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China: Photos from outside the Tan Zuoren trial · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Media, diplomats and even a monk were present at activist Tan Zuoren‘s trial yesterday where he was sentenced to five years in prison. Media activist Yang Licai today uploaded his photos from outside the courthouse.

author: John Kennedy


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Dominican Republic: Leones Win Caribbean Baseball Series · Global Voices
Rocio Diaz

After a untypical winter baseball season in the Dominican Republic, where two of the traditional top teams, the Aguilas Cibaeñas (Cibao Eagles) and the Tigres de Licey (Licey Tigers) failed to reach the finals, and in their place, the Leones del Escogido (Lions of the Chosen One), a baseball team that last won a title in 1992, won the local tournament and earned a place in the Caribbean Series. The Santo Domingo-based Leones introduced big changes administratively and structurally for the 2009-2010 season and it paid off. José Francisco Arias of the blog Cristal y Colores [es] summarizes this success:
¡Por fin los Leones del Escogido logran ganar el campeonato de Béisbol Profesional de RD…! Vencieron la noche de este jueves 5 carreras a 2 a los Gigantes del Cibao en el estadio Julián Javier de San Francisco de Macorís y se llevan la corona. Hacía 18 años que no lograban el cetro. La celebración comenzó anoche mismo y se extenderá por varios días. Los escogidistas ansiaban celebrar con su trofeo de campeones.
Finally the Escogido Lions were able to win the championship in the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League! Tonight they beat the Cibao Giants with a score of 5 runs to 2 at the Julián Javier Stadium in San Francisco de Macorís and took home the crown. It has been 18 years since they last won the title. The celebration started that night and will last for many days. The residents of Escogido have been waiting to celebrate their championship trophy.
Not only did Escogido win the local tournament, but they also captured first place in the 2010 Caribbean Series, which was held on Margarita Island in Venezuela from February 2-7. By defeating the Leones de Caracas (Caracas Lions) 7-4, Escogido only lost 1 game during the tournament. Felivia Mejía (@LaBari) shows her enthusiasm on Twitter:
Los Leones del Escogido regresaron para ganar en grande. Felicidades x la victoria en la Serie del Caribe. Por acá andan fanáticos felices!!
The Escogido Lions have returned to win big. Congratulations for the victory in the Caribbean Series. Around her, the fans are happy!!
With this victory by Escogido, the Dominican Republic has won 18 titles in the Caribbean Series, and it is the country that has won the most titles in the history of the event, in which Mexico, Venezuela, Puerto Rico regularly participate, along with Panama and Cuba which have participated in the past.
Photo of neighborhood baseball diamond in the Dominican Republic by El Marto and used under a Creative Commons license.
The participation by Escogido in the Caribbean Series broke the dominance that other teams like the Tigres de Licey and the Aguilas Cibaeñas had locally and regionally. From 1992 to 2009, the Dominican Republic took home 9 Caribbean Series titles, 5 of which by the Eagles, and the other 4 by the Tigers.
With the rise of Escogido, there is more interest and competitiveness in the local winter baseball season in the Domincan Republic, where the same teams do not always come out on top, as had happened in years past. Regarding this turn of events. Mario Peguero (@mariopeguero) celebrates:
Lo mejor de todo fue q los Leones del Escogido ganaron la serie del caribe ayer!!! Comienza una nueva era!!!
The best part of it all is that the Lions of Escogido won the Caribbean series yesterday! A new era begins!!!

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rocio Diaz


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Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago: Cocoa Tea & Dry Season  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Grenada's Free Spirit is preparing to make cocoa tea, while Trinidad's My Chutney Garden is thinking of plants that thrive in Xeric environments due to “the beginning of an uncharacteristically dry season..”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Guyana: Rodney Film  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Signifyin’ Guyana is inspired by “Guyanese filmmaker Clairmont Chung's W.A.R. Stories, a documentary on the life, activism, and death of Dr. Walter Rodney.”


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Haiti: Relief Efforts & Dangers · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Almost a month after the earthquake which ravaged a significant portion of public facilities and private buildings in Port-au-Prince and nearby cities, French-speaking netizen Espas Ayisien blogs about the different realities of people who survived the disaster:
Those who go back home
De nombreux Haïtiens ont regagné leurs domiciles durant le week end dans plusieurs quartiers de la région métropolitaine. Cette décision semble être motivé par la diminution de la fréquence et de la magnitude des répliques de la semaine dernière.
Those who migrate towards rural areas
Dans le même temps, d'autres résidents de la région métropolitaine poursuivent l'exode vers les villes de province.
Those who live in temporary housing
Par ailleurs, les personnes dont les maisons ont été détruites maintiennent leur présence dans les centres d'hébergement provisoire.
This concern about people's housing and security explains Espas Ayisyen's list of the top priorities of the Haitian government:
1) Aménager des sites d'accueil dans la périphérie des villes avec une capacité maximale de 10 000 personnes, soit 2 000 familles
2) Créer des sites à l'intérieur des villes en identifiant des espaces de proximité supplémentaires, quartier par quartier pour l'installation des campements transitoire de taille agréable, soit 300 à 500 personnes
3) Distribuer des tentes et des kits d'urgence incluant des bâches en plastique et armature légere avec un support direct à la population déplacée.
2) Create areas inside the cities and identify any extra available zones, neighborhood by neighborhood, in order to set up human-scaled temporary camping sites for 300 or 500 people.
3) Hand out tents and emergency kits including plastic tarps with light frames, to directly support the migrating population.
Here is a post (in Creole) by Reseau Citadelle, discussing this decision, which was announced by the Haitian Prime Minister.  The creation of this safer but quick temporary housing has caused some people to try and take advantage of the situation; blogger Réseau Citadelle posts a warning message to condemn profiteers.  Here is an excerpt:
A BAS VOLEURS
Les TENTES recues EN DON (CADEAU) pour les sinistrés sont en train d'etre vendues à US$ 125 au petit peuple…. Ce peuple qui n'a pas 1 sou et dont les membres de leurs familles viennent de périr sous les décombres.
Those earthquake survivors who can't afford the extravagant and illegitimate prices asked of them may now be exposed to more threats, since most buildings have not been checked by specialists and can still collapse at anytime.  Here is what Espas Ayisien says about it [Fr]:
Toutefois des spécialistes ne cessent de lancer des mises en garde contre l'occupation des maisons fissurées. Craignant l'effondrement de ces maisons en cas de violentes répliques, les géologues ont soutenu que des ingénieurs doivent donner leur avis sur les différents immeubles.
Une équipe d'ingénieurs haïtiens a été récemment constituée par le ministère des Travaux publics en vue d'évaluer l'état des constructions.
Outre l'occupation des maisons endommagées les autorités ont interdit la reconstruction de nouvelles maisons.
A team of Haitian engineers has recently been appointed by the Ministry of Public Works in order to assess the situation of the buildings.
Besides prohibiting living in damaged houses, the authorities have forbidden the building of new houses
But, as always in Haiti, there is hope: Espas Ayisyen announces the arrival of a team of 300,000 specialized Japanese engineers, brought in to assist the UN and Haitian teams on the ground in assessing the plight of the buildings and in planning for the future.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Haiti: Tuesdays go by and look alike · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

In a post entitled “Tuesdays go by and look alike” Potoprincipe [Fr] blogs about the collapse on Tuesday, Feb. 9th of one of the biggest supermarkets in Port-au-Prince, trapping an unknown number of people.


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India: Mahalakshmi Derby · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anand Rao at Mind Sparks posts some pictures of the Mahalakshmi Derby in Mumbai with interesting captions.

author: Rezwan


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Iran: Green Movement Readying for February 11 Protests · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran's Green Movement is ready to defy the Iranian regime with protests once again – this time during the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on 11 Februrary (22 Bahman). During this week the Iranian State will celebrate the day that marked the end of the Iran's western-backed monarchy and the beginning of an Islamic republic. According to news reports from inside Iran, internet access, email, and text-messaging services have been disrupted the past days in advance of the protests.
The Iranian opposition has protested since June 2009 against the Iranian government and the alleged manipulation of the presidential election's results.
Iranian citizen media and artists commented on the upcoming day of protest and created art works.
Soheil Tavakoli, a creative artist has created a dramatic new video montage of digital paintings (part 3 of a series). At the end of the video the artist envisions victory for the Green Movement and a free Iran – where even clerics are willing to be photographed next to women wearing skirts and no veils!
United4Iran that coordinates and amplifies the voices of activists, academics, NGOs, artists, and others who desire to work on issues related to human and civil rights in Iran, also published a video to inform about demonstrations outside Iran related to 11 February.
Green Wave Voice aslo created a trailer for the 11 February demonstration where the words “courage”, “loyality” and “democracy” have been emphasised.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Learning the art of diplomacy from a mobster · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Blogger at U-SUKE's tumblr says [ja] he learnt the art of diplomacy from a former mobster.
This the yakuza's advice: “During negotiations, you know, the one who looses his temper looses the game. First of all you listen carefully to what the other party has to say. Then, when he utters the word he shouldn't have uttered, you cling to that word and immediately follow up.”

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Snow sculptures at Sapporo Snow Festival 2010 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pink Tentacle posts videos and photos of the snow sculptures at Sapporo Snow Festival 2010.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Morocco: Talks on Western Sahara to Resume  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The dispute over the Western Sahara is a complex one–Morocco claims it as their own, while the Saharan independence movement (the Polisario), backed by Algeria, desires independence.  Three years ago, talks resumed between the Polisario and Morocco, but after four rounds of formal negotiations, a conclusion still had not been reached.  Morocco's current proposal is autonomy, but the Polisario demands a referendum on the territory's future, including an option for independence.
The latest news is that talks are set to resume on February 10, informally, in upstate New York.  Bloggers are weighing in with their thoughts on what the future might hold for the region.  Maghreb Blog, whose author is based in the U.S., gives a bit of background to the conflict, and offers this opinion:
If the plan is not to their liking, which is obviously the case, then it is incumbent upon Algeria and the Polisario to step up to the plate and propose a non-obstructionist, realistic alternative. The blind rejectionism of anything Moroccan will only lead to maintaining the current status-quo largely in favor of Morocco at this point. Any meaningful compromise between Morocco and Algeria is beneficial, not only to the two countries, but also to the other three countries in the Maghreb region, as it could be a tremendous step towards full economic and political integration.
Commenter Chasli expresses disagreement with the blogger's assessment, saying:
You and clearly Rabat are in total denial that the Polisario has already offered a plan. Shortly before Morocco officially came forward with their autonomy plan the Polisario presented a plan that called for a referendum that, as far as I can tell, could include just about anything as long as it included independence as an option. And if the inhabitants voted for independence the Polisario pledged to allow the illegal Morrocan colonists to remain and to institute a special relationship with Morocco. This is I feel a very impressive compromise that deals with a number of Rabat's concerns; however, because Rabat flatly refuses to discuss the UN-mandated referendum on self-determination they have totally ignored the Polisario plan.
The debate continues throughout the comments section.  Blogger Analitikis also takes on the subject in a recent post; discussing a recently-issued UN statement, the blogger writes:
Reading the statement and subsequent euphoria on the seeming acceptance of the parties to engage in yet another round of “talks”, one would think that a resolution to the Western Sahara conflict is within reach; that all it takes is a Security Council’s resolution, a Secretary General’s report, a Special Representative’s statement, and a parties half-hearted acceptance for a 35-year-long intractable conflict to be resolved. Little attention is paid to the process, to the parties’ readiness, and to the contextual conditions that may signal the opposite. As far as I know, neither the parties nor the UN (I use the term loosely here) are ready for any kind of serious and honest engagement that would put an end to the conflict of attrition known as the Western Sahara conflict.

author: Jillian C. York


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Nepal: Ex-King Breaks Taboo  · Global Voices
Rezwan

United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal reports that: “Nepal’s deposed king Gyanendra himself has broken a centuries-old taboo by attending a religious fair in a town till now considered out of bounds for the royal family.”


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Nepal: The Nepali Congress Is In A Mess · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nepa.li reports that the Nepali congress is in disarray because of lackluster leadership.


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Open Video: Worldwide Wireside chat with Lawrence Lessig · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Larry Lessig by Robert Scoble
What is fair use, how does copyright fit into the digital age and how can commentary, teaching, remixing and research with video be freely developed? Tune in on February 25th 6:00pm US Eastern time (GMT -5) to watch and listen to Lawrence Lessig as he discusses these topics at the Open Video Alliance website or check out for screenings in your city. At the moment, the only screenings outside the US will be in Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, Israel and India, however, if you are interested, you can host your own by contacting the Open Video Alliance.
Lawrence Lessig, law professor and political activist who is also the founding board member of  Creative Commons, will speak for 45 minutes, followed by a 30 minute question and answer session moderated by Elizabeth Stark of the Open Video Alliance. Questions can be submitted by using the hashtag on twitter #wireside.  While on twitter, why not follow @Lessig and @openvideo?
Are you interested in Open video? Then don't forget the Open Video in 60 seconds contest to win a trip to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival, deadline is this Sunday, February 14th. Or just  take a look at the submitted entries on what open video means to many folks all over the world.
Still not sure about what Open Video means? Why not take a look at this entry for the contest by Qasim Virjee which explains what Open Video means to him:
What is Open Video? from Qasim Virjee on Vimeo.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Pakistan: PTA Blocks President’s ‘Shut-Up’ Video · Global Voices
Teeth Maestro

On Sunday evening [7th February 2010] YouTube.com started facing intermittent reports of irregular inaccessibility across various ISP's in Pakistan.  It initially started off with a simple white page displaying the word “This Site is Restricted” throughout the YouTube domain which were reported widely on Herdict Web, roughly displaying that the site-wide inaccessibility lasted for about an hour but after that everything seemed to have been recovered back to normal.
Huma Imtiaz wrote:
About 90 minutes ago, YouTube suddenly got blocked in Karachi – with the message “This site is restricted” popping up instead. PTCL expressed ignorance about the ban, whereas representatives of various ISPs’ helplines said that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority had banned YouTube. At around 9:30 PM PST, YouTube came back, but now one cannot access the video of Zardari saying shut up to a crowd that surfaced recently on the website. Since its a Sunday, PTA representatives are unavailable.
Screen Capture From YouTube Video
Instead it was then reported that the Internet governing body Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, which monitors internet access from Pakistan has placed an URL-specific ban on one particular video in which the President of Pakistan Mr. Asif Ali Zardari is seen to deliver a very forceful and curt “Shut-up” to some participant at the rally he was addressing a rally barely a few weeks back.
It must be noted that Mr. Zardari actually says in Urdu:
“What has happened to this democracy ……. Shut Up”
Many Pakistanis would find this as a hilarious coincidence coming from a infamous corrupt leader who has a quite a large number of corruption cases outstanding against him.  In 2007, his wife Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after which Mr. Zardari successfully hijacked her party and nudged his way into the power corridors in Pakistan and land up in the Presidency.  All this was only possible as he negotiated a compromise with the then President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf by fabricating an illegal constitutional order [NRO – National Reconciliatory Ordinance] which pardoned him of all his corruption cases.
Here is the video uploaded by YouTube user c1ickme3:
Tassaduq Bashir at Techreaders comments:
Having said that I don’t understand what Government is thinking by banning the video in Pakistan. Literally anyone with small Internet knowledge can access those easily. Also the ban is in Pakistan and Pakistan isn’t the whole world, Global users still have the access to the video.
Sources analyzing this recent censorship attempts suggest that the PTA engineers were yet again testing & fine tuning the URL-block list as they slowly nudged these videos inaccessible to Pakistani, this risky trial and error has been the hallmark of the very same PTA engineers who in February  2008 masterminded [accidentally] to knock out the entire youtube.com network as then PTA tried to block a certain election vote rigging video ending up to misconfiguring the DNS records of Youtube resulting an serious outage world wide for a good few hours before youtube scrambled to fix the errors.
Farhan at Guppu writes:
I got a friendly message to Mr. President Asif Ali Zardari and that is; there’s nothing bad if you got angry on someone from audience who might have provoked you on some sensitive personal issue but what you did wrong is; tried to censor the words of your own! If you are so much embarassed about that video, why did you say such thing at first place, and now that you had said that already, what stimulated you to block that?
Political analysts believe this recent run of censorship is more a knee-jerk reaction by the present rulers of the country as they are facing pressure from a number of areas, more specifically the previously side-lined corruption cases that they had in 2008 nudged away by some illegal constitutional reforms, to get themselves elected. These cases have been reopened for a detailed investigation by the Supreme Court of Pakistan which was done away with the various constitutional reforms bringing at stake their appointment to these high-level offices.

author: Teeth Maestro


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Russia: Interview With Nina Khrushcheva, Part 2 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A second installment of the video interview with Dr. Nina Khrushcheva – at Robert Amsterdam's blog. (Part 1 is here.)

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Pictures and Videos of Arctic Winter · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russian traveler Dan Kislov (a.k.a. LJ user nub1an) posted [RUS] a video and pictures of the Nenetsky Autonomous District [EN], one of the most perspective oil and gas provinces in the country. Oil towers, snowstorms and kilometers of unpopulated terrain.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Syria: Facebook Group to Protest Sanctions on Syrian Air  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Facebook, around 1,300 members to date have joined a group calling for the suspension of US sanctions on Syrian Air saying: “there is no reason to apply any type of sanctions against [a] civil carrier.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Taiwan: Presidential Office curbs foreign press · Global Voices
David Reid

The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato writes that the Presidential Office has excluded foreign reporters from monthly briefings on ECFA. The post includes a letter of protest from the President of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents’ Club to the Presidential Office.

author: David Reid


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Ukraine: From “Street Children” to “Adult Bums” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scenes from the Sidewalk writes about the situation with street children in Ukraine: “It is even worse if they are over seventeen as at that point they are no longer children and therefore are on their own. Without rehabilitation, they become adult bums.”


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Ukraine: “Idealism” vs “Practical Concerns” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Natalia Antonova comments on the outcome of the Ukrainian presidential election: “The way I see it, people who urge Ukrainian voters to lay aside petty practical concerns and see the big picture are getting off easy.”


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Ukraine: Protests Against Sergei Bratkov’s Art · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

IZO writes about protests against Sergei Bratkov's current show at Pinchuk Art Center and posts a YouTube video of one of the protests, as well as a note with the artist's response (RUS) to the protesters.


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Australia: Climate Change Election a Step Closer · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Even before the Copenhagen Climate Change conference the Australian Opposition parties had dumped their support for a Cap and Trade scheme and their leader Malcolm Turnbull. Last week new Liberal party leader and global warming sceptic Tony Abbott released an alternative carbon emissions plan.
Meanwhile Kevin Rudd’s government has reintroduced its Emissions Trading Scheme to the House of Representatives where Turnbull crossed the floor to vote against his own party. Last year the ETS was blocked twice by the Senate after the Opposition dumped a negotiated deal. Turnbull argued that:
This legislation is the only policy on offer which can credibly enable us to meet our commitment to a five per cent cut to emissions by 2020 and it also has the flexibility to enable us to move to higher cuts when they are warranted.
Speech In The House Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
At Club Troppo Ken parish is concerned that Turnbull is the only politician effectively countering the sceptic and minimalist positions:
Tony Abbott, who thinks man-made global warming is “crap”, nevertheless promises to spend billions of taxpayers’ dollars in dealing with it, even though his predecessor rightly labels the Mad Monk’s policy as  “a recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale” that would increase taxes and fail to reduce emissions.
…Only Turnbull bothers to present a considered, analytical case for the ETS, but no-one listens because he’s yesterday’s man and neither policy nor principle nor even intelligent discussion are of the slightest interest to the reptiles of Australia’s political media.
The bemused person’s guide to global warming
The Piping Strike is a regular commentator on Oz politics with several posts this week. A key concern is how the ETS has been spun into a “new big tax”, similar to the Goods and Services Tax controversy of the 1990s:
Coalition politicians talking about the price of ice cream in supermarkets and Ministers rote-learning the prices of household goods makes it all seem as though we are having a re-run of the GST debate.
… As Abbott keeps reminding Rudd, after Copenhagen things have changed. While it reaffirmed that nearly all the world’s governments now feel the need to pay lip service to climate change action, coordinating to look as though they will do something about it is another matter.
How the ETS became the GST
Leo Shanahan,  staffer at The Punch  and perhaps one of Parish’s target media reptiles, is preoccupied more with the messengers than the message:
The head of the UN’s climate change panel (the IPCC) Rajendra Pachauri has released a novel that combines lessons on climate change with sexy story lines.
… Following last week’s visit from the Skeptic Dark Lord Mockton (who looks and sounds like an evil mastermind from a new climate themed Bond film) I can’t help but wonder if some of the increasing confusion about climate change stems from the eccentric oddballs who we’re told to believe.
No wonder we’re confused about climate change . . .
Meanwhile at self-styled ‘libertarian and centre-right blog’ Catallaxy files, Samuel J was unforgiving:
In one of the great betrayals in Australia’s history, Malcolm Turnbull today abandoned any pretense of support of small government and liberalism by throwing his weight behind the considerably corrupted Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
He is not worried about the political costs of a new tax, arguing instead for a carbon tax:
… In theory an emissions trading scheme can provide a sound market-based means of capping carbon emissions. But a necessary condition is for a world-wide trading scheme. It is clear that there is no such scheme. And it is clear that there is no possibility of such over the next decade.
Under these circumstances, for Australia to introduce a perfect ETS would be silly. But to pass the amended CPRS would be lunacy. It would be considerably superior to introduce an appropriate carbon tax, which would be more efficient and less prone to corruption and rent seeking.
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull – Australia’s Don Quixote?
Veteran political journalist Mungo MacCallum did not spare Tony Abbott a lick of his sarcasm at online journal Crikey:
To call Tony Abbott’s long-awaited policy on climate change an anti-climax is to heap it with undeserved praise.
Indeed, to call it a policy at all is to overstate the reality: it is closer to something you might find scrawled on the back of a beer mat after a long night on the turps.
Ever the optimist, Mungo finds a bright side for future public debate:
Still, even Abbott’s severest critics have to admit that there has been one useful spin-off already: Rudd has started to speak clearly about his own plan. His ETS has now been reduced from several pages of jargon and waffle to a simple grab: we put a cap on emissions; the polluters pay; and households get compensated for any price rises. Abbott’s policy does none of the above. End of story. Actually, of course, it’s rather more complicated and less ideal than that, but at least Rudd is now making it sound comprehensible.
Abbott meticulous about his jockstrap, no so on climate change
Like global warming, it's a debate that is not likely to cool for some time. Even the Federal election due by the end of the year is unlikely to bring the parties together.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Bangladesh: Bangla Spell Checker Add-on For Firefox · Global Voices
Rezwan

Belayet informs [bn] that Ankur ICT Development Foundation has recently released the updated version of a Bangla spell checker add-on for Firefox, an indispensable tool for Bangla computing.


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Cambodia: Mixed Views on Freedom of Expression · Global Voices
Sopheap Chak

Surya Subedi, the human rights envoy of the United Nations to Cambodia noted the progress of human rights issues in the country during his second visit in January 2010. Asked by reporters following his talk with Prime Minister Hun Sen, Subedi highlighted the general picture of human rights situation in Cambodia:
“We discussed a wide range of human rights issues. We have been making progress on freedom of expression and the NGO law, land evictions and the cooperation between civil society and the government.”
Unlike his predecessors who were harshly criticized by the Cambodian government, Subedi is apparently more acceptable to government officials including Om Yentieng, a top adviser to Hun Sen and the chief of government's human rights committee, who urged UN officials not to continue the “old way” of criticizing the Cambodian government on human rights issue. Om Yentieng reportedly claimed that the government is working hard to solve and improve the human rights situation in Cambodia. He offered an interesting notion on human rights situation in Cambodia by saying:
ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាមិនមែនជាឋាននរក ហើយកម្ពុជាក៏មិនទាន់ក្លាយជាឋានសួគ៌មួយនៃសិទ្ធិមនុស្សនោះដែរ។
However, a human rights organization, ADHOC, recently released its 2009 report on “Human Rights Situation” by marking the year 2009 as the year when restriction on the freedom of expression increased. The usual targets were politicians and activists who are critical to the government. The report noted that the sorry state of freedom of expression in 2009 is comparable to 2005 when a number of human rights activists were arrested.
“At least twenty-two complaints were filed by government officials against dissident politicians and civil organization representatives, with an additional twenty-five complaints against journalists. This year, the situation can be compared to 2005; although there has been a slight improvement in relation to sentencing in defamation cases. No one who has been accused of defamation charges has been jailed and the accused of other charges have been given more chances to escape overseas comparing to 2005. Notably, it has become a tendency to restrict this freedom right after the general elections and the formation of a new government. With new elections looming, the situation has been loosen. We expect, this time, similar tendency would be repeated.”
The report raised the alarm on the increasing number of threats against human rights defenders over the past three years. Compared to 2008 when 164 prosecutions were conducted, the figure jumped dramatically in 2009 when 235 human rights defenders were charged. Of this 2009 figure, 147 were arrested with 89 granted bails and 58 remained in custody while the remaining 88 have managed to escape questionable arrest warrants. ADHOC also raised additional concern given the fact that many threats against human rights defenders are channeled through the courts. This trend is similar to the charges against journalists who were sued for defamation, misinformation and related issues.
Coincidentally, on the same day of the news release of ADHOC's report, an activist from the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights reportedly appealed for intervention against an alleged death threat issued by members of an army unit after he took a photograph of soldiers cutting down fruit trees on a disputed land in Chumkiri district of Kampot Province.
This concern is not only raised by human rights institutions and activists, but also discussed in the blogosphere. Morn Vutha, following the chat with a student journalist, was asked an ordinary but crucial question: Are you afraid of threat warning?
“It is because that I talked more about corruption, bribery and extortion. Therefore, she asked me if I am afraid of writing articles about these issues.”
Vutha , who proclaimed his dream to own a personal blog where he can voice his opinion and disseminate news to friends, posted his reply to the question by highlighting the importance of freedom of expression through blogging.
“What I wrote about is the true things happening in the current society. I cannot shut up my mouth. I just want to share the real issues to all of you and other readers over the world […] The truth is the truth. We cannot hide it forever. In general, those who criticize the government are always getting life threat from unidentified people, especially human rights workers and politicians[…] Blog created is a good tool for sharing my own thoughts and opinions with all of you.
This sentiment is also shared by Kounila, in her post on “Politics You View in this World,”. She declared that Cambodian society might continually stay under suppression. It is just like domino effect where the old generation living in the dark period of genocide were traumatized to stay in silence and this had great impact on the younger generation who were told to follow only instructions without questioning.
“They [the old generation] are afraid to tell their real feelings. They are scared to be asked to give judgments about anything. Later, their children are taught to follow authority without questions, and after all they learn to do the same. No politics is blurted out at school or at home since their parents can blame or shoo them about any topic related to politics they talk about anywhere,” wrote Kounila.
Without letting this effect continue, Kounila started arguing with a friend and teacher about politics. Acknowledging that people perceive politics as dangerous and no ordinary person wants to be involved with politics, Kounila wonders why politicians dare to kill each other. Regardless of the threat in the political stage, Kounila still perceives that people need to act out in order that politicians will not be controlled by only a so-called elite group. She emphasizes that politics is for the people's welfare, it is therefore necessary for people to get out of political trap.
“Don’t let politics control you. You control it! Power is intoxicating but it doesn’t last long, just a blink if you think hard,” urged Kounila.

author: Sopheap Chak


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China: The end of 32-year-long football “Korea-phobia”? · Global Voices
Robert Woo

China’s football (soccer) team beat South Korea by 3-0 in the East Asian Men’s Football Championship in Tokyo on Wednesday. The victory created a storm of euphoria among China’s sports fans and netizens, as South Korea stood at the heart of Chinese football’s decades of embarrassment, corruption and failures. For 32 years, China had been doomed in every battle with South Korea on the football field, generating the so-called ‘Korea-phobia’ that has dominated the cultural imagination.
In cyberspace, this news was immediately met with joy, amazement and even disbelief. The general opinion seems to suggest that the victory did not just happen by chance, but rather through a genuinely brilliant performance. Here are some of the comments left on a video collection of the game’s highlights, which has already accumulated 800,000 views in less than a day.
我和老爸戏说是附身了，呵呵~
这个是中国足球吗 那脚法 那传球精度 我是不是看错了！！
早上还看央视封杀国足，让球迷过个开心年，晚上就暴出个大冷门
不管真假，但是的确踢的可以！
今天是真拼了 难得见到国足的爷们拿国家荣誉当了回事
小时候没足球场，周末就和同学在马路正中间（挑的车比较少跑的水泥路），两边各放俩砖头，象征性做了个球门。我们这代人就这么喜欢踢足球。现在的小孩已经很少有这样的了。加油吧，中国足球。不是我们给的爱不够。
To make the matter more intriguing, this victory actually came in the midst of a high-profile probe into China’s corrupt football system, which included the arrest of the president of China Football Association for match fixing. Blogger Zhu Daming wrote:
一场比赛不能说明什么，但这场比赛至少能够治愈我们的失去“自信”的多年旧疾。中国足球并不缺乏人才，而以前恶劣的环境让诸多的天才沦为仲永，假球、黑哨以及赌球严重污染了中国足坛这块土壤，再好的苗子也难以生长
Famous blogger and sports journalist Li Chengpeng tries to keep a cool head by questioning the presumption that a single victory means the problems have been finally cured.
3比0胜韩国扫不了32年恐韩，扫的就是这一场，这道理就像九年前世界杯出线扫不了44年的梦魇，只扫的是那一年那几天，因为后来到韩国比赛时就被连奸九球一球未进。
我们是需要获胜还是需要成功，获胜就是当年抽出亚洲或这次的3比0，成功就是真正像日本足球那样按人性和球性去搞好基础建设，或像巴西人那样当成一个民族的盛宴狂欢
我担心，担心，担心，这场胜利又会搞成行政足球的一次有力的佐证，高洪波因一场3比0而被大赦了11场该说清楚的问题球了，刑不上大夫，刑不上大胜，而且会有大批的群众也认为这样很对。
Many netizens also echo Li’s worries:
说实话，今天的球还是踢得挺不错的，希望，但是相信就是个偶然，体制不改，还是没戏！

author: Robert Woo


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China: Twitter revolution · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Interlocals.net has a translation of Hu Yong's article on Micro Revolution, which tells the significance of micro blogging, such as twitter and sina micro-blog, on mainland Chinese society.


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Haiti: Aristide as an Ally · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger reports that some Fanmi Lavalas members have asked President Preval to allow Aristide to return and to be an ally in the rebuilding of Haiti, calling the move “a good opportunity to address the question of regime change in Haiti and the US and UN involvement in human rights abuses in Haiti…”


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Haiti: Why All The Stories About Orphans? · Global Voices
Marc Herman

A month after a seven-point earthquake destroyed much of southern Haiti, the fate of children, and particularly orphans, has become the main story in many corners. But Haitian voices on the topic have been few.
In this long video report posted at Telegraph21, recorded in the days immediately following the quake, managers of two Haitian orphanages speak to the issue in two drastically different ways. At minute 2:30, the manager of an orphanage in an unnamed location in Haiti expresses frustration at the sudden interest in Haitian children, where before there was less concern. Inquiries from foreign families seeking to adopt have become daily. “I don't even reply,” she says. “Everybody listen, I don't want to receive post-catastrophe requests.”
A counterpart identified as Ledice, however, who cares for sixty children in a different facility, calls for relocating kids faster, and cites a lack of government services to approve adoptions, even those underway before the disaster. “Now it's a humanitarian cause,”  she says. “Let's take the kids. We'll see the papers later.”
Much of the recent focus on kids, both mainstream and not, comes from the widely-publicized case of an American church group arrested last week while trying to bring thirty-three kids from Haiti to the Dominican Republic. But a broader debate  is also underway.
Conducive, a group blog that frequently debates international adoption, notes that previous rushes to adopt children out of crisis went awry:
Removing children during times of disaster is not new.  We saw this with Operation Babylift after the Vietnam War, where the American government hurriedly removed almost 3,000 children from their homeland during the Fall of Saigon in 1975.  Lawsuits between birth parents and adopted parents tied up U.S. courts for years.  Birth parents claimed they never consented to the adoption, and adoptive parents claimed the adoption was legitimate.  Critical adoption theorists are seeing parallels with the current rushed adoption of Haitian children.
In a post titled Orphans, Orphans, Orphans!, ResistRacism is more specific:
How many prospective adoptive parents have been trained in cross cultural and transracial adoption issues?  (The same parent referenced above [in the post] wonders about black hair care.  Now that she’s receiving the child.  Do you think she thought about other issues of race and culture?)  (Don’t even get me started about trauma issues.  That’s too big to even cover.  But I’m of the opinion that the average individual isn’t equipped to handle extensive trauma in a child.)
Why aren’t agencies soliciting prospective parents of Haitian descent?  Folks with experience treating trauma?
The same post suggests a more creative solution.
Here’s a radical thought:  If some of those “orphans” were relinquished for adoption because their parents could not keep them, how about we airlift entire families from Haiti to the U.S.?  If you’re seriously talking about the welfare of the child, isn’t it best for the family to remain together? But that wouldn’t serve the needs of those other families. You know, those good families who wish to save the orphans.
Renewed attention to Haiti's Restavec (sometimes Restavek) system has also become an issue. In a post from before the quake, Repeating Islands says the system, “through which parents unable to support their children send them to live with more affluent relatives or strangers for whom they receive food, shelter and education in return for work” has become tantamount to slavery. She quotes a United Nations investigator who visited Haiti last year to investigate the Restivek issue, saying
…Although placement with children with other family members has long been a practice in Haiti, nowadays ‘paid recruiters scour the country looking for children to traffic both within and outside Haiti. This practice is a severe violation of the most fundamental rights of the child.’
Most international agencies involved in crisis childcare have, in the past two weeks, stated opposition to rapid adoptions in Haiti. The International Committee of the Red Cross, in a statement presented as an interview with one of its child protection officers, said it believed efforts to connect children with family members in Haiti should receive priority, and adoption a last resort.
…In situations where a child is evacuated, there are clear procedures to follow: the child should be accompanied by a relative or someone who knows them, if possible; the details of the child must be registered and their family must know where the child is taken to and by whom. Unfortunately some children were evacuated in haste without all their details being recorded.
Aid groups including Save the Children, World Vision and the Red Cross Disaster Fund (which is separate from the International Committee), issued a joint statement also opposing evacuations and adoptions. So did UNICEF.
So what's the controversy? The case of the children stopped at the border involved a Protestant church adoption group, some of which have advocated international adoption as a means of spreading their own religious views. Other evangelist Christian blogs are more careful. Christianity Today, “A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction” opposed quick international adoptions:
In the initial months after an incident like this, we don't want to move children away from the area where family members are searching for them. After the Southeast Asian tsunami in 2004, there were many small kids virtually unidentifiable, and yet a very high percentage of those children, thanks to DNA testing and other methods, were eventually returned to family members.

author: Marc Herman


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Hungary: Report on Acceptance of Right-Wing Extremism  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum reports that, according to the recent findings of a Hungarian think-tank, “in Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Hungary the impulses toward the acceptance of right-wing extremism are the strongest.”


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India And Apple · Global Voices
Rezwan

bhatnaturally explains why Apple is making a big mistake by ignoring India.


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India: Paypal Trouble · Global Voices
Rezwan

Robin Wauters at Techcrunch informs that Paypal has suspended personal payments to and from India. However, people can still make commercial payments.


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Indonesia: Water buffalo banned in rallies · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

President Yudhoyono of Indonesia was reelected with an overwhelming mandate last year, promising to focus on bureaucratic reforms and stricker fight against corruption, including the eradication of the Judicial Mafia on his first 100 days in office.
His efforts were deemed insufficient and too slow by the people, and scholars [id] think that anti corruption efforts are lacking strategies and far from being well planed.
End of January, a demonstration took place in Jakarta and several Indonesian big cities marking the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's second term.
During the rally in the capital, a group of youth calling themselves Pemuda Cinta Tanah Air (Youths Love Motherland [PECAT]) brought along a rented water buffalo attaching a big photo of the head of state on the beast's buttocks.
A couple of days ago, the same group planned to stage a similar anti-government protest using the same rented water buffalo. Alas, they were halted by the police just outside the capital and the water buffalo, bearing the white painted name “SiBuYa” (perhaps coincidentally its has the same initial like the president) on its body, confiscated.
“We don't know their real reason. They said (it) disturbs public order,” according Yosef Rizal, the protest coordinator, as quoted[id] by the local journal Kompas.
Water buffalo is considered a gentle, hardworking, and noble animal to most agrarian Indonesians, except in Java.
In Javanese culture, comparing someone with water buffalo is considered rude, an utter disrespect. “Sleeping like a buffalo” is to call a sleeping person who's lazy and doesn't care about his/her surroundings.
To the Torajans [id], inhabitants of Sulawesi, water buffalo plays an important role in society. Besides being used to work the fields, water buffalo is also a currency (i.e: down payment, dowry, inheritance,etc.), and most importantly used as animal sacrifice in various traditional ceremonies.
Asiatic Water Buffalo. Photo from the Flickr page of cskk
To most Indonesians, the buffalo is no different to other animals brought in as attribute to the demonstration last January.  However, since President Yudhoyono shared his personal feelings about the buffalo in front of a national governors conference, bloggers and twitterers started to discuss whether the action should be deemed inappropriate.
According to Andy Syoekry Amal, who wrote a post on Kompasiana:
Menurut hemat saya, pernyataan SBY tersebut juga patut dihargai. Betapapun SBY adalah presiden, sedangkan presiden adalah kepala negara sekaligus kepala pemerintahan. Sebagai kepala negara, Presiden adalah simbol resmi negara Indonesia di dunia. Kita tentu tidak ingin simbol resmi negara kita disamakan dengan kerbau. Karena jika demikian, maka kita sebagai rakyat Indonesia juga adalah kerbau, karena dipimpin oleh “presiden kerbau”.
In my humble opinion, (president) SBY's statement need to be respected. He, however, is the president, the head of state and government. As the head of state, the president is the official symbol of the Indonesian state in the world. Of course we don't want our state leader to be liken to a a water buffalo. If he's indeed a water buffalo, than us the citizens are no different.
Another blogger, who coincidentally named Andy said:
kalau memang merasa tersinggung dengan yang dibawa para pendemo (ya si kerbau bertuliskan SiBuYa itu), ya perbaiki dong kinerjanya, jangan malah mellow, melankolis, dan sentimentil…
If he really does feel offended by the protester (I mean, the water buffalo with the word “SiBuYa” written on it), he should fix his (leadership) performance instead of being mellow, melancholy and sentimental..
Blogger Mas Abdi posted his opinion on Politikana:
Secara pribadi saya ingin mengatakan bahwa masalah demo kerbau sebaiknya tidak usah ditanggapi secara serius oleh SBY, karena seperti telah saya katakan pada awal tulisan ini, bahwa demo kerbau itu tidak pernah diperhatikan serius oleh masyarakat, bahkan lebih dari itu masyarakat pun sudah melupakannya.
On his blog, Rinaldi Munir said that the protesters were lacking respect against a state symbol:
Sebagai simbol negara, maka dia adalah representasi negara. Kalau Presiden pergi ke luar negeri maka, dia mewakili negara yang besar ini. Apa yang diucapkan oleh Presiden adakah pernyataan resmi yang mewakili negara. Jadi, pelecehan terhadap SBY dengan menyamakannya sebagai kerbau tentu adalah pelecehan terhadap negara itu sendiri.
Saya melihat para demonstran itu tidak mengerti etika berdemonstrasi. Mereka lebih banyak mengandalkan emosi kebencian ketimbang berdemonstasi secara cerdas dan santun.
All I'm seeing are protesters who don't know the ethics when they're demonstrating. They rely on animosity instead of protesting in a smart and decent (ways).
Rinaldi also adds that despite so, the president should keep it cool:
Seharusnya SBY bersikap tenang, tidak reaktif, dan tidak merasa panik karena adanya wacana pemakzulan dirinya akhir-akhir ini
[…]
Biasa sajalah, tenang man, senyum dong, toh rakyat bisa menilai sendiri siapa ingin memakan siapa. Apa yang terjadi di gedung parlemen dan di istana negara adalah panggung drama yang disaksikan oleh jutaan rakyat. Pada akhirnya rakyat sendiri yang menyimpulkan dan menilai setiap aksi pelaku peran di panggung itu.
[…]
Take it easy, relax man, smile if you will, the people can judge by themselves who the backstabbers are. The parliament building and the state palace are the drama stages watched by millions of people. By the end of the day the people will conclude and assess each act of the actors on those stage.
Most twitterers said that Yudhoyono was too quick to complain, instead of dealing with many overwhelming issues in the country. However, some of them also sympathize with Yudhoyono.
adityainsani: Again, President Yudhoyono complaining and acting like an uneducated boy, how can you lead this country sir??
aiiuntari: presiden dapat berkomentar soal kerbau, namun tutup mulut ketika diminta pendapat tentang wakil-nya yang tidak punya etika
fauzanhamdi: kebebasan berekspresi disalahgunakan menjadi kebebasan menghujat/menghina. (tentang si kerbau)
Over night, the water buffalo named by student protesters became a popular icon of democracy. In other Indonesian cities, however, the police are still confiscating the animal brought by protesters.
ruliharahap: Police Detain Student Protesters and a Buffalo as Yudhoyono Arrives In Palembang http://ow.ly/15lX3 | See BeYe (note: Yudhoyono)? This is your own doing

author: Juke Carolina


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Iran: Clashes in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A video film showing clashes in Tehran between anti regime protesters and security forces today on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.


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Iran: Demonstration in Isfahan · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A film showing  the Iranian opposition in the streets of Isfahan  on the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Here are some photos of pro government demonstrations in country.


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Iran: Protesters ask for referendum · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

While President Ahmadinejad spoke to a crowd of thousands at Azadi, or Freedom Square, in central Tehran on the anniversary of the revolution, anti regime protesters demonstrated and called for referendum in Tehran. Watch the video here.


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Jamaica: Prison Riot · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Jamaican government and society think that they have more important things to worry about, rather than looking after its prisoners and criminals”: Jamaica Salt blogs about a prison riot in Kingston.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: Guide to Tokyo Gallery Geography · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

In “A Beginner’s Guide to Tokyo Gallery Geography“, William Andrews at the Tokyo Art Beat blog describes some of the key areas for enjoying contemporary art in the city.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Japan: When forced confessions lead justice astray · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

The recent Ashikaga case [en] saw a man acquitted after serving 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering a child because of inaccurate  DNA tests. It  has once again brought to light the problem of false confessions used by Japanese police.
By Flickr user ninja5d
In the past, the methods adopted by Japanese cops have been repeatedly criticized after details of exhausting interrogations, long pretrial detention periods and other power abuses (leading to suicide sometimes) were reported by the victims. But despite widespread publicity on these problems,  the system hasn't changed.
According to blogger Ukon the problem is the importance given to confession, used in most of the cases as damning evidence, as well as a system that doesn't admit of any objection to authority improperly exercised.
現代の日本社会において、自白偏重の捜査や、自白や状況証拠を根拠として被告を有罪とする刑事裁判が存続している。自白偏重の捜査や、自白や状況証拠を根拠として被告を有罪とする裁判では、人間を孤立させ、国家の暴力に対する異議申し立てを困難にする。民主的な社会を実現するためには、自白偏重の捜査や、自白や状況証拠を根拠として被告を有罪とする刑事裁判を是正し、国家の暴力に対する異議申し立てを実現するための権利や社会的回路を確立していくことが必要だと、私は考える。
The concept of presumption of innocence until proven guilty is not much honored  in Japan and conceding  benefit of the doubt to a person suspected of committing a crime is rare.
As soon as one is arrested they are immediately portrayed as a ‘suspect’ by the local media (yogisha 容疑者 in Japanese) which undoubtedly sways public opinion in a way that makes it difficult to win back social trust even after being acquitted.
There are many cases where the victims of wrong accusations, like Toshikazu Sugaya in the Ashikaga case above, are shunned by their own relatives because they are considered as one who has soiled the family name.
Blogger akkii points to the cozy relation between cops and media as the prime cause of the problem.
このような冤罪事件は、なぜ起きるのであろうか。それには、警察や検察の自白偏執主義があるからである。そしてもう一つ、その発生に大きな影響を与えるものに警察や検察がするリークがあると考えられる。これは、メディアに向けられたリークである。そして、これがニュースとなり、さも、容疑者や被告人が犯罪者であるかのような錯覚を社会に与えるのである。その結果、これが取調べや判決にハレーションを起こし、反映されてしまうと考えられるのだ。
Recently other cases where false confessions were used to convict suspects have emerged.
The latest one [en] in December saw the Hiroshima High Court acquitting a Japanese man, for whom prosecutors have asked death penalty, because its confession was found “not credible”.
In December another case, the Fukawa case [ja] dating  back to 1967, was reopened because the accusations were based only on the two defendants’ alleged confession and testimony of eyewitnesses.
A blogger  expresses his bitterness on the matter.
布川事件：再審開始が確定と報じられ、無実が確定的と聞いた。これもまた自白に問題ありだそうで、なぜか取り調べの録音テープがあるという。検察も警察もいい加減にして欲しいと思うが、それを報道する側も裁判所も問題があると思う別件がある。
Citing  article 38 of the Japanese Constitution the same blogger makes clear how the principle of not relying on confession alone does exist in Japan, but is seemingly disregarded.
第三十八条　何人も、自己に不利益な供述を強要されない。
２　強制、拷問若しくは脅迫による自白又は不当に長く抑留若しくは拘禁された後の自白は、これを証拠とすることができない。
３　何人も、自己に不利益な唯一の証拠が本人の自白である場合には、有罪とされ、又は刑罰を科せられない。
自白が犯行に結びつく唯一の証拠であるのならば、有罪となる筈も無いではないか。自白が信用できても出来なくても関係ないことではないのか。こんなもの自白偏重とは言わない。関係者は憲法を読んだ事がないのだろうか？
この国はどうなっているのだろう？


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Mexico: Monarch Butterfly Migration in the Americas · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

Between Mexico, Northern United States, and Canada there is a very unique phenomenon that reminds many of how miraculous nature can be. This astonishing feat is made by the monarch butterflies, which are insects that span the life of three to four generations to get from one country to another.
Mariposa Monarca picture by flickr user Gustavo (lu7frb) and used under a Creative Commons license.
In the blog Destinos Inolvidables [es] (Unforgettable Destinations), monarch butterflies are described as:
La mariposa monarca, además de su gran belleza, se caracteriza por su resistencia y longevidad, pues mientras otras especies de mariposas tienen un ciclo vital de 24 días, la monarca llega a vivir hasta nueve meses, es decir 12 veces más.
The monarch butterfly, apart of its beauty, is characterized by its resistance and its longevity, while some other butterfly species have a life cycle of 24 days, a monarch butterfly can live up to 9 months, meaning 12 times longer.
Every year at the end of October, millions of monarch butterflies arrive to forests in Michoacan and the State of México in Mexico after flying approximately 4,000 km from the Northern US and Canada. Inhabitants of the region and tourists come to witness the large number of butterflies in the forest, in places known as  sanctuaries. At the blog Tips de Viajero [es] (Traveler's Tips), the experience of visiting a sanctuary is explained:
Un magnífico paseo, y bastante cansado, pero llegar a la cumbre y ser testigo del vuelo de millones de mariposas a tu alrededor, es indescriptible. Los niños se maravillan y los adultos recobramos la capacidad de asombro: no cabe duda que la naturaleza es sabia.
A magnificent trip, very tiring, but when you get to the top and you witness millions of butterflies flying around you, it is indescribable. Kids get amazed and the adults regain our capacity for astonishment: nature is wise, there is no doubt about it.
Video by DavidDJC84:
This event goes back to ancient times, as there exist admiration testimonies. Even in Mexican archaeological sites, sculptures and paintings of Monarch butterflies have been found. Sadly, because of deforestation and brutal weather changes, butterflies are finding it harder to survive. According to El Universal newspaper, in the beginning of February, 30% of the monarch butterflies in one of the most important national sanctuaries, Santuario Piedra Herrada [es], died from a strong cold front in the region.
However, this migration phenomenon continues strong today. One of the most typical festivities in Mexico is El día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), it is when Mexicans commemorate the memory of their beloved ones that have passed on. An indigenous culture, the Mazahua people, believe that the arrival of monarch butterflies every October represent the souls of the dead, as they also believe they bring a message between the gods and the Earth.
In the blog Rojo Mariposa [es] (Red Butterfly) this incident is mentioned:
Además de ser considerada como un ser mágico en mi país, por llegar en las fechas en que según la tradición de Día de Muertos, llegan también las almas de los santos difuntos.
¿Ahora entienden por qué me fascina tanto esta maravilla?

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Pakistan: The Taliban Succession · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kalsoom at CHUP: Changing Up Pakistan discusses the controversial demise of several Taliban leaders and the battle, drama and rumors about their successors.

author: Rezwan


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Suriname: Going Classical · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Displays of architectural components — balustrades, window-frames, garden bird-baths — are not an uncommon sight on the outskirts of many Caribbean cities” – but, reports Nicholas Laughlin for Paramaribo SPAN, “the array of concrete columns and reproduction statuary…on the outskirts of Paramaribo is particularly impressive.”


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Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti: Preparing for an Earthquake  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We have all looked on in horror at the scenes of destruction and human suffering experienced by our Caribbean neighbours in Haiti as a result of the strong earthquake on 12th January”: Afra Raymond considers the implications of a major earthquake on Trinidad & Tobago.


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Trinidad & Tobago: “The Garden Want Water”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life and kid5rivers comment on the fact that while the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago are on water rations, the Prime Minister's lawn was being liberally watered.


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Ukraine: “Back to the Past?” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis writes on the Ukrainian election and reactions in the West and in Ukraine. Here's what some of the latter sound like: “This election was the choice between the whorehouse (bardak) and the prison (zona). Of cholera and swine flu. Better to stand in place than take five steps backward. Or maybe a better opposition will form in place of constant dysfunction. We are divided — look at the map — not due to the leaders’ political competence, but due to identity. When Yanukovych expresses gratitude to ‘the people’ for their support, I do not feel I belong to that group. On the other hand, that's how easterners felt under the Orange rule… This is Ukraine's drama.”


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Ukraine: “Challenges for the New President” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes translates the main points of an article (UKR) on “the challenges for the new president,” which appeared in Ukrainska Pravda.


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Ukraine: “Everyday Problems” vs “Geo-Politics” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vadim Nikitin of the Foreign Policy Association's Russia Blog writes that “the success or failure of Yanukovich’s government will depend on fixing the everyday problems dogging ordinary people, not on geo-politics.”


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Ukraine: Media Reactions to Election Outcome · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog reviews the response to the outcome of the Ukrainian election in the Western media – and by one Russian columnist.


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Ukraine: OSCE Observer’s Mini-Report · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrew Tate, an employee of the British Embassy in Kyiv, guest-blogs at Ambassador Leigh Turner's blog about “a day in the Ukrainian countryside as an OSCE observer.”


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Ukraine: Post-Election Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Updates on Ukraine's post-election politics – at Eternal Remont, here and here.


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Ukraine: Post-Election Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana reports that while PM Yulia Tymoshenko “remains incommunicado,” fans of her opponent Victor Yanukovych are staging “a hardcore parody of the Orange Revolution” in front of the Central Election Commission building (a related YouTube video of a TV news story (UKR) is included).


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Ukraine: “‘Post-Orange’ Future” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Oleksandr Sushko, research director of the Kyiv-based Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, comments on Ukraine's “‘post-Orange’ future” at OpenDemocracy.net: “The newly elected president’s relative (limited) social legitimacy will be likely to restrict his ability to govern by his own will and perceptions only.”


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Ukraine: “Start of Stabilisation” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ari Rusila of BalkanBlog analyzes the outcome of the Ukrainian presidential election and makes some forecasts.


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USA: Undocumented Students Begin Week of Action on February 22 · Global Voices
Hoa Quach

Despite the arrival of another year without a pathway for citizenship for undocumented students in the United States, activists continue to rally.
During the week of February 22, supporters of the DREAM Act — a proposed federal bill that could assist more than 65,000 students who arrived in the United States as children to obtain a pathway to legal residency — will host the DREAM Action Week.
The DREAM Act, which has been in limbo in Congress since 2007 although similar bills have been proposed since 2001, is an acronym for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. If passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama, undocumented students who arrived to the U.S. before the age of 16 would be granted “conditional permanent residency.” Though the proposed federal bill remains at a halt, state lawmakers have considered passing other legislation that would assist undocumented youth like in Florida and Tennessee.
Regardless of stalled efforts at legislative levels, groups like DREAM Activist and the United We Dream Network are inviting supporters to take part in free online trainings – “webinars” – to promote the cause of “just and humane immigration reform” in the U.S. Four trainings are on offer: basic guide, recruitment of supporters, legislative analysis and accessing local media.
Utilizing the power of the Internet and citizen media again, DREAM activists are spreading the word of Action Week via different social media outlets. Bloggers of Immigrants in USA have re-posted the information, while hundreds of Tweeps are tweeting about it.
A South Korean-American blogs on the website of Asian Pacific Americans for Progress about the importance of the DREAM Act despite the challenges and asks for fellow undocumented students to not be “silent or ashamed.” She also writes that the issue isn't limited to Latinos but Asian Americans too.
Today, I have a 3.8 GPA while I actively involve in a community. I work hard and push myself to show that anything is possible in this country, despite my undocumented status. And I will continue to push myself to be a role model to other people, especially in the Asian American community.
There are thousands of Asian-American undocumented students who are struggling to live a normal life just like me. Clearly, immigration is not only a Latino issue; it impacts everyone.
And to further keep the momentum despite the nearly nine years of static, Kemi Bello writes on Change.org, that one of the oldest student organizations, United States Student Association, passed a resolution in support of immigration reform and the DREAM Act a top priority in 2010.
The USSA's Board of Directors is composed entirely of college students from across the country, and the organization has an active presence on over 400 college campuses. And this broad coalition of students chose to make the DREAM Act, along with Student Aid Reform, one of its key legislative priorities for 2009 and 2010. It's recent decision to support CIR ASAP stems in large part from the fact that the legislation includes a DREAM Act provision to address the plight of undocumented youth brought to the U.S. at a young age.
But Bello notes in her blog that activism isn't limited to undocumented students but everyone.
The student voice — whether that of an undocumented student, citizen student, LGBT student, student of color, minority student, or veteran student — is awakening in America.

author: Hoa Quach


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Armenia: Eurovision 2010 · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on what it considers to be the two main contenders, Mihran & Emmy and Eva Rivas, as Armenia's entry into this year's Eurovision Song Contest. The blog says that it is not entirely happy with all the choices on offer, but at least notices how coverage in the past has now transformed itself into extra hits today.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Belize: Borderline  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Belizean reports that the country's Prime Minister “has urged caution on the part of Belize Defense Force army activities on the southern border with Guatemala” in the context of an ongoing border dispute.


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Brazil: A Snapshot of Campus Party 2010 · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

São Paulo became a meeting place for geeks, cyberactivists and Internet addicts last month, during the Brazilian round of the Campus Party. The technology, digital culture and LAN party event took place from 25 to 31 January 2010.
CampusPartyMT [pt] was among the blogs covering the event. They have published some photos of Campus Party 2010:
Photo by Flickr user CampusPartyMT taken by @lucasninno. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by Flickr user CampusPartyMT taken by @crisguse. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by CampusPartyMT used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by Flickr user CampusPartyMT taken by @lucasninno. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Bloggers of CampusPartyMT. Photo taken by @lucasninno. Used under a Creative Commons license.
According to official statistics there were more than 90,000 visitors over the week. Ana Maria Modesto, one of those who attended the event, shares her experience on the Notas de Rodapé [pt] blog:
O barato de tudo isso é o contato feito com os palestrantes e as  palestras , que em muito me enriqueceram, o aprendizado no campus  blog.Ainda mais quando se ouve ao vivo, grandes nomes das mídias  sociais, participantes da bibliografia do meu projeto de pesquisa em  Ciências Sociais, sobre o impacto da Social Media na sociedade  brasileira. Ouví-los e ser ouvido e respondido por eles  foi demais.
Photo by Flickr user liacarreira used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by Flickr user amfdesigner used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by Flickr user amfdesigner used under a Creative Commons license.
Cyber-flowers in Campus Party, by Techguru 2.0 blog.
Kevin Mitnick, the world's greatest hacker. Photo by ManoelNetto on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons. Photo by senomoto_br on Flickr. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by senomoto_br on Flickr used under a Creative Commons license.
Photo by senomoto_br on Flickr used under a Creative Commons license.
On the other hand, the blogger at Mondo Cubano [pt] criticized this year's event, which she found lukewarm:
Tirando poucas ações relevantes e bem feitas, a #Cparty virou uma grande lan house de promoções bizarras. As empresas caem lá sem ter a menor noção de como agradar o grande público e fazem ações estúpidas. […]
Entendo que é uma grande arena para ações de marketing, e sinceramente até acho que se bem feitas elas também poderiam agregar valor à #Cparty. Mas o cerne do evento: a pesquisa, a troca de conhecimento, de experiência e o networking foi massacrado por adesivos, camisetas e panfletagem.
I appreciate that this is a great arena for marketing, and I honestly believe that if it were done well these companies could also add value to #cparty. But the heart and soul of the event, research, the exchange of knowledge, experience and networking, were massacred by a deluge of stickers, T-shirts and leaflets.
The fun is not over yet. Fernanda Nogueira blogs about the Campus Party Experience [pt] an itinerant version of the event which will visit more than 100 Brazilian cities over the first half of the year. For a week, a bus and tent with up to 150 computers will allow the local population to have first-hand experience of technology and the web, and will encourage debate about technology and digital culture.
Apesar de terem algumas cidades em mente, a organização pensa em criar um processo de candidatura, onde assim como nas Olimpiadas, a própria população defenda a realização do evento na sua cidade.Além disso, cada cidade deverá criar também um comitê gestor que ficará responsável pela a cessão do local de realização do evento, todo o desembaraço burocrático (licenças, alvarás, etc), garantia de visitação por parte de estudantes e grupos de excluídos (camponeses, idosos, portadores de deficiência,etc) e manutenção de um telecentro focado em inclusão 1.0 (promoção do primeiro contato com o computador) e 2.0 (promoção do uso de serviços web e de publicação de conteúdos em blogs, fotologs, videologs e redes sociais).
In addition, each city will create a steering committee responsible for providing a venue for the event, dealing with all matters of bureaucratic clearance (permits, licenses, etc.), guaranteeing that it is open to students and marginalized groups (peasants, the elderly, people with disabilities, etc.) and maintaining a “telecenters” focused on digital inclusion 1.0 (promoting first contact with computers) and 2.0 (promoting the use of web services and content publishing through blogs, photo blogs, vlogs and social networks).
Campus Party in 360°. Photo by Flickr user mariacarol used with permission.
A 3D image of the Campus Party main room made by Rene de Paula is available from this link.

author: Diego Casaes


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China: Character of the Year · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Every year new words are invented, mirroring new trends in our societies. For example, ‘unfriend’ was voted the 2009 word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. It comes from the practice of dropping a contact from Facebook, and reflects the popularity and ever-changing nature of internet social networking.
The same could be said of China, albeit with a heavier meaning. The National Language Resource Monitoring & Research Centre (Network Media), the Commercial Press and sina.com have co-organized an online campaign to select a Chinese character and vocabulary each to describe China and the world in 2009. After one month of recommendations, expert appraisal and voting, the results were released earlier this month, reflecting the views of over 200,000 voters.
Character of the Year: Bei 被
The character bei (被) was selected as the character of the year to describe China. Technically, it is a preposition, and has to be used in conjunction with some other words. In English it means ‘be xx-ed’. To give some examples, in an attempt to boost graduate employment statistics, some graduates were told by their universities to put stamps in fake contracts to prove that they have gained employment. In the process they ‘were employed’ (被就业). Figures released by the Statistical Bureau showed the average salary of urban workers increased by 12.9% during the first half of 2009, leaving many netizens in disbelief. Many said their salaries ‘were increased’ (被增长). The Bureau admitted later that the survey suffered from a too narrow scope. Netizens said they ‘were represented’ (被代表) by the Bureau.
Below are some comments selected from a sohu forum after the announcement of the results:
野猫佐罗第二  (2010-02-07 03:21:15):  一个“被”字，包含了善良的百姓多少无奈，多少心酸，更有多少压抑和郁闷。公信力在一个“被”字之下，更显得无比的苍白与虚无。
How much helplessness, sadness, repression and depression were represented in the single word bei. Under this word, credibility seems so pale and empty.
七剑下珠峰 (2010-02-08 03:23:59): 国企改革工人被下岗了；教育改革孩子被辍学了;住房改革老百姓的房子被强拆了！医疗改革患者没钱就被放太平间了……..
Workers were unemployed under state-owned enterprise reforms; children were dropout-ed under education reforms; ordinary citizens’ houses were demolished under housing reforms! Those unable to afford medical costs under the health care reforms would be placed in the mortuary……
limingyukorea@sohu_NEW (2010-02-07 04:25:04): 最根本的是我们的各种被！是怎么形成，没有公开 没有民众参与 没有百姓发言 我敢说就连新闻的某些话都是被出来！简单的工资我们基本工资北京850怎么被统计局统计那么高？？加班？？国家不是说加班只允许38小吗？有超的吗？算违法吗？等等好多数据不知道统计局怎么收集的！
The fundamental issue is how all kinds of bei were formed! No transparency, no public participation, no freedom to express opinions. I dare say that some news reports also had the element of bei! How could our basic Beijing salary of [RMB] 850 be reported so much higher by the Statistical Bureau? Overtime? Doesn’t the government say that overtime is limited to 38 [hours]? Is the limit exceeded? Is the law being broken? We just don’t know how the Bureau collects all those statistics!
Vocabulary of the Year: Min Sheng 民生
The vocabulary of the year is min sheng (民生), meaning ‘people’s livelihood’. It reflects various concerns that ordinary people face, ranging from employment, housing, social security to environmental conditions. In many ways, these issues are connected with lack of public participation and official accountability. Wang Chuantao (王传涛) wrote in a commentary:
… 被”和“民生”分列国内字、词的第一，反映了网民对当下情势的心态。
其实，早在2008年“被××”就已经出现在报纸和网页了，只不过仅仅局限于“被自杀”和“被增长”两三个概念纠结的语境之中，我国网民还没有将之于“时代”挂钩。刚刚过去的2009年，正因为有了太多与“民生”有关的被动语态，“被时代”和“民生”二字才最终结合，并双双成了最具影响力的网络流行语。
… The fact that bei and min sheng are selected as the character and vocabulary of the year shows the current mood of netizens.
In fact, bei started to appear in newspapers and websites as early as 2008, though netizens just linked them to standalone cases such as ‘were suicided’ and ‘were increased’, rather than giving it the significance of an ‘era’. However, because too many min sheng related events with an element of bei happened in 2009, ‘the era of bei’ and ‘min sheng’ has combined to become the most influential internet catchphrases.
But he is optimistic about the future:
但是，我们更应该说，2009同样也是中国公民、中国网民对“被时代”的“觉醒时代”。权利的缺少甚至于被剥夺固然可怕，可最为可怕的远远不是缺少或剥夺这种现象本身，而是一种对这种权利现状的麻木或习惯——还好，中国公民、中国网民没有“被习惯”、“被麻木”，相反，却代之以伟大的调侃。
But we should say that, for Chinese citizens, 2009 is also an ‘era of awakening’ in response to the ‘era of bei’. The lack of rights, or worse, being exploited, is horrible. However, the most horrible of all is that people become insensitive or used to the situation. Luckily, Chinese citizens and netizens are not ‘accustomized’ or ‘insensitized’. Rather, they make a great, black humor out of it.
只要有“拒绝麻木”的精神，我想，至于接下来的2010，就是值得期待的一年。那些“被捐款”的职工、那些“被就业”的大学生、那些“被幸福”的市民、那些“被小康”的城市……就有权利表达出自己的愤怒来，继而引起媒体关注与热议，再逐步走向问题的解决和落实，相信也不是什么难事。
I believe that, with the spirit to refuse being ‘insensitized’, 2010 is a year worth looking forward to. For those employees who ‘were donated’, graduates who ‘were employed’, citizens who ‘were blessed’, cities which ‘were harmonized’…… they would have a chance to express their anger, raising media and public attention. It will then not be difficult to lead to real resolutions and improvements of the situation.
In the same campaign, fu (浮, meaning a state of drift), and jinrong weiji (金融危机, meaning financial crisis) were selected as the character and vocabulary describing the world in 2009. They represent the states of instability and uncertainty brought about by the financial crisis during the year.

author: Andy Yee


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China: Statistic on 2009 Internet events · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated a statistical report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on the most popular 2009 Internet events in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: Presidential Election Photo Essay · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Costa Rican photography collective “Nomada Colectivo” (Nomad Collective) recently devoted a photo-essay [es] to the recent presidential election that took place on February 7, 2010 in which Laura Chinchilla was elected as the first woman president. Members of the collective took to the streets to capture the scene from election day.
Photo by Nomad Collective and used with permission.
Jenny Cascante, a member of the Collective, writes about the day in the essay portion of the work [es]:
Cada cuatro años, a los ciudadanos comunes se nos concede la oportunidad de decidir lo que mejor nos conviene. La fiesta cívica funciona bien como placebo: no existe tal cosa como una buena decisión tomada colectivamente. Los comicios están diseñados para hacer cumplir la voluntad de una mayoría que no nos representa a todos, pero sí a los mismos de siempre. Atravesamos voluntariamente el vía crucis del interés mal logrado, los debates circenses, abstencionismo vrs tradicionalismo… es como un juego de niños coaccionado.
(…)
La democracia es una crayola anaranjada con la que todos queremos pintarnos, pero que a la vez regalamos a cambio de lo que sea. Al final sí hay marionetas: nosotros mismos.
Every four years, regular citizens are given the opportunity to decide what is best for us. The civic party works well as a placebo: there is not such a thing than a good collective decision. The elections are designed to enforce the will of the majority that does not represent us all, but to the usual suspects. We voluntarily go through this terrible ordeal of interests badly obtained, the circus-like debates, abstentions vs. traditionalism, it is like coerced child's play.
(…)
Democracy is like an orange-colored crayon with which we all would like to color, but at the same time we hand over change to whomever. In the end, there are puppets: us.
Photo by Nomad Collective and used with permission.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Egypt: Blogger loses job for uncovering fake virginity story · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

While bleeding on the wedding night is still the proof of the bride's honor in Egypt and Middle Eastern countries, Radio Netherlands broadcast an Arabic translation of the Chinese advertisement of the Artificial Virginity Hymen kit. Youm7 newspaper announced that the product will be available on the Egyptian market for LE 83. And as if Egyptian women were all waiting for the miracle hymen to embark on pre-marital sex, conservative parliament members want the product banned and any importer exiled or beheaded. Egyptians began wondering if Egypt will start importing Chinese Hymens and Amira Al Tahawi, who used to work with Radio Netherlands at the time, got fired for blowing the whistle over the fabricated Chinese hymen story.
On her blog Amira Al Tahawi wrote:
Many bloggers found the decision to fire her ridiculous and unjustified; Nawara Negm wondered:
Eman Hashim is lamenting the integrity of journalism; she wrote:
Dr. Mostafa El Nagaar wrote in Amira's defense saying:
Mostafa Fathi also posted a note on Facebook and Karim El Beheiry published a post on his blog in solidarity with Amira.
In October 2009, Mohamed Al Rahal ordered a hymen kit and posted photos in his blog, as noted in a previous Global Voices story.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Haiti: On Orphans  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“There are a small handful of beautiful programs working in Haiti to raise orphans to adulthood and teaching them to give back to their country. It takes a lot to pull that off. It takes strong and committed Haitian leadership”: The Livesay [Haiti] Weblog calls for a balanced perspective on the issue of orphans.


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Is Ghana Ready For e-Voting? · Global Voices
Mac-Jordan

A two-day event which began yesterday; is being organized by the Danquah Institute (DI), a policy think tank, research and analysis centre, to create a national platform for stakeholders to lead the discussion on the possibility of facilitating the adoption of biometric voter registration, and subsequently the e-voting system in Ghana.
The Danquah Institute has hailed the successful conclusion of electronic voting in the world's largest democracy and called on Ghana's Electoral Commission to consider the numerous benefits of electronic voting as demonstrated in this latest poll.
According to Honorable Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communication,
even though the implementation of both the biometric voter registration which is been handled by the National Identification Authority and e-Voting were practicable in the long term, they could not be introduced anytime soon”.
He also added:
“All political parties have endorsed biometric registration, which is prelude to e-voting and what we are doing here today will help to shape our electoral process in the future, but we do not have the requisite infrastructure for a speedy implementation of the all important projects in the short term”.
Therefore, government should still research more into its implementation by 2016 and not 2012.
Musah Yahaya Jafaru from Graphic Ghana also reported on this event and had this to say;
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC); Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan stated; “If the government wouldn't educate the masses including his aged mother in the village about the benefits of e-Voting and how to use it, he wouldn't go in for it”.
He also stressed;
Until we make the people comfortable with the use of the computer, we cannot go e-voting”.
Dr Afari-Gyan said even developed countries such as Britain, Canada and Australia had not subscribed to e-voting and wondered why Nigeria and Kenya wanted to go e-voting.
He cited the increasing use of money by politicians to seek public office, the exaggerated importance of political parties, the involvement of the youth in election violence, strange campaign promises and the use of the media to fuel violence as some of the worrying trends in the country’s elections. He said increasingly people were seeking public office not as a means to serve their people but primarily as a short-cut to fame, influence and wealth.
In a Press Statement by the Danquah Institute titled: Ghana’s Democracy Is Not There Yet, E-Voting May Get Us There.
Hayford from Sydney, Australia commented:
“I feel proud as a Ghanaian that the country has people with such a great level of understanding. I perfectly agree with the above suggestions. If indeed our Electoral Commission really wants a more reliable and credible system of voting in Ghana, then I think the commission should have spearheaded the ideas highlighted above. I want to beg the electoral commission not to down play on the E-voting system but should throw all its weight behind this system. Our women, children and the poor deserve to be spared the fear, anxiety and brutalities associated with the current system the gives room for Kenyan-like situations.”
In my candid opinion and experience working with the National Identification Authority currently registering masses for the creating of a database of all Ghanaians, I support the advice of the current Electoral Commissioner on this subject.
My question is; Is Ghana really ready for e-Voting?

author: Mac-Jordan


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Japan: J-Music 2000-2009 · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

A brilliant review  [en] of a decade of Japanese music by W. David MARX at  Néojaponisme.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Momus, on This Ageing Country · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

In “Growing old in, and with, Japan” on the Click Opera blog, Nick Currie (aka Momus) lists several points of what could be “a silver lining to Japan's likely silver age” but concludes that realistically, “Japan will get cheaper, smaller, poorer, purer, wiser, more itself.”


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Japan: Top Ten Successful Expats · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Alex at VictoryManual.com lists “Top Ten Successful Expats in Japan” – “Definitely English-speaking, American, white males have the easiest access to success as a foreigner in Japan.”


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Japan: Tweets from the Foreign Minister`s news conference  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Freelance journalist Takashi Uesugi is live-tweeting from the Foreign Minister Okada`s news conference.


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Last chance to nominate blogs for BoBs Award · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Deutsche Welle's Best of the Blogs Awards is accepting nominations until February 14th! Nominate blogs in any country. There are special topics for climate change and freedom of expression.

author: Solana Larsen


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Lebanon: Bloggers push for Daily Star revamp · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

Image sourced from http://betterdailystar.blogspot.com/
Ever visited Lebanon's online English paper, The Daily Star?
According to popular blogger, Qifa Nabki, it is:
…one of the worst websites I’ve ever seen. It is slow, clunky, and hideously ugly.
Another blogger, Richard Hall, describes The Daily Star‘s website:
…as easy to navigate as a 1920’s Russian steam boat.
The Daily Star, Lebanon's only English paper, has been providing online news from Beirut for over a decade. Since its launch online, the paper has refused to upgrade its website, frustrating many of its readers.
The “ugly” Daily Star has prompted Lebanese bloggers to act, with an online campaign launched by creator of the Beirut Spring blog, Mustapha.
Mustapha has cleverly created a mock Daily Star website – the Better Daily Star Project or #BDSP on Twitter – using WordPress functionality to highlight the incompetence of The Daily Star's IT and web design team.
Although his actions might raise eyebrows at The Daily Star, Mustapha insists his intentions are positive:
-The aim of #BDSP is not to steal away viewers from The Daily Star's website. It's to regain back readers who have left them in frustration. In fact, the DS should pay us to do this :)
-This project is not meant in any way to hurt the reputation of the Daily Star. The point of this project is to try to steer the Daily Star's website away from what we believe is the wrong course
-When the Daily Star finally puts a better website in place, this project will no longer have to exist. Our mission will be done. In fact, we will turn into their biggest cheerleaders
- We completely respect intellectual property rights. We never pretend that we own this stuff or that we wrote the articles, this is why this project strives to make the correct attributions to each and every article
Why am I doing it. What's the point?
Well, I am trying to say this: If one guy (yours humbly) can use freely available opensource software (wordpress if you must know) to create this alternative, arguably better website in two weeks, why can't a newspaper with an actual IT department do it? In other words, I'm shooting down the argument that it would be too expensive to do. Listen to me well: They're just being lazy.
But isn't this Illegal?
Probably. But I'm not making any money out of it (in fact, I'm paying some in effort and hosting fees), and I promise that as soon as they do something about their site, I'll gladly bow out. Besides, it will cost them more to sue me than to actually fix their site and let me off their back.
Mustapha's initative indeed caught the eye of the mainly supportive Lebanese blogosphere.
Rami at +961 added a few words of support on his blog:
What to do when you’re just fed up waiting for something to happen? Best thing is to take matters into your own hands! And that’s what fellow blogger Mustapha did while waiting for the Daily Star IT people to renovate their website.
As did Tajaddod Youth:
While we’re on the subject of dysfunctional websites, after many years of anglophone frustration with the Daily Star’s website, one bloggerhas decided to act.
The result, not just a critique of Lebanon’s only english language newspaper’s poor excuse for a website, but a completely redesigned homepage for the newspaper we all love.
Supportive comments for the #BDSP poured on Qifa Nabki's blog post on the subject:
Says:
wow. I feel I can breathe!
I positively HATE the Daily Star website as it is now (does it sound strange that reading it makes me claustrophobic?)
Says:
A huge improvement. The real site is absolutely terrible. It looks like a spammy ad-infested blogspot site, or worse.
Many Daily Star readers will be hoping that the #BDSP campaign will prompt a change at The Daily Star, turning the “1920's Russian steam boat” into a 21st century cruise liner.
Also on Global Voices Online:
Lebanon: The Better Daily Star Project

author: Antoun Issa


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Lebanon: The Better Daily Star Project · Global Voices
Layal Al Khatib

“We Love You, We Just want you to dress better…” is how the Lebanese Blogger/Graphic Designer Mustapha (aka Beirut Spring) introduces the project. He's addressing The Daily Star (online edition) which is the one of the web's leading source of Lebanese and regional news.
Annoyed by how the website looks today, he decided to redesign their website and self host a mock up (with real data) using the famous CMS “WordPress“. He said:
Isn't their website quite the eyesore?
I live abroad. I don't have access to the printed edition. All I have is the website, and man reading that thing makes me feel like my eyes have been wearing tight shoes all day.
So I figured I'll try to do something about it. I have a background in web design and I dabbled a bit in journalism. I'm very motivated, so i was like screw it: i'm doing this.
Here's how the current and official Homepage Looks like:
How the Current/Official Daily Star Homepage Looks like
And here's the new design and how the Homepage can be improved:
The Daily Star Project Redesign by Beirut Spring
He also explains the reason behind this in the FAQ page of the project.
And it's not just Beirut Spring‘s opinion; The Lebanese blogosphere agrees and supports the idea as well. Lebanese blogger Qifa Nabki supports the redesign. He said:
The Beirut Daily Star newspaper has one of the worst websites I’ve ever seen. It is slow, clunky, and hideously ugly. The navigation is awful and it crashes browsers on a regular basis.
Richard Hall, the International Editor at The Daily Star, Beirut, loved the idea and urged the readers to contact the editors if they also the see the current design too hard to navigate. He said:
If anyone who reads my blog also reads The Daily Star and, like me, finds the website about as easy to navigate as 1920’s Russian steam boat, feel free to email the editor.
Rami, at his blog +961, also admired Mustapha's action of taking the matter into his own hands. He said:
What to do when you’re just fed up waiting for something to happen? Best thing is to take matters into your own hands!
The project has become popular in the Twitter realm as well. Lebanese tweeples supported the project. Below are some of the reactions:
@azzi:
@Beirutspring I liked #BDSP Better Daily Star so much better than actual state of the official website that I created http://bit.ly/betterds
@rallaf:
@Beirutspring I just saw your Better Daily Star project, it is excellent, bravo! Might start reading bits again if they follow your lead!
@sdarine:
LOVE @Beirutspring‘s #BDSP initiative !!!!
For more info and to follow the project's progress, visit the project's blog and/or follow the twitter hashtag #BDSP(Better Daily Star Project)
Also on Global Voices Online:
Lebanon: Bloggers push for Daily Star Revamp

author: Layal Al Khatib


text:
Nigeria: After two leaderless months, a new Acting President · Global Voices
Eremipagamo Amabebe

On November 23rd, 2009, Nigeria's President, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua left the country without publicly stating when he would return. In the following weeks, the news was released that  he was receiving medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, yet speculation continued, culminating in rumors that the Pesident had suffered brain damage or had even died. On January 12th, Yar'Adua gave an interview confirming that he was alive and receiving treatment, though he gave no indication when he would return to Nigeria.
Yar'Adua's absence created a leadership vacuum which  frustrated many Nigerians,  particularly in the wake of crises such as  Umar Abdulmutallab's attempted terror attract and the religious conflict in the central Nigerian city of Jos. Many Nigerians called for Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to step into Yar'Adua's shoes, but the situation was complex: As a southerner, Jonathan's assumption of the Presidency would threaten to destabilize the delicate power-sharing arrangement between Northern and Southern Nigeria. Further, without written instructions from the President himself, the legal extent of Jonathan's position were unclear.
For more than two months Nigerian bloggers lamented the leadership void. Chinedu Vincent Akuta  at Briefs from Akuta wrote:
Enough of power vacuum, near constitutional crisis, and over heating of the polity all due to the fact that the ruling party (PDP) does not trust the Vice President (Jonathan Goodluck) to formally act as President until President Yar’Adua recovers from his illness. There is no choice other than to respect the wishes of the Nigerian people, power belongs to the people.
And indeed, many Nigerians shared his sentiments. During the month of January frustrated  Nigerians marched in  Lagos, Abuja, and London. Adeolu Akinyemi wrote on why he marched:
We are not happy with a Plane load of 300 people dying in the streets of Jos in Religious wars because of inaction from a missing leader.
Enough is Enough!
We will not accept the label of terrorism bestowed on us by the 58 days inactivity of our president’s mobile phone.
Enough is Enough!
Leadership Vacuum is dangerous and is responsible for killings in the north, kidnapping in the east, Militants gang raping in the South South and intellectual indifference in the west.
Enough is Enough!
Yusef, a commenter on Akinyemi's blog, was more skeptical (edited from the original English version):
How many times will I read this celebrated line “Enough is Enough”?????
It's very strange how we display so much hypocrisy when faced with some adversity and yet are able to make very sharp u-turns once the weather is stormed. If I call on anyone to do what will be absolutely necessary to get our system working, how will I be 100% sure that [me] being a northerner, he will not change his mind once he gets some sense spoken to him by his kinsman… Or [that me] being a Muslim and he being of another faith, [he] wont see me in the deep recesses of his heart, as being an enemy.
There is no such thing as “Enough is Enough” Deolu. We do not know what a nation is yet, not to even talk of kinsmanship. It's not enough to brandish posters of Ernesto Che on our walls to pretend to imagine or understand what it takes to lay down ABSOLUTELY everything for a better day.  We do not know this adversity . . . or we are too selfish hoping that “one day e go better for our side”! ! ! !
Our so-called leaders did not drop from Hell, but are actually just a reflection of our society. Replace [any of them] with even yourself and you will be surprised at what you will do or become.
Popular broadcast journalist Funmi Ayanda also wrote about her frustration with the prevalence passive hand-wringing:
I have sat in the company of bank MDs who stole billions of money, ruling party leaders who manipulate the electoral process and steal billions on naira, pastors of un taxed mega churches where all the above pay staggering sums in tithes and contribution and listened in disbelief as they all moan about bad leadership and the Nigerian situation. I have often mentally checked my teeth for visible spinach; perhaps the joke is on me?
So make l for no crase finish l ask simple questions like, “so what do you think we should do” what is within our own control immediately and how do we build on that? “What will my role be in that”? Usually, the conversation goes no further because l sometimes think both Nigerians and foreigners have a morbid fascination with Nigeria’s undeniable failures.
On February 9th, after weeks of political wrangling, the Senate  confirmed Jonathan as acting President. Many in the blogosphere saw the event as cause for celebration. Solomonsydelle of Nigerian Curiosity provided an excellent analysis of the situation as it unfolded (See here for her coverage). She wrote:
February 9th could possibly go down in history as a day when democratic political measures where used to take Nigeria one step further down the path to becoming a true democratic nation.
Akin, too, was guardedly hopeful:
Maybe and just maybe, we might just have a good President and the good luck in his name brings good fortune to Nigeria, maybe, we can hope, maybe, we can dream, maybe, we can expect, maybe, we can realise – A New Nigeria.
But others saw reason for concern, pointing out that although Jonathan's assumption of power might be a political necessity, it was not explicitly permitted by the Nigerian Constitution.  Max Siollun summed up the predicament as follows:
Jonathan’s confirmation as VP will hopefully put an end to the controversy (at least temporarily), and will give the leadership some semblance of order and due process. While we have arrived at a PRACTICAL solution, I am not sure that the manner and circumstances in which Jonathan was appointed acting VP was LEGAL.
Jide Salu acknowledged the constitutional ambiguity, but was primarily thankful that the country finally has a leader.
I just want some peace and direction. If you were residing in the country, you would understand better. Nigeria was not only headless, it was directionless with all the looting that has gone on and still going. Which for now is under wraps.
Ana Nimmos was optimistic, but also saw cause for concern:
[The political resolution] may not be the actual end of this logjam as it presents its own challenges. For instance, by this resolution – if we accept it for arguments sake – Nigeria now has two Presidents -though one is acting. Yar'adua never left power and Goodluck should be very careful what actions he takes.
Loomnie also highlighted unanswered questions for the future:
One also has to think about the machine that was ruling the country all the while Yar’Adua was not available. Is the new President Goodluck Jonathan going to be able to take charge of the machine? Is he going to be deferring to it/them? Those are going to be crucial questions in the next few months.

author: Eremipagamo Amabebe