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Kuwait Blog Rounds Up · Global Voices
Bader

Kuwait has been buzzing lately with religion and political talk. With the harsh events in  Paksitan with the earth quake. Like Faith sending her thoughts and prayers to the survivors of the Asian earthquake and wonders about the current natural disasters have any religious end of time feelings. These events also has Misguided questioning what is the reason for all of these disasters, is there a reason for all of these disasters? Is God testing the humanity's compassion? Kuwait Tranny wants to know what the hypocritial religious scholars have to say about the disasters in Pakistan? Is God punishing the muslims there like  what happened to the sinners in USA with Katrina.
Following with this hypocrisy Elegance breaks down a religious poster grammatically, theologically and politically that pledges it allegiance to Egyptian Husani Mubarak as a leader that is supported by God.
Ayya places her opinion on the current rise of the divorce rate in Kuwait how it is related to Islamic Shariya law's not catching up with the current global trends of a dual income house hold. Since the wife may not be allowed to work but still needed to present financial support she has to resort to her inheritance or personal family income as a money line.
McArabian introduces the Kuwaiti blogging community to GeoCaches and had us going on a little treasure hunt with our GPS devices trying to find the cache located somewhere in Kuwait.
The poltical activity this past week has been around Sheik Salem Al-Ali press release on his dissatisfaction of the current heads of the Kuwait government last week. Kuwait has been buzzing with rumors and speculation on what is going to happen next in the line of succession as Amir of Kuwait.
BooJam talks about the differences of living in Kuwait compared to the UK and the joys he has living here with the sunny skies compared to the grey clouds of England. The low gas price, and the customer trust, and the overall safety.
As you recall last week there was an online campaign started to boycott the current racist shows on Ramadan TV. Well, in only 1 week a
major Kuwaiti newspaper had the logo with an article supporting it on their front page.

author: Bader


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South Asian blog roundup · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh:
- Rifat of  ‘Close your eyes and try to see’ discusses premarital sex in the context of Bangladesh.
- Shappir of ‘Bring your own Shisha’ recollects  the story of Joseph/Yusuf/Yosef, the prophet of three religions to uphold the virtue of forgiveness.
- Razib of ‘Me, myself and Bangladesh’ links to a report that Designers from Bangladesh are using khadi for designing bridal sarees and suits. What more they are fast becoming popular in India.
- Sadiq tells about the golden rules of various religions in his blog “Inspirations and Creative Thoughts”.
- Salam of ‘Salam Dhaka’ comments that the current Bangladeshi government is not doing good for poor people.
India:
- Selva of ‘The Scientific Indian’ tells how an American outsourced his life to India.
- Madman blogs his lunch in an Italian restaurant. Yummy!
- Rajesh Jain of ‘Emergic’ quotes two gems on ‘Digital divide’ and ‘Computers and Education’.
- Shaksi of ‘To each its own’ thinks of the Parsi community in India as a role model for the rest of the Indians.
Maldives:
- Ahmed has had it with the elderly people.
Nepal:
- International Nepal Solidarity Network reports that the identity and movement of all Indian and Nepalese nationals crossing the Indo-Nepal border will be recorded from November 1 by border security forces of both the countries.
- Dinesh of ‘United We Blog’ remarks that the Nepali political parties want democracy, but the King talks election. This draws an interesting debate.
- Laetitia-Marie of ‘Karma Sonam Gurung’ reports that the national human rights commission in Nepal accused both Maoists and security forces of failing to protect child rights as per national and international laws in a recent report.
- Binita Shrestha blogs from New York and brings to us all about court reporting.
Pakistan:
-Mudassir of ‘Pakistani perspective’ links to some online credit card donations for Pakistan's earthquake relief.
- ‘The Glasshouse’ posts some heartbreaking facts about the recent Quake. He also takes a critical look at Pakistani leadership dealing with the disaster.
- Shirazi of ‘Light Within’ links to some Pakistani bloggers response to the quake.  Maria posts roundups of media responses to the quake.
-Metroblogging Lahore has lots of info and links of the quake.
- Pakistani Bloggers like Sepoy of ‘Chapati Mystery’ are taking personal initiatives to raise money for the victims.
Sri Lanka:
- Marisa Wikramanayake discusses the question of whether there is such a thing as a just war?
- Via ‘Lanka Citizen’ the voice of the ordinary public warns the politicians for accountability.
- Shandy, a British expatriate writes about his travel in many beautiful destinations in Sri Lanka, with lots of pictures.
- Kate Baumgartner posts some beautiful pictures from Sri Lanka.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bronwyn of Mzansi Afrika reports on the appalling  lack of  housing  faced by  South Africa´s urban poor and migrant population.

author: Sokari Ekine


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

LinuxChix Africa  partners with Kasi Open Source Software (KOSS)  and takes Open Source software into the urban townships of  South Africa and then on to the rural areas and villages


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopian Paradox  predicts the end of  Prime Minister “Meles the Terrible” of Ethiopia as the country remains in the grip revolutionary fervor with one “Mahal Sefari” leading the movement.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kiswahili blog, Mwandani reports that the legacy of former Tanzanian President, the late Julius Nyerere has gone astray in the corrupt environment of the ongoing election campaigns.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

African Music for the Masses Blog, Benn Loxo Du Taccu remembers one of Africa´s greatest musicans Congolese master guitarist Franco, who 20 years after his death is still heard daily on the streets of Africa.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Emeka Okafor´s blog Africa Unchained reports on the investigate journalism of Elendu Reports by Jonathan Elendu and Sowore Omoyele


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Africa: white writers  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman, discusses the issue of the contribution of “white” writers in African literary history and the arbitrary changing of people´s social categories in order to fit in to the category of “white”.  Since when was Franz Fanon “white” ?  “he would be twirling like a top in his grave to hear that he was consider to be a “white writer”.


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Algeria: AU Conference on Gender · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Nouri bin Khalid agrees that women in Africa need to be more aggressive in their efforts to face up to the various challenges, but he do think that the men should do their part to help women get ahead too.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Anti-terror TV During Ramadan · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Sabbah says that terrorism is the dominating theme in two major soap operas series during Ramadan this year and aired through Arab television venues, like the Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC), Syria, Jordan, and Abu Dhabi television stations.


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ArabiskBlog: Blogging Beyond Borders · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Just came across a new Arabic ‘Blog-to-Media’ project, which is still on beta. It's called ArabiskBlog. What they do is quite interesting. On weekly bases they publish a PDF Magazine called ‘Blogging Beyond Borders‘ (already three issues), of selected Arabic language Blog posts. Although it looks so far to concentrate on Egyptian blogs, however we have to admit that Egyptian Arabic language Blogs are the majority in the Arabic Blogsphere.
[Hat Tip: Mohammad Ibahrine, for the link]


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Argengina: Expocomm Argentina · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Cassia was at Expocomm Argentina and finds it ironic that Argentina is implementing WIMAX internet access before the United States.

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Civil Society Development · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia discusses the development of civil society in Armenia and the role being played or not, as the case may be, by NGOs.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bahamas: Students beat Police. Then threaten teachers. · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Members of Bahamas Issues, a group forum, discuss a recent incident involving student violence and look for solutions to the Bahamas’ rising crime scene.


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Bahrain Film Festival 2005 · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

From Mahmood's Blog: The Bahrain Cinema Club in Association with Al-Ayam 13th Cultural Festival cordially invite you to the opening of Bahrain Film Days at 9pm on October 18th at the International Exhibition Centre where the film “The Confession” will be screened by Bahraini director Bassam Al-Thawadi.


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Bangladesh: Lip Service · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Imtiaz's weBlog on the verbs and language used by politicians. Lip service all the way!

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Premarital sex · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Premarital sex in contemporary Bangladesh – Rifat has some views on media and society.


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Chile: Campaign Against Chile Abuse · Global Voices
David Sasaki

AdJab and Adverblog both highlight a new campaign underway in Santiago, Chile to discourage child abuse.


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Chile: Street Art · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Wooster Collective has some fresh “street art” from the streets of Chile.


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China: Fons on Guardian Beating · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

On his blog China Herald, Fons Tuinstra explains his fence-sitting position in the increasingly acrimonious debate over the beating of Lu Banglie for bringing Guardian correspondent Benjamin Joffe-Walt to Taishi.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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Costa Rica: Gay Culture · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Costa Rica Internet Portal makes some observations on the gay subculture present in Costa Rica.


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Egypt: Alexandria on Sectarian Fire · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Big Pharaoh says that around 3000 Muslim protesters surrounded a church in Alexandria to protest a church play that they deemed as “offensive to Islam.” Police cordoned off the building to protect it from the angry crowd.


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From the Palestinian Blogsphere · Global Voices
Shaden Abdulrahman

Palestine Blogs stresses the similarities between the Apartheid Wall in South Africa and the Israeli Apartheid Wall in Palestine in the ethnic nature and colonial agenda. Mohammed Abed further adds that the withdrawal from new homelands in Palestine is also similar to what happened in South Africa.  Mohammed urges for immediate political action that will tear down the Apartheid Wall. On the same matter, Shaden of Sugar Cubes talks about the environmental effects of the Israeli Apartheid Wall  and the Israel's brutality against children embodied by arresting Palestinian children for throwing stones in protests against the dividing Wall. While Palestinian children are being arrested for throwing stones, International Solidarity Movement says settler children got away with stoning Palestinian schoolgirls because Hebron Police was too busy. ISM volunteers intervened to sheild the children while others filmed the attack.
International Solidarity Movement,  also talks about three new watchtowers being constructed in the villages surrounding Nablus in a period of supposed cease-fire.
This “installment” was by “DanChurchAid” (“Folkekirkens nødhjælp“) at the Roskilde Festival 2004, and was an official part of the festivals humanitarian theme that year. People were encouraged to sign the wall as a protest against the building of the wall in Palestine.  by Stig Nygaard
Bethlehem Bloggers wrote about the detention of staff member of the Alternative Information Center Ahmad Abu Hannya since the 22 May 2005 without charge. Addresses of high ranking Israeli officials are listed to send letters demanding the detention not to be extended, letters of support to Abu Hannya are encouraged too.
Sabbah says Qatar has donated $6 million to build a soccer stadium in an Arab-Israeli town. Even though Sabbah has decided to turn on again the comments section  he did not comment on the news.
umkahlil says “Westerners who get their news from headlines won't know that Haifaa’ Daoud Mohammed Hindiya was shot from two meters away at a checkpoint by Israeli soldiers. umkahlil adds: “Westerners who get their news from headlines and AP won't know that it is acceptable according to international law to fight foreign occupation by any means necessary.” Haifaa” a psychologically disturbed and the mother of five children, ages one through twelve, Bleeds to Death At IOF Checkpoint. She also mentions donation of 300 dogs by a Jewish organization in the US to help Israel fight the Palestinians.
The Electronic Intifada reports that The University of Haifa has warned foreign students of the dangers of visiting Palestinians, such actions offer fresh reason for the University of Haifa to again be included in a list of Israeli universities being (re)considered for an academic boycott.  The Electronic Intifada also reports that the harvest season has begun in the West Bank -despite of the restrictions on movement of Palestinians  trying to access their lands- and the great damage caused by the construction of the Apartheid Wall is striking.
At Baqa'a Refugee Camp, increased harassment towards Palestinian refugees forces them to seek refuge in Syria. Rafah Pundits is temporarily down for expansion and a new team will handle its management.

author: Shaden Abdulrahman


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Guatemala: Survivor Guatemala after Stan · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Rob Mercatante and company get CBS to shape up their “Guatemala Relief” web page. Chapinadas weighs the pros and cons of Survivor's impact on Guatemala and all about E explains why she's no longer watching the show.


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Images from Japan: Oko · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Oko” by MC MasterChef
A small grill/noodle shop in Oko, a small town near Hiroshima. Note that most of the counter space is actually a cooking surface.

author: Paul Frankenstein


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Iran: What if Tehran shakes like that? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mr.Behi writes that after each Earthquake inside or outside Iran, People of Tehran get shaken and alarms about the earthquake that our city has been waiting for, start to flash. Tehran is not at all prepared for such a shake. It is very populated, has many historical and thus old parts. Many narrow streets that if get blocked, become the prison for any survivor.
Tehran is a beautiful mountain side city with trees all along it's streams, we shall save it from falling before the faults around it shake it to the death dance.


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Iraq: Baghdad’s Ancient Battery · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

A Free Writer says that while excavating ruins of a 2000-year-old village near Baghdad, workers discovered mysterious small vase. German archaeologist ,Wilhelm Konig, examined the object and came to a surprising conclusion that the clay pot was nothing less than an ancient electric battery.


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Iraq:  Saddam never gassed his own people · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

A Family From Mosul writes: A much-discussed article in The New Yorker last March did not make reference to the Defense Intelligence Agency report or consider that Iranian gas might have killed the Kurds. On the rare occasions the report is brought up, there is usually speculation, with no proof, that it was skewed out of American political favoritism toward Iraq in its war against Iran…. Accusing him of gassing his own people at Halabja as an act of genocide is not correct, because as far as the information we have goes, all of the cases where gas was used involved battles. These were tragedies of war.


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Kazakhstan: Renationalizing Oil · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tim Newman reports that, driven by current high prices, Russia and Kazakhstan are pursuing effective renationalization of their oil industries.


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Malaysia: Mack’s Ramadhan · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

In this post, Mack Zulkifli muses on smoking, getting older, faith and fasting during Ramadan.


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Miriam Makeba: Africa’s best loved diva farewell tour · Global Voices
Nish Matenjwa

In a career spanning over 40 years, Miriam Makeba, still regal at 73, is marking the end of her performing years with a 14-month farewell tour she says to thank the people in the countries where she has performed. Miriam Makeba or Mama Africa as she is fondly known is visiting as many countries as she can and has recently vowed audiences in Cuba where one reviewer called her concert ’unforgettable and magisterial’.
I grew up listening and loving Miriam Makeba and her gorgeous voice; my favourite song as a child was ‘Pata Pata’, (pata means touch in Zulu). Only later did I realise her music had such a massive global impact.  Her ‘Malaika’ (angel in Kiswahili) is well known throughout the African continent and her music has inspired many African artistes; the most famous perhaps being Angelique Kidjo. What has always amazed me is her ability to blend African and other musical forms to create her own unique style. She also sings in several African languages including Kiswahili, Shona, Bambara etc as well as in Arabic, French and Portuguese.
Although she will continue to make records, this is surely the end of an amazing era for an artiste whose performances are legendary. In the eighties, I attended a Miriam Makeba performance at London’s Royal Festival Hall; her energy and grace that night were breathtaking. She was beautiful and stylish and in a two hour performance, she changed her outfit four times, each outfit increasingly more stunning than the last.
Miriam Makeba, who was born in a township in Johannesburg where her mother was a servant for white families, was banned from South Africa for over 30 years for daring to talk and sing out against apartheid forcing her into exile. “I don't sing about politics. I sing the truth,” she said at that time.
As well as the prodigious production of numerous albums, Miriam Makeba is also involved in humanitarian work such as being an  Ambassador for the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). While in exile in Guinea, where she served as a Guinean delegate to the United Nations, she addressed the UN’s National Assembly about apartheid. She has also set up the Makeba Centre Rehabilitation Centre for Girls  which works with street children where she will be focusing her strengths after the tour.
Miriam Makeba, an extraordinary artiste whose music lives on through the decades, is Africa’s greatest musical ambassador.

author: Nish Matenjwa


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Nepal: King’s New Clothes · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The King makes many tall promises. But instead of ushering in democracy, the King in Nepal only seems to be getting more powerful says Samudaya.org.


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Pakistan: Balakot  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A first-hand account of Balakot – ravaged by the earthquake.
…She kept on repeatig ‘koi nahi rukka (nobody stopped for help)’ and I couldn't find courage to explain her that almost everyone had, somewhere in the city, their own loved ones calling for help…


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Pakistan: Earthquake and after · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Margalla Towers – a 13 storey building that collapsed in the earthquake was the scene of rescue, hope and disaster – on a personal account at Metroblogging Lahore.


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Philippines: Finding One’s Niche · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Noting Retzwerx‘s high traffic on the back of his coverage of Pinoy Big Brother, technology news blog Ambot ah! muses on “focus blogs” and asks his readers to share how they found their niche.


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Qatar: Garangao · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mohammed says that Garangao (aka Gergea'an), celebrated on the 14th day of Ramadan (which falls on the 17 October 2005), is special to the Gulf region and is believed to have its roots in the pearl-diving tradition of the region. This evening, children, clad in their traditional clothes, will come out of their homes and knock on every door in their neighbourhood, which will be ready to receive them with sweets and nuts. They collect the goodies in the special cotton bags, hanging loosely from their necks.


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Saudi Arabia: First Interview with Saudi King Abdullah · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Issandr El Amrani says that he found nothing remarkable about King Abdullah first TV interview as king to the American channel ABC. The transcript is here. However, Issandr finds that Iran part is interesting.


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Singapore: Podcast Directory · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Beng of Born on Ninth of August has started a Singapore podcasting directory: Podcasting Under the Stars and Moon.  He also prods a friend to make one.  The result: A meditation, in Cantonese, on life, ambition and the heroine of Korean drama serial Dae Jang Geum.


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South Korea: Wagging the Dog · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The Marmot's Hole takes issue with a SFGate column on dog-eating in Asia:  “Dog meat? Fade away? God, I hope not.”


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Yezzi on Al Jazeera TV · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Here is the link to the transcript (Arabic) of Arab TV Al Jazeera program about www.yezzi.org. The title of the program was “What's behind this news: Tunisians are protesting on the Net” and the subject was: “Can a virtual action on the Net have an impact on the real political life?” (and there is also an audio link).
[Hat Tip: Neila Charchour Hachicha]


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Racism in Netherlands · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla of Chippla's Blog has just moved to the Netherlands.  Here he reports on the myth of Dutch tolerance towards immigrants especially Muslims from Turkey and Morocco.


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Call in day for Darfur · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

It is National Call-In Day for the Save Darfur project on Coalition for Darfur Blog


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Somalia and Somaliland · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Yvette Lopez of Inside Somaliland has a report on the “Curious Case of Somaliland”.     Most people get confused over what is Somalia and Somaliland often thinking they are one and the same, here it is explained.  Somaliland is not Somalia, but is a part of what used to be Somalia and it may or may not be an independent country.


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Mugabe’s Excuses · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean Pundit revists the eviction  of thousands of urban dwellers by  President Robert  Mugabe last July.  As the world watched outraged, Mugabe came up with the excuse that new homes would be built.  The people are still waiting!


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Mugabe banned from Europe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Bearded Man questions why  Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe,  who is supposedly banned from travelling to the EU is allowed to attend a conference in Rome on world hunger where he will be speaking.


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Singing for Tuobodom · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ghana blog “The Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly Arrived Denizen” reports on a controversial song by a Ghanaian band that pokes fun at a small town called Tuobodom.
Th


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Lawsuit against the US · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopundit seems to have got his dates a week ahead for some reason.  He reports on the Ethiopian Government's lawsuit against four US journalists which they may now have now dropped.


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Language in Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan blogger, ThinkersRoom discusses the issue of language in Kenya which applies to  Africa in general where most countries have multiple  languages therefore often leaving groups of friends who speak different languages no choice but to commuicate in the colonial tongue.


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Food aid for Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Sokwanle – Civil Action for Zimbabwe has issued a press release “Crimes against humanity: The Case for Urgent Action Against Zimbabwe.
In today's press release , Cardinal Napier and Archbishop Pius Ncube, two leading clerics in the Roman Catholic Church, stress that if the United Nations’ Security Council does not respond quickly and decisively to ensure that food aid comes into the country and is distributed fairly to all communities without political interference, it will become complicit in the rapidly unfolding humanitarian disaster.


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Argentina: Still Corrupt, But Not As Corrupt · Global Voices
David Sasaki

GoodAirs tries but ultimately fails to find anything worth celebrating after Argentina claims 97th in Transparency International's annual honesty/corruption rankings.


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Armenia: Low Marks for Local Election · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia reports that local observers have given last weekend's local elections low marks.


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Azerbaijan: Besh Barmag · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Carpetblogger reports on a trip to Besh Barmag, a site that attracts Muslim pilgrims from around Azerbaijan.


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Bahrain: Corruption Perceptions Index · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Abdulhadi Khalaf of  Jaddwilliam2 writes that scoring 5.8 out of 10 , Bahrain is percieved by business community as less ‘corrupt’  than Kuwait and Saudi Arabia but percieved more ‘corrupt’ Oman, Qatar and the UAE. The complete data and explanatory material is available at The Internet Center for Corruption Research.


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Bangladesh: Child Labour · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The other side of Child Labour. Unheard Voices links to a film that shows a child striving for a better life, and financing his future with what is – child labour.


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Brazil: Neocon Discontent · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Luís Afonso Assumpção translates parts of an article by brazilian neocon Reinaldo Azevedo on why conservatives are upset with Lula da Silva's government.


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Cambodia: Radio Host Arrest · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Lux Mean at Cambodia Blog worries that bloggers may be next, after the arrest of a local radio host.  The announcer's alleged crime? Interviewing a critic of a Vietnam-Cambodia border agreement.


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China: A Prostitute’s Life · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Over at WoW, the blog of journalism students at Beijing Foreign Studies University, a fascinating, tragic account of the dashed dreams of a murdered prostitute.


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China: One Chinese, Please · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Danwei reports on efforts to eradicate non-standard Mandarin (i.e. Hong Kong or Taiwan accents) from mainland TV.


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Colombia: Changing Outsider Perception · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Logtar explains why he has created a new blog, Proyecto Colombia to help educate non-Colombians about the positive aspects of his home country.


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Cuba: A Link “Ajiaco” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Babalu Blog has a thorough list of links to mostly conservative weblogs discussing Cuba over the past week.


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Egyptian Parliamentary Elections · Global Voices
Karim Elsahy

The parliamentary elections Egyptians face next month may very well be more substantial than the first Presidential one they encountered last month. Through these elections many hope to influence the stranglehold the National Democratic Party (NDP) has on both the upper and lower houses of parliament (upwards of 85%). For an overall view on the status, significance, as well as the movements related to the elections read “Egyptian Presidential Candidates, Bloggers, and Parliamentary Elections” submitted to Egypt Today for publication.
Sandmonkey reports on how the fragmented opposition is uniting in a coalition against the NDP. This coalition is short Al Ghad however; whose leader took a strong second in the previous presidential elections. Ramblefish reports on inter-turmoil at Al Ghad house.
Freedom for Egyptians posts on Mubarak promising free and fair elections though  Liberals Against Terrorism and The Arabist Network point to the new ICG report on Egypt to counter such an argument.
Miss Mabrouk mentions a “demonstration for fair and free parliamentary elections … organized by the Muslim Brotherhood's student organization.” though many are skeptical.
A new movement dubbed Itharak.com is geared towards getting out the vote and minimizing the NDP members of parliament. This new site is set up around three main points it encourages all Egyptians, particularly those between 18 and 23 (since they are pre-registered) to endorse:
1/ Go register for a voters card (one of the major obstacles in the last election as you can only apply in November)
2/ Go vote for anyone in this Novembers Parliamentary elections other than the NDP candidate (especially if the candidate is an incumbent).
3/Go get three others to pledge to do the same.
Also banners for Itharak.com are available here.

author: Karim Elsahy


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Georgia: An Autumn Day · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Hans Heiner Buhr writes on an autumn day in Georgia, providing a brief slice of daily life in the country.


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Hungary: Big Star · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu profiles the Hungarian scene-stealer in the newest Harry Potter movie.


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Hungary: Che Shirts · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu reports on a fight over the wearing of Che Guevara t-shirts between the leaders of the coservative Young Democratic Forum and the Young Left.


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India: Contraceptives · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

While contraceptives have empowered women, Varna finds that the other – more crucial issue, of having the partner agreeing to use a contraceptive is still a tough battle.


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India: Protest March · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Following the recent IIPM vs. The Blogs controversy,  there is a call for a protest march in Bangalore, where bloggers plan to come together.


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Iranian human rights activist is Blogging : She survived Prison, Exile and Censorship · Global Voices
Farid Pouya

There are several Iranian blogs which have human rights issues as their main reason to exist. There are different “types” of these blogs: Penlog is a collective blog which wants to protect bloggers and fight against censorship. Another “type” is a one subject blog such as releaseGanji. It is just covering news about Akbar Ganji , jailed journalist, and his hunger strike. It is difficult to talk about Iranian politics, social life and even culture and not mentioning human rights’ questions. Defending political prisoners, crying against censorship are well present in many Iranian blogs whose writers are either in Iran or outside country.
I would like to introduce one human rights activist who is blogging in Farsi: Mrs.Mehrangize Kar. She and her husband, Siamak Pourzand, have been active as human rights activists and journalists for years and both paid a high price for that.
Mehrangize Kar, is living in the USA or in other words in exile.This  human rights lawyer was famous, before revolution, for her articles and her style of writing. She was jailed in Iran after participating in a conference with Ganji and some other Iranian intellectuals and human rights activists in Germany. She survived cancer, isolated cell and finally found herself in exile. She has been in the West for four years and she can not go back to Iran. She is lecturing in different American universities about democracy in Iran among other subjects. She says she has no possibility to publish her works in Iran. Then she turned to blogging :
I want to survive. I was not follower of this way ( internet). I belong to paper and…pen generation. But there is no other solution….I am 60 years old with zero technical knowledge. Young people helped me  and opened this door for me….
We can welcome her and wish her the best.

author: Farid Pouya


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Kyrgyzstan: News Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net rounds up recent news from Kyrgyzstan.


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Lebanon: The Mehlis Report Inconsequential · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Lebanon Profile says that all the people who argued that Lebanon needs a short period of Amadou Toumani Toure-style dictatorship to rid the country of corruption before immediately returning to democracy have almost been vindicated.


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Livability in the Middle East · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mahmood says that the Economist Intelligence Unit has just published its world-wide livability index, that is, the best cities in the world to live in based on various criteria. Needless to say the Middle East is not on top of the heap.


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Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua: Hurricane Wilma · Global Voices
David Sasaki

A Hurricane Wilma weblog has been set up to disseminate information as the category 4 storm heads for Mexico and Central America.


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Nepal: Gender and Justice · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News from Nepal on a workshop for “Gender Equality and Justice for Trial Court Judges and Public Prosecutors”.


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Pakistan: Two Stories · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Two stories – hope and the incredible sadness of the loss of a loved one at HOPE – a blog dedicated to the victims of the earthquake in South Asia.


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Philippines: Bocobo’s Back · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Dean Jorge Bocobo's blogiant Philippine Commentary has returned from a year's hiatus; many in the Filipino blogosphere welcome him back.


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Poland: Another #1 · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Warsaw Station congratulates (tongue-in-cheek…) Poland on beating out its fellow EU members to come in at number 1 on a very special list.


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Poland: Cheating Becomes Campaign Issue · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot reports on widespread cheating in Polish schools mentioning that it has become a campaign issue.


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Russia: Why Bribe-takers Get Caught · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Russia Blog discusses why bribe-taking officials get caught. It certainly does not appear to be an interest in stamping out bribery in Russia, where it is estimated over three times more is paid in bribes each year than is paid out in the government's budget.


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Singapore: Why Han Blogs · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Wannabe Lawyer‘s Han responds to a National University of Singapore survey on why he blogs.


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South Korea: Asian Films Now Less Asian? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

On The Asia Pages, a response to Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's comment that Asian films are going too Hollywood.


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Sri Lanka: Son Of So-and-So · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Politics can spill into restaurants. Offspring of some politician throwing tantrums and making threats at Lanka Citizen.


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Tunisia: Hunger Strike and Censorship · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Neila Charchour Hachicha writes that the PLM’s web site, which was the unique political website accessible in Tunisia has been censored today.
“However we want you to get the declaration of the 7 political personnalities who undertook today October 18th 2005 an unllimited hunger strike. We need the help of all friends to spread the message below”, Neila said.
The action to censor the Parti Libéral Méditerranéen (Mediterranean Liberal Party) seems to have come after the Party published CALL TO THE PUBLIC OPINION. In this call, representatives of associations from the civil society and political parties, decided to undertake an unlimited hunger strike as from October 18th, 2005. The hunger strikers launch a pressing call to all the democratic forces, associations, parties, independent personalities, to mobilize around this strike, bring any form of support to it and make succeed its claims, which are a prelude to Reforms and Democratic Change.
They claim:
1. Freedom of association by:
2.  Freedom for the press and the media by:
3. The immediate release of political prisoners
The hunger strikers launch a pressing call to all the democratic forces, associations, parties, independent personalities, to mobilize around this strike, bring any form of support to it and make succeed its claims, which are a prelude to Reforms and Democratic Change.
Update: Blog (French) and Photos of Hunger Strike.


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Ukraine: The Market That Wouldn’t Die · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Cyber Cossack discusses a Ukrainian market that survived all Soviet efforts to eradicate it. It still exists and is one of the largest markets in Europe.


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Uzbekistan: Recognition at the Cost of Lives · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ali of neweurasia says that the deaths of Andijon citizens in the May massacre have irrevocably changed the path of Uzbekistan by drawing international attention and pressure..


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Radio Sud FM · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal reports on the  shutting down of Senegal's most popular radio station, Sud FM by the Senegalese government.


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Mob rule in Nigeria · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger “Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories” has a horrific story showing the brutality of mob rule.  An 11 year old boy Samuel is burnt to death after he is suspected of attempting to steal a baby.


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Aid for Darfur · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Aid worker “Sleepless in Sudan” responds to those who have accused her of
“”blogging to much on “the problems of Darfur and the mistakes people are making – and not offering any bright solutions myself”.  One solution she sights is for the Canadian armoured personnel carriers stuck in a warehouse in Senegal to be sent immediately.
Unfortunately, the Sudanese government – which has very little concern about the safety of people in Darfur – is refusing to let the shipment come into the country unless it gets a certain degree of control over their use. After much negotiation, it seems that 35 have now been granted permission to come here.”


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Kenyan Photo Essay · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan blogger Kipepeo points us to some great photos of Kenya courtesy of Christoph-Grandt.com


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Loss of life in Lesotho · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Lesotho blogger Sotho puts the human disaster of Katrina, where it is estimated that 700 people died, in the context of a “3rd world” country like Lesotho where loss of human life will be 300 times greater than in the US of the coming years due not to natural disaster but to the lack of technologies.


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Representative Heuristic in race · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Diasporan blogger, Curious,  discusses “the representative heuristic”.  For example, the representative heuristic (Wikipedia) would be like this:  “after a report in the media that, for example, black people are x times more likely to commit gun crime (hypothetically), or that muslims are x times more likely to suicide bomb (hypothetically), the representative heuristic will have people generally expecting a random black person to shoot them (irrespective of the black person's context) or expect any random muslim to blow them up.”


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Southern Africa social forum · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The 3rd and final day of the Southern African Social Forum, held in Harare, dealt with the crisis in Zimbabwe. “Briggs Bomba, a representative of the parallel Uhuru Youth Forum of the SASF, said that Zimbabwe faces its worst economic crisis ever. The hospitals are no longer hospitals but ‘death cells’ and it is a struggle only to live until the next day. The Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) imposed on Zimbabwe by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank has created an enormous social disaster, which, compounded with a ‘democratic deficit’, put Zimbabwe in a ‘state of emergency”


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Sudanese demonstrate in Cairo · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Damanga – Coalition for Freedom & Democracy reports on hundreds of Sudanese refugees in Cairo, Egypt, protesting UNHCR (High Commission for Refugees) policies.


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Argentina: Education, Rock and Roll, and Soccer · Global Voices
David Sasaki

After a long absence, Altered Argentina tackles education financing, Argentine rock stars, and a young football prodigy.


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Armenia: Eveapple · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes From Hareinik has a dispatch from the Armenian rock scene with a report on Eveapple.


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Bangladesh: How corrupt? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bangladesh was the last country on the Corruption Perception Index. Rezwan rounds up some of the perspectives on the issue of corruptions and rankings.


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Caucasus: Unrest · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Blogrel discusses political turmoil across the South Caucasus.


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Chile’s Presidential Blog Forum · Global Voices
David Sasaki

此篇文章有繁體中文的翻譯”
While all of South America has been experiencing an exponential growth of weblogs, podcasts, and other online methods of civic participation, no country has done more to institutionalize the new tools into its political process than Chile. The ruling class’ embrace of online media as a way to encourage greater civic participation and government accountability can be traced back to a November, 2000 leadership mission to the Silicon Valley and Seattle, Washington organized by president Ricardo Lagos as a way for Chilean government officials and business executives to learn from cutting edge technology companies based in the U.S. Upon returning to Chile, the group decided that their country, still recovering from years of oppressive military dictatorship, should be transformed into a “Digital Nation,” which would enable all Chileans to have a stronger voice.
A year later, in 2001, the Digital Nation Foundation was born with the mission of developing a digital culture in Chile that joins the government, business world, civil sector, and education system together in order to promote greater information, communication, and development for everyone. And it is that foundation which today, has helped make Chile the first country in the world to have each of its presidential candidates blogging their platforms, promises, and news items on what has turned into a always-running, weblog-based, presidential debate open to whoever would like to participate.
Chilean senator, Fernando Flores, offers a straightforward introduction to Presidential Blog Forum 2005 on his own weblog, Abriendo Juego, Abriendo Mundo:
Presidential Blog Forum 2005 is a website in which each candidate to the presidential palace has a blog to put forth his or her viewpoints and proposals and interact with registered site users who can show their concerns.
The project has certainly seemed to be a smash success from its first day of launch on October 5. As Roberto Arancibia posted that day at 2:30 p.m.:
UPDATE 15:30: According to the foundation more than a thousand people have already visited the blog in just a few hours. The number of comments for each candidate has been:
Michelle 37
Sebastián 18
Joaquín 18
Tomás 7
Coincidence?
Arancibia's “coincidence” refers to the fact that the initial amount of user submitted comments largely mirrored presidential poll results respectively. The format of the blog forum is that each candidate answers the same user-submitted question which is selected by a moderater. Registered users are then free to comment on each candidates response and those comments are left visible on the page. The only rules of the forum are that 1.) all registered users must provide their full name and valid email address 2.) disagreement is welcome though insults are not and 3.) only related comments will be published. Without further adieu, let's take a look at what each of the candidates have been blogging about.
The candidates’ latest question comes from Alfredo Piquer, president of ACTI, who, pointing to Chile's low score at the World Economic Forum's Global Competitivity report, asks the candidates to blog about the importance of innovation.
Frontrunner Socialist candidate Michelle Bachelet, like any good blogger would do, links to an interview with Piquer on the popular weblog, Atina Chile and then explains:
Progress in real society is obtained when new ways of doing things replace old ones. This process requires that we learn to adapt to the frequent changes in the economy and society.
She goes on to say that more active public policy must be created to support projects which engage both the public and private sector and inspire technological solutions. All of this, according to Bachelet, depends on high quality public education, especially in science and technology. She ends her post by mentioning that although “innovation” was Chile's second lowest score in the Global Competitivity Report, they still lead all of Latin America in overall competitiveness by a wide margin, which actually widened from 2004 to 2005.
The post has, so far, generated nine comments including one asking Bachelet to clarify what she means by “flexible economy” and asking if Chile's bandwidth is able to support more widespread use of economical voice over IP services like Skype.
Tomás Hirsch, in his response, says that the government must embrace science and technology at all education levels and suggests the creation of a National Campaign for Information Literacy, which would take place in schools and community colleges for students during the day and for their parents at night and which would also promote the use of free and open source software. He furthermore proposes dedicating 3% of the Gross Domestic Product to public and private scientific research as well as reforming CONICYT, the National Center for Public Research.
Joaquín Lavín, however says that Chile's innovation problems stem from the fact that entrepreneurs don't have enough opportunities to find funding and start a business.
Which is why my proposals are simple and aim to solve these problems effectively: renegotiating our debt, access to credit, and zero processing fees to start a company.
He concludes his post by noting that, if elected, he would make the process of applying for patents easier and more affordable and also sign treaties with other countries which would stop the piracy of Chilean inventions abroad.
Blogger, Claudia Ramos, then leaves a comment for Lavín which says:
Innovation won't just occur through loans putting more people into debt. Innovation is a phenomenon which is cultivated, not just by money, but also with better use of our human capital and stimulation by the government.
Sebastian Piñera also begins his post emphasizing the need to invest a greater percentage of Chile's GDP in technological and scientific research, but then moves on to globalization:
Today Chile has complete access to the world of development, thanks to the Free Trade Agreements that have been signed with various nations across the planet.  Similarly, there is a technological revolution which allows us to break the barriers of the knowledge economy and receive in real time the reality of the world. We must take advantage of and develop those opportunities!
He ends his post by calling out to the youths to help chile abandon the developing world and join the “vehicle of modernity.”
The four presidential candidates have also tackled other issues including foreign relations, access to internet, and  a campaign against AIDS. But, from an outsider's view, what is just as incredible as granting completely open, online access to the candidates, is how few Chileans have taken advantage of submitting questions. Most comments are by a handful of people already entrenched in Chile's close-knit blogging community, largely based in the capitol, Santiago.
Chilean blogger, Pehuen is skeptical of the forum's purported success in a post entitled “Chile: Digital Nation or Digital Bubble?,” which suggests that all the hype the Chilean media has given to the growth in online participation doesn't match the actual results. He refers to a news item last Wednesday which proudly declared that more than 15,000 users visited the Presidential Blog Forum, but then points out that, as of Wednesday, only 600 comments had been made which makes for only a 4% level of real participation. A commenter then notes that the great majority of questions were limited to technology even though the forum allows for all types of discussions to take place.
At the popular blogging portal, Atina Chile, reaction to the Presidential Blogger Forum seems to be mixed. Some bloggers say the forum doesn't carry the same feeling of a blog, especially since it disallows the use of pseudonyms while others say they doubt the candidates even read the comments which follow their posts. Still others are enormously thankful that new technologies allow real civic participation in the election process.
For Patricio Navia, Presidential Blog Forum 2005 isn't even the biggest online innovation for this year's election. Rather, he points readers to a joint project by the University of Chicago and University of Chile called Bolsa Electoral, or “Electoral Market” which uses economic toolsets to calculate probabilities of each candidate advancing through the elections. According to the site, frontrunner Michelle Bachelet has about a 75% chance of becoming Chile's next president.
Finally, it is perhaps worth pointing out that the Presidential Blog Forum 2005 website is run by Drupal, an open source content management system which is developed by volunteer programmers from around the globe. If you are interested in watching the candidates debate face to face, they will do exactly that this evening at 10 p.m. Chilean time on Canal 13, which will be simulcast on the internet.


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China: Guardian Explains, Others Respond · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

asiapundit rounds up the skeptical reactions to the Guardian‘s explanation that reporter Benjamin Joffe-Walt's exaggerated description of Lu Banglie's injuries at Taishi was caused by temporary insanity.  Bingfeng Teahouse helpfully classifies who's on what side of the Taishi affair, and Fons reflects on the end of the foreign correspondent.


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Ecuador: More Condoms and More Websites · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Muerto de Risa, recounting her HIV prevention lecture, says that Ecuadorians need more condoms and more websites.


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Egypt: Sharm El Sheikh Wall · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Sandmonkey says that the Egyptian authorities are planning to erect a fence around Sharm El Sheikh to controll access to and from the resort.


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El Salvador: The Costs of Hurrican Stan · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As northern neighbors brace for yet another hurricane, Tim's El Salvador Blog has a rundown of the damage done by Hurrican Stan.


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Hungary: Capitals of Culture · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Hungarian Accent reports on the selection of Pecs as Hungary's candidate for European Capital of Culture and the Hungarian blogosphere's discussion of the selection.


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Images from Bangladesh: Village pond · Global Voices
Rezwan

‘My village pond’ by Rifat
A typical pond in rural Bangladesh with lush greenary surroundings. The floating algae denotes that the pond is less frequently used.


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India: Microfinance · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Zoostation points to a very interesting micro finance project – Kiva, that bridges gaps and uses technology to finance projects in Africa.


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India: Private Education · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Indian Economy Blog has a post on private education and government control in India.


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Indonesia: More Babies · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

To shoulder Indonesia's debt burden, tedy at tedsta.com makes the Swiftian suggestion that Indonesians ought to have more babies.


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Israel: 1000 People on a cover of a book · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Nir Ofir says that tomorrow, 1000 people will be creating the word that say “The Keyboard” in Hebrew. This will be the name of a book that holds a collection of short stories Israeli bloggers wrote.


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Japan: Yasukuni Visit · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Yaw and Mog passed by the Yasukuni Shrine during PM Junichiro Koizumi's visit on the anniversary of the interment of fourteen war criminals there and asks what Japan gains by provoking its neighbors.  Says vincentvds of Achikochi: “Japanese prime ministers should stay away from Yasukuni.”


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Jordan: Ads in Mideast · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ibrahim Owais is all for archiving Middle East Ads in his Advertising/Design Goodness besides his blog.


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Kyrgyzstan: Death in the Family · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Mountains of Heaven discusses Kyrgyz death customs.


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Mexico: Hurricane Wilma Approaches · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos says that the Mexican State of Quintana Roo has been put on red alert as he continues his coverage of Hurricane Wilma's approach. Alejandro, from Yucatan, writes that people are stocking up on emergency goods.


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Pakistan: Aid from the enemy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ahmed Bilal has a post on why Pakistan is refusing to accept aid from the Government of India.


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Pakistan: Relief Agencies · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Lahore has an updated list of agencies and organisations working for relief operations in the earthquake hit Kashmir.


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Palestine: Israeli police ‘too busy’ to attend · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

ISM reports that on the 13th of Sept the eve of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) police in Hebron refused to respond to a call that violence was anticipated from settler children outside Qutuba Girl’s School in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron. As the girls left school they were greeting with a barrage of stones from settler children as a soldier stood idly by. ISM volunteers intervened to shield the children whilst other international observers filmed the attack.


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Panama: Blogs Panama Directory · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Antonio Checa announces the final layout of Blogs Panama, Central America's newest blog directory.


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Philippines: Need Another Hero · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Torn and Frayed in Manila parses the supposed national yearning for another hero.


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Saddam’s Trial Roundup · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Saddam's trial was a breaking news of the day, here is quick roundup. Some for the trial, others against. Some emotionally, others legally.
Akba of IRAQ RISING says:
I don't care what happens to this man. In fact I wish he were dead already. I think the majority of Iraqis would say the same.
Nur-al-Cubicle says that:
Egyptian-American International Law professor Sharif Bassiouni, one of the architects of the International Criminal Court at the Hague, says that confidentiality is necessary to dissimulate the stamp of the US on the trial proceedings.
Initially invited to Washington to participate in the design of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, 60 year-old Bassiouni, who prizes his international reputation, withdrew from this absolutely incomprehensible mish-mash, according to a story by Jean-Pierre Krief and published by Arte on September 27th.
Aunt Najma of A Star From Mosul blog says:
They're in a 10-minute reset right now. It got a little bit messy in the court when Saddam refused to say his name.
UPDATE: The trial was as meaningless as this post!!
Keefieboy of Adventures in Dubai blog says:
At last, they've started going through the motions of making this murderer pay for what he has done. The judge let him get away with far too much to begin with. And Saddam's buddies complaining about being deprived of their headgear. Of course, Saddam claimed that the whole process was illegal. As if legality had ever bothered him in the past.
At Back to Iraq blog, minute by minute entries represent the trial happening:
3:09:05 PM Major technical issues with sound in the courtroom, hampering translation. But the judges seem prepared to rule on whether to grant a delay or not. All signs point to a delay.
3:18:16 PM Trial has been delayed until Nov. 28, answering the defense team’s plea.
Mental Mayhem says:
There is fierce opposition to Saddam's trial in Jordan. Some Jordanian papers are even claiming that the person being detained is not the real Saddam but one of his doubles and that he is being put on trial simply to “increase the popularity of the American president.
Nancy of Beth-Nahrain says:
finally the people of Dujail, as well as the rest of the Iraqi people, can watch this monster get what he deserves for all of the crimes that he has committed over the 23 years that he was in power (or maybe a little less of what he deserves since what he deserves would be to cut him into little pieces while he begs for mercy, but we cannot do that because that would make us like him). Finally, we can see justice (or the beginning of it) take place in Iraq…
Last but not least, if you are looking for some expert legal opinion, here is one from Case School of Law:
As arguably the most important war crimes proceeding since Nuremberg, the trial of Saddam Hussein is likely to constitute a “Grotian Moment” — defined as a legal development that is so significant that it can create new customary international law or radically transform the interpretation of treaty-based law. This Website features key documents related to the Iraqi Special Tribunal, answers to frequently asked questions, and expert debate and public commentary on the major issues and developments related to the trials of Saddam Hussein and other former Iraqi leaders.


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Sri Lanka: World Spice Festival · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Humanity Ashore on the World Spice Festival held in Sri Lanka.


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Syria: Syria Opposition Speaks Out · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Joshua Landis writes in SyriaComment blogs that the Syrian opposition may be down, but it is not out. Today an array of civil society leaders and opposition parties put out an announcement calling for a coalition of democratic forces to help find a soft landing for Syria. They want careful and step-by-step change in order to protect Syria from chaos and to institute the rule of law and democracy based on respect for the individual and citizens’ rights.


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

Este artículo también está disponible en español
Plan B’s Sebastian anxiously awaits the publication of a story about Santa Cruz blogs, in which he was interviewed by a reporter from the newspaper El Deber.   This media interest coincides with the launch of the 2nd “Book Liberation” scheduled for October 23, which he has helped organize.  This ambitious project called Libro Libre Bolivia hopes to hook ordinary citizens onto reading by simply leaving or “liberating” books on city park benches or coffee shop tables in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  Inside the book, the liberator would request that upon finishing the book, that the finder would leave it somewhere for another to discover.
Other Bolivian bloggers are catching onto the project and participating in other cities.  Carlos Hugo Quntinalla selects the book he plans on setting free in La Paz.   He writes in his blog, Del Quintacho su Rincón, that he selected a book of poetry for that special day.
On related arts news, Grillo Villegas highlights a recent mega book put out by the La Plata Foundation about the “History of Bolivian Culture in the 20th Century: Music”, priced at a whopping $100 USD, which includes an interactive CD.  However, Villegas wonders why he and his seven albums were not included in the chapter on Bolivian rock.
Bolivian elections still have not been finalized for the scheduled December 4th date.  However, three bloggers picked up on the recent threat made by Felipe Quispe, leader and Presidential candidate of the Movimiento Indígena Pachacuti (MIP), in which he stated that he would take up arms if he did not win the elections.  Miguel Centellas at Ciao!, Boli-Nica, and A.M. Mora y Leon at Publius Pundit all commented on this troubling statement, especially since Quispe is polling in the single digits.
A new blog called Pensamiento Indio, written by Oswaldo, a student at the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia, writes a lengthy, but scathing piece called “  Manfiesto Anti-Universitario” about the corruption and counter-productive attitudes by many at his university.  He spares no expense at addressing the self-interest of many including student leaders, administration and faculty members who bring shame to the university.  Oswaldo wonders if it wouldn’t be for the best to close the place once and for all in order to end the corruption brought on by co-governance and autonomy.
Finally, ex-pat Eoin writes in his blog On the Andean Side about the conversations and time spent with Hernan, a Cochabamba orphan.  At 18 years old, he has one year left at the orphanage, before he must make it on his own.  The teenager works full time for 2 dollars a day and attends night school, but at the same, maintains a positive attitude with his own difficult situation.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

According to preliminary results the Iraqi Constitution Referendum has passed with a “yes” vote. And while the world waits for the official results, Iraqi Kurds and Kurds in general have been very active as to their opinions of the proceedings. Dr Nazhad Khasraw Hawramany of  Iraqi Kurdistan gives a congratulatory message  welcoming Iraq to the family of free nations. He praise those Iraqis who “faced BULLETS and BOMBS to cast their BALLOT”. Hiwa from  Hiwa Hopes has been very vocal on the subject of the Iraqi constitution. He discusses the erroneous use of the term Iraq, and  whether or not the name should even be kept as the offical name of the country. He also notes the difference in support for the constitution in the different regions and how even faced with being united in self-goverence  Iraq is still too divided to ever unify. On the  Kurdistan Bloggers Union  Hiwa has also asked about the reasoning behind voting on a constitution that will  amended just as soon as it is passed. Was it too soon to vote? Medya of  Medya Daily, from Eastern Kurdistan, notes many of the problems that are currently in the Iraqi Constitution, from being too religious in tone, to its treatment of the Kurds and the autonomy that they will have to give up, to the treatment of women under the new document. He also asks if Iraq should remain in its present state or split and form new borders. I am sure that much much more will come out as results transpire in the elections, if you are looking for up to date news on the referendum,  this site might be of interest to you.
There is more going on in the Kurdish world besides the Iraqi referendum. Vladimir from  From Holland to Kurdistan  recently posted a link to some highly recommended  video about Kurdistan. He also comments on some  inconsistancies/incorrect facts  contained in a recent Washington Post article. Life in Turkey for Turkey's Kurds have not changed, and regardless of the outcome of the Iraqi vote, things in Turkey will not change for the Kurds. Turkey still has much more that it needs to accomplish before it joins the EU, answering the Kurdish question is on top of that list. However, Turkey has been focusing its efforts in  blackmailing Kurdistan (Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan) by withholding regular fuel truck routes in the area.
To close this week, I would like to include an excerpt from a  poem about Kurdistan  from Fly Away:
Remember me not for…
Struggling for centuries.
Remember me for…
attempting to stand every time I fall.
Remember me not for…
a life which came to a sudden end.
Remember me for…
dying for a greater cause; FREEDOM.
Remember me not for…
all the lies passed down in history.
Remember me for…
what I want to pass on.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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United Arab Emirates: Spinsterhood · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Emirati says that spinsterhood is a major topic of discussion in the Emirates. The Phenomena of unmarried young women, who cannot get married because other Emarati guys have married foreigners, leaving them in a dire position which is very widespread.


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Uzbekistan: Sunshine’s Letter · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ali discusses Sunshine Uzbekistan's open letter to parliament calling for recognition and registration of the party.


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Vietnam: Indians in Hanoi · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

No Star Where‘s search for traces of the Indian community in Vietnam leads to a discovery that poet Rabindranath Tagore had once visited Saigon.


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Nkrumah · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly Arrived Denzian remembers the first President of Ghana, the  late Kwame Nkrumah who led Africa and Ghana on the road to independence


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

What an African Woman Thinks reminds her fellow Kenyans of how the euphoria that was felt after the 2002 elections has now deteriorated to the shambles of the pre-referendum campaigns. Weep, Laugh, Give a Dog a Bone!


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan poet blogger Mshairi wonders whether Africa will soon get its second woman president in Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who is running for election in Liberia along with ex AC Milan  & European footballer of the year, George Weah.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Naija Blog asks that we “crack open the bubbly” as once again Nigeria is listed in the top ten most corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International - not surprising with the recent spate of money laundering by government officials.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

….my hearts in Accra is attending the Pop!Tech 2005 conference along with 12 young leaders of Africa – activists, bloggers and leaders –


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Technology blogger, Timbuktu Chronicles reports on “Jambo OpenOffice” the Swahili version of OpenOffice.org thereby localising free and open source software.


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Racism, tribalism, Sexism –  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Girl in the Meadow has an excellent rant on “tribalism, racism, sexism and the general deterioration of socio-political life in  Kenya.


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5 reasons to visit Nigeria · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Australian blogger Nick in Nigeria gives 5 good reasons “why should you come to Nigeria”  and Nigerian blogger, Fakafiki thanks him for “identifying with the Naija Spiritt!


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Ife Univeristy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

“Sunday Lunch Ife Style” by Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories


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Armenia: Treeless Hills · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Voch Me Ban comments on Vanadzor's lack of trees, phony municipal elections, and the disconnect between the Armenian diaspora and the people of Armenia.


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Bahrain: Bahraini Citizenship · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zainab Alkhawaja says that getting a citizenship should be about being Bahraini, not about the kings interests.


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Bangladesh: Homosexuality and Islam · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rifat has views on homosexuality and its place in Islam – in light of Islam's perspective towards sexual relations.


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Bhutan: More of that Happiness · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

There have been a lot of positive opinions on the concept of Gross National Happiness (G.N.H) that Bhutan has been talking about. Atanu Dey however feels rather differently about it.


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Cambodia: Secret Treaty · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The Cambodia-Vietnam border negotiations continue to be a hot topic in the local blogosphere.  Dissident blog KI Media (“dedicated to publishing sensitive information about Cambodia”) offers a copy of a secret treaty addendum it says Phnom Penh signed with Hanoi, while Lux Mean at Cambodia Blog is wondering whether the border talks have anything to do with the colors on the map of Cambodia changing between editions of the CIA Factbook.  The border talks also happen to be an emotional issue with Hun Sen — in a different way.


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China: Too Much IP Law · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Mutant Frog Travelogue has a paradigm shift: It's not that there's no intellectual property law in China; the problem is that there's too much of it.


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Colombia: Finding Optimism Online · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Sir Tropical looks for some positive thinking on the web and finds I Believe in Colombia, a foundation stressing hope and empowerment.


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Colombia, USA: Violence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

John Guzman compares violence in Colombia and the United States.


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Dominican Republic: Baseball Player Mondesi to Run for Mayor · Global Voices
David Sasaki

DominicanPlayers.com says that Atlanta Braves outfielder, Raul Mondesi will run for mayor in his hometown of San Critobal.


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East Asia: Bird Flu Fowl · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Effect Measure is a blog run by public health experts and epidemiologists.  They are very worried about what they call the bird flu iceberg.


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Guyana: An Open Letter to President H.E. Bharrat Jagdeo · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Roberto Borrero writes an open letter to Guyana's president in opposition of the Amerindian Bill of 2005.


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Hong Kong: Newspaper Survival · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Diana Wong at Chatter Garden asks whether newspapers can still survive in Hong Kong.


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Hungary: Pecs=Euros · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu says that it's not clear what the selection of Pecs as a European Cultural Capital really means beyond loads of euros.


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Images from India: Pilgrim · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Pilgrim” by Mor


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Indonesia: Fuel Dominos · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

“What a year it's been,” says Macam-macam of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first year in power.  Corruption and rising fuel prices bedevil the country, Sarapan Ekonomi notes.  Meanwhile, Myanmar appears to be the next fuel domino in Southeast Asia to fall: Burma Watch.com observes that fuel prices there have just risen nine-fold.


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Iran: Hoder @ BOBs · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hoder is on his way to attend the DW panel on blogging, as part of the Frankfurt International Book Fair next week.


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Iran: More Internet Censorship · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Farid Pouya says that Reporters Without Borders accused the Iranian government of seeking to increase its control of the Internet in recent measures that have included contracting an Iranian company to set up a new online censorship system. RSF report here.


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Israel: Learning Hebrew · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Jonathan says that like much else in the Middle East, the emergence of Hebrew instruction in East Jerusalem sends mixed messages. On one hand, the ulpanim are a reminder that although Arabic is an official language in Israel, it has de facto secondary status in business and government. He also says that for those who can't wait for the conflict to end and society to change, they may be the best solution.


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Israel: Protocols of Zion · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zach talks about Gothamist interview with documentary film maker Marc Levin regarding his new film Protocols of Zion (movie blog here), chronicles Marc’s exploration of the rumor that no Jews died in the attack on the World Trade Center because they were warned in advance. Apparently he says, Jewish groups are protesting the film.


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Jordan: Blogging and Journalism · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Lina is not happy that the Felix Moley Journalism Competition through the Institute for Humane Studies is not considering Blog entries as valid to enter the competition, specially that she believes that blogs are playing a very important role vis-à-vis today's mainstream media, and that they are a powerful tool of expression, especially in countries with less press freedom and less open media… how come they aren't recognized as “published” writings by an Institute supporting liberal values?


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Jordan: FM radio spectrum · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ahmad Humeid says that the Jordanian FM radio spectrum is becoming crowded. But with what?


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Mexico: Greater Communication Preparation? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As the islands of Cozumel and Islas Mujeres evacuate in preparation for Wilma, Taran Rampersad wonders if more can't be done on the technological side to ensure communication with those effected.


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Nepal: Constitution and Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Just how constitutional is the Media Ordinance inNepal? Legal News From Nepal has some views on the move.


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Nepal: Tea anyone? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A hot cup of tea is more than just that. Photo-ops, and sharing the cup with political allies. United We Blog! on the tradition of tea parties.


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Palestine: I am Jewish! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Firas envy Beckham, not for his fit body, fame or good looks, and absolutely not for his wife Victoria, it is just that Beckham could at any point head to Israel for FREE, where he will be greeted at the airport with wide opened arms, and a “Welcome Home” greeting. He could then apply for an Israeli citizenship, where he would be issued a passport, given an envelope full of cash, and keys to a new subsidized home. On the other hand, Israel can not let Palestinians back to their homes, because there is no enough space and natural resources , the place will be really overcrowded, that is what they claim. Firas says that today many of the peace activists and those protesting against the IDF are of Jewish backgrounds or Israeli nationals. Many of them arrived to Palestine through the right of birth program to discover the hard truth.


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Palestine: New Illegal Settlement around Bethlehem · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Bethlehem Bloggers asks: Why is the route of the ‘security fence’ cutting so deep inside Palestinian land (see map from ‘stop the wall’)?


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Palestine: Report from At-Tuwani · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

umkahlil says that On Wednesday, October 19 Christian Peacemaker Teams issued an Urgent Action appeal asking to call Israeli military officers and Israeli embassies to demand that the Israeli military fulfill its obligation to protect all people under its jurisdiction in the occupied West Bank, and to question the Israeli military statements that they would not protect At-Tuwani village –near Hebron– against settler violence, since even with their knowledge, Israeli military sources said specifically that the Israeli military would not protect At-Tuwani village. Luckily the calls were answered by Israeli military officers unhappy to be called during the night. We trust they realize that they would not have been getting these calls if the Israeli military had not said it would leave Palestinian villages exposed to settler violence.
THANK YOU!


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Philippines: Blogconference · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

If you're in Manila, get out your diaries: the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism is having a conference on “Journalists as Bloggers” this Saturday, Oct. 22.


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Puerto Rico: PRIDCO Slim(m)ing · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gil Schmidt argues as to why the Puerto Rican Industrial Development Company should be done away with.


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Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

On a recent interview with Barbara Walters on ABC News, King Abdullah said the day when women can drive in Saudi Arabia is going to come. Riyadhawi's comment on that statement was one word: When? (Arabic) “When this day comes, the suffering of a large portion of the society will be solved,” he wrote. On the other hand, Nour liked the interview, and thought it “defiantly showed promise.”
Farooha, who has the the last word regarding the visit of Karen Hughes, says “I am a Saudi     . And let me tell you, I disagree with the assumptions made by both international and local press. I, for one, know that had I been there, I wouldn't have said anything too different than what the Hikma     s decided to say,” but she still says she wants to drive. Meanwhile, Nour prefers improving public transportation to giving women the right to drive. Farooha has also translated a column by Badria Al-Bisher entitled “Imgaine Being a Woman.”
Fouad Al-Farhan has been to Beirut on a short visit, and he says it was better than what he expected (Arabic). “The weather is great. The behavior of Lebanese helps to promote tourism in the country,” he said.
Digital Mind writes about the lack of Arabic kids’ websites (Arabic). Nzighna tells us about her preparations for this year's Gregean Day, a celebration on the 15th day of Ramadhan in the Gulf, and says it reminds her with Halloween, minus the costumes. Mochness’ latest finding is about banned advertisement in the US, and Abu Yousef (Arabic) says he can't imagine seeing anyone dying for love. “We watch the lovers in Arabic movies and series say: ‘I can't live without you.’ Really? Crap! Just crap!” he wrote.
Finally, Fahad Al-Mohareb, one of the first Saudi bloggers, has called for the first Saudi bloggers meet up (Arabic), and many have suggested having more than one meet up in different parts of the country.

author: Ahmed Al-Omran


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Qatar: The Doha Debates · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mohammed of Qatar Living says that Qatar has the reputation of being the home of free speech in the Middle East. Not only is it home to Al-Jazeera, but it also plays host to The Doha Debates which are held monthly at the Qatar Foundation. The Doha Debates are chaired by the internationally renowned broadcaster Tim Sebastian, formerly of the BBC's HARDTalk programme.


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Russia: Wheat Beer · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Russian Dilettante reports on the growing acceptance of weissbier in Russia and why Baltika must rebrand every few years.


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South Korea: Security Law Controversy · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Several blogs have been discussing the top-line item in local news: the South Korean government's handling of the prosecution under the National Security Law of a local professor who had published his controversial, “pro-North Korea” views on the Internet.


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Sri Lanka: Dress Code in Jaffna · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Morquendi has a lot to say about a Pakistani Newspaper's report on the LTTE enforcing dress-codes in Jaffna.


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Turkmenistan: Mahribanlarym · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia comments on the release of the latest book from Turkmenbashi (“Father of the Turkmen” as President Nazarbaev likes to call himself).


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Ukraine: Junk Mail · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes From Kiev reports that junk mail has arrived in Ukraine, specifially in the form of the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes. However, such endeavors have some history to overcome.


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Vietnam: Twenty Reasons to Smile · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Our Man in Hanoi lists twenty things that make him smile in Vietnam.


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Wikipedia Blocked in China · Global Voices
Frank Dai

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia based on collaboration and participation is now blocked in many areas in China.
On the main page on Wikipedia in Chinese, a sentence appeared:”Some users in mainland China are finding accessing problem temporarily for unconfirmed reasons”. It also asked the users who can visit the page to report their region and ISP in order to have some further judgement of the situation.
Anti pointed out that this blockage is very ironical since the “White Paper on Democracy in China” had been issued by Chinese government to the public yesterday.  Widao believed that the white paper is the reason that leads to the blockage.
It was not the first time that Wikipedia was blocked. In June and September last year Wikipedia had been blocked for a period of time, both for its politically sensitive entries like the Tiananmen Square Protest in 1989.

author: Frank Dai


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Afrikaner Homeland · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

South African blogger Mzansi Afrika points out that “those insane and racists Afrikaners in Orania have not yet given up on their dream of creating an  independent, self-sufficient “homeland” within the borders of South Africa”.


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Algeria: Dersat el’sane · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

More dishes and recipes from the Algerian cuisine by Chef Farid ZADI. Looks Yummy!!


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Argentina: Publicity and the Media · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jorge Gobbi, with his eyes on the european regional conference of Communication and Tourism pens his thoughts on the nexus of journalism and tourism.


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Armenia: Voter Apathy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Watts up in Armenia reports that there is very little public interest in voting in Armenia's local elections.


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Bangladesh, Pakistan: Crossing Borders · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Crossing Borders – A Bangladeshi attempts to cross the US-Canada border (a very legal attempt) with his Pakistani friends. Passports, rehersed answers and some very dark humour at mezba's blog.


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China: Power Player · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Musing Under the Tenement Palm reads the tea leaves in the probable absence of traditional prisoner releases before George Bush's state visit to China in November.


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Contemporary Nigerian Writers · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Musings of a Naija Man provides an excellent  list of some of the best novels by contemporary Nigerian writers.


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Corruption in Nigeria · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Once again Nigeria is in the top 5 of most corrupt countries.  Chippla's Blog asks What manner of a country” is Nigeria!. A country where online spamming is taken to a new level and where politics is a elevated to a religion!


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Ecuador: Bloggers Report on Intel CEO’s Visit · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Eduardo Ochoa and Eduardo Arcos comment on the lack of mainstream media coverage of Intel CEO, Craig Barret's visit to Ecuador and wonder if bloggers are already covering certain news items better than traditional journalists.


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Egypt: Atkins or the Sunnah? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

What's the difference between Atkins Diet and Islamic Diet? Check what Ritzy has to say!


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Egypt: Child’s Education Right · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Maryanne of Living in Egypt says that theoretically, all children under the age of about 16 are supposed to be attending school, but not all of them do. Some of the poorer children go to work at very early ages to help support their families. This isn't good for most of these children, but that is how things happen here.


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India: From the Mexican Window · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

India's diversity from the Mexican perspective. Vikrum of Vislumbres on the book that inspired the name of his blog – Vislumbres de la India.


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India: The Urban Space · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Inspired by the economics of electricity stabilizers, Pareshaan talks of the growth of an urban space – and the rush for resources.


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Iraq: Downtime in Baghda · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Christopher of Back to Iraq says: “My mental state is not what it was; I’m irritable and snappish, with less patience than ever before. Panic attacks are becoming more common and sleep less so. And I’ve just been back less than two weeks. So when I’m annoyed with the Iraqi people, or scornful — and this, unfortunately, happens more often than I’d like these days — I try to remember that they’ve been through a lot and have been forced to endure a lot.”


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Iraq: Palestinian refugees harassment in Iraq · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Christian Iraq reports that representatives of the 40,000 Palestinian refugees living in Iraq say they have suffered harassment and persecution at the hands of security forces and ordinary Iraqi people since the fall of Saddam Hussein two years ago. Now some Palestinians living in Iraq have decided spontaneously to leave. But that is not easy since none of them possess passports or other valid travel documents, posing yet another problem. A group of 19 Palestinian refugees attempting to travel overland to Syria has been stuck at the al-Waleed border post since 4 October because they do not have the right papers.


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Iraq: Stolen Smile · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

ChildrenVoiceIraq calls: “Lets get back the stolen happiness to the Iraqi kids , Lets return nice smiles to their small lips. These wars and violence took every thing from them and left them to the streets , looking on trash , homeless , fatherless . I know we can't get back every thing perefect to them because some of them lost their families but we can compensate big part in their life , seeing them at schools means one step for their happiness … I don't know it is funny or painful or shame to see some Iraqis on the streets with Saddams's pics supporting him , those Iraqis took part with Saddam's crime against Iraqi people when Saddam was on the rule…. yes I am witness for this. Now adding for this Arab countries are sending thousands of fighters to kill our loyal people and kill kids on the streets .”


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Japan: Maid Cafes · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Tokyo Times reports on the expanding “maid cafe” franchise, in which waitresses dressed in frilly outfits wait hand-and-foot on patrons.  The police are suggesting that the business apply for an “adult entertainment” license.


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Jordan: Critical Cartoons · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Jameed and Ahmed seem to agree that Emad Hajjaj is brilliant with his socially-critical cartoons, but not when it comes to ‘foreign affairs!


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Latest Voices from Tanzanian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Three new bloggers entered Tanzanian blogosphere this month.  Motowaka is a school teacher in Dar es Salaam.  He writes in Kiswahili.  Makene is a Kiswahili instructor in Texas, USA.  He also blogs in Kiswahili as Kasri la Mwanazuoni.  Fatma Karama, a Tanzanian law student in the UK, joined the other Tanzananian bilingual bloggers with her blog, My Bits, Hints, and Tips.
There has been intense discussions about the first President of Tanzania, the late Mwalimu Nyerere,  who passed away six years ago this month.  Nyerere has a special place in the Tanzanian national psyche and particularly in the imagination of anti-globalization activists.  He is known as “Baba wa Taifa” (Father of the Nation) and “Mwalimu” (teacher).  Pambazuko writes briefly about a recent public event in the memory of Mwalimu Nyerere at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.
Nyerere gained a lot of respect for his strong support of the freedom movement in Southern Africa.   For example, in the 1970s Tanzania donated land in Mazimbu and Dakawa ni Morogoro, which became home to South African exiles.  Tanzania was also a home to the African National Congress (ANC) before its headquarters moved to Zambia.
The main speaker at the event was Prof. Haroub Othman, one of the leading political analysts and respected academic in Tanzania.    Prof. Othman presented a paper entitled: Mwalimu Julius Nyerere: An Intellectual in Power.
Harakati tells us that underpriviledged Tanzanians remember Nyerere with great sadness believing that if he were alive, things would not have been the same. Their living standard would have been better.   Wealthy Tanzanians, on the other hand, have nothing to regret since his presence would not have allowed them to plunder.
Funguajicho links us to an article written by Nyerere’s son, Madaraka Nyerere.  Madaraka writes about his father’s humbleness and saintly simplicity.  Nyerere stepped down voluntarily in 1985, a rare gesture in African politics.  He became a farmer in his village, Butiama, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika.  It was only recently his village was linked by a tarmac road.  Madaraka writes:   For a village that gave birth to Tanzania’s first president, it is significant [not having tarmac road].    Throghout   his 26-year term in office as Tanzania’s first head of state, Mwalimu Nyerere, resisted moves  by planners to transform Butiama into a super village and made sure that it remained as other Tanzanian villages.
Despite being a former president, and also actively involved with international politics after his retirement (for example, he was the chairman of South-South Commission and the mediator in the Burundi peace process), Nyerere’s access to telecommunication facilities was not different from that of other villagers.  It was not until a year after he passed away that the Tanzania Telecommunication Company  installed digital technology for subscribers in Butiama.
Miruko informs us that the government of Tanzania has imported a huge statue of Mwalimu Nyerere from South Korea to be erected in Dodoma.  During his presidency, Nyerere intended to make Dodoma the capital of Tanzania.  Although Dodoma is officially considered the capital of Tanzania, the government operates from Dar Es Salaam.
Reginald Mengi, a media tycoon in Tanzania lost his son recently.  Government airplane carried his body from Dar Es Salaam to his village in Kilimanjaro region (in Northern Tanzania) for burial.   While Tanzanian media was mostly silent, bloggers have been asking tough questions about the government’s decision to use its airplane and taxpayers money to carry the deceased, a private individual.  Kasri la Mwanazuo asks why his brother, despite being a civil servant, was neither cared for by the government when he was sick nor his body flown by airplane to his village for burial.   Jikomboe would like to know when the government plane will start to carry poor people’s deceased ones to their villages.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are taking place at the end this month in Tanzania.  There has been clashes between members of different political parties especially on the island of Zanzibar.   Miruko writes about political chaos on the Island of  Zanzibar where 18 people were seriuosly injured recently.  Four of them were allegedly shot by live bullets by the anti-riot police.   Political situation in Zanzibar has been volatile since the re-introduction of multi-party system in Tanzania in 1992.  In 2001 scores of people were killed as they took to the street to protest the 2000 general election.   Street fights between members of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the main opposition, Civic United Front (CUF), have  become a common occurrence as the election day is approaching.
While Michuzi posts a photo of a private helcopter used by the presidential candidate for the opposition, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo  (the party of democracy and development), Freeman Mbowe; Kona Yangu writes that the only female presidential candidate Anna Senkoro of Popupar People’s Party is begging for gas money from well wishers so that she can visit a few places before the election day.  Prof. Shayo, who teaches mathematics at the University of Dar Es Salaam, is the presidential candidate for Demokrasia Makini (Serious Democracy).   Kona Yangu tells us that since he does not have enough money for campaigninig, his strategy has been to win voters as he frequents his favourite bars around Dar Es Salaam.  Most political parties have very limited financial resources to carry out campaigns throughout the country.  Only 5 political parties with representatives in the parliament receive government subsidies.
Three funny election related stories are circulating on Tanzanian blogosphere.  Mwandani reports that two parliamentary candidates from the ruling party, CCM, in the Lake Region were asked for money to buy snuff (tobacco) by by some people attending their campaign rally.  The other story comes from Gaphiz.  The presidential candidate for the ruling party, Jakaya Kikwete, was attacked a rally recently.  The attacker was trying to prevent the expected next president of Tanzania from sitting on a Sukuma royal stool like a Sukuma chief.  The attacker argued that such traditional ceremonies usually take place at night!
Kona Yangu,  who is a journalist with the ruling party’s daily paper, Uhuru, visited a campaign event by the presidential candidate for the Tanzania Labour Party, Augustine Mrema.  Fifteen minutes before the end of his speech, Mrema asked voters  who wanted to dance with him to do so because once he is in power they will not be allowed to get close to him.
Gaphiz and Jikomboe are not leaving the government alone for banning HakiElimu, a Non Profit Organization, for allegedly writing false reports about the state of education system in Tanzania.   Gaphiz says that HakiElimu reports reflect the reality of  Tanzanian falling education system and bad governance.   Kazonta wants the government to give them time to learn from their weaknesses.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Latin America: Poll Numbers · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bloggins by Boz has yet another thorough summary of electoral news from across Latin America.


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Lebanese and Syrian Bloggers Early Reaction to Mehlis Report · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Lebanese Blogger Forum came to this Conclusion:
There is probable cause to believe that the decision to assassinate former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, could not have been taken without the approval of topranked Syrian security official and could not have been further organized without the collusion of their counterparts in the Lebanese security services.
While the Lebanese Political Journal says:
The streets of Beirut are incredibly quiet. The last time I experienced this was the day after Hariri was assassinated when no cars roamed the streets. Today, is not like that day, but the city is in an unusual state.
Ramzi stayed up till dawn last night, frantically switching between live feeds from news channels, all clamoring to get the scoop. He can't wait to read this (full report in PDF).
Mustapha is digging out worthy press OP-EDs, analysis or interpretations of the Mehlis investigation. For example, he points to Hariri-owned Almustaqbal Newspaper which calls on the Lebanese youth to visit Hariri's grave in celebration of “The Day of the Truth“. The event will take place at 8 p.m. Beirut time. While, Naharnet calls the Syrian allies a “5th column” and reports that Ahmad Gebril wants to sue Mr. Mehlis.
On the other hand, Mustapha wonders how the internal political battle is shaping up after the Mehlis Report. He says that it is too early to predict exactly how the political scene will look like in Lebanon in the next few hours, but enough is already known to have an general idea.
Kais writes – Ghazali: Let Hariri be the laughing stock:
From the Mehlis report. This is how Syria ruled Lebanon and turned Lebanese people against Rafik Hariri. Some bloggers are speculating that Mr X might be Nabih Berri.
On the Syrian side, Ammar of A Heretic's Blog says:
I shall not attempt to analyze or dissect it. Many, with much larger analytical skills and expertise than me, will be doing that on their blogs and in their articles. Suffice it to say, however, that all the necessary ingredients for a UNSC Resolution against Syria are there. It remains to be seen, however, whether the US and France have managed to gather enough support in the Council to pass such a resolution. Will China and Russia cooperate? Or will they push to give their not-so-precious lion-cub another chance at trying to make things right?
It does not really matter. Regardless of his recent assertions on CNN, Bashar is bound to squander any chance he is given. He is simply too riddled with incompetence and guilt to take advantage of anything.
Mehlis didn't please anyone. Sasa of The Syrian News Wire writes:
Worryingly, he accused the Syrian government of trying to mislead the investigation. He says Foreign Minister Farouq Ash-Sharaa lied in a letter to the investigation.
But no Syrian official has been implicated – the worry was that a figure close to the President would be blamed, implicating the President. Mehlis found no evidence that Bashar or any of his inner circle were to blame.
Joshua Landis of SyriaComment says ‘BYE, BYE HARIRI’:
Hamdan talked very negatively about Hariri, accusing him of being pro-Israeli, the witness said. The general then ended the conversation by stating, “We are going to send him on a trip — bye, bye Hariri,” the report said.
The Mehlis commission interviewed more than 400 people, reviewed 60,000 documents, identified several suspects and established numerous important leads in its first four months.
Other figures that unidentified witnesses linked to the assassination plot included Gen. Rustom Ghazali, head of the Syrian military intelligence service in Lebanon and Brig. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed, head of a Lebanese security force.
The report did not, however, mention Gen, Ghazi Kanaan, the former head of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon, who Syrian officials said committed suicide on October 12.


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Malaysia: Thoughts on First Lady’s Death · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Malaysian bloggers share their thoughts on the Oct. 19 passing of PM Abdullah Badawi's wife Datin Seri Endon Mahmood.


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Nepal: Move To Strike · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The International Nepal Solidarity Network  has the media release of International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) representing more than 500,000 journalists in over 110 countries supporting the move by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), the Nepal Bar Association (NBA) and other activist groups to challenge the new media ordinance in the Supreme Court of Nepal.


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Nepal: Radio Blues · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The King's Government takes action against the country's first independent radio station – Kantipur FM. More on the Ordinance controlling Media in Nepal.


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Pakistan: Art As Heritage · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The craft of engraved woodwork. The rich history and contemporary relevance at Thatta Kedona.


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Pakistan: Blog-O-Drama · Global Voices
Omer Alvie

I was hoping to present here a today blogs covering a variety of subjects, but I am afraid with massive earthquake in Pakistan and the resulting devastation, (the scale of which none of us could have imagined), I once again, bring you a collection of Pakistani blogs primarily concentrating on the subject of the EQ, for your perusal.
I apologize in advance for not presenting a larger collection for review but all my free time and efforts (as of many other bloggers) have been concentrated towards various relief campaigns to help the victims of the earthquake.
The help-pakistan blog presents updates as it is converted to a full fledged web site now with donations for earthquake relief rolling in from all over the world; Meanderings has created one of the most comprehensive information blogs for Pakistan earthquake relief; Windmill’s impeccable commentary on what was shown on television recently; Winter of my discontent writes about her frustration at what she witnessed at the PAF museum;  Essjee is please with how the country has come together at this difficult time to help the victims;  Isstarting A New writes her reaction to the aftermath of the earth quake; and finally, I try to bring a little humour into the Pakistani blogosphere by presenting a satire about a very serious subject.
Until next time…

author: Omer Alvie


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Pakistan: Corporate Donors · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mudassir has a list of big corporate donors in Pakistan for the Earthquake Relief Operations.


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Philippines: The Omnipresence of Kris Aquino · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Jessica Zafra at Twisted sees ex-president's daughter, celebrity flack and gossip queen Kris Aquino everywhere.  Her conclusion? She will be the future president.


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Poland: Bird Flu · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot discusses the Polish reaction to avian flu appearing in Europe.