text:
Peru: 10Blog Conference in Lima · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Sandro Medina Tovar of Letra Suelta [es] publicizes the conference 10Blog, which will be held on Thursday, June 12 in Lima, Peru.  The conference will provide speakers on various topics dealing with the blogosphere, such as legal aspects of blogs and philosophical fundamentals of blogs.


text:
Lebanon: Responsibility for corruption · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“When you still elect a murderer to a public office, you can’t really blame the government and its action. When you vote for a war criminal to lead you, don’t expect peace and harmony. When you leave a liar to stay in a government position, don’t blame that government for being hypocritical,” writes Nash about the responsibility of the Lebanese people for the corruption.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Moussa Bashir


text:
Sri Lanka: Free Media and the Government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Free Media on the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka attacking the free press.

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Literary Sparring · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago based lit-bog Antilles continues to examine the Walcott/Naipaul feud, while Tattoo wonders where his literary role models have gone: “Who will inspire the next generation of writers in a positive way?”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Wave of Change?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer believes in Barack Obama's wave of change: “This is one wave I want to arrive at our shores and wash away the apathy and the lack of political substance.  Yes we can too. We too can change our politics.”


text:
Turkmenistan: Caspian Quandary · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Peter comments on continuing Western attempts to secure access to Turkmenistan’s huge gas reserves.

author: Adil Nurmakov


text:
Turkmenistan: Internet in Turkmenistan · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Peter reports on the Turkmen government’s contradictory policies on Internet access.


text:
Update on China’s plastic bag ban · Global Voices
Kelly Proctor

New plastic bag rules went into effect throughout China on Sunday: now, ultra-thin plastic bags are banned, and shoppers need to pay a small fee for thicker ones. One supermarket reported daily plastic bag use fell 40 percent since the ban. News outlets reported mixed enforcement, though Beijing authorities did fine a shop 10,000 yuan ($1,200) for using ultra-thin bags. The ban has had other costs: Shanghaiist reminds us that China's largest plastic bag manufacturer closed weeks after the ban was announced in January, and 20,000 people lost their jobs.
Daniel Beekman at Blogging Beijing interviews locals about the ban:
“We brought our own bags today!” crowed a young woman outside the Shuang'an branch Chaoshifa – one of Beijing's most popular grocery chains. “We heard about the ban from T.V. – it's a good thing. We want to protect the environment. We want to host a successful Olympic Games.”
“I brought a bag here today,” a middle-aged woman said. “Why? To protect the environment – the same as you foreigners do.”
Chinese shoppers haven't revolted yet; 77.5 percent of respondents to an online survey conducted by CIIC-COMR, a market research firm, supported the ban.
Jane Voodikon at Barking at the Sun reports that despite the earthquake chaos, Chengdu merchants seem to be adhering to the ban:
I’ve made three purchases in the past 24 hours, all of which culminated in the cashier/shopkeeper asking if I’d like a bag. Instead of having to fiercely insist “bu yao daizi!” in attempts to avoid having anything I purchase wrapped individually in plastic bags, shopkeepers were asking me whether or not I “needed” a bag—and replying with a “xiexie” when my response was negative.

author: Kelly Proctor


text:
Afghanistan: Blogging Workshop in Bamian · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nasim Fekrat announces the upcoming Blogging Workshop in Bamian, thus spreading the blogging skills to the regions of Afghanistan after the first seminar was held in Kabul earlier this year.


text:
Afghanistan: Karzai Down, Women Up · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Patrick Frost reports that increasing pressure is being put on President Karzai’s ability to run the still unstable government of Afghanistan.


text:
Afghanistan: Obscure Ethnicities, the Kalasha · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust writes a post about Kalasha – the term used to describe the many people in Aghanistan, but they are probably refugees from the Ghaznavid empire.


text:
Africa: 2009 AfricaBike · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The start of 2009 AfricaBike: “Looking ahead to 2009, the AfricaBike has been given a few modifications. As always, it's still designed with the African terrain and people in mind, but the new overhaul is, well, a bit burlier.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Africa: Afrigator adds a new feature · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Stii writes about a new feature on Afrigator: “We’ve introduced a new feature which allows you to import your blog roll and find your friends on Afrigator to add to your MyGator. It is really quick and simple to do, provided that your blog roll is in XFN format.”


text:
Argentina: Comparing Evita and Riquelme · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Pablo Meneses of Cronicas Argentinas [es] compares the Boca Junior footballer Juan Roman Riquelme and the famous first lady Eva Perón, saying both are the people's representatives and both elicit strong reactions either critical or in support.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Argentina: Exact Change Only on Subway · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Public transportation continues to be a topic of discussion in Argentina.  Candelaria of Viajé Como El Orto [es] posts a photo found at one of the subway train stations of a homemades sign which asks for exact change.  Readers share their own stories including one that instructs users to look for change at a store


text:
Azerbaijan: Blogs, BarCamps & Social Networks · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
On the sidelines of this weekend's Caucasus BarCamp in Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, Global Voices Online's Caucasus Editor Onnik Krikorian had a brief opportunity to talk to BarCamp Ambassador and Regional Program Manager for Transitions Online, Emin Huseynzade, on blogging in Azerbaijan and the potential for its future development.
Huseynzade was also in Tbilisi to coordinate special training by Transitions Online for journalists and bloggers from all three South Caucasus republics. The training deals with the latest trends in new media, including podcasting, video casting, RSS feeds, and social networks, as well as the impact of blogs on the traditional media.
Emin Huseynzade with Azerbaijani participants, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Georgia
Azerbaijani participants registering, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Georgia
Over 150 people from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as well as Eastern Europe and Central Asia registered for the conference although not all attended. Neverthless, the unconference dealt with topics such as the use of mobile telecommunication for social and environmental surveys, research and activities, as well as other topics as diverse as social networks such as Birge.az.
With the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh still frozen, both events also gave bloggers and journalists from both countries the rare opportunity to meet each other. Although interaction was minor for the BarCamp, participants from both countries attended presentations by the other and Huseynzade says that communication between the two would likely be greater for the smaller Transitions Online training.
However, with Azerbaijan due to stage its own BarCamp on 29-31 August in Lenkoran, Azerbaijan, it is unlikely that Armenians will be able to participate.
GV: You’ve arrived in Tbilisi with a large group from Azerbaijan for the BarCamp and the training which will take place afterwards.
EH: For the Caucasus BarCamp we have nearly 30 people. Some are students while others are from different companies or IT specialists – programmers, designers and so on. For the Transitions Online training, however, there will be just 6 people attending from Azerbaijan, 6 from Armenia, and 10 from Georgia.
GV: You’re planning to stage your own BarCamp in Azerbaijan. Why the interest?
EH: The first time I heard about BarCamps was last year. Jeremy Druker, Executive Director of Transitions Online, told me about this idea of an unconference and I was intrigued. I was very interested in the idea and so I contacted some people in Latvia to find out more. I then decided to become the so-called “Ambassador” for Azerbaijan and took people to attend the BarCamp there.  Five people went and it was very amazing for us. There were nearly 500 people attending and presentations of different ideas, projects, and the possibility of finding funding for our own projects. I decided I’d attend other BarCamps.
GV: Of course, BarCamps are not just about blogs, but what is your specific interest in them? Will that be the main focus of the Transitions Online training?
EH: Actually, we’re thinking about blogs as the first phase for citizen-journalism, but it isn’t just about new media. There are also social networks, podcasts, and many other things. However, we decided to start with blogs and we’ll present the practice and experience of other countries in this respect. If there are new forms of new media, we’ll also implement those and start to develop them in our own countries too.
GV: Yesterday you told me that blogging is quite well established in Azerbaijan.
EH: There are different groups of bloggers in Azerbaijan and they started mainly on Blogspot and Blog.com before Russian blogs appeared on LiveJournal. Then some started to appear on blog.az, but there were a few problems with that. However, Azeriblog.com created a new blogging system a few years ago. Actually, the system was created by a blogger from what some call South Azerbaijan in Iran. In fact, many of those using that system were from there. On that system alone there are nearly 5,000 bloggers out of a total of some 8,000 spread across different platforms.
We’re also developing another project in Azerbaijan with the European Journalism Center. It’s a network – sirr.az – and there will be blogs there as well. So, we’re using new opportunities to provide people with not only social networks, but also networks and blogs within both. Some will be able to blog specifically for particular groups within other networks, for example. As a result, I think that in two years we won’t just be able to double the number of bloggers in Azerbaijan, but perhaps even triple it. We can also say that if a few years ago the Azerbaijani Internet was mainly in Russian as a result of the under-development of the Internet as well as the general situation of the country, it is now 80 percent in Azerbaijani.
GV: Given the lack of communication between neighboring countries in the South Caucasus for obvious reasons, do you think that blogs could be a way of bridging that divide?
EH: Maybe, but perhaps not blogs themselves. Instead it might be blogging systems or bookmarking sites such as Digg or Technorati because I don’t think that many people will access each other’s blogs so much or be quick to comment. Nevertheless, I would like to see Armenians comment on Azerbaijani blogs and vice-versa.
Transitions Online also operates a number of blogs from Armenia, Georgia and other countries via a main portal here. The official site of BarCamp Azerbaijan is here while last weekend's
Caucasus BarCamp is here.
Azerbaijani participants, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Georgia
Armenian and Azerbaijani participants, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Georgia
Azerbaijani participants, Caucasus BarCamp, Tbilisi, Georgia
All photos: © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


text:
Bahamas: Policing Poetry · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Helen Klonaris at new Bahamian blog The Gaulin Wife is concerned that “two young poets are being investigated by the police because of the alleged sexual content of their poetry”, saying: “If the police are investigating poets and poetry, it is because they can: we as a society have agreed not to question authority…the intrusion of police into the poet's work, into the poem, is a serious human rights violation.”


text:
Bangladesh: 12 years on · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices from Bangladesh on Kalpana Chakma, a feminist and rights activist who was kidnapped in 1996.


text:
Bermuda: Cruise Control  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian bloggers are up in arms about the government's changes to cruise ship policy, which they are suggesting will be the final nail in the coffin of the island's tourism and entertainment industry: Politics.bm calls the move “the soft launch of gambling to Bermuda”, while Vexed Bermoothes says: “Most governments seek to foster and protect business interests, as these employ local folks and pay taxes that support the government. Not here…”


text:
Bhutan: The Communists · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Freedom in Bhutan on the trend of communists taking power in South Asia.


text:
Botswana: Nata Village gets an internet cafe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nata village in Botswana gets an internet cafe: “Hallelujah!!! We are 120 miles from a bank and a grocery store but we're getting an internet cafe.  Pictured above is the small addition to the Nata Post office.  Thanks to Post Net, the government postal service in Botswana, we are getting 4 computers and access to the internet.”


text:
Brazil: Top ten misconceptions about the country · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“Gringos, in particular Americans, often know very little about Latin America and maintain grossly stereotypical misconceptions of Latin American countries, especially Brazil”, Rachel, an American living in Rio de Janeiro, lists the top ten misconceptions about the country.

author: Paula Góes


text:
Caucasus: BarCamp · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

After attending the Caucasus BarCamp at the weekend, Pigh [Ru] expresses his concern with the involvement of Soros in financing part of the event as well as the presence of several people who the blogger considers “colored revolutionary” types. The blogger also expresses his disappointment with the non-political nature of Azerbaijan's presentations while the Armenian participant focused on the post-election unrest in the country.


text:
Colombia: Film Soundtrack Available on Creative Commons License · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Critically-acclaimed Colombian film Perro Come Perro (Dog Eat Dog) has provided its soundtrack to the public on a Creative Commons license writes Caro Botero of equinoXio.


text:
Do not let poverty become the landscape · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Kianda (from Angola) and Khanimambo! (from Brazil) are some of the blogs participating in an across-borders blog campaign: “Do not let poverty become the landscape”, conceived by Isto inclui-me (This Includes Me, from Portugal) [pt – all links].


text:
Dominica: Abstaining from Whaling?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Steve's Dominica says that the government's abstinence at the annual International Whaling Commission vote on the resumption of commercial whaling is “a huge step in the right direction.”


text:
Ecuador: Promoting Saraguro Indigenous Culture · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

Meet Angel Gualan.  He is proud to be from the indigenous group, the Saraguro and was educated at a local university the Loja Technical University, He writes not only about his culture, but also what he is passionate about, the technology.  He's a intellectual but is not involved in politics, like fellow Saraguro Luis Macas, who was once a Presidential candidate.
In his blog, under his same name Angel Gualan, he explains how he started to become fond of technology and  where he begins his first entrance into education:
Cuando yo empece a estudiar era muy pequeño, empecé el Jardín a los 4 años recién cumplidos, todos me decian que era demaciado pequeño de estatura, pero eso nunca me ha impedido seguir adelante, a los 10 salí de la escuela e ingresé de inmediato al colegio, y alos 16 empecé la “U” todo ese tiempo de estudio me ha formado y he adquirido un valor de criterio. Siempre me he vestido como indigena Saraguro, por que soy lo que soy, y no me averguenzo de serlo, aunque algunos chicos y chicas sales a las ciudades y cambian su identidad y quieren aparecer algo que no son…Cuando creé mi blog ya había terminado la U y me parecio impresindible dar a conocer la cultura de los Saraguros, para que asi nos puedan entender mejor.
When I started to study I was very little, started kindergarten when I just turned 4. Everyone told me that I was too short, but it has never prevented me to continue ahead, when I turned 10 I left grade school and immediately entered into high school, when I turned 16 I started the “U”  (university) and during all these years of study I have received training and have acquired a critical way of thinking. I have always dressed like a native Saraguro, because I am what I am, and I am not ashamed to be, although some boys and girls go to the cities and change their identity and want to appear as something they aren't…When I created my blog had I already completed the U(niversity) and it seemed to me indispensable to promote the culture of the Saraguros, so that others can understand us better.
Promoting his culture is precisely what he is doing, ever since starting his blog in June 2007.  In addition, he had created another blog called Yo Amawta [es], although it did not continue because of his focus on the other blog that promoted his culture.
Angel is a  part of ACOSL [es] (Andean Corporation of Social Organizations of Loja and he has traveled to Sweden as part of this organization (part I, part II) where among other things he says:
Para la gente del campo es muy dificil salir de viaje y aún mas al exterior, por eso agradezco por los esfuerzos que han realizado las dos organizaciones, y como todo era completamente nuevo para mi, quiero hacer una serie de posts de las experiencias vividas y trabajos realizado durante la estancia.
For rural people, it is very difficult to leave and travel overseas, so I am grateful for the efforts that the two organizations have made (FENOCIN, UBV), and since everything was completely new to me, I have a series of posts from the experiences and work done during the stay.
In addition, he learned how to create an small business in the university and as a result, he has also created a project that still needs to be promoted, kanastakuna. This  project offers organic dairy products on delivery (only Loja) and are cultivated in one of the most representative Saraguro communities, San Lucas.
If you want to learn more about Saraguros , head over his blog to see what it means for example pampa mesa, how to make chicha de jora,  which is used in El Linche and definitely what it means to be a Saraguro:
Un saraguro es un hombre fuerte, frenta a las adversidades, que ha tenido que luchar duro, en su tierra, con sus animales para tener una economía sustentable dentro del hogar (..) Soy Indigena y a mucha honrra, por que asi, lucho contra la privatización del agua, la libertad de expresión, los alimentos transgénicos, toda clase de contaminación, y sobre todo lucho para que este pueblo sea reconocido.
A saraguro is a strong man, faces adversity, and one who has had to fight on his land, with his animals in order to have a sustainable economy for his home (..) I am a very proud Indigenous, and for that, I fight against water privatization, for freedom of speech, against transgenic foods,  against all type of contamination and above all, I fight so that our people are recognized.
We will finish this post telling you something that Angel loves called chashpishka which is the rhythm danced in this video.

author: Milton Ramirez


text:
Georgia: Armenian Church Destruction · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Pigh [RU] posts photographs of a 15th Century Armenian church in downtown Tbilisi which currently faces an uncertain future. The photographs show that there have been attempts to erase Armenian inscriptions on the church in order for the Georgian Orthodox Church to claim it as their own.


text:
Georgia: Football Overshadows Politics · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

TOL Georgia voices its concern with plans to suspend a political talk show to make time for coverage of Euro 2008. The blog considers the move as part of continuing attempts by the Georgian authorities to limit opposition access to the broadcast media.


text:
Hong Kong: Dot HK Most “Unsafe” Domain · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Suresh Ramasubramanian from Outblaze explains how dot HK becomes a most unsafe domain because of spam problem.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Hong Kong: Preserving Bruce Lee’s Home · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Diumanpark urges the Hong Kong government to preserve Bruce Lee's home as a memorial hall in Hong Kong [zh]. The commercial radio has set up a webpage for a signature campaign to support the preservation.


text:
India: Children and Cameras · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A not-for-profit organisation in India gets children to use digital cameras to empower them. More at Freedom of Expression.


text:
Jamaica: Continuing Crime  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Simply being aware and trying to keep myself safe currently feels like a great deal of work”: Transition Sunshine wonders why crime continues to escalate in Jamaica and links to Part 1 of a video series that may help explain the phenomenon.


text:
Japan: The problems facing Japan’s IT industry · Global Voices
Taku Nakajima

An entry [ja] by blogger gothedistance translating and introducing passages of the New York Times article High-Tech Japanese, Running Out of Engineers climbed the rankings a few weeks ago to become a popular article [ja] at Hatena bookmarks, Japan's most popular social bookmarking service. The article describes a growing shortage of engineers in Japan resulting from so-called “rikei banare”, or “flight from science”. Young people, the article explains, are more interested nowadays with fields like finance or medicine, or creative careers like the arts, then they are with engineering. While the shortage has been recognized for decades, only recently have companies been starting to feel its consequences, with one estimate putting the shortage of engineers at almost half a million.
Blogger gothedistance generally agrees with the contents of the New York Times article. It would seem that there is a shared recognition of the situation described in the NYT article among most Hatena users (many of whom are said to be programmers and people in IT-related fields), and many comments on the entry expressed agreement and sympathy with the blogger.
Commenter mkusunok, also known as blogger Masanori Kusunoki , writes:
NYT侮り難し。書いてあること全部正しいし、ヤバ過ぎて日経には書けないよねー
The NYT is impressive. Everything that is written [in this article] is correct, and this something that is so terrible that the Nikkei [a Japanese newspaper] can't write about it.
goyoki comments:
高齢技術者の高待遇ポストが少ないのは問題だと思う。技監やフェロー、CTOなんかは普通は管理職扱いだし、例えば５０代上級プログラマなんてのは日本では半端な待遇で激務、なんてイメージしかわかない
I think the problem is that there are not many posts with good working conditions for older engineers. Engineers-in-chief, fellows and CTOs are generally handled like managers, and I can only imagine that senior programmers over age 50 would be exhausted with this level of halfway treatment.
Some went as far as to express opinions like this one, posted by elm200:
このエントリと直接関係無いけど、まだこうやって日本の記事を書いてくれる New York Times はありがたい。BBC News なんてほぼシカト状態からね。”China” の五文字を見ない日はないのに
No relation with this particular article, but I am really thankful to the New York Times for doing this kind of thing and writing this article. Because BBC mostly just ignores [this issue]. Although not a day goes by without seeing the five letters of “China”.
In his book “Economics of excess and destruction” (過剰と破壊の経済学), blogger Ikeda Nobuo earlier wrote the following about the peculiar “general contractor-style multiple sub-contractor architecture” (ゼネコン型の多重下請け構造) of Japan's IT industry:
(親会社が開発・設計を行い入札で安く請け負う企業に発注するアメリカの企業に対して)トヨタは開発段階から「デザイン・イン」などによって下請けと情報を共有する(中略)。トヨタと下請けを結びつけているのは、アメリカ的な契約でも資本関係でもなく、属人的な長期的関係である。(同書 P128)
(In contrast to American corporations, where the parent company carries out development and design and then places orders with companies contracted cheaply through bidding,) from the development stage onwards Toyota shares information with subcontractors through “Design-In”. […] This connection between Toyota and the subcontractor is neither an American-style contract, nor is it capital ties, but rather is a long-term relationship through personnel. (p. 128)
In his blog, Ikeda Nobuo argues that the root cause of the problem indicated in the New York Times article is to be found in this relationship:
この閉鎖的な産業構造は、長期雇用や企業別組合など戦後にできた制度によってつくられたもので、ある種の製造業には適していたが、オープン・プラットフォームのもとでモジュール化された技術を組み合わせるには適していない。
This insular industry structure was established as a result of the system of long-term employment and enterprise unions created after the war, and while such a system is appropriate for certain types of manufacturing industries, it is not suitable for joining together modular technologies based on open platforms.
正社員だけを過剰保護する雇用慣行のおかげでSI業者が人材派遣業になってしまったため、企業のコア部門にITのわかる人材が育たず、情報システムでイノベーションが生まれないから若者のIT離れが進む・・・という悪循環が急速に進行している。
The SI [System Integrator] industry has become a temp-services industry as a result of the employment practice of excessively protecting only full-time positions. Because of this, no personnel in core departments of the industry have been brought up to understand IT, and since there is no innovation in information systems, young people are losing interest in IT… this vicious circle is rapidly getting worse.
Drawing from an awareness of the issue in his daily life, gothedistance then identifies a structural problem of Japan's IT industry, that “the industry called SIer (System Integrater) is not characterized by IT services, but by the human resources industry.”
In an earlier entry , he explains this in the following way:
日本のITビジネスは脆弱なビジネスモデルです。最も品質を問われるべきソフトウェアにおいて派遣による偽装請負なんかがまかり通っているのは、日本だけです。70〜80年代にプログラマの絶対数が足りなくてとにかく人をかき集めて現場に派遣するようなスキームが横行したのと、時間がかかればかかるほどコストがかかり結局その分売上が立つという人月商売モデルの２つの悪因が両輪となって、今のような奇形児になりました。簡単に言うと、腐れエンジニアをかき集めて仕事を進めるスキームになり、腐れエンジニアもできるエンジニアも同じ「１人月」だということですね。
Japan's IT businesses have a fragile business model. It is only in Japan that fake contracts with temp agencies go unmentioned in the software [industry], where there should be the greatest demand for quality. The scheme in the 70s-80s, when there was a lack in the absolute number of programmers, of gathering up people and dispatching them to the scene, and the person-month trade model in which the more time you spend, the higher your profits will be, these two factors were like the wheels, leading to the deformed child that we have today. Simply put, it is a scheme of gathering rotten engineers and moving ahead with the work, where rotten engineers and capable engineers are treated as the same “person-month”.
Next, he refers to an article by Matsubara Tomo, introduced by blogger codemaniax :
ソフトウェア開発ビジネスで、成果責任を負わない派遣形態がかくも横行しているのは日本だけである。
In the software development business, it is only Japan where a structure of temp agencies has flourished in which no responsibility is bourne for actual results.
派遣ビジネスはソフトウェア開発作業を成果で請け負うのではなく、一ヵ月いくらというように、技術者の時間を売る。派遣指向のソフトウェア会社にとって最大の関心事は、人月単価と、人の稼働率であって、稼ぎが減る開発プロセスの改善や、余計な金を使う技術教育は、できればやりたくない。特に品質は、技術者だけの問題とみなされ、経営者は関心を持たない。極端な話、派遣プログラマーが自分で埋め込んだバグの摘出に時間を掛ければ、会社の実入りは増える。
Temp business do not contract software development on the basis of actual results, but rather sell the engineers’ time at some rate per month. The most important concern for software companies that are oriented at temp agencies is the person-month unit and people's operation rate; if possible they want to avoid improvements of the developmental process that decrease earnings, as well as avoid technical training that makes use of surplus capital. Quality in particular is regarded as a problem of the technician alone, something about which managers do not have an interest. In the extreme case, this means that time spent picking out a bug buried by a programmer from a temp agency results in an increase in the actual profits of the company.
Elsewhere, in a thread about the NYT article on Slashdot Japan, the following two comments received a score of 5. This one :
まずは、技術職の給与を見直し、生涯賃金が一般職と同等、もしくは上に設定し一般職に振り回されない体制を作ることができれば改善できるのではないでしょうか？
To begin with, if it was possible to review the contribution of engineering work and create a system that sets lifetime earnings at the same level as that of general office work or higher, a system that is not swayed by office workers, that improve the situation, wouldn't it?
And this one :
今の政治の流れでは海外の労働者に今後ゆだねていくことになるのでしょうが、技術蓄積を行わないままでは、賃金も技術も海外に流出。と思うのですが、この想いをどうやれば現実に反映できるんだろう。
It would seem that with the current trend in politics, [work] in the future will start being entrusted to foreign workers, but if we remain as we are, without accumulating any technology, then wages and technology will flow overseas. That's what I think, but I wonder what will be done to realize this idea.
It seems that there is an irritation that this sense of crisis, which is shared among the younger generation, is not managing to have any significant influence within society.
Translated by Chris Salzberg.

author: Taku Nakajima


text:
Kazakhstan: Astana Won’t be Renamed. So far · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam tells about the initiative by the former Defense Minister and incumbent MP to rename Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, to Nursultan in honor of the president of Kazakhstan, and the president’s reaction to this idea.


text:
Kenya: Nairobi BarCamp 08 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ismail writes about Nairobi BarCamp 08 sponsored by ushahidi.com: “Some of the topics covered may be: * Local mapping (Open Streetmap, Green Map, etc.), * Blogging tools and trends, * Mobile phone apps (Android in Africa, FrontlineSMS and RapidSMS), * Using Google’s App Engine for building web and mobile services,* I’d love to hear from some of the EPROM guys that worked with Nathan Eagle, * OS curriculum for universities, * Studying users (mobile and web), * Building into social networks.”


text:
Kenya: The amnesty monster · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kumekucha joins the amnesty debate in Kenya: With the two PRINCIPALS taking diametrically opposing stands on the matter, amnesty may as well stand out as the single issue that will determine the gestation period of the Government of Grand Coalition.


text:
Kenyan bloggers on Kenya’s most famous son, Barack Obama · Global Voices
Rebecca Wanjiku

Kenya's most famous son! Great day for Kenya! Duel of the century! These were some of the headlines that Kenyan newspapers ran a day after Barack Obama clinched the Democratic Party nomination. The electronic media also kicked into a frenzy, asking Kenyans to predict whether Obama will win. Others went on to analyze  what Obama  will do for Kenyans if he becomes president.
In Obama's village in Nyanza province, villagers thronged Mama Sarah Obama‘s residence, congratulating her on the feat. A win for Obama seemed like a win for Kenya. The Kenyan blogosphere also went on with the debate.
Kenyan bloggers like Siasa Duni ran the whole acceptance speech by Obama while others like Spin Digest interpreted the message of hope to mean Kenyans also can rise from the ashes of tribal animosity.
Here in Kenya, wuod k’ogelo’s superlative performance through such a grueling challenge should inspire the youth to take a serious self audit that can spur many to set about bringing change in this potentially great nation of ours. To rise up and, to paraphrase ndugu Obama, say;
“…This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love. The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. (We can) face this challenge with limitless faith in the capacity of the (Kenyan) people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then (we can be) absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended wars and secured our nation and restored our image.
This is our moment! declared Kumekucha:
Political ‘unknown’ to the 1st Black-American presidential nominee in U.S. history in a space of less than four years!
Barack Obama has finally made history when last night he became the first African-American in U.S. history to clinch a major party's presidential nomination…….Obama, just a step away from the White House, now faces the main hard battle, against Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate to become the President of the USA.
A comment on the post, offered political advise, which is common in Kenya…
I think he will win, with or without Hillary. I cannot see a situation where a majority of Americans will favour a candidate that embraces an endless war that serves no American interests. Bill Clinton was bequethed an economy that was on its knees by Bush 41. He revived it and surpassed any economic heights reached in 50 years. Now Bush 43 has taken it to the ICU. These republican failures will surely work for Barack. He can spice it up with some eloquent and beautiful speeches and voila!….
Businessfocus thinks that Obama's win will tackle unresolved race issues in the US:
Senator Obama's triumph is all the more significant in the context of race in the United States, with its many unresolved issues. For despite his oft-repeated eschewal of red states and blue states and of white America and black America, it remains true that all US citizens do not see themselves through the same prism that produces the ‘united states’ , expounded by the candidate. If there is an under class in America, it is black people.
For all of America's flaws, the improbability of Mr Obama's candidacy gives weight to his claim that it is a story which could only have been written in the US. While it is nearly a century-and-half since the end of slavery, it is not yet 50 years since the death of Jim Crow laws in the South, the end of segregation or universal suffrage in America. The civil rights movement was at its height prior to Mr Obama's birth
Kenya Imagine invited Americans to embrace the moment:
America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for the country we love.The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals.

author: Rebecca Wanjiku


text:
Korea: Please give me some advice on how to break up with this man. · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Since continual candlelight vigils in Korea and protests against the current government, I have put posts about this topic several times. Feeling that I should introduce other topics, I have tried for hours to search for blog entries on other topics. It was not easy. Blogs and sub-topic panels are full of political issues. Luckily, I found one from a popular blog list with the title, “Please give me some advice on how to break up with this man.” Hesitating a little bit because of my presumption that it would be about a love story, I nevertheless clicked the link out of obligation to look at a post that received so many hits. But it contained unexpected content.
이 남자와 헤어지는 방법을 알려주세요.
제가 12월달부터 아버지의 강요로 사귀게 된 사람이 있습니다.
이름은 2MB이고요. 12월달에 저희집 머슴으로 들어왔다가 동네 이장인 조중동씨의 중매로 만나게 되었습니다. 우리 아버지가 조중동씨만 보면 환장을 하시거든요. 저는 싫다고 하는데 아버지가 경제살리는 능력이 있다면서 만나랍니다. 지금 회사사정이 어렵다구요. 울며 겨자먹기로 지금 만나고 있습니다.
아버지도 문제지만 그 사람도 문제예요. 저보다는 아버지의 땅을 더 사랑하는 것 같아요. 아버지가 대한민국이라는 땅을 가지고 계시거든요. 그래도 그것은 다음에 말할 내용에 비하면 아무것도 아니예요. 아버지를 빽으로 낙하산 인사가 되어 부동산회사의 사장이된 제 남자친구가 사업상의 일로 미국에 가서 글쎄 바람을 핀겁니다.
동네에서 친하게 지내던 버시바우의 소개를 받아 미국머슴 부시를 만나더니 사람이 확 변하더군요. 어떻게 사랑이 식을 수 있나요? 아니 처음부터 저를 사랑하지 않은 것 같습니다. 더군다나 남자에게 밀렸다는 것이 분합니다. 그래도 불도저 운전 자격증은 가지고 있어서 카트 운전은 잘하더군요. 이럴 때 쓰려고 자격증은 따두었나 봅니다. 미국에서 연애하면 안들킬 줄 알았는지 대놓고 염장질을 하더군요. 제 남자친구가 좀 무식하거든요. 그것까지는 참겠는데 글쎄 검역주권으로 만든 반지를 선물하고 광우병에 걸린 선물을 받아온 겁니다. 또 그걸 저에게 선심쓰듯이 주면서 먹으라네요.  그러면서 하는 말이 “미국에서 고기먹을 때, 네 생각이 나서 사왔어”라고 말하네요.
웃으면서 넘어가려고 해도 도저히 안되겠습니다. 그래서 친구들에게 말했더니 “그런 사람이랑 헤어져”라고 말하더군요. 용기를 내서 아버지께 헤어지겠다고 말씀드리니 아버지께서 너도 좌빨이 되었냐고 그러시네요. 아마도 아버지 친구분들께서 그 사람에 대해서 뭐라고 말씀하셨나 봅니다. 제 친구들도 그렇게 생각한다고 하니 남의 인생 망치는 좌빨놈들이랑은 어울리지 말래요. 아버지랑은 말이 안통하네요. 정말로 눈물만 납니다.
그런데 이인간은 이 상황은 아는지 모르는지 일본이랑 중국에 가서 또 작업을 걸고 있네요. 바람끼 많은 이남자와 헤어지고 싶습니다. 그런데 그냥 헤어지기는 억울해서 안되겠고, 골탕을 먹이고 싶은데 어떻게 하면 눈물이 쏙빠지도록 괴롭힐 수 있을까요?
아 그리고, 얼마전에 이인간 친구인 어청수라는 사람이 제 친구를 때렸거든요. 이 자식도 어떻게 하면 좋을까요? 가만히 있을려고 해도 도저히 참을 수가 없네요. 얼마전에 촛불들고 위협을 한번하기는 했는데 콧방귀만 뀌네요. 이자식 처리방법도 부탁드립니다. 하여간 동네 머슴들은 긁어모아가지고 사고치는 2MB를 어떻게 처리해야할 까요?
I have been going out with a person by my father’s will since December. His name is 2MB [The current president, Lee(2, the same pronunciation in Korean) Myung(M) Bak(B), is broadly called 2MB among netizens. The meaning is that in this modern technology world his behavior is like 2 megabytes, not even able to include a gigabyte.] He moved in my house as a servant in December and Cho-Joong-Dong who is our town chief made an arranged meeting between him and me. First time I turned the meeting down, but my father persuaded me that he has an ability to revive the economy. He said that his company is not doing well. Even though I didn’t want to, I could not help but meet him.
My father has a problem, but my boy friend has a problem as well. It seems that he loves my father’s land rather than me. My father has land, which is called Korea. Even though he became the president of a real estate company owing to my father, he went on a business trip to the U.S. and had an affair.
By the introduction of his friend, Vershbow, he got to know the American servant, Bush. After that, his personality has suddenly changed. How come his love for me got cold so fast? Or, maybe he didn’t love me from the first time. I feel more betrayed my love was pushed away by another man. He is good at driving a cart because he has a bulldozer driver license. Maybe he got the license for this kind of chance. He broke my heart even to show off his affair in the U.S. He’s not smart enough. I could have put up with all those parts. But he even gave me a ring made of quarantine sovereignty and received a gift that has mad cow disease. In addition, he gives the gift with the gesture of how generous he is. And then he said, “When I ate the beef there, I thought about you and so I brought it.”
I tried to ignore it, but it’s impossible. So I told my friends and they said, “you’d better break up with him.” I screwed up my courage and told my father I would like to break up with him. But my father asked me whether I become left wing. My father’s friends seem to talk about him. I told my father that my friends also agree with my idea and he said that I should not go along with the leftists who will destroy my life. It’s hard to have a conversation with my father. I break into tears. But now he doesn’t know what’s going on and flirts with Japan and China. I would like to break up with this playboy. But I feel victimized and would like to get at him. How can I do that?
And his friend Eo Chung Soo hit my friend several days ago. What can I do? I can’t stand this. I sort of threatened him with candles. But they didn’t care at all. Please give me advice on how to deal with this guy as well. This man, making trouble with other guys in our town… how can I deal with him?

author: Hyejin Kim


text:
Kyrgyzstan:  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Azamat Report posts pictures of random MPs in Kyrgyzstan as they were voting for their fellow colleagues. Regulations allow MPs to vote for their colleagues within the party in their absence. Often, only half of 90 propresidential party's MPs are present, but when voting results are announced, it turns out that almost all have voted, he says.


text:
Nepal: Lessons for India · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Law and Other Things on the lessons for India from Nepal's constitution.


text:
Nigeria: Abacha did not loot Nigeria · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Did Abacha loot Nigeria?: “How I wish I wielded some supernatural power! How I would have dealt with these three men – Mohammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar! Thanks to those three, I learnt something new today: Contrary to what Nigerians have been told and read in the media, the late General Sani Abacha did not loot the treasury after all! The allegations against Abacha are baseless, and nothing but rumors!”


text:
Nigeria: French embassy is useless · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Nigerian blogger thinks the French embassy in Nigeria is useless: “What are the roles of the foreign embassies in Nigeria? Why do the semi-literates in these embassies deny Nigerian professionals and others the basic right to acquire entry visas that will allow them visit many countries in Europe and other places? A recent case at the French embassy in Nigeria is still causing a source of agitation in my mind and here I will narrate the story.”


text:
Russia: Freedom of the Press · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An interesting discussion on the freedom of the press in Russia took place in the New York Times’ Russian-language LJ community: an article by Clifford J. Levy, translated into Russian, received over 1,000 comments from the Russian bloggers, and 45 of these comments were then translated into English and featured on the New York Times’ web page, along with about 100 more reactions from the paper's Anglophone readers.
The following post (RUS) by LJ user cincinna-c is not part of the New York Times-inspired conversation, but seems to recapture some of its essence well:
I was strolling around town with one English guy today – Simon from Bristol…
When he learned that I worked in the media, […] Simon asked me straightforwardly: “Is it possible for you to publish critical views on the last election, or the true inflation figures, in your or some other paper?”
I didn't know how to respond…
Before, I could send such a piece to a couple more publications, in addition to my paper… What it's like now I don't know… I think that even in my paper it's only if my editor gets sick, falls asleep or is in general caught off guard that I could express my opinion (on how people's well-being isn't growing as fast as has been declared; on how we are left with fewer mechanisms of controlling the government, etc.)… And it's not because she [the editor] doesn't understand anything or is charmed by our statewide successes… She is just being careful… “Just in case”… The way kindergarten teachers used to teach kids to draw Putin – “just in case” – and officials were displaying his portraits on the walls… […]
Here is one of the comments to this post:
ostrov_9:
It was happening gradually.
[…]
[…] After [exiled media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky]'s case everyone was still giggling, thinking it wasn't serious, this war. But first they stopped using the sharpest of the political cartoons in newspapers, then collages got banned. They started doctoring headlines right after [jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky]'s arrest, I guess.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Serbia: Farewell to Šaban Bajramović, the Gypsy King of the Balkans · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Šaban Bajramović, known as the “King of Gypsy music,” died on Sunday in Niš, his hometown in Southern Serbia of a heart attack. Here's a sample of what the blogosphere has been saying about him and his music.
The Byzantine Blog summarized his musical achievements:
A legend among the Serbs, exceptional singer and composer with the warmest raspy voice carrying with it all the pain and passion of his people, Saban Bajramovic was regarded as one of the world's best jazz and blues singers and composers. His song Djelem, Djelem was adopted as an official anthem of the world Roma. […]
An immense artist, Saban recorded over 20 albums and composed more than 650 songs, among which the famous song Mesecina (originally Djeli Mara) arranged by Goran Bregovic for the soundtrack of Serbian director Emir Nemanja Kusturica's movie “Underground”. He also sang on the soundtrack of another Kusturica's movie, “Black Cat, White Cat” (the song Bubamara – “Ladybug”), as well as on the album Tales and Songs from Weddings and Funerals by Goran Bregovic. Among the number of other movies, Bajramovic also played and sang in Goran Paskaljevic's film “Guardian Angel”.
Sandra Drasković at Demystifing Serbian Design, who also offered a biography of the musician, praised him with emotion:
He was big name of gypsy and jazz music and had soulfully voice and fantastic expression in which I enjoy tremendously, especially in his latest projects and live concerts. Šaban Bajramović was the most prolific and the most celebrated Gypsy singer, composer and poet in the Balkans.
When you put his name for example in last.fm software or on you tube site you could find a lot of beautiful and very famous compositions…
Eric Gordy at East Ethnia wrote a little epitaph:
He deserted the army for love and formed his first band on Goli Otok. His music was gorgeous. In his life both his failures and successes were tremendous. The last few years saw him successfully reinventing his sound with the assistance of Cubismo, and more recently facing both health and material problems. He may have seemed indestructible to many. But today we have to say goodbye to the king of Roma music.
Belgrade 2.0 ‘s co-blogger, Bganon wonders about Bajramović's lack of recognition at home:
So, why is it that Bajramovic’s passing is not honoured in the way it should be? Why haven’t many musicians in the world heard of the great one? There are many reasons, but primarily it’s to do with the fact that Serbia did not value Bajramovic, perhaps because of the ethnic prism that people of the region have a tendency to look through. This is a man who should have been employed (and paid well) to promote Serbia in the cultural sphere. (I have no doubt that having this ambassador would do no harm to Serbia politically either). There are other reasons too, Kusturica / No smoking and Goran Bregovic have monopolised the genre and in some cases plaigarised his music, as other artists did.
And to finish, we leave you with the music of “the legend”. The DFBMBE Podcast and Blog has an mp3 of one of Bajramović's most famous songs, Geljan Dade. And below is a video of Djelem, Djelem, the official anthem of Roma people.

author: Elia Varela Serra


text:
South Korea: Protest and Public Space · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt from Gusts of Popular Feeling looked into the Seoul city public space for accounting mass mobilization in protest.


text:
South Korea: Teen Lesbians · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Korea Beat translated a local magazine feature story on Teen lesbian culture.


text:
Sri Lanka: On Citizen Journalism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Moving Images, Moving People! reflects on new media and citizen journalism after attending the Asia Media Summit 2008.


text:
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Q&A · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A National Day of Prayer in St. Vincent & the Grenadines gets Abeni thinking: “I would prefer if we had a well defined plan to tackle all the problems that are plaguing our island. No doubt the idea is well meaning but sounds like a cop out or unwillingness to believe that we have the answers to the questions.”


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: How to Save the Planet · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life says that “Trinidad and Tobago is currently listed as the 5th largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita in the world, a fact that has made our Prime Minister blush with pride and our trees to die without dignity.”


text:
Uganda: Media strategy is totally wrong · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Moses Paul criticizes Ugandan government media strategy : “?Govt got its media strategy totally wrong. Government has heightened its preparedness to clamp down on the independent media. President Museveni’s attack on Daily Monitor in his State of the Nation address last week was a clear signal that government was not about to respect press freedoms and freedom of thought in the country.


text:
Zimbabwe: Business Watch · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabwe Business Watch: “The economy is in real free fall right now as inflation accelerates rapidly making life almost unbearable. It is predicted that by the end of the month, prices could be doubling everyday. As an indication to this, the USD traded at 1, 4 billion to 1 on Thursday and went over 3 billion the following day.”


text:
Zimbabwe: Election violence continues · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Election violence continues in Zimbabwe: “Whilst Mugabe fiddles about food in Rome, Zimbabwe is burning. With three weeks till the run off, the election violence continues. The images from a petrol bomb attack in Zaka support with the reports we received below, from an MDC supporter in Masvingo Province.”


text:
Afghanistan: Building an Effective State? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

SunLeaf provides a critical view on the World Bank's new report on Afghanistan entitled “Building an Effective State: Priorities for Public Administration Reform”.


text:
Afghanistan: The Politics of Democracy  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sanjar opines on the political situation in Afghanistan, saying that institutional building is failing while the society also remains weak.


text:
Algeria: Baby Talk  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian linguist Lameen Souag is busy studying Siwi – and notes that they have 40 words used in baby talk. “So what special words do you use in your language when talking to babies?” he asks.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Algeria: Tragic Attacks  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The tragic attacks that took place in Algiers this week were surely aimed at debasing the prestige of the Algerian government, which is preparing to receive Mediterranean representatives and which has won the favor of most Western (and eastern) governments in its battle with al-Qaeda,” writes Algerian blogger Nouri.


text:
Argentina: Colón Theater Still Has Not Reopened · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The world famous Colón Theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina has still not reopened and many are worried about its state of disrepair, writes Eduardo Fabregat of Pan y Circo [es].


text:
Armenia: Geopolitics, Opposition Protests & War · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenaker Kamilion comments on the opinion of a senior radical opposition leader in Armenia that renewed fighting with Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh might be one way for the authorities in Yerevan to declare martial law and end opposition protests which are set to start again on 20 June. The blog examines such speculation in light of concerns that the resumption of hostilities might also serve as a proxy war between Russia and the United States for influence in the South Caucasus.


text:
Bahamas: Scales of Justice · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Larry Smith at Bahama Pundit reports on a former police prosecutor's statements that the Bahamian criminal justice system is “on the brink of collapse”.


text:
Bahrain: Letter from Jail · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Ali Abdulemam [Ar] has received a letter from jailed fellow blogger Abdulla Mohsen. Mohsen has been in prison since the end of last year – on charges which include “the theft of a weapon and burning a police jeep.”


text:
Bahrain: Thoughts on the F1  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif shares his thoughts on incidents which happened at the Formula One Race held in Canada over the weekend.


text:
Bangkok Transit System · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

gnarlykitty wonders whether the BTS in Thailand “is a convenient form of transportation or a giant metallic monster ready to munch you alive?”

author: Mong Palatino


text:
Bhutan: The Communists · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Freedom in Bhutan on the trend of communists taking power in South Asia.

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Blogger witnesses whales beaching in Madagascar · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The mass stranding of at least one hundred melon-headed whales were reported in the mangrove of Antsohihy Bay (Northwest region of Madagascar) in the first week of June.
Harinjaka and the non-governmental organization  Fanamby were among the first to report  (fr) and publish photos  (mg) of this ecological disaster.
The causes of the mass stranding are still under investigation as the local population and the ministry were trying to rescue a few surviving whales.
A few hypotheses are being discussed by experts, ranging from  fungal or viral infections to the use of low-frequency sonar by the military or off-shore oil-foraging companies.
Fanamby is a Malagasy association that specializes in conservation and development by focusing their effort on developing private initiatives and new technologies.
Harinjaka, besides his work at Fanamby, is also the co-founder of Foko-madagascar and an author at the collaborative news site “The observers by France 24“; he answered a few questions about this sad event (interview was originally conducted in French):
Q: When and how did you learn about the mass stranding ?
Harinjaka: Fanamby was contacted by a tour operator who was visiting the area with tourists on June, 3rd. A few of them took photos of the stranded whales to sensitize other agencies about the urgency of the situation. The mangroves where it occurred are located about 600 km away from the capital city. Accessibility was not really the main problem, technical know-how and manpower were what was needed the most to rescue the surviving whales.
Q: What are the most plausible explanations so far ?
H: It's all hypothetical at the moment but beside an unknown disease, the one fact that was mentioned by most people in the region was that an Exxon-Mobile ship left the port of Antsohihy on June, 3rd. On June 4th, 40 whales were seen stranded and I saw many more the day after. Again, this is all speculative at this point but a national newspaper confirmed the presence of the ship.
Q: You mentioned that the reactions of the locals were bizarre at first:
H: Yes, when the local population saw that outsiders were taking photos of the disaster, they were quite unhappy and they demanded that outsiders take the whales away. They probably figured that outsiders were the reason the whales were stranded there in the first place.
The other odd story was that when experts tried to identify the species, they could not find what species they belong to inside the catalog of known Malagasy marine species. They were later identified as Peponocephala electra or electra dolphins, [Melon-headed whales].
Q: What lessons can be learned from this catastrophe ?
H: The Malagasy population have a special bond with Dolphins. We don't hunt or eat dolphins because our traditions tell stories of dolphins saving fishermen from drowning at seas. I would like to make a plea here: we should consider deploying more resources to enable faster responses to natural disaster such as this one, but also other threats to our biodiversity.
( All photos credits to Harinjaka)
( Note: *Melon-headed whales are also known as Peponocephala electra or electra dolphin. ** accounts from other witnesses are also integrated in the interview)

author: Lova Rakotomalala


text:
Bolivia: Protests in Front of Election Officials’ Home · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Kevin Ayllón of Travieso [es] writes about the protests taking place in front of his house.  Kevin's mother is an election official in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia and is in charge of registering voters, of which the registries had been filled due to high demand


text:
Brunei: What’s wrong with an Arab scarf? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Katie-Ella is disappointed that right-wing U.S.-based bloggers are associating the use of a traditional Arab scarf with mainstreaming violence.


text:
Cambodia: Save fuel on cars · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Borin's Blog gives tips to Phnom Penh drivers on how to save fuel on their cars


text:
China: Earthquake Animal Victim · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In order to prevent plague, most of the animals and pets from the earthquake zone were killed. Zhengying remembered many stories about dogs saving or standing by earthquake victims until the last minute and felt very sad about the killing of animals [zh].


text:
China: Hepatitis B Forum · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Dupola introduces a Hepatitis B Forum for patients to share their experience and defend their rights. Unfortunately the forum has been blocked by the Great Fire Wall.


text:
China: Olympic outhouses catch on fire, explode · Global Voices
John Kennedy

The 24 Hours Online blogger Laohu ‘Tiger Temple’ Miao, who spent months earlier this year blogging the stories of destitute Beijing residents whose makeshift homes were harmonized to make way for the Olympics brings us a post today about a fire yesterday not far from the Olympic Bird Nest which began in portable toilets used by construction workers there and resulted in several small explosions.
该小区与鸟巢仅一街之隔，自四年前鸟巢开始兴建，这里成为民工闲暇时聚集热点。喝酒、聚餐、打话吧、购置日用消费品。热闹了好些个年头。近些日子随鸟巢逐步完工，民工骤然减少，商店也因此已关张了几家，剩下为数不多的也仅在勉强维持，期盼新的好运到来。
此次着火及引发居民意见得从事情原委说起。几个月前，由奥组委掏钱为这个小区沿街一面凡可被外人看到的墙体粘挂铝塑装饰面板。对此，居民反对意见居多且不说——只因该楼属豆腐渣工程却做了个精品脸面——但要指出的是为了不让老外轻松进入小区观察，特将原本小区向西（朝向鸟巢）一面围墙栅栏的两只门道封锁成仅一只可单人出入之口，居民们如今购买东西需要绕路而行。而此次火灾其关键之点恰恰涉及到了因为栅栏的封锁，导致丧失了消防通道，消防车辆赶来后，也只能停留北辰东路，望洋兴叹。为此，居民已是多有意见，并且因为装饰工程设计奇特，思路怪异，遂引来各国记者频频拍照。着实令小区人民很不开心。
To explain residents’ views on this fire, you have to look at the whole story. A few months back, the Olympic Organizing Committee put up the money to put up an plastic-plated decorative aluminum wall alongside this neighborhood so that not every laowai who walks by has to see it. Many residents were opposed to this, but didn't say so—only because it was a ‘tofu dregs’ construction job that this face was getting put onto—but they did want to point out that in order to keep it from being too easy for laowais to enter and observe, they went out of their way to seal off the two gates on the west side of the neighborhood (facing the Bird Nest), leaving only a single-person entry/exit point which until now leaves residents having to make a detour to go buy things. And the key point in this fire, it's precisely because the gates are sealed, cutting off a fire exit, that when the fire trucks came, they had to stop on Beichen East Road and were left feeling useless. Because of this, residents now have many objections, feeling quite strange about the weird justification for the design of the ornamental project which has now led to journalists from many countries coming to take many photos. It has truly left the community residents very unhappy.
据现场目击者介绍，大火起自那两只移动铁皮厕所内部。由于装饰工程已近尾声，工人业已退场，两只厕所也只为留守人员所用，为防止他人使用，厕门被工人挂锁。因此里面有什么东西可以见火后如雷炸响便成一谜。消防车队的出现是在报警后约20分钟后，故因当前城市交通不畅，堵车在所难免，但时逢奥运在即，恐难有人会原谅如此应变速度。消防队员亦是辛劳，只见他们由那刚刚封锁起来的铁栅栏上端翻进翻出，拖送水龙（见下图），实乃叫人哭笑不得！
此次消防队出车两辆，120急救出车一辆，警车两辆，警用摩托车只见穿梭，不计其数。前后折腾约40分钟，大火将灭。
只因地处敏感地区，大火起时，即有十数老外赶来前后拍照。如此情景，想必令爱国人士看了心痛不已。大火后，人员纷纷撤离，仅剩小区居民依然不去，眼见得刚刚修起的装饰性墙皮被大火熏黑了半边（最末一图），众人话题也只剩下一个——面子工程，实在害人！
Two fire trucks were dispatched for this, one ambulance, two police cars and countess police motorcycles that were only being used to shuttle around. From start to finish they struggled for about 40 minutes, and then the fire was out.
Only because of the sensitivity of the location, when the large fire broke out, dozens of laowais immediately rushed over to take pictures. This kind of scene is presumably painful to watch for patriotic types. After the fire, people slowly began dispersing until only residents remained, looking at the scorched side of the decorative fence so recently installed, leaving the crowd also just one topic: ‘face’ projects, turns out they're bad for people!

author: John Kennedy


text:
China: Olympic torch in Shangri-La · Global Voices
John Kennedy

A thread on popular bbs site Tianya.cn is providing photos and live updates of today's Olympic torch relay, as it passes through the part of Yunnan province often referred to as Shangri-La, along with photos of local scenic and cultural sights.


text:
China: Self-Victimization Ideology · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The former Singapore president Lee Kuan Yew recently suggested that when China's middle class grows in size, the educated people would stop perceiving themselves as victims of the West. Xueyong pointed out that in the recent Olympic torch relay protest, the overseas Chinese students continued the East vs. West dichotomy [zh]. The self-victimization thinking is more ideological than developmental.


text:
China: Underlying Statements Behind the Tears · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Liu Xiaoyuan interpreted the underlying statements of Yu Qiuyu's “Tearful Plea To Disaster Victims” [zh]. The blogger believes that Yu is spinning for the government and shedding crocodile's tears.


text:
Cluster bombs in Laos fields · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rambling spoon links to an article which tackles the risks of farming in Laos where many fields are still littered with bombs.


text:
Colombia: The struggles of Barrancabermeja documentary · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This nine part documentary created by Taline Haytayan of her experience as part of the Peace Brigades International organization in the strife ridden Barrancabermeja region of Colombia captured my attention throughout. It follows the Feminine Popular Organization (OFP) group which works together to prevent violence against women and violent conflict in a region where people have been trying to live in the middle of crossfire between two different guerrilla factions, the army and the paramilitary forces.  At the moment, many of the women who head the OFP need constant protection due to threats on their lives, murders and disappearances of group members. The videos have English captions throughout, telling the story of the OFP, the struggles with oil refineries, candle lit vigils against war rich with cultural artistic expressions, hip hop as a protest against war and violence; a creative outlet for youth in the community, peaceful marches, government policies that affect the community negatively, testimonies from victims of armed violence and provides reasons why Plan Colombia[en] and the practice of coca plantation dusting are detrimental to the wellbeing of the communities.
Barrancabermeja [es]houses the biggest oil refinery in the country and is also the home to the Petrol Christ, a giant steel figure meant to represent Jesus with water spraying from the tips of his fingers. The first part explains a bit of the history of Barrancabermeja and its struggles with the oil refinery industries, and follows the strike run by workers against the new policies that pushed out many locals out of their only means of livelihood. It also tells the story of the OFP, or Feminine Popular Organization, which runs soup kitchens that feed about 600 people at each of the different kitchens on a daily basis.
The second and third  videos follow the women of the OFP during the preparation and at the event:  the day of the candle-lit vigil for peace and against war and violence, where the rally cry was :”not one boy, not one girl, not one cent for war.”
The fourth video shows the May 1st work day peaceful rally, and brings into the conversation the ESMAD or mobile riot police units which are present in most of the peaceful rallies, and gives arguments as to why they are against these means of control, as well as against several other government policies.
The fifth and sixth videos explain the work the women of the OFP do, through soup kitchens, organizing rallies, giving talks, making different types of services available for women of the community including legal assistance and housing for those refugees from internal violence, providing workshops with creative and marketable skills for women in the community to be able to make an income to help financially at home.
The seventh video presents written testimonials by victims of the violence and crossfire. Basically the same story repeats itself in each gutwrenching tale. Guerrilla are in the region, then the paramilitaries come and accuse them of working with guerrillas because they don't give them the information they wantt, they leave and the guerrilla comes back and retaliates with the community for being “snitches” and speaking to the other team.
The eighth and ninth video explain a bit more about why coca farming is sometimes the only option many people have to survive: non-existent infrastructure make any other type of farming for profit not possible, since there would be no way to effectively market the product, and if possible, wages wouldn't be enough to live off.  However, the government is intent on eradicating coca plantations and they regularly dust them with chemicals that not only kill the coca plants but also any other type of plants in the area, including those products of subsistence farming.  And still, with all these struggles, life in Barrancabermeja goes on.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


text:
Cuba: Hemingway History  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Cuban Triangle and Child of the Revolution weigh on on an article in the London Times which exposes the goings-on at Finca Vigia, the Hemingway house in Cuba: “I have…seen a docent offer to cut a page out of a book in Hemingway’s library – a page with his signature – and sell it for ten dollars.  The writer of this Times article has seen something far worse. So as some Cubans and Americans work to preserve this treasure, others are doing the opposite.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Dominican Republic: The Writer Junot Díaz · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Dominican writer Junot Díaz and Pulitzer Prize winner in 2008 believes that people should get back into the habit of reading because it puts the “reader into contact with another human, another nervous system, another imagination.”  Greeysis de la Cruz writes more on the background and thoughts of this writer [es].

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
Egypt: The Diet of a Cairo Family · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobia, from Egypt, sheds light on a newspaper report on the food consumed by a Cairo family in a week.


text:
Ethiopia: Ogaden, Ethiopia’s Darfur? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Dr. Ethiopia blogs about Ethiopia's troubled Ogaden region: “Modern Ogaden is a place where its people are being used as target practice for Ethiopians soldiers. A place where journalists are scarce. Journalists, in the past, have been accused of aiding and abetting the enemy (The Ogaden people).”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Guatemala: 4 Balames Archaeological Park · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A new archaeological park called “4 Balames” is set to open in the Petén Department in Guatmala. Claudia Navas of Ordinaria Locura [es] is looking forward to this new tourist attraction, which can help bring development and jobs to this much-needed part of the country


text:
Indonesia: ‘Front Pembela Islam’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Ketelarebus from Indonesia writes that employing violence is not justified even for the sake of God.


text:
Iran: A man who accused top cleircs of corruption arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian bloggers including Akhbare-Jahan reported [fa] Abbas Palizdar who accused top Iranian clerics of corruption was arrested. Palidzar claimed that he was a member of Iran's Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iraq: A Special Imam  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Abbas Hawazin writes about a clergyman with special characteristics, in charge of a mosque in the Green Zone.


text:
Iraq: Secret Peace Deal  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“A secret deal being negotiated in Baghdad would perpetuate the American military occupation of Iraq indefinitely, regardless of the outcome of the US presidential election in November,” concludes Iraqi blogger Abbas Hawazin.


text:
Iraq: University Warning to Female Students  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Abbas Hawazin comments on a ruling by an Iraqi university which had issued a warning to female students not to dress up provocatively.


text:
Jamaica: Steering into the Future  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Where is the leadership, where is the firm hand on the rudder, where are the good government promises?”: Jamaica and the World is not happy with the course the country seems to be taking.


text:
Kazakhstan: Kazak-Russian Relations · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Patrick Frost reviews the relations between Kazakhstan and Russia after the change of president in Kremlin and Medvedev's first official visit to Astana.

author: Adil Nurmakov


text:
Kuwait: Female Ministers Must Cover Up!  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Intlxpatr, an expatriate living in Kuwait, reports that an Islamic MP has requested Parliament to ban female ministers not wearing the Islamic headscarf, the Hijab, from entering Parliament.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Famous Kyrgyz Writer Died · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Elena grieves about the death of the famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aitmatov.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: First Summer Events · Global Voices
Elena Skochilo

There was a recent Miss Tourism Kyrgyzstan pageant, held on the eve of summer. Some bloggers have visited this contest and published photos of the event. The chosen Miss Tourism and other participants of the contest didn’t impress Kyrgyz bloggers.
Blogger baisalov wrote [ru]:
Miss Tourism looks like Filipino and other east-Asian beauties. I think, first vice-miss Tourism has more or less averaged and typical face of Kyrgyzstan.
simpu joked [ru]
Last two girls are more or less attractive. I am clever man and I understand that their appeal is because of make-up.
One more “fashion event”. Russian newspaper “Komsomolskaja Pravda” published an article “Kyrgyzstan – Fatherland of Dior” about the incomes from clothing manufacturing in Kyrgyzstan.
Mirsulzhan read this article and doubted [ru]:
“Well, this article has some questionable numbers and arguments. For example: from 1 million 200 thousands of Bishkek residents, 800 thousands are working in the clothing manufacture. But we have something to think about. For example, we can think about the change of clothing manufacture to a legal activity to make fakes of the worldwide brands”.
aka_b_m also put in doubt  some facts from the article [ru].
“I doubt about “from 1 million 200 thousands of Bishkek residents, 800 thousands are working in clothing manufacture” and “”Russians are the owners of most of the business”. But, in general this is true and timely article”.
Meanwhile, Kyrgyz police will take a special course on how to be correct with the foreign tourists. Moreover, there will be special stickers “Aigul” for foreign tourists. If the car has such stickers, Kyrgyz police hasn’t right to stop this car, except in cases when the driver really broke the law.
Mirsulzhan told [ru]:
“When I have a car I will buy this sticker and everyone should do the same”.
khaan demured:
“No, it isn’t worthy of it. Such stickers will help our police to point out that there is a rich person in the car”.
Anyway, the main question of the Diesel Forum users was: what or who is Aigul? Only one user scan explained why stickers called “Aigul” [ru]:
“The flower Aigul grows at the “Aigul-too” mountain in the Batken region. It flowers once a year on the second half of May. That is an object of the pride of the locals, because this flower exists in Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan only and nowhere more”.
There was an informal summit of the Heads of States of CIS in Saint Petersburg, where President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev delivered a speech.
baisalov disappointed with the speech of the President [ru].
“Impression is the same: “crisises are becoming deeper and deeper”, “we need to create a Eurasia development fund”, and at last he suggested all to join the global communism. There weren’t any words about Kyrgyzstan. Why didn’t Bakiev use the chance with such a big tribune to highlight our national economical interests and to tell about the priority projects which need direct investments? Why?”
mirsulzhan also criticized the suggestion of Kurmanbek Bakiev to create a Global economic program to eliminate the gap between rich and poor countries by charity [ru].
“Every country whether it is Zimbabwe or Kyrgyzstan, should be responsible for solving their own problems. I think the problems in these countries are solvable. It is irresponsible to move the responsibility to other people. These countries should realize that their problems are solvable at 100%”.
Also posted on neweurasia.

author: Elena Skochilo


text:
Madagascar: why is Africa deprived of the UEFA European Cup ?  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

While the football world is enjoying  the UEFA European Football Championship, many countries in Africa are restricted to watching 8 tournament games. Jentilisa, blogging from Madagascar, explains that the number of games to be broadcasted was decided by AFNEX (African Network and News Exchange) who bought the rights to the tournament in the region for African national televisions.  He argues that Africa is home to many of the elite players who play in major European clubs and soon home of the next FIFA World Cup 2010 in South-Africa and the tournament should not be restricted to rich people who owns  satellite dishes. He wishes that Chinese TV CCTV would dispute this monopoly in the future and lower the broadcasting fees for resource limited nations (fr and mg).


text:
Mexico: Suburb Satellite City · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Ciudad Satélite was “the first American-style planned suburb in Mexico” during the 1940s and 50s.  Mario of Candyland posts a video of one of the first commercials promoting this new way of living.


text:
Morocco: Resisting Daylight Savings · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The modern concept of Daylight Savings Time was conceived by William Willett in 1905 and was first initiated by Germany in 1916. Most of the world does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, and until recently, Morocco was no exception.  This year, however, the Moroccan government decided to re-introduce DST.
Margot the Marrakesh Mystic explains the situation:
By advancing clocks one hour, the government feels the additional daylight will help tourism. Additionally, business and banking times will be more closely aligned with European trading and business partners, particularly France.
Some Moroccans (98.7% Muslim) are now talking about how Daylight Savings Time will extend the hour of the Ramadan breakfast by one hour.
Some feel the time change is a problem for Ramadan, while others feel it’s not a problem at all. In any case, people will be getting up one hour earlier by the sun to go to work, and since Ramadan ends each day with the sunset time, the hours of awake fasting will seem extended by one hour. Ramadan is now beginning to move into the summer season (September this year, August next year), so the change will be noticed.
In the face of soaring fuel prices, Morocco is trying to maintain fuel subsides to the general population, in terms of gasoline and cooking fuel. The time change is partly an effort to save on energy consumption.
North Africa Notes tells us the word on the street:
Every person with whom I have spoken with today and almost every conversation I overheard walking down the street, in the old city, or in the taxi was about the time change. Most of the conversations either started out with ” So – what do you think of this time change thing?” Or you heard people saying, ” So- what time is it now?” Most people just seemed to be in bewilderment as to why exactly we were moving the clock forward. It just seemed to be inconveniencing everyone and throwing off peoples rhythms. Especially with regards to prayer times around which a good number of people here still manage their lives, ALhamdulilah. So now sunset prayer will not be until around 8:35pm at night and the night prayer will begin at around 10:15 pm.
People are already trying to figure out how this is going to effect their fasting in the month of Ramadan which is about 3 months away.( This Daylight Savings is supposed to stay in effect until Sept 27th)
Although the change is country-wide, not all Moroccans are quick to accept the time change.  Jenny in Morocco, a Peace Corps volunteer, shares how things are in her neck of the woods:
Twenty years is a long time and I can understand how people might find this change complicated or unnatural. Imagine if you were 25 years old and the last time you experienced Daylight Savings Time, you were five years old. But, excluding young people, you'd think the older folks would remember and try to adopt the time change.
Instead, what's happened here is slightly insane and very very confusing. I call it the “new time” “old time” paradox. Official places like schools, government buildings, the airport, and cities have changed over to the “new time.” Everyone else, including my town, have stayed with the “old time.” Well, everyone except for me and the mayor's office, the post office, and the schools. And the schools are closed now, so I'm pretty sure the kids are functioning on “old time.”
Another member of the Peace Corps, Duncan Goes To Morocco is having a similar experience:
One other thing is that last week, for the first time ever, Morocco moved its clocks forward in a daylight savings sort of thing. The only thing is that no one in my community (and I’m assuming many other rural communities) understands or follows it. The school, health clinic, and government building all follow the new time, but no one else does. They all know that the change has happened, but there’s no reason for them to do it. I changed the clock in my house, hoping to have my family be the trendsetters in the village. But their daily schedule is just like it was before the change – it follows the sun, not the clock. And now, whenever my mom says a time, she says the old time, followed by the word for old. For example, she’ll say, “the transport is coming at seven tomorrow – the old seven.” Then she always laughs because she thinks it’s hilarious I changed the clock.
Yet another PCV, Connie in Morocco, puts it simply:
Morocco went on Daylight Savings Time on June 1. Do you think my village and the surrounding douars (settlements) did?

author: Jillian C. York


text:
Nicaragua: Rally in Support of Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In Managua, Nicaragua, Rodrigo Peñalba of Barricada [es] posts a video of a rally in support of Dora María Tellez’ hunger striker, who is protesting alleged corrpution by the President of the Supreme Electoral Court, Roberto Rivas


text:
Saudi Arabia: Celebrating Life  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi PhD student Hala, who lives in the US, attended the Celebrate your Life conference, which attracted a line up of writers and thinkers.


text:
Saudi Arabia: The Hijab and France  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

France banned students in its schools from wearing any religious symbols and dress denoting religious affiliations – including the Islamic headscarf or the Hijab for women – in 2004. Saudi woman are now protesting against the ruling – four years later, say bloggers.
Ahmed Al Omran, or Saudi Jeans, discusses his reactions to a newspaper article which interviews a student objecting to the French ruling.
He notes:
When the French government decided to ban all religious symbols in schools few years ago the decision hardly went unnoticed, especially by Muslims as many of them found the rule directly targeting the hijab. While I find this French rule idiotic, I find it equally if not more idiotic what some Saudi female students who got scholarships to France have to say about the implications of this rule on their education.
One of the girls interviewed by the papers calls on Saudi officials to “sort out” the issue with French authorities, to allow Saudi women to have their veil. Saudi Jeans hits back saying:
The only way I see for our “officials” to “sort it out” is this: one of them gets the French citizenship, he wins the presidential elections there, and then he makes the parliament change the law. Pretty straight forward, huh? No offense to Ms. Abdulhadi, but don’t you think you could have spent a few hours learning some general information about France and its laws before you apply for a scholarship there?
Another student went as far as asking the government to stop scholarships to France altogether. Sorry Missy, just because you think French laws contradict what you believe in doesn’t give you the right to deny others the chance to go and pursue a better education in that place as long as it suits their beliefs.
One of the readers, Hala in the USA, isn't happy with Al Omran's tone. She says:
Saudi Jeans, I didn’t like your sarcastic tone, after all, those girls were grown in here, it’s part of a sacred belief to cover up, how did you catch this tone? people can express what they think about laws, laws and policies are changing every now and then with any new and worthy viewpoints, and democracy oblige people to take all opinions into consideration even from foreigners…People can voice their requests in a free world like France as you know!!!
Crossroads Arabia links to the newspaper article and offers the following explanation:
This Arab News story reports that female Saudi students are running into problems with their hijabs in French medical schools. The article—and apparently some of the students—confuses the French law that prohibits wearing of religious symbols in elementary and secondary schools (which ban also includes kippeh or yarmulke and large crosses), with separate rules of medical schools which ban head coverings as unhygienic.
Wearing hijab in French universities is not, as a rule, forbidden. Medical schools, however, have other issues than laïcité in mind. I realize that Saudi medical schools don’t see this as a problem, but the French see it otherwise.


text:
South Korea: A Million People Protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt puts together photos of the June 10 million people candle night vigil against the importation of unsafe U.S beef [zh].

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Assassination Plot?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Abeni thinks that her Prime Minister “needs a bush bath.”


text:
Tajikistan: Food Crisis · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Vadim thinks that Tajikistan is currently facing food crisis because of corruption.


text:
The myriad voices of Pakistani blogosphere · Global Voices
Raza Rumi

Pakistan's growing blogosphere presents a kaleidoscope of the complex, contradictory developments within the country. The country is in the grip of a major movement for upholding the rule of law. Some say it is the finest moment in our history while others term it as yet another agent of instability. Thousands of lawyers and political activists have commenced a long march to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, to pressurize the parliament and the government to restore the judges dismissed by now ubiquitous and beleaguered President Musharraf. We take our great neighbour China's history and Chairman Mao, quite seriously.
Pak Spectator welcomes the long march with these words:
Gallant lawyers from all over the Pakistan have started their Long March towards the Islamabad where a dictator lives who tried to demolish the country's justice system to appease his vested interest to stick to the power forever. These lawyers are upholding the flags of supremacy of law and the upper hand of constitution with full liberty to the judges of higher and lower judiciary.
In a similar vein, cyrilalmeida.com moans the skepticism about the lawyers’ long march:
What a wretched country this is. The march should have given goose bumps to every person with an iota of romance. Instead, it has raised the hairs on the back of the neck for the many who fear what confrontation will bring. Not for decades have ugly reality and dreaminess collided so forcefully. The sceptics believe they are on the right side of history. But there is no joy in parting with the lawyers. Unfortunately, there are no Hollywood endings in Pakistan, only bitter truths.
An alternative view, again at Pak Spectator urges that legal matters cannot be brought to the streets:
Court business is conducted in Courts only. Staging of a protest or arranging a Long March on any pretext by a bunch of lawyers out side of the courts, in order to pressurise and influence the Parliament to give a favourable verdict is sure absurdity because; Munsib ka Mut-manni khain hota hey! If at all there is a need to do some March; that is an inward cleansing March; a March toward lower and High courts system; where Justice is a far cry and common man experience; corruption, corruption and corruption of Judges only. Long March; it is more of a Leisure Ride.
Putting the recent stage in the lawyers’ movement in a political economy context by arguing that the real agenda of the Long March appears to be frustrating the newly elected government of the slain Bhutto's party. This is what Haq's Musings has to say:
So why are the judges and the lawyers being elevated to such high stature by the “civil society” … and their media and politician cheerleaders? The answer probably lies in their obsessive need for vengeance against Musharraf by the PML(N), the lawyers and the journalists.
It probably goes beyond that. The real agenda appears to be to frustrate the newly elected PPP government and make it impossible for it to deliver on the PPP promises to the people in terms of their basic needs of roti [bread], bijli [electricity] and paani [water]. Such a failure would likely result in the ouster of the PPP, early elections and the “restoration” of the pre-1999 situation with PML(N) government led by Nawaz Sharif.
And where is the march headed to – the Pakistani capital. Islamabad, vilified by the corporate media as a haven of terror and bigotry. Thus a refreshing account of an Indian traveler has been posted at the Pak Tea House:
Islamabad is surely the most well-organised, picturesque and endearing city in all of South Asia. Few Indians would, however, know this, or, if they did, would admit it. After all, the Indian media never highlights anything positive about Pakistan, because for it only ‘bad’ news about the country appears to be considered ‘newsworthy’. That realization hit me as a rude shock the moment I stepped out of the plane and entered Islamabad's plush International Airport, easily far more efficient, modern and better maintained than any of its counterparts in India. And right through my week-long stay in the city, I could not help comparing Islamabad favourably with every other South Asian city that I have visited.
This unconventional wisdom is furthered by these lines:
No sooner has the visitor stepped off the plane in Islamabad and drives into the city than he is forced to realize that whatever the Indian media says about Pakistan and its people is basically bogus…
No, Pakistan is not a ‘fundamentalist’ country, teetering on the verge of a take-over by ‘religious radicals’. No, Pakistan is not a ‘prison-house of Muslim women’, who are allegedly forced into wearing tent-like burkhas. No, Pakistan is not a ‘failed state’ that produces nothing. Flowing beards and skull-caps are conspicuous by their rarity in Islamabad as are burkhas. Women drive and shop and work in government and private offices. Most basic consumer items are produced within the country.
Lahore Nama has a post on the contradictions of urban Pakistan and its post-colonial ethos, not unlike the not-so-loved neighbour, India:
Speaking of golf courses, it seems a contradiction to me that Lahore boasts three eighteen-hole golf courses and two full-fledged polo grounds in the middle of the city, while at the same time there is a low-income housing shortage and elite residential housing developments have all picked up the cheap land at the outskirts of the city. As a result, there is precious little land for low-income and middle-class housing. Interestingly, this phenomenon is not unique to Lahore. Delhi has several golf courses and a couple of polo grounds in its bowels. Several other cities that hosted the Raj are similar. Something tells me this may have to do with a sustained post-colonial mentality that prioritises golf and polo over the accommodation of the poor.
The hugely popular blog All Things Pakistan is also celebrating its second birthday with this reflection:
On these pages we've tried to cultivate this community of Pakistaniat as best as we could. But we have also tried to remain true to our name – All Things Pakistan.We have focussed on all things related to Pakistan and stayed away from things that are not directly related to Pakistan. We are not, and do not wish to be, a newspaper or even a new site. But we cannot ignore the unraveling of society and politics and economy in Pakistan. We have had to write on news too often – much more often than we would have wished to write about it – simply because it would have been dishonest to ignore the great news events of our times.
Moving from the local to the global, the eager Teeth Maestro has posted a discussion at Asia Society where the eminent Pakistani author, Ahmed Rashid discusses his new book “Descent Into Chaos: the United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia”. This book is about the troubled globe in the context of 9/11 and the subsequent disasters:
Rashid talked about complex geopolitics of the region in the aftermath of 9/11, focusing on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United States, sharply criticizing the Bush administration's policies, arguing that after 9/11 the US squandered a tremendous opportunity to engage with the region in a constructive way.

author: Raza Rumi


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Chicken Run · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago-based blogger Grounding encounters a challenge with a few feathered friends, causing her to exclaim: “Thank God that I am vegetarian and that the global food crisis has not yet arrived.”


text:
Tunisia: Protestor Killed in Clashes with Police  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisian Annaqued [Ar] republishes a human rights communique protesting the death of a demonstrator during a stand off with police in the Rudayef protests, which have been going on since the beginning of the year.


text:
Uganda: Media crackdown · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Moses Paul writes about media crackdown in Uganda: “Government has set up a special ministerial taskforce in what appears another move by the state to muzzle the media. This is not the first time hardline elements in President Museveni’s government have mooted unconstitutional machinations to clamp down on the independent media.”


text:
Zimbabwe: Operation pull down your satellite dish · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The ruling party in Zimbabwe hates satellite dishes!:”The Zimbabwean government has announced the beginning of yet another operation designed to oppress the people of Zimbabwe. Under Operation Dzikisai Madhishi (Operation pull down your satellite dish) the regime is forcing Zimbabweans to pull down their home satellite dishes through which the majority of Zimbabweans have been able to access eTV, SABC, Botswana Television as well some DSTV channels.”


text:
Bahamas: Somewhere Over The Rainbow  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The conversation about the rights of gays and lesbians in this country is stuck in a Christian fundamentalist scriptural war that cannot see gays and lesbians, bisexuals or transgender people as integral to the wide spectrum of human existence”: The Gaulin Wife writes a stirring tribute to slain AIDS activist Solomon Wellington Adderley, while examining Bahamian attitudes to homosexuality.


text:
Bermuda: Good Governance · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It’s shocking to know that, not only are major decisions being made in Cabinet without public consultation or debate, but some Ministers are even defying the agreed decisions of Cabinet!”: Vexed Bermoothes is concerned about proper governance in Bermuda.


text:
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Landmine Deaths · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett writes about landmine deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Brazil: Judges can’t tell YouTube from U2 · Global Voices
Paula Góes

The Superior Electoral Court (the acronym TSE in Portuguese) yesterday held a session to conclude the resolution regulating the use of the Internet in the 2008 local elections campaign later this year. Among the highly criticized resolutions was Article 4 [pt], which states the following:
Art. 4º. É vedada, desde 48 horas antes até 24 horas depois da eleição, a veiculação de qualquer propaganda política na Internet, no rádio ou na televisão – incluídos, entre outros, as rádios comunitárias e os canais de televisão que operam em UHF, VHF e por assinatura –, e, ainda, a realização de comícios ou reuniões públicas.
Art 4. Broadcasting of any political propaganda on the Internet, radio or  television – including, among others,  community radio stations and television channels operating in UHF, VHF and by subscription – and, besides, rallies or public meetings are prohibited, from 48 hours before through 24 hours after the election.
This leads to the interpretation that blog posts and pieces of news written way before the elections would be banned on the day, according to judge-blogger Jorge Alberto Araujo [pt], who interprets the resolution as the same as trying to forbid people from reading yesterday's papers on the election day:
Impedir que matérias de conteúdo político sejam veiculadas na Internet, no dia da eleição, dá a impressão que o TSE, futuramente, pode admitir que haja propaganda política obrigatória na Web, algo do tipo: “Interrompemos a programação normal (a leitura deste blog, por exemplo) para exibir a propaganda obrigatória nos termos da Lei…” absurdo, não? Eu e você achamos. Parece que o TSE, não.
Preventing political content to circulate on the Internet, on the election day, gives the impression that the TSE, in  future, could admit that there will be free political advertising on the Web, something like: “we interrupt the normal schedule (reading of this blog, for example) to broadcast  the free political advertising program under the Law…” It is absurd, no? You and I believe so. It seems that the TSE, don't.
Lawyer Adauto de Andrade [pt] publishes the picture above and gives his two cents:
Internet não é televisão. Internet não é rádio. Você “vai” à Internet, ela não “vem” até você. Será que o TSE não consegue dar uma dentro?
Internet is not television. Internet is not  radio. You “go” to the Internet, it doesn't “come” to you. Is it possible that the TSE can't get anything right?
Another Brazilian blogger and Judge George Marmelstein [pt] watched the TSE session in person. Below is a summary of his impressions:
Na medida em que eu ia vendo as argumentações apresentadas, ficava cada vez mais surpreso ante o despreparo dos ministros para entenderem o que é a internet. Parecia – e essa impressão foi muito forte – que eles não sabiam do que estavam falando. Para se ter uma idéia, Youtube virou U2.
As I heard  the arguments being presented, I was increasingly surprised in face of the ministers’ lack of knowledge   to understand what  the Internet is. It seemed – and this impression was very strong – that they did not know what they were talking about. To get an idea, Youtube was turned into U2.
No entanto, merece destaque o posicionamento do Min. Carlos Ayres Brito nesse assunto. Ele disse algo que eu já defendi: em matéria de liberdade de expressão, o Judiciário não deveria tentar regulamentar a internet sem saber do que se trata. Querer igualar a internet com as demais mídias é um grave equívoco. A internet, ao contrário da imprensa tradicional, não tem dona e a informação é livre e gratuita.
However, it is worth noting Minister Carlos Ayres Brito's position n this matter. He said something I have advocated: when it comes to freedom of expression, the judiciary should not try to regulate the Internet without knowing what it is. Trying to make the Internet equal to other media is a serious mistake. The Internet, unlike traditional media, has no owner and the information is free and gratis.
No final das contas, a solução foi uma amostra clara de que eles não sabiam direito o que estavam decidindo naquele momento. Ficou decidido que à medida em que os problemas surgissem, a solução seria dada caso a caso. Tanto melhor para os advogados e tanto pior para os eleitores, que ficam com uma espada de Dâmocles em suas cabeças sem saber direito o que podem e o que não podem fazer.
In the end, the decision was a clear sample  that they did not know what they were deciding right then. It was decided that to the extent that problems arise, they would be dealt with, case by case. This is great for lawyers and too bad for voters, who are left with a Sword of Damocles hanging over  their heads without knowing what they can and can not do.
Meanwhile, bewilderment reigns, with mismatched information and misunderstandings being shared among blogs, newspapers and other media outlets – everyone seems still to be confused.
Global Voices Online has been following this discussion closely.

author: Paula Góes


text:
China: Best Seller · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ruan Yifeng summarizes a local magazine's special feature on the culture of reading in China, with some statistic information on best selling books [zh].