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Saudi Arabia: Introducing Saudi Life  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tara Umm Omar, from Future Husbands and Wives of Saudis, introduces us to Saudi Life – a web portal for Saudi expats and those interested in learning about Saudi Arabia.


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Saudi Arabia: Journalist Leaves to be with Canadian Husband  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Saudi Arabia, Tara Umm Omar shares the story of a Saudi female reporter who has decided to leave her country to be with her Canadian husband. “Hassna'a will go to Canada where she is not oppressed in regards to her marriage. Isn't it such a shame that a Muslim country does not accept her and her husband's marriage but a non-Muslim country does?” she writes.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Saudi Arabia: Mating Dates  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Dates are a major agricultural export crop in Saudi Arabia. Crossroads Arabia explains how dates are mated.


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Saudi Arabia: Saudi Women, Foreign Husbands  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Saudi Arabia makes it complicated for a Saudi male to marry a foreign woman. It’s even harder for a Saudi woman to marry a foreign man,” writes John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia.


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Sri Lanka: Finding A Middle Path · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews proposes a home grown solution to find some common grounds among the two opposite camps in Sri Lanka on the issue of war crimes and human rights.

author: Rezwan


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Sri Lanka: The Next Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lanka Rising weighs in why appointing the next prime minister for Sri Lanka can be a crucial affair for the country.


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Thailand: ‘Reds’ vow a bigger rally today · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

March 11: The Red Shirts are coming!
March 13: Calm before the storm?
The anti-government Red Shirts in Thailand are giving Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva until 12 noon today to dissolve the parliament and call for a new round of elections. The Red Shirts issued this ultimatum yesterday in central Bangkok as they vow to gather more people around the city if Abhisit won’t act on their demands.
Despite the summer heat, at least a hundred thousand people marched in the streets of Bangkok yesterday. Based on news reports, the “rural hordes” entered the capital via 13,385 pick-ups, 3,385 cars, 36 trucks, 60 buses, 17 e-tan farm trucks, 137 motorcycles, 115 vans and three train journeys. Many protesters also travelled by boats. Organizers claim they will be able to reach the “million-man” target in the next few days.
Many Red Shirts are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra but not all of them are fans of the fugitive leader who was recently found guilty by the court of corruption charges. Red Shirts belong to the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) which wants the “military-backed” Abhisit regime replaced with a new democratic government.
Abhisit assured the public that his government won’t use unnecessary force in handling the rallies. But blogger Life in Bangkok notes that security forces were increased in the capital
“…an additional nine companies of security personnel (were) deployed, with the number of police and military units near the rally site rising to 42 companies… I wonder how long until the security apparatus outnumber the protesters, … ? More troops were also sent to reinforce the 11 Infantry Regiment in Bang Khen where the government has set up a peacekeeping and monitoring command center
The Bangkok Bugle attended the March 14 rally:
I'm home after spending a couple of hours walking up and down Rajadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok where most the red-shirt anti-government protesters are gathering. It's hard to estimate just how many people, but for certain the numbers are growing by the hour. Policing is light and the mood of the protesters, at least when I was there, was jovial although seemingly determined.
A reader of Bangkok Pundit observed that the Red Shirt protesters were warmly welcomed by many Bangkok residents
To me, the most interesting thing to observe were the ordinary Thais — vendors, people coming out of their shops, and people streaming from smaller sub-sois to watch — along the street who were not wearing red, but were cheering as well, and as the convoy of thousands finished the protest and started driving along Sukhumvit, these same un-red-shirted people waved and called out to the departing Reds. Also, a surprising number of people driving private cars, honked their horns and waved and smiled at the Reds as they drove past. Many men and women not wearing who had just come out to the street to watch were waving whatever red things they could find as the Reds departed: red shopping bags, faded Coke signs, I even saw a red sock!
Twitter reactions and reports:
photo_journ: Number of redshort supporters & ordinary Thais lining da river is astounding. HUGE numbers. Small boats & jetski's joining
newley: Very difficult to navigate area in front of stage. Crowded. Took me 10 minutes to go less than 100 meter
tulsathit: Thaksin said he never intended to overthrow monarchy. “Only the ammart (royal advisers) that I want to overthrow”.
bangkokpundit: RT @tri26: Majority of protesters are NOT poor farmers but are middle class, @thaicam concurs
Saksith: RT @TAN_Network: Thammasat University cancels classes at Ta Phrachan campus Mar 15-16 due to red shirt protests
_Willowtree_: Ch 3 saying that the Red shirt medic group RSR found numbers of Rally goers are sick with food poisoning
The tweet which mentioned that majority of protesters belong to the middle class disproves the news stereotype that protesters were mainly from the rural population.
Red Shirt rally. Photo by Newley
Red Shirts parade. Photo by Newley
Political Prisoners in Thailand is disappointed with how the local mainstream media is reporting the rallies:
PPT doubts that many of Bangkok’s population will ever know what is being said at the rally apart from the call for the government to call an election. The media are doing a remarkably poor job of reporting what is happening, even to the point of hardly showing the crowds assembled and, as far as we can tell, no attempt to present the views of those in the huge crowd. Most of this crowd present a profile that is very different from the “average Bangkokian.” That might seem a slightly odd statement, but there is a clear difference. It is not so much an ethnic difference, although that’s there; and it is not simplistic rich vs. poor; it is, we suspect, basically a class difference. Bangkok is very quiet outside the rally area. They’ll only be getting pro-government views from television and will never hear the issues involved, let alone understand them.
Thaksin, who described himself as a symbol of democracy and a leader respected by many Red Shirts, addressed the crowd through a phone-in speech. Saiyasombut translates an exceprt of the speech:
“My dear people, there have been news spread that I’m supposed to be in Cambodia. I’m in Europe! I’m here to meet my children, who were attending a trade show in Germany so we’re going to meet in Europe. It is not true that I would be in Cambodia, because I don’t want tarnish the relationships between the two countries. What is for granted is that wherever I am, I can call in. Wherever I am I can video-link to you. (…) So stop with that lie!”
Gavin Gough noticed that the rally had a “feel of a holiday carnival”
Whilst yesterday’s protests had the feel of a holiday carnival, there was a subtle shift in the mood overnight. Red Shirt organisers and their armed guards have a look of steely determination behind their smiles and the on-stage rhetoric was dialled up several notches this afternoon. Whatever happens, Day Three promises to give the first indications of which way the political wind is going to blow.
There Live and Thailand Voice gathers the most relevant blog posts and twitter reactions related to the weekend Red Shirt rallies. Photos of the rallies are available on Pantip, Prachatai, Media140, Cod has been here, and another one from Prachatai.

author: Mong Palatino


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Timor Police Ninja Operation · Global Voices
Keta Haluha

There has been much ado about Ninjas in Timor-Leste recently.  In response to “ninja activities” there has been a robust Government response to the threat, and in turn there has been considerable national and international civil society criticism of the Government.
However, these are not the ninja of Japanese lore which are described by “military historian Hanawa Hokinoichi: They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemy, they would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps, and enter enemy castles to set them on fire, and carried out assassinations, arriving in secret.”
Japanese Ninja – Yamato Takeru dressed as a maidservant, preparing to kill the Kumaso leaders. Woodblock print on paper. Yoshitoshi, 1886.Wikimedia Commons License
Beginning in January 2010 the Timorese National Police have conducted a series of paramilitary police operations in Cova Lima and Bobonaro border districts, adjacent to Indonesia, in an effort to put an end to so-called Ninja group activities.  These murky groups have been accused of murder, extortion, and other crimes. Some suggest that the matter is being overblown and is a political game.
On 27 January 2010 the new Timorese blogger Atay Lariwa reposted a CJITL report in which one of the alleged ninja leaders, “Karau Timor” [Tetun translation: Timor Buffalo] states:
“Labele mai buka atu kaer hau, tamba hau la'os ninja, ne'e bosok, labele manipula fali komunidade” Karau Timor hateten iha intervista ne'e.
Don't come look to arrest me, because I am not ninja, its a lie, don't manipulate the community” explained Karau Timor in an interview.
In the 17 February 2010 CJITL – Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste reported on its website here that the matter had reached a fever pitch in the National Parliament.  This saw Opposition FRETILIN party and the Partido Democratiko (PD is key a member of the governing AMP coalition lead by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao) aggressively challenging each other over the “Ninja Affair”. During a plenary session of the National Parliament the FRETILIN bench accused the Government of launching a paramilitary police operation in search of ninja groups for political reasons designed not to solve a murder case, but to intimidate FRETILIN's political supporters.
The next day on 18 February 2010 CJITL reported that fighting had broken out in the Parliament.
Parlamentu Nasional Tersa foin lalais ne’e manas no sai rungu-ranga hafoin deputadu bankada Fretilin Osorio Florindo atake Deputadu Partidu Demokrata (PD) Vital dos Santos iha sesaun plenaria tanba du’un malu konaba gurpu ninja iha Distritu Bobonaro no Suai. Asaun ne'e mosu tanba deputadu opozisaun ne’e lasimu deklarasaun politika PD nian ne’ebe rezeita akuzasaun bankada Fretilin kona ba involvimentu militante PD iha grupu ninja. Situasaun ne’e sai manas depois membru PN husi bankada Fretilin hotu hamriik hakilar deputadu PD Vital dos Santos, atu lalika defama partidu Fretilin nia naran.
This past Tuesday the National Parliament became heated and scuffling broke out when FRETILIN Member of Parliament Osorio Florindo attacked PD Member of Parliament Vital dos Santos in plenary session as a result of exchanging accusations about ninja groups in Bobonaro and Suai. This incident occurred as Opposition Members of Parliament did not accept the declaration of the PD bench rejecting FRETILIN accusations that PD militants are involved in ninja groups. The situation heated up when all the Members of Parliament from FRETILIN stood up and shouted at PD Member of Parliament Vital dos Santos demanding that he stop defaming FRETILIN's name.
Finding its roots in the brutal December 2009 murder of a woman in a remote village in the border regions, a crime has rapidly become a politicised national issue. Pro-government supporters suggest that the murder, and possibly other crimes, are being committed by a mixture of groups known as CPD-RDTL on the one hand, and the Bua Malus on the other.  These groups have cloudy historical and political ties to FRETILIN, and other parties such as PD, and are popular in some mountain hamlets, while viewed with suspicion by others.  In the parochial and fluid village politics that dominates much in Timor-Leste, the membership of these groups is often poorly defined and even overlapping.  Emanating from the confused and violent history of resistance to the 24 year occupation of Timor-Leste by Indonesia these groups remain powerful political movements in the poorest regions of the country.
In the meantime hundreds of people were rousted from their homes day and night, and dozens arrested by a police operation notable for the use of hundreds of paramilitary police under the direct command of the national police commander Longuinos Monteiro.
National Police Commander Longuinos Monteiro
The FALINTIL-FDTL (Timor-Leste's national defence force) was also called upon the assist.  On 1 March 2010, CJITL reported that “Kaju Ninja, Ema Nain 534 Entrega A’an Ba Komando PNTL” [Tetun translation: Ninja Case, 534 people have surrendered themselves to PNTL (Timorese national police) Command].
Members of the Bua Malus Group, arrested by civilians 5 March 2010.  CJITL
Fundasaun Mahein posted an abridged English version of a report by respected human rights NGO HAK Association in which the Government and national police are accused of human rights violations – the full Tetun version was also posted.
HAK states that it is concerned “that the PNTL  		commando operation does not respect the constitution of the Democratic  		Republic of Timor-Leste” in addition to that “During the operation individual police have violated human rights,  		carried out actions contrary to the law or abused their power such as  		arresting people without a court order and persecuting members of an  		organization”.
Amnesty International has also voiced its concerns.
With Cova Lima and Bobonaro being a past political battle ground between FRETILIN and PD in the 2007 national elections, there is a strong likelihood that the current jostling both in the Parliament as well as in the mountain villages is a sign of things to come. There are possibly forthcoming municipal elections but what is really at stake is the 2012 general election.  Since 2007 the national budget has dramatically increased on the back of newfound oil wealth, and accusations of Government corruption have blossomed across the pages of national newspapers.  With many more contracts and much more money at stake, politics is now a much more tangible “business”.
Of note is the apparent absence of the United Nations with regards to this issue.  Despite the fact that UNMIT (the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste) retains executive policing authority for Cova Lima and Bobonaro districts it would appear that it is toothless in preventing possible human right abuses. Nor has it spoken publicly in the Timorese press on the matter.  With an annual budget of approximately $200 million/annum, the largest portion of which is designated towards the United Nations Police, it begs the question: is UNMIT good value for money?
Interestingly, the term ninja is powerfully evocative in Timor-Leste, and it does not stem from Japan's occupation of Timor-Leste between 1942-45.  Rather it is an Indonesian import.
Former Indonesian General and recent Vice Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is understood to have been “in  control of ‘ninja squads’, [during the Indonesian occupation] operated by the paramilitary groups in East Timor, which have been used by Kopassus and other elements of the military to terrorise and torture East Timorese suspected of supporting the pro-independence resistance.”
As such, while The Lost Boy wittily blogged about the comic aspect of the use of the term, it is not comic in the minds of many Timorese.

author: Keta Haluha


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Trinidad & Tobago: More on Hart  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago bloggers weigh in on the Calder Hart scandal.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: New vs. Traditional Media  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Without newspapers, local blogs would be dead in the water. Try as I might to disagree, a poll of Trinidad and Tobago blogs reveals that this is fairly true”: KnowTnT.com examines the relationship between social and mainstream media.


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Ukraine: “Deal for Yanukovych: Bandera for Mezhyhiria” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Here is how Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop explains a mock deal that he has offered to the newly-elected Ukrainian president: “The point is to show the absurdity of the [Stepan Bandera] debate: almost everybody from Moscow to Warsaw to Edmonton has an opinion on Bandera (who was killed more than 50 years ago) yet no one seems to care about the real issues that plague Ukraine today.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Uzbekistan: Analyzing the extremists groups · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust analyzes some questionable points from the SWJ essay about the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Bangladesh: Why is India killing Bangladeshis? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shada Kalo comments on the recent gunfire between Indian and Bangladeshi border guards and asks “why is India killing Bangladeshis”?


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Belarus diversifies oil deliveries · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Belarus Digest reports that Belarus plans to start importing oil from Venezuela to substitute for the country's oil dependency on Russia, which recently has caused strained relations between Minsk and Moscow.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Belarus: “Less Pro-Russian” Than Eastern Ukraine · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belarus Digest writes that, unlike in Ukraine, “groups potentially advocating a unification with Russia have never been too active in Belarus.”


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Bermuda: Taking a Gamble · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I am generally ambivalent on gambling, I don't see it as a tourism silver bullet or a social death knell, and while I have little interest in it myself I do have some serious affiliated concerns”: Politics.bm thinks that Bermuda needs to “reform first. Gambling might follow.”


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Bulgaria: Police pressure blogger · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Maya Markova of Maya's corner tells how a Bulgarian blogger, writing about the environmental hazards of industrial pollution, has been intimidated by local police for his pro-environment web activism.


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China and Hong Kong: Police and media · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated mainland blogger Yang Hengjun's eye witness report on the protest outside the China liaison office in March 13, 2010. Yang criticized the excessive police force and the self-censored practice of local media in Hong Kong.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Confusing Ballots on Election Day · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

During the Colombian elections held on March 14, one complaint became common: the ballots were confusing and people were unknowingly making their vote null by marking the wrong boxes. During these elections, instead of the usual pictures of candidates or names in the ballot, citizens only had the party symbol and a number box. Voters had to remember what their candidate's party and number were in order to place their vote.
Sebastian Chaskel of the blog Americas Quarterly  attempts to explain the voting system in place:
Colombians will vote first and foremost for their favorite party. If the party has an open list, voters may (but are not obligated to) specify which candidate they support within that party. But if the party has a closed list (which some do), then the party will have already assigned priority rankings to its candidates and voters will not be able to specify their personal preferences. As a result, many votes may ultimately help elect candidates who are not the voter’s preferred choice.
One Twitter user who did not favor this system is Miguel Olaya (@juglardelzipa) who wrote:
el sistema es mierdoso: le doy mi voto a un individuo de un partido, el man gana y le pasa el voto a un hijueputa que no quería que quedara.
The system led others to find a way to explain it to local residents. In the vicinity of a voting center in Belén, a community leader posted a large version of the voting ballot so that voters could familiarize themselves with the voting method. This activity, which he called educational, was questioned by some who stated that he was telling people how to vote.
In this post by Mary Luz Gallego Osorio, written for Bitácora [es], EAFIT University's online magazine, she quotes the community leader's defense of his demonstration:
A la persona que se arrima le digo que ella misma coja el lapicero y marque el partido que quiera y la prueba la tengo aquí en el tablero que están borrados todos. El ejercicio lo hace la gente, yo no estoy apoyando a ningún candidato, la gente marca.
It was easier to understand the voting ballot system if one had internet access: different websites posted videos and voting guides. Such was the case with La Silla Vacía [es], an independent online media source, which had a “Voting Guide for Dummies”  page. During the elections La Silla Vacía also had a very active twitter account, @lasillaenvivo reporting on the voting process and results as they started coming in.
Alexander Castro of the blog Updated Geek [es], in the Boyaca region wrote about his experience voting for the first time. He wrote that he was not motivated by civic duty, but rather by the tuition discount universities give to those who show the voting certificate. He also had this to say about the confusing ballots:
Cuando las destape me sentí confundido, era como encontrar la salida a un laberinto, como un juego de lógica y las instrucciones que llevan impresas en la parte posterior no servia para nada, aburrido por esto pensé en tres cosas:
1.Votar todo en blanco.
2.Hacer un cuadrado y dentro un dibujo de Optimus Prime y arriba escribir partido Autobot.
3.Votar por el primero de la lista.
4.Dejar el tarjeton tal como me lo habían entregado.
When I uncovered the ballots I felt confused, it was like trying to find my way out of a labyrinth, like a logic puzzle and the instructions printed on the back were of no use, bored by all this I thought of three things:
1. Mark the “Blank vote” option on all
2. Make a square and draw Optimus Prime in it and write above it Autobot Party
3. Vote for the first one on the list.
4. Leave the ballot blank just as they had handed it to me.
Regardless whether the voting system was too difficult or not, some looked forward to election day. Manuel Gomez (@manuelj) wrote:
A mi me encanta que el voto sea una moda, mientras sea un voto consciente.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Cuba: Surviving the Deluge · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A deluge of events is falling on Cuba”: Generation Y explains.


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Egypt: IslamOnline Employees Strike · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

After the new Qatari administration announced that 250 employees in the widely read IslamOnline news website (IOL) would be laid off, hundreds of employees, editors, and journalists started an angry sit-in. The situation escalated rapidly when the administration threatened to call state security to break the sit-in, but employees confirmed they will continue their open strike till their demands are fulfilled.
It is worth mentioning that this strike may be the first instance in which strikers use new media efficiently and effectively to draw all the attention needed to support their cause, from continuous Twitter updates to Live streaming.
Nadia El Awady, an ex-journalist for IOL, was closely following the situation and posted a statement issued by IslamOnline striking employees on her blog:
وقالت مصادر مطلعة داخل الموقع إن الهدف من التحقيق مع هؤلاء العاملين هو فصلهم تعسفيا وبالتالي حرمانهم من كافة حقوقهم المالية.
Some sources said that the hidden reason behind investigating with these employees is to fire then, and so ban them from all their financial rights.
Well-informed sources within the institution said that the aim of the investigation with employees is to arbitrarily dismiss them and therefore deprive them from all their financial dues.
While Tadamon Masr mentioned [Ar] that the dispute may be because the new Qatari administration wants to move the HQ from Cairo to Doha, AbdelMoniem was skeptical [Ar] and wondered if it was all about extremists who want to silence moderate voices on websites like Islam Online.
Zeinobia expressed a similar opinion to AbdelMoniem, saying:
The new Qatari administration is said to be a very conservative one that believes the Website should stick to conservative religious issue and removed other sections
On Twitter, Mohammed, another former journalist in IOL, broke the news saying:
@MohammedY: To journos in Egypt & Arab world: Journalists @ #IslamOnline r being bullied by new management into silence against bad company practices
@MohammedY: So when workers sign a petition stating their problems, the management puts the workers under investigation. WTF is wrong at #IslamOnline ?
Abdullah El Shamy and Muhammad Ghafari, who are among the strikers, were working on the live stream, continuously updating their Twitter accounts  and posting pictures from the place.
@Ghafari : For those who are concerned, Live updates on #IslamOnline employees’ strike here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/iol-on-air
Ghafari didn't forget to mention how women were playing a vital rule in the sit-in:
Nadia El Awady was also updating through her friends on Twitter around the clock, where she mentioned:
@NadiaE : Female employee at #Islamonline talking about staying overnight at the office in her sleeping bag to continue her strike
@NadiaE : #islamonline employee @mos3abof calls on audience to backup website content [qatar board taking over & plans for website unclear]
Egyptian blogger Ahmed Shokeir expressed an opinion that nearly everybody felt, commenting on how new media tools are used differently this time:
It is worth mentioning that a rumor spread on Twitter that EL Qaradawi might resign, as per Mohammed:
@MohammedY : #IslamOnline management in Qatar have been evading Al-Qaradawi's calls bec he wanted to take sides with employees (through Fathi at IOL)
And was supported by another Tweet for Nadia:
@NadiaE: Motaz Al-Khateeb producer of Sheikh Al-Qaradawi's Aljazeera show spoke with Sheikh's secretary who says he is still considering resignation
Before sleeping, Ghafari concluded his updates saying they will not stop their strike unless all these demands are fulfilled:
More pictures can be found here.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: #Top50Eg Tweets Make a Difference · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

All of a sudden, my Twitter timeline was bombarded with the #Top50Eg hashtag. This hashtag is used by Egyptian tweeps to refer to many  Egyptian habits and customs. There are rumors that the whole thing started when Queen Rania of Jordan, aka the Royal tweep, endorsed the #Top50Jo hashtag, and now Egyptian tweeps are adopting it for Egypt.
Ibrahim Abdel Fattah wrote a blog post here about that hashtag saying:
Here are some of the interesting tweets:
And finally, the Egyptian blogger and tweep, Nadia El Awady, wrote a new post and tried to collect all the good tweets under this hashtag.

author: Tarek Amr


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Honduras: The Murder of Journalist David Meza · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Honduran blogger “El Buscador” writes about the murdered journalist David Meza [es], and how he had received death threats for reporting on narcotrafficking. Meza is the 2nd Honduran journalist to be killed in 2010.

author: Eduardo Avila


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India: The Rich Culture and unity of Mizoram · Global Voices
Rezwan

Musings of a Chakma informs that a total of 10,378 Mizo dancers performed “the largest and longest bamboo dance” in the world for eight minutes – a Guinness world record.


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Japan: Farmers’ blogs · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kurashi introduces a number of Japanese farmers who blog about farming.


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Russia: TV Star Calls For Young Talents Online Project · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Tina Kandelaki (Photo by Anton Nossik)
When famous celebrities use the blogosphere and make headlines because of it, it’s difficult to decide if it’s just another self-promotion or there are pure intentions involved… or maybe it’s both.
This is the case of what happened in Russia last week when a famous TV host Tina Kandelaki [ENG]  published a blog post [RUS] titled “Don’t ask who is guilty, but ask what to do” where she expressed an idea of an innovative online project that would empower the young generation of talented Russians thus strengthening the country.
This Internet-born initiative was eventually supported by the Russian Minister of Education Andrey Fursenko. It was also positively covered by many Russian traditional media.  At the same time, the debates around initiative and the nature of Kandelaki’s intents spread all over the Russian blogosphere.
Kandelaki is well known in Russia as a controversial performer. She appeared on the cover of Russia's Playboy and her name was involved in scandal that was linked to a famous Russian oligarch. Kandelaki  is also a successful TV persona who regularly hosts a popular teenager show “The most clever,” which provided a TV platform for talented children from Russian regions.
Recently Kandelaki became a member of a Civic Chamber of Russian Federation [ENG] and stated [RUS] that her goals was to improve an education system and make the chamber more interactive via online technologies. Kandelaki is also very active in the field of new media. She is not only a blogger but also one of the most active Russian Twitter users.
In her blog,  Kandelaki wrote [RUS] that Russia had a lot of young talented children and teenagers but no one knew about them. She argued that information technology should help in personal development of these children and, at the same time, facilitate technological development of Russia.
Kandelaki suggested that Russian “economic miracle” can be created thorough launching an Internet-based platform that would expose young Russian talents:
Нужно собрать воедино тех, у кого есть воля менять жизнь к лучшему. Тех, кто устал говорить о переменах, тех, кто хочет эти перемены совершать. А хотим мы все одного и того же – великих русских открытий, первых мест на Олимпиаде, экономического чуда в России по примеру американского, послевоенного западногерманского или азиатского. Но этого не будет, если мы с вами вместе не сделаем общее дело под названием «русское экономическое чудо». У нас у всех очень много идей, предложений и сил для реализации этого чуда. Нам только нужно найти друг друга.
Я предлагаю создать площадку в Интернете, где каждый мог бы рассказать о своих способностях, успехах и достижениях, а также о своих знакомых и друзьях, которые заслуживают внимания общества. В дополнение к площадке необходимо создать систему скаутов, которые будут искать таланты по всей стране. Всем этим людям нужно дать возможности для развития и познакомить их друг с другом.
According to Kandelaki, the new platform will expose new talents as it has been done by YouTube. However, it won’t work without a special institute of mediators who will develop the links between young talents and leading teachers . Kandelaki concludes:
Благодаря проекту, направленному на развитие талантов, в России появится больше героев. Это будущие победители Олимпиад, чемпионатов мира, выдающиеся математики, гениальные менеджеры, авторы открытий, меняющих мир и жизнь каждого из нас. Мы сами будем их находить и продвигать. Мы будем гордиться ими. А результаты их труда сделают жизнь каждого из нас лучше, комфортнее и удобнее. Это сила, о которой мы так много говорим и которой, на самом деле, являемся мы сами!
The blog post caused a significant resonance and was covered by most of major traditional media outlets in Russia. Hundreds of Internet users sent letters with suggestions to a special e-mail that Kandelaki left at the end of her blog. More than 700 people left comments to blog post itself.
Many of them were very excited about Kandelaki’s initiative and fully supported it. LJ user Sasadziro wrote [RUS]:
А я считаю идея что надо!!!
По сути – это виртуальный молодежный технопарк :) Проблема в другом. У нас в России сформировался ГИГАНТСКОГО размера стереотип, что ТАМ (за рубежом) лучше чем в ЗДЕСЬ. Вот что нужно ломать в головах людей!!! Это блеф поддерживаемый всеми кто ТАМ не был… У нас люди с идеей боятся идти к людям с деньгами, потому что считают что те их кинут.
Some of the users, like crystal_style, wrote [RUS] that they were ready to volunteer for the project:
готова быть волонтером) нужна какая-либо помощь, я здесь. сама учусь в РЭА им.Плеханова и думаю, если вообще будет нужна помощь студентов, объединимся и сделаем))
Some media claimed that the project might turn to be a national HR-based, which would shape the future of Russian governance and business.  This idea was supported by an oligarch Aleksandr Lebedev who said that he would follow the Web site and make an effort to engage young talents in his business. Moreover, the initiative was endorsed by the Russian Minister of Education Andrey Fursenko. He said [RUS]:
Это полностью  вписывается в нашу программу. Я  могу сказать, что мы однозначно эту  инициативу поддержим, и в принципе у нас появились определенные возможности поддержать ее не только морально, но и материально. Это точно  будет развиваться. Я считаю, что это вещь однозначно полезная.
However, some bloggers were not sure that Kandelaki’s project addressed the right problem. LJ user stga wrote:
Инновации, модернизации, и прочие интеллектозации востребованы должны быть прежде всего экономикой. Причем экономикой направленной на создание конечного продукта. Не инноваций и идей которые сами по себе ничего не стоят (…) Поддержка талантов ради поддержки, без востребованности это глупость.
LJ user gr_ushanka suggested that the main problem was not a wrong approach to talents, but a system of education in general:
И в чем конкретно должна заключаться помощь этим самым талантливым людям? Мне кажется, что думать надо в первую очередь про нашу систему образования, про обеспечение инфраструктуры регионов, про веру людей в то, что они могут что-то сделать сами.
LJ user i12runoff was even more pessimistic in his reaction:
Стоит создать такой орган поиска талантов и он моментально превратиться в очередной элемент отбора “элиты”. Побеждать в конкурсах там опять будут “по знакомству” или за деньги.
Other bloggers asked who was going to sponsor this projects and expressed concerns not in regard to the idea, but how it would be implemented.
On the contrary, bloggers like tan_de were annoyed [RUS] by the critical approach:
Прочитала пост на одном дыхании. Замечательная идея! но как всегда, нашлись люди, полные пессимизма, придирающиеся к каждому слову. Нет, критическое мышление – это хорошо, но давайте направлять его на конструктив. Например, на реализацию этого проекта.
However not only the idea itself, but Kandelaki motive’s and her intents were under scrutiny of bloggers.  Some of them suspected that the blog post is not an own initiative by Kandilaki, but a part of political plan by Russian ruling party “Edinaya Rossiya” and president’s administration. LJ user sash13ok wrote [RUS]:
“Идея” – хорошая. Но, я надеюсь, что данный пост с его “всенародным обсуждением”, это только один из тактических шагов Тины на пути реализации этого проекта. Ведь Тина не просто “большая девочка” и брюнетка, а человек походивший по “коридорам” и общающийся с умными дядьками. Поэтому, уверен, что в АП уже назначен “посевной инвестор” из упоминаемых в “Форбсе”, которому посоветовали проявить социальную ответственность. А данная “туса” в ЖЖ (в хорошем смысле), это “социологический замер” размера поддержки и творчества масс.
LJ user Alex-mazurov commented [RUS] on the fact that Kandelaki was supported by the minister of education and recognized in it soviet roots:
В прежние времена, как говорится, до исторического материализма-олигархизма, с такими инициативами могли бы выступить представители класса гегемонов – знатная бетонщица или, например, знатная доярка.
Теперь инициативу, наверняка, поддержит “Единая Россия” и так далее. Свято место пусто не бывает – место гегемона занимают теперь гламурло гламурные персонажи. Тоже знатные …
Some bloggers suggested that the problem was not only Kandilaki’s intents, the project’s idea or the education system, but the entire political system. According to imajin only comprehensive political reform might have an impact:
Не с того предлагаете начать.Вы пытаетесь найти внутренние ресурсы для развития. Между тем есть громадная дыра, через которую эти ресурсы становятся недоступными для страны. Я имею ввиду неконкурентноспособную политическую систему. Из-за ее коррупционности никаких ресурсов не хватит для развития. Сколько ни вливай – будет распилено и рассовано по карманам.
Эта дыра давит на всё. На некомфортность жизни здесь. Нет нормального образования, здравоохранения, милиции.  Пока политическая ситуация не решится, остальное – как мертвому припарки.
Kandilaki’s post and its endorsement by the Russian government is an evidence that Russian Internet not only becomes  a space for politics but a part of the politics. The real impact of it is questionable, but it’s certainly exposes the polarization between those who excited by the Internet-oriented policy shift and new opportunities to interact with public figures and those whose mistrust the state. The time will probably show if Kandelaki's idea was nothing more than self-promotion, government-based initiative or a start of a successful project.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Latvia: All March 16 Rallies Banned · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Economist's Edward Lucas writes that “for once, the anniversary of a wartime battle in Latvia should pass off peacefully” on March 16. Juris Kaža of Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports on the ban on “all marches and gatherings at the Freedom Monument on March 16, the day that the Latvian Legion, formed under German occupation in 1943, is commemorated.” In a comment posted on Lucas’ blog, Kaža adds: “But there is a big row building. The supporters of the Legionnaires are angry about the ban […], the nationalists of varying intensity are angry, the ‘anti-fascists’ are not pleased (they, too, are banned) and supporters of the freedom of speech and assembly, such as myself are angry, too.”


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Moldova: Military Neutrality · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Morning in Moldova writes about the issue of Moldova's military neutrality: “In Moldova's case, neutrality has just made the country weak and defenceless in the face of very real aggressors who control a large chunk of the country's territory (the Russians and Transnistrians) […].”


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Pakistan: Root Cause Of Water Crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amicus at Pakistan Spectator discusses the root causes for the recent water crisis in Pakistan.


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Russia: Anti-Putin Internet Petition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia reports: “The Internet petition campaign launched last week calling for the Vladimir Putin’s departure from office not only has already collected some 7500 signatories but nearly 80 percent of these have given their names, their professions and their place of residence, thus opening a window onto the attitudes of various Russian groups toward the powers that be.”


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Russia: Blog Report from Penal Colony · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Photojournalist Maks Avdeev (LJ user Avdeev) published photos from a penal colony in Arkhangelsk region. More pictures can be found on his Flickr account.


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Russia: Regions Encouraged to Use E-Government Services · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Russian Ministry of Telecommunication will encourage regions to provide services via e-government portals. Director of Department for Informational Policy Artem Ermolaev announced that his ministry would start an intensive program for local administration that would be completed in two months.


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Serbia: A Local Craftsman, Former Refugee · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Yankee-in-Belgrade post a photo and writes about Stevo Radelic – “a Serbian refugee who has been living just outside of Belgrade now ever since he lost his home in Croatia at the beginning of Yugoslavia's break-up”: “He's made a new life for himself, although a difficult one, creating works of art from pieces of oak.”


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South Africa: Julius Malema and the future of freedom of speech · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The controversial president of the ANC Youth League Julius Malema has been found guilty of hate speech by a South African judge because of comments he made about a woman who accused President Jacob Zuma for rape. The comments Malema made were: “Those who had a nice time will wait until the sun comes out, request breakfast and ask for taxi money. In the morning, that lady requested breakfast and taxi money.”
Malema is known for constantly making controversial statements. Last week our author Muhammad Karim wrote a post about Malema singing an old anti-Apartheid song Kill the Boer.
South African bloggers and legal experts have reacted quickly to the judgement. Opinions about the judgement and the future of freedom of speech in South Africa are deeply divided.
Leading constitutional law expert and Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance at the University of Cape Town Professor Pierre de Vos has questioned the guilt verdict. He argues that the judgement is wrong:
The judgment of magistrate CJ Collis in which she found Julius Malema guilty of hate speech and harassment will probably be cheered on by many South Africans who are sick and tired of the hateful and idiotic utterances of the leader of the ANC Youth League. “Finally old Julius got his come-uppance,” many of us might say. “Finally our legal system has shown Julius a big fat middle finger!”
The problem is, from a legal perspective it is difficult not to conclude that the judgment is wrong. In my opinion it may very well be overturned on appeal.
Robert Brand agrees:
You make a persuasive argument that the magistrate erred and that an appeal may succeed. However, I would go further and argue that an appeal against the hate speech provisions in the Equality Act on Constitutional grounds would also succeed. The act goes much further in defining hate speech than the constitution, and in effect creates a faultless crime: intention to incite harm is not required, just that the words may be construed to have such an intention. It also widens the scope of hate speech to comments that “hurt” or propagate hatred, whereas the constituton refers to “harm” only.
Pierre observes that many South Africans fail to understand hate speech as defined by the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA):
Hate speech is defined in the Act as words based on one or more of the prohibited grounds, (in other words, words based on race, sex, gender or sexual orientation, say) against any person that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to be hurtful; be harmful or to incite harm; or promote or propagate hatred. Showing the middle finger to the President could never be construed as words based on any of the prohibited grounds such as race, sex, gender and sexual orientation, so it could never be construed as hate speech.
Many people fail to understand that hate speech as defined in PEPUDA requires more than making hurtful or harmful statements about someone. If I say the President is a sex obsessed idiot, or that Helen Zille is a racist madam, it might be rude and it might even be defamatory but it would not constitute hate speech as I would not be saying anything based on Zuma or Zille’s race, sex or sexual orientation.
One of his readers, Dumisani Mkhize, disagrees with him because “Malema’s words and message at that rally are clearly meant to paint this woman as a bad person who deserves what she got and more”:
Prof,
Without taking anything away from your legal argument, I wish to present a view from a non legal perspective.
I believe Malema’s words to constitute hate speech. Here’s why:
This woman, called Khwezi, was vilified by Zuma supporters during the rape trial. Some women even called for her blood. This woman is now living in exile for fear of her life.
Malema’s words and message at that rally are clearly meant to paint this woman as a bad person who deserves what she got and more. These words add to the suffering and danger that Khwezi is subjected to on a daily basis and they make it even more dangerous for her to come back to the land she considers her home.
Can you imagine what would have happened to her, had Khwezi shown her face at that particular rally at that time?
I don’t have to remind you about what happened to that American exchange student who showed her face at the wrong place and the wrong time. Amy Biehl was killed by a group of people who were not inherently evil or bad, but they happened to be singing and chanting inciting “one settler, one bullet” slogans at that very moment.
Malema is an influential leader to his impressionable followers and a strong message needs to be sent to curb further and unnecessary acts of violence that could result from his careless rant.
If overturned on appeal, it would be unfortunate and would further put vulnerable women in general and Khwezi in particular in further jeopardy.
Robert Brand writes a post in defence of Julius Malema's right to free speech. He makes it clear that he is not defending Malema but only hist right to freedom of expression:
I believe in freedom of expression. Our Constitution protects the right to freedom of expression. That is why I cannot welcome the Equality Court’s ruling that Malema was guilty of hate speech when he commented on the young woman who had accused President Jacob Zuma of rape.
Please understand that I am not defending Malema. I am defending his right to freedom of expression, which is also mine and yours and which means nothing if it does not include the right to say things that offend other people.
Robert asks, “But do his words constitute hate speech?”:
Hate speech is defined in the Constitution as “advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm” (my italics). Malema’s words were undoubteldy hurtful to many people. They may, at a stretch, be construed as “advocacy of hatred” based on gender. But did they constitute incitement to cause harm? I think not. And so, offensive though the words were to our sensibilities, they should be protected by the the Bill of Rights.
The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, under which Malema was charged and convicted, has, however, complicated issues by adopting a far wider definition of hate speech than the Constitution. The Equality Act (for short) defines hate speech as words ”that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to be hurtful, cause harm or promote hatred on the basis of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language or birth”.
A reader at Robert's blog, Evan argues that hate speech should be narrowly defined:
You’re absolutely correct. Hate speech should be extremely narrowly defined and the law should be applied with absolute vigilance and circumspection.
Malema is a useless tool who should have his nuts kicked five times day, but this hate speech thing is going to do far more harm in general than any good it might do in this particular case.
Anothe reader asks the following questions:
“The ANC defended youth leader Julius Malema on Thursday for singing, “shoot the boers, they are rapists”, saying the lyrics of the song had been quoted out of context.”
Does this slogan not constitute hate speech?
Is this permissible within a “freedom of speech” remit?
Who’s responsibility is it to prosecute someone who breaks the law in a case like this?
Will the Government do it, or does a private citizen have to lay a charge?
Robert responds:
That may be hate speech in terms of the Equality Act. A private citizen can lay a charge. The government – more specifically the National Prosecuting Authority – would then prosecute.
After the verdit, Sino Majangaza from DispatchOnline went out with a video camera asking South Africans what you thought of Julius Malema. Here is a video of what they had to say.
Classic Malema blog has an interview Julius Malema had with Times LIVE after the judgement. And Zapiro Malema goodness! Jonathan Shapiro is the leading South African cartoonist, popularly known as Zapiro.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Korea: Birth rate · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Andrew Gruen from Ohmynews! wrote an article addressing the problem of low birth rate in South Korea and pointed out that gender equality is more important than policy in raising birth rate.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Here Comes The Rain  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has finally got a touch of rain – and Abeni is rejoicing!


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Thailand: “Bloody” Tuesday? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Red Shirts will continue to march in the streets after learning that Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has rejected the protesters’ demands to dissolve the parliament and conduct a new round of elections. But the latest protest tactic promises to be “bloody” as organizers announced that they will collect 1 million cubic centimeters of protesters’ blood, or about 264 gallons (1,000 liters) and will throw the blood at the Government House in Bangkok by Tuesday evening.
The Red Shirts were able to mobilize at least a hundred thousand people in the streets last Sunday prompting the government to deploy more than 50,000 security forces in the capital. The following video clip shows a big assembly of Red Shirts last weekend
Why are the Red Shirts protesting in the streets? Marc Askew interviewed the rally participants and summarized their demands:
They agree that the parliament should be dissolved and new elections held so as to “return power to the people.”
They argue that the Thai press and media cannot be trusted to portray the red shirt cause accurately, in contrast to the foreign media, which they believe “knows what’s really going on” in the country viz-a-viz political power.
They utterly reject the reports that people are paid to attend major red shirt rallies, as related in the press and among their opponents.
Saiyasombut commends the Red Shirts for conducting peaceful rallies but rejects the “blood protest”
So far, the fact the protests have been peaceful and no bigger problems (or even violence) have occurred can be counted as a success and confident boost for the Red Shirts. But now they risk to lose all the momentum for this more than questionable stunt. First, there is the logistic problem: how on earth are they going to get enough blood of 100,000 people in just one night?
Secondly is a medical one: how are they going to get enough clean needles? The Thai Red Cross has refused to help, pointing out medical consequences of improper use.
And finally the question is: what do they want to achieve with this? Unless they want to deliberately create a big hygienic mess I don’t see anything being solved here!
Siam Report warns the Red Shirts that the “blood protest” would erode the group’s credibility
…the reds shirts have thus far had a successful rally. They didn't reach a million people and no House dissolution, but at least 100,000 turned up and the protest was conducted in a peaceful manner. However, if the red leaders decide to go through with this symbolic blood splattering stunt, you can be sure that it will be received very poorly internationally. Such a stunt is perfect ammunition for the anti-red media, and really to any observer, it is an illegal act of vandalism and something a teenager would do.
Red Shirts convoy. Picture by photo_journ
Red Shirt supporters. Photo by Robin Thailand
Jon Dent participated in the March 15 rally and blogged about what he witnessed:
Walking towards the main stage, we saw groups of people walking while others sought shade from the mid-day sun. There were signs in English (“Democracy Now”) and signs in Thai (“We will die for Democracy”). There were stalls selling red shirts, anti-government literature and CDs, and of course Pad Thai.
I met a group of nurses and doctors volunteering at one of the many first aid stations along the protest route. They asked not to be identified since their hospitals told them not to help the Red Shirts. Nevertheless, they came anyways “to help the people, and because our hearts are Red.”
The Nation's State, another rally participant, is elated by the warm support of Bangkok residents
Notable were the crowds of people gathered on the streets cheering for the reds.
They were Bangkok residents coming out to great and support the reds. Many were waving anything red that they had in their homes or work. I saw red bed sheets and red coffee mugs among other things.
Also notable were the police which came out to wave and some even sported red.
The mood was boisterous, like a party really, and the reds certainly scored a psychological victory by showing residents that there are far more protesters than reported in the media.
Nganadeeleg criticizes media bias in reporting the rallies
I'm pleased that there has been no real violence to date, and it seems both the government and protesters have learned from the past.
(also more people have camera's at hand now so hopefully any actions by agent provocateur's will quickly be able to be seen as such).
My biggest complaint regarding the media coverage is that most are taking a very short term view and cannot see the wood for the trees.
Hungry guide to food and travel maintains a non-political blog but manages to write about the Red Shirts by featuring the exotic food items sold in the rally sites.
Going to rally is not fun for those who has nothing to do with it, but it created lots of jobs and profits for some people, especially people who sell food. Some of them just come specially for rally, and some who usually are nearby, simply change the location just to show their support.
Red Shirt march at Victory Monument. Photo by newley
Protest in front of Army complex. Photo by newley
Twitter reactions:
photo_journ: #redshirt trucks now playing protest/battle type tunes. Still attracting wide public support
photo_journ:If the reception the #redshirt convoy is getting is indicative of an election vote the Abhisit gov. is finished
RobinThailand: People on the street passing us food and water as we move down in the #redmarch.
newley: #redmarch protesters chanting, cheering, and throwing empty plastic water bottles into army compound.
legalnomads: @arzupancic No no – I didn't wear any red shirt. Was just there taking pictures – in green or purple or something neutral.
tulsathit: We've also learned that an unknown number of protesters headed for 11 regiment HQ and never came back. They simply went home.
The last tweet is good news for the government. It means the number of protesters are going down. BangkokDan believes the Red Shirts have failed
The so far biggest show of force on Sunday with many sightseers and curious onlookers on Rajdamnoen was a sweet Pyrrhic victory before reality set in on Monday morning when the dancing and chanting solidarity started marching. Many of them knowing, this march actually leads to nowhere. They barely reached the 11th Infantry Regiment, the ultimatum passed – now the search for blood started. And many protesters, already packed, simply went home.
Nirmal Ghosh is not sure whether the Red Shirts can sustain the protest momentum
The Red shirts have definitely made a statement today, but will it be enough to force political change? The government has played its cards well, not being drawn into a fight. Yet the grenade blasts show that the situation still hangs in the balance.
There is still no telling how many Red shirts can stay on the streets and for how long….
Many Red Shirts are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra but not all of them are fans of the fugitive leader who was recently found guilty by the court of corruption charges. Thaksin is now in Europe but he has been successfully addressing the rallyists through phone-in interviews. Jon Russell cites the strong social media presence of Thaksin’s team
Thaksin’s strong social media presence on the web allows the public – including his supporters – to find information and opinions straight from him rather than reading through the media.
Social media gives Thaksin a free platform to air his opinions and views whilst allowing him to maintain contact with those who can longer see him in person. For his supporters, his social media presences allows them to stay close to his view and opinions which are accessible any time.
Rally photos are also available at Legal Nomads.
March 11: The Red Shirts are coming!
March 13: Calm before the storm?
March 15: “Reds” vow a bigger rally today


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Trinidad & Tobago: Green Fund Gives Green Light  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's environmental Green Fund is supporting two worthwhile projects – a reafforestation initiative and a plastic recycling drive.  Greenlight Network has the details.


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

KnowTnT.com links to “a report entitled The Tragedy & The Hidden History of NAPA” and comments: “I'm hoping that the accusations are fully investigated and that, if they are true, that the powers that be are stung into changing their reprehensible treatment of our artists.


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Bahamas: Natural Energy?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahama Pundit‘s Larry Smith wonders whether natural gas can solve the country's power problem.


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Bangkok traffic maps · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Media140 suggests websites that show online traffic maps of Bangkok, Thailand


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Bermuda: Coming to Term  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian bloggers comment on term limits.  Politics.bm: “The requirement to prove Bermuda status for entry is draconian and unnecessary…”; Vexed Bermoothes: “I believe that term limits are very dangerous, particularly combined with all the other mixed messages sent by this Government towards international business.”


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China: College students’ employment problem · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PH from veggie discourse translated a local news story from Netease about how 5 college students beat out 395 Others to become feces diggers.


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China: Various aspects of censorship · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

March 12 was the World Day Against Cyber Censorship and Reporters Without Borders announced its latest list of “Enemies of the Internet,” which points a finger at China, among other authoritarian states.
Jason Ng from Kenengba tries to enrich the discussion by outlining various aspects of Chinese Internet censorship.
1. Non-transparent censorship
A. Where comes the openness?
First of all, the blogger points out that whenever the Chinese government reacts to the issue of Internet censorship, it would state that “Internet in China is very open” and then support the statement with statistics such as “there are more than 3,800 million internet users in China”. However, the two statements do not carry any logical relation.
B. Unreasonable censorship
Secondly, he points out that main reason why people hate China's Internet censorship is because of its lack of transparency:
我曾经在新浪微博发布了关于“群众抗议番禺建立垃圾焚烧厂”一条信息，然后我收到新浪微博的管理员发的邮件说我这条信息含有非法内容，所以被删除了。然后我问，这条信息违反了具体哪条法律，新浪的审核人猿没有给我回复。同样的事情也发生在中国最大的SNS人人网。
网站审查人员之所以进行不透明的审查，是因为他们收到了政府部门不透明的规章。…
没有一个透明的规章，人们就不能去遵守所谓的制度。政府部门高兴的时候可以说“我爱共产党”这句话是褒义的，在不高兴的时候可以说你在讽刺它。你只能无奈地对着屏幕喊草泥马。
Once the regulation is in the dark, people cannot act according to the system. The government administration can react to the statement “I love CCP” positively when it is in good mood. When it is in bad mood, it will take it as an irony. And you can only swear “Grass-mud horse” to the computer screen.
C. Google's protest
The blogger believes the reason why Google is unhappy about China's censorship is also due to the problem of transparency:
而Google在中国，每天都收到通知要屏蔽这个网站屏蔽那个网站、屏蔽这个关键词屏蔽那个关键词，这些通知是没有规律可寻的，也没有法例列明。你要细问法例，得到的回答只会是“依法屏蔽”。
2. The Censor machine
The blogger has identified a number of censorship mechanism in China.
A. Self censorship
中国网民由于长期生活在信息审查之中，他们意识到很多文字用直接发送的方式会发送失败或很快被删除，于是他们在发布信息之前就对信息做了修改，要么将较为敏感的部分替换成意思相近的词语，要么删掉了这部分内容。
B. Machine censor
In the case of machine censor, the users have to guess what are the sensitive terms whenever they publish an article. Here is what Internet users will encounter:
1）假设你输入了10000字，其中第100、101两字是敏感词。你点击了发布。
（2）然后你发现自己只发布了99个字，第100个字和后面9900个字都不见了。
（3）你在任何地方都找不到这丢失的9900个字，你需要重新敲打一次。
（4）你意识到第100、101个字是敏感词，于是你替换成其它字了，接着你重新发布一次。
（5）然后你又发现，发布出去后只剩下200个字，因为第201个字又是敏感词。
Another machine censor example is the Green Dam:
当你的浏览器开了10多个标签，其中一个有一张肉色比较多的照片时，全部浏览器进程就会被绿坝结束。或许你在其中一个标签正在工作，不好意思，都没了。
C.  Human Flesh Censor
中国很多网站，尤其是门户网站都有一个专门的人工审查团队。饭否由于没有审查团队，“非法”信息泛滥，最终被死亡。据我所知，像新浪这样的网站，审查人员是数以百计的。
一个曾经在腾讯负责做审查的朋友告诉我，每当敏感日子，比如两会，他们的工作量就非常大，他们不但需要审查论坛、博客，就连用户的邮件他们都要随机抽查。在中国，邮件不算是隐私。
人肉审查团队在判断非法信息的时候没有一定的标准，在很多时候，他们只是根据自己或上级临时下发的文件去判断一条信息是否被屏蔽。对于他们来说，宁可杀错1000条，绝对不能放过1条。
A friend who once worked in Tencent told me that whenever the time was sensitive, such as during the annual National People's Congress, their workload would increase. They had to censor BBS, blog, and randomly users’ email. In China, email communication has no privacy.
Human flesh censors do not have standard in their practice. Very often, they judge according to their supervisor's guidelines. And they'd rather delete 1000 than letting 1 sensitive message to surface.
D. The notification team
在中国，大多数网站底部都会有一个备案号，通过这个备案号，政府的审查人员可以很方便地联系到站长。
一般来说，当网管发现某网站上有“非法”信息的时候，他们首先会打电话给服务器的托管商，托管商再打电话联系站长删除所谓的“非法”信息。
Whenever the Internet control administration finds an “illegal” information online, they would call up the data center and the data center would call up the webmaster to delete the “illegal” message.
E. Red Head document team
有时候，审查不仅仅是要求网站删掉某些内容，还包括统一转载某些稿件、统一将搜索结果指向官方网站。这种通知称之为红头文件，一般由网管办或新闻办下发。
门户网站每天都会收到网管办下发的通知，这些通知的类型一般包括：
（1）不能报道什么
（2）应该报道什么
（3）头条应该放什么
（4）哪些新闻需要引导讨论
（5）哪些搜索关键词应该屏蔽或指向指定的结果
（6）哪些新闻必须统一采用新华网、人民网的稿件
1. What cannot be reported
2. What should be reported
3. What should the headline be
4. Which news should be channeled in the discussion
5. Which keywords should be blocked or redirected to a destinate search result
6. Which news story should be limited to the use of the Xinhua and People's Daily news sources
F. Mama Jury
妈妈评审团的成员来自各行各业，有些人之前几乎没有接触过互联网。她们一边接受政府的培训，一边按要求每月提交一定数量的不适合儿童观看的内容。
G. Tea and Talks
如果你一直在网上发布政府不愿意看到的言论，或者支持一些民间的运动，例如散步或者维权，你将会被邀请喝茶。
去年国庆前夕，一位北京的初中生在博客和Twitter表达了对国庆彩排的不满，认为这是浪费时间没有意义的。不久之后，他被国家报卫队的人邀请“喝茶”，他们威胁他，如果再在网上发布这些言论，他将不能在理想的高中念书。
在那之后，这位初中生在Twitter上安静了很长的时间。
Last year before the national day, a middle school kid criticized the preparatory performance of the ceremony for wasting his time in Twitter. Very soon, he was invited by the national security police for tea session. They threatened him that if he continued to talk like that, he would not be able to enter a good high school.
For a very long period of time, that school kid has kept silent in twitter.
H. The Great Firewall
A picture is worth a thousand words:
I. The 50 Cent Party
在多年的探索过程中，中国政府意识到光做减法是不行的，有时要做一做加法，要占领舆论高地。于是中国就出现了一种解决就业问题的职业–网络评论员，俗称五毛党。
当政府需要引导舆论的时候，五毛党就会成群出没。他们会在论坛、博客、门户甚至是报纸、电视等媒体发布一边倒的支持政府的言论。他们一般都是成群结队出动，很少单独行动…
Whenever the government needs to channel public opinion, the 50 cent party would take action. They would write and voice out pro-government opinions in BBS, blogs, portal websites or even in traditional media like newspapers and T.V. They usually take action together and seldom act alone.
In spite of so many sophisticated censorship mechanism, the blogger still believes that democracy will eventually come and replace the brutal control over speech and expression.


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Colombia: Results from March 14 Elections · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

On Sunday March 14, Colombians went to the polls to elect 102 Senators, 166 Representatives to the House, 5 members of the Andean Parliament, and —if they wanted to— choose the presidential candidate of the Conservative Party (among Andrés Felipe Árias, José Galat, Álvaro Leyva Durán, Marta Lucía Ramírez, and Noemí Sanín) or the Green Party, led by former Mayors of Bogotá Antanas Mockus, Enrique Peñalosa, and Luis Eduardo Garzón. After the Constitutional Court rejected a referendum seeking to allow a third term for President Álvaro Uribe two weeks earlier, the presidential race started and the Congressional elections took center stage. After all, it is viewed as a barometer of what could happen in the May 30 presidential elections.
Antanas Mockus (left) and Enrique Peñalosa at the Green party celebrations. Photo used with permission by WiKi Ciudadana – Citizen Journalism on the Web
Nevertheless, some analysts predicted that there would be little turnover [es] in the Colombian parliament, even though there are around 80 Congresspeople from the current legislature in jail or investigated for links with the paramilitary militias (‘parapolitics’ scandal), and others investigated [es] for ties with the FARC guerrillas.
In the Senate, ruling coalition Party of the U and Conservative Party secured the most seats, with the opposition Liberal Party in third place and a triple tie in the fourth: Party of National Integration (PIN), centre-right Radical Change, and leftist Alternative Democratic Pole. The situation is similar in the House of Representatives. Logistical problems involving the National Registrar Office [es] (Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil [es]) and denouncements of vote buying and cheating also marked these elections.
On Twitter most users were outraged at the good results of the PIN, a party which replaced Citizen Convergence, and which included on its list ‘heirs’ of the ‘parapoliticians’ (mostly relatives or close friends to these questioned people). David Reina (@davidreina88) responds to PIN's success at the polls and writes, “crime pays.” Ricardo Gutiérrez Z. (@gutizapata) provides his opinion about these results [es]:
Lo del PIN es la mejor prueba de que nuestro problema no son los malos candidatos sino los pésimos electores.
Julian Sorel (@elJulianSorel) shares this opinion and calls this the result of “political illiteracy.” Dutch journalist Wies Ubags is also disappointed with the results:
It is sad that a couple of obscure PIN-politicians got a seat while serious candidates like former FARC hostages Luis Eladio Pérez, Clara Rojas or journalist Felipe Zuleta didn’t get enough votes. In this way the new Congress is as affected by the parapolitics-virus as the old one.
It looks as if buying votes as well would be the only solution to solve this problem. What a shame for a country which boasts to be one of the oldest democracies on the continent. “A feast of democracy”, Colombia’s radiostations cried out when the voting day started. It was a tragi-comedy.
Others were optimistic about the —surprisingly— good results of the Green Party, and also referred to the controversy of the Conservative Party internal election, where former Agriculture Minister Andrés Felipe Árias and former Ambassador and Foreign Minister Noemí Sanín dispute the nomination for the presidential candidacy vote by vote.
Luis Fernando Parra Paris of La Silla Vacía [es] writes that the Green Party is the party that “currently captures and channels much of the possibilities for change in the country.” However, Miguel Olaya (@juglardezipa) believes that the Green Party will not end up being part of the opposition, something that @Juan_Os agrees with and provides this analysis:
Predicción: El PV irá a primera vuelta y perderá, en la segunda vuelta se unirá a la coalición Uribista.
Another centrist party, Compromiso Ciudadano, led by former Mayor of Medellín and current presidential candidate Sergio Fajardo, is on the verge of reaching the threshold ( *umbral*) needed to be a recognized party.  However, Fajardo had collected [es] 700,000 signatures to support his presidential candidacy, so he will be able to run for President as an independent [es] even if his party does not reach the threshold; still, the totals were a little disappointing for the former Mayor.
Tatyana (@periodistica) provides her thoughts why Fajardo failed to garner much support [es]:
Que pesar de los de la lista Fajardo, pero es la lección nº1: en Colombia no se puede hacer política sin maquinarias
With much of the results in, many are taking a look at what these elections mean for the Presidential election to be held on May 30. On his blog Atrabilioso [es], Jaime Restrepo analyses the possibilities of the presidential candidates vis-à-vis the results of the legislative elections. The Uribista camp, though managing to get a majority, is split between Juan Manuel Santos (Party of the U) and Andrés Felipe Árias (if he wins the Conservative Party “primary”). But if Árias's victory is not won by a wide margin, he could avoid a coalition with Santos and run for the first round. Despite some errors, Liberal Party's Rafael Pardo could run alone with moderate chances. The left-wing PDA candidate Gustavo Petro has a “complex scenario”, since his party (divided in moderate and radical factions, himself being a ‘moderate’) lost seats in these elections.
Having distanced himself from the Liberal Party and the PDA, Restrepo considers that centre-right candidate Germán Vargas Lleras (Radical Change) must run alone for the first round. About Fajardo, Restrepo says that he will go on until May 30, but that “the next poll will show if he is not the option for the second round anymore.” Finally, Restrepo predicts that Green Party's Antanas Mockus will run on the first round and join the anti-Uribista camp for the second.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Ecuador: The Yasuni-ITT Initiative · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

In 2007, the Ecuadorian government unveiled an ambitious environmental plan called the Yasuni-ITT Initiative, which would call for the oil reserves estimated at 870 million barrels found in the Yasuni National Park to remain underground. In exchange, the Ecuadorian government would seek compensation from the international community for 50% of the lost revenues from choosing not to drill. The money will be used for renewable energy projects and other environmental activities.
By not drilling the area, the government states that this will prevent approximately 400 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere. In addition, it seeks to prevent environmental damage to the Amazon region and the negative effects to its residents, which has occurred in the past with previous oil exploration projects.
The blogger Orazio J. Bellettini writes:
La Iniciativa ITT es importante para el Ecuador porque permite sentar las bases para pasar de un modelo de desarrollo basado en la explotación de recursos naturales a otro basado en el conocimiento y el desarrollo sustentable. Y es importante para el mundo porque demuestra que es posible alinear los intereses de los países industrializados y los países en vías de desarrollo para enfrentar el cambio climático.
However, the proposal has not been going as planned. Even though the government has received some tentative commitments from Western European governments, the Ecuadorian Vice-President was recently in Europe and the Middle East seeking for additional financial commitments.  Now three years later, the Initiative has failed to attract the attention and interest as had been hoped, placing the Initiative's intended goal in jeopardy. President Rafael Correa recently announced that there is a “Plan B” in place if the money is not raised, and which would call for drilling with minimal environmental impact.
One of  the 62 species of snake in the sourroundings of the Yasuni Scientific Station – Orellana province.  Photo courtesy of  the Estación Científica Yasuní and used under permission
The blogger known as Libertario [es] believes that his country is acting like a beggar holding a shotgun threatening to drill for oil if the money is not handed over. He writes:
Lastimosamente sin el calentamiento global es ridículo andar pregonando que el Ecuador con esta iniciativa es el salvador de la humanidad. Pensemos por un momento que el calentamiento global fuera cierto y los demás países tomaran la lógica de este singular proyecto, entonces se tendría que compensar a los países ricos como los EEUU  por no explotar el petróleo en Alaska y sus costas. Ahí si quisiera ver las caras de los izquierdosos ecológicos al tener que oponerse a que el “imperio” reclame sus justa compensación.
El proyecto no esta exento de  incoherencias como por ejemplo porque no se lo hace retroactivo ya que hemos estado evitando la explotación del sitio en cuestión desde siempre. Vamos cobremos a estos países ricachones siquiera 100 años de sacrificios.
Unfortunately without global warming, it is ridiculous to go around saying that with this initiative that Ecuador is humanity's savior. Consider for a moment that global warming was true and the other countries take on the logic of this particular project, then we would have to compensate rich countries like the U.S. for not drilling for oil in Alaska and its coast. I'd like to see the faces of the ecological leftists having to oppose the “empire's” claim for their fair compensation.
The project has some inconsistencies. For example, why is it not made retroactive, since we have not drilled at the site for a long time. Let's charge to these wealthy countries for at least 100 years of sacrifices.
Rafael Méndez Meneses points out that any oil exploration can only be made after prior consultation through a referendum as outlined in the new Constitution [es], and he believes that if put to a vote that the people would vote for oil exploration.
However, not all are convinced that the government would use these funds efficiently and transparently. There are already reactions from indigenous communities who call for increased participation in the project [es]. The original proposal from Quito Mayor Roque Sevilla who headed up the government appointed commission called for the funds to be administered by the United Nations Development Programme, but that commission was subsequently dissolved and the funds would be administered the government. In the opinion of blogger Juan Fernando Pacheco of Saturn Attacks [es], he does not see the point of a commission if its decisions are not respected:
Lo verdaderamente mediocre se da cuando, aun logrando lo pedido por parte del Gobierno Ecuatoriano, se decide de forma unilateral echar al tarro de basura todo, por orden del Presidente Rafael Correa – según, lo dijo el mismo el día sábado pasado en la cadena sabatina—debido a que quienes conformaron el fideicomiso, querían que el dinero sea invertido en proyectos de orden ecológico, mientras que el Gobierno Ecuatoriano quería usar ese dinero según su propia discrecionalidad.
Eso, es ser mediocre, trabajar tanto, para al final echar todo por el piso porque mis intereses –aun cuando sean estos de un gobierno– estén por encima de los intereses del resto del mundo.
What is truly mediocre is when, even after with the request from the Ecuadorian government, it is unilaterally decided to throw everything in the trash, by order of President Rafael Correa – according to what he said last Saturday in his national radio address – because those who made up the commission wanted the money to be invested in ecological projects, while the Ecuadorian Government wanted the money under its own discretion.
That is being mediocre, working that much, for at the end throw everything on the floor because my interests – even when they are those of a government – are above the interests of the rest of the world.
This led to the recent developments, when the Ecuadorian negotiating team was about to sign an agreement with the UNDP and other donor nations. President Correa ordered them not to sign the agreement. Millan Ludeña [es]writes:
En Bundestag,  mientras los potenciales donantes exteriores preguntaban sobre los mecanismos de inversión, el Ecuador indicaba que el dinero debía recaudarse a través de un fideicomiso que brindara las garantías necesarias a los inversionistas.  Así,  el fideicomiso fue desarrollado entre la comisión negociadora y los técnicos del PNUD,  en la figura de un pre-acuerdo el cual se firmaría en Copenhague, pero la oportunidad se perdió cuando el presidente Correa, a parte de no asistir a respaldar la propuesta,  prohibió a última hora la firma de los Términos de Referencia del acuerdo entre Ecuador y el PNUD.
In Bundestag, while the potential external donors asked about the investment mechanisms, Ecuador indicated that the money should be collected by the trust that would provide the necessary guarantees to the investors. In that way, the trust was developed among the negotiating committee and the UNDP technicians, within the pre-agreement that would be signed in Copenhagen, but the opportunity was lost when President Correa, in addition to not attending to back the proposal, at the last minute prohibited to signing of the Terms of Agreement of the agreement between Ecuador and the UNDP.
Ludeña adds how this was presented to the media:
Sin embargo, el canciller Falconí y los representantes del PNUD,  en una muestra magistral de profesionalismo,  aunque no firmaron el documento, consiguieron que los titulares de la prensa nacional e internacional indiquen que se estaba avanzando en la redacción de los contratos y además que el PNUD respaldaba la iniciativa Yasuní ITT calificándola como “fantástica”.
Regardless of the outcome, there are some like Diego Martínez who think something must be done to protect these natural resources pointing to the past experiences in the country in regards to environmental preservation. He comments on the blogpost of Orazio J. Bellettini:
El ecuatoriano en general se vende por poco dinero, la dignidad y el futuro son hipotecables por un beneficio a corto plazo. Ejemplos tenemos muchos: la deforestacion en Esmeraldas por las madereras y palmicultoras, la tala del manglar en el litoral costero, la via Salcedo-Tena, la via Riobamba-Macas, la proxima refineria en el Aromo son claras muestras de depredacion de las areas protegidas, ineptitud institucional y falta de definicion de la corriente de desarrollo
In general, the Ecuadorian sold himself for little money, the dignity and future are mortgaged for a short-term benefit. Examples are many: deforestation in Esmeraldas by logging and oil palm growers, logging in mangrove coastline, the Salcedo-Tena road, the Riobamba-Macas road, the next refinery in the Aromo are clear evidence of predation of protected areas, institutional ineptitude and lack of definition of the current development.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Georgia, Russia: Commentary on Imedi’s Fake Broadcast · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Giorgi Kvelashvili of Jamestown Foundation Blog and Vadim Nikitin of Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog comment on the mock news broadcast on the Russian invasion of Georgia, aired on Imedi TV channel last Saturday.


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India: Mumbai Traffic · Global Voices
Rezwan

Entrepreneur and blogger Rajesh Jain comments on the traffic in Mumbai: “from my own experience, average traffic speed has probably halved in the past decade.”


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Indonesia: Trending on Twitter · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jon Russell explains how Indonesia out-trended The Oscars on Twitter earlier this month.


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Iranian women’s rights website wins RSF online freedom award · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Google honoured the online journalists of the women's rights website we-change on 12 March with the first “Netizen Prize”, a new annual award for those who defend freedom of expression online. RSF's report on “Internet Enemies” was released on the same day.
Parvin Ardalan from we-change accepted the award at Google's Paris offices. The Iranian women's movement has always shown resistance… Now the movement is bringing its experience and methods of working democratically into cyberspace.
The we-change website has been a supporter of a virtual campaign called One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws. The campaign calls for putting an end to discrimination against women in Iranian law. It is a follow-up to the peaceful protest of the same aim, which took place on 12 June, 2006 in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran.
Here is a video film where we-change introduces its aims and history:
Parvin Ardalan also won an Olaf Palme Prize in 2007, but the Iranian government did not permit her to leave country to accept it in person. She recorded this message on You Tube.
Meanwhile several Iranian bloggers including Shiva Nazarahari, a female blogger and human rights activist, have been jailed since the 12 June presidential election.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jordan: Third “Blog About Jordan” Day a Success  · Global Voices
Ebtihal Mahadeen

Jordanian bloggers marked the third Blog About Jordan day on March 12th. As was the case in previous years, the cyber event was organized by U.S.-based Jordanian blogger Qwaider:
It's that time of year again. March is is the month of Blog for Jordan day. March 12th to be exact. This year it's going to be even more spectacular than the last two years.
The event, while primarily focusing on blog posts about Jordan, went live on Twitter as well under #B4JO where new posts and tweets about it were publicized. Clearly a testimony to the rising importance of Twitter as a social networking tool, tweets also opened up the event to non-bloggers.
Qwaider not only organized the event but also published an excellent roundup of what transpired during March 12th, linking up to the blogs that took part in the event. Since his roundup is so stellar and in order to avoid online redundancy, here are a few of the things bloggers have actually said on the third BAJD:
Nido on bringing up her children to love Jordan:
We're bringing my kids soon to visit you Jordan,
We'll make sure we take them downtown,
We'll make sure they BOTH eat mansaf, shawerma, knafeh and falafel,
We'll make sure we visit a lot of houses, for friends and family,
We'll make sure they bathe under your sun and they watch your sunset from the main balcony in my parents’ house.
MommaBean on the Jordan of her heart:
Changeable weather that is summer today and winter tomorrow
Traffic that is never ceasing and never predictable
Opportunities to befriend the rich and the poor alike and enjoy both equally
An intoxicating blend of home-comforts and exotic strangeness
A country that takes in those without other places to go… that opens its arms and its heart – often at detriment to itself.
Miss Khasawneh on borders:
I know now that we might not be the largest of countries, but as cliché-like as this might sound, Jordan is large in its cities, each with its own history, its ability to hold within it so much diversity, its people, who prove themselves to be more creative, more successful and more worthy of admiration with each passing day.
Nadine Toukan on freedom of expression in the country:
Media today, be it legacy, traditional, new, or social, is a conversation. And no one can shut you up. Censorship does not stop anything, never has. […] Go ahead, blog about Jordan – share what you love, what works for you, and what else you want…with no holds. Speak your mind about the Internet environment you want, teach your readers and viewers something we don't know, demonstrate why open matters.
Image courtesy of Ola Oeliwat
Ola Oeliwat on why it's easy to be creative in Jordan:
A lot of material to work with,Just look around you! Wherever you look it’s a blend of interesting people, phenomena and landscape. […] There’s actually a lot of support for those who choose to tap into their own potential. […] There’s always something to look forward to. A photo exhibition, a book signing, a movie showing, you name it! There are actually newcomers who are becoming well-known for their work all around Jordan, some sore of local celebrities, and I think this creates an energetic vibe and could be encouraging to other aspiring young people, or old for that matter!
Ranging from critique of pedestrian life in the capital to analysis of the educational system and a vocal protest against web censorship, Jordanian bloggers tackled current hot topics in marking March 12th, the third Blog About Jordan day.

author: Ebtihal Mahadeen


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Macedonia: International Women’s Day in the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

International Women's Day is not an official public holiday in the Republic of Macedonia, but is widely observed through interpersonal interactions and at some workplaces, through sharing of small gifts or organizing celebrations. This year, a number of bloggers used the occasion to draw attention to gender issues or for congratulatory posts aimed at women in general.
From March 5 to 8, UNIFEM office in Skopje organized
…the first film festival in the country dedicated to women’s rights and gender equality. Under the title ‘Women’s Rights Nights’ the four festival nights combined: screenings of documentaries developed by women directors that are portraying life stories of women and girls, and debates on related topics.
Incited by the debate on women and tradition/religion after the screening of the film “Look at the World Through My Eyes”, gender expert Kristina Hadzi-Vasileva reflected [MKD] on her blog feministik:
…The discussion strayed toward the issue of wearing a hijab and [whether such a choice is personal or a result of conditioning]… We seem to forget that the headscarf is just a part of the external markings of religion, and that religion is a component of tradition. Religious rules play a large role in forming lifelong habits which pass from generation to generation as “tradition.” In that context religion and tradition gain a new aspect, as they become included in the community's cultural identity. And that is the essence of the problem: how to change/better the life of women when the change involves the overly sensitive issue of identity.
In this case, religious norms mark the cultural identity of a woman's community. The punishment for disrespect of the community can range from being branded as traitor and excommunicated, to punishment by murder. We have to ask how can a woman decide to change her position in society when the risks involve loosing her children, family, loved ones, home, money… or being mutilated or murdered.
Women suffer pressure and control because they are charged with carrying on the identity of their community to the new generations. Women are expected to maintain the cultural identity by giving birth and basic education to the children, therefore they are under pressure to fulfill certain norms – to dress and marry in a proscribed manner, to have certain number of descendants, to eat, drink, work, move and live in a certain way – or else.
We also have to clearly distinguish between the basic meaning of religion as spiritual need and comfort, and fundamentalism.
Fundamentalist movements seem to have grown into the most important social movements worldwide lately. In fact these are political movements with dominant religious or ethnic imperatives. According to [British scholar] Nira Yuval-Davis these can be based on holy books or experiences related to charismatic leaders, presenting themselves as the only valid form of religion, ethnic culture, the truth. Fundamentalism can manifest as upholding traditional values or as return to the true/original sources…
Fundamentalist constructions of social order essentially rely on control over women and the patriarchal family model. Paradoxically, some women find comfort or sense of accomplishment or empowerment by fitting into the fundamentalist movements. Even though they have the lowest status in the religious institutions, women remain their most active members, acting as guardians of the emotional and moral well-being of the family (NYD). Religion can also be a way for women to find place in the public sphere, or for self-realization of unqualified female workers.
Fundamentalist religious and political leaders consider the ability–the right–of women to control their destiny and bodies as direct threat to their authority, and very few women would dare to act in a way that would mark them as betrayers of the holy religion and/or customs.
If [in this context the word] religion is used as synonym for fundamentalism, and fundamentalism is politics, we have to conclude that its the politics that prolongs the oppression of women in Macedonia.
Under this constellation of forces it would be too much to expect that every woman have to fight for her freedom on her own, as some disputants noted. Help is needed, but is it welcome?
Hemicharot [The Chemist] quoted the Bible (Corinthians, 11) as an example of a backward tradition and ranted against the shortsighted right-wing-Christian female bloggers, ironically wishing them fulfillment of their ideological prerogatives of “many babies, personal and family success of their pillar in life [the husband], and pleasant Easter fasting during the organized parties with ancient Macedonian newly-composed music.”
These celebrations are considered a ‘remnant of communism’ but continue to be practiced in earnest by the public administration (run by political parties which declare themselves anti-communist) and some time escalate beyond providing a free meal for the female staff, into women-only excursions abroad. For instance, a weekend tour of Istanbul, as organized by a public enterprise from Skopje.
Referring to another aspect of this phenomenon, kuzevski asked via Twitter:
Why everybody thinks that 8 of March is the [only] day when a woman has the right to go out to a restaurant without restrictions from her partner?
And bvelkovska replied:
This is the way of older generations who cannot give up socialist habits. I don't know any contemporary women who celebrate the 8 of March in a restaurant :)
Singing Skopjans released a cover of Yugoslav New Wave anthem [“She's waking up”] as a reminder that “8 of March is not a day for flowers, restaurants and shopping, but a day to celebrate women's rights… and to start thinking about who, how and why creates policies without taking the female factor into consideration, from anti-abortion campaigns, to campaigns to create mothers of the nation or projects to erect monuments exclusively to males.”
On the other hand, Veles Scouts presented flowers [MKD], Psihoterapija posted a romantic song [CRO], Lepa Angelina posted a romantic movie clip, while Archeological Diary combined [MKD] a translation of a poem by Moroccan poet Kamel Zebdi [FRA] with the song “The Message” by Linda Pujol [ESP].
Pero Nakov b.b. stressed [MKD] that the real star of nuclear fission was a woman, Idda Noddack, L'Ami du Peuple translated an essay by the Danish socialist Marie Frederiksen Women’s struggle and class struggle through four posts (1, 2, 3, 4) [MKD], Darjan Radenkovic published [MKD] a short story about family violence, and Surface Surtuk quoted David Herlihy about the not-so-ancient historical origins of patriarchy.
In the meantime, the anonymous author/s of the new blog Happy 8th of March [MKD] posted photos of several street sculptures of “trendy girls” with “ideal,” Barbie-like proportions, installed by the Ministry of Culture in the center of Skopje. Someone accessorized the statues with books and labels saying “I am not a sex object,” “I got a scholarship for Harvard,” and “Nobel Prize Winner.”
Two bloggers addressed the issue of Woman's Day from analytical perspectives.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Malaysia: Unnecessary tests for children · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Lilian from Malaysia questions the pedagogic value of giving too many competency examinations to primary school children.

author: Mong Palatino


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Moldova: Constitution and immunity · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Zimbru of Morning in Moldova argues against parliamentary immunity as part of a new Moldovan constitution.


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Pakistan: Terror And The Blame Game · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan criticizes the blame game of Pakistan's leaders and comments: “the stream of bombings and the subsequent deaths of innocent civilians will continue to undermine Pakistan’s tactical successes against the Taliban.”

author: Rezwan


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Russia: Blogger Criticizes National Post Service · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Blogger cyxoupshk published a video (RU with English subs) address criticizing Russian post service. The video is provoked by increasingly bad quality of service as well as recent DHL's shipping suspension.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: DHL Suspends Shipping · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

RUSSIA! Magazine's blog reports that DHL has suspended shipping to Russia.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Results of regional elections · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Gabriela Ionita of Power&Politics World analyses the results on Russia's recent regional elections and its effects on the country's politics.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Saudi Arabia: 1,000 lashes for YouTube video · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

A Saudi man who was arrested in January on charges of homosexuality, a “general security” offence, and impersonation of a police officer has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, plus a fine of 5,000 rials (US $1,333) and a year in prison.
Authorities say their attention was drawn to his behaviour after a video he made was circulated locally via SMS, and later uploaded to YouTube. In the lighthearted video, the man is in a car, dressed as a Saudi police officer. He is seen dancing to club music, rubbing his chest, and flirting with the man holding the camera.
The video has since been blocked in Saudi Arabia.
Comments on the video and reactions to the punishment have been spreading throughout the blogosphere.
Saudi blogger Qusay, on the English version of his blog writes:
Most people have now seen the video or read the news of the guy dressed in an officer’s uniform and acting “homosexual” whatever that may be.
Now I am not a gay rights advocate, but I see no basis for charging him with a criminal offence…
He goes on to mention a different video he has viewed on YouTube which depicts Saudi men showering a dancer with money, which would also be forbidden behaviour. He points out that certain minorities are targeted over others, as well as commenting on the futility of policing the internet, stating:
What I want to say here… if they are arresting people for what they do on YouTube, they should not stop on those that they want, or do not conform to their standards, but go on a spree and arrest those that do everything illegal… good luck with that
Saudi blogger Majid mentions on his blog that when he viewed the video he thought it was funny- and indeed in many people's opinion it is a rather humorous and lighthearted clip, as some of the comments left on YouTube will highlight.
The maximum theoretical punishment for homosexual acts in Saudi Arabia is death. As such, sometimes the accused bring up certain mitigating factors. Here, some sources [AR] have stated that the man's family have claimed he is suffering from a hormone deficiency, others such as the Arab News article covering the story that the man has mental problems:
One newspaper interviewed the man’s father, who claims his son is mentally unstable and was seduced by his friend to perform for the camera.
Majid concurs, stating:
I see most homosexual acts in Saudi are all “mentally unstable”
-but here it is not because he condemns homosexuality, but because to behave in a homosexual manner is to invite trouble in Saudi Arabia. He says:
…the thing that is sad, no right what so ever will be considered for the Homosexual… What is even sadder is the fact the Homosexual is dealt with as sick people in the media and the society. if they are sick why put them in Jail where the WILL be abused further put them in a hospital.
drug addicts go to hospitals, Homosexual go to jail to be further abused.
Egyptian blogger Zenobia writes a post with the title incorporating a cynical “Why are you so shocked!!??“, and wonders:
But I will speak or rather wonder why a gay man who lives in a country like Saudi Arabia post a suggestive video online like that on YouTube !!??
I just want to understand what they were thinking when they uploaded this video !!?? Did they believe that this vice supervision authority or whatever is called will let them go !!??
However, the video, of course, may not have been uploaded by the man himself. As Majid points out in his piece, it is more likely uploaded through malice by someone else, given that the authorities’ reactions and subsequent punishments are so predictable.
Sadly, equally as predictable are the knee-jerk reactions of certain Western blogospheres, who are often quick to condemn a whole people for the actions of their leaders (whilst simultaneously forgetting the errors of their own governments).
A commenter on Towleroad‘s post regarding this matter, states:
Every time this happens there's one of several predictable reactions from the gay peanut gallery here in America:
(1) Go back to your Middle Eastern, African, or Asian “hellhole”
(2) Cut off all foreign aide to these “barbaric” Middle Eastern, African, or Asian countries
(3) Cut off diplomatic contact with these “sub-human” Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries
(4) And in some extreme cases, there's even a suggestion that we should resort to military action.
The next time a Republican named Schultz, Kruger, or Metzger comes out in favor of criminalizing homosexuality, I want to see our activist friends demand that we lob a few bombs at Munich. Or suggest that we deport all German Americans to their backward, wretched homeland. I would really like to see that. Nobody's saying what's happening in Saudi Arabia is acceptable. What angers me isn't the anger itself. It is the blatant double standard that treats some human rights “offenders” as individuals and others as mindless automatons. You want to wage holy war on a billion Muslims over the bad behavior of the Saudi regime?

author: Katharine Ganly


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Southeast Asia: BBC Research on Internet Habits · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jon Russell reviews the findings made by the BBC Research on Internet Habits which covered Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines


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Sri Lanka: Theaters In Colombo · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca writes about the adult film theaters in Colombo and how women are portrayed in the film posters.


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Thailand: Newspaper spending on the rise · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Bangkok Bugle reports that newspaper advertising increased in Thailand. However, magazine ads went down.