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Japan: ‘Yoshiharu Habu and Modern Shogi’, an Open Translation Project · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

A volunteer translation project sprang up and translated all of Mochio Umeda's book “Watching Shogi from Silicon Valley – Habu Yoshiharu and Modern Times” (シリコンバレーから将棋を観る-羽生善治と現代) into English in under a week.
‘Shogi Game’ by Flickr user thrig
Yoshiharu Habu is a highly-respected professional shogi (also known as Japanese chess) player. Easily the most recognizable figure in all things shogi, he is regarded by some as the ultimate strategist of our time. Mochio Umeda is a Silicon Valley-based VC, whom Asiajin calls Japan's leading web visionary. He is the author of the bestselling book ‘Web Shinkaron’ (Theory of Web Evolution), covered by GV here in 2007.
Umeda is a big shogi fan, although he doesn't play himself – a distinction that he stresses numerous times in his book. A few days before it was published, Umeda announced on his blog that the content was available for open sourced translation in any language. The timing couldn't have been better as it coincided with Golden Week and 10+ people answered the call for volunteers by Shota Yakushiji for an English translation project.
Using Google Groups and the project collaboration tool Hatena::groups, the group worked around the clock for six days on the initial translation, which was then released on PBworks. The members are mostly in their 20s and have minimal translation experience.
In the past two weeks, tensions have been running high in the Hatena community over the candid comments by Chika Watanabe – an IT consultant based in San Francisco – regarding the future of Japan:
これまでずっとなるべく言わないようにしていたのだが、もう平たく／明快に言うことにしました。
１）日本はもう立ち直れないと思う。
だから、
２）海外で勉強してそのまま海外で働く道を真剣に考えてみて欲しい。
Watanabe's blog ‘On/Off and Beyond‘ is widely-read among the Japanese tech crowd and the uproar over these comments is a story in itself.
Shota Yakushiji, the driving force behind the translation project, refers to her statement and talks about hope as his motivation for the project:
十数名のメンバーではできることに限界がある。でも、１億２千万人のメンバーができることには希望がある」
> 日本はもう立ち直れないと思う。
なんて言われて悔しいじゃないですか。僕はまだ立ち直れないなんて信じたくない。Wisdom of Crowdsの風が吹き荒れてが日本を救う、そんな日が来ることを信じたい。
> I don't think Japan will ever get back on its feet.
Let's not take this lying down. I'm not ready to believe that Japan won't be able to recover. That the wild winds of the ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ will blow and save Japan – I want to believe that such a day will come.
Professional shogi player Endo Yusuke, who participated in the project, commented:
このプロジェクトで良いと思うのは、終着点が見えていないところ、だと思います。
ああすればこうなる、じゃあ面白くありません。この後何が起こるのか、それが分からないからこそがむしゃらになれるのです。
このエネルギーがどこへ向かい何を起こすのか、間近で見られる事になったわけですし、ますますワクワクします。
The translation is a work in progress and anybody is welcome to help improve the quality or create related content based on the text. There's also a French translation in the works, run by Yoshihisa Yamada.
Elsewhere on the web: Michi Kaifu, of Tech Mom from Silicon Valley fame, gives an overview of the project. Takuya Honnma writes about the project in the context of spreading Japanese culture. Yoko Ishikura's Blog links to an impressive series of YouTube clips on the rules of shogi.


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Kenya: Guns should be legal · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tom wants guns to be legal in Kenya: “The government through propaganda is failing to protect the security of the individual and property. Kenya is hence a state where life is brutish, hash and nasty because of laws placed by someone who has guards 24/7.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kenya: What do you see on these images? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What do you see on these images taken in rural Kenya? asks Erik.  “Under each image you’ll see why it’s interesting. By the way, I too missed the relevance of the flip flops at first glance…”


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Nigeria: Digital Lifestyle of Connected Nigerians · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Oro writes about a survey conducted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development in Nigeria, “the Digital Lifestyle of Connected Nigerians.”


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Nigeria: Gas flaring to continue · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari writes about gas flaring in Nigeria, “The Nigerian government has once again extended the deadline to end gas flaring…Gas flaring is the burning of the natural gas that is produced on the surface during the production process. The gas produces huge flames and toxic gases.”


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Pakistan: Fighting Poverty Through Microfinance · Global Voices
Rezwan

Riaz Haq writes how Microfinancing, along with social entrepreneurship can help empower ordinary people in Pakistan and in other countries “to become self-reliant by lifting them out of poverty and teaching them the right skills to help themselves.”

author: Rezwan


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Saudi Arabia: Will Swine Flu Threaten Hajj?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Every year millions of Muslims converge to Mecca to perform Hajj (pilgrimage), one of the five pillars of Islam. Is this year's Hajj season being threatened by the A/H1N1 or Swine Flu virus? Bloggers commenting on the region weigh in.
At CrossRoads Arabia, John Burgess explains:
A Saudi researcher in Shariah law find that there is precedent to ban Umrah pilgrims (those who undertake the non-obligatory, ‘lesser’ pilgrimage) who come from areas beset with the A/H1N1 or swine flu virus. I suspect that this opinion is being floated now in anticipation of the Haj, which will take place in late November. The Haj is obligatory, in that every Muslim is required to perform the pilgrimage at least once in his/her life, if feasible.
Similar concerns were raised a few years ago, when bird flu (H5N1) was threatening. One Saudi scholar called for Haj to be canceled if there were a severe outbreak, but that proposal was shot down by others. The argument was that Haj had never been canceled on public health grounds and that to do so would be counter to Islam. Rather, those who are ill are morally obliged to not perform Haj.
Communicable diseases and Haj are historical companions. There are many records of outbreaks of disease, from plague to cholera, killing thousands in Mecca, Madinah, and Jeddah over the years. Only toward the end of the 19th C. did strictly enforced quarantines [210-page PDF] work to stop the spread of diseases out of the region, back to the homes of the pilgrims. Quarantines and strict enforcement of medical screening can protect pilgrims and that might be enough. Only time will tell. Swine flu, as bird flu before it, may turn out to be a non-issue. If it does not, however, it good that people are starting to think about it now.
The Middle East Institute's Editor's Blog adds:
This is getting stranger and stranger. The Grand Mufti of Egypt is suggesting Muslim scholars issue a collective fatwa [religious edict] to postpone the hajj due to swine flu. Arabic version is here. Keep in mind — I know I keep repeating it — there have been no cases in Egypt. In fact, according to WHO's rundown as of yesterday, the only cases confirmed in the entire Middle East are in Israel (seven cases). And WHO says, “WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.” Oh, yes, and another thing: the hajj isn't until November. Am I missing something here? Has the hajj ever been postponed for health reasons, in all of Islamic history? I don't know, but I expect you'd need at least one infected person to justify it. (Not only are there no cases in the Middle East, except Israel, but none in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan — well, anywhere Muslim.)

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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South Africa: “Cape Africa” Time · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Koluki writes about the exhibition of contemporary African culture in Cape Town, South Africa, “Borrowing its title from the acclaimed novel by Capetonian author Alex La Guma, A Walk Into the Night is an innovative project inspired by the history of the Cape Town Carnival.”


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South Africa: Social network that tracks your location · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Vincent writes about the Grid, a social network that tracks location of mobile phone users in South Africa.


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Taiwan: Friendship with India · Global Voices
David Reid

Taiwanrocks! discusses the friendly links between Taiwan and India.

author: David Reid


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Tunisia: Ammar 404 is Back and Censoring Blogs Again  · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

After a short hiatus, the dreaded Ammar 404 has once again attacked the Tunisian blogosphere. Ammar is the nickname given by Tunisian bloggers to the censorship machine plaguing their access to the Internet and his victim this time is Zig Zag blog by 3amrouch. It seem that the blog has been censored for republishing screen shots of a Canadian newspaper which unveils a real estate transaction in which the Tunisian President's son-in-law Mohamed Sakhr El Matri bought a villa in Canada for a huge amount of money – information which the Tunisian Government wants to hide from its people. Many bloggers wrote about this censorship and condemned it.
Samsoum wrote:
Le blog de 3amrouch a été censure car il a repris une information publique sur un journal canadien qui est accessible a tout le monde. Par solidarité je publie aussi le lien vers ce journal qui cite dans sa page 10 la transaction immobilière qu'on veut cacher a tout prix. Et qu'on censure ce blog aussi!!!
Thoughts of an ex-Muslim wrote:
Ordinary stories blogged saying:

author: Lina Ben Mhenni


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Video: 48 Hour Young Lions YouTube Contest and others you can join · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Young Lions YouTube Contest
First things first: tonight could be your chance to make it big. All it takes is 48 hours to make, upload and get as many votes on your video, and you could go to the Cannes Film Festival. If you can't make it on time, don't worry: following is a list of other contests open for participants all around the world.
If you make online videos, a good way to get inspiration and practice is to participate in video contests. By submitting entries to contests you can get experience in how to make videos that please audiences on topics you care about and in the process get your name out there. By winning, you may have the opportunity to travel or win cash prizes as well as recognition as a budding video journalist.  However, one of the challenges, besides the actual making of the video, for anyone outside the US is finding contests open to international  participants.  Read on to find out about a few contests you may want to join.
You Tube is also expanding their contests to include citizens of many different countries outside of the ones where they have a localized presence. Such is the example of the Young Lions International 48 hour contest shown. This contest is slightly different: contestants will only have 48 hours to fulfill the challenge of producing an ad for a selected charity that will be disclosed tonight at midnight.
The prize will be an all expense paid trip to the Cannes Festival in France and the opportunity to be a part of the Team YouTube for the Young Lions’ competition.
Full rules can be found on the YouTube website and on the Young Lion's Information page.
HOW IT WORKS
If working under looming deadlines is not your thing, here are a few other contests. On Online Video Contests, you can search by latest additions, date due, most liked or those that offer cash prizes. However, you will have to click on each contest to discover if it is available for people outside the US.  Some of the contests open for people outside the US are:
The Sparky Awards, with a prize of $1000 USD, due on December 26, 2009:
The SPARKY Awards challenges you to illustrate in a short video presentation what you see as the value of sharing information. Use your imagination to suggest what good comes from bringing down barriers to the free exchange of information.
The conditions can be found by following this link. The video should be no more than 2 minutes in length, has to have been produced during January 1st and December 6th 2009, should be narrated or subtitled in English and has to be posted online under a Creative Commons license.
The Most Promising New Media Creative Video Contest for Asia Pacific region with a $5000 USD prize for the winner, who will also be flown to a gala event in Singapur. The Due date is August 3rd, 2009, conditions can be found here:
Capture the essence, the soul, the energy, the psyche, the quintessence of “Fame“. You've got 30 seconds to convince the “creme de la creme” of the advertising industry that you should be a part of History, winning the “Most Promising New Media Creative In Asia Pacific” award! Your chance to embrace fame!
Sometimes, websites are interested in promoting their brand and getting more users: such is the case of the $1000 USD prize for the MeHype “Food and Beverage” Video Contest (conditions here).
To encourage you to “show us what you got”, MeHype will award $1000 to the Producer of the most watched (full views only) Food      & Beverage-themed video that highlights the level of capability and professionalism that our members posses to attract future Corporate Sponsors to MeHype.com, for more projects to work on…

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Zimbabwe: Bail granted for political prisoners · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Three political prisoners in Zimbabwe, Gandhi Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Dhlamini and Andrison Manyere, have been granted bail by the High Court Judge, This Is Zimbabwe reports.


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Africa: The Grid and Mobile Phone Documentary · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African writes about the Grid, a mobile social network in Tanzania and Hello Africa, a documentary about mobile phone culture in Africa.


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Angola: “Every city has its history, and ours is no different” · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Since January this year several blogs have been announcing a petition in defence of what remains of Luanda’s [en] historical architecture. Sponsored by the Architects Association of Angola, and mainly addressed to the President of the country, José Eduardo dos Santos [en], it aims to protect Luanda’s heritage and monuments.
In defence of the idea that “every city has its history, and ours is no different”, the petition starts as follows:
ACREDITANDO que o que torna uma cidade singular é o seu património histórico e cultural, traduzido pelos hábitos das suas gentes, mas igualmente pelas pedras, construções, espaços e edifícios que foram sendo introduzidos ao longo dos séculos da sua génese.
Photo by Flickr user mp3ief published under a Creative Commons license
It is well known that the number of modern buildings taking over the landscape of Luanda is increasing. In a post titled Luanda: a metamorfose [pt] (Luanda: the metamorphosis), (R)evolução em Angola [pt] ((R)evolution in Angola) author, N’manga, shares an extensive photo collection of the new and rising architecture projects. Back in September 2008, Global Voices Online posted on bloggers questioning who these buildings are addressed at. However, the online conversation is now a different one, as Kukiela comments in this Luanda: the metamorphosis post:
A questão de uma identidade arquitectónica, um património que está a ser destruído na nossa baixa para se construir esse conjunto insípido de edifícios sem qualquer perspectiva cultural de identidade. Sei que isso leva à discussão de “identidade angolana”, que é uma longa discussão mas que é também importante pensar na vertente “evolução urbanística” da cidade de Luanda.
The most polemic and striking case discussed online concerning the protection of Angola’s architecture happened back in August 2008, when the historical Kinaxixi Market was demolished to make space for the construction of a new shopping centre.
Exclusive photo taken on the day the Kinaxixi Market was being knocked down, kindly provided by  José Manuel Lima da Silva, Flickr user Kool2bBop
This episode was not forgotten in the petition message:
TENDO tomado conhecimento que se continua a autorizar a destruição de património público, entre prédios classificados como foi o Palácio de Dona Ana Joaquina, ou por classificar, como o Mercado do Kinaxixe, este último considerado internacionalmente uma das obras arquitectónicas mais importantes do Movimento Moderno, e proposta por Óscar Niemeyer para ser considerado Património da Humanidade pela UNESCO.
However, reportedly the practice of destroying cultural heritage does not only happen in Luanda. Nuno Silva Leal, a Portuguese architect based in Lobito, Benguela, praises the petition initiative and posts about a case that has happened in that province:
Fiquei feliz em deparar há pouco na net com esta petição em defesa do património construído de Luanda. Sinal de que há ainda uma franja da população consciente do fabuloso património arquitectónico que têm em mãos e que não podem desbaratar, sob pena das gerações futuras virem a lembrar-se desta apenas pela ganância do lucro.
Aliás, este problema estende-se a todo o país. Aqui na província há bem pouco tempo atrás demoliram, tijolo a tijolo, a estação de comboios da Catumbela para, provavelmente, construírem um mamaracho chinês no seu lugar. Foi mais um pouco da história de Angola que morreu com a destruição deste edifício…
"New bridge, Catumbela" photo by Flickr user jlrsousa published under a Creative Commons license
Either Luanda or somewhere else, for Koluki, it is all about memories and what future generations will make of them. In a comprehensive post  [pt] titled A(s) Memória(s) e o(s) Património(s) – Passado(s) e Futuro(s) (playing with the plurality of Memory and Heritage – Past and Future):
Memórias… são elas que dão sentido à palavra “histórico” ao lado da designação “património arquitectónico”. Resta-nos sempre a consolação de que, pelo menos enquanto somos vivos, elas sobrevivem à morte dos edifícios. O problema é a preservação dessas memorias, individuais e colectivas, para as gerações futuras, não perdendo de vista, contudo, que estas não só têm direito ao conhecimento da história, como também […] têm o direito a e a capacidade para criarem a sua própria história e construírem as suas próprias memórias para o seu próprio futuro – que será, afinal, o futuro da Nação, portanto de todos nós.
The whole petition, which, besides addressing the President, will also inform the Governor, the Minister of Culture, the Assembly Culture Committee and the UNESCO representative in Luanda, can be found at this web address [pt] and on many blogs (such as this one). Although it is available online, it can only be signed locally by residents and native Luandans at UNAP, Chá de Caxinde Association, Architects Association and Sérgio Piçarra's office.

author: Sara Moreira


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: Political Eurovision · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As voting for the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway in Moscow, bartlemot tweets that the telephone number to vote for the Armenian entry in Azerbaijan was censored. In a second tweet, the same user says that instead of displaying a telephone number in the lower section of the screen it was instead left blank. Armenia also staged its own action with Twitter reporting that its host purposely showed a photograph of a statue in the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh three times intended to agitate viewers in Azerbaijan. Eurovision is notorious for its political undertones, but with the two countries deadlocked in efforts to resolve the long-standing conflict over Nagorno Karabakh since the May 1994 ceasefire, some feared the worse when both countries today showed up trending on Twitter.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bahrain: Why so many sandstorms? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger flymenian wonders why Bahrain has experienced so many sandstorms in recent years – and asks, “Could it just be the God Almighty is mad with us?”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Blogger of the week: Mong Palatino · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Meet Mong Palatino. To Global Voices readers, he is the Regional Editor for Southeast Asia and Oceania. In his native Philippines, however, he is known by his full name, Raymond Palatino, President of the Kabataan (Youth) Party and a new member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines.
Photo from www.arkibongbayan.org
This fact makes Raymond “Mong” Palatino the first blogging politician in the Philippines and one of Global Voices’ first contributors to be elected to public office.
Although only 29 years old, Raymond “Mong” Palatino’s CV already runs pages long. He writes a column for an international press syndicate; he’s served as president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines; he’s been a major player in groups like Filipino Youth for Peace, the Estrada Resign Youth Movement and Kabataan Kontra-Kartel, known as Youth Against the Oil Cartel.
Mong began with Global Voices halfway through 2006, covering his home country. By that time he had already been blogging at Mongster’s Nest for more than a year.  He moved up to Regional Editor at Global Voices in April 2008.
An office of the UN has compared him to Edgar Jopson, the most famous student leader in Filipino history. He helped usher in TXTPower, a national consumer rights advocacy group. He has long been at the forefront of marrying new technologies to help foster political change.
In a profile in the Washington Post on the use of social media in Filipino politics, Mong admitted that during his work mobilizing students in opposition to President Joseph Estrada in 2001 taught him the importance of tools like texting. But one could argue it’s the plight of the Filipino youth who fuel the many aspects of his work. In 2005, Mong wrote these words:
“The debilitating effects of the labor and education policies of the government account for the cynicism and hopelessness which many young Filipinos feel today. They leave the country in droves because they sense no bright future for them in the Philippines. Those who remain are resigned to the destituteness of the country. “
Two years later, he ran his second national election campaign. His Kabataan Party garnered 225,000 votes on a platform of youth empowerment and the fight against corruption, inequality and promoting social justice. This showing pushed Kabataan past the threshold of two percent of total national votes, making it eligible to sit in the House of Representatives under Philippine’s sectoral allocation law, which provides seats to parties representing minority voices. A recent Supreme Court ruling increased the number of these “sectoral” seats in the House of Representatives from 22 to 55, paving the way for the Kabataan Party to join the House of Representatives.
As Partylist leader, Raymond was sworn in  and immediately began work. (A recent tweet has him testing the wi-fi at the House of Representatives. He reported it “seems ok.”)
And a blog post from those first hours in office portrays him tackling the nuts-and-bolts of Filipino politics.
I attended a higher education committee hearing in the afternoon. The committee tackled HB 2380 – Protecting the rights of students requiring professional licensing examinations to enroll in review centers of their choice and providing penalties thereof – which is principally authored by Rep. Teddy Casiño of Bayan Muna. I’m supporting this measure. Most likely this bill will be passed by the committee. During the hearing, Rep. Teves of Negros revealed that there is a school in his province requiring students to live in the school dormitory for two months in order to attend review classes.
Schools should not require students to attend review classes. Enrolling in review schools should not be made as a graduation requirement. Review classes are acceptable if they are part of the curriculum. But the popular practice today involves schools which force students to join expensive review classes.
I had a conversation with Mong regarding the power of the youth and social media in the Philippines.
With all you have happening in your life, why work for Global Voices?
I was invited by Preetam Rai (former Global Voices Southeast Asia editor) to join GV in 2006. I immediately agreed to write for GV. During that time, I was already a fan of GV. I was impressed with its mission to highlight the views of bloggers in different parts of the world. By joining GV, I could more effectively articulate the issues espoused by Filipino bloggers. My initial articles were about reproductive health, nurse migration, election reform and illegal deployment of Filipinos in Iraq. For two years, I contributed 2-3 GV articles per month.
I attended the GV summit in New Delhi in 2006. The summit was influential in broadening my appreciation for the potential of blogging to raise political awareness and improve human interactions in the world. Before the GV summit, my knowledge about the persuasive power of online media was very limited.
It was April 2008 when Preetam asked me to replace him as GV editor in the region. I thoroughly enjoyed my new task for GV. It gave me the opportunity to interact with various bloggers in the region. It allowed me to remain regularly informed about the political developments in East Asia and the rest of the world. I realized too the importance of broadening my perspectives on social and political matters. I noticed that I was satisfied being a Filipino blogger; while I am almost ignorant on what is happening in our neighboring countries. My GV work improved my outlook and my reading habits. Through GV, I learned to appreciate better the need to look for alternative voices which are not usually reported by mainstream media. These blogs, these voices exist. They are out there, waiting to be quoted.
You’ve blogged eloquently about your parents and siblings moving away when you were just an adolescent to live and work abroad. How has this distance from your family shaped your life?
I’ve learned to become more independent. At the same time, it influenced me (during my university days) to ask questions about the social order. For example: Why is labor export a permanent economic policy of the government? Why is migration deemed by many Filipinos as the ultimate solution to poverty? In retrospect I became an activist by starting to ask about the Filipino diaspora.
Social media has been used heavily in Filipino politics. How have these media organized different segments of the youth in the country? (For his answer, Mong sent me to his website, where I found this)
Texting is already the standard mode of communication among Filipinos. It is widely used even in the remote countryside to connect and reconnect with family and friends. Overseas Filipino workers, now numbering more than 8 million, use texting to maintain close relationships with their loved ones back home…
Political forces seek to mobilize millions of subscribers through virtual campaigns which could range from the sending of text messages, downloading of political ringtones, and forwarding of subversive text quotes. It may be impossible to gather more than 50 million cell phone users in the streets but it is easy to persuade ordinary citizens to send political text messages to their friends.
The great number of anonymous prepaid cell phone users is emboldening citizens to express their true political sentiments. A majority of cell phone owners in the country are availing themselves of the prepaid service since this is cheaper. This also allows political groups and disgruntled citizens, fearful of government reprisals, to send daring political messages through texting, without the risk of revealing their identities.
Another important factor which contributes to the popularity of texting is the relative absence of censorship governing Internet usage and mobile communications in the Philippines. The cheap mobile technology and the freedom enjoyed by Filipino cell phone users enhance the opportunities to use the phones for political activities.
Taking a look at the words (quoted above) you wrote of the cynicism and hopelessness of the youth in 2005, What is the difference between the economic situation back then and today?
I see no difference in the situation in 2005 and today. In fact I believe the situation has gone worse. The Philippines is suffering from the global economic crisis because it is too much dependent on remittances sent by overseas workers who are being laid-off in developed countries. Our youth continue to dream of leaving the country to fulfill their simple dream of acquiring a decent job that will uplift the conditions of their families. I have little respect for a government which treats its citizens as commodities to be exported.
Your party, Kabataan, has had more than its share of run ins with authorities. Its members have been threatened by elected officials and even hit by a mayor; a coordinator was arrested and beaten by armed police; during the 2007 elections, two poll watchers were abducted and killed. And yet you continue…
You are correct: our members were harassed; a few were killed in the last elections
The least we can do to honor their bravery and sacrifice is to continue with our advocacy. Our platform for a progressive form of politics is resisted by supporters of the status quo. We will persevere….
You’ve been profiled inside and outside the Philippines as an astute organizer using different forms of social media. Now that you are an elected official, how will you continue?
I will consistently blog my activities in the Parliament. I will use different social media applications like Twitter, Plurk (plurk is more popular among Filipino bloggers) and Facebook to report about my activities. Among our initial activities is to teach some of my colleagues in the Parliament about the potential of using social media in improving transparency and governance in the country.
You spoke these words after learning of the Supreme Court decision to grant your party a seat in the House of Representatives.
“… The Filipino youth have always played a pivotal role in ushering in significant changes in history. We have always been at the forefront of uprisings and revolutions every time the social, political and economic conditions in society became too intolerable for Filipinos to endure.”
Where do you see Filipino youth in the next five years?
I believe the Filipino youth will fulfill an active role in the 2010 presidential elections. They will demand democratic reforms in governance, they will push for a genuine social reform agenda, they will effectively influence the results of the elections.
However, the youth may become more cynical if administration politicians succeed in their plan to postpone the holding of the elections. The challenge is to prevent the spread of cynicism among the youth and transform the mood of hopelessness into a constructive force for change.
Where do you see Raymond “Mong” Palatino in five years?
In five years I still see myself as an activist (this time in the labor sector and human rights advocacy), a public servant, and a blogger; still a member of the GV community and helping with the web translation project involving the several major languages in the Philippines.
You Tube video of a Kabataan Party ad

author: John Liebhardt


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Bloggers raise funds for Brunei Special Olympics Team · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

In providing support to the Brunei Special Olympics team, local bloggers are creating awareness on the team’s forthcoming participation in the World Special Olympics in Athens in 2011. Major fundraising activities were held last May 3: a walkathon and bazaar. The intention is to help raise enough funds to sustain annual programs such as the regular training of special athletes for various sporting events. The Walkathon hopefully will also generate enough funds in preparation for the event in Athens.
Photo courtesy of Hard Break kid
AnakBrunei wrote a heart warming post on ensuring that these special citizens are given opportunity to participate in sport activities and to compete in global events. The intention is not only to ensure participation but to be part of a global community.
People with an intellectual disability are often misunderstood or ignored, yet when they are given a fair chance they can, and do, participate as valuable members of the community. For this belief, Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam endeavors to provide sport for all people with an intellectual disability, regardless of their skill level. Through sport, Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam  (SOBD) aims to give our special athletes the opportunity to get fit, develop skills, make friends and be part of a community.
Let us be together and united in supporting our nation’s special athletes. Let us be together and united in helping them to be part of the community, to achieve their potentials and most importantly, to fulfill their dreams. Let us be together and united in supporting their mission:
Let me win, But if I cannot win, Let me be brave at the attempt…”
Ultimate Foodie Bloggers' Challenge
It was a coincidence that some bloggers got together over dinner and decided to do a charity event to raise funds for SOBD.  Within a few days after discussions over emails, invitations were made to to get bloggers and non-bloggers alike for the first Ultimate Foodie Bloggers’ Challenge,  held on 26th April 2009.  Support was also provided by Blogging Nation. As reported in one of the local papers:
“In an interview with Senor Pablo, a representative from the organising committee, he said, “The competition is one of the meaningful ways to contribute to the society. As part of bloggers community, food is a common theme that binds people, so I thought why not organise a foodie challenge, which invites not only food bloggers but also food enthusiasts.
“The event was organised by well-known local bloggers in Brunei with support from food contributors. Bloggers and contributors had contributed 49 good recipes and the recipes will be collected and compiled into a book made available for everyone. The recipe book will be sold during the Special Olympic Brunei on May 3, and all the proceeds will go to charity. — Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin”
One of the dishes from the recipe book
Much work took place within a week to get the book ready for the Special Olympics Bazaar on 3rd May 2009. Efforts in producing the recipe book were made through recipe contributions from local bloggers and others, with editing,  lay-out design and cover design done by local bloggers. Since we didn’t have any funds to pay for the printing cost, we managed to get a local printer to sponsor the cost of producing the book.
The bazaar was the event to start the sales of the Recipe book. For the whole day, we managed to sell 100 copies of the book. With the price of $10 per book and all 100 percent sales donated, we raised B$1,000, which was handed over to the SOBD Committee on the same day.
Turquoise and Roses  got a booth set up at the bazaar with special emphasis on selling the recipe book.
“We sold exactly 100 copies of the Foodie Bloggers’ Recipe Book with the help of Pablo, Muaz, and our wonderful volunteers!!! Thanks boys and girls!…I am very glad that the spirit of voluntarism and activism is alive in our youth. They make volunteering seem cool! Keep it up!”
AnakBrunei reported on the bazaar, whereby a special copy of the My favourite Recipe book, signed by Her Royal Highness Princess Azemah was auctioned, to raise more funds for the SOBD.
Ranoadidas organised a first local blog auction.
“There’s one limited edition “My Recipe Book” which was personally signed by Her Royal Highness ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah during the Charity Bazaar and this signed recipe book will be going for auction and the starting bid will be BND50.00. Oh yeah, the special book will be framed with the picture of HRH signing the book. So that’s a pretty good buy indeed. The deadline will be on Saturday midnight.
A special thanks to Her Royal Highness Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah for signing the Recipe Book as well as giving the consent for the Recipe Book to be auction for the Special Olympics Brunei Fundraiser campaign. A big thanks also to those involved in the making the auction possible and Mr. Reeds has kindly sponsored the frame for the limited edition book. A shout also for Pilihan FM and Kristal FM for plugging the auction.
As of now, the 500 copies of the books have been sold out with less than a week. Now that I have say is a great achievement and it’s comparable to achieving a platinum status on CD sales. So what’s next? Bloggers’ Singles compilation album? *lol* Well, you’ll never know but there are just thousand of ideas that we can come up with. All I can say is if we bloggers do something, it always start with a BANG.”
The progress of the auction
$100 –> $200 –> $250 –> $300 —–> $386 —-> $400 —-> $486 —-> $500 —> $1,000 —-> $1,086 —-> $2,000 —-> $2,086 —–> $3,000 —–> $3,386 —-> $4,000 —> $4,186 —-> $5,000 —-> $5,586 as of press time (11:20pm 9th May). Bid ends at BND 5,586.00. Thank you to the two bidders who made the bid very, very interesting and your kind gestures are very much appreciated.
Emmagoodegg bought the book and in her post, listed out the recipe contributors and  wrote:
“I feel most guilty at not being able to partake, but hopefully there'll be a next time. I've read that the recipe book gathered some vitriolic discussion over on RA's tagboard over some missing ingredients in some recipes, well-intentioned people simply using the book for fame and glory, the usual defeatist comments that seems all too common in our country. All I can say is My Favourite Recipes is a commendable and worthwhile effort and that at least these folks stepped up to the plate and gave their time for charity.”
Brunei Lifestyle reported on the outcome of the auction bid:
“The successful bidder of the My favourite recipe limited edition signed by HRH Princess ‘Azemah Ni’matul Bolkiah is Sheikh Khalid of the Arab families. Sheikh Khalid placed the highest bid of $5,586 almost 40 minutes before the stroke of midnight last Saturday night, the deadline to bid, to get a copy of the edition.
What I can say about the whole project is that the book has managed to collect $10,586 with all of its 500 copies sold in two weeks time. Thats an amazing feat. Bravo! Bravo! bravo! and take a bow Pablo! Also Rano…oh they both end with an ‘o’. Whats next Senor? To Alin, the Kurapak man for designing the front cover . Thank you too to the Arab families for your kind gesture. May God repay you and family for your kindness. Amin. I myself, look forward to contribute in the near future.”
The recipe book project earned $10,586. The funds collected will be passed to the Brunei Special Olympic Team. The project has a quick turn-over: from conceptualizing the project, to the production and selling of all 500 copies within a month. As part of the organising team, I feel honored to be part of this charity drive, an effort organised by local bloggers with no fund to start with. This also shows that bloggers can contribute and support local causes. I also hope that this will be a start of various initiatives organised by bloggers to support local charity and to contribute their spare time on good causes. On behalf of the  event organisers, we now wish the Brunei Special Olympic Team much success in their training and participation in the 2011 World Event.

author: Senor Pablo


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Ghana: Sponsor Maker Faire Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You can sponsor Maker Faire Africa, “We’ve been asked by a number of people if they could sponsor Maker Faire Africa as individuals. Amounts that range from $25 to $100. This is a good idea, and in line with the type of event that this is.”


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India: A Surprise Result · Global Voices
Rezwan

AnIndianMuslim.com writes about the Lok Sabha election results 2009 published today: ” ‘The Congress’ victory and its revival has surprised even the most optimistic party workers who till recently appeared unsure that they would be able to reach close to 190 seats. [..] Nobody had anticipated that the UPA would get the mandate once again, despite the anti-incumbency.


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India Elections 09: India votes decisively, decides to strengthen the hand of stability · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Election results are pouring in from all across the country and it is now clear that India has voted decisively for a stable government at the center, under the leadership of the Congress-led UPA. Dr. Manmohan Singh is going to be the Prime Minister for a second consecutive term. Even before all the results are in, just going by the trends, the BJP-led NDA alliance has publicly conceded defeat.
The UPA Chairperson, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi congratulated the electorate on this mandate. At a press conference at her residence at 4.00pm IST, she said, “The people of India know what is good for them and they have made the right choice.”
As of now (5.40pm IST) the national tally (results) is as follows:
Total no. of seats = 543
No. of seats needed to stake claim to power (majority) = 272
————————————————————–
UPA alliance – leads+wins = 258
NDA alliance – leads+wins = 162
3rd Front – leads+wins = 68
Others (including the 4th Front) – leads+wins = 55
——————————————————————————————-
Indian elections (#indiavotes09) is a top trending topic on twitter today. A few reactions from tweeters:
@jraghu – Indian citizens give verdict. Congress led UPA wins safe, free elections in largest free democracy. Thank you, all #India #Indiavotes09
@dina – this mandate seems to be for good governance – stability & progress & optimism as opposed to fear. governance not politicians. #indiavotes09
@calamur – #indiavotes09 – Singh is King – Advani v/s PM. whining v/s strength. bitterness v/s vision.powerlust v/s duty. India chose well
While there is jubilation in many quarters, there is gloom among the supporters of the BJP. Blogger Chakresh Mishra writes on his blog:
[…]my biggest sympathy is with BJP, which is the party I voted for. A nationalist party. It is a loss of face for BJP. But friends, There are times in history of a nation when all seem lost and looks like wrong forces have won the final battle. But dear friends, it is just a process, which goes on and on. 5 years may be significant time period in life of a man, but in life of a nation (that too a nation like India) is just a flickr of eye.
The time after defeat is not for grief and blame-game. It is the time to introspect and start preparing to come out as winner in next battle.
Though hopes are shattered and nightmares are prevailing, the dawn will surely come. It is not the first black day of Indian history, we survived and fought back. Let us do that again.
Update:
Tally as of 1pm IST, 17/05/09:
Total no. of seats = 543
No. of seats needed to stake claim to power (majority) = 272
————————————————————–
UPA alliance – leads+wins = 262
NDA alliance – leads+wins = 157
3rd Front – leads+wins = 67
Others (including the 4th Front) – leads+wins = 57
——————————————————————————————-
The UPA alliance now needs to garner support for only about 10 seats. Whom will they invite to be a part of their coalition? Watch this space.

author: Aparna Ray


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India Elections 2009: Tapping Into The Twitter · Global Voices
Rezwan

As the results of the Indian Parliamentary Elections 2009 came trickling in since today morning, Indians from all around the world were glued on to their TV or PC screens to see the updates. Besides the official site of the Election Commission of India a number of citizen media initiatives have been taken to disseminate the results as they come in. Offstumped is live blogging the election results and the comments reached 880 at the time of writing this report. Using Cover It Live Offstumped has also a separate live analysis and debate page. MSM like NDTV is also using Cover It Live.
But the real buzz is happening in Twitter. The Economic Times reported:
The excitement of the Indian elections has transferred online to one of its most popular social messaging sites – Twitter – where it emerged as the top topic posted Saturday.
The Twitter tag “#indiavotes09″ was the number one topic on the trends list of Twitter search, demonstrating once again the strength of Indians using these new technology tools.
Here we look at what people are saying in Twitter.
People are being updated with results as they comes in via various news sources:
Naveenks is proud:
Aerabati writes that some Media sites were inaccessible due to high traffic:
Anita Lobo says:
Calamur informs:
Jayapradeep requests the CPM to concede defeat:
Vimoh has this message for BJP:
Pradeep Mahaur lists in his blog ten reasons why BJP lost.
Testertested is in celebration mood:
The most encouraging of all are some Indian politicians using Twitter. The most popular among Twitterati Shashi Tharoor informed people of his status as he raced towards a massive victory in the election:
If more politicians could be so visible.
Follow the buzz on Indian elections 2009 via Twitter:


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India Votes for No Change: Indian Bloggers & Twitter Users React to #IndiaVotes09 Results · Global Voices
Gaurav Mishra

Introduction: India Votes for No Change in the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections
Photo courtesy Al Jazeera under a Creative Commons License
The results for the month long Indian Lok Sabha elections are out and India has voted back the incumbent Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) into power with a decisive verdict, surprising many observers.
As I write this post, the results for 480 out of the 543 seats have been declared. The Congress is leading in more than 200 seats and UPA is less than 20 seats away from reaching the magic figure of 273.
The verdict is a reminder of the Indian electorate's love affair with the Nehru-Gandhi family and a coming of age of sorts for Rahul Gandhi, the young scion of the family. A jubilant Sonia Gandhi reiterated that Manmohan Singh will be Congress Party's choice for the prime minister. Manmohan Singh will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after a full five-year term.
The verdict has also led to some serious soul-searching within BJP. It seems that Lal Krishna Advani's political career is all but over. It will be interesting to see if BJP moves away from its Hindutva roots and repositions itself as a Right of Center party or becomes even more hardcore Hindu Right under the leadership of someone like Narendra Modi.
Some of the biggest upsets so far: Ram Vilas Paswan, Ram Naik, Renuka Choudhry, Vinod Khanna, Meera Sanyal and Captain Gopnath lost the election while Shashi Tharoor won by a record margin.
Summary of Reactions from Indian Bloggers and Twitter Users
The Congress supporters are jubilant, and the BJP die-hards are understandably glum, but most neutral Indian bloggers and Twitter users are happy with the verdict, for more reason than one.
The two national parties — Congress and BJP — have increased their tally by 40-50 seats. Both Congress and BJP have a more-or-less similar forward-looking national agenda (apart from BJP's obsession with Hindutva), unlike the regional parties who are focused on caste, language and state affiliations. The consolidation of the national vote is a sigh of relief for the urban Indian “elite”, who were worried about the increasing fragmentation in Indian politics.
The UPA is 15-20 seats short of the 273 seats it needs to form the government. This precludes the possibility of the opportunistic horse-trading many observers were expecting in the aftermath of the elections. The (almost) clear verdict for UPA is likely to result in a stable government that lasts for five years and isn't held hostage by the narrow agendas of the regional coalition partners.
The decisive Congress victory has also surprised most observers. Most predictions and opinion polls had predicted an indecisive verdict with a close finish between BJP and Congress and a rise in the power of the regional parties.
Some observers will see the verdict as a validation of the tried-and-tested methods of political campaigning in India. The BJP ran an aggressive 360 degree campaign on mass media and digital media, but it didn't work, like its 2004 India Shining campaign. The Congress ran a traditional campaign, focused on movie songs, local rallies and the charisma of the Nehru-Gandhi family, and succeeded. I would caution you against reading too much into this coincidence and mistaking it for causality. It's not BJP's campaign, but BJP's Hindutva ideology, that has failed the party. BJP has lost in spite of its brilliant campaign, not because of it.
#IndiaVotes09: Reactions from Indian Twitter Users
Twitter conversations related to the Indian elections fell into a few distinct categories, including retweets of news reports on the elections results, exuberance over the Congress win, some soul-searching over BJP's loss (from a very strong BJP support base on Twitter), and opinions on what the election results mean for India.
Apart from the themes I have talked about above, the #indiavotes09 hastag on Twitter had its own unique memes.
The first such meme was predictably self referential. After a handful of tweets on the #indiavotes09 hastag throughout the month long elections, the Indian Twitter community spent the day obsessing about election results, making #indiavotes the number one trending topic on Twitter. This led to the usual recurcive navel gazing about how an India-related hashtag is trending on Twitter and Economic Times even did a story on it.
@Hiway: Indian Twitter community too big and united to be ignored: #indiavotes09 is trending. (we've made many topics ‘trend’ recently)
(Aside from the Economic Times story: As per ViziSense, which analyses web visitor statistics, there are about 533,000 India-based users of Twitter. Tweeple.in follows 31,000 Twitter users in India.)
Dina just pointed to an interesting graphic on the irrelevance of trending topics on Twitter, which should dampen the exuberance over #indiavotes09 trending on Twitter.
The second #indiavotes09 meme was about the failure of BJP's aggressive digital campaign.
@MaheshMurthy, the CEO and founder of digital agency Pinstorm, offered some interesting analysis on why the BJP campaign didn't work –
@MaheshMurthy: #indiavotes09 Don't think BJP campaign was brilliant. Strategy to project LKA as a strong leader was clearly wrong.
@MaheshMurthy: #indiavotes09 I dont think most of us thought we had weak leadership, or even if we did, that it was a big problem.
@MaheshMurthy: #indiavotes09 BJP would have had a better chance if it focused on the difference they would make that was relevant to us.
@MaheshMurthy: #indiavotes09 BJP campaign used the right medium: social/digital – but offered no relevant message. They were tuned out.
@MaheshMurthy: #indiavotes09 Googler to me: Advani using them as he wants to connect with young. For that you need medium AND message.
Other Twitter users also had interesting comments on BJP's campaign –
@Dina: I don't buy that BJP tactics were brilliant. To add to @maheshmurthy ‘s response, there were no conversations. It was classic push advertising.
@NikhilNarayanan: The Bloggers for BJP has just 120 bloggers as per lkadvani.in (count taken 2 days back). 120 is a very small number.
@Danishk: The issue with BJP campaign as I see it was they forgot that most people looking at those ads are learned people unlike masses.
@Amit3D: 30 million people access internet daily in India. Approx 10 mil voted and saw BJP's digimedia campaign. Don't think that was enough.
@Amit3D: So I guess BJPs digimedia campaign was big #FAIL. india is not US in numbers when it comes to internet.
@Sanjukta: Exactly what I just said. No body likes spamming. All those over the top in your face campaign backfired.
@mohyt: BJP poll results make me wonder if they'd lost by bigger margin had they not done their huge Social Media Marketing campaign #indiavotes09
@GasperDesouza: Advani tried an ‘Obama’ in India, online campaign, et al. Now his head is on the BJP chopping block #indiavotes09
@b50: wishes the BJP well. They fought a hard, aggressive campaign. Best of luck for 2014. Be an Opposition we can be proud of. #IndiaVotes09
@mudittuli: BJP campaign managers are always disconnected with reality, they tried to do a Obama but got slapped in the face #indiavotes09
@NairArun: BJP's online campaign was desperate and tacky. The intent was to replicate Obama's success, but the execution was poor. #indiavotes09
@DeadPresident: Advani honours BJP youth campaign team http://bit.ly/gmuWI - congrats folks! @bjp_ and @missionbjp and the people behind those
I tried to argue on behalf of BJP's strategist Sudheendra Kulkarni, but I'm clearly in a minority today –
@Gauravonomics: BJP has lost in spite of its brilliant campaign, not because of it. #indiavotes09
@Gauravonomics: I agree that the BJP/ LKA strategy backfired. I meant that the campaign was brilliant at a tactical level. #indiavotes09
@Gauravonomics: The BJP campaign did have grassroots online support. Friends of BJP. Bloggers for Advani. Too many BJP supporters on #indiavotes09
@Gauravonomics: The fact that it didn't work (due to message etc.) doesn't mean that BJP's (digital) campaign was flawed #indiavotes09
@Gauravonomics: In fact, I feel a little sad for Sudheendra Kulkarni. Given what he had to work with, he did a really good job. #indiavotes09
The other big meme on Twitter today was writer and Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor live-tweeting the election results –
@ShashiTharoor: I have won with a majority greater than any Congress candidate in Tvm in 30 years… Truly humbling. Now the real work begins.
@navinpai: Wow….just found out @ShashiTharoor tweets!! I wonder if he does it or gets a crack team of writers to pen down 140 characters!!
@ArunRam: @ShashiTharoor Congrats! Hope the Congress party gives you a key cabinet post. India needs more professionals like you in politics.
@SheetalDube: I am wondering if the Indian cabinet might witness the highest % increase in literacy level with the inclusion of @ShashiTharoor.
@manishd: @shashitharoor, I think you would be the first MP to be on twitter. Great way to keep in touch with the electorate. We need more like you.
@SepiaMutiny: Congratulate Shashi Tharoor directly: @shashitharoor (see his live tweets as the results came in!) #IndiaVotes09 (via @sajahq)
@viveksingh: Looks like @ShashiTharoor is the most popular politician amongst the twitteratti #indiavotes09
@GauravKanoongo: How many Indian politicians are here on Twitter? I know about only @shashitharoor #indiavotes09
@acmhatre: @ShashiTharoor in all honesty, I didn't think you would win but congratulations. No the real test begins.
So, the top May 16 memes on #indiavotes09 were: 1. #indiavotes09 trending on Twitter, 2. BJP's aggressive digital campaign failing, and 3. @ShashiTharoor live-tweeting the election results. What else did I miss?
#IndiaVotes09: Reactions from Indian Bloggers
The same themes have also been dominant in the Indian blogosphere reactions to the election results.
Rajiv Dingra at WATBlog and Ashish Sinha at Pluggd.in wonder if BJP's “flawed” campaign strategy was responsible for its defeat. Bhatnaturally argues that BJP's campaign was too negative.
Veteran film director and independent candidate Prakash Jha reflects on his loss in Champaran.
Dina Mehta thinks that the Mumbai terrorist attack did not affect the elections because people do not want more fear and hatred and negativity being imposed on us by our politicians. In another post, Dina argues that Indian voters have voted for good governance and progress rather than good politicians.
Industrialist and independent member of parliament Rajeev Chandrashekhar compares his election predictions with the results and finds that, like most other pundits, he was way off the mark. The Overlord points out that both the Indian online community and the poll pundits were wrong in their election predictions.
BJP supporter Yossarin Offstumped says that the Indian electorate has voted for stability but chosen the wrong national party. Atanu Dey believes that the election results are a setback for India's development. BJP supporter Brajesh Mishra says that, instead of grieving, BJP should introspect and start preparing for the next elections. Friends of BJP co-founder Rajesh Jain says that BJP needs to decide if it wants to be Right of Center or the Hindu Right. Sush Jaitley analyzes what went wrong with BJP and says that BJP needs to apologize to the country. Jai Mrug at DNA says that BJP is back where it was a decade ago. B Raman at Rediff does a good roundup of the post-election conversations on pro-BJP websites.
Mehul Srivastava at BusinessWeek does an analysis on what the results mean for Indian politics. Zoya Hasan at DNA says that the verdict is a reaffirmation of the Indian electorate's faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family. Sidharth Bhatia at DNA believes that the vote for Congress is a vote for an inclusive India. An Indian Muslim says that the results are a verdict against divisive politics. S. Mitra Kalita at WSJ calls the verdict a victory for the global Indian.
The BBC India team did a great live coverage of the election results, so did the NDTV team, Indipepal,  Sundeep Dougal at Outlook and a group of Indian political bloggers, including Offstumped.
I'll be updating this post with reactions to the Lok Sabha results from Indian bloggers and Twitter users. Please leave tips to interesting posts and your own reactions in the comments section.
Cross-posted at Gauravonomics Blog, my blog on social media and social change.

author: Gaurav Mishra


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Indian Elections 2009: Post Poll Scenarios · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ahead of the results of the Indian Elections 2009 (to be declared on the 16th of May) Quick Take – As It Happens draws up four possible post poll scenarios.


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Iran: Karroubi supporters armed with Facebook in presidential election · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Facebook was banned in Iran until recently, but now supporters of the former speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mehdi Karroubi, use it as a vehicle to promote his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election.
Facebook is an important component of Karroubi's “Campaign 88″ web strategy. Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, who is the former vice president and a very active blogger himself, has become one of Karroubi's advisers.
Nik Ahang, an Iranian cartoonist and blogger, has called the former parliament speaker, “Barack Karroubi” because he insists he is the candidate of “change”. The blogger also drew a cartoon of him. Karroubi has called [fa] for an end to the execution of minors in Iran and pledged to create more freedom in the country. He also advocates negotiation in international relations.
On Facebook we find several videos where Karroubi and his advisers answer questions about the election. In one of these films Karroubi describes the Holocaust as a reality. So far that makes him the only major candidate in the running to take a clear position on this issue.
There are also photos of Karroubi at different meetings around the country and a survey about people's preferences in the election.
Support for Karroubi on his Facebook page has still not risen above 300 adherents.
Reset, an Iranian blogger, mentions several reasons that he/she will vote for Karroubi. The blogger says his advisers are the only ones who have talked about the necessity of fast, broadband internet for Iran.
There are several blogs created to support Karroubi's candidacy but it is nothing compared to the large number of bloggers who back his opponent, Mir Hussein Mousavi.
One of these blogs is Karroubi's supporters’ blog. This blog covers news about their favorite canidate.
Mohmmad Ali Abtahi says [fa] in his blog that Karroubi warned military forces not to intervene in the election.
An interesting thing is that Mehdi Karroubi is not alone in his campaign photo (see above). He is pictured with the former mayor of Tehran, Gholamhossein Karbasschi's  in the circle just behind him. Perhaps the “change” slogan is not the only thing that Karroubi borrowed from the U.S. election.
Has he created himself an unofficial running mate?

author: Fred Petrossian


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Macedonia: French Military Cemetery in Skopje · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Volan presents a photo and video story about the French Military Cemetery in Skopje that houses the remains of 2,930 soldiers from France and its colonies, including Morocco and Senegal, who have fallen during  World War I on the Macedonian Front, aka Salonika front (1915-1918). The site presents a historical and architectural landmark, with а commanding view of the old part of the town.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Malawi: 800 officers hired for the general election · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Malawi Electoral Commission has hired 8000 officers from the Malawi Police and Malawi Army to ensure security of voters, ballot papers and the voters roll in all the polling stations, Tiwonge reports.


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Nigeria: The next Nigerian for the Chinese hangman · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

My Pen and Paper's opinion following the execution of a Nigerian citizen Chibuzor Vitus Ezekwem in China after a Chinese court found him guilty of trafficking in banned substances.


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China: Netizens stand with the waitress who killed an official · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Deng Yujiao, a waitress in Hubei Province stabbed an official to death and injured another in resisting their sexual advances. Comments on the internet showed no sympathy with the dead official and generally support the 21-year-old girl, acclaiming that she is another Yang Jia who acted in response to an injustice.
The dead man, Deng Guida, is the chief of county investment promotion office. He came with his two colleagues to the entertainment venue Dream City for a massage, and met the waitress there. They asked for ‘special service’, meaning sex service in China, but were refused.
It is alleged that Deng Guida took from his pocket a wad of money and  hit the waitress on the head with it. Humiliated by the  action, Deng tried to leave the room but the victim twice pushed her onto a sofa as she attempted to do so. The waitress found a knife, stabbing at the victim's throat, killing him and also injuring one of his colleagues.
The waitress later called police and surrendered.
The news immediately triggered a public discussion after it was revealed. At first it was about whether the girl's action should be regarded as self-defense. Though legal experts agreed she is likely to be charged, some in Xing-Dao Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper, argued,
邓贵大要求邓玉娇提供“特殊服务”，邓玉娇不从，使用暴力手段，两次将邓玉娇按倒在沙发上，已构成强奸行为，且该不法侵害正在进行，并即将邓玉娇的人身造成严重损害。邓玉娇的防卫行为，是在情况紧急，精神高度紧张的情况下采取的自卫行为…不负刑事责任。
The official had requested Deng to offer ‘special service’, but was refused! He violently pushed Deng onto the sofa  twice, an action that could well be seen as an attempted rape. The infringement on Deng's rights was an ongoing one and may well have severely injured Deng. Therefore her stabbing was an act of self-defense and given the emergency….she should face no criminal charge!
Many netiznes spoke highly of Deng. Yi Li in Tianya commented on the news, saying,
邓玉娇，你是好样的。敬佩你，支持你，向你学习。望保重。
Moreover, her story was written into a short chronicle in traditional Chinese that was usually used by ancient historians to memorize a heroic example. For those who knows Chinese, the text is here:
邓玉娇者，荆州巴东人也，美而烈，以修脚为业。
一夕，浣纱于室，野三关镇吏黄德智、邓贵大、邓某相携寻欢不遇，见玉娇，遂破门而入，欲强狎焉。玉娇严词斥之，邓贵大怒，鞭面以币，曰：吾辈多金，岂惧汝不从哉。玉娇不顾，贵大愈怒，乃按其于卧塌，强起，复按之，三者相视而笑。玉娇羞愤，遂操细刃刺之，三创而毙，德智复犯，玉娇又刺之，重创，邓者大惧，不敢前。玉娇乃投刃自首于官。
jy_xyp said:
娶女如此,此生足已!!!!
Virginity is very important in China, and there are numerous stories on how women defended their honor. The sentiment of admiring a girl for defending her virginity, is here combined with a hatred against corrupt officials in the case.
In People.com, a blogger Sun Xiaobo questioned:
一是这些官员哪里有那么钱？因为在争执中，被刺死的邓贵大曾从怀中拿出一沓钱抽打邓某的头部，一个靠工资过日子的公务员哪来的那么多钱，而且一点也不怜惜。到底是公款，还是腐败得来的。官员为何热衷于去娱乐场所？为何热衷于特殊服务？
How could they visit entertainment venues so frequently and are obsessed with ‘special service’ so much?
Bloggers, netizens and intellectuals are taking action to support Deng Yujiao. A public letter calling for people  to send their words of comfort to Deng, who is now imprisoned, appeared on the internet saying Deng is a heroine. Many still worry though that the police may manipulate the evidence to help the court rule against Deng.
In a preliminary assessment, Deng was identified as having a mental condition. Also, the police allege that the weapon Deng used was actually a fruit knife rather than the nail clipper that Deng used in her job of clipping nails for customers. On this point, blogger Zhou Zhongming wrote an article:
首先,他们故意不提招商办官员用钱打修脚女的细节.
其次,他们将自卫工具修脚刀换为水果刀.这看似细微的差别,所能形成的造案效果却不可低估:用修脚刀自卫,说明是在工作被挑戏激愤慌张中自卫,用水果刀则不同,洗脚物包间通常不会有,这就为构陷修脚女”折出拿刀再返回刺杀”埋下伏笔.这样就使显而易见正当防卫往故意杀人上靠.
First, the police don't mention the wad of money at all!
Second, they allege the weapon was a fruit knife, not a nail clipper! This is no small difference because if it is a nail clipper, it shows that the girl was defending herself in a panic with a tool right at hand. If it is a fruit knife however, it implies that the girl took the knife from somewhere else and killed the official on purpose rather than in simple self-defense
再次,他们声称在修脚女的包里查出治疗抑郁症的药.这一招最狠毒:可以维护官员的形象;又可以将修脚女投入精神病院折磨,谁都知道进政治精神病院是比死刑恐怖千百倍的事.
The blogger gave a possible scenario of the police conclusions: that the girl, because of her mental condition and persecution paranoia, stabbed the two officials with a purposely prepared knife.
Could such a speculation be true? Netizens are waiting for a final answer from the police.

author: Bob Chen


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Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar: A Year After · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A deadly cyclone hit Myanmar’s southern Irrawaddy delta in May 2008 which affected more than 2 million people. It is estimated that 138,000 people were killed and 200,000 people have been missing after the cyclone struck the country. A year after the Cyclone Nargis tragedy, survivors are still suffering while reconstruction efforts remain inadequate. Contributions are still needed in order to help the cyclone survivors.
Many survivors are suffering from deep psycho-social distress but only 11 percent have received medical assistance. More than forty per cent of the homeless are children; many of them are vulnerable to malaria and pneumonia.
Some are surviving by trapping rodents in the fields. It was also reported that prostitution is on the rise in the Delta as economic conditions continue to worsen.
More than half of the survivors are still dependent on aid given by relief groups. Indebtedness remains a big problem of residents in the Delta:
According to the United Nations World Food Program, 51 percent of households reported that they are still relying on food aid from humanitarian agencies, while only 25 percent said they could feed themselves…About 83 percent of households said they have been in debt through the purchase of rice.
It was reported that during the first year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division censored articles about the real situation of the cyclone-affected areas.
Friends of Burma Group want the government to be more transparent about its aid efforts in the Delta region. They also want the freedom of political prisoners who were jailed for organizing relief missions last year:
We want to demand the Burmese government to open more for relief and recovery in the effected area with transparency and respect to human rights.
We demand for releasing 21 prisoners that have been arrested due to relief work
Despite the coordinated efforts of international groups to raise funds for Myanmar, aid remains inadequate. The United Nations has estimated that more than US$691 million are needed to sustain relief missions in Myanmar.
Observers note that aid contributions for Myanmar are very small compared to what countries contributed during the Tsunami disaster in 2004. Myanmar received US$300 million, or 2.5 per cent of what was spent on the 2004 tsunami.
Aid workers complain of the difficulties they encountered while delivering aid inside Myanmar:
Difficulties encountered by aid workers: logistical; the difficulties and dangers of reaching villages only by small boats, navigating the tides and the weather of the Delta. Note visa restrictions, travel restrictions, and the government stealing supplies….
Edward Hew of Relief Operations from MERCY Malaysia writes about the reconstruction projects in Myanmar today
A year later, we have seen many projects up and running, many still in progress. But there are those who still suffer in silence. There is so much to be done. Many had use the Tsunami as a lesson to implement the intervention here.
A year has passed and most projects are yet to focus on sustainability but are still on emergency intervention. I have seen many shelter projects that may not survive the next thunderstorm. For example, latrines built with tarpaulin sheets instead of local materials like bamboo, a sturdier choice which is easy to maintain.
For more updates about the Cyclone Nargis anniversary, check out these websites which have special pages about the situation in the Delta: The Irrawaddy, Mizzima, and A Diary of the Cyclone Nargis.
Learn the story of Daw San Yee who survived the cyclone by watching this YouTube video:

author: Mong Palatino


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Disabled Congolese Find Ways to Thrive · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, life for the disabled or physically impaired is wrought with difficulties. With no state support and few employment prospects, individuals with disabilities face numerous challenges.
Cédric Kalonji, Congolese journalist and manager of Congoblog “Ba Leki”, frequently reports on the situation of the disabled and disadvantaged in his country in an effort to not only highlight the difficulties they face, but also to highlight the tenacity and entrepreneurship of such individuals in the face of hardship.
Writing about the situation of Mariam Mapoyi, Congoblog reports this disabled woman from Lubanga as stating:
“Je fais tout ce que je peux pour assurer le minimum pour mes enfants mais ce n’est pas évident … Je me lève tous les matins vers 6 heures et je prends la pirogue pour traverser de ce côté (rive droite du fleuve) pour mendier auprès de commerçants, hommes d’affaires ou autres autorités politiques. Mes enfants m’accompagnent parce qu’ils doivent pousser mon vélo et manger avec moi ce qu’on me donne”
Congoblog goes on to add to her testimony:
Ce que cette dame ne dit pas, c’est qu’aucun de ses trois enfants ne va à l’école. Ils ne savent ni lire ni écrire. Elle a bien conscience du fait qu’un avenir sombre les attend mais elle sait aussi qu’elle n’a aucune marge de manœuvre dans ce pays où les parents doivent payer les études de leurs enfants, l’état ayant démissionné de cette charge depuis des décennies. Et pourtant, les textes de la Constitution de notre chère république stipulent que l’école primaire est gratuite et obligatoire.
However, Mariam, and many like her, are not ready to give up hope, and are taking active steps towards escaping the cycle of begging to become independent. Mariam has enrolled in a training centre in Kisangani where she is learning how to sew. During her training she will have to continue to beg, but she hopes that once she has finished lessons she will be able to get hold of a sewing machine, in order to become self-sufficient and even earn enough to send her children to school.
In a country where employment opportunities are at best limited, -and where, the law does not mandate accessibility to buildings or government services, further narrowing the possibilities for people like Mariam,- learning sewing and other forms of craftsmanship are a means for disabled Congolese to earn an independent living without having to rely on the charity of others.
Earlier this year ITNewsAfrica detailed the success of a group of disabled women who have created a sustainable arts and crafts business, which they have named Shona Crafts.
Shona crafts was established in Goma with the aid of American Dawn Hurley, and has since become a stable and successful source of revenue for the women involved.
These women create and sell a range of handmade clothes, bags and other items through their website. Their products, of which 100% of the profit goes directly to the women, have been an immediate success in the USA, where they have sold over 100 products on ebay alone. Their success is a remarkable example of how the internet can be harnessed to reach out to different continents and have immediate, positive effects for all involved.
In recent years, more efforts have gradually been put into training and education centres similar to Shona crafts. In August 2008,  the first training centre for deaf-mutes, called Espoir des sourds (Deaf Hope) was established in Kisangani. This centre provides sewing and carpentry workshops for deaf-mutes living in Kisangani, and in addition to this incorporates a computer training program into their studies.
Institutions such as this equip individuals with skills that allow them to provide for themselves and integrate into society. Indeed, instead of being seen as a burden, which, according to Ernst Mukuli, reporting at Syfia-Grands-Lacs, is so often the case,
le regard de la société change depuis qu'ils apprennent un métier.
The students at Espoir des sourds have been reported to have been making the most of what the internet has to offer by connecting with other deaf-mutes and deaf-mute organisations and support groups throughout the world via the local cybercafes in Kisangani.
In March 2009 Handicap International UK was granted nearly £500,000 for an inclusive education project in the DRC. This money will go towards a 3-year project which aims to increase accessibility to primary education for disabled children. This will be through increasing the enrollment of disabled children in mainstream state primary schools, and through training teachers in new training methods adapted to the needs of disabled children. Handicap International UK also aims to submit three new educational policies on the rights of disabled children to education to the Ministry of Education.
In addition to the pursuit of training and education, a number of disabled Congolese have found innovative ways of earning a living without depending on begging.
Since the 1970's disabled people have been exempt from paying tax in the DRC. This has led to many disabled entrepreneurs making inventive use of their mobility bikes. Congoblog reports :
Leur activité consiste à prendre sur leurs chaises roulantes des marchandises (farine, huile, poissons ou viande) et de les faire traverser de part et d’autre. Les commerçants privilégient les handicapés pour faire traverser leurs marchandises parce que ces derniers ne paient pas de taxes. Leurs effets ne sont pas fouillés et ils n’ont besoin d’aucun document pour traverser la frontière.
The tradesmen pay less than they would otherwise for the transportation of their goods, and the entrepreneurs  can work independently, and are making a decent wage out of their work.
Congoblog adds:
Manque à gagner pour le trésor public mais moyen de survie pour les handicapés qui trouvent dans cette activité les revenus leur permettant de subvenir à leur besoins. « Nous préférons venir travailler ici plutôt que d’aller passer nos journées à quémander en ville », lâche fièrement Patrick. Ses compères et lui-même ont bien compris qu’il valait mieux se débrouiller, plutôt que d’attendre un hypothétique redressement de la situation politique et économique du pays.
The two most senior members of Staff Benda Bilili, a group of paraplegic Congolese musicians from Kinshasa met whilst transporting merchandise between Kinshasa and Brazzaville.
Marseille-based music blog KoToNTeeJ outlines the content of the groups songs:
Coco Ngambali, l’auteur principal du groupe et champion de bras de fer, explique qu’à travers leurs chansons, ils jouent le rôle de journalistes, parlent à ceux qui vivent et dorment dans la rue sur des cartons.
Staff Benda Bilili  practice in the zoological gardens of Kinshasa and play at both local bars and expat clubs, and are a true success story. They have overcome all barriers and are currently leaders of the World Music Chart Europe. Staff Benda Bilili have been signed up to the Crammed Discs label, and are anticipating a European tour.
While examples such as Shona Crafts and Staff Benda Bilili demonstrate success gained from hard work and committment, they also have an element of luck involved in their creation. One cannot forget that for the majority no matter how much effort is put in they will still face a life of hardship and handicap.
As Congoblog remarks:
Si déjà la vie est dure pour les personnes valides, pas besoin de s’interroger longtemps sur le sort de ceux qui vivent avec un handicap. Et bien sûr, on ne peut rien demander à l’état, absent, démissionnaire et irresponsable.

author: Katharine Ganly


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Europe: Alexander Rybak · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Natalia Antonova writes on GlobalComment about Alexander Rybak, this year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Indian Elections 2009: The Final Results · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indian Election 2009 blog posts the final results of the recently concluded 2009 Lok Sabha Elections in India.

author: Rezwan


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Japan: Ueno as a World Heritage site · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

A UNESCO panel has recommended postponing listing of the National Museum of Western Art and the surrounding buildings in the Ueno area as a World Heritage culture site. Blogger Dragon says that countries with the means to preserve its own heritage sites should give way for less resourceful countries. Taito Ward councilman Yoshihisa Kosaka reminds readers that the site would be ‘Tokyo's first World Heritage site‘. Architect Ebinenko, while hoping Le Corbusier's museum will make the cut, wonders if it's difficult for architectural works to have universal appeal.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Japan: Hatoyama is the next DPJ leader · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Following Ichirō Ozawa's resignation, it's Yukio Hatoyama‘s turn to be leader of the Democratic Party of Japan once again – Tobias Harris on Hatoyama's leadership abilities, Ampontan with ‘some morsels of news and rumor’ of the election, and Shisaku on the ‘choice‘.


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Lao dialects  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Caroline Finlay gives a general background on the numerous Laotian dialects.


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Latvia: Baltic Pride March · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“The Baltic Pride march took place in Riga on May 16 with almost no problems,” Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports. “The active counter demonstrators were just a little more in number than the marchers. […] An interesting observation […] was a scene at one street crossing passed by the march where there were perhaps 150 people simply watching, expressing no negative emotions. Maybe there is a seed of tolerance, though judging by the hysterical and hateful comments in the portals (delfi.lv), this is still a country with a huge element of post-soviet, mindless neanderthals.”


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Manifiesto de las Comunidades de Internautas de Bolivia | Palabras Libres · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mario Durán of Palabras Libres [es] publishes the “Manifesto from the Internet Communities in Bolivia” that was created to coincide with Internet Day and the Digital City held in La Paz.  The document promotes greater digital inclusion for all Bolivians.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Mexico: Using the Word “Joven” · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mexicans use the word “joven” when they want a waiter's attention. Even though the word means “young person” no matter the age, it took Lesley Téllez of the Mija Chronicles a little getting used to.


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Morocco: On the Motorbike · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The blogger The Aesthetic of Lostness writes about the difficulties of being a female motorcyclist in Morocco and what it all means.

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: Swine Flu & the Economy · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Abdelilah Boukili writes about the swine flu and its effects on the economy in this post.


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Peru: Launch of New “Contenidos Locales” Site · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Enzo Abbagliati of Cadaunadas [es] announces the launch of the new “Local Content [es]” site that collects much of the content created at the varios public libraries that part of the Biblioredes project in Chile.


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Singapore: Youth Olympic Games  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Singapore will be hosting the first Youth Olympic Games from 14 to 26 August 2010. Check out the official blog of the major sporting event.


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Vietnam: Bloggers under attack · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Le Trung Thanh, a university student and blogger, writes about how bloggers are censored and harassed in Vietnam.


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Barbados: Budget Speech  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground says that expectations are high for the Prime Minister's 2009 Budget Speech, adding: “There are times when political partisanship should give way to bi-partisanship in the interest of the national self. This is such a time.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Caribbean: Bloggers React to Walcott’s Withdrawal · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

St. Lucian-born Derek Walcott is truly a West Indian man.  He has been embraced by literature lovers of countless other regional territories who identify with his writing and see the nuances of the Caribbean come alive in his work.  This is especially true of Jamaica, where he studied at the University of the West Indies, and Trinidad and Tobago, where he worked for many years, even founding the Trinidad Theatre Workshop, which produced many of his early plays.  Which was why his Nobel Prize win for Literature in 1992 seemed like a regional victory – and why his recent withdrawal from the tight race for the coveted position of Oxford Professor of Poetry has left a bad taste in many bloggers’ mouths.
Derek Walcott, photo by Bert Nienhuis
A smear campaign, targeting Walcott's alleged sexual harassment against students of two prestigious universities at which he taught during the 1980s and 90s, seemed designed to keep the academic appointment out of his reach – Repeating Islands notes that:
Some writers have turned a bit against Ruth Padel, who has disassociated herself from Walcott’s anonymous detractors but stands to gain most from his withdrawal.
Padel has since won the post.
Repeating Islands goes on to quote writer Shirley Dent, who quips, “If anybody thinks this is a fine day for feminism they need to be disabused of that misapprehension sharpish.”  The post continues:
Even one of Walcott’s alleged victims, American Writer Nicole Kelby, is deploring the outcome and calling for Walcott to reinstate his candidacy. Writing for the Sunday Times, Kelby, whose allegations against Walcott date from 1996 and were used as part of the smear campaign, says Oxford should scrap this weekend’s planned election rather than allow it to be dictated by underhand tactics.
Those “underhand tactics” seem to be disturbing bloggers the most.  Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp says:
Walcott's greatness lies in the unrivaled body of work that he has created for the past fifty years. Nobel laureates, Oxford professorships and other awards are ‘loosely worn garments,’ and throughout this minor ordeal, Walcott has demonstrated the kind of dignity that I have always associated with his verse.
Trinidad and Tobago's Islandista is slightly more torn:
On the one hand, as true independent-minded islandistas, far be it from us to defend sexual harassment. It is low and dirty and it is at its heart not about sexual attraction but about asserting power over the victim.
On the other hand, does Walcott’s alleged inappropriate behaviour have anything to do with him being honoured for his poetic talent? As Kelby indicated, if we were to exclude writers (and artists on the whole) from being honoured because of their inappropriate sexual behaviour, there would hardly be anyone left to honour.
Artists, moreso than other people, tend to be sexually aggressive, exploratory and even inappropriate. While we don’t condone it, we should be able to seperate it from their art.
She also questions Padel's agenda:
If she feels so scooped out inside, why doesn’t she withdraw from the contest? A group of Oxford academics issued a letter yesterday calling for herself and the other candidate, Indian academic  Arvind Krishna Mehrotra to do just that, as that is the only way that today’s election can be called off.
But tellingly, neither Padel nor Mehrohtra have pulled out so the farce goes on and the cloud of suspicion darkens.
Finally, Repeating Islands, the blog which has been following developments most closely, takes great interest in an article by the London Times, concluding:
The curious piece—described in the title as a ‘profile'—makes the case for considering Walcott ‘the modern world’s greatest living poet.’ It also, however, offers a space for supporters of Walcott who believe the smear campaign against the St. Lucian poet was a conspiracy involving Ruth Padel and her backers.
It is all—to quote another poet—curiouser and curiouser.


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China: Good Citizenry  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated government banner propaganda advocating “good citizenry” in  Jiangsu province. The purpose is to encourage the residents to accept the relocation plan.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Thoughts on how to do “small” business · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maryannodonnell blogs her conversation with her tea vendor on the ethics of small business.


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Egypt: Stop the Culling of Pigs Petition Launched  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Leftist is urging his readers to sign a petition to “stop the senseless slaughter of Egypt's pigs,” following the government's decision to cull more than 300,000 pigs in the wake of the H1N1 Swine Flu paranoia. So far more than 900 people signed the petition which aims to target 50,000 signatures.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Guyana: Prayer Calling  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is an injustice being blatantly perpetrated upon thousands and thousands of Guyanese on a daily basis and one against which many feel helpless”: Imran Khan takes issue with the custom of amplified calls to prayer, calling it “noise pollution”.


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Haiti, Dominican Republic: Repercussions  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Wadner Pierre republishes an article from Haiti Liberte that examines the repercussions of the decapitation of a Haitian man by another from the Dominican Republic.


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Haiti: Flag Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is Flag Day in Haiti.  Real Hope for Haiti offers some insight into the history of the celebration, while The Livesay Weblog ruminates on the country's recently concluded elections.


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Hong Kong: Donald Tsang, please die! · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Last week, the public was outraged by the Chief Executive Donald Tsang‘s remark on June 4 Incident in the Legislative Council's policy address in May 13. When asked about his personal view on the vindication of June 4 student movement, he answered:
I understand Hong Kong people’s feelings about June 4, but the incident happened many years ago. The country’s development in many areas has since achieved tremendous results and brought economic prosperity to Hong Kong. I believe Hong Kong people will make an objective assessment of the nation’s development.
He then claimed that his view represented the general public's opinion, which invited more criticism as he was not elected by Hong Kong people. ESWN translated a poll from HKU and the public opinion showed that more than 58% said the Chinese government was wrong in the June 4 repression, although a majority of the public believed the human rights condition has been improving in the last three years. (Detail reports and polls see ESWN)
How the public has been outraged by Donald Tsang's comment? This music video, Donald Tsang, Please Die, which has more than 30,000 views over the weekend, reflects vividly the public sentiment:
Donald Tsang, please die
我哋實上街 (translation: we will definitely take on the street to protest)
Donald Tsang, please die
When will you be fired?
假設donald今日你俾人斬左隻手
二十年後嗰個人發咗達又做埋特首
你會否因為佢嘅成就
然後叫自己不要追究？
Donald Tsang, please die
我哋實上街 (translation: we will definitely take on the street to protest)
Donald Tsang, please die
We’re all poor guys
董建華雖然做野係渣
但係良心都唔會好似你咁差
你任內最驕人既成就
就係強化市民對民主嘅要求
Donald Tsang, please die
When will you die?
Donald Tsang, please die…
When will you be fired?
The song is written by Ah P from a group called my little airport.


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India: Five Truths About The Election · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chandra at Desicritics lists five truths about the recently concluded Indian Elections 2009.


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Israel: Eurovision Peace Duo Push for Another Way · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

Can music help bring us closer together? Noa and Mira Awad hope their message from the Eurovision Song Contest reaches far and wide.
Earlier this year, in the midst of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, it was announced that Mira Awad, a Palestinian-Israeli actress-singer, will perfom a duet with the Jewish-Israeli singer Achinoam Nini (known as “Noa”) in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. While the chosen song held a message about finding “another way”, condemnation rained down on the duo. The objection came from Arab artists who urged Mira to withdraw from the contest. In their message, they asked her not to represent the same state that kills other Palestinians. The radical left wing both within and beyond Israel was unequivocal: Awad should refuse to sing on such a blood-soaked stage.
The Eurovision song contest is one of the most viewed and televised events across the European continent. It has been broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television programs in the world, bridging together countries that are part of the European Broadcasting Union (including some countries outside of continental Europe such as Israel, Lebanon and Tunisia). Although its nature is purely musical, the event can turn out to be a highly politicized night, with regards to participants and the voting choices that each country makes. In the past, Lebanon has pulled out of the contest because it refused to show the Israeli song entry on the Lebanese TV channel Tele-Liban. This put Lebanon in breach of the contest rules, stating that countries taking part must broadcast the entire event.
In a guest post on Binyamin Netanyahu's blog, Zalman Shoval writes:
I admit: I did not feel sorry that the movie Waltz for Bashir did not win the Oscar. I will also not shed a tear if Achinoam Nini reaches the last place in the Eurovision song contest. Both are examples of what's currently happening in our culture, trying to de-legitimize and vilify Israel for the world to see. The journalist who interviewed both singers is also not clean from guilt, as he wrote that the two are “trying to prove that even with the election results, Israel of 2009 still has people who seek peace…” – in other words, he thinks that the 70 per cent who supported this coalition are seeking war.
In any case, this is the message of the song the two artists are about to sing to the world. Nini (Noa) thinks that “the situation in Israel is a catastrophe”, she adds that she thinks many give their lives towards peace from both sides, but without being able to mention herself even one name from the Palestinian side whose done this.
Throughout the controversy, the duo gave a stellar performance in the song contest and even reached the finals, which took place last night (May 16th):
isRealli posts an interview Noa gave to the Spanish paper La Razon. Noa, a known peace activist, highlights the importance of their song's message:
- This is the first time that an Israeli/Arabic combination will go to the Eurovision Song Contest. Is the music the best way to join a divided town?
Noa: Mira and I are very proud to be the first Arab-Jewish Israeli duo to go to Eurovision. We are also proud that upon our demand, the internal laws were changed and Arabic was allowed to be sung as a formal language representing Israel in the ESC. Our duo sheds light on the complexity of our situation here in the Middle East. Israel has a very large minority, almost 20 per cent, of Palestinians, Christian (like Mira) and Muslim, who are Israeli citizens. This sector is still fighting for full integration into Israeli society. This is separate from the Palestinians living in the occupied territories, who are fighting for their independence and the establishment of the state of Palestine. In addition, Israel is surrounded by Arab countries most of which do not recognize her right to exist. So you can see, the situation is complicated. Mira and I do not represent [Israel] to present reality, but what our nations can STRIVE for if we choose dialogue over violence. Our friendship is a symbol of how we CAN get along, based on respect and communication.
Art and music cannot solve the world’s problems, but we can help. And we MUST help. We must do our part in the GLOBAL effort for peace and reconciliation that must include EVERY human being and every organization, each playing his part.
- How was the announcement received in Israel? How have the levels of support been from the public since the song was chosen?
Noa: There were some people who objected to this duet for various reasons, but the large majority are VERY supportive and excited. I think for most people we are a symbol of hope. I have received amazing e-mails from all over the world, including Arab countries like Lebanon, Syria and Qatar! This always moves me so deeply and gives me strength to continue my road.
David Hirsh posts text from a Guardian article by Rachel Shabi, where she describes her feelings towards the duo after interviewing them:
Interviewing the two, I was struck by Mira Awad talking about staying friends and maintaining discussion with Noa despite their deep disagreements over aspects of the Gaza war. Sticking around for such conversations, when every part of you wants to walk away in disgust, is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of genuine peace work – and it deserves respect.
These two singers seem to be saying that, whatever the international community does or doesn't do about this conflict, Palestinians and Israelis are still going to have to find a way to live together. That's the draining, demoralising and largely invisible day-to-day work of conflict resolution. That's what they seem to want to use the Euro stage to state. And you could say it's a bit hippie and way too understated – but is it nonetheless worth broadcasting?

author: Gilad Lotan


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Jamaica: Bolt Takes to the Street · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Girl With a Purpose congratulates Jamaica's Usain Bolt on his impressive win at the 150 meter Manchester Street Race.


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Japan: Video by Eric Testroete · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Eric Testroete has posted ‘This is Japan!’, a fantastic video using hundred of images from a three week stay in Japan. [via watashi to tokyo]


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Lithuania: Presidential Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lituanica reports on the presidential election results – here and here.


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Myanmar: 150th Anniversary of the Founding of Mandalay City · Global Voices
tan

Mandalay, the last royal capital of Myanmar, celebrated its 150th anniversary as a three-day festival event from May 14th to May 16th.
Mandalay's 150th Anniversary Celebration
Mandalay is the capital city of Mandalay Division, and is the 2nd largest city in Myanmar.
Ye Lwin Oo wrote in his blog the background story of how Mandalay was founded:
Rich with cultural heritage,  Mandalay, also known as Yadanabon, was  historically built by King Mindon in 1857, standing as the last  royal capital of Myanmar.
In 1857 Mandalay was set up in an empty area,  because, according to an ancient prophecy, in that exact place a town would come  into existence on occasion of the 2,400th jubilee of Buddhism.
King Mindon decided to fulfill the prophecy and  during his reign in the Kingdom of Amarapura he issued a royal order on 13  January, A.D 1857 to establish a new kingdom. The Ceremony of Ascending the  Throne was celebrated in July, 1858. The royal city and the kingdom were  demarcated. The whole royal city was called Lay Kyun Aung Mye (”Victorious Land  over the Four Islands”) and the royal palace, the Mya Nan San Kyaw (”The Royal  Emerald Palace”). The kingdom was called the Kingdom of Yadanabon, along with  other name Ratanapura, means “The Bejeweled Site”. Later it was called Mandalay  after the Mandalay Hill, 2.5km far to the north east of the royal palace, and  today the name still exists. The name “Mandalay” is a derivative of the Pali  word “Mandala”, which means “a plains land”and also that of the Pali word  “Mandare”, which means “an auspicious land”.
The event attracted many onlookers, photographers as well as bloggers. Nyi Min San, one photographer/blogger wrote in his blog:
The (parade) will begin from Mingalar Bridge (73rd St.) and will be walking along the 26th St., passing the pavilion built in front of MCDC (Mandalay City Development Council) City Hall, until the corner near Sedona Hotel. Then they will turn back, and walk back to the City Hall. When we reached Mingalar Bridge, there were a lot of photographers there. There must have been hundreds of them there. We joined those photographers, and we took photos and they were also taking photos. Many of them had worn white shirt & longyi, so when we looked at them from far away, everyone was white. When I touched my camera, I couldn't stop myself (from taking photos)…..
Mg Hla, another blogger from Mandalay wrote:
…. (In the past) The 100th Anniversary Festival was held as a state-level festival, but this 150th Anniversary was only held as a division-level. I didn't know when the ceremony will start, so I asked some journalists, and they told me that it will start at 8am. So I took half-day leave from work, and went there to take some photos. For the ceremony, real horses were used just like in the ancient times, but the elephants were kyauk-se elephants (puppet elephants with real people inside to move around). They originally planned to use real elephants, but they didn't want the elephants to be frightened by the crowd and run away, so they only used puppet elephants.
The quotes of Nyi Min San and Mg Hla, mentioned in the post, were translations done by the author. The original quotes were written in Burmese language.

author: tan


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Nepal: Madhav Kumar Nepal Will Be The Next Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

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