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El Salvador: The Popularity of Funes · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

David Holiday of Central America and Beyond compares Salvadoran presidential candidate Mauricio Funes of FMLN to the “rock-star status” of Barack Obama due to how Funes is being received by the electorate.


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Environment: ‘Green Deserts’ in China · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Gaoming Jiang of China Dialogue writes of ‘green deserts’ characterized by poplar trees and nothing else.
“The Chinese government should consider the needs of local species and biodiversity. We need to consider planting slow-growth but high-quality wood alongside faster-growing species. We must reduce the dominance of the poplar, allowing natural forest ecosystems to play the role they should.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Juliana Rotich


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Environment: Greening Communities in South Africa · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

Carbon Copy posts a 90 second award winning film shot in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township; The film “touches on daily township life in South Africa and how solar energy could be utilised to uplift the poor in a sustainable way.”


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Georgia: Final Results · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing for his blog, This is Tbilisi Calling, the BBC's Matthew Collin says that the official results for Saturday's presidential election have finally been declared. As had been reported in the international media anyway, Mikhail Saakashvili won a second term in office, but Collin says that it is doubtful that everything is over.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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India: Mylapore Festival · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Photographs from the Mylapore Festival 2008 at Chennai Metroblogging.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India, Pakistan: Blog buddy across the border · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

SidhuSaaheb meets Raza Rumi, a blogger from across the border and shares his experience.


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Indoneisa: Economic Growth Comparision · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Martin Manurang compares the Economic performance of Indoneisa under the current and the previous two presidents of Indonesia.

author: Preetam Rai


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Iran:”Holy Ahmadinejad” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir writes,according to an Iran based news site,Aftab, “a few days ago,a large group of MPs were lined up in order to greet Iranian president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in parliament. Some of the MPs who had not seen him since his return[Hajii pilgrimage] would touch his cloths [because they considered them blessed].One MP went as far as drinking the remaining water in a glass Ahmadinejad had used. He then splashed the water on his clothes.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Israel: President Bush Visits Israel · Global Voices
Maya Norton

American President George W. Bush is arriving in Israel today and for once, English speaking Israelis have little to say. Views fall primarily into two camps:
During his two-day stay, Bush's primary purpose is to monitor and encourage the peace talks between the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority with the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in 2008. While in Israel, he will meet with PA President Mahmoud Abbas and later with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
President Bush's last visit to Israel was in 1998, shortly before his first term as president.
The visit will cost Israel an unbelievable $25,000 an hour in security and force closings of all main streets for the next two days.
Rooftopper Rav of Jewschool exclaims:
“That feels unconscionable. This country kept its high school students out of school for two months because it balked at paying teachers a living wage, still refuses to pay its university teachers a decent wage, hasn’t yet fully made good on its financial and other promises to evacuees from Gaza, and continues to let its poor, its elderly, and its Holocaust survivors languish without proper financial and medical assistance. And somehow there’s enough money to spend $25,000 an hour on George Bush.”
In a post entitled, “Waiting for George,” Gideon Lichfield of Fugitive Peace comments:
“Jerusalem traffic has already slowed to about half its usual speed. Military choppers keep buzzing overhead in both Jerusalem and Ramallah. There are more guns around than at an NRA [National Rifle Association] convention. People are avoiding making appointments for the next couple of days… This had better be good.”
Efratti of From Nation's Capital to Nation's Capital adds:
“This city is totally paralyzed.  All of the cops, national traffic police, and other branches of security are in my general neighborhood.  I really hope there are no incidents of domestic violence or car accidents that require police attention; those victims will be totally out of luck.”
Eliesheva of Lizrael asks:
“Couldn’t President Bush just hold a conference call with the Middle Eastern leaders? I’m sure between the American and Israeli governments, someone could afford a couple of web cams. Didn’t Israel invent web cams? ICQ? Tiny USB sticks?…
It’s just that – with all due respect (or not) – all of us ‘regular people’ in Jerusalem are going to be mighty peeved as this Wednesday through Friday we sit in hours of traffic, arrive to work late and endure loud caravan sirens on the residential streets. Ah, what we sacrifice in the name of peace.”
Two katyusha rockets were fired into Israel from Southern Lebanon yesterday, causing KGS of Tundra Tabloids to remark:
“So Hezbollah has gotten the green light from its patron in Iran to rattle its saber in wake of the US President Bush's visit to the region. That's to be expected, especially since Iran felt it necessary to provoke an almost certain response from US ships in the Straights of Hormuz.”
Echoing a popular Israeli opinion, he adds:
“As long as the Palestinians have yet to give up on their dream of ‘greater Palestine,’ the Israeli parliament and the people will be in no mood to give any kind of support to anything PM Ehud Olmert agrees to. There are no signs of anything good coming out of a Bush visit to both Israel and the PA… I would hope that if anything positive can be done during his visit, it's in the realm of convincing the Arabs in the region that the US will not allow for a nuclear Iran.”
The author of This Ongoing War adds that rockets are also being launched from Gaza into southern Israel as a warning for Bush's visit:
“By no coincidence at all, the increased heat on our northern front is matched this morning with lethal weapon attacks on our southern front. Bush is coming to town, and the media are here. 9 Qassams and at least 2 mortars have crashed into Israel's western Negev so far this morning (Wednesday) hours before President Bush's arrival at Ben Gurion airport.”
President Bush's Israel visit is part of an 8-day tour through the Middle East. He is also scheduled to visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt in an effort to contain the threat of a nuclear Iran.

author: Maya Norton


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Jamaica: Disappointing Tunes of ’07 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican Marlon James continues his musical theme by blogging about “the most disappointing records of 2007″.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: Kizasi · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Serkantoto at Asiajin introduces readers to the Japanese blog search engine and analyzer Kizasi.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Kazakhstan: New Translation of a Masterpiece · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Zhanna Zhukova tells about a new Russian translation of the epic novel “Abai’s Path” from the original Kazakh. Despite criticism that the work was done on the basis of interlinear translation, the new version is deemed a success by the author’s son.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kazkahstan: UFO down reported  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Zhanna Zhukova writes about a weird news item about alleged crash of an UFO in the northern Kazakhstan that has been reported to the competent bodies by a local head of police.


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Kenya: A tool for reporting acts of violence · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African writes about a new tool for reporting acts of violence in Kenya: “Ushahidi.com is a tool for people who witness acts of violence in Kenya in these post-election times. You can report the incident that you have seen, and it will appear on a map-based view for others to see.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kenya: Action Alert Blog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks writes about Kenya Action Alert blog: “Pambazuka News has created an Action Alert blog for up to date news and alerts on Kenya.”


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Latvia: Politicians’ Quotes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Amusing quotes” from Latvian politicians (as well as one from Putin, on Latvia), over at Latvian Abroad.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Lebanon: Mothers Against Bush · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

What will calm, peaceful, sweet mothers do if US President George W Bush visits Lebanon? Lebanese blogger Jamal Ghosn has the answer here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Lebanon: Norman Finkelstein’s Visit · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Ali Hammoud salutes Norman Finkelstein, who visited Lebanon recently.


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Lebanon: The Three Little Pigs  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ms Leventine, from Lebanon, adapts The Three Little Pigs to update us on the situation in Lebanon.


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Lusosphere: Happy birthday Pimenta Negra · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Blog Pimenta Negra [pt] celebrates its 4th anniversary. “It came up due to several circumstances related to the need to find an independent  communication channel and an alternative to spread ideas that are far from been echoed in the media”.

author: Paula Góes


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Malaysia: A New Shrine For Ganesha · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Eating Asia has a pictorial post covering a conscecration ceremony of a Hindu shrine in Malaysia.


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Malaysia : Environment Conscious University · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Education Malaysia hails the decision of a Malaysian University to go green with its food containers.


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Mexico: 2007 was a Good Year · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Two out of every three Mexican citizens reported that 2007 was better for them personally than 2006 according to a national poll writes Vivir México [es].

author: Eduardo Avila


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Morocco: Casablanca Going the Wrong Way · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Every time I visit Casablanca, which is once a year or two , I realize that the city is going down on many levels. While cities in many parts of the world become greener, more organized, and safer despite their growth, Casablanca seems to be going the other direction,” writes Moroccan blogger Adilski.


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Myanmar: Blogging Woes · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Dathana talks about the difficulty faced by Myanmar's netizens after the uprising last September.


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Myanmar: Then and Now · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Comparing the state of Myanmar at the time of its independance and now.


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Pakistan: Bhutto’s Heir · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Benazir Bhutto's son – Bilawal, 19 years old and studying at Oxford has found himself in the media's glare. The Pakistani Spectator on Bilawal being hounded by the media.


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Pakistan: The Bhutto Family · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Wayward Mind on the number of deaths in the Bhutto family – political players who died violent deaths.


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Portugal: We have been betrayed · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Susana Charrua [pt] is alarmed that Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates has decided to seek ratification of the EU's new reform treaty by parliament rather than in a referendum as had been promised, “We are being governed by a dictator of the worst kind, I believe we should begin to fear and face him illegally, boycotting his intentions”, she says.


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Russia: Police Arrests Members of “Nashi” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander writes about a crackdown on a rally by the pro-Putin youth movement Nashi: “That police actually intervened against Nashi demonstrators seems an exception to the rule of giving the movement great leeway in their public appearances and propaganda.”


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Slovenia: New Bad Parking Photo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A new picture of yet another Slovenian “Self-Absorbed Bike Lane-Parking Moron” – at Piran Cafe.


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Slovenia, U.S.: First Ladies · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovksy writes about the Slovenian First Lady's admiration for her U.S. counterpart (whom she misnames, however): “Barbs, the Slovene first lady, further went to say that she likes Barbarba (well, Laura) Bush for the strength of her character and the fact that she cured Dubya of alcocholism. Double whoops!”


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Sri Lanka: Humour and Racism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Missing Sandwich on workplace humour crossing the line and how “funny” taunts smack of racism.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: On Strike  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeni blogs about the teachers’ strike in St. Vincent.


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Syria: campaign to release Syrian blogger Tarek Baiasi · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Bloggers in Syria are running an online campaign to raise awareness about the case of the 23 years old Syrian blogger, Tarek Baiasi, who has been arrested since July 7th, 2007 for critical comments he posted on a deemed “sensitive” website.

author: sami ben gharbia


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

Ramblings and Reason is “still trying to figure out the whole globalisaiton thing – what it means and whether it's an overall good or bad thing”.


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Turkmenistan: New Year in the Shadow of the “Blue Fuel” · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula reports on the new “gas” news from Turkmenistan — on 27 December, President Berdymukhammedov informed that in 2008 Turkmenistan will conduct an audit of all hydrocarbon deposits.


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Aghanistan: Bagram Holds Twice as Many as Guantanamo · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghanistan Watch reviews a New York Times report, in which it is said that the secretive American detention center at Bagram base in Afghanistan now holds more than twice as many prisoners as Guantanamo Bay.


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Aghanistan: People killed “needlessly” · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bipasha Ray reports that according to testimony of a former member of the Marines unit at a military court yesterday, a few U.S. Marines shot and killed 19 Afghan civilians “needlessly” after a suicide bomb struck their convoy in March last year.


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Anguilla: Dolphin Pros & Cons · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We would all have heard by now that the Ministers have agreed to give the ‘swim with the dolphins’ company a licence…for their new facility”: Corruption-free Anguilla raises some questions.


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Armenia: Anger · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Lara at Life in Armenia paints a depressing picture of what it's like to be director of a Woman's Center in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Women who decide to leave their husbands or are victims of domestic violence, she says, are often ridiculed or ostracized by what is still very much a patriarchal society.


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Armenia: Polarized Politics · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer ponders comments made by presidential candidate Vazgen Manukian that politics ahead of next month's vote is polarized. However, according to Observer, Manukian suggests that this is deceiving as there is a huge gap between the two poles.


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Armenia: Ter Petrosian’s Manifesto · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer takes a more in-depth and objective look at the pre-election campaign manifesto of the first and former president of the Republic of Armenia, Levon Ter Petrosian.


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Bahamas: Is Religion a Business?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Adrian Gibson, blogging at WeblogBahamas.com, likens certain pastors to “religious terrorists who are doggedly fleecing Bahamians!”


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Bahrain: Just Bahraini on Target · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A Bahraini anti-sectarian campaign – Just Bahraini – has raised its target funds, thanks to a generous donation from a donor who preferred to remain anonymous, announced blogger Mahmood Al Yousif, who is the mastermind behind the initiative.


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Barbados: Election Issues  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“With one week left to go before elections, Barbados is in the grips of one of the most intense election campaigns in recent memory,” says Notes From The Margin, while Living in Barbados thinks “the issues are as usual getting mixed up with nonsensical activities.”


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Brazil: Yellow fever alert · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“The Brazilian authorities have re-issued a health alert for visitors coming to Brazil and intending to visit certain regions of the country where yellow fever is endemic”. See a list of places where vaccination prior to travel is needed, plus basic facts about yellow fever in Brazil and general recommendations at Brazil Travel Blog.


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Central Asia: U.S. Official Responsible for Caspian Region Resigned · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine updates on Thomas Pickering, the senior U.S. statesman who was to lead the high-level U.S. pipeline campaign on the Caspian. Despite his recent appointment to the position, he has withdrawn for unspecified reasons.


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China: Banning Free Plastic Bags · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Although banning free plastic bags in China is a good news for the global environment, however, Kaie doesn't like the word ban (zh). Moreover, he pointed out that the cost of the free plastic bags would be transfered to the poor people, and more polluted materials may enter the market.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Destroying Corpse · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Not only did the Hubei Tianmen City management team murdered Wei Wenhua, the police tried to rob his corpse in order to suppress the event. Izaobao describes that as Power Anomie (zh).


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China: Discrimination Against Illegitimate Child · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A 17 years old girl, Ling Ling, committed suicide because she didn't have a proper household registration (her mother was not married when giving birth) and could not apply for university. Liu Xiaoming criticizes the Beijing family planning committee regulation for discrimination against illegitimate child (zh).


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China: More on Journalist Arrested for Defamation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief comments on the attempt to arrest a Beijing journalist by Liaoning cadres ended up in an outraging scandal.


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Egypt: Chinese Goods · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

You sure know about the economy of the People's Republic of China, which is one of the largest economies in the world. With an average annual GDP growth rate of 10 per cent, it has become normal to see Chinese goods in Egyptian stores. What is interesting to note is that the Chinese also depend on themselves to sell their goods away from the stores. Every now and then people are visited by Chinese salesmen … erm … saleswomen, who try to sell them products right in their homes.
Tayara Waraa – Kite – wrote a post here about her experience with one of those Chinese saleswomen.
طرقات على الباب
تقول لى بلغة عربية مكسرة : تشترى هاجة صينى؟
أقول لها فى العادة شكراً وأغلق الباب فوراً..لكننى فى هذه المرة كان بيتى عامراً بالبشر فقلت لها : تفضلى
وتفضلت
ووضعت البؤجة التى تحملها على الأرض وبدأت تعرض ما معها.. مفارش..ملابس..أدوات زينة
كنت أنظر لها وفى داخلى أسئلة
ليست عما تبيعه فهو معروف منذ بدأ الصينيون فى غزو البلد بأنفسهم وليس فقط عن طريق التصدير لنا..ولكن عما دفعها لهذا العمل الشاق..وتحمل الغربة فى سبيله..وهذه الحقيبة التى تحملها على ظهرها كوزر أو سنام جمل..وعن غايتها وهدفها وحلمها وفتى أحلامها القصير
:)
Knocks on the door
She told me in broken Arabic: “Wanna buy something Chinese?”
I would normally say: “No, thanks” to them and close the door … But this time my house was full of people so I asked her to come in.
She put the bag she was carrying with her on the floor and started to show me the goods she had. Tablecloths, cloths and cosmetics.
I was looking at her, with a lot of questions inside me.
Not about what she sold as it's known since they started to invade the country by themselves rather than exporting their goods to us only. But what forced her to do such hard job, and travel away from her homeland with a backpack like a camel hump. I was thinking about her aim and dreams and her short prince charming :)
She then continues …
يعجبنى هؤلاء القوم رغم اختلافى مع نهجهم القاضى بإنتاج درجات جودة مختلفة لكل السلع بدءاً من الصفر وتلك الدرجة ..درجة الصفر ..هى التى يقومون بالتصدير لنا من خلالها..وينتابنى دوماً عندما
أرى تلك العيون الضيقة المسحوبة أننى أواجه جيشاً من النمل..المنظم..الذى يمكنه أن ينخر فى عظام أى شىء ويحيله فى لحظة إلى هشي
I am impressed by those people although I do not agree with their strategy of having products with various quality levels starting from zero … and it is such low quality products that they export to us. I always have the feeling when I see those narrow eyes that I am facing an organized army of ants who can do almost anything.

author: Tarek Amr


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Georgia: Election Trivia · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

TOL Georgia comments on the appearance of newly re-elected Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili on a popular TV political talk show. The blog says that the opportunity to ask the most obvious question about the conduct of Saturday's presidential election was missed.


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Georgia: LGBT Magazine · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that a local LGBT magazine, previously available only in Georgian, will now be translated into English and made available abroad.


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Hong Kong: Rally For 2012 Universal Suffrage · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On the coming Sunday, the Pan democrats are mobilizing a rally for 2012 universal suffrage and say no to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress's denial of Hong Kong people's wish for democracy. A facebook event page has been set up and a video “We are ready for 2012” is up on youtube.


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India: Introducing the Tata Nano · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The unveiling of Tata Nano, a new supermini car at the New Delhi Auto Expo today has created quite a commotion on the blogosphere. The standard version of the car is 100,000 Rs (approximately 2500 USD) making it the cheapest car to hit the Indian market.
The reception to the car has been quite mixed. Some claim that such a cheap car is only going to add to the infrastructure woes in Indian cities, already weighed by congested roads. Plus, the potential of pollution increasing as more cars hit the road. However, a lot of people are extremely positive about the car.
Indian Muslims writes that the car could have an interesting impact on rural India.
I agree with the critics that at least it is going to be a traffic disaster. Our cities are already seething with jams and crowded places. But then Ratan Tata is a businessman. And his focus is on bringing products which people need at the cheapest possible price. The infrastructure problems have to be solved by our policy makers and politicians. And it may be too much to ask from them. We have seen Bangalore and Pune become pathetic without much being done to keep pace with the exploding population of these cities. I am sure if this car is a success it will be a traffic disaster. But then if we think outside our cities, in the rural areas, where 70% of India lives it could be a life changing thing.
IndieQuill sums up the range of reactions, and points out that there is no reason for cars to be a luxury good.
On the one hand, where the hell do any of us get off making the case that cars should remain a luxury? Ratan Tata might be indulging in a PR exercise but he’s got a point when he says there are tons of families out there who’re making do with extremely unsafe modes of transportation because they can’t afford safer alternatives. Anybody who’s seen a woman balance a tiny baby on her lap while clinging to her husband as they sit on his bike and make their way through bumper-to-bumper traffic has a lot of nerve arguing that that couple ought to stick with their bike so that the rest of us, with more money in our bank accounts, can swan around in our a/c cars.
Don't Trust The Indian Media! has pictures of the car from the Auto Expo and writes that activists are likely to lose goodwill if they target people for being aspirational.
About Sunita Narain and R K Pachauri's comments on congestion and pollution, while valid stink of elitism I am afraid. People will protest against this car, but they should instead go after factories, after diesel generator sets and so much more. The problem with Indian greenies is that by protesting against the wrong things, they tend to lose goodwill. Remind me to cancel my subscription to Greenpeace. Don't go after people's aspirations guys, you lose goodwill. Tell people to consume more smartly, and tell our government to spend more wisely and not allow unfettered development, but mobility and communications are the wrong things to go after.
Ultrabrown expresses some safety concerns, but appears pretty positive about a car that promises – at the very least – protection from the elements.
Tata Motors just launched the modern-day equivalent of that Corolla, a car which costs less not only after adjusting for inflation, but in simple dollars as well. The Tata Nano isn’t a beauty queen, nor does it come with a click wheel. Its bumper curlicues evoke a late-model Ford Taurus, its absurdly high brow a boxfish. But at just Rs. 1 lakh ($2,500), it could put safer transport into the hands of middle- and lower-class families across the world.
Marketing Practice looks back at the time when the car was initially announced and scoffed at, and how the car probably doesn't need any marketing to boost sales.
In the marketing front, Nano had the dream start . Infact Nano may need no ads but heavy dose of positive PR during the launch. The brand may have to counter the skepticism surrounding the performance . Another nightmare is managing the initial rush of the customers. Since this is a car for the common man, there is every possibility that the customers could be given a raw treatment at the dealership touch- points. Indian marketers are still to wake up to the possibilities of a good customer service. How Tata and its dealers handle the initial euphoria will be something to watch for in the Customer-relationship perspective .


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Iran: Frozen! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran is facing an exceptionally cold winter. Snow has trapped many cities and at least eight people have lost their lives. Even gas supplies have been disrupted although Iran is the second richest gas country in the world. Millions of people are deprived of heating.
Several bloggers have provided photos from “frozen cities”, shared their stories, and criticised the government for mismanagement of crisis.
Photo of the city of Rasht in northern Iran from from Kourosh Ziabari blog.
Nik Ahang Kosar, cartoonist and blogger, published a cartoon criticising the government's indifference to people without a home in Iran. The caption has a homeless man saying homeless people in Palestine and Lebanon are lucky, because Iran helps them.
Raze No (means “new secret”) says [Fa] most roads and airports are closed because of bad weather. The blogger adds that in the next two days, schools and offices are closed in Tehran and many cities. The blogger has also published a series of photos from frozen Tehran.
Akbar Montakhabi, blogger and journalist, writes [Fa]:
“Several cities in the northern part of Iran are frozen and their gas supply has been disrupted. There is also a shortage of bread in cities. In such critical circumstances, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked people to reduce their energy consumption and wear warmer clothes.”
Otopia has published [Fa] a couple of photos of a long queue of people waiting to get milk. The blogger asks “Who can believe this country exports $100 barrels of oil?” Otopia says people waited 1-2 hours outdoors to buy milk.
Uzakyol says [Fa] there is a clear difference in how Turkey managed a recent gas shortage. While several cities in Iran are deprived of gas, Turkey managed the crisis. The blogger says the difference is that gas is in the hands of the government in Iran, while in Turkey the private sector is more flexible in finding solutions.
Jomhour writes [Fa]:
“In a statement, the government announced that all public buildings, schools, and … are closed except banks, the presidents’ office, and health care centers. It is another attempt to promote the image of the Iranian president.”


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Iran:A Music Video about Ahmadinejad · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here you can watch a new music video about Iranian president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.The song says the only thing you care is to be in news!


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Iran:Free Ali Kalai,jailed student · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers ask freedom for Ali Kalai[Fa],blogger and Azad University student.He was arrested with several other leftist students about 40 days ago.


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Iran:Remember Mehran Ghasemi · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers and journalists including Booyekhak talk[Fa] about Mehran Ghasemi,a 30 years old journalist,editor and blogger, whose death,because a heart attack, surprised a lot of people.


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Jamaica: Achievement vs. Reality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican Francis Wade blogs about “the fallacy of achievement”.


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Japan: Aiming Downward Kids  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Marx from Neojaponisme has a great article about Japan youth culture.


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Japan: Naked Festival Posters = Sexual Harassment? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The festival is a thousand-years-old. But the Japan Railway refused to put up the poster under the excuse of sexual harassment. More details from James, Japan Probe.


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Kazakhstan: Pranks and Politics · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The row of dayoffs in Kazakhstan brought a dead season for news and blogosphere, following the 2005 law on national holidays, which made both Qurban Eid and Christian Orthodox Christmas non-working days along with the New Year celebrations. However, some developments were discussed by the bloggers, who have noticed some frivolousness in the overall picture.
Mantrovkz writes about flash-based cartoons that have appeared on the web [ru]. The prank stuff features a concocted chrachter, which reminds the head of the state:
The cartoons are made by some “Kaimak Surets” [Sour Cream Pictures – Kaz] with only one person behind it. He alleges he is living in California, working for a high-tech industry and says that cartoons will appear regularly in response to the political developments in Kazakhstan. “That's my vision of the situation. As a Kazakh, I feel keenly about my country”, he says.”
Meanwhile, the Kashagan affair (a controversy around the supergiant oilfield in Kazakhstan, operated by a ENI-led consortium that had faced harsh criticism and pressure from the Kazakh government for delays in start of exploration) has been resolved suddenly. Stranno-m says that the Kazak side unexpectedly agreed for quite humble conditions — the income in first 10 years will amount only to $120 million a year, less than 2 per cent of the project's expected overall income.
“In fact, nothing was decided after so much ado. Idle games…”, he says bewilderedly.
Aitazhi writes how Kazakh schoolchildren prank with the widely advertised educational novelty — the interactive desks that are presumed to unite all high schools in one information network. Pupils made fun of it on the eve of an “open lesson”, which — as was planned — had to be held by the country's prime-minister. “All 900 desks simultaneously showed a message “Let's make sex”. It was posted from Shymkent, a southern city, and the pranks — three 9-grade pupils — were found very quickly”. The boys were rebuked — but their teacher was fired. The prime-minister didn't appear…


text:
Kazakhstan: What the Kashagan Deal May Look Like · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine reviews the report by Milano Finanza newspaper on the skeleton of a final settlement of the Kashagan dispute. With at least 13 billion barrels of proven reserves, Kazakhstan's Kashagan is the largest discovery in the world in the decades.


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Kenya: Moving images of unrest and hope · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Words can tell a story, pictures can give us images, and videos have a way of combining both, making it easier for an emotional connection to form with what is going on. During the violent events unleashed by the surprising results of the Kenyan election, media shut down and many had to depend on the internet for their information needs, others took it into their hands to create their media, bearing witness to these events, video camera in hand.
In Facebook, user Duncan Musicha posted 8 short videos recorded on what seems to be a cellphone camera to the group “Peace on Kenya” . In the videos, people can be seen running from police, gunshots can be heard and still bodies lay on the ground.
The following clip, Refugees in our own country  from NTVKenya  shows the refugees who have arrived at both the Eldoret police station, and Jamuhuri park in Nairobi: mostly are women and children who are fleeing the ethnic violence fueled by the election´s results, not knowing when they´ll be able to return to their looted and sometimes burnt down villages.
Aljazeera English has an 12 minute long update on the situation between opposing candidates Mwai Kibaki from PNU and Raila Odinga from ODM, and their agreement to meet to discuss the situation, also providing background information on Kenyan political history.
Videos are also providing people with a way to report violence and other incidents. In Ushahidi.com,  a report of house burning in Kapsoya near Eldoret is accompanied with a video interview, uploaded on youtube by afromusing, whose accounts of the events pre and post election are quite thorough and terribly moving.
Daudi from MentalAcrobatics,  shares a short video where Charity Ngilu asks an officer in charge of disassembling a political rally in Hurlingham why they aren´t being allowed to meet. In his words:
This clip shows Charity Ngilu asking the officer in charge why the rally is not allowed to continue. It is a bit shaky and ends mid sentence but at least it shows some sort of dialogue.
Voices of Africa [en] showcases the work of several citizen journalists who have also used cellphones cameras to record both pictures and video interviews, providing a wider perspective of the recent events. On their site you can view an ODM leader requesting peaceful action, no looting and no violence during marches, mediation teams taking shape and the slow return to normality, at least in Nairobi, where people returned to the streets and stores reopened.
Eyes on Kenya picks three different videos to showcase women´s situation in conflict: First, the clip you´ll see here, of Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, 2007 Alternative Nobel Peace Prize winner and her story on how she´s brought together different tribes to agree on peace instead of fighting for the preciously few water resources, then, the two part Al-Jazeera video report of at least 255 cases of assaults to women, related to the election campaign, with 0 charges to the accused, showing that in the areas of women´s rights, there´s still a long path ahead.
For more information on the events in Kenya, please feel free to visit the Global Voices special coverage page which is gathering as much information from the area as possible, with links to local blogs who are reporting the events.
Picture by MentalAcrobatics used according to Creative Commons License.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Korea: Game Addiction and Solution · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Last year, 14 year old boy killed his 10 year old brother with a pocket knife. The motive was simply curiosity about the feeling after murder. He was known to be excessively liking games that particularly are full of violence and bombing. He was analyzed as being confused between imagined space and the real world, and to identify game characters with himself.
More developed technology every day after you wake up… it’s hard to avoid them. While some of us insist that games are destroying humanity and warn against the strong tendency of addiction, we’re getting used to be close to them as part of daily life. In Korea, every household has more than one computer and students use them for their own homework. You can run into game café or internet café on the street so easily.
There is lots of  research showing how close computers and games are to our lives now, and how games affect us in negative ways.
A blogger links to research on how people spend their time for leisure and shows how games influence their lives.
[…] 6세부터 59세까지의 네티즌 496명을 대상으로 온라인 게임이용행태에 대한 설문조사를 실시한 결과, 네티즌 37.5%가 매일 1시간 이상 온라인 게임을 즐기고 있는 것으로 조사됐다.
하루 1~2시간 온라인 게임을 즐긴다고 대답한 네티즌이 21.4%, 하루 3시간 이상 즐긴다고 대답한 응답자는 16.1%로 나타났으며 특히 여성보다는 남성 네티즌들이 온라인 게임을 더 많이 즐기는 것으로 조사되었다.
특히 20대 남성(20~29세) 열명 중 네 명(42%)이 하루 평균 1시간 이상 온라인 게임을 즐긴다고 대답했으며, 이 중 3시간 이상 온라인 게임을 즐긴다고 대답한 20대 남성이 20%를 차지해 적지 않은 수가 여가 시간 중 많은 부분을 온라인 게임에 투자하고 있는 것으로 나타났다. […]
Netizens who play 1 to 2 hours everyday are 21.4% and those who play more than 3 hours are 16.1%. Male netizens play games longer than female netizens.
By age, 4(42%) of ten males in their 20s (20-29) play online games more than one hour and 20 percent of them play more than 3 hours.[…]
In particular, teenagers are always the major concern for this kind of research. The research of a college professor team is introduced by hephaistos’ blog.
게임중독이 음란물이나 채팅중독보다 청소년의 인간관계를 더 심각하게 파괴하는 것으로 나타났다.
[…] 게임중독 청소년은 음란물및 채팅중독 청소년보다 오프라인 친구관계에서 정서적 안정•신뢰•친밀감•교제의 즐거움의 긍정적 기능을 가장 낮게 지각하고 있었다. 반면 경쟁심은 채팅이나 음란물중독 보다 높았다.[…]
[…]또 맞벌이부부의 청소년이 부모 중 한쪽만 직업이 있는 청소년보다 음란물 몰입도가 높은 것으로 밝혀졌다. ‘부모 직업상태에 따른 음란물 몰입도’는 맞벌이의 경우가 아버지 또는 어머니만 직업이 있는 경우의 두배에 달했다. 이는 부모의 맞벌이 여부가 자녀의 인터넷 몰입에 주는 영향이 크지 않다는 기존연구와는 상반되는 결과다.
[…] The teenage game addicts have the lowest sense of emotional stability, trust, closeness, and happiness of friendship from off-line relations with friends, compared to porn and chatting addicted juveniles. On the other hand, their competitiveness is much higher than chatting and porn addicted youth.[…]
[…] In addition, juveniles whose all parents are working are more engrossed with porn sites than those who have a working parent. The extent of porn addicted juveniles having both working parents is two times higher than that of having one working parent. This contradicts the existing research that both parents’ working influences the extent of internet addiction.
Kangta406 is worried about young game addicts.
이 세상에 너무 많은 게임이 있습니다. 특히 한국은 셀수 없이 매년마다 게임이 생기고 있습니다. 하지만 이렇게 많은 게임들을 하다보면 점점 자기도 모르게 빠져드는 순간이 있고… 목숨을 걸기도 합니다.
지금 이 글을 보고 있는 중, 고등학생, 어른들은 잘 모를 것입니다. 수많은 어린 나이 꼬멩이들이 컴퓨터 게임에서 빠져 살고 있는지를[…] 꼭 많이 한다고 게임중독인 것은 아닙니다. 한시간을 하더라도 어떻게 게임을 하느냐는 것도 중요합니다. 정말 눈이 튀어나올 정도로 집중하고 주위소리도 안 들릴 정도로 게임한다면 중독의 끼가 보여지고 문제가 생깁니다.[…] 만 3-5세의 연령별 인터넷 이용률. 2006년 12월. 3세 34.0% 4세 47.0%, 5세 68.7%. 분명 사람들은 ‘내가 중독일리가 없잖아’라고 합니다. 중독자들은 자신이 중독자라고 자각하지 않습니다. 어른들은 모릅니다. 초등학생들의 하루를… 학교에서 유희왕카드놀이, 집에선 컴퓨터…물론 학원을 바쁘게 다니는 착한 초등학생들도 있습니다. 하지만 요즘은 3살때부터 컴퓨터 게임하고 살고 있는 판에 어떻겠습니까…[…]
Secondary school students and adults who are reading this post might now know well. Numerous young kids are living for computer games. […] Playing games a lot means game addiction. Even though you play it for one hour, how to play games is important. If you focus on so much and can’t hear anything around you, you have the symptoms of game addiction. […] Rates to use internet from 3 to 5 years old. In December of 2006. Three year old: 34.0%, four year old: 47.0%, and five year old: 68.7%. Of course people say, ‘I can’t be a game addict.’ Addicts don’t recognize themselves as addicts. Adults don’t know about primary school students’ day… at school, they play yuhuiwang card game. At home, they play computer… of course there are decent students who are busy running around private institutes. But how about three year old kids playing computer games?
How do parents use the internet about this matter?
어젯밤의 일이다.
늦게 퇴근한다는 집사람 대신 설거지랑 청소를 해 놓으려고 조금 일찍 퇴근했다. 설거지를 하며 작은 아이와 이야기를 나누던 중 학원가고 없던 큰아이의 근황을 물어보았다.
“형아는 오늘 게임을 했어?”
“응, 했어!”
“어제나 그전의 다른 날도 게임을 한 거야?”
“형아 매일 게임했는데.”
설거지하던 중 집사람이 퇴근하고, 곧이어 큰아이가 돌아왔다. “너 요즘 계속 게임했지?” 큰 녀석이 쭈뼜거리며 대답을 제대로 못했다. “내일부터 시험이라면서? 그런데 공부할 생각은 않고 매일 게임을 한단 말이냐?”
게임을 통제하려면 원칙을 지켜야 하기도 했지만 화도 났다. ‘할 일을 다했을 떄만 1시간 동안 게임할 수 있다.'라는 규칙을 왕창 어겼다가 종아리를 맞은 것이 불과 얼마 전이다. “시험기간 다가오니 그동안만이라도 게임 하지 말고 공부 좀 하라.”라고 단단히 주의를 준 게 불과 1주일 전이다. […]
내 아들이 공부도 잘하면 좋겠지만 억지로 강요하고 싶지는 않다. 다만, 어떤 일이든 주어진 일에 노력을 다하는 사람이 되기를 소망한다. 그런데 대화를 해도, 협박을 해도, 회초리를 들어도 먹히지 않는다.
게임 외에는 세상 모든 일에 관심이 없는 아이를 어찌해야 할까나.
현명한 부모님들! 조언 좀 해 주세요 ㅠ.ㅠ
“Did your brother play games today?”
“Yes.”
“Did he play games yesterday and the day before yesterday too?”
“He does everyday.”
My wife came back and then the first son came back. “Do you play games everyday?” He hesitated and didn’t answer. “Didn’t you say it will be the test from tomorrow? Instead of studying, do you play games everyday?”
In order to control games, I should have made the principle, but I was mad first. Even though there is a rule, ‘after finishing things, you can play games for one hour,’ he didn’t follow and I whipped his calves with a switch several days ago. It was just one week before I gave him a warning “when you’re preparing for the exam, don’t play games and do study until the exam is done.”[…]
I don’t want to force my son although it would be good for him to study well. I hope that he becomes a person who does his best at anything he does. But even though I have conversations with him, threaten him, and whip him with a switch, it doesn’t work.
What can I do with him, just not being interested in anything except games?
Wise parents! Please give me some advice ㅠ.ㅠ
A blogger talks about why he plays games.
게임중독은 남자의 성취욕구와 관련된다고 한다. 현실에서 풀지 못하는 성취욕구를 게임속에서 대리만족하는 것이다. 학교에서는 친구들에게 놀림을 당해도 게임속에서는 나쁜 악당들을 물리칠 수 있는 힘이 있고 현실에서는 여자에게 말을 못 건네지만 게임속에서는 누구보다도 인기 있고 매력적인 남자가 된다. 나의 경우도 이와 무관하지 않다. 현실에서 좌절감을 느꼈을 때는 항상 게임에 의지하곤 했다. 게임은 언제나 한결같은 친구였고 나를 위로해 주는 존재였다. 한동안 현실세계에서 좌절없이 지내며 게임을 좀 멀리하며 지냈는데 이제 다시 게임을 하고 싶은 마음이 든다. 요즘 좌절은 겪은 사건때문에 그런걸까?… 사람의 마음을 이렇게 분석한다는 것 요즘은 무섭다. 그래도 일단 게임을 조금 해야겠다.
It is easy to find a self-test of game addiction on portal sites or blogs.
[…]게임중독증세
밥도 먹지 않고 밤새도록 게임에만 몰두한다.
밤새도록 게임을 하느라고 학교에서는 잠만 잔다.
게임때문에 시험을 망친 적이 있다.
게임을 하지 않을때도 늘 게임에 관한 생각들 뿐이다.
가족과 매일 다투거나 부모님으로부터 꾸중을 듣는다.
게임으로 인해 건강이 나빠졌다.
가끔 현실과 게임공간이 구분이 안될 때가 있다.
꿈에서도 게임에 관한 꿈을 꾼다.
게임을 통해서는 내가 할 수 없는 일을 할 수 있다고 느낀다.
컴퓨터를 켠 후, 가장 먼저 게임을 시작한다.
게임을 하지 못할 때면 짜증이 나거나 화가 난다.
게임을 하는 도중 주인공이 다치거나 죽으면 마치 내가 그러는 느낌이 든다.
게임을 하다가 고함을 치는 경우가 많다.
내가 현실보다는 게임에서 더 유능하다는 느낌이 든다.
생각보다 많은 사람들이 이러한 증세를 겪고 있을겁니다. 왜 이렇게 게임에 쉽게 빠지게 되는것일까요?
“공부는 못해도 게임은 잘 할 수 있거든요. 게임은 나를 과시하는 방법 중의 하나예요.”
“게임을 하면 지위가 상승하죠. 현실에서는 이룰 수 없는 지위가 제게 주어지는 영광을 누리게 됩니다. 이 영광스런 자리를 놓치고 싶지 않아요.”
“게임에 빠지는데 자세한 설명이 뭐가 필요합니까? 무조건 재밌으니까 하는 거 아니겠어요.”
현실에서 만족을 할 수 없는 사람일수록 게임에 빠져들 가능성이 더 많습니다. 게임에서는 불가능한 일이 없으니까요. 오히려 현실보다도 게임 속 세상을 좋아하게 되고, 급기야는 게임 속 세상을 현실로 착각하게 됩니다. […]
I’m sure that not a few people have these symptoms. Why are people engrossed in games so fast?
“Although I don’t study well, I can play games well. Games are the one through which I can show my capability.”
“In games, I can raise my status. I can grab the status that I can’t obtain in the real world. I don’t want to lose the chance for such an honor.”
“What kind of explanations do you need to like games? It’s fun. That’s why.”
There are more possibilities that people who are not satisfied with the real world more easily get into games. In the game world, nothing is impossible. They get to like the game world rather than the real world and in the end they are confused the game world is the real world. […]
Another boom in Korea is portable games recently. Sales volumes of portable games are estimated more than 1 million when the top two companies sold 920,000 based on the late September last year. They’re found in people’s hands in public transportation, café and anywhere. Games take over books in bus and subway.
Check yourself for how many symptoms of game addiction you have.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Latvia, Russia: Citizenship Scandal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Marginalia reports: “Latvia is embroiled in a stunning scandal once again – the sale of perhaps a hundred passports to wealthy individuals, mostly Russian citizens seeking to take advantage of Latvia's EU and Schengen membership.”


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Lebanon: Without a President · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Lebanon has been without a president since the deadline for the election passed on November 24, 2007. The political bickering continues. A number of foreign initiatives have been launched to resolve the conflict issues but have so far been unsuccessful. The latest is the Arab League initiative, which is in progress this week. Here is a sample of Lebanese bloggers’ reflection about the presidential vacuum and about the resulting political situation.
To resolve the standoff, Beirut Letter suggested a parliamentary re–election that will bring new representatives who will recreate the governing bodies including that of the presidency:
Maybe what we need now are new elections. After all, that was what the opposition was calling for over a year ago. Given the impasse we are in, maybe it is finally time to consider it seriously and this time we can use the electoral law proposed by the national committee last year. Then everyone can stop talking about illegitimate majorities and focus on finding a solution for all of Lebanon.
Doubting the effectiveness and the outcome of the latest Arab initiative, Bilad el Sham predicts that it will not be successful and that it will end up a failure just like its predecessors:
Mark my words, the wonderful Arab initiative will follow the same pattern as all the others: the over-enthusiastic embrace (currently); the ‘unprecedented’ visit (again); the postponement of the previously hailed unprecedented visit (again); more of same; the declaration of the success of the Arab Initiative; the mutual recrimination and laying of blame for its failure…..Incipit the next European initiative.
Marxist from Lebanon discusses the presidency itself by elaborating its historical as well as its current constitutional powers. He explains how these powers were reduced by the Taif Agreement which ended the civil war in Lebanon in 1989. He makes the point that the issue of presidential election is just the tip of the iceberg and that there are deeper problems which will not be resolved by electing a president:
The issue is not there still. What can a president do between two coalitions that have crippled the nation for more than a year. Aoun and Harriri Jr. seem more powerful than the future elected president. The president might develop schizo syndromes to keep both sides satisfied. In fact, such a president, amidst two giants, is nothing. He is just a pebble, and the battle between both coalitions remains active. So, again, what is the fuss over the president? We have been without a president for weeks and weeks. Who needs a president again? (other than the greedy politicians!!!!) We all know that the presidential chair is not the way out from this deadlock because all the current political parties are greedy for power at the Proletariat’s expense.
Beirut to Beltway states and discusses the Arab League’s initiative. He writes about the problems that may face this initiative:
But the devil is in the details. Syria can say it backs this plan, but we're still stuck as to how the election will be carried out. The opposition does not recognize the constitutionality of the Lebanese cabinet, which has forwarded a proposal to amend the constitution, enabling the election of the army general. Hizbullah's media machine has been portraying the prime minister as an American agent. Nasrallah in his latest media outing gave Siniora 10 days before an anti-government plan is implemented, a plan that reportedly does not have the approval of his buddies in the opposition.
Jeha’s Nail looks at all political parties in the country as a whole and declares that they have accomplished nothing the past three years:
… And what do all the parties involved have to show for all their efforts since 2005? Nothing. They are all bankrupt…
Lebanon Update also wrote about the Arab League’s initiative, explaining that it proposes to return to the presidency some of the political powers it lost in the Taif:
This solution will give the president much more power and basically overthrows the Taif Agreement, something that March 8 was considering recently, while March 14 has always vehemently opposed any change to Taif. Now, however, March 14 is fully behind the proposal of the Arab League, possibly because they got the candidate it wanted, namely general Michel Suleiman. They must feel confident he is on their side.
This is a just a snapshot of the situation in Lebanon without presidency. Check back next week for more.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lithuania: Edmundas Gedvilas’ Nobel Quest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lituanica reports: “a Lithuanian man has started a procedure to contest the authorship of a physics law, which has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize and is ascribed to American scientists.”


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Macau: Gambling habits · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Leocardo [pt] comments on gambling habit in Macau, where “the majority of the population have played in some way during the year 2007, either in casinos or lotteries, and are the less literate citizens who gamble more”


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Maldives: Saving the President · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Minivan News on a 15-year-old Boy Scout who foiled an attempt to assassinate President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Morocco: Late Flights · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Adilski, from Morocco, rants about security delays, long lines, incompetent staff and delayed flights in this post.


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Morocco: Lots of Cats  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Evelyn in Morocco writes about the overabundance of cats in Fez.


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Nepal: Federal Democratic Republic · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas on the prospects of Nepal becoming a federal democratic republic.


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Pakistan: Bomb blast in Lahore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Another suicide bomb attack in Pakistan, killing 26 people in Lahore. More at All Things Pakistan.


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Tajikistan: Tajik Immigrants in Russia · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Jamiyat says that according to the Russian news agency Regnum reports that there were 356 deaths of immigrants from Tajikistan reported in 2007. Just to compare: There were about 450 US casualties reported in the Afghanistan campaign.


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The Balkans: Book Review · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Greater Surbiton reviews ‘Peace and Punishment’ by Florence Hartmann, “former spokeswoman for Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), […] the first senior official of the ICTY to have written a book discussing its inner workings.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Causes of Violence · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Free Radio links to an article that challenges the “tribe-centric” analysis of the violence in Kenya to make a point about the crime situation in Trinidad and Tobago.


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Turkmenistan: Trip to the Seaside Travelogue · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula offers some notes on the road in Turkmenistan, heading from Turkmenbashi town towards the north-west and Avaza – the most popular Turkmen seaside resort.


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Ukraine: Donetsk Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos of Donetsk, by LJ user k_s_u_s_h_a (RUS).


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Ukraine: Eurointegration · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine writes on the prospects of Ukraine's European integration.


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Ukraine: Politics Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Damian Kolodiy's short documentary on Ukrainians disillusioned with politics – at Current (via Orange Ukraine).


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Africa: Disney World for Slavery · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

No Longer at Ease discusses “Disney World for Slavery“: An early contender for the most bizarre news story of the year is that of American expats Ron and Carla Bluntschli who are, at this very moment, trying to raise enough money to create Memory Village – the first ever ‘Slavery Theme Park’.


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Brazil: How the media reported the rescue the Farc hostages · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Leonardo Sakamoto [pt] criticizes the way that the biggest Brazilian TV network reported the released of two prisoners by Colombian guerillas. “First, it classified the Farc as narcoguerrilheiros. Abour six times. Then, it announced that the most important opinion on the subject was the spokesperson for … Uribe? Chavez? Who but Bush!”


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China 2007: Part2 · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Here goes on a personal roundup of what marked mainland China's 2007, a year of controversy, change, desperation but also hopes.
“Dark brick kilns” 黑砖窑
May
Inside scores of dark kilns, about 400 workers were forced to toil in a condition on par with slavery. They were swindled to these brick kilns, overseen by hired thugs and had to work 20 hours a day. They lacked food and carried the red-hot bricks directly on the back, suffering from occasional beating-up. They were the “modern salves” found in Hongdong (洪洞) county, Shanxi province, who had long suffered from the mental and physical traumas in a place out of law.
What is more thrilling is the malfeasance of the local government that should have eliminated the “black kilns”. Nevertheless, it ignored, and even became a ring of the wicked interest chain. In some way the local government connived and shared this crime. Through the investigation, a kiln owner was found exactly the son of a village governor.  Up till now, over 30 criminals have been tried and over 90 officials got punished, but the public opinion suggested many inner-party penalties, rather than the jural, didn’t hit the point
Tai Lake pollution 太湖水污染
May
Tai, a beautiful lake and the water source of millions of citizens, was suddenly occupied by thick blue algae in May, 2007, the whole water area stinking. The smelly running water supplied to the city Wuxi(无锡) came to be almost undrinkable and therefore triggered a panic buying of purified water. The apple of discord is the thousands of lake-side factories, which produced GDP while at the same time pouring pollution into the lake. The author of The End of South-Su Mode(苏南模式的终结), Doctor Xinwang, suggested the water crisis told the method of development by the cost of the environment was about to bankrupt. After the crisis the government has scheduled to shut down nearly 3000 high-pollution factories such as print and chemical works.
Fenghuang bridge collapse  凤凰塌桥
August
“The company strictly followed the national regulations to carry out the construction, and in pursuit of high-quality. No accident has ever happened and no corruption report has been received……” This is a piece of news issued a few days before the bridge collapse that claimed 64 people. The construction had been planned as a “gift” for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Xiangxi State and was hasted to catch the celebration. Ridiculously, an alleged high-quality construction nonetheless made one of the most serious accidents in 2007.  Not many reinforced steel bars could be found among the ruin, a fact that poked the eyewash and proved the malfeasance. It once again stroke people’s faith on the so-called “face construction”, or “political-achieve construction”. 24 people, including some officials, were sued.
Huawei mass resignation  华为辞职门
September
7000 employees were urged by the Huawei Technologies to resign so that the company could avoid signing open-ended contracts with them. According to the new Employment Contract Law, the new contract, which should be signed with employees that have worked over ten years, had no fixed term so the workers would serve just like permanent staff. To shun the future personnel cost, Huawei determinedly persuaded the mass resignation even though it had to pay the $1.34 billion compensation. Later, the workers had to compete to regain the jobs. The action incurred Huawei a bad fame among the public because it was thought to be an ignorance of social duty. But many companies also grumbled about that the new law that focuses on labor right would hurt much of their competence. What effect it might bring to Chinese economy is yet uncertain.
Pengyu case 南京彭宇案
September
In 2007, the most well-known lawsuit resulted from a ridiculous judgment, as most netizens thought. Pengyu, a young man in Nanjing, told that he sent an old woman who got bumped down on the road to hospital because of a warm heart. However, he was sued by the woman, because she accused Peng was actually the wrongdoer. The fact was yet unknown, but the judge’s sentence based on reasoning rather than evidence pushed the public to the other side. As the judge “deduced”, if Pneg had not slammed into and hurt the woman, he would not have helped her. The public was puzzled whether it was a joke or a real sentence. But there is one thing for sure; in the eyes of the judge, there is no more Samaritan in China.
Chang’e 1 lunar probe 嫦娥升空
October
In 2007, Chang'e 1 blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket, marking the first stage of China's 10-year lunar exploration program. On 26th, November, it sent back its first picture of the moon landscape. Reaching the moon has been a dream of Chinese for thousands of years, and today we are so close to it.
17th CPC National Congress 十七大召开
October
In 2007, the biggest political event of China is surely the 17th CPC National Congress. The congress reaffirmed the path of opening and reform, and gave further focus on the “scientific outlook on development”（科学发展观）, “Socialism with Chinese characteristics”（中国特色的社会主义） and a determination to build a harmonious society（和谐社会）. The lineup of the top leaders went through a slight reshuffle with 4 new persons ushered into the 9-member Political Bureau's Standing Committee. By the change, Hujingtao consolidated his power. The coming 5 years would be a key time to examine whether the new leading agency was able to solve the existent social problems. The public expect that CPC could fulfill its promises and led us to go better.
Bankruptcy of Yilishen 蚂蚁门 (information blocked on mainland)
November
Yilishen, a well-known company that sold health-care ant products closed in November. A huge amount of investment by many ant farmers vaporized along with the bankruptcy. Furious farmers gathered in Shengyang to ask for compensation, some of them accusing the government of conniving the company’s Ponzi scheme and illegal fund-raising. The information on the topic was soon blocked on mainland China while Global Voice remained a report on the event.
“May golden week” canceled 五一黄金周取消
December
The term “golden week” has been tied with people-packed stations and airports, busy, crowded tour sites, and the bonanza grabbed by businessmen. Born in 1999, the Golden Week has gradually melted into people’s life, while today its mission of stimulating economy is surpassed by the negative effect. This year, one of the three golden weeks was canceled after a public discussion and the break time was allocated to three more traditional festivals. The change also demonstrated the country’s determination to protect the fading Chinese traditions.
An assault on the overheated real estate 房地产攻坚战
2007
The surging real estate price staggered many Chinese in 2006, while 2007 witnessed the macroeconomic control of the industry. Firstly, the new Property Law was passed in March, an action that restricted the “enclosure movement” of the developers. Later in April, 8 central departments collaborated to check the illegal methods used by developers and agents to bid up the price. On 1, August, the central government issued the 24th Resolution that emphasized on building low-price economy residential to provide over 10 million families with affordable housing. Also, the interest rate has been increased for 6 times this year and the down payment of property mortgage also leveled up. The series of measures worked. The heated Shenzhen market, whose average price rose by 50% in the first 7 months, faced a dwindling volume of trade and several other cities in China also confronted a cold snap on the industry.
Price going up 物价上升
2007
Pork, instant noodle, oil and so forth, —- the prices of various goods rose so quickly that people could feel their daily life considerably affected.
2007 is the pig year in Chinese traditional calendar and the pork price echoed. Up till June, the price has increased by 71% compared to last year. In Dong Guan, the pork valued 40 RMB ($5.4)/ Kg. The rise made the prime minister Wen Jiabao said, “We are taking measures to help you afford pork.” Also, instant noodle was getting dearer. Several food companies united to drive up the price this year. The oil followed closely. In Chongqing, to catch the chance to buy discounted edible oil, 3 people were dead of trample by packed, seething crowd. The growth rate of CPI in 2007 was estimated to be 4.7%.

author: Bob Chen


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China: Citizen reporter killed—by who? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

What began as a protest against a planned urban trash dump encroaching on a residential area held by the villagers there in Tianmen, Hubei province became a murder story after the city management officers moved from beating the residents to attacking passerby Wei Wenhua, the would-be citizen journalist filming the violence from his car with his cellphone, who they then quickly killed.
Chengguang operations are most often limited to cracking down on unlicensed business operations in urban areas, most visibly in chasing away streetside vendors and smashing or confiscating their goods, but as netizens have noted in their outrage at Wei's death, chengguan abuse of authority has escalated in recent years. Qin Liwen, writing at the widely-read media industry blog MindMeters, was one of many to see the specter of Sun Zhigang in Wei's death, which is already looking to be one of the bigger stories of 2008.
Cat898 blogger ‘Same stuff, different name’ makes the connection to the Rodney King beating in ‘Say Wei Wenhua had been beaten to death by American chengguan’:
湖北省天门市城管人员因星期一与村民发生冲突，将恰好路过并录像的魏文华群殴致死。
这使我想起来，美国洛杉矶市黑人被4名警察殴打被录像的事件，事发后刑事法庭判定殴打者无罪，几十万洛杉矶人发生了暴乱，打砸商店，烧汽车等等。
[…]
于是，这短短83秒钟的录象，此后不仅成为美国最轰动的新闻录象之一，而且多次出现在全世界的电视机屏幕上。
在这场短短几十小时的洛杉矶暴乱中，死亡人数超过50名，受伤人数超过2000名，超过1000幢大小建筑物被焚毁，经济损失在十亿美元左右。
后来黑人在民事法庭获得赔偿一千多万美元。
美国没有城管，假如美国也设个城管，打死了“魏文华”， 大家是否也站在他的一边呢？
From Liu Kejun at Rednet, which boasts spicy hot opinion:
“管管城管”的声音早已响彻坊间，遗憾的是，我们始终没有看到卓有成效的举措以及城管自身形象的改观。这一次，“打”出士气、“打”出权力的湖北城管，开始了一种更为野蛮的权力实践——他们开始“灭口”了。
不知道噩梦是从什么时候开始的，我们的小商小贩、社区居民开始把城管视为“恐怖分子”，并且闻城管而色变。这些城管，最初只是开着大卡车，操着高音喇叭，把来自社会底层的小商小贩们追赶得落荒而逃；后来，他们开始风卷残云般没收“违规占道、有碍市容”的商品、货物；再后来，他们是围追堵截、踢、抢、砸、拿，把瓜农的西瓜摔烂，桃农的桃子踢翻……再后来，他们开始打人，城管过后，小商小贩们哭声一片；到如今，他们不但动辄在光天化日之下对小商小贩们施暴，还不允许过路的人说话旁观。这不，用手机拍摄了几张“罪证”，就被他们活活打死了。
Liu goes on to call for the dissolution of the chengguan as a body. One reader of his post, writing from Changsha in Hunan province, where just last month another man was beaten to death by a group of chengguan after he started arguing back, defends the chengguan as necessary to ensure cities are not flooded with small-scale unlicensed vendors:
zwc (来自于湖南省长沙市)
引用 2008-1-9 22:07:00
关于城管的问题，是一个大家经常谈论的话题．对城管我们不能只看一个方面，而应全面地去看待，要一分为二的看问题．像湖北天门市竟陵镇湾坝村发生的这种情况，确实令人气愤，也让人不可理解，我个人认为，这只是个别现象[。。。]试想想，如果没有城管，小商小贩们到处摆摊设点，特别是在城市中，那谁敢保证城市的管理就会比现在好？我相信，只要我们的政府加强对城管队伍人员的管理，建立健全相应的管理制度，城管队伍定受到人民群众欢迎的！
红网网友 (来自于江苏省南通市)
引用 2008-1-9 21:07:00
城管来自底层次,素质相当底,个人看发是地皮社会渣子,因国家法律不建全,他们是在钻法律的空子.建议公安机关集中培训.国家建全法规
红网网友 (来自于湖南省岳阳市)
引用 2008-1-9 20:33:00
大家都说：城管如土匪。我则认为天门城管不如土匪！因为土匪还是人，而他们连禽兽都不如就更谈不上是人了，悲哀……..
红网网友 (来自于湖南省怀化市)
引用 2008-1-9 19:58:00
不能再沉默,我们要大声问,到底是谁给了这些城管妄为的权力.
Several readers, responding to Wang Gongquan‘s memorial post to Wei on the Tianya platform, have had a lot to say, but not many are asking many questions:
评论人：tzs333666888 | 评论日期：2008-1-10 13:16
当今中国的体制下，还有什么是公平公正，我觉得人民的出路在于自己，考自己的双手保护自己，很希望像美国一样每个公民都有保护自己的权利，这虽然是一种迫不得已但我认为很有必要，每个人都有持有枪支的权力，只有这样弱者才能保护自己，为什么我们就不能合法的拥有枪支来保护自己，免得这个社会的所有执法者都那么傲气，也叫他们尝尝私闯美国农民的家园或威胁他人生命时，那种挨抢中弹死亡的滋味。
评论人：非常和谐 | 评论日期：2008-1-10 15:29
我日，我昨天发了一片到搜狐博客上，骂了几句，今天居然把我那篇文章给封了！！
评论人：wingofdark | 评论日期：2008-1-10 17:06
彭宇，魏文华从两个方面证明了在中国不能做好人
评论人：plittle | 评论日期：2008-1-10 21:56
强身健体，保护自己与家人
评论人：ywjsammy | 评论日期：2008-1-10 23:47
看来生活在中国需要炼武.或买把枪什么的.
On a lighter note, well-known blogger pundit and humorist Song Shinan suggests new warning notices for both on-the-job chengguan officers to wear and electronics shops to affix upon camera-capable cellphones they sell:
当心机械伤人；                             当心裂变物质；
Caution       Caution，fission-matter
2、所有在市面上销售的手机，如有照相功能，应在显著位置贴上如下标志：
必须戴安全帽；                                     必须穿防护服；
Must wear safety helmet
Bokee blogger Dail89 looks at unlicensed street vendors from an economic perspective, listing all the benefits their existence brings, but sticks mostly to the title of his/her frightening post, ‘Chengguan must be deprived of their weapons’:
一个政权要维持社会秩序，必须借助于一定程度的暴力，以惩治危害社会的犯罪分子。在各法治国家，可以合法行使暴力的机构主要有两个，其一是军队，其二是警察。前者对外，后者对内。而我国目前可以对平民合法行使暴力的机构，除了警察，还有检察院、法院、武警，暴力已有泛滥之势，如今各地又以各种形式变相武装城管，使城管演变为另一支可以行使暴力的机构。据报道，一些地方的城管不仅配备棍棒，而且开始配备PDA终端、防刺背心、头盔、防割手套、辣椒水……武备越来越重，暴力趋势越来越明显。
Well-known journalist-blogger Zhao Mu has simply posted a series of photos others were able to take of the violence and destruction chengguan regulary incur; here are a few:

author: John Kennedy


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China: Top Ten “Very Yellow, Very Violent” · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Nings blog picks up top ten “Very Yellow, Very Violent” websites, some are official news and information websites, such as sina and xinhua. ESWN has the translation.


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China: University School Fee · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Some scholars suggested that China should raise university school fee as the poor only constitutes 10% of the university population, government subsidy is sponsoring the rich. Wei Yinjie from my1510 points out that at present the wealth redistribution mechanism is not functioning and the income disparity political, not caused by market mechanism (zh).


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Dominica, Venezuela: Done Deal?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Apparently Hugo Chavez announced today that construction will begin soon on the oil refinery here”: Living Dominica wonders if she's missed something.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Georgia: Falsified Election · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

TOL Georgia comments on the apparent about face from international observers regarding the conduct of the 5 January presidential election in Georgia. A day after the vote, international observers declared the election “broadly democratic,” but now — less than a week later — they say “there was crass, negligent and deliberate falsification during the vote counting.”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Haiti: Cost of Development?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Dictators, Peace Corps Volunteers, governments, activists, non profits, for profits, companies all talk about development – but can we agree on what it is?” asks Bryan at Haiti Innovation, as he blogs about a hydroelectricity project on the island.


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Hungary: Illegal Parking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Budapest Association of Disabled People has started a campaign against illegal parking, Pestiside.hu reports.


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India: Cricket, Aussies and Indians · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The game of cricket continues to provide much fodder for controversy in India. More at Jairam's Jives.


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India: On Conversion · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Known Turf explores why people are afraid of the idea of “conversion” – moving from one faith to the other.


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India: Sydney Test · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lightning Strikes Everyday sums up the controversy surrounding a recent cricket test match between Australia and India. “I think Indian media, bloggers and arbitrary people have gone about being stupid in the right order”.


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Jamaica: Love Up  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican Francis Wade is a lover, not a fighter…


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Japan: A new car? No thanks. · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Word on the street is that the Japanese economy isn't doing too well, with sluggish car sales apparently causing a major drag. Who is to blame? Some say the kids, who have apparently lost their urge to buy material things.
Bloggers writing about the reports of shrinking car sales this week, in any case, didn't seem terribly surprised by the news. One blogger explained:
国内の軽自動車を除く新車販売台数が４年連続で減少したそうです。その原因としては人口の減少（高齢化）、ガソリンの高騰、若者の車離れなどが影響しているようです。
確かに高齢化社会になると実際に車を運転する人も減るでしょうし、また今の若者たちには自動車という物はそんなに魅力的な物ではないのかも知れませんね。フリーターや派遣社員などでは車を買ったり、それを維持したりするなんて金銭的に難しいでしょうし・・・。
地方に住んでいる皆さんにとっては車は必需品で生活の足となっていますが、都内に住んでいる私にとっては正直なところ、「無いと絶対困る！」という程の物ではありません。我が家の場合は小さな子供がいますので、確かにあると便利ですけど・・・。
我が家の場合を例にすると、交通に関しては最寄駅まで歩いて１０分程度で行けますし、バス停でしたら３分程度のところにあります。日常生活について考えてみましても、駅前には大型スーパーもありますし、我が家から歩いて３０秒程度のところにも小型のスーパーがあります。コンビニも歩いて３分のところに２軒ありますし、病院も歩いて行ける範囲に結構有ります。
私が車を運転するのは休みの日だけで、家族で買い物へ行ったり、旅行やレジャーで利用する程度です。妻も免許は持っていますが、我が家の駐車場へ駐車する場合には特殊技能？が必要なので運転しておりません。年間の走行距離は４～５千キロ程度ですから、維持費などを考えますと車が必要なときにタクシーやレンタカーを利用した方が安いのではないかと思います。そんなことを考えますと都内で車を持つということは、ある意味「贅沢」なのです。
Blogger sado-mujina, meanwhile, likes their old car fine:
新車の販売台数が少なくなってきたというのは、都市部など車の所有が全く要らないという理由だけではなく、10年ほど前から自動車性能が良くなり中古車でも十分に走ってしまうためでもあるかと思います。
３年前に、16万円で入手した12年落ちのクレスタなんて、外見はポンコツで古く見えますが、エンジンやボディは問題なくまだまだ走ります。新車も確かに魅力的でありますが、30万円程度で入手し５年所有するのと、200万円で入手し10年所有するのとでは…導入費だけでも大きく左右されます。
俺は新車よりも「こだわった車をいかに安く、長持ちする中古車」をヤフオクで探す楽しみがあるため、今現在、発売されている新車には関心は無いかと思います。
しかしながら、中級クラスの後輪駆動車（例えばマークＸ、スカイラインなど）のハイブリッド車かディーゼルエンジン搭載した画期的な車が出るとなれば…話は違います。
Once a car enthusiast, blogger ego-brewer explains that they have lost their interest in cars:
僕自身、物心ついた頃から大のくるま好きで、小さい頃は、助手席で飽きもせずすれ違う車の車種を言い続けていました。大きくなってからも車雑誌を読みあさり、車自体の情報はもちろん、中古車の相場まで熟知していたものです。当然、自分の車にもこだわってきました。
ところが、ここのところ、急激に車への興味を失いました。車雑誌さえ三年くらい全く買っていません。なんか、欲しい車がなくなったのです。（若いふりをしている訳ではありません。）
技術開発が進むところまで進み、消費者のニーズにできるだけ応えようと各メーカーが努力した結果、同じような車ばっかりになっちゃった気がします。もちろん、性能的に不満とかはないのですが、だからこそ、今の車で十分で、買い替える意欲もわきません。快適装備や、安全性能を重視するが故に、重量も増え、大きく重い車ばかりです。（僕は、小さくて軽い車が大好きです。）
Finally, blogger iza-koza takes a whole different angle and argues that the decrease in car sales is a very good thing:
日本にこれだけ普及した自動車
これ以上増やしてどうしますか？
若者の車離れ
実は至極自然なこと
我々は車離れ阻止を
阻止しなくてはなりません
環境問題の最大の解決策は人口の減少であると思われます
日本の少子高齢化も実はごく自然なこと
絶対数が減少することに困惑してはなりません
それは我々を救うことになるでしょう

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Guerrilla Flowerpots · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pingmag has a report on citizens’ attempt to change the urban landscape by guerrilla flowerpots.


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Kenya: Bloggers seek to heal a wounded nation · Global Voices
Rebecca Wanjiku

After a week of killings, looting and the political madness witnessed in Kenya after last month’s general elections, Kenyan Bloggers are at the forefront of reconciliation, urging people to reach out, regardless of their ethnic background.
Kenyan Pundit chronicles the feelings of all Kenyan and how they were affected by the violence. In the post; Diary 12 – Reach Out, she urges people to make deliberate efforts to reach out to others:
“However, if there is a silver lining from this, at least from a
personal perspective, it is that I will make deliberate effort to
reach out to people from more different communities and my hope is
that if we all did a little of reaching out, those preconceived
notions and stereotypes will be dispelled and may be, just may be,
we’ll know better next time some politician tries to exploit our
diversity. That’s not to say that the authorities don’t need to
address the underlying socio-economic issues.”
Kenya imagine looks into tribal issues and wonders whether we are our brothers’ keeper:
Our strength as Kenya and our united future lies in our setting aside those tribal passions and working together to make Kenya what we dream it could be. This will require forgiveness, empathy, compromise and humility. There is no other way and a perpetuation of what we have witnessed in the last 10 days is not an option……
To this group the political class plays master puppeteer with the consequences visible in the tears and the ashes around us. It is this that our challenge presents itself. The solution to Kenya's troubles lie in a quiet and distinct revolution in the minds of the middle class who may not control the wealth but are most certainly the only real buffer this country has to true and bloody revolution. So beyond the bonds of tribe, am I my brother's keeper? Yes. Yes I am. I must be.
Kenya Hapa gives the history of Kenyan politics and predicts that Kalonzo’s miracle is yet to come:
When the new cabinet was announced, there was a new vice president in town.
The vice president elect- Kalonzo Musyoka, was third in the presidential elections and was fond of telling people to expect miracles.
Kenya Imagine predicts the future…:
Here is what will pan out over the next five years, as the images in my crystal ball now relay to me.
A view from the diaspora by Project sunshine:
Being so removed from the country, it was hard to gauge the severity of the situation. Were those numbers real? Was there something that even the ubiquitous observers had missed? With Safaricom jammed on new years’ day, I went to the net…
My write-up comes a little late in the game, but I hope that we can learn from our neighbors conflict and find peace. The real problem is how to remove this cancer called counter-democracy, when the politicians decide that what they want is to stay in power at all costs. Today, I heard that Kibaki went to see the humanitarian areas. The date is the ninth of January; we are only just getting back to some sanity. Thanks for stopping by, you are days and days late.
What about our passion? An African woman gives her thoughts:
However passionate we might be, one way or the other, if we have committed ourselves to a one man one vote system, then we must respect its fair result, even if that fair result is not according to our preference.
So when our candidates of choice loose, we expect them to accept such loss with dignity in the public space, retreat to the private place to lick their wounds, and begin to come to terms with what happened, and why it happened. See Uhuru Kenyatta 2002 for further information
We cannot afford to indulge the haughty clique that mocked us and disrespected us by hijacking the ballot box. We cannot afford to tolerate those who have ridiculed this symbol of our nationhood. What they have attempted to steal from us is something fundamental to our self-understanding as a Kenyan people in the early 21st century.
The Cellar Group, a professional network, developed a framework to be used by Kenyan politicians:
It is hoped that the framework would be widely discussed and guide the path to reconciliation and healing from the present circumstances. We remain positive and hopeful that Kenya has the wherewithal to competently manage the present crisis and emerge a stronger nation.

author: Rebecca Wanjiku


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Kyrgyzstan: The lives of sex workers in Kyrgyzstan · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

GenderStan tells about a magazine prepared by sex workers from different regions of Kyrgyzstan and featuring their stories and everyday troubles.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kyrgyzstan: Youth Activists Detained · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Asel writes that the members of  “I do not believe” campaign, which is protesting against the results of recent parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, were detained while posting leaflets over the building of Parliament.


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Morocco: Happy (Islamic) New Year! · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

After celebrating the advent of 2008, Moroccan bloggers now have something else to get excited about…the beginning of 1429 in the Hijra calendar.
The View From Fez wishes all of its readers a happy new year:
Moroccans celebrated the Islamic New Year (1429 anno hegirae) today and we would like to wish all our readers HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Braveheart-does-the-Maghreb shares traditions of new year celebrations in other cultures:
Moroccans will celebrate the Islamic New Year (1429 anno hegirae) Thursday, January 10, a communiqué of the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs announced on Wednesday.
The Islamic New Year begins with the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. This day is celebrated to pay homage to Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) emigration from Makkah to Madinah. Since the Islamic lunar calendar, introduced in 634 A.D., is 11-12 days shorter than the solar calendar, the date of the holiday changes each year.
Agharass, les délires de mes écrits (fr) sends wishes even to extraterrestrials:
Bonne Année Hijri 1429 pour toute la Blogoma, c’est l’occasion de vous souhaiter mes sincères souhaits de bonheur, une vie pleins de joie ; partage et  amour pour mes lectrices et lecteurs de toute cette planète et pourquoi pas les marciens s’il arrivent a me lire
Finally, citoyenhmida sends a simple message to readers:
A l’ocaasion de la nouvelle année de l’Hégire,
je présente mes voeux les plus sincères de bonheur, de santé et de prospérité
à tous nos compatriotes, d’ici et d’ailleurs!
Creative Commons-licensed photo of the Mohammad al Amin Mosque, Beirut by Muslima 2006

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: Use of Gestures  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Evelyn in Morocco briefs us on the use of gestures in Morocco.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Mozambique: Kenya’s new cabinet · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“When everything indicated that the crisis in Kenya was heading towards a peaceful solution, the ‘elected’ president Mwai Kibabi adds insult to injury appointing his closest allies for most of a new cabinet”, comments Mozambican blogger Manuel de Araujo [pt].

author: Paula Góes


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Mozambique: The lowest life span · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Carlos Serra [pt] is optimistic about the report by the WHO that by 2025 the life span in Mozambique and other African countries will be of 60 years, the lowest in the world. “It seems to be a negative fact, perhaps we can have a more optimistic view if we consider that in our country, the life expectancy at birth is 42.3 years for both sexes”.


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Nepal: Hillary and the Everest · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blogdai on the death of Edmund Hillary, as climbing the Everest is no longer the adventurous mission it once was.


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Pakistan: Right to Food · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan on the alarming increase in the price of food.


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Portugal: Shut Guantanamo Bay down · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Viriato Porto [pt] reminds us about the 6th anniversary of Guantanamo Bay and joins an Amnesty campaign calling for the camp to be shut.  “A sad anniversary which is important to be recalled to denounce around the world hundreds of people's illegal arrests without charge, torture, ill-treatment and the humiliating way inmates are treated by the officers and soldiers serving the government of the United States of America”.


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Russia: Migration and Racism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about Russian racists and labor migration to Russia.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Publishing Stalin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia reports on an article in a Russian online publication about the efforts of Stalin's “most devoted followers to revise, reprint and extend the Soviet dictator’s collected works.”


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Russia: Yakov Slashchov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the White Guard general Yakov Slashchov: “Many years later, he became the prototype of general Khludov in the novel Flight (Beg in Russian) by M.Bulgakov — the brave but demoralized general who knew only one tool to restore discipline, the death penalty. Slashchov's reputation is still defined by this nickname. He sentenced hundreds of people to death. However, the largest part of his victims were not bolsheviks or their spies and saboteurs, but the officers of the White Guard accused of robbery, marauding, desertion or cowardice.”


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Russia: Yemelyan Pugachev · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

ExecutedToday.com writes about Cossack rebel Yemelyan Pugachev's execution in 1775.


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South Africa: What the hell is going on? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Blog South Africa asks, what the hell is going on in South Africa?: “Nel gets arrested by the police, by all reports by actively going from prosecutor to prosecutor in order to get the warrant. Selebi asking the Pretoria high court for an interdict preventing the NPA from proceeding with the criminal prosecution.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Tajikistan: Energy crisis worsens · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Vadim reports that energy monopolists in Tajikistan have again increased prices for gas and electricity by 50 and 20 percent respectively, causing aggravation of the sector's difficult situation that had been initially caused by energy deficit.


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The Balkans: Jokes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A few Balkan jokes, at Beyond Bosnia Blog.


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Ukraine: Journalists Detained in Koncha Zaspa · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine reports on the detention of journalists who were doing a story in Koncha Zaspa, “an elite suburb of Kyiv” and the current home to president Yushchenko and other prominent politicians.


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Voces Bolivianas: Leaping forward to the next round · Global Voices
Rezwan

Originally posted on Rising Voices.
In November 2007 David Sasaki described the pilot phase of the Voces Bolivianas citizen media project in El Alto and its future plans. The pilot program took place at a cyber-cafe in the city of El Alto between September 22 and November 10. It helped teach the tools and techniques of citizen media to 23 members of underrepresented groups in Bolivia who have already emerged as bloggers-cum-citizen journalists.
Project Co-Director Eduardo Ávila recently informed us that Voces Bolivianas was recently featured in the magazine OH! which accompanies the Sunday edition of the Los Tiempos newspaper in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Read the article about Voces Bolivianas here.
Mario Duran announces in his blog Palabras Libres (“Free Words”) [ES]:
The project Voces Bolivianas has arranged a closing ceremony where awards to the participants of the first blogging workshop in the city of El Alto will be given. The event will take place at a local Café at on January 10, 2008 at 18:00 hours.
The winner will receive a digital camera. This event also will inaugurate the second round of workshops for female participants.
From the participants’ blogs:
David Rodriguez of Bolivia Imagen writes [es] about the internal migration that is putting pressure on existing infrastructures like water, electricity, and sewage in cities like Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and La Paz.
He suggests that planned integration of the outer communities of those cities could accommodate the growing population and ease the situation, and that the government should respond to this.
Ruben Hilary notices [ES] that during the holidays many of his classmates will be working to generate some income for their families and help improve their economic hardship. Others will be taking extra classes so that they can assimilate in the next year of schooling more easily. He concludes:
All this gives us the impression that the holiday is an opportunity for further development.
Cesar Duran, in the post “Educacion De La Tecnologia De La computacion” discusses the recycling of computers. He points out that in some Latin American countries such as Colombia, Chile and Venezuela, school and universities have practical laboratories which use parts from scrapped computers to teach computer assembly and that some also use them in assembling robots. He thinks more such projects should be implemented in Bolivia to build things like electrically-powered wheelchairs (and other things according to students’ imagination) from recycled computer parts.
Meanwhile Cristina Quisbert of ‘Bolivia Indígena’, whom David Sasaki interviewed last month, continued with her powerful writings. She continues to write about issues relating to Bolivian indigenous communities such as threats of dispossession and their struggles for native land.
She reports that, although only not long ago natives were forbidden to enter the legislative palace, this is the first time a new constitution is being prepared to take such injustices into account.
Image: delegations from many indigenous groups dressed in traditional outfits marched towards the palace in appreciation of the new constitution.
She also wrote about beautiful places in Bolivia, namely Pariti Island near Lake Titicaca and the Eternal City (Wiñay Marka).
Alberto Medrano of El Alto Noticias writes of a tradition of buying cakes and dolls on Christmas eve.
Omar Ali Villca of Rock Boliviano posts some cool Latin contemporary rock tracks for downloading.
Tips: You can read more from these participants blogs in English (or in other selective languages) using Google Translate.
In a fetaured post of the project's English translation blog Teodora Romero tells us that, from ner experience in a local school, the students do not like to read much.
Participants photos:
Sales of pirated CD  in El Alto: a common scene.
Glimpses of poverty in El Alto.
More photos at Flickr
The next round:
The next citizen’s media workshop will begin this Saturday, January 12, 2008 in El Alto. The project has been titled El Alto II and its goal is to have a greater number of female participants than the pilot project. You can find the list of the participants being constantly updated in the Rising Voices Wiki.
Eduardo Ávila also reports that:
Voces Bolivianas has also decided to expand to Santa Cruz, where the two groups of new bloggers will have a chance to interact with one another and hopefully tear down existing stereotypes about these two supposed ‘different’ groups of people that are also supposed to dislike each other.
For the expansion project, a workshop is scheduled for January 19th in Santa Cruz and a local blogger, Jessica Olivares has been named the Voces Bolivianas coordinator in Santa Cruz.
We will be updating you as these new projects continue to progress.

author: Rezwan


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Zimbabwe: Questionable decision · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bev Clark discusses the move to ban Zimbabwe cricket national team: “David Miliband, Britain’s Foreign Secretary has joined Flash Gordon in stating that Zimbabwe must not be allowed to tour England in the summer of 2009…Now what if we substituted Zimbabwe for Pakistan in this argument?”


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Afghanistan: More troops  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bipasha Ray reports that the Pentagon has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates for 3,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan, to counter a potential Taliban spring offensive.


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Kenya: Kenyan writers’ reactions to post election crisis · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan writers’ reactions to post election crisis: “Kwani? is running a series of articles and opinion pieces based on the reactions of Kenyan writers to the post election crisis.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Debates over President and Parliament · Global Voices
Asel

Edil Baisalov’s personal blog, one of the most visited blogs in Kyrgyzstan has not been updated since 4 December, 2007. The activeness of his blog went down after he was found guilty for illegally publishing a voting ballot before the elections on his blog as was assumed by the members of the Central Election Committee of Kyrgyz Republic. Baisalov was a member of the Social Democratic Party and a candidate for the deputy. After the scandal over the ballot, he as local media informed fled the country and rumors say that he now resides in Kazakhstan.
Anyways, Elena Skochilo’s personal blog has become lately very popular as well, as her posts spur lots of interesting discussion on topics in politics, economy and society among bloggers of Kyrgyzstan. Last discussion on her blog was about the lady who several years ago foresaw that Kurmanbek Bakiev becomes a president of the country and also said that the next president after Bakiev would be a young man, who lives now in another country. Elena says:
Edil, come back, maybe you will become our next president!
Nuraika notes:
It would be really good if Edil became a president. But to be honest, I do not think he will ever become.
Mr. Carlson shares his opinion as well:
Even though Edil is too young to be eligible for presidency, he is not less professional and competent than our current president, despite the age difference. But first of all, he should return to the country. This is the saddest part of our discussion.
The newly elected members of Parliament are going to be supplied with official cars from now and on, announced Adahan Madumarov, Speaker of Parliament. Moreover, those deputies who have no place to live in the capital city will be also provided with flats. No wonder why such announcement created so much anger and dissatisfaction among Kyrgyz bloggers. For instance, makaroff says:
All deputies have their own flats and houses already. For example, Shadiev has 3 houses, so does Junusov.
Magnetic thinks:
Houses, flats, cars, petrol, cellphones, business trips… Their children go to private expensive school, universities and they are sent abroad to study. What for do we need such deputies? Tell me, what have they done for their people and country?
Kovboi asks:
How come those deputies who spent huge amount of money for preelection campaign have no flats? Absolute nonsense.

author: Asel


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Kyrgyzstan: New deputies get cars and flats · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Asel writes that the members of newly elected – in a controversial vote – Kyrgyz Parliament will be supplied with new cars and flats in Bishkek, capital city of Kyrgyzstan.


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Serbia: “Elegy For a Swine” · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

Many Serbs traditionally celebrate Orthodox Christmas by firing rifles and pistols, and consuming lots of homemade plum brandy and pork.
Serbian bloggers have been writing about their Jan. 7 feasts for days now, but one of them – Jelica Greganović – instead of composing her own sentences about it, posted an 1887 satirical poem by Serbian poet Vojislav Ilić.
The poem is dedicated to the chief victim of Serbian Christmas celebration – a pig:
Elegy For a Swine
What’s the fuss? What’s going on?!
Master of the house is looking at me with a smile and big appetite.
This awful custom has been there for a long time,
A swine is always killed when Christ is born.
I’ve been reading books from ancient times,
And I found various things there.
They are true Orthodox believers when Christmas is celebrated,
And then the first stick hits my head.
Everything happens, all kinds of wonders,
But an Orthodox pig is unhappy everywhere.
Oh my god, who would wait for such a death?
Hey, the river Danube, why don’t you take me across?
For this holiday doesn’t suit me well,
Because that’s something a poor pig wants least of all.
A pig plays and rolls in the mud,
Doesn’t care if the mud is making it dirty.
When there’s no sign of conscience and wit,
When it only thinks of what could he eat.
Whenever Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas,
The first stick hits my head.
Good-bye to my mud and sows, my sisters,
Good-bye to the quiet fields and rich forests.
Because I won’t roll in the mud anymore
The last hour is ticking on my clock.
Ah, who would wait for that terrible moment?
Hey, the river Danube, why don’t you take me across?!
This post has received 134 comments, and here are two of them:
blaise&garvin:
I had a naive opinion that we'll celebrate this Christmas without a piglet on the table because I didn't know where we could find it here? Here the piglets are more like pets. If the Swedes saw them on the spit, they would declare us for much more barbarians. I think that all the wars would be forgotten. They would spread a rumor around Europe: “Barbarians, they barbecue piglets”… My boyfriend told me a few years ago, when I still lived in Serbia, that he had seen a girl strolling with a black piglet downtown. It was wonderful!!! […] Anyway, I thought there'd be no piglet, but mama (mother-in-law) found a way to send her son shoulder blades of a piglet, so that he could glorify God in a proper way! […] I didn't hope that mama will find a way to send pork from Serbia.
alselone:
I will have broccoli for breakfast on Christmas. Europeans, Euro-Atlantic educators, changers of consciousness and system of social values, wait for me.

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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Turkmenistan: The Turkmen names · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula takes a challenge to investigate the origin and meaning of some Turkmen names.


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Armenia: Frozen Water · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blowing the World Bank Whistle says that parts of Yerevan are without water because of sub-zero temperatures. The blogger who is currently taking legal action against the World Bank and seeking financial compensation says it is clear where the blame for the situation lies.


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Armenia: Internet Domains · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Economist compares the figures for domain name registration in Armenia and finds that there has been a 45 percent increase since last year.


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Armenia: Politicized Internet · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With the start of the pre-election campaign for next month's presidential election in Armenia a little over a week away, The Armenian Observer says that the Internet has become politicized on an unprecedented scale. Not only has the local blogosphere been polarized, but candidates are opening up official campaign web sites, and the media, civil society and government are using the Internet to inform and engage citizens.