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India: A city named Madras (or Chennai) · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

DesiGirl at My Word! muses on Madras (now Chennai), on how the city has room for the new and the old with its own unique charm. “The old and the new have meshed together so well that one barely leaves a dent on another. The Geetha cafes and Saravana Bhavan clientele still continue going about their daily toils, the latest opening of Baristas notwithstanding.”


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India: Cornershops in the era of big retail stores · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Wal-mart's entry in India along with other big retail plans elicits quite a few reactions from those who feel it might threaten the traditional kirana stores (cornershops). The Indian Economy Blog on why that's not likely. “A vast majority of middle class India still shops from one of the millions of tiny kirana stores for precisely these reasons. And there is no way Walmart or even the local big retailers like Foodworld, Big Bazaar or Reliance can lure away a chunk of the middle class big enough to make the kirana store go out of business for at least another few decades.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Gandhigiri, Hinduism and the Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ambimama reflects on reactions to a popular actor being tried in the court of law under charges of terrorism and a religious leader being tried for murder, drawing links political will, the underworld and the silence of the media. “In North only film industry is controlled by the underworld. But in South all Temples, the funds, lands are controlled by politicians and misused.”


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Israel: Municipal employees strike · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

A strike is in place in many Israeli municipalities by municipal employees who did not receive their salaries for many months now. Yudit says: “Perhaps join us in the demonstration this coming Saturday, of the “Veidat Ha'Ashukim” (the Council of the Robbed), at 19.00 o'clock, opposite the David Intercontinental Hotel in South Tel Aviv. The hotel where the wealthy of the country are gathering for their annual “Veidat Asakim” (the Council of Business) that very evening, planning to rob us a little more by funneling more public resources into their businesses and affairs in order to become yet more rich.”

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Jamaica: Marlon James’ school days · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Novelist Marlon James recounts his experiences as an unpopular kid in school in Jamaica, ridiculed because of his “screwed up way of speaking”.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Kazakhstan: Interview with Merkhat Sharipzhan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia interviews Merkhat Sharipzhan, the director of RFE/RL's Kazakh service about his work and media in Kazakhstan.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek Against Capital Punishment · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tolkun Umaraliev reports that there will be a rally against the death penalty tomorrow in Bishkek.


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Kyrgyzstan: Tear Gas Footage · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Beau Gordinier posts video of police shooting tear gas at protesters during this month's protests in Bishkek against the Kyrgyz government.


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Malaysia: Incomplete Training Program · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Malaysian agrees with Malaysian higher education minister on the plan to send Malaysian IT graduates to India for training but feels that the duration of the stay could be longer. “I wonder if such a ‘condensed’ training package will be worth the investment financially?”

author: Preetam Rai


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Moldova: Another Belarus? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mihai Moscovici wonders if, following the Minsk CIS Summit, Moldova may turn into Europe's next Belarus.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Nepal: Democratic Parties · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on why it is essential that parties in a democratic system function within the purview of the same. “It is absolutely necessary for eight political parties to democratize their party organizations if they see the urgency to change with the changing time.”


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Nigeria: cybercrime bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Naija Blog posts the Nigerian cybercime bill for, “Anyone who wants to read what is done about cybercrime in Nigeria…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: putting the record straight · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Grandiose Parlor responds to a blog post suggesting that Nigeria is skunk slime of Africa, “The writer displays a gross lack of knowledge, for he should have realized that while there are several bad elements among its nationals, Nigeria has contributed immensely to the socio-political, and economic growth of the sub-Saharan African region more than any other African nation, including South Africa – the region’s so called economic powerhouse.”


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Oman: Freedom of press in Oman · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“You can't stop people from writing online. It's easy to regulate the press because 1) the press needs big expensive machines to print newspapers. 2) they need trucks to distribute. 3) they need shops to sell their papers. 4) they need advertisers to pay for all the above. 5) they are a business, and hence they need to make money. The government subsidizes the press both directly and indirectly. The newspaper owners would rather make money than be on the government's bad side, hence there is no freedom of press in Oman. In fact, even if the government allowed the press to write anything they want the will probably still self-censor themselves,” Muscati said.


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On Blogging Conflict Regions · Global Voices
Joshua Goldstein

Ethan Zuckerman, one of the founders of Global Voices, once said in an interview that to care about a far away place that gets little  media attention requires empathy. Empathy for a place can come through from having close friends who grew there, or by traveling there yourself. Sometimes, it can just from sharp, informed writing that transports you to another place.
Sometimes, these places are overlooked by the main stream media and by the blogging community for the same reasons. These places are incredibly difficult to cover, not only because of the logistical lack of power and bandwidth, but also because it is difficult to effectively translate such experiences to an average reader whose daily experience is, in many ways, incomparable.
Gulu Town is such a place. Gulu is the portal to a greater northern Uganda that has suffered as much as any region in the world. It is a vast and diverse suffering. For the last twenty years, over one million people throughout the north have lived in miserable Internally Displaced Person's (IDP) camps, fearing the occasional  Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) attacks and the daily government hostility. Warriors in the deeply troubled northeastern Karamoja region fight one another for cattle using AK-47's and fear occasional government air bombing. In the 1930's, the West Nile Virus was discovered in the region, and in the 1970's, it experienced an Ebola epidemic.
And yet Gulu Town itself is strangely calm and charming. It is a beautifully laid out town in the British design; it is relaxed and pleasant compared with Kampala. Many people look strong and upbeat, and nearly everyone is endlessly helpful and generous.  The LRA attacks have ceased recently, and there is a modicum of hope; perhaps this is the most one can ask for after lifetimes of never ending hostilities. For those who have heard about the tragedy of northern Uganda, there is a strange contradiction after visiting the place.  Despite observing the often unspeakable difficulties of life, one often leaves with hope that the actors in the violence are human, even though their actions are not.
We have heard much political commentary about the stalled Juba Peace Talks between the LRA and the Government of Uganda. However, we rarely hear about what life is like for the people that have been affected by the cycle of conflicts that has existed in the North since independence. This is strange, because in the North there is an ongoing joke about how the population is merely extras for foreign videographers filming the humanitarian disaster. While a few documentaries exist on the subject, there is very little online content.
We are lucky this week to have some blog posts about life in the north. I hope that more writers emerge from the greater northern Uganda, and that more Kampala based bloggers travel to the north and record their experiences.
The difference of life in northern Uganda can be seen in simple, everyday experiences. In I've Left Copenhagen for Uganda, Pernille traveled to the north and asks Where Is the Bathroom in an IDP Camp?
When  you live in an IDP camp, on little space, without cash, and without access to materials – you have to be inventive. The things which can be recycled and used for a new purpose is amazing. But remember it is mainly done due to the above reasons.
The left image is a shower made out of jerry cans cut open. The right image is a ‘handwash’, where you tip the stick below with your foot in order not to touch the water can with dirty hands coming straight from the pit latrine. Handwashing is taken seriously around here, i.e. due to cholera.
In another post, Pernille travels to Arua, the far north border town with Sudan. She writes:
In Arua peace is a brand, and as one reader put my attention to the other day, now ‘peace talk’ is slang for chatting up the opposite sex.  A good sign, I believe.
There are poets who can take on the voice of the suffering. Chorya, writing in Poems from a Civil War, shows us how fed up and tired those in the north have become:
Enough. Uphold the day’s
baton resolve – and let us marshal
a kindred peace as perennial
as this present overcast.
Sweep under the ignominy;
monument the carnage, if you must,
until shame whisks it away.
And in its wake, revealed,
new secrets and patient
formulas discovered, distilled from
blood-gore.
A time for peace a-brewing…

author: Joshua Goldstein


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Pacific Islands: Increasing Chinese Influence · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Alext at Golublog:An Anthropology blog points to an article that talks about growing involvement of China and Chinese businesses in Pacific Islands.


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Pakistan, India: Governance in Azad Kashmir · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Glasshouse comments on the state of governance and lack of telecommunications in Azad (Free) Kashmir. “It was shortly after the earthquake that I learnt that the so-called president, prime minister and cabinet ministers of that benighted place were more or less permanently ensconced in Rawalpindi, only making infrequent trips to the place of their imaginary governance.”


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Palestine: Humanity lost · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Waiting, as ever, for the border to open, Laila says: “One hour turned into two, then three, then five, as we stood shielding our eyes from the piercing midday sun on Wednesday, when we were told the Crossing would be opening for a few hours. We stood and we waited and we cried and we returned back to Egypt yesterday, and again today. Us and thousands of others. It was anguish. Anguish and misery and desperation personified in every woman, man and child.“


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Pana-Blogs Report · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: From Chiriqui Chatter: El Desfile de los Bomberos en David , a very colorful report on a traditional  firemen parade that takes place in most large cities in Panama to commemorate the  independence festivities of the country. In this case Don shares a collection of photos and even a video which will make you feel you were there.
Besides being the Independence from Spain Holiday, it is also the day that recognizes the firemen of David. This could be true all over Panama, but I do not know that. I heard yesterday that there was going to be the annual Parade of the Firemen in the evening. Since I had never seen it, I decided to head down to the center of town. Read the complete post!
#2: Antonio Checa shares with the world his thought about "Om Prakash, proof that there still hope"
Om is a 14 year old boy from India who has just been awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize for leading a campaign against child labour and child slavery. Om’s story is a sad one but one where there is hope and inspiration for others.
At an early age he was taken away from his parents and for 3 years worked in the fields and was regularly beaten and never paid. Continue reading…
#3: Rob Rivera "meditates" about "Panamanians and Thanksgiving"
…the reason why I’m giving you this history lesson is to illustrate a point that many people here overlook and I believe this needs to be adressed… much like Halloween, Thanksgiving shares the common characteristic that Panama is nowhere to be found in the holiday’s history. We don’t even have a cameo. The only reason I can think of is that we think of ourselves as a small U.S and in order to complete the American template we feel compelled to celebrate yet another holiday that’s not inherently ours. The similarites between Halloween and Thanksgiving end there though, since Hallow’s Eve comes from Europe and it’s the motherland or whatever you want to call it; Thanksgiving was created by a bunch of pilgrims who wanted to thank this one Native American guy called Quanto for him not taking off their scalps and use them for their stew. Read more...
#4: Al Aire Libre, a blog dedicated to all things outdoors, exposes a fantastic idea for when you are hiking, traveling light: La Estufa de Heineken (ES) The Heineken Stove.
Por algo cercano a una onza se puede tener una estufa que hierve dos tazas de agua en cinco minutos. ¡Eso no pesa nada! Las estufas tradicionales son más apropiadas para grupos grandes, pero las de lata son aptas para parejas que quieren ir liviano. Cuando se divide el peso de la estufa tradicional entre varios, el resultado es equiparable en el peso por persona.
El diseño de la estufa, y el concepto, ya tiene más de cien años de haberse patentado. Uno de los beneficios de esta diminuta estufa es que usa alcohol, que se consigue fácilmente en todos lados. Otra ventaja de esta estufa es que no tiene ninguna parte movible y es prácticamente infalible. El combustible se lleva aparte, en una botella plástica reciclada después de tomarte el contenido (creo que no venden cerveza en botellas plásticas). Read more…
Its weight is close to one ounce and it could help you boil 16 ounces of water in five minutes. It's really light! The traditional stoves are more appropriate for larger groups, but the can-stoves are ideal for couples that want to travel light.
The design and concept of the can-stove has been a trademark for over one hundred years. One of the benefits from this tiny stove is that it uses alcohol, and that can be found everywhere. Another advantage for using this stove is that it is composed of only one piece, what makes it almost error- proof. You've got to carry the alcohol in a separate container, in an empty plastic bottle after you have drunk it's content. Too bad they do not sell beer in plastic bottles!
#5: Heidibella in the Tropics on "Holiday Baking Begins"
I ended up making pumpkin pie on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I had to make something, and pumpkin pie is pretty much the #2 Thanksgiving staple after turkey. I always have a little bit of pie filling leftover and I usually throw it out but this time I made little mini pies. Read the complete post!
#6: Roman Sainz on  a very special  tree climbing adventure at the Metropolitan Park in Panama City: Tree Climbing. The photography is outstanding: so vivid and colorful!
Supposedly we where going to go to Cerro Gaital this weekend, however a tree climbing opportunity showed up and the plans changed in a snap.
So we made it to the Metropolitan park, we had a special permission to get to a Ceiba tree (which is in an area not permitted to the general public). We had Milton and Jorge, expert tree climbers and guides to de Smithsonian scientist's…Read the complete post.

author: Melissa De León


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Philippines: Another Typhoon Heading Towards Manila · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Connie Veneracion is preparing for typhoon Reming that is expected to hit Manila tomorrow. Her children draw up an interesting list of emergency supplies that they might need.


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Russia, Serbia: Energy Plans · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about Russia's plans to build a power plant in Kosovo and route a gas pipeline through Serbia.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela: Chance meeting in Second Life · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidad blogger Taran Rampersad is delighted to meet a Venezuelan in Second Life: “Perhaps this is the start of a bridge across a geographic divide. So far I've met people from around the world, but there's something magical about meeting someone from right next door.”


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Senegal: To Run or Not to Run · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Robert Sagna, a former minister in the Senegalese government and Mayor of Zinguinchor, Senegal reflects (Fr) on the upcoming presidential elections: “The whole electoral process is corrupt and managed according to the interests of the Senegalese Democtaric Party (PDS) in power.” He then explains that he is still pondering whether he will run.

author: Alice Backer


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Singapore: Kampung Days Food Packaging · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Lam Chun See in Singapore remembers the traditional food packaging once used in Singapore.


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Sudan: UN troops in Sudan? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sudanese Thinker is trying to make sense of the deal between the Sudanese government and the United Nations, “Has Sudan really accepted the deal and is simply downplaying that fact? Or are the UN and AU moving ahead without a clear “green light” from al-Bashir? The language used in recent reports is so blurry sometimes and I’m trying hard to make sense of it.”


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Tahiti: The End of Carnival · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Fenua Blog  posts pictures (Fr) of the 2003 Tahitian carnival which was canceled this year after a four year run.


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The Blogoma retaliates while Blaise LLorca calms the angry e-crowd · Global Voices
Farah Kinani

Moroccan bloggers under fire!
The Moroccan blogosphere (Blogoma) is very angry. Why? Well a Moroccan blogger qualified the Moroccan blogging as being still in the “teen aging period”(Fr). Mohamed Lachyab, a Moroccan journalist who's decorating his blog with …his own pictures, gave an interview(Ar) to the Moroccan newspaper Almasae, and expressed his opinion about the Moroccan blogging.
The reactions were interesting and most of the time disapproving of whatever Lachyab had to say.
It turned out that the journalist meant “some”(Ar) Moroccan blogs. He also used “some” excerpts from Hjiouj‘s blog(Ar) without mentioning his source(Fr)!
“It’s an insult to the Moroccan bloggers”(Fr), writes Farid referring not only to Lachyab's interview but also to a column written by another journalist who stated in the Moroccan Arabophone newspaper Al Ittihad Alichtiraqui(Ar) that The Moroccan blogs are mostly futile(ar).
The interesting part in this entire “Imbroglio” is that it shows how fast the Moroccan bloggers react and how active is the Moroccan blogosphere.
So active that the journalist of Alittihad Alichtiraqui(Ar) had to retaliate today, and wrote another column expressing his joy over(Ar) the “healthy reaction of the blogoma” and explaining that he only meant “some” blogs!
“Moroccan bloggers, you have a spokesperson” says Manal sarcastically(Fr).
La question que je pose : de quel droit X ou Y se permet de juger une poignée de gens, sans même parcourir leurs blogs ! Après tout, ce blog c’est pas un espace libre, où chacun peut mettre ce qu’il veut ?
Well, her post had many angry commentators who condemned Lachyeb, while some more balanced comments reminded Manal‘s visitors of the necessity to respect everyone's opinion.
And I can't help but write what Noam Chomsky said one day, “If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise, we do not believe in it at all”.
By the way, Marocblog(Fr) or the Magazine of blogs in Morocco is a premiere in the Blogoma and it's launched by Farid, a Moroccan journalist interested on “the revolution of the Moroccan blogs”(Fr).
They blog in English
As Monarchy Falters, Islamism Rises writes Aboubakr Jamai, the publisher of Morocco's groundbreaking weekly newspaper Le Journal Hebdomadaire and its sister publication, Assahifa al-Ousbouiya.
In other words, the reasons the PJD is commanding such lead in this poll are related to the failure so far of Moroccan political forces to meet Moroccans’ expectations of good governance.
Jamai publishes his posts in Postglobal, the blog about conversations on global issues moderated by David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria.
Morocco: How the heck did I get here, anyway?, asks Maryam whom blog has been chosen Bestest Blog of the Day.
Maryam and her family are staying in Morocco and seem to really enjoy their journey in tis North African country.
Morocco is a beautiful country with a fascinating history and hospitable people, not to mention the wonderful food, shopping and music.  And did I tell you?  The weather is INCREDIBLE — sunny and warm most of the year. Morocco is also a great place to raise children.  We love the idea of raising our two children, Tristan and Skylar, in a multicultural environment and teaching them to be world citizens.
Liosliath’s spouse has to provide a notarized letter stating that he gives his permission for her to participate in the Peace Corps program.
Morocco Time's author definitely does not like the idea!
Excuse me? I understand the sentiment behind it, but this is ridiculous.
25 officers from The Hague Police(D)are in Morocco  to familiarize themselves with Moroccan culture.
Well, Myrtus thinks that the Dutch Police is going a bit extreme.
You can go to a Moroccan ghetto pretty much in any big city in Holland and get even faster results….
Gossip…Gossip…Gossip…
The talented Sanaa quits the world of blogging. “for some times”(Fr), she says.
I had an interview with her while in Morocco. You may read it next week.
Moonlight posts a review about Good Bye Lenin, the movie that makes you laugh, cry and think(Fr).
The one and only Tazart keeps the suspense on in her captivating posts about the nostalgic Almanouzi(Ar), and FatimZahra say yes to her cousin and accepts to marry him in some very strange circumstances(Fr)…
Adel is happy, and his “baby” Maroc Blogs is doing just fine.
Strangely, I feel happy today, I have no idea why, just
happy, actually I was dancing at some moments… ah! that child in me..
Coup de coeur
After surfing through the Blogoma, I felt so good when I ended my journey in Blaise Llorca‘s(Fr) blog(Fr).
Interesting for the advices Blaise offers, the blog is also  Zen and its ambiance very welcoming.
I personally love the way he talks about food, life, hygiene…Actually, I love everything about this very serene blog. Enjoy!
That's it for today. See you next Wednesday, Inshallah;)

author: Farah Kinani


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Trinidad & Tobago: Pastelles · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinifood offers some historical background on pastelles, one of Trinidad and Tobago's favourite Christmas delicacies, and a recipe as well.


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Ukraine: Chess · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about a Ukrainian “chess eccentric” Vasyl Ivanchuk.


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Ukraine: Famine Recognized As Genocide · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kyiv, Nov. 25: Remembering Holodomor (Famine) Victims – by Veronica Khokhlova
At the Holodomor Remembrance ceremony held in Kyiv on Saturday, Nov. 25, a big board listed the countries that have recognized the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33 as genocide: Australia, Argentina, Georgia, Estonia, Italy, Canada, Lithuania, Poland, USA, Hungary. Next to the list was a question: “[What about] Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada [the parliament]???”
It didn't take long for the Rada to follow suit: on Tuesday, 233 out of 450 PMs voted in favor of the bill (UKR) recognizing the Soviet-era man-made famine, which took millions of lives, as genocide against the Ukrainian people. Not a single Communist PM took part in the vote, and only two members of prime minister Victor Yanukovych's parliamentary faction (186 seats) supported the bill.
As hundreds of other Ukrainians, LJ user eagle_x came to Kyiv's Mykhailivska Square on Saturday to light a candle in honor of the Holodomor's dead. He posted photos from the mournful ceremony – here and here – and discussed the subject of Holodomor with two LJ users from Russia.
On Nov. 24, LJ user l_mel of Moscow asked (RUS) eagle_x about the meaning of a Ukrainian-language note he posted on his blog as a reminder that Nov. 25 was to be marked as Holodomor Remembrance Day :
l_mel: ? What`s this? [sic]
eagle_x: In 1932-33, the Soviet regime starved to death about 4 million people in Ukraine, and until the late 1980s it was prohibited to talk about it – otherwise you were sent to Siberia… The day to remember all the innocent dead is the 25th of this month – tomorrow, that is…
l_mel: Well, yes, I'm aware of this! There are also rumors that your current president intends to accuse Russia of genocide… IMHO, it wouldn't be too smart of him.
eagle_x: Hmmm… This is the first time I hear about it… No one is accusing anyone of anything… It's just that Putin and those with him don't want to admit the fact and are denying everything… I don't understand how he benefits from it…
Maybe Putin is ashamed to admit that the Soviet authorities of the time were transporting food over to Russia? or that they didn't let the train cars filled with grain in (aid from Europe)?.. It's all strange… What does Putin have to do with the Soviet authorities of that time and with Stalin? […]
It's still making me shudder when I think of my great-grandmother and other elderly people talk about those gloomy times with tears in their eyes… How they managed to survive… :( Because of hunger, people were eating one another…
l_mel: A popular opinion here is that Yushchenko is bent on accusing Russia of the genocide of the Ukrainian people. But I'll agree with this: both Putin and Yushchenko should admit that WE shared one country then (and now and forever). But the government was different: radically different from the current one. And to compare the Soviet regime with the current one (and especially with the current Russian one) – is really way too much! But you see, if Putin begins to recognize this fact just a little bit, then the Ukrainian side will really have the reason to accuse our country of genocide. Because this is politics […]. And you are aware, I guess, what an official genocide charge means: it's a significant addition to the Ukrainian budget from the Russian pockets. And not from oil or aluminum, but from the ordinary people […]. And (now, obviously, separated forever) [your side and our side] will only hate each other more. […]
eagle_x: I don't think that adequate, reasonable people of the two coutnries would be accusing each other – this is “one.” I'll reveal (or maybe it's not news to you) that our Yushch is soft :) he won't have the courage to accuse anyone – this is “two”. I hope you remember that Stalin was an ethnic Georgian? Maybe we should accuse Georgia of genocide as well? :)))))))… – this is “three.” I don't think there'll ever be reparation demands… Most of the real culprits of this cruel extermination are already dead and many have been left in obscurity… […] And the moral of this is that the dead are not going to rise in order to demand some compensations – and not a single compensation is going to bring them back… Their memory should be honored with silence and a candle… And history's lessons should be remembered always and not allowed to happen again, neither at [your side, nor at ours].
LJ user loop83, a native of Krasnodar, liked eagle_x‘s photos, but not the reality depicted on them:
[…]
loop83: What, were you afraid of the Soviet regime in the past ten years, too? What, have you just remembered?! To show off and incite interethnic hatred by exploiting such a sacred thing as the memory of the dead… […]
I've received an objective education in politology. And I'm not inclined to defend […] anyone, but in 1930-32, not only Ukrainians were starving to death.
eagle_x: And who else? I think they are also honoring their dead on a certain remembrance day…
By the way, even in the Soviet times, quietly, at night to avoid getting arrested and sent off to Siberia, relatives and those who cared gathered at graves of those who died of hunger… They brought flowers, candles, and prayed… They also planted lilac and snowball trees to mark the burial sites and not to forget the tragedy…
And one more “by the way” – about inciting interethnic hatred… While I was there, I didn't hear anyone say anything about Russia or its citizens… Mainly, I only heard the old women talk about how people were swelling from hunger and dying… And they were also telling about mothers who were either killing their children or themselves… Or how to make pancakes out of [inedible grass]… And how [soldiers] would come and were taking the house apart, looking for some negligible particles of food to be taken away… I don't know what they are telling you over there, but I think it's not the right thing…
And some more on showing off: I think that a remembrance day isn't some showing-off action… People used to come in great numbers to the Holodomor Victims Memorial to honor the dead without hiding… And that the President was there as well – it shows that in our country it's not that bad yet… Extermination of millions of people isn't like mourning one person – it's HORROR!!! Maybe you want to repeat your words to the old women who are still alive, who survived that and lost their relatives?
[…]


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Ukraine: Holodomor Vote · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about the Famine vote and its significance for the Party of the Regions: “As the figures were flashed up on the screen in the VR I'll bet a stab of anxiety when through some of the PoR deputies. There are other divisive votes looming soon, e.g. on the budget.”


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United Arab Emirates: British Trash · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

What would the reaction be if British-owned newspaper reviewed an Arabic restaurant, and used the term “Arab trash” to describe local diners? Find out from Secret Dubai.


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Voices from Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Zimpundit

With the rainy season now underway in Zimbabwe, most of the nation's time and attention is given to pontificating and prognosticating what the agricultural prospects have in store for us.  Like many other agro-based economies, the measure of a good (or bad year) is based on the nation's agricultural production.  Just on cue, Zimbabwe's scandal prone government is neck deep in a sensational scandal involving the importation of flawed fertilizer from South Africa.
Apparently, Gideon Gono the central bank governor initiated the order, but has of late, shifted   blame for order on agriculture ministry officials.  Simon Pazvakavambwa, the secretary in the agriculture ministry, facing the axe over the scandal is now threatening to spill the beans on the scandal if he's let go of.  The bearded man comments on this latest wrinkle:
Here we have one of ZANU PF's own playing the party at their own game. Now to that, you have to be prepared to reap the consequences (forgive the pun).  In years gone by, when members of Mugabe's government got overly cocky and started running off at the mouth, they were ‘tragically’ killed in road accidents or found floating in swimming pools (there was another one found this last week!).
On another front, the government's threats to place CIO operatives inside the nation's popular internet cafes so they can ferret “unpatriotic” agents who are spreading malicious rumors about Zimbabwe came under further scrutiny this past week.  Kubatana blogs finds this excerpt from a letter in one of Zimbabwe's papers
The writer tells us two things:
- that freelance journalists wouldn’t actually be that daft to use a public space to publish their articles, instead they’d more likely use a friend’s computer and Internet connection
- its rumoured that online news sites like Zimonline actually receive their stories from state scribes who write their articles on state time and using the state’s resources like computers and connectivity
Of course there’s also the issue of goonpower – are there enough of them to trawl all the Internet Cafes of the country on the lookout for wanna be cyber-agitators? We think not.
Needless to say, this issue will be discussed for a long time.
Finally, just as we're ready to forget about it and push it to the back of our minds, the presidential succession issue is back on the horizons again.  This time, NewZimbabwe is reporting that John Nkomo ZANU-PF's national chairman has officially thrown his in name in the hat for consideration for the nation's top post.

author: Zimpundit


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Africa: are we failed states? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Enanga's Pov refutes the notion that Africa is a home to the greatest collection of failed states. She writes, “We should stop calling babies bad names because we cannot give them the time and freedom to grow.”


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Arabisc: Arrested Blogger Released and the Civilisation of Terrorism · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Ramy Siyam – aka Ayoub –   is out of jail, after spending an eventful 108 hours being moved from one detention centre to the other.
According to fellow blogger Alaa Abdelfattah: “He was arrested in a sweep in downtown while securing the area for the President's visit to Parliament. He was arrested with four friends (all bloggers), three of whom were released immediately after performing a routine check. Ramy it turned out had an old law case that was settled outside court but not properly registered so from the prespective of the police he had a pending case that required his transfer to the local prosecutor.”
His recollection of the few days he spent behind bars come with a warning:
Rami's experience wasn't a pleasant one to say the least. I will leave him to describe some of the horrors he had experienced while in detention.
Let's start with the ground rules in an Egyptian detention centre:
If this is terrible wait and see what awaited Rami the next morning, when he was transfered from one detention centre to the next.
Rami's turmoil and agony was interrupted by some shreds of light in the form of the support he got from fellow bloggers, who camped outside the detention centres he was transfered between until his release.
They included Sharqawi, who was also held in Egypt's prisons for political activism and who tells us how Rami's release was celebrated by a group of bloggers with cold beer.
Needless to say, Rami answered the call of duty and the Egyptian bloggers celebrated his freedom.
Meanwhile, away from Egypt to Jordan, where blogger Sha3teely, is left in a state of confusion after catching part of the Press conference between US President George Bush and his Iraqi counterpart Nouri Al Maliki on TV.
ربما لم يكن يقصد نوري المالكي وصف الإرهاب بهذه الصفة، ولكن في ظل الموقف الذي صدرت منه هذه المقولة وعلى مسمع من مؤسسة نظريات الإرهاب “الرئيس” جورج بوش.. فإن هذا التعبير يستحق أن نتوقف عنده.
السؤال هنا.. متى أصبح الإرهاب حضارة؟ أين تقع حدود هذه الحضارة؟ لأي أمة تنتمي؟ ما حدودها؟ تعريفها.. وإن كانت حضارة فهي لم تكن يالتأكيد وليدة لحظة الحادي عشر من سبتمبر!! فما أصلها وتاريخها… هل كان يقصد بها الحضارة الإسلامية باعتبار أن الإرهاب منسوب للأصولية الإسلامية!! أم أني قد سرحت كثيراً ولم يكن يقصد المالكي أي شيء من ذلك…
While we are at the topic of fundamentalism, let's make a quick stop in Saudi Arabia, where a group of religious extremists attacked a university theatre, in Riyadh, forcing the curtains to prematurely fall.
Magic Kingdom, blogging in Arabic, says the attack on the theatre signifies an attack on culture and art in the kingdom.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Armenia: ArmenTel · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian registers his hatred of ArmenTel over their high prices for substandard service.


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Armenia: Deti Picasso · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Life in the Armenian Diaspora, Raffi Meneshian reviews “Ethnic Experiments” from Deti Picasso, a band based in Russia with two Armenian members. Onnik Krikorian has more on the band and thoughts on the Armenian music scene.


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Azerbaijan: Baku Photosession · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Abkhazian LiveJournal user sukhuti has photos and impressions of Baku.


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Bangladesh: Islam and Iraq · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Or how I learned to stop worrying  on a Muslim reaction to the situation in Iraq. “Who says that Muslims, just like everyone of good conscience, are not horrified by the violence and killings in Iraq? Who says that Muslims are not opposed to this chaos? I feel no inclination to draw a line here between me, a supposed “good” Muslim, and “them”, who are the “bad” Muslims in Iraq.”


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Bangladesh: Take Back Bangladesh · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

drishtipat on a concert called Take Back Bangladesh. “The idea behind Take Back Bangladesh is to reconnect the people, especially the younger generation, who are turned off by politics as usual and feel that their voices are never heard by the political parties. … The first step in this direction is a free concert today at 2:30.”


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China: human rights exhibition · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The first Chinese Human rights exhibition was held in Beijing from 17-26 Nov 2006. SohaoXiaobao pastes a report on the 10 days exhibition that shows how the exhibition demonstrated the conditions of human rights in China: more than 2,000 people had been arrested in 10 days (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Queer blogs for the straight eye · Global Voices
John Kennedy

There hasn't been a terrible lot happening in China lately that could be filed under ltgbq news. There's been stories of a lesbian hotline in Beijing, the opening of the country's first university campus queer club, and the usual excitement over pro-gay marriage politician and public intellectual Li Yinhe‘s latest provocative declaration, none of which amount to much.
Or do they? Judging China's major blog portal websites by Western values, if nothing earth-shatttering has been in the news today, why is queer content getting prime placement on most of their front pages? Have gays stomped in and hijacked the offices? Are they selling out to the seductive pink yuan? Satisfying the market share of closeted and curious married men? Or has queer gone mainstream among China's urban, upwardly-mobile, white collar, websurfing crowd?
If it ever were a taboo topic, it hasn't been for a while. Starting with mega Hong Kong popstars like Danny Chan in the 1980s to movie and song icons Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui (not to mention Aaron, Andy and Jordan) in the 1990s, later to Mao Ning on the mainland and now with public personas like the transsexual host of Gossip Queen on Taiwan's Star TV or Jin Xing, ex-colonel in the PLA and current owner of the Shanghai Ballet.
That said, Chinese gay culture is defined by how much of it is fostered by the internet. For a long time, and to a large extent to this day, lack of social space was of made up for by the boom of websites which opened in nearly every city. Lan Yu (aka Beijing Story), for example, which began as a novel published anonymously online and ended up becoming one of the best underground movies out of mainland China in the 1990s, featuring several actors that went on to become mainstream celebrities.
Chinese instant messenger QQ [zh] has the topic front and center on  [zh] its blog page right now. ‘Same sex love, can you handle the weight?’ asks the title post, followed by links to two discussion forums, ‘Being gay is a neverending road’ and ‘homosexuality is just another kind of love.’ Lots more on their ‘gay section’ deeper inside [zh]. News portal site Sina.com has had a feature section embedded up top on its blog site for weeks now. Here are some of the blog posts it currently showcases, the first [zh] from Ah Qiang's highly-read blog, where the blogger openly posts pictures of himself as he documents life with Ah Wei, his partner of over ten years:
两个男人的”性”福生活
阿伟光着膀子，懒洋洋的躺在沙发里，手中紧握遥控器，在球赛开始前不停的切换着电视频道。那份焦躁像极了一个嘴馋的少年等待一份大餐出炉。
世界杯开赛以来，他把洗碗的业务全部”转让”给我了，还美其名曰：”家属应当做好后勤，支持球迷伟大光荣的看球工作。”理由听上去比较奇怪，但我居然答应了。真是应了那句老话：懒人有懒人福！
看球时他将双腿伸的笔直，双脚交叉放到我的腿上，不停的抖动着，提示我：”左前掌，左前掌痒。不帮我挠你休想安心的上网。””大脚头与小脚头之间帮我捏一下，””哎哟，膝盖帮按按，打球碰到了有点酸疼，轻一点，上一点，再下一点。”他嘴里不停的发出指挥，眼睛却一刻也没有离开电视屏幕。
我左手轻点鼠标浏览着网页，右手有气无力的按他的要求一会捏，一会按。稍有停歇，他的脚又会抖动起来。”快点，一边上网一边按摩两不误。””等会中场休息了，我去切西瓜给你吃。”他不忘拉拢我。
比赛精彩处，他会突然抽回双腿，”蹭”的一下坐起来，大力的鼓掌，”漂亮””哈哈哈””死人，真臭，笨死了！””哎呀，这球也踢不进！”他自顾自的高声评论着。有时还会为裁判有争议的判罚骂上几句。我不用看电视，就凭他忽冷忽热的评球声，一场球赛的高潮尽收耳里。球到精彩处，他会忘了我的存在，脚不痒了，腿也不酸了。我乘机可以歇歇手。
球赛一到沉闷处，他又躺倒在沙发上，双脚再次抖动起来”脚后跟帮忙捏捏。”周而复始。他看一场球下来，我累得吭哧、吭哧的。
中场休息，是我们的洗澡时间，为了报答我的”捏脚之情”，他会象征性的帮我搓搓背。不过敷衍了事。就算这样，我还是有种”投入”终有回报的感觉，一股暖流从心底漫至全身。。。
If that isn't the sweetest thing you ever heard, further down there's this:
何时换下床头的这幅画?
这幅画已经在我们的床头挂了五年，记得家里刚装修好时，一个女性朋友来玩，参观之后跟我说：”阿强，我只有一个问题，什么时候把你床头的那幅图换成你的婚纱照？”当时我还没有出柜，给她的回答是：”也许这一辈子都不换了！”
朋友夸张的叫道：”不会吧，你的意思是你一辈子都不结婚？””也许这辈子都结不了婚。”我含糊的说。”不会的，不会的，怎么这样讲，我们强哥还怕没有靓女追？”朋友显然理解错了我的意思。
我所说的结不了婚是指：可能我这辈子都看不到法律允许同性登记结婚。五年前我是这样说的，五年之后的今天我仍然看不到希望，但我满怀期待。
十一周年纪念日那天，我跟阿伟照了一张合影，放大后摆在卧室的窗台上，我心里想，一旦同性婚姻合法化，我立即把床头的那幅画换掉，换成我们的合影，或者去照一张两个男人打着领带的结婚照，挂到我们的床头，那是一份隆重的纪念，一份宣誓，一种追求。。。
A patient search around shows a serious lack of lesbian content. Here's one piece [zh]:
在现实生活中,与其男同性恋过着明目张胆的两个男人生活在一起外人一般没什么怀疑,而对于2个美女在一起亲密生活就会遭到周围的异性恋男人和女人的质疑为 “怪物”变态”,更为麻烦的事情是,美女一直就是男人追随和欣赏的对象,当身边有帅哥或有钱人靠近时,同性恋美女们大都难以启齿的拒绝,而男人会说些讥讽与嘲笑的话,譬如那么漂亮怎么还没男朋友阿,是不是身体有病啊什么的等等疑问.想解释又害怕影响自己在身边同事和朋友中的美女形象,不解释的又经常有男人追随.
Carrying on with the Sina collection, if you're not hot, says Liang Yongqi, you better have money [zh], not that one doesn't hear that all over these days [zh]. But what's a working class gay lacking the strength or financial means to eke out an independent ‘bachelor’ existence to do? Judging from Heng Guang's story [zh], it seems that many men, having fulfilled the societal obligations of getting married and having kids, feel free to seek satisfaction on the side. In Heng Guang's case, however, his wife sees the QQ messages his lover has sent him, threatens to kill herself if he doesn't break it off which leads to him attempting suicide and the end of his brokeback relationship. That seems to be the dominant narrative, followed by divorce, or the increasingly seen choice to abstain from traditional marriage. Blogger Distracted by the Tian Mountains chose to follow his urges and recaps the last ten colorful years [zh] in vivid detail, including how he first got started:
在那个年代，信息相对比较闭塞，你无法获取自己需要的信息，还记得第一次在书店看到了一本书叫《同性爱》，作者是张北川老师，书很厚，但是一个十几岁的小男孩哪里敢明目张胆的翻阅，发现旁边没人了偷偷地翻上两页，说实话处在高度紧张的状态下，书里写了什么根本都没印象，但自己心里知道这本书里的东西都是自己需要的，也许现在的人们看来感觉很可笑，但这的确是事实。
It's not all fluffy comfort food Sina has laid out. Like Lie a Little in his post [zh] ‘Comrades, please live your lives like normal men’, who argues that although it may be tough being gay, it's not easy for straight men either, so stop your bellyaching:
多同志，整天叫喊自己苦闷，自己孤独，不被人理解，但你要想想那些不是同志的男人，他们不是也一样苦闷着、孤独着、不被人理解着，即使他们结婚后，又会派生出另外这些情绪来。我就不明白了，为什么同志那么喜欢把自己的不良情绪放大，看着这些人窝囊的样子，我就想揣他的裤裆一脚，告诉他：你是一男人，就是同志也还是一男人。
Then there's the top ten lies gays [zh] tell each other:
1．我们还是做好兄弟吧。（这样你就不会再骚扰我了，否则我告你乱伦！）
2．我只想睡觉的时候抱抱你。（抱了以后发生的事真的不在我的计划之中。）
3．我绝对不会告诉别人。（就算我告诉了别人，我也会跟他说：”你千万不要跟别人讲哦！”）
4．我还是处男呢。（因为我技术太差了，所以后面试了好多次都不行。）
5．我从来不419的。 （我一般都是4n9。）
6．我和他只是朋友关系。 （没人规定朋友之间不可以暧昧的）
7．我永远不会骗你的。 （我只会隐瞒你。）
8．我累了，今晚不想。 （换个人的话，我就不累了。）
9．我很低调的。 （那只是自傲和自卑的混合伪装。）
10．我是1。 （但为了你，我可以”牺牲”自己做0。）
There's more! Also on Sina are two pages [zh] devoted to the gay blogger community [zh], a page for straights interested in gays [zh] and one just for the ladies [zh] as well. Don't forget the Perez Hilton types here here here and, jumping to Sina competitor Bokee, here [zh].
Moving on to Blog China's front page is the post from Zhang Tuo_001, ‘When homosexuals end up in heterosexual marriages‘:
我们也许还记得，2000年我国各地电视台热播的、以发生在医院急诊科里的故事为背景拍摄的长篇电视连续剧《永不放弃》。该剧中有这样一个片段：急诊室送来一位突发心脏病的中年男性他全裸的身体用被单遮盖，在一旁焦急陪伴的另一位男性，身穿睡衣。这个场景强烈地暗示着两人的关系——同性恋性伙伴。镜头一转，一位有着知识分子气质的中年女性带着一个10来岁的女孩进入了急诊室，女孩扑向病人；叫着爸爸……之后的剧情是：那女人一张冷漠的面孔，边拉着女儿向外走边安慰着女儿：”医生说你爸爸没有危险了，那位叔叔会很好地照顾他的。”
SNIP
当某异性恋者不幸遇到了同性恋的配偶，在婚姻内应该如何相处?首先是不要回避，双方要坦诚地讨论一下，是否有可能通过婚内的相互帮助而慢慢改变同性恋方的性取向偏移程度。虽说真性的同性恋是无法改变的，但是可以走入婚姻的同性恋不一定是绝对的同性恋，其中有不少是双性恋或境遇性(一过性)的同性恋，这部分人在良好的婚姻关系中可以渐渐地收敛自己的同性恋倾向，建立较好的家庭关系。而对于真性的同性恋，他们很难改变，而且改变带来的痛苦甚至会导致他们心理生理的强烈冲突，引发各种精神障碍，甚至做出极端的行为。面对这样的同性恋配偶，异性恋的一方最理智的选择就是果断地离婚，没有必要为一个无法改变的事实殉葬，毁了自己和对方的终生幸福。
Independent blog aggregator Bullog.cn has a queer correspondent of their own in dzl who just in the past week as posted a look at persecution and progress of homosexuals worldwide over the past seventy years and a look at queer characters in recent films and books and some celebrity speculation, leading to a post in which dzl—who claims to be straight—responds to readers who took issue with it [zh].

author: John Kennedy


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China: the rise of great nations · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sunbin gives some more ideological background of the CCTV's series on “The rise of great nations”.


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D.R. of Congo: volcanic eruption · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Congo Rangers blog has a story about Mount Nyamulagira volcanic eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “Nyamulagira erupted on Monday 27th at approximately 1930.  Ever since, lava from the 1km long fissure has been moving down the western side of the volcano towards Sake, a small town 25km west of Goma on the edge of the Virunga National Park and the scene of recent clashes between the dissident Gerneal Laurant Nkunda and the UN Peacekeeping Forces.”


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Egypt: English-language news · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Commenting on the new attempt at local English-language news reporting in Palestine (Palestine Times), Matthew Carrington says: “If, as the editor claims, the Palestine Times isn't going to be beholden to any particular political or commercial interest, then this could a good thing. Palestine, as much as Egypt, needs a way of laying out local events from a local perspective in a way that is comprehensible and credible to a western audience.”


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Guyana: Citrus ephiphany · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A taste of shaddock, a citrus fruit, re-opens Guyana-Gyal's senses to the newness of things.


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Haiti: Artists to Fight Insecurity? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Karlito writes (Fr): “[We] hold the police and government responsible for not doing enough to fight insecurity. But we forget the role that artists can play in helping that fight. One organization that has  caught my attention is ONE. An organization filled with international artists whose goal is to help fight poverty … I am always thinking about ways in which our artists could be more involved.”


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Honduras: Americanization · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“La Gringa” has initiated two fascinating discussions on the “Americanization” of Honduras.

author: David Sasaki


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Hong Kong: Discriminating tastes  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Simon world comments on the slowness of the legislation against racial discrimination.


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Hong Kong: rescuing Star Ferry Pier · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

inmediahk.net has several reports and public appeals on the demolition of Star Ferry Pier – the most famous tourist site in Hong Kong (zh). I have put together informations, articles, video and photos at interlocals.net.


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Hungary: ID Cards · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As Britain is thinking of introducing an ID card system, Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar cites an example of Hungary and discusses whether IDs have made the country and its citizens safer.


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Image from Tahiti: Market of Papeete · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blogger and local teacher Jean-Marc at Photos de Tahiti et de Polynesie  posts photos of the market of Papeete and writes:
Ce marché est divisé en plusieurs parties: poissonerie, boucherie, artisanat, fruits et légumes, fleurs et divers…


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India: Why he won’t fly that airline anymore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Dateline Bombay on rude airline staff and why the one of the best airlines in India will lose its grip. “So you can have the best technical staff, the best equipment and the best food (in the airline business). But when your number one position gets to you and arrogance begins to creep in, then people lose respect for you. And they will opt out the moment they can.”


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Interview with Kosoof, a leading Iranian Photo Blogger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Arash Ashoorinia is a leading photo blogger whose blog, Kosoof, won the Reporters Without Borders prize in the BOBs (Best of the Blogs) competition organized by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Arash's photos have been published all over the world in publications and on web sites such as the Washington Post and Global Voices. Global Voices‘ Hamid Tehrani recently had the chance to talk with Arash.
HT: Can you introduce yourself and your blog to us?
AA: My name is Arash Ashoorinia. I am 26 years old and I have started doing photography nearly 6 years ago. I started my blog in 2004. Before I started my photoblog, I designed web sites and after I started my photoblog, I left designing. When I started Kosoof I just wanted to have a simple photoblog to present some samples of my work. Photos from nature, urban spaces and the places we live in. I wanted to show the things and events which others do not see or pay attention to, so I sometimes cover events with news value. Because so much of the news and images have to do with censorship in Iran.
HT: How you arrange to be always at the right time at the right place to take the photo?
AA: Other photographers don't come to the special events because they are not interested in these events. They do not think about the events like I do, and do not have a place to publish their photos(because here we don’t have a free media) or simply do not dare to come to risky events.
HT: Do you think the traditional media respect blogs’ or photoblogs’ copyright in general?
AA: Not always! Generally I didn’t earn money from Kosoof. Many people even cut the Kosoof’s logo at the bottom of the photo & didn’t cite the photographer’s name or describe the event.  This behavior is very common on Iranian web and news sites. Prestigious web sites e-mail and ask for my permission and I don’t remember I have ever said no to any of these web sites or asked for any payment.
HT: Is there any event that you regret not having been present for?
AA: Yes! I regret so many times. Practising photography in Iran is like passing The Great Wall of China! And very often it’s not possible in many cases.
HT: Your photos have been published worldwide. Has your work been respected? Have you faced any danger?
AA: You don’t need any permission for your writings and if your web site blocked by the authorities, you can use proxies to bypass the filters and continue your activities. Blogs provide a way to have relationships and contacts with the world, both with your countrymen and with people from all over the universe. But certainly there are some dangers in Iranian society. We had some cases where the government arrested some bloggers because of what they wrote on their weblogs. And as a photoblogger, you may face various problems and unexpected events in the course of doing your job.
HT: Do photos or other multimedia products have a strong presence in Iranian blogs or the blogs are still text-dominated?
AA: Photos & other multimedia are present in Iranian blogs, but they don’t seem serious. Many write weblogs very regularly and think that this is an important or even effective job, but few are producing professional photos or real journalism in the Iranian blogsphere. Generally, photoblogs tend to be more entertainment-oriented or professional photographers post photos which were previously published in the newspapers or news agencies as a sample of their work. Generally, in only a few cases do people put new photos on their blogs.
HT: Any project, idea or comment to share with GV readers?
AA: Perhaps Global voices can start a section called “World Image”, so the photos can talk with the targets. In many cases, photos are more effective than thousand words & can show the reality better than words.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Election and Reformists · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Alpar, two weeks before “Councils’ Election (of Cities and Villages)” [Fa], reformist groups have united their force and their lists.


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Iran:Ted Koppel interviews a blogger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to YouTube, Iranian Truth has published an Iranian Blogger interview with Ted Koppel.The blogger talks about different subjects such as filtering.


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Jamaica: RIP, Perry Henzell · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp pays tribute to Perry Henzell, director of the Jamaican cult classic The Harder They Come, who passed away today.


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Jamaica: The man who was buried twice · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ria Bacon recounts the story of the twice- — indeed thrice- — buried man and other bits of history pertaining to Port Royal, Jamaica, which, before its destruction by earthquake in the 17th century, earned itself the title of “wickedest city on earth.”


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Japan: fake consultation meetings · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adamu from Mutantfrog reports on an investigation of recent scandal about the government's fake public consultation meetings on issue such as postal privatization and education reform.


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Jordan: Cultural events · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

If you happen to be in Amman these days; have a look at Lina's calender for some interesting cultural events that you might like to attend.


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Kenya: Kenyan entrepreneur on YouTube · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Pundit writes about a young Kenyan entrepreneur who is getting innovative with YouTube.


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Kenya: the world social forum · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The world social forum and civil society: a reification of the state or an oppositional discourse?, asks Kameelah Writes.


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Kurdistance: It’s Quiet Out Here · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

One of the hardest things about reporting on various blogospheres is the natural ebb and flow of people's writings. The past two weeks in the Kurdish blogosphere have been strangely quiet, the kind of quiet that is found before a great storm.
Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes writes about the rampant corruption found in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. Vladimir on From Holland to Kurdistan talks about the rise of popularity in French politics of a pro-Kurdish politician. Rasti exposes the roles of women in the PKK. And Save RojTV celebrates its one year anniversary.
Sorry for the slow week, however if you want to read an interesting dialouge on the nature of Kurdistan in the geographic sense, check out the comments on the last installment of Kurdistance.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Kyrgyzstan: Death Penalty · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia writes about the anti-death penalty rally in Bishkek and says that she has very mixed feelings about the issue.


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Lebanon: Open-ended sit-in by Opposition · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, terming Premier Fouad Saniora's government “failure,” called for an open-ended sit-in Friday in downtown Beirut to achieve what he described as “political partnership” in running Lebanon. Abu Kais describe this by saying: “On Friday, Syria and Iran will launch an attack on Lebanon. They have recruited an Islamist militia armed and funded by an anti-democracy clerical regime. They have also recruited a mentally disturbed former army general with Napoleonic tendencies. They have recruited Palestinian refugees and Syrians languishing under a despotic regime. They have recruited a “president” who thinks his duty is to call for civil disobedience against the very government he heads. They have recruited Lebanese “citizens” brainwashed by theology and false messiahs.”

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Malawi: lottery on mobile phones · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Earlier this year, Pay265.net launched their e-Wallet concept that would allow Malawians make payments via SMS and email when implemented. Now, the African Lotteries Company Limited (AFLOT) is looking for a company to operate on its behalf, an SMS/mobile phone lottery service that can enable the general public to play Lotto 5 via the cell phone for a period of 4 years in Malawi,” reports Soyapi Mumba.


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Malaysia: Teaching Arabic in Schools · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The EducationMalaysia blogs writes why students are leaving national schools for already overcrowded vernacular schools. “Now, even as mother tongue programmes have yet to be fully implemented in the schools, you will find bungling headmasters and education department officials implementing the most clumsy of policies like forcing Indian students in a school to take Arabic lessons and sit for the corresponding examinations!”


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Philippines: Typhoon Misses Manila · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Torn and Frayed in Manila reports that the thyphoon Renming has spared Manila and veered south.


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Malaysia: Violent Demolition · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Ktemoc writes about the callousness shown by authorities in demolishing a village and a place of worship within it. “But what was typical was the brutal suppression of the villagers by the MPAJ enforcers. It seems that in Vision 20/20 Malaysia, the mentality of authority enforcers are still of Vision minus 20/minus 20.” MPAJ is the local municipal council responsible for the demolitions.


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Mexico: Oaxaca Update · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mark in Mexico fills his latest report from embattled Oaxaca with accustomed satire. Colin Brayton, meanwhile, shows a video from La Jornada reporting that paramilitary members fired shots into the Medical Department of the Autonomous University of Benito Juarez.


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Mexico: Wrestling Match in Congress · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ricardo Carreón, Rodrigo Javier [ES] (with video!), A.M. Mora y Leon, Ana Maria Salazar, and Michelle Dion all on the wrestling match that broke out in Congress.


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Mongolia: Fake Hijacking · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tom Terry has more on Tuesday's hijacking of a plane in Mongolia by government agencies saying they were conducting a drill. One post includes comments from passengers and the government while the other comments on how the media and the government handled the story.


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Morocco: Tourist stabbings · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The famous Nejjarine Square visited by thousands of visitors every year today was the scene of a brutal stabbing attack at against three tourists. Samir and El Glaoui post some updates.


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Nicaragua: Most Visited Websites · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Barricada lists the top ten most visited websites in Nicaragua according to Alexa.


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Nigeria: Nigerian unwords · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ijebuman's Diary posts a list of Nigerian unwords and examples of how they can be used in a Nigerian context.


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Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil: Sex and Drug Trade · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“The sexual exploitation of minors in the Triple Frontera – the name given to the trans-border no-man’s land between Ciudad del Este and the border towns of Foz del Iguazú in Brazil and Puerto Iguazú in Argentina – persists thanks to slack border control,” writes Oliver Balch during his visit to Ciudad del Este, Paraguay.


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Paraguay: Land Purchase by US President Bush? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Political Cortex examines rumors that President Bush and family may have purchased land in Paraguay.


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Poland: Neo-Nazi Connection · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about one Polish party's neo-Nazi ties.


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Serbia: Kragujevac Stories · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

You would have to find out by yourself how it feels to be in this southeastern European country, but in the meantime you can read words from different online spaces talking about those legendary cars produced in Kragujevac, the city's traditional bistro aura and some glances at its past.
First, let's take a look at Eric Gordy's East Ethnia blog and a report of this odd happening, Kragujevac-related:
So the story appears to be: the folk-pop figure personality [Severina Vuckovic] makes a guest appearance on a television station in Kragujevac, in the course of which she receives as a gift one of the legendary “Yugo” cars from the Zastava factory. This leads her commercial sponsor, the Croatian representative of Mercedes Benz (or Daimler Chrysler, I presume?) to announce a lawsuit against her. No doubt the competitive pressure is difficult for MBZ to bear. Leaving aside whatever differences in quality, comfort or reliabilty that may exist between the product from Stuttgart and the product from Kragujevac, there does not seem to be much question which company's directors have a better sense of what makes for good publicity.
Update: TV 9 in Kragujevac says it ain't so, that Severina did not ask for a car, the station did not contact the factory, and the factory did not provide one. They do, however, invite people to support a campaign to raise funds to buy a car for the use of the safe house for women and the center for children who are victims of violence in Kragujevac.
Branislav Kovacevic speaks out about the central Serbian conurbation of Kragujevac. He portrays life and explores the spirits of its streets (SRP):
Kragujevac has always been center of attention because of many things… When you speak out loud the name of that urban area one can remember it was the first capital town in modern Serbia with the first theatre and factory in the Balkans; you may also recall that the country’s first “Sretenjski” constitution was adopted there. Kragujevac is known for the tragedy that occurred in 1941 [when Germans killed over 7,000 people]; it has the first and only automobile industry in the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; it is also a university city with more than 10,000 students; and it was an important opposition haven during the political struggle against [Slobodan] Milosevic's regime. […] Workers of Zastava car factory in that city are paying the biggest price of transition, which is the reason why at one point Kragujevac was named “Hunger Valley.”
There are details you can’t spot with bare eye. People don’t speak so much about them either. […] Since its time as capital city to the time when it was called “Hunger Valley” and through all the wars and happy but tough times the district has succeeded in maintaining a unique soul!
At least for me, the place to be was the Balkan Bistro. […] A modest space with common menu offering of the usual food and drinks, the place was the main gathering point for actors, journalists, priests, high school students, painters, crooks, gamblers and future academics. Since the day starts with a cup of coffee, indispensable ratluk and a small glass of soda till late in the evening […] the time was built up by funny remarks, different political and sports forecasts and verbal conflicts […].
Everything is known in the “Balkan”!
From the info on when some [movie] premiere would happen to who would become the next American president, to who killed Kennedy, to who would be the first person to land on Mars… All the [Wikipedia] knowledge is on the table, somewhere around [Rubin] cognac, spricer [Banat rizzling white wine mixed with soda water) and a brown bottle of Jagodinsko beer.
When someone says, let's have a drink at Balkan, it always means you would bump into some familiar face; rendezvous would last until at least one round has been drunk by everyone at the table. Often, the people don’t keep count of the rounds drunk, so the orders start over and over again. Numerous anecdotes are saved, many of them are still told like hunting stories, and the narrator doesn’t resist attaching some new detail. […] Here is a short story from the “Balkan diary”:
Once, Sava the Razor went home to handle some charcoal [needed to heat house during wintertime] as the truck arrived in front of the building in which he lived with his mother. She offered 1,000 dinars if he carried four tons of load to the basement. He did so but his mother gave him just 500 dinars, half the promised amount. Sava the Razor placed money in his pocket; as he wasn’t lazy, Sava returned two tons of charcoal back to the street. Of course, he commented that his mother got what she deserved while he was spending his 500 dinars at Balkan. […]
Carl Savich blogs out the most ruthless piece of Kragujevac history:
The Kragujevac massacre of October 20-21, 1941, was one of the most horrific Nazi war crimes during World War II. Serbian civilians from Kragujevac were executed by the German occupation army even though no attacks were made in the city. German General Franz Boehme wanted to fill the quota of one hundred Serbian civilians executed for every German soldier killed, fifty Serbian civilians executed for every German soldier wounded. Because not enough hostages could be found, however, Serbian students from the Kragujevac high school along with their teachers were rounded up and executed. The massacre occurred during the Serbian insurgency or guerrilla resistance movemnet that began in the summer of 1941. The Serbian insurgency was the first major resistance to the German Nazi New Order in Europe. In this regard, it was unprecedented and unique. The German military occupation forces responded with unprecedented “reprisals” and indiscriminate mass executions of civilians. […]

author: Ljubisa Bojic


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Slovakia: Bratislava · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Four Bees recommends Bratislava as Christmas shopping destination.


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South Korea: blocking highway · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jamie in Two Koreas explains why yesterday's protest against FTA in Seoul was much smaller in scale: the governments were blocking protesters’ buses in the highway!


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Sudan: can bloggers save Darfur? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In a post titled, Can Bloggers Save Darfur?, We Blog for Darfur respond to arguments raised by Mark Jones, the Global Community Editor for Reuters, “We don’t ask for your money, we ask for your attention so that you will be educated as to what’s actually going on in Darfur.”


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Syria: Direct Idiom Translation · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“One of the funniest things for any bilingual person to do is to directly translate idioms from one language into another,” Omar said. Check out some of these from Arabic to English.


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Taiwan: Old Taipei market · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Max Lin, citizen reporter at Ohmynews!, has put up three informative reports on the history of Old Taipei market: The Old Markets of Taipei;  ‘Temporary’ Shilin Market a Permanent Hit; The Fading Memory of Chung Hwa Bazaar.


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Tanzania: IT related words in Swahili · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jesp wrote about the difficulties of accumulating a proper Kiswahili vocabulary as an IT professional in Tanzania. This is what he did not know when he was writing his post, “The Kamusi Project has a list of 700 IT related words translated from English to Kiswahili, made publicly available in several formats.”


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The Balkans: Asylum-Seeker; Tito’s Portrait · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about a Slovenian citizen seeking asylum in Croatia, and the Croat member of the Bosnian presidency decorating his office with a portrait of Tito, an ethnic Croat, too.


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The Balkans: NATO · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

East Ethnia writes about NATO's credibility in the Balkans.


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

On Tuesday night, the Bolivian Senate suddenly found itself with the needed quorum.  Several opposition Senators had refused to meet in protest of several law proposals put forth by the ruling party MAS.  Three substitute opposition Senators decided to attend the session to vote along government lines.  Cries of foul rang, as some have accused the Senators of receiving bribes to change their votes.  They were subsequently expulsed from their respective parties, as Miguel Buitrago of MABB writes in his blog update.
Among the laws passed by this surprise Senate were the approval of new hydrocarbons contracts, approval of the military cooperation between Bolivia and Venezuela, approval of the Budget, and the modifications of the INRA Law (Agrarian Reform law).
However, one of the largest pending issues is over the Constituent Assembly.  The government believes that articles should only be approved by simple majority, which they presently retain.  While the opposition demands that the law of Convocation should be respected and that 2/3 majority should be followed, which would ensure compromise and negotiation in the sessions.  Blogger Sebastian Molina of Plan B (ES) showcased a graphic designed by his wife, which invoked this call for 2/3 majority.  Others bloggers have picked up the graphic, such as Andres Pucci.  He points out that even though MAS holds simple majority in this body, that they did not receive the majority in the elections.  With the invalid and blank votes, they only managed to receive 42.2% of the votes emitted.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: At a glance · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Manicou offers another of his “Trinidad at a glance” lists, which highlight the country's current interests and preoccupations.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Trinidad & Tobago: New Carnival music selections · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Caisoqueen reviews some of the new musical selections of the 2007 Carnival season.


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Uzbekistan: Boysun · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Novoye Uzbekskoye Slovo has photos from Boysun, a place he says is a must to visit in the spring.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Venezuela: Plagiarizing Journalist Responds · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Journalist Nestor Valecillos, who had plagiarized the post of a Venezuelan blogger, emailed two [ES] of his many [ES] critics to explain himself: “Before anything else, greetings, it's important to stress the fact that we live in a society in which information is found in many and various websites, be it print, audio-visual, or the internet, as in this case. Like with other opportunities, including prestigious media outlets such as the most important channels of the country, the information turns or is transmitted like a link that the citizen wants or desires to have.” The letter goes on, but if you don't speak Spanish, not to worry, native speakers such as Eduardo Arcos are also have difficulty making sense of just what the sender is trying to communicate. The bloggers are, however, publishing his email, the inbox of which must be filling up by the minute.


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Africa: Real Price of $100 PC · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Africa 2.0 links to a Silicon.fr post and calls into question (Fr) the real cost of the $100 PC: “$972 per child would be the real cost of the $100 PC.”


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Argentina: Cinema: Fabián Bielinsky 1959-2006 · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Argentine illustrator Roberto Bobrow explains his prolonged absence from the blogosphere: “Fabián is (I refuse to use the past tense) my younger cousin, the son of the younger sister of my mother. He is also considered the best Argentinean moviemaker in many years. With just two movies (written and directed) in five years he got the first one (‘Nine queens’) remade in the USA (‘Criminal’) and the second (‘The Aura’) chosen for the Oscar awards. But Fabián is something else to me: more like the little brother I would wish to have.”


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Argentina: Recoleta Cemetery · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright eloquently describes and photographs the supernatural quality of Buenos Aires’ Recoleta Cemetery.


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Armenia: Rules of the Road · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Zarchka reports on the transition to new traffic rules for vans that serve as public transportation that requires them to stop only at bus stops. After some chaos, she says that some sort of order has been restored, but that there have been unintended consequences.


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Aruba: Small island, big life · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

ArubaGirl puts paid to the idea that “nothing happens on small islands” by recounting some of the recent goings-on in Aruba.


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Barbados: To be or not to be a republic · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press outlines some of the arguments being put forward in Barbados in favour of the island becoming a republic, and cautions against rushing the process, especially in light of the way the government seems to be approaching the matter.


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Blogging Tunisia: Sweet November · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Celebrating the 19th anniversary of the “Change of November 7” (1987) which brought president Ben Ali to power in a bloodless coup against Habib Bourguiba, who had reigned for 30 years, the Minister Director of the Presidential Office, Mr Abdelaziz Ben Dhia, the Tunisian senators [Fr] and the Tunisian Industry, Trade and Handicrafts Union (UTICA) members called on president Ben Ali to run for a 5th term in elections scheduled in 2009. Reacting on what opposition describes as a pre-election campaign, blogger Mokhtar Yahyaoui has noticed that it is a syndrome of the return of the monarchic and beylical practices [Fr]:
Ce procédé, signe de survivance des pratiques monarchiques du régime beylical déchu depuis 50 ans vient heurter frontalement le principe même du régime républicain, ou ce qui en restait.
Criticizing the 19 years rule of Ben Ali, Stranger has published several flash animations around the subject of “19 years, enough is enough”.  And for Mkarriz Ben Ali has already intended to remain in power as long as his heart keeps beating.
more
Mouwaten Tounsi, whose blog was censured [Fr] after publishing a ‘letter to president Ben Ali‘ [Fr] urging him to put an end to the lack of freedom of expression in the country, has condemned the decision of a new Tunisian blog aggregator to ban him too from being indexed.
And in reaction to the censorship of his favorite sites in Tunisia, among them, deviantart.com, blogmarks.net, and wikipedia.org, escalier7 has written his last post and explained why he decided to give up blogging [Fr] :
moi je suis ingénieur en informatique et si on me censure internet pour tout ce qui nouvelles technologies je suis mort. (…) ceci est mon dernier post sur ce blog et la fin de mon activité sur internet.
This brings us to the most discussed issue of the last week among Tunisian bloggers: the block of wikipedia for a couple of days. In the following chronological sample we’ll see how the debate  started, and how it ended up:
-       November 23 afternoon, access to Wikipedia was being blocked in Tunisia for unknown reasons.
-       November 23, asking ‘what is this?‘ (Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ?! ) [FR], MetallicNaddou has posted on her blog a screen capture of the error page appearing when trying to access wikipedia.
-       November 24, Kassus, a Tunisian blogger involved in wikipedia, reported on the francophone Wikipedia mailing list [Fr], and later on his blog, that wikipedia is being blocked in Tunisia.
-       In reaction to the post of Kassus [Fr], some bloggers has called to take action by sending an email to the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) and to all ISP in the country calling them ‘Give us Wikipedia back!’ ‘Rendez nous Wikipedia !’.
-       November 24, Karim2k was the first Tunisian to write about the issue in English and to point what he thinks the reason behind the block of wikipedia:
The point is that Wikipedia contains “controversial” articles about Tunisia published in “Le Monde” French newspaper, a set of some lines of texts, based a whole universe of knowledge freshly updated and maintained by thousands of volunteers over the world (…) So, by the way grap your rage once for all , ban Google, Blogger, Flickr, Youtube , … in one word ban the web so we can feel freed from the pain.
-       November 25, Xander [Fr] believed that it was not a case of censorship since the famous Tunisian 404 error page which shows up on censured sites is not showing when we try to access to wikipedia. For him it was just a technical problem, and he suggested a way to move forward and to bypass the block by changing the DNS server address.
-       November 25, According to Mario tout de go, [Fr] a subscriber to the francophone Wikipedia mailing list, it is probably a case of censorship of Wikipedia in Tunisia [Fr] In his post he made also parallels between the censorship of wikipedia in China and in Tunisia:
Wikipédia semble déranger énormément les pays qui ne croient pas à l’importance de la libre circulation de l’information.
-       November 26, commenting the post of Kassus [Fr], Cyberdissident has given a new turn to the debate when he grabbed the opportunity to evoke the importance of the battle for free expression in Tunisia. And even if he felt sorry for the block of wikipedia in the country, he was happy to see how bloggers are taking action against that.
je suis triste pour vous, mais content de vous voir enfin évoquer, enfin, le sujet de la censure au Bled. Depuis des années le net tunisien dissident lutte pour faire de ce sujet une priorité. Comme l'ATI, vous les avez censuré, sur vos aggrégateurs de blogs, sur la page de la Tunisie de WIKI.
His remark about the controversial issues of the Tunisian pages on wikipedia broke out again the old and unsettled tension between cyberdissents and the follows bloggers.
-       November 27, Houssein [Fr] has also evoked the same controversial issues on wikipedia linking to the heated debate on the discussion page on Wikipedia [Fr] about Tunisia, between the Tunisian admin Kassus, and others close to the cyberdissidence.
-       November 27, Erasoft [Fr] has called the visitors of his blog to send the model letter he wrote to the Tunisian embassy in France and drawing its attention to the block of wikipedia.
-	November 27, “Hurray ! Wikipedia, the open encyclopedia, is back. You cannot imagine how happy I am. I felt boring these days, without my preferred site” Kaiser wrote in euphoric terms. Hopefully, this good news won't be short-lived, even when it remains unclear what caused the block.
-       November 28, back to the clash that is going on between some of the bloggers and a fraction of cyberdissidents,  MetallicNaddou [Fr] has suggested that good contacts based on respect will help building a bridge of trust:
Il faudrait qu'il y ait un véritable contact, un échange basé avant tout sur le respect et la recherche d'objectifs communs à tous pour pouvoir envisager quelque chose
On Fikra [Fr], SBG has written about the index of democracies survey [PDF] released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) the last week.
Ranking 135th among the 167 surveyed countries, Tunisia is classified as an “authoritarian regime” along with 55 other countries. Among the Arab nations (see the graph about Arab country overall score), only Palestine ( 79th) belongs to “flawed democracies”. Lebanon (85th) and Iraq (112th) are both in the category of “hybrid regimes”. The rest of the Arab countries are classified as “authoritarian regimes”. And with an overall score of 3.53, the Middle-East & North Africa is the lowest-ranked region in the world (see the graph about democracy across regions).

author: sami ben gharbia


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Bolivia: Confronting Tear Gas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“Minding my own business at a corner internet cafe along a main avenue in Cochabama, I noticed a commotion originating from the city’s main plaza, one block away. Dozens of pedestrians were holding their mouths and I knew that could only mean one thing – tear gas was dispersed to quell some disturbance.” Eduardo Ávila explains just what that disturbance was.


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Brueni: Haunted Places in Brunei · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

World of Pablo introduces some of the haunted places and other supernatural beings in Brunei.

author: Preetam Rai


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CAR: France Military Support Against Rebels · Global Voices
Alice Backer

The blog of CAR presidential candidate Olivier Gabirault points to a Liberation article stating (Fr): “In 1997, Paris, linked to its former colony by a defense accord, disengaged by closing its two military bases (Bangui and Bouar) for economic reasons. Ten years later, French soldiers are back to support President Francois Bozize … On the opposite team are partisans of ex-President Ange-Felix Patasse and soldiers who now oppose the one who deposed Patasse in March 2003: General Francois Bozize, elected president last year. But also Tchadians who are combatting the Idriss Deby regime.”


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China: Beijing’s big brother culture · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wang Xiaofeng writes about “ye” culture in Beijing. The meaning of “ye” literally is grandfather or big brother (old men with authority). “Ye” or “Da Ye” is used as a suffix to someone's name to show respect or submission. Wang notices that in order to prepare for the Beijing Olympic, the government has to suppress the arrogant culture of “Ye”, one of the measure is to prohibit sales from looking scornfully at the customers. However, Wang feels that such efforts would be in vain (zh).


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China: leaping the great firewall · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

People's republic of… introduces a new tool (Psiphon) to leap the great firewall.


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China: The Chinese Sparrow War of 1958 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates two articles about the Chinese sparrow war in 1958 which compare the fate of sparrows with the Chinese intellectuals.


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China: The Mass Show Trial In Shenzhen · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In Futian district, Shenzhen, more than two hundred people (prostitutes and patrons) were hauled into the street and put on trial in front of the public. ESWN translates the local report with pictures.


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Colombia: Pillow Fight Flash Mob · Global Voices
David Sasaki

It seems that the spirit of Argentina's recent pillow fight flash mob has spread to Colombia [ES] Get your fluffiest weaponry ready.


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El Salvador: The Next Archbishop · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Carlos X. Colorado, moderator of the “San Romero” Yahoo! Discussion Group and guest-blogger on Tim’s El Salvador Blog takes a look at the top five candidates who might replace San Salvador Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle next year.


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Gambia: remembering slain journalist · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Home of the Mandinmories remembers the slain Gambian journalist, Deyda Hydra, “I don't know Deyda Hydara, never met him, but will forever respect him. He paid the ultimate price for something he believed in.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ghana: bead-making · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An American in Africa writes about bead-making in Ghana, “Ghanaian beads are so cool. They use old glass to make them, and they come in every color, shape and size you can imagine. There are antique beads that are beyond our budget (and probably beyond Ghana's “Export of Antiquities” laws!), and beads that were made yesterday.”


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Guatemala: Photoblog of Antigua · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bilingual blogger Aldo Bonilla recommends the collection of photos at AntiguaDailyPhoto.com.


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Honduras: Kindergarten Graduation and Recycling · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Angel of LittleWoodenMen was invited to a kindergarten graduation ceremony while “La Gringa” offers a suggestion on how to start dealing with La Ceiba's trash problem: “My idea about the trash cans is this: Get local businesses (certainly hotels and restaurants have a vested interest in improving the appearance of the city) and the “elite” to donate trash cans and paint or use some of that 4% tourist tax. Take the old and new cans and paint to the local schools and have the kids decorate them.”


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Indonesia: Japanese Nationalism and NEETs · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesian journalist Hara Diani on a visit to Tokyo looks at the rise of nationalism and the phenomenon of NEET (young people not studying or working) in Japan.


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Iran:Blogs and Sites should be registered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Alpar has given a link to what he calls ridiculous law about sites and blogs. According to the new law [Fa], all sites and blogs should be registered in the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.Sites and blogs will have no right to publish anything against Leader,Islamic regime and even about filtering.


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Iran:Kianoosh Sanjari still in jail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Sos-Sanjari, Kianoosh Sanjari,23 years old jailed blogger met with his mother.Sos-Sanjari blog writes, according to Sanjari's mother, his son has lost weight and he is in a very bad condition.


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Iran:Lurs protest against Cartoon · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to lorblog,several Lur students protested against a cartoon [Fa] which had been published in several magazines.According to the blogger,the cartoon made fun of Lur's traditional cloth.The blogger gave a link to several photos of student demonstartion in Khorramabad.


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Japan: edible postcards · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP from Japundit reports that a town in Japan is selling edible postcards made of cuttlefish.


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Japan: mobile flash art · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An article in Pingmag by Verena showing how mobile screen can be a site for creative artworks.


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Kyrgyzstan: Clans and Democracy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net writes about the role of clans in last month's anti-government protests and the implications of clans for democratization in Central Asia.


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Kyrgyzstan: Uzbek Gas · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia discusses Kyrgyzstan's options for responding to Uzbekistan raising prices for natural gas.


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Mexico: “Slow Life in Mexico City” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ellen Fields introduces the expat blog of Seth, a British national working for Amnesty International and living in Mexico City.


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Mongolia: Thoughts on the Media · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Shards of Mongolia has thoughts on truth in Mongolia's media.


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Russia: Abortion Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In response to the grim economic situation, abortion was made legal in the Soviet Union in 1920. From 1936 to 1955 – under Joseph Stalin and until after his death – abortion was outlawed. In today's Russia, according to some data, abortions outnumber live births; for many women, abortion is still the primary method of birth control.
A Wikipedia article on the Russian demographics cites a 2005 Moscow News story on abortion – namely, the figures provided by Vladimir Kulakov, vice president of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences: “About 1.6 million women had an abortion last year [in 2004], a fifth of them under the age of 18, and about 1.5 million gave birth […]. “Many more” abortions weren’t reported.”
A few weeks ago, two Russian lawmakers (Aleksandr Krutov and Nikolay Leonov of the Rodina political faction) proposed a law (RUS) that would require spousal consent before a married woman can have an abortion. The Russian blogosphere's response to the news was, quite predictably, overwhelming. Below is just a fraction of reactions, translated from Russian.
A discussion hosted by LJ user anastasija-kara:
It's outrageous.
Lawmakers have reacted to the president's call to increase birth rates in the country: a bill has been proposed at the State Duma that would make it illegal for a married woman to have an abortion without her husband's consent.
This is violation of women's rights, and I personally would come out to rally against this law in case they pass it. And along with me, real_whitecoffe will come out, and, I think, we won't be the only ones.
Men, what do you have to say?
—
[…]
kinoersh: If one considers it a reaction to the president's call to improve birth rates, that it is indeed outrageous. And extremely silly.
anastasija_kara: […] But in general, do you think that it's the man who gets the last word?
kinoersh: The child is supposed to get it. Only who's gonna give it to him.
Listen, I can't come to an agreement with myself on the issue of abortion. And I wrote what's obvious. The last word here isn't with the man, of course. But still… who the hell knows…
[…]
vvp_fuck: Just another idiocy. Though I've known it for a long time that there are only fascists and sexists in the Duma, so it's not surprising. Soon they'll prohibit women from getting an education, to make them have more children. Bastards…
But actually, could someone explain to me why the hell there should be higher birth rates? No one's gonna live on the fringes, and Moscow and St. Pete are overcrowded anyway… If you ask me, the fewer the people, the more oxygen. There are enough of workers, and there'll be enough of qualified professionals once they cancel the draft… Or do they want our girls to give birth to more soldiers for them??? If they raise birth rates, we'll have unemployment in 20 years and overpopulation like in China in 50 years.
My opinion is that birth is such a natural process that NO ONE should have the right to regulate it, and especially not the president who, I'm sure, doesn't give a damn about my family and whether my kids would starve or not, etc.
Well, and the right to decide to have an abortion belongs to the woman – because she has to carry and give birth to the child, and if the husband really wants the child so badly, let him discuss it all with his wife in advance…
[…]
skotic: It has nothing to do with increasing birth rates, obviously. No one's ever going to keep the woman from getting divorced and then having an abortion. I understand it correctly, don't I: they are talking about a “husband” – not a “biological father”? If this is so, then this bill has nothing whatsoever to do with common sense. […]
anastasija_kara: While the woman is getting divorced with her husband, the term during which she can have an abortion will be up.
[…]
arnaut_katalan: To every supporter of abortion – a free euthanasia as a gift!
nadkathegreat: To every opponent – a child from an orphanage to bring up.
[…]
inelgerdis: To give birth or not. It's important, but there's another significant aspect that makes me mad more than others. Yet again, they are trying to solve an important problem by following the simplest […] path – the path of bans and restrictions.
Take the kids’ financial aid as an example. Hello, you, those who are arguing here, do you remember how much we receive? A friend of mine, for instance, became a widowlast year, with a 10-year-old daughter to raise. And how much money do you think she was given? Bear in mind that it's he pension given due to “the loss of a bread-winner” – no less. Slightly more than 2,000 rubles ($75) a month. Is that serious?
And so instead of working on implementation of such truly important things as normal aid, benefits, […], etc. – all that would be helpful to mothers – this imbecile just proposes a ban. […] It's easier to ban […]. And those long-term mother-and-child programs – they are tiresome.
If the social sector was developed normally here, there wouldn't be reasons to have abortions. There won't be as many of them, that is. So few that such disgusting bills wouldn't be able to reach the surface.
[…]
boozsel: The Middle Ages. […] I'm for women and their rights because I myself would be scared to give birth […].
[…]
Another discussion at journalist Natalya Radulova's blog (LJ user radulova):
vasinamama: I “admire” our State Duma. Uneducated, irresponsible, cynical – but so proactive.
radulova: We have what we've elected.
vasinamama: Something's telling me that you didn't vote for Rodina. Nor did I. The cruel laws of democracy are working against us.
darlya: Our votes – do they have influence on anything? Don't make me laugh.
а разве наши голоса на что-то влияют? не смешите.
[…]
ximerka: The only thing they'd increase this way would be the number of illegal abortions.
prosto_alyssa: And the number of divorces!
prosto_alyssa: I wonder – and what if the husband wants his wife to have an abortion – would they be forcing her to?
[…]
LJ user mar-palna‘s blog:
rushana: They'll never adopt it. Like the Middle Ages, really. Though, of course, it's easier to ban abortions than pay normal salaries and give apartments to new families.
[…]
***
LJ community ru_politics, LJ user zebra24:
[Inspired by] by the latest news […], I propose a national project of fighting fools.
We can start with the Duma – with PM Krutov, for example: I propose to castrate him. It won't, of course, solve the problem of fools right away, but at least we can expect that in the next generation, there'll be fewer fools.
The advantages are obvious and expenses minimal, and though the problem with human rights remains, PM Krutov knows nothing about [human rights], so it'll be a shame if we don't use it.
And in general, since our Duma isn't a place for discussions, I propose to castrate legislators for the silly things they say. It'll be especially relevant for [LDPR] and Rodina factions, but the [United Russia] won't be left too far behind.
By the way, there's one more option – not to elect [politicians] like that anymore, but I'm afraid that since our democracy is so very sovereign, the Kremlin's “democrats” aren't going to ask us who to elect and who not to elect.
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perceptron: But the essence of Krutov's proposal is such that if you use it with your proposal, it'll turn out that it's only be possible to castrate him with his wife's permission.
vasimv: It's okay. We'll hold a referendum. They've cancelled the minimal turnout requirement, so if you alone show up – there's a chance [for the vote to be considered legitimate] :)
[…]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Radzikhovsky Article · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Russian-language article on the reaction of “the People” translated at La Russophobe.


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Serbia: Chinese Film Banned · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Just minutes before the movie Summer Palace (Serbian: Letnja Palata) […] rolled, Serbian authories came to the rescue and pulled the movie off the Festival because apparently China threatened to freeze all diplomatic activities with Serbia if the movie is shown,” reports Belgrade 2.0.


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Tanzania: questioning the legacy of Nyerere · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Metty'z RefleXions questions the legacy of Mwalimu Nyerere,” How do we know that Nyerere was the best thing? See the problem I have with folks who regard Nyerere highly is that we don’t the alternatives, at his time, to make a logical, objective comparison. I am not even sure if we know Nyerere for who is or what he wanted Tanzanians to believe.”


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The State of the Argentinean Blogosphere: Metroblogs · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

Este artículo también está disponible en español.
Metroblogs are blogs specifically focused on covering activities that take place within a city. In these times, these kind of blogs have sprung up in many places around the world, spreading initiatives and activities that are not frequently covered in other, more consolidated, media. And Argentina is not outside this trend. For this entry, we'll review four metroblogs: Buenos Aires Lado B, Rosagasario, De Corrientes, and Salta Cultural.
Buenos Aires Lado B is a blog that's been maintained for several months by Irina Sternik, and basically focuses on the cultural activities of Buenos Aires. Irina says: “mass media cover a small spectrum, and so does alternative media. I was interested in the idea of creating an agenda that used the resources that blogs offer: videos, images, audio, links and the exchange of comments among users”. And about her blog agenda: “I prioritize those spectacles that stand out as original, taking place in the city, and that don't get much coverage on a particular site. I emphasize movies and independent music tours; things that aren't common, that remind us of Argentinean historical personalities, urban strides, recitals, and mainly free events that are part of a festival or tour”.
Rosagario is a collective blog that is the result of a corporate initiative. “The idea came up as a proposal of BOS Multimedios (bosmm.com), which under the name of Tintanova intentds to generate a number of personal and group weblogs about different subjects. For the moment, its metroblogs are Rosagasario and De Corrientes, and it has a clear goal of expanding within the Argentinean territory”, says Alejandro Sena. “To put the group together, several bloggers from the city of Rosario interested in collaborating were contacted. They were 3 at first, and now there are 5 people”.
In the case of Salta Cultural, it's a blog about cultural activities that take place in the province of Salta, with n special emphasis on theater, music, and movies. The blog started in january 2006, and it updates very often. Unfortunately, no one in Salta Cultural answered the questionnaire sent out.
Now, well, what's the use of a metroblog? Why are they important? According to Irina Sternik, these sites “recycle information that is going around other sites and put it together in one new spot. It's risky to guess if this site will get more diffusion or visits than other sites, but it's a re-reading of what's going on in one only space”. According to Alejando Sena, these blogs “bring a different view to the one that newspapers and other traditional media offer. Something more neighbor-to-neighbor-like, at the same place. A metroblog allows us to criticize and share opinions about everything”.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Ukraine: More on Holodomor · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petro of Petro's Jotter writes more on the Ukrainian Famine and his correspondence on the subject with the editor of a Kyiv expat publication.


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Ukraine: No Borat · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“The glorious expat community in Kyiv is wearing their sad faces,” writes Carpetblogger: neither pirated, nor licensed Borat DVDs are to be found in Ukraine's capital.


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Ukraine: The Kyiv Beet is Back · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Ukraine Seeks to Join EU, NATO, G8, NBA, NASCAR, FIFA, Etc.” – this is just one of the headlines in the Kyiv Beet, an Onion-like Ukrainian publication, writes Ukraine List.


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Venezuela: Preparing for Sunday’s Election · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Venezuelan bloggers everywhere are adding their lost thoughts before this Sunday's presidential election. Miguel Octavio says, “Strange happenings all over the place as the Government seems to be stirring the pot unnecessarily.” Katy shows and links to “pictures of the illegal use of government funds to help the Chávez campaign.” Oil Wars shows examples of the receipts voters will be given after casting their ballots at touch screen computers. Chesa Boudin and Pablo Navarrete respond at length to the post ‘Rosales is coming up roses‘ by Charles Tannock and Fernando Gerbasi, criticizing The Guardian for featuring it. Hands Off Venezuela has published a statement of solidarity in support of the re-election of Hugo Chavez. And, finally, Tomas Sancio, of Baruta, Venezuela, compares the 2003 California Recall, the 2004 Venezuela Recall and the 2006 December Presidential Elections.