text:
Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis: Caribbean Cooking · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“This little gem…is a riot of colour and it’s got some interesting recipes by top chefs from Antigua, St Lucia and St Kitts & Nevis”: Can Cook, Must Cook discovers a cool new Caribbean cookbook.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Argentina: Kirchner and Twitter · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Could it be?  LamarK! was recently added by President Nestor Kirchner as his friend on twitter or at least someone passing as the Argentine leader. However, he didn't fall for the troll, but it was still pretty funny.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Bahrain: Police Excessive Use of Force  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I’m not sure what the Ministry of the Interior wants to achieve by its continuous excessive use of force. If this is their idea of instilling love for the country, they failed; if it is their intention to protect public and private property, they failed, their habitual use of tear gas and rubber bullets and other “crowd control” measures probably damage more properties than demonstrators do; if they want to live up to the “security” label in their name, they failed, you do not provide security by adopting terror tactics; if they want to cow people and dissuade them from talking about or participating in political activities, they failed, you do not do that by intimidation in fact the ministry’s action only strengthens the hand of the opposition and increase their sympathisers when they see images like these,” writes Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif, who posts a picture of a youth beaten up by police in his hospital bed.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Bangladesh: Religion and Spirituality · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sadiq M Alam on religion and spirituality. “One can become cold blooded murderer even in the name of religion, in the name of God and justifying unthinkable crime even holding a holy book of religion. What is interesting is that Spirituality without religiousness again becomes selfish, an escape route for something called ‘personal enlightenment (!)’ which can be extremely ego-centric and disguised selfish pursual. Religions, no matter what religion i name, offer a codified way to life, guide us with a tangible guidance.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Belarus: Blogger br23/Uładzimer Katkoŭski Passes Away · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belarusian blogger Uładzimer Katkoŭski (br23) passed away in Prague on May 25 at the age of 30.
Here is a message from his family – posted in English and in Belarusian:
Dear Friends,
Tonight was the saddest day of our lives. Uladzimir, after a long fight passed away in Prague. We believe it was his wish to be returned to his home country Belarus. He will be buried next week in Minsk. Our consolation is that a lot of people are feeling for him and are with our thoughts in this moment. It has been a blessing to have had him with us!
Uladzimir’s family
TOL's Belarus wrote:
Uładzimier Katkoŭski, web-editor of the Belarusian Service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty dies yesterday after being one year in coma. Uładzimier was one of those who created websites martyraloh.org about Bełarusians repressed and killed by the Stalinist regime, and svaboda.org, the media service to be called the best in the RFERL network. He was then one to initiate creation of Bełarusian–language Google and an activist of BY-Wikipedia. To a large degree thanks to his effort Bełarusian-language Internet is now what it is.
[…] Nearly hundred bloggers have recalled Uładzimier in their diaries these days. […]
LJ user czalex wrote (BEL):
[…] In his 30 years, Rydel has done as many useful deeds as some manage to do in their 70 or 80 years. […]
Israel-based blogger Amir Aharoni wrote:
Uładzimer Katkoŭski, a.k.a. Rydel23 and BR23, passed away yesterday after about a year in coma caused by a road accident. Katkoŭski was the webmaster of Radyjo Svaboda – the Belarusian branch of Radio Liberty, one of the editors of Pravapis – a site dedicated to Belarusian language, and a popular figure in Belarusian Internet culture. I knew him personally through the web and we exchanged some emails. While some people accused him of Belarusian nationalism and Russophobia, he was just a guy who wanted to speak his own language and tried to convince the world to give a little respect to the history of his country, which is considered by nearly everyone as just a bunch of counties in Western Russia.
May his soul rest in peace. […]
***
On March 21, 2006, br23 was on Radio Open Source, talking about the recent presidential election, Aleksandr Lukashenko's regime, and blogging in Belarus:
[…] The most important thing is the political assassination, the political murders, that (it’s very very likely) were ordered by Mr. Lukashenko. … In our case, it’s really four or five people, at least, that Lukashenko probably ordered to kill. And, of course, political prisoners that were recognized as political prisoners by Amnesty International and by other organizations. There were at least a dozen people we can name who spent either several months or maybe years in jail.
[…]
Internet is still the free medium, it’s just been traditional media that’s totally, completely under his control. … Except … they blocked internet on Sunday, the day of the election, and they’ve blocked internet during previous elections. … All together, at this moment, estimates are about 120 to 150 people who were arrested … and among them there were bloggers. I personally know four people with blogs that are now in jail. […]
To listen to the show, click here (mp3, 24 MB).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Bulgaria: Academy of Sciences Tour · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sofia's Hidden Beauty tours the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.


text:
China: GFW and Google · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zola claims that once he becomes more well off and famous, he will sue GFW and Google, the former blocks his blog from local access, the latter stops his adsense account without giving him any reason (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: Google China Stock Search · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Google China announced on May 25 that they were adding a new stock search function to the search engine that provides a real-time information about the performance of that stock. –more from Peijin at Shanghaiist.


text:
China: Graffiti art in Shanghai · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Panthea Lee wrote a report on graffiti art in Shanghai at Shanghaiist.


text:
Colombia: Reactions to Paramilitary Chief’s “Confession” · Global Voices
Carlos Raúl van der Weyden Velásquez

On May 15-17, paramilitary chief Salvatore Mancuso Gómez continued his deposition before the Colombian Attorney General's office in Medellín's Palace of Justice, which was interrupted in January. It was preceded by a sort of “expectative campaign” and was followed by a huge series of events, such as hostage Colombian Police Officer Jhon Frank Pinchao's escape from captivity by the FARC. While a lot of people, including me, thought it was going to be much ado about nothing, Mancuso implicated a lot of key people in Colombian politics (including current Vice President Francisco Santos and his cousin, Minister of Defence Juan Manuel Santos), economy, military, police and even large American and domestic companies, which allegedly supported the paramilitary death squads. Mancuso also said that paramilitarism was a “State policy” and told how this was a “phenomenon” in his area, Córdoba, Sucre and Antioquia departments.
Jaime Restrepo makes an analysis at Atrabilioso [ES]:
Me gustan los dos primeros días de testimonio de Salvatore Mancuso. Y si esa fue la entrada, hay buenos augurios sobre el plato fuerte, pues uno de los mayores criminales de las Autodefensas está dispuesto a contar su historia, ya sea como un acto de venganza o por cumplir con el compromiso de contar una parte de la verdad: de alguna manera la motivación es accesoria, pues lo importante es que se conozcan los intrincados lazos de los violentos con la sociedad colombiana y que estos sean evaluados por la justicia, cosa difícil, o por la historia. […] Por lo pronto hay que estar satisfechos con el despertar y tener confianza en que a lo largo de los procesos no disminuya el impulso de los jefes paramilitares para contar su historia y sus verdades: eso lo necesita Colombia.
Felipe, from El Andurrial [ES], refers to Mancuso's accusations against Vice President Francisco Santos, whose family owns Colombia's leading and only national daily newspaper. According to Mancuso, Santos suggested deceased boss Carlos Castaño to create a paramilitary bloc for Bogotá and mentioned an article wrote by Santos at El Tiempo in 1997 which seems to praise the paramilitaries. Felipe doesn't believe him that much:
Supuestamente Carlos Castaño le ofreció dirigir el Bloque Capital y la respuesta de Pacho Santos fue que él no sabia de esas cosas…Eso tiene pinta de cuento, de verdad Carlos Castaño, un estratega militar, le ofrecería a Santos que dirigiera un bloque de auto defensas? […] Habrá que ver qué pasa…Por ahora, Pacho, ese sueño 2010 – 2014 hay que archivarlo.
In contrast, Fabio Andrés Gómez [ES] does believe Mancuso:
Si la esencia de la Ley de Justicia y Paz, es que los desmovilizados digan su verdad, por qué no se les cree cuando lo hacen. Mancuso y los demás exjefes paras, saben muy bien que en las audiencias ante la Fiscalía deben decir la verdad, o sino, podrían perder los beneficios a que tienen derecho según dicha Ley.
Entonces, por qué se pone en tela de juicio lo que él ha dicho; o será que no ha dicho lo que alguien quiere que diga; ¿será tan bruto Salvatore de decir cosas que no pueda demostrar más adelante?. Haré de abogado del diablo y le creeré, así diga verdades incómodas que algunos quieren hacer ver como verdades a medias.
If the essence of the Justice and Peace law is that the demobilized militias tell the truth, then why doesn't anyone believe them when they do so? Mancuso and the other ex paramilitary bosses are quite aware that in their depositions before the Attorney General's office, that must tell the truth, or else they could lose the benefits that they are legally entitled to. Then, why do they cast doubt on what he has said; or maybe he hasn't said something that someone wants him to tell… Is Mancuso so stupid to tell things he can't prove later? I'll act as the devil's advocate and I will believe him, no matter if he says uncomfortable truths that some people want to make it seen as half-truths.
As all the accused denied Mancuso's allegations, Bilioso [ES] slams the supporters of the current administration, whose main politicians have been involved in the scandal and some of them are in jail. Colombians, in general, pretend to know nothing about all the crimes these people commit:
¿Y saben por qué no sabemos nada? Porque Uribe militarizó las carreteras. Con eso fue suficiente para que el país le diera el beneficio del tapujo. Los paramilitares seguirán disfrutando los beneficios de Justicia and Peace, los Santos seguirán siendo el gobierno detrás de Uribe, Londoño seguirá siendo un columnista leído  y respetado y los generales seguirán disfrutando los milloncitos de su retiro. En Colombia los delitos son otros: robarse una gallina, cogerle el culo a una transeúnte o pasarse borracho un semáforo. Los demás no. Reunirse con paramilitares, tomarse fotos con reconocidos mafiosos, robarse las acciones, apoyar una masacre, robarse la tierra, expedir licencias de vuelo a los mafiosos, nada, nada es delito en el país de la motosierra porque el culebrero tiene bajo hipnosis a la gleba que va a toros, apoya equipos de fútbol y ve realities. A la chusma, a la porquería. No ven el desempleo, el estado de la salud, el desplazamiento, la educación pública, nada ven porque aquí nadie sabe nada. Todo va mejorando para ellos, claro, es que no saben nada.
And do you know why we don't know a thing? Because Uribe militarized the highways. That was enough for this country to give him the benefit of doubt. The paramilitaries will continue to enjoy the benefits of Justice and Peace, the Santos will keep being the government behind Uribe, [Fernando] Londoño (a controversial right-wing former minister accused of illegally acquiring shares of a holding company which managed investments for state oil and gas companies) will keep being a widely read respected columnist and the generals will keep enjoying the millions of their retirement. In Colombia the felonies are others: to steal a chicken, to touch some female passer-by's ass or pass a traffic light while drunk. Not the other things. To have meetings with paramilitaries, to take pictures with well known mafias, to steal shares, to support a massacre, to steal lands from peasants, to issue flight licences for mafia guys, nothing, nothing is a crime in the country of the chainsaw because the culebrero has hypnotized the populace that goes to bullfights, supports football  teams, and watch reality shows on TV. The riffraff, the scum. They don't see the unemployment, the [bad] state of [public] health, the displacement, public education, they see nothing because here no one knows a thing. Everything is getting better for them, of course… they know nothing.
Valentina Díaz from Realidades Colombianas [ES] criticized President Uribe's reaction to the Mancuso accusations against the Santos cousins, when Uribe said in a radio interview that former left-wing presidential candidate Carlos Gaviria was a guerrilla man:
¿Es malo que Mancuso sindique al vicepresidente y al ministro de defensa de estar conectado con los paracos por lo que esta indignado el señor presidente ofreciéndoles total respaldo y pregonando su pureza moral y social, pero es válido que él sindique a dirigentes de la oposición, (o cualquier se humano), de ser guerrilleros?
Is it a bad thing that Mancuso accuses the Vice President and the Minister of Defence to be tied with the ‘paracos’, which is why the president is so outraged offering them his total support and announcing their social and moral purity, but it's perfectly valid that he accuses opposition leaders (or any other human being) to be guerrillas?
It is expected that Mancuso and another paramilitary bosses’ confessions continue within the next few weeks. The relatives of their victims were quite disappointed, because Mancuso said little about the whereabouts of the thousands of peasants killed and cut up by AUC. President Álvaro Uribe deals with the scandal, saying he will ‘release’ jailed FARC and ELN rebels and also proposed to free the jailed politicians (“to save his his friends“)  because of their paramilitary ties “as long as they confess the truth”. Meanwhile, Colombians try to move on with their lives, hoping for the truth to finally show up, still suspicious of its political class, which seems to be all linked with violent groups. We'll have to wait and see, as they desperately seem to try to cover up everything in the name of the “institutions”.

author: Carlos Raúl van der Weyden Velásquez


text:
Competition between ‘allblet’ and ‘adclix’ in Korea. · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Competition between ‘allblet’ and ‘adclix’ in Korea. Since a major portal site in Korea started adclix, the contextual advertisement system similar to Google AdSense, other portal sites have competed to make their own. And bloggers are busy comparing them. [ko]

author: Hyejin Kim


text:
Corruption in Senegal · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Le Blog Politique du Senegal posts data on the incidence of corruption in Senegal and reminds us that the definition of corruption differs around the world; in Senegal, the practice of exchanging gifts is deeply rooted in traditional culture.

author: Jennifer Brea


text:
Cuba: Health Care  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution refers to a New York Times article as he examines the Cuban health care system.


text:
Ecuador: Video of Candidate for Constituent Assembly · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Ecuador Elige [ES] posts a YouTube video of an interview with Marcelo Ruiz, a pre–candidate for the Constituent Assembly.


text:
Egypt: From Here and There  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egypt-based blogger Issandr El Amrani  selects a few essential readings here, where he links to articles of interest to his readers including one about how some Iraqi refugees are turning to the sex trade in Syria and the uproar an agreement to send 120,000 Egyptian housemaids to Saudi Arabia has caused.


text:
Guatemala: Asking About Guatemala · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A poem called “Today, they me asked about you, Guatemala,” led Jorge Cabrera to reflect on the state of affairs in his native country [ES].  He writes, “Let's talk about the people, the news, and the insecurity that affects all of the people that make up what we call Guatemala.  It is also on these people, on us, to better the situation.  How?  I don't know, but I'd like think that there are still solutions out there, and I want to think that the upcoming elections are not just another disillusion.”


text:
Guyana: Mother Nature  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal and her mother discuss what could be ailing Mother Nature…


text:
Honduras: Getting Used to a Kissing Culture · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve writes about Honduras and each city with their own “Kissing Culture.”  Arriving in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, he was not used to greeting women with a kiss and made him uncomfortable especially when the husbands were present.


text:
Hong Kong:  How Did The Obscene Articles Tribunal Get Hijacked?  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated an article from inmediahk.net by Leung Man Tao that explained how the obscene articles tribunal got hijacked in Hong Kong.


text:
Hong Kong: A Mall in Central · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chia ching, a mainland Chinese reporter, wrote in her blog that IFC (international financial center) is a mall in central Hong Kong (zh). It has been raining for at least 4 hours and the workers have been standing and working outside the mall for 4 hours, drying the floor which is inevitable to be wet and holding the umbrellas for fear that a drip of rain water might fall onto their visitors’ shoulders.


text:
India: Builders and the Law · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mitesh points to a blogger who has a horrifying experience with builders and a disinterested judicial system. “What can common law-abiding people like us, who work hard for several hours a day and pay all taxes honestly, do when we get duped like this? Local politicians, corporators and police most probably have a nexus with the builders. Judiciary is slow and back-logged. Mainstream Media like newspapers and TV channels may be more interested in sensational news topics like “Ash-Abhi marriage”. Where to go? What to do?”


text:
India: In Dharamshala · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Feringhee on Tibetan refugees and Indians in Dharamshala. “The Tibetans are here as refugees with very few rights; however, their presence and that of the Dalai Lama brings in the vast numbers of tourists, around which the local economy is completely based. The Tibetans draw a great deal of international attention (read: money, sympathy and sponsorship). Jealousy and resentment manifest from time to time between the communities, alongside a great deal of mutual tolerance and cooperation.”


text:
Iran:Chinese Cultural Revolution · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Shahram Kholdi,blogger and academic,writes about why Islamic Republic arrested several Iranian-American scholars.He says I do not believe the recent arrests in have much to do with the arrests of the Iranian diplomatic “Staff” in Iraq. The arrests of the past year, overall, represent nothing but a coordinated and systematic pattern of suppression similar to some of the tactics adopted during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran:Iran just what you would expect · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran talks about how Iran has become the republic of fear.The blogger says it was the first time in our almost four years there that we saw life in Iran the way that people outside the country sometimes imagine it: as repressive and oppressive. The night before we left for vacation we had kebab in a teahouse north of Tehran. When we left, we ran into a huge roadblock manned by fresh-faced religious police who all looked about 16 years old. They stopped every car looking for alcohol and infringements on morality. People we know have been arrested. Others have heard rumors of their own impending arrest. (These people are not even activists!).


text:
Iran:What is going wrong between Iran and Egypt · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mohammad Ali Abtahi,former vice president,says “the issue of relationship between Iran and Egypt has developed several times but every time it has stopped for different reasons. One of the main reasons Egypt disagrees with such idea is the issue of Khalid Islambouli.”Istambouli arranged and carried out the assassination of the Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat,in 1981.Iranian government named a street in Tehran after Islambouli in 1981 in honor of his “martyrdom”. Abtahi says but Islambouli is not the main reason He goes on in the government of Egypt headed by Mobarak, the security guys rule the country. Since everything especially foreign policy is watched by security look and security people do not agree with reunion of Egypt and Iran, this has not occurred yet.


text:
Israel: A Lesson in Sikhism · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger David Bogner gives us a lesson about Sikhism after a trip to India.


text:
Israel: Remaining Israeli · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Yehuda  describes how his two children are involved in relief work and how he will never leave Israel despite holding a US nationality.
“But it's a little something about what it means to be Israeli. No, I won't be going back to America if a missile falls through my roof,” he writes.


text:
Israel: Volunteers for Sderot · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Right, volunteers are being called for to come to the aid of citizens in Sderot. Below I’m going to append the information so that folks around and about can get involved if they so wish in the many ways they can help out. I’m particularly interested in going down to help fix up the shelters –really a most critical need or helping with the damaged homes. Anyone else up for dedicating a Shabbat to helping out down there?” writes Israeli blogger Yael.


text:
Israel: What’s Wrong With Golan? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Shmuel writes about how a customer service center in Jerusalem, which promises to deliver packages anywhere in Israel, refuses to deliver him a package to his home in Golan Heights.


text:
Jamaica: Requests for Proposal · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Only recently have I come to understand why my stomach churns and I politely demur, when I am told that several companies will be bidding on a solution”:  Jamaican Francis Wade reveals why he runs away from Requests For Proposal.


text:
Japan: Miss Universe · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Marie Mockett from Japundit comments on Miss Japan, Riyo Mori, who has just taken the crown of Miss Universe pagent: As long as the Japanese were sticking to their version of “kawaii,” they were never going to win a thing.


text:
Japan: More on the suicide of Matsuoka Toshikatsu · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger fukumimi at from the inside, looking in speculates about possible explanations for the suicide of the late minister of agriculture Matsuoka Toshikatsu.  Responding to a report mentioning that a suicide letter was found, he writes: “If I were a betting man I’d bet that, being a typical ex-bureaucrat turned politician, his loyalties were with the people who drove him to suicide, and that he has taken his secrets to the grave.”

author: Chris Salzberg


text:
Jewlicious: Hamas Spreading Propaganda · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Writing in Jewlicious, US-based Rabbi Yonah accuses  Palestinian group Hamas of spreading propaganda on the Internet.


text:
Jordan: The Other 3% in Syria · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Jordan, Naseem Al Tarawnah writes: ‘The BBC Reported: “The interior ministry said he (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) won the backing of more than 97% of Syria’s 12 million voters in Sunday’s referendum.”
Question: If Bashar Al-Assad was running unopposed, who were the other 3% voting for?’


text:
Jordan: Woman Chief of Court Appointed  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Tololy announces the appointment of a woman chief of court in her country. “Good news; now we have women police officers, nurses, doctors, engineers, journalists, garbage-truck drivers, professors, teachers, mini-Sheikhs, nuns (obviously), managers, ministers, parliament members, and chiefs of court,” she notes.


text:
ka,na,da,ra,ma,ba,sa…  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

ka,na,da,ra,ma,ba,sa… the Korean alphabet has been used for a love poem.


text:
Kuwait: What Kuwaitis Did This Week? · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

It's been yet another busy week for Kuwaiti bloggers who give us a break down of their day to day activities. While one contemplates why he should register to attend a film festival, others are visiting relatives and friends, ordering lunches in, comparing hypermarket prices and scrutinising Google Earth for places they didn't know existed in their country.
TheStallion wanted to go to an event but he is now having doubts.
I thought that people might want to know that there will be an Australian Film Festival this week! I am going to try to make it to each one but to be honest I don’t think that’s going to happen! I checked out Cinescape’s website regarding this film festival and it seems like they want people to register for these movies!
Zdistrict went to his cousin's dewaniya (a traditional section of Kuwaiti homes used for social gatherings) and took some pictures there.
I passed by my cousin’s Dewaneya like every Saturday, always looking forward to it at the end of the day! This time I decided to take my time and not show up at 8:00pm instead I showed up at 9:00pm and I’m happy I wasn’t the first person there. I have been annoying my cousin about his unfashionably late arrivals at this dewaneya, I think after a few years he has gotten a bit of the hint!
Qias returns with another business topic. He talks about pricing and how sensitive are we to it and gives an example from his co-worker.
Many people working in Kuwait City order in lunch everyday. When you start ordering lunch 5 times a week, you start creating a small budget for yourself, then you get used to the prices that you have accepted by time.  In school and my personnel readings i have learned a lot about pricing and how sensitive it is. When pricing any service or product, an average of 25 to 35% is added as gross profit
Chillnite was using Google Earth to check out Kuwait and found things he didn't see on land.
This is interesting, just caught a glimpse of this area in Google Earth, it says it's the Kuwait Science Club: Flying Field. This is so cool because I have always wanted to own one of those mini-remote-aircrafts. Would be great if I can get hold of more info on this and get into it. Any one with more info on this let me know.
Archeology Uncovered, a new blog on the block, shares with us pictures of Archaeological finds found in Failaka (an island in Kuwait).
come in to work today, and see that these were all cleaned and laid out. The pieces range from 1978-1989. From Failaka.
Meanwhile, A Kitchen in Kuwait talks about Carrefour coming to Kuwait and compares it to the other hypermarkets in the country.
The Sultan Center: We drop anywhere from KD50-100 there a week and when we get home and put our grocery bags on the kitchen counter, we say, “What the hell did we buy for KD70?!”
Lulu Hypermarket: We spend there, on average, KD30/week and we come home thinking, “Wow, we got a lot of stuff for KD28.”
Carrefour: I just spent KD28.100 there on its grand opening and I was AMAZED
Philq8 also goes to check Carrefour and gives us her report.
Speaking of grocery shopping, we always went to either Sultan Center or City Center but taking a glance of Carrefour Hypermarket yesterday made me changed my mind for our next grocery shopping.
Magicaldropletsbrings to our attention a photography competition sponsored by AWARE (Advocate for Westerners-Arab Relations).
Are you a keen photographer?
Would you like to see your work on public display?
Would like to win fabulous prizes?
Just sign up for the Photography Competition and submit, up 3 entries, your best photo.
Photo credit zdistrict

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


text:
Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Everything is here this week… from going to schools in a war zone, review of the latest political scene in Iraq, must-see video blogs, stories of extreme bravery and extreme pathos, a $1,000 KFC meal, and if you read to the end, how gays cruise in Amman.
If you read no other blog post this week read these two:
My deepest condolences goes out to Sunshine whose uncle, “M”, was murdered on Wednesday for nothing more than a few papers. She writes:
uncle M's dream was to see his daughter graduation , she is determined to accomplish her dream and her father's dream , after the funeral , she stayed in my grandparents’ house to study , she couldn't concentrate in her house , her exams will start soon . I also heard about another relative , who was kidnapped but freed versus money.. Try to concentrate in such circumstances?! In addition to a hot weather with out electricity (46 C. ), Can you ?? the Iraqis are the bravest human being , we absolutely deserve Guinness World Records for tolerance and patience
But that is not all… Sunshine also had to endure walking through a virtual war zone to get to an exam at school:
“we walked , me and dad alone among the damaged stores and buildings, with police cars everywhere , on burned ground full of windows’ glass , shrapnel, what a good way to start your morning?!”
And tells of her friends experience after American soldiers raided her house and arrested all the men. She asks:
Can any teen in this world bear our life? Just going to school is a challenge, living each day is hard , specially when you lose the people you love. And feel afraid about the others .
Inspired by the story of Samantha Larson, the youngest person ever to climb to the top of Mt. Everest Marshmallow26 tells us the story of a brave Iraqi woman who dared to meet one of the kidnappers that bedevil the lives of ordinary families in Iraq and out wit him. Here is her story:
She is not armored with climbing mountains hobby, not with scuba dive or jumping professionally on the trampoline … She is a simple and more than simple house wife living by herself after losing her husband…
Her daughter's brother-in-law was threatened to leave his governorate job, his house, and leave the city for good, he was getting phone calls all day long on his cellphone, unknown people who kept calling him kept teasing him, threatening to kill him and his family, … they asked him to pay $100,000 as a ransom, he doesn't and will never be able to have that amount as long as he works as a governmental employee..
The brave woman “B” that is how I'm gonna call her, knew about this story and asked her daughter to get the guy's cellphone and leave it with her mom (the brave woman),
“MOM??? Are you serious? why do you wanna answer this phone while there is so much going on with its owner?” daughter said.
“It is none of your business, I know those guys are playing games only, so I will be the one who will take it…” the mother replied.
Read on here to find out what she does.
The Week in Politics
With America's surge of troops in Baghdad in full swing, historic talks with Iran underway and major laws being considered by parliament, politics is again coming to the foreground in Iraq.
Security? What Security?
While much is made in the media of America's security plan for Baghdad little time is given to how this affects ordinary people in Baghdad. These stories come out in the blogs. Last week I had the lament of Baghdad Connect of a city being torn apart by military operations. Today I have two more stories. Neurotic Wife gives her view from inside the Green Zone.
Things are pretty bad here. No wait, bad is an understatement. Things are pretty darn bloody. The so called security crack down has not worked its magic. Its way past that. I doubt there is any solution to whats happening at the moment here. I think its beyond repairable. And please dont tell me that thats impossible…
Electricity, a source of energy that we all take for granted has been scarce for millions of Baghdadi residents for over a month now. Scarce in this intolerable heat. … Water, a vital source of keeping us alive has now become a major target for infections. Security, oh whats that again? A word that almost everyone here forgot how it felt or what it really means. The dead bodies you read about being found on a daily basis scattered around the Baghdad neighbourhoods, have now become a normalcy. If people dont see them, they think there must be something wrong. … Money doesnt mean anything to them anymore because the truth of the matter is, inflation has hit them hard. All the prices soared to a degree where the $1800-$3000 they make here per month disappears. They save nothing. Not a single cent. So imagine those who dont work in the GZ, or those who dont even work. How are they surviving??
And she is impressed by the survival powers of the Iraqi people:
Every Iraqi, every single one, that is living under these stark conditions have struggled to keep their sanity. If it was me living these dire conditions, there is no doubt I would be roaming the streets aimlessly pulling my hair out, literally going nuts. But no, these people, the Iraqi people should enter the Guiness book of records. Oh yes, most definitely. They are truly my heroes. No matter how much I say this statement, I can never do justice to them. Never.
Omar gives his colleague Hussain space to tell his story of what happened when the security crackdown visited his neighbourhood :
Tuesday morning was a disaster for me , my family , relatives and friends.
At nine o'clock of Tuesday 22nd of May , the American forces had a raid on Amel neighborhood ( west Baghdad) ,the place where I live with my family which is few miles from Baghdad airport. … Three armoured vehicles came to our alley ( street)carrying dozens of soldiers to search the houses looking for terrorists leaving at least 50 other vehicles in the area to do the same thing with other blocks  . Father .. was the first to receive the unwanted guests. There were at least twenty soldiers who entered the house and forced my father to sit on his knees with his head towards the wall with no consideration to his age  ( 65 years old) and sickness ( he has blood pressure with his left eye on recovery from a new operation ). They refused giving any kind of mercy or time to let the interpreter explain what my mother want to say to them about my father's condition …
At the end his father was taken away without any word to his family about his whereabouts.
Iran and America
Some bloggers had their own view on the first ever talks between the Iranian and American ambassadors in Baghdad on Monday. Omar of Iraq the Model is not impressed with Iran's performance. He writes, “Iran's attitude didn't only make the meeting unproductive, it made it insulting… Ignore the meaningless diplomatic pleasantries … Iran mocked Iraq and America today, their ambassador was here just to laugh at us and buy time for his regime. … All in All, I see that the regime in Iran doesn't want to limit its interference in Iraq, it's simply hoping to give this interference a cover of legitimacy.”
While Hammorabi views these talks as the opening shots of an imminent war:
The US and Iranian meeting today … is nothing other than throwing dust in the eyes. Both Iran and USA has interests and the Iraqis are paying the heavy price since the revolution of Khomeini in 1979 until now.
We know that if America is going to attack Iran this will not happen from Iraq but from other parts of the Gulf and from its own aircraft carriers however Iran is alarmed from the USA existence in Iraq. From today meeting we feel that the conflict between Iran and the USA is of no doubt coming and may be imminent.
But Baghdad Connect sees this meeting as no more than a huge garage sale. He writes, “Congress nods to Bush, Bush nods to ‘anyone’! You break it you own it, and then you dump it in a garage sale!”
In other Comment
Al-Ghad tracks the rise of oil workers’ movement and sees this as a welcome sign:
The voice of the most advanced, and best organized, sector of the Iraqi working class, has started to join forces with other mass non-violent popular resistance against the occupation, marking a new welcome shift in dire situation in the country, away from the docile and corrupt administration, and the blood thirsty sectarian gangs that occupation had set-up.
And Wissam congratulates Iraq's brave leaders:
We mustn't forget the freedom and the respect that we've gained as individuals from the Iraqi leaders and the leaders of other countries. The President of Iraq has left to the United States of America for medical treatment while my wife has cancer and I can't take her even to Syria for treatment like many other Iraqis do.
The Chairman of the United Iraqi Alliance made a trip to the United States of America to undergo medical treatment for his cancer; but he didn't like their hospitality so he made his decision to go to his mother's country (Iran) at least they will treat him better; but still, the choice is his to go anywhere because he's “the man” in Iraq, but my wife like so many other women do not have the choice, because they are not the “madams”.
The Deputy Prime Minister is the bravest. When he was injured during an assassination attempt, the government took him immediately to the green zone hospital (which is under the American doctors’ supervision). Then, he flew to Jordan for medical treatment. So, as he is a leader in the Iraqi government, they took care of him but it doesn't matter if other Iraqis are injured by an IED or VBIED (car bomb) , understandably ….there are a lot of Iraqi's but there is only one PM deputy.
Word from the street
Electricity is scarce and the temperatures are soaring, forcing many Iraqis to sleep on their roofs at night. But rumours of US soldiers shooting from their helicopters on sleeping people at night gave Chikitita an interesting mind game to lull herself to slumber:
Not sure on which side I should lie, back seems to be a lesser evil, one shot to the head or stomach I’d be painlessly dead in no time, front means I could get a bullet in my spinal cord and end up like mum’s friend – vegetable because of one tiny metal chunk fired in the late ‘80s to celebrate Iraq’s so-called victory. But what if my legs or arms get shot, do people shot in the extremities live with disabilities?
And, oddly, it works.
hala_s calls her brother on his birthday and asked him to make a wish:
“I wish I never grew up” he said “It is against nature that I lived a better life than my kids. They don’t know how to cycle, swim or even swing. When I manage to take them out, I tell them about imaginary places and events that took place on this spot or that. I could see their jaws drop in disbelief, and my youngest insists that I repeat those fairy tales at bedtime!”
And Zappy describes a $1000 KFC meal that cured his friends back problem. Click here for the explanation.
From the Video blogs:
My honorary Iraqis and bloggers for the week are VBS who give us the story Iraq's only Heavy Metal Band.
Hometown Baghdad videos the story of Saif leaving Baghdad for the last time.
And Alive in Baghdad covers the challenges facing a Girl's school in Adhamiya, Baghdad.
And Finally:
Konfused Kid gets propositioned as the object of what I can only describe as “Gay Cruising” in Jordan:
I was waiting at the bus stop the other day for a bus at 7:30 PM in a cloudy cold evening with another man. After 10 minutes the dude, who was dressed neatly and had shaved his head, started pacing to and fro around me, in the end he offered me a cigarette and then said politely in an Iraqi accent: ‘Want a job?’
I paused. ‘What kind of job, friend?’
He paused. ‘Come up to my apartment with me and I will tell you everything in an hour's time.’
Huh? What the hell? ‘Why don't u you just tell me here friend.’
at this point some white car drove up to him, and he was prepared to get inside it, polite and slender as only non-heterosexual Iraqis can be, he continued ‘but you won't understand what I am talking about and why I can't tell you right here until you meet my supervisor.’
It dawned fairly quickly on the Kid just what was planned at the apartment and he came up with the ultimate put-down: “Hey, I got a CCNA [computing qualification], maybe I can be your orgy's IT manager.” The answer was a polite, ‘No thank you’.

author: Salam Adil


text:
Lebanon: More on the Crisis in the Country · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

For the second week, Lebanese bloggers have posted anecdotes, reflections, updates, photos, videos, jokes, sarcasm and drawings on the issue that is taking precedence over all other topics. The issue is the ongoing violence which is taking the form of clashes in the north between the army and the militants and the terrorist explosions jumping from one location to another around the country.
So what are the bloggers saying?
In drawings
Mazen Kerbaj drew this art piece. The Arabic words inscribed in it are saying: “me and the Gemmayzeh (a street in Beirut where people hang out in pubs, etc) and the beer are waiting for the explosion…
About the relief efforts
A new blog was set up to post updates on the The Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign. The founders of the campaign describe their work as spontaneously formed following the tragic events in Nahr el Bared Camp. They declare that they are a grouping of unaffiliated individuals working on relief and civil action to end the violence and offer aid to those injured and displaced due to the Nahr el Bared conflict.
Upon visiting the Baddawi camp, Dr Rami Zurayk shares with us a couple of things that he learned “On War” and “On Needs”:
I just got back from the Beddawi Refugee camp near Tripoli where most of the displaced from Nahr el Bared have found shelter. It is a tiny piece of land, no more than 1 km2, which, until May 22, used to be home to 18,000 people. Now they are 30,000. You can feel it in the streets: impossible to move by car without hitting someone.
Dr Marcy Newman  along with the Nahr el Bared Relief Campaign were also at the Beddawi camp in an effort to help the civilians fleeing the fighting and had this to share:
When we arrived at the camp, we saw that the aid relief in Badawi has improved in some ways, but deteriorated in other ways quite seriously. Groups seem to be better coordinated, but now the camp is flooded with journalists and NGO workers as well as a refugee population that continues to swell. Aid still is not reaching most families in houses, although this is what our group is working on in collaboration with civil society organizations in Badawi.
Golaniya posted a list of the civilian deaths and injuries inside the camps as a result of the clashes.
On the jokes
Diamond mentions some of the jokes that are spreading and also attempts analyzing the phenomenon of humor during conflicts:
After all, we teach children to deal with bogeymen and other fears by putting them into perspective with daylight and laughter – and I think that now it is equally important not to be bowled under by fear of militancy, in whatever form it may come.
On the other hand, we don’t laugh at the graves of those who have died serving their countries, their families, or other ideals. As long as the laughter is life-affirming, rather than situation-denying, I think it can be a very healthy thing.
More jokes about the militants fighting the army can also be found at Liliane's blog.
From inside of the camps
Dr Asa'ad Abu Khalil made a phone call to a friend who was still inside the Naher al Bared camp. Excerpts from the conversation regarding the situation and analysis of the causes and expected results of the fighting were posted by Sophia.
Sietske also made a trip to the Palestinian refugee camps in North Lebanon after reporting on the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut.
And Kadmous posted a number of recent videos shot during the crisis in the North.
Against the bombs
There are also posts with arguments against the bombing of the Palestinian refugee camps. Among them are Leila who said:
This bombing is not good for the future of Lebanon. If Fatah al-Islam is such a problem, aren't there other ways to address it than by causing immense suffering among civilians, and thereby creating a whole new generation of future recruits to terrorism?
And Apokraphyte who wrote about the futility of such a measure as bombing the camps to get rid of terrorism:
I don't care if Fatah al-Islam is evil incarnate. I don't care if they are Hariri-funded or a front for Syrian mukhabarat or Islamaniacs from Tunis or aliens just landed from Mars. Artillery is NOT THE ANSWER. Worst of all, everyone knows this, especially the LAF. The problem of the camps (in its myriad forms) is not a mystery, not a new development. Direct military confrontation serves no purpose. In fact, if security and peace are the objectives, one can easily argue that such an assault is horribly counter-productive as it only increases the militance-misery quotient.
About the explosions
EDB and her friends thought that leaving one part of Beirut for another would keep them far from the expected terror bombs. But the explosion followed and occurred on the street that her friend passed several times during that day:
Now they have consecutively targeted both the upper crust Christian and Muslim areas in Beirut. I bet over in Achrafiye they're relieved its not in their neighborhood again,” I remarked. “I passed by there twice today,” L. muttered as we watched a chaotic scene unfold on TV.
Jamal satirizes what he terms as the “anonymization of the perpetrators of crime”:
Part of the noise factor and the dangerous speculation battles taking place is the anonymization of the perpetrators of crime. So while Abou Hurayra, Abou Yazan, Abou Jandal, Abou Adass and Sejaan Saadeh are neck deep in accusations or dead; the people with faces who actually answer to registered triple names and might be involved in this mess remain unscathed and even run for office.
On worries of a new civil war
Maya[at]NYC starts her post by using the slogan of the anti–civil war campaigners which calls for the remembrance of the war so it can be avoided. She writes that that the civil war should be remembered because it will be repeated.
We are a country of poor people who think they can afford to indulge in great ideological beliefs. We define ourselves in our “moral” ideological ethical belonging. If there was a competition of gullible people, we would win the race. We each have chosen to believe in a different fight, in a cause “with our soul with our blood”. An emotional morass of immature followers. We are all followers. Not questioners. Of course: it’s easier.
On questions and answers
Here is Sean trying to make sense of some of the puzzles involved:
A few things don't make sense, though. If these guys were really pro-Syrian, why would they have splintered off from the very pro-Syrian Fatah al-Intifada? And if they were really a tool of Hariri, why would they be fighting the ISF? Of course both of these questions assume that whoever financed these guys is still in control — which may not be the case at all.
And MFL answers and analyzes some of the questions and issues raised during the past weeks in this post that is titled: “Fatah el Islam and Lebanon: Between Reality and Conspiracy Theory.”
Till next week, stay well.

author: Moussa Bashir


text:
Malawi: Malawi’s first lady passes away · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sad news from Victor Kaonga: “It has been reported by Malawi's State House officials that the First Lady Madamme Ethel Mutharika passed away Monday 28th May after long illness.
A month-long period of national mourning has been declared.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Maternal Mortality Still High in Tunisia · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Zizou from Djerba writes that Tunisia is on its way to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in all areas except for maternal mortality [Fr].  Zizou attributes the problem to poor quality emergency health care, citing an incident where a woman who hemorrhaged after giving delivery died while waiting to be transfered to a better-equipped hospital; an ambulance was waiting but its driver was nowhere to be found.


text:
Mexico: Hanging Cables a Concern for Tourist Bus in Mexico City · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Chilanga Banda [ES] writes about the newly unveiled southern circuit of the tourist double-decker open air Turibús in Mexico City.  Even though this new route may attract up to 200,000 tourists, the concern still remains with the low hanging cables and the danger that they may present for the city's visitors.


text:
Morocco: YouTube is Back; Maroc Telecom Subscribers are Elated · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

MidEastYouth broke the news this evening that YouTube, which had been blocked by Maroc Telecom, Morocco's leading internet provider, has been restored to subscribers.  It seems that the blogging community, with the help of bigger sites like this one, helped to get the story noticed by majors like Reporters Without Borders.  Youssef of MidEastYouth says:
“As of today, all customers of Maroc Telecom gained back access to Youtube.
Why? Because the Moroccan blogosphere finally woke up and protested the ban.
We collectively started screaming and joined hands in letting the world know how Maroc Telecom treats freedom of speech.
That it treats freedom of speech even worse than the government.
It is not an all-out victory though. Google Earth and Livejournal are still blocked.
But we at least overturned the Youtube-bock, with our own voices and actions.
Nearly all active Moroccan bloggers protested and helped out. Male, female, black, white, Moroccan or expat.
And that is something to be applauded.”

author: Jillian C. York


text:
Nepal: On “newness” · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Network has a post on the notion of “newness” and its perception. “Usha Bista has become an apt metaphor for the tentativeness of our trudge toward a new Nepal. A member of the Loktantrik [Democratic] Everest Expedition 2007, Bista was part of a much-hyped endeavor to show the rest of the world how Nepal was advancing toward a post-monarchy pinnacle.
Teammates, firm on setting records of all sorts, ended up abandoning the 22 year old at an altitude of around 8,400 meters. That was after she fell nearly unconscious from swelling in the brain resulting from a scarcity of oxygen.”


text:
Oman: Shopping in Next Door ‘Do-Buy’ · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omani Al Muscati had to travel to nearby Dubai to buy supplies for his home. “With our house already a few months behind schedule, I'll be damned to wait 8 weeks for simple things like door handles or light fixtures. So like the majority of my fellow Omanis, I packed my family into the car and drove 4 hours to the shopping wonderland otherwise known as Do-Buy,” he writes.


text:
Pakistan: Begum Nawazish Ali · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on a delightful talk show where a man presents himself as a woman named Begum Nawazish Ali. “One thing is clear and established that the program “Late Night Show with Begum Nawazish Ali” broadcast by AAJ channel, is in striking contrast with the Pakistani values, but its popularity cannot be rejected. This is a drag show, which forces its viewers to roll over in hysterical laughter. In this program, Ali Saleem, in the getup of a dame, chats up with the who's who of Pakistani salient personalities.”


text:
Palestine: Honour Killings  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Amal A  gives us an insight to the atrocities being committed against women in her country. According to a report she posts: “A forum of Palestinian organizations which fight anti-women violence published on Monday a report about killing Palestinian women under the guise of so-called family honour. The report covered 3 years from 2004 to 2006. The report shows that the average number of women killed for challenging patriarchal norms increased from 14 incidents to 32 in one year. The organisation reported that the youngest case which they dealt with was that of a 12 year old girl and the oldest was that of an 85 year old woman. 32 out of 48 reported cases were documented formally as murder on the basis of family honour.”


text:
Palestine: South African Views on Israel · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah links to an article about “Ronnie Kasrils – South Africa Minister of Intelligence – testimony and experience upon his visit to Israel and Occupied Palestine; published by an internationally recognized Jewish South African in a major South African paper (Mail&Guardian).”


text:
Poland: “A Teletubby in the Closet” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes on the Polish Children’s Ombudsman (Ombudswoman) Ewa Sowinska and her discovery of a “Teletubby in the closet.”


text:
Qatar: Iran Lifts Al Jazeera Ban  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Karim, a friend of Qatar-based Al Jazeera Television links to a news which says that Iran lifted a ban on the station.


text:
Russia: Attacks on Gays and a British Diplomat · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“This weekend marked yet another not particularly glorious episode in Russo-British relations, as one diplomat and two (well known) British gay rights activists were attacked in separate incidents,” writes Siberian Light.


text:
Sierra Leone: State Led Prostitution, Diamond Tales, And More   · Global Voices
Vickie Remoe-Doherty

After three years of peace following eleven years of civil war, Sierra Leone is engaged in concerted efforts to attract investors. The efforts, which are led by the the government of Sierra Leone and the the Department of International Development in the UK, involve a campaign, Sierra Leone: Back in Business.
Sierra Leone, like many other African countries, is guilty of “state led prostitution” in its attempts to bring investors back into the country, argues Sweet Sierra Leone. She writes:
When poor countries are trying to get investors they usually embark on what i like to call “state led prostitution”. The government basically has to prostitute itself and its resources to any one willing to bid (not even the highest bidder). This means giving tax breaks and signing deals that are more in favor of the foreign companies than national interest. In the name of privatization and foreign direct investment many African nations including Sierra Leone have been guilty of “state led prostitution”. The kind of investors who take deals from prostituting states generally do so to avoid corporate social responsibility or restrictions in other countries that are more in favor of national welfare. The tricky thing about state-led prostitution in countries like Sierra Leone however, is that the market is highly competitive. “It's a prostitute eat prostitute world” There is always the threat that another prostituting state in Africa or elsewhere could make a more attractive offer to the investing client. The question for states like Sierra Leone then becomes: “How can I make my country attractive for investment without embarking on state-led prostitution and preserving national welfare?”
However, she sees signs of hope and optimism in the form of corporate social responsibility, where companies like Celtel in Sierra Leone are investing not only in infrastructure but also in the people through campaigns such as Build Our Nation and Come Back Home:
Celtel Academy Freetown is a training academy that will bring “world class educational opportunity combined with the depth and speed of information technology and the internet” to Sierra Leone. If Sierra Leoneans are endowed with cutting edge skills then companies like Celtel will reduce their dependence on foreign expats. With this training academy, Celtel is making a decision to not only invest in infrastructure but also in people. Infrastructural developments are good but without skills, brain power, and leadership; buildings and roads will crumble and decay. Another example of Celtel’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility in Sierra Leone is the recently launched “Build Our Nation” Campaign. The goal of this campaign is to provide much needed school supplies and books to secondary schools in need. The company has set aside a total of Le. 450 million ($150,724) for the first year of implementation. Additionally, the “Come. Back Home” Campaign in an effort to recruit Sierra Leoneans and other Africans in the diaspora who are interested in living and working in Africa to join their corporate family. The company will be participating in career fairs in the UK and the US during the course of this year to make Sierra Leoneans aware of the opportunities available with Celtel.
Other Celtel's initiatives aimed at developing local talents and skills in Sierra Leone are Celtel Academy, Employee Education Fund, Celtel Talent and Graduate Development Programmes, and HIV/AIDS Initiative- Headstart.
Justin, who blogs at Live From Freetown, works for Mercy Ships in Sierra Leone. He writes about “the abnormally nice things that normal people do” in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone:
It amazes me that when I go to a person on the street and ask for help, the person will often go to great lengths to assist. It could be somebody downtown wanting to sell me mobile phone (and I’m looking for a less expensive model, therefore he goes on a mission to find one), or the woman in a small shop willing to lend me a bottle opener for a few hours with no collateral. Honestly, you’d be amazed at the abnormally nice things that normal people do.
But there is nothing nice about bureaucracy:
So today, after an exceptionally frustrating couple of days, I ventured into Freetown Cold Storage, also the home of the Swiss high commission.  One of my colleagues is going to Switzerland to deliver a presentation to the UN in Geneva at the beginning of June, and we need a visa, and we need it stat.
I brought the form, the passport, the money, the invitation letter, and two passport photos.  The secretary for the consular looked it over.
“You need another letter.”
“What do you mean.”
“To say he works for Mercy Ships.”
“But he’s going on UN business, not Mercy Ships business.”
“It does not matter. You need to prove he is employed by you.”
“If I give you these, can you please start processing the visa while I fax you the letter today?”
“I can not process it until I have the letter.”
“Alright. How long will this take.”
“Between seven and ten days.”
“This is urgent. Can you process it faster please?
“The documentation is incomplete.”
“Yes, I know. And I will fax it to you. But is there any chance the process can be sped up?”
“Under normal circumstances, it takes between seven and ten days.”
“Yes, this is not a normal circumstance. He flies out on June 4.”
“No, his proposed date of travel is June 4.”
“No. I have his ticket here. The date of travel is June 4. That’s why I would like you to please ensure this goes as quickly as possible.”
“But your documentation is incomplete.”
“Yes, but let’s just pretend it isn’t. I’ll fax the letter once I get back to the office.”
“I can not begin until I have it.”
“Look. I have a Swiss passport, which means I am a Swiss citizen. You working for the Swiss high commission means you work for the Swiss government. And since that is my government, you work for me. Can I please have some cooperation?”
Paul is a volunteer with the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO). What is a day in the life of a VSO volunteer in Sierra Leone like? Paul sheds some light:
The day begins refreshingly early since without electricity, retiring in the evening prior is also early. The dark silence is broken gradually by the call of the muezzin and then the church bells, the screech of the cocks and the barking of dogs as activity starts and the first light appears. Rising at about 6:30 I go for a jog around the local football field and enjoy the company of locals now almost a club of early birders. A quick trip to the well to gather the water for my bucket shower is followed by a breakfast of local bread and ground nut paste. By 8:00am I am ready to leave and the girls at St. Joseph school opposite my house greet me with the chorus of the national anthem before school begins. A brisk 15 minute walk to work at this time of day when the sun is low is comfortable and I wave to the passers by and answer in  Temne to their greetings. Children shout “opporto” from the Portuguese derivative at the strange sight of a white person and I smile. I arrive at work in a lifted mood and think how different and more pleasant this is compared to turning up for work in Canada.
Diamond tales is a moving post at Visit Sierra Leoneabout visiting local diamond miners in Sierra Leone:
We stopped and continued on foot. Walking through some typical bush forest. Few villages, much forest, the rebels had a strong presence in this area during the war. It was also for most civilians, the only way to flee. The roads were too dangerous: too many rebels, too many soldiers, and too many problems.
Rashid was in an upbeat mood and happy to have taken a day off from ‘selling radios’. He didn’t get out much, had middlemen who take care of most things. I was surprised to only find women when I first walked out of the forest, and reached the river. This side was meant for washing gold, and it was here that the women were. On the other side of the river were the men. The men who were diving, digging and shaking gravel in the hope of finding some diamonds….
When the groups of diggers get bigger, roles become more flexible and groups work together. In the case of smaller operations (i.e. 4 groups of three to four men); first you worry about the gravel then about the shaking it. The shaking then only takes place in the afternoon. In the case of larger operations (i.e. 30-40 men), shaking takes place more regularly.
The divers are usually chosen men, the remaining men are ‘workers’ and the man overseeing operations may be called ‘miner’. There is no fix terminology, but a miner is often the man who has the license, the manager could be a boss who doesn’t have a license (i.e. directly working for the supporter, often a Lebanese).
Diving is difficult and divers command more respect. Some men told me about their wish to become divers, seen as a little higher at what is the bottom of the diamond chain. I did ask two divers what they felt about diving and health. They didn’t see any major problems with this, although diving for such lengths of time on a daily basis must have some effect on the man’s health.
Steven, one diver in the pictures had just come back up from his long dive. It took 15 minutes before I spoke to him; he was still under the shock of the temperature difference. Smiling as often, we exchanged greetings. He like the others was happy that this was a Thursday and the Friday would be their day of rest.
Some of the men spend one to two hours at the bottom of the river. Usually four to five fathoms or fader (1 fathom = 0.9144 metres, any suggestions on why people in Salone still use this unit of measurement?), depths, that increase as the first rains set in. A pump ensures that the diver gets the necessary oxygen. A long rubber tube that passes through an empty gas container, and attached to the pump facilitates the sending down of air.
Visit Sierra Leone wishes that Leonardo DiCapriohad visited Sierra Leone before making the movie, Blood Diamond:
Much of the diamonds passed through Koindu to be brought to Monrovia. Issa Sesay, Sam Bockarie (aka Mosquito),and Gibril Massaquoi, amongst others, were heavily involved and Charles Taylor seemed to have the right contacts. The rest (much smaller) was bought on ‘fly-ins’, foreigners flying in, buying stones, paying the right man to remain silent, and flying back out. Alternatively also through smuggling. In this regard, Blood Diamond did get its story right. An action film, a Holywood thriller, a film that could be sold to the masses in Europe and North America. The frustration I shared with many was the image it portrayed of this country at present. The past must not be forgotten but this was not really the ideal image to be portrayed of a country in the middle of registration for presidential elections. Yes the blood diamond awareness campaign was important, but the least Leonardo and company could have done is to have flown to Salone and to come back reporting that it is back in business.

author: Vickie Remoe-Doherty


text:
Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica: Caribbean Customer Relations  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We all like to belong, most of us like to be acknowledged, and if we're paying you for a product or service, we most definitely like to be kept in the loop,” writes Karel Mc Intosh as she examines customer relationship management in the Caribbean.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela: Media & Politics · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“When media become political players themselves, they lose their credibility, and they betray the people who rely on them for truthful, accurate information.”  Jeremy Taylor weighs in on the controversy surrounding the closure of RCTV in Venezuela.


text:
Tunisia: Anti-Smoking Campaign  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

‘On the occasion of the International Day against Smoking on May 31, 2007 , Tunisia has launched a campaign to fight smoking. The slogan adopted this year is “No smoking in public spaces”,’ writes Subzero Blue for Tunisia.


text:
Ukraine: Internal Troops · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“When Ukrainians send Troops to suppress protestors they never – thank God – seem to arrive. In Russia (and the remainder of the CIS) they always arrive and, as in Uzbekistan in 2005, they shoot to kill,” writes Taras Kuzio and shares ideas on how to transform Ukraine's “internal troops” into a “National Guard modeled on Italy’s Carabineer and Spain’s Civil Guard.”


text:
Venezuela: RCTV Protest Photos · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Luis Carlos Diaz posts a Flickr photo set featuring images from the May 28 protests against the closing of RCTV.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Yemen: Yes to Internet Filters  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Yemeni blogger Omar Barsawad is in favour of his country's internet censorship tactics, saying: “Yemen was mentioned as one of the countries to have the most extensive censorship filters for the Internet. I do wholeheartedly support this; as would most of my fellow adult Yemenis. What Yemen censors most, are the very many sites that have no positive purpose except to corrupt and spoil; with this, I have the very many pornographic Internet sites in mind.
Imagine living in a country as conservative and as religious as Yemen. Where almost all women seen publicly or even at homes, are covered completely from head to feet; imagine, what it would be like for a young man to have a ‘window’ to see women of all forms and of all kinds and colors, naked and sexually explicit?”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Afghanistan: Context to Crackdown · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghanistanica provides background to the recent shooting of protesters in northern Afghanistan.

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Africa: mobile phones and activism in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks writes from Kenya, where she is attending a conference on the use of mobile phones for activism and advocacy in Africa: “I am here in Nairobi at one of the most interesting gatherings I have attended in a long time.  Fahamu have brought together some 40 African social justice and civil society activists to discuss and share ideas around the use of mobile phones as a tool for activism and advocacy. The workshop is being held in conjunction with Tactical Tech who will be holding their “techie” workshop on Thursday Friday and Saturday to develop a tool kit specially suited to an African environment – a broad term that will inevitably have to be customised by users from across the continent to accommodate, political, economic, social and cultural differences.”


text:
Algeria: More on the Pew Survey  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian blogger Nouri continues to discuss the Pew Survey on American Muslims. “Rather than posting a lengthy analysis of the entire survey, I will mention some of the interesting questions and answers, and my response and my view of some of the results,” he explains.


text:
Arabeyes: 1001 Tales from Libyan Taxi Rides · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Can taking a taxi be an eye-opening experience to the society you live in? Libyan blogger Libyano** takes us on a ride of a lifetime in the following translation, which gives him the chance to contemplate on his society, the behaviour of young men and the antics of some taxi drivers.
It all started when his car decided to take a break from its normal activities.
I cannot start to describe all the guys standing in a crowd as if they were in a football stadium. I just don't understand what they see standing there like that. This is just a good example of how these men were raised because I see them standing there with no shame and the sad part of all this is that I sometimes see men the same age as my father, standing in front of a girls’ high school, checking out the girls there. I really don't know what the solution for this problem is but I usually avoid driving by any girls’ high school when I am taking my mother around town to avoid embarrassment as I fear I would see an undesirable scene of sexual harassment.
It really hurts to see such young men and how shallow they can be. Everything is so superficial, all they care about is their hair cut, sun glasses and some are so young that they still don't even have any facial hair. Yet you see them smoking and making clouds of smoke from their mouths. And of course, we can't forget those that just love to show off with their cars, drifting, twirling and doing all these crazy moves – guys cruising around the neighborhoods with music banging out of their cars. Some men even listen to Zemzamat, which are old ladies singing and are usually performed in weddings.
If it was up to me, I would whip them with a green stick and make them look like zebras so next time they pass by any girls’ high school, they would lower their head and carry on their way and none of these shameful acts would happen.
** Libyano was kind enough to translate the Libyan phrases I couldn't understand.


text:
Armenia: All-powerful Seal · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes from Hairenik discusses the incredible power of seals on documents in Armenia.


text:
Armenia & Azerbaijan: Karabakh Progress? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia discusses the status of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a peace agreement regarding the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.


text:
Armenia: Real Estate Prices · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Life in Armenia, Raffi K. reports on real estate prices in Yerevan.


text:
Bermuda: RIP Dame Brown-Evans · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“That's what I think people liked about her, she knew everyone and had time and respect for everyone whether she figured she'd get their vote or not, whether they agreed with her on not,” writes Politics.bm, which, along with IMHO.bm acknowledges the passing of Dame Lois Brown-Evans – the first female Leader of the Opposition in the entire British Commonwealth.


text:
Brazilian Express Loves (and jealousy) around the world · Global Voices
Roberto Taddei

The Brazilian blogosphere entered in alert a few weeks ago when the major publish house Companhia das Letras (PT) announced a huge literary project. Idealized by Rodrigo Teixeira, the project called Express Loves (Amores Expressos) wants to take 16 writers to 16 cities around the world for a one month trip. Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Lisbon, Berlin, Cairo, Saint Petersburg and São Paulo are some among those chosen cities. At the end, each one of them must write a love history tied with those cities. All in 90 days.
The hottest discussions were about the use of public money on the project. The project asked for R$ 1,2 million (US$ 600 thousand) on fiscal licenses. The names of the invited writers were selected by the head of the project and by the writer João Paulo Cuenca (who also writes a blog, in portuguese), but the list of nominees sparked a library-fire of protest among many unchosen writers, who argued about the unclearness of the selection criteria and the unfairness of the the choices made, and about the bad use of public money. Among the chosen pleiad, some well known names to the brazilian literary public, like Sérgio Sant'Anna, Luiz Ruffato(PT) and Marçal Aquino(PT) rubbed shoulders with some other who were practically debuting on books like Antonia Pellegrino(PT) and Cecília Giannetti (who is writing a blog, in portuguese, “from the front”, here).
Angélica Freitas, one of the most loudly detached voices from the newest Brazilian poetry scene wrote on March:
acho que muita gente reclama desse projeto porque, bueno, não foi incluída nele. porque nunca vai conseguir pisar no cairo ou em são petersburgo se não for num projeto desses. também tem muita gente neste país que não sabe escrever projeto de captação de recursos. querem dinheiro? ter um bom projeto e se mexer é um começo. mas estou aqui para dizer que é bem fácil viajar. basta pegar um ônibus que te deixe na estrada e estender o polegar. querem material pra escrever? taí a dica. querem viajar de graça? taí a dica.
neugebauer –  tome uma xícara de chá
i think that many of those who complain about this project are doing so because, well, they weren't included in it. because they will never be able to put a foot on cairo or saint petersburg if not by means of a project like this. there is also a lot of people on this country that doesn't know how to write a resource raising project. do you want money? to have a good project and move it on is a good start. but i'm here to tell that is quite easy to travel. you must have to take a bus that leaves you at the road and them extend the thumb. do you want material to write? here's the tip. do you want to travel for free? here's the tip.
neugebauer –  take a cup of tea
And the level of critics got higher when the writer Marcelo Mirisola (PT, reader discretion), which is not on the project, sent a letter to the major Brazilian newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo (PT), saying that the project was
uma ação entre “amigos de farra”, com “um ou dois figurões acima de qualquer suspeita” para disfarçar.
Polêmica expressa – Todoprosa
a plan between “carousing friends”, with “one or two bigshots above any suspicion” to disguise.
Express Polemic – Todoprosa
The public money financing the project was the most sensitive question in the matter. In Brazil, this polemic is becoming unsustainable, to a point that the law created to stimulate culture became a bad business to art and artists but being, besides, a very good business for private sponsors who can dismiss federal taxes by supporting such projects.  Joca Reiners Terron, that is now on Cairo, gave a strong answer to the critics on a rather strong-worded post called “Dears Sons of a Bitch”.
O dinheiro que entrará no meu bolso (R$10 mil pelos direitos de adaptação audiovisual do romance que escreverei …) virá do bolso do Rodrigo Teixeira, dono da produtora RT Features e criador do projeto. A grana que financiará filmes, documentários, extras de dvd ou o que caralho for, virá de um projeto inscrito na Lei Rouanet que está tramitando nos corredores do Ministério da Cultura e, conseqüentemente, ainda não foi aprovado, além da bufunfa que lhe corresponde ainda não ter sido captada. Quando e se for, eu já terei entregue meu romance (cujos direitos de adaptação já foram vendidos) e diretamente (tá tá tá: eu sei, também sou contribuinte; tá tá tá: eu também acho que é chegada a hora de reformas drásticas na Lei Rouanet), não terei mais nada a ver com isso; Entendeu ou quer que eu repita, filho-da-puta?
Hotel Hell
The money that will enter my pocket (US$ 5 thousand for audiovisual adaptation rights of the novel I will write…) are coming from the pocket of Rodrigo Teixeira, owner of RT Features and head of the project. The buck that will finance the movies, documentaries, dvd extras or the hell that comes, will come from the project enrolled at Rouanet Law that is now moving in at the corridors of the Ministry of Culture and, consequently, it was not yet approved. When (and if yes) it would be approved, I would have delivered my novel (whose rights of adaptation already had been sold) and directly (ok, I know, I am also a contributor; ok: I also think that is time of drastic reforms in the Rouanet Law), I will have nothing more to do with this; Do you understood or want me to repeat, son-of-a-beach?
Hotel Hell
The polemic provoked a forest fire of discord between groups of writers. After the conflagration, Cecília Giannetti, that is now in Berlin and took the picture that opens this post, wrote on her blog:
Não tenho outra maneira de justificar minha participação neste projeto além de me empenhar em escrever o melhor que eu puder a história que ele pede de mim. A pressão aumenta por estar ao lado de nomes como Sergio Sant'Anna, Lourenço Mutarelli, Luiz Ruffato, Marçal Aquino, Bernardo Carvalho, nomes de outras gerações que os estreantes e recém-lançados autores incluídos no projeto já lemos e respeitamos. Assustador. Do No Mínimo – Escrevescreve.
I don't have other way to justify my participation in this project unless pledging myself into doing my best in writing the history that is being asked from me. The pressure is increased because i'm side by side with names like Sergio Sant'Anna, Lourenço Mutarelli, Luiz Ruffato, Marçal Aquino, Bernardo Carvalho, names from another generation that the debutantes and just-published authors in the project read and respect. Frightful.
From No Mínimo – Escrevescreve.
The weeks have passed and the first writers begun to show theirs works produced on the cities. Six writers are comming back, or had already came back, from their trips. Another ten are packing for their adventures the next months. The books may take a while before they reach the markets, but it is possible to keep a watch over the development of the project by reading the writer's blogs.
Antonio Prata, who had already completed his journey, wrote in his blog, from Shangai:
Do outro lado do mundo fica um país gigante chamado China. Nesse país há uma imensa cidade chamada Xangai. Nessa cidade tem uma rua não tão grande assim de nome Shaoxing Lu. No número 76 da Shaoxing Lu há uma viela. No fundo da viela fica um cano.
Se você pegar um avião e viajar 27 horas até a China, descer do avião em Xangai, entrar num táxi, saltar no número 76 da Shaoxing Lu, andar até o fim da viela e abaixar-se, poderá notar que ali naquele cano, na viela do número 76 da Shaoxing Lu, em Xangai, na China, um gato afiou suas unhas.
Do outro lado do mundo – Blog do Antonio Prata
On the other side of the world there is a giant country called China. In this country there is an immense city called Shanghai. In this city there is a street, that is not very big, with name Shaoxing Lu. At number 76 of Shaoxing Lu there is a side street. In the end of the side street there is a pipe.
If you catch an airplane and take a 27 hours trip to China, climb down from the airplane in Shangai, get a taxicab and jump out of it at the number 76 of Shaoxing Lu street, then take a walk until the end of the side street and bend down, you will be able to notice that there in that pipe, at the side street by the number 76 on the Shaoxing Lu street, in Shangai, China, a cat sharpened its nails.
On the other side of the world – Antonio Prata's Blog
João Paulo Cuenca, who is in Tokyo, describes in his blog the experience of sleep on a capsule hotel:
Ignoro a advertência ilustrada sobre a proibição de homens tatuados e bêbados – sou um deles – e entro. Recebo uma chave (3021), um roupão e duas toalhas, assim como breves instruções em japonês. Vou ao vestiário e troco de roupa. … Nos banheiros coletivos cheirando a cigarro, velhos japoneses assoam o nariz daquele jeito que só velhos japoneses conseguem assoar o nariz.  Reúno coragem e resolvo procurar minha cápsula. Ela fica no terceiro andar (são cinco). Para minha sorte – ou azar, não sei – minha gaveta fica na altura do chão. Acima dela, alguém dorme. E também no andar de cima. No andar de baixo. E nos lados. Nesse hotel cápsula, as gavetas não tem porta, apenas uma pequena cortina de bambu que, além de luz, deixa entrar barulho. Privacidade não há. … Faz calor dentro do caixão. Durmo um sono de seis horas cheio de sobressaltos (acordo toda vez que alguém pisa no corredor) e tenho sonhos bizarros… Dentro do sonho, pego meu caderno de sonhos dentro do sonho e anoto o sonho dentro do sonho. Isso é uma recorrência, aliás, e talvez a melhor literatura que jamais produzirei. Às nove, uma mensagem ressoa dentro da cápsula. Não entendo do que se trata e volto a dormir. Às nove e meia, nova mensagem, e o eco de música clássica pelos corredores. Um homem abre a cortina da minha cápsula abruptamente. O tempo acabou.
Encaixotado – Blog do Cuenca
I ignore the illustrated warning on the prohibition of tattooed and drunken men – I'm one of them – and enter. I receive a key (3021), a bath robe and two towels, as well as brief instructions in Japanese. I go to the dressing room and change my clothes. … In the collective bathrooms smelling of cigarette smoke, old Japanese guys blows their noses in a way that only old Japanese guys can do it. I gather courage and decide to look for my capsule. It is in the third floor (there are five of them). For my good luck – or bad luck, I don't know – my drawer is at the floor level. Above it, somebody sleeps. And also in the one above, below and sideways. In this capsule hotel, the drawers do not have a door, but only a small bamboo curtain that, besides light, doesn't block the noise either. The is no privacy. … It is hot inside the coffin. I sleep a six hour slumber full of fright (I wake up every time somebody steps on in the corridor) and I have strange dreams. … Inside the dream, I catch my dream notepad inside of the dream and write down the dream inside of the dream. This is a recurrence, by the way, and perhaps the best literature that I will ever produce. At nine o'clock, a message resounds inside of the capsule. I don't understand and come back to sleep. At nine thirty, a new message, and the echo of classic music on the corridors. A man abruptly opens the curtain of my capsule. The time is over.
Boxed – Cuenca's Blog
Daniel Galera, another young writer, has just arrived from Buenos Aires. In his blog he gives a declaration that, in some way, summarizes all these controversy and searching for love:
Já de volta a São Paulo, ruminando fotos e memórias. Tenho uma história rabiscada na mente. Acho que ela poderia se passar em qualquer lugar, mas se passará em Buenos Aires, uma cidade de carnes tenras, mulheres elegantes e ruas planas que mimam os andarilhos com cafés e livrarias inesgotáveis. (…) Hoje entendo muito melhor uma frase de Bataille que usamos em 2001 para apresentar o selo editorial Livros do Mal ao mundo: “A literatura não é inocente, e, culpada, ela enfim deveria se confessar como tal.” Eu confesso. Confesso tudo. Sou culpado e, nos próximos meses, tentarei redigir mais um capítulo dessa confissão.
De Volta – Blog do Daniel Galera
I'm back to São Paulo, ruminating photos and memories. I have a history scribbled on my mind. I guess it could be placed anywhere, but it will be in Buenos Aires, an elegant city of soft meats, elegant women and plain streets that caress the wanderers with endless coffees and bookstores. (…) Now I understand much better that quote by Bataille that we used back in 2001 to present the publishing label Livros do Mal to the world: “Literature is not innocent, and, guilty, at last it should have to confess itself as such.” I confess. I confess everything. I am guilty and, in the next months, I will try to write another chapter of this confession.
Back – Daniel Galera's Blog
And in the next months, also, another writers ambark to their trips. Here's the list:
May: Amilcar Bettega (Istanbul) and Joca Reiners Terron (Cairo).
June: Adriana Lisboa (Paris), Luiz Ruffato (Lisbon), Chico Mattoso (Havana), Lourenço Mutarelli (New York) and Reinaldo Moraes (Mexico City).
September: Antonia Pellegrino (Mumbai), Bernardo Carvalho (Saint Petersburg), Marçal Aquino (Rome) and Sérgio Sant’Anna (Prague).
The writer's blogs can be found at the project's web site: Amores Expressos (in portuguese).

author: Roberto Taddei


text:
Burkina Faso: FA Cup Final in Ouagadougou · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

English football is big in Burkina Faso as Voice in the Desert reports:”African men care very deeply about their football teams, including the teams they ‘adopt’ from abroad. In Ouagadougou there are passionate Manchester United supporters and equally passionate Chelsea supporters, and today they got together for the Cup Final.
Sparks flew…”


text:
Chile: Smog Makes Santiago Unlivable · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

C.hileno continues to write about the smog in the city of Santiago.  On the days that it does rain in the city, he highly suggests to take advantage and watch the snow-capped mountaintops while you can.  However, his conclusion is that “the smog makes Santiago unlivable, according to my humble standards.”  Even with this poor overview of the Chilean capital city, it still does not rank in the top 10 of most polluted cities.


text:
China: Internet Bookstore · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fangjun discussed about the competition of internet bookstore business in China (zh). Joyo and dangdang were competing the status of the biggest Chinese internet bookstore in the world. Recently Dangdang issued a statement and asked joyo not to lie again.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: The importance of media dissent to “old Beijing” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chris O'Brien from Beijing Newspeak blogs about the importance of media dissent to the redevelopment process of “old Beijing” by comparing the news reports of Dongsi Ba Tiao and Qianmen projects: media pressure has at least secured residents a better deal in terms of compensation.


text:
Cuba: US Visit to Spain    · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution is waiting for the “diplomatic fireworks” that he predicts will ensue over Cuba during the US Secretary of State's visit to Spain this week.


text:
Egypt: Monem will be freed and Amr Gharbeia interrogated · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Blogger Abdel-Monem Mahmoud appeared today before the Public Prosecutor who ordered to release him after 45 days in custody. “Monem and his group are expected to be release on Saturday after completing paperwork.” said his lawyer.
Hossam el-Hamalawy reported that the Egyptian blogger Amr Gharbeia has been interrogated today on charges of libel and then released on a LE200 bail. During the interrogation, which will be resumed next Tuesday, “the prosecutor tried to force Amr into handing out the IP addresses of readers who posted comments on his blog, but Amr rightly refused.”.
It is the judge Abdel Fattah Mourad who filed the lawsuit requesting the block of 21 blogs and websites in Egypt.

author: sami ben gharbia


text:
FSU: Interview With Edward Lucas · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peteris Cedrins of Marginalia interviews Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist – and a blogger.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Guinea: top businessman becomes honorary president  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

News From Guinea and Friends of Guinea reports, “Mamadou Sylla, Guinea's richest business patron, was named as the new honorary president of the ruling PUP party.
Sylla is a close ally of the head of state Gen. Lansana Conté and is often referred to as ‘the ruling party's banker.’ Last year, he was subject to a serious corruption investigation and was engaged in open warfare with Conté's then-right hand man Fodé Bangoura. Sylla was arrested during the course of the investigation until Conté went in person to jail to free him.”


text:
Guyana: Monetary Compensation & Sexual Assault · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Following a case in which when a 39 year-old man was accused of sexual assault against a 17 year-old girl, The Guyana Groove writes: “When a woman is forced to accept monetary compensation from the very person who already violated her, it is as if she is forced to put a price on her soul”:


text:
Hong Kong: Censorship Bureaucrats · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Roland Snoog has translated the article from Inmediahk.net on the author's encounter with the staff from the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority (TELA) who gave an “advice” to the website to remove a nude photo. See also ESWN


text:
Hong Kong: Migration of Websites · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Duke of Aberdeen comments on the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority's advice of the suspected “indecent” photo at inmediahk.net, and points out that one of the consequence is a migration wave of website hosting out of Hong Kong as the government is targeting on local ISP and BSP (zh).


text:
India: Finding Gandhi in Mexico · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Organized Nomad on finding Gandhi in Mexico. “Two women, total strangers, in two different parts of Mexico, seemingly free associate India with Gandhi. Seems even more a pity then that while Gandhi's name will forever be worshipped, his message will soon be lost as his country charts a tumultous course towards discovering – and asserting – its post-independence identity.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Jamaica: Thank You, Miss Lou · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Miss Lou in her life and poetry had many things to teach us. And she taught in a way that only the best teachers can—without us knowing.”  Geoffrey Philp pays tribute to a Jamaican cultural icon.


text:
Japan: “Thought Check” Screening for Citizen Judges · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

While news in Japan this week has been understandably fixated on the sensational suicide of Agriculture Minister Matsuoka Toshikatsu (and related scandals), as is often the case in this country, another story — somewhat less sensational yet arguably at least as significant — slipped by without much notice. The story was brought up in a blog entry posted last Saturday at the “doko doko” blog of Diet member Nobuto Hosaka of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, the most active member in the House of Representatives (in terms of number of questions raised) and known for being a thorn in the side of the ruling party coalition. Saturday's post concerned a new “citizen judge system” to be introduced in Japan by May 2009, one which would allow, for the first time in Japan's history, a group of six citizen judges (along with 3 professional judges) to preside on cases involving verdicts as serious as the death penalty. (A simulation of the selection process for choosing citizen judges is already being carried out.)
To understand the significance of the new citizen judge system, it is useful to review some basic facts about the judicial system in Japan. On paper at least, Japan's judicial system boasts impressive figures, with a staggeringly high 99.8% conviction rate and an 86.6% rate of “full confession by the accused”. And yet, as was recently revealed in the dramatic story of a group of suspects in a vote-buying case, forced, among other things, to shout confessions out a window and stomp on the names of loved ones, these figures hide much more than they actually reveal.
Surely one of the most vocal critics of the justice system in Japan has been long-time writer, activist and blogger Arudou Debito. If you are picked up by police in Japan, Debito explains that:
You are in for a rough time. There is no writ of Habeas Corpus in Japan, which means Japanese police can hold you for up to 23 days (3 days’ initial interrogation, extendable by 10 days a maximum of twice if a judge approves. Which he will–judges rarely deny public prosecutors the privilege unless a lawyer intervenes.). There have been cases of extraction of information (signed confessions that detainees could not read) through physical and mental duress (beatings, lack of sleep and basic amenities, denial of outside communication, consular contact, or legal counsel) carried out by chain-smoking tag-team interrogators. Detention by the Japanese police is one of the larger nightmares you can experience in Japan.
More recently, blogger Pellegrini at Trans-Pacific Radio put together a very detailed overview of the problem of forced confessions in Japan, noting that:
Maximum pressure, such as withholding meals, physical coersion, and sleep deprivation, is applied by police and investigators to make sure that a confession is signed.
It is worth noting that the justice system enables all of this. Videotapes and recordings are not needed (indeed they’re not allowed!) in the interrogation room; naturally, there are many cases where forced confessions have occurred. It is likely that a significant percentage of those forced confessions are indeed false. The fact that defense lawyers habitually warn investigators against forcing confessions from their clients is evidence both that forced confessions happen and that defense lawyers are allowed little or no participation when interrogations take place.
It is only against this backdrop of the chronic problem of forced confessions that Hosaka's blog entry can really be understood. The blog entry is called “The hidden ‘trap’ of the citizen judge system: thought checking in citizen judge interviews“, and begins:
昨日は、衆議院法務委員会で「犯罪被害者の訴訟参加」を制度化する刑事訴訟法改正案の質疑を40分行った。この最高裁と法務省とのやりとりの中で、裁判員制度の「くじで選ばれる国民の幅広い意見」という根底から揺らぐような事態が明らかになった。検察側が「警察官」を証人として出廷される時に、裁判所に対して裁判員候補に対して「あなたは警察官の捜査を信用していますか」と質問させることが出来る。「いや、信用ならないですね」と答えると「公平な裁判が保障されない」と検察官が判断して最大4人まで理由を示さずに「忌避」の手続きを行うことが出来るというものだ。
「市民の代表」として出てくる6人の裁判員たちは、検察側のフィルタリングにかけられた「警察を疑わない善意の市民」ばかりとなり、「自白の任意性」をめぐって弁護側と激しく争う事件について、大きな影響を与えるのは間違いない。「くじ」で選ばれた裁判員候補を、捜査権力が「警察の捜査への信頼度」「死刑についての考え方」などに対して「思想チェック」をして、理由を述べずに4人まで「忌避」という排除手続きを取るという仕組みが隠れていたことに愕然とする。「官」にとって、都合のいい「官を疑うことなき善良な市民」が国民全体から「くじ」で選ばれたとすれば、これは「市民の司法参加・偽装」そのものである。法曹三者で国民の思想信条の自由を侵すような「許しがたい設問」をつくりあげていたとすれば、看過出来ない。以下に仮記録を示しておく。来週から、国会内で「裁判員制度を問う超党派議員の会」を呼びかけ、司法の変質と暴走にブレーギをかけていきたいと思う。以下、委員会でのやりとりを再現してみよう。
The rest of the blog entry consists of the proceedings of the Diet session, translated here in their entirety:
保坂　昨日の新聞に裁判所の裁判員制度の手続きに関する最高裁規則の要綱がまとまったという記事が出ています。そこで、質問を裁判員について口頭諮問というか面接でするわけですが゛、この中に「捜査官証言」、つまり警察官等（※証人）が予定されている事件において、当事者の求めがあった場合（※検察側）、裁判長が口頭で「あなたは警察等の捜査が特に信用出来ると思う事情がありますか。あるいは、逆に特に信用出来ないという事情がありますか」と質問をし、「いいえ」と回答した場合は、何も質問しない。「はい」と回答した場合は、「それはどのような事情ですか」と質問する。その回答によって必要がある時には、「警察官等の証言の内容を検討して公平に判断することが出来ますか」と質問をし、不公平な裁判をするおそれの有無を判断する、とある。どういう意味ですかね。我々は志布志事件などで警察の捜査も行き過ぎがあるということを随分認識しています。たとえば裁判員の候補者がですね、「警察の捜査も時々、密室で行われているから行き過ぎがあるかもしれません」と言うかもしれません。どういう意図でこの設問があるのですか。
小川最高裁事務総局刑事局長　お答えします。公判前整理手続きをやっていく際に、捜査官証人が申請される、また予定される事件があるとわかりました時に、当事者の方から求めがあった場合に「捜査官証人の証言の信用性」について不公平な裁判をするおそれがあるかないかという点を判断をするために、今、委員の御指摘のような質問をさせていただく、ひとつの判断資料となろうかと思います。実際には、裁判体が判断されますから具体的どうなるかというのは裁判体の判断となります。
保坂　法務省刑事局長に聞きたいのですが、今のような捜査官が証人として出てくる場合には、おそらく自白はしている、しかし、その後に否認に転じて、「自白調書」の任意性に疑いがある場合、こういうことが多いんではないかと思います。裁判所が設問していますよね。「警察官の捜査等にどれだけ信用性を置いているかどうか」と。「私は全然信用していないんだ。最近は相当密室でおかしいと思う」と面接で言っていたら、検察官はこの裁判員候補者を忌避出来るんですね。忌避する理由になりますか。
（そんな事が出来るのか？　と与党席からの声。「忌避出来るんですよ。理由を示さずに４人まで忌避出来るんです。警察官はどうかなあという人に対して検察側がどう判断するかどうか」と保坂議場の与党議員に説明）
小津法務省刑事局長　　この件、検察官がどのような場合に理由を示さないで忌避するかどうかということは、私どもで何も具体的に検討しているわけではないわけで、個々の事件における検察官の判断ということになろうかと思います。
保坂　法務大臣に感想を求めたいんですよ。裁判員というのはくじで選ばれるんですよね。衆議院選挙の有権者名簿で。しかし、その中で、「警察の捜査はちょっと私は信用出来ないですよ」と言った場合には、検察側から「この人、忌避」と出るかもしれない。……忌避の対象になってくると、本当に国民全体の意見を代表して、まんべんなく汲み上げた制度になるのかどうか、大変不安になってきたんですね。その点、どうですか。
長勢法務大臣　裁判員制度を創設する時、当時は色々な御意見があった事を思い出します。片一方は、「こんなのが入るとみんな無罪になってしまうんじゃないか」「いや、みんな重罪になってしまうんじゃないか」という議論があったことを思い出します。
今の議論もそういうことに関連しているのかなと不安を感じますが、法曹三者において適切にですね、こういうあまり重箱のスミをつつくような法律論じゃなくて、一般の国民の良識が反映されるような裁判員制度にしていきたいと思います。
保坂　重箱のスミをつつくような議論をしているつもりはありません。これは裁判で裁判員制度の中で「被害者」の方が参加されるというトータルなパッケージとしての議論をしなければならない。この「忌避」ということも今、わかってきたわけなので、トータルに議論したい。
The blog entry was linked to by many other blogs, with 13 trackbacks listed in the comments section of the post itself. For those who can read Japanese, some good discussions on the topic can be found at the blogs of tokyodo-2005 (with many comments), niphonese and Takano Yoshimichi.


text:
Jordan: Sheehan Quits  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Hareega, who is based in the US, bids farewell to Cindy Sheehan.
“Yesterday she announced that she was tired and she quit her anti-war activism. She said that her son died “for nothing”. About 54% of the CNN readers today agree with her,” he notes.


text:
Jordan: Smoking Fines · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Naseem Al Tarawnah from Jordan challenges statistics about smoking fines in his country. “First of all, I’m positive that between my friends and I (which definitely total less than the number of enviro-cops) we could issue over 3,000 tickets in a single week let alone eight months!
“Second of all, why does the government think that the only way to solve a public problem is to fine people. If we’ve learned anything from the Jordanian spirit it’s that if you fine us we will be more inclined to do it.
“No campaigns, no education, no raising awareness…” he notes.


text:
Kazakhstan: Bikers & the World · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia says that Kazakhstan's government can use the success of Kazakhstani bicyclists to further boost the country's image.


text:
Kazakhstan: Ruling Family Shakeup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

A warrant for the arrest of Rakhat Aliyev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's presdient, has been issued. KZBlog explains why, and how the case may connect to the government's decision to close a few media outlets controlled by Aliyev and his wife.