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Tanzania: the implications of sending refugees home · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Head Heeb looks at the social and economic implications of Tanzania's decision to expell refugees: “It's hard not to sympathize with Tanzania, which has done far more than its share as a refugee host country. Repatriating half a million refugees prematurely, however, will expose them to an uncertain future, disrupt regional economies, and possibly reignite many of the very conflicts from which they fled.”


text:
Tunisia: Arab Youth Bloggers Network · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Amin from Tunisia announces the launch of the Arab Youth Blogger portal here.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Brazil: Blogs follow the ethanol debate as it goes global · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Ethanol has suddenly turned into a popular word among Brazilian bloggers, specially because of the foreign attention it attracts. In fact, “alcohol” is the word Brazilians have been using to call its sugar-cane derived biofuel since the 70s, when Proalcool started, but blogs are surely under global influence. As President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traveled to attend an EU-sponsored biofuel international conference last week, some blogs are tracking the global media coverage on the ‘ethanol’ issue and reacting to it.
Uma reportagem do jornal espanhol “El Mundo” diz nesta sexta-feira que a União Européia não quer “álcool sujo” do Brasil. O termo é uma referência à desconfiança do bloco dos 27 em relação às práticas de cultivo de açúcar brasileiras, vistas por líderes europeus como potencialmente danosas ao ambiente. (…) A desconfiança em relação ao álcool brasileiro foi manifestada também pelo italiano “La Repubblica”, que recordou a recente libertação de 1.106 trabalhadores forçados de uma fazenda de cana-de-açúcar no Pará. Segundo o jornal, Lula – descrito como o líder “que faz o papel de apóstolo dos biocombustíveis”– “não disse [em Bruxelas] que as duas notícias estão interligadas”. (Folha Online) ** “Deputado europeu acusa Lula de levar Brasil à insustentabilidade“. O deputado europeu David Hammerstein, do Partido Verde, afirmou nesta quinta-feira que o presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “está levando o Brasil por uma estrada de insustentabilidade” com os biocombustíveis e que a União Européia não deve financiar a “destruição ambiental brasileira”. “A UE deve dar prioridade à alimentação e não ao transporte”, afirmou Hammerstein em um comunicado. A fala do deputado foi divulgada ao mesmo tempo em que Lula tratava de convencer os líderes europeus de que o aumento na produção de biocombustíveis no Brasil não representa nenhum risco ambiental ou social.”
Répilcas ao Alcoolismo – A Nova Corja
An article on the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” reported on Friday that the UE doesn't want Brazil's “dirty alcohol”. The term adresses the block's concerns over Brazilian sugar cane cultivation practices, which are seen by European leaders as potentially harmful to the environment. (…) Concerns over the Brazilian alcohol were manifested also by the Italian “La Repubblica”, who recalled the recent liberation of 1.106 workers in slave conditions in a sugar cane farm in Pará state. According to the newspaper, Lula — who is described as the leader “with the apostle role on biofuels” — “has not mentioned (in Brussels) the connection between the two reports”. (Folha Online) ** “European representative blames Lula on leading Brazil towards unsustainability”. The Green Party‘s European representative David Hammerstein has said on Thursday that President Lula is “leading Brazil through a path of unsustainability” with the biofuels and that the EU should not finance the “Brazilian environmental destruction”. “The EU should give priority to feeding and not to transportation”, Hammerstein declared in a release. The representative's speech was being divulged at the same time Lula was trying to convince the European leaders that the growth on biofuel production in Brazil would not represent any social or environmental risk.”
Replies to Alcoholism – A Nova Corja
Pois é. O Lula veio todo com aquele papo de que “o etanol é a saída para o Brasil, é a o combustível do futuro”… É, Lula. É. Mas, primeiro, você tem que ter quem compre. E, do Brasil, a Europa não quer comprar. Porque? Ora, simples, porque eles têm que, pelo menos, parecer ecocertos. Então, o que eles vão fazer? Não comprar etanol brasileiro porque nossos meios de cultivo 1)envolvem trabalho escravo e 2)destróem o meio ambiente. Sinceramente? Certos eles. Não sou crítico do governo Lula mais do que sou crítico do FHC, mas, de fato, nessa o Lula pisou na bola. O que ele esperava? Fechar os olhos para devastarem(mais) a Amazônia e plantar cana, esperando que desse certo? Deixar fazerem o que sempre fazem, não só com a cana, com os trabalhadores?
Agora o Lula sentou – Blog do/a Lus/z
That's it. Lula came up with the line saying that “ethanol is the way for Brazil, that it's the future's fuel”… Ok, Lula. It is. But first you must have someone to buy it. And Europe is saying that they won't buy from Brazil. Why? It's simple, because they have, at least, to look like they were eco-correct. So, what they're gonna do? They won't buy the Brazilian ethanol because our cultivation practices (1) involve slave work and (2) harms the environment. Sincerely? They are right. I am not a critic of Lula's government more than I am a FHC's [former Brazilian president] critic but, actually, Lula has missed on this one. What does he expected? Just close his eyes so that they could devastate (further) the Amazon in order to grow sugar cane, hoping that it would be ok? To let them do what they always do, not only with the land, but also with the workers?
Now Lula has missed it – Blog do/a Lus/z
The media coverage on the issue tells us about a heated debate over the possibility of having ethanol as a real solution to the growing global demand on clean energy, and Brazil's position on this debate can be easily explained by projections informing that the country will respond for 70% of the world ethanol exports by 2013. Lula is working hard to make his point to both developed and undeveloped nation leaders asseverating that the biofuel framework, if correctly designed from an environmental standpoint, plays in favor of a better world balance between the rich and the poor.
Strange as it seems, Lula is not being supported this time by other formerly aligned and friendly leftist world leaders, and those voices are fiercely denouncing possible harms that the biofuel revolution can bring to food production. Meanwhile, local bloggers are also exposing flaws on the environmental aspects of the President's speech in Brussels.
Diante de uma platéia que reuniu ministros, estudiosos, empresários e organizações não governamentais, o presidente negou as maiores preocupações levantadas em relação ao aumento da produção de biocombustíveis no Brasil. “A experiência brasileira mostra ser incorreta a oposição entre uma agricultura voltada para a produção de alimentos e outra para a produção de energia. A fome no meu país diminuiu no mesmo período em que aumentou o uso dos biocombustíveis. O plantio de cana-de-açúcar não comprometeu ou deslocou a produção de alimentos”, afirmou. “Todos sabemos que não há escassez de alimentos no mundo, mas escassez de renda capaz de garantir o acesso das populações mais pobres ao que comer. Não estamos aqui escolhendo entre comida e energia.” Contra as críticas de que a expansão da produção de cana-de-açúcar poderia ameaçar a floresta amazônica, Lula disse que “o cultivo da cana no Brasil ocupa menos de 10% da área cultivada do país, ou seja, menos de 0,4% do território nacional”.
“Essa área, é bom que se diga, fica muito distante da Amazônia.”
Lula tenta afastar remores europeus sobre biocombustível – DireitodoEstado.com
In front of an audience of ministers, specialists, entrepreneurs and NGOs, the president rejected the major worries raised in relation to the growth of biofuel production in Brazil. “The Brazilian experience proves that there is no necessary opposition between the agriculture dedicated to food production and the production of energy through biofuels. Hunger has diminished in my country in the same period while we raised the use of biofuels. Sugar cane planting has not compromised or dislocated the food production”, he said. “We all know that there is no food shortage in the world, but we do have shortage of resources capable of guarateing the access of the poor to food. We are not here choosing between food and energy”. Lula answered the critics who affirm that the expansion of sugar cane production would turn into a menace to the Amazon forest saying that “sugar cane production is less than 10% of the cultivated land in the country, less than 0.4% of the national territory. This area, we should say, is very far from the Amazon”.
Lula tries to discard European concerns about biofuels – DireitodoEstado.com
Há, na repercussão que o álcool combustível suscitou na Europa, a incrível coincidência de se somar ao combate que Fidel Castro abriu contra os biocombustíveis. Entretanto, a preocupação dos países ricos é com a preservação do meio ambiente, e a de Fidel e dos seus seguidores bolivianos, equatorianos, nicaragüenses e venezuelanos, é defender as áreas de plantio de alimentos – que serão prejudicadas pela corrida usurária do “capitalismo selvagem” para conquistar mais lucros. A desconfiança dos latino-americanos é de que o etanol venha tirar comida dos pobres para alimentar a população automobilística dos opulentos…
Etanol é combatido pelos europeus e por Fidel – Blog do Miranda Sá
There is an incredible coincidence between the European reaction against the combustible alcohol and the war against biofuels started by Fidel Castro.  However, the rich countries’ worries are conected with the environment, while Fidel and his Bolivian, Ecuatorian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan followers are defending the food cultivation areas — which are to be harmed by the ‘wild capitalism’ usurary race for bigger profits. Latin American concerns over ethanol comes from the assumption that it will take the food from the poor in order to feed the automobile population of the opulent crowd…
Ethanol is attacked by Europeans and by Fidel – Blog do Miranda Sá
Mal assessorado, Lula gera constrangimento com declarações desencontradas quando repete frases de assessores da Casa Civil. Na Amazônia, já existem usinas de porte expressivo em Presidente Figueiredo (AM), Ulianópolis (PA), Arraias (TO), além de meia dúzia no Mato Grosso. De acordo com o último levantamento oficial da Conab, um órgão do Ministério da Agricultura, de maio deste ano, na safra passada houve mais de 19 milhões de toneladas de produção de cana-de-açucar na Amazônia Legal, entre Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Amazonas e Pará.
Cana de Açúcar na Amazônia – Altino Machado
Badly advisored, Lula is generating embarassment with the jumbled remarks he echoes from his staff. In the Amazon, there are already expressively sized ethanol plants placed in Presidente Figueiredo (Amazon state), Ulianápolis (Pará state), Arraias (Tocantins state), besides the half dozen in Mato Grosso state. According to the last official survey from Conab, an agency from the Ministry of Agriculture, the last harvest had more than 19 million tons of sugar cane coming from the legal Amazon area, among Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Amazonas and Pará.
Sugar cane in the Amazon – Altino Machado
Lula seems to be aware of how Brazil's position in the international scene is boosted by its ethanol leadership, and how the full development of the biofuel revolution can turn into a menace to countries confronted with the absence of available farmable land, like the EU and the US. The issue adds pressure also on those countries positioned in favor of the farm subsidies in the Doha trade talks, and we can even come to think that, this time, the clock is running against the so called developed countries. In other words, to Brazil, Doha's failure until now may not be bad at all.
Os dados revelados pela Secex (Secretaria de Comércio Exterior) referentes às exportações do setor sucroalcooleiro foram bem recebidos pelos analistas do Credit Suisse. Apesar do fraco desempenho da comercialização do açúcar, o forte avanço em etanol já mostrou os efeitos da maior produção por parte das empresas. Segundo relatório do banco, o volume de exportações de etanol cresceu 61,4%, na comparação anual, atingindo 214 milhões de litros. O montante é reflexo do início da época de colheita da cana-de-açúcar, que, conseqüentemente, amplia a produção…  Com base em uma perspectiva de longo prazo otimista para o setor de açúcar e álcool, a Itaú Corretora prevê a necessidade de contínuos avanços nas plantações de cana-de-açúcar. Para a instituição, o crescimento dos veículos flex deve requerer uma capacidade adicional de 200 milhões de toneladas em 2013. E as exportações de etanol devem utilizar outras 99 milhões de toneladas.
Com maior produção, exportação de álcool cresce 61% em junho – InfoMoney
The data revealed by Secex [Foreign Commerce Secretary] for the sugar and alcohol sector were celebrated by the Credit Suisse's analists.  Despite the poor performance of the sugar market, ethanol's strong push is already showing the effects of the production growth in the companies. According to the Bank's report, ethanol exports volume has grown 61.4% in the year, reaching 214 million liters. The amount reflects the start of the harvest season, which suitably increases the production… On the basis of an optimistic perspective for the long run, Itau Broker is anticipating the need of continuous expansion in sugar cane cultivation areas. The institution believes that the rapid growth in the number of flex fuel vehicles [gas / alcohol capable engines] will require an additional amount of 200 million tons in 2013, and ethanol exports will demand another 99 million tons.
With bigger production, alcohol exports grow 61% in June – InfoMoney
The culture of the use of alcohol as car fuel in Brazil  was originated as the country's response to the first oil crisis in 1973. It was a local solution to a global problem. Now the problem is back, and the local solution is to be launched in global scale. Meanwhile, the blogosphere looks like a good place to look for clues that may help us understand why there are no magical solutions to the big world problems. We would like to mention a comment from an American citizen blogging from Brazil, who seems to have figured out the value of oil price policies in shaping national long-time strategies (culture?).
The US is about to shift to using more biofuels simply because the supply of inexpensive oil is shrinking and because it is increasingly concentrated in the hands of foreign regimes that are not necessarily friendly to its interests. It would be a mistake to think that this shift will result in lower prices at the pumps. Indeed the problem is that fuel prices in the US are way too low. Yes, Brazilians are switching from gasoline which presently costs, here in São Paulo, about $4.60 per gallon in US dollars to ethanol which runs about $3.50 (when the price is adjusted for lower mileage). But that $3.50 per gallon for ethanol is not only higher than the current US average for gasoline but it is an enormous price when faced by a population that has one fifth the average annual income of Americans. Brazilians are certainly leading the way toward having a bio-fuel economy that can provide self-sufficiency. But that is because the relative price of fuel is so high that they cannot afford gas-guzzlers and wasteful driving habits. The same thing will happen in the US when low costs at the pumps are no longer promoted by having no energy policy. As soon as the price is right, Americans (like Brazilians) will shift toward better technologies and behaviors.
Gasoline Prices, Ethanol and Brazil – VisionShare
From local to global, and back to local.

author: Jose Murilo


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China: Cruise missile carted into Beijing · Global Voices
John Kennedy

July 7 marked seventy years since the Second Sino-Japanese War began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The day ostensibly started well, with a reconciliatory tone as Taiwanese and Chinese scholars just the day before had moved to team up on research into the resistance. Then, assuming this is related, a couple was seen driving a horse-drawn buggy with what appears to be a homemade cruise missile sitting in the back through downtown Beijing, at which point they were stopped by police. Photos and comments via the Cultural Vanguard and from Iron Blood bbs:
沙发，，强，那人真烈害，不知道他是怎么做的
呵呵，不知道是真是假~
但是偶觉得，这种行为比韩国人用刀剁自己的手指头要高尚几百倍、伟大几百倍！
也强悍几百倍！
要是真的就好了：（
行为艺术?
牛!!顶起来!!!!!!!!
以下是引用kisugi 在第3楼的发言：
呵呵，不知道是真是假~
但是偶觉得，这种行为比韩国人用刀剁自己的手指头要高尚几百倍、伟大几百倍！
也强悍几百倍！
要是真的就好了：（
中国人就是棒!!!!!!!!!!!
真的假的,怀疑
一方面有点搞笑,一方面也是种悲哀啊
笑是开怀的笑,没啥悲哀啊/国家兴旺,匹夫有责
强人。不知道真的假的。
这是人家的行为艺术，LZ误解了。
不知道真的的假的?
以下是引用kisugi 在第3楼的发言：
呵呵，不知道是真是假~
但是偶觉得，这种行为比韩国人用刀剁自己的手指头要高尚几百倍、伟大几百倍！
也强悍几百倍！
要是真的就好了：（
就是啊！
以下是引用274808471 在第12楼的发言：
笑是开怀的笑,没啥悲哀啊/国家兴旺,匹夫有责
说得好
不服不行啊.牛人一族.
真好
说明了 爱国的人还是不少的 起码是发自内心…有心就够了 呵呵
以下是引用dragonzhou 在第20楼的发言：
说明了 爱国的人还是不少的 起码是发自内心…有心就够了 呵呵
顶你！！有心就够了
牛！！！！！！！！！！！！！！
中国的牛人真多啊 这东西都造的出来！
同仇敌忾，消灭倭寇！
以下是引用kisugi 在第3楼的发言：
呵呵，不知道是真是假~
但是偶觉得，这种行为比韩国人用刀剁自己的手指头要高尚几百倍、伟大几百倍！
也强悍几百倍！
要是真的就好了：（
比棒子还聪明一百倍。
太牛了，狂顶
说不定过几年又有哪个中国农民造出个原子弹来~~~~~~~~~`那时狗日的就有好看的了
怎么又是农民！有操作嫌疑！
咱中国就是强阿！农民都会造导弹打日本！！灭了倭國迟早的事！！
向那为农民,致敬!!!!!!!!!!!
强悍~~~！！ 中国人就是不一样`赫赫“
哪个什么说中国搞仇日宣传的专家是不是CS去了，看看老百姓的觉悟，他这个专家简直是垃圾~~~
以下是引用kisugi 在第3楼的发言：
呵呵，不知道是真是假~
但是偶觉得，这种行为比韩国人用刀剁自己的手指头要高尚几百倍、伟大几百倍！
也强悍几百倍！
要是真的就好了：（
敌人是不会怜惜我们的手指头！
但敌人会害怕我们的武器！
疯人
如果我们每个人都向这位勇士一样,小小的日本不堪一击.
太牛了，我顶！
子经常曰过：“乞丐才是真正的行为艺术者！”

author: John Kennedy


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Japan: Baby Mammoth Discovery · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Edo at Pink Tentacle reports that the frozen body of a baby mammoth, preserved in ice about 10,000 years ago, was discovered in northwest Siberia by a local reindeer herder. The body will be shipped to the Jikei University School of Medicine in Japan for analysis.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Oman’s Oryx Sanctuary – First Site Ever to be Deleted from the World Heritage List · Global Voices
Riyadh Al Balushi

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) issued a press release earlier last week announcing its first ever deletion of a site from the World Heritage List.
The item removed was Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary – a massive 27,500 square kilometer natural sanctuary located in the Wusta region of Oman. The sanctuary was established to preserve the rare Arabian Oryx from extinction and was managed by Oman's own Royal Court. UNESCO's press release states it removed the site from the list because Oman failed to show it enough interest in preserving the Oryx as the size of the sanctuary was reduced by 90 per cent and number Oryx found in it fell from 140 in 1996 to 65, with four breeding pairs only. UNESCO went on to say that this reduction in the size of the sanctuary was made to advance the search for oil in the area.
As usual, we heard about the news from abroad before anything was said here. The reduction of the size of the sanctuary took place in January following a royal decree by His Majesty the Sultan of Oman. News about delisting eventually reached the country, but people still wonder about the reasons behind the reduction of the size. There is no proper logical official explanation or justification for the incident.
Blogger Muscati explains that the sanctuary had many problems that led to the reduction of the number of Oryx in the area:
The problem, which most people don't seem to comprehend, is that the Oryx Sanctuary is massive. It is 27,500 square kilometers. For comparison, the entire state of Kuwait is 17,820 sq. km, while Qatar is 11,437 sq. km. So basically the Oryx Sanctuary was about the size of Kuwait and Qatar combined. It is not easy to protect an area that large when all what a poacher needs is a land cruiser abu shanab and a rifle to go in under the cover of darkness, shoot an oryx or two and drive through the desert, slip the border into KSA or UAE and sell the animal to a rich sheikh who would gladly pay thousands of rials for that oryx.
Sue Hutton, the first to report the news in the Omani Blogsphere, heard several other explanations of why the government could not preserve the sanctuary:
As Rangers became unavailable, partly, if not mostly, as a result of lack of funding for training and salaries, the Oryx roamed beyond the boundaries of the sanctuary towards the boundaries of the UAE. Many allegations of poaching brought by Omanis claimed that the animals had been captured from across the international border for private collections in the emirates.
And while it is apparent that oil is vital for our developing nation, the discussion on whether the government is doing the right thing or not is still going on, some acknowledge that the loss of interest in the sanctuary and the unpromising future of the oryx in the area a very sad incident, while on the other hand, many seem to find the exploration of oil as a good enough justification for sacrificing oryx. This point of view is very apparent in the posts made in the Arabic forum Omania2.net.
What irritated me personally the most, was not the fact that we were internationally shamed by this award – to be the first to ever be delisted -, but the manner in which the Omani press flipped the story around and claimed Government of Oman REQUESTED the removal of the sanctuary from UNESCO's list IN ORDER to PROTECT the oryx:
كتب ـ عبدالله الجهوري:وافقت لجنة التراث العالمي التابعة لمنظمة اليونسكو في اجتماعها الذي عقدته أمس الأول بنيوزلندا على طلب السلطنة سحب محمية المها العربية بجدة الحراسيس من قائمة التراث العالمي وذلك حفاظاً على المها العربية حيث تتعرض هذه الفصيلة النادرة في ظل المساحة الكبيرة للمحمية للصيد غير القانوني من مصادر كثيرة خارجة عن إرادة السلطنة وفق ما صرح لـ(الوطن) سعادة الدكتور موسى بن جعفر بن حسن مندوب السلطنة الدائم لدى اليونسكو. وقال سعادته: إن قرار اليونسكو يأتي عقب تقليص السلطنة مساحة المحمية من خلال المرسوم السلطاني السامي رقم( 11/ 2007 ) من 28 ألف كيلومتر لتصل المساحة الجديدة إلى 2824 كيلو متراً.
Headlines over all major newspapers said ‘Oman Pulled the Sanctuary’, when in fact it was UNLISTED by UNESCO. It is true, that we might not be in a position to have a say in the decision making regarding the issue, but the least that we deserve is the right to know the truth.

author: Riyadh Al Balushi


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Russia: “The Other ‘Other Russia’” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eight months remain before the 2008 presidential vote in Russia, and it looks like there are going to be a number of sequels to the June 27 Global Voices translation about the Russian opposition's lack of unity.
That post was titled with one opposition activist's quote: “Completely Different Other Russias”. The title of today's translation – “The Other ‘Other Russia’” – is a quote from former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who, on July 3, said this (RUS) about the Other Russia opposition coalition:
Since that is the other Other Russia, I don't think further collaboration is possible.
Along with Gary Kasparov and Eduard Limonov, Kasyanov was a leading member of the Other Russia coalition, until he quit last week because of the failure to reach consensus on a single presidential candidate from the opposition. According to media reports, he is planning to run for the presidency himself.
Below are a few reactions from the Russian blogosphere.
An explanation from LJ user alexey_lapshyn, posted in the LJ hub for the Dissenters’ Marches – namarsh_ru LJ community:
A few words on the unpleasant conflict between [NDS, Mikhail Kasyanov's People's Democratic Union] and [OGF, Gary Kasparov's United Civil Front]. As we know, the disagreement arose because of the difference in approaches to the single oppositional candidate nomination procedure. At the NDS, they think that the decision should be taken within the Other Russia [coalition], while the OGF believe that other opposition representatives, including those from [Grigory Yavlinsky's Yabloko] and [KPRF, Gennady Zyuganov's Communist Party], should be involved in the nomination procedure. Garry Kasparov's allies insist on holding regional conferences to discuss various candidates. This, according to the OGF leaders, would secure the democratic nature of the final decision. As a result of these disagreements, Kasyanov announced that the Other Russia has presently exhausted itself, and Kasparov spoke of the deep and insurmountable disagreements within the coalition. How to understand all this? Here's a question for the OGF: why involve […] parties that have been openly making compromises with the Kremlin? It is common knowledge that Yavlinsky and Zyuganov are planning to hold their own campaigns and will not collaborate with the Other Russia. Is it worth it to dilute the coalition for the sake of the endless discussions? On the other hand, Kasparov's position may be explained by his desire to attract hesitating regional organizations of the KPRF, the [SPS, Nikita Belykh's Union of Right Forces] and Yabloko on the side of the radical opposition. As for Kasyanov, his nervousness is absolutely inappropriate. Regardless of the way the single candidate is nominated, he has the most chances to become the leader. At least, up until the latest statements by the NDS, the situation had been in his favor.
Sergey Mulin (LJ user mulinsergey) re-posts his July 2 Novaya Gazeta article (RUS), which begins with this summary:
[…]
Our potential [Yushchenkos] have refused to come out to their [Maidan].
The first anniversary of the Other Russia – of the conference in Moscow that was the beginning of the homonymous movement – is marked by the […] opposition to the Kremlin as if the “orange revolution” on Red Square had won a long time ago, making it okay to show their disagreements to the public. […]
LJ user alivsyk suspects (RUS) this will be Kasyanov's next step:
Now Kasyanov will be negotiating (or has negotiated already) with Yavlinsky, Zyuganov, the SPS. And together, they are likely to form a coalition.
And LJ user dmtrs seems to have solved a popular mystery (RUS) of who will be chosen by president Vladimir Putin to succeed him in his post:
Reading the news
[…]
Mikhail Kasyanov has practically buried the Other Russia coalition in his statement
*Enlightened* Kasyanov – the SUCCESSOR?!
***
a_v_k_73: No, Kasyanov is nothing but a jerk :)
dmtrs: Can't a jerk be a successor? *Looks around, switches to whistling whisper* For some reason, I'm sure this is exactly what he's going to be like.
LJ user ovchinnik explains (RUS) why a primary election may not be such a good idea for the opposition:
Once again, for the thousandth time, I realize that there should be no “primaries and single candidates” […]
All who want to [run in the election] – will run anyway… And let them do it…
There's nearly a dozen of them already.
And [the Kremlin] hasn't even decided on the successors yet.
To pick one – means everyone's going to quarrel.
And [the current situation] is the result of such an approach.
[…]
There cannot be a [nomination] procedure accepted by everyone…
It's in the United States that the Democrats and the Republicans hold conventions and nominate their candidates.
We here (in the Other Russia) aren't even parties, but “fronts” and “movements.”
Absolutely not long established and united in a rather [shaky] coalition.
Capable of standing up to the common enemy, but unable to deal with each other.
LJ user roro_rra disagrees (RUS):
Listen, I think that this isn't a very reasonable thing to say: “all who want to run – will… and let them do it…” Though I may be mistaken. ))
Consider it yourself: if all opposition candidates run, the votes they receive would be washed around among them. And this would allow the Kremlin to let two of its successors run. Then no one from the opposition would manage to get into the second round. The successors might get the maximum votes, which would make the second round a formality. Moreover, due to such a maneuver, it might seem as if there's less Putin's fault in passing over the power undemocratically.
LJ user ovchinnik responds (RUS):
[…]
The fact is, they'll run anyway, as “united” or not. If they said [they will, they will…]
And they'll be dragging away the votes anyway.
And discussions about a single candidate simply cause splits and hostility.
For example, Yavlinsky has already been accused of “splitting” [the united opposition].
But it's just that he always runs. And he's running now. Regardless of anyone's interests.
All they've got left to do is to accuse Zyuganov and [Zhirinovsky] of causing “splits”
[…]
Those who support the idea of a single candidate, let them organize a perfect primary and then let them convince those who lose to let go. If they succeed – let it be.
I'm sure it's not going to work. So is it worth trying?
Maybe the energy should be spent on something more useful? :)
For example, on organizing a “united front of candidates from the Other Russia”
LJ user _kitt_ alludes (RUS) to Kasyanov's nickname, Misha-2-Percent, given to him for the amount he allegedly skimmed from business deals he was involved in as prime minister during the first four years of Vladimir Putin's presidency:
What is he thinking of?
I'm now reading in the news that Mikhail Kasyanov is creating a new party.
… “People for Democracy and Justice.”
How are they going to abbreviate this name?
Right, NDS.
What are his PR people are thinking?
[NDS is also an abbreviation for value-added tax in Russian.]
In our country, anyone can call his party NDS, except for one person – Mikhail Kasyanov.
It'll be so funny if he gets 2 percent in the election.
LJ user na6ludatelb explains (RUS) why there's no reason to get too emotional about Kasyanov's defection – and all the more reason to join the upcoming Dissenters’ Marches:
Have we been deprived of a favorite toy?!
Why are we all whining here?
Kasyanov is gone? [So what?!]
Why, all of a sudden, shouldn't we go to the MARCHES?
Has the regime changed?
Has democracy appeared in the country?
Freedom of speech?..
Because these are what we go for when we attend the MARCHES
NO, nothing has changed! :(
And that's why we'll continue to attend the MARCHES and pressure the regime until we change it!!!

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Afghanistan: Personal experience · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

On a detour from his usual policy analysis, Tom Perriello shares some of his personal experiences in Afghanistan, including locals’ expectations from marriage, road traffic and basketball games.

author: Ben Paarmann


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Africa: The New 7 Wonders of the World: Where is Africa? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The New 7 Wonders of the World have been announced. Oluniyi Ajao has one simple quiestion, Where is Africa?: “It is unthinkable that no edifice/site in the entire African continent made it to the final 7. How could it have been when only Timbuktu in Mali made it to the final 21?”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: two African solar companies win Ashden Awards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The African Uptimist reports that two African solar companies won Ashden Awards last month: Tanzania's  Zara Solar Ltd. won the first prize for the Africa Award (£30,000) for providing high-quality, reliable solar-home-systems at affordable prices to communities lacking access to a reliable source of energy.  The second prize for the Africa Award (£10,000) was snatched by Deng Ltd of Ghana for “developing a viable and sustainable business for the provision of solar-home-systems to rural areas where access to grid supply is limited.”


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Arabeyes: Reactions to Alan Johnston’s Release – Part 2 · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Reactions are continuing on Middle Eastern blogs, following the release of kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Palestine. Here's the second take of reactions by bloggers, who continue to read beyond the headlines.
Dubai:
From Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Seabee writes:
Excellent news from Gaza that BBC journalist Alan Johnston has been released unharmed.
A news clip on radio about it once again raised something that I'm endlessly fascinated by. The way words and phrases are used to put a completely different meaning on the same thing by people with different agendas. And the power of the words to create perceptions in the mind of the listener or reader.
The phrase used was that Alan was ‘surrounded by Hamas gunmen’.
Hamas won the democratic election, declared fair and valid by international observers. Yet their people are ‘gunmen’.
Had they been Fatah people they would almost certainly have been described as ‘security personnel’. Had they been westerners in Iraq they would have been described as ‘civilian contractors’.
That last one is a new phrase too – such people have always been called ‘mercenaries’. They do exactly the same work but the new phrase removes any suggestion of guns & violence. It makes them sound like plumbers or carpenters, not the heavily-armed private armies that they are.
Israel:
In Israel, the news was received coldly, as bloggers questioned when Israeli captives will be reunited with their families.
Aussie Dave writes:
Of course, it does not seem to bother Johnston that this is the same Hamas that is holding Israeli Gilad Shalit in captivity (or for that matter, the same Hamas that has murdered thousands of innocent Israelis).
In other words, Johnston's experience has ostensibly not changed his worldview. In his eyes, there are good terrorists and bad terrorists – the latter being those who capture nice pro-palestinians like himself, and the former being those who capture Israelis like Gilad Shalit. I'm sure Jimmy Carter would agree.
Still in Israel, Izzy Bee notes:
Johnston survived captivity unharmed and finally is headed home….
Israelis anxiously await the release of the other Gaza captive, Corporal Gilad Shalit, siezed by the same renegade Jihadist faction more than a year ago, when they tunneled under the border into Israel. Poignantly, today marks the 31st anniversary since the Entebbe raid, a secret mission when Israeli special forces freed hostages held at Entebbe Airport in Idi Amin's Uganda. One Israeli soldier, 45 Ugandan soldiers, six hijackers, and three hostages were ultimately slain during the rescue action; 100 hostages were let go. Haniya, chuffed from the release of Johnston, told the press that “the ball is in Israel's court” and wants to swap prisoners.
Jordan:
Writing in Mideast Youth, Jordanian Mohammad Alazraq  says:
Alan Johnston was kidnapped in Gaza 114 days ago. His case received international attention, people from New York to Bangkok , Sydney to Beirut were having vigils calling for his release.
A month after his kidnapping, BBC, Sky News, CNN, and Aljazeera, joined forces in a common broadcast to highlight his plight.
Today is not just happy day for London or the BBC, it’s a happy day for everyone that believes in the power of journalism in the world at large, today marks the triumph of word and picture over sword and capture.
Syria:
According to Sasa, from Syria, it was his country which had put pressure on Hamas to release the journalist:
Syria put pressure on Hamas to step up efforts to find BBC journalist Alan Johnston.
Johnston was freed by a militant group in Gaza yesterday, after more than four months in captivity.
When Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip they said one of their first priorities would be to find Johnston.
And now the far-right Jerusalem Post is reporting that the British government asked Syria to put pressure on Hamas to deal with the situation.


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Armenia: Construction frenzy · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Blogrel complains about the construction of new elite apartments in Armenia's capital Yerevan, something that surely will drive the established tenants out of the centre. Meanwhile, Onnik Krikorian posts photos of the perpetual construction and offers his commentary about the changing city life.


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Armenia: Quality of life · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Observer is not convinced that Armenia's relatively good ranking in a ‘quality of life’ survey is entirely warranted.


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Bahrain: Country Divided  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif links to and comments on a recent article with appeared in the LA Times about his country here.


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Bangla blog musings: Mosque, mausoleum, music and Marxism · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

The Taj Mahal has won a place of glory in the recently announced list of the seven wonders of the world, much to the delight of Bangla bloggers. Shaukat Husein details out the complete list of winners  but rues the absence of the Pyramids amongst them. A debate has ensued over the selection process. While some bloggers feel that this was a transparent method by which people had been given the right to choose the wonders by popular vote, others argue that many people who voted had no awareness of the various  sites eligible and could not have voted right. According to them, labeling should have been left to the experts and not the common people.
Taj Mahal photographed by Flickmor.
And talking of seven, the date 07.07.07 was touted as a lucky date. Shafik Rehman writes about how down the ages, humans have always been fascinated by the number 7. Apparently Saturday 07.07.07 was a ‘lucky day’ and people across the globe tried to drum up various things to do on that day, including getting married by the droves. Blogger Bhranto Pothik is upset that he could not find the suitable bride and hence had to give up his plans of getting married on such an unique date. He is now going to wait for 08.08.08 to do the needful :)
The lucky date notwithstanding, troubles at Islamabad's Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) continue and bloggers have picked up the conflict for discussion. Royesoye tells us how the Red Mosque rose into prominence with the patronage of erstwhile Presidents and Prime Ministers of Pakistan and how since 9/11 there has been a conscious effort to distance the mosque from links with Islamic fundamentalists. He then goes on to detail the events that led to the current day stand-off.
From mosque to Marxism. Conflict and dichotomy are the buzz words in Marxism writes Bhaskar, and that there is more to a conflict than simple opposites and taking sides like black-white, yes-no or for-against. However, he wonders if it is practically feasible to go beyond these opposites.
Well someone else is suffering from conflict and it has nothing to do with either politics or religion. Blogger Tasman has bought a new piano, hoping to churn out lilting musical pieces. He even attended some classes to learn piano playing but has come across a fundamental barrier. He was taught the notes in English (ABCD…) in his music class and is now struggling to connect this piece of learning to Bangla notes Sa-re-ga-ma (similar to do-re-mi- fa ). Frustrated with his efforts, he is now left staring balefully at the piano keys, while his friends keep their ears stuffed with cotton, to tide over his musical experiments.

author: Aparna Ray


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Barbados: HIV Testing for Clergy?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The president of the Barbados Evangelical Association‘s call for all members of the clergy to be tested openly for HIV/AIDS has caused quite a stir.  Gallimaufry says, “If you’ve been keeping your zip up, then you should have no worries about your HIV status…as a leader of a spiritual community you would be setting a sterling example…and opening a door for important dialogue about this crucial social issue.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados: Weather Watch  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press hopes that the depression heading towards the island will be nothing to be concerned about, but advises Barbadians to be prepared…just in case.


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Bolivia: Serious About Autonomy · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Miguel Buitrago of Mabblog writes that Santa Cruz is serious about autonomy and its recently written autonomic statute has independence undertones.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Botswana: make a monthly donation to people living with AIDS · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You can make a monthly donation to people living with AIDS in Nata village, Botswana through Nata Village blog: “We are now accepting monthly donation payments!  We are starting off with a small monthly payment of just $4!  That's just $48 per year!  This small payment can pay for one person living with AIDS to reach the ARV clinic each month.”


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China: Hunger and Human Right · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Former head of foreign ministry Li Zhaoxing said in a public lecture in Beijing University that he had gone through hunger and therefore knew what is the meaning of human right. Zhao Mu commented ironically that China must be the strongest human right state in the world because we even had slave in China! (zh)

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Nationwide newspapers website · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kuangfeng introduced a new website in China called AB Bao (zh). The website uploaded most of the local newspapers on the website on a daily base and you can read all of them on screen if you have the time.


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China: University or Concentration Camp? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kaie noticed that the Education Department in China has recently imposed a prohibition on university student from renting apartment outside campus. He laughed at the Department for managing university like concentration camp where there is no freedom for the matured students (zh).


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Colombia: Forming Part of Rising Voices · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Jorge Montoya of Fabrica de Cosas [ES] is ecstatic that he will participate with one of the first projects funded by Rising Voices.


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Croatia: “Thompson International” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Illyrian Gazette writes on media coverage of the controversial Croatian musician's concert tour.


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Czech Rebublic: 07/07/07 Weddings · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

My Czech Republic Blog writes about the 07/07/07 “wedding mania” in Prague.


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Czech Rebublic: Football · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Voice of Europe writes about football in the Czech Republic.


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Egypt: The Best Burgers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani claims that Egypt is home to the world's best burgers.


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El Salvador: Digital Photo Blog · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Miguel Angel Servellón's El Salvador photo blog [ES] has been very popular and has attracted many comments appreciative of his work.


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EXCLUSIVE!–>Interview with the Host of the BBC-Award-Winning Citi FM Breakfast Show  · Global Voices
Emmanuel.K. Bensah

He cuts a contemplative and tall figure. Be-spectacled with some degree of seriousness etched on his face, you could be forgiven for thinking that the dynamic Bernard Avle, host of the CITI Breakfast Show is only recently a busy man. But he's not. He's been busy ever since he became the host of the young and private Accra-based radio station in late 2004.
Recently from Nairobi, Kenya, where he accompanied the station's managing-director Samuel Attah-Mensah to receive an award for the “Best Interactive TalkShow of the Year”, I took the opportunity to ask him over to my workplace, whilst he was in the East Legon neighborhood for another interactive Friday show.
I ended up agreeing on a time to set up an “online” interview with him. These are the results.
I've heard you on radio many times. You sound rather combative in your interviewing techniques. Or so your critiques say. What's with that style?
Combative might be a strong word, assertive is probably more accurate. I ask simple questions when I have to elicit information for listeners, but I sometime ask pointed questions in a bid to clarify a point or even play the devil’s advocate when necessary to ensure that all sides of an issue are articulated.
Ghanaians appear to be turned off by aggressive and combative interviewing, whilst at the same time being very vocal about criticizing their policy-makers. In your view, why is there such a disparity?
Ghanaians value respect for authority but also appreciate probing questions from an assertive interviewer who does so in a courteous way. A few listeners complain sometimes about my style, but generally, there is no disparity there; one does not have to be rudely aggressive or “combative”- a word I still disagree with – to be robust and thorough in an interview. The essential point is to ask well-grounded, relevant questions.
Interactivity is fine; topics are another. The CITI Breakfast Show has covered international topics, such as Zimbabwe, but doesn't cover that many ECOWAS or other-Africa related issues. Is this because there is no appetite for this? If not, why not?
The BBC was pleased by the broad mix of subjects discussed on the Citi Breakfast Show. Although our audience is of an international nature, pre-eminence is sometimes given to local issues because local listeners predominate.I do not agree that we do not cover Ecowas issues. My show did a live outdoor broadcast from the Budumburam camp of Liberian Refugees, during their 2005 elections. We also did many shows on the Nigerian elections. Anyhow, as we grow our audiences we would definitely put in more hours for the sub-region.
As Ghana becomes the hub, or gateway, for West Africa, what challenges do you foresee will emerge for broadcast journalists?
If your question is in reference to the Ghanaian Journalist, I think the challenge of objectivity will always be there. Ghanaian journalists will need to move away from what has become partisan and parochial agenda setting to objective coverage of the country, to give the international community a more accurate picture of the situation in Ghana.
What do you think is the future for radio broadcasting in Ghana?
Huge potential, Radio is the most powerful means of reaching both urban and rural Ghanaians. Over 70% of All Ghanaian own a radio set* as compared with less than 50% for TV. The Ghanaian is hungry for information and presently radio provides that in good, credible measure, largely because people see radio as the first port of call to channel grievances.
In the West, citizen journalism and blogging is big vis-à-vis the media, with many debates raging on the threat– or lack thereof-of how Media is changing the face of journalism. Last August, the BBC reported that 61% of Nigerians had accessed the BBC website via their mobile phones ( **). Where do you see Ghanaian journalists going with New Media?
Its obviously a big opportunity which I do not think Ghanaian electronic media owners have fully opened up to. It has more to do with where media owners want to invest in. Having said that, the Ghanaian journalist has a big opportunity to take advantage of these technologies to learn from across the globe.
* Ghana Statistical Service; Pattern & Trends in Poverty(Ghana Living Standards Survey v;2007)

author: Emmanuel.K. Bensah


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Georgia: Art-Gene Festival · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Along with pictures, Nutsa reports on the Georgian Art-Gene Festival, which brings many customs from the regions to the capital Tblisi.


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Georgia: Meshkhetian Turks · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

The Meshkhetian Turks’ origins are clouded in controversy, and whether or not Georgia should allow this 300,000-strong community to return to their past homeland is dividing the political establishment. Steady State first posts a valuable backgrounder about the ethnic minority and then proceeds to evaluate the why's and why not's of their repatriation.


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Hong Kong and China: Cross border citizen reporting · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chong from inmediahk.net has interviewed Zoula about his citizen reporting trip in Hong Kong, his obervation of the two societies (zh).


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Hong Kong: The Absence of De-Colonization  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN has translated an article by a local cultural critics Leung Man Tao concerning the Absence of De-Colonization in Hong Kong.


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Hong Kong: There are no Adult in Hong Kong? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

I have written a post at inmediahk.net on the application of filtering in Hong Kong by flickr which is not based on jurisdiction but on localized yahoo account(zh). Moreover, its censorship is stricter that local law which allows access of adult information with a warning message. The present flickr filter doesn't allow Hong Kong yahoo user to access “safe off” section. Of course user can always shift to a foreign yahoo account (such as Taiwan and U.S).


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India: Extremism and Islam · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

IndianMuslims on extremism and Islam, the notion of piousness and the urgent need to change things at the grass level.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: The Taj Mahal and Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Greatbong has a witty and biting take on the recent race to establish the Taj Mahal in the list of the new seven wonders of the world.


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Iran:A man was Stoned · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Meydaan,Jafar Kiani was stoned on Thursday July 5th.His partner, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, could have a similar fate if we do not act now! Jafar Kiani and his partner, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, have been in prison for more than 11 years for an adulterous relationship and having two children.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Dependence on oil revenues has increased · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ali Mazrooi,blogger and former deputy in Parliament writes[Fa] that despite government's claim, country's dependence on oil revenues has increased under Ahmadinejad.He says there are many lies in government's reports concerning economic situation in Iran.


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Iran:Graffitis in Streets · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Irangraffiti  presents several photos of graffitis that we can find on the walls of streets in Tehran.


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Iraq: Life in a War Zone · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Sunshine updates us on her life in a war zone here.


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Israel: Petra Shame · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Stephanie from Israel hangs her head in shame that she hasn't been to world wonder Petra, Jordan, yet.


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Israel: Unarmed Cameraman Shot · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Desert Peace from Israel links to a video   in which Israel forces open fire on a photojournalist from Hamas’ TV Station.
Warning: GRAPHIC MATERIAL: Viewer discretion advised


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Isreal: Al Qaeda Supporters Among UK Police · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Yael from Israel links to to article  claiming that Al Qaeda sympathizers have infiltrated the UK police force.


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Jamaica, Cuba: Alonso’s Giselle  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In dance as in life, you fall in love all of a sudden. Then, if you are lucky, you spend a lifetime working out the details.” Geoffrey Philp explores the significance of Cuban prima ballerina Alicia Alonso's legendary portrayal of Giselle.


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Japan: Responses to the Kyuma A-Bomb Statement · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Former Defense Minister Kyuma Fumio‘s now-infamous statement [Ja] that the U.S. atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War Two “could not be helped“, subsequent qualifications [Ja] aside, has been widely seen as a major gaff, leaving the ruling Abe government in yet another mess. With only weeks to go before upcoming Upper House elections at the end of this month, some are arguing that this may be the fatal bombshell for the ruling LDP coalition. Kyuma, already famous for his embarrassing flip-flop statements regarding Japan's decision to enter the Iraq War, has become the third cabinet minister in the Abe government to have to be replaced (after the resignation of Sata Genichiro and the suicide of Matsuoka Toshikatsu). On top of which, as if that were not enough, there appear to be more coming.
Kyuma has received support for his statements from unlikely corners of the English-language blogosphere in Japan, with some bloggers arguing that his words have been overstated and overpoliticized, and others giving him credit for seeing the war through American eyes.
Japanese-language bloggers, on the other hand, appear to have been less approving of the statement. Blogger shigeto2004 sets the tone for the debate:
広島、長崎への原爆投下を「しょうがない」と発言したことが問題となっていた久間章生防衛相が３日になって突然辞任することになった。そもそも、原爆の投下によってアジア太平洋戦争が終結したとする久間氏の歴史認識は決して正しいものとはいえないのだが（それ以上にソ連の対日参戦の影響の方が大きかった）、仮にその通りであったとしても、核兵器の使用は人道上決して許されないことなのだから、このような発言は閣僚の発言としては許されるものではないのは当然である。それに対して、野党のみならず与党の内部からも辞任を求める声が続出していたのも当然の反応であり、久間氏が自ら辞任を申し出たことも妥当な判断だといえよう。
しかし、久間氏の発言からはこの発言の内容そのものに対する反省の念はあまり感じられず、参院選への悪影響を懸念しての辞任だという本音が見受けれることが引っ掛かるのである。この人は今回の発言の何が問題なのかをまったく理解していないのではないか。このような発言の根底にある思想は、核兵器の保有、使用も場合によっては、あるいはその目的によっては許容される、つまりは核兵器は「必要悪」だというものであり、それは少なくとも表向きは核廃絶を国是としてきた戦後日本の国家体制とは相容れないものなのである。
しかも、そのような政治思想を持っているのは久間氏だけに限ったことではなく、麻生太郎外相や中川昭一政調会長などの閣僚や自民党執行部も、過去に「核保有の議論をしておくのも大事なことだ」などと発言しているだけに、安倍内閣の中にはこのような考え方の人たちが少なからずいるということであろう。それゆえ、この問題については久間氏の辞任だけで幕引きとするのではなくて、野党勢力は安倍内閣の国防に対する考え方、あるいは国家観について徹底的に追及してその問題点を明らかにする必要があるのではないだろうか。
Other bloggers questioned Abe's choice of replacement for Kyuma in former prime ministerial advisor Koike Yuriko. Blogger luxemburg writes:
小池百合子さんといえば今でも思い出す、2001年アフガニスタン攻撃の直前にテレビ番組に主婦たちと出演していて、主婦のほぼ全員が「アメリカは戦争をするべきではない」という意見だったのに対して、やるべきだと主張していた。決して主婦の意見を受けて何かを言うのではなく頭ごなしに素人には国際政治はわからないだろうが、という態度で非常に不愉快だった。
日本の政治家は、アメリカがやってしまった戦争について、追認し、支持するとか理解するというのが通常だが、小池さんはやる前から、戦争するべきだという。日本の政治家としては珍しいかもしれない。
Bloggers from the actual targets of the A-bomb attacks expressed anger at the former Defense Minister (who, it should be noted, is himself from Nagasaki). From Hiroshima, blogger yuma writes:
広島出身として、また唯一の被爆国の人間として、彼の発言には大変憤りを感じた。
「歴史は繰り返される」というが、戦争や原爆という決して繰り返してはいけない人類の過ちを彼は容認しているということだ。
そうではないと弁明していたが時すでに遅し。むしろ軽々しく「原爆」という史実を片付けてしまうことに問題がある。原爆という軍事手段は賛成か反対か、得策なのか否かという余地のある問題ではない。原爆は「絶対悪」である。
若いからこそ、原爆を知らないからこそ、こういう問題は真剣に対峙しなくてはならないと思う。
Another blogger from Hiroshima, Apeirophobia, writes:
久間章生防衛相の発言。
広島出身として言葉がでない。
しょうがないという発言が正しいか、間違っているかはよく分からない。
でも広島市への原子爆弾投下を読んでもらいたい。
特に「原子爆弾投下直後」以降の項。
歴史的にとか政治的にとかそういう見方もあるかもしれないけど
「しょうがない」の一言で片付くことじゃない気がする。
原爆資料館に入った最初にある蝋人形。
皮膚が溶け、その皮膚が指先から垂れ下がっている。
最初に見たときにコレが地獄だと思った。
それ以来、
空に飛行機が通るたびに建物の影に逃げていた。
サイレンを聞くと空襲警報だと思って窓の近くから離れていた。
8時15分という時間が非常に怖かった。
ケロイドの人を見ると泣きそうになった。
それくらい恐ろしかった。
Finally, a third blogger from Hiroshima fears for the future of Japan:
腹が立ち、この国の未来を危ぶむニュースです。
結果的に戦争は終わったかもしれないけど
原爆投下を正当化する理由には到底ならないと思う。
This news makes me angry and makes me fear for the future of this country
The war did finally come to an end, but
I do not believe that this can ever serve as a reason to justify the dropping of the atomic bomb.
広島出身の私は、幼いころからいやというほど
原爆の教育は受けてきた。
どれだけたくさんの人が犠牲になったか知っていますか？
I am from Hiroshima, and, starting from the time when I was an infant,
I have received a lot of education about the atomic bomb.
Do you know how many people were victimized?
今も放射能に苦しんでいる人がいることを知っていますか？
一体、何を見て感じたらこんな無責任な発言ができるのでしょうか？
Even now, there are people suffering from the effects of radiation, did you know that?
What on Earth would someone have to see or feel to bring them to make such an irresponsible statement?
安部総理。
いい加減にしてください。
国民は、この国の未来が見えません・・・・
Prime Minister Abe.
This is enough already.
The Japanese people cannot see the future of this country…


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Jordan: Tiesto Concert Fun · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Naseem Al Tarawnah from Jordan writes about how he enjoyed Tiesto‘s concert in Amman.


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Jordanian Blogosphere | Celebrating Petra The World Wonder · Global Voices
Naseem Tarawnah

It's been an interesting few days on the Jordanian blogosphere. It seems nearly every blogger has been talking about Petra, the rose-red city that recently became one of the new Seven World Wonders. Most seem to be celebrating with a lot of poetic and unbridled enthusiasm (even from afar), but some are wondering, some are lamenting and some are thinking of the alternatives. Meanwhile, other bloggers are thinking ahead of what the win will mean for Petra's economic future.
Elsewhere on the Jordanian blogosphere:
Rambling Hal has a bone to pick with the archaic (and outlawed) tradition of shooting guns during traditions.
“Ok, so we're not a developed country. But you are KIDDING me if you think we can claim to be a developing country, and we're still allowing this retarded stupidity to run rampant,” says Hal.
On 7iber Dot Com, Jordan's online citizen journalism project, Pheras Hilal sits with artist Omar Bilbeisi to talk about Arabic Calligraphy. Also on 7iber: be sure to check out Lina Ejeilat's review of Algerian singer Souad Massi's concert in Jerash as well as Ramsey Tesdell's three-part series on education in Jordan, entitled “Failing the Future”.
Wael Attili was surprised to discover that some Jordanian banks are now operating on a Friday (the weekend in Jordan), and snapped a few undercover pictures with his camera phone just to prove it! Meanwhile, Tambi thinks there's something fishy going on with Jordanian web design companies.
After living in Jordan for only three years, Moey has found new-old ways to turn that infamous Jordanian frown upside down. It seems Lina also has a long list of things worth doing in Amman this summer (that are pretty good cheat notes).
Jasim takes a look at traditional marriages and ponders their effectiveness, while Hala wonders if mixing work with hijab is a recipe for failure. Ola thinks books may be expensive in Jordan, but everything is relative, as Z3tr feels Jordanians should volunteer more in their communities.
The Arab Observer wonders if the Amman Municipality's campaign on street beggars is a right one, while Roba, who never flew a kite in her life, decided to get on board with the popular Jordanian childhood pastime. Based on the photographic evidence, well, let's just say her attempt wasn't too successful…
In other news: Khalaf has a few insights on the release of four Jordanian prisoners once held in Israeli prisoners, while Yugi looks at how the news was reported by Israeli press. Meanwhile, Jordanian bloggers have a lot to say about Dr. Mohammed Asha, the alleged “terrorist” involved in attempted bombings in the UK a few weeks back.
While Naseem wonders if Jordanian democracy is all but dead on the Internet, Ahmad Humeid and Batir Wardam have a few reflections on an event hosted by the German embassy on Youth and New Media, with the question of whether bloggers are journalists at the heart of the debate.

author: Naseem Tarawnah


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Kazakhstan: Transforming spaces · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Kazakhstan's economic boom has led to manifold and ambitious construction projects of often questionable quality. Artpologist.net focuses on the studios and personal spaces of artists (such as Galim Madanov) amidst this dramatic building boom.


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Kenya: understanging ourselves – the Kenyan way · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Leo Faya writes “Understanding ourselves – the Kenyan way”:  “This post is not intended to offend anyone contained in this argument or opinion, these are just my “ruminations” however I think if the readers or the individuals involved in this post take this as constructive criticism them we can start channeling our thoughts to work on bigger things and more interesting ways to appeal to ourselves – The Kenyan way.”


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Kuwait: Photo Show · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

PhilQ8, a Filipino who lives in Kuwait, shows off his latest photographs here.


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Lebanon: Changing Times  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Fonzy describes how life in a Lebanese village has changed forever here.


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Lebanon: Is Flirting Healthy? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese Fonzy wonders if flirting is healthy for a relationship.


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Libya: Blogging Addiction · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A. Adam from Libya checks his blogging addiction here.


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Morocco: Terror Alert · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Morocco has raised its terrorism threat level to “maximum”, the highest category indicating a radical Islamist attack is expected imminently, reports The View from Fez.


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Nepal: Third World Country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Our Dream – a prosperous Nepal has a very brief post explaining why “Nepal is a third world country”.


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Nigeria: reflections on the Nigerian strike · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari reflects on the nationwide strike, which tooks place last month in Nigeria: “For a brief 4 days between, 20th and 23rd June, Nigerians from across the country joined in a nationwide strike which brought the country to a standstill. However, the opportunity to achieve the beginnings of fundamental change in the problems facing the country was once again abandoned by the labour unions capitulating after only 4 days.”


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Pakistan: Ghazi Brothers and Lal Masjid · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad on the Lal Masjid clerics, and why the mosque is called the “Red Mosque”.


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Palestine: Immigrating Jews · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Umm Khalil explains why she isn't impressed with Jews immigrating to Israel here.


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Poland: Live Earth Not Relevant? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about the Polish view of the Live Earth events: “In a country that has been starved of economic development like Poland and the rest of the old ‘Eastern bloc’, has, being lectured by rich westerners – like Al Gore – about how we must cut our energy consumption (and cut the rate of economic growth) is frankly, a pain in the neck.”


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Poland: Photo Report From Nurses’ Strike · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot posts a photo report from the ‘White City’ in Warsaw, where “close to three weeks on strike and camped opposite the main government offices, the nurses refuse to give up. The strike, for more pay (well, you couldn’t get much less than they get) has been supported by the general public.”


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Qatar : It’s Educational · Global Voices
Mohamed Nanabhay

The academic year has come to an end in Qatar so it's a good time to look at what bloggers have been saying about education in the country. Qatar is trying to build a “knowledge economy” in order to diversify its economy away from oil and gas. It has placed a strong focus on education and learning through Qatar Foundation which has established Education City and a Science and Technology Park. Of course, any form of educational reform will have its challenges…
Let's start with Marjorie who was attending a presentation at Carnegie-Mellon in  Pittsburgh for faculty and staff who were thinking of spending some time in their satellite campus based at Qatar Foundation in Doha. She notes that most people asked the wrong questions since they don't have the experience to ask the right ones!
…A lot of it was question and answer time and, as always, I was struck by how wrong the questions were. People ask whether the students’ English is a barrier to learning, when the interesting question is really one of transitioning students from an educational system that doesn't promote critical thinking or problem-solving. People ask about how women are treated in Qatar, when really women are not the subject of most discrimination or exploitation. They're just the wrong questions, because people don't yet have the experience to ask the right questions.
Wizmotr, a lecturer at a college in Qatar writes that “the ability of so many Qatari nationals to under perform academically is a source of much discussion in pedagogical circles here“ and provides three anecdotes about the situation:
Story 1:
Just after we finished a course unit for which we had devoted at least 12-16 hours of in class time, a student came to me about a week ago to announce that she didn't understand the concept at all. I asked her to visit me after class and bring her exercises so we could see where she was having problems (I've gotten wise to a few things by now).
She showed up at my office and we sat down. I asked to see the work that she had done. She said that she didn't have it with her. So I told her to go and get her work and come back again and I would be happy to discuss it with her but I needed to have a sense of where she was having trouble. Then she confessed, “Sir, I haven't actually done the work yet.”
“OK,” I said, “Then go and do the work and if you are still having problems, bring your work to me and we'll work it through.” She then blurted out in complete frustration, “Well Sir, I copied the work from another student but I still don't understand it!”
Story 2:
For a final exam, I used an on-line testing utility. Out of 100 points on the exam, the computer could score 68 on its own. In my cockiness, I missed one configuration setting so that the students were able to submit each question in turn, get feedback on whether their answer was correct or now (but not what the correct answer was), and then change their answer if they wanted. I noticed my mistake too late and decided to let them go ahead and write the test anyway. (My own embarrassment was too much). Out of 10 students, only 3 got the full 68 points. One scored 24 marks out of the possible 68 two others barely squeaked past 50% on these questions. So, in conclusion, even with the answer sheet in their possession, passing the exam is not a given (although my conduct was not the smartest thing I'd ever done either).
Story 3:
Two students submitted identical assignments with exactly the same errors. I gave them both a zero and told them why. The first student told me that the second student had missed class that day and that she was only sharing a copy of the assignment so the second student could see how it was done. “Not required,” I said. “The text book has all the instructions and a copy of the finished work. You didn't need to send her anything. Besides, I don't know who copied off of who.”
I talked to the second student later (she wasn't in class when I handed back the assignment). Her reason, “I did the same assignment in a class last semester so I didn't copy off of anyone.” (and by implication the first student must have copied off of her). “Too bad,” I replied, “it still isn't original work and your mark stands.” She rolled her eyes at me and left.
The other day, they came to me again. This time the second student admitted to cheating and they both asked that I give the mark to the first student. “No,” I said, “the marks still stand.”
“But Sir, that's not fair!” they pleaded. I offered that if they felt that this wasn't fair, we could write it up as an academic dishonesty issue and take it to the appropriate process. If they won, great and if they lost, then it would be recorded on their academic record and a second incident of dishonesty would have them dismissed.
Issue dropped. The pain of cheating has to flow both ways so that the person giving the help also gets hurt. Dishonour seems to be a strong motivation in this culture; for my friend to suffer because of my offense is a greater hardship than me just bearing the punishment alone.
In the end, he says that
…What completely blows me away about all this is not that students cheat, or copy, or slack off. What blows me away is that they think that their cheating, or copying or slacking off should be my fault as a teacher. If they cheat, then I'm not being fair by attaching consequences to their cheating; if they don't (or refuse) to do their homework, then it's my fault they aren't learning; if they can't pass an exam, then somehow it's because I should have made the content easier.
In the meantime, Jane in Doha was dismayed at the reason why Qatar is planning to launch an Educational TV station : To curb illegal private tutoring! She blogs:
“this has to be the worst reason to start a TV station (ever)”
I suspect, as does she that this is just a case of the local press misreporting the story. Regardless of the reason, it seems that the station will be launched within three years.
Jane  also stumbled across a report from the RAND Corporation titled “Education for a New Era : Design and Implementation of K–12 Education Reform in Qatar” which was commissioned by the Qatar Foundation. She quotes the report saying :
…At that time, the Qatari K–12 education system served about 100,000 students, two-thirds of whom attended schools that were government financed and operated. The RAND team found several strengths in this existing system. Many teachers were enthusiastic and wanted to deliver a solid education; some of them exhibited a real desire for change and greater autonomy. Additionally, parents appeared likely to accept new schooling options.
But the weaknesses in the existing system were extensive. There was no vision of quality education and the structures needed to support it. The curriculum in the government (and many private) schools was outmoded, under the rigid control of the Ministry of Education, and unchallenging, and it emphasized rote memorization. The system lacked performance indicators, and the scant performance information that it provided to teachers and administrators meant little to them because they had no authority to make changes in the schools. For a country with such a high per capita income, the national investment in education was small. Teachers received low pay and little professional development, many school buildings were in poor condition, and classrooms were overcrowded.
Jane also points out that the report re-enforced what many teachers already complain about: Low salaries, lack of discipline in schools and short-term contracts:
Teacher salaries in Qatar were comparatively low. Most male teachers were expatriates, and while their average salaries were higher than those of teachers in Saudi Arabia, they were 20 per cent lower than those of teachers in other GCC countries. These low wages raised questions about quality. Even if expatriate teachers were of higher quality than their salaries might indicate, they were working on a contracted basis that led to perverse incentives. Their contracts were renewed on an annual basis, fostering a continuous state of apprehension among them. And although most contracts were renewed, many expatriate teachers reported that they refrained from disciplining Qatari students for fear of offending a family with influence over hiring decisions. To supplement their low salaries, these teachers offered private tutoring outside of school, despite prohibitions against it.
The report concluded that Qatar needs to:
But it isn't only educators, parents or students blogging about education in Qatar. The Supreme Education Council in Qatar also has a blog to interact with stakeholders. They describe the blog by saying:
Education is the responsibility of all, and educational participation is one of the principles of Qatar’s education reform initiative. All stakeholders – educators, researchers, journalists, parents are invited to browse, express their opinions. Share their experiences to enrich the debate about Education For A New Era.
Finally, to round off this post,  join me in congratulating local Qatari blogger Aisha who just graduated from Qatar University. She wrote :
I just don’t get it yet! In order to be happy about it, I have to believe it !!
SO go a head already!! Make it real!  Congratulate me please!!

author: Mohamed Nanabhay


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Romania: 1000 Szekely Girls Festival and More · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Csikszereda Musings posts some photos, including those from the “1000 Szekely Girls” festival and from a local farmers’ market.


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Russia: Corruption Not a Problem? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The nEUrosis feels that Russia may not be as corrupt as it seems: “So why are Westerners so convinced of Russia’s rampant corruption problem? Probably because they pay a lot more bribes than Russians.”


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Russia: Photos of Beslan Terrorists · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time links to a Russian newspaper article with photos of those who, according to the official inquiry, carried out the school siege in Beslan in 2004: “The paper wonders why the official inquiry made no use of these photos, basing its evidence instead on pictures of the badly mutilated corpses of the individuals it claims were responsible for the atrocity.”


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Russia: Sochi-2014 Hotel Reservation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sochi Travel reports on the first hotel reservation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.


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Russia: White Night Graduation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon posts pictures of St. Petersburg high school graduates’ celebration that took place during this year's White Nights season.


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Serbia: The Rolling Stones to Perform July 14 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The nEUrosis views the upcoming concert of the Rolling Stones in Serbia as “a reliable benchmark that my country is on a secure way towards the EU integration or perhaps an integrative part of the international community (whatever this means).”


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South Africa: newspaper launches multimedia portal · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Vincent Maher reports about The Times newspaper multimedia portal:  “You know you live in the age of YouTube when newspapers start launching portals dedicated to video, and video podcasts about books. Two days ago The Times opened the doors of its multimedia portal, which collects video reports that their multimedia journalists are producing.”


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South Korea: Fake stream, fake river, fake island · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt blogs about the various construction projects kicked off by the former Seoul Mayor and the present presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak: pretty much every single endeavour Lee has undertaken has involved the construction industry, so simply moving everyone off their land may not be quite the handout of taxpayers’ money that the industry was hoping for – best to build a fake island, to add to the fake stream downtown and the fake rivers his canal plan will create.


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Sri Lanka: Education and Tamils · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

education forum asks if Tamils were squeezed out of higher education because of standardisation.


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Surviving Lebanon · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Survival in Lebanon entails working two to three jobs, explains MMMMM here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Tanzania: official logo of the Tanzanian Bloggers Association · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A logo designed by a Tanzania blogger, Gerald Shuma, has become the official logo of the Tanzanian Bloggers Association.


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Tanzania: Tanzania – an example of the vibrant African blogosphere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

web2fordev has a post about Tanzania being an example of the vibrant African blogosphere: “I had a look at the Global Voices’ wiki, which shows bloggers from many African countries. Tanzania seems quite vibrant with all kinds of blogs (e.g. political, fashion, photo, cartoon). Its blogger community even has a virtual election for their Tanzanian Bloggers Association.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Lara Back at Bat  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

West Indies Cricket Blog reports that Brian Lara is “coming out of retirement as part of the 125th-anniversary celebrations for his old club, Warwickshire.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: The WICB and Stanford  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vaneisa Baksh weighs in on the ineffectiveness of the West Indies Cricket Board in the context of billionaire Allen Stanford's US$100 million offering: “Whether Stanford's model should be the way forward is not likely to cross their minds as a positive move, instead the forces will gather to preserve the status quo.”


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Ukraine: Krayina Mriy Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user drugoi posts wonderful photos from the Krayina Mriy (”Dream Country”) world music festival that took place in Kyiv this past weekend.


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Ukraine: One-Day Trip to Chernobyl · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

MoldovAnn takes her father on a one-day excursion to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone – and posts pictures.


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Uruguay: Digital Divide Project in Guichón · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Carol Guilleminot of D-sur [ES] writes about a project in the city of Guichón called “Guichón Innova”, which hopes to reduce the digital divide through a series of workshops.


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Uzbekistan: A Story of Two Old Men · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Beyond the River presents an excerpt from an unpublished novella by the acclaimed Uzbek author Hamid Ismailov called A Story of Two Old Men (Part 1 – 2 – 3 – 4).


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Uzbekistan: Academic Exiles · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

On Registan.net, Kayumars Turkistan ponders the implications of Uzbekistan's isolation for the academic exchange with the country and finds that international researchers rather locate in the countries bordering Uzbekistan. Readers from Tashkent reply in the comments, however, that not all is really as bad as it seems.


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Venezuela: Roger Santodomingo’s Resignation from Noticiero Digital · Global Voices
Iria Puyosa

Hola papi, me dijeron que eres un becado tarifado que vendió la patria por unos dólares. ¿Por qué hiciste eso, papá? Si sigues en eso me voy a tener que ir con el señor que me dio el chismecito el otro día. Dice que tengo que aprender a cruzar la calle y no hablar con extraños ¿Por qué eres tan malito papá? No te quiero ya
Hi, daddy, someone told me that you are a hired mercenary who sold out the motherland for a few dollars. Why did you do that, dad? If you keep doing it I will have to go with the man, who told me that little piece of gossip the other day. He says that I need to learn to cross the street and not to talk to strangers. Why are you so bad dad? I do not love you anymore.
The above note was given to a nine-year old boy at his school . His dad is Venezuelan journalist Roger Santodomingo, who until a week ago, was Noticiero Digital´s chief information editor.  Noticiero Digital [ES] is portal that collects articles published on Venezuelan newspapers, includes a few blogs written by well-known journalists, and features online forums open to participation from anyone who wishes. Most of Noticiero Digital´s visitors are attracted to such forums in which Venezuelan politics is discussed without any kind of moderation. Noticiero Digital´s forum participants tend to hold extreme political positions, mostly against President Chávez’ government.
Because of the extreme positions held by ND forum participants, the portal has been signaled by pro-Chávez media as a vehicle for promoting a U.S.-funded conspiracy against the Venezuelan government. Santodomingo—as well as several other Venezuelan journalists—has been labeled as CIA agents for pro-Chávez media, including news-shows broadcasted by the national public TV, even though no official charges have been made by the Prosecutor's office (Fiscalía de la República) , which opened the case on May 28 responding to an accusation presented by the Minister of Communication and Information. After his son was given the quoted note, Santodomingo resigned from his position at ND. Nonetheless, early in the morning on this past Wednesday, his family van was set on fire while parked in front of his house. Police are still investigating whether the fire started accidentally or whether it was set intentionally.
RomRod [ES] was among the first Venezuelan bloggers to post on the issue,
Roger ha recibido innumerables acusaciones de traición, de fascista y de vendido “al imperio” por parte de la prensa oficialista y por el programa este de “La Hojilla”. Ingredientes muy necesarios para convertir a Roger en un blanco fácil. Lo que se persigue es callarlo y creo que lo van a lograr. Porque nadie en su sano juicio pone a su familia en riesgo cuando las cosas llegan a estos extremos. Roger se convierte en blanco fácil de oficialistas radicales porque no les gusta su estilo ni el medio donde hasta hace poco trabajaba. También se convierte en blanco fácil de opositores radicales que estudian la posibilidad de convertirlo en víctima de este gobierno para seguir apuntalando la estrategia esta de que acá no hay libertad de expresión.
Y no la hay. Porque en un ambiente tan caldeado, tan lleno de amenazas de lado y lado, ¿quién tiene los cojones para ponerse a ejercer plenamente la libertad de expresión?
Roger has received countless accusations of being a traitor, fascist, and a sell-out to “the Empire” [*chavistas call United States “the Empire”] from the pro-government press and the TV show “La Hojilla”. Necessary ingredients to make Roger an easy target. What they are looking for is to shut him up and I believe they will accomplish that, because nobody in his right mind will leave his family at risk when things go this far. Roger is now an easy target for pro-government radicals because they do not like his style or the media where he worked until little time ago. Also, he is an easy target for opposition radicals who may look for the opportunity to make him a victim of this government to fuel that strategy of saying that there is not freedom of speech here.And there is no (freedom of speech). Because with such a heated environment, so full of threats from side to side, who will have the balls to keep exercising complete freedom of speech?
EnigmasExPress [ES], a popular blog written by a journalist who uses a pseudonym, conjectures that the attack may have come from fascist Venezuelans, who will try to charge the government for it. Khandika claims that what happens is a consequence of the vanishing of journalism ethics in Venezuela, a situation in which he considers that Roger Santodomingo does not come clean.
In K-minos [ES], Kira Kariakin writes a more personal comment about the case,
Conozco a Roger y su esposa Faitha desde tiempos de estudiantes, me consta como a todos quienes les conocen en el medio que ambos hicieron carrera mordiendo calle y escribiendo con talento, dedicación y profesionalismo, haciendo periodismo escrito y audiovisual en medios de Caracas y el interior, y ahora una cuerda de violentos decide que hay que aterrorizarlos con amenazas sobre su hijo para callarles la boca porque no les gusta lo que dicen o el medio en el que trabajan.
I met Roger and his wife Faitha at the time when we were students. I know for sure, as well as anyone from the press who is acquaintanted with them that they both made a career hitting the streets and writing with talent, perseverance, and professionalism in print and audiovisual journalism in Caracas and in the interior. And now a crowd of violent people decide to terrorize them by threatening their son in order to close their mouths because they do not like what they say or the media in which they work.
Zinnia Martínez, a digital journalism college professor, opines about Noticiero Digital
Las opiniones, comentarios y sobretodo el aporte de los miles de comentaristas siempre me ha parecido bastante radical, encendido y en muchos casos demasiado ofensivo para mi gusto, y entiendo que es una especie de contraparte de Aporrea.org de la oposición venezolana.
(…)
Una cosa son los locos desatados escupiendo sus odios en un foro digital y otra muy distinta es amenazar a un periodista y su familia por administrar el foro.
Opinions, commentaries and above all contributions from the participants seemed always fairly radical, fierce and sometimes too offensive for my taste. I understand that it is sort of a counterpart for Aporrea.org of Venezuelan opposition.
(… However) one thing is someone crazed spitting their hate over in an online forum, and another very different thing is threatening a journalist and his family for administering that forum.
Rodolfo, another blogger/journalist argues,
Uno de los ejemplos más citados del periodismo ciudadano OhMynews es también uno de los que tiene mayor moderación pues si bien las informaciones son aportadas o directamente escritas por ciudadanos pasan antes de ser publicadas por el tamiz de un grupo de periodistas que contrasta, corrobora y revisa.
No creo que hacer algo parecido sea autocensura sino responsabilidad. No le estás quitando el derecho a la gente a que informe u opine pero la metes en un marco de referencia para que la información sirva para algo.
One of the most cited examples of citizen journalism, OhmyNews is also one of the more highly moderated because although the information is provided or directly written by citizens, before the pieces get published they are filtered by a group of journalists that contrast, verify and revise. I don’t believe that doing something like that is self-censorship but responsibility. One will not be restricting the people’s right to inform or opine but given framework in order to make information helpful.
In the Roger Santodomingo Blog [ES], at Noticiero Digital, Luis Carlos (GV author, by the way) claims,
Si de verdad quieres potenciar las herramientas participativas del periodismo ciudadano y generar alguna arquitectura de publicaciones independientes con criterio informativo, deberías plantearte el cambio a modelos como el OhMyNews, Bottup.com o DiarioMédico, donde se pide que para participar, la gente se identifique.
(…)
Insisto, es un vórtice voraz esto del anonimato concentrado en un portal. Por eso Noticiero Digital puede estar incluso alimentando la hoguera de la conflictividad ciudadana en el país. Y ya viste que a pesar de las maravillas diarias del flujo informativo, también trae consecuencias nefastas
(…)
If you really want to boost the participative tools of citizen journalism and generate some sort of independent publications architecture with informative criteria, you need to switch to models such  as OhmyNews, Bottup.com or DiarioMédico, where identification is required in order to be allowed to participate.
(…)
I insist anonymity in a web portal is an avid vortex. Because of that, Noticiero Digital can even be adding fuel to the fire of civil conflict in the country. And you already saw that besides the daily wonder of the information flow, it also brings damaging consequences.

author: Iria Puyosa


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Afghanistan: Pessoptimist · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Barnett Rubin, in his first post on a new blog about global affairs, says that being pessimistic about Afghanistan is not an intellectual challenge. Instead, Rubin (who was on the UN team during the Bonn conference a few years back) is a practicing “pessoptimist”: “Every morning we thank the Lord that he did not destroy Afghanistan during the night. And if harm befalls Afghanistan during the day, we thank the Lord it was not worse.”


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Albania: Presidential Vote · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Albanian parliament holds the first round of the presidential vote, Our Man in Tirana reports.


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Arabeyes: I am a Professional Male Prostitute · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

I'm a professional male prostitute and a part-time drug dealer
That's what I will answer if someone asks me what do I do for a living.
These days that's better than being an Arabic doctor.
This is what Hareega, a Jordanian doctor in the US, wrote  following news about the involvement of Arab Muslim doctors in UK bombings.
Hareega also draws parallels between himself and Jordanian doctor Mohammed Asha, who is being questioned along with his wife for their roles in the failed London and Glasgow bombings.
Mohammad Asha ….. University of Jordan- Faculty of Medicine (1998-2004)
Yours Sincerely ……….. University of Jordan- Faculty of Medicine (1996-2002)
In case you don't know, the faculty of medicine is a really small one, and between the 4th and 6th year students spend all of their time at the University Hospital and less often at other hospitals like Al-Basheer, so many students in these years know each other's faces or names. Although I could not remember this guy despite the good ten minutes I spent staring at my monitor trying to remember him, I'm certain that I ran across him in some hallway or perhaps tried to bypass him in the long standing line at the hospital's cafeteria.
The reason I cannot remember him specifically is that his face looks very familiar. It's the commonest face you encounter in any faculty in Jordan. His beard (according to previous pictures) was not as thick, and that makes him look like 30-40% of male students at the JU.
Hareega continues by saying that he suspects that Asha could be innocent for the following reasons:
First, he graduated from the Jubilee school. I'm familiar with this school since I was accepted there in 1994 but was discouraged from joining it by my parents because it was brand new and didn't have a GCE program. However, the school was unique in the way it enlightened its students about other cultures. Its students not only scored well in subsequent years but also were able to study abroad and intermingle with people from other countries extremely well.
Another thing worth-mentioning: It's not only that his father said in an emotional interview with a fox news reporter today that his accused son missed many Fridays prayers and was more willing to read Gray's Anatomy than the Quran, but it's because the Jordanian intelligence mentioned that he had clean records prior to leaving Jordan.
We all know it's not easy easy to have a “clean record” in Jordanian intelligence. They know everything.
Things might have changed after he left to the UK, and we know how fanatic some Islamic movements are there, but their target is usually very young Muslim men who have many financial and/or social problems, and that doesn't apply to Asha. The salaries they give to medical residents there are way better than those they give to residents in the US.
I went through the same life that this person went through for many years, and we had different students/doctors graduating from our class. Yes some were very religious , or even supported Hamas or Hizbullah but I can't buy it that someone would be seriously involved in a militant group or planning an attack on civilians. Our past and present makes it almost impossible for anyone to think of something other than medicine.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian blogosphere is ranting and raving and
Natasha Tynes, at Mental Mayhem, sums up what some bloggers are saying in this post.
Blogger Firas asks “What went wrong?”
The sad thing about this story is that Mohammad represents a true example of a hard working Jordanian. His father is a teacher, they reside in Hay Al Zuhoor . Yet he was a true achiever, always at the top of his class. He got 7 siblings, who 3 of them are doctors as well. His parents say he is not an extremist, he has never shown anything of that, he is not strict, and prays like any Muslim.
So what went wrong?Assuming the UK's security forces are right about him.
Firas continues:
If he is truly involved, there might be some explanation, and I've personally witnessed this:
What happens is that Arab students go to study abroad in countries where political and religious freedoms are granted for all, say countries like: US,UK,Canada and Australia. Now these students get to know other Muslim students usually Pakistanis who got some extremists among them, and that's when they are fed with all this crap. And this is out of personal experience (a close friend would stop talking to you, because you are a Christian,the guy was transformed in 5 months). As in Pakistan extremist groups and parties are deeply rooted in that country, and for an Arab student who finds him/herself in an alien culture and lately a hostile culture to Islam (think of post 9/11,the Danish cartoons,the Pope's lecture,etc) these guys would have some affect.
The majority of Muslims in Jordan are devout Muslims, and for them Islam is respecting others and living peacefully. For decades Muslim Jordanians have been studying abroad achieving high ranks and good friendship where ever they go.
It's just the bad company and the shallowness of the person that would ruin everything.
The question is, if this Asha guy didn't leave Jordan, would he ever get involved in such things? It's a very tricky question.
Along the same thread, Khalaf notes that the UK is a breeding ground for Islamic fanatics.
London continues to be the home for the most extreme religious fanatics, operating in total freedom.
So, when a brilliant young doctor and his wife left Jordan two years ago, it might not have been too far fetched that he may become a target for the preachers of hate and violence who call London home (as suggested by Firas). The man and wife had clean security records, and were focused on academic and professional achievement rather than mischief. It has not been established yet in court whether they were really involved in the terror plots or to what extent. However, they do seem to have been mixing with a bad crowd.
Personally, I take little stock in the propaganda that tries to blame such conversions to fanaticism on the freedom which is enjoyed in the west. The descendants of the British Empire on which the sun never set can not be so impotent when dealing with a few loud mouthed welfare abusing fanatics. The country that did not hesitate to destroy Iraq and throw it’s population into massive turmoil in which hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions have been displaced can not be so sensitive to the supposed civil rights of a few trouble makers who can be dealt with in a legal and civilized manner….
It is not difficult to conclude that British authorities harbor and tolerate these people because they serve a purpose. I might add that this purpose is not benign. The end result is that terror emanating from the preachers of hate serves to marginalize the Muslim community in Britain, and fosters xenophobia with the British public. Abroad, this tolerance legitimizes extremism, and is a source of pressure on Arab and Muslim countries to act in a similar way with their own extremists. Only a lunatic or a traitor would try to emulate this behavior.
So, while we are worried about fanatics returning from Iraq, Pakistan or Afghanistan, it might be worth while to remember that Britain is the only country that offers preachers of death residency, welfare and legal protection.
Meanwhile, Salam Adil, from Iraq, sums up reactions of Iraqi bloggers here.


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