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Georgia, Russia: Tbilisi Reports · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.
Below are a few posts from bloggers who are currently in Tbilisi, Georgia.
LJ user merienn wrote this (RUS) from Tbilisi on Aug. 11 and 12:
Aug. 11, 2008 – 10:46 AM:
At 6 AM today, Marina called, scared to death: there was an explosion, and their windows were nearly smashed over at Gldani. Turned out the radars […] that serve the international airport were being bombed.
Yesterday, Khelvachauri, a suburb of Batumi, was bombed, Sandro is staying there with grandfather and grandmother and doesn't want to go to the village to my parents.
Khatuna and I were walking with kids [at the park], it's almost empty, and we took them to McDonalds’ – banned in peaceful times, it seems so attractive in the time of war.
Yesterday, crowds of people were marching all over the city with flags, chanting “Sakartvelo” – Mishka didn't understand what was going on.
- There's war now, and we are being bombed, and these people are demanding to stop all this.
– And who's doing the bombing? – Mishka the Ant asked, [his eyes huge with surprise].
I didn't tell him who was bombing us.
- Let them throw these bombs on themselves, I hate them, – Mishka got angry in a funny way.
Just a week ago we were chatting about some sweet trifles – where they do French manicure better, and where I put that swimming suit, and how to train your husband to hang his wet towel on the rope.
Now we are breaking our heads, [trying to figure out] how to get to Batumi with kids and avoid being shot at, where a safer place to take shelter is, who said what the UN Security Council, whether it is true that people got killed in Poti.
There's no panic. […] There was shock on the first day, and then it started feeling as if we've been living like this for a hundred years. Crowds of people are donating blood. We knew that this is how it would be. […]
We are not leaving anywhere. [Because] all they do is wait for us all to leave.
***
Aug. 11, 2008 – 11:54 AM:
[…] There is no Russophobia whatsoever – I've already said more than once that we have very clear boundaries separating the notions of the Russian state and the relations between the peoples. […]
I'll pack a backpack, just in case – warm clothes, water, documents. Refugees have taught us so – the rest doesn't matter.
Though it is unclear where we'll be forced to go – there's not a single place in my country that's inaccessible for the brave fighter jets.
They bombed Gori once more. Bombed Kakhetia.
Sites hosted in Georgia have been hacked, there's no opportunity to access Russian sites, so LJ remains my only platform to keep in touch with the world. […]
***
Aug. 11, 2008 – 07:00 PM:
[…] We've decided not to go yet because it is dangerous. At home, the walls [of a house] help. […]
Value all that you have. Value the fact that you are alive and healthy, that you can watch a movie instead of the news, that you can buy a ticket and go anyplace you like. […]
***
Aug. 12, 2008 – 01:38 AM:
I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow morning. Maybe tanks will enter the city. Mishka is asleep, my little boy, he kept turning around, asking: They aren't bombing Batumi, are they? He misses his brother. I shouldn't have told him yesterday. Though this way he is prepared, at least.
All hope for Sarkozy, maybe he'll convince them – but this is unlikely, too, no one is going to back out at this point – they'll be eating us hot.
Tbilisi-based LJ user dzvirpaso wrote this (RUS) on Aug. 11:
I've just called Ukraine's consul in Georgia, I know him well. He said that he and his family (wife and two children) are here. He said that those who wanted to leave were leaving, but assured me that the situation was stable. I asked whether he thinks if it would be better to leave or not, and he replied that there's no need to at this point, that everything is stable and will soon be over. If something happens, he will definitely call me.
LJ user oleg_panfilov reports (RUS) on the situation in Tbilisi this night:
I've just had a ride around the city – everything is quiet and calm. People are discussing the situation on the phones and that's why it's been impossible to reach friends in the past two or three hours. Some people manage to get through [to my number], ask me what to do, and then the phone goes silent again.
There is panic, of course, but for now only in conversations and discussions. Though there are those who've decided to leave already – mainly to Eastern Georgia, towards Azerbaijan.
I can't get rid of the thought that these people do not want to greet the occupational troops with flowers and wine – even though there's such an effort being done for them, all the demands for Saakashvili to escape… […]
In another post, oleg_panfilov adds (RUS):
[…] Tomorrow there'll be plenty of politics.
Forgot to write that Eka Zguladze, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Georgia, has confirmed to me that tomorrow, in the middle of the day, presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland and Ukraine are expected to arrive in Tbilisi.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Georgia-Russia: Western Tradeoff of Georgia Against Iran? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Osteuropablog quotes (GER) some of the frequent – although somewhat wild – speculations among Russian bloggers that the West has exchanged a Russian war with Georgia against permission to a Western attack on Iran.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Georgia: Russian Troops in Georgian Villages? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Whereas things seem to be quiet in Tbilisi for now, North Ossetian blogger Alan Tskhurbaev – LJ user alan_tskhurbaev wrote this (RUS) on Aug. 11 about the alleged advances of the Russian and South Ossetian troops in Georgia:
Talked with Tskhinval. According to [the person I talked with], Russian and South Ossetian troops have taken a Georgian village of Ergneti. They've also mopped up Avnevi. Then they'll move on to Nikozi, Tkiavi, and all the way to Gori. The Chechen battalion “East” is taking an active part.
And a quote from [the person I talked with]:
“Now the whole world is yelling that the bombing of Georgia is terrible, but isn't it as terrible to bomb Tskhinval?! Nothing will happen if Tbilisi beau monde wets their asses in the basements.”


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Georgia: Saakashvili Bad for Business · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Copydude posts a critical comment on Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili from the vantage point of his rule and reelection prior to the ongoing Russian-Georgian conflict.


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Georgia: Students Protest Outside Russian Embassy · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

My The Caucasian Knot comments on news that Georgian students protested outside the Russian Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia… and have apparently been asked to leave the country.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Georgia: The Dangers of Saakashvili’s Idealism · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Mark McKinnon discusses the dangers of Georgian president's, Mikheil Saakashvili, idealism in the ongoing conflict with Russia.


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Georgia: U.S. Impotent · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blogger Interrupted comments on the latest developments in Georgia and says that the U.S. can now be seen to be impotent in the face of a Russian invasion. The blog also argues the case for an Obama presidency in light of the apparent failure of U.S. foreign policy.


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Georgia War: A Polish View · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Raf Uzar writes about mixed opinions in Poland about the conflict between Russia and Georgia, emanating primarily from uncertainties on what Polish president Kaczyński might get up to, as he prepares to head off to Tbilisi.


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Georgia War: Assessing the Democratic Peace · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

The 8th Circle continues the discussion on the democratic peace and liberalism from the perspective of the Russo-Georgian conflict.


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Georgia War: Chances for Peace in the Caucasus? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Da Rússia [Portuguese] comments on the ongoing Russian-Georgian war and presents views on containing the conflict and how to reach a sustainable peace.


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Georgia War: Consequences for Ukraine · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Buffalo Expatriate discusses the consequences of the Russian-Georgian conflict for Ukraine.


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Georgia War: End of War – At What Price? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Transatlantic Politics asks what price will have to be paid by Georgia to gain peace on Russia's terms, noting that Moscow has already demanded Georgia's demilitarization, and wonders whether the situation might result in a brutal regime change, end of Georgian NATO-aspirations, and increased Russian leverage on Caucasus’ energy resources.


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Georgia War: Georgia Will Join NATO · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

AnTyx claims that NATO Secretary General has expressed certainty of future Georgian NATO-membership, and continues to account for Estonian reaction to the conflict, concluding with  the statement – quoting John McCain – “I am a Georgian”.


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Georgia War in Initial Retrospective · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

GUS-News presents (GER) a retrospective of developments in the Russo-Georgian crisis in the last few days, with an emphasis on Russia.


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Georgia War: Is it all over now? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

El pueblo unido jamás será vencido (Ilya Yashin) comments on (RUS) Russian president's, Dmitry Medvedev, order to Russian troops in Georgia to “end operations.” Is the war over now?


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Georgia War: Peace Threatens Territorial Integrity · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Da Rússia [Portuguese] writes about the problems with a Russo-Georgian peace treaty brokered by French president Sarkozy, and refers to Russian analysts’ conclusion that it might continually set Georgia's territorial integrity in question.


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Georgia War: Questioning Ukrainian Arms Trade to Georgia · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Taras Kuzio writes about alleged crimes in Ukrainian arms’ trade with Georgia and suggests that some of the guilty should be brought to justice – paradoxically ex President Kuchma and former Prime Ministers Yanukovich and Kinakh.


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Georgia War: Regime Change Russian Style · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Sean's Russia Blog presents his views and observations on how Russia, allegedly, wants to accomplish a regime change in Georgia in the current conflict.


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Georgia War: Russia Halts in Fight Between Democracies · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Baltic comments on Russian political action and relations as for the ongoing war in Georgia, a first fight between democracies since 1898, and that Moscow has now ordered a halt to Russian military operations in Georgia.


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Georgia War: Russian Blogger Reaction on the Conflict · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user pro_kuratora posts (RUS) a compilation of reactions from the Russian blogosphere on Russia's conflict with Georgia.


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Georgia War: Russian Bureaucratization of Power · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

I ya upyus nedolgim schastiem… blames (RUS) the increasing power of bureaucrats or facilitators – koridornye – in Russia for the war with Georgia, when parties, politicians, and business are caught up in the process of the koridornye.


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Georgia War: Russian Critique of Western Media Coverage · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user rusglory discusses (RUS) how Western media – from a Russian point of view – have been complicit to Georgia's information war and comments on pictures alllegedly illustrating his point.


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Georgia War: Russian Disappointment With Belarus · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Osteuropablog discusses (GER) an article on Russian newssite Novyj Region 2, claiming that Moscow is disappointed with failing support from Minsk during the Russo-Georgian conflict.


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Georgia War: The Grief of Living With Conflict · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user herectus discusses (RUS) the difficulties of having to cope with the distrust of living with conflict as part of everyday life.


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Georgia War: The Pipeline That Was Not Bombed · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eternal Remont comments on one of the apparently erroneous stories picked up by the media, namely the alleged Russian bombing of the crucial BTC-pipeline, which BP & co – running the pipeline – has no knowledge of.


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Georgia War: US Loss in Georgian Gambit · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user saintrio presents (RUS) his views on the Russo-Georgian conflict and draws principal and historical parallels.


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Georgia War: Western Escalation – A Bad Recipe · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

At-Largely comments on the ongoing war between Russia and Georgia, departing from increasingly critical US statements, and concludes that this is not the right time for the West to further escalate the conflict.


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Georgia War: What Status for Russian Forces in Georgia? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user dao_b asks (RUS) the potentially provocative question of what status the Russian forces in Georgia have: Peacekeepers when part in an armed conflict or occupiers?


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Georgia: “We are all citizens of Gori” · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog reflects on the suffering of the people – whether Georgian or Russian – and draws parallels between Russian wars, before commenting on Western media coverage of the conflict.


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Georgian War: Russian military performance · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Paul Goble of WindowonEurasia analyses and presents his views of Russian troops’ battle performance in the ongoing war with Georgia.


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Guyana: No More Tunes  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living Guyana is in full support of the ban on loud music in mini-buses and thinks it should also be extended to private vehicles, while GT…Keep it Real says: “How boring will it be to take public transportation now, some people looked forward to get updates on the latest tunes, I feel some bus drivers kept themselves awake with this noise.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Haiti: Lovinsky Still Missing  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre Antoine, one of Haiti's most respected human rights advocates.  The Haitian Blogger remembers him fondly: “It's a…sad commentary that Lovinsky has not returned to his family.  Lovinsky embodied Haiti. Haiti's spirit of independence, struggle, wisdom and knowledge of self.”


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India: At the Olympics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny on India's first ever individual gold at the Olympics.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Monkey Trouble · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

pr3rna on trouble with monkeys in Delhi in India.


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India: On Sports · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Abhinav Bindra, who is bringing home the first ever individual Olympic gold medal for India blogs about the need to encourage talent in India.


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Jamaica, Trinidad: On the “Doubles” · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If a visitor's stomach can handle pepper and curry first thing in the morning, then this is a nice surprise for the palate, and a great way to start the day”: Jamaican Francis Wade posts video of a Trinidadian Doubles vendor.


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Jamaica: Week in Review · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From the Olympics opening ceremony: “It showcased the sheer might and power that can be harnessed from the human potential, working together as one” to “Russia’s blitzkieg-style attack on Georgia”, Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine thinks it's been one heck of a week.


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Japan: Ainu recognized as indigenous people · Global Voices
Hanako Tokita

On June 6, a couple of months prior to the International Day of the World's Indigenous People, the Japanese Diet passed a resolution to officially recognize the Ainu as an indigenous people. Immediately following the passage of the resolution, a government panel held its first meeting to start working on a plan to put these words into action. While this development marked a historical turning point for the Ainu, bloggers were far from unanimous in their responses to the passage of the resolution.
Blogger abe-iw welcomes the Diet resolution:
昨日2008年6月6日は、画期的なメモリアルデーとして歴史の一ページに長く記録されることになるだろう。この日、アイヌ民族を先住民として認め、関連する政策の一層の推進を政府に求める国会決議が、参議院本会議において全会一致で可決・採択されたのだ。
June 6, 2008 will go down in the pages of history as a groundbreaking memorial day. On this day, the Diet resolution calling for the government to recognize the Ainu as an indigenous people and to further implement related measures was unanimously passed and approved during the Upper House plenary session.
[…]ようやく法の下に平等をうたった憲法第14条の精神が、ここ日本においてもまっとうに遵守されることになったのだ。この間、関係者・関連団体のたゆまざる情熱と努力は敬服に値するが、それにも増して昨年年9月13日、国連総会において採択された「先住民族の権利に関する宣言」や、きたる７月に開かれる「北海道洞爺湖サミット」が今次決議実現の追い風になったことは、報道の示すとおりであろう。悲惨な戦乱や度を越す暴力沙汰が絶えない今日、先住民・少数民族の主権を尊重しようという最近の動きは、人々の心の奥底にまだ残っている良識が垣間見えた感がし喜ばしい限りである。[…]
[…]Finally, Japan has complied with the spirit of Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures equality before the law. Although the passion and the efforts of people and organizations that have been involved [in this movement] are worthy of respect, the passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted by the United Nations on September 13the of last year, and the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit scheduled for this coming July, helped [make possible] the realization of the passage, as reported in the media. In the world of today, with horrible wars and extreme violence that never ends, the recent move to respect the sovereign rights of indigenous people and enthnic minorities offers a glimpse of the decency at the bottom of people's hearts, and this makes me so happy.[…]
While appraising the resolution as a milestone, Eunheui thinks that there is something missing:
先住民族として認め（られ）ることが一里塚であることは確かだ。しかし、この文書はアイヌの権利を保障するための何ら具体的な政策提起も含んでいないし、歴史認識に言及こそするものの、それを自分のものとして非をあがなう道に踏み込もうとはしない臆病な文章だと私は思う。私は決議案を作った人たちの善意や良心を疑いはしないが、残念ながら、この文章を今から何十年か経って読み直した時にそこに燦然と輝く人権擁護の宣言を見出せるという予感は全くしない。
.
Akio Ikeuchi, however, questions the goverment's involvement in preservation of an indigenous culture. He agues that it is the Ainu people's role, not that of the government, to show their commitment in restoring their culture and ethnic identity:
６日，「アイヌ民族を先住民族とすることを求める決議」が国会で採択された。が，おそらく私の感覚が鈍いのだろう。私には今さらどうしてこのような決議が必要なのかが分からないのである。
私は別にアイヌを先住民族と見なすことに反対したいわけではない。が，日本民族にほとんど同化吸収されてしまったアイヌを，いまさら分離する必要がどうしてあるというのだろうか。
I am not trying to oppose recognizing the Ainu as an indigenous people. However, why is it necessary to isolate the Ainu, who have nearly been assimilated into Japanese society, now?
[…]もしアイヌの人たちが今の日本とは一線を画する形で自分たちのアイデンティティーを取り戻したいというのであればそれもまた一つの立場であろう。その場合，かつてのアイヌの地をアイヌの人たちに返すべきだとも言えるだろう。その際，日本はアイヌの自立を支援すべきでもあるだろう。
が，国会決議が
政府に対し，アイヌを独自の言語，宗教や文化を有する先住民族と認め，有識者の意見を聞きながらアイヌ政策を総合的に行うことを求めている（同)
などという甘い話であるなら，果たしてアイヌの人たちはどこまで独自の文化を保つべく自立しよういう覚悟を持ち合わせているのか疑問になってくるだろう。
However, the Diet resolution calls for the government to acknowledge the indigenous people with their language, religion and culture, and to comprehensively implement Ainu policies, consulting experts’ opinions. This is naive thinking, and the question arises as to how determined the Ainu people are to become autonomous in order to preserve their own culture.
民族文化が保存されるためには，民族自体に生きる力，すなわち「生命力」がなければならない。が，今回のように政府に援助を要求すること自体，その力の弱さを物語っているのではないか。
本気でアイヌ文化を復興したいのであれば，政府の助けを借りないというくらいの気概がまず必要なのではないか。
If they seriously want to recover the Ainu culture, first they need have the guts to say that they do not need the help of the government.
Blogger Yu argues that this resolution suddenly introduces the notion of ethnicity and reshapes the definition of the citizen:
日本は先週まで単一民族国家だった。
不思議な言い方だが、これはマジ。
Until last week, Japan was an ethnically homogeneous nation.
This may be a strange way to say it, but this is real.
アメリカも建国以来ずっと単一民族国家だ。
なぜならアメリカは「個人の権利」は保障するが「民族の権利」は認めていない。
あの国で国民を形成するのは「アメリカ人」だけだ。
America, too, has been an ethnically homogeneous nation since its foundation.
This is because although America ensures the “rights of individuals”, it does not recognize the “rights of ethnic groups”.
The country is made up only of Americans.
日本も全く同じだった。
在日朝鮮人やアイヌや琉球人がいる日本は他民族国家だ、という主張はあったが、これは評論家的な見方に過ぎない。
在日朝鮮人は「日本国民」ではなく在留外国人だし、「国民」は民族ではなく個人を単位としていた。
Japan was exactly the same [in the past].
Arguments have been raised that Japan is a multi-ethnic country, consisting of zainichi Koreans, Ainu, and Ryukyu, but this is just the perspective of critics.
Zainichi Koreans have been defined as foreign residents and not as “Japanese citizens”, and a “citizen” was defined not based on ethnicity but at the level of the individual.
良くも悪くも日本は国民統合に成功した国だ。
アイヌも琉球も、地方の伝統文化に過ぎなくなった。
For better or for worse, Japan is a country that has successfully unified its citizens.
The Ainu and the Ryuku are now no more than mere local traditions.
そんな状況が変わった。
アイヌが先住民族と認められ、国民の中に民族というラインが引かれた。
アイヌが民族なら、それ以外は自動的に大和民族となり、どちらでもない琉球人もまた民族となる。
マスコミもネットもあまり関心はないようだが、これは重大なことだ。
「国民」と「個人」の間に「民族」という枠が突如生まれたのだ。
それは民族の権利を保障し、自決権を認めるということにもなる。
つまりアイヌが独立を主張すれば、大和民族はそれを否定する権利を持たない。
沖縄にしても同じだ。
６日のことは、実は、現状追認に過ぎなくなるであろう憲法改正などよりはるかに大きく、国家の形を左右する出来事だったかもしれない。
This also means that ethnic rights will be ensured and the right to self-determination will be recognized.
In other words, if the Ainu claim their independence, the Yamato people have no right to deny it.
What happened on June 6th was, in fact, much more significant than the amendment of the Constitution […] and is an event that could change the shape of the nation.

author: Hanako Tokita


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Japan: Mainichi to shut down website? WaiWai controversy continues · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

In the latest installment of the ongoing WaiWai saga, news [ja] is climbing the bookmarks  [ja] in Japan that Mainichi is investigating the possibility of shutting down the online version of its newspaper. Meanwhile, 2channel has discovered that the WaiWai column existed before the Internet [ja] (contrary to what some had thought), with further incriminating evidence now available online for all to see. (Note: Mainichi newspaper has since clarified that it is not planning to shut down its website [ja].)

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Revising the Law of Transgendered People · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joe Jones from Mutant frog blogs about the Act Regarding Special Provisions for the Treatment of the Gender of Persons With Gender Identity Disorder recently passed in the Diet.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Japan: Rumors of idol photo in Olympics press kit · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

From 2channel, rumors [ja] that a photo of Japanese idol Yuko Ogura appears hidden in the press kit handed out at the Olympics in Beijing.


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Japan: Water Art · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mari posts a youtube video on water art work at Canal City in Fukuoka.


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Jordan: Arabic Harry Potter Banned in Israel · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arabic version of the Harry Potter series is banned in Israel, reports The Black Iris, from Jordan. According to news sources, the ban is based on a decree from 1939 – when the area was under British mandate – prohibiting the importation of books from countries that are at war with Israel.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jordan: Personal Space  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Although not a squeamish person by nature, I really do not understand why the concept of personal space is often unfamiliar to a lot of people,” wonders Roba Al Assi from Jordan.


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Malawi: Discussing development and the Olympics · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

Maize silos, in Mangochi. Photo by Victor Kaonga.
“Development” has been exercising the minds of Malawian bloggers lately. The approach has taken the form of highlighting efforts of Malawians abroad, Malawi's much touted fertilizer subsidy program, Malawi's presence at the Olympics and Chinese presence in Malawi, and a philosophical discourse on the problems that accompany the adoption of westernization as a development paradigm at the expense of tested and effective African ways.
Developing Chitipa district
Edna Bvalani writes on her blog Tadala about a group of Malawians based in the United Kingdom who have teamed up to devote themselves to assisting in the development of one of Malawi's 32 districts, Chitipa. Titling her post Patriotism Spirit, Edna writes:
Most of the times you hear “people” asking their district assemblies, Members of Parliament or Non governmental organisations, to build them public toilets, school blocks, health centres and the list is endless. I strongly feel that Malawians are not patriotic in developing this nation. Think of cases where pupils are learning on an open ground or under a tree for many years. That school ever since it was opened, has produced cream of creams ranging from Doctors, lawyers, Managers, Executive Directors, Chief Executives and Entrepreneurs, the list is endless. But how come we are failing to mobilise ourselves to go back to our home villages and do something which will contribute to development.
The failure of the fertilizer subsidy program
The fertilizer subsidy program has attracted a lot of attention in the last three years, and has been a backbone of Malawi's development efforts, owing to the country's agro-based industry. Mercy Palamuleni comments on a Nyasatimes article that reported President Bingu wa Mutharika as admitting that his fertilizer subsidy program, much hailed around the world as a Malawian revolution, had failed. Mercy points out that subsidies work when strategically used as is the case in the West, but in Malawi wealthy farmers have the edge over poor farmers:
I understand that the main goal of the program is to help the small under resourced farmers. However, I always wonder how the average farmers are usually left out while the rich farmers can always find their way to coupons. I really wished our program would concentrate more on financing the average farmers who from readings seems to the majority of the commercial farmers. In the end, may be the system might be efficient if coupons are distributed to everyone.
Malawi in China, China in Malawi
Also featuring highly in Malawi's development efforts in the last year has been the Malawi Government's decision to switch diplomatic relations from Taiwan to Mainland China, a decision argued within the same development framework.
Buckaroo Thandi's starts with Malawi's participation at the Olympics. A friend texted her at 4am Malawi time from Wyoming, USA, about Malawian athletes being shown on TV, making Thandi regret not having a TV set. But the presence of China in Malawi is becoming central in Malawi's development discourse, and Thandi is mesmerised by what appears to her to be a strange site on the streets of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi:
I was quite surprised to see a truck ferrying Chinese construction workers in Lilongwe. I've heard about Chinese construction workers elsewhere in Africa but to me this was a surprising sight all the same. Am I being idealistic in hoping that they will teach us their unique skills in building and pass the construction mantle back soon after?
New roads, new silos
Victor Kaonga recently toured parts of southern Malawi, and saw new roads and new maize silos as evidence of development projects hatched and completed in the last few years.
[G]etting to Mangochi was a bit of a marvel for me as I travelled on the Golomoti Road for the first time after it was tarred. I thought the road makes a quite a beautiful drive through the hills of Dedza into the plains on the Western side of Mangochi.
Obviously once the road connecting to Monkey Bay is fully constructed, it will really shorten the distance between the country's capital Lilongwe and the Mangochi lakesides.
On the maize silos, Victor has posted a photograph of the new structures that are storing some of Malawi's surplus maize production in the wake of food crises in the last six years.
How westernization dilutes African wisdom
Mzati Nkolokosa goes philosophical in looking at the underlying fissures in the way westernization is interpreted as development, leading to the abandonment of African ways of doing things. Mzati goes down a list of Malawian practices which when closely examined seem to have performed much better than the western ways being sought after to the detriment of Malawi's cultural heritage. He provides examples in environmental conservation in contrasting areas which are denuded of their green vegetation versus those still lush and green, African traditional religions, African ways of governance which he argues are are equally democratic, Africans ways of caring for orphans, African ways of providing health care and safety valves, and African attire, among others.
Couching his analysis in development discourse, Mzati explains that:
Village heads are best suited to represent people in development matters. They know every person in their areas. Take your example. Your village head, most likely, knows where you live and work. He or she knows you by name. This is true of the rest of the people from your village.
Your village head knows the needs of the people better than a ward councilor. The challenge is that we have copied what we think are democratic structures from the West at the expense of our own democratic structures. This assumes that democracy is not African which is not true.
Mzati concludes by bringing together his examples into one overarching argument:
Not everything African is evil as we are made to believe. Using herbs as medicine is not evil. What is the difference between SP and a liquid from boiled peach leaves? They both cure malaria, only that the liquid has not passed through a factory. Is the herb at Limbe market evil because it did not pass through some factory in Mumbai, India?
It is time to reflect on our ways of life and discover those we believe will benefit us. There is a lot we are losing by abandoning everything African and adopting everything western. Agriculture is just one example. Manure from animal waste is a lot better than fertiliser that is destroying our land.

author: Steve Sharra


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Mauritania: The coup and ECOWAS protocols · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The sword of truth condemns the recent coup d'état in Mauritania as it contravene's the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He concludes: “The military remain to be only an impediment to democracy in Mauritania”.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Mozambique: Support for Georgia · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Jest nas Wielu [pt] is helping to spread the news about a petition demanding an immediate ceasefire and the removal of Russian troops off Georgian territories.

author: Paula Góes


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New African Aggregator · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

White African reports that the news aggregation site Alltop has just created an Africa page, Africa.Alltop.com, with the aim of giving African news and bloggers “additional attention outside of the traditional African blog echo chamber”.


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Nigeria: Critiquing branding and advertising · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jeremy critiques advertising, design and branding in Nigeria arguing that they are “extremely low in quality, with no demonstrable creativity at work.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: Go away Musharraf! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

CHUP! on the increasingly intense call for the impeachment of President Musharraf in Pakistan.


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Russia: Ingushetian Website Closure · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user kaloy comments on (RUS) a ruling by the Moscow City Court to close down the website ingushetiya.ru and its potential consequences for freedom of expression on the Internet.


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Russia: Similarities Between Russian and Western Art · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

IZO comments on allegations that Russian contemporary art is derivative of Western, and posts pictures to illustrate one case.


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Russia: Threat Against Georgians in Russia · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Suomalais-venäläinen kansalaisfoorumi relays a news report on plans by a Russian racist organization to attack Georgians living in Russia.


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Saudi Arabia Bans Women from Olympics · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Egyptian bloggers Mona Eltahawy and CP wrote about Saudi activist Wajeha Al Huwaider, who is protesting against her country's decision to ban Saudi women from taking part in the Olympics.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Saudi Arabia: Slavery in the Gulf · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Two weeks ago there were strikes and violent demonstrations by Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, protesting low pay and poor working conditions. Following the demonstrations, more than 200 workers were deported. In this post, two Saudi bloggers tell us what they think of modern-day ‘slavery’ in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf.
Ahmed Baaboud begins by referring to the history of slavery in the United States:
He then describes the situation in Saudi Arabia:
Another blogger, Ahmad, is not at all surprised by the events in Kuwait:
سل نفسك الآن ، متى آخر مرة أحضرت وجبة خارجية للخادمة أو السائق ، وكم مرة منحت السائق هاتفك الجوال لمحادثة أهله ، ماذا عن الخادمة .. هل مازالت تكتب رسائلها وتبعثها بالبريد ؟
هل لديكم شك بأنها ليست (عبودية) ؟
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you brought a meal from a restaurant for your driver or housemaid? And how often have you let the driver use your mobile phone to talk to his family, and what about the maid? Does she still write letters and send them by post?
Do you have any doubt that this is slavery?

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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South Africa: Decoding revolutionary rhetoric · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sentletse decodes the revolutionary rhetoric of new ANC in South Africa.


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South Korea: Hating China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Charles Michel Duke from Ohmynews explains how the popular sentiment towards China has been shaped by the western media.


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South Ossetia: Did Kosovo set a precedent? · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

See Global Voices special coverage page on the South Ossetia crisis.
When Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on February 17, 2008 governments around the world were divided about the legitimacy of such an act. As of today, 45 out of 192 sovereign United Nations member states have formally recognised the Republic of Kosovo. Notably, a majority of European Union member states have formally recognised it (20 out of 27). However, a few others such as Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece or Cyprus did not recognize Kosovo's independence fearing the reactions of the separatists from their countries. They thought that Kosovo would set a precedent. Then Russia's president Vladimir Putin apparently did not think so.
According to the Chinese daily Xinhua  on February 23, 2008:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the recognition of Kosovo's unilateral independence by several major world powers set “a terrible precedent”.
On February 18, the Reuters website  published an article on the occasion of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence. The article, titled “Russia's Chechen rebels hail Kosovo independence”, said:
Russia has strongly opposed Kosovo independence, arguing that to recognise a separatist region as a new state without the consent of the country affected sets a dangerous precedent for scores of other territorial conflicts around the world.
Bloggers also reacted and analyzed possible consequences of the recognition of Kosovo's independence. Below is a representative selection of posts from that time.
Stanley Crossick wrote on his blog on February 22, 2008:
Recognition of Kosovo’s independence is an unfortunate solution, but there is currently no better a solution.
[…] Kosovo has separated from Serbia without its consent; and the UN has failed to endorse its independence because of strong protests by Serbia and Russia, backed by China. However, the question should have been brought before the UN Security Council, as the legitimacy, if not the legality, of the independence would have increased with a resolution supported by a large majority, despite the veto(s). The EU foreign ministers have clearly stated that Kosovo is a special case that should not become a precedent but that may fall on deaf ears in Spain, Cyprus.
Irina Filatova, a professor of the Economics in Moscow and a senior research fellow of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, commented on The Guardian's blog Comment is Free on February 23, 2008:
Many think that Russia would use this situation to recognise the break-away [Georgian republics] of [Abkhazia] and [South Ossetia], and perhaps even [Transdnistria], a break-away part of [Moldova].
[…]The Americans say that Kosovo is not a precedent, that it is a once-off exception. It is difficult to believe this. If a nation wants to secede and to create it own statehood, there is little what any government can do, except keep it by force. […] The independence of Kosovo is useful to the US in order to show the world that America is not anti-Muslim, merely anti-rogue states, some of which happen to be Muslim […] But they would not support the [Basques] or the [Walloons], or the [Kurds], let alone the Transdnestrians.
Nor would they support the Abkhasians and the South Ossetians, of course. On the other hand, if Russia decided to recognise these break-away republics, and if Georgia decided to oppose this (which it would) then the Americans would, of course, support [Georgia], and Russia might, indeed, face a conflict with the west.
Kosovo's independence is not going to explode Europe, but it has already exploded many of the assumptions on which our modern system of international relations is based.[…]
Shaun Walker wrote in the British Prospect Magazine in April 2008:
[…] When I visited Abkhazia last month, I heard all the same arguments for independence as on previous visits. But this time there was an added grievance—Kosovo.
Abkhazians have always felt that the west has treated them unfairly, and now, since the recognition of Kosovo's independence by several western countries, they feel doubly wronged. Why did Kosovars deserve their freedom more than the Abkhaz?[…]
Now it seems that assumptions by many bloggers have become a reality. To everyone's astonishment, on the same day the Beijing Olympics started, Russian military troups and South Ossetian separatists took control of the South Ossetia region from Georgia's authority.
Jelena Milić, like many other bloggers, was shocked to hear the news. She wrote [Serbian] about it on her blog in the Serbian news portal B92:
Šta je ovo? Zar nisu nekad ratovi prestajali kad su igre počinjale?
What is this? Weren't wars supposed to stop when the Olympic Games began?
Ivan Marović, also blogging at B92, wrote a post [Serbian] titled “the War in Georgia” in which he says:
Postavlja se pitanje zašto baš sad, nakon petnaestak godina primirja?
S jedne strane, separatisti i Abhaziji i Južnoj Osetiji su osetili da nakon priznanja jednostrano proglađene nezavisnosti Kosova od strane vodećih država Zapada, oni mogu učiniti nešto slično i očekivati podršku Rusije. […] Rukovodstvo Južne Osetije je, poučeno događajima na Balkanu, skapiralo da sve može, ako imaš moćnu državu iza sebe, a u njihovom slučaju to je Rusija.
S druge strane, gruzijski predsednik Miša Šakašvili kapira da je situacija sad ili nikad. On takođe misli da ima moćnu državu iza sebe, Ameriku, ali da će, što vreme duže bude odmicalo, sve teže biti izvesti vojnu akciju protiv separatista. Već sad se oseća smanjenje uticaja Amerike i povećanje uticaja Rusije na Kavkazu. […]
Međutim, već posle nekoliko sati postalo je očigledno da je Rusija reagovala brzo i odlučno, dok se Amerika još uvek drži retoričkih reakcija. Izgleda da će SAD da pomogne Gruziji onoliko koliko je Rusija pomogla Srbiji 1999, odnosno da je gruzijska vojna akcija u Južnoj Osetiji propala, nema ništa od brzog zauzimanja Južne Osetije. Sad je samo pitanje šta će se desiti, da li će rezultat biti prekid vatre uz pojačano pristustvo ruskih trupa ili otvoreni rat koji može poprilično da potraje.
The question is: why now, 15 years after the armistice?
On one hand, Abkhazian and South Ossetian separatists felt that since Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence was recognized by the leading Western countries, they could do something like that and expect the support of Russia […] With Kosovo on mind, South Ossetian leaders have figured out that if they get the support of a powerful country, in this case Russia, they will attain their goal.
On the other hand, Georgia's president Mikhael Saakashvili considers that this moment is decisive for his country. He also thinks that he has the support of a powerful country such as the United States, but as time goes by it will be more and more difficult for him to justify the military actions against separatists. […]
However, already after a few hours it became obvious that Russia had reacted promptly and seriously, while the United States is still trying the diplomatic way. It seems that the U.S. will support Georgia in the same way Russia supported Serbia in 1999. It means that Georgia's military operation has failed in South Ossetia. The fast takeover South Ossetia has failed. Now the only question is whether a ceasefire will be worked out so that Russian troops will remain in South Ossetia or the war will be go on.
Reuters blogger Giles Elgood wrote a post titled “Was South Ossetia’s fate sealed in Kosovo?” in which he wondered:
Is Kosovo to blame for the fighting in South Ossetia?
When the Serbian province seceded from Belgrade in February, South Ossetia was quick to reassert its own claim to international recognition.
As a spokeswoman for separatist leader Eduard Kokoity told Reuters at the time: “The Kosovo precedent has driven us to more actively seek our rights.”
Those remarks will not have gone unheard in Tblisi and could well have added some urgency to Georgia’s desire to impose its rule over breakaway South Ossetia.
With widespread Western backing, Kosovo was able to achieve a fairly clean break with its former ruler, despite Russian objections.
Now Moscow is backing the separatists and it’s far from clear how things will play out this time.
Austin Bey doesn't agree, claiming that it is not possible to compare both issues –  Kosovo and South Ossetia:
[…]After Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, separatism resulting from international action to protect an ethnic minority has an imprimatur.
That is one interpretation of Russia’s argument that Kosovo should never have been allowed to unilaterally separate from Serbia, which it did earlier this year.
Russia’s invasion of Georgia’s separatist South Ossetia region is certainly renewed warfare in the near abroad. It is also a violent reminder of how unsettled Eastern Europe remains in the post-Cold War era.
For Moscow’s foreign policy purposes, the troubles in Georgia fit “the Kosovo frame” – a minority group beset by an “ethnic nationalist authority” attempting to regain control.[…]
[…]I’m pointing this out not because I believe Georgia is Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia. It most certainly is not. Georgia a democratic state “working its way West” politically and economically. These are major qualitative differences between contemporary Georgia and Serbia in 1999.
However, Russian diplomats warned for the last eight years claimed “the Kosovo precedent” would affect around 200 regions or territories in nations around the world. That’s a nice round figure and it may in fact be low.
Moscow’s insisted that Kosovo would establish a “separatist precedent” for spinning statelets from sovereign nations. Interestingly enough, both Romania and Greece oppose a “unilateral” Kosovo independence. Spain, with its Basque separatists, wasn’t enthusiastic.[…]

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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South Ossetia: US Presidential Candidats on Conflict · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

The 8th Circle publishes relevant excerpts of statements by US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, finding their positions basically the same.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Reaping What You Sow  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeni from St. Vincent and the Grenadines pays a visit to the Serious Offences Court and says she felt “sick to (her) stomach at the number of youths facing charges…it appears we have too many angry youths out there who seem to know only one way of resolving conflicts.”


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Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba: First Olympic Medal  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Beat Blog congratulates Cuba for being the first regional territory to bring home an Olympic medal, and notes that “there are still high hopes, particularly in track and field, for the region's best standing on the winners’ podium over the next two weeks.”


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Uganda: Firefox in Luganda · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

ITNewsAfrica reports that Firefox browser has been translated into Luganda, a major language in Uganda.


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Uganda: Government must rethink the Land Bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Moses discusses the controversial Land Bill in Uganda noting that “the Bill in its present form is dangerously pitting landlords against tenants in a political confrontation that will register no winners.”


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Uganda: Olympic Presence · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Jeremy Goldberg of Millennial Challenge gives an overview of Uganda's Olympic medal history and comments on the Ugandan Olympic team in Beijing, comprised of 12 athletes.


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Uganda: On Looking Whiter · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Tumwijuke of Ugandan Insomniac discusses skin tone issues in Africa after seeing a cosmetic commercial in which Beyonce's skin looks digitally whitened, wondering “Why are our supermarkets filled with cosmetics from Johnson and Johnson that promise to brighten your color and return you to the fairness of your youth?” And she adds “Why, when, how, why did we go back to that place where looking more white was the preferred state?”


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Yemen: Rich Fishery Resources  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Yemeni blogger Omar Barsawad writes about his country's rich fisheries resources. “Exploited wisely and in a sustainable manner, the fish industry can be very profitable and good for the country,” he cautions.


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Zimbabwe: Where are the women? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Natasha writes about the role of women in conflict situations. Looking at Zimbabwe crisis, she asks, “Where are the women?”


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Algeria: Morocco’s Take on the Mauritania Coup  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian blogger The Moor Next Door discusses Morocco's take on the Mauritania coup. Among them is “asserting itself as a regional problem solver and power broker.”


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USA: Blogging for Anglican Inclusion of LGTB Priests and Bishops · Global Voices
Bernardo Parrella

In mid-July, the historic Canterbury Cathedral, in the United Kingdom, hosted the Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade assembly that brings together around 650 bishops and archbishops, leaders of an estimated 80 million Anglicans Christians worldwide.
At least seven lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Anglican (mostly American) organizations attended the meeting in support of “full inclusion of LGBT people in the life and ministry of the churches of the Anglican Communion”. Conservative bishops strongly disapprove of the movement and have even threatened to divide the church. According to the Economist, bishops from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda with more traditionalist parishes refused to attend the meeting in protest.
One of the most controversial liberal figures is Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly gay, non-celibate, 61-year-old Episcopalian bishop of New Hampshire, USA. He was not permitted to enter the meeting, but he opened a video blog devoted to the Lambeth event, called The Gene Pool, where he offered almost daily video commentaries.
In one video, he addresses the LGBT Episcopalian community with words of hope and strength.
The bishop's video-posts are paired with a flow of comments, always engaging even when expressing different views.
One commenter, Una, says:
Thank you Gene. I am a straight believer in God's love for ALL people, irrespective of race, religion, sex, gender. I too pray that those of us who live in countries where hush-hush is the order of the day can stand with you in open honesty about who we are as Christians in our own cultures. Like you, I continue to hope, though I am not an optimist in regard to the Lambeth outcome.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has done his best to keep the church together, and not made outspoken statements in support of LGBT rights, in spite of being known to hold more liberal views. Bishop Gene Robinson takes aim at Rowan Williams’ “centrist stance” in a post on his other blog Canterbury Tales from the Fringe:
The morning we left Edinburgh, the headlines in the London Times announced the publication of letters sent by +Rowan Williams several years ago, in response to a conservative evangelical, in which he says that after many years of study and prayer, he has concluded that faithful, life-long-intentioned, monogamous love between two people of the same sex is NOT prohibited by scripture — and that scripture simply does not address this new phenomenon. Precisely what I and others have been saying all along.
(…) he has steadfastly done what he has said he would do: set his own personal understandings aside and take a centrist stance “for the good of the whole Church.” This is not news, folks! But it is indeed sad.
There were many other blogs created by liberal participants at the Lambeth meeting, including the Lambeth Conference LGBT Anglican Portal, Walking with Integrity, and the Lambeth News Blog.
In a final official release about the Conference, Episcopal Life Online quotes the Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity USA, and a parish priest based in Los Angeles:
“…in spite of extraordinary pressure to do otherwise, the Archbishop of Canterbury has managed to achieve his stated goal of a Lambeth Conference of reflection rather than resolutions.
“The long predicted coup d'état that was going to emerge from this Lambeth Conference and vote the Americans and Canadians out of the Anglican Communion failed to materialize. There is much to be grateful for in that.”
Susan Russel also created this interesting photo album showing a great deal of grassroots activism in the Communication Centre, along with other lively behind-the-scene snapshots, during the Conference.
Acting as “a faithful witness of God's inclusive love to the Episcopal Church and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community”, Integrity USA also made effective use of citizen media in The Lambeth Witness, a daily publication from and about the Canterbury event managed by the coalition Inclusive Church Network.

author: Bernardo Parrella


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Bahrain: Anti-hate Logo Prize Up for Grabs  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Redbelt translates a newspaper advertisement offering a prize for the designer who develops logo for the bloggers’ code of ethics against sectarianism.


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Bahrain: On Scottish and Omani Mountains  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini BuZain compares between mountains in the UK and those in Oman. Click here to see the difference.


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Bahrain: Strange numbers, strange calls   · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Icon was having a sleepless night – and to make matters worse received two very strange phone calls in the early hours of the morning…


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China: Microsoft Hacked into Olympics? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hecaitou posted a photo of the Olympic Opening with a Microsoft blue screen projection. Netizens were discussing whether it was an intentional design or a mistake.


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China: Olympic Volunteer Guideline · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Alice Xin Lui from DANWEI translated a Caijing article which disclosed some Olympic volunteer guidelines: Watch out for drugs, bombs and journalists!


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Cuba: Castro Supports Russia  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution and The Cuban Triangle blog about Fidel Castro's reaction to the South Ossetia crisis.


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Ecuador: The Use of Media During Constitutional Referendum Campaign · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

August 10 is considered Ecuador's national holiday because on that date in 1809, the people of Quito led by national hero Eugenio Espejo declared their independence from Spain.  Ecuadorans home and abroad celebrate Independence Day with flag-raisings, fireworks, music festivals, cultural exhibits and much more.  However, the blogosphere still has the upcoming Referendum on their minds, especially how mass media and particularly TV is contaminating minds of kids and people, and how these spaces are being over used by government to promote the Constitutional referendum.
Andres Martinez [es] from Ateniense in Madrid, speaks about the wrong understanding of free speech of the Ecuadoran television, and that they go beyond concept of ethics, morality and the normal limits of liberty.  He calls it “Telegarbage”:
A esto se debe sumar la tergiversación de contenidos por parte de los propios medios de comunicación, situación visible pues amparados en el derecho fundamental a emitir información, estos, manipulan, agreden, intoxican, deforman, deseducan y pervierten. La libertad de información ha terminado por ser una libertad propia de los medios y no de la sociedad y el ciudadano como debería ser
To this, the distortion of content by the mass media must be considered, and it is visible because it is protected by the fundamental right  to broadcast information, they manipulate, attack, intoxicate, distort, pervert and miseducate. Freedom of speech has ended due to it only being a freedom for the media, and not for society and the citizen, as it should be.
La Alharaca [es] claims that there is a better use for the money spent by part of the government. Working for one of the largest advertisements companies in Ecuador, she says that the spending of 40 million dollars for advertisements is way too much and has no precedent in Ecuadoran history. Speaking on the TGRP (Target Gross Rating Points), she states:
Lo cierto es que el vendaval de publicidad oficial al que estamos expuestos los ecuatorianos es impresionante. Son casi 15 millones de dólares gastados hasta el momento, que en realidad corresponden a una campaña de un valor de 40 millones de dólares, en el lapso de 19 meses de gobierno. Se han desembolsado 15, en base a descuentos otorgados por los medios, pero el valor real de la campaña es 40 millones de dólares (según fuente El Universo).
The truth is that the gust of governmental advertising to which Ecuadorans are exposed is impressive. It is almost $15 million dollars spent so far, which corresponds to a campaign worth 40 million dollars in the lapse of 19 months of government. 15 million dollars have been distributed, based on discounts granted by the media, but the real value of the campaign is $ 40 million (according to source El Universo).

author: Milton Ramirez


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Egypt: Singer Killed in Dubai, Not Cairo  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia argues why Egyptian authorities have no reason to ban publications from running stories on the murder of a Lebanese singer Susan Tamim in Dubai, UAE.


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Estonia: Fame in a Small Country · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Vello Vikerkaar reflects on fame in a small country such as Estonia.


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Georgia: Gori Bombing, Refugee Situation Update · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Regional Reporters [RU] posts photos of the aftermath of a Russian air raid on the Georgian town of Gori while also posting others of shell-shocked residents. The blog also reports that Russian soldiers attacked the local church and that the Human Rights Ombudsperson of the Republic of Georgia has visited the town. Meanwhile, in related news, a refugee camp has been set up on the outskirts of Tbilisi. The blog quotes official sources and says 23,000 IDPs have arrived in the Georgian capital.


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Georgia: One more journalist killed · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The blog From the Frontline reports that a Dutch journalist has been killed in the Georgian town of Gori, a few days after two others were also killed, in Tskhinvali the capital of South Ossetia.


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Georgia, Russia: Governments Unable to Protect Civilians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian journalist Ihor Lutsenko – LJ user igordaily – has just returned from an assignment in Georgia. Below is one the latest posts on his blog (UKR):
[…] It was difficult to get back. Many of our journalists got stuck there, because there are no return tickets, and they can't [do their work], because the road to Gori is blocked.
The essence. I would like to talk about two wonderful governments.
The Georgian [government], for some reason, did not announce officially and in a way that's easy to understand that there was a need to evacuate residents of Gori and the nearby villages. It did not help with evacuation in a systematic way. Private “patriots” didn't help, either, the ones who [drive recklessly] around Tbilisi with [Georgian] flags on their cars, even though it's only an hour's ride to the crisis area. And today in my almost native village of Tkviavi looters have killed five people, according to a local [I spoke with on the phone].
The Russian government has deserted its citizens in Georgia. They are calling the embassy of [the Russian Federation] in Tbilisi, asking for help (because direct flights have been canceled) – but they are told, It's your problem, get out any way you wish, we here are [almost being bombed] ourselves. Back home, however, the media are writing that they are all but handcuffed [and being held hostage by Georgians] – even though not a single Georgian has said a harsh word to them.
[Vladimir Putin and Mikheil Saakashvili], I hope that one day you'll pay in full [for this].

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Georgia, Russia: “What’s Next?” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced the end of the so-called “peace enforcement” operation yesterday. LJ user varfolomeev66 – Radio Echo of Moscow journalist Vladimir Varfolomeev – asked this question on his blog: “What's next?”
He wrote (RUS):
I'm not referring to Georgia now.
The Russian government has used every serious crisis as a reason for yet another tightening of the screws and strengthening of its own positions. After the [Moscow apartment blasts of 1999], the [Second Chechen War] began, and Putin came to power. After [the 2000 Kursk submarine disaster] and then [the Nord-Ost theater siege in 2002], [ORT and NTV TV channels] were finally suppressed. After [Beslan school siege of 2004], regional elections were canceled.
What is the regime up to now?
Here are a few comments to this post:
oleg_kozyrev:
- Control of the internet
varfolomeev66:
Considering that there's almost nothing uncontrolled left, this is possible.
humanist_us:
They'll tighten the remaining screws on the internet.
And [Radio Echo of Moscow] ;)
Though you were definitely trying hard not to annoy our two dwarfs [with your coverage of the crisis]
Blogging from Tbilisi, LJ user oleg-panfilov – Oleg Panfilov of the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations – posted the day's summary on his blog and explained (RUS) what the five-day crisis might mean for Georgia politically:
Today was the day of emotions.
First, an incredibly huge rally in the center of Tbilisi and people crying during Saakashvili's address.
Second, a day of waiting, while the politicians were discussing and expressing opinions on Georgia and its relations with Russia.
And finally, Georgia's departure from [CIS, the Commonwealth of Independent States]. For now, in the form of a political statement, but after a while, in a matter of a few days, Russia will automatically turn into an occupying force not just formally, but legally as well, because it will lose its status of a “peacekeeper” on behalf of CIS. And then, in accordance with all international laws, any presence of [Russian] troops on the territory of South Ossetia and Abkhazia can be recognized as illegal.
To put it differently, yet another military adventure has turned into [a nothing].
I don't know what kind of thinking overwhelmed Russian military commanders (of course, if there was any thinking involved at all), but Georgia has managed to endure and avoided getting back into the state it was in during the Soviet times. That is, a state of a [“large shashlyk restaurant”] for the Russian nomenclature.
If we analyze what's happened, we'll find many arguments both in favor of Georgia, and in favor of the imperial ways of today's Kremlin. One thing is clear, though – Georgia is not going to turn into a different country, it has tasted freedom in the past five years, has tasted democracy, despite the fact that many people do not like it.
Now it's up to other remnants of the Soviet empire whether they are going to continue living the way they did or will learn from Georgia.
Tomorrow is another day of waiting.
Below are a few comments:
mormegil11:
Georgia has lost South Ossetia and Abkhazia. When euphoria ends, gray everyday life will begin – without money transfers from [relatives working in] Moscow, without sea and air transport connection [with Russia], without working banks – and then the size of the catastrophe will grow larger than the size of the naive and excited crowd at the rally.
This war has no [winners or losers]. There is guilt, a feeling of enormous guilt before the dead ones: Georgians, Russians, Ossetians, Ukrainians, Dutch… And what is membership in CIS, or NATO, or anyplace else compared to this guilt…
rousyn:
“without money transfers from [relatives working in] Moscow”
Re-orientation of labor migration to the West? Isn't his progress? […]
realpushkin:
Oleg, you are wrong, unfortunately. […]
1) NATO countries and allies in general are not going to get themselves involved in a war with Russia, if it happens again – this is [counterproductive] for everyone.
2) Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not going to become part of Georgia even as autonomies – most likely, Russia will recognize their independence.
3) If it is proved that civilians died in Tskhinvali because of [the use of Grad multiple-launch rocket system] – Saakashvili will not have a chance to join [any organization]. […]


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Georgia: Zugdidi · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following news of the occupation of the Georgian town of Zugdidi, Uncornered Market remembers its stay there and one of its residents who the blog says has probably fled.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Haiti: Olympic Potential  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“f there are indeed Haitian athletes in Beijing who decide to defect, I could not blame them”: jmc strategies compares China's progress to Haiti's, asking: “Do you think a new Haiti is possible and are you prepared to do what it takes to…get it to a point where it produces 300,000 potential Olympians a year, rather than 300,000 child slaves?”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India: Trouble in Kashmir · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

La dolce vita on the brimming troubles in Kashmir, with a curfew being imposed.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran: A conservative site was filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Alef, an Iranian conservative site, was filtered a few days ago. Several sites and blogs report that Alef site has published Iranian Minister of Interior's “fake” Ph.D certificate from Oxford where you can find many mistakes in English.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Three Student activists are out of jail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Varesh, an Iranian blogger, says[Fa] that three student activists, Ghasaban,Tavakoli and Mansouri, after being in jail for 15 months, got released tonight.


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Jamaica: Chemical of the Future · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Golding administration divests the country's sugar industry, causing Abeng News Magazine‘s Trevor Bogle to examine what the move means for Jamaica: “Jamaica’s energy platforms are substantially now controlled by entities whose interests are most likely not coincidental with our own, to our detriment!”


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

YardFlex.com acknowledges the passing of Jamaican artist Christopher Gonzales, who is “best known for creating a controversial 9-foot statue of reggae legend Bob Marley.”


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Lebanon: Citizen vs Economy · Global Voices
Nash Suleiman

Although the telecommunication sector in Lebanon is one of the most profitable businesses in the country, it remains an expensive service for citizens.  In her new post, Ms. Tee discusses the reality most Lebanese are facing.

author: Nash Suleiman


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Lebanon: Terrorist attack in Tripoli · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

An explosion targeted a mini bus carrying civilians and Lebanese army troops in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. The explosion occurred at 7:50am according to one eyewitness. A Lebanese Army communique said that the attack left 11 people dead, including nine soldiers, and wounded 30 civilians and soldiers. The communique described the attack as a “terrorist act” targeted directly at the military institution and the peaceful coexistence in Lebanon. This terrorist act takes place just a few hours before President Michel Suleiman’s planned summit with the Syrian President Bashar al Assad. This summit is the first between the two countries in three years. Here are some of the first reactions in the Lebanese blogosphere:
Mustapha at Beirut Spring points to the divisions that sprout in the Lebanese political arena as well as among citizens whenever a terrorist event like this happens. He explains that the Lebanese, depending on their biases, immediately look in two different directions:
Those who are inclined to see the destructive hands of Syria at play can’t help but notice that whenever an important event is about to take place (large anti-syrian demo, the first ever sovereign presidential visit to damascus in today’s case), someone somewhere kills a lot of innocent people.
As March 14 M.P. Jawad Boulos put it this morning to the VL radio station: “the explosion of Tripoli is a message to president Sleiman that there are forbidden topics in today’s meeting with the Syrian president”
On the other hand, there are many who believe that all the ills emanating from the north are the doings of Muslim fundamentalist terrorists, monsters who were recently propped-up by the Sunni wing of March 14 (Hariri’s Almustaqbal Movement) in an ill-advised effort to counter Shiaa ascendancy in the form of Hezbollah.
In the eyes of this group, the terrorists are carrying out their revenge against the Lebanese army who put them to their knees and humiliated them during the Naher Al Bared showdown.
Antun at Lebanese Chess posted some photos and news reports. He also writes his take on the bombing which he finds unlikely to be linked to the recent sectarian clashes that has been taking place around Tripoli. He concludes that the attack is “an evidence of Lebanon's fragile internal security and that corruption is costing Lebanese lives.”
It appears too early to get a clear picture of who was behind the Tripoli bus bombing. The city and several surrounding villages have recently been embroiled in sectarian clashes between Sunnis and Alawites. But it is unlikely that either group would have carried out such a significant attack, which has the hallmarks of a typical Islamist operation.
Nahr el-Bared was the centre of a major confrontation between the Islamist movement, Fatah al-Islam, and the Lebanese Army last year. The bus today was carrying a number of soldiers, which suggests that they were the target. The main suspect that would deliberately launch a major attack on the scale of today's bus bombings is Fatah al-Islam.
The Ouwet Front blog posted more pictures of the aftermath of the explosion.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Mozambique: Light at the end of the tunnel · Global Voices
Egidio Vaz

Mozambican Sociologist based in Germany Elísio Macamo [pt] recently commented about the Swedish 10% Budget support cut to the government of Mozambique, followed by Switzerland, claiming lack of progress from the Mozambican government in fighting corruption and prosecution of corruption-related cases.
It is not the first time that Macamo writes about what he calls “development industry”. Here is a translation of the article's major parts from the original post in Portuguese:
É capaz de ser uma luz. Um amigo em Maputo contou-me que o Presidente Guebuza disse numa entrevista à STV, reagindo à redução do auxílio sueco a Moçambique, que era preciso trabalharmos para não precisarmos mais desse tipo de ajuda. Qualquer coisa assim. Gostei. Há muito que devíamos pensar nestes termos, embora o facto de nunca o termos feito não se explique simplesmente pelo nosso comodismo. A própria lógica do auxílio ao desenvolvimento é também responsável pelo nosso comodismo. Por essa razão acho extremamente oportunas as declarações do Presidente da República e considero vital que elas sejam discutidas amplamente. Vou dar aqui o pontapé de saída.
It can be a light. A friend in Maputo told me that President Guebuza said, in an interview to STV, in reaction to the reduction of Swedish aid to Mozambique, that we had to work in order to no longer need such aid. Something like that. I liked it. We should have been thinking in such terms for long times ago, although the fact that we’ve never done does not explain our complacency. The very logic of development aid is also responsible for our complacency. That is why I found extremely timely the President’s statements and consider them vital that they are widely discussed. I will give kick off it from here.
A história começa com a decisão sueca de Maio deste ano de reduzir o seu apoio a Moçambique no quadro do programa de apoio directo orçamental. A razão que foi dada pelos suecos está ligada ao que eles consideram de fraco desempenho do governo moçambicano no combate à corrupção e na promoção da transparência. São razões muito fortes. Um caso que enerva os suecos de forma muito particular é a questão do Banco Austral que até aqui ainda não está clarificada. O embaixador sueco em Maputo é citado pelo jornalista britânico Joseph Hanlon como tendo dito que o dinheiro que foi criminalmente retirado dos cofres daquele banco vem do bolso dos contribuintes suecos e teria servido para construir vários hospitais e escolas. Para castigar o governo moçambicano decidiu-se, então, reduzir o auxílio sueco em cerca de 4 milhões de dólares.
The story begins with the last May Swedish’s decision of reducing its support to Mozambique under the direct budget support programme. The reason that was given by the Swedish is linked to what they consider poor performance of the Mozambican government in combating corruption and promoting transparency. They are very strong reasons. A case that so much enervates the Swedish is the issue of Banco Austral which hitherto has not yet been clarified. The Swedish ambassador in Maputo is quoted by the British journalist Joseph Hanlon as having said that the money that was criminally withdrawn from bank comes from the Swedes taxpayer’s pockets and would have served to build more hospitals and schools. To punish the Mozambican government, they decided to reduce their aid by about 4 million dollars.
2 cut, four increase, the other maintain
É uma história estranha e implausível. É estranha porque dos 19 Parceiros da Ajuda a Programas só a Suécia e a Suíça decidiram reduzir o auxílio por estas razões. Não creio que isso se deva ao facto de estes dois países terem nomes quase idênticos. Há-de haver outras razões. Quatro membros desse grupo, nomeadamente a Áustria, a Alemanha, a Irlanda e a Espanha, tencionam aumentar a ajuda. Acho isto estranho porque a indústria do desenvolvimento parte do princípio de que os seus critérios são claros e objectivos e que a resposta à realidade é, por via disso, apenas uma. Sendo assim, levanta-se aqui a questão de saber quem está a ser incoerente. A Suécia e a Suíça? A Irlanda, Alemanha, Espanha e Áustria? Os restantes 13? E supondo que o governo moçambicano não esteja deliberadamente a dar conta do recado que mensagem é que isto envia a esse governo? Que está tudo bem, o problema é só dos suecos e suíços?
It is a strange and implausible story. It is strange because of the 19 PAPs, only Sweden and Switzerland decided to reduce the aid on these reasons. I do not think this is due to the fact that these two countries have almost identical names. There might be other reasons. Four members of that group, including Austria, Germany, Ireland and Spain, plan to increase aid. I think this is strange because the development industry assumes that their criteria are clear and objective and that the answer to reality is through them, only one. Therefore, on might want to know who is being inconsistent? Sweden and Switzerland? Ireland, Germany, Spain and Austria? The remaining 13? And assuming that the Mozambican government is deliberately not taking into consideration the message, which message should it be sending to the other government? That everything is all right, the problem is only the Swedes and Swiss?
Portanto, a história é estranha. Mas é também implausível. O apoio sueco em Moçambique sempre foi incondicional. O nosso país deve muito à generosidade de governos suecos sucessivos. Já houve piores momentos que este na história do auxílio ao desenvolvimento, mas os suecos sempre se mantiveram firmes na sua convicção de que o auxílio ao desenvolvimento é um importante instrumento de promoção do desenvolvimento. Nos últimos anos houve uma melhoria significativa de instrumentos de controlo de despesas públicas e adjudicação de contractos públicos. Essa melhoria deveu-se fundamentalmente aos esforços do Fundo Monetário Internacional e do Banco Mundial, mas também ao investimento que os demais doadores fizeram naquilo que eles chamam de “capacity building”. Esse investimento está agora a surtir efeitos e tem permitido ao Tribunal Administrativo, por exemplo, fazer uma melhor auditoria das despesas públicas. Ainda não chegamos ao ponto onde as coisas funcionam perfeitamente do jeito de o Tribunal apontar falhas e a Procuradoria Geral da República instaurar processos. Ainda não há transparência suficiente em casos de conflitos de interesse entre governantes e sector privado.
So the story is strange and also implausible. The Swedish support in Mozambique has always been unconditional. Our country owes to the generosity of successive Swedish governments. There have been worst moments in the history of development aid, but the Swedes always remained firm on their belief that development aid is an important instrument for promoting development. In recent years there has been a significant improvement of tools for controlling public expenditure and procurement. These improvements were mainly due to the efforts of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, but also the investment that other donors have made and what they call “capacity building”. This investment is now bringing about good effects and allows the Administrative Court; for example, do better audit the public expenditure. There is not yet sufficient transparency in cases related to conflict of interest between government and private sector.
Mas daí a dizer que o desempenho do governo é fraco a este nível vai uma grande distância. E ainda nem estou a levantar a questão de saber porque a redução em cerca de 4 milhões de dólares é a medida mais adequada de reacção ao fraco desempenho. Porque não 5, 6, 10, 20 ou 35? Os contribuintes suecos vão ficar com melhor disposição sabendo que quando o seu dinheiro não é devidamente usado aplica-se um corte de 10 por cento?
But to say that the government’s performance is weak at this level is awful. And yet I am not asking why the reduction of about 4 million dollars is the most appropriate measure to react to poor performance. Why not 5, 6, 10, 20 or 35? Will Swedish taxpayers be pleased in knowing that when their money is not properly used their government would apply a 10 percent cut over their commitments…?
A propósito disto abro um pequeno parêntesis para dizer que a atitude dos doadores em relação ao Banco Austral é a todos os títulos problemática se tivermos em mente o que eles nos têm dito sobre o Estado de direito. Está assente na cabeça de todos nós que o banco foi pilhado e existe muita documentação que aponta nesse sentido. Mas nenhum tribunal ainda se pronunciou directamente sobre quem tem culpa. Todos nós sabemos quem tem a culpa. Mas, repito, nenhum tribunal ainda se pronunciou, logo, o princípio de presunção de inocência deve ser observado.
By the way, I would like to open a small parenthesis to say that the attitude of donors in relation to the Austral Bank is to all titles problematic if we have in mind what they have told us about the rule of law. It is in the minds of all of us that bank was plundered and there is much documentation in that direction. But still no court has directly ruled on who is guilty. We all know who is to blame. But, I repeat, no court has spoken yet, hence the principle of presumption of innocence must be observed.
Agora imaginem uma coisa: o Procurador Geral da República decide, com base no relatório forínsico em sua posse, que há matéria para instaurar processo; a máquina judiciária entra em funcionamento, indiciam-se pessoas, são levadas a tribunal, discute-se, interroga-se, contra interroga-se, são apresentadas provas, discutidas, etc., e o tribunal decide que não tem matéria para sustentar a acusação do ministério público. E depois? Vão todos os doadores cortar a ajuda a Moçambique porque um juiz não achou ter matéria suficiente para levantar a presunção de inocência? Vão (continuar a) dizer que houve interferência política? Vão preferir que condene só para se ter condenados? […]  Os doadores estão a transformar o caso Banco Austral num assunto político com poucas possibilidades de fazer valer a legalidade. Acho isso estranho.
Now imagine one thing: the Attorney General's Office decides, based on the forensic report on his hands, to initiate a lawsuit; the judicial machinery goes into operation, people are summoned; are taken to court…and the court decides that there *is no evidence* to sustain the prosecutor’s charges. So what? Will all donors cut aid to Mozambique because a judge found no enough reasons to lift the presumption of innocence? Will they (continue to) say that there was political interference? Will they prefer to sentence just to get condenmned? […] Donors are turning the Austral Bank case into a political issue with little chances to enforce the law. I find that strange.
What makes the Swedish run?
Assim, volto à minha inquietação sobre o que faz correr os suecos. A impunidade da corrupção não me parece uma razão plausível para a redução do apoio a Moçambique […]
So I go back to my concern around what makes the Swedes running. The impunity does not seem a plausible reason for the reduction of support to Mozambique […]
Sweden like us
Mas ainda bem que a Suécia tomou esta decisão. E ainda bem que o Presidente reagiu da forma como reagiu.
But well done though that Sweden has taken such decision. And even, well done to the President [of Mozambique] for having reacted on the ways he did.
Precisamos também de ter uma ideia do que temos de fazer para, a curto prazo, reduzir a nossa vulnerabilidade em relação aos que gostam de nós. Isso significa que temos que investir mais na perspectivação do nosso futuro. Conforme tenho vindo a argumentar nestes últimos anos, isso passa por abandonarmos esta perniciosa ideia da indústria do desenvolvimento de que o desenvolvimento está em metas definidas na Assembleia Geral das Nações Unidas. O desenvolvimento deve ser a nossa capacidade de criarmos os nossos problemas e resolvê-los nós mesmos. Por exemplo, o desenvolvimento não pode ser a redução do analfabetismo, muito embora a redução do analfabetismo seja importante para dar substância à nossa identidade como comunidade política. Mais importante do que reduzir o analfabetismo é gerar a procura de educação, gerir a sua disponibilização e saber lidar com as suas implicações para o mercado de trabalho, participação política e aspirações individuais. O tempo, dinheiro e energia consumidos na produção de slógans como “combater a pobreza absoluta” deviam ser empregues neste tipo de reflexão, pelo menos no que diz respeito à contribuição da academia.
We also need to have an idea of what we must do on the short run, in order to reduce our vulnerability from those who like us. This means that we must invest more in prospecting our future. As I have been arguing in recent years, this involves abandoning the pernicious idea of the development industry that development is on the goals defined in the UN General Assembly. The development must be our ability to create our problems and solve them ourselves. For example, development can not be the reduction of illiteracy, although the reduction of illiteracy is important to give substance to our identity as a political community. More important than reducing illiteracy is generating demand for education, manage their availability and learn to deal with its implications for the labour market, political participation and individual aspirations. The time, money and energy consumed in the production of slogans as “combat absolute poverty” should be employed in this type of reflection, at least with regard to the contribution of the academy.
A Suécia e o Presidente da República lançaram um grande desafio à massa pensante moçambicana. Vamos a isso!
Sweden and the President of the Republic launched a major challenge to the Mozambican thinkers. Let’s go for that!

author: Egidio Vaz


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Mexico: Latest on the Discovery of the Body of Fernando Marti · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Intersection's Daniel Hernandez provides the latest on the discovery of the body of 14-year-old Fernando Marti in a car trunk in Mexico City and the local government's response.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Nigeria: Contribute to Hausa projects · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

useibert calls on Hausa speakers to contribute to Hausa projects on the Internet.


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Nigeria: Nigerian Stock Exchange results · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ikechukwu Emelike writes about the recently released results from the Nigerian Stock Exchange.


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Pakistan: Hacking PKNIC · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Made in Pakistan managed to breach PKNIC's domain management system and successfully added some big domain names to his PKNIC domain panel, exposing the loopholes in the current system.


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Paraguay: The Start of Lugo’s Political Career at Citizen’s March · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Carlos Rodríguez of RESCATAR [es] recalls the beginning of Paraguayan president-elect Fernando Lugo's political career, when he spoke at a citizen's march in 2006where he called for the resignation of 5 ministers from the Supreme Court. More than 2 years later, Lugo will be sworn in as the country's new president.


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Saudi Arabia: Whither Saudi blogging? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Saudi Arabia has a large and active blogosphere, in which all kinds of voices and opinions can be heard, including opinions that cannot be expressed in the country's media. But can blogging play a bigger role in changing Saudi society? One blogger poses the question.
Abu Lara believes that blogging should be a force for change in Saudi Arabia:
We should realise that Arabic is not included in the list of the top ten blogging languages.
And what about Saudi blogging in relation to other Arabic blogospheres?
What do we need as the Saudi blogosphere to reach the media in an official and recognised way?
Well-known blogger Maashi Sahh was the first to leave a comment on Abu Lara's post, and he didn’t agree with Abu Lara's analysis:
قد اتفق بوجود بعض السلبيات وخاصة في 2008 مقارنة ب2007 وأتوقع بأن السبب يعود للإنتشار الكبير في التدوين ولهذا فسيوجد حتماً من لايفهم أو يستوعب قدرة التدوين على التأثير وصنع القرار والمساهمة في التغيير الإيجابي.
I do agree that there have been some negative aspects, especially in 2008 compared to 2007. I suspect that this is due to the proliferation of blogs, so inevitably there are those who do not understand or grasp blogging’s capacity to influence decision-making and to contribute to positive change.


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South Africa: Vote for Springleap.com · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Vote for South Africa at the Innovation 100 Awards,” writes Nic Haralambous following the nomination of Springleap.com (a South African initiative to promote SA artists) for the Innovation 100 Awards.


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South Asia: For Obama · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sepia Mutiny on a popular actor of South Asian origin – Kal Penn rooting for Obama.


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Sri Lanka: Against Media · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Free Media Sri Lanka on a government minister organizing an anti-media protest and calling for a ban on a particular TV station.


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Taiwan: Wuci Tourist Fishing Port  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Turton posts some photos from Taichung Wuci tourist fishing port.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Tanzania: Warm roast tomato and onion salad · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Cold temperatures in Tanzania inspired Lynda to make warm roast tomato and onion salad.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Nigeria: Interconnectedness  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Andre Bagoo reviews the art of Nigerian Ugochukwu Bright Eke – a winner of the Commonwealth Foundation's Arts and Craft Award, who has chosen to use his grant to work in Trinidad: “Water, skin, shelter and the sea all come together to reveal the interconnectedness between us and the environment.”


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Uganda: R.I.P kampala.ver · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

R.I.P kampala.ver blog: “…kampala.ver has died an untimely and sudden death and joins ranks with all those millions of deaf blogs out there.”


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Ukraine: Government Position Towards Georgia · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

LEvko of Foreign Notes comments on the attitude of the Ukrainian government towards the situation in Georgia. The Ukrainian President, accompanied by the Presidents of Estonia, Lithuania and Poland, and the PM of Latvia, is today visiting Tbilisi, he writes.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Bangladesh: India takes the credit! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ahmed Ferdous Bin Alam on the Indian media's perception of the Bangladeshi liberation in 1971.


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Belarus: Two Olympic Bronze Medals · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The Being Had Times reported that Belarus has won two bronze medals in the Beijing Olympics so far, one in Greco-Roman by Mikhail Semenov and one in weightlifting by Anastasia Novikova.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Archeological Vandalism? · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

YakimaGulagLitteraryGazett reported that an archaelogical site was vandalised a few days ago in the mediaeval fortress of Visoki, at the top of the hill of Visocica -the alleged site of an ancient pyramid. Le site d'Irna goest into much more detail about the incident, [French – English translation here] noting that what really happened on the site is not clear at all.


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China: Citizen reporter Zuola carted off · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Very breaking news, but Chinese citizen reporter Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang has just tweeted his own detention as it was happening on Wednesday afternoon China time.
(As of 17:15, Zuola was back at his computer; he seems to have been placed under some sort of ‘town arrest’. Updates below)
Zuola recently bought a Blackberry 8320 to help him with his citizen reporting endeavors, and he appears to have been able to use it along with Twitterberry to send out a few short messages as he was being escorted from his home into a vehicle and driven off:
15:52:
煤炭坝长沙矿业集团的保卫处刘处长带了三个人来接我回煤炭坝镇。吓坏我父母了。
16:02
我被要求上他们的车，我要父母确认今天的事实，记住何时何地跟睡接触，坐什么车牌走了。我很好，在他们车内，感觉象是被截访。
16:08
上午借口来找计划生育违归的俩人同保卫处长一起来的，果然是冲我来的。
16:28
谢谢所有关心我的人，我还在车上。
Earlier this morning Zuola tweeted that he wouldn't be online today as he was being visited by “government people”: two from the birth planning office (mentioned above) following up on a report that he had violated China's one-child policy (Zuola has no children) and two to see take his parents out for “tea” and a chat.
Last month Zuola mentioned on his blog feeling nervous about being in Beijing for the Olympics as he had planned, and decided it better to sit it one out and return home to Meitanba, Hunan province. Prior to that he got busted in Shenyang just following the Yilishen incident, where he had traveled to do some citizen reporting for his blog.
Updates hopefully coming soon.
Updates:
17:16
我被长沙矿业集团保卫处刘处长把我从枫木桥接回煤炭坝了。他们要求我呆在煤炭坝就不管我，我一出去他们就要把我弄回来。我声明，我不是长沙矿业集团的员工，我爸在这个单位的前身退休13年了。
17:20
我坐湘A94360回煤炭坝的，车上刚才四个人。
17:23
看来是宁乡县国保大队、长沙矿业集团、枫木桥乡政府联合行动，工作效率还蛮高。先侦知我的手机离开煤炭坝镇区域，然后让枫木桥乡政府打前哨，再通知长沙矿业集团保卫处开车来接人，把我送回煤炭坝就完事了。
17:25
声明一下，除了我被强行要求我坐他们的车回煤炭坝之外，我现在的人身是自由的。不过，我希望有记者来长沙陪我去北京，那样会让他们不知所措，估计会是一件很生动的故事。
17:31
我被长沙矿业集团保卫处刘处长把我从枫木桥接回煤炭坝了。他们要求我呆在煤炭坝就不管我，我一出去他们就要把我弄回来。我不是长沙矿业集团的人。

author: John Kennedy


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China: How old is He Kexin? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

While authorities state she is of Olympic regulation age, China Digital Times‘ Xiao Qiang looks at one of several sources that put He Kexin‘s age at around fourteen.


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China: Lip-Syncing. Big deal. · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Is the Yang Peiyi incident being blown out of proportion by Western media? See what Kaiser Kuo has to say on that at the Ogilvy8 @ Beijing Olympics blog.


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China: Olympics as mass ritual, rite of passage, or just one big party? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Is Zhang Yimou China’s Leni Riefenstahl, or an artist who has turned mass spectacle ritual into a modern art form? Haiyan Lee delves into this question, and others, at The China Beat.


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China: Opening ceremony deceptions continue to disappoint · Global Voices
John Kennedy

This is starting to get a bit brutal; news today that the children seen in the harmonious 56 ethnic minorities—China's version of a multicultural policy—portion of the Olympics opening ceremony were actually all Han. Writes Twitter user @FrankYu: “China's Opn Cer. is facing a loss of credibility on the scale of the Wizard of Oz.”


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Cuba: Birthday Candles  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution notes that “every August 13 without fail, the official Cuban media celebrates Fidel Castro’s birthday by trying to come up with ever more ridiculous ways to describe the man who ruled his 11 million subjects with an iron fist for close to half a century.”  Yoani Sanchez adds: “I notice the same attempts to associate the questionable actions of a man with something more enduring: the Nation.”


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Georgia, Russia: Political Spam · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tbilisi-based LJ user shupaka (Diana Petriashvili) has been getting lots of political spam on her ICQ account and a Russian social networking site she's a member of. Here's the most common sample, in English: “Your channels, newspapers and the Internet-sites lie, each word is a lie. Georgia acts as instructied by Bush … it is politics! Do not believe, what you hear … The picture you see on your channels is true, but the comments to it are opposite. Russia is trying to help us … Georgians are shooting at us … Our brothers and sisters are there under ruins, in basements, in woods … If you want to know the truth about the war come to our sites of central TV-channels. www.1tv.ru or www.vesti.ru Thank You.”


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Georgia: Videos of Journalists Under Attack in Gori · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

The blog From the Frontline posted several videos showing two different reporters being shot (first one here, second here), a team of Turkish TV journalists under attack and a bombing that resulted in the death of a Dutch cameraman, all in the Georgian town of Gori.


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Georgia War: Critique of Russian “state propaganda” · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user beri_llii criticises (RUS) alleged Russian state propaganda during the conflict with Georgia and reviews some examples of lacking media objectivity and professionalism.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Georgia War: Following the Oil Lead · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user ve4nosti_sluga comments (RUS) on an op ed in the Washington Post and analyses the argument that the struggle control over energy played a role in the Russo-Georgian war, concluding that the the significance of the BTC-pipeline is exaggerated.


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Georgia War: Number of Dead in Tshkhinvali · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Zhivye zapiski Antona Nosika comments on (RUS) the various figures – from tens to thousands – of casualties in Tshkhinvali, given by Russian officials.


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Georgia War: World Record in Genocide? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user tulskiy reflects (RUS) on the 2,000 Ossetians that Russia claims Georgia killed as an act of genocide during recent conflict, puts the figure in proportion to the entire South Ossetian population, making it so unreasonably large that – if Russian claims are correct – it would constitute the fastest genocide in history – allegedly surpassing the Nazi concentration camps in efficiency. He concludes with a hope that figures are wrong, and if correct, such an event will neither be repeated in Abkhasia or ever elsewhere.


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Georgia’s relationship with the US · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Frencheagle writes about Georgia's cozy relationship with the American government [Fr]: “How can we condemn Russia's actions without also condemning America's imperialist policies which use a so-called struggle for liberty and democracy to install new pawns more in line with its own interests.”

author: Jennifer Brea


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Guyana: Hospital Fire  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The entire psychiatric ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital was gutted by fire early yesterday morning.  The blogging team at Living Guyana has been chronicling the story…
Their first post confirmed that the Observation Ward was indeed engulfed in flames:
Georgetown's best and ill equipped firefighters were apparently able to contain the blaze before it could spread beyond the aged building. The Observation Ward has been in the news quite recently with the death of a female patient making the headlines.
Photos were added soon after and the blog was also quick to post an official statement from Guyana's Minister of Health, as well as a press release from the Hospital.
After the flames were quelled, Living Guyana posted more photos of the smouldering wooden building, while another blogger, Guyana Providence Stadium, began speculating on whether there could be some sort of political connection to the blaze:
Buildings mysteriously burn down whenever there are allegations of corruption against the Government. Could this have something to do with the Auditor General's report and the clandestine purchase of drugs for Public Hospital?
Living Guyana, tongue firmly in cheek, goes with the flow and draws political parallels between the inmates of the hospital's psychiatric ward and “the other mentally challenged patients over at the other Observation Ward euphemistically titled ‘Cabinet'”:
It is understood that the current batch of inmates intend to assume control of the other observation ward. Living Guyana does not expect a substantial shift in government policy and from all indications there will be a smooth transition. In fact, word on the street is that they may even do a better job than the current crop of schizophrenics.


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Haiti: Restavèk · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The restavèk practice essentially throws away the lives of children and along with them Haiti’s future”: jmc strategies maintains that no matter how you slice it, “the practice of ‘lending’ a child away to go and live with well-off families” is still a form of slavery.


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Hong Kong and China: Pillar of Shame Exhibition During Olympics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Time Square in Hong Kong is having an art exhibition during Beijing Olympics until Aug 19. Two of the artworks look like the Pillar of Shame, an artwork to memorize the June 4 massacre. Local art group invited Szeto Wah to give a radical interpretation of the artworks, esp. the two pillars at Time Square. The background of the art action is at inmediahk.net, with a embedded video from youtube.


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Iran:Environment and Parliament · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Sepher Salimi, Iranian blogger, invites pro environment bloggers to talk more with deputies in Iranian Parliament (Majlis) to inform them about their concerns.


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Jamaica, China: Masters of the Universe?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

She makes you think and she makes you laugh!  Jamaican Annie Paul‘s post on the Olympics is a must-read.


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Jamaica: Decriminalizing Homosexuality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Jamaica, YardFlex.com reports on “a proposed legislation…recommending the decriminalization of homosexuality and commercial sex workers” in order to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.


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Jamaica: Shifting Sands  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guest Blogging at Abeng News Magazine, Long Bench discusses the matter of the sand heist at a beach in Coral Spring, which is earmarked for private development: “It is…our civic, ethical and moral duty to ensure that our institutions are responsive to our collective needs…I do not now, nor will I ever, choose to side with developers who do not have the interests of Jamaicans – in Trelawny or elsewhere – at the center of their plans.”