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Russia: Journalist’s Death and the Country’s Future · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

President Vladimir Putin said this (RUS) about Anna Politkovskaya's murder in an interview with Suddeutsche Zeitung Tuesday:
I have to say that her political influence (and I think that the experts will agree with me) was insignificant inside the country, and, most likely, she was more noticeable in the human rights and mass media circles in the West. Hence, I think – and one of our newspapers has stated this correctly today – that to the current government in general and to the Chechen authorities in particular, Politkovskaya's murder has done much more harm than her publications.
The president's comments have added a new direction to the Russian-language blogosphere's already charged discussion of the journalist's legacy and death.
LJ user object (Vagif Abilov) writes:
When journalists, in a choir, interrupting one another, insist that the work of their slain colleague was of no use to anyone (and hence, the most likely explanation for the crime is provocation), their motivation is transparent, but it's still not enough to evaluate the significance of the deceased. But when the President joins them, it not only reveals all the significance of her cause, it also bares him ruthlessly.
Some comments to this post provide a glimpse into how divided bloggers are on the issue:
[…]
nekha: […] And I don't understand at all what his words mean – that “journalists have to bear in mind…” and on about Politkovskaya's insignificance.
And it seems to me that Putin has lost his mind. Or that the whole world has gone crazy. […]
nasralla: The president is arguing with the comments in the Western press about the cynical execution of the last journalist who was telling the truth. The reaction in the West is indeed inadequate, with more people gathering for the rallies there than here in Russia. It's not normal, isn't it?
korvin_: They say there were many people at the farewell ceremony [for Politkovskaya], even though it was held [at a remote location].
nasralla: But there were no rallies in other cities. The most important thing is that the government wasn't reacting to her publications because there was no response to them in the society. This means that they were going unnoticed and thus didn't pose threat to the government. And in the Western press, they are writing the opposite – that is, they are writing lies. And it's these lies that the president is arguing against.
beetlegoise: Yes, there's some crap in the Western press now. You'd think that the murderers were [from the Federal Security Service] ;(
[…]
object: I don't know how else to explain. Here: there is the President, and there are his citizens. And he is above them. And it's not fitting for the President to act like an online journalist.
[…]
Even [Ramzan] Kadyrov had better things to say about her death, he spoke in a more manly manner. Even if it was him who ordered to kill her.
[…]
While some Russian bloggers openly cheer Politkovskaya's death, others echo Putin's assessment of the journalist, admitting that her work and her fate doesn't really matter to them – while the image and fate of Russia are of primary concern. Such are the thoughts of the Moscow-based LJ user knyaje, who is responding to a tribute to Politkovskaya posted by his friend currently living in the Czech Republic – LJ user arcady_cz (Arcady Alexandroff, great-grandson of Igor Sikorsky, the famous helicopter designer):
Anna Politkovskaya committed this crime in the eyes of the regime – she was an honest, courageous, responsible and conscientious person. For the Putins-Kadyrovs, an honest person is the chief enemy, because you can't buy, hire or intimidate him. Sitting behind high fences, surrounded by the heavily armed guards, they, the cowards, have attacked a woman. Despicable, mean, pathetic bastards. This was known about them before; now, we've got yet another certificate affirming this.
I've stopped following the events in Russia over half a year ago. Before, when I was a regular reader of Novaya Gazeta [the newspaper Politkovskaya wrote for], I tried not to read Politkovskaya's articles: there was too much pain in them for me. I was thinking to myself: how is she capable of letting it all pass through herself, how come she hasn't broken down yet, hasn't become a victim of hopeless grief and despair, because of all that she'd seen? Something like this was beyond my abilities. Whoever does something that you consider impossible and beyond human abilities, elicits admiration. But despite this, unfortunately, such a person remains a vulnerable human being, made of flesh and blood, someone whose life is easy to interrupt, if only there's a desire to. They had the desire, they did interrupt it.
knyaje: […] You know that I can't agree with you on this, and I am utterly disgusted with the howling of the liberal jackals, who have already stolen the country piece by piece and are willing to finish the process… I despise our human rights activists, who are defending everything but their country – and according to them, Russians are to blame for everything and everything should be like in the United States. […] Really, I'd like [these people] to find themselves in Politkovskaya's place first – [Lyudmila Alexeeva]/[Yelena Bonner]/[Sergei Kovalyov]/[Valeriya Novodvorskaya]/[Konstantin Borovoy]… And on with the list… As for Politkovskaya… I feel pity only for the lost life, which could've continued for some more, but I don't feel pity for her as someone who was fighting for something… [She was asking for it.] I'm sorry, Arkash, if I offended you, but this is perhaps one of the only disagreements that we've had in a long time…
arcady_cz: I think I understand what you're trying to say, Kostya. You haven't offended me – it's a hard thing to accomplish, and moreover, we've known each other for too long. I understand your point of view, but I don't accept it. I think this is a sort of psychological defense for you. It's tougher for you than it is for me: you are staying in Russia and have to find a compromise with what surrounds you, because otherwise, I think, it's possible to go crazy.
I chose to escape and that's why I can afford such a luxury as a view from some distance. Nazism isn't on its way to Russia, it's already arrived in Russia and it'll show its [grimace] in less than a month, when tens of thousands of skinheads, feeling support from the very top, will march across the native city's downtown. Will be very lucky if there's no bloodshed this time. But […] camps for people of the wrong ethnicity are inevitably looming ahead.
I'm scared for those who stay behind. For the relatives, friends, acquaintances, and just good people. I feel uncomfortable admitting to such intimate feeling, but I'm afraid for you, too. I don't know what to do in this situation. […]
knyaje: Hm… I don't even know what to tell you. It's not a banal “thank you” – I'm genuinely grateful for your concern. But I still feel that you are exaggerating. You see, all this [circus] with the wrong ethnicity has an easy explanation – because of […] the somewhat criminal policies of a number of comrades, including [Moscow's mayor Yuri Luzhkov] (though he does deserve a monument for a number of things), negative feelings toward these ethnicities have accumulated in Moscow – you see, they act as if they are in their own country, their own city, they disregard our laws and customs, they do whatever they please… And if they are not stopped, if the state doesn't restrict them, then the people would rise and destroy them. Honestly, I'd purge them myself – I mean, those who live and work honestly, let them live, and those who are involved in criminal activities, abuse and humiliate the Russian people, those who sell drugs to our schoolkids, those who exploit our girls, those who rob Moscow, throwing the natives out of their [homes] in order to live there themselves, those who walk freely while their thugs are pushing pregnant [women] out of their path […] – such bastards I wouldn't just deport, I'd publicly shoot them, so that others don't feel like acting the same way. But I'd do the same to the corrupted officials, to the police officers who often protect the criminals […] … […]
arcady_cz: I see. But people of different ethnicities will still have to find ways to live together. Moscow has always been cosmopolitan, and as any imperial capital, it used to draw in the resources of the large country, representatives of various peoples. And now it's forced to pay for such a position: big cities draw diverse populations. The problems of New York, Paris or even Prague are alike in this respect. And they have to be solved, of course, but not with the help of the Nazis.
I fear that in Russia it will soon be impossible to remain a decent person. My great-grandfather Sikorski, as is well-known, had escaped to America and turned into a famous [aircraft] designer there, lived a long life. And another great-grandfather stayed in Russia and was shot; his wife, my great-grandmother, was sent to the camps, and their eight children became orphans and didn't know the truth about their father for the next 60 years.
The scariest thing is that it's impossible to know who will be the next they'll come for. Today, they are coming for Georgians, then they'll come for Azeris, then for Jews… And then who? They won't stop, that's the problem. […]
knyaje: […] I hope it won't come to this. You know, I think that sooner or later, when the Nazis step over the line, Russia would awaken and chase them back to where they belong… […] Their existence in such numbers is caused by the general demise of culture, and not because of Putin and his regime. And Orthodox Christianity wouldn't hurt here, and I wouldn't mind if the kids have some basic truths beaten into their heads at school, like refusal of violence that threatens the humankind in general… […]
arcady_cz: God willing, everything will turn out fine and your hopes will come true. Unfortunately, I'd love to but I can't share [your optimism]. I have an extremely pessimistic view on what's going on in Russia now and on what awaits it. The recent events, unfortunately, confirm these fears, not refute them.
knyaje: Let's hope, this is the only thing left to do for now…


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Russia: Soviet Ethnic Types Guide · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Accidental Russophile posts what looks like “a Soviet police memo identifying ethnic types.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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South Africa: political bickering in South African politics · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Politics.za reports the continuing bickering in South African politics: “Following Thabo Mbeki’s criticising of SACP leader Blade Nzimande the Feud That Will Not Die™ now enters another messy chapter. Of course the Young Communists League responded in a quiet and dignified manner which then caused the ANC to criticise them further.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sri Lanka: NGOs and the Tsunami · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

LankaWatch on the post-Tsunami money that was streamed into Sri Lanka and how NGOs cannot account for the money. “Almost 2 years on, most NGOs are not able account for the millions of dollars that poured into Sri Lanka after the devastating Tsunami that hit in December 2004.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Sri Lanka: The average Sri Lankan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Having read a book on consumers in Sri Lanka, indi.ca reflects on the average Sri Lankan. “It’s called ‘Profiling the Sri Lankan Consumer‘ by Uditha Liyanage. It’s not the best written book, but it has a lot of facts. As an example, let’s take the average Sri Lankan male. He probably married around 26 and (taking the median) he’s probably 28 right now.”


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Syria: The making of the suicide bomber · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Speaking as a former Muslim extremist, Ammar contribute a few personal insights into the making of the would-be suicide bomber– the fate that he was lucky enough to elude.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Taiwan: Teresa Shih’s Open Letter to Her Father · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shih Ming-de is the leader in the anti president campaign in Taiwan, ESWN translates an open letter from his daughter on her expectation of her father.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Tanzania: Beyonce dancing Sindimba · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Tanzanian photoblogger, Issa Michuzi, posts a photo of the American singer, Beyonce, dancing Sindimba, a popular traditional dance from Southern Tanzania, during her recent visit to Tanzania.


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

An isolated mining town called Huanuni, located in the Department of Oruro, was the center of attention in Bolivia after violent clashes between groups of miners.  In question were the rights to exploit the mine, as both the state-employed miners (asalariados) and independent contractors (cooperativistas) both laid claim to the minerals.  At the end of the day, approximately 16-21 were left dead and close to 60 injured. Hugo Mirando aka Angel Caido, who hails from the city of Oruro, the capital of that department, collects various links, photos, videos from various media sources.  However, he is saddened by “the poor killing the poor.”
In midst of all of the details, one Bolivian blogger looked at the human face of the casualities. “Everyone is talking about this tragedy, looking for someone to blame or those responsible.  It makes me very sad because they aren’t numbers!  They are people, children that have been left without a mother, brother or a father,”  writes Joup, who blogs at Este Arcoiris se Llama Joup (ES).
However, there was a history befote the turn of events.  Mario Ronald Duran Chuquimia delves into some of the antecedents that led to the two groups squaring off.  As he writes in his blog Palabras Libres (ES) and criticizes corporatism:
El contexto del conflicto de Huanuni, según las denuncias de la histórica Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia (FSTMB), se ha originado por cierto favoritismo gubernamental hacia el sector de los cooperativistas, sector que mediante un poder obtenido de la trasnacional Allied Deals asumía que la administración de la mina de Huanuni les correspondía, pese a que la ley impide la privatización de minas estatales. En síntesis, el problema medular de la gestión de Evo Morales es que la dirigencia de los movimientos sociales hechas cabeza de ministerio, otorga prerrogativas a la satisfacción de las demandas de su sector antes que dar soluciones a los problemas del conjunto de la sociedad..
The context of the conflict of Huanuni, according to the complaints by Bolivian Miners Federation Union (FSTMB) originated due to governmental favoritism towards the cooperatives, which is a sector that gained power from the multinational company Allied Deals, which administered the Huanuni Mine, even though the prohibition of privatization of state mines.  In summary, the chief problem in Evo Morales’ administration is that the social movement leaders were made heads of the Ministry, making decisions to the satisfaction of their own sectors, instead of providing solutions to the problems of society as a whole.
Naturally, many are looking carefully at the actions of the government, and whether they could have had avoided this unfortunate series of events.  Many squarely place blame on the shoulders of the government and Briegel Busch agrees, “I agree with the criticism, as I perceive that the government is too busy with the Constituent Assembly and does not spend enough time on the day-to-day issues,” as he writes in Bolivia Eclipse (ES). However, Sergio Asturizaga does not agree, “The media says that these were Evo’s deaths.  They are not Evo’s deaths, they are the deaths of the Bolivians…,” he writes from his blog Así como me ves me tienes (ES) from his home in Brazil.
Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas thinks that may be the beginning of something bigger, as there have been several discontent groups, such as the Central Obrero Boliviano (the worker’s union) and public transport that have expressed their displeasure. He writes in Guccio’s World, “The government does not know what to do, and has lost the control of this and other situations. Anyway, if October 2003 was called Black October, because of the people who died in El Alto, what color are we going to give to this October 2006.”
This week also marked another commemorative date.  It has been 24 years since democracy was restored in Bolivia, after years of military dictatorships.  Vania Balderrama knows it has been a rough and bumpy ride, but perhaps Bolivians should look at the bigger picture and work at it.  Her blog is called Capsula de Tiempo (ES) and is written from Santa Cruz.
Entonces la Democracia…bueh, que si bien no es perfecta, es la mejor forma de Gobierno. Yo la veo como un matrimonio: no es que te casas y ya, vas a ser feliz por el resto de tu vida y hasta que la muerte te separe de tu pareja. Nada que ver. La democracia, al igual que el matrimonio es un proceso, un caminar y adaptarse día a día a los cambios del mundo, es poner todos los interesados de su parte para que la cosa funcione. En fin, la esperanza es lo último que muere. Ojalá y cada uno de nosotros pongamos un granito de arena para que este matrimonio entre el Gobierno y el Pueblo no se vaya al tacho.
So, democracy…well, it’s not perfect, it’s the best form of government.  I see it like marriage, it’s not like you get married and you’ll be happy for the rest of your life until death do you part.  No way.  Democracy, like marriage, is a process, a path and adapting day after day to the changes in the world, to put everything together so that it works.  In summary, hope is the last thing that dies.  Hopefully each of us contributes a little bit so that this marriage between the government and the people doesn’t go down the drain.
Finally, this week also marked another date and Bolivian institutions disagreed upon its significance.  Thirty-nine years ago, Ernesto “Che” Guevara was captured in the tropical village of La Higuera. P. R. Barriga-Dávalos wrote about the date on the group blog,  Diseccionando a la Musa Perdida (ES).  He talked about the current Bolivian President Evo Morales, who paid homage to Guevara accompanied by Guevara’s daughter and with a group of indigenous Bolivians.  However, he also talked about the military that still commemorate the day as a grand event for that institution and many of them considered that their patriotic duty.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: Poet Mervyn Taylor · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp launches a new writers series called “In My Own Words” with Trinidadian poet Mervyn Taylor.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Ukraine: New Appointments, Old Faces · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about the recent appointments made by president Yushchenko: Vasyl Baziv, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Vitaliy Hayduk.


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Uzbekistan: Fall From Favor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts discusses how last year's Andijon uprising is being used to arrest political figures who have fallen from favor.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Venezuela: The Avalanche From Caracas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alfredo Ascanio gives another first-hand impression of the “avalanche march” by opposition candidate Manuel Rosales.

author: David Sasaki


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World women’s day · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Judy p in interlocals.net points out that on October 15, it is the World Rural Women's day, however, the women themselves are not celebrating. So who are celebrating?


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Arabisc: Ramadan, War, Freedom and Other Issues  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

With all Muslim countries marking the Holy Month of Ramadan, UAE blogger Bin Kerishan, wonders why people fast.
Although he admits he doesn't observe the fast, he goes on to include other religious rituals in his “NO GO” list because of their danger to his well-being.
Away from religion and to the heart of politics, Syrian Pages, brings together the articles of Syrian writers under one roof in a blog, which sadly doesn't give its readers the option of commenting!
Writer Nabeel Shabeeb tells us:
With a lack of an organised resistance movement, like in Lebanon, the writer envisions that the Syrian authorities would be their worst enemies – unless they immediately initiated political and democratic reforms.
From Kuwait, Kuwait Unplugged, narrates to us the details of another war – this time against education in his country.
يقال أن إحدى الجامعات الخاصة التي فتحت في الكويت مؤخراً تعقد جلسات للمدرسين الوافدين الجدد في بداية كل عام دراسي جديد لتعرفهم على الكويت وشعبها وقوانينها وعاداتها وتقاليدها وغير ذلك من معلومات قد تساعدهم على التأقلم مع البيئة المحلية بعيداً عن وطنهم… ويخيل لي أن هناك جلسة خاصة عن خطورة قيادة السيارات على طرق الكويت
إلى هنا والموضوع عادي جداً وليس عليه غبار… لكن يبدو أن العقلية التجارية قد غلبت على الرسالة التعليمية، فنجد أن المرشد الأجنبي الذي يدير هذه الجلسات يحذر الأساتذة من الطلبة الكويتيين وبطش أهاليهم وينصحهم بأن الطلبة ليسوا سوى عملاء أو زبائن وهم دائماً على حق ما دام أنهم يدفعون قيمة تعليمهم الجامعي، لذلك يجب أن لا يجادلونهم في إجاباتهم الخاطئة ولا يخالفونهم الرأي ويجب أن ينجحوا جميعاً حتى لو كانوا كسالى أو في منتهى الغباء وإلا سوف يحتج الأهالي ويسببون لهم مشاكل هم بغنى عنها
ذهلت لهذا الكلام ولم أصدق ما سمعته… هل وصل بنا الحال إلى هذا المستوى؟ وهذه الجامعات التي اعتقدنا – خاطئين على ما يبدو – أنها سترفع من المستوى التعليمي للأجيال القادمة، اتضح أنها مؤسسات تجارية بحتة لا هم لها سوى الربح المادي وليذهب التعليم إلى الجحيم
Meanwhile in Jordan, blogger Batir Wardam, decides to take a break from blogging during Ramadan.
But before he retreats, he posts a report on the decline of freedom of expression in Jordan.
The Eyewitness, from Egypt, ponders on the real meaning of freedom and tells us about the type of freedom he yearns for.
هل سيأتي ذلك اليوم الذي سوف يصير فيه البشر جميعاً سواسية، فلا يصير الغني أفصل من الفقير ولا الفقير أفضل من الغني، ولا تصير المرأة أفضل من الرجل ولا الرجل أفضل من المرأة، لا يصير الطفل أفضل من العجوز ولا العجوز أفضل من الطفل، لا يصير العريان أفضل من المستور ولا المستور أفض من العريان، لا يصير المجرم أفضل من النبي ولا النبي أفضل من المجرم، ولا يصير الصديق أفضل من العدو ولا العدو أفضل من الصديق.
هل سيأتي ذلك اليوم الذي لا يصير فيه الشبع أفضل من الجوع ولا الجوع أفضل من الشبع، لا يصير فيه الغنى أفضل من الفقر ولا الفقر أفضل من الغنى، لا يصير فيه العمل أفضل من الراحة ولا الراحة أفضل من العمل، لا يصير فيه العتيق أفضل من الجديد ولا الجديد أفضل من العتيق، لا يصير فيه القوة أفضل من الضعف ولا الضعف أفضل من القوة.
أنا لا أتحدث هنا عن حالة من اليأس، أنا أتكلم عن حلم للحياة، حلم للانطلاق، أتحدث عن حلم الحرية، الحرية كما فهمتها وعرفتها وحلمت بها دوماً.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Armenia: Divine Liturgy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Raffi Meneshian reviews Winds of Passion's Divine Liturgy at Life in the Armenian Diaspora, noting that the Armenian Church's Divine Liturgy is some of the finest spiritual music from Armenia.


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Armenia: Genocide Bill in France · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Raffi K and readers of Life in Armenia discusses France's bill that would make denying the Armenian genocide in Turkey a crime


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Barbados: Offshore patrol vessel · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados must get a new offshore patrol vessel, says Barbados Free Press, or else scrap any pretense of having sovereignty over its waters.


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Barbados: Souls from Idiotville · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Bim has an “I hate Barbados” moment attending a planning meeting for an upcoming heritage festival: “Ah Barbados…Why are you so hung up on sourcing your souls from Idiotville?”


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Bermuda: Online pioneer · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Sean looks back on his days as a teenaged sysop and online pioneer in late 1980s Bermuda.


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Bermuda: Save the Gardens harnesses the WWW · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Bermuda's “Save the Gardens” campaign, which aims to stop the government from building a hospital on the site currently occupied by the botanical gardens in Hamilton, have harnessed the power of the internet to help their cause. In addition to a blog, they've organised a Virtual March and a MySpace page.


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Brazil: The Fake Ovation Noise Machine · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Colin Brayton gives some free advice to Lula's Workers Party: “fire that PR firm.”


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Cuba: Internet penetration · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia reviews an article on internet penetration in Cuba published in the Cuban Communist Party's publication Juventud Rebelde.


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DRC: AMP Conference in Belgium · Global Voices
Alice Backer

UDPS Liege warns (Fr) that an AMP conference entitled “Elections: Second Round in the Congo” that took place in Belgium today was really a “conference to buy the conscience of diaspora activists”. The blog asked that UDPS sympathizers protest it.

author: Alice Backer


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Ethiopia: the US needs to reshape its policy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The US needs to reconsider its policy in the Horn of Africa, read Weichegud's analysis.


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Guyana: Invasion of the four-leaf clovers · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Contrary to popular belief, in Guyana-Gyal's garden, four-leaf clovers aren't so rare. . . .


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India: Child Labour · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

With new rules on Child Labour and the controversy surrounding around allegations of a major retail store sourcing clothes from a manufacturing unit with child labour – Atanu Dey has some opinions.


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India: Rangdum, Padum · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Breathtaking photographs and commentary by Sajith after a trip to Rangdum and Padum. “A hundred pictures not taken. Like those animals scuttling away from the bus. Like the mostly arind and sometimes icy and sometimes green landscapes. Mountains. Like Tenzin the lama I met when wandering around Padum. Like the old man Tenzin I met at Padum. He says he is a compounder and the hospital, and grins widely.”


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Iran: Inflation · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abbas Abdi, blogger and reformist politician says inflation is the most important threat to the Iranian present political structure [Fa]. He adds soon or late the inflation giant will wakeup.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Iraq Sold · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

LadyBird says that Iraq is sold. The northern region to Israel, Southern provinces to Iran, and the middle will be given to Jordan.


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Israel: Immigration · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Katherine explains how it is that her one-year trip to Israel turned, almost by accident, into immigration.


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Jordan: Election delay · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The last week has seen a full blown attack against the idea of delaying parliamentary elections due next summer. No official has said that a delay is being considered. So, who set up this straw man for people to kick around? Khalaf wonders.


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Kenya: global recognition for talented young Kenyans · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Makanga Report on “Young Kenyans Trail Blazing Around the World.”


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Latin America, Caribbean: Day for the Decriminalization of Abortion · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Here's something I never knew about. Liz Henry informs readers that September 28 was “Day for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean and commemorates the day by linking to blogs and resources from around Latin America discussing the issue.


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Malawi: the state of radio industry · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ndagha writes about the state of radio industry in Malawi: “To think that Malawi had only one radio station in 1993 and then 18 today could be taken as a big develepment in the Malawian mind!”


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Nepal: Women and Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pressing for the talks to succeed, International Nepal Solidarity Network has photographs of women's organisations and their petition. “Press statement by seven women’s organisations wishing for the talks to succeed.”


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Oaxaca: Students Take Over University · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mark in Mexico has another update on the situation in Oaxaca including news that “30 students entered the university early this morning, took over the administration building, and declared the university closed for the day.” Ana Maria Salaza is now also in Oaxaca and has an excellent summary of what is taking place.


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Palestine: Israel used new weapon prototype in Gaza Strip · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The number of murdered Palestinian civilians grows daily at an alarming rate so in the Neanderthal ‘wisdom’ of the Israeli government new weapons are being used experimentally, weapons that will permenantly cripple the individual rather than kill him. I suppose in their way of ‘thinking’, maiming will be a less serious crime at the Hague than outright murder, DesertPeace said.


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Philippines: The perfect storm · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

More than twenty typhoons enter the Philippines every year. But super typhoon Milenyo (international name: Xangsane) which recently hit the northern part of the country shocked everyone with its ferociousness and the degree of destruction it left along its way. Metro Manila was severely damaged. Power blackouts gripped the Luzon island for almost a week. Flashfloods were reported even in the highlands.
Basang Panaginip was able to track almost all stories, photos and videos posted by bloggers on the impact of typhoon Milenyo.
Iloilo City Boy describes the damage inflicted by typhoon Milenyo in Panay island, part of central Philippines.
A Nagueño in the Blogosphere is from the region which was most badly hit by the typhoon. The blogger recalls how he and his neighbors have to bribe the village electrician to have their broken lines fixed.
Airs in G returns to his home province and was shocked by what he witnessed:
“The city remains in terrible condition: no power (the electric cooperative, mired in debt, projects full power restoration only by December), no classes everywhere with the extensive damage to school buildings, hundreds of evacuees still housed in classrooms, and ordinary businesses that can't afford generators unable to function.”
The blogger appeals for prayer and donation. Check his blog to learn more on how you can deliver your donation.
Sanyata reminds everyone that life is harder outside of Manila. Classes were suspended for more than a week already in a state university.
Like a Rolling Store lambasts insensitive lawmakers:
“In a time of severe economic distress, lawmakers aligned with the administration have not given up on changing the constitution, trying to make a final big push before Congress goes on recess by mid-October…While millions are languishing without power, those who wield it are still craving for more.”
Ruffy Biazon, a congressman-blogger ponders on the “power of Nature”:
“The wrath of typhoon Milenyo, which had winds of up to 165 kilometers per hour, surely reminded us of the power of Nature, of which even the technological advances of man have proven to be no match against.”
His privilege speech in Congress echoed the sentiments of almost all residents of Metro Manila:
“Billboards which stand on government owned property should be the first to go. Whether to remove them outright or replace them with smaller sized billboards is within the power of government.”
But Alternation101 observes that commercial billboards which were removed after a public clamor for their dismantling are now back as eye sores and road hazards.

author: Mong Palatino


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Qatar: Might as well watch CNN? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Information has come out that Al Jazeera International, as the English station is to be called, is shaping up to be nothing more than another standard fare Western news channel, Simonsays said.


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Reunion: 15 minutes of Fame on Global Voices · Global Voices
Alice Backer

About Global Voices’ recent article on the Reunion blogosphere, Reunion Permanente writes (Fr):”The event of the year is obviously the 15 minutes of fame of Reunion's blogosphere on the American participative journalism site GlobalVoices: not to be missed.”


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Reunion: Chikungunya Plagiarism · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Scientist blogger LSZ Blog complains (Fr) about the widespread non-attributed reproduction of litteral portions of an article he recently posted on his blog about chikungunya fever.  His unattributed work has appeared on other websites but also in an article by Reunion colleagues in a scientific print publication. He has written one of the authors and awaits an answer.


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Russia: On to Nazism or Stalinism? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time responds to La Russophobe on whether “Russia and its leaders [are] moving towards a totalitarian solution.”


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Russia: Putin’s Birthday in Chechnya · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time translates an article about the celebration of president Vladimir Putin's birthday in Chechnya's capital Grozny.


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Russia: Winter in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

White Sun of the Desert writes about “Toyota Landcruiser with remote control starting,” a must-have for the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk winter: “One of the more surreal side effects of this functionality is walking to your car parked amongst dozens of others in a secure care park and finding several cars sitting seemingly abandoned with the engine running, and several more burst into life as you walk past without another human being in sight.”


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Serbia: Big Brother Mania · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

Serbian bloggers explore the Big Brother mania by talking about the basic idea behind the puzzlingly super-successful world-wide TV project. Most of them are stunned by the extent of the show's popularity, acquired in such a short period since its kick-off in the country. One of the communal house residents even managed to become the most popular person in the nation by wearing no masks when exposed to the eye of the public. Does watching the “real soap opera” improve your social intelligence? Does it teach you the rules of the new world? Tune in to read if the essence of the trendy series is just about pure entertainment or much more.
At the Inter Cafe discussion board, Majra states:
I know the reality program is just a part of a global study of human psychology conducted by a group of scientists. […]
Srculence:
[…] As the time goes by we get to know more about the contestants, their character, habits and nature. We decry how by following the rules and enduring they are to win a 100.000-euro prize. There are numerous funny and interesting situations along the way. […]
Sinadin belongs to the small minority of those who don’t watch the “big show.” He was introduced to the project when Miroslav Djurisic, who left the Big Brother house, appeared in a serious politics TV program. He says:
[Famous talk show host] Olja Beckovic invited odd-looking bloke who turned out to be a participant in the Big Brother scheme. As soon as the show’s live airing kicked off, he made an impolite remark and discreetly belched. It is a disaster to choose such a guest in a serious daily issues program at the time of a state crisis. […]
Viktor of Belgrade Blog was the first Internet user to report the shocking news:
Friday, around 16h: Miroslav Miki Djuricic decided to leave the “Veliki brat” house after spending 15 days inside and managing to become the most popular person in Serbia in that time. […] He stated that he had to leave and return to his beloved Kupinovo, because of lack of freedom in the house. He wasn't allowed to talk about politics, religion, he broke many rules presented to him because he hates authority and he thought that the people in the house were mostly boring. […] Big respect to Miki for setting his principles above the money and choosing freedom instead of humiliation! (and for finally allowing us to avoid watching Big brother) […]
Mico:
[…] He was number one candidate for win. But as he said, “I don’t need that kind of money because I would fulfill all my dreams and what would be a purpose to live further?”
Djuricic Djura quotes Blic newspaper article, in which popular Miki talks about his life philosophy:
[…] I work as much as I need. I go to the woods, work three days as a horse to sell timber. I take money and do nothing until I spend it. […] A psychologist told me I would need to accept different people. We are all different but I would never socialize with most of those Big Brother house mates. I had to. I would have probably hit on all of the chicks in the case I would ever meet them in real world. […] They were all yelling at me: You will stay to live here in the country, you don’t need anything. My father sold half of the estate. I started selling the other half, fuck it. […] When my friends found out I was chosen to join the Big Brother project, they were all telling me: You are the man! How much you would give us. One friend ordered two thousand euro, the other three thousand. I had a list of people who would get the money in case I win. I would remain exactly 42.000 euro, enough to buy a village house on Fruska Gora mountain. I even found a good location next to the Danube river. It would be great. I would set up fifthly beehive, grow fruits and buy a joyful machine (a device used to produce plum brandy) so I could bake Sljivovica, enjoy river boating and have a good time. […]
At B92 blog, Shkomi states:
People prefer Miroslav [Djurisic] because he is similar to 60 percent of all Serbs. He’s got elementary school education, attempting to survive from day to day. On the other side, he is very wordy and the smartest man in the local pub.
Ivan Marovic compares Miki’s withdrawal from the house to the Kosovo myth [created around the historic battle against the Ottoman Empire, when Serbs made a centuries-long fantasy of moral victory from the defeat]:
He is OK, but what people make of him is what I don’t like. They make him something like idol and moral winner. Now I know how Kosovo myth was born.
Shkomi lays out some of Miki’s anecdotes form the house:
Miki: have you all got high school diplomas? The others: We have. Miki: I have graduated from an elementary school and I would not change with you.
Nikola: All Serbs are weak to women. [Miki]: They are weak to the crazy people too.
Other BB house inhabitants: If you get out of the  house, leave us your cigars. Miki: I don’t think I would do that so you could appreciate me more.
Jelena: When you get out of the house you should definitely study psychology. Miki: I would need to buy a high school diploma first.
Kalvados cites what Miki said during the show’s filming about some celebrities:
About Svetlana Raznatovic aka Ceca: It is ok to discuss Ceca’s music but talking about her personality is obsolete. Who is she!? Some say she is the first lady, but I couldn’t dare to agree. She was married to that criminal and we know what she has done.
About Serbian celebrity shrink, Jovan Maric: He hasn’t got an idea about psychology. The only person behaving more idiotically is his wife [also a shrink].
About Rickey Martin: If you bring him here, I think I would drown him in a swimming pool together with Vuk Roksandic [a local musician].
About Branko Kockica [author of a popular TV program for children]: Branko, you lied to us when we were kids (allusion to a song called “There is a kingdom of friendship in the world”).
About [Goran] Bregovic: [Emir] Kusturica portrayed him best. He is a type of a man who would steal your wallet and then buy you a dinner. […]
Ohbabyw is too bitter that Serbian intellectual elite is missing:
[…] I am wondering all the time if there are twelve smarter people in Serbia [that those participating in the show]. […] Well, those clever individuals didn’t show up at the Big Brother audition because they don’t want to take part in the program. They don’t want to be part of anything in this country as the matter of fact. They withdrew to the mice holes to keep quiet about everything, especially the issues one shouldn’t be silent about. Why don’t producers of B92 television show when Miki says he hates Ceca. […] On the other hand, they gladly broadcast scenes of drunk female participants singing Ceca’s songs. […] The problem is we let the life develop in front of our eyes. We are spectators without the spirit of rebellion and without attitude. And we judge everybody with an attitude. Serbia is [thirsty] for attitude.
In his B92 blog, Ivan Marovic, former Otpor leader, tries to unveil the secret of reality shows success as he himself works in a similar gaming industry abroad:
[…] Reality shows are similar to sports – there are firm rules, but no script. Nobody knows how it will end up. You may compare it to video games. Steven [Johnson] says reality programming proves video games dominate popular culture. At the beginning, form of TV dramas was taken from the theatre. In the age of Nintendo, the audience requires a new form – the competition present within the series of tasks you need to accomplish when playing a video game. Contestants learn rules during the play in a reality show contrary to sport competitions in which the regulations stay the same. Discovering the rules [and loopholes] is part of the drama. […] The most important skill is social intelligence. While watching Big Brother, our mind follows pattern of emotions expressed by other people. Therefore we can notice suptile change in behavior. We are in constant doubt and suspense. […] My thesis is that we develop the so-called intelligence of a nanosecond, able to notice almost unnoticeable facial expression revealing real thoughts before that person manages to hide it. Thus, as we develop social intelligence by watching the show, Big Brother makes us smarter.
Geronimo:
[…] When I watch Survivor, there is always one question on my mind. What would happen if producer would hand them machetes and an instruction telling that the one who turns alive next morning would be rewarded with a prize of one million dollars. Would any of the participants decide to quit and go home? Then I stop wondering and ask myself how those events in the 90’s occurred to us in the Balkans.
U borbi protiv:
[…] To put a gay and a homophobe in a same room does not mean producing authentic emotions but provoking a conflict to entertain crowds, split opinions, affect cheering atmosphere and ultimately raise the show’s popularity. How pathetic and eventless a life of a person must be to seek real emotions by watching a pack of people who agreed to sell their “real emotions.” […]
Dusan Vujovic:
[…] Participants are aware of all the cameras, thus they don’t behave as usual at the house. When it comes to social intelligence, it is not about individual but about all the interactions within a group. And how everyone flows with the others. […] We learn as well. […]
Geronimo:
We have to be taught again about adroitness and other survival skills in the era of capitalism. […] The new time has come. As I understood it, the author vows we have to learn how to swim. He doesn’t ask us if we like it or not. The one who refuses to start learning would drown. [Biggie] is just a textbook example of the new rules.
Ivan Marovic:
[…] For survival in a [poor surrounding] it is more essential to find out gossips about you than to solve mathematical brain tickles. I wish to present an original opinion. The task is difficult. Especially, in a society with mostly black-and-white views.
Wikler:
[…] I don’t see Big Brother has something to do with social intelligence as it has with human isolation. People want some kind of entertainment so the whole day would pass. They got to have a convenient topic for workplace chat. […] A memory crosses my mind. Once I talked to a yacht captain. I asked him how dangerous it was to sail the Adriatic sea […]. He responded that relations between crew members were the most hazardous factor because in just ten days of sail the darkest of human attributes would come to surface. […]

author: Ljubisa Bojic


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Serbia: Peaceful Reasons for National Pride · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade Blog is looking for peaceful things that would inspire Serbs to feel proud for their country.


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Slovakia: News Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Deleted by Tomorrow sums up Slovakia's recent political and economic news: “But so far, during his first 100 days in power, Fico has shown only inaptitude and blatant power and popularity mongering (thank god for small blessings).”


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Sri Lanka: The economy and ethnic conflicts · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The delay in initiating the resolution of the ethnic conflict may have contributed to the current state of economy in Sri Lanka. More at LankaWatch. If the factors that initiated the broader ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka were not set in motion about 20 years ago, judging by certain trends, we can guesstimate what sort of a country Sri Lanka would now be.”


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Tajikistan: Uncensored · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Alexander Sadikov reports that the Tajik government has bowed to pressure and lifted its block on some websites that report information critical of the government.


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Turkey: End of Student Festivals · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Metroblogging Istanbul announces the Istanbul's Governor's Office decision to ban all student festivals as a means of combatting separatist group formation. “I wish they could find other ways of beating the ideological groups other than banning all youth fests…”

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Ukraine: Coalition or Opposition? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine writes about the recent development on Ukraine's political scene: “It's a rare country in which the party of the President announces it is going into opposition. It is a rarer one in which the President suggests he might separate from his party for abandoning a coalition with his primary political opponents. Whatever else one can say about the position Yushchenko and his NSNU party have gotten themselves into, the one thing everyone with an ounce of sense in their heads agrees on is that it is unenviable.”


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Ukraine: “Politics That Pays” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Katie Allen of Ukraine Study Tour blog learns that in Ukraine, everything is on sale: from university degrees to parliament seats.


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Venezuela: “Mi Negra” Racist? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Octavio shares some interesting thoughts on the intersection of race, politics, and language in Venezuela's heated presidential campaign. The debate stems from Hugo Chavez calling the “Mi Negra” debit card proposal of Manuel Rosales racist. Octavio writes: ” I listen to this and have to wonder what my cousin AM must thing of this. See, AM was always called “El Negro” in our family. It was so linked to him that when my youngest brother was baptized and AM was named his godfather, my little brother acquired the same nickname at his Baptism. “El Negro” became his name and to this day many use it. Yes, neither of them was completely white, but who cared?”


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El Salvador: Open Air Education · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The weblog of El Salvador/CNY Companion Diocese shares photos of an open-air classroom in Ciudad Delgado.


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Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Meat vendor in Osh market, Kyrgyzstan
Just returning from a shopping tour on Osh Market, we welcome you to the latest roundup of notable online conversations that took place during the last two weeks, brought to you bi-weekly by neweurasia.
Armenia:
France's new legislation to make the denial of the Armenian genocide a crime is making waves in the blogosphere beyond the Caucasus. Turk Erkan Saka, PhD candidate at Rice University, has several posts on his blog and connects the new law with those in France who don't want to see Turkey as a full EU member. Onnik Krikorian on his blog Oneworld also has some information. Artyom thinks that together with the announcement that Orhan Pamuk today received the Literature Nobel Prize, Thursday 12 is not a very lucky date for Turkey.
Georgia:
The Georgian-Russian conflict dominates the media attention given to the small Southern Caucasus republic. After the arrest of four alleged Russian spies, Russia withdrew its diplomatic corps and imposed sanctions on Georgia. On Global Voices, Veronika Khokhlova covered the reactions of the Russian blogosphere to a great extent, see here and here. Onnik Krikorian reports of Armenian fears that the blockade of Georgia might lead to shortages in Armenia. Dan O'Huiginn is also covering the brawl between the two former Soviet republics, and among other things reports that web hosting services now join the fight as well. Also of note is Dan's background post on the ongoing conflict.more
Kazakhstan:
Every second Thursday, Leila's roundups of the Kazakh blogosphere are the ultimate collection of blogging voices from the largest Central Asian republic. To bridge the time between now and next week's new edition, go read about: Deep Purple in Almaty, calls for parliamentary democracy in Kazakhstan by the daughter of the president, the Kazakh ambassador to the UK writes an article about Borat and provokes about 250 comments, the ordinary Kazakh's reaction to the Russian-Georgian crisis and whether the government is taking sides. Also, KZBlog has a fun post about Kazakh toothpaste and the new Tenge bills introduced by the National Bank.
Kyrgyzstan:
Sean Roberts writes on his Roberts-Report that President Bakiyev might again try to dissolve his critics by dialogue. Ahead of a planned demonstration demanding the resignation of Bakiyev, Roberts asks whether the incumbent will be able to convince his opponents without carrying out the promised reforms. A roundup of blogging activities in general can be found over at neweurasia. The case of the US Air Force Major Jill Metzger (The Registan discussed it earlier) is taken up again by The Asia Pages. Metzger had disappeared from the Manas airbase in September, and whether or not she had been kidnapped is now subject of a criminal investigation.
Tajikistan:
The race leading towards the Tajik elections is heating up. Not that there will be a lof of competition as neweurasia blogger Alexander Sadikov says, incumbent Rakhmonov has no other party to fear after the main opposition parties have all withdrawn their candidates. The latest bit of news coming from the mountaineous Central Asian republic came when first, numerous websites critical of the government were censored, and later access got restored (albeit not for two really critical sites). Watch out for ongoing election coverage well beyond the polling day (6 November 2006) on the same blog. Sean Roberts comments on the withdrawal of the Islamic Renaissance Party's candidates.
Uzbekistan:
Kamolanavo, a blog of an Uzbek journalism student who is also freelancing for several newspapers and websites is an interesting snapshot of the life a young aspiring journalist in Uzbekistan. Another blog, Civic Community in Uzbekistan (Grashdanskoe Obshchestvo v Uzbekistane) has stories of interest for the hard-pressed Uzbek NGO sector, including reviews of new parliamentary bills and their implications for civil society. Nathan of The Registan reports that the EU is considering to roll back sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan following the Andijon incident last May. Nathan thinks that both sides would benefit from a rapprochement.
Regional:
Nathan links to a new Wiki project on the improvement of the Central Asia coverage on the world's open source encyclopedia. On neweurasia, Neil rounds up press freedom and regional security. Ben found that there's a connection between parking tickets of UN diplomats and their countries’ corruption. But it doesn't seem to work for Central Asia.

author: Ben Paarmann


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Armenia: Genocide Bill Fallout · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Blogrel outlines some of the impacts and consequences of the passage of France's law against denying the Armenian genocide. While the author is happy the bill passed, he hopes that it ultimately fails in the interests of free speech.


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Azerbaijan: Media Crackdown · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Denise reports at neweurasia on a media crackdown in Azerbaijan that has resulted in the closure of a popular newspaper and an order to cease broadcasting news prepared outside of the country.


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Belarus: “Brothers in Arms” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the country's Czech, Slovak and Polish “brothers in arms.”


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Belarus: Paval Krasouski Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog continues to cover the case of youth activist Paval Krasouski.


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Bermuda: What’s so special about the gardens? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

An anonymous contributor to the Save the Gardens blog writes an eloquent defense of Bermuda's Botanical Gardens.


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Cambodia: Prime Minister’s Gift · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at blogbykhmer finds a bridge where a plaque says that it is a gift from the prime minister of Cambodia. The blogger feels that the bridge should not be seen as a gift as it is the government's duty to build public infrastructure

author: Preetam Rai


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China: China telecom forced software · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

RFA reports that China telecom forced its ADSL clients to use a software, forcing people to receive advertisement. Human rights activists said that the side effects will be monitoring of internet traffic (zh).


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China: Fujian government media PK Xinhua · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a report about the debate between Fujian government media and Xinhua reporters on the disaster report concerning typhoon Saomai.


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China: the politics of spoof culture · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An article written by me at interlocals.net on the cultural and political background of internet spoofs, especially in relation to the reinvention of the Red Classics (revolution propaganda films).


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Congo DRC: Killer Coltan · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Killer Coltan is a film by the Congolese journalist/blogger, Mvemba Dizolele, about the coltan trade in Congo DRC: “Events in war-torn Congo may seem remote, but they are no further than your cellphone or DVD player. Eastern Congo supplies 80% of the world’s coltan, a mineral essential to electronic goods.”


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Dispatch from Uganda · Global Voices
Joshua Goldstein

Peace talks continue in Juba, Sudan, between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Ngomrom faults the Government of Uganda and Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) of lacking seriousness in the talks with the LRA:
Why would anybody even consider that the peace talks proceed with ICC threat unresolved? Museveni, has to provide conditions to keep the ICC away from Kony and his commanders, otherwise there will be no peace involving those five men. These two issues are mutually exclusive. Without these men, there must be modified peace talks, becasue the people of Uganda in the affected areas still need peace from the government of Museveni. Twenty years of oppression and mistrust cannot be wiped out by mere signing of documents in Juba.
Meanwhile, Uganda-CAN warns that there are nearly unnoticed security challenges in the eastern region of Karamoja, where small arms proliferation is rampant. Uganda-CAN indicates that these small arms cross the border from Sudan and threaten to spill over into northern Uganda:
While peace talks between the Ugandan government and LRA rebels continue, lawlessness and violence is flaring up in the east almost unnoticed. Per Engebak, director of Unicef for east and southern Africa, said even if a peace deal is signed, violence in Uganda's eastern Karamoja region threatens to spill over into the war-weary north.
In more hopeful news, Basawad's Safari Notes has an encouraging story about the recovery of Uganda's tourism industry through the lens of Bwindi National Park, in western Uganda:
Not all stories are bad. Some are good. Some very good and encouraging. One such very encouraging story is that of Bwindi; Bwindi National Park, Uganda. Bwindi's recovery as a major tourist attraction, is a reflection of the recovery of Uganda's tourism industry.
During the Idi Amin years and the unsettled years after that, many thought that Uganda would never recover as an attractive tourist destination. Many too, thought, that most of the attraction – wildlife in particular – would no longer be much of an attraction for tourists.
Openminded.com writes a critique of Andrew Mwenda's Prison Notes. Mwenda is Uganda's most prominent journalist, who was arrested briefly in August 2005 for speculating about the cause of death of Sudan's southern leader Vice-President John Garang:
Mwenda’s serialization of his ‘prison’ experience is a true expression of the old dictum that “History is always written by the victors”. Mwenda is spot on when he writes that, if you look at the statute books in Uganda, the legal regime governing the media reads like it was drawn by a committee of five dangerous men-Adolf Hitler, Benitto Musolini, Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin and Pol Pot. However, in first part titled “Background of my arrest”, Mwenda tactfully leaves out the details of whole story: He doesn’t write what exactly he said on Radio that prompted government to arrest him. As a person who listened to the programme live on 10th August 2005 and later read the transcription of the whole programme in The Sunday Vision of 14th August, 2005, I find Mwenda’s prison notes lacking and strategically designed to tilt public opinion in his favour.
In an African Minute writes about his “delicious” experience at an Ethiopian restaurant in Uganda:
The hierarchy of Ethiopian restaurants in Kabalagala goes like this: If you want to impress a girl or have a taste for swank, you go to Fasika Up the road is Ethiopian Village, a moderately priced restaurant and bar. Few venture beyond luminaries on the Kabalagala scene. However, down the road, nestled between two local dive bars, lies, as J. Slab would say, the epicenter of delicious.
Rehobot is a humble spot. It hosts 4 tables and a pool table, and is presided over by Mamma, with her two deputies, her 9-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son. Mama makes beef and vegetarian miracles with the fundamental elements of Ethiopian cuisine: injara (spongy sourdough flatbread), berbere (strong red chili powder) and niter kebbeh (light butter spiced with ginger and garlic).

author: Joshua Goldstein


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Ecuador Chooses · Global Voices
David Sasaki

This coming Sunday Ecuadoreans will head to the polls for the first round of presidential elections. As Bloggings by Boz notes, only three presidents have finished their full term in the last 27 years. Given the indecision that has stood out in each of the campaign polls, it seems that anything could happen.
What we do know is that this year's election has marked an important transformation in how Ecuadoreans have covered and discovered information about the campaign, the candidates, and the electoral process. Global Voices contributor Milton Ramirez recently interviewed Gullermo Sornoza [ES], a systems engineer from Guayaquil who is one of the founders of Ecuador Elige [ES] (“Ecuador Chooses”), a citizen's media project to supplement Big Journalism's coverage of the elections. The interview was conducted in Spanish and I have translated it here.
Gullermo Sornoza is a noteworthy blogger in Ecuador. He resides in Ecuador's main port city of Guayaquil and, beyond working as a system's engineer, he also dedicates himself to protecting the interest of the Ecuadorian citizen by means of a project that has taken the name Ecuador Elige. We engaged in a dialog with him via email and here are his reflections:
1. What is Ecuador Elige and how did it come about?
We could define Ecuador Elige as a project of bloggers, carried out with the purpose of helping people be able to choose their candidate. We tried to make use of citizen journalism, official sources, and traditional media, as well as the testimony of each person who collaborates on the project. Beginning in May Ernesto Monserratte and I began talking about the restlessness we felt about wanting to start a blog focused on the elections. We started forming the project and the rest is history.
2. What is the roll of Ecuador Elige within the framework of public information?
That's precisely it: to inform. As it is, we do not have a strict editorial line. Our policy is simply that insults are not used and any accusation made is done with respective evidence. Additionally it is not permitted to post information in any anonymous way. By having several collaborators, and letting everyone have the freedom to publish what want they want, the editorial line becomes very large and unrestrictive. Everyone has their thoughts and points of view which, in the end, enrich the debate and help us choose the best candidate. Regrettably our country does not have good internet penetration, so the information does not arrive to everybody. But this is our way of improving the country on this occasion.
3. What are the perspectives of governability in Ecuador?
I was just about to to write something on the matter. Whoever becomes president has that first challenge: to remain in power. It is very complicated, given that the political parties, or rather, their leaders, do not yield power. For that reason the one who is elected will have to know how to negotiate well. First for the country because there are so many anxieties about political stability and, second, to attract foreign investment and to build a sense of nationality.
4. Have methods of proselytism changed in Ecuador over the last the ten years?
I don't think so. Perhaps with more creativity, but nothing else. In reality, the rhetoric has stayed the same: “I offer, I promise.” T-shirts, soccer balls, etc. They continue buying the vote with a t-shirt or false promises. They say “I am not a polítiquero, I will end the corrupt oligarchy, etc.” But this has its explanation. The people have to vote because your voter's card is used for public proceedings. And each population has a limited degree of knowledge about the national reality. If the candidate promises a voter that his salary will last to the end of the month, he gets his vote.
5. Do you believe in the possibility of a governing woman in the country?
Yes … by my own experience I know that women are better administrators than men.
6. How does Ecuador Elige help voters if the coverage is only for those who have internet access? What about the great majority that aren't connected?
Sometimes I think about that. The idea is that the person who accesses the site can better form her criteria to be able to help the rest. For example, most of my family does not have access to Internet. Obviously I cannot say to them “listen, I made a website to inform people about the elections. You will find opinions and news on the candidates and the elections”. And in the end, they will not be able to access the information. My duty is to try to help them with the information. To say “look, I know that ‘John Doe’ is not good candidate because of this, that, and the other. ‘Jane’ is not a good choice either because of this, that, and beyond. But we compare ‘Little Mike’ with ‘John Doe’, I believe that Maria is better.” My idea is to be able to work a little more in generating more critera and opinion in the people who read the site who will discuss it with their friends, relatives, fellow workers, close friends, etc.
7. Do you think that Ecuadorian bloggers will have real influence in the present elections?
Due to the the same point about internet penetration, I doubt it very much. Perhaps as a reference for foreign bloggers, yes blogs will be influential, but not to take away or deliver votes to such-and-such candidate.
8. With your knowledge and experience, which do you believe is the ideal President for Ecuador.
It is a very complicated question. I believe firmly in the power of the dialogue, so he or she must be a person who likes to listen. And must know how to negotiate for the good of the country, to be a great communicator and expert about the national reality. To love the country, to have demonstrated excellence in previous experiences; and to have much power of decision and conviction towards his circle of advisors. That person could handle to the country well.
9. Ecuador Elige will finish its objective when the elections finish. Any thoughts?
We have still have not thought about it, although already we have received suggestions to conserve the space as a citizen platform. We'll have to wait until November [when the second round elections take place] to know what will happen to the site and, above all, what the participants decide to do with it.
Spanish speakers and non-Spanish speakers alike are both encouraged to check out Ecuador Elige and take note of the broad range of information and media available to this weekend's voters as they form their opinions about who should lead their country.


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Fiji: Excessive Kawa Drinking · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Peceli at the Babasiga blog is asking the readers of his blog what they thing about excessive Kawa consumption. Kawa is a natural relaxant that is used in traditional ceremonies in Fiji and other South Pacific Islands.


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Georgia: Making Their Case · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net discusses the savviness of Georgia's president in making the country's case and gaining sympathy in the West that enhances its power in its ongoing conflicts with Russia.


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Georgia: Social Impact of Russia Conflict · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Dan O'Huiginn reports on some of the social impacts of the Russia-Georgia conflict.


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Great day for Bangladesh: Dr. Yunus and Bangladesh gets the nobel prize · Global Voices
Rezwan

Wake up world. This is real. For the first time in recent history Bangladesh has made news in all the international media for a positive contribution to the world. Dr. Muhammad Yunus and his organization Grameen Bank have jointly been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”
The Bangladeshi blogosphere's take on this:
People are delighted over at the Bangla blogging platform “Bandh Bhanger Awaaj“. Drishtipat has news, pictures and more links to texts and videos on Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank. Mudhpud Chickness says Dr. Yunus has put Bangladesh on the map. The South Asia Biz says “Today is a great day for Bangladesh.”  Tanvir says : “I hope that this success will allow the Bangladeshis to dream big and lead the country to prosperity.” Atunu says “Finally, a deserving Bangalee wins the Nobel Prize”. Shahidul Alam of Drik posts an wonderful tribute to Dr. Yunus. Many other bloggers shared the news and congratulated Dr. Yunus and Grameen Bank.
Although there may be some doubt on some minds why an economic model got Yunus and Grameen bank a Nobel peace prize, the Nobel committee has this to say:
Every single individual on earth has both the potential and the right to live a decent life. Across cultures and civilizations, Yunus and Grameen Bank have shown that even the poorest of the poor can work to bring about their own development.
Micro-credit has proved to be an important liberating force in societies where women in particular have to struggle against repressive social and economic conditions.
Those who are new to Microcredit, it is the extension of very small loans to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimum qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. (wikipedia) The success of Microcredit model comes from the upheaval of dignity among the poor and to prove that they have a potential. These individuals remain under umbrella of a closely knitted society and the defaulters face peer pressure rather than legal notices. The whole idea is to provide a decent life with dignity for the poors and it worked (sad the rich often forget that the poor also have reasons to be proud). Read more about the Microcredit from Dr. Yunus.
Professor Yunus studied economics at Vanderbilt University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He received his Ph.D. in Economics in 1969, going on to become an assistant professor of Economics at Middle Tennessee State University the same year. On returning to Bangladesh he joined the Economics Department at Chittagong University.
Mr Yunus set up Grameen bank in 1976 with just $27 from his own pocket. Thirty years later, the bank has 6.6 million borrowers, of which 97% are women with a repayment rate of more than 90%. Grameen Bank models have been replicated in many countries of the world.
Is Grameen Bank different from the conventional banks? Dr. Yunus answers.
Listen to Dr. Muhammad Yunus's reaction from an interview given to a Norwegian TV in a podcast.
The other two Bengalis to win the Nobel Prize were Rabindranath Tagore (Literature: 1913) and Amartya Sen (Economics: 1998).
Dr. Yunus's daughter Monica Yunus is a budding Soprano in the USA.
Dr. Yunus said once “One day our grandchildren will go to museums to see what poverty was like.” I hope his dream comes true some day.
Today, I am proud to be a Bangladeshi too.

author: Rezwan


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Guyana: Mondegreen Queen · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana-Gyal's cousin Analis is the “master of mondegreens.”


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Hong Kong: CE’s policy address · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yesterday (Oct 12), the Chief Executive of Hong Kong SAR, Donald Tsang defended his second policy address in the legislative council. The selection of next CE will be 8 months later, although it is very likely that Donald Tsang will continue his term for another 5 years. The whole process was broadcasted on major T.V channels. Let's see how the local bloggers react to his policy.
Environment
Confide in me feels that the CE is blaming the citizens while letting the corporates to get away with pollution problem:
作為一個小市民，看完施政報告，有以下感覺：將污染的責任全數推到香港市民，由其是車主、貨車業界身上。對於巴士公司、電力公司這些巨型污染源，甚至真正的超巨大污染源（中國大陸的工廠），沒有有效的措施控制。藍天？Are you kidding me？
Can you hear me is very frustrated:
施政報告廢到爆, 環保又係空談, 膠袋稅又無影, 廢物回收卻要收費? 有無攪x錯呀!’ 算把啦, 唔算都要算架啦, 無計啦. ‘麻鷹唔管管雞仔…
Education
The policy of education coupon is to encourage more birth. Father's world said that it would help to relieve the parent's burden:
生多幾個BB啦！阿煲呔係昨日的施政報告話，仔女讀非牟利幼稚園可以有一萬元的學費券資助。一萬蚊，如果搵間普普通通的幼稚園，都大概有一半的資助，算幾好的了。
Minimum wage
Let yesterday go criticises the CE attitude towards minimum wage:
特首對工資最低水平的方案依然沒有立法的意欲.   新聞報導訪問一位工資很低平均要做的12小時的女人, 女人的每小時人工只有16左右. 女人說自己工作得很辛苦,養活不了一家4口…
Democracy
Christian alliance for democracy is disappointed with the missing of election reform in the policy address:
對於這個重要的議題，施政報告再沒有作進一步的討論。它只表明這個問題將交由策發會討論，並將會在明年作出總結。 行政長官指出，由於他餘下的任期有限，必需實事求是而非好高騖遠。可是，忽略影響深遠的政制發展，是務實的表現嗎？
photos from HKSAR government


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Kazakhstan: New Party · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts reports on the probable emergence of a new political party in Kazakhstan that would serve the interests of businesspeople.


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Kenya: L’État, c’est Moi · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“You are telling me Kibaki could not find one other worthy Kenyan, preferably one who didnt take a multi million dollar bribe, to appoint as a Special Envoy?,” writes Mental Acrobatics after the former Kenyan president, Daniel Arap Moi, was named a special regional peace envoy.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Laos: Visiting the Capital City · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vietnamese God posts pictures from his visit to neighbouring Laos. In this post he covers Vientiane, the capital of Laos. “It is difficult to believe that Vientiane is a capital city because it is so small. But it has lots of old temples, many French buildings which still remain beautiful and lots of trees along the streets.”


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Lebanon: Politics and the Finer Arts · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The political turmoil in Lebanon seems to be taking its toll on the Lebanese blogosphere. Many posts reflect on the internal squabble going on. But we can still find some art, poetry and environmental concerns.
Starting with the fine art of caricature: Amal started a series of cartoons in which she draws Lebanese bloggers in addition to her cartoons on current events. Her latest was that of Jamal. Check out her depiction of other bloggers like jij, eve and hilal.
In the spirit of Ramadan, Jamal defines the meaning and job description of the “Msaharati”:
A dude banging a drum and screaming his lungs out at 3 a.m. is one of these factors that aren't programmed into your night noise blocking system. That's the Msaharati. His message is “Wake up and Eat.” A noble cause except he is the bar tender who pokes a passed-out drunkard to sell him one more drink.
The best part about the Msaharati is that he will come to your door the day after Ramadan to “wish you a happy holiday”. No Shame whatsoever.
The Msaharati, a Ramadan tradition for karaoke bar rejects.
While Mirvat has another very interesting poem, in shape and content, which ends:
[…] We’re ruthless to the penniless and the powerless and we’re proud
Overconfident and overstuffed and we’re whores for crowds
We lead the earth and its population into sure obliteration
We foresee doom upon doom with each inauguration
We substitute hard work with mere manipulation
With less smart minds and more smart bombs
Less bookstores and more tanning salons
Less health care and more hair care
Less art and more bleak reality
Less love and more money
Less woman and more
Plastic and aquarelle
Money for apparels
Isolated citadels
For loneliness
Reinvented
In an ipod
A nano
Femto
All ….
Will just get worse
The environment was Sietske in Beiroet's topic for a lengthy post about the oil spill, dirty beaches, salt flats and the quarries.
Anyway, the oil seems to have sunk in on beaches. But according to the Seacore guy, this isn’t really a problem. He is planning on cleaning the stretch of Byblos to Anfeh – about 25 kilometers – in exactly 60 days (and with $5 million). That includes getting that ‘rim out of the bath tub’ as he called it – all the rocky parts have this black oil on the water level – the monuments, the beaches, the oil that has sank to the bottom in front of the coast, the quay, and they intend to get the fishermen’s boats out and sandblast them to get that layer off as well.
The French and the Italians are in town as well to do some cleaning. The French guy however is talking about ‘years’, when it comes to cleaning up the coastal line. The American man of Seacore does not quite see why it should take that long. Maybe because the French are Mediterranean, like us (Lebanese).
And if you are one of those who feel bored at your work and wonder why, especially since you were very excited the first few months of work, then Ahmad’s “(Un) Challenged Minds” may have answers for you.
Now let’s turn to politics and war:
First the war in Iraq: Prof As’ad publishes a letter he received from his former student who is now serving in Iraq while Dr Victorino highlights the news that Israel knew about the American invasion of Iraq a year before it actually took place.
On the Lebanese front we have Anarchorev lambasting the Lebanese interior minister after criticizing the airport authorities for censoring an opposition website:
This is your Lebanon of web filters and thought control… of Saudi condemnation for HezbAllah’s “adventurism” and American shipping of “smart bombs” to strengthen democracy and freedom-loving forces led by Mr. Fuad Crocodile Tears Siniora and Ahmad Tea Serving Fatfat (interim interior minister). By the way, Ahmad Fatfat has a personal website, and has a section dedicated to “accomplishments”, and another to “political projects and principles“. Principles and accomplishments: Such as the killing of 11-year-old kids and serving tea to the Israeli occupiers.
Mustapha joins in by advising the government and March 14th politicians on how to deal with the opposition and other issues:
The best thing the March 14 media can do is to leave Aoun alone (Fares Khashan, Nassir As3ad, Paul Shawul and Ali Hmedeh, I hope you read this) and start focusing on important things, like how to deal with Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. How can we cajole Nabih Berri and bring him to our side? How can we build a less corrupt political machine that can win elections with bigger margins? How can we implement the Taif accord and consolidate the national partnership? How can we weed out corruption in the system?
Abu Kais who is now visiting Lebanon and searching for the “Divine Victory” reflects on the turmoil going on:
You stop to gaze at the many churches, mosques and remnants of polytheistic temples that make downtown Beirut such a historical wonder. And then you remember the blood that once flowed on those streets, and your own lost childhood. You leave the city center wondering whether your child will see this version of the city, or another.
Civil war. Is the country being dragged into a civil war? If it is, the country is kicking and screaming. But is anyone listening?
And if you were wondering why Israel dropped this huge amount of cluster bombs on Lebanon last July then check Jeha who analyses why he believes it is a tactic to prepare the terrain for a new Israeli round of attacks.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Malaysia: Festive Wishes “Unislamic” · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian politician Lim Kit Siang blogs about a letter that prohibited Muslim employees of a Malaysian insurace company from wishing their Hindu friends for the Hindu festival of Deepawali. The letter claimed that uttering the words “Happy Deepavali” is unIslamic. The blogger asks “This is the latest episode raising concerns by Malaysians about the increasing Islamisation in Malaysia, especially after the recent shock statement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the national education system is Islamic. What next will be declared Islamic or unIslamic?”


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Malaysia:Bus Ride in Kuala Lumpur · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bunnywunny and her cameraphone ride the public bus service in Kuala Lumpur. The blogger urges readers to take the bus to discover the soul of the city.


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Myanmar: Flood Images · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sophia, a Burmese student in Taiwan posts pictures of the recent flooding in Myanmar.


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Poland: Freedom of Speech · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Traveling Life writes about the freedom of speech in Poland.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Poland: Ryszard Kapuscinski and the Nobel Prize · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes that the Nobel Prize for Literature “is not a literary prize at all, it merely reflects the contemporary obsessions of the West – and particularly Sweden” – and this is why Ryszard Kapuscinski didn't win this year.


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Russia: “Bashing Anna’s Critics” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas responds to Anna Politkovskaya's critics.


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Thailand: Talks with Southern Insurgents · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Pundit rounds up and comments on the media reports on the talks Thai authorities are having with the insurgents in Southern Thailand.


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Uganda: Bantu Jews · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In an African Minutes posts a photo of the synagogue of Bantu Jews in Uganda.


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Ukraine: Out of the Spotlight · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Doug Merrill of A Fistful of Euros writes about Ukraine and the short attention span of the media and bloggers.


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YouTube. Whose Tube? Google’s acquisition triggers Lusosphere debate · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

It could be seen as just another dot-com mega-deal that would not get much discussion beyond in-depth reports in specialized magazines. But gleaning the discussions of Lusophone bloggers is revealing that the YouTube acquisition by Google is capturing a lot of attention and generating many interesting perspectives. It also displays how the web functions as an arena where familiar archetypes such as Google, YouTube and the like joust as virtual gladiators in a global digital amphitheater.
É oficial: o Google comprou, por US$ 1,6 bilhão, o site YouTube. Um ato covarde, pois o Google Video tomava pau do concorrente. Agora, o Google controla os serviços de busca, e-mail, blogs, orkut, livros, mapas – e vídeos. Estou ficando com medo. Desse jeito, só o projeto Google Will Eat Itself pode salvar a humanidade…
Passando dos Limites – Blog do Sayeg
It is official: Google has bought YouTube for US$ 1.6 billion. A pusillanimous act, as Google Video was being crushed by the competitor. Now Google controls search services, e-mail, blogs, orkut, books, maps — and videos. I am getting scared. The way things are going, only the Google Will Eat Itself project can save human kind…
Crossing the limits – Blog do Sayeg
“Estamos lixados. O Google comprou-o. Não tarda nada, será destruído”. Estas palavras não saíram da boca de nenhum analista económico, mas de um simples utilizador do YouTube.com. Como ele, muitos outros utilizadores ― entre os quais, os blogs ― não escondem o desalento pela compra do Google, seduzido por uma audiência que chega a atingir os 100 milhões de vídeos vistos por dia.
O mundo louco de Silly Valley – Briteiros
“We are ruined. Google bought it. It won't be long until it is destroyed”. These words are not coming from an economic analyst, but from a simple YouTube user. Like him, many other users – among them, blogs — do not hide their despair over YouTube's acquisition by Google, which was dazzled by an audience watching 100 million videos a day.
Silly Valley's Crazy World – Briteiros
Ainda espero que, com a compra do YouTube, a Google tenha fôlego e poder para mudar a visão das grandes empresas de entretenimento sobre a questão dos direitos autorais. Mas, como já disse antes, tenho minhas dúvidas, e coisas deste tipo não me deixam mais otimista.
Começou? – Caveat Emptor
I still hope that, with YouTube's acquisition, Google maintain the power and will to change the big corporate view about intellectual property and copyrights. But I am doubtful — as I've already said before — and things like that  [Guardian's article] does not boost my hopes.
Started? – Caveat Emptor
o youtube nao vai mudar de nome?? o google comprou soh pra dizer que eh dele?? que materialismo doentio!!!
Se… – Hofnik in Israel
youtube won't change its name?? google has bought it just to call it theirs?? what a sick materialism!!!
If… – Hofnik in Israel
After the first impact, bloggers are trying to envision how the consequences will play out in terms of their day-to-day life on the web. The futurology includes possible scenarios for TV as we know it, for the way content copyright owners will react to pirate presence in Google's realm, and how the acquisition may affect the free software movement.
Com a venda do Youtube para o Google, há quem aposte que o negócio televisão vai se alterar profundamente. Na verdade, o Google quer papar a verba publicitária que migra, cada vez mais, para da mídia de massa para web (na Inglaterra, a $ publicitária já é maior na web do que nos jornalões). Tanto é que o Google já pensa em inserir curtos anúncios publicitários antes de o vídeo começar ser descarregado; ampliar acordos comerciais semelhantes ao do Youtube-Warner (ou seja, distribuindo videoclips inéditos) com as televisões comerciais para que elas hospedem vídeos antigos e novos programas (cabe saber se a produção não vai acabar se direcionando mais para web do que para a telinha).
TV Google – Jornalismo Digital
YouTube's acquisition by Google is making many believe that the TV business will be deeply transformed. In fact, Google is craving for the advertisement money which is increasingly moving from the mass media to the web (in England, ad money is already bigger on the web than in big and old newspapers). It is such that Google already plans to include short ads before video downloads; and it is augmenting commercial deals similar to the YouTube-Warner agreement (for acquiring video clips) with TV networks to host old videos and new shows (which can have the effect of changing the focus of producers from the TV screen to the web).
Google TV – Jornalismo Digital
É que o YouTube é uma moda que assenta na violação de direitos de autor, como o Napster também foi. Não tem nenhum processo de upload de vídeos inovador ou coisa parecida, existem n serviços idênticos,  o Google podia usar 1/10 do dinheiro para promover o Google Video ou até introduzir funcionalidades. O problema nem é a compra, mas sim o valor… estes “fenómenos culturais” aparecem em meses e desaparecem em dias, ainda por cima sem modelo de negócio.
O Google precisa do Youtube? – ramblings about life and tech
…it is because YouTube is a movement based on the violation of author rights, just as Napster was. As it does not present any innovative uploading procedure or the like, and today we have many identical services, Google could have used a tenth of the money to promote Google Video, or to introduce some new features. The problem is not the deal, but the numbers involved… these ‘cultural phenomena’ emerge in months and disappear in days, even more so in the absence of a business model.
Does Google need Youtube? – ramblings about life and tech
Nem bem a Google comprou o Youtube, pessoas de todas as partes do mundo já pensam em como processar a Google por direitos autorais devido a vídeos expostos no Youtube. Do site G1: Os brasileiros incomodados com imagens veiculadas no site de vídeos YouTube, adquirido nesta segunda-feira (9) pelo Google, terão mais facilidade para processar a página em casos de violação de privacidade, uso indevido de imagem ou divulgação de conteúdo protegido por direitos autorais. O trâmite para os processos ficou mais fácil porque o novo dono do YouTube tem um representante local, o Google Brasil.
Nova novela: justiça x youtube – undergoogle.com
Google has just purchased Youtube, and people from all over the world are already working out ways to sue the web giant for copyright violations due to videos now published on YouTube. From G1 site: “Brazilians aggrieved by images from videos published on YouTube — acquired by Google last Monday [October 9] — will gain better conditions to sue the site in legal cases involving privacy violation, improper use of personal image, or display of copy-protected content. The process is easier now as YouTube's new owner has a local legal representation, Google Brazil.
Nova novela: justiça x youtube – undergoogle.com
Mas que consequências tem esse processo e, principalmente, o que isso representa para o movimento software livre? Em um primeiro momento, nada, talvez até represente algo positivo no sentido de diminuir a dependência das pessoas de softwares proprietários que precisam ser instalados em suas máquinas. O Google mesmo goza de muita simpatia da comunidade, graças a um eficiente trabalho de marketing, por usar (e propagandear que usa) software livre em seus servidores e por incentivar a produção de códigos livres em projetos como o Summer of Code. Porém, se pensarmos a longo prazo, o fato de termos menos softwares em nossas máquinas e mais software (e dados, e arquivos) nos servidores dessas grandes empresas é algo perigoso.
A virtualização do desktop e a googlezação da web – Dicas-L
But what are the consequences of this process and what does it mean to the free software movement? In the short run, nothing, and it could even mean a positive trend as it would lessen users’ dependency on proprietary software that must be installed in their machines. Google still holds sympathy within the community, which results from an effective marketing effort for the use [and the marketing of the use] of free software on their servers and also for the incentive given to open code production in projects like the ‘Summer of code’. But if we think about the long run, the fact of having less software in our machines and more software (and data and files) on those big corporate severs is something dangerous.
The virtualization of the desktop and the googlezation of the web – Dicas-L
If there is one thing that calls the attention of whoever learns about the deal, it is the great sum of money involved. Value comparisons in the globalized world can catch non-expert observers by surprise, making it difficult to understand what the players of this high stakes game are up to. From the perspective of developing countries it seems even stranger.
Não entendo mais nada… Valor de privatização da Vale do Rio Doce: U$ 3,3 bilhões. Para arredondar, uns 2 YouTubes (vendido ontem por U$ 1,68 bilhões). É a época que vivemos… Reservas gigantescas de minério sendo comparadas com uma reserva gigantesca de vídeos com adolescentes de sunga amarela fazendo dancinhas bizarras. Se o Youtube saísse do ar amanhã, alguém ia sentir falta por mais de uma semana até qualquer uma das outras 500 alternativas se estabelecer? Mas como foi o Google que comprou, é pra levar a sério? Sou um grande entusiasta da Web. Mas sei não, já vi esse filme antes. E nem faz muito tempo.
Com a palavra, Mr. Manson – Liberal, Libertino, Libertário
I can't understand… Privatization value of ‘Vale do Rio Doce’ [a global diversified mining company and also the largest logistics operator in Brazil] is US$ 3.3 billion which is equivalent to approximately 2 YouTubes (sold yesterday for US$ 1.68 billion). These are the times we live in. Enormous mineral reserves being compared with videos of teenagers with yellow underwear performing bizarre dances. If YouTube went off tomorrow, would someone miss it more than a week after one of the 500 alternative services would manage to succed? But, as the buyer was Google, does it turn it into a serious issue? I am a great web enthusiast but I really don't know. I think I saw this film somewhere and it was not long ago.
With the word, Mr. Manson – Liberal, Libertino, Libertário
O que este “Dot-com boom, this? Nah” mostra é que se está a passar da compra de empresas com bens (produtos, serviços) – que vão continuar, claro – para a aquisição de comunidades. O Blogger foi pioneiro (se esquecermos que, em 2001, já tinha havido a dos “newsgroups” também pelo Google) mas a compra do Flickr pelo Yahoo!, do MySpace pela News Corp. e agora o YouTube (quando já se fala do interesse do Yahoo! pelo Facebook) confirmam essa tendência.
Tecnosfera – Contrafactos & Argumentos
What this “Dot-com boom, this? Nah” shows is that we are changing from the buying of enterprises producing  goods and providing services — which will continue to exist, of course — to acquisitions of community networks. Blogger was the first  (if we forget the buying of  ‘newsgroups’, also by Google), and now the Flickr – Yahoo! and MySpace – News Corp. deals along with the Youtube deal (and speculations about Yahoo! acquiring Facebook) confirm this trend.
Technosphere – Contrafactos & Argumentos
Quer o Google, quer os outros grandes comilões do género (a News Corp., que adquiriu no ano passado MySpace.com) têm todo o interesse em tratar as suas conquistas com muito cuidado. Não devem esquecer-se da desdita do Yahoo!, em 1999, quando gastou 3.600 milhões de dólares para adquirir a GeoCities… Alguém se lembra ainda da GeoCities?
O mundo louco de Silly Valley – Briteiros
Google and the other big eaters (News Corp., that last year acquired MySpace.com) all have an interest in taking good care of their conquests. We should not forget Yahoo's misfortune when in 1999 it wasted US$ 3.6 million buy GeoCities… Does anybody still remember Geocities?
Silly Valley's Crazy World – Briteiros
Lusophone bloggers are not only showing their usual diversity of opinion. Some commentators display the insights that seem to come from asking the right question: “what exactly has Google bought?”
Pouca gente sabe [antes de um negócio de tecnologia dar certo] porque ele dará; depois, o campo fica lotado de analistas de passado a dar opiniões, a maioria sem nenhum fundamento. A aquisição que Google acaba de fazer é preventiva: o preço que Google poderia ter que pagar em perda de atenção, um dos itens que realmente conta na economia da rede, poderia vir a ser muito maior, principalmente se um dos outros gigantes da rede [como eBay, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo ou MySpace] entrasse no jogo. Ano passado, o eBay comprou o Skype [ou seus 100 milhões de usuários, 60 milhões ativos] por US$ 2, 6 bilhões por uma razão parecida: tinha que agregar gente, ou mais atenção, ou mais valor, aos seus 75% do mercado de transações entre consumidores, com exceção da China [onde o TaoBao tem 60%]. A China é osso duro de roer: o Google, que tem 44% das buscas no mundo, perde de 65% a 20% em Beijing para o Baidu.” (Trecho da cronica de Silvio Meira no g1.globo.com)
Porque Google comprou YouTube? – Amigosdestelado
Few people know [beforehand] the reasons why a tech business succeeds. Afterwards, the arena gets crowded with post facto analysts sprouting opinions, most of them ungrounded. Google has made a preventive acquisition: the price that Google would have to pay in lost attention — an item that really counts in the network economy — could become much larger, chiefly if some of the other net giants [like eBay, Microsoft, Amazon, Yahoo or MySpace] happened to place a bet. Last year eBay bought Skype [or its 100 million users, 60 million active] for US$ 2.6 billion for a similar consideration: to aggregate more people, or more attention, or more value to its 75% share of the consumer transactions market [excepting China, where TaoBao has 60%]. China is no easy game: Google which has 44% of searches in the world, drops from 65% to 20% going from Beijing to Baidu.” (part of Silvio Meira‘s article to g1.globo.com)
Why Google bought YouTube? – Amigosdestelado
Realmente existem executivos que ainda não entenderam a Web. A tecnologia não importa. Dizer “nossa tecnologia é melhor” é nada. O que importa são posicionamento de mercado e poder alavancagem. O resto é consequência. O Google não comprou uma empresa pela existência de lucro ou não. O Google não comprou o YouTube por causa dos usuários cadastrados. O Google já tem, “virtualmente”, todos os usuários do mundo. O Google comprou Top-of-Mind. Hoje, pensou “video na web”, pensou YouTube. O Google comprou a palavra-chave “video” na cabeça das pessoas.
O que realmente o Google comprou? – Versão txt
There really are some executives who have not understood the Web. Technology is not important. To state that ‘our technology is better’ means nothing. What really matters is market positioning and leverage power. The rest is consequence. Google has never bought a company for the existence, or not, of revenue. Google has not bought YouTube for its registered users. Google already snatches ‘virtually’ all world users. Google has bought the ‘top-of-mind’. Today, if you think ‘video on the web’, you think YouTube. Google has bought the tag ‘video’ in people's minds.
What exactly has Google bought? – Versão txt
It doesn't matter if all this huge economic activity is happening far abroad. The effects are well perceived by web citizens spread around the world, and they quickly enter the debate over how assimilation of the networked era and its principles can create new possibilities for developing countries. Indeed, digging deeper, we learn that promoting this debate is part of the strategy of development in the Information Age.
Será que a Google dominará todo o conteúdo da web? Existe algum problema em controlar os meios de busca na internet e o material que é distribuído nela? Que tipo de poder terá o Google e isso é benéfico para o desenvolvimento da web? Qual será a próxima aquisição do Google? Essas outras questões serão debatidas no Laranjada nessa sexta-feira, dia 13/10/2006, às 15:00 e ficará aberto durante todo o final de semana.
Debate no laranjada – Código Laranja
Will Google control all content on the web? Is there a problem in controlling Internet search resources while also controlling the content it delivers? What kind of power is Google retaining and is this a favorable feature for the web development? What will be Google's next acquisition? These and other issues will be debated in Laranjada this Friday, 10-13-2006 at 15:00, and we will be open during the whole weekend.
Debate no laranjada – Código Laranja

author: Jose Murilo


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Zimbabwe: Domestic Violence Bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kubatana writes about the Domestic Violence Bill in Zimbabwe: All hell broke loose recently when Movement for Democratic Change, Member of Parliament, Timothy Mubawu stated that:“It is against God’s principles that men and women are equal”.


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Zimbabwe: Smuggled DVD brings union protest beatings to light · Global Voices
Sameer Padania

This video reached me late last night via Ethan Zuckerman.  At nearly ten minutes, it's longer than the other videos we've put up, but I strongly recommend you watch this.
It includes footage of the Zimbabwean police and security intelligence services breaking up a peaceful demonstration by members of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions (ZCTU) on September 13th.  The police repeatedly beat the demonstrators, who are calling for the provision of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the treatment of HIV, a minimum wage, and stabilisation in the prices of certain basic commodities.  The bulk of the video involves interviews with the ZCTU members describing the events of the day, and the actions of the police.  Ethan and Rachel Rawlins have kindly provided a transcript.
When news of the beatings originally leaked out, trades unions in other countries strongly condemned Robert Mugabe's hardline approach with legitimate and peaceful demonstrations.  Last week a court dismissed the police report on the incident, and postponed the trial of the ZCTU protestors until October 17th, to give the Criminal Investigation Department time to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations of police torture.  When footage of the protests was smuggled out of Zimbabwe on DVD to South Africa this week, it prompted the head of one of South Africa's labour unions to say that she would give President Thabo Mbeki a copy of the DVD of the beatings in a meeting with him on Friday.
More as and when it emerges…

author: Sameer Padania