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Kyrgyzstan: Asian Games · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Inga writes about watching the opening ceremonies of the Asian games on Kyrgyz television as well as about some of the athletes from Kyrgyzstan competing in the games.


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Kyrgyzstan: Bazaar · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tolkun Umaraliev writes about the charms of Central Asian bazaars, saying that anyone visiting the region should make visiting a bazaar their first destination.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kyrgyzstan: Renewing Attacks on Opposition · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts looks at attacks on Kyrgyzstan's opposition since recent protests that ushered in a new constitution weakening the president's power and concludes that someone within the presidential administration and perhaps the president himself is trying to send a message to the opposition.


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Latin America, Turkey: Reggaeturkaton · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Get this: “a Turkish percussionist who's a veteran of New York's salsa scene.” Don Ball Carbajal introduces Ayhan Sicimoglu and his fusion of Turkish-Latin rhythms.

author: David Sasaki


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Nepal: Maoist camps all over the country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on the issues posed by the large scale presence of the Maoist camps all over the country. “In the bizarre scenario of two large armies bubbling inside barracks to explode in a country which doesn’t require one, or if it needs one for something which neither of them can do, the challenges to the people and their leaders are many.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Pakistan: A trip to North Pakistan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan remembers a trip to North Pakistan in 1992. “For those of you who are familiar with Pakistan’s road transportation system of early 1990s, the bigger your vehicle was the later you reached your destination.”


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Pakistan: America and Islamophobia · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

My Chronicles... on Islamophobia and America. “Certainly, Muslims have an identity of their own and need to display it just like Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc. To fear Muslims for displaying their symbols and identities is not correct and only creates wrong perceptions of America in the eyes of Muslims.”


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Philippines: Subic Rape Verdict · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

author: Preetam Rai


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Rwanda: hidden agenda? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Angelo Izama writes about the French-Rwanda diplomatic fall-out, “It is not news that France and the Kigali regime are on competing sides of the politics in this grave-filled but resource-rich Great Lakes region. The contest to assign blame for the genocide is a dangerous extension of that competition. It is, however, constantly shrouded in the humanitarian discourse on conflict.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Saudi Arabia: Women Rights · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

About 50% of women in Saudi Arabia own cars, yet they can't drive them!

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Somalia: Veild gunwomen! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Shobrawy posts a picture of veiled Somalian women in the capital, Mogadishu, taking part in a protest against a US-proposed draft UN resolution to ease an arms embargo and deploy peacekeepers. From the picture and look how these ladies hold the guns; I would be willing to bet its the first time they've held one,” Shobrawy said.


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South Korea: prostitution debate · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole blogs about the debate on eradication of prostitution in South Korea.

author: Oiwan Lam


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South Korea: water cannon below 0 degree · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jamie from Two Koreas blogs about the union demonstration against bills on irregular work. The demonstrators were received by water cannon at freezing weather. You can find a video link in the blog.


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Sri Lanka: Inflation and the Backyard · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

indi.ca on inflation in Sri Lanka and how burying money in the backyard is a better investment than saving it in a bank. “In Sri Lanka the surest investment seems to be burying your money in the backyard or putting it on a plane. This month inflation is almost 20%.”


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Syria: Pity Us! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press… Pity us, Pity Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine… The Middle East. The World,” Yazan said.


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Tajikistan: No krisha, no business! · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Vadim explains that to be a business success in Tajikistan, one needs a (metaphorical) roof.


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Tranquility and Justice in Caracas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Of course the big story around the continent has been Hugo Chávez's reelection in Venezuela with about 60% of the popular vote.
Writes “La Maga,” a journalist from Caracas:
el día después
hay poca gente en el metro. muchos se tomaron el día libre hoy tras una noche de celebración o de luto. la ciudad está tranquila, no puedo decir si triste y alegre, tranquila, con esa tranquilidad del día después, con esa calma de primero de enero. los niños no tienen clases. caracas está sucia, eso sí, (aunque siempre está sucia), hay restos de cohetones y de propaganda electoral rota, pero está tranquila, sin alboroto. menos mal.
anoche no vi los resultados. tenía demasiado sueño y me quedé dormida sin querer.
ayer trabajé en vano. hoy vi que en la segunda edición por un error técnico no salió lo que escribí -ni lo que escribieron otras compañeras- en el periódico. pido disculpas al elector al que molesté todo el día.
ojalá haya luz en la ruta que viene en 2007. ojalá haya entendimiento y camino. y ojalá por fin haya gobierno que no necesite estar haciéndose propaganda todo el tiempo y haya una oposición que se oponga con estilo y credibilidad. ojalá organicemos un país.
There are few people in the metro. Many took the day off after a night of celebration, or of mourning. The city is calm. I can't say if it's sad or happy, just calm, with that tranquility of the day after, with the calmness of the first of January. Kids don't have classes. Caracas is dirty, that is true (although it is always dirty), there are firework scraps and damaged electoral propaganda, but it's calm, without uproar. A good thing.
Last night I didn't see the results. I was very tired and accidentally fell asleep.
Yesterday I worked in vain. Today I saw that in the second edition, because of a technical error, what I wrote didn't get printed – nor did what my colleagues write get in the newspaper. I apologize to the electoral official who I bothered all day. Hopefully there is light in the route to come in 2007. Hopefully there is understanding and a path. And hopefully, finally, the government won't need to be making so much propaganda all the time and an opposition will oppose it with style and credibility. Hopefully we will organize a country.
Another Venezuelan story of interest to bloggers emerged over the weekend, but was quickly overshadowed by the avalanche of citizen media covering Sunday's election. We have already mentioned the plagiarism by journalist Nestor Valecillos of a blog post written by Guillermo Amador. Last Friday, Amador finally received a response from the paper.
Hace unos minutos recibí un mensaje de Carlos Romero, Director de El Diario de Caracas. Ya el dia de ayer había recibido una comunicación suya, en donde me planteaba que estaban estudiando la sanción a ser aplicada a Nestor Valecillos por su plagio a mi propiedad intelectual. Yo insistí en que de Valecillos solo esperaba una disculpa y del Diario de Caracas una réplica en iguales condiciones que las del artículo original, en cantidad de caracteres y en ubicación dentro del diario.
En este nuevo email, me hace saber que El Diario de Caracas decidió separarlo de su plantilla a partir del dia de hoy, 1ro de diciembre de 2006. De igual manera, me concedieron mi derecho a réplica y debo consignar un artículo de 3800 caracteres que será publicado en un sitio preferencial del diario. Con una simple disculpa a tiempo de Valecillos era suficiente y se que nunca fue la intención de la comunidad bloguera venezolana propiciar su despido, personalmente solicité se me concediera el derecho a réplica y una disculpa tan pública como el artículo plagiado.
This new email let me know that El Diario de Caracas decided to let Valecillos go starting today, the first of December. Also, they conceded my right to a response and I should allocate an article of 3,800 characters that will be published in a preferential site of the paper. A simple and timely apology from Valecillos would have been sufficient and I know that it was never the intention of the Venezuelan blogging community to favor his firing. Personally, I asked that they concede me the right to respond and an apology as public as the plagiarized article.
De cualquier manera, se que tomar esta decisión, reconociendo una vez mas la falta cometida, asi como conceder la réplica no es algo fácil de hacer. Denota sentido de la responsabilidad o al menos verguenza cuando se comete una falta. Demuestra que les duele lo que se hace o deshace con la publicación donde se trabaja y eso es importante. En estos tiempos que corren, muy importante. De hecho, no recuerdo algún otro momento en donde una publicación se haga responsable de una acción como este y ademas tome medidas. A ellos, gracias.
A mis compañeros de la criollosfera venezolana, muchas gracias. A pesar de que nunca pedí que llenaran los e-mails de El Diario de Caracas de reclamos, ahora les pido que si les escriben, sea para agradecer la actitud tomada. Su compromiso de publicar la réplica en cuestión es suficiente y en un rato comienzo a redactarla.
Insisto, es impresionante la solidaridad que demuestra esta comunidad, que sin dudarlo ni un minuto se torna compacta para ayudar a uno de sus miembros. Asi hemos ayudado a varios de nuestros compañeros a sobrellevar los embates de enfermedades tan serias como el cáncer, asi ayudamos a una niña a curarse de leucemia (http://www.caracascafe.net/modulor/?p=35).
No se puede simplemente copiar y pegar la propiedad intelectual y no dar crédito por ello. Es un delito en cualquier parte del mundo, aqui también.
To my colleagues of the Venezuelan blogosphere, thank you very much. Despite the fact that I never asked you to fill the email inboxes of El Diario de Caracas, I now ask you that if you write them, do so to thank the attitude they've taken. Their commitment to publish the response in question is sufficient and in a bit I'll start to compile it. I insist, the solidarity our community shows is impressive. Without a minute of doubt we come together to help one of its members. That is how we helped various of our friends to overcome the attack of diseases as serious as cancer; that is how we helped a young girl overcome leukemia.
Intellectual property can simply not be copied and pasted without giving credit. It's a crime in any part of the world; here too.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Bakr Freed · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Manicou Report notes that Abu Bakr (leader of the Trinidad-based Jamaat Al Muslimeen, which staged an unsuccessful coup-d'etat in 1990) has been exonerated of conspiracy to murder charges.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Mental Stability · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

An interesting snippet from Jeremy Taylor who is confused about a radio news report quoting Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Health.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Venezuelan Election Coverage · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jeremy Taylor takes aim at the mainstream media for their coverage of the Venezuelan elections: “Viewing these social divisions through the lenses of Cold War ideology (who's left and who's right, who's friends with Fidel) is not only pointless but destructive.”


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Ukraine: Christmas/Folk Song’s Metamorphosis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about a Ukrainian folk song that's been Anglicized and become a ubiquitous Christmas song in the West: “Carol of the Bells” aka “Shchedryk.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: “Is Homer Simpson Ukrainian?” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about Ukrainian Mennonite heritage of Matt Groening, the creator of the Simpsons.


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Ukraine: Lack of Coverage · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Nash Holos is concerned about the lack of Ukraine coverage in the world media.


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Ukraine: Pirogovo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List links to a Flickr set of photos of Pirogovo, the open-air museum of Ukrainian folk architecture.


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Ukraine, Russia: Dec. 1 AIDS Links · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Links to Russia- and Ukraine-related AIDS stats and other resources at Michelle Knisley's Greetings from Kiev.


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Ukraine: Yanukovych in the U.S. · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis writes about prime minister Victor Yanukovych's low-key visit to Washington, D.C.


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United Arab Emirates: Fashion Police · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

If you have spiky hair and intend to visit Dubai, read this first: “One of my friend's cousins was recently pulled aside by Dubai Police at Mall of the Emirates. He had a spiky hair style. They asked him to wash his hairstyle out, he told them that he wasn’t going to and they took him to the police station, filled out an incident form and sent him home. If he is caught again he will be fined / arrested and I can only assume he will have a criminal record over a hair style,” samuraisam said.


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Argentina: Music: Los Alamos  · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale publishes the new video of the Argentine band Los Alamos [ES]. They'll be playing a free show this Thursday at Radio Set in Buenos Aires.


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Armenia: No Anthem · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

As of today, Armenia has no national anthem. Onnik Krikorian explains why.


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Aruba: Weather Predictions · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Arubagirl is grateful for small (if predictable) mercies when it comes to the inclement weather the island has been experiencing.


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Bangladesh: Should India have helped Bangladesh? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rediff, an Indian portal has a series on the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 – which had a direct hand in the independence of Bangladesh. Drishtipat links to the same and feels the Bangladeshi perspective is missing. The comments for the post have interesting takes on history and the nature of the war between India and Pakistan.


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Bermuda: The Racial Divide · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

IMHO.bm dissects the state of race relations in Bermuda, following a recent confrontation in Parliament between Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and Former Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons.


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Bolivia: A Teleton for Bolivia · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Noting the importance of Teleton in uniting Chile, Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas argues that divided Bolivia is in need of its own Teleton [ES].


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Costa Rica: High Abstention in Municipal Elections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bob Glass says that only 23.7% of the eligible voters participated in Costa Rica's Sunday municipal elections. Election results here.


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Egypt: Forbidden games · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

As though the Middle East needs more violence; a video game where the player controls a suicide bomber in a crowded street has gone on display in Israel. Among the other games was a Syrian-made game showing Palestinian gunmen shooting at IDF soldiers, and plotting to kidnap Bush. Some of these games are created by major gaming companies, and others by individual designers. “Who exactly is teaching whom what?” Dr. Marlyn Tadros wonders!


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El Salvador: Saca Approval Ratings Drop · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim Muth looks at a recent poll by the University of Central America, which he says “provides an insight into the pessimism most Salvadorans have about the situation facing their country and the government's efforts to deal with it.”


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Georgia: New Passport · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Kaukasus gives a glowing review of Georgia's new passports.


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Guatemala: Popular Papers According to Technorati · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“Cvander” asks his readers which newspapers are most popular in their country according to Technorati [ES]. In Guatemala the most linked-to online papers are ElPeriodico.com.gt – 1,506 links, PrensaLibre.com – 1,128 links, La Hora – 114 links.


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Hong Kong: media promotion fee? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An anonymous blogger doctor report blogged an open letter to the Civic Party concerning the political campaign for election of Chief  executives (zh) and there is a list of “media promotion fee”: Apple Daily: HK$ 50,000 (discounted); Ming Pao: HK$ 80,000 (discounted); South China Morning Post: HK$ 189,379 (to be confirmed); Hong Kong Economic Times: (awaiting reply).
ESWN asks a simple question: what exactly is a “promotion” fee paid to a newspaper? … Does this mean that the newpapers are getting paid for editorial content favorable to Alan Leong (top figure in Civic Party)?


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India: Babri Masjid, memory and Syncreticism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

On 6th December 1992, Babri Masjid, a mosque built in the 16th century was destroyed by fundamentalists. Synchroni-Cities remembers the day with much poignancy. “I was twelve years old when the mosque was destroyed. Why do I keep rememebering it? Because though I know it is a fantasy, an idealization, I do remember the world being a better, less fraught place before that date.”


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India: Staring Back · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blank Noise Project compiles some testimonies from participants at a recent intervention aimed at increasing awareness about and combating sexual harassment on streets in a railway station in Mumbai. “At first, I found myself reflexively looking away when a man caught my eye. But once I got used to the concept, the feeling of empowerment was incredible. What I realised was that, true to the feminist axiom, it all just comes down to power.”


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India: To be fair · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Straitjacket Diaries is rather annoyed with adverts run by fairness cream companies. “I mean, we're all supposed to buy that if a woman isn't possessed of a flawless, clear, peaches-n-cream, FAIR complexion, she is to be denied everything good in life, like a career and marriage and dates?”


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India: Wal-mart, Bangalore and BarCamp Bangalore II · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

National Interest, Wal-Mart, Internet, Barcamp, Bangalore and Bollywood are some of the topics we look in this week's round-up about all things Indian.
There is a new group blog called Signal. The focus of this blog is on India's national interest.
President Musharaff of Pakistan offered a new proposal to resolve the Kashmir issue. Naveen Bharat has an analysis on this issue from Stratfor. Here is an interesting snippet from Stratfor's analysis:
Musharraf knows his latest offer will not resonate with India. In reality, he has no concrete proposal — he is just using backchannels and the media to float ideas.
Wal-Mart, the retail giant from Bentonville will finally set up shop in India through a joint venture with India's largest mobile provider: Bharti Telecom's parent company Bharti Enterprise. Wal-Mart's India plans has led to a lot of debate about the pros and cons of having the world's largest retail store doing  business in India. Niti Bhan writes that the Indian media has been having a field day with the entry of Wal-mart into India.
Harish Palaniappan has the latest on how the Indian government plans to block URLs that are a security threat etc. Harish describes the latest Government solution to block the URLs at the International gateways and the pros and cons of such a move.
Barcamp Bangalore held its second session in Bangalore this past weekend. I briefly attended the camp and found that this Barcamp was a little low-keyed. SIdhi has a nice round-up of Barcamp Bangalore-II. Shyam also has a round-up of Barcamp.
Bangalore is all set to become India's first city with complete wireless access. Murali of Thought Garage has a write-up on that and why folks in Silicon Valley were spurred into action by Bangalore's Unwired project.
Portland Curry writes that Vogue, the fashion magazine plans to start an India edition.
Shekar Kapur is a well-know film director who also blogs. He writes that he finally managed to get tickets to the latest Bollywood film Dhoom-2. Here is an interesting suggestion that he makes: change the name from Bollywood to Bodywood. Sami has a review of Dhoom-2.  The film has created a bit of controversy because of a kissing scene. Sakshi Juneja has a write-up on that and shares her views on this much discussed scene.
There is this hilarious video clip that has been making the rounds on the Internet called  the  12 Days of Christmas via YouTube. This one comes with a difference: an Indian accent and content. Go watch it and you will come away with a big smile.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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Israel: Municipal employees strike update · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Last week's strike was over quickly after promises were made by the government offices, to transfer money to the municipalities who have not been paying their employees’ salaries for many months now due to their dire financial situation. Some municipalities indeed paid, but the majority never received money and 12.000 employees and 40.000 pensioners are still waiting… The strike may be renewed tomorrow,” Yudit said.


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Israel: Rachel Corrie’s Legacy Lives On · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Despite the murder of Rachel Corrie almost three years ago in Gaza, international volunteers continue to arrive in Palestine to help bring justice to the people living there. These are wonderful, brave young people who have no fear for their lives, standing up to the very forces that killed Rachel,” Steve said.


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Israel: U.S. aid to Israel · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“What do we get from the United States? What is this aid? And what are the conditions? A high percentage are loans, and of the “aid” most must be spent in the United States. This strengthens the Unites States economy, weakens Israel's military industries and gives the US the tools to control Israel. When Israel buys from American defense industries and improves on the weapon, America profits, not Israel,” Batya said.


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Jamaica: Deborah Jack · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Another Caribbean author featured at the 2006 Miami Book Fair is Deborah Jack, a multi-media artist who grew up in St. Maarten.  Geoffrey Philp posts a podcast of Jack's reading of  “The Rainy Season”, her first published book of poetry.


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Regional Airlines · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

At a time when regional airlines are struggling to stay profitable, Jamaican Blogger republishes an article from Jamaicaworldwide.com about the future of Air Jamaica.  And Lifespan of a Chennette gets sentimental about the impending close of Trinidad and Tobago's BWIA.


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Japan: foreign workers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Debito translates an article about the treatment of foreign workers in Japan and NGO's effort in advocating “free choice of work sector”.


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Japan: metabolic ministers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lee in Tokyo times reports two Japanese health ministers have started a website (with photos of their bellies) to document their fight against getting fatter.


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Jordan: ICT Forum · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ahmad, Roba and Lubna are attending Jordan's ICT Forum (kingdom's premier international information and communications technology industry event). Keep an eye for updates and latest news from these bloggers.


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Korea: North-South journalists meet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler in Marmot's Hole puts together discussion about the meeting of North and South Korea journalists.


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Kyrgyzstan: Death at Ganci · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tolkun Umaraliev reports on the shooting of a fuel truck driver by a US Air Force guard at Manas Airport in Kyrgyzstan, which he says could spark anti-American sentiment.


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Kyrgyzstan: Democracy’s Failure · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net says that criticizing the supposed adoption of “US-style democracy” for Kyrgyzstan's ills overlooks much more realistic sources of the country's problems.


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Lebanon: When death becomes a way of life · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hizbullah’s people are turning other Lebanese into enemies. Angry mourners chanting “death” to Premier Fouad Saniora buried Tuesday a young Shiite man “Death to Israel”, “Death to America” and now “Death to Siniora”. Somehow, these death threats always backfire and countless Shias under the spell of the lords of jihad die instead, Abu Kais said.


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Madagascar: Election in Pictures and Cartoons · Global Voices
Alice Backer

L'odyssee de Tattum posts (Fr) pictures of the candidates in last Sunday's presidential election  and the cartoons that spoof them.

author: Alice Backer


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Madagascar: Incumbent Winning Election · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Says Harinjaka of last Sunday's presidential election (Fr): “No surprise indeed … Ravalomanana will be reelected hands down by an electorate that was not particularly passionate about the event. Across from him were candidates who lost in advance and whose ballots were sometimes not even distributed to the voting booths for lack of ressources.”


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Malawi: language, politics, and development · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Afrika-Aphukira writes about the intersection of language, politics, and development in Malawi, “The twin issues of language and politics are extremely important, and have consequences that affect the long-term development plans of any society.”


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Malaysia: Strict Dress Code · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Swanker blogs about  imposition of strict islamic dress code on non-Muslims in Malaysian city of Kota Baru. “But I strongly doubt whether such laws would be acceptable in the rest of the country.  And developments like these can only serve to polarise Malaysia's Muslims – between those that believe Islam should regulate all of society, from the Government down – and those that believe that practice of their religion should remain in essence a private matter”


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Myanmar: Indo-Burma Car Rally · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

New Mandala writes about a car rally taking place in north-east India and Myanmar. “The rally traverses a route that is maybe just starting to re-emerge as a viable conduit for everyday trade and transportation.”. A former supporter of democracy in Myamar, India is now open to seeking closer with the military government.


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Nigeria: Nigeria bashing · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Naijaman is pissed off with people who label all Nigerians ‘fraudsters’, “If all Nigerians committed fraud, the UK economy will probably collapse.”


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Palestine: Cleaning up the beach · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“My mother saw a group of men collecting some wood off the beach the other day. She assumed they were custodial workers and thanked them for their work, asking why the Municipality didn't send people out to clean up the beach more often. It was then that she realized they were actually not trash collectors but Palestinians searching for driftwood to light a small campfire with. Not only that, but as she would learn, it was the Palestinian Minister of the Environment, Yousuf Abu Safiya and two of his co-workers. It appears they are also stuck in Egypt,” Laila reporting from Gaza/Egypt borders.


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Qatar: Women’s Volleyball at Asian Games · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Women's volleyball attracts a crowd in Qatar, John B. Chilton said.


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Russia: BA Polonium Planes Passenger · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ruminations on Russia discovers a personal connection to Litvinenko's case: turns out he flew “back and forth to the UK three times on planes that have, or had traces of Polonium 210 on them.”


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Russia: Fortochka · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Turkish Invasion writes about the Soviet idea of air conditioner: fortochka.


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Russia: Litvinenko’s Last Name · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Very Russian explains the origin of last name ‘Litvinenko.’


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Russia: Novgorod Street Art · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude posts photos of some weird street art in Novgorod.


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Russia: “Poisongate” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An update on “Poisongate” at Sean's Russia Blog.


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Russia: Sakhalin Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos from Sakhalin at White Sun of the Desert: here and here.


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Russia: Stunt Protests and the Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Nov. 17, the Russian Duma approved a bill that abolished minimum voter turnout (20 percent) for all elections in Russia. Today, president Vladimir Putin has signed it into law.
On Nov. 23, two young political activists – Ilya Yashin and Maria Gaidar – protested the imminent change by spending an hour and a half suspended on ropes from a Moscow bridge facing the Kremlin and flying a 10-meter banner, which said: “GIVE THE ELECTION BACK TO THE PEOPLE, BASTARDS!”
Yashin (LJ user yashin) and Gaidar (LJ user m-gaidar) were taken off the bridge by the emergency services, detained by the police and fined 500 rubles (about $20) each by the court.
LJ user 50×50 posted a photo report on the stunt protest; Very Russian provided a link to the video on RuTube.ru.
Gaidar – coordinator of the Da! (“Yes!”) movement and daughter of former acting premier Yegor Gaidar – posted a brief note on the court's decision to fine her and Yashin, and here're some of the responses she got (RUS):
[…]
kreatiff: You should've dealt with them on the spot – would've cost you 200… and you'd have avoided having your driver's license punched ))))
prava3: You can start a business. 1,000 rubles for the right to hang over the Moscow River, 500 to the state, the rest to the businessman. :) A joke. In reality, all's well that ends well.
mendkovich: Well, you're lucky. Certain people had a criminal case opened against them for similar actions.
nah42: Oh great. [Spoiled, overfed] kids of the famous parents get a free ride. And for the ordinary mortals – jail. Everything's as always. […]
domohozjayka: Do they all have to be sent to jail or what? In your anger and jealousy you forget that if you personally don't need the election, there are others who think differently.
harding1989: Right. Of course, the election would come back on its own because two members of the “golden youth” decided to hang over the river. Like waving a magic wand. The law is the same for everyone.
In the discussion above, two LJ users hint at another case, in which the components were the same and the outcome different: in May 2006, Olga Kudrina, a member of Eduard Limonov‘s National Bolshevik Party, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for climbing the Rossiya Hotel and hanging a banner saying “Putin, go away on your own” on the side facing the Kremlin.
Yashin – who heads the youth wing of the Yabloko Party – pointed out the injustice by writing an emotional open letter (RUS) to Sergei Podoprigorov, the judge who had sentenced Kudrina:
[…]
I'm not going to raise the morality side of the issue – there's no point, I'm sure. If it's so easy for you to ruin the young people's lives just because of their civil position, then calling to your conscience is a waste of time.
[…]
It's obvious that Judge Pugachev [who fined Yashin and Gaidar] made his decision on the basis of the law and common sense. But what was guiding you, Sergei Gennadievich, when you didn't think twice before sending people my age behind bars for a similar violation?
What was happening in your head when you were signing the verdict?
I can see one and only reason for your decision: you are nothing but a coward. Of course, they were calling you and demanding to jail Kudrina […]. Of course, you were shaking over the verdict in your tiny [study]. Of course, you realized that by sending the guys to jail you'd commit a crime, but letting them go would deprive you of your warm chair.
I demand that you admit publicly that you were wrong and resign. People like you are a shame to Russia's judicial corps. And if you think that your Kremlin bosses would safe you from inevitable responsibility for your crime – don't count on that.
You'll get as much as you deserve.
[…]
Below are a few reactions (RUS):
[…]
arkashamos: Perhaps the reason is that you, Ilya, are the leader of the youth “Yabloko” and Masha Gaidar  is Yegor Gaidar's daughter. If they sent you to jail for three years, there'd be lots of noise in Russia and the world. And who knows […] that girl? Only her party comrades and Edichka Limonov, who, absolutely obviously, doesn't give a crap about those boys and girls that he had attracted [to his party].
yashin: This is what selective use of law is.
sorex: I agree. By the way, are you ready to [go to jail]?
[…]
newreft: Khodorkovsky has been sent to the colony for eight years. There was noise in Russia (meetings took place in almost all big cities, although not too many people attended). There was even more noise [outside Russia]. So what? Has it had any effect? It would have been the same with Ilya and Masha. So this is not the reason.


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Sri Lanka: Preserving Old Buildings · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

True Sri Lankan writes on preserving old buildings in Colombo. “It is sad since we should be making an attempt to restore those old buildings since they are part of our history and we should make sure that they are preserved for the future generations.”


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Sudan: UN peacekeeper in Darfur · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A South African peacekeeper and blogger in Darfur responds to questions from Sudan Watch :
Question: How can you tell who is a bandit and who is a janjaweed?
Answer: I wish I knew. The one is politically motivated and the other is not.


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Tension continues in Bolivia.  Civic strikes as signs of protest took place late last week in several departments.  Bolivian bloggers continue to state their displeasure over the state of affairs.  Many opposition politicians, civic leaders, and other private citizens have started their own hunger strikes in order to draw attention to their cause.  Recently, some of these individuals were located in La Paz’ cathedral, when police protection was withdrawn leading to their flight as governmental party sympathizers and militants began to make them flee.
Andres Pucci is one of those that drew attention to this incident, which included a comparison to the days when Bolivia was under tight-fisted rule by dictators. He also drew attention to a recently email that he received calling for a Referendum of Independence by the department of Santa Cruz.
Roberto Cáceres recalls in his blog Estante Boliviano [ES] some lines that he read on the chalkboard during his university days.  It read, “With two enemies in contention, the only thing that separates them is a mirror.”  The Bolivian writer from Copacabana wonders whether separation may allow each side to tolerate one another. Joup thinks that the whole situation seems like a “cheap sopa opera,” and draws attention to a comment about the upcoming Summit for South American Presidents to be held in Cochabamba later this week, whose one of their major topics of discussion is greater integration among the various countries.  It is ironic that this topic will be discussed in Bolivia, a country that cannot integrate itself internally.
What is troubling to Miguel Centellas of Ciao! is that there appears to be a “ban on politics,” within this current crisis.
What I find most distasteful is the accusation by government officials (including Evo) that the opposition protesters & hunger strikers are illegitimate because they represent “political” concerns. Aren't all activities “political” in that sense? The language of anti-politics, of arguing that government or state decisions are “correct” & all other opinions merely “politics” is the language of totalitarianism, the language of rejecting political discourse. The list of people who argued against “politics” in that vein includes Pinochet, Mussolini, Lenin, and other distasteful figures.
Worse, is the irony of it all. When Evo led his cocaleros in protests (sometimes violent protests), such activity was clearly political. It was a social faction w/ a political objective engaged in “political combat” w/ opposing forces. Why is such “political” activity less legitimate now? Why is “political” activity that disagrees w/ this current government not protected? What makes Evo's activities, statements, or intentions any less “political” than those of his opponents?
While many of these divisions are taking place along geographical lines, El Alto blogger Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [ES] attended a conference in Santa Cruz, but also gained the opportunity to see some of the actors and groups upclose.  He had the opportunity to meet and interview the president of Santa Cruz’ Civic Committee, German Antelo, who is a major actor in the opposition's protests.
Willy Andres is certain that he doesn’t want to get to the point of losing democracy, which is something he treasures.
La democracia me permite trabajar, me permite ser mejor, me da la gran oportunidad de pensar diferente y de exponerlo, la democracia me da nuevos caminos para superarme, me abre oportunidades para generar emprendimientos que ayuden a otros, la democracia me da el valor como ser humano y como persona que vive en esta tierra. Queremos trabajo, queremos ser mejores, queremos democracia.
Democracy allows me to work, it allows me to become better.  It gives the opportunity to think differently and to state it.  Democracy gives me new paths to succeed and opens opportunity to generate accomplishments to help others.  Democracy gives me the value of being a human and as a person that lives on this earth.  We want work, we want to become better, we want democracy.
Many more Bolivian blogs are opening up to the world of politics.  However, not all are pleased with their viewpoints.  The anonymous blogger that goes by the name Mamamari is the self-anointed Bolivian blog critic.  His blog is called Jodiendo con Estilacho [ES] (Messing with Style).  He pleads with foreigners looking for information about Bolivia to stay away from these blogs.

author: Eduardo Avila


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The week that was in The Moroccan Blogosphere · Global Voices
Farah Kinani

Marrakech celebrates the stars
The red city of Morocco looks more beautiful with all the glamorous actors taking part in its sixth edition of the International Film Festival.
The very good Laila Lalami posts about the event and points a very interesting statement said by Mohammed Majd a Moroccan actor honored by the festival.
the interesting bit is that Mohammed Majd was quoted in the 22 November issue of the newspaper Assahifa as saying, “It would be a mess if the organizers of the Marrakech film festival were Moroccans.” The quote was reprinted by a couple of magazines, but without anyone really disagreeing or taking offense.
Maryam can’t stop from stuffing herself. She needs her daily dose of films, and she's more than served with the festival taking place in her city.
Is this the kind of thing that sounds appealing to you?  If so, start planning for a little trip because next year there will be the seventh International Film Festival of Marrakech (Aren't you impressed with my ability to count sequentially?)….And I already can't wait.  Will I see you there?
Bluesman would love to enjoy the festival, but he would not buy the official dress(Ar) required to take part of the event. He is asking his readers to find him one to borrow for one week. Practical!
bastanews posts some pictures of the festival. Well, black is definitely beautiful!
They had the scoop!
As usual, Larbi has the scoop. While surfing in the net, he found the website of The former King(Fr) of Morocco, Mohamed V.
Manal, the doctor who blogs was invited to Jordan to take part in a special program held in Amman. It was about the religion and politics in the so-called middle east.
No news yet about the event itself. Manal is still traumatized by her “journey” in the Jordanian embassy in Rabat. So traumatised that she posts about it(Fr).  Hang in there Manal, you'll get over it!
It seems like some dead people are actually not that dead. And that is getting on Myrtus‘s nerves!
She
First there was this rumor saying that Al Sadr was dead and now he's supposedly having a fatwa issued against a bunch of wicked women who are deliberately trying demoralize his army with mass orgies??????
Gossip…Gossip…Gossip
Do you remember Mouloud Chelh(Ar)? Well, things are going better for him.
He will no more have to write while standing(Check the coup de coeur). Al Massae, a popular Moroccan newspaper offered him a full time job(Ar).Congrats Mouloud and Thank you BlaFrancia(Ar) for the tip;)
Despite her will, Najlae  witnessed(Fr) the suicide of a young man.
Steph is launching a new rendez-vous in his blog(Fr). And it's funny!
That's it for today. See you next Wednesday,Inshallah;)

author: Farah Kinani


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Trinidad and Tobago: Save the Forests · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

KnowProSE.com quotes from a SciDev.Net article on the ecological importance of old-growth forests.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Christmas Songs · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

To get into the spirit of the season, Guanaguanare has compiled a fun list of Trinidad and Tobago's Top 25 Christmas songs that will get your feet tapping.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Minshall in 2007 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Will Peter Minshall, perhaps Trinidad and Tobago's most lauded mas’ designer, be returning to the Carnival arena in 2007?  Trinidad Carnival Diary is excited at the prospect of another Minshall band…


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Tunisia: American Occupation Of The Moon · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Predictions: One week after the establishment of the moonbase the American media will declare the moon effort a quagmire. The European Union will complain that the USA is using 100% of the moon’s resources. Commentators on El Jazeera will report the moon is controlled by the Jews. China will provide the moonbase with cheap lawn furniture and televisions. Tunisia will not comment on the moonbase,” Leilouta said.


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Voices from Ghana · Global Voices
Emmanuel.K. Bensah

This week’s voices from Ghana remind us that Obruni (white or foreigner) bloggers in Ghana are well and truly getting used to the country for its problem. No country is without its particular problems, but for these bloggers, some are more acute and note-worthy than others.
The first complaint lodged is by OXFAM Ghana Belgian intern, Elodie, of Akwaaba in Ghana, Gate (Get) to Africa!, who, in response to a reader from Cote d’ivoire keen to be established in Ghana, blogs about the “state of (in)accommodation”. Elodie sums up this state very candidly:
The estate sector can also be compared to a playing field with huge inequalities and no rule.
She wonders what the solution “of this lawlessness situation” could be. She believes “state regulation, implementation, control and justice” are key to addressing the very serious malpractices by landlords who demand upfront rent from one to three years!
Meanwhile, Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen continues to lament about darkness falling in the country, including Accra, but, on a positive note, is encouraged by the country’s regulatory commission (PURC) responding to the latest complaints:
Anger and frustration aside, I contacted PURC this afternoon, on account of the fact that they had switched the lights off at 5.50am this morning. When I called my parents around 3.05pm, it was still off! Philip, of PURC, contacted me around 3.22pm to tell me that a conductor was broken and that they were on it. This was after having called me at 3.17pm to tell me that he was trying to get in touch with them. He assured me electricity should be back on around 4.30pm.
There are equally more positive vibes from Luke Brown, of I’ll Alight at the This Thing (Luke In Ghana) his experience in Ghana:
I like being in a country where people are willing to go all out. Where people don’t allow Western-style social norms to prevent them from discussing bodily functions. Where, if you care about someone, you express it unequivocally (“Luke, I’ve missed you so much!” is a common sentence to me). Where you don’t allow such apparent roadblocks as lack of space to prevent an additional bag of yams to be passed deep into the recesses of a public tro-tro – indeed, lack of space a roadblock: what would cause most Westerners to give up, is merely a minor setback here. And where “lights off” is taken in extreme stride: a fact of life here in a developing nation.
Tro-Tro is a name given to public buses in Ghana.
Brian, of I’m Ghana go to Accra, writes how “nothing really fazes me here anymore.” He elaborates on  this new-found stoicism by writing a humorous post about breasts…of the chicken kind; rasta men preaching vitriol against the white man in a tro-tro and a the man announcing to the rest of the tro-tro that Brian was “possibly a CIA”! :
I nodded to confirm that indeed I was and told him that I’d be sure to keep watching him.
Equally humorous is a post by a couple writing in their blog A Canadian Couple Relishes Acronyms. Rob writes a brief overview of life in Accra to help prepare his Mum who will be visiting in December. It certainly proves to be a humorous account. He touches on temperature, Tema station, sound effects [of Ghanaians] hissing, pure water, and perhaps the most humorous being “Obruni” (white person):
If you are white, you are usually fairly aware of it. I mean, you’ve probably walked past a mirror a few times in your life. Maybe you noticed that your bangs needs a trim, or that you looked good in those new jeans you bought. You probably also noticed that your skin was rather pale and deathly. It‘s not a big deal, you were born with it. It’s one of those things you’ve come to accept as the truth. The people of Ghana are a sensitive bunch, though, full of keen observations and an eagerness to help their fellow man. One of the best ways they show this is by letting you know that you are white, in case it has slipped your mind. They do this by shouting out “Obruni!” (foreigner) when you pass them.
Leanne, of An American in Africa, reminisces over what she calls “gas lines” of 1978 in her native US as a result of gas shortage that struck Accra mid-November. Lest she forget, in Ghana you do not experience gas shortage, but fuel shortage:
(don't say ‘gas’ or even ‘gasoline’- you will be met by blank looks and puzzled expressions. You put FUEL in your car- or maybe diesel, but never ‘gas’.)
Finally, As US-based Ghanaian blogger, Crossed Crocodiles, celebrates over the fact that Ghana is certified polio free.

author: Emmanuel.K. Bensah


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Africa: women are reshaping Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Women are reshaping the African political landscape,  “But African women's rising power is measured not just in numbers. In Liberia, the same women who bore the brunt of the country's more than two decades of war are the ones leading the struggle for peace and carving out a new economic and political path.”


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Albania: A Travel Report · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Baby posts a lengthy Albania travel report.


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Arabisc: Prison Adventures and a Yemeni Cure for Aids! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Remember Egyptian blogger  Abdul Kareem Nabeel Sulieman? Well, he is still being detained and investigated on five charges, which include incitement to hate Islam, spreading malicious rumours that disrupt public security and defaming the Egyptian President.
From prison, Kareem smuggles notes for his friends to blog and tell the world about his plight. His arrest has made him come to the realisation that speaking his mind has put him in danger.
Kareem, who was detained in early November and who is being held in custody until a hearing on December 16, says he doesn't expect to be released anytime soon. Meanwhile, he has to continue to stomach pain at a detention centre swarming with drug peddlers, petty criminals and thieves, among other colourful characters, who would do anything to exchange their cells with a hospital bed.
From the darkness of Kareem's prison cell let's move to Tunisia, where Subzero Blue tells us about a new miracle cure for Aids, developed and tested in Yemen.
And since we have mentioned Yemen, let's stop at an interesting blog by Saudi Anas Qasim, which keeps track of funny adverts, shop signage, billboards, signs and the like. Here  he posts a sign put up in a hospital in Yemen which says people with guns and daggers will not be permitted! (See picture above)
Away from the Arab region, Jordanian blogger Omar Al Azabi reports to us how a newly elected US congressman is hoping to take his oath to office on the Holy Quran instead of the Bible next month.
Speaking of Jordan, let us make our last stop this week a post by Jordanian blogger Qwaider, who is based in the US and has just returned to his country for a holiday. While back home, he remembered a photograph taken by one his colleagues of a Jordanian flag flying on the skies of Amman and thought that he too, would take a similar shot – if not better. But that was not to be the case!
After much questioning by the police after he asked them for permission to take a picture of the flag, he was verbally reprimanded and threatened that if he ever tried taking a photograph of the flag from that location .. he may be .. erm.. subjected to further action!!
If I were Qwaider.. I would say: No thanks!

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahamas: Perspectives on Slavery · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahama Pundit features Larry Smith as he examines the issue of slavery and attempts to generate discussion on modern-day race relations.


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Bangladesh: Migrant workers in South Korea · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

imperfect world 2006 on Bangladeshi migrant workers in South Korea. “There are around two hundred thousand undocumented workers not registered with the authorities, many of whom are unemployed. They provide cheap labour, often in dangerous conditions.”


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Barbados: Too much being spent on Cricket World Cup? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Government of Barbados has announced another US$13 Million in your tax money and mine going to those few weeks of cricket that are called Cricket World Cup 2007″: Barbados Free Press suggests that the spending is “out of control”.


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Belarus: CNN Available Online · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

CNN is no longer available in Belarus, writes TOL's Belarus Blog, but “as long as Internet spreads through the country, blocking news channels would be useless…”


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Bermuda: Campaign Finance Reform · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Christian S. Dunleavy at Politics.bm  wonders whether money has any place in politics and calls for campaign finance reform.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: London Sevdah Emotional Issues · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

London Sevdah performers need “mindset training“: “To put it into context, many people from Bosnia have suffered badly during the war (and the same goes for some of London Sevdah members) and some of the biggest suffering has come in the form of long term (subtle) mental damage. This means that many Bosnian people have lost their ‘mental bearings’ to an extent and are unable to recognise positive facts as much as they previously were able to do (i.e. before war or when they were younger).”


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Bulgaria: New Evidence in Tripoli Six Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler writes about the new scientific evidence in the Tripoli Six case.


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Cameroon: Afrikan Guitarstrophy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Scribbles from the Den reviews a new album, Afrikan Guitarstrophy, by US-based Cameroonian artist, Wanaku, “In this album, Wanaku shuns the “World Music” genre with its the over-reliance on technology and heavy (in)fusion of Western pop sounds. Instead, he unapologetically uses the acoustic guitar as the main conduit for what he calls “Sweet Afrikan Kontry Muziki.”


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Chile: Autonomia Islamica Wayuu · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Western Hemisphere Policy Watch links to the MSN user group of the Chilean faction of Autonomia Islamica Wayuu, the Latin America Hezbollah.


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China: Beijing bloggers drop the ball? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

There's been a lot of response to police in the southern city of Shenzhen‘s decision late last month to put two hundred men and women arrested in connection with prostitution on display in the middle of a major intersection for public humiliation. For most bloggers, the questions an act like this raises relate a bit to the issue surrounding sex work, but mostly about how Cultural Revolution-era mob tactics could reappear in today's China.
Many of those bloggers, however, decided only to let the photos speak for themselves. Lian Yue's Eighth Continent, for example, who merely posted two photos, one from the show trial and the second of Indian prostitutes out rallying for World AIDS Day last week, a comparison several other bloggers made. Moogee at Pro State In Flames took a similar approach by collecting different news photos from the show trial.
Moogee's on fire this week. Great news recently of relaxation on the rules imposed on foreign reporters visiting China leading up to next year's Olympics. But will Beijing's preparation for the summer games bring any benefits for local journalists, many of whom have turned sports reporting into an art?
As a sort of illustration of the profession in China, Pro State In Flames lists the reasons reporters from across the country had their press passes cancelled in the third quarter of this year (date/publication/name/id no./reason):
2006年9月21日 汕头日报 林琳 B440060000008 记者证被抢
2006年9月14日 长江信息报 冯梦莎 B430056000040 性别错误
2006年9月14日 长江信息报 吴岳丽 B430056000041 性别错误
2006年9月14日 家庭生活指南 李岩 K231039000003 名字错了
2006年9月12日 南京晨报 盛文虎 B320095000070 记者证被盗
2006年8月25日 广东科技报 肖文 B440113000018 激活前录入性别错误，没有相片,需重新申请
2006年8月21日 江门日报 董国庆 B440044000058 手提包不慎被抢，内有记者证。
2006年8月14日 贵州政协报 王卫华 B520003000030 因被抢劫
2006年8月3日 大同晚报 池连泉 B140027000022 退休干部！
2006年8月2日 大同日报 曹守礼 B140019000058 退休干部！
2006年8月2日 大同日报 刘光明 B140019000060 退休干部！
2006年8月2日 大同日报 赫浦  退休干部！
2006年7月26日 宁德晚报 黄英 B350066000010 基本信息栏中照片出错,贴照片处贴的是别人的照片，与记者证上的照片不一致。
2006年7月21日 宿州市人民广播电台 刘正奇 G341300110001 已被检查院批准逮捕
2006年7月17日 中国石化报 曹文艳 B110141130033 工伤，已丧失劳动能力
2006年7月12日 人民日报海外版 王丕屹 B110066000026 离岗留学
2006年6月30日 江西日报 赵赣荣 B360001000003 涉嫌经济犯罪
Next post from Moogee is a recount from one notably anti-Communist Chinese-language newspaper of the events marking the human rights exhibition held in Beijing late last month, a vivid follow-up to great blogging here and here, which perhaps explains why little reporting in English was done on the event. Many overseas Chinese dissident websites filed reports on the exhibit, Radio Free Asia had their own and renowned intellectual Liu Xiaobo also wrote a long piece for Independent Chinese PEN which can be found here [zh]. A look through YouTube and several of its Chinese counterparts brings up no recent cellphone camera footage from the petitioners’ village, nothing a holiday hamper project organized by, say, English teachers in Beijing couldn't take care of.
From Pro State In Flames:
人权展不期之客 打乱当局如意算盘
为期十天、在北京民族文化宫举办的首届《中国人权展》在当局的尴尬和紧张的抓捕中悄悄结束。从17日到26日，该展览历经开始无人问津的冷冷清清，被访民挤得水泄不通、抗议此起彼伏、外国记者被赶走的中期，再发展到干脆禁止百姓进入，公开抓捕的后期过程。在该展览中，至少有两千访民被抓，一些访民被拘留。北京访民王学鑫表示：人权展，斩人权。该作秀展真正展示了中国当今人权的恶劣状况。
当局对到人权展要人权的访民们感到很恼火，被抓到马家楼的访民不但被取消了以往中午每人两个馒头、一袋榨菜的午饭，还对凡是在展会前打出横幅、牌子、状纸、身穿状衣、喊冤的访民一律拘留。据北京警察透露，是公安部下令，要把在人权展中表现突出的访民拘留五、六十人。
首届人权展初期：冷冷清清
对首届人权展，中共媒体除了开始低调的报导了一下展场消息后，几乎全都哑口无言，尽管会场中有时可以看到新华社等中共媒体记者。
举办该展览的民族文化宫位于北京西长安街西侧，西单繁华的商业区，是黄金地段。在这样的地段和闻名的建筑内举办展览竟然连宣传都不肯跟上，北京人士断言指出，这个展览就是做给外国看的，美化中共的人权形象。
从17日开始的展会，开始的四天几乎天天都是门可罗雀，展览大厅空空荡荡，只有穿着制服的保安散落在展厅中。
北京访民孙连喜在17日参观展览出来后被抓走。北京访民表示：孙连喜在大厅里喊冤，因为有记者和外国人在，警察咬着牙根看着她喊没敢抓，等她一出去后就给抓走了，已经给拘留了。
访民们彼此通告中共当局办人权展，消息很快在外地访民中也传开了，从21日开始，到人权展参观的人越来越多。
首届人权展中期：热闹非凡
22日，展厅中挤满了来自全国各地的访民。他们经过男女保安和警察的搜身后才能进到厅中。访民表示，为了防止访民带资料进去交给外国记者和外国人权观察者，保安对访民从上身搜到下身，连裤子脚都要摸一遍。
展厅中醒目的”公民自由权利的保障”牌子旁边，是当局宣扬”中国人有言论、出版、集会、结社、游行、示威的自由”，白底红字的保证这些全都是受到法律的保护。和现实距离太远的这个牌子，竟然吸引了很多人在此留念，”看看！我们中国人还有人权呢”，人们带着讥讽的表情。
北京人表示：里面国务院信访办（简称”国办”）上访的照片，稀稀拉拉三十多人排两行队上访，国办什么时候有过这么少的上访人啊？纯粹是瞪着眼睛撒谎。
大厅中挤满了访民，一阵阵高喊，”冤枉”，”我们要人权”……上访了30多年的老访民郝文忠老太太拄着棍子，在大厅中高声数落中国共产党没有人性，她责问：”我是不是中国人？我的人权呢？我被抓了199次，我的人权在哪里？中国共产党还有人性吗？”。
虽然展厅中充满了便衣、保安，但对突然涌进的大批上访人和混杂的中外记者等，上头的方针似乎还没有传达下来，令他们对访民的呼喊显得束手无策。展厅中的工作人员在郝文忠老人前显得尴尬不堪，让老人”小声”点，老人立即反驳说道：”小声点，小声点谁能听到？”
十点半左右，一位亚洲面孔的记者对郝文忠举起了镜头后被便衣盯上，便衣连声追问：”你是哪里的？”该记者一言不发，在便衣们拖记者出厅时，遭到拥挤在大厅中访民们的齐声起哄而作罢。
该记者干脆坐在大厅的凳子上抗拒，而几名便衣也毫不顾忌的恶狠狠的围在记者四周，虽然访民和记者近在咫尺，但没有访民敢把上访资料递给他。显然，当局应付突发事件的手法不穷，很快，展厅的”工作人员”把记者带到中间展厅的南边小门里了。后有访民介绍，他是名日本记者。
The report goes on recounting the last few days of the exhibition in colorful detail, even quoting some interesting invective, telling of undercover sneakattack protesters, panicking police, increased police presence and of the petitioners getting hauled away by the bus load, as mentioned in many English-language blogs, wrapping up with an estimate of two thousand petitioners arrested in total.
Some overseas Chinese media, like the one which wrote the report Moogee reposted, tend not to have much reputation for balance. At the same time though, it's often only their reporters who are on the scene for stories like this. If what was said above was true, where are the foreign media's eyewitness reports? Even more pertinent, where were Beijing's English-language bloggers at the time?

author: John Kennedy


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China: no sex in Australia? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates an article about translation errors in putting “banning for personal reasons resulting in pregnancy or impregnating” into “banning sexual intercourse” concerning the working conditions of Chinese workers in Australia by a Chinese newspapers. The errors resulted in a lot of discussion concerning labour rights.


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China: QQ price · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

QQ is the most popular chatting device in Mainland China; some combination of QQ numbers have high market value. Virtual China blogs about the logic in the pricing.


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Colombia: First Black Colombian General · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Poor But Happy forum user “webmanco” posts an excerpt of an article about Colombian General Luis Alberto Moore Perea and adds: “Here is another successful black Colombian, for those who think, blacks got no opportunities in Colombia.” A commenter from Cali, however, responds, “I would be happy to see how many black employees are employed besides the ones who are cleaning or cooking. (Hint: Not many if any).”


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Croatia: Japan’s First Embassy in Zagreb · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River offers a glimpse into the history of Croatian-Japanese relationship.


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Cuba: NY Times Travel Guide · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Cuaderno Latinoamericano gets a kick out of the fact that the New York Times has a travel guide for Cuba including an article titled “The Nicest Place You'll Never Go”.


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D.R. of Congo: Congo 3.0 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Salon announces the beginning of Congo 3.0, “Joseph Kabila, and all the elected institutions of the country are embarking in a very long, and arduous journey, during which public scrutiny is going to be higher than it has ever been in the history of the country.”


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Guyana: Murphy’s Law · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Experience Murphy's Law through the eyes of Guyana-Gyal…


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India: Bengal, culture and passion · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Great Bong writes on the Bengali culture and passion, with some very sharp words on the Bengali attitude. “Her weapons are rhetoric, theatrics, bandhs, disruption and vandalism. In that she mirrors a vocal section of the Bengali bhadralok of today whose lack of substance is covered by a smokescreen of passionate iconization and self-congratulatory bluster.”


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India: On kissing and the movies · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A kiss in a movie between two stars causes quite a row. Jabberwock reflects on kissing and Bollywood. “What the self-appointed morality-keepers are objecting to, dear and earnest HT City, is the fact that a human male and a human female are locking lips on a big screen, and that the giant edifice of Indian Culture will quickly dissipate if enough people watch this.”


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Japan: difference between minister and commissioner · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Japan government has turned Japan Defense Agency into the “Ministry of Defense”. Adamu in Mutant frog discusses about the difference between minister and commissioner in Japan's politics.


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Kyrgyzstan: Status Revision · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Kyrgyz Report says that the shooting of a citizen of Kyrgyzstan by a guard at the US airbase in the country has prompted the country's president to call for a revision of the legal status of the US troops there so they can be tried in Kyrgyz courts.


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Latin America: “Pink tide rising” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Some required reading for label lovers and regional political theorists alike: Maxwell Cameron's “Pink tide rising” and Boz's “Here's your scorecard.”


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Macedonia: Esma vs Borat · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Macedonian Roma singer plans to sue Borat, reports Illyrian Gazette.


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Mexico: APPO Leader Flavio Sosa Arrested · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mark in Mexico has four updates on the arrest of APPO leader Flavio Sosa in Mexico City. Juan Trujillo is far less enthusiastic about the detention and notes that “the spokesperson for the APPO, Florentino López, announced from hiding the start of a series of protests nationally and internationally to demand the liberation of these APPO leaders that were arrested Monday in Mexico City.” Ricardo Carreón wonders if the detention signals a stronger presidency. Ana Maria Salazar says yes: “this detention will be interpreted as the new policy of cero tolerance by the Calderón administration. Hit and then negotiate.”


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Mexico: The Britney Spears Upskirt Effect · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mexican blogger Eduardo Arcos comments on the incredible web influence of Britney Spears [ES] and her lack of certain clothing garments: “she slipped into the top five most-searched keywords among a total of 1.3 million.


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Mongolia: Respect & Customer Service · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Using an experience from a hotel in Beijing, Tom Terry discusses how Mongolian authorities could have combined realism and respect for the public in their bungled recent hijacking drill.


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Nepal: Going to be an ambassador · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

In the atmosphere of political change, United We Blog! comments on the a sought after job – that of an ambassador. “The ambassadorial positions have become such a job that there is no bar for anyone. We have seen former prime minister, former ministers, former chiefs of army staffs, and secretaries working as ambassadors in the past”


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Nigeria: Niger Delta crisis · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Grandiose Parlor the Niger Delta crisis, “Sixty-Five (65) Nobel laureates comprising the Commission of Nobel Laureates on Peace, Equity and Development in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria have proposed measures to prevent the spiral of deadly violence in the oil-rich yet impoverished Niger Delta region.”


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Philippines: A new Constitution next week? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Pro-administration Solons have been transparent in their intention to change the 1987 Constitution which they believe is already obsolete and hinders foreign investments. But few expected that they will attempt to accomplish their goal by changing the rules of Congress in order to pave the way for the swift approval of the Charter Change proposal in less than two weeks, even without the participation of the Philippine Senate.
The Lower House is determined to ignore the opposition of the Senate which may result into a constitutional crisis.
The proposed date for the drafting of amendments in the Constitution will be on December 11 or 12. The Speaker of the House was quoted by the media that the final draft will be ready on December 15.
The “bold political move” of Congress triggered protests from various sectors and individuals.
Ellen Tordesillas prays that this “unconciousnable rape of democracy will finally wake the Filipino nation up.”
The Church was quick in condemning the railroading of Charter Change. In and Out of Season, the blog of a Catholic Archbishop:
“We sense through the media that the highest leadership of the land and of Congress in particular seem to be so “desperate” that they would even change the Constitutional Rules of Congress in order to speedily pursue and accommodate the Constituent Assembly. If the term of our elected officials could be extended by six months to one year to institute the Charter Change by Constituent Assembly, such could further encourage a longer and longer term. The saying goes “when power corrupts, it corrupts absolutely.”
Philippine Commentary gives an analysis on the resolution approved by Congress endorsing Charter Change. A Nagueño in the blogosphere wished the super typhoon which recently hit his home province destroyed instead the House of Representatives.
The Philippine Experience explains why many Solons are in favor of Charter Change:
“Many in the majority bloc are in their last term in office and those who are running for reelection know that the electorate will run them down come election day. This is due to their immoral decision to kill the two previous impeachments. They have nowhere to run and Charter Change is the only way for them to keep their positions and powers intact.”
Susan Ople discusses why the 2007 elections should not be postponed:
“Elections is all about having a point of view and expressing it through the ballot. On that particular day, a household helper’s point of view is just as important as her employer’s. The ballot is the equalizer; what we write on it directly affects the balance of power in government.”
RG Cruz Says analyzes the gameplan of the Majority bloc in Congress:
“Do the math. This is the only way they can meet the December 20 deadline to approve this resolution, convoke the assembly, approve the draft revised charter hammered out by the technical working group, and toss it to the Commission on Elections in time for it to call a plebiscite so people can ratify…er gangbang it into reality or gangbang it out of our consciousness for good.”
The Congress held marathon sessions for two days which were shown live on television. What did I do? I don’t know don’t ask me blogs about his experience watching the proceedings on TV:
“I wasn’t thrilled at all, at times I would get angry at how they would do things and at times I would start laughing because of the farfetched reasons the administration has for many of the corrections given by Opposition. Now what our duly elected representatives did last night wasn’t a laughing matter to force a Charter Change wherein many people do not want dynasties of political parties to reign and rule our country.”
My insanities advises Solons to use the native language in Congress. The tale of two atypical lovers hopes Congressmen/women would also devote more time in discussing the rebuilding of communities in the regions devastated by a super typhoon.

author: Mong Palatino


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Pinochet’s Heart Attack: Bloggers Reactions · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Last weekend, ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet, was admitted to the hospital because of a heart attack. The situation awoke national feelings of what he symbolises to Chilean citizens. This post is meant to share some of those reactions:
El Chere (ES) on irreverencia (ES), writes:
¿Qué tienen en común el fin de las dictaduras españolas, brasileras, paraguayas, bulgaras, rumanas y paraguayas?. Los dictadores murieron, fueron tomados presos, exiliados o de alguna u otra forma se les saco de la realidad nacional, acá en Chile esto no pasó. Por lo mismo el proceso de transición a la democracia en Chile ha sido tan engorroso, largo, y lleno de rencores. De una u otra forma Pinochet ha marcado el devenir nacional de los últimos 17 años.”
Patricio Navia (ES) , a Chilean political scientist, posts on his blog an article he wrote for El Universal (ES). He refers to the situations of Augusto Pinochet and Fidel Castro:
Dos de los más importantes símbolos para la izquierda regional enfrentan paralelamente una difícil batalla con la muerte. Aunque ambos parecen aferrarse a la vida con la misma obstinación que se aferraron al poder, el fin está cerca.
Pero la muerte de estos dos líderes sólo consolidará el monumental lugar que ocupan en la historia de América Latina. Los libros recordarán con sus luces y sombras los gigantescos y polémicos legados de ambos. Para la izquierda, Fidel siempre fue un símbolo de la lucha antiimperialista y del ideal de igualdad y justicia social. Pinochet en cambio simboliza las atrocidades cometidas por las dictaduras militares en la región.
However, the death of these two leaders will only consolidate the monumental place they have in Latin American history. The books will remember their gigantic and controversial legacies with lights and shadows. For the right wing, Fidel has always been a symbol of the anti-imperialist fight and the ideal of equality and social justice. Pinochet, instead, symbolizes the atrocities committed by the military dictatorships of the region.
BAD (ES) opines about why the left wing has beeen so calm about Pinochet's health:
A pesar de todo el dolor que Pinochet ha causado en Chile, sus detractores, no parecen desearle la muerte, al contrario, le desean una muy larga vida. Algunos porque esperan que las dolencias de la edad se encarguen de su sufrimiento. Otros porque esperan tener la satisfacción de verlo juzgado y condenado.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Serbia: Kosovo’s Future · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei links to “the most detailed and authoritative prediction of what Martti Ahtisaari is going to say about Kosovo's status.” Neretva River wonders whether Russia's veto would plunge Kosovo into violence.


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South Africa: South African adbuster · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Inspired by the movie, Blood Diamond, Electric Sphaghetti creates an ad showing the real price of diamond.


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South Korea: beef from US military base · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole reports about the recent debate concerning US military base selling illegal beef to Korean resturants.


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Sri Lanka: Which Tamils does the LTTE represent? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

indi.ca on which who the LTTE represents, along with a background on the diversity within the group of people who speak in Tamil. “The highest concentration of Tamils is in India (Tamil Nadu) and I know Tamils from Singapore, Malaysia etc who don’t identify with Sri Lanka or the Wanni at all. They’re definitely Tamil, but the “Tamil people” are united more by language and culture than any particular land.”


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St. Lucia: Flickr Photoset · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A Flickr photoset of beautiful shots from St. Lucia by Arnold Pouteau.


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Tanzania: questioning Nyerere’s legacy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tanzania in focus writes the second part of his post, Was Kambona That Bad?, which questions the legacy of Mwalimu Nyerere, “It is my opinion that Tanzanians, in general, are wimpy folks. I can’t quite put my fingers on it, but belief is that it is all because of the Nyerere effect. I mean, we got so scared of the guy to the extent that even years after his departure, we are still afraid to question him.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Review of “I Am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Studio Film Club talks about Brazilian director Vicente Ferraz's documentary I am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth, which chronicles the making of the 1960s film Soy Cuba: “Interspersing shots from the original film – many of which are justly famous for their power and complexity – with interviews, Mr. Ferraz has produced a welcome piece of historical explication.”


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Ukraine: New Budget · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

It doesn't look like Ukrainian legislators are going to be as poor as the rest of the citizens when they retire: Foreign Notes reports on the new budget.


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Ukraine: Political News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine posts a long-awaited political news roundup.


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Ukraine: Scam · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Music and Life – Everywhere! almost becomes victim of a popular scam in Kyiv – and doesn't realize it until much later!


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Ukraine: State-Protected Old Trees · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about the country's very old trees – so old they are protected by the state.


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Uzbekistan: Contentedness · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

How happy are Uzbeks? Not nearly as happy as a new opinion poll claims they are says Registan.net.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Venezuela, Ecuador: Bloggers organize to cover elections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Liz Henry adds to the coverage of coverage of elections in Venezuela and Ecuador on BlogHer.

author: David Sasaki


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Africa: Africans and their cousins in America · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mangaliso's World posts a thought provoking article about “Africans and their Africa American cousins,”: Africans are outraged at High School drop out rates amongst African Americans. The figures on the percentage of kids who enter High School in Africa are abysmal and beyond embarrassing. Yet, it does not conjure up the same sense of outrage.


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Africa: Google in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

N'cho Blog writes about Google's plan to expand into Lusophone Africa, “Google is planning to invest in Portugal and use it as a way into Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe…


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Argentina: Impressed with Buenos Aires’ Gov’t Blog · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ian Mount describes why he is every day more impressed by Pasa en Buenos Aires [ES], the city's official blog.


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Argentina: It Was Written on the Wall · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright translates the meanings of several street stencils around Buenos Aires.


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Armenia: Sad Times for the Media · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports on methods of controlling the media in Armenia and Armenian diaspora communities.


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Armenia: Staying Warm · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes From Hareinik writes about strategies for heating one's home in Armenia.


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Bahamas: Funeral of Winston Saunders · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is the memorial service for the late Winston Saunders, a Bahamian cultural icon.  Nicolette Bethel wonders “How do you hold a memorial for a man who was so fully alive?” and writes poignantly about the loss.


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Bangladesh: Starting Over · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Morris the pen on starting over. “This is part of a series of articles in the press raising awareness about survivors of rape, trafficking and other trauma.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Men vs. Violence vs. Women · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gallimaufry quotes from Pearl Cleage's poem “Good Brother Blues” in her call for men to take an active role in ending violence against women.


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Bermuda: Human Rights Commission · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

IMHO.bm reflects on the Yin and Yang of Bermuda's Human Rights Commission.


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Bolivia: EU to Demand Visas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jorge Gobbi, commenting on news that the EU will soon formally demand every bolivian citizen that enters this region to previously obtain a visa, writes, “Eventually, only those with the right passport will be able to backpack around the world. Or am I being to pessimistic today? Eduardo Avila has also linked to blogs discussing the difficulties of traveling as a Bolivian.


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Bolivia: Summit of the South American Community of Nations · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guest-blogger Gretchen Gordon on today's beginning of the Summit of the South American Community of Nations and the parallel 2nd Summit for a People’s Integration in Cochabamba, Bolivia.


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China and Japan: translating USA · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Japanese translation of USA is “rice country”, while the Chinese translation is “beauty country”. Zhaihua looks into historical documents and tries to explain why there is such a difference. One explanation provided by Chiang Kai-shek in 1934 was that “rice” is edible… (zh)


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China: cigarettes quotas · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zat Liu explains why a domestic cigarettes brand Zhongnanhai were out of sale in Shanghai:  every year Zhongnanhai gives different regions certain quotas…


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China: Minority Culture vs. Majority Language · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael in the Opposite end of China discusses about the Reuters’ reports about the conflict in China between teaching the majority language (Mandarin Chinese) versus preserving local minority cultures.


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China: movie review: Still Life · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chi Tung in Shanghaiist has a movie review on Jia Zhangke’s Golden Lion-award-winning Still Life.


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China: WTO and AIDS · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zeng Jinyan wrote a letters to AIDS volunteers about the potential threat for WTO TRIPS agreement on the supply of medicine to AIDS patients. She hopes that the Chinese government can do more to lower the price of AIDS’ medicine and protect the supply (zh).


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Ethiopia: leveraging poverty · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethiopundit puts the Ethiopian government dispute with Starbucks over trademark in a historical perspective, ” Again? You see dear reader, back in 2002, Meles ran the same con game on Nestle and it worked. He cleverly crafted an image of a big bad corporation greedily going after the money of poor Ethiopians. Oh … and Oxfam was involved in that one too.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Fiji: Coup Leader has Truth on His Side · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Acid Test looks at the recent history of Fiji and discusses the latest coup. The blogger says “The military should not overthrow elected governments. This is absolutely true. And yet it's Commodore Bainimarama who has most of the truth on his side, even if what he's had to do about it is regrettable.”

author: Preetam Rai


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India: Cricket for all seasons in Mumbai · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Mumbai on cricket in the city. “Cricketers from Bombay, bring the die hard, play in all conditions, no nonsense spirit that is the embodiment of Bombay. An example of how seriously we take our cricket is the fact that we have a special tournament, the Kanga League played only during the monsoon season on pitches which are deathbeds for batsmen and bowler alike.”


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India: Marathon in Pune · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Some wonderful photographs by the shad king of a marathon in Pune. “There were an estimated 35,000 participants in this year’s marathon. Of course, the term “marathon” is used very loosely to cover the 4.5k AIDS charity run, the 10k event, 3k for the little kids etc etc.”


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Indonesia: Polygamous Holy Man and MP’s Sex Scandal · Global Voices
A. Fatih Syuhud

There is nothing more ovelwheming than the conversations among Indonesian blogosphere these past few weeks. The talk involves two occurences that looks similar but are actually unrelated – Aa Gym's second wife and an Indonesian MP of Golkar party's sex scandal.
First off, for non-Indonesian, here's an intro by TIME magazine about Aa Gym dubbed by as “Indonesia's hottest Muslim preaches a slick mix of piety and prosperity.
So, the hottest Holy Man is now living with two wives. And that sparked the controversy among the Indonesian blogosphere as to the propriety of such an act. Having more than one wife is permitted in Islam but it's highly discouraged. It's only permitted when (1) you can do justice to them (wives) and/or (2) to avoid extramarital relationship (zina, in Islamic term) which is one of major sins in Islam.
That said, ordinary Muslims think that a respected Muslim preacher of his stature with millions of followers should take a high standard example to his followers more than anyone else, including in this case, to avoid having two wives.
Ridho Putradi, quoting a verse from the Quran which is often used by pro-polygamous husband, says that “for whatever reasons I dont agree with polygamous life.” There are 49 comments (and counting) in his post on Aa Gym's polygamy most of which fully support his opinion with various reasons. Similar opinions are posted by many bloggers including Rohprimardho, Tata Danamihardja, Morning Dew,  Ida Abidin, Agus Setiawan, Rani, and many more.
Muhammad Solihuddin, however, has no problem with it and wish Aa Gym a good luck and happily ever after with both of them.
MP Sex Scandal
Yahya Zaini, an Indonesian MP from Golkar party, in the meanwhile is making news for very wrong and stupid reasons: his sex scandal with a singer recorded by and through her mobile phone gets out of hand and spreads like a virus among Indonesian mobile phones users and gets talked about by Indonesian bloggers. The incident forces him to resign from his position as MP and he may also get dumped from Golkar party headed by Jusuf Kalla (pron, Yusuf Kala) the current vice president of Indonesia. Ironically, Yahya Zaini is head of Golkar's religious affairs committee (which is responsible for moral issues!!).

author: A. Fatih Syuhud


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Indonesia: Religious Leaders and Polygamy · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

maverickysm blogs about two leading personalities in Indonesia, one the head of the ruling party's islamic affairs and other a popular islamic preacher. They are both getting a lot of attention in Indonesia for  affair outside marriage and polygamous marriage respectively.


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Iran:Demonstration against the compulsory veil 27 years ago · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Azarmehr has published,thanks to YouTube,a video showing a demonstration against the compulsory veil in early post revolution days.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan and South Korea: Dae Jang Geum pron · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A Japanese adult channel/video company has turned the popular Korean drama “Dae Jang Geum” into an erotic drama – Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole has more details.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Kenya: musical link · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Steve Ntwiga posts a Swahili track, Christina, by the Kenyan band, Maroon Commandos: “So, lets kick off the weekend with just a little more of this group since we already have something very cool going on. Today’s Maroon Commando’s track is Christina from the album Kusema na Kufanya.”


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Kenya: why was Dr. Robert Ouko killed?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You Missed This interviews Marianne Briner-Mattern, the author of The Shining Star in Darkness, about the death of Dr. Robert Ouko, who was the foreign minister of Kenya.


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Mexico: Animated Version of El Chavo del Ocho · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos links to the leaked first episode [ES] of a new animated reproduction of Mexico's infamous program El Chavo del Ocho. “Some things are better left in the memory,” says Arcos of the new cartoon.


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Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile: Poll Numbers · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Boz measures content and discontent across the continent with his weekly Friday poll numbers.


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Nepal: Hopes for Peace · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny on hopes in Nepal for peace. “Will the symbolic deposition of the King and the advent of a permanent democratic government be enough of a change to bring the country back together after 10 years of civil war?”


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Philippines: Best Website in Blog Category · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Filipina blogger at Touched by an Angel was chosed as the best website in blog category in the recent Philippine Web Awards.”this blog Touched by an Angel… Receiving the Best Website award is a bittersweet feeling. The theme of this blog is mainly about my grief journey. I’ve had websites, and other techie blogs in the past but a personal blog was not part of my plan. It was Luijoe’s death and my grief that spurred me to share my pain so others may know they are not alone.”


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Philippines: Tips for Friendster User · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Friendster is one of the most popular social networking site in Philippines. Rex writes about his top 10 ten irritations with Friendster users.


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Senegal: Contraception and the Imam’s Daughter · Global Voices
Alice Backer

At Blog Politique du Senegal, Senegalais Scientifique comments on a local news story about an Imam's daughter having a baby out of wedlock by a European(Fr): “the most unsettling part of the story is … not that she had a baby with a European … but rather that she got pregnant without meaning to. That proves a severe educational flaw. If she found herself pregnant, she probably did not use contraception and ignores everything about AIDS and other STDs.”


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Serbia: Vojislav Seselj on Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

As the parliamentary poll comes closer Vojislav Seselj‘s hunger strike makes good publicity for the Serbian Radical Party. He is accused of committing crimes against humanity as the leader of a paramilitary force during the civil war in Bosnia & Herzegovina. After all, most of the charges relate to verbal delicti when he influenced the mases to join the war as he allegedly held many hateful speeches during the conflict. Four years have passed since he went to the international court for war crimes in the Hague until the start of the trial. Now, Seselj pleas for basic human rights like normal jail visits of his family members and the right to defend himself in court.
In a post titled “Seselj: A Hero Without a Sandwich,” Queeria describes his “sympathy” for this political leader (SRP):
[…] Hero and victim, son and father of the nation, a strongman, [both] Gandhi and Mandela…they call Seselj this way. Thousands of people came to support [the idea] at the rally [in front of the American Embassy in Belgrade last week]. They gathered once again in support of the Serbian victim.  Of course, during recent wars and regimes, there were thousands of Serbian victims. […]
I get confused when seeing [poor working-class people] demonstrating in support of Seselj policies. Those very same policies brought them to the edge of social disaster. […]
[He] won the position of a hero when he volunteered to go to the Hague Tribunal. It was a great farewell for the [brave man] going somewhere to [show them all], have a cup of coffee and come back. He didn’t make it, and that is why he tries to find different ways to return, which is allowed. […] What seems to be the issue here? How many people die of famine […] and the lack of medications annually? How many of refugees are there? How many people don’t want to enter this country because of Seselj and his counterparts? […]
I keep thinking about the fact pointed out by Goran Svilanovic during Utisak Nedelje show: that this Seselj case is used as part of a political campaign of the Radicals for the upcoming elections. That’s why I stay immune to pictures coming towards me: the notion of a great national man whose strength is fading; his children; his wife; his friends. And I am not ashamed!
I feel shame only when I come across the pain and suffering which is not wanted or is committed in front of me! […]
Only as a result of his own actions did Seselj take the risk for his own life – and that’s his personal decision. […]
Ana WithAFamily contributes with her opinion on the matter:
If the doctors treating a patient have the EU license, then they should implement ethical codes based on four principles:
1. Respect for personal autonomy when a patient makes a decision. This means that everyone competent enough to decide (more than 16/18 years old, sane, aware of surroundings and not under influence of alcohol or narcotics) has the right to choose even what doesn’t appear logical for the doctor. Applied to Seselj, he has got the right to refuse any kind of food.
2. Justice – it relates to the universal rules against discrimination, misuse and exploitation of a patient. From the medical point of view, this is not applicable to Seselj case.
3. Beneficence – it is a duty of the medical staff to help those in need. This principle often collides with the other three. Principles are noted according to importance and there is no doubt Seselj’s decision about hunger strike should be respected (except if his competence fails).
4 Non-malfeasance – […] Doctors are prohibited from actively taking part in procedures that might harm the patient's health. […]
I wish the public would know these rules of conduct in medical profession. If you have any way to spread this further than blogs, please do that. I am sure that people deserve to know this.
Let me sum it up. The decision is strictly his own. If one man holds to his own principles and is ready to give his life for his ideas, I hail that. […]
Milic i Milic thinks Seselj is the one who misuses his own human rights for a political struggle (SRP):
[…] They often say that his family members’ right to visit [Vojislav] is taken away. This is not true. They introduced temporary measures of better supervision during the visits for 30 days. The next noted example of violating Seselj’s human rights is not letting him […] freely appoint the lawyer. When Seselj started with hunger strike on Oct. 30, he got back the right of personal defense, the one that was taken from him because of court obstruction. The court insisted that Seselj’s legal defenders meet minimal criteria, [it means they need to] have some kind of certificate that enables them to take the role of a legal adviser (can you bring a plumber to defend you in front of any local court in Serbia?).
[…] Former law faculty dean, Oliver Antic, used one metaphor yesterday at a Radical P'sarty press conference: “Would you take part in sharpening the stick they want to use for your own execution? He doesn’t want to take part in his personal lynching, he doesn’t want to live two or three years more without the [basic] human rights, he wants to be a hero.”
[…] Tribunal board instructed the Dutch authorities on how to handle the new situation by calling to the rules of international law and medical ethics. Among other things, the instruction states: “The Trial Chamber…orders the authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands… to provide medical services…which may, in the case of medical necessity, include intervention such as drip-feeding – with the aim of protecting the health and welfare of the accused and avoiding loss of life, to the extent that such services are not contrary to compelling internationally accepted standards of medical ethics or binding rules of international law… to ensure that the medical professionals providing care to the accused seek professional advice, both in terms of specialized medical expertise and ethics, domestically and internationally, and not limited to the medical expertise invoked by the accused when considering whether or not to medically intervene or to continue medical services….”[…] “…according to jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, ‘force-feeding’ does not constitute torture, inhuman or degrading treatment if there is a medical necessity to do so, if procedural guarantees for the decision to force-feed are complied with and if the manner in which the detainee is force-fed is not inhumane or degrading”. […]
In her post called “Fatherly Insight,” Lucy Moore describes people who came to protest against “the political court” and for freedom of Vojislav Seselj in front of the American Embassy last week:
“Lucy, be careful. Those people can be dangerous.” That was my father's reaction when I mentioned passing the Serbian Radical Party's demonstration held in honor of Vojslav Seselj on my way into town Saturday. When I thought about the characters I saw as I wandered through the edge of the crowd gathered outside the US Embassy – a frail old woman, head covered in a scarf, cane in hand; a tacky, scantily clad twenty-something female dressed more for a nightclub than a political demonstration; and a young orthodox priest, swallowed by his flowing, black garb – I scoffed at this warning. Collectively these characters embodied the strange bedfellows represented by the Radical Party, but as individuals they each seemed more comical than threatening.
When it comes to Seselj and his role in Serbian politics, however, I'm not sure if a light chuckle is the most appropriate response. The man's story is pretty incredible (this will be nothing new for local readers, but worth repeating for those of you who have failed to keep up with Serbia's political scene). Now known internationally for his crimes against humanity, he was once the youngest PhD recipient in Yugoslavia. As a professor in Sarajevo, he developed a reputation for his nationalism and was even dubbed the “Duke of Četniks” on the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo, while traveling through, ironically enough, the United States. Perhaps taking this title a bit too seriously, he formed a nationalist political party and a paramilitary force in the early 1990s. Ten years and a handful of war crimes later, he's turned himself over to the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but has recently brought his trial to a halt as he is now on hunger strike in the name of spousal visits and self-selected legal representation (a less legitimate request than it seems given his record of harassing witness while representing himself in court). Now French doctors are being specially brought in to treat this man who, despite likely kidney failure, has refused to be seen by Dutch medical staff. Serbian news sources provide the public with daily updates on his health status, and reports of his hunger strike have made it into international news (New York Times, BBC). All this has conveniently aligned with the start of campaigns for Serbia's upcoming parliamentary elections, and who is the top listed member for the party holding the most seats in the current parliament? None other than the Duke of Četniks himself.
All in all, I cannot figure out how best to interpret this hubbub around Seselj. The whole thing makes for an absolutely ridiculous story, but when I remember that the “story” is non-fiction and the these “characters” at the demonstration are real Serbs with real perceptions and real voting power, should I be more scared than entertained?
According to an article run earlier in the week on B92.net, the former Slovenian Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro warned that [Seselj], with his antics in the Hague, should not be underestimated as a threat to democracy in Serbia. In contrast, however, I've generally heard Belgrade citizens just shrug off the whole thing. One described it all as the nationalists’ last stand, based more on hot air and theatrics than any real political strength. Another just lamented the continuation of the tension she remembered between Belgrade citizens and the crowds in attendance at Milosevic's rallies in the 1990s.
And maybe that is all Seselj and the nationalist trend really amounts to – a carry over from the 1990s that will ebb as more time is put between current Serbia and the Milošević years. But I still found the face of a war criminal plastered all over the capital city a bit unsettling, not to mention the sheer number of people that turned out for his rally.
My father's words of warning were meant in regards to my physical wellbeing, but are perhaps better applied elsewhere. I doubt the degree to which Seselj and his party are any real threat to my personal safety or that of any foreigner in Serbia – though he is know for threatening internationals before the Serbian parliament (“If we cannot grab all their [NATO] planes, we can grab those within our reach, like various Helsinki committees, and Quisling groups.” – Human Rights Watch Report). Instead it seems that those most at risk in the whole situation are the supporters of the Serbian Radical Party themselves, those being manipulated by a hand now shriveling away in Holland. But I've been told again and again that Serbia is unpredictable, so I suppose only time will tell.

author: Ljubisa Bojic


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