text:
Argentina: Smoking Prohibited? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Smoking bans have inspired coffee house debates throughout the world. Earlier this month Argentina followed the lead of Uruguay, Spain, and Ukraine by banning smoking in public spaces smaller than 100 square meters. Similar proposals are currently underway in Kenya, Nepal, Germany, and France. But are the bans really effective?
That is the question that led Argentine blogger Juan Pablo Meneses to write about his trip to a local shopping mall after the ban was put into place. The post, originally written in Spanish, was translated by volunteer Andres Hardrada.
21:17 pm.
In the malls you can find anything. In the food court, for instance, I find a bar. I just bought a ticket to watch Miami Vice; so that's how I'll end my day: indoors among bullets. It's strange ordering a whiskey while waiting for a movie, and watching kids walk by your side with a Mcdonalds tray, and moms with triple burgers, and young couples eating sushi. After a day in the mall you're left with the feeling that you can spend the entire day in here, because there is so much to do. Except smoking, of course.
The problem with smoking, you see, is that you can`t do it anymore. Because of a strange free trade paradox, we have the freedom to die of anything … except nicotine. They can hang us with debt, we can clog our arteries with junk food, get shot in a mugging, but god forbid lighting a cigarette, That does harm.
Where are the smokers? there`s no union, or board, or protests to defend those of us who breath smoke out of our mouths? When in history did smokers become so obedient and disciplined?
“The cigarette prohibition will help me stop smoking. The government should have done this for us a long time ago,” I am told by a skinny man with a mustache that is having a drink at the food-court bar. And he means it. Not only that, but using the USA – where his oldest son lives – as an example, he said that if the prohibition can't stop his addiction and he gets sick, if he ruins his lungs and throat … he says he'll sue the state.
“Really?” I asked him before going to the movies.
“Sure, they gotta look after us. Isn't that their job?”
After an entire day in this mall, you think that everyone is right. You`re not in the mood to argue, you just join in. And so, when i'm in line to enter the theater, and a couple complains about the prohibition, I side with the girl in front of me who asks:
Will this prohibition have any real effect?
That question elicits over 100 comments, some of them longer than the original post. Andres and I have translated just a few.
It won`t,  because there`s no way to watch over so many bars. The real issue here is why we expect the government to fix our lives. Even with smoking…
-Leo P.
Once, in Rio de Janeiro`s airport, I saw a smoker's booth. Even though it's open you don`t smell a thing. Why not put one of those things in the shopping malls? They are very handy.
Personally I smoked from 18 to 30. I quit, because I fell for someone who did not (romanticism and taste). If a union is started, I`ll sign.
Former Kent-one smoker
-Rosario Mohedano
Regarding your statement, “we have the freedom to die of anything, except nicotine” I think the difference, compared to “clogging our arteries with junk food”, is that you're not only killing yourself, but hurting others. In general, most smokers don`t care about what they make others breath. I believe that the measure is not to save the smoker's life, but to stop damaging the lives of those who don't.
-Sabrina
Nine months ago I went to Buenos Aires. I'm from Guadalajara Mexico, where it's impossible to smoke in an airport. If you buy some drinks in a bar, then
it`s legal. I haven`t smoked for 2 months; I became aware that smoking makes you a nicotine addict, where were the governments that made drugs legal when they ought to have protected me from that?. I`m outraged with every politician in the world. Let's make a campaign to not forbid what was encouraged, but instead to
agitate so we don`t have to forbid. That is what's correct.
-Miguel Angel Costa
Those who smoke don't think of the damage they do to the rest, just like others have already commented. It's horrible to enter a restaurant where there are more tables with smokers than non-smokers and where the “sectors” are divided by just a few little plants.
In an elevator … a typical elevator in a downtown building, it's terrible! And the smoker doesn't have a clue why people are making gestures and giving looks. They don't think about it.
The ban is excellent and it must succeed. We non-smokers must value our own rights.
-Pablo O
Cigarette smoke and farts are alike – they're only enjoyed by their owners. What would happen if everyone in a bar or cafe – while we're eating – started farting comfortably? Everyone would be scared away and horrified, for the noise and for the smell. Think about it, an innocent little fart on a bus causes a panic attack. The people open the windows! Everyone looks around and points at some fat kid with a vengeful look. But in a bar if someone lights a cigarette and let's out smoke with an equally bad, toxic smell … I don't see anyone running to open the doors and windows! …
-Quebedo

author: David Sasaki


text:
Armenia: Vostan Hayots Reunion · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports that Vostan Hayots, the “Armenian Metallica,” is reuniting for a few shows.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Bahamas: Represent · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A blog post by a fellow Bahamian causes Nicolette Bethel to consider questions of representation: “How do we collectively decide who represents our nation? When we choose people to send abroad to represent us, what criteria are foremost? And do we use different criteria for different arenas?“

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
Bahamas: The Nassau Institute · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Bahamian Sir Arthur Foulkes is highly critical of the Nassau Institute's anti-Kyoto Protocol stance: “it is quite foolish of them and others who are similarly inclined, to sling the charge of “anti-Americanism” against Bahamians who dare to criticize the policies of the US Government.“


text:
Bangla Blog World discusses Dr. Yunus, Grameen Bank and Microcredit · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Ever since the Nobel Peace Prize 2006 has been announced this month, with Md. Yunus and Grameen Bank from Bangladesh being declared joint winners, the Bangla blog world is abuzz with conversations regarding this win.
Congratulatory posts have been pouring in, indicating that the people of Bangladesh are happy about this recognition. There is a palpable feeling of pride, not only for being awarded the prestigious prize but also because the indigenous concept of microcredit has caught the attention of other countries where it is being implemented.
Yet this event has also brought to the forefront a heated debate as the bloggers introspect on the pros and cons of the concept of microcredit as propagated by Dr. Yunus and its execution amongst the rural masses.
Juthika maintains that the overwhelming praise for the concept belies the fact that some extremely poor people, living in rural areas that lack basic infrastructural facilities, are getting caught in the web of taking loans which, they are unable to either leverage or to repay. This, to her, does not indicate a concept that is wholly successful. Baki Billah asks whether the concept of microcredit willl actually help eradicate poverty in the long run or will it merely stop at bringing the poverty ridden marginalised section of the society under the grasp of capitalism and consumerism where they may be exploited further. Shiblinoman points out how in some regions, people are taking such loans from multiple NGOs, (often taking one to pay off the other) and how they are being harassed by the ‘collectors’ for repayment when they are unable to do so.
Apbak expresses his ambivalence to the news; while he is proud that Dr. Yunus, a Bangladeshi has got the prestigious award, he questions the rationale behind giving him a Peace award rather than the award in Economics.He debates whether this sends out the message that the concept of microcredit,, while being a welcome project is not really a viable as an economic theory. Apbak also expresses dissatisfaction about the  repayment/collection methods used by some of the field teams of the loan providers which often border on harassment of the person or persons taking the loan.
Finally however, after participating wholeheartedly in this debate, Bhaskar points out that in the midst of such introspection and debate, it would be unfair to forget that with this recognition has come a new pride in being a Bangladeshi, both amongst the people at home and those living abroad.

author: Aparna Ray


text:
Belarus: Pro-Iranian, Anti-American Propaganda · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a pro-Iranian documentary recently broadcast on national TV.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Bolivia: Prosecuting Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Nick Buxton has been busy lately organizing the International Day of Action in Solidarity with Bolivia, which aimed to “call on the US to notify and extradite former President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (known as Goni) and two of his Ministers from the US.” In a related note, Aldo Orellana guest-blogs at Blog from Bolivia about the third anniversary of the October 2003 “gas wars” massacre and the effort to bring Sánchez de Lozada to justice.


text:
Caribbean: Photo quiz · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Caribbean Beat Weblog launches a “Where in the Caribbean?” photo quiz.


text:
Central Asia: History of Japanese Relations · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Leila writes about the long and accidential history of ties between Japan and Central Asia.


text:
China: business social responsibility · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fang Jun at mindmeter blogs about China Entrepreneur Summit 2006. This year the them is “Chinese business ethics at the age of Globalization” (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: censorship · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Brian Chan in China Media Project reports on another censorship case. This time it is about a ban on all coverage of an incident at a county school in China's western Gansu Province where the principal was allegedly found to have drawn blood from scores of pupils over several years to “cure” them of diseases.


text:
China: decriminalization of sex worker · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Li Yin-he argues for the decrminalization of sex worker, including prostitutes and “second wives” (zh).


text:
China: eating Chinese · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lyn Jeffery introduces great blogs and forums about Chinese food.


text:
China: How to improve Beijing’s quality of life · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Will from imagethief have ten recommendations on how to improve Beijing's quality of life.


text:
China: labour law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Law Prof blogs about the comments of Amercian Chamber of Commerce on the draft of Chinese labour law.


text:
China: Where my Nobels at? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

When one of the best writers in the country flees, is asked not to come back and then wins a Nobel prize in literature while in exile, would it be a bit disingenuous to accuse the Swedish Academy of bias against awarding Nobel prizes to mainland Chinese? Perhaps not, judging from Sina.com [zh] bloggers—those who have heard of him—in response to Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk's Nobel win this month:
How far [zh], asks Sina.com blogger From Water (从水), is China from getting a Nobel prize?
2006年度个诺贝尔奖已经陆续揭晓，其中引人注目的是这次的诺贝尔科学奖无一例外的又一次落入美国人的口袋。读到这个消息时，真的应该庆贺美国人，可是在为别人鼓掌之后，总会感到一些失落，毕竟荣誉是别人的，不是我们自己的。据我所知，除了6位华裔科学家外，完全土生土长的中国科学家还从来没有问鼎过这一奖项。这对于一个有着悠久历史的拥有13亿人口的大国来说，不能不是一个遗憾或者是伤痛。
Zhang Shumei (张蜀梅):
诺贝尔文学奖为什么那么让人嫉妒，因为它奖金高。
这是我个人的认为。
每年都会评一次诺贝尔奖，其实诺贝尔奖有好多项，比如医学，物理，经济，和平等等。但是，在我们心目中，”诺贝尔文学奖”为
什么那么神秘，那么令人向往？因为，没有我们的作家得过，所以是永远的痛。更重要的是，唯一一个华人作家得过这个奖，却又是外籍
华人，而不是自己，非常不过瘾。
其实，我个人觉得，为什么我们的作家们那么重视这个奖，对这个奖耿耿于怀？因为它的奖金最高，而我们又拿不到。
记得在2000年10月12日，瑞典文学院宣布，将本年度诺贝尔文学奖授予旅法中国作家高行健。
当天，我正在上海出差，晚上7点，报社的领导打电话来，要我采访一下国内的一些作家，让他们谈谈对第一次有华人获得诺贝尔文学
奖有何看法。报社准备了好几个版呢。于是，我在酒店拼命向北京，上海，南京，成都的作家们电话。
在采访之前，说实在的，我对高行健还不了解，只好到网上去搜索。其实网上对他的介绍几乎没有的。好在，我立即给复旦大学中文系我
原来的现当代文学史的老师陈思和先生电话，他答应给一篇文章我，算是给我补了一堂”当代文学史”的课。另外，我当时给文学评论家王干电话，采访他，而当时，他正和李泽厚在一起，就顺便也采访了李先生。他倒是很愿意谈。但是，记得那天采访国内的作家都不是太顺利，打了很多的电话，不是不愿意谈，就是说话酸溜溜的。还有的说，他是谁啊？我怎么都不知道呢？要说我们能获这个奖的应该是鲁迅，沈从文；现在还活着的，就是莫言和余华，还有谁谁谁和谁谁谁，最有希望了。
我噼里啪啦，电话打了很多，稿子也赶写了不少，可是，到了晚上11点，报社领导来电话说，稿子不用传了，没有采访到的，也就算
了。说，上级有通知，统一用新华社的通稿子。第二天，回到广州，一看稿子，在头版，仅仅200个字。
—snip—
我觉得我们国家不是没有那个级别的作家，而是我们太自闭，我们的作品外国人看不到，能翻译出去的很少，别人连你的书都看不到，又怎么给你评奖呢。再说，这个奖拿不拿得到，又怎么样呢？自己写自己的，能写成什么样子就什么样，评论家说什么也不要在意，什么奖的评委说什么。也不要在意。关他们什么事。你不惦记着那些名誉，那些利益，不惦记着人家那么的美金，心里会有那么多的不平吗？
Truth Only Valuable When Sought (求真才可贵):
今年全部的自然科学诺贝尔奖以及经济学奖都被重视基础研究的Uncle Sam拿走了，我相信这与他们严谨和勤奋的工作以及良好的科研环境是分不开,而文学奖则被土耳其作家拿走(我在腾讯看到的,但在GOOGLE和百度上还没看到这新闻).中国本土产的科学家依然没办法染指这些奖项,甚至连提名都没有,我一直在想为什么我们这么大的国家拥有这么庞大的科研人员却仍然没办法接近诺贝尔奖–这一代表科学和文化界最高荣誉的奖项.
在我们连续无缘这些奖项时我看到了非常奇怪的言论,比方说什么诺贝尔评奖委员会歧视中国人,诺贝尔奖的评选有猫腻.甚至说中国的发展取得了巨大的成就,而没有获得诺贝尔奖是有人在操纵诺贝尔奖,因此大家要抗议诺贝尔奖的评选.而最近因为又有新闻说某位瑞典议员提议”东突分子”为诺贝尔和平奖提名,更是给了这些观点直接的证明.
Jin Wei (靳玮):
“每年的十月，中国作家就要痛经一次。”这么精辟的话可不是我说的，是朱文的专利。十月本来并没有什么特别的色彩，就因为它是诺贝尔奖颁发的月份。而我们中国的作家又是从未忝列其中，自然会格外紧张这件事。其实把诺贝尔不眷顾中国人的罪过归结到中国人的才智上，那明显有失公道。中国十几亿人，作家何止成千上万，要从中找出一个能拿诺贝尔奖的，应该不算是个问题。而且中国历史悠久，文化积淀深厚，有道是一方水土养一方人，在中国这块土地上，哺育培养一个诺贝尔文学奖获得者也不算问题。有例为证，2000年诺贝尔文学奖获得者高行健，就是旅法中国作家。他是吃中国人的奶水长大的，血管里流着中国人的血，他的获奖也是汉语文学在世界范围内的一次胜利。还有连续几年都获诺贝尔提名的诗人北岛，他们的存在已经很好的证明了中国人的智慧，那为什么中国作家依然对诺贝尔文学奖耿耿于怀？当年高行健获奖之后，中国有篇报道似乎说出了中国作家的心病所在。现全文摘录如下：
当地时间（2000年）10月12日13：00(北京时间12日19：00)，瑞典文学院宣布，将本年度诺贝尔文学奖授予旅法中国作家高行健。瑞典文学院认为，”其作品的普遍价值，刻骨铭心的洞察力和语言的丰富机智，为中文小说和艺术戏剧开辟了新的道路。”
然而，这位走向了世界的文学家，也是当代华语读者圈的陌生者。当他的获奖消息在互联网上迅速传开时，网友也在相互打听——高行健究竟是谁？
高行健究竟是谁呢？这位中国实验戏剧的先行者，剧目在全世界演出，1992年曾获法国政府艺术大奖，目前定居在法国。
他第一个圆了中文作家百年诺贝尔梦，然而他的身份证上注明是法籍；我们熟悉他早期的剧作，但那都是些对西方现代主义的实验；后期他着力书写中国的”过去”，然而他的读者却少有了国人……
高行健曾经有部戏叫《彼岸》，这个名字似乎正成了他今日获奖的一个隐喻——
我想症结就在于高行健的国籍上吧。也难怪，一向保守的国人，应该不会简单的把高行健的获奖当成自己人的获奖，毕竟”人家已经是法国人了嘛！”同样的，北岛也是定居瑞士多年了，他被提名同样也不能算作中国人的骄傲。所以我们自强不息的国人就愤怒啊，为什么诺贝尔不眷顾中国人？天理不公啊！为什么中国人到了外国就获奖、就提名？连物理学奖都是这样，太欺侮人了，你瑞典人是看不起中国这样一个伟大的民族、这样一个泱泱大国还是怎的？我们有五千多年的历史，地大物博、人杰地灵啊，凭什么在家里就不受待见，一出国就被捧上天？要说政治因素，那也有失偏颇。中国改革开放二十多年了，中国早已是西方大国的重要的贸易合作伙伴，而且文化交融的进度与日俱增，我国的翻译成绩和汉学家们的对外传播效率也年年有所提高，那为什么中国的文学始终进入不了西方主流文化圈的视野？这个问题才是最根本的问题。而高行健和北岛之所以被越来越多的外国人认可，并不是因为他们加入了外国的国籍。如果那么简单，那中国作家估计一大半都要去考toefl、GRE了。
保守的国家永远都无法融入更广大的圈子，开放不仅仅是经济的开放、文化的开放，更重要的是制度的开放、全民思想意识的开放。我想到了中国真正开放的那一天，中国人就不会再怀疑中国作家的智慧，中国作家也就不会再为国籍之类的问题耿耿怀。因为文学，永远是开放的，是世界性的。
Chen Xiaoming (陈晓明):
其实诺贝尔奖并不取决中国评论界的声音，主要起关键作用的还是汉学家，以及国际图书市场对中国文学翻译。近年来传说很多，原来说是北岛，后来又传李锐，近来又说杨炼。如果杨炼得诺奖，那中国有一大片的诗人生气，至少有二人要气死，这就不说了。按大江健三朗的说法，莫言早该得诺贝尔文学奖了。
其实，在我看来，与莫言齐名的中国作家就是贾平凹了，贾平凹是一个大作家，且具有鲜明的本土特色，与莫言旗鼓相当。要说典型的本土或汉语言特色，贾首届一指。但贾平凹在国外的名声不如莫言大，贾平凹的小说有非常好的细节和局部处理，微妙处尽见高明。贾平凹的小说语言看似平常，洗炼而有韵致，但翻译成英语可能味道全无。贾的故事变成洋文也显得老套，如果失去语言的支持，贾的小说讲述的那些故事可能不会令洋人动心。另外，贾的小说格局略显小气，过分迷恋中国古籍文化，对美文的痴迷，有时骗了别人，也会经常诓了自己。贾应该有更为独特而深刻的气象，这还需要小说中有大势。

author: John Kennedy


text:
Ecuador: Feedorama Blog Aggregator · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Feedorama [ES] is a new aggregator of Ecuadorean weblogs broken down into thematic “channels.” Mouseover the headlines to get a summary of what each post is about. There is also a metablog [ES].


text:
France, Togo: What’s the Use of African Book Fairs? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

France-based Togolese writer Kangni Alem writes (Fr): ” African literature book fairs in France are, by and large, rarely satisfying. They don't always actually sell your books, they don't feed you right, and worse you have to follow the law of star writers who bore you too death when they attempt to talk about non-literary things.” However the writer confesses having enjoyed meeting Blaise N'Djehoya, the controversial author of the novel Le Negre Potemkin at a recent such event in Lome.

author: Alice Backer


text:
Haiti: Why Celebrate Dessalines’ Death? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Yon Ayisyen  (Fr) laughs at the thought that some in Haiti want to start an investigation into founding father Jean-Jacques Dessalines’ death 200 years after the fact but adds: “However I might sign a petition to ask that we stop celebrating the death of Dessalines. Not that the day off is not welcome but I don't understand why it is his death that we celebrate. Aren't we saying year after year that those who killed him did a good thing?”


text:
India: A ‘Hindu’ terrorist · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims reflects on why terrorists from other religions don't have labels attached to them. “Two days back LTTE suicide bombers attacked a naval base in Sri Lanka killing at least 103 and injuring another 150, a news that did not find much prominence in our mainstream media.” While it might have something to do with the motives of those who engage in conflict, do they have a point?

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
India: The skewed comparison · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Recursive Hypocrisy links personal finance, blogging and the health of the economy. “We compare ourselves with others to measure growth. Not just a linear comparison, but a skewed one. “


text:
India: Veils in the UK · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

WA comments on the issue of veils in the UK.  – “If we decide integration is the way to go, how far does one integrate into the society? If I go to work in a saree, no one is going to question me, they might be surprised but it won't raise a furore on the other hand a veiled woman makes the situation awkward.”


text:
India: Women, veils and bedsheets · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Annie writes on the covering of heads and bigotry. “I can understand the temptation to call for a ban, because, sometimes it seems as if that is the only way to protect women from a forced tent-ization, to divorce their clothes from their rights and duties. Yet, I would like to reserve the right to wear a burqa, as and when I choose to.”


text:
Kazakhstan: R&D · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben takes a look at Kazakhstan's pledge to boost research and development spending to 5% of GDP by 2012 and says that for the spending to have its promised impact, it will have to be accompanied by structural reforms.


text:
Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala: Volcano cams · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Liz Henry gives a guided webcam tour of Latin America's volcanoes.


text:
Mexico: Pirated CD’s and File Sharing Networks · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos highlights a comment on his post about the return of Amprofon, Mexico's version of the RIAA, which is using scare tactics to discourage the use of P2P file sharing networks. The commenter, Alex Zvook wonders why the authorities are going after those who download music in their homes and not the mafia in charge of distributing pirated CD's in the streets. He compares the situation to the drug problem in which small time drug users are prosecuted, but not the major distributors.


text:
Mongolia: Drinking Water · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At A Year in Mongolia, Alexa discusses an impressive-sounding World Bank proposal for increasing access to and affordability of water in Mongolia only to find out that the same plan tried elsewhere achieved little.


text:
Montenegro: Turkish Troops and Karadzic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Finding Karadzic writes about Turkish troops and Radovan Karadzic in Montenegro.


text:
New Caledonia: Fete du Boeuf · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Says Sebastien Merion from 5 Minutes en Nouvelle Caledonie:
J'ai l'impression de revenir direct des States, mais non, ce n'était que le village de Païta et sa fameuse fête du bœuf !! On s'y serait cru, ambiance chapeaux de cow-boy et musique country, il y avait un paquet de monde. Pour notre part c'était la première fois qu'on assistait à un rodéo, à vrai dire ça ne m'avait jamais attiré ce genre de show mais je voulais y aller pour faire des photos et j'ai été pris au jeu, ça m'a bien plu finalement, c'est un truc à faire. Bon, par contre, en bon végétarien que je suis, on a pas assisté à tout, genre castrage des bêtes et dégustation de testicules de taureaux ! Non, merci ;-))
Je vous ai fait une petite vidéo du rodéo et des photos bien sûr. Les taureaux de 800 kg m'ont impressionné, surtout quand ils défoncent la barrière de sécurité et que vous êtes à quelques centimètres derrière !
Photo montage by Sebastien Merion.


text:
Pakistan: Dessert, Carrots and Ramadan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

What does one call the Pakistani dessert made of Carrots? More on Ramadan-Kareem – a blog dedicated to Ramadan as observed all over the world.


text:
Pakistan: NGOs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pakistani Abysmal Ramblings on NGOs in Pakistan. “Pakistan has hundreds if not thousands of registered NGO's that have tax free status and are allowed to collect Zakat for their projects, but most of these NGO's are fronts for politicians who want to portray their dedication to the masses before elections or for businessmen who use these NGO's to save their taxes.”


text:
Panama: Photos Of The Children Of Panama · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Don Ray recommends Dixon Hamby's photographs of Panamanian children.


text:
Panama: Should the Canal be expanded? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

This weekend Panamanians will decide on the fate of their country's famous canal. As Boz writes, “most elections only directly affect one or two terms of office and can be reversed in future elections. The decision made by Panamanian voters will decide the next century of economics and politics in Panama.”


text:
Papua New Guinea: On the Iron Lady of Liberia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Islandbaby in Papua New Guinea blogs about the West African nation Liberia's president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and tells why her younger sister's middle name is Monrovia – the capital of Liberia.

author: Preetam Rai


text:
Peru: Tribute to Valentín Paniagua · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Former Peruvian president, Valentín Paniagua passed away early Monday morning. Juan Arellano has compiled a list of Peruvian weblogs paying tribute to Paniagua [ES] and, later, some accompanying photographs. Living in Peru has two English-language posts on Paniagua's death.


text:
Philippines: Anti-terrorism bill in Congress · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Philippine government has certified as urgent the passage of an anti-terrorism bill. The Opposition has expressed alarm that the bill if turned into law would be abused by leaders to quell legitimate dissent.
Philippine Commentary disputes the editorial of a Manila newspaper concerning the bill. While the blogger has been very supportive of an anti-terrorism law, he explains why he is dissatisfied with the proposed measure as it is currently written on two accounts:
(1) I think that a special court, like the FISA Court in the U.S. is an important and necessary innovation for handling the specialized nature of judicial review and supervision of antiterrorism related activities, policies and strategies, requiring new protocols and defensive measures that need to be constantly reviewed and refined.
(2) There is no specific list of Terrorist Organizations that is annually updated, reviewed and approved by the Congress or Justice Dept., as the US and EU laws do. I think this IS the kind of vagueness that can easily lead to abuses. Whereas, if we identify every year the known targets, the government cannot just suddenly decide that some legitimate Opposition formation is a terrorist organization.
The Philippine Experience believes the recent bomb attacks in southern Philippines is being used to whip hysteria and fear among the public:
“The bombings in the south is the signal we must all be wary of. It is being used by the administration to shore up support for its version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill. While a Senate version is more rights- friendly, the administration's is so broad that even legitimate dissent can be grounds for arrest.”
Piercing Pens wrote why some Senators are opposed to the anti-terror bill. The blogger also mentioned the analysis of an independent think-tank:
“Targeting so-called dissenters under the pretext of anti-communism and the war on terror would result in less political liability than attacking elements of the traditional opposition which would create a broader reaction from the elite”
Peter Lavina, blogger and councilor of Davao City (located in southern Philippines) has this formula to eradicate terrorism:
“I long believed that terrorism is a reaction to injustice, exploitation and subjugation. Take away these three evils and replace them with “learning, understanding and respecting” then I am certain our world would be a far better, if not a peaceful, place to live in.”

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Poland: Marek Nowakowski · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man In Gdansk writes on the writings of Marek Nowakowski: “dirty realism.”


text:
Poland: New Coalition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot comments on Poland's new coalition government: “It's probably better just to ignore them.”


text:
Romania: “Alien Eggs” and the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Romerican writes about “alien eggs” and Romania's hopes to join the EU.


text:
Russia: Croatian Writer on Politkovskaya · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Strangers to Ourselves writes about Anna Politkovskaya's and muses on her own role as a Croatian writer living abroad.


text:
Russia: Grozny War Diaries, 1994-95 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Every wall, every gate, every street has their signs of war in Grozny.”
Like hundreds of other members of the Virtual Grozny Russian-language forum, Natasha Raslambekova lived in Chechnya's capital until the war forced her to flee in the spring of 1995. This past September, nearly 12 years after the First Chechen War began, Natasha posted 28 pages of her wartime diaries, describing the horrible experiences of that time, sharing her powerful memories with those who could relate directly to what she wrote: some of her readers lived through the horror themselves, others had been lucky to escape before the war broke out – and all are still grieving the lives lost, still mourning the destruction of their beloved city.
Natasha's diaries revive what has been forgotten by outsiders: the dreadful events, which, over the years, have been overshadowed by numerous others, no less dreadful. As life in Grozny seems to be slowly patching back together, voices and images from the past – of people trapped inside hell – are rescued from oblivion and presented with the raw immediacy typical of today's blogs. Natasha's readers at Virtual Grozny express their gratitude, and admit to having been shocked and moved to tears by what she wrote.
Natasha is 38 and lives in France with her family now. Below are a few excerpts from her diaries, translated from Russian. The first entry is dated November 26, 1994, Natasha's birthday; the rest are undated. The original document can be downloaded here or here.
November 26, 1994
The war has started today, fighter planes are flying over, dropping bombs. The battle is raging in the city's center. Opposition troops and tanks have entered the city from three directions, tanks can't maneuver in the city streets and are being shot down from the roofs of the buildings. Lots of ruined buildings in the center, tanks are burning. Lots of dead and burnt people, human remains lie on the asphalt, on the burned-down machines, hang on trees. There's a non-stop humming noise coming from the city, explosions and booming are heard. Our neighborhood isn't in the center, and that's why all the people are out in the street, watching what's going on in the center. People are sharing every piece of news with each other, in whisper, they are looking at the glow of the fires and listening to the booming of weapons. People try to keep together. It's really impossible to stay inside the apartment, there's a pressing need to be outside, with the people. Today is my birthday. From all those who were invited, only my husband's parents came (from the other part of the building), and my father. We didn't manage to have a party, of course. The few toasts we made were for this nightmare to be over soon.
Electricity is off. It got dark, but the people stayed in the streets all the same, scared to return to their unlit apartments. My father-in-law stretched a cable directly to the light pole outside and there was light in our two apartments. All the neighbors were at our place. We watched the news, listened to the radio, and everyone left late at night, when the battle in the center quieted down a bit. The sky over the center is all red from fires.
[…]
There's panic in my parents’ home, mama with our son and nephews is hiding in the cellar, she is very scared, her blood pressure has risen. The fence of the parents’ house bears marks of the air bombs’ shrapnel. My husband collected the fragments and brought them home. All the residents of our building kept stopping by to look at them, and then we visited one another till late at night to share the latest news. No one locks the doors to their apartments. People want to be together.
[…]
There are fewer and fewer people left. They are leaving somewhere and not coming back. Everyone is talking about some corridor, which has been opened till Dec. 10, but no one knows where it is and what would happen after Dec. 10. We are being bombed and shot at every day and every night. Men aren't simply going down to the cellar – they are running there with curses. And street dogs run ahead of the people and then sit with us in the cellar, close to our feet, until the battle is over. Electricity has been out for a week now.
[…]
Almost every day, the fighting is so fierce that we jump out of the cellar only to grab some food and water, and then run back.
I'm always hungry, for some reason. Our daughter is such a [good girl]: she doesn't panic, doesn't scream, just sits leaning close to me and my husband, and asks questions sometimes, and then we reply to her that it's a kind of a game. From the two buildings in our yard, only 14 families out of 56 are still here. The rest have left.
[…]
At all times, we stay dressed inside the apartment, and our warm clothes lie on the table in the hallway. We've taught our little girl to run and dress herself in case bombing starts. Every second is precious, and that's why everyone gets dressed on his own, and by the time my husband and I are putting on our jackets, our dear daughter has already managed to put on her coat, at least. It takes us 10-15 seconds to get dressed up for this sitting around in the cellar.
[…]
There's no more water in the cellar and now we draw some from the fire pool in the schoolyard. School #54 is next to our house. The water there is dirty, with trash and pieces of wood in it. We sift it through, let it stand for a while, then boil and drink it only after that. Today two rebels came up to the pool and asked for something to drink. They were given and they drank right out of the pails.
The earth is covered with black ashes where air bombs blew up, and the trees look burned. Chickens and rabbits killed by the shrapnel lie on the roads but the hungry dogs that have gone wild aren't eating them (?!). In the cottage backyard, deserted cows moan, deserted dogs whimper. Men went to the houses whose owners had fled and left behind the livestock. They led out the cows, untied the dogs and set them free. Dogs aren't even trying to bite. Now they are sitting in our yard, wagging their tails. When I returned from the cellar, after the shooting, I saw a small neat hole in the window glass – a bullet had flown in. Amazing – the window didn't even crack. We didn't manage to find the bullet, it must have gotten stuck in the coach. […]
[…]
A man from the house next door was killed overnight. My husband used to know him and went to bury him. They buried him next to the house, on the flower bed. One shouldn't walk too far away – everything is being shot through. The school building got hit a few times during the battle. We went to look. People were dragging all they could – desks, chairs, curtains… Two women and a young man were rolling the school piano. I admire this optimism: they are sure they'll need the piano in the future, which means they are sure they'll survive. Or, most likely, they have gone crazy.
[…]
During the quiet time, our classmate stopped by, Shamil, an Ingush. He begged us to let our daughter go with him. He wants to take her and his parents out to Ingushetia to his relatives. He swore they'll look after her better than after their own children. Everyone's talking about the upcoming storming of the city. I can't leave because my father is here and I won't let him alone. I cried all night, while packing my daughter in the candlelight. I was preparing her for departure. Shamil will pick her up early in the morning. God, what's going on with us! I don't know where my mother and my son are. Whether they are alive. And now I have to send my daughter to where I don't know anyone. But I have to do it. Shamil will take her away early in the morning.
* * * * * *
Shamil didn't show up. He just didn't manage to get to us. At 4 AM, a battle started, so fierce it was impossible to step out into the street. We were crawling to the cellar. We sat in the cellar from 4 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. There are no cigarettes, so we are rolling our own, from newspapers and [old tobacco].
[…]
Today is the New Year's. It's my favorite holiday. On the radio, they are talking about a truce for the duration of the holidays. We had a calm day, but far away, there was a battle. I was cooking a “holiday dinner” from the remains of the food. The battle began here around 9 PM, too, and lasted till 5 in the morning. It was so violent, everyone in the cellar prayed. Old men who had survived World War II were saying that it wasn't as scary then as it is in this war. There were several volleys a minute. We spent the New Year's in the cellar, praying.
* * * * *
January 1. No gas. We've all made brick ovens outside. Our neighbors’ oven has a good pipe […]. Ours is bad and the smoke flies in all directions. We don't know how to lay ovens. The rooms have turned cold and dump at once.
[…]
I'm freezing all the time. We finished the soup today and found shrapnel at the bottom of the pot. When I was cooking it, a battle began, and I ran to the cellar without covering the pot, and they fell in there. These fragments didn't have the deadly power anymore, as they failed to break through the pot's bottom.
[…]
I keep asking papa not to go to work, but he keeps insisting on riding his bike there. He works as a master at the City Gas. “Please understand, daughter,” he says, “if I don't go, who will give gas to the people?” Papa can't live without work, he feels he owes it to the people, and three blocks from father's place, the wounded gas pipes [lack holes], because each little hole is filled with a neat wooden stick. This is how my papa cures the pipes, so that the people at least had gas.
[…]
They killed a stray cow at the school stadium and were selling the meat cheaply. We bought as much as we could on the money we had. In the afternoon, the daughter was playing by the oven. There were shots. I asked her: “Laura, why don't you run to get dressed and go down to the cellar?” She replied: “Because I know that they aren't shooting to us, but from us.” She can now determine by the sound where to and where from bullets and shells are flying.
[…]
Then the morning arrived. In the train station building, the migration service opened and we were registered and given tickets to Moscow. Church representatives were giving tea to the people, sandwiches and the New Testaments. At the migration service, in addition to our tickets, we were also given [slips of paper that could be exchanged] for food at the small train station cafe. We took sausage, sandwiches, an apple for my daughter, a little bit of cheese. All this we haven't seen in a few months already. We stood at the platform, waiting for our train. And suddenly a civilian plane flew over the platform – there's an airport in Minvody, close to the train station – and more than half of the people on the platform fell to the ground. “These are Grozny natives,” I thought.


text:
Singapore: Government and Web 2.0 · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Kevin at theory.isthereason.com links to another blog post at  WebSG that talks about the online efforts of some governments agencies to engage the citizens.


text:
Singapore: Singapore’s role in the history of Lonely Planet travel guidebooks · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at beyond.sg meets the founder of popular travel guidebook company Lonely Planet and talks about the start got in Singapore for their guidebook business.


text:
Slovenia: Mistaken for Sweden · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

NHL player Anze Kopitar is Slovenian, not Swedish, writes The Glory of Carniola, correcting the media's unfortunate mistake: “Another opportunity for Slovenia to get some press, down the drain.”


text:
Sri Lanka: Peace Process · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Land like No Other on the peace process in Sri Lanka. “But, here I appreciate their effort to bring this confusion to an end, without being engaged in any sort of violent activities like they did in 1988 to oppose the merger of two provinces and the Indo Lanka pact.”


text:
Taiwan: mobile coffee · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Funck Chen at CCB.2.0 blogs about the cultural history of mobile coffee house. The first coffee car appeared in 1999, and now becomes a national landscape and the drivers of moible coffee house are usually the best tourists’ guides (zh).


text:
Taiwan: Taipei Mayoral election · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Turton blogs about the coming Taipei Mayoral election, which reflects on the political effects of the anti-president campaign.


text:
Thailand: Bangkok’s Latest Shopping Mall · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

In a city obsessed with shopping malls, Mike at bangkok.metblogs introduces the latest addition.


text:
Venezuela: New Passenger Rail Service · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Unsurprisingly, the inaugural day of Venezuela's new inter-city passenger rail service has Oil Wars touting its achievements and Miguel Octavio lambasting its failures.


text:
Africa: opening door to African cinema · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“For decades, African cinema has been poised for the kind of international breakthrough that Asian and Middle Eastern films have enjoyed. There are lots of stories to be told and there have been directors willing and able to tell them, but the financial resources available to filmmakers on other continents aren’t within easy reach of their African counterparts,” writes Sociolingo.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Arabisc: Protests, Human Rights and Cultural Repression  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

With labour union elections coming up soon in Egypt, Manal and Ala are reporting about labour strike in Ain Shams University, where salaries were almost halved.
وفقا لكفاية قررت ادارة جامعة عين شمس تخفيض أساسي مرتبات بعض العاملين من 220 جنيه الي 134 جنيه (معنديش فكرة بعد حساب الاضافات و المافئات الموظفين دول بياخدوا كام لكن المؤكد أنك لو عندك عبد هتصرف عليه أكثر من 134).
Kifaya as some of you may already know is a national Egyptian movement which is calling for democratic reforms in Egypt.
Away from the great Nile and to a small Island kingdom called Bahrain, Khalid Qambar writes about workers’ right from another perspective and is angry (as should everyone else be) at the widespread practice of ferrying foreign workers in open trucks “like cattle.”
Following recent accidents in which some workers were hurled out of open trucks into the street, where several were injured – many with serious injuries – Khalid wonders whether the practice is tolerated because officials in his country turn a blind eye to it.
Moroccan blogger Mohammed Saeed Hjiouij is also angry and has another battle to fight. This time is it against the repression of culture in the Arab world.
نلقي نظرة على أي من الجرائد العربية فنجد ثلث صفحاتها مخصص للكوارث وأخبار الحروب حول العالم، مع منوعات أخرى. الثلث الثاني مخصص للإعلانات التجارية، ويخصص الثلث الباقي لأخبار الرياضة والرياضيين. بعض الصحف قد تخصص صفحة أو نصف صفحة للثقافة، لكن ما إن يحصل فائض في الإعلانات التجارية حتى تكون تلك الصفحة أول الضحايا.
حتى القنوات الفضائية تتعامل مع الأمر بذات الطريقة.. حتى الفضائيات الإخبارية الصرفة تخصص نشرات كاملة للرياضة وللاقتصاد، وتتجاهل الثقافة كأن لا وجود لها.
أليس للثقافة والأدب محض اهتمام عند العربي؟ أليس هذا الإبعاد قمع ضد المجتمع؟
نعرف أن المثقف أول من يراد تدميره في الحروب، ويكون آخر ما يدك ما حصون. هو ضمير الأمة وصوتها. أقصد طبعًا المثقف الوطني المهموم بقضايا وطنه، وليس الكلب الراكع بين قدمي السلطان.
نشر الثقافة عبر وسائل الإعلام الجماهيرية يجعل الثقافة ذاتها جماهيرية، ويصبح التفكير جماهيريا والمعرفة ملكًا للكل. لكن أصحاب الحل والعقد لا يريدون ذلك، فيحاربون بالتالي حضور الثقافة والإبداع بكل الأشكال لأجل تنميط المجتمع وقولبته.
بكل تأكيد أزمة الإبداع العربي ليست بسبب فقر مادي، كما يحاولون –أحيانا- إقناعنا، قدر ما هي بسبب فقر في استشراف المستقبل.
From Kuwait, Umm El 3yal, is concerned about the drop in the number of women bloggers and commentators on political issues in her region.
لا يمكنني أن أتأكد من دقة هذه الملاحظة ولا من الأسباب وراء ذلك – ان كانت تلك ظاهرة فعلية. لذا فانني أطرح هذا الموضوع للنقاش لأتعرف على آرائكم وتحليلاتكم. ولكن بافتراض ان الملاحظة صحيحة فان اسباب عزوف الشباب بشكل عام والنساء بشكل خاص عن النقاش السياسي قد تعود لأحد هذين السببين أو كلاهما- الأول: عدم الاكتراث أو الاهتمام بما يحدث في السياسة المحلية أو خارج أسوار الكويت ، الثاني: الشعور بنقص الخبر في هذه المجالات وبالتالي الاكتفاء بالقراءة دون محاولة الدخول في النقاش
Away from human rights, cultural repression and the lack of women bloggers, Amir from Egypt, made me spill my coffee all over the keyboard as I was reading this.
Weren't we just saying something about human rights a moment ago? Whatever..

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Argentina: Where is Lopez? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Where is Jorge Julio Lopez. That's what all of Argentina wants to know “a month after 77 year-old Jorge Julio Lopez disappeared, a key witness in the recent trial against former police official Miguel Etchecolatz, who was sentenced last month to life imprisonment for his involvement in the last dictatorship in Argentina.


text:
Bangladesh: Economic News · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Drishtipat highlights some of the positive economic news in Bangladesh. “In spite of the dreadful political instability that constrains our entrepreneurs, the economy seems to keep growing at a 6% rate, which makes one wonder what our true growth potential would be if we could just get rid of the political and institutional bottlenecks.”


text:
Blogging Tunisia: ban, censorship and more censorship… · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

The major issue that has attracted the attention of the Tunisian bloggers in the last two weeks was the campaign against the Islamic veil launched by the Tunisian regime to wipe out what senior officials describe as “sectarian dress”. This last depiction finds its roots in the decree “108”, pioneering legal bans on the veil, issued in the early 80's at the height of the confrontation between the authorities and Islamists.
This time, before persecuting women of flesh and blood, and before forbidding them to wear veils in schools and government offices, the Tunisian regime has inaugurated the new academic year by cracking down toy shops across the country in search for, Fulla, the dark-eyed doll. The doll with “Muslim values” which has been introduced in November 2003 has quickly swept Middle East markets, replacing American Barbie and becoming a best-seller all over the region, The New York Times said.
The hunt against the hijab-clad doll was actually an introduction to the harassment and persecution of real women with headscarf at schools, universities, work and even on streets. This development has enflamed the debate over the veils, not only among bloggers, but elsewhere on the Internet, television and newspapers. Even Aljazeera TV channel has broadcasted a hot debate between pro- and anti-veils (watch the video [AR]).
Inside the Tunisian blogsphere, the headscarf affair raised questions about individual rights. About the logic that pushed the state to intervene to impose a uniform way of life and a “vestimentary code” on its citizens. Pointing out the nonsense and schizophrenia of the rules of forbiddeness, Stupeur [Fr] has put that in an artistic way by showing all prohibited things in Tunisia, from headscarves and beard to alcohol and marijuana. In the mean time, Tunisian Docteur [Fr], in allusion to the statement made by President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali that the veil “does not fit with Tunisia's heritage“, calls the girls of the country to be ready for an eventual prohibition that may touch some sort of non-Tunisian clothes and accessories like strings and piercing.
Tarek [Fr] considers the issue as a part of a deep crisis of identity and the quest of new one, once Europe has proved to be disappointing by turning its back on the Tunisian people. Following almost the same reasoning and pointing out the responsibility of the West that is loosing the heart and mind of the young generation among Tunisians, especially after 9/11, Zizou [Fr] has also mentioned the harmful religious propaganda broadcasted from the Middle-East. He underlined the urgent need of a public debate that it should take place in Tunisia around such increasingly sensitive topic.
Thémis [Fr] finds that the government, in order to win empathy, should be consistent in fighting both extreme, not only veils, but also nudity. And that is why she believes that the logic behind the actual campaign against headscarves is pure politic. It is a matter of power. Islamists, due to their increasing number and social position, may represent the threat to political status quo in Tunisia.
Apart from this passionate and controversial subject, bloggers have also debated plenty of other hot-topics, like unemployment among university graduates. Like A Girl From Mars [Fr] who is upset to see how easy graduates, after completion of their studies, are willing to accept a low remuneration and a short term employment to the detriment of their studies.  Even if she recognizes the hard circumstances surrounding the issue of unemployment, she advises the new graduates to stand up for their rights to earn an adequate and higher income according to their diplomas and skills. But for Lowe [Fr], having diplomas is no longer enough. Graduates need to improve their writing and linguistic capabilities especially for foreign language and English in order to find an adequate job. Deploring the lack of linguistic skill among a large cohort of graduates who simply cannot write a sentence, Low advises them to make use of Internet services particularly the online translation sites.
Are the online translation sites a proper solution? On this matter Xander [Fr] draws our attention to the fact that online translation sites are being blocked in Tunisia by the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI):
Il parait que l'ATI censure les traducteurs en ligne pour empêcher les tunisiens de consulter des informations néfastes pour leurs santé mentale.
This information, which has surprised and shocked [Fr] many who thought it was a sick joke, has already been reported, in 2005, by the Open Net Initiative who identified the motives for this censorship:
“The state also blocked one-quarter of language translation sites tested (4 of 17, 24%). Like anonymizers, translation sites can permit users to reach blocked content. A user who requests that such a site translate a filtered page can often read the prohibited content since it is the translation site, not the user, that accesses the blocked content.”
Talking about The “other censorship” [Fr] cases, the blogger and former judge Mokhtar Yahyaoui – who was among the final three candidates for The BOBs Special Award 2005 from Reporters Without Borders (RSF)- reminds us that at the moment censorship is being extended to target TV programs. He points out the popular “Bidoun Istithan” (without invitation) in which, the journalist Farah Ben Amara, enlightens the hidden side of Tunisian society by meeting the poorest people in the country and putting their misery in display. “Bidoun Istithan” broadcasted on « Hannibal TV » – country's only private TV- has been interrupted after a campaign was launched against it by some journalists on government-controlled media accusing it of voyeurism. Though cautious in her wording, A Girl In The Moon wrote about “Tunisian double way of life” [Fr] and the individualism that is spreading through the country and asked with sarcasm where “Bidoun Istithan” has gone? As for karim2k,  he notices that :
“Bidoun Istithan” (without invitation) have show how some of our citizen have really bad times, where poverty dwells in bitterness and hope, the hope that Hannibal TV offers to all the watchers of a better tomorrow.
Unfortunately, we are not done yet with the censorship’s long arm. Last week, as khanouff [Fr] wrote, the Tunisian public will not be able to watch the playwright Jalila Baccar‘s [Fr] new work, “Corps-otages” [Fr] (Captive Bodies) or “Khamsoun” (fifthly, because of the play's treatment of problems confronting Tunisia 50 years after the independence), directed by the living legend of Tunisian theater Fadhel Jaibi [Fr]. “The play which has only recently returned from a highly successful run at Paris's Odéon theatre, in June 2006 [Fr]”, the Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation in Tunisia (OLPEC) said in his last press release on October 13.
The Ministry of Culture's Review Board has announced the censorship of the play and demanded that all dates, names of persons and cities, as well as Qoranic verses and references to Tunisian modern history be removed. “The board is demanding that Jaibi bring the play in line with a list of 100 themes subject to censorship before it grants the opening permit.” In his note, Ancien Combattant [Fr], who attended the meeting in Solidarity with “Corps-otages” held in El Teatro, gives us an unexhaustive list of themes subject to censorship and a link [Ar] to the letter of protest that Fadhel Jaibi has sent to the Minister of Culture.
Although as Fadhel Jaibi is “doing this play so [his] daughter won't be forced to wear hijab“, the Tunisian government has censured Jaibi's artistic work and chosen its own methods to deal with such issues: ban, censorship and more censorship.

author: sami ben gharbia


text:
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Election Results · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Estavisti writes about the final results of the parliamentary election in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


text:
Brazil: Busy Weekend In São Paulo · Global Voices
David Sasaki

It'll be a busy weekend in Sao Paulo. Made in Brazil explains why.


text:
Bulgaria: Presidential Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Fistful of Euros writes about the upcoming presidential election in Bulgaria.


text:
Bulgaria: Tripoli 6 Letter to Gaddafi  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler posts a letter on the plight of the Tripoli Six that the New York Academy of Sciences has sent to Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi.


text:
Chile: Participatory Journalism and the Ministry of Culture · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Citizen media and the Chilean government continue to collaborate. This time Atina Chile announces its alliance with the Ministry of Culture [ES]. According to the post, a series of joint projects will soon be announced.


text:
Chilean Bloggers Around the World · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Ana María (ES) lives in Heidelberg. She explains that to pass the cold winter she discovered wool. With it she makes small handcraft dolls and posts them on her blog. Just like she does, a lot of Chileans around the world use blogs to express themselves, communicate with friends, and share their feelings.
Andrea (ES)  lives in Toronto. In her last post, she shares her concern about the people that are accusing illegal immigrants:
Osea me explico, algunos malnacidos y malnacidas tb (disculpen el termino), se hacen pasar por tus amigos,(as), se enteran de toda tu vida, y apenas saben que tu estas ilegal en este pais, van corriendo a Inmigracion a cobrar su cheque de 1000 dolares, a cambio le dan tu direccion, tus datos y todo, o como decimos aqui “TE PONEN EL DEDO” . Es ahi donde viene inmigracion y te arresta como delicuente o peor que eso..”
Indianguman (ES) writes from Finland, and shares life's everyday concerns, from the relaxed attitude of her cat to the first time her daughter lost a teeth, or in the last post, a poem:
“Caminos que convergen
galaxias que se crean
puentes que se tienden
océanos de viajes
de ida y vuelta
abismos que se salvan
arrecifes que estallan
a flor de agua
labios que conjuran besos
conjugando verbos
madeja de giños
que una imagen
desata
La belleza nos concilia
y aquí estamos
confluyendo”
Other Chileans share their lives from abroad like Gonzalo (ES), a professor at the University of Massachusettes in Boston, Felix (ES) in NY, Elisa (ES) in Cremona, Francisca (ES) in Germany and a lot of others.  Sometimes, though, you need to leave a comment to know where they're writing from.

author: Rosario Lizana


text:
China: Agricultural bank of China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Logan Wright points out that Agricultural bank of China is following the bailouts and the overseas listings of the other large state-owned banks (Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank). This time it may ask for a USD$100 billions tag!


text:
China: Satiric SMS or libel · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen in DANWEI translated an article from Nanfang daily on a prosecution resulted from a political poem in Chongqin.


text:
China: Social harmony with one child policy? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Positive solution discusses whether social harmony is possible with one child policy.


text:
Croatia: Online Discussions Overview · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

Some Croats feel nostalgic when they think about Tito's Yugoslavia, which broke into pieces in 1992. Turbo Kvrcko posts a funny “Wanted” image that depicts why he misses the good old times (HRV):
WANTED
Josip Broz Tito
Beyond reasonable doubt, he has committed the following “criminal acts”: he didn’t allow our factories and land to be sold, he didn’t allow to have working man serving entrepreneurs, he stopped famine and poverty, established the right of common working men to be in charge of their own future, empowered all to work, get free education, health care and certain pension benefits, sold us neither to the east nor to the west, created our own path. Those thinking the same as Josip Broz are armed with arguments and therefore can be considered dangerous!!!
***
At Socialism blog, Zemlja Oz describes the European policy of double standards as he reviews (HRV) the efforts of two Balkan countries to join the European Union:
We all know how tremendously hard the Croatian way was towards the kick-off of the negotiations to join the EU. The ultimate problem was the cooperation with the Hague tribunal, e.g. failure to arrest and hand in general [Ante] Gotovina. Croatia entered the negotiation phase only when the fugitive was taken into custody. On the other hand, Serbia still hasn’t caught Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. [Slobodan] Milosevic was arrested but at a huge price as the first Serbian reformist, Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated. At this point, the EU's double standards come into play, as the European countries are divided over one issue: should Serbia continue the negotiations despite the fact that the main accused have not been brought to justice. How come they treat Serbia differently? What is so attractive in Serbia […]? International community treats us as if we were an ugly dog. Serbs are always good [in their eyes].
***
At Index.hr discussion board (HRV), members discuss the latest international news: North Korea.
Beograd writes:
While Kim Jong II throws hundreds of millions to buy weapons of mass destruction, his people are facing slow death of hunger. Greater proportions of famine are prevented only by humanitarian aid from neighboring North Korea, China and Russia. International phone calls and Internet use are strictly forbidden within the country. Those deeds are considered ultimate betrayal. Thus the ones found guilty of communicating with the rest of the world are instantly sent to prison camps. There are four national TV networks broadcasting stories about the great leader, homemade soap operas and ethno music. All radios in the state are specially set so the volume can be decreased but the device couldn’t be turned off. So the “truth” would easily flow towards ears of the citizens. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, North Korea is in a stage of constant economic depression. Daily power cuts are common in urban areas while most of the villages don’t get electricity at all despite all the energy given away by China and Russia. Is there any chance these people would ever escape such a tyranny especially now when the dictator has nuclear arms?
Agressor:
I don’t give a shit about America and North Korea. If they want to fight, we should let them fight. I will make sure to get snacks and beer, sit down, relax and watch their war over TV like I would watch some action movie. […]
Mali Klon:
North Korea doesn’t exist. It was invented by CNN.
Dienek:
Why don’t they descend on this Asian country and stop the crazy “comics” people because they officially got the arms of mass destruction. The case is totally different from Iraq. As we know Iraqis struggle in the civil war and destruction brought to them by just promoters of a special – Texas – democracy.
Predratni Zavodnik:
Pakistan has got the nuclear bomb as well. Contrary to North Korea that lives in peace for about fifty years, Pakistan is involved in constant tribe disputes and war with India. How come somebody don’t bomb that country?
Ekstenzor:
I don’t think Koreans would be better off knocking down the regime and switching to capitalism. If they turn to western system, they would still stay poor as we did in Croatia. At the moment Koreans can’t see so many rich people. On the other hand, when [I] get out on the streets, [I] am tempted all the time like a dog by expensive unreachable goodies. For example, Korean person hasn’t seen a Mercedes ML automobile. I can see it every day and I will never own it. Who is having awful time, the Korean or me?
***
Back on the home front, Siber examines the problems of nationalism and explains why the extremes that strike the region of the Balkans can’t be good:
[…] Nationalism leads towards problems of individual perception. One perceives everything through the spectacles of belonging to a nation. That person barricades himself in a group isolating from the others. He ends up losing identity. Emotional judging prevails over rational thinking. Xenophobia and chauvinism occur. The worst consequence of nationalism could be extortion of people and genocide. Individuals harboring nationalistic feelings could be manipulated easily by state propaganda. Topics presented to the targeted viewers range from economic hardship to conspiracy theories. […]
Mindza concentrates on national identity:
What is Croatian identity right now? Are our national emblems and the fact that Croatia is an independent entity the only feelings we are left with after the war? There is a reflectivity towards the dark times of Yugoslavia (equals Serbs). At the time, the only wish was to persecute the Serbs. Since we won the war, we somehow vegetate as a nation into a wideapread crisis of identity. […] We have got the so-called freedom, in which everything is dictated by Europe. […] Not many walls are left, but Serbs are missing too. What shall we do now as [hatred towards] those Serbs used to make up our state identity? Who can we blame now that the Serbs are gone – maybe Slovenians or maybe we could blame the fact the Europe is on the side of Serbs in a conspiracy against us. […]
Frko:
Let's take into account an example from our recent history. At the times of state crisis, the ruling oligarchy provoked feeling – if you oppose the government, you oppose the people and the country (at the times of war this was understandable). So, what happened? Apart of unquestionable value of the wartime – successful defense from Serbian aggression other ugly things aroused: […], bad economic situation and tycoons appearing overnight thanks to firm connections to ruling oligarchy. Those negative outcomes are still defended by national interests. The irony is that a huge chunk of Croatia ended up in the hands of strangers [in the process of privatization]. The flow of blood of our homeland, our banks were sold to [multinationals]. They buy villas by the sea in Opatija while the indigenous citizens move to the hills. Half of the Istra region is sold out. There are 9,000 deaths more than births annually. Almost the whole political scene is divided with Cetniks on one side and Partisans on the other. […] The sad thing is, the masses buy the story and acknowledge those [primitive] political factors by voting at state elections allowing the country to sink even further. To love the country, preserve its cultural heritage and territory is a must, but nationalism is a dangerous asset, especially when there's too much of it. […]

author: Ljubisa Bojic


text:
Gambia: human rights violation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Home of the Mandinmories writes about torture and coercion of the alleged coup plotters in the Gambia: Browsing through the Point today, a story on the court martial of Captain Yahya Darbo caught my eye. I wish I can say I told you so, but the abuse and indignity suffered by the victims will make your blood boil. This was what I wrote in march when these guys were paraded on national television and forced (in my opinion) to make confessions.


text:
Honduras: How to make tortillas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

La Gringa gives a lesson in bi-national cuisine; a step-by-step explanation of how to make “Honduran-American tortillas.”


text:
India: Acid attacks on Women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

An Anthropologist Wannabe on acid attacks on women in the subcontinent. “Being only 10 years of age, I didn't know the damage that acid could cause so imagine my shock when I saw Rivalli several months later to find half her face had been eaten away by the acid and she had a permenant limp owing to damage caused to her feet by the acid.”


text:
India: Advertising and Appalling · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Time To Reflect on advertising that quite burns the eye. “if I did have the option of tagging outdoor ads with “this sucks”, I know where I would start… with that serial on Zee TV which ran those terrible teasers all across Mumbai and Delhi last month which said among many other appalling things – “Bete ek mannat, betiyan ek bojh” (boys are a blessing, girls a burden) and “Bete banaatey kanoon, betiyan khaana” (boys make the law, girls, food).”


text:
India: Indian – The Airlines · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Atanu Dey on the renaming of Indian Airlines as ‘Indian’ – “But removing the “airlines” and just retaining “Indian” is as astoundingly stupid as one can ever get. So now when you say “Indian” you don’t know whether you are talking about food, clothing, land, thought, behavior, or . . . an airline! Making a bad thing worse is not an improvement.”


text:
Iran:Government Bans Fast Internet · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to media, service providers have been told to restrict online speeds to 128 kilobytes a second and been forbidden from offering fast broadband packages. A teenage blogger, Kourosh Ziabary wrote an open letter in his blog to Minister of Communication and criticised government on this subject [Fa].

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Kazakhstan: Dirty Atyrau · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Atyrau Informant gives a tip on what shoes to wear to make it through Atyrau's winter mud.


text:
Kenya: Kenyan blogger passes away · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Kenyan blogger, Kachumbari, who wrote from a village in Central Kenya has passed away:
“I just found out from Ndesanjo that Kachumbari was killed in a car accident several weeks ago. His cousin Samuel offered an obituary and explanation of his death on the blog – Kachumbari had travelled to Nairobi to buy goods for a store he was setting up in Nyahururu, and went to visit a friend who lives in the downtown. He was hit by a hit and run driver and died while enroute to Kenyatta hospital.”


text:
Korea: Mount Geumgang Tourism project · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Occidentalism summarizes the buzz over Mt Geumgang tourism project. Reports said that Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill demanded the supension of “inter-Korea project” as a part of the sanction against North Korea nuclear test.


text:
Korea: North Korea nuke analysis round up · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kotaji puts together analysis on North Korea nuclear test and its effects.


text:
Kyrgyzstan & Azerbaijan: Pollution · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben Paarman notes that Kyrgyzstan's Mailuu Suu has been listed as one of the ten most polluted sites on earth by a US environmental group. Elsewhere in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a site in Azerbaijan makes the list.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Kochkor Rodeo Journal · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peace Corps Volunteer Trent Milan posts a journal detailing the planning for the upcoming rodeo in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan.


text:
Lebanon: Beirut and Blogging · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

This week some of the bloggers of the Lebanese blogosphere flirt with Beirut and with blogging. But you will always find politics, religion and war. Remember that Lebanon is in the Middle East.
Why do you blog? Why do I blog? Why does Maya[at]NYC blog:
Why do people blog, anyway!
Why do the people I know, or have learned to know blog anyway?
Some seem to blog to make their demons public and maybe deal with them better.
Some write for the joy of writing.
Some discuss politics. They debate the why and how, the pro and the con. They get fired up, they worry, they fight and look out for human rights.
Some work their blog like an artist creating a painting. Weaving from threads of words, laces that surround you and keep you warm on a cold exile night.
Some share their outlooks with you, redraw their life, expose their camera lens to your eyes.
Some take you witness to their struggles.
Some write a virtual diary of their real life.
Some share their passion, their interests, their desires.
Some talk about hobbies, about talents. But sometimes about dreams. And maybe about fears.
We blog to connect with others. Or disconnect from our daily life.
Nizar Kabbani, the Syrian poet, wrote once a poem about Beirut calling the city “the Lady of the World”. So it is not strange to find some bloggers expressing their love, in their own way, for the city. EDB returns to beirut and declares:
Upon arrival at Beirut airport, I felt like a kid in a candy store, grinning from ear to ear in anticipation of the sweet smell of garbage boiling in the Meditarranean sun. Visas are still free for European citizens; no questions asked at immigration as to the purpose of my 11th visit in the span of 12 months. Welcome to Jizzini's Lebanon. First stop on the way home from the airport: a kellaj stand in Verdun.
This morning, the rainy season began. A storm erupted, just as Israeli fighter jets flew over Beirut. I couldn't tell if the deafening noise was from sonic boom or thunder. Neither could the neighboring kids who started screaming at the top of their lungs. I turned on the TV. Apparently they violate Lebanese airspace on a daily basis.
Perpetual Refugee expresses his emotions as he anticipates his return to Beirut:
There is something magical about the flight in. The anticipation of going home always seems to bring out the childish qualities hidden beneath the cool, manly exterior. It’s always been that way. No matter how many times I return. Which is very often.
The butterflies in the stomach sending signals via my occupied mind to my anticipating tastebuds. Salvivating profusely while looking forward to that first bite my neighborhood has to offer. (mankoushe zaatar extra or knafafa bi ka3ik with a whole lotta Turkish coffee)
I get edgy. I just want the plane to land. We haven’t taken off yet. We haven’t even boarded. Yet I just want to get there.
It’s the only place on earth that makes me feel that way. It always has.
If Beirut and New York City were in a competition for the better city, then Beirut will win. Not convinced? Then read this post by Jamal at the Lebanese Bloggers Forum
Abu Kais, on the other hand, is in Beirut and gives an account of a close encounter with terrorism that he and his family experienced.
Six were injured last night, in the first attack to target the heavily guarded city center. There was a sense of foreboding throughout the night. At around 6, someone decided to launch loud fireworks into the sky, causing massive explosions that made me think fighting broke out. You think all sorts of things when you are pushing a stroller on unfriendly pavements and among bored soldiers who block every ramp possible. The Italian presence made some uncomfortable, although not some taxi drivers who seem to have overcome the language barrier and are now selling their services in Italian.
Okay, enough of Beirut, let's talk religion now. Do you say Allah or God? What is the difference? Read Bech’s analysis:
And here is the interesting bit: I come from a Christian Lebanese environment meaning that i am born Christian (not born again mind you!), and here among us the Christians of Lebanon we call God: Allah. Oups how come, although we're not Muslim creatures? Because allah simply means god in arabic. Applications to this new discovery: When I say Ya Allah! it means My God! to refer to a common European exclamation. Now for some social science contributions:…
What is the relationship between economics, marijuana, evolution and the war on terror? An answer is at Jeha’s nail:
For many, drugs were the only cash crop. With that option gone, they have little choice but poverty. And they fall into the clutches of whoever has the cash, or whoever can protect them and keep government forces at bay. During their occupation, Syria played a pivotal role in this and became “Hooked on Lebanon”, especially in the Beqaa and many regions of the South.
In the increasingly fragmented Lebanon of today, Hezb is more than able and willing to fill that gap. To some, bombs may be more “glamorous” than beans, but you need a combination of both to “win”.
Hezb understands this. Give and take, and a few hypocritical tears do not hurt…
After an analysis of the current political situation in Lebanon, Hilal, at Lebanese Bloggers Forum, concludes with the following:
For me I would have put all the war princes and politicians in prisons but I know unfortunately that It doesn’t work like that. This is Lebanon. No majority, no minority. It is a country built on “compromises”. Sadly, manytimes, compromises cover corruption.
There's a saying that I heard long ago:
“Dictatorship and corruption inside (any kind of corruption) welcomes foreign intrusion”.
Finally the situation in Gaza, Palestine, is the focus of one of Sophia's posts:
A cloud of civil war is hanging over Palestine. Israel will soon achieve with the help of Fatah, the US and the silent international community, the last stage of its plan, the killing of the Palestinian cause amid international silence on Palestine stemming from the fact that there is international furore channeled and directed elsewhere…
Hamas should resign and not engage in a civil war with Fatah because that's what Israel and the US want, complete chaos in the ME and Palestine to hide the absence of any political will to bring peace and justice to the region. Its members should enter clandestinity, leave the government to the thugs who are accepting the money and the weapons directed at their kins and their children and their people and wait for an awakening of the international community and the international public opinion and the international law, wait for all the fury and the spin to settle, wait for Humanity to rise again…

author: Moussa Bashir


text:
Macedonia: Hitchhiking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Baby writes about his hitchhiking experience in Macedonia.


text:
Malawi: Madonna, Malawi, and Baby David · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Reacting to Madonna's adoption of a Malawian baby, Afrika-Aphukira writes:
“For Mr. Yohane Banda, who had never heard of the pop diva Madonna until she visited Malawi last week to adopt his 13 month-old son David, the closest he could relate with the material girl was the word Dona, meaning rich white woman, in Malawian parlance. In a matter of days, he now knows her, and the rich guy Guy Ritchie, as the new parents of his son. My initial reaction to the news was amazement at how a child whose father was alive and available could be termed an orphan, and be considered for adoption.”


text:
Mexico: English Language Weblogs Reviewed · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ellen Fields has been reviewing Latin America-focused weblogs in English for quite a while now. Here is a list of every blog she's reviewed so far.

author: David Sasaki


text:
Mexico: Oaxaca Update · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Ana Maria Salazar and Mark in Mexico relate, in their respective styles, the heightened political ambitions of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO). Colin Brayton describes the murder of “Pánfilo Hernández, an elementary school teacher from Zimatlán, who was shot around 9 p.m. by unknown persons traveling in a blue Jetta with mirrored windows.”


text:
Nepal: UN Security Council · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook reflects on the UN Security Council Debacle. “As if the vote count wasn’t humiliating enough, the government and the Maoists have been caught in a sickening blame game over Nepal’s failure to win a seat on the United Nations Security Council.”


text:
Nigeria: ICT literacy condition for political leadership · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“As the political terrain gains momentum for the 2007 general election in the country, the immediate past-president of the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Mr. Chris Uwaje, has said that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) knowledge and literacy should form the prerequisite for political aspirants,” writes IT Realms.


text:
Panama: A Rant · Global Voices
David Sasaki

In his inimitable style, Rob Rivera let's loose with “Panamanians and My Rants.”


text:
Poland: Groping Not OK · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about the British National Party and groping – in Poland and in Britain.


text:
Slovenia: Fighting Piracy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“The essential tools of pirates: blank CDs, blank DVDs, external hard drives, and other copy-related technology, are about to get more expensive in Slovenia,” reports The Glory of Carniola.


text:
Somalia: radio show on political tensions · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethan Zuckerman writes about a radio show on the political tensions in Somalia:
“My friends at Radio Open Source are putting together a show on the political tensions in Somalia – their overview of the political situation is an excellent one, and reflects the difficulty they’re going to have in getting enough viewpoints around the table to build an accurate radio show – Somalilanders, Puntlanders, supporters of the provisional government, pro-Islamist Somalis, as well as Ethiopians – who are already weighing in on the comment thread.”


text:
South Africa: houses with electric fences · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is Black Looks going to touch electric fences in South Africa?:
“Very scary these electric fences. The house next door has one and I am so tempted to touch it just to see what would happen and if it really works. I am not sure which is more scary, the fence itself or me having this pushing desire to touch it. I am still here so no I havent done it yet. Coming from Nigeria the gates, bars, fences and wild dogs are no big deal. The only thing is we do not have electric fences since the electrity supply in Nigeria is so erratic that it would be a waste of time.”


text:
Sri Lanka: Let’s talk about Sex · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

ravana.wordpress.com on why no one talks of sex in Sri Lanka. “We never get taught sex education in school. Even though there was a chapter on the sexual reproduction system in my GCE ordinary Level Science textbook in school, this topic was successfully ignored by the teacher. I just thought he was skipping it because he feared the dynamite laden questions the horny and curious 15 year-olds in his class had for him.”


text:
Tajikistan: HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia, Vadim discusses the HIV/AIDS problem in Tajikistan.

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Turkey: OpenSource Radio Discussion on Turkey · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Open Source Radio will be having a dialouge on their show tonight about recent events in Turkey with the awarding of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Turkish author Orhan Pamuk to the passing of a bill in France on the Armenian Genocide. Global Voices‘ author Deborah Dilley will be interviewed as well as Murat Altinbasak from Amerikan Turk.

author: Haitham Sabbah


text:
Turkmenistan: Monument to Irony · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net notes that Turkmenistan's president has unveiled a building shaped like a book that is a gift to the country's media and dedicated to free media. The author notes that this is quite an irony as independent journalists are a rarity in Turkmenistan.


text:
Ukraine: Coalition, Opposition… · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LEvko of Foreign Notes thinks that the Ukrainian “saga” of “coalitions and oppositions” is over.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Zimbabwe: woman-on-woman violence · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabwean cartoonist joins the debate around the Domestic Violence Bill, “He raises an interesting issue, writing at some length about the ill-treatment of maids by their female employers, discussing this as woman-on-woman violence and asks whether this form of domestic violence will be included in the Domestic Violence Bill,” via Kubatana Blog.


text:
Argentina: History of Opera and Football · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Some history today from Buenos Aires. The upcoming renovation of the downtown opera house, Teatro Colón has inspired Jeff Barry to to begin a series on the history of opera in Buenos Aires. eBlog, meanwhile, points out that today is the 30th anniversary since the debut of Diego Maradona [ES] with the Argentinos Juniors.


text:
Argentina: Mar del Plata’s Beer Route · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jorge Gobbi took advantage of his time in Mar del Plata last weekend to do some local beer tasting. Speaking of Mar del Plata, Google Earth 3D wonder, Ezequiel Galotti recently released his latest modeling of the city's streets and buildings.


text:
Armenia: Burglaries · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Life in Armenia blogger Raffi K. says that there sppears to be a large number of burglaries in Yerevan.


text:
Bermuda: Green Day · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Adjustah provides a roundup of the recent commentary from his fellow Bermudian bloggers, noting that today several of them are observing “Green Day” in protest of the preservation of the Botanical Gardens in Hamilton. The Save the Gardens blog has posted photos of people wearing green, holding “Save the Gardens” signs and also a couple of class photos with all the students wearing green. On his own “Green Day” entry, Adjustah could not help but post a photo of members of the eponymous rock band as well, in addition to the movement's official badge.

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
Brazil: The Media Empire Bows to Blogs · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

There is something very different going on in the Brazilian media arena. It all started a week ago with a cover story published in the magazine Carta Capital, headlined: The Plot Which Led to the Second Round. The magazine is known as a ‘leftist stronghold’ and, with a modest circulation of 65,000, it normally functions to leverage for more balance in the political coverage performed by the mainstream media. The unusual comes from the attention that the article has attracted from the blogosphere, and how the debate has pushed the powerful Globo TV network and its executive editor of journalism to enter the online debate in order to post its counterclaims against the article.
On the tragic Friday afternoon that GOL Flight 1907 — which was expected to arrive in Brasilia at 6:12pm  — plunged into the Amazon forest with 154 people aboard, this was not the important story in the Brazilian broadcast media. With two days left to the first round of the presidential election, the widely viewed Globo Network nightly news program Jornal Nacional placed greatest emphasis on showing pictures of the money captured by the Federal Police in the alleged election scandal called dossiergate. Strange as it seems, this news program which aired at 8pm did not say a word about the crash, and Brazilians were startled to be informed about the country's greatest airline tragedy by cable CNN.
The story that Carta Capital's reporter Raimundo Rodrigues Pereira tells in an exquisite narrative is how Officer Edmilson Bruno of the Federal Police illegally took pictures of the money and distributed them to journalists from Folha de São Paulo, Estado de São Paulo and O Globo newspapers and to the radio station Jovem Pan on the morning of that same Friday. The existence of an audio file of the conversation where the police officer demands of the journalists that the pictures of the money be shown on that night's edition of Jornal Nacional was mentioned in Carta Capital's article, and an actual copy of the recording was leaked to YouTube earlier this week.
A reportagem da Carta Capital demonstrou como o jornalismo da Globo foi cúmplice do delegado Bruno – que fotografou, na véspera da eleição, o dinheiro apreendido com petistas quase duas semanas antes, para depois pedir divulgação no Jornal Nacional e exigir mentira dos veículos para explicar aos seus superiores o vazamento (além de cometer várias outras ilicitudes, como implicitamente confessar que o fazia por motivos políticos).
Homer Simpson da TV Globo leva baile dos leitores do Observatório da Imprensa – O Biscoito Fino e a Massa
A revista conta em detalhes como os meios de comunicação omitiram as informações de como o delegado Edmilson Pereira Bruno obteve e repassou, aos próprios jornalistas, as fotos do dinheiro apreendido com duas pessoas ligadas ao PT num hotel de São Paulo. Bruno chegou a confessar sua ação criminosa aos repórteres, afirmando que irá forjar um roubo para justificar o fato de a imprensa estar de posse das imagens. Embora a confissão tenha sido gravada em áudio, sem que ele soubesse, nenhum veículo a publicou. Alguns – como a Folha e o Estadão – ainda produziram textos procurando inocentá-lo pelo vazamento das fotografias.
Escândalo: Revista revela conluio da imprensa para prejudicar Lula e o PT – ‡‡ † †๑۩۞۩๑. ‡‡ † † aNjO_fuNEraLS © ²ºº6† † ‡‡ ๑۩۞۩๑.‡‡ † †
Os veículos envolvidos nessa denúncia precisam, com urgência, rebater as acusações. Não é possível que permaneçam nesse silêncio sepulcral, ignorando a mais séria, contundente e fundamentada acusação dos últimos tempos. Sim, é verdade que o Governo precisa se explicar. E a mídia cobra explicações. Da mesma forma que ela própria, a imprensa, precisa também se explicar. Uma coisa é ter liberdade, o que é saudável para uma democracia, mas outra coisa – e bem diferente – é se julgar acima do bem e do mal. Isso só prejudica a credibilidade.
Carta Capital denuncia jornalistas e veículos de comunicação – Imprensa Marrom
During the week, the pressure from the blogosphere on the big guys kept growing. The bloggers hosted on big portals like UOL, Globo, Estadao and Terra were not mentioning the issue, but their comments sections were exploding with requests from readers.
Ahm leitores, esses leitores. Melhor não lê-los. Mas se não lê-los, como sabê-los?… Falemos agora sobre essa cobrança para que eu comente aqui a matéria da ‘Carta Capital’. Primeiro, se vcs já leram, qual a necessidade de ela ser comentada ou reproduzida aqui? Alguns pensam que me constrangem com essa cobrança. Confesso que não li mas sei do que se trata… Eu trabalho há mais de 20 anos em uma empresa das Organizações Globo. Conheço portanto a casa onde trabalho e sou testemunha da postura editorial da empresa… Mas vamos admitir, como hipótese de raciocínio, que a matéria fosse verdadeira. Que atitude eu deveria tomar diante disso? A primeira e única seria eu me desligar da empresa alegando que não é possível exercer a atividade profissional com dignidade nesta casa. Mas, jamais, em tempo algum, eu usaria as próprias ferramentas da casa para criticar a empresa. Isso seria desonesto. Seria sabotagem.
Conversa na madrugada com o leitor – Blog do Moreno
Os 67 mil exemplares da “Carta Capital” não se equiparam à tiragem das grandes publicações. Mas cada exemplar com a matéria de Raimundo ficará pairando no ar, como um alerta sobre o que ocorre com jornalistas e publicações, quando colocam paixões e interesses acima dos princípios jornalísticos.
Requiem do Jornalismo – Luis Nassif Online
Six days after the appearance of Carta Capital's story — in the middle of a schizophrenic media situation where blogs were debating hotly the issue while the portals were solemnly silent — came the big surprise. The executive editor of journalism of Globo TV, Ali Kamel, published a long response to Carta Capital at the Observatorio da Imprensa. In a text full of quotations and detailed comparisons, the executive journalist focused mainly on contradicting the magazine's accusation that Jornal Nacional intentionally delayed the delivery of information about the airplane accident in order to maximize the impact the pictures might make on the outcome of the election. Nevertheless, as one blogger mentions, content rather than circumstance was the perceived story.
De tudo o que foi escrito em “A trama que levou ao segundo turno”, reportagem de capa de CartaCapital da semana passada (nº 415, de 18/10/2006), a insinuação mais fantasiosa é aquela sobre o acidente com o vôo 1907, da Gol. A revista afirma que, no Jornal Nacional de 29 de setembro, o noticiário eleitoral, com destaque para as fotos do dinheiro dos petistas, foi praticamente o único assunto. Depois, ao constatar que o telejornal não divulgou a notícia do desastre, a revista pergunta: “A emissora levou um furo, como se diz no jargão jornalístico, ou decidiu concentrar seus esforços no que lhe pareceu mais importante?”. Um telejornal como o Jornal Nacional, recordista absoluto de audiência, constrói a sua reputação assim: com notícias corretas, sem espalhar o pânico no país. Pôr no ar que um avião de passageiros da Gol “pode” estar desaparecido, sem dizer qual o vôo e qual a rota é simplesmente levar o pânico para milhares de casas Brasil afora. Não fizemos isso. Não faremos isso. Mesmo que tivéssemos conseguido confirmar a informação antes do encerramento do JN, ela seria apenas uma nota, pois todos que conhecem TV sabem que é impossível produzir um rico material com o jornal a caminho do fim, com um assunto que demanda deslocamentos grandes.
TV Globo contesta Carta Capital – Ali Kamel in Observatório da Imprensa
Minha gente, a intenção política do delegado não tem a menor relevância. Isso só mostra que o cara é um pretencioso sendo usado por alguém. Se ele não tivesse cópia das fotos ele podia ficar repetindo à exaustação que queria que saísse aqui e ali e não ia adiantar nada. Não foi porque o delegado queria que a foto foi publicada. A despeito das babaquices que ele disse só saiu porque era notícia. Ponto. Quanto a imprensa defender o delegado e pintá-lo como um desinteressado, depois dele descoberto, acho que foi um erro. Mas o ponto central da reportagem da Carta Capital, o da conspiração, não é confirmado. Ou vocês vão querer me dizer que um dos participantes da conspiração gravou tudo e distribuiu para o público?
O delegado – Blog do Ilimar Franco
After Ali Kamel's post at OI, the portals started to mention the existence of the recording and Globo published a complete version at G1, its new news portal. His post was immediately flooded with comments and one might speculate that the media empire's gesture of coming down to the marketplace of the people's conversation empowered the Brazilian blogosphere into a new level of significance.
o dia em que o gigante golias se dignou (por “livre” e “espontânea” “vontade”) a contestar o pequenino davi:  TV Globo contesta Carta Capital (e destaque especial e delicioso, também, ao davi do davi – ou seja, à caixa de comentários de vossas excelências, os leitores uau!)
Comentário in Deslizando pela Interlância – Pedro Alexandre Sanches
Só o fato do Sr. Ali Kamel, fazer questão de descer de seu pedestal e vir aqui tentar se justificar, já deixa claro, o estrago feito na reputação da Rede Globo, pela feliz reportagem de capa da honesta revista Carta Capital. Fenômeno muito interessante, que merece os holofotes deste Observatório, é o papel desempenhado pela Internet, como foro de debate e veículo de reação aos desmandos midiáticos. Suponho que os editores da Rede Globo, devem estar com as “barbas de molho” neste momento, tentando rascunhar algum editorial fantasioso, cheio de pompa, divulgado sob o semblante embargado de um impecável Willian Boner, durante algum Jornal Nacional. O fato é que o estrago está feito. A Rede Globo tem que se preocupar sim. O brasileiro médio está ficando politizado e a Internet está cada vez mais massificado como veículo de INFORMAÇÃO.
Alexandre Jogaib , Rio de janeiro-RJ – Contador
Caramba! Um acontecimento na rede. Abri uma garrafa de vinho enquanto vou me deliciando com todos os comentários. Um brinde a vocês, ao nosso direito à informação honesta e à expressão.
Pedro Agilson , Rio de Janeiro-RJ – fotógrafo
É refrescante a troca entre blogs e a grande imprensa. Renovadora, pelo menos. Nessas eleições, a imprensa atrapalhou-se em um emaranhado de denúncias e perdeu esta semana, para os blogs, parte de sua confiabilidade. Afinal, o indivíduo sente-se um trouxa ao ouvir jornalistas combinando com um delegado da Polícia Federal a versão dos fatos que ele deve engolir. A conversa na calçada entre o delegado Edmilson Bruno e alguns repórteres está no blog de Paulo Henrique Amorim  e também no You Tube. Como é bastante enrolado, o “causo” pode afastar o leitor menos interessado em política. No entanto, é um exemplo sobre como a dinâmica entre blogs e a grande imprensa tem o poder de renovar a difusão de informações.
Ouça nos blogs o que você não lê na imprensa – anacarmen.com
It is important to note that at this time many opinion polls are showing successively larger leads for Lula in the run-off that will be decided on October 29. Nevertheless, today's Jornal Nacional is still reporting heavily on the investigations about the money used by PT partisans to buy a dossier incriminating the now elected governor of Sao Paulo Jose Serra in the ambulance scandal. But it's really strange there is no reporting about the possible wrongdoings of PSDB partisans alleged in the dossier, and that nothing is mentioned about the fact that 70% of the overpriced ambulances were acquired when Serra was in charge of the Health Ministery during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government. In this mudslide of media portrayals of scandals in the final days of the campaign, some commentators are starting to see the Internet as the best way for Lula to reshape the media environment in his second term.
O Governo Lula não enfrentou nem enfrentará a Rede Globo. A relação de Lula com a Globo é a mesma de Tony Blair com Murdoch (sem comentários…) E a solução Roosevelt – dar um salto tecnológico? É a mais plausível. Usar a internet. O Governo Lula é quem mais precisa de inclusão digital. Os sites de informação do Governo ou de instituições ligadas ao Governo na internet são de uma inépcia petista. De uma maneira geral, os governos, os partidos (com exceção do PC do B) e os políticos brasileiros (com exceção de César Maia e Zé Dirceu) não sabem usar a internet. É o único espaço que sobra para o Governo Lula – se ele for reeleito.
Como governar quando TODA a imprensa é contra – Paulo Henrique Amorim

author: Jose Murilo


text:
Cambodia: A bookseller’s tale · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Chlim01 in Cambodia is happy that his favorite bookstore in Phnom Penh got some media coverage.


text:
Cuba: Havana in photos and video · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Flickr user silvertopixel has a series of lovely art photos of street life in Havana. And Lisetcruz posts a YouTube video with views of Havana's famous Malecón and a matching photo of her own.


text:
East Timor: Report on Violence in East Timor · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Tumbleweed in Timor Lorosae links to a report on the violence in East Timor earlier this year. The report is published by an independent commission. “On my way in today, i saw a cleaning lady reading a document, with her brows furrowed in concentration. Hours later, i walked past her again and this time she was surrounded by at least 4 others who were keenly listening to her as she read out word by word the report in Tetum.” Tetum is one of the languages in East timor.


text:
Ecuador: Fear Campaigns · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alejandro Giacometti has a interesting comparison of fear tactics used in campaigning both in Ecuador and the United States. Colin Brayton translates an article about the “detention of the representative in Ecuador of the Brazilian E-vote company, Santiago Murray, as part of an investigation into responsibilities for the failure of the computerised system for counting votes in last Sunday’s presidential and legislative elections.”


text:
El Salvador, Honduras: Island Dispute · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim Muth links to some excellent resources to better understand the newest land dispute between El Salvador and Honduras, this time over the uninhabited island of Conejo in the Gulf of Fonseca. Muth facetiously comments, “perhaps it is for just such disputes that El Salvador needs to have its high level of military spending.”


text:
Gambia: President appoints new cabinet · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Following the recent Presidential election, the President of the Republic of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, appoints his new cabinet. Home of the Mandinmories writes about the appointment: “There is not a lot of changes. He move some pieces around on the titanic. Kanja Sanneh (agriculture) and Maba Jobe (foreign affairs) are the only new faces in the cabinet so far with four vacancies still remaining. Lamin Bajo (ex foreign affairs) may still land another post. He has always been cool with Jemus.”


text:
Guyana: Reality Shows · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Providence Stadium puts forward a few ideas for Guyanese reality shows.


text:
Indonesia: IE7 Review · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesian tech blogger Willy Sudiarto Raharjo reviews the latest version of Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft.


text:
Indonesia: Independence hopes of Minhasa region · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Indonesia Matters blogs about the latest region in Indonesia that hopes to break away from Indonesia. “The region of Minahasa occupies the northern part of North Sulawesi province and contains the regencies of Minahasa, North Minahasa, South Minahasa, Bitung, Manado, Tomohon, and Bolaang Mongondow.  The people speak their own language, Manado Malay, and were generally pro-Dutch during the colonial period, with Dutch language, culture, and religion, having had a significant impact on the Minahasa.”


text:
Kazakhstan: Brawl in Atyrau · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

A fight broke out between Turkish and Kazakh workers in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The Atyrau Informant has photos and a brief report on what took place.


text:
Kenya: government must protect citizens · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Xposer wonders if the government of Kenya adheres to its constitutional mandate to provide security for its people, “The Issue of which party or candidate to vote for is no longer a big problem to some. But some questions remain unanswered: Have they (politicians) educated the public to love one another and reach a consensus amicably incase of a sticky situation? Is the government living to its constitutional mandate to protect its citizens and provide security?”


text:
Kenya: the collector of worlds · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kikumuyumoja's Realm writes about a book reading event in Nairobi, Kenya: “There was this public reading (organized by the German Cultural Centre (Goethe-Institut) & the German Department @ University of Nairobi) by Ilija Trojanow and Binyavanga Wainaina at the Goethe Auditorium (@ Maendeleo ya Wanawake House – used to be one of Nairobi’s tallest buildings in the 1970s!) on Thursday evening. They jointly read passages in German and English from a new book by Ilija Trojanow about Sir Richard Francis Burton, a “Mecca pilgrim and world traveller”.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Blog Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia of neweurasia sums up the week in Kyrgyz blogs.


text:
Mali: the music of Ali Farka Toure · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Matsuli music remembers the great Malian musician, Ali Farka Toure: “Cancer claimed Ali Farka Toure's life earlier this year. I'm thankful we can continue to feel his presence in the recordings he has left behind. Nick Gold and the producer Jerry Boys captured some of his greatest moments for the World Circuit label.”


text:
Nigeria: Africa Salsa Congress · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africans love salsa! Naija Blog announces that  Africa Salsa Congress will take place in Nigeria.


text:
Nigeria: economic benefits of railway transportation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

StockmarketNigeria discusses the economic benefits of railway transportation in Nigeria: “The resuscitation of rail transportation in Nigeria had only been more of a political promise since the exit of the British from Nigerian governance in first October, 1960.The encouraging economic growth recorded within the colonial era due to agriculture was largely supported and facilitated by the effective north to south railway transportation of agricultural products connecting the sea ports for export/import activities.”


text:
Tahiti: Google Earth Shots · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Tavana Daniel of Tahiti: Litterature is (Fr) happy google earth updated their aerial shots of Tahiti but laments that the picture was not taken on a sunny day. She provides pictures.

author: Alice Backer