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Iran: Storm of protest after election · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thousands of people demonstrated in Tehran, Mashhad and several other major cities in Iran to protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s proclaimed victory in the Iranian presidential election on Friday. Two different reformist rivals and their supporters insist there was election fraud at play.
Mir Hussein Moussavi, the main challenger of Ahmadinejad said the results from “untrustworthy monitors” reflect “the weakening of the pillars that constitute the sacred system” of Iran and “the rule of authoritarianism and tyranny.” Several scenes of street fights and demonstrations are uploaded on YouTube.
A demonstration in Valiasr street in Tehran where thousands of protesters demonstrated and chanted slogans against the Ahmadinejad government.
And here people chanted: ‘Moussavi, take back my vote!’.
Security forces repressed protesters:
Another demonstration was held in Mashhad where protesters asked security forces to support them [instead of repressing].
Ghomar Ashegahne has published several photos showing security forces beating protesters (see photo above). The blogger writes [fa] that the repression would be a good reason not to go to streets to protest, but ‘what can we do with all this sorrow?’. He says Karoubi and Moussavi [the two reformist candidates] who wanted to change situation in country, should start now.
Belgiran writes  [fa] that Iranian Leader, Ali Khamenei, overthrew Moussavi by a coup before he even bacame president and replaced him with Ahmadinejad… He writes, “This regime just lost the little legitimacy that it had.”
Mehrdadd writes on Twitter, that the Iranian Leader shows he is against the Iranian people. Now any political personality should take a position for or against people.
Mehri912 says on Twitter, “If Iran sleeps tonight, it will sleep forever”.


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Myanmar: Political prisoners detained in “dog cells”  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), five political prisoners in Rangoon's Insein prison have been held in punishment cells known as military dog cells.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Mong Palatino


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Netherlands: 80th birthday of Anne Frank · Global Voices
Percy Balemans

The website of the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam commemorates the 80th birthday of Anne Frank by listing activities in the Netherlands and around the world which are organised to mark the occasion.

author: Percy Balemans


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Russia: “I’m a Russophobe” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user rusanalit, a popular Russian blogger known for his often provocative posts on the Russian economy, published this mock manifesto (RUS) on his blog on June 10, noting with irony that those who attempt a critical look at Russia's past and present are frequently labeled Russophobes by those who consider themselves patriots, while in fact the opposite may be said to be true in many cases:
And I'm a Russophobe, too.
That's because I write that Stalin genuinely wished to be useful to his country, but judging by the results of his mistakes, the fruits of his – and the country's – pre-war labor were lost. That is, if you are not praising Stalin but are trying to assess his work objectively – this makes you a Russophobe.
Because, even though I credit Putin for the huge role he played in preventing the emergence of 20 Chechnyas in Russia as a result of Chechnya's official secession from Russia, I consider Putin USELESS AFTER CHECHNYA IN ALL OTHER RESPECTS. That is, if you're not licking Putin's behind but are trying, again, to assess his work objectively – you're a Russophobe.
Because I don't like [Mikhail Kovalchuk] and [Gennady Timchenko] – the former basically robbed [Gazprom], while the latter just took away a few billion dollars from state companies [Sibneft] and [Rosneft] while he served as an intermediary in their oil trading. That is, if you straightforwardly call the billionaire-thieves close to the regime “thieves” – you're a Russophobe.
If I don't like the fact that my country's economy is a resource-based economy and the government doesn't really want to change anything, is content with everything – then I'm a Russophobe.
If you think that the duty of the state is to save lives of Russian kids […], and not to diminish stock market losses of foreign investors – then you're a Russophobe.
Okay, I agree. If this is how things are, then I'm a Russophobe. Because in this case, Russophobe is dignified title.
And who are you then?

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Sri Lanka: The Economist Magazine Censored? · Global Voices
Rezwan

ICT For Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) reports that the shipment of the recent edition of the Economist magazine has been held up by Sri Lankan Customs Authority and possibly this article is the reason.

author: Rezwan


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Thailand: “David Carradine was murdered” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Antonio Pineda uploads a statement by David Winter which reads: “David Carradine was murdered and there is a cover up over here in Bangkok.”


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Afganistan: Is Iran Supporting the Taliban? · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

As Iran faces deep unrest over its disputed election, a perhaps darker question haunts the country: Is the Iranian government funding the Afghan Taliban? If so, it would represent a dramatic reversal of course for the Iranian government, as in the late 1990s it very nearly invaded Afghanistan to toppled the Taliban government after Taliban fighters executed nine Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i Sharif. At the same time, it would also, in the minds of some, represent the continuation of its policies of arming anti-American fighters in Iraq. The blogosphere has been debating this issue for years, but recently the U.S. military levied a fresh series of charges against Tehran.
It is not a charge to be taken lightly, as the Danger Room blog notes:
The Human Terrain System, Army’s social science program, recently investigated this question and found that, in one part of Afghanistan, Iran’s influence is largely limited to “soft power.”
A recent open-source research report prepared by HTS researchers in the United States and obtained by Danger Room probes the history of Iranian activities in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province, from humanitarian assistance to direct military aid. As the report puts it, oh-so-blandly: “Iranian influence in Afghanistan, both positive and negative aspects, is a current topic of interest.”
But that's just Bamiyan, a solitary province of Afghanistan already inclined to side with Iran, as Iran helped its inhabitants resist the Taliban during the 1990s. DCRepublican, on the other hand, noticed something a bit more sinister in a report on the rising violence in Afghanistan:
The Army Times article details the recent revelation that certain Farsi speaking insurgent groups have suddenly become equipped with body armor and kevlar helmets as well as vastly improved battlefield tactics and, shockingly, improved marksmanship. Coupled with the huge increase in IED attacks since the fighting season began in the spring, particularly the sharply growing presence of the state-of-the-art EFPs, leads me to believe that the war is about to take an ugly turn for the worse. I think we have a new villain entering the fray in the form of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) who, with or without the consent of the Iranian leadership, have taken it upon themselves to institute a major policy shift with regard to Afghanistan.
And Christopher Holton, Vice President with the Center for Security Policy, writing at Terror Trends Bulletin, feels it's incontrovertible proof of Iran's perfidy:
ran has also aided the Taliban’s greatest ally, Al Qaeda, another Salafi Sunni terrorist organization. Many continue to dispute that Iran sponsors Al Qaeda, but the facts are out there for analysis, as yours truly wrote in National Review back in March 2008.
Registan.net argues otherwise, however:
The big question: is this a deliberate government policy, as Iranian support to the insurgents in Iraq was? Or is this coincidental or rogue activity within southeastern Iran?
Couple things to keep in mind here: the Taliban fighting in Farah and Nimroz are not the same who are fighting in Khost, Kapisa, or Kunar. There is a significantly stronger presence of drug smuggling in the area, and Iran does not act in a single unified manner…
We’re pushing two straight years now of accusations that Iran is funding and arming the Taliban, yet precious little evidence ever makes it into the public. That doesn’t mean it’s not happening, but right now there is evidence of Iranian-made weapons in Farah, Herat, and Nimroz, and the assumption that they have been deliberately supplied by Iran.
I don’t mean to defend Iran, but that’s not really evidence of interference. There might be more in classified sources that we just don’t hear in the newspapers. Either way, arming the Taliban would be such an incredible risk for Iran… that there should be some sort of evidence to bolster the claim that Iran is exacerbating the Taliban. But in either case the continuing accusations against Iran, without evidence any government is willing to disclose, cannot be helpful.
Juan Cole also casts doubt on the charge against Iran:
The US military report that it intercepted a cache of Iranian arms intended for the Taliban was analyzed on the Pakistani television station, GEO, by regional experts. They found the idea that the Iranian government is sending arms to the Taliban implausible, but suggested other reasons for which the Taliban might get hold of Iranian weaponry.
Scott Horton similarly disbelieves the story that Iran is supplying arms to the Taliban:
Easy as it is these days to impute all sorts of dastardly motives to the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the various Iranian rogue elements, this doesn’t quite make sense. Iran has no love lost for the United States, to be sure, but neither has it ever had decent relations with the Taliban, who made a point of persecuting Shiia Muslims in Afghanistan when they ran the country. If Iran has had objectives in Afghanistan, then, it’s been to hold the Taliban in check and to protect the Shiia minority. And for the moment at least that aligns pretty well with American policy.
Indeed, there is an interesting partisan angle to the whole debate: the right-wing blogs seem willing to believe in Iran's evil with little evidence, but the left-wing blogs seem to feel it is unclear exactly why Iran would do such a thing (and it's unclear if there is sufficient evidence to convince them). It is a debate that spills out into other things beyond just weapons shipments. Bill Roggio, who founded the Long War Journal, a blog-cum-news service, argued recently that a Taliban commander in a Shia-majority province of Afghanistan was directly funded by Iran:
US strike kills Iranian-backed Taliban commander in western Afghanistan
The US military killed a senior Taliban commander with links to Iran's Qods Forces during an airstrike in western Afghanistan… The US military said Mustafa had connections to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force, the external special operations division that is tasked with supporting the Khomeinist Islamist revolution.
Registan.net, however, cast doubt on that charge:
It's interesting to explore the allegations that there might be elements within Iran who might support portions of the insurgency in Afghanistan. As Iran watchers have observed, there is often precious little aside from assertions that the link exists, with nothing concrete any official is willing to say publicly.
What a delicious Catch-22: the U.S. government might have all this evidence that Iran is “backing” the Taliban… but won't actually tell anyone what it is. It's too sensitive to explain, but not too sensitive to allege. Right.
Indeed, Registan.net continues, the U.S. military has been careful to say that it's probably not official Iranian policy:
It’s also interesting that other news sources stress that Afghan officials don’t know whether Mustafa is directly supported by Iran, and even U.S. officials say they only suspect involvement with individuals and aren’t describing an official relationship.
Interesting, indeed. There remains no resolution, no consensus or settled narrative in American blogs about Iran's involvement in Afghanistan—the issue is, perhaps, too partisan. What is curiously absent is a discussion about this issue in any English language blogs written from Afghanistan. They have been virtually silent about it, which raises the question of what the Persian blogs might be talking about (when they are not discussing the election, that is).

author: Joshua Foust


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Azerbaijan: Expensive donkey · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In Mutatione Fortitudo comments on news that a donkey costing $18,500 has been purchased using funds from the Azeri State Budget. The blog says that  $179,700 was spent on such purchases last year and wonders why.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Rhetoric of Hate · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Fighting windmills? Take a pill comments on the rhetoric of hate that often prevents Armenians and Azerbaijanis from being in contact with each other while the conflict between the two countries remains unresolved. The blogger says that she wants peace and cares about people rather than nationalities.


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Cambodia: Controversial Angkor Wat lighting project · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

To promote “night lighting” tours and to reverse the 20 per cent drop in visitors, the Cambodian government has installed artificial lighting in the 11th century-old Angkor Wat Temple. This project is opposed by some heritage conservationists and concerned Cambodian citizens. Angkor Wat is the most popular tourist site in Cambodia and is recognized as a World Heritage site.
Heritage conservation specialists describe the installed light bulbs as “unsightly.” Since 2006, more than $12 million were spent for the lighting of the temple. It is part of a grand project to transform the Angkor Wat as a complex of entertainment venues.
The government defended the lighting decoration by arguing that it has the support of the UNESCO. Authorities also added that only solar powered lighting technology was used in the project.
The public was stunned when it learned that holes were drilled in the temple to install electric bulbs. This was denied by the government and the project contractor:
“The working team explained that they have a technique to set up electric bulbs which causes no harm to the temple. They install bulbs by using cork stoppers put into already existing holes, and they set up lights only where it is possibly, and also at the lower layers of the stone. The working team claims that the heat of the bulbs is weak and does not affect the temple.”
The controversy became more intense when the person who exposed the Angkor Wat lighting was sued by a government lawyer for spreading false information. The accused has fled to France to avoid prosecution.
Below are some reactions from the Cambodian blogosphere. From The Son of the Empire:
Angkor Wat Temple. From the Flickr Page of DragonWoman
Can this equipped light attract more tourists to Angkor Wat and Cambodia as a whole while a leader of a country is incompetent to lead a country with transparency,  security, stability, human right respect, and yet committing corruption and dependent on alm and submitting to neigboring countries?
Personally, the light decoration is untolerable and I think those who allow this project to be carried out is considered as a traitor and are untolerable.
Those people must think about the long term and should have done their best to preserve this most wonderful work of our greatest ancestors who have built this marvelous heritage for the world, for us and has become the soul, the spirit, and the pride of our people and nation.
Real Cambodia appreciates the effort to improve the image of Angkor Wat
I kind of like the idea of seeing Angkor Wat at night. I imagine some of the statues, carvings, and shadows would be pretty amazing, particularly after happy hour. And hopefully they'd use really environmentally-friendly lighting, like LED lights, in a smart and innovative way, creating lots of trippy, dramatic angles. But I'd also hope they left most of the park undisturbed, all the better to retain its unique position at the nexus of natural and supernatural.
The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog warns that increasing the number of tourists in Angkor Wat is bad for business
The move may serve to boost falling tourism numbers, but does nothing to address what heritage specialists have been saying for years – that the effects of increased traffic to Angkor is ultimately bad for business.
An anonymous commenter rejects the lighting project:
Even from a plain, regular guy like me, I could see that the lighting was absolutely inappropriate for a sacred monument any where in the whole world, let alone a magnificent heritage like Angkor Wat. Who ever came up with that idea should be fired from his job!!!! No sense of fine aesthetic, whatsoever!!!
The Deputy PM will be summoned by the Parliament to answer questions about the controversial project.


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Cambodia: Health education · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Keo Kounila and Hay Phirum write about the many challenges confronting Cambodia’s medical education.


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Hunary: “Orbán’s Dilemma” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about “the Hungarian right after the EU elections.”


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Iran: “Iran 2009 vs. Serbia 2000” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkans via Bohemia compares the current situation in Iran with the 2000 election in Serbia.


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Iran: Protest continues  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

GreenVote twittered [fa] that Mir Hussein Mousavi called his supporters to demonstrate in the streets of Tehran and other cities on Monday. Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, two reformist candidates, claim ballot fraud in Friday's presidential election.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Ryszard Kapuscinski on 1979 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Michael J. Totten quotes from Ryszard Kapuscinski's Shah of Shahs in his post about the situation in Iran.


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Taiwan: Japan meeting highlights China threat · Global Voices
David Reid

An exchange between Hsiao Bi-Khim (蕭美琴),the DPP's director of international affairs, and Wu Shumin (武樹民), the Chinese Consulate-General in Fukuoka, at a meeting in Fukuoka, Japan highlighted the tensions that exist between Taiwan and China. Bi-Khim described the incident on her blog (zh). The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato says that the incident displays the bullying tactics of China.

author: David Reid


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Armenia: Photo evidence of alleged hazing in army · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on news reports and alleged photo evidence taken by mobile phone of beatings in the Armenian military. The blog asks why few others seem concerned by such incidents.


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Azerbaijan: Alarming news for civil society · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Thoughts on the Road comments on news that Azerbaijan's already underdeveloped civil society is facing a new threat in the form of legislation governing NGOs in the country to be discussed later this week.


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Azerbaijan: Dynamic blogosphere · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In what is fast becoming the most dynamic blogosphere in the South Caucasus, and especially in English, Azeri bloggers continue to write poignant entries. Following the April 30 massacre of students at the Azerbaijani Oil Academy and the later detention of dozens of youth activists and bloggers, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines updates its readers on the aftermath of the tragedy.
Its been 40 days, since a shooter named Farda Gadirov, entered the premises of the State Oil Academy, killing 12 people including himself. The investigation still continues, with no news as to the motive, those who were behind the attack as well as the exact number of those arrested.
[…] And the longer investigation lingers, the more speculations will circle around. So far, no one claimed responsibility. […]
I guess will just have to keep on waiting…
Sins Against Democracy also reflects on the protest staged soon after at a flower festival in the country's capital, Baku, while calls for a national day of mourning fell on deaf ears. The blog, however, takes a lighter look at the detentions and the fact that an innocent bystander was taken in by police simply for what she was wearing.
As it was widely known, in May 10 police detained number of young people peacefully mourning over the killings at State Oil Academy […]. It was on the ‘flowers’ day’, grandiose ‘holiday’ dedicated to the memory of former president Heydar Aliyev. I read on Nigar Fatali’s blog that among detained youngsters was a girl arrested while standing at the bus stop just because she was in black. Today, I have received an e-mail with a joke about her and want to share:
[…]
“Yesterday it was told that police detained Roma, Nigar, Zaur and others, who organized mourning procession on May 10. Police swept not only our guys, but also the innocent girl –Goth, who was in black and was waiting for a bus at the bus stop.
- I am in black, because I am a Goth! Goth! I am a Goth! – she cried while police dragged her into the car.
- What does she say? – the arm of the law said with astonishment releasing his victim from unexpectedness.
- I am a Goth! I am a Goth! –she began to shout gladly.
- She is a Russian speaker – indulgently explained the other one – she does not speak our language (Azerbaijani) well. Get into the car, daughter of a G…t, we will see at the station if you are a ‘G…t’ or something else.
(explanation for Russian speakers: ‘Got’ in Azerbaijani is ‘ass’)”
My friend says it is a famous joke now. I think stupidity and vulgarity of our police (even if it is a joke) is not funny, but a sad fact …
Meanwhile, Fighting windmills? Take a pill ponders why bloggers are often critical of the injustices faced by many in countries such as Azerbaijan and its neighbors in the region. The answer, the blogger concludes, is simple.
While reading my previous posts you've probably been wondering why am I so negative and critical about Azerbaijan. My answer is: the same reason our parents would punish us for bad behaviour – they knew we could do better.
But I must admit – there are reasons that keep me attached to this land of injustice, stubborness and stereotypes. The natural acts of love led by “want” not “must”.
[…]
So, yes, we can be stubborn, passive, childish but I know we can do better.
And I will never stop hoping for the change.
Unfortunately, however, following a ban on foreign radio broadcasts in the country earlier in the year, and with amendments to legislation concerning NGOs in the country on the cards, many are concerned that the authorities might soon turn their attention towards the Internet.


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Azerbaijan: Persepolis · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Global Voices Online author Ali S. Novruzov is interviewed by the OL! Azerbaijani youth movement on the movie Persepolis and comments on the role of women in post-revolution Iranian society.


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Bahrain: Learning To Appreciate Bahrain · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

The Bahrain Taxi blog is back – but is no longer ranting: “I’ve been in Bahrain for nearly two years now and I feel I have finally settled down…rather than being angry at everything and everyone I have opened my eyes to what a great place this can be.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bangladesh: Using Child Labor In Political Processions · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ahmad Ferdous Bin Alam points to the use of child labor in political processions in Bangladesh. Can't the children be spared?” comments the blogger.


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Burkina Faso: Rugby Star From Burkina Faso · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Do you know the rugby hero from Burkina Faso? “Burkina Faso is not usually known for its success at rugby. However…In France's 22-27 defeat of the All Blacks in New Zealand on Saturday, one of the stars of the French team was a Burkinabe called Fulgence Ouedraogo.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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China: The Fall of Lady Liberty and Chai Ling’s Revenge · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xujun Eberlein from Inside-Out China comments on former Tiananmen activist Chai Ling's recent move to sue the film maker of “The Gate of Heavenly Peace” for “defamation” or “infringing trademark”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Prisoners of Conscience  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense refers to a report which claims that there have already been more than 500 political arrests and detentions in Cuba for the year.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Dominica: Chavez’ Visit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's like the uncle who comes with some cash in his pocket and the whole family gets lined up by the door of a recently cleaned room”: Caribbean Man reports on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ visit to Dominica.


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Eritrea: Analysing Asmara · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Eritreans have always found it difficult to differentiate ‘freedom’ with the politically overloaded word ‘independence’, writes Gabriel Guangul.


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India: Reservations of Positions For Women · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sumanth at Desicritics debates the current hot topic in India – reservations for Women in representative, administrative and corporate job positions.


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India: The Need For Sex Education · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amodini Sharma at Ultra Violet advocates for proper sex education among the teens in India.


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Iran: Protests and Repression · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Tehran protests, via jomhour.info
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians in Tehran and several other cities have rallied to support presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mousavi, defying a government ban on demonstrations. Protesters are calling for the annulment of the presidential election results, saying President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s victory in the 12th of June election is a fraud. Security forces have struck down hard on demonstrators, and at least one person was killed in Tehran today.
Although Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are currently blocked in Iran, many Iranians have been using proxies to bypass filters and report up-to-the-minute news. Iranian authorities have also blocked SMS text messages, and are also filtering several news websites reflecting reformist opinions.
Iran09 tweeted earlier today:
“I confirm that there's a Basij [Islamist militia] station around the square and they shot ppl from the roof. #iranelection”
Jadi tweeted:
“People are still joining to the demonstration. Chanting ‘Mousavi! Mousavi! Take back my vote’ #IranElection”
Mousavi spoke and called for the election results to be reviewed. He said he is ready to take part in a new election. There are some video news clips about the election here.
As protest grows so does repression
Students who protested against the presidential election at diffrent universities were attacked by security forces. Here is a video film showing a dormitory of the University of Tehran on Sunday night.
Update: Here is a Flickr slideshow of photos showing more of the destruction left behind by security forces in University of Tehran dormitories on Sunday night. According to the Flickr user, Agha Hadi, many students were jailed.
Below, is a film showing an Iranian woman taking on security forces by a bus stop.
Azarmehr comments on this film:
Look at this brave Iranian lioness, first she swing kicks and then she side kicks the neanderthal truncheon wielding riot guard! She gets a few baton strikes but this is the price for freedom and she cares not.Blessed is our motherland Iran, for having such daughters. The fear is gone and the momentum continues.
Thanks to Tehranlive we have several photos of Iranian people's protest and resistance movement:
Green Vote tweeted [fa] that one of people's slogan is, ‘Don't be afraid, we are all together’. Green Vote also tweeted that Mohammad Ali Tarekh, a student activist, was arrested in Shiraz.
Several bloggers such as Zeitoon report [fa] that people chant Allah-0-Akbar (God is Greater) from their houses during the night. Mousavi asked people to chant Allah-o-Akbar from the rooftops of their homes. During 1978-79 Islamic Revolution people use to do the same as a protest move against Shah.
Where is Obama?
View from Iran, an American blogger, writes:
Ultimately, I know that rhetoric is just rhetoric. That the words of a president do not actually change history even though they become part of it. If ever there was a time for Obama to turn on his rhetorical charm, it is now. Today at 4 pm there will be demonstrations in 20 cities in Iran. My friends *want to be on the streets.* They are parents, civil servants, accountants, receptionists, and yes students. In the end, with all of the violence, I am not sure that they will show up.
So Obama, turn on your charm. Use your powers of rhetoric to tell Iranians that, while we won't be sending in the marines, our hearts are with you. I know you can do a better job than I can.
Isfahan's suffering
Tehran is not the only city where people protesting have been repressed. Protesters in Isfahan, have also been the targets of security forces.
Iranevents has published several photos of Iranian protests.
People are being chased by security forces here:
and here:


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Iran:Several State-run sites were attacked · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian cyber activists used ‘Denial-of-service attack’  method to bring down several State-run sites such Irna and Press TV. Iranian government has filtered several sites recently as protest grows over Iranian presidential election.


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Japan: Copyright Law amendment · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fumi Yamazaki from What's happening in Japan right now blogs about the amendment of copyright law in Japan. Now downloading illegal contents will be illegal…


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Japan: HBS on Japanese Anime Industry · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Matt Alt links to a Harvard Business School working paper (pdf) on the state of the Japanese anime industry: “If Japan wants to bank on its ‘Gross National Cool’, it will have to overcome the inertia of system that has essentially reduced its most talented architects to the level of beggars.”

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kazkahstan: Educational Deadlock · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The problem of Kazakhstani textbooks for secondary school is still very urgent – numerous misprints, factual errors and inadequate language are charachteristic for these books.
Lately, the Minister of Education reported to the ruling party on his activity, and told that his ministry is not responsible for them, as they are allegedly developed autonomously by printhouses. This is not true, notes slavasay; he reminds that it has been 4 years ago when the “Textbook” research center was created under the Ministry. He also gives an example of the ministry's work [ru]:
Cover of the “Russian Language” textbook has two misprints in the title and one in the name. It is hard to imagine what's inside.
Megakhuimyak shares his impressions after the teaching experience at the informal journalism school and at the higher educational institution [ru]:
Conclusion: The system of education will be saved by small post-graduate schools, which deliver knowledge on one speciality, and where experienced professionals are teaching. Employers will soon respect such certificates more than the university's diplomas.
Meanwhile, the government considers the possibility of introducing compulsory drug use tests in schools. The motive is the good intention – care of the children's health. Itsuken doubts – in case of positive test results the kid will suffer from biased attitude in school; besides, after such discovery, he would incline more to communication with marginal children [ru]:
Besides, police will have a life-time discrediting material against any of teenage dupe. And our health care system is too dubious, that it is quite scary to let a child undergo a mass blood test. It would have been much better to spend these funds for organization of normal leisure time for children.
Also posted on neweurasia.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Korea: Kim Jong-il’s Heir · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Beom-seok Sohn from Ohmynews International discusses the potential candidates of North Korea state leader Kim Jong-il's successor.


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Moroccan Elections: The King’s Party Triumphs · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Whilst world attention was focused on the fiercely fought presidential election in Iran, communal elections held in June 12 in Morocco attracted little notice by world media. The polls were officially hailed as crucial for the country's future and an important milestone in Morocco's protracted journey to democracy. Moroccan bloggers covered and commented the event, their hearts swaying between skepticism and full endorsement of the process.
Waiting for the King by Oh Mon Héros! on Flickr
Thirty parties were competing for the votes of some 13 million Moroccans who were called on Friday to elect nearly 20,000 local councilors for terms of six years. Over 30,000 polling stations were opened across the country including in the southern provinces of Western Sahara. Early media reports were describing a low turnout and, apparently, very few young people came out to vote.
Blogger and activist Mounir Bensallah [Fr] encourages his readers to cast their votes. He published an appeal by an association linked to a party close to the power inciting voters to participate in the poll. The quote reads:
[I]ls nous appartient d’être vigilants, en effet loin de céder au sirènes toujours sonnantes de la démocratie inachevée, il nous faut nous rappeler que la démocratie n’est qu’un processus qu’il appartient a chacun d’entre nous de faire vivre et fructifier[…]
ceux qui nous assènent que les élections communales ne sont que le faire valoir des notables de chaque ville, nous leurs répondons que si l’on peut gouverner de loin, on ne peut administrer que de près, et que si le parlement peut voter des lois, seul al 3oumda (le Maire) les fait appliquer.
Alors peu importe pour qui l’on choisi de voter, l’important c’est de décider pour notre pays, pour notre avenir et celui de nos enfants.
To those who argue that these elections are only promotional platforms for city's notables, we say that if one can govern a state remotely, the country can only be administered locally, on the ground, and if parliament can indeed pass laws, only al-Oumda (the mayor) can bring them into life.
So no matter for whom we vote, the most important thing is to decide for our country, for our future and our children.
Threatened mainly by disaffection, municipal elections were described by international observers as a barometer; a mirror of communal political trends. The government fears mass abstention like the one that plagued legislative polls in 2007 when almost 65% of Moroccans didn't bother casting their vote.
Whilst the government announces a “51% turnout in those elections that took place in normal conditions, except for some minor incidents that did not affect the overall course of the polling” (source: MAP), some citizens ridiculed the process and complained about the relevance of a poll they deemed unfair. Badr al'Hamry blogging on Qalami[Ar], reports on a march that took place in the northern town of Nador where donkeys were symbolically paraded as fairer candidates worth voting for. He writes:
Early results seem to be confirming some bloggers’ concerns. Indeed, as announced by the interior ministry (the home affairs administration that runs the poll), “the results of 22,158 seats show that the freshly formed Modernity and Authenticity Party (PAM) has harvested most of the seats.” A party conspicuously linked to the royal palace -the king's party as it were- run by Fouad Ali El Himma, former classmate of the King Muhammad VI at the Royal College and whose parliament group has recently pulled out from the government coalition, in a move widely interpreted as a royal attempt to form a political group of his own.
Ibn Kafka [Fr] prolifically circumstantiates the creation of the -now almost certainly- victorious P.A.M. party. He describes how quickly the group became prominent, attracting…
… notables, politiques et célébrités des ONG comme le fumier attire les mouches.
Miloud E'shelh [Ar] describes electoral violations he came across. He enumerates 9 techniques used by cheating candidates:
Earlier this week, Larbi [fr] apprehended the outcome denouncing a lack of credibility and prospects. He deplores:
Peu d’enjeux politiques, une classe politique jugée inapte et inefficace, un jeu institutionnel se rapprochant d’un pouvoir absolu. Ce n’est une surprise pour personne : l’abstention s’est installée depuis longtemps dans le paysage politique marocain. Et comme si tout cela ne suffisait pas l’ami du roi, et la tragi-comédie qu’il avait jouée ces derniers mois, est venu détruire le peu de crédibilité qui restait à ces élections.
Struggling to contain her disappointment and frustrations, Najlae [Fr] writes:
Je crois que je dois étrangler à jamais mon côté d'irréductible optimiste (sous des tonnes de cynisme) qui prend toujours le dessus. Car, que de déceptions! […] Mais entre les hystériques, les sauvages, les hystériques, les sauvages, les corrupteurs déclarés, les sauvages, les incompétents, les hystériques, les analphabètes de la vie, les sauvages, les bookmakers des élections et le reste, mon optimisme ferait bien d'aller mettre un bon niqab.
Finally, Larbi, sums up [Fr] what he believes is at stake. He writes:
Enjeu politique majeur que celui de dire stop à la domination et la main mise de la monarchie sur le système politique. Que celui de dire qu’après plus de quinze ans de « transition démocratique » , si chère aux communicants du Royaume, et alors qu’on en attendait une évolution des institutions vers une monarchie parlementaire, l’entrisme de l’ami du roi, […] constitue un grand bond en arrière.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Nepal-India Border Dispute: Nepalese Reactions Online · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

Couple of weeks back, reports of alleged land encroachment by India border security forces hit the Nepalese media. On the historic perspective on Nepal-India border, Nepaldemocracy has an in-depth report.
According to  Republica:
“Some 2000 Nepalis from villages on Nepal-India border who have been displaced due to alleged harassment by Indian border security forces are running out of the meager food stuff they brought with them. [..]
The number of displaced due to harassment by India´s border security force — Sashastra Surakshya Bal (SSB) — is increasing. Even on Tuesday, some 250 came to Satbariya. Many are still on the highway not knowing where to go.”
Nepal's government has promised to look into the issue but the public anger is palpable. Around the country several protest rallies have been organized. Maoists and student organizations are taking the lead. According to Nepalnews, student organizations have decided to send delegation to border areas to asses the situation.
Online, reactions to the dispute ranges from frustration to call to regulate open Indo-Nepal border and organize grassroots citizen effort to publicize the issue and force peaceful and equitable solution.
Bivash, a blogger who is sympathetic towards the Maoists, points towards the open border between India and Nepal as a security problem and that regulated border could help ease tension.
“The open border is always operating at the pleasure of Indian interest. India has time and again used the open border issue to threaten Nepal whenever it feels that Nepal is not responding to its interest. There are incidents of major transit points closed for long duration by India without consulting Nepal as a punishment for dealing with other countries without India’s prior knowledge and consent.
However, after the birth of Maoist insurgency in Nepal, and especially in the past few years, India is also feeling the heat of negative implication of the left-wing and anti-Indian coordination in both countries that is linked to its internal security concern. So, it is the time for not only Nepal, but also India to rethink its strategic policy about the open border in the changing context of regional security as well as cross border undesirable activities. Being a small country, Nepal is suffering more from India in the negative consequences of the unregulated movement of population across the open border.”
Some frustrated citizens are also taking the matters to the court. Lawyer Santosh Basnet and journalist Pushpa Thapaliya have asked Nepal's Supreme Court to intervene.
“Meanwhile, lawyer Santosh Basnet and journalist Pushpa Thapaliya filed a public interest litigation in Nepal's Supreme Court, accusing the government of having failed to protect its citizens in the border areas.
The petitioners have asked the apex court to order the government to protect border villages from encroachment by India.
The Prime Minister's Office, council of ministers, home ministry and land reforms and management ministry have been named in the petition as having failed to execute their responsibilities.”
Nepali language blog MySansar is spearheading efforts to mobilize Nepalese online to publicize the issue. They are calling for global day of action on June 15th, asking readers to send banners, posters to protest the alleged encroachment.
At Facebook, several groups are popping up to protest alleged encroachment by India, and there are some videos posted at YouTube on the issue. Here is a video on the border dispute from the Nepalese side.
While majority of these efforts by Nepalese are an honest effort, there are some groups at Facebook who are dangerously promoting hate and xenophobia against India. At Mysansar too, some posters sent by readers for the global day of action are racist and biased, administrators there have not taken down the offensive images.

author: Bhumika Ghimire


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North Africa: Berber Books Online · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Lameen Souag links to Berber books available online for downloading.


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Pakistan: Virtual Bloggers Meetup · Global Voices
Rezwan

Teabreak, Paksitan's largest Blog aggregator celebrated its first birthday with a virtual Bloggers meet up, first ever in the country. The bloggers discussed about the IDP issues in Swat region and how bloggers can highlight the social  issues in Pakistan.


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Palestine: Recovering A Corpse After 54 Days · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Canadian activist Eva Bartlett describes a mission to retrieve the decomposed body of a young man from the border area of Gaza – where he had been killed 54 days earlier.


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Paraguay: Governmental Response to Arrival of H1N1 Virus · Global Voices
Belen Bogado

In the past few days, new cases of the AH1N1 virus have been confirmed in Paraguay. The cases are citizens who have just come back from trips to Argentina, a place which has now become one of the main sources for the virus transmission in Paraguay.  The total people infected rose to 25 according to ABC Color newspaper [es].  So far, there have not been any deaths linked to the virus, and all the people who became infected with the virus presented only symptoms of the normal seasonal flu.
A group of five infected students attend the private school “Santa Clara,” based in the capital, Asuncion. Apparently, the information about the cases detected in the private school was not disclosed until one of the infected students had already recovered from the virus symptoms. Government authorities have said that the names of schools with infected students will not be disclosed to the public.  This tightly guarded attitude from health officers and the school’s authorities concerns some citizens. Blogger Mabel Rehnfeldt of El Dedo en la Llaga [es] addressed the situation, both as a journalist and as a mother:
Me pregunto qué pasa con el derecho a saber que tenemos los padres de colegios afectados y no afectados para poder ejercer el deber de precautelar a otros niños y niñas sanos/as?
Un especialista epidemiólogo, de los mejores que conozco en el país, pidió que se socialice la información, que se colectivice. Aquí no se trata de satanizar ningún colegio -mucho menos dar identidades de los pacientes por el tema de la confidencialidad obligada por el juramento hipocrático- es apenas INFORMAR a la opinión pública en qué colegios ya hay casos sospechosos.
I wonder what is happening with the parents’ right to be informed about the schools that are affected and the ones that are not in order to be able to protect the other healthy children?
An epidemiological expert, one of the best I know in the country, requested that the information be widespread and collected. This is not about demonizing any school – neither to disclose the identities of the patients, because of the confidentiality required by the Hippocratic Oath- it is just about INFORMING the public in which schoolS there are suspected cases.
In contrast with the scarce efforts placed in spreading the information about which schools have the virus, the government is enforcing the implemented measures, such as border control to prevent the spread of the AH1N1 virus in Paraguay. This is what journalist and blogger Gloria Rolon says about her experience [es]:
Es que al descender del avión y abandonar la manga de desembarco, la recepción que le dan a uno es sencillamente sorprendente. Todo, pero absolutamente todo el personal en tierra luce impecables tapabocas y guantes de látex.
Confieso que no sé si las medidas en cuestión serán efectivas o no para evitar un contagio masivo, pero debo reconocer que lo que al principio fue una sorpresa para mí, luego se transformó en una agradable sensación de satisfacción con la tarea desplegada por las autoridades sanitarias en Paraguay.
When I stepped off from the airplane and left the departure area, the reception that one gets is simply amazing. Everyone, but absolutely all of the land personnel look flawless with masks to cover their mouths and latex gloves.
I confess that I don’t know whether the measures are effective or not to avoid the contagion, but I must recognize that what at first was a surprise for me, later became a nice feeling of satisfaction towards the work done by the health authorities of Paraguay.
The swine flu was declared a global pandemic on June 11, 2009. This is the first time in 41 years that the World Health Organization declares the existence of a worldwide pandemic.

author: Belen Bogado


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Slovakia, Czech Republic: www.postaramsa.com · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tanja of Czechmatediary writes: “My good Slovak blogger friend Lenka (AKA SlovakMama) had a great idea. She created a website called ‘www.postaramsa.com‘ (meaning “it will be taken care of”) which allows visitors to search for caretakers for either their children or their elderly parents ( or pets!) and worldwide! So let’s say  you are a Czech or Slovak mom abroad and you are looking for a Czech/Slovak nanny. You enter your ad in and for free. Or you live abroad and have an elderly mom who speaks only Czech and you are looking for a Czech companion for her – you enter that in and for free.”


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Sri Lanka: Enigma of Prabhakaran and the Tamil Tigers · Global Voices
Rezwan

Muttukrishna Sarvananthan at Groundviews discusses the enigma of Prabhakaran and the Tamil Tigers which pricks the conscience of many Sri Lankan Tamils.


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Talking to Indian-Jamaican writer and blogger Annie Paul · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Jamaica-based Indian writer and editor Annie Paul
Writer and editor Annie Paul was born in Kerala, in south India, and lived in the United States and Brazil before settling in Jamaica nearly two decades ago. Based at the University of the West Indies Mona campus, she is the head of the publications section at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies. She is also a founding editor of the journal Small Axe, and a former columnist for Jamaica's Sunday Herald newspaper. She writes regularly about Caribbean art and popular culture, and has contributed to numerous international journals, books, catalogues, conferences, and other events.
Since January 2008, Paul has also been a blogger. At Active Voice, she writes about Jamaican society and politics, international affairs, the art and music world, books, and cultural events, with a penchant for controversial topics. I recently interviewed her via email about her experiences with her blog and other online media. This is an edited version of our conversation.
Nicholas Laughlin: Why did you decide to end your Herald column and start blogging in January 2008? Had you ever contributed to a blog before that?
Annie Paul: In the last few years I've fallen into the habit of making so-called new year resolutions and towards the end of 2007 I told myself it was high time I started a blog. I had written an opinion column for the Sunday Herald for ten years, and while I valued my relationship with them and the wonderful space they gave me on their editorial page, they had been unable to provide me with the one thing that was very important to me — the right to be consulted before they changed anything in the column — even a word.
I'm an editor by profession so this particular step in the process was dear to my heart; I don't think most people understand the anguish at reading something you've carefully crafted and written marred by errors others have inserted into your piece on the pretext of sub-editing. So as I say on my blog, when a column in which I was talking about Bollywood was published with the word “Hollywood” carefully and consistently replacing “Bollywood” throughout, I decided it was time to abandon the local print media and strike out on my own.
I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it or planning it. I'm very design-oriented and comfortable enough with the technology that I was able to create a blogspace that I felt communicated my personal aesthetic as well as provided a vehicle for my writing. I wasn't an active member of the blogosphere before I started Active Voice. My only exposure to blogs was through a group blog called Sepia Mutiny — wonderful name and a great blog authored by Indians in the diaspora. They came to international attention when something one of them blogged about was deemed “racist” by the mainstream media in the US, which is how I found them. I was filled with admiration and hoped to emulate their excellent example one day.
Then there was the panel you and Georgia Popplewell organised at the 2006 Caribbean Studies Association conference in Port of Spain. I think knowing you both so well gave me the impetus to start, and I felt confident that my writing would support the leap I was making. I have a talent for short, catchy titles and the name Active Voice came readily when I thought about what I hoped to do with this blog.
NL: Do you think you had a wider audience when you were writing for the print media? Or do you feel your blog has widened your audience? Do you miss writing for the newspaper?
AP: In the beginning I missed writing for the Herald and used my blog as a column-substitute. Although you have no real sense of who your audience is when you write a column, you do form a bond with what you fondly think of as your readership. Especially when occasional members of the public let you know that they read and appreciate your writing. The Jamaican public that engaged with my columns over the years had been crucial to my growth and development as a writer. I hold them in the highest regard for tolerating, indeed humouring me, even when the blunt and harsh criticism I often lobbed at them must have given offence.
So in terms of numbers I have no idea what the size of my readership was with the Herald, but I did and do miss that sense of being in conversation with people here. The blog offers a completely different kind of engagement that I have grown to enjoy very much. One is now talking to and with people from all over the planet. It gives me no end of a kick to visit the site meter each day and check out where visitors to my blog are located. Lithuania, India, China, Brazil, Ghana, Capetown, Portugal, Dubai, and of course Canada, the UK and USA, not to mention the Caribbean. My geography has improved by leaps and bounds since I started blogging.
I now think that blogging was made for me and I was made for blogging. You learn as you go along and it's an exciting journey. Technically speaking even though the internet lays the world at your feet I found that I still spent most of my time getting to know Jamaican bloggers first, many of whom manifested themselves to me through their generous comments on my early posts. I was bowled over by bloggers such as Afflicted Yard, Long Bench, Marlon James, Mad Bull and, when he came along, the Diatribalist. Ruthibelle, who is only 20 or 21, is another favourite. Then I started sticking my toe out and, especially through the Global Voices link, started discovering other Caribbean blogs such as Coffeewallah, Chutney Garden, Generation Y, Slacker's Chronicles and others.
Getting reader responses in the form of comments is the single most delicious thing about blogs. Personally I consider blogposts which only receive three or four comments to have failed at some level. I tend to write about the vexatious and vexed issues that occupy public attention at any given time. How social systems operate fascinates me; the negotiations and accommodations human beings make in order to live sociably, and the cultural phenomena these give rise to, never fail to arouse my interest. The role played by hypocrisy, morality, taste, aggression, noise and so on in masking social inequity and perpetuating its asymmetries are essentially what I tend to blog about.
NL: Your blog posts often discuss controversial issues relating to current affairs in Jamaica, and sometimes trigger highly vigorous debates in the comment threads. Has there ever been an occasion when you thought the comments discussion was getting out of control? How do you deal with possible inflammatory situations?
AP: Yes, as you say there are certain posts which have roused lengthy contentious debate/argument in my comment threads — the recent report on verbal excesses at the Calabash Literary Festival being one and the post on Daggering and the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission another. My post on the term “coolie” and the perception of Indians in Jamaica also attracted heated comments. I don't restrict the flow of comments until I see it threatening to get nasty and out of control. Or, as in the case of the post about [Jamaican dub poet] Mutabaruka, I wielded censorial license and locked off one respondent who was extremely aggressive and disagreeable. It vaguely alarmed me how much pleasure I derived in the process, having often argued vigorously against censorship. In general I try and accommodate widely varying views as long as they remain reasonably civil.
NL: Career-wise, you are in an interesting position, with one foot in the academy and another in the creative world of Jamaican art and music. How do you think those two worlds could be using online tools like blogs more effectively?
AP: I work at the University of the West Indies as a journal editor and publisher and do my writing on the side. The University administration is very conscious of the need to use the new social media of blogging, micro-blogging and tweeting to enhance the scholarly research and teaching at the university. The battle is to get individual faculty members to start using new media in their teaching and research. Academics can be surprisingly suspicious of and hostile to new technologies and, in general, to learning new modes of teaching and learning. Surprising, because it's their profession to teach students things that are new to them, yet they themselves are resistant to new knowledge. Those who refuse to adopt new forms of communicating are bound to be left behind eventually; maybe this is a good way to rid the system of dead wood and create space for savvier younger scholars who are engaging in the kind of research we need today. Who knows?
In the arts, musicians have moved into new media with alacrity and are reaping the benefits already. At the recently concluded Caribbean Studies Association conference in Kingston, “Skatta” Burrell, one of the top dancehall beatmakers and producers, informed the audience at a panel discussion on dancehall music that most of his earnings come from selling performance rights and other rights to his music online. Visual artists, on the other hand, have been surprisingly slow to venture out of their shells and use the exciting new tools and media available. There seems to be a heavy investment in traditional media — of course there are exceptions — which bears out my longstanding critique of visual art in Jamaica; it has not kept pace with artists in places like Cuba, the Dominican Republic or even Trinidad and Tobago. This inability to re-imagine art-making and create radical new visual documents and artworks is distressing. It seems to point, I think, to an innate lack of creativity and desire to experiment. Let me emphasise the word “seems”.
NL: You are also a fairly recent but very enthusiastic tweeter. How has Twitter expanded your online networks and horizons?
AP: Twitter is the best present I've received this year and for that matter the last few years. It's the twenty-first century equivalent of “Open Sesame” — the magic words that opened the door to the cave where Ali Baba hid his loot. There's something magical about its ability to morph into the dream tool that alters to fit your needs. Its possibilities seem endless and I particularly like its inbuilt immunity to commercialisation. I think all these social media we're seeing the proliferation of are the backlash to decades of having become captive audiences to the inane subliminal messages of big business. In recent years, advertising on mainstream cable TV has become quite creative but remains an unsustainable and undesirable model for the transmission of information.
Again, Twitter is a tool that you learn to use while using it. It's about being a smart follower and a transmitter of valuable information to networks who would not normally have access to each other. I tell people that it's like having your own broadcasting service. So I've used mine to follow people who link me to areas that once were inaccessible to someone living in a place such as Jamaica.
For instance, through becoming a very early follower of the Indian politician and erstwhile United Nations technocrat Shashi Tharoor (I was actually the first to sign on as a follower when he opened his Twitter account), I attracted a number of his political followers who are Malayalis (natives of Kerala like myself) in different parts of India. Through them I have really enhanced my day-to-day knowledge of current events and just the quotidian in the lives of the Indians I feel and am most connected to — Malayalis. In the recently held elections, I was reading tweets from people waiting in line to cast their vote describing the scene at their locations. I only wish I had been on Twitter when the Bombay siege was underway last November.
I also follow people who tweet about visual art, one of my abiding interests. As a result, for the first time this year I was keeping abreast of events in Venice during the opening week of the Biennale, and when I eventually make my way to this globally renowned art event I'll have a working knowledge of the various locations, the people to watch, the must-see events and so on. Similarly I follow and tweet about popular culture in the Caribbean, the politics of culture broadly speaking, literary goings-on, university-related research and publishing industry news. I regularly tweet links to good articles, videos, interviews and blogs related to all these fields. Anyone who follows me can expect to be fed a daily diet of two to five such links.
NL: You mentioned some favourite Caribbean blogs earlier. Which others do you follow regularly?
AP: There's the Repeating Islands blog, which is a valuable repository of art and literature-related information on the Francophone Caribbean but also the wider Caribbean. Blogging is knocking down the linguistic barriers which have always impeded our knowledge of ourselves as a region. There's Signifyin’ Guyana, the Caribbean Review of Books blog, your and Georgia's blogs, Stunner's Afflictions, Owensoft, Jamlink and Abeng News Magazine. I used to check Living Guyana too but that site was shut down. The ability to get information from bloggers on the ground in Cuba is also breathtaking.
NL: You also keep up with the South Asian (and South Asian diaspora) blogosphere. Who are your favourite bloggers from that part of the world? And have you been able to make connections — through your own blog or otherwise — between Caribbean and South Asian bloggers?
AP: During the four days in late 2008 when Bombay was practically held hostage by a handful of masked gunmen, I discovered Indian bloggers. I may have known a couple before that, but that crisis, when I was desperate for information on what was happening on the ground, opened up the world of Indian blogging to me. They've been at it much longer than we have. Most of the Indian bloggers I follow have been at it since the early 2000s. My favourite Indian blogger is Sidin Vadukut, whose blog Domain Maximus provides a quirky, insightful, insanely humorous take on events there. India Uncut, Sonia Faleiro, Jabberwock, Farting Pen and the Compulsive Confessor are some others I check regularly.
I know that through me [Trinidadian blogger] Coffeewallah has started following Domain Maximus, but I'm not aware of any further cross-pollination due to my efforts. I feel that the top Indian bloggers such as the ones I've mentioned have a bit of an attitude — they feel superior because they've been doing it so long, and are not as open to what they perceive to be small fry from the Caribbean. This is a pity. My own policy is never to take anyone or anything for granted.
NL: What's been the biggest surprise about blogging?
AP: The biggest surprise is that with all the freedom to read anything from anywhere you still tend to stick to what is either geographically or culturally close to you. I'm not reading blogs from Mongolia or Togo or Argentina on a daily basis, I'm reading Jamaican, Caribbean and Indian blogs, in that order.
The other surprise is just how much raw talent there is out there that has been unleashed by new media. Although I do worry occasionally about the hidden costs involved, I love the new circuits and networks new media have opened up to me and the endless possibilities of blogging and tweeting.

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Tunisia: Confronting Religious Violence · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Tunisian blogger Hamid Zanar who writes on Reflexions of a Former Muslim [Ar], launches a virulent attack against religious violence and fundamentalism amidst accounts of renewed threats made against intellectuals and teachers in his country.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas: Online Poetry  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Antilles interviews Bahamian blogger Nicolette Bethel, the editor of the online poetry journal tongues of the ocean.


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Trinidad & Tobago: In Naipaul’s Defense  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands features a defense of Trinidad-born V.S. Naipaul in which the author “makes a valid point about the separation of the writer’s shortcomings as a person from the texts he has produced.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Up in Flames · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but who would want to flatter matches?”: From Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life explains.


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Ukraine: £2.47 Million for Repin and Petrov-Vodkin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

IZO reports that Alina Ayvazova, Kyiv mayor's wife, has paid £2.47 million at an auction in London to acquire two paintings by Russian artists Ilya Repin and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.


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USA, Singapore: On Buying Brides with Credit Cards · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

The Human Trafficking blog by Amanda Kloer at Change.org in the United States  declared victory on Friday in their campaign to get the credit card company Diners Club International to stop doing business with a company in Singapore that sells Vietnamese mail order brides. More than 800 people signed a petition to get Diners Club to stop making it easier to purchase women for marriage.
The online petition said:
Human beings should not be bought or sold, and they certainly shouldn't be part of a payment plan, a “blue light special”, or a clearance sale. Mail order brides are not only extremely vulnerable to human trafficking, but also domestic violence, abuse, rape, and exploitation. While creating a payment plan to purchase a human being is ethically and philosophically disgusting, it also reduces the economic barrier to buying a bride. Removing that barrier allows traffickers to acquire women using less capital than they needed before. It opens the door to a new socio-economic class of criminals to buy and exploit these women.
Mail order brides are not illegal in Singapore, nor in most other parts of the world. This month, The Electric New Paper in Singapore published a series of articles about Vietnam Brides International, including one about the company's $167 a month payment plan with Diners Club, and another about the sliding scale of prices for brides depending on where they are from. The journalist, Crystal Chan, also spoke to the assistant general manager (sales and marketing) for Diners Club (Singapore), who said, “We don't make a moral judgment on the business set-up of our merchant partners. For us, it's more important that the business is legitimate.”
Since the petition, the credit card company has changed its tune and written the following in a letter to Change.org:
“On behalf of Diners Club International, which is part of Discover Financial Services, we appreciate [your] bringing this specific merchant relationship with a Diners franchisee to our attention. Formal steps have been taken to terminate the relationship [with Vietnam Brides International].”
On Change.org Amanda Kloer concludes:
This statement is telling, and it says that you all made a huge difference. Your letters made Diners Club aware of the partnership one of their franchisees had made with a mail order bride service. You helped keep an important financial protection in place for women at risk of trafficking and abuse via the mail order bride industry. You refused to accept that an international company can treat and finance women like objects. This is one of those rare moments when you can see the important changes your actions bring, and the difference you make in the world.
Thank you for bringing this issue to Diners Club's attention. And thank you Diners Club International for making the important decision to protect women and girls from exploitation. Together, we are the change we wish to see.
In April, Global Voices linked to a post by Alvinology in Singapore about an Al Jazeera film about Vietnamese mail order brides. The film tells the story of two girls who come to Singapore seeking new lives.
Alvinology wonders why men must resort to foreign brides when there are already both men and women in Singapore. He writes:
In the video, a Vietnamese bride can be “purchased” on-the-spot for S$10,000. The girl on the right was only 18-years-old when she was sold to a 35 year-old Singaporean man who went to the matchmaking agency to choose his bride together with his mom.
What’s even more humiliating, the girls were made to visit a clinic in Singapore to get a certificate verifying their virginity before they can be sold.
While both the Vietnamese girls and the Singaporean men who entered into such marriages are willing adults, I wonder how many of such couples end up truly happy.

author: Solana Larsen


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Armenia: Iranian student protest · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Posting photos and videos on his Frontline Club blog, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor reports from a demonstration staged outside the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan protesting Friday's disputed presidential election.


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Bahrain: Bloggers Meet · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Mahmood reports on a get-together of Bahraini bloggers, after a long break.


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Bahrain: Equipped For Swine Flu? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Emoodz asks why a student returning from the US who was feeling unwell was sent home from the doctor with some painkillers – then was later discovered to have swine flu.


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Bangladesh: Shahidul Alam Detained By Indian Border Security Forces · Global Voices
Rezwan

Media Helping Media informs that Shahidul Alam, internationally renowned photojournalist from Bangladesh, blogger and founder of the Drik picture network has been detained by the Indian border security while working on the Bangladesh side of the border. Updates on this news are being posted in Unheard Voice Blog.


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Barbados: Aquaponics · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Aquaponics is the new way to farm”: Barbados Underground blogs about “its potential to feed Barbadians and at the same time [be] the ideal model for food security.”


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Barbados: Tourism and H1N1 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press is torn: should Barbados admit a cruise ship at the risk of increasing the incidence of the H1N1 virus – or go for the tourism dollars?


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Bermuda, USA, UK: Fallout over Guantanamo · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian bloggers still have not stopped talking about their government's agreement to have four detainees of Guantanamo Bay to resettle on the island.  Most of their focus seems to be on the fallout that Premier Ewart Brown is facing following the controversial decision.
Breezeblog reports that “Bermudians are being urged to take to the streets on Tuesday in an unprecedented ‘people’s protest’ against Premier Dr Ewart Brown”:
The call, circulated by e-mail and social networking sites throughout the Island, states that a march on Parliament will take place on June 16 at 12.30pm. The organisers – who seem to be a mixed grassroots bunch led by an insurance clerk, Janice Battersbee – are calling for the Premier to resign and for the “Gitmo Four” to be returned immediately.
Realistically, they are unlikely to succeed on either count but the fact that this protest is taking place at all is an indication of the widespread anger and disgust people here have for Brown right now.
With the UBP having tabled a motion of no confidence in Brown – and no doubt he will try and stifle that debate next Friday if he lasts that long – its going to be an interesting week in Bermudian politics. A watershed even.
Bermudians are not the only ones unhappy with the Premier.  Mainstream media sources are reporting that the U.K. is reviewing “the legal basis of its relations with Bermuda” following the debacle, questioning Brown's right to even negotiate the deal without Britain's input.  According to the Guardian story, “under a 1968 understanding known as the general entrustment, Bermuda has the right to conduct external relations ‘on behalf of’ Britain, on condition that London is consulted before agreements with other states are entered.”
Meanwhile, The New York Times piece that shows some of the former detainees cavorting in the Bermudian ocean has done little to foster goodwill.  Vexed Bermoothes, referring to a BBC report, actually wonders if the Premier “got played”:
You can read this in several ways – one view is that Dr. Brown was looking for an angle to push the independence agenda with the UK.  Another view is that Dr. Brown got played way out of his league:
* The US knew they had an anti-UK zealot with a huge ego and hunger for attention and exploited it.  They offload a few Uighurs, create plausible deniability for their real ally (the UK), and leave Ewart to deal with the mess he’s created.
* Or they really don’t give a rats ass and are just shoving Uighurs in any tin pot country that will take ‘em, screw the consequences.
Dr. Brown doesn’t come out looking very good.  Even if you don’t believe that Dr. Brown was used, it is undeniable that his little games with the Constitution have badly undermined the Rule of Law in Bermuda.
The blogger also stresses that:
This fuss is not really about the uighurs.  It’s about the consistently murky and inappropriate behaviour of our political leadership.
Dr. Brown's reaction to the public outcry has not helped.  Vexed Bermoothes comments:
That sums up his philosophy.  So far, he’s been able to count on Bermudians forgiving or forgetting every one of his transgressions without any consequence.  By creating diversions, or going on the offensive, he’s been able to avoid accountability on so many issues.
So … are Bermudians going to ‘let things pass’ yet again with Dr. Brown?  Each time he gets bolder, and the damage greater.
Catch a fire adds:
The issue is solely on how this fiasco came about, and what it implies. This decision has been made contrary to our Constitution, which makes it all the more ironic that not only a few weeks ago the Party Leadership was desperately clutching to the Party Constitution rules to fend off a Leadership challenge. What is more, there is growing evidence that could see the decision as being seen as an act of treason and an attempt by the USA to undermine the constitutional sovereignity of our island and, by extension, the UK.
The greatest irony of this is that out of this fiasco Dr. Brown may have actually finally given birth to a greater level of national consciousness and unity as a result.  ‘This too shall pass’ says Dr. Brown. No doubt, in time, it will. There will be seething public anger over the immediate week or two, and then this anger will calm down, at least superficially. The Uighurs will face some unfortunate public backlash, but in time the vast majority of the people will accept that they are pawns and victims of this affair.  But just as this fury shall pass, so shall Dr. Brown’s leadership and those opportunists that cling-on to his coat-tails.
Interestingly, after giving the situation some thought, Catch a fire decides that the “no confidence” vote in the Premier being put forward by the UBP is not worth supporting for two critical reasons:
If the No Confidence Vote is successful it would see, in short order, a move to send the Uighur detainees back to Guantanamo Bay, or, worse, the People’s Republic of China. While there may be some populist reactionary support for either of these actions, to do so would in my opinion be unethical and inhumane.
The main issue why I have changed my opinion on the No Confidence Vote however is because the more I think about this fiasco the more I become convinced that the US and UK have acted together in such a way as to benefit themselves at the expense of Dr. Brown. In short, I believe that part of this fiasco is a plot to see Dr. Brown scapegoated and his Premiership ended.
But 21 Square is not convinced by the conspiracy theories.  Instead, he claims that “the blatantly obvious has been far too readily discounted”:
Premier Brown may be said to be many things but he is not an idiot when there is something to be gained.  He has proven far too cunning to be caught up in a move of simple ignorance to the potential fallout of a so called ‘humanitarian’ act gone wrong.  Is it really likely that Brown was so corrupt in his self belief in this being a good idea that he would not only disregard the biggest complaint that has ever been lodged against his leadership but also do so in such a grandiose fashion that turned this into an international incident?  This to take such a massive gamble for something to which he negotiated no upside aside from ‘doing the right thing’?  This simply doesn’t fit.
The controversy has even reached the attention of other regional bloggers.  From Trinidad and Tobago, Mauvais Langue says:
The islanders of Bermuda are angry and outraged, and who could blame them.
I wonder how much it took for the Premier to sell his soul?
I only hope that this does not spread to other islands in the Caribbean, especially Trinidad.  The last thing Trinidad & Tobago needs is this.
Breezeblog, on the other hand, is quite happy to post a video entitled “Time To Go – An Ode to Ewart Brown” as he tries to take a humourous look at the situation.  And the comedy continues, courtesy the “fake” blog The Secret Blog of Patrick “Patos” Manning, which claims to be from the mind of Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister.  The blogger inisists that he received a letter from U.S. President Barack Obama asking for cooperation in taking a few Guantanamo Bay detainees:
I originally consulted the Minister of National Security on the matter, but his most innovative idea had to do with sending the detainees to live in Sobo Village and hoping they die of smelter-related illnesses within a few years. So I’m opening this one to you, my dear friends. Participatory government is alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago! Help me choose a Gitmo detainee! Or four!
Should we grab some Chinese separatists, like Bermuda? Or would that get us into trouble with our Chinese friends and bring the local construction industry to its knees? And if any of you know any women we can fix these fellas up with, please leave a note in the comments section.
To Bermudians, of course, the entire affair is no laughing matter:
Bermudian reactions to this range from the bewildered to the outraged.


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Brazil: Petrobras Blog Versus Mainstream Media · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Petrobras – one of the biggest oil companies in the planet.
Brazil's giant, semi-public oil company Petrobras, which faces likely investigation under many accusations by the Brazilian Congress through a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI), has just entered the blogosphere, causing mixed reactions from bloggers, government and mass media.
According to the company itself, Petrobras Fatos e Dados blog [Petrobras Facts and Data, pt] aims to provide up to date information about the company and its attitude towards CPI activities. In its first week [pt], the blog highlighted the Internet repercussions and mass media's position against this initiative, stating:
Nosso blog completa uma semana, com 145 mil visitas, 31 posts e 1.700 comentários, e já conseguimos um espaço considerável de repercussão. Acreditamos nas mídias sociais como um importante canal de conversação direta entre a Petrobras e a sociedade. Infelizmente, continuamos a ver na imprensa comentários equivocados que desconhecem a própria lógica das mídias sociais.
In addition to the first blog posts about the company's activities, on June 4th Petrobras also released a set of questions posed by journalists from two major Brazilian newspapers and the corresponding answers. This caused a great commotion among newspapers and journalists that in turn repudiated the blog, arguing it was a threat to press confidentiality.
Some bloggers think establishing a direct communication channel between Petrobras and society is actually a good thing. Reading information given by the company itself makes it possible for people to check whether newspaper headlines about the same subject using the same raw material as that released by Petrobras are correct or not.
Carlos Castilho presents his thoughts about this Petrobras initiative on the Observatório de Imprensa blog (Press Observatory), suggesting [pt]:
A Petrobras resolveu fazer aquilo que nos Estados Unidos já é uma rotina, até mesmo por parte de órgãos do governo federal. A empresa ingressou na blogosfera ao montar um blog no qual publica a íntegra de seus comunicados e entrevistas fornecidos à imprensa. […] A irritação dos jornais vem do fato de que o blog da Petrobras permite uma comparação entre o que a empresa forneceu aos jornalistas e o que foi publicado. Com isto é possível identificar erros de contexto, omissões e equívocos de transcrição.
On the other hand, newspapers have criticized the Petrobras blog stating its position is illegal, unethical and aggressive. One of the newspapers, O Globo, published an editorial [pt] on June 8th, after Petrobras’ decision to publish media inquires, claiming that questions sent to the company are the property of newspapers and their employees and that Petrobras was wounding the Brazilian Constitution.
Blogger, professor and lawyer Tulio Viana [pt] clarifies readers’ doubts about whether copyright of questions is plausible or not with regard to the constitution. Analyzing Brazilian copyright law, he explains [pt]:
De onde O Globo teria então tirado a tese jurídica de que perguntas jornalísticas são propriedade de quem as faz? Será que é pura e simples desinformação do jornal ou mais uma daquelas mentiras que se pretendem tornar-se verdade ao serem repetidas centenas de vezes? Para que não reste dúvida quanto o absurdo da tese, vamos ao art.8º da mesma lei: III – os formulários em branco para serem preenchidos por qualquer tipo de informação, científica ou não, e suas instruções [não são passíveis de Direitos Autorais] ; Incrível a cara-de-pau do jornal de publicar uma informação completamente falsa em seu editorial, inventando sem o menor pudor um novo inciso para o art.7º da Lei de Direitos Autorais e revogando o art.8º, III, da mesma lei.
Petrobras blog is hosted on a WordPress.com site.
Transparency being the aim of journalism itself, bloggers have also praised the Petrobras initiative while highlighting a point made by the press in which it expressed concern that the oil company's attitude would weaken its relationship with newspapers and their readers. Liberal Libertário Libertino blog (Liberal, Libertarian, Libertine) summarizes the facts. In its point of view [pt]:
A Petrobras não tem nada que confiar na imprensa. A imprensa não tem nada que confiar na Petrobras. Não devem haver acordos tácitos ou relações sigilosas entre a mídia e a Petrobras. As relações entre eles devem ser públicas e transparentes. Daí a celebração.
Commentator Fábio Couto stresses [pt] how he understands Petrobras’ initiative and the press reaction:
Não vejo problema do Petrobras se defender via blog. O problema é divulgar perguntas de apuração antes da matéria ser publicada. […] Não há nada de ilegal, mas não é ético e abre um fosso entre a empresa e a imprensa. […] Mas se a divulgação de perguntas e respostas fosse feita depois das matérias publicadas, certamente o efeito poderia ser mais bem entendido.
While stressing that it does not have proper market research value, Folha de São Paulo newspaper, one of the biggest in Brazil, published a poll asking its readers whether they approved or not of Petrobras’ decision to “leak” on its website newspaper questions and answers before publication. On Twitter, Idelber Avelar [pt] observed that the use of the word “leak” by Folha de São Paulo was already biased, but that, nevertheless, the poll showed that its readers were not buying it. At the time of publication, the results are as follows [pt]: out of 5,315 votes, 4,548, or 86% of voters, backed Petrobras, whilst 767 or 14% said Petrobras stance was wrong.
Folha de São Paulo Poll online since June 9th. Screenshot, June 16th.
Handling the situation carefully and highlighting positive and negative issues regarding the facts, journalist and columnist of the Estado de São Paulo newspaper Pedro Dória expresses [pt] some opinions:
Se o único objetivo da Petrobras fosse realmente transparência, era muito simples resolver: publica perguntas e respostas logo após os jornais levarem ao ar suas informações exclusivas. […] A questão real, a discussão principal da qual esta polêmica é só um capítulo, é a relação entre imprensa, empresas, governo e público. Estou longe das redações, então não sei como essa discussão está sendo encarada nas diretorias. Se eu tivesse que chutar, apostaria que ninguém está percebendo: a credibilidade da imprensa brasileira está lentamente sendo minada.
Commenter Bruno Stern adds [pt]:
Há uma coisa muito clara nessa história. A Petrobras chegou a conclusão de que, se depender do espaço na mídia tradiocional para defender suas posições, terá muitos problemas. Se há um partido da mídia, não sei. Mas que veículos como O Globo e Folha [de São Paulo] já entram nessa história com suas posições definidas tenho certeza.
On its blog, Petrobras also released [pt] the content of a letter from the Brazilian Press Association (ABI), an excerpt of which says:
A ABI considera legítima a decisão da Petrobras de criar um blog para divulgação das informações que presta à imprensa e especialmente aos veículos impressos, uma vez que as questões relativas ao seu funcionamento e aos seus atos de gestão interessam ao conjunto da sociedade, que não pode ficar exposta ao risco de filtragem das informações típica e inseparável do processo de edição jornalística. A empresa tem o direito de se acautelar, através das informações que difunde no blog, contra as distorções em que os meios de comunicação têm incorrido, como a própria ABI registrou em matéria publicada da edição de 31 de maio de um dos jornais que agora se insurgem contra o blog da empresa.
Emerson Luis expresses [pt] hope in such practice becoming part of private and government companies, and other institutions in Brazilian society,  :
Importante: não basta somente que os órgãos públicos façam isso. ONGs, empresas, OCIPS, instituições, todas tem o direito de repetir a mesma prática, de divulgar suas informações na íntegra, antes das interpretações ruins ganharem as ruas. Todos tem o direito de se antecipar ao estrago iminente. É o direito, e, antes de tudo, de informar claramente.
In conclusion, the Brazilian journalism scene might be changing little by little, whilst Petrobras’ stance represents something negative for some, to others it is the perfect solution for transparency and an actual democratic state and information.

author: Diego Casaes


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China: Chinese netizen reactions to Iranian election · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Allie Shi from Shanghaiist translated Chinese netizens’ comments on Iranian election.


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China: Conversation with AMARC · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Doubleaf explains how Chinese rural residents acquire and disseminate information during the past 20 years in his conversation with the Chair of AMARC, Steve Buckley.


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Cuba, U.S.A.: The Cuban Five  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban bloggers report on the latest developments with “The Cuban Five”.


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Cuba: Welcoming “Granpa”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A new SMS service has increased Generation Y‘s faith in the power of technology: “I’ve known about a page called Granpa (we hope it will be more objective than Granma) that sends news to cell phones located in Cuba.  Since we don’t have a paper newspaper to tell us everything the official press keeps hidden…kudos for this information flashing on the screens of our phones.”


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Dominica: Closing for Chavez  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dominican blogs discuss whether it was a wise decision for the government to close the airports in order to “facilitate the visit of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.”


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Ecuador: Eugenio Espejo, Precursor for the Independence Movement · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Eugenio Espejo was a writer, journalist, and philospher in colonial Ecuador during the late 18th century. He is often credited for contributing to the precursor of the independence movement. Belén Proaño of Temas Para Debatir [es] has a profile of the man.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Ecuador: Galapagos Islands Advance in 7 New Wonders Competition · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

After the second round of voting, Ecuador boasts two candidates for the online competition for the Seven New Wonders of the World: The Galapagos Islands (B-Islands) and the Amazonian Region (F – Forests, National Parks and Nature Reserves). Many are more familiar with the Galapagos, an archipelago comprised of 125 large and small islands of volcanic origin and in which 97% of the territory is a protected area under the category of National Park.
This zone in the Pacific Ocean is easily recognizable because of its fauna like Solitary George, the 70-year-old giant turtle who is unable to find a suitable mate. He is in danger of extinction because he is the only type of this turtle still in existence. Other species in danger of extinction include the medium tree-finch (pinzón) [es] and the pink iguana [es]. Many of these were the basis of Charles Darwin's studies.
Ecuadorians are congratulated for its early success in the competition, and the government claims that such success can be attributed to the Minister of Tourism, Veronica Sion and her fight to get the UNESCO to review its decision in 2007 to include the Galapagos Islands on the list of heritage places in danger.
A warning notice to all visitors placed by the Commandant of the 2nd. Ecuadorian Naval Zone. Photo used under Creative Commons license by http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonpearce/
Ecuadorian bloggers like Waldemar Verdugo Fuentes of Islas Galápagos, Reserva de la Humanidad [es] are especially proud of the Islands and he relates what it was like to be on the islands for a second time. He also observed some changes caused by more residents and increased tourism on the island.
Otro problema igualmente grave es la migración de colonos del continente, que son atraídos por el “dólar fácil” del turismo. La tasa de crecimiento poblacional de la provincia de Galápagos asciende a 6 por ciento anual, la más alta de Ecuador (promedio nacional 2.08). Actualmente, 16 mil habitantes pueblan la región. Demasiados colonos para unas islas que exigen una rigurosa disciplina de vida. Los asentamientos urbanos conllevan la sobreexplotación de los recursos marinos, la acumulación de desechos, introducción de enfermedades, plantas e insectos, avispas, babosas, pulgones, 21 especies de vertebrados foráneos (chivos, perros, cerdos, gatos, ratas) y 261 plantas introducidas desde el continente, como la guayaba y la mora.
Pond full of tortoises, relatives of the Islands symbol at  Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. Photo used under Creative Commons by http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathb/
Carlos Jordan, writing for Tecnodatum [es]  explains what other islands the Galapagos are competing against, and stresses the importance of the economic impact if they emerge as one of the New Wonders. However, he expects the flow of tourist will increase, and hopes that this does not destroy theses islands.
Xavier Loor  has been following the event and encouraging the vote for the Archipelago of Galapagos [es]. He says this is only a possibility that will become a reality only with support of all of his readers. In just a week, it went from being in the 8th position, and it is now No.1 in Group B (Islands), followed by Cocos Island (Costa Rica) and Ometepe Island (Nicaragua).
Despite all of the excitement of the Galapagos Islands, Ayllyn N. Franco of Bludger Hecha Letras [es] makes a point to let everyone know that Ecuador also has the Amazonian region in the competition.  She believes Ecuadorians must support his or her country and shows the voting path to follow.
In mid-July we will know the 77 finalists for the  best places in the world to visit, with the winners announced in 2011. For those interested in supporting the Galapagos Islands vote here and vote for the nine countries linked by the Amazon, River/Forest, which also includes Ecuador.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Europe: Schengen Visa Regime News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded explains why it would be a great thing if in 2010 Serbs, Macedonians and Montenegrins were allowed “to travel as tourists in European/Schengen area without visas.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Guatemala: The Mayan City of Nakum · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Located in the Petén department of Guatemala, the Mayan city of Nakum is a little-known archaeological site not visited very often by tourists. El Blog de Rudel [es] writes that it is well worth the effort and “to reach it is an authentic adventure.”


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India: rights of the linguistic minorities in Mizoram · Global Voices
Rezwan

Musings of a Chakma discusses the violations of the rights of the linguistic minorities in Mizoram by the state government.

author: Rezwan


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Iran: Abtahi, a leading blogger was arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, cleric,former vice president and blogger, was arrested today. He participated in a protest movement against presidential election's results yesterday.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Flowers for security forces · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Persian Kiwi twittered that Mir Hussein Mousavi, Iranian opposition leader, asked his supporters to demonstrate in Haft Tir Square in Tehran and offer flowers to Basijis, a governmental paramilitary force.


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Iran: More citizen video from protests · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

More than 100,000 people marched in Tehran on Monday in support of reformist presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Mousavi and his demands for an annulment of the election results that declared incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the election on June 12. The march ended in bloodshed. At least 7 people lost their lives.
According to a report on Britain's Channel 4 television, (aired in spite of a foreign reporting ban) a crowd threw rocks and set fire to a building that belonged to the pro-government Basij militia. A helmeted militiaman on the roof fired his AK-47 rifle into the air before retreating from a shower of stones. On YouTube there is more citizen video of how this attack happened:
The morning after this shooting, the staff of Rasool Akram Hospital in Tehran demonstrated against the killings. One demonstrator holds a placard that says: “8 martyrs”
Shootings or repression have not stopped the protest movement, and thousands marched again in Tehran on Tuesday. Demonstrations are growing in other cities too. In Shiraz, protesters shown in this video burned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's photo.


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Jamaica: Justice?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As ten police officers are forced into retirement following suspicion of their involvement in a lottery scam, Jamaica Salt says: “Instead of bringing criminal charges against them, they have been retired early in the ‘public interest’.  Is it just me, or does this seem odd?”


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Japan: ‘1Q84’, the new bestseller by Haruki Murakami · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

“In your sky how many moons are floating?”. This the catch phrase of 1Q84 [ja], Ichi Kew Hachi Yon, (Q in Japanese reads the same as 9), the new 2 volume work by the bestselling writer Haruki Murakami, that in less than two weeks has already sold more than 960.000 copies.
1Q84. By Flickr usr id:semicolon
Thanks to a cleverly silent promotional campaign, in which merely the title and the release date were announced, only those who  bought it know what kind of world Murakami has created for his readers this time.
The book will be soon translated into other languages but in the meantime some Japanese bloggers, who devoured the book in few days, have already been debating the eagerly awaited novel.
Fushigi quotes what Murakami said in an interview appearing on Time magazine last September.
I've been writing that book for close to two years and it's going to be the biggest book I've ever written.
All my books are weird love stories. I love weird love stories. And this book is a very long, weird love story.
But how did the readers actually interpret the story and what fascinated them most? Below we present some quotes of bloggers who analyze in their posts the atmosphere, the message and the content of 1Q84… making sure not to reveal any significant details of it!
The blogger at Life is a MacGuffin seems to highlight the mysterious atmosphere of the plot.
いやあ、面白かったです。ある意味で自分の期待を裏切るような方向に話がどんどん進んでいったんですけどね。もちろん村上春樹作品なので、普通のミステリーのように最後に全てがきれいに解決するわけじゃないと覚悟はしてました。
[…]
この作品では、2つの月が浮かぶ夜空が出てきたりして、虚構であるところはあくまでも虚構でしたけど、特定の団体（連合赤軍、ヤマギシズム、オウム真理教、エホバの証人）や、若い女性作家に芥川賞を取らせようとするところ（綿矢りさor金原ひとみ？）など現実世界の事象を容易に想起させる記述もありました。そういう虚構と現実のバランスがすごくよかったです。
As in the post above, many readers noticed the significant influence in the novel of those ‘new’ religions and the associations to them related, on which Murakami investigated when he wrote the nonfiction work Underground  in 1997.
Geiheimagent analyses what, in his opinion, is the message implicit in 1Q84.
もっと言ってしまえば、ポスト・オウム的な小説である。
[…]
また、治癒をとりあげて作品を眺めてみると、この作品全体が治癒の物語と呼ぶこともできよう。おそらくそれは斎藤環がうんざりする類の典型的な「トラウマ話」と呼ぶことができる。このような物語は、言ってしまえば『リーサル・ウェポン』と同様だ。しかし、『１Ｑ８４』では治癒が最終的な救済として描かれることはない。
[…]
とどまり続けることがこの作品のなかでは肯定されているのだろう。あちら側に足を踏み入れることなく、別な生き方を選択することの可能性が提示されている、と言っても良い。全面的かつ最終的な救済はありえない。しんどいことは再びやってくる。しかし、それを受容しなければ、また別な幸福の可能性もあり得ないものとなる。それは的を射た意見だし、同意もできる考え方だと思う。
Yumi51 invites people who haven't read the book yet and don't want to know the underlying details not to read this post further. (However, because we don't have any intention of spoiling it for the reader, we will only translate some innocent comments)
下巻の最初の方で村上春樹自身が以前に、この１Ｑ８４について「恐怖」がテーマの一つとなる作品だみたいなことを言ってたらしい、ということを思い出して、納得した。
その恐怖って言うのも、派手なものじゃなくて、だんだんと得体のしれない何かが、自分を蝕んでいったり、身の回りにおかしなことを起こしたりする、っていう感じの「恐怖」。
映画で例えるなら「シャイニング」？
最近読んだ本で例えるなら「ねじの回転」？
主人公たちのまわりが少しずつおかしくなって、だんだんと親しい人がいなくなるあたり。
恐怖が忍び寄ってくる感じは印象的だった。
[…]
１Ｑ８４が今までにない、というか新鮮だなと自分が感じたのは「私には愛があります」みたいなことを言えちゃう主人公の存在。
大事なところで、そんなストレートで暗示的じゃないことを言う主人公は今までいなかった気がする。
１Ｑ８４の主人公は、そもそも女だし。

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Mobile social network · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Serkan Toto from Asiajin blogs about a fastest growing (2 millions in three months) mobile social network in Japan.


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Morocco: Beacon of Freedom of Speech? · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Moroccan blogger Badr Al'Hamry on Agora [Ar], expresses his solidarity with Idriss Shahtan, director of Al Mishaal weekly newspaper, and president of the Khenifra branch of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights [Ar] who will stand accused of publishing a dossier that is discourteous to a relative of the king of Morocco in a court trial on June 16. The blogger quotes a declaration by an ad-hoc solidarity committee  [Ar] and links to several other solidarity web pages  [Ar].


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Nepal: What really happened in 2001?  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Even after eight years of the Nepal Royal Massacre, Nepalis are still confused what happened on that dreadful day. Maya has more on this.


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Russia: U.S. Ambassador’s Blog · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian-language blog of John Beyrle, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation: http://beyrle.livejournal.com/.