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China: Crisis on “Made in China” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The anger on the poisonous milk powder incident continues to roar everyday. Apart from Sanlu (三鹿）, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China（國家質檢總局） released last night (Sept 16) that one fifth of baby powder manufacturers in the country are involved in the melamine scandal. 22 dairy enterprises, including national brands like Yili (伊利）and Meng Niu（蒙牛）are involved in manufacturing poisonous milk powder. Up till now, at least  6,244 babies got sick with kidney stone disease.
Following I-fan and Bob Chen's posts, here is another update on the public sentiment in China.
Don't buy “Made in China”
William long is outraged by the Internet censorship practice in this crisis and urged: if you really love this country, please don't buy “Made in China”
今天我博客上讨论的关于某某奶粉事件的文章被上面的人要求删除了，我感觉这个企业的公关能力真的很不错，在中国，最佳的企业公关不就是这样吗？把企业的利益和政府的利益捆绑在一起，以政府的行政力量来为企业公关，将网络和舆论上所有不利于自己的信息都删除，这是何等的舆论优势啊。这样，所有不明真相的人们可以继续喝你们制造的奶粉，在不知不觉中走进坟墓了。
Today, I was requested to delete a blog post about the Sanlu milk powder incident. The public relation capacity of this company is really strong, isn't that a model of China best enterprise? To tie the interest of the company with the interest of the government and use the government's administrative power to do the company's PR and delete all the information and opinions that are against the company's interest. Sure they are in a powerful position. Then all those people who don't know the truth will still by your milk powder and walk into the grave.
The blogger then comments ironically:
中国最大的问题就是人太多，特别是有知识、有思想的人太多，如果这些人都死掉的话，中国就没有任何问题了。
The greatest problem in China is that we have too many people who have knowledge and independent thought, if all these people are dead, we don't have anymore problem.
听说这个企业还曾经要花300万去公关百度等门户网站，看来真是小看了它，其实只要花一半的钱去政府进行公关就足够了。
There is hearsay there the enterprise spent 3 million yuans in search engine, it seems that we have underestimated its power, they only need to spend half the amount to push the government's PR machine.
如果你真的爱国，请一定记住，不要购买中国制造的任何产品。
If you are a genuinely patriot, please remember, don't buy any “made in China” product!
Shen Yizhe agrees that for the sake of our future generation, we should be critical of our national products:
再这么下去，海洛因、冰毒的制贩都快失业了，而国家的中长期禁毒斗争将转移到食品加工业。看着新西兰总理用一副不可思议的表情讲述着河北省地方政府试图掩盖毒奶粉事件，并拖延召回三鹿产品后，这时候日本人一定会想起毒饺子，这个到现在都没有结论的无头公案，和毒奶粉同样出自河北。此时，是不是该换日本人抵制中国货了？用韩寒的话说，抵制日货是因为日本人伤害了我们的感情，而支持国货的下场是我们的下一代付出了健康和生命的代价。孰重孰轻，一看便知。
If the situation goes on like this, real drug dealers would probably lose their job and the nation's anti-drug campaign would move to the food industry. When the New Zealand Prime Minister commented on the Hebei province government's intension to cover up the poisonous milk power issue and delay the recall of Sanlu product, his facial expression told us that he felt the whole thing incredible and ridiculous. We must have reminded the Japanese about the poisonous dumpling incident, which the truth hasn't been revealed yet. Both the dumpling and the milk powder come from Hebei province, I guess it is now the Japanese's turn to boycott China product. Using what twocold's expression, “boycotting Japanese product is an expression of our feeling, but the price for supporting our national products is our next generation's health and life.” So which one weights more?
Instead of advocating boycott, Wang Xiaofeng educates the consumers in China by doing some simple mathematics:
其实大家可以好好算算这道算术题，当某一种食品在自然界中的产量很少，但是市场上数量又很多，你可就要小心了，如果不掺假，那是不可能的。尤其是打着“绿色食品”“无公害食品”“有机食品”幌子的，您尽量别碰。牛奶里面无牛奶，果汁里面无果汁……有一天我在超市里看到Tang果珍，配方里的东西跟水果居然无关。你算算吧，橙子的产量是有限的，哪有那么多果肉工人挥霍。我去超市买东西，很多时候耽误在研究包装纸上的配料表上了，很多东西我看着就难受，能不买基本上不买。
Please do the mathematics carefully, when the food is a scarce product in the natural world, but we have abundant of it in the market, you need to be careful. It is rather impossible that they do not add extra substances inside. Don't touch the products which stress “green” or “organic”. There is no real milk in milk, not real fruit in the fruit juice… I once spotted a Tang fruit product, and there isn't any fruit in the ingredient. Please do the calculation. We have very limited oranges in the country, where can we get so many fruit for the mass food industry? When i shop in the supermarket, most of the time i spent is on the ingredient table. I feel very bad and will try to avoid buying these products.
Covering up
Comes Violet（紫罗兰奔你来）got some internal information from Yili's milk station in Inner Mongolia asking the workers in the station to remove all kinds of chemicals such as Hydrogen peroxide and melamine, and destroy all the milk products that contain starch and other chemicals.
The writer urges reporters from all over the country and overseas to go to Inner Mongolia for uncovering the story:
内蒙古的奶站加三聚氰胺是向山西省的奶农们学习的，经验是从山西传过来的，这些东西奶农们都知道，他们说，山西的奶牛根本在品质方面就不是奶牛，但是那里的奶却合格，而内蒙古本地的奶就不合格，最后发现山西那边的奶站就是加了三聚氰胺才合格的，所以现在往奶里掺三聚氰胺，淀粉，双氧水是一个公开的秘密。
The practice of adding melamine comes from Shanxi. Their milk's quality is not as good as inner Mongolia, but milk powder coming from Inner Mongolia could not pass the protein standard. On the other hand, because of melamine, Shanxi's milk managed to pass the test. That's why it is an open secret for the milk station to add melamine, starch and Hydrogen peroxide.
现在主要是没有中央媒体的记者来采访，实际上问一下当地的老百姓，就能找到奶站和奶农，他们就和我说的一致，可惜我当时没有录音，因为我不是记者。
Now the main problem is that we don't have reporters here to interview milk farmers, what they said will be consistence with my information. Unfortunately, I am not a reporter and I haven't recorded the details.
How about Olympic milk product?
Twocold （韓寒）notices the mainstream news reports stressed that milk products for the Olympics are not contaminated:
通过这次事件，我终于认识到，我们真是一个礼仪之邦。你看小日本，把好的留给自己国家，稍差一点的出口。而我们始终是有骨气的国家，就要和小日本反着来，这才是反日。
I finally realize from this incident that our country is really full of courtesy. Look at Japan, they leave their citizens the best product and export the secondary ones overseas. For our country, we are doing the opposite thing. This is really “anti-Japan”.
However, Nickwong doubts whether the Olympic milk products are really safe:
1、如果国家承认奥运会使用或出口奶制品含有三聚氰胺，则将有引发国际丑闻和外交事故的危机，所以即使有，政府也不敢承认，反正都已被人吃掉或扔掉了。（希望能有国外的有心人查过尚未正式闭幕的残奥会）；2、但如果照国家和三鹿的说法，牛奶掺毒仅是不法奶农所为（警方很快抓获疑凶，办其他案也不见这么快过），连三鹿公司1100多项先进的检测程序都没法检验出来，何以肯定奥运会使用的伊利奶制品不含三聚氰胺？
1. If the government admitted that Olympics and export milk products contain melamine, it would become an international scandal and crisis. I don't think they dare to admit that. In any case, the products have been consumed. (I hope that someone could double check the Paralympic Game's milk product). 2. According to Sanlu and the government's explanation, the melamine was added by milk farmers (the police act on that extremely effectively) and escaped the 1,100 quality tests by Sanlu, how can they be so sure that Yili's products at the Olympics do not contain melamine?
The blogger also notices that back in 2007, a milk station manager complains that since 2005 the industry has started adding extra substances in the milk, including some sort of protein powder and fat powder. But his complaint was neglected by Yili.
Who is to wipe the ass?
Heibei government tried to pacify the anger by taking up the medical cost of the sick babies. However, Caodan wonders why Hebei government has to wipe the ass for Sanlu in the incident:
实在是太操蛋了，虽然看起来它是一个非常有爱心的举动。但为什么这份钱由政府来出？政府哪来的钱？还不是纳税人的？但为什么人家纳了这个税，要去让政府帮三鹿擦这个屁股？还是说，政府在给自己擦屁股？但河北政府又说，河北政府在三鹿集团里没有股份。
那么，这是一家企业因自己的产品不合格而导致其消费者受害，理应由他自己来赔偿。而且它还是个营业额高达70亿之多的企业 ，为什么会把这笔帐算在河北政府，即河北纳税人头上？这实在是太令人费解了。
This is f__king ridiculous, it looks as if the government is showing its care for the people. But why should the cost be taking up by the government? Where does the government money come from? Isn't it from all the tax payers? Why let our government to wipe Sanlu's ass with our money? Or the government is actually wiping its own ass? But the Hebei government claimed that they didn't hold any Sanlu's stock.
This enterprise hurts their consumers with its own product, they should pay the compensation. Moreover, its turnover has reached 7 billion yuans, why should Hebei government / tax payer bear the consequence? This is unbelievable!
According to the latest news, several party leaders in the Hebei province have stepped down because of their involvement in the Sanlu milk powder scandal.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Economic Reforms?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The current President did not propose a program, he did not commit himself before his voters, and that means he is not accountable to us.  The much needed measures can take one year or five years because he will not lose his post”: As some Cubans anticipate the implementation of “long-awaited economic reforms”, Yoani Sanchez takes her place “on the picket line with the skeptics”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Environment: Powering our way to Extinction · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Rory of Carbon Copy considers the decline in biodiversity and includes thoughts on the role of humans as animals within the ecosystem.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Estonia: Impressions of Haapsalu · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Itching for Eestimaa tells a story about his impressions of Haapsalu – a town unscathed by the passing of time.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Estonia: Russians calling for autonomy · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eternal Remont comments on a story in Vesti Dnya, reporting the birth of an organisation calling for territorial autonomy of ehtnic Russians in Estonia.


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Five Minutes to Midnight: Let the Youth Be Heard · Global Voices
Leonard Chien

Since June 2003, Five Minutes to Midnight (FMM), a non-profit organization, has been trying to give youth a voice on human rights and international issues, especially in developing countries. The name of this organization derives from the Doomsday Clock idea invented during the Cold War. To empower the youth, FMM has published magazines, held workshops and collaborated with interested organizations around the world. After five years, FMM already has distinctive accomplishments. Its workshops in Kibera, Kenya in 2007, for example, later became a photo book, Kibera. All pictures included are from workshop participants. Global Voices has the chance to talk to Wojciech Gryc, FMM founder and director, about its past, future and views towards online tools.
What inspires you to create FMM?
In October 2002, my sister was struck by a car and passed away a few hours following the accident. Prior to her death, I wasn't very active in politics or human rights issues, but the shock of losing someone so close really made me understand the value of a person's life. A few months later, The War in Iraq started. I didn't support the war, and with the recent passing of my sister, I realized many families were about to experience similar losses. After a great deal of self-reflection and questioning, I decided to start speaking out about the war and related human rights issues. A blog called “Five Minutes to Midnight” was born a few weeks later, and this eventually evolved into the non-profit organization.
These events still inspire me today. Questioning and sharing information is extremely important, and technology plays a key role in this. It is by asking questions and debating with each other that we, as a society, can grow and become more equitable. Knowing that FMM contributes to this process is a wonderful inspiration.
The vision of FMM is “to create a place for youth to share their view and opinions on human rights and international issues.” How do you reach and collect them? Do you use any online tools?
FMM started as an online magazine, which we published monthly until January 2008. We collected young people's views and ideas through e-mail — people would write articles and send them to us. We built our own basic system for managing articles.
Over the last few years, we began running workshops with our partner organizations, mainly in developing nations. We use free and open source software and refurbished computers to organize extremely low-cost journalism projects which could then be run by young people or small organizations. We don't republish these articles, and simply act as a facilitator for starting community-based media projects.
What are the obstacles to youth around the world to stop them from sharing their views?
I'd say the biggest obstacles for young people today are tokenism and a lack of awareness. The technology for sharing your views is freely available, and sites like Global Voices are perfect examples of this. Many institutions today admit that a massive youth demographic exists and do their best to “engage” youth. Young people's opinions are regularly collected and synthesized into reports, but little is done thereafter. It is important that aside from sharing their views, young people take a stand on issues and hold governments, institutions, and corporations responsible for their actions and promises.
However, this problem isn't solely a result of tokenism on behalf of major institutions. Young people need to become more informed about the issues they care about — whether these are political, scientific, or otherwise. Youth should not only get involved in taking a stand on such issues, but should also do the research and conduct debates that help them make up their minds.
After five years, FMM has a website, has held numerous workshops, had published monthly magazines and a photo book. What's your next step?
We're always looking for new projects and ideas. One of FMM's strengths is that we are very much driven by our partners — aside from promoting low-cost technologies and free expression, we do not have a political agenda, and are happy to work wherever our expertise is needed. We're very much focused on building new partnerships in addition to the connections we've already built in countries like Chad, Kenya, and Nepal.
In addition to continuing our workshops, we're becoming much more rigorous in our analysis, research, and evaluation. We've already written one research paper and will be presenting it at a conference on intercultural collaboration in 2009, and we hope to continue contributing both to grassroots communities and organizations while also documenting our work. I think a lot of institutions and governments can learn from the type of work FMM and similar organizations do.
Blogs, Flickr and other online media are getting more and more popular among youth worldwide. Have you used any to reach more audience?
Yes, we've been very active in blogging — both in setting up our own blogs and helping our volunteers and partner organizations run their own online content systems independently. Through web-based services like Blogger.com and software packages like WordPress, it's very easy to help people start their own basic media projects. This has facilitated our work immensely.
FMM also runs a project called “Article 13 Initiative“? What is it?
The Article 13 Initiative is the name for our international workshops. It's based on Article 13.1 from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states: “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child's choice.”
We believe every young person has the right to express themselves, and do our best to enable this through low-cost technologies, in-person workshops, and the Internet.
How can people get involved in FMM? What kind and form of participation do you need? If we want to contribute, what should we send to you (words, photos, videos)?
We accept any and all interested people as volunteers. One of my main philosophies about volunteering is that it is a learning opportunity — I started FMM without knowing much about non-profit organizations, and it was the best way to learn about politics, the non-profit sector, and international development. I'm happy to work with people who are interested in learning a new skill or who want to visit a new place. If you do want to volunteer, please e-mail me at wojciech@fiveminutestomidnight.org
In terms of what we look for, we are in need of writers and researchers. We do a lot of proposal writing and try to research countries and partner organizations as much as possible. Also, if you have a technical background — in web design, open source software, or even fixing computers — we'd love to have you.
We're a dispersed organization and are very comfortable working with people from any part of the world, as long as we can get in touch with them by phone, e-mail, or in person.

author: Leonard Chien


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Guyana: Criminal Inquiry?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the opposition party calls for an inquiry into the deaths of two suspected mass murderers, Living Guyana says: “We disagree. No one can deny that the deaths of Fineman and Skinny have put a serious dent in crime and have gone a far way at dismantling a well established criminal network which existed in this country.  With the two notorious bandits dead hundreds of thousands are sleeping better at nights. There is no question about that.”


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India: Mobile phones help flood victims · Global Voices
Rezwan

MobileActive.org reports how mobile phones are saving lives of the flood victims in Bihar providing 24 hour connectivity to the rescuers and the marooned people.

author: Rezwan


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Indonesia’s anti-porn law · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Yalun blogs about the negative impact of Indonesia's anti-porn law.

author: Mong Palatino


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Jamaica: Mining Woes · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeng News Magazine reports that communities along Jamaica's North Coast are concerned about plans for bauxite mining and the construction of an alumina plant in the parish of St. Ann: “Some residents complained that negotiations were proceeding without consultation with the people who would be affected by the proposed mining scheme.”


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Jamaica, U.S.A.: Poor Sportsmanship  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I think he forgot (that in) 2003 he failed several drug tests that questioned the validity of his achievements. Sometimes folks think what you are doing is what they are doing”: A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah is not impressed by former US sprinter Carl Lewis’ insinuations about Jamaican Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt.


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Japan: Hilarious Google translations · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger Cozy Ozy picks up a few simple sentences and compares English-to-Japanese machine translations [ja] from Google Translate, Yahoo, Excite and Korya Eiwa 2009. While translations by other services are understandable, Google Translate produces bizarre results: “We played baseball” becomes “This is our baseball” (私たちの野球です), “Lucy has no friends to play with” becomes “Lucy plays with friends that do not exist” (ルーシーはない友人と遊ぶ), and best of all, “There's an American girl who wants to see you” becomes something like “I think I'd like to see the current American girl ‘who'” (現在のアメリカ人少女whoを見たいと思ってね).

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Respect for the Aged Day · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Martin J Frid from Kurashi blogs about local NGOs’ attempt in encouraging more senior citizens in Japan to tackle environmental problems in “Respect for the Aged Day”.


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Jordan: Killing Firefox · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Jordanian blogger Qwaider writes of his prediction that Chrome will eventually outdo Firefox in the browser wars.

author: Jillian C. York


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Maldives: Election concerns · Global Voices
Rezwan

Free & Fair Election in the Maldives blog raises some valid questions and concerns about the requirements of ID to vote.


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Mexico: Explosions in Morelia During Independence Day Celebrations · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Two hand grenades were tossed into a crowd in the city of Morelia, Mexico during independence day celebrations.  Eight people were killed, and more than 100 were injured.  Authorities are blaming the attack on drug cartels, who have been responsible for brutal killings throughout the country.  This concern also led to a recent protest march that attracted thousands.  Mexican bloggers are mourning this latest tragedy [es] and are calling on the government to act.
Mexablog [es] writes about the feeling of helplessness and anger at such a brutal attack:
Esto es a todas luces una cobardía sin precedentes, esto ya debe de ser la gota que derramó el vaso y si gobierno federal no hace algo al respecto se confirmará todo lo dicho hasta ahora, que narco y gobierno trabajan juntos.
Imágenes crudas muestran a personas muertas y heridas que pasaron de momentos de alegría a momentos de dolor, angustia y terror, un terror nunca conocido hasta ahora y de seguir adelante no se a donde vayamos a parar.
This points to being an unprecedented cowardice, this should be the drop that overflows the glass and if the federal government does not do something about it, then it would confirm what has been said up to know, that the narcotraffickers and the government is working together.
Crude images show those killed and injured who went from moments of enjoyment to moments of pain, anguish and terror, a terror that has not been known until now and from here one doesn't know where we will stop.
Enrique V. of Tinta y Pixeles [es] reminds his readers that those who were killed and injured were not directly involved in the ongoing conflict between organized crime and the authorities:
…y quienes fueron las víctimas? no fueron grandes empresarios, y tampoco gente relacionada con el estado mexicano, fue un ataque contra la gente común, contra el ciudadano promedio, el que sale en la noche con su familia a pasarla bien un rato, en fin a los menos culpables de la terrible situación por la que atraviesa este país.
..and who were the victims?  They were not big businessmen, or people part of the Mexican state, it was an attack against ordinary people, against the average citizen, those that go out at night with their family to have a good time, in the end, those who are the least guilty in the terrible situation that the country is going through.
Morelia is the hometown of current Mexican president Felipe Calderon, and some are wondering whether the attack was a message to him.  However, the Mex Files [es] speculates, “Calderon was nowhere near Morelia, and — if the attack had a political angle, it was more likely an attack on Godoy and his administration than on Calderon.”
Regardless of who is at fault for this horrendous crime, the blogger at Monorama [es] summarizes many people's thoughts, “This is very scary.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Moroccan Bloggers Strike for Erraji · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

When Moroccan blogger Mohammed Erraji was arrested last week, the blogoma's thoughts turned immediately to the case of Fouad Mourtada, the young man arrested earlier this year for impersonating Prince Moulay Rachid on Facebook.  And just as they did when Mourtada faced imprisonment, Moroccan bloggers mobilized to support Erraji.
Taking a cue from DigiActive, bloggers from all over the world sent photo messages:
Others joined the strike initialized by blogger Larbi via e-mail (his message is posted in French and English on my own blog).
A Moro in America, a Moroccan who lives in the States, made the following announcement:
I am joining Moroccan bloggers in their 24 hour strike in support for Mohamed Erraji.
While Reb, an American studying the Moroccan blogosphere, also announced she would go on strike:
On September 15, this blog will be on strike to express solidarity with the efforts to acquit Mohamed Erraji. To learn more follow this link: http://soutienerraji.blogspot.com/
Myrtus too took part, writing:
I believe he's entitled to his freedom of expression and we're all entitled to either agree or disagree with him…..or even ingnore him entirely if the Moroccan authorities had not robbed him of his freedom.
Moroccan blogger and author Laila Lalami, meanwhile, was shocked at the way some commentators online excused the Government for arrested and trying Mohammed Erraji – while blaming the victim. She explained:
I have been reading comments on a few Moroccan blogs about the Mohammed Erraji affair, and while the majority of people support Erraji's right to free expression, I have to say I'm appalled at the way in which some of the commenters excuse the government and blame the victim. The angry responses range from attacks on the blogger for breaking the law (by, apparently, expressing his opinion) to attacks on his website for being trashy (it's true it's a tabloid, but if you want to read lies and omissions any day of the week, you could do no worse than the government rag).  It's disheartening.
Numerous other bloggers participated in the strike.  Among them:
Miss Archi [fr]
Lady Zee [fr]
Omar El Hyani [fr]
Passion Technologeek [fr]
Ibn Kafka [fr]


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Morocco: Training Online Journalists · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The View from Fez [en/fr] notes that Morocco will soon provide online journalism training for its print journalists.  The trainings are supported by the U.S. Embassy and financed by the “Partnership Initiative with the Middle East” (MEPI).  Moroccan blogger and journalist Rachid Jankari will lead the trainings.


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Nigeria: Another beast in power · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Who is “another beast in power” in Nigeria?: “It’s so sad that under a useless arrangement called democracy, the leadership of Yar Adua will shut down a media house.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: Arabian GSM lands in Nigeria · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A new investor enters GSM market in Nigeria: “The poor network service infested Nigerian GSM market has a new kid on the block. Estisalat the new kid in the exploitative GSM market is headed by Keem Bello-Osagie, former MD of United Bank for Africa (UBA).”


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Nigeria: House of Rainbow Takes a Brave Stance · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari writes about the House of Rainbow, the church for LGBTI people in Nigeria: “Rev Jide Macaulay who founded the Rainbow Church (part of the Metropolitan Community Church network) has taken a brave step in opening up the church amidst the rampant homophobia in a country where religion is all pervasive.”


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Pakistan: Open fire on intruders · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ymasood hails Pakistan army's order to ‘open fire‘ on intruding US warplanes raiding in Pakistan territory and comments “I can bet today that ex-General ex-President Musharraf wouldn’t have done (it)…“.


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Peru: Bloggers Provide Thoughts on Conflict in Neighboring Bolivia · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Peruvian bloggers provide their thoughts on the recent unrest in neighboring Bolivia. Juan Arellano of Globalizado rounds up the analysis.


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Poland: Poles return home from Britain · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Polandian discusses how and why a growing number of Poles choose to return home from Britain to Poland.


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Russia: BP gets off scots free? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Steve LeVine of The Oil and The Glory comments on the apparent reasons why BP seems to have reached an agreement on its Russian assets in TNK-BP.


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Russia: Merger of opposition parties · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Osteuropablog discusses [GER] a story in Rosbalt on plans among Russian opposition parties to merge into a single party.


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Russia: Where did the votes go? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Osteuropablog accounts for [GER] an article in Kommersant, stating that information about election results have disappeared from the website of Russia's Central Election Commission.


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Slovakia: Common Phrases in Slovak · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia shares and explains some common Slovak phrases and even provides a test at the end of the post.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Slovenia: Election 2008 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lots of info on the Slovenian electoral system and the upcoming election – at Sleeping With Pengovsky.


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Thailand’s new Prime Minister · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thailand has a new Prime Minister: Somchai Wongsawat.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada: Nutmeg Industry  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Beat Blog reports that Grenada's nutmeg industry is still in recovery post-Hurricane Ivan.


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Twitter Saigon gathering 2008 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Chip 2.0 blogs about the first gathering of Twitter Saigon.


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Uganda: Forest Destruction by the Government · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Blogger Moses Sserwanga calls on MPs not to allow forest destruction by the government in the form of allocations to companies.”Parliament should not give free rein to government to do as they please; to destroy what remains of the country’s forest cover.”


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Ukraine: Blogcamp CEE 2008 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Oleksandr Demchenko announces registration for Blogcamp Central & Eastern Europe 2008, to be held in Kyiv on Oct. 17-19.


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Ukraine: Kyiv Traffic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Greetings from Kyiv posts pictures of Kyiv traffic.


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Ukraine, Russia: Politics and Gas · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kremlin, Inc writes about “how the deepening political crisis will affect the ongoing talks between Naftogaz and Gazprom concerning the price of imported natural gas for Ukraine.”


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Ukraine: The End of the Orange Coalition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Sparks are flying in the Orange coalition endgame — sparks of Kuchmism,” Ukrainiana wrote one day before the ruling coalition collapsed. Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog apologizes “for being so excited last year when the ‘Orange’ coalition assumed power.” A Fistful of Euros is now betting on a new election in Ukraine. Foreign Notes writes that “how the crisis now pans out” is most likely up to Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov.


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Egypt: Who are those People … in the People’s Assembly? · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

In the aftermath of the Egyptian Parliament going up in flames, people's reactions ranged from utter shock, sadness, to gloating. Blogger Wael Nawara conducted an independent poll asking bloggers, readers, and Egyptian internet users to answer the following question: Does the Egyptian Parliament truly represent the people?
The poll's results were announced today on his blog:
Out of 156 participants,
89% voted that the Egyptian Parliament does not truly represent Egyptians (139 votes)
8% said that the parliament represents the people sometimes (14 votes)
1.3% said that the parliament represents Egyptians most of the time (2 votes)
Nawara also announced that the accuracy of the poll is to be questioned due to the following reasons:
1) A big segment of the Egyptian populations does not use the internet
2) The poll was mainly promoted in opposition circles
3) The sample is small (156 voter)
4) Some people could have voted twice using a different PC
But in conclusion Nawara says:
I believe that this small segment is representative of the opinion of the whole Egyptian population; for example those who took part in the People's Assembly elections in 2005 did not exceed 23% of the voters. 77% of the voters chose NOT to vote. And out of the 23% who did vote, surely some of them were dissatisfied with the results of the elections or the performance of the elected parliament for their own various reasons; thus, it is not too far fetched to see that actually 89% of Egyptians – as per the above mentioned poll – do not think that the parliament represents them and this might explain the diversity of reactions the fire evoked.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Yemen: Sixteen People Killed in US Embassy Attack  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Sixteen people were killed when the US Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, was attacked with a car bomb and rockets today. One blogger was minutes away from the explosions.
Carpetblogger, an American who lives in Turkey but was travelling in Yemen, writes:
Sitting in the lobby of the Burj al Salam hotel about an hour ago,we heard two explosions, but thought little about them. They were close enough to shake the windows a little. About 30 minutes later, reports started coming in that the US Embassy was under attack. Current reports on Yemeni TV say that there was an intial car bomb followed by some shooting. Injuries are reported. Right now, reports attribute the attacks to Al Qaeda, which has been increasingly active in the country. The US Embassy is located near the Sheraton hotel. Reports confirm that it was the Embassy and not the compound.
Her next report says:
Local news is reporting that the embassy is being evacuated by helicopter. I just watched a helicopter head out there. Have photos, no time to load.
From Saudi Arabia, American Stilettos in the Sand rules out Yemen as a ‘good holiday destination’ following the attack. She writes:
Not that we were considering heading to Yemen in the near future, but…  This means that for SURE we won't be considering Yemen as a vacation destination.  Ever.  It is not the first time this year that the Westerners have been targeted.  And, after reading this article in Gulfnews, I just think it would be best for us to consider
other more inviting countries to head to for short vacations.
Jane Novak, writing at Armies of Liberation has more on the attack here. She adds:
Notably, Yemen is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and the U.S. Embassy has previously been targeted for attacks […]
The last time we heard from Yemeni Islamic Jihad  was last month  when they claimed credit for a suicide car bombing in Hadramout, and threatened a future attack in the capital.
Novak, who covers Yemen in her blog, also lists previous suicide car bombings in the country:
September 2006 synchronized attacks on oil facilities in Marib and Hadramout
July 2007 car bombing at tourist facility in Marib killed eight Spanish tourists
July 2008 car bombing a police station in Sayoun Hadrmaout, one killed and 18 wounded
Early in 2008, mortar attacks were launched in Sana’a against western targets including the US embassy, Italian embassy and a western housing complex. After the July 2008 suicide bombing killed one policeman and injured 18 in Sayoun in the southeastern province of Hadramout, authorities rounded up over fifty suspected militants including AAIA leader Khalid Abdul Nabi and Saudi Muhammad bin Nayif al-Qahtani. After the arrests, Yemen announced that it had thwarted an attack in Saudi Arabia targeting oil industries. For history and analysis of al-Qaeda in Yemen, check my al-Qaeda category.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Young Egyptian Women Do Not Want to Work! · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

While some women are still struggling to prove themselves in the workplace, the young generation of Egyptian men and women seems to be taking a different route.
Fantasia was watching an episode of El Beyoot Asrar (Homes have Secrets) where they were talking about women and whether they should work or not.
There were two groups of people on the show; the invited guests, which were men and women in their late 40's and 50's, and the audience, which were mainly younger people. Some were college students and others looked like they were in their early 20's. I do not recall the exact words of every person on the show; however, the older people were all pro work. The women all talked about their experiences in life, how their careers helped them, and how their husbands supported them. They talked about their children. More than once they were asked if their careers compromised the care for their children, and they all answered that the children were not compromised. Until here, it all sounds fine and dandy. You would think that since the older generations think this way, the younger generations will definitely be more open minded, and women will be more career oriented.
When the younger generation of men and women got a chance to express how they felt about the topic, Fantasia was highly disappointed:
A young man, possibly in his early 20's stated that he will not allow his wife to work … no matter what. He believed a woman's place is her home and nothing more. Another young man said “I will give my wife a chance to work and see if she can work, take care of the children alone, and take care of the house alone …( and get this)….. and take care of ME!!!! ( is he 2 or something?? does she need to change his diapers as well??) Then I will “ALLOW” her to work.” However if she fails in any way, or if he feels that she is not up to par …. then he will “FORBID” her getting a job or having a career!!!! Much to my dismay and utter disappointment his sentiments were echoed by several male audience member.
The Female audience members let me down even more. ALL and I repeat ALL the women in the audience (whom I will add that judging from their appearance were in their early 20's) stated that their “DREAM” was to get married and sit at home. No one. I repeat NO ONE mentioned the desire for having a career. Success was nothing they referred to or thought of in any way. They were all college graduates who “chose” to throw away their degree forever!! A couple mentioned they would like to work until they meet the right man. So for them work was a way of “catching” a husband! When these girls were asked about their ambition, their comment was very similar to the young men; they all agreed that women have no ambition, that a woman's ambition should be to cook and clean and care for children. They agreed that a woman's career ambition is a “myth” that the western media tries to brainwash women into believing!!!
Fantasia voiced her frustration saying:
The way I look at things is that our country needs every ounce of work and energy available to help us rise out of this economic and social depression. The concept of a woman working should be a no brainer… The subject has been discussed over and over for more than 120 years… and women have been working since our grandparents came of age in the 40's and the 50's. It is unusual for a society to fall back so much, and for women to lose so much in such a short time. What Egyptian women have worked so hard for is slowly being yanked out from under their feet… and they are totally oblivious. The amount of brainwashing that has happened in our culture over the past 20 years is astounding!! The mystery to me is how do you oppress people while at the same time convincing them that oppression was their idea in the first place… so they think that their oppression is liberation??? I know it sounds confusing but we are living examples of this twisted logic.
Fantasia also explained that she is not against stay at home moms but…
But if all women suddenly decide to stay at home, it is no longer a selfless act, it is actually turned into a very selfish act. Let me explain why:
1- For starters… Children only need their mothers in the first few years of life. After the age of 4, all kids go to school, so really a mother sitting at home isn't doing much for the child.
For working mothers in Egypt, The Egyptian government has done a lot. A very generous law that does not exist everywhere is the “child care leave”. A working woman in Egypt by law can take up to 5 YEARS off of work.
2- Men argue that they need a wife to “take care” of them. Unless the man is incapacitated or handicapped in some way, no adult responsible working man needs a woman to take care of him. Men are taught from a young age that they should not lift a finger to care for their house; they should not clean, they should not cook and all of this ” dirty work” is beneath them.
3- Men argue that if a man can afford to care for the house financially, a woman doesn't HAVE to work. This is actually one of the most annoying arguments. Women in Egypt cost the government thousands of pounds to get a college education, so if a woman chooses not to work she should pay back this money so another person can use it to be educated and benefit society. If this money is used by the ministry of education to fund research in labs wouldn't it be better spent? So this is my argument: if you don't want to use it, then don't take it!!!
4- People argue that women are crowding men and pushing them out of work. To this claim, I would like to respond that not all women have someone who supports them. To men who feel that women are overcrowding them I say, please don't be short sighted. Do not underestimate the value of the woman who works in the neighboring office as she may be doing more for her family than any man could. Women in the work place need to be acknowledged, respected and appreciated. They do not “overcrowd” and their value in the workplace is not any less than their male colleagues.
5- People argue that there aren't enough jobs for everybody… so women need to sit at home, and let the men work, so every family will have at least one income!! To this claim I would like to say that even though there aren't enough sources of income for work for everyone, however, there is so much work that needs to be done that no one is doing. The one concept that we rarely ever hear of in Egypt is volunteering.
Fantasia ends her post on a very motivating note saying:
So to say that women should stay at home is selfish, and is something that is said by people who only think of themselves. Our country needs us, we are the driving force behind the progress of our nation. We all need to work together,. Whining about corruption or where money went will not help us. Working together will. I am not saying that corruption is not a factor, but I am saying Corruption has become the excuse for everything wrong with our lives. There is so much more we can do to make Egypt better…. we just need to try!


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Afghanistan: Herat Bombing · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Azar Balkhi reports that a rival tribes provocation allegedly was behind the US air-strikes which killed up to 90 civilians in a village in western Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Armenia: Competing Opposition Ideologies · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on statements from the leader of the Marxist party in Armenia that God and Russia are considered to be the solution to the problems faced by most of the population. The blog says such statements are embarrasing for the opposition and raises questions about the conflicting positions of the various parties supporting Armenia's first president as he continues to push for regime change in the country.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: Celebrating Ramadan · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dhaka Dweller describes the culture of Ramadan in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh accompanied with photos. Back to Bangladesh posts more photos adding some Iftar colors from the streets of Dhaka.


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Bermuda: Tightening the Belt  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes thinks Bermudians should brace themselves for tough economic times ahead: “It’s time to rein in the spending … and fast.”


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China: Media Manipulation on the Poisonous Milk Powder Scandal · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

When the poisoned milk scandal goes from bad to worse and raises international concerns, China government started to increase their control over the media in China. As the scandal involved most well established brands like Yili and Mengniu, ordinary people like Boyue feel that there is nothing else can we believe in.
Indeed, the situation is very depressing especially when the government prefers to manipulate the media than encourage public monitor to safeguard people's lives. beta disclosed the details of newsroom instruction notes:
中央电视台人士说，上星期五就接到了通知，说只能采用新华社的通稿。还有的记者说，的确已经下文件，让新闻单位最好不要报道有关的评论和儿童因这种奶制品而患有肾结石的事情。
Fu Rui-Lon criticized how the government controls the media:
” 三鹿毒奶粉案”延烧至9月15日，中宣部一声令下，紧急刹住了全国各家新闻媒体的深入揭批毒奶粉的热潮，连前两天高调批评这起丑闻的中国官方喉舌新华社， 也都取消了批评的语气，转为高调表扬”毒奶粉案”所涉及的各职能部门…一场涉及成千上万个家庭的惨祸，坏事变好事，活生生的转变为党和政府各部门、各级领导身先士卒的光荣模范事迹…都说”多难兴邦”，我认为应该精确理解成”老百姓多难，共产党兴旺”。
Lianyue worried that the situation will become worse and worse if China government keeps tolerating these corrupted corporations.
三鹿之后，今天伊利又在香港被查出含有三聚氰胺，而目前并无国内任何有关部门及厂家就此事发表看法…中国食品、药品业在国内国际都声名狼藉，可是这一切只引来所谓的正面宣传及删除负面新闻，企业在一次又一次的纵容中，彻底不在乎公众安全…管制信息，禁止媒体与公民的监督权，正是系统崩溃的最大推手…三鹿事件以来，有关部门似乎又把重点放在防民之口，这只会使当前的危机急剧放大，就算硬撑过今天，很快就会迎来下次更大的危机，直至整个系统彻底崩溃。
On Sept 16, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) found out that among 491 batches of products produced by 109 companies they have checked, 69 batches of milk powder products produced by 22 companies were contaminated by melamine in varying degrees (you can find the names of these companies at the end of this article). Two among these 22 companies are very well-known in China: the Yili and Mengniu Groups.
Chinaretail News reported:
Contaminated products found in the tests include baby milk powder products produced by Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group, Shanghai Panda Dairy, Qingdao Shengyuan Dairy, Shanxi Gu Cheng Dairy, Jiangxi Guangming Yingxiong Dairy, Baoji Huimin Dairy, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy, Torador Dairy Industry (Tianjin), Guangdong Yashili Group, Hunan Peiyi Dairy, Heilongjiang Qilin Dairy, Shanxi Yashili Dairy, Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk, Scient (Guangzhou) Infant Nutrition, Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Products Factory, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Yantai Ausmeadow Nutriment, Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology, Xi'an Baiyue Dairy, Yantai Leilei Dairy, Shanghai Baoanli Dairy, and Fuding Chenguan Dairy.

author: I-fan Lin


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Cuba: Imprisoned Journalist Wins Award  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense reports that “imprisoned Cuban journalist Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez has been named a recipient of a 2008 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists.”


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Deal Reached on Extension of Renewable Energy Tax credits · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

On Gristmill blog, Kate Shepard reports “The Senate appears to have reached a deal on a major tax package that includes the extension of tax credits for renewable energy that are set to expire at the end of this year.”


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Eastern Europe: Victory at the Paralympics · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

The 8th Circle posts a list of results by the East European national teams and sportsmen at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.


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El Salvador: The Diversity of Faces · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Miguel Angel Servellón publishes some of his photography showing the diversity of faces from El Salvador [es].


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Environment: Interview with John Romankiewicz of China’s Green Beat · Global Voices
Kelly Proctor

China's Green Beat is an effort by “Green brothers” John Romankiewicz, Shane Zhao and Rene Ng to raise awareness about environmental issues in China. The project has developed more than ten short films, complete with bilingual Chinese-English subtitles.
From its inception a year ago, China’s Green Beat has received a fair amount of attention in the international blogosphere. It recently was named one of the best blogs covering China by Danwei.
Green Beat co-founder John Romankiewicz shared some thoughts with Global Voices for our second GV-Enviro interview.
“Green” – one of the three Olympics themes – got a big boost in China during last month's Games. What do you foresee for China's environmental movement now that the Olympics have passed?
At least in Beijing, there's been a big focus on how Beijingers are very happy with the blue sky the Olympics have brought, and many have even proposed keeping the car restrictions in place.  But for some people (rich people and migrant workers alike), one effect that the Olympics have had is that people associate car restrictions, factory closings and construction restrictions with “Green Olympics.”  They associate this economic restriction that has been put on their economy for over a month with the word “green”, which I think is a very bad thing. On the other hand, the government is making laws which include language like sustainable development (可持续发展) and circular economy (循环经济), which is a sign of good things to come…The Beijing Olympics show that the national government has full dominion in Beijing and areas immediately surrounding; the real test will be if the national government can show growing enforcement power over all provinces and especially rural areas, perhaps through growing ministries such as the Ministry of Environmental Protection and recently-formed National Energy Bureau.
How effective has blogging been for spreading the Green Brothers’ message?
Blogging, and especially video blogging, is a very effective way of getting out the message quickly.  Because other blogs and websites can embed our videos into their site, we get so many more eyeballs. The visual content adds so much to the message.They remember our faces, it leaves an impression, because we start off the videos in such a personable way, with simple name introductions….
On the other hand, this kind of online community doesn't replace or come close to the meaningfulness of a physical community, with meetups and face to face interaction.  So in the future I think we'd like to continue to create online activities, but begin building our message and network offline as well.
Do you use other social media? If so, which sites?
I also use Current.com for reading news and video journalism.  I subscribe to a bunch of RSS feeds relevant to China and the environment from small bloggers to big-wig blogs like Worldchanging and Treehugger as well.Recently I just found about avaaz.org.
What's next for China's Green Beat?
We'd like to expand beyond video content into more articles, resources, and online tools to learn more about the why and how of going green.  Also, since [Green brother] Shane is in school in America now, Shane will begin producing videos (with Chinese subtitles) about America's environmental solutions/movement. We hope to breed more cooperation on environmental issues among people in America and China, because we're all in this together (no matter what the current political argument is about who is and isn't responsible for GHG emissions) and we can all contribute.

author: Kelly Proctor


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Environment: Polluted Fish? · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

La Maguerite considers whether to buy a parrot fish or not, especially after seeing the plastic pollution at a beach just the day before. “…I just wonder how safe is it? How much of the chemicals from the pelagic plastic we found on the beach, have made their way into the flesh of the parrot fish?”


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Guyana: Unspectacular? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal examines “the mundane, the ordinary, everyday routine of living” – with a twist.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Hong Kong: King of Youtube · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Dm from Learning Cantonese explains how Long Hair and League of Socialist Democracy (LSD) would get support from a wide range of political spectrum with Youtube effect.

author: Oiwan Lam


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India: Economics behind terror · Global Voices
Rezwan

Diganta of The New Horizon believes that economics was also a factor in the recent Delhi bombings: “People who were in traditional business do feel deprived when they compare themselves with the common employees of knowledge industry. I feel the entire gang of people involved in the blasts are from this ‘deprived’ set.“


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Iran: An important Shi’a server was hacked · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Javanrood, an Iranian blogger, says  [Fa] the most important Shi'a server was hacked by Group-xp, a Wahabite group. Several high ranked clerics’ sites have been hacked too.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Short Story  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp recommends “a good short story grounded in Caribbean reality, history and mythology.”


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Japan: Healthy Diet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampontan writes some Japanese diet tips for staying healthy.


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Japan: The End of OhmyNews Japan · Global Voices
Hanako Tokita

At the end of August, 2008, OhmyNews [ja], the citizen journalism site from South Korea that entered the Japanese market in 2006 with much fanfare, closed its doors [ja]. First officially announced on February 22, 2006, and launched shortly thereafter with help from the Japanese media giant Softbank and an investment contract valued at 1.3 billion yen [US$11 million], OhmyNews had a rough ride in Japan right from the beginning. As of the end of July, all staff were dismissed, and in late August operations ceased on the site. The company has now commenced a new initiative, named Oh!myLife [ja].
Many Japanese bloggers reflected on the rise and fall of OhmyNews Japan, and on why the citizen journalism project failed [ja]. One blogger points out that while the editor-in-chief was earning 30 million yen [about 300,000 USD] annually, and the copy editors 10 million yen [100,000 USD], writers were only paid 300 yen per piece, and argues:
マスメディアの価値は記事の質で決まるのに、これではタダでも記事を書きたい人以外は記事を書こうとしないでしょうね。
時事ニュースを批評するなら、ブログで記事を書いた方が編集部を通さない分、ストレス無く自分の書きたい事が書けるし、事件事故に関する記事だと、取材する時間や手間を考えると、原稿料が３００円では、いくら市民記者といえ労働条件の格差が酷すぎです。
So although the value of mass media is judged based on the quality of its articles, with this system in place, nobody writes articles other than those willing to write them for nothing.
If someone wants to criticize Jiji news, then writing an article in their own blog is best in that it allows them to bypass the editorial department, and to write whatever they want without any stress. Considering the time required for an article about an incident or accident, on the other hand, the disparity in working conditions with a payment of only 300 yen for a manuscript is just horrible, regardless of whether the person is a citizen journalist or not.
Journalist and blogger Yasuharu Dando [団藤保晴] at Blog vs. Media writes of the obstacles faced by citizen media and considers possible future developments:
市民側の声はメディアとしてまとめて発信しなくとも、これだけ多数のブログやウェブがあるのですから日々に流れています。ところが、国内のブログには米国にある「保守」「リベラル」のような「ハブ」が出来ないのです。郵政解散総選挙の時には出来かけたのですが、争点だった郵政民営化のお粗末な実態が明らかになり、左右とも一気に白けてしまいました。だから、個人ごとに好きな場所をいくつか見つけて、そこを足がかりに有用な情報を探すことになります。勢い、盛り上がっているようでいて、散発的に騒ぎが起きているだけという様相になります。
There is no need to aggregate the voices of citizens into one media and transmit them [in this way], since there are already so many blogs and websites that broadcast these voices everyday. However, in Japan there are not any “hubs” for the “conservatives” or “liberals” like in the US. They were starting to appear at the time of the general elections of 2005, but as the pathetic reality of the postal privatization, which was the center of the debate, was revealed, people from the left and right sides of the spectrum were quickly turned off.
本当にこれで良いのかが問題です。私は、ブログ「ハブ」機能も持ちつつ、何のために書くのか、ジャーナリズムの意味を勉強し直して、取材や情報収集の訓練も積んだ次世代・市民メディアが生まれても良いと思い始めています。何も企業体である必要もなく、初めは小さなブログ連合体でも良いでしょう。かなり本格的なサーバーをポケットマネーで維持できる時代なのですから。
The question is whether things are really OK as they are. I am starting to think that it would be alright if a next-generation media/citizen media were born that had the function of a blog “hub”, that studied and re-evaluated the meaning of journalism in terms of the motivation for writing, and that packed in training in reporting and information collection. It does not have to be a corporate entity, it's okay for it to start as a small blog aggregation site. We are in an age where you can maintain a good server with only the money out of your pocket.
polimediauk at UK Media Watch (小林恭子の英国メディア・ウオッチ) reviews some of the problems at OhmyNews Japan:
オーマイニュースが止まってしまったのにはいろいろな理由があるだろう。私は外から見るだけ（記事も２，３本書いたけれど）だから、会社内の人事的なことは知らない（マイニュースジャパンの中で書かれているようなこと）。しかし、最初に鳥越さんの編集長でかなり盛り上がったのに、その後、反韓的な書き込みがずっとあったような気がする。あれでずい分、「自由にものを言える」雰囲気が消えて、編集部は妙に用心深くならざるを得ず、どうも自由におおらかに、楽しく・・・にはならなかったように思う。市民記者もおいそれと心に浮かんだことを書いてみる・・・なんて感じにはなれない。
I suppose that there must have been various reasons why OhMyNews had to cease its operations. I am looking at it from the outside (although I have written two or three articles) so I don't know anything about the internal HR situation (the kinds of things that are written on MyNews Japan). However, at the beginning, people were quite excited about Mr. Torigoe becoming the managing editor, but then after that there were constant anti-Korea comments. And because of that, it seems, the atmosphere in which people “were able to say things freely” disappeared, and the editorial desk had no choice but to start being unusually careful, which made it impossible to maintain the free, open and fun atmosphere. Citizen reporters did not feel anymore like jumping into writing whatever came to their minds.
[…]
３月、東京で平野編集長と話した時、編集室が忙しいこと、なかなか編集室と市民記者たちとが記事を「練り上げる」ところまでいかない（時間の制約で）こと、ある程度しっかりした記事を書く・編集ができる人材を得ることの難しさを聞いた。オーマイニュースが当初の形で続かなかったのは、広告が十分に取れなかった（あるいは高い広告料を取るほどの十分なアクセスがなかった？）とかの、結局は財政上の理由になるのだろうけれど、読ませるコンテンツを長く続けることができなかったという部分も大きかったのではないだろうか。
Last March, when I met with chief editor Mr. Hirano, he told me that the editorial office was busy, that they were not quite able to get to the point where the editorial and citizen reporters worked on articles together (because of time constraints), and that it was difficult for them to find people able to write and edit articles well. Ohmynews failed to maintain their original style due most probably due in the end to the financial problem that they were not able to attract enough advertisements (or maybe they couldn't get sufficient access numbers to generate high ad rates?), but the fact that they could not keep up in continuously producing content that attracted a readership also played a significant role.
At the denchi＠net blog, one blogger criticizes the bias of OhmyNews:
市民記者メディアが失敗しているのは、公平・公正な論評ができていないことだと思う。なんか、すごく市民団体のような匂いががするんだよね。思想が偏っててさ。
既存マスコミも思想が寄ってないかと言えば、寄っているんだけど、ただ、書き方がうまいし、やっぱりそれなりにプロの仕事なんだよ。
一個人の意見なら、これは「ニュース」ではなく、単なる感想でしょう。それを「ニュース」と称するから余計にタチが悪い。
だたら、私のように個人でブログをやればいいことなのだ。そのほうがダイレクトに感想や意見も聞けて、自分自身の見識も広がる。
The reason why the media of citizen journalists has failed, I think, is that they are not able to draw fair and just arguments. Kinda smells like civic groups. They are ideologically biased.
If you ask me whether the existing mass media are ideologically biased, the answer is yes, but they write well and they can do a professional job.
The opinions of an individual are not “news”, just a personal view. They call it news, which is even worse.
That's what they should just [write] it in a blog, on a personal basis like I do. That way, views and opinions can be transmitted directly, and you can develop your own insight as well.
Blogger otsukaresam agrees with other bloggers that OhmyNews Japan was not able to come up with a viable cash flow model, and that the quality of articles on the site was not up to standards, but finds some positive in the future of citizen media:
批判してしまいましたが、
私は将来あるべきジャーナリズムというのは
どっかの企業に所属している方よりも、
オーマイニュースの記者のように
ニュートラルな状態な方が一番いいと思っていたので、
非常に残念です。
I just criticized OhmyNews, but I do believe that what is best for the journalism of the future, more so than belonging to some corporation, is the kind of neutral stance that OhmyNews reporters had, and thus I am very disappointed [about the end of OhmyNews Japan].
otsukaresam then writes that blogs have made it possible for people to create a more fair information flow, and argues:
そんな中、ブログがメディアとして確立されていき、
個々の情報発信基地として成り立っていくと
“みんなが記者”というオーマイニュースが
目指していた状態になるのかもしれませんね。
In this context, as blogs establish themselves as media, and as they become a base for individuals to transmit information, the goal that OhmyNews was aiming at, “everyone's a journalist”, may eventually come to be realized.

author: Hanako Tokita


text:
Kazakhstan: National Football Team’s Coach Sacked · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam reports that Kazakhstan football federation decided to fire Dutch coach Arno Pijpers and replace him with a German one.


text:
Korea: Kim Jong Il’s Disappearance and South Korea · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Kim Jong Il’s continued absence from public activities in North Korea and the rumor of his sickness produce more imaginative scenarios. For example, he actually died several years ago and the real power of North Korea is not him anymore. No matter whether his sickness or death is true or not, this possibility (as long as he is a human, he can’t evade the natural process of dying) pesters bloggers with the question, “what will happen to North Korea after his death?”
How do Korean bloggers react?
An understandable concern from a blogger:
최악의 경우엔 전쟁이 벌어질 수도 있을 것이고 아니면 북한에서 권력을 잡기 위한 내전이 벌어질 가능성도 있고 그것도 아니면 중국이나 러시아의 개입으로 인한 새로운 정부수립 등 여러가지 가능성이 존재하고 있음이다.(뭐 러시아는 좀 희박해보인다만…) 하여간 최근 김정일의 건강문제에 대해 말이 많은데 내 소망은 딱 하나.'나 전역할때까지만 살아있어다오… ㅡ,.ㅡ’
There are many opinions on how South Korea should react about the coming change of North Korea and about neighboring countries’ responses:
김정일 국방위원장이 와병중이고 북한 정치체제가 불안한 요즘. 북한을 두고 세계의 이목이 쏠리고 있다. 이 시기에 김정일사후 북한의 정치체제와 북한의 미래에 대해 북한을 둘러싼 우리나라와 중국 일본 미국 러시아등은 긴장을 감추지 못하고 있다. 그런데 우리나라 국민들은 너무 안일하고 편안한 것 같아 안탑깝다. 지금까지 사회주의 역사와 정치제제를 분석해 볼 때 북한이 몹시 위험하고 불안정한 상태이므로 그 치세도 얼마 안가 종결될 것이라고 본다. 그런데 우리나라 국민들은 북한이 망하면 당연히 우리나라와 통일될 것이라고 안일하게 믿는다. 먼저 북한에 대해 너무나도 눈돌을 들이는 중국이 버티고 있다.[…]그 다음 러시아 이다. 러시아는 미국과 일본과 서로 사이가 좋지않다. 소련패망이후 강대국지위를 미국에게 뺏긴 러시아로서는 미국에 우호적인 한국과 국경을 맞대고 싶지 않을 것이다. 그 다음은 일본이다.[…] 우리나라가 통일되서 뭉치는 것 보다 둘로 갈라놓고 국력을 소비시키는 것이 일본에게 더 유리하다.즉. 우리나라와 북한이 통일되기를 바라는 주변 나라는 없으며 북한 패망 이후 북한을 우리나라에게 넘겨주는데 주변국들의 간섭이 심할 것이라는 말이다.김정일 사후의 북한에 대해 잘 대비하기 위해서는 이제 부터라도 좌빨 빨치산 공산당 은 무조건 나쁜 놈 북한은 후진국 가난뱅이의 나라 등의 나쁜 인식을 없애야 한다. 그리고 어떻게 해서라도 북한을 이후 우리나라 영토 안에 두기 위해서는 북한을 잘 다르고 얼려줘서 우리와 통일시키도록 만들어야한다.[…]
Another popular opinion focuses on health:
요즘 북한 김정일 건강악화설로 국내외의 관심이 비상하다. 최근 중요한 행사와 공식석상에 참석하지 못하고 있는 이유는 뇌졸중 때문인 것으로 추측하고 있다. 김정일의 올해 나이 66세를 감안하면 그럴수도 있다라고 생각할 수 있지만 김정일이 누구인가? 무소불위의 권력을 휘두르는 북한의 최고 권력자가 아닌가 ? 북한의 최고 의사들로 구성된 관리단이 그를 따라다니며 건강상태를 수시로 체크하고 몸에 좋다는 것은 가격불문하고 먹고 있는 것은 뻔한 일이 아닌가? 그의 아버지 김일성이 심장계 관련 질환으로 갑자기 사망한 경험이 있는 북한으로선 김정일의 건강관리에 엄청난 힘을 쏟아 붓고 있는 것은 자명한 일이다. 그럼에도 불구하고 그의 건강이 좋지 않은 것은 무엇 때문일까? 몇몇 언론에도 보도 된 것 처럼 김정일의 건강악화 원인은 심혈관계 질환의 유전적 원인도 있겠지만 다른 무엇보다 운동부족으로 인한 복부비만과 스트레스 때문으로 보고 싶다. 김정일의 이미지를 떠 올려 보면 그의 신체적 약점을 가리기 위한 독특한 점퍼스타일의 위원장복을 입고 있지만 볼록 튀어나온 배를 숨길수 없다. 특히 아랫배가 쳐진 것이 아니라 상복부 비만의 형태(일명 올챙이배)를 띠고 있는데 이런 비만을 가진 사람들은 내장지방형 비만이 많다. 이런 경우는 당뇨, 고혈압, 고지혈증 등과 같은 성인병과 갑작스런 뇌졸중 및 각종 심혈관계 질환을 겪을 확율이 정상인에 비해 2~3배높다고 한다. 김정일의 알려진 신체치수(165cm, 82kg)를 기준으로 하면 체질량 지수(BMI) 30이 나오며 이는 비록 고도비만은 아니지만 전체 비만이 아니라 복부비만에 치중되어 있다는 것이 문제이다. 김정일의 비만은 아무리 좋은 개인 주치의를 두고 있어도 본인이 운동하지 않고 과음이나 과식등을 절제하지 않으면 건강해 질수 없다는 표본이다. […] 전체 비만이 아니더라도 배가 나온 경우에는 지금 당장 운동을 시작하는 것이 좋다. 운동은 하루에 40분 정도 1주일 3일이상 약간 땀이 날 정도의 유산소 운동이 좋은데 쉽게는 빨리 걷기와 달리기를 하는 것이다. 단순히 뱃살을 뺀다고 윗몸일으키기와 부분 운동을 하는 것은 도움이 되지 않는다. 음주와 고지방식, 폭식은 피하고 하루에 20분이상 매일 걷기를 하거나 계단을 걸어서 다니는 등의 일상생활 운동도 상당히 도움이 된다.
Photo from DongA
Some bloggers who are not satisfied with the current government express their concerns, linked to the North Korean situation.
나는 김정일을 무척이나 싫어한다. 그리고 그의 아버지인 김일성도 무척이나 싫어한다. 얼마만큼 싫으냐고 물어본다면 운동장 가득 바퀴벌레가 득시글거리는 장면을 보았을때만큼이나 싫다고 이야기해주고 싶다. 그들의 행적은 나로 하여금 끔찍할만큼 증오와 혐오 그리고 분노를 일으킨다. 오늘 김정일이 지병으로 쓰러졌다는 소식을 듣고 내가 김일성 김정일 부자에게 느끼는 분노가 원천적임을 새삼 느꼈다. 나는 왜 그들에게 분노하는가? 단순히 반공교육의 산물은 아니다. 내가 김일성 김정일 부자에게 분노하는 것은 그들이 독재자이기 때문이다. 나는 독재자가 싫다. 독재란 무엇인가? 자신의 권력과 부를 위하여 대다수 민중의 입과 귀와 눈을 틀어막고 오로지 자신의 명령이 관철되기를 억압하는 자들이다. 자신의 뜻과 이반되는 이들에게 가혹한 짓을 심지어 죽이기까지 하는 이들이 독재자들이다. 이러한 독재자들은 한반도 이남에도 몇 마리 출연을 하였고 그로 이해 한반도 이남의 민중들이 고통을 받았다. 심지어 북한의 김일성 김정일 부자는 사회주의와 공산주의의 이념을 독재정권을 통해 더럽혔고 심지어 김일성이 김정일에게 권력을 세습함으로써 완벽한 봉건주의 국가로 거듭났다. 더 이상 사회주의 국가도 공산주의 국가도 아닌 계급이 존재하며 귀족과 세습된 권력이 존재하는 폐쇄된 사회. 그리고 그 존재로 말미암아 한반도 이남의 민중들을 통제하고 억압하는 구실이 되어준 사회. 그것이 작금의 북한봉건사회이다. 독재자, 독재자의 말로는 어떠할 것인가? 북한의 폐쇄적인 봉건사회는 그 끝을 볼 수 있을것인가? 러시아가 중국이 그러했듯이 북한 봉건사회도 자본의 공세앞에 힘없이 꺽일 것인가? 언젠가 북한에 대해 연구하는 선배에게 물은 적이 있다. 어째서 임종직전의 북한 봉건사회는 그 거친 숨을 몰아쉬면서도 아직도 명맥을 유지하고 있는가 하고 말이다. 선배는 이렇게 말을 했다. 철저한 군부의 탄압과 감시때문이다. 그 때문에 탈북자가 이어지고 그 수가 많아질망정 북한 내에서도 혁명도 개혁도 폭동도 일어나지 않는 것이라고 말이다. 군부의 감시 군부의 억압 군부의 총칼과 군화발, 탱크… 그것이 아직까지 북한봉건사회의 명맥을 유지하는 이유이다. 그런데 어쩐지 김일성 김정일 부자와 군부세력에 대한 생각을 하다가 한반도 이남의 이분이 떠올라 버렸다. 민중을 무시하고 민중의 눈과 입과 귀를 막아버렸다는 것 뿐만 아니라 폭력과 억압으로 자신들과 1%만의 세상을 꿈꾼다는 것이 닮았다. 다만 차이점은 김일성과 김정일 부자는 군부세력과 손을 잡고 그들을 중심으로 자신들 만의 통제사회를 이루어냈다면 현정부는 경찰력과 손을 잡고 자신들만의 세계를 만들기 위해 열심히 통제하고 억압하고 있다는 것 뿐이다. 그렇기에 이명박 정부가 국민에게 폭력을 행사하고 억압하고 통제하는데 앞장서온 충견 어청수를 꼭 끌어안고 있는 모습에서 김일성 김정일 부자의 모습이 오버랩이 되는 것을 어쩔 수 없다. 북한 또한 그런 식으로 차근차근 순차를 밟아가며 통제사회로 진압하였고 북한에 남아 민중의 의사를 전하고 개혁하기 보다는 북한을 떠나 떠돌이가 되는 삶이 오히려 생명유지에 도움이 된다는 절망과 절박함을 가지게 되었다. 경제위기설에 대한 이야기가 계속되는 지금 많은 이들은 IMF의 끔찍한 기억을 떠올리고 있으며 고안재환씨의 자살이 그 신호탄이 되지 않을까 많은 이들이 우려하고 있다. 그리고 한껸에서는 민중을 탄압하고 억압하고 족쇄를 채우려는 이들의 발광을 속수무책 지켜보며 더욱 우려를 금할 수 없다. 북한의 몰락이 걱정되는가? 아니 난 남한의 몰락이 걱정된다. 경제위기, 경찰이 폭력, 언론통제… 그 끝에 남는 것은 민중들의 나락으로서 추락과 더욱 극심한 통제와 억압 그리고 1%를 위한 부와 정부의 우민정책뿐이다. 우민이 된 민중과 남한은 그렇게 북한을 닮게 될 것이다.
What does South Korea really have to do? Is there an answer?
김정일의 몸이 요즘 많이 안 좋다는 소식이 명절 중에도 끊임없이 들려옵니다.이러니 저러니 하면서도 많은 이들이 불안해하는 것이 사실이지요. 독재국가에서 독재자의 몸 상태란 국가의 정치적 안정에 있어 상당히 중요한 부분이니까요. 어느 분 말마따나, 죽어도 걱정이요 나아도 걱정인 상황이겠습니다만, 특히나 더 걱정스러운 것은 역시 이런 불안한 상황에서 자국 수장의 외교력에 아무래도 잘 신뢰를 둘 수가 없다는 점에 기인하는 것인지도 모르겠습니다.

author: Hyejin Kim


text:
Lebanon: Political Tensions are Escalating  · Global Voices
Nash Suleiman

While the people in Lebanon were under the impression that the latest negotiations between the leading political groups might translate into a glimpse of a brighter and calmer days to come, two people were killed and four injured in a clash between two rival Christian parties in Bsarma village in Koura, north Lebanon.
The two parties which clashed are the anti-Syrian Lebanese Forces and the pro-Syrian Marada movement. Marada’s Youseef Frangieh and the Lebanese Forces’ Pierre Isaac were the two identified bodies at the crime scene. Based on the initial report from scene, the clash occurred over a poster promoting a mass organized by the Lebanese Forces that was being placed in Bsarma near the Marada's Headqaurter. When those hanging the banner were asked to take it down, shots were fired from one side and met with retaliation from the other side ending with the death of the two citizens and party members.
Once the news began to circulate in the media and make headlines, theories on this incident being nothing more than a revenge episode orchestrated by some Lebanese Forces’ members against Youseef Frangieh surfaced, especially after Frangieh came out publicly on a local TV station announcing his part in shooting the Lebanese Force’s current leader Samir Geagea back in the 70s during the civil war in an attempt to stop an operation co-led by  Geagea.
Historically the two parties in question here share a bloody background and armed clashes that can be traced over 30 years. Many Lebanese regards current party leaders as civil war warlords whose current political groups are merely a front display with an armed militia behind it.
Both The Marada and The Lebanese Forces are represented officially by websites backed by blog spaces. The Lebanese Forces’ official website published the televised press release of it is leader Samir Geagea:
“يجب أن نتحلى بالكثير من المسؤولية وقد باشرت اتصالاتي فور معرفتي بالخبر وقد اتصلت أولا برئيسي الجمهورية والحكومة ووزيري الدفاع والداخلية وقائد الجيش”.
ورأى “أن ما حدث في بصرما ليس عملا سياسيا ومنع السلاح يجب أن يكون على الجميع ومن ضمنها عناصرنا”، مقترحا “سيطرة الجيش ليصار الى منع التجمعات الحزبية حتى في المراكز الحزبية ومنع السلاح لان حياة انسان واحد اهم من كل المراكز الحزبية، وعلينا التحلي بالحكمة والروية”.
We must practice responsibility and I've immediately made phones calls to the government officials starting with President and the National Army commander as soon as I heard the news. What took place in Bsrama is not a political statement and all weapons and arms must be prohibited on all parties including the ours [Lebanese Forces]. The National Army should maintain the security to prevent such events and because a single human life value more than any political headquarter. And we must show wisdom and calm in such times.
On the other hand, Marada's official website published it's leader Suleiman Frangieh's speech:
نحن في عهد جديد. ما قبل إتفاق الدوحة غير ما بعد إتفاق الدوحة. عندنا رئيس جديد وعندنا وزير داخلية جديد وعندنا حكومة وفاق وطني وعندنا مشروع لبداية قيام الدولة، سنجرب ونحن نضع الأمور بيد رئيس الجمهورية وبيد القضاء اللبناني وأنا أثق بالقاضي جان فهد ولنرى ماذا سيحصل وعلى اساسها نعرف كيف نتصرف.
We are in a new era now. The Doha-Agreement has changed everything. We now have a new President, a new Interior Minister, along with a national conciliation government and have the beginnings of a state. The new government is step to rebuilding the country and we are going to try and leave the matter to the official departments and law enforcements and I trust the Judge Jan Fahad. We will wait and see what the outcome of investigation, and our response will be based on that outcome.
It is important to note that Marada's leader gave the government and its investigation team a 15 day period to issue its report and bring the responsible individuals to justice regardless of their political and diplomatic immunity or he would take matters into his own hands. Upon hearing the comment, Lebanese Forces’ Geagea made it clear that his party doesn't like the threatening nature of this speech and that his party is capable of responding to such threats.
Al Owuet Front (Al Owuet is Arabic-Lebanese slang meaning Forces), a popular blog for Lebanese Forces’ members and promoted on their official website posted a series of three articles so far updating its readers on the incident. Blogger N10452 who maintains the blog, posted the first article upon hearing the news:
I dont want to judge anyone’s intentions, i know what Marada militants are .. they are thugs and probably think shooting & killing is something common to do in the middle of an argument ..
But i also ask Samir Geagea and whomever is responsible in this village and the LF students head (forgot his name cause i barely hear about him doing anything, ya ma7la Spiro).
Why were those guys armed while sticking posters ?? whats the use of weapons when you are promoting for a mass for the martyrs ??
Why are those posters being hung so recklessly and randomly ?? it is unacceptable to glue them at people’s properties and its been done and its also being done excessively on public walls.
After the release of the Lebanese Forces’ response to the Bsarma incident, N10452 posted again quoting a segment from the speech and criticizing it:
And the rest of the speech is even more pathetic ..
Calling for forgiveness [with] Frangieh and presenting his condoleances to the Frangieh & Isaac families and opening up to Marada ?? Whats next ?? signing a reconciliation ???
In his third post, the blogger's frustration post the incident is clearly evident in what he entitled: Inter-Christian deadly clashes – When will we learn ?:
Since the early 70s, rival Christian parties clashed and left behind many kills & injured. Sheikh Bashir Gemayel wanted to put an end to this in the late 70s and he almost managed to do so by uniting the militias even if he had to lead some deadly battles to do so.
In 1982, had he took over the presidency, he would have put an end once and for all to all sorts of militias in the country, but he was taken away from us sadly.
Nonetheless, since then, Christian parties never understood that disagreeing on opinions does not mean shooting at each other and killing one another, and apparently many people here are not getting my point …
Both groups have a military and a political history that is observed by some as a patriotic chapter in the Lebanese history while others regard it as war crimes, tinted with streams of events and agendas. In a country like Lebanon, when a single word like patriotism and resistance can be defined in more ways than Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary ever can, it seems all you have to do to spread enough chaos and instability and wait until someone does something stupid.
Remarkz‘s blogger Bech left us an interesting post that illustrates in his opinion the current events regarding the social campaigns and word-tricks used by some political parties that led might fuel more incidents like the one in Bsarama in the future.

author: Nash Suleiman


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Lula on the US ambassador’s expulsion: “Evo is right” · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The New World Lusophone Sousaphone translates a comment on the expulsion of the American ambassador in Bolivia by Brazil’s President Lula da Silva: “If it is true that the U.S. ambassador was meeting with the opposition to Morales, then Morales was right to kick him out.”

author: Jose Murilo


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Madagascar: Falling in love with Madagascar · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David Sasaki loves Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. And he is not the only one…


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Mexico: Aftermath of Morelia Explosions · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Manuel Robles of Experto de Nada [es] collects some of his observations in the aftermath of the explosions in Morelia, Mexico, especially about President Felipe Calderon's behavior.


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Mongolia: First Paralympic Gold · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bilguun reports that Baatarjav Dambadondog brought the first Paralympic Gold medal for Mongolia in Men's Individual Recurve.


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Moroccan Blogger acquitted by appeals court · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Moroccan Blogger Mohammed Erraji has been acquitted by appeals court and is now free.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Nepal: Less documentaries in TV · Global Voices
Rezwan

Mediaharsha is outraged with the fact that Nepali TV channels show less documentaries.

author: Rezwan


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Nicaragua: First Twitter Meetup Successful · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The first Twitter meetup in Nicaragua was a total success [es] according to Juan Ortega.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Nicaragua: Software Freedom Day 2008 · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Fitoria [es] announces workshops for Software Freedom Day to take place in Managua, Nicaragua on September 20, which will also feature conference and installations.


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Pakistan: Truck art · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ali Usman at Pak Tea House portrays the culture and history of truck art in Pakistan.


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Madagascar: Saluting Rado, a Poet Legend · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

The Malagasy blogosphere is unanimous in saluting the passing of Rado, the renowned Malagasy poet.
Jentilisa writes a detailed biography :
“Zanaka mpitandrina ny tenany, teraka tamin'ny 1 oktobra 1923 (tapabolana sisa manko) ary Ankadivato ilay fonenana nahalehibe azy. Notezaina tanatin'ny fitiavana an'Andriamanitra sy ny tanindrazana tahaka ireo hafa novolavolaina tanaty lasitra protestanta nandritra ny fanjanahantany”
“He was born, Georges Andriamanantena, on October 1, 1923, the son of a Protestant priest in Ankadivato (a neighborhood of Antananarivo). He was brought up in the respect and love of God and country, in the Protestant tradition that prevailed during the colonization times.”
On his father's side, he descended from a long lineage of Protestant priests (fifth generation), and as tebokaefatra says, on his mother's side, he descended from the village of Amboanana, which was
“…ilay vohitra kely ao atsimon'Arivonimamo, izay nisehoan'ireo Menalamba sahy nanohitra voalohany indrindra ny Fanjanahantany teto Madagasikara. Araka izany koa dia mba nandova ny ran'ireo tia tanindrazana tsy nanaiky hozogain'ny vahiny.”
“…the little village south of Arivonimamo, where originated the Menalamba, the fiercest and first opponents of colonization in Madagascar. Rado inherited the patriotism of his forebearers who refused foreigners’ rule. “
As many Protestant youth then, he belonged to the scoutism movement, and his father strengthened the values provided by it, with the “fireside” education held at home, where a love of the Malagasy language and appreciation of the arts blossomed in him and his siblings. He studied in various Protestant schools in the capital and then went to Strasbourg, France to study journalism. He valued his independence and even though he held a well paying job for a time at the then important Preservatrice ASsurances in Antananarivo, he resigned that job and preferred to found his own newspaper “Hehy”, with his brother Celestin. He later worked for the Ministry of Culture.
He showed multiple talents and tried his hand at painting, sculpting and engraving. He also composed religious hymns, showing here his Christian upbringing. But he is mostly well known for the poems he never ceased to write, until he was physically unable to do so.
He published ten books of poems, among which Dinitra (1973), Ando (1977), Zo (1989), Sedra (1993), Ny teny Malagasy (1994), tsy maintsy mipoaka ny sarom-bilany (2002, ny Voninkazo adaladala (2003) and ny fiteny roa (2008). Many of his poems were put into music by the most famous of Malagasy artists. And Dinitra was compulsory reading in high schools. Vola posts one of his poems which was adapted into a song by many artists.
He enjoyed fishing and playing with his grandchildren. He was a proud recipient of most Malagasy honor marks.
Most importantly, Rado was a staunch supporter of the Malagasy language and supported “Fanagasiana“, or the use of Malagasy (instead of French) in education. Fanagasiana failed mainly because of political games that politicians played on the student population. Rabelazao posts the entirety of a talk Rado held at the Malagasy Academy of Sciences in Antananarivo, where Rado explains why Malagasy (and not Malagasy mixed with foreign words) is the best language for communicating development goals and win the Malagasy population's hearts and support.
“…ny fo no tanamilina ao anatin'ny olona, ka manentana ary manome azy toetra entiny miatrika toe-javatra iray. Ny enti-manentana ny fo kosa anefa, dia ny Teny ihany.
Koa raha te hanentana ny fon'ny vahoaka amin'ny Fampandrosoana isika dia ny Teny Malagasy ihany no afaka manao izany. Dia teny malagasy madio, tsy safiotra na vandambadana. Teny malagasy feno ohatrohatra amana ohabolana sy hainteny, fa ireny no mamoha varavarana ny fo. “
“One is led by one's heart, which motivates and decides its point of view of things. What motivates the heart is the Word. So if you want to motivate people's heart with Development, we should use Malagasy words to do that. Malagasy words only, not mixed up ones. Malagasy language with proverbs and hainteny (Note of the translator : a Malagasy form of expression that uses allusions and metaphors), because they are the keys to Malagasy people's hearts.”
Rabelazao relays Rado's humorous example to illustrate his point :
“Tsaroako tsara, fony vao azo ny Fahaleovantena, ka nentanina tamin'ilay fambolem-bary “en ligne” ny Tantsaha sy mpamboly vary. Nahatsikaiky sy nampalahelo anefa, fa noheverin'ny any ambanivohitra ho anaran'olona ity “ligne” ity, ka maro no nilaza hoe : “Aiza ho aiza, tompoko, no misy ity Raline ity, mba hakanay toro-hevitra amin'izay nataony ?” Teo vao nikoropaka ny manampahaizana nitady teny malagasy, ka voatery nitety tanàna sy vohitra, nilaza fa “voly tora-tady” no dikan'io fa tsy izany “Raline” izany. Ho efa nahomby hatrany am-piantombohany anefa ny tetika, raha nogasiana hoe : “Manaova voly tora-tady !””
“I remember, right after Independence, when peasants were urged to grow their rice “in line”. They believed “in line” was a person's name and asked :”Where is this inline person, so that we may ask him for advice?”. That is when the educated people started looking for Malagasy words and had to travel all over, to say that “in line” actually meant “voly tora-tady” in Malagasy, and was not a “in line”. Their project would have succeeded since the very beginning, if they had simply used Malagasy words :”Manaova voly tora-tady!”
MESSAGE
You are going to see her, but…
Do not tell her about my suffering,
Let her ignore the bite of pain,
that is tearing up my being,
in the web she trapped me in,
My sweating heart that chokes me silently
at midnight
when I ponder my fate,
Do not let her know !
… If she were to ask
I beg of you to lie for once !
Tell her my thoughts have forgotten all about her
Flowers have grown on the past ashes blown by the Adaoro
These journals have been incinerated and all but cremated
…As for my white hair,
and the lines of my forehead
please hide, hide them!
Do you understand?
One last thing
One demand ! See if she is happy.
These are the signs for you to know :
“In her bedroom: there are flowers that will be pink
At her bedside : the picture of her lover… whoever he may be”
If you see those, then she is happy
so do not even talk about me
as happy is what I wish her to be.
This is my message. Please do not forget.
And Adieu !
But before you go,
this hand of yours, do not touch anything with it,
until it links to hers…
Yes, that is it. Have a good journey.
And please do close that door
On my tears.
January 1966.
HAFATRA
Ho any ianao,kanefa….
Aza ataonao fantany izao fahoriako izao
Fa aoka hiafina aminy
Ny ketoky ny jaly
Nanempaka ny aiko,tanatin'ny longoa
Izay namandrihany ahy…
Ny dinitry ny foko manorika ahy mangina,
Fa sempo-tsasak'alina
Misaina ity anjarako,
Aza ataonao fantany!
…Raha manontany izy,
Iangaviako ianao handainga indray mandeha !
Lazao fa nanadino ny momba azy rehetra
Ny saiko manontolo.
“Rako-boninkazo hoe ireo lavenon-dasa
natoraky ny Adaoro”
Ireto diary ireto lazao fa efa may
Sy tapitra efa kila…
….Fa ny volofotsiko,
Ny ketrokentron'handriko
Afeno dia afeno !
Azonao izany ?
Etsy kely koa
Hafarako ianao !Jereo raha sambatra izy !
Mba hamantaranao dia ireto no fambara :
“Ao an’ efitranony :misy voninkazo
Tsy maintsy mavokely…
Eo an-doha-fandrianany :
Ny sarin'olotiany…na iza n'iza izay “
Raha izay no hitanao dia efa sambatra izy
Ka aza asiana resaka momba ahy akory,
F'izany rahateo no niriko ho azy…
Izay no hafatrafatro
Ka tazony tsara …Ary dia veloma !
Saingy etsy ange !
‘Ty tànanao ity, aza akasi-javatra
Mandra-pifandray ny tànanao sy ny azy…
Eny e ! Ampy izay.Tongava soa aman-tsara !
Dia akatony mora
Io varavarako io
Fa hitomany aho…
Rado, janoary 1966
Mandria am-piadanana, Rado.
Rest in peace.

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


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Saudi Arabia: Fighting hypocrisy · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Saudi blogger Sara is tired of the hypocrisy she sees around her: “an example is people in ramadan do pretty weird things .. pretending to go to a religious lecture and they are not even interested in hearing what the guy has to say .. it’s just because there’s guys and girls and they wanna gather and watch each other ..”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Saudi Arabia: The need for Saudi nurses · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Saudi writer Sabria Jawhar argues that more Saudi women should become nurses: “Even in 2008 a stigma that nursing is a less than noble profession remains in Saudi minds.”


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South Korea: Han River · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Neff from Ohmynews! posted some historical photos of Han River (from an exhibition) to indicate how the river changes over time.


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Sri Lanka: Clearing the way · Global Voices
Rezwan

Jason Motlagh reports in Untold Stories: “Journalists have been barred from covering the war in Sri Lanka's battered northern region, and now aid workers are out of the picture. As government forces aggressively advance toward the Tamil Tiger capital, Kilinochchi, tens of thousands of displaced Tamils have lost the only bulwark between them and two sides with grim human rights records.”


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Tajikistan: More than $1 Billion Funnelled Out · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ian writes that continuing controversy over nontransparency of Talco, the Tajikistan's leading enterprise that produces aluminum, and how it diverted more than a billion dollars abroad into some private hands.


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Tajikistan: The Host with the Most Problems · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Patrick Frost, in the wake of the Dushanbe’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization 2008 summit, analyzes the difficult situation in Tajikistan, citing energy crisis, political instability and poverty.


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Turkemenistan: Real Street Battle. Imaginary Islamists? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kayumars Turkistani reports on the alleged overnight battle between government forces and “Islamic Militants” in the capital of Ashgabat, which resulted in approximately 20 policemen killed in the battle.


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UK: Gay Azerbaijani Artist Faces Deportation · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that gay Azerbaijani artist Babi Badalov faces deportation from the U.K. this weekend. The blog has chronicled concerns about the persecution of people such as Badalov in the South Caucasus and urges its readers to protest against the decision.


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Venezuela: Digital Workshop in Carabobo · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Luis Carlos Díaz of Periodismo de Paz [es] writes about the recent workshop of the use of web 2.0 in the community of Carabobo, Venezuela.  Here, students learned the use of Google maps, Wikipedia and other participatory media tools.


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Why do Egyptians get Divorced? · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

This question has been circulating a lot in many unrelated circles nowadays. Statistics show that 75,000 Egyptian couples got divorced in 2006/2007.
Wandering Scarab  is trying to provide us with some answers:
It's been noted that divorce rates in Egypt are on the rise. That is despite the fact that Egyptians generally see marriage as a means of gaining independence and engaging freely in sexual activity, as well as gaining stature from being married. It's possible that divorce rates are skyrocketing because couples have misconceptions about marriage that are created by the media in addition to the preconceptions planted in young minds by parents and family about how a marriage should be.
Examples of marital misconceptions follow:
Egyptians often get hooked on mythical marriages like that of Hollywood where phrases such as “love conquers all” and “what matters most is love” constitute the majority of mainstream dramas and romantic comedies, and let's not forget the superficial and misleading soap operas. The average Egyptian mother continues to tell her son to reign in the new wife like she's part of a cattle herd. The same mother will also tell her daughter that it's the sole responsibility of the woman to keep the household running as long as the man is financially capable. In reality marriage requires a lot more work. Some of the bigger C words that come to mind are Commitment, Compromise, and Communication, none of which the average young Egyptian has a clear understanding of it seems.
As harsh as her judgment might sound, Wandering Scarab clearly defends her point:
Newlywed Egyptians seem to be unequipped for marriage. Egyptian girls are brought up with the expectation that life is a journey and marriage is the destination. Women are not encouraged to be financially independent nor are they given the opportunity to be responsible for their own actions. Every choice the woman makes reflects on her family and so there's always pressure and biased sources that seep into the process of decision making. She grows up in a household where the father is the head of the family and is financially responsible for all his children until each one is married.
Nowadays, some parents go even further and continue to support their sons and daughters well after marriage. That is one of the most damaging things to a marriage. It stunts its growth. It takes away the feeling of independence and responsibility, and in turn affects the way newlyweds see their marriage. It forces both parties to acquiesce to certain pressures and forcibly give in to demands, especially from the financially contributing parent. The husband resents his new wife and she loses respect for him because he's unable to provide. When our parents demand that we remain shackled with them until marriage it sets the precedent for the woman that her new husband will take care of her just like her father did. And the son who just got married is expected to shift from someone who is not responsible for anything to being responsible for everything within 24 hours. This is a completely unrealistic expectation of both genders. Egyptian parents do not give their children room to grow.
Another valid point is raised by the Egyptian immigrant:
In addition, Egyptians grow up with a set of stereotypes that continue to be enforced by society well into adulthood. Men often want women who resemble their mothers. They want a household that is similar to the one they just left. They complain that women don't cook as well as their mothers or run a household in the same manner as their mother. Nostalgia, insecurity, or call it what you will. It's the environment they are used to and the one they know works. But they fail to realize that the new household is different and the new wife is precisely that, a wife, a life partner, an equal. Women on the other hand, often expect their partner to be the knight in shining armor, the be all end all of their life. The man becomes the center of their world, and in his absence they lose their sense of balance. This is unrealistic as well as grossly unfair. We cannot expect our men to be superheroes. They are human, and no one is perfect. By expecting either partner to perform according to a preexisting (and unrealistic) benchmark they are setting themselves up for failure. In that sense both partners lack the communication skills to make a marriage work. Instead they rely on traditions and notions passed on from generations before and expect things to magically make sense.
On compromise or the lack of, she writes:
There is also a lack of compromise.
When couples get married, often women expect the same kind of treatment during the engagement, but life is not always so rosy. Both partners had less responsibilities prior to marriage. It is extremely callous of a woman to expect the same man who is working over 18 hours a day to come home and make love to her like a horse or take her out to dinner, let alone listen to her nag endlessly about common stuff. Women seem unwilling to meet their partners half way. They interpret the man's exhaustion as a sign of less love or less interest. And while men care very much they are generally discouraged from showing affection lest they be less manly. Women seem to forget that their men are working two jobs most likely to keep them happy. When a man fails to make his woman happy, he sees the marriage go down the drain. Men who cannot satisfy their wives or make them happy often see themselves as failures. But also, Egyptian men are trained to take their wives for granted after marriage with the idea that she will always be there when he comes home. They forget that women who are taken for granted become bitter and in turn seek alternate ways to display their resentment, which could be manifested in any number of ways.
From compromise, she moves on to communication:
When both partners refuse to compromise and carry resentment for each other, communication inevitably breaks down. A marriage that lacks communication is like a ship without crew, a train wreck waiting to happen.
On the taboo side of marriage, Wandering Scarab talks about sex:
But it's important to note that sexual incompatibility and frustration is one of the leading causes of divorce. Many couples expect that sex will solve their problems, or that sex is a reward for putting up with celibacy for so long and so it's profound enough to fix anything. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Sex in marriage often transforms into a display of affection, more commonly known as “making love” and raunchy sex is seen by some as pure passion. Sex is just that, sex. It can be an act of love between two people, but ultimately it is a physical need which humans desire to fulfill.
Sex cannot solve marital problems and it cannot create affection where there is none. In fact, problems unrelated to sex often penetrate into the bedroom and translate into miserable sex or lack thereof. Egyptian couples seem to understand the significance of sex but fail to see that it's just a barometer that measures how well the marriage is doing. Couples who suffer from problems in the bedroom almost always have problems in other areas of their life that simply have been translated into the bedroom. Many Egyptian couples are overwhelmed by the sense of frustration, especially newlyweds, when they fail in the bedroom.
They see it as a form of betrayal or a reward that's been denied after being celibate for so long. And that frustration can lead to abandonment. They both jump ship so to speak. Problems will always arise between married couples and that's why commitment is key to the success of their marriage. Couples who are committed to fixing their problems or meeting half way are the ones who can make their marriage work. But Egyptian couples seem to put an effort only in relation to the short term gain often because both partners come into the marriage with preset notions, misconceptions, unrealistic expectations, and excess personal baggage.
In conclusion, she writes:
Marriage is all about the big Cs. Marriage in it's infancy is a fragile thing. It needs to be nurtured to grow and flourish. In a successful marriage, both partners are consenting adults who have successfully sorted through their personal baggage, set their misconceptions aside, and adjusted thier expectations to be in line with reality, all through communication. Unfortunately, I don't see many Egyptian couples who fit that description. Their solution, based on a short term gain, is to divorce or remain in an unhappy marriage.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Wind Powered Rotating Skyscraper in Dubai · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

The Green Prophet writes about the plans for Dubai's wind powered skyscraper, which not only has ‘tremendous cool factor’ but also incorporates advanced building principles. (Also discussed on the post).

author: Juliana Rotich


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YouTube Contest for aspiring journalists · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

As I had mentioned back in August, YouTube and The Pulitzer Center have launched Project: Report, a contest for aspiring journalists and now the full rules and instructions are up. The contest and awards are limited to participants who are legal residents of countries where YouTube is officially launched: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Korea, New Zealand, Spain, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), and the fifty United States and District of Columbia. The first assignment out of three consists of submitting a 3 minute or less video in English (or with English subtitles) where you profile a person in your community you think the rest of the world should know about.
As an example of the type of story and delivery they are looking for, they have uploaded a series of videos to assist future journalists who aspire to win the $10 000 USD fellowship and laptop computer award: A series of three videos follow reporter Tracy Chung as she thinks up and records material for a video, with advice on the how to best tell your story (One, two, three). Another video has Pulitzer Center-sponsored journalist, Beth Murphy giving advice on choosing a good character for your profile. As an example for contestants to follow, they have selected a video of Iraq war veteran Kirk Johnson who is dedicating himself to aiding those Iraqis who have assisted the US and whose lives are now endangered because of it.
The following are other profile examples they have listed on the contest's YouTube channel. The first is Simon Mothibi, a South African special Olympics athlete brings hope to his family, as uploaded by avmendes1:
This next one comes from Tanzania, where Camfed international, an organization centered on providing girls in Africa with an education, tells the story of a young girl, Yacinta, who dropped out of school to work as a domestic servant for 1.5 years, just so she could save enough to pay her school fees: Camfed offered to pay her tuition, and now she is studying so in the future she is able to pay for her siblings education.
The full rules for the YouTube Project:Report can be found here. The deadline for this first stage is October 5th. So, for all those diaspora bloggers living in one of the eligible countries, or for legal residents of them who are living elsewhere, this is a great opportunity to make your heroes known to the world.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Armenia: Turkish Visitors · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped quotes news reports saying that 300 Turkish citizens visited the Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan on the sidelines of this month's World Cup qualifying football match between Armenia and Turkey. However, as one comment says, it is unclear how many were ethnic Armenians or ethnic Turks. Nevertheless, the blog notes that the grandson of Jemal Pasha, described by Lawrence of Arabia as the Ottoman Butcher, did visit to pay his respects to those that died during what most people refer to as the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: Coping with meltdowns · Global Voices
Rezwan

Unheard Voices Blog is discussing how the global financial meltdown is affecting Bangladesh.


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Bangladesh: Imposed solution · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Is the solution for political crisis in Bangladesh an ‘imposed’ one?” asks An Ordinary citizen.


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Bermuda: Economic Reality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian blogger Politics.bm finally notices “a change in tone from the Government on economic issues.”


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China: 2008 Beijing Paralympics Ends · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Allen blogs about the closing ceremony of 2008 Beijing Paralympics at the Fool's Mountain.


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China: Why Did I Publish The Name Sanlu? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A reporter blogger tells the readers that the poisonous milk powder issue had been reported in some local newspapers for a period of time, and he is the first reporter who decided to publish the brand name “Sanlu”. ESWN translated his post at Tianya, which gives details about local reporters’ pressure in the process of news making.