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Philippines: Failed mutiny draws mixed reactions · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

For a background of the failed mutiny last Thursday, check the initial blog roundup by Preetam Rai.
After a six-hour takeover of the luxury Peninsula Hotel, Senator Antonio Trillanes, Brigadier General Danilo Lim and about twenty other rebel soldiers surrendered to police authorities. The government is preparing to file additional charges against the mutineers and the civilian personalities who supported the aborted coup.
The website of the rebel soldiers identifies the issues which led to the group’s uprising:
“The deliberate refusal or failure of the dubious leaders to investigate and prosecute the people responsible for the scandalous “Hello Garci” electoral cheating, the Jocjoc Bolante multi million peso fertilizer scam, the IMPSA bribery scandal, the “Jose Pidal” and the jueteng scandals involving billions of public funds, the Northrail Project scandal, the Venable contract scandal, the NBN scandal, wholesale bribery of congressmen and governors in Malacanang, as well as the unabated and resolved extrajudicial killings of citizens, particularly journalists and members of the judiciary, and the use of military and police officers for some unlawful missions, among others, are clear proof her failure of good and decent governance.”
An OFW Living in Hong Kong on what the rebels failed to learn:
“Trillanes’ and Lim's group didn't learn any. They didn't learn that occupying a plushy building couldn’t force a sitting president to vacate the palace. It was also a case of miscalculation: they counted on people's support that never came. Maybe somebody or a group promised support but failed to do so.”
Bikoy believes Trillanes and company “had the right reasons, but the wrong methods.” He adds:
“However, I wouldn’t call Senator Trillanes and company crazy as many of our middle class netizens have said in their blogs and in comments. I’d rather call people who refuse to admit that something’s terribly wrong in this administration crazier. I don’t even know what to call people who know how rotten this administration is but would rather go on and live their comfortable lives because they can afford it.”
Challenge and Movements thinks the president deserves to be removed from power:
“There is no way out for the Philippines to renew itself but to oust Gloria. Senator Sonny Trillanes is right in marching to Makati. People want a young military leader like Sonny call for civil disobedience. Gloria’s cabal are planning now how to stick their buts in Malacañang.”
Mon Casiple dissects the coup incident:
“What the Manila Pen incident accomplished is to underscore the vulnerability of Malacañang and its unavoidable dependence on the support of the armed forces. Its initial reaction to the incident had been an ostensibly panicky one.”
Ricky Carandang explains why the failed coup will not be the last under the Arroyo administration:
“Trillanes may have failed again, but as the unresolved grievances against the Arroyo regime pile up, the potential for more people opting for extralegal action will not go away.”
The Anito Kid uploads commentaries from public officials and various institutions. He adds his opinion on the issue:
“We are all Filipinos. We are one nation. Why can't we act for the common good instead of destroying our country with every year that goes by? Why can't we remember that we conquered Martial Law peacefully once?”
Sassy Lawyer criticizes the civilian personalities who gave initial support to the coup plotters:
“Too many people without the balls to start their own little insurrections, but quick to join up when someone else takes the initiative and quicker still to disappear when the whole thing turns out to be folly.”
Gibbs Cadiz comments on the rebels’ fondness for luxury hotels:
“You must wonder at these firebrands. First Oakwood, now the Peninsula. They must love the amenities and free toiletries so much. Or the fact that, after all the hubbub is done and they're off to either the stockade again or–in the event that they did manage to oust The Woman–Malacañang Palace, nobody's gonna dare bill them for their stay in the place. Neat.”
Tales of the Fencesitter suggests a new subject for military schools:
“I do not know if there should be a need for military training schools to introduce some sort of a Coup d'etat 101 in their curriculum because really, these coup plotters seem to be very amateurish when it comes to overthrowing the powers that be. Perhaps we should take a page from Thailand where their coups are almost always successful. For a country that boasts of a lot of coup attempts, we are oh so pathetic when it comes to results. I'm not sure if our coup plotters have a problem with the coup execution or whether it's just poor preparation, but really they need to exert more effort to at least show the world that we do not suck at everything.”
Rebelmind advises the rebel soldiers that “people power is not something one can conjure in a snap of a finger.” He adds:
“People power is a confluence of many factors, including people’s hatred of the incumbent president coupled by their belief in the leaders who will take over the reigns of government once the existing one is toppled.”
Uniffors blogs about the relevance of the failed coup:
“I know the pundits will say it was a poorly conceived desperate act. Some would even call it stupid but if nobody is going to do something, anything, what will become of us? I thank Trillanes and Lim for being courageous enough to stand up and fight.”
“He did it again,” writes My Joys. Akomismo describes Trillanes the “spoiled brat of Philippine politics.” Fattybearyus insists the senator is both a moron and a coward
Filipino Librarian refers to the failed mutiny as a “laughable attempt at people power that did not draw the masses to revolt.” Pinoy Penman thinks it was an “impromptu press conference.” Ped Xing says it was a “coup d'etat by press con.” The blogger adds: The Filipino People will rally for freedom, never for a military junta.
Apples-pie believes the police was right to have implemented such “ruthlessness” against this group of soldiers. Prudence and Madness reflects on why the rebellion failed. A must read: Ellen Tordesillas has a first person account of the coup from the perspective of a journalist.
After the rebels surrendered, police forces began arresting journalists inside the hotel in order to prevent some rebels from escaping by pretending to be members of the press. Suddenly, the media persons who were covering the event became the news.
The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility has condemned the arrest:
“The arrest of the media people is not only unprecedented. It is also an outrage, and a telling indication of the authoritarian depths into which the Arroyo regime has fallen in its obsession with political dominance. This latest attack on the Philippine Press is an assault not only on its Constitutionally-protected freedom, but also on democracy itself.”
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also issued a protest statement. A Catholic bishop blogging through In and Out of Season is worried for Philippine democracy:
“Thank God, the curfew is over. Thank God, our hardworking media men have been released; were it not for them the nation would be in the dark as to what our country is undergoing at this point in time. Yesterday and last night, the people hold-in at Peninsula Manila had a “foretaste” of what Martial Law could be. God save us from the worse!”
Alleba Politics disagrees with the decision of the police to arrest journalists:
“While the media was in an overkill frenzy during the stand-off, the police has no right to harrass and treat them harshly as if suspects caught in the act of committing a crime. They were treated worse then Antonio Trillanes and his band of moronic mutineers.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Saudi: Car Number Plate for $1.7m  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Jeans isn't pleased that a fellow Saudi purchased a car number plate for $1.7 million. “But I guess you know what they say: you can’t buy good taste,” he writes.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Saudi: Vote for Me  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“And since I have no shame left I don't feel bad begging for votes :) Once again the Brass Crescent Awards are doing their yearly recognition of some of the blogs out here by Muslims (or one category is for Non Muslims but about Islam/Muslims). Feel free to vote for me, there are three categories you can choose from,” explains Nzingha from Saudi Arabia.


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South East Asia: Chinatowns in South East Asia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Find out where the Chinatowns are in major South East Asian cities.

author: Preetam Rai


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Syria: Lebanese Blindsided at Annapolis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“According to good sources, the Lebanese government was blindsided at Annapolis with the candidacy of Michel Suleiman as President,” reports Joshua Landis in Syria Comment.


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Tonga: Ridiculous Cost Cutting · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Samiuela LV Taufa writes about a local hospital that takes cost cutting to ridiculous levels.


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UAE: The Importance of Prayer · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

UAE blogger Ben Kerishan, from the Land of Sands (Ar), writes about the importance of prayer in this post. Ben Kerishan's blog is blocked in most Arab countries because of his sharp attacks on Islam and its rituals.


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Venezuela: Digital Communication Says Low Turnout · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

“Between text messages, cell phone calls, twitter and blogs, the general impression is that there are few people in the voting centers,” writes Topocho Blog [es] in reference to the Venezuela referendum turnout.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Venezuela: Down to the Polling Station · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Miguel Octavio of The Devil's Excrement documents his trip down to the polling station.


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Venezuela: Today’s Referendum Vote · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Venezuela News and Views provide an up to date account of observations and personal experiences from today's referendum vote.


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Vietnam: Open Market · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

JJ writes about the booming Vietnam becoming the most open market in Asia.


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Abu Aardvark: Sticky Tags · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“It's very frustrating – I've been trying to do what several of my friends have done with their delicious tags, having an automatically generated post once a day with the tags from the sidebar.  But it doesn't seem to be working.  Has anyone gotten this to work on a Typepad blog?  How did you do it?” writes Abu Aardvark, a Middle East commentator, whose most recent posts focused on Iraq and insurgency.


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Algeria: Sudan’s Teddy Bear  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“In lieu of a recent case of tomfoolery in Sudan, the American Islamic Congress, a great American Muslim organization (with which I am quite friendly), put out the following press release, which is well worth reading and has been reproduced throughout the media,” writes Algerian Nouri, who posts the Press release.


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Bahrain: Uneducated Parliamentarians Talk Money Affairs · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger emoodz wonders how uneducated and unprofessional parliamentarians could possibly discuss “the controversial issue of pegging the Bahraini Dinar to the US Dollar.”


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Bangladesh: Famine and Fertilizer · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

With the threat of a potential famine in Bangladesh, Addafication explains how the problem could be prevented – through cheap fertilizers.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Genocide and Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mash on the suppression of media reports on the genocide in Bangladesh in 1971, and with links to the archives in various newspapers with articles on the same.


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China and North Korea: One Day Trip · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wangxiaofeng blogs about his one day trip to North Korea [zh] in detail.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Citizen Report on Ant Farmers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zoula travelled to Shenyang to do a citizen report on ant farmers: He found out from a local taxi driver that some farmers didn't get compensation from the government and some committed suicide [zh].


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China: Cultural Fish · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

One man bandwidth introduces a new internet business initative called cultural fish media which has a diverse internet cultural environment in terms of content management.


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China: Jinjing Favor · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maryannodonnell blogs about northern China (Beijing and Tianjin) food culture.


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China: Report from Hong Kong on sweatshop  · Global Voices
Bob Chen

After long effort, the Hong Kong-based student organization SACOM (Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior 大学师生监察无良企业行动) published a report on Dell Computer and its suppliers’ misconducts related to labor rights on mainland China. After searching through data, interviewing workers in person and referring to materials, SACOM decries Dell and its suppliers’ partial failure to implement the Chinese Labor Law, and gives an insight into the sweatshop on Dongguang (东莞)，Guangdong province in the report Dell—The Manufacturing of Sweatshop Computers Behind the Zero-Inventory Strategy . The report, fully cited in 163.com and then circulated in several main domestic websites, received netizens’ concern.
The report discusses the working condition of several first-tier and second-tier suppliers of Dell, and identifies the problems troubling workers are illegal wage and working hours, employment without labor contract, inhuman management practices, and use of child labor in peak production period. The sub-contract suppliers of Dell, due to the intense competition, have to exploit workers to gain profit margin. The zero-inventory strategy and stunning profit of the trans-national enterprise, accordingly, are founded considerably on the toil of Chinese workers. SACOM appeals to Dell to take its duty and assist its business partners to guarantee the labor rights.
The replies on Skyline (天涯), a popular net forum that has cited the report showed people’s concern.
Soul of Money said
“血汗工厂” 这就是中国腾飞的秘密
Sweatshop is the secret of the prosperous China.
Alex0755 moaned:
低层人民要生存,那些所谓的”血汗工厂”总是会有源源不断的工人进去.
The grass-root have to survive so that people would endlessly go to the sweatshops.
Most netizens’ showed appreciation to the Hong Kong students.
Farmer With No Land (失地农民) said:
感谢香港的同学们！
Thank you, Hong Kong students!
More people compared them to the domestic college students:
Who_knows said:
什么时候国内的大学也能出这样的报告，中国才有希望
China would have hope only when domestic colleges could have such reports.
No_Eating_Pork said:
很遗憾不是我们大陆自己的学生写出这样的报告
What a pity that it is not by out mainland students.
苏州过后没艇搭 said
为香港同学喝彩,为内地沉默的羔羊默哀
Acclaim for Hong Kong students, mourn for the silent lambs on mainland.
Learning_To_Host said
大陆的血汗工厂
需要香港学生呐喊
自从89后中国没有大学了
The sweatshops on mainland need Hong Kong students’ battle cry. After 89, mainland China has no colleges.
But there are also disapproval ideas against Hong Kong:
zztao2008 said
香港同学靠大陆输血吃香的喝辣的，又来指责大陆
The Hong Kong students eat the good enjoy the good based on mainland’s blood transfusion, but now they came back to criticize us.
thrall1976 at once rebuked：
这份报告指责的是大陆么？Dell代表中国？
Is this a report debasing mainland? Dell means China?
But the ideas are obviously divergent on how to solve the problems
一个人的冠盖京华 thought:
发达国家自己不愿意做的，都放到中国，印度这些地方。低廉的劳动力，肆意破坏环境。。。这些都老生常谈了。但是，没有了这些，中国能拿出去和人竞争的还有多少？中国的2位数的发展哪里来？
难，难，难。
What the developed countries are not willing to do are all moved to places such as China and India. The cheap labor and destructed environment are all clichés. But without this stuff, what can China have to compete with others? Where could the two-digit growth come from?
Hard, hard, hard.
Song-road said:
等到问题解决了，这些厂商已经搬到越南去了。
Nothing can really solve the problem. After it’s solved, the factories have already been moved to Vietnam.
Old_Shield thought consumers are condemnable as well:
戴尔是否可以指责每个消费向戴尔发出的低价订单？
当你买电脑杀价的时候，你就是跟戴尔一样，在发出一份低价订单，明白？指责别人的时候，想想自己。
你跟米商砍价的时候，有没有想过农民的待遇？
Could Dell reprehend consumers who ordered products in low price?
When you bargain for computers, you are just like Dell that makes order forms in low price (which reduce the wage). When you decry others you’ve got firstly think about yourself.
Have you ever think of farmers when bargaining with rice merchants?
But there existed a paradox:
如果你看不惯戴尔，停止对它发出低价订单，让它破产，这样，工人就不必接受低待遇了。确切地说，就算工人想接受低待遇，也不可能了，因为他们失去工作机会了。
If you are averse to Dell, then just stop buying its products and bankrupt it so that the workers won’t suffer from low wages. But accurately, they lose the jobs.
Rebuking a comment that attributed the low wage to supply and demand, HuaziGG stated:
供求关系只是其中一个方面。单个的工人是没有议价能力的，我们的工人又没有工会。香港学生抵制戴尔，相当于起工会的作用，协助工人讨价还价。通过戴尔施加压力，代工厂将改善工人的待遇。
Supply and demand is just one aspect. The single worker has no power to bargain and yet the workers have no right to organize labor unions. When Hong Kong students repelled Dell, they performed the function of labor union to aid workers on bargain. To pressure Dell, workers can improve their condition.
Hui_Li sighed:
这是无奈的啊
大陆不做这些代工自有其他地方的会做,做了还能养活一大批工人,如果没有这么多的代工工厂就会有很多了失业,最可耻的就是dell了.
What a pity.
If mainland doesn’t do this then there will be other places to do so. Many workers can survive if they rely on these factories. Otherwise many would lose their jobs. Dell is the most shameless.
What is the way out remains unknown, but after all, a heart that cares about motherland is always welcomed. When we appreciate the aid from Hong Kong, we had better introspect why we can’t take care of our duty well.

author: Bob Chen


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China: Rural Migrant Worker Sex Hotel · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A rural migrant worker sex hotel was openned in Zhuhai on 28 of November to give space to marry couples for enjoying their sex life. Netease has a BBS post[zh] showing support to the initiative. In the post's poll, more than 80% agrees that China should have more sex hotel.


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Chogm Appraisal: The Round-Up from Ugandan Blogosphere · Global Voices
Glenna Gordon

Though he’s a journalist and could have been preparing for Chogm – the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting recently held in  – by readying his camera, audio recorder and notebook, here’s how Ernest Bazayne prepared for Chogm:
I’ve got:
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[if !supportLists]o [endif]DVDs
[if !supportLists]o [endif]Batteries
[if !supportLists]o [endif]
[if !supportLists]o [endif]Pringles
[if !supportLists]o [endif]Instant noodles
[if !supportLists]o [endif]Airtime
[if !supportLists]o [endif]Ammunition
I am ready for CHOGM.
Clearly, not everyone was excited about Chogm.
Chirs Mason, of Caked in Red Clay, has a good play by play of Chogm, but most interesting are the questions he asks:
When leaving Parliament, I gave thought to the piles of money invested in sprucing up the Parliament building for the Queen’s visit. The visit lasted about 20 minutes. A pattern was beginning to form. Mountains of money spent to prepare a site for a visit by a Royal figure or world leader during the meetings. Those visits would inevitably last a few fleeting minutes, perhaps an hour, and then the delegation would move on, leaving the refurbished site behind. I wonder how long the renovations will last before the paint again peels, the walls beings to crumble and the potholes make their inevitable return.
sunk mountains of money into hosting this conference—about $130 million. When you figure that the majority of Ugandans live below the poverty line; when 3 per cent of rural Ugandans have electricity; when its health care system is completely unable to serve a rapidly-growing population; and when millions of citizens are coming out of years spent living in camps because of rebel fighting in the north and millions more were displaced by flooding in September… when you figure all these things, you can’t help but wonder: will the new hotels, the for-now patched roads and the refurbished tourist sites help any of these people?
The new blog Citizen Uganda also questions some of the consequences of Chomg:
‘s leadership will congratulate themselves on hosting a successful summit, but they should not exaggerate its legacy for the nation. While Queen toured select venues in the country, much of the international media attention was elsewhere: the political crisis in Pakistan; the upcoming Israel-Palestine summit in Annapolis; and the woes of the falling U.S. dollar.
For Museveni though, this is a personal triumph. He managed to keep the protesters from upstaging him—they managed to make headline news on BBC—and raising some serious questions about his record on human rights. There was also very little mention of the stalled negotiations with the LRA in the north, or the country's tensions with the DRC.
Scarlett Lion (full disclosure, that’s me) berates the Ugandan government for some of their choices as well:
They tore up the sidewalks and streets for Chogm to rebuild nicer ones. But since the repairs haven’t been finished, and the Queen and other diplomats and visitors have come and gone, they’ll stay half-finished forever. Chogm came and went without the world’s notice or most Ugandan’s participation. Most Ugandans didn’t see the Queen, air their grievances, or even learn to untangle the acronym.
Hannah, at the View from Kololo, put it very succinctly:
Before moving to  in March I had never heard of CHOGM; in the past eight months, it’s all I’ve heard about.
New hotels have been built all over the city (and no one seems to be asking who will fill these hotels once CHOGM is over),
Everything seemed more orderly and in many ways less Ugandan.
Now that Chogm has come and gone, it will be interesting to see what kind of role  will play on the international radar, as well as how  will change without the big international conference looming in the future.

author: Glenna Gordon


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Climate Change 2007: Pre-conference views and first impressions of Bali · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

As the UN climate change conference begins in Bali, we step back a few days to see what bloggers had to say. From Gristmill in America,  David Roberts celebrated Australia's recent support of the Kyoto protocol, saying
Ever since I was hired at Grist, I've been writing that every developed nation supports the Kyoto Protocol “except the U.S. and Australia.” Guess the U.S. really is all alone now. I feel so proud.
The South African cartoonist and blogger Jeremy Nell drew an editorial cartoon that visually represents (in part) the rising ocean levels at southern cape of Africa and the climate change politics of the Bush administration, while adding a little humor.
Rory Williams  of Carbon smart says that ‘Washington just doesn't get it’. He discusses the IPCC report, of which America has endorsed; the economics and politics of decisions regarding climate change by the US congress.
Perhaps I should be leaping for joy at America's proactive stance on emission reductions, but a couple of things bother me with this scenario. The first is that Congress, once again, is taking a unilateral approach on an issue of global significance on the assumption that they know best (despite joining the game after halftime). The second is that the requirement for products to be carbon certified will be messy, bureaucratic, not synchronised with other forms of carbon labelling, and difficult to comply with. This will place developing countries at a disadvantage.
Rory also challenges the engineering community in the post ‘engineering the future’, saying
When I think about the UNFCCC gathering of 15,000 climate change scientists, politicians, bureaucrats and activists that begins today in Bali, I can't help wondering about the complicity of planning and design professionals in the lack of progress in reducing global carbon emissions since the Kyoto Protocol was established ten years ago.
Dr. Richard Leakey recorded a video message about climate change and conservation:
The blog EkoGaia provided a link to a fascinating You tube video that looks at the logic, the arguments for and against global warming, economics and risks in a GAP analysis of sorts; ‘How It All Ends’
The Solar Taxi blog shares a gallery of beautiful shots from Bali as they confirm that they have arrived in Bali for the conference.
The beauty of this world, that's what we are talking about. Saving it, protecting it, that's what we want to do. Bali is just an example of one of the world's most beautiful places.
More information about the solar taxi is available here.
Please visit our special coverage page for more links to the most up to date posts on climate change.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Colombia: Resurgence in Football · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Colombian football is experiencing a resurgence after beating the Argentina team in World Cup qualifying, explains Proyecto Colombia.


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Croatia: Zagreb Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

David Sasaki walks around Zagreb, taking pictures.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Cuba: Venezuela Votes “No”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution awaits “with great interest for the Castro regime's response” to the “No” vote against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's proposed constitutional reform.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Dominica: Nothing Here For You? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Steve's Dominica responds to an article that suggests his island is “a place best avoided”.


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Georgia: Exit Polls · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Social Science in the Caucasus examines the possible role of exit polls in the coming presidential election in Georgia and concludes that they are no substitute for a properly conducted vote.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Georgia: Patarkatsishvili Speaks Out · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

TOL Georgia writes that businessman and outspoken critic of the Georgian government, Badri Patarkatsishvili, has warned of two possible scenarios that might play out in an attempt to discredit him.


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Guatemala: A Tasteless Advertising Campaign · Global Voices
Renata Avila

“Living instead of dying” is what Claudia Navas said from Ordinaria Locura [es], where she details serious problems that Guatemala is facing in regards to violence against young women, she said:
Las cifras de feminicidio en el país son alarmantes, según la Policía Nacional Civil, hasta el 2 de octubre se habían registrado 377 muertes, cifra que seguramente ha aumentado, pues tan sólo al hojear los periódicos cada día me encuentro con una víctima más. Entre ellas, a muchas que ni siquiera han llegado a la mayoría de edad.
The statistics of feminicide in the country are alarming, according to the National Police, in the period up until October 2nd, 377 women were murdered, a number that surely has increased since then from looking at the newspaper every day, I find another name, many of who have not reached 18 years old.
In light of these tragic statistics, a Guatemalan shoe company launched an advertising campaign that many bloggers thought was out of line.  The international blog VISUALMENTE  [es] explains the content of these ads in a post called Poco hombre.  The blog article also features the two ads in question.
El 19 de noviembre en Guatemala una empresa zapatera llamada MD lanzó una campaña por su nueva colección de zapatos. “Está de muerte” es el eslogan que acompaña las piezas gráficas de esta patética campaña de publicidad, en cuya imágenes aparece el cadáver de una mujer desparramado sobre un sofá, y en otra, el cadáver de otra mujer en una camilla de una morgue o de un hospital, eso sí, ambas con unos zapatos muy lindos y vistosos, pero muertas. ¿Mujeres muertas para promocionar zapatos?
On November 19 in Guatemala, a shoe store called MD launched a campaign to promote their next collection of shoes with the slogan “it is to die for.” On one of the posters, there is the body of a dead girl lying on the sofa, and on the poster, there is another girl, who is dead in a morgue or a hospital, both of them are wearing a beautiful pair of brand new shoes, both of them dead. ¿Dead women to promote shoes?
Desing Drink [es] agreed that it was in extremely bad taste on her post:
Coincido con muchos periodistas guatemaltecos que tachan la publicidad de la zapatería MD como INOPORTUNA, ya que el pasado 25 de noviembre se conmemoró un día más de la NO VIOLENCIA CONTRA LAS MUJERES, una fecha que ni siquiera debería existir.
I agree with several Guatemalan journalists  that reject MD's advertising campaign, considering it inappropriate, especially since last November 25 the Day Against Violence Against Women, which is a celebration that should not exist in the first place.
Black Creative Box [es] also shares their point:
somos nosotros los exagerados? Es cierto que la publicidad mientras más controversial mejor pero existen millones de formas de hacer una campaña de zapatos.
Are we overreacting? It is true that in advertising, the more controversial the better, but there are million other ways of making a campaign for shoes.
Guatemalidades [es] shared on her blog a story of a girl (Wendy) murdered by an angry boyfriend, and their rejection against the advertising on Guatemalan streets:
..no pienso comprar nunca zapatos en MD. las muchas Wendys de Guatemala que han visto sus sueños truncados por una violencia tonta y la rídicula imposición de la moda y la necesidad de “venderse” para convertirse en mujeres “honradas” y “esposas”. esa misma moda que descalifica el cerebro y cualifica a la mujer por el tamaño de sus tetas y el diámetro de su cintura, es aberrante usar la muerte para vender precisamente lo que provoca la violencia.
… I refuse to buy MD shoes, since there are a lot of Wendys in Guatemala that have seen their dreams shattered because of senseless violence and a ridiculous imposition of fashion, and the need of selling themselves to become “honorable women” and “wives”. The same trend is the one discounting intellect and valuing women for their breast size and waist size. It is disgusting to use death to sell because it instigates violence.
La columna de Ana shares the concerns, saying on her post Muerte Súbita:
Esa publicidad, que copia una corriente surgida algunos meses atrás en otros países, y que fue interrumpida inmediatamente por las entidades de mujeres y de derechos humanos, debe ser retirada de inmediato porque es una bofetada en el rostro de las mujeres guatemaltecas. Guatemala es el segundo país en el mundo –solo Rusia le gana– con el mayor número de mujeres asesinadas.
That advertisement, which copied similar ads in other countries that were immediately put to a halt by women's rights and human rights groups, should be removed immediately because it is a slap in the face Guatemalan women.  Guatemala is second in the world – behind Russia – with the highest number of murdered women

author: Renata Avila


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Guyana: UFOs?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal‘s friend spots a UFO – vicariously, that is.


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Haiti: Climate Change  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Haiti Innovation wonders what the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change means for Haiti.


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India: Gender and Voice · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

genderbenders on argument, gender and the idea of a voice.


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India: On being offended · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A seemingly innocuous song seems to have raised trouble for the filmmakers. IndieQuill on the “offensive” lyrics.


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Iran:Mothers for Peace · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Mothers for Peace blog, we read[Fa] that a statement is signed by 521 Iranian mothers.We read:”if the nuclear dossier belongs to all Iranians and can draw the destiny of our children why we can not directly express our opinions? If a fire sets on our land, would it only affect the government leaders?”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Several student activists were arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mbullitin blog says[Fa] that several students were arrested in University of Mazandaran,in the north of Iran.


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Iraq: Bush-Maliki Agreement Interview  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Raed Jarrar posts an interview conducted with him on the Bush-Al Maliki agreement here.


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Israel: Land Without a People · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

One of early Zionism’s slogans that took hold of the imagination of the proponents of a Jewish state was “A land without a people for a people without a land,” writes The Elder of Zion, from Israel.


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Jamaica: The Problem With Reading  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Books rarely upset me, but readers appall me all the time”: Marlon James explains.


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Jordan: Best Internet Provider · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Naseem Tarawnah asks who the best Internet provider in his country is.


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Jordan: Environmental Costs of Elections  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Batir Wardam  updates us about the environmental costs of the parliamentary elections, held recently in his country, in this post.


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Jordan: Facebook Women’s Pursuit  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

More Arab women are Facebook users, says Jordanian Zeid Nasser.


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Jordan: Google’s Evil Scheme  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Bakkouz claims that Google's new motto is Do Evil. Read why here.


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Jordan: Late Salary  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Tololy‘s salary is late. Here‘s what she has to say about that.


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Jordan: Love and Hate  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Roba Al Assi  lists what she loves and hates about Amman and its people in this post.


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Jordan: Save the Internet  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Big companies lobby every day for control of internet access, speed and content. In essence they want to transform the freeway model of networking to a toll road version,” writes Jordanian blogger Bakkouz, who appeals to his readers to join the Save the Internet coalition and sign the Internet Freedom Declaration.


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Kazakhstan: Govt Wants Equal Share in the Project of the Century · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine informs the readers that Kazakhstan's government officially stated that it wants an equal share with the top owners of the Kashagan oilfield — Exxon, Shell, Total and Eni. But is it willing to pay? And will Exxon go along?

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kazakhstan: Shushkevich vs Nazarbayev  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam Kesher reports about S. Shushkevich's (who used to be the first Belarusian leader) interview to a Kazakh provincial newspaper, where he criticizes both Belarusia's Lukashenka and Kazakhstan's president Nazarbayev.


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Kuwait: Googling for Sex  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Muslims are Googling sex sites, claims Kuwaiti blogger Brava Valentia.


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Kyrgyzstan: Back to the USSR, or forward to the past. · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Asel reflects on the usage of old Soviet terminology for the trademarks and brand marketing in Kyrgyzstan. “Probably, it is just a bit of PR to attract clients, but there are certainly those who do not really welcome this kind of PR ideas”, she says.


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Kyrgyzstan: Cheap Labor · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Mirsulzhan says that according to the report of the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), Kyrgyz school pupils have demonstrated the lowest level of knowledge among their mates in in 57 OECD countries.


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Kyrgyzstan: Political season gets hot · Global Voices
Asel

Bloggers in Kyrgyzstan discuss the changes that the government is undergoing after the President Bakiev’s sudden dismissals and appointments of a whole bunch of key state figures. Newly appointed and recently dismissed officials have always attracted attention of bloggers, who constantly express and share their opinions and forecast who is gong to do what and what is going to be next.
Bakiev’s recent decision to dismiss the prime-minister Almazbek Atambaev, who after being a strong opposition member, became a prime-minister and served 8 months only, was unexpected. It has spurred quite an extensive discussion and elaboration among bloggers as to what caused the head of state to do so. The long discussion took place on Edil Baisalov’s blog, who is the member of the Social Democratic Party. The chairman of the party is Atambaev. Baisalov believes that the president wanted to dismiss the prime-minister because for him Atambaev is a real threat in the upcoming elections as he is not letting manipulation of officials happen. Atambaev was criticizing the policy of the president towards elections, and obviously president did not like it and wanted to get rid of him, said Baisalov [ru].
Anonymous comments on this:
3 plus one new – four prime-ministers within two and a half years is too much. It is a sign that our president cannot get along with people he works with? Where are the management skills of the leader of the country?more
Tarantino says:
Atambaev should understand that the president simply humiliated and made fun of him in front of the whole public. Atambaev, to be honest, deserves such a punishment.
Now, when Atambaev is dismissed and the party lists are submitted to the Central Election Committee, he is missing his chair both in the state and in the parliament. Talking about political parties and upcoming elections, bloggers are actively discussing each party, its platform, and most importantly its members, whose names are on the list for the election. Pre-election campaigns are intensively being organized by each party. They are now distributing agitation materials and using all the possible tools to do a PR campaign. The state authorities have set some limitation as to how and which equipment to use during agitation for crowds. For instance, they prohibited using loud-speakers, which caused a lot of criticism and protest among parties.
Here is how Baisalov reacts:
Our party will insist on using loud-speakers during the agitation campaign. I do not care about those who are against it. [ru]
Part7 does not welcome Baisalov’s idea. He goes on criticizing:
There are many other ways to promote your party, like printing brochures, holding campaigns for students and etc. But using loud-speakers disturb people and just cause extra noise.
Cross-posted on neweurasia.

author: Asel


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Lebanon: Immature Supporters  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Are March 14 supporters being immature, asks Beirut Spring, who further adds: “I think the March 14 leadership deserves more support from us at this crucial time. The battle is not over yet and we still have the nitty-gritty of the formation of the next government to worry about.”


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Nepal: On blogging, dialogue and politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai on why blogs from Nepal make a difference to the current political discussion.


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Palestine in Pictures · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Marcy Newman was in Palestine and here are her photographs from the trip.


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Palestine: One State Solution?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Who is afraid of the one-state solution in the Palestinian-Israeli crisis, asks Palestinian blogger Leila Haddad. For her answer, click here.


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Peru: Lima Book Fair · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Arellano of Globalizado [es] visited the 28th Annual Book Fair in the Miraflores neighborhood of Lima.


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Peru: Paying No Attention to Rules and Regulations · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Susana Frisanch of Gran Combo Club [es] is baffled by some Peruvians, who discount rules and regulations and cites a few recent examples.


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Peru: Sexual Orientation Discrmination · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Peruvian Congress is debating whether to ratify the Ibero-American Agreement on the Rights of Young People, which would include the topic of sexual orientation.  El Blog de Morsa [es] writes why some sectors are hesitant.


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Puerto Rico: Nine Things  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Gil the Genius lists nine things that he thinks Puerto Rico needs.


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Romania: Documentary on Radio Free Europe · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Transatlantic Politics writes about a Romanian documentary “about what Radio Free Europe meant for the listeners in the Communist block, especially Romanians”: “It was the only trustworthy medium in a sea of Communist propaganda. It was also highly risky to listen to it.”


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Russia: Duma Election Notes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

According to the early official results, president Vladimir Putin‘s United Russia party has won a landslide victory in the Dec. 2 general elections.
Below is a tiny fraction of the recent election posts by Russian bloggers, translated from Russian.
LJ user brazzaville posts a joke:
Two people meet:
- Who are you voting for?
– United Russia.
– Oh, okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.
In the last sentence of her post, brazzaville may or may not be revealing her voting preference, through what may or may not be an allusion to one of the contenders in this election – Grigory Yavlinsky‘s Yabloko (“Apple”) party:
I'll eat an apple now and then go cast my vote.
LJ user maliar shares his plans for the post-election future:
When it gets unbearably bad, I'll move into my friend-lenta [LJ friends’ feed]. There's civil society in here, and freedom of speech, and democracy, and the absolute victory of SPS [Nikita Belykh‘s Union of Right Forces].
SPS and Yabloko are not expected to get past the 7-percent eligibility threshold in this election.
LJ user lit_wonder posts this report from her polling station in Moscow:
Civil Duty
At the polling station, there's a line for cheap pastries. They are also selling silver and imitation jewelry there.
Observers don't look older than 18.
A woman is making a scene: “Why are you writing me down, you've written my number down and now you'll be able to trace down who I've voted for! I wanted to [vote], but now I'm not going to!”
No one wrote down my number – but I'm not making a secret of it: [I am] for Yabloko.
In a comment, LJ user vladimir_morf writes about who the observers are most likely are:
First- and second-year students. Paid 2,000 rubles [$80]. A bus takes them there and a bus takes them back. Food is included.
LJ user favorov explains his voting choice:
I'll vote for SPS, though it's not as easy for me as it was four, eight, 12, or 16 years ago (no matter what [SPS] was called then).
Because this is how I've always done. Because this is where [Anatoly Chubais] is. Because I do not see a better option. Because someone somewhere has completely lost it, and I'd like to drop him a hint.
As for the rest of it:
Lately, there's been one thing that's beginning to frighten me: logic has disappeared from the regime's actions. The logic that I can understand, that is – I disagreed with them on certain things before, but I could always understand their reasoning.
I don't understand why Putin is so scared, why [United Russia] is overreacting like this, why they are  strangling SPS, who needs such an exaggerated image of the enemy.
The only possible – though not universal – explanation is that the West and [a collective Sechin], acting spontaneously together, have chased [Putin] into the corner.
I still hope – even though it's getting more and more difficult to have hope – that he'll leave. I'm positive that he wants to leave.
Something along these lines.
LJ user puschaev_y posts this comment to favorov‘s entry:
Don't you think that he really cannot leave […] – and one of the reasons is that he needs guarantees that [Mikhail Khodorkovsky] will remain in prison. And he's the only person who can provide such guarantees to himself – and only if he stays, one way or another. Otherwise, he risks switching locations with [Khodorkovsky]. Basically, the year 2008 was predetermined by the year 2003 [the year Khodorkovsky was jailed].
LJ user mcmamus posts a photo of a rather huge United Russia's campaign ad, seen on the election day at Manezh Square in downtown Moscow. LJ user kuteev, in a comment, reports that such ads have not been taken down all over the Russian capital, in violation of the election law.
LJ user ervix shows off a smiley that he put in the United Russia box on his ballot (see photo).
LJ user karimova responds, in a comment:
Up until this moment, I did not believe in the existence of the people who vote for United Russia.
On her own blog, karimova writes:
I text-messaged the family we are helping and asked: “How is it going? Did you go to the polling station?” The head of the family replied: “Yes, we did. I've voted for United Russia, because I'm a member of this party and I'm obliged to.”
Damn. They live a half-hungry life, their house is half-ruined, the state is throwing miserable bits their way. They are now re-registering disability status for their boy, and that's why they cannot count on getting pension money in the next few months. If it hadn't been for the volunteers with their humanitarian aid, I can't imagine how they would've survived.
The conditions they live in are nightmarish, a child with oncology should not live in such quarters. In addition to this, they've got a grandmother there who can't get up from her bed, and the toilet, please excuse me, is outdoors. I decided that we should somehow try to get them a new house next year. That we should write to the governor, demand something from the local authorities. I asked one experienced person whether it is true that the officials might respond that since the boy is severely ill and would die sooner or later, they have no reasons to give them a new house. Is it possible that they might respond this way? “Yes, they might.” This is how they respond more often than not.
Why are they voting for United Russia? I don't understand this.
It's making me feel utterly discouraged. Volunteers and charity foundations have to mend the holes created by the state, and people who are suffering and need help don't even understand what's going on.


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Russia: Illarionov; Q&A With the New York Times · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

La Russophobe posts translation of an article by Andrei Illarionov, former economic policy advisor to Vladimir Putin, in which he writes: “A year and a half ago, it was a question of premonitions of a catastrophe. One and a half months ago – prologue to a catastrophe. And now – its beginning.” At the New York Times Blog, La Russophobe‘s questions are among the 145 others posed so far to the newspaper's Moscow correspondents about “the meaning of the [Dec. 2] vote and the country’s political future.”


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Russia: Interview With English Russia Creator · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light writes about an interview with the creator of the English Russia blog.


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Russia: Ludmila Alekseeva, Parts 2 and 3 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam posts part 2 and part 3 of the video interview with human rights activist Ludmila Alekseeva.


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Russia: More on the Duma Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The previous Global Voices post on the general elections in Russia was a translation of Russian bloggers’ views; the post below deals with what some of the English-language Russia bloggers have been writing recently.
On Dec. 1, The Russian Dilettante finally broke his silence with this comment on the upcoming vote:
It's all predictable, yet not quite
No doubt, tomorrow's parliamentary election is not going to be fair or free. But the interesting thing about it that United Russia, the “party of power,” is seriously afraid it may not get the majority it wants. (I'm not sure if it is 50% or 75% or some other number between 50% and 100%.) They're sure to fix it anyway, but it may not be the neat job they were hoping for.
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog wrote this on the eve of the election:
[…] If voter turnout does surprise Russia watchers and ends up low, there is always Plan B. The lack of physical appearance will certainly be supplemented with a flood of absentee ballots. Absentee ballots allow one person to cast several votes in several different polling stations. Police in Komi have already confiscated 60 absentee ballots purchased on Kirov region. Defiant, the Communists have vowed to not stand for the counting of “dead souls.” But in reality, what are they going to do about it? […]
In a comment to Guillory's post, Tim Newman of White Sun of the Desert described what the election felt like at Russia's – and Eurasia's – easternmost edge:
Election fever in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk consisted of a few individuals – who less like political activists and more as pretty girls paid to distribute flyers – standing about in United Russia bibs. I haven’t heard of a single person mention the election, never mind vote in it. The Russian in my household missed doing her civic duty by spending the entire day in bed sleeping off a mountain of alcohol from the night before. I suspect most Sakhalin Islanders were doing the same. I guess remoteness from Moscow doesn’t help.
St. Petersburg-based Megan Case reflected on political views of the Russians she knows:
[…] If my students are any gauge, this is A-OK with most of the Russian population. One young woman in all seriousness told me that she couldn’t understand why Putin couldn’t run for a third term as president. So many students just said that Putin is the only person who can ensure that the relative stability of the past few years continues. So many people seem to think that the “democrats” or the “westernizers” had their chance in the 1990s and they screwed it all up. I would say they never really had a chance, but try arguing that with someone who lived through the ’90s in Russia.
[…]
Anyway, tomorrow most of my friends will go out and vote for SPS and Yabloko without much hope, but a feeling of responsibility to participate in the shred of democratic process that is left. We’ll see what tomorrow brings, but I don’t think it will bring any light at the end of the tunnel for politics in Russia.
Nosemonkey/Europhobia made an attempt to explain the seemingly inexplicable:
[…] The only trouble is that Putin is one of the least understood, most unpredictable political leaders the world has ever seen. Nobody really knows what he’s going to do next. Theories run the full range from him being a mere puppet for shadowy forces behind the scenes to being an autocrat along the lines of Stalin and the Tsars. He may rule the country for decades to come – or he may fade into complete obscurity following March’s presidential elections (at which he must stand down), to be replaced by yet another classic Russian riddle wrapped in an enigma.
The one thing that is certain is that, for the first time in the country’s history, the vast, vast majority of the people of Russia are neither enslaved nor being massacred in their millions. Who can blame them for wanting to keep the status quo?
Mark MacKinnon cited the official results and wrote about the implications of the outcome:
[…] According to official results, his United Russia party won upwards of 64 per cent of the vote in yesterday's Duma elections. According to Vladimir Vladimirovich himself, that translates into 315 of the 450 seats in parliament.
That two-thirds majority in the Duma allows Putin and his acolytes to alter the constitution. They can abolish term limits so that Putin can run again in the presidential vote this spring. They can rename the country Putinistan. […]
MacKinnon has no doubts “that Vladimir Putin will continue to dominate the Russian political scene after his term ends next year”:
[…] If he doesn't find a way to retain the presidency (and I remain convinced that he will), he'll be the most powerful prime minister Russians have had since the post was created. If he's neither president nor PM, he'll be the man who yanks the strings on both. […]
Perspectives on the New Russia noted that, despite some predictions, four parties instead of just two have made it into the new Duma:
[…] 1. The Liberal Democratic Party, like the Holy Roman Empire (which was neither holy nor Roman), is neither liberal or democratic. Instead, it generally sells its votes to United Russia and is managed by the colorful Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who pontificates and makes alot of noise, ultimately signifying nothing.
2. A Just Russia, a party rumored to have been started by the Kremlin, that is headed by the sycophant Sergei Mironov, who like the Roman senate in the first century BC calling for Caesar to become dictator, is continually calling for Putin to set himself up for a third term…
Thus, in effect United Russia will control almost 80% of the Duma – enough to make any constitutional changes if they so desire. […]
Guillory's post-election entry ended with a Putin joke:
Putin calls his mother on the phone and says: “Hello mama. It’s me, Vladimir. I won the elections”. Putin’s mother responds:
“Really? Honestly?”. “Mama,” Putin answers. “Can you please not nag me about that.”
Just think. This election was just a dress rehearsal for March. Then, the gloves will really come off.


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Saudi: Columnist Quits Over Gang Rape Case · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Or Does it Explode reports that a Saudi columnist has dropped her pen in despair over a high profile gang rape case, in which a Saudi victim is being punished for being gang raped.


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South Korea: Reckless Crackdown on Migrant Worker Union · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jamie has written a detailed report with background on the recent crackdown of Migrant Worker Union in South Korea.


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Special Coverage: Climate Change 2007 · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Today, world leaders, activists and students will be converging in Bali, Indonesia for the United Nations Conference on climate change. The conference comes on the heels of the UN high level meeting held in New York, September 2007, where global voices environment covered some of the discussions that sought to build up momentum to the current Bali talks. During the meeting in New York, there was near unanimous agreement that climate change is a pressing global issue which requires global action and commitment.
As the talks commence and a successor to the Kyoto protocol is hashed out, Global voices environment is highlighting the thoughts of bloggers around the world on the issue of climate change. Their  opinions and suggestions for solutions to the climate change problem will be highlighted this week. What do they make of the politics surrounding climate change? Are they optimistic about the negotiations in Bali? From these global talks, what is relevant to their localities? To this end, Global voices has created a special coverage page whereby live feeds from environmental bloggers around the world is aggregated. This page will also include links to GV environment's detailed coverage of blogger's writings.
In addition to Bali 2007 coverage, Saturday December 8th is designated as Global Day of Action Against Climate Change. Demonstrations are planned around the globe by the global climate campaign, and we hope to cover citizen media reporting on what is going on in each country.


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The hazards of journalism in West Africa  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

In a country whose name means “the land of upright people,” accounts of corruption will always find their way into Burkina Faso’s media. In this country with proud history of fighting kleptocracy, however, something now seems terribly wrong. To the average Burkinabé, corruption at all levels of government is a problem – one that's growing worse. Yet the majority of Burkinabé media pointedly look the other direction.
You may blame this on the fact that the nation’s largest newspaper, major radio network and local television service are all state controlled, and known for their mostly lackluster news coverage. For the country’s independent dailies, the government enjoys employing subtle forms of intimidation to ensure readers’ attention is directed elsewhere.
It all leaves Burkina Mom from BurkinaMom’s Life in Africa to argue that the reality of what’s happening in the streets is often light years apart from what’s found in the newspapers. That was especially true for recent coverage of a much-hyped World Bank report grading business conditions in more than 170 different countries:
“Corruption in Burkina Faso: Business Climate Really Improves!” was the headline of an article in one of today's newspapers in Burkina Faso. Here's a translation of how it began: “Without a bribe, you may have to wait years for your merchandise. There's nothing you can do...” says a Burkinabe small-business owner. The report “Doing Business 2008″ that outlines the business environment of various nations was published on September 26 by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. It ranked Burkina as 37th in Africa and the 161st in the world rankings, out of 178 countries. This is relatively better than previous years and the progress is much touted in the local newspapers, as well as TV and radio. Burkina was 165th in 2007……
Burkina Mom then compares the local media coverage with L’Evenement, a fearless independent bi-weekly that she considers to be the best in the country:
The press releases from the World Bank , Burkinabé government, and etc. are relentlessly upbeat. L'Evenement isn't buying the official line, though. I love how the bold black type claiming that the business climate is “Really Improved” is immediately followed by a quote illustrating how bad it still is. I also enjoy the subtle dig at the local tv, radio stations and many rival newspapers that never seem to research anything. They just publish the government press releases and keep their heads down.. .which is probably wise. A top journalist in Niger was just thrown into prison last September for annoying the powers that be. He is still being detained and faces life in prison. Being a journalist is hazardous stuff when done correctly, especially in West Africa.

author: John Liebhardt


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Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Beckles Knighted · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

West Indies Cricket Blog pays tribute to West Indies Cricket Board director Hilary Beckles, Barbados’ newest knight.


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Tunisian blogger/journalist arrested · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

The outspoken Tunisian journalist and blogger Slim Boukhdir has been  arrested on November 26 and charged with “aggression against a public employee” and “affront to public decency”. The court denied his release and the hearing is scheduled to resume tomorrow, December 4. Slim Boukhir could face up to 18 months imprisonment.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Turkmenistan: Bush Administration Looks at Ashgabat · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reiterates that the U.S. has been strategically negligent with regards to Turkmenistan, and reports that few days earlier Condoleeza Rice has appointed Thomas Pickering, one of the most respected diplomats, to take over the job of coordinating the U.S. diplomatic push in the Caspian region in a newly established institution.


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Turkmenistan: New Award Named After Dictator · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula informs the readers that the Turkmen authorities established a new – extremely controversial – order named after Tukmenbashi, who died almost a year ago. It is to be awarded to foreign politicians for their “contribution to the fostering of peace in the region and in the world, raising Turkmenistan’s international prestige and for other merits”.


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Ukraine: Airbus for the President · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Victor Yushchenko's plans to acquire “a brand-new Airbus A319 presidential airplane priced $40-$60 million, even though only about half that sum had been ear-marked for upgrading the president's flight.”


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Uzbekistan: Flash-mob in memoriam of the slain journalist · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Tolkun Umaraliev reminds that on December 4 it will 40 days since the death of Alisher Saipov, a prominent journalist, who was shot dead on October 24, 2007, in the southern city of Kyrgyzstan for his journalistic activity in Uzbekistan. Kyrgyz and Uzbek bloggers will make a flash-mob to commemorate the murdered journalist in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.


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Uzbekistan: Ripping off the tourists  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Libertad says that being a tourist in Uzbekistan is really difficult. People, for who the tourism is the only source of income, do their best to get more money as possible from the Westerners, and gives some recommendations on how to avoid cheat.


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Afghanistan: ABC/BBC/ARD survey reveals problem spots · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Christine Quirk reviews a nationwide survey conducted in Afghanistan on behalf of ABC news, BBC News and ARD of Germany, whose results are interesting for a number of reasons – particularly the wealth of tracking data from 2006 and 2005. The economy remains a serious trouble spot, as does security.


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Afghanistan: New “Super-Envoy” to Kabul  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Carl Robichaud reports that Paddy Ashdown, the former EU-UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been offered a newly created position in Kabul as a “super envoy” that would head Afghanistan efforts by NATO, the UN, and perhaps the EU.


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Afghanistan: Opium Season · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ian reviews briefly a new book “Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier” by Joel Hafvenstein, saying that the author knows how to write, and unlike many writers about Afghanistan, has a sense of measure and humility about his own limitations and failures.


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Barbados: Human Development  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Bajans are cock-a-hoop this week with the news that the Human Development Index puts Barbados in 1st place amongst developing countries,” writes Living in Barbados, who notes that there are still challenges to overcome.


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Barbados: New Politics?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground questions the island's political maturity and sees the need to “dispense with some of the old politics”.


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China: 10 Cases of Injustice  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Liu Xiaoyuan gives an update in the development of 10 major legal cases of injustice[zh] as a result of wrong judgment in court in the past ten years. First post and second post.


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China: From Tiger to Moon Photo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Netizens started to examine the moon photo by comparing China version with the U.S version.- more from DANWEI.


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Ecuador: Changes in Diplomatic Team · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

El Federalista [es] writes about Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa's decision to overhaul his overseas diplomatic team.


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Egypt: Blogger Arrested  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Free Kareem posts a Reporters Without Borders Press release about the arrest of Egyptian journalist and blogger Hossam El Hendy. El Hendy blogs at Eshreen (Ar). He has since been released.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: Kareem Gets $100 a month · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Free Kareem campaign is sending $100 a month to jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Sulaiman, who has been sentenced to four years in prison for defaming Islam and insulting Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.


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Egypt: Story of a Shop · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

I stopped by a blog today and was immediately captured by the way “Tak Hank” (Ar) describes the flow of life through a story of a little shop in his neighborhood.
هناك بعض المحلات التي يبدو أن لعنة ما حلت بها جاعلة منها محلات خاسرة تدفع بملاكها إلى الإفلاس. خطرت على بالي هذه الفكرة وأنا أتأمل محلاً بجوار منزلي مر برحلة طويلة تعاقب فيها عليه الملاك والمستأجرون وتم فيها تغيير النشاط ونوعية السلع المعروضة مرات عديدة.
There are some shops which seem to be cursed, forcing their owners into bankruptcy. I noticed this while looking at one shop near my house that went through a constant change of landlords and tenants, as well as a change of activity and type of goods being sold several times.
أول ذكرى عندي لهذا المحل تعود إلى طفولتي عندما كان محل خردواتي تقليدي أشتري منه بعض الالعاب البسيطة أو الحلويات، وفي مرة أردت شراء سيف بلاستيكي لعبة لأحمله أثناء أدائي لدور صغير في مسرحية مدرسية تاريخية( لا زلت أذكر العبارة الوحيدة التي كنت سأقولها والتي تدربت مراراً على قولها: أهذا جزائي أني أنقذتك من القتل!). ذهبت إلى البائع العجوز وطلبت منه بكل أدب سيفاً لعبة، لأفاجئ به ينفجر غاضبا كعادة العجائز نافذي الصبر. أخذ البائع يصيح لاعنا الأيام السوداء التي يعيشها، ويتحسر على الذي حدث للبلد وللناس حتى يأتي طفل ليطلب شراء سيف ، ويرتكب شاب جريمة فظيعة، متوقعا أن القيامة ستقوم قريبا داعيا الله أن يأخذه حتى لا يرى ما الذي سيحدث أكثر من ذلك. عجزت عن الرد طبعا وعدت إلى البيت حزينا، لأؤدي دوري في المسرحية ولأقول “أهذا جزائي أني أنقذتك من القتل” دون سيف أتمنطق به. كان حينا وقتها قد روع بجريمة قتل بشعة ارتكبها شاب ضد زوجة والده ، ويبدو ان البائع قد ربط بين الجريمة وبين ميول إجرامية عنيفة ظهرت في المجتمع حتى لتدفع طفلا بريئاً لطلب سيف للعب به. أحب أحياناً أن أفكر أن اللعنة التي أصابت ذلك المحل قد بدأت في تلك اللحظة التي صرخ فيها البائع في وجه ذلك الطفل كاسراً قلبه حارما إياه من متعة قول “أهذ جزائي أني أنقذتك من القتل” بطريقة مناسبة.
The first memory I have of this specific shop is back in my childhood when it was only a small traditional one, from where you can buy some toys or candy. I once wanted to buy a plastic sword to use in my small role in the historical play I took part in at school (I still recall the only phrase I was going to say and rehearsed repeatedly, “Is this my reward for saving you from death!”).
I went to the old vendor and asked him politely to give me the plastic sword; to my surprise he exploded angrily. He shouting damning the days that we live in, regretting what has happened to the country and its people; when young boys come asking for a sword, and a young man commits a terrible crime; then the old man started praying and asking God to take him away so he won’t see what else might happen in the days to come. I was unable to reply of course, and returned sad to my house. I will have to say “Is this my reward for saving you death!” without a plastic sword.
At that time, there was a story of a crime that terrified everybody, where a young man killed his step mother, and it seems that the vendor connected between that crime and criminal tendencies that had emerged in the community, forcing an innocent child to ask for a plastic sword to play with.
Sometimes I like to think that the curse that struck that store had started at that moment when the seller shouted in the face of this child, breaking his heart and depriving him of the fun of saying “Is this my reward for saving you death!” in an appropriate manner.
الذكرى التالية هي للمحل عندما أصبح محلاً لبيع شرائط الكاسيت، اشتريت منه شريط الفرحة لمحمد منير، وهو شريط رديء جداً على فكرة. بعدها بدأ المحل مرحلة التغيير السريع للأنشطة والملاك والمستأجرين، فقرر أن يجاري الموجة الرائجة في المحلات دون مخاطرة ليصبح محلاً لبيع الدباديب والتذكارات، لكن فشله على الرغم من نجاح أقرانه دفعه إلى أن يجرب أكثر مشروع مضمون لمحل في نفس وضعه وهو أن يبيع الموبايلات واكسسواراتها وكروت الشحن..الخ، لكن تلك المحاولة فشلت دافعة به إلى اكتئاب جسيم -فترة إغلاق- خرج منه بعزيمة قوية وببائع ملتح يبيع البخور والعطور والشرائط الدينية ، لكن التزام المحل الديني لم يكن كافيا للتغلب على النحس، فشل المشروع وأغلق لفترة، وعلى بعد خطوات منه جلس البائع الملتح يبيع بنجاح نفس بضاعته من العطور والبخور خلف طاولة صغيرة نصبها في مدخل عمارة ، ولا زال يواصل تجارته حتى اليوم. عجز المحل عن مواجهة هزيمته أمام مدخل العمارة وظل مغلقا لفترة طويلة، لكن حلاوة الروح جعلته يحاول التحول لمحل لبيع الأحذية ، فعندما مررت بجواره منذ شهرين وجدت بائعا يرص الأحذية في الفاترينة. لكن ككل حلاوة روح كانت مجرد ارتعاشات قلب يحتضر، فشل المشروع قبل أن يبدأ، فلم يتم افتتاح المحل كمحل أحذية واختفت الأحذية من الفاترينة، ولا يزال المحل مغلقاً حتى اليوم.
My next memory for this shop was when it became a cassette tape shop. I bought a tape called “El Farha” for Mohamed Mounir (it’s a very poor tape by the way). Then began the phase of rapid changes of business activates, landlords, and tenants. So it decided to match the current trend and started selling teddy bears, but failed despite the success of its competitors. A more “secure” option for a shop in its condition was selling mobile accessories, recharge cards.. etc. But even that attempt failed, driving it to serious depression (a long period of closure). A bearded man started selling cologne, perfume, and religious tapes, but the commitment of the religious center was not enough to overcome the jinx and the failure of the project which ended up closing for another period. However, a few steps far from the shop, the bearded man started to sell the same goods, to this day, successfully, behind a small table at the entrance of a building.
The shop was kept closed for a long time, yet persistence made it try to shift to selling shoes! When I passed by it two months ago, I saw a man putting shoes in the shop window. Yet, once again, the new project failed before it started and the shoe shop never opened. The shoes disappeared from the window.. and to this day the shop is still closed.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: Tolerance for Gays  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A Muslim clergyman from Egypt is preaching tolerance towards homosexuals, reports Jordanian Mohammed Al Azraq.


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El Salvador: Results of Survey Show Concern · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The majority of Salvadorans think that the country is worse off economically and needs a change according to a national survey conducted by the University of José Simeón Cañas.  Hunnapuh [es] provides more analysis.

author: Eduardo Avila


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El Salvador: Saca Visits White House Again · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Tim Muth writes about Salvadoran president Tony Saca's latest visit to the White House.


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[GV Show Special] Interview with Wahda Masrya – An Egyptian Girl · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

During the closing session of the new media workshop I led recently in Alexandria, Egypt, practically everybody paid tribute to Shahinaz Abdelsalam, better known in the blogosphere as Wahda Masrya – an Egyptian Girl. The lone Alexandria native and one of the few experienced bloggers among the group, Shahinaz became for most of the participants a symbol of courage and deep commitment to the cause of human rights and of freedom expression.
As Delphine Nerbollier tells us in her interview (Fr) with Shahinaz on the NewsLab blog, Shahinaz broke with family tradition and left her native city in 2005, and now leads an independent life in Cairo. At 29 years old, she works as an telecommunications engineer with Orange, a job which, for her, raises a number of ethical questions. “Orange moved to this country to so they could pay engineers lower salaries, and I'm against that sort of thing,” she says. “But you still have to live, don't you?” Unlike the majority of Muslim women in Egypt, Shahinaz has never worn a headscarf or veil, and has no plans to do so in the future.
In this special edition of the Global Voices Show, Shahinaz talks about her own reasons for blogging; the risks faced by Egyptian bloggers who dare criticise the authorities; her friend, the imprisoned blogger Kareem Amer (whom she encouraged us all to write by giving us self-addressed stamped envelopes); and the activist blogging scene in Egypt.
[display_podcast]

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Hong Kong: Democracy Activist? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Seven Pillars of Wisdom wonders why CNN titled Anson Chan as Democracy Activist while the more accurate title should be AP's Pro-democracy candidate [zh]. The blogger thinks the difference reflected the media's political stance.

author: Oiwan Lam


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India: Brass Crescent Awards · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims on being nominated for the Brass Crescent awards.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran: Blogger jailed over presidential dogs · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Reza Valizadeh, 32 years old, journalist and blogger was the object of a complaint from the Iranian president's office and was detained on November 26.
Several Iranian blogs and websites say the main reason he was arrested is because he revealed that Ahmadinejad's security staff bought four dogs from Germany for about $150,000 each.
In recent months, Iranian authorities have cracked down on dog owners and arrested their dogs, claiming they are impure according to Islam.
Something interesting happened in jail. Valizadeh erased his post about Ahmadinejad’s dogs and wrote another one to explain his point of view on presidential dogs.
Valizadeh says [Fa] that the news about the dogs was misrepresented by some anti-governmental and anti-Islamic Republic websites, blogs and radios. The blogger adds:
… First, I wanted as a journalist just provide information on an interesting subject. Second, I think that using these dogs in presidential security teams is not a point of weakness but on the contrary, it shows the country moving towards technology and progress. Third, some religious leaders (Ulama) consider dogs can be used for security reasons.
Valizadeh concludes that it was just interesting news and that he did not intend to destroy Ahmadinejad. “He is our president with all good and bad sides,” the blogger wrote.
“Confession time as usual”
Iran Watch says, Shahram Rafizadeh a journalist and blogger, writes that Valizadeh on Saturday evening was transfered from Evin Prison to Ghazal Hesar Prison, and was left in a cell with drug addicts. Rafizadeh adds that in the last three years interrogators have learned about the internet and how to write a blog.
Fardablog says many political prisoners have been forced to make false confessions and  adds:
In Iran, political prisoners used to appear on TV to “confess and repent”. Some were forced to write letters. It is interesting that confession and repentance exist for any taste! Bloggers do not need to appear on TV or write letters! They just write new posts!
A bitter joke
ZaneIrani writes that President Ahmadinejad has announced that Iran will not participate in the next Summer Olympics. He noted that, “Anyone who can run, jump, or swim has already left the country.”
The joke is circulating during the recent arrest of Reza Valizadeh, the blogger who revealed Iranian president Ahmadinejad’s overpriced dogs. These four dogs have been purchased from Germany for a total of $600,000.00 despite the recent call by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to impose sanctions on Iran.


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Iran:From slogan to reality · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kosoof,a leading photo blogger, has published a photo of a dirty wall where we can still see one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidential campaign's posters in 2005.On the poster,there is a promise for happiness and comfort.Kosoof says what happened to these slogans? He adds there is no sign of comfort and happiness.


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Iran:Photos from a Theater · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Maryam Majd has published several photos of a theater piece in Tehran.


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Jamaica: It’s Not Easy Being Green  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Montego Bay Day By Day is “only seeing green” as Jamaica prepares for local government elections tomorrow.


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Jamaica: Rediscovery  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Geoffrey Philp continues his rediscovery of Jamaica.


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Japan: Little Black Sambo Debate · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe blogs about the re-curring debate about racism over a doll ‘Little Black Sambo’.


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Jordan: Politics in Pictures · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Firas  discusses the region's politics in pictures.


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Jordan: Torture and Punishment  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Natasha Tynes, from Jordan, discusses torture in her country and reports on a new law which penalizes anyone that tortures any citizen to get information.


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Kazakhstan: OSCE Chairmanship Dubious · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine opines that the OSCE has jeopardized its reputation as Europe's premier human rights watchdog by naming a country that has never run a free and fair election to chair the organization in 2010. “The organization would have been better advised to name Ukraine or Georgia to that spot”, he says.


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Kazakhstan: Touring Kazakhstan in Search of Blogs · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam Kesher reports on the tour he has made across Kazakhstan, delivering seminars on blogging for the regional journalists, and shares his views on the prospects of citizen journalism in Kazakhstan.


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Korea: Foreigners and Crime · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Since the number of foreign workers has been increasing fast, treatment of them and worries that they take locals’ jobs have been ongoing issues in Korean society. On the 23 rd of November, a Bangladesh worker was arrested for sexual harassment of a primary school student. A presidential candidate promised to open labor markets for foreigners and to hire foreigners as government officials. While some foreign workers experience poor treatment in working places, human right organizations try to improve their status.
Darklone, criticizes foreign laborers’ attempts against the law.
처음엔 3d 중소기업을 위해서 외국인노동자들을 도입한걸로 압니다.. 그런데 지금은 그런 노동자들이 공장에서 일안하고 불법으로 건설현장이나 식당등에 서비스업으로 취업한다는데 문제가 있다고 보네요 . 이러니 없는 사람들이 일자리를 뺏기는 거잖아요..
Another blogger writes about an internal problem.
흠 대한민국 젊은이들의 의식구조가 먼저 개선이되야겠죠 우리나라 젊은애들 머리엔 삼성하고 현대밖에없는듯하니까요 중소기업에는 입사할 생각조차도 안하고 있으면서… 요즘 공장가면 20대 인력많나요 ?? 아닙니다 거의 없다기보다도 없다고 보는게 맞지요 외국인들한테 정당한 수준의 세금을 받고 정당하게 고용해서 그들의 권익도 보호하는게 맞는 수순인겁니다.
A netizen shows two separate tables of criminal rates between American soldiers in Korea and foreign workers. The table shows the total number of crimes by the US army is 324 cases in 2004, 290 cases in 2005, and 242 cases in 2006, and that from foreign laborers is 9,103 cases in 2004, 9,042 in 2005, and 12,657 in 2006. And he criticizes the media and the government for not providing equal information.
… 2명의 중학생이 훈련중인 전차에 까려죽어서 촛불시위를 햇다. 잘한거다. 근데 매년 불법체류자와 외국인노동자에 의해 살해,강간,성폭행,피해받는 한국인이 매년 수만명이다 . 이런 보도 본적있나? 이거 보도하면 피해받는 이들은 누굴까? 미군범죄 보도하면 이득받는자들은 누굴까?  난 지금껏 언론에 조롱을 당해왔다는 기분이다. 황당함을 넘어서 내가 속아온 기분이다 . 이게 제대로된 국가의 여론이고 의식인가?
미군욕하는거 좋다. 근데 외국인범죄와 불체자범죄 그 흉악하고 경악할 범죄건수와 내용들엔 왜 눈과 귀를 막는가 ? 미군들은 헌병부르면 다도망간다. 불체자는 경찰부르면 오히려 인권운운하면서 난리친다 . 그ㅇ뒤에 인권단체들이 나와서 참 가관인상황이 나타난다. 이게 제대로 된 나라냐? 물론 미국의 국익을 위해서이겠지만 매년 엄청난 국방비를 들여서 한국에 주둔하는 미군은 그렇게 비판하면서 자기들 돈벌러와서 한국인을 고통스럽게하는 사람들은 천사? 로 묘사하는 그 뒤에는 누가잇나?
…그런데 이들 5만여명의 미군과 그 가족의 범죄는 통계를 보면 미군은 나름대로 통제가 어느정도 이루어진다는 것이다. 그리고 강력범죄는 일년에 다 합쳐도 백건도 안된다. 물론 미군에 의한 이런범죄는 없어져야한다.하지만 언론과 정부가 형평을 잃은것은 명백하다.
그리고 현재 한국은 외국인노동자들과 불법체류자들은 통제가 안되는 것이다. 그런데도 미군이 강간사건 저지르면 언론이 난리가난다. 근데 매년 수백건의 서민여성들의 불체자들과 외노들의 강간성폭행에 대해서는 너도나도 입을 다문다. 누가 이런말도 안되는 현상을 만들었나? 가장큰 책임은 보조금노리는 인권단체들과 언론의 일방적인 여론호도다. 현재까지 이들에게 피해당한 수십만명의 한국인들은 누가 책임질것인가?
…현정부가 외치는 세계화 인권….말은 좋다. 그 결과가 뭐냐?  인권? 시민단체지원법통과후에 늘어난 5000여개 시민단체들. 이들에게 보조금 나간다. 이 액수만 수천억이다.
It's fine to blame the US army. But why can't we get the number of crimes from illegal foreign laborers and the stories? If we call the police, the US army gets away. If you call the police, illegal sojourners cry out for human rights. And then human right organizations appear. Is it the right way? Even though it is for the national advantages of the US, we criticize the US army, which spends so much money for national defense and stays in Korea. But why do we describe people who come to Korea for their own sakes like making money as angels? I'm really curious….
Looking at the crime numbers from the 50,000 American soldiers and their families, it seems that they are reasonably controlled. And vicious crimes all together are not more than 100 cases. Of course the crimes by the US army should go away. But it is clear that media and government lost the balance.
And it's impossible to control foreign laborers and illegal sojourners at present. If the US army soldiers commit rape, the media is crazy about it. But about rape and violence of several hundred cases from foreign laborers, nobody talks about it. Who made this kind of absurd situation? The biggest responsibility is from human rights organizations and media….
…Globalized human rights, which the current government supports… it sounds good. But what is the result? Human rights? More than 5,000 civic organizations after the regulation to support civic organizations… the government gives the subsidies and the amount of the money is several hundred billions won.
On the other hand, a netizen demonstrates that a voice for sending foreign laborers back to their countries is useless in terms of market strategy.
외국노동자 내보내도 나아지지 않는다.
오늘 모 일간지 기사가 나왔는데, 막노동에 관한 것이였다 .  일단이 7 만원이라고 하더군..그리고, 방송국 엑스트라 출연도 봤는데 ..방송일이라는게 잘 알다 시피 시간대중이 없는데, (언제 시작해서 얼마나 하고 언제 끝날지 모름 ..) 많이 만지는 사람은 하루에 30 도 번다고 나왔더라..(물론 그러려면 거의 24 시간 촬영장에서 먹고 자고 해야 한다.)
외국인 노동자를 여기 있는 사람들 말대로 다 내보냈다고 치자.그럼 그 중소기업들이 한국인을 고용할까 ?
아니다..차라리 자동화 설비를 더 늘여놔서 결론적으로는 인건비로 인한 지출을 줄이거나 여차하면 공장 빼서 동남아나 중국으로 옮기면 그만이다 . 아니 그렇게 하지 않으면 버텨내지를 못 할 것이다. 그들이 외국인 노동자 못 쓰게 되었다고 갑자기 월 200 주면서 한국인 고용하지 않을 것이란 말이다.
외국인들의 범죄나 사회 안전망을 파괴하는 행위에 대해서는 내국인보다 더 강력하게 처벌해야 한다 . 또, 세금도 우리 나라 사람과 똑같이 걷는것이 당연한 것이고, 4대 보험도 얄짤없이 내야 한다.
그런것에 대해서 반대하자는 것이 아니다. 성범죄자 살인자 아니 , 내 생각같아서는 금고이상의 형을 받으면 다 추방하는게 최선책이라고 본다.
문제는 원하는 대로 외국인 노동자를 다 내보내면,  그 공장들은 100 % 중국이나 동남아로 갈 확률이 지금보다 수백배는 높아진다. 거진다 가버린다고 해도 과언이 아니다. 그럼 공장에서 내국인들이 하던 일자리 마져 잃어버리는 셈이다. 전같으면 공장에 한국인 50 명 외국인 300 명이 일하던 공장에서 외국인 300 명 내보내면 업주가 공장을 해외 이전해 버리면, 나머지 50 명의 일자리도 날라가는 셈이다.
…외국인들이 사라진다고, 업주들이 월급을 올려주고 노숙자를 고용할 것이라는 착각은 집어 치워라. 세상은 그렇게 만만하지 않다 .
외국인 추방을 부르짓으려거든 좀 더 확실한 대안이 필요할 것이다.
Let's imagine that we send all foreign laborers back. Then will those SMEs hire Korean employees? No… They will buy more equipment and therefore they can lessen the payment for human laborers or move to Southeast Asia or China. Otherwise, they can't survive. They will not hire Koreans with 2,000,000 won because they can't hire foreign laborers.
Foreigners who commit crimes and destroy social security should be punished more seriously than local people. Tax should be taken equally and four compulsory insurance should be taken as well. I'm not opposing to those. In my opinion, if there are foreigners who commit sexual harassment and murder, they should be exiled.
The problem is that if we send those laborers back to their countries, the factories will absolutely be moved to Southeast Asia or China. Then local people who work there will also lose jobs. Now the factory that has 50 Koreans and 300 foreign laborers might move to another country. Then 50 Koreans will lose their jobs as well…..
If foreigners disappear, those employers will increase the salary and employ the homeless. Don't delude yourself. The world is not that easy.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kuwait: Car Number Plates · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese Mark, who lives in Kuwait, posts car number plates from Kuwait.


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Kuwait: Smile! You are Going to Jail! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Fonzy, from Kuwait, comments on drug arrests, in which those arrested in connection with the haul are smiling in photographs published in the local Press.


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Kyrgyzstan: Bloggers Stage Flashmob in Memoriam of Slain Journo · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Timurrs presents a photo-report from the flashmob that has been staged in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, to commemorate Alisher Saipov, prominent Uzbek journalist who was killed in the Kyrgyz city of Osh 40 days ago.


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Laos: Boat Racing Festival · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Boat racing festival marks the end of Buddhist lent in Laos and neighboring countries. Darly at Lao Voices site has posted videos of the recently concluded Boat Racing Festival in Pakse. Pakse is a city on the Mekong river in Southern Laos and a regional commercial hub. Here is one of the segment.
Darly also writes a bit about her childhood (in the comments section) of how she left Lao for Thailand on a boat like the one featured in the Video.
DJ at SaoLao posts pictures writes about the observance of Boun Ok Phansa – the end of Buddhist lent, by the blogger's grand mother.
Grand-Mama didn’t do anything big for Boun Ok Phansa and only spent $50.00 for a small donation in the form of a meal offering at her local temple on the day after the Boat Racing Festival in Pakse. My two aunts were busy making khao thom for the Morning Alms Giving. Since Grand-Mama can’t sit too long with her knees folded, she was not able to attend the service at the wat but my aunts and cousins made sure her bowl of offering made it to the temple.
The khao thom tua dam mentioned above is a snack made with sticky rice and black beans and wrapped in banana leaves. Laocuisine.la has pictorial instructions on how to prepare Khao Thom.

author: Preetam Rai


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Latvia: Holocaust History · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the Holocaust in Latvia.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Mexico: Cabs in DF · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Continuing his series on taxis in Argentina, Juan Pablo Meneses of Cronicas Argentinas [es] finds himself in Mexico City and will take the plunge by getting in a “vocho,” or a green Volkswagen bug taxis.


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Myanmar: Making Burmese Junta Negotiate More Seriously · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Jotman meets a “breakaway ABSDF leader who is plotting new strategies intended to make the junta (SPDC) take negotiations more seriously”. ABSDF stands for All Burma Students’ Democratic Front.


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Nepal: Radicalism and Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Gains and losses for a political party called RPP discussed at Nepali Netbook.


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Nigeria: We love our laptops · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In Nigeria, we love our green laptops, writes Sokari.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: We need White trainers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jeremy writes about internalized racial inferiority complex: Imagine his dismay at the workshop, with his all-Nigerian team (many of whom are almost as accomplished), when the (public sector) client asked/commented: “where are the white trainers? We need white trainers.”


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Pakistan: State of Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

let the mind speak! has a post on the sorry state of affairs when it comes to Media in Pakistan.


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Paraguay: Mennonite Community Combatting Poverty · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

RESCATAR [es] writes about how the Mennonite community in Paraguay has combatted poverty.


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Peru: All About Alan García · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The topics discussed by Peruvian bloggers vary from day to day, but a reoccurring theme almost certainly has to do with President Alan García. The following are some of the issues on the minds of the Peruvian blogosphere that have to do with García.
Silvio Rendón of Gran Combo Club [es] discusses a few recent articles published by García, where he writes about Daniel Carbonetto, who was one of his chief economic advisors during García's first term:
La incursión de Alan García en la actividad periodística (artículo 1 y artículo 2) ha despertado una serie de reacciones … Lo que ha escrito García está en tono acusador, con lo cual lo que pueda haber allí de elaboración queda en segundo plano. García es un regañador nato. Cuando habla siempre parece que estuviera dándole una reprimenda a alguien. En mi opinión, es una indicación de que está en problemas. Quien va avanzando, así sea lentamente, no está para dedicarse a acusaciones subalternas. Sin embargo, hay otra forma de leer entre líneas, y esta es una total especulación. Y es que García no ha escrito el artículo o al menos no lo ha escrito solo. Tendría un “grupo de apoyo” que le haría el trabajo intelectual. Aparte de las reprimendas, García no es reconocible en el texto que lleva su firma, ni son temas de los cuales García haya venido hablando. …
Alan Garcia's foray into journalistic activity (article 1, article 2) has caused a series of reactions … Garcia wrote in an accusatory tone, and he did not elaborate.  Garcia is fierce. Whenever he talks it sounds like he is reprimanding someone.  In my opinion, it is an indication that he has problems, maybe he is advancing slowly, but he is not in his position to make accusations.  One can also read between the lines and this is total speculation: maybe García did not write the article or at least he did not write it all by himself.  He may have a “support group” that helps with his intellectual work.  Beside the reprimands, it is hard to recognize García in the words that he wrote, nor are they topics in which García regularly comments upon…
José Talavera of Blogiarquia [es] also writes about the president and his disconcerting declarations.  He cites an excerpt from one of García's articles:
Cada uno de nosotros sufre algo de lo que he llamado “síndrome del perro del hortelano”. Muchas veces el Estado, las instituciones y las personas padecen de “patrimonialismo”. Es decir, de la voluntad de no ceder ningún espacio y reservar para sí, para el ministerio o para la empresa, todas las funciones, los trámites y las decisiones. Ocurre también cuando un grupo que captura el poder, una región o un municipio, decide gobernar solo y bloquea el aporte técnico y profesional de muchos otros ciudadanos. En este caso, el perro del hortelano dice: “Si no lo hago yo, nadie debe hacerlo”, y concluye: “Solo puede hacerlo la gente de mi propio equipo”.
Each one of us suffers from “farmer's dog syndrome.”  Often the State, the institutions, and people fall into “patrimonialism.”  This means that there is no room to allow ministries or businesses to make decisions or complete paperwork.  This happens when a group comes into power, a region or municipality decides to govern along and blocks the technical and professional contributions from other citizens.  In this case, the “farmer's dog” says: “If I don't do it, then no one should,” and concludes, “only those from my own team should do it.”
Talavera responds:
Mi primera pregunta es, ¿en ese todos se incluirá el mismo presidente?… Y creo que la pregunta es además necesaria por la actitud que viene tomando García en el manejo del poder de su actual gestión. No seamos mezquinos y reconozcamos que no lo está haciendo mal, o tan mal en comparación con su gobierno anterior, pero hay cosas (en él mismo) que denotan esa actitud patrimonial que él critica…… pero nuevamente García no toca el tema educación, desarrollo, innovación, conocimiento, que toqué la semana pasada.
My first question is: does the president include himself in that group? This is a necessary question because of the attitude taken by García during his current term. We must recognize that he is not doing so bad or as bad as the previous government, but there are things (with him in particularly) that demonstrates this patrimonial attitude that he himself criticizes….but once again, García does not talk about education, development, innovation, or knowledge, which are things that he talked about last week.”
Juan Sheput of Mate Pastor [es] writes about the latest CPI Survey from November 2007, which asked about the president's approval rating:
Según la última encuesta nacional de CPI difundida por el diario Correo y RPP el señor Alan García tendría sólo un 28,8% de popularidad. En el oriente la popularidad ya es de un dígito: 8,3% con tendencia aún a la baja y en la costa sur el índice es de 16% a pesar de los disfuerzos del amigo presidencial el señor Hernán Garrido Lecca. La popularidad de Alan García es la más baja del continente. Sin oposición, con mucho dinero, con medios de comunicación mayoritariamente “comprensivos”, es decir teniendo todo a su favor, el gobierno de García brilla por su incompetencia.
According to the latest national survey from CPI published by the newspaper Correo and RPP, Mr. Alan García only receives 28.8% approval rating.  In the east, his popularity is already in the single digits: with 8.3% and dropping and in the southern coast, he is at 16%  even with the efforts from the presidential friend Hernán Garrido Lecca.  The popularity of Alan García is the lowest in the entire continent.  Without opposition, with a lot of money, with the media primarily “understanding,” it seems that he has everything in his favor.  The government of García shines for its incompetence.
Finally, from the blog Menoscanas [es] Laura Arroyo writes about possible changes in the law that may benefit Alberto Fujimori:
Puede ser por conveniencia, complicidad o sincera cercanía; el punto es que el mandatario parece haber optado por obedecer a los intereses del grupo fujimorista que, desde hace buen tiempo, ha evidenciado tener un único interés: salvar el cuello de su líder. Ahora bien, me queda claro que esta cercanía no es nueva, ni se inicia con la llegada de Alberto Fujimori, sino mucho antes, desde que en la campaña electoral Alan García presentó una plancha presidencial que incluyera como primer vicepresidente a Luis Giampietri. Sin embargo, lo vergonzoso es la explicitación que, de pronto, ya no le preocupa al mismísimo Presidente García quien, sin asco, ha decidido impulsar una ley que “acelere los procesos judiciales orales” justo ahora que estamos ad portas del juicio de Alberto Fujimori. Con dicha ley, el ex mandatario podría optar por no enfrentar personalmente a quien fuera su asesor Vladimiro Montesinos.
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It may be due to convenience, complexity, or sincerity; but it appears that the president has opted for obeying the interests of the Fujimorist group that has, for a while now, shown that its only interest is to save its leader's neck.  Now, it is very clear to me that drawing closer is nothing new, and it does not begin with the arrival of Alberto Fujimori, but a lot earlier, ever since the electoral campaign of Alan García, when he presented Luis Giampietri as first Vice-President. Nevertheless, it is shameful that President García has pushed for a law that “accelerates the oral legal processes,” right when the trial for Alberto Fujimori was set to begin.  With this law, the ex-president could opt to personally not face this former advisor, Vladimiro Montesinos.

author: Juan Arellano


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Qatar: Ahmedinejad at GCC Summit · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iranian president Mahmood Ahmedinejad is at the Gulf Summit in Doha. Abu Aardvark sums up some of the reactions here. The Gulf Cooperation Council groups Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.


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Russia: Ballot Stuffing Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A video of alleged ballot stuffing at a Moscow polling station – one of the current hits in the Russian blogosphere – over at Robert Amsterdam's blog.


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Russia: LiveJournal Sold · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light reports on the second biggest news of the Russian blogosphere (after the election results): “LiveJournal, the most popular blog platform in Russia has sold to a Russian company for $30 million.”


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Russia: Nazim Hikmet and Nazim Nadirov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about Nazim Hikmet, a Turkish Communist poet and political activist, and Nazim Nadirov, a Kurdish musician aka Dr. Ethno: “p.s. OK, so Nazim Hikmet and Nazim Nadirov probably have little in common other than their given name. But I know you readers are suckers for my historical asides. Right?”


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Russia: Online Chat With the Washington Post · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

La Russophobe asked the Washington Post's Moscow bureau chief a question during an online chat yesterday.


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Russia: The New Duma · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes on what the new Duma is likely to look like.


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Russia: The New York Times Coverage Biased? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Perspectives on the New Russia cites a few readers of the New York Times who are asking the paper's Moscow staff about the “worrying bias in their coverage of Russia.”


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Russia: Voting Outside Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Grigory Pasko posts a report on voting outside of Moscow – part 1 and part 2 – at Robert Amsterdam's blog. Sochi Travel Info blog compares Sochi residents’ voting pattern with the nationwide results: “Sochi residents as a whole, it seems, represent average Russia’s opinions.”


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Sri Lanka: Suicides and Terrorism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

indi.ca on the recent suicide bombing in Sri Lanka, and why terrorism has failed.


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

“For the best art has no meaning. All it has is feeling”: Trinidadian Andre Bagoo reviews a dance performance piece at Alice Yard.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Tunisian blogger sentenced to one year prison · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

A Tunisian court has sentenced today blogger and journalist Slim Boukhdhir to one-year prison terms for “aggression against a public employee”.


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Ukraine: Arseniy Yatseniuk · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Ukraine's newly-elected 33-year-old parliament speaker – Arseniy Yatseniuk.


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Venezuela: Celebrating the Victory · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Naky Soto of Zaperoco Nakystico [es] celebrates the victory in the Venezuelan Constitutional referendum.


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Armenia: Election Blogging Guide · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As the February presidential election in Armenia approaches, Oneworld Multimedia makes available the Armenian-translation of Solana Larsen, Zephyr Teachout and Mary Joyce’s Election Blogging Guide.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Election Monitor · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenia Election Monitor 2008 rounds up the latest developments ahead of the February presidential election in Armenia.


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Armenia: Exit Polls · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on news that Armenia will for the first time ever introduce exit polls for February's presidential election.


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Armenia: International Volunteer Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sarah at Posts from Armenia reports that earlier in the week she was interviewed on Public TV along with another Peace Corps Volunteer to mark International Volunteer Day.


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Armenia: Real Estate Prices · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Economist examines the rise in real estate prices in Armenia and reports that they are still on the increase.


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Azerbaijan: Schools · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Social Science in the Caucasus looks at a recent international study of schools in Azerbaijan and says that the results are concerning.


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Bahrain: Iran’s Uranium Enrichment  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif  shares his thoughts on Iran's nuclear programme, in the light of a new document which says that Iran has shelved its programme in 2003 and is only pursuing uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.


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Bahrain: Petition for Human Rights Activist · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arab Program for Human Rights has launched a petition in solidarity with Bahraini human rights activist Mohammed Al Maskati, who is facing trial for operating the Bahrain Youth Society Human Rights without a government permit. Mideast Youth hosts it here.