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Haiti: Two Months Later  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today marks two months since the January 12 earthquake devastated Haiti – and even in the midst of other natural disasters, bloggers still seem to be struggling to come to grips with what this tragedy actually means for the people of a nation that is often referred to as “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.”
The day to day reality of post-quake life in Port-au-Prince and environs is markedly different from the glory days of Haiti's proud past, which HaitiAnalysis.com ably chronicles in this post by Mara Chinelli of CampusTimes.org:
In the aftermath of Haiti’s earthquake the words of slave general Toussaint L’Ouverture come to mind: “In overthrowing me, you have cut down in San Domingo only the trunk of the tree of black liberty. It will spring up again by the roots for they are numerous and deep.” Perhaps a politically charged maxim does not seem appropriate in the face of a natural disaster. Yet this revolutionary saying has echoed throughout Haiti’s struggles for stability and democracy. When we look at the current events in Haiti, we must consider the historical actors that built its vulnerable infrastructure.
The post goes on to examine the chain of events that took place from the time that Haiti “proclaimed itself the first black republic in 1804″ until “the 20th century, [when] U.S. intervention determined Haiti’s fate” and suggests that:
Now more than ever the United States must acknowledge history and rethink its approach to Haiti…
The Obama administration should also take greater steps beyond a temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants. Displacement and homelessness will surely increase Haitian migration. The international community must ensure that aid for reconstruction resists foreign interests and reaches the Haitian people. This will not cure political ailments, but it will begin a reorganization of power.
This call for Temporary Protected Status is not new.  Twitter user texascane81 even posted that “We have been advocating for TPS for Haiti since September 2008.”  When the decision by the United States finally came, as part of its response to support the earthquake recovery effort, it was accompanied by a carefully worded caveat from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  According to CAF Blog:
While she declined to specify the consequences for those caught trying to enter the U.S. illegally, she said, ‘At this moment of tragedy in Haiti, it is tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhere, but attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.’
While the United States was sending a message of cautious humanitarianism, the Bahamian government was apparently opening its arms.  Bahamian bloggers had a lot to say about their government's “decision to grant temporary status to Haitian detainees.”  Womanish Words comments:
I support my government's decision…and wonder at the inhumanity of those who are on the radio and in the papers criticizing this gesture.
I call on the government to stop apprehension exercises as well, in the name of the 50,000 people who died in the quake. I call on the government to also establish an amnesty period for all undocumented Haitians in the Bahamas to come forward so that they too can receive temporary status. And now that I think of it, why is it ‘temporary’ status? Let them stay, let us have mercy, let love and mercy prevail.
Haitian-Bahamian Solidarity notes that:
The history of our country and of Haiti are intertwined and deeply connected. Although we don’t recognize the connections often enough, or think of them with much positivity all too often (Haitians are often labelled as ‘illegals’ even when they are perfectly legal immigrants and residents), this tragedy has made far more Bahamians than ever before deeply aware of the long, long relationship of exchange, mutuality and kinship between our two countries. But we have a long way to go.
Jamaican blogger Long Bench also saw it fit to post a response to “Danville Walker’s letter to the editor published on Feb. 1 in the Gleaner”:
Frankly, I am rather disappointed that Danville Walker has chosen to jump on the bandwagon and frame the arrival of Haitian refugees as, first and foremost, a public health threat…
More generally, what is it about the way we insist on thinking about Haitians that allows us to intentionally cast them as dirty, diseased and backward, a status, according to Mr. Walker, that is only enhanced by their ‘lack of familiarity with the English Language.’ Such arguments are truly self-serving, and say much more about us, than it does about the people who are being demonized and mischaracterised in these pejorative ways.
At the end of the day, this is primarily an immigration issue. Haitian refugees are not criminals, and should not be treated by citizens or represented in the media as such. They should be subjected to the same procedures that others currently undergo when they come to Jamaica to live or to stay for long periods of time. Nothing less than fairness and respect for their dignity should be accorded to any persons who come to our country, for whatever reason.
The HaitiAnalysis post, however, understands that “currently Haiti’s main priority is immediate aid distribution”, adding:
Despite the fact that ships with aid arrived promptly after the earthquake, U.S. security regulations prevented its immediate distribution.
Major aid organizations abide by the U.S. State Department’s security restrictions on designated ‘Red Zones.’ As a result, the United Nations and the United States have increased militarization of aid distribution.
These ‘security measures’ have prevented efficient aid distribution and much needed rapport with local communities.
This has been a common complaint from bloggers on the ground in Haiti – this tweet confirmed the existence of “MINUSTAH's red, yellow, and green zone security map of Port-Au-Prince, as of today…”
As part of the map's caption on his flickr page, Mediahacker states:
MINUSTAH spokesperson gave me this map, which they provide to NGOs.  Green (covering Petionville only) indicates residential areas with no history of insecurity, he said.  And yet, rumors abound that two aid workers were just kidnapped in the green zone.
The spokesperson said MINUSTAH recommends aid groups are accompanied by a security detail wherever they go and that the majority of them do request assistance from UN or Haitian forces. He said MINUSTAH is meeting 100% of the requests made for security accompaniment.
Bloggers confirm talk of a kidnapping, but their accounts of effective allocation of resources are markedly different.  RAMHaiti was quite vocal about it on Twitter.  His first update asked:
Does anyone know where ACTED is or how to contact them? They're supposed to be in charge of Carrefour Feuilles..
Later, he tweeted again:
ACTED: resp. for Leogane and Carrefour feuilles relief..Missing In Action:can't reach them on phone
…and was re-tweeted here:
RT @Tass101: @RAMhaiti Trust me, ACTED is missing in ACTION in Leogane because the people there don't see anything concrete being done.
melindayiti also weighs in:
Still reeling over the false reports by major agencies about the situation in #Haiti… 80% food saturation? No f-ing way.
And in the midst of it all looms Haiti's uncertain political situation, about which RAMHaiti sardonically says:
PR machine says Preval wants 2 remain #HAITI President till all RECON$TRUCTION CONTRACT$ r handed out. Both CLINTON$ OK with that. @DinoJag
Transparency and good governance continue to be among bloggers’ ongoing concerns:
RT @domzz: RT @nadprecious: #Haiti umm what happened to the $324mill that was donated in April 09 to help rebuild? @RAMhaiti @carelpedre
HaitiAnalysis, though, has faith in the tenacity of the Haitian people to overcome:
Haitians are capable of extricating their nation from the most common phrase used to describe it: ‘the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.’ Able-bodied Haitian men have organized to look for people under the rubble, and protect tent communities erected in Port-au-Prince. Homeless mothers care for their children and look after others orphaned by the earthquake.
In the face of incredible loss of life and infrastructure, Haitians are cooperating with each other. With this in mind, the international community needs to rethink its relationship with Haiti
.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India: Educating Children About Pesicides · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ecological Tales for Environment Education -India blog publishes an informative post which educates children about pesticides.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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India: The IPL Extravaganza · Global Voices
Rezwan

The game of cricket is now almost a religion to the Indians. The glorious era of Indian cricket started from its 1983 world cup win. Other popular games like hockey and football lost their popularity and cricket become a widely loved and followed sport in the country. In 2007 India became the world champion of the shorter version of the game – Twenty20 cricket. The result of this victory prompted Indians to take a great interest in this format of the game. India pushed Twenty20 cricket to next level by organizing a domestic tournament containing international players called The Indian Premier League (IPL), which was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and supervised by BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi, Chairman & Commissioner for IPL.
The tournament started in 2008 in India but in 2009 the venue of the 2nd season was shifted to South Africa for security reasons. In 2010 IPL has come back to India and the 3rd season was inaugurated today with a spectacular opening ceremony.
Indian bloggers have been abuzz about this extravaganza much before the tournament as it created a number of controversies with incidents like ignoring Pakistani cricketers in its first auction and irking the media people. Many Netizens were eagerly waiting for the tournament.
Kunal Mudgal at Just a slice of life writes:
Its time for the madness to begin!!
IPL is back in its 3rd season. Its bigger, better and now back in India. This year will be the true test of this carnival on whether it can sustain itself in this format.
When IPL started out, it was a unique concept in India. But in essence, it was trying to recreate the fanaticism found in football leagues across Europe.
Greatbong at Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind weighs on the entertainment part the tournament offers and asks:
Will all this be worth the Rs 1200 I will shell out for my ticket—-around the same price one would pay, once upton a time, to watch 5 days of Test cricket?
Shubhashish is at the stadium to watch the opening ceremony and the first match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers. He posts this picture at Twitpick.
Abhinav notes the IPL craze in India:
TV, Internet, Newspapers… Every medium is flooding with DLF IPL, a private event; that above all, explains the success of Indian Premier League. For a private event, entire media is fighting to give free of cost coverage! Strange, but Interesting!
The bloggers lists the marketing and branding strategies which have worked in favour of IPL to hype this craze. To highlight a few:
Prem Panicker at Smoke Signals sheds a light on IPL auction’s bidding process and the various pros and cons of the process.
JS tells everybody to enjoy IPL shunning all controversies:
Nothing other than the ODI and T20 World Cups, not even the Champions Trophy, has maintained the anticipation levels as high as the Modi juggernaut called the Indian Premier League (IPL). And if we may take the liberty, even the ODI World Cup has its interest dwindling since the last couple of editions, albeit ever so slightly.
But it’s not the time to ponder anything else; rather just grab a drink, dig into your couch and get immersed into the IPL. It’s that time in the cricketing calendar when all the soaps take a backseat and the desperate housewives either get remote-controlled or join the gang.
WATBlog reports that YouTube is promoting IPL by showing all 60 matches live via its official IPL channel and it has already bagged 200 million Indian Rupees (4.4 million USD) from sponsorships.
Yesterday at the digital media awards night I was part of a discussion with a couple of agency folks who updated me that Youtube was doing exceedingly well when it came to sponsorship monies. One of them stated that Youtube had garnered 20 crores worth of sponsorship for the entire IPL series with individual sponsorship amounts from some sponsors going upto 2 crores as well.
This makes youtube more expensive from a cost per reach perspective when you consider the number of viewers TV will reach vs the no of viewers youtube will reach in India. All in all most agency folks said that this was a big win for digital in India and a lesson for all of us in how to sell digital.
Meanwhile, IPL became a trending topic in Twitter today. Here are some of the Twitter reactions especially highlighting the opening ceremony which featured live performance from international rock stars like UB40, ABBA, Lionel Richie etc.
smokeysunny: The Official #IPL Community created by #ORKUT http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community?cmm=99087253
seopatel: #IPL #MATCH #CRICKET #MUMBAI are in the latest top 10 trends on twitter. India really uses twitter.. do you?
gynelwazlib: The DY stadium looks so beautiful. Feel uncharacteristically proud right now. One of those chairs is my indirect contribution. #ipl
pradeepto: OMG! An #UFO!!! White floating Ufo sighted at DY Patil stadium. #Aliens with funky fluorescent head-wear walking around the ground! #ipl
cricscoreapplet: #cricket #ipl Bollywood beauty, the sizzling Deepika Padukone is on stage now, sending the crowd into a tizzy with her moves
raknair07: Like always..what a crappy opening ceremony …how much more do i have to bear this :( #fail #IPL
pranav_marathe: THE LASER SHOW IN #IPL #OPENING #CEREMONY IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. DEEPIKA'S PERFORMANCE WAS GOOD.
vedantvarma: Am thrilled with the IPL bashing so far. Sheer bliss. :-) they deserve it #ipl
The Indian blogosphere will continue to be flourished with IPL related stories. There will be regular predictions, analysis and gossip among other things. Amidst all the money, controversy, media hype and entertainment, here is hoping that cricket does not become second fiddle in IPL.


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Kenya: Nairobi becomes East Africa’s tech heartbeat · Global Voices
Njeri Wangari

Kenya, and specifically Nairobi, has in recent months become the technology heartbeat of Africa with conferences, launches, meet ups, summits and unconferences all running in quick succession.
The beginning of the year saw the announcement of a new technology hub for all techies, hackers, investors and tech companies. The announcement was made by Erik Hersman (Hash) who runs the blog Whiteafrican, which focuses a lot more on technological advancements in IT though he terms it as a white African's view of the world.
This is what brought about the idea of the iHub,
A number of us in the Nairobi tech community have been discussing the need for a physical nexus for the tech community here for a couple years, so it’s great to finally be so close to uncorking the bottles and celebrating a big step forward for all of us.
That announcement was made on January 25th via his post,  iHub: Nairobi’s Tech Innovation Hub is Here!
February 3rd marked day one of the Mobile East Africa Conference (MWEA10) held at the KICC in Nairobi.  The 2 day event was aimed at harnessing the potential of the internet and applications on mobile devices.  It was attended by various mobile developers,mobile company CEOs as well as other stakeholders in mobile telephony.
Bankelele one of the bloggers who was in attendance gave this detailed recap of the 2 days here .
Kahenya Kamunyu had this to say about the event
“The best conference I’ve attended so far.  Very well organised.”
Kahenya Kamunyru, CEO, ViRN Instruments
Hash  did a stream post of the conference while attending.
Wilfred Mworia of Afrinnovator blog also attended the conference and was one  of the speakers
“Very enlightening”
Will Mworia, Founder, African Pixel  & Afrinnovator
Kachwanya also covered the the conference in his Ten Conclusions blog post.
The iHub – Nairobi's technology hub – was launched on 3rd March bringing together over 200 tech lovers from Nairobi.Ndesanjo has given a review of the even with views from the various bloggers who attended.
Tandaa an initiative by the Kenya ICT Board with the sponsorship of Google Kenya office held a one day symposium on 8th March, the first in a bid to spur the interest in generation of local digital content.
ICANN, the body that governs the assignment of domain names is currently in Nairobi for a 6 day annual meeting – ICANN no.37.
The meetings which started on 8th will end on the 12th March. The choice of Nairobi over other African cities has largely been due to the high speed internet fiber links that are now available to Kenyans. This is a factor that many other IT event organizers have considered in their choice of venue.
However, the presence of too many heads of state has caused concern with the organising committee with the fear that it was causing  major disruptions to the community members
Rebecca Wanjiku a technology journalist and blogger based in Kenya atended the annual ICANN meeting. Her posts on the 2 days can be read here  and here
White African and Mworia  have also written posts on this ongoing event.
Just 2 days after the ICANN 37 meeting is the AfriCamp - a forum that allows the participating youth to showcase their work in their respective regions. In addition, the camp includes training segments that will allow youth to acquire skills in creative social messaging techniques that they can apply to their work. The Youth Initiative sees added value in convening the AfriCamp to not only act as facilitator and sponsor, but most importantly, to raise the profile of the work young people are doing under challenging conditions.
The AfriCamp will bring young activists together so that they can learn from one another while we learn from them. It is integral for the YI to identify these local actors and collect this information to inform the OSI network. It will allow young activists to gain hands-on training in new media that could be translated to their advocacy efforts in their given fields. The participants will be recruited across the sub-Sahara Africa with ages ranging from 18-29 years.
The camp will take place at Lukenya, a camping site in the outskirts of Nairobi from the 14th to the 20th of March.
The camp is based in the barcamp principle of Unconference and will have the input of various youth from all over  Africa
Some of Kenya’s well known bloggers like Mental Acrobatics and Mark Kaigwa will among  participants
Pan Africa Media Conference 2010  an event being organized by one of Kenya’s biggest media houses, the Nation Media Group is set to take place in Nairobi on the 18th and 19th of March.
The aim of the event is to reflect on the past, present as well as look for any future prospects for Media in Africa. New Media is one of the things that will be discussed.
Ory Okolloh, a blogger and one of the forces behind Ushahidi – a crisis crowd sourcing project, will be the moderator.
Various other Kenyan bloggers like Rafiki Kenya , Rebecca Wanjiku, Intelligensia, Cold Tusker, Paula Kahumbu, Bankelele, Hash and myself(KenyanPoet) have been invited to participate in this conference.
I have written a post on this significant step for Kenyan bloggers in giving the future of media in Africa.
Plans for Barcamp Nairobi 2010 are in top gear with tentative dates of either 26th March or 12th – 13th June being voted for on the PBworks page.
Barcamp Nairobi 2008 ( photo courtesy of White African)
Having been gone on  a 1 year hiatus, there are suggestions to make the event a proper 2 day camp outside of Nairobi. Some of the topics that attendees would like to hear are: using GPS enabled cell phones to avoid traffic, cloud computing applications in Kenya, hardware hacking among others.
Lastly, Maker Faire Africa is coming to Kenya on the 6th & 7th of August this year.
The event is a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation and invention. It was first held in Accra Ghana, as a brain child of  Emeka Okafor of Timbuktu Chronicles Blog.
All these technology events happening and only 3 months into the year is an indication that there will be an immense growth of the ICT space not just in Kenya but across many countries in Africa. We can only say ‘Watch this Space – the cyber space’

author: Njeri Wangari


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Maldives: Migrant Workers And Human Rights · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hassan Ziyau discusses about  the plights of the migrants workers in Maldives and criticizes the government for not doing enough to protect their rights.


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Nigeria: Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop in Lagos · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Loomnie announces a creative writing workshop organized by award-winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie, from May 20 to May 29 2010.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: Retired Generals bury political differences · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Chidi Opara reports that retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, Theophilus Danjuma and Ibrahim Babangida in Nigeria have buried their political differences.


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Qatar: FIFA World Cup bid makes friends on Facebook  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

More than 57,000 fans have so far joined a Facebook group in support of Qatar's bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup (football).

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Saudi Arabia: The media on blogging  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Fox News published a story entitled Saudi Bloggers Shatter the Kingdom's Silence and Censorship. The SUSRIS Blog discusses what went wrong.


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Sri Lanka: The Crisis In Secondary Education · Global Voices
Rezwan

“The school teachers expect students to attend their own tuition classes to complete the syllabuses that the school for some reason does not cover,” informs Serendipity while discussing about the crisis in secondary education in Sri Lanka.


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Thailand: Calm before the storm? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The March 12 anti-government rally ended peacefully with the Red Shirts vowing to return to the streets this weekend as they continue to push for the dissolution of Parliament and the holding of new elections.
The Red Shirts are planning to stage a “million-man march” on March 14, Sunday, to topple the current administration.
Many Red Shirts are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra but not all of them are fans of the fugitive leader who was recently found guilty by the court of corruption charges. The Red Shirts view the incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as being illegitimate and undemocratic.
The March 12 rallies in Bangkok and in the rural north marked the beginning of a series of protests that are scheduled to take place this weekend. The government estimated the crowd at 6,500 but rally organizers claimed they mobilized more than 30,000 people in the streets.
The Red Shirts have promised not to use violence in the rallies but this youtube video shows a scuffle between a Red Shirter and a motorist
Another video depicts alleged members of the Red Shirts in an act of distributing cash to rally participants.
The D-Day is still two days away but many Bangkok residents have chosen to stay away from the major rally sites. Banks were closed; dozens of countries issued travel advisories against going to Thailand this weekend; and residents were told not wear red or yellow which are “politically charged colors” in Thailand. The Yellow Shirts are supporters of the government.
Christopher Moore identifies the new media as alternative source of information about the situation in Bangkok
In Bangkok, at the best of times, it is difficult to get a static free signal. In the worst of times, it is impossible. There is too much noise rattling around inside the system. TV and radio is still under the control of the government and the information broadcast is generally pro government. But there is no longer a monopoly on broadcasting information. The Internet, Twitter, cell phone text messages are running hot with information, rumors, threats, warnings, and fear. The clash of messages has led to uncertainty and confusion.
What we have at the moment is fear, passion, anger, hatred and distrust. The information and knowledge is being filtered through these emotions
Newley observes that no extraordinary event took place on March 12 in Bangkok
Many people here in Bangkok expected the day to be chaotic. Businesses closed early. Schools cancelled classes. And while there were small demonstrations in some parts of city, it was largely a day like any other in central Bangkok.
Red Shirts marching
Business and activism
Twitter posts about the Red Shirt rally can be read through these hashtags: #redtweet, #rednews, #redmob, #redmarch, #redbuffalo, #stupidred, #redtail, #redshirt, #redbuff. This author recommends #redtweet and #redshirt. Even Thaksin, who is hiding in many countries, has a twitter account.
Here are some twitter reactions to the March 12 rally
wisekwai Army guys wandering around Central City Bangna. Red, white and blue ribbons to show their allegiance. Not yellow like in '06. #redshirt
bangkokpastor Maybe I'm too cynical. Not surprised by vid on Nation Web showing Reds handing out cash. Yellows did same. Who cares? #redshirt
tulsathit: “They expected thousands at each gathering point, but protest leaders only managed to gather hundreds at each spot,” the source said
Richard Barrow @michael_sp34 I did not feel threatened at any time today. In fact they were mostly friendly and keen for us to take their pictures.
Richard Barrow: They are saying many of the #redshirt pickups and buses are being stopped and searched by police checkpoints which is delaying them

author: Mong Palatino


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The Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Big Lychee writes a book review on Underground Front – The Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong. The book is written by former legislator Christine Loh on the history of the Chinese Communist Party's underground network in Hong Kong.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Uganda: Event to discuss LGBTI rights · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Manchester Queer Reading Group has organised an event called “A Matter of Life and Death: LGBTI Rights in Uganda.”


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Ukraine: “Bandera Bashing Déjà Vu” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Feb. 25, the European Parliament adopted a resolution, in which, among other things, it called on “the new Ukrainian leadership” to “reconsider” the posthumous award granted to Stepan Bandera a month earlier. In a post titled “Bandera Bashing Déjà vu,” Stepan Bandera's grandson – Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop – recalls how he accompanied his mother to the Supreme Court of Canada 25 years ago “to defend the honour and integrity of the Bandera name.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: “Why So Little Internet”? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light looks at the BBC News “infographic about internet access in Europe” and wonders “why a relatively authoritarian country like Belarus has managed to get more than 1/3rd of its people online, whereas Ukraine has only managed 1/10th.”


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China: GFW history · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Damon from interlocals.net posts a video on the history of China's Great Firewall – a filter that covers the whole country and filters and blocks away illegal and politically sensitive content.


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China: Journalists unite to demand governor’s resignation · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Public anger continues to spread following the incident which saw governor of Hubei province Li Hongzhong [de] snatch a recording device out of the hands of reporter Liu Jie in between sessions at the ongoing Lianghui.
Taking their cue from a speech from Prime Minister Wen Jiabao leading up to the Lunar New Year about people's need for greater dignity and another last week calling for greater public supervision of the government, journalists, academics and others from across the country have launched a petition demanding Li Hongzhong's resignation.
This follows growing, since rejected, demand since the incident for an apology from Li, perhaps most notably in a March 8 editorial (now harmonious) from Caijing magazine, ‘Would Governor Li please apologize?”. Sophie Beach at China Digital Times has a thorough roundup of the various facets to the story so far.
“This ‘Two Sessions’ recorder is stealing-, grabbing- and governor-proof, perfect for you female reporters…”
The petition was launched Saturday morning with a number of prominent names and over 200 signatories in total by the latest tally; the number keeps growing on a Google Buzz thread, where an English translation of the petition has appeared, reading in part:
In their many weighty opinions on this matter, those from both the news and academic worlds speak now with the same voice, having found, in the shared shame this incident has brought upon them, the resolve to unite in condemning the terrific impact the Li Hongzhong incident has had. Regardless of your medium, be that newspaper, magazine, television, radio or microblog, or be you journalist from north or south, please do not hesitate in your resolve to continue reporting this story as it develops, as this is a battle for all of our rights.
We look to news workers to raise your arms and voice your concerns, at the same time that we welcome citizens to second the points made within this petition. Our tolerance has run its length and extends no further. People need to be reminded that journalists still exist in this world, as well as to be reminded what being a journalist means; more importantly, people need to know that their civil rights still belong to them and them alone. Having witnessed senior official Li's rage, the time has now come for him to see and hear the fury of the news media profession and how far that fury has now spread.
Beijing-based writer, blogger, publisher and Twitter fiend Mo Zhixu offers a bit more perspective on the backlash against Li:
12:38 AM Mar 12th 我觉得吧，省长抢笔事件在推特上也不要太追究了，说到底这事情跟新闻自由也没多大关系，不过是地方大员藐视了一哈中央媒体权威，如果两会自由采访，抢笔事件才与自由言论有关吧
12:39 AM Mar 12th 没日人民报的证件，连被抢的资格都没有，所以，这事件提升到新闻自由的高度，我看也不靠谱
1:04 AM Mar 12th 我并没有说不应该关注抢笔事件，我只是强调，这事情跟新闻自由关系不大。通过掩盖当下媒体的权力属性，将这个事件包装成新闻自由事件，在我看来是不成立的

author: John Kennedy


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Serbia: Writers and Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Richard Byrne of Balkans via Bohemia pays tribute to Serbian writer Mihajlo Mijhajlov, “a prominent former dissident to both Titoism and nationalism,” who died recently at the age of 76. Sladjana Lazic of A Slice Of Serbian Politics muses on whether “the political engagement of artists can degrade their work,” in a post prompted by the recent death of Momčilo Momo Kapor, a Serbian writer, painter and journalist, as well as “a member of the Committee for Protection of Radovan Karadžić” and an illustrator of one of Karadžić’s children’s books.


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South Africa: inappropriate content in the classroom stage · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Rochele Ardesher published a video taken during a South African elementary school class of what she calls inappropriate content where the teacher berates the students for improper bathroom usage.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Taiwan: Inequality in Baseball Game · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Los Angeles Dodgers was invited to Taiwan to play with CPBL‘s best players this week. However, after the first game on March 12, media and baseball fans found that all the budget(2.8m TWD) for improving Tianmu Baseball Stadium was used only on Dodgers’ side.  Baseball blogger Kenmy argues that “the games are just face-work“(zh) and calls for the Taipei city government to tell people how the budget was spent.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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The Balkans: Byzantine Nostalgia · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Similar to Yugo-nostalgia, the nostalgia for the common Byzantine past can sometimes transcend some of the barriers erected through modern nationalism and racism in the Balkans.
Mizar, a cult rock band that uses Macedonian traditional music and Orthodox Christian chant in much of their work, recently released a new single, “Konstantinopol,” featuring Harmosini Choir. YouTube user vizantijamk [= Byzantium Macedonia]  created an unofficial video clip using a number of depictions of the siege and fall of Constantinople in 1453, including a modern romanticist, kitschy image of the last Greek-speaking emperor riding a horse on the battlements (minute 0:16).
The above-mentioned image from an unattributed source is interesting in two aspects:
Some Facebook users promoted the clip through the pages based on the Macedonian Orthodox Christian identity, such as Speak Macedonian [MKD] and Macedonia Above All [MKD], adding comments of praise for Mizar, who were the first band in former Yugoslavia to produce a rock album entirely in Macedonian language.
Janis used the Orthodox Christian formula “may God rest their souls” to express sympathy for the defenders through a comment [MKD] on the blog Kichevo, which reprinted a 2007 post [MKD] about the fall of Byzantium. Even though the author praised modern Turkish Istanbul as a cosmopolitan tourist hot-spot, this extensive article described the event mainly from the viewpoint of the besieged Christians. The story downplayed the damage inflicted by the Crusaders, even though the siege of 1204 seems far more destructive, as shown by Balkanalysis.com:
…With a barbarity that would have made even the wickedest sultan blush, the Crusaders looted, burned, raped and murdered their way through Constantinople, stealing both saleable riches and priceless works of art, destroying age-old monasteries, and generally going against everything that their “Christian” ideals stood for. In its severity, the Latin conquest of Constantinople was ten times worse than the Ottoman conquest of 1453.
Of those Ancient Greek texts which are no longer extant, several were in circulation right up until 1204. Yet none of today’s “lost texts” were to survive that year. Although the terrible loss of human life is today barely an echo in our historical consciousness, we are still suffering from the cultural destruction caused by the Western sack of Constantinople. It is all but forgotten, however. While everyone recalls the rapacity of the Turks (presumable, because they were Muslim), no one remembers the violence unleashed by one Christian state on another, in a period when religion constituted the grounds for diplomatic relations.
Amidon, recalled another old post – from 2006 – which advocated the view that Byzantium, its culture and institutions were not destroyed, but absorbed into the then-multicultural Ottoman Empire, which defined Islam as the primary state religion almost a century and a half later.
In the post Our Misery and Constantinople [MKD], Surface Surtuk writes that he feels “appalled by this mystification of the submissive (not of the subdued!), this glorification of a battle lost 557 years ago.”
Noting that at the time, the Ottoman value system of meritocratic feudalism was far more appealing to the Christian peoples of the Balkans than the Byzantine system of personal connections and nepotism, he explained:
…Our [ancestors] played an important role in the conquest of the city, in several ways. The Janissaries, who first stormed the walls, were our boys. Serbian prince Lazar (or his son) took part with a squadron of brave, armored Christian knights, alongside other vassals, like the nobles from Wallachia (southern Romania). The expert Saxon miners from my native area of Osogovo undermined the city walls with explosives and dug a tunnel underneath them. Fortunately, the Byzantines also hired a Saxon from Germany who started digging from the other side, and met them half way – killing them like rats underground. A key weapon for the siege was an enormous cannon, built by a Hungarian Christian who sold it to Mehmed the Conquerer after the Byzantines declined to provide a sufficient honorarium. The city was betrayed by the Christian Venice – which refused to aid it with its fleet, because Mehmed guaranteed larger privileges – and the Genoan colony of Pera, which remained neutral and refused to oppose the Ottoman fleet. The French king preferred to expand his territories and confiscate property of slain heretics rather than to launch a new crusade to aid his fellow co-religionists.
Our [Macedonian] contribution would have been greater, but fortunately the old Turkish vassals King Marko and Constantine Dragash had already given their lives for the Ottoman cause. Only two territories in the area resisted the Ottomans at the time: Neuberg or Novo Brdo [New Hill] fell two years after Constantinople, and in retribution the Turks killed all the leading citizens. The lands held by George Kastriot fell after his natural death in 1468, and their population was forcibly converted to Islam in retribution.
Those who submitted and bowed to the Ottomans were not cut by the saber, nor were they assimilated into Muslim Turks, nor were they driven from their homes. They remained as they were, professing their faith and speaking their own language.
The Saxons cleared their conscience by rising against the Ottomans during the Karposh Uprising [of 1689], resulting in their destruction as an ethnic group in Macedonia.
This disjointed discussion continues, even though the participants do not link to each other, and maybe are not aware of the overall context.
Libellus Antonii posted a song lamenting the end of the “Roman” empire in the Pontic Greek language, providing translation in Macedonian:

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Ukraine: “Democratic” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leigh Turner, UK Ambassador to Ukraine, writes about one of the Ukrainian definitions of “democratic” – and about the “undemocratic” Ukrainian VIPs.


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Ukraine: New Coalition, New PM · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tammy Lynch of Jamestown Foundation Blog posts an update on Ukraine's new ruling coalition and the new PM.


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Ukraine: New SBU Chief and Declassified Soviet Archives · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop writes about the insights he gained while working with the recently declassified Soviet secret police archives – and about Ukraine's new State Security Service chief, who appears likely to limit public access to the archives again: “‘The special service’s main concern is the protection of its secrets,’ Khoroshkovsky was quoted by UNIAN on March 11. In this statement Khoroshkovsky betrays his bias: as far as he’s concerned, it might as well be the KGB he’s heading.”


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Algeria: The Cabinet in Numbers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian American blogger The Moor Next Door takes a closer look at the composition of the Algerian government here.


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Bahrain: F1 Missionaries  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif took this “really interesting and clashing shot” during the Formula One weekend. Click on the link to check it out.


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Bahrain: Ferrari Fans Rejoice as Alonso Wins Bahrain Grand Prix · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The first race of the 2010 Formula One season is over and the dust may have settled on the Bahrain International Circuit in the Sakhir desert but the buzz continues online.
The three-day car racing extravaganza culminated with Ferrari driver Spaniard Fernando Alonso clinching first place, followed by his team mate Brazilian Felipe Massa. Briton Lewis Hamilton, in a McLaren-Mercedes, came in third position, to the thrill of a Ferrari-supporting crowd.
A tweetphoto by Mahmood Al Yousif from the Bahrain International Circuit
Before the race weekend started, Bahraini blogger @Mahmood Al Yousif complains:
oh, my wife and I are the only people actually PAYING for our tickets, everyone else we know's got a freebie! Last time we'll buy BIC tkts:(
And then he goes on to religiously ‘tweet’ the weekend. On the first day, he writes:
BIC are you listening? Ban smoking on stands for goodness sake. We can't breath and it's bloody annoying and filthy.
On the second day of the race, @Mahmood tweets from the stands:
Sitting between 3 ladies fanning themselves and I'm getting the benefit. Is this the life of emperors? Not bad. I like!!
And on Alonso's win, @Mahmood quips:
It's appropriate that the king of Spain is here, he must be very chuffed! Well done Alonso!! Congrats Bahrain too.
Bahrain's own Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Khalifa was also on Twitter, registering his thoughts on the weekend's proceedings.
Earlier today, he posted a tweetphoto showing traffic line ups on the way to the circuit:
Traffic line up to the circuit by Khalid Al Khalifa
He also notes:
On my way to F1 race .. Horrendous traffic towards circuit
And at the end of the race, Shaikh Khalid tweets:
With @richardquest .. Almost falling off the tower at the race ! Congrats to Alonso, Spain and Ferrari  http://tweetphoto.com/14383101
Meanwhile, CNN's Richard Quest was also in Bahrain, attending F1 and posts the following tweet at the start of the race:
Race underway. loud.  view good, n o idea who is winning without looking at TV  #F1 #cnn
Before that, he stumbles upon the King of Spain and…
I was wearing shorts in Royal Tower and had to hide when King of Spain passed by ! Faux Pas indeed.
Bahrain makes it as a Trending Topic on Twitter
And Salman Al Abbasi predicted Alonso's win and tweets:
For the first time my predictions turn right Alonso 1 #Bahrain #F1 :D
As for Internet junkies, the excitement was running high as Bahrain became a trending topic on Twitter. Esra'a Al Shafei tweets her excitement:
Amazing, my little country is internationally trending for the first time ever! Take that, Dubai!
She then adds:
Come on #Bahrain I wanna screenshot this country being FIRST on the international trending list (to show my grandkids, duh)
Her excitement is shattered when #Bahrain fell off the list. She explains:
Everyone using #BahrainGP instead of just #Bahrain ruined it for us. We're never gonna beat the mothers now.


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Bahrain: New Mobile Phone Operator  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A new mobile phone operator is in the market. Bahraini emoodz explains why he is dissatisfied with his current operator and why he won't jump ship.. just not yet.


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Bulgaria: Delivery of Some Cancer Drugs Stopped? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

European Union Law reports that “the Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) has stopped the delivery of some drugs against cancer for children under 18 years”: “A very simple question arises: what sort of a European Union Member State is Bulgaria, really??? How is it possible to leave the children without proper medication supply? Who will take the responsibility if the health of these children deteriorates further because of erratic treatment?”


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Colombian: March 13 Elections · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Sebastian Chaskel of the Americas Quarterly Blog provides his thoughts on how Colombians will vote in the March 13th legislative elections.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Egypt: Happy Mother’s Day!  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mother's Day is celebrated on March 21 across all Arab countries. Nermeena, from Egypt, celebrates early with this post.


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Egypt: RIP Fouad Zakariyya  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On The Arabist, Issandr El Amrani marks the death of Fouad Zakariyya, a leading Egyptian philosopher and sophisticated critic of Islamist thought, in this post.


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Georgia: Mock news report causes panic · Global Voices
Ana Keshelashvili

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
Crossed out logo of the channel
On Saturday 13 March, the Imedi national television broadcaster aired a mock news report stating that Russian tanks had invaded Georgia and that the president was dead. Aired at 8pm, the usual time slot for daily news, the nation's most trusted broadcaster (according to the last year's study by Caucasus Research Resource Center) offered its audience the worst possible case scenario of what might happen a week after municipal elections scheduled for the end of May in the country's capital, Tbilisi.
According to that scenario, the opposition might seize power and turn the country into a confederation and ally of Russia. Moreover, some Georgian troops decide not to defend President Saakashvili and instead back the opposition's temporary government. The visuals accompanying the mock report, as well as the anchor of the program, were exactly the same as of that for a regular newscast, aside from a brief introduction informing viewers that what followed was a simulation of possible events.
Screen shot of mock report on Imedi television – RFE/RL
However, using footage from the August 2008 war with Russia presented in the format of a regular news program caused momentary panic in the country. “Requiem of the Georgian Dream,” as the producers called it, detailed an apocalyptic end to democracy in Georgia after opposition leaders Nino Burjanadze and Zurab Noghaideli, who recently befriended Russia's President, take power.
During the program, which lasted half an hour, some of those living in villages close to the conflict zone reportedly fled to nearby forests to escape what they believed were advancing Russian troops, while shocked people called for emergency help, lined up at grocery stores and ATMs, and cars queued at petrol stations, concerned that recent history was repeating itself.
The private company, which also broadcast the same program on radio,  violated the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters which says that reenactments should be avoided or at least clearly identified as such,  while outraged citizens staged a protest in front of the TV station.
One local blogger, Dodka was among the 300-500 people and posted updates on Facebook. Accused by some of being a provocateur because she said she was there to protest against Imedi's actions rather than support the opposition, she also posted some photographs.
Protest in front of Imedi TV by Dodka
ოპოზიციამ, რა თქმა უნდა, შანსი ხელიდან არ გაუშვა და უხვად წარმოგვიდგა, ასე ვთქვათ. თუმცა მთავარი ფიგურა ბურჯანაძე იყო. ჩემი მეგობარი, რომელიც იქ დამხვდა, საერთოდ გამოეცალა და ცდილობდა მოშორებით დამდგარიყო, მაგ ქალის გვერდით არ ვიქნებიო.
Other people also went online to vent their anger. One of the first reactions on blogs and Facebook came from Rocko in the form of an excerpt from the above mention broadcaster's code.
მოგიტყანთ:
Another blogger, Dv0rsky argued that behind the decision to broadcast the program lay with Giorgi Arveladze, Director of Imedi TV, and the ex-Minister of Economy as well as long time friend of the Georgian President, especially after a court in Gibraltar ruled that Ina Gudavadze, widow of the former tycoon owner of Imedi, had the right to claim part of her husband's property, among them shares in the station.
ადვილი მისახვედრია, რომ იმედის ჟურნალისტები არაფერ შუაში არიან დღევანდელ სიუჟეტთან – მათ მხოლოდ ის გააკეთეს, რაც დაავალეს. დამვალებელმა კი ძალიან კარგად იცოდა – თუ ტელევიზიას კარგავს და სხვას უნდა გადასცეს, მაშინ ჯერ ყველა ღონეს იხმარს და ჩაძირავს მას, შემდეგ კი მიატოვებს განწირულ ხომალდს.
Fazanda ironically addressed a post to those who justified the decision to broadcast the program.
მათ რომ ჰკითხო, თურმე ხალხს არ უნდა შეშინებოდა, რომ ეს შიში უფრო საგანგაშოა, რადგან არველაძემ ე.წ. Wake Up Call გაგვიკეთა და ამის გამო მას კი არ უნდა ვემდუროდეთ, არამედ გულებში უნდა ჩავიხედოთ თურმე.
Other opinions were shared by Sweet, Zurrius, Tiny and Gabo, who were at the theater enjoying Shakespeare's Twelfth Night when the audience started to receive phone calls informing them of the imaginary invasion and death of the president. Actors stopped their performance, but returned after discovering the story was false. Back on stage they chatted with the few people left in the hall, and the lead gave some bloggers the title for their posts after he said that “theater is immortal.”
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Ana Keshelashvili


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India: Wither Hockey? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amreekan Desi writes about the dismal performance of the Indian hockey team in the ongoing world cup.


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Israel: Shin Bet “Detains” Reporter · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jewish blogger Richard Silverstein claims that the Shin Bet has secretly detained a reporter for leaking top-secret memos on targetted assassinations.


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Russia: Mapping Broadband Internet Prices · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russia has experienced an enormous growth of Internet penetration during the last 10 years. But the quality of Internet connection isn't the same for everyone. Quality, price and accessibility of the broadband Internet differ a lot throughout the country with some territories (like Sakhalin [EN]) still being beyond the digital divide. In this article, I'll present the results of the study of broadband prices of the Internet in the Russia's 90 largest cities (with the exception of Moscow and Saint Petersburg). The study was conducted as a part of my Ph.D. thesis for the Moscow State University. More detailed version will be published in the Russian magazine “Internet v Cyfrah” [RUS] in April, 2010.
The analysis focused on unlimited Internet access at the speed of 1 megabit per second (mbs). The original dataset included 810 providers. Then the city median mean was counted. The result of the analysis showed that Russians pay for the same service very different prices. 1mbs unlimited Internet access plan costs from $180 per month in northern Norilsk [EN] to $12 in Yoshkar-Ola [EN] in central Russia. In some cities, there are no 1mb unlimited plans at all and the highest speed people can count on is 256 kbs (if this happened, the special coefficient was used).
Another problem is that in many towns in Siberia and Far East there's no decent broadband and people use satelite Internet which is much more expensive. Below is the table of the cities with the cheapest and the most expensive Internet in the country:
Table 1. Cities with the cheapest broadband prices (November 2009)
Most of the cities in the top-10 are from the Volga region (Yoshkar-Ola, Naberezhnye Chelny [EN], Kazan [EN] and others) where the cheapest prices were found. As a general rule, the cheapest Internet is prevalent in the biggest cities with developed universities (Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and others). The railroad connection is also of critical importance due to the technology of the construction of the broadband telecommunications, many of which are constructed along with the railroads.
On the other side, the most expensive broadband can be found in two types of cities: industrial and/or company towns [EN] and in the cities of the North Caucasus. People of the cities with developed oil industry (Surgut and Nizhnevartvosk)  do not usually “suffer” from high Internet prices due to higher than average salaries. Both types of cities represent the “risk groups” where the digital divide is present. Poor infrastructure tied with low salaries turns into backwardness on a digital level.
Table 2. Cities with the most expensive broadband prices (November 2009)
Different prices of broadband in the cities lead to a serious differentiation on a regional level. Below is the map of the broadband prices in different Federal Districts [EN] (super-regional administration territorial divisions).
Price of Broadband in Russia, Alexey Sidorenko for GVO
While in the Center, Volga and Urals federal districts the situation with the Internet is rather normal (about $30 for broadband, which is about 5-7 percent of the average income in 2007 and even less in 2009), the situation is much worse in the Far East and North Caucasus where Internet is not only expensive but also less accessible.
Role of government in promoting broadband is positive but not everywhere. Government companies (Center – Domolink, North-West – Avangard, Volga – JDSL, N.Caucasus – Disel, Urals – Utel, Siberia – Web Stream, Far East – Disly) that work in federal districts usually offer the lowest prices and the best conditions. At the same time, in the “problematic” regions like Far East and North Caucasus, government ISP often face monopoly accusations (like it happened with Dal Svyaz). At the same time, government ISPs are expected to be more likely to violate users’ rights and less eager to stick to Net Neutrality principles.
Another dimension of digital divide is the size of the city. The analysis shows that the bigger city is the better conditions users have. Internet in smaller cities is usually more expensive and there is less provider competion.
Table 3. Share of broadband price in relation to the average salary
Although Internet penetration rate growth in Russia is impressive, more detailed picture shows there's a lot to be done. As in other parts of the world, there are several factors influencing digital divide: location near main telecommunications arterias, size of the city and it's specialization.
Soviet-era industrial company towns turn out to be less competitive in the post-industrial era. Cities of the unstable and underdeveloped North Caucasus experience the lack of both telecommunications investment and provider competition. Majority of population in smaller cities and towns might have passed the digital divide but still live in the “pre-broadband” world with little or no access to YouTube and other traffic-sensitive online services.
While government officials in the United States and European Union raise the question of the country-wide affordable 30 mbs (or even 100 mbs) in the next decades, Russia's aim should be at least 1 megabit per second.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Thoughts on March 8, Feminism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Thoughts on March 8 and feminism in Russia and Ukraine – at Poemless, Global Comment, and Sean's Russia Blog.


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Russia: Video of Directed Voting · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Political analyst Alexander Kynev posted a video where students of a local college vote preliminarily  in the city of Ivanovo. The video shows one of the most popular fraud techniques in modern Russia: directed preliminary vote that gives 10-15% for the ruling party. The students are either forced or paid to vote.


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Serbia: Belgrade’s Trees Fall Victim to “Chain Saw Massacre” · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

At the end of February, the process of cutting down some 400 plane trees began on Belgrade's longest street, the Boulevard of King Alexander. The trees were planted there in the 19th century, and the tree-lined path represented one of the oldest and most beautiful green oases in the center of Belgrade. A municipal company Gradsko Zelenilo, which is in charge of all city parks and tree-lined paths, has announced plans for complete eradication of the trees on the boulevard, explaining that they were old and sick.
This action has caused protests of citizens and a lot of reactions by Belgrade’s writers, artists and other famous people in the press and on the internet. They expressed doubts that all the marked trees were sick. They fear it is yet another excuse for expansion of parking areas or another project that will be revealed only later, after the giant plane trees have been destroyed.
The director of Gradsko Zelenilo, Radovan Draskic, said that the cut had started and that citizens should be aware of the danger of sick trees left standing. The website Balkan Insight published his statement; here is part of it:
We chose this part of the boulevard because it has the most problems. Why? It isn't difficult to prove; when you look at the outside of the [trees], they look healthy, but studies have shown that they are rotting. You can see that a metre or two is healthy and then the rot starts.
A group of citizens who opposed the cut called for a petition to be launched. They sent a letter to the Belgrade mayor Dragan Đilas. Among other things, they wrote:
Besides aesthetic, historical and cultural significance, the trees, as you know, also clean the extremely polluted air in this neighborhood. There are engineers from the Faculty of Forestry and Horticulture among the signatories of our petition. The engineers believe that, contrary to the assertions of the director of Gradsko Zelenilo, the trees are not actually sick, as was the case with certain previous cuts.
A Facebook group titled REMEMBERING BELGRADE CHAIN SAW MASSACRE!!! already has more than 800 members. Here's the group's description:
Belgrade City Hall has cut down over 400 trees in the longest boulevard in the city.
They have given us some lame excuses about “sickness of the trees” But the truth is more ugly.
It is, as you may imagine all about… money
Dusan Pavlovic from the NGO Zeleni Srbije told Balkan Insight that such a decision was tragic, but that it was too late to change anything now:
This shouldn't have happened without consultations with relevant organisations and experts. Now that the damage is done it is too late to stop and therefore we will try to press the authorities to do what they promised to do afterwards, namely plant new trees.
Bloggers also reacted to the event.
Nune Popovic wrote:
[…] If plane trees are really sick and present danger to the lives of Belgrade’s citizens, as mayor Đilas said, and that some of the experts contested […], a logical question arises: why is the study by experts from the Faculty of Forestry […] not revealed? What is the obstacle for an open public discussion about the issue in which the international experts should be included too? […]
[…] Đilas’s behavior looks like he enjoys the requests that are sent to him to check the decision about the cut of plane trees, like Milosevic enjoyed in 1991. When Đilas, as a leader of student protest, asked him to do a favor to his people and withdraw from the power.
That’s why I suspect the decision that the plane trees should be cut is more sick than the trees whose cutting Đilas supports, and instead, it is in the public interest to make sure that everything possible is done so that the trees are treated and saved.
Blogger Srđan Mitrovic writes about the building plan for the Boulevard and explains why more people didn't join the protests:
[…] Sincerely speaking, I would be surprised to learn that any of those who live on the Boulevard participated in the protests. Probably, they can hardly wait for their buildings to be torn down, so that they can get money or square meters from investors [who have intention to make new buildings in the area].
Blogger Albicilla published a few photos from the cut of plane trees and invited citizens to gather next to the Vuk Monument in order to light candles for the trees:
Let's say good-bye to plane trees in a dignified way, with many honors and respects.
Let’s light candles on each venue of their merciless and unfair massacre.
Inviting all volunteers to gather themselves, today, on Sunday, March 7, next to the Vuk Monument, and bring candles, matches and cigarette lighters. […] Let’s send a picture into the world that we regret what's happened to our plane trees and that we are not monstrous killers. […]
Vladimir, a young man (25) from Belgrade’s area Braca Jerkovic, who calls himself as a “self-styled lawyer,” is on duty every night in order to save one of the plane trees in the Boulevard. He is also collecting citizens’ signatures in order to petition the municipal authorities to start treating his plane tree. Blogger Albicilla, in another post, published Vladimir's explanation:
I am aware that there is a minimal chance that a plane tree, which is entered in the proposal under the number 191, will survive […]. It’s obvious that those who made a decision about it will go to the end. It is my initiative, no one stands behind me, only my plane tree. Though I don’t live on the boulevard, I can’t be idle. I am hurt when I see how plane trees disappear.

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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South Africa: Julius Malema’s Reverse Racism · Global Voices
Muhammad Karim

While the antics of President Zuma have always generated intense and lively debate in the South African blogosphere, this time it is the controversial politician and the president of the African National Congress Youth League, Julius Malema, who's making headlines. Recently, Malema led students in singing an old Anti-Apartheid struggle song called Kill the Boer.  He is facing criminal charges for the song.
Let's see reactions from South African bloggers.
Blogoff!!! writes a post entitled “Shoot the Boers, they are rapists!!!!”:
Julius Malema
He is such an imbecile, and they think that this little Pedi will become our next president. I am so immigrating to another country if he becomes our commander in chief. People think that Zuma makes us look like monkeys; well Julius will do way worse than the honourable JZ.  . .in his sleep!!!
He sang an old struggle song “Shoot the Boers, they are rapists”! Wha! I love the fact that he believes in Democracy, but spreads hate speech!
Mr. Jackson Mthembu, spokesperson of the ANC, is actually defending him, saying it is not his fault and that he was quoted, or whatever, out of context. Well I think Julius is stupid and ignorant and a racist, but please do not quote me out of context! That is so not what I mean, hello!!
Rea from “My Life and World” discusses Malema's outburst in a post entitled, very aptly I might add, “Put down that scissors Malema, before someone gives you a damn hiding!!!!!”:
We all know what happens when you run with scissors right? Well that is exactly what Malema is doing right now, running around like a spiteful child who doesn’t want to listen to his mother. The moment when he falls down and stick himself in the eye all his little friends are going to abandon him and run away leaving him bleeding like a stuck pig. He won’t listen to anyone telling him what he should do.
You won’t believe that we are hosting the Fifa World Cup Soccer, the way he is acting. If he thinks any overseas visitors will come here to pump this country full of money when it seems as if unrest is at the order of the day here, he is in stall for a very rude awakening.
But coming off from Malema's rant, the ANC and the South African President were quick to defend one of their executive leaders.
Common Dialogue writes, “The ANC will talk to Malema about his racial utterances? That would be a first!”:
The ANC says it will “engage” Youth League president Julius Malema on his recent racial outburst at a student rally. Fat chance!
The party’s spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said:”We are always in contact with the youth league, we will continue talking to them… even in this instance we would engage with them,” he said.
Malema, according to media reports, led students at the University of Johannesburg in a song saying: “Shoot the boere [farmers], they are rapists.”
Now, we all know that Malema has been insulting people including senior members of the ANC and its alliance partners at will. Nothing has happened to him.
A few old-school white South African's have joined the fray in the blogosphere pointing out the hypocrisy. Wessel's Place puts up his frustrations on his blog:
While Julius Malema was singing “Shoot the Boers” at an ANC Youth league rally, farmers were being killed in the Limpopo province.
And no black political leader said anything.
I find this sad. I find a great inconsistency in our country. If any white person uttered the words “Shoot the Zulu's” or “Shoot the Xhosa's”, they would have reason to fear for their lives. In fact, when someone dared finger the presidential convoy, this person was arrested and humiliated by the authorities.
I want to believe in this country. I want to believe in its potential. I want to believe that my children can grow up here without having to apologize for being white.
Blogging at My Digital Life, The Source puts up a fairly long rant entitled “Kill the Kafir song?” …
So the ANC is defending Julius Malema for singing a song containing the lyrics, “Shoot the boere, they are rapists”.
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu told Sapa by phone on Thursday morning that he will defend Malema and that the song should be seen in context (Read full article).
He continues to say:
“The issue is, indeed, some people might be correct that there might be songs we should not sing. Let them put them on the agenda and convince the ANC that we should not sing those songs and tell us why.
“But then they should also look at songs that were sung by the forces of oppression.”
Let’s look at this statement
Forces of oppression would most probably refer to the white government in the apartheid era and thereby extend to all whites I suppose.
Now I was in an Afrikaans school and I was also in the Voortrekkers.  For those who don’t know, the Voortrekkers is like the boy scouts, but it celebrates the heritage of the Afrikaner nation who moved from the coastal regions inland toward what is now known as the Freestate, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Alex Matthews at Thought Leader asks, “If killing the boers is OK, how about blacks, women and gays?” :
ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu has defended Julius Malema’s lusty renditions of the infamous “kill the boers, they are rapists” song, arguing (according to this Sapa article) that the “the lyrics of the song had been quoted out of context”.
“This song was sung for many years even before Malema was born. Julius doesn’t even know who’s the writer of the song. He got it from us [the ANC]. You must blame the ANC, don’t blame Julius. But when you blame the ANC, then contextualise it,” Sapa quotes Mthembu as saying.
By Mthembu’s logic, it is completely acceptable inciting people to kill others, provided there is “context”. What does that mean? Well, so as long as “kill the blacks” was an old apartheid song, embittered racists can chant it from the rooftops. So long as “kill the women” was some sort of misogynist anthem, chauvinists can do the Macarena to it in male-only clubs. So long as “kill the gays” was a major hit for bigots as they set lesbians alight, they can scream it as they throw the gays off bridges and into manholes.
Consequently, Malema has apologised, which ClassicMalema.co.za covers in “Malema Says Sorry”:
A very rare moment for this moron to apologise for his statements. I think the ANC came down on his ass big time.   Is the road coming to an end for Ju Ju?
Azad Essa at Thought Leader posts up a brilliant satirical piece covering the dodgy contracts Julius Malema has amassed in his very well-endowed position in government,“Two kilo's of tenderised Malema, please!”:
With the country in a tizz after sizzling reactions to severe price hikes as “tenderised Malema” hit the newsstands, fictitious members of the ANC top-brass met at an emergency meeting on Monday to resolve the latest crisis in the party.
As news of government tenders enhancing the meagre salaries of government officials, their families, and their families’ families, appeared to have boosted newspaper record sales over the weekend, ANC leadership came to a set of binding resolutions in a bid to root out corruption in government.
In a dramatic shift the ANC released a statement early this morning saying that it is within the right of a senior cadre not to partake in government deals.
And what does Google think of Julius Malema?:
So heres the deal.   Open www.Google.com and type in “Julius Malema is”  – wait a second or two to see the suggestions that Google will recommend.
Hilarious
Definitetly, Zuma and Malema will remain a hot topic in the South African blogosphere for a long time.

author: Muhammad Karim


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Taiwan: Rally for Tibet · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Photoblogger Jameson posts many photos taken from “Free Tibet Rally” in Taipei on March 14, in memorial of the sad incident happened on the same date two years ago.


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The Balkans: Ejup Ganić’s Arrest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Updates on the arrest of Ejup Ganić in London on March 1: Amila Bosnae – here and here; Gray Falcon – here, here, and here; Greater Surbiton – here and here; Samaha – here; CAFÉ TURCO – here;


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U.K.: Fight to Keep Children Out of Immigration Detention Centres · Global Voices
Judith Townend

Late last year a group of U.K. citizens launched a simple campaign to end the detention of children and babies by immigration authorities. The campaign, called End Child Detention Now (ECDN), has since been backed by some high-profile British figures and the group has quickly gathered names for its petition to the U.K. government, nearly 4,600 at the time of writing. In February, I joined the group to help with online campaigning.
The U.K. is the only European country to detain children of asylum seekers without a time limit: around 2000 each year, some for months at a time. Other countries have already taken action — Australia, for example, has pledged never to put another child in a detention center.
The ECDN volunteer-led campaign is also raising awareness of cases where children are treated like adults when they are actually under 18. This month, a 14-year-old boy from Afghanistan, ‘M’ (name protected for legal reasons), was mistaken for an adult, arrested and was about to be deported from the U.K., before a judge ordered his release, pending a full judicial review hearing [pictured above, with his elder brother].
Writing on the Web site OpenDemocracy campaign co-coordinator Clare Sambrook shares M's story, as well as that of 17-year-old Rima, who fled religious persecution in Eritrea. Expanding on Rima's story she says:
Rima fled, moved from house to house, lived rough until twelve months ago when Alison and Robert took her in as their natural daughter. In May last year Rima was seized and locked up in Dungavel, a former prison.
When Rima’s solicitor lodged an application for judicial review, the Border Agency swept her out of its range, taking her 356 miles south by caged van to Yarl’s Wood, Serco’s notorious Bedfordshire detention centre. Another application for review, deportation averted. After seven days in Yarl’s Wood Rima was home again.
And then, last month, the day after Valentine’s Day, the government told Rima she would be forcibly deported to Italy within weeks. The family campaigns vigorously for clemency, fearing that each new dawn will bring the Border Agency’s arrest squad to their door.
Sambrook goes on to say:
“M’s fate and Rima’s hang in the balance — here, in Britain, a country where asking for sanctuary is a right, not a crime, and where, according to the government, every child matters.”
Other projects are also trying to put pressure on the government to address the problems surrounding the detention of children.
NCADC (the National Coalition of Anti-Deportion Campaigns), for example, also raised the case of ‘M’, with ideas for further action.
The organisation Medical Justice is calling upon doctors to raise their concerns about the issue. In its petition for doctors, it says:
“The administrative detention of children is damaging to them, cannot be made otherwise, and is unacceptable in a civilised society. We call for the immediate cessation of this practice which is demonstrably and permanently harmful to children’s health, both in the short and long term.”
Other related groups include the Bail for Immigration Detainees and Citizens for Sanctuary.
So far, there has been a lot of mainstream press attention to the issue, following the publication of a recent report. ECDN hopes that bloggers and social media users will increasingly engage with the issue too. The campaign can be followed on @stop_child_det on Twitter and has a Facebook group.

author: Judith Townend


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Year After Coup, Madagascar’s Leaders Face Sanctions · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

On the anniversary of the coup d'etat of March 17,  2009  in Madagascar, individual sanctions are about to be imposed upon the current leaders of Madagascar for not respecting the resolutions of Maputo that were previously agreed upon  by all participants.  This decision come after a warning a month earlier from the African Union and the International Contact Group and follow several annulments of international trade accords that have affected the local industries. They also come on the heel of reports by Amnesty International and the US State Department that document multiple human rights violations and ongoing illegal international trafficking of precious rosewood from Madagascar rain forests. According to a Malagasy insider, the individual sanctions would result in a freeze of the financial assets of the people present in the list and possible arrest if they travel outside Madagascar (fr).
The  government remains defiant in the face of the impending sanctions, arguing that only national elections will provide an effective exit to the crisis.  The organization and monitoring of these elections are not clearly defined yet and parliamentary elections have already been postponed  from the initial proposed schedule.
The political deadlock  is compounded by humanitarian concerns caused by  Tropical Storm Hubert that killed 14 and left 37,891 homeless after making landfall earlier in the week.
(Photo credit: Global Green Grants Fund)
Reflecting upon the upcoming sanctions on national Malagasy leaders,  Citoyenne Malgache, a blogger based in Madagascar, has mixed feelings about the possible consequences for the everyday Malagasy citizens. She is torn between satisfaction and fear (fr):
Contente ? Si l’Union Africaine ne se contente pas de sortir sa liste des sanctionnées, mais présente aussi au peuple malgache (celui de 19 millions et pas celui de 912 personnes) les actions concrètes et immédiates pour la mise en œuvre des accords de Maputo [..] Worried ? En réaction à ce que l’Union Africaine dira ou fera, la troupe à Rajoelina et leurs bandes armées pourraient faire de la résistance[..] Ce 17 mars,  je me demande quel monde je trouverais à mon réveil
Madagoravox is also dreaming of  a country  with different standards so that it won't have to go through this cycle of crisis ever again (fr):
On pourrait aussi rêver d’une action politique qui ne serait  le fruit ni de rencontres occasionnelles, ni d’un calcul personnel, ni d’une ambition partisane, mais le fruit d’une morale, d’une éthique qui engagerait pleinement chacun
Ndimby thinks that a true exit to the crisis can only be reached through an in-depth dialog between former foes and not the make-believe meetings that both parties held earlier and that were consensual only on the surface (fr):
L’unilatéralisme ne réside pas dans l’absence ou la présence de débats mais dans le fait que le cadre du débat est déjà dès le départ tellement orienté, qu’il a empêché de parler sérieusement des choses essentielles, et de réunir les personnes qui comptent vraiment dans la résolution de crise
An initiative called “Mitsangana” (Stand Up in Malagasy) to get politicians from all parties to respond to question from Malagasy citizens has been created on Facebook.
While the crisis perseveres, the social toll is gradually increasing. Health workers and physicians were on strike for months and  factory workers were seen gathering outside a factory that plans to let them go in April.
Workers protesting outside a factory in Antananarivo
(Photo credit: “Mitsangana” facebook group)
As is often the case,  rural communities are often more dramatically affected by poverty.  Louise, from Southern Madagascar, tells her story of hardship and explains that the many changes over the years have depleted her region of land resources and fish species:
People in Ilafitsignana are now deprived of their farmland… As a result, there are many more people living off fishing, and resources are no longer enough… Ambatsy and sâro are almost non-existent. fiambazahaare still around but not as many…angora lo and varavarà were so easy to catch in the past but are almost non-existent now… tofoky are also hard to find (author's note: names in italics are species of fish in Malagasy)
According to the World Bank, the struggle of the  Malagasy economy has already forced the government to slash $200 million USD for the public service from their national budget.   Achille52  explains that the educational system is the first to suffer and that this budget cut will have dire consequences on the future of the nation (fr):
C’est le manque de financement qui est la plaie de l’enseignement publique, les enseignants ne sont pas motivés à cause de leur salaire minable, et les enfants issus de la classe défavorisé ne sont pas assez concentrés. Et si on supprime les aides qui subsistent, où va-t-on ?

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Afghanistan: Attacks in Khost · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reviews the background of a recent suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Photo-project for youth · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghan PenLog reports on the international photography trainings project for the young men and women of Aghanistan, which has taken place in Philadelphia and ended up with an exhibition.


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Afghanistan: Talking with insurgents · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust criticizes the American push to negotiate with insurgent leaders in Afghanistan.


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Bangladesh: Yellow Journalism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Estelle Visagie at Postcards From The Edge questions the quality of Bangladeshi journalism citing an example of misreporting of a ethnically sensitive news.

author: Rezwan


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Bhutan: Showing Off   · Global Voices
Rezwan

In preparation for the upcoming SAARC summit, the Bhutanese capital Thimphu is undergoing a massive cleanup drive. Tshering Tobgay comments: “We, (the) residents, must ask ourselves if our city really is as clean as it might look. And, if not, what we, residents, should do about it.”


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China: Debating hukou reform · Global Voices
Marta Cooper

Earlier this month, thirteen Chinese newspapers joined forces in appealing to the National People's Congress’ 3,000 delegates for social reforms. They attacked China's hukou (household registration system), which severely limits the access of rural migrant workers to basic services in China’s metropolises. The editorial affirmed,
China has endured the bitterness of its household registration system for so long! (…) We hold that individuals are born free, possessing the right to move freely!
(…)
The system is anachronistic and troubling our great masses to this day. (…) It has reached a point that people’s anger cannot be quelled unless there is reform of the system.
Yet it did not take long for one of its authors to be ousted. The Economic Observer’s deputy editor in chief, Zhang Hong, was removed from his position less than a fortnight after the editorial's release, and the paper’s other top editors received harsh warning from the authorities. In response, Zhang released this letter (translated by the WSJ) explaining the reasoning behind the editorial. He said,
I have a firm conviction that legislation that disregards the dignity and freedom of the people will ultimately land on the rubbish heap of history. I hope that this system will ultimately be abolished. When the time comes I believe that many people will burst into tears from happiness and run around spreading the news. As a media person, I can only do my utmost to fulfill my duties and obligations, and each of us should also assume our respective duties and obligations.
The hukou system was adopted in the late 1950s to control population movement. It ties households and citizens to particular places of residence (both urban and rural), and in so doing determines the social benefits one is eligible for. Many government services, such as housing, education, healthcare and police protection, are tied to one's hukou. To add insult to injury, the chances of changing it from one place to another are slim, as Canadian blogger Don Tai has outlined.
Consequently, the system lags behind the mass exodus of rural migrant workers that land in China's cities. Such migrants are limited to their rural hukou, and so they are by definition not eligible for the social benefits enjoyed by their established urban resident neighbours. As a result, they often live in dire conditions, as this chinaSMACK article illustrated. Husunzi from China Study Group explains:
For those rural residents who are not thus forced to become urban residents, if they chose to work in urban areas they are (as is well publicised) treated as second-class citizens and detained or sent home as soon as they try to stand up for their interests (just like immigrant workers in the US and many other countries).
Therefore, to quote Stan Abrams from China Hearsay, the system “doesn't make sense for China’s modern economy that relies on a more dynamic labour sector.”
Zhang Hong and his comrades are not the only ones who feel the system should be reformed. Dissident Yu Jie says,
they [government officials] have never thought about the peasants, and the ‘prosperity’ that they designed for China had nothing to do with peasants — more than 1 billion peasants are simply ‘passed over’ lightly by them.
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks has also translated the following comments from blogger Wan Xiaodao:
If you let rural people become city people, the labor force in the city increases greatly, and the problem of not finding workers would be easily solved. In industrial parks build laborer areas, the houses need not be too good but they must be strong and the prices can’t be too high, no higher than 10,000 RMB […] Haha, it seems I’ve let my imagination run wild. Of course, if things were this way, it would lead to many problems, rural people would vie to be the first to get to the city, and what would we do with no one left to farm the earth?
The blogosphere has been ablaze with discussion from all viewpoints over the ramifications of the hukou system. One issue Chinese netizens seem most disgruntled with is education, as the country's hyper-competitive system is made even more challenging for non-local residents who are unable to take advantage of better schools. As one netizen wrote on KDS,
Those children being able to study is still better than having them run wild outside, basic elementary school enrollment is simply inadequate, this is a fact, many primary schools have been combined or closed. Moreover, migrant workers’ children have [sic] always been a [social] issue, and no matter what you say, migrant workers have still made a very large contribution to this city. There is no good reason (…) to attack this kind of issue. As for [the migrant workers] having more than one child issue…what, now you guys don’t talk about human rights and freedoms?
But not all opinion is so sympathetic, with anger and fear fuelling some arguments. According to another KDS forum goer,
Shanghainese children are taught by their parents from when they are small to be reasonable and have manners, so they will definitely be bullied if they are put together with hard disks raised in the wild. Looks like in the future, our children will have to start learning karate or taekwondo from when they are small.
A controversial Tianya post also protested against policies allegedly favouring rural citizens:
Why do metropolitan citizens have to spend millions to buy the housing in cities? Why can we not have a homestead in the rural areas to build our own affordable houses?
(…)
Why is there so much government welfare given to people in rural areas? On what basis? Are rural people born superior?
Both spectrums of opinion are not falling on entirely deaf ears. Premier Wen Jiabao addressed the need for further reforms of the system in a recent public Internet chat session. However, here too it was felt that several quesitons were left unanswered, as expressed by blogger Han Song.
How is genuine hukou reform to be reached, then, asks the East Asia Forum?
It would make sense for the government to consider opening local hukou registers to skilled migrant labourers with regular employment, whether in the small or big cities. China badly needs these workers to help move manufacturing up the value chain (…) a local hukou would allow [these] workers to receive health, retirement and unemployment benefits, and would entitle them to send their children to local schools.
As Stan Abrams says, it is also in the Central Government's own interest to push forward with change, in order to progress its fight against local corruption:
To the extent that the hukou system gives local officials the power to discriminate, to pick winners and losers, corruption naturally follows. Just another natural reason for the Central Government (…)  to get onboard [with hukou reform].
Indeed, during the recent NPC session, Premier Wen announced that hukou restrictions would be relaxed in towns and small- and medium-sized cities. But dedicated efforts need to be made in following through with such pledges. Fundamentally, Zhang Hong and his co-authors are correct in that change needs to be accelerated. Without deeper changes, the chasm between China's haves and have-nots will only continue to widen.

author: Marta Cooper


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China: Flashmob at Chengdu Electronics Science and Technology University · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Around 1000 male students gathered outside the Chengdu Electronics Science and Technology University's building number 5 expecting to have a glimpse of a female student who wanted to look for a boyfriend. The male to female ratio is that university is 25: 1. (story via ESWN)


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China: Should Google “Burn Its Boats” On The Way Out? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

DigiCha discusses a possible strategy for Google to leave China. The strategy is “burning its boats” on the way out, which means taking the filters off and forcing the government to shut down Google.cn.


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Costa Rica: Bicycles, Birthdays and Teachers · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Julio Cordoba on his birthday post brings us a glimpse of  everyday life:  he recalls his triumphant feeling when his dad taught him how to ride a bicycle when he was 12. Years later, he discovered his father was a better teacher than he had thought: his father had never learned how to ride a bicycle himself, since he didn't have one when he was growing up.


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Costa Rica: New Traffic Law Takes Effect · Global Voices
Adriana Vargas

In recent weeks, the Costa Rican blogosphere has continued to discuss, comment, and criticize the new Traffic Law, which went into effect the first week of March. Many have expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the items proposed in the new law.
Many do not agree with the stiffer financial penalties for those committing infraction of the new law. In addition, there were also not many reductions in penalties, as had been hoped. The increased fines will mean more money for the Ministry of Revenue, politicians, as well as for the traffic police. Nacho of Media Blog [es] writes:
Algunas de estas leyes son buenas. Pero la mayoría son puras estupideces que sirven para que los tráficos sean más corruptos y cobren para no hacer partes, y lo que cobran es plata para que los diputados anden en lujosos carros a cuestas de los pobres y no para los CALLEJONES que tenemos por calles.
Photo by Carlos Luna and used under a Creative Commons license.
In addition, many drivers do not see how traffic cops can enforce the law, when they themselves violate traffic laws. The blogger at Conejitos Suicidas [es] published a video made by YouTube user Carlossave, who recorded himself following a police officer traveling at a high rate of speed.
Another area of concern with the new Traffic Law is that it has allowed an increased level of blood alcohol for drivers. Because now a drunk driver, who is first-timer, would not go to jail in the event that there are no injuries or property damage. Haroldo Rivas of Harol's Blog [es] writes:
Ayer los señores diputados (después de agarrarse a gritos como los más corrientes del mundo) acordaron que el conductor borracho que sea primerizo no verá nunca la cárcel por más macabros que sean los resultados de sus acciones, además de aumentar el límite de alcohol permitido en la sangre, porque como todos nosotros sabemos, lo hacen para protegerse ellos mismos que son algunos protagonistas de este mismo escenario. ¿Cuándo será que empezarán a trabajar con la seguridad del pueblo en mente y no con su comodidad o dinero? Shame on you…
Due to this uncertainty, the main questions from Costa Ricans are whether this law will work property in the country and whether its results will be a benefit for its citizens. Mae Moto of the blog Caballeros de la Luz [es] writes:
Pero la pregunta es, sirve realmente todo lo anterior (refiriéndose al artículo completo escrito en su blog sobre la nueva Ley de Transito: para mejorar la situación en nuestras saturadas carreteras?  En mi humilde opinión esta reforma a la Ley de Tránsito es completamente una farsa, y una forma de sacarle el dinero a la clase media que siempre será el peor enemigo de la clase rica
This confirms the insecurity and distrust that Costa Ricans have of the new laws created in our country, in this case the Traffic Law. As it has been the main topic of discussion of the various blogs of Costa Rica, it been good for people to have this space to express what they feel and want to say about the decisions that affect the citizens.

author: Adriana Vargas


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East Timor: Portuguese Language Under Attack · Global Voices
Keta Haluha

In what is a dramatic reversal of official position Timor Hau Nia Doben reports that the President of the National Parliament agrees with recent statements by General Taur Matan Ruak that Portuguese language should be removed from Timor-Leste. [Addendum 16 March: a reader very correctly point out an error, Ruak did not for the complete removal of the Portuguese language. He called for the removal of Portuguese from the Timorese court system.  Tempo Semanal has posted video of the interview – thus clarifying the matter].

author: Keta Haluha


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Egypt: Will Skype be Blocked!? · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

There are rumours that the Egyptian government is going to block Skype. Bloggers react to the unconfirmed news in this post.
Israa El Sakka wrote about the rumour here.
She said:
Zeinobia on the other hand isn't sure if the rumours are true or not.
She noted:
And finally Gr33n Data believes that the government has nothing to do with this, but it's just Vodafone's policy.
He wrote:

author: Tarek Amr


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France: Blogtrotters video blog sheds light on global issues · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

French collaborative video-blog (Fr) Blogtrotters travels to conflict zones, dictatorships and other hot spots around the world, from Sub-Saharan Africa to Central and Eastern Asia to the Pacific Ocean, and its climate refugees. (English version here).  Coming soon, a report on Burma. The blog was co-founded by Tristan Mendès-France, the grandson of former prime minister Pierre Mendès-France (1907-1982), a highly respected political figure. In his Egoblog [Fr], Tristan Mendès-France describes himself as “hyper-subjective and hyper-media”.

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Jamaica: Extradition Issue  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican bloggers take on the issue of the United States’ extradition request regarding Christopher “Dudus” Coke.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Water Shortage · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Water issues continue to plague the Caribbean region.


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Jordan: Truck Loads of Creativity  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“If you are in the creativity business, look no further than Jordan to find your fix of Inspiration. It comes in the truck loads here,” writes Jordanian blogger Qwaider.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Justice for Timor. A 2010 point of view. · Global Voices
Keta Haluha

Timorese activist and accomplished photographer  Zésopol Caminha interviews Australian academic Dr. Clinton Fernandes on the prospects for justice for crimes against humanity committed between 1975 and 1999 during Indonesia's occupation of Timor-Leste.


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Kazakhstan: Flood Kills 47, Leaves Hundreds Homeless · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Thousands of people were moved out of threatened areas after two dams burst in Kazakhstan on Thursday and Friday. The tragedy has taken place in the Aksuisky district north of the country's business capital, Almaty. KZBlog reports:
Thursday, a dam was washed away in the Karatalsky region of Almaty province after heavy snowfall melted. 820 people are currently being sheltered in a nearby school. Friday another dam burst at the water reservoir in the Aksuisky region. Kyzyl-Agash, a village with 3000 people, was flooded. Many evacuated in time, but not everybody.
Over the weekend, the number of people killed rose from 20 to 35, and more are missing. As of Monday, the confirmed number of victims is 47. President N. Nazarbayev has charged the general prosecutor's office to start a criminal case against the owner of the burst reservoir “Kyzyl-Agash”. As it became known after the flood, both the reservoir and the dam were in private ownership.
Lord-Fame has the most comprehensive coverage [ru]:
The big water came. We were warned, we have had to be prepared. At 1 a.m. police came to the village near Taldy-Korgan [a town in the Almaty region] and forced the people to evacuate. And it was the right thing to do.
In Kyzyl-Agash a district police officer visited the households and warned that the dam might not stand the big water. People started to take children and women away to nearby settlements. In the evening the head of district administration came, urged to stop panic and said that everything is under control. People believed him. Many of those, who believed are now dead […] The formerly successful village Kyzyl-Agash now looks like this
The dam burst due to precipitations and melting flood water. The telephone lines are not working. Water also destroyed the Kyzyl-Agash bridge on one of the major South-North highways. Lord-Fame continues [ru]:
Residents of Egen-Su, another village downstream, were fully evacuated in advance, but the cattle is dying massively […]. In Kyzyl-Agash the tragedy could have been avoided, if the authorities organized timely monitoring and alerting. The local head of administration was afraid of a panic… Why wasn't he afraid of deaths?
Most of the evacuated people are currently placed in army barracks, schools and train station in Taldy-Kurgan. The local TV Channel calls on the people to help out with the food and clothes.


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Kazakhstan: Government reshuffled · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog reports on a number of large changes to the Ministries of Kazakhstan.


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Kazakhstan: Libel Laws and OSCE · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reflects on Kazakhstan's libel laws, and how they might be undermining its chairmanship of the OSCE.


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Kazakhstan: No gifts, no celebrations · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog opines on the Kazakhstan president's recent speech, in which he condemned the gift-giving tradition among the bureacrats and warned against personal gifts to him on his looming 70th birthday this year.


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Kyrgyzstan: Filtering of independent web-sites · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kyrgyz blogger writes that internet users in Kyrgyzstan have been deprived of access to Ferghana.Ru, the popular independent web-site that is critical of Central Asian governments.


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Palestine: Bashing Islam Vs Criticizing Israel  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Bashing Islam is Freedom of Speech, Criticizing Israel is a Hate Crime,” is the title of a post by Mohamed Khodr at Palestinian blog Sabbah Report.


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Poland: Put a smile on a child’s face – it’s easy! · Global Voices
Magda Pilat

Tomek (24) and Weronika (18) have always been keen volunteers. Despite their young age, they have been helping in hospices, working with the disabled and running various charity events. Tomek has also been writing a blog, which gives comprehensive information on how, where and who to help if you feel like volunteering.
Last year these two young people got together and started Dream Mail, a charity campaign, which promotes writing letters and postcards to seriously ill children. The idea is very simple – the children’s pictures and history of illness are posted on the website along with their contact details. All you have to do is to grab a pen and write a few words to them. It may seem like a small, insignificant thing to do, but for children, who are often stuck at home 24/7, a postcard can be a highlight of the day. Knowing that there are kind-hearted people out there puts a smile on a child’s face and lets them forget about the pain and suffering, even if just for a few minutes.
The website allows for the comments to be left on the children’s profiles and many of the comments come from the children themselves or their parents and other family members, thanking for cards, letters and even parcels arriving from as far as Asia or Australia.
Natalia, who is 11 years old and suffers from cystic fibrosis, says on her profile:
I am tired so it’s time to go to bed but if I can I will visit the website tomorrow as well. I will send out my smiles and as always will pray in the evening to thank God for all of you… Goodnight my Dream friends
In a newspaper article, Natalia’s mum says:
Dream Mail has changed our daughter. She’s received many nice letters, gifts, pictures and she’s made many new friends. All this made her happier and she’s more patient when it comes to her treatment.
The campaign has been a great success so far and has involved not only individuals but also educational institutions, with over two hundreds schools and kindergartens currently taking part. Some children received as many as 400 letters and postcards. That accounts for thousands of smiles and proves that it’s the little things that matter in life.
You can visit Dream Mail on www.marzycielskapoczta.pl or join the campaign on Facebook.

author: Magda Pilat


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