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Ukraine: “Long Life to the Government” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scott W. Clark and LEvko of Foreign Notes comment on the creation of the Orange Coalition in Ukraine – at last, three months after the election: the government is (almost) there,  Tymoshenko is the premier (again), and she's already making statements about the gas situation. Matt Jay of Publius Pundit is also commenting on the coalition's prospects. And Wu Wei meets with Ukrtransnafta representatives and has a brief discussion of the new government: “We wished them ‘long life to the government’ and everybody laughed, so there are no illusions.”


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Uzbekistan: German Prosecution · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net questions the usefulness of calls to prosecute Uzbek officials for human rights violations using Germany's courts’ universal jurisdiction over such matters.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


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Uzbekistan: Longer Andijon Video · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nick of neweurasia discusses the release of a longer video showing the events of the Andijon uprising and what it means for interpretations of the day's events.


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Afghanistan: Restricting the Press · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghan Warrior protests a document from the Afghan intelligence service that restricts media freedom.


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Africa: music, football, dance · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Soul on Ice goes from strength to strength and is fast becomming spokesblog for music and football Africaine……..Musik, Dance, Football

author: Sokari Ekine


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Argentina: José Pekerman · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Roberto Bobrow informs readers about Argentine football head coach, José Pekerman and his shared bloodline with Hollywood actor, Gregory Peck.

author: David Sasaki


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Argentina: Translation of Qué Vachaché · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright admits that he's not the world's biggest fan of tango, but a few songs have grabbed his attention and here he offers an English translation of “Qué vachaché” written by Enrique Santos Discépolo and popularized by Tita Merello.


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Azerbaijan: Aziza Mustafa Zadeh · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian writes about Azeri jazz musician Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, an album of whose he picked up for a friend. He remarks that it is “good to see that music can actually cross geopolitical borders, especially when the two countries in question are Armenia and Azerbaijan.”


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Azerbaijan: Statue Protest · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

In light of a protest in Moscow against a statue of Heydar Aliev, the first Turkic Politburo member and the former President of Azerbaijan, Denise of neweurasia argues that Russia must take steps to treat its Azeri residents better to ensure a good image in Azerbaijan, if for no other reason.


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Azerbaijan: The State of Play · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

New blog Memo from Breed reports on the state of play in Azerbaijani politics, focusing on the efforts of the opposition to find a raison d'etre.


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Barbados: The election will be wired · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Citing a Wired article about Rupert Murdoch and Barbados’ status as one of the Caribbean territories with the highest internet penetration, Barbados Free Press predicts that “the internet, citizen journalism, online networking and the Barbados Free Press” will play a key role in the country's upcoming general election.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Belarus: Marking Three Years Without Vasil Bykau · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitski writes about the third anniversary of writer Vasil Bykau's death: “The famous writer was nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature, was one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front, and is one of the most respected Belarusian authors, a moral authority revered by both seniors and youngsters. […] Bykau has been hated by the regime for his unequivocal opposition to the current government. Lukashenko did not show up at his burial but stated in an interview that he respected Bykau and grew up on his poetry. Little did he know – Bykau had not written poems. Embarrassing isn’t it?”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bolivia: Andean New Year · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jim Shultz wishes his readers a descriptive, “happy Andean New Year.”


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Botswana: HIV Implementers meeting · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Blogswana reports on the 3rd Annual  HIV/AIDS Implementers Meeting….”series of studies presented at the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief's annual meeting (this past week) suggested that men shouldn't be written off in fighting the disease”


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Botswana: Nata village launched · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

NataVillage blog reports that Nata Village  officially launched.….”Everyone in attendance was proud that Nata is the 1st village in Botswana with it’s own website!  At the conclusion of the program, Mr. Tiro provided lunch for the reporters who travelled 120 miles from Francistown to cover our event.”


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Caribbean Heritage Month · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“I have to admit that I find myself wondering what took them so long,” says Karen Walrond, discussing the US government's designation of June 2006 as Caribbean Heritage Month.


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Costa Rica: New Fast Food Chains Set Up Shop · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Responding to the news that fast food chains, Wendy's and Cinnabon will soon be opening in Costa Rica, Tim says that “Costa Rica is not a good place to diet.”


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Cuba: Foreign students deprived of internet access · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Medicina Cubana reproduces a news agency article stating that foreign medical students at the Morón School of Medical Science have had no internet access for the past several weeks. The article also notes that “in general, Cubans are not allowed access to the Internet.”


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Dell on Fire! · Global Voices
Ching Chiao

Gaston saw that a Dell laptop computer exploded into flames , at a conference in Japan.
The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes…We'd suggest you avoid actually using a laptop on your lap. Ouch.

author: Ching Chiao


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DRC: News roundup · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveller has a roundup of news from the Democratic Republic of Congo….


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Ecuador: Apple Inspired Marketing · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mexican marketing site BriefBlog has noted the influence of Apple's marketing in other advertisements before, but this ad by Ecuadorean TV channel Teleamazonas stands out as beyond obvious.


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Ecuador: Minutes of YouTube Fame · Global Voices
David Sasaki

In a post titled “Minutes of Fame on YouTube” Eduardo Ochoa says he didn't have to film himself dancing ridiculously or falling into a creak to reach YouTube fame. Instead, he and his brother edited a summary of goals from the France – Korea match which ended up being the most watched video of the day.


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Egypt: Pope Shenouda’s health in danger · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zeinobia writes that Pope Shenouda's health is in danger now and already he went to Germany in treatment journey in the same hospital President Mubarak went last year. The medical test showed how danger his health condition has reached and that he must go to the United States for immediate operation. Zeinobia adds that it seemed that for the last two years his health was getting worse and the Church seemed to cover it up and made it a scared secret in a way that showed no responsibility toward the Christian Orthodox people in Egypt or even the rest of the Egyptian people.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Ghana: American Dreams shattered · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Koranteng's Toli has a slightly different take on celebrating Ghana's win over the USA – the African blogosphere is on a high right now – it's complicated – the African Nation and the American Dream – ideintity politics – READ IT.


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Guyana: Life lessons · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Visiting a woman dying of cancer, Guyana-Gyal learns a few lessons about life and love.


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Guyana: New Guyana film festival · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Kyk-Over-Al announces the inaugural International Guyanese Film & Video Festival, which aims “to celebrate cinematic achievement in films and video in short format, feature-length dramatic or documentary projects with at least one Guyanese or a person of Guyanese heritage in a key creative role.”


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Guyana: Scenic music video · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Living Guyana links to a music video showing scenes of the Guyanese landscape, both rural and urban.


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Indonesia Growing Good Blogs, Hatemails and Asia Blog Awards · Global Voices
A. Fatih Syuhud

Indonesia blogosphere this last two years has witnessed the growing and heartening development of good blogging and quality bloggers to cheer about.  This, for most reason, due to the emergence of some Indonesian intellectuals, writers and journalists who start showing their interests to blog.  I have some of good bloggers featured in the Indonesian Blogger of the Week.
Some other reasons as to why they are interested to blog are (a) the full-fledge democracy with freedom of expression attached to it and at the same time (b) the space-limit and  tendentious and sometimes bias decision on the part of mainstream media in publishing an op-ed article are seen as  factors which are contributing to their growing interest to blog.  The infuence of globalization, of course, cannot be ignored.
Despite the full freedom we enjoy, however, another kind of  “repression of freedom” comes not from the government. Instead, it comes from individual(s) or militant organisation who feel “annoyed” by critical postings of some bloggers.
Yosef Ardi , for example, who is blogging regularly on Indonesian riches and VIPs, once commented in Enda‘s blog that he had received “complains” from three conglomerates regarding his posts.
While Indonesia Anonymus, also a journalist like Yosef Ardi, told us that he just received 127 hatemails with different addresses and different contents but he believes it came  from the same individual or organisation, apparently from a militant organisation member.  He reposts the hatemails after he translate it into English.  Many comments of sympathy and supports  in his “hatemails post”. Here are some of those.
An anonymous commenter said:
Keep on blogging, never mind those hatemails. We need to show the world that we ‘Indonesians’ are not just a bunch of fanatics. We're once known as an open minded people. So, let's prove that to the world. For that person(s) who sent those hatemails, shame on you for trying to force your own opinion upon others. Instead of putting to much energy into non essential matters, why don't we put our minds together to fight the rising poverties in Indonesia ?
Andry said:
Well, from the way I see it you already knew how risky blog is at the first place. Despite of your “dancing words” I love to learn one or two things from this blog because you have a gut. Writing for popular demand –pleasing everyone—wouldn’t take us nowhere but writing our opinion (with true intention, I trust you) draws controversy but in time build a credibility.
Is Indonesia politics  going more to Right?
Martin Manurung, one of new emerging insightful blogger highlight the current tendency of Indonesia's politics which he thinks is going more to right (read, religious conservatism).  He supports his analytical view with a table on 2004 Election Result Based on Political Parties’ Ideologies which will give his readers more clear picture on current trend on Indonesia's politics.  He's, and all of us, understandably worried if the current Indonesia political trend is increasing, especially in the context of freedom of expression safety in case Indonesian people vote for the right wing parties in mass-scale in the coming general and provincial election.
Asia Blog Awards: Indonesia
Well, with the growing good and quality blogs, I think Jakartass, who is been busy nowadays as the judge for Asia Blog Awards Indonesia category will be excited in seeing the growing quality blog and at the same time confused to pick one.

author: A. Fatih Syuhud


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Iran: Flags, Football & Politics · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Omid Habibinia, media researcher & blogger, Iranian football supporters  carried different flags based on their political attitudes. The blogger says  some carried a flag with the sun and lion which belonged to the pervious regime and used today by Monarchists and Mojahedin of People (two opposition groups). Some of them cheered the team without a emblem or with an ”IRAN” instead of the sign of Allah of the Islamic Republic or that of Monarchist and finally a few of them mostly came from Iran carried Islamic Republic`s flag with the sign of Allah(God).

author: Fred Petrossian


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Latin America: “A false and damaging dichotomy” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Maxwell Cameron, who usually blogs at Peru Election 2006 explains why he believes that “talk of a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ left in Latin America hinders understanding of continent's reaction against economic orthodoxy.”


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Madagascar: Which Sector to Develop Economy · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Madagascar Croissance asks (Fr): “Which sector will develop the country's economy?” and, after a comparison with nearby Mauritius, concludes: “The best solution is the development of entrepreneurship in the countryside.”

author: Alice Backer


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Malaysia: Visiting Kuching · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Wendy at My Food for Thots is visiting Kuching, the capital of Malaysia's Sarawak state and writes about her first day there.

author: Preetam Rai


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Moldova: Monthly Salary Vs. Daily Spending in London · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peter Myers of Adventures in Moldova notes how much money he spent in one day in London and compares it to the average monthly salary in Moldova.


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Nigeria: Finance minister redeployed · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Exodus comments on the firing of Nigeria's finance minister Mrs Okonjo-Iweala…..”I knew it! I knew the administration had tampered with the foreign reserves (and I suspect to the ignorance of Ngozi). The people in the Senate must know what they are talking about. OBJ don chop money; probably used it for the 3rd term campaign. I strongly believe Ngozi was not in the know, hence her repeated assertions that the foreign reserves were still intact.“


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Palestine: Roger Waters and The Wall! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Cultural icon and rock-god Roger Waters, co-founder and frontman of the legendary rock group Pink Floyd, spray painted “Tear Down The Wall” and “No Thought Control” on Israel’s Separation wall. Nadeem has the details.


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Philippines: Metro Manila Google Earth Images · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Urbano dela Cruz is excited by Google Earth's recent updates to Metro Manila images.  The blogger links to a Wiki titled Google Earth Philippines where he is inviting others to add more information to the maps.


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“Pirates of the Caribbean” protest · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Amerindian issues blog The CAC Review publishes a press release announcing that the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United will be holding a protest against the World Premiere of Disney film “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” on Saturday 24 June in Anaheim, California.


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Plane Crashed in Fujian · Global Voices
Ching Chiao

It's the “third crash of Chinese airforce planes occurred in this month”, The Horse's Mouth translates.
Considering the recent crashes of the airforce planes (all) occurred in Nanjing Military District, which is confronting Taiwan, this reflects that the training volume of airforce planes in this area has gone up sharply, according to some observers.


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Romania: Sibiu and Currency Exchange Scam · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andy H of Csikszereda Musings writes about Sibiu, his “least favourite place in Transylvania,” and a common currency exchange scam he got into while there.


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Russia: Butovo Land Dispute · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The recent land dispute between Moscow city authorities and residents of Butovo, a suburb just outside the capital's beltway (MKAD), included such dramatic elements as a tent camp, bulldozers and riot police. Ilya Yashin (LJ user yashin), leader of the youth wing of the Russian social-liberal party Yabloko, writes about the incident and shares his thoughts on how the standoff could've been avoided. The post (RUS) generates a discussion of the local officials’ ways.
Butovo
Moscow authorities have decided to replace a village outside MKAD with high-rise apartment blocks. People living in the small village houses were offered to move to the city concrete buildings. They refused because they were being moved to tiny, one-room apartments, and, in addition to this, they were being deprived of the chance to work on the land (for some, it's the only way to make a living). The officials are filing lawsuits, winning them and sending eviction officers with riot police – breaking the fences and doors, twist hands, operate with rubber sticks.
There's one thing I don't get. Obviously, profits to be received after the village has been razed are incredible. To use some of these superprofits to deal with the village locals – is that such a big problem? Why can't they be offered not a tiny one-room cage, but a normal three-room apartment, and some additional cash?
Yes, it's always hard to part with money, even when there's much of it. But when will these jerks from the mayor's office start using a rational approach – by spending money, the regime basically buys insurance against social problems: protest rallies, the critical media, fights with riot police. People are being forced out of their houses, and it's natural that they are going to resist, even if you show them a dozen of court decisions. And they'll hate the regime. And the society will sympathize with them, not the mayor's office.
***
terika: You are the generous one. Because it's not you who's got those potential two/three/four-room apartments. And to give them away just to preserve that mythical social stability in the village of Butovo? It's ridiculous and, of course, no one would want to spend money on this. Riot police is cheaper. Try to think the way they do. Would you give ten rubles to a beggar, just to keep him from following you up to your front door and begging? Someone would give the money, others won't. Someone would call the police. The same with these apartments.
yashin: Well, the beggar comparison isn't very correct. Butovo residents aren't begging anyone about anything, they've just been living in their houses for many years and want to be left alone.
As for the problems, the police is, of course, cheaper, that's true. But the reputation of the officials after such informational bombs suffers quite a bit. Then again, they don't care anymore – the governors’ elections have been cancelled [governors get appointed now].
terika: The officials’ reputation :))) You've answered your own question.
yashin: I was absolutely serious, by the way. This is the essence of the civil ideology – an official values his reputation, because if it's affected, then he (or his boss) has much less chances at the elections. But it's not about Moscow, unfortunately.
terika: And it's not about Russia, too. I've been on a business trip to Germany recently. They arranged a city tour for us. So we come to the Bundestag. It's surrounded by three rows of bicycles. Public officials have come to work. Then the local guide sees a Mercedes near the entrance to the parliament. His face changes and he yells: “And who is this? On our money!” And then: “Ah! That's the Russian delegation…” :))
[…]
solo_d: Taking into account the proverbial Russian mentality, it's possible to assume that the reputation of the officials who solved the problem peacefully will suffer even more than the reputation of those who simply send the riot police to attack the people. Force, and especially rough force, is respected in our country. And to go against the regime – for some it's nothing but amoral. And for a certain segment of the population, officials who are solving problems without bulldozers or riot police, covered by the cameras of Channel 1, appear to be the weak ones.
oleg_kozyrev: No, I think you're wrong. Because an official's considered strong when no one at all learns about the situation. And if they do, that means he's been weak.


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Saudi Arabia: Unity and Division in Islam · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

yinshuisiyuan has an excellent commentary on an article which picks up on a speech made by King Abdullah of Saudi, were he tells Saudis that they must accept diversity.


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Serbia: War Criminal’s Concert and the Country’s Image · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Viktor of Belgrade Blog writes about Serbia's image abroad. He also links to the text on a concert by a “Serbian war-criminal,” written by the Serbian writer Jasmina Tesanovic for BoingBoing: “There is no excuse for going to Ceca's concert (“Ideally Bad”) but I found one: I took a foreigner with me. […] The most famous turbo folk star in the region, Ceca is an eighteen-year veteran, highly popular even in the neighboring areas where her husband and his paramilitary troops looted and killed her listeners.”


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Syria: Who’s an Arab? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Amr was asked by an American friend; who's an Arab? Amr could not find an easy answer, so he made a research, which you might find interesting to read.


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Taiwanese Oversized Wedding Albums · Global Voices
Ching Chiao

Jason from Wandering to Tamshui talks about Taiwan’s booming wedding photography industry, and a book called “Framing the Bride“, written by Bonnie Adrian.
Looking past the ridiculous fads and soft lighting that are endemic to the industry, Adrian manages to come up with some interesting theories on why Taiwanese (and the occasional hapless foreign spouse) spend so much money on oversized wedding albums.


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To Be or Not to Be a Martyrdom Seeker · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Iran some people call themselves martyrdom seekers and demonstrate in cities to show their readiness to die for Islamic Republic. A couple of weeks ago Mohammad Masih, blogger and martyrdom seeker invited several bloggers with different points of views share their ideas about martyrdom seekers. Let's look at briefly to some of these discussions in Blogestan!
Harry Potter was not my idol!
Mohammad Masih shares with us why he became a martyrdom seeker. We learn he was born at the final days of the Iran-Iraq war, his father was injured by chemical weapons in the war and he spent a good part of his childhood in mosques. Mohammad Masih says my main hobby was to go to cinema with my uncle and watch war movies (Persian). The blogger adds:
If Harry Potter is an idol for our kids  today, for me a member of the Basij forces who became martyr at the end of the film was an idol. My drawings were about war, martyrs or related subjects.
Die or live for ideals
Jadi has a different point of view. The blogger says I am not a martyrdom seeker because it is easy thing to die for our principles and ideals but it is a hard thing to live them (Persian). The blogger says he wants to make the world a better place to live and he says he took part in the Make poverty history project. Jadi adds :
In the world one billion people are hungry, in my country many are in prison, and members of the Bahai faith have no right to go to universities….. I know people need more my useful work rather my death as a martyr… I believe world can become a better place and I can be helpful rather than run away to paradise as a martyr.
An old discussion
Sina Daily says this question of martyrdom is not a new one and we can see during international wars some people sacrificed their lives to hurt the enemy. The blogger considers this kind of sacrifices is not really effective (Persian). He says:
Strategic thinking and collective work is more efficient. I want somebody to show me the verses in Koran that justifies this kind of martyrdom actions!
Life is not a one way street
Nick Ahang, a leading cartoonist & blogger, wrote several reasons to show why he is not a martyrdom seeker. He says :
Life is not a one way street to blow up ourselves in this restaurant in Israel and to send  a few Jewish people to the other World… I am not a pawn to be played with in a Chess game.
The blogger says to defend our country we need to fight and nobody denies our need for military forces. But when we put the label of martyrdom seeker on ourselves, we sacrifice our own logic and replace it by other people's logic. He tells us how during Iran-Iraq war his friends got brainwashed in mosques (Persian).


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Uganda: Museveni, the DRC and Lords Resistance Army · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Yebo Gogo reports that “Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni wants to invade the Democratic Republic of the Congo to search for Josephy Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army, and he wants the United States’ blessing.”


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Ukraine: Football and Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine writes about Ukraine's World Cup victory over Saudi Arabia – and a no less important event: the “re-formation” of the “orange coalition.”


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China: Four months later · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Beijing or Bust blogger and documentary maker Hao Wu has now been in prison for four months for a crime that has Chinese authorities have yet to announce. More than a month ago, Hao's sister Nina was informed that her younger brother would be denied legal representation.

author: John Kennedy


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China: When studying hard doesn’t get you into college, there’s always corruption · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The obsessive amount of attention paid to Gao Kao (高考)—China's university entrance exams—each year suggests either collective national psychic trauma or an education system ready for some reform. Although the majority of related blog buzz could be seen surrounding the two days of testing earlier this month, in which eight million students participated, scores started coming back earlier this week giving rise to a new discussion over what many are saying is the sketchy practice of awarding additional test points to athletically-inclined students in an already troubled education system.
Sina blogger Xu Xiao writes of a new law in southern China's Hunan province which offers bonus points for high-performing athletes ranked at the provincial level and above: twenty points for each of the top six athletes in individual events or the top three team members in group events, and ten points for students ranked second or above at the national level. Seen in the post-exam conversations though, are strong claims that many students with wealthy or powerful families are having more points added to their test score than their athletic abilities would suggest.
Official numbers regarding those Hunan city students qualifying under the new regulations numbered a mere 3,407, blogs Xu, but one student's mother was quoted estimating at least ten thousand, including students with—”endless hilarity,” said the mother—less than spectular finishes in track and field, basketball and martial arts. Blogger Fei Bingjia questions the worthiness of some of those extra point grantees and wonders about those students ‘testing naked’ (裸考), competing for university admission on their pure test scores alone:
在这场竞争激烈的“国考”中，哪怕是一分都可能改变考生一生的命运，何况是天上掉馅饼，白送的20分？高考加分的依据何在？合理性何在？公平性何在？只要自己的孩子在“裸考”之列，相信许多家长都会对加分制度发出这样的疑问。作为一名曾经的高考生，笔者弄不明白，这20分的加分数据是有关部门自己定下的，还是通过什么科学数据算出来的。
我们不妨以小人之心猜测一下，这20多个加分的幸运儿里有没有人鱼目混珠？如果把分数给了靠弄虚作假混进加分队伍里的考生，众多赤膊上阵的“裸考生”岂不是比窦娥还冤？你还别不相信，这些年来，关于“假少数民族”、“假运动健将”、“假三好学生”的报道一直没有停过。前不久，新华社还报道了一些中介机构通过不法手段，为国内高考学生办理假华侨身份的事情。没报道出来的还有多少呢？
现在，高考加分的名目越来越多。考场如战场，只要有加分项目的存在，就会有家长绞尽脑汁托关系、找门路，以假材料假证明给孩子谋取高考加分证明，战争还未开始，那些有幸获得加分的考生就有如利剑在手，占据了场上的优势。
One teacher, in preparing her students for this year's Gao Kao, wrote back in March of being ordered by school higher-ups to award her twenty points not to the student who most clearly deserved them, but to another student with a better family background. After expressing discontent with the decision, the teacher was told not to ask too many questions.
Xu Xiao, mentioned above, looks at why this problem exists and adds some examples which back up Fei's claim of students having bonus points added under shady pretenses:
这样的“体育竞赛优胜者”不是几个，而是成百上千。这不是笑话，而是发生在中国大地上的事实！
这种明目张胆的集体作假宣告了高考加分制度的弊病和不可行。高考加分制度的本意是好的，是提倡和鼓励素质教育的一种举措，对单一的考试也是一种有益的补充。但再好的制度也是人来执行，中国还远不是一个完善的法制社会，金钱和权力还相当顽固的影响着社会的公平。本来最容易体现素质教育的体育和艺术教学却成了最易让金钱和权力介入的腐败暗道，难怪“水货”充斥考场，不仅是“水货”“体育竞赛优胜者”，只要能够加分的“优惠”条件，金钱和权力都能介入，各地不断出现的“假少数民族”、 “假华侨考生”就是证明，也难怪什么分也不能加的“裸考”反而成了最公平的高考。
之所以高考加分不可行，是因为我们这个社会对权力的监督和制约始终形同虚设。不然，这种集体作假行为为什么能够公然进行？这只能解释为能够公然作假的都是社会上有头有脸的权势人物。据报道，“路两边都停满了车，绵延大约一公里。”“记者注意到，车牌号囊括了各地从公检法到路政以及其他政府机关的多种型号的小车。一位学生家长说，没有点关系和背景的人，怎么能有机会弄到优胜者资格证书呢？她说，这些车不就是最好的说明吗？”这“最好的说明”说明了什么？说明了所有敢于公开作假的都有着权力做靠山和后盾。换言之，高考加分在一些地方已成了权利者集体瓜分的“果实”。
从这个意义上说，只要权利不能受到有效的监督和制约，要指望加分这一好的制度能公平公正执行无疑是天方夜潭。这正如一句人们常引的话那样，权力导致腐败，不受制约的权力导致更大的腐败。在加分已经异化为一种待遇时，手握权利者能不充分享用这一美味大餐吗？
因此，在权力不能得到有效监督和制约时，我以为，加分制度应该缓行。
How many points does one need to be accepted into a college or university in China? Do twenty points really make a difference in the end? Fresh high school graduate, fascinating blogger and Zhejiang—home to the purportedly best education system in the country—native Ahom Kwok, aside from posting several times on his Gao Kao experience, came up with a chart comparing the the varying admission scores standards for first and second-tier universities for students from different provinces.
On a more constructive note, Sina blogger Wu Xiangyang puts forth some practical suggestions how the Gao Kao point-add system might be reformed and problems removed:
没有臭源，不会引来苍蝇。所以，我们不应该过多的停留在对学生和家长的苛责上，更应该审视的是高考加分制度的本身。我认为加分制度之所以被异化，关键在于加分制度本身不透明的制度和不接受公开监督的的缺陷。在这样的制度下，经不住考验的工作人员往往会拜倒在权利、金钱、人情等关系的石榴裙下，甚至有的地方招生部门和体育部门等权力机关也会高考加分变成权力换利益的捷径。
snip…
我觉得，高考加分应该注入阳光的成分，毕竟阳光是最好的消毒剂，此外还应该减少人为操纵的程序，把加分的过程和结果进行公开，接受社会监督，真正实现阳光加分。其实，我更期待的是高考加分政策细节条款交给老百姓来听证，打破部门关起门来制定规则，让百姓参与政策制定的全过程。这样一来，不但能反映百姓的利益和呼声及对公平的追求，也能防止高考加分再次落入部门利益的圈套。
In other blogging news: Microsoft blog provider MSN Spaces’ self-initiated decision late last year to shut down the renowned Michael Anti's blog there put them on many peoples’ black lists, leading eventually to a US Congressional hearing and earning the company several months’ worth of bad publicity. Six months later, Microsoft has given him (and themselves) a second chance. Yes, Anti is back. His most recent post [zh] looks at, what else?, Taiwan independence:
其实在中美共管台海大局之下，台独正在消退，加上目前台独力量自觉和贪渎道德弱点站在一边，北京从来没像今天这样占有未来优势。北京近日积极配合开放节日包机，就是对阿扁不下台的鼓励。北京当然希望留着恋栈的阿扁，借助他的丑闻来巩固北京的利益，因为有污点的人向来是好利用的。


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Iran: Hope & Homeless People · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Dark Dreams has published several photos from sleeping homeless people in Iran and writes ” life goes on we have hope”.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

We have had enough.
The fearsome nights are stifling us and we now have come to hate the Fall [of Baghdad]; we hate Liberation; we hate Sunnis; we hate Shiites; we hate turbans and sidaras; we hate Jihad and Jihadists, resistance and resistors; we hate concrete; we hate streets and sidewalks; we hate the Ministries; we hate Establishments; we hate news channels and news and communiqués; we hate the Parliament that has now become a venue for swearing-in ceremonies and nothing else; we hate songs; we hate commercials; we hate newspapers; we hate cars and car-depots; we hate conferences; we hate ‘surprise visits’; we hate neighboring countries; we hate the ‘multinational forces; we hate the night; we hate the day; we hate Summer; we hate the sun that sends hell; we hate sleep; we hate water and electricity; we hate petrol and corruption and theft; we hate sectarianism; we hate sectarian ‘allocations’; we hate Reconciliation; we hate the government of national unity; we hate committees and Commissions of Integrity, Trash, Rehabilitation and Silliness; we hate [political] parties and organizations; we hate assemblies, demonstrations, banners and chants; we hate laughter; we hate crying; we hate work; we hate study; we hate each other. And we hate ourselves. But (and this is our problem) we still love something that was called Iraq.
Will you save what is left of this Iraq?
Shalash al-Iraqi, 22 June 2006 (translated by Abu Khaleel)
And on with the blog
Pssst… yes you… over here… shhh! [Salam Adil looks furtively from one side to the other].  Well, I heard H telling S that the people over in B are saying that the theme of the Iraqi blogs this week is… [looks again]… rumors. And in an environment like Iraq where one side of a city does not know what is happening on the other, rumors abound. But there is more. Given the popularity of my last post on politics, I have a new section called ‘The Week in Politics’.
If you read no other blog posts this week read these
Don't miss Baghdad's Treasure's trip to Kurdistan:
Beautiful mountains and valleys welcomed us as we arrived in Sulaimaniya. … In Sulaimaniya city center, life was so urban and nice. …
After two hours of driving, we reached Erbil checkpoint. No Iraqi flag was seen. It was only the Kurdish one.  … At the checkpoint, a group of Iraqi Arab travelers were gathering around a Peshmerga officer. “I said Arabs are not allowed, unless they know someone living here. That’s it.” I heard him shouting.
And my review would not be complete without mentioning Neurotic Wife, who posts memories of her time in Baghadad. Just read them my little summaries can never do them justice.
The week in Politics:
Google says it all. Last week bloggers spotted that Google's  Arabic to English translator converted “شعب يباد” (meaning ‘annihilation or genocide of a people’) to “Iraqi people”.
The woman i was just wants to know why, “Any body could explain? I have mine: it is coming very clear day after another that Iraqis are not allowed more to remain a nation.. They should be eliminated.. WHY? Bush knows the answer because he is leading the campaign! Do not forget the American massacre against Iraqi civilians all over Iraq..” And Asterism (thats me) asks “Is Google Evil?” a pun on their corporate motto.
Death of a Lawyer. Baghdad Connect gives an eyewitness report about supporters of the Jaish al Mahdi celebrating the killing of one of Saddam's defense lawyers and boasting about how they paraded him through the streets of the Baghdad district of Thawra (or Sadr) City before his death. BC speaks for many when he roundly condemns the culture of violence that exists in Iraq.
We have come to see that exercising forces and applying stiff-security plans have become a camouflage for the infiltrator killers in the security forces … to commit horrific agenda-script crimes. The government and the invaders authorities are simply worthless in this hellish situation. The whole political apparatus … is based on agenda-script crimes. And there is No Way Out.
How criminals could get passed check-points and take hostages to their ‘work sites’? How corpses could be dumped in fortified areas? How people could be killed even in the GZ? How can people leisurely streets-celebrate a murder without being apprehended? As one Iraqi writer rightfully coined today’s Iraq a killing culture.
And BC is especially bitter about the killing of a lawyer:
The killing of a lawyer or a prosecutor in Iraq is a killing of prophet, … is a killing of a neighbor, and is a killing of a father or a mother. And unlike in other countries, our lawyers generally earn nothing but our venerate respects….
when lawyers take a solemn oath at graduation to defend people as a sacred mission then you bet they will, and even if it’d cost them their lives. And they will defend not only Saddam but even those Lords of the Flies in hell … and the Marines of Haditha.
Reclaiming Iraq. There is a complete Iraqi government and now the Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki,  has started to assert his authority. First in Basra where he threatened to stamp out any resistance with an “iron fist” and then in Baghdad with a large security operation dubbed ‘Forward Together‘. Blogger are reporting how things are going.
In Basrah Fayrouz gets an email from her friend Queen Amidala. She writes: “The situation in Basra isn't getting any better. On the contrary, it's getting worse… there is a rumor on the streets that the Shia militias want all Sunnis out of Basra by the end of July. Why? Because the Shia wants federalism for the southern provinces and Sunnis might interfere or reject the idea. … We have no electricity and it's getting worse. Also, the fuel situation is very bad. The lines of cars waiting for fuel is getting longer and longer.
In Baghdad, Omar is more optimistic:
the operation so far has met some relative success according to an official statement from the ministry of defense. … But the operation has also faced some serious security breaches like the suicide bombing in the Buratha mosque or the latest mass abduction of laborers just outside of Baghdad.
And even when he reports that the operation was going badly, Mohammed, Omar's co-blogger, still sees silver linings: “Yesterday the Iraqi minister of national security admitted that insurgents are a step ahead of the government when it comes to intelligence. As bleak as this confession may sound I think it's admirable of the government to admit such a fact because the first step in solving a problem is through recognizing it and never through denying it or speaking big empty words.”
Chikitita sat in a minibus full of people who would beg to differ:
Following a detailed news bulletin of the past 24 hours, they collectively nodded their heads in agreement when the man who ran the conversation dubbed the security plan and the government and the country and the people and men of religion as “Complete Failure”.
She also gives day-by-day reports of “Forward Together”, well worth reading.
And Abu Khaleel translates an article by the famous Iraqi commenter, Shalash al Iraqi who is also less than optimistic:
As I and others expected, the ‘security plan’ became a cover for murderers and night gangs that have allied themselves with infiltrators into security forces to kill people and dump them in garbage piles. Otherwise how would those in charge of the plan explain how those killings, assassinations, kidnappings and abductions take place with such a massive deployment of armed forces and the nightly curfew? How do those criminals move and do their deeds and how do they spread death in the streets in such cold blood? … The bitter truth brothers, and I say this for the thousandth time, is that certain gangs have infiltrated the Sadrist Movement with the knowledge of some of the Movement’s leaders.
But Raed, of all people, is feeling good about the future, after helping the Iraqi national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubbaie, publish his article in the Washington Post, he is “looking forward to the Iraqi reconciliation project that will be announced by Al-Maliki soon.”
There are Rumors and then there are Rumors
Many journalists have a hard time wondering whether to report a rumor from a blog or not. But sometimes it is not the rumor itself that is interesting but what the blogger writes about it. Omar explains the fascination with rumors: “All societies have their own flow of rumors but in places like Iraq, we just LOVE rumors.” And here is what he has to say about his rumor of arguments in the ruling coalition:
Apparently this rumor was created and spread by some of al-Maliki's supporters who wanted to paint a better image of their boss but even if it was entirely made up it will still indicate an inclination in the PM's close circle to do what's needed to prove that the new head of government is competent and does not allow his sectarian emotions to stop him from doing his job.
Anyway, this rumor left a positive impression among the people who heard it, at least that's what I could sense from the enthusiastic tone of my friend.
Baghdad Connect posted one day a shocking letter about a secret army called the FIF, naming the people behind it and the crimes it had done. The next day he posts the truth:
The fact of the matter is that the person who wrote this letter is not part of the FIF … And the attributed crimes mentioned in his letter for all we know are plane false. Letters as such are being written and circulated by bogus communists and/or baathists who were once financed by Saddam Hussein. They write under different names to the general public to implicate those who are under scorned. Also, they use the general public as a proxy for their goals. … This is another example of today’s Iraq; Iraq of chaos, confusion, misinformation, crime implication, occupation and disarray.
Sami had a juicy rumor about Zarqawi from a brother of a minister no less. He is not impressed though: “Now please one thing people should know is that Iraqis love exaggerating and lying about many things espically in the field of story telling so I wouldn't be surprised if this was not true … My opinion? Some truth but mostly hollywood.”
And finally:
Hala_s is waxing philosophically about the disconnection between Iraqis and other Arabs:
Arabs who hail Al Zarqawi don’t hate Iraqis, they hate their own failures and they are expressing their own frustrations. They are trying to give excuses to themselves; sometimes they are fighting the super power and sometimes by fighting the Shia Muslims (I bet they don’t know anything about them) and so on.
When I am angry I loathe the Arab countries for their weakness and stupidity and cruelty; Where are they from our pain, Why don’t they recognise our daily tragedies.
But when I am calm, I try to forgive and understand and meanwhile I dream on.
Tonight I am imagining with John Lennon so imagine
Let us all Imagine with John Lennon!

author: Salam Adil


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Turkey is Typing… · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

This week, we are going to visit Turkish bloggers in alphabetical order!  Are you excited!
Amerikan Turk talks about his racing (bicycle) this week.  He spent Father's Day in a local bike race and was planning on participating in another on this Sunday, although his plans might have been foiled by a twisted ankle at work.  Amerikan Turk also posts about the Turkish bloggers yahoo group, who this week had some “heated discussions” on whether or not to post in Turkish or English, amoung other things.  Either way, whatever language, it is an excellent group to visit.
Athanasia's Daily, who I don't cover too often, wrote about the universal problems of having summer birthdays.  Happy Birthday Burcu!
I am only going to post one item from Erkan's Field Diary this week….because I feel that the item deserves special consideration….he has his First Academic Publication out!
Gulay, Galatasaray and the Dogs post another little jab at fellow futbol blogger Oz Kanka and lists how some of the international players from Turkish soccer teams are doing in the World Cup.
Mavi Boncuk gives us more Turkish history with a bio on Turkish feminist Nezihe Muhittin, information on Ottoman civil law, and a primer on the Millet system and the guilds during the Ottoman period.
Oz Kanka is still giving blow by blow World Cup reporting for the Round Ball in Ankara.
Talk Turkey has been talking about Metro-logic and More Metro-logic…and no, I am not going to tell you what it is, you have to read it for yourself. (wink)
Well that's the week, not everyone was covered so I apologize for leaving some of the regulars out.  Have a good one!

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Iran: Death of Intellectualism · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Andishe No, talks about that many university professors have been forced to be retired. The blogger writes the most important protest voice comes from universities and Iranian government's priority is to make universities quiet (Persian). The blogger adds it is the death of intellectualism and it started when a cleric became director of Tehran University.


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Latest in French-Speaking African  and Indian Ocean Blogs · Global Voices
Alice Backer

PAN-AFRICAN
Homosexuality in Africa Not a Myth
France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem reflects on a homophobic movement in Cameroon that sees homosexuality as a suspect new “religion” and concludes:
Evidence des temps, l’homosexualité ne peut plus être perçue comme un mythe en Afrique. même moi je l’ai cru longtemps, jusqu’au jour où je suis tombé sur l’évidence qui me pendait au nez, lorsque j’ai surpris une de mes meilleures amies, dramaturge africaine célèbre, en train de draguer ma copine de l’époque, dans un festival à Cotonou. On a beaucoup ri de l’histoire, nous sommes restés amis, et moi j’ai beaucoup découvert des stratégies des homos en Afrique pour survivre à un environnement hostile, stratégies dont je parle un peu dans mon roman Cola cola jazz, à travers le personnage de la dame Omoneh.
BENIN
Reforming Education
On Le Blog de Kangni Alem, Roger Kbegnonvi writes:
Pour relever le système scolaire béninois de la ruine, point n’est besoin d’audace ni d’imagination, il suffit, dans un premier temps, de retourner aux neiges d’antan, il suffit de restaurer une année académique de neuf mois, de rétablir le contrôle quotidien pour les élèves du secondaire. Ces deux premiers pas qui consistent à renouer avec ce que le Dahomey avait de meilleur, c’est-à-dire de logique et de rigoureux, entraîneront les autres pour lesquels il faudra peut-être un peu d’audace et d’imagination.
COTE D'IVOIRE
Leaving the World Cup with First Ever Win
Says Afrik.com,
Les “Eléphants” de Côte d’Ivoire ont quitté le Mondial de football avec les honneurs. Ils ont battu à Munich la Serbie-Monténégro sur le score de 3 buts à 2 en match comptant pour la troisième et dernière journée du Groupe C. C’est la première victoire ivoirienne de l’histoire de la Coupe du Monde.
We also find out how the team was trained:
Dans la liste des 23 “Eléphants” ayant représenté la Côte d’Ivoire à la Coupe du monde 2006, figurent 11 académiciens issus de la première école de football de Côte d’Ivoire, l’Académie Mimos Sifcom, née en 1994 du partenariat entre le légendaire club de l’ASEC d’Abidjan et le technicien français Jean-Marc Guillou.
DRC
UN Visit
Le Blog du Congolais on recent UN delegation:
Ils sont venus, encore une fois et comme d’habitude ils n’ont rien vu. Du moins rien de ce qu’est la réalité, la vérité du Congo et de son peuple.
UDPS: Meetings and Protests Worldwide
UDPS Liege on a demo organized by BanaCongo in Brussels:
L’objectif de la manifestation était de sensibiliser l’opinion belge et dénoncer le soutien de la classe politique belge au dictateur en gestation (KANAMBE) dans notre pays. Le peuple congolais voulant se prendre en charge et lassé d’être traité comme des esclaves sans droit exige pacifiquement la tenue des élections libres,transparentes et démocratiques pas ce simulacre des élections que Louis MICHEL et son groupe maffieux veulent nous imposer pour continuer à piller nos richesses.
Il s’agit aussi pour les manifestants de lancer un signal fort aux congolais restés au pays pour que le 30 juin 2006 marque véritablement le jour de la libération nationale du joug néo-colonialiste.
INDIAN OCEAN /EAST AFRICA
Chikungunya Pandemic
LSZ Blog, a health-related blog covering Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, writes (Fr): “It seems that Chikungunya fever has reached a quasi-pandemic dimension  with more than a million people infected during the past 24 months in a large geographic area encompassing the East-African equatorial coasts, the Indian Ocean islands and half of the Indian peninsula.“
MADAGASCAR
Development
Madagascar Croissance asks (Fr): “Which sector will develop the country's economy?” and, after a comparison with nearby Mauritius, concludes: “The best solution is the development of entrepreneurship in the countryside.” The blogger also muses on the proliferation of private TV channels in remote areas of the country.
Whales Cause to Celebrate in Sainte-Marie Island
Whale season has started in Madagascar, according to (Fr)Nouvelles de Sainte-Marie and the blog looks forward to August's 5th Annual Whale Festival on Ste-Marie Island. The blogger explains (Fr)that whales arrive in successive waves: first the mothers with their young, then the ones that are to young to reproduce than the males.  “The Sainte-Marie population and its visitors welcomed the news joyfully,” adds the blogger.
MAYOTTE/COMOROS
Migration Crisis from Anjouan to Mayotte
An ongoing clandestine migration crisis has been plaguing Mayotte, which is part of France. The migrants are from Anjouan, a nearby independent island.  The blog Mayotte Sans Frontiere is dedicated to the issue. Its mission is to (Fr) “observe those populations’ movements, understand what motivates the migrants to expose themselves to death and to denounce this new slave trade organized by ‘traders’ from Anjouan's ‘ports’.”  The blog reports on recent arrivals to Mayotte of kwassa-kwassas, the name given by locals to the makeshift rafts embarked on by the migrants from Anjouan:
Deux “kwassa-kwassa” en provanance d'Anjouan ont été interceptés le lundi 12 juin 2006 au large de Mayotte. A bord : une vingtaine de personnes, dont une femme enceinte et deux nourrissons de quelques mois aussitôt hospitalisés au Centre hospitalier de Mamoudzou. Les autres clandestins ont été placés au centre de rétention en attendant leur expulsion vers leur île d'origine. Les deux passeurs, pour leur part, ont été placés en garde à vue en attendant leur comparution devant le ttribunal correctionnel pour mise en danger d'autrui.
REUNION
Samia Badat Affair
Reunion is being rocked by the Samia Badat Affair. At the center of the affair, explains (Fr) Zarabes, a blog dedicated to the island's South Asian moslem community, are two versions of the same story: what happened the night Ms. Badat, communications chief for the Regional Council, and a friend were stopped by two “lowly” traffic cops. Ms. Badat says she was unfairly harassed while the cops say she was driving carelessly and potentially a danger to two pedestrians.
Agriculture Chamber's 150th Anniversary
Jean-Paul of Dijoux.re posts pictures of the 150th anniversary of La Reunion's Agriculture Chamber and explains (Fr): “During the 3 days employees of this institution and its President Guy Derand welcome you to the Esplanade of Trinity with a mini-farm, some exhibits and produce tastings. Sunday [June 11] a produce market [takes] place.”
Cirque de Mafate Photos
Audrey from Reunion Passion posts (Fr) two new sets of photos of her native island: a slideshow of mostly beaches and a gallery of the Caldera of Mafate. She says (fr): “The Cirque de Mafate is synonymous with isolation, solitude and inacessibility. There are only two ways to enter it and to leave it: by air or through hiking trails.” She then offers directions on hiking into the caldera.
MAURITIUS
Back in France But Nostalgic
Marmay/Gamin is back in France after an extended stay in Mauritius where he has roots. He looks back with a bit of nostalgia:
Le chaton, dont je n’ai pu vous parler, qui a animé ma dernière semaine chez les Lagan par ses miaulements, la relative indifférence de Queensie (Malehka), dont j’ai plus tard compris (ou pas) la cause, le dernier lever de soleil (photo), le dernier Cavadee hindou, l'Ultima Cena préparée par Mazia, les derniers débats crétins avec Sajeed, le dernier panneau kitsch… Le choc culturel, c’est fini.  Reviendrais-je un jour là-bas ? En tout cas, quelque part, je ne serai plus jamais totalement ici. Une partie de mon cœur est resté coincé dans les récifs de Palmar, entre un arbre (photo) et des caillasses.  Dream on… C’est ce qui me fait avancer !
Marmay bids his Mauritius blog readers farewell since he is back from his trip there. But he leaves us with great shots of the country.
SENEGAL
Voting Rights for the Military after a 40-year Ban
Semett on  the historical significance of a bill to lift the ban on military voting in Senegal:
La décision subite, prise par l’Exécutif, de faire voter les militaires aux prochaines échéances électorales de 2007, a surpris tout le monde. Rien ne pouvait laisser présager que les corps militaires et paramilitaires, privés du droit de vote dans notre pays depuis plus de quarante ans, suite aux événements de 1962, allaient reprendre le chemin des urnes, sans qu’un débat national, entre tous les acteurs politiques, ne soit instauré sur cette question si sensible qu’est le vote des militaires. L’amplitude de la crise de 1962 au sommet de l’Etat, entre Senghor et Dia, avait entraîné des séismes politiques au sein de l’armée et des fissures dans ses rangs. Et depuis lors, les ‘hommes en tenue’, comme on dit familièrement, étaient privés du droit de vote pour s’éloigner des contingences politiciennes et partisanes.
The blogger also  posts (Fr) a Medecins du Monde petition protesting  the new French policy of conducting immigration checks in hospitals. Excerpt from the petition (Fr): “The right to care is inscribed in the preamble to the French constitution. It is a fundamental human right. It must never be used for any means other than health preservation.”
Changes in the Socialist Party
Robert Sagna, mayor of Ziguinchor, explained that the creation of a “Democracy& Solidarity” caucus within the Senegalese Socialist Party did not mean that the party was imploding:
je crois qu’avec l’apparition, dans le parti, du courant de pensée « Démocratie et Solidarité », les camarades ont pensé qu’il y avait des risques d’implosion du PS, du fait d’un clivage supposé entre les tenants de ce courant et les autres camarades de la direction du Parti. (…) Je me suis déjà expliqué sur la nécessité de l’existence de ce courant de pensée au sein du Parti Socialiste du Sénégal, existence qui, à nos yeux, constitue un signe de maturité, de débat démocratique et de renforcement du parti. (…)
Nous préconisons seulement plus de démocratie dans les prises de décisions, dans la gestion du parti et dans la fixation des orientations, par un débat fécond d’idées. Nous voulons également être un réceptacle pour toutes celles et tous ceux qui pourraient être mal à l’aise par rapport à certaines pratiques de la direction actuelle du Parti.”
Peanuts
Over at Sunuguerte, Forum sur l'Arachide au Senegal, a blog on the peanut industry in Senegal, contributor Moubarak Lo writes (Fr): “[Privatized peanut venture] Sonacos may fail. Because of the role of the peanut as a wealth creator and as a poverty red
ucer in the rural world, the government must fight tooth and nail to save the venture.”
TOGO
World Cup Bonus Controversy
Before Togo disqualified itself from the World Cup, blogger Kangni Alem had this to say about Togo's soccer team(Fr): “Business is business and Togolese players are right, logically speaking, to privilege their bank accounts over the country's honor. They demand bonuses, pay them their bloody bonuses. After all that is the rule of thumb for all other national teams! (…) My advice to the team:(…) just loose fast and get back home.”


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Syrian Blogsphere in a Week · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

To start off with a rather hot topic, it's politics, with Ammar Abdulhamid asking THE question… How Secure Is the Assads Regime, Really?
To many observers of Syrian affairs, especially in the aftermath of the vaguely-worded report by Brammertz and in view of the growing alliance with Iran, the Assads regime must seem more secure than it has been in many months now, international criticism of its policies notwithstanding. Whether it is the Assads strategy that is working here or whether it is their luck that is holding, it doesn't really matter, the end result is the same, the Assads seem practically untouchable.
Or are they?
A briefing on Tony Badran's The Syria Monitor about the latest wave of intimidation and trials against Syrian dissedents…
Detained writer Ali Abdallah and his son Muhammad were referred to a military court on Tuesday where they face charges of slandering officials of the state. (UPI, 6/20/06)
Nassim Yazji of Middle East Policy calls out to protect Arab, and Syrian Liberals.
The free opinion and expression are essential and effectual prerequisites for change in the Middle East as antidotes to the authoritarianism. The more the freedom of expression exists, the less the political system is authoritarian and vice versa. The freedom of conscience and expression is a real and indispensable foundation of the political reform and progress in the Middle East.
Not much away from politics Syrian Economy has a post about what the author calls The Economics of Corruption…
Corruption in Syrian society is alarmingly widespread and has been for a long time. The government's anti-corruption campaigns are legendary in their ineffectiveness at controlling the problem. You have to wonder if Syrians are genetically corrupt, if their self worth is determined by how big a bribe they are offered, and if there is anything that can be done to teach Syrians how to be honest.
Abu Fares, has an interesting posting on the history of Tartous…
Romans, Arabs, Byzantines, Fatimids, Crusaders, Ottomans and the French played yoyo with Tartous over the course of centuries and it passed from one hand to the next, witnessing and absorbing the different cultures, true to its heritage as a city by the sea.
And Amr from Across Syria & Inside Homs, has a very thorough answer to the question, Who's an Arab?
The term Arab, in Biblical times, referred to tribal people of the Syrian and Arabian Desert. At that time, Today’s so called “Arab World”, was inhabited by the following people…
Finally Brian Anthony of In The Axis, has an amusing post of his mission to find out what is “Sheikh Yabraq”…
Sheikh Yabraq has become my Ouagadougou. Sheikh Yabraq is the pseudonym of Hussein ibn Hamdan al-Khuseibi, one of the chief architects of the secretive and mystical Alawite religion, a theological renegade I admire a great deal. His pseudonym is interesting; it suggests something like, “He who illuminates.” It is said his shrine is located somewhere in Aleppo, the site of the former Hamdanid Dynasty whose patronage Khuseibi enjoyed.

author: Yazan Badran


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What Salvadoran bloggers are saying – World Cup and d’Aubuisson · Global Voices
Tim Muth

There is only one subject that almost all Salvadoran bloggers have mentioned recently — the World Cup.  Although El Salvador had no team in Germany, that did not matter as blogging fans noted the start of the great world tournament. Ligia at Que Joder has perhaps the best post (es) as she describes the deserted streets when the games are on TV, the necessity of always knowing the score in case someone asks you, and the positive feelings of everyone united in watching the world's favorite sport.
Similar feelings of fraternity are not generated by the newly inaugurated monument (es) to Roberto d'Aubuisson, founder of the ruling ARENA party.  Following the Salvadoran civil war, the UN Truth Commission found d'Aubuisson to have been responsible for the 1980 murder of archbishop Oscar Romero.  D'Aubuisson organized and directed deathsquads which killed thousands of civillians during the war years.  The blogger Hunnapuh responds (es) to news of the monument with disdain and republishes an interview from 2005 with the sister of d'Aubuisson in which she laments her brother's involvement with Romero's assassination.  Comments to the Hunnapuh post (es) and on Tim's El Salvador Blog show the depth of emotion which d'Aubuisson still stirs in the country.
A post in Inferno's Underground World (es) puts the monument to d'Aubuisson in perspective:
Now, for those who are bothered by [the monument] the wealthy have constructed, I say to you — But what is a miserable post of cement near a multiplaza and a poorly paved street compared with the great quantity of monuments, statues, images, movies, etc. dedicated to Monseñor Romero?  And even more important, the greatest monument that Monseñor left:  his memory in each and every one of the hearts of the Salvadoran population.  There is no monument that can compare with this.

author: Tim Muth


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Africa: Using Mobile phone technology · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The African Uptimist reports on a the use of mobile phones with cameras that is being used to “capture microfinance data in developing countries.  ..…”In Africa, the shortage or inadequacy of such data is a major reason why financial institutions are unable or reluctant to extend loans, savings, insurance and other essential financial services to rural and peri-urban groups.”


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Africa: What Internet Brings · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Generation Consciente, Une Autre Afrique writes: (Fr)“A book by Cameroonian Jacques Bonjawo, Internet, a Chance for Africa  [L'Internet, Une Chance Pour l'Afrique in French] talks about the benefits of new information and communication technologies for Africa. However, the Internet promotes extraversion even if it is a way to make local cultures known. It glamourizes migration by forcing comparisons of standards of living, of  educational, employment opportunities and of access to networks. “


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Algeria: China, America, and the Arabs · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Nouri Lumendifi writes about officials speak Arabic. Nouri says that the US can compete with China in the Arab World. All it needs to do is get in the ring and change some time honored traditions like staffing embassies with people who can speak German or Italian but not Arabic. If the US keeps on its current path it is going to accomplish very little, comparatively speaking, while China makes monumental gains in the region.


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Argentina: An Unjust Victory · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mariano Amartino says that Argentine bloggers think that Mexico outplayed their country's World Cup team (ES) and that the Argentina win was “an injustice.”


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Armenia: Dreams About War · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Anxieties about the possibility of resumed war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh are spilling over into the dreams of Christian Garbis, who says that he thinks the resumption of hostilities is inevitable.


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Armenia: Mom Called Me Khachik · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna has a public service advertisement and a translation of the ad that was produced by an Armenian radio station for distribution throughout the CIS to combat xenophobia in Russia.


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Armenia: Notes from the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has a brief roundup of the Armenian blogosphere.


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Aruba: Dia di San Juan · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Roosters are no longer harmed when Aruba observes Dia di San Juan, notes ArubaGirl, who appreciates the fact that the festival “celebrates how two cultures merged and produced something new.”


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Barbados: Criticising the opposition · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Barbados Labour Party uses its blog to slam the opposition party for allegedly arriving late for sittings of the House of Assembly and being unprepared for debates.


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Barbados: New drivers’ licences · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press is concerned that the integration of of fingerprinting technology into the new drivers’ licences the Barbados government has commissioned from a US company may have “far-reaching implications for human rights and freedoms.”


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Bermuda: Stained glass ceiling · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Bermuda's Anglican Bishop Ewen Rattray's continued opposition to the ordination of women doesn't surprise the Limey, who takes the opportunity to air his own views.


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Cape Verde: NATO war games · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Concoction reports on NATO war games in Cape Verde....”The irony of it all is that the 7,000 NATO allied troops were playing war by “pounding pretend terrorist bases, grappling with rioters and separating factions in a mock war over oil…” Because Africa doesn’t have any of these problems, the NATO kids have to play war?”


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Chinese Netizen Became Ohmynews Journalist · Global Voices
Ching Chiao

Xu Zhiqiang became the 2nd citizen journalist for Ohmynews from China. He writes an introduction of how he gets involved, but he does not think that Ohmynews will be that successful as it is in Korea.
As far as the media situation in China is concerned, news content and publishing are strictly controlled by the government, but issuance and advertising are open to the market to some extent.
In my opinion, it will be hard for the OhmyNews model to succeed in China, because the news environment it faces is very different.
A work-around might be to focus on entertainment or sports at first.


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Colombia, Argentina: Music: Lulacruza · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale features the duo Lulacruza. “This Colombian-Argentinean duo is formed by Alejandra Ortiz and Luis Maurette, who met in the city of Boston while they were studying at the Berklee College of Music.”


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Debate on women’s rights and freedom in the Bangla blogosphere · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

What do the terms ‘women’s rights’ or ‘women’s liberation’ really stand for in today's context? This age-old debate has again raised its head in the Bangla blogosphere.
It all started when Nasima expressed her discontent about how, even today, Bengali girls (including those who are University graduates) are unable to take decisions pertaining to their future. According to her, most families are still operating under belief that a girl should marry a well-to-do man of her family’s choice and settle down to be a housewife. Though she admits that some broad-minded families are taking their daughters’ desires and aspirations regarding career, life-partner into consideration, she says they are the exception rather than the rule. According to her, true liberation or freedom will see light of day only when a woman will have the full right to develop her full potential as a human being, make her own decisions and live by them.
Reacting to her post, Trivuz upheld the importance of the family over individual decision-making. He stated that most of the time ‘family knew best’ and their decisions were in the best interests of the youngster on whose behalf the decisions were made. Trivuz went on to discuss the different roles of men and women as defined by society; his view was that each role is different and one is in no way less respectable and important than the other. So a woman should not see her role as a mother and homemaker in poor light and seek to work merely to raise her self-esteem. According to him, this is a classic case of the grass being greener on the other side. Lastly he summed up his views by saying that since men are physically stronger (‘fit’) than women, they are more suited to shouldering a career while women are more suited for a nurturing role.
This post raised a lot of debate among bloggers. Responding to his views, Astomeye pointed out that for a family unit to function smoothly and successfully it is essential that both men and women abandon attitudes of competition, control, one-upmanship’ and cooperate with each other to the fullest extent possible. She feels that today, women are taking on more than their fair share of work if they opt for a career since her job becomes an added responsibility to her already full plate of home management. Thus, her demand is ‘let the woman decide’ – i.e. neither should she be forced to stay at home nor should she be forced to work. If home management and childcare is her primary responsibility, let her have the freedom to choose, whether or not she can also juggle a career alongside. Astomeye also put forth some demands to the society to ease the load of the working-woman, such as: a) flexible work schedule so that she can take time off for her family duties without being penalized for it b) equality in pay scales and breaking of the invisible ‘glass ceiling’, so that women can get the recognition and status according to their eligibility without bias. c) return of the extended family with live-in grandparents, so that children can get adequate care, supervision, nurturing and are not subject to loneliness and neglect.
That’s all for today from the world of Bangla. Until next time, take care and happy blogging!

author: Aparna Ray


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Egypt: Journalist sentenced to one year · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hossam reports that Ibrahim Eissa, the liberal editor of Al-Dostour (Egyptian newspaper), has been sentenced today to one year in prison, for “slandering” President Mubarak.


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Ethiopia: Make tryanny history · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Weichegud!ET Politics publishes an open letter to World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz on the eve of his visit to Ethiopia.  The message “To make poverty history you need to make tyranny history“


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Gambia: apologising for slavery · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Home of the mandinmories reports on the descendent of an Eliazabethian buccaneer who has made a formal apology for slavery to the Gambian people.  Mandinmories wonders why?


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Ghana: Celebrations · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen...of Ghana has a video celebration of Ghana's win over the US “Enjoy” as he says.


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Haiti: Why Jacmel Should Be a Cruise Destination · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Collectif Haiti de Provence  explores the how and the why of turning the city of Jacmel, Haiti into a cruise destination. Says the blog (Fr): “Jacmel has what cruisegoers need: an architectural, cultural, historic and environmental heritage. Plus, the region breathes tranquility and joie de vivre. There are no security issues. Plenty of original and unique resources for cruisegoers who can enjoy, while surrounded by nature, a stay in the city where Venezuela's flag was born.”


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India: All about Tops · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Paavani writes about tops. “So I also thought of writing on something specific like – spinning top- it was extremely popular at certain phase now it lost its charm and replaced by other similar kind of toys like BeybLades. “

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India, Bangladesh: Being Rude · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mezba ponders on the Reader's Digest survey on cities and politness, picking out the aspects that become culturally irrelevant. He talks about being polite to shop-keepers “Well, the last time a few British came to India to do a little bit of trade. They came to Bengal too, under Robert Clive. Some company called the East India Trading Company. We said thank you. They liked it so much that they remained for 400 years. So we don't do it anymore.”


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India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Rethinking 1857 · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny discusses an article by William Dalrymple that explores the uprising in 1857. “I don’t think Dalrymple is saying that everyone involved in the Rebellion of 1857 was motivated by this kind of religious feeling (indeed, as I understand it there were as many or more Hindu sepoy rebels). But it is worth considering whether people might feel differently about the concept of “jihad” when one shares a political and military goal with a Jihadi.”


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Indonesia: Papua’s Economy · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Sarapan Ekonomy asks who is to blame for Papua's low economic growth. Papua is a mineral rich province in Eastern Indonesia.


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Iraq: Reconciliation initiative, born dead · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

LadyBird commenting on latest developments in Iraq said: Maliki’s initiative for dialogue and national reconciliation included many positive points such as the disarming militias, stop torture and the release of detainees, but it is not expected to achieve any results in terms of halting security deterioration because the plan was born dead and 11 resistance armed groups already rejected it.


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Israel: What Gilad’s father is thinking · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Commenting on the latest news coming from Israel, David Bogner writes: “Since hearing about yesterday's attack on an IDF position near Gaza in which two of our soldiers were killed and another taken hostage, I'm embarrassed to say that I've had few thoughts for the dead.  Quite simply our government and our country failed them and there is no ‘do-over’ after such a failure.“


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Jamaica: Female Don · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Sasha Payne (what an appropriate name) is being hailed as the next don for the troubled Havana community in Arnett Gardens. She is so notorious that the police have put her on their Most Wanted List,” writes Leon Robinson.


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Kenya: Big brother watching bloggers · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Thinkers Room reports from Kenya that “bloggers are now on the government radar”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Malaysia: Dissapointing Answers from the PM · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian politician and blogger Lim Kit Siang has five reasons for feeling disappointed at the Malaysian prime minister's response to his question on the implementation of the independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission


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Mongolia: 800 Years · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Luke Distelhorst reports on Mongolia's efforts to boost tourism for the 800 year anniversary of Chinggis Khan's founding of the Mongolian state, and he notes that the country is not attracting uniformly positive reviews.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Nepal: All red  in the Capital · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Samudaya.org on the presence of red in Khatmandu on June 2nd. “In preparation of the arrival of their hundreds of thousands, the party summoned schools, churches, business houses and other ‘neutral’ parties to provide room and board.”


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Nepal: Military and the Country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy for Nepal on military, militia, army and the state of law and order in the country.


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Nigeria: Caste system · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla's Weblog writes on the “caste system” in Nigeria which  operates amongst various ethnic peoples in Nigeria such as the Fulani and Igbo.


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Nigeria: Youth Forum · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian Technology blogger, Oro comments on the Nigerian Youth Council which he hopes to rescue “from its destructive path”….I began the week with an opportunity-turned-sour involving a Presidential Youth Forum that was eventually turned into a circus of political psychopancy — and a show of shame of what unbriddled tongues and shemeless minds without an eye for the future can display”


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Pakistan: Dolls of the world network · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi on the Dolls of the World network. “The idea behind the Dolls of the World took birth in Pakistan when Thatta Kedona – a self help project – started in small Punjab village Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka in Pakistan and NGO Anjuman-e-Falah-e-Aama (AeFeA) was registered in 1999.”


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Palestine: So how many Palestinians will be killed tonight? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

If you have been busy watching the World Cup, here is something else packed with action and excitment you could watch tonight.
Well, what happend is that some Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli post, killing two soldiers and kidnapping another. So the Israeli Forces right now are gathering hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles at Gaza borders telling the Palestinians that they will “take all necessary actions” and that “there will be immunity for no one” to find him, this means a door to door search for the soldier, complete destruction of the very few infrastructure still standing from previous raids, which means that this operation will take days if not weeks, Firas said.


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Paraguay: German Presence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Posthegemony looks at the German presence and legacy in Paraguay.

author: David Sasaki


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Poland: Hungary In 1956 Vs Iraq Now · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about “the major difference between Hungary back then and Iraq today”: “Hungarians led the uprising, which was later crushed by a Superpower. In Iraq today, a Superpower has ‘liberated’ Iraq and is now experiencing an insurgency by some Iraqis (and a few cross- border terrorist weirdos).” He also writes about Feliks Dzierżyński, an ethnic Pole, “a much hated figure” in today's Poland, the father of what later became the KGB.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Poland: “Sex Slaves” Rumor · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes that despite the worries of “Polish nuns, green feminists and George W. Bush,” there are no 100,000 East European “sex slaves” servicing the World Cup fans in Germany: “Sex slavery exists, for sure, but 100,000 women being imported into Germany? Surely most of the fans there are going for the football. Not all people who like footie are pigs. We are normal.”


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Russia: Ethnic Chinese in the Soviet Union · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

J. Otto Pohl writes about the fate of the ethnic Chinese in the Soviet Far East.


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Serbia: Football and the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about Serbia's poor performance at World Cup and the country's slim chances of getting into the EU anytime soon.


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South Africa: Revisiting democracy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Floyds Perspectives writes a piece on Democracy in South Africa....”Juxtaposed to other democracies, say in Europe, South Africa’s is not organically participatory and/or deserving, as per a different conceptualisation, to be “new tyranny”. In 2005, the French peoples successfully rejected the adoption of the European Union Constitution, despite the political elite’s vigorous endeavours to have the Constitution passed.”


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The State of Creative Commons in Latin America · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Coauthored by Jose Murilo Junior and David Sasaki
Global Voices has become a supporter of Creative Commons licensing not due to ideology, but because our website depends on it. The translations we post, bridging bloggers from different languages and cultures, are modifications of original works, requiring either the author's permission or a Creative Commons license that allows for derivatives. All of the various CC licenses also allow our editors and contributors to freely share the photographs, images, and podcasts from everyday citizens across the globe without acquiring the written permission of each individual. Enabling bloggers, podcasters, musicians, academics, and artists to more easily disseminate their works to a global online audience is one of the primary objectives that brought an international group of cyberactivists to Rio de Janeiro for iSummit 2006.
Nearly a year ago Global Voices published an article on the state of “free culture” and Creative Commons in Latin America. At the time, Chile had just become the second Latin American country, after Brazil, to launch Creative Commons licenses and Argentina would soon follow. Much has changed in those brief eleven months and it is time once again to survey the progress of Creative Commons in Latin America through the blogs of the movement's main proponents and with the help of an informative booklet from the conference.
Brazil:
Launched in April 2004 , Creative Commons BR was the first fully functional regional CC affiliate. Inaugurated with the help of FGV law school's Center for Technology & Society (CTS), it has Ronaldo Lemos as its most vibrant executive. Free Culture, Open Business, and Overmundo are some of the new initiatives CC-BR is now participating and the hosting of iSummit06 is a display of the Brazilian movement's importance in global terms.
The influential role of Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, a great supporter of the new licensing model in Brazil, cannot be denied. As a well-known
musician, who at the same time is in charge of Brazilian cultural policy guidelines, he's managed to translate the concepts into actions: he collaborated in the development of the sampling licenses in 2004, participated musically in the Wired CD (rip, sample, mash, share) and now his iSummit06 keynote speech about globalism was the first document created with the CC-Office plug-in tool, recently launched at the event. There is also a great video about Creative Commons in Brazil.
However, in the days leading up to the conference, many local bloggers criticized the limit on the number of Brazilians who could attend the event. Hernani Dimantas, for example, thought the conference was exclusive and elitist.
Esse Icommons no Brasil significa a copyrightização do copyleft pelo grupinho do minc e os satélites do cc. Acho uma afronta que deixam de fora dos debates aqueles que pensam diferente (no meu caso). Sinceramente, populismos a parte, não sei onde esse oportunismo quer chegar.
Jorge Machado and Pablo Ortellado who were scheduled to speak at the event, cancelled their engagement when hearing that Brazilian participation would be restricted:
“Much to our regret, we recently have been informed that the ICommons Summit has adopted a policy of restricted participation.
Only two weeks before the event some of the interested Brazilian participants were informed individually about the impracticality of their participation. The argument stated by the organizational board was that the event was designed for 200 participants. We understand that this event, as any other, has physical limitations, but we do not agree that the solution to this is the selection of the participants. The organizational board invited people who they considered “important”, excluding creators, students, artists, researchers and members of the civil society. Even considering that Rio de Janeiro is a city that has hundreds of options to host big events, the organizational board has not started a dialog about the “problem” – which is a peculiar practice for an event that aims to overcome the obstacles to free access to culture –and has decided to exclude an important part of the Brazilian community.
This surprising attitude substantially opposes the spirit of opening and integration, particularly excluding the Brazilian community that supports the adoption of free licenses. Therefore, we have come out publicly to protest the elitist character assumed by the event and hope that someday in the future the organization will put into practice what they stand for in theory.”
Chile:
Creative Commons Chile was first launched July of 2005 under the leadership of Claudio Ruiz who blogs at Quemar Las Naves [Burning One's Bridges], where he summarized the second day of the summit (ES):
En estos momentos tengo un problema. En paralelo se realizan dos conferencias. En la que estoy estamos viendo temas relativos al dominio público y como se puede construir dominios públicos nacionales desde el gobierno. La presentación más interesante ha sido la de el chico de Free Culture UK y de su repositorio de obras que están en el domiinio público, algo similar a lo que conversamos alguna vez en la lista de Creative Commons Chile. Haré el contacto con él para ver la forma en la que se podría llevar a cabo. En la otra sala se habla de los Educational Commons, y de cómo a nivel educacional la generación de lugares comunes creativos aparece como fundamental para alentar la mejora de los contenidos recibidos y entregados en ambiente educativo.
In Ruiz's own presentation he emphasized the need for alliances between Creative Commons and public institutions such as libraries and universities. He also noted that Creative Commons Chile has highlighted the lack of civil society in Chile that is only now starting to coalesce.
Argentina:
Following a well-attended July seminar, Creative Commons took shape officially under the leadership of Ariel Vercelli. On Friday he wrote his first impressions from the summit (ES).
Creative Commons ya no es lo que era, crece de forma increíble, tal vez irreversible: luces, cámaras, mucha gente, intereses, política de traje, ministros, gente de todos lados. Aquí estamos, en Rio de Janeiro, en el segundo International Commons Summit. Lessig dio los nuevos anuncios, nuevas etiquetas que muestran las condiciones de licenciamiento, nuevos sitios, iniciativas, la vinculación de Creative Commons con otras organizaciones. El proyecto de CC en Office de Microsoft, y los más de 140.000.000 millones de enlaces que da google sobre las licencias de Creative Commons. Ito, unos mintutos después, comentó algo más de iCommons como organización y algo de la situación actual a nivel mundial con temas open source y open content.
Vercelli also writes at Aprender La Libertad (ES) [Learn Freedom], the weblog continuation of his recently published book by the same name.
Mexico:
Mexico was the first Latin American country to launch their licenses with a legal workshop called iLaw in which intellectual property scholars spoke to an audience of lawyers, students, and bloggers about the need for Creative Commons licenses and how they fit into Mexico's specific legal framework. Since that inauguration (ES), project leaders León Felipe Sánchez and Jorge Ringenbach have been busy spreading the mission to content creators and government institutions. Among the most notable of achievements, Mexico's Presidency now distributes all of their online content with a no derivatives CC license. Cultural initiatives have also found success such as the Mexicommons Creativity Contest, which awarded musicians, podcasters, photographers, and graphic designers with Creative Commons-licensed works. A showing of the short film Elephants Dream (ES) in Mexico City attracted around 30 attendees who discussed how artists can take advantage of the licenses. León Felipe Sánchez observed that most of the inquiries focused on how artists can still make money while also encouraging their works to be widely distributed. Sánchez also remarked that the Creative Commons Mexico team is now trying to convince the Ministry of Education to apply non-derivative, non-commercial licenses to public text books so that teachers can legally make copies of texts and lessons for their students.
Peru:
Peru's launch of Creative Commons will follow the iLaw inauguration model used by Mexico. And it starts tomorrow! Project leaders Oscar Montezuma and Pedro Mendizábal Simonetti both attended iSummit 2006, where they described the relationship established with Peru's blogging community. The CC Peru logo, for example, was designed by blogger and illustrator Javier Prado. An essay contest was also put on which gave free iLaw admission to three winning bloggers who answered the question “Why Creative Commons?” Carlos Wertheman, a popular writer and member of the Peruvian blogger community, will moderate two of the iLaw panels.
In his presentation, Oscar Montezuma emphasized that CC Peru needs to convince the national community of lawyers that Creative Commons is not an anti-copyright movement, but rather, tries to give more sense to copyright law. He also hopes that Peru, which will most likely soon enter into a free trade agreement with the United States, can serve as a model for other countries whose copyright law would change because of free trade negotiating. Finally, like many of the project leaders, Montezuma said that connections between Creative Commons Peru and civil society will be crucial.
Colombia:
Following Peru's inauguration, Carolina Botero, Jaime Daniel Rojas, Andres Umaña, and Alfredo Vargas plan to officially establish six Creative Commons Colombia licenses on August 21st. Botero described her impressions on the first (ES) and second days (ES) of the summit.
Las primeras presentaciones de la mañana fueron muy buenas pues se centraron en reflexionar sobre el camino de Creative Commons. James Boyle recordó la necesidad de sostener que aunque existan diversas libertades detrás de CC hay una meta común, la necesidad de recordar que la creatividad se soporta en las creaciones anteriores y en la necesidad de tener acceso a ellas, que en la construcción de esta idea se debe cuidar tres aspectos: no hay comunidad detrás de simplemente liberar, no solo se trata de quitar intermediarios en la cadena y no se puede olvidar la balanza creador/receptor. Jhon Willbanks presentó Science Commons, la idea y el desarrollo que ha venido teniendo el proyecto en el último año, un panel que continuó más tarde con experiencias locales muy interesantes. Jenny Toomey fue la siguiente en hablar, desde Future of Music Coalition, quien mostró la visión del artista que busca una remuneración y vivir de su música, una posición entre el acorralamiento de la industria discográfica y una inseguridad frente al esquema CC, una idea que les atrae y les asusta.
Colombia's page in the iSummit booklet reveals what could make for an exciting inauguration:
Our idea for a launch event is to combine an academic presentation (lead by professor Lessig's lecture and involving Colombian initiatives related to open access for information), with an artistic oriented session (artists and art that share the possibility of reusing content and freeing it).
Representatives from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Guatemala were also present at iSummit 2006, but remain in the early planning stages of releasing Creative Commons licenses in their respective countries. That doesn't mean, however, that they aren't already planning ambitious projects. Carlos González Yanes, for example, spoke of his desire to host a central online library of Creative Commons-licensed works which would show Puerto Rican writers, artists, and musicians how their creations can be distributed widely by embracing CC.
Much of the legal discussion at the conference focused on how Creative Commons’ generic licenses are specifically applied to each country's legal code depending on how they define moral rights. There was also an apparent dichotomy between those who believed that a multitude of licenses were needed to offer the greatest flexibility in what aspects of a work are protected and those who think that numerous licenses make the whole project too confusing for newcomers. But despite that small divide, iSummit 2006 was much more noteworthy for the common currents of thought and the collaborations between like-minded projects that were formed. iSummit 2007 will take place in Croatia in June and it appears that at least a few more Latin American participants will be involved as official CC representatives.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Rewarding the Warriors · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jeremy Taylor at the Caribbean Beat Blog outlines the rewards heaped this past weekend upon the Soca Warriors, Trinidad & Tobago's football team, on their return from the World Cup. “Just imagine what they would have got if they'd won a match or scored a goal,” he says.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Turkmenistan: A Lesson to Others · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Breed discusses the foolishness of doing business in Turkmenistan as a foreign investor.


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Ukraine: Oil Stocks; Gas Situation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei writes about the gas situation and implementation of “an EU system of oil stocks” in Ukraine.


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Vietnam: Students honour Cambodian Science Olympiad Winners · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

In Wanna's diary the author links to another Cambodian blog that has pictures of Cambodian winners of a recent science olympiad receiving gifts from Cambodian students resident in Vietnam.


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Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes · Global Voices
Zimpundit

The Interception of Communications Bill is having a pronounced toll on the Zimbabwean blogosphere. Posts from domestic bloggers have slowed down noticably over the last two weeks.  Despite this tragic reality, several cyberactivists continue to chronicle the largely unheard Zimbabwean story.
The unceremonious death of Tichaona Jokonya, the minister of information is the biggest news out of Zimbabwe this weekend.  Jokonya died in his hotel room Saturday morning.  Describing Jokonya's death Zimpundit expresses reservations about late minister regarding his role with the Interception of Communications Bill,
Jokonya’s tenure at the helm of the ministry was clearly marked by a softening of the government’s stance on independent media practitioners. Jokonya was even rumoured to have been making benign attempts at “defrosting” relations between his ministry and the independent media establishment.
Lately, he appeared to have buckled down and had began singing along to ZANU-PF’s abuses of independent media. Addressing a press conference earlier last week, Jokonya described locally based correspondents of foreign media as “traitors” saying,
“You know what the end of a traitor is? The end of a traitor is always death. The unfortunate thing about a traitor is that you are killed by both your own people and the person whom you are serving,”
Further, even though it is yet unclear what role he played in instituting it, the repressive Interception of Communications Bill came into effect during Jokonya’s reign.
Still on the subject of death, the father of Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC died this past week too.  Zimbabwe's overenthusiastic police brazenly distrupted funeral proceedings calling on MDC supporters at the funeral to remove party regalia they had on.  Said The Bearded Man
The police have overstepped the mark and I am horrified at the actions. A death in the family is hard enough, without Mugabe's heavy-handed tactics making it any harder. Morgan, I am so sorry for your loss. My sympathies to you and you family. May your father rest in peace.
The Bearded Man continues to do daily news roundups.
The defiant Accoustic Motorbike offers the the latest appraisal of what life is like on Zimbabwe's streets,
Sure enough, the cheapest decent sized bottle of shampoo I could find was $995,000
And of course, it’s not just shampoo. Or airtime. Bread went from $80,000 to $140,000 per loaf over night. Commuter taxis, the most common form of transport, have gone from $50,000 to $70,000 a ride or more. Every time you turn, the price of something has gone up, and there’s no guarantee that the metaphorical belts can get much tighter than they already are.
All of which might make you think that the time is ripe for mass action, some kind of non violent collective action in which the people of Zimbabwe finally stand up for themselves and demand the responsive, accountable, democratic government we deserve. Except that, as people get more and more poor, and more and more hungry, do they also get less and less able to think beyond individual survival for themselves and their family. I’m not entirely convinced that a hungry woman is always an angry woman. Sometimes she’s just hungry, worried and desperate.
Mangaliso of Mangaliso's World is surprised that South Africa and the Southern African countries do not laud Clements Kadalie's contributions to this part of the world more,
OK back to the story of one  Clements Kadalie the founder of the first all inclusive Trade Union organisation in South Africa ( advised by one Mr Batty) which changed the face of Unionism and and Politics in SA and safely SADC.
Educated in Embangweni, Nkhatabay and livingstonia. Moved to South Africa established the ICU ( Industrial Commercial Workers Union) achieved a lot in uniting various Ethnic Groups and races.
Undo, out on the town in an attempt to escapte the insanity brought about by the World Cup meets “Swipe” who
Detests football with a passion I never knew could exist. He claimed he was falling sick sitting there thinking his girlfriend was watching football. He was dying all of that time and probably reciting Ginsberg’s howl. Lamenting the change in fortunes. He couldn’t trim the scope of his concept of hate to even watch one match. He seemed at some loss with his incomprehension of this love for football by a girl of all things.
A rarety in Uganda.
Dennis at Country Boyi lampoons the corruption of workshops in Uganda.

author: Zimpundit


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Afghanistan: Proud to be Afghan! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Sohrab Kabuli has published a photo from the Afghan cricket team in London and says he does not understand why their t-shirts say “Proud to be Afghan”. The blogger says that Afghans in the west usually run away from their countrymen and try to pretend that they are not Afghans (Persian).


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Armenia: Fighting Corruption · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Akhtamar of ArmYouth Blog has a strategy for fighting petty corruption.


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Armenia: House Blessing · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports on and has photographs from the blessing of a house built by Habitat for Humanity in Armenia.


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Bangladesh: Going to Bangladesh · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ami travels through Bangladesh and shares his experiences. “I entered Bangladesh through its westernly most border with India. I was coming from Calcutta. The border was somewhat of a joke. I had to just kinda wander around and hope that I went into the right building in the right order. No one was there to facilitate the process and there were no signs or anything.”


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Barbados: Not just the Opposition · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press responds to the Barbados Labour Party's critique of the opposition party's behaviour in the House of Assembly with a call for greater overall transparency with regard to the activities of the House.


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Belarus: Stencil Graffiti · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A new LJ community has been created: by_stencil – “Belarusian stencil REVOLUTION” (BEL, RUS) It includes photos of both political and apolitical stencil graffiti in Belarus. One photo is from Warsaw, however, taken near the Centrum metro station: “Stop Lukashenko,” says the writing in Polish, next to the portrait of the Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko.