text:
Russia: Government Encourages Intolerance · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In his comment to Yuri Mamchur's post on Russia Blog, Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush argues that the Russian government encourages intolerance.


text:
Russia: Krasnodar · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Brigid of Laughter in the Dark writes about a cab driver in Krasnodar, a southern Russian city: ““Where in the hell did you learn to speak Russian?” and “How did your husband ever permit you to travel alone?” The standard taxi-conversation fare. As I anticipated the next standard question – a variant of: “what the hell were you Americans thinking when you elected that jerk?” – Ivan Ivanovich shocked me by replacing it with a new one: “So, do you have kids? No? Well, how old are you? Young lady, you’d better get busy as you’re running out of time….””

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Russia: Siberian Adventure, Part 2 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jane Keeler of From Russia With Blog posts part 2 of her Siberian photo-travelogue: “From Irkutsk to Olkhon.”


text:
Singapore: Collaborative Science Fiction · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

“In mid century 2200, the oppressed male population of the earth started to rise for male emancipation, which is pushed by the technology that enables male to be pregnant and to breastfeed.”  Rani is inviting co-authors to her wiki to help her write a story about a future where women dominate the world.

author: Preetam Rai


text:
Singapore: Rethinking the Opposition · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Exodusfalls does not agree with a ruling party MP who questioned the role of opposition in Singapore's parliament. “If we are to be a mature society, we as Singaporeans should not view the opposition as troublemakers, but as equally credible representatives of the people who also serve as a check-and-balance for the government in Parliament. But if we continue rather radical mindsets about the opposition, we may stifle what might truly be best for our society.”


text:
Slovenia: On Not Skiing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Michael of The Glory of Carniola explains why he doesn't ski and what it's like to be a non-skier in Slovenia: “Being a non-skiier in Slovenia is a bit like being an atheist in America: you automatically belong to a distrusted minority. If a Slovene asks you if you ski, you say yes. You shouldn't say that you don't and, for the love of God, don't tell them you have no intention of learning. I've done the latter a few times and it's never been pretty.”


text:
Sri Lanka: Peace, Women and ICT · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

ICT for Peacebuilding has a feature on women and ICT. “ICT4Peace needs to embrace this rich texture of gender dynamics in the development of cutting-edge ICT solutions for strengthening peace processes.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Exam time · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

As high school students in St. Vincent gear up for the CXC exams and observe last-day traditions such as the signing of each other's school shirts, Abeni waxes nostalgic about her own school leaving. With employment at more than 20%, however, she finds it hard to feel optimistic about the future of the current crop of school-leavers.

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
This Week’s Synopsis of  West African Weblogs · Global Voices
Imnakoya

Nigeria
Political Impasse in Nigeria– Yebo Gogo
Fontaine at Yebo Gogo, continues the discussion on the political impasse in Nigeria as a result of an attempt to extend the tenure of the current president, Mr. Obasanjo, whose tenure expires in 2007.
“Rumors have been swirling the past few weeks that Nigerian MPs have been offered land, cars and cash to support President Olusegun Obasanjo's bid to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. Quite a few Nigerian newspapers have been reporting this using anonymous or lower-level sources, but today the BBC carried an interview with MP Uche Onyeagucha, who said he was offered a plot of land in the capital, Abuja.”
Financing University Education — African Unchained
Emeka Okafor, a Nigerian blogger at African Unchained,  offers some recommendations to address the problem of financing higher education, a problem faced by several African nations:
“Universities must improve on internal efficiencies in the utilisation of financial, human and other resources. Diversification of the revenue base through consultancies and commissioned research. Cost sharing where the beneficiaries contribute towards tuition fees and their personal maintenance on campus. Sale of excess capacity that may be available (rental of lecture rooms, seminar rooms and halls etc.) Fund raising through endowments and alumni associations. Establishment of fee paying continuing education programmes run on a part time basis or during vacations. Establishing independently run and effectively managed joint commercial ventures…”
Beware!  SIM card hackers– IT Realms
Remmy at ITRealms muses about some recent trends in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Nigeria.
“Some hackers are on the “prowl probably to take their own pound of flesh in the nation’s burgeoning telecommunications sector. ..The avalanche of calls received by subscribers in the past weeks from some fraudsters claiming to be engineers from various telecommunication companies offering services with the intent that they are checking on subscriber lines. And in the process these engineers would request their victims to press ash-key 90 (#90) or (#09) or even any other number depending on the new codes they may wish to deploy for their tricks. Experts, however, warn that by pressing whatever number given to you by these so-called Telco engineers, would expose subscribers to fraud which includes unveiling the access code to the Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) popularly known as SIM card…”
Lights Out!– Unilag Faces
Power failure is a perennial problem in Nigeria. A blogger at the university blog- Unilag Faces states:
“…Power failure is a major problem in our country, Nigeria. But do you think this should be a problem in the University? Last semester, my class was deprived of some lectures due to power outage. After all, we pay our school fees. I thought UNILAG [university of Lagos, Nigeria] has standby generators to supply the entire school with electricity when PHCN decide to ‘do their job’. A few of my exams in the past have been postponed because the exam hall had no electricity. Judging from the large number of students in my class, the Art Theatre is the only place that can contain us perfectly. Most of my lectures and exams are set in this theatre that cannot be used without electricity. Finding an ordinary class that needs no light will also be a bad idea because none of the ceiling fans are working. All I’m trying to say is that power failure should be the last thing to alter our school schedule.”
Lingua Franca–  On a Lighter Mode
Anthony blogging at On a Lighter Mode rants about the mastery of the English language by Nigerians.
“A 30-mins watch of the news will tell you how hard the people are trying to learn another man's language.…Funniest thing is if you make the mistake of making a grammatical blunder (not speak English correctly), you will be the object of scorn and ridicule for as long as the memory of people who heard your blunder lasts. Then go to other countries and see that what we [Nigerians] all carry in our heads to be the language of the intellectuals is not a criterion for achieving astounding feats in fields of endeavour. Or how do you explain the fact that a German Professor who has gotten to great heights in research cannot speak English? How does he teach & learn from science? It's definitely through his native tongue…That's why the Chinese President would not directly speak English even if he can. He would rather do it through an interpreter. Even if people like these force themselves to speak English, they do not bother if their English is of the most impeccable standard. No one boos them for not speaking it correctly. This can't be done over here oh! It's the dailies that will floor whoever the person is and tell him to go back to school to learn English.”
Cameroon
Cameroon 9 still in prison– Black Looks
Sokari, a Nigerian resident in Spain discusses a report that states “that the government of Cameroon continues to refuse to release the 9 men acquitted of homosexuality charges on the 21st April 2006.
“In a further travesty of justice, the government is forcing the men to stand trial again. The men have been detained in Kondegui Prison in Yaoundé for nearly a year. At their initial trial, no witnesses were called and no proof offered by the prosecution, so Judge Tonye, the magistrate overseeing the case, declared the men innocent of all charges. The men expected to be released from prison quickly but the prosecutor’s office has refused to order their release and has said that the men will be retried…”
Senegal
Coming home– Circling the Baobabs
Michelle, an American student studying language and culture in Senegal, shares some of her experience in Senegal via her blog “Circling the Baobabs”.
“I want to say this about our voyage: I've never decided to set out like that, to discover a country on my own, to go without a plan. All of my previous trips have been with a purpose, never to just go on a whim, with no itinerary in mind. We were equipped with a few changes of clothes and an outdated West Africa Lonely Planet. En plus, we were two girls from Senegal making the trek alone, making it after a sojourn of seven months in Senegal lending to our ability to dig deeper than just the topsoil of the place and really try to see it out — within the rights of our limitations in how far you can really know in 10 days. We could shed certain clichés like traveling in a taxi brousse or the feeling of “being in Africa” or of buying a cheesy African souvenirs to take home. Further, we found ourselves embraced constantly by a Senegalese world, one in which we never would have discovered had we set foot in Mauritania cold without a Senegal under our belt. We found Wolof and names we knew to pronounce and family friends who aided and directed and talked to us along the way — it was a home away from home transporting us from familiar to new and back again.”

author: Imnakoya


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Digicel reviewed · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

aka_lol offers a personal assessment of the performance thus far of Irish-owned cellular service provider Digicel, which entered the Trinidad & Tobago market in April 2006.


text:
Uzbekistan: Andijon Anniversary · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

James at neweurasia has an event summary of Carnegie Endowment conference on Uzbekistan and the one year anniversary of last year's uprising in Andijon.

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Uzbekistan: St. Louis Revolutionary · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net writes about Bakhodir Choriev, the Uzbek revolutionary of St. Louis, who is trying to organize protest against the Uzbek government from the United States.


text:
Vietnam: Vietnam For First Time Visitors · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Our Man In Hanoi looks at Vietnam from the point of view of an expat and also that of a tourist. There is plenty of good advice for the first time visitor like this on what to do in Hanoi. “What should you do in Hanoi?  My advice is nothing.  Just walk (if it's cool enough) and drink lots of coffee and watch the world go by.  Eat well and soak up the madness.”


text:
Zimbabwe: Interview with Brian Kagoro · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Enough is Enough posts an audio interview with Brian Kagoro, who is a Zimbabwean activist. He discusses the split in the MDC into two parties, one led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the other by Arthur Mutambara.

author: Sokari Ekine


text:
Barbados: BTA inks deal with NY Mets  · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Linda Thompkins reports that the Barbados Tourism Association has signed a promotional deal with the New York Mets baseball team. Mets fans will have the chance to win trips to Barbados and season ticket holders will be invited to a Mets-themed weekend in Barbados.


text:
Barbados: Immigration double standard · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A construction firm operating in Barbados was charged last year with hiring 14 illegal labourers from India: Barbados Free Press wonders how come the same penalties aren't levelled at immigrants from other Caribbean countries, but concludes that “somehow, I don't think that the Barbados sugar industry could survive if all the illegals were rounded up.”


text:
Barbados: Kamau Braithwaite · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp pays tribute to Edward Kamau Braithwaite on the occasion of the Barbadian poet's birthday.


text:
Belarus: Author of Denim Theme Faces Prison · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitski reports that “the author of the denim color theme for the Belarusian revolution, Mikita Sasim, may end up in prison for six months. The prosecutor demands such a harsh punishment for the defendant’s alleged evasion of the military service. However, Sasim does not see his guilt.”


text:
Belarus: WFTU’s Support for Lukashenko · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog considers it a good idea to protest the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) leader's support for Lukashenko’s regime. WFTU “boasts of 129 million members in 130 countries.”


text:
Black Britian: mental illness · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Soul on Ice discusses mental illness amongst Britains black population.  Africans and African Caribbean have the  highest incidence of mental illness despite their relatively low numbers in the wider population


text:
Bosnia-Herzegovina: Study on Karadzic Poetry · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Ghost of Finding Karadzic quotes from a research paper by Jay Surdukowski, a lawyer, scholar and poet, on “how poetry can be used to prove genocidal intent.”


text:
Botswana: Harvard AIDS partnership · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Nata Village Blog posts on the “Botswana Harvard AIDS Partnership” They are in Nata for two weeks to provide training on software and registering HIV patients.


text:
China: Activists meet Bush · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Veteran Chinese blogger Wang Ning notes that the news today of three Chinese rights activists—one of which is a prominent blogger—meeting with American president George W. Bush had been cut out of Hong Kong television news. [zh]

author: John Kennedy


text:
China: Mumblings from Marxists and mortgage owners · Global Voices
John Kennedy

After more than twenty years of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, education and health care remain prohibitively expensive for the majority of the population, privatisation in many sectors has left millions unemployed, independent labor unions are outlawed and capitalist hyperdrive has pushed the gap between rich and poor close to the breaking point.
While Marxism remains a relevant ideology for the hundreds of millions of Chinese still classified as peasants, for the Chinese government it's become a target for censorship on the internet—evidenced by the forced closure earlier this year of several of China's largest labor websites.
Individual blogs, however, are helping to keep the discussion flowing. On Wu Zuolai's Sina blog we see some of that sentiment expressed:
我曾编过民间故事方面全集，发现民间故事中穷人普遍仇恨富人，穷人致富人于死地似乎是天经地义的事情，可以没有法律也不顾人性。
马克思主义为什么在中国或在穷苦的国家极具市场与生命力？因为马克思将富人划分为一个阶级，一个被穷人名正言顺地仇视的阶级，一个可以推翻的阶级，一个剥削人民压迫人民的阶级，一个吃人肉不吐骨头的阶级，一个为自己制造掘墓人的阶级，一个腐朽的必将灭亡的阶级。
-snip-
中国的穷人因此是可悲的，因为他们不致力于建设一个公平的社会，一个博爱的社会，而是致力于打击富人，打击富贵，不打击造成不公平社会的制度。新的国家建立起来了，不还是一部分人掌握着社会财富，不还是一些利益集团在获取分配权与掠夺权。只不过不叫什么蒋宋孔陈四大家族，而改叫什么中国电信中国石油中国铁路人民银行中国房地产中央电视等等带中国字头或人民字头的集团了，以前是一个家族现在是一个集团，这些集团与过去的集团本质上没有什么变化，一是用国家权力意志来实现他们集团的利益，二是对社会对人民没有公平没有博爱，人民对他们没有发言权。
Several responses follow, all anonymous—
一切改进的行为需要执政者作出，也就是说执政者决定着我们的命运。如何影响执政者，是当前最重要的命题。当我们思考这个问题时，却发现能够影响执政者的每一条道路都被他们封的死死的……老吴，你说该怎么办？请回答
中国的财富与权力一样，是被放纵的。放纵的权力与财富就成了一股动物的力量，野蛮的力量，为恶的力量，当然会造成人人得而诛之的社会思想。当代中国最大的问题是权力与财富正在合成强大的力量，左右着社会做病态的畸形的高速的发展！
如果怀疑富人致富的原因,我只会去找政府,而不会去怪罪富人—-
—except for one, the longest, from Qian Shuiwan (浅水湾) who, incidentally, once had an MSN Spaces blog , until the company shut it down:
撅取财富的手段不外两种性质：正当和不正当，这相对不同的社会状态而言，正常状态下的正当和非正当是顺向的，而非常状态下的正当和非正当却是反向的。今天的中国社会，包括港澳台三地处在多种状态下，所以中国人的财富分配是极其复杂而多样的。
但不可否认的一点是整个中国人社会里，对财富的急速占有欲望都达到了令人难以置信的地步。所以才有赌场越开越旺，超女一夜成名，在香港，从合法途径，靠买六合采和赌马，每周都有几个百万富翁产生，前两年一家电视台有台节目就叫《百万富翁》，每期造就一个百万富翁。这就我们的社会现实，正是这种非常致富，给人们很多幻想，也有很多不平和仇视，过去我们佛教讲认命倒给一些以宿命的安慰，今天破除宿命，也就留下革命的种子。
A look at major Chinese portal site and blog host Sohu, we see a related post at Sheng Yuwen's blog on the recent and increasingly discussed issue in China of ‘mortgage slaves'—urban homeowners finding themselves trapped economically by stagnant wages and volatile property prices. While China's rural majority may not consider this a major issue, those that do have an equal amount to say:
亚里士多德在其所著《政治学》中给奴隶下了一个定义，很精辟，引在下面：
（1） 任何人在本性上不属于自己的人格而从属于别人，则自然而为奴隶；
（2） 任何人既然成为一笔财产（一件用品），就应当成为别人的所有物；
（3） 这笔财产就在生活行为上被当作一件工具，这种工具是和其所有者可以分离的。
照这个说法，房子应该成为了我们的主人，那房子的主人是谁呢，就是我们的房产开发商．这个时代我们已经成为我们的开发商的奴隶，能用这样的词语来进行自我嘲讽吗？我们中国从西周开始已经消灭了奴隶制度，经历的文明的封建时代，也没有听说有房奴之说，到了更加文明的今天，返祖现象又出现了，这不能不说是历史的倒退．
China abolished slavery as early as the Western Zhou dynasty. Up until the civilized feudal times, one never heard talk of such ‘mortgage slaves.’ Only in all the more civilized today do we see the reappearance of such backwardness, which can only be said is historical regression.
记得我小时候听说，中国十亿人口，八亿农民，现在我应该说中国人口总数的小数点前面的是穷人也就是他们所说的房奴，小数点后面的是富人也就是他们所称的奴隶主．买不起房子的叫奴隶，买的起房子的也叫奴隶，我们奴隶含义的泛化已经让我们感觉到中国富人时代的到来，也为我们感觉到中国两极分化的加剧．
Can't afford to buy a house and you're a slave to your house. Even those who can are still slaves to their mortgages. The pervasiveness of those we call slaves shows us that the time for China's rich has already arrived, and lets us feel the intensified polarization in China.
现在是社会主义，把穷人套在奴隶的身份上未免是对我们中国无产阶级的嘲弄，也是对我们人民当家作主的嘲弄．难道几个开发商就能在遥控我们的无产阶级专政的主人地位，我们都是他们的奴隶，我觉的中国１３亿的人都应该清醒了！
A sample of comments left:
资本主义时代,大部分人是金钱的努力,社会大变革的今天,谁安全霸占的越多,越有可能成为奴隶主,共产党的官僚阶层是最容易成为奴隶主的
我们不是奴隶，更不是房奴，而是社会主义制度和改革给于我们的福利。试问：将购买房子人，定性为房奴，说此话之人，用心何在？
从来都是无产者革资产者的命,革命本身会造成社会的动荡,但唯有彻底的革命资源才能重新分配,才能打破旧的制度社会才能得到进一步发展,历来的武装革命都是因为社会没有民主制度以及相应的社会资源分配不均衡所导致的唯一的也是必然的选择,然而如今虽然政府也在大力发展民主政治,但可以看到收效不大,从政府官员到平头百姓都在为眼前利益奔忙,谁管什么民主,民主离我们太远了!要等到那一天不知社会已经经历了几场革命,历来的统治者都是在这种进退两难的处境中被推翻的,所以如何进行一场不见硝烟的彻底的变革才是确保我们改革成功的关键!
房奴只是一些记者写出的哗众取宠的名词。我买房了，贷款买房了，但是我的生活并没有受到太多影响，因为我量力而行，买了自己能买的起房子。
你是什么人,是不是普通的人,你自算一下,一个房子要多少钱,普通的人(80%)的人能买得起吗!!


text:
China: Online TV RSS’d · Global Voices
John Kennedy

China Media blog Danwei‘s Danwei TV now has an RSS feed.


text:
China: Proxy server software · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Asiapundit‘s myrick reveals that which netizens in China desire most. Look now before it's too late.


text:
Colombia: Introducing Creative Commons · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ariel Vercelli is currently in Colombia garnering support for the adoption of Creative Commons licenses (ES). He recently gave a talk at the Politécnico Grancolombiano about “Creative Commons licenses in Latin America and their potential for collaborative production of content.” Carolina Botero (ES), currently in California, is one of the leaders of Creative Commons in Colombia.

author: David Sasaki


text:
Costa Rica: Protests Against Free Trade Agreement · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Scott Pralinsky, describing Oscar Arias’ presidential inauguration says that “despite the numbers of people supporting Arias, several thousand protesters marched outside to demand Costa Rica not ratify the Cafta free-trade agreement.” Uri Ridelman has photos of the prosters. Professor Roberto Gallardo, in a post titled “They Don't Represent Me,” says he is uncomfortable with students who raised the flag of the University of Costa Rica at the anti-Free Trade protests and emphasizes that the university has not and cannot take a position on the agreement.


text:
DRC: Free Alaa · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog du Congolais joins in  (Fr) the campaign to free Egyptian blogger Alaa.

author: Alice Backer


text:
Egypt: Alaa blogging from his Prison · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Alaa wrote the post by hand, and his friends got it out and posted it for him, so yeah. He seems in high spirits, and they seem to have left him unharmed so far, so that's good to hear. That means the campaign has been successful so far, Sandmonkey said.

author: Haitham Sabbah


text:
Egypt: Blogging Behind Bars · Global Voices
Elijah Zarwan

On May 10, Alaa Ahmed Seif al-Islam, the award-winning blogger detained three days earlier for participating in peaceful protests in Cairo, became  the first people to blog from prison.
“Today it hit me,” Alaa began his post, “I am really in prison. I'm not sure how I feel…The way fellow prisoners look at me tells me I do not feel well but I can't really feel it.”
Thanks in part to an energetic campaign in the Egyptian, Arab, and international blogosphere, his detention has already helped call attention to the Egyptian government's recent crackdown on dissent. Soon after Alaa's detention, a handful of bloggers from around the world began a group blog dedicated to campaigning for his release.  Andy Carvin, a Massachussets-based blogger created a video urging bloggers to participate in a “Google-bombing” campaign to associate Alaa's name with “Egypt” in Google's databases. Others began work on a Wikipedia page on Alaa. Shohdy Naguib Sorour—in exile in Russia since 2002, when he became the first Egyptian to face prosecution for his online activities—urged Russian bloggers to get involved. Sandmonkey started a successful online petition (and found he was getting a lot of online visits from the Egyptian government thereafter).
The international press penned stories. International rights groups Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch issued statements. People gathered for protests in front of Egyptian consulates in big American cities. Meanwhile, the comments on Manalaa.net, the blog Alaa and his wife Manal maintain, continue to show an outpouring of support from within Egypt and around the world.
Sandmonkey, referring to a few of the international posts  seemed astounded by the response from the “one blogging world:”
Do you understand what this means?
It means that the Americans, Europeans, Arabs and Israelis are actually 1) in agreement, 2) united with one goal in mind, and 3) working together to achieve it. How about that? Is the blogsphere awesome or what?
His good mood didn't last long. On May 11 in Cairo, two outspoken, senior judges refused to appear before an extraordinary disciplinary board convened to punish them for speaking out against vote-rigging and voter intimidation in last year's elections because they could not bring their defense lawyers with them.
Outside, police violently dispersed demonstrations in their support, again. This time, police and “middle-aged men with walkie-talkies” (Issandr El-Amrani's description) also beat journalists from Al-Jazeera, Reuters, and the Associated Press. They also briefly detained an employee of the U.S. Embassy. Sandmonkey was blogging the day's events in real-time. Issandr has a good account at Arabist and photographs on Flickr. A friend sent me an account with some analysis by email.
Baheyya, reflecting on the recent unrest, remained optimistic:
What is happening in Egypt today has caught the men of the regime off guard. They never anticipated the resolve of judges to follow through on their mission of ensuring clean elections. They never anticipated the persistence and depth of popular support for the judges. And they never imagined that indiscriminate and brute force would only reinforce the resolve of both judges and activist segments of the public. Most of all, they never thought that election-time mobilisation would continue well after elections were over.
Sometimes, it is the simple but fatal mistake of miscalculation that is the undoing of the high and mighty.
My emailing friend is less so:
This state is hopeless. It is authoritarian and rotten to its core and one can only hope that some sort of change occurs. Yet, I remain skeptical that no matter how brave or stubborn the social forces resisting the state are, that much can be achieved. In Egypt, there can be no third way. This is not a state that is behaving like its scared or weak. It is a state that is boldly asserting its repressive power against its unarmed citizens. This state is not interested in practicing politics. It is incapable of dealing with its polity politically or diffusing political problems. Instead, it relies on repression, coercion, and intimidation. A high majority of Egyptians will be forced in acquiescence through fear. Yet, fear cannot and will not ever expand regime power.
The U.S. State Department even weighed in. Its May 11 statement on the government crackdown was about as strong as these things come:
We are deeply concerned by reports of Egyptian Government arrests and repression of demonstrators protesting election fraud and calling for an independent judiciary. Particularly troubling are reports of Egyptian police tactics against demonstrators and journalists covering the event that left many injured. We urge the Egyptian Government to permit peaceful demonstrations on behalf of reform and civil liberties by those exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression.
We are also troubled by reports that the periods of detention of many of those arrested have been extended and that security-related charges have been filed against them. We have noted our serious concern about the path of political reform and democracy in Egypt and actions such as these are incongruous with the Egyptian Government's professed commitment to increased political openness and dialogue within Egyptian society. We will be following up with the Egyptian Government regarding our concerns and will continue to push for political reform and freedom of speech and press. We support the rights of Egyptians and people throughout the Middle East to peacefully advocate for democracy and political reform.
Further, the Associated Press reported grumblings about Egypt's U.S. military aid package on Capitol Hill.
A “namby pamby response” Sandmonkey scoffed. “A muddled message,” Arabist.net agreed.    Perhaps, but the press, and now the diplomatic response, should have at least put the Egyptian government on notice that it can't detain more than 100 secular activists and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, or beat journalists covering the detentions, without the world taking notice.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Elijah Zarwan


text:
Francophonia: Remembering Bob Marley · Global Voices
Alice Backer

“May 11, 1981 – May 11, 2006: It's been 25 years since Bob Marley left us”, says (Fr) Martiniquan blog Bondamanjak.  France-based Forum Realisance  posts lyrics to Redemption Song and commemorates the Jamaican legend (Fr): “I had the incredible fortune of meeting him in Brussels in a private club; I was overjoyed. Listen to Get Up Stand Up or  Buffalo Soldier and you will see that the great Bob  had great passion for freedom and justice and that he too suffered the weight of  history.”


text:
Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador: Mining Controversies · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gold prices are quickly approaching an all-time high which has inspired a new boom in prospecting around Central and South America. The Honduras News Blog asks if gold mines are good or bad for Honduras, while the Guatemala Solidarity Network continues coverage on the Marlin mine in San Marcos, Guatemala, encouraging readers to sign a petition against it. Cyril Mychalejko writes from Junin, Ecuador where a movement has formed to protest a proposed copper mine. And finally, Tim Muth, offers his views on gold mining in El Salvador, arguing that “environmental costs must be accounted for and mitigated.”


text:
Haiti: Advertising works · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Living in Haiti has opened the eyes of T&T & Tribe, a family of US missionaries, to the fact that “advertising works”: “We have not felt any burning desires to go get a bunch of junk that we did not know existed prior to seeing the commercial, the billboard, or hearing the radio advertisement.” They're nevertheless awed by the advertising campaign launched by Irish-owned cellular service provider Digicel, which recently entered the Haitian market.


text:
Haiti: CONAREPA, a New Peasant Organization · Global Voices
Alice Backer

“A new coalition composed of six peasant organizations from different regions  was created May 4″ says (Fr) Alterpresse.  “CONAREPA's  [National Coalition for Haitian Peasant Demands] objective is to look for appropriate solutions to the peasants’  main problems” and “does not embrace a particular political ideology or any political party.” Their  preoccupations include: “reforestation; agrarian reform; road construction in rural areas; decentralization of social services [away from the capital] and judicial reform. ” One of the organizations, Tet Kole, took an official stand against peasant groups who supported presidential candidate Charles-Henri Baker during last month's presidential election, explains Alterpresse.


text:
Haiti: Two thumbs down for Kevin Sites · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Alice Backer gives reporter Kevin Sites “two thumbs down” for his Flickr photo journal of Haiti. “The photo journal does what mainstream journalists usually do when they show Haiti: show the very worst and the very worst *only*. Some would argue that the shock created by the pictures helps bring attention to the problems. Hmmm… only partially. At this point Haiti is dealing with a “helplessly hopeless and darn right cursed” image that MSM tend to feed into.”


text:
Helping the Homeless in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user beth4ever accidentally discovered (online) a group of volunteers feeding the homeless in the Moscow subway and at train stations, and decided to join them. Here's her account (RUS), also posted in the ru_homeless LJ community:
On the homeless.
I found this link and took part in an event last Tuesday. How did it go? I came to Chistye Prudy, found the building and the apartment. There were ten people or so there. Some of the food was ready: bananas, milk in small cartons (with straws), bags with cookies. Then Vika arrived and brought with her bread, cucumbers, dill and sausage. We quickly sliced everything and made sandwiches. We packed each sandwich into a separate little bag. Then we split into groups. Three people per group. The group that went to feed people at the train stations there were two young men and one young woman, in the other two (that went into the subway) there were only young women. I understand that it's not as safe at the train stations.
It took us about an hour. There are not enough people to walk around the neighborhoods [in addition to the subway]. Our route was this: Chistye Prudy, Lubyanka, Taganka, Chistye Prudy (I guess). As Vika explained to me, usually they meet 9-10 people at these stations in an hour. Most of them aren't strangers, but sometimes there are new faces and people from other routes. The names of all those we encountered are entered into a special notebook, for further reference.
We didn't come up to those who, despite looking like beggars, were selling something. Here's why. If a person is trying to earn money, he may get offended if you treat him as a beggar. And [we didn't come up] to those [beggars] who move from car to car. Are we supposed to run after them with our sandwiches? Also makes sense.
But on that Tuesday there weren't many people for some reason: we met only five.
First, there was a very elderly woman, a former teacher at the school for the deaf, if I'm not mistaken. Her memory is very good and in general she makes sense when she talks. She lives in a kommunalka [communal apartment]. According to her, her former colleagues (Ministry of Education is nearby) sometimes pass by and pretend they don't recognize her. Her [apartment] neighbors once dismantled the closet where she stored old textbooks for children, with pictures, etc. They threw them away. And this was a tragedy for her.
Then there was another old lady. A religious one. She took nothing but bananas because she was fasting. Even cookies looked suspect to her, the ingredients. She showed off her new socks, three pairs for 40 rubles ($1.50). Told us church news. Said that she's already saved enough money for her own funeral. And that she was going to start saving on something else, but that was a secret. As we understood it, for something in her church. She is very religious and has turned into a beggar more out of inner necessity. She could've been supported by her daughter and son-in-law.
Then we met a man with a stick. His face looked like it had been cut all over a long time ago. He said he'd leave in an hour because his legs get tired fast.
The last ones that we met was a couple: Queen Elena and Mikhail. Very fun guys. Only they smell bad. Elena – an overweight woman, vivacious. Makes up all kinds of stories. Announced that she saw me walking with foreigners and speaking Italian. Mikhail looks like an intellectual going through some rough times. Double-breasted coat. Reads newspapers, knows the news. In fact, he is most likely an ex-con.
Then we went back. The other group had more luck – they met many people. It'd be nice to organize something similar at Preobrazhenka, I guess. But our homeless (1) sell all kinds of stuff, and (b) hang out in rather big groups, it's be scary to come up to them.
Everyone we met were happy to see us and especially Vika. They remember how each person's doing, are curious about the lives of the movement's participants.
The point of these trips isn't really to feed people, though it is important, too. And if the people ask to get them [over-the-counter medication] or something, the movement's participants can accomplish that. But the real goal is to communicate, to show concern, to help.
Maybe I'll go again, it's not difficult and it's not scary.
Much respect to those who get involved regularly. I'd also recomment the ru_homeless [LJ] community.


text:
Hong Kong: Cultural Revolution remembered · Global Voices
John Kennedy

EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong translates an essay from Chinese Independent PEN president Liu Xiaobo in preparation for the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the Cultural Revolution which is this coming Tuesday.


text:
Images from Haiti: Hinche’s New Cathedral · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Hinche's new cathedral, Haiti. By Martin Baran.
Martin Baran blogs photos of Hinche, capital of Centre department, Haiti.


text:
India: Jarawas In Andaman Islands · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Fractured Earth on the plight of the Jarawas in the Andaman Islands. “Some of you may be aware of the rapidly deteriorating situation of the Jarawa of the Andaman Islands. We are told that they number around 300. A new epidemic of measles has struck them, with children who were born after the last epidemic in 1999 being affected.”


text:
India: Podcast with a 72 year old Cabdriver · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

With 4.5 million mobile phone subscriptions being added everyday, the face of technology in India is diverse. Kamla Bhatt in a podcast with a cabdriver from Delhi. “I met Mr. Sharma, 72 years old, a couple of months ago when I was visiting New Delhi, and he drove me around the city. The first thing he did when I got into his cab was give me his business card.”


text:
Indonesia: 1998  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Jakartass remembers the student demonstrations and subsequent events that took place eight years ago in Indonesia.


text:
Iran: Football & Politics · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Faryadnameh says a few deputies in European Parliament have proposed not to let Iran participate in World Cup in Germany. According the blogger nuclear crisis is one of their reasons (Persian). Blogger adds fortunately German Chancellor, Mrs. Angela Merkel, make it clear that sport & politics are two separate issues.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran: Surprising Silence! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Bavar writes the most surprising thing concerning Ramin Jahanbegloo , jailed scholar & journalist, is the silence of Iranian intellectuals and organizations in country. He adds Iranian reformists do not want to pay any cost by defending somebody who does not belong to their political circle (Persian). Blogger ironically says may be they (reformists) are so busy to create Human Rights & Freedom Front that they do not have any time for Jahanbegloo.


text:
Iraq: Shot for being Gay! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

14-year-old Ahmed Khalil has been shot, according to witnesses, by Iraqi police officers for being gay. According to his neighbours in the al-Dura area of Baghdad, Khalil was shot at point-blank range, after a scuffle with the police. QArab has the details.


text:
Israel: Bogus Math · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

A significant part of the national-religious community is feeling alienated from the IDF and Israeli society in general. And there is no question that the national-religious sector is important to the IDF and to the State of Israel. The argument goes that as the national-religious provide the backbone of israel defense capability, they deserve extra consideration. Details of the story told by Don Radlauer.


text:
Kenya: Law Gender & Land · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

kati ya wanawake  writes about Patricia Kameri-Mbote who recently spoke on law gender and land in Kenya…She sees Ms Kameri-Mbote as someone who could bring Kenya to a greater prosperity.


text:
Lao: Laotian Food · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Lao ocean girl links to couple of blogs that host recipes and videos to help you prepare Laotian dishes.


text:
Latin America: “Banana Unionism Goes Transnational” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Global Labor Strategies describes the genesis of the newly formed Coalition of Latin American Banana Unions (COLSIBA) in the post “Banana Unionism Goes Transnational.”


text:
Malawi: remembering Marley · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

afrika-aphukira remembers May 11th – 25 years since the death of Bob Marley – is it that long ago? Marley's words remain with us and are just as relevant as they were 25, 30 years ago.


text:
Martinique: Reflections on One Night Stand · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi] praises (Fr) another blogger's effort to create One Night Stand, an erotic film made from a non-heterosexual, non-male perspective. Says [Moi]: “I am awaiting its release impatiently …on DVD because it certainly won't be programmed at Madiana (multiplex right next door).”


text:
Mexico: Mexican National Anthem in English · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Never politically correct and at times offensive, Mark in Mexico has translated the Mexican National Anthem into English.


text:
Morocco: Eyewitness of a Tragedy at the University of Rabat · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Aissam was an eyewitness of a terrible tragedy of police brutality at the university campus of Rabat. The incident has left many students injured and parts of the dormitory destroyed. Aissam was the first to write about the story and the Moroccan media is now trying to distort the story. Read more (Ar) and see photos and a video of the incident. blafrancia (Ar) and M.S Hjiouj (Ar) has more.


text:
Nigeria: African Names · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla has a great post on the use of African names and points out the influence from the colonial period on names used by Nigerians and the naming of Nigerian places with European names.


text:
Nigeria: Constitutional debate · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Musings of a Naijaman comments on the continued debate or rather “(or-stand-up-and-be-counted process) that is taking place in Nigeria on the constitution.  His villain of the day is Abdul Oroh who has gone from human rights activists to apologist for extending Obasanjo's tenure.


text:
North Korea: Photos from inside · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Robert Koehler at The Marmot's Hole links to 301 photos taken recently in North Korea.


text:
Pakistan: Marketing Politics To The Infidels · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Lahore has a post on how the media reaches out to a certain “infidel” market segment.


text:
Pakistan: Three German Women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi profiles three German women who work on the Thatta Kedona project in Pakistan.


text:
Palestine: IDF Shoot Peace Activists in The Head · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The International Solidarity Movement in Palestine reports that Israeli soldiers shot two International Peace Activists in the head at Bil'in. The two activists were shot with rubber bullets along with seven Palestinians seven. One Australian and one Danish demonstrator were hospitalized after being shot in the head at close range. More details and photos by ISM here.


text:
Russia: Putin’s Speech · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Laurence Jarvik discusses a few points in Vladimir Putin's May 10 speech that have been overlooked by the media. He also comments on the mysterious mention of “Comrade Wolf” and links to Konstantin's explanation on Russian Blog. TaliaXianne of Something In The Way She Moves notes three different translations of Putin's “Comrade Wolf” quote.


text:
Somalia: Violence in Mogadishu · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Yebo Gogo reports on the violence in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.  “An alliance of warlords are battling a group that wishes to impose Islamic law in the Horn of Africa country, and hundreds of people”


text:
Somaliland: Historical background · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Voice of Somaliand-Ottawa provides an informative brief historical background to Somaliland and it's relationship with Somalia.


text:
South Korea: Protest crackdown fallout · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The Days in Daechuri blogger continues her ongoing bloggage of a the aftermath of a nation-wide protest last week during which 640 demonstrators detained and 16 arrested by the 15,000 riot police dispatched to Pyeongtaek, the farming village north of Seoul where the protests against American military base expansion took place.


text:
Southern Africa Blogosphere · Global Voices
Rethabile

"Commentary South Africa" report on the opportunity Jacob Zuma failed to take to clear up, "once and for all, the ridiculous notion that showering can ‘purify’ someone of recently-transmitted HIV” [commentary.co.za].  The view is that Zuma is trying to revive his political clout, and must therefore appear unbending. "Commentary" links to a Guardian article that talks about the gap between what should have been, a rape trial, and what it turned out to be, a political meeting, and points out that "the government is not living up to its end of the basic Hobbesian bargain between ruler and ruled: freedom for security. There is far, far too much tolerance of public violence in South Africa " [commentary.co.za].
"
Fodder" offers another observation on the Zuma trial.  It's Almost Supernatural; points to a letter that appeared in South Africa's the Eastern Cape Herald. The letter reportedly shows a hitherto unknown African anti-semitism, coupled with a dislike of America. Symptoms of a new strain of African Anti-Semitism have been spotted amongst Black Left-wing intellectuals in South Africa. The letter published in the Eastern Cape Herald this week encapsulates many of its features;
Rethabile on Mzansi Afrika; discusses racism, discrimination, and what could be done.
“As long as we're physically different, racism and discrimination will never leave our world. Unless something enormous happens. Something more threatening than an ominous cold war or a murderous hot one, something bigger than a natural catastrophe, something deadlier than any killer virus or monstrous organisms
"This is Zimbabwe" writes about the shortage of sanitary products in Zimbabwe, and how it is affecting women:
Shortages of sanitary ware go to the heart of women’s rights: it’s an issue which raises questions of whether a woman is  forced to stay away from work or school; whether she is putting her health at risk by picking up infections or, if she is HIV positive, whether those infections will literally shorten her life span

author: Rethabile


text:
Sri Lanka: Buddhism – Far away from theory · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The wide gaps between Buddhism – theory and practice at Sumna.


text:
Suriname: Emergency SMS · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Emergency SMS (short message service) could have helped the situation in Suriname, says Taran Rampersad: “Millions being spent world wide for disaster communication, and nobody wants to go with the cheapest solution that integrates into existing emergency communication and replaces ancient things which, by their nature, are allowing more damage than necessary.” Parts of Suriname have been experiencing catastrophic flooding for the past week.


text:
Thailand: Beer Review · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Paul H at 1stopchiangmai.com reviews beers available in Thailand, both local and imports. The post contains practical information for people trying Thai beers for the first time “Chang beer contains 6.4% alcohol, stronger than most other available beers. It is recommendable to drink it the Thai way, with some ice, so it becomes a less stronger ‘potion’ and most likely you not fall from your stool before it’s time to pay the bill.”


text:
Thailand: Thai pop music · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok resident Kity is not a big fan of Thai music but she manages to find one Thai song that she likes. In here post she translates the song for non-thai visitors and provides some background information on the tragic circumstances that inspired the song.


text:
Ukraine: Persecution of the Baptists · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leo Finkel reports that the Prosecutor General's Office is investigating “the Ukrainian Union of Baptist Churches, the largest Protestant congregation in Ukraine, with more than 2,500 communities and equal in number to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church's parishes.” Allegedly, the Baptists forged documents to privatize a building in the center of Kyiv.


text:
Venezuela: Denied Human Rights Council Membership · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As per usual a post on Oil Wars has inspired an absolute avalanche of comments. The fodder: why wasn't Venezuela elected to the new Human Rights Council when China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan were?


text:
Venezuela: New Trendy Eats in Caracas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alfredo Octavio has pictures of the new Caracas restaurant of chef and Venezuelan food celebrity, Sumito Estévez. Adriana recommends (ES) the tasty sandwiches and salads at the new cafe Pomme de Pan.


text:
Vietnam: Visiting Dien Bien Phu · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Virtualdoug visits Dien Bien Phu, the site of a famous battle between the  Vietnamese and the French in 1954.


text:
Zimbabwe: Students in detention · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

This is Zimbabwe reports that 29 Bindura University of Science and Technology students are being detained in custody for 16 days.


text:
China: Inside an election · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Does China have democracy or not? Blogging from his home in Eastern China, AllAboutAhom‘s Ahom Kwok—who turned eighteen late last year—shares his photos and experience of having voted in a local election earlier today:
“Who are these eleven people? I don't know! I've never met them in my life, and they've never come to promote themselves. On the board there were only their names and their occupations and academic levels (eight are high school graduates, three are university graduates), but they didn't make clear what they would do for us residents.”


text:
Flying Over the Iraqi Blogodrome… · Global Voices
Salam Adil

…almost literally. I am completing this post in an airplane somewhere over Turkey and Iran. If I look out of my window I can point to an area of the darkness outside that might be Iraq. Worth the delay just so that I can say this!
This week I have new blogs some breaking news and I will try to concentrate on the routine stories of the day to day life of Iraqi bloggers. But the special thing about blogs is that even the mundane become fascinating.
Welcoming two new blogs:
A new weblog has been created on a much-needed subject. It is for Expatriate Iraqi Scientists and their role is to “Stay united and rejuvenate Iraq's scientific heritage”. One important task they have started is to gather information about the spate of assassinations of Iraqi academics and professionals. One thing I want to link to here is a PDF showing the demographics of assassinations in Iraq. What is most horrifying about this is not so much the division of killings, but the fact that enough people were killed that meaningful statistics can be gathered.
Also, this blog came to my attention from a a little Smiley :-) placed in my comments section… A very warm welcome to new blogger, Fatima. Being born and raised in the US and now living in Baghdad shed is a Bridge Blog in her own right. She is, Thoughts From Baghdad. And she blogs about… her thoughts on living in post-Saddam Baghdad. I have to highlight here her post of some amazing pictures of sandstorms in Baghdad. But I did not have the time to ask for her permission to show them so you will just have to click on the links for yourself of… sandstorms and more sandstorms.
If you read nothing else today read this
Baghdad Treasure writes about the color black:
“BLACK”! Is it a mere color? In the world, people ride black cars, use black laptops, write in black ink, put on black shoes, etc… But in Baghdad, this word means something else. “Black” hovers over the city. Whatever we see becomes black even if it is red.
Starting from the black funeral banners that decorate almost every street, to the black smoke of explosions that rock the city’s morning like fireworks everyday, and the black shrapnel that pave the roads, “black” became an everyday scene.
What you won't see in the news
I really don't want to sound like a catalog of how the mainstream media is missing the events in Iraq but here are some things you will not see on the television news…
The activity of Shia militia still continues unchecked. The health ministry announced that 122 young men under the name of “Omar” (a known Sunni name) were killed, most of them is believed were killed intentionally by Shiite militias.
While bloggers have given eyewitness accounts of the ethnic cleansing of the western Baghdad district of Amiriya by Sunni gangs. Fatima writes:
My cousin in law, ‘I’, had her first baby on Friday…. Just as her new daughter was entering the world, her parents’ neighbor was leaving it. He was killed on Saturday, as is happening to a good number of Shiites living in the Baghdad district of Amiriya.
Salam Pax describes Amiriya as some sort of a parallel universe ruled by “an alien race called Sunni Fundamentalists”. Apart from killings of barbers who shave beards and shop owners for being Shia, families that are forced to leave are not allowed to take their belongings as it is “legitimate loot for the Sunni Jihadists who are working hard to insure the purity of the district.”
Salam also tells of the breakdown of the education and justice system:
The ministry of Higher Education has announced today that it is giving Universities the right to choose the date for their final exams which is sort of telling them you can have them as early as you want. Elementary and High Schools have all but closed down. Principals have telling parents that kids don’t have to come to school until the final exams on the 20th.
Meanwhile the minister of justice admitted that death-row inmates are bribing the prison wardens to let them go.
And the battle for the Baghdad district of Adhamiya goes on. Omar reads two completely opposite reports in the Iraqi papers of the same incident and in the end gives up and wonders what bloggers are saying. Zeyad steps in:
It hasn't been very pretty in Adhamiya since my last post. The district looks deserted most of the time, with random gunfire here and there. American Apache helicopters circle the area almost non-stop, and residents are whispering to each other about an imminent assault, as part of the American plan to ‘liberate’ Baghdad again. But to liberate it from whom? Its residents?
A Life in the Day of an Iraqi Blogger
If you ever wondered what a typical blogger's computer looks like go no further than Neurotic Wife…
photo by Neurotic Wife
Scary isn't it. She lives and works in the Green Zone. But as she tells her imaginary friend LTC Harvest it is more of a guilded cage than freedom. But with a difference: “The visitors on the otherhand wanna come inside this prison, just to get away from the reality of it all…This prison for them is a gateway to their own freedom. They can talk, critisize, they can walk without having to look over their shoulder a million times.”
Morbid Smile is having a hard time sleeping:
“Hot weather, sandstorm, humidity, lots of bugs in the air with only four hours aday of electricity and no water! How cool and comfortable is it to sleep in such conditions! Well, it didn't end this way. At night my family decided that we should sleep on the roof.”
Then five minutes later it starts raining. But she was kept up by the sound of the rain. “And then a sandstorm started right afte the rain. I don't know how can there be rain and sandstorm in one place at the same time!” she writes. inevitably she woke up “feeling that as if i had fallen from a very high building. All my bones are aching, even my nose's bones!!” Same again next night – no electricity – too hot to sleep in the house. But sleeping on the roof has its own problems: “i woke up before 8 o'clock in the morning. Bugs were eating me all night long, and now flies are everyehere. The bombings continued till the morning.” Sleep well Morbido!
Zappy gets to visit the Green Zone for the first time. But he is not impressed. “the Date Palms, I noticed how neglected they were… my escort corrected me that its not called the Green Zone but the International Zone. It Figures, by the way they Neglect the Gardens and Date Palms.”
Even the most hardened blogger needs to go for a haircut. And Mohammed dreads it but he could not remember why until he gets to the barber's. He has to listen to conversations full of conspiracy and contradiction. He concludes: “I chose not to waste my breath on more of this conversation as long as the guys were convinced that everybody wants to kill them … An Iraqi finds it so hard to admit his mistakes, not only that, he doesn't even want to review his history to avoid facing the reality that it was our mistakes over time that made us what we are now, so let's just blame the others for our failures.”
Chikitita goes shopping in the famous Al-Kadhimiyya Market. And though the spectre of random violence haunted her:
the trip was as fun as usual, the driver played a very hilarious song, which made all the commuters chuckle; the very same hideous voice all drivers play, I guess he's a hit these days….
The market was even more fun. My friend and her sister were the perfect guides; they knew all reference points in this maze, which I'm sure had I been alone I'd need a GPS, or call emergency numbers to show me out. Women are obsessed with this market, though the prices are not less those in other places. I guess the only reason why it has become the place to squander their savings is the fact that they could find everything they needed, from clothes to herbs to kitchen utensils to jewelry to rosaries to prayer mats, to name but a few.
And finally…
Shaggy lives a privileged life and he knows it. The most he worries about is exams that get postponed or empty cola cans damaging the motorized seats of his car and … erm … playing guitar in the toilet making him sleepy. But he does not realize it shows until this happens in a restaurant:
The waiter threw a remark with a sprinkle of scorn that translated word for word would be: “You're in a different world”. At first I thought he was referring to how drowsy I was and so I replied that I hadn't slept last night he quickly retorted that neither had he. Obviously I got the message wrong the first time.
I imagine something unusual does emanate from me, maybe it's my emancipation of current events or maybe I don't have those eyes that tell the same story of a lifetime of suffering that nearly all Iraqis share.
Need more tea.

author: Salam Adil


text:
The Pride of Cambodia: Young Generation · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

A 15-year-old Cambodian girl has recently made news headline, following a gold medal award won by a 16-year-old boy. Among 196 candidates from 36 countries, Mom Charya is the winner of the International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) held in Indonesia. The exams in the competition included theory, problem solving, and actual experiment.
Born into a family of farmers, she first entered a school in rural area in Siem Reap province, where there was no well-equipped research matierals, not to mention experimental and practice classes. She later moved to a high school in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. At her age she has her vision. She wants to be a researcher in Cambodia.
On Mungkol's weblog, a comment read that:
“she’s a brillant new Cambodian generation, to bring prosperity to our beloved Cambodia.
By the ways, she’s endowed with intelligent as well as beauty.”
Other silver medal nominees included young people from South Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Germany, Serbia, China, Romania, Russia, the Philippines, Croatia, Brazil, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.
Also in the news, a young man from Cambodia was honored for his participation in the international science contest. Dy Kuchsa won a gold medal in the science contest, which organized by the same institution. Kalyan, a university student wrote that:
“I am very proud of Dy KouchSa, a Cambodian student who won the gold medal in the World Science Competition for student under 16 held in Indonesia. I believe that in the near future there will be many more bright fellows like him to help develop our country.”
“you are wonderful for not only yourself and your family but also for our BELOVED COUNTRY, CAMBODIA. Move forward! Don't stop here. Try to study English and be good at it before you finish high school. Then you will have lots of chance to get scholarship to study abroad. DON'T STOP! KEEP MOVING! Cambodia needs lots of people like you. We are proud of you!”
With enthusiasm and courage, young people play a vital role in the contribution to the nation development. At their age, they feel they want to be part of something, something significant in rebuilding the war-torn nation. Organized by Institute of Foreign Languages in Phnom Penh, on May 6, 2006, group of students participated in a social work to promote environmental issues. This clean-up day aimed to spread the words to people to help keeping the country clean for their own well-beings. And Sopha posted some selective photo of her and friends in ‘Clean-up Day’ T-shirt.

author: Tharum Bun


text:
Trinidad: Hanuman murti · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Hanuman murti, Trinidad. Photo by caribbeanfreephoto
Located in Carapichaima, Trinidad, this 85-foot murti representing the Hindu deity Hanuman is reputed to be the largest of its kind outside of India. The murti stands on the grounds of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre and Mandir and attracts devotees offering gifts and performing the ritual of pradakshina (circumambulation while uttering the sacred Hanuman mantra). The murti took two years to construct and was consecrated in 2003. See this Flickr photoset for more images of the Hanuman murti.
Approximately 40% of Trinidad and Tobago's population traces its ancestry to India.


text:
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — tourism and gold mining · Global Voices
Tim Muth

Salvadoran bloggers often ponder what types of economic development can best help the country lift the overall status of its people.  There is general agreement that tourism would be good for the country, but what kind of tourism?  Hunnapuh explores the advantages El Salvador has from its small size — one can go from a cool mountaintop rainforest to sunny beaches and seafood dinners in just a few hours.  The biggest barrier he finds to the growth of tourism is the actual and perceived rate of violent crime in the country which repels tourists, even though the areas of high crime and gangs are fairly localized.
Salvadoran bloggers like the idea of “coffee tourism.” El Visitador, discussed the possibility of tourism involving the El Salvador's coffee industry and the process of growing, harvesting and roasting El Salvador's gourmet coffees.  He was commenting on a recent blog entry by award winning coffee brewer Jim Seven describing his recent visit to the coffee fincas of El Salvador.  Hunnapuh agreed and described a coffee-focused restaurant on the slopes of the San Salvador volcano as an example of what is possible.
Unlike tourism where there is general support, gold-mining produces deep disagreement among Salvadoran bloggers and persons posting comments on those blogs.  As the price of gold climbs, Canadian mining companies are increasingly prospecting for possible sites to mine in El Salvador.  El Visitador celebrates the prospects of just one mine creating 340 jobs.  Tim acknowledges the benefit of such jobs, but questions whether El Salvador can ever regulate the mining companies to prevent environmental degradation and enforce worker's rights.  Hunnapuh flatly opposes expansion of gold mining in El Salvador, pointing to the dirty history of mines located in other developing countries.
Persons who are easily offended will not like the Spanish language blog of El Trompudo.  A recent death threat to El Trompudo was celebrated by the blogger as a badge of honor.  El Trompudo's vitriolic blog posts lambast the “grand sons-of-bitches” in places of power in El Salvador.  Following the death treat, El Trompudo received dozens of comments in support and posts in solidarity from Hunnapuh   among others.
El Trompudo's style contrasts sharply with the prose of blogger Meg who is a volunteer with an NGO in El Salvador.  This week she describes the impact of poverty on roles of women in El Salvador.  She finds that the struggles of poverty and single motherhood often push forward influential women of strong character.  “These are the women who keep careful watch over every child (no matter what age) and keep the men in line and on their toes.”  A special Happy Mother's Day (May 10 in El Salvador) is wished to all such women.
Meg also writes about the two regular Catholic masses said on Sundays in the cathedral of San Salvador.  In the formal upper church, a traditional mass of the Catholic hierarchy occurs, but each Sunday as well, there is a mass which takes place in the lower level where the tomb of assassinated archbishop Oscar Romero is located.  This is the mass attended by the humble poor of San Salvador, Meg writes.  Also appearing this week was a new blog dedicated to following the twists and turns of the Catholic sainthood process for El Salvador's beloved Romero.

author: Tim Muth


text:
Bubble Gum Ban Video and Singapore · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

A video titled “Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble” by Nicholas Carlton  was linked to Singapore's metablog Tomorrow.sg. Part of the footage is shot in Singapore and refers to Singapore's Bubble Gum ban.
Some Singaporeans are not happy with the example use by the filmmaker. A comment on the Youtube page
.
I'm happy my country is clean because of this unlike other countries and this is something we don't really mind but want… anyway the rules now allow us to bring over a small amount of bubbglegum over from other countries if we want to… so it's not that Singaporeans are totally deprived of chewing gum… and you can get them at pharmacies too without providing particulars… so why don't you go use other countries as an example ?
At one point in the video, the filmmaker uses split screen to compares a street in Melbourne to one in Singapore. The Melbourne streets appears more dirty with used chewing gum stuck on the surface in several spots.
An anonymous comment on Tomorrow.sg says
The story for Melbourne don't seem to be happening in places like Sydney, or the city of Fremantle, where as of what I see was clean, free of gums.
I guess social responsibility attitudes differ in different areas around the world; kinda like the “monkey see, monkey do” effect.
Joy replies
I think anonymous is right about this being a case of different social responsibility attitutes. It would also be a better point of attack. Japan has no ban on chewing gums yet it is so much cleaner than Singapore. But I suppose coming up with laws are easier than cultivating a culture….in that case…ban away!
Another anonymous user remarks
Personal freedom has to balance with social freedom. A mark of a great person is someone who can accomodate different sets of viewpoints, so the mark of a great society is probably one where they can walk the line between the two.
The filmmaker clarifies on the Youtube page that he is using Singapore's Chewing Gum Ban as an illustration.
This movie isn't about bubble gum. It simply uses this as an example that most people can relate to. It is a case study in which government control can be examined.
It appears (from the narration track on the video) that the filmmaker is talking about governments in general and not just Singapore. He asks
If it starts at bubble gum where will it end? When we give up out little freedoms to keep our trains clean are we giving up our rights to make our own decisions? If our government can't trust us to chew gum, what decisions are they making behind our backs?


text:
France & Francophonia Commemorate Slavery Amidst Curriculum Controversy · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Image courtesy of oliviermr2
A Day of Remembrance
France commemorated slavery for the first time on May 10, reports  Haiti's Alterpresse:
Le président francais qualifie d’infamie, la traite négrière et invite les Français à « regarder tout notre passé en face », « sans concession ».      Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire général de la Francophonie, salue la décision de Chirac. Cette commémoration, affirme-t-il dans un communiqué parvenu à AlterPresse, « vise à faire prendre conscience à l’humanité tout entière de la gravité de cette période dramatique qu’a été la traite négrière » … Au musée du Panthéon, l’entrée est gratuite ce 10 mai, afin que le public puisse se recueillir devant les tombes de ceux qui, comme Toussaint Louverture (Haiti) ou Victor Schoelcher (Guadeloupe), ont lutté contre l’esclavage. Des expositions, lectures de textes et autres activités culturelles sont prévues à la capitale française et en province, notamment à Bordeaux et Nantes, ainsi qu’à Gorée (Sénégal), d’où sont partis des esclaves vers l’Amérique.
Deputies Attack Taubira's Law
Says Alterpresse:
La France commémore la mémoire des victimes de l’esclavage mais semble ne pas s’accorder sur la place de la traite négrière dans les programmes scolaires… Cette célébration a lieu cinq ans exactement après l’adoption définitive, le 10 mai 2001, de la loi Taubira (du nom de la députée de Guyane, Christiane Taubira) reconnaissant la traite et l’esclavage comme un « crime contre l’humanité ».    Quarante députés de l’Union de la Majorité Présidentielle (UMP) ont demandé le 5 mai dernier à Jacques Chirac d’abroger l’alinéa de la loi Taubira stipulant que « les programmes scolaires (…) accorderont à la traite négrière et à l’esclavage la place qu’ils méritent ».  Cette initiative a été critiquée par divers secteurs. Le Mouvement des démocrates et écologistes pour une Martinique souveraine (Modémas) qualifie les députés de l’UMP de « falsificateurs d’histoire, négationnistes, revanchards ».    Ils « préfèrent se verser dans l’apologie de l’oubli des crimes coloniaux de la France et nier le principe de justice des réparations », soutient un communiqué du Modemas expédié à AlterPresse.
Dans un communiqué transmis à AlterPresse, le Collectif des Antillais, Guyanais, Réunionnais et Mahorais (le Collectifdom) prévient que toute tentative pour réviser la loi de 2001 sera vaine.  « Nul n’ignore l’hostilité de l’ensemble de l’Outre-Mer et des ultramarins dans l’hexagone à toute révision de la loi de 2001 », souligne le communiqué. A la veille d’échéances électorales importantes, « le parti majoritaire ne pourrait prendre le risque d’affronter le mécontentement de 3 millions de citoyens français », ajoute le document. Pour le Secrétaire général de la Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, « il est important que les manuels d’histoire revisitent et fassent connaître ce passé meurtri pour que, plus jamais, le monde ne connaisse pareille tragédie ».
Bloggers Remember
Three days prior to Wednesday's commemoration, Olivier,  a DOM-TOMer living in France, blogged that he had never heard as much slavery talk in French media.
At Forum Realisance, Musegenshi Katata an African living in France weighed in  in favor of teaching French schoolchildren about slavery:
à partir du moment où cette douloureuse et inhumaine épopée de la France, de tout le pouvoir blanc dans le monde sera librement enseignée, discutée; que des étudiants pourront faire leurs mémoires sur ce sujet, il se développera une dynamique objective de la connaissance …  La France doit accepter de nous considérer comme des partenaires plutôt que comme des subalternes ou des sans voix et sans avenir. Et cela c´est une des conditions sine qua non de toute liberté, de tout véritable respect de la vie humaine: une preuve réelle, effective et responsable de civilisation.
In a post entitled Taubira's Law and the 4o thieves, the blogger  continues:
Je ne vois pas en quoi ce que font 40 députés français représentant notamment leurs 33% de racistes français doit nous intéresser … Quiconque s´en prend à la loi Taubira, par contre, touche à nos intérêts historiques immédiats ; il devrait se préparer à payer d´abord nos revendications en dommages et intérêts sur l´esclavage, après, il peut faire de sa loi ce qu´il veut. Mais s´il vous plait, payer d´abord !
Je comprends que beaucoup de noirs soient impatients ou déçus parce qu´ils ne voient pas les avantages, le résultat immédiats de ces petits pas. Et pourtant, croyez-moi, la loi Taubira est véritable pas de géant sur le chemin de notre liberté.
Pourquoi croyez-vous que ces 40 députés vont aux barricades ? Certainement pas pour rien. Ils craignent la vérité. Ils craignent qu leurs propres enfants leur demandent des comptes, et surtout l´accusation qu´en réalité, ils n´avaient jamais respecté leurs propres idéaux de Liberté – égalité – fraternité. Et cela, c´est une victoire pour nous.
L´Afrique libre, indépendante et souveraine pour laquelle nous nous battons ne s´en porterait que mieux avec un partenaire digne, attentionné et diligent et qui aurait retrouvé les chemins vertueux du respect de la valeur humaine.
Toussaint Louverture. Source: Wikipedia
Does France Have a Black Problem?
Another France-based blogger, Parlons Nous, doesn't seem to believe there is a need for the commemoration. The blogger feels that past wrongs cannot inform modern racial attitudes:
Qui d'entre nous a vécu cette esclavage? est ce que le fait qu'un de nos arrières grand pere ait été esclave nous autorise aujourdhui a insulter le mec qui passe devant nous ? Qui voudrait payer pour les fautes de son père et son grand père.
Dans l'histoire, les europeens ont commencé par explorer le monde puis s'installer et exploiter les peuples locaux et ce n'est pas une question de blancs ou de noirs. C'est vrai en Amerique (les indiens) en Asie etc. Regardons plus loin que le bout de notre nez. Ce n'est pas une question de blanc et de noirs. On n'en veut pas aux noirs en particulier. De tous les temps, les ethnies les mieux armées ont essayé de coloniser les autres regardez la chine et le tibet, le japon et les pays voisins, les etats unis etc. je vous rappelle qu'il ya eu des colonies en Asie aussi. L'inde était un pays colonisé mais qui s'en rappelle aujourdhui?. La guerre d'indochine a été sanglante qui s'en souvient ?Regardez les indiens d'amerique aujourdhui! ils sont historiquement chez eux aux etats unis mais regardez ce qu'on leur a fait subir! “le racisme entre blanc et noirs” Tous les peuples sont racistes. Les indiens (inde)se classent entre eux et pourissent la vie aux parias et autres intouchables pourtant ils ne sont pas blancs. Le racisme est malheureusement international.)
Martinique's Le Blog de [Moi]  can't find a connection between the cruelty of slavery and the need to create a Black identity in France. In fact she is adamant that France does not have a black problem:
Point. Je répète: il n’y a pas de “question Noire” en France ! Si quelqu’un prétend le contraire, demandez-lui de ma part s’il y a une question “jaune”, “blanche” ou… “verte”. S’il se retranche derrière le racisme ou l’esclavage, répondez-lui de ma part (donnez-lui l’adresse du blog !) que ces notions n’ont rien à voir avec la couleur de la peau ! Ai-je besoin de préciser ici que l’esclavage date de l’Antiquité et a encore cours aujourd’hui ? Ai-je besoin de préciser que la traite des êtres humains est un phénomène qui touche (présent de l’indicatif) toutes les régions du monde et la plupart des pays.
Attention: en ce lendemain de première commémoration de l’abolition de l’esclavage (dont la symbolique est capitale), loin de moi l’idée de nier ni la portée ni la cruauté de la traite négrière (bien au contraire). Ce que je dis c’est que cela ne constitue en rien un critère qui devrait me rapprocher de tout ce que cette planète porte de Noirs voyons !
[Moi] then takes on CollectifDOM, a collective that fights discrimination against DOM-TOMers , and their efforts to unite African immigrants and French DOM-TOMers (whose status parallels Puerto Ricans’ in the United States):
N’avons nous donc rien appris de l’échec de l’expérience du Libéria ? … Aurait-on l’idée de dire à un Français “blanc” que du fait de sa seule couleur de peau, il aurait la même problématique qu’un Russe ou un Finlandais ? A l’évidence non.
Accepterait-on une association blanche excluant les Noirs comme le revendique le CRAN, qui ne permet pas à un blanc d’en être membre …? Clairement non.
Avec trois grands-parents blancs et un grand-parent noir, est-on noir ? Y aurait-il une pureté de la race blanche qui serait ternie par la moindre goutte de sang “noir” ?”
J’ai certainement du sang “noir” (ma couleur de peau en témoigne), comme j’ai du sang “blanc” (ma couleur de peau en témoigne également !), comme j’ai du sang “jaune” (la forme de mes yeux en sont le témoignage vivant) et je peux continuer longtemps comme ça… Alors pourquoi voulez-vous que je choississe ? Pourquoi voulez-vous que je renie quoi que se soit de l’histoire métissée de ma famille ? Au nom de quoi ? Pour satisfaire qui ?
Non, je ne renie rien ni la couleur de ma peau, ni ma culture, ni mon île, ni mon pays. Non, je ne nie rien: ni le racisme, ni les discriminations dont je peux être victime. Cependant, cela ne m’empêche pas de dire haut et fort ce que je suis n’en déplaise à certains …: je suis Française. Point.
Le problème c’est que la France l’oublie parfois…
Nope, I am not in denial of anything, not my skin color, not my culture, not my island, not my country. Nope, I am not in denial: not racism, not the various forms of discrimination of which I can be a victim. However, that does not prevent me from saying out loud what I am despite what some might think: … I am French. Period.
The problem is that France sometimes forgets…


text:
Iran: Feminist or Crazy? · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kalashnikov Digital has taken & published in his blog incredible photos of a woman without hijab or Islamic veil in Tehran.
According to law it is forbidden to walk with out veil and you can be arrested and punished. Blogger asks he does not understand if she was feminist or crazy (Persian)!


text:
Vegetarian or Carnivorian, it is up to you! · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Apuntes de Cocina desde Venezuela on Salmon Gravalax!
Learn to prepare it the easy way and enjoy it for the rest of your life! Head over to her blog to get the step by step recipes and great photos.
#2: Directo al Paladar from Spain, visits the famous Restaurante Escuela Hofmann in Barcelona, a unique restaurant with Hotel Management School. It is owned by Chef May Hofmann, and it is one of the best exponents in food and service. So, next time you are in the area, do not miss the opportunity to enjoy their excellent food, and perhaps take a class or two!
#3: Le Blog des Produits Laitiers, from France, is one of the best exponents and worshipers of the perfect food: "milk," which, by the way, is best when consumed raw. Take a moment to visit this tasty healthy blog; to surrender is the only choice before the beautiful cattle-art. Apparently there is an international art movement, focusing on decorating cities with the eye-catching pieces. So far the cattle-art has reached Mexico, Buenos Aires-Argentina, and Paris-France. The cows will move next to Lisbon-Portugal, and Barcelona-Spain.
#4: Cocinalia, from Spain, writes a thoughtful post on the "Eat Local Challenge" event that has been spreading through the blogosphere.  Although Sao Mai agrees with the principle:
"EatLocalChallenge.com is a group blog written by authors who are interested in the benefits of eating food grown and produced in their local foodshed."
She backs up what Too Many Chefs has started as a complaint about the extremist behavior that some people would adopt, maybe "fanaticism?" I am totally with them, you know why? Because how about if I live in a city that only produces bell peppers, would I only eat bell peppers for the rest of my life? No way. What do you think?
#5: World on a Plate, shares a historical reflexion on Mother's Day celebration and a delicious recipe to prepare Mother's Cake!
The earliest Mother's Day celebration is often traced back to the spring day celebrations in ancient Greece to honor Rhea, the mythical mother of the gods. However in the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday" on the fourth Sunday of Lent. At that time, many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. Since most jobs were far from their homes, the servants live in the homes of their employers.
On Mothering Sunday, servants were given the day off and many went to spend the day with who else but mom.  Many would bring along a special cake called the Mothering Cake.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church," the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time, the church festival blended with Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers and the church…Get the recipe now!
#6: What the hell does a vegan eat anyways? creates a finger-licking menu: "Raw Food Wednesday: Tomato and Cheese tart, Greek salad, Zucchini Noodles and Coconut Balls." Simply delicious!
#7: Sam, from Becks & Posh, presents a priceless pictorial guide on "How to trim an artichoke, and prepare artichoke hearts."
When I say priceless, I really mean it. This is the perfect occasion to bring to an end that "artichoke aversion" you have brought up with you since childhood :)
#8: Felicia, from Madre Mexico, takes a trip to The Pasadena Farmer's Market. I want to go there! Everything looks so fresh and delicious!I specially would like to put my hands on some of those good looking cherries, onions, hmmm and the freshly made corn tortillas…Take a look at those photos and you will see what I am talking about.
#9: Spitton Extra: "Still Life with: My First Tuna Tartare"
A little less Tabasco in the vinaigrette perhaps, a sprinkling more Shiso over the tuna and maybe a little more cucumber to increase that crisp refreshingness… but for ‘my first tuna tartare’ not half bad. And not a bad reproduction from the original recipe either – a near perfect hunk of tuna from Machins, my first encounter with Ume-Shiso (found in Selfridges) replacing the recipes shiso leaves and a rather drinkable bottle of Menetou-Salon to accompany. The request from Still Life With… to produce a better photo than the NYT is perhaps not that good but, in my opinion, an improvement over the original…
To tell you the truth, it looks FABULOUS!
#10: Seattlest, on Cruelty to Vegetables…Now, read ahead and you will see why.
Pity the parsnip. Artificially germinated, forced to sprout in a furrow, nurtured (if you can call it that) in a bed of manure, raised with indifference, virtually ignored until it reaches market weight. Then it's thoughtlessly deracinated, mechanically decapitated, mercilessly skinned, and, in a final act of stultifying callousness, boiled alive.
Fruit and veg of other species fare no better. Corn is stripped from its parental cob. Parsley is hacked to death. Spinach is chopped and creamed, potatoes routinely whipped, pumpkins eviscerated, grain thrashed and flailed. Who's there to coddle and console a carrot? Provide foster-care for an orphaned banana? Instead, there's jubilation when cherries are doused in alcohol and set afire.
Think about this: by "harvesting" a string bean, we're kidnapping the plant's children. What does it do to our humanity, when, three times a day, we kill vegetables just to feed our voracious animal appetites?  Continue reading this controversial post…
Have a tasty, safe week!

author: Melissa De León


text:
Armenia: Andres, Pop Culture · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Harmick plugs his site, Andre For Armenia, promoting Armenia's entry into the Eurovision contest and rounds up Armenian pop culture news at Blogrel.


text:
Armenia: Notes from the Armenian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian rounds up the Armenian blogosphere.


text:
Armenia: Sharm El · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Christian Garbis raves about his favorite Indian restaurant in Yerevan and says that it has been so successful that it is taking over the kitchen at another location.


text:
Bangladesh: Bangla Wikipedia and Open Tourism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan talks of the Bangla Wikipedia with links on how the content can be improved, and more edits can be achieved. On the same issue of online content generation – imperfect world 2006 links to a community driven site on tourism and the link for Dhaka.


text:
Barbados: What will happen to drug-bust yacht? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Two US citizens have been arrested in Barbados for attempting to smuggle 135 pounds of cocaine into the country on their yacht, according to media reports. What Barbados Free Press wants to know is “how this seized yacht will be dealt with? Is the system for disposal of seized assets transparent and accountable? … One anonymous reader asks, ‘Has the brother of someone in the government already spoken for it?'”

author: Nicholas Laughlin


text:
Belarus: Ice Cream-Eating Flash-Mobbers Detained · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

EM of TOL's Belarus Blog thinks it'd be better for the Minsk flashmob community to move underground: “The problem with all of that is that KGB is reading those online communities as well, so there are usually security people present at the flashmobs even before they start. […] Or is the whole point of this flashmob movement to draw attention to the arrests that follow the action? If so, I can see their point, but shouldn’t they be more honest about their goals then?…” LJ user litota_ posts pictures from a recent flashmob, during which young people were detained for somethin as innocent as eating ice cream at Oktyabrskaya Square. (On this post‘s first pictures one can see the plainclothes KGB agents in action, dragging a young girl away.)

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Brazilian Gangs Wage War On Police · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Brazilian Gangs Wage War On Police. One of Brazil's biggest gangs, the First Capital Command (of First Command of the Capital — PCC), took the fight to Sao Paulo's government developing a wave of co-ordinated violence since Friday. The heavily armed gang staged 150 attacks on police stations that killed 74 (including at least 40 policemen) and 24 prison uprisings that are currently holding thousands of visitors hostage. Overnight, gangs torched buses, targeted banks and continued their attacks on police patrols and stations. So far, the government has only been able to contain six of the prison uprisings, but that more are occurring as fast as they put them down. The violence — apparently sparked in reaction to the transfer of 765 gang members from their current prisons to higher-security facilities — is an escalation of what many in Sao Paulo are calling a war between the state authorities and the First Command of the Capital (PCC) criminal faction (BBC video).

author: Jose Murilo


text:
Bruna Little Surfer: blog turns into book, call girl turns into writer · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Bruna Little Surfer is how she is now known. Rachel Pacheco, the Brazilian blogger, became a celebrity while posting details about her job as a call girl in her online diary which was then published in book form as, “The Scorpion's Sweet Poison”  (PDF available in Portuguese).  Recently, Larry Rohter reported in the NY Times that her writing is responsible for “upending convention and setting off a vigorous debate about sexual values and practices, revealing a country that is not always as uninhibited as the world often assumes.” This may be true, and it has been echoed by some of the blogs around. But it only touches across the surface and misses the deeper meaning of the conversations that are being stimulated in Brazil.
“Bear in mind, of course, that Brazil is itself a land of contradictions: an environment filled with religiosity and Catholic iconography, offset by promiscuity, rampant prostitution and an ‘anything goes’ lifestyle among the young. Expect Bruna's tale to generate widespread interest, both critical and supportive. She may be Brazil's latest symbol of empowerment, shame and recognition. That stuff is great copy!”
The Real Deal Sells: The Scorpion's Sweet Poison – Lawyers and Business Executives in the News™
“It's sad that the New York Times, the most respected newspaper in the world (until then), announced Bruna Surfistinha as a Brazilian ‘cultural phenomenon’. Her merit would be of waking up the country to a debate about sexual practices, which also revealed a society not as liberal as is shown during the carnival. They went to the point of calling her a ‘sexual guru'! No pseudo-moralist speeches, please. This whole thing has gone too far.”
Brazilian program for export – Infoblog – Ana Maria Brambilla – Ibest
The mainstream media is emphasizing the “tramp-to-celebrity” phenomenon more than the blogosphere which is providing some very interesting discussion. For example, Pedro Doria, a Brazilian A-list blogger, praises the overall effect of the Internet in making available what before was object of restricted access — in this case, nudity and sex. He helped in the promotion of Bruna with the launching of his own book ‘Eu gosto de uma coisa errada‘ (‘I like a wrong thing’) where he reported various cases of people who became famous on the net for disclosing their privacy and exposing their sexual intimacy.  His accounts of Bruna Surfistinha and “Swingers, Voyeurs and other Characters in Internet's Sexual Revolution” were based on posts to the site ‘nomínimo‘.  Doria's theory is that this is an opening with many advantages because moralistic metaphors, that used to bring difficulties in the communication with young people about sexual pleasure and its risks, are being replaced by language that demystifies and promotes real dialogue.
“Friday 28, Bruna Little Surfer is completing 21. She is retiring. The move is being planned, and money is being saved since last year. She sold sex for three years, ten days. The day she left home, fighting with mom, fighting with dad, she was still 17. The next birthday she would complete working in a private club in São Paulo… I found her on GPGuia, an online forum where customers review the call girls performances. Bruna was the champion in votes. It was not her technical skills what they were talking about. She was just sweet. Then I found the blog – it was the first one written by a call girl in Brazil, and she was really good in expressing herself”
The Farewell of Bruna Surfistinha – nominimo
“A Brazilian call girl named Paula Lee (24) is making the headlines in Portugal with her blog containing erotic tales, which she calls sexual therapy. The comparisons between Paula Lee and Raquel Pacheco, or Bruna Little Surfer, are inevitable. She defends herself saying that she followed Bruna's blog since September, when she wrote her first erotic tale. ‘She is a courageous and firm person and is due great value for demistifying the prostitution world, showing the human side that many would not believe existed.”
Brazilian Erotic Blog Succeeds in Portugal – Terra
From the perspective of Brazilian blogs, Bruna was the first to cross the sexual frontiers experimenting with the social online interaction. Starting with the forums and then the blog, she managed to capture the attention (and the fantasies) of her target public, achieving her initial goal of advertising her services. The fact is that she really likes to write, and carefully kept notes from all the customers she had. When those notes started to be published in the blog a new kind of interaction developed that expanded both the intimacy and the size of the audience. Then came Pedro Doria's book revealing the novelty to larger audiences and resulting in the publishing of her own book which is having an astounding selling performance. Next came the Spanish language version and the promotional tours. Right now she is having a fine time going from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideu, Uruguay with her boyfriend Pedro.
“I had a good impression of Montevideu, but I would not live there for a single reason: there is no buzz, and no stressing as we have in São Paulo. To someone accustomed to the crazy life, as me, it would be impossible to live in such a clean and calm city. But I plan to come back to Montevideu in order to visit Punta Del Este, stay at Conrad's and try to get rich at the casino. Before going to the airport we made some shots in a photographic session as I will be on the cover of a well known magazine in Uruguay.”
The day – Bruna Little Surfer's Diary
“I won't be stupid and follow some critics who talk about the book as a revelation of secrets  about the life of a call girl, as there are no secrets in the ‘world's oldest profession’. With the hypocracy left behind, we can face the real secret contained in the book. Bruna's secret is the same as the secret of all moral warriors: it's the fact that behind a prostitute there is a secret aura that attracts men. It's exactly with this contradiction that Bruna plays, opposing the family girl who chooses to turn into a call girl with the call girl who chooses to turn back into a family girl. There is the origin of the charming chemistry contained in all those girls who use their bodies as a way of life.”
What is behind Bruna Little Surfer? – Possentisson's Blog
Any research initiative about society and culture in Brazil today must check out what's going on about the issue in Orkut — Google's social networking site.  Seventy percent of Orkut members are Brazilians, something around 14 million people. Through a single search on ‘surfistinha’ we reached 228 communities, where the main ones are: bruna surfistinha (19,452 members);  i read bruna surfistinha's blog (2,221); bruna surfistinha & pedro (2,136); bruna surfistinha's ex-customers (939); enough of bruna surfistinha (552); i hate bruna surfistinha (494); bruna surfistinha for president (263) and bruna surfistinha = bad example (55).  The contradictions are explicit in the blogs as would be natural — and essential — any time and any place that we talk about human sexuality. Bloggers and social networkers alike offer both praises and condemnations. “She may be cool, but she is certainly a bad example.”
“I left this comment on Bruna Little Surfer's blog: Congratulations, I didn't know that being a hooker would make so many waves. Really… you are one of the privileged of this cannibal world, which eats the wrong persons, swallowing their values. You are beautiful, but as any other filthy human being, you take advantage of the wrong things. Put yourself in your place, try to learn from the life you chose, and stop presenting such a bad example saying you like to be a bitch. They are giving too much space to someone that doesn't have anything to teach us.”
Stop the world!! I want to step out – Débora Domingues – Blog
“Yeah, that's right. Bruna Little Surfer is now the model for this blog. This girl earned money and reached fame because she is intelligent. She went all by herself, sold sex, made money with that, but as soon as she noticed she could succeed selling her own story, she retired from her previous life and started to invest in her writing career.”
Bruna Surfistinha – Woman on the wheel
What's really interesting to us is the fact that her story illustrates to a whole generation what can be done with a blog associated with good writing. While the NY Times and traditional editorial writers pontificate about culture and morality and while academics generate new socio-anthropological theses about Bruna Little Surfer and disruptive sexual behaviors, the kids are learning something else. They are learning that the Internet and communicating through writing well are opportunities for success. As we would expect, the kids have a much better understanding about the real meaning of the phenomenon of Bruna Little Surfer.
“Little by little I will be reporting my whole life… like it was a book I always wanted to write. I don't have so many adventures or crazy stories as Bruna Little Surfer, but there are things that, until today, I was the only one to know. By the way, talking about Little Surfer, I recommend that you read her book… not with horny eyes, but as a father, or like future parents that should learn to observe and understand their kids… in the details.”
Presentation and start of this blog – Neco's Diary
“I am not Bruna Little Surfer… but now I have my own blog… today the day was calm… my mother was out with Duda to the doctor, and I spent the whole morning online… installed the msn windows live… then I discovered that the msn-plus is not compatible… shit… what can I do? But even then, I loved it… it gave me my own space… I had one before but I couldn't see the value… now I see… hehehe!!!”
Today I start my journey in my little space!!!!!!! – Barbara Beyonce
These kids are just starting. They are starting just by talking about themselves. They are securing and becoming secure in their own spaces where they can express their truths with passion and skill. They are reaching out and connecting with each other and audiences that contain many possibilities. Some day some of them may change the world or just give us something to laugh or cry about.


text:
Cambodia: Looking optimistic · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Wanna, a Cambodian currently living in neighbouring Vietnam is pleased with the positive developments in his home country.

author: Preetam Rai


text:
China: Fuel shortage cover-up? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Is there a fuel shortage in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen which lies next to Hong Kong?
“The government is claiming there is no shortage,” says Simon of Simon World, “and they're right. There's enough fuel, but thanks to the cap on pricing the station owners are refusing to sell. Just chalk it up to another lesson in markets for our Communist friends.”


text:
China: Google protest botched · Global Voices
John Kennedy

In a post on a fumbled protest attempt by an Amnesty International member aimed at Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Asiapundit‘s myrick considers search engine alternatives: “AsiaPundit still uses all Google, Microsoft and Yahoo services—though he may search for a new photo service when his Flickr pro account expires. However, for those who want to avoid all three companies, Amazon's A9 search engine is pretty good.”


text:
China: Macau development boom · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The opening up of Macau's casino industry in 2002 has led to some big changes in the city and the latest release from Danwei TV shows us what those are in Double or Nothing in Macau.