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Namibia: The role of new media in 2009 elections · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Namibia's presidential and national assembly elections took place on 27–28 November 2009. Fourteen political parties participated in the elections. The ruling party, the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) is expected to win.  Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) is SWAPO's main challenger.
Political parties and non-governmental organisations used a number of social media tools to campaign, monitor and report on Namibia Elections 2009.
The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) used Ushahidi to monitor the elections. Ushahidi, which means testimony in Kiswahili, was a tool created in the aftermath of disputed Kenya's elections in 2007. Ushahidi collected eyewitness reports of violence placed them on a map.
NSHR used Ushahidi to collect reports about fraud, undue influence, intimidation, violence, etc. Reports were sent in three ways: SMS, email and filling a form on the website.
Pre-election violence reported on Ushahidi:
Last Friday evening between 20hoo and 21hoo in Eveline Street in the Goreangab suburb of Windhoek, fighting started between a group of 15 Swapo party and 7 RDP supporters after the former singing ‘We are Nujoma's soldiers’ removed a RDP poster from a municipal light pole. Members of the Wanaheda Police precinct rapidly intervened and no further incident occured that evening.
The African Elections Project uses new media to monitor and report on elections in African countries. The project set up a Namibia page, a blog and Twitter page to keep track of elections news and results.
From African Elections Twitter page:
This is day 3 of verification process, The Electoral Commission has received 40% of results and 30% have been verified #namibiaelections2009
about 12 hours ago   from web
Retweeted by 1 person
Elections results on its blog:
Below are confirmed results of Namibia Elections 2009 (Presidential and National Assembly) from different constituncies:
Confirmed constituency result for Tsumeb, in Oshikoto:
Beukes
9
Garoeb
352
Goagose
9
Hamutenya
1131
….
Election Watch is a project of the Institute for Public Policy Research. Election Watch has a blog of live election results.
Claims of irregularities:
The RDP and several other opposition parties held a press conference on Saturday afternoon alleging a string of irregularities including indelible ink that didn't work, ballot papers that did not have the official stamp, and the ever-changing voters register (of which there is a new version with yet another figure for the number of registered voters).
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) also used social networks such as Facebook to allow people from all over the world to express their views and opinions about Namibian elections.
The ruling party, SWAPO, has a channel on YouTube, a blog and an SMS service, which will enables members to keep in touch with the party. The number for the SMS line is 79276.
The opposition DTA of Namibia has a Youtube channel and a page of Facebook.
The main opposition party, RDP, is also on YouTube
Social media has not become popular in Namibia as in other African countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania. We will keep our eyes on Namibia to see the future of social media in the country.


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Peru: Students Complain After Charge on Raffle Tickets · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Engineering students from the Señor de Sipán University at Perú made a quick profit analysis of a raffle organized by the institution [es] after a ticket charge on their college monthly payments without prior notice.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Issa Villarreal


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Romania: Presidential Election, Round One · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Posts on the first round of the presidential election in Romania last month: Csíkszereda Musings – here, here, and here; and Power&Politics World – here.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Internet Providers Block Separatist Web site · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russian Internet providers blocked the Cavkaz-center [ENG], the Web site famous for its support of Caucasus separatists and extremists, LJ-user nl reports [RUS].

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: USSR-Nostalgie Internet-TV Portal Launched · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Internet-TV channel CCCR-TV.ru with archival Soviet TV footage launched on November 27. The site contains videos from 1952 till 1989. Is it another sign of Russian nostalgia for the USSR or just a new way to access cultural heritage?


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Serbia: More on the Late Patriarch Pavle · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on the life of the late Serbian Patriarch Pavle: Again & Again; Anegdote; Belgraded – here and here.


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Trinidad & Tobago: If Only… · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In the third installment of her video series If I were Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Gab Hosein “takes on both the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and the Copenhagen talks on Climate Change.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Writing on the Wall · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad's Pleasure blog links to a video of local graffiti artist, Manf.


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Uganda: Discussing the “terrible” bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gay Ugandan discusses Uganda's anti-gay bill: “So, if I get this terrible bill and present it to Rick Warren, and he then goes ahead to wash his hands of the bills author without any other action, I am disappointed. Of course, my disappointment is kind of a compliment. I realise that I do not have any ability to stop this bill. And I realise that Mr. Warren does.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Uganda: How to stop anti-gay bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Rebekah discusses anti-gay bill in Uganda: “I’ve been keeping shamefully silent on Ugandan MP David Bahati’s proposed anti-homosexuality bill, which would not only provide harsher penalties for gay and lesbian sex but would also criminalize blogging about homosexuality…”


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Ukraine: Charity · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Stories of some Ukrainian street children who have received assistance at ChildRescue's rehabilitation center – at Scenes from the Sidewalk. Stories of some adults who have received humanitarian aid from Hope Center – at Matty's Place.


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Ukraine: Road Safety · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Ukraine's “awful” road safety statistics.


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Ukraine: “We Remember” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana, Kyiv Scoop, and LJ user igordaily (UKR) write and post photos and video from this year's commemoration of Holodomor, the famine of 1932-33; Nash Holos writes about the National Holodomor Awareness Week in Canada. Natalia Antonova reflects on a recent visit to Babi Yar.


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World AIDS Day: Fighting Discrimination Around the World · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Millions around the world came together on Tuesday to show support for those living with HIV/AIDS.  Online, in blogs and in forums, many assessed the progress made and the distance left to travel  in the fight against discrimination and the spread of the disease.  Here's a collection of text, images and video from those writing and speaking in French.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Arkangel88 on Congoforums.net:
C'est dommage de constater qu'aujourd'hui encore, pour bien des gens, le SIDA semblerait toujours être le Syndrome Imaginaire pour Décourage les Amoureux. Les gens ne prennent toujours pas assez des précautions vis-à-vis de ce fléau.
Tunisia
Tunisian blogger zizou from Djerba, writing from South Africa, where the government has just announced a plan to expand treatment to all HIV-positive babies, talks about the discrimination the HIV-positive face back in his country:
Je suis encore en Afrique du sud. ici, une personne sur deux est infecte par le virus du sida. En Tunisie, l'infection est minime ( moins 0.01% de la population), le traitement gratuit est disponible et pourtant j'ai l'impression que nos seropositifs souffrent plus que ceux qui vivent en Afrique du Sud. Ils souffrent du rejet de leurs familles et de la societe. Ils se retrouvent souvent au chomage et sans aucun soutien… et pourtant! Le sida n'est pas la grippe. Il ne se propage que par la voie sexuelle (et encore! ce n'est pas a tous les coups). Donc chers compatriotes, en cette journee mondiale de lutte contre le sida. Ayez une pensee pour ces gens qui souffrent et surtout reflechissez a ce qu'il faut faire pour stopper l'isolement et la stigmatisation de ces malades.
Tekiano.com writes about Silence, a documentary by Tunisian filmmakers Karim Souaki, which will compete in an upcoming film festival in Marseille, France:
Le film brise le «Silence» pesant sur la société tunisienne au sujet du sida, à travers le portrait de «Jimmy», un tunisien porteur du VIH. Ce documentaire évoque la perception du sida dans notre société. Le regard du réalisateur y croise celui de quelques personnes vivant avec le VIH.
Haiti
The fight against discrimination was also evident in the Haitian town of Jacmel, where hundreds of gays and lesbians took to the streets.  On PawallaPale.com:
Ils ont à leur tête un ancien pasteur américain…qui a mis sur pied une organisation dont le but est d’aider les homosexuels (hommes et femmes) à vivre positivement tout en étant séropositifs.
Ils demandent également aux milliers d’homosexuels haïtiens de cesser toute hypocrisie. En d’autres termes, qu’ils finissent par s’afficher en tant que tel.
Guadeloupe & Martinique
And finally, in the French Antilles, discrimination was similarly at the center of many of the discussions and public awareness efforts.
Bebel971 , a blog of the UNESCO middle school, Bébel, in Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe writes:
Vingt ans de lutte… Mais guère d’amélioration. En cette Journée mondiale de lutte contre le sida, l’heure est au bilan. La Guadeloupe demeure, cette année encore, la deuxième région de France la plus touchée par l’épidémie, avec un taux de prévalence 4 fois supérieure à celle de la Métropole.
La stigmatisation est forte en Guadeloupe. Il y a des tabous et les gens ne se font pas dépister, même s’ils désirent le faire car les attitudes discriminatoires et le rejet par la famille sont fréquents.
En terme de dépistage, la haute autorité de santé, souhaite lancer une nouvelle stratégie : le proposer à toute personne de plus de 15 ans qui vient dans un centre de santé, qu’il y ait eu risque ou non. « Si 70% des personnes séropositives étaient dépistées, elles prendraient plus de précaution et moins de risque pour leur santé, souligne docteur Marie-Thérèse Georger-Sow, présidente du Corevih (coordination régionale de lutte contre l’infection due au virus de l’immunodéficience humaine).
Twenty years of fighting…But hardly any improvement.  In this World AIDS Day, it's time to take stock.  Guadeloupe remains again this year the second region of France most affected by the epidemic, with an infection rate four times higher than that of the metropole.
Discrimination is strong in Guadeloupe.  There are taboos and people don't get tested, even if they want to, because discriminatory attitudes and the rejection by family are frequent.
In terms of testing, the health authorities want to launch a new strategy: they are proposing that everyone over 15 years of age come to a health center, whether or not they are at risk.  “If 70% of those who are HIV-positive were tested, they would be able to take more precautions and less risk for their health,” explained Dr. Marie-Thérèse Georger-Sow, president of Corevih (regional coordiation of the fight against HIV).
In an effort to fight the attitudes that help support this high infection rate, a new TV spot airing in Guadeloupe and Martinique calls for solidarity with those infected with HIV (via la discrimination dans la publicité):
In Martinique, madinina972bis on DOMActu.com writes:
C'est a ne rien comprendre ,malgré tous ces appels et ces mises en garde il y ai autant de personne atteint de cette maladie.On parle et on parle et personne n'écoute…

author: Jennifer Brea


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Zimbabwe: An account of harrassment and intimidation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An account of harrassment and intimidation of farmers in Zimbabwe: 2.30PM: Felix Pambukani and about 15 to 20 other men arrived at my house gate demanding to know from me why I was still on the farm and why was I planting tobacco and what was I doing?””


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Bangladesh, India: Arrest OF ULFA Chairman · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Open Source Intelligence Monitors blog analyzes the story behind the arrest of the chairman of an Indian separatist movement – United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) from Bangladesh territory.

author: Rezwan


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Bangladesh: The Rising Voices of Women in a Drowning Country  · Global Voices
Belen Bogado

Even in the most extreme circumstances when survival is at stake, Bangladeshi women stand out for their capacity to unite and together overcome climate change’s effects on their lives.
Sufia holds her child while she brings to memory the most painful day of her life, the day she lost her son. Her home was being flooded with water and when she turned to nurse her newborn baby, her five-year-old son was carried away by the flood. “I could not find my son, I searched so hard”, says Sufia breaking into tears in the video filmed and posted by Oxfam. Sadly, to lose a loved one to the extreme weather conditions in Bangladesh is not an uncommon situation.
Bangladesh is one of the most affected countries by climate change in the world. Although Bangladesh’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emission is low, floods and natural disasters are becoming more and more frequent. Its vulnerability lies on its geographic location as a coastal country and its high population density.
On the blog The Daily IIJ, Bangalee blogger Jahangir Akash highlights the alarming numbers of affected Bangladeshis:
Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is the city most threatened in Asia by climate change. If things continue as they are, in the future, the economy will fail and human life itself will be threatened. At present, there are 10.3 million people living in Dhaka. In 2025, the population will have increased to 20.5 million.
A Country Under Water
In her blog Anushay’s point Bangladeshi blogger Anushay Hossain posts about how unsettling it was to grow up in a country that was going under water:
I grew up knowing my country was drowning. My childhood memories are full of flashing images of annual monsoon rains making rivers out of our roads, lakes out of our rice paddy fields, washing away farmers’ harvests, pushing the rural population into our already overpopulated capital city. The rumor in the playground was that in twenty years Bangladesh would be completely underwater. Today that statement is no longer a rumor, but very much a reality.
During natural disasters women are more likely to suffer the consequences than men. Jean D’ Cunha, regional program director of the United Nations Fund for Women based in Thailand said that some women in Bangladesh died during a flood in 2001 because their traditional long dress and burka hindered their movements and prevented them from escaping the rising waters. But despite their disadvantages, Bangladeshi women find ways to adapt to climate change’s impacts.
Blogger Ben Beaumont writes in the Oxfam blog about Hasina, a woman who had to move six times due to floods. Now she is the president of local women’s group called Shanti Mohila Committee in the Shariatpur district. Each member of the group collaborates a small amount of money to both prepare for the floods and assist women afterwards:
What struck me most was the energy and passion of this group of 20 or so women. (…) women in this community haven’t always been so vocal – in conservative, rural areas like this, women often play very traditional roles, and stay at home with the family. But now, Hasina and her friends are full of confidence – earning and saving money as day labourers, and providing for their families (…) And, as the floods get more unpredictable, it’s the women who are at the centre of their community’s response.
Bangladeshi Women’s March
Blogger Jess Mccabe also posts on the blog The F Word about Bangladeshi women coming together as an outstanding example of women taking a stand on climate change’s issues:
Back in November 2008, around 2,000 women took to the streets of Dhaka, in Bangadesh, wearing masks of G8 leaders, to call for action on climate change.
(…)
‘Protect our agriculture, protect our country, protect our lives from the damaging effects of climate change’, they chanted, waving their fists to make their demands.
Climate Change Rally. Photo by Oxfam and used under a Creative Commons license.
The words of blogger Anushay reflect the positive steps Bangladeshi women have taken towards adaptation to global warming, but outline the urgent need for women around the world to get involved and take a stronger stand:
Back home in Bangladesh, the list of innovative ideas to combat and more importantly, adapt to climate change is endless. (…) But there has to be more. Women may be in the frontlines of climate change, but they are not only its victims. Their personal and intimate experience of the harsh impacts of climate change means that within them lies very real solutions to combat it. If the voices from the women’s rights movement don’t pick up this issue, loudly, clearly and unanimously, climate change will not only drown out countries, but the agents of change, women, with it. And that is simply not an option.

author: Belen Bogado


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Bermuda: Post It! · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes blogs about the loss of goodwill towards the Bermuda Post Office, suggesting that a performance audit will help turn the tide: “The Post Office is a logistics business … and the only way to improve a logistical business is to pinpoint where lags are occurring.”


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CEE: “Social Media and Social Memory” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Evgeny Morozov writes about “social media and social memory” – and a Facebook project involving a 22-year-old Lublin resident posing as a 7-year-old Jewish boy who was killed by the Nazis during WWII. Vaviblog (ENG) is a similar project, which “gives voice” to Russian scientist Nikolai Vavilov: “…if Vavilov were alive today, he’d be popping into the nearest internet café at every opportunity to share his discoveries with the world.” Another similar project is a pseudo-blog of Hava Volovich (RUS), who was born in 1916 in Ukraine, spent nearly 20 years in the Soviet labor camps and exile, and died in 2000.


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China: Demise of the media · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Uln from Chinayouren comments on the discussion on the demise of the media by looking into the dynamics of the State, the Business and the Readers.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Microblogging · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xue Ying from CNreview reports on a tech conference in Beijing concerning the development of microblogging in China.


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China: The Obama Girl Was An Internet Promotion Campaign · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A female student Wang Zifei, who sat behind Obama when he delivered his speech at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, has become a Internet celebrity. Local media recently found out that her boyfriend actually paid 100,000 yuan to hire a Beijing Internet promotional strategy company to use the opportunity of Obama's speech to hype up the ‘Obama girl.’ (via ESWN)


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Climate Change Skeptics Incited by Leaked Emails · Global Voices
Lester Bolicenni

On the eve of the United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen, the scientific community that studies global warming has recently come under the spotlight. The reason: hundreds of emails and documents spanning exchanges between officials from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia (UEA) between 1996 and 2009, have recently been hacked and posted online, as confirmed by the New York Times.
According to climate change skeptics, the emails supposedly offer evidence that scientists manipulated data to match predictions of temperature changes made by computers. The scandal has already become popularly known as “Climategate” although many scientists and bloggers insist it appears to be a case of attempted political manipulation.
Documents hacked
The emails and documents have been posted on a Russian server, and continue to be shared on many websites and over the P2P networks.
Robert Graham, a specialist in computer security, issued, on his website Errata Security, a few assumptions about the hacker:
The data is oddly specific. Only Phil Jones e-mails were copied, and a lot of the data that was hacked is specific to certain climate controversies. If it was not an insider, it was certainly somebody familiar with the central debate about reproducibility of climate reconstructions. The fact that they posted the data to an anonymous FTP site in Russia also points to somebody who is active in the hacking community. This narrows things down. I suspect that at the end of the data, they'll find some sort of computer administrator working for CRU.
The CRU quickly acknowledged the theft and the authenticity of documents, through the voice of its director Phil Jones, one of the main participants in the scandal.
“Mike's Nature trick”
The climate change skeptics have seized on Climategate as evidence that there is room for doubt about the reality of global warming. Several blogs and news websites have linked to the “suspicious” emails. An email from Phil Jones got the full treatment on several blogs and news websites for mentioning something called “Mike's Nature trick” that refers to a “trick” used by Michael Mann to “mask a decline” (instead of an expected rise) in temperature. “Did they invent the numbers?” asks Sophie Verney-Caillat on Rue89.com [fr].
Skeptics have their answer. Jean S, on the website ClimateAudit, shows graphs from several different sources that help illustrate claims of data manipulation.
A coordinated manipulation
Lubos Motl Pilsen, who describes himself as a “conservative physicist” on his blog The Reference Frame, says he read through the files and emails thoroughly. He sees evidence that scientist not only invented data, but also manipulated stakeholders. He found a file “explaining 20 recommendations for a good propagandist”, on how to “use emotions”, the necessity to “connect alarm with ‘home’ not with ‘faraway regions’, and so on”. Additionally, he writes, “the climate scientists also synchronize their efforts to block certain papers from being published, or even eliminate a journal (Climate Research) from a de facto list of peer-reviewed journals”.
This plot to discredit climate change science has been enabled by mainstream media, according to bloggers who reprimand their stance. Vincent Bénard, on his blog Objectif Liberté (Destination Freedom), describes [fr] how (french) media failed to follow-up:
Par contre, il est tout à fait regrettable que les médias, et notamment les médias hexagonaux, adoptent sur ces questions, de façon quasi pavlovienne, la thèse des chercheurs du GIEC. Ils adoptent de ce fait une posture purement idéologique et oublient toutes les bases du journalisme sérieux: vérification de l'authenticité (faite par le New York Times et ses pairs anglo-américains), analyse, recoupements, et conclusions. Nos journalistes environnementaux écrivent d'abord la conclusion, puis l'habillent d'analyses à l'emporte pièce, en tenant pour acquis un seul point de vue et en dénigrant par avance toute opposition.
Image from vadlo.com
“Much Ado About Nothing”?
UEA and CRU have refuted the charges that any of their data is false. In an article posted on the website of the university, they state that 95% of climatic data collected has been published. According to them, “… there is nothing in the material stolen which indicates that peer-reviewed publications by CRU, and others, on the nature of global warming and related climate change are not of the highest-quality of scientific investigation and interpretation.”
According to ClimateChange, a group blog by American and European scientists, the plot the skeptics claim to have unveiled is nowhere to be found:
There is no evidence of any worldwide conspiracy, no mention of George Soros nefariously funding climate research, no grand plan to ‘get rid of the MWP’, no admission that global warming is a hoax, no evidence of the falsifying of data, and no ‘marching orders’ from our socialist / communist / vegetarian overlords. The truly paranoid will put this down to the hackers also being in on the plot though.
Concerning the Mike's Nature trick, they state that's all about vocabulary :
Scientists often use the term “trick” to refer to a “a good way to deal with a problem”, rather than something that is “secret”, and so there is nothing problematic in this at all.
The Newtongate
The blog Carbon Fixated, dedicated to photosynthesis and climate change, dismissed the plot with humour. He imagined what would happen if letters from Newton to other scientists had been made public:
If you own any shares in companies that produce reflecting telescopes, use differential and integral calculus, or rely on the laws of motion, [you] should start dumping them NOW. The conspiracy behind the calculus myth has been suddenly, brutally and quite deliciously exposed after volumes of Newton’s private correspondence were compiled and published.
Transparency
It is unclear what impact Climategate will have on the Copenhagen summit, but we can hope it may at least have had a positive effect of encouraging transparent debate, as suggested by the famous American physicist Richard Feynman in 1974:
It’s a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty – a kind of leaning over backwards. For example, if you’re doing an experiment, you should report everything that you think might make it invalid–not only what you think is right about it: other causes that could possibly explain your results; and things you thought of that you’ve eliminated by some other experiment, and how they worked – to make sure the other fellow can tell they have been eliminated.”

author: Lester Bolicenni


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Colombian 3D Animation short film to be released online  · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

After more than a year's worth of work, two Colombian companies have finished a short animated film and wish to share it with the world through a free online premiere.
Victeria and Globuleo is the retelling of Romeo and Juliet in 3D animation, and it makes their odds even harder since Victeria is a flu virus and Globuleo is a white blood cell: a most impossible love story would be hard to come by.  Los Filmes Videocreation and Vectorial Animation Studios, both companies located in Cali, Colombia  and a team of additional Colombian talent: animators, scriptwriters, singers, artists and producers came together to make this short movie happen and it is being released online for free today, December 4th.
Following is the trailer for the short:
The short has been promoted through microblogging tool Twitter and you can follow them by adding @Victeria3D to your account. They also have a Facebook page where you can show your support.
To view the Spanish language short, you need to visit the Victeria y Globuleo site and sign up for a PIN code which will be requested before you log in to watch the Online Premiere.
On Julian Eduardo Albornoz's blog at El País of Cali newspaper website, he wrote about the short:
Después de más de un año de trabajo, en el que participaron 4 animadores y más de 25 personas de apoyo en tareas adicionales como música, ilustración, voces, diseño de personajes o imagen real, entre otras, se obtuvo la versión de 8 minutos que estará disponible para todos aquellos que obtengan sus boletas gratis registrándose en www.victeriayglobuleo.com.
Dirección de Alexander Giraldo y Marcial Quiñones, Guión original de Alexander Giraldo.
Directed by Alexander Giraldo and Marcial Quiñones, original script by Alexander Giraldo.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Cuba: Ration Book Rationale · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In a recent speech President Raul Castro announced the elimination of free services, with the exception of those established by the Constitution, and unnecessary subsidies”: Repeating Islands links to a report which suggests that the Cuban ration books may be on their way out.


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Disaster Management and the role of ICTs (Part 2) · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

In the first post of this series, we saw how various citizen-coordinated initiatives came into play during natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina or the Indian Ocean Tsunami, to help in the response and recovery and even function as disaster management systems.
In this post, we will examine some more ICT based tools and applications in the arena of early warning systems to help reduce damage to life and property in natural disasters across the globe.
Esther Nakkazi, writes in her Ugandan ScieGirl blog:
Research done with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has proven that an investment of [every] $1 in ICTs used for disaster management through monitoring and response could save $14- $22 for rehabilitation after the disaster.
Some of the key challenges in the path of early disaster prediction and warning are that of data collection, analysis and dissemination. Remote sensing and GIS capabilities through seismographic networks, deep ocean sensors, and satellite based systems, are being focused on by governments to meet these challenges and develop effective early warning systems as in the case of the various Tsunami Warning Systems across the globe.
Wilbur K. Ottichilo writes in Agritech Kenya about Africa's use of satellite based technology in the area of disaster warning:
In the last six years, RCMRD (Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development) has been at the forefront of promoting remote sensing and GIS in Africa, collaborating with NASA to establish a satellite-based disaster early warning system known as SERVIR for Africa. SERVIR provides real-time information on many disasters, including droughts. The information is made freely available on the Internet.
Many other organisations and institutions in Africa are now also providing satellite data and information for drought and disaster management, including the InterGovernmental Authority on Development’s Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC), in East Africa, the Southern African Development Community, and AGRIMET in West Africa.
Chanuka Wattegama writes in an e-primer for the United Nations Development Programme “ICT and disaster management” [pdf]:
The first important steps towards reducing disaster impact are to correctly analyse the potential risk and identify measures that can prevent, mitigate or prepare for emergencies. ICT can play a significant role in highlighting risk areas, vulnerabilities and potentially affected populations   by producing geographically referenced analysis through, for example, a geographic information system (GIS). The importance of timely disaster warning in mitigating negative impacts can never be underestimated.
Navigation and mapping tools such as GPS, Google Earth, and Google Maps are therefore increasingly becoming indispensable in designing effective Disaster Management Systems. According to John Hanke, the Director of Google Earth and Maps, these applications proved their mettle during the days of Hurricane Katrina:
Over several long nights, the teams from Google Earth and Google Maps created satellite imagery overlays of the devastation in the affected region, which showed more accurately the scope of the disaster. Soon after, we were told that rescue workers and the U.S. Air Force were using Google Earth to find people who were stranded.
Given the high penetration of mobile phones across the globe, use of mobile alerts through bulk SMS cell broadcasting, to send out early warnings to the communities at risk, is increasingly becoming a mainstay of an effective disaster management system. Growing importance of open-source applications such as FrontlineSMS, RapidSMS is likely in the near future.
Governments of various countries too are now including mobile alerts in their kitty of early public warning systems. For example, the Bangladeshi authorities are currently trialling a text message disaster alert service which will enable them to warn the public (mobile phone subscribers) of impending natural disasters, such as floods and cyclones. SMS based services are also coming in handy for aid organisations in the arena of disaster response and/or mitigation. For example, post-tsunami, the Sri Lankan government used SMS services to inform people of locations from where aid was being distributed.
In her article “Mobile Cell Broadcasting for Commercial Use and Public Warning in the Maldives” Natasha Udu-Gama explains the benefits of cell broadcasting in the context of the disaster-prone Maldives [pdf]:
The use of cell broadcasting for public warning in the Maldives has gained more attention, since the unique characteristics of the country appear to complement this technology. An island nation composed of groups of 26 atolls of about 1,192 islets of which 250 islands are inhabited, it is crucial that a public warning system be able to reach all of the inhabited islands scattered within the Maldives.
In the following video by MobileActive08, Robert Kirkpatrick of inSTEDD.org, Erik Hersman of Ushahidi, and Christopher Fabian of UNICEF discuss the role of mobile media in crisis and disaster relief.
“Can Telecenters become Disaster Early Warning Centers?” asks Sameera Wijerathna, an ICT4D Activist in Sri Lanka, in this post. His answer – both yes and no.
Yes, it can be. Telecentre is a place rich with ICT.
No, it is too much to expect from a Telecentre.
Most of the telecentres are located in rural areas; most of those areas are prone to disasters, natural or man-maid. Telecentres located in those areas but still with ICT facilities telephone, internet, fax, etc. can receive a message from a central disaster early warning centre. So if we have a simple mechanism to disseminate that information, maybe using megaphones we can convert a Telecentre to Early Warning Centre in the village. Even after the disaster occurred, that Telecentre can continue a play a role of coordinating the relief work, impact assessment, finding missing people
Updates on Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can also act as warning systems. Twitter has already proved its utility in the arena of breaking news, including early information on natural disasters. Yet, there are some concerns regarding the reliability of tweets as a formal early warning system by government authorities.
Mark Prutsalis at Living Prepared Blog in New York expresses his concern over government agencies using Twitter as an emergency notification service.
No government agency should be using Twitter as an emergency notification service.  That would be irresponsible… Twitter is not reliable enough for any government agency to use as an “emergency notification service” (or for an individual to use the sole means to be notified). Those government agencies who choose to tweet emergency event information should only be doing so in addition to a formal alert & warning system that they control the infrastructure for – or is under the control of a commercial company who has been contracted to provide such services with a guaranteed service level agreement in place.
On Conflict Early Warning and Early Response, Patrick Meier discusses an ecosystem based approach to effective early disaster warning and response that will allow for self-organized “P2P capacity building”. Moving on to a global perspective of this very ecosystem, he wonders about the possibilities of connecting the various early warning platforms and information sources available today to form a super-system GSS (Global System of Systems) as depicted below:
Global System of Systems (GSS)
Could this indeed be the future path for global early warning systems? Meier offers some food for thought:
What if we connected these various organisms to catalyze a super organism? A Global System of Systems (GSS)? Would the whole—a global system of systems for crisis mapping and early warning—be greater than the sum of its parts?
[…]
Can such a global Info Web be catalyzed? The question hinges on several factors the most important of which are probably awareness and impact. The more these individual organisms know about each other, the better picture they will have of the potential synergies between their efforts and then find incentives to collaborate.

author: Aparna Ray


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Dominican Republic: Factory in Los Haitises to be Relocated · Global Voices
Rocio Diaz

Since November 26th, Dominicans celebrate the relocation of the cement factory proposed to be built in the protected area of Los Haitises National Park. Against what it seemed to be high-level support for the project, the decision of the Dominican Mining Consortium (Consorcio Minero Dominicano) [es] complied with the rejection of the construction by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Dominican Republic [es] and with the demands of public protests of the community.
Reactions were seen in blogs, Facebook and Twitter [es], like the one of user Amelia Odette [es] who cheered at the resolution:
Feliz!! LA CEMENTERA NO VA!! Informe de la ONU determina que no es viable cerca de Los Haitises!! Unidos podemos! Felicidades a todos!!! :D
Los Haitises, photo used with permission of the Secretary of Environment, Dominican Republic
From both ecological and cultural points of view, choosing Los Haitises to construct a cement factory was an unfortunate move: not only is the fragile ecosystem primary source of water for the island, but the site is also home to cave paintings. Because of its features, Los Haitises is considered Cultural Heritage of Humanity and it is protected by Dominican laws.
During May and June of this year, protests, marches, concerts and even Facebook groups campaigned against the cement factory. On the last week of June the movement created by the community of Gonzalo, the town directly affected by the project, reached its peak and the construction was suspended by orders of judge Sarah Henríquez Marín, from the National District Court for Administrative Law Disputes (Tribunal Contencioso y Administrativo del Distrito Nacional).
Around the same time, the Dominican government decided to re-evaluate the project through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) [es].
Five months later, specifically on November 26th, the UNDP declared that the cement factory construction was “neither viable nor pertinent” on Los Haitises [es] because of the irreversible damages that it could cause to the environment. That same day the Dominican Mining Consortium stated in a press release that in spite of their disagreement with it [es], the organization would comply with the UNDP briefing by selecting another location to construct the cement factory.
Newspapers and television news shows stand out the importance of the protests on the positive outcome for Los Haitises, especially the ones involving young people. Odanis Valdez Polonia, member of the Facebook group “I support the fight for the preservation of Los Haitises, NO TO THE CEMENT FACTORY!!”, sums up the situation with these words:
Para que vean que la union hace la fuerza, gracias a los jovenes, los periodistas que hablaron por el pueblo y a todos los involucrados directo e indirectos para apoyar lo justo lo invaluable, que es lo que Jaime David [Fernández Mirabal, Secretario de Estado de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales] no pensó! que secretario de medio ambiente nos gastamos!
Translated by Issa Villarreal

author: Rocio Diaz


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Indonesia bans film on Balibo Five · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A film about the Balibo Five was banned by Indonesian authorities. Balibo Five refers to Australia-based journalists who were allegedly murdered by Indonesian soldiers in East Timor in 1975.

author: Mong Palatino


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Jamaica: Cricket Combating Crime? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Salt lauds Courteney Walsh for “using cricket to reach young people in 12 inner city communities and offenders in Jamaica’s prisons”, but wonders “Is it really a game that can be a real ambition for young inner city boys, for youth offenders?”


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M-banking: Going where no bank has gone before · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Millions and millions of low-income, unbanked people stand to benefit (and maybe prosper?) from the development of mobile financial services in the next years. Many people already transfer payments and remittances through mobile phones, and even store and save money on them as a virtual bank. And the number of people across Africa, Latin America and Asia, without a bank account but with a mobile phone, is set to to grow to 1.7 billion by 2012, according to a recent study by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and the GSM Association (GSMA).
There have been several success stories in African and Asian markets, and many efforts to expand, replicate or launch similar services, but stiff opposition from bankers and regulators has slowed development in many instances. In India, for example, the Reserve Bank of India has opposed allowing mobile-based financial services (via non-bank led model) saying it would be difficult to control the creation of credit outside the banking system. The Indian Home Ministry additionally expressed concerns regarding misuse and the possible security implications.
It is doubtful whether such obstacles can delay the progress of m-banking services for long, but meanwhile there are several technological, logistical, and security challenges that must be ironed out to make these alternative financial services more inclusive for the unbanked sector. Furthermore, another CGAP study from February of two of the fastest growing mobile banking networks serving poor people – M-PESA in Kenya and GCash in the Philippines – revealed that despite their rapid growth, the providers continue to face difficulties turning a profit as well as paying sustainable fees to the small shops and agents that earn commissions on transactions.
M-PESA in Kenya
One of the most quoted success stories of m-banking for the unbanked has been Safaricom's M-PESA in Kenya.
Since M-PESA launched in 2007, the service has impacted the lives of many East Africans, a significant number of whom, until then, had been unserved by the traditional banking system. By March 2009, M-PESA already had 6.8 million registered users in Kenya and that number is growing by the day.
In the video below, John, a Nairobi taxi driver and an M-PESA customer talks to Paul Lieshman and Seema Desai about his use of the service and what impact it has had on his life.
The “early adopters” of M-PESA were most likely migrant workers in need of an economical yet reliable channel to send money “back home”. However, the benefits of the service soon drew others, who were otherwise neglected by the traditional banking system. This innovative financial service was a convenient, easily accessible and more economical channel, than the ‘distant’, traditional banking systems that had failed to include them in their ambit.
Exploring future options for the unbanked
Using Philippines as a case in point, the CGAP-GSMA Mobile Money Market Sizing Study offers further insight into the various needs among this unbanked segment. It states:
People who use mobile money users are not all alike. One third of mobile money users do no remittances at all, bucking the prevailing perception of the service. A significant group use mobile money quite intensively: more than 4 times per month, with more than half of their transactions going to something other than sending/receiving money – e.g. airtime top-up or cashless purchases in stores. Surprisingly, 12 percent of low-income mobile money users do not own their phone. These represent sub-segments of the population worth exploring further.
Operators should explore services beyond remittances and airtime top-up. Savings holds particular promise as a highly demanded service. When asked what additional services they would be likely to try over mobile money, low-income users enthusiastically said savings (65%). One in ten unbanked mobile money users is already storing an average of $31 in their mobile wallet, or about one-quarter of their household savings.
In their October 2009 paper “Scenarios for Branchless Banking in 2020”,  Mark Pickens, David Porteous, and Sarah Rotman indicate the forces that will shape the future of branchless banking include demographic changes, activist governments, security concerns, internet browsing capabilities, and the global financial crisis. According to their report, wiring the electronic retail payment infrastructure is an important goal, but it is not sufficient on its own to alleviate poverty.
Katrin Verclas, the co-founder and editor of MobileActive.org. – a citizen media source that tracks developments in this area, feels that we still have a long way to go before moving money on mobiles through m-banking can truly benefit the poorest of the poor. In a a blog post from 2008, she said:
Mobile financial transactions do reach the poorest of the poor in two areas right now: 1. Micro-finance, where mobile financial services are being explored as a way to facilitate instant transfer of loans and repayments via mobile, and 2. Cash aid (mobile cash payments) by donor countries and humanitarian organizations who provide relief in famine or post-conflict areas.
The future is indeed bright for moving money on mobiles in many developing and middle-income countries but extending the benefits to the poorest of the poor are still elusive. Recent studies, most notably from the World Bank’s InfoDev and the British development agency DFID, indicate that there is little evidence that m-banking services as they exist today have been “transformational”…
As far as the future success of the ‘m-banking for the unbanked’ is concerned, Katrin's observations are as follows:
In short, questions around consumer adoption and the illdefined and complex regulations hinder this market and the potentially transformational idea of m-banking to date, requiring thoughtful approaches on both fronts and enabling environment where mobile banking can thrive.


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Mexico: Learning and yearning in Spanish and English · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Lesley from The Mija Chronicles writes in English about her difficulty to learn Spanish in her first 10 months living in Mexico. Conversely, Jennívora questions her yearning of Mexican rituals and festivities after living in Scotland [es] exercising her particular Spanish-pocho [es] writing style.


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Michael Moore in Japan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe blogs about American film maker Michael Moore's visit to Japan.


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Pakistan: Birth Of A Monster · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Over a span of about 30 odd years, the Pakistani military and its establishment allies in the intelligence agencies, the politicised clergy, conservative political parties and the media have, in the name of Islam and patriotism, given birth to a number of unrestrained demons which have now become full-fledged monsters threatening the very core of the state and society in Pakistan,” comments MB on the use of Islam in Pakistan politics. Read the two part series “Hijacking Pakistan (Part 1, Part 2)” for more.


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Pakistan: List Of NRO Beneficiaries · Global Voices
Rezwan

Adil Najam discusses about a recently released list of 8000 persons including the president of Pakistan and 34 Pakistani politicians who have benefited from the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), promulgated by former president Pervez Musharraf on Oct 5, 2007. This ordinance “grants amnesty to all those against whom politically-motivated cases were registered between Jan 1, 1986, and Oct 12, 1999.”


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Philippines: Social Media puts spotlight on the Maguindanao Massacre · Global Voices
Julius Rocas

It's been almost two weeks since the world awakened to the tragic and brutal killings that took the lives of more than 60 women, lawyers and journalists in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao, Philippines.
Dubbed now as the Maguindanao or Ampatuan Massacre, (after the town where the mass graves were found), it has gained so much international attention, it now has its own page on Wikipedia:
It occurred on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. The victims were about to file a certificate of candidacy for Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town. Mangudadatu was challenging Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr., son of the incumbent Maguindanao governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., in the forthcoming Maguindanao gubernatorial election,[1] part of the national elections in 2010. Those killed included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy.
Bloggers and netizens, primarily from the Philippines were quick to express their reactions, most of which are condemnations and protests, through the various social networking sites. Here's a quick sampling first from bloggers;
Ms Noemi writes at BlogWatch, condemns the brutal massacre but remains hopeful that justice will be served:
It is my hope that our government has the political will to arrest and punish the perpetuators of this massacre. This should not happen again. The people responsible for the massacre must be held accountable. The Arroyo administration must not protect nor tolerate this even if they are allies. All presidential candidates should make it their platform to implement the justice system in these areas of Mindanao so rido is not resorted to anymore.
Dine Racoma laments that Christmas this year will be unlike the other ones, thanks to this tragedy:
It was only last Thursday that the main perpetrator was arrested (and he continues to claim that he turned himself in—not arrested), without handcuffs as what policemen do to an ordinary citizen who is accused of robbery.  What is robbery compared to a carnage of innocent men and women.
And now, look at the effect of this to my family. Everyday since that day, when we watch the news, read the papers, and get updates from the Internet or from text messages, we all feel the heaviness of heart, the sadness and cry in between.
Now, my children don’t look forward to celebrating Christmas the happy way. Yes, we will celebrate Christmas, going to Church, thanking the good Lord for the blessings that have come our way, the challenges, too, and those that will come our way.
This year is different—there have been calamities the past years in the country and many parts of the world, which have claimed lives and properties, but not this way.
Once more, Twitter has played host to a whole new body of reactions to the Maguindanao massacre:
rvmitra The #Maguindanaomassacre showed us that the election, which we have fought to restore, has now become a game that cn b won by power & money.
yolynne The gov't. shld be given an ultimatum, what kind of fact finding body do they have? The week should not end like this! #maguindanaomassacre
acquaeouslove I hope all the murderers burn not just in hell but also literally! The magnitude of their sins has ensured them hell~! #maguindanaomassacre
5 days ago from web
acquaeouslove #maguindanaomassacre just shows the filth in politics and the greed of the human psyche~ it's always money that gets them..
Aside from grabbing the local news headlines, the Maguindanao Massacre has picked up the attention of the international media, various foreign governments and international groups representing human rights, lawyers and journalists. Tonyo Cruz has a comprehensive list of their reactions and statements with more to come.
Jovir recounts that this act of barbarism is proof that indeed, the Philippines has become the most dangerous place for journalists:
This blow to Press Freedom in the country brings the tally to 134 deaths of media men murdered since the tug of war for democracy in 1986 with a lot of cases still unsolved with deaths blamed on political warlords who control the police and the justice arm within their realms- all hell bent to preserve their seats and are useful for political patrons as they bring in “the votes” for political parties. In the Arroyo administration alone, the number is already 74 and rising…?
When news broke out of the massacre- the whole world was virtually shocked and a lot of protests and condemnations issued, candles lit and protest rallies staged in honor of the lives lost in what's been dubbed as the worst attack in the world against media practitioners.
Unprecedented as it may seem, this reputation is a stern reflection that needs immediate action not only for the ones in power but for everyone… unless of course everyone is contented to live with shame…
Lastly, here's an interesting analogy put forward by Ryan Ericson Canlas which he opines that the Maguindanao Massacre is a repeat of the Escalante Massacre which took place on September 20, 1985 in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, Philippines where para-military forces of the government gunned down civilians engaged in a protest-rally in commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.
Whether history repeats itself or we repeat history is a matter for a different debate. For now, the talk is about getting justice for the victims and peace for Mindanao. A debate in which once more, social media is helping to facilitate.

author: Julius Rocas


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Russia: Law Enforcement and Crime · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam's reports on the pre-trial detention center death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky last month – here and here; also, a note on the murder of Ivan Khutorskoy, an anti-fascist activist. Oleg Kozlovsky – on a murder committed by drunk police officers in Moscow.


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Russia: Microsoft Loses $1 Billion to Pirates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Profy cites a report by the Russian division of Microsoft, which claims that the company has lost $1 billion to Russian pirates, but has earned the same amount from legal sales.


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Russia: Newspaper Website Hacked And Completely Destroyed · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

The Web site of a popular Russian tabloid “Moskovsky Komsomolets” [RUS] lost all of its online data due to the recent hacker attack, radio “Ekho Moskvy” reports [RUS].


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Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia: Visa-Free Travel · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded reports that, beginning Dec. 19, “there will be no more visa requirement for Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian citizens if they want to travel to the Schengen territory” – debunks “some visa-free travel myths.” Jana Orsolic thinks “it's too good to be truth” and shares some of her feelings: “…there's no room for silly excuses for something being done badly because of poor us being isolated.”


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Sri Lanka: Bird Counting Month · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sri Lanka Birds blog reminds that December, the bird counting month has arrived again in Sri Lanka. Bird watchers can feed the bird counting data to the “Sri Lanka Birds Database” directly or via an email.


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Thailand: Failed state? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thai Intelligent News reviews the indicators of a failed state and concludes that Thailand is close to being a failed state.


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Importance of Human Rights · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago bloggers Tattoo and gspottt are critical of the Prime Minister's comments on human rights issues in his capacity as incoming Commonwealth Chair.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Value of Money · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life worries “that the TT dollar might soon be worth less, if not worthless. Hops bread will be the new Miami condo.”


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Ukraine: Arts Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A few last month's updates at IZO: artist and writer Vagrich Bakhchanyan dies in NYC; Ukrainian artist Aleksandr Gnilitsky dies in Kyiv; a Ukrainian Euro-2012 icon.


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Venezuela: Government Intervention of Banks is Parodied · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Political humor blog El chiguire bipolar (The bipolar capybara) mocks the Government of Venezuela [es] after intervening four banks of the country: from now on, author parodies, Bancolchón [Mattress Bank] will manage public money, as customers can carry out cash withdrawals, make national and international transfers and “keep a glass of wine from tipping over while a bear makes itself comfortable beside it”.


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Young Leaders from Sweden and Middle East in Dialogue · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

On November 16-18, the Young Leaders Visitors Programme of the Swedish Institute hosted a meeting in Paris of 26 opinion leaders from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Sweden to mark the conclusion of a 3-week workshop to improve dialogue between Sweden, the Middle East and North Africa.
Global Voices in French attended the meeting, and below are links to some of the reflections of participants during and after the eventful meeting. There is also a YLVP Flickr photostream, several videos on YouTube. And a #YLVP hashtag on Twitter on twitter.
Stockholm-based journalist and media researcher from Jordan, Rami Abdelrahman, reflects on the program on a series of videos he uploaded on his blog Rami's Wall:
Another Jordanian blogger who participated, was Mohammad Azraq who in August summed up the first part of the program in Sweden in a post on Global Voices. The focus was largely leadership and teamwork with a component of training in social media tools.
In addition to the Arab participants, five Swedish journalists took part in the program. Among them, was Alexandra Sandels who described in an article on Lebanon news website, Menassat,  how participants were divided into small groups and given the task to develop an idea for an innovative project using social media tools. Ideas ranged from web portals for alternative musicians in the Middle East, to an online graffiti network, and a web-based recruitment agency for volunteers interested in working with human rights organizations in the Arab world.
Panel Discussion: Europe and MENA – Connected or not ?
- Ozan Sunar, founder of the Re-Orient Festival in Sweden who migrated from Turkey to Sweden at age 6: “We are well-connected, not only by curiosity, also by fear.”
- Jan Henningsson, Senior Advisor to the MENA department, Swedish ministry of Foreign Affairs. As tweeted by @ahmal: “There must be a way out! an amazing story about Saudi and Swedish poets! As a poet and a writer I am speechless!!!”
- Claire Ulrich, editor of Global Voices in French, introduced Global Voices Online and its mission of translating the words of global bloggers, not just related to news, conflicts, but also many glimpses of daily life: such as the cup cake rage in the Middle East, or a high-society murder in Egypt. Middle East and North Africa stories are particularly well-represented on the Global Voices in French website, with over 100 posts translated in September and October 2009.
MENA countries featured in 100 GV in French posts over 2 months
- Lucas Welsh, Director of Soliya.net, explained how his non-profit is developing media and communication tools and skills to enable students to share and distribute perspectives from around the world.
The contributions from the room steered the panel's conclusions to the issue of identity, or identities. What about Westerners accepting their Muslim fellow-citizens’ culture beneath their own varnish of human rights, asked a young Swedish-Palestinian journalist. No doubt guidelines for further discussions on this topic will be useful to politicians of the European Union. The topic of the second panel discussion was: “How can leaders of tomorrow capture the opportunities provided by new technology to create a more open, connected and equitable word.”

author: Suzanne Lehn


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China: AIDS patient’s call for freedom and rights · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C. Custer from ChinaGeeks translated a blog post written by Wang Keqin about his friend, a AIDS patient, who was detained by local government before the International AIDS day because of his involvement in civic rights activity.


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China: The Chengdu Self-Immolation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A woman, Tang Fuzhen, in Chengdu set herself on fire in order to protest against the forced demolition of her home. ESWN translated a T.V news commentary on the incident.


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Congo: Doctors without Borders tell people’s stories through web video · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Condition Critical is a website showcasing the stories of victims of the violence in Eastern Congo coordinated and launched by  Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing asked Pete Masters of MSF for some more information on the project and then posted his reply:
Condition: Critical was launched one year ago by Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to bring to the world's attention the plight of the people living through the war in Eastern Congo (DRC). BUT, rather than MSF at the focal point, it is the people and their stories that take centre stage. In this, the last chapter of the Condition: Critical project, listen to the stories of four people telling how the conflict has affected their lives.
A year ago we wrote about the project “Condition: Critical” and their call for action:
A campaign by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) to raise awareness on the stark state of the DRC will start on November 20th. The Condition:Critical project will collect voices from the war in Eastern DRC, starting off with a documentary to be published on the launch date. The trailer is extremely moving, starting with the poignant testimony of a child born and raised during the war, who perceives his future as a bleak path leading only unto death.
This is the same story that begins this next video telling the story of the war in the Congo and how it is affecting the people who live there. It also tells of the work MSF are doing in the area, trying to save as many people as they possibly can:
The following story has the pictures drawn by a former child soldier who tells of how he was kidnapped as a child and forced to commit terrible acts:
Francoise was locked in her home when it was set on fire. She was gravely burned and lost both children due to that event: one died inside the burning house, the other in the hospital. Even through her physical pain, she confesses that the hardest pain to deal with is the one in her heart.
Bahati tells how he saw his wife, mother, father and brothers die in the war and then he fled to a refugee camp, where they are still afraid due to the insecurity there. Since he is alone, he has to work to eat, and he teaches anyone who asks him how to be a lumberjack, so they don't starve to death, and hoping they in turn will also help anyone else in need.
Mishoka's brother was killed, and he was left to flee with his own family as well as his brother's widow and young daughter.  He fled with all his village, carrying only a mat and a blanket, and now has to provide for all his extended family in a war situation.
You can visit Condition: Critical and leave a message of support to the People of Eastern Congo by clicking on the map filled with green squares and leaving your own. MSF will then share some of the messages with the people in Eastern Congo. To read about MSF activities and the current medical situation in the Congo, please read here. And for more eyewitness accounts on the violence and critical situation in the DRC, here.


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Guatemala: Breaking Down the Doors of Brothels · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Julio Roberto Prado is a Guatemalan lawyer, who frequently investigates and prosecutes cases of human trafficking, in particular, abuse against women and children. He blogs under a pseudonym, which allows him to show an inside look at the difficult situations of the victims. This recent post on his blog Noticias Para Dios describes some of the sights and sounds of a typical day in his work [es], where he requests a search warrant from a judge. His post also reveals how working a stressful and draining environment like this can affect the morale of those working to end human trafficking and abuse.
Tenía puestos mis zapatos negros, vamos, todos saben que cuando los llevo es porque romperé alguna puerta. Ese día sería para rescatar a una niña de once años y a su hermana de quince de uno de los más grandes prostíbulos de la ciudad.
He shares his day's plans with some of his fellow law-enforcing colleagues:
A los hombres les gustan tiernas, dice uno de los policías. Me cuenta que el otro día fue hacia Retalhuleu una ciudad del interior del país. Allí entró a un sitio donde fue a rescatar a mujeres encadenadas en las camas, donde las obligaban a coger con los clientes. Estaban todas flacas, me dice. Me daban tanta tristeza, no comían, amarradas, con sus trajes típicos a los camastros. Pero qué se puede esperar de esos lugares, si hay algunos donde subastan vírgenes los primeros viernes de cada mes.
In order to get the search warrant, Prado needs to get in line to see the judge to explain the situation. While standing in line, he observes some of the unfortunate circumstances of victims:
Al llegar, una enorme fila de gente me espera. Me dispongo a aguardar por mi turno, para hablar con el juez y explicarle que necesitamos entrar al bar. Delante de mí, una señora luce todavía golpeada. Reparte su tiempo entre llorar y mecer a su hijo de brazos, mientras otra niña pequeña se prende de su pierna. Quisiera fumar. Quisiera encender un cigarro y apagármelo en el brazo izquierdo y despertar de una maldita vez.
Oigo que la mujer ha sido golpeada por su marido. Atrás siguen una muchacha con sus padres. La abusaron. Recuerdo que es fin de mes. Que acaba de pasar un fin de semana largo.
When I arrive, a long line awaits me. I wait my turn to talk to the judge and explain that we need to enter the bar [to rescue the children]. In front of me, there is a woman who appears to be beaten. She splits her time between crying and rocking her son in her arms, while another young girl holds onto her leg. I want to smoke. I want to light a cigarrette and extinguish it on my left arm and wake up for once.
I hear a woman that was hit by her husband. Behind me, there is a girl with her parents. They abused her. I remember that it is the end of the month. It was a long weekend.
These stories have taken a toll on the lawyer:
Permanezco sin hablar. Cuando trabajas con el dolor ajeno, te empiezas a vaciar por dentro. Le dejas espacio al dolor, le permites habitarte. A mí me llena el dolor de doce niños abusados y veintidós niñas prostituidas. Son los casos que llevo investigados con solución. Los otros no me habitan, me succionan.
When he finally reaches the judge to request the search warrant, he is granted the order. However, he is disgusted by the comments made by the judge:
Me dice que me permitirá entrar.
Ya de pie, me despido y abro la puerta. Antes de salir, el juez me dice: “ese lugar es lindo, hay buenas muchachas allí. Si encuentra algún amigo mío dentro, ahí se lo encargo”. Se ríe.
Trato de sonreír pero más bien me sale una mueca de asco.
He tells me that I will be permitted to enter [the brothel].
On my feet, I say goodbye and open the door. Before leaving, the judge tells me, “that place is nice, there are fine girls there. If you see a friend of mine inside, take care of him.” He laughs.
I try to smile, but instead I have a look of revulsion.
As he leaves, he is reminded of the stark reality of these types of cases:
Afuera, la señora golpeada, calma a su hijo de brazos y la muchacha abusada llora con su madre.
Es su turno de hablar con el juez. Les toca explicarle su dolor. Mientras que para mí, al salir a la calle, una invasión de aire, humo y ruido me recuerdan que es lunes. Un día cualquiera, que se repetirá hasta la saciedad.
Subo al auto y voy por las niñas. Sé que hoy tampoco podré dormir.
Outside, the woman who was beaten, calms the child in her arms and the abused young girl cries with her mother.
It is their turn to talk with the judge and explain their pain. While for me, upon going out to the street, a rush of air, smoke, and noise reminds me that today is Monday. Any other day, that will be repeated until repletion.
I get in the car and go to rescue the girls. I know that I will not be able to sleep tonight either.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Guinea: Attempt on Military Leader Dadis Camara’s Life · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Dadis Camara, a Guinean military officer who seized power last December in a coup, was shot yesterday by one of his aides and has been evacuated to Morocco.
According to several news sources, Captain Dadis Camara, leader of the military junta which seized power in Guinea in December 2008, was shot and wounded by one of his aides yesterday in Conakry. The leader of the de facto government of Guinea, shunned by the international community since the September 28th killing and rape of opposition protesters by soldiers, was flown to Morocco, where he arrived at around 3 P.M. GMT.
Major Kélétigui Camara, General Secretary of the Presidency, said in a phone interview [Fr] with the guineenews.org website that two people, whose names he did not know, were killed. Two other junta members were also evacuated to Morocco.
On the spot in Conakry, the situation seems to be quiet, according to several sources as well as phone calls made by this author to newspapers and the government. However, no one has a clue about the seriousness of the junta leader's wounds. Someone from an international organization told me Captain Camara might be wounded in the head or neck.
Some preliminary reactions to the news on the RFI website showed a range of opinion.  One anonymous reader writes:
C'est incroyable,inacceptable et injustifiable qu'un sous officier tire sur son supérieur. Ce sous officier doit tenir les conséquences de son action. Je comprends pourquoi le capitaine Moussa Dadis Camara dit que cette armée est incontrôlable…
However, most readers, holding Camara responsible for the September 28th massacre of opposition protesters, seemed to believe the assassination attempt was justice.
Anonymous:
Dadis est entrain de vivre le resultat de sa trahison au peuple de Guinee. Du courage au peuple de Guinee surtout aux Forces vives.
Joseph:
en fait,ce qui se passe actuellement en Guinnée est tellement triste, du fait que la vie perd son sens aussi sacré. si hier,on a massacré des civils (le 28 septembre),et aujourd'hui c'est le tour peut être du chef de la junte Guinéenne. c'est désolant comme spectacle…
Etant congolais (RDC), j'essaie de voir cette situation comme celle qu'on a vécu en 2001,espéront que le peuple Guinéen va se lever comme un seul homme pour mettre fin à cette situation de crise aussi ignoble et stupide pendant que le monde a besoin de l'apport de la Guinée au concert des nations.
courage…
What's happening in Guinea is really sad; life has lost its sanctity.  If yesterday, civilians are massacred (the 28th of Septemer), then today, it's the head of the Guinean junta's turn.  What a depressing spectacle.
Being Congolese (DRC), I try to see this situation like the one in 2001, hoping that the Guinean people will rise as one to put an end to this such an ignoble and stupid crisis.  The world needs the participation of Guinea in the community of nations.
courage…
anonymous:
Jusqu'à la preuve du contraire, il est seul et unique responsable des tueries au stade 28 septembre, au nom du pouvoir et s'il reçu quelques bales dans le crane au nom du mème pouvoir par son propre bras droit ou de fer, allor il merite prouvé le douleur des femmes blessées et violées par ses troupes.
anonymous:
S'il est arrivé un malheur à Dadis aujourd'hui, je dirais que c'est une vengeance de la part de la population guinéenne. La guinée veut un president qui pourraît le représenter partout ailleurs mais pas un president qui vit couper du reste du monde, qui règne avec tyrannie.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Guyana: Meeting the Climate Change Challenge · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands reports that Guyana's efforts in climate change reform have been praised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).


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Haiti: Outrage over Lavalas Election Ban · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger highlights reactions to what is being called “rigged” elections carded for February 2010.


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India: 25 Years Of Bhopal Tragedy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lekhni at The Imagined Universe remembers 25 years of Bhopal gas tragedy in India and discusses what lesson it teaches us.


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Mexico: Finding the truth for abrogation of vehicle tax  · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Contributor El Alteño of blog Hazme el Chingado Favor confronts an e-mail chainletter against official sources regarding Mexican government's abrogation of the vehicle ownership tax [es] that will be enforced in 2012.

author: Issa Villarreal


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Nepal: Cabinet Meeting At Mount Everest · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ujjwal Acharya at The Radiant Star informs that to propagate about climate change issues the Nepal government has held a cabinet meeting at 18,192 ft above sea level in the Mount Everest.


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Pakistan: Bomb Attack In Rawalpindi · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Light Within” informs that today a terrorist attack on a mosque located in Rawalpindi, Pakistan took lives of a number of people.


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Peru: Encounters with Taxi Driver Scams · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Jacqueline shares on her blog two encounters in Lima [es] with the same taxi driver: on the first one she cried after hearing about the driver's son accident; on the second one, she realized he was a scammer.


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Portuguese-speaking bloggers on World Aids Day ’09 · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

The coverage of the World Aids Day 2009 by Global Voices brought many stories of people struggling with HIV/Aids. Portuguese speaking countries in different parts of the world, from Brazil to Lusophone Africa, share the language and the suffering from the human immunodeficiency virus. Here is a round-up of reflections of the World Aids Day covering voices from Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Portugal.
At only 24, an anonymous Brazilian blogger has only recently discovered he has contracted HIV. He shares in Vida PositHIVa [pt] blog his feelings about the difficulties of living with the virus, how he is afraid of people's reaction and the anxiety of having hurt other people. On this World Aids Day, he decides to resume blogging and reflects:
O que eu estou fazendo da minha vida? O que eu estou fazendo com a vida das pessoas com quem eu me relaciono? Eu tenho medo, mas sei que não tenho o direito de arriscar a vida de outra pessoa sendo irresponsavel ao ponto de transar sem camisinha e até isso eu fiz, pior ainda que com uma pessoa que eu amo.
Sou covarde, não tenho coragem de dizer a ele que ele pode está infectado, não tenho coragem de contar a minha mãe, e apesar de tentar esquecer sei que é impossivel e hoje o meu mundo ficou muito maior e mais escuro, eu sinceramente não tenho maturidade pra lidar com isso.
Muito triste…
Also from Brazil, Felipe Esotico  confides in Reação Ambiental [pt] blog his personal account of having a HIV-infected family member, urging readers not to have the same type of prejudice against soropositive people that he once had. He  says:
Antes, gostaria de compartilhar com vocês minha experiência com o HIV, não, não tenho o vírus, mas quando eu era muito pequeno meu primo se contaminou. Uma vez fui visita-lo quando já estava em fase terminal e fiquei muito assustado com sua aparência.  Ele me ofereceu uma bolacha recheada que eu adorava, mas recusei, com medo de ficar doente também.
Estávamos no final dos anos oitenta, quando a AIDS ainda não era muito conhecida e eu não fazia idéia de como essa doença era transmitida. Junto com esta falta de conhecimento da população, uma epidemia mundial de HIV estourou.
Minha primeira aula na escola sobre o tema ocorreu pouco menos de um ano depois, meu primo já havia falecido e eu passei a entender como era difícil para ele conviver com a doença e com o preconceito que era gerado pelo vírus.
This was in the late eighties, when AIDS was still fairly unknown and I had no idea how this disease was transmitted. Alongside the population's lack of knowledge, a worldwide  HIV epidemic broke out.
My first lesson on this topic at school took place less than a year later; my cousin had already died and I came to understand how difficult it must have been for him to live with the disease and the prejudice against the virus.
Rui Palmela talks about the situation in his country, Portugal, in the Alvorecer [pt] blog:
Quase 30 anos depois da descoberta do vírus da Sida, ainda não foi encontrada a cura para a doença, nem mesmo uma vacina eficaz, e Portugal é o país da Europa Ocidental que apresenta a maior taxa de incidência de infecções pelo HIV que atinge também agora muitos casais idosos devido a comportamentos de risco nas relações extra-conjugais que muitos têm devido talvez às novas filosofias “anti-tabu” do sexo […].
On the other hand, there are people who deny the harm caused by HIV, especially when it comes to the  treatment. The blogger Ovidia [pt], from Cape Verde, triggered a discussion in the comment box with the question “AIDS, a lie that we have been sold?” [pt]. He based his argument on quotes of scientists, including  molecular and cell biology professor Peter Duesberg and the discoverer of the HIV virus, Luc Montagnie. A reader responded with the following question:
Qualquer apelo a negar este flagelo, porque o é, é uma completa irresponsabilidade. Ou os preservativos também são uma inventona da Big Pharma para pagares cada vez que tens sexo? :)
Alexandre Pascoal in Reporter X [pt] highlights a mobile video contest just launched by the Portuguese government [pt] for videos about fighting HIV/AIDS. He said:
Uma iniciativa inovadora, apontada à sensibilização das gerações mais novas e às novas formas de socialização por via das redes sociais.
An innovative initiative, aimed at raising  younger generations awareness through the use of new ways of socializing via social networks.
Young filmmaker Alcides Soares, sixteen-year-old AIDS orphan, one of half a million living in Mozambique today.
Talking about videos, the blog Ma-Schamba [pt] invites readers to watch the beautiful award-winning movie Home is Where You Find It. The movie tells the story of Alcides Soares, a 16-year-old Mozambican teenager searching to find a family after both his parents died of Aids. The film's debut was on November 21 in Norris Theatre, Los Angeles during the My Hero Film Festival. On the movie, the blogger commented:
As leituras deste filme são múltiplas e subtis, mas hoje não cabem aqui… Porque hoje é o dia 1 de Dezembro, Dia Internacional de Luta Contra a Sida.
Lueji Dharma from Angola Vitoriosa [pt] blog says that nobody is guilty of spreading HIV and urges for pharmaceutical companies to develop a cure for the disease. Asking people not to lose hope, she laments that love is at risk because of Aids:
É urgente resolver o problema da Sida. É uma doença terrível no sentido em que asfixia as pessoas num sentimento estigmatizante. Uma doença injusta que ataca realmente o que o ser humano tem de melhor: O AMOR. Esta doença é contra o Amor, na medida em que leva a que na intimidade exista desconfiança.
[…]
Por outro lado, referir que ninguém se deve sentir apto para discriminar alguém; e que a Sida é só mais uma doença, igual a todas as outras, que com o tratamento adequado poderá ter uma boa esperança de vida.
Assim, acima de tudo, protejam-se e não percam a esperança, a vacina pode estar mesmo aí a chegar.
And, above all, protect yourself and do not lose hope, the vaccine may be even here soon.
Christ the Redeemer in the World Aids Day. Image by Erika Siqueira from the Miss & Mister blog.

author: Diego Casaes


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Russia: Blogger Arrested For Pneumonic Plague Rumors · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Ivan Peregorodiev, a 22-year-old medical student and blogger, has been arrested on December 3 for spreading rumors about pneumonic plague in the city of Saratov. Authorities accused him of disseminating false information related to an act of terrorism.
On December 2, the Russian bloggers actively discussed allegations that a large population of Saratov had been infected with H1N1 virus. The rumors said that authorities concealed many fatalities caused by the swine flu and the whole city was about to be closed for quarantine [RUS]. Later, people started talking about alleged cases of pneumonic plague blaming them on a local “anti-plague” research institute.  The situation became so serious that Saratov Governor Pavel Ipatov [ENG] interrupted his visit to Belarus and returned to the city to deal with public outcry.
Citing a post from a Russian social news Web site, Ivan Peregorodiev, aka lj-user iperegorodiev (his account is currently suspended), challenged an official statement that dismissed any possibility of pneumonic plague:
Turns out we may have a plague. “The results of the autopsy of people that died of swine flu – that became publicly available – caused panic. According to witnesses, the results of lung destruction resembled the cases of pneumonic plague described in medical literature.” (http://smi2.ru/saratoff/c243648) [RUS] Do our authorities tell the truth when they dismiss this information? Today they plan to spray disinfectant solution against pneumonic plague from helicopters… P.S. And here is another one http://www.epidemiolog.ru/prof/index.php?SECTION_ID=&ELEMENT_ID=3868 [RUS]
He followed up with another post just hours after the first one:
What is going on?
Gentlemen, here is the latest news from an epidemic station: helicopters are loaded with disinfectant solution. P.S. Plots of American movies about the Apocalypse become reality.
The city officials denied any rumors about the plague but confirmed 17 fatal cases of swine flu. The authorities also admitted that city hospitals were overcrowded and Saratov's budget did not have enough money to purchase H1N1 vaccine.
Some bloggers [RUS] found Peregorodiev's message similar to the one that escalated the swine flu panic in Ukraine a month ago. Like in the case with Saratov, the rumors in Ukraine also had “helicopters spraying disinfectant solution.”
The Saratov Prosecutor's Office quickly announced [RUS] its plans to find disseminators of the rumors and Ivan Peregorodiev became the first to be arrested. He was accused of transmitting a “deliberately false information related to an act of terrorism” (Article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code). The Prosecutor's Office did not explain how the information in Peregorodiev's blog posts and the pneumonic plague rumors were related to any act of terrorism.
The Institute for Collective Action, a Russian non-profit organization, started a campaign [RUS]  to free Peregorodiev. Activists argue that, by questioning an official statement of Saratov officials,  the blogger was exercising his right to the freedom of speech.
UPD: Ivan was released from jail on December 4th but is still under suspicion of committing a crime, reports Novaya Gazeta.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Slovakia: Controversial Politician Opposes Construction of a Casino · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

Maybe you already know it: TriGranit, one of the largest property developers in Europe, in cooperation with Harrah's Entertainment, the largest gaming company in the world, will build a large leisure and shopping complex with a large casino in Slovakia, just near the border with Hungary and Austria.
Here's a line from an article (SLO) in SME.sk: “Something of this size and scope does not exist in Europe yet.”
The initial investment will be 1.5 billion Euro and will create about 9,000 jobs. Later, it should be extended to 5 billion Euro and employ 30,000 people.
The project has the government's support; namely, the finance minister Ján Počiatek has been mentioned in the media often in connection with it.
But not everyone likes the idea of casinos.
One of the opponents is professor Dr. Jozef M. Rydlo (SLO), a historian with non-mainstream opinions, a holder of one of the highest  Italian honors. During the communist era, he lived in West European exile, now he's a parliament member for the Slovak National Party (SNS, a minor member of the government coalition).
Someone who knows how Rydlo voted in the case of Kosovo – as he declared (SLO) himself, against his own opinion – should be a bit surprised that he openly criticizes a government-supported project (which, in his view, is united with crime), and minister Počiatek (labeled as a ‘madman’), a member of the main coalition party.
But now he took it really seriously (SLO):
Let's organize petitions, let's send opposing opinions to those who are deciding about us without us, let's think about who we will vote for, let's contact leaders to whom moral and high-principled life is still not foreign. There is still enough time, but it all depends on everyone among us, how actively we will fight for projects promoting positive human values.
Rydlo's article was originally published on a less-known server and might have been forgotten soon. But SME.sk newspaper published its own article (SLO) and comment (SLO), in which it described Rydlo's work as in large part a copy of a blog post written by Andrea Kaľavská a few days earlier. Kaľavská is an assistant of an opposition parliament member for the Christian Democratic Movement.
In the copied parts, Rydlo is said to have made some cosmetic changes, such as removing notes about the prime minister. He kept the part about the city where he lives (and near which the casino will be built), even though in his profile he declares a different address. The closing part of Rydlo's piece, quoted above, is not part of Kaľavská's blog post.
The server where Rydlo is publishing is often labeled to be at the border of extremism, and this is not first time Rydlo has been featured negatively in the press. He became known already because of the (unusual) kissing (SLO) of the Slovak Constitution during his parliamentary introduction in 2006. Later, in 2007, the Swiss Berner Zeitung published an article in which it was claimed that his professor title was fake and that he had gotten it from an organization that he himself founded and was the only member of. Also, his former colleague said anonymously that his acting on various universities should be better described as changing of schools after short time. Other allegations (SLO) against Rydlo include book thefts, domestic violence, an attempted murder – and psychiatric disability payments that Rydlo was receiving in Switzerland (and which were higher than the Slovak average monthly wage), while being on the Slovak parliament's payroll.
Here's a selection of anonymous netizens’ reactions to Rydlo's response to the construction project, posted (SLO) at SME.sk portal:
Prof. Rydlo:
Don't be bad to mister professor. Except that to the nation of Slovaks he is already nothing else.
***
nemudruj a uvažuj [do not speculate and think]:
I also wonder why they are still attacking Rydlo, instead of just being happy that any parliamentarian from SNS is able to even copy the whole page of text.
***
Martin ‘Euthymos’ Kubo:
He was able to modify some sentences. That is proof of originality, extraordinary in his environment.
***
ideozločinec [ideocriminal]:
Do you think that fool would be awarded with the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic?
boccaccio:
Yes.
***
liberty.liberty:
Those payments for the disabled because of schizo really belong to him.
***
jurkoo1:
It is a tragedy that Rydlo, despite everything, represents the intellectual top in SNS, and an even bigger tragedy that Smer (the main coalition party) has joined forces with something like this. The government of national shame.
***
vini13:
And I thought Rydlo was already written off because of his [fake] titles, and he is still writing copies… He would write off himself alone!
***
clyde:
2-3 years ago, [he] was teaching history of Switzerland at the Philosophy Department. Already at that time he was somehow strange, in every second sentence he was using bad language on Hungarians and Americans […] – about the history of Switzerland we did not learn very much.

author: Tibor Blazko


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Sri Lanka: Up-coming President Election · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ajit Rupasinghe  at Groundviews discusses about the up-coming Presidential election in Sri Lanka and the aspirations of the citizens.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: We are the Windies · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires thinks that Roebuck and Berry, two well respected names in the cricket fraternity, are “simply wrong…in their contention that the West Indies national cricket team should be allowed…to splinter into its constituent island teams and have the smaller, purportedly more strongly motivated teams seek Test-playing status on their own.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Breathalyser · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad Carnival Diary says: “I think the breathalyser is a long time coming…though it will certainly take some adjusting to in a culture where there is a rum shop on practically every corner.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Small Farmers · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Hopefully after viewing this you will be inspired to plant your own organic garden (i.e. if you don't have one already)”: Now Is Wow Too posts a video she recorded of an initiative by the students of a Trinidadian primary school.