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On the Menu: Food Blogs from Southeast Asia! · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

‘Sentral biryani handover’ by David Hagerman
Take one former graphic designer, a retired corporate banking and management consultant, a civil servant, a teacher, an amateur photographer, an academic and a freelance journalist.  Add generous dollops of blogging software, several digital cameras, a sprinkling of enthusiastic assistants/partners and a few web-hosting accounts.  Stir them together and you get some of the best writing about Southeast Asian food this side of the printed page.
Food blogs have always been a popular blogging genre, one that was for a long time characterized by foodlovers reviewing restaurants, recording recipes or reporting their obsessions with certain foods, such as cupcakes or “crazy Asian drinks.”  But the genre has since those fizzy days aged, matured and acquired complexity and depth. Now there are food bloggers who go beyond recipe records and reviews to inquiring into ingredients, interacting with cooks and discovering the stories and cultures behind the dishes.  In Southeast Asia, many food bloggers can be found outside of the kitchen and out in the street: sampling food at the roadside stalls, wandering carts or wet market counters from which most ordinary Southeast Asians draw their daily sustenance.
Here is a taste of some of the Web-only delicacies cooked up from our region:
Robyn Eckhardt started EatingAsia after moving to Kuala Lumpur from Saigon (and before that Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nanjing and Bangkok). “I have been a food lover for as long as I can remember,” she confesses. “Even if I weren't blogging you'd find me at the wet market, or tracking down some street stall specializing in a certain something.” Among her posts, illustrated by photos taken by her husband: comparing noodle soups, searching for fiddlehead ferns and sampling Sichuan food in KL.
Her approach to food emerges from her background as an researcher.  She's interested in history and tradition, social and cultural context, and emotions.  “I'm fascinated by the fact that so much prepared food in Asia is still “artisanal” — one guy with one wok making one dish, over and over, for years and years, maybe even taking over from his father who made it for years and years before that,” she says. “That's history, that's tradition, that's a marker of a unique culture.”
Eckhardt says she started blogging about food only after leaving Saigon, since she felt there was little she could add to that Noodlepie hadn't already covered. Graham Holliday's Saigon-based site is perhaps the best-known food blog outside the region, with mentions in the Observer, the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times.  The British-born freelance journalist, who came up with the moniker “noodlepie” as an east-meets-west name, started the blog as a “keepsake” — a way of recording his time sampling Saigon's food with his spouse.  “The fact that it's open to everyone has given it a different life.”
Graham had been inspired by a now-defunct food blog out of South Korea, Fatman Seoul. “Over time I've come to appreciate how sites like noodlepie can work as decent little niche resources,” he told me. “Also, I think good blogs can really get under the skin of a place far better than guidebooks or even the local press can. I'm not a food expert, or fluent in Vietnamese, but I hope I've nudged open a door into this world that most non-Vietnamese know very little about. I quite like the thought that I'm bringing little pockets of life from the streets of Saigon into people's homes all over the world.”
Up in Hanoi, Stickyrice, like EatingAsia, also drew its initial inspiration from Noodlepie.  “There’s a story in nearly every meal, particularly at street level,” says Mark Lowerson, who along with Kate Henry, comprise the two-Australian team behind the blog, which bills itself as “food news, restaurant reviews and street-food docudrama.”
“I think the situation in VN (and I’m sure many other Asian countries) lends itself to the yarn behind the food; the process of watching the food prepared or the interaction between the people, even the journey. In our sanitized western world, we miss out on all of that when we go out to ea… Here, all the habits of kitchen employees – good or bad – are exposed for all to see. As Kate said in our rather brief ABOUT page, it’s about the food but observing the people is at least half the fun.”
Both bloggers have different preferences: Kate enjoys the local restaurant scene, while Mark, who describes himself as “more of a tightarse,” goes for “the street stalls and one dish wonder places,” where there's little accomodation for Western tastes. “At these places, you also see real Vietnamese people not putting on any airs or graces,” he tells me. “They fix their shoes, then serve the food. Sometimes, I actually find myself eating in their bedroom. I love it.”
Love also lies behind the Filipino blog Market Manila: love of food.  The pseudonymous Market Man confesses he might have attended hotel or culinary management school but instead opted to take the practical, high-paying path of corporate banking and management consulting.  Now in his late 30s and semi-retired in Manila, Market Man often takes a route rarely seen in the foodblog world: covering markets as well as food, from the Central Public Market on the island of Bohol to a Sunday market in Manila's business district of Makati.  Market Man is also extremely interested in produce.  “To cook well, you need the proper ingredients, so I must do the markets, I must talk about the produce and who grows it and what it tastes like.  I do want readers to learn something about sources, ways to buy produce, clean it, store it.  I learn a lot in the process and hopefully readers will too.”
Unlike EatingAsia, Noodlepie and Stickyrice, Market Manila has recipes as well. “Recipes are what really get hits and repeated ones at that…This is also a way for me to document my own favorite recipes and to to make things I grew up with but never cooked myself.  Fewer people are truly interested in the history behind a particular plant, or the slight difference between one rice or the other.” (Don't fear, though, because Market Man is!)
The final food blog featured here is Singapore's Chubby Hubby.  It looks the slickest, perhaps because its author, Aun Koh, is a former magazine editor and current food photographer and his wife is a professional food writer.  (Together, he confesses, they own over 320 cookbooks and have bought industrial-strength equipment for their tiny kitchen.)  Like the rest, though, he started blogging as an experiment.
“I pretty much hung up my journalist's cap a couple of years ago,” he says. “And while I enjoy my current work (working as a civil servant in arts development), I missed writing, especially on lifestyle topics that interest me…Blogging allows me to fulfill my need to write regularly. And because you aren't writing for anyone other than yourself…You don't have to worry about editors, deadlines, and all the other things that make journalistic writing sometimes less than fun.” Aun, who is a voracious consumer of food magazines, even says, “In fact, as food blogs get better and better, I see the need to read these print magazines less and less.”  Like the others, too, Aun has read a lot of other people's food blogs:
“What I find most interesting is the stories of what and how we eat…My wife and I love going to markets; we love finding the sources of great foods. One of our favorite trips involve finding a small, family-run belachan maker and a home-grown soya sauce brewer in Penang. The quality of both the belachan and the soy sauce were so much better than any factory-made products. But we also love eating in fancy restaurants, being spoilt to death in places like Le Cinq in Paris. We love all food, simple and the super-sexy. And I'm happy to write about either.”
The foodbloggers report that they've been surprised by the depth and intensity of reactions from readers. Graham says that he gets a lot of email from overseas Vietnamese (“Viet Kieu”). One Viet Kieu woman recognized a street stall he had once blogged, which sold fried-egg-filled baguettes. “She used to eat breakfast there every day. She just wanted to thank me for reminding her of her hometown.”  Market Man also reports that he has been “truly overwhelmed by reader reaction.” The millions of Filipinos who work abroad “miss home, and they miss the food.  They have romanticized a lot of the dishes and experiences they had when they lived here and the blog brings back  memories.”  Eckhardt reports the same phenomenon from EatingAsia‘s Viet Kieu and overseas Malaysian readers.
Their blogging has also had effects on the stalls and eateries that they've covered. “Some stalls I have featured have experienced 50-75% increases in sales in the weeks after being featured,” says Market Man. The bloggers behind Stickyrice also have heard that the vendors they've covered have seen more and more foreigners sitting down on the plastic stools to try the food.  Victor's Kitchen, a small dim sum place Chubby Hubby raved about, printed out Aun's post and pasted it in their window.
All say that the medium has enabled them to connect to readers. Market Man points out:
“What differentiates a food blog from say a food magazine is that you know this one individual is doing it all himself or herself.  If they don't take advertising, or somehow making money out of it, they are doing it solely out of interest, passion, desire, whatever…Many readers feel “attached” to the site.  I also have to say that I feed off of reader comments.  Most people don't realize this but the comments bring a whole new dimension to a blog.  If more readers would participate, blogs would get even better.”
Says Aun: “One person in particular sent a really amazing email, saying that my blog had gotten her really excited for the first time in years about eating. It's great to be able to touch someone that way, especially when you never had that intention when you started the project.”
Oh, and have these bloggers gained weight since starting their blogs? Most report that their lifestyles keep them thin — which allows them, so to speak, to have their cake and eat it too.
Photo credits (in-text photos):
‘che treats’ by stickychopsticks
‘Fruit stalls on Salazar Street, Manila’ by Market Man
‘prata_raffles’ by Chubby Hubby


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Pakistan: The real enemy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ahmed Bilal on how Iran's words are far less than Israel's actions, and wondering who the real enemy is.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Philippines: Wrong Side Of the Tracks · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Torn and frayed in Manila reacts to last week's post on Howie Severino's Sidetrip recording Severino's train ride into Manila.  Hundreds of poor live along the tracks and pelt the trains with garbage.  “Basically, because there is such incredible shortage of space in Manila people live wherever they can. If that means a few inches away from a moving train, well so be it,” writes Torn and frayed.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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Preventing another African war – Blog reviews on the Ethiopian-Eritrean dispute · Global Voices
Vandu

As seven African leaders met in the Nigerian capital of Abuja over the weekend to discuss ways of moving their continent forward, Ethiopia and Eritrea had troops amassed on their borders. Amongst the leaders meeting at Abuja was the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. An Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict is something to be dreaded. Both countries fought a bitter war over a border dispute from 1998 to 2000 in which tens of thousands of lives were lost. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) and United Nations mediated and a peace agreement was signed on 12 December 2002 in Algiers, six months after a ceasefire was agreed. An Ethiopian-Eritrean Boundary Commission was set up and its recommendation was accepted and made binding by the United Nations Security Council on 13 April 2002.
The general perception in the blogosphere on the reasons why Ethiopia may want to go to war with Eritrea appears to be one of skepticism. Ethiopundit, for instance makes it clear that there can be “absolutely no justification for another single drop of blood, sweat or tears to be shed or wasted by anyone in any possible disagreement the two may yet have.” It sees the war as a farce on both sides. The Eritrean government, it says, needs Western attention “because it is going broke and facing rising internal opposition.” The Ethiopian government on the other hand would like to divert Western attention from the collapse of the pretense of democracy (a reference to the Ethiopian elections held in May 2005, the fairness of which was hotly disputed by the opposition).
Greg's Africa Thoughts, the blog of Greg Fischer, a Christian missionary based in Entebbe, Uganda also speaks about the Ethiopian-Eritrean dispute. He states:
“I make several trips each year into the region where Ethiopia and Eritrea share a common border. Many times from my hotel room I have heard the distant ‘boom-boom’ of heavy artillery fire. The airport is often the scene of jet fighters roaring off to Eritrea.”
Greg Fisher also appears deeply concerned about the persecution of evangelical Christians by the Eritrean government.
African Bullets and Honey, in an article authored by Akinyi Arunga who was recently in Addis Ababa tells about
“…a young women whose brother was arrested [for joining in street protests against the ruling government], feared that his punishment might be getting forced to the frontline should war between Ethiopia and Eritrea break out as is seeming[ly] more likely by the day. She told me that her mother was in tears daily, dreading the worst for her child…”
On most Ethiopian blogs I came across in the blogosphere, the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appeared to have no support. The mainstream media also continues to follow the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict closely. For now, we should hope that the voice of reason prevails and that the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea are able to resolve their disputes peacefully, adhering to United Nations Security Council resolutions.

author: Vandu


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Puerto Rico: “Sobering Territorial Statistics · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gil Schmidt digs into the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004-2005 and finds some “sobering statistics” related to how Puerto Rico compares to other U.S. territories like Guam and the Virgin Islands.

author: David Sasaki


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Singapore: “Just a Pretty Girl With a Blog” · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Dawn Yang, a.k.a. clapbangkiss, could well be the first Singaporean blogger to find a talent agent purely on the basis of her online reputation: She is No. 1 on local site hottestblogger.com.  The attention Yang has drawn surprises even the site's founder, Kahsoon.  Writes Singapore's New Paper, the city-state's reigning popular girl-blogger Wendy Cheng a.k.a. xiaxue, sniffed: “She's not a real blogger. She's just a pretty girl who happens to have a blog.”


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Sri Lanka: Crucial Decisions · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

As the elections get closer, Mahoshada opines that the decisions made in this elections will affect an entire generation.


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Sri Lanka: Issues of import · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indi.ca seems to think that an opinion poll reflects that people are more caught in “wedge issues” than the ones that affect more of them.


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Uganda: arrest of Besigye · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal has a report on the arrest of Ugandan opposition leader, Kizza Besigye by President Yoweri Museveni.  “After 19 years of banning all political parties, Museveni's regime finally legalized multipartism.  He even invited main opposition leader Kizza Besigye to return to the country. In addition to being the main threat to his power, Besigye was once Museveni's personal doctor. When Museveni invited Besigye to return to the country, he promised that doctor wouldn't be arrested. So Besigye came home on Nov. 1. And less than two weeks later, he was… you guessed it… arrested on dubious charges.

author: Sokari Ekine


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Voices From Zimbabwe Plus · Global Voices
Zimpundit

This is Zimbabwe in Surviving Zimbabwean Democracy presents a summary of the major arguments for and against the MDC's participation in the senate elections which a are now under two weeks away.  Disturbed by the failure of many pundits to decipher just how mundane and cruel implications of an election bode for lay Zimbabweans, he cautions not to,
“forget that when Zimbabweans are asked by political parties to turn out and vote, they are in effect being asked to deal with intimidation, violence and with the likelihood that they and their children – I emphasise, their children – will be deprived of food if the area votes against zanu-pf. To be fair to the people of Zimbabwe, any arguments for or against electoral participation have to engage with their grassroots reality.”
On the subject of senate elections, FirePussy takes aim at the MDC ,
“the Senate Elections notwithstanding, there has been a Big Bold Sign flashing for the last couple of years:
MDC Change Your Tactics.”
And Zimpundit seems sure that Morgan Tsvangirai's days at the helm of the MDC are over,
“Tsvangirai emerged not as the benovelent savior Zimbabweans had begun to look to him as, but as just another victim of that dreadful pandemic that has claimed hindered the continent's prosperity and progress: a dictator, another tyrant in the making.
He had started to build himself a kingdom, an untouchable kingdom just like Robert Mugabe has succeed in doing. And just like Mugabe, he has been trying albeit unsuccesfully to squash any dissent to his views. Fortunately for Zimbabweans, his closest associates saw this and denied him that opportunity.”
This is Zimbabwe also discusses the fisicious diplomatic row raised by Harare after Christopher Dell, the US ambassador, critized the Mugabe regime in a speech.
Mark of Paradise Lost interviews Sizwe a young Zimbabwean immigrant in South Africa and Gary Cross a pastor at a church in Harare which is faced with a crisis as retirement benefits have long since fallen behind inflation.
Agathon Rwasa is mad at the UN for promising action and then backing away allowing more innocent civilians to be killed in Burundi,
“By making threats back in 2004 and then not following through with those threats, the UN was inviting the FNL to carry out further atrocities. By encouraging the FNL to think that they were immune, and that they could extract further concessions by killing more people, the UN helped to cause the August 13th 2004 Gatumba massacre.
This is a matter of life or death. Unless the UN a) applies sanctions to the FNL or b) shuts up now, their empty threats will help to cause another massacre, possibly one even worse than Gatumba.”
He is also reporting that Tanzania's retiring president, Benjamin Mkapa is encouraging his followers halt FNL activity from Tanzania.
Finally, Agathon Rwasa announces a new blog, Memoire Vigilante
Congogirl reports that a Belgian priest, the first foreigner charged in relation to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda will be allowed to go face trial in his home country.  Father Guy Theunis edited a publication that republished extract from a Hutu magazine.
Blogger Geeta shares her thoughts on joint programming in Malawi.

author: Zimpundit


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WSIS Tunis · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethan Zuckerman is also on his way to WSIS in Tunis to run Global Voices workshop on “Expression under Repression. “ He like many others has a number of concerns on WSIS.  “I’m attending despite deep misgivings over the usefulness of the gathering, the absurd cost of the meeting, and the fact that it’s being held within a deeply repressive country with a history of detaining people who use the Internet to exercise their right to free speech.”


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WSIS: white elephant · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia asks us to “beware of the white elephant” – The WSIS in Tunis this week will be discussing the “digital divide” between the “north” and “south” and call for a Digital Solidarity Fund.  However without substantive changes in trade restrictions and barriers then it will just be another one of those “talking shops” and everyone gets to have lots of fun in Tunis.
“Dazzled by the allure of e-commerce, the global information society, e-learning and other buzzwords, they believe that new technology will allow them to leap-frog decades of incompetence and corruption and achieve rapid development.  But the barriers to technological development are exactly the same as the barriers to any economic development: market restrictions, lack of contract law, state controls, customs duties, bureaucracy, and corruption.”


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Zimbabwe Action Alert · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Sokwanele – This is Zimbabwe has an  action alert in respect of  the ” arbitrary detention of Mrs. Netsai Mushonga the  Coordinator of the Women’s Coalition, an umbrella body of women’s rights groups in Zimbabwe.”


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Afghanistan: History & Identity · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Mirwais of Afghan Reality writes on Afghanistan's history and Afghan identity.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Argentina: Cromañon Update · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Inspired by a street mural, Jeff Barry describes the political fallout which has ensued the tragic fire at Club Cromañon, responsible for the death of 194 concert-goers. Robert Wright and Ian have more thoughts.


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Argentina: New album by Richter · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Zona Indie showcases the new album by argentinian electro-rock band Ritcher. Five songs are freely available for download.


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Armenia: Khash · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Christian Garbis reports on the tradition of celebrating a new baby with a meal of khash.


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Armenia: Talent · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ara Manoogian says that he has encountered quite a bit of talent in Armenia in recent days.


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Bangladesh: Another terrorist attempt · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Terrorism  struck Bangladesh yet again. Adda reports
It happened again very sadly. Terrorist group in Bangladesh yesterday killed two judges… This is an unfortunate trend in the recent years where fundamentalism and religious militancy in Bangladesh have been on rise. Since, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has allied with the wicked Jamat-i-Islami and Islami Forum to come to power; Islamist groups have been politically and administratively patronized in Bangladesh.
Rezwan at 3rd World View thinks there might be more than what appears on the surface.
There is a deeper conspiracy in this. the Islamic millitants see the court as their biggest hurdle as after the Aug 17 bombings the police apprehended more than 500 extremists and banned two Islamic groups (JMB being one of them). The police is on the verge of exposing the kingpins and go for speedy trials of these elements. So crippling the legal system might be the agenda of those who wants to establish Islamic law in Bangladesh.
And Salaam Dhaka says
Ladies and gentlemen, Jamaat has arrived. We can thank Begum Khaleda Zia for this one!


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Brand Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

White African posts on yet another “country” survey, this time “countries as brands”.  In the outdoor section there are three African countries, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya.


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Brazil: Salvador and San Francisco · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Sangroncito explains why he splits his time between San Francisco in the U.S. and Salvador in Brazil. The National Rifle Association of America, meanwhile, explains why it thinks Brazil is wiser than San Francisco.


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Chile: Folksinger, Victor Jara · Global Voices
David Sasaki

William Burroughs’ Baboon introduces Chilean folk singer, Victor Jara (with audio).


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China: Learning Shanghainese · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

sinosplice helpfully assembles a list of resources for those who wish to learn Shanghainese.


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Costa Rica: Anti-CAFTA Strike Tomorrow · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Costa Rica Blogs warns that there will be a protest beginning tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Central Park against the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Dean Córnito wrote an open letter to George W. Bush last week about his comment to President Pachecho that he “take his time” in ratifying CAFTA.


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Cuba: “On Snail-Mail and Email” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Steven Mansour shares his adventures in snail-mail and email with friends in Cuba.


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Ecuador: Homophobia and Sexuality · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Muerto de Risa has a tough time with Ecuadorean attitudes towards homosexuality.


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El Salvador: Protests and Encounters with the Law · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim's El Salvador Blog follows the story that the University of El Salvador has been shut down by protesters while Meg describes her run-ins with the Salvadoran military and police.


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Hungary: Economic Fun and Games · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu reports that the Hungarian government has posted an online game offering citizens the chance to experience the difficulties of creating a government budget and the opportunity to submit the budgets they come up with.


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Iran: Tehran’s Metro · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Zehne Abi, an Iran based blogger, says it is unbelievable thatRafsanjani's son position as General Manager (call it boss) of Tehran's metro has been confirmed. Zehne Abi writes everybody knows about corruption, mismanagment and even collapsing of one part of metro's roof under his rule!!

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jordan: Jordanians Disapprove Al-Qaida · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Natasha says that almost two thirds of Jordanians have changed their views of Al-Qaida for the worse following suicide bombings against Amman hotels. She feels very sad and extremely frustrating that it took an attack in Amman for some Jordanians to change their views about Alqaeda terrorism.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Jordan: Terror in the digital domain · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zeid Nasser calls to unite to denounce the actions of terror groups, also to be vigilante on the Internet, keeping an eye open to subversive and suspicious activities. “It's the least, we the Internet community, can do, Zeid said.”


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Kenya: johnson-sirleaf · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mentalacrobatics congratulates Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on winning the Liberian elections and more….
“Congratulations to the people of Liberia the latest example that, despite the hype, democratic elections do work in Africa”.


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Kenya – Rugby · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

For rugby lovers only – ThinkersRoom  reminisces  about Haka, Tana Umaga, scrums, props and lineups – thats rugby to you and I – if you still dont know what rugby is all about TR provides a “beginners guide”.


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Marrakech film festival · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Senegalese blog SEMEtt (the Black Spark) reports that there are no black African films being presented at the 5th Marrakech (Morocco)  Film Festival.  In fact there is only one African film “El Ayel ” (the kid of Tangier) of the Morrocan Moumen Smihi.”  He accuses the festival organisers of being trying to immitate the Cannes Film Festival.


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Nigerian blogosphere this week · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Gbenga Sesan continues his reports from Tunis “Yesterday we got a taste of Nollywood in Tunis”. Gbenga and his group were prevented from entering a hotel which was a venue for a meeting of the Tunisia-based Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates (ATFD)
It was unbelievable and quite interesting! I would have tried to take a picture or two but my battery was flat (actually, truth is I wasn’t sure it was smart to try taking a picture at that time
See Ethan Zuckerman's post “Enroute to WSIS” for more on Tunisian security.
Naijablog reviews the film, The Constant Gardener and finds the film to suffer from the usual failings of films about white people in Africa.
the black characters are all incidental bit parts. The only major black character's role (a doctor friend of Weisz’ character) smacks of being woven into the film to avoid having a completely obvious white-foreground, black-background bifurcation. All we see of African Nairboi is a Kibera-esque slum with corrugated roofs into the distance and thousands of kids everywhere. Ultimately, Kenyans are represented as having no agency or any form of resistance to corporate power. The film is therefore racist, with that subtle brand of racism the British excel at
Nigerian Times congratulates Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on winning the Liberian elections.
Nigerian Times rejoices with Lady Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for making history as the first female head of state in modern Africa. She is the beginning of a new era in the political history of Liberia and the rest of Africa.
Nubian Soul however points out that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not in fact the first African woman to lead her country.
Ruth Sando Fahnbulleh Perry (Ruth Perry) was leader of Liberia from 3 September 1996 until 2 August 1997 as chairwoman of the Council of State, which governed Liberia following the overthrow and murder of former dictator Samuel K. Doe
CyBlug reports on the “landmark” judgement declaring that gas flaring in the Niger Delta will stop.
“For the first time, a court of competence has boldly declared that Shell, Chevron, and the other oil corporations have been engaged in illegal activities here for decades,” declared Rev. Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA), the Nigerian chapter of Friends of the Earth International (FoEI), which backed the lawsuit.
It will be interesting to see how many years it takes for this ruling to be honoured.   Shell Develoment Petroleum Corporation (SPDC) has stated that it will appeal the ruling.
Chippla's Weblog responds to those calling for President Obasanjo to run for a third term – which would require a change in Nigeria's constitution.
“why does a nation have a constitution if it would not be respected? Such a nation might just as well pretend to be a jungle and let the laws of nature dictate the pace of its activities……..The very fact that there are voices in the Nigerian political class calling for Mr. Obasanjo to extend his tenure beyond 2007 shows how disoriented and visionless a part of that country's polity is. I mean, a constitution exists which clearly states that a Nigerian president can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.
Trae Days introduces us to his new blog Traedays.com and himself “Hi there, welcome to my side of the internet. My name is TRAE (my initials actually). You could also call me trae_z cos that's my username in many sites I'm registered with. I'm 22 and I'm from Abuja, Nigeria”
And so too does Kayode of Kazey Journal. “Self Interview. Meet Kayode Muyibi”.


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Nepal: NBA boycott · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News from Nepal reports that after an  emergency meeting with the Supreme court representatives, Nepal Bar Association withdrew boycott of court proceedings tomorrow to protest ruling of the apex court on the controversial media ordinance case.


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Nigeria author writing prize · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Musings of a Naijaman reports that Nigerian author of Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Adichie has been shortlisted for the “John Llewellyn Prize for “fine young writers early in their careers from biographers, novelists and historians to travel writers, dramatists and poets”.


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North Korea, South Korea: The Submariner’s Tale · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

oranckay recalls his encounter with a North Korean submarine navigator who had been involved in a failed 1995 infiltration attempt of South Korea.  The navigator had lived on a North Korean base since the age of 14: “He didn't know what money was. He'd never needed any.”


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Pakistan: Crash course in Sufism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The sufis have to cut short their performances in London - almost pop style says the The Organic Brew.


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Pakistan, India: Denial · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pickled Politics on why the denial within the community of Muslims is not going to help much.


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Pakistan: Malka Hans · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi in a very romantic mood explores Malka Hans -
When one has seen one Punjabi Town, one has seen them all, except Malka Hans. Now long forgotten by most people, a historic little town was once an abode of Waris Shah


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Russia: The Perils of Driving · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yuri Mamchur reports on the long list of perils of driving in Russia.


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Rwanda · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

African Woman has been spending some time in the US and wonders why 10 years after the event Americans are so “interested”in Rwanda….”Why is the US suddenly so revved up? Hotel Rwanda, the movie. Apparently, if you want to mainstream an idea/story/concept in the US today, you don't push it in the media, print or non-print, you make a movie. (Which explains the hitherto unexplicable: Arnorld Schwarznegger.)”


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South Korea: Rude Westerner · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Jacob Jun-Gang Yoo describes witnessing a foreigner having a bad day in a Seoul McDonald's.  “People are people, and when you visit their countries and act like an ass, you will be judged by the natives as a representative of that country.”


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South London: poet · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Obifromsouthlondon – Soul on Ice – gets into a mellow mood with some poetry “8 million stories”
“I see her in a distance, walking towards me, slow paced, autum leaves twirling around her feet.
My black queen, glorious in her grace and splendour. Her love, my citadel of African bliss in a foreign land. But alas in her face I see the many faces of my countless lovers. still I feel inner peace knowing that as I declared my love I had already lost. They say it is better to have loved and lost…”


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Thailand: Fangirl · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Lynn of brain farts (and other inane crap) drops everything she's doing for one night.  Why? Because the lead singer of a now-defunct 1990s Australian pop group is in Bangkok, that's why.


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

The date was June 2002, the last time Bolivia held Presidential elections, and the Bolivian blogosphere had yet to sprout.  One of the true trailblazers of this internet community, Barcelona-based Miguel Esquirol, was one of the few that was even blogging at the time.  In his blog El Forastero, he describes the political landscape back in his native Bolivia:
“The Bolivian elections stomp along like an elephant banging into and leaving its prints on anything in its way.  There’s not much one can do against this stampede..”
Nearly three and a half years later, and the Bolivian blogosphere has significantly grown manifold.  Election coverage will continue to dominate the content on many of the blogs in this community.  Political leanings can be somewhat easy to decipher by frequent readers.  However, few have explicitly and publicly indicated who they will vote for.
La Paz blogger, who writes under the name Raízdefuego, states that he will vote for Evo Morales (MAS) despite some reservations.  In his blog Somos Bolivia, the author would like to see whether Morales would be up for the task of governing such a complex country and having Morales in office may lessen the chance of continued political instability, which ends up in the form of street protests.
Jonathan Olguin, who recently started his new blog, the Journal of Bolivian Business and Politics, admits that he “half-heartedly support(s) the PODEMOS candidacy,” which corresponds to the candidate Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga.  However, he criticizes Quiroga for mismanaging the fragile gas export issue and almost destroying important social programs during his short time in office, after the death of Hugo Banzer.
It’s hard to say whether other bloggers will come out in support for one of the eight Presidential candidates.  Most likely, if there is public support, it will be hand-in-hand with similar reservations and criticisms.  One such criticism came from Jaime C. Rubin de Celis, who questioned Evo Morales’ claim that he has the support of a major business such as the airline Aerosur, which gave the candidate a gift of free air travel.  In his blog JCR’s Place, he wonders if the airline offered similar benefits to the other candidates and the ethical implications of such an offer.
As the number of blogs continues to grow, Bolivian blogger get-togethers are taking place all over the planet.  Three bloggers recently met in France where all three currently reside.  Gustavo Siles aka Almada de Noche writes about the recent meeting with two other Bolivian bloggers based in France.  There he met with Ada Esquirol Ríos aka Agüita Fresca and Gabriel, who writes in his blog Gabriel al Sur de Francia.
Another gathering is currently in the works for La Paz.  Rolando Lopez, author of  Rocko Weblog and Carlos Hugo Quntinalla, author of Del Quintacho su Rincón are eagerly anticipating the meeting denominated “Paceñas, Fricachos & Blogs,” which is scheduled for the last weekend in November. Paceña is a commonly-found beer in the capital city and Fricasé, a local gastronomic specialty, is a type of pork stew.
Finally from Spain, Javier, who writes in Una revisión de todo un poco, wonders whether the Bolivian press exaggerates the plight of many Bolivian immigrants in that country.  In addition, Esquirol compares the different types of fast food that can be found in Bolivia, Spain and around the world.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

New this week…. Kurdo from Kurdo's World was interviewed by The Kurdistani, a Kurdish news agency posting out of the United Kingdom. Kurdo's World is considered as the first Kurdish blog that has focused on Kurdish political issues. After his blog has achieved a measureable amount of success, he started a new project, the Kurdistan Bloggers Union and then later the Northern Iraq project. In the interview  Kurdo discusses why he started to blog, his inspirations and his projects aimed at fostering more interest in the plight of the Kurds and Kurdistan.
With the recent ideological split between the Kurdistan Bloggers Union and the Northern Iraq Project, a new rival blog to KBU has been started called Roj Bash (Good Morning). Still in its infancy it promises to be a blog of note. While the infighting between the two projects is lamentable, the expansion of more open forum blogs on Kurdistan is a step in a positive direction.
Mentioned on both Kurdo's World and on the Kurdistan Bloggers Union is the new ad campaign begun by the Kurdistan Development Corporation, the investment corporation sponsered by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. The ad campaign is part of a new project called The Other Iraq which aims to change American and British public opinion on the people of Iraq, and to spur more economic investment in the region. The “Thank You for Democracy” commericals have begun to air on television stations in the US.
A new Kurdish Blog has been found this week called Bleak Blogorrhea, which on its first post has a link to the Google Print book “Mustafa Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement” by Massoud Barzani, which should be of interest to anyone studying Kurdish liberation movements.
Two bloggers have come back from a brief hiatus: Simko from Sulaimaniya, who has posted a flight departure table from an airport with the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government as destination, a new phenomenon in Iraq. Sami from Iraqi Thoughts is also back, and in his most recent post  expresses his condolances to those that lost their lives in the recent hotel bombings in Jordan.
Vladimir from From Holland to Kurdistan focused primarily on the Kurds within the borders of Turkey. A bookstore bombing in the Southeast of the country was originally blamed on PKK terrorists, however in the Turkish media it has come out that Turkish Military Intelligence might be behind the blast, based on evidence found so far. Other posts include an article from Dr Ahmad Faruqui, which discusses Ataturk's Legacy.
Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes writes this week in support of a recent protest against corruption in Erbil (Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan). He also gives his predictions regarding the new Iraqi legislative election this December. Hiwa predicts:
What I think will happen is, there will be a greater Shiite turnout. There will be a greater Sunni turnout as well as they will say well this is going to be for four years so we would rather exist than not exist in the government as it is now taking a form. But there will be a less Kurdish turnout due as PUK and KDP are not keeping their promises and the corruption happening all around Kurdistan. I think if they do something about Kurdistan government within these weeks they might be able to make a big difference in the turnout.
He is confident that change is coming, and that it will come from the people.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Turkmenistan: Elections · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on upcoming elections in Turkmenistan and changes to electoral laws that remove the requirement that the president be an ethnic Turkmen.


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Uganda: arrest of Besigye · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bazungu Bucks reports on the recent arrest and detention of Uganda opposition leader, Kizza Besigye.   “Museveni is desperate and drunk with power. He is ready to kill or get killed in order to remain in power. He is also closing the Monitor newspaper again! People used to think that people like me who always say Museveni is a tyrant that i was crazy or didn't know what I was talking about. That guy is a sad story — he kills and has killed many. Watch for worse news coming from UGANDA.”


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Vietnam: Hanoi Evenings · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Both No Star Where and Our Man in Hanoi have written posts reminiscing about music and evenings in Hanoi. Perhaps its the autumn season (Hanoi is the northernmost Southeast Asian capital). Or perhaps because both are leaving Vietnam soon.


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WSIS in Tunisia: governance issue settled, free speech issue boils · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

Here at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, a compromise has been reached on internet governance. Now the spotlight turns to free speech issues and the Tunisian government's heavy-handedness against dissidents and journalists.
In addition to the copious news reporting, bloggers are hard at work. Be sure to follow WSISblogs.org for the latest. The APC WSIS blog is also excellent. The Technorati WSIS tag page and search page are also great sources of WSIS blogging in all languages.
The tireless Andy Carvin has been faithfully blogging major speeches. Here is one quote he has from Kofi Annan:
The Internet's very life blood is freedom – allows journalists to do their work and citizens to hold govts accountable. Without this, the information revolution will stall and be stillborn.
And here is how he describes remarks by the Swiss president:
The president of the Swiss Confederation is speaking right now. He's just said he can't believe there are still UN members states that imprison citizens because of their opinons. He added that all people attending WSIS should be allowed to express their opinions freely and openly, clearly a reference to Tunisian interference in civil society's activities here. The comments were met with roaring applause from the civil society gallery.
The Tunisian government clearly does not agree. Ethan Zuckerman and I are participating tomorrow in a workshop called “Expression Under Repression.” We have heard that the Tunisian government has expressed the view that such a topic is not consistent with the conference theme of “ICT for Development.”  Of course, we have a different view, and are looking forward to a our session tomorrow. Our colleague John Palfrey has an excellent post on the impact of internet censorship on people’s lives and why we should care. Tunisian democracy activist Neila Charchour Hachicha has a poem in protest of the situation.
A number of people here are also disappointed that the local government’s behavior is detracting from what should be the central focus of this meeting: how to use technology to improve the lives of the world’s underprivileged, and how to bridge the digital divide.

author: Rebecca MacKinnon


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Zimbabwe: evictions · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Bearded Man has various reports from Zimbabwe – Mugabe dishing out free maize ahead of a local by-election and evicts 250 people despite a court order to the contrary.


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Africa: Timbuktu · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

African Unchained reports on the Timbuku Educational Foundation.….”founded for the sole purpose of preserving, restoring, and disseminating the important intellectual contributions of the early African scholars from the famous Timbuktu Universities of Mali, West Africa”


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Armenia: Eurovision Potentials · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

With Armenia set to participate in future Eurovision contests, Harmick of Blogrel offers up a sample of a potential entry.


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Armenia: Youth Activism · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia discusses the lack of youth activism in Armenia compared to Azerbaijan and Georgia, but reports that this may be changing.


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Bangladesh: Cricket and Women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mezba talks of popular perceptions of certain people who interpret Islam in their own way - and that includes cricket and women!


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Bangladesh: Perceptions of the self · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices links to a study by BBC  which questioned 5,000 ordinary people from all over the country, including both city and rural areas to find out how Bangladeshis see themselves and their country.


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Belarus: Solidarity Day · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

br23 blog reports on the outcome of the second Belarussian Solidarity Day.


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Chad: arrest of Habre · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Coalition for Dafur report on the arrest of Hissene Habre, former president of Chad Republic……”Habre, who is accused of murder, torture and a host of other crimes during his eight-year reign, was arrested at his home in Senegal's seaside capital, where he had lived in exile with his family since his ouster in 1990.”


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China: More Self-Criticism · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

On Anti's English Blog, a translation of an interview with liberal author Yu Shicun on his opposition to intellectuals. “There is no effective criticism among intellectuals, not to mention effective criticism to the society. The intellectuals lack the sense of self discipline and making contribution to the society. This has lead the intellectuals either become followers of cynicism or servants to merchants and officials.”


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China, North Korea: Interview with a Historian · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Austin Arensberg meets Paul French at a Beijing bookshop and interviews him about his new book on North Korea.


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Colombia: Uribe’s Reelection Chances · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Boz uses a rainy day to hammer out some thoughts on President Uribe's chances of reelection after the passing of a new Colombian law allowing for successive presidential terms.


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Cousins marrying · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla's Weblog discusses the ethnics of cousins marrying. ….“Whatever your views on first cousin marriages happen to be, they would likely be shaped by your beliefs, upbringing, environment and what you have read and chosen to accept.”


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DDT: poison  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Grandiose Parlour adds his voice to the DDT debate as he questions the safety of using that chemical to eradicate malaria. “The question is: Are we ready to do what it takes to control or even eradicate malaria? Or all we want to do is spray the bloody anopheles mosquitos and darn the consequence later“?


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Egypt: Parlimentary Elections · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

The Arabist sums up the results of the first of three rounds of parlimentary elections. 140 seats to the ruling NDP and independants who join the NDP shortly after their win. 34 seats to the Muslim brotherhood and a big defeat to the secular opposition which “apparently having neither the popular appeal to convince voters nor the deep pockets to buy their votes.”

author: Mostafa Hussein


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Guatemala: Estimate of Damages Caused by Hurricane Stan · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Chapinadas takes a look at the final damages dealt by hurricane Stan.


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Hoduras: Fiesta Patronal · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The weblog of the Passionist Volunteers describes the feast day of Talanga's patron saint, San Diego.


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India: Open Source · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nanopolitan on why going the Open Source way makes more sense in India. An interesting discussion in the comments section on Linux, if Windows OS was free and well – does source matter?


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India, Pakistan: Calcutta- Once upon a Time · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Organic Brew points to a collection of photographs of Calcutta in 1947, taken by American GIs.


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Indonesia: Year of Eradicating Corruption · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

On Indonesia Today by Yosef Ardi, an evaluation of how successful the Indonesian government has so far been in stamping out graft in 2005, which it had dubbed the “Year of Eradicating Corruption.”  The verdict: not very successful.


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Iran: Jordan Explosions · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abtahi, former Vice Preident writes about recent Jordan explosions: “Blowing oneself up in the lobby of a hotel or in the middle of a restaurant with no preservations because of the presence of just ordinary people is not considered a military operation and is not either a sign of power of any group“.


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Iran: literature & Blog · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abbas Maroufi, Germany based writer & blogger, has decided to publish one of his books on his blog. Book's name is ” Fereydoun had three sons” and people can download it free of charge.


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Malaysia, Singapore: Fifteen Minutes · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Overloaded by the hype and attention loaded on Singapore blogger-beauty Dawn Yang, Malaysia's Kenny Sia, following others,  inquires whether she had a little something done to her eyes.  Last week, Xialanxue wrote an open letter asking her to clarify whether she had plastic surgery.  On her blog, Yang replies to her detractors, threatening to leave blogging behind and be just a beauty instead: “I'm sorry but I may or may not continue to post on this site… you could say I've become rather weary of the frightful nature of fellow humans online.”  Meanwhile, Project Petaling Street Blog has some doubts about sites posting pretty bloggers to generate income: “web pimping.”


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Mongolia: Media Discovers Mongolia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

New Mongols reports that with President Bush about to visit Mongolia, the media has finally discovered the country and that it is a fairly normal and welcoming country.


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Nepal, Bangladesh: Relationship between the two · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Deshcalling on the relationship dynamics between countries in South Asia - in this case Bangladesh and Nepal.


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Nigeria: WSIS  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories reports from WSIS in Tunis on the World Youth Congress…..”At the congress young people from different parts of the world came together to discuss the issues that affect them in the prevailing era of Information and Communications Technologies.”


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Panama: Carpaccio Recipe · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Melissa De Leon says she's crazy about carpaccio and shares her secret recipe.


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Peru, Costa Rica: Blogger Meetups · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Costa Rican bloggers will be meeting up on the 25th while Peruvian bloggers will meet up in Lima on the 26th.


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Philippines: Blog Muckraker · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

At Kuwento Kuwento, Benjamin Pimental has a three-part podcast series interviewing journalist Sheila Coronel and her now-influential Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) blog. Click here for the beginning.  On a recent post, the PCIJ blog generated discussion about the country's digital divide.


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Poland: Ban War · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot reports that Poland's conservatives and the EU's liberals have more in common than they might think.


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Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

This week was a little bit quiet at the Saudi blogosphere. Probably most bloggers have decided to the chance of the very nice weather in Saudi Arabia these days by camping in the desert or going to the beach. However, there were several posts of note, so let's take a look at what was interesting.
This week has witnessed two Saudi bloggers meetups. The first was in Jeddah, where eight bloggers gathered for coffee, and talked about Linux, college life, and blogging. Fouad al-Farhan has a detailed report (Arabic) from the meetup. Another mini meetup was taking place in Riyadh, with a “females only” theme.
One of the hot topics in the Saudi blogosphere for this week was about driving, however, no women included this time. Trilancer wrote about road dangers, and thinks it is “tragic that a road accident soon becomes the reason for more accidents.” He blames that on the state of roads, and also the people, “since years of lax traffic law enforcement has shown them that the traffic police are always, if at all, after somebody else.” Dotsson was almost in another accident. Meanwhile, TyT takes the time to explain a phenomenon he called Attack of the Camry Boys. “These kids are REALLY annoying on the road, driving at speeds no less than 150km,” he wrote.
Under the title, “Do you remember him?” Abu Joori writes (Arabic) about a year after the mysterious death of Yasser Arafat that he was the best representative for the Palestinian cause. Abu Joori also prays for the Palestinian people to be united, and to gain their right by having their independent state on the Palestinian soil. More questions come from Meesho, who was surprised to hear the news about building the first church in Qatar, and wonders if we need to do this just to please the Americans and Europeans (Arabic). “Or is it a weakness? A weakness in our religion, a weakness in our personalities?” she asks.
Now, let's check out our selection of random, quick snippets for this week: Saudi Eve talks about being a news-junkie. Trilancer did not like the design of Nintendo DS portable game system, so he has been working on a new design. And Fouad al-Farhan expects some changes in the cabinet, naming three ministers that he thinks would be replaced. He says if his expectations were wrong, he is going to close down his blog (Arabic).
Finally, here is a piece of philosophy by ubergirl87, who wants to be anonymous, but not left out. “When I'm anonymous, I could be anything to anybody. (…) When I'm left out, people know who I am, but don't relate to me, and I don't to them. It's like being the odd one out. Whereas when you're anonymous you're not one in the first place,” she writes.

author: Ahmed Al-Omran


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SA: paying for water · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mzansi Afrika asks whether South Africans can “afford to wash today” as the introduction of water meters for residential users…..”There are many problems that come with pre-paid water: sewage pipe blockages, the low amount of free water supplied means that residents have to be very cautious when using water so that they don't exhaust the 6000 liters supplied by Joburg Water. Families in Soweto are larger than those of our mainly white suburban counterparts, therefore 6000 liters becomes very little considering that people need to wash, cook, and drink water”


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Slovenia: Esteem · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Glory of Carniola reports that Slovenes have remarkably high self-esteem according to a recent study.


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South Korea: APEC Protests · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

As the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan, South Korea nears, Andy Jackson of Flying Yangban discusses what the likely anti-globalization protests that will accompany it mean.


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Tajikistan: Neweurasia Tajikistan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia has launched its Tajikistan blog with an inaugural post discussing why Tajikistan is as deserving of attention as its neighbors.


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Venezuela: SUMATE, Economy · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Devil's Excrement asks if anyone is paying attention to Sumate's lastest allegations against the Venezuelan Electoral Board while Oil Wars comments on the economy's continued economic growth.


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United Arab Emirates: Stone Age · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

secretdubai describe Sharjah as the “Stone Age” emirate. Why? Two women were abducted and raped by fake taxi drivers and complain to police. What did Sharjah police do? Charge the women with being “in privacy with a man.”


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US – travel procedures · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Afromusing relays her most recent experience of travelling in the US and the inconsistency of airline security procedures - or is there some racial element involved?


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Video Blog from WSIS:  Negroponte’s $100 Laptop · Global Voices
Andy Carvin

Eight-minute video documentary of the prototype of Nicholas Negroponte's $100 laptop, which premiered yesterday at the WSIS summit in Tunis. Andy Carvin talks with the chief technology officer of the initiative and gets a first-hand look at this highly anticipated device.

author: Andy Carvin


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WSIS: Defending Freedom of Speech in Tunisia · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

Despite the odds, we managed to pull off our “Expression Under Repression” seminar here at the World Summit For Internet and Society. This was largely thanks to the strong spine of our sponsors, the Dutch NGO Hivos, who fended off a phalanx of plainclothes police who tried to shut us down. The goons finally backed off after the Dutch ambassador intervened and warned of a diplomatic incident. Before we began, uncertainty and rumor reigned about whether we’d be allowed to hold the event at all. On Wednesday, as I mentioned in a previous post, the Tunisian authorities told organizers that the seminar’s theme had nothing to do with the “ICT for Development” theme of the conference, and was thus inappropriate. On the morning of the seminar a sign outside the room said it was canceled. It was not included in the official program, and a rumor heard from delegates who visited the UNDP pavillion claimed that people who showed up would get arrested. Our colleagues have posted some eyewitness accounts of the action here.
Speakers included Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi, Chinese blogger Isaac Mao, Iranian blogger Hossein Derakshan, and Zimbabwean internet activist Taurai Maduna. Ethan Zuckerman blogged about the circumstances under which we opened the seminar and my opening remarks. (See my own pre-seminar notes here.) He also blogged some of the presentations: Isaac and Taurai. Jeff Ooi spoke eloquently about how blogging is helping to democratize a media environment in Malaysia in which the media has traditionally been dominated by the ruling party and its allies.
The Open Net Initiative ’s Technical Director Nart Villeneuve also gave an excellent presentation on how governments are filtering and censoring the internet worldwide. Nart is one of the authors of a new report on how Tunisia censors the internet – with the help of a U.S. software company. Here is his blog post about the issue. Tomorrow Ethan will lead a hands-on workshop to teach people how to circumvent this kind of censorship, and also how to blog anonymously.
Several Tunisian journalists in the audience challenged the validity of our subject matter, arguing that economic development and social stability are a priority over freedom of speech in poor nations.  Hossein, Isaac and Taurai strongly disagreed. Taurai pointed out that if people aren’t free to speak out when officials are stealing their food and misappropriating resources, they’re more likely to remain poor. Hossein agreed that poverty in many parts of the world is as much a product of repression and corruption than anything else, and that greater freedom of speech can empower citizens to pull themselves out of poverty.
If you read German, check out Markus Beckedahl’s account of the seminar here. Andy Carvin has this podcast of Hossein’s presentation on Iranian blogs and their socio-political impact.
Ethan also has an excellent post with updated photos on the parallel civil society summit held in downtown Tunis by democracy activists on Wednesday evening. Both he and I attended.
For other WSIS blogging by Global Voices community members, check out Jeff Ooi’s post on internet governance from a Malayisan perspective.


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Zimbabwe: climate change · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Eddie Cross writing in Zimbabwean Pundit discusses the possible impact of climate change on local agribusnesses and peasant farming….”Climate change will further damage the prospects of the subsistence sector. These farmers, some 800 000 of them – mostly women, do not produce significant surpluses and with the growth in urban populations the dependence on commercial large scale farming is likely to grow significantly in the years ahead. This deteriorating outlook for the capacity of the small-scale sector to meet even subsistence needs is being compounded by the HIV/Aids situation.”


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WSIS:  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star  Journal wonders who made the decision to hold the WSIS in Tunisia – a country that does its utmost to repression free expression. “ What's next? A world summit on good governance held in Harare?”


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Argentina: Teatro Colón is Back · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ian informs that Teatro Colón is back after a month without performances due to a lockout.


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Armenia: Bambir · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia has another report on Armenia's Bambir rock band.


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Bahrain: Proud Bahraini · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

SillyBahrainiGirl says: “How are the football players faring? I doubt that all of them are enjoying the perks of life, if they had to play under the threat of getting a home, a car and money or losing it all should they lose the match! I don't see why anyone should perform under threat. I don't see how they could…. I am proud to be a Bahraini.. but what annoys me most is that we make the same mistakes over and over again as if there is a divine power out there making sure that our heads remain down…. All those infuriated by the opinions of a few – who have no interest in football – should look closer at how things are run back home. Maybe by looking at what went wrong, we can make things go right.”


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Bangladesh: Thinking Sufi · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sadiq Alam has a roundup on Sufi thoughts and posts on various blogs.


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Brazil: Google and Swarzenegger · Global Voices
David Sasaki

After opening offices in Mexico and Brazil, Richard Miller says Google News now also has a site dedicated to Brazil. Made in Brazil has some memorable photos of California governor, Arnold Swarzenegger while he was vacationing in Rio.


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Burundi:  abuses by army · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Agathon Rwasa reports on more abuses by the army of Burundi including the use of child soldiers some as young as nine. ……”FNL combatants also reportedly burned homes in four different communities in Kayanza province and stole cows, goats, and household goods in early October. They are also accused of injuring six people in an ambush and stealing their property. According to press accounts, witnesses said that most of the perpetrators were under 18 years old”


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Chile, China: Free Trade Agreement · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The presidents of China and Chile have signed a free trade agreement. Gloria Delucchi writes in El Morrocotudo that she envisions that the region of Tarapacá will gain importance (ES) as unfinished goods are imported from China to be fully assembled and marketed for Chilean consumers.


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China: Interpreting the Mascots · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Mutant Frog Travelogue analyzes the symbolism behind China's recently unveiled five mascots for the Beijing Olympics.  “China’s choice also says something about the degree to which its “peaceful rise” diplomacy has been incorporated in creative and non-traditional ways into popular culture. Whether one buys into the message or not, one can’t accuse the Chinese of not trying.”


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Colombia: Rio Hacha · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Juan Noly was impressed by the town of Rio Hacha.


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Dominican Republic: Breast Cancer Awareness · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Annie Sánchez celebrates 10 years of breast cancer awareness.


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Egypt: Abdolkarim, the Elections and the Muslim Brotherhood · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

This week bloggers discussed Abdolkarim's release, the resuls of the the first stage of legislative elections and more.
Abdolkarim
After the release of Abdolkarim. Malek went to meet him personally and he wrote about his meeting (Arabic). Here is a quick translation of a part of the post:
…
He started to recall the events that occurred.
By dawn of the 26th of October his mother woke him up to tell him there is an officer who wants him.  Abdolkarim woke up and the officer told him they want him in Amn El-Dawla (State security). He went with them after they asked about his other brothers.
When he reached Amn El-Dawla they covered his eyes so he can not see the investigator.The investigator started to play the well known psychological game. (If you confess we will not torture you. If you didn't talk we will torture you till you speak.) Karim told him that he doesn't have anything to hide.
Investigator asked: Do you know why you are here ?
Karim: Because of the article.
Investigator: Very good what are your goals, you and your brothers, with such an article ?
(The popular conspiracy theory in our Egyptian security, that there is a certain conspiracy to create another unrest between muslims and christians in Moharam Bek. Feuled by the articles written by Abdolkarim, to create a new lack of security in the region for the benefit of external powers.. ((A very hard to describe ironic remark here, can't translate it))
The investigator at this moment didn't know that Karim is secularist and thought that he was shared his brother's fundementalist views. Karim explained that he is a secular muslim etc. etc..
Karim told me that the investigation continued for 5 hours and that he didn't endure any physical torture.
He also told me that he was well fed and that he had meals from restaurants and toilet was good during his stay in Amn El-Dawla.
After wards he went to the Bab Sharq police station with the political detainees jail away from criminal suspects.
From there he called his family and told him about his where abouts. (Strangely, his family didn't mention this.) Later on he was deported to Torah Prison.
He stayed 12 days and told me that food was ok and they themselves did the cooking. There was TV and they had newspapers. He knew that there are people outside trying to get him out from Al-Destour newspaper.
He was released and went to the Amn El-Dawla again. The investigator told him that he doesn't want to see him again and he has to calm down his writings a little. Karim told me that Al-Ghad(tomorrow) party did nothing and they have abandoned him.
…
Others considered his release the only good news for this week.
Abdolkarim didn't write about his release yet.
Elections
The first stage of the elections ended. Sandmonkey published the final tally:
NDP…… 114 seats* 70%
MB………. 34 seats 20%
Indies……..8 seats 5%
NFC………..8 seats 5%
Total = 164 seats
NFC is the National Front for Change. They are the main opposition parties.
MB is the Muslim Brotherhood.
The 5%
Ramy points to a comment by Sandmonkey. He assures us that if none of the opposition parties got 5% or more in the parliamentary seats, no one from the opposition will be able to nominate himself as president in 2011. This is due to the ridiculous constitutional amendment.
Mahmoud publishes a mashup of music and several radio, TV and original recordings of voices and reactions to the elections . Mp3 link (Arabic)
From the streets
Alaa posts an account of what he have seen in the first run of the elections, with photos. Earlier Alaa was shouting and screaming that the turnout was very low. Only 10% of the registered voters. And only very few people are registered. At points only 3000 voters were enough to secure a seat in the parliment.
Metamorphosis
Independent candidates after they won the elections turned en masse into NDP candidates. This transformation was resented by many bloggers. Considering it corupt, unethical and dishonest.
Muslim brotherhood
The astonishing large number of seats secured by the brotherhood in the first of three stages made a lot bloggers ask a good number of questions.
Ramy (Arabic)  asked the most important ones:
Ibn abdel aziz jokingly nominates himself as the head of the Muslim brotherhood. This means that he is the first person to nominate himself to this position from 70 years.
Football
Rarely anyone mentions football but not after the Ahly won their fourth African Champions League title.
Update: Abdolkarim didn't remove his previous posts and he finally wrote about his release.
Update: Egyptian Person translated parts of Abdolkarim's post.
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Ethiopia: light relief · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Meskel Square has some light relief from Addis Ababa after weeks of violence….some nice photos too of the hour. ………….The gloom that has settled over most people I know in Addis lifted for exactly one hour and 35 minutes over the weekend. The event was an official training morning for the upcoming Great Ethiopian Run, due to take place on Sunday, November 27″


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Ethiopia: Somaliland · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Inside Somaliland reports on landlocked Ethiopia's first import of cargo through the Red Sea port of Berbera in Somaliland.


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Ethiopia:treason arrests · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia reports more on the arrest of opposition leaders who are now being held on charges of treasons. ………Dr Nega and his colleagues are being held on charges of treason, which is punishable by death under Ethiopian law. Amnesty International regards them as prisoners of conscience, arrested solely for the non-violent expression of their political beliefs.”


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Georgia: Impressions · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Raffi of Life in Armenia reports on impressions of Georgia.


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Images from Thailand: Tiger Dancer · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Tiger Dancer” by Scruffy Dan
A dancer with a tiger mask prowls through a parade in Bangkok.

author: Paul Frankenstein


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India: Nothing holds back TOI · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Despite all the hatered, Times of India still seems to be doing great in terms of numbers says Media Watch.


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Iran: 25000 books got burned · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Pejvake Khamoush (means silent echo), an Iranian cleric & blogger, writes “According to  Mehr News agency 25000 books were burned after fire destroyed library of faculty of Law in Tehran university. (Persian)


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Iran: We are Iran book  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Khabgard says “We are Iran” which is about Persian blogs, is not a reliable source. Book only talks about less than 2 percent of blogs. Khabgard writes   Nasrin Alavi's, book's writer, claim that 70 percent of Iranian are young and they want a secular democracy, is  based on speculation not facts. (Persian)


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Kazakhstan: Election Encounters · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZ Blog reports on encounters with the preparations for the upcoming presidential election.


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Kenya: ICC nomination · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit expresses disappointment at the nomination of Effie Owour to the ICC (International Criminal Court). ....”So our government has a rare chance to send one of our best and brightest to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and who do they nominate instead? Someone who has been accused of corruption and was indeed named in the Ringera List of Shame and who chose to resign rather than clear her name and defend herself against the allegations against her”


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Kenya: wildlife giveaway · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mentalacrobatics asks  what the Kenyan government has against wildlife.  …“First of all it goes giving away National Parks, in a move which was illegal, to buy votes in the referendum and then it decides to flog 175 animals to Thailand“


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Malaysia: Judging Anwar · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Ada apa dengan ShinShin? asks whether disgraced former Malaysian deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim is an asset or a liability to the opposition party he associated with.


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Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand: Raiding Burmese · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Burma Underground compares raids on Myanmar refugees and activists in Malaysia and Thailand. “In Chiang Mai, I would sit on the floor at my Kachin friends’ house, and Naw Kham would tell me traditional stories from the Jinghpaw, their tribe. Here in KL, I sit in the kitchen of the CRC offices and Zaw Zaw, a guy about my age who teaches the Chin children math in the afternoons, tells me stories about the times they'd all been arrested…”


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Morocco: Moroccan King Pardons 10,000 · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Samir of The View From Fès reports that King Mohammed VI of Morocco has pardoned or reduced the prison sentences of 10,000 people to mark the 50th anniversary of independence. It is the largest ever number of prisoners involved in a royal pardon to mark national and religious holidays.


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Nepal: From India with a little fish · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai suspects that something's cooking in Delhi –
This is democracy, 7-party style. “We must give Nepal back to the people, and let them decide,” we often hear from the Parties. Looks like they mean the people of India.


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Nepal: Royal AboutTurn · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Some dramatic events might cut short the King's visit to Tunisia says United We Blog!


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Oman: The Omani Blog Awards 2005 · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Omani Blog Awards 2005 (aka OBA2005), nomination stage has begun. Good luck everyone!


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Pakistan: ASP · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi on an IT business model (Application Service Provider) that offers end users – small and large businesses, government organizations, non-profits, and membership organizations even individuals — an access to applications and services over the Internet and its scope in Pakistan.


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Pakistan: Blog-o-motion · Global Voices
Omer Alvie

I apologize for not having posted last week but my trusted Vespa scooter ran out of fuel before I could hit the internet highway and bring you my standard assortment of latest Pakistani blog posts. Needless to say, I was rather upset at my predicament of not being able to enter cyberspace for a routine perusal of my favourite blogging hotspots.
In my calamitous condition (suffering from acute net withdrawal symptoms), I was forced to find an alternate source for my daily dose of international news. I hate to admit it dear readers, but I ended up watching Fox News on cable. The experience as a whole was not as bad I thought it would be. I felt my IQ only dropped by a few points during my viewing excursion of Fox so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Apart from Comedy Central this channel is the funniest thing on cable these days and is definitely worth a watch for its news analysis based on the esteemed techniques of Rocko School of Journalism and AC Repair. But I digress…
Onwards with my recommendations for this week: Teeth Maestro remarks on the recent Karachi bombings; Suspect Paki posts his comments on the Bird Flu scare; Windmills writes an impeccable post on the subject of abortion; Fountainhead returns after many weeks with a must-read article on Dick Cheney; Meandering keeps us updated on the latest on the needs of Pakistan earthquake victims; Lightwithin enlightens us with a post on a forgotten Punjabi Town; Road Less Traveled writes about her initial Canadian experience; Journey presents an alternate point of view on the topic of Iran and Israel; and finally, I (The Olive Ream) present a Blogger's Soliloquy
I better sign off now, Bill O'Reilly will be on Fox News soon and I need a good laugh ….
cheers all.

author: Omer Alvie


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Pakistan: Torrents etc. · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Here's another way to bridge the Digital Divide - use torrents. Misha explains how.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Poland: Lepper’s Transformation · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot notes a sudden political transformation in Poland's parliament.


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Puerto Rico: Birthday or Anniversary? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Julizzette Colon-Bilbraut must decide between her grandmother's birthday and her anniversary with her partner.


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Singapore: Maid Perceptions · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Singapore's serialdeviant.org(y) says that a domestic helper ought to be treated as an employee not a servant, and that their employ should be the same as employing anyone else for a job.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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South Korea: Graduation Speech · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Korean-Canadian Jun-Gang of A Canadian-Gyopo's Tour of Duty posts the speech he gave in Korean at his graduation, which discusses why he decided to go to Korea to learn his parent's native tongue: “What’s more important to me though is the one thing I've always wanted to be able to do is to simply have a deep conversation with my parents. In one word, it was this thought drove me to endlessly think of ways of how I could become fluent in Korean.”


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Turkmenistan: Apologize · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Rico of neweurasia reports that Turkmenistan is demanding apologies from foreign media outlets for reporting the existence of an Islamic Movement of Turkmenistan. (Probably a sloppy mistake regarding the Islamic Movement of Turkestan.)


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Turkmenistan: Hypocritical Oath · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on the strange new oath for doctors in Turkmenistan.


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WSIS: Circumventing censorship and staying safe · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

Here is a picture from the workshop on secure communications and anonymous blogging conducted by my colleague Ethan Zuckerman, Dmitri Vitaliev of Frontline Defenders, Wojtek Bogusz of the Tactical Technology Collaborative, and Nart Villeneuve of the Open Net Initiative. These guys are basically the dream geek team for free speech on line. They gave instructions in detail about how non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and individuals trying to speak the truth under dangerous circumstances can secure their communications and data, and minimize the likelihood that people will get caught or arrested as a result of their work. The second part of the workshop was devoted to anonymous blogging.
Much of the instructions they gave today can be found in the chapters on secure communications and anonymous blogging in the Reporters Without Borders Handbook for Bloggers and Cyberdissidents. (Try here if that link is blocked for you.)  Many of the tools they referenced can be found at the NGO-in-a-box website where you can download trustworthy and free software. There are also instructions on how to use these tools and tips about how to be more security-conscious. Also see the Tools & Manuals section from Frontline Defenders.


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WSIS: Circumventing Censorship and Staying Safe · Global Voices
Rebecca MacKinnon

Here is a picture from the workshop on secure communications and anonymous blogging conducted by Ethan Zuckerman, Dmitri Vitaliev of Frontline Defenders, Wojtek Bogusz of the Tactical Technology Collaborative, and Nart Villeneuve of the Open Net Initiative. These guys are basically the dream geek team for free speech online. They gave instructions in detail about how non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and individuals trying to speak the truth under dangerous circumstances can secure their communications and data — and minimize the likelihood that people will get caught or arrested as a result of their work. The second part of the workshop was devoted to anonymous blogging.
Much of the instructions they gave today can be found in the chapters on secure communications and anonymous blogging in the Reporters Without Borders Handbook for Bloggers and Cyberdissidents. (Try here if that link is blocked for you.)  Many of the tools they referenced can be found at the NGO-in-a-box website where you can download trustworthy and free software. There are also instructions on how to use these tools and tips about how to be more security-conscious. Also see the Tools & Manuals section from Frontline Defenders.


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WSIS: repression · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jangbalajugbu Homeland Stories posts on yesterdays Global Voice workshop “Expression under Repression”…………….Yesterday we listened to first hand expriences of people blogging in coutries like China, Zimbabwe and Iran, where there is a massive censorship going on.Bloggers from these three countries told us about the fears they entertain daily and the extra caution they take while speaking in public places. There was a discussion about the great firewall of China, the politics of Iran and the campaign against some anti-people policies in Zimbabwe.”


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Cambodia Water Festival Highlights · Global Voices
Beth Kanter

The Water Festival (“Bon Om Tuk”),  the most exuberant festival in Cambodia, took place on November 15-17th.  According to Jinja,  the Festival  marks the start of the dry season and of Bon Kathan (a Buddhist practice done yearly where new robes are offered to monks).
Up to a million people from all walks of life and from all over the country flocked to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers in Phnom Penh to watch traditional boats racing.  As Phatry notes about the crowds, “I woke up amazingly late at 10 in the morning. already, hundreds of thousands phnom penhois, country folks, and tourists swell the waterfront and independence monument area. “
Hundreds of boats and paddlers will compete, including a boat team of HIV-positive men and women.
According to Jinja,  many villages send a boat team to Phnom Penh. The village boat is usually stored at a community temple (‘Vat’) and the team begins practicing in the months before November. Companies, nonprofits, associations and groups of friends assemble boat teams.
There is great pride for the local village boat team.  As KhmerAK notes,”People going to see the boat racing along the river and especially giving support to the one comming from the province where they from, and maybe me too, going to support the one from my province . . .”
In addition to the photograph above, Jinja captured some amazing photos of the Water Festival boats.   He also photographed some of the illuminated boats on the river in the evenings, like this one:
Meanwhile, Cambodian bloggers living out of country, like  Wanna,  are reminded of the Water Festival.

author: Beth Kanter


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From the Jordanian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Roba Al Assi

“Candle Light Vigil in Amman” by Isam Bayazidi
Amongst anger, grief, the detaining of the female accomplice, demonstrations all around the world, new claims released by Al-Qaeda, the week after the bombings has been very busy for the Jordanian bloggers.
Contemplation
Many are contemplating the event and trying to analyze the various aspects of the unfortunate event. Hala of CafeLulu poses a very interesting point in regards to how Jordan should react, “I think that we need to fight smart, and strategize, instead of falling prety to the kinds of changes to our society that have changed the face of the United States internally after 9/11.” Issam Smeir says, “Personally, I believe that Religion, Politics and Democracy just do not mix.”  Naseem Tarawneh analyzes the latest polls done in Jordan and which shows that the majority of Jordanians see Al-Qaeda as terrorists.
Ahmad Humeid highlights the analysis done by his friend Mazen, “The rhetoric of Al-Qaeda is to glorify sacrifice above all. It is an emotional appeal to demonstrate commitment without really offering an ideology of what they are really sacrificing for. What is so great about the wife of one of the suicide bombers following her husband? Presumably this is a selling point? The rhetoric of martyrdom is revolting whoever says it, whichever culture extols it. The notion that something is more sacred than life is extremely dangerous, and frankly demeaning to our peoples.”
As for the latest speech released by Al-Zarqawi, Oleander has an excellent analysis, “Reading into the latest ridiculous Al Zarqwi's audio recording Al-Zarqawi Threatens to Kill Jordan's King and Zarqawi: Amman bombs weren't aimed at Muslims, makes me wonder how stupid this “organization” really is? Did they actually expect the Jordanian reaction to be any different?” Naseem Tarawaneh meanwhile says, ” I don’t believe its a matter of Zarqawi becoming desperate, it’s a matter of suprise at such an angry and vocal reaction from the people he perhaps thought he knew so well, maybe even depended on to stage a revolt of sorts in the midst of the chaos.” Yazan Malakha provides some comic relief, criticizing the tape as witless and illogical.
Need for Reform
A lot of the Jordaian bloggers are stressing that this incident signals a need for an internal change in Jordan. Rami Abdul Rahman says that Jordan needs to get things straight, “How about giving journalists a true freedom of the press, and allow them to dig into all the corruption we have, instead of corrupting them?” Hareega ponders why Jordan was act, saying, “We were attacked because al-Qaeda got access to Jordanians through their minds… We didn't learn lessons from the events around us, and that was a problem because you can't live long enough to learn from your own mistakes.” Isam Bayazidi agrees, “Fixing the situation won’t be through more strict border checks, and hotel door security, but I think that it should be as strong and radical as those movements. The nests that grow those people, and brainwash them is here(local), and this is where we should look, and target.”
Naseem Tarawneh thinks that “There need to be greater civil liberties in Jordan and hopefully the “upside” of this tragedy will be accelerating social reforms to better the lives of everyday citizens.“
Lina Ejeilat, a student in Jordan University, is particularly concerned about the lack of political awareness in the Jordanian youth, “I'm so afraid that in a couple of weeks many people will just fall back into their apathetic attitudes! Yet we as youth in a country like Jordan cannot afford to be apathetic towards politics and ignorant about what goes on, we cannot afford to be reactive!” She also reports from the protests that took place in Jordan University, and referring to the thousands of students that attended the protests she says, “Imagine these thousands representing right-wingers, centrists, or leftists… socialists and capitalists, conservatives, liberals, or neo-liberals!” Lina also points to candle light vigils organized by MERYAN, the Middle East Regional Youth Action Network, that took place simultaneously in Baghdad, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza, Beirut, Belfast, and of course, Amman. May this be the beginning of a more politically active Arab youth.
Signs of reform already here?
Natasha Tynes says, “Jordan announced the resignations of 11 top officials, including the national security adviser, in the wake of the Jordan bombings. Jordanian official says the decision has nothing to do with the terroirst attacks that occured in Jordan on Wednesday.”
Khalaf analyzes this action and the whole resignation saying, “My analysis is that Khair's removal has more to do with his lack of achievement rather than being scapegoated for the hotel bombings, which I think most people would conclude
Natasha Tynes reports about the Economist magazine's “Index of Political Freedom”, saying “Jordan ranks 8 out of 20 in predictions of where and how democracy will spread in the Middle East and Africa next year…. I think, for Jordan, this is not that bad.” Ahmad Humeid says that Al-Rai, Jordan’s biggest selling daily (partially government owned), has announced that it will start publishing a ‘Reform and Enlightenment’ weekly supplement as a contribution to “achieve a clarity of vision against the various forms of extremism and bigotry”.
Anger is also rising about irresponsible journalism in covering the incident. Jameed says in regards to the many news reports about the new proposed anti-terror laws in Jordan, “! Read before you report!”  Natasha Tynes, a reporter herself,  refers to news portal Albawaba‘s insistance on calling insurgents in Iraq “resistance fighters” as “Unbelievable!”

author: Roba Al Assi


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News from Chinese Blogosphere · Global Voices
Frank Dai

1. Blog Auction:A T-shirt that was signed by participants of CnBloggerCon was  auctioned on the official blog(in ZH). The revenue would contribute to two online charity projects: Simling Library and 1KG. Blggers can post on their blog then use trackback to offer price. The price rose from 20 to about 700 overnight. Also the ppt files of speeches in CnBloggerCon are available online.
2. Collaborative Blogging: ESWN, Anti's English Blog (in ZH)and Simon World are asking for co-authors and guest bloggers. As Roland of ESWN said, they are inviting “like-minded” guest. All of them are focusing on China-related topics.
3. Olympic Mascots: Mascots for 2008 Beijing Olympics are released consisting of a set of 5 mascots called “The Five Friendlies“. Many arguments have been made as to whether they were appropriate. There are also some variants on the internet.
4. BBC Interview: BBC interviewed with some bloggers including Wangjianshuo via phone. He posted his experiences in dealing with foreign media. However many bloggers felt very unhappy about it  because he said he was bored with the censorship issue that is certainly the major agenda of BBC correspondents.
5: Brief History of Chinese Blog: Sayonly began to pack up some details and write a series of post reviewing the history of Chinese Blogs(in ZH), including how the blogosphere evolved since it was introduced in 2002.
6: WSIS: Issac Mao attended the WSIS panel. As Ethan Zuckerman posted, he believe “free thinking is more important than free speech right now “. Rebecca Mackinnon, who was also on this panel, divided Chinese blogosphere into several categories based on her observation visiting China.
7: Forum on the China Internet Media: The fifth Forum on the China Internet Media has ended in Hangzhou.  Officials and professionals singed a proposal calling on China-based news websites to contribute toward establishing a harmonious society, as China Digital Times reported. The term “harmonious society” was the most frequent word used in Chinese official press thsi year.
8. 4.5 million blogs: Fons Tuinstra pointed to a survey which estimated that there are 4.5 million regularly maintained blogs.

author: Frank Dai


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Sri Lanka: Post Election Blues and Reflections · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Photograph by Indi.ca
One has to wonder at the kind of propaganda that ensured that Ranil would lose the elections. Among other things – the boycott by LTTE, and posters like the one posted above. As Indi.ca explains –
This is put up by the SLFP or JVP or somebody. Ranil Wickremesinghe is reputedly gay, and this is a poster of him as Micheal Jackson, surrounded by boys.
Yaaro at La-la Land stayed up impatiently waiting for news from her parents with regards to the election and was disappointed by Ranil losing and Mahinda winning. Morquendi however, asks if the elections were actually free and fair
Mahinda did win the South. There's no question about that. But just how much did vote rigging effect the result? Well, not much really. But then, the margin between the two candidates is not much either is it? So did the vote rigging in the South have an impact on the result of the election?
Morquendi also asks some other uncomfortable questions about the implications of Ranil winning on votes that were largely Sinhala, and asserts that the victor for Ranil means a defeat for Sri Lanka – the Sri Lanka that has both Sinhala and Tamil people. Indi on why he thinks Ranil lost. He has more on the LTTE disenfranchising the people they claim to represent.
Pickled Politics states the election result as the end of a dynasty in Sri Lankan politics.
In a vein similar to its neighbours, Sri Lankan politics revolves around personalities rather than policies. Votes are cast out of loyalty, for either familial or personal reasons – it’s a known fact that corruption, with it’s financial and protective privileges, will seep through to the party that wins, so politicians are required to work a different angle to make sure the license to import luxury foreign cars on a tax-exemption is theirs and theirs only!
Deane's Dimension has posts on why the Sri Lankan blogosphere seems to be pretty upset about Ranil's loss, and why it's difficult to understand LTTE's sudden and unacceptable boycott of the election.