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Bolivian gas sets Brazilian political debate on fire · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Bolivian president Evo Morales has put president Lula in a difficult position. In a move to fulfill his campaign promise of nationalizing oil and gas in Bolivia, Morales published a decree that directly affected Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company. Even though it was an expected decision, it was implemented in a sensational way by placing Bolivian troops in charge of the company's plants and by the prominent role played by Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez in the process. This has put Lula under another fierce crossfire as he faces an already turbulent electoral year. His administration’s foreign policies are now also under attack.
“Last week we helplessly watched the Bolivian army, under the command of president Evo Morales, invading Petrobras’ plants in Bolivia. Everything was done by armed soldiers. I believe this situation represents a great defeat for Brazilians, especially for president Lula and the minister of foreign affairs, Celso Amorim.”
Brasil X Bolívia = Lula 0, Evo Morales 10, Hugo Chávez 100  – Daniel Yang Blog
“We were still under the influence of the announcement of  Brazilian oil self-sufficiency when president Evo Morales declared his intention of  expropriating EBX iron company. On May 1st he went ahead and edited the Supreme Decree nationalizing all gas and oil operations in Bolivia, a hard hit on Petrobras. Not happy with that, he ordered an ostentatious and unnecessary occupation of 53 gas and oil installations controlled by foreign companies. Under the decree (n. 28.701), Petrobras and other companies have been reduced to mere operators of oil and gas production in Bolivia, receiving only 18% for their services from Yacimientos Petrolíferos Federales de Bolívia (YPFB).
The oil is theirs  – Total Alert  – Blog
As regularly happens in recent times, the mainstream media are thrilled by the opportunities for sensationalism. They consistently manage to set facts in hot frames and throw more fuel on the political fire. Those moves are critically considered by the blogosphere in minutes.
“I was walking down the street today and looked at the magazines on the news stand. One of them, ‘IstoÉ’, had on its cover: ‘Evo Morales, the man who can paralyze Brazil’. The illustration showed a picture of the cocalero leader attached to a gas stopper with a lighted wick — that traditional cartoon scene that precedes big explosions. How sad. Firstly, because of the falsehood involved. Bolivian gas covers only a little part of the Brazilian energetic matrix, which, as we all now, is mainly supported by hydroelectricity. In terms of fuel, gasoline is champ and we are now self-sufficient in oil. There is also high usage of alcohol coming from our own ecologically troubled monoculture crops.”
angry media – reverse – blog
The online debate goes on, presenting arguments of varied hues, bringing new information coming from totally diverse perspectives, forming a rich mosaic on how to approach the issue.
“I believe that this decision from president Evo Morales is a sovereign act from a democratically elected legitimate government. It is in many ways similar to when Brazil created Petrobras and the oil state monopoly in the 50’s. But I think Brazil has to be firm in defending our interests and not permitting expropriating processes. It's necessary to establish a rational process and avoid emotional decisions. A negotiation is needed that is capable of attending to the legitimate demands of all the parties involved and of assuring the continuing partnership between Brazil and Bolivia in the oil and gas arena.”
Morales’ marketing strike!  – Management Shock  – Blog
“The foreign relations ministry sees Bolivia as a country near insolvency. It would break if Brazil was to stop gas imports. But this would not be a good decision for Brazil as some of industries of the south and southeast depend on the Bolivian gas and because there is fear that a worse crisis would push Evo Morales to even more radical moves. This could just throw him into the arms of Chávez.”
Petrobrás plays hard with Bolivia while Lula tries to contain Chávez  –  Global Life
The temperature was already hot, and became hotter after the meeting of the four presidents — Chávez, Morales, Kirchner and Lula — which happened two days after the Bolivian announcement. Chávez stopped in Bolivia to give Morales a plane ride to Foz do Iguazu — the world famous waterfall region in the triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Lula was certainly not pleased with the tone of the conversation, showing visible impatience with the talkative Venezuelan. However, in the midst of difficulties and criticisms, the Brazilian president persisted in asserting that Latin American economic integration is a top priority of his foreign policy.
“The meeting between the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela in Porto Iguaçu, Paraná, seemed to be the right moment for the Brazilian government to resolve the situation. Lula spoke and deflated the crisis by making the case for Bolivia. He also said that the gasodute project would unite the four countries and result in a good option to prevent any scarcity in the energy sector. Deals with Argentinians, Bolivians and Venezuelans? God help me! Argentineans complain about everything that comes from Brazil, Bolivia you already knows about, and Venezuela… Well, the problem in Venezuela is Hugo Chávez.”
Crise: Brasil x Bolívia –  Blog do Noel
“There were three hours of meetings. But many more will necessary to digest the blow: the president (of Brazil?) was not only conniving with the savagery but congratulated with it. The truth is that Lula does not have any pride. He was stabbed in the back in a conspiracy he thought he had under control and he responded by asserting a romantic ideal of ultra-worldly union. Like a cheated husband who accepts the orgies of his wife, he now begs for a place in the sun.”
Who could defend us? – The conservative pulpit  – Blog
In other times, everything which is happening now would be considered ‘a crime against the nation’, ‘a commonwealth malfeasance’, and the government would be called ‘weak’. Nothing like this happened. The reaction was silence. We hope that Evo Morales does not decide to invade Brazil, alleging that he was cheated on the   Petrópolis Treaty, signed in 1903, in which Bolívia sold Brazil the territory of the state of Acre .
Watch out Evo – Ideas in the wind – Blog
The debate about the issue will keep being influenced by the electoral climate. The Brazilian international presence has been recognized for its effectiveness in reshaping the debate over global trade issues and by its influence in realigning political forces at the global level. Lula knows that it is important to maintain the chosen strategy of his foreign policy. Even under electoral fire, he can still find many voices ready to back his position and praise the importance of regional integration.
“What answer should be given? Would it be to invade Bolivia, a country where people live with 20% of the Brazilian average income? To do a military attack on an economy a hundred times smaller? In a world dominated by the morals of profit, such a Brazilian reaction could only be seen as weird. ‘Voices from the media will say the contrary, but the position taken by President Lula was totally right. He recognized Bolivia's sovereignty and the need for international aid to that poor country’, said Hélio Jaguaribe (sociologist and founder of the PSDB opposition party)”
Critics try to stop the move towards south american union  – André Barrocal –  Carta Maior
The issues of regional integration will be on-going as all of South American searches for its right balance of union and nationhood in the new paradigms of globalization. We will be monitoring the blogosphere closely on these issues and new information will be posted in the comments section. Stay tuned.

author: Jose Murilo


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Caucasus: Democracy and the Future · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna reports on a lecture on democracy and the future of the South Caucasus.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


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Chile: Atina Blog Awards · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Atina Chile has a heart-warming video, set of photos, and description (ES) of the awards ceremony of the Atina Blog Awards. For anyone who has been following Chile's blog community for some time, these are the faces and smiles behind the incredible words and energetic movement.

author: David Sasaki


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China: Death metal opera · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Aside from a trip to a sex market in the Southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and the displayed breakthrough in research of ancient Chinese erotic art, Frances at Supernaut keeps blogging up to the opening of her collaborative death metal Cantonese opera performance project, Apocalypse Pearl River Delta.

author: John Kennedy


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China: Free press defended · Global Voices
John Kennedy

EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong translates an essay written by former Peking university journalism professor Jiao Guobao in commemoration of last week's World Press Freedom Day. Find therein a defence of anti-Communist Party of China reporting and mention of two tools widely used to bypass The Great Firewall of China.


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China: Magazine startup tips · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Joel Martinsen of the Chinese media research team at Danwei keeps the pioneering coverage of China's publishing industry with a look at several official and otherwise ways to start one's own publication in China in ‘Wait, what's the name of this magazine again?‘ and we see Jeremy Goldkorn in the latest release from Danwei TV, Mainland May Day in Hong Kong.


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China: Universities fail review · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The AngryChineseBlogger takes a very close look at a recently-released report which gives a very poor rating of the protection of intellectual property rights in four of China's top ten universities, adds an analysis of fiscal, socio-cultural and legal factors which might contribute to the problem, and ends with a prediction of how this report is most likely to be viewed within China:
“While a great many, some would argue most, Chinese universities commit a broad range of IPR violations on a regular basis, and do little or nothing to keep this fact a secret, the way in which the five institutes were named by the IIPA, and the public highlighting of their transgressions, remains an extreme loss of face.”


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Costa Rica: A Personal Account of the President · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Writing from San José, Costa Rica, Adam Isacson shares his first-hand account of the inauguration of his former boss, Oscar Arias and former co-worker-turned-vice-president, Kevin Casas. “(I admit I had trouble treating Kevin with the deference his new position requires. In retrospect, saying “hey man, you’re Costa Rica’s Dick Cheney now” was probably over the line.)”


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Costa Rica: Oscar Arias Inaugurated · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias was inaugurated today. Uri Ridelman writes that he believes Costa Rica to be “one of the few countries in the world where a president can still walk to his swearing in ceremony with nothing but a personal escort beside him.” Commenting on the small margin of votes that separated Arias from his main opponent, Ottón Solís, American expat Erin R. draws a comparison to the most recent US elections: “Almost half of all Costa Ricans wanted a president other than Arias, and I think Americans understand this feeling all too well.” Meanwhile, Roberto Gallardo thinks the Legislative Assembly is off to a positive start (ES).


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East Timor: Media coverage woes · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sam at Dili-Dallying is disappointed at the quality of reporting on East-Timor by journalists from Australia, Indonesia and Portugal. Sam takes couple of Australian newspapers to task for not having reports in East Timor and instead reporting “unsubstantiated rumours from afar”.

author: Preetam Rai


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El Salvador, Argentina: On Book Fairs · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Soy Salvadoreño was impressed with the low prices (ES) at the Universidad Centroamericana book fair in San Salvador. Jeff Barry went to the Book Fair at La Rural in Buenos Aires where he observed that the media company Grupo Clarín “obviously hired models to work the Clarín booths, which seemed to lower the intellectual quality of the whole thing.”


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Extensive Flooding in Suriname · Global Voices
Angelo Embuldeniya

HEAVY FLOODING has affected more than 157 villages in Suriname over the past 48 hours and 15,000 people have been displaced already.  “Operation Falawatra” (Operation “Low Tide”), the government's aid operation currently being carried out by the national army and police, has been hampered because of continued torrential rainfall, and the situation is deteriorating further. Several hours ago, the President of Suriname issued a state of emergency and at the time was expected to request international assistance. Up to the time of writing this had not been done, however, despite several relief teams having placed aid and personnel on standby.
Since most of the information available is in Dutch and as there is minimal coverage by the mainstream media regarding the situation in Suriname, the World Wide Help Group have been blogging around the clock, after having made contact with people on the ground. Volunteers are also helping translate information from live broadcasts from Dutch into English.
Maya Matawlie, who's been doing an amazing job of reporting from the ground in Suriname says that:
“the National Coordination Center for Disaster Relief (NCCR) is the central point for the disaster relief in Suriname, NCCR is also known as the relief crisis center and their evacuation plan is being executed from the airstrips of the villages of Djumu and Godo Olo. In these villages relief camps have been set up and the army is already in the area. The size of the disaster and the amount of help that will be needed is not apparent yet. According to the statistics there are approximately 15,000 people living in the upper Suriname-river area and about 9000 people in the upper Tapanahony area. The villages that have suffered the most damage are : Botopasi, Pikin Slee and Asindonhopo. The newsflash that several children have perished is being denied by the Minister of Regional Development”.
Fons in Brussels, one of the translators assisting the efforts at the WWH blog, reveals that in the Netherlands the Surinamese community are distressed at the ongoing crisis and stresses that the media reports being televised paint a picture of governmental chaos amidst major destruction caused by the floods:
“I have seen pretty hapless authorities on TV, they have no clue what is happening, there seem very few contacts in the area. People are pretty upset about the government, it is thought that the president acted too late. Now the government is first moving in the whoever they have within the national army  instead of providing aid to assist people.  Although the main needs  are food, medicines and shelter there are no planes yet to bring in aid. Although the country's relief crisis center has already been established at the Ministry of Defence in the capital — Paramaribo, the army wants to first set up relief operations in each of the affected areas as there is only a limited number of planes plus they want to have the army there before relief items are transported around”.
In her latest instalment, Maya Matawlie recounts her efforts to gather information from the authorities:
“I went off to find out how thing were going because the press in Suriname was not very helpful.
So I went to the ministry of defense (no pictures due to security). The NCCR (coordination center) is there. I found out that there are no casualties apart from the one person.
From there I went to the NDP (National Democratic party), the largest political party in Suriname; they had something on the radio urging all their members to donate goods and what not. Mr. Lachin, the coordinator for this, told me that they are trying to get dry goods (as in rice and milkpowder), bottled water, milk for babies, clothes and whatever else they can get – as much as possible. Since the NCCR wants the aid to go from one central point, the NDP will help them as far as possible. . . .”
If you speak Dutch, you can help the team at World Wide Help by translating to information into English or whatever other language you have in your linguistic arsenal. Any assistance you can point their way can be sent to suriname[at]worldwidehelp[dot]info.

author: Angelo Embuldeniya


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Guatemala: Profile of Mazatenango, Suchitepéquez · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Guatemalan Adoption Blog has an interesting profile of Mazatenango the capital of southwest Suchitepéquez state.


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Haiti: More on the “Kevin Sites Watch” · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Alice Backer continues her “Kevin Sites Watch”, her analysis of the journalist's coverage of Haiti. She gives his story on voodoo a thumbs up, but is “still chewing on his “mud pie” story”.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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India: This TV Channel Loves Rahul Gandhi · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Who says the mainstream media doesn't have a bias. War For News on how a particular TV channel has a political inclination and seems to have found an icon to shower attention on.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran: Embargo & Scientists! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Habahoot Natamam, says recently scientific magazines (in the West) started to reject scientific articles written by Iranians (Persian). He adds articles are sent back by editor to writers without any scientific judgement. Blogger concludes maybe hidden embargo against Iran has already started.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: No journal for Reformists! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Boye Khak says Mosharekat, country's major reformist party, did not get permission to publish its new journal, Iranian (Persian).


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Jacob Zuma Acquittal · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Yesterday, Jacob Zuma was acquitted on rape charges  and the compliant known as Khwezi is on her way to a life of exile.  The response in the African blogosphere is varied and ranges from those who are outraged at the verdict believing Zuma to be guilty of rape. Then there are those  who believe  justice was served but question the morality of Zuma's action in committing adultry (he claims that consensual sex took place) the stupidity and ignorance of his having unprotected sex with an HIV+ woman.  Others choose not to comment on the verdict at all but rather on the possibility of Zuma returning to political office and even running from the Presidency.
Chump Style in “Zuma f%%ks over South Africa”  writes that after South African women have fought so hard for women's rights and highlighted gender violence and a multibillion rand AIDS awareness campaign
Along comes a “I have no formal education” DEPUTY PRESIDENT who makes himself one of the wealthiest men in SA … And REVERSES everything that these 2 campaigns have fought for, for so long.
He… then gets acquitted of the charges, thereby sending a message out to all rape-inclined men, “hey guys it's ok if you rape a woman, if she isn't wearing 300 layers of clothing down to her toes… She is ASKING FOR IT!”.
Shailja Blog is outraged at the verdict and responds to the judges comment that the woman had a history of making false allegations as follows:
Yeah, that's what women do. Particularly young, vulnerable, HIV+ women in South Africa, where a woman gets raped every 26 seconds, and the conviction rate for rapists is below 7%…….Perhaps she was bored. Or it was that time of the month – we all know how a woman's hormones go haywire every 28 days. She didn't have enough going on in her life. So she thought:
The Urban Trash Blog in Jacob Zuma (Part 2)  agrees with the judges decision but will not be voting for Zuma as President should he run.  His disgust lies with Zuma's behaviour
* he cheated on his wife (or wives);
* his sexual immorality has expressed great disrespect towards his family and peers;
* he had consensual sex with a HIV-positive family friend;
* he had consensual sex with a HIV-positive family friend HALF his age;
* he is a self righteous, arrogant harlequin;
* he has funny eyes …and probably clammy hands, too …that smell like cabbage.
Gregoogle,  Jacob Zuma is guilty, even if the High Court sais otherwise  believes Zuma to be guilty not of rape but of
Guilty of moral misjudgement. Guilty of being an appalling role model for the people of this country. Guilty of providing information about HIV/AIDS making it seem like a powerless disease. Guilty of adultery….I think that because of these notions, many people are upset, as his conduct has been undeniably immoral, and as a public leader of a country should not get away with such actions. And what I do not understand are Zuma's followers, who have the knowledge of this dishonourable conduct and still support him as a leader.
He does however believe that the trial and it's outcome questions the “issue of rape and that of women's rights in South Africa.”
It is the question that drives us mad asks “Was justice served in the Zuma trial?”  He believes yes it was
A very wise judge told the court that he had his reasons for allowing the evidence and as we heard the history of accusations against multiple people surface, including clergymen, I began to have my doubts.
Nonetheless he has very negative  feelings about Zuma the man and the politian:
But Mr Zuma, you have coloured my perception of you with your anachronistic beliefs and chauvanist attitude. You have shamed men as you have sung your war songs with phallic symbolism. You and your supporters are may be loud and visible, but you represent an ugly side of mankind.
Acoustic Motorbike has recently visited South Africa where she spoke to various people about the trial.          She found that for many it was a “tribal” issue
Many seem quick to dismiss the complainant’s credibility and instead blame tribal jealousies that see Xhosas preventing Zulus such as Zuma from achieving leadership positions in South Africa. They cite the leadership of the ANC, and the challenges faced by SACP leaders who seek to gain a higher profile in the ANC.
Others did not think the complainant credible.  She adds that in a culture where gender violence is not taken seriously it is hard ” not to trust that the slightest loophole won’t be exploited.”
The Fish Bowl does not comment on the trial or it's outcome but on what happens next with Zuma and the ANC.  In The ANC's Zuma dilemma
Secondly, there now exists a huge dilemma for the ANC. Zuma was sacked as deputy president after the announcement of the Shaik verdict. They have today invited him to ‘discuss’ his future with the ANC, but I will imagine that little will happen until the verdict of his graft trial. The ANC leadership is really struggling at the moment to know how far to distance themselves from Zuma. It's like a game of poker; they can't be seen to be aloof, as that adds credence to the ‘conspiracy’ note, and they can't be seen as being too close, lest he is indeed found guilty of corruption.
Yebo Gogo does not comment on the verdict as such but asks what will it mean for South African politics and in particular ethnic divisions between Zula majority and Xhosa leadership in the ANC.
This case has torn South Africa apart and stoked what had been largely dormant sectarian tensions (Zuma is a Zulu and many of his rivals in the ruling African National Congress party are Xhosa; of course, the real tensions are between the right-wing and left-wing factions of the ANC)
He goes on to say that throughout Zuma played the Zulu card
Already some Zulus felt like Xhosas ran the African National Congrees (Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela were both Xhosas), and many said Zuma's trial was trumped-up charges to force out a Zulu heir apparent. Zuma never endorsed these views, but he never disputed them. He likened his trial to the liberation struggle against the apartheid government. His supporters called him by a tribal elder's name. He spoke to crowds only in Zulu. The problem? In the run-up to the all-race elections of '94, there was tribal violence between Xhosas and Zulus — enough to almost tear the country apart. Since then, much of the tension has remained dormant. Zuma knew this wasn't about Zulus and Xhosas, and shame on him for allowing others to believe that.
Outside of the African blogosphere, Global Clashes –  asks “Can a man ever be guilty of rape in Africa?”
What is shocking are the implications of this case and what it says to all the women in South Africa, a country which has a problem, whether it was to admit or not, with sexual violence against women. This case says to every woman that when she knows a man wants her, she shouldn't do anything to excite him and to make him lose his judgment by staying for example in his house as the accuser in this case did.

author: Sokari Ekine


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Jahanbegloo, a Scholar in Jail & Islamic Dress · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers talked about why and how Dr.Ramin Jahanbegloo, a Canadian- Iranian scholar & journalist, was arrested. Some bloggers have started different activities to help him out or at least, let people know what is going on in Tehran. Jahanbegloo has been charged having “relations with foreigners” by government.
Toronto group for Iranian Studies has launched a blog to cover Jahanbegloo’s news. In this blog we read:
“Ramin Jahanbegloo, head of the Tehran-based private non-governmental organization Cultural Research Bureau and an internationally prominent human rights advocate, was arrested in late April when he transited Tehran Airport returning from India for a conference in Brussels. When Jahanbegloo failed to arrive at the Brussels conference on Saturday, his colleagues contacted Canadian officials, who in turn contacted authorities in Teheran. Iranian officials told their Canadian counterparts that Jahanbegloo is receiving ‘medical care’ but refused Canadian officials an opportunity to visit him.”
Shahram Kholdi, UK based blogger and a friend of Jahanbegloo, writes why jailed scholar case is important for Iranian civil society. Blogger says:
“Dr. Jahanbegloo's arrest is a cause of concern and his release should become the goal of all who are concerned with the promotion of civil society, open public space for free political debate, and last but not least a space safe enough to conduct such debates in a non-violent manner. As Ramin himself used to say “you realize that you are learning something when you are caught off-guard by the most unexpected in your area of study.” I wish his arrest would never cause me to open a new chapter in my study of post-revolutionary Iran, but indeed it has now become something more than that: a cause.”
Saraye biseda is another blogger who tries to understand why Jahanbegloo became a target. For blogger, jailed scholar, does not belong to sensitive categories which are watched carefully by government. Blogger says, in Iran, two major categories are under control. First category consists of people who talk about politics and against Iranian State. Second categroy includes  popular  sport or movie stars. This latter group is followed by a lot of people and government is careful that they do not say something politically incorrect. Blogger adds Jahanbegloo belongs to none of them and he always respected red lines and never be involved with politics (Persian).
Pasadar, a pro government blogger , does not share same idea. For him Jahanbegloo was involved with anti governmental forces in Diaspora. He mentions that he has signed several anti governmental declarations which had been written by royalists in Diaspora (Persian).
Nooraninejad says he can not understand when it is said that Jahanbegloo was a spy. To be a spy, you need get information from somewhere and deliver that to somebody and somewhere else. Then first condition for spying is to have access to information. Blogger asks,  to which information Jahanbegloo had access. He adds:
“May be the significance of spying and espionage have been changed recently May be people who teach in universities do research and writing books can be considered spies in our days“!
Another issue in Iranian blogs is Hijab's ( Islamic dress) realted questions. In news we read that authorities in Iran are to crack down on women failing to follow the regime's definition of good Islamic dress. Bloggers have discussed this issue with divergent ideas.
A collective blog, Free hijab, was launched to protest against obligatory hijab. More than thirty bloggers have already joined this blog and say choosing what to wear depends on individuals and not government (Persian).
Hojreh, a cleric & blogger, says he is not against crackdown on people who do not respect good Islamic dress. But he adds when there are not transparent and clear laws concerning what is a good hijab or islamic dress, all interventions are useless and fruitless (Persian).
Reporter is my Occupation compared Iranian actions regarding Islamic dress to  Communism (Persian):
“I don’t think somebody misses that period when women should tremble for their body…women must more & more cover in the heat of summer …but men can have any desired appearance (at least in comparison with women) and be present in society .There is nobody to say choosing cloth or way of wearing is one of the most basic rights of each human being….Choices are different as same as people are different in this diversified world. Then it is not possible to make a formula for all people and impose it by force to them or ask them to accept it by force!…Communism failed to create a uniform people and formula can not make a colon age of human being.”


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Kenya: Mid air scare · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

You Missed This reports on a Kenyan airways mid air  scare that took place yesterday.  The plane was on it's way from Nairobi to Dar-es-salaam.  (the plane) “went through a terrifying ordeal that forced the pilot to land back In Nairobi barely 10 minutes after take off”.


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Kenyan Blogosphere Dispatch · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

We begin this roundup with a very cute video by the GV Swahili bridge-blogger Ndesanjo, he shares this video in his post on video blogging. It is of a young boy playing Bob Marley Songs like ‘Get up, Stand up’. He will be doing a Swahili series giving step by step instructions on how to video blog. This will be a welcome addition to his step by step instruction for Swahili speakers on how to blog. This is doubly important and greatly appreciated, since Swahili is a major language in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania), and parts of Sub sahara Africa.
Ntwiga is rediscovering Kenyan Art, saying…
I have to ask though; does anyone else think Kenyans artists are prophets with no honor in their own land?
One of the Artists Joseph Bertiers, whose painting above is just but a glimpse of the Kenyan Art Ntwiga celebrates.
Ngishili is back with an interesting post on how to traditionally dehorn a cow, he also has a retrospective post on ‘Looking back at the cell phone’, noting how ubiquitous it has become in Kenya to have a cell phone, yet just several years ago, only a few had the luxury of owning one.
The center has an excellent post on Law, Gender and Land, highlighting the things she learned at a talk given by Patricia Kameri-Mbote, a leader who definitely left a great impression on her as a leader and scholar.
Another post about land was done by African Bullets and Honey, calling it the ‘eternal gikuyu conversation’, where considerations of the different options for generating income from a piece of land are considered.
Msanii XL is back with another podcast of music featuring different African and US artists.
Dangerously_shy shares afew tips for International students looking into studying in the UK.
Nick writes on ‘the loss of meaning’, which is definitely ‘food for thought’.
Kenyan Analyst was inspired by DMKW's post and wrote about his teacher who also died of cancer and how her tutelage changed him.
Adrian gives “10 reasons why the year 2006 is a good year for a sports fan”. For Kenyan Cricket please click here and for Kenyan Soccer, please click here.
Swamp Cottage wonders where the figure of 1.5 million internet users this Nation article comes from.
In this must-read post Bankelele has several updates regarding ICT, a proposed multi-media technology park with microsoft as one of the backers, Wireless cdma deployment by Telkom and the laudable attitude of two Kenyan leaders who are passionate about advancing ICT in Kenya.
Bankelele reports on Bull market for Nairobi Shares, and there was quite a discussion about East African cables, whose share price has been steadily climbing. The Nairobist now has a blog that tracks Nairobi Stock Exchange stocks and has links to other stories in the Kenyan media regarding stocks.
In closing, Tomas had a hilarious ‘neck problem’.
To see more updated blogs do check out the Kenyan blogs aggregator.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Malaysia: Gay blood donation ban · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Outreach is disturbed by gay blood donation ban. The blogger creates a fictional account on his blog to show the cold treatment a gay blood donor might receive. “if you have multiple sex partner, you should not donate, then it makes sense. But why is it man with a man? Does being gay make you unprofessional? Does being gay change your characteristic on how you treat others?”


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Mexico: Campaign Spots More Aggresive · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos has posted two brief campaign spots, which he says show that presidential candidates Calderón and López Obrador (ES) are “two sides of the same coin.”


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Mexico, Argentina: Encouraging Free Culture · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The winners of the “Mexicommons Creativity Contest” have been announced (ES). You can download the winning songs, podcasts, photographs, and designs from the post. The site Bienes Comunes (Common Good) has a list of works (ES) from Argentina that will be included on a DVD to be presented at the iCommons Summit in Rio de Janeiro this June.


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Moldova: Transnistria Nightmare · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ed of Balkan Baby is happy to be back in Moldova: he has escaped “the breakaway nightmare republic of Transdnistria.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Mongolia: Tuts · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Luke Distelhorst writes about “tuts,” Mongolian kiosks, weighing their positives and negatives.


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Nepal: On The Democracy Fast Track · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

As they try and undo the damage done by the Monarchy, Legal News From Nepal reports “months after the controversy and protests, the King in October last year, had promulgated an ordinance to amend some laws related to the media, imposing severe restrictions on the free press.”


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Nepal: The Counter Revolution · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook on the (Counter)Revolution – “It must be a testimony to our twisted times that, in a matter of a fortnight, Nepalis have graduated from discussing a nebulous “total democracy” to deliberating on the threat of a “counterrevolution.””


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Pakistan: US Airstrike In Waziristan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A US airstrike killed and injured some people in Waziristan. Metroblogging Lahore says “Sometimes I feel that people of Pakistan should ask US government to bear the expanses of our military and I am sure our tax can be used for a lot better options like health and education.”


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Panama: A Crush on a Belly Dancer · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Writing from Panama, Leon Kadoch explains his crush on an Argentine belly dancer with humorous enthusiasm.


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Peru: Another Blogger Suicide · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Following an unfortunately established precedent, “Leuzor” of BlogsPerú laments (ES) the suicide of Andres Kishimoto (ES), a blogger described by (ES) El Comercio as “a young 26-year-old psychologist and author of several books on existentialism.”


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Peru: Garcia holds comfortable lead, Apoyo poll shows · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Un Lobo en Peru and Jorge Bazo Escudero (ES) quote a new poll released today that shows Alan García with a comfortable lead over Ollanta Humala. Support for García is especially strong in Lima.


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Philippines: Summer time · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Synesthetique talks about the summer in Philippines and she is hoping that the government will enclose the country in an airconditioned bubble.


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Puerto Rico, USA: The Puerto Ricans may be coming · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

According to VivirLatino, the recent focus on undocumented immigrants may be obscuring the potential effects of a growing financial crisis in Puerto Rico which may prompt a wave of legal “immigration” of Puerto Ricans to the United States.


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Russia: Ethnic Subbotnik · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Amid ethnic and racial tensions, Moscow experiences something different for a change: a group of “Africans from over twenty countries (Congo and Ethiopia included), Iranians, and Iraqis [were] all raking leaves as part of a subbotnik organized by Opora, a Moscow NGO run by Ethiopian Dr. Gezahgn Wordofa. This was Opora's way of saying thanks to Moscow for letting this city be home for them,” reports Raffi Aftandelian of maaskva: nashimi glazami.


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Russia: Siberian Adventure, Part 1 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jane Keeler of From Russia With Blog begins a series of posts about her trip to Siberia and back – Siberian Adventure Part 1: The Trans-Siberian Railroad.


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Russia, Ukraine: Victory Day · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A WWII veteran in Kyiv, Ukraine – by Veronica Khokhlova
On May 9, former Soviet states marked the 61st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in WWII. Veterans and troops (as well as ultra-nationalists and Stalinists) marched in Moscow, Kyiv and other cities.
LJ user drugoi has posted photos of Moscow veterans and Russian ultra-nationalists. In the veterans’ set, the self-made poster held by a woman in the first photo reads: “Glory to our fathers” (RUS).
One black-and-white photo of a veteran has been posted separately by drugoi and carries this note (RUS):
Last year, two people showed up from his 931st infantry regiment. This year, he hasn't found anyone. His grandson held a placard with the number of the battalion, regiment and division on it, and the infantryman stood leaning on his grandson's hand and cried like a child.
LJ user warsh has also posted a set of Moscow veteran photos titled “The Victors.” In one photo, three elderly women (two of them with medals, one in WWII uniform) hold a poster, which reads (RUS): “May 9: How good that the dead cannot see what you have done to my country.”
Marat Guelman, a well-known Moscow gallery owner and LJ user galerist, has been posting reproductions of works dealing with war by contemporary artists from the former Soviet Union: war (an LJ exhibition)-1 and war (an LJ exhibition)-2 (RUS).
LJ user maceda has written about her granfather (RUS):
May 9
My grandfather was drafted in 1940. They served three years then. The war began in 1941. bAfter four exhausting years of the [Great] Patriotic War and liberation of Europe, grandfather wanted to return. But he hadn't returned his debt to the motherland yet. He had to “finish” the two obligatory years of the service that he had been drafted into as a 17-year-old kid. Seven years total. In this time, his village had been burned down, the fellow villagers who survived had escaped, his parents and brothers perished. And grandfather was left with nothing but wounds, orders and medals.
He didn't like to recall the war. and was never telling anything. Neither to his children, nor to his grandchildren. He gave his orders and medals to his sons, and they carelessly lost them, exchanged, gave away. “These are trinkets,” grandfather used to say, “and I'm not a German shepherd at a dog show.” All that was left were ribbons, which could say a lot about wounds and awards only to those who knew. “For those who understand,” grandfather would say as he was getting ready for a parade […].
May 9 was always a Day of Remembrance to him. Definitely not a Day of Pride. And I can't even imagine what his face would look like if they tried to get him to take a georgievskaya lentochka (ribbon of St. George) in the street, if he saw these dirty and dusty striped bows on car antennas, or flirtingly used as belts on jeans, or tied to bags, or even to the ankles of tipsy gals who are incapable of telling the difference between a ribbon of St. George and a Beeline logo […].
“For those who undestand…” The feeling of shame is the greatest when you are ashamed for someone else, not yourself. But on the other hand, I'm even glad that grandfather is no longer here to see it all.
Happy Victory Day, grandpa.
LJ user tima, in this year's Victory Day post, has linked to what he wrote last year (RUS):
Twelve glasses of vodka
Good Holiday to all of us.
I can't keep myself from writing this. I don't remember is I wrote this last year or before that. But it doesn't matter. This should be written every year.
I don't remember how to cry anymore, don't remember when I did it last time. Today, my mama will do it for me – she lost all her brothers and sisters during the war, all nine of them. The eldest brothers in the army – near Smolensk, near Oryol, near Kiev. Several of them died of illnesses and the lack of medical care. Some she lost to hunger and cold. Two elder sisters were hung in the center of their native town, and before that they had been raped by the Germans in front of everyone. One of them was lucky – she lost her mind and no longer understood what was going on.
My father turned out to be lucky compared to mama. Of his four brothers and sisters who lost only half – two of them. And his own father. Who went to war at the end of October and was killed almost right away near Rzhev. My only uncle was born an orphan, fatherless.
The total of 12. Out of 19, including grandmothers and grandfathers.
Happy Holiday to everyone.


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Russia: Victory Day on RTR · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russia Blog posts Victory Day stills from one of Russia's state-controlled TV channels, RTR.


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Senegal: Unrest Leading up to Election? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Seckasysteme posts two mp3s of local music, invites (FR) readers to relax and says:  “Hanging on to their power and privilege like bloodsuckers, PDS [Senegalese Democratic Party] leaders seem … ready to do anything to maintain power… and seasoned political observers fear a resurgence in violence leading up to the February 2007 election.”

author: Alice Backer


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Singapore: Morning commuters · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Venitha, an expat in Singapore, describes her fellow subway commuters at her Singapore Adventure blog.


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Singapore: Politician being investigated for “criminal intimidation” · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Opposition politician James Gomez's blog has updates on him being questioned for the second time by the police. Gomez was stopped from leaving for Sweden on Sunday to help investigations regarding an alleged charge of “criminal intimidation”.  The politician got into a row with election officials last week when he claimed that he had submitted some election related documents. The officials provided recorded telephone conversation and cctv footage that disputed Gomez ‘s claim. Gomez had later issued a apology over the incident.


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Sri Lanka: Curfew Time In Jaffna · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Transcurrents.com on the sudden imposition of a curfew in Jaffna, the possible reasons for it and how it impacted the life of people.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Rights of the accused · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Taran Rampersad weighs in on the controversy surrounding the posting on the internet of a photo of a minor accused of the murder of a six-year old boy in Trinidad. “This is an interesting chapter for Trinidad and Tobago as it finds it's way toward developed nation status, coming to terms with the Internet and the new media,” writes Taran. “The lessons of Sean Luke and the associated case may well be the fire that tempers legislative changes as related to the media, to the internet, Trinidad and Tobago society and ultimately, a part of Global Society.”


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Uzbekistan: US Sanctions · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net discusses possible US sanctions against Uzbekistan.


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Venezuela: Published Boston Globe Letter to the Editor · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Daniel Duquenal gives props to the Boston Globe for publishing his letter to the editor the letter, using the moment as an opportunity to criticize the New York Times’ coverage of Venezuela. Duquenal has also started a series on what he sees as “the problems in the Venezuelan electoral system.


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We Media 2006: In London and Reflecting · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The WeMedia Conference in London on the 3rd and 4th of May 2006, saw quite a few authors from Global Voices making sure they were heard. Authors from GVO included Eduardo, Kamla, Lisa, Rachel, Rebecca, Salam and Neha (me). We had our hopes high given some of the items on the agenda. Kamla wrote before heading off for the conference –
In many ways this conference is perhaps a sign of the changing times and how emerging technology and tools like blogs, podcasts, video blogging, wikipedia, social networking etc is changing the landscape of the media world-wide. This conference highlights the changing times and will see the intersection and interaction of traditional media and citizen journalism.
Even before the conference started, Salam unwrapped the nuances for the logo chosen for We Media and how it indicated posturing and posing. I was a little disturbed by the fact that Gender didn't make an appearance either in the agenda or in any of the discussions. Rachel comments on how the conference appeared to be a We Media UK and US Forum. Rebecca points to a crucial factor that would greatly determine the extent of which media becomes more representative of its users and loses its obvious weight of bias.
Media will only become more democratic if concerted efforts are made to bridge digital divides, build communities of conversation in places not heavily covered by the media, and then amplify the new voices.
Here's what I had to say on the issue of trust as discussed at We Media. Salam is torn between BBC and Reuters who each hosted the conference for a day. He takes a good look at the bag of goodies given by both to decide who wins. Lisa reflects on women and blogging and on our hosts, with a generous quip on why Reuters is referred to as Al Reuters. Both Salam and Lisa expressed doubts on the way the panel for Middle East was conducted. Even as BBC appears to have done a less than stellar job, Rachel talks of the World Service team -
The World Service was represented, at the end of the day. The teams of the (rather injudiciously merged for the occasion) programmes World Have Your Say and Africa Have Your Say put out a special radio programme live from the television studio, threading their way carefully between the tables, talking to people from the audience, allowing callers from countries as diverse as Iraq and Nigeria to question people in the audience.
Rebecca conducted some panels on the second day while Rachel kept a close eye on the online chatroom conversations.  The session on Citizen Journalism made me question some of the assumptions made by the panelists.


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Argentina: The Tango Singer · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jeff Barry, who is writing his own novel set in Buenos Aires, mentions the newest work by famed Argentine novelist Tomás Eloy Martínez. “The Tango Singer is about an American graduate student who travels to Buenos Aires to research Borges’ writings on tango.”


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Armenia: Human Rights · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes from Hareinik notes that Armenia has been named a major human rights violator and says Armenian diasporan organizations should pressure the Armenian government on human rights issues.


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Bahamas: Rum Cay Development · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

With one major luxury development project about to break ground and two others in the works, the island of Rum Cay is about to change forever. Larry Smith traces the chequered history of the Bahamian outpost.


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Bangladesh: A Documentary On The Forgotten · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

imperfect world 2006 on a documentary “Tears of Karnaphuli” – “Tanvir eloquently tells the devastating story of dam construction in the area, the displacement of people and the resulting impoverishment of local inhabitants.”


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Barbados: Will Cuban film be banned? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press wonders whether Barbados will ban The Lost City, Andy Garcia's film about “Che, Castro and the Cuban Revolution”, which “is effectively being banned in many Central, South American and Caribbean venues.” Says BFP: “Apparently, there are many on the left who would prefer to remember Che and the Castro brothers as “heroic revolutionaries” – rather than men who personally put pistols to the heads of innocent men, women and children in front of their families.”


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Bermuda: Public access to information · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey‘s appeal to the Bermuda government to reveal the cost of the Tourism Minister's stay at a seven-star hotel in Dubai continues to be ignored. “It was an interesting exercise, not for what it revealed about the Minister’s expenses, but for what it revealed about the Government’s attitude to public scrutiny,” says the Limey, who also notes that a 2003 pledge by the government to introduce Public Access to Information legislation has not been acted on.


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Cameroon: IT outsourcing · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Scribbles from the Den writes on Africa's entry into the “knowledge business” with reference to Cameroon which he believes has great IT potential except that “However, unlike India, Cameroon is crippled by the “civil service mentality”, and it lacks a crop of creative economic and political visionaries similar to those who transformed Bangalore from a sleepy backwater Indian town into an IT outsourcing and software Mecca.”.


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Cayman Islands: Cayman Cop is back! · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Cayman Bobby, the Cayman Islands police officer/blogger who was muzzled by his employers back in February, has started blogging again.


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China: Hackers strike portal · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Lyn Jeffrey at Virtual China looks at an art studio in South-eastern China's Yunnan province which claims the aim of providing international artists “with the opportunity to experience rural Chinese village life, as an alternative to the intense pressure and marginalized status of the international ‘white box’ art circuit” as coblogger Jason Li notes that major Chinese portal site Netease has been hacked, [graphic languge] screenshots provided: “The question (floating around the Chinese web) is, what did they do to provoke this, and who did they do it to?”


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China: Media lacking research · Global Voices
John Kennedy

After reading a Chinese-language interview with Yale university's Office of Public Affairs, uleewang at Non-violent Resistance questions stories in Chinese media of a prominent Chinese and Yale-educated businessman who claims to have arranged Chinese president Hu Jintao's stop at Yale last month:
“Did they figure a senior official at a state-owned Chinese firm, and who had also worked at numerous respectable foreign and Chinese investment banks, wouldn't lie on such a matter of significant political implications? Or were they simply kissing up in exchange for a favorable tip-off on CNOOC‘s next big move? For the thousandth time, shame on them. “


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Cuba: The Tropicana · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Qué Bola posts an atmospheric black-and-white photo taken at The Tropicana, the legendary night spot in Havana, noting that “The Tropicana is probably the one single constant that has existed in Havana from back in the 1940s until the present.”


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DRC: Alleged Belgian Citizens Running for Office · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Two Belgian citizens are running for deputy positions in the Congo, in violation of Articles 10 and 102 of the Constitution and Article 120 of the Electoral Law, says (Fr) Prince du Fleuve du Congo.  Their names are Mboyo Ilombe and Richard Ilunga.  According to the blogger, this is evidence that “the CEI [Electoral Council] has always approached candidate files for the next elections lightly.”


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DRC Diaspora: Questions for UDPS · Global Voices
Alice Backer

According to UDPS Liege, during a May 1  forum organized by UDPS in Belgium, several questions (Fr) sprang from the audience: “What political mistakes has UDPS made that might explain its inability to take power in the Congo in 26 years? Why does  Etienne Tshisekedi lead UDPS in a dictatorial manner (…)? Why have so many left UDPS in spite of all the hope the party inspired in the early 1990s?”


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DRC: Questions about Western Press · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Over at Le Blog du Congolais and in light of  what he considers the Western press’  derogatory coverage of opposition party UDPS, Tony Katombe asks (Fr): “Now that the high command of the Catholic Church, the country's most influential social force […] is siding with UDPS, is the western press going to demonize Cardinal Etshou and Bishop Monsengwo as the pro-PPRD press has begun doing?”


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Ethiopia: Hydroelectric power · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Redeem Ethiopia discusses a recent interview with Meles Zenawi on  hydroelectric power production investments


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Haiti: Jeb Bush to Attend Preval’s Inauguration · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Florida Governor Jeb Bush will represent the United States at President-Elect Rene Preval's Sunday inauguration, reports (FR) Radio Kiskeya.


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Haiti: Presses Nationales Relaunches Lit Classics · Global Voices
Alice Backer

The Presses Nationales celebrated 170 years of Haitian literature from May 3 to 6, says (FR) Alterpresse. “34   titles  [of poetry, spoken word, fiction and non-fiction] were published or republished.” There were “16 conferences in different parts of Port-au-Prince, talks and readings as well as 8 book signings.” The Presses’ director, Willems Edouard said the launch was made possible by local authors, libraries and families.


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Hong Kong: Islands bear discoveries · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In which Flagrant Harbour blogger and Hong Kong resident Michael takes an educational tour to outlying Hong Kong island Tung Ping Chau, gets a geography lesson, a geology lesson too, and finds a new swimming hole.


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Image from Mauritius: Happy Bride · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Annoella and Sebastien on their wedding day. By Sebastien Merion.
Annoella and Sebastien met in New Caledonia. Annoella is from Mauritius and Sebastien is from metropolitan France and has been living in and blogging about New Caledonia at 5 minutes en Nouvelle Caledonie. Says (Fr) the blogger of his 150-guest wedding last Friday:


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India: So much for Equal Opportunity · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Some firms in India have a long way to go before they even begin to be women-friendly. Emma on the outdated beliefs as expressed by a top shot in one of the biggest IT firms in India, with nanopolitan also voicing some concerns.


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India: The death of a student · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

What kind of pressure is created by the expectations of an educational institution and peers? Incognito on the recent events where a student committed suicide on the campus of Indian Institure of Technology Kanpur.


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Indonesia: Google updates Jakarta map · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Marek Bialoglowy in Jakarta is delighted that Google finally updated it's Google Earth and Google Maps service with a high resolution map of Jakarta. The blogger provides links to some of the well known places in the city.


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Iran: Books & Iranians · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abtahi, cleric blogger, says in International Tehran Book Fair, he talked with several editors and writers. Blogger writes, it seems previous years psychological books were the best sellers. This year, “how to become successful” books are on the top of the list (Persian).


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Japan: Chinese chopsticks nonforthcoming · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The Japandit blogger notes that following a doubling in price last year of Chinese chopsticks, the Chinese government has now decided to block their export altogether in a move aimed at protecting China's forests.


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Japan: Trippy urban art · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The an englishman in osaka blogger has a theory on what inspired a creatively-designed work of art commemorating the Japanese city's 900th birthday: “Initial ideas included ‘a singing carpet’ and ‘a piece of string with lollipops attached.’ However, after much discussion they settled on ‘a big plastic thing with two faces.’


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Japan: Youth through the war · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Tokyo Times‘ Lee blogs photos from an ongoing exhibition which shows the lives of children in Tokyo during the Showa era (1926-1989), “[a]n event that should prove nostalgic to those brought up during the period, and a source of interest to much younger viewers, allowing them a peek into a relatively recent yet radically different world.”


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Kenya: We Media · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit posts a piece on the Africa session of the recent WeMedia event in London. Wilfred Kiboro was also on the panel and she posts an audio clip of the event.


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Korea: Geographic history documented · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Gerry Brevers at Korean Language Notes does his own ongoing research into the history of Ulleungdo island, located in the disputed border region between South Korea and Japan.


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Kyrgyzstan: Victory Day in Osh · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia has a photo essay of Victory Day in Osh.


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Malaysian Bloggers Protest Banning of Documentary  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysians like Aidid were eagerly waiting for a documentary-movie titled “Lelaki Komunis Terakhir”  (The Last Communist) made by a local filmmaker Amir Muhammad. The documentary is a travelogue that traces the early life of Chin Peng, exiled guerilla fighter and leader of banned Communist Party of Malaya.
I want to be home on the 18th of May so I can watch Lelaki Komunis Terakhir because it sounds like a fantastic movie that will make me think. Anyone kind enough to send me a ticket home? I promise to love you long time. And buy you duty-free chocolate and clip on koalas.
The Malaysian Censor Board had cleared the movie  and the filmmaker was looking forward to the screening
All seemed to be going well until Berita Harian* ran a series of articles criticizing the LPF's decision to approve the documentary. Berita Harian was the only newspaper in the country to do this. These articles appeared on May 3,  4 and  5 of the newspaper. These included interviews with politicians, filmmakers and academics who seemed appalled that such a documentary was approved for screening.
On the evening of May 5, Red Films received instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs to not screen Lelaki Komunis Terakhir anywhere in Malaysia. The reason cited was that “the public had protested.”
*Berita Harian is a Malay language daily.
Several Malaysian bloggers are questioning the ban. Blogger Sashi feels that the “public” was not consulted at all.
Well, I’m sorry to inform you, Mr Minister Man Sir, that a big time con job has been perpetrated under your very nose hair. See, I was NEVER consulted regarding this movie, and I am very certain that none of my friends and family members were either. So you see, there’s no way the public could have protested, when we, members of the public, were not consulted.
What I THINK must have happened is that a group of people pretending to be journalists interviewed a group of people pretending to be intelligent. Naturally, the results of such an endeavour can only be a joke.
Desiderata in a post titled “Where newspaper leads ministry” wonders if it was the communism related theme that offended the home ministry. He asks why communism is such a taboo subject when Malaysia is friendly with countries like Cuba and China.
When Castro visited Malaysia in the glory days once upon a time, or when a former Malaysian PM visited Cuba, there were bear hugs like the embracers were of the same faith or ideology. When the same leader visited China once upon a time, there was a planned timetable to reap maxium mileage with grandiose photo opportunities for the media so that the people back home — especially of a particular ethnic group — would be enthralled, besotted mayhaps, to have a “feel good” lasting feeling, and vote in the next GE for the leader's party. The question of the Communist bogey did NOT arise then. But it DOES now.
Returning to the flimmaker's blog, Amir Muhammad thinks the newspaper objected to his documentary because
In fact, central to Berita Harian’s objection to Lelaki Komunis Terakhir seems to be that Chin Peng is an ethnic Chinese. I was ‘advised’ in these articles to concentrate on Malay characters from now on; even if they are radical or communist it’s OK!
And he appeals to the Malaysians
This is what I humbly ask: If you feel the public has the right to see Lelaki Komunis Terakhir, please write to the press. The authorities do take note of reports in the media. (That's why the ban happened in the first place!)
Even if you feel this doesn't affect you, and you wouldn't even want to watch the documentary anyway: What's to stop the same newspaper from starting a campaign against some other local movie, book or song for being “not Malay enough”? That might certainly affect you in the future.


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Martinique: Friend of Yesterday, Lesbian of Today · Global Voices
Alice Backer

The about section of Le Blog de [Moi]  (FR) reads: “Friend of yesterday … Lesbian of today. To live one's homosexuality in Martinique on the day to day is possible. The proof: [Me].” Recent posts include a critique of French feminist group 143 Rebels and a lukewarm review of a local restaurant where she recently took Miss B. on a date.


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Mongolia: Gold · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Luke Distelhorst notes that rising gold prices are good news for Mongolia


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Nepal: Democrats, Maoists Gearing For Peace Talks · Global Voices
Paramendra

After the spectacular success of the April Revolution, the seven party alliance has not moved fast enough for some, but it sure has been moving steady. It has undone many of the king's ordinancnes, it has reciprocated the Maoists’ ceasefire, and it is getting ready to hold formal peace talks with the Maoists.
United We Blog has a string of interesting articles on the now surfaced Maoists:  The Days Of Maoist Comrades Have Come IV,  Meanwhile Maoist Comrades Continue Extortion, Looting and Beating,  Conversation Between a Maoist Guerilla and a Soldier,  The Days of Maoist Comrades Have Come III, The Maoists As I Know Them, Part 1,  The Days of Maoist Comrades Have Come II,   The Days of Maoist Comrades Have Come,  Maoist Vigil and Protest Against Monarchy.
Samudaya has a string of audio transcripts of some speeches made in Kathmandu: Gagan Thapa, Hari Roka, Ram Kumari Jhankri, Rajendra Rai, Krishna Pahadi. They are in Nepali.
Mero Sansar has one from the Maoist supremo Prachanda himself. It is also in Nepali.
Democracy For Nepal warns of  Prachanda's Transitional Republic.
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author: Paramendra


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Nepal: Parliament And Elections · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

More ideas on the future of Nepal. Paramendra says “But I think the parliament should only be dissolved two months before the election date. This is to limit possibilities of regression. And this is also to keep the pressure on the Maoists during the peace talks. The sooner the talks can take place and conclude, sooner the election dates are announced, sooner the parliament can be dissolved.”


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New Caledonia:  Sunset Photos · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Katuali (Fr) posts  photos of the Caledonian sunset.


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Nigeria: Constitutional amendment · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Adefunke on Adefunke comments on the Nigerian consitutional amendment and asks if there is a copy available online for citizens to read and asks “My concerns are about the very bad precedent this will set, a sitting administration amending the constitution without following due process. What will stop some future president appointing his/her favorite dog (four legged animal as opposed to best human friend) as Minister of Finance like Caligula was reported to have done with his favorite stallion?”


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Nigeria: Solar power · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Afromusing reports that Nigeria is to start a N10 million (about $78,00) solar power project that will serve 5000 people – a huge saving on traditional power supply.


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Nigeria: Third term  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

CyBlug Nigeria publishes an open letter to Obasanjo by Rev. Fr. George Ehusani, Secretary General, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria calling for the President to stop the third term movement immediately.


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North Korea: Human rights observed · Global Voices
John Kennedy

It's a small step in the right direction, says The Korea Liberator blogger Joshua, of a change in South Korea's National Human Rights Commission's tendency to shy away from documenting human rights abuses in North Korea.


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Panama: Seismic Activity in Chiriquí · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Don Ray has posted an informative translation of an email that quotes seismologist Jaime Toral from the Technological University of Panama about recent seismic activity in the Chiriquí region.


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Poland: Preparations For the Pope’s Visit · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

p3 writes that some of Poland's preparations for the Pope's visit don't make sense: “This is typical Poland for me. Someone important is coming so let's slap up a coat of paint (apply it thin because it's expensive) and as soon as our guest of honor is gone everything starts to peel. When it's convenient, Poland shows its “faith” and then, when nobody is looking, the sex shops re-open.”


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Russia, Georgia, Ukraine: The Future of CIS · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander shares his analysis of the situation around the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).


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Senegal: Festival of Negro Arts  · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Semett posts an article announcing (Fr) that the Senegalese government plans to hold the next Festival des Arts Negres [Festival of Negro Arts] in June 2008 instead of June 2007. The Festival was created by then President Leopold Sedar Senghor in 1966.


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Serbia: “Serbia in Europe” Rally · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade Blog posts a report and photos from the “Serbia in Europe” rally that took place May 9.


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Slovakia: Campaign Promises · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lemuel of Deleted by Tomorrow reports on one local candidate's promise “to do more for the seniors and establish a cemetery.” The candidate happens to run in the blogger's voting district.


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Slovenia: Anti-Parking Haiku  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Michael of The Glory of Carniola writes about a poetic way of fighting unlawful parking.


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South Africa: Black South Africa do read · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Being told that Black South Africans dont read set Lavina Live on a search  through South Africa's rich literary history. …”This post is a tribute to the great South African writers of my generation, and generations past, black, white and all in between. This is also a wake-up call to people who come from western countries, judge us by their standards but don't do the research to back up their views of us as some economic, cultural and political backwater.”


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Sri Lanka: Status Quo  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Where does Sri Lanka stand now? While conflict is not in full swing, the frequent disruptions have put Sri Lanka in a status quo position – with no war and no peace says FocusLanka.


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Sudan: The Abuja Agreement · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

SudanReeves writes a critical assessment of the recent Dafur agreement (Abuja Peace Agreement) …The Abuja agreement is little more than another request to trust a regime that has never abided by any agreement with any Sudanese party–not one, not ever. And it asks the survivors of genocide to accept the promises of génocidaires rather than providing the meaningful security they so desperately need.”


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

Recent news of the nationalization of the hydrocarbons in Bolivia has pushed an ongoing crisis off of the front page.  No satisfactory solution has been reached in the financial troubles for the airline Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (LAB), as there are some who are pushing the government to nationalize the former state airline.  During this crisis, many have been affected.  Customers have less flight options because the number of routes and planes in operation have been significantly scaled back.  However, the numerous employees, many of whom have not received back pay,  nor received promised contributions to their retirement funds, and the threat of being left unemployed, also have felt the burden of this crisis.
Two blogs from the perspective of employees have been launched from Bolivia.  Pablo Alvestegui, a LAB employee, writes about the personal effect that this crisis has had on his life in his blog calle Pab.Log (ES).  His latest entry is an open letter to the “Grand Family of LAB”, where he recalls his lengthy illness in which his co-workers pulled together and helped defray the cost of his medical expenses.
“I owe my life to Lloyd, but not only to Lloyd as an institution, but to each one of you, cherished colleagues that never abandoned me.  For some reason, the insurance could not cover “all” of the expenses and my parents were desperate because the treatments and medicines started to affect their meager budgets, meanwhile, I only worked two years at the company, I didn’t have not even a seniority to contribute towards my own recuperation.
My new family did not leave me disappointed.  My brothers and sisters from Air Traffic Control started to spread the word and organized collections, which was enough to cover a large part of the balance that the insurance didn’t cover.  I don’t doubt (although I don’t know because I was hospitalized), that they passed lists around the office and each employee authorized for a certain amount to be subratcted from the salary, which I had seen previously by other colleagues with the same love and fraternity.”
The warmth that Alvestegui held for the company and especially for its employees has been in a steady decline, and as the crisis looms, different employees are taking different sides.
“We’re in a moment of total confusion.  Those who you once saw as friends and colleagues, now don’t even say hello (you would be lucky that they don’t insult you), those that you once shared unforgettable moments, like only those from Lloyd can share, unforgettable anecdotes, familiarity, collegiality, intimacy, now appear to have forgotten that LAB is a family.”
Another blog simply called “Give your opinion about Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano” and it tag line, “Every viewpoint is valid, no one is excluded.  Say what you think, don’t be silent!” was launched for any  and all input from the workers from LAB.   Many similar open letters, internal e-mails and memos are posted on the site.  However, there is also opportunities for workers who may hold differing viewpoints as referenced by Alvestegui to take participate in a discussion.  In the comments sections of the reprinted letter (ES) that he wrote in his blog, an exchange with a LAB employee named Daphne Leytón demonstrated that this real differences can cause a rift between employees.
“With great sadness, I read your long letter.  I also saw and heard you on television speaking out against us.  We, those who you call “trusted companions” and your “grand family” are on the other side.  We haven’t taken this side because we are stupid or immature, and a letter like yours certainly won’t make us change our mind.”
This website also republishes official letters sent to the current managers of the airline and letters denouncing instances of verbal abuse by employees.
See previous Global Voices Online coverage of the economic crisis of LAB. Special thanks to Blogs Bolivia for the tip of these two new blogs.

author: Eduardo Avila


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The week that was, in the Moroccan blogosphere · Global Voices
Farah Kinani

Once again, an Egyptian blogger is detained. I'll start today by urging the Egyptian Government to release Alaa and the other activists detained for having expressed their political opinion.
I don't know yet why no one can access M.S Hjiouj‘s blog(Ar) since last week, and I sincerely hope it has nothing to do with censure.
I already feel that the Moroccan blogosphere is missing one of its very interesting members. Hjiouj is asking for help to explain and solve “error 400″.
The Muslim Democrat of the Year
Soumiaz is asking what does the Moroccan Government want? And she refers in her post to the Moroccan independent newspaper Le Journal hebdomadaire(Fr) accused of defamation, and condemned(Fr) to pay $340.000.
What is the message here, I really don’t get it. Do they or do they not want us Moroccan to evolve?
Karim, one of the contributors to ARAB OBSERVERS doesn't seem to approve the choice of  Saadeddine El Othmani as the Muslim Democrat of the Year in the Arab world by the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID).
To me, the choice was a bit of a surprise. But I have to admit that I don't know much about the guy to be able to make a judgment…
Did you say Tamazight?
Moh has a blog(Fr)! That was my good news of yesterday morning. Who's Moh?  Well, I don't know much about him except the fact that he makes sense when he comments  (Fr) to controversial debates.
I like his blog, although I don't think he's even trying to get the reader's attention since he doesn't even allow comments. It seems that he just writes for fun, and it's really nice. Too bad for those of you who don't read French , you are missing an occasion to laugh loud the way I did when I went through Moh‘s post about his mom's journey in an international American airport. It's hilarious!
Moh‘s mom is Amazigh(Fr) and she only speaks her native language. The custom woman doesn't seem to understand that Tamazight is not Arabic, nor it is likely to be any other language she could think about. Still, she doesn't accept that Moh translates for his mother, which leads to some funny situations. At the end, Moh‘s mom, amazed by the imbroglio that she was causing, couldn't help laughing in a hysterical way. So hysterical that the whole situation became comic and ludicrous rather than offensive…
Ghasbouba is posting about the Royal institute for the Amazigh culture(Fr) and the Moroccan Government who got together to decide(Fr) what to do about introducing Tamazight in the Moroccan Media.
let’s see how that goes.
Sex, love and nostalgia
Do you think sex is important before marriage(Fr)? Asks Nadia in her post trying to get some statistics on how her blog's visitors see an active sexual life before tying the knot.
Najlae‘s hot chocolate has the taste of the future. And her post has the taste of a hidden fear of the future(Fr) far from Le Campanile(Fr).
Hujaina lives a nightmare when she realizes that her family's guest refuses to eat(Fr) if he has to share the meal with…women!!
Selwa celebrates her 31st birthday with a nostalgic(Fr) note. Happy birthday Selwa, and you really look…23!
Bsima wants to burry her souvenirs(Fr) and shed her tears…Come'on Bsima, cheer up!
In a very melodious note, Jihane shares her love to her father(Fr) with the visitors of her blog.
Coup de Coeur
I'm not going to introduce you to my new favorite blog today, but I want you to discover Samir, a very special blogger. He's one of the contributors to the very interesting blog THE VIEW FROM FES and he's no one else but Sandy McCutcheon, the prominent Australian author, playwright, actor, journalist and broadcaster.
His latest novel Black Widow has been described as one of the most important novels of the year.
That's it for today, and since I'm flying to Morocco for a long vacation, I won't see you before 6 weeks. But I promise to come back with fresh news about the very interesting Moroccan blogosphere.
So see you soon, Inshallah!

author: Farah Kinani


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Turkmenistan: Victory Day · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter reports on Turkmenistan's events in commemoration of Victory Day.


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Ukraine: Motorcyclist Set to Reach India · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leo Finkel writes about Roman Bilyk, a Ukrainian man riding his Jawa motorcycle all the way to India “to promote inter-cultursl understanding.” Right now, he is in Armenia.


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Venezuela: Chavez’s Meeting With Ken Livingstone · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Venezuela's opposition bloggers continue their foray into the mainstream media. Daniel Duquenal (who recently had a letter to the editor published in the Boston Globe) and Guillermo Parra both mention Aleksander Boyd's article in The Times as Chavez prepares his trip to London where he will meet with Mayor Ken Livingstone. Boyd himself, based in London, says the article will have more of an impact than any planned protests could have.


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Zimbabwe: Unemployment & school fees · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Bearded Man reports on Zimbabwe on unemployment and the release of women arrested over the payment of school fees.


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Caribbean: New West Indies anthem · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

At the Trinidad & Tobago World Cup blog Stacy-Marie Ishmael parses some of the mixed reactions to the new West Indies anthem, which was sung for the first time at yesterday's Trinidad & Tobago v. Peru football match in Trinidad.


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Afghanistan: Mafia! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Afghan Penlog  is a new collective blog which wants to bring afghan blogs together. On its last writing, we read about freedom of expression and Afghanistan's mafia problem. According to blog, country is on the edge to fall in mafia's trap completely.


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Africa: Trans Atlantic Slave Trade · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Rethabile posts from Mzansi Afrika on the day France remembers its role in the Atlantic slave trade. ..“France was Europe's fourth largest slave trader after Portugal, England and Spain and transported about 1.25 million slaves. France abolished slavery in 1794, after a successful revolt by slaves in the island colony of Haiti.”


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Argentina: The Undervalued Peso · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Expat Argentina has a very clear explanation of Argentina's undervalued peso.


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Armenia: Political Shakeup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Blogrel, Harmick writes that Armenia's speaker of the parliament has stepped down and that his party has resigned from the ruling coalition government. He goes on to say that this may be the start of a credible opposition in Armenia.


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Armenia: Remembering Independence · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Neesuna remembers achieving independence in Armenia.


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Armenia: Yezidi Funeral · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian attended a Yezidi funeral and has photos from it as well as an interview about Yezidi music's role in the culture and its relation to Muslim Kurdish music.


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Bangladesh: Family Trees  For A Child · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mezba remembers an afternoon spent with her family tracing her family tree in a notebook when on a vacation in a village in Bangladesh.


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Belarus: Graffiti Activist Sentenced · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about a 2-year prison sentence just given to a young activist for spraying political graffiti. Leaders of the opposition, on the other hand, are now being released. David McDuff of A Step At A Time has more on the graffiti activist, Artur Finkevich – here and here.


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Chilean Blog Contest: The Winners · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

While some bloggers in the world have legal problems because of posting their ideas on their blogs, it's ironic that in Chile were celebrating the first Latin America Blog contest.
More than 2000 bloggers from 12 countries inscribed in the Atina Blog Awards. The first jury was the bloggers themselves, who were able to vote for their favorite weblogs. Also specialists judges selected the best ones from every category.
“Dany Space” (ES), starts her blog declaring this was a second stage of her life,  because she had a gastric bypass to take off the extra weight, so she regularly posts about her personal views and the medical controls with  photos about her monthly results. She garnered the most votes.
“Afumhue” (ES), a Chilean teen that lived in Norway for seven years, was the winner of the design category. The Science and Technology category was for “Gamer Café” (ES).
Culture and Art went to “Ventanas de Colores” (ES). The best Personal Blog was for “Juanelo” (ES), who comes up with creative comics.
The political category, was for “Iván Seisdedos” (ES), from the first region.
Two firemen who post in “Bomberos del Mundo” (ES) took home the best Journalist blog award. Everything about international fires, events, and news can be found in this blog.
Viral Marketing and understanding costumer are the issues that can be found in “Muga” (ES), the blog that was given “Special Mention” in the contest.
The overall winner was “Plataforma Urbana” (ES), a group blog that covers urban design such as icon buildings, city planning, and urban projects in Chile and the world. “Plataforma Urbana” also won the group blog category.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Blogging about India: bio-fuels, mangoes, bananas, chick-lit and Bollywood · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

We have a real mish-mash of writings about India this week. The medley of topics include: bio-fuels, chick lit, mangoes, bananas, Madras and Bollywood.
Is there another oil crisis around the bend, and do we need to look at alternate fuel sources to keep our cars, SUVs, and other petrol/guzzling machines going? Given the rising price of oil, bio-fuels appear to have caught the imagination of some investors, and notable among them is Vinod Khosla. You can read about bio-fuels in Reuben's post.
If you missed the whole debate about Kaavya Viswanathan's debut book you can catch up on it by reading Komal Mehta's post about the book. Read here about What Komal Mehta Thinks of Opal Mehta.  Kaavya, a Harvard under-grad, got paid a huge sum of money for her debut chick-lit novel.  The book was recently pulled out from circulation because of the alleged plagarism by this young author.
Since Kaavya is originally from Chennai (Madras) I went looking for bloggers who were writing about Chennai/Madras, and this is what I discovered. Madras, or Chennai as it is known, is the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu has finally made it to Google Map says Ashwin Kumar.  Check out Google Map images of Chennai in his blog here. Pandian has a wonderful entry and photo about Madras Museum Theatre.
Mangoes are on everybody's mind.  Mangoes originated in the Indian sub-continent and are fondly referred to as the “king of fruits.” ‘Tis the season for mangoes and everyone is talking about it in India and outside of India too. This mango mania seems to have been unleased by New York Time's article about this wonderful and delicious fruit. Many bloggers have used that article as a launching pad and quickly penned in their own memories about the  fruit. So, Vidya writes about how her father got his stash of mangoes. Vidya's favorite mango is the  “Rumaani”  from Vellore. There are over hundreds of different varities of mangoes in India. Dyanmic Ram writes that his grandmother compared buying mangoes to matrimony. Read and discover for yourself  how and why his grandmother came up with the analogy. Luv2cook shares two delicious and mouth watering recpies using what else, but mangoes.
Speaking of fruits it appears that wild bananas are disappearing in India. Rebecca has a post about the vanishing bananas and here is a link to banana museum from her posting. Bollywood, as Hindi cinema is often described, appears to have captured the imagination of non-Indians. SmartMama writes that she never aspired to make it big in Hollywood, but she aspires to make it big in Bollywood. We wish her luck with her blond hair and green eyes.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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Bolivia: Media Reaction to Gas Nationalization · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Justin Delacour links to an article on Upside Down World about the international press’ reaction to Bolivia's nationalization of gas resources. Jim Shultz reminds readers to ” not lose track of the big picture: At the end of the day Bolivia will develop its gas and oil through some kind of partnership between the Bolivian government and foreign oil companies.” Boli-Nica on Bolivia takes a look at how the gas nationalization could affect the federal pension fund.


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Bosnia-Herzegovina: Tribute to Bosnian War Victim and Hero · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Finding Karadzic pays a heartbreaking tribute to “a dedicated reader and contributor to this blog” who died on March 3 “as a direct result of the illness she was given by her inhumane captors in Bosnia a decade ago.”


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Brazil, Ecuador: “Is There Racism in Latin America?” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tanya Hernandez, focusing on Brazil, asks “is There Racism in Latin America and What Does That Mean for Race Relations in the United States?” One commenter responds, “If I must choose my poison (racism), I'll choose the American brand. Latin American racism is made more pernicious by the fact that it is unacknowledged.” Randy Paul tries to get to the bottom of a rumor that US president George W. Bush once asked Brazil's former president, “Do you have blacks, too?” And finally, Risa – who says she wants to take photos of racist advertising in Ecuador – posts an ad from Vogue Latinoámerica that she calls “disturbing.”


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China: Death metal opera · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Frances at Supernaut describes the choreographing process in preparation for her co-produced death metal Cantonese opera set to show this weekend:
“I'm working in a way that is far more satisfying choreographically, and profoundly more interesting and involving as a performer and as an audience, but quite inimical to the idea of temporal, procedural and mechanical choreography. So there is a barely-conscious, long-term attempt to actually choreograph, that is, to make concatenations of movement using specific vocabularies in a way that has this pre-historic ballet intellectualisation of body-as-(Baroque)-machine, and do it in a way that owes more to present-day methods of doing things, that is to say, executing code.


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China: Foreign firms restricted · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The Chinese government released a memo recently which calls for a crackdown on foreign law firms operating in China and involved in what it labels as “illegal” activities which include hiring large numbers of Chinese lawyers, drafting contracts according to Chinese law and engaging in negotiations regarding investments, mergers and acquisitions.
The China Confidential blogger sees the move as part of a larger governmental backlash against the perceived foreign threat to its rule, while Dan Harris at China Law Blog looks towards disgruntled local competitors and emphasizes that current restrictions on foreign law firms in China are far from draconian.


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China: MSN censors another blog · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In a comment on sister of illegally-detained Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao's blog, formerly frequent poster Nancy Yingwang laments the shutdown today of her MSN Spaces blog:
“My blog has broken down and I feel sick. I can't find a way out. If freedom needs so long a time before just a little can be got, what are those being held captive to do in the meantime? This is just a flash in this country's history, but it's a small part of their lives, maybe even a large part. A person's life could never be so lowly. With life in this kind of society, one must degenerate into an animal before even a facade of ‘freedom’ can be attained. But if we're talking about humans, how is one supposed to live?” [zh]


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China: Racism in education · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The American Professor at OneManBandwith writes from the Southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on what he and many in China see as entrenched racism in educational institutions who seek to hire non-Chinese English teachers:
“These Chinese schools that reject non-whites are cheating their students of international influences [and] will negatively impact China's growth and give critics something very tangible to chide. Yes, America, Australia and others are rife with racism, but at least have laws to create some interference for the narrow-minded and ill-willed destructionists who practice it.”


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China: Sketchy trademark applications · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Danwei‘s Jeremy Goldkorn looks at some copyright-infringeing trademark applications from various companies in China, and a new release can be seen on Danwei TV.


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China: Why Communists survived · Global Voices
John Kennedy

EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong translates an essay from Chinese exile Wan Runnan which gives some answers to those who wonder why the Chinese Communist Party has not gone the way of the former Soviet bloc:
“Some people think that the Chinese Communists are still in China because the western governments were appeasing and tolerant, and the overseas businesses abandoned justice for profit.  They ignored the totalitarian dictatorship in China and the dreadful human rights situation…But if we calmly review the historical trends over the past seventeen years, we may have a different conclusion.”


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Colombia: A Conversation on Coverage of a Conflict · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Kevin Sites’ coverage of Colombia inspires a conversation at PoorButHappy.


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Colombia: Easing Abortion Laws · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Noting that “Colombia is a very Catholic country,” Steven Taylor mentions yesterday's decision by the constitutional court to allow abortions “in cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother or foetus is in danger.” BlueElephant opines (ES) that “hypocrisy remains latent, but this small step should be applauded and welcomed. Others will follow it.”


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Guyana: Clinton’s man hired by political party · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana Resource Centre reproduces a Stabroek News article revealing that one of Guyana's political parties has hired political consultant Dick Morris. Morris managed US President Bill Clinton's successful re-election bid in 1996.


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India: Doctors On The Streets · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Windy Skies on the hawkers in Bombay who call themselves medicine men and sell remedies by the street.


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India: India’s Youngest Blogger? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

This is one way to feel small. Read blogs by small people! Rohan is a a very young Indian blogger in second grade.


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Indonesia: No of days to start a business · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sarapanekonomi compares the time it takes to incorporate a new firm in several South East Asian countries and urges Indonesian government to make it easier for entrepreneurs to start a business.


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Interhamwe hiding in DRC · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Environmentalist, Kim Gjerstad goes looking for  gorillias  in the DRC.  Instead they come across  “Interhamwe, “Those Who Fight Together”, hiding in Congo after they committed Rwanda’s genocide in 1994. They appear no worse than any other faction.”


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Iran: Command Economy! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ali Mazroi, reformist politician & blogger, says Iranian economy is a command economy where government controls  80% of it. Blogger adds according to statistics 20 percent of Iranian households receives 48% of national income (Persian).


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Iran: One Government, One Media · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to IraneFarda, Iranian government tries to put all three major news agencies, (ISNA, ILNA & IRNA), on the same political path to back government. Blogger says many journalists have already been fired on ILNA  and directors were changed in two other agencies (Persian).


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Kenya: Indian Bank moving to Kenya · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bankelele reports that India's largest private bank (ICICI) is planning to move to Kenya.


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Latvia, Estonia: Infant Mortality and Poverty · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Estonia in the World Media (RUS) cites a Save the Children report on infant mortality, according to which there are four infant deaths per 1,000 births in Estonia and Lithuania, a pretty good indicator. All About Latvia writes about a woman who tried selling her 7-month-old daughter for $3,800 by placing an ad on the web; the woman couldn't afford taking care of her child.


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Latvia: Plans to Name KGB Collaborators · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia reports that in November, the government plans to make public the names of those who worked for the KGB. Ironically, some of these people in the KGB database still work in the Latvian government.


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Liberia: Sexual abuse by aid workers · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal reports that aid workers, peaceworkers and business men have been sexually abusing young girls in Liberia..


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Mexico: Roadblocks in Chiapas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Dave Pentecost wonders what caused the roadblocks in Chiapas to later find via Google News that a protest took place yesterday to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata, namesake of the Zapatista rebels.


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Nepal: When the Maoists said Cheese · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A brilliant set of photographs by rangi changi chha profiling a group of Maoists he met in Nepal. He says “about an hour outside of janakpur in the south east of nepal, i was invited to meet a group of maoists. they were on their way back from kathmandu where they had been waiting outside of the ringroad for the duration of the strike. poised for an attack on the capital that fortunately never came, they had walked for six days to get back to the terai region.”


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Nigeria: Media censorship · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Silent Storms in an Ocean of One comments on the Nigerian government's revoking of AIT's TV licence..”its live coverage of the ongoing senatorial (or should i say in-sane-torial) debate over the constitutional amendments that will allow obasanjo serve a third term in office.”


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Open Africa project: MIT · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan Pundit points to an MIT project “OpenCourseware” in partnership with Cameroon, Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda…The aim of this project, OpenAfrica, is to adopt innovative technologies that can bypass the educational challenges faced by sub-Saharan Africa.


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Polish Blogosphere Update  · Global Voices
Jordan & Maria Seidel

Who says that in the blogosphere text is king? Photographers are alive and clicking in the Polish Blogosphere. Fotosia shows us everyday Poland through her camera.  Staying with the visual arts, Polska＊ポーランド＊Poland provides a virtual tour of Warsaw parks,  from a Japanese perspective (though I don't know what the perspective on Warsaw sushi bars is).
From shutterbugs to Papal-inspired censorship (that's right, Poland has it all), P3 reports that in preparation for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Poland at the end of May, officials are planning to “purge from television programs ads for personal hygiene products and underwear…”
In the comments section, M. Farris adds a translated Polish idiom for some cultural context: “I've heard an expression in Polish for this, called ‘painting the grass green’ (before the arrival of a bigshot).”
Perhaps the grass is greener on the political front? To help add some clarity, the beatroot announces his very own political barometer called the PiS-ed off Index:
The methodology to the PiS-ed off Index (PoI) is simple: compare the PiS-led government’s opinion poll ratings to their share of the vote in last September's general election.
The Index will provide a measure of  how  “…unhappy and disappointed Law and Justice party (PiS) voters have become since last autumn’s general election.” At the moment the PiS party PoI Index is zero.
Far from wanting a zero on anything, millions of Polish high schoolers have taken their final examscalled “Matura.” According to Kinuk in Poland, in what might appear at first a spectacular invasion of Agent Smith (of Matrix fame) progeny:
Maturzysci, as the students taking the end-of-school exams (the equivalent of British A-levels) are called, still dress up to write their exams. Black trousers or black skirts for some, white shirt or blouse and often a black jacket or cardigan sets them out from the rest of the crowd on the bus or the street.
Apparently, student procrastination is universal in scope, and even memorialized in Poland, according to Kinuk, in a 60's song entitled “The exam’s in a day, in an hour, soon, getting closer, in a minute!” (In Polish: Oj, za dzień matura, za godzinę, już niedługo, coraz bliżej, już za chwilę!).
During last week Polish language bloggers were mostly preoccupied by the newly reformed government, with not one, but two populistic leaders – made ministers in exchange for their parties support. Andrzej Lepper, who was recently convicted for libel, and Roman Giertych, right-wing radical with a record of hate speech, barely started to adjust to their new functions, and already one Pole has decided to renounce his citizenship:
…[he] decided to leave our rejuvenated homeland and go into inner emigration – literally.
That’s the Poland blogopshere update! Until next time – Do widzenia!

author: Jordan & Maria Seidel


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Puerto Rico: Young novelist and domestic violence · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Tinta Digital attends a conference (ES) entitled “Domestic violence in modern communications media” at the University of Puerto Rico where one of the speakers is 19 year-old Ada Alvarez, Puerto Rico's youngest ever novelist, author of Lo que no dije (What isn't said). Alvarez also maintains a blog (ES) by the same name devoted to the subject of domestic violence.


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Reunion: Legend of the Bride’s Veil · Global Voices
Alice Backer

According to a local legend, the falls at Salazie, says (Fr)  Audrey at Reunion Passion, are shaped like a bride's veil because a runaway bride once fell along the mountain's side. The blogger posts breathtaking pictures.