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Madagascar: Brides-for-Sale just one harsh reality of poverty · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

As part of the Malagasy citizen media community, I often try to highlight the social and economic progress Madagascar has made. It stems from the belief that not enough attention is given to the effort and creativity of Malagasy citizens working for the betterment of their communities.
However, a positive outlook is sometimes just not possible when harsh economic conditions strike. In the past week, Malagasy bloggers could not escape discussing the harsh reality of endemic poverty that affects the vast majority of the population. Here are a few examples of how poverty has cornered many communities into difficult decisions.
Patricia, Foko blogger who recently had the opportunity to speak at the Interdependence day in Brussels, reports cases of teenage girls who are put up for sale by their parents (fr)
Pour certains, les parents et la jeune fille se mettent d’accord pour la personne qui va acheter la jeune fille et pour la somme ou le cadeau en échange. Il faut préciser que la personne qui achète n’est pas forcement un étranger mais c’est seulement ce qui se présente dans la plupart des cas. Pour d’autres, cela se présente sous forme d’ordre, les parents ordonnent et la jeune fille obéit!
Le dernier cas qui a été publie est celui d’une jeune mineure de 15 ans qui a été offerte a un étranger pour 200.000 Ariary. Il lui a meme promis le mariage, mais après avoir ete avec elle une nuit et l’avoir deviergee, il lui a remise entre les mains de son pere.
Cette histoire n’est qu’une parmi les cas identiques qui se présentent dans l’île.
( photo credit to Hebdo de Madagascar and Foko )
News2dago confirms that the dream of trying to wed a foreigner is peaking drastically (mg):
Tonga eto Madagasikara ireo mpanera vazaha ka nampiantso ireo malagasy te hanambady vazaha. Gaga fotsiny aho nahita ity tantitra an-gazety fa mahery ny 4.000 izy ireo no milingilingy te hanambady vazaha. Ary voalaza fa arahan-dranomaso mihitsy oe ireo izay tsy lany. Indrisy tokoa fa dia hitomanina ankehitriny ny hanambady vazaha.
In the comment section, many bloggers reacted to the story. Tritriva notes that it’s not only women who are seeking to wed a foreigner. Sylvie says that marrying a foreigner is not bad but make sure that he does not have children from a previous union because they will never respect you and your spouse will always take his children’s side. Maintikely argues that one should not be too prompt to judge and respect the women’s choices. She warns that life overseas may not be as ideal as they think it would be.
Lomelle, blogger of foko-Mahajanga, witnessed another sad aspect of poverty. She recalls (fr):
On avait été contacté pour faire un reportage à Andralanitra. Rondro et moi y sommes allé sans trop savoir ce qui nous attendait sur place. Tout ce qu’on savait c’est que c’était un reportage sur les ordures [..] Un camion à ordure roulait devant notre voiture au moment où on s’est rapproché de l’endroit. Arrivé à sa destination il a renversé toutes les ordures et à ce moment là une quelque trentaines de personnes se sont ruées sur les ordures [..] Ecœurement, c’est le seul mot  qui puisse définir ce que j’ai ressenti à ce moment là. Ecœurement pour toute ces personnes qui n’ont que les ordures pour vivre [..] Ecoeurement pour l’attitude répulsive que j’avais adopté à ce moment là. Je me suis cru être une fille ouverte d’esprit,n’ayant ni préjugé, ni  jugement. Pourtant devant ce spectacle je n’avais qu’une seule envie,  me tirer de là et me detacher de ces gens.”
Micramia has a different take on the poverty issue and its perception. He explains that poverty is not an incurable disease (fr):
Si vous arrivez encore à manger normalement chaque jour, vous n’êtes pas pauvre. Mais la pauvreté est curable. À mon avis la pauvreté est en faite due au manque d’intelligence. Seul les gens qui n’utilisent pas leur coco n’arrivent pas aller loin. Il sont pauvre intellectuellement et si on n’a rien dans la tête, comment avoir de l’argent pour acheter de quoi manger [..] la solution c’est de se cultiver, augmenter ces connaissances.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Morocco: $31 million for Reforestation Projects  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

SunnyRaindrops  tells us that Morocco plans to spend USD31 million over the next two years on reforestation.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: Debating the Death Penalty  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Abdelilah Boukili debates the death penalty in his blog as a response to the BBC World's Have Your Say program.


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Morocco: Doctors Protest Against Remote Assignments  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

SunnyRaindrops reports that female doctors in Morocco are protesting against being assigned to remote locations.


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Morocco: Hate Crimes on the Rise in the US Following Obama’s Election · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Myrtus, a Moroccan living in the U.S., is alarmed by the number of hate crimes across the U.S. following Obama's election to the presidency.


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Oman: Blogger’s Meet Up Planned  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Oman Community Blog is planning a blogger meeting. The dates have not been finalised – but tentative dates are the 17th, 18th or 19th of December.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Oman: King Abdullah’s Meeting with Saudi Students Cool  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omani blogger Amjad says King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia met with Saudi students during his visit to the US. He describes the gesture as “really cool.”


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Peru: APEC Summit an Opportunity for the Country · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

On November 22-23, the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum will take place in Lima, Peru. The leaders of 21 countries or “member economies” will arrive to Peru accompanied by a team, often impressive in size.  For example, the Chinese delegation includes more than 120 persons. There is a general consensus that this meeting is very important for Peru. In addition to demonstrating that the country is a worthwhile tourist destination, there are many commercial, investment [es] , and business agreements to be reached. In the preparation for the forum, there have been a series of preparatory meetings at various levels involving businesspeople and working groups involving ministers.
Obviously not everything is so optimistic, as many people are anticipating long delays due to security precautions [es] that are being taken. Some areas of Lima will be closed to vehicle transit, which will cause more chaos in an already congested city that is undergoing maintenance and improvement projects on its primary roads. The government has declared a non-working holiday [es] for the duration of the forum, and there have been threats of street protests by the General Workers Union [es].
Even with the importance of the issue, there have not been many bloggers writing about the subject.  Rather they have been writing about the corruption case involving the petroleum contracts and the firing of journalists critical of the government.  Some have been writing such as Blog de Veperu [es] who writes:
¿Se podria decir que la APEC es beneficiosa para el Peru? Pues si que lo es, y no porque vengan con las chequeras listas para firmar, sino porque es mas facil hacerles conocer los posibles focos de inversion a los cuales pueden acceder (me refiero a los grandes empresarios) a todos juntos, en lugar de buscar posibles inversionistas uno por uno. Tambien sera mas facil hacerles conocer los avances logrados por nuestra economia en los ultimos años y, al mismo tiempo, presentarles los trabajos en infraestructura que se estan realizando a lo largo del pais.
Can it be said that the APEC is beneficial for Peru? Of course it is, and not because they are arriving with their checkbooks ready to sign, but because it is easier to show them possible areas of investment, of which they can access (I refer to the large businessmen) them all at the same time, instead of searching for possible investors one by one.  It will also be easier to show them the progress made by our economy in recent years, and at the same, show them the infrastructure projects that are being implemented across the country.
Blog de Franco [es] reveiws the information in the media and comes to the following conclusions:
Y todo esto es muy bonito. Hace mucho tiempo no pronunciaba cifras como 383 mil millones de dólares o 678 mil millones de dólares. La que fuera cifra de la deuda externa del Perú y hasta el rescate financiero gringo quedan chicomas :D
¿Los inversionistas encontrarán cifras a las que están acostumbrados? Considero que muchos inversionistas vendran con mucho entusiasmo. El Perú avanza, crece. ¿Qué seríamos si esta suerte hubiera ocurrido en un contexto de buena educación, buena gestión pública y privada, lucha real contra la corrupción?
All this is wonderful. It has been a long time since they have cited figures like 383 billion dollars or 678 billion dollars, which had been the figure of Peru's external debt and even smaller than the American financial rescue package :D
The investors will find figures which they are used to? I think that many investors will arrive with a lot of enthusiasm.  Peru progresses and grows. Where would we be if this luck would have taken place in the context of good education, proper public and private administration, a real fight against corruption?
PeruSabores [es] tells us that the Peruvian potato will be present at the APEC Summit:
La papa, producto oriundo del Perú y principal cultivo de los pequeños agricultores de la Sierra del país, estará presente en la Cumbre de Líderes del Foro de Cooperación Económica Asia-Pacífico (APEC Perú 2008), … el Ministerio de Agricultura presentará un módulo donde promoverá el mayor consumo de este cultivo milenario y en el que ofrecerá a los asistentes a la cumbre información sobre sus cualidades nutritivas. Asimismo, en dicho stand se expondrán 60 variedades de las 2,800 papas ancestrales que se cultivan en 19 departamentos del Perú, en sus diferentes formas, texturas y colores, y se ofrecerán degustaciones de papas nativas en forma de hojuelas o chips de colores.
The potato, a product that originated from Peru and primary crop of the small farmers from the country's hillsides, will be present at APEC Peru 2008, … the Agricultural Ministry will present a stand which will promote the increased consumption of this crop and they will present the summit attendees with information about their nutritional qualities. At the stand, there will be 60 varieties of the 2,800 ancestral potatoes that are harvested in 19 departments in Peru, in its distinct shapes, texures, colors and they will offer samples of native potatoes in the form of slices or colored chips.
Finally, Arturo Gómez Alarcón, who in addition to posting relevant information about APEC in his blog Fichas de Resumen de Historia [es] and posts a video:
El Perú estará en los ojos del mundo por tres días y ya se tiene casi todo listo para que los líderes, empresarios y periodistas visitantes aprecien el potencial económico y turístico del País de los Incas.
The eyes of the world will be on Peru for the three days and everything is almost ready for the leaders, businesspeople, and journalists to visit and admire the economic and touristic potential of the Country of the Incas.
While the leaders are in route to Lima for the APEC Summit, here are a few more resources about APEC 2008:
The official APEC blog which collects articles from news agencies
The RPP Noticias online special edition about APEC 2008
The Wiki from the newspaper El Comercio
The pdf special supplement from the newspaper La República
The special edition of APEC 2008 from Peru.com

author: Juan Arellano


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Philippines: Bloggers file impeachment case against president · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Several Filipino bloggers have filed an impeachment complaint against the Philippine president. The president is accused of corruption, electoral fraud, betrayal of the Constitution and public trust.

author: Mong Palatino


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Philippines: Typhoid fever downs 77 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

More than 70 persons contracted typhoid fever in Quezon province in the Philippines. The diarrheal disease is linked with contaminated water supply.


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Qatar: Museum of Islamic Arts to Open  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qatar Living announces the opening of the Museum of Islamic Art on November 22. The museum will open its doors to the public on December 1.


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Rain in the Middle East  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

It's raining in the Middle East and bloggers are taking to their keyboards to register their thoughts about the change in climate.
We kick off our round up with Stilettos in the Sand from Saudi Arabia, who writes:
We are in for heavy rain. It has rained quite hard in other parts of the Sandbox, but we've gotten only a few drops and sprinkles, here. Rain is good. We look forward to it and relish it. A good rain cleanses everything and turns the trees green and lush – so much prettier than the tan and gray we are so used to and it controls the dust. If it is overcast all day today and we finally get some rain you will hear no complaining from me!
Our second stop is in Libya, where Khadija Teri welcomes the rain too. She notes:
The rains have finally come, accompanied by lightening and thunder. The weather is cooler and the dust has settled. We'll see how treacherous the roads are today. Usually the first big rains bring on flooding because the drain systems in the roads are clogged with sand and garbage. But never mind – no one expects anyone to be on time in weather like this.
Speaking of treacherous roads, Seabee, from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is happy that this year rain wasn't blamed for road accidents, but that the drivers were.
Here's a picture taken by Seabee showing the dark clouds which gathered in Dubai's sky:
When the first drops fell from the sky, Seabee predicted that the rain will be blamed:
Woke up this morning to a strange darkness, peered out and saw gray clouds and wet ground.
We had the first rain of the season.
So here's a prediction.
Tomorrow's papers will report chaos on the roads, including multiple crashes.
The rain will be to blame.
Motorists will be exonerated. Driving inappropriately in the conditions will not be the cause.
The rain dunnit.
Kuwait too had a change in weather and intlxpatr, who reports that the mornings are chilly, posts this picture of the light fluffy clouds which have gathered in the sky, signaling some rain:
From Israel, Dr Savta also reports nicer weather.
Lately the weather has been beautiful. Yes, even those couple of days of rain were beautiful. The heat of the summer is gone and it’s still warm enough to go out without a sweater. If it were only like this all year round!
But for one Israeli mother, A Soldier's Mother, the rains summon a different feeling. She writes:
Now, the rain means Elie and the soldiers are probably wet; the winter means they may be cold; the summer means they are hot and likely uncomfortable. I've always loved thunder and lightning, the power of the storm fills me with awe. But the world of wind and rain is less friendly when you have a son outside in it.


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Egypt: Sawiris Takes on Switzerland · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Cairo's Scene & Heard celebrated entrepreneur and hotelier Sameh Sawiris's new project in Switzerland saying: “Now that we're branching out into Europe…do you think we stand a chance next to the already existing competition?!?”

author: Marwa Rakha


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Sri Lanka: Censoring the web and Internet · Global Voices
Rezwan

ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) discusses about a proposed law in Sri Lanka restricting private TV broadcasting: “disturbingly, the proposed regulations are a significant challenge to all bloggers in Sri Lanka, since they seek to hold accountable all ISPs for the qualitative nature of the content transmitted, accessed and produced using their networks and further, makes no distinction between IP TV (e.g. SLT’s PeoTV) and TV/televisual content over the web and Internet (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo).”

author: Rezwan


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Syria: Stop Generalisations  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Syria, Maysaloon [dead link/this post has since been deleted] wishes that writers and bloggers will stop generalising when addressing political issues and “stop speaking for ‘most’ or ‘many’ Syrians.”


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Thailand: Blast inside protest site · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An anti-government protester was killed and scores were wounded in a bomb blast Thursday inside a demonstration site in Bangkok. The blast was dropped in the Government House complex. Check out the video clip showing the bomb blast site.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Effects of Flooding  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago bloggers are keeping an eye on the flood waters, here and here.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Gotham City?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's The Liming House blogs about Baby Marisa, who died from a rare but treatable liver problem: “The death of this innocent should rest on all our minds.  Who defends the defenseless?  How is it that a government has basically left a child to die and faces no repercussions?  Is this Trinidad or Gotham?”


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Vietnam/Singapore: Bridal service controversy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Singapore newspaper published an article announcing the discount rate for Vietnam brides. This drew criticism from many Vietnamese individuals and groups: “It's horrible to see them [Vietnamese would-be brides] ‘discounted’ like they are a sack of rice or a pair of shoes.”


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Anguilla, The Cayman Islands: Children’s Rights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Child abuse and neglect is no less a serious and widespread problem in Anguilla than it is in the Cayman Islands”: Corruption-free Anguilla praises the efforts of a Caymanian woman who is asking that the government implement the recommendations of a report linked to the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child.


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Bangladesh: Slum kids visited Germany · Global Voices
Rezwan

In a blog post of The Dhaka Project, an organization supporting children from the slums of Dhaka, you can read about the experience of some of their kids visiting Germany.


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Bolivia: Recent Lynchings Cause Concerns · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A string of lynchings and attempted lynchings around Bolivia has caused a bit of concern around the country.  The latest and most high-profile case [es] took place in the Altiplano town of Achacachi.  Reports say that 11 men and women, who were allegedly accused of robbery were captured by local residents and were set ablaze.  Two of the accused died, and the other 9 were badly burnt, but were saved when soldiers and the town's mayor pleaded that the lynching should stop.
Unfortunately, this is becoming a common scene, which widely shows up on the television news, as Renzo Colanzi writes [es]:
En Bolivia los linchamientos y la toma de la justicia por propia mano, son hechos comunes que se dan en los noticieros a cualquier hora, sin proteger al televidente de la violencia de las imágenes, sin importarle de la sensibilidad de los más pequeños que puedan presenciarlas. Pareciera que todos hemos creado una cierta barrera que nos permite mirar y permanecer impasibles ante estos hechos terribles. Los policías de Cochabamba se quedaron bien muertos y el caso sin culpables. Lo mismo que en Montero y así podemos encontrar situaciones similares en casi cualquier región del país.
In Bolivia, lynching and taking justice into one's own hands, are common events that can be seen on the news at all hours of the day.  The television viewer is not protected from seeing the violent images, and even the smallest child is not protected from watching them.  It would appear that we all have created a certain barrier that allows us to watch and remain passive regarding these terrible events.  The police in Cochabamba remain dead and the case still has no suspects.  It is the same in Montero and we can see similar situations in all regions of the country.
Whether or not lynchings are considered “community justice” is still being debated, and the government has officially condemned the action in Achacachi.  They state that taking another life is not part of the indigenous tradition of “community justice.” However, local residents claim that they have little faith in the “ordinary justice” and must take matters into their own hands or the crime will continue.  There is also widespread concern because the new draft Constitution, which will be voted upon at a January 25 Referendum, stipulates that “community justice” will be a legal and recognized part of the Bolivian judicial system, that lynchings could continue or even increase and used under the defense of “community justice.”
Erika Pinto places the blame on the government [es] for the lynchings.
Por que el presidente morales, tolera la barbarie, se estaba por quemar a una mujer embarazada, emboscaron y llevaron al stadium a un bus a los 11 supuestos ladrones, se veian gente de escasos recursos, muchas mujeres y gente bastante mayor a juzgar por las imagenes.
Es que acaso esto tambien nos da el derecho de cuando los ponchos rojos hagan las barbaridades que hacen poder matarlos a ellos?
O es que acaso la “nueva ley” funciona en un solo sentido?
Se supone que este gobierno era el que nos iba a llevar a un nuevo siglo de progreso pero solo nos esta llevando a la mas atrasada barbarie posible.
Because President Morales tolerates savagery, they were about to burn a pregnant woman, they ambushed them and took the 11 alleged thieves to the stadium. One could see low-income people, many women, and elderly people judging from the images.
Does this also give us the right when the “ponchos rojos” (members of a paramilitary group of Achacachi) make their savage acts to kill them too?
Or does the “new law” only work in one direction?
It was assumed that this government was going to take us towards a new century of progress, but it is only taking us to most backward savagery possible.
Mario Durán writes about a journalist who reminds people that the accused were not without guilt. [es]
Sin embargo, como lo decia la periodista Amalia Pando en Erbol, no eran unos angelitos, pues las personas que fueron capturadas en Achacachi poseian un frondoso prontuario policial… desde robo hasta robo agravado seguido de muerte.
Sin embargo, al igual que se condena la justicia por mano propia se debe condenar al sistema economico que origina la delincuencia.
Nevertheless, as the journalist Amalia Pando of Erbol says, that these people were no angels, those who were captured in Achacachi had a long police record… from robbery to aggravated robbery and even murder.
Nevertheless, as justice by one's own hands is condemened, so should the ecnomic system where delinquency originates should also be condemned.
Many indigenous groups are attempting to protect the reputation of “community justice.”  Via the blog El Alto Noticias [es], blogger Nelson Vilca  [es]interviews a member of the Guarayo indigenous group , who states that “community justice” does not mean “taking another life.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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China: Liberate Taiwan with Sexy PLA · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wang Ning suggested to liberate Taiwan with sexy PLA like these pictures…

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: The Longnan riots and the CCP’s global spin campaign · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Bandurski from China Media Project wrote a report on how the CCP manipulated the mass incident happened in Longnan, Gansu through media. Background about Lungnan protest can be found here.


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Colombia: Indigenous March Arrives to Bogotá · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The indigenous march has arrived to Bogotá and Bogotá Subterranea [es] is welcoming them with open arms.


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Cuba: “Black Spring” Prisoners · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense focuses the spotlight on two of the “Black Spring” political prisoners, here and here.


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Cuba: Love and Marriage  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“With the love nest located in the parents’ house and with a salary that’s not enough to buy any durable or transferable goods, the signed paper and legal stamp that attest to the marriage are of little importance”: Generation Y says that Cubans are experiencing “a loss of the sense of the sanctity of marriage.”


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Environment: Leeks, eggs, fluoride and renewable energy · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Can eating leeks help your singing voice? Intrigued? well  The Ethical co-op blog ponders this, the need to flouridate water, eggs and a new net-metering law in South Africa.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Environment: Obama’s Climate Challenge · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

On ChinaDialogue, Bill McKibben writes about President-elect Obama’s big climate challenge: “As he assumes the US presidency, Barack Obama must make climate-change legislation and investment in green energy his top priorities. He must be ready to take bold — and politically unpopular — action”


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Environment: The Cost of Air Pollution in Arab Countries · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

The Green Prophet writes: “Air pollution from transportation is costing Arab countries $5 billion in damages, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Environment and Water recently announced. The cost is calculated based on the number of deaths, medical care for health problems and chronic diseases that are attributed to air pollution.”


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Hong Kong: Protect University Beacon · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is planning to remove the beacon (a symbol of freedom of speech and intellectual exchange) temporarily to build an underground information center. However, there is no public consultation in the campus. At inmediahk.net (zh) eg9515 wrote a citizen report about the confrontation between the University Principal and the students and hoidick wrote a super detail report on the decision making process. Within one day, there are more than 1,400 signatures (from stake holders) against the university's decision (zh). And a facebook group with more than 3,800 members have been set up to protect the beacon.


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India: Reason for a strike  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hartal, a blog against the culture of frequent strikes in India shows that even the shifting of a bus terminal to a new wider location in a municipality in Kerala can be a reason to stall an entire district with a day long strike.


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India: Sinking A Pirate Ship · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Acorn comments on the incident of Indian Navy Ship Tabar sinking a pirate ship off the coast of Somalia: “taking out a mother ship is a very good thing. But the marine theatre is also getting more dangerous”.


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Iran:Paintings by Shirin Golestaneh  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Nazy Kaviani writes in Iranian.com about Shirin Golestaneh‘s paintings. You can discover her paintings here.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Economic recession? A dejavue. · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

id:norikku225 at Let's survive the subprime shock! (サブプライムショックを生き残ろう！) [ja] comments on news that the Japanese economy has entered a recession, as reported by national [ja] andinternational [en] media. The blogger says that there is nothing new in this and that the scenario has been the same for the last 15 years or so, during which time Japanese have made an art of overcoming recession; that is why investors were not so disturbed when, in the last trimester of July-September, negative economic growth was announced. Norikku225 draws an analogy between Japanese people and the protagonist in a remake of the movie Groundhog Day[en]: they will live the same day over and over until they mend their way of life.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Revision of the Nationality Law · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

On the 4th of June, on the occasion of cases filed in 2003 [en] and in 2005 whose protagonists were 10 children born out of wedlock to Japanese fathers and Filipino mothers, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an article of the Nationality Law[en] because it infringes on Article 14 of the Constitution [en], which grants the right to equality. According to the article, while a child born in wedlock to a Japanese father and a foreign mother is in every respect recognized as a Japanese citizen, before the June 4th decision children born out of wedlock were only recognized as Japanese citizens if paternity had been confirmed before the child's birth.
On the 18th of November, after this historical ruling by the Supreme Court, a bill [jp] was passed by the House of Representatives to amend Article 3 of the Nationality Law. However, while the enactment of the bill by the House of Councilors is expected by the 30th of November, many voices have been raised in opposition to it.
Responding to these protests, Hideo Ogura at la_causette posted an entry titled: “Opposing to the revision of the Nationality Law, Clause 1, Article 3 is a waste of energy” (国籍法３条１項の改正に反対することはエネルギーの無駄である). In it he refers to the nationalist movement born on the Internet which opposes the decision of the the Supreme Court [en] and the subsequent amendment of the Law.
最高裁判所の違憲判決を受けて行われている国籍法改正について，相変わらずの人たちによる反対運動がネットを中心に熱心に行われているようです。
ただ，なんだか無駄なエネルギーを使っているようにしか私には見えません。というのも，上記国籍法改正を阻止できたところで，彼らが望んでいる社会にはならないからです
[…] すなわち，上記国籍法改正を阻止してみたところで，法務局を困らせることにしか繋がらないのであって，仮にこの反対運動並び右派国会議員等からの圧力に屈してこの種の国籍取得届に対して国籍取得を認めない旨の通知を発する法務局が現れたところで，子供の親と法務局と裁判所に訴訟のための無駄な費用と労力をかけさせるだけに終わるのです（最高裁の大法廷で下された合憲限定解釈に敢えて逆らおうとする下級審というのもあまりいないように思いますし。）。
ある種のゼノフォビアのために，国に無駄な仕事をさせようとする人々を，「愛国者」と呼ぶことに，私は大いなる躊躇を感じます。


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Macau: Say No to Article 23 and White Terror · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Macau SAR government issued a draft bill enacting Article 23 of the Macau Basic Law in October. The Law is very sensitive and it would affect every citizen's freedom and rights.  Now it is supposed to be the public consultation period, but it seems that the government has been giving pressure to independent social groups, organizations and universities to prevent them from having open discussion. However, in spite of all the pressure, activists urge to rally on 23 of Nov (this weekend) against the legislation.
Public forum canceled
Chong from inmediahk.net was supposed to attend a public forum organized by a group of Macau University student this weekend on 22 of November, however he got an email this morning saying that the forum has been canceled because they couldn't find a venue.
According to Chong's report at inmediahk.net:
這個活動原來是由一群熱心同學舉辦的，即『關你廿三事』活動籌備小組，但他們想有學生會的名義，辦起事來比較方便，所以把幾個學生團體找來，包括澳大學生會、澳門科技大學學生會、澳門高等校際學院同學會、澳門理工學院公共行政高等學校學生。可是，現在澳大學生臨時「縮沙」，令活動胎死腹中。
很難令人相信，取消的原因跟場地有任何關係。我後來從小道消息處得知，十一月二十日，澳大校方有人打電話給澳大學生會，要求它取消這個活動，若有不從，後果如何，我未能得知。而澳大學生會中人則害怕會遭受校方處分，昨夜臨時找了籌備小組的人開會，決定不搞了，而且還於當晚即時發公告取消。
Below is a poster for the forum:
Protect University's autonomous space
Chong makes some suggestions to follow up the issue:
1. 澳大學生及老師應該要去質問澳大學生會，是否受到校方的壓力，才作出如此倉卒決定？亦該質問校方，是否在暗地裡壓制學生及學生團體的言論自由及活動自由！
2. 澳門公民團體也應該加入，向澳門政府質詢，是否政府有向校方施壓，禁止公開討論廿三條，並要求政府保證大學自主，以及澳門的言論自由！
3. 澳門公民身體力行，繼續公開討論廿三條立法的各種問題。
2. Civic groups from Macau should post questions to the government and check out if the government has been involved in giving pressure to the university for repressing the discussion on article 23. They need to demand the government to ensure the autonomous space in university and freedom of speech in Hong Kong.
3. Macau citizens should continue to discuss the problems of article 23 in the public.
He also points out that what he has encountered is not an isolated incident:
澳門的「國家安全」還未到，白色恐怖已到來！連公開討論的權利也遭壓制，這是個怎樣的社會？在此前，我也收到消息，澳門天主教教友協進會屬下的《澳門觀察報》曾於十五日辦了一個討論會，原來打算邀請香港的天主教正義和平委員會（簡稱正委）代表，大家份屬天主教，是很正常的選擇。可是，在討論會前幾天，正委突然收到訊息「不要來了」。究竟讓正委來澳出席區區一個論壇，有何大不了？實在不得而知，只是據聞，這是來自澳門天主教上層人士的意思，而澳門天主教高層也跟北京政府及特區政府很「要好」。
What's the rush?
Bobo, also from inmediahk.net, wrote a citizen report in early November with some statistical information about the public knowledge of this bill:
澳門街坊總會日前向一千多名居民調查，只有六成受訪者知道政府推出《維護國家安全法》草案，對草案有所瞭解的受訪者不足五成。而建設澳門聯盟亦發現絕大多數澳門巿民對澳門基本法廿三條認識不足，調查結果顯示，對基本法23條的認識「幾少」、「好少」、「完全唔認識」合共 85.4%；「完全認識」、「好多」、「幾多」合共僅佔9.1%，這說明這草案需要更多民間的討論。
Since Hong Kong government has decided to defer the enacting of Article 23 until there is public consensus, China briefing wondered why Macau has to go ahead of Hong Kong to implement the bill:
Given no signs of an epidemic terrorism or separatism wave sweeping Macau, one is left to wonder the urgency a security bill as intrusive as Article 23 is needed for. Then of course, gamblers are highly suspect people with a record of government overthrow and sabotage…
Rally on 23 of November!
A few independent voices can be found on the internet against the legislation and drafted bill. Funny sister gives a summary of the bill and concluded that:
總括黎講…佢廿三條立法之後就連言論自由都冇!我地就冇曬可以表達ga自由,連去遊行都唔可以亂講野!如果唔係又俾佢話我地呢d星豆市民反政府!!!!
Tennedy posts two ads on his blog, one is urging Macau citizen to stand up against the legislation, the other one is about the rally on 23 of Nov:
人權、自由是人類生存的基本權利，
共產黨式的封閉主義已經沒落，
請各澳門朋友們發起大遊行，
要求澳門政府停止23條立法，
澳門人也是人，澳門人站起來，
齊來保障自己的人權!!!!!
讓國際傳媒知道，澳門市民是不支持這條惡法!!
Let the international media knows about this, that Macau people don't support this evil law!
Netizen survey: more than 70% opposes legislation
While the Macau government said that 65% of the citizens supported the legislation, grhvonkqyk from cyberctm forum invites internet users to vote on the bill, and more than 74% (3pm 21 of Nov) has voted against the bill.
In the discussion thread, SIOCF pointed out that
如果這是一個真正開放ge國家我無所謂
但是我們所身處的是一個假開放國家假民主ge社會
事問聲如果我們不反對的話
可想而知,我們沒有未來可言
Tang Nan zeng said that:
我认为，目前为某条立法的时机未到，实现普选之后再立未迟。
1 shot 2 kills worried about the execution of the law:
23條立法唔係問題
點樣去執法先係問題…
甚麼煽動、顛覆、國家機密
好似得你講冇我講~你話係就係
分分鐘自己衰乜都唔就話要拉要鎖
係咁o既環境之下~你叫人點會唔憂慮
不過澳門d權貴、擦鞋仔話要立
我o地d小蟻民邊有討價能力~
要立就立~結果都係一樣
o係度扮晒o野假咨詢o米仲核突~
Hong Kong Journalists Association's statement
The Hong Kong Journalists Association has made a public statement on the Macau article 23:
To ensure adequate and continued freedom of expression and freedom of the press as well as continued protection of Macau correspondents of Hong Kong’s news media and Hong Kong reporters who may go to Macau for reporting purposes, it is our view that some revisions are necessary to the draft newly-released for public consultation by the Macau Government. For instance we believe there is a need to be more specific in Article 6 of the draft (theft of state secrets) by adding “national and public interest” as “reasonable excuse” or “reasonable immunity” to ensure a proper balance between the needs of national security and freedom of expression as well as freedom of the press.


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Nepal: Nepathaya · Global Voices
Rezwan

Popular Nepalese music band Nepathaya has a blog where an interview with its soloist Amrit Gurung was published.


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Pakistan: The politics of condemnation · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chowrangi protests the ineffective condemnation by the Pakistan government against the US drone and missile attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan. The blog suggests that there is more behind this habitual condemnation as these attacks are on the rise.


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Religious unity: The Charter for Compassion · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

As children we may all have heard the Golden Rule expressed in many different ways, but the basic idea is: Treat others as you would like to be treated. This is Karen Armstrong's TED wish, to create a platform in which the different Abrahamic faiths could focus on what was common to all, the moral backbone of all their faiths towards a greater unity and better communication among people of different faiths. The Charter of Compassion is requesting stories of unity and compassion to be uploaded on their site, written or in video form, and that together, people may write this Charter of Compassion a document where this new image will be established, signed by sages and religious leaders. Different sections of the charter are opened on different dates, so feel free to stop by the site and write your perspective on the issue.
Karen Armstrong is a British born former Catholic nun who has written many books on Muslim faith and has taught in the Leo Baeck rabbinic college: this inter-faith knowledge led her on the path towards bringing this project into fruition. Her acceptance speech video is on YouTube, and in it she speaks about this desire of hers to work for the unity of the different faiths, to make religion work towards universal harmony:
The Charter for Compassion's YouTube channel already has some inspirational videos by people in Pakistan. Samia Shoaib shares her own personal compassion story of how we are all interconnected and what happens to our neighbor or someone down the street does concern us:
Arshad Mahmood also speaks from his Muslim faith, in how people should concern themselves about the fate of others, and how discrimination against those of a different faith should not take place:
The Charter for Compassion has opened the call for submissions where people can also tell their stories of compassion and change the image of religion as a harborer of intolerance, showing the world that compassion is and will be the cornerstone of religion, and the way towards change. You can participate by offering information in different languages so the message can get to more people, and by making a video with a story where compassion is featured, or writing your opinion or perspective on the Charter itself.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Russia: PayPal “Still Half Usable For Many” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Svetlana Gladkova writes at Profy that “the difference between a US user of PayPal and a user from Russia is huge.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines:  Getting the Dish  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Growing up I was made to believe that roast breadfruit and saltfish was the national dish of St Vincent and the Grenadines”: Abeni says that local culinary fare is facing some competition.


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

This Beach Called Life suggests that the members of Trinidad and Tobago's government are “Gods of The Good Times”: “The bad and hard times fall squarely on the lap of the real God and the opposition.”


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China: Baidu’s new scandal. · Global Voices
Tao

CCTV reported that Baidu, referred to as China's Google, had accepted money from illegal medical companies and placed their Web links on top of search results. Baidu’s marketing employees were also reported to have the knowledge of these.The service is called page-rank bid and accounts for more than 80% of the company’s revenue. The company’s business model, “which inserts ads in the natural search result without notice, has long been criticized for destroying the integrity of the search engine,” adds China Daily.On previous milk scandal, Baidu was said to have censored news in exchange for payment from dairy companies, said ChinaSmack.  CCTV reports page-rank bid of Baidu. The price of Baidu has lost 37.5 percent after the state TV reports that companies, including unlicensed medical firms and hospitals, pay Baidu in order to appear around the top of keyword search results.  However, Beijing News viewed CCTV's reports from another aspect:
有时候很难分别企业是不是合法，因为非法企业可能伪装得很好，蒙骗了央视或者百度。央视对百度的曝光，从某种意义上说就是两家企业竞争广告市场份额。在百度未兴盛之前，央视等传统媒体的广告份额很大，网络的兴盛使得百度这样的企业也能从央视抢广告份额。所以笔者看来，央视曝光百度很容易理解，这至少有两个方面的好处，一是作为媒体的功能所在；二是降低竞争对手的信誉以便争取市场份额。
After CCTV reports, Baidu unveiled its response quickly in a conference call with analysts last night and promised to design a new system that more clearly separates its paid links from ordinary search results.China Journalreports.
“We are doing this because we care. It is important to us. We want to be a responsible corporate citizen,” said Baidu chief executive Robin Li.
Tianya blogger 阿杜在线 updu.com.cn calls for regulations to supervise powerful companies like Baidu.
只有一只独大，才会导致垄断、才能取得话语权、定价权，才有恶意屏蔽的资本。但是一支独大的现象是不可避免的，因此就更加需要媒体的监督，也需要相关法律法规来制约。
常平changping has another comment.
很多网站都是从纯商业起家，尽管它们从一开始就发挥着信息发布、观点讨论的功能，却没有传统媒体职业规则的负担，可以相对单纯地考虑商业运作.

author: Tao


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Denmark: “Deep Linking” Under Fire by Newspaper Publishers · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Blogging journalists in Denmark are up in arms over a renewed effort by Danish newspaper publishers to stop websites like Google News from linking to individual articles rather than a newspaper's homepage. They call this “deep linking”, and it is precisely what bloggers usually do. Regardless of what is considered normal practice around the world, the Danish Association of Newspaper Publishers insist they only want homepage links, so they can better control the user experience.
Specifically, the Danish Newspaper Publishers Association are frustrated that Google News in Denmark wants to list and link to articles of Danish newspapers without paying them royalties.
Danish blogger, Peter Svarre writes, “AAAARRRRGH!” upon reading arguments against Google News.
I don’t really know whether I am in a state of shock, despair or outright frustrated rage, but after reading an article in Politiken I just realized that the traditional Danish media or at least the editorial board of [newspaper] Berlingske Tidende seems to have understood nothing and learned nothing of the last five years development on the Internet. What seems to be common sense and ordinary street knowledge for media and advertising people in New York is apparently exotic, dangerous, and threatening lore to the established Danish Media industry.
There was a similar dispute in Belgium in 2006-7, when newspapers there took Google News to court and according to Finfacts threatened to fine them €1 million a day if they kept linking. In Denmark, there are also precedents. In 2002, the Danish Newspaper Publishers Association took a Danish web company, Newsbooster, to court for emailing links to news articles to their customers. Newsbooster was forced to shut down.
Blogger Ricco Førgaard at Fiskeben.dk [Da] said in May:
Det er tydeligt, at disse såkaldte medier ikke har forstået en pind og ikke er kommet ud af 1994 endnu. De har ikke forstået, at det er trafikken på hjemmesiden, som sælger de (irriterende) reklamer, som efter sigende skal være med til at financiere nyhederne.
On Medieblogger, Lars K Jensen quotes [Da] from a recent email discussion on the mailing list of the Danish Online News Association (DONA), where the chief legal adviser from the Danish Union of Journalists, Anne Louise Schelin, responded to a question about the official rules for citation and linking.
Schelin advised, that one should never link to anything but a website's homepage, even in an email to colleagues about a specific article. The only redeeming factor would be whether a link could be considered “loyal,” she said, referring to a Danish court case between two real estate websites from 2006.
Others on the mailing list vehemently disagreed. One called it “nonsense from the fax generation”. Blog editor of Politiken newspaper, Kim Elmose published his response in his personal blog Mediehack, calling the resistance to deep linking counter productive, and pointed to the irony that most Danish journalists use Google News as a tool themselves.
Lars K Jensen asks in Medieblogger:
Tilbage sidder jeg med spørgsmålet: Hvad er et illoyalt link? Hvem definerer, hvornår et link er loyalt eller illoyalt?
Et link er vel et link?
And now I am left with the question. What is an un-loyal link? Who defines when a link is loyal or not?
Isn't a link just a link?
* Photo above of Danish newspapers is by Jacob Bøtter on Flickr.

author: Solana Larsen


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Egypt: New Blogs  · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Zeinobia, from Egypt, introduces three new blogs in this post.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egyptian Blogger is Missing · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Zeinobia writes: “The famous Egyptian MB blogger Mohamed Adel aka Meit is reportedly missing. No one seems to know for sure where he is currently. Of course the speculations are saying that the State Security has something with this sudden disappearance especially the S.S came and searched his house.”


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MENA: How to deal with Somali piracy? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Last week a Saudi supertanker was hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Kenya, making it the largest ship ever to have been seized in this way. The problem of Somali piracy is growing; in this post we hear bloggers’ reactions from around the Middle East.
Saudi blogger Ahmed Ba Aboud wants Arab nations, and international bodies, to do something about the reasons for the increase in piracy:
Syrian blogger Maysaloon believes there is more to the story than meets the eye:
Apparently this Somali piracy issue has only become a problem since 2005, around the time that somebody started supplying the men with fast white speedboats. There is probably some truth to this, and somebody is probably making a lot of money out of this, so the actual pirates are getting only a fraction of the takings. Still, there are huge sums of money being paid in ransoms, lots of good which are being stolen and I'm not so sure I understand how well these goods are being sold in a country with practically no infrastructure. Recently a shipment of Russian tanks was also seized. Interesting that Somalia was only recently “liberated” by Ethiopian troops with US blessings.
Iraqi blogger Roads to Iraq also has a conspiracy theory, translating some opinions found on Arabic news sites:
There is some truth behind Yemen accusations of Western countries with ignoring the piracy to internationalize the Red Sea. … This is also what Al-Akhbar reported today saying:
Western fleets raises doubts about the nature of their mission… Puntland’s Minister of ports, Nur Said, the West fleet led by the United near the coast of Somalia was involved in the increasing piracy operation…Chairman of the Red Sea shipping company, Abdul Majeed Matar, recalled how the commander of a British warship, called the company to tell them the details of hijacking the company’s ship (Al-Mansoura) rather than to militarily intervene to prevent the operation.
The last clue is reported on Al-Sharq Al-Awsat by asking one of the pirates, who revealed:
Some countries provide the pirates with information about the routes of the ships in the area.
John Burgess, who writes about Saudi Arabia at Crossroads Arabia, reports on the kingdom's plans to get more involved in the attempts to control piracy:
Saudi Arabia has decided that it needs to play its fair role in confronting international piracy, particularly after the hijacking of Sirius Star, the Saudi-owned supertanker seized over the weekend. The tanker, which holds 1/4 of one day’s production of Saudi oil is being held off the coast of Somalia. While Saudi Arabia’s Navy is small, it does have ‘blue water’ capabilities. It can take part in anti-piracy patrols and is sufficiently armed to sink any pirate vessel, from attack boats to ‘mother ships’ from which they descend. The Saudi Navy is probably not large enough to do port-to-port escort duty, even for only the super-est of tankers, but might manage shorter escorts, through particularly dangerous waters. […] The new Saudi assertiveness is pretty hot. Arab News, in an editorial, does call for attacks on the port cities of Somalia that are hosting the pirate fleets. And yes, ‘collateral damage’ is always a possibility when military action is taken. I don’t see any way to get around that. But perhaps if Arab armed forces were required to face up to that reality, it might change some of the overblown rhetoric about other unintended casualties in other wars.
In his post John Burgess mentioned that the Indian Navy sank a pirate ‘mother ship’ earlier this week, and commenter ratherdashing quipped:
Apparently the defense of shipping lanes has been outsourced to India just like everything else.
American-born Israeli Yisrael Medad is looking at the situation from a different angle:
If these [Arab] countries can't handle a dozen pirates, what can we expect against Iran going nuclear?
Jordanian blogger Hareega wants to offer the pirates a little encouragement – by linking to a Japanese animated version of Treasure Island he watched as a child:
To watch the clip, click here.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Humanitarian crisis in south Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The escalation of conflict between government troops and Muslim separatist rebels in several areas of Mindanao Island has affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. Mindanao is located in south Philippines.
The intensified fighting began after a peace agreement was rejected by many politicians, and finally by the Philippine Supreme Court. Critics believe the agreement was unconstitutional since it would compromise the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines. They added that the agreement would pave the way for the establishment of a separate Moro-controlled state within the territories of the country.
Angered by the rejection of the agreement, a rebel commander attacked military posts which produced civilian casualties. The government retaliated by launching offensives against the territories controlled by the rebels.
The fighting has not stopped. More than 610,000 people have been displaced already. The non-stop fighting has created several “ghost towns” in some provinces of Mindanao. The situation of refugees is deteriorating. Children are among those who are suffering the most.
Volunteer Sarah Matalam posts pictures of evacuation centers in Cotabato province:
Muslim groups want the government to stop the indiscriminate air strikes by the military. Like a Rolling Store uploads a report by a humanitarian mission which visited several evacuation sites in Mindanao:
“The offensives have led to mass evacuations. In the evacuation centers, the displaced persons suffer from inadequate facilities. Most of them have set up tents in whatever public place available. With heavy rains and flooding now common at this time of year, many child evacuees are sick with cough, cold, fever, and diarrhea. A number of evacuees have died of disease. There is also the trauma experienced by the evacuees, particularly the children.”
Dr. Carol Araullo, a member of the humanitarian mission, emphasizes that more help is needed:
“The hunger, sickness and generalized misery; the listlessness, the yearning to go back to their farms and homes safely; the appeal for a return to normalcy, for an end to the military restrictions over their comings and goings – these images and plaints became etched in our minds and hearts as we went from one evacuation center to another.
“Scores of victims of human rights abuses were interviewed: those wrongfully arrested, those beaten up because they were rebel suspects or so that they would point to the rebels/rebel sympathizers; those whose relatives had been killed or were injured in the course of the government’s drive to flush out the “rogue elements” of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front; those whose houses and other properties had been destroyed.
“After the teams had tallied the numbers of patients treated, families given relief goods and victims of human rights violations attended to, we came to the sobering conclusion that what the Mission had achieved was a mere drop in the bucket compared to the overwhelming needs.”
Journalist Edwin Espejo was affected by what he witnessed:
“Deep into the heart of the conflict, trails of destruction – burnt houses, abandoned homes and ubiquitous presence of checkpoints and war materiel – are eerie testaments of the war.
“Of course, we are living in troubled times and disturbing scenes are fast numbing one’s senses. Many would argue that journalists covering the conflict in Mindanao cannot afford to be emotionally attached to events unfolding before their very eyes.
“Yet one cannot totally dissociate his or her self from realizing that the war is affecting not only the combatants from both sides of the conflicts. It is also sublimely creating different levels of consciousness and commitment on journalists covering the war and affecting the quality of their reportage.”
Reckons of Spring writes that while Manila politicians are debating, the people of Mindanao are suffering:
“While many of the politicians and top government officials based in Manila are busy in expressing their contrasting opinions about the issues related to the “ancestral domain”, I wonder how the displaced locales of North Cotabato and neighboring provinces are faring. Do they have any food to ease their hunger? Do they have any medicine or medical attention to ease their pains? Can they ever sleep amidst the horror of the ongoing circumstances, or to simplify my question, can they find a shelter, no matter how temporary it is- for a night's sleep?”
The fighting is turning uglier everyday. An Al Jazeera team has learned that the government has been recruiting vigilantes to fight the rebels:
“Civilians are being given jobs normally the preserve of the police and army at an alarming rate across Mindanao. In North Cotabato Al Jazeera met some new recruits being put through their paces in a military-backed militia programme that normally takes three months. This training programme has been accelerated to just six weeks in order to fill what the authorities regard as a security vacuum.”
Watch the report of Al Jazeera:
And Part II of the report:
The rebel commander who is probably the most wanted man in the Philippines today insists in a video interview that it was government troops who first attacked the rebels.
Another controversy is the alleged involvement of US troops in the fighting. Himagsik Kayumanggi reports:
“US Special Forces were sighted inside the 64th Infantry Battalion Camp in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao. Bai Ali Indayla of the Moro human rights group Kawagip testified that the soldiers were engaged in covert operations, such as the supervision of drones or spy planes and predator missile strikes. This was confimed by Major Gen. Eugenio Cedo, then commander of the Western Mindanao Command. As usual, the US Embassy denied that the soldiers were involved in actual combat; they were only responding to the military request for aerial surveillance to determine conditions of the terrain and visibility, for “future civil-military projects,” to quote Rebecca Thompson, US Embassy Information Officer.”
Peace advocates want both parties – the government and Muslim rebels – to call for a ceasefire. There is an online petition asking the government to cease its military operations in Mindanao. A letter was sent to the Holy Pope to intervene. The Philippines is a Catholic-dominated country:
“We hope that Your Holiness could help us bring peace and justice to our brothers and sisters in Mindanao by expressing concern about the unfolding humanitarian crisis and appeal for restraint for the protection of all civilians, as well as for the opening of access for the provision of speedy humanitarian assistance to the affected population.”
Mindanao bloggers have vowed to blog for peace. Journalist Walter Balane has a message for bloggers:
“Blogging might not only be limited to blogging about Mindanao and its peoples but also helping the “voiceless” learn to blog so they, too, can blog about themselves.
“Of course it would be extremely difficult for existing Mindanao bloggers to access many of the areas safely and for the people in communities to approach which local bloggers can help them.
But bloggers must continue to try linking them and engaging them for mutual respect and understanding in an effort to connect more and more people.
Many of us who are already blogging about the voiceless must continue doing it and infect others to do the same.
We can focus on a Mindanao consciousness that is more inclusive, not exclusive.”


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Hungary, Slovakia: Tense Relationship · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Nov. 15, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart, Ferenc Gyurcsány, met in the border town of Komárno, Slovakia, in an attempt to ease nationalist tensions that have escalated due to Nov. 1 football game violence in Dunajská Streda, Slovakia.
Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum has been blogging a lot recently about the Slovak-Hungarian relations, and here are some of the highlights.
On Nov. 1, Eva provided details and background on the football game incident:
While families made their yearly pilgrimage to cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of relatives about five hundred Hungarian soccer fans went to the southern Slovak town of Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely) to create trouble. The town, situated fairly close to the Slovak-Hungarian border, is predominantly Hungarian. Of the 23,000 inhabitants the Slovak population is no more than about 3,000.
The soccer match between Slovan Bratislava and the locals was unlikely to be a nailbiter. But the stadium, seating 10,000, was filled. One thousand people came from Bratislava and there was a contingent of 500 from Hungary. The Slovak police must have known that trouble was brewing because about 1,000 policemen were ordered to the scene. […] The Bratislava group was attacked en route: rocks were thrown at them. Some people were arrested at that junction.
The Hungarians called attention to themselves by displaying signs saying: Perseverence (Kitartás). Unfortunately that was the customary greeting of Hungarian Nazis in the late 30's and 40's. The stadium was full about an hour before kickoff, and the two sides spent the time screaming obscenities at each other. Just before the match began the locals and the Hungarian visitors sang the Hungarian national anthem. At last play started, but after eighteen minutes the referee had to stop the match because the people from Bratislava threw a smoke bomb onto the field. […]
On Nov. 9, Eva noted that it was “difficult to know exactly what happened” when the Slovak police chose to interfere:
[…] Each side has its own story. The Hungarian “fans” claim that there was no disturbance in their sector of the arena and that the Slovak police brutally attacked them without reason. The videos that circulated on the Internet indeed show Slovak policemen using their nightsticks rather indiscriminately on the retreating Hungarians. But I'm a cautious sort, and there is a very good possibility that the video segment we see doesn't tell the whole story. Moreover, the breakdown of arrestees indicates that the Slovak police were not kinder to their own extremists. About the same number of Slovaks and Hungarians were arrested and later released. […]
In Hungary, people were “outraged” by the presumed actions of the Slovak police:
[…] Yes, they do admit that it was not appropriate to go to Slovakia with pictures of Greater Hungary, a Hungary that included as part of its territory present-day Slovakia, then known as the Upland (Felvidék). And, yes, it was provocative to display irredentist slogans. But, they add, neither justified the use of brutal force. […]
On Nov. 3, an ultra-nationalist rally was held in Budapest:
[…] They gathered close to 1,000 people in front of the Slovak embassy, burned at least one Slovak flag, and displayed  signs demanding “Death to Ján Slota.” Ján Slota, head of SNS (Slovak National Party), is not a nice man. Hungarians are high up on his hate list, but Gypsies and homosexuals are not exactly his favorites either. He considers the Hungarian minority in Slovakia “a cancer in the body of the Slovak nation,” and a couple of times he alluded to the joy he would feel someday moving into Budapest inside of a tank. Every time Slota says something outrageous all of Hungary listens. Before the current coalition which includes Slota's party came to power in 2006, Hungarian-Slovak relations were cordial. But, of course, then the coalition partner was MKP (Magyar Koalició Pártja/Strana Mad'arsklek Koalícije), a party of the Hungarian minority. […]
On Nov. 12, Eva wrote pessimistically about the upcoming meeting between the prime ministers of the two sabre-rattling neighbor nations:
At last. After months and months of strained relations between Slovakia and Hungary the two prime ministers agreed to meet. […]
[…]
What can the meeting between Fico and Gyurcsány achieve? As far as I can see, nothing. […]
She also commented on the Hungarian politicians’ stance:
[…] To wit, the Hungarian government and all the parties condemn the recent actions of the Hungarian extreme right. They are against Hungarian nationalism, they are against extremists entering Slovakia in Nazi uniforms. They are also against these little Nazis marching up and down in Hungary, but what can the Hungarian government do? […]
There were cases of dissent, however, as Eva pointed out in her Nov. 14 post:
[…] Predictably, Hungarian politicians are not of one mind on the recent incidents in Slovakia. To give only one example. A Fidesz member of parliament, Béla Túri-Kovács, is demanding the resignation of a colleague, Mátyás Eörsi of [SZDSZ], who is the chairman of the parliamentary committee on European affairs. Eörsi went to Slovakia for a meeting with his Slovak counterparts. He said that both sides should accept some blame for the incidents and did a mea culpa on behalf of Hungary. Well, Túri-Kovács sure didn't like this admission of guilt. […]
The right-wing Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union, mentioned in the passage above, is Hungary's largest opposition party; an earlier GV roundup of Hungarian Spectrum‘s posts on Fidesz politics is here. Also, in this post, Eva discussed an article on the “managers of populism” – Austria's late Jörg Haider, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, and Slovakia's Robert Fico – written by sociologist Pál Tamás.
In her Nov. 15 post, Eva put part of the blame for the Hungarian government's failure to rein in “small but vocal and active far-right groups” on Fidesz:
[…] One problem is that there is no united political resolve to deal with the extremists. Viktor Orbán and his party, Fidesz, are masters of double-talk which encourages the extremists. If Fidesz doesn't unequivocally support the extremists, the party doesn't condemn them either. Or if they say something negative, they add: “but one can understand their frustration.” After all, Orbán needs their votes. The extreme right is much larger than the few hundred people who are ready to go out on the street to demonstrate. According to one recent sociological study, those with extreme right-wing sentiments may be as high as 20% of the population though only 5% are ready to take part in demonstrations that may end in violence. The rest just watch and cheer their friends on. […]
[…]
The only hope is the force of public opinion. But it surely would be easier if Fidesz openly and without reservation stood alongside the government in condemning these extremists. Alas, that is not in the party's interest at the moment.
As for the meeting between Fico and Gyurcsány, it resulted in a joint statement, in which the two leaders pledged to take steps towards eliminating “any kind of extremism, xenophobia, intolerance, chauvinism, nationalism and every manifestation of violence.” Eva commented on the meeting's outcome in her Nov. 16 post:
[…] Let's face it, this is not much, although surely it is better than nothing. As far as I know, the Hungarians wanted to have a satisfactory explanation of “police brutality” at the soccer match as well as assurances of a more balanced treatment of Hungarian history in Hungarian-language schools. They were also unhappy about the ban on Hungarian flags at games […]. None of these demands was met. Fico didn't arrive with any proof that the Hungarian soccer fans used physical violence prior to the police attack on their ranks. Fico didn't budge on the flag issue. […] While Gyurcsány complained about the nationalistic, anti-Hungarian rhetoric of the Slovak government, Fico voiced his indignation over the appearance of uniformed Hungarian extremists on Slovak soil. […]
In her Nov. 18 post, Eva wrote about the media coverage of the meeting:
[…] However, it seems that Robert Fico was dissatisfied with the Slovak reporters who were present at the rather stormy press conference after the Komarno meeting. The same evening he, together with the president of the republic and the speaker of the Slovak parliament, appeared on Slovak public television (STV) and accused the Slovak journalists of having tossed softballs to Gyurcsány; they did not represent the interests of Slovakia. The Hungarian journalists, perhaps not surprisingly, believed that Gyurcsány came out better from the verbal duel. […]
Commentators whose sympathies lie with the right keep repeating an old Hungarian adage that can be summarized as “nobody understands us.” This is usually uttered when it becomes obvious that western reporters can easily grasp that police at violent soccer matches often act violently and that uniformed paramilitary groups have no place anywhere, especially not in a neighboring country. These commentators usually continue that the West simply can't understand the complexities of Slovak-Hungarian relations. […]


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Latvia and Estonia: Views of the Economic Crisis · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Veiko Spolitis of Baltic reviews Latvia's economic crisis, the warnings of international financial institutions, and how Latvian politicians have responded to them. BabelTallinn accounts for an official view on how the crisis has affected Estonia.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia: Newspaper Warned off for Extremism · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Finrosforum draws attention to Russian authorities warning mainstream newspaper Vedomosti against publishing extremist content.


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Russia: Rise of Orthodox Militia · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Sean's Russia Blog writes about Moscow Patriarch's plans to found an Orthodox People's Militia serving the Church. WindowonEurasia and Windows to Russia! continue the discussion.


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Armenia/Azerbaijan: Journalists Under Attack · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Beaten in Armenia and imprisoned in Azerbaijan, journalists in the ex-Soviet South Caucasus know the price of freedom. Some of them are even fighting from prison cells, wrestling state persecution and challenging societal intolerance for dissent. Bloggers tell the story of free speech in the South Caucasus.
Mark Grigorian [RU], an Armenian journalist in exile, blogs from England. Writing in Russian, he comments on the 17 November attack  on prominent investigative journalist Edik Baghdasaryan.
Только что узнал: в Ереване трое неизвестных напали на журналиста Эдика Багдасаряна.
[…]
Эдик не боится говорить правду. Он говорит ее, открыто, спокойно, глядя собеседнику в глаза, подтверждая свои слова документами и фактами. Представляю, как это может раздражать. Но и рад, что в Армении есть такой журналист.
Дай Бог, чтобы это нападение не испугало его.
И дай Бог, чтобы ничего серьезного с ним не было, и он поскорее выздоровел.
Я очень высоко ценю цикл статей Эдика о трафикинге. Это было несколько лет назад. Группа журналистов под его руководством смогла проследить, как девушек из Армении отправляют в Дубаи, где они занимаются проституцией. Эдик прошел всю дорогу, начиная от сутенеров в Армении, потом через перевалочные пункты, где девушек снабжали фальшивыми паспортами, и до Дубаи, где они “работали”.
May God not let this attack scare him.
And may God help that nothing serious happens to him, and that he recovers soon.
I price Edik’s series on human trafficking very highly. It was several years ago. A group of journalists under his leadership were able to observe how girls from Armenia were being sent to Dubai, where they work as prostitutes. Edik documented the whole path, starting with pimps in Armenia then going through transfer points where girls were transported by false passports to Dubai, where they “worked.”
Another blogger, gago-berlin [AM], also offers admiration for Edik’s work. Writing in Armenian using the Latin keyboard, the blogger compares the journalist to a war hero killed during the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
yes &anachm em Baghdasaryanin miayn ir site-ic u nyuteric, inq[ mec gorc a anum, inq[ mec mard a, yerevi qajutyamb kareli a iren hamematel Monte Melkoniani het…
Unzipped posts YouTube video showing Edik Baghdasaryan getting first aid after the attack while former colleague Ara Manoogian at Martuni or Bust writes about the attack on his “longtime friend” by posting several articles detailing and condemning the assault.
Another US-born Armenia-based blogger, Christian Garbis at Notes from Hairenik, comments as well.
Edik, who is originally from Shushi, is perhaps the most widely respected investigative journalist in Armenia today. His gutsy, bold articles blatantly expose the corruption lying at the core of the Armenian government in the most minute detail, often citing financial figures of dodgy accounting reports released by businesses known to be owned by government ministers with ties to the underworld. His reporters have also written extensively about the hardships affecting the lives of thousands of people living in rural areas of the country as a result of poor governance and local officials skimming off the top of government funding. […]
[…]
Edik is so revered in Armenian society that even the presidential office released a statement condemning the attack. Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian visited Edik in the hospital and also conveyed his concerns to the press, vowing to capture the assailants.
[…] These attacks have been going on for years, mainly against those reporters who try to expose the roots of corruption at the governmental level. It is an outrage and totally unacceptable that these attacks continue.
While the attack in Armenia has resulted in widespread anger and concern, blogs are almost silent on the continous persecution against journalists in Azerbaijan. On my Blogian I summarize reports from Russian-language Azeri websites.
While government-controlled AzTV says it will stop broadcasting “Voice of America,” an Azerbaijani court has sentenced Ali Hasanov, editor of Ideal newspaper, to 6 months in prison. According to the Russian-language Day.az, Hasanov was subpoenaed after Azerbaijan’s Press Union forwarded written complaints against Ideal to the prosecutor’s office. He was handcuffed during his November 14, 2008 hearing and placed behind bars.
The lawyer of another jailed Azeri journalist says the authorities are not letting him visit his client Ganimat Zahidov, the editor-in-chief of Azadliq.
In this wave of restricting freedom of speech, though, some imprisoned Azeri journalists are using all legal means to defend themselves. Eynulla Fatullayev, according to Azerbaijan Free Speech Foundation, is suing Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry for not providing him with a list of alleged foreigners who were cited in a case that sentenced the journalist to an 8-year imprisonment. The foreigners in Azerbaijan had supposedly protested an article Fatullayev wrote in jail (while serving another sentence) where the author discussed possible US-led strikes against Iran from Azerbaijan.
Moreover, Azeri journalists don’t seem to give up their fight. According to an Azeri-language announcement, a new newspaper – Ayan – is set to launch in Azerbaijan.
However, azerbaijan’s presidential election blog wonders whether the recent re-election of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev will bring with it even more media restriction.
This further asks the question if Azerbaijan is going to lose more rights with Aliyev’s second term, and if the government is going to turn into a more authoritarian government. This leads me to believe that the opposition is going to have a sudden mobilization by the opposition that the government is not going to expect. When it happens there will be harsh repression from the government, leading Aliyev to more power.

author: Simon Maghakyan


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China: Deadly subway tunnel collapse – who to blame? · Global Voices
Bob Chen

A striking moment
Ye, a daily paid worker on the construction site, recalled what happened at the moment. “A BANG was heard shortly after some one crying ‘run! The steel bars are falling!”’, he described, “and soon the tunnel started to collapse from the south to north.”
This collapse he recalled has dominated the internet as a heated topic in these a few days, referred to as the most serious accident of subway construction ever in China.
Hangzhou, a well-known tourism city in southern China, witnessed the accident. On 15, Nov, a 100-meters-long–50m-wide section of the subway tunnel under construction collapsed. Instantly, at least 20 workers were buried.  Because the tunnel is right under an 8-lane-wide, riverside road in use, over 10 vehicles were trapped in as the roadway cracked open in a sudden. To make it worse, the river water mixed with silt poured in, which cut off many people’s way out.
A 41-year-old worker recalled that a crane above was trying to lift people out of the crater, but since too many flooded to around, people who couldn’t grip the crane fall down. He heard people crying for help, but he could do nothing. He also saw supporting rods hitting on his co-workers.
Though over 40 people managed to run out, more than 20 were missing on the day. Later, a huge rescue effort started.
On a local online bulletin board, 19lou, a netizen reported her witness shortly after the accident:
亲眼目睹~杭州风情大道地铁施工塌方，我家车车离它就20几米路啊，后怕~
Among replies calling her a lucky dog, some one said:
LZ,你跟我表哥一样,我表哥那时候也在那等红灯才逃过一劫
The scores of injured workers were sent to hospitals. Many of them felt hard to recall the striking moment.
“In a seconds, water, soil and steel rods were all falling down”, Zhang, a worker running out of the site said. His colleague Ji-Shuiping complained, “I will never do this job (subway construction) in my life again—even if I were to be a beggar.”
On 22, the 11th body was found. Given hose stilled buried with slim chance to survive, the death toll is estimated to be 21.
An inquiry into responsibility— more tragedies on the way?
Not only city leaders, but also state officials were vowing a complete investigation. Meanwhile, the heads of the subway project contractor, China Metro Civil Engineering Group Co. Ltd (CTCEG), also flied to Hangzhou to discuss details on the cause of the accident and compensation for victims. The CTCEG is a state-run group.
On 16th, the group’s CPC vice secretary apologized to public at a press conference for the disaster.
However, more than one sign of the tragedy have been detected long before the accident happened. In other words, the tragedy is not inevitable. The Southern Metropolis Daily reported:
湘湖地铁站附近东湖社区居民向记者证实，早在大半个月前，风情大道已经出现裂缝。来自安徽的孙全众向记者介绍，他只来了18天，已经眼见过两次裂缝。发现隐患后，施工方用水泥加固、钢筋加固来弥补这些裂缝带来的地面下沉破碎，但地铁施工却没有停下，惨剧终于发生。
Why no one suspended the project?
A news piece reported that the frontline supervisor has actually reported to his superior, and, been waiting for further instruction al the time. No response, nevertheless. But three related officials firmly refused the saying, pointing out that such a critical problem should be fixed immediately even without a superior instruction.
But blogger Mou-Zongyong nosed out problems:
你看：
施工单位说——发现隐患需要先向领导汇报。
三位领导说——工程隐患需及时采取措施，不需等待审批。
注意，这是矛盾的！到底谁说的是事实？
He further pointed that carrying on the project without suspension is the “wise” decision for the construction unit.
但人命并非先验。如果施工单位发现隐患采取措施，结果影响了工期、增加了开支，可最后没出事故——那领导们是不是还会说：没问题，你有这样的权利？
So, the essential guide for action is not fact or actual situation, but, as he concludes:
在我们的利益体系中“长官意志”越超了一切
Another columnist, Bi-shicheng, calling for more expertise on leadership, has the similar view:
施工单位或许也有苦衷：如果面对的不是简单明了的“小隐患”，而是原因复杂矛盾尖锐但情况不甚明朗，需要进一步探明甚 至停工整顿的，那么，他们敢作出多少决断？如果进一步探明的是“小问题”，兴师动众的“大停工”若耽误整体规划布局，施工负责人是否能担当得起政府部门的 “问责”？ 就判断施工隐患来讲，施工方显然比“上级领导”更为直接，也更为专业。那这群“更为专业的人”为什么只能坐等不甚专业的“上级领导批示”来安排下一步工作呢？
The construction unit has its reason: how much of decision dare they make facing so complex, uncertain problem which requires much further investigation, or, even suspension of the whole project? If it boiled down to be a slight problem, is the frontline head able to afford the criticism of any higher official? The suspension overall, might slack the entire plan! Though the constructers are of much more expertise than their higher officials, why dare they not take actions instead of sitting there to wait for orders as they have done in this case?
More scandals were gradually exposed once the accident attracted a nation-wide attention. Under the major contractor, the China Metro Group, there were over 20 subordinate groups, which joined the project by bidding procedure. China Youth Daily reported in APRIL that as early as when Hangzhou revealed the result of the bidding, rumor has had that the certain sub-contractors plotted to get the project by illegal methods.
In an official announcement, a vice manager of China Metro Group told three reasons of the accident:
一是土质，这段是淤泥质黏土；二是坍塌段路面是主干道，车流量大；三是近期持续性降雨。
Therefore, the soft soil, unlikely to support the tunnel wall, seems to be the wrongdoer to blame.
Opinion writer Hong Yang said:
一言以蔽之:怨天怨地怨人！
One sentence to conclude the official statement: what to blame: the weather, the ground, and the people driving along the road!
Is it really so simple?
Blogger Living-in-Circle replied: absolutely not!
2007年冬天，我去杭州文三路陪朋友看笔记本电脑，回来时打的。在出租车上，我遇到一个比较健谈的司机。这位司机语气沉痛但无比坚定的告诉我，在建的杭州地铁工程尽早会出事。据他称，浙江省内一个从事化学品生产的知名企业，竟然中标地铁建造，这是十分可笑的事情。因为，这家企业在中标后，因为自没有没资质，肯定会将工程转包，无疑会带来监督的缺失。
当时，我只是听听罢了，想想可能是这位司机的牢骚。没想到，真的出事了。我沉默半天后，立即想到了那个出租车司傅。原来，群众的眼睛始终是雪亮的。可能，已经有很多人都知道地铁建造存在隐患，只是，那些普通民众们，没有一个发表意见的渠道。如果普通民众能参与监督，那么，我想，杭州地铁不会出事，绝对不会。
I just took it as a street talk then. But now, unexpectedly, I know something really happened. After a long silence, I was reminded of the driver. I realize we people’s eyes are always sharp. Perhaps, a lot of us have already known the potential danger, but have no vent to have our voices out. If we common people can have a say in the supervision of the project, I think, the Hangzhou subway would have never, never gone into such a disaster.
More discussion will come in my following post that associates the tragedy with China’s overheating progress of infrastructure construction. Its recent massive $586 billion bailout, most of them put into such constructions (mostly state-run projects), might oil the fire already burning up. And such acceleration of construction, along with the absence of security measures, in many people’s view, is the essential cause of this accident.

author: Bob Chen


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Egypt: Noodles Cultural Invasion  · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Bluelue wrote a good post here about Noodles and how the Far Eastern culture is spreading all over the world.

author: Tarek Amr


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Egypt: Shaaban Sings for Obama · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Shaaban Abdel Rehim, the illiterate Egyptian singer whose songs are mainly about political and social issues, has released a new song about the new American President-Elect Barack Obama.
The Rag Blog quoted Dr Hasan Qayed al Subaihi, an assistant professor of Mass Communication at the UAE University, saying:
Shabaan Abdel Raheem is a popular Egyptian singer who has developed a style inherited from the musicians of the Egyptian countryside. Abdel Raheem worked as a dry cleaner for many years while keeping his talents for the entertainment of his local neighbourhood. Now his songs are heard across Egypt and the Arab world. He sings about important issues that touch the hearts of the Arab people and many admire him for his openness.
He has sung about Israel, the Palestinian occupation and the Iraq war, and he now sings about Barack Obama. The lyrics of this enthralling song about the next President of the United States echo the way the Arab world relates to Obama’s presidency.
Also Zeinobia wrote here:
Shabola released a new song about Obama and the over joy reaction for his victory in the Arab World.Shabola believes that we should not put a lot of hope on Obama because the dream can turn in to a nightmare like what he chanted.
Zeinobia tried to translate the song into English in her post.
The Rag continues:
Before the US elections, the majority of Arabs were vigorously supporting Obama, putting a lot of faith in his ability to help to resolve the situation in Iraq and mediating between the Arabs and Israelis. This desperate hope derives from disappointing past experiences that have led Arabs to believe that the US, for a number of reasons, will side with the Israelis.
…
Now the Arab public is divided into a dozen or more schools of thought about Obama. The main group belong to those who believe that no American government is ever likely to show fairness towards the Arabs in their conflict with Israel.
After the election, this group has started to become even more pessimistic. They believe that it is better to deal with a clear enemy out in the open rather than a disguised, hidden foe – and Obama they identify as one of the latter. Their negativity increased when the President-elect chose Rahm Emanuel, his Jewish friend, as his chief of staff in the White House.
Emanuel has strong personal and family links with Israel, which leads this group to believe that the Obama White House is likely to be more supportive of the Israelis than even the Bush administration. These suspicions will only increase if Obama appoints other Jews to senior positions on his staff. After past disappointing experiences with Henry Kissinger, Dennis Ross and Madeleine Albright, many Arabs are now expecting the worst from Emanuel.


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Egypt: The InterFaith Conference and Arab Israeli Relations · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Saudi Arabia's King Abdulla sat in the same room with Israeli political leaders for the first time ever, during the UN Interfaith conference, held in New York, US.
Writing at Arabic Media Shack, Rob highlights reactions from a few Egyptian  newspapers, on how this historic meeting would impact the Arab-Israeli peace process.
At the blog, which describes itself as a non-partisan site which analyzes political, strategic, and security issues of the Middle East, Rob states:
Fahmy Huwedi and Tariq Al-Bashri, top Egyptian commentators,  have scathing columns in today’s Al-Dostor, criticizing the King for refusing to bring up violence in Gaza while handing the Israelis a major PR victory.  Bashri goes as far to say that the King sitting in the same room as Peres is no less significant as Sadat visiting Jerusalem in 1977.   However, he then goes on to undermine the credibility of his argument by saying that the US and Israel are behind attempts to instigate Sunni-Shia conflict in order to create a new enemy  or distraction for the Arabs, so that they no longer focus on Israel.  He compares this to  how the US allegedly instigated conflict between Libya and Egypt following the Camp David treaty, creating a “new enemy” for the Egyptians other than Israel. How can the US can be blamed for instigating Sunni-Shia strife when the top Sunni scholars, such as Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, have been the most vocal in their anti-Shia rhetoric.


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Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Voice of Egypt is ashamed of Egyptian Lawyer Nagla Al Imam, the same lawyer who made Egyptians angry, for encouraging Arab men to sexually harass Israeli women during her interview on Al Arabia TV (Ar).
The Egyptian blog says:
An Israeli blog, My Right Word, posted excerpts of the interview in English:
Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 31, 2008.
Interviewer: Egyptian lawyer Nagla Al-Imam has proposed that young Arab men should sexually harass Israeli girls wherever they may be and using any possible method, as a new means in the resistance against Israel.
[…]
Interviewer: We have with us the lawyer Nagla Al-Imam from Cairo. Welcome. What is the purpose of this proposal of yours?
Nagla Al-Imam: This is a form of resistance. In my opinion, they are fair game for all Arabs, and there is nothing wrong with…
Interviewer: On what grounds?
Nagla Al-Imam: First of all, they violate our rights, and they “rape” the land. Few things are as grave as the rape of land. In my view, this is a new form of resistance.
Interviewer: As a lawyer, don't you think this might expose Arab youth to punishment for violating laws against sexual harassment?
Nagla Al-Imam: Most Arab countries… With the exception of three or four Arab countries, which I don’t think allow Israeli women to enter anyway, most Arab countries do not have sexual harassment laws. Therefore, if [Arab women] are fair game for Arab men, there is nothing wrong with Israeli women being fair game as well.
Interviewer: Does this also include rape?
Nagla Al-Imam: No. Sexual harassment… In my view, the [Israeli women] do not have any right to respond. The resistance fighters would not initiate such a thing, because their moral values are much loftier than that. However if such a thing did happen to them, the [Israeli women] have no right to make any demands, because this would put us on equal terms – leave the land so we won't rape you. These two things are equal.
[…]
I don’t want young Arab men to be interrogated. I want these Zionist girls with Israeli citizenship to be expelled from our Arab countries. This is a form of resistance, and a way of rejecting their presence.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Georgia: Junior Eurovision Success · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on this year's junior Eurovision international music competition and says that Georgia's win was well deserved. The blog notes that Russia gave full points to the country it was recently at war with, but also expresses disappointment with Armenia's entry.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Iran:”No blog action for Gaza” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian FarsNews, a conservative and semi official site, reports[fa] that Iranian bloggers including Islamist ones, did not cover news about humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip.


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Japan: Falling Land Prices · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

The GLOCOM blog reports that land prices are falling across Japan, even in prime locations such as Otemachi and Ginza (Tokyo). The trend resembles the beginning of country's so-called “lost decade” in the early 1990s.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Proud to be Okinawan · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Superyuko at Nachikasanu Koiuta describes the first time she became aware of her Okinawan identity. 10 years ago, in Tokyo, where she came to live and to attend university, she was asked: “Are you Japanese? Because you don't look very Japanese”, and innocently answered: “I think I am Japanese”. She was asked the same questions many times, and this brought her to wonder: “what does being Japanese really mean?”. It was after meeting many other people from minority groups during a period of study abroad that she came to her answer; she learned that, by freeing herself from the need to define herself as belonging to somewhere in particular, she was able to accept Okinawa [en] and take it on as a part of herself.


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Japan: Suginami Ward proposes removal of Street View images · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Following on a request by the Machida city council for regulation of Google's Street View service, recently introduced in Japan, Asiajin reports that the ward of Suginami in central Tokyo has advised its residents on how to submit [ja] takedown requests to Google. An article at Asahi reports that Suginami city was alerted by citizens about privacy violation concerns related to GSV and has twice contacted Google asking the company to respond by deleting images.


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Jordan: List of controversial figures · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

From Lebanese singer Haifaa Wahbi to Libyan president Moammar Qaddafi to Hizbulla commander Hasan Nasrallah  to Egyptian leader Jamal Abdil Nasser, Jordanian Hareega shares his list of the 10 most controversial figures in the Arab world.


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Madagascar: South Korean Land Deal Sparks Controversy · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

South Korea has just leased half of all the arable land in Madagascar according to the Financial Times. This has stirred quite a debate in the Malagasy blogosphere about land sovereignty and economic development. It is still unclear whether the land deal has actually been signed by both parties. Meanwhile, bloggers are arguing whether this sort of deal should be considered “neo-colonialism”.
Here is an overview of what is know so far.
On November 19, the Financial Times  reported on the deal between South Korean company Daewoo Logistics and the Malagasy government.
On the Global Dashboard blog, Alex Evans summarizes the findings:
South Korea has just struck a 99 year deal with Madagascar to lease an area half the size of Belgium to grow palm oil and no less than half of South Korea’s corn demands [..] Carl Atkins, of consultants Bidwells Agribusiness, said Daewoo Logistics’ investment in Madagascar was the largest it had seen. “The project does not surprise me, as countries are looking to improve food security but its size it does surprise me.”
A few hours later, a follow-up article in the Financial Times added that Daewoo Logistics would not have to pay fees for the lease, but would instead provide the means to allow exploitation and development of the land.
Alex Evans, quoting from the second article, says it's even worse news than he thought:
A few hours later, a truly astonishing new angle on the story emerged. Guess how much South Korea had paid for its 99 year lease? Answer: Zip. Zero. Nada. Not a cent. The sum total of the benefits for Madagascar, according to a Daewoo spokesman? “We will provide jobs for them by farming it, which is good for Madagascar.” This in a country where 3.5% of people are on WFP food aid…
The benefits for South Korea, on the other hand:
“We want to plant corn there to ensure our food security. Food can be a weapon in this world,” said Hong Jong-wan, a manager at Daewoo. “We can either export the harvests to other countries or ship them back to Korea in case of a food crisis.”
The Malagasy government has yet to release an official statement on the issue. Reuters reports that the deal is far from being finalized. Daewoo Logistics, however, has issued several statements that contest the veracity of the articles.
Robert Koelher, blogging from Seoul at The Marmot’s Hole, explains the points of contentions from the South Korean company:
In another report, the Maeil Gyeongje said experts believe the FT report, with its provocative talk of “neo-colonialism” and “pirates,” was intended as a warning against an increased Asian presence in Africa, long considered Europe’s backyard. The piece did include a quote from a Daewoo Logistics official, however, who said Madagascar was quite sensitive about this issue because when China invests, it only goes after its own profits [..]
The JoongAng Ilbo, meanwhile, released an editorial blasting the FT, asking why the paper was turning a blind eye to British Jatropha farms in Madagascar (used for biodiesel fuel) and French plantations on the island while going after a Korean company only. And besides, the land Daewoo is acquiring is undeveloped, the new farms will provide employment, and the Madagascar government will be taking a 30% cut of the farm profits in taxes.”
Reactions to news of the land deal were heated and diverse in the Malagasy blogosphere:
The Malagasy diaspora website Sobika reported on the deal (Fr) moments after the  Financial Times and asked their readers to react. Over 100 comments were posted on the articles within a few days. In a follow-up article, Sokiba speculates that the outrage expressed on the internet has led the company deny the conditions of the deal [Fr].
The outrage is far from being unanimous though. Some bloggers feel that the land deal could benefit Madagascar by increasing productivity on parts of the land. Aiky on the community blog Malagasy Miray adds [Mg]:
Ny tombontsoa indray kosa raha jerena amin’ny saina tsy miangatra dia :
– ny fanomezana asa ireo tantsaha eny ambanivohitra ka miteraka fidiram-bola maharitra ho azy ireo izany.
– ny fanajariana ireo tany izay tsy noeritreretina fa afaka ambolena na ihany koa tany ngazana ka rahatrizay vita ny fifanarahana izany hoe afaka zato taona dia mba ho moramora ho an’ireo taranaka fara aman-dimby ny hampiasa sy hamboly azy (raha tsy lasa fanan’olom-bitsy indray avy eo)
– raha misy fidiram-bola maharitra ireo tantsaha dia mety ho hita ihany koa ny fiatraikan’izany ka mahasoa ho an’ny manodidina na “effet d’entraînement”. […]
-Asa na tafiditra ao anaty fifanarahana fa mety hihatsara ihany koa ireo lalana sy tambanjotra misy any amin’ireo faritra.
– afaka mifehy ny fiakarana an-tanandehibe ny mpitondra raha misy asa eny ambanivohitra (maîtrise de l’exode rural)
On The Cyber Observer, a lawyer and blogger in Antananarivo, Andrydago, had the the amazing foresight to raise the legal issue of the sovereignty of land and foreign investment in October, a full month before this controversy. It is striking that the laws that make this lease permissible were amended earlier this year:
Recently, the new Malagasy investment law: act 2007-036 of January 14th, 2008, has brought a very key change concerning the possibility for foreigners to own their land in Madagascar. This law provided that foreign companies or foreign investors (individuals who have been granted with investor visa), can buy Malagasy land under the following conditions:
1. the land has to be used exclusively for professional exploitation. Any personal use and exploitation which is different from the nature of exploitation he “promised” to the Malagasy governement, are forbidden. If there is a breach of such condition, the governement can legally withdraw its title of land ownership;
2. the foreign company or investor has to submit its business plan (investment planning in Madagascar) to a public body named EDBM (Economic Development Board Madagascar). Such plan has to describe and detail its intended business and its pertaining investment in Madagascar;
3. the foreign company or investor has to apply for a formal approval named “authorization for land acquisition” before the EDBM in order to be allowed to purchase legally a Malagasy land. Such authorization if granted, gives to the foreign company or investor the same rights as for a Malagasy entity to purchase and to own land in Madagascar.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Palestine: No point in blogging? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Heba, a blogger in Gaza, has decided to call it a day: “Since I do realize that writing about the situation is not actually contributing to changing any of it at the decision making level, I decided -in my blog second birthday- to end this beautiful fulfilling experience.”


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Saudi Arabia: Dreaming of change · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Hala, a Saudi blogger currently in the US, was invited to give a talk about the kingdom: “I wanted to say that we are moving in the right direction, faith practices are not forced on people, women are treated equally to men, we have money and we use it correctly to benefit all without discrimination. I had to say the truth and explain the logic or lack of it behind it. I found myself falling down in thought afterward, why simple humane reforms are so hard to reach?”


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Saudi Arabia: Showing true support · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Nzhinga has been trying to persuade her young son that he should study and not rely on becoming a famous soccer star; after all, he might get injured and not be able to play. But her son has a solution. Jihad: “I know what I'll do! My wife will have a job.” Me: “What? What kind of man just lets his wife pay everything?” Jihad: “Well she was there when I made the money, she should help me out now that I can't play soccer.“


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Venezuela: Following the Local Elections Online · Global Voices
Luis Carlos Diaz

Today Venezuela is taking part in elections for mayors and governors.  These elections will paint the political map between States and Municipalities aligned with President Hugo Chávez or not.  These results depends largely on Chávez’ popularity and can determine whether he tries to reform the Constitution once again allowing for reelection in 2012.
Venezuelan bloggers and twitter users are covering the election with the tag #23N (November 23).  One can see the various tweets that are already using this tag.
A few weeks ago, a campaign was launched to encourage people to vote, and to use citizen media to talk about the elections.  This video is called “Create Your Own Network” and the translation:
Did you know you can be electoral observer on November 23?
You don't need to ask permission from the CNE (National Electoral Court) or any political party
You don't need to fill out a form or wear any credential
You just need to commit yourself with your network of friends, neighbors, family and colleagues
Circulate information of which you are a witness
Send messages from your cell phone or via the internet
Use your cell phone, your camera, internet connection, your blog, and if you don't have one, this is a good time to create one, your Facebook
Create your own network of citizens
Vote and Observe!
To see all of the videos, visit Hector Palacios at Rayas y Palabras [es], who was one of the organizers of the video campaign, along with Karelia Espinoza of Explikme [es], Luis Carlos Díaz of Periodismo de Paz [es], Naky Soto Parra of Zaperoco [es], Iria Puyosa of No Suma Cero [es], and Jogreg Henriquez of Circulemos [es].

author: Luis Carlos Diaz


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Bahrain: Apartment Blocks  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ian Hamza, from Bahrain, posts a number of photographs featuring apartment buildings.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: Charity Stamps Question · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Redbelt from Bahrain questions the purpose of the charity stamp, people have to purchase when mailing letters abroad and wonders: “Shouldn't charity be optional?”


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Bangladesh: Manipuri Raash Festival · Global Voices
Rezwan

Back to Bangladesh posts some great pictures of the colorful Raash festival of the Manipuri indigenous people of Sylhet in Bangladesh. The festival is meant to celebrate the love of Radha and Krishna.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Bus Crash  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press reports on a bus crash that left dozens injured, saying: “Just like the other major bus and auto crashes during the past three years our Barbados police do not have the breathalizer equipment or laws that would show if any of the drivers had been drinking.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Belarus: Change of Course in Minsk · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Osteuropablog draws attention to [GER] a gradual change of policies in Minsk – economic liberalisation, EU-rapprochement, and new approaches to legitimising political power.