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Timorese on Facebook · Global Voices
Keta Haluha

In the last year and a half there has been something of a surge in the use of the social media by Timorese.  This is due less to an increase in users, but an increase in use by existing users, both Timorese inside and outside the country. Although there have been dramatic drops in internet access prices by Timor Telcom in the last 6 months, which suggests more people might be getting online.
While blogs are proliferating, Facebook appears to be increasingly the platform of choice.
This should come as no surprise given that Timor Leste's neighbour Indonesia, has the fourth largest number of facebook users in the world, with 14,000,000 as of December 2009.  One source states that Indonesia is third, with only the US and UK exceeding it.
Indonesians are also the fastest growing group of facebookers in the world with a 1,500% increase in 2009.  Despite the fact that Indonesia invaded Timor in 1975 and brutally occupied it until 1999, resulting in over 150,000 deaths, its social and economic ties to Timor remain deep and entrenched.
Internet penetration in Timor-Leste is still very low when compared to other countries.  According to Internet World Stats Timor-Leste has a population of 1,131,612, while the capital city has a population of 166,903 ('07).  However, it states that TT says that there are only 1,800 Internet users as of Sept/09.  This means that only 0.2% of the population has access to the internet.  For background one can read  “Timor: 9 years of Internet, still one ISP and a huge digital gap” by Global Voices Contributor Sara Moreira
However, with an increasing population of Timorese, who have one of the highest birth rates in the world, both inside and outside the country Facebook use is clearly on the rise.  With 4,000 students in Indonesia there appears to be direct correlation.
The Media – first in.
Timorese media have been among the most active.  One of the first major users of Facebook in Timor-Leste was the weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, its Facebook site launched in late 2008 jumped to over 2,000 friends in its first 6 months and now tops 5,000.  No doubt it might be alot more if it got more serious about social media.  One thing is for certain Tempo Semanal and its editor Jose Belo, have lead the charge on web media in Timor-Leste, with aggressive reporting and an active online presence through the web-blog version of the print paper and a big facebook following.
J. Belo as FALINTIL 20 Aug 1996 – attack on Indonesian Army (ABRI).
J. Belo as Editor of Tempo Semanal, and Facebook Fanatic
Tempo Semanal on Facebook – with permission from Tempo Semanal
Other media outlets have followed suit.  CJITL – Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste has a Facebook fanpage with 673 fans, Timor News Net has over 1,728 friends.  There is even Tau Matan ba TVTL / Media Watch group.
Opposition Politics
Soon after the media got involved in spreading their message via Facebook politicians realised its power.  Probably the first, and certain one of the most active on Facebook has been the Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano (Vice-President of the Opposition party FRETILIN).  Bano's Facebook is used to highlight Parliaments work as well as promote anti-government news and information as put forward by the Opposition.  It has proved popular, and now numbers over 5,000 friends in less 12 months of use.
Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano on Facebook – with permission.
Bano Facebook photo – Parliament Defence and Security Committee Questions Police Commander Longuinos Monteiro – with permission.
Other Opposition Members of Parliament are also getting in the Facebook game to play politics; FRETILIN Member of Parliament Jose Teixeira, with 1,109 friends, aired a police brutality video on Facebook ending up causing a storm in Parliament in December 2009. FRETILIN MP Osorio Florindo da Costa is also a facebooker.  TATOLI, a FRETILIN leaning political blog has recently taken to posting facebook comments online – in this case relating to accusation and counter accusation to and from the Timorese Foreign Minister.  Meanwhile Agio Pereira, the Government's Chief Spokesman keeps a much lower profile on facebook.
Social Media and Political Celebrities
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has a fanpage with over 2,436 fans.
Chief of the Defence Force Maj-General Taur Matan Ruak has a fanpage with over 3.600 fans.  Some people in Timor-Leste are hopeful the General will stand for President one day.
Deputy Prime Minister Mario Carrascalao has a page here with 615 fans, and a counter page “SAY no to Mario Carrascalao” fanpage with over 1,705 fans here.
Interestingly, now deceased rebel leader, Maj Alfredo Reinado has a fanpage with just 101 fans.
Below is just a very very small sample of Timor-Leste related Facebook activity, groups, fanpages etc
Business
East Timor Business, East Timor Tourism, K-LINK INTERNATIONAL, BRANCH TIMOR LESTE, Timor Leste Management Society, Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste, Roberto Carlos Hotel – Lospalos/Timor Leste, the Ministry of Tourism Commerce and Industry (MTCI).
Sport
The Dili Marathon, Timor-Leste Dive Club, Timor-Leste national football team, the Tour de Timor.
Society and Culture
Kafe Timor ( Café Timor/Timor Coffee),  Justice NOW for East Timor's war crimes (1975-1999), East Timor Student In Java, Community District Manufahi Group, Timorese Students In The Philippines, I am Timorese, Schools of Esperanca in Atauro, Timor Leste, Friends of Lospalos, Amazing Timor Photographs, Baucau, TIMOR LESTE Pride!, Rede Feto and IT Ba Futuru.  And here is a new one about Aussie commandos in Timor-Leste during WWII, Timor Sparrow Force.
Social Media and Telcoms
Social media relies on good service providers.  Reflecting a general discontent with the monopoly held by Timor Telcom a host of anti-Timor Telcom Facebook pages and groups have appeared in the last 18 months.
Ijiji Aumenta tan operador Telekomunikasau iha Timor states in its leader that:
TT besik tinan 8 ona hari ‘i iha Timor maibe ne rede seidauk bele tama subdistritu hotu, nia kualidade rede la diak. Ijji atu aumenta tang operador 3 iha Timor. atu bele fo benefisiu diak ba timor oan tomak.
Other Facebook groups opposed to the ongoing Telcom Timor monopoly include AKSAUN 50.000 PESOAS FACEBOOKERS ANTI TIMOR TELECOM (2,500 members), Why Timor Telecom sux?!, New Timor-Telecom's SLOGAN, to name just a few.
The future.
Certainly most people in Timor-Leste have no idea what Facebook is.
With poverty being endemic and internet access ridiculously poor Timorese are not yet “online”. One of Timor-Leste's most famous former FALINTIL resistance guerrillas, Lere Annan Timor, likes to joke that the first time he saw a computer in 1999 he thought it was a television.
Brigadier General Lere Annan Timor
However, there can be no doubt that the future of social media in Timor-Leste is going to be one of growth.  As the access to technology expands the young population of Timor-Leste (with 50% being less than 17 years old) will take to it like ducks to water. As they are already.
Is a Twitter revolution next?  Perhaps, as Timor Telcom is now advertising 3G networks coming soon in Dili, Baucau, Gleno, Aileu and Los Palos.  Thats over half the population.  There are already more than a few people in Dili with smart phones waiting for it to happen – not least of all the politicians.  With a Blackberry Bold dropping in price from $600 in January 2010 to less than $300 in September 2010 – its just a matter of time before we see smart phones in the hands of people in the mountains.  Just a matter of time.  With rising salaries, a wave of public spending in play the cash to buy is increasingly there.
One has to wonder what social, political and economic change will occur as a result.  While there has been a huge increase in the use of social media in Timor-Leste in the last 2 years its impact is likely quite minimal in the short term.  But with a general election to be held in 2 years time there may be room yet for it to potentially play a role.

author: Keta Haluha


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Africa: Africans Share Childhood Memories Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

That African Girl is a blog with a series of posts written by Africans around the world about their childhood. It is a blog about growing up in an African family and learning to live in two worlds. The bloggers sharing their memories have lived both in Africa and the West.
The blog was started by Makafui Fiavi and Adey Teshome. Makafui was born in Togo and grew up in the United States and Adey is young Ethiopian-American.
This is Makafui's introduction:
During the college years, many people take the time to better understand themselves and their place in the world. Most people do it by trying out different identities, or exploring different social circles and ideologies. For me, the 4 years brought an exploration of my various sub-identities and a strong desire to learn how to live between 2 worlds. Born and raised in Togo  and growing  up in the United States has given me the desire to explore and understand various cultures, to listen to stories and to learn about what brings people together. That African Girl (TAG) is the culmination of ideas, conversations and a desire to continue learning and sharing. Here’s where I share about things, people, places, stories, dreams and passions that inspire me.
Adey Teshome considers the blog as “a place for the cultural hybrid, multi-interest, eclectic children such as ourselves to air our thoughts”:
When I first agreed to contribute to this blog, I was super-inspired by Mak’s idea–a place for the cultural hybrid, multi-interest, eclectic children such as ourselves to air our thoughts. And as I like to say, this is why we’re friends.  She has such an eye for self-expression and such cool views to share. And I loved the thought of being part of that. So that’s who I’ll try to be for this blog– a young Ethiopian-American, recent (well, in the works) college grad, trying to figure out my place and get my grounding in life, who can put in her two cents every now and then.
Liz A. is a contributor from Uganda/Kenya living in the United States. These are her childhood memories:
1) Being beaten as punishment. I always found it interesting when my White or Asian friends would talk about being told to sit in a corner, or were sent to their room as a form of punishment. For us, we were beaten. My mum would usually get very thin branches that had fallen off the trees in our compound and my dad would get the thick ones, sometimes we would be sent to get them ourselves, and we would be given a few lashes on the calves of our legs.
In America, it seems that such a thing can result in social services being called in to review the situation or children here feel some sort of resentment towards their parents for it. But I have

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Armenia: Literary Capital 2012 · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Ianyan provides a comprehensive report on news that Yerevan, the Armenian capital, will become UNESCO World Book Capital for 2012. The blog says that the city will be the 12th to hold the title, coincidentally in the same year that marks the 500th anniversary of the first printed book, but also points out the sorry state of libraries and literature in the former Soviet republic.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: Chawk Bazar Iftar Market · Global Voices
Rezwan

Back To Bangladesh posts some mouth watering pictures of the traditional Chawk Bazar Iftar Market in old Dhaka.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Six robbed; left to die in fire  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados remains shell shocked today as it struggles with the reality that what local media are calling “a scene straight out of the drama series CSI” could happen in the relatively peaceful island.  What appears to have started as a robbery turned into a murder scene as the suspects reportedly set the building ablaze before fleeing, leaving the victims trapped inside.
Barbados Free Press immediately began blogging:
Sorrow first. The outrage will wait – but no window bars will contain it.
There will be time later for the righteous outrage that is building across this country – outrage that is not directed only at the two pieces of worthless garbage who cutlass chopped and threw gasoline bombs at these young women.
No, there will be time for all that later.
For now, we grieve, we pray and we do what we can for those who cannot stop sobbing.
In another post, the blog posts information on the suspects, prefacing it by saying:
Somebody knows something – it’s a small island.
Meanwhile, Barbados Underground‘s “Gospel Knight Rider”, noting that “people are again crying out for hanging” in the wake of the incident, comments:
THIS IS RIDICULOUS…You see we have leaders that are void of principles, they take stands based on public opinion and in the case of hanging; they (our leaders) stand with the international community (Amnesty International and the likes).
The post goes on to extoll the virtues of “Biblical principles that made western civilization so strong”, summing up by saying:
Let Tudor Street be a wake up call.
Barbados Free Press is concerned about the way in which the country's leadership has (or has not) responded to the tragedy:
The second largest* mass murder in our country’s modern history has produced not one word of condolence or concern from Prime Minister David Thompson. Not so much as a press release, let alone a personal appearance.
And that is not the David Thompson we all know.
In light of this, citizens are naturally questioning if the Prime Minister is fit enough to return to his duties after returning a week ago from two months of medical treatment in the USA.
Prime Minister Thompson must be unable to appear in public – or he would have by now.
The concern over the PM’s lack of appearance is not really about this horrible crime.
We know that David Thompson’s heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims. Of course he cares and grieves with the rest of us. The David Thompson we know would want to show some leadership and compassion in all the circumstances. Normally, he would have appeared by now – but that means that he is unable to appear.
At a time when the country needs strong leadership, the Prime Minister's illness is just one more thing Barbadians must grapple with.  Global Voices will continue to follow discussions in the island's blogosphere.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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China: The arrest of Xie Chaoping · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A Chinese writer, Xie Chaoping, was arrested by Shaanxi Police for his book on “The Great Relocation”. ESWN has translated the story.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Tian Xi Deserves Happiness · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On September 4, I received the following photo via sina microblog.
The girl is holding a placard that said: Save uncle Tian Xi! Uncle Tian Xi you have to be happy! In fact, “Xi” in Chinese means “happiness”. It is the hope of Tian's parents that he has a happy life but reality has drifted him in to an opposite direction.
23-year-old Tian Xi is an AIDS patient who was inflected with HIV in 1996 upon receiving a blood transmission in a hospital in Xincai county, Henan province. He was formally arrested on August 17 under the charge of criminal destruction of property and was transferred to the Prosecutorial detention center on August 25.
In order to save Tian Xi, his father visited a prominent journalist and blogger, Wang Keqin, who helped Tian's father to explain his side of the story in his blog:
7月23日，在北京的田喜接到新蔡县县委书记贾国印的短信，大意如下：你是大学生，你应该知道怎么办，你回来我们会解决你的问题，星期一你到我办公室找我。
“县委书记亲自发短信给田喜，这是我们上访维权6年来的头一回啊。我们觉得政府是真的要解决问题了，田喜立马就从北京赶回了老家。”田父说。
7月26日，星期一，田喜如约赶到县委书记办公室，但是并没有见到书记。县委其他同志说贾书记开会去了。
于是田喜给贾国印发短信询问。贾书记回复要田喜再等一周，下个星期一再去办公室找他。
8月2日，第二个星期一，上午8时30分田喜赶到县委书记办公室。但让他失望的是，贾书记又没出现，其他工作人员说贾书记又开会去了。
Since the AIDS medicine that Tian got from Beijing was about to be used up, he decided to get medication from the local hospital, which is responsible for taking care of his disease.
8月2日当天从县委大楼出来后，田喜去了新蔡县第一人民医院，田喜就是在这家医院输血感染HIV病毒的。
田喜来到李俊州院长办公室，希望借点药，并要求医院给予赔偿。李院长告诉田喜有事找县领导，医院不管，起身离开了办公室。
“田喜很生气，把院长办公桌上的东西推到地下，有电脑、传真机、电话等。”“后来估价3000多元。”田父一字一句地向冯军说。
8月5日和6日，田喜又两次来到李院长办公室。李院长还是避而不见，锁上办公室的门，不让田喜进去。
“一怒之下，田喜用东西把院长办公室门上的锁眼堵了。”
At 16:00 of August 6, the local police arrested Tian without any explanation. On the next day, two documents were delivered to Tian's mother stating that Tian was under administrative detention for 15 days as a result of what he did to the hospital chief. On the following day, the police deferred the administration detention and sent Tian back home. But his family was under police surveillance. On August 17, the police arrested Tian again, this time under the criminal charge of destruction of property. The arrest document was issued on August 22.
Many believe that the arrest is a plot against Tian Xi as he has been a major target of “stability control”. According to the town government's report to the county government on July 9, Tian Xi
“近期连续两次在京非访（即非法上访），给当地政府对他的监管带来很大的不便。建议：公安机关介入，完善材料，予以打击。”
NGOs and networks, such as Love Knowledge Action and China AIDS Group, have issued statements pleading for the release of Tian Xi based on humanitarian reason. Human rights lawyer also pointed out that criminal detention only applied to the destruction of property above RMB 5,000.
Tian Xi was born on January 3, 1987. In March 1996, when he was 9 years old, he had an accident and the doctor from Xincai county 1st People's Hospital claimed that Tian had a slight brain concussion and suggested blood transmission as a treatment. Since then, Tian Xi's body has become very weak. On July 12, 2004, Tian Xi found out that he was inflected with HIV in a blood test and he received free medication from the local clinic.
In September 2004, Tian's family made an appeal to the county court demanding a RMB1 million compensation but the case was rejected without any reason. Since then they started their petition journey to Beijing. In 2005, Tian was admitted to a university in Beijing and become an AIDS activist. He has been blogging about his journey of pursuing justice at TianXi with HIV.


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Cuba: Castro’s Speech  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Fidel Castro delivers a speech to students on the steps of the University of Havana, Uncommon Sense says that the speech only mattered “because it gives the world a chance to remember and honor three real Cuban heroes: Luis Labrador, Eduardo Pérez and Michel Rodríguez.”


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Ecuador: Afro-Ecuadorians in Valle del Chota · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Carla Badillo Coronado posts a set of photos in her blog Mujer en Tierra Firme [es], showing the Afro-Ecuadorian people of Valle del Chota.

author: Silvia Viñas


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El Salvador: Reality Behind Appearances  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog El-Salvador [es] discusses the difference between what tourists and other occasional visitors see in El Salvador (fancy malls, four-star hotels, expensive cars, big homes and people wearing international brands) and the reality lived by the majority of Salvadorians.


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Guatemala: Guatereporta Uses Crowdsourcing to Report on Crime and More · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

InteractivaWeb [es] describes GuateReporta [es], a site where users can report robberies, protests, murders, car crashes, traffic and other events on a map.


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Guyana, Jamaica: Literary Peace Prize  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Signifyin’ Woman, upon learning that Marlon James’ ‘The Book of Night Women’ is listed as a finalist for the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize, asks: “Can there be such a thing as a book worthy of being prized for promoting peace? Better yet, can a work of fiction be so powerful?”


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Hong Kong and China: Jackie Chan’s empty promise · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush has a post on the recent controversy of Hollywood action star Jackie Chan's empty promise of donation to rebuild school.


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How Much Does Getting Married In China Cost? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Baoru from CNreviews blogs about the estimated cost of getting married in three major cities in China.


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Hungary: Heterosexual Pride March · Global Voices
Marietta Le

While a group of activists and representatives of Roma organizations was rallying [HUN] in front of the French Embassy in Budapest on Saturday, another group gathered at Heroes’ Square to hold the first ‘Day of Heterosexual Pride.’
Proszektura wrote this [HUN] before the heterosexual pride day:
[…] All this came to my mind because tomorrow, on Saturday, will be the big event, the hetero pride day. Last year the police didn't allow it. The new regime does. So tomorrow will be the hetero colds’ pride day. Where the petition of the participants will be received by Dóra Dúró and Előd Novák [both politicians of Jobbik, the far-right party]. As the only married couple among the members of Parliament. (Maybe D. D. will stylishly receive in a swimsuit Csaba Koletár–whose idea was the pride day–when giving her the petition?) Reportedly, the petition will ask the Parliament to modify the law, so the right of assembly could not be practiced without limitations hurting the sensitivity of the majority. If a minority wanted to hold an event like that, the law enforcer would sign such a location to it where the sensitivity of the majority would be less hurt. […]
Városi Ellenállás blog (“Urban Resistance”) explained the goal of the petition in this post [HUN], and shared their stance on the gay pride march which is held yearly at the same location in Budapest.
[…] The goal of the civil initiative organized by Csaba Koletár was not to allow the use of public places for gay marches, and not to allow the limitation of the right of assembly and free speech for normal people. […]
Some of us also had a lap of honour there because we felt it a duty bound to be there, and say no to a thing which totally contradicts normal people's value system. The problem is not if someone has a different sexual behavior, but if he provokes in public, hurts common moral standards and common sense of taste. If homosexuals did not express themselves this offensively to the majority society, and did not promote how trendy the thing they do is, then probably no-one would care about it. In turn, this whole thing is pouring on us as a disgusting ‘advertisement’ campaign from every source of the media, and we will not ignore it, neither now, nor in the future. […]
Bloggers of Mandiner were also at the heterosexual march and shared a short report with photos [HUN]:
[…] At the demonstration held with higher number of policemen on call than needed, but fewer than normally at Jobbik-smelly events, there were some 80 people, so the homosexual marches evidently beat the heterosexual [considering the number of participants]. So typical that the couple Előd Novák-Dóra Dúró appeared at the beginning of the event, said a speech, and then after some walk, they disappeared very fast. They would have been stupid to march the distance with a handful of miserables in the cold. Beyond Oktogon [square], evidently there were more from tourists who thought the proud Hungarian heteros were another loud group of tourists. […]
Mj and Margaret shared some photos on their blogs here and here. The latter uploaded videos to YouTube as well, one of them showing the pride marchers leaving Heroes’ Square:

author: Marietta Le


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India: Are e-Governance initiatives delivering on transparency and accountability? · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

In India, there has been an upswing in various Government-to-Citizen (G2C) e-Governance initiatives. Various government agencies and service providers are now embracing social media and other information and communication technology (ICT) platforms to engage citizens, optimize service delivery and reassure the public with respect to the government's transparency and accountability.
For example, we recently saw the Delhi Traffic Police (DTP) using Facebook to collect information about traffic violations. The Indore Police Department has been using a blog, Twitter, online and mobile complaint forms, a Google map of police stations and a digital crime mapper to track criminal activities in the region.
Indore Police – Digital Crime Mapper
The Maharashtra Police Department launched an SMS-based complaint tracking system (CTS), called “Turant Chovis” (“Within 24 Hours”),  which promised to quickly redress citizen complaints by sending a first response within 24 hours and resolving the issue within 30 days. One of department's divisions, the Nasik Rural Police Department, even won appreciation at the Manthan Awards 2009 for their presentation on the modalities of the system and how they had achieved 96 percent success in implementing the Turant Chovis scheme.
Adoption of technology for better governance is not restricted to the police departments alone. Various state governments are also beefing up their e-Governance initiatives with use of interactive technology in areas such as citizen grievance redressal. The Sanjog Helpline is a single-window centralized grievance redressal system for the rural state of Orissa.  Citizens can register grievances through a toll free number, fax or e-mail, as well as through the Sanjog Helpline portal in  their villages. They can also at a later stage track and get acknowledgment of the status of their complaints. Jhansi, in Uttar Pradesh, has launched the Jhansi Jan Suvidha Kendra, a telephone-based grievance redressal system. The Madhya Pradesh government has an online complaint registration facility on its website. The site also allows tracking of individual complaints and displays statistics regarding the number of complaints received and successfully resolved.
Other departments such as the railways and income tax departments have also replaced some of their face to face interactions with online service delivery systems, presumably to make citizens’ lives simpler and to take out human interactions from the service interface as part of their efforts to reduce corruption. Citizens can now file taxes and buy rail tickets online.
These initiatives all promise convenience, engagement, transparency and accountability. However, to what extent are they successful? What has been their impact? Have they indeed managed to bring about the much-desired end goals of increasing government transparency and accountability? Unfortunately we have not yet seen much evaluation of the impact of these initiatives on the ground as far as enhancing transparency and accountability are concerned, which gives rise to concerns that perhaps some of them are mere window dressing — feel-good initiatives with no real wind beneath their wings.
For example, take the case of complaint tracking systems. When a citizen register a complaint and try to track it, she gets a message that her complaint is “in process.” This is a quick response, but what does it really translate into, other than making her feel frustrated after seeing the same status over and over? In this case, she cannot even vent her frustration anywhere, as there is no face to face interaction!
Recently, an experience with the online railway booking system has left me more skeptical of these initiatives.  It's true that the online railway booking system has made life easier. No need to queue at the counters, no need to pay an agent or middle-man to get confirmed bookings. However, try to get some refunds for a canceled ticket, and then you will face the music.  This January, when a train I was supposed to take was delayed for over 10 hours, I decided to cancel the ticket instead of wasting time at the station (the rules online clearly stated that full refund will be given if a train is more than 3 hours late).  However, I could not cancel my ticket at the station, as a ticket booked online can only be canceled through an online application.
Upon filing an online refund application, I received an instant, polite mail saying that my refund was in process and that I could track my application online. After a couple of months I got back 50 percent of the cost of the ticket, and the online status read “case resolved.” But why only 50 percent, when the rules stated that the refund would be 100 percent? No answer. Repeated mails have resulted in instant polite replies that the mail is being forwarded to the right department, but till date, apart from politeness there has been nothing concrete to address my grievance. The help desk, though happy to help, has no power to sort out the issue — they also have no clue as to who is accountable and whom I can approach if I want to escalate the matter. Moreover, I am handicapped by the fact that online cases apparently have to be sorted out online, so I cannot approach any officer at the railway offices!
Instances such as these make one wary of the tall claims of government departments about e-Governance G2C initiatives that promise transparency and accountability. However, that is not to say that such initiatives are not welcome. They are steps in the right direction. However, merely installing tools and technology is not enough. The government needs to ensure proper implementation.  There should also be monitoring and evaluation, not only by government bodies but also by civil society groups that can pressure the government to uphold their promises to increase transparency and accountability.

author: Aparna Ray


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India: Ruling Like A Monarchy · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Lessons from the past history of independent India has proved time and again that Rahul Gandhi’s family and the party it runs like a microcosmic monarchy never had the convictions or alacrity to rise above anything other than grabbing and staying in power,” comments Words From Solitude.


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Jamaica: “Hostages in a Patty Shop”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Active Voice blogs about a “farcical scenario [that] played itself out in downtown Kingston” when armed men took over a patty shop – and the ensuing discussion on Twitter.


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Japan: Ancient medical woodblock prints · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktentacle published [en] some images of a health-themed woodblock prints collection that dates back to the 19th century. The series of 400 prints is maintained by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and “offers a unique look at Japanese medical knowledge in the late Edo and early Meiji periods.”

author: Scilla Alecci


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Malaysia – Indonesia Border Row · Global Voices
Jerrenn Lam

A recent border clash between Malaysia and Indonesia has once again sparked tension between the two nation states.
The area in question is Bintan Island. Indonesian authorities had arrested seven Malaysian fishermen who were caught poaching. However Malaysian police had also taken into custody three Indonesian fisheries officers near the Bintan Island area. Both countries have since released the fishermen and officers. Both nations claim that the area belongs to them.
Additionally, Indonesia has investigated reports that Malaysia abused the three officers, and this sparked tension between the two nations. It was further exacerbated when Indonesian protesters flung faeces at the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta as well as setting the Malaysian flag on fire.
Essentially, Malaysians in the online community remain divided on the  issue. Some believe it to be offensive, some see it as an action by  disillusioned Indonesians who do not represent the whole country, and  some think it's been sensationalised by the media. Others come up with  conspiracy theories.
A Malaysian blogger, Ibrahim Yahaya had blogged about how a friend of his feels betrayed by Indonesia, for Malaysia contributes to the Indonesian economy in so many ways like education and tourism. Yet, they get insulted in return. The full post, in Bahasa Malaysia, can be found here.
And while the protesters have threatened to hurt Malaysians in Indonesia, a Malaysian student in Indonesia feels saddened by it:
What scared me the most is that they threatened to  detain Malaysians on the streets and shave their heads before sending  them back.
But I know they do not representing the whole peace-loving of  Indonesian people. I’ve been studying here for 4 years. They are many  nice and good Indonesians that treated us Malaysian here nicely, putting  aside all those tiffs between these two countries. (sic)
But he also went on to add:
But I honestly don’t blame them. Media  in here loves playing with the issue and sensationalizing it. Like how  they did to the celebrities. Most of the info they aired were merely  baseless allegations and they played it again and again as it were  something need to be planted deep in the brain. Hatred been planted. (sic)
Another blogger from Malaysia felt that the protest was unwarranted, but still does not feel the need for retaliation:
We wont go to war with Indonesia.  There wont be any. Malaysia and Indonesia are like brothers. We share  many special and common assets. Issues pertaining to our border dispute  can be ironed out anytime and without prejudice.
Well, from my point of view, the issue has been exaggerated and  thrown out of proportion. Some parties tried to lucre from it, i.e by  arranging massive ‘home return’ for Indonesians.
Whatever it is,  diplomatic settlement is still the best way. As far as relations between  our two countries are concerned, it remain (sic) as ‘we-need-each-other’.  Dont our friends in Indonesia think so?
Ahirudin Attan, a popular socio-political blogger in Malaysia, had written a brief post in his blog about the issue which generated a lot of comments, among them by fellow bloggers Pasquale:
It is much ado about nothing this so called spat between us and Indonesia!
The  Indonesia media, print and electronic that have been highlighting this  kerfuffle are known to be pro Reform Movement in Malaysia! Need I say  more!
I was there last week for four days and ask any average  Indonesian on the street about the so called spat they say “ada dalang  di sebalik tabir pak” or in English, roughly translated “There is  definitely a puppetmaster behind the curtain sir doing all of these”.
and AnnoyinglyAnonymous- LemanPulut:
The recent Malaysian-Indonesian minor spat is, I think, a cooked-up  scenario by certain parties who ABHOR the very idea of regional malays  uniting under one ideological umbrella. That's just a theory, but one  worth looking into.

author: Jerrenn Lam


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Mexico: Heavy Rainfall Causes Flooding in Veracruz and Tabasco · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

Mexico is currently living one of the worst natural disasters to hit the country in years. Mexican newspaper Milenio [es] confirmed that in two states affected by flooding, Veracruz and Tabasco, more than 25 thousand people had to evacuate their homes, as the “Temazcal” and “Cerro de Oro” dams could soon overflow because of expected heavy rainfalls.
Twitter users have commented on the cruel situation their homeland is experiencing, like Marisol Montúfar (@hereismarisol), who wrote [es]:
Viviendo sentimentos encontrados, amo la lluvia pero es una verdadera pena lo que esta pasando en #Tlacotalpan
NicteTapiaKim (@NicteTapiaKim) compares [es] the situation to Haiti's earthquake:
Cuando lo de Haiti, camiones y camiones llenos de ayuda, y ahora que nosotros la necesitamos no hay!!! #veracruz #lluvias #inundacion
According to the News Agency Prensa Latina [es], the economic losses are worst than expected: “Mexican authorities report millionaire losses caused by rain floods, 25 municipalities in the State of Veracruz will need at least 131 million dollars  in order to repair their damaged infrastructure.”
Last week, to show solidarity and under the pressure of a spontaneous and insistent crowd, President Felipe Calderón walked through Tlacotalpan, Veracruz,  touring about one kilometer across the water and the flooded streets. According to El Universal [es], in the streets the water level reached between 1 to 1.5 meters.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon walking through the flooded streets in Veracruz, Mexico. Photo by Flickr user Gobierno Federal, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAline 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license
On Twitter, Caderon's visit caused a discussion as well. Manuel (@mdgo80) informed [es]:
Dicen que el agua en #Veracruz no supera los 30 cms, lo midieron con las rodillas de #Calderón
Some users are skeptical, as they believe Calderón was posing for the press rather than showing solidarity by walking through the flooded streets. Mario Vázquez (@MMarioVazquez) wrote [es]:
¿A que fué Felipe Calderon a Veracruz? R= a tomarse la foto
But Pachicle (@Pachicle) has a different perspective [es]:
Esta Enderezando  el Rumbo Calderon, Agarra a la Barbie y se Mete al Agua en Veracruz a  las Calles Inundadas, No Kiere Perder la Presidencia

author: Andrea Arzaba


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Pakistan: The Diaspora Power To Help Flood Victims · Global Voices
Rezwan

A. A. Khalid at Pak Tea House highlights the efforts and the importance of the Pakistani diaspora across the world in mobilizing collection of donations and helping the flood victims.


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Russia: Reactions to the “Buckwheat Panic” · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Buckwheat porridge, photo by Laitr Keiows
The heatwave and the subsequent drought in Russia's central regions haven't only resulted in wildfires [EN] and increased death rates due to smog [EN] in Moscow, but also in the government's decision to ban grain exports [EN]. The latter caused several bursts of food panic, the most important of which became known as the “buckwheat panic.”
Buckwheat porridge is considered a unique Russian dish. In 2008, Russia produced [EN] almost half of all the world's buckwheat, while 21 percent of Russians prefers it to any other cereals.
Food prices in Russia have been constantly rising throughout 2010, although none of the previous rises had caused such a powerful media impact. The current online ‘panic’ started at the end of August (the first messages related to the topic can be dated back to August 20-22).
Pulse of the Blogosphere:
LJ user sova-sp wrote:
…гречка за 76 рублей
–дикий скачок цен за последние 2 недели
…что никого не волнует как будут выживать пенсионеры и люди в регионах
Similar thoughts can be found expressed here, here, and here.
On August 23, the article “Farewell to Porridge” was published in the oppositional magazine “The New Times.” It analyzed the growing buckwheat prices and concluded that there was not enough buckwheat in the country. Despite the emerging number of worried posts in the blogosphere, the newspaper had been criticized for disseminating online panic. Evgeniya Albats, executive editor of the magazine, later argued that unlike in the case of grain, the government doesn’t have a strategic reserve for buckwheat, and that the topic should have been exposed by TV channels, and not just by her publication.
Some bloggers have been distributing a Greenpeace video [RUS] with the evidence of the loss of major grain crops in Voronezh region and a declaration that the lost crops were due to the global climate change that can't be ignored.
Other bloggers, however, weren’t terrified by the unusual price escalation. Popular blogger drugoi wrote [RUS]:
ЧуднАя у нас страна, все-таки. То соль пропадала, помню. Теперь вот какие-то проблемы с гречкой, говорят. Зашел сейчас в ближайший от меня магазин. Цену на гречку подняли неделю назад. На тридцать рублей, как сказала кассирша. Потому что поднялась оптовая цена. Гречку привозят со склада где-то в Подмосковье. Управляющий говорит, что склад его оптовика этой гречкой забит под завязку. Хоть завались этой гречкой. Хоть выкладывай этой гречкой дорогу до Владивостока. Но пошла волна и на этом оптовом складе тоже подняли цены. Почему, зачем — никто не понимает. А вы понимаете?
Another blogger wrote [RUS]:
Сейчас был в магазине – продавщицу доставали вопросами о гречке: что случилось, когда будет и как блять жить дальше. Причем вопросы задавали не бедные пенсионеры, а люди среднего возраста и вполне состоявшегося вида. Ну вот нет гречки, и что? Все умрут нахер? Рис, картошка, макароны, горох и прочее в горло не полезут?
A pro-Kremlin blogger pro-kurator summarized [RUS] the skeptical blog posts against the panic:
Кстати, совершенно достоверный факт – в одной из торговых сетей […] продавцам рекомендовали делать озабоченное лицо и рассказывать о возможных (“это мое личное мнение”) проблемах с поставками. Потому что испуганный покупатель сметает всё. Называется “искусственно созданный ажиотажный спрос” – как с солью. Когда народ покупал её мешками, а потом сидел и думал – “И нахрена я купил 52 кг соли? Что, 100 рублей не нашел бы, если бы подорожала? Теперь за 10 лет не съесть!”.
Понятно, что с урожаем-2010, мягко скажем, проблемы – но “продовольственная паника” их только усугубляет. Давая поставщикам и торговым сетям прекрасный повод задирать цены – вызывая новую волну истерики “видите, дорожает!”. Кстати, если статистика не врет – продажи круп, макаронов и муки за последнюю неделю (!) выросли впятеро.
No doubt there are, to put it mildly, problems with the harvest of 2010 – but the “food panic” is only making them worse. It gives the reason to suppliers and chain stores to raise prices, causing the new wave of panic – “Look, it’s getting more expensive!” By the way, if the statistics doesn’t lie, the sales of cereals, spaghetti and wheat have grown 5 times in the past week!
Blogger lindenss [RUS] commented:
мне всегда интересно в такие вот периоды всеобщей паники – а что, реально все эти люди, которые с вытаращенными глазами скупают гречку пакетами, ее едят регулярно в промышленных количествах?)
у нас единственный пакет гречки живет… эээ.. ну больше года точно)
Some bloggers mocked [RUS] the inadequacy of the Russian political life and this local crisis in the form of Haiku [EN]:
Путин спокоен:
“Все под контролем”
Народ раскупает гречку
ТВ-пропаганда
Толкает фуфло
Народ раскупает гречку
TV-propaganda
Pushing bullshit
People are sweeping away buckwheat
Some bloggers, however, argued that it was the blogosphere that had triggered the panic (although such a point of view can hardly be valid):
Может вы не в курсе, но сейчас все бабульки у подъездов ссылаются в разговоре на Интернет.
– Слышали, послезавтра будет дождь. Интернет обещал.
Завтра ждите рейдов по магазинам-будут сметать с прилавков все, чем там полагается перед войной запасаться: солью, мукой, спичками. Ну и гречу, конечно, скупят. Ту, которую еще не скупили. Ибо Интернет сказал: немножко паники.
Tomorrow expect raids on the shops – people will be sweeping away everything that one must store up on before the war: salt, wheat, matches. And of course, they'll sweep away the buckwheat. The buckwheat that hadn't been bought already. Because the Internet said: a little bit of panic, please.
Later, it was widely recognized that the main beneficiaries of the “buckwheat panic” were wholesale grain suppliers who were happy to sell cheap buckwheat for “astronomic” prices.
The story of the “buckwheat panic” illustrates the ability of bloggers to critically analyze the information and approach even quite disturbing topics from a distance. The general understanding of the problem and common sense has prevented the dissemination of panic any further. The blogosphere has once again presented an example of the intelligent media, where false information is being refuted quickly, while trustworthy information, even if it's unpleasant for the authorities, is viable.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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South Korea: Emotional Rifts during National Thanksgiving Day · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

As the nation’s biggest holiday ‘Chuseok’ — the Korean version of Thanksgiving day — approaches, families have already started feuding over the holiday preparations. The universal clash between family members during the holidays has intensified in Korea. This issue: the ancestral worship and the tomb maintenance. Severe arguments have broken out between family members over who is responsible for managing the state of family tombs and whether they will forgive Christian members of the family that are absent from ancestral worship ceremonies.
Clash 1: Who will maintain the tomb?
It is usually the oldest son of the household who is expected to visit ancestors’ burial mounds to trim plants, pluck twigs and clean the area surrounding the grave site. In reality, however, it is the one who loses the power struggle or is too kind to pass the responsibility onto others. The tomb maintenance is not as easy as it sounds. It takes almost an entire day to clean three or four tombs of immediate ancestors and several days to clean more than ten to 20 tombs of extended families. The tombs are often located several hours drive from the city and for white collar workers who have no experience in agricultural labor, it can take several hours to become familiar with a weeding machine. In many cases, bee hives are hidden around the tombs resulting in several sting-related deaths nation-wide during tomb cleaning season.
An image of a burial mound.
Complaints about family member’s evasion from the grave site responsibilities have started mounting on open discussion sites during the last week. Several tens of thousands have read the articles and immediately below thousands have actively responded, sharing the same stress and giving tips on how to deal with irresponsible siblings. Netizen ID: Cricket, the wife of a youngest son of the family, wrote in her first few sentences that while her husband went to bed early for the following day's grave site cleanup that starts early in the morning, she is too angry to sleep. Her husband, she says, is too gentle to argue with his older brothers who take advantage his good nature.
이제 추석이 다가오니 벌초를 해야 하는데, 매년 똑같다. 울 남편이 거의 혼자 벌초를 다 한다. 20개가 넘는 묘를 이틀 동안…몇 해전부터 남편이 혼자 하길래 너무 성질이 나서 화를 다 내도 남편은 그냥 냅 두랜다…뒤에서 지켜보는 시어머니 더 밉다. 큰아들이 허리 아프다니 어떻 하냐 시면서 오히려 나에게 슬쩍 하소연 하신다..작년에는 벌초하는 날 허리 아프다더니 낚시간 거 가 뽀록났는데.
A reply was posted immediately by netizen ID: Sanggong whose article starts out ‘I totally understand your situation as a person who once had trimmed his uncle-in-law's tombs’. He said that he and his brother have trimmed ten tombs and suggested to ID: Cricket that she persuade her mother-in-law to gather money to hire several people from a professional tomb-trimming service. This new tomb-trimming business has taken off in Korea recently due to huge demands. A tomb-trimming company, after receiving orders and the tomb's locations online, sends staff to the site and later posts pictures of the clean burial mounds on the company web site.
ID: Sanggong later blamed both his own and his wife’s families on their irresponsible behavior. He said that while rich celebrities and successful business men of his family refused to chip in to cover the trimming cost, his wife’s brother and sister always evade the trimming duty, saying they are Christians.
Clash 2: Religious Belief VS Family Conformity
Even though Christian sects make up over 30 percent of the Korean population, Christians are still minority in family power dynamics. Churches claim that the practice of ancestral worship is a form of idol worship and ban its members from worshiping at the tombs or in front of the indoor ancestral shrine, or from eating food served at the ceremony. This ban has unintentionally turned the nation’s biggest holidays — the Lunar New Year’s day and the Chuseok — into religious battlefields. Christian members often refuse to bow down in front of the ancestral shrine while other family members urge them to follow the tradition for the sake of family conformity. They pressure Christian family members because the act of bowing down, especially to their own deceased parents or ancestors, is not an issue for them and is even encouraged. This leads to many Christians feeling that they are being persecuted. Blogger Chanjkim who introduced himself as a Christian scientist, shared his own story of the argument he had with his mother.
제사상 앞에서 우두커니 서 있는 나 자신의 모습이 어머니에게는 불성실하다고
느껴졌을 것이다. 어느 날 어머니 앞에서 제사를 드리지 않겠다고 했다. 형제들은 종교의 자유를 인정한다며 그렇게 하라고 했지만 어머니는 가족의 화합을 깨는 행위라면 받아 드리지 않았다.
나는 여전히 어머니의 고집을 꺽지 못했다.
Blooger Kimfrancois criticized the Christian practice of prohibiting people from worshiping their own ancestors as ‘weird’ and expressed his worries on the extinction of a beautiful tradition.
벌초를 하고 성묘를 하는 것은 자기가 태어난 곳, 우리를 이 세상에 나오게 해주신 조상님들께 해드리는 최소한의 예절인데 일부 종교에서 우상숭배라고 하여 이를 우습게 아는 이상한 풍습이 만연되는 것은 참으로 안타까운 일이라 하겠습니다.
Clash 3 : Tradition vs Convenience
Even for the most strict followers of Confucian traditions, the  labors required for the complicated sets of rituals are difficult. To save significant amounts of time and energy on the ceremony, many new businesses related to the rituals were created and now thrive in Korea. There are the tomb trimming agencies, catering services for the ritual foods, the leasing of shrine equipment, and professional commentators for rituasl. These businesses are,  of course, not in line with the true spirit of with ancestor worship.
Images from The Deaga Jesa, an online ritual food catering company.
The blogger Chanjkim cited in the previous paragraph commented that even though his religion does not approve of ancestral worship, it is lamentable to watch the ritual downgraded into cempty and soulless formalities.
스키장에 간 가족에게 대신 제사상 차려 준다는 괴이한 뉴스가 오래 전에 있었다. 믿음을 갖고 생활하는 나이지만 이런 뉴스를 접하면서 드는 생각은 괘씸하다는 것이었다…그리고 추석과 설만 되면 비슷한 뉴스가 있어왔다. 제례에 사용되는 전이나 부침이를 대신 만들어 주는 사업이 번창한다는 것이다…정성과 마음이 빠져있는 조상에 대한 예의, 스키장에서의 제사상 대행업, 제례음식의 상업화, 이런 것들로 미루어 보아 제사 풍습은 그리 오래지 않아 사라질 것으로 예상된다.
It is probably neither the old Confucianism nor the Christianity, but the Capitalist system in which Koreans live that is to blame. The big holiday of Chuseok is just around the corner (from September 21 to 23). The family reunion may be delightful but no one welcomes the stress they bring along.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: Buffalypso · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Where oh where have the Buffalypso gone?”: TriniGourmet.com wants to know.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Supporting Young Writers  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It’s an ambitious endeavour, aimed at making a crucial intervention in Trinidad and Tobago’s literary scene and education system”: The Caribbean Review of Books interviews Lisa Allen-Agostini about her admirable initiative, ‘The Allen Prize for Young Writers’.


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Afghanistan: Insecurity in Badakhshan · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joel Hafvenstein reflects on the state of security in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan after two recent lethal attacks by insurgents on aid workers there.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Interview with Taliban commander · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding reports that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban) website has published an interview with Qari Khairullah Muneeb, commander in the south of Kandahar province.


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Argentina: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Joins Twitter · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Hernán Haines reacts [es] to the new presence of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on Twitter (@CFKArgentina)


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Azerbaijan: Baku welcomes the world’s highest flag… and a strong wind  · Global Voices
Aygun Janmammadova

source: http://raufray.wordpress.com/
After the significant expense of participating in the Eurovision song contest and holding the annual Flower Festival, oil-rich Azerbaijan keeps on surprising the world. Last week, for example, the world's highest flag was hoisted in the capital, Baku.
According to news reports, and confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records, the flag flies on a pole 162 meters high and measures 70 by 35 meters. The whole structure weighs in at 220 tons, with the flag itself a staggering 350 kilos.
The project was developed by the US firm, Trident Support, and executed by Azerbaijan’s Azenko company.
However, while major international news outlets such as the BBC and Euronews covered the inauguration of the multi-million dollar project, the fate which befell the flag was not widely reported. Even the world's highest flag, beating the previous record holder in North Korea, was unable to stand up to Baku's strong wind.
YouTube, DailyMotion, Facebook and blogs instead told and commented on the story. One was d'Effektiv which posted video of the flag two days after it was hoisted and damaged, sarcastically noting that a replacement flag also met the same fate.
Gecə güclü küləyin təsirindən şappıldayan bayrağın səsinə bir neçə dəfə oyanıb baxdım bayrağa. Yaxşı görünürdü Bakı küləyində dalğalanan bayraq.
Hələ bayraq rəsmi olaraq ucaldılmazdan əvvəl dəfələrlə məşq prosesinə baxmışdım və fikirləşirdim ki, görəsən bu böyüklükdə bayrağı Bakının küləyində saxlayacaq dirəyin mühəndislik işi hansı səviyyədədir.
[…]
Amma səhər işə tərəf addımlayarkən yarıya endirilmiş bayrağı artıq deşilmiş və ətəyinin cırılmış olduğunu gördüm. Bəlkə də bu normal hal olardı(dır) əgər bayraq 3 ilə, bir xeyli insanın yaşayış və iş yeri bahasına, bu qədər səs-küylü açılış və reklam, bir topa da pul bahasına başa gəlməsəydi. Çünki yanından keçdiyim insanlar bayrağa baxıb pıçıldaşır, başlarını bulayır, ciddi nəzərlə bunu müzkirə edirdilər. İşə gəldim və email zənciri də bundan bəhs edirdi. Müharibənin başlama xəbəri, zəlzələ, ADNA-da terror zamanı da ətrafımdakı insanlar təxminən eyni reaksiyanı vermişdilər. Bilmirəm niyə… Amma təəssüflənənlər az idi. Bilirəm niyə…
[…]
Elə bilməyin ki, bu fövqəladə vəziyyət nəzərə alınmamışdı və yedək bayraq nəzərdə tutulmamışdı. Tutulmuşdu, amma bir “balaca” hesablama səhvi ilə. İkinci bayraq da elə qaldırmamışdan cırıldı. Özü də birincidən daha faciəvi vəziyyətdə.
I watched the rehearsals preceding inauguration of the flag and wondered how durable the engineering of the flagpole was to hold this enormous flag in the Baku wind.
[…]
However, as I was walking to work I saw the flag at half-mast, torn and in holes. Perhaps that would be normal if that flag didn't take three years at the expense of the people, and if the pompous opening ceremony and publicity didn't cost a handful of money. People passing me were also looking at the flag and whispering, shaking their heads in disapproval as well as discussing this very seriously. People reacted to this the same way as they do to the news about the start of a war, an earthquake or terror in the Oil Academy. I do not know why, but there were few people to regret it too. Actually, I do know why…
[…]
Don't you think this emergency and the replacement flag was not foreseen? It was considered,  but with one “minor” oversight. The second flag was also torn, and even more tragically than the first.
Another Azerbaijan-based political-satirical blog, Əqrəb blog [AZ], also posted photos and wrote about the flag in a number of  posts saying that the cost was not justifiable only to find out that it would be torn, damaged and hauled down two days later.
Dünən 2 şəhidin dəfn günü Bakıda “Bayraq meydanı”nda uzundraz və 30 milyon nuş edən bayrağın açılışı oldu. Bu gün isə Bakı küləyi bu haqsızlıqlara dözməyib Bayrağımızı nuş etdi.
The videos of the damaged flag were re-posted on Facebook and the reaction of many young Azerbaijanis was negative. Indeed, for the three days following the damage, many  Facebook status lines were about it.
Some speculated that that the flag was specially erected prior to Russian President Medvedev's visit to Baku with the intent to flaunt the economic power of Azerbaijan in front of Russia and neighboring countries.
Others argued that it was wrong for the event to be held just before parliamentary elections scheduled for the beginning of November.
Although there were also those who felt pride, many were irritated by what they saw as the unreasonable expense wasted on the flag, especially as the minimum monthly salary, they noted, was insufficiently increased just days earlier.
It now stands at 85 AZN (about €82).

author: Aygun Janmammadova


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Bangladesh: Photo Essay Of Karwan Bazar · Global Voices
Rezwan

Photoblogger Anil Advani took a long time to put together a photo essay Of Karwan Bazar, a “chaotic whole-sale market for poultry, fish, meat and vegetables” in the middle of Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh.


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Barbados: Times Have Changed  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora blogger Jdid says of his country's recent tragedy: “The time has come to realize…that our small islands aren't what they were 20-30 years ago. Accept that and then maybe we can move in the right direction to fixing what is wrong.”


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Bhutan: Writing Own Book Of Destiny · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhutanese blogger Passu questions the traditional practice of astrologers telling a person's destiny from a book according to the date of birth.


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Brunei: Charity, Food, and Ramadhan  · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

Ramadhan is the ninth month of the Muslim Calendar and  the month when Muslims around the globe observe fast (refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations) from dawn till dusk for some 30 days.  During this month, Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance and help in refraining from everyday evils, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. Just like others around the world, bloggers in Brunei have been sharing their own thoughts on the holy month. Charity seems to be a common thread in blogs and other social media sites.
Brunei on the eve of Ramadan. Photo from the Flickr page of tylerdurden used under CC License Attribution 2.0 Generic
AnakBrunei blogs about a local bank initiative to help financially-challenged families in the preparations for the end of Ramadhan festivity.
“Kind-hearted organisations have played their roles in giving back to the community and Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam yesterday travelled within the Brunei-Muara District lugging with them clothes, hampers, monetary donations and, most importantly, joy to a number of families struggling with finances.”
Arabfamillies donates food to some 20 mosques around the country. Brunei Lifestyle writes about donations through SMS
“In Brunei, the fasting month is usually mark with more donations like donating cash (more to credit actually) via SMS for the orphans. I don’t want to start arguing on how the system is managed, let’s just donate sincerely and whole-heartedly.”
My name is Goddess reminds her readers on the importance of peace and solidarity,
“Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind.”
Geek in White quotes from a post of Queen Noor of Jordan: Ramadan Lessons for All of Humanity
“Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic year. We observe it this year against a backdrop of intensifying global human suffering, caused by economic hardship, human rights abuses, military conflict and terrorism, and the rapidly multiplying disastrous consequences of climate change. Muslims have an opportunity to use the days of this month as God intended: to reflect on our own humanity and our collective duty towards our fellow human beings. True religion isn’t built of the manifestations of piety through prayer — turning faces towards the east or west — but requires good deeds and action that manifest and express the essential values of our faith.”
Meanwhile,  Turquoise and Roses makes an interesting observation on the different working hours during Ramadhan.
“Posted this up for my foreign readers who may find this interesting. Well you know, maybe, because not many countries in the world practice this.  One of the greatest things about fasting during Ramadhan in Brunei is the fact that, for one whole month, we operate on different working hours than the other 11 months of the year. It’s one of the persk of fasting in a Muslim country although am not sure what it’s like in Indonesia, Malaysia and the other Muslim-majority countries in the region.  Working during Ramadhan is also a very different experience compared to normal working days. Everyone seems to be in a mellow mood and for some reason everyone comes to work late! Don’t be surprised when things get done a bit slower than usual.”
Ramadhan is also the month when many undertake business opportunities to provide services for those who are fasting.  Popular bloggers, RanoAdidas and funnyman Kurapak joined forces for the second year in a row to come up with a ‘breaking the fast’ eateries directory called Love Food Hate Waste. To date they have included 60 local eateries and generated over 100,000 hits since 2009.  This year they brought along Cookie Monsterz, a  local foodie to provide reviews of selected restaurants. Ranoadidas explains the project concept
“The title speaks for itself. We are supposed to appreciate the food that we take and try to minimise wastage if possible. It's very common that we tend to take more than we can consume and hence, there is also food wastage especially during Sungkai. So guys, let's be aware and don't eat too fast.”
Kapow Burgers. Photo from AnakBrunei
Other bloggers like Soulkonekshen with his now famous KAPOW Burger,  Lucky Hoofs and her chocolate cake roll  ‘Tapak Kuda’ and Sas Monroe’s The Cakery  with her infamous brownies, used this month to gain entrepreneur experiences in selling their respective products, either at the Ramadhan Stalls or online. They have utilised Twitter, blogs and Facebook to promote their businesses.
Bruneians abroad have not left behind the home tradition of breaking the fast together. Brunei Student Society in Brisbane organises POTLUCK Iftar to gather Muslim students.

author: Senor Pablo


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Canada: The ‘Disappearance’ of Native Women · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.
Canadian women at the 19th Annual Missing Women's Memorial March in February 2010
As August 30 marked the International Day of the Disappeared, news from Canada that nearly 600 native women have gone missing over the past three decades has spread far and wide and throughout the Canadian blogosphere. Human rights activists claim that the Canadian government has not done enough to investigate the disappearances. Most of the women are thought to have been murdered. There is also suspicion that some may have been the victims of extra-judicial killings.
A racist system?
American blogger Kera Lovell was surprised to learn of Canada's high rate of missing native women:
Everyone loves Canada, eh?  And no one can give you any specific  details about Canada other than: two Olympics were held there, in Quebec  they speak French, and, that it’s known for ice wine, ice hockey, and syrup.  And Michael Moore is from there.
But what about their issues?  Assuredly Canada deals with similar  problems of race, class, gender, etc, but you never hear about Canada, so it must be fantastic there. Right?
I recently learned from this Rabble news article posted on Racialicious that Canada has a high rate of missing and murdered native women, totaling nearly 600 women over the past 25 years, and half since the  year 2000. And more than half of these murders remain unsolved.  WTF?
Native American paper Indian Country Today is publishing a four-part series on the disappeared women. Part 4, published on August 25, discusses Canada's policies toward its indigenous population in relation to the disappearances. In a comment on the post, NY Indian Girl writes:
A SYSTEM is to blame. That system has been planted in the minds of Natives in Canada, the U.S., etc. The system has become a mindeset of no self worth, forced assimilation, forced removal from homelands,etc. Just as the slaves had a systemic mindset put in them, the same was done to ALL Indigenous people. When your people are murdered for their land  by a foreign nation and then forced to take on the thought process and lifestyle of that nation, it breaks down who you are and gives the  oppressor the hold on you that is needed to keep you down. None of these  people asked for what has befallen them. And once the cycle started, it  has been hard to break. So do not put blame at the door of those who  did not ask for what happened to them, put blame on those who stole from  them and forced them to take on lives that were not and still are not their own. My ancestry is both of slaves and Native Americans, so I see  both sides. Thanks for the story.
The role of the media
Blogger Patricia, writing for Citizen Shift, reporting  on a Montreal workshop on violence against women, writes of the media's role in the disappearances:
There are 520 cases of reported missing native women in Canada. What is so alarming, says Robertson is how the police and media fail to acknowledge this. “Native families don’t know who to turn to.” Robertson used a horrible example of three young native women who went missing in Quebec in 2006. Around the same time a lion cub disappeared from a zoo. This got a lot of coverage but the women’s stories did not. Police did not want to interfere because the reserves come under federal jurisdiction and these young women were from reserves. The story had a very tragic end when the body of Tiffany Morrison from  Kahnawake was found this summer near the Mercier Bridge.
Trisha Baptie, writing for She Loves Magazine, calls on the public to pay equal attention to the plight of indigenous Canadian women:
My Facebook news feed has been a constant stream of two things this past week: one is of a white, 30-something, tall (very tall, actually) man  with size 16 feet named Tyler  who went out hiking two weeks ago and has not been seen nor heard  from since. Tyler is great. We have many friends in common; he’s a pro hiker and I hope and believe he will be found soon…
…Truth be told there are hundreds of missing–mostly aboriginal–women all across Canada. What is different in these two stories is that there  is no expense being spared for Tyler. In fact, there are fundraisers being held in the search for Tyler, yet no one is pulling out all the  stops to find my sisters. In the words of Laura Holland, a member of the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (AWAN): “My sisters, my perfect sisters were not considered perfect enough victims and witnesses for the Vancouver prosecutors and police.” And therein lies the problem.  Understand this is a hard topic to tackle. Understand I want Tyler  found. I pray he is safe. I want helicopters, infrared cameras, rescue teams and everything that can be used, to find him.
My question, though, is why society is not doing it for the women missing across this country? Why in the name of “unstable lifestyle”  “addiction issues” “homeless” and “prostituted women” do we get to abandon them? Why is their marginalization by society the very excuse we  use not to pursue them with all our heart. With God’s own heart? Didn’t  he seek out the one sheep that got away from the flock? Isn’t Jesus’  take-home message Love the least of these?
Photo by nofutureface made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

author: Jillian C. York


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China: Is the West Becoming Chinafied? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Stan Abrams from china/divide discusses the trend of the West becoming Chinafied in terms of language, culture and economy.


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Costa Rica: Use of Social Networks in the Country · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Cristian Cambronero, from Fusil de Chispas [es],  made an infograph with statistics on the use of social networks in Costa Rica.


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Cuba: Prince Claus Award   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y blogs about the “great surprise” of receiving the 2010 Prince Claus Award, saying: “I’m only going to focus on the satisfactions: the growing alternative blogosphere, the cracks that have opened in the wall, the Podcast I just inaugurated a few weeks ago, and all the text messages I’ve received to congratulate me…”


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D.R. of Congo: The Trouble With Congo · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Texas in Africa reviews Séverine Autesserre's new book, The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Global Taiwanese Beef Soup Threading · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

The Big Old Smoke who lives in UK initiates a funny and tasty campaign “Global Taiwanese Beef Soup Threading[zht]” and invites her blogger/plurker friends both in Taiwan and abroad to share their individual beef soup recipes and post them on blogs.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Honduras: September in History · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog Nacer en Honduras [es] posted a list of historical events that took place in Honduras in the month of September, ranging from 1525 to 2009.


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http://www.registan.net/index.php/2010/09/04/imu-leader-probably-killed-in-takhar/ · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust examines the news about Mohammed Amin, a key figure in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, who has been probably killed by the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.


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Israel: Israeli scientists claim proof that Arabic is “hard for brain” · Global Voices
Gabriel Nada

A recent study reported in the BBC and other online media, as well as having been published in the American Psychological Association's journal is entitled Nuerosychology: University of Haifa (2010, August 31) Reading Arabic isn't easy, brain study suggests. (No online edition available). It claims to have proved its hypothesis that reading Arabic is harder for the brain than reading Hebrew or English. The team of researchers state “the detail of Arabic characters means students should use only the left side of their brain” and that using the right brain when learning to read Arabic “is wasting effort.”
The study only involved 40 subjects and rather than asking whether or not Arabic is actually harder to read set out to prove the assumption that Arabic is harder to read.
Wide Ranging Sources of Commentary
The article was picked up and became an interestingly debated subject on MyAnimeList, a forum for discussing Japanese animated films.
User RedSuisei, from Indonesia, comments:
it all depends on whether you are accustomed with the letters or not. I have no problem reading arabic letters at all. I can read quite fast to. It seems that what the researchers says also applies to other languages like Japanese, Koreans, etc. where we also have to look for details in the writing.
User Yammin from London says:
Arabic reading is easy. It's actually pretty simple. Just learn the letters and the vowels; a few rules and you'll get it down. I learnt how to read it in a week. But I was 8 when I learnt it, and I suppose children pick things up faster.
Building on comments from users about what these “findings” would mean with regard to Asian languages, MorningGlory offers:
DID SOMEONE SAID KANJI???
鬮䯂龞麤 It look like electric circuit!!!
Adding to MorningGlory's example, KyuuAL from the US cites this example:
I remember as a child. My uncle taught me the numbers/numerals. I had ‘em down pat too… but ultimately, I forgot ‘em.
Anyways, being an adult, I'm still struggling remembering the difference between:
shi – シ
tsu – ツ
That's just two characters in Japanese (katakana).
Further down RedSuisei returns with this comparison:
Believe it or not, I can say the same to our alphabets as well. i and j looks similar. I and l looks very very similar, especially in handwriting. d is reverse b. n is like r with longer line continuing down. F and E only differ by one line. In Japanese they got a lot more of similar looking characters whether it's hiragana, katakana, or kanji. Even same characters may be read differently. Even character size also reads differently (つ　is tsu while っ is mark for double consonant, for example).
In a comical entry Confucius quips:
Read my Math work, we'll see which is harder…
Heika weighs in with:
I don't think learning to read Arabic is any harder than learning to read any other language, specially when I think of the trouble I have reading Japanese. There are only 28 letters in the Arabic abjad, learning it isn't all that difficult. As stated before, the most challenging part can be remembering the contextual shapes of every letter (isolated, initial, medial or final). The standard writing is simple and easy to read, if some letters look very similar, their pronunciation is pretty different, so it becomes easy to distinguish them with practice.
Writing on a different forum page, PSPISO, Alepman contributes:
LOL……the study done by an Israeli university,who knows they may find learning Arabic can make you suicidal.Yes Arabic isn't a simple language but it's not that difficult and one of the most speakable language in the world.
Musing on the Fortean Times forum reacting to the article, Cultjunky (no link available) posts:
My concern here is that there are some very sensitive areas in the world, where Hebrew and Arabic are ‘neighbours’ (I mean that in the loosest possible way, not the cheery nostalgic way) If the further research suggested in the article supports the theory that Hewbrew is easier than Arabic, then it's not too great a leap of faith to see a time when in Hewbrew is taught to the exclusion of Arabic. I guess the premise would be that children would become competant readers earlier, and so be able to develop quicker, blah, blah, and so become better educated, and become a Radiohead song – ‘fitter happier more productive’ [sic]
When you said, ‘who would believe the Isrealis’, it's not believing them I have a problem with, it's trusting the motives of this kind of research.
In another debate on Free Republic, gogogodzilla states:
The whole lack of vowels as well as the right-to-left writing is also found in Hebrew as well.
And it is a real pain in the butt for newcomers to learn without vowels. Which is why I gave it up and learned Korean.
Which has it’s own problems (like frequently dropping the subject in sentences, so you don’t know who their talking/writing about).
Yet another forum debate on the issue at How-to-learn-any-language.com brings this note from CaucusWolf
Studies aren't correct for every person. I find reading Arabic to be fairly easy. I can read it fairly quickly as long as I know the Vocabulary. Obviously not as quickly as English but it's also not my native language.
Honestly, the dots that distinguish certain Arabic letters make them that much easier to identify. This can be said especially when comparing it to the seemingly more complex Latin Alphabet.
On a separate branch at the same site, Doitsujin observes:
IMHO, learning to read Arabic is no more complicated than learning a non-Latin alphabet, for example Cyrillic. (After all Arabic has only 28 letters.) Learning to read Arabic is the least of the problems that most Arabic learners face.
And Arekkusu notes:
Of course, learning the alphabet is only a very, very minor part of learning a language, so it doesn't necessarily make Arabic harder to learn than Hebrew.
Links to the Alphabets
The Arabic العربية, Hebrew עברית, and other alphabets can be found at these links.
*Note of Disclaimer*: The author reads Arabic fluently, Mandarin Chinese competently, Hebrew at a basic level, and the Roman alphabet (English, Spanish, German, etc.) natively. No discernible difference can be perceived between the difficulty of learning Hebrew or Arabic.

author: Gabriel Nada


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Jamaica, Barbados: Social Crisis · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Grasshopper Eyes The Potomac thinks that the English-speaking Caribbean “is going through an immense social crisis” that centers around violent crime.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica: Pottinger the Pioneer · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The National Gallery of Jamaica Blog posts the first in a series of features on the pioneers of modern Jamaican art.


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Kazakhstan: Controversial and Ambitious Boxer · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog writes about Beibut Shumenov, boxing world champion from Kazakhstan, his scandalous winning of the title in home country last year, and also about his plans for the future.


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Kazakhstan: Oraza fasting and new media · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Askhat reflects on Oraza, the Muslim fasting in Kazakhstan, by reviewing the Internet users’ comments and questions they ask online on the forums and specialized websites about fasting.


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Kenya: Empowering Slum Communities · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ulrike write about Slumcode Group in Nairobi, Kenya: “Slumcode is a Community Based Organization, located in a densely populated residential town in Nairobi, Kenya. It was formed with the aim to facilitate community development through resource mobilization…”


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Kenya: Hail the mobile phone · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David Kimondo argues that the mobile phone has become the signature tool of development in Kenya: “A few years ago election monitoring and reporting was a tricky, tiring and often thankless affair…[involving] sending hordes of polling clerks, election observers and monitors, with paper files stashed in their underarms…”


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Lebanon: The blogsphere in numbers and infographics · Global Voices
Layal Al Khatib

Lebanese blogger and software developer Mir analyzed the Lebanese blogs and shared her results in this post.

author: Layal Al Khatib


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Liberia: Peace Education in Liberian Schools · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mainlehwon Ebenezer Vonhm blogs about peace education in Liberia: “After a rigorous ethnography survey on the causes of continues violence in Liberian schools and communities; CPE was able to develop proactive teaching packages for promoting the culture of peace.”


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Madagascar: The Forgotten Crisis · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gregory Simpkins discusses Africa's forgotten crisis: “If you ask most Africa watchers what is the most urgent crisis on the continent, you’ll likely get answers ranging from Sudan to Somalia or even Congo. It is not likely that Madagascar will rise to the top of the list…”


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Malawi: When Will Network Problems End?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Victor complains about network problems in Malawi: “It is annoying to be prevented from benefiting from an ATM service at the Auto-Teller Machine just because there is a network problem with the machine.”


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MENA: Voicing Support for Arrested Bahraini Blogger Ali Abdulemam · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Ali Abdulemam at the Arab Bloggers' Workshop in Beirut, 2009
Outrage over the arrest of a Bahraini human rights activist has sparked an outpouring of support from bloggers and human rights advocates around the world.
On September 5, Global Voices Advocacy reported the arrest of Bahraini blogger and Global Voices contributor Ali Abdulemam for allegedly “publishing false news” on BahrainOnline.org, the platform he co-founded in 1999 (the site is currently down and it is suspected that authorities have gained control of the password).  The arrest, thought by many to be part of a larger sectarian crackdown in Bahrain, has sparked a solidarity campaign, a Facebook group of support, and a petition.  International groups, including Human Rights Watch, FrontLine Defenders, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, and Reporters without Borders have condemned the arrests.
Who is Ali Abdulemam?
Ali Abdulemam co-founded BahrainOnline.org in 1999 and as the site grew to become #1 in Bahrain, subsequently ascended to become one of the country's top bloggers.  In 2005, he was arrested along with two of his colleagues, and released 15 days later.  He joined Global Voices Advocacy in 2008 and attended that year's Global Voices Summit.
Sami Ben Gharbia shares more about the blogger:
Ali Abdulemam is a leading Bahraini blogger and Global  Voices Advocacy author, and founder of Bahrain’s popular BahrainOnline forum. He a pioneer  among Arab activists, using the internet to militate for peaceful  reform. He inspired many young Bahrainis and Arabs to use the internet  to express themselves and engage in spirited debate.
Mauritanian blogger Nasser Weddady, on his blog Dekhnstan, writes of Abdulemam's character:
Ali is a free-thinker, a father of three children, and more importantly the kind of voices for reform the West has been eager to see emerge in the region. His arrest is yet another blow to a growing movement for civil rights reform across the region. I hope he will not be forgotten like many other young Arabs whose only crime is to want to have a voice.
Hussain Yousif, who was arrested along with Abdulemam in 2005, had this to say of his close friend:
Ali is looking for change. The change Ali believed in is not impossible and is not diabolical. Ali wanted to give the people the chance to express thier feeling and dreams, to discuss and negotiate, to correct each other mistakes and to learn to respect each other. That was his project in Bahrain in online forum more than 10 years ago.
An Outpouring of Solidarity
Bloggers from across the Arab world and beyond have expressed their support for Abdulemam.  Bahraini blogger Mahmood, of Mahmood's Den, wonders what this means for Bahrain's bloggers and activists:
Abdulemam joins tens, possibly hundreds, more apprehended Bahrainis all accused or charged with some malicious intent against the ruling regime. According to most operating human rights organisations in the country, they have had their rights violated and some even went as far as accusing the security services of applying systemic torture on some of those incarcerated.
I fear that this latest development further degrades the country’s reputation and gives some credence to the charges of it being an enemy of freedom of expression and that of human rights too.
Guatemalan blogger and GV contributor Renata Avila had this to say of the circumstances:
Mi amigo, el bloguero de Bahrain Alí Abduleman, fue arrestado por “difundir información falsa”, una tendencia que se esparce peligrosamente en todos los rincones del mundo, ante gobiernos represivos que no aceptan la mirada crítica de los ciudadanos. Espero sea liberado pronto, que se respete el debido proceso, que se cuide de su integridad física y no se sea sometido a tratos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes.
On her blog A Tunisian Girl, GV contributor Lina Ben Mhenni writes:
Hardly  does the sun rises without learning about the arrest of a blogger or  online journalist . Examples are abundant Fatma  Arabicca , Zouhair  Makhlouf , Abdulsalam  El Baroudi , etc…
…I hope that Ali will be released soon . I also hope that he will be in a  good health.
Sonam Ongmo, a Bhutanese blogger based in New York, reflects on the situation on her blog Dragon Tales, writing:
As I write this, I count my blessings. There are many who on this very  day cannot be facing the same. For instance a blogger colleague from  Global Voices Ali Abdulemam from Bahrain. He  was arrested earlier today by Bharaini authorities for spreading  “false news” on his blog which has since been taken down by the  authorities. I saw the message this morning and did the little I could –  tweeting and posting this on FB. But now that I have time to sit down  and think about my own situation its made me think of others who have  not been so lucky.
Photo by Jillian C. York


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Mongolia: Mongol horse racing and Naadam festival  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bilguun tells about Mongolia's Naadam festival in July, it's history and present. It is normally followed by a season of feasts, featuring the “three manly sports”, namely archery, wrestling and horse racing.


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Nigeria: Why Should We Have Cholera in 2010?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Why should we be having cholera outbreak in Nigeria in 2010?”, Chikwe Ihekweazu asks. He believes that cholera is a disease of poverty and a failed society.


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North Korea: North Released Seven South Korean Fishermen · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea released seven South Korean fishermen and their fishing boat after detaining them over a month South Korea’s Joongang Ilbo reported,quoting North Korea’s state-run news agency.


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Pakistan: Journalist Umar Cheema Abused And Threatened · Global Voices
Rezwan

Cafe Pyala tries to find out who were the people behind the abduction, humiliation and beating of Islamabad-based investigative reporter Umar Cheema.

author: Rezwan


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Puerto Rico: Conversation, Critique, Banter and Fun on the Net · Global Voices
Firuzeh Shokooh Valle

One hundred forty characters were not enough. This is why a group of bloggers, social media savants, and pop culture junkies from Puerto Rico decided to expand the conversations they were having through Twitter.  On February 11, 2010, @eldifusor, @fetoso, @joeprog, @nerdote, @redod, @reed_rothchild and a “revolving cast of online friends, followers, and collaborators” recorded the first podcast of #EnProfundo [ES] (In-depth) which is now transmitted every week. They started talking mostly about tech issues and pop culture, but now they are also focusing on local political, social and media issues. The crew of #EnProfundo (@enprofundo) forged their friendships through Twitter. They take their online hobby pretty seriously, but they also have a lot of fun.
The #EnProfundo crew. Photo courtesy of #EnProfundo.
I interviewed them on behalf of Global Voices because they have one of the most innovative and creative online projects in Puerto Rico.
Global Voices (GV)- What motivated you to begin #EnProfundo?
#EnProfundo- @eldifusor: I remember the day the iPad was unveiled.  I had just parked to get some gas at the station and took my cellphone out to read my Twitter time line.  I read so many opinions about the device that I was eager to join the conversation, but I realized I had much more to say than those 140 characters where going to allow me.  I thought about writing a blog post about it, but then I realized that would only be me sharing my thoughts without having a real conversation with others.
Then it hit me: how about we get some bloggers and Twitter users together and start having that conversation out loud in person.  We could record that and share it with the world.  Mind you, this is not an original idea – podcasting was born out of this exact necessity.  There are even some older efforts here in Puerto Rico like “The Wannabes” podcast and the more recent “Fium TV X-Tracto Semanal” video podcast.  But those came out before Twitter had such a firm grasp on our lives, and I thought that making this podcast a direct response to the weekly Twitter banter could give us a nice foundation to build upon.
So I called @redod up and told him what I had in mind.  He loved the idea, so the next week we had our first meeting.  Now that I say this, it is funny this whole thing started with a piece of tech news that was being discussed on Twitter, since we now tackle more “serious” news.  That evolution happened organically, because since our very first meeting it was clear we all wanted to express ourselves about many other things besides technology.
GV-  What issues do you cover in your podcasts?
#EnProfundo- @redod: Local issues quickly established themselves as our focus, especially as filtered through the local ‘traditional’ media outlets.  #EnProfundo, we found, could function as both group think and group therapy.  Together we could talk about the gossipy news that dominate media cycles, the poor coverage given to social issues, the current administration’s attempts at… I don’t know what it is that they are supposed to be doing.  The strike organized by the University of Puerto Rico’s students was definitely the catalyst for this change.  If people were willing to listen to us get things off our chest and give our impressions on what we’re fed daily as Puerto Ricans living on the Island, then even better – and I think our followers want us to tackle those issues more so than the tech/pop-culture stuff we started off covering.
We do try to keeps things light and off-beat as much as possible, if the topic allows for it (which is probably most of the time).  Exploring local Internet memes is as much a past time for #EnProfundo-ers as reading up on more serious topics – and we’ve had our share of fun discussing those.  So if you listen to our most recent podcast, you’ll probably find a mix of all the topics I’ve mentioned here.  In the end its just the six of us, with our friends, talking about stuff that piqued our interest during the week.  The podcast is always evolving and the loose nature of it allows for that.
GV- How has #EnProfundo been received by the Internet audiences? Have you received feedback? What kind of feedback?
#EnProfundo- @eldifusor: For a podcast that is rather long and full of strong opinions about so many subjects, I am surprised we have an audience at all.  I always thought that our listeners where basically going to be our closest friends and ourselves, but thankfully that has not been the case.
Although this effort is something we do mostly for ourselves, we like reading and listening to what our audience is thinking.  And the feedback we have received has been both helpful and positive.  Come to think of it, we have yet to see a single “negative” comment about the podcast… so if someone out there really hates #EnPRofundo, or even better, has a nice solid critique for us: Please let us have it!
We enjoy being able to maintain a constant conversation that echos through our social media accounts, gives shape to our podcast, and then goes back into the Internet for further discussion until our next podcast. The day we feel that conversation is no longer worth having, we’ll stop recording our podcast.
GV- I have noticed you also include sharp critiques of mainstream media in Puerto Rico, specifically of newspapers. Why? How would you describe the journalistic work of the mainstream media in Puerto Rico?
#EnProfundo- @redod: On July 18, 2010 tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans dissatisfied with the current government’s policies took to the streets in an organized, peaceful march through one of the island’s busiest streets.  It was my first time participating in such a manifestation but recent examples of police brutality that had been vividly captured by both the traditional media and citizen journalists had made it impossible for me to stay home.  I needed to go out and be around other people who weren’t happy with what we had seen on our computers and television sets. And it was an amazing experience.  Thousands of people – tens of thousands – walking together, taking a stand.  It really lifted my spirits -though I am not at all crazy about hanging around big crowds.
But the island’s largest newspaper, in an act so blatantly complicit with the current government that it was as subtle as a sucker punch, barely paid attention to such a significant event.  In the little coverage it gave the event, it misrepresented the turnout by using the phrases ‘dozens of people’ or ‘hundreds of people’ to describe it.   Another of the island’s newspapers published a picture of the crowds on its cover, claiming 60,000 people had made their way to the event.  My friends and I put the number closer to 20,000 but you can take a look at the photographs online and make your best ‘guesstimate’ – at any rate, the turnout was much larger than that reported by Puerto Rico’s largest and most established newspaper, which didn’t bother to cover the event properly.  The question that lingers is: Why?
What they do publish are ‘dozens’ of articles on local ‘celebrities’ like Maripily (don’t even bother) and her failed relationship and upcoming divorce to former Major League Baseball All-Star Roberto Alomar.  That or stories about a drug kingpin’s leaked porno tapes.  They have lost all credibility.  And you are just a couple of google searches away from verifying that claim.
@eldifusor: At least for me, it is inevitable to talk about the poor handling of news in Puerto Rico.  It is sad that thirty years ago our news media was able to uncover a government conspiracy as big as the Cerro Maravilla murders and today they are not able to properly spell a foreign celebrity’s name correctly.  It is shameful, and I think, very dangerous.  We know this is not a phenomenon exclusive to our island, as news become more of a business than a public service, we suffer more and more as citizens.  It is also a shame we have at least two universities with communications departments – both offering master degrees – and it seems we are not capable of producing good communicators.
I am aware of the great financial struggles that result in the poor environments where our journalists are working – and we do appreciate when they do get it right – but the whole situation is such a mess, that I for one NEED to talk about it.  And I think this need has resonated with every member of our group. People know when they read a good story and when they read a bad story.  We just don’t have many places where we can have that conversation.  And it is a necessary conversation, specially here in Puerto Rico where we tend to be very lenient thanks to what we call the “Ay Bendito.”
That is why we are passionate about discussing how the media treats the news.  Puerto Rico is lacking on media watchdog groups and media critique in general.  I hope that our weekly banter helps people understand they also should be speaking up and discussing how relevant is the information these media outlets are choosing for us to consume.  Do we really want to know more about some forgotten TV personality before understanding why our government insists on pushing their new energy plan? A few journalists are fighting the good fight, but a lot of them just relinquished and called it quits.  They are oblivious to the rich potential of the DIY culture.  That spirit that makes a blogger blog, a podcaster record a podcast – it’s a powerful thing.  I think journalists have the potential to become much more if they’d harness that spirit, but they are tied to old concepts and to the lure of working at a corporate news organization.
But these corporate news organizations are led by marketing ‘wizards’ that think they understand the web and rush to participate in new trends without really understanding what they want out of those tools or what those new tools are even for.  In their haste for headlines they also help create a technology divide, propagated by their journalists, that is based on outdated perceptions of how information is handled.  Just look at how many stories detail the hazards found on the Internet, of how bloggers are not journalists, of how they are a threat to reporting ‘real’ information.  They completely miss the point and end up not only alienating a new audience but putting in danger what is surely their new platform.
We need more initiatives like the one Oscar Serrano is leading at the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.  More non-profit news organizations with journalists that are not afraid of exploring new ways of getting their stories out into the public.
GV- How would you describe the Puerto Rican blogosphere and social media sphere?
#EnProfundo- @redod: I think it’s attracting more and more people each day – largely due to the role social networks play in our lives nowadays.  Twitter and Facebook make it infinitely easier for a blogger to reach out to more people – starting out with his or her friends.  These networks provide a bigger pool of participants that read, comment on, and share the work being done by local bloggers, which in turn, inspires more and more people to start their own blog. This cycle promotes creativity, and hopefully more thinking and better writing.
A lot of creative, incisive stuff is coming from the blogosphere nowadays, while increasingly weak journalism, mediocre local television programming, and less than credible reporting during recent high-profile events only help fuel this movement.  However, for it to grow, I believe it must become more organized and perhaps… less personal.  And by less personal I don’t mean that bloggers excise their personalities and experience from their posts, but that they think of their blogs less like a journal and more like a living room.  If you are inviting people in to spend time with you, you need to be interesting and able to share your thoughts coherently on your particular areas of interest and expertise.
A healthier blogosphere will result from those bloggers that know what they can bring to the table as writers, as thinkers, as individuals, as citizen journalists, and as professionals; those who are confident enough to realize that they are as capable – and oftentimes better prepared – than those getting paid to write and communicate our news. As these bloggers start to collaborate and come together, traditional media stand to lose even more ground in their battle for our attention and trust.

author: Firuzeh Shokooh Valle


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