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Chile: Earthquake Reveals Social Inequalities · Global Voices
Felipe Cordero

The February 27 earthquake in Chile left more than 2 million displaced, at least 497 confirmed deaths [es], and an estimated US$30 billion in damage. However, the lawlessness that ensued after the quake also left Chileans with a moral question: Is Chilean society a just one?
After the quake hit, a majority of Chileans helped others, assisted their neighbors in need, shared their food surpluses, and donated money in unprecedented ways. Nevertheless, a minority, however small, looted non-essentials, robbed homes, and intentionally set fire to department stores, despite the fact that the Chilean government allowed people to take essentials, such as milk, baby formula, bread, and flour.
Photo of empty supermarket in Concepción by heedmane and used under a Creative Commons license.
Chilean TV stations brought this reality to the homes of millions in a fairly accurate fashion [es], and so Chileans saw how some helped themselves to plasma TVs, refrigerators, and DVD players. The images of crime and looting, and especially the looting of non-essentials, began a national debate about existing social and economic inequalities in Chile.
In an article titled “What type of wood are we made of? [es],” Ricardo Carbone, a blogger, professor, and Director of the Center for Social Reflection and Action [es] at Alberto Hurtado University, argues that the quake exposed major social problems, and that it brought down the facades and appearances of Chilean society. Here, Carbone refers to the facades of people who looted non-essentials and worsened an already difficult situation:
…al igual que en los edificios que cayeron, la fachada era de ciudadanos bien formados y conectados con el mundo y el consumo, pero el interior no estaba soportado por valores sólidos ni principios fuertes. Rápidamente y ante la primera dificultad corrieron a tomar lo que pudieron.
The blogger exhorts Chileans to not only rebuild their infrastructure, but also to reinforce values that would create a better, more inclusive society. He also asked readers:
¿podemos esperar algo distinto en un sistema que genera segmentación y exclusión social?, ¿es el producto de una sociedad que obliga a competir y arreglárselas solo?
Most readers of this blog post agreed with the notion that Chile needs to do a lot of groundwork in education and the inculcation of values. One such reader was Alejandra Muñoz:
Se nos rompio la burbuja y duele ver la verdad. Ahora hay que entenderla, asumirla y trabajar por recontruir nuestros edificios y nuestra sociedad. Se puede perdonar, pero no podemos olvidar lo que ha pasado, ya que habra una proxima vez y no nos puede pillar sin aprender de lo errores.
Though most Chileans agree that the public education system has not succeeded at providing equal opportunities to all Chileans, the looting of non-essentials could not have only been caused by a lack of strong “good values.”
Coyuntura Política [es], a Chilean blog, published the article The Earthquake and the Fractures of Chile  by José Aylwin , Co-director of Observario Ciudadano [es], a Chilean human rights nonprofit located in Araucanía region. With regard to the looting of non-essentials, Aylwin writes:
Tales saqueos, al menos en algunos casos, encuentran su explicación en la percepción de injusticia que existe en sectores de la población que, en momentos de emergencia como este, consideran válido vaciar los estantes de las grandes tiendas y supermercados que, con el aval del estado, han acumulado riquezas a sus expensas, mientras ellos permanecen empobrecidos.
In the article Collateral Damage [es], Patricio Navia, a blogger and professor, explains that in similar natural disasters in other countries, disorder has occurred too. To him, the fault lies with the government:
De haber actuado en consecuencia con el discurso de la normalidad democrática y asumiendo como realidad las repetidas arengas sobre el buen funcionamiento de nuestras instituciones, Michelle Bachelet hubiera tomado las medidas necesarias- incluido el envío de tropas a las zonas afectadas- para asegurar la paz y el orden … mucho antes de que las imágenes de saqueos y pillajes se hayan convertido en parte dolorosa -y evitable- de esta tragedia que enluta al país en su bicentenario.
Video by YouTube user IORITER1 taken in Concepción:
In the blog Humanism and Connectivity [es], Andrés Schuschny posted an article titled Earthquake [es]. He describes the looting as follows:
Es terrible como una catástrofe natural desenmascara el rostro de la desigualdad de un país cuyos dirigentes no quieren asumirla. Porque, por ejemplo, si el 10% de los ingresos del cobre se hubieran, hace años, destinado a la educación pública y los servicios sociales (deudas siempre pendientes en la región) y no a incrementar los presupuestos militares, las compras de armamento sofisticado y el pasaporte a vidas de lujo por parte de los militares de alto rango, tal vez otra sería la historia y los “comunicadores” del sistema no estarían ahora refiriéndose “al LUMPEN” como una caterba de extraterrestres desbocados que afloran sin razón.
Chile, with a prosperous and growing economy in the past decades, is considered to be a country with “high human development” by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Nonetheless, this economic growth is somewhat tainted by the country’s income inequality. The data in the UNDP’s Human Development Report for 2009 (.pdf format) shows that out of 147 countries with an available Gini coefficient (measure used to calculate income inequality), Chile ranks 124, despite the fact that it is ranked number 44 in terms of human development.

author: Felipe Cordero


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China: Do Chinese people live with dignity? · Global Voices
Robert Woo

China’s top leader has made a historic statement regarding human rights and human dignity which has posed both doubts and meaningful questions.
During this year's Spring Festival, China's Premier Wen Jiabao made the unusually phrased statement that his government vowed to “make Chinese people more dignified”. Last Friday, during his annual government work summary to the Lianghui, he reiterated the phrase:
我们所做的一切都是要让人民生活得更加幸福、更有尊严，让社会更加公正、更加和谐
According to an analysis posted by the official website of the Chinese Communist Party, Wen's policy re-statement demonstrates China's commitment toward promoting human rights.
中国的改革开放，是人性复苏、人性张扬的过程，是人权和人的尊严日益真正得到重视的过程。1982年宪法作出了“中华人民共和国公民的人格尊严不受侵犯”的规定，从尊重人格的角度保护人的尊严；2004年宪法修正案进一步明确规定：“国家尊重和保障人权。”这从更全面的权利系列和更崇高的原则层面，宣示了对人的尊严的尊重和保障。进入新世纪以来，党和政府反复强调“以人为本、执政为民”，“一切为了人民群众，一切依靠人民群众”的基本执政方针。“让人民生活得更加幸福、更有尊严，让社会更加公正、更加和谐”，铿锵有力、掷地有声。
However in China, when the supreme authorities propose a particular concept in a formal manner, it is safe to assume that there is something seriously wrong with the actual situation, and the authorities are genuinely worried. For example, the concept of “Harmonious Society” was coined at a time of escalating social tensions across the nation. The same rule applies here also: when Premier Wen vowed to make Chinese people more dignified, we are all free to speculate just how ‘undignified’ the majority of Chinese people actually are.
We do not have to look back too far. Last Sunday, during the same Lianghui, a provincial governor threatened to complain against a journalist who asked a question on an apparently ‘sensitive’ topic; On the same day, the Deputy Minister of Sports criticized one athlete, Zhou Yang, who thanked her parents instead of China after she won a gold medal in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
An article which was widely shared in online forums and social networking sites also pointed toward the same dilemma between what is discussed over the table and what is actually happening. The article, Chinese-Style Dignity, was apparently written by an overseas Chinese who traveled back home. He was first welcomed, but later disgusted by, an old classmate. Now a corrupt local official, that classmate had become rich, powerful and proud of himself, just like many government officials all across China. Indeed, he is living in a life of great ‘dignity’, as judged by the values in the contemporary Chinese society, but it was also the ‘dignity’ based on material wealth and the servitude of less privileged people.
我们每到一处，总是被一群人围着前恭后迎，小心赔笑奉承有加，连到餐馆吃饭都是老板亲自出马，殷勤备至。我跟着他狐假虎威了一回，体验到有如皇帝出游般前呼后拥的至尊至贵，这是我在美国没有的经历。 ….. 没错，在中国，一个人是否被尊重和被尊重的多少取决于你身上披着的社会身份的大小或财富的多少。
像有权的同学一样，一个有钱的同学也不太明白尊严在中国是个问题。在中国的经济和司法还随处有缝可钻的时候，这个同学凭借在政府部门的特殊关系，在只赚不亏的房地产行业找到了他成为富人的位置；在中国的道德开始堕落到以更新妻子包养二奶为荣的时候，他不仅与时俱进地换了个年轻漂亮的妻子，而且在同学朋友中从来不隐瞒包养的情人。现在他家里雇佣了两个保姆和一个专职司机，这些也是他向人展示他的财产的一部分。总之，他总是踩着了时代的步伐，以至他时常感叹，生为男人，只有生在中国才值得。如此的际遇，尊严在他那儿当然不是问题。
Fortunately, many Chinese people have awakened and are now set on the road to the dignity that they deserve. We only need to look at one of the stories above to draw this conclusion. The comment by Deputy Minister of Sports’ does not reflect official thought, on the contrary, it draws criticism and ridicule not only from liberal bloggers but also from the mainstream media. Clearly, the old mentality that somehow individual rights are dispensable has met some rough bumps, and more are yet to come.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Robert Woo


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China: The First Chinese Novel on Twitter? · Global Voices
Andy Yee

Lian Yue, an ex-teacher and ex-procurator and now a famous blogger and political commentator in China, announced on his blog that he is starting a novel, entitled 2020, on twitter this month. According to the blog, the novel will last until 2020.
As far as I can tell (and please correct me if I am wrong), this is the first Chinese novel to be released on Twitter. Matt Stewart is said to be the first writer to release a full-length literary novel, The French Revolution, on Twitter. He decided to do so after failing to find a publisher for his ‘risky’ novel. But for Lian Yue, his motivation is quite different. Here is why:
这跟在浴室唱歌同一个道理。人在放松自由的时空里，你会想到娱乐自己，你有创造与表达的热情。浴室歌声无法发行，偶然听到的人也许耳朵要受罪，可是那个在水雾中温暖松弛的家伙，他无法控制自己啊。
This is like singing in the bath. When you are relaxed, you will entertain yourself; you have the passion for creativity and expression. Bathroom singing could not be published. Those who happen to hear it may suffer. But for the guy who is enjoying himself in the misty bathroom, he could not control himself.
在极端严酷的环境中，创造力将逐渐消亡，文字的多义和暧昧，可以任意引申为犯罪的故意，创造等同于自杀，于是再也没人做了，文字只残存标准化的批判与审判。
In an extremely harsh environment, creativity will gradually die. The ambiguity and polysemy of words mean it could easily be twisted as evidence of crimes. Because creativity is equivalent to suicide, no one is devoted to it. Words have degraded to become standardized criticisms and judgments.
气候稍稍回暖以后，不必穿得那么厚，泥土也变软了，友好地保存你的鞋印，就像苗要从缝里钻出，创造性在这个阶段也是靠它的多义与暧昧甩掉追踪的尾巴，面对指控也可以自我辩护，好比巧妙的示爱，遭拒后并不丢脸。
The weather is warmer; we no longer need to wear so thick. The soil is softer; your footprint could be preserved. It’s like seedling coming out from the crack. At this stage, creativity depends on its ambiguity and polysemy to escape accusations and defend itself. It’s like expressing your love to someone else in such a way that you will not feel ashamed if you are rejected.
只不过，这场游戏不是爱情，谁也不知道哪块肉里有刺，不小心碰到了就痛得发火。创造力还是佯狂装醉，这对思维照样有害。李白与怀素不敢喝醉，只能在微醺中算计，这对他们来说，就失去了一切活力。
However, this is no love affairs. No one knows where the sting lies. If you are careless, you will be hurt. But if you just pretend to be mad and drunk, this will be bad for your artistic thinking. If Li Bai and Huai Su [ancient Chinese poet and calligrapher] dared not to be drunk, they will lose their vitality.
假如一个人在受酷刑，头被摁在水里，快要憋死时，可以探头吸一口气，此时呼吸是唯一主题。而到了正常呼吸的时候，呼吸却被忽视了，这个人就会去找一些别的事情消磨时间。在twitter上就是这种感觉，有创造力的新人们，在那里相会吧。
Suppose one is being tortured and pressed into the water. When he is suffocating, but has the chance to take a breath, breathing would be his only concern. When he can breathe normally, breathing would be neglected. He will look for other entertainments. Being on twitter gives me this feeling. For the creative and entrepreneurial ones, let’s meet there.
If you can read Chinese, you can follow the novel on twitter.com/lianyue (hashtag #ly2020).

author: Andy Yee


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China: Zola’s English blog · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Well known citizen reporter Zhou Shuguang starts to blog in English as he wants to be more international. Here is his first post.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Ecuador: Guayaquil Demands Greater Budget Allocation · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

February was a politically tense month in Ecuador, as gatherings in Quito and Guayaquil were organized by the opposition to President Rafael Correa's government. Perhaps the one which had the greatest visibility was the “March for Dignity” held on February 11, 2010, which was organized by the Guayaquil Municipal government [es] and headed by its mayor and former presidential candidate Jaime Nebot. The organizers say that the march's main purpose was to protest the amount of money allocated to the city's budget, however, others believe that the march was more political in nature.
During his speech at protest, Nebot compared the per capita allocation that Guayaquil receives with that of other Ecuadorian cities. According to Nebot, each resident in Guayaquil receives US$0.75 and residents of other cities receive up to US$508 [es].  He added that even though most other cities will receive an increase in their 2011 budgets from the central government, Guayaquil's budget will decrease.
Nebot's administrative headquarters – Guayaquil City Hall. Picture by Flickr user Roofwalker and used under a Creative Commons license.
The government has defended its budget allocation indicating that Nebot's numbers are incorrect. This, in turn, began a war of words between Nebot and Finance Minister María Elsa Viteri, as well as with Fernando Cordero Cueva, President of the Legislative Assembly, who was called a “liar” by Nebot.  It went as far as the Municipal government of Guayaquil declared Cordero persona non grata.
The campaign is continuing with slogans such as “Funds to Guayaquil” and “Defense of its Model of Development,” and various other local demands. However, there are some who see this campaign as propaganda, and that Mayor Nebot only wants increased political power. This tension can be seen in the blog of Rafael Mendez Meneses, who lives in the community of Naranjal about an hour from Guayaquil, and published a fictional conversation between a protest supporter and a protest opponent [es]. Here he attempts to debunk some of the rhetoric used by Nebot and his supporters about their reasons for the march. In addition, Mendez criticizes the fact that local government employees are granted a day off from work to attend the march.
This video produced by YouTube user mehagopipinebot says that they will not attend the march and asks why does Nebot want more money for the municipality? By placing photos of nice public parks and tourist attraction next to neglected areas of the city, they make the argument that Nebot has not attended to the needs of residents.
The recent march also gave increased political visibility to Nebot, who has emerged as one of the most recognizable of opposition leaders.  However, he is criticized by blogger Xavier Flores Aguirre, who writes that Nebot lacks credibility and that it benefits the central government having an opposition figure as incompetent as Nebot:
Al final, la revolución ciudadana tiene el opositor ideal: territorialmente limitado, sin propuestas nacionales y sin horizonte político”. Corolario: Nebot está encerrado en un cajón con vista al Guayas (un cajón, al que se le colocarán en algún momento cirios para que sea lo que está destinado a ser: el ataúd para el último dinosaurio de la llamada partidocracia). Corolario2: la oposición (no me refiero, en este punto, necesariamente al Alcalde Nebot, sino a los políticos –o políticos wanna be- que depositan en él sus expectativas) es la mejor aliada del Gobierno central.
One blogger who believes that Nebot has a case for defending his city, and thinks that he should be more firm is El Libertario, a Quito-based blogger. He writes that in terms of business, these resources must be better managed and its own revenues used more efficiently:
En vez de estar mendigando más rentas al gobierno central, Nebot debería plantarse duro para que los impuestos cobrados a sus conciudadanos se queden en su ciudad o aún mejor en los bolsillos de los propios guayaquileños para que ellos los destinen de forma voluntaria a mejorar su ciudad; eso si haría una verdadera diferencia.
Instead of begging more revenues from the central government, Nebot should stand tough so that the taxes collected from its citizens stay in his city or even better, in the pockets of Guayaquil’s people so they can voluntarily improve their city; that would make a real difference.

author: Milton Ramirez


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India: Sugarcane Price Stirs Worry · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ram Bansal at India in Peril discusses about the rising price of sugarcane in India and the impending crisis in the sugar market because of it.

author: Rezwan


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Jamaica: Remembering Watson · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The blog of the National Gallery of Jamaica pays tribute to the late painter and sculptor Osmond Watson.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: No Nukes · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Martin J Frid blogs about the recently revealed secret agreement between Japan and the U.S in 1969 which has violated the three non-nuclear principles signed by former Japanese Prime Minister Sato in 1974. The agreement stated that if there was a war or a crisis, Japan would not object to the US bringing its nuclear weapons into Japan, for use elsewhere.


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Macedonia: Most Popular Pop Songs on YouTube · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Igor Mihajlovski published [MKD] an interesting analysis of number of views of Macedonian pop songs on YouTube, sorting them by time periods (1945-1979, 1980-1999, 2000-2010). He included videos of the late international star Toshe Proeski, whose interpretation of folk song “Zajdi zajdi” is the ‘winner’ with almost 4 million views. The results also show that duets with foreign artists definitely draw eyeballs, and point to the rise of popularity of hip hop.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Middle East: Mourning the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

The Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo – by Hossam all line on Flickr
Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the Grand Sheikh of the Al-Azhar  mosque in Cairo, Egypt has died at age 81. Reactions to his death in Middle East blogs have varied from mourning to critical recollections of his many controversial fatwas.
Tantawi, who was regarded as one of the most important Sunni Muslim scholars, died of a heart attack during a visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he was attending a prize-giving ceremony. His son has requested for him to be buried in Saudi Arabia at ِAl-Baqi’ – a holy cemetery for Muslims.
Issandr El Amrani, an American journalist living in Cairo, who blogs at The Arabist wrote a comprehensive article saying:
Tantawi leaves a mixed legacy behind him: overall, the immediate verdict may be that he was too liberal for conservatives, too conservative for liberals, too compliant with the regime for those who want al-Azhar to be independent, and too independent for those in the regime who needed Azharite support to enact policy changes on issues as varied as Palestine, banking and TV game shows. The overall image is of a man besieged on all sides, but adept at fighting bureaucratic battles in the bloated, clerical civil service that al-Azhar has become.
Issandr also recalls some of the moments of outrage surrounding Tantawi, like when he shook hands with Israeli president, Shimon Peres at a UN-sponsored interfaith conference in New York, and another time when he lashed out at a girl who was wearing a niqab in a school classroom.
In conclusion, Issandr writes:
It is likely that Tantawi will be remembered for these controversies and his clashes with journalists — he frequently yelled at them and is said to have hit one — as well as his sometimes coarse language. He leaves behind an unreformed al-Azhar — an institution that includes a university and a school system as well as a theological center — whose credibility has hit rock-bottom. This may be because Tantawi was too pliant towards the regime, or because of the growth of various trends in contemporary Islam that reject al-Azhar's centrality. […] Whoever replaces him — perhaps Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, another tentative modernizer — will have much work to repair al-Azhar's standing and its vitality as a place of learning. It will also have to make difficult political decisions, especially on the issue of presidential succession, at a time when clerics are beginning to voice an opinion on the prospect of a Gamal Mubarak presidency.
Egyptian Zeinobia was among the first to mention the news on her blog :
We have disagreed a lot with the late Sheikh yet we can't deny that from the theological point of view he made a great work.
There is no doubt that politics harmed the late Sheikh still it does not matter because he is in the hands of God right now…
Maysaloon, a Muslim Syrian expat studying in UK, also wrote his opinion while mourning Tantawi‘s death:
I've just heard that the Sheikh of al Azhar, Mohamad Sayid al Tantawi, has passed away. I think he was a frail old man in a difficult position, and that was what made him say some of the ridiculous things he did regarding Palestine, or shaking the hand of Peres. I think that whilst the sensationalism of these mistakes has gotten a lot of attention, he should also be remembered for his work as the head of the second oldest university in the world. The oldest being al Qaraween in Fez, Morroco. The duty and responsibility of a man in his position was never going to be lightly accepted and in a time when the Arab and Islamic world's lights have never been so dim, even that such institutions exist is an achievement and defiance.
Many other bloggers from the Middle East and North Africa region commented on the news like Banat Zayed from UAE [Ar], Al Dorah from Kuwait [Ar], Mohamed Siruhan a Muslim living in Maldives, Amal Akefy from Yemen, Abdulsalam from Syria and Mayada and Loqmet Eash [Ar] from Egypt.
On Twitter, the news was also at the top of topics discussed in  morning.
@Tafatefo :
@Ayyachomsky:
@ahmedikhwan:
@BooDy:
I would like to conclude by two lines blogger Hamada, from Egypt, wrote:

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Nicaragua: The Passing of Musician Salvador Cardenal · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Nicaraguan musician Salvador Cardenal passed away on March 8, 2010 after a lengthy illness. His official blog [es] is collecting memories of his life in music, as well as receiving messages from his fans.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Nigeria: Images of children killed in Jos · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Images of children killed after violence erupted in Jos, Nigeria.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Peru: Flight Attendant Becomes Internet Celebrity · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón

Due to some very special welcoming words that were captured on video, the chief flight attendant on the December 20, 2009, TACA flight, César Soto has become the newest YouTube sensation in Peru. Minutes after landing at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Soto said the following words to the passengers on the flight originating from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
Damas y caballeros, quiero darles la bienvenida a Lima: capital gastronómica del mundo, tierra del cebiche, del pisco y del pisco sour, así como también del lomo saltado, la causa limeña, la chicha morada, el pollo a la brasa, los anticuchos, el suspiro, etc.
La ciudad cuenta con bares típicos y sabrosos restaurantes. Si se queda en nuestra ciudad, no olvide visitar el centro histórico, su famosa catedral. Si quiere ir de compras vaya a Miraflores y si está corto de dinero, pude ir a Gamarra o a los Polvos Azules.
Vaya y diviértase en LarcoMar y deléitese la vista con nuestro extenso circuito de playas. Si aun así se queda corto y quiere algo romántico, vaya a Barranco a caminar por el puente de los suspiros.
Quiero recordarles que no dejen sus objetos personales en el avión, tales como laptops, iPods, libros, sombreros, bastones, gorras, etc.
No nos haremos responsables por objetos dejados dentro del avión. Más aun, los estaremos sorteando en nuestro próximo vuelo entre los pasajeros que tengan la dicha de viajar con nosotros.
Quiero recordarles al pasar sus controles de migración y aduanas sonreír y pensar bonito. Cuando piensa bonito todo sucede bonito.
Tome su paso por Aduana como si hubiera hecho un deporte extremo.
Usted queda totalmente a merced del Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez de la ciudad de Lima.
Finalmente me gustaría recordarles que la vida es muy corta: perdone rápido, bese lento y ame intensamente, y nunca deje de sonreír por más extraño que le parezca el motivo.
La vida tal vez no sea la fiesta que esperábamos pero mientras estemos acá solo nos queda bailar.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Lima: world's gastronomical capital, land of the ceviche, pisco and pisco sour, as well as the lomo saltado, causa limeña, chicha morada, barbecued chicken, anticuchos, suspiro, etc.
The city has typical bars and delicious restaurants. If you will be staying in our city, don't forget to visit historic downtown, its famous cathedral. If you want to go shopping, go to Miraflores and if you are kind of broke, you can go to Gamarra or to Polvos Azules.
Go and have fun in LarcoMar and enjoy yourself on our long beach circuit. If you still are kind of broke and looking for something romantic, go to Barranco and take a walk at the Puente de los Suspiros.
I want to remind you not to leave personal objects in the plane, such as laptops, iPods, books, hats, canes, caps, etc. We won't be held responsible for objects left on the plane. Furthermore, they will be raffled off on our next flight among the passengers who have the joy of flying with us.
I want tot remind you while going through Immigration and Customs controls to smile and think nice. When you think nice thoughts everything happens nice. Take your passage through Customs as some type of extreme sport.
You all are at the mercy of Jorge Chávez International Lima Airport.
Finally, I'd like to remind you that life is too short: forgive fast, kiss slowly, and love intensely, and never stop smiling no matter how weird you think it is.
Life may not be the party we expected, but as long as we are around, we can only dance.
The video was filmed by YouTube user Mellowyn, who uploaded the video to her account. The video, which has been viewed more than 110,000 times, has made more than the passengers smile. The 36-year-old flight attendant originally from the Jesús María District in Lima, Peru has over 8,000 flying hours [es] under his belt, and also thanks to the video has his own Facebook group with more than 6,400 members.
Soto's welcoming message has been promoted by bloggers, such as from Fernando Zambrano, who reviews on his blog Ferblogtv [es], the best parts from the message and writes that Soto has gone from Chief Flight Attendant to Internet celebrity [es].
Memorex, who blogs on El Aprendiz RRPP [es], shares his opinion from the perspective of a public relations apprentice:
Es tan sencillo que cuesta creerlo. Taca no tuvo que invertir un centavo en costosos, magnos y pomposos recibimientos; simplemente bastó el ingenio y buen humor del piloto para lograr que su público tenga una buena imagen de la empresa; y muy probablemente vuelva a viajar con ellos.
Rafael Grández emphasizes [es] the impact Soto's words are having in Taca as a business:
Ahora César Soto está endosando su popularidad y celebridad a TACA. Nótese el impacto positivo que tiene un colaborador motivado y comprometido con su trabajo, con el brindar un mejor servicio. Acordémonos que los primeros en hablar bien o mal de una institución, los directamente llamados a mejorar su imagen, o por el contrario a dinamitarla, son los propios trabajadores.
However there are some skeptical individuals who believe that the video may actually be a viral video conceived by the airline. For example, Milton Vela of the blog Café Taipá [es] lists six reasons why he thinks this is a viral video from Taca, including the fact that the crew allowed a camera record when electronic devices should be turned off:
sólo quiero resaltar por qué este video se ha hecho un viral, que para nada busca establecer reglas generales, ya que si se tuviera la fórmula de hacer popular a un video en Youtube, realmente andaríamos pegados a este canal, y ya no tendría sentido tanta sorpresa.
Álvaro Alonso Zapatel of the blog El Gato del Hortelano [es] summarizes his opinion whether or not it is indeed a viral video on a final note to his post:
No faltan algunos que piensan que esto es un “viral” sembrado por TACA, pero no me interesa, la gente no lo sabía y eso me parece recontra buena onda.
Viral or not, the truth is César Soto has become an internet celebrity thanks to it.

author: Gabriela García Calderón


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Russia: Two Journalists Kidnapped in Caucasus · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Israpil Shovhalov and Abdulla Duduev, two journalists of the “Dosh” online magazine were kidnapped on March 9, 2010 in the Republic of Ingushetia, one of the most unstable regions in Russia, Kavkazky Uzel reported [RUS].

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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

KnowTnT.com feels “compelled to write about the elephant – or in T&T, the Manicou – in the middle of the room.  Inertia.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Thought Bubbles from London · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's fake Prime Minister blogs from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, here and here.


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Against Cyber-Censorship – Voices in Hindi · Global Voices
Archana Verma

On the occasion of the World Day Against Cyber Censorship being celebrated by the Paris-based Reporters without Borders (RSF) on the 12th of March, netizens across the world are realizing that even in this age internet is not free from restrictions on freedom of expression – a basic human right, which in many parts of the world is being encroached upon by those in power. RSF intends to “rally everyone in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all”.
Internet-surveillance trends around the world are both interesting and surprising. According to the  Reporters without Borders, Saudi Arabia is definitely a high internet-surveillance zone. This is one of the few issues on which Saudi Arabia stands together with Iran and Tunisia! The 13 countries that control and block the Internet, including North Korea which entirely controls ownership of the internet-connected computers to a selected few, are – Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The RSF call these countries Internet's Black-Holes.
Image Courtesy – Reporters Without Borders/Internet's Black-Holes
The Reporters without Borders not only identify the countries that block Internet, they have devised a rating of the degree of censorship And the trends are surprising:
India doesn't fall in the category of “Internet Black-Holes,” hence Hindi web-writers haven't written much on it because they haven't faced this problem. However, there are some Hindi bloggers who have reflected on press-freedom from different angles. I reproduce some of  their thoughts below:
Mr. Mysterious from Jeddah writes on his Hindi blog about bloggers being imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for talking about human rights violation:
समाचार एजेंसी डीपीए ने 32 वर्षीय फौद अल-फरहान के हवाले से बताया कि पेशे से तकनीकी विशेषज्ञ और मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ता फौद ब्लाग लिखने के जुर्म में पिछले तीन महीने से कारावास में है।
फौद के अनुसार बिना किसी पुख्ता सबूत के और बिना कारण बताए उन्हे गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया। गिरफ्तारी से ठीक पहले अपने ब्लाग पर उन्होंने सऊदी अरब के उन दबंग व्यक्तित्वों के बारे में लिखा था जो उन्हे बेहद नापसंद है। इनमें अरबपति राजकुमार वालिद बिन तलाल और कई नामी मौलवियों के नाम शामिल थे।
सऊदी अरब में ब्लागर्स की इस गिरफ्तारी के खिलाफ बहुत सी आवाजें उठ रही है। ब्लागर्स पर चलाए जा रहे न्यायिक मामलों के बावजूद उनके परिवार वाले और मानवाधिकार संगठन इस मनमानी का डट कर मुकाबला कर रहे है।
Rachna Verma has commented in her Hindi blog on the freedom of expressions and the behaviour of the mediapersons in India, who misuse their freedom of expression to keep themselves in powerful position:
दुनिया का सबसे बड़ा लोकतंत्र हमारा देश और उससे भी बढ़कर उसके नागरिकों को प्राप्त अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता का अधिकार और इसके साथ ही कार्यपालिका, व्यवस्थापिका और न्यायपालिका पर नजर रखने के लिए बना चौथा स्तम्भ यानि मीडिया॥ अभिव्यक्ति का सशक्त माध्यम , लेकिन अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता का पुरजोर बना यह चौथा स्तम्भ ही इस अधिकार पर पक्षपातपूर्ण रवैया अपना रहा है॥ यहां ये साफ कर देना जरूरी है कि यह केवल मेरा अनुभव और व्यक्तिगत राय है॥ हो सकता है कई लोग मेरी इस बात से इत्तेफाक न रखते हो, लेकिन वहीं है ना अभिव्यक्ति है, इसलिए इस अधिकार का प्रयोग करना एक जागरूक नागरिक होने के नाते मैं जरूरी समझती हूं॥
Another Hindi blog bhadas4media celebrates the lesson taught by the reporters in Gujarat to the Chief Minister Modi's government's attempt to curb the freedom of the press by restricting their entry into government hospitals – a move which was strongly opposed by the reporters and it had to be retracted by the government:
गुजरात के सरकारी अस्पतालों में पत्रकारों के प्रवेश पर लगी पाबंदी जबरदस्त विरोध के बाद सोमवार को हटा ली गई। पत्रकारों ने सरकार के इस आदेश के खिलाफ विधानसभा की कार्यवाही का बहिष्कार किया और सचिवालय में भी हंगामा मचाया। इसके बाद स्वास्थ्य मंत्री जयनारायण व्यास ने इस आदेश को वापस ले लिया और बुधवार को पत्रकारों से चर्चा के बाद ही इस पर कोई फैसला लेने की घोषणा की।
स्वास्थ्य विभाग के उपसचिव आई.एम. कुरैशी ने 2 फरवरी 2010 को एक परिपत्र जारी कर गुजरात के सरकारी अस्पतालों में पत्रकारों के प्रवेश पर प्रतिबंध लगा दिया था। उन्होंने बताया कि मीडिया में कई बार तथ्यविहीन व गलत समाचार दिखाए और प्रकाशित किए जाते है जिससे प्रशासन की छवि धूमिल होती है। अहमदाबाद में नाराज पत्रकारों ने सिविल अस्पताल परिसर में धरना दिया और सरकारी आदेश की होली जलाकर अपना विरोध जताया।
This blog-post supports the protest of the press which resulted in the order being taken back by the Gujarat government by titling the post as “Mediapersons Teach a Lesson to the Autocratic Officials of Modi.”
BBC Hindi News service had also reported the Google Debate in China early this year –
इंटरनेट सर्च कंपनी गूगल ने कहा है कि वो चीन में अपना कामकाज समेट सकती है क्योंकि चीनी मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं के ईमेल कथित तौर पर हैक किये जा रहे हैं…
हैकिंग
वेबसाइट पर हमला करने वालों का प्रमुख लक्ष्य था मानवाधिकार कर्मियों के जीमेल अकाउंट को हैक करना
डेविड ड्रमोंड, गूगल के अधिकारी…
कंपनी की तरफ से जारी किये बयान में डेविड ड्रमोंड ने कहा, “वेबसाईट पर हमला करने वालों का प्रमुख लक्ष्य था मानवाधिकार कार्यकर्ताओं के जीमेल एकाउंट को हैक करना.”…
कंपनी को जांच के बाद इस बात की जानकारी मिली है कि कम से कम दो जीमेल एकाउंट को हैक किया गया.
गूगल ने कहा है कि अमरीका, चीन और यूरोपीय देशों के उन लोगों के दर्जनों जीमेल एकाउंट को किसी तीसरी पार्टी ने खोलकर देखा, जो ‘चीन में मानवाधिकार’ के हिमायती थे…
गूगल का ये भी कहना है कि इस तरह कि हैकिंग कि घटनाएं कम से कम 20 और कंपनियों के साथ भी हुईं हैं.
For a profile of Tunisia and its comparison with Saudi Arabia, please see my blog-post, where I have discussed the issue, apart from its interesting social profile.
The sharp contrast between these two countries does not make them see eye to eye with each other. They are not on the best of terms. However, freedom of expression is one arena where they seem to stand together, though not by design.
As information like these are emerging, people are raising their voice against the censorship and it is important to support these voices. We need to inform, connect and empower these people to defend an Internet without restrictions and make it accessible to everyone.

author: Archana Verma


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China and the U.S: Obama’s China strategy  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Matters has a commentary on China and the U.S relation. While China offers economic partnership and cash, Obama government isolates China in issues like Copenhagen climate summit, non-proliferation, Iran sanctions and RMB valuation


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Google, Yahoo & Other Tech Companies to Operate Freely in Cuba · Global Voices
Susannah Vila

A recent decision by the United States Treasury Department to open up closed societies to American technology companies was met, at least for the first few hours, with radio silence in Cuba.
Treasury's intention is to “make sure the information flows,” under the assumption that “it will have political implications in a range of ways.” But the minimal reaction online is indicative of one of the biggest obstacles to this effort: social media works best with internet access.
According to the International Telecommunications Union, only 13 percent of Cubans have access to the web, while the other two countries subject to the ruling, Iran and Sudan, have 31 and 10 percent of their populations on the web, respectively.
Sentiments trickling out of the Cuban blogosphere — including blogs both from the island and from its diaspora–underscore this point. “This will be for the personal use of the dictators, because you aren't allowed to have internet in Cuba,” comments El Colmo at Diario de Cuba.
Juan Rodriguez, also at Diario de Cuba, adds:
La dictadura militar cubana nunca dejara que el pueblo cubano tenga servicios de internet en sus casas:Desde que se implanto la dictadura ‘revolucionaria’ de Fidel Castro, al pueblo cubano le han bloqueado los accesos a las fuentes internacionales de informacion…ellos saben que mantener desinformado al pueblo cubano garantiza la sobrevivencia de la propia dictadura.
Lack of access isn't the only factor that may be muting Cuban reaction to the easing of restrictions. As Havana Times writes:
If these countries actually desire to use U.S. internet companies is another subject.
And, taking the prospect of anti-American sentiment a step further, Cuba Journal writes in a post titled “The Arrogance of it All”:
I say that the new rules will make it possible for the imperialists to communicate better with the mercenaries that they hire inside those three countries.
Stateside, US-Cuba policy blogger Phil Peters praises the decision, saying:
This is progress; the regulations are catching up to the Secretary of State’s speech on Internet freedom.
And Bloggings by Boz tweets:
The US lifted all restrictions on internet providers doing business with Cuba. They don't have that excuse anymore.
While it may be difficult to argue against a set of clear and transparent rules for what companies like Google and Yahoo can and cannot do within other nations, this step forward seems to have merely highlighted the lack of larger scale changes that many Cubans and Cuban-Americans may be hoping for.

author: Susannah Vila


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India: Honor Killing Recognized By A Court? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dilip D'Souza at Death Ends Fun writes about the reasoning of a verdict by the Supreme Court of India and comments: “what I want to know is, when will we stop referring to this kind of murder as “honour killing”?”


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Indochina: Drying up of Mekong River · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Andrew Walker, writing for the New Mandala, blogs about the drying up of Mekong River in Indochina.

author: Mong Palatino


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Iran: OR318 memorial to blogger’s death in prison · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The one year death anniversary of blogger and journalist Omid Reza Mir Sayafi is coming around and the OR318 movement is quite active, raising awareness regarding not only Omid's  death in an Iranian prison but also the risks bloggers take when they decide to write.
On their website march18.org they have gathered blog posts, videos and photographs around freedom of speech, and also have active twitter and facebook groups.
This is one of the videos, uploaded by wunderkindify,  where he explains how OR318 came to happen:
Jordan Ess showed his support by taking a picture of himself holding up signs supporting the movement:
Jordan Ess shows support for OR318
How can you participate and let the world know that freedom of speech matters? MEYmedia uploaded a video where they explain the different actions you can take to support the OR318 Movement.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Japan: Bulwark of citizen journalism closes shop  · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

JanJan, Japan Alternative news for Justices and NewCultures, Japan’s most popular news website based entirely on citizen journalism is about to suspend publication.
At the end of March, the Japanese version of Ohmy News, launched in 2002 and following in the footsteps of its Korean counterpart, will shut up shop.  It may be reopened in future, perhaps with a more up-to-date business model.
Many regular readers who received  notice from JanJan explaining the decision to suspend the service, have expressed their discontent. Praising the website’s original intent to provide an alternative coverage of issues that major Japanese media fail to cover and to offset the power of entrenched institutions such as the notorious  kisha clubs or press clubs.
Devoted readers, like aoki0104, also are worried about the interruption to the portal Za Senkyo (ザ・選挙, The Elections), a complete and regularly updated database with information on politicians and elections throughout the whole country.
市民記者制度を日本ではじめて導入したインターネット新聞であるJANJANから休刊のお知らせがメールで届いた。休刊理由は社会環境の変化や広告収入の減少による経営悪化などとのこと。運営にどの程度のコストがかかるのか知りたいところ。人件費はもちろんのこと、サーバーの維持管理費などの固定的経費を考えるとまとまった額が必要なのだろうけど。特にザ・選挙の閲覧ができなくなるのが痛い。例えば、更新をおこなう必要はないのでどこかの研究機関がせめてデータだけでも引き継げるといいのだけど。過去の選挙データを無料で閲覧できるのは大変有難かった。結局、利用するユーザを巻き込んで支える仕組みをつくれなかったのが敗因なのかな。
‘Note: JanJan will be temporarily suspended’ appeared on the JanJan home page.
Also Nishi Hiroshi, a politician  from Ibaraki prefecture is a big fan of “Za Senkyo” and JanJan in general.
インターネットの解禁も近くなりつつあるこの時期に、それを牽引してきた貴重なサイトが無くなってしまうという事は本当に残念で仕方がありません。
[…]
現職の国会議員や一部の自治体議員についての一覧サイトなどは他にもありますが、全自治体の選挙結果や全ての候補者まで一覧で分かりやすく紹介しているサイトは他にはありません。唯一の貴重な存在だったのです。
それだけに運営する側としては大変なご苦労をされてきたのでしょうけれど…逆に言えばその蓄積は大きな財産であるのは間違いありません。
『ザ・選挙～JANJAN全国政治家デ ータベース』の部分については、最近選挙について積極的になりつつあるYahoo!や楽天とかがスポンサーになってくれないものでしょうかね…。
道のりは険しいでしょうけれど、どうにか復刊（継続）して欲しいサイトです。
Learning of the interruption to a media site which relies on nearly 8,000 citizen journalists some bloggers speculated about the cause of it.
Parsley  indicates as a possible cause the poor quality of the coverage due to the nature of citizen journalism and the lack of quality control on the content.
結局のところ、ユーザー個々が良質と見做したコンテンツを検索エンジンで探したり、RSSリーダーに登録したり、iGoogleに登録したりして、自分 なりのプラットフォームをカスタマイズ出来る時代に、メディア自体をプラットフォームとして構築すること自体が時代遅れなのだろう。ユーザー側にアプロー チするためには、いかに良質なコンテンツを多く抱えているか、ということに注力しなければならない中、クオリティコントロールをまったく念頭に置いてこな かった市民参加メディアをどのようにこれからの反面教師としていくのかがポイントとなっていくのだろう。
Blogger toru_loves_you suggests that licensing its contents under Creative License would somehow have saved JanJan.
乱の末に消えてしまったOhmyNewsから1年近く．
ついに市民メディアの代表格だったJANJANが休刊を迎えることになった．
技術的な遅れ，報道の自主性の広がりが理由に挙がるが，1番の原因は広告収入の減収のようだ．
最近は折込ができるフリーペーパーが増えてきたが，Netの世界ではその実体のなさが命取りになったのだと思う．
手元まで届くかどうかの信頼性というのはやはり大きい．
後，広げた風呂敷が大き過ぎたのか，お金がかかるシステムに依存してしまって，休業せざるを得ないというのはもったいない話だ．
今年にはドメインも変わってしまったし，一体，何をしていたのだろうか．
この手のことはCreative Commonsライセンスの元で発展すれば良かったのにと思う．[…]
Creative Commonsライセンスを拒否することは一瞬で簡単にできてしまうが，その傷は徐々に徐々に大きくなる．
Finally, harsh is the criticism to JanJan by blogger Ampontan in his accurate and illuminating review of the Japanese media landscape.
The publication, whose slogan was, “Citizens’ media by the citizens for the citizens,” has been around for seven years. They say ad revenue has fallen so drastically the enterprise is now unsupportable.
They’re probably telling the truth about the ad revenue, but they’re not telling us why the ad revenue dried up. Here’s a possibility—the site content wasn’t worth reading. The name JanJan is short for Japan Alternative News for Justices and New Cultures, and I’ll pause a second for everyone to roll their eyes. The articles on the site are just as ploddingly earnest and poorly written as one might gather from that title.
Their one good idea was to compile a database on the nation’s politicians, but only an extreme policy wank or political otaku would have found it useful.
Now, if the citizens had managed to dig up information such as the following [i.e. DPJ Secretary-General Ozawa's practice to buy journalists], it might have turned out differently for them.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Most visited 50 websites · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Two different lists of the “most visited websites in Japan”. One by the Tokyo Ogilvy Digital Influence team and one by Authority.jp [en].


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Morocco: Christian Aid Workers Expelled · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Saying goodbye to some of the orphans (photo from the Village of Hope official website)
Last week, 20 staff members of the Village of Hope, a small orphanage in a small town in rural Morocco, were deported from the country without warning, under charges of proselytizing. The Village has quietly existed for the past ten years, and is staffed mostly by Christians from Western countries.
Staff members claim they have always been transparent about their Christian identities to Moroccan authorities, without incident. For many of the children, the orphanage is the only home they have ever known.
The Village of Hope's official Web site hosts a statement, endorsed by all of the staff members who were asked to leave the country, which reads:
On Monday 8th March, all 16 overseas workers, including 10 parents, and  13 natural-born dependents, were told they were to be evicted from the  site and country.  The reason given was that the parents had been  proselytizing, with no explanation of who, when, where or how this was  alleged to have occurred.  No charges concerning the welfare and care of  the children have ever been raised as a concern by the Moroccan  authorities in the 10 year history of VOH.
The Moroccan  authorities have not produced any evidence of the alleged offence and  they gave only a few hours for the parents to pack up belongings and  explain to their children that they might never see them again.
Few media outlets have picked up on the story (the official Moroccan news agency [FR]  is one), but a number of bloggers with personal connections to the Village have begun to spread word about the incident, some with hopes of returning the staff to Morocco. Blogger Elizabeth Shelby, a Christian worker who volunteered at the orphanage in the past, is calling for prayer from her community, but also is hoping to find explanation from the government as to why the sudden change of heart occurred. She writes:
It has been over 24 hours since 20 workers (most, parents) at the Village of Hope were taken from their children, unexpectedly by Moroccan officials. They were given thirty minutes to pack their belongings and leave the country, with no guarantee of ever seeing their Moroccan children again. The Village of Hope has been in compliance and worked with the Moroccan government for 10 years, and have had very few problems. As of January 4th, Morocco has a new Minister of Justice (ironic) Mohammad Naciri, one who feels he must exercise his power in order to shut down the Village of Hope because he believes “Christians are proselytizing.”
Shelby is also leading a campaign on Twitter, using the hashtag #MoroccoOrphans and has started a Facebook group.
The Moroccan Dispatches has written a thoughtful piece exploring the various aspects of the government's decision, as well as the operations of the orphanage. In respect to both, the blogger writes:
As I mentioned, it's hard to know what really is permissible and what is  not in Morocco since a rule on the books does not necessarily mean  anything. So perhaps, the Moroccan authorities turned a blind eye for  the past few decades just as they do with alcohol, hashish,  prostitution, and speeding. Or perhaps The Village of Hope hid some of  their activities. I do not know.
An American blogger in Morocco writes in with support for the Village:
[The Village's staff]  honestly thought they were complying with regulations, but were  interrogated and deported with almost no time to pack or to say goodbye  to the children.  Orphans have a particularly hard lot in Islamic  countries, where, even if adopted, they don't have the same rights as  biological children, and even the Muslim Moroccans who worked with these  kids got kicked off the premises, so there is not a single familiar  face taking care of them right now.  Please be in prayer for the  children, for those who were deported, and for those who may still be  deported.  Its a rough situation, especially since Morocco has been  considered a moderate nation which encourages peaceful relations between  peoples of different faiths.  Keep the people of this beautiful country  in your prayers.

author: Jillian C. York


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Myanmar: Female military officers · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Nicholas Farrelly, writing for New Mandala, writes a short note about the role of women military officers in Myanmar.


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Myanmar: Halal shops · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Today in Myanmar instructs visitors how to spot Muslim Halal food stalls in Myanmar.


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Nepal: Tibet Uprising Anniversary Exposes Growing Rift · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

Tibet Uprising Day, observed on March 10 every year, marks the violent crackdown in 1959 by Chinese authorities after Tibetan protesters launched protest against their presence in Tibet.
This year's anniversary observation in Nepal is already under tremendous scrutiny from the authorities. EverestJournal, a blog on Nepal tourism and environment, says that Nepalese government is ready to stop any anti-China demonstrations in the country.
“Determined to prevent anti-China demonstrations in Tibet Wednesday, the 51st anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese annexation, Beijing has snapped most links between the former Buddhist kingdom and its neighbor Nepal.
The bridge connecting northern Nepal with Tibet – the Friendship Bridge – has been effectively closed by the Chinese authorities, rights body International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) said in a statement, while flights between Kathmandu and Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, have been grounded since Friday.”
Tibetan Protest in kathmandu. Image by Flickr user Buddha's Breakfast. Used under a Creative Commons License
Nepal's forceful approach towards the Tibet Uprising Anniversary and any public program that may be organized by Tibetan refugees in the country is attracting criticism from Tibetan & Nepali blogs.
TibetCustom says that Nepal is falling “into the arms of China over Tibet “issue””:
“The Nepalese government has adopted a hard line against expressions of Tibetan identity in Nepal, despite strong cultural and religious ties among the Himalayan peoples that have existed for centuries. Long-staying Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu and in settlements close to the Tibet-Nepal border are increasingly fearful as the Nepalese government relinquishes its historic and sovereign interests in response to incentivized political pressure from Beijing and its Nepalese sympathizers.
Mary Beth Markey, Vice President of Advocacy of the International Campaign for Tibet, said: “These disturbing developments deserve an immediate response by the international community…..”
Lathi charge on Tibetan protest in Kathmandu. Image by Flickr user Buddha's Breakfast. Used under a Creative Commons License
At influential Tibetan blog Phayul, Kalsang Rinchen reported on Nepalese government's decision to detain Tibetan government's representative. Rinchen describes the government's decision as a deliberate move to “appease” the Chinese.
“The Nepal government has recently launched hunt for “trouble makers” through surprise raids of hotels, restaurants and homes earlier last week reportedly under pressure from China that rewards the crisis stricken country with financial aid and military assistance. Several Tibetans have been reportedly taken under “preventive custody” ahead of Wednesday's commemoration. Unlike protests against China by exiles in other parts of the world, the Tibetans in Nepal do not organize protests under any of the Tibetan exile groups like the Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association or Students for a Free Tibet making it hard for the Nepalese police to pin down on any particular group.
Nepal has intensified its control on the Tibetan refugee community that numbers around 20000 ahead of Wednesday’s Tibetan uprising day commemoration. The Himalayan Kingdom that was struck by a series of domestic turmoil and political revamp in the last decade has been preventing the Tibetans from engaging in anti China activities on its soil. “
Over The Top, the Blog of Himal Magazine from Nepal informs:
A letter dated 8 March from the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Committee of Kathmandu, currently making its rounds in the community, makes the ominous allegation that the Nepali police have been going so far as to threaten some extremely dire consequences to the kinds of protests Kathmandu has seen in the past. In a stark warning to the community, the letter states that, in the areas deemed off limits to demonstrators, “the police may even resort to shoot[ing].” As news of arrests of Tibetan activists continue to trickle in, the accompanying photographs taken today around the valley indicate that the Nepali government will continue to channel the paranoia of Beijing.
This is not the first time Tibetan community in Nepal has come under government's ire. There was a large scale violent crackdown in 2008 when protest against China broke out in Kathmandu before the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Protest in Pokhara before summer olympics in Beijing. Image by Flickr user Tboothhk. Used under a Creative Commons License.
A recent report in Al Jazeera English characterized the incident as Nepal curtailing Tibetan community's free speech rights, under pressure from China.
Focus on the Tibetan community in Nepal and neighboring India has however failed to include growing division within the community on a very serious issue-religious freedom. The Dalai Lama has imposed a ban on worship of deity Shugden. This has divided the community as Shugden's believers face hostility and suspicion.
As Nepal continues to put emphasis in building closer relationship with China, its relationship with hundreds of Tibetan refugees scattered around the country is bound get more strained in coming days. Anniversaries commemorating events like 1959 uprising juts add extra pressure to the already difficult situation.

author: Bhumika Ghimire


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Pakistan: Say No To Honor Killings · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro asked his readers to act to prevent a possible ‘Honor Killing’ in Quetta. Today the blogger updates the status of the couple under threat.


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Russia: Photos of Khrapovitskiy Estate · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Blogger vadych posted photos of ruins of the magnificent Khrapovitskiy estate, the only Russian estate built to compete with classic French mansions. Under Bolsheviks, the estate experienced nationalization, transformation to public college, then dormitory, fire and now it is close to complete destruction.


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Russia: Soviet Singer Becomes Internet Meme · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

A wordless song “I'm Glad I'm Finally Returning Home” performed by Soviet singer Eduard Hill became the recent Internet meme on English-speaking blogosphere. The Youtube video for the song counts about 2 mln. views, 13 thousand comments and 96 video replies.


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Russia to Launch Social Network for Public Officials · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

Russia will launch  a social network for governmental officials involved  in implementation of e-government program. The Minister of  Telecommunication Igor Schegolev explained that the network would foster communication between the federal  government and regions.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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South Africa: The Democratic Alliance and Politics 2.0 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Several political parties and politicians in Africa understand the importance of using social media tools to engage with citizens and party members. Today we are looking at the Democratic Alliance, South Africa's Official Opposition and its leader, Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.
The Democratic Alliance officially launched its social media strategy in February 2009, which includes two interactive websites, online advertising and marketing, SMS communication, mobile web access and engagement with voters via social networking and in the blogosphere.
The DA has a social media campaign site, official site and a mobile site.
The party has a Twitter page with latest news feed posted on its website. The party has 1,370 followers.
DA's latest tweets:
Department's R126-million debt threatens to halt printing of all passports http://bit.ly/c8V4Qy 18 minutes ago via twitterfeed
Limpopo premier agrees that teaching should be declared an essential service. Does the national minister agree? http://bit.ly/by1m7L 18 minutes ago via twitterfeed
Corruption thrives in tenders under R200 000 http://bit.ly/bkkOcT 19 minutes ago via twitterfeed
Transport Department's R76-million conference splurge – enormous wasteful expenditure includes R12-million on VIP … http://bit.ly/bkeid8 about 4 hours ago via twitterfeed
Eskom refuses to explain preferential tariff rates – is this Chancellor House all over again? http://bit.ly/9HiiKo about 4 hours ago via twitterfeed
SAA fails to appear before Parliament, after Operations Manager is thrown off SAA flight http://bit.ly/bAqhob about 5 hours ago via twitterfeed
DA welcomes Mtimkulu's suspension http://bit.ly/9WxKv5 about 5 hours ago via twitterfeed
DCS: satellite tracking devices only way to reliable alternative sentencing http://bit.ly/aEyERf about 5 hours ago via twitterfeed
Its leader Helen Zille has a Twitter page and a Facebook account.
Below is one of latest messages from Zille's Facebook page:
As the elected President of our Republic, Jacob Zuma needs to accept that his behaviour will be held up for public scrutiny. If he doesn’t like this, he is free to resign. Elected leaders must be held to account. If their actions contradict their stated public positions (not to mention their government’s policies) they must answer for that.
And comments from South African citizens:
Anna Van Vuuren What sort of an example is Mr Z displaying to our youth? It will just lead them all to hospital with HIV and AIDS!!!!!!
February 9 at 1:22am
Mike Immelman He might be doing us a favour. We'll just have to bring our own children up the right way.
February 9 at 2:58am
Tom Parkin Jacob Zuma needs to step down.
February 9 at 12:08pm
Linda van der Westhuizen With a colourful nation like this who can go wrong with a Zuma on the ladder…….
February 9 at 10:50pm
Ruth Heynsthomas Coley AMEN! He has become an embarresment to our people!
February 10 at 12:43am
Amy Glynn Bailey I couldnt agree more after all if our president cant set an example how can we xpect the youth to know the difference between right and wrong!!!!!!!
February 10 at 2:21am
Yoemna Fakier HI HELEN ZUMA NEEDS TO STEP DOWN & YOU NEED TO STEP IN ,,,LOVE U GIRL.
February 10 at 2:44am
In 207 Helen joined Zoopy in order to connect with voters using photo and video clips covering current issues. The last time she posted content on the site is one year ago.
Zoopy is South Africa's “YouTube”, which allows anyone to sign up and create their own video and photo webpage.
What do South African bloggers think of the DA's use of social media tools?
Mathew Buckland reviewed DA's social media strategy in a post titled, “SA Political Party Launches Impressive, Obamaesque Campaign Site”:
So back to the DA site. The DA’s site has the same silky, blue tones as Obama. The navigation and look and feel is professional and clear. The “Contribute to Change” not only sounds like Obama, but looks like it was almost taken from his site (similar design, font). (I know he’s an inspirational character, but do we have to rip off his site? What about some Africa theming — why are we even using the same US presidential font?)
Packed with social media functionality
The functionality is innovative and clever, and it’s a good job. The DA site allows you to do a couple of things:
▪	Donate: Supporters can donate online in much the same way they could on Obama’s site. Pity they never advertised a premium SMS shortcode number with the credit card payment option that they have. Micropayments via SMS are key revenue spinners on the web because they’re so easy to do. Credit cards are a pain, but most importantly for these elections — not everyone has got ‘em.
▪	Blogs: Users can sign up for a DA blog, and begin writing and campaigning.
▪	Social network: There’s functionality allowing users to build a social network and recruit friends, although the main option encourages users to enter their friend email addresses manually. The second option allows users to upload their contact lists, although I can see many users getting stuck as it really does not have enough explanation or is clear about the format. The site, critically, does not allow contact or social network mining — which allows you to add your contacts and build a social network effortlessly and dynamically. In this busy information-laden world, users don’t use functionality that takes a great deal of effort or too many steps.
Walter Pike's critique of the DA social media strategy, “Does the DA get Social Media?”:
Are the Democratic Alliance doing a copy paste of the Obama campaign and using it as their election strategy? Well I don’t know yet, it just seems to me that they may be. If this is what it is about then I think they may have missed the boat. Social media and social media tools are not ends in themselves. They are tools that can be used in marketing and building a brand and propagating an idea.
The biggest misconception that the casual observer may have of the Obama campaign was that it was merely the digital approach that did it.
Another South African blogger Justin Hartman who was invited to the launching of DA social media strategy wrote:
Both the new DA and Contribute to Change websites are built off open source technology, specifically WordPress, BBPress and BuddyPress, and it's great to see the use of open source to drive the DA's campaign.
I have to commend the DA, its web development team and the guys running the social media strategy behind the scenes on a job well done. I'm only worried that the Contribute to Change website is a little too advanced for a South African audience but only time will tell.
Nic Haralambous noted that democracy in South Africa “is more important than proper use of Facebook, social tools and multimedia”:
Many people have covered, blogged and written about the DA and what they are doing online. It’s quite interesting to me that there isn’t much hype, noise or talk around the other political parties. Yet the DA is getting it in the neck. It’s like we, the online community, are berating one of the few political parties who bothered to actually make an effort. Why are we not giving the other parties hell as openly as the DA? Why does it matter? Surely our countries democracy is more important than proper use of Facebook, social tools and multimedia?
I am interested to know how much money has been put in to the DA’s social media campaign and what sort of return of investment they have and will receive? I wonder if in our country that money could not be better used somewhere else? Marketing the DA differently to a wider audience? Because let me tell you, if we all praise and hail the DA as the online guru’s in politics but they get trumped in the election then I will feel betrayed by social media and so will they.
Moral Fiber wondered whether the DA is utilizing social media “merely as an advertising channel through which they can disseminate party information.”
In the same post Moral Fiber complained about Helen Zille ignoring her Twitter followers, “Shouting down from your ivory tower at us lesser beings merely makes us more likely to keep you locked up in there and never let you out. Ever. Never ever.”:
For instance online @helenzille is challenged often on twitter, “she” hardly ever responds to critique.  Helen you simply cannot expect your listeners online to respond to your tweets which read more like the misfiring of Zuma’s iconic machine gun than they do an open dialogue. , implore you to utilize a different tone to that which you utilize when giving a speech before your obviously inept parliamentarians. Social media snaps that vertical pillar upon which political hierarchies are built, you are meant to sound like the everyman and everywoman: utilize colloquialisms, throw in a witty anecdote, respond to critique, open up your party policies to debate and source wisdom from the crowd following you. Shouting down from your ivory tower at us lesser beings merely makes us more likely to keep you locked up in there and never let you out. Ever. Never ever.
We hope that social media tools will ultimately enrich democracy and political processes on the continent.


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Sri Lanka: Salutations To Mrs. Sonia Gandhi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Lankawomen.net, a blog dedicated to improve the representation of women in Sri Lankan politics, honors Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and President of Indian National Congress, for her role in the recently enacted Women's Reservation bill.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Drought · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Empath says: “This drought is the longest in my memory.”


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Thailand: The Red Shirts are coming! · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Members of the United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), known as the Red Shirts, are scheduled to start a protest march in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 12. Hundreds of thousands of Red Shirts are expected to assemble during the weekend march, which will culminate at Sanam Luang on 14 March. The protesters want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the Parliament.
A google map of the major protest sites in Bangkok.
Many Red Shirts are supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra but not all of them are fans of the fugitive leader who was recently found guilty by the court of corruption charges.
The Red Shirts view the incumbent Prime Minister as being illegitimate and undemocratic. They want to replace the “ammat (elite) system” with a truly democratic and pro-people government.
The weekend rally is seen as the biggest threat to the troubled administration of Abhisit. To prevent “third party elements” from causing trouble, the government has invoked the Internal Security Act that puts the army in charge. The ISA is to be enforced from 11 to 23 March for all of Bangkok and nearby districts. Army officers are told to carry only shields and batons. About 50,000 to 100,000 military and police forces will be deployed in the capital city. Another 46,000 “disaster prevention volunteers” are on standby.
To gather sympathy from Bangkok residents, the Red Shirts sent this email message
“A Message to the Good People of Bangkok and International Communities.”
“On Friday the 12th of March, a campaign aimed at ending the age of the Thai military dictatorship and restoring freedom, democracy and justice to our beautiful nation will begin. At this very moment, hundreds of thousands of people from all across our country not already in Bangkok are preparing to make their way to the capital, in defiance of a regime that has proven its willingness to commit violence and strip away the human rights of those who speak against it.”
“We are convinced that for the coming struggle we need no guns, bullets or blades, but only solidarity and sincerity in our hearts. We have learned from the mistakes of the past, and will allow no repeat of them. We will stand together, we will remain vigilant against troublemakers, and we will take care to ensure that no foreigner is harmed or intimidated. We will stare defiantly down the barrels of the guns of the soldiers who remain loyal to the men who wish us to remain silent and submissive, and we will embrace with open arms those who wish to put down their weapons and join us.”
Despite the assurance of Red Shirts that they will only employ non-violent methods, many people are still worried that violence may erupt especially after viewing this video clip taken last January which showed a Red Shirt leader vowing to turn Bangkok into a “sea of fire”
พี่น้องนัดกันคราวหน้า ถ้ารู้ว่าเขาจะปราบปราม ไม่ต้องเตรียมอะไรมาก มาด้วยกัน ขวดแก้วคนละใบ มาเติมน้ำมันเอาข้างหน้าบรรจุให้ได้ 75 ซีซีคือหนึ่งลิตร ถ้าเรามาหนึ่งล้านคนในกรุงเทพมหานครมีน้ำมันหนึ่งล้านลิตร รับรองว่ากทมเป็น ทะเลเพลิงอย่างแน่นอน การสู้ของคนเสื้อแดงแบบง่ายๆอย่างนี้  บอกให้ทหารได้รับทราบ บอกให้ทหารสุนัขรับใช้อมาตย์ได้รู้ว่า ถ้าคุณทำร้ายคนเสื้อแดงแม้เลือดหยดแต่หยดเดียว นั่นหมายความว่ากรุงเทพฯ จะเป็นทะเลเพลิงทันที
Another problem of the Red Shirts is the rumored plan of the government to close the gas stations in the country to prevent or delay rallyists from travelling to Bangkok. TV reports claim that railway and bus stations are under heavy security. Roadblocks have been set-up. Security checkpoints are now monitoring the activities of Red Shirts.
A grand showdown is expected between the Red Shirts and government forces this weekend. There is now heightened tension and panic in the city. Bloggers share their views and observations:
Residents are withdrawing money from the banks. Some are buying gold bars. Thanong reports:
My friend has just called in to report that she is in a Yaowarat gold shop buying some gold bars — just in case. “I am buying a gold bar for myself and my sister. If you want one, just send me the cash via the ATM now. I'll get one for you,” she said.
No, thank you.
Since Bangkok is a famous tourist destination, the weekend rally can be explained to foreign guests as a political “reality show”
Bangkok is now living under an atmosphere of fear. My former staff now working in the Silom area called in to ask for consultation. How should she told her boss who would be welcoming the foreign guests staying at the Centara Grand Hotel over the weekend.
I told her to keep it cool. “Just stay in the hotel room with a pair of binoculars and watch the reality show,” I said.
She was not impressed.
Parties, receptions, and trips have been postponed because of the planned rally. From absolutelybangkok.com:
Can’t count the cancellations of events for this weekend anymore. Everyone’s postponing. Parties, receptions, trips, they have to wait. The Thai capital is in the grip of the red shirts without them yet being here. Parts of Bangkok will be deserted, others rather not.
The red protest is no longer a protest. It’s a mobilization of hope for some, victory seems near, of utter discomfort for others. Maybe we have never seen as many reds united, but they’re not here to make new friends
Red Shirts protest. Photo from the Flickr page of adaptorplug
But Thai Politics does not think that the Red Shirts are ready to take over the leadership of the country
Well, they can win the first few skirmishes with the army, especially if they engage them in a multiple locations and fully utilize their numerical advantage, but they can’t hold Bangkok for any period of time, they don’t have resources for that and they won’t have any moral support among the occupied Bangkokians, too.
That’s the worst scenario, the best, as I mentioned, is if the government finds a way to discourage pickup drivers from coming. Reds then can rally on foot, express their opinions and outrage, whatever, time for street revolutions have passed and they’ve got a lot of work to do to go mainstream, they are just not ready to take over the country.
Political Prisoners in Thailand monitors news reports about the Red Shirts and makes this important conclusion
Readers should know that all reporting now is heavily biased and many stories are clearly manufactured or reporting manufactured claims. If anyone says they know what is going to happen over the next few days, they are probably not worth listening to. This is a work in progress for the royalist government and their opponents.
Why did the Red Shirts choose to mobilize their members this weekend? Because this week coincides with the end of the high school term. “With the summer holidays beginning and the children not having to go to school, the parents can join the protest with less worry.”
A website identifies the 33 dangerous spots during the “Bloody March”, and the 7 dangerous spots if UDD members are going to block the trafic in Bangkok.


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

Bloggers continue to comment on the latest woes of the Trinidad and Tobago government.


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Ghana: Free visa for FIFA World Cup not so free · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Emmanuel notes that free visa to South Africa for the World Cup are not really free: “Despite rather good relations between South Africa and Ghana, it is never going to be so good that they decide to waive visas for us. There are, ofcourse, conditions, and here are the five-fold ones…”


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Global Voices Authors Speak Out Against Censorship · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The Internet is the tool most feared today by the elites, the media and by the power. It empowers those who otherwise would remain forgotten, oppressed. It is a weapon that gives ammo to those who are protesting for justice, equality and freedom and that shakes the structures of the state – and of companies – which sees no other choice but to censor.
– Brazilian blogger and Global Voices author Raphael Tsavkko Garcia
Today marks the World Day Against Cyber Censorship, an initiative promoted by global NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all.   The day will hopefully inspire Internet users to increase their own awareness of online censorship, which is something that many Global Voices authors know all too well.
GV author Lina Ben Mhenni is one such blogger.  She lives in Tunisia, which has been named by RSF as an “enemy of the Internet” several years in a row.  In her own blog, she writes:
Do you know how does it feel to be censored?
Well, I do !
Indeed, I am experiencing this DISGUSTING feeling since February, 24th 2010. That day, back home from work, I was so disappointed when I discovered the horrible “Error 404″ message- a message that stands for a censored web page in my country- when I tried to log in my Facebook and my blog.
Diego Casaes, a Brazilian GV author who wrote this post on the subject linking to bloggers around the world and highlighting Global Voices’ many projects, wrote his own prescription for how governments should deal with the Internet on his blog:
I also think that governments should be encouraged not to regulate, but rather give the proper infra-structure and educate people on how to use the web. This way, citizens will trust the government and be able to freely express themselves on the web: this is of utmost importance! On this matter, I also think companies should become  more aware of their influence in society. Google’s decision not to regulate search results in China after having some Human Rights activists’ accounts hacked (follow this link for more information) is a demonstration of  how companies should position themselves.
Today is the World Day Against Cyber Censorship
On his blog, Moroccan GV author Hisham answers the question, “What does anti-censorship mean online?”:
In my humble opinion it means protecting what in some countries has become the last frontier of freedom of expression, which is at the core of all other freedoms; the last place where people can still escape restrictions of oppressive regimes. It means using blogs, videos, pictures, social networks, podcasts and the innumerable tools available online to mobilize people around a cause, expose rights abuses, communicate local struggles and causes to the rest of the world, give voices to the disenfranchised and the minority groups, hold governments accountable, investigate and reveal the truth.
Pakistan is not considered an “Internet enemy,” but its online censorship often affects bloggers heavily. Of his country, GV Advocacy author Awab Alvi writes:
It is my position that the internet should be free and open to the People of Pakistan allowing the people to harness this boundless platform for creating new spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet should be considered as a force for freedom and looked upon as a tool for progressing the growth of a struggling nation.
Lebanon is not engaged in filtering the Internet, but that doesn't stop Layal Al Khatib from speaking out about it on her blog.  This is what being anti-censorship means to her:
Freedom! Our most basic right as human beings! We need to be free to express our feelings, thoughts and opinions with no fear of anyone! Censorship by other parties usually ends up with self-censorship, you’ll end up imprisoning yourself if they don’t do it themselves! Which is more dangerous to me..
Lingua Malagasy translator Tomavana notes that in Madagascar, the problem is not necessarily filtering, but access, reminding us [FR] that censorship is not the only barrier to free expression:
Quant à évoquer cette liberté d’expression à Madagascar, c’est invariablement buter à la réalité des manques de moyens communs aux pays en développement….De plus, avec un taux d'utilisation d'internet de moins de 5% de la population, il s'agit plus d'un avantage supplémentaire que monnaie une minorité de privilégié plutôt que de véritable droit.  Je formule cependant le vœu que ces dérives ne puissent servir de prétexte à un musèlement ni une censure d'Internet à Madagascar mais qu'au contraire son accès soit facilité pour le plus grand nombre notamment par une amélioration de l'offre internet accompagnée à une baisse des coûts de connexions.


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Global: World Day Against Cyber Censorship · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Internet censorship is still a major issue in many countries worldwide. With that in mind, the Paris-based international organization Reporters without Borders (RSF) is promoting its yearly World  Day Against Cyber Censorship on March 12th. On the occasion, RSF issued its latest list of “Enemies of the Internet“, where China, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Tunisia are among the most prominent examples of countries censoring the web.
Reporters Without Borders will celebrate World Day Against Cyber  Censorship on 12 March. This event is intended to rally everyone in  support of a single Internet that is unrestricted and accessible to all.  It is also meant to draw attention to the fact that, by creating new  spaces for exchanging ideas and information, the Internet is a force for  freedom. However, more and more governments have realised this and are  reacting by trying to control the Internet.
World Day Against Cyber Censorship Around the Web
Jordanian blogger Naseem Tarawnah on Black Iris urged people to join an online rally for free speech. He says that over the past years there are traces that suggest the country is inclining to tough times for internet users, especially because there are “designs that the government may be planning to implement a “Cyber Law”  to regulate the online world“. He calls on Twitter users:
For my fellow tweeps, I can only ask that you come together to tweet  those posts produced by the blogosphere, or tweet your own messages in  support of a free internet. Perhaps we can use the single hashtag of  #FreeNetJo to unite our tweets.
And as Ramy Raoof outlined on Global Voices Advocacy:
Do you believe in Freedom of Speech?
Do you think its normal to be profiled or tracked  while being online?!
Do you think it’s your right to enjoy uncensored  Internet search & blogging?
Do you believe in Freedom of Information? Right to  Access Information?
Do you want to defend an Internet without  restrictions and accessible to everyone at anytime and anywhere?
Support the World  Day against Cyber-Censorship, 12 March…
Spread the Word!
Global Voices contributor Archana Verma has written a post with thoughts and opinions from the Hindu blogosphere on freedom of speech and censorship. She adds:
India doesn't  fall in the category of “Internet Black-Holes,” hence Hindi web-writers haven't written much on it because they haven't faced this problem. However, there are some Hindi bloggers who have reflected on press-freedom from different angles.
On Global Voices Online, we're committed to raising voices that often go  unheard by traditional and mainstream media. We know that many governments do not allow its citizens to use the web  openly and freely, often practicing censorship and regulating content. Below we can see some of Global Voices’ projects to promote freedom of speech, cyber-activism and transparency online.
Global Voices Advocacy
Global Voices  Advocacy is where we seek to build a global anti-censorship  network  of bloggers and online activists throughout the developing  world that  is dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and free  access to  information online. In this website, you'll have access to a myriad of projects that intend to help people fighting censorship on the web, as well as to blog anonymously in areas where internet users are often harassed by the government.
Threatened Voices
Threatened Voices is a collaborative mapping project to build a database of bloggers who have  been threatened, arrested or killed for speaking out online and to draw  attention to the campaigns to free them. So far, Threatened Voices has already tracked 213 cases of arrested or threatened bloggers, such as the one of Ahmad Mostafa, an engineering student at the University of Kafr el-Sheikh –the  first Egyptian blogger to stand before a military court because of his  blogging.
Technology for Transparency Network
On the other side of the coin, from Rising Voices, the Technology for Transparency Network, a new interactive website to track online initiatives that promote transparency, accountability, & civic engagement around the world is an example of how freedom of speech can help monitoring governments and deliver correct and non-regulated information to citizens of developing world, as well as observing politicians movements and actions.
On the website, Renata Avila, a human rights lawyer and blogger in Guatemala, has presented the case of #InternetNecesario from Mexico, an online protest on Twitter and other social networks to fight a tax on the Internet issued by Mexico's Congress. This movement is an example of how a non-censored internet can empower citizens to fight for their rights.
As Venezuelan blogger in Paris, Laura Vidal states in her comment review:
This project is an example of how civil society agrees to organize and  reunite efforts to respond to a government that acts without consulting,  and a press that doesn’t connect the public opinion with the leaders of  the country.
Breaking Borders
Finally, Global Voices and Google's Breaking  Borders Award is a new prize created by both organizations  and  supported by Thomson Reuters to honor outstanding  web projects initiated by individuals or groups that demonstrate  courage, energy  and resourcefulness in using the Internet to promote freedom of  expression. The prize will honor work in three categories: tools that promote freedom of expression, outstanding work on policy and activism or journalism that contributed an important voice or argument – each awarded with USD $10,000. Results of the award will be made public in May, during the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit 2010.
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On this important date for the Internet, we hope for people to urge for change. To fight against censorship and to raise awareness on the importance of a free digital environment. For more highlights on the struggle for freedom of speech on the web visit our page on this subject.

author: Diego Casaes


text:
Greece: General strike rallies met with violence · Global Voices
Asteris Masouras

General strike rallies in Athens and Thessaloniki on Thursday, 11 March against a second wave of austerity measures dictated by eurozone  finance ministers were met with preemptive and simultaneous police attacks, according to citizen media reports.
Tireless realtime citizen photojournalism
Citizen journalists reporting on rallies and clashes in both cities “carried the day”, once again using Twitter and resurrecting the #griots hashtag, to post regular updates that painted a picture of the conflicts quite different from that reported by international mainstream media.
First teargas rounds against Athens demo (@odysseasgp)
Reports of early and unprovoked police crackdowns of the rallies taking place in the two cities were almost simultaneous. In Athens, Odysseas tweeted soon after the rally had started,
Ακουστικά από μπροστά κροτου λαμψης και δακρυγόνα κοντά στο Πολυτεχνείο
..followed by panwsk, from the gathering rallies in Thessaloniki, within minutes:
Απρόκλητη χρήση χημικών αυτήν τη στιγμή μπροστά στη Χαλκέων!
From then on, and for nearly 4 hours, Odysseas used Twitter to provide a near continuous reporting of police actions throughout the march and successive skirmishes in downtown Athens, along with photos posted  on yfrog from his cellphone, while PanwsK similarly posted reports from the significantly briefer, smaller and more peaceful rally in Thessaloniki.
Freelance photographers often crowd together for protection when covering protests, which makes them easy targets of police charges. Photojournalist endiaferon, who had captured a sneak police attack on photographers during a recent rally in time-lapse fashion, once again bore witness to police violence against reporters,
Σε κάποιον που τραβούσε βίντεο του όρμησε άνδρας των ΜΑΤ, του πήρε τη κασέτα και του έσκασε κουτουλιά στο κεφάλι με το κράνος…
..and even against foreign correspondents:
Η ίδια διμοιρία επιτέθηκε σε ξένο φωτογράφο. The motherfucker went straight on me φώναζε ο ρεπόρτερ. Και τα δύο περιστατικά έγιναν δίπλα μου
Veteran photojournalist Craig Wherlock tweeted his observations from the Thessaloniki rally afterwards, confirming earlier reports of unprovoked police aggression,
The police here in Thessaloniki wanted to cause trouble, intervened when nothing was happening in order to provoke marchers #griots
and luridly describing the mood of protesters
What can u say about a place when teachers have to protect themselves from tear gas and pensioners are so angry they lob eggs at the cops?
Gorillas in the Mist (Craig Wherlock)
Several citizen photojournalists, including Wherlock and endiaferon, later uploaded  their take of the day on citizen photojournalism site Demotix, which had set up a dedicated Greece unrest  hub during last December's riots.
Peaceful and violent video reports
Blogger Giorgos Sarris posted  photos as  well as videos from the massive and initially peaceful Athens workers’ rallies, comparing them in participation with the Polytechnic ones, in the  years following the ousting of the colonels’ junta,
while blogger GiaNT posted several frontline videos of the skirmishes that followed around downtown Omonia Square between anarchists and police after the crackdown, and the ousting of riot police later on from Exarchia square -besieged by police since the socialist government took power- where 15 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was gunned down by police in December 2008.
Ministerial silence on Twitter
Besides multimedia reporting, many citizens simply used Twitter throughout the day to report and protest police brutality and the heavy, indiscriminate use of teargas in Athens; some, directly to the minister of Citizen  Protection. Journalist and prolific blogger AnemosNaftilos cautioned,
Ηλικιωμένοι και μικρά παιδιά με αναπνευστικά προβλήματα. Εχει δημιουργηθεί πανικός.
while journalist Matthew Tsimitakis sought the reason for the crackdown,
Η πορεία σε αδικαιολογητο κλοιό και χημικά @chrisochoidis για ποιο λόγο ; Δεν υπάρχουν πουθενά βίαιες ομάδες. Είναι εργατική πορεία
and Andreas Trianta, the architect of an Obameter-style application to gauge fulfillment of the socialist government's campaign promises, angrily avowed:
@chrisochoidis μέρα ντροπής για όσους από μας στηρίζουν ΠΑΣΟΚ. Αδιανόητο να μη μπορούν πολίτες να διαδηλώνουν ελεύθερα επί κυβερνήσεως ΓΑΠ
A day earlier, the minister, who had responded to excessive police brutality charges during last December's riots with -as yet unimplemented- promises to ban teargas use and institute reforms, was confirming the much derided launch of an official Twitter account for the police. This time, however, remained conspicuously silent throughout the day and night.
Blogging lawyer xasodikis echoed a sentiment common among bloggers, and reaffirmed with every instance of police-related news in recent weeks,
Το Νέο Πρόσωπο της αστυνομίας μοιάζει ύποπτα με το παλιό. Έστω και με twitter account.
and an unnamed blogger summed up the seething popular frustration leading to the vicious circle of riots and crackdowns, aptly enough, in a Tumblr called “Things I learned“:
People are angry. Angry at bad politicians who are stealing their money, angry at  bankers asking them to pay off their loans, angry at journalists for  being corrupted, angry at “foreign powers” for wanting to destroy  Greece, angry at their neighbor for being their neighbor. At some point  the reason for all the anger stops having importance and what’s left is  the process of setting it free. [..] It’s not just a financial crisis what we live. Causes should be searched  deeper into the society. In case we want to be done with it.

author: Asteris Masouras


text:
Guadeloupe: Mainstream media biased? · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

On March 14th and 21st, French people (including Overseas residents) will be asked to vote for the “Regional elections”. In Guadeloupe, blogger Gwakafwika condemns  [French Creole] the local press, which he sees as a vehicle of propaganda for the current President, Victorin Lurel.

author: Fabienne Flessel


text:
Guadeloupe, Martinique: From dry season to drought  · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

As some posts on GV have shown recently [Eng], the Caribbean has been going through a severe drought for the past few weeks.
In the French West Indies, bloggers react to this natural disaster which influences their everyday life and affects even politics.
From January to early June, the French West Indies are in “Carême” – French for the Catholic Lent (a period of fasting and deprivation).  The term extends to a season of the year when the rain level is very low and the temperatures very high, a time notorious for the chronic lack of water and extreme dryness of the ground.
In Martinique, Bondamanjak  announces the peak of “Carême” with poetry [Fr]:
Le carême a mis son costume de saison blanche et sèche en Martinique.
…but doesn't hide the sizzling reality of the temperatures:
On note du 34°c dans la journée et … 29°C à 19h.
Bondamanjak gives further examples of the disastrous consequences of this drought on the environment, when he shares an account of the surprise that Martinicans had this past weekend, when they witnessed a fire near the dome of the island's volcano, la Montagne Pelée:
Les feux de brousailles se multiplient et depuis dimanche les pentes de la Montagne Pelée, le  plus haut sommet de l'île, sont léchées par des flammmes. Les pompiers s'affèrent pour sécuriser les habitations mais ne peuvent rien faire pour circonscrire l'incendie. Il faudrait un canadair mais il n'y en a pas dans le département.
This situation has raised serious concerns among the Martinican population, prompting the Volcano and Earthquake Observatory of Martinique (OVSM) to release a report on Tuesday, in order to assuage people's worries. It was republished here by Montray Kreyol [Fr]:
Depuis dimanche, un incendie s’est déclaré dans la zone de la coulée de la Rivière Claire, sur le flanc sud-ouest de la montagne Pelée. Entre dimanche soir et lundi soir, le feu s’est propagé vers les hauteurs jusqu’aux dômes, et ce matin, mardi 9 mars, des fumées se dégagent par endroit des zones calcinées.
Ce feu et les fumées associées n’ont aucun lien avec une quelconque activité volcanique.
The fire and the related smoke were not caused by the volcano's activity.
Back in October 2009, the annual “Water Days” were organized in Guadeloupe, in order to raise awareness on the importance of planning and managing water resources on the island. Now, Martinican Montray Kréyol questions this same issue in a post entitled: “About the water shortage” [Fr]. The blogger concludes that successful management of water resources can only be the result of a strong political commitment.
And speaking of politics, in Guadeloupe, ecological blogger and political figure Harry Durimel, who is campaigning for the upcoming regional elections (March 14th and 21st), wrote a post entitled “the Blue Gold or how to save water” [Fr], in which he lists all the tips to save water at home and outside, in this period of water shortage.
Guadeloupeans have been dealing with this difficult situation in their everyday lives, explained here [Fr] by blogger Géraldine en Guadeloupe, who is rejoicing over the first drops of rain in a month:
Youpi, il a plu : ça fait pratiquement plus d'un mois que nous n'avons pas eu de pluies conséquentes. Ajoutez à ça que la saison des pluies cette année a été particulièrement sèche et vous avez une Guadeloupe grillée par le soleil. La terre craque, les plantes et pelouses sont jaunes et les escargots et grenouilles ont disparues. Du coup, on commence à parler de restrictions :
- interdiction d'arroser les pelouses
– ne laver les voitures que dans les stations de lavage
– ne pas remplir les piscines
…
On commence à craindre des coupures tournantes sur le réseau.
-it is forbidden to water the lawns
-to wash the cars in the car washes
-to fill up the swimming-pools
….
We are now fearing rolling water cuts on the supply network.