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East Timor: Providing Spaces for the Memory · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Crowd map Hanoin: Remembering Timor was recently launched aiming to collaboratively collect memories of colonialism, occupation and independence of East Timor. A blog post explains the need to “share, corroborate and expand on the limitations of the  colonizer’s narrative” and suggests that Hanoin can be used as a cry for justice.


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Guinea Bissau: Bridging Cultures Through Language · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

The Andorinha [Swallow, pt] project has  been promoting for two years the Portuguese language in the region of Cachungo in Guinea Bissau. Macua blog reproduces a text [pt] that describes the community radio and the exchange and correspondence program between  schools in Portugal and Cachungo.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Sara Moreira


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Guyana: Book Blogger Week  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Signifyin’ Woman celebrates Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India: Five Neighborhood Paradoxes · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nitin Pai at The Acorn argues  that India's neighborhood policy is trapped in five paradoxes.

author: Rezwan


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Indonesia: Positive economic news · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

pelopor.nl cites a few macroeconomic indicators which suggest that Indonesia's economy is improving.

author: Mong Palatino


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Jamaica: Understanding Gangs · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Salt says “there are many things that drive men (and women) to take up the gun in Jamaica”, adding: “Condemning them without understanding the reasons behind their decision would be a big mistake, because therein lies the solution.”


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Japan: Welcoming Karen refugees  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Adamu at Mutantfrog  reported the news [en] that by the end of September a group of 27 Karen refugees, natives of Burma, will resettle in Japan. The blogger also investigates the issue of refugees in Japan.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Martinique: Grande Dame Passes On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Caribbean Review of Books acknowledges the passing of “Jenny Alpha, Martiniquan singer and ‘grande dame de la culture créole’.”


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Mexico: The ‘Biggest Party of the Year’ Begins Today · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

“The Bicentenario kicks off tonight, marking Mexico’s 200th year of independence from Spain. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration and a huge deal here in Mexico City.” This is how Lesley Téllez begins her post in The Mija Chronicles, where she goes on to describe other things about the celebration. She also shares photos of what downtown Mexico City looked like yesterday.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Nicaragua: Sexual Diversity in the National Blogosphere · Global Voices
GV Contributor

The recent debate on legalizing same-sex marriage, as seen through traditional media (see poll in newspaper El Nuevo Diario [es]), has brought to light the opinion of those who oppose the measure, including politicians and even some pro-government and pro-sexual diversity movements [es]; however, the opinion of groups that are already organized around these issues is rarely taken into consideration.
Several Nicaraguan blogs are enriching the debate and the information on these issues. This is a selection of blogs that are currently participating in and pushing for sexual diversity:
"Juan is in love with Carlos. Their love does no harm, your rejection does: For a society that respects sexual diversity"
A presidential candidate from Nicaragua, Fabio Gadea Mantilla, has occasionally expressed his opinions against these type of unions [es]. Espacio Nica comented [es] on Gadea and other candidates from other political parties:
Finalmente, el recién postulado Fabio Gadea Mantilla ha dejado muy claro su posición sobre los varones que nacemos con “exceso de hormonas femeninas” o las mujeres con “exceso de hormonas masculinas”. Será que el acaso impulse un programa con el Ministerio de Salud para “tratar por la ciencia moderna para equilibrar el funcionamiento hormonal del ser humano”. Increíblemente, el candidato que dice ser de la unidad promueve la discriminación para la diversidad sexual. Lo hemos de ver pidiendo votos y quizás ahí sienta la misma “repulsión” cuando vea a un gay, un trans o una lesbiana. O será que no votamos, no pagamos impuestos y no pensamos.
On the official position of the current government, Espacio Nica wrote:
Hablemos primero del Presidente Ortega, como le caracteriza, ha empezado a utilizar un discurso donde pregona el “restablecimiento de derechos” y, utilizando la frase de un activista gay local, se presenta como un verdadero “canto de sirena”. Lo más interesante es que no ha sido él, ni la propia Primera Dama Rosario Murillo, quienes pregonan esto para la diversidad sexual. Su discurso se ha materializado a través del Ministerio de Cultura, la Juventud Sandinista y la misma Procuraduría de la Diversidad Sexual. Cada uno ha expuesto el gran avance para la diversidad durante el gobierno de Ortega. Sin embargo, nosotros no criticamos la acción si no la falta de política pública estatal que impulsa un verdadero reconocimiento a la diversidad sexual que venga desde el primer mandatario. Veremos si de acá al periodo de campaña el posible candidato presidencial del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional articula una propuesta solida para la diversidad sexual.
Speaking about this same position by the government, Arin Sánchez, a representative of a pro-sexual diversity movement that backs the current government, was interviewed on a morning television show on channel TV4. The blog Comunidad Homosexual de Nicaragua commented on the interview [es]:
El joven en cuestión no es conocido en el ámbito de las ONG’s y movimientos sociales que tradicionalmente han trabajado el tema LGBTI en el país. Todo apunta a que lo sacaron de la “nada”. De las apuestas de este movimiento, qué podemos decir? Según palabras del joven Sánchez, su sector de la población comprende a jóvenes (por no decir adolescentes) entre 13 y 14 años de edad y que forman una “super-mega estructura” (según palabras textuales del entrevistado) que se concentra “en todos los departamentos, municipios, ciudades, comarcas y barrios del país” (cita textual). Se enfocan en temas “ambientales, de diversión, entretenimiento y de deportes” (cita textual del entrevistado) como oferta “de derechos”(cita textual) para atraer a este sector poblacional sexualmente diverso.
…
Nos llama la atención que hubo un énfasis muy marcado (repetitivo en múltiples ocasiones) hacia el hecho de que este sector poblacional “no está seguro de su preferencia sexual” y por eso el Movimiento de la Diversidad Sexual de la Juventud Sandinista tiene que recurrir constantemente a “brindarles atención y acompañamiento psicológico” (cita textual del entrevistado). Pareciera como que el Movimiento (o sus integrantes) padece o adolece de problemas o desajustes emocionales o psicológicos serios? A todas luces la entrevista pareció montada en lugar de tener una fluidez natural. Nada que decir de la entrevistadora del programa que a todas luces era evidente que tampoco dominaba el tema y no tenía ni la menor idea del tipo de preguntas con las cuales podía abordar a su entrevistado.
The young man in question is not known by those involved in NGOs and social movement that have traditionally worked on LGBTI issues in the country. Everything seems to indicate that they got him out of “nowhere.” About the initiatives by this movement, what can we say? According to the words of Sánchez, his sector of the population includes youth (to not say teenagers) between 13 and 14 years of age and they form a “super-mega structure” (according to his exact words)  who concentrate en “all departments, municipalities, cities, districts and neighborhoods in the country” (exact quote). They focus on “environmental, entertainment and sports” issues (actual quote) offering “rights” (exact quote) to attract this sexually diverse sector of the population
…
It was striking to us that there was a strong emphasis (repeated on multiple occasions) toward the fact that this group of the population “is not sure about their sexual prefference” and that is why the Movement for Sexual Diversity of the Sandinist Youth has to constantly resort to “providing attention and psychological support” (direct quote). It looks like the Movement (or its members) suffers from serious emotional or psychological problems or disorders? Everything indicated that the interview was set up instead of flowing naturally. That's not even considering the interviewer from the show who obviously didn't know about the issue and had no idea about the type of questions she could ask her subject.
On social networks and on online news sites, an article by candidate Fabio Gadea was rediscovered; the article received comments like the following [es]:
Preocupado dice: Muy buen articulo, yo siempre he opinado que cada quien con su vida, es mas yo no tengo ningun problema con homosexuales y lesbianas, pero ya que se quieran casar eso se llaman MARICONADAS!!!!!!!Dicen por ahi que la homosexualidad no es nada normal y yo estoy muy de acuerdo!!
Javier dice: Con todo respeto, su opinión me parece retrógrada. Mencionar a su iglesia católica no le favorece en nada ya que en la actualidad está vista en el mundo entero como una secta más, capaz de esconder abusos sexuales por parte “sacerdotes, curas, padres” como usted prefiera a un sin número de niños. Es fácil juzgar a personas que en su interior prefieren a alguien de su mismo sexo, pero como no es su caso, ofender y atacar los derechos de estas personas le es apasionante y gratuito.
No a la ignorancia dice: Es increíble leer lo que escribe un hombre ilustre y “educado” como Gadea Mantilla. Le sugiero fuertemente que actualice sus conocimientos sobre lo que él llama “ciencia moderna”, ya que lo que él manifiesta en este punto NO es una realidad. Este tipo de ignorancia es lo que no permite avanzar a las civilizaciones, a como en el tiempo de la inquisición la iglesia católica, que él menciona se encargo de infundir el miedo con crueldad contra todo avance científico de la humanidad.
Jonathan Arauz desde Facebook: Alegron de burro me dio, cuando supe que Montealegre habia declinado su candidatura para dar paso a la de Fabio Gadea, pero despues de leer lo que este señor hablo sobre el tema de la Homosexualidad, me dije, no me gustaria un Presidente tan retrogrado.. Asi que definitivamente fue un alegron de burro.
Denisse Reyes desde Facebook: este representa a la mayoria en opocision?? que verguenza…
The group Espacio Nica began a debate on their Facebook page [es] about the need for a same-sex marriage law, and on how this issue is not secondary to the idea of an Identity Law that includes the rights of transsexuals to redefine their identity.

author: GV Contributor


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Nigeria: The Legacy of Nigerian Feminism · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Eccentric Yoruba's analysis of feminism in Nigeria: “Since I returned to Nigeria earlier this year, I have not met any woman who openly identified as a feminist. It almost seems as though the word ‘feminist’ is blacklisted…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Russia: Happy Birthday @KremlinRussia! ;) · Global Voices
Yelena Osipova

Dmitry Medvedev, photo by Juerg Vollmer
On September 14, 2010, the Russian president celebrated his 45th birthday. It was his third birthday as president, and he, most certainly, had received dozens of phone calls from high-level officials and foreign counterparts over the past years. In 2010, however, wishes and congrats poured in from all over the world, in their hundreds, from… Twitter!
Medvedev started his Twitter account last June, while visiting Silicon Valley. He has two officially verified personal accounts: @KremlinRussia (tweets in Russian) and @KremlinRussia_E (tweets in English). There is also the @blog_medvedev account, which simply relays the President's blog post updates. As September 14 progressed, the “word” of Medvedev's birthday got viral, prompting many to express their wishes and words of advice.
Here are some noteworthy highlights mentioning the Russian account (and this is just a sample):
@tpoligaeva [RUS]:
Thanks to Twitter, I know that our President, @KremlinRussia has a birthday today! And who said this is a useless website?
@_kiradee [RUS]:
I'm still on time to congratulate you on your 45th Birthday, Dmitry Anatolievich @KremlinRussia! I wish you one second term as President. Good luck!
There were several high-ranking Russian officials congratulating on Twitter too:
Vladimir @Zhirinovskiy [RUS]:
Happy Birthday, Dmitry Anatolievich. New approaches to work, that you are successfully implementing, are vitally important for Russia!
Dmitry @Rogozin [RUS]:
The Russian Brussels congratulates President D. A. Medvedev on his anniversary! We are waiting for your visit!
And certainly, Nikita Belykh (@NikitaBelyh [RUS]), the Governor of Kirov Region, who made the news two weeks ago with his Tweet-o-enthusiasm:
@KremlinRussia when I was 25, I thought 35 will be the end of life. Now, when I'm 35, I realize that 45 is the time for grand achievements ;) Happy Birthday! Sincerely!
@KremlinRussia kindly acknowledged and thanked his followers for all the wishes [RUS]:
“Спасибо всем, кто поздравил с днем рождения. Это очень приятно. Чесссное слово!”
Thank you all for the congratulations. It's very nice. Honesssly!
The last part was, most probably, misspelled on purpose, and received special attention from Tweeters:
@Act1on [RUS]:
‘Honestly’ is written with a ‘t’ RT @KremlinRussia Thank you all for the congratulations. It's very nice. Honesssly!
@Artem-Radkevich [RUS]:
President's press office: closer to the peoppple RT @KremlinRussia Thank you all for the congratulations. It's very nice. Honesssly!
@Voffka74 [RUS]:
@KremlinRussia, can't make it without mistakes? Or is it supposed to be cool?
@Dunya89 [RUS] was more curious about the after-party:
On the post-celebration morning must certainly ask @KremlinRussia for anti-hangover recipes!
The English-language account received some special attention, too:
@octokiss:
Also, it's Medvedev's birthday today! go wish him a happy birthday at @kremlinrussia_E he's adorable, it's worth it
@flowersandfun sent a special Tweet-card from the UK:
Happy Birthday, @KremlinRussia_E. Here's a birthday card we made just for you! http://is.gd/faBq2
Dmitry Medvedev's Birthday Card, by Arena Flowers and Fun
And a memorable Tweet from a special fan:
@hobophobicx:
@kremlinRussia_E: с днем рождения! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEDVEDEV! CONTINUE BEING THE GQMF HBIC OF RUSSIA. I LOVE YOU!!! STAY FLY~
[For those unfamiliar with the brilliant Internet slang, I suggest you look here.]
Certainly, a great illustration of the increasingly horizontal flows of communication, both within Russia as well as internationally. A more or less direct interaction with thousands of individuals is gradually becoming the norm and, as shown, seems to be working fairly well. It was particularly interesting to observe the public diplomacy element of it, since the news spread in the Tweet-o-sphere and reached many around the world.
After all, successful communication strategies that use social media are striving to achieve just that.

author: Yelena Osipova


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Singapore: MP posts Parliament questions on Facebook · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Member of Parliament from Singapore posted her questions to three ministers in Facebook prior to a Parliament meeting. A netizen comments: “a good example of how FB is used properly by a politician. Personal, conversational, self-written, and communicating directly with the man in the street.”


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Singapore: Tertiary Tech Conference 2010 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The first Tertiary Tech Conference in Singapore will take place this weekend. It aims to gather the “best projects and brightest talents from local tertiary institutions focusing on games, augmented reality and mobile applications.”


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Slovakia: No Money for Greece · Global Voices
Tibor Blazko

In 2006, after eight years of various reforms, lowering the state debt and government deficit in order to meet the Maastricht criteria, the Slovak voters decided it was time to take a break. But the new PM, Robert Fico, under pressure from businesses, changed his pre-election stance, kept the deficit under 3% of the GDP, and in January 2009 Slovakia entered the Eurozone.
But from that moment, in fact like many other euro-countries at that time and before, Fico stopped being afraid of increasing government spending without increasing its income, which resulted in 8% deficit in 2009. One can understand that in the case of a small economy, especially the one tied with the German economy, this was the result of an overall situation in the world. Still, Fico's opponents like to recall his 2008 words: “Slovakia will be not taught by the crisis.”
Then the news of the Greek problems with their high external debt, largely owned by the German and French banks, began to appear. Popular was an interview with Stefanos Manos, published in a Czech newspaper, in which he described the alarming situation in the Greek state sector: high wages, combined with lifetime job guarantees, pensions nearly at the level of wage base, over-employment in state-owned companies. Later also came the reports of Greece's continuous military spending.
The unflattering portrayal of Greece in the Slovak media did not stop Maximos Dragounis, a Slovakia-based ethnic Greek blogger, from describing Greece's debt history in these terms:  “[Konstantinos Karamanlis] … started the process of running Greece into debt … Factories and companies that Greece did not need were being built.”
By the time of the 2010 Slovak elections, it was very popular to compare Fico's policies to the Greek ones (e.g., promises of the “13th pension”). The opposition, as expected, was calling the government to act responsibly, but a significant deficit had been created even before the elections.
After the European meeting, the PM came up with a plan to help Greece financially, by increasing the Slovak deficit by another 1.4% of the GDP. The opposition was critical of this so-called solidarity with Greece, arguing that it was an irresponsible step. So, before the parliamentary elections, when the PM's bloc had the majority of seats, it did not find the courage to approve such an unpopular measure. In fact, Fico's party did not vote for it also after the elections. The newly created government kept its original line from the opposition times and promised to lower the deficit under 3% of the GDP in a few years – and did not approve a loan for Greece.
Slovakia came under pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) because of its refusal “to participate in the Greek bailout.” According to Reuters, ECB's president Jean-Claude Trichet said that ECB would not support “future euro zone applicants if there is a risk they will do something similar.”
A recent comment in a Slovak newspaper alleged that under Trichet's leadership, ECB was buying Greek bonds to help the French banks that had been involved in financing the “Peloponnese adventure”. Also, the German chancellor Angela Merkel allegedly changed her negative opinion on a loan for Greece for the same reason. And ECB's annual 2008 report, published in April 2009, contains no alarming indications of the impending Greek collapse.
A Slovak version of the Reuters report has generated over 1,400 comments, mostly of this kind:
Binky:
I have a great idea. Let's increase Slovak wages, pensions, benefits, simply everything … borrow from the French and German banks and then say that we don't have the funds to repay the debt. And everyone will help us, and our life quality standard will grow by at least about 200%.
Element:
So now it is only Slovakia that is responsible for the problems, while such countries as Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy are in fact innocent victims?
Ľubomír Pastorek:
… and I'd like to know whether Mr. Trichet would accept a country like Greece?
Timmy_A:
It would be better if he [Trichet] looked into the mirror. What was he doing for ten years that he was not able to find how the Greeks were manipulating the accounting? And what sanctions would be imposed on countries (nearly all in the Eurozone) when their deficits exceed 3 percent? People like him had to be fired from the ECB a long time ago.
GeoRW:
Trichet should better worry about his own chair.
almoska:
I have a suggestion for Mr. Trichet: let him live off 600-700 Euro per month, and the rest of his income he could give to the Greeks.
ithilis_quo:
So if I want to stay in the Eurozone, I would have to move to Greece because Slovakia has destroyed it.
Fero s dlhym…. menom…:
I do not understand… why didn't he speak [as harshly] about Greece?
kornel2:
He does not understand that we will not rescue the German investments in Greece. […]
markus:
By no means is it about the German banks – in Greece they only have 30 billion. It is about Italy, Spain, Ireland and other countries, which would be bankrupted by the fall of Greece and the subsequent fall of the Euro.
The most popular opinion under the Czech version:
Roman Mrózek, Bohumín:
A poor country must run into debt to help a richer country?
Finally, a blog post by Lukáš Buček, titled “Slovakia, get out of the Eurozone”:
Yesterday we were entertained or outraged by Jean-Claude Trichet, chief of the European Central Bank. He said that if ECB had known that we would act this way, they wouldn't have accepted us to the Eurozone.
Let's have a closer look. Euro stays on three pillars:
1. Adherence to the [Stability and Growth Pact]
2. ECB is not buying state bonds of Eurozone members
3. No bailout clause, which means prohibition of saving member-countries by interstate loan.
We are criticized by France and Germany. Both countries have already violated the Stability and Growth Pact, which they were not able to adhere to; specifically, they had problems with the 3% public deficit. Greece officially fulfilled the criteria for entering the Eurozone on June 19, 2000, but today we already know that this hadn't happened actually.
We are criticized by Jean-Claude Trichet. He, as the chief of ECB, is responsible for the fact that ECB has violated the second pillar by buying Greek bonds.
We are criticized by the rest of the Eurozone, but we are the only member-state that hasn't violated the “no bailout” clause. Is it normal that they criticize us for not breaking the rules?
And what do we have to pay for? The Greeks have had absurd arms expenditures in peace time, the 2009 budget of the Greek Ministry of Defense was 6.582 billion Euro, for this year they have lowered it to 5.73 billion. [OECD] countries spend the average of 7.2% of GDP pensions, Greeks spend 11.5%. We are giving to it 6.2% of GDP only.
What's interesting is that I can't find anywhere any acknowledgment by the EU, Eurozone or ECB of their regrets for having accepted Greece…

author: Tibor Blazko


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South Africa: Listen to Benguela’s Meridian · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sean's Music Monday features Meridian from the album The Black Southeaster by a Cape Town based group Benguela.


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Sri Lanka: Import Consignment Of ‘The Economist’ Magazine Impounded · Global Voices
Rezwan

TheNEWSmaster informs that the Sri Lankan customs authorities have yet again impounded the latest edition of ‘The Economist’ Magazine which carried out an article criticizing the 18th amendment of the constitution of Sri Lanka and the new powers of the incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering Wayne  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

On the one-year anniversary of Wayne Brown's death, The Caribbean Review of Books posts an essay by Mervyn Morris on the writer's life and poetic achievement.


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Africa: Diaspora Camp DC 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Diaspora Camp DC: Recap: “The event brought together about 120 entrepreneurs, investors, students and professionals to find out the ways to access capital to start, fund and grow small and medium enterprises as well as other kinds of ventures.”


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Africa: Thank God for Colonialism · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Thank God for colonialism in Africa: “The colonial state was able to offer useful things to converts, such as protection, preferential treatment, access to education and ultimately access to jobs within the colonial administration and all the privileges that came with that. Christianity became a ‘badge of honour’.”


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Argentina: Banks on 24-hour Strike · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

EconoBlog informs [es] that banks across the country are on a 24-hour strike demanding an improvement in salaries, working conditions and security.


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Azerbaijan: As elections approach, social networking steps in · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

On 7 November, Azerbaijan will once again head to the polls to cast their ballots in the upcoming parliamentary elections although actual pre-election campaigning won't officially start until 23 days before voting day itself. The period is five days shorter than previous elections after controversial changes to the electoral code passed in June.
However, there are already some signs of activity on Facebook.
Erkin Gedirli, a lawyer by profession and also a blogger, is among the few using the popular social networking site so far. Shortly after his decision to run for parliament he created a Facebook group [AZ]. So far it has 416 members and its purpose is to keep people updated on the election process, the campaign, and to respond to any questions and concerns.
The group was created in July of this year and has not been without controversy. Shortly after Gedirli's Facebook page was launched, the Secretary of the Central Election Commission, Natiq Mammadov, raised  concerns with what he argued was the start of a campaign before the official pre-election period begins.
The accusation raises some questions about the use of new and social media during this election period. For example, as Gedirli is not yet officially registered as a candidate, the use of social media at this stage can perhaps be considered a gray area open to interpretation and debate, and likely by the authorities.
This is especially true given that many political figures have had their own personal Facebook pages which they use to reach out to supporters for some time.
Nevertheless, as freedom of expression and the media  remains a significant issue in Azerbaijan, especially since the ban on foreign radio station broadcasts by the BBC, VOA and RFE/RL at the beginning of 2009, there could well be more activity online instead.
Such a development might also put the continued use of new and social media by activists back in the spotlight, especially if it can somehow partly offer an alternative to governmental control of the mass media during elections which to date have not been judged free and fair by international observers.
Around 170,000 people in Azerbaijan use Facebook according the site's own estimates based on actual connections. According to those figures, most are young Azerbaijanis aged 18-30.
For now, another likely candidate, political analyst and figure Ilgar Mammadov, has also launched his own page [AZ]. Mammadov is a colleague of Gedirli in RE-AL (Republican Alternatives) which also has its own blog, as does he. He also tweets at @ilgarmammadov.

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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Azerbaijan: Bloggers to require registration? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As the use of new and social media starts to surface in the run-up to the 7 November parliamentary election in Azerbaijan, In Mutatione Fortitudo reports that there are now calls for bloggers to be considered similar to journalists. While on the surface such a suggestion sounds positive, the accompanying quote implies that those bloggers not registered with the Ministry of Justice could therefore be considered as engaging in illegal activities. Azerbaijan already has two video blogging youth activists serving sentences in prison despite significant international outcry.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: The Privileged Members Of Parliament · Global Voices
Rezwan

An ordinary citizen discusses about the recent privileges for the members of parliament announced by the government. The incomes of the MPs will be tax free and they will be able to import a tax free luxury car each.


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Brazil: Jornal do Brasil Quits Print and Goes Online · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Cover of the last printed edition (detail). Blog Diário do Rio
On August 31st, 2010, Jornal do Brasil (JB) [Brazil Newspaper, pt] announced the end of its printed edition and the migration to an 100% online version. The owner of the newspaper, Nelson Tanure [pt], as well as the last editorials [pt] were praising the initiative as a step forward on the way of the future, while on the other hand, the employees were protesting against what could be the first step on the way of the definitive close down of one of the oldest Brazilian newspapers.
Founded in 1891, JB was among the most important newspapers in Brazil at the end of the 19th century and for most of the 20th century. It was also the first newspaper to go online in the country, in 1995. Several of the most notable Brazilian journalists have been part of the team, and,  according to federal deputy Brizola Neto, there was a time when JB was a synonymous of credibility [pt]:
“Deu no JB”, por muitos anos, foi uma frase que lembrava o tom de credibilidade de um “deu no NY Times”
Cover of December 14th 1968, just after the act that institutionalized the censorship in Brazil, From Último Segundo
On Twitter, netcitizens such as @zamuna47 commented on the important role of JB during the military coup (1964) and following dictatorship (until 1985). Alberto Dines – JB’s editor at that time – states in Observatório de Imprensa [Press Watch, pt] blog that at the end of the 60s / early 70s, “even with the dictatorship and censorship as a background”, JB was a very competitive newspaper, referring to an “ultimate journalistic confrontation” between the latter and Globo – the biggest newspaper of Brazil – in what he calls “a meeting of giants, a fight of quality.” Then he regrets the way JB announced its end:
o fim do JB impresso foi confirmado na edição de quarta-feira (14/7) sob a forma de anúncio, publicidade. Aquela Casa não acredita em texto. E o seu jornal morreu sem epitáfio.
Brizola Neto, in a video posted  at Vi o Mundo [I Saw the World, pt], recalls an episode in 1982 when journalists of the newspaper “helped undo an attempted fraud in state elections in Rio de Janeiro”, won by his grandfather, Leonel Brizola. In his blog, Neto explains [pt] what he believes to be behind the fall of printed JB:
Dizem que  neste embate ao império global esteve parte do motivo da decadência do JB. Contam que o departamento comercial de O Globo era extremamente agressivo e avançava sobre os anunciantes do concorrente, propondo publicidade casada com outras publicações das Organizações Globo, numa concorrência desleal.
In fact, JB had many financial problems, as Sílvio Guedes Crespo, from Panorama Económico blog, comments [pt]:
O passivo acumulado do JB chega a R$ 800 milhões, a maior parte em dívidas trabalhistas e fiscais.
Segundo o Estadão, o “colapso financeiro” ocorreu no final da década de 1990; em 2001, os acionistas do JB arrendaram a marca por 60 anos à Companhia Brasileira de Multimídia (CBM), que é controlada pela Docasnet, empresa de Tanure. A CBM também havia arrendado a marca Gazeta Mercantil, que deixou de circular em 2009.
The first advertisement warning all readers about the upcoming exclusively online version of the newspaper. From blog Radar Econômico.
For Júlio Pegna, from the blog As Sandálias do Pirata [The Pirate sandals, pt], the episode is more like a lesson to the old media itself:
Mais do que apenas a quebra de uma empresa, o fim do JB representa um sinal para a grande imprensa. Mostra como é possivel, mesmo para um ícone, perder consistência financeira quando falta capacidade de visão. Os veiculos de comunicação impressos estarão condenados ao desaparecimento à medida que o público leitor tiver acesso à informação instantânea; a banda larga é o caminho inexorável que irá fulminar o bom e velho jornal. Fica a dúvida de como será embrulhado o peixe na feira livre dali em diante.
Although saying that most of its readers agreed with the change from paper to an online-only version, a few do not see it with good eyes, like Guilherme Valadares, from Papo de Homem[Man Chat, pt]:
Um marco radical. Resta saber se a guinada vai vingar. Pessoalmente, não considero um caminho acertado. Não vejo o brasileiro, em especial os leitores cativos de jornais impressos, prontos para fazer o pulo 100% para o Digital. Eu deixaria a operação da versão impressa mais enxuta, mas não iria abrir mão da mesma nunca.
Photo from blog Zenello.
On the last day of the newspaper printed existence, many journalists gathered in protest [pt] against the upcoming lay-off of almost half of its employees, claiming that the decision is comparable to throwing the country’s memory to the trash.
Journalist Ricardo Kotscho, who worked for JB from the 70's to the 90's, says that the newspaper was slowly dying out [pt]:
Restavam lá trabalhando apenas 60 jornalistas, a circulação vinha minguando abaixo dos 20 mil exemplares, o jornal já tinha encolhido de tamanho e o passivo chegava a 100 milhões de reais. Alguns dos seus antigos craques hoje ainda podem ser encontrados nas páginas de O Globo. A imprensa brasileira deveria decretar três dias de luto.
Leandro Mazzini, from the blog Informe JB posted [pt] his reactions and looks like he is more optimistic over its future:
É difícil mudar uma tradição de leitura de jornais, mas não impossível diante das tendências do presente e do futuro: com a convergência de mídias a cada dia mais essenciais, haverá em alguns anos uma inevitável migração dos impressos para o conteúdo digital (inclusive pelo fator ambiental, tão em voga).
Diário do Rio blog reproduced the reasons [pt] given by the newspaper for the radical change and  posted a timeline [pt] of the newspaper's rich history.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Caribbean: Farewell, Arrow · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean bloggers are mourning the loss of one of the region's soca music pioneers – Alphonsus Cassell, better known as “Arrow” – whose mega-hit, Hot, Hot, Hot is largely credited with taking soca to a global audience.
News reports confirm that the singer had been ailing from cancer for some time; bloggers’ tributes have been both touching and personal.
One Tribe, Many Voices recognises that his music was a soundtrack to the lives of many Caribbean people, even posting a link for readers to take a listen:
For many people who are not familiar with Calypso, Arrow may not be a recognizable name but for those of us who have danced and partied from Brooklyn to Port of Spain that is not the case.
Arrow brought a distinct flavor to Kaiso, it was the flavor of  Montserrat. Arrow put Montserrat and himself on the musical map in 1982 with his gigantic hit: ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’.
I can recall being drenched in sweat in Trinidad Carnival as Arrow sang ‘Bills’, ‘Soca Rhumba’ and ‘Rub Up’. His was a different take on soca, it had the feel of merengue and it seemed to crossover into a more Pan-Caribbean vibe. The beat was hard and it reminded me of the French Caribbean and the Spanish Caribbean all at once. The horns were very prominent, in your face.
The Caribbean Camera lists Arrow's musical achievements, but also offers a peek into another side of the man:
Arrow began to fuse calypso with other genres such as R&B, Zouk and salsa and in 1982 he worked with arranger Leston Paul and with his Multi National Force band to record the album `Hot Hot Hot.`
The title track became his first pan-Caribbean hit and the biggest selling soca hit of all time. It was adopted as the theme song of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, and was later covered by David Johansen (in his Buster Poindexter alter ego), Menudo, and Babla & Kanchan.
Arrow also established himself as a businessman in Montserrat, owning the Arrow`s Manshop store in Plymouth. When it was destroyed by the Soufriere Hills volcanic eruption, he relocated to Salem. He organized a fundraising calypso festival on the island in 1996, in response to the devastation caused by the volcano.
Arrow continued to be much in demand in the Caribbean and most recently performed at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremonies with Shaggy, Byron Lee and Kevin Lyttle.
Finally, from St. Vincent and the grenadines, Abeni says:
Born on the tiny island of Montserrat Alphonsus ‘Arrow’ Cassell's talent was anything but tiny. He gave us hits such as ‘Pirates’, ‘Long Time’ and the monster hit ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’. It was to enjoy more success following Buster Poindexter's remake in 1987. Years later, St Vincent's Kevin Lyttle was to enjoy unprecedented success with his hit ‘Turn me on’. So, it is I think fair to say that Arrow paved the way for other soca artistes to realize that soca could be marketed to non traditional markets.
I think it was on the weekend I read that he was airlifted to Antigua for medical attention. Today (September 15th) I learnt he had succumbed to brain cancer. My condolences go out to his family and the people of Montserrat who are mourning his loss. If it's any consolation he will always be ‘hot, hot, hot’.


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Chile: Bloggers and Social Network Users Question Bicentennial Celebrations · Global Voices
Paulina Aguilera Muñoz

On September 18 Chile commemorates 200 years of its Independence from Spain with a Bicentennial celebration. The date has generated a surge of blog posts and opinions that question the celebrations that would take place while the Mapuche indigenous group continue their prolonged hunger strike over an anti-terror law, as Global Voices previously reported, an event which has brought to light issues like identity and discrimination in Chilean society in the heart of the celebrations dedicated to the “homeland.” Questions, criticism, activism, memory and resistance are part of the assessment during the Chilean bicentennial.
Image "Chile toward the bicentennial?" by flickr user Cosmopolita. used under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commmons license
Questions
Blogger and singer Alonso Núñez in the citizen news agency Medio a Miedo [es] asks: “Are we really so worried about the Bicentennial?.” “Are we all celebrating?” wonders Matías  Valenzuela in SSCC Debates [es].
Tomas Bradanovic also asks, “What are we celebrating on the 18th?“:
No puedo evitar enrabiarme por esta tontera del  “bicentenario” La historia que nos enseñan es una  colección de fábulas,  llenas de héroes que se rasgan la camisa para  poner el pecho, pero en  realidad la mayoría fueron ineptos, tontos y  comidos por la ambición,  sus actos los retratan mejor que sus  discursos. La mala clase de  nuestros padres fundadores es pecado  original en toda América Latina,  una mochila que cargamos hasta el día  de hoy.
With a tweet by Patricia Ojeda (@patiojedamayorg), Twitter users like Javier Sánchez (@sanchez_javier) criticize the celebration:
64 días en huelga de hambre los presos Mapuches y los chilenos se preparan para celebrar el BICENTENARIO… NADA QUE CELEBRAR.
LOsorio (@aqui_leo) comments on another tweet which has been passed around on Twitter, evaluating the latest news circulating the Chilean web:
Cada vez me gusta  menos este Pais Bicentenario, casos: Mapuches, Mineros, Jumbo,  infiltrados en marchas, Barrancones, y un largo etc.
Memory and resistance
The celebration has also been overshadowed by another indigenous conflict, this time with the Rapa Nui, the native inhabitants of Easter Island who are requesting the return of their ancestral lands usurped by the state, as Ricardo Silva (Caio) [es] informs in his blog. On this issue Metiendo Ruido [es] comments that the Rapa Nui started occupying the land a couple of days after an eclipse, “a natural phenomenon that caused the inhabitants of Easter Island to experience a collective catharsis which resulted in forming a movement to reclaim the ancestral lands they had lent the Chilean state.“
Hector Ramirez Estay (@hectorm81)  re-tweeted a message which connects this issue with the bicentennial:
RT @TerraChile Parlamento Rapa Nui: “Acá no nos interesa nada del Bicentenario” http://bit.ly/br6jcO // Mapuches y Rapa Nui… ay ay ay…
Marly Rayen (@marlyrayenpg) shares an interesting perspective:
desde fuera se ve muy extraña la celebración del bicentenario, con los mapuches en huelga de hambre, y peor todos culpándose
In an old video posted by CiberAmerica-Chile [es], the Mapuche poet [es] Elicura Chihuailaf  warns that between the Mapuche and Chile the conversation is not interrupted because the conversation is actually non-existent; he also says that Chilean society needs to assume their beautiful dark, indigenous features.
The debate has been amplified by statements such as those written in a post by Tere Marincovic, where she calls the Mapuche “spoiled [es]” because of their actions. The post has received more than 1000 comments.
Bicentennial assessment
On the blogosphere the tendency has been toward assessment and reflection. In Distrito Digital Miguel Jesús Pedreros writes in the post, “The Mapuche: Bicentennial Denial”:
Y no solo es el  estado, es un país completo el que les da la espalda a los pueblos  originarios, en especial al pueblo mapuche. El desinterés evidente que  reina sobre la situación del pueblo mapuche, sobre esta huelga de  hambre, sobre su cultura, lo confirma. Somos un país desarraigado porque  no nos interesa mirar el pasado, sino, solo cuando está lleno de vana  gloria. Sin embargo, nuestra historia como seres, está llena de altos y  bajos, de alegrías y dolores…como dije antes, chile tiene una asquerosa  memoria selectiva, olvidamos que los mapuches fueron el único pueblo  indígena que se resistió totalmente a la dominación española, eso, ya es  heroico.
From an activism point of view, the blog IMC: Information Mapuche Chile [es] announces:
Del mismo modo, hacen un llamado a la ciudadanía en medio de estas  fechas de esparcimiento popular a la reflexión y conminan a quienes  llevan la conducción pública del estado a terminar con situaciones de  injusticia, atropellos y desigualdades. En la misma línea, hacen un  ferviente llamado a los sectores democráticos respetuosos de los  Derechos Humanos A NO SER PARTE DE ACTOS PUBLICOS DE FESTOJO DEL  BICENTENARIO, por respeto a la situación humanitaria que enfrenta el  Pueblo Mapuche. BICENTENARIO: Mucho Por Cambiar, Todo Para Transformar
To conclude, the editor of the Center for Journalistic Investigation and Information (CIPER) [es] Francisca Skoknic, analyzes [es] why there are Chileans that look at the bicentennial with indignation:
El problema es que esto no es personal.  La gente se informa por los medios. Sin ellos no existen los mineros,  no existen  los mapuche. Internet y las redes sociales en algo ayudan,  pero no nos  engañemos, aún no llegan a todos….Entonces se siente la indignación del  bicentenario. Esa que aflora cuando las cosas no se pueden ocultar. De  pronto están ahí y todos las vemos. Y no es lindo como nos quieren hace  creer.

author: Paulina Aguilera Muñoz


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China: Shanghai’s 7 Social Classes · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Baoru from CNReviews translated an article from JFDaily on Shanghai's 7 social class.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Commemorating Malaysia Day · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

September 16 is the day that Malaya, along with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore joined together to form Malaysia. However, it was only in this year that Malaysia Day became a public holiday; previously only the Independence Day of Malaya was a public holiday.
Twitter has been abuzz with the #harimalaysia hashtag. TsirAhXuan tweeted:
1Malaysia  shouldn't be abt Malay eat Chinese or Indian food & vise versa. If  one can speak others’ tongues, then that's unity.
Politicians contributed to the tweets as well.
Liow Tiong Lai, the Health Minister of Malaysia, tweeted:
Recognising Malaysia Day is an important step in creating a truly 1 Malaysia.
He then followed it up with:
I  hope this celebration will remind us that we all have the  responsibility to safeguard the unique ideas this nation was created on.
Hannah Yeoh, the State Assemblyman for Subang Jaya had nice things to say as well:
Msia  Day – Im grateful for my friends from Sabah & Sarawak. Sorry the  govt took so long to recognise today. Better late than never.
Some even used the opportunity to profess their pride in Malaysia, like radio DJ Hunny Madu:
Extra warmth in my heart tweeting this. If i had to do it again, i would still choose to be Malaysian.
The blogosphere was busy as well. May? offered a different point of view:
Some West Malaysians still fear the idea that the people of Sarawak and  Sabah live on trees and that headhunting is still rampant. Some East  Malaysians always get pissed off when reading those stereotypes, but yet  fail to improve their own knowledge of West Malaysia.  It's been 47  years… But do we acknowledge this on only Malaysia Day/National Day?  What about the other 364 days of the year?

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Ecuador: President Vetoes Higher Education Bill · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

This past January, Webometrics,  a Spaniard research group, released its “Webometrics Ranking of World Universities.”  The first Ecuadorian university  to appear in the ranking was Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral (ESPOL [es]) in position 702 [es]. There are only two Ecuadorian universities ranked among the top 100 in Latin America: ESPOL at number 25 and UTPL (Technical University of Loja) at number 66. This kind of exposure of Ecuadorian higher education has been a concern for many presidents, and the current government is working towards the approval of a new bill which affects higher education in Ecuador.
Litoral Polytechnic School – Guayaquil. Photo courtesy of Juan Francisco Guerra Salazar, an industrial engineering student in the ESPOL
The new organic bill for higher education is part of the  objectives in the new Ecuadorian Constitution approved by a referendum. The education bill was approved by the national assembly and sent to the president for a final decision. However, President Rafael Correa vetoed the bill and sent it back to the assembly for reconsideration [es] as it did not coincide with the original project. In order to get the bill passed by the national assembly some concessions had to be made, but Correa is now reintroducing the original ideas through amendments. These amendments include that the Secretary of Education would oversee higher education, and that the involvement of students as decision makers in Universities, as part of what is called a “co-government,” would be reduced from 50% to 25%.
The bill will also regulate the operations of all institutions involved in  higher education in Ecuador. Many have already been subject to  evaluations, but universities do not want to give up the so-called  “university autonomy.”  Both major organizations of Ecuadorian  universities, the Ecuador Association of Universities and Polytechnic  Schools (ASUEPE) and the Ecuadorian Corporation of Private Universities  (CEUPA),  wish they had an organism like the Higher Education Council (CONESUP [es])  to oversee their education centers; therefore, both groups are opposed  to the new bill which makes the Secretary of Education the only  institution  responsible for higher education policies. Furthermore, there are deep disagreements about the bill inside  universities and the National Planning and Development Secretariat (SENPLADES), the organism whose main goal is to act as a watchdog for all institutions of higher education in the country.
René Ramírez, SENPLADES’ secretary, was interviewed by El Telégrafo, a major Ecuadorian newspaper, where he summarizes the bill [es]:
Los cambios están canalizados a mejorar el nivel académico de las universidades, el nivel profesional de los docentes y otorgar becas por meritocracia…busca destinar recursos para la investigación en las universidades públicas y privadas…la existencia de docentes a tiempo completo será uno de los requisitos indispensables que deberán cumplir las universidades; además…  la mayoría del Consejo Universitario estará en manos de la comunidad académica y no del Estado.
But not everyone agrees with the government's suggested amendments. Paula Romo [es] is an assemblywoman for PAIS, the political party of president Correa.  She agrees that the bill is a positive step, including the points on the vetoed project, but she also voices concerns about the inequality in the treatment of universities:
En lo que se refiere al mecanismo de designación de autoridades académicas la ley hace una excepción para las universidades militares y las que se han acogido al modus vivendi; estas universidades, en este tema no están obligadas a regirse por la ley, sino por sus propios estatutos. Estas excepciones no son correctas ni justificables en un Estado de Derecho  y menos en un Estado Laico.
Students are defending the 50% student participation in co-governments, since the amended bill would diminish their participation. But even students disagree on this issue. Furthermore, the National Federation of Polytechnic Students (FEPON) complains that their proposals were never heard, and they think that the new  bill is a regression on students’ rights.  The president of the Catholic University Student Federation -Quito (FEUCE-Q) on the other hand, in an interview posted at ecuadorinmediato.com, supports the assignment of funds to research and the new way authorities will be elected according to Correa’s suggestions:
El veto emitido por el Presidente de la República, es sumamente  extenso, tiene 98 páginas, trata bastantes aspectos de la Ley, hay algunos que son radiales, hay algunos que en verdad son interesantes, creo que son bastantes positivos y también existen otros en los cuales  podemos discrepar con el criterio del Presidente
In her blog, Gabriela Salazar [es] justifies in some way the need for changes in higher education; she quotes Latitud Central, a newspaper from the Central University, and explains why some professors should resign immediately:
“¡AL FIN CARAJO!” y continúa, “Sí, ése es el grito de cientos de docentes que al fin en esta universidad se van a poner las cosas en orden”…y delira sobre una universidad hundida, de profesores universitarios tramposos que urdían accidentes de tránsito y enfermedades para no asistir, “profesores vagos a los que hay que llamarlos colegas”, en fin, de una universidad donde “se festinó el tiempo y no se hizo NADA”. E insiste así: “¡Ahora, si CARAJO vamos a estudiar!
In this flow of discrepancies one might come to think that many authorities are against the vetoed project, but Jose Elias in the blog Dialogo con Joselias [es] reports that at least 7 of the highest authorities in Ecuadorian universities met up in Cuenca to analyze the presidential veto. This blogger quotes Edgar Seminario of the Central University:
“No estamos a favor ni en contra del Gobierno, estamos a favor de un cambio radical en algunos aspectos como la importancia de la investigación en los procesos académicos, entre otros beneficios que trae el veto…Somos divergentes con otras opiniones, como la de defender la existencia de una Secretaria Técnica de Educación Superior, que para nosotros significa un cambio sustancial.”
While some Ecuadorians still struggle to reach an agreement on what is good for higher education in their country, others can't even get into university this year. Voces Lojana [es] points out that some 3,502 students are fighting in courts for their right to get into the National University of Loja (UNL [es]), which this year only issued 2,410 spots to fulfill a demand of over 7,000 aspiring students. There is one thing everyone seems to agree on: all Ecuadorians want to improve the quality of their higher education. But before any change happens, first they will have to come to an agreement.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Ghana: Political Success Story of West Africa, But… · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana maybe be the political success story of West Africa however its citizens have yet to experience a standard of living more associated with modern liberal democracies.


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Guyana: Gold Rush?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal thinks the gold rush must be on again – at least judging from the influx of foreigners – and each of them, she says, “got their own winning technique.”


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Honduras: Another Case of Police Brutality · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Juan Carlos Rivera [es] and user Hibueras [es] report on another case of police brutality during a protest led by the Resistance Front in the city San Pedro Sula. According to Juan Carlos Rivera, 20 thousand people participated in the march on September 15. He also posted pictures of the protest and the police reaction.


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Hungary: Another Silence Decree Blows a Gasket · Global Voices
Marietta Le

A year ago, Budapest residents started a public debate about the silence decree implemented in the city's District VI. Later people supporting the lively nightlife of the Hungarian capital rallied in front of the mayor's office against the decree, which at first required bars, restaurants and 24-hour shops to close at 10PM. The regulation was changed eventually, allowing the businesses to stay open till 1AM, and, in the places where there had been no complaints in the previous year or if the residents of at least half of the neighbouring houses agreed, till 6AM.
By the end of the summer, another Budapest's district – District VII – issued a similar silence decree. This boosted the anger against regulations, which peaked in a rally in front of the mayor's office after a notarial decree constrained the opening hours of the popular ‘ruined pub’ Szimpla Kert (‘Szimpla Garden’) due to a request [HUN] from residents of the neighbouring houses. The decree prohibited the local to stay open from midnight till 6AM.
photo from szimpla.hu
Szimpla Kert is located in an area of District VII called Erzsébetváros, where there are several other bars, pubs and restaurants. Szimpla is among the most popular ones both with the tourists and the Hungarian citizens.
Weisz Manfréd Huba of Kettős Mérce (‘Double Standard’) wrote in a post [HUN]:
[…] Szimpla is not only a pub, it is a trademark which has a brother pub in Berlin, this is the first place where every foreigner goes regardless of [his/her] age.
The specialty in all this is that Szimpla hires people to tell those walking in Kazinczy Street not to make noise. They tell this not only to the guests [of Szimpla], but to everyone! […]
Zero of Vastagbőr (‘Thick Skin’) blog reminded his readers in a post [HUN] about the concomitants of the implemented restrictions:
[…] In Erzsébetváros (where the mayor is still [György Hunvald], who is in prison) they are really not joking: in the last weeks, there have been several raids at locals of Kazinczy Street. Raids of labour, tax, fire services, consumer protection and police raid as well was at Szimpla kert, policemen with dogs were at ‘400‘ [HUN], at ‘Kőleves kert‘ [HUN], and also at ‘Ellátó kert‘. According to several eyewitnesses, foreign guests were searched while having dinner, there was a local where the police visibly looking for drugs searched each guest, and they let them out only one by one. […]
As seen last year, people started to say ‘no’ to the silence decree on Facebook [HUN].
Bloggers of Kettős Mérce organized a “noisy rally’ [HUN] in front of the office where the notary who released the decree worked.
Moha, a student online magazine, published an article [HUN] with a video about the rally where Weisz Manfréd Huba said this: “It's not possible to do this to a pub famous all over Europe, with this kind of municipal decrees, when they are changing their own regulations to make the place close or make it impossible for them to work.” One person in the video is shouting things like, “You aren't good enough to be a bartender!” And by the end of the video, an old woman is cheering the rallying crowd: “Go on boys!”

author: Marietta Le


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India: On Kashir And ‘Freedom’ · Global Voices
Rezwan

Greatbong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind opines that “what is going on in Kashmir is hardly an independence struggle, but more an expression of aggressive Islamic (mostly Sunni) revivalism.”


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Jamaica: Palisadoes’ Defeat  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Snail Writer blogs about the “environmental defeat” of the Palisadoes spit, “that jointed arm that holds Kingston Harbour in loose embrace”; Labrish echoes her “lamentations for Jamaica’s special places of natural beauty and the alarm at the lack of environmental consideration given to these places that are the heritage of all Jamaicans.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Nepal: The CyberSansar Scandal · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ujjwal Acharya at The Radiant Star writes about the copyright infringement by a reputed cyber business venture in Nepal and the government crackdown on its employees.

author: Rezwan


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Nigeria: Images of Nigerian Feminist Funmilayo Kuti · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Yesterday, I came across this album that contains pictures from the private collection of the much loved Nigerian feminist, shero and inspiration to several young girls and women, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti,” Eccentric Yoruba writes.


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Palestine: Sending A Message With Social Media · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Arjan El Fassed is one of the co-founders of the Electronic Intifada and author of “Niet iedereen kan stenen gooien” (“Not Everyone Can Throw Stones: A Dutch Palestinian in search of his roots and identity”). El Fassed made headlines last year for having a street in a Palestinian refugee camp named after his Twitter account, and has been involved with an online initiative in which people can request messages to be spray-painted on the West Bank wall. In this interview with Global Voices he talks about the potential of social media to help the Palestinian cause.
You have described yourself as strategist for humanitarian campaigns and social media. Do you think social media can play a role in effecting change in the Palestinan situation?
Already in the 90s with the rise of internet, I have always felt that internet as a communication tool would help tremendously in getting voices of people heard, especially from people living in military closed areas. More broadly speaking, in the debate in mainstream media around various conflicts you hardly hear the voices of ordinary people. Whether in Afghanistan, Somalia or Palestine, the vast majority of people, ordinary women and men, are hardly listened to. What you hear are political and military leaders and some self-defined experts that talk about people, but you hardly hear the voices of ordinary Palestinians. People like you and me. Social media easily connects ordinary women and men in Palestine to ordinary men and women in the West.
A year ago you made headlines by having a street in Askar refugee camp [near the West Bank city of Nablus] named after your Twitter account. Why did you choose your Twitter account and not simply your name?
At that time a group of marketing experts were visiting Askar and wanted to support the renovation of a youth centre in the camp. As they were walking around the camp, they noticed that one of the unique selling points of the camp was that the streets had no names. In the West, you first need to be well-known or not living anymore, if you want to have a street named after you. In the age of Twitter and Facebook people want to get acknowledged. By naming the street after my Twitter account I could relate this simple notion of a camp where the streets have no names to a vast number of people in the West that were looking at the enormous developments in social media, that on a daily basis were experiencing these new developments and who took notice of the headline ‘First street named after a Twitter account‘. If a street would be named after an ordinary name, they wouldn't have paid attention.
Is it true that your account is one of the most popular in the Netherlands as a result?
Yes, indeed, and as a result I was the first Dutch Twitter account in the world's top 1000 of most-followed Twitter accounts and the first on Twitter's own suggested users list, between Barack Obama and Coldplay.
@arjanelfassed tweetstreet in Askar refugee camp (photo courtesy of Arjan El Fassed)
Another project you have been involved with is Send A Message, in which people request messages to be spray-painted on the West Bank wall. How did the project come about?
In the spring of 2004, a good friend of mine, Justus van Oel visited Gaza and other parts of Palestine. He was shocked by what he experienced, and by everything that he did not know, or did not want to know. With support from a Dutch development organisation and former colleagues of his in the Dutch advertising industry, he organized three workshops with young Palestinians. The goal was to create effective, out-of-the-box communications concepts, that were inexpensive to execute as well. The first project, Send A Message, was making it possible to leave a personal, spray-painted message on the Wall. Over 1,400 messages have been placed.
Spray-painting a message (photo courtesy of Send A Message)
What kind of response has there been, and can you give us some examples of the messages that people have requested?
This project was listed by Time Magazine as ‘most influential graffiti art’. Through the mainstream media, the project and Palestinians trapped behind the Wall, reached an audience of over 550,000,000 people. A story we will always remember is this: Caspar from the Netherlands is celebrating his honeymoon in Indonesia. He sits next to his wife, whom he proposed with a message on the Wall, and they watch an international news channel. This channel shows an item about Send A Message and camera zooms in at Caspar's marriage proposal on the Wall.
A message on the wall (photo courtesy of of Send A Message)
Do you have any other initiatives coming up?
Yes, together with the Dutch-Israeli filmmaker Benny Brunner, a crossmedia project about 60,000 Palestinian books that were systematically looted during the 1948 war. The story of the stolen books is not only at the heart of our project, a documentary film to be produced about what happened, but also an online launching pad of a much bigger and wider endeavor: we intend to communicate the scope and depth of the destruction of culture in 1948. Ideally we want to bring those looted private libraries virtually back to life.
The Great Book Robbery can be followed on Twitter here.
You can “send a message” on the West Bank wall until 1 October; for more details see here.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Singapore, Malaysia: Mahathir Mohamad versus Lee Kuan Yew · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Through his blog, former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad responded to the comments of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew about the race relations and ‘racist politics’ in Malaysia.
Below is an excerpt of The New York Times interview with Lee Kuan Yew
I regret having been turfed out of Malaysia. I think if the Tunku had kept us together, what we did in Singapore, had Malaysia accepted a multiracial base for their society, much of what we’ve achieved in Singapore would be achieved in Malaysia.  But not as much because it’s a much broader base. We would have improved inter-racial relations and an improved holistic situation.  Now we have a very polarized Malaysia, Malays, Chinese and Indians in separate schools, living separate lives and not really getting on with one another. You read them.  That’s bad for us as close neighbours.
Singapore was part of the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated from it two years later.
Below is Mahathir’s blog reply:
Racism in Malaysia is clearly the result of Singapore's membership of the country for just three years.
Singapore's population is made up of 75 per cent Chinese and they own 95 per cent of the economy. It is therefore not a truly multi-racial country but a Chinese country with minority racial groups who are additionally much poorer
In Singapore dissent is not allowed, People who contest against the PAP (author’s note: ruling political party) would be hauled up in court for libel and if they win elections would not be allowed to take their places in Parliament.
…the party has always been led and dominated by ethnic Chinese and have won elections principally because of Chinese votes. The others are not even icing on the cake.
Konpunboyong left this comment in Mahathir’s blog
Both you and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew are nearly 70 years my senior. I do not know nor do I care what was happening in the past between Malaysia and Singapore. What I do know and care is that to-day in Malaysia we have first class citizens and second class citizens whereas in Singapore all citizens are of the same class.
Dr. Boo Cheng Hau from Malaysia clarifies the real cause of disunity among Malaysians.
In reality, it is the discriminative education policy towards various schools and the creation  Malay-only schools and higher education centers that causes disunity.
Lee can rule the island state of Singapore with his own prejudice but not a much diverse and bigger country like Malaysia. His vision has made Singapore an advanced nation but might have not worked for other countries
Where Bears Roam Free from Singapore criticizes Lee
Whenever the Old Man speaks, it is about the Old Times. Yes, it is about the sixties and the seventies, although we are now in the 21st Century.
He speaks about the race issues we had in Malaysia. He speaks about the race issues we would have if we didn't do this or that. In fact, he speaks about….. nothing else! Ever since he stepped into politics in the 1950s, Old Man's favourite topic, heck let me restate that, Old Man's ONLY topic is all about race, race, race.
I will never understand why Old Man keeps living in the past. Haven't we left Malaysia about more than 40 years ago? Why is the Old Man carrying the baggage of the past? Isn't he weighing Singapore down?
Sayang Bangsa proposes a standard to judge which leader is correct
So how then shall we assess who is right? I look at who is able to manage better, who has better attributes to ensure less corruption and abuse of power and who is able to anticipate problems and taking steps pre-emptively to resolve the problems. On all these accounts, I consider Lee and Singapore performing and doing much better.
Singapore may be smaller, but the problems they faced were definitely more complex, urgent and protracted. If Malaysian politicians were to manage Singapore from day one, I think Singapore would be a city slum today.
Mahathir and Lee are both known for being authoritative when they were still in power. The two leaders are also old rivals who have been criticizing the leadership of each other from time to time.

author: Mong Palatino


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Smart use of mobile in a rural Chinese restaurant · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lonniehodge posted a twitpic showing the use of mobile wireless device for checking order in a rural Chinese restaurant.


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Togo: The Most Hilarious Sports Joke of the Year · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Togo's football federation says the “national team” that played an exhibition match against Bahrain on September 7, 2010 was fake. Togo's sports minister says that the team was made up of “unidentified players and their shadowy handlers” who belonged to a “mafia group.” FIFA is investigating the allegations. One blogger has described the story as one of the weirdest stories of the year and another one says it is “one of the most hilarious sports practical jokes of all time.”
Husnain44 says international soccer business seems to be a lot easier than everyone makes out. He has got an idea. He wants to organise a match with the Spanish National Team “…so I’m off to make 10 quick phone calls and then challenge the Spanish national team to a kickabout.”
If you always wanted to play international football but you were not good enough, do not worry:
Have you always wanted to play international football, but were never quite good enough? Not a problem, provided you’re willing to tell a few lies and trick a few people. Because that’s how a team of footballers claiming to be the Togo national team managed to play an international friendly vs Bahrain last week.
Husnain44 wonders why Bahrain only managed to score 3 goals with a fake team:
Looks to me like someone has taken advantage of the disorganization in Togolese football, which had its football federation dissolved by FIFA in December 2009 and will elect new permanent federation members later this year.
The interesting thing here isn’t just that the fake Togolese players and agent were able to arrange and play an international football match without anyone getting suspicious. The really odd thing is that Bahrain only managed to win 3-0. Shouldn’t the Bahrain national team have destroyed these jokers by double digits? This is the same Bahrain team that was just one saved penalty kick away from making the 2010 World Cup instead of New Zealand.
Sounds to me like this international football business is a lot easier than everyone makes out, so I’m off to make 10 quick phone calls and then challenge the Spanish national team to a kickabout.
Derek Catsam asks, “Togo or Not Togo? (Not Togo)”:
Bahrain’s football team wondered why the Togolese team they had just beaten 3-0 last Tuesday played so poorly. Togo, after all, had been one of Africa’s representatives in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Well, it turns out that the reason Togo’s team did not seem very good was that they weren’t. Bahrain had played a group of imposters. Apparently a fake agent was able to sell the game to Bahrain (and the friendly appeared on FIFA’s website as well), which is in the process of preparing for the Asian championships and presumably would like to warm up with actual competition. Togo’s sports minister promises to investigate, though there is no indication that there is any wrongdoing in Togolese football circles.
Tayler Reisinger says this is one of the most hilarious practical joke of all time:
Usually a 3-0 Bahrain win over Togo won’t make it into your sports section here in the United States.  But when a fake agent may have somehow tricked the Bahrain Football Federation into playing a team full of impostors, you may have one of the most hilarious sports practical jokes of all time.
All that was missing in the game was “a laughing Ashton Kutcher bursting into the victorious locker room”:
Togo is perhaps best known as a surprise qualifier for the 2006 World Cup and Bahrain is a constant threat to advance out of Asian qualifying, so it’s not as if the match could fly completely under the radar.  But the “loss” certainly came as a surprise to Togo sports minister Christophe Chao, who apparently had no knowledge  that a game was even scheduled.
Everything looked legit to Bahrain, who received approval from what they thought was Togo’s football governing body.  It wasn’t until shortly before kickoff when the “Togo” pulled the old switcheroo – all 18 players who dressed for the match were different from the team roster that was given to their opponents in the planning stages.
After Bahrain cruised to a 3-0 win they rightfully began to wonder why the victory was so easy.  Maybe it was the fact that they played a bunch of stiffs with Togo jerseys on, and all that was missing was a laughing Ashton Kutcher bursting into the victorious locker room.
PassandMove says this was “One of the weirdest stories of the year so far”:
One of the weirdest stories of the year so far. Bahrain played a bunch of people who said they were the Togo national side, expect it turns out they weren't… Full details here. Reminds me of those stories you here about pub sides going on a tour of Spain and it turning out one of the teams they're playing things West Ham are visiting or something.
Peter Amsel's formula for fixing a soccer match: don't bother to bribe a player or two, just swap the whole team!:
If you’re going to fix a match, don’t bother attempting to bribe a player or two. Hell, just swap out the whole team and be done with it. That’s the apparent modus operandi of one Wilson Raj Perumal, a Singapore native jailed in 1995 for match fixing, who was last in the news as the subject of an investigation by Zimbabwe officials for allegedly dressing up a bunch of unknown scrubs in freshly pressed uniforms and passing them off as the national team at a match in Malaysia last year. Pretty ingenious, if you think about it (but not for too long).
Mr. Perumal’s name has now been linked to the developing scandal involving that international friendly between Togo and Bahrain. Again, the accusation stems from the fact that the players supposedly representing Togo’s national team were actually no-names who may or may not have ever played professional football in any capacity. Seriously, if these allegations are true, then Perumal must make all his lady companions ride in the back of his Jaguar, because his enormous balls would surely take up all the room in the front seats.
When the match kicked off, says Peter, the “Togo National Team” players began diving like Greg Louganis:
The ruse in Bahrain became apparent shortly after the match kicked off, when the supposed Togo players began diving like Greg Louganis (look him up), allowing the Bahrain side to more or less run wild. Bahrain’s coach, former Austrian national team head Josef Hickersberger, chose his words carefully in observing that the Togo side “were not fit enough to play 90 minutes.” Also choosing his words carefully is the supposed Machiavelli of the Match, Mr. Perumal, who told British reporters that “You have got the wrong person.” All righty, then…
If it is so easy to organise an international soccer match, he will invite FIFA to hold the next World Cup qualifier in his backyard and “and have the neighbors over for a real 3D viewing experience…”:
But seriously, we think the more pressing issue that arises from this scandal is precisely how does one organize an international friendly in which one of the participating nations has NO CLUE as to their supposed involvement?…Because, seriously, if pulling off this kind of ruse is this easy, I’m going to invite FIFA to hold the next World Cup qualifier in my backyard and have the neighbors over for a real 3D viewing experience…
If you want a home game against the US National Team get in touch with Alex Haueter. He can fix it for you:
I’ll forgo the obvious questions, like how did Bahrain get suckered into this, how did the “Togo” team pull it off, and how did NO ONE notice, and instead simply ask: Anybody want a home game against the US National Team? I’m scheduling.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Do the Math  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If citizens are being asked to trust our leaders’ public statements, then the statistics on their own departments’ websites must match”: KnowTnT.com is doing the math and says the numbers don't add up.


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Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia: Regional Winner  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Book Blog notes that a Trinidadian teacher submitted one of the regional winning entries in the Commonwealth Short Story Competition.


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Venezuela: Documentary Released Online Goes ‘Beyond the Clichés’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Francisco Toro from Caracas Chronicles introduces the documentary “Moving Pictures o Los Autos de Caracas” by Chris Moore, which was released online this week: “The film is a methodical meditation on just how Venezuela's dream of modernity went so badly off the rails.” Francisco will review the documentary in installments over the coming weeks.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Venezuela: Examples of US Media Campaign Against Chavez · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Eva Golinger in Postcards from the Revolution writes, “The bombardment of negative, false, distorted and manipulated news about Venezuela in US media has increased in volume and intensity during the last few days.” She goes on to show specific examples of this.


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Bahamas: Petition Power · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is good to be reminded that the environmental movement in my country is on the watch and bringing pressure to bear when this kind of threat is looming”: Womanish Words is signing a petition against the establishment of a shark fishery.


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Barbados: PM’s Ailment Confirmed · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbadian bloggers finally have a name to put to their Prime Minister's illness.


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Bermuda: Economic Hurricane · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermuda Blog is bracing for Hurricane Igor, while Vexed Bermoothes is focused on the state of the island's economy, saying: “It’s uglier than Igor.”


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Cameroon: CamerCouture Goes International · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

CamerCouture goes international, Dulce reports: Launched last year as a portal for only promoting Cameroonian designers, this year CamerCouture Fashion Showcase will include designers from an African background.


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Cameroon: How to Fix Cameroon’s Pension Fund · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hinsley Njila's ideas for fixing Cameroon's pension fund: “Many of us who grew up in families in Yaoundé may remember names and weary faces of some “uncles” who had to spend a day too many, painfully away from their families, trying to get all the right paper work for their retirement benefits.”


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China: Fishing boat captain detained, protests planned · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The spat between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands continues to grow, and protests around China are planned for Saturday, on the anniversary of the Mukden Incident.
At the the typically nationalist Global Times, one blogger gives Japan a few suggestions as to how the conflict might be resolved quickly and quietly:
日本巡逻艇这次强行拦截、扣船抓人，又引用国内法检控中国船长，整个行动一气呵成，环环相扣，明显是民主党当局一次精心策划的「杰作」，剧本早已事先写好，目的无非三点，一是拉拢民意，表明民主党并非亲华而不敢对中国说不，二是试探中国的反应，三是拉美国与日本站在同一阵綫，迫美国公开表态钓鱼岛包括在美日安保条约范围。现在日方的「剧本」已演到尾声，美国未有出面表态，实际上华府对中美关系自有一整套策略和「剧本」，又岂会「听日本支笛」？而中方罕有的强硬回应，海政船应声出巡钓鱼岛海域，喝停日方勘测船，更可能令日本当局始料不及。
中国船员船长是今次事件的受害者，面对国内民意的强大压力，中国政府没有妥协的余地，如果日方继续硬来，等於迫中国奉陪到底，这就可能大大超出日本当局演出这龅撞船剧本的「预算」，日本经济危机四伏，民主党菅直人虽然成功连任但内外交困，此刻与最大贸易夥伴中国交恶，无异雪上加霜。解铃还须系铃人，日方以某个理由立即释放闽晋渔船长，是化解这场中日关系政治危机的最低成本、最明智的做法，至於以释放的理由多的是，健康、人道(其祖母在孙子被日本拘捕当日活活激死)，都是现成的。
Over at NetEase in the comments section on a news story recounting statements made regarding the incident by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one reader has started a conversation with:
钓鱼岛事件是中国在试探日本，看日本可以容忍到什么程度。你们对这个说法有何理解？
到底谁试谁？我相信是日本在试探中国!
Writes one reader in response:
政府在试探民众

author: John Kennedy


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Colombia: The Case of J.J. Rendón, ‘he who can’t be named’ · Global Voices
Lully

Tomáz Garzía, a Colombian blogger and cartoonist, revealed through his blog Mundo desgrafiado [es] that he had received an email from the legal representative of Mr. Juan José Rendón (better known as J.J Rendón) who asked him to delete the content from the blog Claroscuro [es]  where Tomáz refers to J.J. Rendón and his participation in this year's presidential elections in Colombia. Wikipedia in Spanish [es] describes J.J Rendón as,
un publicista y psicólogo venezolano. Se presenta como estratega y consultor general. Ha escrito libros sobre rumorología. Es conocido en todo América Latina como el ‘rey de la propaganda negra, de la desinformación, del rumor como arma de propaganda política.’
Regarding his participation in this year's presidential elections in Colombia, Wikipedia in Spanish explains,
Rendón regresó al país en el año 2010. Esta vez lo hizo como jefe de la marchita campaña del exministro y candidato presidencial Juan Manuel Santos, unas semanas antes de la votación del 30 de mayo. […] Pese a la cantidad de comentarios negativos acerca de Rendón, la campaña de Santos repunto en las encuestas y la estrategia del venezolano lo llevo (a Santos) a obtener en las urnas más de 9 millones de votos.
The email released by Tomáz Garzía [es] in his blog says that his actions constitute a violation of copyright, since he used the registered image of J.J. Rendón, who in this case Tomáz calls “he who can't be named.”
Cartoon by Tomáz Garzia. Cartoon reads: "Note: Some faces in this cartoon have been covered because they violate rules related to copyright. All silencers and black robes are a product of the author's imagination and are in no way related to reality." Image used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 Colombia Creative Commons license
Alternative media like Equinoxio [es], Twitter users [es] and bloggers are sharing their opinion on the issue, emphasizing the right of freedom of expression.
Maritza Sánchez (@ColoresMari) says on Twitter:
Resulta que no se pueden utilizar los sustantivos propios, a riesgo de ser demandado…
On Twitter, user @raigohead says:
Con – El silenciador del Señor Innombrable – Se confirma que no se puede hablar de cierto “mafiosos” mediáticos…
Julián Ortega (@Julianortegam) writes:
(…) ahora resulta que J. J. Rendón es una ‘marca registrada’ y no se puede rajar de él.
Moriz Jakobsen (@Oyerista) warns his Twitter followers:
¡Pilas! te puede llegar un mail del abogado de JJ © por cuenta de tu blog.
Camilo Andrés Suárez (@Kami_an) says:
JJRENDON vs Blogueros de Colombia, interesante batalla, unos por su “prestigio” y otros por la “libertad de expresión”
Cartoon by Xtian in support of Tomáz, used with Xtian's permission
In a comment on Tomáz’ post titled “The silencer, he who can't be named [es],” Filipos [es] offers his support:
Sólo puedo decir que, sean cuales sean las pretensiones de los actuantes (que no parecen las mejores), no hay que dejarse intimidar.
Juancho H. in the blog La Lámpara de Diógenes, after a brief introduction and a summary, ends like this [es]:
Ah, por cierto… si al señor J.J. Rendón le duele que hablen mal de él, quizá debería observar su forma de proceder, agresivo contra principios democráticos, antes de andar exigiendo algo que él suele desconocer.
The blogger under the pseudonym Blueandtanit amplifies the information and shows us Google's cache [es] of the post Tomáz wrote on the Venezuelan publicist. [The cache shows a cartoon of Rendón made by Tomáz, and a link to the whole post which is no longer available]. At the end of her post, the blogger concludes [es]:
Desde este blog quiero manifestar mi solidaridad con  Tomáz, ojalá pueda seguir haciéndonos sonreir con sus caricaturas  gráficas y escritas y ojalá la libertad de prensa y de expresión sea un  motivo de unión de blogueros y twitteros, esto le puede pasar a  cualquiera, a cualquier bloguero, twittero, medio independiente.
In the blog Tutor Virtual, Carlos Arturo Gamboa shares an analysis and calls on other bloggers to act [es]:
Ante esta amenaza y otras menos visibles, como las interferencias, bloqueos y chuzadas a las cuentas de los blogueros, la comunidad no puede permanecer impávida; bueno al menos la comunidad virtual, porque la “otra” demostró en Colombia que puede vivir con peores atrocidades como las chuzadas del DAS, las masacres y la parapolítica. Invito entonces a que rede-licemos este hecho, a que desde nuestros escasos escenarios de libertad renunciemos al silencio y que en un frente común, desde estos espacios y desde todos los que puedan crear e imaginar, no sólo repudiemos el acto, sino que afilemos nuestras “plumas virtuales” para defender el derecho a Decir, es decir, a Pensar.
Nicolás from Diario Nocturno, one of the oldest blogs from Colombia, reports on how he has been a victim [es] of these kind of messages:
Con cada vez más frecuencia los bloggers colombianos recibimos cartas con intención de censura con el intimidante nombre de solicitudes de “cese y desista”, que no son más que amenazas previas a acciones judiciales más severas con la intención de hacernos morir del susto y retirar contenidos que incomodan a alguien por los motivos que sean. El argumento de “no quiero que hable de mí o de mi marca” se mimetiza con “usted no es propietario de los derechos de mi marca y si la vuelve a nombrar nos veremos en un juzgado.”
J.J. Rendón responded in the comments section of an article on the issue posted in Equinoxio [es]. In his first comment [es] Rendón explains:
Ud puede nombrarme cuantas veces quiera;lo que no deberìa es difamar sin pruebas ni sustento.volverse un replicador de difamaciones de otros *libres difamadores de la web* y sentirse impune.Las opiniones se respetan sì,pero no pueden considerarse opiniones inofensivas o simples aquellas que solo buscan dañar,discriminar,exponer al ataque pùblico o descalificar descarnadamente.Ya no es mi abogado si no YO quien le escribo reclamandole respeto,informaciòn veraz,objetividad y dejar de usar mi nombre calumniandome.
Atte
J.J.Rendòn
In a second comment [es] a few minutes later, Rendón clarifies his point:
Le aclaro que no es mi intenciòn silenciar a nadie;ya estoy acostubrado a este tipo de ataques sin embargo me siento no solo con el derecho sino con el deber de al menos tratar de dejar clara mi posiciòn al respecto.
J.J.Rendòn

author: Lully


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Ecuador: Twitter Campaign Against Car Accidents  · Global Voices
Paulina Aguilera Muñoz

#sitomasnomanejes [if you drink, don’t drive] is the recent Twitter campaign to reduce the number of deaths from traffic accidents in Ecuador. Twitter users have been hashtagging #sitomasnomanejes amidst the nationwide commotion caused by recent and fatal car accidents  [es] and discussions regarding the country’s new traffic law.
Image by Flickr user matias.dutto used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
Steve (@stevecede) asks drivers to be careful before the weekend’s festivities:
Pila gente jueves de vacile pero #sitomasnomanejes no lo olvides
Criticoecuatoriano (@CriticoEcuatoriano) reminds followers::
Como estamos en la campaña #sitomasnomanejes vamos en un solo carro y ya esta la persona q va a manejar designada!
In his blog entitled Sostiene Raúl Zavala [es], Raul Zavala (@periodista_PTV) explains the campaign’s content:
Hace unas semanas ..  un ebrio al volante embistió a un grupo que salía de una discoteca; muertos, heridos, alteración popular y el vehículo incendiado. Este hecho paso casi inadvertido. Al poco tiempo, en Guayaquil, un conductor que dijo haberse quedado dormido luego de beber 2 vasos de whiskey, atropelló a otro grupo de personas; resultados: muertos, alteración social y un vehículo incendiado.
The national media have joined the campaign, giving it all the multimedia coverage possible, with live chats and videos on YouTube of conversations with the police [es]. The Twitter version of the HOY [es] newspaper states:
El mayor Zapata dio datos impactantes sobre accidentes de tránsito en primicia para HOY y los espectadores de este chat que se presentarán mañana en un informe de la Dirección de Tránsito en Quito.
This campaign is based on two underlying aspects. One is the extremely high rate of traffic accidents throughout the country, with more than 2,000 deaths attributed to road accidents in 2010 alone, according to the enterateecuador [es] webpage.
Carla Loaiza (@Celf1988) re-tweeted her frustration with fatal traffic accidents:
Hay quienes no entienden #sitomasnomanejes Otro conductor ebrio provocó accidente  #Ecuador http://cort.as/0All
The blog entitled Latinoamericano Tercermundo [es] emphasizes personal blame and the usefulness of the Twitter campaign:
es realmente excelente la forma como hemos reaccionado tratando de  concienciar a traves del twitter con el hastag #sitomasnomanejes. Pero  en la próxima ocasión que nos toque ser participes o cómplices de la  tremenda cojudes atentatoria a la vida propia y la ajena, que implica  manejar plutote o ser acompañante del borracho hagamos algo mas útil que  solamente sumarnos a la corriente twitera del momento. No te subas a ese carro y no dejes que maneje ese borracho.
Videos like this have been posted on the web and by bloggers throughout the country who have been moved by the increase in traffic tragedies:
The author of the blog Reflexiones del Tio Charly [es] writes:
HE visto con mucho agrado en TWITTER que se ha iniciado una campaña de concienciación sobre el riesgo que implica manejar bajo los efectos del alcohol. Y me es muy interesante el saber que la idea nace de la propia  gente “común”, de aquella que según las concepciones clásicas no tiene  poder o injerencia alguna en las conductas sociales; no nació de un  grupo político o de una entidad estatal, nació de la indignación y  tristeza que todos sentimos al ver como vidas son desperdiciadas por  irresponsabilidad de conductores.
Minuto30.com [es] and other bloggers agree with the extent of the problem; the webpage references Analyst Fernando Carrión:
“Los accidentes viales han dejado de ser tales en el país, debido a la frecuencia con que se producen, hasta el extremo de que se han constituido en mal endémico; tan es así la situación que el Ecuador ocupa el nada honroso segundo lugar en accidentalidad vial en América Latina”
The second aspect of the campaign is focused on Ecuador’s National Assembly, where Andes [es] reports that traffic accidents are treated like “a public alarm.” B10 [es] sharply points out the correlation of accidents to the country’s traffic legislation:
Cifras fatales: en el 2009 hubo 19.143 colisiones y atropellamientos que  causaron la muerte de 1.990 personas. Este año, solo entre enero y  junio, se superó esa cifra. Las autoridades tienen fondos y la ley para  actuar, pero responden a intereses creados, junto a mafias que no ceden,  y buscan salidas polItiqueras: reformar la Ley, cuando tienen que  aplicarla bien.
The national police have now joined the voices clamoring for change; in their support for alterations to the Traffic Law [es], they have asked the National Assembly that it reform the penalties and fines levied on people who drive while inebriated. La Hueca [es] comments on this aspect in her blog, reflecting on the new Overland Traffic and Transportation Law, which has gone through multiple changes, since the last version included a series of contradictory and inconsistent provisions. Now in effect, the new law [es] fills in a vacuum, since the country lacks a legal framework for driving organization, regulation and control.


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Egypt: The Cairo barrages · Global Voices
Mohamed ElGohary

Flickr user Muhammad A Hassan posted photos of his neighborhood, called Al Qanatir Al-Khayriyah in Arabic, or the Cairo barrages.

author: Mohamed ElGohary


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India: Joy Of Giving · Global Voices
Rezwan

A nationwide nation-wide Joy of Giving Week will be held in India from September 27 to October 3, 2010.  Ugich Konitari describes the joy of giving citing a real life example.


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India: Use Of Facebook By Leading Brands · Global Voices
Rezwan

Caitlin Fitzsimmons informs that leading Indian brands are increasingly using Facebook for their marketing campaigns. She highlights a study on the Facebook usage of 25 brands from seven industry verticals.


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Jamaica: Banton Preps For Trial  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

YardFlex.com is following the Buju Banton drug possession case which goes to trial in the U.S. on Monday.  In light of news that two co-defendants have turned state witnesses, the blog says: “The next couple of days will be crucial as Buju and his lawyers hunker down and prepare to tell previously untold stories.”


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Mali: Women on Bikes · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sierra Leonean blogger Vickie writes about her recent trip to Bamako, Mali: “The city was everything I expected and more but nothing could have prepared me for the women on bikes. I like to think I know it all, but how is it I didn’t know about this? Women in Bamako fabulously dressed in their African attire, old, and young, slim and plump have mastered the bike.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha