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Cameroon: Victim’s Tale of a 50-year old Rape in Cameroon · Global Voices
Innocent Chia

Happy birthday Zuzeeko Abeng's new blog  On the Road to Success! What an exciting way for me to get started writing for Global Voices Online by celebrating the birth of a new Cameroonian blog focusing on human rights, politics, business and social trends.
Zuzeeko, the Cameroonian-born human rights activist, says this about his new blog:
This blog is designed to tackle issues of Fundamental Human Rights, Law, Politics, Business, Social Trends and other issues that would get you thinking and learning.
The blog even adds another dimension as it inspires ordinary people to seek progress through justice.
While the Zuzeeko option is to achieve success without trampling on the rights of the least of us, media leaders in Africa have been discussing the future of media in the digital age in the Tanzanian commercial capital of Dar es Salaam.
One of the leading Cameroonian blogger, Dibussi Tande, attended the conference and participated in a panel discussion examining the role, if any, that states should play in the blogosphere. Dibussi posts a link to his presentation titled “Is The Blogosphere The New Public Sphere? Should the State Control It?” He highlights repressive cybercrime laws enacted by the government of Cameroon:
- Anyone who uses electronic communications to publish or propagate information whose truthfulness he or she cannot prove shall be sentenced to a term of 6 months to 2 years in jail and/or fined 5 to 10 million Francs CFA
– This sentence shall be doubled if the offense is committed with the aim of threatening public order/peace
– The state shall leverage “international judicial cooperation and mutual assistance” to prosecute individuals who threaten public order from abroad
He argues that the state should, at best, have a minimal role in this public domain:
The public sphere is not set up by government, and not managed by government – it has to be separate in order to provide: ‘counterweights to absolutist states…[and] mediate between ‘society’ and state by holding the state accountable to ‘society’” (McKee)
The benefits of the Internet far outweigh the dangers of misuse. In some countries, the Internet is the only source of pluralistic and independent information, even if Internet penetration may still be low (Deibert et al)
Postwatch Cameroon has a detailed account of war over the estates of the self-declared chief of Besongabang chiefdom in Cameroon, Chief Henry Abi Ndifor Enochong:
On June 26, 2008, Chief-doctor-barrister Henry Abi Ndifor Enonchong (born 1934), self-declared Chief of Besongabang, Senior Advocate of Cameroon, SAC; eminent member of the Cameroon Bar Association, businessman and father of many children collapsed in his Douala Bonaberi home and died.
He died after a succession of heart attacks which started at 2.am in the night of June 25, 2008.
At the time of his demise, this Banyang native of Besongabang in Manyu Division was living with Dame Banda Charlotte of Bassa origin with whom he had five legitimate children recognized as such because they all had birth certificates.
However for some strange reason, Chief Henry Ndifor Enonchong, a lawyer, never thought it wise to establish a marriage certificate with his partner, Dame Banda Charlotte, the mother of his five children and that despite the fact that they had lived together for 35 years.
Cameroon law says marriage is only recognized by the production of a marriage certificate to state that fact.
Southern Cameroon's Interim government has a link to a video interview with Fon Gorji Dinka:
Fon Gorji Dinka, with military training and epaulets on his soldiers, would have been Ambazonia's (Southern Cameroons’) Charles de Gaulle.
Alas, he's a legally trained mind who has used the weapons of his training to set his country and people on the path to freedom from the brutal occupation by a neighboring state, la Republique du Cameroun.
Finally, Chia Report captures the essence of the Southern Cameroon's struggle for self-determination from colonization by La Republique du Cameroun in a piece titled “Victim’s Tale of a 50-year old Rape in Cameroon”:
First, she was told by her husband that no one would ever believe her. Much as it had petrified the 15 year old then when he had first said it after mounting off her and zipping his pants with a smirk on his face, it still felt like there was an even louder ring of disbelief if she told her story to the world today at 65. The sad truth is that everyone around this beautiful woman – AmbaBimbia – adopted by English parents – blamed her for been at the wrong place at the wrong time. This, they said, caused her mad French speaking neighbor – GarAhidjo – to unshackle any restraint and obey nature’s call. “Yes he raped her”, most admit, “but her naiveté begged for it”.
At 65 and poised to celebrate the 50th birthday of her most precious twins, AmbaBimbia was literally at life’s crossroads. She was wondering just how much of a “mistake and disgrace” this could be, re-echoing what the older of the twins had said as he bolted out of the room.  Grassfield, the older twin did not mince words with the mother. He never had, growing up with his maternal grandfather. The local Baptist Pastor may have taught him how to bridle his little sharp tongue a thousand times, but he knew grandpa loved him so much, it was all talk and the cane was never going to come out.
But Mama, why did you get married to him?:
Stop crying my daughter. I hope you forgive me and understand why I had you spending a lot of time away from here. You have wiped off my tears in this town and I thank you and your husband for the beautiful, functional family that you have. I want you to carry up yourself. Let us go and join the others”.
“But Mama, why did you get married to him,” a visibly irate Sawa questioned? “Why did you run away from grandma and grandpa to be with him?” And how could you have lived with this for the last 50 years playing his wife?
“My daughter, we must go and meet the others now. They are waiting for us and may be getting worried”. The two ladies pulled themselves up from the floor, readjusted their clothes and helped each other fix the broken make-up lines…”

author: Innocent Chia


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Cape Verde: Celebrating Independence while Revisiting Typography · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

To  mark the 51st anniversary of the creation of the movement that  organized the independence struggle in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, PAIGC [pt, en],  Jorge Brito presents a collection of old stamps and other graphics while  chronicling historical events surrounding the 70s in Cape Verde [pt].

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Sara Moreira


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Chile: Students Become Citizen Journalists in ‘Young Reporters’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Periodismo Ciudadano [es] (Citizen Journalism) writes about Jóvenes Reporteros [es] (Young Reporters), a citizen journalism site with content by and for Secondary School students in Santiago, Chile.

author: Silvia Viñas


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China: An Yuan Ding and Political Reform  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project's fellow Xiao Shu comments on the An Yuan Ding scandal and explains why political reform in China cannot be delayed anymore.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Free Liu Xiaobo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new website, Free Liu Xiaobo Now!, initiated by some members of Chinese PEN, that collects all sorts of information concerning Liu Xiabo.


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East Timor: Bulletins of the Struggle for Independence now Online · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Timor Archives launched a new blog that provides access to electronic copies of newsletters published about East Timor’s struggle for independence from 1974 to 1999.


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Ecuador: The Police Crisis Via Twitter · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Through the Twitter account @ElCiudadano_ec, the government of President Correa has been informing about the latest developments of a crisis created by a police strike. Although the government ordered [es] private media to link to official media, on Twitter some are still informing, like Ecuavisa [es], TeleAmazonas [es], El Universo [es], Expreso [es] and La Voz de Tomebamba [es]. A list of Twitter users from Ecuador can be found here.

author: Juan Arellano


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Ecuador: Twitter Sources Reporting on Crisis · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Cobertura Digital provides a list of various Twitter sources that are currently reporting on the crisis created by yesterday's police strike [es].


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Translator of the Week: Haifa Alrasheed · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

I always like Haifa Alrasheed's choice in the articles she translates in GV Arabic Lingua. She also is now getting her toes wet in covering Saudi Arabia at Global Voices Online. Haifa – who said here [Ar] that she sometime like to spell her name as Haipha – is a college student majoring in Computational Linguistics, and she prefers to write a mixture of Arabic and English posts in her personal blog, Haifa's Notebook.
Let's try to chat with Haifa in order to know more about her.
Hi Haifa, can you please tell us more about yourself?
Well … I'm a college student, majoring in Computational Linguistics. I'm interested in everything from philosophy to technology. When I have time, I like to read books, do voluntary work, and lately blog. I'm also keen about languages and linguistics fascinates me! I lately joined GV MENA family as an author and translator.
So let me ask you, how did you learn about Global Voices, and what attracted you to Lingua?
I was directed to GV by a blog -which I can't recall now :-)
What attracted me to Lingua is that it's a chance to interact with both Arabic and English language professionally, especially that the posts there are written by non linguists. It is also a chance to practice my translation skills.
Your choice of posts to translate is always interesting to me, so I'd like to know what kind of topics you find more attractive on GV. Also, what are your favourite reads
I usually pick non political regional ones. Human activism always catches my eye. I also like to read about different topics. And when it comes to books, my favourite ones are “The Stuff of Thought” by Steven Pinker, “Samarkand” by Amin Maalouf, “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran, “The Perfume” by Patrick Suskind and “The Outliers” by Malcom Gladwell. Also, my favourite author is Steven Pinker while I like reading to Malcom Gladwell, Amin Maalouf, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi and Anis Mansour.
Can you please tell us more about your field of study – computational linguistics?
Computational Linguistics is a discipline between language and computer science which is concerned with the computational aspects of the human language. It has both theoretical and applied components. Computational linguistics is also defined in Wikipedia as science that “deals with the statistical and/or rule-based modelling of natural language from a computational perspective”.
As we can see, your field of study deals with natural languages as well as computers, so do you think it may have an effect on your work in Lingua especially that in lingua you deal with languages and translations all the time.
Yes I do. Through out my short experience in Lingua, I got the chance to see the flow of the language,  where it is heading, and what are the difficulties faced by translators and authors. And who knows maybe one day I'll develop a software made specially for Lingua translators :)
One problem that most of translators face is to find Arabic equivalent for English terms, especially technology-related and newly coined words. Do you find it more suitable to Arabize the then English terms (Sayyevha from Save & Farmat'ha from Format), or come out with Arabic terms even if they are not as popular as the Arabized ones like (Hefz for Save, etc.)
I believe it depends on the context used. For example, it is fine to use Arabized words informally in everyday life either virtually or face-to-face; however, I believe, it is inappropriate to use them formally – e.g. in written media. Some contexts also require using both (like mass media) because it is directed to all types of people. At the end of the day, Arabic is a very rich language, so why not make use of its richness?
I see that you are using Tumblr for blogging, and I've also noticed that many Arabs now – especially the young ones like you – are starting to use tools like Tumblr and Posterous instead of Blogger and WordPress. You are also on Twitter. Are they just tools, and using any of them doesn't make any difference, or do you think they dictate a special blogging style.
I believe that when I feel like blogging, I will; however when I don't, I'll just post pictures or videos that describe my current state of mind on Tumblr et al.
Finally, are there any other questions I didn't ask and you'd like to add here?
Nothing. I guess you covered it all.

author: Tarek Amr


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Incorrect names of places in Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Paul Wilding reminds everybody that Laos, Saigon, Bangkok, and Burma in Southeast Asia already have new names.

author: Mong Palatino


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Jamaica: A Writer’s Influences · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Some Caribbean writers still argue whether a Caribbean literary tradition exists. Dub Wise posits the continuation of that tradition…”: Geoffrey Phlip blogs about his influences for his latest book.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica: After the Storm  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Heaven knows why we don't learn from the lessons of our past and ensure that our infrastructure is properly maintained”: Given the long list of damage caused by Tropical Storm Nicole, Girl With a Purpose wonders when Jamaicans will “wake up”.


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Kenya: Medal Hopes at Commonwealth Games 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

SportKenya looks at Kenya's medal hopes at the Commonwealth Games 2010: “2 days to go; we shall look at what medal hopes Kenya has hoping to work some magic and join the Commonwealth nations in throwing a great party in New Delhi.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kuwait: Eat, Watch and Pray · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

A major cinema company in Kuwait has announced that it would introduce a 10 minute break in its daily schedule to give worshippers the chance to perform their maghreb prayers. The announcement, on Twitter, received mixed reactions.
In it's announcement, CinescapeQ8 said:
A 10 Minute Break Will Start @ 360 during Maghreb Prayers
360 is one of the newer shopping malls in Kuwait.
The announcement sparked many discussions online.
ilsul6ana welcomed the idea:
Cinescape 360 will now have a 10 minute break during the show for Maghreb Prayers.
Inshalla (By the will of God) next all the prayers
avenuesq8, on the other hand,  disapproves of the introduction of the 10 minutes break in scheduling:
Where did all this religion come from?? You never thought religion when you played around with prices and manipulating people huh? You want to be saints now and cut movies for maghrib prayers? Why not afternoon prayers as well?!
Taking a similar position, danderma asks:
OK. This is rant worthy. Let's imagine how it’s going to turn out now shall we?
So it’s the middle of a movie in 360. People are lost in the plot. Suddenly the screen goes dark and the lights go on and it’s time for the viewers to go pray?!
Seriously? Now how many viewers will actually go pray?
And Hilaliya takes the conversation back to Twitter and remarks:
Cinescape don't try and court the fundamentalists. If it was their decision, you wouldn't even exist.

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Latin America Reacts to Crisis in Ecuador · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Bloggers from Argentina [es], Chile [es], Colombia [es], Bolivia [es], Costa Rica [es], Honduras [es], El Salvador [es], Mexico, Nicaragua [es], Paraguay [es], Venezuela [es] and Peru [es] have reacted to the crisis in Ecuador, sharing different points of view and analyzing what yesterday's events mean for Ecuador and Latin America as a whole.


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Muslim World & US: Burning the Quran, Media Attention & Terry Jones · Global Voices
Gabriel Nada

A self-described “pastor” who in 2008 was kicked out of the Christian group he founded in Cologne, Germany on charges of running a sect – including forcing members to give him a percentage of their earnings and making them work for no or little wages without providing any health insurance (despite the requirement by German law for all employers to do so)- and also after being fined by German courts for claiming to have a PhD as a “Doctor of Theology” (he has an honorary degree from a non-accredited school in California), Terry Jones and his Dove World Outreach Center have drawn vast international media attention for a plan that had scheduled the burning of the Quran today, September 11th, in Gainesville, Florida.
“I think he's gone mad”
Emma Jones, the daughter of Mr. Jones, was recently quoted as saying “I think he's gone mad” in response to the plan to burn Qurans. She, along with a host of high-ranking US officials (both civilian and military) and international figures, had appealed to her father to stop the event. Eventually those appeals were heard and Terry Jones has announced that he and his congregation:
We feel we have accomplished our goal- We were obedient- We feel that God is telling us to stop- and we also hope that with us making this first gesture, not burning the Quran, to say no we're not going to do it- not today, not ever, we're not going to go back and do it- it is totally canceled, we hope that through that maybe that will open up a door to be able to talk to the iman [sic] about the ‘ground zero mosque’
Global Response
A time-line of how this story emerged onto the international media scene can be found on NYDaily News. Once media coverage of the planned event had reached the world, reaction was strong on all sides. A sampling is provided below.
From the BlogHer site, Her Bad Mother offers her perspective on the coverage:
As sickening as it seems sometimes to keep hearing about their story, and about how pretty much everyone in the so-called Western world has called for them to stop being so freaking crazy and please, please, please not do this thing, it is a story that we need to keep our attention on. Because the defining part of that story is that the vast majority of everyone, everywhere, thinks that what they've been doing is crazy, really crazy, and wrong and horrible and bad, and we need to keep that story out there. If everyone who opposed what they've been doing stands down now, and goes silent, the only voices left will be those that are still calling burn, burn, burn!
In a comment on a post onThe Daily Beast, FarLeftFist has a different take:
The leader of 50 racists got more press than all the anti-war protests in 2003. Shame on the media. 2,752-All Colors-All Religions-All Americans. United We Stand | Divided We Fall.
A comment by Sohaib Hasan from Egypt in response to an Al-Jazeera article states:
من قراءتي لهذا المقال اتضح لي بل ولكل من قرأ هذا المقال ان ذلك المدعو جونز ليس إلا جاهل مغفل وذلك ليس لجهله بالإسلام بل لجهله بأبسط الاشياء التي تأهل الشخص لكي يكون ناقدا لغيره اي لجهله بعلم المنطق. فكيف ينقد قضيه ليس له علم بماهيتها؟! ومن هؤلاء الذين وافقه الرأي؟! انهم ليسوا إلا جهالا مغفلين ايضاًحيث انهم اتبعوا جاهلا مغفل.
Spiraling Battle of Negativity
Unfortunately many on both sides also responded with equally negative reactions or simply got caught up in trading tirades with each other based on their partisan positions, such as Sugar Bear commenting on the issue on Al-Jazeera's Witness program page:
They are Ignorants such dirty minds .Death for those who violate our Religion .
Or the description for the Facebook page I Hate Terry Jones:
TERRY JONES IS A UGLY ******* AGAINST MUSLIM HE SAID HE PLANS TO BURN THE QURAN IN FRONT OF FLORIDA CHURCH ON NINE ELEVEN join TO GO AGAINST THIS MOTHER@#$%
And commenters on the Facebook page Against Terry Jones such as Seruni Jett:
Terry jones,his parents,his kids (no matter if they're innocent)[author's original parenthesis],i can swear for absolute sure that all of u will stay eternal in hell.u were not even worth to live a life.u may not feel it now,but just wait until end of the worLd,u will feel big sorry to IsLam
[and]
I'm not kidding with my words.i'm so faithful to my religion,and to Al Qur'an too..if somebody fuck up with it,they will pay with most xpensive cost
And Iwan Cepoe Chrismardani:
Jones, if you dare to burn the Koran, your life is at stake .. I assure you it will happen to you ..
Followed in opposition by Noel Rodriguez:
I just burned a Koran and what any of you is going to do about it.
and Fabienne Pauwels:
if a muslim burns a bible, nobody will condamn it but because it's the coran, muslims all over the world are angry, that's again the thrugh face …..
These and other far more violent and profane comments can be found not only on the above two Facebook pages but also on Everybody against pastor Terry Jones buring the Holy Quran on Sept 11, where some people seem oblivious to their own immediate contradictions:
I am a Muslim and my book is the Quran and the Quran order me that:
1 / respect for all religions and not attack on sanctities.
2 / belief in all prophets and love my prophet, including Jesus and Moses peace be upon them.
3 / coexistence wi…th all people in peace and respect.
4 / not to kill the human spirit.
…5 / obey for the elderly and the kindness to our childern.
6 / development and community building.
7 / exercise good manners with everyone.
~**** TERRY JONES!!!
Posted by Farid A. Razaq.
On the other side is the Dove World Outreach Center Has A Right To Burn The Koran page, whose main photo depicts a man sitting on a toilet using the Quran as toilet paper.
All of the Facebook pages (most centered around calls to violence or profane insults) regarding Terry Jones, the Dove World Outreach Center, and the planned burning of the Quran can be found here.
Voices of Understanding and Reason
Fortunately a few voices of reason stand out – Ahmed Habliza:
Instead of Quran burning day lets do Quran reading day.* DID YOU KNOW Jesus PBUH was mentioned in Quran (25 times), V. Mary PBUH (34 times), Moses PBUH (136 times), Mohammed PBUH (4 times), The Prophet (215 times). Did u know one of the biggest chapters is named after the family of V.Mary (Al-Imran…29…pages) & another named (Mary 7 pages) that dignifies V.Mary overall women of all time?
and Muslims Christian:
this is the real face of Islam, Christian and of All other Religious we say thank you Allah and u say thank u God and others say thank u Jesus and others say thank you Moussa and others say thank u Issa and so on and all these found on all the books for us in Quran in Bible in Turat and other books so we are all united so dont let haters and stupid people effect on us
and finally a prayer offered by the Pray For Dove World Outreach Center called the 9.11 Prayer:
“Gracious God of all creation: On this day, we remember our neighbors, of different nations and backgrounds, who died in the attacks we simply call 9-11. Hear our prayers for their loved ones. May they know the comfort that comes from knowledge and love of  You. May they be surrounded by communities that care for them, even as you continue to care for this fragile and suffering world. God, we confess that we cannot make sense of the violence inflicted by Your children on one another. But even more than understanding, we ask for the strength to be peacemakers, servants of your will for reconciliation. It has been nine years since the senseless attacks, but we are still in pain. Give us the courage, God, to work for the day when hatred and violence will cease. Help us to be those who break cycles of retribution, even as we advocate for justice with bold persistence. Help us to work for that time when no infant dies needlessly, when no one labors in vain or bears children for calamity, when even wolf and lamb feed together and no one hurts or destroys your holy creation. God, be our strength, and may we feel your loving touch today and always. Amen.”

author: Gabriel Nada


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Myanmar: Cyber Attacks shut down websites · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cyber attacks have shut down the websites of critical Myanmar media groups like The Irrawaddy, Mizzima and the Democratic Voice of Burma. The attacks are believed to be part of a plan to censor news reports related to the coming November elections in Myanmar.


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Nigeria: Happy Independence Day · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigeria@50: “Happy Independence Day from the BellaNaija Team to YOU! We pray that today is a turning point for Nigeria. If we had one wish, it would be good governance…rather excellent governance.”


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Nigeria: Queer Till I Quench · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Queer till I quench: “Hopefully, people’s attitudes towards LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning) individuals, especially in the Naija community, will become more accepting and less negative. As it stands now, I can’t even envision myself going back to my motherland and living openly as I do now, for fear of what repercussions that might have.”


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South Korea:Huge Fire Set On Fancy Building In Busan · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A luxurious 38-story apartment building in South Korea's southern city of Busan was set ablaze. The fire has spread quickly. It rose from 4th floor up to the top within 30 minutes. Several Twitterers like @richboybook tweeted dramatic photos of the scene.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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St. Kitts & Nevis: Arrow’s Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands notes that today is an official day of mourning in St. Kitts and Nevis, in honour of the late calypsonian, Arrow.


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Thailand: New governors · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Changwat, Amphoe, Tambon provides a list of new governors in the 75 provinces of Thailand.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Eco Freak?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Outlish suggests that “the green agenda has exploded in the last decade or so because of its economic potential.”


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Update on Detained Tibetan Writer Shogdung · Global Voices
Dechen Pemba

Professional translator Bruce Humes gives a summary on his blog of a new article on detained Tibetan writer Tragyal (aka Shogdung) who has been held since April 2010 and yet to face trial.

author: Dechen Pemba


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Zimbabwe: We are tired of poor service delivery · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabweans speak out about poor service delivery: “I’m very much worried about the so called ZESA load shedding especially in the area I live, Hatfield. Usually the cutoff is at 5.30pm and will be back at around 10pm and will also be off as early as 4.30am.”


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Brazil: “48 Hours Democracy” · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

For the first time in history, Brazilian bloggers are gathered for a 48 hours livestream coverage of the electoral voting day in Brazil (starting on October 2 at 9 am until October 4 at 9 am). A website [pt] has been set up aiming to exercise e-democracy and free speech in a parallel coverage to the mainstream media.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: Vintage Posters Featuring Social Media · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Are you curious about “how would Youtube look like in the times of our grandparents?” Camila Oliveira shares a set of vintage posters featuring Skype, Facebook and Twitter, by Maxi Midia designers Rodolfo Sampaio and Marco Martins.


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Bulgaria: Internet Discussions About Nazism · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

In the past few days, racism and Nazism have become popular subjects on the Bulgarian web. The actions of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy against the Roma people in France and their deportation to Bulgaria and Romania, were met with two opposing views in the Bulgarian society. On one side there were those who defended Sarkozy, and then there were those who believed the Roma people's basic rights as human beings had been violated.
Nationalist factions in Bulgaria organized an anti-Roma protest on Sept. 25, where they chanted Nazi slogans and praised Nazi actions. This evoked a response from human rights activists, who created a website and Facebook groups against the actions of neo-Nazi groups in Bulgaria.
This is one of those sites: http://stopnazi-bg.blogspot.com/.
Here's what people wrote on their Facebook group:
Svetoslav Panayotov: Nazism is an ideology of scoundrels, cowards and misanthropes. Nazis like to put on a mask of patriotism, but in reality they're exactly the opposite – parasites, muggers, drug dealers, pedophiles…
On this clip the great Bulgarian Georgi Dimitrov makes fools out of the Nazi frauds: from national-socialist M.P.s to thieves, murderers, etc…
Nikolay Peshterniakov: Please, let's not turn this initiative into a partisan quarrel. We've already seen such debates here, and there's simply no point to them. Being against racism is a universal value, it's not about dividing things into left and right. There are plenty of universal symbols that can unite people, instead of dividing them.
Members of another group – “The Bulgarian Anti-Racism Movement“ write:
Shifted Phase: The reasons behind the formation and the expansion of this movement, with all its peculiarities, are quite complex – starting with the inherited widespread ethno-national-statist tradition of defining “your own” identity and that of “others”, through the unrealized democratization of the public sphere in the past 20 years, the deplorable economic and social state of most of the population, caused by local and global economic processes, to narrow partisan and political interests. We can also add the influence of specific individual and group factors, like the need for social belonging, self-expression and personal realization. The inability to recognize the phenomenon of neo-Nazism in Bulgaria and the lack of a meaningful institutional, public and individual response, is a worrying consequence of these factors.
Madlen Madlens: The idea of race assumes that simple external
differences, rooted in biology, are linked to other more complex internal ones like athletic ability, musical aptitude, intelligence. This belief is based on the idea that race is biologically real.
Samuel Yosiphov: Does one start out as an aggressive freak and thug, and then become a “patriot”-skinhead, or vice versa – you shave your head first, and then become an aggressive sociopath?
Hunveibin Surreal: “They“ are people. That's a racist statement in itself, isn't it? Many Bulgarians may not seem like people to a Frenchman who has been brainwashed by such “values”, or to a middle-class New Yorker, but they are, in fact, people. Bulgarians have a lot of problems, they're discriminated against as immigrants, as destitute people from Eastern Europe, regarded as “second class”. That's the same artificial, dangerous problem that those who adhere to racism are trying to create here. It's absurd to claim that you're being discriminated against by the poor. This problem won't be solved by focusing on ethnicity. If people are given better living conditions, more time and opportunities to advance, through comprehensive social policy, things would be different, this new policy would also undoubtedly benefit those who may not necessarily be rummaging through dumpsters, but are still barely making ends meet, and grow more embittered towards each other for nothing. Poverty is being criminalized, in some places (here, for example) – linked to certain ethnicities. This only aggravates the problem, and serves as a temporary shelter from responsibility for politicians. The solution to the problems and the vision for change is shifted. We have to bear in mind that the situation where gypsies are the only wretches of society, is only temporary – with the advancement of this system based on inequality, the number of uneducated and marginalized Bulgarians will also grow, which isn't to say that number is small today. Will they become the new gypsies? Or will they still fight like animals on ethnic grounds, where the “other” is always to blame?
User Grazhdanin (“citizen”) writes about the nature of Bulgarian Nazi groups on the alternative site Indymedia:
There are close analogies and connections between the Bulgarian neo-Nazis and their “colleagues” in Europe – whether it's ideological imitation, or joint actions. Bulgarians from the “National Resistance” movement (a group that broke away from the BNA party, led by Boyan Rassate at the time) try to imitate the German “autonomous nationalists” both in rhetoric (by copying their slogans like “Free, Social, National) and in style – casual clothes, dressing in all-black when going to political events, etc. The “BNS Guard” group is a member of the “European National Front” – a pan-European union of neo-Nazi political movements like the Deutsches Kollegе (German college), NPD (National-Democratic party) and the Freier Widerstand (Free Resistance), the Belgian Vlaams Blok (Flemmish bloc), the Spanish La Falange (Phalanx), created by the dictator Franco, the French Guarde Franque (Frank Guard), the Romanian Noua Dreapta (New Right) and the Dutch Nationale Alliantie (National Alliance)(http://www.bghelsinki.org/index.php?module=pages&lg=bg&…12905). Guests from German, Romanian, Italian and Swiss fascist organizations often attend neo-Nazi gatherings.
On Oct. 2, bTV aired a documentary on nationalism in Bulgaria. It examined the groups, the young people who belong to those groups, as well as the possibility of ethnic conflict in Bulgaria if nothing is done about the current situation.

author: Ruslan Trad


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Ecuador: Accusations and Evaluation After Police Uprising · Global Voices
Paulina Aguilera Muñoz

After several hours of fear, tension and uncertainty, another day begins in Ecuador. However, it is a day full of strong emotions and evaluations, after the police uprising that paralyzed the country. On Twitter @candradepa says:
parece que #Quito hubiera despertado de una gran farra alcoholica y alucinógena…
This is a shared sentiment. Andrés OleasPesántez (@aoleasp) recounts [es]:
193 heridos, 5 vidas humanas perdidas y millones de dólares en pérdidas… que alguien me explique, qué fue lo que ganamos? #ECUADOR
Reports from other Ecuadorian cities like Guayaquil and Cuenca [es] are similar. Esther Burgos (@noe_eb) reports that,
Se siguen escuchando las sirenas de la policia, y los helicopteros que sobrevuelan Guayaquil #Ecuador
Erika Solis Tlachi (@erikadesing), from the same city, informs:
Urgente saqueo en guayaquil ecuador – http://bit.ly/dycQoI #ireport
Citizen video of looting
Yesterday September 30, after the announcement of the strike by a group of police officers, the closing of the airport and the arrival of President Correa to the Metropolitan Hospital, increasingly confusing news started to emerge on the Internet. With these news came information that Correa was being held by the police in the hospital and that a coup d'état threatened to break the rule of law.
Although the media mainly used the word “coup,” the silence and the latter active participation from the Army to rescue Correa from the Hospital show that there was no joint military attempt to remove Correa from the government.
Martín Pallares from Desde la Tranquera [es], asks:
¿en verdad hubo un golpe de Estado en el Ecuador?  Yo supongo que para   hablar de un golpe de Estado debe haber habido, al menos, el intento manifiesto de derrocar al Presidente para reemplazarlo por alguien.  Y  en el caso ocurrido este día lo único que hubo fue un deplorable e  injustificable acto de insubordinación de los  policías que se sentían,  justa o injustamente, afectados en sus derechos.
Ecuadorian media [es] confirmed the position of the political forces opposed to Correa and the announcement of former Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutiérrez about the military and police operation, although the latest news report a different and accusatory position [es] toward the government. Previously, it was reported that:
@teleSUR_tv: El ex presidente de Ecuador Lucio Gutiérrez, pidió disolver el Parlamento y llamar a elecciones presidenciales #PoliciaEc
On the other hand, Live Media Ecuador [es] recently informed:
Para el ex presidente ecuatoriano Lucio Gutiérrez, lo de ayer fue una  maniobra de Correa, para “esconder la corrupción” en su Gobierno
Citizen video of police strike
President Correa's rescue was followed minute by minute by national and foreign Twitter users, like Hernán Ramos (@b10_ecuador):
GOLPE EN #ECUADOR #RafaelCorrea ya está bajo protección militar. CONFIRMADO
se reporta fuerte tiroteo en afueras del hospital, http://bit.ly/cbhorU, #Ecuador #CoberturaTwit
The rescue itself was followed closely, amidst heavy gunfire and hundreds of people that were called to defend the president where he was being held. The images of the rescue, which can be seen in this video, were seen around the world thanks to the Internet.
A time for evaluation: Censorship, coup, uprising, media performance [es]
After the rescue, President Correa spoke from the presidential palace of Carondelet, and the page of the attempted coup or police uprising began to slowly close. However, the time for evaluation has just begun.
From Facebook FUNDAMEDIOS [es] denounces the national coverage imposed in Ecuador:
Censura y brutalidad contra la prensa nacional y extranjera durante el sublevamiento policiaco contra Rafael Correa
Daniel Ochoa [es] in his blog provides a comprehensive evaluation in the post, “30s [September 30] a day in Ecuador that we hopefully learn something from!”
Para empezar, para mi no hubo intento de golpe de Estado, solo la  sublevación de un grupo de policias (se constató que no fueron todos),  los cuales no estaban ni siquiera bien informados, lo que hace pensar  que hay alguien detrás de todo esto (movilizando a las masas). No hubo  intento de golpe de Estado, porque la cúpula militar en dos ocaciones de  forma oficial dijo que apoya totalmente al gobierno.
Official government sectors [es] condemn a coup attempt that they claim involves US intervention. Pablo Arciniegas in his blog Voces del Sur denounces that,
Solo las fuerzas y cerebros irracionales de la extrema derecha pudieron  preparar tan burdo movimiento atentatorio contra la  débil democracia en  nuestro país, por medio de la infiltración en la filas policiales,  manipulando las demandas de este sector.
Luis Alberto Mendieta in Política y Sociedad [es] says:
Por último, no dejó de asombrarme la impresionante coordinación que requirió  A NIVEL NACIONAL, el digámoslo así, operativo policial para tumbar al gobierno, con un tufillo a imperialismo claramente  perceptible; tanto, que no dejan de encontrarse extrañas similitudes  entre el experimento de Honduras y lo que acaba de pasar en Ecuador…
Those that oppose the current government accuse it of using the uprising for political gain [es]. B10 [es] furthermore announces the rise of a new political actor in the country, the police:
La Policía del Ecuador se volvió noticia mundial por la sublevación  coordinada de la tropa -secundada por oficiales- contra el Gobierno. El  Presidente Correa, quien manejó mal la crisis y se expuso, fue ofendido y  secuestrado por policías descontrolados. Luego llegó el violento  rescate militar. Lo que nos faltaba: la Policía se estrenó como ‘actor  político’…
All these possibilities are still being discussed on Twitter and social networks, although there are also voices like that of Jorge Tapia (@jorge052):
Eso es lo que queremos, que se haga trending topic, #PazParaMiPais #Ecuador
Pitonizza in her blog [es] reflects one side of the impact of yesterday's events:
Soy una ciudadana común que solía tener fe ciega en la revolución.  Jamás en mis peores pesadillas imaginé que dicha revolución se  convertiría en una grave revuelta. Que sería más importante demostrar  quien es el más fuerte en vez de “dar el brazo a torcer” en defensa de  la seguridad general y sobretodo las vidas y familias destruídas ayer.  Soy una ciudadana común que siguió todo este horror desde casa,  escuchando los helicópteros sobrevolar bajito, viendo imágenes que  parecían sacadas de una película de acción gringa, cerrando puertas y  ventanas por el miedo horrible que se apoderó de mí.
Este es un artículo que a título personal publico, con el riesgo de  perder credibilidad de parte de quienes creían inamovible mi postura. Es  de humanos equivocarse, es posible que nuevamente yo esté equivocada. No me importa ya ser juzgada, pues la frontalidad que me caracteriza es incompatible con quedarme callada, tibia o gris ante tan graves momentos que vivimos los ecuatorianos.
I am a common citizen that used to have blind faith on the revolution. I never, in my worst nightmares, imaged that the revolution would become a serious revolt. That it would be more important to show who was stronger than to ‘give in’ in defense of general security and above all for the lives and families that were destroyed yesterday. I am a common citizen that followed all that horror from home, hearing helicopters flying low, seeing images that seemed to be taken out of an American action movie, closing doors and windows because of the horrible fear that took over me.
This is an article that I publish as personal, with the risk of losing the credibility from those who thought that my standing was immovable. It is human to make mistakes, it is possible that I am wrong again. I don't care about being judged anymore, because the directness that characterizes me is incompatible with remaining silent, lukewarm or gray in front of such serious times we are living as Ecuadorians.

author: Paulina Aguilera Muñoz


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India: Searching For The Perfect Solution Of The Ayodhya Babri Masjid Problem · Global Voices
Rezwan

Priyank Chandra at Desicritics is not satisfied with the court verdict of the Ayodhya Babri Masjid case and suggests three alternative solutions.

author: Rezwan


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Nigeria: Reflections on 50 Years of Independence · Global Voices
Eremipagamo Amabebe

October 1st marked fifty years of independence for Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. The Golden Jubilee is being celebrated throughout the nation and the global diaspora with speeches, concerts, parties and all manner of other events. But some are asking, is there even anything to celebrate? To many, the last fifty years seem an accelerated decent into chaos. Still, for most Nigerians, October 1st is a time for festivities.
Below are just a few of the ways people around the web are marking the occasion:
Opinion: Collaborative blog Nigerians Talk posted a series of essays by well-known Nigerian bloggers on the theme “Nigeria at 50.”  The series began a week before Independence Day and a featured “a post a day on different aspects of the Nigerian experience.”
Politics: Sokari posted a comprehensive essay on female Nigerian leaders, women “who have taken action towards achieving justice and social, economic, environmental and political change.”
Photography: Jeremy at Cassava Republic asked eight prominent writers to respond to an iconic photograph from the independence era. Find out what they said here.
Literature: Naija Stories sponsored a competition of short stories on the theme of “Independence Day.” Check out the winners here, or read Henry C. Onyema's essay on Nigerian literature at 50.
Fashion: Bella Naija profiled “La Dame, La Muse”, a collaboration of Nigeria's top fashion designers organized in honor of the 50th Anniversary.
Music: Jibola L  listed links to ten music videos. “I revel in my memories to bring back the good times,” she wrote. “And what better way to  bring them back, than by music?”
History: Max Siollun linked to a selection of videos about Nigeria's history and leaders, including this short Al-Jazeera documentary:
A Golden Jubilee or nothing to celebrate?
In the blogosphere, the lead-up to October 1st had many Nigerians wondering if the last fifty years had really provided any cause for celebration. The past year especially has been a tumultuous one for Nigerians, after a series of upheavals including the unexplained absence and subsequent death of the President, an attempted terrorist attack by a Nigerian national, religious violence in the North and continued instability in the South. These and myriad other endemic woes had many Nigerians asking what justified all the festivities. Writing for Africa Report‘s Typerighter blog, Adeola Aderounmu expressed the cynicism shared by many in the online community:
Fifty years after independence Nigeria’s democracy remains in shambles. While the government of President Goodluck Jonathan will be wasting N17bn ($110m) on the independence party, millions of Nigerians will continue to live from hand to mouth, unsure of the next meal. The amount of funds planned for this ‘celebration of failures’ is unwarranted. It should have been low-key, a time for sober reflection. We should have used this golden moment to evaluate where things went wrong and write genuine blueprints of how to emerge from our present predicament.
Toyin Akiode took a different view:
The fact that we are still standing as a united Nation despite all the unfortunate realities of our daily lives more than call for celebrations. There are many examples of countries that had disintegrated with lesser challenges than our dear nation.
Joseph Ekwu acknowledged the country's many faults, but chose to focus on the positive, pointing to the successes of Nollywood, the accomplishments of Nigerians in the Diaspora, and the spread of GSM technology. He wrote:
Roll out the drums…the red carpets… where are the elegant Efik dancers? The Horse riders from Sokoto… where are the vibrant and swagger filled youth, PINGING and chatting their way through success… bring out the best of all culture as my dear country… Yes I mean my lovely motherland NIGERIA IS 50.
Rock Bottom?
Still, cynics received fuel for their arguments when news broke that celebrations in Abuja had been marred by the coordinated explosion of several car bombs, killing 8 and wounding 21. The Niger Delta militant group MEND claimed responsibility for the attack, emphasizing the fact that they had previously warned officials about the explosions.
Writing from Abuja, Jeremy at Naijablog gave his take on the attack:
It’s a bitter pill to swallow to consider this: MEND were far better prepared to ‘celebrate’ Nigeria’s 50th Independence Anniversary than anyone else.  There must have been months of planning involved to create a car bomb as powerful as this.  What is worrying is that it shows how easily Abuja can be infiltrated by terrorists – the area around Eagle Square must have been packed with security operatives and yet a huge car bomb exploded close by.  As I write, the terrorists are most likely still within the FCT, celebrating the success of their awful mission: the murder of innocent Nigerians.
Lexistrix wrote:
Is this rock bottom? Are we indeed at the end? Will we turn around now? The steady stream of disheartening reports in the past week seemed to indicate it couldn't possibly get any worse. Unfortunately, yet fittingly, I received my answer this morning. As the news of the bomb blasts in Abuja filtered in on the morning of our independence day, I realized that at best the answer is not yet.
I won't be celebrating this weekend. But, I understand those who feel the need to celebrate. If the musical stylings of D'banj and P-Square bring you joy, respite, oblivion, or whatever it is you are looking for this weekend, by all means, go for it. In the meantime, I'll keep my dancing shoes wrapped.
Cynics received fuel for their views when news broke that celebrations in Abuja had been marred by car bombs, killing xx and wounding xxx.

author: Eremipagamo Amabebe


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Pakistan: Army’s Extra-judicial Killing Video · Global Voices
Rezwan

While the Pakistani blogosphere has remained mostly silent about the surfaced internet video showing men in Pakistani military uniforms executing six young men in civilian clothes, Asim Aquil at Pakistan Defence Forum says: “could be anybody, no need to speculate on who. Anybody with a camcorder can make such a film”.


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Pakistan: Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Case – A Veiled Mystery · Global Voices
Sana Jamal

“It is my judgment that Dr Siddiqui is sentenced to a period of incarceration of 86 years,” (for the attempted murder of US officers in Afghanistan) said Judge Richard Berman, US District Court Judge of a Federal Court in Manhattan on Sept. 23 2010. Pakistani citizen Dr. Aafia Siddiqui denounced the trial saying “(an appeal would be) a waste of time. I appeal to God.”
As soon as the court verdict was broadcast on media, anger mounted among the Pakistani citizens and thousands of people came out on streets protesting against the 86-year sentence of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui. Within few minutes after the ruling was announced, Siddiqui’s sister Fauzia addressed a press conference along with her mother, where she criticized the Pakistan government for not fulfilling their promises to bring Siddiqui back.
As a result of public outcry against the sentence, Pakistan government came under duress at home and the Interior Minister Rehman Malik has requested USA to repatriate Dr Aafia Siddiqui to Pakistan.
Dr. Aafia Siddiqui, also known as the Ghost of Bagram or Prisoner 650, has been haunting the memories of thousands of Pakistanis ever since her mysterious absence was noticed by media in 2007. Siddiqui did her PhD in genetics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in USA. In March 2003, she mysteriously vanished from Karachi along with her three children. In fact it was only after British prisoner Moazzam Begg mentioned her in his book “The Enemy Combatant”, Human Rights Organizations and activists across the world took notice. On July 6, 2008 British journalist Yvonne Ridley, called for help for a Pakistani woman she believes has been held in isolation by the Americans in their Bagram detention center in Afghanistan, for over four years.
Composite picture of Aafia Siddiqui from her wanted poster at the FBI Website. Image via Wikipedia.
According to reports, 12-year old Ahmed (Dr Aafia’s son) was handed over to his aunt Fauzia Siddiqui in September 2008 after years of detention in a US military base in Afghanistan. Later on, media reported that a little girl named Fatima, was dropped off in front of the home of Siddiqui’s sister and the girl’s DNA matched that of Ahmed (Dr Aafia’s son). Meanwhile, a Pakistani Senator and chairman of the Pakistani Senate’s Standing Committee on Interior, Senator Talha Mehmood, “slammed the US for keeping the child in a military jail in a cold, dark room for seven years.”
After the return of two of her children, Aafia’s family began to hope that she will also return soon and continued the contacts with Pakistan government in order to ensure Aafia’s safety. But all their hopes ended in ashes with the news of Aafia’s imprisonment of 86 years.
Pakistani media and bloggers have a mixed reaction on this issue, some claiming that Aafia has been a subject of injustice while others view this incident as a lesson to learn the values of social justice.
Shaukat Hamdani writes at Express Blog:
“Regardless of what went on in the international media, it should be made clear that Dr Aafia has never been charged with terrorism. Rather, she is charged with snatching a US warrant officer’s rifle in mid -2008 while she was detained for questioning in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province and firing it at FBI agents and military personnel. However, none of the personnel were hit. Hence the nickname given to her by the American media ‘Lady al-Qaeda’ was totally uncalled for and must have influenced the jury. What is sad is that being such a core ally of the United States in the war against terror, our government has been able to achieve nothing in this regard, and the treatment a Pakistani citizen has received is just appalling.”
Faisal Kapadia writes:
Nobody can deny that the way she was treated in Bagram was despicable but whether the Pakistan government can actually secure the release of an individual who has been tried and convicted by a U.S court is the stuff of hilarity. Especially if the person concerned, is a U.S national.
Beenish Ahmed mentions some points to ponder:
“Siddiqui’s case has compelled some Pakistanis to look beyond social judgments to issues of social justice. Siddiqui’s personal story aside, the curious circumstances of her arrest and the gaping holes in the evidence withheld as classified has become a rallying point for anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.”
Views of the western writers are equally significant in this issue who are debating on the justice system of US courts in view of the alleged crimes of Aafia Siddiqui and the nature of her punishment.
According to Stephen Lendman’s report:
“Her case is one of America's most egregious examples of horrific abuse and injustice, climaxed by her virtual life sentence for an alleged crime she never committed.”
On Houston Criminal Lawyer, John Floyd and Billy Sinclair tells that the unusually long sentence is greater than necessary, cruel and unusual:
“The 86-year sentence imposed upon her by Judge Berman is just an unwarranted and cruel continuation of that torture..It is shameful, and her case will remain blight on our criminal justice system and the reputation of the United States throughout the world community until she is released.”
Yvonne Ridley writes in a recent post at Countercurrents.org titled “Aafia Today, U.S. Citizens Tomorrow”:
A poster from Dr. Aafia's site
The Pakistani government now needs to demand the repatriation of Aafia with immediate effect. The U.S. needs to shut up, back down, and show some humility by returning the Daughter of Pakistan.
And with a bit of luck, innocent U.S. citizens travelling abroad will not get caught up in the fallout of this violation of international law and human rights.
The case of Dr. Aafia has been mysterious from the very beginning but as a citizen or a state if we continue to overlook such cases, it will only ascend the list of missing persons in Pakistan and give rise to chaos in the society.

author: Sana Jamal


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Pakistan: Pervez Musharraf’s New Political Party · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Pakistani Spectator reports that former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s unveiling of plans to launch his own political party, the All Pakistani Muslim League, “has created ripples of disbelief in Pakistan, London and cyberspace”.


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Puerto Rico: Art, Music, and Words · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Sociologist, singer-songwriter, and blogger Raquel Z. Rivera and painter Tanya Torres, both Puerto Ricans who live in New York, announce their most recent collaboration: “Song of the Magdalene”, which includes a CD, a handmade book and an exhibition of images.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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Puerto Rico: Police officers under scrutiny · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

In the collective blog La Acera [ES], Cor comments on recent acts of police brutality in Puerto Rico and the deaths of two innocent people, a young athlete and an old man.


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Puerto Rico: Young Poet Talks About New Book · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

Poet and blogger Xavier Valcárcel talks about his new collection of poems [ES] “Palo de lluvia”, a “book that works with metaphors and the language of wood.”


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Sahel Region: On Paying Ransom for Hostages · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

Hostage-taking by a militant Islamist group called Al-Qaeda in The Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)  is on the rise in the Sahel region which spans across several countries in the north of Africa. In order to free hostages, governments and companies have put political pressure on the African nations involved, or opted to pay ransoms directly. However, the strategy of paying ransom is often decried as ineffective and dangerous in the long run.
The kidnapping in Niger in September of five employees of French nuclear company Areva and two employees of engineering-firm Satom underscores that this is becoming an increasingly dangerous region. AQIM has claimed responsibility for the seven kidnappings (five French citizens, plus one Togolese citizen, and one citizen of Madagascar).
In August 2010, AFP reported that two Spanish hostages captured by AQIM were freed [fr] when the Spanish government paid a ransom, and the government of Mali facilitated a prisoner exchange with a convicted AQIM kidnapper who was jailed in Mauritania.
Algerian newspaper La Tribune reported that [fr] the admiral heading the French army in the region, Édouard Guillaud said that although France's position is that paying ransoms is “not a sustainable strategy” they would not exclude the possibility if circumstances called for it. In an article entitled “Ransom, a formidable weapon for terrorist group,” columnist Ali Boukhlef argues that payment of ransoms amounts to funding and support for terrorism.
The recent hostage situation leads many observers to pose troubling questions.
On the blog l’Observatoire du nucléaire  says:
.., the fact of the kidnapping have to make one wonder about the relative ease with which the kidnapping took place, giving the French authorities a golden opportunity to intervene with the army. In fact, AREVA and the French authorities were alerted by various means that threats were looming on their employees at the Niger uranium mines. Still, little was done to provide the necessary protection and it seems that AREVA even refused the help of the Niger authorities.
Reacting in Algerian La Tribune (via Allafrica.com), Saïda Benhabyles, the president of “The International Federation of Associations of Victims of Terrorism” (la Fédération internationale des associations de victimes du terrorisme) argues that ransom payments are [fr]: “the main source of funding for active terrorist groups in the African Sahel region.”
To counter the activities of the AQIM that are expanding in all the regions at the border of the Sahel, the Burkinabe website San Finna questions if African states  should allow foreign military bases on their territories. The article offers two opposite viewpoints on the subject: First, Tomi, who is in favor of some form of international collaboration opines [fr]:
Many issues such as drug trafficking, AIDS, the spread of atomic weapons, pollution and terrorism cannot be resolved without international collaboration, no matter how powerful each individual nation is.
On the other hand, Tozi argues [fr]:
… A few elements (military bases) here and there in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania will not get rid of the terrorism that has taken roots in Sahel. In Somalia, what was achieved against the Shebabs and the members of Hezb al-Islam ? In Iraq and especially in Afghanistan, did we do anything to eradicate the religious fanatics? … The reason this phenomenon grows is because there is a growing number of illiterate, impoverished, desperate people that they can recruit. If we don't give ourselves the necessary means and engage in this war against terrorism, the AQIM groups will hit our infrastructure, they will kill our tourism (about 400,000 tourists in Burkina Faso and 900,000 in Senegal for instance) and it will be the dawn of a whole new range of all kinds of trouble, and multiplied social fractures.
The Mecanopolis blog poses the following question: What exactly is AQIM and who is behind it? and explains:
AQIM started to appear on the scene around January 2007, taking after the Algerian group named “Groupe salafiste pour la prédication et le combat (GSPC)”, this group included many rebellious Tuareg groups in a desert region that spanned from Niger to Mauritania
For Bark Biiga on the Burkinabe diaspora website, Fasozine,  the AQIM threat must be addressed heads on :
In view of the worrisome threat of AQIM in the Sahel, we must exit the vicious cycle of violence to find sustainable solutions to provide security for both the population of the region and the foreigners who come to live or work there. Otherwise, when France plays the “Johny-come-lately” doctor, it will only make things worse instead of addressing the roots of the problem.
The latest kidnapping certainly tainted the Malian independence celebration. Bark Biiga again writes in his column:
Isn't it the immense poverty and the lack of administrative presence in the Malian Sahel that made the bed for AQIM in the region? It is not only about freeing the hostages but also to make sure that Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Algeria or Burkina Faso are not a haven for terrorists and do not compromise the development of African population that have already paid a heavy toll to colonisation, bad governance, and under-development
Niger is one of the world's leading uranium producer , yet it has one of the lowest average GDP per capita in Africa. The sharing of revenues from the exploitation of this strategically important mining resource is problematic at many levels.
In Republicain-Niger, H. Adamou says:
The special relationship between France and Niger in the past led to exclusive access for France to the uranium at a ridiculously low cost, thanks to a special accord signed in 1961. A contract with Imounaren was of the same vein that resulted in the state of Niger getting only 33% of the share of the company. Meanwhile, the selling price of uranium is still well below what is currently available on the global market.
Two meetings have been held recently to help develop a strategy, one was a meeting of the major Sahel states on September 26. This was followed by a meeting of the heads of the intelligence agencies  of Algeria, Mauritania, Niger and Mali on September 29.

author: Abdoulaye Bah


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Sri Lanka: E For Eelam · Global Voices
Rezwan

Michael Meyler at Groundviews explains the different meanings of the word ‘Eelam” in Sri Lanka.


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Sri Lanka:  Injunction Against Sri Lanka Relay Team · Global Voices
Rezwan

Thepapare.com tells the untold story of the injunction against Sri Lanka relay team preventing them from leaving the country to join the Commonwealth games.


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Africa: Campaign for Female Education on Facebook · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Join campaign for female education in Africa on Facebook, “because for every new member anonymous donors will donate 50 cents (up to now over 56,000 people have joined and USD 28,000 have been donated).”


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Africa: The Mobile Web Community Builder · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The mobile web community builder in Africa: “Motribe is a simple community building platform for the mobile web. You can easily get a site up and going in an hour that allows chat, photo sharing, private messaging and mobile blogs.”


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Bangladesh: The Myth Of The ‘International Basket Case’ · Global Voices
Rezwan

A.B.M. Nasir at Bangladesh Watchdog exposes the erroneous myth that former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger had termed Bangladesh “an international basket case”.


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Bangladesh: Vanishing Identity · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Indigenous peoples have become the most marginalized and vulnerable group in the country of Bangladesh in its thirty eight years of independence,” informs photojournalist and photo-blogger Monirul Alam. He has started a project which involves a visual and narrative documentation of the Indigenous people expressing their daily life, their cultural practices and integration in the society.


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China: How a media professional upholds his liberal values · Global Voices
Andy Yee

In China’s illiberal media environment, Zhang Ping (pen name Chang Ping) is a rare liberal breed. To maintain an independent voice in China’s heavily censored media is a fundamental dilemma, and, as the experience of Chang Ping shows, it often takes a sense of martyrdom to do so.
Chang Ping has served as news editor at the Southern Weekend and deputy chief editor at the Southern Metropolitan Weekly. Both newspapers are part of the state-run Southern Media Group, a Guangzhou-based family of papers known for its aggressive reporting of sensitive political issues and widely regarded as one of China’s liberal bastions in the print media.
In 2007, Chang Ping was honored as one of China’s most influential columnists by the Southern Weekend. In 2008, following the wake of anti-Chinese protests in Tibet, he wrote several editorials about Tibet, including the controversial piece ‘How to find the truth about Lhasa?’, in which he called on the government to allow more media freedom in covering Tibet. He was sacked from his job at the Southern Metropolitan Weekly.
According to the China Media Project, Chang Ping was prevented by authorities in August this year from writing for the Southern Weekend and Southern Metropolitan Daily. Cartoonist Kuang Biao depicts Chang Ping’s predicament with a cartoon in which the journalist was bound in an ominous stranglehold:
When I heard the news a few days back, I drew this picture in a complete fury! I’ve said that I want to use caricatures to spend my remaining years recording what I witness in our society, because I am a comic artist who deals with current events. This person is a true citizen. And this is predicament right now . . . His name is Chang Ping.
In a recent interview with the Taiwan newspaper Wang Bao, Chang Ping reflected on the innate conflicts between his liberal beliefs and working in the state-controlled media.
Temptations in the Chinese Media
Because of the influential role of the media, it is often a target of cooptation by the Chinese government. Chang Ping shares his responses to temptations from the government:
媒体人在中国不是弱势群体，媒体人的权力是非常大的，特别是你愿意跟权力合作的话，可能会有很多好处。现在的权力会直接诱惑你，合作一个项目，钱很多，用起来很随便，不公开，不受监督。前几天有个宣传部长来找我，请我帮他写点宣传文章，我拒绝了。事实上，这是可以跟对方商量的，可以写的不那么赤裸裸，可以骗老百姓觉得是作者真的想写的文章。像我这样拒绝的人不多。
The media profession in China is not a disadvantaged group. It has great power, especially when it is willing to cooperate with the government. The rulers will employ various temptations, such as projects or monetary benefits with little public scrutiny and strings attached. A few days ago an official from the propaganda department invited me to write a propaganda article for them, which I have rejected. In fact, I could well discuss with them the tone of the article, so that the propaganda is not so explicit and create a false impression among readers that this is what I really want to write about. There are not many people like me who reject the offer outright.
中国媒体的影响力很大，所以媒体堕落、做坏事的机会比别的地方多。现在也是几股力量在较量，政府部门想给媒体好处，而很多媒体造反是为了被招安，包括南方报业里也有这样的媒体人，想被招安，官员请他吃顿饭就很高兴。我对这些比较警惕，中国媒体的反抗是不清晰的。媒体会成为一个利益集团，与其去看媒体可以开拓很多空间，不如看到、更要看到媒体很容易干坏事。
Because the Chinese media has great power, the temptation for it to do evil is great. Currently there are several forces confronting each other. The government wants to offer advantages to the media. At the same time, many media professionals, including some in the Southern Media Group, rebel just for the sake of being co-opted. They would be very happy if officials invite them for dinners. I’m very alert to cooptation. The revolt by the Chinese media is not always clear-cut, and it is easy for the media to become an interest group. Rather than seeing the media as a pioneer of opening up the space for free discussion, it would be more important to realize its tendency to do evil.
The conflict between being a writer and an official
China is a country with a strong emphasis on administrative system. Every professional administrator could be corresponded into an official rank. An editor in a newspaper is therefore equivalent to an official, and Chang Ping reflects on the conflict between his writing and being an ‘official’:
做官和作文是有冲突的，做官最大的密诀就是「不说话」，这跟民主社会不一样，民主社会是要多说话。我们的国家领导人主政之后，国内外媒体都会说他「很神秘」，但我们很难想象：欧巴马是个神秘的人，大家都不了解他，突然就当上了总统。可是在我们这里，为官之道就是「少说」，这个政治特点影响了每个行业。
Writing and being an official is contradictory. The secret of success for an official is ‘don’t say anything.’ This is different from a democratic society, in which speaking out is the norm. After a Chinese official join the rank of the high leadership, the media will often say he is ‘very secretive.’ But it is difficult for us to imagine that Obama is a secretive person, and suddenly becomes the US president when we know very little about him. In China, officials say little, and this characteristic affects every profession.
很多人文章写得很漂亮，不写了，我很遗憾，但大陆人为何多要选择当官这条路，因为中国官本位文化太强，所有优势资源都倾向于官僚体系，当官权力大，没有监督，办事容易，收入高，享受多。
Many people write excellent articles, and it is a pity that they decide not to write any more. Because of the strong orientation towards the bureaucracy, many people in China choose to be officials. With most resources tilted towards the bureaucratic system, officials enjoy a lot of benefits without much checks and balances.
我自己也矛盾，几次下来，几次又混上去，按照体制内说法，就是没管好这张嘴，还想发言，觉得自己有些想法，有这个能力、机会表达出来。我觉得媒体不缺管理者，但是缺做事的，所以我愿意在这方面多做点。而且我在做媒体管理时，多数是做采编，也是希望中国的言论状况有改变，有正常的言论空间。
Experiencing the ups and downs myself, I feel the contradictions. According to parlance in the system, I have not ‘properly controlled my mouth.’ I have the urge to express what I think, and I have the ability and channels to do so. I think that what the media profession is lacking is not administrators, but those who do the ‘real stuff’. I am willing to contribute more on this. The reason I chose to be an editor is because I wish to improve the freedom of speech in China.
Testing the boundaries
Finally, Chang Ping shares his beliefs and principles of being a journalist while staying in the game in an authoritarian system:
我不想把自己搞得完全不能在大陆发文章，不想只写给美国人看，没意思。我希望更多大陆人看到，但另一方面，我绝对不能因为这样就委屈自己。我，包括南方报业集团的许多同仁，不是一下子站到对岸去，而是在试探边界。对极权体制来说，边界是不清楚的，它不是法治社会，边界明晰，我们要去领会领导的精神。
I don’t want my articles to be completely banned in China. It is not that meaningful to write only for the Americans. I hope more Chinese could read my articles. On the other hand, I cannot let this to be an excuse to abandon my principles. But a lot of my colleagues in the Southern Media Group, together with myself, do not regard ourselves as the opposite force against the government, but instead are continuously testing the boundaries. An authoritarian system is not like a rule-of-law society, and the boundaries are not always clear. This requires understanding of the leadership’s thoughts.
空间有多大？不知道，不去撑就不知道。试图撑大空间，把边界扩展，我要做的是这个。但这的确是很难，很多人觉得你螳臂挡车，太自大了。
How large is the space? No one knows, no one knows if you don’t try. What I am trying to do is to expand that space and boundary. But this is difficult. Many people think that I am confronting a stone wall with an egg, and that I think too big of myself.
我只是希望能够对得起自己的性格和观念。媒体有时候管得紧，有的时候管得松。紧的时候可能连现在这个位置都没有，松的时候或许有机会做得更多，不管如何，我只能在能说的时候尽量说。
But I am just acting according to my characters and beliefs. Media censorship is sometimes tight, sometimes lax. When it is tight, perhaps I cannot even hold my current position. When it is lax, maybe there chances to do more. No matter what, I can only say as much as I can.

author: Andy Yee


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D.R. of Congo: On Mapping Report on Human Rights Abuses · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Texas in Africa summarises reactions to the official version of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Democratic Republic of Congo Mapping Report on human rights abuses committed in the country between 1993-2003.


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D.R. of Congo: The Walikale Mass Rapes · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jason reflects on the UN Report on mass rape that took place in Walikale in late July and early August in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


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Ecuador: Bloggers Try to Make Sense of Chaos Caused by Police Strike · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

Uncertainty still reigns in Ecuador. Even though President Correa was rescued from the Hospital where he was being held –as Global Voices previously reported–, protest by the police force are still taking place, no changes have been made to the law of public service and nobody knows the level of punishment the unruly cops will receive. What is certain is that Fausto Franco was appointed as the new Police Chief, and that as a result of the events on September 30, 8 people were killed and 278 injured [es]. Among them was a university student, Juan Pablo Bolaños [es].
President  visits  army colonel Vicente Guzman, a loyal officer injured during Wednesday night's rescue. Photo by Santiago Armas, used under CC license.
Global Voices recently offered reports from Twitter [es]. From noon until 9 PM on September 30, Ecuadorians had no other means of information than the Internet and  official [es] channels [es].
Blogger Daniel Ochoa [es], as many other Ecuadorians, believes that there were no winners on September 30. He comments on the levels of sensitivity he noticed in President Correa:
Como ser humano me vi conmovido cuando lanzaron botellas y bombas lacrimógenas al presidente, incluso cuando habló desde el hospital se lo escuchaba quebrantado, denunciando que hay gente que se quiere meter a su habitación para agredirlo. En momentos de emoción y euoforia decía “De aquí salgo como presidente o como cadaver” y en otros momentos de quebranto emocional, donde parecía que estaba a punto de llorar, decía “Amo a Ecuador y amo a mi familia”.
Blogger Fatima Efigenia coincides with opposition leader Carlos Vera (see video [es]) on the fact that the goal of the police officers involved  was not to kidnap, but worse, to assassinate President Correa [es]. She writes [es] that their intention was to weaken their ties to human rights violations [es] and fight for their labor benefits.
Juan Cabrito in his mini-blog [es] considers that, contrary to what some still think, it wasn't  unwise of Correa to face the police and try to negotiate with them. The issue was the bonuses and  not the unpaid wages, something very common in Ecuador:
¿Ya se habrán olvidado de cuando los médicos (sí ¡los médicos!) paralizaban la atención por protestar por su sueldo impago? ¿Ya se olvidaron de el retraso para  comenzar las clases por el paro de los profesores impagos? Quisiera recalcar la palabra IMPAGO. Hoy YA NO PASAN ESAS COSAS, pero l@s giles se olvidan. Y no les importó que esta vez no era una protesta por falta de pago, sino por dinero adicional al sueldo, ese sueldo que no solo que ahora sí reciben como se debe, sino que se incrementó.
The incident changed the views some Ecuadorians had about the “Citizen Revolution,” so proclaimed by Correa.  Blogger Pitoniza put it this way: “I hope the president will read this and note that his most fervent supporters are disappointed about the XXI Century Socialism. That this is worse than the long neoliberal night.”  A comment on her blog [es] suggests the police took action based on misinformation:
Ahora recuerdo tambien que muchos politicos de la oposicion imprimieron papeles con tergiversaciones de la ley para distribuir a los miembros de la tropa policial. Porque no se los condena por incendiarios?..Porque asambleistas de MDG,PSC y demas pidieron amnistia para estos delincuentes?…. el culpar a Correa y quejarse por la intromision de canales y olvidar el papel de asambleistas criminales y policias irresponsables es sencillamente injusto
Doubts about the “coup attempt”
Throughout the incident, the president had the support of the military [es]  and police officers in the highest ranks. Even when he was being held in the Police Hospital in the north of Quito –two physicians denied that he was being held [es]–, he could receive visitors and was able to declare a state of emergency which required that the media only broadcast government information.
As every Saturday, yesterday Correa held his national radio broadcast. He declared three days of mourning [es] to honor those who died on Wednesday, and according to @donalddallan Correa was grateful to the loyal forces and all three branches of the Ecuadorian Army. But one thing caught the attention of some Twitter users like Pablo Escandon (@pabloescandon), who wrote that it is strange that this time President Correa had kind words for the members of the press. While Gabriela Vivanco (@VivancG) re-tweets a post by ecuavisa.com where Correa changes his discourse and now says the police wanted a “civil war.”
The origin of the police uprising points to other reasons beyond bonuses and benefits, according to Romulo Lopez Cordero from Cambiemos Ecuador [es], who also chronicles the events that took place throughout September 30. He presents two theories:
La primera es que esto fue un evento manejado de manera maestra por  Rafael Correa (como hasta ahora lo ha hecho) y que lo fortalece una vez  más.  Un genio de la política […]  Lamentablemente fallaron los  intentos policiales y no tuvieron mayor acogida en los grupos de la  oposición y el gobierno pues está en lo correcto que tienen inmenso  apoyo popular. La oposición no estaba informada y no tuvieron el valor  de unirse y Correa manejó de manera maestra para hacer que ellos sean  los culpables y lo de la policía fue un hecho aislado o de pocos que les faltó talento político.
Lo segundo es que aqui hay burra amarrada como dicen en Ecuador, y todo  fue un teatro orquestado por el gobierno para ganar popularidad en  momentos en que no lo tenían para llamar a muerte cruzada.
The first is that this event was handled masterfully by Rafael Correa (like he has done up to now) and that it will once again strengthen him. A genius of politics […] Unfortunately the police attempts failed and didn't receive a major welcome from opposition groups and the government is right that it has huge public support. The opposition was not informed about it and didn't have the courage to join and Correa handled the situation in a masterful way to make them look guilty and the police issue look like an isolated event by a few that lacked political talent.
The second [theory] is that there is a tied mule as they say in Ecuador, and everything was an act orchestrated by the government to gain popularity in a moment when they didn't have it in order to call for a ‘muerte cruzada’ [which means, dissolving the National Assembly and calling for legislative elections].
Knowing the President didn't want to leave the hospital in two occasions, two of  his physicians can not confirm that he was really being held against his will. Furthermore, after listening to the president so much, Ecuadorians are starting to doubt Correa's words. Dunia Ruiz Romero (@dunniar) strongly believes that there was no kidnapping of the President involved. Patricio Aguilera (@darkaguilera) also wrote on Twitter:
Sigo creyendo que todo lo pasado ayer fue un gran teatro y asi #Correa tener pretexto para hacer y deshacer con mas razon las leyes. pilas
Blogger Segundo Galarza from Cronicas de  Palmogala [es], who favored  Correa with his vote,  believes the President should have shown more sensitivity in handling the situation; he is the leader of a country with different ideologies and not the leader of a single political party:
…El presidente del Ecuador, el cual yo recuerdo le di el voto, para que sea presidente de la república, y no presidente de un movimiento político, su ideología no debe primar en una cuestión tan delicada como la seguridad de todo el país, algunos lo celebran, que puso el pecho, que se arriesgo la vida pero supo hacer valer su ideología, grave error!! Ecuador no debe vivir de ideologías, debe vivir de soluciones pragmáticas que garanticen nuestra estabilidad.
Ecuadorians are tired of hearing about the incident and of listening to the declarations by their President [es]. Two Twitter users expressed their feelings three days after that sad day in Ecuadorian history –and they are not very optimistic: Victor Vizcaino (@victorvizcaino) writes that he feels like a pessimist and that he can't see a clear future in his country; and Juan Fernando Pacheco (@fernandopacheco) says he was ready to watch the Saturday address by his President, “but I can't watch so many lies together.”
Despite these doubs, Ecuadorians are happy that their democracy survived the events of September 30.

author: Milton Ramirez


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India: The Commonwealth Games 2010 Begins In New Delhi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amidst heightened security precautions the 2010 Commonwealth Games officially begins today in New Delhi, India. The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event which is held every four years since 1930 between the athletes of members of the Commonwealth of Nations. For the first time this event is being hosted by India, and surprisingly it was subject to much criticism and controversy from early on.
The preparations of the Commonwealth Games 2010 have been marred by a number of security and infrastructural problem including accusations of corruption, and these were widely discussed in the media and in the blogosphere. Moreover, a citizens group called ‘Anti Commonwealth Games Front’ organized protests against this event citing many irregularities, including:
Slogan against the Commonwealth Games. Image by Flickr user nocwg2010. CC BY-NC-SA
Prerna from Delhi criticizes the tendency of her countrymen and the media to exaggerate the facts:
These happenings are very bad and nobody can deny that. However what is bothering me more than this is, that it seems to have become a national pastime to exaggerate everything that is going wrong with the games preparation. No time is wasted to proclaim that the games will be an abject failure. One athlete withdraws from the games and it is shown over and over again making it seem like majority of athletes have decided to stay back.
The Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games 2010 has left a blot on the India’s image and the allegations of misuse of funds speak volumes of the inept handling of the whole affair. But the way a few sections of the Indian media has reacted seems like they are working on an agenda.
She asserts what needs to be done to tackle the problem:
Simply spreading negativity isn’t the answer and we all need to try and support India in ensuring the success of the games. About security issues, we can and have managed that and the proof is that we have organised cricket world cups and IPL tournaments successfully.
Not only in India, there are a lot of reports in International media about the mismanagement and corruption in the building up of this event and some journalists have devised innovative ways to undermine the preparations by Indian authorities. Cafe Pyala exposes a TV report which shows that an Australian Channel 7 reporter smuggled explosives into the games athlete's village to show the weak security standards at the venue:
It reverberated across the world, and added to the chorus of voices demanding that the Games be cancelled. Well, as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's well-respected MediaWatch programme reveals, the story was not all it was cracked up to be.
If you watch/read no other media take down this week, do watch this to understand how media reports can be manipulated, to devastating effect.
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, a venue for the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi. Image by Flickr user seaview99. CC BY-NC-SA
Beyond Cynical at Desicritics, however, takes the criticism well and hopes that India has learnt its lessons and should move forward without repetition of the same errors:
The CWG just projected us Indians in terms of the un-imaginable corruption level on the world platform. When the world discovered this just recently we were aware of it from ages and did nothing about it. Hence we learned this lesson the bitter way. Because this is an international event, all the dirt came out in the open and people started washing their dirty linen in public to protect their own ass.
A Journey has high hopes for India in this event:
The hosting of Commonwealth Games would surely position the nation as a ‘capable’  country with immense potential. During the course of this journey of spectacular sporting event, we would keep a close watch on the sporting events and the response of the world on the way India does it.
And last but not the least Sepia Mutiny posts an A to Z guide to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.


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Indonesia: Questions about the train crash · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Referring to the deadly train crash in Indonesia which killed 36 passengers, Multibrand asks if it is fair to pin the blame solely on the driver and suggests that other train authorities should be investigated as well.

author: Mong Palatino


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Japan: A viewpoint on the Chinese-Japanese dispute · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

In an article titled Coming attractions  [en] Ampontan gives his interpretation of the recent diplomatic row between China and Japan – following the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain by the Japanese authorities near disputed islets in the East China Sea.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Kenya: Kenyan Minister Fights for Gay Rights · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Fighting for gay rights from the pulpit in Kenya: “Yesterday we had a Kenyan Minister make a very sensible argument towards protecting rights of homosexuals and sex workers.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Lebanon: Bottomless Pit · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Jamal Ghosn summarizes why Lebanon is redefining his understanding of what an abyss might look like.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Feminist Video Rant · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“I’ve been wanting to write up some articles about basic arguments we have to face as feminists every day, dealing with stupid questions that are often sexist comments disguised as questions. This time, I decided to do a video rant instead of a written one.” Quoting Nadine Mouawad on Sawt al Niswa.


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Lebanon: Lebanese Blogosphere Search Engine · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Mireille Raad, an IT professional and blogger, shares with us a Lebanese Blogosphere Search Engine Version 0.0000001. She developed this by using the power of Google to give those interested in digging stuff from the Lebanese blogs the ability to find, refine, promote, auto-complete, transliterate, doodle, etc. More may be on the way in the future.


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Lebanon: Sudanese Doctor on Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Dr. Abed el Meneem, a Sudanese activist has been on hunger strike at the Sudanese Cultural Club in Beirut for the past eight days. He's demanding the Lebanese authorities and the Sudanese embassy to take action to release of the 17 Sudanese detained in the Lebanese prisons among other things.


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Norway: Macedonian Blogger in Trondheim  · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Maja, a Macedonian living in Norway, describes the beauty of Trondheim [MKD, ENG] in a bilingual, photo-studded post on her travel blog.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Pakistan: More Relief Missions · Global Voices
Rezwan

Faisal Kapadia at Deadpan Thoughts describes in details about the 9th flood relief mission of the OffroadPakistan group to Shikarpur.


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Peru: Two Women Contend to Become Mayor of Lima · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

On Sunday October 3 the regional and municipal elections [es] will be held in Peru, including a referendum to decide whether to return the money invested between 1979 and 1998 by workers who had their salaries discounted by the FONAVI (National Housing Fund). On Thursday September 30 most campaign closing [es] rallies were held. And since Friday the country is under the so-called “Dry Law,” prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages and the enacting of other measures, in order to guarantee the execution of these elections.
Though there are about 10 candidates [es] (9 on the race and 1 ineligible) for Mayor of Lima, the capital, it is two ladies (Lourdes Flores Nano and Susana Villarán De la Puente) who have the highest possibilities to win. Because of their party affiliation, Lourdes (from right-wing Christian People's Party, PPC) introduces herself as the one who will continue the work of the incumbent Mayor, Luis Castañeda, while Susana represents a left-wing option, sometimes referred to as —in a derogatory manner— “caviar left”. The campaign has been tough and even though Ms Flores led the polls for a while, after candidate Alex Kouri was disqualified, Susana Villarán's options started to boost until reaching the first place [es] a couple of weeks ago.
At that moment the campaign became heated, with the spreading of illegally recorded audio [es] and accusations [es] from both sides. This, despite having captured the front pages of the media during a few days, has not actually contributed to a serious debate where plans for the development of the city are the most important issue. On the other hand, this has been one of the most ideologically politicized elections in Lima's recent history. Regarding this, journalist Edgardo de Noriega writes on his blog Miscelánea [es]:
Hay un hecho para el futuro que es  evidente. Un triunfo de Susana Villaràn la convierte en una lideresa de  una corriente progresista que significaría una opción de gobierno  importante. Lo que precisamente en este momento no existe. El  pensamiento de izquierda con caudal electoral importante. … Lo que se  plantearía es una  izquierda democrática que cree en la empresa privada y en la economía de  mercado con visos sociales. Lo que representa el Presidente Lula en  Brasil y Michelle Bachelet en Chile.
On Monday September 27 a televised debate among these two female candidates was held. There were huge expectations and though it was a chance to hear general guidelines for their plans for the municipal government, there were also accusations [es], specially from Lourdes to Susana, who avoided responding directly. This caused that, for example, Juan Sheput from Mate Pastor considered [es] Ms Flores as the winner of the debate:
Lourdes, desde el primer minuto, mostró sus cartas. Eligió su estrategia  potenciando su fortaleza, la experiencia parlamentaria. Jugaba también a  su favor el hecho de no tener nada que perder. Y Susana parece que optó  por la vieja técnica del bambú, la de ser flexible ante la tormenta.  Pero eso no funciona en un debate, donde no sólo se confrontan  propuestas sino se mide el temperamento de los adversarios. … El debate lo ganó Lourdes, de lejos. Habrá que ver si le permite ganar la elección.
Silvio Rendón from the blog Gran Combo Club tries to analyze [es] the causes of this difference in attitudes, clearly visible during the debate:
Lourdes Flores fue a atacar y Susana Villarán fue a defender. La  agresividad de Flores y la bonhomía de Villarán no son condiciones  existenciales ni una cosa de principio para ninguna de las dos  candidatas, sino que responden a sus diagnósticos y estrategias sobre  cómo ganar la elección. Cuando Villarán estaba en 2% de intención de  voto comenzó atacando con las declaraciones juradas y Cataño, aquí. … Ahora que tendría 42% de intención de voto un ataque de este tipo, según  la otrora atacante, sería ilegítimo. ¿Y si no tuviera 42%? Seguramente  ahí la veríamos atacando, respondiendo; en otra actitud. Lo mismo a  Flores.
Then he evaluates what each candidate represents, and how this influences voters who don't have a candidate for their own parties or who are undecided:
En el debate se vio a una Lourdes Flores macartista, conservadora,  hablando de orden, anti-sindicalismo, anti-estatismo, etc. Valores de  las derechas. A Villarán, que evalúa que ya tiene el voto de izquierdas,  se la vio generalista, inclusiva, buscando el centro político. Para el votante fujimorista, por ejemplo, creo que Flores será definitivamente la más atractiva. … Para el votante aprista, mitad y mitad. La mitad conservadora del Apra le irá a Flores, la mitad progre a Villarán … En general, creo que con este debate, Flores impacta relativamente más  que Villarán sobre el voto a los candidatos pequeños y en los indecisos.
Of course, for those who have already decided on their vote or possess stubborn sympathies, the result of the debate is not a big influence. Justo Pachari from the blog La verdad con toda el alma picks up in one of his posts [es] the comment of a user [es] of newspaper La República‘s online forum:
Lourdes es una política vieja, escucharla es como escuchar los   argumentos de García o de cualquier otro político con mañas y   defendiendose con argumentos que no son más que calunmias. Yo creo que   si eso es lo que se evalúa ganó Lourdes, pero como en realidad yo y   muchas personas queremos un cambio, y justamente un cambio del tipo de   políticos que tenemos, en realidad Lourdes perdío, para mí es lo mismo   que otros políticos corruptos, a pesar de que no iba a votar por ella la   respetaba, pero realmente lo único que generó es que YO al igual que   mucha gente reafirmaramos nuestro compromiso por el cambio, cambio que   para nosotros es Susana Villarán
On the other hand, regarding the participation of both candidates in a variety/contest show at the local TV station (see video [es]), Isabel Guerra from Las Burbujas Recargadas wonders [es]:
Si en vez de candidatAS tuviéramos a dos  HOMBRES  encabezando las  preferencias de los votantes, ¿los habrían  invitado a  hacer el  ridículo en esa cosa tan parecida a la “noche de  talentos” de  concurso  de belleza? Tanto discurso  proequidad de género y de estas  cosas por las que se  hace pasar  a las  candidatas (con el pretexto del  show de  beneficencia) nadie dice nada.
As you might imagine campaigns have entered the Internet with some strength but it has not become their main place.  The Facebook page [es] of Fuerza Social [Social Force, es], the party supporting Susana Villarán, has 2485 fans at the time of writing this post (we should note that the party's website has not been updated since September 9), while Ms Villarán personal Facebook profile [es] shows 4783 ‘friends’ (we assume that is due to the Facebook restriction which does not allow more than 5000 ‘friends’) and her website [es] does look updated. Lourdes Flores's official Facebook page [es] has 8567 fans, while [right-wing coalition] Unidad Nacional's [National Unity, es] Facebook page [es] created for the elections has 1627 fans. The PPC website [es] (Ms Flores's party, which naturally is part of the National Unity) does not include much information and redirects to Lourdes Flores website [es], which does include more data and links to other sites. It is worth mentioning that some days ago the PPC website was hacked [es] by Villarán sympathizers, which might explain its current plain status.
Several state and private institutions have been launching initiatives [es] for citizens to vote in a more informed way about the candidates and their government plans. Finally, in an anecdotal note, while it is almost certain that the next Mayor of Lima will be a woman, she will not be the first one, because Anita Fernandini de Naranjo held this office from 1963 to 1964.

author: Juan Arellano


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Sri Lanka: Using ICT To Strengthen Reconciliation · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sanjana Hattotuwa tells how the power of ICT can be used to capture stories to strengthen meaningful reconciliation in Sri Lanka.


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Algeria: On the Rich, the Poor and the Middle Class · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

What is it like to be poor? And what is it like to be rich? Algerian Salim looks into the two situations and also reflects (Ar) on those who are hanging in between.
He introduces his topic saying:
لو كانت الوسطية امرأة لقتلتها، رغم حبي للتفاحة الحمراء . و لو كان الفقر رجلا لقتلته، رغم تقديري للرجولة . و لو كان البذخ شبحا لقتلته، مع أن الأشباح لا تقتل ..
On poverty, Salim writes:
And on being rich, Salim explains:
And on those who live in between, Salim offers:
As for him, Salim admits:

author: Amira Al Hussaini