China to get to the bottom of the inclusion of the toxic chemical melamime in pet food exported to the United States, now known to have been responsible for at least several thousand cat and dog deaths, what do Chinese netizens have to say?
Pheonix TV anchor Rose Luqiu has a fascinating post on the issue, ‘Who's supervising China's food safety?‘ in which she writes:
中国的官方数字显示，05年有9021人食物中毒，235人死亡，在死亡的人当中，一半以上是因为食物遭到了化学物质的污染。但是世界卫生组织的数字则要高的多，他们认为，中国农村的很多案例很难确诊，造成官方数字显得比较低。他们认为，中国每年受食品卫生影响的人有三亿人。他们估计，中国每年因为食物中毒而产生的医疗费用以及生产损失在47亿到140亿之间。
Comments from her readers:
2007-04-11 05:38:55
猪养肥了再杀是很多管理部门对待惩罚的态度.对于一个发展刚刚起步的国家来说,也许这种做法有其”合理”之处.不过对于食品类的惩罚态度应该更严厉一些,毕竟这关系到人民的生命安全.
2007-04-11 07:35:26
出现问题通常都是外边先知道了,然后传到里面,大家产生恐慌心理.我们的监管部门才开始检验,引起讨论.绕个大圈子,代价是老百姓的利益.不过那些商家因为利润使出种种手段还真是黑.似乎监管的部门只顾的发各种准入牌照.出事了给大家出些安民声明.
2007-04-11 07:47:28
我相信在美国发生问题的宠物食品有可能是中国生产的，因为中国人现在的赚钱手段已经达到了登峰造极的程度。
食品安全问题不知道会不会引起相关部门的重视，因为老百姓再怎样重视他们不可能从食品安全的源头抓起，也不可能大家都去种粮食、喂猪以保证食品安全。
2007-04-11 08:07:03
闾丘谈的食品以及药品安全问题，是关乎到人民生命安全的大事。政府关心民生问题，就应该从这两个问题上着手。政府部门之间少点扯皮，多些监管。对不法商家，要让他倾家荡产，永世不得再生产。对食品、药品安全，一定要提高违法成本，才能杀一敬佰。
2007-04-11 08:16:57
小时侯,常听某领导说:为”人民”服务,随着年龄的增长,越来越困惑,我们是”人民”的一员吗?经济越发展,政治体制改革越迫切,不一定马上搞选举,马上搞多党制,现在政府机构的改革有很大的提升空间.应当借鉴市场经济发达的国家学习.
2007-04-11 08:17:17
有道理.问题的症结是法律\法规已经逐渐完善,可是并没有切实落实执行,有法可依,治发必严成为空话,加上监管部门太多,灰色地带也宽,就给了不良商家可乘之机.
2007-04-11 08:47:41
说的好，ZF作为的太不到位，或者说不作为
2007-04-11 09:03:12
政府严重不作为
2007-04-11 09:29:14
政府没有责任感,不用为自己的失职对人民负责,人民没有监督的权力.我觉得这是很多问题最大的核心所在.
2007-04-11 10:19:06
就是啊，食品安全问题关系到每个人的健康
我记得我们学校就出现过学生吃了学校食堂的饭后中毒的情况
后来有关部门就把那家食堂给查封了
其实一件事你就让一个部门去管
管的部门多了最后反而没人管了
出现问题了部门之间也相互推卸责任
2007-04-11 10:50:14
中国报道了这件事情吗？
在抓肯德基的兼职人员工资问题呢！
2007-04-11 11:11:56
每个中国人都知道自己每天吃的食品没有安全保证，又不能不吃！怎么办？于是就安慰自己，总比饿死好！
2007-04-11 15:08:09
市场作用被认为是最好的武器，可谁来引导市场？舆论媒体还是政府，大家都说油炸食品有害健康，世界有多少国家消除油炸食品？因为市场需求在。
媒体的政治性不容小视，谁来维护本国利益。美国指责中国这不好那不好，但他们真的平等对待我们了吗？？
2007-04-11 15:12:53
哎在肿瘤医院上班.我的老家现在是化工区.那里的食道肿瘤发病率到了令人可怕的地步.很多人一家几个都是病人.没钱看回家等死.我们医院的人认为再过10年中国人每100人中将会有6个肿瘤患者.这是我们的还认为比较保守的看法.
2007-04-11 16:03:05
这能都怪不良厂家吗？客户要求便宜便宜再便宜,价格到一定程度厂家就会想办法降低成本,以次充好等等手段来保持利润.记得有看过一稿,写英国送囚犯到澳洲, 刚开始以上船人数算钱给船主,但囚犯死亡率非常高,监督拉等等方法都不能制止,后来以上岸人数算钱,船主千方百计让囚犯活下去,死亡率就一下降低了.主要是在该出如什么有效的制度,而不是靠人的良心或其它什么的来阻止.
2007-04-11 17:00:14
说得有道理，管理部门太多导致最后的结果是谁都不管！
2007-04-12 00:53:22
中国不是一个法制国家，不但宪法，连食品法都是，
中国人命便宜，毒死人追穷不了监管部门的责任，这回毒死美国狗狗责任大了吧，这可不同毒死中国人，这才是大事情。
Comments mostly trickle off by the 15th, but then this was left on April 27:
在中国,只要不死人,就没人管,说到底是钱在作怪,煤矿安全问题频频发生,食品安全问题频频发生,有什么用,因为有大批腐败官员是他们的保护神.

author: John Kennedy


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Cuba:  No Castro at May Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Where in the world is Fidel Castro?” wonders Cuaderno Latinoamericano after the Cuban leader's no-show at the annual May Day celebrations.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Czech Republic: Civic Democrats’ Leader and His Wife · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr Sean's Diary writes on the wife of the Czech Civic Democrats’ leader, who is running for the Czech Senate for an opposing party.


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Egypt: Jordan Bans Paper · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Issandr El Amrani reports  that Jordan has banned a weekly newspaper for published details about an anti-Hamas plan.


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Egypt: Singers Lined Up for Wedding  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia updates us about who is expected to perform live at Egyptian President's son Gamal Mubarak's wedding on May 4.


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Guatemala: Government to Implement New Adoption Regulations · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Children adopted from Guatemala has become a common occurrence. Nearly 1 out of every 100 Guatemalan children is adopted by a family from the United States.  About Guatemala writes about why this happens and what the government is doing to ensure best practices are followed.


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Guyana:  HIV/AIDS Cheerleaders?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Are you between the ages of 14 and 17?  Would you like to be a CHEERLEADER for HIV/AIDS Messages?”  An odd newspaper ad gets Guyana-Gyal thinking.


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Hong Kong: May Day March · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A very detailed and vivid citizen report on May Day March by Plato at interlocals.net. It presented a diversed picture of labour and grassroots organizations in Hong Kong with interviews and photos.


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India: Aishwariya Rai, women and ambition · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Life is a street car named Desire on women, ambition, movies and politics. “She understands this and she has gone ahead and married into one of the most powerful families in Bollywood. Her decision is not a sign of weakness but of ambition. Sure, there are millions of women in India who need help. They are unable to take even the most basic decisions in life without their father, brother or husband’s permission. Aishwarya Rai is not one of them. Let’s not worry too much about her.”


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India: World Cup? Bah! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

GreatBong is a little disappointed with the way the World Cup 2007 turned out. “World Cup 2007, the most bloated, insipid, one-sided World Cup ever, ended appositely in pitch darkness (reminding old hands of that match in Sharjah which for the first time brought into focus the farce that cricket had become in the land of the Sheikhs) with a comical faux-finish and such utter confusion and mismanagement that one felt one was watching an interdepartmental match in Jadavpur University rather than the climax of the premier showcase tournament for cricket.”


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Iran: A trap for students? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir reports that more news is coming out of Amir Kabir University (AKU).The whole story began when three articles were distributed on the campus, published on papers which held logos of student publications. The titles of these stories were “No One is Sacred”, “Black Crows [referring to Chador-wearing women]”, and “Where You can find More Prostitutes”. There is a strong belief that the four publications which carried these articles were fake,manufactured by Basij to produce a pretext for attacking student movement

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Underground Missile Cities in Saudi and Syria?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Lady Bird points the finger at Israel, accusing it of spreading propaganda about the presence of underground missile cities in both Syria and Saudi Arabia. “Don’t be surprised if soon the propaganda machine publishes maps of Syria’s Qasioun caves complex or Syrian trucks carry chemical labs,” she notes.


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago:  Photographic Journeys · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Stet goes on a photographic journey into downtown Kingston, while a Triniview.com team chronicles the route from San Fernando to Icacos in South Trinidad.


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Japan: A new take on “Textbook Revision” · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Matt Dioguardi at Japan in amber has posted a long and very detailed post noting a similarity between the ideas of right-wing groups pushing for “textbook revision” in Japan and leftists and libertarians in the United States on the topic of U.S. history and foreign policy. Matt takes as his starting point a translation that he provides of a lecture by Takahashi Shouji of the Yamagata chapter of The Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform, a group once headed by now-Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: All talk and no action on conservation, environmental issues · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Shari at My So-Called Japanese Life comments on “Lip Service Environmentalism” in Japan, namely, the tendency for “Japanese people [to] like to talk about how much they value nature”, while “on a personal level, [doing] little to nothing to change their lifestyle or habits to protect the environment.” Shari concludes: “What is often crystal clear to me is the Japanese are more than happy to be environmentally conscious as long as they are forced to do so by the government and when the larger issue isn't directly in their hands”.


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Jordan: When Tradition Meets Fanatism  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Arab tradition meets football fanatism in this  image posted by Jordanian blogger Ahmad Humeid.


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Kenya: blogger makes the case for ICT Authority · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenya-Byte makes the case for Kenya ICT Authority: “We need the recently proposed ICT Authority up and running post-haste. As an example, with the whole process of market opening and unbridled competition, the interconnection of disparate networks will become an important issue. This interconnection requires fairness, transparency and consumer prioritization if price and quality are to benefit Kenyans. In other words we need a referee. CCK is not upto the task, what with its well documented SNO bungling.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kuwait: Magic Spells on Display  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A Kuwaiti blogger got more than she bargained for during a visit to a jewellery exhibition. “Anyway the hottest “exhibit” for me was at the entrance (or exit?) where the JAMARIK or customs or whatever they’re called are showing busted illegal items such as pirated DVD’s and ummmm….BLACK MAGIC SPELLS? too much witch craft torn papers with spells written on them and like magic stones, there was even a small like glass tube with a dark brown liquid inside it,” explains the blogger, whose blog is named My Own Private Kuwait.


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Lebanon: The Shia Sunni Divide in Dutch  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Sietske in Beirut  has just published  an article on the Shia-Sunni divide  — in Dutch.


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Lebanon: The Truth About Hezbollah  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Anton Efendi  sheds light on the role Hezbollah plays in Lebanon. “Hezbollah strives for one thing and one thing only: maintaining its armed status and parallel existence both within and above the system. Think Iran's Pasdaran. In other words, Hezbollah has not joined the political process in order to integrate in it, but rather, to use it to protect its anomalous existence outside it,” he notes.


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Liberia: another look-how-crazy-these-Africans-are story · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Liberian Ledger on “another look-how-crazy-these-Africans-are story“:
My two cents: the reporter and photographer could have done a better job humanizing the phenomenon they're reporting on. Strikes me as just another look-how-crazy-these-Africans-are story. What is the value of showing the guys mugging with the skull? She doesn't even get the cemetery's name right.


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Macau: Gambling, Corruption, and Repression · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Last year Macau has a recorded 17% GDP growth, the gambling and tourist industry is blooming. However, the May Day demonstration in the past few years has been getting more and more violent. This year, it has resulted in 5 open gunshots (by the police) in the city center among the crowd. There is one suspected injured. However, the Macau mainstream media has downplayed the issue and kept defending the police's action.
The demonstration was organized by 6 citizen groups including independent unions and rights of abode organization. Its themes were “anti-corruption, improve livelihood, reduce imported labour, stop illegal worker, housing right, family reunion right and harmonious society”.
(Update: ESWN has quoted and translated some different versions of the demonstration from the mainstream media in Hong Kong)
Sanba (Macau resident) from inmediahk.net tried to explain the violence with his citizen report. It seems that the police, government and pro-China political groups has been trying to repress oppositional voices rather than dealing with it by manipulating the rally route and mainstream media report:
澳門警方雖然強調本澳居民有遊行、示威的權利，但所有活動應該在依法、守法的大前提下進行。所謂依法、守法的大前提，是遊行必須遵循警方所定的路線行進，亦即遊行隊伍絕對不能經過商業中心區新馬路一帶。本地主流傳媒、親政府議員和社團也反覆強調遊行經過新馬路會招致巨大的經濟損失和影響澳門旅遊形象。
This year, he has joined the rally and witnessed the police's action:
沿路所見，警方確是有備而來，遊行所經之處的街頭巷尾都有警員駐守。與常見的遊行歡迎市民沿途加入不同，澳門51遊行幾乎一開始就已經以強勢警力將遊行隊伍分隔數段拉開距離，所有市民只能出不能入，並分批驅趕遊行人士進入巷弄及威嚇市民離開現場，不得停留，尤如對待暴民的戒嚴。遊行隊伍遠未到達，已有警員以維持治安為理由要求沿途所有營業中的店鋪拉閘關門，製造恐怖氣氛…
現場所見，由於沒有人帶領叫口號，遊行民眾除了情緒激動地訴說各種不平：黑工泛濫、土地低價批租、不信只有歐文龍涉貪等等，訴求可謂五花八門。行動其實相當溫和，只是靜靜地步行，絕對沒有破壞沿途任何物件，或者衝擊任何店舖，更沒有主動挑釁警員，只有在遊行受阻時，合力往前推，並在受到警察的衝擊時，隨手丟出水樽，以及少量的雞蛋。
遊行隊伍偏離警方所定的路線後，行至沙梨頭海邊街，大約下午四時多已被警方前後包抄，進退不得，分批驅散，並強行宣佈遊行結束。
In spite of the police's threat and government repression, there were more than 10,000 people joined the rally. The main clash happened when the police forced the demonstration to end with five open gunshots.
The political background of this demonstration seemed to directly related with the recent corruption case, which involved billions of dollars. Many people believed that the Chief Executive Edmond Ho was involved in the case. Some demonstrators have adapted the Taiwan depose president campaign's icon and asked for the step down of Edmond Ho.
In december 2006, Ao Man-long, the transport and public works secretary was accused of taking bribes in approving land for construction projects. Instead of having the investigation in Macau, the case was taken over by Hong Kong anti-corruption body with the explanation that money was tranferred to a Hong Kong bank. However, many people believed that Edmond Ho was involved in the case even though he had asked the Beijing government to sack Ao after the case was exposed.
In a post at cyberctm BBS two weeks ago, Cataphract commented that
何厚鏵,你知唔知「上樑不正下樑歪」「上行下效」的道理?
尋日睇新聞, 賊首又在新加坡叫澳門市民承擔乜乜七七
成日要求官員點點點, 成日要市民點點點承擔, 佢自己就沒責任??
貪得最多又係你, 賤批地那個又係你, 7年停建社屋經屋那個又你, 賭牌讓人亂分又係你, 你自己又如何????
你仲係咁賤批地法, 仲係咁貪法, 邊有人會服你? (雖然澳門幾乎沒人信你了, 除了一些愚民)
You gained most from the corruption, you approved the public land at the cheap price, you stopped the construction of economic housing, you allowed the gambling licenses to give out randomly, what is your responsibilities?
If you keep on giving out land like that, if you keep on corrupting like this, who can submit to your authority? (Nobody in Macau believes in you anymore, except fools.)
Happy ride in the same BBS thread commented that:
澳門市民已經承擔高樓價,,,高消費…他每次看銀包也看見很多澳門人擔住自己的血汗錢進貢緊
As onemanbandwidth said earlier, in a gambling econmies, some win but more will lose.
In Macau, more than 60% of the gamblers in Macau come from Mainland China. Why's that? Blogger Kendo had a very informative post written early this year:
賭場眾知不止耍樂甘簡單，金錢清洗亦是一重要功能，可以說澳門已經成中國不能見光的人民幣之清洗重點南大門。那些人的大量人民幣根可本無須出境，有人會在國內收取，則他們便來指定賭場領取超額指定記號 (此亦一吸引賣點) 籌碼去大賭一番，把記號籌碼輸掉你沒有贏到，便賭場笑呵呵，把贏到的之正常籌碼換回港元便是賭客目的之一。但中國人好賭，十賭九輸，不見江湖幾人贏，否則不會人人來投資吧。
國內各地大小豪客，賭本何來，可是來源自一個個貪污和挪用公款之官員或身邊人物，當然正當生意賺到的想拿來轉轉外幣亦有人在。但貪污和挪用公款必然是最大之比率。…
Wonder how this scandal is going to end. Edmond Ho will continue to be Macau's Chief Executive until 2008.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Mali: Mali opposition challenges election results · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Election update from Sociolingo's Mali:”This morning the news is that a march is taking place in Bamako by the FDR and their supporters, and that the FDR intend to file a complaint with the consitutional court tomorrow.”


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Myanmar: Kason Festival – Buddha Day · Global Voices
May Hnin Phyu

Yesterday, 1st of May – well known for International Labor day, happens to be one very significant day for Myanmar Buddhist people. This month in Myanmar calendar is called “Kason” and Burmese celebrate one of the most religious and   historically significant events on Kason full moon day. It is also known as Vesak Day or Buddha   Day. (As this May has two full moon days, some countries – Thailand and Singapore will be celebrating the Vesak day on May 31)
Kason full moon day is signified by four most important days in Lord Buddha life time:
Burmese celebrate this day by watering the scared Bodhi tree at various pagodas throughout the country. This is done as a mark of veneration   to the Buddha who attained Enlightenment sitting under the Bodhi Tree.
Photos via: Goldenlandpages
Along with the celebration, Myanmar bloggers are blogging about their thoughts and experience on the festival.
Melody Maung and her friends are planning to go to Shwe Dagon Pagoda for the Kason festival in the evening and posted the essay abstract of Kason festival by Mr. Khin Aung(English)
Kason(May), the second month in the Myanmar calendar, is deemed the hottest month of the hot season. Yet it is the most significant day in the Buddhist world. The full moon day of Kason   is deeply intertwined with the milestones in the Buddhas life. It is a day four times blessed. To Myanmars it is the festival of pouring water on the Bodhi tree. This day is called Vesak Day in other Buddhist   countries.
The full moon day of Kason is the Buddha Day, celebrated by the Buddhist faithful throughout the world. On this day Dipankara Buddha prophesied to the hermit Sumedha that he would become Gotama   Buddha, the latest one in this Baddha World, who again on suchlike days was born, attained Enlightenment(i.e, became the Buddha), and entered Parinibbana(i.e, passed away).
The Bodhi tree(Ficus Religiosa), under which former prince Siddhattha attained Enlightenment, is held sacred. Hence the act of pouring water on it is an expressiion of piety and respect shown to him. The Kason-water pouring ceremony is usually preceded by a brilliant pageantry. Participants come carrying pots of water and Eugenia springs and flowers. Then chanting of Paritta verses, a brief explanation   of the rites, recitation of poems praising the Lord Buddha. Finally, water is poured at the foot of the Bodhi tree. Yet festive atmosphere is not lacking: light refreshments are served accompanied by music and   dance performed by amateur merry-makers.
Every pagoda in Myanmar worth its salt has a sacred site complete with a Bodhi tree in its precincts. You can watch grander Kason ceremonies at all the bigger pagodas including the Shwedagon   Pagoda.
Maydarwii wonders about the significant of Kason festival after her morning prayers. She also posted some of the famous   recites, poems and a short verses about the day.
Zaw Moe Aung talks about Kason full moon day celebration in Mandalay (2nd largest city). He mentioned that shops around the   whole city have been closed for the day and how he missed to take photograph of Kason Pwe at certain pagoda.
Photos via: Goldenlandpages
Wai Myint Maw explains about why Bodhi trees have been watered on the day. Kason being one of the hottest months in Myanmar, lots of rivers and streams dried up in this season. It is a Burmese tradition   to worship Buddha by pouring water to the Bodhi trees at this hot season. The event is known as “Kason Nyoun Yae Toon Pwe“. It is also assumed as the second Thingyan(water festival) for people of   Mandalay as they pour water at each other after the Bodhi tree watering ceremony.
Photos via: Goldenlandpages
Yesterday being a special day as well as a beautiful full moon day, I hope people in Myanmar and all Myanmar bloggers could carry out many meritorious deeds and share the joy with each other.

author: May Hnin Phyu


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Myanmar: Road to Bangladesh · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

New Mandala has a post on the new Friendship Road that is being built to connect Myanmar and Bangladesh. Road links between Myanmar and its western neighbors (India and Bangladesh) are not as developed as the ones in the East (Thailand and China). The blogger at New Mandala asks “Major roads now obviously link Thailand and China to Burma, and a road from Bangladesh is an important new direction for regional transport linkages.  I have little direct experience of Burma’s western borderlands but certainly welcome any comments from New Mandala readers who can tell us more.”


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Nicaragua: Balloons Provide Joy · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

On a filming assignment in the main plaza in Managua, Julia Ardón snapped a portrait of a small boy.  She recalls giving to him and his friends some of the helium-filled balloons used for the shoot. The kids screamed with delight over their new found presents and something that Ardón will never forget.


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Pakistan: Dalrymple’s Last Mughal · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

chapati mystery has a post with a response to a review, and a wonderful discussion follows. “Dalrymple posits a connection between the mythmaking that passes for history in the subcontinent and the absence of credible “popular” histories. To a certain extent I absolutely agree with him, which is why I am glad that there are signs that things are changing (Dalrymple being the most prominent example). But surely there’s more here?”


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Paraguay: Citizen Complaint with Municipality · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

RESCATAR [ES] is a citizen journalism site that encourages readers to “learn, share and add answers” with the aim of improved development in Paraguay. Carlos Rodríguez posts information and accompanying pictures of a complaint filed with the municipality of a sharp protruding bush that inhibits pedestrians from passing safely along the sidewalk.  He will update readers on the status of this complaint as it develops.


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Peru: Bloggers and Codes of Conduct · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Bloggers are often friendly people that like to get together and talk amongst themselves, but every once in awhile they also like to argue.  These battles can be quite heated on various fields of battles (i.e. blogs).  For example, don’t think for once that these problems are only limited to English-language blogs.  Lately it has also been a topic that has generated disagreement among some Peruvian bloggers, and it hasn’t always been clean, rather some have resorted to dirty tactics.  Let’s take a broad look at what happened.
In the blog El Útero de Marita [ES] a post was published “Blogger Absolved for Leaving Anonymous Comment,” which was a result of a case in the Spanish justice system, and another in the United States that determined that bloggers are not responsible for comments left on their blogs. In addition, there is the proposal law in the Peruvian Congress that would require an I.D. to be able to access internet in public terminals, as well as the adherence of the blog Puente Aereo [ES] to the Code of Conduct of Tim O’Reilly and Jimmy Wales.   There is another code of conduct from the Spanish blog Mangas Verdes [ES] that says:
1 – Haz de tu bog lo que quieras.
2 – No dejes que nadie arruine tu blog.
This position, however, was not shared by the blog Gran Combo Club [ES], who wrote in the post Pensamiento Sifuentes (Sifuentes’ Thoughts, which is the last name of the blogger of del Utero) that argues from the ethical point of view against this code of conduct.
“Haz lo que quieras” no es una regla de ningún tipo. Las reglas suponen restricciones porque allí está su sentido. Son necesarias para la convivencia, para sumar y restar, para ir de compras. Sin reglas, el mundo ético desaparece, también el mundo de la ciencia y el lenguaje. Las reglas son necesarias básicamente porque existen los otros. Y esto último tiene al menos dos sentidos: por un lado, las reglas permiten construir la intersubjetividad; por otro lado, las reglas dan sentido a lo que hacemos y a lo que pensamos. … La ética no consiste en definir lo que puedo hacer sino lo que debo hacer. Y quien no quiera entender la diferencia, vive en la pura irresponsabilidad moral.
“Do what you want” is not a rule of any sorts. Rules place restrictions by their very nature.  They are necessary for coexistence, in order to add and subtract, to go shopping.  Without rules, the ethical world disappears, as well as the world of science and language.  Rules are necessary basically because others exist.  This last one has at least two meanings: for one, rules permit the construction of the intersubjectivity; on the other hand, the rules give meaning for what we do and what we think…Ethics do not consist of defining what one can do, but what one should do.  Whoever doesn’t want to understand the difference, lives purely moral irresponsibility.
With this, comments from all different viewpoints started to arrive and even now, they continue to comment.  It is clear, however, what they are discussing is more than a simple code of conduct, and there are two sides with two different and longstanding reasons, and whoever does not belong to one of the two is not welcome (see the answer that had one of my comments (what I think is a pseudonym). There have been posts against this issue in other blogs, which Bloggers, Ethics and Anonymous from the blog Desde el Tercer Piso [ES] and what appears to be more impartial and summarizes the situation:
Básicamente, frente a lo que nos encontramos es a dos formas distintas de entender la blogósfera. Por un lado, Salas (Gran Combo Club) considera que los blogs tienen un potencial de comunicación y debate ciudadano bastante elevado – y, de hecho lo tienen – por lo que cualquier ataque, disonancia lingüística o insulto degrada el nivel del debate y debe ser desterrado, no por una censura impuesta, sino por una suerte de autocontrol de las opiniones compartido por la mayoría de bloggers.
Por el otro, Sifuentes si tiene un código de ética en su blog, bajo el título de pórtate bien, en el que, por sobre todo, se privilegia que nadie arruine su espacio, es decir, se permiten los anónimos siempre y cuando no dejen denuncias sin pruebas. Por otro lado, casi nunca se tocan a quienes se quejan por los insultos supuestos. Por el contrario, recordemos que fue Gustavo Faverón quien dio comentarios anónimos desde Maine, cuestión que fue explicada hasta la saciedad, y allí ninguna de las personas que reclaman por una ética sobre los comentarios hizo reclamo alguno.
Comparto la preocupación de Daniel por elevar el nivel de la discusión – y ello me llevó a ya no permitir comentar a un personaje que, además de troll, llenaba de insultos gratuitos a varias personas en este espacio – pero creo que, por lo general, es la libertad de expresión la que debe prevalecer y asi permito que gente que no comparte mis mismas ideas comente en este espacio. Creo además, que, así como se reclama al supuesto bando contrario coherencia, lo mismo debería hacerse para las disonancias idiomáticas – por decir lo menos – de sus amigos.
Basically what we find is two distinct forms of understanding the blogosphere.  On one hand, Salas (Gran Combo Club) considers that blogs have a high communication potential and high-level citizen debate and in fact, they do, because whatever attack, linguistic dissonance or degrading insult, that the level of debate and should be banished, not by censor, but by the luck of auto-control of the opinions shared by the majority of the bloggers.
On the other hand, Sifuentes does have a code of ethics on its blog, under the title “Behave” in which most of all, it is asked that no one ruins his space. Anonymity is allowed only if no denouncements are left without proof. On the other hand, they never touch who complain about the supposed insults.  On the contrary, we remember Gustavo Faveron, who commented anonymously from Maine, which was explained to satiety and there, none of the persons who called for ethics in the comments did not complain.
I share Daniel’s worry of trying to elevate the level of discussion, which does not permit me to comment on a character that in addition to trolling, fills the page with insults to various people in this space. I think, in general, that free expression is what should prevail and this allows people that do not share the same ideas and do so in this space. I also think that just as they call for the contrary, the same should be done to make the idiomatic dissonance – of their friends.
There does not seem to be a view that all of the discussion should be taken to some point or emerges as something positive. Both positions can be found and no one wants to review theirs to be able to reach agreement.  It is a shame because all of the bloggers with the capacity for both should look for something better than fighting virtually. In the end, I doubt that this will be the last chapter of this Clone Wars in this very particular Cholosphere.
So as to not finish with this rare ambient, I post something that has no relation but only to add another image of what is done here. In the blog of Toñito Avalos in the post Videoprimer: First Animated Comic of the Peruvian Blogosphere (Soon!) shows the trailer of something forthcoming: a comic fanzine animated in flash.  In reality, all of the blogs dedicated to comics are always very active.  Now until next time.
The photograph that illustrates this post probably does not have much to do with this, but I felt tempted to title this “The Defenders of the Blogosphere.”  This post was originally titled “Blogger Wars: The Battle of the Code of Conduct” in the blog Globalizado [ES].
Translated from Spanish by Eduardo Ávila

author: Juan Arellano


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Romania: Political Crisis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A week ago, Kosmopolit posted an overview of the political crisis in Romania.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: “Addressing Others With Respect” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

VeryRussianTochkaNet runs into a site “about ‘addressing others with respect’ in Russia” – and corrects some pretty amusing mistakes.


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Russia: Bloggers on the Dissenters’ March · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

La Russophobe posts a translation of a Russian blogger's text on the Dissenters’ March, and another blogger's comment. Here's the gist: “The initial impression is that the government’s actions are hysterical and obviously excessive. But I suppose that this is a false impression. The ruling clan has so far been able to get what it wants.”


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Russia: Saratov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ruminations on Russia travels to Saratov, a Russian city that, among other things, “suffers from a surfeit of small roads which were designed for horses and carts and not for Lexus 4×4's.”


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Russia: The New Times Magazine · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Economist's Edward Lucas reposts his piece on a magazine that's “pretty much the only truly independent weekly left in Russia.”


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Singapore: Interviewing Software Builders · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Nimbupani in Singapore is interviewing local software builders. “This week, I had a conversation with Choonkeat. Choonkeat is an action oriented geek who has developed two useful and popular “web 2.0″ services: rssfwd and more recently, sharedcopy.”

author: Preetam Rai


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Somalia: things fall apart, but… · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

http://zayali.blogspot.com/2006/02/picture-story.htmlfrom Zaynab, “Things fall apart, but it can be saved.”


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Sudan: Darfur’s Beauty, Peace Negotiations & The Complex Sudanese Dating Scene · Global Voices
SudaneseDrima

To many people, the name Darfur is synonymous with terror, death and hopelessness. Darfur, as we will soon see, is a very beautiful place despite the human suffering.
We'll start this round up with some wonderful pictures of Darfur posted by Precious, a Sudanese girl in her early 20's who works for an NGO in Sudan:
Last week in the NGO where I work, they needed someone to go to our office in Darfur for some IT job, (Not that I am at the IT Department) but anyway, I suggested I would go.. I've always wanted to see other places in Sudan, including Darfur, Juba, Kassala and Kadugly..
Unfortunately, My mum did not agree, I begged and plead for hours, no use! I was so dissapointed!
The next days when I told my colleagues at work bout my dissapointment, one of them showed me these pics taken from his last trip to Kadugly and Abu Jebaiha..
Daana Lost in Translation also has another picture of Darfur.
She also blogged about movies about Africa and commented specifically on Leonardo Di Caprio's use of the phrase “God forsaken continent” to describe Africa in the movie Blood Diamond:
Also through out the movie he keeps referring to Africa as the God forsaken continent, but I call it a man forsaken continent. God did not forsake Africa; on the contrary God has embraced Africa, and nourished it with many gifts, but man has failed that land with his selfishness and foolishness.
Nomadic Thoughts, a Sudanese living in Tanzania chose to blog an excellent and amusing post about the complex world of dating in Sudan:
Already the dating scene in Sudan is more complex than politics, once you’re seen with someone from the opposite sex on what qualifies as a “date”, know that in that moment you have just made history. I have visions of myself when I’m a great grandmother and people will still be able to recall the names of my ex’s. Taking into account the number of times you had to blow off the date because you didn’t want to seem too available/easy, and then while you’re on the date you’re recalling all the “do’s and don’ts” that your girlfriends made you memorize because in our society you don’t want to break the set/acceptable social rules of behavior.
Black Kush brought Luol Deng, a Southern Sudanese Dinka who plays professional basketball with the Chicago Bulls, to our attention:
Luol Deng had 26 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block in the Bulls 107-89 game two win over the Heat on Tuesday 24th April.
Aperadosini wrote an interesting post about choice Vs predestination:
…believing in fate/destiny would make life seem somewhat pointless if your path in life was already set for you, and ultimately would mean that we have no freewill since that will is controlled by a supreme being. This was one of my issues with the concept of God already knowing if we were meant to go to heaven or hell. If He already knows then what's the point in creating us?
Last but not least, Drima, The Sudanese Thinker commented on the recent Libyan talks on Darfur:
The heat is on and I believe there is genuine concern. One of the things that can really complicate this is the fact that during the last year or so, rebel factions have continued to split up into various sub factions, each with their own and sometimes conflicting agendas. The rebels need to reach a common goal. Fingers crossed.

author: SudaneseDrima


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Trinidad & Tobago:  Models and Body Image  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad Carnival Diary wishes that the models that advertise Carnival costumes were more representative of the masqueraders themselves:  “That way when we work out or diet to fit into our costume it is because we want to be healthy,toned and fit with lots of stamina for Carnival and not because we want to look like the super skinny model who sold the costume to us lock stock and barrel.”


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Uganda: What is wrong with Juba peace talks?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

John Akec writes in-depth analysis of Juba peace talks between the government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army:
The question is: why Naivasha peace talks between Sudanese protagonists succeeded, whereas Juba peace talks between the LRA and government of Uganda have so far failed to make any headway? The short answer is that some of the vital ingredients that helped Kenyans broker peace between Sudanese adversaries are amiss in the recent effort to mediate peace between the Ugandans in Juba.


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Ukraine: On Stanik and Her Husband · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana reports on Justice Suzanna Stanik's removal from the Constitutional Court – and on her husband's interview to Channel 5.


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Ukraine: “The Squeaker is Back [Again]” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about prosecutor general Piskun's re-appointment – here and here.


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USA: Photos of Immigrant Rally in Los Angeles · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Alejandro of LAX-LIM provides firsthand accounts of a rally that “ended in violence, thanks to the attitude of the Los Angeles Police Department, who dispersed the crowd with rubber bullets and tear gas, a crowd including mothers with children, the elderly and handicapped, and many others who were peacefully congregated.”  Unfortunately, he writes, there were a group of troublemakers that were intent on provoking the authorities.


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Abdel-Monem Mahmoud: the Egyptian totalitarian regime is the problem · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

As I promised in my last article “Online Freedom for All: Some cases worth supporting”, I’m publishing here the translation of the interview I did with the jailed Egyptian blogger and journalist Abdel-Monem Mahmoud at the 3rd annual Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, tow weeks before Monem’s arrest. Monem has been arrested on 15 April 2007 after reporting on torture in a video and in an article he called “The Fourth Anniversary of the Torture of Detainee #25” (available in English) and after using blogs as campaigning tools against the transferring of civilians to military tribunals in his “Blogs Against Military Rulers” (also available in English)
In this interview Monem spoke about his experiences as Brother blogger and the history of the use of Internet by the Muslim Brotherhood and its young generation. He also explained why, as Brother, he is supporting his fellow jailed blogger, the secular Kareem Amer and how the blogging is challenging traditional media in Egypt.
On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day,  few bloggers and activists from around the world have launched the Free Monem campaign making available for the Anglophone audience what Monem was blogging about and what sort of a person Monem is.  “ We cannot let the regime succeed in silencing him. We have to show the Egyptian regime that when you imprison a blogger, you don’t silence his voice, you AMPLIFY it!” they wrote in their email announcement.
Uploaded by Astrubal
Sami: Why has the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) moved onto the internet, bearing in mind that it is a grassroots movement that relies on direct contact with its audience?  Is the MB following the example of the Kifaya  Movement or is this change in internet presence due to the dynamism of the youth within the  Brotherhood itself?
Monem: Let's first differentiate between the blogging movement and the internet movement.  The Brothers started using the internet in 1999.  We were the first group to do that.  At that time, we were students in the University of Cairo and we published the first student website in Egypt “Gama3a Online” (University Online) and there was a lot of buzz about it.  There were two webmasters who were students and I was one of the two others who were writing articles.  Afterwards, there was a new group who created another website called “Egypt Facts” in 2000, which was a personal initiative where people could read news of the movement.  That was the time of the elections of 2000.  There were foreign reporters who told the MB's spokesman – who was at that time Ma'mun al-Hudaybi – that they saw his news on “Egypt Facts”.  This group started promoting the website of the movement and they explained to older people that using the internet we could publish our news and reports, which was significant because we are deprived a voice in the traditional media.  The Brothers continued using “Egypt Facts” until they decided to launch their official website “Ikhwan Online” in 2001.  So our presence on the internet started a long time ago.
Concerning the blogging movement that started recently, some youth started writing on blogs especially after the success of the blog of Alaa and the blog of Al Wai Al Masri (The Egyptian Conscience hosted at misrdigital.com), even if they did not express their Brotherhood identity. For example, Amr Magdi had an old blog called “tark3atkeyboard” which expresses his personal opinions but not his intellectual affiliation.
I got out of jail after the incident of Soor related to the Brothers.  I found out that I could tell about my six-month experience in jail, which was not really “news” that I can publish as a professional report. When I thought about how to publish, I thought about a blog.  I am proud of belonging to the Brotherhood movement as an idea before it became an organization.  I decided to write on my blog “Ana Ikhwan” (I am a Brother), as Abd Al-Monem Mahmoud, the person who belongs to the idea of Brotherhood.  This is how I wanted to present myself to people who would read the blog.
Sami:  What was the feedback of the blog's readers? Did people react positively towards this new youth trend in the Muslim Brotherhood?
Monem: When the blog was published, people became aware of it gradually.  I got two kinds of feedback.  An internal feedback from the young Brothers who appreciated that young people were expressing the identity of the organization, especially given that the security forces impose a low media profile on the organization.  After “Ana-Ikhwan”, there were many other blogs “Ibn Akh” (son of a Brother) , ” Chabab Al Ikhwan” (Brotherhood Youth) and a girl who published “Bint mn El Ikhwan” (Daughter from the Brotherhood), also “Ikhwangi” (Muslim Brother) and “Ikhwani” (Muslim Brother).  And these are all names related to the idea of Brothers.  Recently, I also discovered that there is someone who published “Ana Ikhwan” like mine but without a dash. Someone else published “Muslim Brotherhood” in English.
The idea was welcome for youth.  These people express that they are from the Brotherhood – whether they are college students, graduates or professionals – and they want to share their identity with readers. There was even feedback from the youth of “Kifaya” and people from Egyptian secular groups.
I think that the comments are a kind of discourse and conversation that should be emphasized more than the articles themselves. We were engaged in conversations through comments. There were great comments about people liking the idea or people who were surprised that someone from the Brotherhood published.
Sami:  What is the relationship between the bloggers of the Brotherhood and the Egyptian blog aggregator “Manal and Alaa's bit bucket“? Is there a common ground that gathers the bloggers in Egypt towards the reform movement?
I found out that my blog was added to the “Manal and Alaa's bit bucket” aggregator and we were communicating by email.  After the incidents of Al Azhar and the military trials, there was a group of the Brothers who created blogs and we called this group of blogs “Blogs Against Military Rulers” and I wrote a report about it on my blog.  Alaa told me that he would add these blogs to the aggregator and that their last releases would appear as “Latest News,” to express solidarity with their issue.  Another solidarity action is that Alaa sent me an email saying that he is sorry that he is busy and that he did something for his professor “Dr. Issam Hashish” –who is from the Muslim Brotherhood.
One important common point among us is that we live in an authoritarian country and we claim freedom and reform as Egyptians, and then come our intellectual affiliations.
Sami:  Do you think there is an injustice in the media coverage of Brotherhood blogsphere?  For example, when foreign media sources mention the Egyptian blogs, they usually talk  about the “liberals”.  The campaign to free the blogger Kareem Amer, the support he has on the internet and in the streets of numerous western cities.  Do you think there is some kind of double standard or bias  behind the limited coverage of the Brotherhood's bloggers and persecuted members (by traditional media) even though their stories are being covered by the Egyptian blogs ?
If you look at what happened to Kareem and what happened to the Brothers, with regards to the amount of media coverage they both received, there is no balance.  There are forty people who were unfairly sent to illegitimate trials, and on the other side there is one person who unfairly sent to an illegitimate trial. There is a non-equivalence even if the blogs on Kareem are from people who have the same affiliations as him or from people who show solidarity with him.  If we see that there are forty people who were sent to military tribunals, and there are hundreds who are in preventive detention waiting to be sentences or freed, we find no balance.  But no one disagrees about the fact that the majority of bloggers published banners and badges, started exchanging the news of the Brothers and the children of the Brothers who created a movement called “Children for Freedom“.  Let's say that all forty are facing an unfair trial and they are on an equal footing in the sense that they face an authoritative system that does not distinguish between Islamist voices and secularist voices.  It's a system that's interested only in preserving its power and ready to jail anyone even if it's a voice that used to be one of its own or even a national party member.
Sami: What's your personal opinion as a blogger on the sentencing of Kareem Amer because of his writings and what some may think of as criticism to the Islamic religion? Do you support him? Do you support his freedom of expression even when though he has gone beyond the boundaries that the religious and political authority in Egypt set?
First, I disagree with Kareem Amer in what he has written.  But what I can't disagree with is that the person who persecuted Kareem is not someone who cares about religion.  Second, let's say that Kareem is a 22 years old man, who is still learning how to express his ideas, just like me.  So it is nonsense to persecute me just because I expressed my opinion, be it right or wrong.  There should be discussion, not oppression. Kareem Amer, is a young man who is only 22 years old. He is still trying to build his ideas and make sense out of them. Life is all about learning and finding  the path towards knowing and learning more.
I do not think that jail is the appropriate reaction to Kareem's discourse. There are a number of ways to solve the situation.  Jail is not among them. When one party is behind the bars and the other one is sitting free and judging that prisoner, this is not a form of discussion. Only discussion can solve this problem and not so much a trial.
We are all young, and there is still a level of maturity to achieve and this was not taken into account. By no means, does this deserve  harsh punishment. Opinions are to be discussed.  How can we jail someone whose claim is not even a strong one?  It was about what he personally believed in.
Sami: Do you expect to see the Egyptian regime blocking access to the Muslim Brotherhood's blogs and the new tools it is using, just as the regime has fought the organization since its first steps?
Monem: Firstly, the Egyptian authorities are blocking access to the Muslim Brotherhood website. It is very common and we are regularly changing the IP address and the URL to keep the web site running. However, up until today there has been no blocking of any blogs, neither the liberals nor the Brothers.
However, it is important to mention that the Egyptian authorities are not targeting bloggers per se. They are more likely to be against activists who have been recently been using blogs as political tools. People like: Alaa, Sharkawy, Karim Al-Shaer, they are the type of activists who are being politically persecuted. Hence, the authorities do not persecute bloggers but rather the activists among them, and it is important to make this distinction.
Still, the next period represents a turning point in the media.  Traditional media will fail when faced with these sources of new information technologies. In my opinion, they will not be able to keep up. Television will find it hard to cover stories. Let's take the example of the incident of the rape of the bus driver by police.  No newspaper or TV channel could cover that. What Malek wrote and what Wael Abbas broadcast were largely responsible for awareness of that event.
The blog is a free technology, which means that it is out there for anyone to use. It does not mean it is labeled as Muslim Brotherhood only.  Anyone can use as they wish, whether you are a Brother, secularist, a leftists….  This means it is designed to be used at any time, at any moment, and in any way, as long as it is being used for development and improvement. After all, this totalitarian regime is the problem behind what is happening and not so much the means to correcting the situation.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Algeria: The Great Libyan Shia Plan  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qaddafi called recently for the creation of a neo-Fatimid empire in North Africa that would be “Arab and Shiite”, for “North Africa is Arab and Shi'ite,” reports Algerian blogger Nouri. “Obviously the Fatimids were of Arab origin, and not Iranian; the Iranians came to Shiism far later than did the Arabs, and even then only by force of arms by way of Turks. This does not change the fact that Shias are few and far between in North Africa today. And it very clearly does not mean that North Africans are “100%” Arabo-Shia. The Maghreb is not Basra,” he notes.

author: Amira Al Hussaini