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Kyrgyzstan: Tekebaev Update · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts has an update on the fallout from the arrest of Omurbek Tekebaev, a Kyrgyz opposition politician, on drug charges in Poland. Edil Baisalov, meanwhile, has video (RU) and photos (RU) that suggest Tekebaev was set up.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Laos: Video Instruction for making Coconut Custard Dessert · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Thai-Laotian blogger Manivan Larprom puts up a video on her blog that shows us how to make Coconut Custard, a popular dessert in Thailand and Laos.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Preetam Rai


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Latin America: Poll Numbers · Global Voices
David Sasaki

It's Friday … time to leave the office at 3 and time for Boz's weekly poll numbers. Here's a good look ahead at upcoming elections in Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

author: David Sasaki


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Malaysia: Welcoming the New IGP · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian politician and blogger Lim Kit Siang congratulates the new Inspector General of Police and wonders if the new appointment would improve the deteriorating law and order situation in the country. “But the question uppermost for Malaysians is whether Musa’s promotion would make any difference in the law-and-order situation in the country – whether they can look forward to a safe and low-crime Malaysia, which must be regarded as the most fundamental of all human rights of Malaysians but which will also affect Malaysia as an investment centre, tourist destination and international educational hub for foreign students.”


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Martinique/Guadeloupe: Hike in Prices to Cuba · Global Voices
Alice Backer

According to (Fr) the Martiniquan site Bondamanjak: “Cuba just ended direct flights from Fort-de-France and Pointe-a-Pitre to Habana. That news will hinder those who have established commercial and other contacts with the biggest Caribbean island. By going through Miami, the exchanges will remain possible but everything will take longer and cost more.”

author: Alice Backer


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Mexico, Brazil: A Tale of two Presidential Elections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ricardo Carreón, a Mexican businessman living in Brazil, has a fascinating comparison between elections in the two countries.


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Mexico: Oaxaca’s Popular Assembly Storms Government Offices · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Writing from Oaxaca, Nancy Davies says the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) “declared the governor Ulises Ruiz Ortíz (URO) ‘proscrito – banned, exiled, unwelcome – in the state of Oaxaca.” Rodrigo Javier has eye-opening photos (ES) of APPO storming the government offices. Concluding the post, he writes, “I don't know which stirs more anger: the actual event or that the national papers like El Universal trie to justify it (ES).”


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Nepal: Maoists and the Ceasefire · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

In Nepal, United We Blog! on how the Maoists seem pretty bent on breaking the rules of the existing ceasefire. “As Nepal is going through the tumultuous peace process, Maoists are winning in the competition to violate the code of conduct of the cease fire.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Pakistan: Clerk’s House · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

More history at Metroblogging Lahore. “Entrance to the Maktab Khana (Clerk's House). It is a small cloistered court surrounded by arcades in which clerks use to sit, recording the names of visitors. The inscription outside tells that King Jahangir built Maktab Khana in 1618.”


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Poland: The Week’s News Selection · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In the past week, the beatroot has covered these subjects: a Polish goalkeeper in “the wonderful world of Scottish sectarian football”; 26 years later, something's wrong with the Polish Solidarnosc; a missile defense competition between Polish and Czech governments that both “would rather lose”; Elton John meets Lech Walesa at Sopot Festival; 9/11 and Poland's involvement in Iraq.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia, Ukraine: A View From the Roof · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Last month, St. Petersburg lost one of its landmarks: built between 1828 and 1835, the Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky Sobor) caught fire on August 25, while under reconstruction.
As the cathedral's main dome, one of the city's most noticeable roofs, went down, LJ user english_voodoo posted an R.I.P. note in the LJ community of St. Petersburg “roofers” – spbroofs (RUS):
This community is for all those who not just love Piter [St. Pete], but are also prepared to have a look at its most secret places. For those who wouldn't mind looking at the world from above. For those who would like to climb onto a certain roof of our city and take pictures.
The community's goal is “to unite all Russian-speaking kryshers [roofers, from the Russian word for “roof” – krysha] (and perhaps not them alone) at one site.” Currently, there are 829 members in spbroofs, and it is “watched” by 1,081 bloggers.
The roofers’ world is becoming smaller, and they can basically reach for one another while travelling in the city's other, higher, dimension. This, at least, is what happened to LJ user yuri32, who posted a photo of fellow roofers on a neighboring roof:
So I climbed one roof and saw people on another.
[photos omitted]
The next day, I had no problem finding that building, but we weren't able to get onto its roof :(
Who knows how to get there? :) I suggest we exchange information: you give me this roof [spelled ruf in Cyrillic script], and I give you some other one :)
LJ user qnick, a dedicated member of the roofers’ community, posted a photo of the doomed dome of the Trinity Cathedral, taken just one hour before the fire started, at 4:06:23 PM. The photo is from an amazing series shot by LJ user fool_4_lifetime during a typical roof walk. The report (RUS), despite its brevity, is very vivid; the word “breathtaking” in it is, most likely, used literally, not as a figure of speech:
[…] With qnick, we've covered the area along [Fontanka], from near [Nevskiy Prospekt] to Rubinshtein St. Fantastic experience, breathtaking. It was even scary a couple times: first, when I realized that my head was right between two high-voltage wires, and then, when it started to rain, and the roofs got very slippery, and we had climbed on the highest and the steepest one, and we couldn't even see the embankment on Fontanka's nearer side, only the other side, and tourists on tour boats were waving to us. […]
The roofers’ community has some rules (RUS):
A BIG REQUEST: DO NOT DIRECTLY REPORT EXACT ADDRESSES OF THE ROOFS THAT ARE OPEN. SUCH POSTS WILL BE DELETED IF I NOTICE THEM. AND ONE MORE: PEOPLE, DON'T GO 12 PEOPLE AT ONCE. SO MUCH NOISE, LIKE A HERD OF ELEPHANTS. [You'll end up having the roofs closed…]
There are cases, however, when exploring a new roof on your own is out of question (qnick, RUS):
I've found a cool roof across [the Neva] from the Finland Train Station. Only there are bomzhi [homeless people] living in the attic there, so it'd be good to have some stocky people around (no one's going to fight, but just in case). Who's going with me?
And as roof-walking is becoming increasingly popular, it's time to remind the adventurers of the most basic physics laws that might prove critical for survival (qnick, RUS):
Due to the increase in extreme situations on the roofs, I'll allow myself to have a small [educational session] here.
From the physics course, you know that when you stand on one foot on a steep surface, you increase pressure and, hence, increase friction. And when you lay yourself flat, you decrease both pressure and friction. The conclusion is: when you lose balance on the roof, never fall down on your stomach (back, side). Also, don't try to grab the sticking out metal parts – you'll cut your hands and make your companions nervous.
To avoid slipping, you should decrease as much as possible the area of the roof that your feet touch – that is, you should walk on the seam line (that's much quieter, too, by the way). And if you crawl (on your stomach, on all fours or in some other way), then you have more chances than others to roll down.
P.S. And, for g-d's sake, do let [your companions] know that you are afraid of the heights BEFORE you get out onto the roof.
Another LJ community similar to spbroofs is ru_roofers – besides Moscow roof photos, there are postings (RUS) from Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine.
There is also a roof_kiev LJ community – and the latest entry there is by LJ user bastan (Stas Bokach): roofs in Yalta, Crimea – “Somewhat far from Kiev, but still…”


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South Korea: Kor-US FTA · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Dram_man in The Marmot's Hole writes a round-up of pro and anti UK KOR FTA talks.

author: Oiwan Lam


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South Korea: when North Korea falls · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Kaplan, a visiting Professor in National Security at the United States Naval Academy, wrote an article at the Alantic Monthly titled as “When North Korea falls”, and pointed out the likely winner is China. The articles has stirred up some discussion among some bloggers.
Richardson from the Korea Liberator has some problem with the analysis and has very detailed comments on the article.
Joshua also feels that Kaplan has misjudged the desire of China or Russia to have their own troops in North Korea. He further discusses the preparation needed for the reconstruction.
GI Korea pointed out that the recent reaction on history debate between China and South Korea might be related to the Kaplan's article. The speculation is: China is pursuing the so-called Northeast Project to co-opt Korean history with an eye on claiming North Korean territory when the regime there collapses.
Coming anarchy has some very long discussions in the comment session.


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Syria: Tourism and cultural events · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Syria is witnessing a thriving cultural and tourism activity during this time of the year. There will be the Heritage &Culture Festival which will take place from 15 th to 22 nd of September and will include many concerts and cultural activities through out Damascus, Yaser said.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Tajikstan: Baby Jinx · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Elizabeth writes about how Tajiks avoid jinxing their newborns and how what she is about to do in the US would mortify her mother-in-law.


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Thailand: Thailand and Expats · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Thailand has a good number of foreigners who decide to settle down in the country. One such expat asks “So where is home? Can I, as an expat call this home? Does that make me an expert on Thai Culture? No.. infact the longer I’m here the less I seem to understand it… But Chiang Mai is home. Unfortunately I will always, always be the farang and sometimes that really annoys me.”. Farang is the word Thais use to describe foreigners.


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The “Morning After Pill” Debate · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

The Chilean Health Department has decided to give the morning-after pill, for free, to teens over 14 yeas old. This pill is popularly known in Chile as the “day after pill” (“el día después”). The pill will be given in a confidential way and without consent of the parents. The latter – as well as the age of the teens – is what has the political right upset. To understand the social context and sexual behaviour of Chilean people Serginhos (ES) explains:
The people that have the resources get contraceptive methods in a particular doctor's practice or directly in the pharmacies, the people that can’t do that go to the Public Health Service. This has been growing from 600,374 in 1990 to 1,087,743 women in 2004, this important increase (81%) is attributed to a spontaneous demand from the population.
He continues explaining that in the year 2000, the Health Department (ES) with the National Statistics Institute, INE (ES), did a survey revealing that:
52.5 % of the population declared to not use any contraceptive method to postpone pregnancy while 83.8% because “they don’t need it”. The 53.8% of those who use a contraceptive, obtained it from the public health system, 23.8% from the private health system and 18.1% directly from pharmacies”.
Sergio Gajardo (ES), writes about the initiation of Chilean sexuality:
Ten years ago, sexuality in teens started at 18 years. Now, in some segments, it starts at 12. In other cultures women should be virgins to marriage”
The Mayors of “La Florida” and “Huechuraba”, Pablo Zalaquett (ES) and Carolina Plaza (ES), both from the right wing, lodged an appeal of protection to the court. They asked the court to dictate orders to not implement the plan so that the pill is not distributed.
Alejandro Navarro (ES), a leftist Senator responds in his blog:
The attitude of the right wing to show that the government drove this initiative, that it's a threat to the family, that it promotes abortion and premature sexual relations is a double standard and promotes the increase of the unwanted teen pregnancy and eventually abortion; situations that affront social conditions and favour delinquency and drug addiction.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Trinidad & Tobago: A history of air travel · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Karen Walrond offers a personal history of air travel, which has changed, she notes, “not just because of planes flying into skyscrapers. . . it's just that societal customs have also changed so much in the last 4 decades, we all view something as illogical as air flight with a rather startling sense of nonchalance . . .“

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Trinidad & Tobago: First Nation People · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“It is my belief that our people should be included in all discussions pertaining to the environment and the well being of our country,” writes Cristo Adonis, shaman of the Arima Carib community in Trinidad, in a letter gently protesting the continued exclusion of the country's “First Nation People” from national discussions. “This is a land we understand. We understand the rivers, the sea, the mountains, the trees, the plants and the animals.“


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TV still reigns in Brazil, but here comes YouTube · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The magnitude of Internet numbers in Brazil has puzzled specialists in the last months. After overtaking Google's Orkut and exceeding their own world record in navigating time spent on the Internet, Brazilians are now preparing to dominate YouTube. The incredible jump from 9% to 20% of active users visiting this top league video-sharing website in the last two months almost displaced Spain as the country with largest access to the service. The impact of this heavy and fast-growing  access to alternative audiovisual content through the open source network is generating some interesting social, cultural and political novelties across the country. Some of these are reported below through the voices of the Brazilian blogosphere.
O site de vídeos de entretenimento, YouTube.com, é um dos fenômenos na internet brasileira residencial. De dezembro de 2005 a abril deste ano, a comunidade de vídeos passou de 57 mil visitantes para 1,2 milhão em abril – crescimento de 2005%, informa o IBOPE/NetRatings. “O Brasil é o País onde o YouTube alcança a segunda melhor marca em termos do percentual de acesso em relação ao total de Internautas residenciais (9%), atrás somente da Espanha (17%)”, observa Marcelo Coutinho diretor-executivo do IBOPE Inteligência.
YouTube é acessado por mais de 1,2 milhão de brasileiros em casa – Billy Joe Weblog
A Espanha é o país que mais acessa o YouTube, proporcionalmente, em número de usuários. Mas o Brasil, em julho, encostou nos espanhóis,  configurando um empate técnico: cerca de 20% dos usuários ativos visitaram o popular site de vídeos nos dois países… O tempo de navegação também ficou estável, firmando o Brasil em primeiro lugar em termos de horas navegadas no domicílio, com 20h39min. O Japão, com 18h11mim é o segundo, seguido dos Estados Unidos, como 17h19mim. YouTube cresce 53% e atinge 2,6 milhões de usuários no Brasil em julho – Mídia Digital – IdgNow
Maria Alice Vergueiro, a 72 year old almost forgotten actress, was brought back to light thanks to the short movie “Tapa na Pantera” [Slap on the Panther], which is the most recent hit in the Brazilian YouTube circuit. The 3.5 min hilarious video shows the elder talking about her daily habit of smoking marijuana for the last 30 years, and how this has somehow made her ‘forget’ some aspects of her life — nothing too significant, as she reports. Maybe just a coincidence, or possibly a synchronous reflection of social reality into the network, but the last month was marked by the signing of a new drug law by Brazilian president Lula da Silva, establishing that drug users who don't engage in dealing will no longer be sent to prison. It is also remarkable that the video in its originally published form did not reveal clearly its fictional status, and it was taken by the majority of viewers as a real pro-drug use testimony.
O símbolo maior da revolução é o curta “Tapa na Pantera”. Dirigido pelos cineastas paulistanos Esmir Filho, Rafael Gomes e Mariana Bastos, o filme virou uma febre entre os internautas do país… Vencedor do Prêmio Destaque do Júri do Gramado Cine Vídeo, que aconteceu paralelamente ao último Festival de Gramado, “Tapa na Pantera”, segundo Esmir Filho, caiu na rede graças a um acaso, atendendo a pedidos de amigos que o pediam para enviar o curta pela web. Para o diretor, o sucesso é apenas um “fenômeno espontâneo gerado pela internet”.
Te vi no Youtube – Intermídias
Em menos de um mês, o curta, em que interpreta os devaneios de uma debochada senhora maconheira, já foi visto cerca de 1,3 milhão de vezes no site de troca de vídeos YouTube (www.youtube.com). Em termos de cinema nacional, só teve menos espectadores, neste 2006, que o último blockbuster caseiro do diretor global Daniel Filho, e essa contabilidade nem inclui a forte circulação por e-mail, blogs, Orkut etc…
Pisamos em areias folclóricas, ainda. “As revistas de situação não sabem como dar a notícia. Estou famosa, mas, ao mesmo tempo, eles não podem comprar essa, então querem falar de YouTube, fenômeno de mídia, e ficam por aí, ‘é uma atriz que esteve no Oficina’. Zé Celso (Martinez Corrêa) é um gueto, os louquinhos estão presos lá, ali pode. Mas agora está uma assim, solta em Higienópolis?”, gargalha. Enquanto isso, a Folha liga, a Trip marca entrevista para o dia seguinte, a Veja quer fazer sessão de fotos…
As Marcas da Pantera – Pedro Alexandre Sanches
“Tapa na Pantera” is just the most recent YouTube story in Brazil. The first case of celebrity-making through an Internet viral video occurred before the YouTube era with Ruth Lemos, a nutritionist who was interviewed on a live national TV news program and embarrassed herself, stuttering like crazy (probably due to some lag in the audio playing through her earplugs). The scene was so incredibly funny that the video piece started to spread in forums, e-mail lists and in Orkut. Ruth got frightened initially by the possible damage that the huge exposure created by her ridiculous appearance on the web could cause to her career and filed a legal action preventing anybody from hosting the file. Soon it became the top searched file in the country, known as the ‘sanduiche-iche woman’ video.
It took little time for Ruth Lemos to perceive that her success and visibility could mean more than just bad exposition. Her first move to capitalize on the situation was a TV commercial for one of the biggest telecom operators in the country, where she used her famous stutter to keep repeating the corporation name, and the operator code to be used on phone calls. Right now Ruth is running for a deputy seat in the State Assembly using the same mesmerizing repetition to emphasize her main political platform topics, and her video campaign is hosted [where else?] in YouTube.
A nutricionista Ruth Lemos, do sanduíche-iche, está usufruindo bem dos seus 15 minutos de fama: acaba de se tornar garota-propaganda da Intelig Telecom. Parece que ela desistiu de processar todo mundo e resolveu faturar. Ela, que já inspirou uma comunidade no Orkut, várias sátiras e um número crescente de remixagens, agora parece ter finalmente seguido o conselho de sua sobrinha: “Tia, não liga não, a senhora está famosa“.
Ruth Lemos – Alex Rosa
O curioso, para não utilizar a palavra paradoxo, é que ela mesma reconhece que, não fosse “aquele fato”, como costuma dizer, não seria conhecida nem tampouco se aventuraria numa campanha a deputada estadual. Em 2003, quando cursava o mestrado em Ciência dos Alimentos, Ruth já pensava em concorrer a um cargo eletivo. “Mas era preciso ter muito dinheiro ou já ser bastante conhecida. Uma amiga falou comigo e a idéia ficou por ali mesmo. Depois daquele fato, fiquei muito conhecida”, conta.
A mulher do sanduíche-iche-iche quer vaga na Assembléia – JC Online
At this moment in Brazil everything ends up in politics as we are approaching general elections. There is no denying to the fact that the explosion of access to YouTube in the last two months has a lot to do with the fact that politicians have opportunistically discovered this cheap, powerful and unregulated new way of reaching audiences. While some old fashioned candidates keep trying to find a way to control the novelties, others start to explore the possibilities. In the end we get mixed results, and good laughs.
Existem vídeos hilários de políticos brasileiros no Youtube, incluindo algumas gravações proibidas pela justiça eleitoral. Clique em Cururu, Cumpádi Bráulio, Samuel Silva, Paiva, Lula, Caruru II, Clodovil, Candidatos do Mato Grosso, Eri Varela e Roriz, Enéas e Suplicy e Mercadante.
Entretenimento Eleitoral – Altino Machado
There is one case where the political dispute is being fought entirely on YouTube. In response to a video denouncing the State of Minas Gerais government order to fire critical journalists, the campaign committee of the Governor (who is running for reelection) published a well documented file on YouTube in which some characters who were interviewed in the attacking piece deny the accusations made.
No mês de agosto de 2003, circulava pela internet um e-mailcom relatos de que o governo de Minas havia provocado o afastamento do diretor de jornalismo, Marco Nascimento, e do chefe de redação, Luiz Ávila, da Globo Minas, de um jornalista da Rádio Itatiaia, Paulo Sérgio, e do editor de esportes da TV Minas, Ulisses Magno. Em setembro de 2003, mais uma demissão foi atribuída à interferência do governo Aécio Neves e ao alinhamento dos veículos de comunicação mineiros com o Palácio da Liberdade: dessa vez, a do editor de economia do jornal Estado de Minas, Ugo Braga.
Sobre o vídeo – Amplifique.com
A suposta atuação do governo Aécio Neves (PSDB), candidato à reeleição, para cercear a liberdade de imprensa em Minas Gerais gerou uma guerra de versões na internet. A briga opõe os vídeos “Liberdade, essa palavra”, projeto final do curso de jornalismo da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais de Marcelo Baêta, e “Liberdade de Imprensa em Minas”, produzido pela campanha de Aécio. Veja “Liberdade, Essa Palavra e “Liberdade de Imprensa em Minas“
Internet, Aécio e Jornalistas!!  – Alerta Brasil
Conventional channel TV still has ultra high penetration and influence in Brazil — 98% of the population watches it at least once in the week (anatel). And the political struggle around the coming digital TV implementation seems to indicate that the debate coordinated by politicians and corporations is invested in the channels paradigm. But video sharing services along with an active blogosphere are together creating a totally renewed electronic arena, where there are no artificial bottlenecks constraining the diverse exchange of gestures and meanings. No sponsored channels, but millions of suggested playlists generated over a multidimensional flow of content.
This brave new environment is being experienced in Brazil. YouTube numbers and the perceived collateral effects are just the first signs of much bigger changes. BUT THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED. See the playlist below for selections to ilustrate this post.

author: Jose Murilo


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Uruguay: La Noche de la Nostalgia · Global Voices
David Sasaki

From Uruguay describes (and offers photographic evidence) of the uniquely Uruguayan phenomenon of La Noche de la Nostalgia. The idea surely needs to spread.


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Venezuela: Rosales Rally Attacked · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Octavio describes a campaign rally by opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, who according to Octavio, “attacked with rocks, bottles and bullets by a bunch of intolerant people wearing red t-shirts and distributing pamphlets with a picture of Rosales at the Miraflores Palace on April 11th. 2002, asking that the law (??) be enforced in that case.” Oil Wars says I told you so and opposition blogger Francisco adds another item to his self-declared “Rosales-bashing spree.”


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Another Indonesian Minister Blog and a Mourning Week · Global Voices
A. Fatih Syuhud

As I wrote here, Indonesian Housing Minister Yusuf Asy'ari becomes the second Minister to start blogging after Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono went blogging a few months back. His blog post is written bilingually in English and Bahasa Indonesia.
Harry Sufehmi, one of Indonesian blogger, is fortunate enough to be invited by the Minister to his office for “consultation” on anything to do with blogging world.
Harry utilises the rare  opportunity–imagine, a blogger in a Ministerial office for blogtalk!–to also sort of interview the Housing Minister about the motivation behind his interest to blog. For example whether the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) himself who ask the Minister to blog. In which he said: No. The President only asked his ministers to be more close to their people, to be more care to and interact with them and to know directly their grievances. And blogging is how Mr. Asy'ari thinks as one step to that direction.
Harry Sufehmi who had been in England and worked for e-Government project of Birmingham Municipality during his stay there also advised the Minister to make use of blog as an interactive tool between the ministry office and the people.
The Indonesian blogger-Minister meeting has got much warm welcome comment from other bloggers; congratulating Harry and appreciating the down-to-earth Minister.
Mourning Week
The sudden death of Bunda Zidan (mother of Zidan) known more as Inong, a mother of two kids, aged 32, has sparked an overwhelmed condolences from Indonesian bloggers. Inong who stays in Singapore with her husband and two kids was among the darling of Indonesian bloggers. She's nice, friendly, energetic and humble and that's why many bloggers feel so attached to her even those who never met her personally. See one post from one of her closest friend which I quoted here.
From Technorati, I found out there are 1,053 posts dedicated to her till date alone. And mind you it's still counting. Just confirming how lovable woman, mother and friend she was. May the Almighty God gives her soul an everlasting peace in Heaven. Amen.

author: A. Fatih Syuhud


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Global Food Blog Report #31 · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1:   Crispy Waffle takes a culinary adventure! Check out her Travel: Tunisia post and you will get a very tasty review on all things edible during the trip.
Tunisia, located in North Africa between Algeria and Libya, has an unusual culture stemming from its indigenous Berber roots, Arabic legacy and French colonialism (which ended in 1956). The food, as a result, is an interesting mix of all of these cultures: couscous and harissa, fantastic Turkish-style desserts and mint tea, and good French pastries. Read the complete post…
#2: From Italy, while waiting for the delivery of her baby, Gia-Gina prepares a very easy and delicious Garbanzo beans and Tuna Salad.
#3: From Geneva, Switzerland, Rosa's Yummy Yums shares her recipe to prepare Mojo Verde al Fresco:
The "Salsa Mojo" is a typical Canarian specialty that is made with olive oil, vinegar, a lot of garlic and either green or red bell peppers. It comes in two basic versions: red and green ("Mojo Rojo" & "Mojo Verde"). Generally, the red one is eaten with "Papas Arrugadas" ("Wrinkled Potatoes") which are oven baked new potatoes having previously been cooked in sea water.Get the recipes now…
#4: From Australia, A Self-proclaimed Foodaholic cooks up some delicious looking Bruschetta with Tomato, Basil and Avocado.
#5: From India, Hooked on Heat brings up the spice level with a scrumptious all time favorite: Palak Paneer.
When we were growing up, spinach was one such vegetable that I would often hide from. I would cry and cry until my Mom got tired enough to allow me to leave it aside. Then I moved to India and was introduced to a dish I can swear by. Till today, it’s one of the few ways I would eat spinach without a gun on my head. Read more…
#6: From Argentina, Pomelo Pleasures bakes the ultimate Apple Cake:  Argentinian Apple Cake a la Marina!
My Fiance´s mother, Marina quite often makes the most remarkable little cake when I come over. Her 4 boys and I have to fight over it, with that many people in a house it tends to be first come first serve, or rather stuff yourself now because there is no such thing as left overs! Head over to her blog and start baking now!
#7:From Canada, Always in the Kitchen prepares the most  fantastic looking Zucchini Fritters:
They certainly don't need an egg or fancy sauce to show their little golden faces at the table. I do have a compulsion that must soon be addressed: I want to make these fritters meat-ball sized, and serve them with spaghetti and a light, fresh tomato sauce for a light veggie-based dinner. I'm convinced it would be a winner. Ready to cook them?
#8: From Costa Rica, The Real Costa Rica shares a very complete cookbook guide for cooking all traditional and innovative dishes from this Latin American country. If you are a fan of want to recreate dishes you tried during your last vacation do not miss "Like Costa Rican Food?"
#9: From Thailand, Real Thai writes a phenomenal review with photos of his recent travels: A Trip Up North.
One of the most interesting stops on our trip was at Thung Kwieng Market, found along the highway between Lampang and Chiang Mai. Also known as the jungle market, this market previously had a reputation for selling rare animals/produce from the surrounding forests. Today the sale of endangered wildlife is more or less a thing of the past, but there are still some bizarre things to be found, such as this…
#10: From Malaysia, Malaysia Best shares a recipe to prepare stuffed fish, with step by step photos: Ikan Cencaru Belah Belakang , and a review on "Turtle Eggs for Sale: Legal?"
Happy Cooking!

author: Melissa De León


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Iran:Happy Persian Blogs Anniversary · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Parsa Nevesht reminds us that 7th of September is the fifth anniversary of Iranian blogs [Fa]. At that day, Salman  [Fa] published first blog in Persian and he explained what the meaning of a blog is.

author: Fred Petrossian


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What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — 100 Days in the Republic of Death · Global Voices
Tim Muth

El Salvador faces an epidemic of violent deaths.  The country has the highest murder rate in Latin America, and August 2006 was the bloodiest month yet with 370 murders in the small Central America nation.
In reaction, well-known Salvadoran artist Mayra Barraza has created a blog 100 días en la República de la Muerte (100 Days in the Republic of Death).  Her project began on September 1, and each day gives an accounting of the deaths that day by violence in the country, taken from the pages of El Salvador's two leading papers, La Prensa Grafica and El Diario de Hoy.
She describes the project in her first post:
Comienzo este ejercicio con la sensación de estar haciendo algo contra el sentido común. Las personas normales no buscan la muerte. La rehuyen. Quizas buscan la vida. Yo también. Pero no puedo seguir así.
Leo el periódico todos los días. De atrás para adelante. “Porqué” me pregunta mi hijito de 9 años. Prefiero comenzar por las noticias más bonitas – le digo – las de cultura. Al acercarme a las noticias de nacionales, día tras día, me choca lo que veo: los crímenes cometidos, la sordidez de los hechos, y la ligereza con que pasan a sumarse una y otra vez al olvido.
Conversando con un amigo sobre lo que quería hacer con este blog, me hacía una interesante observación: “los muertos no los vemos, no están en la calle, están en las noticias”. Me hizo dudar, como si dispusiera a meterme a un mundo de sombras, donde no se reconoce la realidad de la ilusión. Pero allá voy, estoy dispuesta a ello. Quiero saber…
I read the newspaper every day.  From the back to the front.  “Why?”, my small son of nine years asks me.  I prefer to begin with the prettiest news — I tell him — the culture news.  As the national news comes to me day after day, what I see shocks me:  the crimes commited, the sordidness of the events, and the shallowness with which they are summarized time and again into oblivion.
Conversing with a friend about what I would like to do with this blog, he made an interesting observation:  “We do not see the dead.  They are not in the streets.  They are in the news.”  It made me doubt, as if I would be setting out to put myself in the world of shadows, where one does not recognize the reality from illusion.  But there I go.  I am ready for it.  I want to know…
Each day she has a short snippet about each of the muders reported in the daily paper:
1.  A 40 year old man was murdered yesterday….The victim had been cut up with a knife.
2. Jose H.F., 26 years old, was found dead…the body showed the impact of two bullets….
After accounting for the deaths of that day, Barraza has used the space in her blog to engage in a dialog with those who comment send her e-mail about the meaning of violence and death in the modern reality of El Salvador.
The rest of the Salvadoran blogosphere has taken notice of the project.  Blogger Hunnapuh notes that this is not exactly the best way(es) to present El Salvador before the rest the rest of the world (especially since Hunnapuh would like to see a growth of tourism in his country) but acknowledges that it reflects the sad reality in which they live.  Hunnapuh's only crtique of the project is Barraza's use of the conservative newspapers as her sources, which may leave out certain deaths which are politically uncomfortable for their owners.
Soy Salvadoreño disagrees(es) with Barraza's project.  He finds it neither good nor original.  Why, he wonders, does someone want to count deaths already reported in the newspapers?  He would much prefer to see blogs devoted to responses and solutions, and notes with dismay the messages of support Barraza has received from many prominent names in El Salvador's artistic community.
In contrast, Jacintario finds the idea behind the 100 Days of the Republic of Death to be an intersting one.  Defending the blog(es) against those who believe that it glorifies violence and believe that blogs should talk only about the pretty things of El Salvador, she notes that even if it is only a grain of sand, the 100 Days project is an important effort to make Salvadorans reflect on how violent death has become part of daily life in the country.
Ligia at Que Joder takes her own opportunity to reflect on the violence with an essay based on the writings of social psychologist and Jesuit priest Ignacio Martín-Barró:
La sociedad salvadoreña ha emergido de un largo conflicto armado, y ha iniciado, en teoría, un tránsito a la consolidación democrática. Pero la manera de ejercer el control social en la sociedad salvadoreña sigue siendo, por antonomasia, el uso de la violencia, practicada en todos los ámbitos: en la política, para mantener el control sobre el Estado nacional y los gobiernos locales, así como para imponer un tipo determinado de sociedad; en los lugares de trabajo, para imponer las condiciones del mismo; incluso en la familia, para el sometimiento de las mujeres y los niños y niñas. La violencia es un medio para transmitir valores y normas sociales que orientan la vida cotidiana en la sociedad salvadoreña.
(Martín-Barró was himself a victim of a violent El Salvador, when he was assasinated with 5 other Jesuits by forces linked to the Salvadoran government in 1989).

author: Tim Muth


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Bermuda: Blogging hurricane Florence · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The video above was captured this afternoon by Bermuda bloggers Shawn and Sue “from the Southshore, Eastern end of Bermuda, approx 24 hours before Florence is scheduled to arrive.” Florence is the season's latest hurricane, and the island of Bermuda has been bracing for her arrival since the middle of last week.
While forecasters have lowered the hurricane predictions for this year, this means little to territories who happen to be in the path of what could be one of the season's “4-6 major storms.” “Time to take stock of your batteries and candles, campers – it’s hurricane time again,” wrote blogger Bill Davidson on September 7, citing this paragraph from the Royal Gazette:
“It’s going to be a hurricane and it’s going to be close enough by Sunday or Monday” – warned the Bermuda Weather Service as Tropical Storm Florence veered towards Bermuda yesterday. Meteorologist Lou McNally said the 400-mile wide system was taking its time to organise but was a bigger threat because of its size. “Even if it misses by 200 miles we will feel the effects.” Mr. McNally said Florence was being taken very seriously.
On the same day, Marcus Cooper posted a photograph of a construction crane and promised that “I'll photograph it again next week (unless Florence turns the corner and goes somewhere) to see what damage, if any has been caused.”  A clearly irritated Christian Dunleavy wondered at the coincidence of Bermuda being struck by storms beginning with the letter F, saying: “What the F is going on? I'd like to thank Florence for inviting herself as the first potential guest to the extremely exposed house on South Shore which I'm moving into tomorrow morning.”
On Saturday, local daredevil Mark Carey visited Horseshoe Bay to “swim in the waves being generated by incoming Hurricane Florence (it was still a tropical storm at the time, but has now been upgraded to a Cat 1).” A sign posted on the beach advised against entering the sea, but Mark wasn't the only one who ignored it:
There was a handful (maybe 20) people swimming in the waves, which were quite large at times. It was quite fun. Some of the waves were just massive, and you had to submerge and let those go over you, lest you be smashed into the sand below . . . .
(Here's further evidence of the Horseshoe Bay escapades from YouTube.)
At 10am this morning, the Limey observed that “. . . although hurricane Florence isn't predicted to strike Bermuda for another 24 hours, already the wind is picking up.” The Limey and his wife Mandy weathered 2003's hurricane Fabian at home, but Mandy is 37 weeks pregnant and this morning the couple were making preparations to evacuate. The two hotels they tried were already full, so they planned to wait out the storm at the Limey's office in Hamilton, Bermuda's capital:
It's relatively close to the hospital, less likely to lose power and telephone than places outside the city, and we should be able to park our new car (which we only got on Thursday) somewhere where a tree isn't going to fall on it. My boss and his wife will be there too, so we'll have some company.
Bill Davidson went around this morning securing the properties of friends and family who were stuck overseas, and took a few photos of the South Shore. Marcus Cooper announced he was “shutting down all the computers and unplugging everything. . . . I'll still take photos and video interesting weather. And I'll blog really interesting stuff by my phone but I want to keep that charged for emergencies (That assumes the wireless network stays up, it probably will).” (Here's Marcus's Flickr page). Christian Dunleavy's DSL connection was down, though he managed to get online with his cell phone.
This afternoon, Shawn and Sue reported that “the rain really started to come down about 12:30 or so, we had thunder and lightning, it was raining really hard, and figured this was a sign of things to come. . .” but that — in true hurricane fashion — things had since calmed down. They also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the leadership's response to the situation:
The premier just happened to be off-island and “couldn't find a flight back to the island before the storm and the airport shut down”.  I wouldn't have thought those flights very full but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe next time CNN or someone can give him a lift, if he really wants to get back so bad….:)
Interestingly, the Bermuda Government is using its newly launched blog to circulate information on the hurricane.
Updates on hurricane Florence are available from the Bermuda Weather Service, which also has a webcam on its website. Views from a webcam trained on a street in Hamilton are available from Computer City.


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China: Mao Who? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Saturday marked the thirtieth anniversary of Mao Zedong‘s death. Like the closeted bones some families would rather just forget about, China seems to be serious about moving on from the helter-skelter days of high Communism, both at The Party level and at the grassroots.
Wu Zuolai, whose Sina.com blog was shut down suddenly at the end of July, is now the #1 columnist at blogging portal giant Bokee. In his post dated late Saturday night, instead of mentioning Mao by name, Wu wrote an elegant ode to ancient Chinese tyrant Qin Shihuang. Here's a snippet:
他修长城是为了人民？
他焚书坑儒是为了稳定？
他大修陵园是为了后人？
政治家为人民只有一条道路
用选票用民意用制度
才能开万世太平
Nick Wong:
三十年前你走了，人们才能
在物质和精神的桎梏下稍稍
透口气，而我也得以此刻坐在
电脑前说这些废话。可那些
因你的罪业而积聚的冤魂仍
在历史的血泥里深埋，在阴霾的
天空飘荡，我们自己的罪孽也躲藏
在你泡着药水的尸体下，没有办法
暴露在阳光下。那些靠你的腐尸
妄想永存的蛆虫至今还攫着最后的
渣滓毒害和欺诈。何时才能摆脱
你的阴影以及命运对中国的诅咒？
将是子孙们可否呼吸自由的保佑。
阴魂不散……
From MindMeters columnist Wu Xiaobo comes a serious look at how an entepreunerial Mao might fare in the corporate world if he were alive today:
他是一个天生不惮于冒险的人，危险越大，他的斗志将越是高昂，他甚至相信”人定胜天”，所以他让全国人民都读《愚公移山》。当共和国刚刚新建，一切事务百废待举的时候，他也敢于派兵渡过鸭禄江，与世界上最强大的军队硬碰硬打个大仗。这种霸气，百年一人而已，如果是用在企业竞争中，却又是谁人可敌。在企业家的所有素质中，敢于冒险、勇于创新往往是决定最后命运的那一项。

author: John Kennedy


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Haiti: Youth gaming project · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ebogjonson discovers the Playing 4 Keeps youth media project, in which students at a US high school team up to produce a “socially conscious” online game. Poverty is the topic for this year's game, which the students have chosen to set in Haiti.


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Martinique, Africa: Perspective on Lesbianism in Africa · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi]  deplores (Fr) historian/anthropologist Boris de Rachewiltz’ take on African female homosexuality in his 1993 book on African sexual practices:”Homosexuality is covered in the paragraph on sexual deviations. Promiscuity, absence of the other sex and narcissism, use of sex toys as penis substitutes: it's all there.”


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Philippines: Politicians rush to change the Constitution · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Since July of last year, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has endorsed the proposal to change the 1987 Constitution. The charter change or Cha-Cha drive has divided the nation. On one side, people are supporting Cha-Cha because they seek genuine and much-needed reforms in the government. On the other hand, Cha-Cha is believed to be a survival strategy of the President who is still facing allegations of poll fraud and corruption.
After defeating the second impeachment complaint against the President, the pro-administration bloc in Congress is actively pursuing Cha-Cha. Meanwhile, a group (perceived to be close to the President) which claims to have gathered almost ten million signatures is asking the Supreme Court to allow the revision of the Constitution.
RG Cruz, a journalist-blogger, is surprised why the House of Representatives swiftly approved a committee report endorsing Cha-Cha through a constituent assembly:
“Boy, do those Congressmen never fail to surprise me. And they did so in under one minute. One minute of deliberations on committee report 1230. 3 hours of debates on the title of 1230 and why they approved it in under one minute.”
Alleba Politics instructs government agencies to protect the sanctity of the People’s Initiative as one mode to change the Constitution. Snow World is supportive of Cha-Cha but rejects the people’s initiative.
Pinoy insight mentions the national survey which shows that the people do not want to change the Constitution. The Citizen on Mars admits having little knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of Cha-Cha but agrees to the plan to adopt the parliamentary form of government.
Philippine Commentary hints that the Chief Justice may support the Cha-Cha especially if we remember that he once penned a decision recognizing the adequacy of the law which permits Cha-Cha through people’s initiative.
The blogger also mentioned the contentious provision of the 1987 Constitution outlining the mechanism on how amendments can be effected. Should the two Houses of Congress vote separately or as one group?
Newsstand provides a lucid analysis on the ‘gameplan’ of the government in advancing the Cha-Cha.
Our Times is with a group actively opposing Cha-Cha. This blog gives a regular update on the campaign to defeat the ‘Cha-Cha train.’ The following is an excerpt from one of its press statements:
“It goes against all reasonable standards of public morality that those who are railroading this ‘fastbreak chacha’ are the very same ones who will most benefit from the proposed changes that only increase the power of those who already rule the country. This makes the whole exercise patently self-serving.”
Solar power explains why one provision in the Cha-Cha, the foreign ownership of media, is objectionable:
“In the context of mass media, it is possible that foreign investors would only take advantage of cheap and docile Filipino labor and, as in the practice of the U.S. colonizers, provide canned media content that has little regard for the information needs of Filipinos.”
Counsels for the Defense of Liberties filed a petition to reject Cha-Cha.
Sigaw ng Bayan, the group which is advocating Cha-Cha.

author: Mong Palatino


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Reunion: Actively Blogging · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo, Reunion a French Overseas Department located in the Indian Ocean to the East of Africa has one of the most active blogospheres in the francophone world.  Its portal Reunion Permanente either explains the bustling activity or illustrates it. The portal even keeps track of overseas Reunion bloggers such as  Sandy of Reunion-USA2 who lives in the United States; her blog seeks to explain her reactions to American culture. One particularly prolific island-based netizen, Pierrot Dupuy, keeps a blog updated several times a day that focuses on the island's and nearby independent Mauritius’ current affairs. Another blogger, Jean-Paul, summarizes the island's main news on his blog Dijoux.re every sunday.
Recent preoccupations in the country's news and blogs have included a local Chikungunya fever epidemic and its effects on local tourism, frequent mostly scenic lava flows of the local volcano of which France-based blogger Audrey from Reunion Passion consistently shows pictures. A recent alleged corruption scandal involving local official Samia Badat was also widely blogged by Zarabes, the blog of the local Indian moslem community. (Ironically, as the blog's header explains, the creole word Zarabes which is used on the island to designate the mostly moslem Indian population actually derives from the French word for Arab.) And it should come as no surprise that the sometimes tension-filled relationship to France, including a successful fight against housing discrimination practices perpetrated in mainland France against overseas French citizens from Reunion, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyane and other French overseas departments and territories, constitutes a recurring theme.
Among the week's highlights, Jean-Paul at Dijoux.Re, offered (Fr) the latest on the local volcano, namely that it is still erupting but that local authorities have been preventing locals from admiring its spectacle in the last couple of years.  On the Chikungunya front, the blogger explained (Fr) that two biologists have linked an anti-rubeola vaccine to a possible cure. Meanwhile, on a lighter note, US-Based  Sandy at Reunion-USA2 explained (Fr) the significance in America of the interracial romance movie Something New.
(Pictured Above: 2004 Volcano Eruption, Reunion, by Hugo aka Hughes Leglise.)
Global Voices La Reunion Page.
Global Voices La Reunion RSS feed.
Global Voices La Reunion JSS feed.


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Senegal: Senegality and the End of a Regime · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Seckasysteme points to (Fr) an article by Dr. Mame Marie Faye expressing growing discontent with President Abdoulaye Wade's leadership. She writes: “For a few months now, the sense that the end of an era is approaching is pervading this country and nothing or anyone can stop it. With the latest fad among our leaders to serve us the thankless plate of “Senegality” we Senegalese have now understood that nothing is to be expected from such leaders because they will forever be inept at leading this country. We ask you [President Wade] to start packing your bags to pave the way for the real leaders that we will choose with maturity.” (No permalink available.)


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South Asia Blog Buzz · Global Voices
Rezwan

The latest from the South Asian blogs:
Bangladesh:
- Rajputro writes a satirical piece on how the load shedding (power cuts to manage shortage in electricity supply) in Bangladesh can be counterproductive.
- Shafiur of imperfect|world|2006 is amused with the political dramas set out in Bangladesh as a form of protest.
- Drishtipat has an interesting prediction for the Bangladesh parliament election 2007.
India:
- Blogcamp, India's biggest blogging conference has started today. There are about 50 active blogger volunteers. Catch up all the actions at Flickr, Technorati and YouTube by typing in the tag ‘blogcamp’.
- The recent 9/8 Malegaon bomb blasts are the continuation of the terror that gripped India with a goal to disrupt the communal harmony. This time the victims were Muslims and the general Indians stand disgraced by all this. Mayank Austen Soofi writes in Desicritics about the story behind the 8/9 terror attacks. Siddhartha of Sepia Mutiny provides more background of Malegaon.
- Preetam Rai of Betterdays reports that the Bollywood fever is taking on China.
Nepal:
- Samudaya.org reports that Nepal invents a new product, herbal wine.
- Blogdai comments that the Maoist ceasefire call is fake as it tries to document the ceasefire violations.
- Paramendra Bhagat of Democracy for Nepal welcomes the planned peaceful protests By the Maoists.
Pakistan:
- Eteraj informs that the women’s protection bill of Pakistan to reform the notorious rape laws of Pakistan is about to be passed this Monday. The laws from 1979 require that for a woman to make an allegation of rape she must produce four male witnesses. If she is unable to put forth the witnesses she herself is liable for adultery (and can be imprisoned or put to death for adultery).
- All things Pakistan reports that Mukhtaran Mai, a famous name against repression of women, has started a blog.
Sri Lanka:
- Rant and Raves discusses the brain drain problem in Sri Lanka.
- Lanka Libertarian analyses the situation after the return of the refugees in the coastal town Muttur, who fled the fierce battle in July.

author: Rezwan


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The Table of Free Voices · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bebelplatz, a square in Berlin, situated near to state opera and the Humboldt University buildings has an infamous past. Seventy Three years ago (1933) Nazi youths instigated by their Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels burned around 20,000 books, including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and many other authors.
Yesterday on September 9, 2006, Bebelplatz was redeemed of the infamy of the above crime. Dropping Knowledge, a Berlin based NGO invited 112 scientists, social entrepreneurs, philosophers, writers, artists and activists from around the world. These inspiring individuals, renowned for their lasting creative, social or humanistic contribution seated around a vast round-table called the ‘Table of Free Voices’ in that historical square. From 9 AM to 6 PM they engaged with answering 100 questions selected from the ‘donate your question campaign’ open to the global public.
Treehugger blog covered the event live with photos.
Hafsat Abiola and Willem Dafoe made their opening remarks against the backdrop of Humboldt University and an oversized pile of books, supposed to represent the invention of the printing press but suggesting also the greatness of the human mind and the tragedy of suppressing human creativity. Yungchen Lhamo put the participants into the proper spirit with a poem and song, in a Tibetan devotional style which she learned from her Grandmother in secret, since such songs were banned in her native land. The exotic melody silenced all present and received a round of applause before the real work kicked off…100 questions in 9 hours.
Each of the 112 personalities invited to the Table is set up with a microphone and video camera of their own.
Read the rest. More background news at the Deutsche Welle.
You can see the archived videos in the Living Library. There are pictures in Flickr.
In this complex world, people need to question a lot of things in order to bring about a change. German insurance giant Allianz donated more than $3 million for this initiative and was not immuned to face the question:
Why has a big company like Allianz no social responsibility and fire 10.000 workers in Germany even they have big profit?
Now what will happen? Dropping knowledge says this is only the beginning. It wants to start and sustain a new kind of global dialog, simply by prompting people online to ask and answer the questions on their mind. They want to bring protest, political dissent and activism into the internet age:
Dropping knowledge is a way of asking and answering questions that recognizes multiple viewpoints. When you ask in order to understand, when you answer in order to share, you are dropping knowledge.
Little drops can make an ocean someday.


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Barbados: Last bastion of male influence? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A Barbadian community leader asserts that there's no place for girls in the Boy Scout movement, as “there must be organisations within our society that maintain a male influence.” “Here we going again with the usual ‘Bajan women are taking over blablabla’,” says eemanee, “How many times must it be said that maybe, just maybe, men aren't teaching because they don't appreciate the low pay, poor working conditions and the nurturing that teaching entails, NOT because women have conspired to keep them out of the profession!!!“


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Belarus: Ban List · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog reports that soon foreign journalists, politicians and others banned from entering Belarus may also be automatically banned from entering Russia.


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Belarus: Chinese Language in Minsk Schools · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog reports that the Chinese language has been declared a priority in Belarusian schools by the country's president Aleksandr Lukashenko.


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Belarus: Praising Hitler · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog translates an article about former interior minister of Belarus praising Adolf Hitler's Code of Honor of the Officer.


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Bermuda: Hurricane Florence · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey reports on the situation in Hamilton, Bermuda the morning hurricane Florence was scheduled to have passed by, and posts some photos.


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Caribbean, USA: West Indian Day Parade · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Will, a Dutch student newly arrived at New York's Columbia University, takes in last Monday's West Indian Day Parade: “A giant Caribbean parade which takes place in Brooklyn on the Labour Day Holiday . . . . The first part of it was made use of by American politicians (Congressional midterms are comming up here in November) and corporations, although sometimes the difference between the two was not clear.“


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China: managing foreign newswires · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xinhua released regulations regarding limitations on cooperation between Chinese media and foreign newswires yesterday (September 10).
ESWN has translated some mainstream reports. China media project has summarized some blog comments on the issue.


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China: teacher’s death · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates various reports on the mysterious death of a teacher, Dai Haijing, in Zhejiang, which resulted in a series of demonstrations demanding the police to carry out proper investigation.


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Cuba: Non-Aligned in Havana · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia posts a photo of certain Cuban officials taken on the eve of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Cuba and wonders how much one should read into it.


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Cuba, Various: Non-aligned with what · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The members of the Non-Aligned Movement are meeting this week in Havana, prompting Jeremy Taylor to wonder whether the Movement's ideals might be more workable in theory than in practice.


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Czech Republic: State Returns Cathedral To Church · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

My Czech Republic Blog writes that Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral has been formally returned to the Catholic Church.


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Czech Republic: “You Get Nothing If You Don’t Ask” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

NvB: Bored in Brno? writes about a Czech proverb about assertiveness – “you get nothing if you don't ask” – and its “unCzechness”: “Czechs are some of the quietest people in public that I've ever met. Sometimes this is carried to a fault.”


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Ecuador Chooses · Global Voices
David Sasaki

It has been a year of controversial and closely-contested elections throughout Latin America. As electoral observers take a restful sigh following the delayed conclusion of Felipe Calderón's controversial victory in Mexico, it is already time to look ahead to  Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Ecuador; all set to head to the polls in the coming months. Media professor, Christian Espinosa (ES) describes a decentralized effort by Ecuadorean citizen journalists (ES) to supplement the mainstream media's coverage of the upcoming presidential election.
A grassroots initiative (ES) from the blogosphere to cover the elections has begun to take form. The website at the domain Ecuador Elige (ES) (“Ecuador Chooses”) incorporates authors of diverse weblogs from different regions of the country to become citizen reporters documenting the campaigns of presidential candidates, outside the classic discourse of the media.
A video report from the border with Colombia is already up thanks to a report by a local channel that was uploaded by one of the bloggers to share it on YouTube, which would have been otherwise impossible to see in other cities.
The organization (ES) [of the project] was exclusively done online as per normal by the community of Ecuadorean bloggers (ES). Without meeting face to face, they managed to agree from Manabí, Quito, Guayaquil (ES), Carchi (ES), Riobamba, among other participant cities, how to begin the site.
Without a doubt it will help to know the similar experiences of other countries to better manage this opportunity…


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Estonia: Tips for the British Queen · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Giustino of Itching for Eestimaa offers suggestions for Queen Elizabeth II on how to “get to know everyday Estonians” during her visit to Estonia on Oct. 19-20.


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Guyana: Old-look cabinet · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

MediaCritic receives news of the cabinet appointments made by the newly re-elected government in Guyana, and concludes that the nation has been duped.


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Hungary: Devaluation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes that the Hungarian currency, forint, “lost about 10% of its value in a month,” so it's a good time to travel to Hungary now – because everything is “about 7% cheaper.”


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Iran:Commercials and Women  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Pouya says in USA-based Iranian channels, commercials about food products represent women in kitchen trying to serve husband, family and guests when these commercials’ targeted audiences are Iranian, Arabic or Armenian. The blogger says same commercials from same company represent women as active professional people when they target American audience [Fa].


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Iran:Iranians in Lebanon Get no Money! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kaariz said Iranians who lost their houses in Lebanon can not get any money from Hezbollah or Iranian government [Fa]. The blogger said he knows some people who get up to 18000 dollars from Hezbollah and now try to get 40,000 dollars from Lebanese government. Iranian in Lebanon got nothing. Hezbollah says them go ask Iran for money because all our money comes from Iran and Iranian authorities said what we had, we already sent to Hezbollah!!!


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Iran:Referendum and Nuclear Energy · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ali Mazroi, reformist politician and former deputy in Parliament says it is better to organize a referendum to know if people want this nuclear energy or not. He says personally he does not consider nuclear energy as our absolute right and he thinks nuclear weapon won’t be, in general, in country’s interests [Fa].


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Iraq: A day to change history · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Five years ago some people imagined that the time has come to attack America and teach the whole world a lesson. Those people divided the world to “us” and “others”….I refuse to link between what is happening in Iraq right now and the War on Terror. If Iraq now in a mess I guess that what the Iraqis themselves did. Operation Iraq Freedom was totally successful in saving the area from a real threat and what happened in Iraq next have many causes these lines wont be enough to deal with, I hope I will have more time in the future to discuss them individually, Sooni said.


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Iraq: Blaming the victim! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mohammed is disappoint. He says, “the media is keen to disappoint me every single time because after the short friendly introduction that leads into the main coverage of the terror attack I find a flood of blaming, condemnation, chastising and scorn directed against (guess who?)…the victim of course, the victim of that very terror attack!
It makes me feel there's only a fine line of shyness stopping those people from praying for the souls of the terrorists, after all they, in the mentality of the media, are also victims of America.“


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Israel: HATRED … 5 YEARS LATER · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

What are the roots of such intense hatred that the slaughter of thousands of innocent people was the result? … The United States has done things over the past decades to make many a nation look at them with suspicion, even hatred. The documented crimes against the people of the Congo, Japan, Ghana, Guyana, Cuba, Chile, Viet Nam, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, the list is endless, gives many a nation a motive. To say it was any one in particular would be wrong and would not accomplish a thing. Sadaam was blamed, Bin-Laden was blamed, both had a motive… but did they do it? I personally have great doubts, DesertPeace said.


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Israel: Legacy · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

It's unfortunate that is takes commemoration of a mega-tragedy to bring people together and focus their thoughts on the same issue. I see the same process in Israel, when it's only during war that the country becomes less fractured and more united for a brief time. Imagine if modern societies were able to focus attention, energy and goodwill around things other than tragedy commemoration or self-defense, Matt said.


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Lebanon: Field Trips, Wardrobe Personification and Poetry · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Have you wondered why most women like shoes?  Or can blogging be life threatening? Then read on and see what answers the Lebanese Blogosphere has. This week’s blogs have topics that are as serious as a threat to a fellow blogger for his political cartoons and as light hearted as a comparison between shoes and men and neckties and women. You will also find trips to and photos of the battle fields in South Lebanon plus stories of recovery and accounts of the horrors of unexploded cluster bombs. This roundup ends with an interestingly “looking” piece of poetry.
Maya@NYC starts a post by asking: “Why do most women really like shoes?”  She then starts her detailed answer by saying: “Shoes are like men.” Well, you may want to read the rest.
Ana Min Beirut does not let Maya@NYC get away with her hypotheses. He replies in a post of his own: “Women are like neckties”.
The war on Lebanon may be over but the problems it created still linger. Many bloggers wrote about leftover ordinance that are causing post-cease fire casualties. Especially cluster bombs:
Sietske-in-Beiroet visits the South of Lebanon and posts photos and information about this problem.
“When Criticism of Cluster Bombs is “Anti-Semitic”” is the title of a post by Mirvat at the Lebanese bloggers Forum.
This same problem is also discussed by Soraya  at July2006WarOnLebanon.
Recovery stories are usually very emotional. Hilal Chouman  posts the story and photos of the recovery of 13 year old Ali Shaito and his mother Mountaha whose vehicle was hit while they tried to escape South Lebanon. He is the boy whose photos with his seriously injured mother losing consciousness in his arms (he thought she died) were widely publicized. After 12 operations she has recovered are telling their story.
How dangerous can blogging be? Can it be life threatening? Ahmad at Cold Desert has the story of a blogger and cartoonist, Carlos Latuff in Brazil,  who was threatened for his politically oriented cartoons:
It was not very surprising when I learned that my friend Carlos Latuff has been threatned by the Israeli right-wing party. His courageous cartoons must be causing a lot of discomfort for those who cannot handle an opposing opinion. The initial page is in Hebrew.
Ahmad also includes a link and a screen shot of the threat.
Anarchorev (formerly Anarchistian) updates the story of her friend Dan (who fought with Hezbollah and was mentioned in previous round ups of Lebanese Blogs) in a post titled “On Pain Memory and Survival.”
Jamal takes a trip to  “Beyond Bint Jbeil” and comes back with some photos and a story that includes:
My destination was the border village  of Yaroun, my grandfather's hometown and where he spent the first 15 days of Olmert's anger tantrum. Yaroun is one of the heavily damaged villages that didn't get much media coverage, probably because it is beyond Bint Jbeil and Bint Jbeil is more photogenic. Like most houses in Yaroun, my grandpa's is now missing a wall. On the bright side the living room is well ventilated and enjoys an unobstructed view of Jabal Al Jarmaq. So we went to the local “Jihad Construction” office to pick up some cash. Note that “Jihad” is one of the Arabic words that is never translated to English only so that the terror alert levl can remain at orange, just like Madrassa. By the way, Little Jihad cannot go to his Madrassa in Bint Jbeil because Bint Jbeil is, well, more like Bint Jbeil was.
After her visit to Turkey, Sophia writes about the “Images of the Israeli aggressions in Gaza and Lebanon and Muslim public opinion”:
The ‘War on terror’ is a dangerous imposture meant to produce or provoke on the ground a reality for its ‘rational justification’, out of false premises. By bombing, humiliating, intimidating and menacing Muslim innocents at a large scale to supposedly avenge the misdeeds of the few, Israel and the US and western countries who are accomplices of this imposture are making sure that there will be no Good Muslims and Bad Muslims, but only Muslims!
Israel's last aggression on Lebanon and willingly indiscriminate shelling of Lebanese civilians is a clear example of this tactic.
Enough for now, and “Enough …”  is the title of a poem written by Mirvat (who is also the contributor at Lebanese Bloggers Forum mentioned above) on her blog. Notice the geometry.
Enough…
You know very well things have not changed since that day
The tide still brings me back and the winds take you away
As we always meet for a promise for a lie and for a smile
As you safely criticize what you didn’t and won’t know
As you dwell on the past and as you hide for a while
And you follow some path from the sun to the snow
Days and then years wrapped a precious memory
Around and as the times changed we curl down
And we regress and in sterile lands we digress
We desecrate the remnants of a beautiful fire
And we see a little dream around the desire
I see the dream getting tighter every time
We were not perfect even in our prime
As I wrote romantic lines in my day
I could not… Ever write you away
Your story brushes not my soul
Not my heart, but my senses
What’s missing is still not
There, why can’t you
see how you made
Me see that we
Had to go…
Finally…
I say,
Enough!

author: Moussa Bashir


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Moldova: Language and Life · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peter Myers of Adventures in Moldova writes about Moldovans’ tardiness, shares his new understanding of Moldova's language politics, and posts a letter by a Moldovan teenager, OIga: “It's hard, really and if somehow I will escape from here I will just come back to see my relatives and that’s all. Nothing more attracts me here.”


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Morocco: To the victims…all over the world · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Foulla prayer:
“To those who died for no reason
To those who lived and still live through the pain
To the victims of hatred, injustice and tons melted steel not just under the sunny skies of New York, but also the sunny skies over Darfour, Baghdad, Ghaza, Madrid, Amman, Kabul, Riyadh, Bali, Beirut, Saida, Jakarta, Sour, London, Khobar, Mumbai, and Bint Jbeil.
Just a word of remembrance. And a prayer. And hope for a better day.”


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Palestine: Blair was not unwelcomed enough! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Lebanese showed more guts and were more principled in their opposition to Blair than the Palestinians. Only a handful of protestors protested in Ramallah while thousands of angry protestors gathered in Beirut, Tony said.


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Palestine: The Fifth Anniversary of September 11 · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

While the anniversary will inevitably be exploited by Bush and Co. to further thier case for more bloodshed in the name of “freedom”, September 11 can also be a means to send an alternative messege; a message in support of our universal humanity. As humans we are all equal and deserving of our freedoms. If one genuinly accepts this premise and not the view that “some are more equal than others”, then the finacial and political systems which entrech exploitation and oppression fundamentally come into question, Odog said.


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Russia: Photos of Churches · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taking Aim links to a collection of pictures of Russian churches, taken in 1910 and recently.


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Saudi Arabia: Five Years After 9/11 · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Rasheed wonders: “High unemployment among Saudi youth and the lure of religious extremism make them perfect targets to be enlisted in Bin Laden's war against the West. All Saudis must now reflect on what happened and try to find answers to the question: Why did happen? If we don't try to find quick solutions to this problem, Saudis will unfortunately be typecast as the terrorists of the 21st century. Do we really want that stigma?”


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Senegal: Wade’s Secrets  · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Seckasystemeperso isn't sure (Fr) whether integrity or a desire to settle scores are motivating former President Wade ally Abdoulaye Bathily's recent public outbursts but rejoices nonetheless in the man's recent revelations of Wade's alleged “secrets and governance scams”. He points to a Le Quotidien article on the issue. (No permalink to blogpost available.)


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Serbia: “Symbolism” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eric Gordy of East Ethnia writes that Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs agrees to this two-letter symbol for Serbia: SS.


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South Korea: Ohmynews research · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ohmynews puts up a resarch paper written by Shaun W. Sutton on citizen reporting.


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Syria: What were you doing, America? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Brian Anthony wonders: In the decade before the 3,000 innocents died on 9/11, over 100 times that many innocents died in Iraq through UN-imposed sanctions…So perhaps a more introspective question, a slightly tougher one than ‘What were you doing on 9-11?’ is this: What were you doing, America, for the three decades leading up to 9-11, while other people's innocents were being killed?


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Taiwan: campaign against president Chen · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The campaign against the Taiwan president Chen Shiu-Bien started on last Saturday, 9 of September.  Whether to support Bien or depose Bien, that’s the question for many Taiwanese bloggers:
Hung Wing tries to answer the question :
為什麼要倒扁, 是因為不希望國家再繼續空轉兩年, 每一個新的政策都需要時間來蘊釀推行, 我們的時間是很寶貴的…
為什麼要挺扁, 老實說我還真的想不到有任何的理由, 除了它是本土政權的代表, so what?
陳水扁他給自己訂了三大計劃，包括以台灣名義申請加入聯合國、推動台灣新憲法以及要求國民黨將黨產歸還給國家人民
不過看來看去,還是沒有經濟議題,或是有關民生的政策, 唉～
所以把其放在天平的兩端…嗯～該偏向那邊就很明顯了,
但這只是我
Gaelow decides to join the protest because of Shih Ming-te's image (the leader of the campaign):
不管晴天或是雨天，老施的最後一役，我是決定要參加了。我記得在很小的時候，報紙上面刊出憲兵挨打的照片，尚未懂得政治的我，只覺得打憲兵很不應該，不多久，電視上就成天放著老施的相片，頭號通緝要犯，可能整形逃亡。那時候只覺得老施真是個壞人
However, even though Minimalism doesn’t support Bien, he could not make sense why people would participate in the anti-Bien campaign:
我只知道，這一次的活動，不管成功、失敗！
對我這種和政治絕緣的人，生活還是一樣。
對學生、對家庭主婦、對大多數的台灣人，不過是一場…”哦，倒扁嗎？你有去嗎？”
意義層面就停在”你有沒有參與的層面”罷了。
Michael Turton criticizes mainstream media such as AP and BBC for being too one-sided and stresses that the campaign is a pan-blue event:
It's pathetic that the journalist didn't bother to do even the slightest bit of background research into these claims. I've commented here on the partisanship of the campaign innumerable times, but the truth is always worth repeating.
For those who choose to support Bien maintained that people should purge KMT first before deposing Bien. Go with my bear doubts whether this campaign is really meant for anti-corruption:
不可否認陳水扁的總統執政不及格，讓當出選他的人民失望。但是以「貪腐」為訴求拉他下台是包藏禍心的美麗糖衣。請先讓貪腐五十年的中國國民黨接受制裁可以嗎，陳水扁真的只是個「總統的見習生」，但是你我有選票最大的武器卻捨棄不用，白白讓台灣政治開回頭路。
Eroach chooses to watch baseball rather than joining the campaign; he does not show his stand but agrees that the problem should be solved by a better political system:
沒有一台講到這些棒球新聞，都在講倒扁。一邊要倒扁，扁不想被倒，怎麼辦？有一台某名嘴說，馬英九可以結合無盟、親民黨修改公投法，讓人民提出公投案的門檻降低，讓人民用公投決定阿扁要不要下台！說得好…
Photos from Yuping


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The Kannada Context: Post-modernist. Post-9/11. Concerns. · Global Voices
Sanket Patil

Firstly, let us remember the victims of 9/11. Let us wish that the world leaders gather enough sense and courage to fight the root cause of terrorism, and not just resort to paranoiac ways like “racial profiling”. Like they say do not attribute malice to that which can be sufficiently explained by stupidity. We are living in interestingly stupid times. Stupidity is addictive. So is paranoia. We should fight both.
Unsurprisingly, there are posts on 9/11. Satish Kumar writes about his experiences on that fateful morning. It was a picture perfect day and he was working in his office 5 miles away from the Pentagon. Well, and then, a lot has happened in the world. In America. In Afghanistan. In Iraq. Everywhere.
On a side note, it is interesting that hardly anybody talks about the other historically important thing that happened on 9/11, exactly a hundred years ago: The birth of Satyagraha.
Jeevishivu offers a lot of losely knit, yet very insightful, views on his reading of a short story anthology by the young Kannada writer Vivek Shanbhag. The anthology is called “mattobbana samsaara” (literally, Another Man's Family). He is specially concerned with the questions that one of the stories – “saravana services” – raises in him. He says the story explores the bigger relationship of an “India” with a “modern world”, by engaging the reader to seemingly ordinary contemporary incidents and interpersonal relationships. Although this is not novel in the Kannada (or any other) short story tradition, the story is outstanding due to its completeness in depicting the writer's intent. Since I have also read the anthology a couple of months ago, I can say Shivu is making a lot of sense.
An important “young” Kannada poet turns er.. old. Well, his age. B R Lakshmanarao turned 60. It does seem quite a wonder to Sriram, like it seems to many others. He is known as a romantic poet, a naughty poet, a popular poet, an evergreen poet, a “cassette” poet – a lot of his poems are fairly popular songs, and it is said he mainly writes to quickly convert his poetry to cassettes. An important poet nonetheless.
Sudarshan has an interaction with the renowned Kannada short story writer Raghavendra Patil in Patil's house in Malladihalli, a small village in Chitradurga district, central Karnataka. He, along with Chandrashekhar Talya, a well known poet, talks about many a thing. For example, “why did Allama come to Sharana Movement?”. Patil says this:
“The Indian cultural history has an ongoing process of a dialectic that constrains any argument, say material vs metaphysical, from reigning on extremes. Therefore, in order to bring in a philosophical radiance to the Sharana movement, which under the leadership of Basavanna, could have turned merely a social struggle, Allama had to join the movement.” (translated)
Allama and Basavanna are two of the important vachanakaras who lived in the 16th centure CE. A vachana (or vacana) is a lyric that imbibed timeless philosophical/social concerns and expressed them in layman terms. Vachanakaras helped in unleashing and disseminating knowledge, which was until then mainly confined to Sanskrit or “non-layman” Kannada. Allama was perhaps the most important of them. A brief bio of Allama and a few of his translated vachanas. I wish Allama is extensively translated and read.
They also talk about the unhappy situation of the drift between the fields of literature (arts, for that matter) and technology. Also about post modernist concerns in Patil's works and the new Kannada poetry. Patil won the Central Sahitya Academy award for his novel Teru (literally, The Holy Chariot). Incidentally, he is my uncle and Malladihalli is one of my homes. So there.
Dr. K. Ayyappa Panicker died recently, on 23rd August 2006. He was a Malayalam poet, critic, and a scholar of great repute. Dr. U R Ananthamurthy writes a memoir to Ayyappa Panicker with who he shared a very special friendship. His article gives not just a his personal view of his relationship with Dr. Panicker, but also the flow of creativity and thoughts across Bhasha writers (regional language writers). The likes of O V Vijayan, Panicker, Govindan, Gopalakrishna Adiga, Ananthamurthy belonged to the “creative monority” non-community.
Noteworhty is another English post with a provocative title, India of the Rich & Bharat of the Poor. An excerpt below. A lot of scope for debate here.
These days in expensive private schools the children of the rich don't have an opportunity to expand their experience by coming to know of the rich life and culture of the poor of this country. This will create two countries, the India of the rich and the Bharath of the Poor. I want common schools empowered again so that all the children of this country have an opportunity to share their joy of learning together and also learning from one another in a mixed school. They should learn in the medium of the language of the region and also learn to speak English for it brings about a sense of equality among the children of the rich and the poor.
OLN talks about the language police who want to keep the “sanctity” of a language. He uses the word ‘maDi’ in Kannada which has connotations of sanctity, and which also means ‘to die’. So, he says if you insist on a ‘maDi bhaShe’ (sanctified language), you are only saying ‘maDi bhaShe’ (die, language!). A good sensible article in the face of ignorant language “protectors”.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being in Bangalore. What a fascinating title! Sriram does a detailed review of Janaki Nair's book on Bangalore. He calls it a “wonderful treatise”. The post is in English. An excerpt.
While the book focusses most on the twentieth century as a time period for looking at Bangalore, it is difficult to wriggle away from either the past or the present continuum. Being one of the the fastest growing cities, a city that had intentions of having a planned growth and also being cosmopolitan for ages, the issues that a city like Bangalore throws up are interesting and diverse. Janaki Nair starts off by looking at two parts of the city – Bengaluru and Bangalore – the older part where the so called “natives” stayed and the cantonment area which was a world of its own. Unlike Hyderabad, Delhi and Ahmedabad, Bangalore does not have an “old city” which is in the walled area and a new city that is more modern. It is just that these two areas grew simultaneously.
I think our Kannada dailies and media (other language media also) should regularly visit blogs like nUreMtu suLLu. Among other things, the blog demythifies some things that media claims and gives out incisive comments about Kannada newspapers. A “meta-media” of sorts. As they insist in their subtitle: You may not be a “Dhrutharashtra”, but we want to be the Sanjaya for you! The posts are in English with a judicious mix of Kannada.
On a related note, the Times group has bought the VRL group of newspapers/magazines. What a pity! Pavanaja writes that it in not new that an organisation runs both English and regional language dailies. All these organisations have a seperate editor, reporters and staff for the different language papers. But the way times is going to do this is totally new and hopeless. The Kannada news paper is going to be called “Times of India-Karnataka”, and 80% of the news is *translation* of Bangalore Times “news” articles! No reporters needed. Also, the translator's job is easy. What is there to translate in Times of India? Pictures? We surely live in interesting Times.. er times.
Harishchandra Shetty has a set of funny cartoons. Very contemporary. Like many people, Harsha finds out that Chikungunya has got nothing to do with Chicken. And he finds that out in the US. Heh. Funny post. Here are some smileys that you could use in IM. Well, Kannada smileys. :) Er.. or should I smile in Kannada?
Shyam Kishore remembers his father through a sentimental poem and asks his father to come back, as his child. Adige Mane (cooking room or kitchen) gives you eclectic recipes. Recipes are in English. Benaka writes a series of posts on his Japan tour.
Shiv Shankar writes about Ganapa (Ganesh, Vinayaka et al.) and his “phase transitions” – a traditions confined to homes, public celebrations, calenders-cassettes-“collections”, “shows” using latest technology, well, and so on. But still Ganapa is timeless. Triveni is intrigued by the notion of “drushti taaguvudu” or “nazar lag jaana”, as it is called in Hindi/Urdu, for cute kids. And wonders about the fate of so many cute kids that come under the scrutiny of so many eyes in our shopping malls. I rather wonder about the fate of the er.. cute girls that are ogled at by so many incisive eyes at these malls. ;)
vnag writes a post on his denture. I recall Ogden Nash's famous lines: Some tortures are physical others mental; One that is both is dental. Although the post is amusing to the readers, vnag is not at all amused with the long painful process it takes just to cleanse one's denture despite having made much progress in the medical field.
That's about it for now. Till the next time, good bye!

author: Sanket Patil


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Argentina: Crime and Trash in Buenos Aires · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Expat Argentina describes his first protest in Argentina when he saw Juan Carlos Blumberg – whose son was killed by kidnappers – speak about crime and security in Argentina. On a related note, Cintra has an unfortunate update on the “Palermo crime wave.” Meanwhile the city government blog Pasa en Buenos Aires reports on the findings on a recent survey about trash in the city (ES).

author: David Sasaki


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Bangladesh: On 9/11 · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Or How I Learnt To Stop Worrying on the events of 9/11 – including the worry for people, the anxiety and the frenzied calls. “I later found out that both of my college housemates were in the towers that day. My other friend was having breakfast in Morgan Stanley’s cafeteria on the 43rd floor of one of the towers. That trip to the cafeteria may have saved his life.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Remembering the victims · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Bengali Fob Says… on remembering the victims of 9/11, and the consequences of the tragedy. “Another thing that annoys me about 9/11 tributes is the fact that the Americans never show the ethnic Americans who died. “


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Bermuda: Hurricane Florence aftermath · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey returns home after waiting out hurricane Florence in Bermuda's capital. He's pleased to report that the damage is “nowhere near as bad as it was after [2003 hurricane] Fabian.”


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Bolivia: TV and Protests · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Ben and Eduardo Ávila begin their descriptions of La Paz and the current state of Bolivia with meditations on the programming of local TV. Jim Shultz offers his opinions on the four-department general strike by political opponents of Evo Morales’ MAS government and Miguel Buitrago has the latest on continuing protests.


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Brazil: Photos from Vacaria · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Andrew of Comings Communiqué has photos and descriptive captions of the small village of Vacaria.


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Bulgaria: Sofia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Halfway Down the Danube compares Bulgaria's capital Sofia to Romania's capital Bucharest: “Bucharest has more cars; Sofia has better drivers.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Cameroon: West Cameroon Secessionists · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Fojrega writes (Fr): “As the crucial October 1 date nears, the majority anglophone provinces of the North West and South West are under high surveillance. Police and government authorities fear an increase in influence of SCNC activists who demand the independence of ex-Western Cameroon.“

author: Alice Backer


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China: Chinese fashion design show · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ye Ying blogs about a Chinese fashion design show in mindmeter. The design show took place in a factory studio in China. The blogger discusses about the challenge of Chinese design: as the oriental imagination is becoming cliche, how can the young generation designers explore a more diversified path? (zh)

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Video save taskforce needed · Global Voices
John Kennedy

When tens of thousands of Ruian, Zhejiang citizens came out to protest the official conclusion of an investigation into the death of high school teacher Dai Haijing, it didn't take long for the news—despite being banned from mainstream media—to flash through Chinese blogs and BBS’.
When short videos were taken by those at the scene with mobile phones and posted on the internet, it didn't take long for the Chinese versions of Youtube to start deleting them.
A scan of the blogsphere today suggests Global Voices Online bloggers weren't the only ones caught off guard by the video shorts’ swift disappearances, or lacking the know-how to preserve these clips, suggesting the need for a Chinese blogsphere rapid response video save taskforce. Any takers?
Here are some tips on how to save video from sites like Youtube.


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China: who are netizen? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In response to a blog post concerning the power of netizen (pageviews) in defence of Baidu, Keso criticizes that the meaning of “netizen” is now similar to “people”, both are flexible and empty concepts (zh).


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Colombia: 2006 World Roller Speed Skating Championships · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Who knew!? According to Proyecto Colombia, Colombia is number one in the 2006 World Roller Speed Skating Championships.


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Cuba: Non-Aligned security · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia wonders if the tight security around the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Havana is to keep intruders out — or the delegates in.