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Japan: People live longer, so do TV shows · Global Voices
Saeko Robinson

Japan may be known for the longevity of its people, but the TV programs have a rich and long history as its population. There are some series that have been on air for more than half a century. What's interesting is its variety: everything from talk shows, news, and sports to shows on cooking, music, anime and even a program about the Imperial Family. This article takes a look at Japanese Choju Bangumi (長寿番組), which literally means “long living program”. Definitions for Choju  programs range from as young as 10 years or as old as 50.
An image of the Fuji TV building by Flickr user kamoda
Oricon, which published a survey-based popularity ranking, defines Choju programs as shows that have aired longer than 10 years. The various genres of these Choju programs are certainly represented in their top 10 most favorites ranking based on the questionnaire in October, 2009.
オリコンでは『好きな長寿番組』についてアンケートを実施したところ、1位は1982年に放送がスタートした昼のバラエティ番組【森田一義アワー　笑っていいとも！】（フジテレビ系）が選ばれた。番組の企画構成やレギュラー出演者の豪華さはもちろんだが、主な支持の理由として、司会のタモリを称える意見が圧倒的。
3位に「数少ない正統派の歌番組」（埼玉県/30代/女性）と【ミュージックステーション】（テレビ朝日系）がランクイン。「生放送独特の緊張感やハプニングがいい。さらにミュージシャンの素が垣間見えて面白い」（長野県/30代/女性）と、音楽番組として放送開始時から変わらないスタンスと真摯な番組作り、さらに音楽番組として今では数少ない“生放送”という番組形態が高い支持を獲得。
なお、2位には国民的アニメ【サザエさん】（フジテレビ系）、4位に【笑点】（日本テレビ系）と日曜夕方の定番番組が挙がり、いずれも「家族団らんの時間の象徴になっているから」（埼玉県/10代/女性）と家族揃って観ても安心できる番組として親しまれているようだ。
Fuji TV's “Sazaesan”, which is considered an iconic anime show, came in second. The fourth was “Shoten” by Nippon TV. Both are regulars on Sunday evenings which seem to indicate the popularity of programs that family can watch safely together. As a teenage female responder from Saitama summed it up, they are “the symbols of the time spent together with family.”
Project planner Shuji Nakamura says that the ratings of long-running anime show Sazaesan reflect the state of the economy in Japan:
アニメ『サザエさん』の第1回放送は1969年10月5日。今年で41年目を迎える長寿番組である。ゴールデンタイムのドラマの視聴率が20％あれば御の字という時代になっても、平均視聴率が20％前後という非常に高い数字をはじき出す国民的アニメだ。きっとキャラクターも、認知率は100％に近いだろう。
日曜18時30分から放送という国民的アニメであるため、その視聴率は景気と連動していると言われている。景気の良いときは、日曜18時30分になっても家に帰らず、外食やレジャーを楽しむ家族が多いため、視聴率が下がる。しかし、不景気の時は日曜に外へ出かけないで家にこもり、みんなで夕食を食べながら『サザエさん』を見るというスタイルになるため、視聴率が上がるというわけだ。
It has been said that the ratings corelate to the economic climate in Japan because of its broadcast time of 6:30 on Sunday evenings.  With a booming economy, the ratings decline because many families are still out enjoying dining or leisure activities at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays.  However, during recession, the ratings go up as more families stay home on Sundays and watch “Sazaesan” together during family supper.
For comparison, I looked up the longest running TV shows in the U.S. which is de facto the longest in the world. This would be “Meet the Press” on NBC, the Sunday morning political talk show that debuted in 1947. Next is “CBS Evening News” and NBC's morning news program “Today.” No. 4 is CBS Daytime drama “Guiding Light.”
What stands out in the list of Japanese Choju programs is the dominance of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), especially when you look at the shows with more than half a century of history. A wide range of genres are represented here as well, including the singing contest “Nodojiman” (which can be said to resemble American Idol), and Kohaku Uta Gassen (= an annual music show), and limited to news programs like in the American list.
PBS, which could be considered the U.S. equivalent as another public broadcasting company that pioneered the industry in their respective countries, barely makes in a top 10.
While asking more than 1.75 million fellow users of the Japanese message board called “Oshiete! Goo” for their favorite shows, many listed one of the Choju programs as favorites.
After watched an episode of “Sazae-san“, blogger Zakiyama Yumeko explained its plot and pondered:
こういうところが、長寿番組の秘訣でしょうか。ほのぼのした、いい話が多いですよね。
気がつけば、物心ついたころからサザエさんを見ていると思います。
What kind of shows do you like? Do you enjoy watching the shows your parents and your grandparents also enjoyed or are they outdated and boring? Do you think shows with decades of history will be around 20 years from now?

author: Saeko Robinson


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Lebanon: 24/7 Campaign for Migrants’ Rights  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The 24/7: Campaign is a new online campaign working to alter the servant stereotype established between an Asian/African person and a Lebanese person. It is raising  awareness to the fact that migrant workers are business persons from sophisticated cultures. The campaign aims at improving work conditions which, despite the recently approved laws, are still deplorable in many cases. Some employers, for example, require their employees to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with few hours of sleep.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Combating Domestic Violence  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“In the Middle East, many still believe it is ok for a man to beat his wife. KAFA is one organization that is working hard to erase this mentality of acceptance. Dinosaurs are extinct; it’s time for domestic violence to become extinct, too.” Developing Lebanon posted about an event held by KAFA in Beirut to combat domestic violence.


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Lebanon: Marching for Secularism · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Lebanese Laïque Pride will hold a rally for secularism on April 25. They are a group of citizens who are calling for the full implementation of article (c) of the Lebanese Constitution's preamble: “Respect for the freedom of opinion and belief,” “social justice,” and “equality of rights and duties between all citizens without discrimination or preference”.


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Lebanon: Virginity and Hypocrisy · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“I attended […] a discussion with [the] creator of Jasad Magazine about the language of the body, sexuality and relationships, and the last part was about how virginity and the lack of it are perceived in the Lebanese society. The hymen restoration was brought up, and yada yada…” writes Liliane who also quoted some of the anecdotes raised during the discussion.


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Madagascar: A Flurry of Alleged Coups as Mediation Resumes  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

After the Minister of the  Armed forces was fired on April 7th under allegation of a Coup attempt,   Achille52 wonders what the April 18th allegation of another Coup and the ensuing arrests really mean (fr).  He is especially suspicious of the timing of these arrests because they happened just  before  international mediations including Rajoelina and ex-president Ravalomanana were supposed to resume in Johannesburg.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Maldives: Bring Back The Bikes · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rehendhi supports the recent decision of the Maldivian government to “arm the police with bicycles” and advocates for more use of bicycles.

author: Rezwan


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Myanmar: Hundreds injured in bomb blasts · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

At least 170 people were injured in three bomb blasts in Rangoon, Myanmar during the celebration of the Burmese New Year last weekend.

author: Mong Palatino


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Myanmar: Yan Byae Island · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Speaking Out Loud writes about Yan Byae Island located near the coast of Rakhine State in Myanmar. The island was listed by a website as one of the “top ten places you don't want to visit in the world.”


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Philippines: Online indignation over massacre case · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

The government's recent decision to drop multiple murder charges against two prominent members of the notorious Ampatuan clan involved in the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, has sparked the indignation of Filipinos. According to a news report,
Zaldy Ampatuan, the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and his cousin Akmad Ampatuan, the former acting vice governor of Maguindanao, will be dropped from the list of those accused, Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said Saturday.
The two men were initially alleged to be among the key planners of the massacre that drew condemnation from all over the world.
In the past, Philippine blogs and social networks have put the spotlight on the gruesome Maguindanao massacre. It has been remembered in various ways and the court case surrounding the massacre has been avidly followed by millions of Filipinos seeking justice for the victims.
It is no surprise therefore that Philippine social media networks and blogs are once again up in arms with the government prosecutors’ decision. Some samples from Twitter:
Ricky Carandang: Justice Secretary Al Agra: There was no document to prove that the 2 Ampatuans planned Maguindanao massacre. Did he expect to find a memo?
tribong_upos: rebellion charges, naiintindihan ko kasi n d 1st place stupid yun. obvious na palusot. ngayon, murder charges? may justice pa ba sa Pinas?
gigglingpuppy: No words can express.. extremely terrible!! i just cant look anymore. :( R.I.P Maguindanao Ampatuan Massacre victims. they need JUSTICE!!!!!
trymykungfu: welcome to the Philippines, where you can kill 57 people for fun and profit and walk scot free
natibk3r: This decision to drop the charges vs Zaldy & Akmad Ampatuan wll provoke outrage not only from the victims’ relatives but also frm the public
For At Midfields,
The dropping of charges is certain to provoke outrage among the massacre victims’ relatives, who have repeatedly voiced concern that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had secretly intended to protect the Ampatuans because they are longtime political allies whose own private army was equipped with weapons traced to the National Armory.
New Philippine Revolution conjectures that the recent developments is related to the government's need for the Ampatuans to maintain peace in Maguinanao after a series of violent events in the province.
We all know that the Ampatuans served as counter-force or some say, counter-balance against lawless and insurgent elements in the province. Some of the military believes that Zaldy can still weave his so-called “magic” to put a stop to the violence breaking out almost everyday in Maguindanao.
Earlier this month, students protested in reaction to a court decision junking the rebellion case against the Ampatuans, saying that the rebellion case was designed to exonerate the suspects.
We condemned the Arroyo government for the obvious design of the charges against her Maguindanao allies. The weak and ill-filed cases were meant to collapse in order to protect the Ampatuans from their hideous acts. It also paved the way for the Arroyo government to experiment and twist the meaning of “rebellion” to suit its suspicious political needs.
The rebellion case against the Ampatuans was used by the Arroyo administration to justify the declaration of martial law in the province of Maguindanao. For Tonyo Cruz,
The so-called Ampatuan rebellion that was used to justify martial law just made President Arroyo look good as if doing anything meaningful and substantial. It turns out that martial law may have been part of a ruse to make the public believe Mrs. Arroyo shares the victims’ families’ and the public's demand for justice. Today, we begin to see the beginnings of the Ampatuans’ trek to total freedom from prosecution.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Philippines: Veteran Journalists Receives Death Threats · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Durianburgdavao reports on the death threats received by veteran Filipino journalist Marites Vitug after the publication of her book, Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court which is critical of the inner workings of the Philippine judiciary.


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Russia: Volcanic Eruption Provokes Cooperation and Jokes · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Two days passed since Mother Nature showed its power to mankind letting the Icelandic volcano with unpronounceable name “Eyjafjallajökull” fill the European aerospace with ashes. As the ash cloud went east, more and more airports were closing, which led to European-wide transport collapse. Russian bloggers – also affected by the natural disaster – reacted differently: made jokes, shared information, expresses annoyance, and offered to help each other.
The most active discussion took place in the Livejournal community ru_travel (about 30,000 readers). Moderators had to make a special tag “volcano” [RUS] to facilitate mass of eruption-connected postings. Bloggers were helping each other by giving consultations on passenger rights, airline practices, hotel deals and land transportation routes.
Individual bloggers offered help beyond just sharing information. Lacrizza offered [RUS] to take some people from the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow and provide them with temporary accommodation. Nata_vasilisa proposed the same in Krakow, Poland [RUS]:
Если у вас кто-то застрял в Кракове в связи с вулканом, и негде переждать облако – я могу приютить.
Bets were also a part of the discussion. LJ user asy suggested [RUS] to make bets on the date of the ending of the European flight ban. Below are the most original ones:
так как наш рейс на завтра с вероятностью 99,999% отменят, то сделаю ставку, что именно полное снятие ограничений будет в районе 3-4 мая. Правда к тому времени большинство а/к обанкротятся в виду возвратов денег за полеты :)
elena_w1:
У меня билеты в Париж на 9 мая. шансы к тому времени 50/50. но я вообще думаю что конец света наступает- так что….думаю что больше ничего летать не будет
Allevtinka sarcastically replied to it:
вот кстати да! прошлый раз этот вулкан пыхал 2 года подряд. (200 лет назад). Если к 2010+2=2012 :) как всё просто, однако!
ingushetiya_ru cited Qur'an referring to the Apocalypse:
Then watch for the Day when the sky will bring a visible smoke.
Yuri-yum suggested [RUS] that the eruption was rather a “Sodom” case rather then the Judgment Day. He was referring to the personality of  Icelandic prime-minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, world's first gay leader [ENG].
The Apocalyptic topic was quite popular among bloggers. Some shared pictures of Vladimir Manyukhin [RUS] depicting Moscow after “nuclear winter:”
Apocalyptic Red Square, photo by Vladimir Manyukhin
dmitrivrubel wrote [RUS]:
Летайте самолётами компании “Эйяфьятлайокудль”! Почему до сих пор не придумали шлягера, мультика, нет ни одного сувенира? Ведь какой замечательный персонаж – м-р Эйяфьятлайокудль. И его супруга Мирдальсйёкюдль, которая ещё не проснулась.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Senegal: Growth of Citizen Movements · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Yakhya Massaly wonders whether the rapid growth  of citizen movements is due to the failure of political parties or a genuine need for citizen participation as advocated by famed musician Youssou Ndour (fr).


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Thailand: Songkran 2010 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Richard Barrow posts pictures of Songkran 2010 festivities in Thailand. Songkran is the start of the traditional Thai New Year.


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The Coconut Farmers of the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

The Longest Way Home blogs and posts photos on his encounter with the coconut farmers of the Philippines.


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Bangladesh: The Ordeals Of Buying Land · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kristin Boekhoff, an entrepreneur who is building an world class eco-resort in Western Bangladesh, writes about the ordeals of buying land in rural Bangladesh.


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Caucasus: Social Innovation Camp · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
Although Internet penetration remains low in the South Caucasus, all indications are that new and social media has an increasingly important role to play in the area of democratization and activism in the region. With that in mind, the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF), the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) and other donors brought the first Social Innovation Camp to Tbilisi, Georgia on 8-10 April as an event running concurrently with a Social Media for Social Change conference.
Social Innovation Camp is about solving social challenges in new ways – by bringing together ideas and digital tools to create web-based innovations in just 48 hours.
First Social Innovation Camp in Caucasus will gather 40 participants – designers, entrepreneurs, social needs experts, marketing, legal, advertising gurus from Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to work on an idea of a potential social start-up that can make a change and compete for a prize.
The local organizers for the Social Innovation Camp Caucasus, Global Voices author Anna Keshelashvili in Georgia, Global Voices Caucasus regional editor Onnik Krikorian in Armenia and Transitions Online's Emin Huseynzade in Azerbaijan, spent a month evangelizing the event and attracted a dozen participants from each of the three countries. Think from A to Z. introduces the general idea behind the Social Innovation Camp Caucasus.
SICamp is one kind of Barcamp (unconference) format. Why Barcamp is unconference? it doesn't has some strict rules that the conference has. On Barcamp people often shares information. no profit. just share what you know. and make new communications.
The SICamp has a few differences. one of them is, Barcamp has no result. only sharing the information. The goal of SICamp is to have ready functioning projects at the end of the event. and after 2 international SICamps we can surely say that it is POSSIBLE to do a project in 2-3 days.
A short video is also now available online.
This is Tbilisi Calling was particularly happy that the main winner of the Social Innovation Camp was an Armenian environmental activist.
Good news stories aren’t so frequent here in the Caucasus region, so when they do come along, they’re worth celebrating. Last year, Armenian environmental activist Mariam Sukhudyan was facing a possible five-year prison sentence for slander after exposing alleged abuse at a children’s home. The charges were finally dropped a few weeks ago, and in another welcome development, Sukhudyan and her colleagues won first prize at the Social Innovation Camp event here in Tbilisi last weekend with their web project aimed at combatting ecological damage to forests.
Meanwhile, at the Social Media for Social Change Conference, Global Voices Caucasus regional editor Onnik Krikorian once again co-presented with Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on the role of social media in conflict transformation. The slides, along with those introducing Sukhudyan's winning idea, are available on the Frontline Club blog.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Chile: Controversial Use of Popular Song in TV Commercial · Global Voices
Felipe Cordero

In Chile, a television advertisement for Almacenes Paris, a large department store chain, that uses the song “Todos Juntos” (All Together) [es] by the popular folk-rock band Los Jaivas without their authorization, is stirring up controversy about intellectual property rights and the extent to which cultural forms of expression are compatible with consumerism.
The ad (video) depicts a large crowd and 3 celebrities singing a karaoke-version of the song in Santiago’s “Plaza de Armas” (Main Square), and invites Chilean consumers to come and “celebrate” the country’s Bicentennial in Almacenes Paris’ stores.
To understand why the controversy began in the first place, it is important to know that Los Jaivas is a musical icon of Chilean folk music with a 47-year career. In the 1970s, their new style, blending traditional Andean folk instruments (panpipes, quena, and charango) with modern rock instruments (in their case: drum set, electric guitar, bass guitar and keyboard), created a new musical genre. The song used by the ad made them well-known in 1972, and calls for unity and tolerance among all humans. Since its release, the song has become an anthem of peace and unity for Chileans and many Latin Americans.
The controversy is taking place at three different levels:
The Use of Musical Patrimony for Commercial Purposes:
The first reactions to the ad surfaced on Twitter shortly after it was aired for the first time. Originally, the debate was centered on the question of whether the band was loyal to its principles by supposedly letting the company use the song for profit. Twitter user Cielito A. (@Cielito81) expressed her disappointment[es]:
Cómo es posible?! que los JAIVAS hayan vendido “todos juntos” un himno generacional a almacenes paris! q pena q tristeza! éste país tah mal.
How is it possible?! that los JAIVAS had sold “todos juntos,” a generational anthem, to almacenes paris! how heartbreaking how sad! this country's doing bad.
User Rodrigo Munoz (@PeterCarcass), a musician, reacted differently:
Los Jaivas se vendieron al Sistema Punto. Yo haria lo mismo si mi banda lucrara lo que ellos lucran, pero NO soy consecuente a mis ppios.
Los Jaivas sold themselves to the System. Period. I would have done the same if my band profited like they profit, but I'm NOT consistent with my principles.
Chilean blogs have discussed the issue more deeply. In a post titled “What if we buy “All Together” at the shopping mall? [es], Roberto Carreño writes:
[E]sta discusión es más que por el prestigio o una guerra entre sistemas […] es la más auténtica defensa de una ciudadania que necesita creer en que no todo tiene un precio, y que también Chile posee un patrimonio que proteger.
[T]his debate is for more than prestige or [due to a] war between systems […] it is the most authentic defense of a citizenry that needs to believe that not everything has a price, and that Chile also has a [cultural] heritage to protect.
Gonzalo Tapia, a university professor and blogger at El Quinto Poder [es] (The Fifth Power) writes:
Hace sólo unos días atrás el rector de la UDP, Carlos Peña (Universidad en la que hago clases), habló en su columna dominical de la nueva ética que se comienza instalar en la esfera pública chilena y, en particular, en la política: el estándar Piñera. Dicho estándar implica que basta con cumplir la ley, da lo mismo la ética […] No puede ser que el sólo hecho de comprar un derecho de autor sirva para hacer lo que una empresa quiera con dicho bien cultural. ¿Cómo los creativos, ejecutivos, product manager, abogados,etc, etc, etc, no se les ocurrió que sería bueno conversar con Los Jaivas y/o sus representantes antes de sacarlo al aire el spot? Lamentablemente, el nuevo estándar comienza operar en este nuevo Chile.
Only a few days ago the director of the UDP [University of the Pacific], Carlos Peña (University where I teach), wrote in his Sunday column of the new ethic that begins to install itself in the Chilean public sphere, particularly, in politics: the Piñera standard. Said standard implies that it is enough with obeying the laws, ethics don't matter […] It cannot be that the mere fact of buying the copyrights allows a company to do whatever it wants with a cultural good. How is it possible that the creative [ones], executives, product managers, lawyers, etc, etc, etc, didn't think that it would be good to speak with Los Jaivas and/or their representatives before airing the commercial? Sadly, the new standard begins to operate in this new Chile.
This comment was made in reference to the conflicts of interest -namely the LAN shares and his ownership of Chilevision (TV station)- of President Piñera. More about the LAN share here.
Intellectual Property Rights:
Jorge Delgado (@Jumbito), journalist and co-host of an anti-establishment TV show called “Difamadores” (Slanderers), sparked the debate in Twitter by making invoice between Almacenes Paris and Warner/Chappel available on Twitpic:
La factura con la que Los Jaivas se vendieron sin su consentimiento… así es la industria musical. http://twitpic.com/1ffadu
The invoice with which Los Jaivas sold themselves without their consent…this is how the music industry is. http://twitpic.com/1ffadu
The problem is complex because the band confirmed that they had not authorized Almacenes Paris [es] to use the song for the commercial. The company, in turn, stated [es] that they had indeed paid for the rights to use the song to “the legitimate holder of these,” but also informed that their legal department would ask Warner/Chappel to clarify further on this matter.
In a press conference on Wednesday April 14, the band stated [es] that Warner/Chappel Music was not authorized to sell the rights to others to reproduce the song for commercial purposes. They exempted Almacenes Paris from responsibility because they believed it acted in “good faith,” but they demanded the ad be removed immediately from the air, and gave the company and its ad agency an ultimatum. The ad remained on the air after the ultimatum, and so the band and the legal team of the Chilean Society of Author’s Rights [es] said they would initiate take legal actions against Almacenes Paris and DDB, the ad agency that produced the ad.
A small group of Twitter users advocated for the use of a Creative Commons license instead of Copyright. One of these users was Danilo Canales (@Kangrejo) who said:
y saben qué? lo que le pasa a los jaivas es el ejemplo perfecto de lo dañino del copyright para el autor, bajo (cc) esto no hubiese pasado
and you know what? what is happening to los jaivas is the perfect example of how harmful copyrights are for the author, under (cc) this wouldn't have happened
The Lack of Creativity of the Ad:
The ad was also criticized by bloggers that considered it unoriginal because it closely resembles a T-Mobile ad released in Great Britain last year in which Britons sang along to Hey Jude by the Beatles. In his blog Flashback Personal [es],”Cristián Pinto writes:
Si alguien copia una tesis, simplemente es castigado o reprobado, más aun si alguien copia una investigación, pero si alguien copia descaradamente una campaña de publicidad ¿Qué le pasa?, ¿debe devolver el dinero a la empresa que la contrato? ¿o recibe una amonestación ética de parte de sus pares publicistas del extranjero?
If someone plagiarizes a thesis, [he/she] is simply punished or reproached, especially if someone copies research, but if someone shamelessly plagiarizes an advertising campaign[,] what happens? Must [he/she] return the money to the company that hired [him/her]? Or does [he/she] receive an ethical warning from [his/her] publicist peers abroad?

author: Felipe Cordero


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China and Japan: 2010 World Expo theme song · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese netizen from KDN found out that a 1997 Japanese song has plagiarized our 2010 World Expo theme song! – Translation via ChinaSMACK

author: Oiwan Lam


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China and Japan: AV star Aoi Sola writes to China fans · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Alice from DANWEI translated adult video star Aoi Sola's blog post to her China fans.


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China: “QQ Fetish Group” trial · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Angry Chinese Blogger discusses about the case of a recent trial in Beijing concerning a QQ adult chat room host who facilitates sex party.


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Egypt: Hashish Crisis adds to Nation’s Woes  · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Egyptians have been suffering lately from lack of bread, fuel, and bottled gas for cooking. But lately they have been hit by a more severe crisis, which is the lack of the narcotic Hashish (cannabis). Although weed, and drugs in general, are prohibited by the Egyptian law, it seems that is has been widely used all over the country, and such a crisis is effecting many people.
Wahda Masreya, wrote here about the hash crisis and how she thinks it's really effecting the Egyptian citizens:
She then described why people smoke weed, and how it is common among different classes and communities. She writes:
She ended her post saying:
Whazzup Egypt, on the other hand, refused calling the issue a crisis, and wrote a new post in her blog commenting on Max Strasser's article in TheFasterTimes where he called it “Egypt’s Great Hash Crisis of 2010“.
Finally, the crisis was surprisingly discussed openly in main stream media, and many Egyptians made use of online web forums to market the hash they own.

author: Tarek Amr


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GITChina · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Girl in Tech China will be launched in May 8, 2010.


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India: Citizens debate government policy and the Maoist response · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Dealing a severe blow to the Indian government’s ongoing offensive against the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency, 76 policemen were ambushed and killed by Maoist rebels in Dantewada,  Chattisgarh on April 6, 2010. The incident, now referred to as the Dantewada tragedy, is the worst-ever massacre of security forces by the Maoists.
The large body-count of security force personnel propelled the news of Operation Green Hunt once again into the news headlines and the nation’s consciousness, sparking off heated debates about Maoist ideology, their tactics and responsibility of the Indian State.
Well-known blogger Greatbong wrote:
We have been in the middle of an invisible civil war for many years now. Civil war because it is an armed struggle by a section of the people against the democratic administration of the country, a war that has spiraled so out of control that representatives of law enforcement accept that there are large swathes of country where they cannot enter. Invisible because it rarely captures national attention, confined as it is to largely rural backward areas for which it is pushed to the rear of the news…unless more than seventy-six CRPF personnel are brutally massacred at which point of time we are forced to deal with the issue. At least for a few news cycles.
Twitter abounded with instant reactions to the incident. Some examples:
@baviskaryogesh India needs to find the strategic solution to the maoists movement. its d worst day in Indian history…its heavy loss to Indian force
@Irraghu Maoists are PPL from us.. Govt should deal in diff way not with Weapons
@shibu_kt Surgical strikes to be conducted at maoist hideouts?? Will we act now or still wait for another massacre to gain more sympathy?
@raghuduttc when will maoist cheer leaders see that it is jawans who r loosing their life fighting for the poor tribals not the Maoists
@mytopnews A small disease became as a Cancer in India.. Today's Maoist Attack is like a Cancer Govt is responsible for this
The high casualties among the security forces reinforced the views of a section of the people that the government had done little strategic planning and that forces sent to tackle the insurgents were inadequately trained to handle guerrilla-style warfare being waged by the Maoists.
Madhav Datar wrote on his blog:
I feel really sorry for the families of the 76 CRPF  personnel who were killed in an ambush by the Maoists. But I am not  surprised at all. This was coming and will be repeated by the insurgents  again. Poor leadership, hardly any training to face war with the  maoists and low morale are all major contributors to this debacle.
Many others concurred with this view. Narendra Ch reported in Merinews the actions being considered by the government as  retaliation. He wrote:
Immediately  after ambush, he (India's Home Minister, Mr. P.Chidambaram) announced several retaliation steps in an emotional  tone. They include deploying army personal to tackle Maoists, including  unmanned helicopters. His  emotions were cooled down by Defence Minister A K Antony refusing to  deploy army…The pressure of the incident was such that the Home  Minister was forced to offer his resignation, which was later rejected  by the government.
As the government deliberated on formulating an appropriate response, citizens debated whether retaliation should be in the form of a severe military offensive or through a continued effort at dialogue. However, the larger debate centered on affixing responsibility for the insurgency itself and whether the government, with its ‘flawed policy’ of neglecting  tribal welfare was in fact responsible for this armed internal struggle.
Some pointed out that it was because the State had failed them that in  some of the poorest tribal belts of India the Maoists were able to  consolidate their hold. Others felt that perhaps all of it was not ‘Maoist  insurgency’ as it was made out to be; that poverty-stricken,  development-bereft tribal populations having been pushed into a corner  were finally fighting back – for their rights and for their land. Regarding the massacre of the security  personnel, some citizens felt that it was the government and its  military offensive that had pushed them to retaliate in such a brutal  manner. Some tweets reflected these emotions and arguments.
@write2kill  : The Maoist strike-back  is nothing but a desperate and violent reaction of a people who were  left behind by the India Shining brigade.
@max4974: Its all about  neglecting our own backyards that has led us into the maoist/naxal  trouble!
@sujaypp @BDUTT: the govt. has left the maoists with no option but to fight for survival, nothing short of genocide. Gov. should pull back all forces.
Pragoti, a website with leftist leanings had this to say about the Maoist problem:
…the Maoist problem is not a simple problem of law and order. Rather issues of deprivation, corporate loot, exploitation and under-development are linked with the issue. Now, by relying solely on the military offensive the state wants to bypass the real issues of poverty and underdevelopment that has provided hotbed for Maoist activities…The military actions of the state and the inactions at the level of addressing development issues become weapons in the hands of the Maoists to justify more violence and mobilize more people within their fold. In other words, this vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence between the Maoists and the state obliterates any democratic voice of dissent against the politics and policies of the Central Government.
Similar sentiments were expressed by S.G. Vombatkere at the d-sector blog:
…a high-power committee set up in 2006 by the Planning Commission of India, ascribed growing Naxalism to people's discontent and failure of governance, and showed a direct relationship between extremism and poverty.
[…] Violence begets violence. When governments wreak economic violence upon people by displacing them for industrial projects causing loss of land and livelihood, they cannot resist or respond with economic force since they have none. They protest, agitate, demonstrate and physically resist the occupation of their land by the industry. These protests do turn violent when their point of view is not properly considered or even heard. Whether the protesters or the police started the physical violence, the first cause is economic violence by government that has led to the situation.
According to Swayambhu Mukherjee, the real issues underlying the Maoist problem had to do with State apathy. He wrote
…there’s more to the tribal uprisings taking place than meets the eye. The Maoists are only a part of the problem – they are not THE problem. The real issues at hand are state apathy and greed…A case in point would be the exploitation of the Dongria Kondh at the hands of the Government and the mining giant, Vedanta…the Church of England recently sold its £3.8m stake in Vedanta Resources, over concerns about its human rights record…if Vedanta has created such a stir across the globe, why are the Indian authorities silent? Especially when the affected population is Indian?
Gladson Dungdung, a human rights activist and writer from Jharkhand wrote in an article in Sanhati:
…the only aim of the so-called operation green hunt is to convert the so-called ‘red corridor’ into the ‘corporate corridor’. The Indian state’s hue and cry on Maoism or Naxalism is just a strategy to make sure the backdoor entry of the corporate houses in the mineral corridor…I’m sure, when the corporate sharks could be able to enter into the mineral corridor, the issue of Maoism or Naxalism would be marginalized that day itself from the agenda of the state.
Perhaps the most sympathetic (and the most controversial) article was that of Booker prize-winning author and activist Arundhati Roy, who blamed the Indian State for creating a “war-like” situation in the country and trying to forcefully extinguish an indigenous, tribal uprising  (an uprising against oppression by the State), in the name of  tackling “India's biggest security threat”.  In her article, Roy called the Maoists “Gandhi, but with guns”, and painted what some said was a rose-tinted, romanticized and perhaps a distorted picture of the Maoist movement in India.
Others however, were unwilling to buy the ‘poor tribal turns Maoist to get even’ story as evident from this tweet below:
@rajeshkupadhyay But Maoists are not tribals but r using tribals to advance their cause. They are using different reason in different areas to capture power
Anand Chakrapani, of the Cynical Indian asked some hard questions regarding the Maoists and their operational methods. He asked:
“…who arms these Naxals? Where do they get money for this? If they can get money for the AK-47s and IEDs, can't they stand for elections and pay the advertising rates? Why do they have to extort innocent and poor villagers, whom they claim to represent? Why do they have to kill? …Why can't they come to the negotiating table, as Mr. Chidambaram (India's Home Minister) has been calling them for quite some time now?”
Greatbong argued that armed aggression against the Indian State cannot be justified in the name of tribal resistance in the face of exploitation. He pointed out that in other regions in India, the tribal population have worked within the democratic process to advance their causes.
It should be noted that poor and exploited people in other parts of the country did not need guns and terrorists to get organized. They formed cooperatives like Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul) and changed their futures peacefully. So community organization does not need Maoists…
There is also a view that Maoists were not really interested in development of tribal areas but were recruiting foot soldiers from among the tribals, using this issue as a prop; their real aim was to seize political power by overthrowing the Indian State, and that any act of rebellion against the government needs to be dealt with firmly.
In this context, blogger Suvashanand Mishra wrote:
…maoism is the biggest threat to the country and it is becoming unbridled  and wants to grab the power from barrel of the gun..[..] Maoists  are feeling encouraged only because of unprepared security establishment  and the lack of political will in our government…[..] The problem of maoism has become so vicious and violent as if maoists are waging war against their own nation. They deserve to be given befitting reply in the same coin and fight them to finish… At the same time, the state and the central government must implement various development projects in the naxal and tribal dominated areas, because mostly in these areas people are living in abject poverty, resulting in their feeling of alienation and neglect from the state.
Others however point out that jumpstarting development projects in backward areas cannot by themselves achieve the desired positive results in the absence of good governance by the administration to ensure that the projects are properly implemented and benefits are really reaching the tribals. According to Madhav Datar:
We have to understand that only operations against the maoists will not help us win this war. The biggest enemy is ‘poor governance’ , and that does not get addressed with development projects , which effectively help the ’sarkari mehkma’ (government department/ officials) to enhance their ‘loot’ further. Good governance has to be enforced and has to be seen by all being enforced.
Meenakshi Rao called for a coordinated and cohesive strategy to deal with the problem. She felt that the need of the hour was a full-scale military offensive to root out the growing clout of the Maoists in India. She wrote on her blog:
True, the roots of this menace lie in full-scale victimisation of the  common man by the administration but as the situation stands today,  there is an urgent need to first cut the branches and then get to the  root of the problem. This basically means that a full-scale war against  these armed men needs to be launched at the Central level with ears and  eyes closed to murmurs of opposition. [..]
About time we stop using our ill-trained,  ill-equipped para-forces as prey to Maoists.
Others like Rohit Pradhan argued against the use of brute force and commented  that though use of force has been the favored response of the State, it is unlikely to yield the desired long-term results. According to Pradhan:
The proper response to the Dantewada tragedy must include capacity  building —political and administrative—and long-term reforms rather than  reliance on brute power.
Sound of dissent suggested that the most prudent way for the government would be to meet the maoist leadership at the negotiation table and hold dialogue.
Now that it is too late to bring development and reduce the Maoist  influence, the only way out is talk. Talk, talk and talk  unconditionally. Or at least a mutual ceasefire is possible. In an  exclusive interview to The Hindu, the spokesperson of  CPI (Maoist) has reiterated their stand they are ready to talk and is  keen on cessation of hostilities by both sides simultaneously. Now it is  for the government to act. And lets hope it would act prudently.
Let's now wait and watch to see how the Indian government responds to the crisis.

author: Aparna Ray


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India: Education In Mother-Tongue Is The Key · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kiran Rao Batni  at Karnatique opines that innovation in mother-tongue education is the need of the hour in India and explains why.


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India: Gay Blogs And Twitter Accounts · Global Voices
Rezwan

Deepti Lamba at Desicritics highlights some Indian gay blogs and twitter accounts.


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India: Television As Educator · Global Voices
Rezwan

MANA TV has been running five education channels in the Andhra Pradesh state in India for nine years. “Their popularity has proved that notwithstanding computers, television can grab eyeballs in the classroom”, says Jai Chandiram at The Hoot.


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Kuwait: Vote Buying in Poetry Contest  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Brian Whitaker reports on a vote buying scandal surrounding a poetry contest in Kuwait here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Kyrgyzstan: The aftermath of public uprising · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

In the past week, the attention of Kyrgyzstani bloggers has been very firmly centred on political events in this small, mountainous Central Asian country. All over the country, memorials have been held for those people who died in clashes between government and opposition on April 7 and April 8.
Sergei Vysotsky, a tireless resource for events happening in the Issyk Kul region of the country, reports on a recent fund set up by the No.6 Chekov Secondary school in Karakol. The fund is aimed at helping families of the six former residents of the region who lost their lives in the clashes [ru]:
“Our pain is very sincere, we express our deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” the School's Director Raisa Karimova told blogger and journalist Vysotsky. “Our team has decided to transfer one day's salary into the Fund for Children left without Fathers,” she continued. “Maybe our modest contribution ammounts to nothing more than a drop in the ocean, but without such drops, the sea cannot happen.”
The fund has already raised 7 thousand soms ($160).
Another user, optimist summed up the mixture of emotions that accompany a revolution in a brief, multi-coloured post [ru]:
“There is so much I want to write about the recent “events” in my country. But the words won't come together as a sentence: Chaos, demonstrations, looting, murder, provocation, press conferences, toadying, lying, patriotism, blood, violence, tears, drunkenness, robbery, guard, the crowd screams, photographer, the area, fear, shots, money, slander, soldiers, flag, smoke, rain, Twitter, border, night, uncertainty, hope …”
Hope is indeed a running theme as bloggers attempt to come to terms with life under the newly installed provisional government of the country.
But other bloggers are more critical of the state of politics in Kyrgyzstan. Theseabiscuit accuses the provisional government of direct involvement with the attacks and looting that dissolved all sense of order in Kyrgyzstan [ru]:
“The people should probably not be blamed for these acts,” theseabiscuit judges. “In any case, the driving lever of the revolution is always the elite. Until the elite alter, in both form and substance, nothing anywhere will work.”
In a post titled ‘My Soul aches for my  native kyrgyzstan”, Adilets charts [ru] the downfall of the Bakiev regime as beginning in the second half of 2009, and attributes it to their ‘growing confidence’ after this period. Adilets also celebrates the scrapping of the 60 tiyin (USD 0.01) charge for mobile connections, an unpopular trademark of the ousted President's reign.
English language blog thespektator writes of the bizarre link between the Bakievs and English football club Blackpool F.C, while aidea manages to salvage some humour from a tragic situation, adapting an old soviet idiom and considering revolution as a rite of passage in the country:
“Every Kyrgyz man,” the user writes, “should, over the course of his life, build a house, plant a tree, raise a son and break into the White House.”

author: Chris Rickleton


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Russia: The ‘Little Blue Buckets’ Protest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Little Blue Buckets mock protest, initiated (RUS) by LJ user cook, took place in Moscow Sunday, as drivers fitted their cars with blue plastic buckets (siniye vedyorki) to protest the impunity of state officials who routinely use blue flashing lights (migalki) on their vehicles to violate traffic rules and drive recklessly. Photo reports (RUS) by LJ users ottenki-serogo, nl and kate-goria. Online resources (RUS): LJ community – ru_vederko; website – SineeVedro.ru; Twitter – @ru_vederko/#vedro; Facebook – Society of Little Blue Buckets.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Sri Lanka: Heading For An Internet Dark Age? · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Given the bent of the Defence Secretary, post-war Sri Lanka is set to head into an Internet dark age,” comments Sanjana Hattotuwa while discussing about the inclination of the Sri Lankan government on internet censorship.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Discussing the Issues  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Someone, please, show me a platform and make the platform for a political party the center of discussion. Let us discuss issues. Let us discuss the future”: KnowTnT.com wants something to vote for.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Roffey Speaks  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pleasure blog posts an interview with Trinidad-born writer Monique Roffey.


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UK: Krakow Funeral Broadcast in London’s Trafalgar Square · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Rosie Walunas writes that London's Trafalgar Square “was nearly filled to capacity” on Sunday, as people gathered to watch TV Polonia's coverage of the funeral of late Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria in Krakow. Mark Grigorian (LJ user markgrigorian) posts more photos from the live broadcast and notes (RUS): “For a few hours, the Polish language dominated one of London's central squares.”


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Uruguay: Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Verdún Shrine · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Uruguayans participate annually in a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Verdún in the town of Minas, and 2010 marks 109 years since the faithful have been making the journey [es]. Estela of the blog Abre Cabezas [es] also posts photos and videos [es] of a previous visit.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Azerbaijan: Act of revenge against bloggers · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following news that imprisoned video blogging youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli have been moved to separate prisons, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines says that one media outlet reports that the two prisons are among the worst in the country and alleges the move is nothing more than an act of revenge against bloggers critical of the authorities.


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Bahamas: Stranded in Belfast  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahamian Nicolette Bethel is “one of the million or more ‘ash refugees’ around the world.”


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Bangladesh: Let Language Be Free · Global Voices
Rezwan

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.
The Bangla blogosphere and Bangladeshi Facebook users are angry and protesting the accusation that ‘Avro‘, a popular and widely used freeware Bangla input system, is a pirated version of a popular commercial Bangla input system called ‘Bijoy‘ and that the Avro team have been called hackers.
In an article in a Bangla news daily, Mustafa Jabbar, the proprietor of Bijoy and a pioneer of Bangla computing said hackers were responsible for spreading pirated copies of his Bijoy software on the internet. He also said that UNDP had helped these hackers to be selected by the Bangladesh Election commission for their national database works.
It may be mentioned here that Bangladesh saw more than 20 proprietary Bangla input software products between 1984 and 2002 and the most popular of them was Mustafa Jabbar's Bijoy during that period. Many developers worked on its various versions.
Despite this, the real boost in Bangla computing came when in 2003 Mehdi Hasan Khan, a Bangladeshi medical student, developed Avro using the Unicode standard. Avro is  a closed-source but free graphic keyboard layout changer, and was further developed during the last six years by Mehdi and his friends Rifatunnabi, Tanvin Islam Siam, Ryan Kamal, Shabab Mustafa and Nipun Haq.
Bijoy is a ASCII based, proprietary Bangla input system software and requires the purchase of a license to use. Avro on the other hand is a Unicode-based freeware which offers four different input systems with four keyboard layouts – Avro Phonetic, Bornona, National (Jatiyo) and UniBijoy. The Avro phonetic (or transliteration) input system is the most popular and widely used – especially by the diaspora who do not have access to a physical Bangla keyboard. Using the Avro phonetic transliteration system they can generate Bangla words from Roman typefaces with ease.
After the accusations of Mr. Jabbar the Bangla blogosphere reacted swiftly. Loken Bosh in Amra Bondhu blog challenged Mr. Jabbar to prove that Avro is a pirated software. He wrote:
কম্পিউটারে বাংলা লেখায় বিজয় মাইল ফলক হয়ে এসেছিলো। বিজয়ের অবদানকে অস্বীকার করার কিছু নেই। এখনো প্রফেশনাল প্রিন্টিংয়ের কাজে বিজয়ের বিকল্প নেই।
কিন্তু ইন্টারনেটের এই প্রসারের যুগে বিজয় ধীরে ধীরে অকেজো হয়ে যাচ্ছে। [..] তাই নতুন সময়ের দাবীতেই এলো অভ্র। মেহদী হাসান খান নামের এক তরুণ সম্পূর্ণ ব্যক্তিগত উদ্যোগে তৈরি করলেন অভ্র নামক একটি সফটওয়্যার। এবং যা তিনি বিনামূল্যে ছড়িয়ে দিলেন সমস্ত বিশ্বে। যে কেউ চাইলেই এই সফটওয়্যার ইন্টারনেট থেকে ডাউনলোড করে ব্যবহার করতে পারবেন।
অভ্রর জনপ্রিয়তা এখন আকাশচুম্বী। ধীরে ধীরে শুরু হয়ে গেছে বিজয় বর্জন। [..] মোস্তফা জব্বার শঙ্কিত। তাই এই মিথ্যাচার। নির্বাচন কমিশন যখন ভোটার আইডির কাজে বিজয় না ব্যবহার করে অভ্র ব্যবহার করলো, তখনই তার গাত্রদাহ প্রবল হয়েছিলো।  [..] আর পাশাপাশি নিজের খ্যাতিকে কাজে লাগিয়ে চালিয়ে যাচ্ছেন অভ্রর বিরুদ্ধে মিথ্যাচার। আর এই করে করে তিনি নিজেই নিজেকে হাস্যকর প্রমাণ করছেন, আমাদের যেখানে উনাকে শ্রদ্ধা করার কথা ছিলো, সেখানে এখন তার প্রতি ঘৃণা তৈরি হচ্ছে।
But in this era of Internet Bijoy is lagging behind. [..] So Avro came with a promise. A young man named Mehdi Hasan created Avro on his own. And he spread it across the globe via internet. Anyone can download the software and use it (for free).
The popularity of Avro is now sky high. Many people are not using Bijoy anymore. [..] Mustafa Jabbar is afraid. When the Election commission chose Avro instead of Bijoy for their voter ID project, he was infuriated with Avro. [..] So he is using his popularity to spread allegations against Avro. And he has created himself a laughing stock. Where we were supposed to revere him, hatred against him is being generated.
Avronil informs in Sachalayatan:
বাংলাদেশের ইতিহাসে এই পর্যন্ত বাংলায় ডিজিটাল তথ্য সংগ্রহের সব চাইতে বড় প্রকল্প ‘ভোটার তালিকা ও জাতীয় পরিচয়পত্র প্রস্তুতকরণ’ প্রকল্পে অভ্র ব্যবহার করা হয়েছিল। তাদের প্রথম পছন্দ বিজয় হলেও বিজয়ের প্রস্তুতকারক কম্পানি বিজয়ের জন্য কম্পিউটার প্রতি পাঁচ হাজার টাকা লাইসেন্স ফি চেয়েছিল যা পরে বাতিল করে দিয়ে অভ্র ব্যবহারের সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়া হয়। এ জন্য নির্বাচন কমিশনের অভ্রকে দেয়া একটা স্বীকৃতিমুলক সনদের জন্য একটা কাগজ আর সামান্য কালি ছাড়া আর কিছুই খরচ করতে হয় নি।
The claim of Mr. Jabbar is that UniBijoy keyboard system, one of the four keyboards in Avro, is a pirated version of his Bijoy keyboard layout which he copyrighted a few years ago. Here is how Mehdi Hasan Khan responded to Mr. Jabbar in his blog:
মোস্তফা জব্বার তার লেখায় ঢালাওভাবে পুরো অভ্র কীবোর্ডকেই “পাইরেটেড” হিসেবে অভিযুক্ত করেছেন। মজার ব্যাপার হল, মানুষজন অভ্র কীভাবে পাইরেটেড প্রশ্নটা করে তাকে চেপে ধরার পর তিনি বললেন অভ্র নিয়ে তার আপত্তি নেই, অভ্রতে ইউনিবিজয় নামে যে কীবোর্ড লেআউট আছে ঐটা তার বিজয় লেআউট থেকে চুরি করা। চমৎকার, আসুন দেখি কী করলে একটা কপিরাইটেড/পেটেন্ডেড লেআউট (অথবা সেটার প্রয়োগ) এ আমরা চুরির অভিযোগ দিতে পারি।
১) অবিকল লেআউট স্বত্বাধিকারীর অনুমতি ছাড়া ব্যবহার করলে:
অনুমতির প্রসঙ্গ যখন উঠলই তখন বলি, ২০০৩ সালে অভ্র ডেভেলপের পরিকল্পনা করার সময় আমি ফোনে মোস্তফা জব্বারের কাছে বিজয় লেআউট ব্যবহারের অনুমতি চেয়েছিলাম। তিনিও তার জবাব জানিয়ে দিয়েছিলেন, তাকে টাকা না দিলে তিনি অনুমতি দিবেন না। বেশ ভালো কথা, আমিও বিজয় কীবোর্ড অভ্রর সাথে দেইনি। [..] ইউনিবিজয় আর বিজয় কোনদিনই এক কীবোর্ড লেআউট ছিল না, এখনও নেই। যেখানে একটা কী এর পার্থক্য একটা আলাদা লেআউটের জন্ম দেয়, ইউনিবিজয়ের সাথে বিজয়ের সেখানে অন্তত ৮ টি কীতে পার্থক্য রয়েছে।
২) ফিজিক্যাল লেআউট অনুমতি ছাড়া বিতরণ করলেঃ
প্রশ্নই আসে না। অভ্র কীবোর্ড একটা সফটওয়্যার মাত্র, এর সাথে বিজয় লেআউট ছাপানো কোন কীবোর্ড আমরা বিতরণ করি না।
৩) কীবোর্ড ইন্টারফেস প্রোগ্রামের কোড অনুমতি ছাড়া ব্যবহার করলেঃ
আবারো বলি, এই পয়েন্টও খাটে না। বিজয় ক্লোজড সোর্স, সেটার সোর্স থেকে অভ্র ডেভেলপ করা সম্ভব না। কীভাবে বিজয় হ্যাক করে অভ্র বানানো হল তার ব্যাখ্যা আপনার কাছে দাবী করছি।
1) If the clone of the layout is used without permission.
When the question of permission came I called Mr. Jabbar in 2003 when I was planning to build Avro for his permission to use Bijoy. He answered that he will not give permission without a fee. So I did not use the Bijoy keyboard with the (open source) Avro. UniBijoy and Bijoy were never the same keyboard layout, not even now. Where only one key difference creates a different layout, there are a difference of 8 keys between Unijoy and Bijoy.
2) If the physical layout is sold without permission
We never did! Avro input system is just a software. We do not sell any physical keyboard with Bijoy layout.
3) If the code of the Keyboard interface is reused without the permission of the programmer.
I say again, this point does not stand out. Bijoy is a closed source program. Avro cannot be developed from that source code. So how Bijoy was hacked to create Avro – I demand an explanation.
Read his post for detailed explanations.
Zahid Sumon in Projukti Forum detailed the differences between UniBjioy and Bijoy. Here are a few points:
* অভ্রতে জব্বার সাহেবের একটি ফন্টও কাজ করে না। তাই অভ্র ফন্ট পাইরেসী থেকে মুক্ত। সে সর্বদাই ইউনিকোড বেজড মুক্ত ফন্ট এর উপর নির্ভরশীল।
* অভ্রের লিনাক্স ভার্সন রয়েছে কিন্তু বিজয় শুধুমাত্র ম্যাক ও উইন্ডোজে চলে।
Renowned wikipedian Ragib hasan writes in a comment on Mehdi's article:
২০০৬ এ যখন বাংলা উইকির কাজ শুরু করি, তখন বাংলা টাইপিং এ অভ্যস্ত ছিলাম না মোটেও। আমাদের উইকির কর্মী যারা আছেন, তাঁদের প্রায় সবাইই বাংলা লিখতে শিখেছেন অভ্র ফোনেটিকে। আজ বাংলা উইকিতে ২০,০০০ ভুক্তি আছে, যার প্রায় সবটাই লেখা হয়েছে অভ্র দিয়ে। আগামী প্রজন্মের কাছে বাংলায় তথ্য রেখে যাওয়ার এই প্রয়াসে অভ্র তাই রেখেছে এক বিশাল অবদান।
Bangladeshi netizens are showing their support towards Avro in Facebook and  blogs. It is unforeseen that three Bangla blogging platforms Sachalayatan, Amar Blog and Amra Bondhu had changed their banner to Avro Logo to show their support in protesting Mr. Jabbar's claims.
People are creating groups in Facebook and changing their Facebook statuses in solidarity with Avro. Here are a couple of status messages:
নজরুল ইসলাম ভাষা হোক উন্মুক্ত। কোনো বেনিয়ার কাছে আমার মাতৃভাষাকে ইজারা দেবো না… কক্ষণো না
অমি রহমান পিয়াল: রক্ত দিয়ে যে অক্ষর কিনেছি তার জন্যে যে বেনিয়া টাকা খোঁজে তাকে ধিক্কার। ভাষা হোক উন্মুক্ত।
This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.


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Bangladesh: National HR Policy for White Collars · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Corporate Blog advocates for a ‘National HR Policy for White Collars’ in Bangladesh because, there is no specific Law for employees in the private sector.


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Brazil: Blogging Against ACTA · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Brazilian cyber-activist João Carlos Caribé calls on bloggers [pt] for a mass blogging against the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). According to the EFF, the ACTA text will be made public this Wednesday, April 21.

author: Diego Casaes


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China: Myths and truths about Chinese criminal law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese Law Prof discusses various characteristics of Chinese criminal law and its implementation by looking into an interesting criminal court case.


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Costa Rica: Clashes Over Autonomy on UCR Campus · Global Voices
Adriana Vargas

On April 12, 2010, at least 60 police officers from the Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ for its initials in Spanish) and the members of the police arrived to the University of Costa Rica (UCR) to detain a campus transit officer, who was accused of corruption. However, members of the university community including students and faculty said that this attempted arrest goes against the university's status of autonomy. According to the Costa Rican Constitution, in Article 84:
La Universidad de Costa Rica es una institución de cultura superior que goza de independencia para el desempeño de sus funciones y de plena capacidad jurídica para adquirir derechos y contraer obligaciones, así como para darse su organización y gobierno propios. Las demás instituciones de educación superior universitaria del Estado tendrán la misma independencia funcional e igual capacidad jurídica que la Universidad de Costa Rica. El Estado dotará de patrimonio propio y colaborará en su financiación.
Based on this interpretation, some students and professors blocked police access to the campus, which led to clashes. As a result, several students were left injured and others were transported to the hospital. One sociology professor was seriously injured with broken ribs. After some professors and students were arrested, a committee was formed to ask for their release, and the UCR's rector organized a march, which led to their release.
Video by Habla Costa Rica:
Following their release, many students continued the protest by blockading the main road located in the front of the Law School, calling for the defense of the autonomy of the institution. Some police officers tried to negotiate with the students, but had no positive response. For these reasons, some bloggers have a lot of different opinions, such as Simón Avilés of the blog Deme un Campo [es] (Give me a Space):
La policía busca a un delincuente y comete el gravísimo error de entrar armada a la fuerza en la Universidad. Al tiempo que se defiende la autonomía, se refuerza la caraja idea de que en la UCR “sólo buscan pelear”, y dejamos que nos califiquen como un reguero de “majaderos violentos”. Yo repudio todas las formas de violencia, acá las de la policía y las de los miembros de la comunidad universitaria involucrados. Ambos comportamientos son reprochables, y a mi manera de ver, principalmente el del OIJ, culpables iniciales de la revuelta.
In addition, some people are disagreeing how the university community defended their autonomy, such as the author of the blog He Dicho [es] (I Said) who wondered why some students and professors impeded the police to arrest a corrupt official, asking “on whose side are the university officials? of the criminals?“
En este país todos estamos en contra de la violencia, de la corrupción, y a favor del respeto de los derechos de todos los ciudadanos, pero existen personas que en nombre de una institución donde existe una mayoría que no los apoya, violan los derechos de otros, y usan la violencia en un lugar donde en buen principio asisten a cultivar su intelecto. Desde este blog expreso mi más grande repudio hacia los que utilizan la violencia como medio de expresión, y mi más sincero ASCO hacia esas personas que sienten que sus derechos valen más, por lo que con tal de hacer “valer sus derechos” o luchar por sus “ideales” pisotean los derechos fundamentales de todos los demás.
Photo of protest by Adriana Vargas
This conflict has reopened the debate about the meaning of university autonomy, and some legal analysts say that there is a difference between autonomy and sovereignty [es]. However, many agree that violence is no way to solve disagreements between citizens and the government.

author: Adriana Vargas


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Cuba: Hunger Strikers  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

El Cafe Cubano links to a story which claims that imprisoned hunger striker Guillermo Fariñas is close to death, while Uncommon Sense reports that yet another Cuban political prisoner has started a hunger strike.


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Dominica: Trois Pitons  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dominica Weekly highlights three must-see attractions of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park.


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Egypt: Let’s Shoot those Protesters! · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Upon discussing recurrent demonstrations and the 6th of April pro-democracy protest, Egyptian ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) members of Parliament lashed out during a verbal battle with Muslim Brotherhood MPs over protesters in the country on Sunday and said Egyptian pro-democracy demonstrators “should be shot” by police.
Bikya Masr reported:
The statements have been met with widespread anger from the activist community, who continue to force their voices to be heard in a climate of seemingly never-ending government crackdowns.
In a post tilted “let the revolution start“, Zeinobia could not believe that:
MP Ragab Hamida and MP Nashat El-Kassas have called the ministry of interior to use live ammunition against protesters during a discussion about the 6th April youth !!!
She commented saying:
Live ammunition !!?? well if they want live ammunition, then they want a revolution and the question now:
Are they ready for one !!? Because the people are really ready for revolution, they are fed up and can't take it anymore.
Both Zeinobia and Bikya Masr quoted the MPs saying that they called the demonstrators
all kinds of names including traitors !!
It is not enough that those who were arrested look like this upon their release, [Pictures of activist Bahaa Saber who was kidnapped in a protest for change on April 13th and was brutally tortured until his release two days later.]
According to Bikya Masr:
MP Hassan Nashat al-Kassas said, referring to the April 6 Youth Movement who recently held two protesters in Cairo where police violently beat them and arrested many, that “they are not youth activists, they are a bunch of idlers.”
Fellow MP Ahmed Abu Akrab chimed into the conversation and said that Egypt “enjoys a democratic climate these days.”
But, al-Kassas went a step further in his comments during the verbal battle in Parliament, saying that protesters should be punished for their actions. He said the government should “beat [them] strongly, shoot them not only by water hoses … they deserve fire,” a reference to using live ammunition against mainly peaceful demonstrators.
In an initial post, Wild at Heart wrote addressing the MPs:
In a subsequent post, Wild at Heart posted pictures of the MPs who called for shooting down protesters saying that they are
and that
Nawara Negm wrote an angry post titled:
She added:
Amira AlTahawi - who lost her job over exposing the fake virginity scam – believes that:
On Facebook, a group called “We do not fear your bullets” has been created and here is the link to the demonstration page!

author: Marwa Rakha


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Guyana: Roasted Eggplant  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Peter Sam contributes a one-of-a-kind story to Signifyin’ Guyana that deals with “the usefulness of the eggplant”.


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India: Bizu 2010 celebrated by Chakmas in Delhi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Paritosh Chakma  at Musings of a Chakma reports with photos that on the 13th April 2010, three social organizations organized “Bizu 2010” (Chakma new year) celebrations in New Delhi, India.

author: Rezwan


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Kenya: Flying toilets and poop · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Pundit on Kibera, flying toilets and poop: “I have been wanting to write this for a while now. Especially after I read about Peepoo: a biodegradable plastic bag that acts as a single-use toilet for urban slums in the developing world. Inspired by the ever ubiquitous Kibera flying toilets.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Korean Pop · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ask a Korean! introduces the history and development of Korean Pop song.


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Nicaragua: The Uses of Twitter · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Ortega is launching a survey to examine how Nicaraguans use Twitter [es].


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Peru: Lima Residents Run to Raise Awareness for Water Issues  · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

On April 18, 2010, the Dow Live Earth Run for Water took place around the world. The event consisted of a series of 6-km run/walks, which represents the average distance many women and children walk every day to secure water, that took place over the course of 24 hours in countries around the world, featuring concerts and water education activities aimed at igniting a tipping point to help solve the water crisis, as noted in the official web site.
Cities as far as Cape Town, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Melbourne, Mexico City, Minneapolis, New York, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Singapore, Stockholm, Rio de Janeiro, Washington DC., Manchester, and others were part of this big crusade for awareness.
Lima, the Peruvian capital, was not an exception. That Sunday, early in the morning, the district of Miraflores welcomed all the runners and walkers participating in the run.
Starting point – Miraflores city hall at the back
Starting point from another perspective
Paradero 20 [es], a blog with several authors and collaborators, begins its post published the day before the race, by saying:
Sí generamos conciencia, generamos un cambio. El mundo sufre de escasez de agua. Países como Irak, Siria, Jordania y algunas zonas de Turquía y Líbano han sufrido los devastadores efectos de la peor sequía que el Medio Oriente ha vivido en décadas. Sin ir muy lejos, en el Perú la pérdida de reservas de nieve y pronósticos de poca lluvia nos podrían dar el mismo panorama.
The blogger from Hola es un Gusto [es] shares the reasons why she supports this cause stating:
Por eso apoyamos “Corre por el agua 6k”, carrera que tenemos la obligación de apoyar para generar conciencia sobre un recurso sin el cual la vida no sería posible.
Angélica Pereyra from the blog El Contact [es] added a video and the following message:
Más de 190 ciudades participan el mismo día del mayor evento mundial para solucionar la crisis del agua. Sumate!!
Live Earth stated that each year, 1.8 million people (90% of them are children under the age of 5) die of diarrhea. By 2025, two thirds of world population might live in stress situation due to the lack of water.
Finishing line
In Peru, water access has increased from 30 to 63% in the past 28 years. And there have been advances concerning the disinfection of drinking water and in sewage treatment. Although, many challenges still remain, from Wikipedia:
Besides that, it is always important to raise awareness in the population about the importance of the rational use of this vital natural resource.
Note: all pictures were taken by the author.

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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Sudan: On buying and selling of votes · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hafiz discusses corruption in Sudan Elections 2010: “There is one very important issue which has not been raised by anyone, as I have listened to all reports from the election observers , until now , that is the buying and selling of votes and loyalty.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Making it Happen  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“How dare you squander the resources by giving so much lip service and not doing much of anything…Shucks, did you think I was talking about the PNM/ UNC/COP?”: 5am at Mango Media Caribbean has a message for the voting population of Trinidad and Tobago.


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Uganda: Can the opposition defeat Museveni in 2011? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Can Uganda's opposition defeat Museveni in 2011?, asks Rosebell Kagumire: “As Uganda heads into general elections early next year, what can especially the opposition learn from one of the greatest propagandist, USSR’s Vladimir Lenin? At the beginning of the 20th century, Lenin, while organising in the Soviet Union on his way to power, argued that agitation and propaganda were a great weapon to attain power.”


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Venezuela: Community Theater Addresses Urban Realities · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Nuevo Circo Artístico [es] is a Venezuelan project that uses a blog to document the activities of their group devoted to the exploration of art, creation, and identity through theater. According to their own description, this is a place for ideological debate, the exchange of thoughts and the definition of concepts such as culture, art, politics, and communication. Through theater activities with kids and communities around a part of Caracas that is full of history, changes, and and a violent urban flame, the group looks for new ways to reunite and communicate the ever-growing dimensions of the Venezuelan diversity.
Nuevo Circo Artístico
Part of their work material can be heard on podcasts [es], and some interviews explain (like the one seen below, transmitted on the radio and broadcasted on YouTube) what their goals are and with which tools they use.
In the video, the group explains that the project was created out of the needs of Caracas. According to the project leaders, culture is a fatherless child, so artists, musicians, actors, and other people in the arts are not taking into account, or even supported by the public. As they have seen so many artists, having to support their own projects with an “actual” job, most of the community projects based on arts are never completely achieved.
The place [es] in which the project started to be developed is very particular, since it is a bullfighting ring built in 1916, and it used to be one of the biggest entertainment places of the city.  Nevertheless, it was abandoned little by little, and this also meant that the building itself became very deteriorated. One of the main goals is also to “recover” places of the city that have been dominated by the urban violence of Caracas. With this, the expectations grow with the efforts of communities and the possibilities that come with collaboration and “reconstruction” of the city, making the slums an important part of the city.
As theater is one of the bases of their activities, a lot of texts are devoted to explore the importance of art and culture. They promote the study and new approaches to Venezuela’s own authors and images, and they back up these ideas with texts and discussions around the country’s quest for an identity of it’s own. The following post is a good example of these ideas:
Independientemente de que nuestro teatro en su mayoría tenga marcadas raíces europeas en su sentido formal, es vital de cara al futuro que nuestro mestizaje, y que las culturas aplastadas por los conquistadores, como la negra y la indígena encuentren expresión en el teatro venezolano y sobretodo en el teatro realizado por los cultores populares. ¡Qué importa que la forma sea europea! Lo que interesa es que en principio el contenido, el fondo, tenga nuestra voz, que se cuele algo de nuestros barrios Niño Jesús, las Lomas de Urdaneta, 23 de Enero, aunque estemos montando La Farsa de Maese Pathelin, nuestras raíces pobres estarán presentes, lo ideal es que sea algo consciente y que se reconozca con orgullo.
Nevertheless, the efforts of making a place safer have been very hard, given the high state of insecurity of the city. The group continues to perform theater pieces, concerts, and also provides children activities and workshops, but the urban violence has not stopped, which was demonstrated this year with the death of a student, during a presentation. In their Facebook profile [es], the group discusses and wonders if all the activities they have been developing for the sake of this zone are as well supported by the public, or whether they were at the begging for support.
Segunda muerte que ocurre en el lugar, el primero fue un policia que resguardaba el sitio, que pasa con los impostores que usurparon el proyecto original, se han propuesto a mal poner al gobierno revolucionario?
This is the second murder to happen here. The first was a policeman that used to take care of the facilities. What's going on with the impostors that usurped the original project? Are they trying to give a bad image to the revolutionary government?
Communities and crime fight unequally to expand their domains in the city, knowing that only the stronger will be the one to stay. The real and unsettling question remains, who would be stronger one? Who will the one to last? One side points the other. Even here the arena becomes political.  Since Caracas became one of the most dangerous dangerous city on Latin America a lot of communities in the city struggle with this same issue and its ramifications, inequality, governance, education, and division of society.

author: Laura Vidal


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Argentina: International Court Rules in Paper Mill Conflict with Uruguay · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

The International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled on the conflict between Argentina and Uruguay about the latter's construction of a large Finnish-owned paper mill on the Uruguay River, shared by both countries. Argentina states Uruguay's unilateral authorization violated treaties between the countries and that such venture polluted the river. The Court stated that Argentina did not prove the mill contaminates the river, therefore it will still operate. However, it also stated that Uruguay violated the treaty between both countries and that it allowed the mill's construction despite negotiations between the countries were underway.
Photo of Paper Mill by Gonzak and used under a Creative Commons license.
At the blog Espacios Protegidos [es] (Protected Spaces), Walter Raymond affirms the result was the worst scenario expected for both countries, since it condemns them to the “punishment of reaching an agreement”. Raymond refers to the need to reach an agreement for the control of the Finnish paper mill, and to guarantee the future compliance of agreements regarding the Uruguay river. A similar point of view was presented at Blog de Abel [es], where they also make a summary of the ruling.
On Twitter, in general, we can say there were many expressions of dissatisfaction about the ruling. While the Court had considered Uruguay did not follow the treaties, they also stated the ruling would not have greater effects in practice.
Twitter user (@Ozzono) wonders:
Y para que existen estos tratados, si pueden ser incumplidos sin mayores consecuencias ?
Raztez Metaemigrante (@metaemigrante) writes:
no sabia que los tratados internacionales eran solo una sugerencia
(@Labateq) comments on the ruling:
The declaration by the Court of this breach constitutes appropriate satisfaction – Translation: Moral Champions.
On the other hand, Sebastián González (@sebagon) writes:
Ahora seguro que tanto Argentinos como Uruguayos creen que #LaHaya les dio la razón :D
Both nations must comply with the ruling. In the future, it's expected the ruling and the obligation to agree on a common framework for the use of Uruguay River will prevent these situations from happening again. Also, it is still yet to be resolved what will happen with the bridge between Argentina and Uruguay, located in the city of Gualeguaychú, which has been blocked for three years by Argentinean environmentalists. They have said they will not declare the strike to be over.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Azerbaijan: Nationalist propaganda · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines recounts being verbally abused by a fellow countryman after co-presenting with Global Voices Online's Caucasus regional editor at a recent conference. The blogger notes that the reason for being cornered and harassed was her belief in tolerance and democracy in Azerbaijan as well as peace with Armenia. Ironically, she adds, her accuser was meant to be working in the same area and says she hopes that one day he will “understand the true notions of values like tolerance, democracy, liberty, justice and freedom.”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bhutan: Perils Of The Smoking Ban · Global Voices
Rezwan

Penstar writes about the perils of the recent ban on smoking in Bhutan as it has proliferated black markets, which led to cancellation of licenses of some shop owners. “I think the ban helps no one,” – says the blogger.


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Bhutan: The Love For Titles And Designations · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dorji Wangchuk writes about the obsession of the Bhutanese people for titles and designations. “Whereas in the West people are known by their names, half of Bhutan knows the other half only by their titles,” the blogger opines.


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China: Shutting down of NGOCN’s website · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ngochina blogs about the shutting down of ngo.cn earlier in April. The website was established in 2005 and it offered capacity building training to NGOs, mainly those located in southwestern China (Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Video remixing and Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Online video platforms provide the perfect ground for creation and transformation, and remixing is one of the methods by which users tell new stories from existing material. In Colombia, as Presidential Elections loom close, it seems that this technique is taking ground. From Hitler, to Chris Crocker and Pinky and the Brain, fans show their candidates support by remixing videos to benefit their candidates, sometimes by mocking the opposition.
First is the now classic Der Untergang (The Downfall) scene in which Adolf Hitler has a melt-down when he discovers the war is lost. In this version, his reason for the melt-down are the unfavorable presidential opinion poll results which benefit the Green Party's candidate Antanas Mockus, former Bogota Major who is famous for improving security and minimizing violence in the city by riding elephants, dressing up as a superhero and using mimes to mock traffic law violators since he considered that citizens feared ridicule more than fines.
Following are the translated captions with some notes to contextualize some of the references:
This morning Mockus went public with his Parkinson disease, Noemi took back what she said about Arias, here, and Santos adroitly asked not to use Parkinson's in the smear campaign against Mockus here.
-With this it is certain that Mockus will bomb in the polls.
-My Führer…according to Datexco…
-According to Datexco, Mockus is still in second place, and only 5 points away from Comrade Santos.
[silence]
-Delegates from Caracol, RCN, the W and El Tiempo [edit. note. these are major Media channels in Colombia] will stay…
Idiots! There's only one month left! Mockus is showing us his behind again! [edit. note. Mockus is famous for pulling down his pants in front of an auditorium full of noisy students]
But if this were Piedad Cordoba [edit. note. controversial Senator who has been key to the liberation of people kidnapped by the terrorist organization FARC] you'd be paying attention! All you notice is ratings, what mediocre media you are!
The third channel measures were delayed, Cambio magazine was closed and what did we get? A first debate in which the Gurisatti couldn't get Santos to be recognized like the country's messiah… our Saviour!
-My Fuhrer, we underestimated Mockus’ intelligence regarding comrades Noemi and San..
-Arias was better with his AIS![Edit. Note. a policy to improve the lives of farmers which turned out to benefit the rich and powerful instead]. He wouldn't answer like a Miss Antioquia [Edit. Note. famous for giving a nonsensical answer during the interview portion of a national beauty pageant]
-My Fuhrer, joining with Fajardo was a blow…
-And what if Fajardo joined him? He didn't even get one seat in Congress! The people don't make the decisions here!
More than 100 years of bureaucracy and government corruption and now a martian with his green people will win! I refuse to plant sunflowers in my front yard and that my grand children have become fans of the Green Party! They even went to the Green bike ride last Sunday!
Antanas with his civic culture and respect has won them over and alienated them!
How I wish that Santos would win and Uribe could continue governing with his strong hand! Long live Democratic Security, Long live!
But if Mockus wins, if Mockus wins there wont be war anymore, only civic culture. No more stealing from the state! More respect, study, progress and investigation!
He handed back to the government $4500 millions he saved in parlamentary elections, he says that for a school in a blue collar sector, can you believe it? Politicians by their own hand giving back money to the State?
-Calm down, nobody will know that the P.I.N. supports Santos.
-I can't believe that the news about the Parkinson's didn't work. The MIRA didn't ally themselves with Santos, preffering to leave their voters free. This is the end.
Caracol, it is your turn. You  have to promote a new debate, and have Tola and Maruja [edit. note. tv characters who humorously discuss the country's political situation] preside over it. Make sure Noemi doesn't speak and decrease Mockus’ response time without anyone noticing it.
It is our last chance.
Even as automated copyright takedown notices are removing from YouTube dozens of parodies like this one featuring The Downfall,new parody options are surfacing. Such is the case of internet personality Chris Crocker's claim to fame video: Leave Britney Alone, which uses the same technique as with The Downfall. Original footage and audio is left intact, and subtitles are the ones who tell the new version of the story.  In this video, it seems that Chris, on behalf of Colombian presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos is telling the world not to vote for candidate Antanas Mockus, from the Green Party:
I don't understand how you dare vote for Mockus after all Santos has done!!! Yes, he isn't very good at public speaking and his mascara tends to run, but he has a penal process in Ecuador, he had to defend the DAS bugged phone lines, the false positives and was even framed by Mancuso. But none of you understand, he is for real, he does what he can!!! HE TRIES! Can't you see he always tries to emulate Uribe, he even changed his French linen suits to a miserable poncho and hat. He has been liberal, Conservative and Uribista, and now he can't even play golf at the Country Club in peace because Colombia now allegedly wants PEACE, PEACE, PEACE! CHOOSE HIM! He gave you the 2 for two thousand policy… Ingrates! DON'T VOTE FOR MOCKUS! please. Santos has never won anything, has never been popularly elected, he has always been hand picked. But all you care about is for corruption to stop, for there to be more education, and now even life is supposed to be sacred? DON'T VOTE FOR MOCKUS! please. Change your vote preference NOW. Don't look for me. The poor guy already felt he was President, but thanks to you, now he even has to order for new opinion polls to be made. Don't vote for Mockus.
But not all videos support Mockus. This next one strongly criticizes the deification of the candidate as seen in the media. In it, the author uses a TV ad where artists support the Green Party's candidate to  give the recipe on how to create a religion around a candidate:
How to create a religion.
Make up a story,
find someone to blame,
Define a list of sins,
Invent temptation,
Create demons, evil,
Generate fear,
propose salvation
create commandments
show yourself as a divine being,
invent miracles
find yourself some priests
find believers who will speak well of you
Make up super powers
promise change.
peace.
Hire preachers.
Use a keyword: The Truth.
The Faithful
The creed,
Invite to salvation.
The believers
Make them feel ignorant.
Put a name on it, create a symbol.
On the Antimockus YouTube channel they have a video where they compare Pinky and the Brain with Mockus and Fajardo.
Hey, Antanas, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we did in the 98 Sergio, try to hmmmmmm..
It's Mockus and Fajardo, It's Mockus and Fajardo, One doesn't comb his hair the other's insane.
In the classrooms they are surrounded by infiltrated paramilitaries,
It's Mockus, It's Mockus and Fajardo, do, do do do do .
Before each night is done, they want to be understood, and when the sun comes up, everything will be the same.
It's Mockus and Fajardo, It's Mockus and Fajardo, their motivation is easy to explain. To prove their worth they'll bare their bottoms.
It's Mockus and Fajardo, It's Mockus and Fajardo, do do do do do
The Santos Presidente campaign is also using the power of internet memes to push people into voting for Santos by asking them if they wish to relieve the terror of the insecure highways.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Guatemala: Live Streaming Video of Central American Conference · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The citizen media site HablaGuate [es] is currently live streaming the Conference Post Conflict: Social and Economic Challenges in Central America currently being held in Guatemala City.


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India: The IPL Cookie Is Crumbling · Global Voices
Rezwan

“The collapse of the Indian Premier League (IPL) pack of cards is identical to the unravelling of the Satyam fraud in 2009, from a media perspective. Namely, no media organisation—newspaper, magazine, TV station or internet website—saw it before it happened,” – opines Sans Serif.


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Japan: Blogosphere Reactions to the Nikkei Ban on Links · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Growing up in a salaryman household in Japan, one assumes that in the future, one will start wearing a tie, drink coffee, and read the Nikkei. And that would mean that you're all grown up! Admittedly, this is a gross exaggeration but hopefully it conveys the tone of the Nikkei's presence in Japan.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun (日本経済新聞), more commonly known by its abbreviated name Nikkei, recently announced a link policy on their new website: inbound links to individual articles were banned and linking to the home page required permission. Failure to adhere might lead to the company seeking damages.
This didn't go over well in the Japanese blogosphere.
Photo by Flickr user hira3
Blogger hits-key is indignant:
そもそも日経はそれぞれの申請に逐一ていねいに審査しているのでしょうか？　できるのでしょうか？　リンクされたことによってトラブルが起きてはいけないからという企業イメージ保護戦略だとするならば，事なかれ主義にもほどがあります。一般的な無断リンクでは，日経が責任を問われることは少ないでしょう。道義的な責任すらです。
Ajiajin is tongue in cheek:
Japanese Twittersphere is reacting [J] against this as it is so old-fashioned and people question what Nikkei can earn or protect by that. I linked to the top page above without inquiry and will see if I am sued.
Having had experience working for a major newspaper, Kappei Nakano at ASCII  is more understanding of Nikkei's position. He examined the link policies of the national newspapers and came up with three reasons on why they're so rigid.
理由1：クレームに対応したくないから
理由2：見出しに著作権が認められなかったから
理由3：個別の記事は更新、削除されることがあるから
こうして見ると、新聞社のリンクポリシーは、担当者が馬鹿で時代遅れだから、無断リンクを禁止しているわけではない。コンプライアンス的配慮からリンクポリシーを策定して公開し、事業化できるかわからないのに時代に乗り遅れないようにWebでニュースを配信している、というのが新聞社側の言い分だろう。
ただ、リンクポリシーを策定する動機がどこかサラリーマン的で責任回避の姿勢が見え隠れするから、一部のユーザーに嗤われる。「原則自由だけど、引用先のことまでは責任が持てないよ」ということを大人の言葉で書けば十分のはずだが、新聞社のような明治生まれの業界に「リンクは自由で当たり前」の文化を持ち込むのは難しい。「馬鹿」と罵るのは簡単だが、「せめてトップページだけは自由に」と社内で根回ししている人たちの存在を思い出してみた。
However, there are hints of badly hidden motives behind these policies that bring to mind the ugly salaryman way of avoiding responsibility, and this infuriates some users. If only phrased differently, reactions could be better – “linking is basically up to the user, but the company can't take responsibility for what happens on an external website”.
Bringing in a culture of “free” links to an industry that began in the Meiji Period is difficult. It's easy to call them stupid, but I remember employees scurrying around, buying and selling favors within the company, to build consensus “just for the top page!”…
Kenta Echigoya ponders:
ところで「リンクポリシー」って、どうしてどこのウェブサイトも「自分のウェブサイトにリンクする際のお願い事」しか書いていないんだろう。自分の側が他者のウェブサイトにリンクする際の方針を謳っている所があってもいいような。
Many bloggers highlighted the fact that the issue has been introduced to the English-speaking world, led by an article from the New York Times. Blogger takosaburou translated the article into Japanese.
Also referring to an article from Techcrunch that focused mainly on the HTML “tricks” that Nikkei used, engineer Kazuo Kashima posted a blog entry titled “Japanese being made fun of (?) because of Nikkei (?)“:
TechCrunchの記事は、「2001年頃にはそういうサイトもあったよねー（笑）」みたいな内容です。The NY Timesの記事はそれほど馬鹿にはしていませんが、日経の今回の措置が日本のネットユーザーから馬鹿にされている事実も少し取り上げています。
Famidra asks if this is an action such an influential entity should be taking:
それをわざわざ、新聞社側の勝手な都合で特約的に禁止しているだけの話ですが、フェア・ユースという観点を考えれば、国民に多様な情報を発信しており、第４の権力とも言われるメディア界がこのような不当に重い制約を課しているのは少し疑問に感じられます。
Some bloggers took this as an opportunity to step back and examine the desperate state of newspapers in general. Masahito Otsuka offers thoughtful observations:
こういう状況でわざわざ金を出しているのだから、自分がネットで知り得る以上の情報を新聞社に求めるのは当然のことだ。実際に日経の電子版を使ってみないとわからないことだが、正直言って電子版でそこまでの記事があるのかは疑問だ。しかし、そういう記事がなければ電子版も失敗するだろうし、いつかは紙の新聞も購読されなくなるだろう。
iPhoneで読めるとか便利に検索できるなどの機能も結構だが、自分が新聞社に求めているものはズバリ「ネットで知り得る以上の情報」である。
Search functionality and iPhone compatibility is nice and all, but what I ask from newspapers is this: “informational value that goes beyond what's available online”.
He goes on to propose a solution.
逆に、こうしたらどうだろう。ネットにはリンクや引用されてもいいような情報だけ公開して、紙の新聞の宣伝として最大限に使う。制限するより、むしろソーシャルネットワークなどを強力にからめて情報の流布を積極的に奨励する。そして重要で深い記事は徹底的にすべて紙で書く。
つまり「続きはWEBで」ではなく「続きは紙で」だ。
[…] NYTの統計を見ても、日本人はまだまだ紙の新聞を読んでいるのだ。今ならまだ間に合う。日本の新聞社、特に日経には、世界最強の取材力をつけて是非深い記事を書いていただきたい。ひとりの購読者として、これを切に願う。
Instead of promoting “visit our website for more”, say “get the paper newspaper for more”.
[…] The statistics in the New York Times articles show that the Japanese are still avid readers of the paper newspaper. It's not too late. I'd like for Japanese newspapers, especially Nikkei, to bulk up on journalistic skills and write thought provoking articles. This is my dear hope, as one of your readers.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Malawi: Wedding of Year, Flag Changes and Media Suppression · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

In what some describe as the wedding of the year, Malawi’s President Dr Bingu wa Mutharika wed his former cabinet minister Callista Chapola Chimombo Saturday April 17, 2010. The officiation took place at Civo Stadium, an open place contrary to Roman Catholic procedure. Over 20 heads of states and governments were among the 4,500 delegates to the ceremony.
Among many, Her Majesty Queen Victoria and the Duke of Edinburg have wished the first couple all the best.
Blogger Malawi Digest gives the background to the big day:
President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika is a 76-year-old widower following the death of his beloved wife, Madam Ethel Mutharika on 28th May, 2007. Following her death, a month-long mourning period was declared in this southern African country and the deceased First Lady was laid to rest on June 9th, 2007 at the Mutharikas privately owned property, Ndata Farm in the State President’s home village district of Thyolo, southern Malawi.
Callista Chapola Chimombo is also a widow and between 2004 and 2009 served as Member of Parliament for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party as well as the country’s Tourism and Wildlife Minister. She hails from Zomba.
President Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika’s marriage to Chimombo comes a few months after another high level presidential wedding in December 2009. In December, Dr Mutharika’s last born daughter Duwa got happily married to Zimbabwean Tonderai Mubaira.
The budget is yet to be known but expected to be in hundreds of millions of Malawi Kwacha as several companies, individuals and the first couple designate have donated some amounts already.
Suppression of Press Freedom
While Malawi’s president has received several awards and lately been chosen African Union Chairman, things are not that rosy at home given his government’s alleged ban of The Nation Publications Limited (NPL). The NPL is a publisher of four titles (The Nation-which is daily, Weekend Nation, Nation on Sunday and newly introduced vernacular one Fuko). The ban has been condemned both locally and internationally as suppression of press freedoms.
Journalist Kondwani Munthali examines the implications of such a ban:
Government or someone in Government decided in their own wisdom, that Nation Publications Limited has exercised free expression too far, according to theories of political patronage, and that Malawians- who includes employees of NPL and pay tax, should not get adverts through the papers.
The tactic used is not a strange one, in the late 1997 or thereabout, the UDF administration were incensed with Malawi News, then a firebrand of investigative journalism, and consequently banned advertising in all Blantyre Newspapers products….The first victim of a stifled press and some irrational decisions are the public. The price is too high to be quantified as NPL might be able to do to its revenue after a period.
He discusses the social value of the vernacular language paper Fuko:
Take adverts that are running in a local and weekly daily, warning the public of measles, FUKO, a latest free paper from NPL would be the right forum as it is targeting rural areas and the affected districts such as Mangochi, Mzimba, Blantyre and Lilongwe would have easy access to information if all forms of media were used.
The NPL was founded by veteran politician now late Aleke Banda who died Friday 9th April 2010 after a four year battle with cancer. Ironically while government is alleged to have banned advertising with NPL, he was accorded state funeral.  Here is Munthali's eulogy for Banda.
Flag Changes
Hot debate continues as government has proposed changes to the Malawi national flag arguing that the flag deserves some modifications to reflect socio-economic development Malawi has experienced since 1964. However the proposal sees to fall on deaf ears as some Malawians argue that this is a non-starter. Blantyre-based blogger Joe Mlenga says that the proponents of the change are merely dragging the traditional leaders to their advantage:
It is clear the majority of people in the country do not want the version being touted by the government, but the authorities seem to have found a way of by-passing that through using of chiefs. The advocates of the new standard claim chiefs represent Malawians and their views. Wow! I haven't met chief Somba in whose domain I am (in Blantyre) and neither have I seen him or his ‘aides’ holding consultations with villagers or subjects on the new flag. So, the traditional leaders are only representing their views. In any case which chief can stand up and say no to the new flag?
Ndagha agrees with Joe Mlenga and cries foul over government strategy to win support for the flag change:
Many of these chiefs are coached to speak in favour of government's proposal on some of these things which for sure does not reflect their real wishes and of their people.
One has to watch or listen to the public (so called claimed state) broadcasters to notice the lame position these chiefs are taking on some of these issues. I understand that the state broadcasters go to the extent properly editing the views of the chiefs so that everything is presented in favour of government’s position.
Government assigned the Ministry of Information and Civic Education to consult Malawians at various levels on the proposed flag changes. Among others Malawians have argued through published reports that the desired change is not justified as the country has not yet a stage to deserve the proposed changes on the national flag.
Media Developments-Internet
A relatively new blogger Vincent Kumwenda updates us on the recent media developments in Malawi. In his post titled Malawian Media and the Internet Update, he highlights three media companies which have turned to internet as an added delivery platform for their services:
Zodiak Broadcasting Radio has improved their website and this year Malawians had a rare opportunity of finding the examination results on the internet. The country’s examining body, Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB), does not have a website (or is it that I don’t know about it?) so Zodiak published the results on their site. It was the same with the 2010 University of Malawi Entrance Exams.
The award winning publishing house, Blantyre Newspapers Limited, is now operating a new website which covers all of its publications, The Daily Times, Sunday Times and Malawi News. Even though at times it is updated a bit late; the BNL Times website is becoming popular among people who need to know what is happening in Malawi. The site is well designed and is interactive and easy to navigate.
Another Malawi online news site was launched recently. The Maravi Post is an improvement of blog called Malawi Politics. It now focuses on a broader picture of what is happening in Malawi than concentrating on politics alone.
In spite of several new ICT developments, online presence and internet penetration in Malawi remains low compared to neighbouring countries of Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.

author: Victor Kaonga


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Pakistan: Karachi Music Scene · Global Voices
Rezwan

“This is about a Karachi from a very different time. A Karachi that moved to a very different beat,” – comments Adil Najam at All Things Paksitan while discussing about the Karachi music scene from the 1960s into the 1970s.