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Sympathy for Jordan, a political surprise and rallying for Rabin’s memory · Global Voices
Lisa N. Goldman

This week’s post focuses on reactions in the Israeli blogosphere to three events: the suicide bombings in Amman; the election of Amir Peretz as head of the Labour Party; and the rally in Tel Aviv that marked 10 years since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. There is also a roundup of interesting and/or amusing posts on various miscellaneous subjects at the end.
The Amman bombings
Israeli bloggers who wrote about the suicide bombings in Amman did so mostly in order to condemn the act and express sympathy for Jordan.
She of SomethingSomething writes: “This latest attack, this time targeting the people of Jordan, has served to show that these fanatics will stop at nothing, and no one is immune. My hope is that this will finally act as a wake up call to those who have remained silent in the face of such acts.”
Bert of Dutchblog Israel posts a photo of the couple at whose wedding one of the bombings took place. He quotes the bridegroom: “This has nothing to do with Islam.”
On my own blog, I mentioned that I stayed at the Radisson SAS, which was one of the three hotels that was bombed, when I visited Amman. The bombings actually occurred on the same night I attended the screening of a film about Palestinian suicide bombers in Tel Aviv. It’s called Paradise Now, and I mention the film, which is directed by and stars Israeli Arabs, in my post.
Yaakov Kirshen, who for more than two decades drew political cartoons for the Jerusalem Post, posts a cartoon he drew about the bombings. He also mentions his astonishment upon discovering a news report that some Jordanians are blaming Israel for the attacks, which were carried out by Iraqis. He includes a link to the report in his post.
Rally for the memory of Yitzhak Rabin
On Saturday, November 12, an estimated 200,000 Israelis attended the 10th anniversary memorial for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Tel Aviv’s central square – now called Rabin Square.
The star of the night was Bill Clinton, who gave a short but moving speech that drew tremendous applaud from the crowd. There is a video link to Clinton’s speech on this CNN report.
Chayyeisarah has this to say: “Regarding the media reports that run every year asking “what have we learned from Rabin's death?” and answering: “nothing,” I say: Yes, we have. The specter of Rabin's assassination was present throughout all the rallies protesting the Gaza disengagement last spring and summer, and certainly throughout the disengagement himself. I do not know whether it is fair to say that events would have progressed more violently had Rabin never been assassinated by a right-wing Jew, but I do think it's fair to say that the assassination was one important factor in the fact that things went as non-violently as they did. The religious right-wing should get credit where credit is due.”
Shai has some great photos of the rally, and also includes his take on the speeches that were given. Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, a member of the Likud party and an opponent of the Oslo Accords, spoke at the rally in order, she said, to condemn those who try to achieve political goals by violence.
As Shai notes: “You can be outraged by the murder and despise the fact that someone tried to change the government in Israel with bullets rather than ballots, but at the same time not think that Oslo was such a hot idea. Which is what Livni was trying to say.”
Bert, who watched the rally on television, echoes Shai when he writes: One of the best speeches was given by Justice Minister Tsipi Livni. She stressed that she did not agree with Rabin or vote for him but that the murderer of Rabin killed the Prime Minister of Israel, the state in which she lives, and that his bullets were aimed at this country's democracy, at all of us.
In a follow-up post, Bert reflects on the Oslo Accords: “There were many faults in the process's planning and implementation, faults for which not only Arafat but also the Israeli and American governments were to blame. Still, it is obvious that the best way out of the mess that Palestinians and Israelis find themselves in will be through some sort of agreement. ”
Other Israeli bloggers who write about their impressions of the rally are Stephanie Freid of Stefanella, here, and Yael Kaynan of Olehgirl, here.
Amir Peretz elected as head of the Labour Party
Quite a few people were surprised by the election of Amir Peretz as head of the Labour Party. Peretz was born in Morocco, raised in an Israeli development town and is best known to Israelis as the leader of the Histadrut – Israel’s largest labour union. This is a marked contrast with former leaders of the Labour party – all of whom were Ashkenazi and many of whom (including Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin) were former army generals. Peretz beat 82 year-old Shimon Peres – who, despite a long career in politics, has never won an election.
Shai thinks that Peretz will be good for Labour, but bad for Israel.  “Peretz ran on a platform of “social responsibility,” which in real terms means old-school statist socialism: more government control of industry, much higher taxes, much more welfare. A lot of us feel this is a good way to kill Israel’s economic growth. However, it’s healthy for a democracy to have this kind of choice, so I congratulate Peretz on his victory.”
Bert also has some reservations about Peretz: “If this is a revolution I am not sure if it is a good one. The party needed to be shaken up a bit, but the question is whether Peretz was the ideal man to do that. He symbolizes much of the less positive sides of the Histadrut labor union, not only as an employer, but also as an apparatus through which it is relatively easy to further one's political career.”
She of SomethingSomething is not very enthusiastic about Peretz, either.  She this to say about Shimon Peres, who ran against Peretz. “Part of me believes that the time has come for Mr Peres to leave the crumbling world of the Labor party and focus his efforts elsewhere, as there must be many areas and realms in which his talents would receive the proper appreciation, given that he has been so dreadfully underappreciated in Israeli politics throughout his career.”
Jeffrey Woolf , university professor who blogs at My Obertidicta, simply says that Peretz scares him, and links to this article by right-wing columnist Caroline Glick of the Jerusalem Post to explain why.
On the other hand, the folks at Jewish Voices for Peace think that Peretz is a good thing. “It would be foolish to see Peretz’s victory as anything other than a very positive development, not only for Israeli politics, but also for hopes for an end to the occupation and a just peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Miscellaneous
Rachel Jaskow of Elms in the Yard. Writes about the discovery in Israel of old Turkish railway lines from the Ottoman Empire. The railway tracks are engraved with a blessing from the Sultan.
Rebecca of   has a post in which she links to a humorous (because it's supposed to be serious) Israeli version of a hip hop video.  “I love Israelis,” she writes. “They try very hard. And they are cute.”
Ari Miller   of Ari Lives in Israel writes a tongue-in-cheek (and hilarious) post about why why aliya (the Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel) seemed like a good idea at the time.
And Layla of Jewlicious snapped some close up photos of Hillary Clinton during her recent visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

author: Lisa N. Goldman


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Turkey is Talking…. · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Every once in a while you find a statement from someone far away that captures the universality of the life we live in these modern times…I found this gem from Fikirbaz.com, who lives in Istanbul:
Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.
And now for the rest of this week's Turkish postings…..American Turk posts this week in honor of the anniversary of the synagogue bombings last year in Istanbul.   Ignore me if you can  posts about sickness at work.  Phanja from The Need to Know writes about recent coverage of her blog and gives a thanks to Global Voices.  And Mavi Boncuk posts a short bio of famed Turkish cartoonist Necmi  Riza Ayca.
Mustafa Akyol from  The White Path writes a response to Dennis Prager's recent piece in the Los Angeles Times titled “Five questions non-Muslims would like answered”.  His answers are quite precisent for our modern times, here is a short excerpt:
So, when he waits an answer from us such as “Yes, we have real problems in Islam,” Mr. Prager gets it wrong. We don't have a problem with Islam, but we have a problem with the current Islamic world and how it interprets this faith. The solution will come from earthly progress — the spread of democracy, human rights, free markets and free ideas — and a re-interpretation of Islam in the modern milieu.
And as for those who kill innocents in the name of Islam; the killers of American, Israeli, European, Iraqi or say, Jordanian civilians… As a committed Muslim, I denounce them with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my might. I wish I could do more. For now I can only tell where the problem is. And it is not with Islam, but with the Dark Ages of its civilization.
Turkish Torque has an interesting post comparing the hot button issues between Turkey and the United States in this post entitled  Intelligent Design is America's Turban issue, he goes further into the intelligent design debate by discussing  irreducible complexity.  He also writes a wonderful and insightful post comparing the American Abrahim Lincoln to Turkey's Ataturk. Turkish Torque posts several times a day, which almost makes it impossible to note every post made.
The same goes for Erkan's Field Diary which posts so many interesting things that it would encompass many many articles.  The majority of posts focus on various aspects of the negioations of Turkey with the EU, Erkan gives a link to a new online magazine that gives commentaries on the ongoings of the EU.  Other EU related items include this link to the Centre for European Reform's Report on Turkey and this commentary on internet controls advocated by the EU.
Metroblogging: Istanbul writes about the violence/fighting that broke out last Wednesday against the Swiss soccer team when they knocked Turkey out of the world cup bid, current news reports suggest that the FIFA is considering a permanent ban of Turkey's national team in the World Cup.  Many bloggers have already commented on this situation, such as Phanja from The Need to Know. This will be an interesting story to watch.
Interesting finds of the week:
1. R2-D2 a blog about Robots in entertainment, in Turkish.
2. Ev Cini (House Genie), a food blog in Turkish.
3. Tea Time Blog, another food blog in Turkish and German.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Iran: Media under Pressure · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Omid Memarian, an Iran based blogger & journalist, writes ” Some of the journalists have changed the sections they used to cover. Some of them have changed their job and now they prefer to wait for the future”.

author: Fred Petrossian


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The Caribbean Blogosphere: Football fever and more · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

If only in terms of sheer volume, the leading story in the Caribbean blogosphere this week was the Trinidad & Tobago football team's qualification for the 2006 World Cup on November 16.
The team Trinidad & Tobago beat in order to qualify was Bahrain (hence the oft-repeated line that whichever team won would be the smallest country ever to qualify), and this being sport, Bahraini blogger Chana'd left a good natured comment at Caribbean Free Radio that morning: “You will have to watch your team be trounced by Bahrain.” The country came to a virtual standstill (the Senate included) in order to watch/listen to the broadcast from the Bahraini capital of Manama. Nicholas Laughlin blogged extensively during the match itself, and Caribbean Free Radio relayed the radio broadcast to contacts abroad via Skype. Ryan Naraine, Taran Rampersad and Nicholas Laughlin have saved me some legwork by posting link summaries, but most of the buzz about the match came, naturally, out of Trinidad & Tobago itself, much of it taking the form of brief cries of ecstacy, some of it referring to the unsportsmanlike behaviour of the Bahraini team and fans.
Among the bloggers who wrote about the football were Richard Jobity, Hassan Voyeau, Richard Bolai, Sweet Trini, Small Island Girl, Independence of Mind, Simian Scratchings, Christopher Yee Mon, J9 and Tina. Nicholas Laughlin posted a substantial eyewitness account of the celebrations Port of Spain, the capital (“A friend on the phone from St. James, astonished: “All I can think is, this must be what it was like when the war ended”), and Taran Rampersad did likewise for San Fernando in the south of the island. “Perhaps you have to be the citizen of a really small country with a crummy social and political situation to know how this really feels,” said Caribbean Free Radio, which devoted its 36th podcast to coverage of the activity in the streets of the capital on the evening of November 16. According to Taran, the revelry continued well into Sunday morning.
The victory was also remarked upon by a few non-Trinidadian bloggers. Ryan Naraine (who is Guyanese) noted the messages of congratulation pouring in on the caribbeancricket.com message board and Barbadians Campfyah and Titilayo, Mad Bull and Revolution Island in Cayman and YingYang in Grenada posted reactions.
Things weren't going nearly so well this week, however, for  a sport with far deeper roots in the English-speaking Caribbean. The West Indies Cricket Blog reported on the increasingly dismal fortunes of the West Indies cricket team on their tour of Australia, where one commentator even raised the question of “the unthinkable”: Test cricket without the West Indies.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the Caribbean:
Belize
– Erik Olsen noted that on November 19 Belize observes Garifuna Settlement Day: “Descended from African slaves who were shipwrecked off St. Vincent around 1635, the Garifunas mixed with the native Caribbean Indians there and now they make up about 8 percent of the current population of Belizeans.”
– Simone Elgeln offered advice on moving to Belize.
Bermuda
– The Limey wrote that “the PLP [Bermuda's ruling party] will not be amending the Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.”
– Christian Dunleavy's has begun supplementing his online coverage of House of Assembly sessions with recordings of the radio broadcasts which can be streamed, downloaded or received podcast-style via RSS feed.
Cayman Islands
- Odd Blog reported that Grand Cayman is preparing for Gimistory, the island's highly regarded storytelling festival.
Guyana
– Looking at a historic building in Georgetown, Guyana-gyal was moved to a dialect riff on political leadership, art and expression.
Haiti
– Alice responded to my earlier Global Voices post about the state of the Caribbean blogosphere with a lively analysis of the Haitian online conversation.
Jamaica
– Kingston Girl has been stopped by the police five times in the space of ten months.
– Kara is alarmed by the murder statistics for the year.
St Vincent & the Grenadines
– Abeni reported on bad weather and damage caused by a tropical depression.
Trinidad & Tobago
– Trinidad-based but regional in its outlook, the Caribbean Beat Weblog went public this week. Four members of the editorial team at Caribbean Beat magazine (including myself) will be posting.
– Taran Rampersad put in his two cents’ on the WSIS and summarized the objectives of the first meeting of CARDICIS, which meets for the second time next month.
– Nicholas Laughlin paid tribute to Trinidadian intellectual Lloyd Best, who retired from the Trinidad & Tobago Institute of the West Indies last week.
Podcasts
New-York based Caribbean World Radio released an interview with former head of the University of the West Indies and founder/director of the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica, Rex Nettleford, on the topic of “Cultural Diversity in the age of Globalism”.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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The Lebanese Bloggosphere On The Meanings Of The Opposition’s Victory in University Elections · Global Voices
Mustapha

This week, the issue of Syria has taken the back seat (with a few exceptions); the Lebanese bloggers were mainly concerned with the students’ elections in various Lebanese University campuses.
The elections are important because they’re like mini-general elections. The same parties compete and similar alliances are at work. Which brings us to why they are important: they can actually predict the trends in Lebanese public opinion.
The convoluted dynamics and confusing alliances shocked and fascinated many Lebanese bloggers, who tried to come up with theories on  why the opposition movement lead by MP Michel Aoun triumphed:
Lebanon.Profile from The Lebanese Political Journal writes:
Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement have become the alternative to Lebanese politics as usual. Support for Aoun is support for change. Regardless of what kind of change that is, he's a new face.
He then went further into analyzing the Aoun phenomenon and concludes:
Aoun is the single most powerful politician in Lebanon and offers the potential for social change.
Raja from The Lebanese bloggers suggests:
It has become clear that there is a divide between the political (party) leadership in Lebanon and the people, the followers of these political parties.
Mustapha in The Beirut Spring proposes looking to the elections from an economic angle:
this is not a battle between the Pro-Syrians and the Anti Syrians, This is very much a battle between the proletariat and the bourgeois, the people versus the elite, the left versus the right, the Socialists versus the Conservatives
Anton Efendi from Across The Bay disagreed with Mustapha. He cautions against what he called “a quick and exclusive socio-economic diagnosis” and noted that “identities (sectarian, socio-economic, political…) in Lebanon often interlace”
Miscelaneous
The Lebanese blogger Arch Memory made it to Blogging Poet‘s “100 Blogging Poets” list,
and Kais is very happy that The Economist magazine considers Lebanon to be the Arab World's most sophisticated and liberal state.

author: Mustapha


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Tunisian blogger dinner · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

On Friday night I had the pleasure of joining the 8th Tunisian Bloggers Meetup, along with fellow WSIS participants Jeff Ooi of Malaysia and Isam Bayazidi of Jordan. After the craziness of the past several days, it was really nice to leave the conference behind, just talk about blogging, and enjoy each others’ company. Presiding over the event were the blogger couple, Global Voices contributor Mohamed Marwen Meddah (MMM) aka "Subzero Blue" and his brilliant and beautiful wife who goes by the nom-de-blog "Aquacool." Many of Tunisia’s bloggers write in French and Arabic, not English, but many of them speak rather decent English (their third language) and we had some fascinating conversations.
We talked a lot about the explosion of blogging in the Arab world, and how it may be time for an "Arab Voices" to help connect conversations going on in various nations’ blogospheres. Isam pointed out that bloggers in one country have a hard time knowing who the good bloggers are in neighboring countries, and it's time to create a platform for a pan-Arab blogging community. Sounds like a great idea to me.
Having Jeff Ooi there was a real treat. Everybody at the table sat rapt in fascination and suspense as Jeff told the story of his threatened arrest last year after somebody posted an anonymous, derogatory comment against Islam on his blog. In the Arab world, bloggers naturally share a lot of similar concerns. The conversation was intense as people exchanged experiences and views on how one balances the desire to speak freely with political and religious pressures of various kinds.
The evening really whetted my appetite for our upcoming Global Voices Summit, in London on December 10th.

author: Rebecca MacKinnon


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Afghanistan Blogs: Dead Poetess, Violence & Liberation · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Guftugo ( it means dialogue), an Afghan blogger, writes about Nadia Anjoman, poetess who was murdered by her husband in Herat. Many say jealousy motivated husband to kill this young poetess. Guftugo say in dark Afghanistan's dark society men like women are oppressed. Guftugo asks himself how Nadia's husband could do such a crime (Link in Persian). Maybe we can find answer in Sanjar's blog  (Link in English) from Kabul:
“Is violence a need or a mistake? violence comes to existence when people mishandle or can't handle a conflict. However, as time pass violence transforms to a habit.”
Guftugo also talks about Abdul Ali Mezrai who was killed by Taliban about eight years ago. Mezrai was the Wahdat (“United”) party's leader. According to Guftugo Mezrai believed in equality between women and men. He also thought federal system is best one to govern Afghanistan.
Afghanistan Warrior (link in English) reminds us that 13th of November was a great day for Afghanistan:
“The 13th of November, is the anniversary of when the Taliban fighters escaped from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. On this day the Northern Alliance, with the help of coalition forces, overthrew the Taliban regime from the capital Kabul and made them withdraw to the southern and southeastern provinces as they were ousted from Kabul. The Kabul citizens were freed from the hardline regime's prison and they came out onto the roads and celebrated the defeat of the Taliban government and they started their free lives.”


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Africa: Repression by leaders · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal posts about the return of Arican leaders to the old days “where even the facade of democracy was violently repressed. Ugandan big man Yoweri Museveni (once the very embodiment of Mbeki's African Renaissance) recently arrested the main opposition leader Kizza Besigye and charged him with treason. Some have reported that Besigye may remain in custody for at least a year before he is even brought to trial; presidential elections are scheduled in less than a year. How convenient.”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Argentina: Blog Map · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mirko has created a map of Argentinean bloggers using Frappr.

author: David Sasaki


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Bangladesh: Having it my way · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan links to a post on Adda which talk about the attitude issues that crop up with Bangladeshis. He narrates an incident and attempts to analyse why and how.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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China, Japan, Korea: Superiority Complex · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Yaw and Mog worry about Japan's disturbing superiority complex, lately evidenced by two best-selling comics that belittle Korea and China.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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China, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Taiwan: Giant Partner · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

KTemoc Konsiders says that ex-PM Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia would be happy to know that China is now ASEAN's biggest export market and the putative leader of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. At least the prospect of making money through trade with the U.S., he says, should prevent China from warring over Taiwan.


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China, Taiwan: Taiwanization of China · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

“It is already under way,” posits Madman of Chu in a post discussing the “coming Taiwanization of China.”  Still, the rivalry continues. The leaky pen notes China's attempt to upstage Taiwan's Golden Horse film awards by having overseas Chinese stars attend its Golden Rooster award ceremony a day earlier.


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Cuba: Porno Para Ricardo · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Venepoetics is impressed by Gorki Águila's Cuban punk band, Porno Para Ricardo and translates an excerpt of an interview (ES) done by his friend, Simón Bravo.


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Darfur: Peace talks · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Sleepless in Sudan is critical of the so called “final” round of Darfur peace talks which start today……”So what's the problem in this round of peace talks? Well, besides the obvious (the fact that none of the parties has ever made the slightest attempt to actually respect the ceasefire agreements or principled declarations they sign during these meetings), this one's mostly down to the rebels.”


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India: FOSS.IN · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

FOSS.IN/ 2005 is around the corner. Kalyan has plans to attend the event in Bangalore. The  event and more particularly Linux Bangalore isn't without its share of controversies.


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India: On finding a house · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Finding housing is more difficult if you belong to a certain community. In this case, Don't Trust the Indian Media highlights the case of being Muslim in Bombay.


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Indonesia: Local Apprentice · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

adinoto's blog watches the pilot episode of The Apprentice Indonesia, with local businessman Peter Gontha in the Trump position. Says adinoto (Indonesian): “Sorry folks no offense I would rather watching Donald’s version.”


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Iran: A Winner Blog · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Zannevesht, a blog written by Mrs. Parastoo Dokoohaki, was chosen as the best Iranian blog by the jury for Deutsche Welle weblog awards.


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Iran:uranium enrichment · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Alpar asks questions about uranium enrichment which has caused too many problems for  country. Alpar asks which one is important uranium enrichment or cultural enrichment or people's life enrichment? What Iranian people think about uranium enrichment? Link in Persian


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Jordan: How to cope with a disaster? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Arrabi recommends reading “I Lived In The Garden Of Allah” (By R.V.C. Bodley), which Arrabi says it's very inspiring in how to cope with disaster, especially in light of the recent events that struck Jordan. The story closing, “You and I are not Mohammedans: we don't want to be fatalists. But when the fierce, burning winds blow over our lives-and we cannot prevent them-let us, too, accept the inevitable. And then get busy and pick up the pieces.“

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Jordan: Visit Finland · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Rami, the MA student in Global Journalism at Örebro University, Sweden has an outstanding piece describing his visit to Finland. He says, “It is no wonder that J.R.R. Tolkien found enough inspiration in Finland and Finnish culture to write great epics such as the Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit and The Simlarillion.”


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Kenya and the Constitutional Referendum · Global Voices
Nish Matenjwa

Kenyans vote today, November 21, on a referendum to a draft constitution that has acrimoniously divided the country. President Mwai Kibaki leads the ‘Yes’ campaign, symbolised by a banana, and the ‘No’ campaign, symbolised by an orange, is made up of several cabinet members including Raila Odinga, the Minister for Roads. Results are expected on November 23; the constitution will be enacted on 12 December, Kenya’s Independence Day, if the Yes campaign wins.
In brief, the draft constitution proposes investing the presidency with greater powers, the main area of contention for the Orange campaign, which favours a constitution where a prime minister shares executive powers with the president.  While both the Yes and No campaign have concentrated campaigning around this issue, attention has shifted from other proposals such as the call for radical land reform, the outlawing of gender and other discrimination and the inclusion of clauses providing for affirmative action.
During the campaigning, both sides have accused each of instigating a dirty tricks campaign and at several points, the process has been reduced to heckling including President Kibaki’s notorious outburst when he called the opposition
“Wapumbavu” (stupid people) and “Mavi ya kuku” (chicken shit). Several people have died in violent clashes in the referendum’s run-up, thus far. Professor Wangari Maathai has called the referendum ‘a farce’ and says she is voting for neither side. What should have been a process that strengthens democracy has been reduced to a race for political prestige rather than a debate on the complex issues in the charter’.
In the weekend preceding the referendum, below is a summary of editorials and commentaries in Kenyan dailies.
Instead of meaningful discussion, the debate around the constitution was side tracked by the introduction of ‘personality contests and other agendas’, says Gitau Warigi in his Sunday Nation (subscription required) commentary. The process leading to the referendum has exposed ’the frightening, ugly face of Kenya that lurks just beneath the surface’ due to the ‘incredible hatred running around disguising itself in the colours of democracy and free speech’.
In the The East African Standard, Chaacha Mwita writes about the historical events that have brought about the need for constitutional reform and states that Kenya ’is a nation at the risk of disintegration’ if the voting tomorrow is not ‘guided by reason and truth in the voting booth’.
The Kenya Times says the results of the vote ’should be the ultimate mark of [the people’s] sovereign authority in charting the destiny of the country’ and whether yes or no, this result ‘must be respected by the two opposing sides’.
Kenyan bloggers have had plenty to say about the draft constitution and the referendum.
In a post entitled Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me where he says voting in the referendum is important for the democratic process, Mentalacrobatics asks Kenyans to ask some important and necessary questions of themselves and of politicians before voting such as ‘whether anyone in this referendum is in it for the Kenyan people’ as he feels the ‘wider, bigger political’ is getting lost.
Keguro creates a neologism – hetero-theocracy – meaning to ‘seemingly acknowledge diversity and difference only to resolve ostensible conflict through recourse to authoritarian paternalism’ and takes issue with specific clauses within the draft constitution that give primacy to Christianity and heterosexuality while appearing to ’support and nurture cultural and ethnic diversity’.
Tony Sisule says the government, with no consultation nor agreement from the people of Kenya, has imposed a draft constitution on Kenyans that is an ’illegitimate product cobbled together by a few people to serve vested interests rather than general good’. He urges Kenyans to vote No.
Kenyan Pundit posts interesting photographs of the referendum process.
Gatua wa Mbũgwa who writes to refute the rumour that the Kenyan government is planning to cancel the referendum as a pre-emptive move against impending defeat in his Gikuyu blog, says President Kibaki has made it clear he wants the referendum to take place. Gatua urges Kenyans to carefully read the draft constitution and to vote according ’to their conscience and how they see fit’.
Writing that she does not ’normally talk about politics’ on her blog, Lois says she has voted Yes and hopes ‘the people of Kenya vote sensibly and vote Yes’.
Migz says the referendum has become so politicised such that he is doubtful on ‘whether the majority of Kenyans will vote based on informed decisions around the constitution’. He sees the comical side of the process and tells a joke about a man who ’went bananas when he found oranges in his fruit salad’.
Stating that she will be voting in the referendum, One African Woman is impressed by how far Kenyans have ‘come as a nation, how much wider the democratic space is now than in times past’ and celebrates  ‘the sense of Kenyans engaging more than ever before in determining their future’.
JKE congratulates the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) for compiling a ‘list of shame’ containing the names of 40 politicians ‘whose derogatory speeches along ethnic and racial lines’ were an incitement to violence during the campaigning and feels ’there’s this big gap between the electorate and their elected representatives’.
Because any amendments or revisions of the constitution will require an extended debate and a one million signatures petition if passed, ‘the elitist lawyers, social activists, foreign-funded NGOs, ivory-towered professors, political retreads and professional nit pickers’ who drafted the constitution have found a way of making money says  Orwells_Ghost. His opinion is that ’the taxpayers of Kenya will be funding their endless squabbling’.
Illustrating how the referendum has divided Kenyans along ethnic lines, Kibara writes about a recent visit to a Kenyan online forum where he was shocked to find people he considered friends advocating ‘genocide for all Kikuyus’ because of their alleged support of the Yes campaign and is now proposing a a novel method for resolving ethnic conflict.

author: Nish Matenjwa


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Malaysia: Spreading Porn · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Prurient The Malay Male argues for the development of a local pornography industry.  He argues: “The real benchmark for a truly developed nation and/or people is the porn scene thriving in that particular country.”


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New Specialist Blogs: A Growing Chilean Opportunity · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Inside the Chilean Blogs world, we have a specialist blog community. This community is characterized by people that have worked for the government, or are in the academic field, participate in social movement and also have leadership in their area.  It is not only a thematic blog community, these are advisors that have moved to the blog world to express their own beliefs and they have a deep commitment to building a better society. They use the blog as a platform for spread their knowledge. Most of them are advisors, have governmental jobs or have some government relations, or just because of their leadership are in some way involved in the architecture of social meaning. What follows is not a complete list of all the specialist leadership bloggers, but a selection that will be growing in the next post.
José Miguel Muga works on the Congress library as Director of the project for Innovation of services for parliaments and citizens, oriented to develop public value to actual and new library services, sponsored by IADB. His blog is a mixture of social and viral marketing.
José Joaquin Brunner is an expert on the field of education, ex Secretary of Education; actually he is a research-professor of Adolfo Ibanez University and also member of the directive board of the International Institute of Planning Education (IIPE), of the UNESCO. His blog is about education and reflections about it. Another education field is design: Rodrigo Walker, Director of Design School of  “Universidad Mayor” , works with students to develop skills that allow them to be competitive about the opportunities that international economic treatments give us, in the industrial design area. The blog is oriented to give students that vision.
Jorge Navarrete is an Advisor of the council committee of the National Defense Ministry, and his blog is about different publications of national and international political issues. Also, Clara Szczaranski, head of the Council of the same ministry has her personal view of life on her blog, using it as a form to express her reflections.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Nigeria: HIV/AIDS workshops · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kids Doc in Jos posts a number of comments from participants of HIV/AIDS workshops.  The comments show the positive changes in people's understanding and perspective on HIV/AIDS……….”Most of the workshops are directed toward leaders: pastors, women’s, men’s, and youth (~young singles) fellowship leaders, denominational district chairmen and secretaries (all pastors) and so on. So the significance of comments like these is even greater, coming as they do from people who are leading their communities and churches”.


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Nigeria: Ken Saro Wiwa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Molari Wood  reports that Sokari Douglas-Camp & Siraz Izhar won the competition  to create a Living Memorial for Ken Saro-Wiwa.


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Nigerian Looter leaders · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

CyBlug provides a list of Nigerian “looter” leaders and the amounts of money they have stolen from the people.……….”On this note, I give you the world banks list of Nigerian Over Achievers (Though they “World bank” are denying it or distancing themselves from it) It May be genuine or it may be false., But we all know that there is no smoke without fire , so……… Furthermore, all over the net for the past month this issue has been raging, Even though I’m a primate, I do like to put a face to a name so when they come hunting around my tree I know who I’m running from”.


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Pakistan: A different curriculum · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The incredibly funny Olive Ream has a Mad-Rasa curriculum. Sample the course – How to misinterpret out-dated cultural norms as tenets of Islam 101.


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Pakistan: Damage to Pakistani Nuclear Facilities because of  Quake · Global Voices
Angelo Embuldeniya

Hours after the earthquake in Pakistan, the QuakeHelp team received many emails (such as this one) from readers voicing their concern about the safety of Pakistan's Kahuta Nuclear Facility which was located just 100km away from the quake's epicentre. The following report has been double-checked by various sources and it has been confirmed that there has been damage to the Nuclear Facilities in affected areas (Kahuta is located much closer to the epicentre that the areas mentioned below):
There is fifteen to twenty per cent damage to Pakistani nuclear facilities and storage sites in the Northern Areas, especially in Skardu and Chitral, and the local population faces the risk of contamination, but a curfew has been imposed, and they are being actively prevented by the authorities from leaving the area. Because of the serious damage to the nuclear facilities in the Northern Areas, the Pakistan government has turned away international relief teams, prevented Indian Army relief work and Indian Air Force supply drops, and withdrawn the consent for Israeli assistance, fearing that Mossad agents would be infiltrated who would destroy the atomic establishments.
While Western sources did not say that reactors had been damaged in the 8 October earthquake, they confirmed that missile silos had developed cracks, and storage facilities had taken a hit, and since the epicentre is likely to be seismically active for another two years, they expressed fear of further collapse of the nuclear establishments. To prevent leak of this massive nuclear destruction, Pakistan both bottled up the local population by imposing curfew, and did not permit international inspection of the disaster-hit areas.
Source: NewsInsight via the South Asia QuakeHelp Blog

author: Angelo Embuldeniya


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Philippines: Little Brown Brother · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Manuel L. Quezon III runs down the history of the controversial “paternal-racist” phrase “little brown brothers,” first used by William Howard Taft, the Philippines’ first American governor-general.


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Somaliland: Buul · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Inside Somaliland posts some photos of young men playing a game “Buul” or pool.  She asks if anyone has any idea where the game originated or the rules?


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South Africa: Relations with Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

South Africa reports on a recent agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe…”to strengthen ties on defence and intelligence, spurning Western government efforts to isolate President Robert Mugabe's government……….These included joint military exercises, peace keeping training, defence management training, staff course visits, communication training, sporting activities and aviation safety.” South Africa considers this pact to be “a load of rubbish! We are blatantly consorting with a bunch of known thugs who have scant respect for democratic values or human rights.”


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South Asia: Muslim in Britain · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Picked Politics picks on a report about British Muslims and their perceptions.


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Sri Lanka: Bush teaches Elections 101 · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Morquendi explores how Mahinda seems to have taken some lessons from Bush in winning the recent election in Sri Lanka.


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Sri Lanka: Mr President, listen to me! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lanka Libertarian has some advice for the election-winning Mahinda. Not all of it is lovingly dispensed.


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This Week in Palestinian Blogs: More than Checkpoints · Global Voices
Shaden Abdulrahman

Yesterday the 20th of November was the Universal Children's Day. Happy anniversary children of the World, may you celebrate this year and every year with joy, health and peace…
Palestine Blogs took the opportunity to remember Palestine's dear children who has been suffering under the Israeli occupation since as early as 1967 and wish them a happier anniversary next time.
By pharaoh.berger
On other issues, Palestine Blogs write about the withdrawal plan of UNRWA that is taking place after the Gaza Disengagement Plan. Refugees protested, claiming that aids are still needed as the city continues to live under occupation represented by the continuous air raids of the Israeli forces and the all-night-long terrorizing sound of Supersonic Booms.
“Creativity is a bless”, says I. Quoting Naseem Trawaneh, Palestinian refugees can be found now in Gumball Machanies.
Great news for Palestinians, you can now cross the borders to Egypt or move freely between Gaza and the West Bank. And on Novemebr 25 Gaza seaport construction would begin.
peacepalestine posted a very interesting story-like article by Zaki Boulos reflecting on the Palestinian elections. Zaki thinks maybe elections isn't the answer.
Imaan from Living in Gaza City blogged Sheikhs who shake it!, thanks for the laugh Imaan. Also check photos of beautiful Gaza she took from her friend's livingroom window.
Four days ago, the 17th of this month marked the day when Berlin Wall has fallen. It is now celebrated for two happy anniversaries, the falling of a wall and the day when Palestinian villagers united with Israeli and international activists to protest against the Apartheid Wall.
Hillary Clinton and Condoleeza Rice, two minds that think alike? well, at least when it comes to the Wall maybe. umkahlil says it is time  the US taxpayers see the two ladies for what they are: “self-serving politicians with little regard for the human and civil rights of their fellow men and women.” As for Hillary, I'm not surprised a bit, not even if she suggested Palestinians eat cake. Besides, Hillary is fully aware of what she's talking about, after all it is only to protect us all from terrorism, get it through your thick heads Palestinians, Israel occupational forces took only 5330 dunums of your land affecting more than 30% of your families, took full control of all your water supplies just to let terrorists (not you, terrorists!) die from thirst. They might also let you suffocate with gas everynow and then to calm you down. I'm sure the US can learn a lot about how to fight terrorism without torture from Israel. God help us…
Back to Hillary‘s statement,Mike Odetalla, wrote a very profound letter to Hillary condemnig what she said.
On checkpoints, a must-see documentary filmed by Israelis is now available on DVD. Some parts of the reviews were really touching, I wonder what it's like to watch it, or what it's like to live it:
In a not particularly optimistic but entirely poignant conclusion, a group of young Palestinian men sit in the dark at a checkpoint, in the pouring rain and thunder. One of the men protests that he has been sitting there for ten hours…
By “The Electronic Intifada
The waiting is a central theme in this film. The Palestinians are waiting to go home, to go to work, to go to classes, to go anywhere, but they wait: anger and frustration fueling their discontent. Women and children turned away at the door and you hear a Palestinian man wondering out loud if these children are also terrorists. “Terrorists don’t come through the checkpoints. Isn’t that right?” he says.
By The Black Iris of Jordan
For another real story about checkpoints, read what the Bethlehem Blogger wrote about his visit to a zoo in Jerusalem.
Olympia sister of Rafah is building connections between the two cities right from Rafah. On November 29, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a video conference will be held with ORSCP delegates in Rafah. In Rafah Pundits also, Rachel Rebuilding Project in Gaza rebuilds hope in Gazans houses, one house at a time.
Some fresh news from the International Solidarity Movement says residents of Tubas area will hold an anti-checkpoint demonstration on tuesday.
Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, the Mufti of Jerusalem said that the walls surrounding Al-Haram Al-Sharif around Al-Aqsa mosque and the old city has been weakened by Israeli excavations. Rafah Pundits reported what Sheikh Sabri has said to Al-Jazeera.
On a follow up on Iman Al-Hams‘ case,  her murderer was acquitted on the 16th of this month. The Israeli soldier shot Iman (13 year old) on her way to school putting 17 bullets into her body although was warned according to a tape that Iman was just a child who was scared to death. The soldier said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old, nevetheless, he was acquitted on all charges.

author: Shaden Abdulrahman


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Uganda: LRA in Eastern Congo · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Uganda-Can reports that Lords Resistance Army (LRA) leader, Vicent Otti remains in the eastern Congo along with 400 fighters…..”Ugandan President Museveni has actively requested that Ugandan troops be allowed to cross the border to engage the LRA fighters, though the international community, with fresh memories of Ugandan troops looting during Congo's bloody civil war, remain resolutely against that option and have committed to dealing with the rebel group effectively.”


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Venzuela: Pop, Diplomacy, 3rd Blog Bday, and Xmas Traditions · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Devil's Excrement reviews the Caracas Pop Festival, Daniel has more on the Mexico-Venezuela diplomacy tensions, Aleksander Boyd reflects on three years of his excellent aggregation of English-stories on Venezuela, Vcrisis, just as Google News stops indexing the site. Tomas Sancio explains Christmas in Venezuela.


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Zimbabwe: Democracy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean Pundit points us to an article in the Zimbabwe Independent ” Why Zimbabweans dont deserve democracy”.


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Zimbabwe: Rape of girls · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

This is Zimbabwe has a horrific report on the huge numbers of  girls that are raped annully in Zimbabwe……”In Zimbabwe, 40 000 girls are raped annually before they turn 17,” Makoni said. “Every day, the Girl Child Network receives at least one report of a girl below 16 who’s been raped, with some victims as young as six months old. 350 rape cases have been reported to us so far this year.”


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Kenya: Inequality · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Feminist African Sister  has a shopping experience  in which she personally experiences the inequalities that exist in Kenyan society….”That is the state of inequality in Kenya. Yes it is also about the fact that, Nyanza has a lower life expectancy than Nairobi; that women in North Eastern have the highest rate of illiteracy. But I think we need to also recognize and become aware of how inequality manifests itself and weaves itself through our lives. The inequality that ages our girls – making them think that just because they can put off buying nail polish in the interests of bus fare tomorrow, that this means they are adult enough to have babies, ‘get married’, ‘set up a home'”


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Namibia: Mass graves found · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mzansi Afrika reports on the discovery of mass graves  in Namibia which are thought to date back to 1989, the period when Namibia was occupied by Apartheid South Africa…The graves were found near Eenhana 850km north-east of Windhoek. This was a military base for the South African army's 54 Battalion. Over 300 people are said to have died as a result of the fighting. According to Peter Tseehama, the Namibian Minister Safety and Security, “some of the bones were children's, possibly siblings of former freedom fighters. He said other items found were guns, bullets and parts of what might have been explosives.” The bodies appeared to have been burnt before being thrown into the graves.”


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Africa: US military training · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia reports that the US is sending military personnel to African countries to train local soldiers on “basic screening and counter-terrorism techniques”.


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Argentina: World’s Best Weblog · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Argentinean weblog A Little Respect, I'm Your Mother was selected as best weblog of 2005 in the Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards. A book version of the fictional account has already been published in Spain and will soon be available in Latin America. The weblog's author, journalist Hernan Casciari now writes at Orsai (ES).


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Armenia: Constitutional Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has a roundup of Armenian constitutional referendum news at neweurasia.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Armenia: Referendum Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia has the latest on the upcoming constitutional referendum in Armenia.


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Armenia: Sculptures · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

An American Dramaturg in Armenia posts photos of Yerevan's many sculptures.


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Azerbaijan: Crisis in Baku · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Carpetblogger reports that there is a sudden, critical shortage of pirated DVDs in Baku.


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Azerbaijan: More Recounts? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Marianna of neweurasia says that more vote recounts may be on the way in Azerbaijan's disputed parliamentary elections.


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Azerbaijan: Thanksgiving in Baku · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Carpetblogger reports on preparing for Thanksgiving in Baku and provides nice pictures and descriptions of the Teze Bazaar.


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Bangladesh: Exile  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan at 3rd World View links to a blog of an exiled Bangladeshi journalist Saleem Samad.


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Bangladesh: The political self · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Adda looks at personal and political in retrospect, and on the bad apples within the more acceptable political party.


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Belarus: Filtering the Net · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

br23 blog reports that Belarus is looking to China for help with filtering the internet.


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Bulgaria: Clairvoyant · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nomad Notes reports that the new leader of the German Social Democrats had his rise to power foretold by a Bulgarian clairvoyant many years ago.


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Bulgaria: Debate Over Turkish · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nomad Notes reports that some Bulgarian politicians are focusing debate on use of the Turkish language to avoid debate on substantive issues.


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Bush threatend to bomb Al Jazeera · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Daily Mirror from the UK broke this story today – apparently Bush planned to bomb the Al Jazeera HQ in Qatar, a “Top Secret” No. 10 memo reveals.


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Cambodia: Euthanasia Websites, Water Festival, and More · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

Euthanasia Websites
An American citizen who owned websites advocating ‘euthanasia tourism’ in Kampot, a French-era beach town, has been sued by Kampot Province's governor for false information and defamation.  “You are going to die anyway, so why not in Cambodia?” said one of the sites, which also offered a rationale for suicide and links to purchase books on the subject. The twin sites that help people making arrangements to kill themselves have been requested by business owners in the town to close. They feared the bad publicity would ruin the local tourism industry. The news has attracted attentions of Cambodian bloggers after the news had gone front-page in the Cambodia Daily for several days. ConcernedCatholic is not surprised to realize that euthanasia is being advocated in Southeast Asia by Westerners. rjgiombetti wrote that Suicide “Prevention” Evangelists Score Another Victory Against Free Speech. In a recent report, the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2005, published by Reporters Without Borders, the country was ranked 90 out of 167 nations. This made PR, a Cambodian-American, surprised to see Cambodia beat out Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Water Festival
Cambodia celebrated her 52nd independence anniversary on November 9. During the celebration, held at Independence Monument, a large gathering called out “Chey yo! Preah Reach Jea Na Jak Kampuchea”, which translates as Long Live the Kingdom of Cambodia! After this occasion, the nation also organized another bigger national event, the Water Festival, which took place from 15 till 17 November. Expecting about two million folks to flock into Phnom Penh capital, an international freestyle kickboxing was offered a day earlier to bring about euphoria to local visitors after the rainy season. Foreign kick boxers from Israel, South Africa, and Japan were greeted by lively crowded fans. During the three day time of the Water Festival, there was a boat race, Bon Om Touk in Khmer, this year also marked the first time regional competition for Greater Mekong Subregion Boat Race trophy. Host Cambodia received teams from Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. According to local news, the Cambodia Daily, the host beat Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos, but was defeated by rival Thailand in the final race. Thai Sothea, a Phnom Penh resident, wrote that
“Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian people from all over the country flock the Phnom Penh capital city to observe the three-day Water Festival, one of the country's largest festivities. The Water Festival takes place each year in October or November at the time of the full moon. This year, it falls on November 15 – 17, and during these three days, schools, government institutions, NGO offices and companies are closed. Each day, the festival begins with boat races followed by the floating of illuminated cruises along the river in front of the Royal Palace together with fireworks. This year, a total of 396 boats participated in the races, a slight decline from last year when there were more than 400 boats.”
Throngs of people crowd the riverfront area along Sisowath Quay. Photo by Steve Goodman
This annual event attracted mostly provincial people to visit the city at the time that Phnom Pehners preferred to hang out somewhere else from the crowd. Some people chose to watch live events on television or travel away from home. Patry Pan, had a lot to tell about the first day of the festival, but less on day two and day three. And Lux Mean remarked that businessmen and politicians are main financial supporters of boat race teams from every province. History of the festival can be found on the web site of Ministry of Tourism.
And more
Seserak, a Cambodian college student in Japan, who is trying to learn more about the relation between Cambodia and Japan, found it amazing to realize that there were Japanese settlers in the Angkor city in the 17th century. And he is keen to go further to understand the meaning of Japanese inscriptions left in the Angkor Wat area. He also discussed about national identities preservation by pointing out the differences between traditional wedding and modern wedding in Cambodia. Traditional wedding generally takes up to three days, two days longer than modern culture. Lux Mean, originally comes from Kampong Cham province, wondered about smaller celebration of Hari Raya in Phnom Penh, a festival of Muslim of the Khmer Islam, when compared to the celebration in his home town.
After raining the sun shines. But, after the 1975-1979 genocide regime, handicapped survivors, beggars, widow women, and orphans live in impoverished conditions. You can listen to two songs to feel their story. And there have been lively discussions on poverty reduction in the opinion section of the Cambodia Daily. To own a store on street, under an umbrella, vendors can sell used products, and among people with low income they are as popular as new ones. These products, ranging from used car to electronic devices to socks, being sold on street and under umbrella. It is very common to say that they are shopping at ‘Umbrella Shop’ or what is known as second-hand product shop.

author: Tharum Bun


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Cambodia: Surprised by A Kiss · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

travel-itch is surprised by a kiss from the owner of a Cambodian internet cafe.


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Chile, Bolivia: Developing Together · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Chilean senator and blogger Fernando Flores traveled to La Paz, Bolivia where he met with various politicians and leaders to discuss bilateral solutions to development, investment, and leadership (ES) in the globalized age.


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China: Blogger Sneaks into Church to See Bush · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Chinese blogger-reporter Buzhesiliu snuck into a church (Chinese) to see U.S. President George W. Bush attend a service. EastSouthWestNorth has a translation of the report, while danwei puts the Bush service in context of the U.S. President's visit to China.


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China, Taiwan: Bombs and Rockets · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

MeiZhongTai tries to figure out exactly what China's missile arsenal can do, especially against Taiwan.


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Egypt: HIV+ · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mostafa says that probably people reading this already know that the moral stigma of HIV is getting more people infected. The ignoramuses fearing that people would be promiscuous because of sex ed, are helping no one. Arguments against teaching teenagers about sex, drugs and condoms are no longer justified.


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El Salvador: Jury verdict against Carranza · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim's El Salvador Blog has two posts on last Friday's verdict against former Salvadoran Colonel, Nicolas Carranza in a Memphis, Tennessee federal court.


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Ethiopia: Crown Council · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopia Pundit publishes a statement by the Crown Council of Ethiopia…..”Regrettably, we seem to remain oblivious to the tragic lessons learned from the terrible events of last June. Indeed, accusations and counter-accusations have accelerated and extremism has gained a life of its own. The emotionally seductive rhetoric of, “You’re either with us or against us” leaves no room for productive negotiation and compromise. Such strong and inflammatory speech erodes the right to freedom of thought, as it aims to silence the legitimate voice of the people. Polarization and confusion reign. At present, there is no indication that either side is making any serious effort towards dialogue and reconciliation, which undermines the fundamental prerequisites for democratic governance. Is Ethiopia in the process of bidding farewell to its commitment to democracy?”


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Global Voices wins a Best of the Blogs · Global Voices
Ethan Zuckerman

Global Voices has won a Best of the Blogs award from Deutsche Welle. We're thrilled to be honored as the jury's choice for the Best Journalistic Blog in English. Other Global Voices friends were honored by DW as well, including our friends Manal and Alaa, whose blog from Cairo, “Manal and Alaa's Bit Bucket”, which won the special Reporters Without Borders award.
Lisa Stone of Surfette was on the jury that chose our blog for the DW honor. Her blog post about judging the contest is incredibly flattering regarding our work. Evidently she advocated for Global Voices to win the Best Weblog prize – which Argentine blog “Más respeto, que soy tu madre” won – but because two judges (Hossein Derakshan and Julien Pain) were Global Voices contributors, there was a perception of conflict of interest. In her post, Stone says:
In my opinion, Global Voices is the most important blog in the English speaking world, bar none. This site is more than an up-to-the-minute guide and encyclopedia of the international blogosphere. Global Voices Online is a mega-blog the covers free speech by a global citizenry–and covers it well. It's so important at a time when so many international voices are denied free speech by their governments and, in the United States, a very few, English-speaking, first-world media conglomerates dominate and determine the ownership, distribution and content of news.
Thanks, Lisa, and thanks to everyone at Best of the Blogs for honoring us with this wonderful award. And thanks to everyone on the Global Voices team for making this site worthy of recognition.

author: Ethan Zuckerman


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Hungary: The Index Incident · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Hungarian Accent rounds up Hungarian blogosphere discussion on “The Index Incident.”


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India, Pakistan: Digital Venom · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Is the internet patching up the old geographical borders, or creating and reinforcing new ones? Pradyot on a particular Orkut community that really doesn't sit well with him.


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India: Paying for your ideals with life · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A young man was murdered for doing his job and being honest says The Vantage Point. Given all this, one has to wonder about why  Indian youth may not choose to work in industries where refusing to compromise on their ideals may cost them their life.


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Indonesia, Peru: National ID · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Yosef Ardi welcomes Indonesia's decision to implement a single ID number, which leads him to think about Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto's theories in The Mystery of Capital. Says Ardi: “I imagine the single identification number would be the first organized property owned by Indonesian.”


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Iranian Blogs: WSIS & Human Rights · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Shirin Ebadi, Noble Laureate, was one of speakers in World Summit for Information & Society in Tunisia.
According to Ravi(Link in Persian), Mrs. Ebadi spoke about censorship, jailed bloggers and filtering. She mentioned that Governmental NGOs are send to conferences to present false reports. She added unfortunately in some countries you can find human rights activists, writers and translators in prison because they express their opinion.
Omid Memarian’s title is Information Society & empty place of Iranian President. Omidian regrets that he couldn’t go to WSIS conference but adds fortunately some communication specialists such as Dr. Shokrkhah were present. (Link in Persian)
Hoder ( Derakhshan), Toronto based blogger , participated in Expression under Repression conference about democracy & censorship in WSIS. He talked about Iranian bloggers’ problems, cen sorship and so on. He says if British & Dutch ambassadors didn’t intervene directly meeting might be cancelled by Tunisian security forces.(Link in Persian)
Human rights has become Iranian new Parliament’s concern but not in a way that you think. Abtahi, former Vice President, writes in Two Parliamentary Points:
I read in the news that the Islamic Consultative Assembly has established a committee for human rights. But this committee is supposed to prepare reports of the violation of human rights in Europe. …..There is something wrong with our minds since Farsi proverbs occur repeatedly like: “You know how to sing the lullaby, why you are still awake?” Or “The light that can be used in the house is forbidden for use in the mosque”.


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Iraq: Cairo conference · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mohammed thinks that the Iraqi parties had originally joined the meeting to show that they’re not against a national reconciliation or against what can solve the crisis in Iraq. However, Cairo conference is going to change very little from the situation on the ground; those who endorse and practice violence do not really seek legitimacy from this or that conference.


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Iraq: When Should US Army leave? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hassan explains why he believes that Iraqis are not interested to discuss ‘When US Army is leaving Iraq’. Instead, he says that Iraqis are more interested in the coming elections now.


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Israel: Ariel Sharon leave the Likud · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

So, Ariel Sharon decided to leave the Likud and form a new political party. How does this sound in the Israeli blogsphere? Well, Lisa participated in the BBC radio programme about the same. Andrew Schamess call it “The Little Bang“. Joseph Alexander Norland writes: “To the people of Israel and to the Likud party: Congratulations!“, while Lo Niskach ve'Lo Nislach writes: “Sharon's Objective: Dictatorship!“. Imshin is excited to see who joins Sharon from the Likud and even more interesting to see who joins him from Labor, and David wishes Sharon a good luck, however hopes that he deals with this mess first. On the other hand, Batya wonders why is Sharon starting another party?


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Jordan:  HIV Status in Jordan · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Jameed says that the efforts of the Health Communications division should be applauded; they barely have any financial resources, they don't have many volunteers, and they just recently hired a graphic designer to help with the brochures.


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Jordan: New government · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Khalaf is feeling depressed today because he sences that a new government is in the making. What is bothering him is that he feels that these changes don't seem to serve any purpose, except to keep people amused, while the fundamental policies stay the same.


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Kenya: Referendum · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

MentalAcrobatics commenting on yesterday's referendum in Kenya is disappointed that some MPs refused to reveal which side they supported in the vote…..”I feel that there is one group of people who have a responsibility to tell us where they stand on political issues. That group is elected representatives”


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Malawi: Blogs · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Soyapi Mumba's Blog provides an update on the Malawian blogosphere with a new list of blogs.


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Malaysia: Non-Aligned News · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Malaysia's Mack Zulkifli hopes against hope that the proposed Non-Aligned Movement Network will indeed live up to its promise.


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Mongolia: Bush in Mongolia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

President Bush became the first American President to visit Mongolia on Sunday. Mongolia Matters has multiple posts on the brief visit.


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Nigeria: Governor jumps bail · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

A number of Nigerian blogs comment on the recent jumping of bail in the UK by Bayelsa State governor, Dipreye Alamieyeseigha…. Chippla's Weblog, Grandoise Parlour, Musings of a Naijaman.


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Open letter to all Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans · Global Voices
Dean CóRnito

Dear brethren:
During these ominous days for the relations between our peoples, I would like to issue a call to prudence on both sides of our common border. A stupid border dispute promoted by two of the worst Administrations our peoples have seen in a long time, has grown out of proportion to the point where expressions of mutual resentment have been issued by – undesirable, I suspect – members of our respective societies.
First of all, please accept, my Nicaraguan (nica) brothers, the apologies of a Costa Rican citizen (tico) who feels nauseated by the inhuman lack of action of a handful of Costa Rican policemen the day of the death of José Natividad Canda. I can assure you that beyond the racist expressions of a few individuals who do not represent the Costa Rican society, the majority in this country feels that what happened that day was unacceptable and that those responsible will have to be punished in the manner provided by the law. A human being was subjected to torture for two hours, under the joyful watch of a few crass individuals and a few policemen who do not deserve to wear their uniform, and that is unforgivable. “The lad shouldn’t have been there,” they say. “The man had a criminal record”. Yes, it is true, but it is also irrelevant. The death penalty does not exist in our country, and much less the (legal) possibility to take justice in our own hands. Natividad Canda was a human being who traveled the wrong path, but because of that not less deserving of our compassion. It doesn’t matter whether he was Nicaraguan, black, Chinese, Jewish or gringo; whether he was a thief of an elementary-school teacher.
Please understand that in Costa Rica we have a legal system that works fairly well. It is sometimes slower than we would like, but in the end justice prevails. Those heartless individuals who, having had the opportunity to act to save Mr. Canda’s life didn’t do it, will have to face justice and pay for their actions and/or their omissions. Their faces were caught on video.
I beg our northern neighbors not to take this heinous incident out of context. The death of Natividad Canda was not the product of any persecution of ticos against nicas, after all the man got himself into the situation by trespassing into private property. Sadly, the Costa Rican authorities have been losing the grip on security in our country, and violent crime has become a staple in our daily lives. I invite you to check any of our local newspapers on any random day to verify this. It is not a matter of ticos against nicas, it is a matter of criminals against citizens of good will. Crime does not discriminate: both perpetrators and victims are ticos and nicas, all at once.
Regarding the San Juan river, please be assured that we ticos do not wish to make it our possession. Please understand that we have a wretch of a government that isn’t capable of handling a simple worker’s strike, much less could we expect it to know how to handle the relations with our neighbors. That you have a wretch of a government that isn’t capable of dealing with its (former) supporters; much less could we expect it to know how to deal with your neighbors. That ticos and nicas are still neighbors, friends, brothers, in spite of the imaginary conflicts that result out of the incompetence of our governments. Don’t be swayed by the opportunistic rhetoric of your political leaders of the day; you know full well that Costa Rica doesn’t have an army and it poses no real threat to Nicaragua.
It is true that Costa Rica claims navigation rights in the San Juan. Of course; but that doesn’t hide any secret pretension of ownership of the river. It is necessary that we achieve mutual recognition of the fact that our border strip is mostly covered by jungle, and that the river represents the only means of communication and is the lifeline for the residents of the area. Whether Costa Rica’s police have the right to navigate the river armed, let the International Court of Justice in The Hague decide it. For it is a matter of international law, not of the daily relationship between two peoples. But please understand that, when Costa Rica decides to resort to the International Court, it does so seeking a peaceful solution to a conflict that over the course of more than seven years, four different Administrations, two each from Nicaragua and Costa Rica, haven’t been able to resolve. We ticos know that the resolutions of that tribunal are binding; the possibility exists that the resolution will be contrary to the interests of our government. But that is better than keeping the conflict alive for ever and ever.
In the past few weeks I have addressed a couple of open letters to the political “leaders” of Nicaragua. Both were written in sarcastic style, ridiculing their turpitude just as I ridicule the turpitude of our own President (and his Cabinet) on an almost daily basis from these pages. I ask of you, my Costa Rican and Nicaraguan brothers, that we learn to differentiate what is a rift between politicians from what should be the normal relations between two sibling peoples. Abel Pacheco and Enrique Bolaños will soon be out of the political scene (and I can’t thank God enough for that); we, the common citizens, will be around for quite awhile longer.
That we have and will have differences, I have no doubt about it. Let’s learn to respect and value those things that make us unique, and let us place more importance on those that we have in common. Lets live in peace, in an environment of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. Lets make sure that our children don’t even get to know about resentment and hatred between our peoples, for we are brothers.
Sincerely,
Dean CóRnito

author: Dean CóRnito


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Pakistan: Impact on economy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi at Light Within on the impact of the earthquake on the Pakistani economy.


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Pakistan: Keeping vigil · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Five miles can be a long distance. Dr. Zehra Attari a doctor in Oakland has been missing for two weeks now, somewhere between her International Blvd. clinic and a meeting in Alameda she went missing.  The drive was five miles long. And the vigil continues at Rambling Monologues.


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Pakistan: Privatisation · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Saudi-Pakistani Consortium has purchased the giant state-owned Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation, speeding up the privatisation process says Pakistani Perspective.


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Poland: Not So Catholic · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot reports that a recent survey shows Poles are not as observantly Catholic as journalistic shortcuts might lead you to believe.


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Singapore: Lost Cause? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Chemical Generation Singapore adds his voice to a discussion on say-so.org on the theme: Is freedom of speech a lost cause in Singapore?


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South Africa:  recognising black achievement · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Hope Flower expresses her anger that even in post-apartheid South Africa Black achievement is not celebrated.  “Black achievement is still seen as an aberration or as a product of some government policy, affirmative action and black economic empowerment especially“.  In particular she highlights the case of Nthato Motlana who won the Lifetime Award in the Sunday Times top 100 companies awards and goes on to discuss some of his achievements.


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Tajikistan: Fighting HIV · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports that Tajikistan is determined to combat HIV before it becomes a problem which is quite rare for the region.


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Turkmenistan: Bread Shortage · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia has a fascinating report on a bread shortage in Turkmenistan that comes despite a reported phenomenal grain harvest this year.


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Ukraine: Orange Day · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Orange Ukraine has a list of things to celebrate on the first anniversary of Ukraine's Orange Revolution.


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Ukraine: Photos From the Maidan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Veronica Khokhlova has photos from today's Orange Revolution celebrations in Kiev.


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Voices from Zimbabwe Plus · Global Voices
Zimpundit

Zimbabwe took center stage a couple of times at WSIS in Tunis last  week.  First up was Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president calling for an end to the use of the internet against the freedom of lesser developed countries by developed nations.
“These last two years have shown us how information and ICTs are often deployed as preludes and accompaniments to aggressing the sovereignties of poor and small nations. I say this because my country Zimbabwe continues to be a victim of such aggression, with both the United Kingdom and United States using their ICT superiority to challenge our sovereignty through hostile and malicious broadcasts calculated to foment instability and destroy the state through divisions.”
Mugabe is accused of single-handedly curbing many freedoms in Zimbabwe, including that of expression.  Hope at This is Zimbabwe wonders, ‘“Undermine a country’s values”…? “Cyber-terrorism”…?’
At the on again-off again ‘Expression Under Repression’ seminar, Taurai Maduna the information officer at Kubatana.net shared his perspective on the role of the internet in a repressed country noting that Mugabe's government doesn't view the internet as a serious threat,
“Taurai tells us that Kubatana operates openly, with the knowledge of the Zimbabwean government and has avoided harrasment, largely because the government doesn’t see the Internet as a way to reach the Zimbabwean mainstream, just the elites.”
Meanwhile Hope at This is Zimbabwe is seeing flying pigs over reports that Mugabe has announced the discovery in Uranium in Zimbabwe.
Agathon Rwasa highlights the strained relationship between Burundi's national media and the local UN office after UN peacekeeper outfits were found in the possesion of the FNL.
He is also reporting the arrest of the FNL's chief of staff,
“The first ever arrest of a senior FNL leader is a major step towards justice.
FNL Bujumbura Chief of Staff Aloys Nzabampema has command responsibility for the troops that carried out the August 13th 2004 Gatumba massacre, which was a “crime against humanity” under international law.
As a senior FNL figure, Nzabampema is also implicated in the group's widespread and systematic campaign of civilian massacres, including the December 28th 2000 “Titanic Express” ambush. The Burundian authorities must look at the evidence for his involvement in this campaign, which also constitutes a “crime against humanity”.
Carl writes about the joys of reliable carbon paper in his mundane operetions,
The length and breadth of this country, at every airport we go to, every form we fill out is duplicated the old fashioned way, with carbon paper. You go to fill out a flight plan and are handed very carefully arranged forms, 3 deep with carbon paper in between each one. One of the airports I go to, the guy does it for me on an old Underwood manual typewriter. He bangs away on that thing and I feel like a character in a World War II movie. The ribbon is wearing out and the letters are half red and half black. The carbon paper works good though.
This is a bit old fashioned but it suits the place because the carbon paper never seems to wear out. That is an important consideration when the last supply shipment from central office was 2 years ago and the next one will be whenever.
007 In Africa decries the exorbitant cost of small amounts of yogurt.
Finally, Adventures of a Retired Armchair Travelernotes that Rwandan mayor Paul Bisengimana, the former mayor of Gikoro has pled guilty to genocide.
Mike of Hacktivate endorses the $100 laptop in his comments on WSIS.
Geeta highlights the paradigm shift that has happened in Malawi's fight against HIV/AIDS,
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, there is a paradigm-shift occurring in HIV and AIDS programming. The entire development community has finally come around to thinking that the Malawian response must move to the district level. One trip to a few areas outside of Lilongwe can tell any outsider why this is so terribly important.
If you visit the offices of the District Commissioners (who are like Premiers for a province, but with a lot less power and money at their disposal), they’ll tell you about the total shortage of supplies, training, resources, knowledge, and even autonomy to make necessary choices on a district-specific HIV and AIDS response. If you visit the offices of the District AIDS Coordinators (DACs), you would also see that some don’t have computers on which to type reports they are expected to submit, none have access to the internet, and others don’t even have binders to file their papers.
George shares the inspirational story of a woman surviving with HIV in Africa.
He also takes time to highlight the agreement between Nokia and Grameen Foundation> The agreement seeks to provide cheaper access to communication technology in underdeveloped countries.
Giving his first hand account of the riots that rocked Kampala last week, he gives he take on why they started in the first place,
Turns out that the government thought it wise to arrest and jail one of the leading opposition presidential candidates, and this followed on earlier riots at Makerere University (one student killed by police) and the ongoing tension related to their constitutional amendment allowing President Museveni to remain in power basically forever (it removes term limits, at least as I understand it).

author: Zimpundit


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Zimbabwe: Nuclear Power · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

This is Zimbabwe reports on Mugabe's latest “if pigs could fly” idea – bringing nuclear power to Zimbabwe. He quotes a piece from the UK Guardian..”“Perhaps Mr Mugabe is also trying to get Zimbabwe to be considered as a strategically important state in the international community,” said Mr Robertson. “He can see how Iran and North Korea are using the threat of developing nuclear power as a bargaining chip with the United States.”


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Argentina: Gay Pride Parade Confrontations · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Andrés Duque has a summary of last weekend's gay pride parade in Buenos Aires, which reportedly drew 10,000 participants as well as some skirmishes.


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Bangladesh: Will HP speak Bangla? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Razib on the Bangladeshi touch in the lastest Harry Potter venture.


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Bermuda: Bermuda Triangle Museum? Daylight Savings? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

A Limey In Bermuda seeks input on why there's no museum commemorating the mythic Bermuda Triangle and also whether or not the island nation should alter its daylight savings schedule to match the U.S.


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Brazil: First Release of Elizete Sobe o Morro · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Daniella Thompson rejoices at news of the release of 70-year-old Hermínio Bello de Carvalho's album, Elizete Sobe o Morro,


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Burundi: UN neutrality compromised? · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Agathon Rwasa reports that there has been a serious compromise of UN neutrality in Burundi….“On the night of November 6th/7th 2005, Aloys Nzabampema, a senior FNL commander and suspected war criminal, was arrested by Burundian authorities in Bujumbura.
He was reportedly found to be in possession of a number of UN uniforms when he was arrested. This discovery has raised concerns among many Burundians about a possible compromise of the neutrality of the United Nations mission to their country”


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China: Sentenced Church Leader · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Chinese Christian Jidian has posts in English discussing the case of Cai Zhuohua, the leader of several Beijing area home Christian churches, who was arrested in 2004 and sentenced earlier this month.  Some bloggers like Wang Yi, believe the case is a key one for freedom of worship in China.


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Guatemala: Post-Stan Tourism Recovery · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Chapinadas says tourism in the Atitlan region is back up to 70% after taking a major hit from hurricane Stan.


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Iran: Non Moslems are Animals! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Sharam Kholdi reports that according Shargh newspaper, Ayatholah Janati, Guardian Council's secretary, said “Humans who follow anything but Islam are the same as those animals who wander about and graze on the earth and commit corruption.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Kenya: celebrating 30 · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

What an African Woman Thinks celebrates being in her thirty’s despite being told by the Nation newspaper that she is “in a sorry state, being in my mid thirties with no husband or baby in sight. Apparently, women like me are distraught at their circumstances and desperate to change them”.


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Kenya: voter apathy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan blogger, Bankelele comments on voter apathy in Monday's referendum on the nation's constitution……”Voter turnout was less than half of what was expected in most areas. Fatigue over the whole matter coupled with the cost of traveling hundreds of kilometers to vote, in an insignificant election, only a month before the expensive Christmas holidays, transport fare hikes, meant that if you couldn’t vote where you lived, you didn’t travel. Presidential elections are usually held in December, during the school holidays and just after christmas”.


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Mexico: Pre-Election Impressions · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alán Flores offers some pessimistic thoughts on next year's election.


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Nepal:  Restoring democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Samudaya.org reports that in the biggest political development in Nepal since King Gyanendra grabbed power on 1 Feb. 05, Nepal's most influential political parties and the Maoists have reached a 12-point agreement “to restore democracy [in Nepal].”


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Nepal: Supreme Court stays · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News from Nepal reports that The Supreme Court has  ordered the government to stay the implementation of the recently introduced code of conduct for non-governmental organisations as well as the ordinance promulgated for an amendment to the Social Welfare Council Act.


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Nigeria: Nollywood · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Confessions of the Mind has a commentary on Nollywood (Nigerian movies)…”Some movies are actually stepping up, you know no “juju” in it, no “babalawo” telling them to bring human head for pounding to make money, or piss or something gross, cause those movies just annoy me! I actually watched some that they were not trying to fake any dodgy accent and it was a mix of pigeon, igbo, Yoruba and Nigerian accent and it was enjoyable, the actors where cool and most importantly there was no “juju” in it”.


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Nigeria: Open source  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger Timbaland believes  that the launch of the $100 laptop by Nicholas Negroponte in Tunis last week will encourage Nigerian programmers to develop open source for the local market.


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Pakistan: Introducing Lahore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Lahore links to a website set up by the city's culture enthusiasts.


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Pakistan: Introducing Metroblogging Islamabad · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A new star joins the Metroblogging family… Drumroll please! We give you Metroblogging Islamabad.


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Political Freedom · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Abdulhadi Khalaf (in Arabic) and Sabbah (in English) writes about political freedom in the Middle East, as ranked by Economist research and published by BBC Arabic (in Arabic).


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Saudi Arabia: Lash, Right Away · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Saudi Jeans writes that the latest of Saudi religious police's creations is to lash boys who harass girls in public in the same place of the harassment, right away.


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Singapore: Death Penalty Questions · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

From a Singapore Angle picks apart the U.N. Special Rapporteur's comments that Singapore's mandatory death penalty is against international law.


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South Asia: Coping with HIV/ AIDS · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Picked Politics on the situation of HIV/ AIDS in South Asia, with some excellent links and opinions.


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South Korea: Exam Eve · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Gusts of Popular Feeling describes the night before the big, life-determining college entrance exam in South Korea.


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Sri Lanka: Ranil and his future · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogs in Sri Lanka have different suggestions for Ranil. Some think he should quit, and others think that there is time yet.


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Syria: Mock Interview · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mock Interview! Find out where Ammar stand these days on the issue of regime change in Syria.


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Thailand: Manners Contest · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

At Thai-blogs.com, Richard observes a school competition in Thailand for the best manners.


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The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Foreigners residing in Bolivia make up a good chunk of those blogging about the country.  Some have lived in various cities in Bolivia for quite some time and others are merely passing through.  Nevertheless, their observations and discoveries about life in Bolivia provide a unique perspective on a drastically different culture than they are used to.
Language intricacies seem to befuddle some, which is completely understandable.  Naomi Prowse, who keeps the blog Nomes on the Gringo Trail, has a sense of humor when it comes to confusing several words in Spanish with significant different meanings.  Instead of wondering how to cook “arvejas” (peas), she mistakenly wonders how to cook “abejas” (bees).  After spending nearly a year in Cochabamba, the blogger who maintains the site On the Andean Side, finally gets the hang of some of the “unique features of Cochabamba-speak.”  For example, diminutive endings such as –ito and –ita are tacked on to everyday words.  He also tries hard to figure out whether “ahorita” (now) really means now or some indefinite time in the future.
As the Christmas season fast approaches, Donde Estoy?  Notes from Bolivia, didn’t expect to see typical Christmas objects, such as artificial trees and a plastic Santa Claus adorning stores in Cochabamba.  She wonders what other Christmas-related items might make an appearance over the next month.  Other than the fact that Bolivia's Christmas holiday will land in the middle of summer, there may not be as much difference than originally envisioned.
Many ex-pats have spent time volunteering at local orphanages or working with NGOs in the area, but Andrew Glazer has been teaching college courses in Santa Cruz.  His blog Los Glazers highlights some of the experiences in class, including many notable excuses provided by his students, cases of plagiarism, and teary-eyed students.
Other foreigners are knee-deep in activism.  Jim Shultz of the Democracy Center announced that he went against his practice of not appearing in the media in Bolivia.  Recently his campaign resurfaced because of the ongoing lawsuit against the city of Cochabamba by Bechtel, the multinational company involved with the failed Aguas del Tunari water privatization project, appeared to be ruled in favor of the company.  Such a ruling would require the city of Cochabamba to pay 25 million dollars in penalties.
Finally, travelers visit Bolivia because of its economical prices, safe travel environment and its breathtaking sites.  These travelers often post their pictures on Flickr, a central digital photo bank.  Popular tags include Bolivia, La Paz, Cochabamba, Uyuni, Madidi and Chapare.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Iraqi Election Madness! As Iraq prepares for the December 15th parlimentary elections, the Kurdish bloggers are preparing as well. Vahal Abdulrahman from Dear Baghdad announced the formation of a new blog devoted strictly to the new elections, it is aptly named The Iraqi Vote. Vahal gives us details on the candidates and the districts represented. His overall prediction is that the Kurds will fair remarkably well and that for Kurdistan and Iraq nothing less than a liberal democracy  should be considered for government.
Nerzad from Iraqi Kurdistan cautions Kurdish leadership in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan to stop pandering to the Arabs and pay more attention to their own people and the corruption currently in their government.
Kurdo from Kurdo's World is not optimistic about the upcoming elections and has stated that he will not participate in the elections. He notes an ideological change among Kurds now wanting democracy more than independence. Other items noted on this blog include comments on the allegations of US troops using chemical weapons on Iraqis and further abuse and corruption in Iraq. Similar reports were addressed on the blog Bleak Blogorrhea as to the use of white phosphorous by the Americans.
You may remember from last week Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes gave his election predictions for the Iraqi election, this week he continues with translations and analysis on individual party manifesto's, the first covered is KIU-the Kurdistan Islamic Union. He also answers various questions sent to him about the validity of corruption claims in the Kurdish government in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. Hiwa also addresses news about escalating violence in Turkey, as well as resurgance of violence in Mahabad Iran.
Xosh Hal from Beardie's World of Crap comments harshly on George Galloway's support of the Syrians Baathists and also reaffirming the rights of the Kurds in Iraq, in so doing alienating the Kurds of Syria and the oppression the Syria government metes on them.
Pearls of Iraq has an excellent piece analysizing the situation in Turkey with its Kurdish populations and its (Turkey's) relations with Iraq. Miriam points out that Turkey is at a crossroads and that for the benefit of the country is should strike a fair deal with its Kurdish populations, by not doing this they are creating a worse situation by allowing possible terrorist ideals to fester within the country. She also comments that Turkey lets pretty much anyone through into the border of Iraq and that it also might create a worse situation down the line.
A word to the Turkish government, whatever you do, stop approving entry and exit visas to “Islamic” jihadists and passing them off to the Iraqis. Come to an agreement with your 14 million Kurdish brothers and sisters and you will have strong support against transnational terrorists including al-Qaeda. This is the year 2005; progress and take serious the current situation. The Kurds are the solution and a good one.
The Kurdistan Bloggers Union revisits the topic of The Other Iraq ad campaign in the United States and gives an analysis of American reactions. For more information on The Other Iraq campaign review last week's addition of Global Voices.
Piling of Roj Bash writes about the recent arrival at the Institut Kurde de Paris of the book entitled “The Dark Book of Saddam” by Chris Kutschera, which she describes as:
It could be used to as an indicment against 35 years of reign of the bloodiest dictator of the Middle East, as well as an analysis of the reasons which made that all the Western countries, the Arab countries and others, have supported a totalitarian government which made 2 million victims.
Vladimir from From Holland to Kurdistan posts on such a regular basis and has such high quality posts that he could be considered as a news service unto himself. Not wanting to provide a disservice to him (I suggest that everyone bookmark his blog and visit it frequently or subscribe to his RSS feed) I will list only one link from him this week. I highly recommend reading his mammoth post on all aspects of Turkey and Kurdistan, it covers a very wide selection of topics.
Land of the Sun recently posted an interesting tutorial on Kurdish rugs and their history.
Kardox writes about the recent admission of Kurdish artist Ibrahim Tatilses that he is not Kurdish but Turkish, contrary to previous public statements. Kardox also gives an impassioned plea for the murdered Kurdish children of Turkey.
Finally, annoucing this week a new blog with a Kurdish focus the Is-Ought Problem which focuses (currently) on issues of the Kurds in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. Recent posts have included The Other Iraq ad campaign and the possibly of Kurdistan declaring independence.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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United Arab Emirates: Flickr blocked, again! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Apparently, some bloggers from UAE are reporting that the dominant telecommunication company has blocked Flickr, again!


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United Arab Emirates: On Air · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Secretdubai sees that there is an explosion with number of English speaking, Arabic owned TV stations that are going to be soon On Air.


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Vietnam: Best of Saigon · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Foodblogger noodlepie lists in one post his recommendations for the best places in Saigon for food.


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Western Sahara: Injustice · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal reports on the 30 years of injustice in the Western Sahara..”The late King Hassan invoked centuries-old ties of allegiance by Saharan tribes to assert his sovereignty and claim the territory's rich phosphate deposits and offshore fishing grounds even as his regime assiduously worked against international efforts to organize a referendum in Western Sahara about the land's future status.”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Zimbabwe: Destruction and misery · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Eddie Cross writing for Zimbabwean Pundit describes the last 6 years in the life of Zimbabwe as a “Tidal Wave of Destruction and Misery”……A Zanu PF Tsunami! Looking back on the past 6 years, we could say that about the whole sorry story of Zimbabwe. After 20 years of independence and many decades of promise, the leaders who have controlled this country since 1980 have simply destroyed not only what they achieved in the first decade of their government but at least 30 to 40 years of hard work before they took over”


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit has a photo essay from the Kenyan referendum vote…and adds her comments on the vote…“Mood on the ground as far as I can tell is that people are happy with the Orange Victory for a whole bunch of reasons that point to how little this had to do with the draft constitution at the end of the day”.


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Brazil: Ready To Tumble · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Made in Brazil has photos of Brazilian gymnast, Daiane dos Santos from the 2005 World Gymnastics Championships taking place in Melbourne.

author: David Sasaki


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Colombia: Spotlight on Chocó · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Plan Colombia and Beyond focuses on the often overlooked northern province of Chocó.


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Don’t Bomb Us – A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

I've just got a tip from a staff member at Al Jazeera that they have just started a blog. Don’t Bomb Us – A blog by Al Jazeera Staffers is the name of this blog.
Al Jazeera staff member told me that this blog is to give voice to a lot of concern around the office regarding what is going on – and will also serve as a tribute to fallen journalists.
Bookmark this blog: http://dontbomb.blogspot.com/
We are not afraid of your threats – we are journalists, by Aljazeera Staffer
On the other hand, Al Jazeera Staffer's has started a flickr album. The published photos so far are of today staff organized symbolic gathering outside their offices both in Doha and around the world on Thursday 24th of November 2005 at 2pm Doha time (GMT+3).
All of this comes as a reaction to the “Bush sought to bomb Aljazeera” news that was published up by the Daily Mirror a couple of days ago! [More details here]


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Free Trade or Fair Trade? · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Curious likens belief in  “Free Trade” to “believing in Santa Claus“…….”Why? Because it was established in the stone-ages that the reasons why free trade doesn't work lie in its noble but eutopian assumptions”…. He concludes that rather than the “Biblical paradise” of free trade  we should be “pursuing fair trade, which is far more realistic and achievable”.