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Voices from Kazakhstan  · Global Voices
Leila Tanayeva

Police and protesters in Almaty, at svoboda.kz
“I phoned Sanzhar [Bokaev, a shortly detained leader of the movement against the ban of the right-hand-drive cars], he is in Almaty district police, which is next to Nikolski bazaar. Help him if you are a lawyer! He can answer the phone though, he can speak, he is safe, they are not beating him… And hello to a pretty BBC correspondent that I invited for a cup of tea…” – LJ user da_simon, coming home after the protests.
Strongly against the ban
The public opposition to the Presiden't decision to ban the import and the use of the cars with the right-hand steering wheels continues, with increasing presence in Kazakhstani web space. Svoboda.kz (RUS), the site created shortly after the ban, now boasts more than 22.000 unique visits since 23 November and more than 6.500 people who signed the online petition against the ban. Belaya Yurta, a new blog, collects the reports of the protests in different cities in Kazakhstan (so far Almaty, Astana, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Semey and Ust-Kamenogorsk), photos, videos, open letters and statements on the issue (RUS).
Not authorised in any city expect for Pavlodar, the protests were peaceful everywhere, hindered by heavy snowfall in Karaganda, and actively attended by both protesters and the police in Almaty, where the only arrests on the grounds of illegality of the protests happened. For getting a general picture, watch this video, a report of Channel 31 private TV (in Russian).
Another private TV station KTK was instructed not to report on the protests, according to a message from LJ user rtyom, in a newly created Livejournal community against the ban pravo_rulya_kz (RUS). “Who is next?” – asks rtyom, “How can we make it clear that we are not in the opposition?”
The Logo of the Movement: Soyuz Pravyl Sil Kazahstana (The Union of the Right in Kazakhstan)
The word “right” has many meanings, which made it a creative task to make up the slogans and the name for the movements. Take, for instance, “Without Right and Wrong!”, “For a Right Cause”, or, the latest creation “The Union of the Right Forces in Kazakshtan”. Nevermind a political party with the same name.
Meanwhile – Fashion Week
People in Kazakhstan have more cars, want more rights, and – want to wear the clothes that are local yet fashionable, wrote the New York Times about Kazakhstan Fashion Week, held on November 22-25 in Almaty. The week hosted several collections of Kazakh designers: “Ms. Azikhan, a fashion designer who opened her first boutique there last year, hopes her line will inspire the wives of local oil barons and metals magnates to give up imports like Chanel and Versace”, writes the NYT.
Some are not yet ready to buy local, not only because of the level of prices for oil barons, but also because of the quality of the clothes themselves. LJ user doctor_tseplik writes (RUS):
“Textiline” with its fashion street collection and Daralique were good… The rest… Oh my God. Do you remember the pillowcases of the Soviet times? They were turned into blouses… The sheets became skirts, which miraculously turned into trousers in the middle… To make it look better, the models had two tails of hair – to look like milkers from a collective farm… Designer! Haute Couture! Pret-a-Porte!”
Nathan of Registan has snapshots of strange sights of the shows, KZblog comments on the article: “Certainly everyone I know who goes on a business trip to Europe or the US brings back clothing for friends and family. And there are rumors of high-level officials planning trips based on the shopping seasons. But now we know that some segment of the Kazakh population can jet set to London, Paris, New York and be hip to the latest fashions.”
Nazarbayev speaks
Nazarbayev's latest statements continue to be discussed in the blogosphere. His now famous refusal to run after the West with “pants down”, went forgotten 10 days later, when he kindly commented on Borat during his visit to London. He surprised again when he said at a press conference that 15 years of Kazakhstan's independence can be compared to 150 years of calm history of humankind. Trying to make sense of it, Ben of neweurasia quotes Nazarbayev's “Kazakhstan 2030″ development strategy (“half past eight”, as put by locals), calling it a “Snow Leopard Development Theorem”:
Kazakhstani Snow Leopard would … possess western elegance multiplied by the advanced level of development, oriental wisdom and endurance. He will be all at one in his strivings, victories and failures with his brothers brought up by a single mother, i. e. by Uzbek, Kyrghyz and other Central Asian Snow Leopards. He will be ever proud of their progress and achievements.
Kazakhstani Media
Adam of neweurasia posted an interview with Merkhat Sharipzhan, a Director of “Azattyq”, Kazakh language service of RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty). In his sincere talk, Merkhat provides an insight into the situation with media, language, government and opposition in Kazakhstan, and sheds light on tragic death of his brother, a journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov, who was hit by a car in July 2004.
Askar Shomshekov cites the editor of the “Sobytiya Nedeli” (Weekly News) paper from Pavlodar, the city 350km northeast of the capital Astana, on his Kazakhstan journalism blog (RUS). The newspaper is being shut down: “Remember, how “Irtysh-Times”, “Vesti Pavlodara”, TV channel “Irbis” seized to operate? Now we might add to this list. We were never involved with the politics, however, someone does not like us now…Unfortunately, it is not possible to make an honest newspaper here in Pavlodar…”.
LJ user raseyannaya, a young journalist from Ekibastuz, a town in Pavlodar region with 127.200 people, compares journalism in Pavlodar and Ekibastuz after receiving a training on legal aspects of journalism (RUS). “… The trainers told us about the trials of journalists, then asked us to share our stories. We kept silent – it is sad to admit that Ekibas has only partisan media, and there are no trials because we only write on demand and for money. There is a newspaper, which seriously cares about its image, but they have a strong “front”… The rest just earn their living”.

author: Leila Tanayeva


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World AIDS Day · Global Voices
David Sasaki

With the inaugural theme of “Communication” in 1988, World AIDS Day was first established by UNAIDS as an annual day of awareness and outreach to confront the stigma, discrimination, and ignorance surrounding one of the world's deadliest preventable diseases. Nearly two decades, 65 million infections, and 25 million deaths later, the campaign continues, with bloggers around the globe eager to do their part. With the help of Georgia Popplewell and Alice Backer, the majority of this post focuses on bloggers from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. I hope that readers help make it more representative by adding links in the comments section to blog posts from their region which commemorate World AIDS Day.
Latin America:
In Latin America and the Caribbean there are some encouraging signs in a few countries and an International labor Organization report released today estimates that fewer youths in the region will die of AIDS. Unfortunately, the region is hurt by a lack of effective AIDS prevention due to political bickering and lack of funds, and HIV infection has grown in high-risk groups (e.g. prostitutes, homosexuals) throughout the region.
So writes Erwin Cifuentes at The Latin Americanist in a post that links to seven other interesting developments throughout the region related to spread of and battle against AIDS. Maegan “la Mala” of VivirLatino focuses on how the pandemic has affected the Latino community in the United States. Made in Brazil informs readers of the Brazilian campaign for World Aids Day, entitled “A vida é mais forte que a Aids” (life is stronger than Aids) and includes two video clips that are part of the campaign. Phillippa of Cuaderno Latinoamericano links to a BBCMundo story on three Latin Americans living with HIV or AIDS.
In Spanish, the Mexico City metroblog Defecito shows support by posting a special banner which reads “AIDS does not spread to the soul.” Chile Diaro (“Chile Daily”) writes [ES], “in Chile, 25 years after the discovery of the disease, people still confuse the virus with the values of morality and good catholic customs. There are even the fanatics that believe AIDS was sent by god to end promiscuity.”
Caribbean:
We also see tremendous observance of the day in the Caribbean, one of the regions hit hardest by AIDS. From the Dominican Republic, Remolacha [ES] and DR1 both note that an estimated 1.1% of the country's population carries the virus.
Writing from Trinidad and Tobago, Georgia Popplewell breaks down the harrowing statistics of the disease per region. In the Caribbean alone she notes:
250,000 adults and children living with HIV
120,000 women living with HIV
27,000 adults and children newly infected with HIV
1.2% adult prevalence
19,000 adult and child deaths due to AIDS
Fellow Trinidadian Karen Walrond, having discovered a BBC story about HIV/AIDS in Trinidad from Gallimaufry, decided to go pro-active and pledge a dollar donation to the Cyril Ross Nursery for children affected by HIV/AIDS for each comment on this post.
In French Guiana, New Media notes [FR]:
La journée mondiale de lutte contre le sida a aussi été suivie en Guyane. Et pour cause, proportionnellement au nombre d’habitants, la Guyane est le département le plus touché par la maladie en France. Entre le jeudi 30 novembre et ce vendredi 1 décembre, de nombreuses opérations de sensibilisation se déroulent
Africa:
Sokari Ekine tells the story of 24-year-old HIV positive woman she met in Johannesburg:
Last year on World Aids Day I spoke with Rose about her experience of living with HIV . Rose has chosen to leave a comment revealing her true self and revealing the name of the person from who she contracted HIV, something she has only ever done to one person. She explains why she has chosen to do this at this time and what it means to her to make these revelations.
This year, whilst in Johannesburg, I spoke with Mpho, a young woman who is also HIV positive. Unlike Rose who has been positive for 20 years, Mpho only found out in April this year after she was raped last October. For her the journey is twofold. Coming to terms with being raped and having to see her rapist walk the streets in freedom; and beginning her journey of an HIV positive life.
Kameelah, writing from Johannesburg, laments the way the Mbeki administration has dealt – or, or more appropriately, not dealt – with AIDS:
i am not sure if most folks realize, but it wasn't until the end of 2006 that south africa, a country with an HIV-positive population of 5.5 million (only second to india) formally recognized AIDS … south africa is finally rolling out an aggressive treatment and prevention program.
Mad de Madagascar posts Madagascar AIDS stats for World AIDS Day:
Estimation du taux de prévalence du VIH chez les adultes (15-49 ans), fin 2005 -> 0,5 %
This is Zimbabwe has posted a video of Bono's World Aids Day message and then adds:
Whatever you do today, please don’t forget that life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 34 for woman, and 37 for men. Think about that for a second. This is really your day, not ours. Zimbabweans don’t need ‘World Aids day’ to be reminded of AIDS. AIDS is with us every single day of the year.
Of special emphasis is Blogswana [ES], a weblog dedicated to “Botswana, AIDS, and Blogging.”
Middle East and North Africa
Hamid Tehrani recently wrote about a blog competition organized by UNAids, Unicef and the Iranian Positive Life Institue to spur discussion of topics related to the pandemic.
If you know of other posts from the Middle East and North Africa (or anywhere else) commemorating World AIDS Day, please link to them in the comments section below.
Central Asia and Caucasus
Vadim of Neweurasia discusses some of the HIV/AIDS statistics specific to Tajikstan.
Asia
CSR-Asia commemorates the day by looking at fresh data released last week by UNAIDS which revealed that “an estimated 8.6 million people were living with HIV in Asia in 2006, with some 960,000 new infections. Approximately 630,000 people in Asia died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2006.”
Readers interested in AIDS activism in China should read up on the extensive reporting by John Kennedy and Oiwan Lam on activist and blogger Hu Jia.
A Sepia Mutiny post titled “India in Focus on World AIDS Day” has already inspired 50 comments; most of which react to this claim:
On the other hand — and here’s the “for worse” part — even the most abundant supply of inexpensive drugs can’t overcome poor distribution networks and, even worse, bonehead ignorance, especially when it comes from the people in charge of administering AIDS programs.
Oceania
To Tahiti, where students at the University of French Polynesia got active today:
Dans le cadre de la journée mondiale de lutte contre le SIDA, l'université de la Polynésie française se mobilise, le vendredi 1er décembre, pour inviter les étudiants à “plus de responsabilité”… Le thème de la Journée Mondiale de lutte contre le SIDA porte cette année sur la responsabilité au niveau individuel, communautaire et nationa … La Polynésie française fait partie des pays les moins touchés par l'infection à VIH avec un taux de prévalence de l'infection inférieur à 0,1 %.
And Finally …
I hope that this already lengthy collection of conversation and concern is extended and diversified with more links to more posts from more regions in the comments section. Be safe.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: David Sasaki


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Afghan Whispers:Marshall Plan,Drought and Herat · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

What Happened to Marshall Plan?
Sanjar explains why a Marshall Plan for his country did not achieve its objectives. The blogger writes
After the establishment of President Karzai’s government in
Afghanistan there was talk of the need for implementation of a plan much like the Marshall Plan for post Second World War Europe.What happened next was pledges of billions of dollars towards the recovery of Afghanistan and actual expenditure of millions in that country,but no Marshall Plan.
The blogger tries to find a solution:The United States and the United Nations must make sure that the flow of aid into Afghanistan is transparent.
Drought
Safrang talks about the drought that hit afghanistan. The blogger writes for the second time in less than a decade Afghanistan is hit by drought. Oxfam warns that 2.5 million people face a chronic shortage of food. The blogger talks about the importance of international attention because Afghanistan's government does not have the means to respond to this situation.
Herat
Demilitarized says In the Karzai era Afghanistan if you are in search of one replica for development—of a sort—then look no beyond Herat. Herat has emerged as a city with a booming civil society—or so it appears from outside.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Africa: if I were not African · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In a post titled, [They] don’t say “Malawi”; they just say “Africa.”, Sotho writes, “If I were not African, I wonder whether it would be clear to me that Africa is a place where the people do not need limp gifts of fish but sturdy fishing rods and fair access to the pond. I wonder whether I would realize that while African nations have a failure of leadership, they also have dynamic people with agency and voices.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: One Million African Lives Initiative · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Charity begins at home,” writes Grandiose Parlor, describing Emeka Okafor’s One Million African Lives Initiative, “The initiative is a collaboration between him and the Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, a leading international non-profit organization working with 34 sub-Saharan African countries.”


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Africa: speakers at TEDGlobal · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A leading Kenyan blogger, Kenyan Pundit, is one of the speakers at an international conference taking place in Arusha, Tanzania next year. The list includes inventors, business-leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, artists, writers, and activists who are contributing to Africa's development.


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Africa:World Aids Day frustrations · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Brian writes about his World Aids Day frustrations in Bots Blog, “Speeches, marches, buying a red Ipod (or 100,000 of them), etc. won't make a bit of difference in the struggle against HIV on this continent.”


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Bahamas: Tribute to Bahamian intellectual · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nicolette Bethel republishes a tribute to the late Bahamian intellectual, Winston V. Saunders, by Rex Nettleford, Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies and founder of the Jamaica National Dance Theatre.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: Children and their resilience · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

morris the pen on a ten year old child who was rescued from a life of abuse. “Let’s not forget: we are talking here about a very young child, whose life experience already includes beating, torture and the threat of murder.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Messages on Video · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Salam Dhaka in a very brief post points to the growing number of videos on video sharing sites relating to Bangladesh. “On-line video is becoming a political tool for the growing web savy youths of Bangladesh. Political parties, social organizations, musicians are using it to spread their messages.”


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Barbados: Blog censorship · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press  is highly critical of the Barbados Labour Party's wholehearted endorsement of Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley's call for the censoring of blogs and radio call-in programmes.


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Bleeding at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

I sit here and try to imagine how I would feel if it had been my country which had been invaded, bombarded into submission, occupied, allowed to be looted and vandalized, my people brutalised, towns I lived in ripped apart, my countrys infrastructure destroyed, people I loved killed and those who lived, frightened, despairing, wondering if they have any future….
Iraq is the holocaust of our time.
It weighs heavily on the hearts of a lot of us.
Anonymous comment at Iraq Blog Count
Iraq is bleeding and it seems nothing can be done to end the suffering. Today I give you stories from the front lines of the new civil war that is Iraq, without comment. They express themselves well enough.
If you read no other blog, ever, read this
“Why, Dubai?” is truly what blogs are all about. Rejected tells her story of a professional Iraqi Woman who travels to Dubai and is rejected for, well, being profession, Iraqi and a woman. She starts from her times working for international companies in Iraq after the war and goes through her experiences in Duba. So far she has got the ideal job in Dubai and has returned to Iraq so that she can get her residence visa. The next installment will be the most painful and is yet to come. She writes:
Had I been a gypsy dancer, Pilipino escort or Russian club singer, I would have been received in open arms and granted residency in UAE. Being a decent Iraqi hard worker female made me lose my job in UAE and my future.
Just read it all.
Without Comment
Baghdad Connect:
They have been coming down like black rain; at least where we live. The districts Mortars wars are horrifying and nothing like them, not even the war of the cities with Iran . The whole situation is savagely out of control. And the Mortars are causing permanent body damages as well as deaths.
The killings in our neighborhood have turned into a psycho-apartheid modus operandi. Whoever is of somewhat darker skin and spotted in the streets is considered a ‘Shrougi’ – (a dirty southerner) and shot at instantly. No IDs are being asked for! Some are being caught and had their head covered with a bag before being shot. It is becoming a very normal sight for everyone to spot dead bodies in the streets.
During the past 5 days the children did not see the roads. Neither schools nor universities are open period. It’s like a devastated Pompei visited by Nero. Yet some men are still going about their jobs. The fuel shortage is back to a crisis level.
The house of the deputy (Shiite) to the health minister was raided in broad daylight by men dressed in police uniforms – the official death-squads uniform – and he was dragged out and dumped in an Opal’s trunk and driven away. A day later a Mortar was aimed at his house but missed and hit his next-door neighbor’ house!
Miraj:
Woke up at some point during the night on a weird noise, or early morning was it? It was dark. My senses started to realize slowly it was war outside! Heavy shooting! It involved RPG, guns and rifles. In between there was a horrible sound of bombing. I was still not completely awake but those three years made us all experts. It was a car bomb, I could hear the echo, and I could feel the huge flames reaching up to the sky. Another run of heavy shooting. “Please God make me sleep again” I was praying to Allah. Recited some verses while my eyes were still open. Seconds later silence filled the place, like if it was a nightmare, only it wasn’t.
Iraq The Model:
The past four days during which we were under siege were long and rough for Baghdadis. Anxiety and fear haunted us at our homes and a flow of horrible news made the prison feel even tighter…it was a material and psychological siege that will not be easy to forget. …
Terrorists and militias started an open war; the battlefield is our city and the fuel is innocent civilians as always since those criminal groups find it easier to kill civilians than to confront each other … We had no choice but to rely on ourselves to protect our homes and neighborhood insurgents and militias alike. In our mixed block the elders met to assign duties and make plans in case things go wrong. They decided that people should all exchange cell-phone numbers as the fastest means to communicate at times of action, it was also decided that if someone calls to report an attack on his home, everyone else must go up to the roof and start shooting at the direction of the assailants…
The situation was terrifying and the rattle of machineguns broke through the tense quiet of the night several times every night but perhaps the star of the latest show was the mortar—there has been a frenzy of mortar fire, gladly none struck our neighborhood but we could hear the stupid death packages pass by each other in the air across our neighborhood….
When the news came that the curfew was over and people began walking on the streets again there was a strange feeling that was particularly very strong this morning in Baghdad; despite all the rumors and fear from more wide-scale revenge attacks there was a feeling among the people that they must go out on the streets and live in all possible means. The most beautiful scene was that of students going to their schools and colleges despite all what happened in the days before.
Iraq Sweet Iraq overhears a common conversation:
- Do you have a low or a high wall at the back of you house? I mean can you easily jump to your neighbour’s house if necessary ?
- I suppose so.
- Good, that will be the women's escape . As soon as they attack you, get the women to cross over , then you and your brothers and father go upstairs as fast as you can, and shoot down on them from your roof, and remember son ; never ever open the door for them even if they shoot or even if they bombard your garden, don't give them an access.
At that point I sprang out of my chair and went to the kitchen. Abu S… and M … were having their breakfast and drinking tea . Abu S… was standing holding his cup and eating a cheese sandwich , and M… was sitting listening attentively and eating .
Here , I intervened saying :
- Abu S…, my oh my, I've known you long enough , yet this is the first time I see the “General Casey” side of you , what the hell are you teaching the boy !.
- ‘Hello Dear‘ , he said slicing some cheese and wrapping it with a piece of bread , handing it over to me .
– ‘ M …’s area is being attacked daily’ , Abu S.. explained, ‘And yesterday his next door neighbour was attacked . The bastards stormed in and the poor man was beaten up in front of his children and wife. Everything was stolen and as if that was not enough they took him away somewhere . I tell you they are taking the whole area in turn . A man has to do what a man has to do , one must fight for his house at least..
- ‘Who are these people ? do you have any idea’ I asked M…
- Who cares any more , you see our area has been practically invaded , people driven out , the houses left empty and any one can just break in .My area has been taken over by people who claim to have been driven out from their own houses . And they are forming now the majority and are carrying out raids on the old tenants. It is happening now everywhere .
- ‘And what are you going to do? , I mean besides the D-day plan Abu S… has formulated for you?’ ,I said smiling at Abu S…
- What is their to do!, I'll move maybe . The whole country is on the run .
Attawie gets an SMS from relatives in Iraq:
Dear ……..,
Thank God we are ok. But the situation in general is more than tragic. I believe that we have arrived at a stage of no return. Maybe you'll have to exchange your passports as there no longer is a country called Iraq. Hence, you'll have to obtain passports from either the Shia region or Sunni region. It is not worthy to mention that men entering these regions must be wearing head turban, and women in Booshi. It is also preferable to wear traditional slippers instead of regular shoes to avoid embarrassment, and “he who released his warning is not to be lamented if bad events take place. Regards to all.
HNK:
All the people are leaving Iraq, My uncle and my aunts leave to Dubai.
My other aunt move from Baghdad to Mosul and by the end of this year I think we will have my grandparents in our house, Do you know I didn't see my grand parents for more than a year.
I don't know what to say except I think we are hardly live here and we are hardly keep going in this life, I wish some times that my eyes are a digital camera so you can see what I see, or that you have a magic ball that help you to see me and see everything around me, maybe that time you can feel my pain…..
And Finally…
Zappy is counting his lives:
1. on thursday the past I visited Sadr city to fix my car, I made it through the explosions there by a hair!! so yes there goes one of the lives.
2. on the same thursday and after the curfew I found out i had no ciggerattes left so of course I left the house to buy some, The Police were after me without me noticing and using thier Car speaker told me to take my hands out of my pockets, lie down on the road and then they sent a police man to check me, they thought I was a bad guy, I thought that they were the Milita. anyway they let me go and gave me a ciggarate and told me not to mleave the house again because of the curfew, did I mention that it was 9:30 p.m. and not even a Rat was on the Road., there goes another life.
3. this Morning I was waiting for a Airport Cab to take me to Baghdad International Airport, he called me in the morning to tell me he can't make it he was scared of my Naghbourhood, so me being me wearing my suit and dragging my two large bags and a backpack had to Walk two kilometers until on a empty scary street at 6:30 a.m. until I reached a Police car, the boys where so scared of me they started shouting at me to..yes to lie drop the bags and lie down on the street..again this time because I was wearing a Suit I refused to do that part and tried to reson with them, after some talk they sent me one of the police men to search me. “sounds familiar?” anyway they let me stand beside the Police car, and they even stopped me a Taxi. live number 3

author: Salam Adil


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Cote d’Ivoire: Tensions between President and Prime Minister · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog d'Olivier Gabirault points to a Jeune Afrique L'Intelligent article stating (Fr): “A consultant to Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny denounced the shortcomings of President Laurent Gbagbo in a recent  toxic waste scandal, confirming tensions between the two men two days from an international summit on the Ivoirian peace process.”

author: Alice Backer


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India, Pakistan: Chennai and Lahore’s gifts to the world · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogs the world over are focusing on the gifts each city has given to the world. Metroblogging Lahore has a wonderful post focusing on the cuisine and delights for the foodies and Metroblogging Chennai has a series of delightful posts – including this one on Chennai's gift of Indo Saracenic Architecture.


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India: Racially immune to AIDS? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny on the status of HIV/ AIDS in India – including recent positive news in securing treatment. However, the issue of awareness remains a problem. “Meanwhile, a study of 252 Indian truckers finds that over 40 percent have passed an STD to their wives, and that many believe that AIDS is a white man’s disease from which they are racially immune. Only 11 percent use condoms.”


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India: Violence of the poor · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The desecration of a statue causes unrest and violence. a reader's words writes “Once again, it is the rage against the Dalit rage that makes me side with those who are at the receiving end of society. There are dozens of blog posts expressing anger against the riots, very few that introspect or distinguish between the violence of the powerful and the violence of the dispossessed.”


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Nigeria: blogger wins ICT award · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Edward Popoola, who won the award for Top ICT Educator in Africa recently, writes, “Remarkable in that, I got an award I least expected I was going to win. My application was strong, at least I considered it strong enough, but I did not know who the other nominees were.”


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Pakistan: AIDS/ HIV and awareness · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

On World AIDS Day, Metroblogging Islamabad on why Pakistan needs to be careful about HIV and get its awareness programs going. “A third of Pakistani truck drivers recently surveyed had never heard of condoms and 19 out of 20 who bought sex from women did not use condoms, according to UNAIDS.”


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Pakistan: Girls, you should know the first kalma · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan looks at some lines of poetry written on the back of a bus with initial amusement and then with a slight sense of horror. The post and the comments discuss expectations from Pakistani women. “Roughly translated, it says: Girls these days are so proud of their beauty. They don’t know the first kalma, but speak in English.”


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: World AIDS Day · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Abeni recognizes World AIDS Day on December 1st, she observes that, in spite of high infection rates, the Caribbean seems to be doing something right in combating HIV/AIDS.


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The Laptop “To Conquer Them All” Arrives in Brazil · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The “$100 laptop” has arrived in Brazil and so has a significant discussion in the blogosphere. Last week, in a much-hyped ceremony at the Palacio do Planalto in Brasilia, MIT's Media Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte met President Lula to launch the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative in Brazil. The initial prototypes revealed many innovative technical features and other possibilities that were praised widely by Brazilian bloggers.
A tecnologia dos computadores exigiu que os pesquisadores do Media Lab repensassem os laptops. Não se trata de uma versão mais barata dos notebooks comerciais, mas de um novo conceito em termos de hardware, que inclui uma tela com dois modos de operação, colorido e preto-e-branco, de baixo consumo, e até uma fonte de energia mecânica para a máquina.
Laptops de U$100 – Aleatório…
A Universidade de São Paulo avaliou positivamente o desempenho do laptop US$100, que passou por testes em seu Laboratório. Uma das principais características desse computador é seu sistema de conexão sem fio, denominado Mesh. De acordo com avaliação da USP, basta que um computador esteja conectado à internet, para que todos demais aparelhos com mesma tecnologia, localizados a uma distância mínima, também tenham acesso ao conteúdo online, formando uma rede. “Além de ser portátil, os laptops estarão sempre conectados”, explica a professora da USP.
Após testes, USP elogia laptop de US$ 100 –  Ambientes de Inovação
O notebook de 100 dólares finalmente chegou ao Brasil – pelo menos, pras as mãos dos netos do presidente Lula, como ele próprio assumiu no encontro que teve ontem com Nicholas Negroponte. Negroponte deu a Lula o primeiro XO fabricado pelo Quanta, numa espécie de agradecimenteo pelo “suporte e motivações irrestritas” que Lula vinha dando ao projeto… Outra forma da OLPC agradecer o Brasil tem impacto muito maior na indústria nacional. Enquanto a produção dos notebooks não sai da China (algum dia vai sair?), o Brasil será responsável por montar todos os servidores usados pelos colégios inscritos no projeto.
laptop de U$ 100: the eagle has landed – Chá quente
Grande Negroponte! Ele é o cara. Ele é o cara que disse: “se MS e Intel estão incomodadas com meu projeto é sinal de que estou no caminho certo”. Hehe.
O Melhor de 2006 – Graffiti
As could have been expected, the band of bloggers disagreeing with the initiative is equally noisy.
O ministro da educação da Tailândia citou como razões para a saída do projeto a falta de preparo dos professores e a necessidade de focar em padrões para educação básica. “Nós não focaremos muito em tecnologia e materiais. Nosso foco será na substância”. Finalmente alguém pensou direito! Nao é um dispositivo computacional barato (leia-se OLPC, 2B1 ou o nome que você quiser dar) que vai melhorar a educação de um povo. O problema é um pouco mais básico: tem que melhorar os professores, o conteúdo, a “substância”. A Índia também já havia abandonado o barco alegando que seria impossível justificar um gasto desse tamanho em algo questionável quando o dinheiro público é insuficiente para outras prioridades bem definidas.
Pelo menos alguém ainda tem bom senso – dclobato
Na primeira impressão, o que pensamos é que fazendo isso, o presidente apedeuta toma uma atitude exemplar, se quase todas as pessoas da classe média não tem um laptop, doar às crianças pobres parece ser um tanto quanto dizer a nação o quanto somos ricos e bonzinhos.
Lula lélé e o Notebook de 100 dolares – Gus’s SOS Brasil
afinal de contas que história é esta de tecnologia combatendo a pobreza, não combateu até agora, não combate no momento e tenho dúvidas que irá combater um dia, não sei em outros países (só conheço mal e mal o Brasil), mas este Sr. Negroponte ou é um viajante de primeira na maionese ou é outro que descobriu que o Brasil é uma verdadeira mina de ouro para quem tem um discurso, digamos assim, popular, onde mais vale uma bravata bem contada e indolor do que uma verdade eficiente mas dolorosa.
Viva! o Brasil High Tech já chegou – kazzx
The exchange about the ‘One Laptop’ goes into the details of its operating system, which displays some different interface concepts. The question is if the innovation was required, or even desirable, as the desktop paradigm has proven its appeal to children all over the world. So the bloggers are testing and debating.
Se você é brasileiro e trabalha com a área de informática creio que você tem uma obrigação: baixar o emulador do OLPC e dar uma olhada nele. Porquê? Bem, para começar a interface é radicalmente diferente do que você conhece. Imagine que você está em casa, na buena, quando o teu sobrinho de 7 anos chega depois do primeiro dia de aula dele e diga: “Tiu, olha meu lapitópi! Me ajuda a mexê neli?”. Pois é, você já vai pronto querendo mostrar para ele um menu de opções e vê que se perde completamente… Acha que eu tô brincando? Pois é, olha só esse vídeo que eu pesquei lá do blog do Solon:
[vídeo do youtube – abaixo]
Viu? Bem diferente do que você esperava não? Agora imagina o mico que seria mostrar pro teu sobrinho que você tá boiando. E como você sabe que criança não perdoa…
Educação sexual – Charles? Que Charles?
Got it? Very different from what you expected, right? Now think about the embarrassment it would be to show your nephew that you are clueless about what you see. You know how merciless children are…
Educação sexual – Charles? Que Charles?
O laptop de 100+x dólares continua dando o que falar. Os mantenedores do OSNews analisaram a interface do usuário do bichinho, e concluíram que algo pode estar muito errado, apesar de eles serem favoráveis à idéia do OLPC em si. Segundo a análise deles, o Sugar (a interface com o usuário feita para os laptops) foge do paradigma tradicional de desktop e aplicações, implementando a sua própria, diferente de todas as demais tanto em termos de interação quanto da base de código. Segundo a análise, as crianças do terceiro mundo têm tantas condições de aprender a interagir com interfaces desktop quanto as crianças dos países economicamente desenvolvidos, então não haveria razão para negar a elas esta oportunidade. A conferir.
OSNews critica a interface do OLPC – BR-Linux.org
O nome final dele é XO, e conta com um sistema operacional chamado de Sugar OS, baseado na distribuição Linux Fedora Core. O que o coração geek de um pobre desenvolvedor manda? Instalar joguinho! Eu não disse que o OLPC ia virar mais um videogame que um laptop educacional? Agora é só eu começar a prever coisas realmente úteis – como qual vai ser o próximo serviço que o Google vai comprar, e criar esse serviço previamente – e eu me tornarei bilionário!
Doom no OLPC – Chaos Blog
Another controversial aspect that Brazilians are focusing attention on in the OLPC project is the faith and emphasis given to the equipment alone without an accompanying educational plan to orient its implementation.
Acredito que uma das idéias mais polêmicas do projeto OLPC é a de que o “Xisó” conseguirá dar um “upgrade” nas crianças, mesmo que a participação dos professores seja mínima ou inexistente. Na reunião com o BID (Banco Interamericano para o Desenvolvimento), que vai financiar as compras dos governos a juros baixos, o Negroponte deixou bem clara sua posição: “Computador mais criança é igual a mágica! E essas crianças precisam dessa mágica. Essas crianças precisam desse milagre. Podemos ficar os próximos cinco anos planejando o que fazer. Mas não é isso o que devemos fazer. Temos que tomar decisões. Temos que agir.”
Menos planejamento, mais ação – Blog do ALPHACity Brasil
No entanto, o que está sendo deixado de lado é a preocupação com o conteúdo que será oferecido aos milhões de estudantes brasileiros. Na página do programa (wiki) as informações sobre conteúdo educativo do projeto é irrelevante. As iniciativas da comunidade brasileira envolvida com o projeto são igualmente tímidas (veja mais aqui)… Nesse momento, deve ser discutido se o programa adotará o mesmo modelo que o MEC utiliza para comprar livros didáticas e financiar telecursos pelo país (investindo/gastando milhões de reais) ou se será formada e estimulada uma comunidade que crie e compartilhe conhecimento, identificando onde, em que momento e em que área apenas será necessário apelar ao mercado de copyright, comprando os conteúdos de outros detentores dos direitos de reprodução (embora me causa cada vez mais estranhamento a palavra reprodução quando se trata de internet). Quando falamos de educação, das próximas gerações e do futuro do Brasil não podemos pensar pequeno. A adoção do programa um laptop por criança é um grande movimento, um grande passo. Mas ainda falta uma perna.
O futuro do Brasil, em um laptop – Zero {Blog} – Network Jornalismo
Procurei informações sobre quais são os projetos que estão sendo planejados, para a tal fase de testes, que deve começar em janeiro de 2007. No site do MEC a busca por OLPC resulta em 0 (zero!) documentos encontrados. Revirei o site e nada encontrei, nem mesmo quais são as tais escolas que vão receber os primeiros 1000 computadores para os testes que serão conduzidos pelo MEC. Achei muito estranho, principalmente porque Nicholas Negroponte afirmou que esse é “projeto educacional e não um projeto de laptop”. Descobri uma pista da falta de notícias sobre material para os professores lendo um blog de notícias sobre o OLPC Brasil, o ALPHACity Brasil : “(…) em um chat com Seymour Papert, do dia 14, ficou bem claro que não é idéia dos criadores do projeto OLPC que se monte uma estrutura com professores treinados para orientar as crianças no uso do micro OLPC. Diz ele: “As crianças por si mesmo controlarão o melhor uso dos computadores. No fim das contas elas vão ensinar a si mesmas. Elas vão ensinar umas às outras. Milhões de pessoas compram computadores e aprendem a usá-los sem professores.” Assustador, não é? É a tal visão que o computador é uma máquina de ensinar!
XO?? Não era 2B1? – Miriam Salles
Eu tenho minha posição. Se for possível treinar professores, criar projetos etc. etc. seria ótimo. Se não, coloquem os computadores na mão dos meninos, que vai acontecer a mágica de que o Negroponte fala. Eles vão buscar o que é de seu interesse: baixar o “funk da bundinha” e outros, ver mulher pelada, jogar DOOM em sangrentas matanças virtuais etc. Mas, quando forem se preparar para as provas e principalmente para o vestibular, terão onde estudar de uma maneira mais interessante que apenas ler o livro da matéria. Poderão verificar se aprenderam, em “joguinhos” que podem ser divertidos, discutir a matéria com seus colegas pela rede mesh e, quem sabe, até ter a juda de um professor que more perto da escola e que se disponha a ficar de plantão, dando suporte no chat, sem ganhar hora extra. Bem, talvez essa última hipótese só mesmo por milagre…
Menos planejamento, mais ação – Blog do ALPHACity Brasil
The debate goes on across the country, and everywhere else. The one laptop per child concept is strong enough to stir controversies at many levels, and it seems the perfect thing to animate the large Brazilian dreams of connection (and connected dreams). But, after all is said, it can just mean one laptop per child. Isn't this a good idea?
Você pode ler a notícia na versão online do NYT. Agora a noite já haviam 350 comentários postados por leitores. A maioria contra o projeto OLPC. E sempre aqueles mesmos argumentos. As crianças pobres precisam é de comida e água potável, não de computadores. Dar um computador sem um grande projeto educacional não vai levar a nada. Etc. Etc. O que não se percebe é que a idéia do “Xisó” é muito menos ambiciosa do que se pensa. Não é emancipar os pobres. Nem substituir os professores. É só um computador que, por suas características um pouco diferentes de um PC “normal” (inclusive preço), pode ajudar na educação.
Deu no “New York Times” – Blog do ALPHACity Brasil

author: Jose Murilo


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Venezuelan 3D · Global Voices
Iria Puyosa

The 3D (December 3) will become a new milestone in Venezuela's political calendar. This Sunday Venezuelans will choose our next President. Although more than ten candidates are registered, the election race is truly among only two candidates: the social democrat Manuel Rosales and incumbent President Hugo Chávez, who aspires to be reelected for 6 more years after having been in office for 8 years now.
This election will be the most polarized in Venezuelan history. Mass media are clearly part of the political confrontation, and news-programs have become partisan rather than informative. A large system of government owned media is serving Chávez’ reelection campaign, while most private owned media tend to give better coverage to Rosales.
Even though most polls suggest that Chávez will win the elections, a few pollsters are   projecting a Rosales victory at the last minute. The range of poll numbers goes from those giving Chávez 25 points up to those giving Rosales 10 points up. Nothing is sure about what will happen at the evening of December 3. Rumors (and jokes) about electoral fraud or violence from supporters of whoever gets defeated are widespread.
In this complex situation, Venezuelan bloggers have organized citizen’s coverage for this presidential election. All posts about the elections are being aggregated is the directory Elecciones 3D.
Bloggers participating in Elecciones 3D — like the rest of Venezuelans — are divided among Chávez´ supporters, opposition supporters, and political skeptics. Nonetheless, they all share a sincere interest in pursuing what they think is best for Venezuela. There is a lot of debate about political positions, polls, and news, as well as personal stories related to the campaign.
Maléfica told his view of the last day of electoral campaign in Caracas’ downtown:
Ayer ví a grupos oficialistas con tarantines llenos de afiches en Parque Central mientras que simpatizantes de Rosales se acercaban al grito de ¡Atrévete! como en una suerte de reto, para después desaparecer y volver frente a otro tarantín rojo.
(…)
También observé algo que podemos llamar Turismo Electoral porque era un grupo de gringuitos blancos, flacos y desgarbados (seguramente de los que adoran experimentos de la izquierda, pero fuera de USA) que andaban con simpatizantes del gobierno, inclusive algunos con franelas rojas (una amiga dice que esos son votantes con cédula venezolana, habrá que preguntarles a ver si saben lo que es una hallaca).
The voting centers were set up between Thursday and Friday. Several bloggers were selected for being members of the polls. This civic duty is assigned by lottery to citizens registered to vote. Several bloggers are going to be members of the voting centers, and they already started to report about the process.
Crónicas de Zeitan posted how he became Elections Table President, since the official President did not show up. Zeitan also describes irregularities found when receiving the voting supplies, such as missing the safety seal, the procedures norms, and the fingerprint ink. However, Zeitan wrote that members of the Republic Plan [military personnel working on the election process] assured that the ink will be provided by Sunday. No much to be done about the other problems.
Zeitan also remarked:
Mi centro de votación lo veo Sangre AZUL, observe gente de la oposición coordinando las cosas mas no presencie a nadie del comando Miranda. El personal del CNE brillo por su ausencia,  solo estaban los operadores de las maquinas (…).
Kareta told a similar story. She also became Elections Table President since the official President was absent. In her voting center a security seal, fingerprint ink, and norms were also missing. Apparently, this missing material is a widespread problem, since the same is reported from voting centers at different states.
A real boom of elections posts is capturing the Venezuelan blogosphere as more bloggers became involved in Elections 3D.  There is a lot of excitement about this citizen media experience. In a sort of lyrical manifesto, Enigma ExPress preached that the Elections 3D experience is truly a TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism)
¿De qué se trata, en el fondo, la idea de Periodismo de Paz y  To2Blog.com/elecciones3D? Pues de una red de información. Negocio prohibido.
Un proceso de combustión espóntánea que surgió de la tribu electrónica venezolana.
Cohesionados en su momento pero sin compromiso de duración y exclusividad.
Entiendan esto, teóricamente se supone, tenemos más poder en este instante y por casi 48 horas, entiéndase bien, más poder que la television, la radio y la prensa para decir cualquier cosa. Sin límite.

author: Iria Puyosa


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Bangladesh: Politics, More Politics and Bloggers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Politics: Blogs are said to be the mirror of a society. The recent political uncertainty in Bangladesh is troubling the citizens and taking up much space in the blogosphere.
The nation is divided in two streams of political ideologies and one cannot stand another. Naeem Mohaiemen discusses Bangladesh politics and warns about a third force cashing on the rivalry of the major political parties.
ShahidulNews comments on the recent incident of intervention of the chief justice of the supreme court to prevent a judicial ruling going against a political party. This shows politicization of judiciary which is a bad sign for the country.
The much uttered words of politics are being humored and dissected by the bloggers. Crosses and acrosses mocks the sense of ‘neutrality‘ in politics. ElectricBlues slams the violent politics of ‘demand‘. ‘Fake voters’ is another much debated issue and Journal of a Disturbed Mind proposes two solutions to tackle it.
The Nobel Laurate Dr. Muhammad Yunus's solution to the crisis is brewing much debate at Drishtipat blog.
According to Change Bangladesh the voters are facing a dilemma who will they vote for in the coming election. Some are not sure whether the election will take place.
Andrew Morris of Morris the pen caught up with one freedom fighter of Bangladesh, who is disgusted by the way the country's politics is going and commented “this is not the Bangladesh I fought for”.
Meanwhile the election campaign has started and Shahidul Alam of ShahidulNews has posted some photos of the election campaign in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Talk posts a rare picture of Bangladesh Police helping a blind woman. The police has earned a bad name as they are used for political repression by the ruling parties.
Take Back Bangladesh is an effort initiated by some of the bloggers. One of the main organizers Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations with an optimist says in an interview how Bangladesh can be saved from the crisis. Its first initiative attracted almost 13000 people.
Photography: Ershad Ahmed posts in his photoblog some dazzling glimpses of Dhaka by night.
Diaspora: After residing 30 years abroad Ulysses of Back to Bangladesh is trying to become a Bangladeshi again.
Food: Shafiur of imperfect | world | 2006 feats Bhapa peetha, a dumpling cake delicacy of Bangladesh available during the winter.
IT: Bangladeshi developer Hasin Hyder of The Storyteller blog has written a book titled ‘Wordpress complete’, which is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to set up, customize, and market blog using WordPress. Read an interview with him regarding the book.
Russell writes in his cyber journal about a gathering of IRC chatters in Dhaka. IRC chatting has long been a craze among the net savvy young generation of Bangladesh.
Health: Jyotirmoy Banik of Share The Magic depicts a few unwanted incidents in the health sector in Bangladesh pointing a decline in the number of doctors practicing ethics and integrity.

author: Rezwan


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Brunei: Aerobics Vs Yoga · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

author: Preetam Rai


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Brunei: Singapore Dreaming · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

World of Pablo, once a Singapore resident reviews the latest Singapore made movie Singapore Dreaming. “The most important lesson that I learnt from the movie is how we live our life in struggling to meet the expectations of family and society. In Singapore, the expectations are basically the 5 Cs…. CASH, CAR, CREDIT CARD, CONDOMINIUM AND COUNTRY CLUB. “


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Cambodia: John Pilger’s Cambodia- The Betrayel · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

My Khmerican Corner is inviting readers to watch Australian documentary maker John Pilger's Cambodia – The Betrayal. “Watch and Analyze.  This film was made in 1990, but many facts are still hold true.” John Pilger was one of the first western journalist to expose the assistance provided by some Western governments and some of Cambodia's neighbors to the Khmer Rouge.


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China: A silent protest · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Problems seem to keep coming for residents of Huacao township in the outskirts of Shanghai's Minxing district. Reports in mainland media from over two years ago [zh] show that after years of anticipation, villagers had still yet to be compensated for the sale of their land, despite the local government leaders’ claims to the otherwise.
Following that, an open letter to the Huacao township government leaders was posted on a Shanghai bulletin board website [zh] earlier this fall outlining villagers’ concerns about a planned highway expansion project into their farmland. Demands are made in the letter first for more information as to which departments and government officials are involved in the project, for preservation of the village farmland, as well as conditions regarding compensation.
Then late last month Hong Kong's Sun Daily newspaper reported that villagers in Huacao had taken their actions a step further, a report that can be found on several bbs forums and  overseas Chinese language news websites, most of which are inaccessible from the mainland, and the CNnews MSN Spaces blog [zh], which can be viewed without a proxy.
Judging from a Baidu and Google search of the first line from the news report, the story has not yet appeared in mainland Chinese media—or in English—although part of it was reposted on the CNnews MSN Spaces blog:
上海村民堵路示威
香港太阳报记者上海报道/上海虹桥机场附近的华漕镇近日接连发生骚乱，多条乡村的村民不满当局拆迁赔偿过低，多次冲击各自村委会办公地点，并堵塞交通要道，警方拘捕多名村民，但昨日仍有村民在村委会静坐。
Baidu and Google image searches for the name of the village fail to produce any photos of a demonstration, with the same results at citizen photojournalist site Molive.cn, YouTube and ten of its mainland Chinese counterparts.

author: John Kennedy


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Fiji: No Coup in Fiji · Global Voices
Preetam Rai


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Global Food Blog Report #35 · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Yulinka Cooks shares her recipe to prepare Sauerkraut. This new food blogger cooks up Russian food, an often-overlooked food from the former Soviet republics, especially Uzbekistan, Armenia and Georgia.
My sauerkraut is currently on day three of fermenting, and I’m excited to think that it could be done as early as Friday. Never having pickled anything besides some super-easy pickles, I approached this first sauerkraut-making venture with trepidation. Read more…
#2: Visit Argentina without a passport! The CookingDiva takes you to: The Butcher Shop, The Belgrano Market, and you will even watch how they bake empanadas in a mud-oven.
#3: From Panama, Chef Elena teaches how to prepare puff pastry (ES), a step by step pictorial guide and a delicious recipe. Head over to her blog and show off your baking gifts!
#4: From the Philippines,  The Pilgrim's Pots and Pans bakes "Muff-cakes"
What are muff-cakes? A cross between muffins and cupcakes (refer to previous post differentiating muffins and cupcakes). Even if I used hard wheat flour (usually meant for yeasty breads) and given the ratio of flour, sugar, oil and eggs, these are definitely cupcakes but since a good amount of the sugar and eggs, not to mention milk, went into the curdled mixture, the batter for this recipe was dough-like and so the finished product looks more like a muffin. Read the complete, very interesting post…
#5: Field to Feast prepares a Fish Stew from Nigeria:
By the end of the trip, I had identified several favorite dishes. First, there was moin-moin – a steamed cake of ground legumes studded with tiny fish and hard-boiled egg, and dyed a lovely rose color from the use of palm oil. I’d usually order moin-moin with a side of dodo, which are fried plantains similar to the ones you’d eat at a Cuban restaurant. I also enjoyed a wide variety of fish stews and soups.
And  a Botswana Chow-da:
Sweet and spicy, smooth and creamy, Botswana chowder has become one of our preferred weeknight dinners and a favorite recipe to share with friends. One acquaintance was so enamored with Botswana chowder that she e-mailed the recipe to a relative in the States, who reportedly wrote back, “I never knew I wanted to eat warm, spicy peanut butter and yogurt. But I do.” You will, too.
#6: Cooking up a Story, a video blog about food and people, shares with the world the story behind a successful sausage making family business spanning four generations whose ancestors came from Germany. "A good Justice" is a must-see story of how the business grew and was handed down generation to generation with the same family. It is truly a delightful inspiration!
#7: From Budapest, Hungary: Dumneazu writes about "Where Food Comes From"
On Saturday farmers come come to Bosznák tér to sell produce. The farm bred chickens are incredible – no comparison to the tasteless, watery birds available at supermarkets. And the slab bacon and sausages that are on sale here are homemade, ugly, and absolutely delicious. Screw supermarkets, this is where food comes from, unwrapped, unadulterated, and sometimes with the head and feet still attached. Read the complete report now…
#8: From Canada: Is that my Bureka? unveils the story behind "Dulces de Membrillo" and Cydonia Oblonga, better known as quince:
I grew up with knowing this called a few different ways — ayva, coing and membrillo/bimbriyo. none of my childhood friends at the time really knew what in the world this was if i mentioned it. It was foreign to them. Quince has historically been a significant fruit in sephardic circles. in spanish it is called membrillo and is commonly jellied and served with manchego cheese. In the ladino language it is called bimbriyo [the m is pronounced as a b], and is cooked the same way, used in jellies, jams and sweets. It is sometimes used in stews with meats and used as one of the fruits blessed at rosh hashana. Continue reading…
#9: From Notes from Spain: a podcast on "Marmitako," a warming Basque fish stew that receives its name from the saucepan that it is cooked in, a Marmita.
#10: Cook Sister's chronicles from Dubai:
The concierge had suggested a Chinese, an Indian and a Russian restaurant nearby as alternatives as well, but since we had Indian in London the night before we left, and I’m spoilt by our lovely local Chinese Yi Ban, and the Russian restaurant looked more like the Russian version of a greasy spoon, we opted for Lemongrass. The décor is lovely and restful with thoughtfully chosen Thai artifacts and muted colours. I also particularly liked the crockery which was square and white with a green crackle-glaze centre (but then I’m a sucker for a square plate…!). For starters, I chose the Lemongrass vegetarian set, which included tempura vegetables (zucchini, I think?), something that resembled a very un-greasy potato rosti and cubes of deep-fried tofu, all to be dipped into a sweet & sour peanut dip. Read the complete report...
I'll be back soon with more!

author: Melissa De León


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Haiti: Local Artist Wins Global Music Contest · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Says Haitian newsfeed Alterpresse (Fr): “Jean Belony Murat [a.k.a. Belo], haitian artist … won the reknown international music competition titled “Les Decouvertes RFI Musiques du Monde” [Radio France International's Finds in World Music] on November 30th in Douala, Cameroon. He was among the three finalists, inclusing Patrick Ruffino, a bassist and Lang'i, a Brazzaville-based band.”


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Indonesia:  Left out of a Blogging Survey · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun remarks that  Indonesia gets left out of a blogging survey  in spite of having the fourth largest population in the world.


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Malaysia: Attracting Australian Students? · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysia is hoping to attract more Australian students to study in Malaysia to balance the numbers of Malaysian students in Australia. Education Malaysia is asking just how Malaysia plans to do this?


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The Week That Was in Bahrain  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain has just completed round two of its Parliamentary and Municipal Council elections, which saw a majority government-backed Islamist Parliament in place.
According to Mahmood Al Yousif, only one ‘liberal’ candidate made it to Parliament.
“All but one of the liberal candidates have not made it into the new parliament, which has a distinct Islamist feel to it: 17 Wefaq (Shi’a), 8 Minbar (Muslim Brotherhood) and 5 Asala (Salafis). That’s 75% of the make-up of parliament, but when you look closely at the rest, only one is liberal, and the rest have distinct Islamist leaning, one of those actually (Jassim Al-Saidi) is so extreme, even the Asala bloc cannot afford to publicly state that he belongs to them!” he wrote.
However, Mahmood is optimistic and thinks that the new Parliament shows a fairer representation of Bahrain.
“What makes me a bit more hopeful this time is that it looks like a proper parliament; the whole of Bahrain – virtually – entered the race and chose their representatives without a call for a boycott other than the Haq party, and they do not account for a big majority. What also makes me optimistic about this parliament is that Wefaq have gone with with a clear and declared agenda, and have chosen their people wisely with a good cross-section of technocrats too. Other than that and by virtue of them being run like a proper political party, they have a full back-office to support their efforts in parliament. That back office has access to political scientists through to businessmen to advise them on proposed legislation and budgetary discussions etc,” he explained.
Although public participation is one form of democracy, Babbling Bahraniawonders if there is a place for an Information Minister in a true democracy.
“‘In a dictatorship you can't speak. In a democracy you can speak,’ said Minister of Information Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar Abdulla.
He forgot to add ‘In a dictatorship I [MoI] have a job. In a democracy I don't have a job’,” she wrote.
Away from politics and sectarian divides in a country with a population of a little over 600,000, Bint Battuta writes about her complete disgust with the attitude of some people towards expatriate workers from third world countries.
“Some of the worst culprits are the ‘Westerners’ (for want of a better word) who when they come to the Gulf find themselves further up the class ladder, just because of the passport they are carrying. People who come from very ordinary backgrounds suddenly get to have servants and swimming pools and think they deserve whatever privileges their skin colour seems to bestow on them. This is also connected to what I was saying about language; a lot of privately-educated Bahrainis act as if speaking English makes them superior to those around them who can't,” she said.
The Bitch, a new blogger in town, gives us her two cents on the make up of the Bahraini community from her perspective and how different groups conduct themselves and behave.
She divides Bahrain's population into different groups based on sectarian and ethnical backgrounds.
In the world of worldly concerns, Bahraini Rants gives us some food for thought to ponder on about fish.
“A little bit of random information for you on a very popular fish: Chilean Seabass is actually called Patagonian Toothfish. Some 30 years ago, Augusto “I’ll show you Junta” Pinochet opened up Chile’s waters to foreign fisheries, and it didn’t take long for the competition to heat up and fishing grounds to dry up. Local fishermen were forced to venture out into deeper more dangerous unchartered waters in which they pulled out an ugly looking, but very meaty whitefish (an anomaly of evolution). The meat was oily, meaning that it was very difficult to overcook and it worked with just about any way you’d prepare it, plus more meat meant more money. In order to market the fish, a snazzier name than the Patagonian toothfish was needed, so they went with the exotic yet sophisticated choice – Chilean Seabass,” he said.
He moves on to discuss other foods and drinks in a very interesting article to say the least.
Cheers!

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Africa: exodus of health care workers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Black Star Journal has a link to an article by The Center for Global Development about the exodus of health care workers from Africa and its impact on rural areas.


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Africa: trailing in IP Per Capita · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African posts a chart showing IP per capita in the world, “African countries represent the bottom of the chart. Actually, 8 of the bottom 10 are African countries (Madacascar, Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic, Burundi, Malawi, Ethiopia, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo). That’s not a good thing, but not altogether that surprising either.”


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Arabisc: Asian Games, Democracy and Models  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Why was there no celebration of the Arab heritage in the opening of the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, and what is the relationship between democracy and models and why is an Egyptian blogger asking his readers to watch award-winning movie Good Night and Good Luck?
These are some of the questions our North Africa and Middle East bloggers hope to answer this week.
Bahrain-based blogger Haitham Sabbah doesn't seem to be so pleased with the Asian Games opening ceremony and wonders why the Qataris failed to include any representations of Arabs in it.
In Egypt, 3rby writes about the impact of democracy on the socio-economic standard of people, as well as their physical appearance.
Still in Egypt, blogger Mohammed Hisham urges his readers to watch the movie Good Night and Good Luck, which he says spells out the situation in his country today.
هذا هو اسمه ، وإذ لم تستطع أن تشاهده أثناء مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي، دور عليه على الإنترنت،ماعرفتش .. شوف منه نسخة مسروقة- مش حرام صدقني!- عند واحد صاحبك.. اشتريه سي دي مضروب من العتبة..برضه ماعرفتش.. يبقى سافر أمريكا وشوفه هناك! أعمل أي حاجة بس أمانة عليك لازم تشوفه..وأنت تتابع مشاهده ألغى من دماغك فكرة أن أحداث الفيلم تدور في خمسينات القرن الماضي حينما تحولت أمريكا إلى “كيان خائف من نفسه” بفعل السيناتور “ماكارثي” الذي أصبح يطارد كل الأمريكيين بتهمة الشيوعية.. أنسى ذلك وضع مكان الأسماء الأجنبية آخرى مصرية..ستجد أنك تشاهد بلدك على الشاش
In Kuwait, Zaydoun is steaming that workers forgot to paint white lines on a main road, for drivers to stay within their lanes. But he says it won't make a difference because drivers in his country don't follow the rules anyway.
Our last stop this week is with Saudi blogger Sara Mattar, who goes to school in nearby Bahrain, an Island which is separated from Saudi Arabia by a 25km causeway. In a post which has so far attracted 83 comments, Sara tells us about her experiences in Bahrain and the simplicity of Bahrainis she has met.
In relatively ‘freer’ Bahrain, Sara thought she would be able to free herself from wearing the black Abaya (cloak) which is obligatory in Saudi Arabia.
From her experience and despite the fact that her home is only 45 minutes by car from Bahrain, Sara says Bahrainis are very different from Saudis.
Sara also thinks that Bahraini women are more likely to get married and not end up as spinsters because they come from a more open society, which is ready to embrace other traditions.
The Gulf region or the Gulf Cooperative Council is made up of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.


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Bangladesh: Take Back Bangladesh and Democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Journal of a disturbed mind on the Take Back Bangladesh forum and event. “So far the concert was a great start for young generation’s involvement in encouraging clean democracy. The performers performed for free to support this new movement.”


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Barbados: Chavez Envy? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Barbados Free Press, still concerned about Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley's proposal that call-in programmes and internet blogs should be placed under government control, sees striking parallels to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.


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Belarus: Absent-Minded Opposition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belarusian opposition leader got detained recently, and – surprise, surprise – his detention was justified: he went to Latvia on his son's passport. More on the implications of such absent-mindedness at TOL's Belarus Blog.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Belarus: Media on Blogs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“‘Belgazeta’, ‘Salidarnasc’, BDG (‘Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta’), naviny.by – all of them publications with critical and objective approach – ran a piece in the past months describing blogs as the new alternative information source, as a major trend in mass media, or speaking about their vulnerability to desinformation.” Read more on what Belarusian mainstream media write about blogs at TOL's Belarus Blog.


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Bolivia: Land Redistribution · Global Voices
David Sasaki

On Tuesday night, writes Nick Buxton, “the Bolivian Government completely unexpectedly passed an amended land reform bill that aims to redistribute up to a fifth of the country, land that it designates as ‘unproductive’ land in the hand of a small minority of rich landholders. It passed the law, the same day as 10,000 indigenous and campesino farmers descended on La Paz in four different marches that have crossed the country.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Air Mail · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Novala, Europa reports: “Austrian Airlines offer a new feature: Air Mail. Sounds kind of natural, but not quite since they offer the service in the lunch/dinner boxes. The lid of the card board box is a postcard. You can tear it off, write it and hand it over to the cabin crew. It will post it for you. The service is for free. I sent mine to Sarajevo.”


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Burkina Faso: Ouaga 2000 · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Togo-based Expat French blogger Marie visited Ouaga 2000, a neighborhood in Burkina Faso's capital of which she writes (Fr): “Ouaga 2000 is a neighborhood in which you find only mansions … There, you don't feel like you are in [Burkina Faso capital] Ouagadougou. The mansions are built by ministers, people highly placed in government … It is pretty disgusting … The worst is that there is absolutely no one. The mansions are empty. Their purpose is to welcome VIP's during occasional meetings and conferences.”


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Chile: 27 Hours of Love · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Last Thursday marked the begininning of the biggest charity event in Chile, called Teleton (ES) . Carola (ES) explains a little of its history:
La historia de Teletón comenzó a escribirse en diciembre de 1978, en Chile, cuando el famoso conductor de Televisión Mario Kreutzberger, Don Francisco, asumió un compromiso público con las personas con discapacidad -en especial niños- decidiendo hacer algo en su beneficio. La meta que se había planteado era enorme, unir a un país entero en torno a una sola causa. Los medios de comunicación, los patrocinadores, los benefactores y un excelente elenco artístico participaron en el primer gran evento de América Latina.Por primera vez en nuestro continente se transmitió un programa de 27 horas de emisión continua que no tenía otro objetivo sino brindar ayuda solidaria a estos niños, recaudando recursos económicos para atender y ayudar a niños con discapacidad, fomentando la cultura de la integración y la participación ciudadana” (texto Teleton Mexico)
Me llamó la atención que cambiaron la estrategia comunicacional, pasaron de la alegría que es la Teletón (27 horas de amor) a una comunicación que va enfocada a la emoción, pero trágicamente.
Los Spots son efectivos pero creo que esa no es la estrategia adecuada para la campaña más importante de Chile.”
Roberto Arancibia (ES) posts the different slogans that Teleton has had since 1978. He gives us some data:
19 Teletones han pasado desde 1978, en que la meta fue de poco más de 30 millones de pesos, (la equivalencia de la época para un millón de dólares), que finalmente logró juntar algo más de 84 millones. Esta vez, la número 20, la meta es bastante más alta: once mil millones de pesos.

author: Rosario Lizana


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China: film rating · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen at DANWEI has translates an article from Southern Weekly about Ng See-Yuen's comments on ratings, regulations, and entertainment in the mainland Chinese film industry.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: living in China  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Positive solutions writes down 10 reasons why living in China is great.


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China: temporary freedom for the Olympics? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Angry Chinese blogger  comments on the press arrangement in China during the Olympics.


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China: World Aids Day · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Media Project compares the party and commercial news coverage of World Aids Day.


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Egypt: Miss Earth · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Freedom for Egyptians reports that Miss Egypt Meriam George was selected among the top 8 in Miss Earth pageant, held recently in Manila. Meriam was competing with another 84 contestants from all over the world. The Miss Earth contest promotes environmental preservation and contestants are called “beauties for a cause.”

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Estonia: “Poisonous” Putin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about Litvinenko's murder, the image of Russia and the meaning of the recent developments for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.


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Estonia: “What Freedom Is and Isn’t” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa explains why he disagrees with the new Estonian “law banning the use of Nazi and Soviet symbols in public places.”


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Ethiopia: coffee trademark · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“So … the whole Starbucks – Ethiopia affair boils down to a corporate shakedown of Meles Inc. against an honest corporate citizen. Does anyone out there really believe that a single Ethiopian peasant would have seen a cent of money from coffee any more than they see any results from billions in foreign aid?,” writes Ethiopundit.


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Fiji: Fiji Crisis opens up Positions · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous in Fiji is pointing to the developing situation in Fiji and inviting readers to apply for the openings in Fiji.


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Guyana: Woman President in the Offing? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Guyana Groove republishes an article from the Kaieteur News suggesting that Guyana could be in line for a woman President in the not-too-distant future.


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Haiti: Reflecting on Insecurity · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Yon Ayisyen writes (Fr): “As we approach elections, officials cannot afford to admit that they are loosing the fight against insecurity, hence they tell us that the situation has improved and that they are making progress.”


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Honduras: Unpaid Government Employees · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“La Gringa” surveys the unpaid government worker in Honduras.

author: David Sasaki


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Honduras: World AIDS Day · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Peace Corps blogger Melanie in Honduras describes how she commemorated World AIDS Day.


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Hong Kong: Social forum · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Kong civil society is having its first social forum this week, a series of pre-conference citizen reports about grassroots workers conditions, migrant domestic workers (zh), gay and lesbian movement (zh), corprate social responsibility issues (zh), etc can be found online at inmediahk.net (zh).


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India: Dignity and Sanitary Napkins · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Cuckoo's Call on making sanitary napkins for women more affordable. “The key challenge is to design an appropriate product and define the manufacturing technology and business model. I would prefer localised production across the country, with poor women in villages and urban slums securing gainful employment from this.”


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India: Energy Needs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Satellite pictures of the earth at night reveal a lot about energy consumption and economic activity. At The Indian Economy Blog, a post on India's energy needs and its likely growth. “Japan looks like a shining moon in the middle of the pacific. The southern part of the Korean peninsula is bright, the north completely dark. China’s lights shine on the coast and slowly fade inland. India is full of a million dull lights, with a few bright spots.”


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Iran:Prisoner of Colour · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Pouya has presented on his blog, paintings of Derlara Darabi, a 20 year old girl, who has been in prison since she was 17. She was sentenced to death for confessing to a murder. Although she later stated her confession was false,this was not accepted by court.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Assassination attempt on Al-Sadr’s life · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Raed Jarrar says that there are unconfirmed rumors that there's been an attempt on the life of Muqtada Al-Sadr n Najaf. There is nothing in the news about this yet, but Raed promised to keep is updated in case he get more details.


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Jamaica: Pam Mordecai  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Geoffrey Philp talks about Jamaican author Pamela Mordecai, who reads excerpts of her work in a podcast from the 2006 Miami Book Fair.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica: Perry Henzell’s Legacy · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the Flashpoint Film Festival opens in Negril, Jamaican View remembers Perry Henzell, the late director of “The Harder They Come”, a Caribbean film classic.


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Japan: old photos · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Morgan Pitelka in Frog in a Well blogs some invaluable old photos from 1951.


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Kuwait: Wii #1 selling point · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

What is #1 selling point that Nintendo Wii's marketing strategy didn't fully cover? Jackie says that with the Play Stations and other Gaming consoles one sits on his tush and just plays whereas, the Nintendo Wii offers you a way to stay fit and exercise while playing!


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Lebanon: The Babes of Hizbullah · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Are Hizbullah babes as photogenic as Hariri's? A debate has broken out about whether the most recent crop of demonstrators are as telegenic as those of the March 14 crowd. Joshua Landis has some photos and links highlighting the Babes of Hizbullah.


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Lebanon: Tripoli Is Boiling · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mustapha says that various eyewitnesses informed him that tens of thousands of protesters have filled the parking lot of the Tripoli International Fair (an area of around 20,000 square meters) in a show of support for the government. The witnesses described a huge forest of Lebanese flags and loud displays of fireworks and festive gun shots.


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Malaysia: Banned Books · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Sensintrovert looks at the list of banned books in Malaysia and asks Are We Heading Towards A Third Reich?


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Malaysia: Bloggers and Journalists · Global Voices
Preetam Rai


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Mexico: President Calderón’s Newest Cabinet Appointees · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ana Maria Salazar looks at newly inaugurated President Felipe Calderón's latest cabinet appointees. Colin Brayton criticizes the human rights record of Secretary of Governance Francisco Javier Ramírez Acuña.


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Philippines: A Thousand Bears for Bicol · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Cathy Bythesea is asking her readers to help her collect a thousand bears for Bicol.  Bicol region was badly hit by the typhoon Reming. “Stuffed toys have been known to be effective comfort givers in times of extreme stress and fear. To children, stuffed animals are more than toys, they're imaginary friends who are always ready to give comfort or play. They provide a certain amount of security in a sometimes scary world. Though it may be a small act, my heart's desire is to bring as many stuffed toys – ideally friendly looking teddy bears to the children in the Bicol region. I am hoping to raise at least a thousand bears that I can send to the Albay province in time for Christmas”


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Slovenia: Anti-Roma Bias · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about anti-Roma bias on Slovenian TV.


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South Africa: new way to rent DVDs  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Chilibean writes about Pushplay, a South African version of Netflix, “A new way to hire DVDs has launched in Cape Town. The service is called Pushplay and the way it works is that you sign up, pay between R89 and R139 per month for up to 3 DVDs.  The DVDs are delivered to you and you return them when you are done.  Yup, that’s right, you return them when you are finished with them, no late fees.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Korea: Big Brother Is Watching You · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A citizen report by Robert Neff in Ohmynews about the widespread use of security cameras in Korea that causes invasion of privacy.


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South Korea: pron star English teacher · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler comments on the recent report and internet hunt of an English teacher who worked as a pron star for her tution fee when studying in Canada. He points out that this may be another incident of cyber-terrorism against individual.


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Sri Lanka: Blast in Colombo · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A blast in Colombo with the likely target being a Government Minister. More at Indi.ca who says “There’s also a bank and a shopping mall, and a lot of working people pass through there on their way to or from Galle Road. So, that would be a civilian area. Bad form.”.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tempo Turns One · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A stabbing, several fist fights and a poorly organised programme” marred the Trinidad leg of MTV Tempo‘s first anniversary concert series, according to this post by guest writer Michael Mondezie  at ttgapers.com.


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Turkmenistan: Reality Czech · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter explains how the grounding of a Czech military plane carrying the country's army chief of staff and deputy defense minister by Turkmen authorities is a bad sign for regional stability and military cooperation.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Ukraine: Introduction to EU Legislation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei writes about the process of adopting EU legislation and other developments in Ukraine: “There is a whole change of culture needed in Ukraine.  New laws are regarded as little more than bits of paper if they get in the way of businessmen and the government, so they aren't really important.”


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Ukraine: Politics Now and Then · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Europhobia posts a comparative roundup of Ukrainian politics.


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United Arab Emirates: Skiing in the rain · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Dubai cannot cope with rain. It is a city built only for desert, with flat roofs, limited drainage and few umbrellas for sale. A small amount of water turns highways into slimy, skidding death traps. A downpour floods roads, pavements and car parks, creating gleaming lakes in the desert that last several days before slowly sinking away,” Secret Dubai said.


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Venezuela: Chavez Re-elected · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“Chavez is president and Venezuela is 61% red and 39% blue. Which is to say, morado (“purple/bruised”) writes Sebastian Delmont in a post titled “Venezuela es #9D0062″, after the hexidecimal representation of purple in HTML. Daniel Duquenal is poetic with his late-night reflections: “It is around midnight. A soft rain keeps falling. Rosales has just given his concession speech. I am very sad but at the same time strangely liberated. There are noises on the street, and I go to look at my window and I see a group of young women, with red shirts and flags. The shirts carry different slogans, political slogans that are. And I realize that these women, coming form some celebratory party, were also the umpires at that voting center, now exhibiting freely their partiality.” A.M. Mora y Leon posts pictures and excerpts from the mainstream media as well as Venezuelan citizen journalists and Boz has his standard five points of analysis.


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Afghanistan: The NATO Summit · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghan Warrior discusses the recent NATO summit and how it impacts Afghanistan. Safrang has additional comment, saying that the outcome of the summit is bad news, but need not be a failure, for Afghanistan.


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Africa: Japan and Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa Beat writing about Japan and Africa: “Did you know that Ethiopia once “looked East”…to Japan.  Or that in Madagascar, an early attempt to gain independence was prompted not by Western  liberalism, but by a desire to pursue Japanese-style economic development?”


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Africa: technorati bomb · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is there a need for technorati bomb for the African blogosphere?, asks Black Looks: “I am not sure some sort of “TECHNORATI.COM BOMB” (as in google bomb) type exercise with the tag AFRICA + add your country tag irrespective of topic on every single post for the next 6 months might work? Could work but then again maybe it just doesnt matter and who cares a toss anyway?”


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Argentina: Five Years of Uberbin · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Veteran Argentine blogger Mariano Amartino celebrates five years of Uberbin [ES], waxing nostalgic in geek speak: “with respect to content management systems (while today we fight against comment spam, content thieves, and gurus who sell “respectable” air), Movable Type launched its first version one week before I began blogging; but the “geek option” was blogger with remote publication and the “non-geek” version was Pitas.com.”


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Argentina: Maria Kodama · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jeff Barry introduces Maria Kodama: “Maria Kodama, the widow of Borges
María Kodama is a well-known figure among porteños but those not familiar with the life of Jorge Luis Borges, who died in 1986 at the age of 86, may be surprised to know that his widow is still very much alive.”


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Armenia: Parliamentary Election Monitor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian rounds up news on Armenia's 2007 parliamentary elections.


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Armenia: Teaching English · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Zarchka writes about her experiences teaching English for the past month in a Yerevan school.


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Barbados: Quinn-Leandro elected President of Inter-American Commmission of Women · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today's installment of Gallimaufry‘s “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence” highlights the election of Antigua and Barbuda's Dr. Jacqui Quinn-Leandro as President of the Inter-American Commission of Women.


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Bloggers in West Africa, harsh migration, low bandwidth and Who Killed Deyda? · Global Voices
Oluniyi D. Ajao

We get to know more about two bloggers in West Africa this week. Keith Smith in Burkina Faso shares his photos, and George Ngwane in Cameroon re-publishes an interview with a local newsmagazine.
Blogger, Keith Smith, has been a missionary in Burkina Faso since 1989 and has been blogging at Under the acacias. He shares a comment he has been hearing in recent time. However, he wants No Comment:
You’re Looking Old!
This was another unwanted comment, made twice by different people in the last few days here in Burkina. Apparently, my beard is significantly whiter than when I was here a couple of years ago. The comment was probably meant as a compliment, and might have been joined by the other unwanted compliment: “You’re looking fat!”
You can make up your own mind from these photos of me from 2003 in the rice field, and this week in Gorom. Maybe on this occasion it is just as well the comment section is closed…
Cameroonian blogger, George Ngwane, has recently been interviewed by Post Newsmagazine.
NGWANE republishes the interview: George Ngwane: The Independent Intellectual:
Mwalimu George Ngwane is a man of many parts. Writer, poet, peace activist, educationist, political analyst, pan-Africanist, and executive director of AFRICAphonie are all parts of this intellectual machine. Although he could amass easy lucre by simply praise-singing as most Cameroonian “intellectuals” have done, Mwalimu has remained consistent in voicing the peoples’ causes. His uncompromising stance for the people has had dire and sometimes heart-rending professional consequences. Yet, he remains undaunted and his active participation as spokesperson of the Committee for the Participation of Independent Candidates in the Electoral Process in Cameroon stands out as eloquent testimony.
The Trials & Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen…of Ghana writes about the migration of Malians to Spain, and the horrendous experiences they go through. He was motivated to blog about this issue due to a programme called “Witness” he watched on AlJazeera English, via Metro TV in Accra, Ghana:
…Throughout the programme, I kept on pondering over the psychological compulsion for Malians to go to Spain for a better life. Even when Reuters photographer Juan—a surprisingly compassionate man who made his way all the way to Mali to see the family of one of the Malians who survived the ordeal in those waters of Spain, and with whom he had become close, some of this Malian’s family members maintained Malians had “no choice”, and that it is their “destiny”, and that “les prieres de ses parents ont sauve notre fils”.
Quite whether the prayers of parents saved this Malian prompts speculation that God must, assumedly, not have been listening to those who were also praying.
Ramblings of an African Geek raises very important issues about Internet bandwidth, open-source software and software piracy in Ghana in Linux in areas of low bandwidth:
I’ve been meaning to complain about this for a while.
One of the things I do here is help in linux outreach. Getting people to at least consider the use of open source software in their daily work.  I end up helping quite a few people install linux on their machines.
The crux of the matter is however at the last paragraph of this blog entry:
I just wish there was some  awareness on the part of the people who are trying to promote open source in developing countries that bandwidth can be a huge issue here and can affect how ‘free’ something is vs. readily available pirated software.
Oluniyi David Ajao is happy and blogs: “For once, we asserted ourselves“
Libyan leader Col Gaddafi was very recently involved in an impasse at Abuja airport in Nigeria with the dispute being his over 200 bodyguard entering the west African nation with thier heavy arms. Col Gadaffi who was attending a summit in Nigeria was not happy, yet the Nigerian officials at the airport insisted, and only allowed 8 pistols after much argument with the Libyan security officials.
Thank God, for once, we asserted ourselves.  Under no circumstances should the Nigerian officials have allowed 200 heavily armed bodyguards into our country. Do they want to take us over? Haba! Ki lo de? Wetin happen?
We conclude this week's round-up of West African blogs with Gambian blog Home of the mandinmories asking Who Killed Deyda?:
Readers of this blog have come to live with a permanent fixture on the right side of the blog in the form of a photo, a poem and a question: who killed Deyda? It has been two years since he was murdered in cold blood on a deserted street in Kanifing. His killers still roam the street of the Gambia for all I know. His murder join the list of many more that has never been adjudicated in the annals of Gambian history. Names such as Ousman Koro Ceesay, Ebrima Barry and the martyrs of the student demonstration that followed his death at the hands of Brikama firemen. Ousman Sillah escape their bullet, but will live the rest of his life reflecting on how lucky he was to escape the assasins bullet. The scar of that fateful day will live with him till kingdom cometh.
I am not a member of the journalistic fraternity. Never claimed or aspired to be one, but I have an affinity for what they do and respect those that stick to the ideals of the profession. I don't know Deyda Hydara, never met him, but will forever respect him. He paid the ultimate price for something he believed in. That counts for something in my book.

author: Oluniyi D. Ajao


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Botswana: new HIV/Aids campaign · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The National AIDS Coordinating Agency in Botswana is engaged in a new campaign to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS, reports the Nata village blog.


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Brazil: Sao Paulo’s ICANN Board meeting has online participation website · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Kieren McCarthy reports about the setting up of an online participation website for the ICANN Board meeting in Sao Paulo.

author: Jose Murilo


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Chile: PlayStation 3 for $1,300 and Up · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Newly redesigned FayerWayer is reporting that PlayStation 3 has finally arrived to Chile [ES], where it is selling for US $1.679 at Galería Eurocentro in Santiago. The most affordable price, writes Leo Prieto, is found in Iqique for US $1.320.


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China: green technology · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Diligence China blogs about the development of green technology in China with regard to its potential and threat.


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China: harmonious culture in media policy · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China media project explains the Chinese government's promotion of harmonious culture in media policy.


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China: lemon duck · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hizi introduces a special dish from Nan-Ning, lemon duck, to his reader (zh).


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China: music video · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The opposite end of China has upload a music video of a song, “Gulzarangza”, via youtube to the blog: The video is a perfect re-creation of a dream I have… something involving a happy harem of dancing Uyghur beauties, more or less.


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China: Top Ten Chinese Media Events of 2006 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a blog post on top ten Chinese media events of 2006.


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Colombia: El Tiempo forecasts passage of “gay law” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

According to Andres Duque: “over the weekend, El Tiempo, the leading Colombian editorial newspaper, predicted that the bill would not only survive tomorrow's House of Representatives vote but also pass the next hurdle when it's sent for final review by a special commission of the House. That would send it to President Alvaro Uribe's desk for a signature (he already promised that he would sign it if it landed on his desk during his re-election campaign earlier this year).”


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DRC: Prelude to Wednesday’s Demonstration · Global Voices
Alice Backer

UDPS Liege comments on the prelude to a demonstration scheduled for  Wednesday in the DRC (Fr): “This morning at Victoire Square, the police just chased newspaper vendors and other types of vendors away and arrested others who were doing outreach for the demo. The police's actions do not intimidate us and we are still convening everyone for Wednesday. We ought to urge the freeing of all those who were arrested.”

author: Alice Backer


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Fiji: Coup Forces Newspaper to Close · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous is writing from Fiji to report that Fijitimes has ceased publication after the new leadership ordered the newspaper to not publish any material against the new leadership. Earlier the military dismissed the government of prime minister Laisenia Qarase. “Yo Mr. Sheehy, if they don't allow to post on Fijitimes, you can always put it up on strangepants. Most welcome on mayvelous too.”

author: Preetam Rai


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Google sends new year gift to Cambodia · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

Google users in Cambodia were surprised to find that when they visit www.google.com, the site redirects them to www.google.com.kh domain. In early December the largest web search company launched Google Cambodia domain that provides users the possibility of finding information in Khmer, the official language of Cambodia.
“Today, to my surprise, I found Google with new Cambodia domain (previous unofficial Google for Cambodia domain is http://www.google.com/intl/km/),” wrote Sopheak, a Cambodian blogger who publishes weblog posts in his native language.
A number of reports from Cambodia, mostly by technology enthusiasts, indicate positive response to Google stepping to the niche market. “Just noticed that Google finally accepts Khmer. For example, search for ភាសាខ្មែរ (“Khmer” in Khmer)… not that many results there yet, but it’s nice to see things going forward for Khmer language,” an expat working as a web designer mentioned on his weblog.
A screenshot of Khmer-language version of Google homepage
The news of Google's launch of the Khmer language got a mention in Cambodia's popular multilingual newspaper, the Cambodia Daily. The full version of the text can be found here.
As quoted in the newspaper, Intel Corporation representatives believed that only 12 percent of Cambodians had access to the Internet.
The mission of Google, the leading online search, is to organize the world's information. This big idea behind the success of company's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin makes Google to the first choice of most Internet users in online engine.
Vutha at ‘We always go forward over the world’ noted that: “Recently, Google Company launched the Google Cambodia domain (www.google.com.kh). By the way, we can type in Khmer Unicode to search for something. In the result, in the near future, we, cambodians, will use Khmer Unicod Font instead of other Khmer fonts like ABC font, Limon and so on.” And more comprehensive coverage was made available by a long-time Cambodia blogger at ‘webbed feet’.
It has  been in development for some time but if you're checking from Cambodia the link on the main page to Google Khmer went live only about a day ago. I haven't spotted an official press release from Google so I think it's in beta. Even several months ago Khmer queries were working, but there wasn't much indexing.
However, without font uniformity among users, they cannot read e-mail, documentation, or web-pages unless they have the exact matching font installed on their personal computers. Publishing information on to a Web site and weblog in Khmer language is labor-intensive.

author: Tharum Bun


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Guyana: US$20M sought to quell flooding · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana Providence Stadium, which has been tracking the country's progress in preparing for the 2007 ICC World Cup Cricket Tournament, republishes an article from the Stabroek News about a possible World Bank loan to deal with Guyana's flooding problem.


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India: Saving Kerala · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

“Dog's Own Country?” lists issues that pose challenges in the state of Kerala. “Though Kerala has been able to achieve the standards of developed countries in relation to human development, the physical infrastructure and the manufacturing sector is more or less stagnant. This calls for effective and timely government intervention so as to increase infrastructure which will in turn promote investments in the state.”


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Iran:A history behind a Pulitzer winner Photo · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir writes about Iranian photographer Jahangir Razmi who  took 70 pictures of an execution in Kurdistan on Aug. 27, 1979. One picture won the Pulitzer Prize.The blogger adds  It was, however, awarded to an unnamed photographer – the only anonymous recipient in the 90-year history of the award.On his blog you can see the photo.


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Iran:Requested page is Forbidden · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran reports that New York Times site got filtered too. Reporters withour Borders expressed its deep concern for the future of internet in Iran where censorship is the rule.