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Sao Tome & Principe: Reflections of a Foreign Teacher · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Raphaela Nazaré reflects about her experience as a Brazilian teacher in Sao Tome and Principe. She says that although the students are more disciplined than what she had seen in Brazil, the ferule is still a practice in Saotomean schools. Raphaela wonders if “this type of educational regime is valid to keep the hierarchy inside a school”.


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South Africa: Thou Shall Not Burn the Bible · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A South African businessman and law student Mohammed Vawda planned to burn the Bible on September 11, 2010 in Johannersburg central business district. He claims that he was enraged by Florida pastor Terry Jones who wanted to burn the Koran. An Islamic organisation called Scholars of the Truth successfully asked the South African High Court to stop Mohammed from setting the Bible on fire arguing that the act was an insult to all religions.
A South Gauteng High Court Judge Sita Kolbe banned the event. His ruling has made the burning of any religious books in South Africa a crime. His ruling has receive mixed reactions.
Pierre de Vos, Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance at the University of Cape Town, asks, “But when should the courts intervene to stop individuals from making fools of themselves?”:
But when should the courts intervene to stop individuals from making fools of themselves? On what basis should a judge decide that the actions of an individual will cause such harm to others that he or she should be stopped and should be interdicted from going through with his or her planned actions? Should a judge prevent someone from communicating his or her displeasure about a topical issue merely because this would be hurtful to a certain section of the population?
These questions came to mind when I read in the media that Judge Sita Kolbe in the South Gauteng High Court issued an interdict on Friday against a planned Bible burning by businessman and law student Mohammed Vawda.  Vawda said his plan had nothing to do with Christianity; instead, he said he planned the burning because he was angry about Florida pastor Terry Jones’s plan to burn Korans over the weekend.
He argues that burning of the Bible or the Koran in itself constitute advocacy of hatred:
Would the burning of Bibles or the Koran constitute incitement to cause serious emotional distress?  Well, it probably would cause serious emotional distress to devout Christians or Muslims if Bibles or Korans are burnt, but I am not so sure that one would be able to argue that the burning of these books would in itself constitute advocacy of hatred of people based on their religious beliefs. Such actions would be mean-spirited and would clearly be intended to hurt the seriously religious. But would one be able to interpret such a pathetic act as advocating hatred against Muslims or Christians?
Religious people must also learn tolerance and respect:
If we talk about a respect for difference and tolerance of religious diversity, does this not mean that religious believers must also show a tolerance and a respect for diversity towards those who wish to provoke them. I for one, will not rush out to buy a gun or gather my matches and necklaces to go out and kill Christians just because they rock up at my house to protest and to tell me that I am a pervert and that I will burn in hell.
In fact, I will blow them kisses and wave nicely – “one-two-three clutch pearls” – before smiling and getting ready for another wave – “one-two-three clutch pearls”(one can always learn something about how to behave in stressful situations by studying the Queen – of England).
But what is to be done when others are not as tolerant as oneself? Should a court take cognisance of that fact or should the court stand firm against all kinds of intolerance? For once I am not sure what I would have done in this case.  Should a judge prohibit the burning of Korans and Bibles because of the obvious intention behind such a move merely to hurt (rather than to communicate a political or religious message)? Or should a judge allow such a burning on the basis that religious believers should grow up and should learn to embrace the values of democratic tolerance?
Pierre's post has attracted over 70 comments. Here are a few of them:
Michael Bishop says:
I also think you’re wrong to say that the Bible burning is apolitical. I agree that it is immature, but it does send a political message: “I am upset about this Pastor’s proposed action and i will show that by doing to him what he is doing to me.” We may think it’s silly, but we can’t say it has no political content. And that is an important point. There are very few examples of speech that is offensive and apolitical. As soon as we start banning speech that offends people, we prevent some political speech. We permit that for hate speech and incitement to violence (even though that too is political) because of the immense harm it can cause. But merely offensive speech is not that harmful. Being offended is part of the price you pay to live in a democracy.
The irony, of course, is that by bringing the case to ban the bible-burning, Mr Omar gave this guy way more publicity than he would otherwise have received. That is almost always true of these attempts to ban speech.
Last, i’d like to address Alistair’s point (in the previous post) that maybe book burning is Different. Obviously book burning has a history of being used for evil and i for one think it is a truly retarded idea (unless you need to start a fire). But books (Mein Kampf), radio broadcasts, (Rwanda), posters (Germany), TV (USA) all have a history of being used for nefarious ends. You can’t ban the medium (and book burning is a medium of expression) because it has in the past been used for evil. I think what we might ban is state-sponsored book burning (which i think is what the Berlin sign warns us about), because that is a denial of freedom of expression for the populace and undermines the state’s duty to promote and fulfil the right to freedom of expression. But private book burning is – although stupid and wasteful – legitimate.
Shannon says that there is no fundamental right not to be offended:
It’s hard for me to grasp the nuances of the South African constitutional approach to hate speech as I am American, and we have no such laws. Nonetheless, my feeling is this:
There is no fundamental right not to be offended.
You don’t have a right not to get your feelings hurt. A person has the right to be a jackass, and it’s then incumbent upon the rest of us to use *our* freedom of speech to declare from the rooftops that he is, in fact, a jackass. And you fight it out in the marketplace of ideas.
As Justice Brandeis wrote in a concurring decision in 1927’s Whitney v. California, “Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears,” and later in the decision, “the path of safety lies in the opportunity to discuss freely supposed grievances and proposed remedies, and that the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones.” The solution to free speech is more free speech, not silencing.
What would have happened if South African courts had jurisdiction over Iraq?:
If only our courts had jurisdiction over Iraq. Perhaps they would grant an interdict restraining Shia’s from not only burning Holy Quarans, but also from burning the entire Sunni Mosques in which multiple Quarans are housed, together with the Sunni worshippers ripped limb-from-limb by their truck bombs.
The action of the moron Pastor Jones in Fkorida seems a little trivial by contrast.
Spuy, a born-again Christian, considers the Bible to be just another book:
Personally as a born again christian – I dont seriously hold the Bible high as a “book”. In fact, in my Sotho culture some people do absurd things as to put the bible under their pillow to “protect them from evil spirits” they claim. If you ask me: they may as well put Long Walk To Freedom book under their pillow with the hope of getting a tender or something.
Point is the Bible is just another book which becomes “holy” or “living” as soon as one conducts his life according to its prescripts, other than that it remains a book which anybody has a right to burn as far as I am concerned. In this case though I ’submit’ that the intention revenge..i.e Only the harmed can revenge by intending to harm back….
Laurence Caromba, a student of politics at the University of Pretoria, wants to be able to burn the Koran or the Bible. He explains his reasons:
First, burning the Bible or the Koran is a legitimate form of free speech. The message it conveys is not exactly subtle, in the same way that burning the American flag is not subtle. Nevertheless, it gets the point across: Islam/Christianity/America is bad. Regardless of whether this is true or false, these are beliefs that are sincerely held. The people who hold these beliefs have a right to articulate their views in public, and burning the symbols of institutions to which they are opposed is valid (if distasteful) way of doing that.
Second, church-state separation implies that the state is supposed to adopt a neutral stance towards religion. It should not favour one religion over another, and it should not favour religion in general over secularism. But if the state makes it illegal to burn religious books, this necessarily forces it into the position of having to adjudicate theological disputes over what qualifies as “religious” book in the first place. Will it be illegal to burn the Book of Mormon? What about L Ron. Hubbard’s Dianetics? What about printouts of the Heaven’s Gate online book? Even if these cases can be hand-waved aside, there’s still the broader problem that the state is favouring religion over secularism. What will the response be to atheists who want to prevent people from burning The God Delusion, or communists who want to stop the burning of Das Kapital?
Finally, there is an argument that burning the Bible or the Koran is an example of hate speech. However, hate speech is an incitement to commit violence, and it’s not self-evident that the burning a religious tract does this. Certainly, burning the Bible is not clear-cut case of incitement in the same way as, for example, RTLM radio telling people in Rwanda to go out and kill Tutsis, or the authors of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion writing that Jews use the blood of innocent children to make their cookies. Sure, I can certainly imagine scenarios where burning the Bible or the Koran is hate speech. If someone stands up in front of an angry mob and gives a speech about how Muslims are evil and then, as a final flourish, sets fire to a Koran, I have no problem with treating this as hate speech and banning it.
Common Dialogue says that religious people are nature's twisted sense of humour. He thinks that religion should be banned:
I have said before, religion should be banned. But then again, maybe religious people were created to entertain us. They are nature’s twisted sense of humour.
Mary supports the idea that religion should be banned. She says, “Let them burn each others ‘holy’ books until they are all gone.”:
I agree that religion should be banned. Let them burn each others ‘holy’ books until they are all gone. As long as we dont get a repeat of 2001 when Muslims dynamited the 2000 year old Buddha statues of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and destroyed almost everything in the National Museum in Kabul that stemmed from the country’s Buddhist days because the Koran said it was non-Islamic. For this act alone, their book should be burned.
Galila thinks that the issue of burning religious books is much bigger than just religion:
religion shouldn’t be banned. i dont think burning the holy books will help either. this is much bigger than just religon. i know what’s right and i guess thats all that counts. as for others with the same thoughts as you well good luck.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Africa: Top two finalists per category in 2010 SA Blog Awards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

These are the top two nominees per category in 2010 South Africa Blog Awards.Winners will only be known once judges final score sheets are submitted and calculated.


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South Korea: Pulling Out Four Teeth to Evade Military Obligation · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Pulling out one's own teeth is considered one of the most gruesome and painful acts one can do onto oneself. In South Korea, where military service is mandatory, an allegation that a Korean singer had pulled out at least four healthy teeth in order to avoid conscription has dominated the headlines for several weeks now.
Photo of MC Mong from his mini-homepage
MC Mong (Real name: Shin Dong-hyun) is a South Korean hip hop artist who is widely known as a funny guy resembling a monkey (as his nickname tells) after starring in numerous talk and variety shows. He was even about to start co-hosting his own show. He got arrested without detention, and the police is investigating him on charges of intentionally failing a physical test and dodging the draft by extracting at least four teeth. Shin is believed to have delayed enlistment five times on various excuses, including preparation for a civil service exam (which he did not show up) and an overseas trip.
In Korea, all able-bodied men are obliged to serve the military for about two years. Servicing in the army totally cut them off from the colorful, fast-changing society in their sweet twenties. It is not hard to understand that people want to dodge this huge sacrifice of their prime youth.
Celebrities, sportsmen and children of ruling elites are often the ones who take the greatest risk in evading the draft. Celebrities are caught attempting to shirk the duty for fear of losing fame while in uniform. Sportsmen hate to be dragged to the army during their prime time of physical strength. Kids of powerful politicians and businessmen always get the free pass, often with dubious excuses. Sometimes, the illegal act got revealed later in front of the whole nation during the candidate screening process when they try to run for government posts. In some cases, it marks the end of the candidate's political life when other corruption cases got additionally disclosed.
Meanwhile, for young male from ordinary households, options are limited. To dodge the military obligaton, a few of them would hurt themselves, like dislocating their shoulders, or get themselves huge ugly tattoos that used to belong to mobs (not to scare off the inspectors but to fail the test aesthetically). In extreme cases, some will even disguise themselves as mentally ill. Blogger Neobob named two taboos in the Korean society.
대한민국 사회에서 연예인이나 공인들이 범하면 않되는 범죄 중 최악은 바로 애국심과 병역 문제인듯 하다. 폭행이나 마약보다 더 무서운 듯…병역문제에 있어서는 그 어던 질타도 몇 년이 지나도 꼬리표처럼 따라다니게 된다. 결코 용서하기 힘든것이 바로 국민들의 애국심을 건드리거나 병역과 관련한 비리를 저지르는 것…연예인들 입장에서는 군대에 다녀오면 인기가 떨어지고, 잊혀져 간다는 사실이 두려워 남자 연예인들은 병역 면제를 받으려고 숱한 비리들을 저지르기도 했는데, 제발 그러지 않았으면 좋겠다.
It is a deja vu of the Steve Seungjun Yoo incident that happened in 2002. Steve Yoo was an extremely popular singer who was once loved by Korean people as a sincere, healthy-minded star, involving himself in good deeds and behaving unlike those typical rock stars. When it became impossible to evade the duty any further, Yoo broke his verbal promise he made over the television that he would fulfill his military duty, and instead became a naturalized US citizen. The Korean public was very shocked at the discontinuity of his action. The South Korean government took it as a serious crime of desertion, deporting him to the US and banning him from entering Korea permanently.
An image of a Korean army cap from Mindonna's blog
Blogger Mindonna recalled this Yoo incident and commented that even though Yoo was a great singer, and he loved his music, the public just does not want to see him anymore. The blogger reflected the frustration of ordinary people under inequality.
최근 MC 몽의 이빨 따위가 한반도의 초특급 관심을 받고 있다. 본인은 무죄를 주장하고 있다지만, 무죄로 밝혀져, 군대 면제를 받더라도, 사람들의 싸늘한 시선을 평생 따라 다닐 것이다….(유승준의 경우)국방부가 끝까지 용서하지 않음으로써 한국에서의 활동이 차단된다…내가 유승준이 싫은 건. 그의 도덕적인 문제 때문이 아니다. 그에 대한 나의 반감의 원천은 상당히 치졸하다. 나도 군대 갔다 왔는데, 네가 안가? 라는 지독히 유아적인 반감. 내가 힘든 거 하면 남도 당연히 해야 한다는 원초적인 반감이다…군대 때문에 고생한 건 나 한 명이지만, 나 때문에 가족들도 고생한다. 아들이 군대가면 그 아들의 어머니는 극도의 심리적인 불안감을 경험한다.
It was not very hard to find Korean seniors saying to young male that ‘the army will make a true man out of you.’ But too many exceptions have triumphed the old saying. Blogger Mediamob, after posting a table from a news article which shows that numerous politicians have dodged the duty,  expressed his despair on the harsh reality.
어르신들이 결혼 전 꼭 물어보던 질문이 있다. “군대는 갔다왔나?” 이질문의 의미는 정신적으로나 육체적으로나 가족적으로나 이상이 없냐는 질문이다…(지금은) “군대 갔다오면 바보” “신의 아들” “서민들만 가는군대” 군대를 안 간다라는건 특권층이라는 대한민국의 국민 머리 속에 박힌 이상한 우월감 때문 아닐까.
As tiresome and sacrificial as the duty may be to the individual, military duty is necessary in South Korea where military tension with North Korea still exists. The government used to promote the military obligation as a sacred duty to the state. But the irony is that for sportsmen who achieved great results that boosted the national image, the government gave them exemption from military duty, the greatest present that can ever be presented, as blogger Choshark pointed out.
스포츠로 국제적 성과를 얻었을 때, 그 보상으로 항상 꺼내는 말이 바로 병역면제이다…한국은 국방의 의무를 신성한 의무로 규정한다…(군입대를)자신의 삶을 더욱 풍성히 할 기회라 말한다…신성한 의무라 말하면서도 이를 면제해주는 것을 최상의 혜택으로 보고 있으며, 생산적인 공간이라 말하면서도 군대 2년을 흔히들 ‘썩는다'고 표현을 한다. 혼란스럽기 그지 없다…이제는 무조건 신성한 의무니 자발적 입대라는 입바른 소리만 하지 말고, ‘실제로’ 가볼만한 공간으로 군대를 바꾸어 보는 것은 어떨까 싶다.
What makes people truly angry would be the feeling of inequality. It is perhaps the perfect time to extend the investigation from the individual celebrity to the whole nation.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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South Korea: Traditional Market Using Gift Certificates · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, traditional markets are rapidly replaced by chains of large discount stores. To attract customers in coming Chuseok holiday (Korean version of Thanksgiving day) traditional markets are modernizing the facility and issuing gift certificates. More on South Korea’s Donga.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Quality Control · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Where is our truth regulator? Where is the person or the persons concerned with demanding the maintenance of some standard of quality among our leaders?”: Discuss SVG is seriously considering not voting.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Taiwan: Typhoon Fanapi · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Typhoon Fanapi, the season’s first major typhoon, has passed through Taiwan this morning. Tony Coolidge posts some photos on his blog.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Thailand: Red Shirts back in the streets · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The anti-government Red Shirt protesters in Thailand held a rally last Sunday despite the continuing implementation of emergency rule in Bangkok.

author: Mong Palatino


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Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas: Film on Gay Life  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

gpottt highlights ” a stunning new film about gay life and the Caribbean” which will be screened at the upcoming Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.


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Venezuela: September 26 Elections, Activism and Opinion via Twitter · Global Voices
Patricia Acosta

This coming September 26, Venezuelans will exercise their right to vote for the thirteenth time during the eleven years of the government of President Hugo Chávez. These elections will renew the entire National Assembly- what used to be the Congress and is now a unicameral legislative body. Venezuelans will elect 165 deputies for the Assembly and 12 deputies for the Latin American Parliament; those elected will serve during the 2011-2015 term. These elections will be a preview of the 2012 presidential elections. Twitter has been one of the most used tools during the campaign.
It is important to note that Venezuela was recently ranked third in Twitter penetration in the world. The arrival of President Chávez to the network at the end of April spiked the use of Twitter by 4.8%, and Chávez (@chavezcandanga) now has more than 800 thousand followers; he is followed both by his supporters and the opposition.
Jhonny (@jhgra) through Twitter says:
@chavezcandanga ya tiene 819 mil 543 seguidores en Twitter” y la mayoria de la oposicion para saber que dice asi que xd
Supporters of the current government and the opposition are aware of the power of this tool, and 105 candidates [es] for the Assembly have a Twitter account which they use frequently to campaign.  Candidate for the opposition María Corina Machado (@MariaCorina2010) criticises the current National Assebly with this tweet:
Esta es la misma  AN q hace unos años creo la Comision para investigar la muerte d  mascotas; pero no investiga 16mil muertes d vzlans en 2009
Twitter account of opposition candidate María Corina Machado (@MariaCorina2010). Slogan reads "We are the majority"
The pro-Chávez candidate Freddy Bernal (@FreddyBernal) shows his support for the President:
No claudicaremos ante el imperio ni ante la apatrida burguesía. Cmdte Chavez en la AN
Like the candidates, citizens who favor the ruling party or the opposition share -among other things- their point of view on the country's situation, their desire to vote, and their affinity for their respective candidates.
Juan Carlos Alvarado (@juanc_34) supports his candidate:
Vean hoy por el canal i , al compatriota @freddybernal, dando claras respuestas y defendiendo a nuestro proceso socialista y humanista
Omar Castejon (@castejon1) also sends Freddy Bernal a messsage:
@FreddyBernal Camarada Freddy no se deje apabuyar por los dos periodistas de Televen, PATRIA SOCIALISTA! O MUERTE! VENCEREMOS CAMARADA!!!!!
José Leonardo Hill (@joselhill) thinks that:
Hay q ganar las elecciones,para legitimar el avance Revolucionario del socialismo,en Venezuela y en el mundo entero.@PartidoPSUV
Twitter account of Chávez supporter Omar Castejon (@castejon1). Background Image: "PSUV: United Socialist Party of Venezuela"
On the other hand, tweets from the opposition show a great concern for the democratic system, and in many cases point to similarities with the Cuban model. Ana (@anabelland), with more than 5000 followers, asks:
¿Democracia?, ¿tienes idea de qué es? RT @Reporte360: Chávez: “Aquí hemos llegado para no irnos más” http://bit.ly/bnGicV
Jacqueline González (@jacogori) urges her followers to vote and points to Cuba as an example, quoting opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado:
A votar! RT @globovision Corina Machado: “Vamos a escoger entre el Comunismo a la cubana, o democracia a la venezolana” http://bit.ly/aX0yth
La Resistencia (@Resistenciavzla) re-tweets a quote by a Venezuelan essayist and poet:
RT @ftapia: Rafael Cadenas: las democracias son siempre corregibles, las dictaduras son siempre empeorables vota el #26S #MUD #Venezuela
Two views in the same country, which will be measured in less than 10 days. Luis Vicente León (@luisvicenteleon), President of Datanálisis –one of the most respected survey agencies in the country– predicted that election results would be tight giving 52% to pro-Chávez candidates and 48% to the opposition [es].
In Venezuela the media and journalists are not allowed to reveal any type of official information on the election results via Twitter. So on September 26 citizens will have the power to inform through 140 characters.

author: Patricia Acosta


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Venezuela: Using Crowdsourcing to Report on Elections · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Through video, pictures and links, citizens can report on any event or incident related to the upcoming September 26 elections in Venezuela thanks to Dale Poder A Tu Voto [es] (Give your vote power), a site modeled after Ushahidi. The site uses crowdsourcing to promote transparency, participation and education.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Vietnam: Cash economy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Andy Engelson shares his shopping experience in Vietnam and notes that the cash economy of the country is sometimes better than relying on credit cards.


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Afghanistan: Election 2010 Started · Global Voices
Jamshid Sultanzada

Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga Election 2010 started September 18 at 7AM. According to the press release by the Independent Election Commission on 17th September, 16,691 (89 per cent) out of 18,731 planned polling stations in all 34 provinces of the country were confirmed to be ready to receive the voters.
Despite all the security threats and anxiety, hundreds of Afghans lined up in every polling station all over the country to cast their ballots.
Tolonews.com reports that the second round of Afghan parliamentary elections started at 07:00 am on Saturday and ended at 04:00 in the afternoon:
Afghan president Hamid Karzai voted in one of the polling centres in a High School in Kabul and urged all Afghans to take part in these elections and vote for their favorite candidate.
Muzafar Ali, an Afghan photographer shares some of his latest photos about the election and comments:
Lengthy queues are being observed in Bamyan and other Hazara populated areas. Unlike other parts of the country, These people are not facing any kind of security problem.
Younes Entezar, an Afghan blogger writes [fa]:
Today, I voted for my candidate and my father voted for his one. In our family there are 8 eligible voters. Unfortunately, our neighbor and his wife are illiterate and they never participated in any elections so far, although I've encouraged them a lot.
HeratPaper.com, an online newspaper from the west of Afghanistan reports [fa] that the elections in Herat were held under serious security precautions:
Dr Daud Saba, Governor of Herat says: Our security forces are trying their best to facilitate a free, transparent and secure election.
Dawlatshah Poyesh who is currently in India wishes [fa] he was in Afghanistan to vote:
I wish I was there today. I would vote for someone or maybe I would vote for myself, if I were a candidate. There are so many candidates in this campaign and I could have been one of them. But, at least, I could have voted for my favorite candidate. It's so difficult to choose one among 600 to 700 candidates!

author: Jamshid Sultanzada


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Afghanistan: Guide to Afghan shortwave radio · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding informs his readers on a useful guide to shortwave radio broadcasts to Afghanistan, released recently by the British DX Club.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Reviewing the Alternatives · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joel Hafvenstein writes that since the fall of the Taliban, USAID has spent close to $1 billion on alternative livelihoods projects, trying to help farmers grow legal crops instead of opium poppy. The British and German governments have also put lashings of money into the sector. “The results have been, at best, mixed”, he says.


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Africa: Africa’s mobile app marketplace · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Welcome to Mobisoko: “Mobisoko is Africa’s mobile app marketplace. It is the place for you to find location and language relevant applications for mobiles, especially geared to the African market.”


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Africa: Ajami Writing System · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Do you know Ajami writing system?: “Ajami writing system has been used for at least at least a thousands years in parts of Africa. As I understand it, the script is a modification of Arabic incorporating local languages such as Hausa [mainly the northern regions of Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana] and Fula – Fulani [mainly Gambia, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger].”


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Africa: The Black Venus · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa is a Country posts a 30-second trailer of the movie “Venus Noire” (Black Venus) about the life of Sara Baartman, the 18th century young Khoi woman publicly exhibited as a circus freak in Europe.


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Algeria: Who’s in the Cabinet?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Who makes up the Algerian cabinet? The Moor Next Door has the answer here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Algeria: Women in Parliament  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

In this post, The Moor Next Door takes a closer look at women in the Algerian parliament, as well as relationships within the Algerian government.


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Argentina: Citizen Journalism in La Plata · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Letra Compartida [es] is an online citizen news website from La Plata. Citizen journalists can register on the site for free and upload text, photos, audio and videos.


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Bahrain: Doctored Translations  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Some of our illustrious press carried a doctored translation in Arabic of what the US State Department spokesman said when asked about the deteriorating security situation in Bahrain,” writes Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.


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Barbados: Lives Lost & More  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cheese-on-bread! is still “recovering from the grief, anger and pain wrought on the entire island” by the fire-bombing of a clothing store that left six dead, saying: “We've lost our sense of security…our innocence is gone.”


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Cambodia: Controversial mobile phone ad · Global Voices
Sopheap Chak

A recent advertisement of a major Cambodian mobile phone service provider is being criticized by many netizens for promoting bad behavior among the youth. The CellCard ad shows a group of young people taking pictures of another friend’s bottom and distributing the photos to others via the internet. Through the ad, the company hopes to promote its fast internet service. But the company also seems to ignore its social responsibility by encouraging the youth to violate the privacy of their friends.
Piseth Mao, blogger and also communication specialist for Women's Media Center of Cambodia, voices his concern and expresses a strong objection to that advertisement spot by requesting the spot to be banned. He encourages the company to convey a better message to the public particularly to the youth if it wants to promote its products. In his blog, Piseth asserted  his right to freedom of expression to push for the removal of the ad:
LET ME USE MY FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: I really want to see the latest Mobitel
(Cellcard) spot banned from all TV Channels. What is the value of the spot? Encouraging the youth to take a picture of a girlʼs ass and share it with a friend as the Internet is fast? The producer of this spot must be somehow unusual.
He continues by giving recommendation to the spot producer:
If you want to promote your good Internet connection, then why donʼt you think of something like “ A friend is at school and taking the picture of the lesson their teacher/lecturer writes on the board and share with a friend who is on mission in the province.”
With his recommendation, Piseth believes that the company, which he applauded for its previous commercial spots like the Angkor Wat promotion, would encourage the building of a better society where friends care for each other and allow people to stay connected and updated through internet accessibility.
Notably, there was also a past concern regarding another advertisement of a motorcycle company which devalues the image of women.
On the other hand, the government has just recently banned a TV series, titled “Strange Lovers”, which features a beautiful woman who will be auctioned for marriage starting with a price of one million dollars. This may be welcomed by those who see the film as negatively affecting the dignity of Cambodian women. However, there are also those who rather view it as a restriction on freedom of expression of film producers. They link it with past government orders banning the production of other cultural performances. For example, a pop song about a Buddhist monk touching and kissing a girl and another rock opera, “Where Elephants Weep,” which have scenes showing monks in bad behavior were also censored. The government justified the ban by invoking the need to respect social tradition and the image of Buddhist monks.
While banning performances may be acceptable in some cases, this action needs to be consistent with the freedom of expression principle and the government should look at the consistency of the content and intention of that content rather than the solely base its justification by citing good social tradition and national security which have been also applied to many critics who have been subjected to arrest or have been charged with defamation, disinformation or incitement due to their dissenting opinion on government policies.

author: Sopheap Chak


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Cameroon: Drivers Licensed to Kill and Maim · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Drivers are licensed to kill in Cameroon: “Cameroon has been reaping the consequences of not having a standardized written test that every candidate must study for and pass, prior to taking the road test. Driving is known to be as lethal a weapon as a bullet from loaded gun.”


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China: The Shutting Down of Power Plant · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A series of photos at 163.com showing the demolition of two power plant towers in Zhejiang Province on 16 of September.


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China: Walkway and Pedestrian Crossing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush translated some forum posts on the design of pedestrian crossing that runs through grass and tree, and walkways for blinds that leads into the river.


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China: Yihuang Self-Immolation Incident and the Power of Microblogging · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese online public opinion has once again changed the course of an event, this time regarding a forced demolition and consequent self-immolation protest in Yihuang county, Jiangxi.
On September 10, the Zhong family were confronted by 40 local police officers and urban administrators seeking to carry out the forced demolition of their home to make room for new construction. To protest against the demolition, three family members set themselves aflame and jumped off the roof of their house. They were sent to a hospital in Nanchang city all in critical condition and one of them pronounced dead on September 18.
Southern Metropolis Daily was the first mainstream newspaper to report the incident on September 12. EastSouthWestNorth website has translated the full report. The incident was quickly “harmonized” (suppressed) in mainstream media and major web portals by the propaganda department and web-censors.
However, a critical turn happened on September 16 when two female members of the Zhong family, Zhong Rucui and Zhong Rujiu, decided to travel to Beijing for a petition visit (a process whereby citizens can have their grievances heard by government). On their way to Nanchang airport, they were chased by police and government officials. In the end, the two girls reportedly locked themselves in the airport lavatory and sent out mobile text messages to local reporters seeking help.
A number of blogging journalists started to live cast the event on Sina and Tencent micro-blogs. Among some of those reporting were Deng Fei and Miss Cha. Although most of the original text messages on the micro-blogs have been deleted, a number of messages and photos have managed to spread throughout the internet.
For example, the photo below showing the helpless expression of two sisters has been reposted on Sina's microblog 2479 times and has so far received 842 comments in one single thread:
Below are some of the comments:
张进步被抢注 中国老百姓都长着一张被人欺负惯了的脸。应该是这个意思吧。
刘长: 读懂她们的表情，读懂中国
石扉客:一袭白衣裹凄惨苦情；青春躯体后血腥残红。
Many netizens were asking what could be done to help the two girls. Deng Fei disclosed the county secretary's phone number in his microblog:
【我只发一个道歉声明：书记的电话发错了】钟家家属来电说，宜黄县邱建国书记的电话应是13907048988，不是之前传来的13907048989。在此，谨向尾数8989的抚州市民致歉！实在是对不起您了，我听说有无数电话打给您，您今天受苦了~~
After the two sisters were forced to leave the airport, they checked in to a small hostel in Nanchang. Deng Fei interviewed them and posted an update on their situation on September 17:
【宜黄要谈“政策问题”，钟家关心自由问题】钟家姐妹现困守在南昌一处旅社的房间里，上午8点多，副县长刘文波给钟家姐妹电话，绝口不提昨日的媒体在场、 公平协商的承诺，只宣布可以和钟家姐妹在医院附近见一面，谈一下“政策问题”，钟家姐妹表示，现在首先要谈的是人身自由问题。
He also taught the two sisters how to update their status via mobile phone:
【钟家女儿不再磕头，转开微博自救，支持】中国维权史上的新一页，生于1988年的钟如九，得知了昨日上午微博直播的事情，见证了中国互联网守望相助的巨大力量，这个22岁的女孩决定不再像父辈一样以头抢地、磕头哭告、拦轿喊冤找青天，而选择了微博维权。请看新浪微博 @钟如九和腾讯微博 @钟小九 。
Soon after, Zhong Rujiu also opened a micro-blog and started updating her status. At 1am on September 18, her uncle was pronounced dead in the hospital from the self-immolation protest, and government officials proceeded to immediately rob the corpse. Zhong RuJu wrote:
现在政府来了七八十个人把我们包围起来，抢走了我们的尸体
政府的人把我大伯的遗体抢走后，我们试图在车头拦住带队抢我们遗体的苏建国县长的车子。但苏建国在车里一直无动于衷。随后有四十几名宜黄县的领导干部，强行把我们拉开。最后苏建国坐车离开。
我两个姐姐先去了医院，我随后去的。刚一岀门就有四五个宜黄县人想抓住我，我拼命往前跑他们一直在后面追。最后我跳上一辆岀租车拼命挣脱才逃岀来的。
Following the above message at 9:07am on September 18, Zhong RuJiu went to the hospital in Nanchang to see her mother and sister. Soon after she arrived, she was forced into a bus that took the Zhong family (five people in total) back to Yihuang. The photo below shows Zhong RuJiu crying helplessly on the bus:
The photo has been reposted by tens of thousands people online, but was deleted as soon as the web-censors discovered it on September 18. As Xu DaNei from FT Chinese pointed out, netizens were even more outraged by this incident than the recently revived Diaoyu Islands conflict between China and Japan.
Despite pressures of censorship, Deng Fei continued to follow the story:
【请不要删除我这条微博】我既不转发叶忠诚老人遗体被宜黄县长苏建国带队抢走，也不像 @张洪峰 直播钟家悲惨现状；不展现宜黄书记县长两个建国在英雄城南昌的不堪行径，更不批评北京和江西视而不见，却删贴撤稿。我被告知：再整宜黄事，可能有麻烦。但我还是要向这个饱经中国苦痛的老人鞠躬，一路好走
【这个派出所长出身的县委书记令中国蒙羞】宜黄县委书记邱建国曾是一派出所所长。指示抢拆钟家房子，令钟家三口自焚，在机场围堵钟家两女，禁止她们来北 京，指令县长抢夺钟家大伯遗体，指令干部们抓捕带回钟家5人——强悍强硬为所欲为，践踏法律，视胡温领导人亲民爱民如无物，令官民对立令国家蒙羞。
On the afternoon of September 18 around 3pm, the Jiangxi official media outlet reported that the Fuzhou City had decided to investigate the Yihuang county party secretary Chiu JianGuo and county magistrate Zu JianGuo. The city also fired the deputy magistrate Li Mingjun. In the late evening, China Central Television (CCTV) also stepped in to broadcast the debate and channel the public opinion. Zhong RuJu continues to update her family status via microblog with tens of thousands fans.


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Colombia: Virtual Gifts for Medellín on its 335 Birthday · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

On November 2 the city of Medellín will celebrate 335 years of its founding. The account @cumplemedellin was created on Twitter so that its citizens can tweet the symbolic present they want to give their city on this occasion. The invitation that has circulated on Twitter is [es]:
Y vos….¿Qué le querés regalar a Medellín?
Accompanied by [es]:
335 años no se cumplen todos los días. Para hacerle un regalo a Medellín en su día utiliza #felizcumplemedellin
Culture Palace Rafael Uribe. Medellín, September  2008. Image by Martiza Sánchez, Flickr user Colores Mari, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license. See bottom of post for a complete slideshow of images of Medellín by Mariza Sánchez.
The entire initiative arose through the project Feliz cumple Medellín [es] (Happy Birthay Medellín), led by the city's Municipal government [es] but fueled by bloggers and Twitter users. The project also includes a map to locate where the gifts come from [es]. Although the month of November has not arrived, there are already a lot of users who have sent their present through Twitter.
One of the general presents is the pride of “being born here,” like Fabián Duque Montoya (@fduquemontoya) writes:
#felizcumplemedellin @cumplemedellin yo a Medellín en su cumple le voy a regalar todo mi orgullo por haber nacido aquí.
Jairo Daniel Cortés (@jairodcortes) says:
@Telemedellin YO NO ELEGÍ SER PAISA, SÓLO TUVE MUCHA SUERTE! LAS GANAS Y LA GENTE CELEBRAN SU CUMPLEAÑOS! FELIZ CUMPLE! #felizcumplemedellin
Sergio Calderón Osa (@SerchoVirtual) sends a message of hope through his Twitter account:
@cumplemedellin yo le regalo las ganas de querer hacer mucho por mi ciudad ¡linda carajo!
Others have shared photographs, like Maria Fernanda Arias (@mafeariasg):
@cumplemedellin A Medellín le regalo esta foto http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafernanda/456686100/ #felizcumplemedellin
Perla Toro (@PerlaToro) shares a more personal photograph:
También le regalo a @cumplemedellin el recuerdo de una tarde enamorada. http://twitpic.com/2p285b
The aesthetics of the city are also part of the things “to give as a gift.” Sebastián Regino (@SebastianRegino) writes:
@cumplemedellin A medellin le voy a regalar un espejo para que se mire y se de cuenta lo bonita que está!
Federico Villegas (@federicoco) makes a promise:
Le voy a regalar a Medellín en su cumple, regar más seguido las matas del balcón hasta que vuelvan a ser verdes @cumplemedellin
And finally, one of the most recent outstanding gifts is a set of photographs of Medellín by Maritza Sánchez (@ColoresMari); the Flickr slideshow is posted below. The project's Twitter account published this tweet announcing the present:

author: Cati Restrepo


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Egypt: A 210-year-old map on Google Earth  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

How would a 210-year-old map of Cairo look on Google Earth today? Egyptian blogger Mostafa attempts an answer, with must-see illustrations.


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Egypt: Did Gamal Mubarak Order a Blog Block? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobia, from Egypt, reports that political activist and blogger Amr Osama's blog was allegedly blocked, following a complaint from Gamal Mubarak‘s office.


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Egypt: Mubarak Leads the World  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A doctored photograph which appeared in an Egyptian paper showing Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at the Washington Middle East peace meeting has been exposed. Issandr El Amrani, from The Arabist, sheds more light on the situation here.


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Egypt/Syria: Free Tal  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Zeinobia reports on a protest held by Egyptian activists in front of the Syrian Embassy in Cairo in solidarity with arrested 19-year-old Syrian blogger Tal Mallohi. More information is available here and here.


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Ghana: Homosexuals in Parliament · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Abena reacts to an article about homosexuals in Ghana's parliament: “According to the article, the aforementioned Mr Adjei has a list of purported homosexuals and they all happen to be members of the opposition.At first I thought April Fool's Day had come early (or late?) and that this article was a prank.”


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Guyana: Twitter & Book Marketing  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If it weren't for…her often unbridled twit-icisms on all aspects of life, and her occasional spats with followers, which have brought her seemingly closer to us in all her entertaining complexities…I probably would not have bought Terry McMillan's new book”: The Signifyin’ Woman blogs about book marketing on Twitter.


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Haiti: Rock On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging for Inside Disaster, Emmanuel Midi profiles a young entrepreneur who continues to produce his “rock art”, even in the aftermath of the earthquake.


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Haiti: Women’s Reality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“While the government and the international community work on a reconstruction plan, many feel that the immediate problems facing Haitian women have slipped under the radar – even though they must play a key role in putting Haiti back on its feet”: Blogger and journalist Wadner Pierre reports.


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India: An Inspiring Train Journey · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Tata Jagriti Yatra is an annual train journey that that takes 400 of India’s highly motivated youth (with some participation of international students) on an 18-day national train-journey, introducing them to unsung heroes of India,” informs Think Change India blog.

author: Rezwan


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Kazakhstan: Switzerland beaten in Davis Cup playoff · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog visited the Davis Cup World Group playoffs last weekend in Astana, Kazakhstan, where Kazakh team has beaten Switzerland 5-0, dropping only 2 sets in 5 matches. He also shows some videos from the tournament.


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Kenya: Governance Reform From Below · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tobias writes about John Githongo‘s lecture and a new social movement in Kenya: “The lecture took place almost exactly a year ago, and in it you can see the seeds of what has become Inuka Ni Sisi, “a grassroots social movement dedicated to inspiring Kenyans at every level to take charge of improving their own lives


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Macedonia, Greece: Porcupine Tree Concert in Thessaloniki · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Macedonian blogs Baba mi Trajanka (My Grandma Trajanka) and Voodoo Lounge published a multimedia reportage [MKD] and a favorable review [MKD] about the concert of a UK progressive rock band Porcupine Tree near Thessaloniki, in neighboring Greece, attended by youth from all over the region.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Maldives: Less Women in Government Positions · Global Voices
Rezwan

Haumaldives criticizes the decrease in representations of women in government jobs during the tenure of the present government.


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Mozambique: “Bread Riots” Reflections · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

Two days of violence on September 1-2 in Maputo, resulting in between 13 and 18 civilian deaths, were followed by days of tension and rumor. Then on September 7, a state holiday called “Victory Day”, the Government of Mozambique announced a series of measures [pt, en] designed to curtail price increases of food, water and electricity in response to the popular protest. This announcement made waves around the world.
Photo by Flickr user Shanissinha_ on CC license
International affairs blog Global Dashboard responded to the  government's “back down” on bread prices, saying that it would be “pretty horrendous for Mozambique's treasury”. Blogger Alex Evans believes that a “social  protection” approach, instead of market intervention, would have been  wiser over the long term.
In his post “Why you should be skeptical about food riots”, development policy blogger Chris Blattman responded to the Maputo unrest, sharing that he hypothesizes that “external shocks are not the real cause of violence, but at best a trigger”. He also observes that poor policing often contributes to riots. He writes
The punchline: Are bread prices the  proximate cause of the [Maputo] riots? Probably. Are they the root cause?  Unlikely. Are global grain markets to blame? Unclear. How about bad  domestic policy? Almost certainly. How about shallow and alarmist  journalism about those poor, violent, unwashed nations? There are some  things you can bet your life on.
Food analyst Raj Patel, on his blog, featured the Mozambican Farmers Union's (UNAC) statement on the Maputo protests, in which the social movement stated “there's something rotten in the kingdom of globalization”. UNAC focuses on the need to concentrate on internal food production and marketing, in what it refers to as “food sovereignty” approach, making the links between the fields and the city
Acontecimentos como os da  semana passada em Moçambique corroboram com a nossa perspectiva de  luta: os alimentos não são uma mercadoria qualquer. É inaceitável que uma  população, na sua maioria pobre, fique à mercê dos mercados  mundiais para comer ou  não comer, quando um País como Moçambique possui terras e recursos  naturais mais que suficientes para assegurar alimentos, tanto para o  campo como para as cidades.
The Liga dos Direitos Humanos [League of Human Rights, pt], and later UNAC, were of the few “civil society” actors who spoke out during or after the unrest. Blogger Carlos Serra called “more official” civil society “noisy in its silence”.
Edson da Luz, known by his artistic name Azagaia, wrote on his blog Os Gestos das Palavras [The Gestures of Words, pt]
Acredito que se não  tivéssemos sindicatos moribundos (que ao que parece, “comem” com os  chefes para evitarem greves), e estes sindicatos assumissem o seu papel  social, esta manifestação teria sido mais ordeira e objectiva. Com  exigências concretas. E poupar-se-iam vidas humanas.
Other Mozambican commentators focused on the social dynamics behind the protests, including Serra, who cites undergraduate sociology student Clemente  A. Intsamuele
[…] no espaço público, como  no privado, oiço perguntas do género: Como é  que simples mensagens geraram a ocorrência daquele vulcão social? Nos  termos marxistas, como foi possível a revolução violenta? Caros  leitores, todo o processo que tornou aquele vulcão social numa realidade  pode ser compreendido e explicado à luz de um teorema que é um  princípio fundamental da sociologia, formulado por William Isaac Thomas,  que explica a situação que pode acontecer com alguns bancos em períodos  de crise. Passo a citar: “Se os indivíduos definem as situações como  reais, são reais em suas consequências”.
Ma-schamba blog featured a number of compelling posts on the urban dynamics behind the violence, including one where blogger JPT attempts to describe the form of self-organisation behind the protests, citing French philosopher Deleuze. He later blogged about the social divisions apparent in the city of Maputo during the protests
Em suma, e sem qualquer  ironia fácil, parece-me que à “oposição” Maputo-cimento/Maputo-caniço se  sucedeu, inopinadamente, uma oposição Maputo-contrato/Maputo-crédito.  Uma bem diversa topologia social, a exigir quem a pense. […] Mas sempre ela, tal como a  anterior, com os défices das dicotomias. Défices que são males para quem  as pensa. Mas ainda maiores para quem as produz.
JPT was referring to the government-ordered suspension of SMS services on pre-paid mobile phone users, on the afternoon of September 6, which continued for a few days. Global Voices has special reporting on this interference in communications in Mozambique: Government interference in SMS service on Global Voices Advocacy.

author: Janet Gunter


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Namibia: Teaching English in Namibia · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lynn shares her experience teaching English in Windhoek, Namibia: “English is the official language of Namibia and my understanding is that public school classes are taught in English. I think most pre-school kids hear Afrikaans and/or their indigenous languages in their homes and arrive in first grade without a kindergarten experience and no real exposure to English.”


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Palestine: Family Matters · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

Palestinian writer Khulud at Life in Fragments blogs about the “importance” of coming from a respected family in obtaining a job offer, and how she would rather be recognised for her own skills than her family background, in this post.

author: Katharine Ganly


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Slovenia: Severe Floods and… Surfing?! · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

While severe floods plague Slovenia [SLO], Balkan portals from Croatia to Macedonia keep republishing a video clip named “wakeboarding in Ljubljana at 1am,” showing a car towing a surfer through the streets and passing by a dry cleaning sign.


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South Korea:Seoul Hit Hard by Downpours, Twitter reported · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Heavy downpours battered Seoul today, flooding roads and buildings and causing power outages. Twitterers reported the worst downpour Seoul had in 103 years live by twitting pictures of chaotic scenes and re-tweeting this Youtube video.


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Sri Lanka: Social Good Day In Colombo · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amitha Amarasinghe informs that Social Good Day Colombo will take place on the 23rd of September at Refresh Colombo, which is the monthly meet-up of Colombo’s web and technology enthusiasts’ community.


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Tanzania: Running for office using Kanga and social media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Tanzanian politician uses kanga and social media to campaign: “The fact that Zitto Kabwe is reporting via Twitter, blog, Flickr and Facebook from Kigoma North, while at the same time operating an election campaing with traditional elements – like the ngoma and the kanga – is a clear fact of Africa 2010.”


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Venezuela: Blogging About Colonial Art · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In the blog Arte Colonial en Venezuela [es], Art Historian Janeth Rodríguez writes about Colonial Art in Venezuela.


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Australia: MDG Summit Lying Low Down Under · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

The Australian media seem distracted from this week’s UN Millennium Development Goals Summit. Our Federal election with its hung parliament and the football finals season are among the causes. Nevertheless, deposed Kevin Rudd has received a lot of attention for his current overseas trip. Unfortunately it has been mainly for local political reasons:
FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd has brushed off opposition claims his new role is that of “prime minister in exile”.
The former prime minister is on his first overseas mission in his new role, visiting New York for bilateral meetings and an address to the UN general assembly later this week.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd rejects ‘PM in exile’ label
On the way to New York,  to represent his successor Julia Gillard at the Summit, the ‘PM in exile’ visited Pakistan.
Thankfully the Oz blogosphere has plenty of MDG traffic, though most of it is confined to NGOs and church groups. On Catholic group Caritas Australia’s self-titled blog, Jennifer Shedden reported on typical grassroots activity involving the Stand Up campaign:
Caritas Australia’s Be More team joined the global Stand Up movement this weekend and made some noise for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Saturday at Circular Quay in Sydney.
Be More Team makes noise for the MDGs
Jenny Goldie is a member of the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance. She writes at Online Opinion about her experiences in Melbourne at the United Nations Department of Public Information UN DPI/NGO Conference, “Advance Global Health – Achieve the MDGs”. She and others argued unsuccessfully for “the inclusion of access to reproductive health in the recommendations”:
Grassroots activity for MDG. Photo from the blog of Caritas Australia
So what’s the problem? Does it relate to the fact that so many NGOs are faith-based and they associate the words “reproductive health” with abortion? Does the fact that sexual and reproductive health are complementary make people uneasy? Safe motherhood is a worthy objective, but we don’t want teenagers having sex before marriage, do we? Does it lie in some deep-rooted misogyny? How can a declaration recommend for gender equality but not recommend for the very services that would ensure that equality? How can a UN conference not include one of its own MDG targets?
Achieving the health Millennium Development Goals
“Ensure gender equality, empower women and expand programs to end violence against women” was a late addition to the recommendations.
Amnesty International Australia, are pessimistic about progress:
The Millennium Development Goals are failing the world’s poorest people because governments are ignoring and abusing their human rights…
They called on people to get behind their Demand Dignity Campaign that:
mobilises people all over the world to demand that governments, corporations and others who have power listen to the voices of those living in poverty and recognise and protect their rights.
Failure to respect human rights means MDGs are excluding the poorest people
Another heavyweight Oxfam Australia has been running long term online awareness-raising about the MDGs. Tim  Norton wants more than words:
The MDG Outcome Document  which will be agreed by leaders at the Summit this week notes the need for governments to live up to past promises, and gives the UN a role in ensuring a degree of accountability on government commitments. It also proposes that leaders come together again in 2013 to review progress.
This is a good start, but an action plan for the MDGs is overdue. It’s now up to leaders meeting in New York to decide exactly how they will make good on their promises to the world’s poorest people.
UN MDG Summit: a plan for action?
The private sector sees opportunities in helping to achieve the goals. Paul Budde, of telecommunications research and consultancy company Budecomm, highlights a  link between new technologies and the MDGs in the report, The Impact of Mobile Connectivity on the Millennium Development Goals in Africa:
It is only three years since the Millennium Villages project started. It shows that quality and availability of health and education services improved thanks to access to mobile connectivity.
Benefits of mobile communication in rural and developing areas
Among the key findings: ICT is seen as “a key enabler in accelerating the push towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015”.
Julie Cowdrey of John Mark Ministries is far from impressed with the media:
Kevin Rudd delivered his first address as Foreign Minister last week. He talked of his plans to attend the United Nations MDG Summit.
“The MD wha…?” came the response from the press gallery. Rudd was referring to this week’s United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The deafening sound of bewilderment should come as no surprise considering only six per cent of Australians have actually heard of the MDGs, according to a poll conducted by anti-poverty agency ActionAid. This research left the development sector crying OMG. It is with this in mind that it is necessary to illuminate WTF the MDGs are.
Yet she finds some hope in the poll results:
ActionAid found that even though only six per cent of Australians had heard of the MDGs, 70 per cent would strongly support a framework to catalyse the eradication of extreme poverty.
The political will is overwhelmingly there and the MDGs provide the action plan. Progress is being made and this week’s summit will provide the opportunity for the world to re-focus our efforts.
Eliminating World Poverty
Meanwhile Kevin Rudd has reaffirmed Australia’ commitment to the MDGs, especially improving education in the developing world:
KEVIN Rudd says Australia can play a major role in combating world poverty with its $5 billion international aid boost to primary school education.
The new Foreign Minister said today that providing primary schooling denied to 67 million children around the world would “transform” global poverty levels.
Kevin Rudd says Australia's international aid for education can combat world poverty
Hopefully the coverage of the MDGs will spike after the Summit's final day. To mix metaphors, Rome is burning while the Oz mainstream media ponder who’s in which deckchair.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Azerbaijan: Bloqosfer 2010 · Global Voices
Aygun Janmammadova

Finally it happened. Bloqosfer 2010, an event bloggers in Azerbaijan had been looking forward  to for about two months, was held on 10-12 September in the resort town of Nabran. Over 100 established bloggers took their place beside emerging ones, new media specialists and Internet experts, business stakeholders, and representatives from civil society as well as the authorities.
The event was sponsored by international donors such as the Soros Foundation, the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, and Counterpart International among others. Following the Barcamp format it aimed to discuss the current state of the blogosphere in Azerbaijan as well as formulate new strategies on making it more productive and widely known.
Preparations for Bloqosfer 2010  started months before, with social networking sites such as Facebook especially publicizing the event. Promotional videos for the event were also filmed in advance and were shared by many Facebook users.
But, as this was Bloqosfer 2010, many bloggers also reflected on the event, especially after it was over. Ahmadzada.tk blog [AZ], for example, says that the event went well overall and was a turning point in the Azerbaijani blogosphere even though some presentations were not perfect.
Forumu baş tutmuş hesab etmək olar, çünki, çox maraqlı və yeni bir hadisə idi. Hətta, özünün qüsurları ilə də. Şəxsən, mənim foruma uyğun görmədiyim qeyri-peşəkar və müştəbeh insanlar  yer alsalar da, ümumi götürəndə, forumun əhəmiyyəti böyükdür. Və yeni medianın inkişafı istiqamətində aparılan texnoloji mahiyyətli müzakirələrdən də görüldü ki, İlqar Mirzənin rəhbərlik etdiyi , özlüyündə mühüm perspektivlər daşıyır.
Nevertheless, some bloggers participating at the event were unhappy that the issue of the two imprisoned prominent video blogging youth activists, Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli, detained and eventually imprisoned last year on charges of hooliganism, was not raised during the event. Action Meinhof [AZ] touched upon this issue by arguing that blogs are not necessarily written only about political matters, but can also be for commercial purposes.
Və sonda bir məsələyə aydınlıq gətirmək istərdim ki, bloq yalnız siyasi mövzularda yazılmır. Əgər bununla razılaşmayan varsa, bir zəhmət çəksin, “google”a müraciət etsin, bloqların növləri və onların tematikaları barəsində məlumat əldə etsin, bundan sonra fikir mübadiləsi aparsın. Evdar qadının belə bloqu ola bilər, orada yemek resseptləri yazaraq geniş bir auditoriya əldə edə bilər.
[…]
[…] İndi bəzi şəxslər dirəniblər ki, nə üçün Emin Milli və Adnan Hacızadənin adı orada heç çəkilməyib və ya buna imkan yaradılmayıb. Nəzərinizə çatdıraq ki, bu mövzu artıq uzun zamandır müzakirə olunur və əminliklə deyə bilərəm ki, Bloqosfer 2010 layihəsindən qat-qat güclü tərəflər – qurumlar və təşkilatlar bu məsələnin önə çıxmasına çalışırlar və hələ də davam edirlər. Bəs nəticə? Yoxdur nəticə! Olmamasına səbəb isə məhz köhnə stereotiplərə ilişib qalan bir insanlığa məxsus xalqımız olmasıdır. Orada müzakirə olunmalı olan “necə edək ki, gələcəkdə digər bloqerlərimiz də azad sözə görə həbsxanaya düşməsinlər” olmalı idi, daha “Emin və Adnan niyə həbsdədirlər” yox.
[…]
[…] And now, some people fret about why Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade were not mentioned during the discussions or why there were no opportunities for it. Let me tell you that this issue has been long discussed and I can confidently say that parties, far more powerful than Bloqosfer 2010 – institutions and organizations, try to bring up this issue and still continue to do so. And what is the result? No result! The reason for this is that there is our people still stick to old stereotypes. The issue that should have been discussed there should have been what can we do so that other bloggers do not get arrested for freedom of speech rather than why are Emin and Adnan still in jail.
In its post, “What did Bloqosfer 2010 give to Azerbaijan,” Жизнь как Метро [AZ] came up with some suggestions, concluding that the event was very innovative, achieved its goals, and perhaps even more than that by representing a new beginning.
İkincisi, Bloqosfer 2010 dağınıq halda olan Azərbaycan bloqçuluğunu birləşdirə bildi. […]
Üçüncüsü, Bloqosfer kifayət qədər özünə qapanmış formada fəaliyyət göstərən və barmaqla sayılacaq qədər olan region bloqçularına mərkəzə doğru açılmaq imkanı verdi.
Dördüncüsü, Bloqosfer – 2010 Azərbaycanda bloqqerlik fobiyasını az da olsa qırmış oldu. […]
Beşincisi, Bloqosfer bloqqerliyi siyasilikdən çıxarıb sosiallaşdırdı.
Third, Bloqosfer gave an opportunity for regional bloggers functioning underground and in scarce numbers to come into the spotlight.
Fourth, Bloqosfer 2010 could break the blogging phobia in Azerbaijan, even if only insignificantly. […]
Fifth, Bloqosfer took blogging out of politics and made it a social thing.
Presentations made at Bloqosfer 2010 will be uploaded to slideshare and its official website. Videos filmed during the event will also be available on Youtube.  Twitter updates about the event can be found at #bloqosfer10.

author: Aygun Janmammadova


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Bahrain: Infallible Prophets · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Are all prophets infallible? Bint Battuta in Bahrain digs deeper into the issue.


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Barbados: Drug Smuggling  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bajan Global Report links to a mainstream media news item about arrests made in a multimillion pound drug ring, noting that this was the “2nd major cocaine drug haul in six weeks  leaving Barbados airport.”


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Belarus: A Visit to Minsk · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kyiv-based Ann Merrill of Anka's Place visits Minsk and reports that, among other things, the city is very clean: “It is freakishly clean. It is refreshingly clean. “

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China: Rights to strike · Global Voices
Jennifer Zhang

Since the beginning of 2010, a wave of worker strikes has appeared in China, to the extent that western mainstream media, such as the Financial Times has recognized the emergence of a new labour movement. Recently, the Chinese workers have even exercised their labour rights in Russia.
According to RIA Novosti, more than 150 Chinese workers have gone on a strike over unpaid salaries for construction work done on infrastructure for the 2012 APEC summit in Russia on 13-14 September.
Feng Shanzhi from Mil Forum noticed the news and criticized the Russia government for sending military police to suppress the strike. However, many comments disagreed with the writer:
sunnyrain: 你在国内罢共产党的工试试？普京够仁慈的了。
翅膀：资本主义国家的外交政策都不是国际主义,都只讲利益.就跟我们现在现实中人与人之间的关系是一样的.
所以在资本主义世界里,只有共同的利益,没有坚固的朋友.这点是必然.
他们是不能体会国际主义的.也不知道国际主义的伟大.所以时常咒骂毛主席援助非洲等国家.却不知道到今天我们还因彼受着许多益处.
而且资产阶级对工人罢工这样的事,只会越来越强硬,而且手段也越来越高.威逼利诱,忽悠分化.无论在哪个资本主义国家都是这样.
说到底,全世界的资产阶级联合起来了。可是无产阶级还没觉醒.
Although the above comment is rather ideological, many supporters of labour rights do believe that the poor labour condition in China is a result of the exploitation from multinational corporates. For example, Qianhong, a well-known commentator criticized Goldman Sachs China representative's opinion on worker strikes:
这些资本代言人担忧什么呢？不就是跨国资本在中国劳动力产品低成本、低价优势的丧失，而以投资重点投向印度、越南、印度尼西亚、巴西等地相要挟，阻遏中国劳动生产率、产品价值和整个社会产出消费价值提升吗？！
明眼人谁都知道，“提高工资，可能会使得一些纯粹成本导向盈利的企业转移生产基地”，但是，也会使得一大部分底层劳动者的消费能力增加，进而增加国内消费市场的容量…
Similar to many labour rights activists and scholars, Qianhong called for a constitutional amendment to protect the right to strike:
如果中国工人的维权举措，必须在“跳楼”或“罢工”之间作非此即彼的选择，那么，滾滾诸公，行行好，还是让他们享有“罢工维权”的自由和尊严吧！
与时俱进的口号，在中国已经喊快二十年了，从1982年到未来2012年正好三十年了，中国共产党18大也将在这一年召开。中国工人的罢工自由这一条，再也不能在中华人民共和国宪法中堂皇缺位了，中国该修宪了！
After the Honda Strike earlier in June, many people are quite optimistic that labour strike will soon become a proper way for Chinese workers to improve their working conditions. Lin Da Min notice that mainstream media has started to use the term “Strike” (罢工) in their reports:
由于种种因素，一直以来，“罢工”只是个历史名词和法律名词。现实中，对于工人这一争取权益的方式，别说少有发生，就是有，类似出租车司机罢工，也往往以“集 体喝下午茶”这样的奇怪方式表达，至多是一个听起来温柔一些的“罢运”。事实上，媒体在关注本田中国工人罢工一事上，也有微妙之处。比如，本田中国员工 “走向操场”、“停工”……在些许犹豫之后，“罢工”一词终于出现在新闻报道和标题里。这是一个进步的信号。
However, such optimism may come too soon. The word “strike” remains a politically sensitive term. It is censored and filtered away in major search engines. Below shows the screen capture of the search result of “strike” (罢工) in Baidu Tieba (an automatic generated forum). The note says: “I am sorry, according to existing regulation and law, this forum cannot be opened”. Similar notice appeared in all major web portals.

author: Jennifer Zhang


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El Salvador: Is the Anti-Gang Law the Right Solution? · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Hunnapuh [es] writes about the Anti-Gang law, saying that it has been presented to the public as a magical solution for crime and violence. But this blogger things that the law does not address the main problem: poverty, exclusion and lack of opportunities for the young men that join gangs in the first place.


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Global Voices Bloggers at UN Millennium Development Goals Summit · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Four Global Voices bloggers are currently attending the United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in New York City (September 20-22). In their personal blogs and on Twitter, they have shared their initial thoughts on the Summit itself and the outcomes of the meeting. These are just a few of dozens of bloggers sharing citizens’ perspectives on this high level meeting in New York and around the world. The Millennium Development Goals are eight major targets agreed to by United Nations member states to reduce world poverty by 2015.
Sonam Ongmo is a blogger and journalist from Bhutan. In her blog, Dragon Tales, she writes:
If you think proposing “Happiness” as the 9th MDG at the UN General Assembly early this week was bold of tiny Bhutan, wait till you find out about the country's aspirations for a non-permanent seat at the Security Council…
On Conversations for a Better World, Sonam explains that Bhutan is pushing for the “Gross National Happiness” to become a recognized measure of development alongside gross domestic product (GDP). On Twitter (@sonamongmo), she has posted even more about the activities of Bhutan's delegates.
Andrea Arzaba from Mexico was one of three winners of the THINK! Developing World Blogging Competition of the European Journalism Centre and won a trip to attend the UN Summit in New York. On her THINK! blog, Andrea promises to write more soon but pauses briefly to share her excitement:
“These days have been hectic for us, as we have been going around from one event to other and to other. But it has been a very interesting experience so far – If I stop formalities I could say IT HAS BEEN REALLY AMAZIIIING!!!!”
On Twitter (@andrea_arzaba), she is posting constant updates, facts and exclamations from speeches and official events.
Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter and blogger from Nepal. She is keeping an eye on her home country at the United Nations this week. Yesterday on Twitter (@bhumikaghimire), she said with both optimism and concern:
“Nepal receives MDG Award 4 significantly improving maternal health.yes! bt lot more 2 be done on education,equality &environment”.
She also commented on India's lackluster development results and Germany's change in stance on development aid.
Eman AbdElRahman from Egypt won a trip to the UN MDG meeting in the World Youth Summit Award for her project “We are all Laila” (Laila Kolena) an online initiative for women's rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Eman has Tweeted just enough to let us know what was going in her mind yesterday (things are already look brighter!):
I have to do a presentation tomorrow morning… I'm doomed!
Global Voices has a special coverage page about the Millennium Development Goals where we share recent posts about development issues and global reaction to the Summit outcomes.
By Johanne Veilleux
As reported on Global Voices in French, there is a lot happening this week in New York alongside the Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, and the UN General Assembly (UNGA) that takes place right after. In parallel, the UN Foundation, Mashable and 92Y organized the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, a fully‐wired blogging headquarters at the 92nd Street Y where digital journalists, NGOs, and bloggers will come together to hear directly from global leaders and  advocates for different causes. These organisations are also responsible for the Social Good Summit (Sept 21-24) about how new media can help address the world’s challenges. You can follow the LiveStream for the meeting. Even if you won’t be in New York this week, it's still possible to participate in the conversations, thanks to Twitter and the MDG Summit hashtag, #UNWEEKDML.

author: Solana Larsen


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Haiti: A Reminder  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

How Can They Hear? posts recent photos of Haiti, saying: ” To many people, Haiti is forgotten already.  But I hope these few pics show you that she may be forgotten, but she is not gone.  Life goes on like this every day for these people who have suffered so much.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India: Inadequate Preparations For The Commonwealth Games · Global Voices
Rezwan

Being Cynical at Desicritics criticizes the inadequate preparations for the Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi and discusses the controversy surrounding it.


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India: When An Advertisement Becomes The News · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif discusses why the innovative “talking” advertisements of an automobile manufacturer published in two newspapers raised much controversy in India.


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Iran: Roses for Derakhshan · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Hossein Derakhshan‘s mother in an interview [fa] said that “Hossein repented and want to be useful for his country…Hossein was moved to a better place [cell] in prison and they planted roses for him…Hossein is very depressed…”.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Artist Passes On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

National Gallery of Jamaica Blog and The Caribbean Review of Books mourn the passing of Jamaican artist Dawn Scott.


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Mexico: Indigenous Community San Juan Copala Ordered to Evacuate · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Kristin Bricker explains that, “Authorities of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca, have ordered the total evacuation of the town, which has been under siege since February of this year. The authorities issued the order when alleged paramilitaries raided San Juan Copala and said that they would massacre all supporters of the autonomous municipality, “

author: Silvia Viñas


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Nigeria: Nigeria’s President Campaigns on YouTube · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is campaigning on YouTube, Solomon reports: “Another presidential aspirant, current president Goodluck Jonathan, has released a series of music videos as part of his campaign strategy. The videos, available on YouTube, feature different musical genres.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: We Don’t Need Education · Global Voices
Rezwan

Salman Latif criticizes the proposal of the Pakistan government for a huge cut in the budget allocation for the education sector to overcome the losses incurred during the recent floods.


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Panama: Proposed Legislation to Prevent Discrimination due to Sexual Orientation · Global Voices
Clotilde Castillo

The Panamanian National Assembly started to discuss a new law that would protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Image by Flickr user Marlith used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

author: Clotilde Castillo


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Poland: Jarosław Kaczyński and PiS · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More updates on Jarosław Kaczyński, his Law and Justice (PiS) party, and Poland's politics – the beatroot, Raf Uzar, and Politics, Economy, Society.


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Poland: Solidarność 1980 vs. Solidarność 2010 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Raf Uzar wrote this on Aug. 31 about Solidarność‘s 30th anniversary: “Lech Wałęsa’s refusal to attend the celebrations was a clear cutting of the umbilical cord and demonstration of the fact that the legacy of Solidarity 1980 is to be found elsewhere, not in Solidarity 2010.” Polandian added: “So, to see [Solidarność] having degenerated into a political pit-bull apparently under the control of Kaczyński is rather sad. Like turning positive energy into negative. Like Luke Skywalker giving in to the dark side, slipping on a black helmet and wheezing a lot.”


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Russia: From Beijing to Kyiv, By Train · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Derek Kedziora of The Kalpak is traveling by train from Beijing to Kyiv and is currently in Russia. Here's what he writes about his short stay in Irkutsk: “One of the first things I noticed is that people hold doors for each other here. […] Cars stop for you at crosswalks. In general people are very polite – oh to be called Вы again and hear such quaint words such as excuse me and please. […] It is funny how 13 months in China will make Russia seem so polite, orderly and even free.”


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Russia: Luzhkov “Power Struggle” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Good Treaty analyzes the situation with the Moscow mayor, suggesting “that Yuri Luzhkov will not be replaced before his term expires next year”: “But the Luzhkov affair has the appearance of a power struggle […]. The appearance of a more active and confident Medvedev gives off the impression that he’s asserting himself to boost his reputation as a leader, to make it harder for [Putin] to cast him aside, should he wish to do so in two years. This amounts to the one thing that Putin promised Russia it wouldn’t have to suffer in 2012: politics.”


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Russia: Luzhkov’s Birthday, Vacation and Prose · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More posts on Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov (who is in Austria now) – at The Moscow Diaries (here and here), and at FPA's Russia blog.


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Russia: Medvedev’s “Chutzpah” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At The Huffington Post, Simon Shuster urges PM Putin to ask himself where President Medvedev got “such chutzpah”: “[Medvedev] is seen as having his own agenda for reforms, independent and vaguely appealing, a westernizer, you see, like a fun-sized Peter the Great.”


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Russia: Photos of Kolyma Highway/Road of Bones · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

AskYakutia.com posts 45 winter photos of “the Road of Bones (officially known as the Kolyma Highway) built by GULAG work camp inmates in the time of Stalin.”


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Russia, Poland: “The Fog Surrounding the Crash Remains” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Streetwise Professor writes about the ongoing inquiry into the April 10 plane crash that killed the Polish president and 95 others, reporting this, among other things: “Most peculiarly, the air traffic controller who was in charge when the plane crashed ‘retired’ three days after the crash, and Russian authorities claim that they cannot locate him.”


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Russia: Political Discourse Overview · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“A Short Overview of Russian Political Discourse” – by a guest-blogger at The Kremlin Stooge.


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Serbia: Minister Takes e-Government from Virtual to Real · Global Voices
Danica Radisic

The Serbian online community has been a-flutter this evening after what seems to have been a small, laid-back, yet groundbreaking event earlier today in Belgrade: a meeting dubbed Tweet Up in Pariska 7, the new address of the offices of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society in Belgrade and organized mostly through Twitter and Facebook.
As the ongoing buzz would have it, the initiative for this informal meeting came from  Slobodan Markovic, Special Advisor to the Serbian Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, who also happens to be a very forthcoming and active member of the online community, and Zoran Torbica, CEO of CRI Domains and one of the initiators and Vice President of the Serbian Center for Internet Development, who has been a part of the local online community, one could safely say, since its inception.
Minister Jasna Matic [EN] accommodated her guests on the terrace of her new offices and spent the next several hours discussing common goals, issues, ideas and exchanging opinions with… well, it would seem her online peers.
Predrag Milicevic, a prominent local blogger, recounts the events of the afternoon spent on the terrace with Minister Matic in his latest blog post, titled The First Minister At A Tweet-Up in Serbia [SRP]:
Ministers have always been more a function than people, more a notion from our everyday political vocabulary than individuals from real life. Ministers have always been somewhere out there… far away.
Today, one Minister has descended among us. A live Man. That is, a woman. ;) The Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, Jasna Matic. She spoke to us. About e-learning, challenges, transparency, laws, procedures… She gave us insight into jurisdictions. She spoke about problems. She listened to us carefully. She considered ideas. She was pleased by proposed solutions. She laughed at jokes thrown in from the sidelines… She was one of us.
Another highly active member of the blogosphere, Tatjana Vehovec, a.k.a. Mooshema, a copywriter, editor and publisher from Novi Sad, made her way to the meeting in Belgrade today and has a similar story to tell in a blog post of her own [SRP]:
Minister Jasna Matic with Tatjana Vehovec and other members of the online community in Belgrade (photo by Nenad Pavlovic – @neshasr, courtesy of Kolegijum.com)
Once upon a time in a land of peasants in the mountainous Balkans…
Well, that isn't it: it was today, on the sunny terrace of the Minister of Telecommunications and Information Society, Jasna Matic, in the new offices of the Ministry, a working-friendly meeting in the best sense of this impromptu term, a place where real life and real authority intersected. Respect.
Ms. Vehovec goes on to extract and summarize the palpable results of the meeting in her blog post:
The conslusion of the TweetUp can be encompassed in three potential tasks for the online community:
1. Anyone who encounters obstacles in the areas of electronic commerce, electronic business, import or, foremost, export of services, has been invited to map these issues and, if possible, propose a solution based on common sense, professional knowledge and personal experience.
2. It has been suggested that an ad hoc group be formed, and it seemed as if one has already been formed, for creating projects in the form of project proposals for a communication platform between the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society and end users, and creating an interactive space for the exchange of ideas, solutions and, above all, mapping problems having to do with the practical application of the Law [on Electronic Communication] and weaknesses and flaws as to its practical application.
3. A work group has been formed for the drafting of subordinate legislation that will encompass the convention of the means of communication of several different (all) Ministries, define mandatory content and profile means of communication with citizens. The goal of this legislation is to increase transparency as to the work of the Ministries, achieve better usability of Government sites and faster communication.
Special Advisor Slobodan Markovic and others with Minister Matic (courtesy of Mr. Milicevic's blog at Pedya.rs)
It would seem today's TweetUp with the approachable Minister Matic would be what Belgraders colloquially call a “seven-mile step” for the online community and, hopefully, Serbian society in general. As a reminder that any conversation, however pleasant, is only as good as the results it yields, Mr. Milicevic concludes in his blog post:
I don't believe in magic wands, but I do believe in the power of open communication. And I believe that, when someone descends from the state's Mount Olympus among the people, to converse openly with them, then we can expect some realistic developments. In some near future. Besides, “hope is the last to die”…

author: Danica Radisic


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Slovenia: Flood Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos of the flooding in Ljubljana – at Sleeping With Pengovsky.


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Taiwan: Interview with Kimbo Hu · Global Voices
David Reid

Trista di Genova interviews indigenous musician Kimbo Hu (胡德夫). Kimbo is well known for his music and has also been a leader in the indigenous rights movement in Taiwan.

author: David Reid


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Tanzania: Music in Tanzanian Politics · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

As Tanzania prepares for 2010 General Elections, Elsie blogs about innovative use of music in politics in Tanzania.


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Turks & Caicos: Self-Governance Limbo  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“An election to return self governance for the Turks and Caicos Islands has been postponed…extending London’s direct rule over the Caribbean dependency”: Repeating Islands re-posts the details.


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Uganda: Do you trust the media?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Tumwijuke blogs about “a little-reported event occurred at City Hall in Kampala on Saturday.”: Members of the Uganda Journalists’ Association voted for a new executive. To summarize the chaotic proceedings, it was a joke.  Chaos over the association’s constitution, armed police barring observers, allegations of voter bribing, the works!


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UK, Romania: “Katalin Varga” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Csíkszereda Musings writes about Katalin Varga, Peter Strickland's film, set and filmed in Transylvania.


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Ukraine: Agriculture · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leigh Turner, the British Ambassador to Ukraine, posts some observations on Ukraine's agriculture.


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Ukraine: “New Memory Engineers” and Ruslan Zabilyi’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Timothy Snyder writes on NYRblog about the arrest of Ruslan Zabilyi, the director of a Lviv museum “devoted to the occupation of Ukraine by the Nazis and the Soviets”: “Under Yanukhovych, Ukraine’s new memory engineers are using force.” Steve Bandera of Kyiv Scoop offers more insight: “These are the kind of people who see mercantile advantages, take them using force and intimidation, and flourish in Yanukovych’s Ukraine. They care not about national memory or historical justice or ideology. They want to sell you a house built atop killing fields.”


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Venezuela: Web Videos Encouraging Citizens to Vote · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Venezuelans will be voting on September 26th to renew the whole body of the National Assembly, the unicameral legislative body which substituted the Congress, and online, dozens of people are making and remixing videos urging citizens to vote.
Los Hermanos Electorales , or the Electoral Brothers have a series of four videos portraying different situations that evolve into songs about the importance of voting as a way to make decisions regarding violence, freedom of expression, the economy and the food shortages. Their latest video takes the subject of insecurity, muggings and kidnappings that are affecting Venezuelans lately and mixes it with a catchy reggaeton rhythm and sexy dancing girls who send the message that to have a chance at improving the situation, you need to vote.
The Quetelleva2010 (What gets you in Spanish) video is a darker take on the same subject of insecurity. A  kidnapping victim is terrorized throughout the night as he's driven around the city in order to empty out his bank account, and as he's dropped off at the voting center the viewer is asked: if insecurity doesn't get you to vote, then what gets you?
Voto Joven has a different campaign, insisting that regardless of your position, in favor or in opposition of the government, voting is necessary. So they give 26 reasons to vote on the 26th:
This next video asks Venezuelans to consider if they are voting or throwing their vote in the trash, a play on words in Spanish between votar which means to vote, and botar which means to throw away:
Other videos, like the one titled Reasons to Vote in Venezuela support a particular group of candidates, like this next one in favor of The Democratic Alternative, which asks voters to keep Venezuela from following in Cuba's footsteps :
Not only are original videos showing up, but also remixes, like this one adapted from a US voting registration campaign. While the audio is still the same, the subtitles reflect the Venezuelan reality: instead of prompting people to register to vote, it asks them to get informed before voting, and points them towards the Cartelera Electoral blog.
These campaigns aim to improve abstentionism within the young people, who are the main consumers of online media: according to this video,  back in the 2000 parliamentary elections, 75% of the young voters didn't vote. Let's hope that number is much, much lower this year.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Zimbabwe: Action Alert for Jenni Williams · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Action Alert from Zimbabwe for Jenni Williams: “News update from WOZA – 1.30pm – Wednesday 22nd – 83 members released on free bail – Jenni Williams arrested outside Harare Magistrate’s Court.”


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Zimbabwe: Marching For Peace · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Groups in Bulawayo marked International Peace Day on Tuesday (yesterday) with a peaceful march starting at the Bulawayo City Hall. The march went ahead peacefully after police clearance was granted,” Sokwanele reports.


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Africa: Africa Media Leadership Conference 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Dibussi blogs about the Africa Media Leadership Summit. Tjis year the summit will focus on finding “Sustainable Media Business Models in the Digital Age”.


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Angola: Meet the Country Through its Windows · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Uma janela aos domingos [A window on Sundays, pt], is a series of weekly posts featuring photos from Angolan windows with stories told by their authors. As Gabriel Toureg explains, “it's a way to know more about the country, its culture, remote locations, architecture and people of Angola”.

author: Sara Moreira


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Armenia: Officer faces abuse charges · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Despite an initial official denial, Unzipped posts an update to an earlier post on the circulation of an amateur video originally uploaded to YouTube highlighting abuse in the army. The blog says that the authenticity of the video has now been confirmed and an officer in command of a military unit in the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh arrested and charged.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Barbados: Vigilante Victim Charged  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Bajan Reporter has an update on the incident in which an alleged pedophile was the recipient of vigilante justice, saying that the man “has been charged with rape of a Minor…Police will not even reveal the age of the girl involved.”


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Bermuda: Stormy Politics · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

What irked Politics.bm more than Hurricane Igor was the political wrangling after the storm: “Do [politicians] really think that Bermudians are as consumed by political disagreements and ideology as to not support each other after a major hurricane?  This sentiment is incredibly condescending and out of touch.”


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Chile: Alternative Transportation for ‘World Carfree Day’ · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

September 22 was “World Carfree day” and Daniel Arellano shared five alternatives to using a car in Chile [es].


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China: New media, new challenges  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China media project translated a CCP journal article written by Gao Xinmin on how new media has changed the political culture in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: First Reactions to the Death of FARC Leader ‘Mono Jojoy’ · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

Early on Thursday September 23, Colombians woke up with the news: the day before, 30 airplanes and 27 helicopters of the Colombian Air Force raided a camp where Víctor Julio Suárez, better known as Jorge Briceño or Mono Jojoy, one of the top leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), was hiding with dozens of guerrillas near La Macarena, Meta. Suárez, 57, was killed in the so-called “Operation Sodom”, as president Juan Manuel Santos confirmed [es] from New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly. Five members of the State security forces were injured and a female  police dog was  killed [es].
Other top guerrilla members might have been caught in the 300 square-meter camp —which reportedly [es] included [es] an underground bunker— and the Colombian Armed Forces (mostly members of the Colombian Army and the Colombian National Police which landed after the combats ended) are identifying them as this post is being written. On Thursday afternoon unofficial sources claimed that FARC leader Henry Castellanos, Romaña, had also been killed [es] in the operation
Mono Jojoy, who was tipped off by an informant, was considered the leader of the hard-line military wing of the FARC and was the commander of its Eastern Bloc. Regarded as “one of the most blood-thirsty” guerrillas [es], he had 62 arrest warrants against him, had been sentenced 5 times, and the United States had asked for his extradition for drug-trafficking related charges, offering a reward for his capture.
A controversy arose when El Tiempo, the daily newspaper with the highest circulation in the country (and partially owned by President Juan Manuel Santos’ family), posted a series of tweets regarding the news:
@eltiempocom
Vigilantes de parqueadero en Corferias: ‘Hay que pedir la tarde libre para celebrar la muerte de Jojoy’
@eltiempocom
¿Cómo están celebrando en sus oficinas o donde se encuentren la muerte de Jojoy?
@eltiempocom
Para los ofendidos por la pregunta de celebración, disculpas. Mejor pregunta es: ¿Cómo reaccionan por la muerte de Jojoy?
Twitter users immediately reacted to these tweets. Miguel Olaya (@juglardelzipa) said:
por ahora no nos han dado el día libre en la universidad de los andes. @eltiempocom debería denunciarlos por no ser patriotas.
User @PAPerezA criticized the newspaper:
Que ignorancia y amarillismo!! Salvajes!! […]
Agnes Dantés (@Agnes_Dantes) joked:
Ayy esos de @eltiempocom son muy jocosos. Pero bueh… bien por ellos que no nos engañan con falsa imparcialidad y profesionalismo
With irony, Clo Calao (@cloquis) wrote:
Hay unos desplazados al frente de mi casa pidiendo limosna, les voy a preguntar a ellos como celebran la muerte de #jojoy #eltiempostyle
Adriana (@Adridice) commented on the apology tweeted by El Tiempo:
las disculpas del @eltiempocom dejan mucho que desear “a los que se sientan ofendidos” que amarillismo, están peor que el espacio
Others joked about the name of the operation, which according to Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera was chosen [es] because “the core of the evil was there. And we needed help from heaven.” Orlando (@DanielitoBang) said:
Alejandro Ordóñez abrirá investigación contra Rodrigo Rivera y la cúpula militar por usar el aberrante nombre de Sodoma en esta operación.
Ramírez Jaramillo (@egolaxista):
La película de la Operación Sodoma será clasificada R, porque su nombre es sugestivo
Jokingly, Miguel Olaya (@juglardelzipa) wrote:
en el ministerio de defensa organizan focus groups para decidir el nombre de las operaciones.
Alvaro Sáenz (@AlvarettoS):
:o que el mono jojoy murió de sodomía? #toomuchinformation
Other Twitter reactions reflect current issues in Colombian politics. Manuel Carreño (@Popcultura) directed his message to those who oppose the current and former government:
Amigo antiuribista: alegrarte por esta noticia no te vuelve de derecha: solo demuestra que te alegras por la muerte de cafres como ese.
But Juan C. Rodríguez (@JCRodriguezMD) does not see the outcome of this operation as a sign that the government is successful:
El éxito de un gobierno no se mide por número de bajas, sino por el bienestar de su población. En eso si seguiremos muy mal.
User @Vulturno said:
Sin duda es el logro más grande de las FFMM, con todo y que les tocó matarlo de lejos y con sevicia
Daniel Arango (@stultaviro) described what the success of this operation means to some Colombians:
Qué buena bofetada a los que andaban anunciando y celebrando el fracaso de la Seguridad Democrática.
In his tweet, Alejandro Gaviria (@agaviriau) refers to the idea of justice:
No es la muerte lo que alegra a la mayoría de la gente: es la idea o la sensación de justicia.
But Orlando (@DanielitoBang) thinks that justice was not completely served:
Qué rabia que mueran tipejos como ese. Se siente cierta sensación de justicia, pero el miserable en realidad murió impune.
“El Chiflamicas” (@elchiflamicas) wrote:
Si no mataban al Mono Jojoy se les hubiera escapado por algún aeropuerto.
Alieth Acosta (@_InTheMood) criticized the pressure to show patriotism:
Si no pongo una bandera de Colombia en mi nick de bb soy terrorista entonces? Esas bobadas.
“La Morenita” (@lapetitebrune) said:
El día en que celebremos la vida, en vez de la muerte, ese día sí habrá esperanza para nosotros.
Some related posts:

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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East Timor: Stories on Health Care for the Poor · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Bairo Pite Clinic blog shares stories about daily work on community health care “for the poorest of the poor in East Timor”.