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Serbia & Montenegro: Memories of Belgrade Bombing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Viktor of Belgrade Blog writes about what it felt like to be in Belgrade during the bombing seven years ago.


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Sierra Leone: Asylum in Australia · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

African Migrants reports that 6 of the missing athletes have asked the Australian government for political asylum.  Six of the 15 Sierra Leonean have been issued “Temporary Protection Visas”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Sokari Ekine


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Singapore:  a gay party cancelled · Global Voices
Connie Veneracion

On the cancellation of Feelin’ Good, a party organised by gay and lesbian media and events company Fridae, Mr. Brown quotes and links to conflicting statements from Fridae and the police. Fridae says the Ministry of Sound informed them that the police demanded the cancellation of the event because it would “promote gay activities”; the police says they merely advised the Ministry of Sound to address possible traffic problems.

author: Connie Veneracion


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Singapore: ruling party (dirty) tactics · Global Voices
Connie Veneracion

A few disgruntled S'poreans are reacting vehemently over the ruling party's tactic of scaring voters that if the ruling party loses, housing subsidies will be lost and residential areas will eventually become slums.


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South Korea: general strike · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Joshua from The Korea Liberator examines the relevant labor issues leading up to the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions’ general strike planned for next week.

author: John Kennedy


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Sri Lanka: Views from the fence · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Where are the more balanced views on the conflict in Sri Lanka and the accounts on the impact it has had on civillian life? Moju says – “I’d like to hear from people who think they can give a BALANCED view on what the SL army and LTTE (and also perhaps LTTE police, SLMM, and citizens groups) are doing in Jaffna/N-E, and how they affect the people.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Thailand: cooking school · Global Voices
Connie Veneracion

Over at Thai-blogs, Richard Barrow, an English expat living in Thailand for 10 years learns about Thai food and cooking, including the different kinds of rice. He recommends one cooking school in particular.


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This week in Israel: today is election day · Global Voices
Lisa N. Goldman

Voting in the Israeli elections. Tel Aviv, March 28. (Photo by Lisa Goldman. Click to enlarge.)
Israelis go to the polls to elect a new government today. The media have been screaming since 10 a.m. that voter turnout is at an all-time low, even though the polls don't close until 10 p.m.
Kadima, the centrist party founded by comatose-since-January prime minister Ariel Sharon, and now led by acting PM Ehud Olmert, is currently projected to win the most seats and thus form the next government. But there have also been many, many warnings that the pre-election polls are likely to prove very inaccurate because there is also a record number of undecided voters – approximately 20 percent.
As for exit polls, let us not forget that Shimon Peres “won” in 1996, based on the exit polls, but after the votes were counted Benjamin Netanyahu emerged as Israel's prime minister. Given, however, that Netanyahu's Likud party is predicted to take only 14 of the 120 Knesset  (parliament) seats in these elections (the party that wins a plurality of seats usually forms a coalition with smaller parties in order to cobble together the necessary majority of at least 61 seats), the chances of him becoming prime minister in 2006 are about zero.
Below is a roundup of what the Israeli blogosphere has to say, going into the elections.
Allison Kaplan Somer is a one-woman blog show. She is updating her blog, An Unsealed Room, several times daily with election news and will continue do so as the results flow in. Keep checking back. This very experienced journalist is on a roll.
Israelycool is also doing live coverage of the elections, with constant updates.
Shai Tsur explains why he voted Kadima, despite his reservations about many of the candidates on the party's list.
I’m voting Kadima, as almost everybody knows. Is it perfect? No it isn’t. I’m not all that crazy about Olmert. I would like the party a hell of a lot better without Tzachi Hanegbi, not to mention Shaul Mofaz, Ruhama Avraham, and Eli Aflalo. But those are the breaks. If the most important thing for me was clean government, and I didn’t have an aversion for voting for small single-issue parties, I would probably cast a vote for Uzi Dayan‘s Tafnit party.
Shai and I have also been blogging about the elections for the Guardian's newsblog. His third post, “The Worrying Rise of Avigdor Lieberman”, is here; my third post, “Civility Amid the Struggle,”  is here.
Niv Calderon, a new contributor to the group blog One Jerusalem (OJ), has written an excellent post that explains how the Israeli Left's core ideology was taken over by the centre-right.
Fayrouz Shaqrawi, a Palestinian-Israeli who blogs at The Land of Sad Oranges, recounts a conversation she had with two fellow Palestinian-Israelis about which parties represent their interests best, and why.
Yonathan Bar On explains why he hopes that the next government will be a Kadima-Labour coalition.
Rinat describes the election day atmosphere in Tel Aviv, as well as the total exhaustion she feels as a journalist who is covering the elections for three different media outlets.
Don Radlauer explains, in a very well-reasoned post, why this election should be viewed as a referundum on unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank.
West Bank Blog explains why she is voting for Likud - and why everyone who doesn't follow her example has her head stuck in the sand.
And Jameel of The Muqata gives his interpretation of each of the major party's platforms before explaining why he, too, is voting Likud.
I posted two sets of photos of the elections, taken in Tel Aviv, on my Flickr account – here and here.

author: Lisa N. Goldman


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Tourism, Islamic Vietnam & Blogs · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

IranMehr (Persian) talks about tourism industry problems in Iran. He writes despite country’s attractiveness such as historical monuments, ancient villages, ecosystems…He talks also about government’s politics to attract 20 million tourists to Iran whose share of global tourism revenue has been less that 1 percent. According to him:
“How Iranian government’s planning  would be able to develop within  “demand & offer” framework  in tourism to expand this industry?…Private section share, lack of residential space, non defined of tourism economy’s concept, air transport problems, domestic tourism development, breaking government’s monopoly on tourism…are among issues to be solved if not there will be no fundamental tourism development in country. Beyond Iran’s place in worldwide tourism responsible should clarify where country’s place in Middle East is tourism?”
Deyareaftab (Persian), another blogger has left a comment concerning tourism for IranMehr he asks :
“Which tourism? Tourists don’t dare to come to Iran!”
Tajzade (Persian), reformist politician & blogger, talks about nuclear crisis and its outcome. He says what Iranian youth needs is peace social & cultural development. Our nation needs to be respected. Of course respecting is a mutual act and without respecting others u are not going to be respected. Blogger writes:
“Absolutists (he means present government) before coming to power promised to make Iran an Islamic Japan…but by following their politics Iran won’t become even an Islamic North Korea but an Islamic Vietnam! Imagining US attacked us and we won the war at the end. What will be price for Iran? What will be happened to 30 years of Islamic Republic achievements?”
For him China is a good example a big country which earned her respect in a competing free market.
Sibestan (Persian) says some bloggers got disappointed and stop blogging because they were waiting blogs make a revolution. Blogger says blogs don’t have their social dimension that we expected but they have an elite dimesion. They have become a concept making factory. By elites he means intellectuals or some who are doing intellectual work, journalists writers and university lecturers.
Deltang  (Persian) considers this year will be a difficult year for bloggers because government wants to put blogs in a legal framework! He says government considers blogs seriously and it shows that blogs are extending their influence in society.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Uzbekistan: German Relations · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben Paarmann discusses Uzbekistan's relations with Germany, the only Western state that still has a significant relationship with Uzbekistan, and adds to a recent media report on the relationship.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Zimbabwe: Mining & Financial sectors · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Eddie Cross writing in Zimbabwean Pundit comments on the mining and financial services sector in Zimbabwe which has survived Zanu PF but have been battered and bruised in the process.


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Kenya: Property Prices · Global Voices
Vandu

Steve Ntwiga Mugiri tells of the bust in the property boom bubble which hit the Kenyan capital of Nairobi some time ago: “In the coming months, look to see lots of people get burnt as they try to unload properties in Kilimani and Kileleshwa that they bought at ridiculous prices with the hope of reselling for a huge profit. The sad fact is that the demand for ownership of this type of unit simply does not exist any more.”

author: Vandu


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Africa: Women in Leadership · Global Voices
Vandu

Africa Unchained looks at the increasing profile of African women in leadership roles.


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Kenya as ICT capital · Global Voices
Vandu

Kenyan Pundit tells of an initiative aimed at making Kenya the ICT capital of Africa by 2010.


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Ghana: Solar Eclipse · Global Voices
Vandu

Oluniyi David Ajao talks about the brouhaha surrounding a solar eclipse which was witnessed in Ghana:  “When it was getting close to the centre, I quickly moved to the beach nearby, to have a clear view.”


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Nigeria:  Solar Eclipse · Global Voices
Vandu

Chxta’s World and Janada’s Blog present some pictures of the solar eclipse witnessed today in parts of Nigeria.


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· Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Mikaila makes her debut at the pan collective with a bit of commentary on the inaguration of Jamaica's first female Prime Minister, the Honorable Portia Simpson, which takes place on Thursday 30 March, and her two cents’ on the Commonwealth Games.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Armenia: Deforestation · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports on deforestation in Armenia and efforts to protect the country's treest. He also posts photos of people planting trees in Ijevan and Gosh.


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Bahamas: Condi’s visit · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Sir Arthur Foulkes is satisfied with comments made by US Secreatary of State Condolezza Rice during her brief visit to the Bahamas, and believes they “should help to correct the myopic vision of those Bahamian isolationists who believe that the Bahamas should have as little as possible to do with our brothers and sisters in the rest of the Caribbean and that our horizons should extend no further than Florida.”


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Brazil: UN’s Convention on Biodiversity · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Kat says on Cuaderno Latinoamericano that Curitiba was chosen as host city of UN's Convention on Biodiversity “because it is one of the most environmentally conscious cities in Brazil.”

author: David Sasaki


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Central Asia: Brookings Conference · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Both neweurasia and Registan.net report on the Brookings Institution's conference earlier this week on regional cooperation and integration in Central Asia.


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Charles Taylor: As the story unfolds · Global Voices
Vandu

In August 2003, ex-Liberian leader, Charles Taylor, was flown from Monrovia to Abuja on board a Nigerian Boeing 727 presidential jet. Taylor had just been granted asylum in Nigeria as part of a deal overseen by the African Union, the United Nations (UN) and the United States, which was aimed at ending the Liberian civil war. However, in June 2003, Taylor was indicted for war crimes by a UN court in Sierra Leone, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The Nigerian government promised to hand Taylor over only when a democratically elected government was in place in Liberia.
January 2006: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in as the elected president of Liberia. On March 5, 2006, she requested for custody of Charles Taylor from the Nigerian government (according to information on the website of the State House, Abuja). On March 28, 2006, Charles Taylor was declared missing from his asylum villa by the Nigerian government. A day later, he was arrested trying to flee Nigeria. At the time of writing, he should be on his way to Liberia—the Nigerian government appears to have complied with the request of the Liberian government to finally hand him over.
The English-speaking blogosphere has been saturated with in-depth reports and commentaries on the ex-Liberian leader and indicted warlord. We take a look at some of these, written before it was reported that Mr. Taylor had been captured.
The blog GlobalLawAndPolitics laments in the article “The Rise and Fall of International Law in Africa–March 2006” about how “big men” of Africa continue to have their way, fueling a “culture of impunity and corruption that is eroding the continent.” It challenges African leaders to fulfill their human rights obligation by refusing to give refuge to Mr. Taylor.
Transitional Justice Forum describes Nigeria’s behavior following Liberia’s request for Taylor’s extradition as “erratic.” It calls on President George Bush not to go ahead with a meeting with the Nigerian president (scheduled for March 29, 2006) except Taylor is found and arrested.
Black Star Journal describes Taylor’s disappearance as “shock of shocks,” stating that Nigeria ought to have had Taylor arrested and put on a plane to Sierra Leone the moment Liberia requested for him. Africa Beat takes issue with the Nigerian president for failing to have Charles Taylor arrested before publicly announcing his intention to hand him over to Liberia.
Nigerian Times, appearing to have no sympathy for the government of the Nigeria boldly calls on the United States to hold the Nigerian president responsible for Charles Taylor’s disappearance. African Shirts in an article titled “Taylor varnishes” describes the entire situation as a “real muddle.”
David McCullough lashes out on Nigeria over Taylor’s disappearance. He appears disgusted by what appears to be “Nigeria colluding with Charles Taylor” and allowing him escape. McCullough puts Taylor in the class of war criminals like Radovan Karajic of Serbia and calls on “corrupt” Nigeria to clean up its act.
Following reports that Charles Taylor was captured and arrested by the Nigerian police on March 29, 2006, the blogosphere has also been filled with commentaries.
Parenthetical Remarks sums up the general feeling among bloggers in stating: “a bad day for former dictators turns out to be a good day for the rest of us. Taylor will finally get his day in court, likely followed by a lifetime behind bars, right where he belongs.” Mental Meanderings says that Serbia, which is still protecting people like Ratko Mladic could learn a lesson from Nigeria and hand over its war criminals.
Mansel Report sarcastically alludes to the fact that now that Charles Taylor has been arrested, the Nigerian president can expect to have a nice meeting with George Bush where “oil will be discussed…” and “the violence and death [in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria] will be brushed aside at least in private.”
The Counterterrorism Blog while pleased that Taylor was arrested by Nigerian security forces and is to be on his way to Sierra Leone, cautions the American government on its relationship with the Nigerian president calling for a ‘reevaluation of the close and dependent relationship” between Nigeria and the United States.
There are bloggers who see the request for Charles Taylor’s extradition as premature and indicative of pressure from more powerful governments. Grandiose Parlor finds the sudden change of heart by the Liberian leader puzzling. The Liberian president once saw Taylor as being of relatively low priority to her government.


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Chile: Beto Stocker · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale links to two albums by Chilean musician Beto Stocker, both of which are licensed with Creative Commons licenses.


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China: Contemporary art rising · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In “Has China's Time Come?,” the black China hand blogs on this Friday's Sotheby's art sale in New York which will feature works from some of hottest names in contemporary Chinese art: “Has the dragon landed or is this just some China Hand wannabes’ flavor-of-the-month club campaign?”


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China: Convenient humanitarianism · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In his post “Arab Leaders Ignore Chinese,” lordgenius at China Intel mentions an upcoming meeting between the Arab League and the Chinese Communist Party in Sudan which will focus on Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the ongoing civil strife in western Sudan's Darfur region. “Isn't there something missing here? What about Chinese persecutions of Muslims in its Xinjiang province, where it's estimated 7.2 million Uyghur Muslims reside?” lordgenius writes.


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China: Farmers need to consume · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Marty over at The Big Yuan offers his interpretation of Morgan Stanley's just-released analysis of China's eleventh five year plan and its global implications: “The only realistic way to ease the trade balance is to increase the flow of exports into the burgeoning Chinese consumer market. Both Dell and Wal-mart have announced expansion into China, but this will be a long-term fix.”
Dan Harris of China Law Blog replies: “China inevitably will see wages rise and consumerism increase, just as happened in Japan and then Korea. It will take time, but it will occur. The wild card for China, however, is the 800 million rural dwellers who are a long way from having much in the way of disposable income.”


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China: Revolutionary irony · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In “So-called…,” Massage Milk blogger Wang Xiaofeng assigns labels with a contemporary context and a heavy dose of irony to Cultural Revolution-era propaganda posters. [ZH]


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Czech Republic: Havel Denied Entry Into Belarus Embassy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

br23 blog reports on how Vaclav Havel, former president of the Czech Republic, was denied entry by the Belarus Embassy in Prague when he wanted to deliver a letter of protest. The incident reminded him of 1979, when Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter were protesting his own imprisonment, but were told to drop their letter of protest into the Czechoslovak Embassy's mailbox.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Dangdut music and dance in Singapore and all about Home  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Singapore is a good place to explore  cultures from all over South East Asia. The blogger at licencetospill took some of her friends to a Dangdut club. Dangdut is a form of music from Indonesia. The blogger explains
the main difference between a DD song and any other indonesian song is the cheesy lyric. there’s a lot of lurrrveeeee and heartbreaking going on in there. numerous mention of “hati” (heart) and “sayanggggg” (loveeee) in the lines. there’s a lot of onomatopoeia like “auu auuuu auuuu”, “aduhhhh aduhhh aduhhhh”, “degappp deguppp deguppp”, all to mimick the sound of a pulsating heart. wakakaka!
Check out the post for a video that demos the moves that go with dangdut:
now, how do you execute a successful DD move? i tell them they can start by doing a slow-motion running movement with their hands. once they have done so, move the shoulders back and forth. then, tilt the shoulders up and down according to the beat. and tadaaaa, a simple DD move for you!
It's not all dancing though. Curious about Sikh culture, a Singaporean Muslim visits a Gurudwara – a Sikh temple and, in contrast to his initial reservation, finds a warm welcome.
Beyond Singapore itself Peishan, a Singaporean living in Chicago, wonders if Singapore is really her home:
How to tell my parents that Singapore isn’t really my home anymore? I mean, yes, they are back there, I grew up there, they took care of me there, but how do you call home a place where you haven’t lived in years, and do not intend to live in for the next few years?
The post got commented heavily and the replies ranged from people missing home -
Its Singapore for me. For now. Here in Michigan, I don’t have many friends, no family, no house, no home, no sense of belonging, not much memories, no attachments. I will pack up and leave with no guilt & no regrets once I’m done with school. But of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t reminsence about it once in awhile after that.
to  this one from Kevin -
For me I don’t mind living anywhere in the world, so long as there’s an Internet connection (I’m serious!). I’ve two younger siblings so my parents encourage me to go as far as I can (career-wise, not proximically-speaking!). I must admit though that my decision to go anywhere would be limited to where my partner can go, which is something I fully respect. While I would miss Singaporean food as well as my friends and family (no particular order!), I can live with the idea of the Internet giving me a compressed experience of home. After all, I think it’s always good to experience new cultures and to learn a few things from them.
Budak  reports that a  baby colugo that was injured  by poachers two weeks ago has been put to sleep. It had stopped eating and become weak. A culogo is a tree-dwelling, gliding mammal found in South East Asia. The injured animal was under the care of nature volunteers who tried their best to take care of it.
We end in a graveyard. A bunch of paranormal enthusiasts keen on history went on a cemetery tour. They failed to see anything strange but discovered some interesting historical trivia:
And a little distance away, near to the edge of the cemetery, sheltered by a huge Frangipani tree and kind of enclosed by a low brick wall, are 14 tombs, said to belong to the Geishas who lived in the late 1800s in Singapore. The earliest died in 1899, said to be working at Malay Road (the current Bugis Junction, where once upon a time, a Japanese community flourished).

author: Preetam Rai


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DRC: A Chat with Blogger Tony Katombe · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Anthony Mica Katombe (Tony for short) is a blogger from the DRC who’ll “turn 39 April 13”. He has a degree in English and African Cultural Studies Education from a Congolese University. He owns Le Blog du Congolais and co-edits Le Prince du Fleuve Congo, a group blog. On the morning of our messenger chat, gunmen were surrounding his hometown of Kinshasa. And Kofi Annan was visiting in person to check in on a rocky electoral process. Oh and a brief blackout punctuated our messenger chat. But we carried on — in Tony's native French.
AB: Vocal members of political parties are quite active in the DRC blogosphere. A Belgian chapter of opposition party UDPS has its own regularly updated blog, UDPS Liege, for example. Do you belong to a political party?
TK: I don’t and there are two reasons for that. One, I like to maintain my freedom of opinion and I have no intention of negotiating it with a party. Parties these days are based on their leaders’ personalities or on ethnico-tribal belonging… not on ideology. They only say they’re neo-liberal or socialist for show.  Two, I’m a right-winger, a neo-liberal. But in the Congo all the neo-liberal parties are pro-Mobutu. Can you imagine being pro-Mobutu? For now I want to be close to all freedom fighters so I sometimes use my blog to relay UDPS’s struggle. I think they’re good, serious people. But they’re socialists and I’m a liberal.
AB: Why did you start blogging?
TK: I started blogging in August 2005 after visiting Renouveau Congolais, a [DRC] blog edited by Etienne Ngandu. I figured through a blog I could keep communicating my analyses that I had been publishing in a print publication called Le Phare but with a wider audience. I’d say my blog is more accessible to international readers while Le Phare remains most accessible locally, partly because they rarely update their website.
AB: Who reads your blog?
TK: Mainly Congolese from abroad.
AB: How do you like blogging so far?
TK: It’s actually been as exciting as it’s been demanding. I often get calls or emails from people who want to know all about the country. That forces me to stay tuned to the news 24/7 at a time when things are in constant flux. It’s a challenge and I like that.
AB: The DRC blogosphere is one of the most active of Francophone Africa. Why is that do you think?
TK: The Congolese are more and more aware of their responsibility for the country’s plight.  I hear more and more people say that we couldn’t be who we are without our own participation. So everyone tries to express themselves, to influence things so as to save the Congo. And since freedom of expression is not quite yet a guarantee, people jump on the internet just to be involved. And why are we more vocal than other francophone Africans? Well, there is more suffering here than in Gabon or than in the other Congo.  Here people can go 10 years without getting a paycheck. And when they do get a paycheck, it can be for as little as $10 a month. So he who aches the most screams the loudest.
AB: What is your blog’s mission?
TK: To analyze news and political affairs so as to guide the political involvement of the Congolese diaspora.
AB: Was there a defining moment in your life that may have influenced your decision to do what you do?
TK: Well, I developed a rebel spirit at age 17. A friend (Fabius Kalongo) was beaten up by some rich kids because he insisted on bathing in the river before them. This was in a rural setting and the custom was first come first serve when it came to bathing. The three rich kids insisted on braving the custom and beat him almost to death. When we found this out at school, I decided to start a fundraiser because he didn’t have any family close by. We went to the hospital to visit him but to our surprise he’d been jailed. We went to the police chief and asked that he be transferred to a hospital but when he refused we threatened to stone the police station’s windows. Our friend was freed but I was expelled from school. You see, someone pegged me wrongfully as the leader. My father, who was also a local bigwig, sided with them against me. I learned that power could be dangerous and I decided to denounce its trappings. There you go!

author: Alice Backer


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El Salvador: Hunger Strike in Chalatenango · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Writing from Chalatenango, El Salvador, Jesse Stewart says that 26 people representing 100 communities have occupied a Cathedral there to protest, among other issues, the disappearance of Erlinda and Ernestina Cruz during “Operation Cleansing” of June 1982.


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India: MicroFinance turns sour · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Fractured Earth on how Micro Finance in Andhra Pradesh is taking a dangerous route with extremely high interest rates.


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India: Sexual harassment in the Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Don't trust the Indian Media on the instances of sexual harassment within the media sector, and how the issues go largely unreported.


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Indonesia: Polygamy, Polygyny, Polyandry · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Cafe Salemba points readers to a clutch of interesting links analyzing polygamy from the perspective of economics.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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Jamaica: Poetry reading · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp reports on a reading by Jamaican poet Pam Mordecai.


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Japan: Increases tower size · Global Voices
John Kennedy

“The race for the world's biggest phallic symbol continues,” says one reader in response to Japundit's post on plans to build a new Tokyo Tower by 2011 which will stand over 600 meters tall.


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Korea: Navy’s problems in public relations · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Matt from Occidentalism posts on a new South Korean destroyer ship whose insignia, some argue, portrays missiles being fired toward Japan.


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Kurdistance: Echoes of Violence, Identity and the New Year · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

What makes a people, a people? What defines a group: a common voice, a common history, culture, a blogging engine? Just as the Iranians, the Kurds celebrate New Year or Newroz every March. Among the celebrations and the well wishes given, there is an underlying sadness and strength that defines the Kurdish people during this holiday. Some say that it is the legend of Kawa that unites them while others believe that the history of violence against the Kurds is the backbone of their identity. March is the month of many anniversaries for the Kurds, violence in Syria, violence in Iran, but most notably the horror that occurred in the village of Halapja in 1988….and Halapja was the center of a new resurgance of violence this year.
Halapja burned once more this March, but not for the reasons you would think.
Let's first cover the issue of the importance of Halapja if you are unfamilar. As part of Saddam's Anfal Campaign in March of 1988, a mixture of various chemical weapons/gases were dropped on the village of Halapja, resulting in the deaths of over 5000 Kurds in a few short days. Images of this are truly heartbreaking, with the environmental and social impacts still being felt to this day.
This year, on the 18th Anniversary of the tragedy, students used the commemoration as an opportunity to protest the Kurdistan Regionals Government's corruption and lack of social services. The students were blocked at the gates, one demostrator was shot. The Halapja memorial became a symbol of the corruption, a place to take national guests but a place denied to those it honors…more violence erupted and the monument was burned to the ground. For Americans who are looking for an equivlent, imagine the Holocaust museum being destroyed in Washington DC. Some good has come from this, the KRG has apologized for the death and being the cause of the event; one can only hope that perhaps in destroying such a symbol that the government will learn to take the people's demands seriously.
Reactions to the burning of the monument are mixed, as a blogger myself I am still at a loss to define how I feel about this. The overwhelming sentiment is divided into two: those who are appalled that a monument (viewed to the level of sacred) could be and was so easily destroyed by the very people that it honors, or those who regret what happened but are grateful for the protest victory that has been hard won in this situation. Was this a needed sacrifice? I'll leave the decision of that to you.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Kyrgyzstan: The Students & The Anniversary · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Golden Road to Samarqand discusses student attitudes on the first anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's Tulip Revolution.


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Malaysia: Chinese Taxes · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Anak Merdeka reacts to an amazing statement by Malaysia's former PM Mahathir Mohamad that Malaysia's development had been funded largely by taxes paid by ethnic Chinese — and not Malay — Malaysians.


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March 24 in the Argentinean Blogosphere · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

Last friday, march 24, marked 30 years since the beginning of the last military dictatorship in Argentina. There were plenty of reasons to remember this date, which stated the beginning of a political period marked by violations of human rights, the murdering of political opposition to the dictatorship, the use of the state apparatus to commit crimes, and the implementation of an economic policy that destroyed the country's productive infrastructure.
The vast institutional gravity of what happened 30 years ago is not hard to express: for a long time, the Argentinean state became an organized machinery of law violation. That is, the one who had to guarantee the fulfillment of the norms, was openly dedicated to violate them and soon organized a complete apparatus of concealment. A good part of Argentine society at the time supported the coup and gave it a social foundation. But, after three decades, to remember this period is part of a political bet so that nothing like this could happen again. Part of this includes not to reduce everything to “two sides,” as if we still were under a military vision of the world; not to replicate the theory of the both demons; not to lose sight of the economic motivations of the coup; not to forget the support (to the dictatorship) by a good part of the society, as well as the complicity of entrepreneurial organizations and of the Argentinean church. Nor to abandon the fight for the end of all legislation – such as amnesties, the Punto Final and the Obediencia Debida- that has allowed many violations of human rights to go without prosecution.
In order to commemorate the 30 years, a massive concentration in Plaza de Mayo took place, attended by more than 100,000 people, according to the media. The journey was, for the first time, a national holiday in Argentina, a decision taken by Kirchner's government, which has provoked many criticism by several human rights organizations. This first year the holiday fell on a Friday, which, instead of encouraging meditation or discussion on the subject, many people took advantage of with a long weekend vacation. Furthermore, during the march some incidents took place, such as when the Madres y Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo – quite close to the government – rejected the terms of a long document that was being read which was quite harsh on Kirchner's government.
But beyond the precise events of this 24 of March, a long series of blogs made reference to the subject. This text only intends to be a summary of what's been published which has been plenty and varied. For that reason, it will not open too much discussion over what has been written, to avoid further extension of this text which does not want to be an opinion column, but a listing of references. Each of you can reach any of the mentioned links, and leave your opinions in the respective blogs, since most of them allow comments. I clear this up because this it is a subject that can cause much discussion on recent Argentine history, and because the idea is not to start long discussions here, but to raise conversations in the different blogs mentioned. All this is independent of my position on the matter. Throughout the text, in addition, there will be some photos that I took in the march of Friday, and a brief video for you to see a little of the atmosphere of the Plaza de Mayo. The video quality is bad, but the idea is, simply, to illustrate what happened there, far from the scene where most of the television cameras were.
24 de marzo
You can add your feedback and links in the comments area.
In spanish
At Blogsfera, Javier makes an interesting summary of some of the repercussions of what's been published in blogs on the subject of the 24 of March, with links to diverse positions; from those who condemned the coup to those who complained about many of the things that were said. At Argenautas, they show “gratefulness” to the dictatorship for “defending” us by means of torture and systematic murder. Martín Varsavsky affirms that “Nowadays Argentina still has many problems, but I'm glad to say that neither leftist terrorism nor the terrorism of state represent a threat for Argentina anymore”. In Hechos e interpretaciones a long recount of facts related to the dictatorship enumerates companies that collaborated with the regime, and critically remembers the governments of Raul Alfonsín, who created the so called “Ley de Obediencia Debida,” which granted indemnity to active military, and of Carlos Menem, who signed the amnesties. In Mavrakis and Valdes they criticize the interpretation the present government concerning the facts of 1976. Setubal wonders about the political uses of this date, and also makes a critical lecture about the role of Kirchner's government. Moebius focuses on how the communication boundaries were destroyed during those years. In Por la Libertad they indicate that “Why when they show pictures of the protagonists of the violence of those time do they choose so different frames and approaches? When one remembers the people in charge of the military government and its partisans in repression we're shown photos of them with severe gestures and wearing their military uniform … Why, when making reference to the members of the armed gangs that always hurt the country from the extreme left, are they always shown as nice, with pensive gestures or writing? Aren't there any pictures of this people holding guns in their hands or building a bomb? Funny, isn't it? At Tirate a la Pileta also chooses to reduce the problem to “two sides”. “But the coin has 2 faces… The terrorists, those that began with bombs and protests to overthrow the government of Isabel de Peron, and then the face of the military before, during, and after the coup.
In English
At Geek Gaucho they remember the United States government approval to the coup, and its support to the argentine military. In Goodairs and Rachel in Argentina they make a brief summary of what happened this 24 of March. Moving to Argentina makes a brief historic summary. In Gloria Mundi Bob Row remembers the complicity by a good part of the catholic church in the coup. Posthegemony analyzes the first official notices by the military government. Balance News Blog tells how the argentine government decided to open the secret files that the Armed Forces and secret services kept on the period of 1976-83.
More resources
In Technorati you can see a list of posts published in blogs on the subject of the coup d'etat of 1976.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Mexico: 4th World Water Forum · Global Voices
David Sasaki

World News A La Mexicana sums up the 4th World Water Forum, which took place last week in Mexico City.


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Moroccan Arabic blogs opt for the sarcasme and CAIR dare to defend a Christian convert · Global Voices
Farah Kinani

Moroccan bloggers who choose to blog in another language(Arabic) than Arabic are facing a new wave of criticism(Arabic). “Why don't you blog in Arabic?” (French) Is a question they had to answer last week, and as I told you in my latest roundup, they were many to justify(French) their choice of language(French). So today, we'll pay a visit to the Arabic Moroccan blogs, and we'll try to find out more about them. We'll also see how the Moroccan blogosphere (blogoma) reacted to the headlines news and we'll of course have our usual “Coup de coeur” .
Casablanca..Angel or Demon?
Thanks to the daily updated list of Moroccan blogs offered by Larbi, I had no problems finding the Arabic ones.
My first remark is that they are a minority in the blogoma who obviously prefers French, since even the English ones are a tiniest minority!
Issam is sarcastic. And his latest post is an ironical critic(Arabic) of the way some Moroccan police officers take advantage of their positions to terrorize the “average” citizens..
We hear more and more about a negotiated political solution to the Sahara conflict, and hjiouj is reacting(Arabic) to this new development in his blog called M.S Hjiouj(Arabic).
Morocco used to sue whoever talks about the independence of the Sahara..Tomorrow, whoever refuses the idea of the independence of the Sahara will be sued..!
Legnaoui is fed up with the insecurity and the “moral dirtiness”(Arabic) of Casablanca, and he's posting about it in  Arabic with some expressions in Moroccan dialect.
Casablanca is the main subject in another blog, The world of Ihsan Baghdadi(Arabic). And again, the city is loved and hated at the same time. It's even called the city of contradictions.
Lalla Nisrine the lion's heart(Arabic) is a nice but deserted blog. And that's really surprising especially that it received an international award(Arabic) as “the reader's choice”.
What is hell?
Samir writes about the Second Arab Civil Forum that expressed its disappointment over the failure of  the majority of Arab nations “to meet their promises in regard to political reforms”.
However, the final communiqué, released in Bahrain yesterday, called on Arab governments to remove all legislative and administrative restrictions imposed on creation and administration of non-government organisations, trade and labour unions, and political parties.
Jallal applauds the decision of CAIR to call for the release of Afghan Christian convert Abdul Rahman.
Apostasy is one of the serious issues that the Moslem world has yet to come to terms with. Many Muslims cheer the conversion of new converts to Islam and, at the same time, back the common idea that Muslims who reject their faith should be sentenced to death! There is an coherence problem here.
soumiaz wants to know more about hell and heaven, about her religion..Or what she supposes she can call, her religion.
I am Muslim myself I don't have answers to some of her questions. I just now put my finger on one of the things that are behind the issues and contradictions we suffer from in the Muslim world. It is not Islam we practice, we haven't–at least I know–I haven't studied the religion as deeply as my friend is now doing. I have inherited the religion but I have never taken time to build my own understanding of it is principles.
Coup de coeur
M.S Hjiouj(Arabic)  is a blog I've discovered last week and really liked it. First, I think it has this “literary” look that makes it a warmth place to be. Second, the subjects of the posts are interesting and the author, who by the way is journalist, has a special way to deal with headlines news.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights in Tetouan  has a blog(Arabic), and I do like the idea -which is pretty new for such associations in Morocco-  since it will help spread any information or new development about the social and the political environment in the area.

author: Farah Kinani


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Myanmar: Growing Army · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Burma Digest looks at how Myanmar's military has doubled in the past 15 years even as its neighbors have reduced the numbers of their soldiers.


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North Korea: Official defects · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Joshua from The Korea Liberator compares the recent defection of a North Korean man rumored to be a diplomat with the 2003 defection of senior North Korean weapons official Bok Ku Lee.


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Pakistan: When in Lahore.. · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

That McDonald's takes on local flavours is not news. Metroblogging Lahore shows the local outlet going a step further to celebrate Basant.


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Peru, Mexico, Venezuela: Election Influence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jefferson Morley takes a look at how Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez is influencing elections in Mexico and Peru in his roundup of the Latin American press.


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Philippines: Blogging Humanity · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

San Juan Gossip Mills Outlet gives thanks for all the people he's met through blogging. He writes: “All in all, friend or foe come home to nest in their respective blogdoms and visit other people’s sites either to spite, anger, inspire or simply thank each other. In short, humanity abounds far more in cyberspace than in the real world. Shame is replaced by courage, embarrassment by facility, human debate by by ethernet discourse. Our humanity magnified a hundred fold. That is the power of blogging. “


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Poland: Parliamentary Crises · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes on Poland's inability to come up with a coalition government and the not too efficient attempts to fix the situation: “Many normal people here argue, however, that it is not the system […] that is to blame for Poland’s political instability, but – and here’s a radical suggestion – it might just be something to do with the politicians that the system produces.”


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Russia: Ilf and Petrov Exhibit · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile writes about famous Soviet writers Ilya Ilf and Evgeniy Petrov, their 1935-36 trip to the United States.


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Russia: Putin Plagiarized His Dissertation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

W. Shedd of The Accidental Russophile and Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog discuss Vladimir Putin's plagiarized dissertation: “What was Putin doing in 1997? If I am not mistaken, he was vice mayor of St. Petersburg. For some reason, he decided on getting a PhD […]. What would the typical bureaucrat do? My guess is he'd pay someone to write a thesis for him. The hired academic had too many theses to write and saved time and effort by plagiarizing. Whether Putin took this way or not, who knows?”


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Taiwan: Teaching English · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Scott Sommers provides some context in response to recent comments on websites frequented by English teachers regarding government restrictions on private language schools in “The Continued Crackdown on Commercial Education.”


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Thailand: People’s Constitution · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Tom Vanvanij reflects on the current Thai constitution — now that it looks like the kingdom will be getting a new one.


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

Terrorist bombings just don’t happen in Bolivia.  That is why all sorts of speculation surfaced when two explosions ripped through two budget hotels in the capital city of La Paz.  Two Bolivians died in the tragic crime and two individuals are now in custody.  The Bolivian blogosphere started to perform internet research on the various aliases used by the U.S. citizen arrested in the crime.  Jonathan Olguin of the Journal of Bolivian Business and Politics was one of the first to find about Claudius Lestat de Orleans y Montevideo aka Tristan Jay Amero, in a comment posted on the MABB blog.
The background of the bomber made it fairly obvious that the bomber had no political motives, wrote Javier in his blog Una revisión de todo un poco (ES).   Declarations from President Evo Morales were out of line according to many bloggers, as Morales wondered aloud whether the bombers were sent by the United States.  Sebastian Molina of Plan B (ES) writes about several other premature speculations from government officials that another “state” was behind the attacks and that there were attempts to destabilize the government and even derail the trial of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.  Off Topic’s Alvaro Ruiz Navajas wrote about the reactions from the United States, who was accused of being behind the crime.  U.S. officials called the Bolivian embassy in Washington expressing their concern over these accusations.
Some wondered whether the Day of the Sea events had something to do with the bombing, in which Bolivia commemorates the loss of territory to its neighbor Chile.  Some Bolivian bloggers wrote about their thoughts around this day, such as Hermany. He writes about the feeling of sadness and feelings of claustrophobia in his blog Carpe Diem (ES).  In addition, Rolando Lopez, author of Rocko Weblog (ES), fondly recalls national hero Eduardo Avaroa, who lost his life in a battle of the War of the Pacific against Chile.  As one of the last standing, his final words have been reported as “Surrender?  Let your grandmother surrender, dammit!”
The relationship between the two countries will forever be linked with the sea issue.  Palabras Libres‘ Mario Ronald Duran Chuquima compares several demographic and economic indicators.  He believes that Bolivia’s natural gas may be the country’s “best ambassador” (ES) in moving closer to a compromise over this issue, as it is a natural resource that Chile needs.
Finally, the Bolivian blog community site, Blogs de Bolivia, discovered an online magazine called “Palabras Mas (ES)” (More Words), which wrote about blogs and the new medium that several Bolivian authors and writers are using to publish their thoughts and words (ES).  However, Miguel Esquirol, who wrote the article on the Blogs de Bolivia site, wonders about those writers who may not have necessarily been published and why weren't they mentioned.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: 6 year-0ld’s brutal murder · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Francomenz and Caribbean Free Radio express outrage at the news of the brutal buggering and murder of a six year-old boy. Francomenz reminds us of the other unsolved cases involving the murder and buggery of children, and Caribbean Free Radio, looking at the television news, brings up the issue of DNA legislation.


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Trinidad & Tobago: ICTs and SMEs · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Taran Rampersad posts a personal summary of a conference onn “Improving Organisational Performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through Information and Communication Technology” he attended recently in Trinidad. He also attaches his presentation notes in both OpenOffice and PowerPoint formats.


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Trinidad & Tobago: No smelter · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Elspeth Duncan summarises the commentary on the aluminium smelter being planned for a community in south Trinidad and the protests about it and posts some photos from Sunday's march at her Flickr page. She also posts a conceptual video she has produced to raise awareness of the issue. Attillah Springer writes about the march as well over at the pan collective.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Stephen Ames wins · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidadian bloggers Sanjiva, Haveworld and Simian Scratchings acknowledge Trinidad-born (and naturalized Canadian) golfer Stephen Ames’ victory in the 2006 Players Championship.


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Turkmenistan: Trans-Caspian Pipeline · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter of neweurasia looks at the reasons behind the widespread support for a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline to carry natural gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan and points beyond.


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Ukraine: Unexpected Losses On The Way To Parliament · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes reviews two political forces that didn't make it into the parliament: Pora-PRP and Volodymyr Lytvyn's Bloc: “Besides their TV advertising later was awful. (A shot showing Klitchko holding a hawk. Close-up of Klitchko and the hawk with Klitchko trying to stare it down. He works his jaw muscles–really, really works his jaw muscles. He let's it go; it flies off. Close-up of Klitchko. “Pora (it's time)” he says. Just awful.)”


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U.S.A., Cuba, Venezuela: “Operation Partners of the Americas” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Western Hemisphere Policy Watch believes that “Operation Partners of the Americas” is meant to flex muscle at Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.


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Uzbekistan: Relations With Korea · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net examines Uzbek President Islom Karimov's visit to South Korea to try to woo back investment dollars that have fled the unwelcoming investment climate in Uzbekistan.


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Africa: Technology to aid the poor · Global Voices
Vandu

White African firmly believes that technology and the free market can both be used to empower the poor in Africa.


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Argentina: Indie Online Radio · Global Voices
David Sasaki

unaRadio is an online radio station based in Argentina which describes itself as “a free medium to distribute the work of independent artists in Spanish and other languages.” You can listen to it in any media player by clicking here.


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Armenia: Eclipse · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna writes about seeing yesterday's eclipse from Armenia and posts to some photos and local online discussions.


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Barbados: Concorde Museum · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Barbados tourism ministry is developing a museum featuring one of the British Airways Concorde jets as a tourist attraction, reports Linda Thompkins.


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Belarus: Anti-TV Flash Mob · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user litota_ posts photos from a flash mob that took place at Oktyabrskaya Sq. in Minsk yesterday: to protest the lies of Belarusian state TV, a group of young people put scarves over their eyes and pretended to watch the news broadcast on a huge screen above.


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Belarus: Ex-Ambassador Maszkiewicz Hospitalized · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

19. People's Blog on Presidential Election reports (RUS) that Mariusz Maszkiewicz, former Polish ambassador to Belarus, has been moved from prison to a hospital, possibly for emergency treatment of a heart attack. Maszkiewicz was jailed for his participation in the March 25 protest rally in Minsk and subjected to harsh treatment.


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Belarus: Lukashenko’s Missing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitski translates an entry by LJ user wolny on the mysterious public absense of the Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko.


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Belarus: Prison Journal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ivan Lenin at Rush-Mush links to an English translation of a Belarusian protestor's jail journal. (Written by LJ user forion in Belarusian, translated by LJ user kapitan-tanaka.)


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Bermuda: Writing anonymously · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Why write anoymously? asks the Limey, in light of a detailed analysis of the Royal Gazette‘s coverage penned by that ever-prolific author with no name.


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Bolivia: “Battle at the Cochabamba Airport” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Ávila is covering a developing story at Jorge Wilstermann airport in Cochabamba, where workers of the airline Lloyd Aereo Boliviano are demanding that the indebted airline be nationalized. Writing from Cochabamba, Jim Shultz describes LAB as “one more lab rat in that great IMF-induced economic experiment of privatizing all of Bolivia's state-owned industries,” which took place during the mid-90's.
Next to the runway this morning, I asked Oscar Olivera who, as head of the Cochabamba Factory Workers Union, is supporting the LAB workers, “Is it fair to say that Evo is now tear gassing his friends?” Weary from a week-long hunger strike and having been hit this morning by police, Oscar told me, “Evo is tear gassing his brothers.”
Later, Shultz adds that he thinks that the prospect of nationalizing LAB “is full of problems.”


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Brazil: Brazil’s First Man In Space · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Made in Brazil explains why 43-year-old astronaut Marcos Pontes was on the front page of all Brazilian papers today.


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Burkina Faso: A blogger travels · Global Voices
Vandu

Voice in the Desert takes a trip back home to York (UK), hoping to be back in Burkina Faso after six weeks.


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Caribbean, US: US-Caricom meeting · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Larry Smith discusses the recent US-Caricom meeting in the Bahamas in the context of both recent US foreign policy and Condolezza Rice's career. He quotes a Bahamian diplomat, who says: “The policies of the US are not producing the results that it desires, and therefore how should friends of the US respond to those policies that are producing such disastrous results? A true friend is one who will point out your mistakes, and who will not encourage you in your wrongdoing. If I am right, then CARICOM and the Bahamas have been true friends to the US, because they have refused to support misguided policies.”


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China: Capitalism · Global Voices
John Kennedy

China Law Blog‘s Dan Harris follows up on yesterday's post “China — Uber Capitalist,” with today's “China — Uber Capitalist and Loving It,” in which he compares France's stance on free markets with China's.


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China: Essential blogs · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Danwei‘s Jeremy and Joel list not necessarily the best Chinese blogs and BBS’, but the ones they feel offer the best insight for those who read Chinese. On top is MindMeters Blog: “This collaborative blog, connected to editors and writers from The Economic Observer newspaper (who now make up a small minority of its bloggers), covers everything from business education to literary history, from world music to social affairs. The comments are intelligent, the posts well written, and you never know on any given day whether you'll be greeted by an analysis of leadership philosophies, a discussion of French film, or musings on which authors’ appearance resemble their writing style. An essential stop every day.”


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China: Yahoo! in China · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Today is Pick On Yahoo! Day at Asiapundit with “one of the most-biting attacks on the company and co-founder Jerry Yang that I have yet read,” up first.


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Costa Rica: Global IT Ranking · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Uri Ridelman notes that Costa Rica lost eight places in global IT ranking according to the World Economic Forum. Costa Rica was ranked below El Salvador and Panama, but above Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.


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Cote d’Ivoire: UN Operation Chief Leaves · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Rewmi Abidjan announces (FR) the departure  April 3 of ONUCI [UN Ivory Coast Operation]  chief , senegalese  General Abdoulaye Fall, whose 2-year term has come to  an end.   His replacement has not yet been designated.


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DR: No to “sexual liberty” · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Andrés Duque reports that language referring to “sexual liberty” will be removed from a current draft amendment to the Dominican Republic's Civil Code. One of the fears among critics of the phrase is that it could pave the way for same-sex marriage legislation. Duque quotes the the interim attorney general as saying, “I don't think we are yet civilized enough for legislation of this nature.”


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DRC: UDPS’ Latest Demands · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Doubting that elections can and will take place June 30 as planned,  UDPS Liege posts(FR) the UDPS’ latest demands to the international community and  the Congolese government.  Demands include the reopening of voter and candidate registration, a realistic electoral calendar, the inclusion of the Congolese diaspora in the electoral process and more access for the opposition to both national media and the independant electoral commission.


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El Salvador: Dollars and Donuts · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Rob Mercatante, usually based in Guatemala, just got back from a trip to El Salvador. Here are his reflections on dollarization and donuts.


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Georgia: Ethnic Tensions · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Raffi K. of Life in Armenia writes about tensions in Georgia between ethnic Georgians and ethnic Armenians.


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Ghana: Solar eclipse · Global Voices
Vandu

Solar eclipse-mania appears to have gripped Ghana yesterday. Emmanuel Bensah has a video feature on his blog, which explains what nocturnal bats do when the sun suddenly dies out due to an eclipse.


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Indonesia: Islamist vs. Secular parties · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Indonesia Matters examines the categorization of Islamist vs. Secular parties in Indonesia.

author: Enda Nasution


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Indonesia: People are leaving · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Sarapan Ekonomi notices that many people are leaving Indonesia citing the map provided by Worldmapper and commenting that net emigration is common in poor or developing countries, where the poor are leaving in search of a better life.


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Iran: A 534 Soldiers Blog! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A group of Iranian soldiers has launched a collective blog (Persian), to make a digital bridge among 534 soldiers. Blog talks about their daily military life and their trips.


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Iraq: Impossible dreams of Arabs · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

IraqiPundit wonders what NYT is talking about here. Arab influence in Iraq? What influence are these supposed analysts operating under? Arab countries traditionally sided with Saddam against the Iraqi people. And since the removal of Saddam, Arab countries have (unofficially) influenced Iraq only by sending suicide killers into our midst. True, Iraqis don't want Iranian killers either. But Ghaddafi was recently quoted as saying that he still believe Saddam is Iraq's legitimate leader, IraqiPundit said.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Israel: Sinuses and elections · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Apart from the dentist and her really low sinuses story, the elections day ends and Jerusalemgypsy goes home:
Back home, my Good Daughter told me her new boyfriend voted for Jewish right-wing extremist Baruch Marzel.
“WHAT!!!!???” shrieked I.
“Don't worry mom. I'll change him.” said she.


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Japan: Textbooks · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The issue of Japanese textbooks is revisited today with new translations from Coming Anarchy and background to the controversy at The Korea Liberator.

author: John Kennedy


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Jordan: Stereotypes in the media · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The image of a certain society as perceived by other societies is never the same, as human perceptions differ on an individual level, this is one cause of stereotypes, since each human or society have different levels of knowledge and concepts about a certain object applied whenever trying to percieve this object, Rami said.
The media is a double-edged sword when it comes to stereotyping, internet, for example, provides a wealth of knowledge about cultures across the globe, yet, it could also be a tool for effective, mass-stereotyping, especially when it comes to news services. Want examples?


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Kazakhstan: Wedding · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Betsy, author of Stanmenistan, writes about Kazakh weddings.


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Kyrgyzstan: Wireless Broadband · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

David Read, a blogger in Bishkek, writes about the trials and tribulations of getting a wireless broadband connection in Kyrgyzstan.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

This week bloggers in Iraq are saying the same thing in different ways – the security situation is becoming unbearable. Also, in my bag today, a winning blogger gets another award; Chikitita negotiates Iraqi bureaucracy – Lara Croft-style; Meemo has a party; Caeser has a chance meeting with a girl with Down's Syndrome and there are plenty of pontificating pundits.
First I am saddened again to send condolences to fellow blogger Al-Baghdadi for the loss of his elder brother in tragic circumstances. The loss is worse as last June his youngest brother was murdered by kidnappers. He wrote to Fayrouz about what happened:
“I really regret and sorry to tell with all the pain in the world squeezing my heart, that I had lost my older brother S., age 52, a week ago in Baghdad… He was kidnapped from outside his house..A day after they contacted the family asking for a ransom, we tried our utmost to collect and pay whatever they may ask. But we failed. Three days later his body was found at the Baghdad morgue, savagely tortured and killed in a way out of any humanity..
And among all this, his oldest son O., age 19, called me saying, “Uncle, don'’t dare come back to Baghdad. Those gangs are waiting for you and expecting you to come.” Do you believe that? My older brother is killed and I can not attend his funeral?
This is what we got in the new Iraq. Now I got two widowed sisters-in-law and 9 orphans. You tell me what to do?”
Words fail me.
Congratulations again to Riverbend! Hot on the heels of her of her Bloggie, Riverbend's book of her blog has been long-listed for BBC Four's prestigious Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction. She is not one to stand on her laurels – so Truth About Iraqis will do that in her place..
“Doesn't it just make you proud to be Iraqi? Doesn't it make you proud of Iraqi women (Hey Jackie Spinner, how's your imitation of a book doing?)?”
Security, sercurity, security
If one issue stands out above others in this weeks Iraqi blogs it is the lack of security. Iraq, lately, was never a safe place but people are beginning to notice the signs of how it has affected their lives.
Messopotamian tells us straight “The situation in Baghdad is deteriorating from day to day.” and gives a dire warning: “It has to be admitted that the city is under siege and has become the front battle line. Emergency measures have to be put in place immediately, otherwise as everbody in Baghdad knows, the whole city is going to fall soon.”
Riverbend watches Iraqi television late at night:
“I was reading the little scrolling news headlines on the bottom of the page… Suddenly, one of them caught my attention and I sat up straight on the sofa, wondering if I had read it correctly… The line said:
“The Ministry of Defense requests that civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police on nightly patrols unless they are accompanied by coalition forces working in that area.”
That’s how messed up the country is at this point… But it also brings to light other worrisome issues. The situation is so bad on the security front that the top two ministries in charge of protecting Iraqi civilians cannot trust each other.
Driving after dark is a worrying experience in Baghdad. “It makes every thought of killing, kidnapping, insurgents, and everything bad idea become present in your mind. That is what the Iraqis see every night.” according to 24 Steps to Liberty. He passes through a checkpoint but is not safe yet: “Just to struggle again to find a way home through the cement-barrier- blocked smaller streets. And to be trapped in what? Gunmen clashing with Iraqi security forces, so then you have to find another street that doesn’t take you home with bullets in your head.” and he gives other examples of Hell in a Baghdad Street.
Even in homes there is a change. Baghdad Treasure hears shooting outside his house. He writes:
“My father cocked his rifle. “Looking at you doing this scares me more than the ones shooting outside,” my shaking mother told my father. “Calm down. It’s not the first time I do it,” he said… It is now that I am sure of a state that has no law looks like Iraq. The only law is your gun. If you shoot, I will shoot too.”
Shaggy has an original way to determine progress. He hears a rumor and says “If what he told me turns out to be true and indeed becomes reality, I'd be mad. Sheer madness. It'll be the end of it all. The whole country would turn upside down. New powers would be created. The flood gates would finally break. And a new vector of chaos will churn the already violent world Iraq has become.” And what is the rumor? “there's talk about alcohol being banned.”
But I will end this on a positive note. Sanyora's school was bombed last week but everything is back to normal and she is worrying about exams again. As for security:
“We always hear explotions, when we are in the school, in the house, and every where . It's going to be alarm clock to wake us up in the morning…. But life have to go on despite all of that…
I do believe that the situation won't go on in this way for a long time, there should be end for all that..
Hope it will be a nice end ! :-)”
The pundits perspectives
The big news of the week was the attack inside (or outside) of Husainiya Al-Mustafa, a Shia mosque, by American troops (or Iraqi forces supported by Americans) where 20 (or 37) worshippers (or militia men or terrorists) were killed. As you may guess the reports were contradictory to say the least. What is sure is the controversy it created.
Zeyad was on the phone to a friend when the raid happened:
“he described it as a battlefield. Apache helicopters and jet fighters are still circling the area. Al-Iraqiya TV just aired some images from the husseiniya. 17 ‘guards’ were killed. One of the corpses carried a Da'wa party (Iraq organisation) ID, and another carried an ID issued by the Islamic Conference of Iraqi Tribes.”
Omar points out the contradictions in the reports, but wonders why, above all the other killing reported that day, should this event receive special notice. He concludes that “members of Mehdi army were inside the building” and says “the Sadrists are trying to make a ‘national crisis’ out of this case, obviously to make some political gains at the expense of their political opponents.”
Hammorabi represents the completely opposite argument. He lays blame squarely on the American Ambassador's shoulders. About the incident he writes:
“The American forces in Baghdad committed a criminal act by a raid on a mosque (Al-Mostafa Hussiayniyah) in Ur district in Baghdad. These forces invaded the mosque during the Sunset prayer. The worshipers were armless doing their prayers… Instead of becoming a symbol for the democracy and freedom Iraq became a republic of death and terrorism. Over all the occupied forces are now killing the Iraqi worshipers with cold blood.”
Another opposite view (if three opposites is possible) comes from Al-Baghdadi. In a letter to Fayrouz he wrote that his friend went to the same mosque that was attacked to look for Al-Baghdadi's brother:
“they said, “Yes, we got him and his SUV car too.” In fact its not a Husainiya. It'’s kind of jail and torture center.
“Yesterday, he called me saying that Almighty had revenged from the killers of S. and many other innocents. The U.S. Army had invaded and killed about 20 in that Husainiya and all Iraqis who had lost family members there [Means killed at that place by the militia] are celebrating this and saying in [SMS] messages that God had revenged to their loss.”
Asterism (thats me) points out the coincidence of the attack and the response to the planned negotiations between America and Iran about Iraq. He suggests that “each side is playing for the upper hand.”
On other subjects…
Both Hammorabi and Truth About Iraqis speculate if the release of the Christian Peace Team hostages was really liberated or a ransom was paid.
Christian Iraq (a blog I follow but rarely report on because it mostly copies articles from the mainstream media) this week posted an opinion. Fred Aprim discusses the threats against Christians in Iraqs – from Church bombings to targeting of Christian business owners and students. He suggests the following solution:
“The concept of self-administrative region for the Assyrians… the establishment of a new governorate to the Iraqi existing 18 governorates. This new governorate is to include the historic Assyrian towns and villages in Nineveh Plains where Assyrians could self-administer and protect themselves.”
He also goes on to suggest that the Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani should stand trial for crimes against Assyrians in the past.
In Other worlds
Chikitita needs to get a new ID document from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior. She decides to avoid the standard route of bribing “the little fish in the department who can finish your papers in no time for a few bucks” and instead do it herself. What transpires reads more like an episode of Tomb Raider than the queue at the Post Office that British people would endure.
Meemo does not want to consider the bad things in life: “cause if I’m gonna talk about the bad stuff that will take like 69 years to finish it”, so instead he blogs about his graduation party. “it was awesome party its just drag you back to life, I learnt how to dance CHOUBEE, hell yeah its so damn awesome, and I learnt how to dance Kurdish dabka, its cool too, u know 3 hours make feel that you wanna live forever” he says.
And Finally Caeser of Pentra shows his warm, caring side. On his birthday he takes a bus home:
“when I noticed a mongol girl was trying to woo me, she was waving her small hand and winking at me trying to draw my attention to her. I couldn’t answer but a pale smile and then she gave me a kiss in air, and soon I was embaressed about that and felt sorry about her in same time… but I was shocked when I heard the woman sitting beside that poor girl talking to me….. “Hahaha, she is my daughter! It seems that she likes you!”…… “er,… yea!….. oh,… hehe… er, ok…. Hello!” I was stuttering and my face was blushing and the girl quickly hid her face behind her mother left shoulder and started giggling, the whole scene diverted to be ridiculous but the woman thanked me for doing this and she said that I made her happy…
And again I was buzzed by the same middle aged man,
Man: “ What a pity! Mind is a grace!”.
Me : ” But she is not crazy!”
Man : ” I know she is mongol!” he said it with disgust and added : “she may not live so long, i heard they live shortly!”
Me (whispers) : “and what the f**k you wanna get?! Mind your own bussiness, sucker!”
In the end, I got home safe in one piece and thanks God!
And that was my birthday!”

author: Salam Adil


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Latin America: Top Sports Blogs · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bar Deportes lists the top thirty sports blogs according to Alexa (ES). They nearly all focus on football.


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Mongolia: Reporter in Court · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Luke Distelhorst writes about the case of a journalist in Mongolia being taken to court for slander by the country's president and says that the country would greatly benefit from more skilled investigative journalists and greater access to government documents.


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Morocco:  Moroccan Saffron – As precious as gold dust · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Know anything about Moroccan saffron? Several hundred hectares of flowers grown on light chalky hillsides at an altitude of between 1200 and 2000 metres (4000 – 6500 feet). Each September the bulbs are planted and come into flower towards the end of October when the harvesting takes place. Harvesting is no easy job, the delicate procedure taking between fifteen and twenty days and only during the early hours of the morning before the flower heads open to the sun, El Glaoui said. Read more and see some photos.


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Nigeria: Predictable Politics · Global Voices
Vandu

UKNaija ponders on the relativity of time and seemingly predictable Nigerian politics.


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Nigeria: Solar Eclipse · Global Voices
Vandu

Ore’s Notes tells of a Nigerian lady’s excitement at seeing a partial solar eclipse in the city of Lagos.


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Philippines: The Story of Jolo · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Blogkadahan tells story of Jolo, a small town in the southwest of the Philippines which she remembers as once one of the most beautiful place in the country. Now, she says, after 30 years of neglect by the government, being torn apart by war, prejudice, and opportunistic vultures, Jolo is transformed: “…from being a place of hope, it has become a place of fear.”


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Poland: Singer Turned Politician Tired of Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about a 56-year-old Polish rock musician turned politician and the problems he's facing. “After making a lot of money over the years, he must have got bored – like ageing rock stars do – and thought that he would represent the very un-rock and roll Law and Justice (PiS) in the Senate at last September’s general election. But already he looks like he would rather be back in the recording studio, fiddling with the mixing knobs.”


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Power – from youth to the sun – in Nigerian blogs this week · Global Voices
Imnakoya

We'll start with a pressing issue in Nigeria,- politics and governance, Mutiu in a post titled: “Youth as a Tool of Positive Change” wants Nigerian youths to form political pressure groups:
“ Nigerian youth in their different communities can form political pressure groups, which will ensure the proper governance at the local government levels, performance of their representatives at the state houses of assemblies and federal legislature’s arms. These groups can mandate themselves to make it a point of duty to meet with the political office holders to deliver the demands of the masses to them and vice-versa…”
“NTA [Nigerian Television Authority] Maximalism” is one of the social commentary on Naija Blog . In this post, Jeremy states:
“If boredom should strike one while in Nigeria, there is always the option to turn to NTA. The news is a constant source of mirth and hilarity, if one knows how to find it. If it is not for the extravagancies of costume (see the fine example of regal agbadahood to the left [picture on Naijablog site]), then one can readily admire the extravagancies of the language. The English spoken on NTA is a uniquely distinct dialect of the language. Its provenance is 100% organic colonial: a sort of Africanised Etonian twang which results in weirdly contorted somewhat nasal locutions and odd syllabilic emphases.”
The incessant power outage in Nigeria is well debated and it’s one of the characteristics of the nation.  Nweke highlights this problem in “Power supply: Frustrating ICT diffusion” at ITRealms.
“At a launch of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) product recently in the highbrow area of Lagos State, the Victoria Island, a power outage was experienced suddenly there was a black out in the densely populated conference hall. And what took over was unpleasant screams of all sorts from participants casting aspersions on ‘NEPA’ [National Electric Power Authority] despite its change of name recently to Power Holding Company of Nigeria Limited (PHCNL).
Then the voice of the Master of the Ceremony (MC) came up in darkness, “Please remain seated wherever you are. Reports reaching us from Minister of Power and Steal, Senator Liyel Imoke, is that power would soon be restored,” he jokingly assured. But then, the same MC sensing frustration of the participants took on ‘NEPA’ with his joke antics; “We thought that NEPA would improve with its new name – Power Holding, but it seems they are living up their new name to the letter – Holding Power”. In the next five minutes when eventually power was restored obviously by a generating set, participants were already sweating…”
In the power of the Sun, the Ijebu Man muses  about solar energy and power problem in Nigeria.
“The electric power situation in Nigeria is a joke. There are still no signs of improvement despite the “billions” spent by the current administration since 1999. There are so many generators in Nigeria (no thanks to cheap imports from China) that a lot of people have stopped relying on NEPA (or whatever it is called now) even as a back up supply… I'm aware of companies dealing in solar power in Nigeria, but the cost of installation is still very high. I don't understand why it's still very expensive, the prices of the major components – solar panels, deep cycle batteries and inverters, have been falling for the last few years…”
“Its just crazy, if its so easy and cheap to install here in England, where you'll be lucky to get 4 hours of sun (and that's in summer), then why not in Naija where no one bothers with the weather forecast as you know its always sunny and we're talking 8 and half hours of sunshine every single day, especially in the north where the rainy season is very short.”
The Nigerian Politics blogs about the Nigerian ethnic diversity and sociopolitical advocacy groups (Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Odua People Congress (OPC) and Movement of the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) refering to them as secessionist groups. “Supporting such groups or sympathizing with their cause is tantamount to treasonable felony as described by the law of the land”, the blog states in a post titled: Nigerian Nazi Groups:
If only these tribalists could see beyond their avarice and quest for personal aggrandizement, wealth and power, they would see that there is so much to be gained from peaceful co-existence and diversity. The most advanced and richest nation the world has ever known, the USA, is what it is today because of the degree of diversity of its citizenry and the fact that people are given opportunities to express themselves so long as they exhibit some value-adding talent regardless of race, creed or social class. Most importantly, the rule of law prevails in the USA, and it is applied equitably regardless of status and social position.
The problem with Nigeria today has nothing to do with the various causes for which these rabidly tribalist groups purport to be fighting. It is multi-factored and includes lack of truth and justice, wholesale corruption, gross unenlightenment of the leadership and followership alike, and the abject poverty that has been inflicted on the populace by the devious leadership. By keeping the populace impoverished and uneducated, the ruling class has been able to easily manipulate them for their selfish ends…”
Finally, in Freedom to Abuse, the Black Looks writes about the wild growth of the African blogosphere, “the African blogosphere is one sphere that has seen a huge growth of new blogs in the past 6 months”:
“For example in Nigeria the number of blogs has trebled in the last 9 months and each month new blogs are being created.  The majority of African bloggers are still men although the number of women is slowly increasing…”
The blog also discusses the newly emerged characteristics between the bloggers and their readers- intolerance.
“Recently a number of Nigerian and Kenyan bloggers have been speaking out against homophobia and the abuse of women. These blogospheres have become the sight of much intolerance expressed through homophobia and misogyny.  The abuse of women has been particularly disturbing.  Comments have been left on women’s’ blogs and posts, written using misogynist language against women and lesbians.  What is interesting is that posts by gay men on their sexual fantasies are viewed as being entertaining and therefore OK.    Whereas writings by female bloggers on homophobia or the rights of homosexuals results in threats of harassment against the bloggers…”

author: Imnakoya


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Pulse of the Saudi Blogosphere · Global Voices
Ahmed Al-Omran

Mohsen Al-Awaji was freed after 11 days of detention, and Aya thinks this action by the government is a tangible lesson for Saudis: “Don’t you dare to criticize the government because we are capable, at any time, of stripping you from your freedom and dignity.” Riyadhwai seemed happy about the release of Al-Awaji, but he disagreed with some opinions Al-Awaji spoke of during a talk show on a Kuwaiti TV channel before his detention. The topic discussed was women's driving, and Al-Awaji has an opposing position on this matter. Riyadhawi thinks Al-Awaji has insulted the Saudi society (Arabic) when he described Saudi youth as “sexually hysteric,” and that he made a huge mistake by such generalization.
Prometheus posts (Arabic) on the story of Abdul-Rahman, the  Afghani man who converted to Christianity, and he thinks no one is hurting Islam than Muslims themselves. “Islam has nothing to do with what going on here. Koran is very clear on that there is ‘no compulsion in religion,’ and to believe or not is a matter of personal freedom,” he wrote. Another topic of interest to him was the new statistics which recently reported that Al Arabiya news channel has surpassed their competitors Al Jazeera in the percentage of viewership in Saudi Arabia. “There is a difference between covering news professionally and neutrally, which is what Al Arabiya does, and “making” the news and shaping them to promote a certain political or partisan ideology. And this exactly what Al Jazeera does,” he added (Arabic).
Jaded Saudi says she is sick and tired of Arabs hating on everything American/Western. She wrote:
I hate it when they twist everything around and make it seem like Americans are attacking them in every freaking way. I hate it when they make rumors up about certain brands and companies (remember the supposed Anti-Muslim message that “appeared” in the Coca-Cola logo that read “No Mohammed, No Mecca”?)
“It is difficult for the victim to feel that his killer is a human being like him, and he becomes shocked when he realizes that they have much in common.” According to Abu-Joory that was the moral of the movies (Arabic) Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg.
On a recent visit to one of the major bookstores in Riyadh, Taqwa has noticed something that annoyed her, made her felt defeated, inferior, and tired of people putting limits on her because of her gender. She says:
It seemed that all of the women were in one section. The section for books about “Women and Marriage” (or something like that), “Beauty”, and “Children Stories”. I say one section, because they were all right next to each other. There were virtually, no women in the other sections (politics, economics, environment, bestsellers, management, sciences, etc) of the bookstore.
Responding to a request by a reader, Tala Al-Bakr writes a post about living in Riyadh from his very own perspective. “The thing is in Riyadh it is very hard to break your routine because there isn't anything else to do especially with your family besides going to restaurants,” he says.
AbOd announces (Arabic) the launch of a new website that he describes as the Arabic alternative to the popular social bookmarking tool del.icio.is. “It is available in Arabic and English now, and we will add more languages soon, such as French which is used by the population of North Africa,” he wrote.
And finally, Amer Al-Sadiq has a letter to spammers: “How would you feel if someone sent you a diaper to your mail box?? How could you do this to me ?!?!What in the hell is wrong with you?? You have disturbed the peace of my day, I've struggled and suffered a lot to get the picture of your stupid diaper out of my head.”

author: Ahmed Al-Omran


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Russia: Xenophobia and Racism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean Guillory guestblogs at Publius Pundit on racism and xenophobia in today's Russia.


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Singapore: Honour your pledge · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

At Diary of A Lucky Singaporean Lucky Tan satirises the pledge of Singaporean politicians by applying its wording of justice, equality and democracy to their actions. He finds the pledge should not be taken for granted.


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Singapore: Inreases of failed marriage · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Ryang Wong doubts that telling people to work hard on their marriage is sufficient to prevent divorce. Statistics show that half of the marriages in Singapore these days do not last more than 10 years, and he writes that the changing nature of societal pressures means peoples mindset toward marriage has to change.


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Singapore: Online Petition · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Singapore Election Watch announces an online petition against linking votes to public housing upgrading in Singapore.


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Taiwan: Chiang Kai-shek’s diaries released · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Tomorrow, Stanford University will release Chiang Kai-shek's diaries covering 1917-1931. Jerome F. Keating Ph.D. explains the importance of the diaries today.


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Thailand: Thaksinomics 2.0 · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Bookish reports on Thaksinomics 2.0 that he finds lacking substance especially on the vision for lifting the poor out of poverty.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Technology activism · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“What is a technology activist?” asks Taran Rampersad. “Perception might lead people to believe that technology activism is limited to a select group, when in fact I believe it isn't,” he says. “I believe that it's a part of the natural course of technology.”


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Vietnam: Annoying government loudspeaker · Global Voices
Enda Nasution

Vietnamese God posts a picture of government's loudspeaker that repeats announcements constantly in his home area. He feels that although in some ways it is helpful, but you will wish it gone, especially on weekend when you trying to relax.


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Zimbabwe: Equatorial Guinea and Oil · Global Voices
Vandu

Yebo Gogo talks about the closer ties between the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, and his Equatorial Guinean counterpart, Teodoro Obaing, and asks if it is all about oil.

author: Vandu


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Zimbabwe: ZANU-PF Newspaper · Global Voices
Vandu

The Zimbabwean Pundit tells why the official newspaper of the ruling party in Zimbabwe (ZANU-PF) has been out of print for a whole week!


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Bahrain: Ship Disaster · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Beside the deepest condolences expressed by Bahrain bloggers to the families who have lost relatives and friends in the catastrophic ship disaster, for Amira, this toke away the excitement of returning home, and Mahmood believes that people who were directly responsible for flouting safety laws should be punished, and this business should undergo an immediate investigation into their operation, training and certification of their staff and their safety measures.


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Battling HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Vandu

The Concoction appears to disagree with former US president Bill Clinton when he calls for mandatory testing for HIV/AIDS. It also tells of what it calls “brave Catholics” in South Africa who are going against Vatican teachings and advocating the use of condoms in the fight against HIV/AIDS.


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Belarus: First Detainees Released · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush reports on the first prisoners being released from Belarusian jails.


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Belarus: Ignore What Seems Like a New “Gas War” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

VW at TOL's Belarus Blog advises on how to react to what seems like the beginning of a new “gas war,” this time between Russia and Belarus: “Simply pay no attention. Think about those who suffered these weeks.”


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Belarus: Lukashenko’s Disappearance and Other News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitski, br23 blog and TOL's Belarus Blog write about reports of the first March 25 casualty, Milinkevich's visit to Poland, Polish ex-ambassador's hospitalization – and Aleksandr Lukashenko's disappearance.


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Bolivia, Chile: Who Invented the Potato? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Maria Passo has a long list of what she believes are Peruvian cultural inventions that have been “stolen” by Chile. One commenter, Danica says jokingly, “chile sucks. I'm bitter. gimme my ocean back!”


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Bolovia: Airport Protest Photographs · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Indymedia Bolivia has lots of interesting photographs and comments (ES) from Cochabamba's Jorge Wilstermann airport, where airline employees are protesting.


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China: Democratic diaspora · Global Voices
John Kennedy

“Who even knew that the [Chinese Democratic Party] existed?” asks Michael from The Opposite End of China, in the midst of a trip back home.
“I returned to the Chinese consulate in New York today to pick up my visa. Somehow – during the hour or so that I was waiting inside the building – the hordes of FG protesters across the street disappeared, only to be replaced by hordes of Chinese Democratic Party (CDP) protesters. Not the kind of thing I'll be seeing much of in China, eh?”


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China: Google News · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Musing Under The Tenement Palm‘s Davesgonechina questions the people at Google on how they determine what is to be included in Google News and is not satisfied with their response.


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China: Organ trafficking · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Lonnie B. Hodge at OneManBandwidth shares his research on organ trafficking in China.


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China: trans-Asian oil pipeline · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Regarding an oil pipeline planned to link Russia and China, with a branch extending through Pakistan into India, the Our Silk Road blogger suggests the old Silk Road could very well be renamed the new Oil Road.
“A lucrative idea with a great deal of wheeling and dealing left to be done,” the blogger writes.


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Czech Republic: Flood Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Douglas Arellanes posts regular updates from the Czech Republic's “flood front.”


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Czech Republic: Making Brno Cleaner  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jesse of Bored in Brno writes about the city authorities’ somewhat irrational attempts to make the city cleaner and shares his own ideas.


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DRC: Malu Malu Announces Delay in Communal Elections · Global Voices
Alice Backer

UDPS Liege blogger ngstephane comments (FR) on electoral council President Appolinaire Malu Malu's  appearance on a Belgian talk show yesterday.   Blogger  is especially disappointed with Malu Malu's announcement that communal elections will have to take place later than the constitutionally mandated June 30, 2006 deadline and predicts that Malu Malu will eventually loose the international community's support.


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DRC: Priest Describes 3/22 Protest · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog du Congolais posts  (FR) a Le Phare  interview with a priest, Rev. Blaise Kanda, who attended UDPS’ March 22 protest.  Rev. Kanda reports that even though UDPS leadership may not be ready to take up arms, rank-and-file demonstrators shouted slogans that indicated they were.  He was also surprised by what he termed the “arrogance of members of the electoral council”  during the protest and by MONUC [UN Mission] soldiers’ quiet dismissive attitude vis-a-vis demonstrators.


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Guinea: currency devaluation · Global Voices
Vandu

Black Star Journal laments about the devaluation of the Guinean franc relative to the US dollar. In the past 20 years, the Guinean franc appears to have lost almost 18,000% of its value against the greenback.


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Images from Argentina: Perito Moreno Glacier · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Argentina's Perito Moreno Glacier has been in the international news lately as it takes stage during the unfolding drama that is global warming. Ironically, Perito Moreno is one of only three Patagonian glaciers not retreating due to warming temperatures. In fact, its advancement is causing mammoth walls of ice to break off almost daily. Or, as Maciej Ceglowski poetically puts it:
In a world of sissy nature that requires protection, handholding, wilderness reserves, careful study and constant medical attention, the Perito Moreno glacier is a refreshing throwback. This glacier wants you dead. It wants to come out and crush you under billions of tons of ice, carve its name into your face, and maraud out into the plains of Patagonia until it reaches the sea. You don't have to go into the mountains looking for the Perito Moreno – it's coming out of the mountains to look for you. It wants to come over there and mess you up good.
Describing the breaking off of ice, Ceglowski continues with perfect prose accompanied by phenomenal photography:
The glacier had a marvelous grasp of human psychology. It knew exactly how to manipulate the crowd through intermittent reward. Many minutes would pass without anything happening; then, without warning, a piece ranging in size from a Volkswagen to an apartment building would slough off and fall into the water. The enormous size of the fragments made them appear to be falling in slow motion. A few seconds after one hit, there would be an enormous BOOM like that of a nearby thunderstorm, and tall waves would spread through the rapidly flowing meltwater, sloshing the Old Smuggler against the sides of your glass. Sometimes a chain reaction might take down an entire sector of the glacier's face, sending a cloud of cold mist towards us and causing complete chaos in the water and the viewing stands. “Vamo, vamo!” the crowd would yell, as everyone pressed forward and the wooden viewing platforms creaked ominously. At other times, the glacier would sit quietly for an hour or more, in a test of wills, taunting us.
Javier who writes at Blogsfera from Gualeguaychú, Argentina offers his thoughts regarding the phenomenon:
Uno de los acontecimientos naturales más imponentes que se pueda ver y oír. Hace unos años conocí el parque nacional y a orillas del “Lago Argentino” escuche como cruje el hielo al ir quebrándose, es estremecedor, por lo que puedo imaginar que los desprendimientos que están ocurriendo en estos días deben ser ensordecedores.
Según se informó hace un par de días comenzó la filtración en el dique de hielo que separa el Brazo Rico del Lago Argentino del Canal de los Témpanos, lo que va formando un túnel que poco a poco va socavando el dique hasta que se desploma.
Si lo queres lo podes seguir en vivo por la señal de TN. El video que colgué es solo un avance de lo que va a ir ocurriendo.
It's one of the most impressive natural events than can be seen and heard. Years ago, I first discovered the national park and, along the shore of “Lago Argentino,” listened to how the ice crunched as it breaks. It's frightening, which is why I'd imagine that, these days, it is deafening when it crumbles.
According to reports, a couple of days ago a leak started in the dyke that separates Lago Argentino's Brazo Rico from the Canal de los Témpanos (“Channel of Icebergs”), which formed a tunnel that, little by little, undermined the dyke until it collapsed.
If you'd like, you can follow live coverage on the channel Todo Noticias. The video below is just a foreshadowing of what will keep occurring.
To see the video that Javier mentions, please check out his post. Go Travel Argentina has written in English and Spanish on Perito Moreno Glacier and Robert Wright has a collection of photos with a brief introduction to the surrounding region.


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Israel: Rabbis and Imams for Peace Meet in Seville · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Richard Silverstein argues that “there is no end of those who criticize Islam and its imams for their supposed hatred against Israel and the west… Such attitudes toward Islam are unfair and anti-Muslim. I’ve argued here against such individuals saying that Islam is as varied a religion as Judaism or Christianity. It has its share of hateful extremists zealots as does our own religion. No religion should be entirely judged based on the views or actions of a minority (as the Islamic fundamentalists are)”.


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Japan: Corporate culture · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Japanese corporate culture gets personal for Riding Sun‘s Gaijin Biker when an analyst at his firm receives an e-mail from a disgruntled ex-employee of one of their clients.
“Blaming [investor relations] for your company's weak share price is unreasonable enough already. But Komeri's stock, although down from its January high, has actually outperformed the market over the past year,” the Biker says, in support of the employee.


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Japan: Kawaii culture · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The Japundit takes us into a discussion on the aesthetic sensibility of kawaii. (Kawaii translates approximately as “cute“.)


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Korea: Crime prevention · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Robert in The Marmot's Hole questions whether Korea is as dangerous as the Korean National Police Agency's new crime prevention guide for foreigners makes it out to be.
“The National Police Agency said it made the pamphlet because crimes against foreigners have been on the rise recently (funny, I didn’t know that. Wonder how much is barbarian-on-barbarian crime?).”


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Latvia: Tourism Official’s Utopian Plans · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia writes about one official's utopian plans to turn Latvia into Europe's main tourist center. [A belated update: The official's name is Ola Prilof … April Fool!]