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Caucasus: Revelations & Confusion over Cablegate · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As the media worldwide reveals revelation after revelation with the gradual release by Wikileaks of over 251,000 leaked U.S. Embassy cables over the coming weeks, there were also some items of specific interest in the South Caucasus. However, most bloggers decided to copy and past the text of the leaked documents rather than offer any commentary or opinion.
Nevertheless, some bucked the trend with Jijinin bloqu [AZ/RU/ENG] posting a compilation of links, comments and quotes relating to Cablegate posted on Twitter, while Ianyan  provided a comprehensive summary.
In a letter to Armenian President Serzh Sargysyan, the U.S. outlines its dismay and concern about Armenia’s transfer of arms to Iran “which resulted in the death and injury of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.” The letter, signed by American diplomat John Negroponte, seeks a written agreement from Armenia “memorializing its intent to implement measure that will prevent it from becoming a source of weapons for Iran or other state groups involved in terrorism and/or weapons proliferation.”
Azerbaijan was not spared either, and not least in its attempt to derail a U.S.-backed process to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey and also with regards to what many consider to be the politically motivated imprisonment of two recently released video blogging youth activists. The Amnesty International USA Blog comments on the latter.
What’s eye-opening about the exchange is President Aliyev’s admission of his personal knowledge – if not responsibility – in the activists’ arrest and subsequent conviction of “hooliganism.”
[…]
While we are all glad that Adnan and Emin are free, there is more justice to be done: their conviction must be overturned – not quietly or on humanitarian grounds but for human rights and democracy.
Alleged remarks from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regarding his Russian counterpart and predecessor were also telling, and probably not helped by remarks reportedly made by one of the U.K.'s leading Royals in another.
Prince Andrew claims #Russia threatened #Azerbaijan with loss of #Karabakh over #UN vote. […] #cablegate
Some commentary was also forthcoming from the Önər Blog, especially relating to Russia and Iranian ‘covert activities’ in Azerbaijan. The post was written in Azerbaijani and later translated into English.
İlham Əliyev deyirmiş ki, İranda seçkilər saxtalaşdırılıb.  Həm də deyir ki, İran Azərbaycanda müxtəlif dini mərasimləri maliyyələşdirir. Ay qardaş, əgər sən ölkəndə heç nəyi maliyyələşdirməyib pulları Dubaydakı villalara ya da Mehriban Əliyevanın plastik əməliyyatlarına xərcləsən(Wikileaksın sənədlərində əks olunub), başqası gəlib maliyyələşdirəcək. Burda təəccüblü heç nə yoxdu.
Əliyev həm də deyir ki, Medvedyevi Moskva administrasiyasında adam yerinə saymırlar. Yəni onun verdiyi qərarlar bir neçə mərhələdən keçib icra olunur. Həmçinin qeyd edir ki, Medvedyev “yeni nəsil intellektual”dır, Putinlə də yola getmirlər: “İki qoçun başı bir qazanda qaynamaz”
Aliyev also said that nobody considers Medvedev the authority in the Moscow administration. That is to say, all of his decisions go through several measures of approval before they are executed. He also says that Medvedev is “a modern, new-generation intellectual”, and does not get along with Putin: “You can’t boil two heads in one pot.”
The blog also considers the leaks as “being a true victory for Internet media” and says that in such an environment Azerbaijan should now release imprisoned journalist and 2009 International Press Freedom Award recipient Eynulla Fatullayev.
Meanwhile, as the blog notes, even the First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, was not spared, with Der Spiegel relaying that one U.S. cable described her as having had “so much plastic surgery that […] she can barely still move her face.“
Some Facebook users in Azerbaijan reported that Aliyeva's official page on the popular social networking site disappeared soon after and is still unavailable. The following day, however, she appeared to have set up a Twitter account.
If actually her, the timing of this move into micro-blogging does raise some questions, of course, but whatever the reason, Wikileaks features in two of nine tweets made so far.
Материалы на WikiLeaks касательно Президента Азербайджана совершенно не отражают действительность – пресс-служба […]
The press and blogs worldwide covered these and other revelations made available through Wikileaks and its media partners. However, although some cables did appear mentioning Georgia, the situation was more confusing, as Tamada Tales explains.
Armenia's WikiLeak sensation came in the form of allegations about arms transfers to Iran. Azerbaijan took a knock on relations with Iran, Turkey and Russia. Never one to be left behind, Georgia has also jumped on the WikiLeaks bandwagon with alleged US embassy cables that blame the 2008 war with Russia on breakaway South Ossetia.
Georgian media have cited WikiLeaks for the documents, but there's just one catch — the cables cannot be found on WikiLeaks, nor have any of the site's partner media organizations yet published them.
Georgian blogs which have re-posted the alleged cables do not provide a link to a WikiLeaks source or otherwise identify how they found the information.
Georgian news outlets, though, do not seem to have any qualms about this contradiction. Nor do local analysts appear to doubt the documents’ authenticity.
WikiLeaks could not be reached to verify that the information came from its own site. The website, reportedly the target of cyber attacks, was not fully functional on November 29.
In response, some Facebook users trace their source to either The Financial, an English-language Georgian publication, or Russian Reporter, a site which claims to be an official Wikileaks partner organization. However, no other confirmation of this exists at time of writing when only some Georgian, Russian, Armenian and Polish sites carry the story.
Embassy of the United States in Yerevan, Armenia

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Central & Eastern Europe: Initial Reactions to WikiLeaks’ Cablegate · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

While other regions feature a lot more prominently in the collection of U.S. embassy cables published by WikiLeaks thus far, a few countries of the CEE region do appear in the kickoff edition of Cablegate.
Below is a small selection of initial reactions from the region's bloggers.
Piran Café, a Slovenian blog, announced the Cablegate “winner” from the Balkans:
Croatia, apparently.
Of the 251,287 secret US Embassy cables which Wikileaks began making public yesterday, 2,053 relate to Croatia, according to the ‘Cables by Country‘ graphic on Wikileaks Cablegate website. […]
The Balkan “runners-up” are:
Bosnia & Hercegovina is next at 1,419, followed by Serbia & Montenegro, with 1,244. Slovenia comes in a distant fourth with 947, with Macedonia (783) and Montenegro (503) bringing up the rear. […]
Although no Slovenia-related documents have been published yet, the country – along with the Pacific island of Kiribati – is in the media spotlight of sorts already, due to the Guantanamo Bay prisoner release situation:
[…] Advance material supplied to The Guardian, Der Speigel, Le Monde, and The New York Times included in passing a mention of a strongarm deal the US offered to Slovenia. Most of the accounts went something like this:
The (New York Times) also cited documents showing the U.S. used hardline tactics to win approval from countries to accept freed detainees from Guantanamo Bay. It said Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if its president wanted to meet with President Barack Obama and said the Pacific island of Kiribati was offered millions of dollars to take in a group of detainees.
Milan Balažic, spokesperson for Slovenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied that any such deal making transpired, insisting that Slovenia cannot accept Guantanamo detainees on legal grounds and that PM Borut Pahor does still have a  visit to the US scheduled for next year. The statement I read didn’t specifically say however, that Pahor would be meeting with Obama. […]
Viktor Markovic of Belgraded.com provided a brief overview of the files that mention Kosovo, noting on Twitter that he “got 1k hits on this post in the first couple of hrs […] seems everyone is searching for dirty secrets”:
[…] The first interesting bit relates to comments on Kosovo government and their dissatisfaction with the EULEX-Serbia cooperation, but also the EU diplomat’s dissatisfaction with Serbian MFA Vuk Jeremic:
[Elysee Diplomatic Advisor Jean-David] Levitte noted that the EULEX mission is having diplomatic problems with the Kosovar government and public after signing two technical protocols with Serbia. They are hoping to ensure continued calm as Kosovo heads into municipal elections. [Assistant Secretary Philip H.] Gordon stated that the Kosovars will have to accept the protocols but that it should be clearly explained that these are technical agreements that have no impact on Kosovo’s independent status. Levitte also criticized Serbian FM Jeremic, saying that he is doing nothing to encourage Serb return or participation in Kosovo’s government. Levitte noted that Jeremic “makes big promises” every time he comes to France, but doesn’t follow through. Levitte no longer meets with him and does not consider him to be the “modern face of Belgrade” that he purports to be. […]
Guistino, the Estonia-based author of Itching for Eestimaa, mockingly complains that the people behind WikiLeaks  “haven't caught on yet that Estonia is the center of the universe”:
I keep checking WikiLeaks for the horde of secret diplomatic cables out of the US Embassy in Tallinn. “Local demagogue known for shady real estate dealings!” “Wealthy chocolatier may have connections to organized crime!”
No such luck. […]
This week, the group seeks to release 251,287 leaked US embassy cables, 610 of which are out of Estonia, though they aren't up yet. […]
On a more serious note, Guistino criticizes WikiLeaks’ U.S.-centric approach:
[…] While I am, like everybody, keen to learn more about US policy, I would also appreciate if WikiLeaks provided more information on other countries. Because of its access to those cables, global interest, plus perhaps the prevalance of English, the bulk of the material seems to be about the US. As an American, I have to say, not fair! An international media organization should provide more content than that. In other words, where are the confidential Russian cables, Julian? We in Estonia await more.
Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer who is part of the legal team representing Mikhail Khodorkovsky, wrote this about the Russian segment of Cablegate:
It's no wonder why the FSB vaguely threatened to assassinate Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. In just the first wave of confidential diplomatic cables released yesterday, we get the opportunity to [see] how officials of the U.S. government really felt about relations with their new partners in Russia, underscoring the profound cynicism of Obama's reset policy. And apparently, there is much more to come once Wikileaks taps its Russian archives.
Apart from a near total obsession with Russia only through the prism of Iran, the wires also reveal a specifically detailed awareness of Russia's democratic unraveling, which contrasts sharply with the president's positive statements on the relationship. Vladimir Putin is described as the “Alpha Dog” of a “vitrual mafia state,” while Dmitry Medvedev “plays Robin to Putin's Batman.” […]
Reactions of the Russophone Twitter users are quite diverse.
@sergey_gaber is optimistic (RUS):
WikiLeaks, by the way. Here, folks, it seems as if the blessed time has come when no one is afraid of anyone. It is wonderful.
@kushnir72 is apprehensive (RUS):
This whole WikiLeaks story will result in the Internet getting banned :)
@GlazTV doesn't seem to have enough trust (RUS) in the Cablegate files – because Julian Assange, editor-in-chief and spokesperson for WikiLeaks, hasn't been silenced yet:
One thing I don't understand is how come the fellow who created WikiLeaks and who's giving the US some really hard time, is still alive and at large??? It's giving me some strange thoughts…
Finally, @yasviridov posted this item, which has so far been re-tweeted by at least 20 people:
Damn! My real 5th-grade geometry grades have surfaced on WikiLeaks. If Mom finds out, she'll kill me!

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China: Censorship instruction November 22-28 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Digital Times has collected and translated a number of censorship instructions issued by the Propaganda department to media outlets from November 22-28 2010.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: “Hang the Slaves of the West” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new website that vilifies Chinese political liberals, including 2010 Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, has caught the attention of the Chinese internet for its extreme views and presentation last week. The site is called Progressive Society and its anonymous creators describe themselves as patriots. Despite the fact the website contains numerous sensitive political keywords, web censors have allowed the site to remain online. This inevitably raises questions.
The website is divided into four main sections including “Hanging the Slaves of the West”, “Rotten Media”, “New Ideological Emancipation Movement” and “Soft Warfare”. The apparent objective is to present a counter-force to the liberal “traitors” of the People's Republic of China. “We don't believe our thoughts can change the world, but we see progressive efforts are growing and we want to position ourselves against such forces,” it says on the home page.
Slaves of the West
Most of the listed “Slaves of the West” are political liberals and human right activists. On the screen capture below you can see profile pictures of human rights lawyer, Teng Biao, citizen right activist Xu Zhiyong, political science scholar Qin Hui, prominent writer Yu Jie, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
There are four main themes on this page, namely:
Recommended readings
The website has an exceptionally violent tone, but many of the terms used are ones that frequently appear in populist nationalist writing, for instance in books like China Can Say No and China is Unhappy.
On the homepage of the website there is a suggested reading list that includes links to nationalist websites and bloggers who are described as “new leftists”, “nationalists” and “pioneers of the new emancipation movement”.
The list also includes websites like state-run media, Global Times, new leftist journal Dushu（讀書） and Maoist website Utopia（烏有之鄉）.
New Ideological Emancipation Movement
The term “ideological emancipation” or “emancipation of thoughts” is historically and politically loaded. It has resurfaced many times in Chinese history, as far back as May 4th Movement, Mao Zedong's cleansing of opponents from within the Communist Party, and as recently as the Beijing Olympics in 2008 at the height of reignited nationalism. On the website, the “New Ideological Emancipation Movement” section has four main themes:
4. Pioneers of the New Ideological Emancipation Movement – a collection of articles and debates that contribute to the new ideological emancipation movement.
Rotten Media
In the section, Rotten Media, the contents are categorized into six main themes, namely:
Selected reactions
The website quickly caught the attention of micro-bloggers in Sina. Below is a selection of instant reactions in one of the discussion thread at Sina from November 26, 2010 (the page was removed 3-4 hours later after attracting more than 200 comments):
成尚枫格: 貌似文革？(11月25日 14:46)
爱迟到的蘑菇: 居然允许这种网站出现，是解除禁言了吗？还是只允许“极左”不允许“极右”？(11月25日 14:50)
我是niuhaoning: 准你南方系天天跳，不准极左网站扇你们耳光？搞笑。左右要平衡嘛，否则跷跷板怎么玩呢。如果跷跷板一头是空的，那另一头的肯定就屁股和大地亲密接触了，那也是很疼的。(11月25日 15:20)
穿拖鞋的啤酒猫: 越来越感觉中国才是新纳粹的沃土..(11月25日 17:13)
蛋蛋看世界: 转发此微博:看到了，内容充满暴力，前些天想骂，但觉得那是替他们推广，我们正在加速奔向朝鲜(11月25日 17:16)
老唐88: 我倒要看看真理部怎么对待这个网站，当然，也许真理部就是这个网站的后台呢。(11月25日 19:27)
camphorbear: 恩，赞同这个网站的存在，但是希望他们能够把网站做得不这么血腥，不这么暴力。极左也好，极右也好，都可以心平气和地表达你的观点呀，搞成这样少儿不宜，不知道会不会被当作暴力网站屏蔽。(11月25日 23:39)
宏之叙事: 不必激动，不必气愤。check & balance 左右制衡,方才和谐，现在这种制衡还处在初级阶段，充满了鄙视、谩骂，彼此都想灭了对方。希望今后能发展为良性互动，那才宪政可期。(今天 11:13)
whvictoria: 日本有阴魂不散的右翼分子、德国有新纳粹、我们有毛左－－与国际接轨了。(今天 11:25)
左岸文化网盘索: 这么干其实是在给左派抹黑。网站活不了多久(今天 11:32)
断桥不度: 很有趣的网站。我的担心是，这些文章的作者是一群什么样的人？70后？80后？90后？如果是，那太可怕了，这证明主导这个国家的仍是文革思想。(今天 12:01)
爱迟到的蘑菇: How can such a website exist? Have we lifted our censorship? Or do we only allow the extreme left to appear while we censor out all the extreme right? ( Nov 25 14:50)
我是niuhaoning: How come you allow the Nanfang Daily Press Group jumping everyday and forbid the extreme left to slap you on the face? This is funny. We need a balance between the left and the right or else how can we enjoy the game? If we only have one force in the balance while the other side is empty, the other end will hurt its bottom. (Nov 25 15:20)
穿拖鞋的啤酒猫: I have a feeling that China is becoming a breeding ground for neo-fascism…(Nov 25 17:13)
蛋蛋看世界: Retweet this microblog: I have read it. It is full of violence. I wanted to curse at it a few days ago, but worried that I would help them to promote the website. It seems that we are moving rapidly towards North Korea. ( Nov 25 17:16)
老唐88: I want to see how the propaganda department deals with this website. Of course, it is also possible that the department is behind the scenes。(Nov 25 19:27)
camphorbear: I agree that the such a website should have a space to exist. However, I wish they could be less bloody and less violent. You can express your idea peacefully no matter whether you are an on the extreme right or the extreme left. Now it is totally not suitable for children, it can be blocked because of the violent messages. (Nov 25 23:39)
宏之叙事: Don't be agitated and angry. Check and balance is necessary for a harmonious society. Now it is in the preliminary stage, the content is full of resentment and hate as if they want to eliminate each others. I hope in the future, there will be more constructive interaction so as to push forward the constitutional changes. (Nov 26 11:13)
whvictoria: Japan has ghost-like right wingers, Germany has neo-Nazis, and we have Maoist leftists — we really are merging with the international world. (Nov 26  11:25)
左岸文化网盘索: The website actually makes the leftists look very ugly. I don't think the website will survive for long. (Nov 26  11:32)
断桥不度: This is an interesting website. I worry who are the writers behind this? Were they born in the 70s? post 80s? post 90s? If so, it is very terrible. It shows that the ideology of the cultural revolution still play a dominant role in this country. (Nov 26  12:01)


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China: Junior high school boy beaten to death by classmates · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Veggie Discourse translates a popular forum post on a school violence incident in Jiangsu province, in which the mother of the dead school boy claimed that her son was beaten to death by his classmates with powerful background, while the teachers and students witnessed the violence without doing anything to stop it.


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Cuba: Content of Cables  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Along the Maleon says that the “Cablegate” cables that pertain to Cuba appear to be about the country's “political affairs, the country's relations with other countries and human rights.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Cuba: The Remaining 11 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the Cardinal of Havana declares that the release of the remaining political prisoners is not in his hands, Uncommon Sense says: “The difficulty he faces in understandable. But what is indefensible is that at least publicly, he never comes across as a champion for those Cubans…”


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Fiji Water closes the tap and leaves Fiji  · Global Voices
Michael Hartsell

Fiji Water has left Fiji – at least for now.
In a brief, but pointed quarrel with Fiji's government, the US-based premium water distributor that makes up 20 percent of Fiji’s exports has decided to cease operations here and cancel outstanding development projects. On Monday, November 29, the  company  laid-off nearly 400 people at its bottling plant in the mostly rural Ra Province in Western Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island.  A reporter for the Fiji Times estimates the closure could affect 4,000 people.
The public skirmish started on November 18 with the deportation of Fiji Water's local representative, whom the government later claimed interfered in the country’s internal affairs. Then on November 26, Fiji’s government released its 2011 budget, announcing a new Water Resources Tax, which increases the .11 cent per liter levy to 15 cents per liter for any company extracting more than 3.5 million liters per month. The company called the tax “discriminatory”  and “untenable” because it singles out Fiji Water. Per the new code, those companies not hitting 3.5 million liter montly quota will continue paying  .11 cents per liter.  Presently Fiji Water presently pays 1/3 of a cent per liter, according to  news reports.
Photo from Flickr by swanksalot
This is not the first time the two parties disagreed over taxes. The company,  founded in 1996, was given 12 years of tax free status. When that ended in 2008, Fiji's government tried to levy a 15 cent per liter tax on all water bottlers. Fiji Water, along with local bottlers, fought against the tax and the company temporarily shut down its bottling plant. The government eventually backed off the plan.
If Fiji Water does in fact shut down its operations, it will be the second international corporation to leave FIji in 2010. In June, the government decreed that 90 percent of media outlets must be held in local hands, forcing Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to disinvest from the country's largest and oldest newspaper, the Fiji Times.
Monday's news became a battle of statements to the press.  John Cochran, President and COO of FIJI Water began:
We consider the Government's current action as a taking of our business, and one that sends a clear and unmistakable message to businesses operating in Fiji or looking to invest there: the country is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest.
He did, however, hold out support for finding a solution with the government.
In a statement, Fiji’s Frank Bainimarama countered:
The Prime Minister said that “as usual Fiji Water has adopted tactics that demonstrate that Fiji Water does not care about Fiji or Fijians. They have made statements about supposed instability in Fiji and know it is not true, yet do so because they simply do not want to pay the new taxes.”
…The Prime Minister  said that if Fiji Water is no longer interested in Fiji then the Fijian Government, following cancellation of the leases, “will call for international tenders from credible and reputable private sector companies to extract this valuable resource.”
Crosbie Walsh, writing in Fiji: The Way it is, Was and Can Be worries about the path the two parties are taking:
The news that Fiji Water will withdrawn from Fiji is more than a disappointment. It is a major blow to the workers in Ra province and the Fiji economy.
I am encouraged by their comment that they are “willing to work through the Water Resource Tax issue with the government as it would be their preference to keep operating in the country” but find their comment on Fiji being  “an increasingly unstable country” extraordinary.
At this stage it would appear the company and the Government are both calling each other's bluff. Not always a wise move when so much is at stake for both parties.
In a comment to the above post,  Wai ni mate said:
It's amazing, Croz, how many people here are siding with the capitalist running dogs of Fiji Water when they use their power to trash the country's reputation and deprive us of a fair share of a natural resource that arguably belongs to all. What's wrong with you guys? Wake up! Never mind the odd community project in Ra. Does anyone ask how much tax these guys are paying on their international sales beyond the country's shores? Where are those profits going? Luxembourg? The Cayman Islands? You can bet your bottom dollar the [ Fiji Water owners Stewart and Lynda]Resnick's have sophisticated tax minimisation schemes to sequester their global profits from the US tax authorities as well. These guys have tried to call Frank's bluff but they're about to get a rude shock. He isn't going to cave in, especially to bullies who insult his country and damage its economy. The Resnicks seem to think they can sell water from their operation in New Zealand under the Fiji Water brand. Go for it. They evidently don't just regard Fijians as stupid but every other bastard in the world with a bottled water fetish. Time to show these LA thugs the door.
From the blog Discombobulated Bubu:
With a regime that likes nothing better than to bully the populace and kindly investors that really do care about providing jobs and community support to the Fijian people, we will also say goodbye to the amazing image of Fiji that the brand that was Fiji Water provided gratis to the world. Not to mention the tax that this company paid that used to help our economy.
Anonymous commented in the blot Coup 4.5:
Thats exactly the right kind of response to an ill thought, money grabbing policy made by the idiots in the military regime. That's what happens when you bankrupt the country and try and steal from private enterprises through unfair taxes. What a nice message this sends to potential investors in Fiji….come and invest so we can tax the hell out of your profits. Good on John Cochran for making a stand although rather belatedly….I guess you only take action when they come for you!
Another comment from the blog had an idea for the future of Fiji Water.
Finance it for people of Ra to own the resource, the business and all the money
Photo from the Flickr page of Seth Anderson used under CC License

author: Michael Hartsell


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Guatemala: Film Festival Under the Moonlight · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

From November 30 to December 4, Guatemalan movies and documentaries will be shown for free at the “IV Festival de Cine Bajo la Luna” [IV Film Festival Under the Moonlight]. The blog Ati provides a schedule [es] and additional information [es].

author: Silvia Viñas


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Haiti: Valid Vote?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dying in Haiti continues to comment on Sunday's election, here and here, saying, even as the OAS announces that the vote should be deemed valid: “The methods that I witnessed on Sunday morning sure wouldn't give robust results choosing new Haitian leaders.”


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Mexico: Climate Change Talks in Cancun · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“Mexico is showing real leadership on this issue, unilaterally setting  ambitious goals to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions and  implementing policies that have already begun to make a dent in that  number,” writes Boz from Bloggings by Boz, adding that, “Unfortunately, few people expect a major breakthrough at the Cancun meeting.”


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Myanmar’s other political prisoners · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Despite the recent release from detention of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, human rights advocates remind the public that there are still more than 200 political prisoners inside Myanmar.

author: Mong Palatino


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Nepal: It Is Up To The Politicians · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dinesh Wagle  blames the Nepali politicians for not showing flexibility and respect to each others differences to resolve the long lasting hung parliament situation.

author: Rezwan


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Pakistan: The Desperation Cards · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

The Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer distributes Watan cards to flood victims. Image by Flickr user Salmaan Taseer. CC BY-NC-SA
The story of mismanagement of the donations collected for flood relief in Pakistan has been widely reported. Not only that, the methods of distribution of reliefs and utilizing those funds for other purposes have also been questioned. One such controversial campaign is the “Watan Cards” (literally National Cards or Country Cards) program, under which VISA powered electronic debit cards are to be issued and distributed among the flood victims. The solution may sound very simple, but there are a lot of complications and difficulties involved.
Not just the usability, the issuance of the cards has been troublesome too. Taha Kehar at Pak Tea House writes:
In the month of October, there have been various controversies surrounding the issuance of Watan Cards. It has become exceedingly difficult to acquire a Watan Card. Mob tendencies have intensified as a result of which the constabularies have been forced to take extreme action. The events that led to the death of one man when police personnel issued a baton-charge in the Shehr Sultan region of South Punjab, exemplifies the extremities of such a reaction.
And then to worsen the situation, there had been the reports of sale of Watan Cards as Tazeen informs at The Pak Spectator blog:
Sources in Nadra said a careful examination of the ATM transaction through Watan Cards showed that in several cases, cash was withdrawn from ATM machines in big cities which were far away from the districts of persons to whom the cards were issued.
The sources said a large number of Watan Cards were sold and the government had started a high-level probe into the matter. There were reports that many people sold their Watan Cards for Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 in Rahimyar Khan, Muzaffargarh, Jacobabad and other interior Sindh districts.
Also, there have been reports and buzz in the social media about the provincial governments blocking the Watan Cards to use for their own purpose. Marvi Sirmed, a writer, urges for a proper investigation:
I invite some of the holy anchors/reporters to investigate why Punjab MNAs are trying to block Watan Cards, like they did with BISP forms?
It seems that most of the projects that have been initiated for the flood victims are somehow benefiting the stakeholders involved. If we even consider that issuing VISA powered, ATM enabled Watan cards to the flood affected people, who hardly have access to ATM machines, is a good idea, we have to admit that its management was disastrous.
The worse thing is that the desperation among the flood victims is so huge that it's making them do just anything for the food and relief goods.

author: Muhammad Farhan


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Philippines: #dearlottowinner hashtag · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Twitter users in the Philippines are using the hashtag #dearlottowinner to greet and send suggestions to the lone grand lotto winner who stands to receive $US15 million, the biggest jackpot prize in Philippine gaming history.


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Philippines: Education department’s twitter account · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

DepEd_PH is the official twitter account of the education department of the Republic of the Philippines


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Russia: Competing Models of Internet Politics · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

This autumn, a debate on whether the Internet cures or harms democracy is a hot topic—and not only in the United States. While in the US context “cyber-pessimists” seem to be more vocal than “cyber-optimists,” the situation is Russia is reversed, at least for the time being. Aside from the usual debate on the negatives and positives of technology's impact on activism, there's something more happening around the notion of “cyber-optimism.”
Direct Internet Democracy – new term, old meaning
Russian politicians, for their own reasons, have joined the “cyber-optimist” side. Alexey Chadaev, leading ideologist of the ruling party, “United Russia,” has proposed the continuation of Dmitry Medvedev's thesis on “direct Internet democracy,” in a program document [RUS] called “Direct Internet Democracy as an Instrument for Modernization.“
According to Chadaev, Internet Democracy, “the next step of evolution of democratic institutions”, is “a means to re-formulate the question of democracy once again, to point out the key problems of any democratic structure, to understand what dangers the mass digitilization of communications brings, and what perspectives are possible for the democratization of the mass politics, including by the radical reorganization of such traditional institutions like parties.”
“Internet democracy” is the successor to such Kremlin-produced terms as “managed democracy” (proposed in 2005), and “sovereign democracy” (proposed in 2006). Both terms were used to justify the ongoing processes of strengthening the authoritarian/hybrid regime in the country. Chadaev proposes electronic voting for the next Duma election in 2011, electronic evaluation of officials’ performance, as well as battling the digital divide, the development of open software, VOIP services and de-monopolization of online products. None of the initiatives he proposes, however, provide for the creation of sustainable political institutions for citizens.
Even before Chadaev's document was released on November 17, 2010, Luke Allnutt, in a Christian Science Monitor Op-Ed entitled “Russia's “Youtube democracy” is a Sham”, explained the idea behind the Russian government's excitement about “Internet democracy”.
According to Allnutt, the Kremlin was “using the Internet to create a parody of a real political process.” Russian officials were using online tools like Twitter to demonstrate they were close to the people on a personal level, while at the same time avoiding real political change. NGOs and journalists are harassed and threatened, but at least everyone can blog about it. Internet activism, Allnutt writes, is permitted by authoritarian regimes like Russia as long as it serves as a “pressure valve for the opposition to let off steam.”
Mikhail Men, the governmor of the Ivanovo region and a prolific Twitter user (@mikhail_menn), could not have offered a better illustration of Allnutt's point than during the recent RuNet Award ceremony [RUS]:
I sincerely try to communicate as much with the inhabitants of my region and with Twitterers from other regions all over the country. And I consider it an absolutely normal dialogue, a normal communication.
Digital Civil Society – an emerging environment
The idea of the positive role of technology, however, shouldn't be dismissed, especially in the Russian context. Despite the government ideologists’ efforts to sell the idea of preserving of the hybrid regime by introducing superficial—though hi-tech—innovations, the Internet provides a new environment that no one, not even the government, can fully control. Below are several reasons to believe the digital environment can still be a game-changer in Russia.
Civic activism
Anrdei Loshak, a prominent Russian journalist, made this point in his Op-Ed “[We] Will Survive Without a State” [RUS] (English version here): “Our main cause for optimism is for the moment in the virtual space of the blogosphere”. Loshak's argument is that self-organization and mutual support, empowered by the Internet, represent a new strategy for engaged citizens (aside from the two “traditional” strategies: emigration and street protest).
The internet has long since become a parallel reality that has everything so lacking in ordinary life: freedom of expression, lack of window dressing or propaganda, the possibility of civic engagement..
Thus far, online civic activism has been limited to the re-posting of sensational stories about injustice. But re-posting, Loshak argues, is an essential first step indicating that a person is no longer indifferent. The energy born of dissatisfaction and a sense of injustice accumulates, and become a real power in the fight against injustice.
In a number of articles dedicated to the volunteer movement that arose around the management of this summer's Russian wildfires, Gregory Asmolov has shown how a civic structure can yield a independent, networked community that can not only carry out social functions efficiently, but also, if needed, take a political stand.
An investigative journalism tool
Global Voices has been covering the role of the blogosphere in investigating a number of corruption scandals (e.g. here and here). The Russian blogosphere, however, brings up new examples every month. On November 16, 2010, Alexey Navalny, the most outspoken Russian investigative blogger (read a GV interview with Navalny here), is the best example of an individual who, empowered by the Internet, is making a change. His recent post about a corruption case in Trasnneft, the Russian oil pipeline company, created a sensation on the Russian Internet (RuNet) and attracted the attention of more than 1 million readers, including some top Russian officials. Navalny found [RUS], verified and released documents confirming the theft of 4 billion dollars in the construction of the ESPO pipeline. In his post, Navalny encouraged readers to re-post his findings and write to the government demanding an investigation. His materials were re-posted by thousands of users on Facebook, LiveJournal and Vkontakte, making the story available to a much wider audience.
An alternative source of information
Miriam Elder at GlobalPost points out that, unlike TV and print media, the Internet is the only source of information free of state regulation and control. Elder presents two examples of new types of mass media based on online content. One of them, Dozhd, an online TV station, offers an alternative news agenda. The creators use three slogans which attempt to restore viewers’ trust in television as a medium: “TV is not our profession”; “Give TV another chance”; and “Don’t be scared to turn on the TV.” The web portal besttoday.ru, headed by Marina Litvinovich, a popular Russian blogger and an activist, represents another example of alternative media in Russia. It aggregates exclusively information from blogs.
Elder quotes Zoya Svetova, a Russian journalist and a blogger, who compares the Russian Internet to samizdat, the Soviet-era underground literature movement, due to the fact that it is “self-produced and distributed.” Unlike samizdat, however, the Internet has a much greater reach and influence.
A growing audience
It is worth noting that the speed with which Internet penetration is increasing in Russia among the highest in the world. Over the Putin-Medvedev period, television lost its credibility as a reliable source of information. According to an article [RUS] by Rumetrika, over the past year the audience for the leading Russian television channels has decreased, whereas the number of Internet users has increased significantly, with the main websites enjoying the same level of popularity as major TV channels. And it is not only the young people who prefer the Internet over other forms of media: the older generation is starting to use it on a daily basis as well.
Not every Internet investigation and online campaign ends in success, and there is much room for improvement. Yet Russian authorities cannot ignore the moves of civil society online and are forced to respond to online critique.
Conclusion
We can witness how the RuNet becomes an arena for competition between at least two concepts relating to the use of cyberspace: “United Russia”‘s spurious formulation, “Internet instead of democracy”, and the independent, grass-roots idea of the Internet as a free environment. So far, both models appear to have equal chances of success. The final outcome, however, will depend on the blogosphere's ability to fulfill its role and mission. As Maxim Trudolyubov in his Vedomosti Op-Ed notes [RUS]:
Internet allows to imitate activism. And that's what, I'm sure, structures like “United Russia” will do […] They will not and they can not achieve the main thing – institutional change. Such change is not granted – it is won.
The post was prepared in collaboration with Masha Egupova.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Leading Activist Blogger on How Internet Changes Politics · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Marina Litvinovich (photo by Gregory Asmolov)
Marina Litvinovich is a blogger, civic rights and human rights activist. After a career in political consulting, an investigation of the Beslan hostage crisis, and participation in the liberal opposition movement, Marina has become one of the most influential activist bloggers in Russia. In this interview Marina shares her thoughts on her own blogging, as well as how the internet might affect deeper social and political changes in Russia.
Her blog has played a significant role in launching independent investigations, in cases such as the “Lukoil” car crash case as well as the “Live Barrier” case. Recently, Litvinovich launched “Best Today”, a web-aggregator that monitors the Russian blogosphere. You can read more about her background here and here.
Q: Marina, what is the role of your blog (abstract2001.livejournal.com) in the Russian blogosphere?
First we have to talk about a special place that LiveJournal plays in the Russian blogosphere. LiveJournal blogs have a tremendous impact on politics and news agenda. Mainstream media are losing their foothold as a sole provider of information and blogs are stepping up. Bloggers are also independent interpreters of events. In many news events, the first interpretation is very important. When the blogosphere interprets the news, it is like a soup that is being cooked in front of your eyes.
Blogs are also important for public mobilization. In 2006 I organized an unauthorized rally in support of the soldier, Andrei Sychev [19-year old Sychev had both legs and genitalia amputated after a life-threatening beating as part of military hazing]. For the first time in Russia someone used a blog to direct public anger towards the Ministry of Defense. Despite the fact that the rally was unauthorized, and there was only my blog to spread the word, about 400 people attended.
Lately I've started to write about all sorts of cases of lawlessness. The purpose is to increase exposure of the topic to a point where it will be picked up by mainstream media.
One story I promoted is the Anna Shavenkova case [a woman who caused a fatal car crash yet did not face any charges because of political relations]. It was picked up by TV news after I wrote about it, and many people joined the campaign. Another example was the accident at Leninsky Prospekt [a fatal accident caused by the vice president of Russia's largest oil company, Lukoil]. I located the relatives of the two women killed, and published a letter by the family saying they did not believe the official version of what supposedly happened.
Q: What is your method for uncovering these stories?
The main factor of success is the presence of factual evidence (a video, photo or an official document). If you can confirm the story, it increases the chance that it will be accepted by people. The issue of trust is crucial for a blogger.
Second, there should be an eye-witness. Not a journalist who tells the story based on other sources, but a witness whom the reader can trust.
Certainly, the story should involve injustice. And the story will be even more influential if it is of existential nature – if it's a matter of life or death.
On the one hand, I have flair for such stories, but they do not always work. Sometimes you publish something you feel for and it doesn’t have any effect. On the other hand, I receive many letters from people who ask for help. I try to help them all, even when it is difficult. It is a big responsibility.
I compose every story so people can experience it as a kind of novel – here is the beginning, here is the end, here's the plot, that's what happened.
There has to be emotion. If you write about things without emotion, people do not react. But this is also difficult because I've started feeling more emotional emptiness. It’s just impossible to react emotionally every time.
There are so many stories of lawlessness… The stories are monstrous, and if you react emotionally to each one, then at the end of the day you're just dying from all the energy spent. Nonetheless it always has to come from the heart.
Q: How many help requests do you receive?
One or two letters a day. But I hold on to them for a while since it takes time to verify and gather more information. I am encouraged when a story begins to unravel. Then public attention is drawn and people can begin to solve their problems. At least sometimes things change for the better. The ultimate purpose of all this is to change something, to make people’s lives easier.
Q: Your blog uncovered three stories that became iconic this year – the Lukoil Accident, the Shavenkova case and the police “Live Barrier” [a policeman who lined up innocent passenger vehicles to catch an alleged criminal in a car chase]. Can you contrast and compare the different effects of these three stories?
“Live Barrier” was one case where the Moscow police authorities responded promptly, and the matter was quickly resolved. Usually Russian authorities don’t act that fast. [Update – on November 30, 2010 police inspector Oleg Sokolov, one of the organizers of the “Live Barrier” had been sentenced to one year for this action – GV]
In the Shavenkova case it was different. People forgot the initial accident in a matter of two days. The second time I highlighted the story was when I discovered that Shavenkova had been classified by the investigators as a “witness” rather than as a suspect. And that's where exposure helped. When the trial against her eventually took place, her status had been changed to “suspect”.
However, the court decided to postpone the sentence for 14 years [Shavenkova bore a child three months after the crash]. I actually wrote that we should welcome even this sentence, because in principle all humanity is good, even in severe cases. If we demand compassion for people like Svetlana Bakhmina [an executive of Yukos Oil who was jailed for tax evasion and embezzlement and released early to care for her young children] and other mothers in prison, then we should demand this for everyone.
Of course people had a hard time accepting that Shavenkova will not receive her punishment soon, or maybe never. Still, I believe the outcome was a success because it reached its logical conclusion – a guilty verdict.
With the third story, the accident at Leninsky Prospekt, it ended up with an official defeat of the bloggers, even though most people still believe that Anatoliy Barkov (Lukoil's top manager) was responsible for the crash.
All three stories happened in the context of an anti-police campaign, which began with the case of Major Evsyukov [a Moscow police chief who shot three people in a gun rampage at a supermarket]. Barkov's case actually started another online movement – against emergency vehicle lighting [widespread abuse of blue, flashing lights on cars driven by Russian officials in order to disobey traffic rules].
Q: So the main reason for the popularity of your blog is your investigations?
Actually yes. These are mini-investigations. But then people join and start writing about it. It creates a “wave” that engages others.
Q: And the main function of your blog is in creating these waves?
Yes, creating a wave and turning it into a massive networked campaign. I call them “blog-waves.” And you can clearly see how these waves go on the “Yandex blog” monitoring system. It shows to what extent people are engaged in the discussion of a specific topic.
Q: What was the most powerful wave?
The most powerful and longest – is an anti-police wave. The second is the wave against emergency vehicle lighting.
Q: Have there been any efforts to stop these waves by the authorities? Have you experienced any pressure as a blogger?
The problem of Internet freedom has a very peculiar nature in Russia. If security organizations, such as the FSB [Federal Security Service] were not only tough – as they are – but also had a brain, they would understand that they have to stop people who can start a wave first. But they actually work in a very straightforward way. For instance, Center “E” (Police Center on Extremism) employees look at online texts, and check if the text of a blog post incites to something. They have a ling list of “incitement” definitions, including “social discord”, which criticism of the authorities can easily fall into. They prosecute people according to this framework. Another thing is that they have certain statistical reporting goals, and to fulfill them, they focus on the bloggers in the regions. I am less interesting for them since I am not helpful for their statistics.
Q: What do you think about the relationship between online society and the state in Russia?
I believe that the future of politics belongs to the networked organizations that will grow from the Internet.
Earlier people had to join a political party to participate in social or political life. Now it is not necessary and even pointless. People engage in blogging and social networking, not in party politics.
The future belongs to free network collaborations of people who will participate in entirely different activities. It will be effective, because unlike in the parties, membership won’t be required, nor any bureaucratic procedures.
The only thing that will be required is for the person to periodically join some type of activity and operate within the framework. Such movements will be born and die, as they do all the time. This is nothing to worry about.
Sooner or later, some sort of constant configuration will grow from it.
Once a society is ready, it's people won't just sit back during a crisis. They will self-organize immediately on the internet.
Q: How do you interpret the flirtation of state officials with the Internet? For instance, Russian President Medvedev’s foray on Twitter?
It creates a new reality. I still do not understand where this will lead, but I think it's good. There is a common saying that “the government gets closer to the people.” It creates new relations between people and the authorities. The government finds itself on the same level with its own citizens, becomes understandable and accessible. On big problem we have in Russia is the so called ‘sacredness’ of power. It plays a big part in people’s perception of the government. The Internet is very helpful in making that gradually disappear.
Q: But in the end, who has the dominant power? Will the authorities transform the Internet, or will the Internet transform the authorities?
The second. There are very straightforward attempts of the authorities to go online. When they publish press releases, which are very dull annd uninteresting, this does not affect the Internet. That's just spamming. But there are also officials, including various governors, who like to be personally engaged in online interaction. Such dialogue certainly changes them and generally also changes society.
Q: How do you evaluate the role of RuNet (the Russian language Internet) during the wildfires this summer?
This is an example of how society is able to self-organize. Of course it wasn't all of society that took part in this process, only an active core. How does this mechanism work? If people see something as threatening enough to them personally, and the government also demonstrates ineffectiveness, the next step is for people to self-organize. And they use social software like Ushahidi and Livejournal. The wildfires story is all about networks. It is an example of how a society will react to various threats when it’s ready to respond to them.
If people think they can’t influence the outcome, nothing will happen.
Q: You mentioned the online social mapping software Ushahidi. You were personally involved in the wildfires “Help Map” project that successfully enabled citizens to seek and offer help to one other via an Ushahidi platform. What conclusions do you draw from this project?
The most unexpected thing for me was that almost none of my politically active friends, save for a few, supported it and saw this story as a political one. I believe it was definitely a political story, in the best sense of the word. In Russia the word “political” is compromised, but I mean political in the sense that this actually united a part of society and that this mechanism began to have an impact on the life of the state as a whole.
I have an eternal dispute with my former political colleagues… They believe that we should organize protests, conduct public political actions and that this is the only way to create political change… Perhaps this is also needed, but the scenario when you create a website that helps people collaborate and start working for a common cause – that is the goal of politics.
They understand it in a more straightforward way. From their point of view, the most important application of the Internet is freedom of speech.
I'm developing another idea: that the Internet is primarily an opportunity for people’s self organization. The new politics will grow from this – from different websites that will unite people and organize them in common action.
I was certainly surprised by the level of readiness of our society to react once there was a practical way for them to do so, In Russia there is a very popular claim – everyone blames society. I'm almost the only person who praises society, because I really see how it is becoming more healthy. Many similar initiatives are emerging, where people begin to solve their problems. And not just their own problems, but also those of the state, region, city… That's all part of a new politics. It is something we will see blossoming during the next years.
Q: In your opinion, what role will the Internet play in the 2012 presidential election? Most voters connect with TV, not the Internet. Can the Internet play any decisive role?
I have a feeling the Internet will only reach a critical point of impact at the junction of 2012 and 2013. I see something important brewing, but I don't think it will reach the boiling point before the 2012 elections. We need the number of people involved to grow first. The habit of joining and participating in network initiatives needs to become more widespread, and people also need to feel more comfortable contributing money.
They need to understand they have a powerful mechanism in their hands – that they can change something as soon as a critical mass of people is engaged.
Then it will all come together.
Q: Do you think that the fact the Putin is almost ignoring Internet might have any influence on his success?
Certainly the Internet audience will primarily support Medvedev, even without realizing it. Because, if Putin would go to a new term, it can work as a negative trigger for many people. Putin in 2012 for many it is a synonymous for lack of perspective in their lifetime, and people will prefer to leave Russia. I think it might have a negative impact on the network activity because the frustration and hopelessness is clearly not helping to make people to unite.
Q: What are your future plans on the Web?
I have a new website called BestToday.ru. It is an experiment. I intend to use it to track and follow the stories that run and spread via blogs. Second, the goal is to help deserving stories penetrate the mainstream media. I like working with information and enjoy observing how networks can transform  nothingness into a social, media fact.
We're also going to keep developing stories ourselves, of course.
My own blog also needs more development. Popular blogs need a lot of work. It takes time, effort, emotions…
Q: This is a full time job?
Generally, yes… But I do not get paid for it. When people start getting paid, it is already something that is not from the heart.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Sri Lanka: Wedding Is A Massive Project · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Weddings are awesome, as long as you are not the groom!” comments Sri Lankan Blogger Rakhitha Karunarathne, who is getting married recently and is troubled by the massive arrangements to be done.


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Sri Lanka: Wikileaks And Its Impact · Global Voices
Rezwan

Groundviews discusses about the Wikileaks papers on Sri Lanka and its possible impact.


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Trinidad & Tobago: CLICO Showdown  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Afra Raymond tells of “amazing scenes” as the CLICO bailout debacle reaches the showdown stage.


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Venezuela: LluviasVe.com Uses Crowdsourcing to Report on Heavy Rains · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

LluviasVe.com [es] uses crowdsourcing to map events caused by the heavy rains in Venezuela. Users can report on floods, landslides, victims, road blocks, shelters, places to make donations and more.


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WikiLeaks About Korea · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

While Robert Koehler wrote some talking points about WikiLeaks in about Korea, Allahpundit from Hotair.com coalesced and commented on media reports on WikiLeaks regarding Korea's possible reunification and its relation with China.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Bolivia: Indigenous Scholars Meet at Indigenous University · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Cristina Quisbert in Bolivia Indígena [es] writes about indigenous scholars gathering at the Bolivian Aymara Indigenous University Tupak Katari (“Universidad Indígena Boliviana Aymara Tupak Katari” in Spanish); she also provides background information on the University.


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Caribbean: World AIDS Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is World AIDS Day; West Indian bloggers lend their voice to the cause, in the hope that they will help reduce HIV prejudice and curb the spread of the disease.


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Colombia: Still on US State Department’s Travel Warning List · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Steven Roll from Travelojos points out that despite the good press Colombia has received lately, “the U.S. State Department still regards it as a nation that U.S. citizens best avoid.” He ends his post asking, “Do you think the U.S. State Department’s characterization of Colombia as one of the most dangerous countries in the world is still warranted?


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Cuba: Prison Experience  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense notes that the Committee to Protect Journalists has been publishing blog posts from recently-released Cuban independent journalists and is struck by an account from Normando Hernández González, “who offers a vivid, horrific account of the more than 7 years he was unjustly imprisoned.”


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D.R. of Congo: UN Group of Experts Report is out · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jason shows some of the highlights of the 190 page report on the Democratic Republic of Congo released by the UN Group of Experts: “It's a great report, chock full of useful information on the situation in the Kivus, and I'll have an exclusive interview with members of the Group here in a few days.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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El Salvador: “Entre Amigos” Helps LGBT With HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The Latin Americanist shares information on HIV/AIDS in Latin America: “over two million people in the region are hit with HIV, ‘more than in the U.S., Canada, Japan and the UK combined.'” The post finishes with a video of Entre Amigos (Among Friends), a charity in El Salvador: “Their work has been invaluable in trying to remove the stigmas related to HIV/AIDS as well as homosexuality”


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Elie Rajaonarison, Malagasy artist, has died · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Elie Rajaonarison, a Malagasy poet, has died on November 27, 2010, at the age of 59. An accomplished artist, Elie Rajaonarison tried his hand successfully at photography and film. He held degrees in anthropology and was a professor at the University of Antananarivo. He published a poetry book, Ranitra, and translated French poet Jacques Prevert into Malagasy. He was also Secretary of Culture, and once advised former President Marc Ravalomanana during the 2002 political unrest that followed the presidential elections and led to former President Didier Ratsiraka's ousting and exile in Paris, France.
Bloggers eulogize him:
Ndimby who usually blogs about politics, is positively lyrical
“Elie était un homme profondément enraciné dans la culture de son pays natal, qu’il a su sublimer dans la magie de ses mots, de ses idées et de ses actes. Dans quelques jours, son corps va rejoindre cette terre qu’il aimait tant, tandis que son âme va s’envoler dans les airs à la rencontre de son immortalité.”
Pierre Maury publishes an interview he held with Elie Rajaonarison in 2002, while Elie Rajaonarison attended the
IOWA Writers’ Workshop and met with poets and writers from all over the world. During the interview, Elie
Rajaonarison exhorts Malagasy writers to join the world and exit their insularity.
“La plupart des pays présents ici font l'effort de traduire leurs œuvres, de les intégrer aux mainstreams
culturels de notre temps. Notre contexte insulaire ne doit pas être perçu comme négatif. Au contraire. Nous avons la chance d'avoir le sens de l'enracinement en même temps que du voyage comme tous les insulaires. Le questionnement identitaire est déjà bien engagé, il doit continuer de nous interpeller. Il est temps maintenant de “voyager”. Le temps est venu d'aller voir ailleurs et de nous faire voir ailleurs (sans jeu de mot malvenu), en deux mots: d'exister! Figurer en bonne place sur la carte littéraire mondiale. Nous avons tous les atouts pour réussir ce pari: une littérature en langue nationale bien établie et qui ne cesse de se développer, la maîtrise de la langue française que l'intelligentsia s'est appropriée, le penchant “naturel” des Malgaches à apprendre les langues étrangères et notamment l'anglais, le développement des Ntic dont la jeunesse urbaine branchée est friande mais qui va s'étendre à toutes les couches sociales et dans toutes les régions. Autant d'atouts, autant d'essais qu'il s'agit maintenant de transformer par la traduction de nos œuvres en langues étrangères car le Monde nous attend et il a besoin de nous pour exister, lui aussi.”
“Most countries present here [at the IWP workshop] make the effort to translate their works, to integrate them into the cultural mainstreams of our time. Our insular situation should not be perceived as a negative. In the contrary. We have the chance to have both the rootedness sense and the traveling instict like all islanders. The identity questioning  is well engaged, and it should maintain our involvement. It is now time to “travel”. It is now time to make ourselves seen and to see elsewhere, in a couple of words : the time has come to exist ! To gain our place on the world literary map. We have all assets to win this bet : a well established literature written in our national language which keeps developing, mastery of French that the intelligentsia has well appropriated, the “natural” gift Malagasies have to learn foreign languages, with a special mention to English, development of Information technology of which the urban youth is a greedy user, but which will extend to all social groups and to all regions. Many assets, many tryouts which we now have to transform by translating our works into foreign languages because the World is expecting us and it needs us to exist, too.
SipaKV writes about the title of Ranitra, published in 1992, and the lone book of poetry that Elie Rajaonarison published, even though he had already written at the time more than 500 poems in 1992.
But my favorite in the post face is the wordplay on the title “Ranitra”, as explained by the postfacer.
Ranitra as an adjective standing for “sharp”, it may wound, it may also mean “smart”
Ranitra as a root may also mean “tease”, as in provoke, irritate
Lastly, Ranitra also means “friend”, in the Merina language, secret friend as in “mistress”, vady ranitra.
And a beautiful bitter booming poem, of which I attempt a translation. It becomes obvious in the poem why Elie Rajaonarison wanted his poems spoken out loud and scanded. I picked it for a distinct reason, which you will realize if you look closely at the date of its writing.
Most bitter is the bite of hunger
which awakens you in the morning
keeps you up at night
Most bitter the price of sweat
you do not even notice
emptied while unhelped from
dried out while indebted
!…
It is even harder
to not raise, crushed by complaints
to not dream, petrified by weakness
to not reconcile, closed minded
Bitter is all that!
In the darkness of the everyday
shines Light
rises Joy
Floods and vanquishes the unshelterable bile
Then rise the chants of the ready
to win the everyday
to place their rays to history’s legacy
…
Sing o hills
as she the most beautiful
raises unremittingly unvanquished in war
Madagascar
Written by Elie Rajaonarison on August 15 1990, 1 year and 5 days before the Iavoloha massacre,
Elie Rajaonarison leaves a wife, three daughters and many grandchildren.

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


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Ghana: Understand E-Waste Through Photos · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

E-Waste in Ghana: Perspectives from several photographers: “A couple of weeks ago, Pete Brook over at Prison Photography wrote a great blog post comparing Burkina Faso-born Nyaba Leon Ouedraogo’s photos of e-waste in Ghana with South African Pieter Hugo’s images. Ouedraogo is currently a contendor for the prestigious PrixPictet award for this series.”


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Haiti: Better Elections  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Even [with] the low participation of Haitian voters in these controversial elections, those who went to vote had difficulties to find their names. But they found the names of their neighbors who died in the Jan. 12 earthquake”: Wadner Pierre says that Haitians deserve better than what they got in the recent elections.


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Hungary: Comments on Upcoming Changes in Pension Fund System · Global Voices
Marietta Le

Recently, the Hungarian Parliament accepted a proposal which allows the dues paid into private pension funds to be transferred to the National Pension Insurance Fund for 14 months (between November 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011). György Matolcsy, Minister of National Economy, announced (HUN) that the state needs HUF 30 billion monthly to keep its deficit at 3.8%.
If the proposal passes the final vote on December 13, members of private pension funds should declare by the end of Januray 2011 whether they would want to swap their accounts for the ones run by the National Pension Insurance Fund. Those who do not make a declaration will automatically be transferred to the state pension fund system. Those who choose to stay at private funds would lose their right to up to 70% of their pension, and can command over only 10% on their private accounts. According to the governing party, Fidesz,
[…] Staying in the private system means that concerned persons automatically resign the 24 per cent payment by the employer, and will receive pension after their own payment of 10 percent – Gabriella Selmeczi said. She added that the contribution of the employer at 24 percentage will be converted to tax by the bill. […]
Népszabadság, a Hungarian newspaper, published an interview (HUN) with Mr. Matolcsy. The journalist asked him if anybody would be so crazy not to choose the state pension after this. The Minister of Economy answered:
[…] It may be attractive to keep the membership, for example, for the one who thinks free command over 10% is worth it, which he can pass down to someone. Even if there is no state guarantee behind it. In addition to this, he doesn't care about not having the right to state pension from February—and he does not trust the state anyway, he assumes that there won't be such a thing in 50 years. And there are the romantic fund members with emotional intentions, who haven't received huge yields—the average yield was 0.73% at the funds—but they believe a miracle is going to happen in the future, so they will get it. The one who ponders rationally, won't make a decision like this. […]
Zoltan Simon of Bloomberg compared the announced changes in the pension fund system to the example of Argentina in 2001. Eva S. Balogh finished her post on private pension funds by stating that Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, would stop these changes only if the European Commission did more than wringing their hands – “Because it seems that he understands only the same kinds of threats he levels against his ‘subjects’.”
Jvizkeleti of Mandiner pointed out (HUN) that this manoeuvre makes vassals from the youngsters of the aging Hungarian society:
[…] Let's see the image of the contemporary pensioner society! Do they remember anyone of citizens? It's not their fault because they had no choice. This system was, and that's all. They even had a little luck to retire sort of early, and there are sort of many people paying dues, so they live sort of well. The per capita income of pensioners today is higher than that of blue-collar worker families. It is guaranteed that this won't fall to our share. When we, today's 20-30-somethings, get there (in 40-50 years, we won't even live that), the eligibility for retirement will be much higher (70+), and the rate of those paying dues will be much lower. The big generation will retire before us, and we have to run up the chip for them. We will be the real vassals if we go back to the state-fund system. And we will have to vote for those who promise higher pension, and it is certain we will do so because the pension will be so bad. […]
He also criticized Mr. Matolcsy's promise of future compensation:
[…] The sum we would get then from the state budget, if we live so long, won't be even similar to the money we payed, not even to its indexed value. The fact that the likes of Matolcsy are ‘not accounting for’ any percent of employer's pension contributions in the system is totally the same because the only thing to share by then will be the money paid into the system by the future depositors. And that will be very thin. Accounting for it now means nothing for us because the money itself is paid now to the actual inactive citizens. […]
Cockpuncher of Bornírt blog asked his readers (HUN) to look at the other side of the coin:
[…] Let's not look at what will be but turn the sentence the other way around. So till now the state guaranteed the money of private pension fund members. So: the founders of private pension funds knew in the moment of founding (indeed, before, of course they were well informed) that they are taking no risk. They can do anything the state will complement the people's money. It's quite a simple question: if a corporation which has an income of several billion is told that it should manage well the money paid in by shareholders, but it's not a problem if it doesn't succeed because the state vouches for everything, how would that corp. react?
I am telling you: it will produce shamelessly high expenses, so to say steal the money of depositors, saying maintenance costs a lot. Afterwards it will buy shares, investment certifications, etc. in other owned corporations to raise their price higher. That is using the money of depositors to support its other enterprises with some billions. […]
By now, Excel sheets (here and here, in Hungarian) and blog posts have already appeared to help people calculate if it's worth for them to swap the private account for the state-owned one. A Facebook page (HUN) is collecting signatures for a petition against forcing people to do so, and sharing news on the upcoming changes.
Péter Dániel, a lawyer who became famous for greasing a stuffed egg on a Manifesto of National Cooperation, started a Facebook event (HUN) to get the people to put a blue ribbon on their clothes, cars, etc., to show their objection to “Orban-government's and FIDESZ-KDNP's injurious, anti-democratic and demagogue rampage, and to the restriction of the Constitutional Court and of free press.” (The latter will be covered in following posts soon.)

author: Marietta Le


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Jamaica: The Wikileaks Discussion  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican diaspora blogger Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac says that “the wikileaks debate or discussion will be and should be about what needs to be put in front of the eyes of the general public.”


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Kenya: Prime Minister Orders Crackdown on Homosexuals · Global Voices
Haute Haiku

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has ordered the arrest of all gays and lesbians in Kenya. Speaking at his constituency in Langa'ta, Mr. Odinga said that legal and appropriate action will be held against gays and lesbians as the country will not condone the behavior. Capital FM quotes him saying, “We  will not tolerate such behaviours in the country. The constitution is  very clear on this issue and men or women found engaging in  homosexuality will not be spared.”
Bloggers have expressed outrage and dismay towards the Prime Minister's attitude towards gays and lesbians.  Gay Nairobi Man explains how impossible it will be to arrest gays under the new constitution and that the Kenyan penal code does not say anything against lesbianism:
Secondly, there is no law against homosexual behavior( whatever  that means). The law he could be referring to could be the penal code  which talks about carnal knowledge between two men( so called Sodomy  laws) but does not mention homosexuality Gay activists meet openly and  have registered organizations fight for gay rights and they are breaking  no laws.
So, we can assume that what Raila means is that homosexuals will be  arrested for having sex with a person of the same sex. The only way  this can happen is if you are having sex in public- this could apply to  heterosexuals too. If the police were to break into my house to try and  catch me having sex with my boyfriend, I would throw so many broken laws ( including entrapment, right to privacy etc) that they would not sustain a case against me.
Raila went further to speak about lesbianism. Surprisingly, it  seems that Raila does not know that the penal code does not say anything  about or against lesbianism. NOTHING.  So, by him making those  declarations, he has exposed his ignorance of the law.
Pierre Le Roux, a South African blogger, asks, “will institutionalized homophobia in Africa ever be eradicated?”:
Institutionalized homophobia does not seem to be going away anytime  soon. Parts of Africa still like to bully homosexuals for political gain  while others appear to have no problem to turn their backs on the GLBT  community when it serves their agendas.[…]
It has been reported by the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya, that  since Sunday they have received numerous phone calls from members of the  GLBT community expressing their fears of being arrested or possibly  falling victim to extortion of money from people threatening to expose  them or officials wanting to arrest them.
Tamaku, an admirer of the prime minister, reminds Mr. Odinga that he promised a “New Kenya” where the state would not be on control of private lives:
[…]he spoke convincingly of a New Kenya where citizens’ private lives  would be free from the control of the State and we cheered him on  because we thought here is a politician with depth. {…}
Therefore can the Prime Minister also issue a statement to clarify just  how police are to identify homosexuals before arresting them? Will it  now be an offence for two men to be enjoying a quiet drink together if  none of them is married? Will police now patrol the estates in vans  festooned with ‘Government of Kenya Rectal Exam Unit’? And if one is  identified as homosexual will he be sent to the Kenyan colony on Mars  since homosexuality is considered ‘unAfrican’ and ‘unnatural'? I  seriously want to put this whole saga to one side and accept it as just  cheap politics and playing to the gallery in the week we heard about  drug-trafficking government officials but I still can’t help thinking it  is unethical conduct and most unbecoming of the office of Prime  Minister.
Throwing gays behind bars on the basis of sexual orientation is violation of human rights and it is not a question of right or wrong/ natural or unnatural- Gige Nyaga argues:
The  question here is not whether or not being gay is right or wrong/natural  or unnatural! The question we need to ask is whether or not sexual  preference is grounds for being placed behind bars or as the good PM  states “being turned in to relevant authorities”. It could easily be  argued that sexual orientation is now deemed a matter of human rights  and what the PM is purporting could be viewed as a violation of these  rights especially because the principles guiding these rights on sexual  orientation relate to equality and non-discrimination whose violation is  strictly punishable by law according to our constitution!
RayRae has written a letter to the Prime Minister:
Dear PM,
I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. I should say I am greatly disappointed in you, I voted you in as my leader knowing that my cries would be heard, my way of living would change as I will have better education and my living standards would rise and my countries economy would be one to reckon with.
Now that you are in power, you are using that power to hurt me and kill my spirits as a Kenyan. What if i was your daughter, would you hide me and still incite my killing? How is that I am breaking the law by hurting now one? What of those bandits who kill with no emotions? What about those that rape our young girls and leave them dead or with a lifetime mystery?
Railahomophobia Tweets:
Twitter harsh tag for this topic is #Railahomophobia. Zawadi urges activists to join Kenyans to stop homophobia”
Join Kenyans on #WorldAIDSDay be a part of the #PreventionRevolution and stop #RailaHomophobia http://bit.ly/g2rASe #takebackthetech
KeneMwikya thanks bloggers for writing about RailaHomophobia:
Thanks to all the guys blogging about #railahomophobia, i wish i could blog too but i'm far from home, tyl guys, make kesho rock!
Was Raila Oding misquoted?:
So the PM is to issue a statement today saying the media misquoted him- that he was referring to gay marriage being illegal #Railahomophobia
Well, let's hear him in his own words:
In his own words! Listen for yourself http://bit.ly/eeakBI So how could the PM have been misquoted? #RailaHomophobia #takebackthetech
Why is Barack Obama friendly with this horrible man?:
Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Gays: “We Will Jail Them” – Why is Barack Obama friendly with this horrible man? http://goo.gl/V0tc0
Was his statement a blessing in disguise?:
Although maybe we should thank the Kenyan PM for providing a rallying call for World AIDS day Dec 1st.
Kenyan Pundit wonders:
Shouldn't he be focusing on corrupt Cabinet members, nkt? Kenya PM Raila Odinga orders arrest of gay couples:http://bit.ly/iindL9

author: Haute Haiku


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Latin America & Cablegate: Analysis, Reactions & Questions  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggers from Latin America have quickly reacted to the US Embassy Cables leaked by WikiLeaks. Cables from embassies in several Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, including Argentina, Paraguay, Venezuela and Honduras, have been released. Bloggers in the region are analyzing the cables and what they mean to their individual countries and to Latin America as a whole.
Blogging about cables by country
One of the first cables to make headlines documented Secretary of State Hilary Clinton inquiring about the mental state of Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, how she handled stress, and how she worked alongside her husband, former President Nestor Kirchner, as the Argentinean blog Econoblog [es] reports.
Another Latin American country that quickly made the news was Paraguay, in a cable that The Guardian headlined, “Washington worries that Paraguay harbours Iranian agents and Islamist Terrorist.” Paraguayan blogger Enrique Galeano reacted to the leak in his blog [es]:
No es el espionaje lo que nos debe indignar sino nuestra indiferencia ante este atropello a nuestra frágil independencia
[…]
Es hora de que nos movilicemos por nuestra verdadera independencia, es hora de que repudiemos en serio esta actitud, no solo de los Estados Unidos, con relación a nuestro país. Debemos exigir respeto, al menos mínimamente, a nuestra democracia y a nuestra independencia como país.
It is not the spying that we should be mad about, but rather our indifference in facing this trampling of our fragile independence.
[…]
It is time for us to mobilize for our true independence, it is time for us to really repudiate this attitude, not only from the United States, towards our country. We must demand respect, at least, towards our democracy and our independence as a country.
Greg Weeks from Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog looks at what one of the leaked cables reveals about Honduras’ political crisis in June 2009, when Manuel Zelaya was removed from office:
From Wikileaks, here is a July 24, 2009 cable from Ambassador Hugo Llorens in Honduras to Washington with an outline of the developing coup.  I think it is a good analysis, looking at both sides and concluding without a doubt that Mel Zelaya's removal was both illegitimate and illegal.
Daniel Duquenal from Venezuela News and Views writes,
As expected, wikileaks is not going to be good news for Chavez.  So far there is one cable that addresses Venezuela, at the very end of that cable.  It is a French assistant to Sarkozy and he says earlier that Iran is a Fascist regime (Duh!) and that:
——————————–
VENEZUELA
——————————–
13. (C) Levitte observed that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is “crazy” and said that even Brazil wasn't able to support him anymore. Unfortunately, Chavez is taking one of the richest countries in Latin America and turning it into another Zimbabwe.
The leak includes cables that have not been released to the public yet, but bloggers like Juan Manuel Caicedo [es] from Colombia have started providing data on documents about their country:
De los 2416 documentos de la Embajada de EE.UU. en Bogotá, 2373 (98%) se publicaron entre el 2004 y el 2010. […]
Los documentos se refieren a 272 temas diferentes. Los 10 temas más frecuentes son asuntos internos, externos, terrorismo y derechos humanos.
Out of the 2416 documents from the Embassy of the United States in Bogotá, 2373 (98%) were published between 2004 and 2010. […]
The documents refer to 272 different subjects. The 10 most frequent are internal and external matters, terrorism, and human rights.
Tim Johnson from Mexico Unmasked shares similar information on leaked documents about Mexico:
The cables are likely to reveal much about U.S. cooperation with Mexico against narcotics traffickers, migration issues and relations with the current and past governments of the National Action Party (PAN). There may be assessments of key government officials.
According to news accounts here in the capital, there are 2,285 cables from the Embassy, and the rest from consulates [.]
The role of citizen media and the ethics behind WikiLeaks
Javier Moreno in Rango Finito [es] breaks down his thoughts about the leak into 10 points. In his last point he talks about The New York Times and other traditional newspapers releasing the information, concluding that:
[…] parecería que es necesario que los medios independientes y pequeños y los ciudadanos tomen en sus manos el trabajo, que nadie más hará con seriedad, de explorar y visibilizar la información realmente relevante oculta entre la montaña de cables.
In the Chilean blog de la República [es], Rodrigo F. echoes the need for online, independent media to analyze the material. Meanwhile, Argentinean blogger Juan Carlos Lynch [es] questions the journalistic model behind WikiLeaks:
¿Es ético difundir esa información, que hablando en términos muy llanos, fue robada? Algunos dirán “si eso sirve para descubrir un asesinato, por supuesto que sí”. ¿Pero si no se descubre nada? ¿Si se trata de cuestiones que hacen a relaciones entre gobiernos, o a avances científicos? Es para pensarlo. Sobre todo porque Wikileaks.org afirma cumplir con las pautas éticas con que se maneja el periodismo más clásico. Yo tengo mis dudas.
A regional perspective
In El Quinto Poder [es] Maria Rosa Balseca looks at what the leaked cables reveal about Latin America as a region:
En Latinoamérica el suceso Wikileaks nos enfrenta otra  vez con el asunto de ser o no ser parte del mapa mundial; siempre  viéndonos desde los ojos de otros, ahora queremos saber si alguna  importancia tiene cada país como para ser parte del escándalo. Ser parte  de un informe filtrado por Wikileaks es estar en el mundo, ¿pero de qué  lado? ¿quien es considerado peligroso para el orden mundial del norte  es acaso un héroe del otro orden deseable? Lo dudo. La vida política de  América Latina es más compleja que nuestra relación con los poderes del  norte.
She adds,
Sin embargo lo que se diga de Latinoamérica en los  reportes de Wikileaks será un espejo que debemos observar detenidamente y  ojalá aprender que debemos mirarnos con nuestros propios ojos.
Boz from Bloggings by Boz concludes his post on the subject encouraging his readers to pay attention to other current events in Latin America:
[…] while I understand and feel the rush of new information from these leaks as they appear each day (I fall for it too), I encourage readers to pay attention to the political crisis in Haiti, the climate change conference in Cancun and every other story that is actually happening today in Latin America. These are events that are occurring right now that impact policy and people's lives. The wikileaks documents will still be there next week.


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Moldova: Post-election analysis · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Morning in Moldova shares his views and analysis of results of Moldova's 28 November parliamentary elections.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Puerto Rico: Corruption in the Legislature · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Journalist and blogger Carmen Enid Acevedo comments [es] on the most recent accusations against legislator Iván Rodríguez Traverzo for acts of corruption.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Interview of Writer Lolita Bosch  · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Puerto Rican writer and blogger Marta Aponte Alsina interviews fellow Spanish writer Lolita Bosch [es] on literature, violence in Mexico, and promoting reading in prisons in Latin America.


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Puerto Rico: On Statehood and Identity · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Rafael Franco comments [es] on Puerto Rican author Edgardo Rodríguez Juliá's most recent column [es] on statehood and identity, which has stirred a controversy in the Caribbean island.


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Russia: Environmentalist Blogger from Ulyanovsk Region Prosecuted · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Sasha Bragin [RUS], an environmentalist and a blogger from Ulyanovsk region, is about to face court under accusations of running down on a pedestrian, Novie Izvestia reports. The car accident had been set up, the blogger claims. Previously, Bragin received threats [RUS] for his investigative activity.


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Russia: Forum Commenter Receives Suspended Sentence for Anti-Semitic Comments · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Vladimir Li'yurov, forum commenter from Komi Republic, has been sentenced to 6 months of suspended sentence, Sova-center reported. The court ruled out that Vladimir (aka forum-user “anti-Jew”) had been publicly inciting hatred towards an ethnic group at the comments section of the local online media outlet. Li'yurov, however, denied the accusations.


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Russia: Online Reactions to Korean Skirmish · Global Voices
Masha

Tensions in Korea by gwydionwilliams on Flickr
Russia's maritime territory Primorsky Krai shares a border with China and North Korea, and people there followed the news of an exchange of fire between North Korea and South Korea on November 23 on the island of Yeonpyeong with special concern over the possibility of war.
All regional news sources were following the story. There was little support for South Korea [RUS], and the role played by the United States in the conflict was especially criticized. Some local politicians even said they were convinced it was South Korea who provoked the conflict [RUS].
Citizens of Primorsky Krai did not express as many fears as one might think. In other words, people didn't rush to redeem their holiday tickets for New Year's trips to South Korea [RUS]. And direct flights to Seoul and Pyongyang have not been canceled [RUS] from the airport in Vladivostok.
Local newspaper Vladnews, however, reported that North Korean citizens rushed to leave Primorsky Krai [RUS] after the skirmish. According to VladNews this created an unfavorable economic situation since workers from North Korea represented the cheapest labor force in the region.
In a comment following an article on local news website Vl.Ru about South Korea halting food deliveries to North Korea, one reader, samidinah (самидинах) supported one of the conspiracy theories:
[…] Южная провоцирует кимченировцев с подачи США.
[…] Россия уже никуда не лезет. Медвепут с […] (Обамой) уже обо всём договорились.
И скоро через нас будет осуществляться транзит пендырской армии.
(Note: “Medveput” is a pejorative term for the president Medvedev and former Prime prime minister Putin tandem. And “Pendyr” is a pejorative term for “American”)
Another commenter, Mozg Cheloveka (Brain of a Human) replied on another Vl.Ru article about the conflict, expressing concerns [RUS] over the possibility of a new war:
Если начнется Ирак-2 (с вторжением америкосов в КНДР), то это будет пипец. Война в 200 километрах от Владивостока.
Another person commented sarcastically on how a possible war would affect the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Community (APEC) Summit that is planned to take place in Vladivostok in 2012. The budget for the APEC Summit is reportedly four times a big as the annual budget for the entire Primosky Krai region, and five times as big as that of the Olympic games in Vancouver. Zhaba (Toad) said [RUS]:
Эй, там, на распиле бабок саммита АТЭС! Пилите быстрее, похоже ваш саммит накрывается корейским медным тазом!
Life has moved on, and the Internet community in Primorsky Krai quickly switched to discussing the consequences of the recent snowstorm; APEC summit preparation and other vital topics.
It seems like only few believe in the possibility of a real war.

author: Masha


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South Africa: Sound of the year: Vuvuzela · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Terry nominates the Vuvuzela as The Sound of the Year: “Not to mention that what the vuvuzela has come to represent is not simply a single moment in sports history, but also a moment in our collective global history. And this moment sings out with a distinctive, jubilant and multinational voice.”


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Taiwan: 2010 Best Blog Awards · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

2010 Taiwan best blog awards is now opening for voting.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Trinidad & Tobago: Homeless in T&T · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

FreePaper examines the issue of homelessness, saying: “If yuh lookin to go homeless, don't do it in Trinidad. Yuh gets no love.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Venezuela: Comics Find Their Place on the Web 2.0  · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

The comic in Venezuela is one of the genres that is generally underrated and ironically, treasured within the country's culture. The artists who associate themselves with the expression of the comic and its way of illustrating ideas quickly and amusingly work more on the net than among publishers. In fact, much of the author's struggle from the new fans of the comic in Venezuela is based on claiming a definite and visible place where they express numerous ideas of the world, particularly the urban world.
Groups like Cómics Mitos Urbanos (Urban Myths Comics) [es] and Blogzup [es] have places on the net in order to gather works and release them. Among the different followers, opinions, publications and impressions in this far-reaching world, a standard is common: the genre of the comic in Venezuela searches for and deserves attention, curiosity and appreciation.
Within the funny style and tradition which identifies itself easily with the Venezuelan personality, comic book artists like Jorge Blanco, Pedro Leon Zapata and his disciple Rayma are present, living through works of art which are extremely visible in Caracas and various publications.
The nostalgic collective blog Cuando era chamo (When I was a kid) [es] recalls Jorge Blanco's “El Naufrago” (“The Castaway”):
La Tira Cómica del Náufrago nos contaba en una sola imagen sin palabras la vida del solitario personaje por alargar su estancia en la abandonada isla. Su autor Jorge Blanco, nació en 1945 y ha desarrollado una exitosa carrera como diseñador, humorista, dibujante, ilustrador y escultor, recibiendo importantes reconocimientos en su país y en el exterior. Además de crear al Náufrago es el autor de los dibujos de la imagen corporativa del Museo de los Niños en Caracas.
On Zapata, the blog El Venezolano es… (The Venezuelan is…) [es] says,
Como si no bastara su constante discurso artístico y su manera caprichosa de opinar a través de sus trazos y pinceladas, Pedro León Zapata es el autor de “Conductores de Venezuela”, gigantesco mural de cerámica de más de 1500 metros cuadrados de superficie, que ilumina parte del perímetro norte de la Universidad Central de Venezuela en la ciudad de Caracas.
Mural "Drivers of Venezuela," Image by flickr user ruurmo, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
However, these figures of bitter and humorous criticism find themselves at the start, and the continuation of a line of artists who disappear and appear in the Venezuelan newspapers. Those silent, but present veterans, emphasise the ideas of the people in the strips from Omar Cruz, popular for almost two decades through his comic strip “El Ranchito” (“The Little Hut”). This representation is the artist's most recognised work and it usually found itself in the weekly magazine El Camaleon (The Chameleon), together with other signs of biting criticism to the governments that preceeded Hugo Chavez.
According to the introductory words of the artist in his book:
El ranchito siempre necesita algo; acomodar la tubería, repasar el techo, levantar la pared… es en tiempos de campañas presidenciales que nos viene una esperanza… pero lo único que nos queda es nuestro rancho empapelado con los afiches y las promesas de los candidatos que más nunca volvieron por el cerro. A la voz que habla desde el ranchito la acompaña un personaje llamado mi negra; esa compañera que nos motiva a seguir luchando y que nos alienta diciéndonos: ‘no te preocupes, agún día nos mudaremos’.
Used with artist's permission
A video on Youtube shows Omar Cruz working on his character, on the basic ideals of one of his heroes: ethics, morals, strength, values, one's country, courage, loyalty.
On the opposite side of the story and across the internet, Planeta Venezuela Cómics [es] tries to see the vision “of the right side of the story.” In its provocative presentation, the author says:
Página con contenido altamente Derechista, lo cual puede resultar ofensivo para audiencias de izquierda. Se recomienda DISCRECIÓN AL LEERLA. Esto significa, que si eres de idiotología Izquierdista y no te gusta lo que sale publicado en mi página, puedes ejercer cualquiera de estos 2 derechos: Hacer como el Avestruz, es decir, pasar de mi página y buscarte una con contenido más acorde a tus intereses, y el otro; comentar y quedar como un idiota, lo cual ustedes ejercen BRILLANTEMENTE.
Also under the political tone of the opposition, with touches of humour and about daily life, you can find Garabatos [es] from Henry Casanova, illustrator and graphic designer..
Another wave arrives pushed by new artists and their vision of the urban oral tradition. Comics Mitos Urbanos [es] is the sign of these phenomena through characters of importance, connected by the legendary and mythical fascination of the oral tradition of the region. On the blog that gathers all the work:
…Se plantea el estudio de personajes que se han catalogado como mitos o historias orales de gran potencial tanto imaginativo, como de indagación del contexto, con la finalidad de contribuir con el estudio del imaginario; e historias orales surgidas en Venezuela. Buscamos generar una conexión con la memoria y los personajes potenciales de nuestro propio contexto.
The project considers the development of anti-heroic figures. ‘Machera’, for example, is a miraculous soul of local spiritualism (linked to Santeria) and one of the figures who stands our the most on the blog. Also called the Saint Malando (a Venezuelan word for criminal) the cult of Machera is collected in the activities that they carry out around the development of the character in the world of comic strips. Blogzup [es] reviews the publication:
En general es una lectura bastante interesante, se trata de un personaje -mitad realidad y mitad leyenda- del que no sabía mucho y del que sólo había escuchado debido a esta publicación. Machera fue un criminal que tenía por costumbre ayudar a la gente de su barrio, se le recuerda por acciones como robar farmacias para regalar medicinas a los pobres. Tras una muerte violenta a mano de la justicia, su fama no hizo sino crecer hasta convertirse en leyenda, mucha gente pide favores y milagros a su espíritu.
Another project on the mythological and the fantastical continues on the blog by Mr Rogger, under the name of Venezuela Fantástica [es]:
…Un macroproyecto que comprende las áreas de ilustración, animación gráfica, música e interactividad para la realización de un juego interactivo multimedia basado en los aspectos míticos e históricos del folklore venezolano. La finalidad de dicho juego es incorporar esta temática pedagógicamente al campo del entretenimiento.
The world of comic strips and pictures seeks to construct symbols for an identity that wants to see itself as its own and diverse. The new comic also combines itself with the new Venezuelan aesthetic wave which shows its racially mixed nature in works that point to recreating local knowledge and wit in different colours and in more dynamic ways. It remains however the great question about the vision of the past, ever changing, and like this the mystery of the human dimension of the heroes of Venezuela and the struggles through which the comic genre overcomes the limitations of the ingratitude of the Venezuelan publishing world.

author: Laura Vidal


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Venezuela: Heavy Rains Cause Flooding on Caribbean Coast · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Francisco Toro from Caracas Chronicles reports on the floods caused by heavy rains in Venezuela: “After the wettest November on record, Venezuela is experiencing serious flooding all through the long Caribbean coast.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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WikiLeaks in Korea: Diplomatic Niceties Lost Regarding North Korean Issues · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A WikiLeaks’ page reveals South Korea's former Vice Foreign Minister bad-mouthing Chinese nuclear envoy in front of U.S. Ambassador as someone who “knows nothing about North Korea, nothing about nonproliferation and is hard to communicate with because he doesn’t speak English.”


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Africa: Investing in Africa Moment · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The future of investment in Africa: “The Kenya ICT Board will host a team from I/O ventures, comprising entrepreneurs & founders will from Silicon Valley who will visit Nairobi on December 14 & 15 and who are seeking young ICT entrepreneurs to mentor.”.