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Clinton visits Indonesia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Indonesia last Wednesday. She affirmed “Indonesia’s role in handling global problems, including terrorism, protectionism, climate change and the economic crisis.” Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world and the third largest democracy.
Aside from meeting the leaders of Indonesia, Clinton found the time to visit a slum community in Jakarta. She also appeared in a teen-oriented TV show.
Everything Indonesia believes Clinton's visit to Indonesia starts a new era in American foreign policy:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Indonesia starts a new era in American foreign policy. A lot less unilateral arrogance, a lot more inclusiveness and so-called smart power.
Mbak Rita observes that Clinton looks younger today:
“I really think that she looks younger and more goodlooking, maybe it was because of her constant smile she gave during her visit here…Some people on some boring TV talkshow mentioned previously that Jakarta is a little overreacted with her visit. I am glad that I was wrong about that.”
Devi Girsang was surprised about Jakarta’s traffic on the day Clinton arrived:
As a Jakartan who used to stuck in traffic, I tend to be panicky if the streets are quiet and deserted look-alike. There are only two things popped in my mind in that case; there's a bomb terror or rampages. Remember 1998 Jakarta riots or 2003 Marriott Hotel bombing? Then you must know what I mean
Around 2 PM today, it turned out to be US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton's arrival in Jakarta that stopped the traffic! Lucky for me, there's still battery power remained on my digital camera to take a few snapshots.
Therry, in a comment, wonders if the US sent a fake Clinton:
I saw the speech Hillary made on television and I don't know whether it's just me but that woman doesn't look exactly like Hillary.
I'm starting to think the US government sent a fake one to us, because that woman looks too old and motherly to be Hillary!
Andreas Harsono wanted Clinton to raise the issues of religious freedom, impunity, and military reform during her visit:
“(Clinton) should be careful not to say that Muslims in Indonesia are “moderate,” as most diplomatic visitors like to say. For members of persecuted religious groups in Indonesia, it is a useless and inaccurate cliche.
“Concern over rising religious intolerance is not the only human rights issue Clinton should raise with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Freedom of expression is also a huge problem on islands where ethnic minorities show their resistance toward the Indonesian state. But in Indonesia, even peaceful acts like a flag raising can land you in jail for a long time
“Clinton may be tempted to gloss over issues like religious freedom, impunity, and military reform, in favor of closer Indonesian-US ties. But if she does, she’ll miss a golden opportunity to transform the lives of many people in Indonesia who need pressure on the government to recognize their rights.”
Via Twitter, below are some reactions to the Clinton visit:
waxinglyrical: someone asked who is Hillary Clinton??
mirageinblue: saw hillary clinton at the lobby. awesome
oplet: Obama Fans Club stages protest against Hillary Clinton in Jakarta, saying they're just not that into her since presidential race

author: Mong Palatino


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Costa Rica: The Budget for 4 Public Universities Cut · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Costa Rican president Oscar Arias recently cut the budget for four public universities and La Foto Salio Movida [es] writes that this will affect scholarships and infrastructure.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


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Cuba: Women in Jazz  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana Times focuses on the contribution of women to Cuban jazz.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Egypt: Because he is Japanese · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Zeinobia comments on the Japanese Finance minister Shoichi Nakagaw resignation, after the criticism he received due to his embarrassing moment in the G7 summit in Italy. She also compares him to Egyptian ministers who are in more deep trouble than Nakagaw and, according to her, insist on embarrassing their country.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: Comedy Channels Disgraceful  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“It is really a very good gesture to have a dedicated channel to air nothing but comic shows all the time and transfer some cheerful vibes.  That being said I have to say that most of the material aired is extremely disappointing, and goes beyond disgraceful sometimes,” writes Nermeena, from Egypt.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: The 64th anniversary of “the princess of the mountain’ · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Ramy Mosad wrote in his blog Egyptian Stories a short biography of Lebanese singer, Princess Asmahan el Atrache,  who was mysteriously murdered 64 years ago.


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Exposing Egypt’s drug trade  · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Randa Abu Shakra wrote an article for MENASSAT about an astounding report published by Al Badil newspaper concerning Egypt's drug trade.


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Fiji: Bloggers react to police commissioner’s ‘crusade’  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Bloggers in Fiji are commenting on the police commissioner’s recent outburst recorded by television cameras at a meeting with Indo-Fijian officers warning them with termination if they continue to air their complaints directly to the media.
The problem began when an unnamed Indo-Fijian policeman was quoted in a Fiji Sun story explaining his discomfort with the largely pro-Christian crusade commissioner Esala Teleni is undertaking to reduce crime. The unnamed policeman also alleged officers converting to the New Methodist Church — a breakaway group run by Teleni’s brother that is very active in the police crusades — are being promoted before others.
In December, Teleni said the crusade to fight crime and other evils was God’s plan for Fiji, “irrespective of race, religion and culture.” Teleni said he never forced people to attend the crusades and invited members of all religions to take part.
Religion, it has been argued, can be a dividing wedge in Fiji society.  Indigenous Fijians mainly practice Christianity; a majority of Indo-Fijians are Hindu, although a sizable Muslim minority exists.
After reading the Fiji Sun story, Teleni called some Indo-Fijian officers together where he warned them to support his policies or,  “I can sack everyone sitting here today and I can recruit another 200 Indian officers” in comments caught by a Fiji One camera. The police are presently looking into how the television camera could have picked up Teleni’s speech even though it was stationed well outside the building. (Here is a clip of the newscast.)
In parting words to the Indo-Fijian officers, Teleni said (according to the transcript):
“No one is going to deter me and my Jesus. I never talk about your religions. I never discuss your religions because I respect it. But at the same time you must respect my religion. You do not go to the press.”
After the meeting became public, an unnamed “senior” police officer in attendance told Fiji Live the anonymous source of the original Fiji Sun article was not a high ranking Indo-Fijian — and my not even have been Indo-Fijian. He himself felt no obligation to attend the crusades, yet he supports them because they instill police discipline. The senior officer also said other high-ranking Indo-Fijian police officers have no problems with Teleni.
Fiji’s population consists of 60 percent indigenous Fijians and around 37 percent Indo-Fijians. But that’s not always been the case. Between 1879 and 1916, Britain, the former colonial rulers, imported more than 60,000 people from India to work in Fiji’s sugar industry. By the time Fiji gained independence in 1970, Indo-Fijians made up nearly two-thirds of the islands’ population.
In 1987 the country witnessed its first government led by a majority of Indo-Fijian politicians, only to have it deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka, then a colonel in Fiji’s military. Rabuka claimed he was on a “mission that God has given to me” to save the Fijian race and convert Indo-Fijians to Christianity. Shortly thereafter, Indo-Fijian outmigration (along with some educated indigenous Fijians) began in earnest.
Teleni, a former Naval officer, was made police commissioner a few months after Frank Bainimarama took power in a December 2006 coup to eliminate what the self-appointed Prime Minister saw as a corrupt government bent on ruling through discriminatory policies against Indo-Fijians.
Bainimarama plans to modify the country’s constitution, which since 1997 has established the “paramountcy” of indigenous Fijian interests over other races, and change the electoral system that partitions seats in Parliament on race and codifies political power to indigenous Fijian institutions like the Great Council of Chiefs, a hereditary body that appoints (with Presidential approval)14 of 32 members of the Senate.
Anyway, to the bloggers.
Calling for Teleni to be removed for his remarks, Raw Fiji News argues that the Bainimarama regime merely pays lip service to racial harmony.
Frank’s military regime has dismantled everything Fijian in their bid to demolish Fijian behaviour they think is detrimental to their junta rulership. They have publicly pitted against the Methodist Church that many indigenous Fijians relate to as their religion.
And now, we see the spiritually pumped up Police Commish, Teleni, wallop his Indo-Fijian senior staff for what he claims is their disloyalty towards him. His claim is based on religion – that gooey word that refers to the exaggerated and artificial faking of the emotions by Teleni to try and intimidate his staff.
So what kind of religion is Teleni in that is prompting him to segregate his Indo-Fijian staff like that and even to the extent of swearing at them to emphasize his anger? The Jesus he quoted to be the one he is worshipping is definitely not the Jesus reflected by Teleni’s unholy way of teaching his staff.
Teleni’s TV performance is a direct representation of what his New Methodist church is reaping from the rotten seed they’ve been sowing.
How dare Teleni address Fiji’s Indo-Fijian Police senior officers like that!
Why pick on Indo-Fijians only Teleni? They are not the problem in the Police force. You are!
Talking Fiji argues Teleni is not the only member of the government to be anti-Indo-Fijian.
Last night’s Fiji TV footage of Teletubby Teleni berating senior Indian Police officers must have come as something of a shock to the Indian community in Fiji.
Teleni was about as racist as one can get and its out there now in the public domain for all to hear.
References in his speech to Indians as ”you people” betray his exteme contempt for the Indian community in Fiji.
So much for the multi-racial Fiji much touted by the military since they took power in 2006.
So now you know.
The military were never really interested in racial unity at all.
They used the Indian community to bolster their support for their illegal takeover and now that they have no use for them, the Indian community is being discarded like a used condom.
I’m sure after last night, the Indian Community are wondering if they made a mistake and backed the wrong horse in 2006.
Well duh!
The blog at the Solivakasama Worldwide Movement:
Yadra [Good morning] borggers, well ketepoka [big stomach] Teleni where is your god??? You should learn to choose your words wisely because the garbage you spewed out is very unbecoming from someone claiming to be called by god to be Commissioner of Police. The funny thing ketepoka, is that you and your god seem to be the only ones who think you are fit for this position because everyone else does not think so. The good book says, ‘you will know them by their deeds’ and your deeds ketepoka definitely betray you! SWM urges the Indo-Police Officers to stand up to ketepoka the pretender and uphold the rule of law!
On the other hand, IG Fiji says those criticizing Teleni by hypocritically preaching racial harmony should look themselves in the mirror.
Jesus was the reason Teleni said what he said. If a man feels that he has been blessed by Jesus, then so be it – it brings him peace of mind and inner comfort. Or perhaps the bloggers have no value for Jesus and consider his works a curse? It would certainly seem to be the case as the bloggers have taken the words of Teleni to a new and twisted level. We standby Teleni's words and we agree that the Indian police officers are a dangerous lot. They are backstabbers and have done this to other Commissioners. They have an inner circle whereby they discuss how to topple their superiors and usurp power. The Indian police should certainly be sacked. These are the same grog-doped cigarette smoking lazy men who stroll around the street trying to get bribes from everyone. We believe the Commissioner should sack all these men and find others to replace him – others who are loyal and do not question the authority in a disciplined force.
In addition to this, the media continue to show their true colors by running to all the anti-govt. idiots and asking them for their comments. In the end, all the people in this country got to hear was how bad a person the Commissioner was. Why not talk to other members of the govt.? Why not go out in public and ask them what their views are? The answer is obvious – it would have spoiled their slanted hypocritical stories. To worsen the situation the media ended up talking to the most racist man in Fiji – Ted Young of the SDL. This was the crowning moment of the media's inefficiency and stupidity.
[Note: The SDL party headed the governing coalition that was forced out of power during the December 2006 coup.]
real jack, who posts at Fiji Board Exiles, says Teleni’s outburst shows that he cares.
…the other option was for him to have simply started cutting heads.
he didn't have to do this – he could have just said, “right then….this is the list of guys lets start with the termination letter for name No 1 on the list” – and he could have just sat in his office pulled out his red pen and started crossing names off the list.
instead he calls a meeting at Nasova, gets in his car and travels all the way there to have his outburst at the officers – he didn't have to go to all that trouble.
the outburst may look irrational and temperamental but those officers, if they are smart will see it and understand that this is a guy we can work with – he can go ballistic like this and tommorow we can talk again – and thats good. we can talk to this guy face to face – and he is not going to cut us out behind our backs – he has a problem he tells it to our face – we have a problem we tell it to his face – we know where we stand with this guy.
they should not take it negatively.
Let’s end with a critique of the role the media played in this situation.
Wendy, from Babasiga, thinks the television journalist should not have been listening to a meeting he was barred from.
She also had this to say:
Teleni (who seemed a nice guy when we met him during his studies) is in trouble with his espousing of New Methodist shouting style and mixing up religion with policing. Selectively targeting the Indo-Fijian policemen was certainly a provocative decision.
Media critic Crosbie Walsh was much more worried with the press coverage after the meeting story broke. In a post labeled “Anything to discredit the Interim Government…,” he says the “crisis” was blown out of proportion by Fiji’s media.
From Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be:
There is no question that Teleni's outburst did him no credit (and no question that personal and religious freedoms must be protected) but the media also cannot escape responsibility. They started the fire and fanned the flames over what would appear to be a relatively minor incident — and much of what they reported would seem to be incorrect.
To play a responsible role in a Fiji where its opponents use every opportunity to discredit the Interim Government, the media must at least check its sources — the original sources, not those of an “unnamed” someone printed by another newspaper — and do what it can to douse unnecessary heat.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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author: John Liebhardt


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Guadeloupe, Corsica: Same situation? Same claims? · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican blogde[moi] ponders on the possible extension of the French West Indian conflict to the French island of Corsica, following the analysis of a Corsican blogger.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Guadeloupe: Local media under pressure · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Guadeloupean CaribCreoleOne is the first blogger to talk about the political pressure put on Guadeloupean media RCI and Canal 10. Some journalists even seem to have been summoned by the Local service of the Judiciary Police [Fr].


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Guadeloupe: Where is it exactly? · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

French West Indian blogger Fwiyapin questions the way in which traditional French media are dealing with the Guadeloupean crisis – images of Guadeloupe and Madagascar mixed up on ITélé, or Guadeloupe suddenly being located in the Asia-Pacific column, in LeMonde.fr.


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India: WordCamp · Global Voices
Rezwan

Delhi Bloggers Bloc is organizing the first WordCamp in India from 21st – 23rd February, 2009.  Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress will be present there. You can follow the live twitter feeds of WordCamp India.

author: Rezwan


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Indigenous Activists Seek New .indigi Domain · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Marginalized and oppressed for centuries, indigenous peoples – native communities around the world often considered minorities by states – are seeking Internet autonomy. Encouraged by the opportunity to create new generic top level domains (gTLD), some activists want registration of their own Internet domain – [dot] indigi.  But will they be able to overcome the financial challenge of the Internet?
The official campaign website is www.dotindigi.com, with support groups on Facebook and Google. The Dot Indigi project is headed by New Zealand’s native Maori activist Karaitiana Taiuru, who was appointed by the International Indigenous Task Force to lead the project. Mr. Taiuru was the first to break the news on February 5:
[…]
.indigi is a self governing generic Top Level Domain Name for the international Indigenous Peoples population to participate in their own self governing domain name.
[…]
Today we officially begun our publicity campaign[…]
Indigenous People's Issues Today gives more details about the project:
The Dot Indigi organization will apply to ICANN [Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers] for a new gTLD < .indigi> (or other if the community suggest a different version) to represent all indigenous groups of the world, thus removing the existing indigenous representation issues of the predominantly English DNS. The ability to include non English characters will be a priority at the 2nd and subsequent Levels.
The < .indigi> gTLD will offer registration at the 2nd Level Domain to indigenous organizations who would then govern their own domain name space and resell/distribute 3rd Level Domain names or retain a general project type name at the 2nd Level via the official .indigi registrars. Several other 2nd Level Domains will be made public to cater to indigenous individuals or smaller such groups who cannot justify the expense and set up of their own 2nd Level Domain.
[…]
For example: NZ [New Zealand] Māori may apply for .māori.indigi and create a new set of domain names to accommodate their culture. So say for Māori schools, there could be .kura.māori.indigi . Then Māori schools can have their name at the start of the address.
[…]
Singing to the Plants explains the process:
A top-level domain is the last part of an Internet domain name. The original set of these TLDs, defined in October 1984, is still the most familiar — .com, .edu, .gov, .mil, and .org, to which .net was added in the first implementation of the domain name system. Management of TLDs is in the hands of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which operates under contract to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
Over the years, new TLDs — now called generic TLDs, to distinguish them from, say, country-code TLDs — have been added, and now .aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum, .name, and .pro are all operational, even if not widely used. Several additional new gTLDs have been approved in principle, although only .mobi, for the delivery of the Internet to mobile devices, seems to have aroused much interest.
Most important, in June 2008, ICANN approved the recommendation of a new gTLD program which would allow just about any organization to apply to reserve its own gTLD. Under this system, for example, Microsoft could apply for .msn, Google for .google, or New York City for .nyc. The implementation plan for the new system is expected to be published in 2009. The plan must then be approved by the ICANN Board before the system is implemented. ICANN is currently aiming to receive applications for domains starting in the second quarter of 2009.
This new plan is now seen as an opportunity for indigenous peoples to have their own gTLDs — .taino, for example, or .shipibo. But applying for a gTLD requires significant resources of time, money, and expertise.
[…]
With an application fee of $185,000 – money may be the bigest obstacle in this campaign, says consultant Antony Van Couvering:
[…]
Although I applaud the idea and the effort, I admit to being steamed at ICANN that they have allowed a fee structure that blocks new TLDs for these, certainly among the most deserving applicants.
[…]

author: Simon Maghakyan


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Indonesia: Weird Durian fruit · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Good News from Indonesia posts a picture of a weird durian fruit from the wild rain forest of Borneo.


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Jamaica: The Power of Words  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Everybody who has felt the need to prove their Jamaican-ness has said it: gays and lesbians ought to be expelled from the national body…”: Long Bench has had enough of that kind of talk, saying, “maybe we are ready to start acting like we live in a democracy, where every single one of us is responsible for creating and defending a society where ALL of us can live and fully exist, regardless of what we think of each other’s views.”


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Japan: Hay Fever Season is Here · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

If only it was just love that's in the air. Spring is slowly dawning, and pollen from Japanese cedars is starting to make its way around. Kafunsho (hay fever) season has officially started in Japan. Leftover Valentine chocolates have been pushed aside in convenient stores to make room for kafunsho related items: tissues, surgical masks, mint drops, and more.
Old-timers solemnly stock up their mini pharmacies while the uninitiated examine each sneeze, wondering if this is the year for their own “kafunsho debut”.
There are numerous statistics on how much of the population suffers from kafunsho – the numbers range from 15-30%, with the percentage being higher in metropolitan areas. The effect of kafunsho on the economy is said to be quite serious: an oft-quoted report by Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc. states that kafunsho pushed down GDP growth rates by 0.6% in 2005. Individual consumption decreases because people try to stay indoors, while lowered ability to concentrate effect labor efficiency.
A week before the Meteorological Agency, on February 13th, announced the blowing of “haru-ichiban”, the first strong southern winds of the year that indicate the ‘official’ arrival of spring, a great many bloggers were watching the beginning of the kafunsho season with trepidation.
A blog post by eternal_name is a typical example:
今年もこの時期がやってきました。一年間で最も憂鬱になる時期が春、花粉症の時期です。目だけ、鼻だけ、両方の人といるみたいですが、俺は両方なんでかなり辛いです。また目薬、マスク、漢方薬、ヨーグルト、色々と買い集めないといけないな…。
Mizuka Yukizawa, a high school student who's studying for university exams laments:
もう花粉飛んでるのか・・・ずーん。
もし入試の日に花粉酷かったら泣きますよ。
花粉症の人はそれを考慮してもらえるとかないんですかね。
この世界で花粉症じゃないってもう凄いアドバンテージだろうな。
SOW is sad but accepting as he announces:
２年前からこの季節に外に出ると、目がしょぼしょぼすると思っていたのだが、今年も先日外に出た時に同様の症状になった。折しも花粉飛び始めの日。考えたくないので考えていなかったが、やっぱり花粉症か。
Chiro Mama wonders if her dog has kafunsho. Yumeyume explains the logic behind the widely-believed power of yogurt. Usabuta introduces the medication that she's trying this year and promises to report on the outcome.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Japan: Internet paranoia · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Neojaponisme has an article discussing the recent legal prosecution of 18 internet users for making false accusations towards a comedian. The blogger points out that in reporting the case, mainstream media has indulged in willfully-ignorant paranoia about the cyberspace.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Martinique: President Sarkozy · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has finally met with elected representatives of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion, regarding the crisis which has been shaking the French West Indies for the last month. Martinican bloggers Imaniyé and blogde[moi] are dissatisfied and note that his TV address raised two questions: Why was the speech exclusively broadcast on RFO: the French overseas media network and why was it only 10 min. long?


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Pakistan: Caste System Still Alive · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raza Rumi at Jahane Rumi comments on casteism in Pakistan: “I live in a society where branding and group labels are essential, if not unavoidable. For this reason I am peeved that I still don’t know who I am.”


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Paraguay: Mistake During Her Time as Nanny · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

L.M. shares her story with Somos Paraguayos [es] about her mistake of stealing from the family she had been working for as a nanny in Miami and the lessons she learned.


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Sri Lanka: Web Discussions On Humanitarian Crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) rounds up the latest web discussions centered around the post of Sri Lankan blogger Michael Robert at GroundViews – ‘Dilemmas at War's End: Thoughts On Hard Realities‘.


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Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Change?  Really?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“He has taken several steps back from the openness he once showed, the willingness to talk to anyone without preconditions. He proposes to send 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan…dampening down one war only to refuel another”: Notes from Port of Spain is “still cynical about Barack Obama.”


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Worldwide: 2,500 Languages Disappearing · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

An interactive map of endangered languages, showing 2,500 out of 6,000 tongues at risk, has been released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The international organization asks users to contribute comments to a project that has many bloggers worried about preserving cultures.
UNESCO Map of Languages at Risk
Iglesia Descalza, a librarian, blogs:
As someone who loves languages, I am chagrined to read the news coming out of UNESCO's presentation of the updated Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing. According to the Atlas, unveiled on the eve of International Mother Language Day (21 February), nearly 200 languages have fewer than 10 speakers and 178 others have between 10 and 50 speakers.
The data shows that out of the 6,000 languages currently in existence, over 200 have died out over the last three generations, 538 are critically endangered, 502 severely endangered, 632 definitely endangered and 607 unsafe.
As the last remaining speakers of a language pass away, the language itself dies. The language of Manx in the Isle of Man died out in 1974 when Ned Maddrell, the last speaker, passed away while Eyak, in Alaska, United States, met its demise last year with the death of Marie Smith Jones.
[…]
We need to prize bio-diversity, cultural and racial diversity, and linguistic diversity because we lose too much by becoming homogenized into one big, white, English-speaking society.
While disappearing languages are mostly those of indigenous peoples faced with globalization and state-nationalism, Daniel Moving Out, a blog by a Portugal native now in the UK, says not all “unofficial” languages are dying out:
[…]
The Galician sounds like a cross between Spanish and Portuguese, somewhat like a dialect originated from the second and enriched with vocabulary and accent of the first. The language is originated from the Galician-Portuguese of medieval times, and it was spoken at all the County of Portucale. […]
This week, the Unesco atlas of world languages was released, regarding Galician as a strong language among those that are not the main languages of any country. It receives protection from the Castilian (common Spanish) from being geographically close to Portugal.
[…]
The blog, nonetheless, summarizes some of the worst data:
[…]
199 languages have less than a dozen of native speakers. In Indonesia, the 4 remaining speakers of Lengilu talk within [themselves]; the Karaim in Ukraine is kept by only 6 people. Over than 200 different languages have disappeared in the last 3 generations. The Manx, from the Isle of Man, here in the UK died with the last native speaker in 1974.
But not everyone is concerned with disappearing languages. Commenting on TED blog, user Magnus Lindkvist says:
[…] Why do we insist on romanticizing ancient languages that arguably noone wants to speak anymore? What about the hundreds of new programming languages that have sprung up in the past decades? Or the infinite variations of English that people are adopting and “remixing” to make their own around the world? These are real languages and show a lot more vitality than Manx and Tirahi.
Abdullah Waheed, a native speaker of Dhivehi – an “official” language yet one with not many speakers in Maldives – explains in one example why language preservation matters:
[…]
Dhivehi language is absolutely vital to the identity of Maldivians as a people and Maldives as a country, because it is the only feature we all share and which few others have. It is a strategic factor in our advances towards sustainable development and the harmonious coordination of our affairs.
Far from being a field reserved for writers, Dhivehi lies at the heart of all social, economic and cultural life. Dhivehi does matter to all of us. It matters when we want to promote cultural diversity, and fight illiteracy, and it matters for quality education, including teaching in the first years of schooling. It matters in the fight for greater social inclusion, for creativity, economic development and safeguarding indigenous knowledge.
[…]


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Angola: Presidential elections postponed? · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

After the 2008 parliamentary elections, the first time in 16 years that Angola went to the polls, the Angolan government proposed that the presidential elections be held in 2009. Earlier this year, however, President José Eduardo dos Santos declared that the approval of a new constitution is this year  was the highest priority for the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola).
In his New Year's address [pt], Dos Santos also stated that his Party will propose, through its parliamentary members, the creation of an “ad hoc” committee in the National Assembly, which would be in charge of preparing the new draft constitution  and “promoting, whenever appropriate, a broad discussion [of the draft] before approval by the Parliament”. The President did not mention the future presidential election, and in so doing fueled rumors that the Angolans will not return to the polls in 2009, as they had expected. There has been a range of speculation on Angloan blogs and media about the reasons behind this.
Below is what Feliciano Cangue [pt], from Hukalilile (Don't Cry for Me Angola) blog, has to say about it:
“Se perguntarmos aos angolanos o ano da realização das eleições presidenciais em Angola, todos em uníssono, dirão: 2009. Puro engano! Conversa para o boi dormir ou só para acalmar os ânimos. Para não aumentar mais a frustração do leitor, quero dizer-lhe, que os donos do poder, se depois não mudarem de ideias, estão a preparar as eleições em Angola para 2010, só para que percamos as esperanças. Isso só é possível num país onde a democracia foi imposta, como pensam muitos. Por outro lado é isso que dá quando um governo (com pendor autoritário) tem a maioria absoluta na Assembleia Nacional. O MPLA não teria condições para fazer duas eleições em dois anos seguidos, porque teria que gastar muito dinheiro com essas campanhas”.
Regarding the creation of a new constitution that would ensure the next elected Angolan president will be from within the MPLA, Feliciano Cangas shares with his readers a thought that might have crossed the minds of many Angolans:
“O MPLA talvez priorize a que se escreva uma nova constituição ou se faça uma emenda constitucional, para se encontrar uma fórmula que facilite a eleição do presidente. Assim que conseguisse essa façanha, é muito provável que se indique o filho, a filha ou esposa como candidato à presidência. Assim se implantaria uma monarquia parlamentar e pronto!”
Wilson Dadá [pt] elaborates further on the above point. He says that the population is uncertain about the future plans of the president or the country's main party:
Nos primeiros palpites que debitamos este ano por estas bandas, referimos que o debate proposto por José Eduardo dos Santos sobre a eleição do Presidente da República veio introduzir no processo uma grande dose de incerteza, pois agora já ninguém sabe quais são os planos da principal força política deste país e muito menos do seu líder, que parece ter uma agenda muito própria no âmbito da estratégia mais geral do maioritário.
Por exemplo, os potenciais candidatos às presidenciais estão sem saber o que fazer, enquanto não for aprovada a nova Constituição, onde será definida a modalidade da eleição, que pode ser por via parlamentar ou por sufrágio directo e universal, de acordo com a sugestão implícita na proposta de debate.
Tudo agora está dependente das novas ideias que o MPLA vai introduzir no texto fundamental. Ao que parece, já não são as mesmas que defendia durante o anterior processo constituinte.
In an article for the Africa21 magazine, Joâo Melo [pt] says that it is fundamental to know whether the population will elect a new president in 2009 or not. He believes there is no time for that:
Uma questão política particular é saber se as eleições presidenciais serão realizadas este ano. Estou inclinado a pensar que não. Com efeito, predomina, no momento, o ponto de vista segundo o qual as eleições devem ser efectuadas com a nova Constituição. Ora, o calendário constituinte definido pelo Parlamento aponta para a conclusão dos trabalhos, na melhor das hipóteses, no meio de Julho. Essa discussão poderá ser estendida por causa da definição do método eleitoral — directo ou indirecto — caso o MPLA tenha interesse em aprovar toda a Constituição por consenso. Por tudo isso, dificilmente as eleições poderão ter lugar até ao final do tempo seco, entre Agosto e Setembro.
Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] points out yet another issue that might cause elections to be postponed to 2010. He mentions an article from a local newspaper, Novo Jornal, which states that the Angolan presidential elections should happen only after the African Cup of Nations. As the ANC will only take place in 2010, he says it is only necessary to make a simple calculation to realise that it will be delayed.
Como se sabe o CAN-2010, em princípio e como tem sido habitual em outros CAN além de haver também o Mundial na África do Sul, decorrerá, em Angola, entre Janeiro e Fevereiro de 2010 o que implicará, até por necessidade de reagrupar meios logísticos que as eleições não acontecerão antes de Abril ou Maio de 2010.
Mas se pensarmos que o Povo Angolano anda cada vez menos esquecido e se a nossa selecção não conseguir os seus objectivos mínimos, não será de admirar que o Poder sofrerá as necessárias e devidas consequências políticas e eleitorais.
But if we think that the Angolan people are less and less forgetful and if our team does not achieve its minimum targets, it will be no surprise that those in power suffer the necessary and appropriate political and electoral consequences.
During the launch of the MPLA's 2009 Internal Policy Agenda last week, the presidential elections were mentioned [pt] as one of the party's priorities – as well as the approval of the new Constitution – but no date has been set. Another priority for the party is the preparation of the MPLA's VI Ordinary Congress, already scheduled for December 2009.

author: Clara Onofre


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Arab World: Mourning Tayeb Salih  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arab literary world is mourning the death of Sudanese novelist Al Tayeb Salih.
The 80-year-old writer, who died in London, was best known for his novel Season of Migration to the North, which was selected by the Damascus-based Arab Literary Academy as the most important Arab novel of the 20th century. Al Tayeb was buried in Om Durman, Sudan, in a state ceremony, attended by the Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir.
News of his death quickly made it to Arabic blogs and online forums, where some bloggers who have met him and others who were planning to do so, paid tribute to this author.
Sudanese Tajooj2, who lives in Saudi Arabia, notes:
Tajooj2 continues:
مات درويش قبل ثمانية أشهر بهيوستن ، وكرّر عين الفعلة الطيّب ، ومن قبلهما تدور قائمة المصحّات الغربيّة بأسماء الكثيرين من مبدعين عرب ، يمارسون المنفى حياةُ وموتا ، هل قدر العربيّ المبدع كذلك .. لست أدري !
[Palestinian poet Mahmood] Darwish has died eight months before him in Houston, Al Tayeb repeated the same feat, and before them many Western hospitals have been crowded with the names of many Arab intellectuals who have chosen exile, alive and dead. Is this the fate of the Arab intellectual? I am not sure.
About Salih, Yemeni Fadhul Al Naqeeb [Ar] writes:
The blogger continues:
Lebanese The Angry Arab Dr Assad Abu Khalil pays a fitting tribute and writes about Salih's work and his experience meeting Salih:
Sudanese novelist, Tayib Salih is dead. I was rather sad to read this news. I read his Season of
Migration to the North (which is available in an excellent English translation supervised by Salih himself) in college and was affected by it. His Arabic style was not what affected me but the themes: the anger and even aggression. I was rather disturbed by the sexual aggression and never understood what Salih was doing with this element, but then understood that it was a 1) metaphor for Arab dealings with the colonizers although I did not like
the use of sex as a weapon; 2) semi autobiographical. I met Salih in the 1980s and he could not have been more peaceful, and mild-mannered, and nice. I liked him instantly. I have said before that some of the most impressive and sophisticated intellectuals I have met in life have been from the Sudan. I don't know what it is: Sudan is a
place brimming with ideas. Remember that in the 1960s, the Sudanese Communist Party was one of the biggest political parties in the region.
Sudanese like ideas and debates, until the US-supported dictator, Ja`far An-Numayri was permitted to impose his Islamist version (assisted by the brilliant but dangerous Hasan Turabi in return for opening up his country for US companies and intelligence, and in return for the smuggling of the Falasha. Sudanese are comfortable in the realm of abstract ideas and would debate in a way that is different from us Arabs in the Mashriq [East]:
we end up shouting and getting agitated, while they can argue for hours while drinking and munching, very calmly. I know, I am engaging in cultural generalizations but I allow myself–but not the White Man–that privilege.  I once saw Tayyib Salih in Washington, DC through his friend Halim Barakat.  I went with Halim Barakat, Hisham Sharabi and Arab literary critic, Kamal Abu Dib, to hear him talk.  Salih (who is one of the best conversationalists I have met […] was most interesting and amusing.
Another author, Moroccan Laila Lalami, who is based in the US, is also moved by the news. She writes:
I was terribly saddened to hear that the great Sudanese novelist,  short story writer and literary critic Tayeb Salih passed away in London yesterday. He was eighty years old. A few months ago, when I was preparing my introduction to the new edition of Season of Migration to the North, I had considered going to London to interview him. But then life intervened: I was busy and thought I might be able to meet him some other time. That time never came. He published only a handful of novels, but each had the beauty and complexity of dozens of literary works.
Sudanese Optimist is saddened by the news and writes:
Sudan has lost a dear citizen, who has contributed tremendously to Sudanese and Arabic literature. His most acclaimed work is the 1966 novel “Season of Migration to the North.” The novel was, at one point, banned in Sudan for its inclusion of sexual imagery, yet it was declared “the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century” by the Syrian-based Arab Literary Academy in Damascus.
Earlier this year, The General Union for Sudanese Writers, requested Al Tayeb Saleh to be preliminarily nominated to win the 2009 Literature Noble Prize.
Al Tayeb Salih’s death will definitely leave a big void in the Sudanese literary world. He will be greatly missed.
Like in many online forums across the Arab world, Arabian Leopard, at the Emirates Economy Forum [Ar], notes:
رواياته جميلة تأخذك في رحلة  الى الثقافة السودانية و حياة الأرياف هناك


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Azerbaijan: News site closed down? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following a recent ban on foreign broadcasts in the country, the content of a leading news site considered more independent than most in Azerbaijan was replaced on Thursday with a message informing readers that the “project is closed.”
A day later, after the authorities denied allegations that they were behind the disappearance of day.az, a new message instead explained that the site was down for technical reasons and would reappear after 25 February.
Blogs by media specialists and analysts in Azerbaijan, however, were not convinced. In an extended post on the new Frontline Club blog, for example, Global Voices author Ali S. Novruzov details the sequence of events.
At first, day.az and its sister sites (e.g. dayaz.com and today.az) displayed a comment that the website is shut down for “unknown reasons”; then – “due to technical problems”; and then finally – “project is closed”. Now the comment reads: “Site is temporarily unavailable due to technical problems” and “will be back on 25th February.” Besides, as Osman Gunduz of Azerbaijan Internet Forum reported, details about day.az was surprisingly deleted from the National Domain Database [UPDATE: Now, they have reappeared.  For more, visit whois.az ].
The blog goes on to say that many believe the site's disappearance was politically motivated. Writing on Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines, Arzu Geybullayeva also reports the same.
Today, Azerbaijan saw yet again, how far the government can go in its quest for achieving full power over freedom of speech in this country.
[…]
Some argue that it is the interview the website published with Berezovski who criticized the [former] President of Russian Federation- Vladimir Putin of corruption and having accumulated 40 billion dollars in foreign accounts.
Whatever the argument maybe, the picture is quite clear in Azerbaijan- the more you show you are different from the flock of sheep in this country the more punishment you get. Some get arrested, some get banned, some get silenced forever.
Meanwhile, writing on Thoughts on the Road, an American journalist based in Azerbaijan offered more details on allegations that Russia was behind the move.
[…] My information – from a source who works with journalists -is that the news portal was closed after it published an interview with former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky. In the interview, Berezovsky charged that Putin was siphoning off Russian cash for his own account.
Putin reportedly called the Azerbaijan president personally and demanded the closure of the site.
Of course, I can't verify this account and I can't read the interview. […] The Day.Az site is shut.
[…]
[…] The political implications of this are yet unclear. While Day.Az was widely read, my impression is that it was not a mass-market source of information. Nonetheless, one has to wonder how the president's decision will resonate. […] How does it look for the former Russian president to be dictating media policy to the Azerbaijan president? […]
Since then, in an update on his Frontline Club post, Novruzov says that a news agency has been informed by an anonymous official that concerns over relations with Russia were partly behind the move.
But even if the site will return, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines remains unconvinced by the official explanation. Moreover, the blog is uncertain whether day.az will ever be the same.
Apparently the website was only closed for internal reconstruction work and no political intentions or factors were at stake when the portal got shut down yesterday. […]
Then why the website didn't notify its readers in advance (which it usually does whenever there is any kind of work on the portal) and why the statements explaining the reason for closure only appeared several hours later?
Thus, for the reasons unknown or known but untrue the future of day.az remains unclear. It is likely that the website will resume its work, but what is not known is whether it will resume its work as day.az before shutting down- objective, precise and trustworthy online news portal…

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: Accessorizing Patriotism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Corporate Blog thinks that  “a time has come when we need to ‘accessorize patriotism’ somehow”. The blog suggests that Bangladeshis should brand something as small as a Gamcha (traditional cotton towel) to start with.


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China: Eluding the Cat Investigation, Netizen’s Power or Government PR? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In response to the netizens’ talks and comments about the “eluding cat” incident, the Yunnan provincial Publicity Department's Press and Publication Administration decided to form an investigative committee on Feb 20. Moreover, the department had invited netizens to form a investigative committee. In a few hours, 510 netizens registered to be involved in the committee, and the Yunnan government randomly selected 8 netizens and public members as part of the committee, together with 3 official representatives and 3 media representatives. The incident of course shows how netizens’ power in giving pressure to the government, however, many doubt the investigative committee being a PR show for cooling down the public discontent.
Eluding the cat incident
ESWN has translated “eluding the cat” incident on 17 of Feb. In brief, a young Yunnan man Li Qiaoming was arrested for illegal logging in Beicheng town. He was then seriously injured in the detention center in Feb 8 and died in four days because of brain injury. The police report said that he ran into a wall when he was playing “eluding the cat” game with other jail mates.
The whole story was so incredible and netizens started to use “eluding the cat” in their online jokes.
Internet popular terms are very powerful in China, earlier on we have Weng'an “push ups”, and it has discredited local government even though the final report came out and showed that local police hadn't lie about the incident – the suspect was doing push ups on the bridge when the girl drowned herself in the river.
Recruiting netizens for investigation
In order to prevent history from recurring, the Yunnan publicity department acted on it by inviting netizens to do investigation (via ESWN). Netizen, end of the wind, was appointed as the head of the netizen committee, while marginal citizen, as the deputy.
End of the wind reported in cat898 forum (in Feb 19) to other netizens about his appointment and swore that he would try his best to find out the truth:
今天下午4点左右，我得知云南省委宣传部要组建网友和社会各界人士的调查委员会,调查发生在昆明晋宁县公安局看守所发生24岁的云南玉溪北城镇男子李乔明“躲猫猫”死亡事件。我马上拨打了公告上的报名电话。
有可能我是第一个打电话报名的，电话一打就通了，工作人员记录了我的网名、真实姓名、身份、电话、QQ号。据说之后的电话都打到爆。
到了晚上10点半，我在云南网上看到了调查委员会的名单，很意外，我成了委员会主任
Probably I was the first to make the call for registration, the line got through in my first call. The officer written down my avatar, my real name, my identity, phone number, QQ number. Later the line is all jammed.
At around 10:30, I saw the investigator list on the Yunnan net and surprisingly, I became the head of the netizen committee.
今夜，我将无眠。因为直到现在，没有任何云南官方的人对我提出明天这个调查将如何进行的要求，甚至行程安排。我将会在明天见到参与调查的成员时一起商议具体的安排。
但是，我不知道，我们提出的程序安排，是否会得到官方的同意。根据网上网友们的反映，与及我自己的想法，我已经拟出了一条条方案，但这个方案还要和明天的其他成员商量，最后的方案能不能得到实施，还要看公安部门认不认可。
However, I don't know whether or not the government would accept our schedule demand. I have a plan according to my netizens’ friend and my own idea, however, I need to discuss with others. Whether or not it works, depends on the police department's approval.
Why publicity department?
There are up till now 43 pages of comments in the post. Many said that the Yunnan government is being open minded for recruiting netizens into the committee, some pointed out that it is not the task of “publicity department” to conduct an investigation.
Eye medicine said
忽悠谁？？？调查一个疑似刑事案件为什么宣传部组织？？？什么意思？？一群乌合之众你们采取什么科学手段？？调查结果有什么说服力？？就算你们是民间的你们怎么保证看到的就是真的？？你们做的一切毫无意义！！！洗洗睡吧
Ba la said:
偶觉得：现场状况无法还原，就剩下同玩伙伴的口述和尸体。其中口述最不可靠，尸检报告一旦和警察有关，就更加的不可靠。你此行意义人家早算计好了，为警察的说法作佐证。不过还有万一，这就要靠运气和知识丰富了。
7322740:
在看守所里、被拘留的人还能“玩猫猫”、玩游戏、真开心，看看有多少愿意去的？咱们大家都一齐去、到那去开心娱乐去。警察大人真会逗人呀。这种鬼话，说给鬼都不会相信的。
Investigation Day
At 8:30am, Feb 20, the investigation committee had their hearing at the Jinning policy station. It is more like a press release with netizen participation, as according to local report (reposted by gzjiangxia008):
8日17时50分许，普某某、李某某、余某某等6人趁民警依照规定刚巡视过后，在监室放风间内擅自玩起了“瞎子摸鱼”（即“躲猫猫”）游戏，由李荞明先蒙住眼睛当瞎子摸其余5人，在游戏过程中普某某首先被李荞明摸到，随后李荞明拉着普某某的手要求换人，普某某认为游戏还未开始与李荞明发生争执。普某某用脚踢在李的胸腹部，又一拳打在李头部左侧，致使蒙着眼睛未能防备的李荞明头部猛撞在监室门框上受伤。
XXX部门承认，李荞明死在看守所，xxx负有责任。该县XXX局分管刑侦的副局长达琦明表示：未发现民警有工作失误，案情调查清楚后，愿接受问责。
The police department admitted that they have to be responsible for Li's death in the detention center. However the deputy of the police department in the county said that they have not found any error in the police's work, and they would be willing to take up responsibility according to the result of the investigation.
调查委副主任“边民”说，成员们要求会见导致李荞明死亡的普某某及当日在场的室友，但是该县检察院副检察长认为“按法律规定，这样的会见不合程序”，遂遭遇拒绝。此外，调查委要求查看监控录像。但是，官方回答“有记录无记录，无法回答；据保密要求和相关法律规定，调查委查看录像不在法律范围内”。
“边民”总结：这个特别的调查委法律权限不清晰，并不是大家设想一般，什么都可以看到。
Marginal Citizen concluded that: As the committee doesn't have a clear role in the legal system, unlike what people have been imagining, there isn't much for us to see.
Show for a Lie?
My opinion (via inmediahk.net) is that the propaganda department is trying to prevent a public opinion bomb from being exploding but it in turn challenges the credibility of police and justice department. According to BBC's report:
据新浪网的网上调查显示，截至20日凌晨，87.1%的网民认为，”躲猫猫”致死的解释不可思议，肯定是谎言；有8.2%的网民说，”躲猫猫”致死虽然不可思议，但也许是真相；只有1.3%的网民说，”躲猫猫”致死应该是真相。
在如何看待云南邀请网友参与调查的问题上，49.7%的网民认为有作秀之嫌，网民作用有待观察；45.5%的网民认为，此举有创意，能够扩大民主，体现调查的公开和透明。
As for the invitation of Yunnan Netizen to participate in the investigation, 49.7% netizens believed that it is probably a show and it is yet to see the effect of the participation. 45.5% said that the arrangement is creative and can further develop democracy, it shows the investigation is open and transparent.
How about you? What's your opinion?


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“Clinton should visit Brunei” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Peacelovekindness enumerates the reasons why United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should visit Brunei.


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Colombia: Drawing Attention to the Cause of Minority Groups · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Minorities in Colombia, such as indigenous groups, have not been given much importance and Carlos Correa of Palimpsesto [es] suggests that they follow the example of the Cauca indigenous community which marched to Bogotá drawing attention to their cause and promised solutions.


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DRC: When it rains in Kinshasa · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Cedric Kalonji describes Kinshasa after a heavy rain [FR].  The roads turn into lakes, but “high up in their 4x4s, the authorities are untouched by the problem, the result being that there is almost no support for making storm sewers or gutters.”

author: Jennifer Brea


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Iran: Disaster in Parishan wetland · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mojgan Jamshidi,an Iran based blogger and journalist informs us that thousands of turtles and birds were burned and killed after fire destroyed an important part of Parishan wetland. You can watch the photos here.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Pro Khatami web sites were filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to news sites and blogs, Iranian authorities have filtered two web sites, Yaari News and Yaari, promoting the presidential bid of Mohammed Khatami, former reformist president.


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Iran:”Religious blogs can be dangerous” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Manbarnet, an Iranian cleric and blogger, is surprised to read [fa] in semi official Mehr news site that “Iranian religious blogs that are not under control of official organizations can be considered dangerous and are able to hurt society”.


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Iraq: At the Zoo  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Dentist shares his experiences in Baghdad – including a visit to the zoo, along with photographs – in this post.


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Iraq: Light at the end of the tunnel  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Women praises a blogger friend, who helped her see light at the end of “the long tunnel of darkness.”


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Iraq: Rumours and Conspiracy Theories  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Pundit discusses the impact of rumours and conspiracy theories on his country, and the Middle East at large. “Rumours have traditionally done a great deal of damage in the Middle East, and Iraq was never spared from this exercise,” he notes.


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Iraq: The Irony in Al Zaidi’s Shoe Throwing · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Pundit discusses the case of Muntadhar Al Zaidi, the journalist who threw a shoe at President George W Bush, during his visit to Iraq late last year. “I have said before that I understand that he released the frustration of countless Iraqis, and I get why Iraqis and non-Iraqis have turned him into a folk hero. I just wonder whether they get the irony of his status,” he writes.


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Iraq: The Walk to Karbala  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Laith walks for 67 miles from Baghdad to Karbala to mark the 40th day anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, grandson of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), who was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680. “The journey of Karbala approved that Iraqis can be only one nation although some strangers tried to tear the unity of Iraq,” he notes.


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Iraq: YouTube removes video  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Imad Khadduri complains that YouTube has removed a video he posted, citing a violation of its community guidelines.


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Jordan: Questions to God  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Hareega asks: “Why did God create earth, humans and the whole world? Did he have to? Did he want to? Can God regret something he's done a very long time ago?”


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Libya: At the in-laws  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Libya, American Khadija Teri attends a family gathering with her Libyan in-laws, and spills the beans in this post.


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Libya: Movie Reviews · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Libyan Highlander reviews some of the movies she has recently watched in this post.


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Martinique: Carnival cancelled after weeks of workers’ protests · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

le blog de [moi] discusses officials’ decision to cancel Carnival in Martinique after four weeks of workers’ protests.  She quotes Louisy Berté from the Alliance union who asks, “How can we stand against the rising cost of living and, at the same time, present an image of Martinique singing and dancing?” [FR].


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Martinique: On independence and French “paternalism” · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Martinique blogger le blog de [moi] [FR], in another post on the ongoing workers’ movement in Martinique and Guadeloupe, takes issue with Christophe Barbier, opinion editor of the French news magazine, L'Express.  In a recent interview on the radio show C dans l'air, Barbier responded to an SMS from a listener who asked, “Why don't we just grant the overseas departments their independence?”  Barbier replied:
“(…) Ca va devenir soit une usine à touristes pour les Américains soit ça va tomber immédiatement sous la coupe des mafias locales pour servir de blanchiment soit ça va devenir un nouveau Haïti. Il n’y a pas d’indépendance possible dans la prospérité économique ! Immédiatement ça tombera sous une autre dépendance qui sera pire que la dépendance de la République française.”
le blog de [moi] is livid:
Really Christophe Barbier ???? “Ca” ?!!!
Et là je vous dis franchement (ceux qui me lisent depuis quelques temps connaissent ma position sur le sujet): il y a de quoi devenir indépendantiste ! Le propos, le ton utilisé, la condescendance, le mépris… tout y est ! Parce que finalement si nous décidions un jour effectivement de sauter le pas et d’opter pour l’indépendance ce sera le nôtre de choix quelqu’en soit les conséquences, right ! Après nous le chaos ??? Ces grands enfants ne sauront pas se défendre ou éviter les écueils liés au statut d’Etat souverain ? C’est ça l’argumentaire digne de ce nom pour expliquer pourquoi les DOM-TOM doivent rester dans le giron français ? Ciel !
Excusez-moi, mon titre est mensonger. En fait mon billet aurait dû s’intituler “La connerie pour les Nuls”.
In a comment, Elsie disagrees Barbier's comments were necessarily condescending:
…Il veut peut être simplement dire qu’un pays aussi petit que le serait la Martinique ( ou la Guadeloupe), dans un environnement aussi violent que la Caraïbe, aurait du mal à exister sans s’assurer l’appui d’une grande puissance ( les Etats-Unis plutôt que la France?)  et en évitant les requins de la drogue et des gangs qui sévissent dans le secteur. C’est pas une question de savoir si les gens qui dirigeraient le pays seraient compétents ou pas, c’est juste de se dire qu’un petit pays , à cause de son insignifiance militaire, ne peut vivre que dans l’ombre d’un plus grand qui le protège…
But Elsie does take issue with the idea that only France can offer that kind of protection.
wk de l'ile cites many examples where Barbier's comments ring true:
Franchement je ne trouve pas que ce qu’il dit soit paternaliste… il a juste parlé d’une réalité de façon un peu condensée voire abrupte : “une usine à touristes pour les Américains ” : voir Sainte-Lucie, Saint-Domingue, Montego bay à la Jamaïque, la Barbade…“sous la coupe des mafias locales pour servir de blanchiment ” : voir Saint-Martin, Anguille…
“un nouveau Haïti” : no comment…
wk de l'ile continues:
J’avoue que face à un certain mépris du gouvernement et quand je lis certains commentaires des lecteurs du Monde, du Figaro ou de Libération…j’en ai tellement marre de constater la méconnaissance de qui nous sommes… des Français de la Caraïbe… que je fais aussi ma petite crise indépendandiste…
Tout ce que j’espère c’est que justement en prenant exemple des erreurs et des réussites des pays de notre région, en tenant compte de notre singulière histoire et de nos liens avec l’hexagone, l’Afrique et l’Asie, nous arrivions à ne pas nous tirer une balle dans le pied et mettre en place des institutions et un développement économique qui tiennent vraiment compte de ce que nous sommes. Fonder notre avenir politique sur une identité fermée, alimentée par une idéologie nationaliste est pour moi une voie dangereuse. Faisons vivre la république transcontinentale (pour citer ce beau concept de Marlène Parize)….


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New Tunisian podcast, in English · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Tunisian blogger zizou from Djerba announces plans for a new podcast [FR] about Tunisia, in English, meant primarily for a foreign audience.


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Philippines: Ebola-Reston virus · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Philippines’ Department of Health has added an information page on its website about the dreaded Ebola-Reston virus. It has instructed the public on proper meat handling and preparation to avoid infections from pigs.


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Sri Lanka: Air Raid In Colombo By LTTE  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sanjana at GroundViews reports on an LTTE air raid in Colombo yesterday night with updates.


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Vietnam: Only Nine Public Holidays · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

There are only nine public holidays in Vietnam. That is why blackouts are not regarded as nuisance by some workers since they can rest during these days.


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Chile: NGO for Victims of Delinquency Brings Together Citizens · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The NGO Víctimas de la Delincuencia [es] (Victims of Delinquency) was created in Chile's capital city of  Santiago in 2006  to protect, guide and inform the victims of violence in this city.  On their website, citizens have been marking  episodes of violence (muggings, assault, robbery, rape and abuse) on a map, uploading videos and testimony of when and how they were victimized. The organization's goal is enable the changing of laws in Chile, which so far, according to Víctimas de la Delincuencia, tend to benefit delinquents instead of their victims.
As told on their site, Their campaign began in 2006, after the family Fuenzalida Urzúa was attacked by a band of robbers who broke into their house, stole their belongings and grabbed the couple's 8 month baby from its mother's arms and threatened to kill it.  When the media arrived at their doorstep to get the scoop on the assault, the couple decided they had two possibilities, hide away from the media, or face them and tell their story. A few days later the website was born, and a month later, a 3000 person march took place in the city, requesting more security for citizens, and protection to victims of delinquency.
The following video tells the organization's story:
This next video, sent in by luchitosnachitos, a member of the community, shows the effects of fear on the lives of regular citizens. As a woman searches her room for her car keys, we can see weapons stashed in every corner of the room. At the end a message flashes on the black screen: We aren't violent. We are afraid. Let's strengthen our laws.”
What laws are they speaking of? This next video shows us what watamerigonzu thinks of the actual penalties for delinquency:
In this last video, also created by a citizen, shows how delinquents view their crimes and the law: as just another game.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Egypt: A walk down memory lane in NY · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Mostafa, an Egyptian student living in Virginia, US, writes a beautiful review for the movie “The Visitor” , relating to his own experience.


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Egypt: Bloggers React to Cairo bombings · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

A French tourist was killed and around 20 people were injured when a bomb exploded outside the Al Hussein Mosque in Cairo's popular tourist area Khan Al Khalili earlier today.
And as the world was coming to grips with what was happening on the ground, Egypt's bloggers were quick at work, exchanging updates, information, analysis and concerns.
It all started when Zenobia posted a message on Twitter reporting that “There is some kind of explosion in Cafe at Al Azhar.” Minutes later Arabawy followed up with another confirming message which read: “Explosion in el-Mashhad el-Husseini Street, Cairo.”
Moftasa was the first to guess a link between the bombings and a new controversial anti-terrorism law, which will be discussed within days in the Egyptian parliament.  The draft law was met by wide objections.
Nothing was confirmed yet, and rumors were circulating; however, Zeinobia was trying to gather updates from different sources Newspapers and TV channels in a quick but comprehensive roundup.
The Arabist, who was near the area and heard both explosions himself, wrote:
Am hearing reports of a bomb going off in the medieval part of Cairo near Khan al-Khalili, a major tourist destination. Will update as more news is available.
Update: Al Jazeera reporting 11 deaths, three Egyptians, three Germans, one French, 16 wounded, one french dead these and others remain to be confirmed.
Update 2: Already activists are saying this is conveniently close to next month when the Emergency Law is to be discussed in parliament…
Update 3: Four dead (German and French), 12 wounded, various nationalities.
moftasa then posts a link to a photograph from the blast area on Twitter.
And while Msfour, and American expat living in Cairo, was the first to ask bloggers on Twitter to use the tag #cairobomb, Arabawy was the first to ask bloggers to use a unified delicious tag: El-HusseinExplosion to pool all links under the same URL.
Yassary Masry [Ar], Carl, Msfour, Maree, Rob, SandMonkey and Grey wool Knickers were among the first to blog about the incident, whether to comfort their friends and families or to discuss if they think there is a connection between the bombings and the anti-terrorism law or not. Grey wool Knickers wrote a short note connecting the last events happening in Egypt, trying to relate them to the recent bombings:
As several people have noted, this comes at a very suspicious time, considering that the extension of the State of Emergency (in place since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, with a brief break during Sadat’s presidency) was just about to be considered once again.  Mubarak’s government has been promising for years to come forth with an anti-terrorism law to replace martial law, which would at least give citizens some protection under Egypt’s constitution.  The regime is currently able to invoke the Emergency Law to do whatever it wants, which is what readers here will recognize in the abuction of Philip Rizk and Diaa Gad, among many others.  With the changes afoot in US and Israeli administrations—along with increasingly vocal, powerful and interconnected resistance groups, domestically and across the border in Gaza—it seems the aging Mubarak regime is getting nervous and finds little option to maintain its grip on power but to resort to a strategy of tension.  I think the recent release of celebrated political prisoner Ayman Nour should be considered as evidence of the panic roiling the upper echelons of this dictatorship.  For developing news on this event, check this delicious feed.
Until the writing of this post it has been confirmed that a 21-year-old French girl was killed, and around 20 people of different nationalities were injured. However, it still seems to be pretty early to jump into conclusions about who is responsible for the blast.
Pictures can be found on Ahmed AbdelFatah's blog and readers can follow Egyptian bloggers on Twitter here.


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Ghana: Ghana’s Most Powerful Women · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David Ajao lists Ghana's most powerful women, “The Fourth Republic of Ghana is historical for many reasons. It has more women in higher public office than it has ever had, in its 51 years as an independent nation. This post highlights some of the women at the height of power.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Google’s April Fools’ Hoax Gets the Best of a Syrian Newspaper · Global Voices
Anas Qtiesh

Google is in the habit of launching spoof services on April Fools’ Day. Diya’ from Syria  reports [ar] that a prominent Syrian newspaper, Al Watan, has taken the bait and reported on Google's TSIP service, WiFi through toilets, as an actual service.

author: Anas Qtiesh


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India: Loathing ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lekhni at The Imagined Universe questions ‘why do Indians hate Slumdog Millionaire?‘


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Japan: Agriculture the latest trend among celebrities · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

The Japanese economy, as confirmed by the head of the Bank of Japan's research and statistics department  Kazuo Monma (門間一夫), is facing one of the worse slowdowns in its modern history, with a GDP that has declined at a rate of 12,7%. Nonetheless, TV programs and lifestyle magazines are doing their best to inspire hope among their viewers and readers that not everything is lost.
Recently, in fact, a new trend has been spreading among Japanese V.I.P.: farm work. More of a few of these V.I.P. are celebrities who have decided to follow the example [jp] of pop-star Shiho Fujita  (藤田志穂). Fujita announced the launch onto the market of rice produced by her company, with a view to redeeming the image of the gyaru  [girls following a particular fashion style], who are often perceived in Japan as addicted to junk food.
The reaction of many bloggers about this “agriculture boom”, so heavily discussed on TV and in newspapers, has however been skeptical. In response to this trendy return to Mother Nature, in fact, some of them criticized what they see as people making light of farm labour.
Nobuyuki (のぶゆき) stresses that the Japanese media bear a major responsibility, as they have been giving to people, and especially to young people, the dubious idea that agriculture is the “sheet anchor” in these times of economic crisis:
テレビでも雑誌でも農業にて生計を立てている人たちをどんどん取材。
もちろん農業で生計をたてている人たちは
素晴らしいのですが、これをメディアがこぞって
特集しているのはなぜ？
焦点が農業の素晴らしさではなくて
農業ならば職に溢れても食には困りません
みたいになっているような気がする。
正直…。農業は甘くない！
朝は４時頃から畑にでて出荷があれば夜も遅いそして
休日はない。
世の中にそんなに甘い仕事などないのにそんな特集ばかりが目に付く。
もちろん日本の農業人口は他国に比べて低すぎる。
アメリカもフランスもどこの先進国も実際は農業が盛んに発展しているのに
なぜ？日本の農業は発展しないのか？
意外にも格好が良いとか悪いとか
そんな安直な基準のような気がします。
今の都会の若者が生きていくのが辛い時代だからって
逃げて農業なんて志しても何年持つのやら？
逃げてどうにかなるようなそんな甘い世界じゃないでしょ。
Also blogger at Ｄｉａｒｙ　３.０８ insists on the hardship of farm work, which should not be underestimated:
実家は山の中の農家で、子供の頃さんざん手伝いさせられて、
農業なんて絶対やりたくないと言っていた私でさえ、
これからは農業だ！　なんて思っているくらいなので、
このブームは解らなくはない。
しかし最近よく雑誌に載っている有名人たちの農業ブーム。
なんか醒めた目で見てしまうんだなぁ。
月に１回畑に行っても野菜は育たない。
本当にやるなら山梨や栃木とかに時々行くより、区民農園でも借りてすべて自分で育ててみろと言いたい。
今農業をやっていない自分に言える資格はないと思うが、農業はとても厳しいものです。
苦労　９　：　楽しみ　１　くらいじゃないでしょうか。（自分で食べる分だけなら５：５かな）
Considering the issue from another perspective, Kamiyama Yasuharu (上山保治) , highlights the potential market [jp] that this new fashionable hobby brings with it, even if he regards it as quite questionable:
でもまぁそれがビジネスに繋がるとなれば自然とそうなるわけで。
悪いことではないけど、今後とも乱暴に扱わないで欲しいっす。
作り手が有名人であれば魅力力に繋がり、
生産した物にもブランド力が付くという双方美味しい関係。
ビジネスチャンスは大いにあるっす！
農業は面白いキーワード。
これまで数年、国に投げ捨てにされていたコンテンツが
こうして扉を開こうとしているっす。

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Pictures of Japanese festivals and ceremonies · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Yoshio Wada (和田義男)'s website [jp] has fascinating photos of the most interesting Japanese festivals and ceremonies. It also includes some pictures from famous historical places aorund the world. (The website is only partially available in English)


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Kenya: Google SMS Search In Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyans using Safaricom services can now use Google SMS Search, “Google SMS Search provides access to information through a mobile phone without needing to access the Internet. You simply create an SMS message about what you are looking for and send it to the Google SMS short code (4664 or “GOOG”) and wait for a response via SMS.”


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Kosovo: First Anniversary of Independence · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Blogging Balkanistan writes about Kosovo's first anniversary of independence.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Latvia: Government Resignation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Hugh writes about Latvian government's resignation at A Fistful of Euros.


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Madagascar: A Resolution to the political crisis?  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

negotiation
(photo credit Avylavitra)
Since February 7th, when the political violence that began in late January culminated in the deaths of at least 30 Malagasies from armed forces’ fire,  Madgascar has been burdened by a tense political standoff.  For the past two weeks,  multiple foreign diplomatic delegations have tried to mediate a resolution between President Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina, head of the High Authority for Transition. Despite several attempts at mediation,  the two rivals never met face-to-face as preconditions to meeting could not be agreed upon.
On Februrary 19th, Rajoelina urged his supporters to seize a few ministry offices and install the ministers he designated for the transitonal government. After the opposition delegation succeeded at entering the governmental buildings, armed forces retook control of the buildings at night. Ethan Zuckerman wrote a summary and provided a comprehensive context of this peculiar chain of events.
After vowing to do whatever it takes to bring democracy and remove the current administration, Rajoelina surprised many by finally agreeing to meet with Ravalomanana on neutral ground, namely the offices of the  the ecumenical church council of Madagascar (FFKM).
The meeting resulted in a five-point document (mg) in which both parties agreed to suspend harsh rhetoric, public protests, and political arrests, and to further negotiations. Radio France International (RFI) has reported the possibility a new transitional prime minister will be created.
Public opinion to the latest string of events varied. The long-lasting political standoff seems to have effectively divided the country into three camps: two supporting each of the political rivals and a third, which seems to support the pre-crisis status quo.
Arinaina recalls  the overtaking and reclaiming of the ministry offices:
Andry Rajoelina  threatened the armed forces that their wives would be at the front line of the protests, were they to dare shooting at the people. On Thursday, TGV leaders proudly announced that 4 ministries were taken: Ministry of Education – Ministry of Interior – Ministry of Homeland Security – Ministry of decentralization. Early on Friday morning, bad news for the protesters with TGV. The news on RNM (the national radio) announced that, the night before, military forces came to the ministers and arrested the TGV agents who stayed there to keep the ministries. Those arrested were kept at the HQ of Betongolo. On Friday, angry or disappointed (I do not know), Andry Rajoelina announced the meeting at the Place du 13 Mai that the protesters will march on  to keep fighting on Saturday
protest
(photo credit Avylavitra)
Jentilisa  outlines the lesson learned from that eventful day when  put  in a historical perspective (mg):
Hita manko fa tena fihatsarambelatsihy sy fombafomba fotsiny no nataon’ny tafika teo fa tsy zavatra hafa mihitsy. [..]
Indroa (intelo akory aza) manko izay no efa nisy fihetsika toy ireny teto Madagasikara fa tamin’ny vanim-potoana samihafa ihany koa.
Gazetyavylavitra sums up the feeling that the crisis has been going for a while now (mg):
Be  izay andro very izay. Samy milaza sy manao izay tiany hatao na ny andaniny na ny ankilany. Mbola betsaka ny olona manaraka ny hetsika eny amin’ny 13 mai. Nefa koa tsy vitsy ny mpitazana no efa manomboka maneho hevitra eny an-tsisiny eny.
Aiky, blogging at Malagasy Miray, just wants to talk about something other than the crisis for once after giving his point of view in two previous posts (fr):
Lors qu’on recherche des articles sur Madagascar, on ne parle plus que de politique et de crise sur le web. Payons nous le luxe de parler d’autres choses dans Malagasy Miray

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Maghreb: UN Western Sahara Envoy Holds Talks with Polisario · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Yesterday, Christopher Ross, the UN Special Envoy to the disputed Western Sahara, arrived in Algeria to hold talks with the Polisario Front, according to AFP.  Daily Maghreb reported on the meeting, stating:
Ross was in a “listening position” while meeting Morocco's Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri and senior officials of the royal consultative council for Saharan affairs (CORCAS), an informed source said.
The Polisario Front independence movement has disputed Morocco's claim to the territory since the north African kingdom annexed it after the withdrawal of Spanish settlers in the mid-1970s.
Ross arrived in Rabat on Wednesday after officials at UN headquarters in New York warned against great expectations of a first mission on which the new envoy was to sound out a chance of resuming negotiations.
alle, writing for the new blog, Maghreb Politics Review, commented on the event as well:
It is his first trip to see the parties to the conflict, and he impressed early on by speaking to Aljazeera TV in fluent Arabic — although what he said was “no comments”. For some reason, that feels illustrative of the whole Western Sahara issue.
van kaas, commenting on the blog post, said:
Ross will arrive in the camps for Sahrawi refugees today and he will probably be asked to demand information from Moroccan authorities about the disappeared Saharawis. This item should have been dealt with long time ago, and this longstanding complaint is one of the failures of van Walsum, the former SESGUNWS.
Sahara Occidental also wrote:
Mr. Ross has been received by the people and leaders in the Sahraoui refugee camps. Mr. Ross said he came to find a political acceptable solution to both parties ( Morocco and the Polisario Front), which would allow the Sahraoui people to determine their future.
Tindouf home for over thirty years some 165,000 Sahraoui refugees, according to official Sahraoui figures.

author: Jillian C. York


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Peru: Portrayal of Andean Life in Llosa’s Movies · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The film “La Teta Asustada” (The Milk of Sorrow) by Peruvian director Claudia Llosa was recently awarded the Golden Bear award at Berlinale, the International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany.  The news was well received by the Peruvian media that covers news about film.  For example, the blog Cinencuentro [es] has been providing special coverage even before the results of the prize were announced, including posting the trailer [es].  There are also posts about the reaction from the audience, news about the awarding of the prize, as well as video of the press conference [es], reviews of Llosa as a director [es], and news about the film's release in Peru in April [es].
The attention given to the film may provide more support for the Peruvian film industry, something that Elizabeth Lino of Te Voy a Contar [es] thinks is much needed.  Guille of Pueblo Vruto [es] is also excited about the prize and thinks that this could provide a boost for Peruvian films, especially those that tell more complex stories including those about the decade of violence across the country.
However, the portrayal of life in rural Peru by Llosa and her films, in the shadow of the internal conflict with the Shining Path reopened discussions about this difficult time in Peru's history. Many of the Peruvian bloggers focused on the content of the film and discussed whether or not Llosa is qualified to portray life in the rural Andes.
In Cinencuentro [es], Juan José Beteta writes about Llosa's early work called Madeinusa that is set in fictional indigenous village of Manayaycuna.
Ya Madeinusa exhibía señales evidentes de su potencial cinematográfico y la capacidad de revelar tanto tendencias ocultas como evidentes en la sociedad peruana, respecto al mundo andino. Quizás haya que recordar aquí el diseño de un personaje que, sin abandonar para nada sus valores culturales y su papel ritual, se las arregla para utilizarlo y liberarse de ciertas cadenas que le impone tal tradición. Por un lado, Llosa pone en escena el mito (apoyado en el trabajo de fotografía, vestuario y ambientación), pero, al mismo tiempo, muestra la capacidad de agencia de una mujer para liberarse y cuestionar un orden social opresivo. (…) Estamos ante un filme que plantea lo políticamente incorrecto junto a lo políticamente correcto, con respecto al mundo andino y al papel de la mujer.
De allí que para algunos esa cinta resulte racista y ofensiva, mientras que para otros (y me incluyo) muestra la afirmación de una cultura andina desafiante, en su provocadora ambivalencia (y eso es lo novedoso).
The film Madeinusa shows clear signs of her cinematic potential and her capacity to show hidden tendencies of Peruvian society in the Andean world. Maybe one must remember the design of the character who, without abandoning her cultural values or her ritual role, is portrayed and liberated of certain changes that are imposed on tradition. On one hand, Llosa places the myth on stage (supported by the photography, costume and settings), but at the same time, shows the capacity of a woman to liberate herself and question an oppressive social order.  (…) We see a film that raises the politically incorrect alongside the politically correct in regards to the Andean world and the role of the woman.
From there, for some, this film is racist and offensive, while for others (including me) it shows the affirmation of a defiant Andean culture in its provocative ambivalence (and that is nothing new).
The plot of the Milk of Sorrow takes place in Peru after the internal conflict where the Shining Path guerrilla group was involved with violence, especially in the rural areas. The film's main character, Fausta, was born as to a mother who was raped during this rebel violence. Controversy now emerges with a movie, which the majority of Peruvians have not yet seen, from a social or political perspective. For example, Carlos Quiróz of Peruanista [es] does not look favorably upon Llosa or her film:
Esta película no se trata de la vida de una mujer andina traumada por la violencia interna en Perú, como Llosa vende el cuento en Europa. Es acerca de mostrar la vida de una pianista limeña muy sofisticada, pseudo educada –y bien blanca- y como ejemplo de superioridad, mostrar a la empleada andina, la pobrecita, sumisa, superticiosa. El discurso del filme habla de simpatía indigenista, pero la imagen grita de una mala intención y de burla malosa, de comparación exagerada haciendo un paralelo entre las vidas de ambas.
… como toda folklorista convenida, Claudia Llosa se apropia de las culturas andinas para hacer filmes que impresionen a extranjeros y a ignorantes. A ella no le importan nuestros indígenas peruanos como seres humanos, sino como personajes curiosos y como objeto de burla, de reojo. Al mismo tiempo, ellos los blancos racistas se presentan a sí mismos como regios y buenos, y atractivos, mientras que a nosotros los cobrizos nos ponen brutitos y necesitados, y dependientes de ellos claro.
This film is not about the life of an Andean woman with trauma from Peru's internal violence, as Llosa tries to sell it to Europe. It is about showing the life of a very sophisticated pianist from Lima, pseudo-educated – and very white – as an example of superiority, showing the Andean domestic worker, poor, submissive, superstitious. The film's dialogue talks about the indigenist sympathy, but the images cry with bad intentions and malicious mockery, of an exaggerated comparison that parallels the lives of both.
Like all agreed upon folklorists, Claudia Llosa appropriates Andean cultures to make films that impresses foreigners and the ignorant. She does not care about our Peruvian indigenous as human beings, but rather curious characters and objects of mockery, to be looked down upon.  At the same time, the white racists are presented as regal and good, and attractive, while we the darker-skinned are cast as brutes and needy and of course, dependent of them.
In addition, in this other post, Quiróz adds whether or not there were that many rapes of women by the Shining Path during the years of terrorism in Peru:
miren como presentan a la película en España: “una historia de las mujeres violadas por Sendero Luminoso”. Estos señores están mintiendo: usualmente SL no violaba a las mujeres, eran los paramilitares, los soldados y policías del estado peruano los que abusaban de las mujeres andinas, y no estoy defendiendo a SL sino seamos honestos aquí.
Look how they present the film in Spain: “a story of women raped by the Shining Path.” These people are lying: the SP (Shining Path) usually did not rape women, it was the paramilitary, soldiers and police from the Peruvian state that abused the Andean women, and I am not defending the SP, but let's be honest here.
This claim produced plenty of comments on the same post, as well as responses on other blogs.  Fernando Obregón of Pospost [es] came out to deny the assertion.
Sendero Luminoso SÍ VIOLÓ mujeres. Y lo dice el Informe Final de la Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación, tal como se señala en el Tomo VI, Capítulo 1.5 llamado “La violencia sexual contra la mujer” que pueden descargar aquí. Que las Fuerzas Armadas o policiales hayan sido quienes hayan cometido mayor número de violaciones NO EXCULPA a Sendero Luminoso y mucho menos para afirmar que “Sendero Luminoso no violaba mujeres”. Hacerlo, es negar el holocausto sufrido por la mujer andina peruana durante la guerra interna, pero sobre todo es volver a “violarlas” en su memoria
The Shining Path DID RAPE women. And it says so in the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission [es], specificially at Volume VI, Chapter 1.5 titled “Sexual Violence Against Women,” which can be downloaded here (zip format). That the Armed Forces and police were those that committed the majority of the rapes DOES NOT exonerate the Shining Path and much less to say that the “Shining Path did not rape women.” To do so, is to deny the holocaust suffered by Andean women during the internal war, but above all it is to return to “rape them” in their memory.
All of this discussion calls to mind the years where the country dealt with terrorism, and blogger Isabel Guerra of Palabras Van y Vienen [es] recalls that time not so long ago.  Daniel Salas of Gran Combo Club [es] writes about other parts of the discussion in regards to Llosa's ability to portray rural Peruvian life:
Una de las objeciones más escuchadas es que Llosa no tiene derecho a referir la realidad andina porque a) no la conoce y b) porque pertenece a la elite criolla. Pero ya he sostenido que no se trata de referir a ninguna realidad. (…) En un sentido poco interesante, nadie tiene derecho a representar a nadie y cualquiera puede representar a cualquiera. En otro sentido que sí es interesante, lo que te da derecho a representar a alguien es la relevancia artística de tu representación. No me sirve de nada representar lo que “conozco bien” si el producto es una acumulación de lugares comunes sin mayor gracia y sin el menor interés. En otras palabras, una novela, una película, un poema no van a ser mejores porque se refieren a lo que –según los otros-es lo que te resulta “más auténtico”.
One of them most commonly heard objections is that Llosa does not have the right to refer to the Andean reality because a) she does not know it and b) because she belongs to the elite. I have maintained that it does not have to do with any reality. (…) In an uninteresting sense, no one has the right to represent anyone and anyone can represent anyone. In another sense that is indeed interesting, what gives one the right to represent someone is the artistic relevance of one's representation. It does not serve me to represent something that “I know well” if the product is an accumulation of common places without grace and without interest. In other words, a novel, a movie, a poem won't be the best because they refer to what – according to tother – is what results “most authentic”.
It is obvious that the debate about the portrayal of life in Peru, especially during the time of the internal war with the Shining Path has just started. When the movie is realized in April it will also surely increase.
Update: For additional links and discussion about this topic, please visit Globalizado [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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Russia: Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Photos of Soviet Union · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user jolita (RUS) has posted Henri Cartier-Bresson's 1954-55 and 1973-74 photos of the Soviet Union in the ruguru LJ community.


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Saudi Arabia: A Romantic Society? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Murtadha Almtawaah, a Saudi blogger currently studying in the United States, writes about romanticism in Saudi society: “I think Saudi people are very romantic but they don’t express or talk about Romance in public. They really look for it in their private life.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Saudi Arabia: Moving to a modern society? · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

“Is Saudi Arabia moving closer to a modern society?,” asks Sabria S. Jawhar in her new blog post.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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South Asian Rock Music Festival · Global Voices
Rezwan

Salik Shah of Kathmandu Speaks! Are you listening? attended the second South Asian Bands festival at Purana Qila in New Delhi and shares his reactions.

author: Rezwan


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Zimbabwe: Marechera’s Love Sonnets · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

EShuneutics discusses Marechera's Love Sonnets. Dambudzo was a Zimbabwean writer and poet, “Poem III in the Amelia Sonnets, is titled “Her hand my eyes closes”. The closing of the eyes is a familiar image of death, one of the final acts offered to the corpse. The irony here, however, is that the dead (Muse) seeks to close the eyes of the living (Poet).”


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Afghanistan: Prison, Poverty and Politics · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

While the Obama administration has announced that an additional 17,000 troops will be sent to Afghanistan to confront the rising insurgency, Afghan bloggers keep talking about the daily challenges facing Afghans such as a women in prison, poverty and political tensions.
Baktash Siawash, a Kabul-based journalist and blogger writes [en] about the hardships of imprisoned women. The blogger says:
Women’s prisons: currently in Northern Province of Kunduz ten women with eight children in age of 6 to 10 are prisoners. Two Small and dark rooms with a lavatory is called prison. Pul-e-Charkhi prison is the Most Famous prison in Afghanistan located in Kabul province the Capital of Afghanistan: prisoner women don’t have good situation in Kabul prison too. The reporters do not have the permission to visit the Pulcharkhi women’s Prisoners section.
Afghancorner, an Afghan blogger based in the USA writes [en] that Afghanistan is a mess and that there is tension with the government of the United States. The blogger adds:
Afghan president Hamid Karzai speaks on several topics concerning Afghanistan (Taliban, Pakistan, upcoming presidential elections and his government’s relations with newly elected US leadership) with Al Jazeera’s David Frost. It worth mentioning that international community has expressed its concern over corruption in Afghanistan, and Obama has criticized Afghan government for lack of leadership and management. In his latest interview, Karzai confess of pale relations with Obama administration.
Christian Bleuer, a PhD student from Australia writes [en] in Ghosts of Alexander that Jennifer McCarthy, a PhD research student in London has decided to live on an actual Afghan budget for a month to raise awareness and some funds. And she will provide the narrative of what that’s like in her blog.
Not everything is not dark and sad in Afghanistan Thruafghaneyes, an Afghanistan based blogger writes [en] that Mirwais Mohsen is one of the first Afghan skaters, a brand new sport in Kabul.


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Africa: Blogging About Startups, Innovation and Entrepreneurship · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

If your main source of news and information about Africa is the mainstream media, then you are less likely to know about groundbreaking innovation and entrepreneurship that is taking place on the continent.  Thanks to citizen journalists who regularly blog about startups and entrepreneurship in Africa.  In this post we are listing major blogs, which review, analyse, and promote startups, entrepreneurship and innovation on the African continent.
Jonathan is also the founder of Afridex, a business information aggregator and professional database pulling data from across the web about African start-ups, established companies and foreign groups operating in the continent.
Timbuktu Chronicles
Emeka Okafor, the TED Africa Director blogs at Timbuktu Chronicles, which “seeks to spur dialogue in areas of entrepreneurship, technology and the scientific method as it impacts Africa.”  Timbuktu Chronicles covers a wide range of technology related projects and initiatives in Africa.


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: A Girl’s War · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts details of a theatrical play performed in 2001 set against the backdrop of the Nagorno Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The blog says the play was taboo-breaking because in it an Armenian and Azerbaijani fall in love and nationalist sentiments which define the rhetoric in Armenia and its Diaspora are challenged.


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Armenia: Nationalist agitation in Georgia · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on the new Frontline Club blog, Global Voices Online's Caucasus Regional Editor reports on plans to hold a demonstration outside the Georgian Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia. The blog says that local nationalists with the possible backing of Moscow might be seeking to destabilize Armenia's northern neighbor.


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Azerbaijan: Historic district under threat · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In Mutatione Fortitudo decries the destruction of an historic part of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to make way for construction of a new boulevard.


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Bangladesh: Remembering The Language Martyrs · Global Voices
Rezwan

Desherchobi posts a photo essay describing how Bangladeshis commemorate the martyrs who gave their lives for their mother tongue Bangla on 21st of February, 1952, now recognized as the International mother language day.


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Blog Plagiarism hits Egyptian Bloggers · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Is there such a thing as blog plagiarism? Egyptian bloggers argue both sides of the fence on Facebook and on their blogs after a newspaper started quoting bloggers – without their permission.
Bella Shereef created a group attacking El Shorouk Newspaper for quoting bloggers without their permission and for editing the excerpts they quote saying:
The group currently has no admin and the newspaper created a survey and asked the readers to share their opinion of the blog pages in the paper.
Bella wrote on the discussion board:
Bent Al Kamar wrote on her blog:
She also posted links to other disapproving bloggers here, and here.
On the other hand, several bloggers did not find anything wrong or incriminating with El Shorouk Newspaper's practices.
Mohamed Hamdy wrote:
Shaimaa El Gammal responded by sharing a piece of news about The Printed Blog in the US:
Last but not least, Lasto Adri of Global Voices wrote:

author: Marwa Rakha


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Brunei: Cartoons about the floods · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cuboiart posts two cartoons describing Brunei's experience with flash floods for the past two months.

author: Mong Palatino


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Cambodia: Female Python pet · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Cambodian family has a female Python for a houseguest. They believe the giant python brings good luck.


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China: Closer Look at the 50 Cent Party Member · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

If you want to take a closer look at the 50 cent party members, read RConversation. Last month, Beijing Association of Online Media held a meeting regarding illegal content, in which “40 representatives of Internet supervision volunteers” had attended.

author: Oiwan Lam