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Cuba: More Reactions to Castro’s Retirement · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Four days after Fidel Castro announced that he would not accept another term as a president after almost half a century in power, the Cuban blogosphere continues to be abuzz with the news. After Janine Mendes-Franco's roundup collecting the first reactions after the announcement, and ahead of today's General Assembly meeting  to elect a new head of state to replace Fidel Castro, here are a few more reactions from Cuba and abroad on the latest developments.
Photo by FloraG, used under a Creative Commons license.
Cuban writer Zoe Valdés [es], who lives in Paris, is skeptical about the supposed change that will come to Cuba:
Y como Castro nos tiene acostumbrados a esos numeritos, la única renuncia en la que creeré será en la de la muerte. De cualquier modo, su hermano es el mismo perro con diferente collar, uno de los hombres más crueles y perversos de la historia de Cuba y de la humanidad. Con Castro II no creo en cambio alguno. El cambio sólo puede venir de la democracia, de la liberación inmediata de los presos políticos, del reconocimiento de las organizaciones disidentes de dentro y del exilio. El cambio sólo vendrá cuando Marta Beatriz Roque, Osvaldo Payá, u otros de dentro, o figuras del exilio puedan intervenir en un espacio democrático dentro de la isla. No pienso que Raúl Castro asumirá semejante riesgo
… since we are used to such acts by Castro, the only resignation I will believe is the one brought by death. In any case, his brother is the same dog with a different collar, one of the cruelest and most perverse men in the history of Cuba and of humanity. With Castro II, I don't believe in any changes. Change can only come from democracy, from the immediate liberation of political prisoners, from the recognition of dissident organizations in Cuba and in exile. Change will only come when Marta Beatriz Roque, Osvaldo Payá, or others from the inside, or figures in exile, can intervene in a democratic space within the island. I don't think that Raúl Castro will assume the risk.
Ivan García [es], guestblogging at Tania Quintero's blog, is equally pessimistic about the expectations for change:
Cansados de campañas revolucionarias, marchas y consignas, los cubanos dudan que el próximo presidente, que se espera sea su hermano Raúl Castro, de 76 años, no sea una continuación de su política. […] Algunos como Juan Oñate, 44, obrero, cree que aunque nada cambie, “al menos Raúl habla menos y no está presente tanto en la vida de los cubanos como Fidel”. […] Pero ya la calma escasea. Tras casi 50 años de pobreza material y penurias, la paciencia se agota y la desilusión aumenta. Las encuestas internas realizadas por el partido comunista reflejan que la popularidad de los hermanos Castro y de su sistema político cuenta con menos del 25 por ciento de apoyo de la población.
Tired of revolutionary campaigns, marches and slogans, the Cuban people are doubting that the next president, who is expected to be his brother Raúl Castro, aged 76, is not going to be a continuation of his politics. […] Some, like Juan Oñate, 44, construction worker, believe that even if nothing changes “at least Raúl talks less and is not as present in the life of Cuban people as Fidel”. […] But the peace is scarce. After almost 50 years of material poverty and dearth, patience is running out. Internal surveys by the communist party reveal that the popularity of the Castro brothers and their political system is supported by less than 25 percent of the population.
After Castro released another letter on Friday calling for “a united vote in favor of the Presidency of the General Assembly” and thus continuing to meddle in Cuban politics, Alexis Gainza [es] declared that “joy lasted as much as a meringue in a school”.
Bloggers like Cuban in London, quoting Frank Sinatra, regret that Castro is stepping down after so many years on his own terms:
It’s hard for a British citizen to understand the stature of the outgoing leader. After all, the Cuban president outlived nine British Prime Ministers and ten American dignitaries. And he did it his way.
He also adds some blueprints for change in Cuba:
There are four principles, in my understanding, that Cuba should follow: the development of a free media and an independent judiciary are the first two. Economic and financial opening to foreign investors (as long as cherished achievements like education and health are not touched) and accountability should be the other two.
However, for Lou Rodríguez at Ninety Miles Away there's nothing to envy in Castro's way of leaving power:
Whatever the media may say about leaving on his own terms, leaving as a doddering old man, evacuating from three orifices, you can be sure, was never on his wish list. I could almost find it in my heart to feel sorry for him, almost. My head, however, offers no absolution. I will dance metaphorically over his grave, if the old buzzard doesn't outlast me.
For Jaime Leygonier [es], Castro didn't retire, he was made to retire:
No se retira, Fidel Castro era incapaz de retirarse, incapaz de saberse incapaz, lo retiraron hace año y medio con una incruenta revuelta palaciega, todos contra el animal enfermo, como mismo retiró Stalin a Lenin, para que se repusiera de su enfermedad bien lejos y bien oculto. Muy mal tenía que estar el anciano jefe de la manada para que con absoluta unanimidad lo desaparecieran sus secuaces.
He does not retire. Fidel Castro is incapable of retiring, incapable of knowing that he is incapable. He was retired a year and a half ago in a palace coup, all of them against the sick animal, just like when Stalin retired Lenin, so that he would recover from his illness, very far and very hidden away. The chief of the herd must have been in pretty ill in order to be made to disappear in absolute unanimity by his henchmen.
Review of Cuban-American Blogs criticizes Western media for their moral relativism towards Fidel Castro:
If Hitler had retired as Führer before 1939, what would the reaction of the Western media have been to his decision?  Not much different, we suppose, to their reaction to Castro's “retirement” as Cuba's president-for-life.
[…] The media now recoils at condemning tyrants for their crimes as if their own objectivity were judged by their subjectivity to them. When forced to mention those crimes the media characterize them as allegations made by the tyrant's detractors. But their so-called achievements are never identified as the allegations of their apologists.
Another issue widely discussed in the Cuban blogosphere was the official visit of Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State for the Vatican, on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Pope's landmark visit to Cuba in 1998. Rui Ferreira [es] describes the mass that Bertone officiated in Havana's Cathedral square, followed by about 3,000 Cubans who expressed their desire to receive the visit of Pope Benedict XVI soon “to bring us peace and improvements, which are very much needed”, according to a woman attending the mass.
Reinier “El Gusano” Potts at Babalu Blog, after quoting an article in The Independent describing Bertone's mass, expresses his disgust:
The sight of these Cuban Communist henchmen participating in a Mass is revolting. But, I have to confess that I get a little perverse pleasure out of the irony of hearing about this bunch of murdering thugs having to bow to the Almighty in a sobering preview of the judgment that’s ultimately coming their way, in a ceremony that could very well represent the last rites for the regime. At least raul had enough sense not to attend.
Marc Masferrer has published human rights violations in Cuba this week, such as unlawful arrests of independent journalists, and has also posted a musical a tribute to political prisoner Oscar Elias Biscet, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for opposing the regime in 2003. A campaing was launched this week to pressure the Cuban dictatorship for his release, he reported.
Penúltimos días [es], who also posted a song as a soundtrack for today's Assembly election, has been collecting media reactions to Castro's announcement to retire. And amongst those, he started a  Top 10 of the most stupid things written about Castro in the last few days, with readers’ contributions in the comments section. One reader mentioned a comment made by filmmaker Michael Moore, who shot part of his latest film Sicko in Cuba and wondered about the possibility of bringing Castro to give his acceptance speech:
As long as he keeps it under five hours. I'm telling you, that's got to be a ratings grabber. Can you imagine him? Showing up? If I could talk to (Oscar producer) Gil Cates and maybe get Castro in a dance number at the beginning of the show? Great.
It turns out Castro is a great subject for entertainment and humor, as shown by Claudia4Libertad collection of recent jokes about him on American television late night shows. Here's a sample from David Letterman's show, who also made a list of '10 reasons why Fidel Castro is retiring':
Experts believe that now that he has resigned,” Castro “will either be succeeded by his brother, Raul, or by his idiot son, Fidel W. Castro.
To finish this roundup, here's a very illustrative little parable that Enrique del Risco wrote [es] in his blog:
[…] un niño al que un compañero de juegos había hecho dar su palabra de honor (o de pionero, no recuerdo bien) de que se mantendría de guardia en el parque hasta que vinieran a relevarlo. Pasan las horas y el niño se mantiene de pie haciendo guardia, aterido de frío sin que el supuesto relevo aparezca. Al fin un transeúnte le pregunta qué hace allí y el niño le explica. El hombre trata de convencerlo de que se trata sólo de un juego, que seguramente los niños que le encomendaron hacer guardia estarán en sus casas calentitos pero el niño se aferra a la palabra empeñada. Por fin el hombre, convencido de la firmeza del muchacho busca a un policía y le explica la situación. El policía va entonces hasta el muchacho y le dice que él es un oficial superior y ha venido a informarle que su turno de guardia ha terminado tras lo cual el niño medio congelado entiende que ya no se trata de romper con su palabra sino de acatar nuevas órdenes y haciendo un saludo marcial se marcha. El cuento terminaba, si no recuerdo mal, con el hombre que había ido en busca del policía admirado ante la firmeza del niño. De más está decir que no era un cuento destinado a enaltecer nuestra firmeza sino a reafirmarnos la docilidad. […] Ya no somos niños, hace mucho tiempo todos hemos visto que todo no se trata más que de un juego. Los que dieron la orden original están calentitos en su casa o simplemente muertos mientras nuestros melancólicos no hacen más que aferrarse a viejas consignas, a las viejas palabras empeñadas, como a un instinto en el que al parecer les va casi todo, empezando por su propia idea de sí mismo. Sólo les digo esto: la realidad no es tan generosa como el cuento. Si aparece un nuevo policía será para decirles que todavía les quedan unas cuantas horas de guardia.
[…] a kid gives his word to a playmate that he would stand guard in the park until he would be relieved. Hours pass by and the kid stands guard, stiff with cold, with no sign of being relieved by someone else. Finally a passerby asks him what he's doing there and the boy explains. The man tries to convince him that it was just a game, and that probably the kids that sent him to stand guard while they would in the warmth of their homes, but the kid sticks to his word. In the end, the man, convinced by the firmness of the kid, looks for a policeman and explains the situation. The policeman then asks the kid and tells him that his an upper-ranking officer and that he came to inform him that his shift is over, after which the half-frozen boy understands that it's not about breaking his word but about following new orders, and with a military salute he goes away. The tale ended, if I remember correctly, with the man that had looked for the policeman being really impressed with the little boy's firmness. Needless to say it wasn't a tale destined to extol our firmness but to reaffirm our submissiveness. […]  We are not children anymore, we all realized a long time ago that this is just a game. The ones that gave the original order are in the warmth of their homes or simply dead while our nostalgia is just hanging onto old orders, to old words given, like an instinct in which they have everything to loose, starting by their own idea of themselves. I just tell them this: reality is not as generous as the tale. If a new policeman appears it will be to announce that they still have a few more hours of standing guard left.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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East Timor: Would it be possible to hold elections earlier? · Global Voices
Paula Góes

FORUM HAKSESUK [pt] posted an analysis by António Ramos Naikoli on the chances of achieving an early election in East Timor, a possibility considered by the country's largest opposition party, FRETILIN, in the face of the assassination attempts on the two Timor leaders.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Paula Góes


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Egypt: Free Khaled Hamza · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Hossam Al Hamalawy draws our attention to the arrest of fellow blogger Khaled Hamza. Global Voices Online previously reported the arrest here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Iran:Governor of Basra accused Iran of plotting his assassination · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

We read in Juan Cole’s blog that Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the governor of Basra, Muhammad Misbah al-Wa'ili, has charged the Iranian deputy consul in that city of plotting his, al-Wa'ili's, assassination. He demanded that the central government look into the charges.Watch video too.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Resistance against security forces in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers including Schrr have reported[Fa] that today in Sadeghyeh in Tehran,while security forces wanted to arrest a young girl,many people came to help her.Here is a video film about this event where people chanted “we do not want Islamic State”.


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Iraq: F*** you Washington Post… · Global Voices
Salam Adil

…so says Raed Jarrar. Today's post features voices from the edge. Sunshine is waiting for the war on her doorstep to end and writes of her hopes and aspirations; Last of Iraqis is turned back at the Jordanian border and writes of hopes lost; Layla waits in the immigration queue; Baghdad Dentist writes of a relaxed Baghdad and the blogger formerly know as Konfused Kid writes of a world that has changed.
But first…
The Washington Post publishes a story about a dog that was rescued from the ‘Baghdad slums’ and Raed is incensed. He writes:
one million Iraqis killed in the last 5 years, and you celebrate rescuing an iraqi dog. what a bunch of racist a**holes.f*** you Karin Brulliard, and f*** the washington post.
and he invites concerned people to send similar comments to that journalist.
The city of Mosul is virtual war zone at the moment. With the Iraqi government threatening a final battle to retake the city, there is a nervous tension that verges on the unbearable. Sunshine describes the feelings of waiting for the war to end and her hopes for a better future. In a post that must be read in full she writes:
I still have hope, I don't know why.. All the ex-operations failed, but there is a voice inside my heart telling me to be optimistic…I open the curtain above my bed, look at the sky, and think.. If the troops will defeat the terrorists and we'll have security, my relatives who live abroad will come to Iraq, and I'll be able to see my aunt again, we'll do whatever we want and wear what we like, without being afraid from terrorists .. I'll feel more free to write about what I feel…. we've been living in a war zone for four long years, full of sadness & fear … I can't end the war, but we say “if you have lemon, make lemonade”; there's no bright side in the war, but in this four years I became stronger, and independent person, I believe in myself and I know nothing can stop me from moving forward, not even the war, nor terrorists when I have determination and faith ..
I realized how much I love Iraq, I did't know how much Iraq means to me, until I saw It destroyed.
.. but I have to prepare myself for the worse, so that I don't get depressed if things didn't work well, I don't want to feel what I felt in the beginning of the war, I thought we'll have the life we were told to have, a bright future, and live happily ever after, I didn't know there'll be fights and battles in front of my house.. I didn't know I'll see dead people in the streets nor hear all of the horrified stories that I hear each day, I didn't know I'll have to hide under the stairs for 10 hours continuously!
and Najma's family is preparing for the army house raids that will inevitably come:
Mom has been trying to get us ready, “they might come from the roof, so don't be scared if you see them at your room in the middle of the night”, I start whining and tell her to stop but she keeps reminding me that it can happen and I have to be ready.  … Now if my sister decides to have a baby in the middle of the night, what shall we do?Conversations like this went on and on between my mother and my aunt as I and my cousins sat trying to imagine a better future!
God shows me his love in so many ways.. And I trust that there will be a way out one day, one very happy day… I just can't see it yet!
Meanwhile in Baghdad
Iraqi Dentist is enjoying the new peace that the capital is experiencing. He writes:
as for baghdad, it's great. now it's on the way to heal and stepping forward in the road of revolution and good future. except for some what i call “defects” here and there, one may say that the city has settled down. the people now feel safe and can go out for shopping, visiting friends and relatives without fear. i feel that the normal life is getting back again. while in febuary last year (like the current days), i just wanted to get out of baghdad because at that time i couldn't get out of the outdoor. everyday we heard someone or two were murdered in our destrict. no one day passed without a funeral…we still have some problems concerning electricity ( well they are big problems). the electricity in Baghdad just say “hi” for few minutes twice daily. The goverment … spent millions of dollars just to provide every family with 10amps … 10 amperes for every family?!!!?? that means no A/C at all, can't iron with refrigerators turned on, can't use ovens or microwaves and and …. moreover till now we are not supplied with that 10 amps. where all that money has gone?
Marshmallow26 is suffering from a bout of insomnia and with army raids in her neighbourhood and barking dogs she has a hard time catching up with her beauty sleep (“oh no I see those black circles surrounding my red bleared eyes;wish there were no mirrors at all”). Marshy concludes that it is the suffering of others that has caused this:
so many killed people and couple of deadly explosions took place yesterday and the day before… I guess that is why I am suffering at night, there are many people need prayers, sleeping on the streets, no shelters, many kids don't know whether their parents will stay for another extra hours with them in this world or the rope of death will wrap them in a spit of a heart beat!!I decided every time I wake up at night, I must say a prayer, I should ask for peace, peace and peace in the land which the “peacetime” term turned into a forgettable expression.
And over at Alive In Baghdad, a video about the youth football team in the Sadr City district of Baghdad.
[display_podcast]
Waiting in Exile
Last of Iraqis tries to enter Jordan to leave Iraq for good but gets turned back at the airport. In a repeat of the treatment he received last time at Jordan's Queen Alia Airport he witnessed the wholly degrading experience given to Iraqis turned back at the border. In an essay with photographs and detailed description gives stories of treatment of Iraqis in the “airport jail”. He concludes:
I feel the disappointment every minute, a stupid low life intelligence officer destroyed my future and killed my dreams, a legal dream of having a secure safe future, a dream of becoming a dentist in a place that appreciate science and doctors, not trying to kill each one of them; a stupid officer made me sleep on the floor and starve me!! A stupid officer prevented us from seeing our families whom we miss so much; a stupid officer destroyed our dreams; this is what happened in one day;this is a story for one person; just imagine every day how many stories like this happens;every day;can you imagine? This is a serious issue; I don't know what the Iraqis are made of to stand these crisis? What happens every day in that cursed airport is something so important, where is the media from all of this? It really requires the media attention, the light must be spotted on this issue and I'm ready to help as much as I can to expose the truth.
Once in exile in countries like Jordan and Syria, Iraqis do not fair much better. Layla Anwar joins the queue at the immigration counter along with many other Iraqis who apply to extend their residence. She gives a beautiful (and horrifying) description of the nervousness and fears of people waiting for a single official who, at will, decides who will stay and who must leave. She writes:
We were lined up like a herd of sheep, patiently waiting for the “official's” stamp. That much needed stamp which will prove that we are still accepted here…Or that stamp that will allow us a few more months of breathing space…
Or that stamp that will give us an illusory freedom in some temporary legality…
Or that stamp that will confer upon us a seeming sense of belonging…Another illusion of a “home”, however fleeting and ephemeral, that illusion may be…
I stood there like everyone else, waiting for my turn, overwhelmed by a strange feeling that I am about to take part in a game of Russian Roulette…
What if he refuses to stamp, what if he finds an excuse not to stamp, what if he delays the stamp, what if he requests more papers to stamp, what if…what will happen then?
I am almost certain that I was not the only one entertaining these deadly thought. And yes they are deadly if you happen to be an Iraqi hanging on by a string…
So much power in the hands of some official, who sometimes holds your documents upside down…Some much authority in the hands of this, almost always, mustached man who has the final say on your life or death…
And finally…
The blogger formerly known as Konfused Kid now goes by the catchy handle of Abbas Hawazin and renamed his blog to  “Catharsis” in English and “Shaqshaqa” in Arabic. Has he grown up? Has he reached an epiphany? Abbas tries to explain:
things might change on the inside quite a long time before they do so visibly. The changes that I implemented to this blog and the desire to do so have been long thought of, I just didn't know how I would finally impart with the name I've been using for quite a long time now, after all, “Konfused Kollege Kid” was a gimmicky name for a gimmicky blog…As for the name, the Arabic signifies that Arabic language is going to play a more prominent role here, I can't decide whether I will dedicate another blog for it or just throw the whole thing here.
Shaqshaqa is taken from a famous Shiite sermon in which the usually reserved Ali throws a fit and rants about his lost caliphate title in a very angry, but articulate manner, after he is interrupted one of his companions ask him to continue but Ali replies to him dramatically: “O’ Ibn `Abbas it was like the foam of a Camel (Shaqshaqa) which gushed out but subsided.” Meaning he has calmed down now. I've always loved the word ‘Catharsis’, which basically means a similar, but less Camel-inclined, thing in English.
So people, don't worry, I'm really feeling quite okay.

author: Salam Adil


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Japan: More views on alleged rape in Okinawa · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger Niphonese translates views in Japanese newspapers and blogs on the recent alleged rape of a schoolgirl by a U.S. marine in Okinawa.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Morocco: No Justice for Fouad Mourtada · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Is creating a Facebook profile of a famous entity a crime?  Although it's been done to nearly every major celebrity (a quick search for “George W. Bush” garners over 500 results), but when Fouad Mourtada chose to mimic Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, he was committing a serious crime.
As Sami Ben Gharbia reported on Global Voices Advocacy last week, Mourtada was arrested on February 5 after Moroccan authorities discovered his false Facebook profile of the member of the royal family.  And on February 22, he was sentenced to three years in prison (and had to pay a $1,000 fine).  Bloggers in Morocco and around the world were furious.
Laila Lalami, who also wrote an opinion piece on Mourtada at The Nation, blogged that she “hoped cooler heads [would] prevail” at the trial.
Myrtus, who joined bloggers who went on strike for Mourtada, said:
The verdict is out: A giant leap backwards for you Morocco, I hope you're happy with yourself!
…
I am a second generation Moroccan-Dutch citizen, and I am a traditionalist.  I've always been proud of my Moroccan roots and I've always respected Morocco's constitutional monarchy as an integral part of our national unity and a great source of pride, and held it in high regard.  This is the first time in my life that I can honestly say, that sense of pride has been diminished.  I feel only sadness and loss of hope with regards to Morocco.
Four Continents was appalled as well, saying:
If you value free speech…then check this out and then pass on the news. Facebook-impersonation shouldn't be a crime.
Also, Le Journal Hebdo has its website blocked again and is facing more fines for something they published about Western Sahara. I don't have details, but Scarlett's been in touch with them and I'll link to details if she posts any.
One commenter found the legal aspect of the case intriguing:
Though most invasion-of-privacy law does come from civil actions rather than criminal, I think criminal statutes protecting privacy draw pretty heavily on civil tort concepts.
In particular, the tort of “misappropriation of persona” (protecting name and likeness) does not require any monetary benefit on the part of the invader, mooting a defense of noncommercial motive.
With regard to First Amendment rights, though, it's usually the press violating someone's privacy, and there is strong precedent for public officials and public figures being exempt from privacy protections in the face of the media's First Amendment privilege.
By contrast, framing it as a matter of free speech makes it one individual against another, and you lose the compelling public interest of an unfettered news media. I'm not sure if the exemption for public officials and public figures would apply as strongly in this context. Unfortunate situation for the guy, but an interesting legal question.
Reb, who is researching the Moroccan blogoma, said in her blog:
I was saddened to hear that Fouad was sentenced to 3 years despite the campaign waged by Moroccan bloggers. I know Fouad is going to prison and these words will not console his friends and family but the bloggers that spoke up on his behalf should not lose faith. The efforts of the blogoma were not invisible to the local or international press and this movement will inspire more people to speak up for others with marginalized voices or for causes in which they believe. My best wishes for Fouad and his mother.
Outside of Morocco, The Sudanese Thinker was just as shocked as any Moroccan blogger:
Someone please tell me this isn’t real.
Andrew Brehm commented:
My take is that the Moroccon government simply didn’t take into account that it was a joke and just saw someone trying to impersonate the prince. Three years is mild punishment for what they thought they saw.
However, three years (or any prison term) is unacceptable for a joke, no matter how tasteless one might think it is.
So while I am not worried about Morocco’s justice system because of it, I am worried about this single example. I think they made a mistake and he should be set free. (The fine, on the other hand, I think is justifiable.)
Another commenter, Mike responded:
Andrew commented “So while I am not worried about Morocco’s justice system because of it, “…. You shoudl [sic] be. This is a system that routinely allows and abuse of detainees before trial. Once you get to trial then it’s about who you know and not what you know.
From Jordan, The Black Iris is also outraged:
I’ve been following this story since early February and waiting to see if and when Mourtada would be charged by the Moroccan government for creating a Facebook profile of Morocco’s Crown Prince. I had initially thought he would eventually be let go for such a silly thing, since it wasn’t like he was blogging about political issues. It was, as he said, a little joke and the account was deleted. But it seems that in Morocco, just like Jordan, it is really, really easy to harm the dignity of the state. Imagine three years of your life completely taken away from you for this ‘crime’. My prayers are with you Mourtada.
For more information on Mourtada's case, Lydia Beyoud has a roundup of French-language Moroccan blogs, Gawker has an interesting report, the Help Fouad website is constantly being updated, and Reuters is tracking the story.  And of course, check Global Voices Advocacy for updates.

author: Jillian C. York


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Mozambique: Demanding un update on the children trafficking case · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Luis David [pt] demands an update on the situation of the 40 children found in a truck intercepted by police in Inchope, reported back in January. The children were supposedly being taken to schools to study the Koran, with their parents consent. “And that casts doubt on whether it was children trafficking. Human trafficking. Nothing indicates it wasn't. Everything indicates that it was indeed. Everything points to the fact that we may be facing a situation where both children and parents have been manipulated. Where parents surrendered their children to the unknown. For a finality other than being nationalistic and upright Mozambicans. It is up to the Government, of course,  to investigate and clarify how these children were recruited.”


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Nigeria: Nigeria’s youngest painter · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Onarieta is Nigeria's youngest painter: “Carrying her lunch box and dressed in her signature look – tiny head scarf covering her beaded, braided hair, a contemporary top and a long african print skirt to match her scarf – it's hard not to notice how artsy this cute little girl is. I'd first heard about Onarieta Aminisisi sometime last year as she was preparing for her first exhibition in December (I could have sworn I'd heard about her at the end of last summer).”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria/Kenya: Why is Odinga meeting Obasanjo? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Adeola wonders why Kenya's opposition leader, Raila Odinga, decided to meet Nigeria's former President, Olusegun Obasanjo: “Why is Odinga meeting Obasanjo? Obasanjo supervised the worst election in our history as Nigerians. He perpetrated crimes similar to what Kibaki did last december in Kenya. Obasanjo is an enemy of democratic processes and it was people like him that squandered the hope of the realisation of the mandate of the June 12 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by late MKO Abiola. I don’t understand the need for this kind of meeting but I know that African leaders are very insincere bunch of people. They are selfish and egoistic.”


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Saudi Arabia: Cairo Visit · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Jeans attended a two-day Human Rights conference in Cairo, Egypt, and shares his impressions of the country and event in this post.


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Afghanistan: Imagine art after  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sanjar tells about “Imagine art after” project, uniting artists who originate from the same country but who are now geographically and politically separated. At the exhibition, shown earlier this year at the Tate Gallery in London, two Aghanistani artists were paired together – Rahraw Amarzad (living in Kabul) and Shapur Amini (living in London).

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Refugees Urge BBC to Take Action · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Mohammad  posts an open letter of independent writers, journalists, student associations, human rights activists and Afghanistani Diaspora living in the UK to the head of BBC, raising concerns about the recent restrictions introduced by the Afghani Minister of Culture on the use of Farsi language terminology by media in Afghanistan.


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Argentina: Bariloche Offline · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The city of Bariloche, Argentina was disconnected from the internet for two days.  That is what happens, “when the only monopolistic internet provider is down.  There is no contigency plan,” writes Fabio.com.ar [es]

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bangladesh: Book fair · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bangladesh From Our View on the 23rd Ekushey Book fair.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Carbon Footprint · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living in Barbados says that it's time for Caribbean countries to get serious about their energy consumption.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bermuda: Education System  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermuda Longtail thinks that “discipline is an aspect of the education system that…needs some careful consideration when we look at revamping the education system.”


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Burkina Faso: teachable moments, missing bathrooms and road rage · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Pity the school teachers of the Peace Corps. While their compatriots toiling in health clinics or with micro-credit programs pretty much work loose hours and come and go from social events in the capital city at their leisure, teachers are stuck at home with a inflexible schedule, classrooms full of hundreds of students and loads and loads of homework to correct each night.
It is especially hard this time of year. February is too soon for the school year to be over, but students are teachers are too far along for learning to still be a novelty. For Peace Corps teachers, some working without any previous classroom experience, this may be the time when those new skills are becoming quite honed.
Here’s a post from a Peace Corps’ teacher on one of those early “teaching moments.” It’s from Will Mitchell’s Journal:
School is going well.  I am getting to be competent enough at teaching that I am no longer the main roadblock to my students’ education.  The huge classes, the lack of materials and equipment and staff, and the overly theoretical curriculum are now bigger barriers than my still-apparently-hilarious mistakes in French.  I have become more confident and friendly and learned my students’ names, which minimizes discipline problems.  The school built a blackboard on the outside of my house so I can deal with the crowds of students who come to ask me questions, which is rewarding.  One student, a Coulibaly, actually laughed in delight when the points I had him calculate from a linear eq ended up in a straight line on a graph.  Why does that happen, Monsieur?
One early lesson teachers learn is that no matter where they hail from and what their backgrounds are, students act the same everywhere.
For Lara in Burkina:
[P]eople (myself included) always assume that just because there's rampant poverty in Burkina the kids will all be angels or something like that anyway. Not true. They do everything that we did when we were in school. There are really motivated kids who ask for more homework, but also the kid who sits in the back and doodles until I call on him in the middle of the lesson (yes I am that teacher). In the end though I'm kind of relieved because it makes it easier to relate to them.
Like I said, though, sometimes the school year becomes a little too long and the mind starts to wander. For Joel in Burkina, it opens to such reveries on his next career.
When I'm not busy teaching children the importance of not pooing on the path I take to school each morning or perfecting the art of small talk with the men in the market (I can out-talk any meteorologist about the weather. I guarantee it), I've been preparing for my future. This week I have decided that I want to become a newswriter for The Onion. Perhaps you've heard ot it? Here are a couple of articles I recently wrote, yes, in my spare time (Lately “spare time” = between books). Do enjoy.
I am going to stay with this bizarre sub-theme for a few minutes, so please be patient. For someone writing these round ups for the past few months, I have to say this is one time a very odd theme just descended upon more than a few blogs.
“People keep on pissing on my house,”  protests the Dabbler in Burkina. “It really bothers me, but I have no idea if that action is as much a cultural taboo here as it is in America, so thus far I have not made a big deal of it.”
To continue:
The first time it happened (to my knowledge), a couple weeks ago, the guy chose a spot right next to my back window. I happened to be inside at the time, and when I heard the familiar pattering of liquid hitting a surface I looked out and there he was, not 2 feet away from me, relieving himself on my wall. I was so surprised at his brazenness that I said nothing for a while, merely stared at him, slightly embarrassed for violating his privacy, but simultaneously outraged that he was exercising said privacy against my wall. When he had finished, I almost apologetically accosted him, speaking to him from my window (again, not 2 feet away). There was no anger in my voice, and I bashfully requested that “next time” would he please find another spot? The man glared at me in sullen irritation, whether from the disrespect of my demand or the fact that he understood no word of the French I was speaking, I cannot say.
Like Joel’s thoughts about the future from above, village living allows the mind plenty of time to wander and come up with all kinds of cultural and political implications of such an apparently brazen act. Here’s what the Dabbler came up with:
Is this some sort of symbolic gesture, a middle finger of defiance extended by the African man to the Western system that routinely pisses on him? I doubt it. In my experience, it is the American that is more likely given to passive-aggressive, abstract gestures. No, I would wager a guess that these individuals simply have the need to “go”… and apparently, my house is ideally situated in the village for that need.
When in actual need of a bathroom out in the bush, most foreigners in Burkina Faso will put away their sense of propriety and decorum. This, of course, usually happens on car trips.
From Burkina Mom’s Life in Africa:
Here's the truth:If you are a person possessing two X chromosomes and an even minimal sense of modesty, the first rule of travel by car in Burkina is: Don’t Drink Anything. Drinking leads to peeing and the highway rest area “facilities” consist of roadside shrubs. Small, scrawny, practically leafless shrubs that could not even provide Paris Hilton with sufficient cover.
And while the countryside may seem deserted and traffic minimal, I guarantee you that the minute you step out of your car to enjoy a moment alone, a couple of young boys herding cattle will appear as if by magic. Then an old guy on a bike will pedal past with almost painful slowness. Finally, a bus from Mali will trundle by, the roof covered in bikes, bags, chickens, baskets and young men who couldn't get a seat inside, but have a great vantage point for being entertained by the sight of half-dressed travellers lurching around out in the bush.
If I could choose a second sub-theme from these posts, I’d have to name it “motor vehicles and their dangers.”
From My So-Called Life in Africa:
Driving here is hard, especially if you’re not used to it! . Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if only two things weren’t true:
1.The police are hardly ever directing the traffic. And even when they are out, it’s useless because no one listens to them. Everybody just does their own thing. And when the street is full of bikes, cars, scooters, donkey carts, hand carts, pedestrians and even a few horses and camels, it doesn’t work out too well.
2. People drive completely CRAZY!!! You see at least one smashed motor bike or one wrecked car in the road a day. At least.
People drive so badly that you wonder if they even took the driving test (Let me tell you, I bet that most didn’t!)
This all adds up to some touch-and-go moments on the streets of Ouagadougou, population around 1.3 million and rapidly increasing. Let’s go back to My So-Called Life in Africa:
Besides all the crazy driving, there are obstacles to dodge. Take today, for example. We saw: a group of little 9 year old girls coming home from school on foot and crossing the road right when the light for the car lane turned green! A gum-chewing kleenex vendor weaving his way through the motor bikes to get his latest client’s change from his pal on the other side of the street. Plus a taxi stopping right in the middle of the lane to pick up someone. Then we saw saw a donkey cart with no donkey blocking the road. Where was the donkey you ask? A little ways further…laying there DEAD in the middle of the street!
I witnessed a certain road incident, also. As I was sitting down at a macquis – an open-air bar – with friends a few Saturday nights ago, I saw what happened when a young man crossed the busy boulevard in front of us on a small motorcycle and promptly got hit by an oncoming truck. The sound of metal striking metal is something I won’t easily forget; nor will I let go of the sparks that flew as the truck screeched to a halt. It was the sight of the moto driver that stirred something strange in me, however. It wasn’t compassion, but anger.
I continue on in AfricaFlak:
I don’t think of myself as a cold person, but there was no reason, not one, for the moto driver to be anywhere near those car lanes. Actually, there was one explanation: he didn’t look. Some days, when I am more generous and understanding, I do think it’s kind of cute to watch the two million motos of Ouagadougou driving around on all sides of your car at all speeds, zipping in and out of traffic, running stop lights and generally having complete disregard for the rules of the road. If you can learn to drive here, you can drive anywhere, I often tell my guests.
But, when these moto drivers – and we are not only speaking of teenagers on a joy rides – take their lives into their own hands, they also place it directly into ours. And that’s not fair. Auto and truck drivers become ultimately responsible for their safety. It’s us who have to live with the consequences of their actions, not only legally – for West African justice often deems that those who can pay for the damages are at fault – but morally and emotionally.
…
Driving is a responsibility, and Ouagadougou’s winner-take-all system of road rules only keeps people in the hospital and families visiting cemeteries. I’ll be harsh here: For such a naturally mellow people, too many Burkinabé drive with a ferocious aggressiveness and a complete disregard for others once they get behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle.
File this last bit under: Facts you need to know.
From Moco in Burkina Faso:
Q: Does Mayonnaise really have to be refrigerated? (clearly this question has been foremost in your mind)
A: No, this is a lie propagated by the refrigerator industry in the Western world. I keep mine on a bookshelf in my house after opening it, and despite the 90+ degrees temperatures, its good for weeks. This applies to pretty much all condiments. Dont be grossed out, its the truth….

author: John Liebhardt


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China and Taiwan: Urban Noise Hierarchy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Laowiseass lists out his experience of urban noise hierarchy in Chinese society, both in China and Taiwan.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: First to Climb Mount Everest · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Costa Rica Blogs writes about the first Costa Rican to climb the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest.


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Cuba: Reactions to Raul  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban bloggers’ responses to news that Raul Castro has been appointed President of Cuba…Babalu Blog: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”; Child of the Revolution:  “The appointment of a 76-year-old hardliner…as the effective number two rather than younger apparatchiks…has surprised everyone”; Uncommon Sense: “For those who think his ‘election’ is a harbinger of real change in Cuba…the reality is, not so much.”


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Czech Republic: Still Some More on the Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belatedly, another link on the presidential election in the Czech Republic: The Reference Frame writes that “one of Klaus's numerous tasks in the second term will be to abolish the global warming religion in the European Union that will be under the Czech Republic presidency in H1 of 2009.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Hong Kong: The Death of a Bookseller · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Law Chi Wah, a well known independent book store owner in Hong Kong, was killed by the collapsing book boxes in his small warehouse before Lunar New Years. His body was found two weeks later, already rotten. Douban (zh) has set up a special page for this book martyr. His friends and acquaintances set up a blog (zh) in memory of him and his book store.


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India: Changing names · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A range of gender issues at Mumbai Girl – from changing names once married to the idea of skimpy clothes being provocative.


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India: Foreign Policy and the US · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny on the future of US's foreign policy in South Asia.


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Jamaica, U.S.A.: The Obama Question · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's not that Obama threatens to be another MLK.  It far worse than that. It's that he threatens to be another JFK”: Jamaican Marlon James asks “the one question about Obama that dares not speak its name in polite public discourse.”


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Japan: Cat Day Round-up · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Feb 22 is Japanese Cat Day and Mari has a round-up with links to cat photos and paintings.


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Japan: Charisma Man · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe traces the origin of the term “Charisma Man” which is used for describing foreign man with many girlfriends.


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Japan: Laughometer · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pink Tentacle introduces a new tool to measure laughter with “aH”.


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Kazakhstan: The State Will Continue to Rise · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog reports that Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Massimov assured the cabinet of ministers that work to renegotiate contracts with foreign investors will continue and that abrogations will be made on new contracts.


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Korea: Debates over Privatizing Insurance · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

One of the hottest issues just before the next administration took office in Korea was about the privatization of health insurance. With the new administration, the national health insurance seems to be not logical anymore and will switch to privatization so that other private companies can step in the medical field. For several years privatization of health insurance has been discussed. There have been demonstrations and active discussions about advantages and disadvantages. And now it seems to be the time when it will happen in the end. A netizen who works in the National Health Insurance Corporation put a post and it has been hit as the most read and responded post.
건강보험공단 직원이 생각하는 건강보험 민영화
제목에서 밝혔다시피 저는 국민건강보험공단 직원입니다.[…]이 글을 보고 계신 분 중에 “나는 민영화 찬성한다. 건강보험공단 없애 버려라”라고 말씀하시는 분이 있다고 하더라도, 일단은 감사하다고 말씀 드리겠습니다. 민영화를 찬성하시는 분은 적어도 “정부에서 이런 일을 추진하려고 하고 있구나” 하는 사실은 알고 계시기 때문입니다. 민영화를 찬성하셔도 좋으니 주변에 이런 내용을 알려주시기 바랍니다. 정부가 지금 무엇을 하려고 하는지… 부모님에게, 친구에게, 회사동료에게 알려주세요. 그리고 본인이 그 정책에 찬성한다고 말하세요. 비꼬는 말이 아닙니다. 민주주의 사회에서 자신의 정치적인 의견을 말하는 것은 -비록 그 의견이 민영화 찬성이라하더라도- 전혀 잘못된 것이 아닙니다. 정말 문제는 건강보험이 어떻게 되던 정치가 어떻게 되던 나랑은 상관없다며 수수방관하는 것이 아닐런지요. 이런 중요한 일이 공론화되지 않고 대다수 국민들이 그 내용을 모른 채, 몇 몇 정치인들과 기득권층에 의해서 은근슬쩍 결정되어 버린다는 것은 정말 소름끼치는 일이 아닐 수 없습니다. 건강보험 당연지정제 폐지가 어떤 결과를 가져올지 국민들이 인식하는 상태에서 대다수 국민들이 이 정책을 받아들인다면 그건 어쩔 수 없다고 생각합니다. 슬픈 일이겠지만, 어쩔 수 없을 겁니다.
How an employee of the Health Insurance Corporation thinks about privatization of health insurance.As I say in the title, I’m working at the National Health Insurance Corporation. […] Among people who are reading this post, you could say “I agree with privatization. Get rid of the Health Insurance Corporation.” First, I appreciate them. These people at least know “the government is trying to change this.” It’s fine to agree with privatization. Please let people around you know about this change, what the government is trying to do now… to parents, to friends, to your companies… and then you can say you agree with that. I’m not giving a sarcastic twist. In democratic society, it is not wrong to express political opinions. The major problem is the people who don’t care about the change like it’s not their own business. I get gooseflesh all over when I think about such an important issue being changed in a sneaky way by several politicians and the vested class, without letting the majority of people know. Under the circumstance that all people recognize how the abolition of the health insurance will affect their lives, the acceptance from the majority of people is fine. Even though it’s sad, it’s fine.
건강보험 당연지정제 폐지와 관련된 문제는 엄밀히 말씀드리면 새 정부의 작품은 아닙니다.  2004년 5.17일자 중앙일보 기사를 보시면 알 수 있듯이 (제목부터 “의료, 이제는 산업이다”로 되어 있습니다) 이미 몇 년 전부터 나오던 이야기입니다. 싱가폴과 상하이의 예를 들어 의료시장 개방, 영리법인 허용, 민영보험 도입 등을 우리나라에서도 해야 한다는 것이 기사의 주요 내용이었구요. 민간보험회사와 의사협회 등에서 지속적으로 요구해오던 내용을 시장친화를 표방하는 새정부가 들어서면서 대통령 당선자와 인수위가 적극적으로 검토하겠다고 한 것이죠.
Strictly speaking, the suggestion to abolish health insurance is not from the new government. Like we can see in an article of Joong-Ang News paper (with the title of “Medicine, it is industry now”) on the 17th of May, 2004, the issue has been talked about several years ago. Making examples from Shanghai and Singapore, the article talked about whether we should open medicine market, accept profit-making corporations, and start private insurance. The new government, which is pro-market, plans to consider these approaches, which private insurance companies and doctor’s associations consistently demand.
물론 인수위에서 검토하겠다는 것이 하루아침에 건강보험을 없애버리고 민영화를 하겠다는 이야기는 아닙니다. 그들이 말하는 것은 현재 모든 병원에서 강제적으로 건강보험을 이용할 수 있도록 정해진 것을 ‘완화’하겠다는 내용이죠. 내용만 본다면 시장 친화적이고 문제가  없어보입니다. 정부가 강제로 병원에게 이래라 저래라 하던 것을 완화해 준다니… 규제도 줄이고 관련되는 공무원도 줄이고, 평소에 건강보험료 많이 낸다고 생각하던 서민들은 적극 찬성이라고 할 만합니다.
Of course the consideration of the new administration doesn’t mean that health insurance will be gone in a day and everything will be privatized. What they say is while all hospitals have had to use the health insurance by force until now, that policy will be loose. According to the theory, it sounds like being closer to the market and seems not to have any problems. The part that the government controlled hospitals by force would be loose… lessening the control and the number of the related government officials. People who have thought of paying so much health insurance fee must actively agree with this.
하지만 말이죠… 예를 하나 들어볼께요. 여러분이 심장병 환자고 뉴하트에 나오는 광희의과대학 흉부외과가 수술을 잘한다고 소문이 났다고 해보죠. 당연히 여러분은 광희대병원에서 수술을 받고 싶겠죠. 그런데 광희대병원이 건강보험환자를 받지 않는다면 어떻게 될까요?  지금까지 감기 걸려도 병원한번 안가고, 아까운 건강보험료 다달이 꼬박꼬박 냈는데, 수술하려고 병원갔더니 해당병원에서 건강보험은 사용을 못한다고 한다면… 여러분은 어떻게 하시겠습니까? 물론 대한민국에서 심장수술할 수 있는 곳이 광희대병원만 있는 건 아니죠. (제가 알기로는 국내에 심장이식 정도의 수술이 가능한 병원은 두세군대 정도가 있습니다.) … 아픈 게 본인이라면 다른 병원으로 가는 것이 참지 못할 정도는 아닐 겁니다. 건강보험이 안되면 병원비가 얼마나 차이나는지는 잘 알고 계실테니 건강보험되는 병원으로 발길을 돌릴 수도 있겠죠. 하지만 아픈 사람이 여러분의 자제분이라면, 어머니라면 어떻게 하시겠습니까?
But… I will make an example. Imagine you’re suffering from a heart disease. You heard that Kwanghui Medicine University is good for that operation like New Heart (one of the most popular soap operas in Korea now). Of course you would like to have the operation at Kwanghui Hospital. But if the hospital doesn’t take patients who have health insurance, what would you do? So far, you haven’t gone to the hospital when you catch a cold and have paid the insurance fee every time. When you went to the hospital for the operation, the hospital doesn’t want to operate due to your health insurance. What will you do? Of course, The Kwanghui Hospital is not the only one where you can have the operation (as far as I know, there are two or three hospitals that operate the heart transplant). If the patient is yourself, it would be ok to go to another hospital. Without the health insurance, you know how different the payment would be. Then you will look for other hospitals where you can use your insurance. But if the patient is your child or mother, what would you do?
병원 측 입장에서는 어떨까요? 여러분이 건강보험이 적용되는 병원원장이라면 어떤 기분이 들까요? 광희대병원 부럽지 않은 시설과 실력을 자랑하지만 건강보험이 된다는 이유로 광희대병원보다 낮은 평가를 받는다면 어떤 기분이 들까요? 흉부외과 의사들은 수술경험을 쌓은 후 광희대병원에 스카웃되는 것을 목표로 삼고 있고, 환자들은 하나같이 떨떠름한 표정으로 수술을 기다린다면, 돈있는 사람들은 광희대병원에서 치료를 받고 서민들만 자기 병원에 치료하러 온다면, 벤츠가 즐비한 광희대병원 주차장을 바라보면서 한숨을 쉬지는 않을까요? 친인척중에 정치가가 있다면 자기 병원을 건강보험 비적용되게 해달라고 말하지 않을 수 있을까요?
How about the side of hospitals? If you were the chairman of the hospital that takes health insurance, how would you feel? Even though you are proud of the facilities and skills as good as the Kwanghui Hospital, what would you feel if your hospital is treated lower because your hospital uses the health insurance? If doctors aim at being scouted by the Kwanghui Hospital after having experience at other hospitals, if patients wait for the operation without trust, if wealthy people are treated at the Kwanghui Hospital and common people are just coming to your hospital, and if Benz cars take up the parking lot of the Kwanghui Hospital, wouldn’t you be depressed? If one of your relatives is a politician, wouldn’t you ask them to take your hospital out of the list for the health insurance?
[…]건강보험료를 내도 원하는 병원에서 진료받지 못하는 환자…
건강보험 환자밖에 찾아오지 않는 의료기관…
병원과 보험, 두 마리 토끼를 주무르는 대자본…
당연지정제가 폐지된다고 해서 그 다음날부터 맹장 수술비가 300만원이 되는것은 아니겠죠. 아주, 아주, 아주 부적절한 비유라고 생각은 합니다만 2차 대전 당시 히틀러도 하루아침에 유대인을 잡아서 가스실로 보낸 것이 아니었었죠. 유대인의 옷에 노란색 별을 붙이게 하고, 여행을 제한하고, 재산을 빼앗고, 특정 지역에 모아 놓고, 그렇게 하나씩 하나씩 시작이 된거죠. 당시의 독일국민은 뭘 하고 있었을까요? 왜 그랬을까요? 그들은 자기들이 무엇을 지지했는지 몰랐던 걸까요?
[…]Patients who can’t be treated in the hospital that they want even though they pay health insurance… Hospitals that only have patients with health insurance… Hospitals and insurance, big capital that would like to control both rabbits…Of course, the abolition of health insurance means that the operation fee for appendicitis will go up to 3 milion won from the next day. I don’t know if this would be an appropriate comparison. Hitler during the World War II didn’t send the Jewish to gas chambers in one day. The Jewish started having to stick yellow stars on their clothes, were limited to travel, had their properties taken, and were gathered in a specific zone… It started gradually. What did the Germans do at that time? Why didn’t they do something? Did they know what they’re supporting?
물론 히틀러가 1차대전 이후 독일 경제를 살린 건 인정할 수 밖에 없죠. 하지만 그가 경제를 살렸기 때문에 이런 일들이 묵인된 것일까요? 흥미로운 독일 논문이 하나 있었는데요. 히틀러가 만행을 저지를 때 독일 지식인 들은 무엇을 했는가하는 내용입니다. 비주류적인 의견이긴 합니다만 당시 독일 지식인들은 히틀러가 하려는 것이 어떤 결과를 가져올지는 알고 있었지만 정부의 탄압과 국민들의 냉담함으로 인해 정치에서 눈을 돌리고 “스윙 재즈에 빠져있었다”는 의견이 있었습니다. 괴로운 현실로부터 눈을 돌리고 음악으로 침잠해 들어간거죠.
우리나라도 과거 지성인으로 불리던 대학생들은 IMF이후 정치로부터 등을 돌리고 취업준비에 여념이 없는 듯하고, 과거 독재에 항거하던 기성세대들은 목욕탕이나 지하철 노약자 석에서만 세상걱정을 할 뿐 선거날에는 밀린 잠자기에 바쁘시고, 10대들은 성적와 연예인에만 신경을 쓰는 것 같습니다.
Of course, we can’t help but recognize Hitler revived the German economy after the World War I. But can we accept what he did because he revived the economy? There is an interesting report. It is about what German intellectuals did while Hitler committed an act of brutality. It is a minor opinion. The German intellectuals knew what Hitler wanted to do. But due to the control of the government and indifference of the people, they ignored the politics and were indulged with swing jazz. They disregarded the horrible reality and got engrossed into the music.In Korea, university students who were regarded as intellectuals at that time lost interest in politics after IMF and put all their energy into looking for jobs. Adult generations are just worried about what’s going on now in sauna and the metro, and the teenagers are just interested in their school grades and entertainers.
[…]나랑 동갑인 대학동기가 저에게 한 적이 있습니다. 건강보험료가 많이 나오는데 자기는 사보험을 들었으니까 건강보험료가 아깝다는 말이었습니다. 그래서 제가 들려준 이야기 있는데 이 이야기는 실화입니다.2004년도였을 겁니다. 한 40대 아주머니가 건강보험공단에 찾아오셨는데 자기 남동생이 병원에 다쳐서 누워있다는 것이었습니다. 남동생이 깡패들한테 폭행을 당해서 병원에 누워 있는데 병원에서 건강보험이 안된다고 해서 누나인 아주머니가 찾아온 거였죠. (남동생은 30대였습니다.)  조회를 해보니 그 남동생은 건강보험이 안되는 사람이 맞았습니다. 주민등록 말소자였던 거죠. (건강보험이 안 되는 몇가지 경우 중에 주민등록말소자가 포함이 됩니다. 물론 주민등록 말소자는 건강보험료도 내지 않습니다. 주소가 불명이므로 고지자체가 안됩니다.) 몇 년간 주소없이 가족들하고도 연락이 안되고 지방으로 일을 하러 이리저리 떠돌이 생활을 하다가 폭행을 당해 병원에 가게되니 누나에게 연락이 된 것이었습니다.
결론부터 말씀드리면 남동생은 건강보험으로 병원비 처리가 되었습니다. 이런 경우에 사고난 날짜로 동사무소에 가서 주민등록을 살리게 되면 (물론 말소기간에 따라서 과징금을 내게 됩니다) 건강보험 자격이 생성되어서 건강보험증이 다시 나오게 됩니다. 건강보험으로 처리된게 아마 200만원이 넘는 것으로 알고 있습니다. 네… 그렇습니다. 여러분이 내시는 보험료는 이런 식으로 쓰이기도 합니다. “나는 병원도 안 가는 데 이런 사람 병원비로 내 보험료가 쓰인단 말이냐!” 라고 말하시는 분도 계실줄 압니다. 그런 분에게는 죄송하지만… 제 답은 이렇습니다. “그러라고 만든 게 건강보험입니다!!!!” 만약 건강보험이, 공보험이 붕괴된다면 이 남동생같은 처지에 있는 사람은 아프면 어떻해 해야한단 말인가요?[…]
[…]My college friend said that he doesn’t want to pay the health insurance fee because he also has private insurance. So I told him a story which was real. It was 2004. A 40 year old woman came to the National Health Insurance Corporation and said her younger brother is in hospital. He was beaten by gangsters and the hospital said that his insurance is not valid. So, his sister came over to us (the brother was in the age of the 30s). Checking his identity, the brother was not covered by the health insurance because his ID was erased. (One of the reasons why the insurance doesn’t cover certain people is due to the deletion of the ID. Of course, they don’t pay the insurance fee because they don’t have home address and can’t get the bill). Without his own address, he didn’t contact the family and wandered around. When he was beaten and had to go to hospital, he contacted his sister.In conclusion, his hospital payment was dealt with through health insurance. In this case, the person can go to the district office and renew his ID number (of course he could pay the fine depending on the duration). So, he is qualified to use the health insurance. With the insurance, he paid 2 million won for the hospital fee. Yes… it is. The insurance fee you pay is to use for this reason. “I don’t go to the hospital, but why is my insurance fee used for this kind of person?” You can say that. Sorry to say this… but my answer is, ‘That’s what health insurance is for!!!’ If the public insurance is gone, how would people like the younger brother be treated when they’re suddenly sick?”[…]
프랑스에 사는 미국인이 하는 말중에 “프랑스 정부는 프랑스 국민을 두려워한다'는 말이 가장 기억에 남네요. 프랑스는 대혁명이 있었던 나라죠. 정부가 어떤 일을 할 때 국민들 눈치를 많이 본다는 것이죠.정치가들끼리 숙덕숙덕, 공무원들이 알아서 숙덕숙덕 해서 일을 처리하지 않는다는 겁니다. 국민이 가만히 있지 않으니까요.
현행 의료보험제도에, 건강보험에 관심을 가져주세요. 민영화를 반대한다고 해서, 그래서 비록 지금은 민영화가 되지 않는다고 해서, 황금알을 낳는 거위인 의료분야에 군침을 흘리는 거대자본이 사라지는 것은 아닙니다.  아마 기회가 있을 때마다, 국민이 관심을 보여주지 않을때 다시 고개를 들고 기회를 엿볼 겁니다. 지금의 의료보험제도도 완벽하진 않죠. 그건 저도 알고 여러분도 압니다. 앞으로 이를 고쳐나가는데는 많은 국민들의 관심이 필요합니다. 제가 부탁드리는 것은 국민들이 무섭다는 걸 정치가들이, 공무원 들이 알도록  해주십시요… 라는 겁니다.
Americans who live in France said, “The French government is afraid of their people.’ France had a big revolution. What they meant was that the government sees how the people think. They deal with things by politicians or by government officials because people don’t let them.Please, be interested in the current medical insurance system and health insurance. Regardless of the objection of privatization now, big capital is not going to give up the medical field easily. Every time they have an opportunity and when people don’t show interest, they will sneak in again. Of course, the current medical system is not perfect. I know and you know about it. In the future, in order to correct things, we need people’s interests more. What I would like to ask is politicians and government officials should know how scary the people are.
A netizen who lives abroad compares it with the place where he lives with the title ‘I’m paying 500,000 won for health insurance’.
미국사는 이야기 해드릴께요.제가 드는 보험료가 한달에 100불, 아내와 아이가 400불입니다.
한달에…물론 임신 커버해주는 보험이라서 좀 비쌉니다. 임신을 빼면 아내와 아이가 한달에 200불정도면 괜찮은 보험을 들수 있지만,중간에 임신한 상태에서는 임신 커버할수있는 보험으로 가입도 안되고 바꾸지도 합니다.행여나 임신이라도 하게되면 온전히 자기돈 꼴아박아야 한다는 말이죠. 미국 의료수가 쎈건 다 아시죠?우리 아이 자연분만해서 만불 넘게 나왔습니다.보험 커버해서 2000불 내고 쇼부쳤습니다.
아이가 말하기 시작할때 혀 수술을 해줬습니다.혀 밑에 입 아래와 연결된 근육을 일부 잘라줬습니다.뭐 우리나라에서 영어 발음때문에 잘라주는 부모들이 있다고 하는데,제 아이의 경우에는 혀 끝이 완전히 입 아래에 붙어있어서 의사와 상담끝에 수술했습니다.수술비로 3000불 나왔고, 보험 커버해서 500불에 끝냈습니다.한국은 5만원 든다고 그러더군요.
아이가 감기걸려 병원에 가면 대충 200불정도 나옵니다.보험으로 커버해서 약 100불 못 되게 지불하고요.미국에서 보험이 없으면 의료비도 더 비싸게 나옵니다. 예를 들어, 수술해서 10000불이 의료비로 나오면 보험회사에서 병원과 협상에 들어갑니다. 수술비 8천불로 하자…Ok. 그리고 보험으로 커버해주는겁니다. 보험없으면 8천불로 협상할수있는 의료비가 에누리없이 만불되는거죠.
보험이 없어서 갈비뼈가 금이 갔는데도 병원 문턱도 못 가고 집에서 아물때까지 계시는 분도 봤습니다. 병원 갈때도 이 병원에서 이 보험을 받는지 알아보고 가야합니다. 그 밖에도 여러가지 할 말이 있지만 미국 생활 강좌는 이만 끝내고…
우리나라는 의료수가가 아직 저렴한 편이라, 사보험료도 미국처럼 비싸진 않을 수도 있겠네요.그래도 일단은 단돈 몇천원에 병원에서 진찰 받던 시절은 끝났다고 봐야겠죠.의료보험료 월 지출비도 당연히 뛰겠지요. 결국은 의료수가도 올라서, 몇 년내에는 여러분도 저처럼 한달에 보험료로만 몇십만원씩 내셔야겠네요. 본인의 수입에 상관없이요.
현재 건강보험의 적자가 2000억을 넘는데나,그래서 민영화를 추진한다는데 꽤 구체적인가 봅니다.300억 자산가가 꼴랑 만 몇천원 보험료를 내는데 적자가 나는게 당연한게 아닌가요?고소득 자영업자들의 보험료만 제대로 걷혔어도 적자가 얼마네 하는 소리는 안나왔을겁니다.
저는 다행히 형편이 되어서 비싼 미국 보험료 지출하면서 살고 있습니다.명박 찍으신 서민분들. 앞으로 한달에 몇십만원하는 보험료 내면서 헉헉대면서 사시든지, 보험없어서 아파도 꾹 참고 죽을때까지 기다리시든지,
국민건강보험 받아주는 병원 찾아서 뺑이치시든지 알아서 사세요.
혹 힘드시면 국민건강보험을 복지가 아니라 사업으로 보는 명박을 뽑아준 본인 탓이라고 생각하세요.
I will talk about my life in the U.S. I spend 100 dollars for myself and 400 dollars for my wife and kid for health insurance fee. Every month… It is slightly more expensive to cover the pregnancy. Except pregnancy, I can have nice health insurance with 200 dollars for my wife and kid. But in the middle of the pregnancy, you can’t change to the insurance covering the pregnancy. The unexpected pregnancy could take so much money from us away.You must already know that the hospital fee is expensive in the U.S. My kid was born naturally and the payment was more than 10,000 dollars. Covering the insurance, I could end up with 2,000 dollars.
When my kid started speaking, he had to have an operation on his tongue. It was to cut a part of muscles below the tongue. I heard some parents do this operation for their children’s improvement for English pronunciation. In the case of my kid, the end of his tongue was stuck to the bottom part of the mouth and, therefore, we couldn’t help but decide on the operation. The operation fee was 3,000 dollars and I had to pay 500 dollars. I heard that it’s 50,000 won (50 US dollars). If my kid catches a cold, the hospital fee is about 200 dollars and we pay less than 200 dollars in the end. If you don’t have insurance here, the medical fee is way too expensive. For example, if the hospital fee is 10,000 dollars, the insurance company starts the negotiation with the hospital. Let’s deal with 8,000 dollars for the fee… OK. Then, it will be covered with the insurance. Without the insurance, you have to pay 10,000 dollars as it stands.
Due to the absence of insurance, there are people who stay at home even though their rib was broken. Regardless of insurance, we have to check whether the hospital takes their insurance or not. There are so many other cases, but I will finish my life here to this part.
Medical fee is rather cheap in Korea and, so the private insurance fee would not be as expensive as the U.S. But the period that we can pay several thousand won for the check-up at the hospital will be over. The medical insurance fee will increase higher. In the end, the medical fee will go up and you might pay several hundred thousand won for the medical insurance fee every month, disregarding your salary.
At present, the insurance scheme is 200 billion won in the red and therefore the government pursues the privatization. Wouldn’t it be natural to be in debt under the current situation that 30 billionaires pay several thousand won for the insurance fee? If high-incomers paid the appropriate fee, it wouldn’t be in so much debt.
Fortunately, I’m good enough to pay the expensive medical insurance fee in the U.S. But people who voted for Lee Myung Bak! You should pay several hundred thousand won for the insurance fee every month or put up with the sickness without the insurance. Or you can diligently look for hospitals that accept your national health insurance.
If you’re on the edge, you should blame yourself for voting for someone who regards the national health insurance not as welfare, but as industry.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Lusospheric Literature: Sabedoria de Improviso · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

Czarina writes in short, razor-sharp, words in her Sabedoria de Improviso [Makeshift Wisdom, PT] about what she may or may not have learned, and maybe about what she lived. She renders no explanations [PT] for those who need it.

author: Daniel Duende


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Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Fistful of Euros writes about Milo Djukanovic, prime minister of Montenegro: “By 1991 he was the youngest Prime Minister in Europe. By 1998 he had squeezed out various rivals to become the most powerful man in the country. Which he still is today.”


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Nepal: Identity and autonomy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas on the idea of the Madhesi identity and autonomy in Nepal.


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Pakistan: YouTube and the World · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pakistan's act of blocking access to YouTube may have had consequences far deeper than initially planned says iFaqeer.


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Paraguay: Yellow Fever Scare Causing Long Lines · Global Voices
Muna Annahas

Recently, cases of Yellow Fever have been confirmed in Paraguay, which has caused at least 8 confirmed deaths. This situation is generating a mass panic among the population, long waiting lines are observed in front of health institutions,  and people are waiting for long hours under the sun to get vaccinated.  However, not everybody is so lucky to get vaccinated since there are not enough vaccines left. Neighboring countries have donated vaccines but those weren't enough for everybody, fortunately 2 million vaccines arrived from France recently and country officials are expecting 400,000 more vaccines from the United Nations next week.
Here is what some bloggers are saying about the Yellow Fever scare in Paraguay:
Muna Annahas says that Paraguay has declared an emergency situation due this epidemic:
They are investigating the origin of the disease in the patients, the ministry is very concerned about the situation so the whole population. A few people have recently died in Paraguay of Yellow Fever. Paraguay has even declared emergency situation due this epidemic attack.
Guillermo Verdún of Paraguayo [es] is tells us that while people were waiting in line under the hot sun for hours, others were receiving vaccinations in exchange for commitments to vote for a particular candidate .
Mientras en el hospital materno-infantil de Limpio había cientos de personas haciendo fila bajo un sol abrasador (foto de la izquierda) para vacunarse contra la fiebre amarilla, a una cuadra de allí, en la casa del ex candidato a intendente Guido Gómez, donde funciona el PC de Blanca Ovelar en esa ciudad, había suficientes dosis para aquellos que se comprometían a votar por la candidata nicanorista. Se verificaban los nombres en una lista a la entrada y se anotaba a los beneficiarios en un cuaderno, según pudieron corroborar periodistas de este diario.
Meanwhile, in the maternal-infant hospital in Limpio, there were hundreds of people lining up under a baking sun in order to be vaccinated against yellow fever. A block away in the house of the ex-candidate Guido Gómez, where the headquarters of Blanca Ovelar operate, there were enough vacccines for those that committed to vote for the candidate of the ruling party. They verified the names on the list upon entering and registered them in a notebook, according to journalists that corroborated the story.
Rescatar [es] says that in middle of what already seems to be a mass psychosis  generated by the lack of trust of the authorities, it began to register acts of violence during the demand for vaccination.
Comenzaron a registrarse actos de violencia en demanda de vacunación y hay gente que acampa un día antes frente a los locales donde habrá inmunización. El verano está siendo particularmente riguroso con temperaturas –a la sombra- de 35º que bajo el sol superan los 40º y muchos deben soportar estoicamente hasta que la exposición a tan adversas condiciones acaba con su reserva de paciencia.
Acts of violence were beginning to be seen as a result of the demand for vaccinations.  There are people that camp out the day before, in front of the immunization sites.  The summer is experiencing particularly high temperatures – 35 degrees Celsius in the shade, and up to 40 degrees Celsius under the sun.  Many of them must stoically support these adverse conditions, where some people begin to lose their patience.
The blog also produced a video with photos of the long lines, vaccinations and a critical rebuke of the policies of the Paraguayan government qualifying it as “useless.”  The video is titled, “The Mosquito Bites the Political Inefficiency.”

author: Muna Annahas


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Peru: Stray Dogs in Iquitos · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Arellanos of Globalizado [es] introduces the organization called Amazon Care, which takes care of stray dogs and attempts to find new homes for them in Iquitos, Peru.


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Russia: Lev Ponomarev; Solovetskiy Stone · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam reports on an investigation launched against human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, who has been “accused of committing slander against the Russian Federation, and is currently being prevented from leaving the country.” Also, Amsterdam writes about the Solovetskiy Stone memorial and the authorities’ plans to remove it from Lubyanka Square.


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Russia, Ukraine: February 23 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow, Ukrainiana, and Windows to Russia! write about the Defender of the Fatherland Day (formerly known as the Soviet Army Day). Feb. 23 also happens to be president Victor Yushchenko's birthday, and, as Window on Eurasia points out, it is also the day on which Stalin’s deportation of the Chechens and Ingush began in 1944 – “an act of genocide in which more than half of those sent east lost their lives and one that lies behind many of the recent tragedies in that part of the world.”


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Russia, U.S.: The New York Times’ Russian LJ · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow provides a comprehensive review of the New York Times‘ Russian-language LJ community, a platform for a “translator-assisted online dialog” between Russian bloggers and the newspaper's regular readers and its Moscow bureau staff: “a very interesting and creative step, with the potential to realize the full interactive power of the internet.” James of Robert Amsterdam's blog also posts a note on the initiative.


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Serbia: Anglophone Bloggers on Belgrade Rally, Riots, Kosovo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Below is a selection of the English-language posts about last week's events in Serbia and Kosovo, which appeared on Feb. 21-23. For additional coverage, please visit Global Voices’ Serbia page.
Viktor Marković of Belgrade 2.0 summed up what happened in Belgrade on Thursday, Feb. 21, following the Kosovo is Serbia! rally:
Belgrade was pretty much devastated tonight. Well organized groups of hooligans trashed at least ten locations almost simultaniously – American and Croatian embassy were demolished the most, Turkish embassy stoned, two MacDonald’s restaurants trashed completely again, couple of ambulance cars got smashed for some reaseon, together with several other cars, several shops in Terazije smashed and robbed, several shops in Knez Mihajlova, particularly those that did not have the sign “Kosovo is Serbia” in their windows and one bank in Resavska street. And there were attempts to trash the buildings of B92 and Mercator on New Belgrade side.
Around one hundred injured and one dead, burned alive in American embassy. […]
He blamed the government for failing to prevent the chaos:
[…] Riots that happened tonight were directly provoked, encouraged and fueled by the government. The government also did almost nothing to stop this obvious madness from happening – on the contrary. In comparison to an average number of policemen we had on protests during Milosevic regime, you could practically say that the streets of Belgrade were policeless today. […]
Viktor's co-blogger bganon shared a firsthand account of the riots in the comments section, and noted, too, that the police could have done a better job:
[…] The conclusion is that this could have been prevented, without any question – that the police were deliberately moved out of harms way. On top of this senior police officers (upon instruction from their ministry) had deliberately left their policemen unprotected by not calling in reserves. Riot police were hugely outnumbered and could have quite easily been overwhelmed. We pitied the police, which in Serbia, is not a natural instinct, after all in the 1990’s the police had a habit of beating the living daylights out of protesting students. (who did not indulge in crime) They were under strict orders this time. […]
He concluded:
Its a pity that this is the main story and its not a story of a legitimate, dignified and well organised protest.
In another post, Viktor drew attention to a virtual protest by seven Serbian bloggers, who had placed a “picture of darkness on their blogs.” Here is how Viktor explained some of their possible motivations to a reader and fellow-blogger who questioned the validity of this approach to blogging:
[…] Some have it because they are afraid of another war, some because they are simply sick of it all, some cause they are tired, and some maybe even because they are sorry for Kosovo loss. […]
Nicholas Comrie wrote on his B92 blog that the Feb. 21 rioting in Belgrade has “succeeded in setting Serbia back five years”:
[…] After all the progress that Serbia has achieved over the last ten years to move towards the international club of nations, one night of state ‘green-lighted’ violence has recreated what should have now been, tired, negative stereotypes of Serbs. After all the positivity created by the likes of Djokovic, Ivanovic and Serifovic, Serbs are once more at the centre of violence which has been internationally reported and condemned. […]
Another B92 blogger, Rosemary Bailey Brown, wrote about a “completely one-sided and simple-minded” Washington Post piece (Serbia's Thugs, Feb. 22) – and called to “Serbs or Friends of Serbs” to become more outspoken in order to counter the negative publicity that the country and its people were getting:
[…] My question is, why are almost no Serbs or Friends of Serbs posting comments or editorial replies on the vast majority of these stories???  Almost all the major US, UK and Canadian press now allow online readers to post comments.  You may have to register to do so, but it's free.  It's your chance to fight a the PR battle, and no one on the Serb side seems to be taking advantage of it – AT ALL!  It's like an entire nation is laying down and saying, “Oh poor me, what nasty things they are saying about me again, I am far too victimized to defend myself at the moment.”
A word of advice – if you do decide to fight the good fight and bring the other side (or at least more relevant information) to these media, then to be taken as a credible writer, you must write in a manner that Western readers find, well, credible.
That means no polemics.  No emotion.  No long rants.  Calm-sounding facts and a few bullet points poking a hole in the editorial's argument will be 1,000 times more powerful.  You are not a poor victim, you are an intellectual politely explaining facts and background to a not-so-bright student. […]
Three bloggers – Eric Gordy of East Ethnia, Jasmina Tesanovic at Boing Boing, and Marko of Reluctant Dragon – concluded their posts noting that a state of emergency was not unlikely.
Gordy wrote:
[…] My fear was that perhaps a decision had been made to allow a public outrage that would provide a pretext for declaring a state of emergency. […]
Tesanovic wrote:
[…] The country may be on the verge of a state of emergency.
Marko wrote:
[…] I am afraid of what this crystal night will bring. I am afraid for the lives of people who are still voices of reason. I expect that the aforementioned villains will use the chaos to introduce a state of emergency and take control officially as a government of “national unity”. This is the end.
Writing about the issue of international recognition of Kosovo, Kosmopolit offered this scenario:
And finally the idea of partition: diplomatically this could become a solution in a few years. The deal could be: Serbia takes control over the north of Kosovo, in return it recognises Kosovo as a state (which also means Russia drops the veto in the UN). At the same time the EU could offer Serbia some sort of fast track EU membership (again).
Gray Falcon wrote this about the rioting in Belgrade and the subsequent statement by the State Department's spokesman Sean McCormack:
[…] Neither the U.S. nor the EU are interested in “political dialogue”; they demonstrated that by organizing and recognizing the secession of occupied Kosovo. “Differences”? Is that how we're calling it now? Well, Mr. McCormack, I have a feeling that the angry young men who threw a Molotov cocktail at your embassy thought they were engaging in political dialogue over their differences and disagreements with the U.S. government, in a fashion that very government taught them was the right and proper way of doing things. I mean, when Washington has differences and disagreements with people, there's usually blockade, bombing and occupation in those people's near future. […]
Luboš Motl of The Reference Frame wrote at length about the volatile history of the Balkan region and explained why certain people in the West should think twice before giving their governments the authority to recognize Kosovo's independence:
[…] But is it really necessary for them to try to influence things that they obviously cannot understand? Shouldn't the citizens of those Western countries that want to recognize the Kosovo Republic admit that they have problems to remember the location of the countries that exist today and the situation only becomes worse when new countries are created? […]
Ruslanas of Lituanica reported on the sighting of a “Kosovo is Serbia” banner at a recent Lietuvos Rytas basketball club's game in Vilnius:
[…] We have one or two ex-Yugoslav basketball players here and our Lietuvos Rytas team is trained by a Serb Trifunovic. As we know the sports could be very political. A great manifestation of that was a match in Vilnius when some of the Lietuvos Rytas’ supporters raised a banner with a slogan ‘Kosovo is Serbia!’ The Serbian coach refused to comment on it.
I am not convinced that the supports thought about the politics, more likely they thought about a moral support for their coach. Same as the Kaunas’ Žalgiris suporters raised the Palestinian flag during a game with the Tel Aviv Maccabi team. I am quite convinced that when the Lietuvos Rytas will change the coach to not a Serbian, we will see the Kosovo flags flying during a match against a Serbian team. The Lithuanian sports fans are notorious of their Political Incorrectness. […]
In the comments section to this post at A Fistful of Euros, a reader named Geoff reported that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was “now considering moving the Eurovision song contest to another country”:
[…] I know that may seem like a very minor point considering everything that’s gone on, but if this is true then Serbia could well lose what should have been a golden opportunity to present a positive image of themselves to the rest of Europe.
South East Europe Online reported that “Kosovo has been added to the list of independent countries on the U.S.. Department of State website, and assigned the KV code, by which countries are identified.”
***
Two “bonus” links, from earlier dates.
-  Dr Sean's Diary wrote this about Kosovo's new flag:
The new state in the making/EU protectorate of Kosova/o has a new flag […], selected through a competition, but designed to have no associations with any ethnic group or historical tradition. It comes out a rather anodyne blue and yellow creation with a star design vaguely resembling that of the EU. Very similar colour scheme and design to that adopted, for similar reasons, by Bosnia-Herzegovina (below)and, I suspect, likely to be no more successful in bridging ethnic divisions.
Also noted in the post were the EU's new member states’ positions on Kosovo's independence:
[…] Romania and Slovakia are firmly against (large Hungarian minorities), those without national minorities and eager to stress their Atlanticism (Poland) are edging towards recognition, while near neighbours and EU President Slovenia seems to have a position of studied neutrality/indecision expressing understanding for just about everyone’s point of view. […]
- Corina Murafa, a Romanian blogger, summed up Romania's position on the situation in Kosovo and Serbia:
Kosovo has never really been on the public agenda in Romania, except for today. In addition to this, Romania’s foreign policy has been everything but coherent with respect to Kosovo and to the former Yugoslavia in general. Starting from “oh Serbia… our old friend and ally” to “oh NATO… welcome us in your bossom” years ago, today’s Romania is torn between siding with the EU […] and disapproving Kosovo’s recent declaration of independence. It might be a proof of the fact we’re still elegantly swinging back and forth between the West and rest. […]


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Slovenia: RIP Janez Drnovšek · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Slovenia mourned former president Janez Drnovšek today; Sleeping with Pengovsky and Dr. Filomena paid tribute to the man who “has influenced Yugoslav and Slovenian politics profoundly, giving a stellar performance in a relatively short period of time.”


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Taiwan: Photo Talks · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new website called veryXD is becoming very popular in Taiwan. Visitors are encourage to write caption for the photos and share with others.


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Tajikistan: Energy Crisis Is Not Enough to Lose Patience · Global Voices
Vadim Sadonshoev

The continuing energy crisis is, probably, the worst problem that Tajikistan ever faced since the end of civil war. Neweurasia  reports that most of the population is barely surviving this winter – the harshest in several decades – against the background of constant blackouts. The situation is even more desperate as electricity is the only source of heating throughout the whole country.
“Currently, most of the population in rural areas is supplied with electricity only 1,5 hour a day. In Dushanbe, the population is having electricity from 5 to 10 o'clock in the morning and then from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Beyond these time limits, people have no electricity and, therefore, no heating, no chance to cook etc. Most of the enterprises have been closed down and employees were forced to go on unscheduled and unpaid leave”, neweurasia reports..
Ravshan blames the government for poor management in the energy sector and absurd human resource management [ru]. Meanwhile, the introduced schedule of harsh electricity cut-offs is not fairly observed even in Dushanbe:
According to the schedule, the population should have electricity ten hours a day, but very they often turn on the electricity one hour later and cut it off one hour earlier. Basically, people have only 8 hours of access to electricity a day… They say nothing about the fact that the Minister of Energy and Industry graduated from the agricultural university and has no idea on how to manage the energy sector. Moreover, he never worked in this sphere. They also don't tell us that in emergency situation the electricity is being sold out to other countries. They simply say nothing about the most important things…
Ian at Beyond the river links wonders whether or not the general population should lose its patience with the leadership, like this anonymous lawyer from the Eurasianet's report has:
“We have double standards in our society. We see a number of new construction sites in Dushanbe, five-star hotels … And we see fancy cars and homes in the city. Everybody knows who these things belong to. These ‘masters of life’ control the economy, but they are deaf to the people’s cries. In the spring we will be facing another serious threat – dirty water from taps. And somebody will be appealing again for international assistance. It happens time and again.”
Indeed, the Tajikistan's authorities officially admitted their inability to cope with the energy crisis by appealing to international community for aid. Our leadership is certainly not the best one but – ironically – we'll always be looking back at our southern neighbor, Afghanistan, not wanting to repeat its fate. This is the behavioral model of many post-Soviet nations – “the fear of the worse” blocks protest potential and the notion of stability is being used to cover stagnation. Apparently, the population will not lose its patience for a long time, as it still remembers the war very well. But once it loses patience, there is a high possibility that Tajikistan can repeat the fate of Afghanistan, which is the least desired for everybody.

author: Vadim Sadonshoev


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Tajikistan: Unrest in Garm, Authorities vs. Opposition · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ian follow-ups on the story of the firefight between ex-opposition members and the Tajik special forces. The government’s version claims the riot police was visiting the town of Garm for a conference and was attacked by the criminals, while another side of the conflict, insists that police attacked an opposition guerrilla leader in the 1992-97 civil war.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua: T&T Wins 20/20 Cricket · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Discover TnT Blog reports that “the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket team…last night captured the Stanford 20/20 Cricket Tournament in Antigua.”


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Turkmenistan: Either Gas or Human Rights · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula writes about the European Parliament’s rejection of the trade agreement with Turkmenistan, concluding that if the West wants to buy Turkmen gas then it cannot exert pressure on Ashgabat for improved human rights.


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Turkmenistan: TV Appearance with Consequences · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

CXW reports that a cockroach’s five minutes of fame led to the sacking of 30 people from Turkmen State Television and raises questions about the future of TV in the country.


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Ukraine: Baba Paraska · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana writes about Baba Paraska, “an elderly activist easily recognized as the icon of the Orange Revolution,” and her birthday wishes to president Yushchenko.


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Ukraine: More Sketches by Olechko · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lots of new work by Olechko, including this sketch of “devoushkas at a cafe.”


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Ukraine, Russia: “An Octopus of Cash and Gas Flows” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana sums up the results of Yulia Tymoshenko's recent visit to Moscow: “It’s still unclear when and to what extent the current matryoshka system will be redesigned in favor of a more transparent one. The system Ukraine has today — an octopus of cash and gas flows — hinders energy efficiency, destroys the public good, and operates as an incubator for overnight fortunes.”


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Ukraine: Yanukovych’s Real Estate · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana translates and comments on Victor Yanukovych's controversial statements about the state-owned real estate he is allegedly attempting to privatize at “at a discount price.”


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Uruguay: Public Smoking Ban, One Year Later · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

It has been two years since the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces in Uruguay, and Federico Bertolini of Rincón del Berto [es] writes about some of the conclusions.  In the 3,040 inspections, there have only been 70 fines.


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Uzbekistan: Controversy over Prime Minister · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Libertad writes about the divergence of information in online media concerning the status of prime minister of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirzieyev.


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Vietnam: Virtual Worlds for Business  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Saigon Nezumi points to a press release from the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam where they are trying to network Spanish and Vietnamese businessmen using a virtual world platform.

author: Preetam Rai


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What does make them come to Campus Party? · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

Donizete Soares from Sentimentos e Pensamentos [Feelings and Toughts, PT] asked some campuseros at Campus Party Brasil 2008 [PT] about their motivations to leave behind their diary lives and flock to meetings like the one held in São Paulo two weeks ago — and released the full audio of these interviews (in portuguese).


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Africa: African History in Europe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bill writes about an online initiative on African History in Europe: “For the past 3 weeks a small group of blog authors and friends living in various parts of Europe (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and the UK) have been quietly organizing an online workgroup for collaboration on themes in black and African History in Europe. At present our group consists of seven people and we are working together on the composition and publishing of essays, commentaries on books and book reviews and academic studies, and sharing our research sources with readers in an attempt to help raise interest and global awareness about this important but long neglected field of study.”


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Africa: AfricanLoft Update · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Grandiose Parlor talks about recent updates on AfricanLoft: “AfricanLoft is ever committed to ensuring that only the best is good enough for our readers and contributors. In addition to the Main Homepage which has been redesigned to ensure easier navigation and better presentation of contents, we’re pleased to announce the following updates in the Community pages…”