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International Pressure Mounts to Free Jailed Egyptian Blogger  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A series of demonstrations were held outside Egyptian embassies around the world today to protest the continued imprisonment of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman, jailed two years ago for insulting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Islam on his blog.
The 24-year-old blogger was sentenced to three years in prison for insulting Islam and a year for insulting Mubarak.
According to the Free Kareem site, set up by activists rallying for the blogger's release:
Protests will take place in Washington DC, Moscow, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Bucharest, Stockholm, London, and a growing number of cities, in hopes of persuading Egyptian authorities to drop all charges against Mr. Soliman, who has reportedly been tortured in prison. November 6, 2008 marks the completion of Kareem’s second year in prison, and this is the fourth time that demonstrators around the world simultaneously protest in an effort to secure his immediate and unconditional release.
Based solely on his blogposts, Soliman is charged with the alleged crimes of “defaming Egypt’s President, incitement to hate Islam, and highlighting inappropriate aspects that harm the reputation of Egypt.” But members of the Free Kareem Coalition argue that imprisoning Kareem has severely harmed Egypt’s international reputation, and has made millions of people around the world question the country’s supposed commitment to free speech and human rights.
The protests were held in:
* Paris, France
* London, UK
* Brussels, Belgium
* Stockholm, Sweden
* Berlin, Germany
* Bucharest, Romania
* Washington, DC, USA
* New York, NY, USA
* Rome, Italy
* Berne, Switzerland
* Rhode Island, USA
* San Francisco, California
Here are some pictures from the protest held in Rome, Italy.
In a statement released today, Reporters without Borders  joined the scores of protesters around the world, calling for the release of the 24-year-old blogger from prison.
“Two years have gone by and nothing has changed. His family have never come to visit him. Only his lawyer reports to the outside world, about his morale, which weakens day after day, and his fragile state of health. His parents, probably as a result of intimidation, have even publicly disowned their son and called for him to be sentenced to death. Wardens have prevented him from leaving his cell since 1st September. Two years, that’s enough. It is time to free him”, the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
For more information on Kareem and his case, visit www.freekareem.org

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jamaica: Criminals in Charge?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah wants to know if the criminals are running things in Jamaica.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Jamaica, U.S.A.: Honeymoon’s Over  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Before the new president has taken a moment to recover from the stress of a protracted and vigorous campaign, his wake-up call has been issued, and more importantly, from America's old nemesis:” Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine says that Barack Obama “won't have much of a honeymoon.”


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Paraguay: Breaking the World Record for Barbecue · Global Voices
Muna Annahas

With 26,176 kilograms of grilled beef, Paraguay entered into the Guinness record books for the biggest open-air barbecue ever, in an event dubbed, “Todo Bicho Que Camina Va Al Asador” (Anything that Can Walk Goes to the Barbecue).  However, they didn't get there without paying a high price for it.  Due to the poor organization of the huge event, many people waited in unhappy and long lines under the hot sun.  Crying kids became dehydrated, and many people asked for refunds because apparently there was not enough beef for everybody that purchased pre-paid tickets to enter into the event. The organization was so bad that even the police had to intervene to minimize the chaos generated by the situation.
Many Paraguayan bloggers reacted to this situation and expressed their opinions. Daniel Ortiz in his blog, El Peaton [es] says that Paraguay not only deserved the record for beef consumption, but also for the worst organization:
Todo bicho que camina…” no solo se merecía el récord Guinness por consumo de carne, sino también por la desorganización. Los que asistieron a este evento solidario sabrán de lo que hablo, y los que no fueron, no saben de lo que se salvaron.
“Todo bicho que camin…” (the bbq) not only deserves the Guinness record for consumption of meat, but also for disorganization.  Those that attended the solidarity event knows what I am talking about, and for those that didn't go, you don't know what you were fortunate to have missed.
Rescatar [es] in his blog refers to the event with more objectivity and points out the positives and also the pitfalls of the organization saying that:
Se conquistó un record con todas las de la ley con un total de 26.175 kilos de carne. Sin embargo, la hazaña ha generado una ola de criticas a la desorganización debido que con más de 40 mil comensales, probablemente los recursos humanos y técnicos aportados al esfuerzo daban para atender con eficiencia a la mitad de los comensales.
The record was broken with a total of 26,175 kg of meat. However, the feat drew a wave of criticism for the disorganization with more than 40,000 attendees, probably with the human resources and assistants working the event, it was more suited to efficiently serve half that number.
Jorge Torres Romero says that instead of criticizing all the noble initiatives, we should emphasize the positive side and the success of the event [es]:
No basta maldecir en las tinieblas sino encender una luz”. Claro, nunca vamos a poder construir el Paraguay desde lo negativo. La experiencia vivida el domingo en la Rural fue positiva desde todo punto de vista y vale la pena resaltar: El mérito del éxito no es sólo de Humberto Rubín -si bien fue el artífice de la iniciativa-, sino de las 50 mil personas que acudieron movidos por un espíritu de solidaridad fenomenal.
It is not enough to curse the darkness, rather turn on the light.  Of course, we are never going to be able to build Paraguay from being negative. Sunday's experience in the Rural (location of the event) was positive from all points of view, and it is worth mentioning: The success was not only of Humberto Rubín, who was the architect of the event, but also the 50,000 people that joined motivated by a phenomenal spirit of solidarity.
An event like that needs to be very well planned well in advance, and I'm pretty sure that after this experience that next year the event will be better organized. Hopefully that way, we will be able to break our own record for the Guinness book. Even in spite of some complaints, there was an additional positive aspect, as the money collected went to two big Paraguayan foundations Kuña Aty and Asoleu.

author: Muna Annahas


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Poland, U.S.: Lech Kaczyński’s Blunders · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Raf Uzar writes that the Polish president “is doing everything he can to get noticed much to the chagrin of most of Poland’s political elite, journalists and tired citizens” – and among his recent blunders is this line from a congratulatory letter to Barack Obama: “the President of the United States of Northern America.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Poland: Reactions to Obama’s Victory · Global Voices
Sylwia Presley

Reactions to the results of the U.S. election dominate the Polish blogosphere today. Blogging politicians, journalists, microbloggers and bloggers interested in the U.S. elections are sharing their joy when referring to Obama, as well as their skeptical opinions towards the current Polish president and the government in general.
Obama's victory was predicted and popularized in the social media, like in this YouTube interview (POL) with journalist Bartosz Węglarczyk, who shortly after the end of the campaign was strongly convinced about Obama's success. However, the enthusiastic welcome given to the winner has actually impressed Polish bloggers.
Marcin Gadzinski, the author of Biały Domek (‘White House’) blog on the U.S.-related issues, published a post titled ‘Thank you America,’ reflecting the American happiness of the day (POL):
[…] And did you see those people in Grant Park in Chicago today?
And did you see the Black American guy with baby face and big ears, who was standing on the stage?
His father was from Kenya. His mother came from a village in Kansas. Today their son is the president of the most powerful country in the world.
The whole world watched it. And every one felt the unique American energy. Like the euphoria and pride after the landing on the moon. Like the grief after the Kennedy assassination. Like the fear and later the solidarity after 9/11. Big American emotions, like tsunami, flooding the world. […]
Because America chose Obama for their president today and they are proud of themselves. They should be. The whole world was keeping an eye on them all the way. Again.
Marcin is right stating that the Polish media was watching the elections. A leading radio station RMF FM created a portal. News station TVN24, famous for promoting news coverage with wide range of opinions, is still posting on the topic, including videos from Chicago. 10,386 people from Poland (based on IP addresses, not nationality) voted on ‘If the world could vote?‘ international website. Gazeta posted today more details of the voting, reporting that mainly younger generations and minorities contributed to the victory.
Blogger Paweł Adamiec, author of USA 2008 blog devoted to the U.S. elections, flagged up the importance of Obama's victory in the context of the American fight for equality. He praised Obama for his enigmatic personality, wise system of his campaign funding and his ability to appeal to the multicultural electorate. He concluded (POL):
Let me also congratulate the American citizens, who with the high percentage of votes proved how developed the American democracy is.
Simultaneously, Polish politicians started questioning Obama's competency. President Kaczyński, in an interview posted here, was seeking more information on the actual changes planned by the new president. Lech Wałęsa questioned the next steps of US presidency as well (POL):
I am worried, because winning is one thing, and actually achieving something with the victory is a different matter.
When talking about a potential shift in U.S. politics towards Poland, SLD party representative Jerzy Wenderlich suggested(POL):
Abolishing visa requirement for Poles would be a good start for the new administration.
On Politbiuro political news portal, user intel-e-gent raised an interesting issue for the Poles – that of the nuclear shield planned to be built on the territory of Poland (POL):
The historical victory of a Black American politician will not have a huge impact on the Poles, I believe. Maybe we will not need to build the shield.
Earlier this year, Obama, when asked about it, left the question open.
Bloggers like Jarosław Flis, Władysław Sidorowicz, Artur Zawisza and many others shared their views on the election in the Polish political context. People also shared comments on forums at Gazeta and TVN24. Goldenwoman01 wrote (POL):
In Poland, we cannot even see on the horizon a similar personality.
Regardless of what Obama chooses to do next, he is the man of the day in the Polish social media.

author: Sylwia Presley


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Saudi Arabia: Hunger Strike Draws Attention to Jailed Reformers Plight  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Arabia's human rights activists started a two-day hunger strike to draw attention to the plight of 11 reformers and activists languishing in Saudi jails without trial – or access to a lawyer.
The strike, on November 6 and 7, was announced on a Facebook group (Ar), entitled The Largest Strike in Saudi Arabia to Free Opinion Prisoners and Campaigners for Justice. A similar group can be found here, in English.
The Arabic group has so far attracted 529 members, the English a little over 300, and their actions have drawn the attention of mainstream media around the world.
Like in neighbouring countries, activists are resorting to the Internet and social networking sites such as Facebook to keep the world abreast with their struggles back home.
Witness’ The Hub posts the following video, featuring Saudi journalist Ebtihal Mubarak who speaks about the campaign and the plight of the activists:
Chris Michael has more here.
According to Saudi Jeans:
The defense team declared their observance of a hunger strike in solidarity with following jailed human right activists from the constitutional movement and civil society in Saudi Arabia:
1. Professor Matrook H. Al-Faleh, political science professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, detained by security forces in May 19, 2008.
2. Attorney Suliman Ibrahim Al-Reshoudi, former judge and human-right advocate, detained in February 2, 2007.
3. Attorney Dr. Mousa Mohammed Al-Qarni, former university professor and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
4. Professor Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Shomari, former professor of education and human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
5. Dr. Abdulaziz Suliman Al-Khereiji, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
6. Saifaldeen Faisal Al-Sherif, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
7. Fahd Alskaree Al-Qurashi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
8. Abdulrahman Bin Sadiq, Human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
9. Dr. Saud Mohammed Al-Hashemi, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
10. Ali Khosifan Al-Qarni, human-right activist, detained in February 2, 2007.
11. Mansour Salim Al-Otha, human-right activist, detained in December 12, 2007.
The blogger further adds:
This act of peaceful protest is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and I believe this is the least we can do for those people. Please join the call and spread the word.
In another post, Saudi Jeans writes about the reactions he received when he announced the strike:
When I posted about the hunger strike last week, I did not expect that anyone would try to talk me out of it. But some people actually did. Some think it is not a worthy cause; some think it is pointless and would have no effect; and some told me they have been intimidated by what they described as “aggressive campaigning” online. To those I say: forget the hoopla; forget the banners; and forget all the coverage.
You think I’m doing this to get media attention? I don’t need media attention. I already have the media attention. I see the hunger strike as my little personal gesture to the detainees. I don’t know what it would mean to them or if they even know about it, but it certainly means something to me. It means that I do not accept injustice. I means that as much as I’m proud of this country, I’m disappointed by how it repeatedly fails to live up to its highest standards. It means that I believe we are better than this and we deserve better than this.
While he agrees there are other deserving causes which need attention, such as Saudi Arabia's 75 detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Saudi Jeans notes:
If you think this hunger strike will achieve nothing and therefor don’t want to participate that’s okay, but please don’t try to make of it what it is simply not. If you decided to participate, then think why you are doing it; don’t just follow the crowd blindly, and be sure that you can make the case for this. It will be more meaningful and far more rewarding.
Crossroads Arabia links to international media coverage on the story here.


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Slovenia, U.S.: Post-Election Newspapers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Piran Café posts a picture of post-election European papers and writes: “Obama’s immediate impact on the world economy: I spent about 30 euros today on newspapers I’ll never read, but ones I will keep. Note to Collectors: I’ve got a decent sized stash of three Slovenian dailies. Get in touch for trades.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Just Plain Audacity  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life trades experiences with a fellow Trinidadian living in the US: “My face lit up and I reminded the US resident in a short time they will have Barack Obama. His face also lit up but then I grew sad when he reminded me who we will still have.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Media Meltdown?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Making headlines in Trinidad and Tobago today is the controversy surrounding the Prime Minister‘s alleged “storming” of a radio station to complain about critical comments made against him during a newscast – a move which some maintain is dangerously close to infringing upon freedom of the press.  The subsequent suspension of the announcers involved has added fuel to the flame, despite station management's insistence that “the company's action to suspend two members of staff was not taken because of a visit by Prime Minister Patrick Manning to the station.”  Only a handful of local bloggers has latched on to the story, but those who have registered the whole affair on their radar are being quite vocal about their views.
Trinidad and Tobago News Blog, which collates stories from local mainstream media, has not surprisingly put the story front and centre, in light of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago‘s statement on the issue:
The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago notes the unprecedented action of the Prime Minister with surprise and some concern. The Association deems the Prime Minister’s visit to the station as inappropriate in light of the fact that it can be perceived as an attempt to intimidate or to stifle freedom of the press.
The Association feels the Prime Minister has available to him many avenues of redress and should have perhaps considered the perception of his actions.
MATT values above all an independent media operating without interference or fear, however the Association as well notes that standards of journalism must be adhered to at all times.
Blogger Media Watch has been following developments closely, posting regular updates on different angles of the story.  He called MATT's statement “conservative” and asked:
Is MATT or anyone else doing anything about this Manning/radio station incident? We are walking a dangerous line when politicians can block off a street, and demand apologies.
The post also observed that…
Several journalists tried to grill the PM on the Power 102 issue at today's post-cabinet press briefing, but he (as usual) coolly side-stepped them, saying he had a right to protect his name, or something to that effect.
Mr Manning told them he did not ask the station's management to suspend anyone, as he told them what they did there was their business.  Interestingly he asked if any citizen of this country had the right to visit a radio station, and when he was told yes, he said that right extended to him as well.
Comments by “PW” to the Media Watch blog also got posted:
Please tell Patrick he is a public official and is not entitled to conduct himself in the same manner as any other citizen, otherwise ah want a ride on de private jet and he must pick me up in the State's car when he see me on the street.
In any case, I think the present laws do allow the same rights to politicians and the public, so maybe you were legally right Mr. Manning but you were morally wrong.
Watch out T&T the Broadcast Code is coming and this country will be just like Guyana when it arrives.
The National Broadcasting Code, which is currently in development, added another dimension to the controversy when the Prime Minister stated that in the future, he might pursue other avenues to lodge his dissatisfaction, including going to the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.  But TATT told the media that should such a complaint be formally lodged, “they could not do anything because of the absence of a broadcast code.”
Finally, diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch put in his two cents’ worth:
I find it ironical that a man who thumbs his nose so frequently at the rule of law, now finds it convenient to use the law to his own ends. Another tool of dictators, mind you.
I have one question. In his lawsuits to come, will he be footing the legal bills? Somehow, I think not. He will use state money to wipe out all criticism of his government and his policies.
Of course, I could be sued for thinking out aloud.


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U.S.: Election Commentary from Estonia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa notes, among other things, on how the U.S. presidential race was taken in Estonia.


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U.S.: Election Commentary from Slovenia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky gives his “fifty cents” on “some ironies of the US presidential elections.”


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Africa: Making future presidents? · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Stood in the Congo: “Now Obama has won, many American women will come here to try and make the next President.”

author: Jennifer Brea


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Angola: Blogs compilation · Global Voices
Paula Góes

JotaCê Carranca has created a blog compilation for blogs that talk about Angola aiming to collect all blogs about the country, at the moment organized in three categories: from Angola, from abroad and mixed blogs (written by people in country and abroad).

author: Paula Góes


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Armenia: Bloggers Reaction to Obama Victory · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Voices Without Votes posts a roundup of reactions to Barrack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election. West of Igdir also posts its impressions and says that expectations are high. The blog comments on the prejudices and stereotypes associated with the president-elect's origins and name.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Inlandish · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Anush Babajanyan's Photoblog posts photographs of women who stand out from the crowd in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. The blog says that while society treats them as something different, she had only respect for their individuality.


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Armenia: Rahm Emanuel Concerns · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

And Nothing Else Matters [RU] voices its concern with Barrack Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff. The blog reminds its readers that Emanuel was one of those opposing a bill recognizing the Armenian Genocide which was to be presented to the U.S. Congress last year.


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Caucasus: Geocaching · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

West of Igdir introduces its readers to geocaching — an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to find hidden containers — in the South Caucasus. The blog comments on geocaching in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, but says that the former is the most active in this area. It also wonders if geocaching wouldn't appeal to tourists or hikers.


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China: Should Lin Jiaxiang be charged of assaults?  · Global Voices
Tao

Lin Jiaxiang, (CPC) party secretary of the Shenzhen maritime bureau in the Guangdong province of China, is the target of an investigation after he allegedly grabbed an 11-year-old girl in an attempt to molest her. Jiaxing was reportedly drunk and to have asked the 6th grade girl for directions to the restroom at the Plum Garden Seafood Restaurant where he was dining. He proceeded to grab her by the throat and tried to coax her into the men's restroom.
Restaurant video recorded the poor11-year-old  girl running back into the dining area after the alleged attempt to molest her took place .(The video below is censored now, and for browsing the website, proxy is required)
嘉祥猥褻女童后與家長的爭吵被酒店錄像記錄
Lin Jiaxiang's notorious response to the girl's father who questioned him for what Lin had done angered Chinese netizens. Here's what he said when the girl's parents confronted him:
“Do you know who I am? I am from the Ministry of Transport. I rank as high as your mayor. How dare you fight with me.”
without any sense of shame, he tried to bribe the parents ,saying:
“Yes I did it, so what? How much do you want, just tell me. I'll give you the money.”
Lin Jiaxiang was dismissed on November. 3 by ministry of transport. However, Lin was announced innocent of the assault charge today. Public is not satisfied with the judgment. A “whether Lin should be pardoned” poll is made by Xinmin net.
截至11月6日14时，近2000名网友参与调查，约95%网友对警方结论表示”气愤”，主张搜集证据对林嘉祥”定罪且重罚”，仅2%的网友表示”尊重深圳警方的定性”。
According to Shenzhen Late Post, police gave five reasons to deny the assault charge.
1:林确实与小陈有肢体接触，但接触部位仅限于肩膀靠脖颈位置
2:小陈摆脱林嘉祥的地点距离洗手间约有8米远，但只能看到洗手间的指示牌，还看不到洗手间的门口.
3:林嘉祥身高1．79米、体重103公斤，小陈身高仅为1．48米，小陈能够摆脱林的双手，表明林当时在小陈肩膀靠脖颈处施加的力量有限。
4:现场监控探头摄录到的内容中未发现林嘉祥有猥亵的举动，这与当事人双方对有关肢体接触情况的陈述能够吻合。
5:经现场勘查及模拟事发经过，证实林嘉祥、小陈途经转往洗手间方向的转角处的时间极为短暂，小陈在此处挣脱林的双手后即转身跑步离去。
Although the key evidence to charge Lin Jiaxiang, that is, the video at toilet door which taped what actually happened,  was mystically lost, public believe Lin's crime is obvious.Here's what Xinhua net says.
首先必须明确的是，诸如强奸、猥亵这类的违法犯罪行为，尤其是在犯罪未遂的情况下，最是缺少直接证据的。这是此类违法犯罪案件的普遍规律。从这个意义上讲，警方非要找到林嘉祥猥亵小兰的“直接证据”才予定案，表面上看是严格依法办案，而实质上却是(至少客观上)纵容了违法犯罪嫌疑人，对受害人是极不公平的。
小女孩在事后表现出了精神受到严重刺激、心理受到严重伤害的症状，不敢见外人，不敢上学读书，甚至发誓永远不去大酒店吃饭，这些都印证了对小兰猥亵行为的存在。

author: Tao


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Doubts about Zambia’s presidential elections · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

percymwale raises doubts about the freeness and fairness of Zambia's recent presidential elections.


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Ecuador: Blogging Contest in Guayaquil · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The municipality of Guayaquil, Ecuador, is sponsoring a blogging contest with additional trainings [es]. However, Pitonizza Rios, has heard very little of the event in what would typically be the way to advertise such things, online and on blogs.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Ecuador: Bus Service to Small Communities · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The bus service to his community of Saraguro in Ecuador, has a lot to be desired according to Angel Gualán. He writes about the monopoly of services and those drivers that prefer to only accept passengers traveling all the way to the end of the route, leaving those residents from small towns along the way often out of luck.


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Ecuador: Chelito the Giraffe Died of Heart Attack · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Investigators have determined that Chelito the Giraffe died of a heart attack writes Voces Lojanas [es], which has been following the events following the death of the beloved animal in Loja, Ecuador.


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Egypt: A double-edged sword: The Brotherhood Bloggers · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

“The blogosphere has long played a key role in transforming Egypt's political landscape, with new media formats being exploited by those seeking to challenge the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.”
British Journalist Jack Shenker explores, in his recent article to “Arab Press Network”, the new emerging phenomena from Egypt for cyber activism and political impact using new media forms.
He starts by tracing the historical usage of Muslim Brotherhood for modern technology and internet tools:
The first wave of Muslim Brotherhood bloggers emerged in 2006, taking their cue from the secular civil society activists who, locked out of mainstream political discourse, had turned to the web – using blogs, Facebook and tools like Twitter not just to publish their grievances with government but also to carve out a new political space where like-minded people could debate, plan and co-ordinate activities. Early Ikhwan figures in cyberspace used the medium to publicise the repressive tactics used by police against their organisation. As a means of highlighting the human rights abuses suffered by group members at the hands of the state, the bloggers initially served a useful purpose for the Brotherhood leadership.
Yet, will the Muslim Brotherhood accept the new blood voices from inside critiquing the brotherhood themselves:
For an organisation so ruthlessly committed to internal discipline – founder Hassan El-Banna famously declared “We cooperate in what we have agreed on and excuse each other for what we have disagreed on” – the airing of dirty laundry in public is a jarring development. Interestingly, despite the bloggers generally identifying strongly with the liberal wing of the organisation's internal ideological divisions, reformist leaders within the party have been slow to offer them much support, fearing too much internal dialogue will threaten the cohesion of the movement. Some bloggers have faced naked hostility from the party elite (such as Abdel-Moneim Mahmoud, who claims he was ordered to leave the Ikhwan after questioning the group's slogan ‘Islam is the Solution’ on his blog, ‘ana ikhwan’); others have simply been ignored. Mahmoud Ezzat, the conservative secretary-general of the Brotherhood, said younger members shouldn't be “scared to voice their beliefs” but warned, “There should be moral regulations to blogging, otherwise, we won't be able to benefit from this new technology.”
Yet as Al-Anani points out, this policy of ‘constructive disregard’ for the bloggers on the part of the party's leaders has failed. The Brotherhood is attempting to sell itself to the Egyptian people partly as a tolerant antidote to the authoritarianism of Mubarak's regime; it cannot now crack down on its own members without appearing unwilling or incapable of accommodating conflicting opinions. The only alternative is to listen to the bloggers and take their opinions seriously, and that means being ready to make political concessions to the web warriors and allow them to help shape the party's programme. And that could have a significant impact on the trajectory of Egyptian politics, as the Muslim Brotherhood seeks to position itself as the main alternative to Mubarak in a time of unprecedented political volatility.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: Petition on Tuition · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

“We are students who have things to say. We want to be heard but no seems to want to listen. Or if they do, we are shoved to a different office where someone who would be more suitable for the job is. Then we get there, and the office is probably closed, or we're sent off to another office. We want to speak and we want to be heard.” By that opening description, a group of AUC (American University in Cairo) students initiated a new blog to protest rising fees and conditions on AUC new campus.


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El Salvador: National Day of the Pupusa · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Rocio of Entre Lo Público y Lo Privado [es] reminds everyone that this sunday is the National Day of the Pupusa, which is the traditional dish in El Salvador.


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Google software and mapping the ‘dark continent’ · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Tropically Tolerant writes about the potential of new Google software, which allows local people to draw GIS data on top of satellite imagery, to help map regions of the world, like Africa, where GIS data may be scant or nonexistent.


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Green buildings, Planet Walkers & Getting Paid by Eskom · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

As the week draws to a close, South African environment bloggers touched on various topics, from inspiring talks, green buildings and a net metering law in South Africa.
Picture of Green Roof in the western cape South Africa, by Mark Turner on Flickr.
Rory of the Carbon Smart blog poststop ten reasons why we need green buildings
Buildings have a huge role to play in addressing environmental concerns. They contribute around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and the same proportion of waste; and since South Africa is in the top 20 list of worst offenders, the building industry in this country has a lot to be accountable for.
The Ethical co-op blog posts a video of John Francis – planetwalker.
John Francis walked and sailed around the Americas for 22 years, carrying a message of respect for the Earth. For 17 of those years, he did not speak. He earned an MA in environmental studies and a PhD in land resources during his monumental trek, and challenges us to go beyond our boundaries in this inspiring talk from TED.
The Urban Sprout blog highlights a new law being considered in the South African parliament. The law would allow consumers to sell energy to the public electricity utility company Eskom. Michael asks how would you like eskom to pay you for a change?
If a private members bill being put before parliament very soon is successful, it will provide for the establishment of a feed-in tariff in South Africa.
A feed-in tariff allows people who are producing electricity (of an approved standard) from renewable sources to feed it into the grid and be paid for it. The bill suggests a tariff fixed for 15 to 25 years which may be up to 4 or 5 times the standard tariff.
This policy was adopted in Germany in law in 2003 and if you were to go there you could see the change the policy has made. It is hard to find a roof without a solar panel on it. This is because all of a sudden the economics of purchasing a solar panel change dramatically in its favour because you can guarantee a pay back on the cost of the installation. This means that businesses and private people can easily make a financial case for the installation and can easily get a loan for it.
The urban sprout blog also has an entertaining post with some (blog) self-deprecating humour about literally sprouting seeds and pulses. It includes a details how-to and links to more information about, well…sprouts!

author: Juliana Rotich


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Guatemala: Marimba Band Touring Italy · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Guatemalan marimba band Sonal Ko Konab’ is currently touring Italy according to the blog Santa Cruz Barillas [es] and they proudly representing, not only their home region, but the entire country.


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Indonesia: Bali bombers executed · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The three Bali bombers were executed in Indonesia. Invig advises Australians: “It is not only hypocritical and racist to support the death penalty for the citizens of another culture, but also makes us appear vengeful and callous.” Majority of those who died in the 2002 Bali Bombing were Australians.

author: Mong Palatino


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Iran: ‘Americans waited for 40 years. How long should we wait?’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian bloggers shared their feelings and opinions about Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election and compared democracy in America to Iran's current political situation.
Nikahang Kosar, a leading cartoonist and blogger, published a cartoon where he shows the difference between former reformist president Mohammad Khatami's mentality with Obama's.
In a post, Iranian blogger Deserter refers to Martin Luther King Jr's civil rights movement and his assassination in 1968, and writes that King's wife made a statement during the civil rights leader's funeral asking how long it would take to achieve freedom.
The answer to King's wife was 40 years, Deserter says.
The USA has proved that it learns from it's mistakes… 40 years ago in Iran, a Marxist had no right to express his/her ideas, still it is the same story. 40 years ago the country was functioning on oil money, still it is the main vital source for Iran. 40 years ago in universities a female student wearing a veil was under pressure. Today, a female student who wants her freedom and doesn't wear a veil is under pressure… Americans waited for 40 years. how long should we wait?
Iwishpolitics writes that contrary to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's prediction, Obama did win the election.
Contrary to the Iranian president, Obama asked all Americans to reconstruct the USA. Contrary to Ahmadinejad, Obama did not call intellectuals ‘goats’ and his opponents ‘manipulated agents in the hands of foreigners’.
View from Iran, an American blogger who lived for several years in Iran, and is now is based in Europe, has free advice for Obama on how to deal with Iran:
1. Bluster is bad: Do not make threats that will not or cannot be carried out… 2. Don’t say that you respect the history of the great people of Iran… and then revoke visas while people are in flight to the US, detain them without reason, or insult their intelligence…
Shahriar Zanganeh writes in Iranian.com comparing the behavior of both countries towards people with multi-ethnic backgrounds.
The great American nation in its infinite evolutionary wisdom elected a half-American half-Kenyan Barack Hussein Obama as its 44th president. As far as the Islamic Republic is concerned, the children born to Iranian mothers and Afghan fathers in Iran are not considered Iranian, denying them even the pittance of the rights granted to other Iranians. Please note the 44th U.S. President’s father was Kenyan.
This post was originally published on Global Voices US election website, Voices without Votes.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Lessons from a Kurdish Poet · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Kurdish author Ardalan Hardi from Kurdishaspect writes a poignant letter in honor of his father entitled Lessons from a Kurdish Poet.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Israel: Generational Diaspora Opinion of Israel · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

“I’ve written before of the schizophrenic nature of the Diaspora relationship of Jews to Israel…. The older generation marches to the drummer of past suffering.  The newer generation looks for a way past that allows both peoples to live in peace.  The question becomes–which pole will dominate?” writes Tikun Olam while looking at Jewish-American attitudes towards Israel.


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Kenyan bloggers react to Obama’s victory · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Kenyans have been celebrating since dawn on Wednesday, after learning the man they consider their native son will be the next President of the US. Especially in the small farming village of Nyangoma-Kogelo where Barack Obama's father was born, but also all throughout the country and in the Kenyan blogosphere everyone has hailed Obama's victory as an event of historic relevance.
Arisa Moraa, a Kenyan American, describes at Kenya Imagine her first US election being able to vote:
I never had the chance to engage in the voting process in Kenya because I left Kenya before I was of age. I stood by in 2007 as millions of Kenyans voted and felt a sadness at being of age to vote and unable to vote in my home country.
But then came 2008 and I was of age, and I could vote, and Barack Obama an AmeriKen (American Kenyan) like me was on the ballot. It was a chance for me to make history.. first time voting, and voting for a Kenyan. It is an incredible moment in history.
I couldn't sleep last night, and was up at the crack of dawn enroute to a polling station to exercise my privilege to vote. I was a mixture of emotions.. joy, excitement, anxiety, angst…. all at the possibility… the hope, anticipating CHANGE that I can believe in. It took an hour because there was a lot of people there, but I was excited as I checked in my federal selection.. Obama/Biden.. and the other numerous democrats I don't know. I am beyond myself… First time voter… in a historic election.. Obama IS my president!
Kumekucha describes the festive mood in Kenya, including a few photos from the celebrations in the Kogelo village:
Back home in Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki was not just among the first to send congratulatory message to the new President-elect, but he also declared Thursday November 6th 2008 a public holiday throughout Kenya. Almost everywhere around the country, Kenyans are in celebratory mood as people digest the fact that a man whom they share an ancestry has been elected to the helm of global political and economic power.
Jami ya Keniia expressed her happiness:
Kenyans share the joy with all the Americans that voted Barack and all the world that supported in one way or the other.
I like the spirit of unity and love seen as Mccain conceeded defeat and as Obama calls on Mccain to help in the management of the great America.
Many can still not believe it. A friend once said to me, when Obama was still fighting for nomination in his party, that a black man cannot make it in a [“Wasungu“] country. History is made in a day and that history for Obama, Kenya and Africa is made today.
Moses Kemimbaro comments on the obstacles overcome by Obama:
… he has demonstrated that anything is possible with the right strategy, message and execution. He has overcome what may have appeared to be insurmountable odds, starting with the fact that he is black, partly of Kenyan-origin, relatively young as a president aspirant and quite inexperienced in the Political Arena. This is exactly the sort of change and hope that the world needs. The status quo has been put to rest. Anything is indeed possible. Congratulations President-Elect Barack Obama! The world is with you in creating the change that we need!
Ory Okolloh of Kenyan Pundit writes about Obama's global popularity and his example for Kenyan leaders:
A lot of ink has been spilled over why Obama is popular globally and just how disappointed people will be because of high expectations – I think that’s missing the larger point. Will Obama under-deliver, probably yes. But when was the last time an individual (especially that young people can relate to) inspired THE WORLD to think that things could be different and better, and that there is such a thing as a non-crappy politician?
[…]
Now if only we can translate our aspirations for him to our aspirations for Kenyan leaders! Would Barack Obama have made it as a Kenyan politican (or even African) – almost certainly not…we excel in trashing intellectual, ethical, different, individuals who want to participate in public service. In Obama’s own words, “…For as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on earth is my story even possible.” Lets work to change this people.
The Alpha Quadrant, who criticizes Nov 6 being declared a public holiday since “In the US, the election day was not even a public holiday,” is one of the few bloggers that is not celebrating Obama's victory. In his opinion, Obama's victory is not going to bring change in Kenya:
There are still IDPs in camps by the way.
There's still the Waki and Kriegler reports that cannot be wished away.
There are still HUGE GAPING POTHOLES on a good number of our roads.
Poverty is still a major issue
Change? In Kenya? Nah? Just business as usual – with the usual over-indulgence of all things political. Boring!
And a commentor on his blog adds:
Even as we celebrate Obama’s success story, even as we with fingers closed wait for his inauguration as the 1st half black President of the USA. We need as Kenyans to ask ourselves this fundamental question. What has been our contribution to Obama Success?
His BIOLOGICAL father was a Kenyan, who however abandoned his son and escaped any responsibilities of child support. Infact Obama confesses that he learnt more form his Kenyan ‘father’ absence than from his presence. This is kenya’s EMBARASSMENT NO. 1.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Korea: Obama and Korea · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A blogger’s post Why am I supporting Obama even though it might be against national interests has been popular in portal sites. I introduce why he is supporting Obama and why he thinks that his victory will be against national interests in Korea, but why he observes optimistically.
국익에 반하여 버락 오바마를 지지하는 이유
1. 왜 버락 오바마의 미국 대통령 당선은 대한민국의 국익에 반하는가?
대한민국의 국익을 현 정권이 규정할만한 다음 세 가지, 즉
1) 국내정치 : 대북 정치-경제우위, 미국의 군사력에 기반을 둔, 압도적, 주도적 통일.
2) 국제정치 : 미국을 업고 동북아 4강 구도에서 적극적인 역량 발휘
3) 국제경제 : 한국의 무역흑자를 가능케 할 대규모 대미 무역흑자
로 단순화 한다면, 버락 오바마의 당선은 국익에 명백히 반한다. 아마 2~3년 뒤엔, 한국에서 오바마 지지한다고 했다간 좋은 소리 못 듣고 다닐 가능성이 크다.
1.	Why will the winning of Obama be against our national benefits?
There are three categories that the current government pursues for national interests.
1) Domestic Politics: Based on economic superiority and the US military power, South Korea will lead reunification
2) International Politics: With the support of the US, South Korea will display active capability to 4 powerful countries in Northeast Asia
3) International Economy: South Korea will look for trade surplus toward the US on a large scale of trade
In a simple way, Obama's victory will be against national benefits. 2-3 years later, it is possible that people are not happy about Obama supporters.
1) 국내정치 차원
(1) 오바마가 선거운동에서 밝힌 바, 미국은 북한 핵문제에서 외교에 큰 비중을 둘 것이며, 직접협상을 할 것이다. (반면 매케인은 대북 강경책을 시사했다.) 여기에는 대북 제재 해제는 물론, 대량의 식량-석유 지원이 수반될 수 있다. 남한의 현 반북보수정권은 예상되는 미국의 북한 지원(미국의 북한 퍼주기)에 소극적일 수 있다. 이렇게 되면 남한의 가치는 떨어진다. 남한의 가치는 ‘미국이 거쳐 가는 대북 창구'역할, 그리고 ‘대북 지원의 곳간'역할에 있었기 때문이다.
(2) 북한은 남한을 따돌리고, 미국과 직접 협상을 할 수 있으며(통미봉남), 이 와중에 북한은 예전에 중국과 소련 사이에서 그랬듯, 중국과 미국 사이에서 자기의 몸값을 높일 수 있다. 북한의 가치는 높아질 수 있다. 물론 북한이 핵협상에서 (한국과 일본을 따돌리고) 미국과 원만히 문제를 해결해 나간다는 전제가 충족될 때의 일이다. 더불어 김정일을 비롯한 북한의 핵심권력층에 큰 이상이 생기지 않는다는 전제도 만족해야 한다.
(3) 아프가니스탄과 이라크에서 전쟁을 치르며 많이 지친데다, 금융위기로 당분간 군대에 충분한 예산 배정을 하기 어려울 미국 정부는 해외 주둔지의 전비를 주둔지 국가에 많이 떠넘길 수 있다. 그렇지 않아도, 미국에서 헤어 나올 수 없는 세력이 집권한 한국은 향후 4년간, 주한미군 주둔비용, 혹은 주한미군 관련하여 ‘아주’ ‘더’ 많은 양보를 하게 될 것이고, 언론을 통해 이 소식을 접할 대다수 한국인들은 미국에 반감을 갖게 될 것이다. (매케인이 당선된다 하더라도, 그 요구 수준은 조금 낮아지거나, 다른 형태로 나타나게 될 것이다.)
(4) (1), (2), (3)을 종합할 때, 경제적 우위야 남한이 계속 유지하겠지만, 흡수통일에 버금갈만한 남한의 압도적, 주도적 통일은 불가능하게 될 것이다. 북-미 직접대화로 북한 문제에 대한 발언권이 크게 떨어질 것이다. 현 정부가 기치로 내걸은 ‘대미관계 회복'도 결국 한국의 대미감정 악화로 귀결될 가능성이 있다.
2) 국제정치 차원
(1) 1)의 경우에서 제시했듯, 북-미 관계는 개선될 가능성이 크다. 반면 한-미 관계는 대북 지원의 경우(우파의 반발)나, 주한미군 비용 관련(좌파의 반발)하여, 이래저래 악화될 가능성이 크다.
(2) 이 경우 한국은 주변 4대 강국에 어떻게 자신의 입지를 어필할 수 있을지를 근본적으로 다시 생각해 봐야하는 상황에 처하게 된다. 북한문제는 이미 북-미 대화로 자신의 손을 떠났고(이에 따라 한국의 가치는 급락하고), 경제문제는 금융위기로 섣불리 나서기도(해외투자), 많이 사주기도(소비시장) 어려운 상황에서, 어떻게 중국, 러시아, 일본, 그리고 미국에게 ‘아직 한국의 중요성이 떨어지지 않았음'을 설득시킬 수 있을 것인가? 하영선 서울대 외교학과 교수가 최근 조선일보 칼럼에서 ‘정신 바짝 차리고 어떻게 하면 새로 판을 짤 수 있을지 고민할 것'을 촉구하고 있음에 유의하자.
3) 국제경제 차원
(1) 오바마가 되든, 매케인이 되든, 서브프라임 모기지 사태로 말미암아, 미국 국민들의 구매력이 최악으로 떨어졌다. 따라서 미국인들의 소비 양상은 식품류 같은 가장 기초적인 분야의 비중이 커질 것이다. 반면, 한국이 미국에 수출하는 자동차, 휴대폰, 컴퓨터(반도체)등의 고부가가치, 고도기술집약 제품의 소비는 급감할 것이다. 그리고 이 위기를 극복하더라도, 미국인들은 2008년의 기억을 잊지 않고, ‘분수에 맞는 소비'로 돌아갈 것이라 보는데, 이렇게 되면 고가의 고부가가치 상품을 쉽게 구입하지도, 여러 차례 구입하지도 않을 것이다. 즉, 미국은 인구 및 소비 수준상 세계 최대 소비시장의 지위를 유지할지는 모르겠지만, 그 규모는 작아질 것이다. (중국은 소비수준이 아직 부족하고, 유럽은 분수에 맞는 소비를 하는 편이기 때문에 규모가 적정하다.) 즉, 예전만큼 미국시장에서 재미를 보긴 이제 틀렸다. 새로운 신흥시장을 시장을 찾아야 한다. …특히 오바마는 그의 발언으로 보아 우리가 그토록 팔고 싶어 하는 자동차의 수입을 어떻게든 막으려 들 것이며, 시간을 벌어 자국의 대항력을 키우고, 결국엔 한국에 한국 자동차보다 ‘훨씬 저렴하고, 훨씬 연비가 높으며, 훨씬 친환경적인 자동차'를 수출하려 들 것이다. (매케인은 ‘유정을 더 뚫어서 기름을 계속 쓰자'고 한 만큼 고연비 자동차에 대한 ‘개념'은 없다고 봤다.) …
His second post has also brought many attentions to other netizens.
2. ‘국익'에 반함에도 불구하고 왜 버락 오바마를 지지하는가?
1) 개인 차원
(1) 흑(父)과 백(母), 동양(인도네시아)과 서양(미국)과 아프리카(케냐)가 어우러져 생긴 ‘진정한 미국인’, ‘미국의 진정한 이상의 결정체(Real American)'이기 때문이다. 신분에 차별이 없으며 만민이 자유로운 나라, 기회의 평등이 보장된 나라, 그렇기 때문에 압제와 가난에 신음하던 사람들이 밝은 내일을 찾아오는 나라. 피부색과 종교와 신념과 문화에 관계없이 공동의 목표를 위해 매진하는 나라. 이게 미국의 진정한 이상이라고 본다. (오바마가 항상 말하듯, 전 세계에서 이런 사람이 대통령이 될 수 있는 나라는 사실상 미국밖에 없다.)
(2) 학창시절에 인종정체성 문제로 방황하며 마약도 하는 등, 최악을 경험했다. 그러다가 대학교 들어와 정체성 문제를 극복하는 과정에서 ‘각성'했고, 최고가 됐다. 나는 이렇게 ‘밑바닥'을 경험한 사람을 신뢰하는 편이다. 그들은 ‘옛날'과 ‘초심'을 잃지 않는다. 자기가 왜 마음을 고쳐먹었는지, 자기가 추구한 이상이 무엇이었는지를 잊지 않는다….
(3) 오바마는 초심을 잊지 않았다. 하버드 법학대학원에서 흑인으로 법학 학술지 편집장을 지냈을 정도면, 월스트리트든 뉴욕이든 어디든, 어떤 회사에서든 수억원에 달하는 연봉을 받으며 편히 살 수 있었을 터다. 하지만 지역공동체 조직가로 일했던 시카고로 돌아왔고, 사회운동을 계속했다…
2) 나라(한국) 차원
(1) 한국 사회문화
-. 흑인이 미국 대통령으로 당선된다는 것은 실질적 인종차별주의 국가인 한국에서 ‘깜둥이'비하 시각이 사라질 계기가 된다. 차별정도가 가장 심했을 흑인의 위상이 급변하므로, 비(非)백인 외국인 일반에 대해 갖고 있던 다수 한국인들의 ‘저열한'인식도 상당수준 개선될 것으로 보인다….
(2) 한국 정치
…오바마의 당선은 ‘시대착오’, ‘시대순응’, ‘시대선도'의 감각을 한국 국민에게, 그리고 정계에 심어줄 것으로 본다. 그래서 오바마의 당선을 국내정치적 차원에서 바란다. 매케인이 당선된다면, 기존, 아니 옛날 인물-통칭 구악(舊惡)들이 미국 매파들과의 인맥을 과시하며 거들먹거리는 참상을 봐야할 것이다. 하지만 오바마가 당선되면, 합리적인 젊은 우파들이 전면에 나서서 미국과의 관계를 재정립 할 가능성이 있다. 미국일변도의 의존패턴을 어떻게 극복할지가 주목된다. 적어도 이들은 ‘소미국주의'를 내세우지는 않으리라 기대한다. 그래서 매케인이 아니라 오바마의 당선을 바라마지 않는다.
(3) 한국 경제
…반면 오바마는 자유무역을 부정하진 않아도, 모든 것을 시장 자율에 맡기지는 않을 것이다. 일자리를 만들려면 자국산업보호가 절실하기 때문이다…. 특히 고용 효과가 큰 자동차 산업을 비롯한 제조업을 보호하기 위해서 오바마는 한국과 일본에 상당한 압력을 가할 것이다. …이 와중에 한국에서 자동차를 비롯한 내구재 제조업에 집중되어있던 산업구조가 급속히 변할 것이다. 그렇지 않아도 소비가 줄은 마당에 수출이 안 된데다, 압력이 가해지면서 비용까지 오른다. 계속 생산하겠다면 미국에다 공장을 짓는 수밖에 없다. 오바마가 그렇게 비난하던 일자리송출(Job Shipping)이 한국에서 벌어지게 된다. 노동의 비율이 큰 산업들이 송출되거나 사라지는 만큼, 한국의 실업률은 많이 높아질 것이다… 그 와중에 신(新)산업구조가 형성될 것이다. 문화, 소프트웨어, 환경, 통신, 지식산업 쪽이 오랜 시간에 걸쳐 성장할 것이다. 특히 오바마가 무역장벽으로 내세울 ‘환경'쪽의 급격한 발전이 예상된다. 간단히 말해서, 그렇지 않아도 오래 못 갔을 한국의 20세기형 산업구조, 절박하고 고통스럽게 21세기형으로 몰아가 줄 것 같아서 오바마를 지지한다.
3) 한반도 – 동북아시아 차원
…민주당-오바마라는 호기를 절대 놓치려 들지 않을 북한은 북-미관계에서 ‘엄청난 선물공세'를 벌일 가능성이 있다. 부시 집권 8년 동안 잃어버렸던 것들을 찾으려 굉장히 적극적으로 나올 것이다. 그리고 지금 확실하게 관계를 다져놓게 되면 적어도 오바마의 임기, 혹은 연임이라도 하게 된다면 10년에 가까운 충분한 시간을 벌게 된다….
(3) 그리고 오바마의 당선으로 북미관계가 개선된다면 북한이 조금 잘 살게 될 텐데 이것은 전혀 한국에 위협이 못되며, 장기적으론 이득이 된다. 북한이 어느 정도 살아야 통일을 한다고 가정 시 충격이 적은 것은 누구나 다 안다.
4) 세계 차원
(1) 비운의 진짜 대통령, 앨 고어(Al Gore)의 진가가 오바마 행정부에서 발휘될 가능성이 높다. 급격한 환경 친화적 정책이 예상된다. 특히 미국은 자국의 경제적 문제해결의 수단으로도 상당히 강력한 환경상의 규제 압박을 가해올 것이다.
(2) 금융위기와 아프가니스탄-이라크 전쟁을 통해 국력이 ‘너덜너덜'해진 미국은 다른 나라와의 ‘제대로 된’ 공조가 절실해졌다. 미국 최고주의를 고수하려는 매케인은 이것이 불가능하다. 그러나 ‘전 세계에 친척이 퍼져있고(아프리카(친가)-아시아(여동생)-미국(외가)-유럽(독일에서 유학한 이복누나 아우마)’, 유년기를 ‘세계 최대의 이슬람 국가인’ 인도네시아에서 보냈고, 미국사회에서 인종정체성으로 고민한 오바마는 ‘미국최고주의'를 지양할, 아니 표면적으로는 많이 숨길 가능성이 있다. ..

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kuwait: Bikers Blocking the Road · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

“Bikers, Pray to god I’m not appointed the Minister of Interior, you know what the first decree would be? Ban Bikes on Ring Roads and give car drivers the license to run over bikers” writes Forza Kuwait in frustration over bikers in Kuwait making a menace of themselves on the road.


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Kuwait: Obama Change in Fashion · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Loft965 shows us the latest “fashion” t-shirts in honor of the new US president-elect Barack Obama.


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Lagos may soon be home to world’s largest cyber cafe · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

David Ajao writes about Chams, a Nigerian IT company, and its ambitious plan to build the world's largest cyber cafe in Lagos, Nigeria.  ChamsCity will boast 1,000 computers under one roof, a feat that, if accomplished, would break the current world record.


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Laos: Tourism and almsgiving · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The impact of tourism in Laos on bindabaat – the practice of collecting alms from laypeople by monks and novices in Theravada Buddhist countries.


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Largest Facebook group in Singapore · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The public group dedicated to the memory of veteran Singapore opposition politician Mr JB Jeyaretnam, is the largest Facebook group in Singapore.


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Morocco: Festival of the Strange · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The View from Fez clues us in to Morocco's Festival de l'Etrange (Festival of the Strange), happening in Essaouira in a few weeks.

author: Jillian C. York


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Obama’s Indonesian connection · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Indonesia Matters uploads an article which tackles the Indonesian connection of US President-elect Barack Obama. A young Obama lived and studied in Jakarta for five years. A former teacher recalls asking Obama about his dream in the future. Obama answered: “I want to be a president.”


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Obama’s Victory: A Boost for Global Health? · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

As U.S. President-elect Barack Obama prepares for his four years in the White House, many are discussing how his term will impact health issues, globally and in the U.S., and if he will deliver on his campaign promises.
As part of their campaign, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden said that more must be done to fight the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis (TB). They pledged to provide at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, hoping to at least double the number of HIV-positive people on treatment, and supported increasing U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for AIDS, malaria, and TB. The ONE Blog lists other health- and poverty-related campaign promises.
Bloggers around the world are excited about what Obama's win could mean for health issues. Ray Hartley, blogging on The Times, South Africa, posts an excerpt of Obama's speech on World AIDS Day, 2006, after a visit to South Africa:
“We know how to save people’s lives. We know the medicine is out there and we know that wealthy countries can afford to do more. That’s why it was so frustrating for me to go to South Africa, and see the pain, and see the suffering …We should never forget that God granted us the power to reason so that we would do His work here on Earth – so that we would use science to cure disease, and heal the sick, and save lives. And one of the miracles to come out of the AIDS pandemic is that scientists have discovered medicine that can give people with HIV a new chance at life.”
yannick Santana, commenting on this excerpt says:
“If people have been wondering about ways in which President Obama change could positively impact the problem-solving process in Africa, this is an illustration.”
addis2000, blogging on Addismenged, provides five reasons why Obama's win is good for Ethiopians, including potentially helping Ethiopian-Americans access affordable healthcare. Within Ethiopia addis2000 adds:
“HIV/Aids and food insecurity form convergent miseries. To combat poverty, Ethiopian economists urge for immediate steps to curb the country’s exponential population growth. And yet, despite the Bush administration’s outstanding work to treat HIV/Aids victims in Africa through the PEPFAR programme, it worsened things by ordering USAID missions in six African countries to ensure that no U.S.-financed condoms, birth control pills, I.U.D.’s or other contraceptives are furnished to Marie Stopes International, which operates clinics in Ethiopia. Senator Obama supports family planning.”
Others also remain hopeful. A post on Med India says that Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., is optimistic about Obama's efforts to tackle global health issues, including ones in India. Understand Argentina also believes we have much to celebrate, and hopes this will be a new era for all Americans: North, Central and South. One of the reasons to celebrate, she adds, is because Obama will bring:
“More assistance in vocational training, micro-finance and community development; continue fighting AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; reinforce global education.”
In the U.S., Obama's healthcare plan includes making healthcare affordable and accessible to all, lowering healthcare costs, and promoting public health. He also pledged to develop and begin implementing a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy during his first year of presidency.
RH Reality Check says that Obama's victory can be seen as a mandate for science and rationality, especially in healthcare policy. A post on Housing Works is also excited about these science-based policies, and hopes they will target people most in need.
“AIDS advocates were overwhelmingly thrilled by President-elect Barack Obama’s victory Tuesday, expressing hope that Obama’s election will bring meaningful changes to health care reform, science-based prevention, and a National AIDS strategy — all of which he promised during the campaign. And there is a real hope that the first black president — who has spoken out against health disparities in minority populations and homophobia in the black community — will frankly address the epidemic in the United States which overwhelmingly affects African-Americans, Latinos and gay men.”
Stiletto, blogging on Pourquoi Pas?, points out that though Obama has inherited huge problems from President George W. Bush, she hopes he will still deliver on his promises.
“For the American people, I hope he manages to find the 33 billion dollars to make America’s health system a thing of everyday like here in Europe, instead of being a joke like a third world country and having 45 million people with no health care cover. If that idiot Bush managed to find nearly 1000 billion dollars to go murder hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, surely, 33 billion dollars to keep the health of the citizens of USA is a lot more important and a lot cheaper. But this is your problem, Americans, and I wish you all the best. “
However, My African Diaspora cautions that we need to give Obama time to come through on all his promises:
“Temper expectations. Change won’t occur overnight. We’ve got so many pressing priorities: the economy, healthcare, the war, foreign policy and a slew of others. He won’t be able to wave a magic wand and make it all better. To expect him to would only demonstrate our own ignorance of the political process. Instead, reserve judgment and criticism and engage in the governance of your country. It is our right and our responsibility.”
Photo of Obama Posters by tonx on Flickr.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Peru: Art Gallery Closing Due to Lack of Licenses · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

M. Isabel Guerra from Palabras Van y Vienen [es]  writes about amodern art expositionfeaturing images of popular Peruvian saints. She also writes about the closing of the gallery by the San Isidro Municipality for not having the proper licenses.

author: Juan Arellano


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Russia, U.S.: Obama Wins, Medvedev Speaks · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Just hours after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential election, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev delivered his first address to the Federal Assembly, making statements that grabbed attention both at home and in the West.
To Medvedev's proposal to lengthen the presidential term in Russia from four to six years, LJ user oleg-kozyrev responded (RUS):
I've found a way out. I support Medvedev's proposal to rule for six years. Only along with that, they should also change the legislation regarding the duration of the year. One year has to be 243 days long.
Although in his address Medvedev did not congratulate Obama on his victory, nor did he mention the U.S. president-elect by name, he nevertheless sent a harsh message by way of a greeting, promising, among other things, to deploy short-range Iskander missile system in Kaliningrad region, on Russia's western border, in order “to effectively counter the persistent and consistent attempts of the current American administration to install new elements of a global missile defence system in Europe.”
Below is what some Russian bloggers wrote in response to the part of Medvedev's address that was meant as much for the international audiences as for the domestic ones.
LJ user viking-nord (RUS):
Now, tell me why did Medvedev have to wait for the outcome of the U.S. election to deliver his address to the Federal Assembly??? No steps whatsoever have been taken towards improvement of the relations with the United States.
I wanted to hear him say that he was starting a new page in the relationship with the new U.S. administration. Like, for example, we'll begin negotiations on the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. But nothing of this kind has been said. Quite the opposite, this is how it sounded – you deploy, we don't care, and as a response, we'll place Iskanders in Kaliningrad and leave a missile division deployed in Kozelsk. That is, we are launching an arms race at the time of an economic crisis!!! Not bad, right???
In general, I think even Obama could not expect anything like this… And he could have retreated with the missile defense system, as this is an expensive delight, and the Democrats, as a rule, are very practical.
A few comments to this post:
disaster_cake:
Don't be naive, nothing will change in the relationship between Russia and America in the nearest future. A change of regime on one side doesn't mean anything. Besides, the attitude towards Russia is perhaps the only point on which Obama agreed with McCain during the debates.
***
prikolruss:
They need an enemy. Hence the provocation and ruthlessness. They can't do without an enemy, can they??? :(((
***
viking_nord:
An image of an external enemy is needed to suppress domestic freedoms.
LJ user telemont (RUS):
[…] If there'd been no [address by Medvedev on Nov. 5], all the commentators would've been discussing the U.S. election, and domestic realities would have inevitably been compared to the American ones. By stepping out onto the podium and dropping a set of pre-made chips, Medvedev has shifted the focus of public attention from the issues that are dangerous to the regime.
Exactly the same approach was used at the time of the [Beslan tragedy]: when the public turned out to have many questions that were harsh and very unpleasant for the regime, Putin all of a sudden proposed to eliminate regional governor's elections. Honestly, [an irrelevant] initiative, but it worked great: everyone rushed off to argue, select and appoint right away, forgetting about the children who had died.
In another post, LJ user telemont noted (RUS) that trying to figure out the subtext of Medvedev's message is nothing but an exercise in futility:
[…] What's the point of looking for meaning in the addresses of people who don't assume responsibility even for their actions, let alone their words.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Syria: Comments on the U.S. Elections · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The Syrian blogosphere, particularly the contingent that blogs in English, has been somewhat quiet about the U.S. elections, at least in comparison to its neighbors.  It's no secret that many bloggers in the Arab world are frustrated with some of Obama's policies, even if they are glad that some change has come.  In this post, we will take a look at three different Syrian perspectives on the recent elections in the U.S.
Yaman, who studies in the United States, shares a story of celebrating Obama's victory in Berkeley, California:
As soon as Obama finished giving his acceptance speech, crowds of students began to gather in the streets of Berkeley. By the time I melded myself into the march somewhere on Durant Avenue, hundreds of students had already amassed. We ran down Durant feeling that a huge weight was off our shoulders, that there were only better days ahead. As we rejoiced, preparing to say goodbye forever to those familiar faces of the Bush regime, it dawned on me that we had no idea where we were going. Where was this march headed?
No one really knew, but we kept going, cheering the whole way. Eventually someone yelled, “to the library,” so there we went, our high spirits annoying those who were trying to study for midterms. Whenever the banality of our pit stop struck us, we simply started marching again. Soon we headed down to Shattuck where we paused somewhere around the BART station. We stood there again roaring in ecstasy about the win. When we got bored again, we kept moving until we found another similarly neutral, meaningless location to rest at until we yet again became restless. There was no organization to the march, no one there to tell us what the win would mean for us, no stops at locations with any political significance. It was more of a happiness movement, than a political one. At least we’d been delivered from the Bush years.
Yaman concludes that, while he's aware that Obama's election stands for change, he is also wary of the vigilance we must keep:
I went through high school and most of college under the Bush administration. Every social issue I ever learned about, fixing it was always a matter for “the long haul.” In these times of never-ending wars, arrogant, disrespectful, and unresponsive government, we always had to fight for everything in “the long term.” Well, Obama now has a long term ahead of him in which he can try to deliver on all these demands for change. We can’t take it for granted, though, that a win for Obama is a win for progressive policies, even if–maybe–it will inaugurate a progressive mood. One hopes that the Democratic party and the Obama administration have a little more direction than our happy crowd did, or we will have to remind them that we did not support them for the sake of supporting Democrats, but because we wanted them to do what we want them to do. We can hope, now, that these won’t be four more years of the same violent Bush rhetoric and policies; but surely, they will be four years of holding Obama and the Democratic party accountable for what they’ve promised and what we’ve asked for, rather than letting the mesmerizing aura stilt our principles and expectations.
Born in Damas reminds us not to forget about the United States’ recent transgressions in Syria:
Amidst the celebration of Obama's election as President of the United States the world seems to have forgotten the recent helicopter incursion by US forces into Syria to allegedly terminate some individual that apparently constituted a danger to US national security.
Last month a raid was carried out a few kilometres inside the Syrian border with Iraq.
I have not seen much reaction in the US media about it nor much outcry in international places maybe because the Americans are a bit embarrassed and do not know what to think about this ‘incident’ and maybe because the Europeans are totally flabbergasted as it does not fit in with the direction the current Syrian -EU-US relations was going into?
Maysaloon spells it out for those who might praise America:
America's mask is back on and Americanists the world over are breathing a sigh of relief. Those of them in the Arab world have had a particularly difficult time over the last eight years. Whilst they have had plenty of years experience becoming apologists for the murder of Palestinians (nobody cares about these anymore), the genocide in Iraq was a much harder pill to swallow and many felt compelled to publicly criticise the United States – an unthinkable act during the Clinton years. But what has changed in reality with the election of Obama? Nothing, and these Americanists will concede this. Article after article, many say how wonderful he will be and how historic his election is. They then proceed to add the caveat that, in reality, little will change concerning America's position with regards to Israel, the Arabs and Iraq. But that isn't the point. They then proceed to tell you that this is irrelevant, because his election means “change” has come, Americana is back and we can all feel good about it again. So all that has happened is that America has made people ‘feel good’ again, so that they stop caring about what it really does, since nothing will change in the Middle East on their own admittance. After eight years of reality, responsibility, guilt and shame, the United States’ apologists can now sit back and take a drag of premium Americana hashish. Relax, everything is going to be ok.


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Syria: On Holograms · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Syrian blogger Gardenia shares her opinion on hologram technology.


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Taiwan: reports of protests in Taipei · Global Voices
David Reid

Insightful and detailed accounts of the 6 November protests by the Far-Eastern Sweet Potato and Michella. The Bala Daily reports on a student protest at the Executive Yuan that was broken up by police.

author: David Reid


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Thailand: Activist arrested for insulting monarchy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

David in Siam gives an update about the case of the veteran Thai activist who was arrested for insulting the monarchy.


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Thailand: More lèse majesté charges · Global Voices
David Reid

Bangkok Pundit reports Sulak Sivaraksa was arrested for lèse majesté. Thailand Crisis also writes of lèse majesté charges filed against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.


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Turkey: Is Handwriting Still Important · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Talk Turkey discusses whether or not in this day and age of texting, email, and the internet that handwriting should still be taught in schools.


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Uganda: Locust season brings crispy treats · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

November is nsenene season around Lake Victoria and the locusts are scrumptious!

author: Jennifer Brea


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World: Yahoo and striptease dance!  · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

M.S. Hijiouji is a Moroccan blogger who is interested in new technology. In his last blog post, he discusses the last offers to sell Yahoo via Microsoft, Google or AOL.
He further adds:
AOL might interfere, according to rumor, to sign a partnership agreement, up to a merge, but always in all cases, it appears that Google is the biggest beneficiary.


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Armenia: Obama Endorsement · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Bekaisa [AM/EN/RU] posted a photograph of a sign outside an Armenian church in the U.S. on the eve of last week's presidential election. It reads “vote for the black. The other one's an ass (donkey).”


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Bangladesh: Myanmar troop build up  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ghore Baire wonders whether the recent tensions between Myanmar and Bangladesh over maritime boundary dispute and the troop build up by Myanmar near Bangladesh border could delay the impending election in Bangladesh.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: The “Empty Biennial” fills up the blogosphere  · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“Architecture Parallax: Book Histories”, 1995-2006. Manipulates image by Alexander Pilis
The 28th Bienal de São Paulo, which runs until the 6th of December promises to be the most antagonistic – and possibly controversial – of all time. With a 40% budget cut (from an initial US$ 3.73 million, half the budget of the previous edition), a reduction from 120 to 42 visiting artists and difficulties in finding a curator, along with the challenge of staging the exhibition at all, this biennial proposes an observation and reflection upon the culture and system of biennials within the international art circuit.
To begin with, the second floor of the pavilion which hosts the exhibition, designed by Oscar Niemayer in Ibirapuera Park, will remain completely empty. In one of the installations on the third floor, the artist himself – or rather, his nakedness – becomes part of the art piece. On the third floor there are also works that deal with, somehow, the history of the Bienal de São Paulo, in addition to a library and a conference room. This biennial's relevance, however, has been very hotly debated by artists, critics, media, and, of course, bloggers.
Eduardo Ferreira [pt] provides a quick explanation for the different format, a paradigm shift from the format used since the first Bienal de São Paulo in 1951, employed for the 2008 event that even before opening had been called the “Biennial of the Emptiness”:
A exposição ficou conhecida como “bienal do vazio”, mas seu tema real é “em vivo contato”, muito pertinente para a proposta que se apresenta. Um evento das proporções da bienal, com sua importância mundial (no patamar próximo às gigantes Bienal de Veneza e Documenta Kassel), tem a função de revelar o que se tem feito de mais importante no mundo da arte, expor as “tendências” mundiais, criar diálogos regionais de modos de pensar a arte, de fazê-la, de entendê-la, e o que se faz na 28 bienal é justamente não só pensar essa produção contemporânea, mas pensar o modelo de exposição “bienal” no paradigma que vem sendo estruturado. Grandes feiras, proporções gigantescas, variedade espetacular, orçamentos monumentais, etc., a bienal desse ano vai quase que na contramão disso, chegando ao ponto de deixar um andar inteiro vazio (alvo de vandalismo por parte de determinados pseudo-artistas na busca de exposição na mídia) para tornar mais forte essa questão.
On the other hand, for Rodrigo [pt], a teacher who was already aware of the new focus when he took his students only to be disappointed at the curator's amateurism, the history of the Bienal de São Paulo should be divided into before and after the appointment of curator Ivo Mesquita, who, invited almost at the last minute, accepted the challenge refused by other curators:
Sob o ponto de vista do curador ele conseguiu o que queria: deixar a todos indignados! Mas eu acredito que a função da Bienal seja maior do que deixar o mundo indignado. O curador conseguiu! Ele acabou com a terceira maior exposição de arte do mundo! Um verdadeiro Iconoclasta!
Fábio Oliveira Nunes too left the biennial hugely disappointed at having “witnessed the worst exhibition of all time”, although he thinks that the problem was not the emptiness itself, but a succession of errors. He would recommend that people lower their expectations:
Então, simplesmente esqueça os corredores repletos de visitantes, a quantidade infindável de trabalhos, a necessidade – em todas as edições que vi – de ir mais de uma vez e os trabalhos que nos farão pensar por dias seguidos. Acredite: reserve somente uma hora do seu dia e torça para algo melhor surgir daqui a dois anos.
People are still visiting and some attractions have been very popular. Among them, perhaps the most seen in this first week was the performance by Brazilian artist Mauricio Ianês called “The Kindness of Strangers”, of which the artist's body is the centre-piece starting with a naked Ianês in the middle of the gallery. While many people have despised this as art, Santiago Nazarian [pt] enjoyed the idea:
A idéia é ele viver como uma instalação, até o final da próxima semana, dentro do Prédio da Bienal – dormindo lá, comendo lá – sobrevivendo apenas da “bondade de estranhos.” Ele começou a performance nu, mas aos poucos vai ganhando presentes dos visitantes. Segundo a Folha de São Paulo, no dia da estréia ele já tinha ganho uma camiseta, uma torta de frango, uma garrafa d'água e um “amigo imaginário”… Acho esse um ótimo exemplo de arte conceitual bem aplicada. Tem um conceito forte por trás, e está demonstrando de maneira mais incisiva e poética do que se fosse descrito como um texto – ou retratado numa pintura, ou cantado numa música. É uma performance que de fato materializa um conceito artístico, e ainda assim nem precisa ser vista para fazer sentido (ou para ser compreendida como arte).
“Dead Zone”, also by Maurício Ianês, 2007. Photo: Ding Musa
At the moment the artist is dressed and fed by visitors donations (see a video). This was one of the subjects that most attracted media attention. The other was the empitiness, which has generated a debate much bigger than the 42 invited artists. Regarding this, Lau(ra)roots says that the fundamental question is to assertain how much disturbance this “Emptiness” causes, and concludes that it, indeed, has a very uncomfortable dimension:
O vazio é o nada. É ausência de tudo. É a falta de preenchimento de algo. É oco, inodoro, incolor e quiçá insípido. É desprovido de conteúdo. É vazio.
Um tanto anacrônico considerar a proposta do vazio na 28º Bienal de Artes de São Paulo sendo algo de vanguarda. A todo o momento somos estimulados a lidar com a complexidade do múltiplo, o acúmulo material e intelectual, o preenchimento do tempo e do espaço a fim de suprir as necessidades existentes. Somos impulsionados ao consumo. A satisfação do ser está intimamente ligada ao ter. A felicidade é moeda de troca: só é feliz aquele que se realiza ao mesmo tempo na vida pessoal e profissional.
Quando há o vazio, há a impressão de que algo saiu errado. Logo somos levados a crer que os objetivos não foram alcançados; falhamos. Existe uma incompetência subtendida no conceito do vazio que chega a superar a própria percepção da ausência. Pode-se dizer que a angustia que toma conta de nossos sentidos chega ser um alento, pois ela preenche a sensação do nada que havia até então.
And when it does not fill up, the emptiness is filled up. At around 19:35 last Sunday, the first day of the biennial, a group of about 40 graffiti vandals invaded the pavilion and painted the walls on the second floor, the one left purposely empty. The group, headed by an artist known as Pixobomb, took advantage of this to fill the walls with phrases like: “This is what art is”, and their tags, Susto, 4 and Segredo. Ana Paula Freitas [pt] is not sure if she believes Mauricio Ianês’ performance is art, but in case it is, what would make it “different” from the graffiti “demonstration”?
O que separa esse tipo de ação da ação dos outros caras? No caso do Pixobomb, ele diz que as invasões são um manifesto contra a capitalização do grafitti, que foi concebido como uma arte ilegal. Ianês, segundo o UOL, pretende com sua instalação “questionar a comunicação entre artista e público, e a responsabilidade do trabalho nesta comunicação.” Oi? É triste, mas a justificativa dos pichadores é muito mais coerente e bem menos hermética. (…) E aí? Qual dos dois é mais arte, qual dos dois é mais questionador? O pelado que quer contestar a relação entre arte e o público (ou seja, até existe uma relação com o terrorismo poético, que também questiona e subverte essa relação) e é aclamado por isso ou o bando de pichadores, que invade uma galeria de artistas engomadinhos para pichar uma parede vazia e com isso contestar o que é estabelecido como arte?
For most bloggers, the biennial has indeed seen better days. Actor and artist Diego Miguel [pt] remembers that 55 years ago, Bienal de São Paulo brought to Brazil artists who were at the cutting edge of contemporary art, such as Klee, Calder, Mondrian, Henry Moore, De Konning, Munch, Léger, Braque, Picasso. The blogger says it loud: “How I wish to go back in time!”
Conceito? Não! Seria hipocrisia de nossa parte, enquanto artistas, acreditarmos em tal afirmação.
Para comprovar isso, podemos pensar no objetivo da Bienal: mostrar o que há de melhor na arte contemporânea, o que os artistas atuais estão fazendo. Seria mais honesto admitir a falência da Bienal e a redução da verba para exposição (de 18 milhões – Bienal de 2006 para 09 milhões – Bienal de 2008).
Weightless Days, 2006. Collaborative work by artists and designers Angela Detanico and Rafael Lain, dancers and choreographers Megumi Matsumoto and Takeshi Yazaki, and musician and artist Dennis McNulty
To conclude, see S…‘s post, which illustrates very well what many bloggers think about this year's biennial.

author: Paula Góes


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Cambodia’s 55th Independence day · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

It's holiday in Cambodia as it marks its 55th Independence day. The country is also celebrating a Water Festival.


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China: Protest in Taiwan criticized as democratic violence · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Mainland China envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) flied back to Beijing 7, Nov after his 4-day “ice-breaking” visit to Taiwan.
As the chairman of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), Chen, led the highest-ranked official delegation ever from mainland to Taiwan, to negotiate for new deals that set down agreements on direct shipping and flights, mail services and food safety. It's said to be a historic leap on cross-strait tie.
In spite that Chen allegedly came to for the peaceful and constructive purpose that is to “enhance the economic cooperation across the strait”, people sided with the “one China, one Taiwan” principle viewed it more than abhorrent. Even though as many as 20000 police were dispatched to guard the visitors, swarms of Taiwanese numbered by 100,000, most of them mobilized by the present out-party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), still flowed to wherever Chen showed up to brandish their topmost hostility. It goes without saying to be a straightforward political demonstration to mainland that “you are not welcomed, F**K off!”
But the firepower is not only directed at the visitor. The Taiwan president Ma Yingjiu, has been railed against in these days for the crackdown of protests, speech freedom black-out, and the downgrading of Taiwan's sovereignty.
During the “Action of Seige”　designed by DPP to trap the envoy Chen in the hotel, city police responded, unfortunately, in a way to catalyze it into a violent clash. On 4, Nov, when Lian-zhan, the Honor President of KMT was dining Chen at Yuanshan hotel, the alerted police guarding outside forced a shop across the street to shut down the “Song of Taiwan” being played aloud. People exhibiting Taiwan's national flag and emblem were dispersed and blocked from the hotel, and speeches like “Taiwan doesn't belong to China” were muzzled.
The bloody clash finally broke out at the night when the present KMT president Guo-Boxiong dined Chen on another hotel. The police were confronted by a group of thousands of agitated people, including a few aldermen. Stones and clubs were hurled, barricades were pulled down, and gasoline bombs were fired. More than one hundred police were injured, many of them sent to hospital, while the opposing party suffered as well, scores of the protesters injured or arrested. Chen is thereby trapped in the hotel for 8 hours until midnight, a quite embarrassing situation to the host. The Democratic Progressive Party played a major role in the incident by a fanfare mobilization.
In the days following, Taiwan witnessed a mutual accusation. The president of Republic of China, Ma-yinjiu, criticized DDP of irresponsible ,who rebutted that they were just calling for a protest against the government's crackdown upon speech freedom.
Taiwan bloggers gave enthusiastic responses. A GV post by Taiwan author I-FAN shows the native bloggers’ anger with the way police restrained people's legitimate right to protest. Some of them moaned the value of democracy is lost.
Meanwhile, a broadcast is on air to record a sit-in of college students and scholars in Taipei, against the resurgence of marshal law and violent authority in Taiwan.
But the other side of voices is not out of its momentum.
Blogger Xinhua posted his opinion on Duowei blog, analyzing the motive behind DDP's action
民进党为了摆脱其深陷“阿扁门”贪腐案而无法切割、民意极其低落的困境，企图抓住陈云林到达台湾的机会，发动如影随形的抗议行动，动员绿营支持者“上街”抗争，重新制造岛内族群对立，以挽救其不断沉沦的态势。
民进党街头闹事、诉诸暴力的作为被国际社会看作是民主之耻，也遭到岛内舆论的普遍谴责…甚至台湾一些大学生不去质疑民进党的街头暴力，反而到台“行政院”门前静坐示威，抗议警察维安行为过度。显示出这些大学生对于“民主”的幼稚理解。
民主包含了和平、和解、和谐，包含着宽容、谅解、妥协，包含着沟通、协
商、谈判，恰恰没有街头抗争、聚众闹事，更不容许诉诸暴力。所以，民主首先是一种包容对方、严以律己的素养；“街头”运动显示一种浮躁不安，往往孕育着对抗与冲动，常常出现非理性、
无约束的行动，当自己的诉求久久实现不了时，会作出过激的反应，狂躁地向对手、向社会宣泄自己的情绪，导致社会动乱。
没有法制，也就没有民主。你可以聚会、游行、自由表达，但必须在法律允许的限度内进行，必须依法申请，在规定的路线或场合进行，不得
妨碍公共秩序，不得影响交通，不得妨碍、更不得伤及他人，更不得威胁社会、乃至国家安全。
He conclude that, there is not a slight of democracy in DPP's actions.
On youtube, a comment was made following the footage of the clash:
hastobright :
台灣的民主已經到了人民濫權的地步
不是暴民的選民應該站出來
不能再容忍這些假藉民主之名
卻破壞法治 欺負善良百姓的流氓
Now a critical question: is Taiwan over-democratic? Is citizen disobedience allowed to such an extent of violence?
Whatever  clash is left  on the island, CPC this time made itself a big gain. It wins popular support, embarrasses the Taiwan authority so that it can further pressure it near the mainland, and signs treaties with practical meaning. That might be why the chief of State Office of Taiwan, Wangyi, praised the home-coming Chen Yunlin: You don't disappoint your mission.

author: Bob Chen


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Morocco: Silenced Speech · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Allal El Alaoui remarks upon the recent ruling that required Moroccan magazine Al Massae‘s editor, Rachid Nini, to pay off a fine of  6 million dirhams.


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Myanmar Astrology blogs · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Links to some of Myanmar's Astrology blogs. Another blog that deals with the same topic: 7 Sphere-Here on 7 Days.


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Myanmar: Persecution continues · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Disappointed over the failure of UN officials to promote reforms in Myanmar, Ashin Metacarra writes: “I wonder why most of the world seems content to be merely on-lookers for the Burmese people who are being persecuted.”


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New Zealand: Time for Change As Well? · Global Voices
Leonard Chien

Oceanic country New Zealand held a general election on November 8, 2008. According to preliminary results, opposition coalition secures 45.5% of votes and 65 of the 122 Parliament seats, which means John Key of conservative National Party will become new Prime Minister. The governing Labour Party, on the other hand, loses 7 seats to 43 seats. PM Helen Clark, in power since 1999, has conceded defeat and quitted Labour Party leader post.
Jim Belshaw in Personal Reflections provides thorough backgrounds and analyses of New Zealand electoral system and this year results. To him:
This was an election that combined new and old in interesting ways.
Nik from Spatual Forum notes an interesting fact in this election, and compares the situations in New Zealand and the US:
Curiously, both Clark and Key tried grabbing for the Obama mantle; Clark noting that the US chose to go left, so vote Labour, Key saying the US went for change, so vote Nationals. There are interesting contrasts and parallels with the US election, though — a seasoned politician is defeated by a relative political novice, and the opposition party makes big gains. The difference here is, instead of the centrist-left taking over, our government is now moving more to the right. (Ironic, of course, that we left the US during the dark days of Bush and moved to New Zealand, only to have Obama win the US and the right win New Zealand!)
While some people believe to New Zealand, it’s a time for change, spruiked: djak style thinks there are not many changes:
To an outsider, Key's policies wouldn’t seem all that different to those of the outgoing government. That’s because they’re not. Finding little to fault with the current administration, Key focused his campaign on emotive domestic issues, such as improving education and fighting crime.
[…]
Saturday’s election does not represent change, so much as a changing of the guard. At the end of the day it was time for someone else to have a go at the wheel. That is what New Zealanders voted for.
As immigrants constitute a significant part of population in New Zealand, several parties have candidates with different ethnic backgrounds. To encourage minorities to vote, some immigrant-friendly measures are taken, as sarahliu88 writes [zh]:
為了鼓勵民眾，特別是少數族裔的選民踴躍參與，投票通知單上共印有20種語言，光中文就有繁、簡兩種呢！

author: Leonard Chien


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North Ossetia: Minivan Bombing · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Des Balkans au Caucase, regards sur l'Est [FR] comments on the bombing of a minivan in the capital of North Ossetia in which 11 people died and 40 others were wounded.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Obama’s Victory: Reactions From Tanzania · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

Barack Obama's historic victory in the US Presidential election dominated almost every Swahili blog. Dira Yangu in Fungua Jicho blog announced Obama's victory with an advice to African leaders:
Seneta Obama hatimaye ameshinda urais wa Marekani na anakuwa rais wa Kwanza Mweusi kwa historia. John Mc Cain amekuwa wa kwanza kukiri kuwa ameshindwa kiungwana na kumpongeza mwenzake Obama. Hili limekuwa funzo lingine kwa wagombea wetu wa kiafrika na kitanzania wanaposhindwa si kukimbilia mahakamani bali ni kukubali.
Chemi Che Mponda at Swahili Time settled for Barack Obama Wins Election 2008 as the headline. She adds:
Barack Obama ni Rais Mteule wa Marekani!!!! Senator wa Delaware Joe Biden, atakuwa makamu wa rais. Mungu yu mwema! Waafrika na hasa sisi kutoka Afrika Mashariki Tujivunie!
OBAMA UBARIKIWE!
Issa Michuzi just posted a collage of front pages of newspapers all decorated with Obama's victory headlines while Charahani posted photographs of president elect Obama and his family waving to the crowds and of people in tears after the historic win.
In a post titled Obama katoka mbali ati (Obama has come a long way), Issa Michuzi posted a number of Obama's photos. And, as if in a photo essay, Mwaipopo also posted Obama's photos from childhood to the great day. He also observed:
Obama! Obama!
Kila mtaa hapa bongo watu wote ni Obama, Obama kufuatia ushindi wake wa kishindo huko Marekani. Kila baada ya sentensi mbili inayofuatia ina neno ‘Obama’. Pegine wakati wafuasi wake wali0tapakaa ulimwenguni wakishangilia, yeye anatafakari ni kwa namna gani ataitoa Marekani (na sehemu zingene za dunia) hapo zilipo na kuzipeleka pengine palipo bora zaidi. Blogu hii inamtakia kila la heri katika kazi yake hiyo aliyoiomba kwa juhudi zote.
Nkwazi Nkuzi Muhango in Mpayukaji blog, Dira Yangu in Fungua Jicho, and Nukta77 all had the Obama's acceptance speech.
Nukta77 also posts an email from one of her reader's on what Obama should do in relation to Africa:
Obama angehutubia AU na awatake viongozi wa Afrika walifanye bara hili kuwa business patner na sio dampo la majaribio ya sera za mataifa makubwa na misaada”.
Kwa wale wanaotegemea misaada kutoka kwa Obama, ninamshauri Obama asitoe misaada kwani katika kusoma kwangu sijawahi kusikia taifa lolote lile ulimwenguni ambalo limetajirika kwa misaada. Maendeleo hayaletwi kwa wingi wa pesa bali kwa ubunifu, maarifa na kazi. Fedha na misaada ni nyenzo na sio mhimili wa kuleta maendeleo.
Nasikitika kuona kuwa vijana wasomi wetu hawaonyeshi kujifunza kutokana na ushindi wa Obama. Wale vijana wa Vyuoni wamebaki kucheza ‘twist’ wakati muziki unaopigwa ni ‘bongo flava'!
For those waiting for aid from Obama, I advise him not to grant any because from what I have read, I have not yet come across any nation in the world that became wealthy from aid.  Development can not be brought about by money but by creativity, knowledge and hard work. Money and aid are just tools and can not pillars for development.
I am saddened to see that our young educated people have never learnt a thing about Obama's victory. Young people in colleges are still dancing to ‘twist’ while the music that's being played is ‘bongo flava’ (Swahili hip hop)!
To acknowledge this historic event Chemi wants Obama's sculpture to be added at Mt. Rushmore. A reader though, calls for caution:
Pamoja na kuwa shabiki wa Obama lakini ni bado mapema sana kwake kuwa mmoja wa marais mashuhuri Marekani.Dada Chemi inabidi athibitishe katika mandate period na ikiisha ndio tuzungumzie hilo.Hao waliopo kwenye Mt Rushmore waliwekwa pale baada ya kumaliza uatwala wao.
In Dar Es Salaam, Issa Michuzi took some photos of people wearing Obama's T-shirts. But the extent of Obamamania started even before he was elected when Tshirts designed by a local artist Mayunga and a Swahili book on Obama written by a Swahili blogger, Mjengwa were often sold out as recorded by CNN in this video found at Nukta77 blog:

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza


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Pakistan: Obama the Revenge! · Global Voices
Muhammad Farhan

For years, many people in Pakistan hated the policies of US President George W. Bush. Most Pakistanis believed that the policies of Mr. Bush to fight terrorism were failed policies. Yes that is right! Because almost every step taken by him had ironically empowered the fundamental forces like the Taliban and spread the hatred against USA. Many innocent youngsters have joined Taliban just to take revenge of the murders of their innocent loved ones, who died as a collateral damage in this war against terrorism. In short, instead of bringing harmony and peace between Muslims and the West, President Bush has actually increased the hatred between the two. And probably this is the reason why not only Pakistanis but also the citizens of USA wanted a change and they have succeeded on November 4th.
With the victory of Barack Obama, the US president elect, many Pakistanis believe that Americans have taken their revenge by exercising their democratic power. Before the elections the blogosphere was divided on Obama's views about Pakistan. He once suggested that if he is elected he will unilaterally attack inside the Pakistani territory to hunt down the terrorists. Although some stood by Obama, many Pakistanis had reservations about him because of this. The other candidate John McCain was not popular among Pakistanis, so many decided not to support either of them at this stage.
But Obama was able to regain some Pakistani support when he cleared the confusion regarding his statement on Pakistan in a debate with McCain:
Another reason for Pakistanis supporting Obama is that the people believe that he is the person who understands Muslims better than John McCain. And of course, the hope is there that Obama can play a positive role in building bridges between Muslims and the West.
Let us have a look at the recent posts of Pakistani blogosphere on this issue.
Teeth Maestro Explains the reasons why he is supporting Barak Obama:
The conclusion I have achieved is most definitely debatable, I choose to look beyond mere words and see a possible solution for the mess in Pakistan. For me Obama represents a fresh change in the White House, it is my understanding that they both propose ‘approximately’ the same line of action for Pakistan. Obama wishes to quickly clean up the terrorism threat in Pakistan, while McCain proposes a slow but extensively drawn out plan of action, which I feel actually means a long term American presence in Pakistan. If they are both generally coming with the same mindset then I feel I would carefully put my eggs into Obama’s basket.
Temporal at Teeth Maestro writes about Obama's victory:
Will the US ever be the same again?
Since life is all about flux, we continuously change, therefore any questions of change can be rhetorical in nature.
Yes, caution is advised and one must never underestimate the shenanigans of the neconzix, but the looming victory of Barack Hussein Obama (according to these pundits and this study of polls by Nat Silver) to come (on) November 4, 2008 will be a global watershed event.
R. MAK at Lahore MetBlogs tries to compare US and Pakistan Election scenarios:
Where else an immigrant family can rise to such riches… A true personification of “American Dream”. As I watched the speech, I was trying to find similarities and differences between Pakistan and America.
The way Obama interacted with the crowd reminded me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Only one leader in known history of Pakistan had such a charisma… Also I do see some sparks of such charisma in Lawyers Movement.
Adil Najam at Pakistaniat  shares his concerns:
Without losing sight of the fact that Americans will, and should, elect the President they think is best for America, not for Pakistan – and not withstanding my own expressed view that Pakistani-Americans will also be voting this time on their own domestic policy concerns and not on Pakistan’s foreign policy preferences – one does wonder how a new administration in Washington (now that there is already a new administration in Islamabad) might impact Pakistan.
M. Junaid Khan at Pro-Pakistan hopes:
With an Democrat sitting in White House, I am sure less focus will be placed on wars and more focus will be on the economic betterment of America and its allies.
Lets hope the 44th American President proves himself a good choice for the large number of Muslims in America as well as outside who voted for him.
I personally appreciate the power of democracy in America and I would like to end with the following words of Obama:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

author: Muhammad Farhan


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Promoting East Timor products · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A blog was set-up promoting East Timor's local products.

author: Mong Palatino


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Refugees in East Myanmar · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rule of Lords reports that “Over half-a-million people in eastern Burma are living in temporary dwellings, forced out of their villages as a result of fighting, insecurity and the whims of local army commanders.”


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Singapore’s misplaced economic priorities? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Lionheart is questioning the economic philosophy of Singapore's leaders.