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Thailand: Situation on the street · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Thailand under military rule day one looks like a regular day here albeit there were fewer people on the street.
Banks and schools are closed, and most of the offices too.
Internet and cellular connection are all fine. CNN and BBC broadcast were blocked until this afternoon, but then has been available since.
After trying to figure out what is really going on in Bangkok, I decided to look and see it for myself.
All malls and shopping are open. Siam Paragon the newest and biggest Bangkok malls looks normal. MBK the favorit shopping place for tourists is open, although they are closing sooner than usual, citing a possible curfew that might be enforced.
Public transportation are all normal, buses, taxis, motorcycle taxi, the subway and sky train station (Bangkok MRT) are all functioning as they suppose to with minimum sight of the military personnel's.
Jewie on his blog Lost in Translation posted Happy Military Coup mentioning how everyone seems to be happy.
The TV interviews with common people seem to contradict the expected situation of a military coup. Some on TV even said why the military had taken so long to react to Thaksin. Other seem pretty happy about the coup and they had been expecting it. On the streets, civilians are enjoying the holiday. Bringing food and water to the soldiers, photo taking session, flowers presented to soldiers. I have not seen any news report of anyone against the coup so far. It seems like it’s an all against Thaksin thing now.
Michelle on Brit in Bangkok calling this an Excellent News for Thailand:
Thaksin has been a HUGE problem to Thailand for well over a year now. A new election was coming up next month and Thaksin WOULD DEFINITELY have been re-elected because uneducated Thais in the mostly Northern provinces would vote for him. (Thaksin has given money to many of the poor for years, technically buying votes).
And Metroblogging Bangkok citing poll result how people feels about this coup:
According to a popular public opinion poll, the Dusit Poll [figures not exact as I couldn't here correctly]
83% the people approved the “peaceful” coup as a way to calm the political situation in Thailand.
17% disapproved….
I continue my quest for tanks from Siam Area to Rachadamnoen Nok (Outer Avenue) that is the center of government administration.
Most Government departments, U.N. and ESCAP organizations as well as Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, the parliament house are also situated on this road
As I arrived, I saw that there were no blockade anymore. The people were crowding the tanks and Humvees, distributing roses and mostly trying to take pictures together with the military personnel's.
There were celebration atmosphere in the air, where everybody like take part of this special day.
Peter, wrote on this forum describe the Thai people reaction of this coup as cool detachment. Other than in the Rachadamnoen area, you can not tell that there is coup going on in the country.
The temporary government has promised that there will be a civil government in 2 weeks period and has come up with new general election date to be held in October 2007
Tomorrow (hopefully) will just be a regular day.

author: Enda Nasution


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Thailand: The Coup and the Net · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Ben at Mai Me Arai writes about the increase in internet usage in Thailand while the coup was taking place. “Let it never be said that Thai’s don’t know where to find information when they really want to”. Gnarlykitty points to a new classified ad in Craigslist's Thailand section.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Preetam Rai


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The 5th Carnival Against Racism · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks writes about “The 5th Carnival Against Racism and the 1st to be held in the African blogosphere.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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The future of the African blogosphere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Writing about the Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging, which took place in South Africa last week, and the future of the African blogosphere, Grandiose Parlor asks: “What would the post-conference initiatives be?
How can African bloggers leverage their knowledge and (web 2.0) expertise to a greater good?
What initiatives can bloggers undertake that will impact positively on the continent, particularly the mainstream media coverage Africans and the continent?
What direction is the African blogosphere heading; is there a future for African and Afrocentric blogs?”


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

While President Evo Morales is away participating in various international settings, developments back in Bolivia continue down the road of uncertainty and unpredictability.  After attending the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana, Cuba, Morales took the podium at the United Nations General Assembly.  Much of his content focused on the controversial policies related to the coca leaf.  The speech was available online via a webcast on the UN website.  Miguel Buitrago (MABB) was one Bolivian blogger who followed along and observed that Morales “was much less eloquent than Mesa” (his predecessor) and that at times it was difficult to follow his train of thought.  Hugo Miranda of the Angel Caido (ES) blog saw it another way and came away impressed.
Evo Morales es Evo nomas en Estados Unidos o en el Chapare, y ayer lo demostro una vez mas que es un gran Lider que no le tiene miedo a nada, que dice lo que siente, que no necesita que le redacten los discursos, que no agacha la cabeza ante nadie, no se sere sincero nunca vi algun discurso de otro presidente boliviano en estas instancias, lo unico que me enteraba por la prensa es que solo intervinieron pidieron cosas, y mesuraron su discruso, y hablamos de Tipos preparados como Quiroga, Messa y Sanchez de Lozada.
Evo Morales is simply Evo, no matter in the United States or in the Chapare.  Yesterday, he demonstrated that he is a great leader because he is not afraid of anyone, says what he feels, and does not need anyone to write his speeches.  He doesn’t lower his head to anyone, even though I have not seen other (Bolivian) presidents’ speeches, but via the media I learned that they just asked for things and measured their words.  I am referring to educated types such as Quiroga, Mesa and Sanchez de Lozada.
One of the biggest items in the news was the resignation of Andres Soliz Rada, the Minister of Hydrocarbons, who may be considered the father of Bolivia’s most recent nationalization.  Officially, Soliz Rada resigned for personal/health reasons, but many, including some anonymous members of the MAS party indicated that he was acting on his own and may have acted a little too radical potentially chasing away potential investment.  The acceptance of the resignation was made during a time when the Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera was acting President while Morales was abroad.
Jaime Humérez Seleme of Boliviscopio (ES) indicates that it was obvious the resignation was not due to any personal health reasons, but because he felt “deauthorized” by the Vice-President after the Ministerial Resolution, which excluded Petrobras (Bolivia’s largest investor in the Hydrocarbons field) from refining and commercializing in Bolivia, was “frozen.” The anonymous blogger who writes at Morir Antes Que Esclavos Vivir (ES) does not believe that Garcia Linera acted on his own and attempted to override any of Morales’ decisions, but rather it was a case that Bolivia does not want to lose out on any potential markets.
However, Miguel Centellas, a political science professor and blogger at Ciao!, wonders whether there might be an impending split between Morales and Garcia Linera.  Some internal critics have blamed “blancoide mestizos” (individuals of whiter mixed-race) of obstructing the master plan.  Some can speculate that this list includes Garcia Linera, who has a very short history with Morales.  Centellas lists two scenarios that involve a radical split in the pair and could cause even more internal strife. Or as Centellas writes, “but, of course, I could be completely wrong.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Togolese Hip Hop’s Significance · Global Voices
Alice Backer

France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem ponders (Fr) the significance of Togolese hip hop: “Hip hop really is the pot in which different Togolese traditions  melt and interpenetrate.”
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author: Alice Backer


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Trinidad & Tobago: Farewell, BWEE · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press says farewell to BWIA — or Bwee, as it's familiarly called — as the Trinidad and Tobago airline prepares to wind up its operations and make way for a new entity called Caribbean Airlines.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Ukraine: Art Scene · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petro of Petro's Jotter writes about Ukraine's art scene.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: Loss of Face · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Abdymok reminds the readers of the events two years ago by translating a non-published article about president Yushchenko's alleged poisoning.


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Ukraine: News Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes covers the following subjects: investigation of the “allegedly illegal discriminatory” value-added tax reimbursements; Party of the Regions anatomy; Vladimir Putin's thoughts on Ukraine; former speaker goes into opposition.


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Ukraine: Politics and Life · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine reviews Ukraine's political developments and also writes about his visit to Ukraine: “I myself wasn't paying much attention to politics, in truth. Instead I was looking at things like… plastic bags. Specifically I was wondering how the 50 kopeck heavy-duty plastic bag makers hit on the idea to steal the BMW logo. Like the people using these to carry around kilos of potatoes are really the target market for BMW products.”


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Zimbabwe: the struggle continues · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

We are learning from Zimbwabean Pundit that Zimbabweans will not give up the fight!:
“Barely a week after their counterparts from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions were arrested and tortured for demonstrating against the government, Lovemore Madhuku's National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) have promised they'll be out on the streets today.”


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Balkans Blog Roundup · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

On September 11, Viktor of Belgrade Blog writes:
[…] [Serbia] just won the water polo European championship, and here's a short video with the atmosphere from the streets of Belgrade (Kolarceva street, more precisely). It's like this, after all major successes in sports, but this is the first time we did it under the name of Serbia, so cheers for that :)
John1975 from the States vows:
[…] I wish America and her people would care as much as the Serbs do about things like this! I mean, our culture is one where no one would have been cheering in the streets or going crazy over our basketball team winning this latest world challenge. What I loved and miss about the Serbs are the fact that each and every Serb seem to be linked by this national pride – where every Serb is a friend to every Serb! Of course there are exceptions to the rule but, from my experiences this was the case 99.9 percent of the time. […]
***
This sport event overshadowed Montenegro elections, which received minimal media coverage in Serbia. Montenegrin Prime Minister’s Milo Djukanovic party received the majority of votes in the first parliamentary elections after the official declaration of independence of this new state. At B92 blog (SRP), Slayayu states:
Montenegro mafia has a state… They had it long before referendum [when they decided to declare independence from Serbia]. They got 80% of illegal vehicles on streets, and that is only a fraction of the story. [For years Milo Djukanovic has been accused of personal and political ties to widespread tobacco smuggling in Montenegro throughout the 1990s]. [Milo Djukanovic] does not seem to care, often skillfully intruding with his personal monolog about European integration. […]
Bganon:
[…] I know how things operate down there. Its also a privatized state – I wonder how long it will be before Europeans become intolerant of all those Russian businessmen who own hotels and casino's on the coast. EU membership doesn’t come for free. A European [Montenegro] or Don [Milo] Djukanovic? Well that’s a lesser concern. What worries me more is inter ethnic tension. I have a nasty feeling that [Montenegro] will go the way of the Macedonian political system where incapable and corrupt politicians are elected simply on account of their being a leading member of an ethnic party. And of course nothing can be done without these ethnic parties, and the minute something happens not to the liking of ethnic parties they scream ‘discrimination’ to the Europeans/human rights groups.[…]
***
Some questions raised by the Croatian Index.hr forum dwellers (HRV) deserve attention as negative aspects of joining the European Union get constantly neglected by the mainstream media. Piko2 says:
I don’t want Croatia becoming member of the European Union. How come there is no public opinion research concerning this question. Why nobody points out negative aspects of joining the EU? Do we really need that kind of merge or [because of our geopolitical position] Europe needs us?
Posjetilac responds:
[…] Croatia is a small country and it would be a mistake to think the EU needs us. As a market, it is not interesting (it has 1% of EU population), they have got GNP only 0,5% of EU citizens. […] EU needs big countries for consumption [market] (for example Poland) as well as small rich ones to boost EU budget. As far as I know Croatia is neither of those. […] Thus our states request admittance to the EU, not the other way around. Logically the EU dictates conditions of entrance […].
Visoki:
[…] If you think you would be able to sell any product based solely on its quality, you would be wrong [in case the country is not a EU member], its essential to have much more apart quality! Why wouldn’t [EU] ban import of your goods? Why wouldn’t [EU] pressure other countries to implement the same ban? […]
Posjetilac:
[…] [Croatia will become member of the EU in few years.] which is enough time for government to swiftly adjust laws, fiscal policy, and if you will, current way of life of its citizens. […] Traders would sell their goods as before, but only in a distinctive frame under certain rules and regulations enabling them with a stable life and designed to prevent them from illegally reselling their stocks. Man from Dalmacia would continue to produce independently for his restaurant but would have to keep his products subjected to constant quality control to make sure all hygienic standards are met to protect consumers. […]
Inejlapan:
Can somebody explain to me, why EU dictate us how many fruit trees, olive trees and hectares of vine yards [and kind of crops] we can plant? it is really democratic…
Gorki61_istra:
Well all our major companies are already in the EU.
Maybe we won’t be mused [hassled around] so much if we join too.
Walpurga:
Are you trying to say that all successful firms and banks worth something have been already sold [in the process of privatization] to Italians and Germans, so to say to European states. Only our nation has not been sold yet, but they may do that in the future to fill in the state budget.
Diskutant #17731:
[…] Those who may be laid off feel threatened by EU membership, old labor not worth of investing [for them to gain additional skills and education]… It is more difficult to reorganize people used to old way of work than to kick off with young, fresh and well educated employees. […] Normally, it would be tough for average citizen in the beginning, but ultimately new conditions would lead towards enhanced living standard, strengthening of economy and boosting exports. […]
It is Bobrock’s eighth year living abroad. He works as a managing director of a company in England. He writes:
[…] First of all, I noticed EU is very corrupted. It looks great on paper. Regretfully, on-field situation significantly differs. […] I would advise everybody to listen to a wise saying of Grunf. First, try soup and later decide if it is hot or non-salty enough. How many times you changed opinion about something after trying it out? […] We don’t have to be in EU to be productive or do well. […] Gold is not everything that shines, pure water and health are more valuable than EU benefits. […]
***
At Modrica, a discussion board frequented by fellows from Bosnia and Herzegovina (in further text B&H), a question has been raised about the country’s future (BIH). B&H’s expatriate Daren states:
[B&H] in ten years…??? […] I was there last summer and I could see how people live. Law abiding citizens don’t have enough money to buy a slice of bread and the other ones who steal (or those who have committed illegal deeds during the [civil] war) rule. Whatever party gets in power we will fail to change [B&H] society if the system stays the same. One example that crosses my thoughts is associated with my recent visit to emergency hospital unit. My son got sick during our vacation in [B&H]. They asked me to purchase a medicine as they wouldn’t have enough even for children in case of emergency [they would wait for necessary medication to be brought so the nurse could act]. […]
Rizo:
[…] one thing is sure; [B&H] will not change by itself, it awaits us to act! It is pity that latest election vote show people don’t want to change anything, they don’t perceive responsibility for deeds committed throughout the last decade. [Thus we are all to be blamed] or at least majority of citizens. Until we wouldn’t confront our burden […] we couldn’t go forward. […] There are just few of citizen initiative organizations, and that is important factor for creation and development of democracy. It is true Alliance [west oriented political block] got what it deserved – defeat, but should we have left Alliance to be defeated by nationalistic parties fully responsible for what happened to us in the region. It is sad to watch Euro-News with reports as they include Serbian flag and nothing to give nice impression of [B&H]. Reporter summons up his short comment by saying: “today’s election resulted with undisputed victory of politicians who managed to keep this country apart from European integration for whole decade”. […]

author: Ljubisa Bojic


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Bangladesh: Texting · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

imperfect world 2006 on the sorts of things that texting or SMS is being used for in Dhaka. “Well how about this use of texting technology: for calling the fire brigade in an emergency! Presumably they phone you back and get the details? Or perhaps they use gsm positioning and locate you and whizz down and hose you down?”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Belize: Independence photos · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Flickr user sitkarev posts photos from the recent independence celebrations in Belize.


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Belize: US dollars · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Lee Vanderwalker — who, like most other Belize residents, hoards US dollars — wonders why two visitors to her store in recent times have refused to accept change in US currency.


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Bermuda: Ex-pat go home! · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey reports on the latest a anti-expatriate leaflet circulating in Bermuda, which accuses foreign-born residents of “. . .  taking food, jobs, housing, space, school places, and “our sons and daughters” from Bermudians. He’s blamed for causing fatherless homes, divorce, declining family values, and traffic congestion.“


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Bermuda: Government blog requests feedback · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Bermuda government's Charting Our Course: Sustaining Bermuda blog, which is dedicated to discussing the draft Sustainable Development Strategy for the country, publishes a critique put forward by a panellist at a public meeting, with a request for feedback.


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Bermuda: Save the Gardens blog · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A newly launched Bermudian blog called Save the Gardens is dedicated to helping block a goverment decision to build a hospital on the site of the botanical gardens in Hamilton, Bermuda's capital city.


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Bolivia: At the UN · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Ávila gives some historical context to Bolivian President Evo Morales’ address to the General Assembly in New York. Meanwhile, Miguel Buitrago has a recent big media roundup and Jim Shultz takes a look at “Bolivia's Political Revolution – Nine Months On.”

author: David Sasaki


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Bulgaria, Libya: Save the Tripoli Six · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler, a senior reporter at Nature, draws attention to the plight of the “Tripoli Six” – five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor on trial in Libya: “Can the blogosphere help free the Tripoli six? — innocent medics risking execution in Libya.”


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China: Cows, pigs and balls · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Last week, two women at Bullog.cn—a blogger's portal unique in that it was set up by prominent bloggers themselves as opposed to a large media corporation—acted on dissatisfaction with what they saw as an old yellow guys club (the Chinese name is Bull Blog) and started their own blog, Cow Log, whose name translates to ‘Cow Blog’. Judging from the first few posts, sex from a woman's perspective—still a sorta unheard voice in China—seems to be a central theme. Like so much great Chinese writing, a lot of what can be found there wouldn't make much sense if translated.
From Cow Log's second post, ‘He's a Virgin’, dated September 13:
首先，在我国大好的环境下，处男80%以上会看过毛片，所以你也别迷信书里写的，他们会多傻多笨拙。在前戏中，他们会按照毛片的套路来，先kiss，然后找内衣搭钩，解下来，摸摸胸，手越来越不老实的往下探，脱内裤——进入实质阶段。在这一阶段中，再没有见过世面的也会佯装自己的轻车熟路，虽然如果你戴了一个在前面系扣的内衣，会让他迷惑上一阵。
进入实质阶段，对，就是在这个环节，处男和老手的区别就显现了，他们往往会趴在你身上，让你喘不上气来，因为从来没有女人告诉过他们，你需要用手撑着床。经你提醒以后，他改了，但是下一个问题又出来了，他找不到入口！
KielBoat at MSN Spaces gives a quick two cents on the Taiwan-wide campaign aimed at seeing current president Chen Shui-bian step down:
运动是人民的狂欢
上月刚刚写过哪一日再度在哪个广场搭起帐篷盘踞不去的集体生活样式，台湾凯达格兰大道真的就重演了，一切一切，仿佛89年绝食之后、June4th之前的气氛。杨渡说像家庭的感觉，其实是列宁所说的人民狂欢，几乎所有革命都有的特征。但是，这一次盘踞不去的结果，会是开枪吗？老共第一次对陈水扁的命运惺惺相惜了，这也许是外交部发言人今天表示不希望见到意外事件的真正原因吧。让我们拭目以待。
And Beijing-based blogger Zeng Jinyan, who has spent the last several months under constant state surveillance, whose husband has been under house arrest for the last 65 consecutive days, was browsing through Wikipedia—blocked in China—recently and happened upon  the definition of the kind of state agent that now follows her everywhere she goes. Below is an addition she would like to make.
从6月参加为光诚的呼吁，每天只要我走出家门，在我的视野范围内就出现一群面无表情的可怜男子，偶尔也夹杂几名女性。他们从来不说自己是谁、为什么会在这里、为什么每天跟着我、为什么要拿着偷拍机……但我知道他们属于公安部的精锐力量–国内安全保卫局，简称”国保”。
今天我在WIKI百科看到国保支队的详细解释，贴在后面与大家共享。
我的体验，国保工作的对象远远超过WIKI定义。在我所知被国保骚扰、侵犯的案例中，人群涵盖范围很广。有民间组织工作者、志愿者、律师、画家、摄影师或独立纪录片拍摄者、艺术家、自由职业者、记者、作家、诗人、学者、学生社团组织者、有自主意识的农民、艾滋病感染者/患者、维权业主、拆迁户、有宗教信仰的人士、退伍军人、上访者、残疾人士、儿童……
–snip–
国保的行为规律是：
A.作为秘密警察，不出示证件，不说明自身身份；
B.作为超越法律之外的特权力量，不出示任何法律手续，实际上也因其行为的非法性而无法律手续可出示；
C.作为特权机构的成员，任意采取恐吓、辱骂和殴打手段；
D.任意采取软禁、绑架等非法拘禁手段，需要时可以让公民失踪；
E.任意罗织罪名、构陷公民，操纵司法审判，把公民投入冤狱，同时也可任意送公民去劳教或进精神病院；
F.任意跟踪、偷拍，任意监听公民或机构的电话、短信、监控网络、截获电子邮件，或者随时随地切断公民电话和网络；
G.全然否认机构本身及秘密警察个人做过的任何行为，并且事前可以利用特权清除任何证物、警告威胁任何可能的证人；
H.作为”盖世太保”式的政治警察，对党绝对忠诚，为党的利益而背离人民、国家、宪法、法律；
I.作为位居公安部首位的特权力量，随时可以调用其他警种全力配合自己的国家黑社会势力行动。
J.国保秘密警察只对上级命令和自己的饭碗负责，良心、道义和公正不在考虑范围内。
K.……
我们所有与国保交锋的中国公民都可以去丰富下面WIKI百科的定义。只是我们中国大陆绝大部分人无法登陆WIKI的网页，因为它已经被中华人民共和国公安部的网络警察屏蔽了。又一个简单的例证说明，我们连了解信息和表达意见的权利都被剥夺。国保，究竟在保卫什么？

author: John Kennedy


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China: wiki’s definition of national security police · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zeng jinyan compares her experience in encountering with national security police with the definition in the Chinese wikipedia, they are very different. And she feels frustrated most of the Chinese people cannot access wikipedia to revise the definition. Zeng's experience is: they never show their identity card, they are beyond rule of law… (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Legal Rights for Same-Sex Couples · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Andrés Duque describes a little known bill currently being discussed in congress that could extend legal rights to same-sex couples in Colombia and enjoys the surprising support of President Alvaro Uribe.


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Esperanto Day / Esperanto-Tago · Global Voices
Steven BREWER

Ms Syozi and I of the Local Congress Committee of next year's 92nd UK have the honor to receive the congress’ flag (not the giant flag in the background, but the one that is 1.5m long horizontally) from the leader of the local congress committee from the 91st UK.  In point of fact, the whole thing is symbolic: the flag isn't actually coming to Japan, but will stay in an office in Rotterdam until the congress.  Ms Syozi presented a (translated) welcome message from the Japanese ambassador in Italy.  And before (after?) that, I offered some impromptu remarks.  So, the full text doesn't exist, but here is the essence.  The full message (translated from the mayor of Yokohama is available in the final issue number 6 of the Congress Courier.
Mi kaj s-ino Syozi el la LKK por la venontjara 92a UK, havis honoron ricevi kongresan flagon (ne la flagegon fone de la scenejo, sed 1.5m longa horizontale), de la LKK-estro de tiu cxi 91a UK.  Fakte la afero estas simbola; la flago ne venos efektive Japanien, sed nur restis en Roterdama oficejo kaj restos gxis la venonta kongreso.  Tie, s-ino Syozi prezentis la (tradukitan) mesagxon de la japana ambasadoro rezidanta en Italio por bonvenigi.  Kaj antaux ol tio mi parolis — improvizite.  Do la plena teksto ne ekzistas, sed ja esenco estis jena.  La plena mesagxo (tradukita) de la urbestro de Jokohamo estas legebla en la fina n-ro 6 de la Kongresa Kuriero.
Welcome to Yokohama, as also says the Mayor of Yokohama, metioning that Yokohama opened itself to the whole world as an international harbor 147 years ago.  That date, I interpret like an esperantist, namely that in 1859 L. L. Zamenhof (the creator of Esperanto) was born.  So the birth of the idea of Esperanto and that of the city of Yokohama are the same.  In this year of 2006, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Esperanto movement in Japan, and the UK will be the culmination of the events of the anniversary year.
Bonvenon al Jokohamo, kiel ankaux diras la urbestro de Jokohamo, menciante ke Jokohamo malfermis sin al la tuta mondo kiel internacia haveno antaux 147 jaroj.  Tiun daton mi interpretas esperantisme, nome en 1859, kiam naskigxis L.L.Zamenhof.  Do la naskigxo de esperanta ideo kaj tiu de urbo Jokohamo estas same longa.  En tiu cxi jaro 2006, ni festis la centjaran jubileon de Esperanto-movado en Japanio, kaj la UK estos la fina de la eventoj por la jubileaj jaroj.
Now Japan, namely “indeed the bread place” (pan- in Esperanto means “bread”), is originally known as “indeed the rice place”; Rice is the staple here.  But today it is also “indeed the bread place”, with bread.  In the coming year, it will also be “indeed the spagetti place”, etc, so you can safely join us.  Welcome to Yokohama!
Nu, Japanujo, nome ja-pan-ujo, estas origine konata kiel ja-riz-ujo; oni cxefe mangxis rizajxon.  Sed hodiaux gxi ankaux estas ja-pan-ujo, kun pano.  En la venonta jaro, gxi estos ankaux ja-spaget-ujo, kaj tiel plu, do vi povas sengxene veni nin.  Bonvenon al Jokohamo!

author: Steven BREWER


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Ethiopia: who are they talking to?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Meskel Square does not understand why UN agencies and charities set up advertising banners in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using English-language captions.


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Fiji: Fijian Ceramics · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous, a Burmese blogger in Fiji has posted pictures of Fijian Ceramics. The blogger describes the design and the constituents of the ceramics.


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Hong Kong: GFW in HK? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Soon after Mister Bijou blogged about the suspected case of PCCW (the biggest telecom in HK and ISP netvigator) filtering out not the south china morning post website. The issue was taken up by ESWN and spread to local blogsphere, and bloggers started to do their own testing and there are some confusions:
inmediahk.net mobilizes its readers to test their ISP, some Netvigator customers managed to get through, many failed.
sfngan reports in his blog:
我也試試到該網站去. 結果, 直接到不了, 只能通過上述的proxy繞過去—-可是, 我用的是香港寬頻. 難道香港寬頻也是超人天下?
若然這次網絡封殺事件屬實, 認真非同小可.
If the story of this internet censorship is true, it is a very serious matter.
The Duke of Aberdeen is confused about the situation, as he managed to access the website last night then failed again this morning.
Letters from China finds out that apart from PCCW, HGC broadband customers also have problem in accessing the site, both companies belong to Li's family (Li Kar-shing and his son, Richard Li). The blogger writes with a sense of irony:
網上行與和記寬頻的光榮革命事跡，應該大力宣傳。同志們當投書電訊管理局，表揚李家對建構和諧社會的重大貢獻。
Sidekick failed to access as well, and she is really angry:
我懷疑原來香港也有 GFW、censorship！！
管制我們的，並不是特區政府，而是比政府更惡的人。
我不理www.ntscmp.com網站內有甚麼內容！
就算它是一個三仔四仔人獸交快閃強姦黨大中華救國聯盟網站也好，作為一家ISP，如果你替我封掉它不讓我瀏覽就是你不對！
ESWN tries to clear up the confusion in his latest update:
Now I am probably as confused as they are about what is happening.  Let me put it this way, irrespective of the technical aspects.  Here are the facts: If you are a Netvigator user, you may not be able to access the NTSCMP.com website.  Why?  This may be either because Netvigator blocked that website or because it was due to an upstream tecniical glitch beyond the control of Netvigator.  But users of other Internet service providers do not seem to have such problems.
Given sufficient coverage of this story in the Hong Kong blogosphere (and I invite everybody to attempt the exercise to access NTSCMP.com and report the results), Netvigator will eventually have to respond to the public opinion wave (and I am sure that Apple Daily and others will pick this up if enough bloggers mention this issue).  For one thing, Netivigator may claim that they did not ban NTSCMP.com and the matter was due to a technical glitch upstream beyond their control.  Fine.  However, I would like to see an unequivocal statement from Netvigator (as well as all other Internet service providers in Hong Kong) that they would never ban any website.  PERIOD.  That would mean accountability and progress.  This is a very low bar — just say that you didn't do it and you won't do it.  How hard can it be?  Why do you have to wait until every Hong Kong blog is talking about this?
Conversely, if Netvigator failes to clear this very low bar, what does that say?


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Hungary: Rally Not Cancelled Amid Unrest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As the demonstrations in Budapest continue, Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar isn't too hopeful about the opposition's populist leader: “On the other hand, maybe he'll use the occasion to tell, not only his supporters, but also the brain-dead thugs that democracy (i.e. the ballot box and parliament) and not destructive “street politics” is the way to get rid of Fibbin’ Ferenc?
Who knows, for the first time,he'll maybe even condemn without equivocation (i.e. a lying PM does not in any way justify beating up a policeman) this week's attacks on the police and property? I won't hold my breath.”


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India: Crafts and papier-mâché · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Paavani writes on the incredible craft of papier-mâché.”So how did this amazing craft reach to India, that too paradise of earth (Kashmir). Sultan Zain-ul-Adidin was the person behind bringing it to the valley in 15th century. Kashmir is famous for papier-mâché intricate painted tiny boxes and huge vases.”


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India: Farmers killing themselves · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Even as success stories roll off from India, many farmers in the country are committing suicide. Kamla Bhatt has more. “his is the India that is seldom spoken about, but in recent years has got lot of press coverage because of the abject poverty and debt that many farmers find themselves in and consequently have resorted to committing suicide.”


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Indonesia: Execution in Sulawesi · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesia Matters updates a post about the execution of three men found guilty of inciting violence during the rioting in Central Sulawesi in 2000. Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus Da Silva were executed last night by a firing squad.


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Iran: Ahmadinejad in UN · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir has published a cartoon and a link to several photos regarding Ahmadinejad's visit in United Nations.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:An Ayatollah Under Pressure · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Irane Emrouz has published a letter from Ayatollah Seyed Hussein Kazemini Broujerdi. This high ranked cleric wrote that he and his followers had been under pressure and torture by the authorities. Ayatollah added the main reason of the pressure on him, is his neutral point of view on politics. Irane Emrouz has asked other bloggers to publish this letter and make Kazemini Broujerdi's voice heard [Fa].


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Israel: Days of Awe on Both Sides of The Wall · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

This Saturday both Jews and Muslims begin the holiest of days on their calendars. For the Jews it is the start of Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. For the Muslims it is the start of the Holy Month of Ramadan.
“Let us start the Days of Awe with real, meaningful hope… hope for a real future together… a peaceful future and one with justice,” DesertPeace said. Amen.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Japan: open source arts · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An interview in ping-mag with Dominick Chen, organizer of  DIVVY/dual on open source arts.


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Jordan: Unused resources · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Universities in Jordan are almost not adding much to the development process of society in term of direct participation in economic and scientific industries. It is more like a school in a form of a university, Wael Attili said.


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Kenya: does the government want to control commission on human rights? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Pundit posts a press release by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights regarding allegations of corruption within the commission. It begins:
“For many months, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has been aware of machinations by powerful State actors to weaken, control or close down the National Commission. These machinations have come about because of the work of the National Commission in carrying out its legal mandate as a “watch dog” of the government, from within government on the broad area of human rights, which these powerful actors have interpreted as lack of loyalty to the Government. Clearly, these powerful actors do not understand the international phenomenon of National Human Rights Institutions, like the KNCHR.”


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Kenya: government should support EASSy Project · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

N'Cho Blog posts a statement by the Kenyan Community Abroad urging the government of Kenya to support EASSy Project.


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Kenya: is John Githongo a blogger? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Does Githongo have a blog?, asks Kenyan Entrepreneur. He also shares his views about the meeting between the American President, George Bush, and the Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete, early this week.


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Kenya: “political instability” · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Affairs comments on the recent meeting between the Presidents of Tanzania and the US where the issue of “Kenya's political instability” was discussed:
“The Monday meeting in New York between Presidents George Bush (US) and Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) was only good to a point. The suspect nature of the meeting came to the fore when Kenya's “political instability” was brought into the picture. (Political instability indeed!)”


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Latin America: Digital Leaders Forum · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ricardo Carreón has ongoing updates from the Digital Leaders Forum in Cartagena, Colombia, which according to Carreón is “the most relevant event to discuss Digital Inclusion and how to use technology to promote competitiveness and growth in Latin America.”


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Lebanon: Who wants to rule Lebanon? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hizbullah is holding an unlicensed rally on Friday, which is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of their supporters celebrating their “divine victory” over Israel. The Lebanese Interior Ministry, which normally issues permits for such mass gatherings, has not even been approached or asked for permission. Security for this rally will be handled by Hizbullah, the militia that many still insist is not a state within a state, Abu Kais report.


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Mexico: If Chavez Visits · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Political commentator Ana Maria Salazar explains why she hopes that Hugo Chavez comes to Mexico. Also, another helpful roundup of the day's news.


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Moldova: Cheap Phone Calls from the U.S. · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mihai Moscovici, a Moldovan studying in the United States, shares the cheapest way to make phone calls to Moldova.


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Nazarbayev’s State Visit · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

KZBlog scrutinises Kazakh President Nazarbayev's upcoming state visit to the United States and has an exhaustive list of topics that will be touched upon in talks with President Bush (including, no kidding, Borat!).

author: Ben Paarmann


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Pakistan: Albright still around · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Whisk on the sort of representatives who are still sticking around, years after tactless remarks. “I believe she has since apologised for her tactless remark (7 years after making the remark) about the Iraqi children. It is essential that everyone read John Ryan’s excellent article on Ms. Albright entitled “An Honorary Degree in Child Sacrifice?” to learn more about her.”


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Pakistan: The Autorickshaw · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The auto rickshaw is one of the evident symbols of South Asia. Light Within has a rather comprehensive post on the auto rickshaw in Pakistan.


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Palestine: Destroyed villages on Google Earth · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

umkahlil says that palestineremembered.com is working on comprehensive project to bring the Nakba online by integrating maps of destroyed Palestinian villages and towns in 1948, into the Google Earth maps, so that Palestinians can see where their original town or village is in Palestine.


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Philippines: Why no Coup in Philippines? · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Torn and Frayed in Manila compares the political situation in Philippines with Thailand just before the coup. In Philippines also, the people are increasingly fed up with president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but the president still continues to hold on to power. One of the factor the blogger thinks is “From the word go, avoiding a military rebellion has been one of Gloria’s main political objectives. She only became president in the first place because the military withdrew support from her predecessor, and by rotating the military leadership, appointing former military men to her government, turning a blind eye to corruption in the forces, and allowing the army a free hand in suppressing leftist groups, she has been able to count on their support.”


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Pope, Cultural Revolution, Airplane Crash and Kofi Annan · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Many people in the Muslim world got angry and protested against the Pope's speech where he quoted  Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire. Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted the emperor saying: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The Pope recently said he was sorry but some protests go on. Although it was not a hot issue in Iran, several bloggers reflected their thoughts about this event in their blogs.
Fundementalists loved this speech
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former Iranian vice president & blogger says the method of the Pope to denigrate other religions is the same that Islamist fundementalists use, looking to mobolize the world against the Christian west. Religious and political extremists, in these recent times, have taken control of power centers and despite their ideological hositlity, back each other [Fa]. The blogger adds the fact that the Pope regretted his speech is a good sign.
Jomhour, an Iran based blogger writes attacking embassies is not a way to react to this kind of issue (the Pope's speech). Non-political and non-governmental Muslim leaders should put into practice forgiveness and love rather than just talking about them [Fa].
My Babbling Brain  writes that the Iranian Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, considers the Pope’s words as the newest link in a conspiracy to launch a crusade against Muslims. The blogger adds that the Iranian Leader does not say what Muslim leaders’ position is on a bigger conspiracy against human beings. The blogger says in the last five years Ayatollah Khamenei did not really bother Ben Laden because despite all irreconcilable differences, both follow the same strategy [Fa].
According to the media, Iran's President Ahmadinejad urged students to push for a purge of liberal and secular university teachers, another sign of his determination to strengthen Islamic fundamentalism in the country. Iranian bloggers shared their ideas and concerns about this policy with words and image.
Another Cultural Revolution!
Nikahang, a leading cartoonist and blogger, published an interesting cartoon in his blog and in Rooz online  about what many call the second Cultural Revolution.
Azarmehr, a UK based blogger says such a second cultural revolution will be another disaster. He adds:
The Islamic Republic after one “cultural revolution” and 27 years of Islamification of the Iranian education system, has failed to produce all Islamic, devoted revolutionary graduates. So the clerics ruling Iran are attempting a second “cultural revolution”. The outcome will be another tragedy and disaster for the country. We must fight on all fronts to stop this.
The blogger adds that Iranian academics throughout the world must be at the forefront of this resistance backed by their colleagues and associates.
Airplane Crash, Sanctions and Authorities
A “cultural revolution” is not the only thing to make bloggers worry and universities are not the only unsafe place in the country. A new airplane accident has attracted the attention of Iranian bloggers to the safety problem of Iranian aviation. In the media we read that an Iranian passenger plane caught fire after its tyre burst on landing at an airport in Iran, killing at least 30. A generation of international isolation has undermined safety standards within Iran's civil and military aviation fleet, experts say, increasing the likelihood of major air disasters. Let's see what bloggers say about it.
In Pouyashome we are reminded that if the Iranian authorities manage nuclear power plants as they manage airplanes, the outcome will be a real disaster. He adds you (the authorities) can make news about airplane crash appear in journals as unimportant event but when a nuclear disaster happens it is impossible to treat it in the same way.
Alpar talks about sanctions, being prevented from buying new airplanes or pieces of airplanes and the responsibility of the authorities towards Iranians.The blogger writes with some irony:
Mr.Behi says these kinds of sanctions are killing Iranian passengers and the USA should find another kind of sanctions. He writes:
Even a person with no clue about aviation can tell by one look how old these planes are. US wants to keep sanctions on Iran? Fine! But is there anyone there to realize that sanction on selling passenger airplanes in killing Iranian people year by year?
SOS Messages to Kofi Annan
When we read some blogs we realize that there are other people who are in more danger than  Iranian passengers in airplanes: Mr Annan is in Iran for talks on strengthening the UN-sponsored truce which halted 34 days of conflict. This visit gave an opportunity to some Iranians to write Annan and asking his support for political prisoners.
We can read a letter by the wife of jailed student activist Ahmad Batebi,addressed to Kofi Annan in Sos-Batebi blog. She writes:
I have honor to want you as a high-ranking for human rights in the world for helping us, in your traveling to Iran to form a human rights committee to consider  my husband's situation and so all political prisoners that they have basic human rights and can live in freedom.
Ghomar Asheghane has written another letter to Annan [Fa]:
Say to them, all of prisoners are human and they have human rights. Say to them regarding their rights and do not overhearing our phone calls, do not stop our meetings, do not punish women in meetings. Say to them to let us have funeral ceremonies for our ones that passed away. Say to them let us to continue our education and pay attention to our social rights.


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Reunion: Ambroise Vollard in Slate.com · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Reunion-USA2 is excited about coverage of La Reunion celebrity Ambroise Vollard by Slate.com (Fr): “Ambroise Vollard was born in La Reunion in 1866. He is one of our celebrities. A museum took his name in St Denis. Slate features a photo report about him this week. (This patron of the arts was painted by many famous artists.)”


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Reunion: On Bisexuality · Global Voices
Alice Backer

About the topic of bisexuality, Resh4Ever  writes (Fr):”Today bisexuality is talked about as if it was still a taboo of Western society, but in 10 years I'm pretty sure that everyone will want to talk about their first bisexual experience.”


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Reunion: Urban Health · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blogger and public official for the town of Saint-Andre Eric Fruteau posts an interview regarding the proposal that Reunion join “Ville en Sante”,  a WHO urban health project. Stephanie Longeras, the interviewee, explained to the blogger that (Fr): “We want to foster the sanitary development of all of La Reunion's cities. La Reunion cannot stay outside of the Ville en Sante national and global network.” Although La Reunion is part of France, the interviewee explained that due to its geographic belonging to the Indian Ocean, it had to work with neighboring non-French islands who share similar health problems.


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Russia: Countering Media Stereotypes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog, in an attempt to provide “accurate and fair reporting and analysis—without fear or favor” – of Russia, comes up with a list of “10 Western Media Stereotypes About Russia” and offers alternative views on each item.


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Russia: LukOil in the U.S. · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russia Blog writes about LukOil gas stations in the United States.


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Russia: New Home for the UN? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

David McDuff of A Step At A Time suggests an alternative location for the UN: “It really is time that the United Nations were moved out of New York, and out of the United States. With the Soviet-like hate-speech of Ahmadinejad, and in the light – or rather darkness – of Venezuelan dictator Chavez’s performance today, the venue that suggests itself is Moscow, or Caracas.”


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Russia: Photos of Miners and Old Soviet Cars · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

English Russia reposts Alexander Schekmenev's photos from a miners’ village in Russia and the netwinds.ru's photos of old Soviet cars.


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Russia: Sakhalin Island · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert relocates to the Sakhalin Island and, among other things, writes about the local TV news there.


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Senegal: I Have an (Energy) Dream · Global Voices
Alice Backer

In the middle of a blackout, Senegal-based Chroniques de Ndoumbelane dreams up (Fr) all sorts of innovative ways to solve the country's energy crisis including government-provided solar panels and monthly electricity bills for investment in the country's solar power infrastructure rather than for consumed electricity.


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Telecoms a lucrative business in Nigeria · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Naija to the Core writes about telecommunication sector in Nigeria:
“About 6 years ago, the GSM craze was on and Nigeria was still developing and setting up the infrastructure to welcome GSM mobile telecommunication and everything that came with it. A lot of money was invested and a lot of money lost. All in all, telecoms is a very lucrative business in Nigeria.”


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Thailand: Pronouncing “Coup” · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Andrew Biggs, a long time Thailand resident and television personality recounts how the TV programming was shut down the night the coup occured. “There are still soldiers in and around the building today, but we are getting used to them now. Last night I taught one or two of them how to pronounce “coup” correctly.”


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Third Chilean City with free Wi Fi · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Molina is located in the Maule Región, in Curicó province.
The main square in Molina now has free Wi-Fi for the citizens. This is the third city in Chile with free Wi-Fi, The other two are Salamanca and Puerto Montt, as Plataforma Urbana (ES) explains in a post about the impact of the free network on the municipality:
Even this small city, with more or less a population of 30,000,  is strongly focusing on tourism, being visited by hundreds of foreign tourist every year that visit the attractive mountains and vineyards of the area. Probably the possibility of getting a free internet connection will be another factor that will promote tourism in the region.
El Maule [ES], a citizen’s participatory blog, write about this new development:
This initiative is very important because Maule has one of the lowest internet connectivity rates in the country. This initiative opens the doors to the world that is unexplored for teens and kids that now will have the chance to learn about other cultures and societies.
This initiative was part of a corporate social responsibility project of the telecom, Entel.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Trip to Sary Moghul · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Ben of neweurasia writes about his recent trip to one of Kyrgyzstan's most remote villages near the Pamirs.


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Uganda: young, talented artist · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

According to Madandcrazy, Pius Kyomukama is a young Ugandan artist you should watch.


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Venezuela: Blog Roundup · Global Voices
David Sasaki

A.M. Mora y Leon has a useful roundup of Venezuela's English-speaking blogosphere.


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Visiting Tblisi · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Onnik Krikorian has just come back from a visit to Tblisi/Georgia, where he – amongst other things – looked into the situation of the Yezidi minority.


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Week in Kazakhstan · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Adam Kesher rounds up last week's news from Kazakhstan. Topics include local elections, alarming new legislation, forced relocation in Almaty, and much more.


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Africa: African bloggers conference 2007 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Following the heated debate about the Digital Citizen Indaba on Blogging, Mental Acrobatics has a practical suggestion:
“So this is what i suggest. Clearly we have many African bloggers who have an opinion on what an African blogging conference should or should not have, should or should not do. We have many African bloggers who have an opinion on how an African blogging conference should be run. Well then, let us hear it.
I have set up a google email discussion group called “African Bloggers”. This email group has a simple task but it is a massive one. This group is created with the intention of working towards organizing a conference for African bloggers in 2007. Our discussions within this group will centre around (but may not limited to) sponsorship, dates, venues, facilities, speakers, agenda. This group is open to ANYONE who has a blog.”


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Africa: who is an African? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is there such a thing as White Africans? Alexcia joins the debate.


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Argentina: Legislatura de la Ciudad · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright continues his virtual tour of Buenos Aires with a look at the city's legislature.


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Argentina: Night of the Pencils, 1976 – 2006 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jeff Barry introduces the 30th anniversary of Argentina's Night of the Pencils, “another sad but notable event from the most recent dictatorship in Argentina.” This year's remembrance was remarked by a controversy over Wikipedia's entry on the historical event. Eduaro Arcos has more detail on that controversy [ES] (make sure to read to the bottom for the clarification).


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Bangladesh: Fishermen and their troubles · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Drishtipat Group Blog on the issues that the fisherfolk face in Bangladesh. “Without navigation knowledge and equipment, very frequently they find themselves in foreign water and a large number of Bangladeshi fishermen are now in jail in countries like India, Myanmar, Thailand etc.”


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Barbados: Road signs · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Photoblogger Barbados in Focus posted this image of a sign at a crossroads in rural Barbados. “No matter where in the world you are you still have the make a decision,” he writes. “It is so universal, a street sign.” As the image below indicates, however, some types of street signs can be quite location-specific.
Says Barbados in Focus: “These Bus Stop signs are all over the island. If you are lost just look and see if the bus stop indicates you are going out the city or heading to the city. Safe travel….“


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Blogs debate over Brazil’s latest electoral scandal · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

In the last days before the October 1 vote, the Brazilian electoral process was shaken again by the latest event in a string of scandals tainting the ruling Workers Party (PT). The PT has been accused of paying 1.7 million reals (790,000 dollars) for a smear campaign that attempted to implicate the candidates of the opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in the corruption scandal that has been under investigation by Congress. The handover of a dossier of the information was ultimately prevented by Federal Police.
As opinion polls show Lula winning in the first round with the necessary absolute majority of votes, the media are suggesting that the dossier was intended to help the PT candidate beat Sao Paulo state governor Jose Serra. But the plot seems to have backfired, giving further ammunition to those who blame the president for such corruption. Lula has firmly denied any involvement in the scheme and is demanding that the Federal Police go deep into the investigation. Since many aspects of the situation remain obscure, the case has drawn a fierce battle over different versions and narratives about the scandal within both the traditional media and the blogosphere. While Lula's supporters blame the media, his antagonists are celebrating the opportunity to revile the popular Brazilian president at a crucial moment.
A crise política detonada pelo envolvimento de petistas na compra de um dossiê contra José Serra está seguindo um roteiro óbvio, cumprido ao pé da letra pela maior parte da mídia, mas também há um outro roteiro, “alternativo”, que começou a ganhar espaço nesta quinta-feira (21). O primeiro roteiro tem como próxima cena a revelação sobre a origem dos R$ 1,7 milhões encontrados com os petistas em um hotel de São Paulo. A Polícia Federal já sabe quais foram as agências bancárias que liberaram o dinheiro, mas os nomes dos titulares das contas ainda permanecem sob sigilo. Dependendo dos resultados dessa investigação, outros petistas e membros do governo Lula podem ir para a berlinda… Mas há também um roteiro “alternativo” para a crise. “Alternativo” porque foi deixado de lado pela maior parte da mídia, mas que tem potencial suficientemente grande para causar estragos nas candidaturas do PSDB. A Polícia Federal, parte da imprensa e parlamentares da CPI dos Sanguessugas investigam as relações da família Vedoin com o tucano Barjas Negri, ex-ministro da Saúde na gestão de Fernando Henrique Cardoso, e ligado a José Serra.
Quem pagou pelo dossiê? – Partido de Oposição Permanente
A ministra-chefe da Casa Civil, Dilma Rousseff, costuma falar pouco. Sorte nossa. Dos ouvintes. Não faz tempo, Lula comparou-se ao próprio Cristo, num palanque macabro em que exercitou a transubstanciação a seu modo: disse que seu sangue e suas células estavam espalhados no povo. Ontem, em Nova York, onde participaria de uma reunião no Fed, Dilma comparou o PT, que tem 26 anos, à Igreja Católica, que tem quase 2 mil. Assim como esta teria errado e se corrigido, também o partido comete os seus deslizes. O petismo, como se vê, é uma religião. Acho que entendi o que ela quis dizer: quando não estava no governo, o partido era, assim, uma espécie de Tribunal do Santo Ofício, pronto para mandar para a fogueira todos os hereges que não comungavam de sua retidão teológica. Ao chegar ao governo, optou por ser um daqueles curas de Eça de Queirós. Até o pecado da simonia, a venda do perdão, o partido de Lula praticou.
O PT, a ética, a moral e os católicos – Reinaldo Azevedo
One interesting aspect that must be stressed is that the whole case was made public by the Federal Police, which is a government agency under the Ministry of Justice. Its effectiveness in unveiling crimes committed by PT members has been part of Lula's modus operandi of transparency, contrasting his government's stern posture toward its own misconducts with the actions of former presidents who would be quick to reach for damage control and cover up any situation that could menace their credibility.
“Não faz mais do que a obrigação”, dirão alguns com escárnio. Nesse país em que se faz tão menos que a obrigação, é admirável, sim, que a PF tenha tanta eficiência e discrição na condução de seus trabalhos de investigação, e presteza e independência na apresentação de resultados. A revelação, por parte de um órgão ligado ao governo do PT, da participação no crime por parte de no mínimo duas pessoas ligadas ao partido, neste momento crucial do processo eleitoral, é algo sem paralelo na história do Brasil. E, arrisco dizer, raro até em outros lugares do mundo. Ainda há esperança – palavra de que não gosto… – de que este país atinja um patamar mínimo de civilização, quem sabe, antes do fim do século 21.
Desgosto, orgulho, desgosto – Desabafo Brasil
The insistence of the media in considering the dossier scandal as an opportunity for invalidating Lula's run to reelection has generated strong rebuttal from the blogosphere. Many recently published articles are suggesting similarities between the present situation and Nixon's Watergate scandal. Bloggers respond.
O Estadão a cada dia, nos seus títulos, mostra o seu posicionamento. Hoje, dois deles chama a atenção: “Dossiê Vedoin provoca crise entre Poderes e contamina economia” e “Nixon ganhou eleição, mas caiu”. No primeiro caso, houve uma tentativa de atacar duas coisas fundamentais, a estabilidade institucional e a economia – esta, aliás, um dos grandes sucessos do governo Lula. O segundo é mais explícito, pois, ao lembrar o caso Watergate, estão investindo em uma linha auxiliar para o golpe.
Pesquisas mostram que o povo está com Lula – Blog do Zé Dirceu
Em todo o imbróglio, a imprensa simplesmente abandonou a denúncia sobre a máfia dos sanguessugas e tratou o caso da compra de um dossiê como se fosse o estupro de uma criança de 4 anos. Onde está o crime, não visto até agora por ninguém exceto pelos mesmos de sempre? Os exemplos do papel lamentável da imprensa são legião, mas assistam esse vídeo da entrevista da TV UOL com o Presidente do TSE, Marco Aurélio Mello. A primeira pergunta do repórter já deixa claras as intenções: o que precisa acontecer para que a candidatura de Lula seja impugnada? A pergunta é tão vergonhosa e tendeciosa que o próprio repórter engasgou e sentiu a necessidade de inserir um “ou não” depois do subjuntivo do verbo “ser.”
Contra o golpismo, desta vez com ponderação – O Biscoito Fino e a Massa
Enquanto os dois lados do cabo-de-guerra-eleitoral disputam se o mais grave é a compra de documentos de acusação ou a acusação em si, a Fundação Getúlio Vargas publicou um outro dossiê. Este aponta uma queda significativa da pobreza no Brasil de 2003 para cá. A imprensa brasileira não publicou nada (ou quase), pois faz turbilhão só com o que lhe interessa…
Dossiês, dossiês: A queda da pobreza não atinge a mídia – Vírgula-Imagem
Even PT supporters are ready to admit that the political situation in Brazil has reached an unbearable point. The inflamed debate in the election campaign is intensifying the antagonism between factions, and by now it seems difficult to imagine how the parties will manage to promote the needed political dialogue after elections. It seems clear also that interests particularly related to the contest for state governor in Sao Paulo — the richest state — are being radiated to the rest of the country.
Dias atrás, falei da minha decepção em relação ao PT. Surgia, até 2002, como partido de verdade e no poder mostrou-se igual a todos os demais. Assistimos, agora, a esse novo caso relacionado com um certo dossiê cuja autenticidade quem sabe esteja além da dúvida. À decepção causada por comportamentos inadequados para uma agremiação política séria, compenetrada do seu papel e autenticamente envolvida com os interesses do país, junta-se a percepção de uma incompetência clamorosa por parte de segundos escalões, e talvez primeiros. É possível que nem mesmo esse novo caso altere o resultado final da eleição. Ainda assim, aqueles que urdiram esse lamentável enredo exibem uma falta de tino político de todos os pontos de vista assustadora. A eleição de Lula estava garantida, e provavelmente ainda está. Mas por que correr o risco de comprometê-la? Por que oferecer tanta munição ao tucanato e aos seus aliados? Por que beneficiar a mídia com um prato tão cheio?
A decepção e a incompetência – Blog do Mino
Tucanos ou petistas, não importa. Estamos no meio de uma guerra paulista. PT e PSDB são partidos paulistas, dedicados a uma guerra assassina, movidos por motivos paulistas e tentando exportar esta guerra para todo o país… Consumidos num fogo interno, petistas e tucanos, paulistas, devotados a assuntos paulistas, destruindo-se mutuamente, exportam para todo o país esta guerra paulista. O restante do Brasil não compreende direito, não aceita ser um simples espectador desta guerra paulista. Embora esteja pagando a conta.
Ecos de uma guerra paulista (por Lucia Hippolito) – Blog do Noblat
São tantos “cumpanheiros” com a cabeça decepada, membros amputados de um corpo disforme, que nunca como agora a palavra “partido” teve tanto significado. Só que as células que sobreviveram à infecção generalizada que tomou conta do PT, ao invés de se unirem para providenciar a cura com urgência, preferem disparar xingamentos à esmo contra a mídia e os adversários (aliás, ambos não modelos de sanidade nem de santidade, registre-se). A dose da anestesia geral chega a um nível alarmante. Do tamanho da popularidade do sorriso botox do presidente.
ANESTESIA GERAL – Blog do TAS
O episódio do dossiê Vedoin mostra, claramente, um PT em pedaços. As demissões dos presidentes da campanha de Lula à presidência, de Aloizio Mercadante ao governo São Paulo, é clara evidência do racha.Do lado do PSDB o quadro não é melhor. Há um conjunto de tucanos, liderados por Fernando Henrique Cardoso, que só conseguirá sobreviver em ambiente de guerra. Uma outra ala, liderada por Aécio Neves –e que certamente contará com o apoio de Geraldo Alckmin após as eleições—aposta em uma disputa política civilizada. O terceiro grande nome do partido, José Serra, ainda está quieto, sem definir publicamente qual será sua posição. Neste momento, está propenso à guerra. Baixada a temperatura das eleições, poderá repensar sua estratégia. Tem-se, portanto, em crise os dois principais partidos políticos brasileiros formados na redemocratização. O PT perdeu-se nessa estratégia guerrilheira aloucada; o PSDB, nessa ceia de cardeais definindo, sem consulta alguma, os candidatos do partido. Vinte e um anos após o início efetivo da democracia civil, o país não conseguiu consolidar um sistema partidário digno do nome. Daí a relevância da reforma política, assim que começar o próximo governo, seja quem for o vencedor.
Sem partidos – Luis Nassif

author: Jose Murilo


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Bolivia: Patrimony and Common Good · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Nick Buxton reflects on the meaning of “patrimony” and “common good” in his introduction to Bolivian anti-globalization social movement leader Oscar Olivera.


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Brazil: Lula’s Speech to the UN · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bloggings by Boz says that Brazilian President Lula da Silva's speech to the UN General Assembly is not to be missed.


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China: 2nd Chinese blogger conference · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The 2nd Chinese blogger conference is going to take place on October 28-29 in Hanzhou, China. The latest schedule, speakers and sessions is now online; here is the details about “How to become a Web Support/Sticker Sponsor”.


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China: How much are Chinese professors paid? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shang Peijin in Shanghaiist summaries a discussion on Chinese BBS concerning how much are Chinese professors paid? The range is from US$500 to US$10,000 per month.


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China: listen to the movie producer · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The latest movie “The City of Golden Armor” directed by Zhang Yi-Mou was released on September 20, but reporters had not been invited to the movie preview. Buchimifan in Bullog quotes the movie producer Mr Zhang Wei Ping's advice to the reporters: “if you criticise our movies, we won't let you join the preview shows; if you listen to me, then I will let you watch the shows.”(zh)


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Colombia: An Optimistic Look at the ELN Talks · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Adam Isacson posts a translation by Mariam Khokhar of Moritz Akerman's article from El Colombiano which takes a look at progress made in the negotiations with the ELN.


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East Africa: Swahili text-to-speech software released · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

My Africa informs us about a new Swahili text-to-speech software released by the Local Language Speech Technology Initiative (LLSTI).


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Ghana: International Media Summit · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen…of Ghana attended the Africa's International Media Summit 2006, in Accra, Ghana.


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Hungary: “Budapest ’06 vs. ’56” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Amid the continuing protests in Budapest, Pestiside.hu is trying to help foreign reporters covering the situation: “So as a public service to these naive hacks and their even more clueless editors back home, below is a handy guide to the similarities and differences between '56 and '06.”


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India: Issues and Fatwas · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

On what issues are the Muslim Clerics in India issuing fatwas? “However, A TV channel, with the help of sting operations, has shown that some of the Muslim clerics were taking money and issuing fatwas on any matter what the reporters were asking.”


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India: Youth and rebellion · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Youth and rebellion. The Delhicate Constitution on why youth and children are the way they are. “I'm simply saying that being rebellious and anti-establishment in this case is not merely a fashion statement. It might be for some, but for the most part it is because it is inevitable. This generation has no choice.”


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Iran:Deep Dish Score Music for Anousheh Ansari · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Community Weblog of Persian Students in the UK we read that Grammy Award-winning production and Iranian-American DJ duo Deep Dish today announced the recording of ‘Be the Change’, an eclectic musical work dedicated to Anousheh Ansari's historic Space flight as she became the world's first female private space traveler.


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Kurdistance · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

First up on this week's edition of Kurdistance, there has been a fantastic conversation about the Kurdish Question on the Washington Post's PostGlobal feature. The conversation has been very active for several weeks now, I would recommend reading it and joining in!
Save Roj TV, whose courgeous work we have discussed on this weekly before, are beginning a new letter campaign
the “Save ROJ TV” action urges you to participate in its letter campaign to neutralise the Turkish state global conspiracy against Kurdish culture and heritage.
For more information and to participate check with their website.
While reporting about a recent bomb attack in Diyarbakir, Southeast Turkey, Vladimir who writes for From Holland to Kurdistan, had an interesting run-in with a Turkish blogger (Me and Others) about the issue of Kurdish violence in Turkey. It is an interesting read, specially the comments.
Free Kurdistan discusses issues of assimilation of Arabs moving to Kurdistan:
arabs refugees are flocking to kurdistan. they dont speak kurdish and they're mostly clueless of the culture and history. naturally they demand their children to go to school. schools need money to operate. children from all walks of life deserve the best education money can buy but this is never the case. resources, being limited like they are, can provide only so much. should these new student continue to learn in their native tongue? is it wrong to require that they assimlate?
no. as an immigrant, I moved here so that I could live the american dream. this meant adopting to different culture and customs . no matter how confusing and difficult the process may have been i had to make it if i wanted to survive. the same concept should apply to arab refugees coming to Kurdistan. if they want to join in on our prosperity and escape the hell that is iraq, they have to undergo the same process. if that means their children must learning the local language and culture, than so be it. in the end it shouldn't be too difficult since we have in common.
Hiwa comments on the recent reports of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) collaborating with Israel:
For me it is absolutely normal for KRG to work with any government but my main concern is we havent had much luck in playing international politics and these sort of things could damage KRG's chances for reasons which is another concern of mine! Not because of the fact that Aljazeera or Iraqi factions could pick on it as they all have powerful and strong OBVIOUS allies!
The other concern of mine is, paying 150M of KRG's income to a couple of companies like those, did KRG do enough bargain before asking these two companies to do some personnel training? I know nothing about military prices and contracts but what I know and I am sure is 150M could be used to build another airport so why the hell spending it on the current one to keep it safe?!
Rasti's comment on the same news story was…a little different:
Rastî has just obtained stunning evidence that proves, without doubt, that the highly respected journalists at the BBC have figured out how to use the Google search engine.
Wednesday evening it was revealed by the BBC that they had finally obtained proficiency in operating the world's premier search engine, Google, and created a sensation by revealing news from December, 2005. While it wasn't clear whether BBC executives were aware that the Guardian had reported the same news last December, insiders seem to hint that cub reporter and ace analyst, Magdi Abdelhadi, who broke the story on this nine-month-old news, has become one of the BBC's rising journalistic stars.
Rasti also has all of the low-down, complete with timelines, on the recent bombing in Diyarbakir (Amed), Southeastern Turkey/Northern Kurdistan.
The Waiting Place returns after a long hiatus to report about a recent interview of her son-in-law about the experiences of his childhood where his village was destroyed by Saddam Hussein's Anfal campaign.
Kurdish Aspect writes about a flag controversey in Iraq and directs some questions at the current judge in charge of the trial of Saddam Hussein:
Last week’s comments by Judge Abdullah al-Amiri in court telling Saddam “You are not a dictator” is a disgrace to the position he was sworn to uphold. The prejudice statement alone should immediately disqualify him from his position.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Notes on Montenegro and Transnistria · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In his yesterday's Balkans Blog Roundup, Ljubisa Bojic quoted this passage on Montenegro by a Serbian blogger:
[…] I know how things operate down there. Its also a privatised state – I wonder how long it will be before the Europeans become intolerant of all those Russian businessmen who own hotels and casino's on the coast. EU membership doesnt come for free.
According to a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, “worries about Russian investors are the talk in many Montenegrin cafes and bars”: “[…] Russian Federation investors are sixth, after central European countries and Britain, with 2.7 percent of investments here over the past four years.”
One Russian blogger – Sergei, LJ user dromo, 27, a native of Moscow – now lives in a coastal town of Budva, Montenegro, selling real estate. Here's how he ended up there (RUS):
Before [moving to Montenegro], for eight years I worked in big companies like Beeline, R-Style, IBS. But at some point I got tired of being a [tiny part] in a huge mechanism, and I happened to know a little bit of Serbian by that time. And so, totally accidentally, I've found myself here, in Montenegro, and I'm rather happy about it.
Below is the translation of some of his notes (RUS) on life and real estate business in the newest European state (population: 630,548):
July 27, 2006: My [local] colleagues at the agency keep wondering why Russians love [property with] sea view so much – haven't they seen the sea in their lives, what's there to see? And the really smart and rich ones don't want to live right by the water – they buy houses in the mountains, from which you get a 180-degree view of the sea, and they drive to the beach. Nobility nests being built on the slopes of the Montenegrin mountains – a pleasure to look at. And they say that with every 100 meters above the sea, the temperature goes down one degree. At the 500-meter altitude, it could be, say, not 30, but the cool 25 degrees [Celcius]. Food for thought.
August 13, 2006: Went to Montenegro on business. […] It's like, you know, traveling from Moscow to Russia. I was in the town of Mojkovac, deep inside the country, some 200 kilometers from the coast. What a strange feeling, to be making your way through the clouds not on a plane, but by car. To be driving through [dark clouds] – and suddenly to see that a couple kilometers away, at another slope, [it is sunny]. When you live in a big city, you tell yourself that the sun is somewhere out there, behind the clouds. Here people live together with the clouds, and someone always has the sun, and you can even see it, over there, right across the canyon. This isn't the first time I catch myself thinking in Photoshop associations – we are used to knowing that all that's beautiful around us is artificial, and the idea that the bright colors can exist without Photoshop seems wild. But, just imagine it, it does happen in real life.
The locals like to joke that if you take Montenegro and iron it out – you'll have Europe. Thank god, tefal hasn't had time to get to this country yet.
August 18, 2006: One of my colleagues, named Dragan […], speaks Russian pretty well. When I asked him where he learned the language, he answered with a sly smile: in Bosnia, I was there in the mid-90s, on a “tourist trip.” Russian volunteers [soldiers] taught our [Dragan] Russian during the Bosnian war. I should check how well he can curse.
August 31, 2006: In the village of Blizikuci, not far from St. Stefan, a new asphalt has been laid [on the road]. They placed a sign nearby: Cuvamo put, hvala ruskim komsijama – “The road has been taken care of – thanks to the Russian neighbors.” :) And on TV recently, deputy minister of economics said that a draft law is being prepared for foreigners to be able to only rent the land, not buy it.
September 6, 2006: Montenegro Airlines – Fly Our Two Planes!
September 11, 2006: I've heard the sound of Albanian for the first time in my life. I've understood why the Russian accent in Serbian resembles the Albanian one. I've understood that it's necessary to study Albanian. Got reminded that [Shqiptar], the name Albanians call themselves, is translated from Albanian as something like “the sons of the eagles.” I was wearing a t-shirt with “Srbija” written on it. I survived.
September 18, 2006: We've started a rather painful divorce from our local partners – so painful that I worry about my personal safety. It's all serious, you know – remember what happened to [Paul Tatum] in Moscow in the [wild] 90s? […]
The reason for divorce was a series of systematic failures to process our clients’ paperwork properly and, to put it mildly, a strange price policy. Of course, they aren't excited about the fact that we'll start working with others and directly. […]
Meanwhile, I've become the director of the Montenegrin firm, have rented an office and soon I'll be buying furniture for it. The office is in a very decent place and, if all goes well, we'll become the best agency in Montenegro.
September 22, 2006: We rode on the Adriatic highway […] today – and passed a group of artillery [vehicles] with VJ – Vojska Jugoslavije [Yugoslav Army] on their [license plates] […]. My Montenegrin colleagues started honking to them and greeting them with “three fingers.” It's scary to think what was happening here when the army was on its way to fight, not just moving cannons from one place to another. Patriots.
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Ukrainian blogger Dmytro Hubenko – LJ user dmytro, 26, Kyiv – ruminates on the degrees and expressions of patriotism, too (UKR):
What is easier/harder for you to take: a Russian-language book published by a Ukrainian entrepreneur in Ukraine – or a Ukrainian-language book published by a foreign investor (perhaps, even in another country)? Let's assume that the quality […] of both books is more or less the same. In other words, which aspect of patriotism is closer to you – cultural or economic? (I, no doubt, prefer cultural [patriotism].)
A few days ago, dmytro returned from Transnistria, “the unrecognized state [that] has been de facto independent from [Moldova] since September 2, 1990.”
Unlike Montenegro, whose people have recently voted for and gained independence from Serbia, Transnistria's ultimate goal isn't just independence from Moldova, but a union with the Russian Federation. In the two-question referendum this past Sunday, 97.1 percent of voters voted in favor of the region's 16-year-old independence course and the eventual union with Russia (2.3 percent oppose this) and 94.6 percent voted against a union with Moldova (3.4 percent support it). Nearly 79 percent of Transnistria's 390,000 registered voters took part in the referendum; the region's overall population is 547,500 people.
LJ user dmytro has posted photos and comments (UKR) from his trip to Transnistria (to view the photos, please visit the original entry):
[photo]
[Tiraspol] – the former capital of [Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic] (an autonomy [that used to be] part of the [Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]). Just 100 kilometers from [Odesa]…
[photo]
Anti-Moldovan campaign ads with the slogan “There is no place for alien words in our country” – on the photo, the Russian words “bread” and “bun” are transliterated in the Latin script. A retrospective to 1990, when the first push toward [breaking away from Moldova] was latinization of the [Moldovan language]. By the way, there was no campaigning whatsoever “against” independence and joining Russia.
[…]
[photo]
This is [Bendery]. A monument to those who died fighting against Moldovans in 1992 [some 1,500 people].
[photo]
The old Bendery fortress located inside a military base. We were not allowed to visit it […]. Too bad. I think that because of paranoically keeping itself closed, [Transnistria] loses lots of tourists – and not just the political ones.
[photo]
Transnistria is sadly known for being trilingual – unfortunately, [the three languages – Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian] are visible only on the government and road signs. In reality, the official language of [Transnistria] is Russian only.
To my mind, [Transnistria] is integrated with at least three states. With Russia – politically […]. With Ukraine – economically, on the level of medium-size business (in supermarkets […], there are mainly Ukrainian-made goods). And with Moldova – through transportation (mini-buses run every 20 minutes from Tiraspol to [Chisinau], while it's very difficult to get to Odesa). […]


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Pana-Blogs Report · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: From Panama FAQ: Panama's Tap Water – The Best in the World?
This might surprise people coming from the US and Europe as I often see them logging bags full of bottled water back to their hotels. But the drinking water in Panama is not only safe to drink, but it is also the best tasting water I have ever tried.
Now back in Panamá after nearly 2 years in Denmark I am really crazy for the water. It is so refreshing that you will sometimes here the expression the Champagne of the Chagrés. Read the complete post!
#2: From Private Sector Development Blog "The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal"
Noel Maurer and Carlos Yu have a new working paper on: What Roosevelt Took: The Economic Impact of the Panama Canal, 1903-29. Unsurprisingly, they argue that the United States, not Panama, benefited the most from the canal’s construction. (Didn’t everyone know this going in?) They then draw a warning for other developing countries:
Panama’s experience with the Canal, therefore, holds warnings for modern underdeveloped countries that seek to rapidly develop through the construction of large infrastructure projects, be they pipelines (as in Central Asia and Africa) or “land bridges” (as in Central America). The spillovers from such projects may prove disappointing. Continue reading…
#3: El Blog de Hoja de Bijao is a recently founded project which compiles all things cultural happening in Panama. From Art Exhibits to writer's workshops, and great photography of Panama City. Head over there and find out what's going on…
#4: Al Aire Libre (ES) plans the ultimate adventure: El Camino Real! If traveling from the Panama-Costa Rica border to the Panama-Colombia border without using the "Panamerican Highway" sounds exiting, keep reading and get the details of this adventurous project.
La ídea es usar los senderos existentes que unen las comunidades del interior de nuestro país (Panamá) para crear una ruta que nos permita caminar desde la ciudad de Panamá hasta la ciudad de David sin usar la Vía Interamericana.
La ruta ya existe, solo tenemos que encontrarla, caminarla y marcarla. El plan: ir uniendo los puntos en el mapa. Vamos a hacer un calendario con fechas para planear por adelantado los fines de semana que usaremos para probar cada uno de los tramos que van a ir uniendo las poblaciones que forman los puntos en el mapa. Una de las mejores herramientas que tenemos hoy día, además de los mapas, es Google Earth. En la imágen de este post hay una vista satelital de un sendero al noroeste de Santiago, en Veraguas. Este sendero se puede seguir por kilómetros con Google Earth. Luego solamente hay que buscarlo en el mapa, ir a caminarlo, y marcarlo.
The idea is to use the existant trails that connect the communities in the Panamanian countryside, in order to create a route that allow us to walk from Panama City to the city of David in the Chiriqui province without using the Panamerican Highway.
This route already exists, we just have to find it, walk it and mark it. The plan: find the landmarks and trace them in the map. We will prepare a schedule with dates to plan in advance to visit different parts and towns which are part of the trail each weekend. In nowadays, in addition to the maps, we find great help by using Google Earth. In the image that accompanies this post we can appreciate a satellite view of the trail at the north-west side of Santiago, Veraguas. The trail could be traced continuously many kilometers using Google Earth. Now we just have to find it in the map, walk it and mark it.
#5: From Rob-Rivera.com, R.I.P. for Noriegaville :
This will have more than one politician doing cartwheels on the marble floor of the 3-story condo we payed for with our tax payer dollars, but check out our blogosphere’s econo-savvy representative from the democratic republic of Denmark and you’ll read news of political site Noriegaville.com calling it quits. If you don’t know Noriegaville, then this was it in a nutshell: real news. If you visit the site’s catalogue you’ll notice vigilantilism of all things politics in Panama, and how people of power take advantage of those without leverage. It was great stuff to read, always spearheaded by one Okke Ornstein. He’s kind of like Columbo, but Dutch. The reason why I’m writing this entry (other than to give the man his props) is because Okke’s reasons for departure are quite clear in the site’s last editorial:
Panama, as said, is a developingdemocracy and that applies to potential advertisers as well. They’re still afraid of controversy and debate or anything that others call “fresh air” and “outside the box.” So, no advertisers really dared venture on Noriegaville’s pages, and that has in its turn prevented further development of the site…
#6: From Heidibella in the Tropics, a delicious recipe to prepare "Macaroons"
Want gooey and sweet? Coconut macaroons are sure to sooth the craving. These cookies are way too easy for how good they are. They look fancy enough to serve at a cocktail party, and they're fun enough to have as dessert after casual barbecue. Try them! If you're a coconut-nut, you'll love them. Get the recipe now!
See you next week…

author: Melissa De León


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Russia: A Road From Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

English Russia posts pictures of the Russian Federal Highway “Moscow-Yakutsk”: “Everytime it rains the road gets paralized, these shots are made a few days before the traffic jam for 600 cars got stuck there. Hunger and lack of the fuel followed, according to the witnesses. One woman gave a born to a child right in the public bus she was riding.”


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Russia: “Don’t Try This At Home” Recipes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude shares some literary and real-life “Don't Try This At Home” cocktail recipes from Russia.


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Russia: “Racism and Human Nature” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog writes about “racism and human nature” in Russia: “Xenophobia is even necessary, as is the immune system.”


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Serbia: Belgrade Taxis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade Blog writes about the city's taxis: “Its a sad fact (or happy depending on your perspective) that educated taxi drivers are increasing in numbers.”


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Serbia: The Military and Internet Domain Issues · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dictionary of the Serbian Mess writes about Serbian military and domain issues.


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Sri Lanka: Muslim Concerns · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Moju on the current conflict in Sri Lanka and the concerns of the Muslim Community. “In August 2006 the Muslim community of Mutur found itself at the centre of the ‘undeclared war’ that is still continuing and as a result, faced multiple humanitarian and human rights violations.”


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Sri Lanka: Pro-LTTE in London · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Tamil Sri Lankan community in London is being pressurized to join demonstrations on UN Peace Day. “What is enlightening is the LTTE organisers are using events like these to get people to come by feeding them with false hopes.”


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Sudan: no solution for Darfur · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

EthnicLoft is pessimistic about the situation in Darfur, “There is profound displeasure over the crisis; claims by some that the West hasn’t done enough; some have labeled the crisis an Arab-African conflict; some have questioned the indifference of the Northern African and Middle Eastern nations over the killings and humanitarian crisis; and many have called for more actions from the blogosphere and general citizens.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ukraine: New Head of Presidential Secretariat · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about the new head of Victor Yushchenko's Presidential Secretariat, a 43-year-old Victor Baloha, a former mayor of Mukachevo, a man of “decidedly ‘mixed’ [political] background.”
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Venezuela: Elections and Education · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Katy takes a photographic look at Hugo Chavez's reelection campaign while Oil Wars offers a photographic tour of new schools throughout the country.


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Africa: 1st Carnival of African Women · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mshairi announces the 1st Carnival of African Women, which will be held in cyberspace on Monday October 9th, 2006: “To participate in the premier Carnival, we are asking contributors to write a piece on Blogging and Identity and publish it on their blogs. Please feel free to interpret the topic as broadly as you wish – long, short, a poem, a piece of prose or photos.”