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Fiji: Court rules military government illegal · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Fiji’s bloggers are reacting to a recent court ruling that deems the country’s military-backed government illegally came to power in December 2006. The court asks Fiji’s President to appoint a caretaker government to rule in its place until elections can be held.
Commodore Frank Bainimarama, head of Fiji's military, came to power in December 2006 after months of conflict with the government of Laisenia Qarase over what he deemed its corrupt and racist policies. He claimed a state-of-emergency existed and assumed the role of President. He then appointed an interim Prime Minister, who advised Bainimarama to dissolve Parliament. Bainimarama stepped down as President a month later, and the country’s president appointed Bainimarama as Prime Minister of an Interim Government which would rule without a Parliament. It was Fiji’s fourth military coup since 1987.
Laisenia Qarase challenged his dismissal in court, and in October 2008 Fiji’s High Court ruled the President could exercise prerogative powers during a public crisis. Thursday’s ruling found the President ‘s prerogative powers in this situation “did not continue to exist in Fiji after the 1997 Constitution.”
However, the judges argued that even if Qarase had not formally resigned as Prime Minister, he had not held office in over two years, making a “fresh start” necessary for Fiji. The judges called on the Interim Prime Minister to step down and the country’s President should appoint a caretaker government “independent of the parties to this litigation,” meaning neither Bainimarama or Qarase can become Prime Minister in the new government, which will remain in place until new elections are scheduled. However, because the Bainimarama government held power for two years, the judges deemed the actions and laws of that government legal.
Government lawyers asked the court to grant a stay on the ruling, but were refused.
Bainimarama addressed the nation after the ruling, claiming he would step down as Prime Minister while remaining head of Fiji’s military. This move, he said, effectively leaves the country without “a Prime Minister or any Ministers of the Sate. In other words we do not have a Government in place.” He has consulted with the President, he said, who will make a decision soon on the caretaker government.
At the heart of the country's political problems are poor relations between parties representing indigenous Fijians — who presently make up roughly 60 percent of the population — and the political parties representing Indo-Fijians — the descendants of tens of thousands of indentured workers brought by the British colonial rulers during the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century to help build Fiji’s sugar industry. Bainimarama wanted to abolish the country's communal-based eleciton system in hopes to provide more power to political parties that appeal to people of both races.
The largely anti-Bainimarama political blogosphere in and around Fiji was ecstatic at the ruling. “Justice at last,” claimed one blog while another maintained “what a meaningful Easter it will be for the people in Fiji.”
At the Soli Vakasama Blog, commenter meme expressed relief:
Exciting news…at least Fiji and the whole world can be reminded that Qarase’s removal was unlawful…let’s pray and hope for the best!
Peace Pipe looks forward to this government's fall:
I am so so elated with this great news of joy. Of course it was coming this way as nothing is legal about a coup and if tested by law it will always be found illegal. It was so blatantly shameful the way [Fiji’s Attorney General Aiyaz SAYED-KHAIYUM] iarse was talking about power vacuum and other garbage about catching the bus and so on. Just get the heck out or else he should be charged with contempt. Old puppy puppet pressie should immediately call for a caretaker govt who would work immediately towards elections.
Raw Fiji News said Bainimarama said all the right things in his address to the nation.
Frank has kind of acknowledged that neither he nor Qarase can be caretaker PM but has stressed that he as the Commander of the RFMF will ensure that peace is maintained in Fiji.
That’s the way to go Frank!
Follow the rule of law and fight the fight legally, not with the guns cause your gun holders are now on the masses side.
Not everyone is so sanguine. Intelligentsiya surmises that Bainimarama will not step down as Prime Minister and allow his government to fall.
That’s right folks. Bainimarama as we’ve long known is ONLY about Number 1. Himself. And he certainly does not want anyone else stepping into his shoes or taking over his privileges. So right now at the fourth floor of his Govt Buildings office they are plotting and scheming the possibility of abrogating the constitution ASAP.
NZ PM John Key’s knew this even when commenting after the court ruling was handed down today. Australia also in response reiterated the need for the court ruling should be respected but everyone knows that Frank is an uncompromising terrorist thug.
Over at Intelligentsiya, Fiji Democracy Now begins asking questions on how Fiji will find a way forward.
But what we don't know is whether Voreqe Bainimarama will respect the court's ruling?
Or will he, like the outlaw he his, try and evade the law?
Will today's decision spur Bainimarama to turn his back on the Constitution and formalize his dictatorship?
And, if that happens, can he be confident of carrying the army and his rag-tag opportunist supporters with him?
Or will reason, common sense and decency prevail and will the army disown their commander on the grounds that he is only destroying Fiji in his bid to evade justice?
The other crucial question is the capacity of our President to abide by the court's ruling and appoint an independent person as a caretaker Prime Minister.
No doubt all of these questions will be answered in the next few days and weeks.
In the meantime, we can only hope and pray that, finally, our beloved nation can find the right path leading out of the catastrophe that has been wrought by the actions of an outlaw.
Loyal Fijian has a list of seven possibilities on the near-term future for Fiji.
There a number of possibilities, in order of likelihood:
1.      The President re-affirms Commodore Bainimarama as Interim PM
2.      Interim Government overrules Appeals Court of Fiji under Doctrine of  National Security Exigency
3.      New independent PM is appointed who vacates office in favour of Commodore Bainimarama
4.      Constitution is abrogated and the People Charter will serve as the framework to return Fiji to Parliamentary rule
5.      Independent PM is appointed who calls for fresh elections in 12 months
6.    Mahendra Chaudhry is appointed as Interim PM
7.    [Spokesman for Qarase] Peceli Kinivuwai is named as Interim PM
The Appeals Court of Fiji is not unexpected given the precedent that was set in Chandarika Prasad case that allowed a return to Parliamentary rule in 2000. As such, the planners in the IG would have sufficient time to work out their options.
[Links added by author to provide context.]

author: John Liebhardt


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Georgia: Keeping an eye on Tbilisi protests · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Frontline Club blogger Guy Degen posts an update on the opposition protests in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. The media blogger also is also posting live updates from his mobile phone on Twitter (text), Utter (audio) and Qik (video).

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Georgia: Opposition protests in Tbilisi (Updated) · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Twenty years after clashes with Soviet troops outside the main government building in Tbilisi left 20 dead, the Georgian capital today braced itself for possible problems as the country's opposition staged its first major rally since the August war with Russia.
Yesterday, Al Jazeera English's Matthew Collin posted a video report and backgrounder setting the scene for today's rally on his blog, This is Tbilisi Calling.
The Georgian capital is in a state of nervous tension, waiting and wondering what will happen tomorrow – April 9 – the day upon which the furious and embittered opposition has declared it will start the process of ousting President Mikheil Saakashvili through sheer force of numbers on the streets. Opposition supporters will start rallying outside parliament at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and their leaders say they won't leave until Saakashvili is gone too – however long it takes.
Despite some initial concerns about internet access, the GIPA Journalism School Blog has been covering events as they unfold.
We are journalism students in Tbilisi, Georgia, and we started this blog as a class project to cover the April 9, 2009 protest organized around the country, demanding that Georgian President Mikael Saakashvili to resign.
This blog contains our English-language coverage of the event. We are dedicated to providing objective, fact-based, balanced coverage. […]
In the first entry posted yesterday, Sherqqizi’s Blog introduced readers to the newly formed Why? public movement and says that local activists are finding a new lease of life since the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
The activities of “Why?” Public movement were started by seven activists secretly. The organization began to spread banners, stickers in the street at nights. But three weeks ago they held press-conference in an underground in Freedom Square and began to open activity. They thinks that this action means to go out from darkness to freedom. The movement has 160 members from Tbilisi and 20 from Batumi. Now they are working to draw in more people from whole Georgia. They have 15 coordinators which are responsible to draw in the movement.
At time of writing, a special Twitter channel, #tbilisi, has estimates of the crowd at anywhere between 20-40,000 people. However, in an entry posted early this morning, the GIPA Journalism School Blog said that the opposition hoped for larger numbers.
More than a dozen opposition parties hope to gather between 150,000-200,000 people in front of Parliament on April 9th — and the government officials said they have no plans to stop them, unless the crowd gets violent.
A few hours later at 5am local time, one of the contributers, Alibayli’s Blog, said that a candlelight vigils had already started.
About 60 people were gathered in front of parliament around 5 am to leave flowers and burn candles to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Day of National Unity, when 20 people were killed and scores injured when Soviet troops fired upon protesters demonstrating against the Soviet Union.
[…]
All of the early risers planned to return to parliament at 2 p.m., though not all are planning to support the opposition groups. Gogoladze, for example, is an opposition supporter. But pensioner Natella Turmanishvili said that she will come to the protest to heckle opposition supporters.
[…]
In preparation for the day’s demonstrations, an iron stage and 1 meter high wood fence were constructed in front of the Parliament building.
Soon after mid-day, Ketevan22’s Blog reported that 5,000 opposition supporters had gathered in different parts of the city and were marching towards the Georgian parliament. The blog also says that traffic was obstructed by demonstrators on the city's main central street.
Avlabari Metro Station was the starting place for the Conservative Party and Movement for the United Georgia. They reported choosing the place intentionally because the new administration offices of the president are also located at Avlabari district.  By 12 p.m. nearly 1000 people had already gathered at this spot. Leaders of the party are waiting for more protesters and at 1 p.m. they started a march towards the Parliament.
[…]
Protesters coming from Georgian Public Broadcaster and Tbilisi State University are going to join near Philarmonic Hall. Because of the large number of people the movement of the cars is stopped on Rustaveli Avenue.
As protesters gathered outside the parliament building, the GIPA Journalism School Blog says an anonymous expat researcher in Tbilisi estimated the crowd at a little over 50,000, a figure largely in line with international wire estimates.
Just how does one estimate the size of a crowd? It depends on whom you ask.
Reuters calls it 50,000 while Agence France Presse (AFP) estimated 60,000, while Radio Free Liberty reported 100,000. Civil.ge reported that opposition leaders estimated 100,000 but they guessed much less by 3:30 p.m.
Georgian government officials downplayed the figures: Eka Guladze, first deputy minister of Internal Affairs, said observers reported seeing about 25,000 people.
[…]
But we put our money on a locally based, well-respected European researcher who prefers to remain anonymous. He’s applying a “leading international formula” based on the square meters of space covered by protesters and the crowd density.
His crowd estimate: 53,000.
Not that many Georgians will get to hear otherwise with Ketevan22’s Blog, one of the GIPA bloggers, noting that Georgian Public TV was not reporting live. The blog says some opposition leaders and protesters marched on the station.
[…] Kostava Street is almost blocked by the protesters. Conservative Party member Bezhan Gunava attempted to break into the broadcaster’s building.
Though they broadcast the program during their regular news hours at 12 and 4 p.m. and had plans to show the protest at 8 p.m., they did not, as opposition organizers demand, show the protests live consistently between 2 p.m.-8 p.m. The facility is protected by the police and Special Forces who are located throughout the building.
The blog also says that the day passed without incident, something that tweets on #tbilisi also indicated as the evening drew to a close.
dv0rsky: Well, this day in #tbilisi was surprisingly calm. I will write later an article about it (and post a link here of course)
mhikaric: @perspectivelute I think everyone, even those who seek change, are weary of upheaval. #tbilisi
perspectivelute: Impressive how calm everybody has been in #tbilisi – not just the lack of violence, but few histrionic statements. unusual for Georgia ;)
fieldreports: If the call for beers among int'l media is anything to go by at the #tbilisi marriott then protest coverage is winding down for tonight
More updates will be posted Global Voices Online if and when any new events occur. In the meantime, it's worth keeping an eye on the GIPA Journalism School Blog as well as Twitter at #tbilisi.
There are are also live updates from the mobile phone of Frontline Club blogger Guy Degen on Twitter (text), Utter (audio) and Qik (video).


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Guyana: Single Parents  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora blogger Signifyin’ Guyana lauds the efforts of the country's Minister of Human Services, as a fund is launched to assist single parents.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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India Elections ’09: Bloggers on the Varun Gandhi controversy · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

Election campaigning is in full swing in India and amidst all the frenzy, the Pilbhit constituency in Uttar Pradesh, has come under the scanner after one of its young BJP candidates, Varun Gandhi courted controversy over his allegedly communal and inflammatory campaign speeches during election rallies in his constituency on March 6th and 8th, 2009.
Over the next few weeks, video footage of Varun Gandhi's speeches were repeatedly splashed across TV channels. When questioned by the media and the Election Commission. Varun stated that the audio in the footage had been doctored and it was a ploy against him. Unmoved by his denial, the Election Commission sent him a show cause notice for violating the Model Code of Conduct, and later, on 22 March 2009, found him guilty of making ‘hate speeches’.
A spate of criminal cases  lodged against him, on 29th March, Varun Gandhi surrendered before a local court in Pilbhit. He was arrested and jailed. The State Government has now booked him under the National Security Act (NSA) on “charges of inciting communal passion by making provocative and inflammatory speeches during [election campaign] meetings”.
As of today, Varun Gandhi continues to be in the eye of the storm as various political parties and their leaders try to gain maximum mileage out of the incident. The Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has gone as far as to court controversy himself after making a speech berating Varun. The BJP on the other hand, has renewed it's stance of backing it's protege Varun Gandhi with both political and legal aid.
The blogosphere too has been abuzz with opinions on the Varun Gandhi controversy.
Youth ki Awaaz writes:
If young leaders like Varun give such defamatory remarks, what can we expect from the others? The fact that India is a country with communal diversity makes it mandatory for each and every citizen to have a feeling of brotherhood.
Blogger ak too is apprehensive about young candidates like Varun Gandhi, who could also be tomorrow's leaders spewing such rhetoric. He says:
To hear someone so young like Varun Gandhi give out that hate speech against the muslims in such mean tones was just shameful. Are these the young leaders that is going to takle(sic) India forward??
Another blogger Vijay Vikram discusses what he feels was the motivation behind Varun's rhetoric.
It is a sad fact of Indian – for that matter all democratic polity – that aspiring statesmen have to appeal to the lowest common denominator for electoral gains. That is precisely what Varun Gandhi was doing. Varun Gandhi's remarks were borne out of political necessity, nothing else.
On the other hand, some bloggers have come out in support of Varun Gandhi, seeing him as a scapegoat in the drama of India's minority-vote politics.  Sreekrishnan Venkatesan writes:
i did not find anything wrong in Varun Gandhi's speech. He warned any other religious fanatics killing Hindus, which to me looked very much normal. In fact this isn't as bad like congress which goes all out to playing the communal card, with non hindu religions. Hypocrisy in all its strength. Supporting a minority religious community is “Secular” while supporting Hindus is “communal”.
In this entire controversy, the role of the MSM has also come under scrutiny. Shahid Siddiqui of Media-Mania wonders why the TV channels devoted as much as over 22.57 hrs of prime time playing back the video footage. He asks:
If the media really believed that Varun Gandhi’s speech would cause unrest among a section of the people, did the repeat telecasts of the speech make any sense?…All the TV channels have overplayed the issue. It was not even authenticated if the CD was original. As per the ethics of journalism, it should not have been played as it has been done, especially during the elections….The role of media is certainly open to question. While reporting that it was a “hate speech” “blatantly communal” etc, did the media behave responsibly by telecasting the tape umpteen times a day for the last few days?
Bloggers are also discussing whether Varun Gandhi should have been booked under the NSA.  Many of them seem to echo the words of the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, who stated that “The hate speech of BJP's Lok Sabha candidate Varun Gandhi did not threaten national security and a law other than the National Security Act could have been invoked to deal with it”. In this context,Vinay writes:
… punishing him under NSA is unwarranted. Even though his speech had the potential to disturb public order, the warning by election Commission and subsequent FIRs under Representation of People Act were sufficient.
The CD containing his speech came into light some 15 days later after he gave it. It means his speech did not lead to any violence immediately, which is actually case in most of the instances.
Listening to his speech one can say that it was more of rhetoric in spite of being venomous.
Nonetheless he deserves punishment, but not under NSA.
He has been arrested under the preventive detention clause of NSA, which is clearly doctored to prevent him from contesting elections.
Varun's lawyers have challenged his detention in the Supreme Court. The case will come up for hearing on April 13th.

author: Aparna Ray


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India: The 49 – 0 Vote · Global Voices
Rezwan

I Say What I Feel….. describes the unique feature of the provision of the 49-0 vote (no vote) according to the Indian constitution: “Suppose, highest number of votes for a candidate at a constituency are 100, and that constituency gets more than 100, 49 – 0, votes then, that constituency would have a re-election and all the candidates who contested first time would be black-listed.”

author: Rezwan


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Iran: A blogger freed on bail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Reporters Without Borders and Committee to Protect Bloggers, Esmail Jafari,a journalist and blogger based in the southwestern city of Bushehr  was released from Bushehr prison on 18 March.Read more here.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Freegate is accessible again · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Donableh we read that Freegate,a software utility that enables surfers from mainland China, Iran, among others, to view websites banned by their government, is once more available for Iranians.


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Iraq: Front pages of Iraqi Newspapers Six Years Later · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Salam Pax, the Baghdad Blogger, reviews some of his country's leading newspapers front pages, six years later.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jamaica: Matters of Spirit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Is hers a religious blog?  Jamaican diaspora blogger Pamela Mordecai explores the differences between religion and spirituality.


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Jerusalem: Palm Sunday Procession · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Intern in Israel describes attending the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem: “My husband and I participated in the procession from Bethphage to St. Anne’s Church just inside the city gates on Palm Sunday. It was the most fun I’ve ever had on a Palm Sunday… But it was truly sobering to see the IDF watch over it all from just above the streets as we entered the old city.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Jordan: Corruption in Amman’s Municipality?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Corruption at the Amman Municipality? The Black Iris from Jordan has the story.


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Jordan: University Radio Hits Airwaves  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Jordan University Radio started its test transmission on 94.9 FM covering Amman Greater Area. The Radio station, which will be more of a cultural-political “students radio”, will be starting officially soon, and the moment of writing this post, only Classic Music is being aired on its airwaves,” writes Nasimjo from Jordan.


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Kazakhstan: Educational deadlock · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Translation of the Adam's post
Two popular Kazakhstani bloggers – dass and megakhuimyak – are discussing the problems of education these days. The first is concerned over this topic because he's got a school-age son, and the latter is worried because he is delivering lectures at the unversity.
Today at the lecture only 2 out of 9 students failed to multiply 500 by 1,5. One has got 550, another has derived 1250. This is the last yea undergrads of one of the country's best universities, specialty – “Economy of public construction”. They are unable to do the maths that are solved in the 3rd class of a secondary school. I think this is a natural result of the education reform in the country. I'm still shocked.
writes megakhuimyak [ru].
Dass reflects how it is possible to improve the procedure of the secondary school graduates’ admission to the universities of Kazakhstan and Russia [ru]:
I uphold the tests system at admission as a more transparent criteria comparing to the personal examination. At the same time, tests are like a lottery. That's why I am excited over the novelty in Russia – according to it, winners of the school Olympiads [knowledge competition between the pupils on a particular discipline]  are to be granted free of charge – and free of admission tests – higher education.
In another post he comes up with an interesting idea of an entertainment and educational TV project – a reality show, aimed at stimulation of studying Kazakh language [ru]:
Imagine an isolated and constantly watched space, a team of 10 people having various age and professions. In order to win they have to unite and solve some problem with numerous intermediate tasks. 5 individuals speak only Kazakh, and the rest – only Russian. The monolingual participants cannot win (all tasks are given as a mixture of Kazakh and Russian words), they have to learn how to communicate with each other.
And megakhuimyak tells a bitterly funny story about quick wit of the Kazakhstani Ph.D. students [ru]:
In Kazakhstan they have started checking the dissertations for plagiarism – 8 years after all civilized countries and against the background of mass download of theses from the Internet. However, the system is rather lame – it does not distinguish Cyrillic and Latin symbols. So, the plagiarists simply change the letter that looks identically in Cyrillic and Latin like “с” in the whole text. And the software does not see the same excerpts.
Also posted on neweurasia

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Macedonia: Facebook Removes Ministry of the Interior’s Personal Profile · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Macedonian portal IT.com.mk reported that Facebook removed the personal profile of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Republic of Macedonia (MOI), due to disrespect of the terms of service.
Alleged reasons for canceling the profile included the fact that personal profiles are intended for personal and noncommercial use by individual persons, posting of disturbing photographs on the profile – including post-mortem remains of crime victims, as well as the opportunity for violations of privacy of other Facebook users.
The creation and especially the removal of the MOI’s personal profile on Facebook attracted significant attention of the Macedonian public.
After the publication of the profile, the article in Utrinski vesnik, published on April 4, related statements by journalists invited to become “friends” with the MOI via the profile. The journalists perceived this act as potential threat to their privacy, because after the establishment of this “friendship” the profile administrator would gain access to all their activities in this social network.
Daily Dnevnik voiced similar concerns about threats to media freedom on Feb. 14, after a MOI employee repeatedly requested that the paper supply a list of mobile phone numbers of journalists who cover political or social topics. The closure of that scandal included a public apology by the MOI.
MOI officials quoted in the initial article by Utrinski vesnik stated that the profile is “unofficial” means of communication and its goal is to make the police closer to the citizens.
During the last weekend, some citizens used the opportunity to ask where they can report violation of the Constitution and the Law on Macedonian language, which stipulate that state bodies must adhere to certain linguistic standards, alluding on the use of Latin instead of Cyrillic alphabet on the profile and the lack of proofreading. However, instead of providing a reply, the anonymous administrator of the profile simply deleted these inquires.
The blogger Virtuelna qualified the profile as “total amateurism”, and pointed at the paradox contained in the statements by official institution which claims to communicate unofficially. In addition, she wrote (MKD):
[…] They should publicly reveal who’s behind the profile. Honestly, I am terribly interested in who the public servant is – a MOI employee – spends mine and your tax money on continuous “facebooking.” The changes on the profile are very frequent, almost every second, and during regular work hours, meaning that “somebody is constantly lurking…” Hey, my boyfriend complains I’m a cyber[-addict]. Therefore, I qualify for employment at the MOI. I would have no problem to receive a state salary to update a Facebook profile 8 hours per day. On top of that, I promise to be very active on Facebook Chat too, and I can also maintain several distinct profiles simultaneously!!!
[…]
The profile also contains photographs which must come from a MOI archive. Shouldn’t publishing of such content require a special permission? Or the public servants can be careless, and share whatever they find on their workplace servers […]
On April 8, Utrinski vesnik published (MKD) a statement by Damjan Arsovski, editor of IT.com.mk:
I got the idea to get in touch with Facebook after reading an article stating that Macedonian laws do not prohibit the MOI to open such profile, but nobody mentioned anything about the compliance with the internal rules and regulations of Facebook […]
Janko Ilkovski, a TV host running the pro-government call-in show “Jadi burek” also addressed the MOI Facebook profile issue. He recently gained notoriety by calling for action against the peaceful protest organized on March 28 by a group dissatisfied with the government’s decision to use public funds for building a new church in Skopje. “The counter-protest” turned violent, and the police failed to prevent the pro-government mob from thrashing a number of students. In his show aired on April 7, Ilkovski referred to the act of contacting Facebook as a form of ‘snitching,’ and several times repeated the name of the man who dared to turn the attention of the foreign company to the MOI profile.
Pro-government columnists and bloggers wage a campaign against talking about country’s problems abroad, branding it as ‘snitching’ and high treason.
In a statement for Radio Free Europe about this case, Darko Buldioski, representative of the NGO New Media Centre, opined that closing of the MOI profile resulted from lack of knowledge of the responsible employees, who failed to read the terms and conditions.
In fact, Facebook does not prohibit legal entities and institutions to use their platform, but they must use the so-called pages and groups, or rent advertising space. These means provide opportunities for presenting information in a manner which is far less invasive in regard to privacy of the regular users when compared to personal profiles reserved for individuals.
Privacy protection remains an extremely important topic in Macedonia, which still struggles with the burden of the totalitarian regimes. Before 1990, the state surveillance system included use of technological devices and recruiting relatives, friends and colleagues of “suspects” who had to inform the authorities about their every move. In an excerpt from her book “Communist Intimacy” published (MKD) on the portal Okno.mk, writer and teacher Jasna Koteska related the tragic experience of her family resulting from the four decades of systematic surveillance over her father, the late poet Jovan Koteski:
When you look upon this diffusion of state power and its most perfidious penetration in the intimate world, executed through your friends, you cannot ask: where did they draw the line? The parts of the dossier made available to the family reveal that some of my mother’s friends, spouses of our famous poets, were also police informers. Where does this list end? What surprises linger behind the black markers that hide the identities of some of the still-secret informers?

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Moldova: Overview of Blog Coverage of the Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

For all the attention given to the impact of social media on the protests in Moldova (earlier GV posts on that here and here), there were people both in and outside Moldova who felt that media coverage of the events was inadequate.
Mihai Moscovici wrote this on Twitter on Tuesday, when the rioting in Chisinau was at its height:
People in Moldova don't know about the anti-communist protest in capital. Public TV not covering the protest. Internet down in Moldova.
Kyiv-based blogger MoldovAnn wrote this on Wednesday morning:
[…] I am having a hard time finding good news sources on-line. The New York Times is reporting from Moscow, which to me means they don’t know squat either, their news is as much hearsay as the anything else. And since they have no facts to report, they published an article about the social networking aspects of the protests. Please. Give me some real news!!! […]
MoldovAnn, like many others, relied to some extent on the information provided by contacts on the ground – and shared it on her blog:
[…] I talked to two friends in Chisinau yesterday – one in her office right in the center of town, in the heart of the protest area; the other at work on the edge of town. The first told me there were reports of injured protesters being transported away by ambulances. Both said the protesters are overwhelming young people. Traffic was blocked in the center, but a few blocks away was supposedly running normally. […]
Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow, whose excellent updates on the situation and its coverage can be found under the “Grape Revolution” tag, also posted emails from a Chisinau friend; below is part of the first message:
[…] Protesters planned to reassemble in downtown Chisinau at 10am local time today (that is, about an hour ago). The latest news I have is from an email sent around by a friend of ours in Chisinau a few hours ago:
It is 7am in Chisinau and a fresh day is about to start.
A quick update on the night's events:
1. Parliament building is no longer in flames
2. The night in Chisinau's center was peaceful
3. The major local news networks either are not allowed to work by the Communist party or are actually getting some rest until the later in the morning
Thank you for sending me updates and news on Moldova from the international press. I find that the Western press has been very professional at capturing the reality on the ground and the reasons for why the youth are on the streets. As NY times put it – it is a generational clash – the youth (who voted mostly anti-communist, for lack of job opportunities in Moldova or even abroad this year in the context of the global crisis) and the older generation nostalgic after the “stability” offered by the current and former Communist governments.
[…]
One last note for this early morning – this is the FIRST Even large scale protest that turned into violence in Moldova since 1989, when the first large-scale meetings were taking place to support Moldova's independence and union with Romania.
Moldovans on the whole are a very peaceful nation, and would rather sit at the table with you over a home-made glass of wine […] than take to the streets. […] The opposition promised to continue the peaceful protests in the main square and have been asking now for families to join in in a sign of solidarity. The lady in the Parliament who was thought dead is actually well. So it seems that in spite of all the damage inflicted on the Parliament and the Presidency, thankfully no one has lost his/her life. […]
Robert Amsterdam's blog, too, had a selection of messages from “colleagues” in Moldova's capital:
[…] Do you see what's going on here? I barely got home (I live in the center). God only knows where my son is, they're shutting down mobile communications. They're shooting, blood is being spilled. My God. The situation is out of control.
They're protesting the results of the voting. But there are more civil ways to do this. Today they threw the children out of the lyceums and universities to make revolution. The Romanian flag is already flying over the Parliament. The Presidentura [building where the President sits] has been ransacked. I don't know where the fool is holed up. These are children!!! […]
Below are some more links to blog coverage of the protests.
Photos:
- April 7 photos from Chisinau – at Kosmopolito.
- More photos by LJ user le_trefle, posted in LiveJournal's md_community – and this observation (RUS):
[…] I was shocked by how, just 200 meters away, such different actions can be taking place. Across the street from the government building, they are calling for civility and calmness, while inside the parliament building, they are burning furniture, breaking windows and looting all they can. […]
- Reuters photos – at LJ user drugoi‘s blog.
More “names” for the “revolution” in Moldova (in addition to Evgeni Morozov's “Twitter Revolution” and Lyndon's “Grape Revolution“:
- “Candle Revolution” – by gabrielaionita of Power&Politics Weblog:
[…] Demonstration of young people from Kishinev started as a viral message on the Internet. That stated on April 6 Day of National Mourning, and young people were called to light a candle in the Great Square of Chisinau. […]
More on the candles – here:
Cezar Maroti [writes] this [on Twitter]: “In Moldova apparently almost 200.000 dead people voted for the Communists. The protesters were right to declare today a mourning day.”
- “Orphans’ Revolution” – by Dumitru Minzarari:
[…] Now the communists and their Eastern “partners” are building a huge media myth to discredit the pure ideals of Moldovan youth willing nothing more than freedom and respect for their rights. Their protests were labeled the “Orphans’ Revolution” because under the Communist government close to a third of Moldovan citizens (their parents) went abroad to earn money for a living. […]
A couple posts on Natalia Morari, who is believed to be one of the organizers of the protests:
- OpenDemocracy.net posts a background on Morari and translates from her blog – here.
According to OpenDemocracy.net, “no one in the capital Chisinau knows where [Morari] is. Her mobile phone is switched off.” However, according to Morari's husband (RUS), Russian journalist Ilya Barabanov (LJ user barabanch), she is currently “in a safe place” – while Moldova's interior ministry was “lying” when it announced that Morari had been detained.
- Russian youth opposition leader Oleg Kozlovsky urges “American and European leaders” to “speak up in support of peaceful solution in Moldova and call both sides to refrain from violence”:
[…] The governement is now in control of Chisinau and accuses the opposition of attempting a coup. Communist President Vladimir Voronin may now use the protests to crack down on the civil and political activists and the arrests are already said to have begun. Organizers of the Monday action, like youth leader Natalia Morar, deny the accusations and explain that they tried to prevent violence. However, the government doesn’t seem to be listening. If the crackdown continues, the whole democratic opposition in Moldova may be beheaded and the already threatened democracy effectively destroyed. […]
Miscellaneous blog links:
- Updates and analysis at  Nicu Popescu's Neighbourhood (part of EUobserver Blogs)
- Ari Rusila of BalkanPerspective (part of Blogactiv.eu) writes about “some possible consequences” of what's happened in Moldova:
[…] Moldova’s parliament will select a new President as [Vladimir Voronin] is not eligible according law to be reselected anymore. However he probably will get new influential post – maybe PM or Speaker of Parliament – so his policy will continue. This means no to NATO, no to reunification with Romania, some but not full cooperation with EU, continuing decline of GUUAM (cooperation body supported by US energy giants and military-industrial-complex) and frozen situation with separatist regions. […]
- A Russian take (RUS) on the same issue – by LJ user misssing-link (Yuri Tyurin):
What's happening in Moldova [is good]. If Voronin stays in power, he'll lose international support in any case, and Russia will begin to get closer to him and simultaneously blackmail him with [the possibility of an Orange Revolution scenario], forcing him into recognition of [Transnistria]. […]
Some “dark humor” inspired by the protests:
- Evgeni Morozov:
Here is also some dark Twitter humor: “Protests in Moldova “explode, thanks to Twitter”. To say thanks, authorities will only imprison 140 characters at a time”.
- LJ user vsm_md (RUS):
To one of today's news items – “Today, protesters in Chisinau stormed the building of Moldova's presidential administration and raised the European Union's flag over it” – I'd like to add this: “Somewhat later, the European Union showed up and took its flag down.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Moldova: “A ‘Romanian’ Flavor” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

MoldovAnn posts an update on Moldova, including notes on “a ‘Romanian’ flavor to the demonstrations” – and this on reports “that internet was cut off”: “Sasha said that external internet traffic had been shut down (ie Facebook, vKontakte, etc), but internal traffic had been and continues to be “on”, although overloaded by excessive demand. I’ve exchanged emails the last couple of days with friends in Moldova, so apparently not all external traffic was cut off- maybe just access to websites but it doesn’t seem like email was affected.”


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Moldova: More on Social Media Aspect of Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ethan Zuckerman writes about the social media and other aspects of the protests in Moldova: “I posted the following to Twitter: ‘NYTimes argues Twitter leads to Moldova riots. Moldovan gov’t blames Romania. Romania = Twitter? […]’ I got two interesting responses almost immediately. Dinu Popa noted: ‘[…] moldovan government blames everybody: the West, Romania, Jesus, even Russia(!). The real cause is fraudulent elections’.”


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Moldova: More on Twitter’s Impact on the Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Day 3 of the post-election protests in Moldova's capital turned out to be comparatively quiet. Mihai Moscovici wrote this on Twitter on Wednesday morning:
No crowds today. Very few protesters now in the main square in Chisinau, Moldova […]
And here is one of Moscovici's latest tweets, posted early morning Thursday:
No protesters in the main square in Chisinau. Now all is quite and calm in Chisinau, Moldova […]
Discussion of the role of social media in organization and coverage of the events in Chisinau, which began as the initially peaceful Monday's protests grew violent on Tuesday, has continued throughout Wednesday as well.
Evgeni Morozov posted an update to his post on “Twitter Revolution” on Foreign Policy's Net Effect:
[…] 3. It really helped that even non-technology people in the U.S. and much of Western Europe are currently head over heels in love with Twitter. It's really good that the Moldovan students didn't organize this revolution via Friendster or LiveJournal (which is still a platform for choice for many users in Eastern Europe). If they did, they would never have gotten as much attention from the rest of the world. […]
Rootwork left this comment, noting that this observation by Morozov appeared “particularly misguided”:
[…] This perspective is an example of collapsing the strategy and the tool. More specifically: Getting attention from the rest of the world is not automatically the objective of any given social change movement.
Most social change organizers know this. There are moments when you want to focus on building awareness and/or getting media attention, but that's often not the primary focus of the campaign. In the case of the Moldovan students, it could be that what was most needed was a way to get organizers to identify and strategize with one another — in which case Twitter would have been a very poor (or at least fantastically blunt) tool.
Such perspective is possible only if you think of Twitter as one possible tool, perfect for use in some strategies and rather ineffective in others. A near-religious belief in Twitter (or any technology) as a strategy leads to a narrowing of the actual strategy — getting the world to pay attention becomes the goal, because, hey, that's what Twitter can be effective at doing!
In this case, organizers might have gotten attention from beyond Moldova with a few dozen Twitterers, but failed at their primary goal of making opposition to the regime visible to other Moldovans.
More thoughts on this from Rootwork – here.
Also, Daniel Bennett joined the Moldova Twitter discussion on Frontline Club's blog – here, and the New York Times’ The Lede posted an interview with Mihai Moscovici – here.
Moscovici posted this tweet a few hours ago, and it seems like a good wrap-up for this discussion:
Western media don't understand #pman isn't about Twitter. #pman is about anti-communist protest in Chisinau, Moldova to demand re-elections.


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Moldova: Twitter Becomes “Collection of Spam” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow quotes Nicu Popescu, who writes: “If during the first day Twitter had live news from the main square, today Twitter has become a collection of spam.” Reviews of blog and New York Times coverage – here and here.


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Moldova: “Twitter is Blocked” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mihai Moscovici reports that “Twitter is blocked in Moldova.”


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Moldova: Two More Reports from Chisinau · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Two more installments from Chisinau guest-blogger Dorina – at Kosmopolito, here and here. Among other things, she mentions inaccessibility of certain sites in Moldova, including Facebook earlier today.


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Pakistan: Impact Of Daylight Saving Time · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hina Safdar at Chowrangi discusses the impact of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on human health. Pakistan has decided to advance clocks by one hour from 15th of April 2009.


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Pakistan: The Taliban Flogging Video Controversy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Faisal K. at Deadpan thought comments on the claims that the Taliban flogging video is a fake: “I personally do not think the video is a fake one but the nation needs proof and it needs it now. People are getting sick of all the head games being played on our mainstream media and need a clear picture.”


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Palestine: A Third Intifada? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Marcy Newman, who lives in Nablus in the West Bank, asks if a new Palestinian uprising, or intifada, is on its way.


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Palestine: Meeting Hagg Ayoub · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Natalie Abou Shakra, a Lebanese activist in Gaza, describes meeting a man known as Hagg Ayoub at a demonstration: “Hagg Ayoub, the voice of 61 years of injustice and crimes against humanity!”


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Palestine: Misconceptions Regarding Criticism of Hamas · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

The Queen of Sheba is an NGO worker currently in Gaza: “I cannot stand the misconception that by being critical of Hamas, one is automatically condoning the international rejection of its legitimacy, and Israel’s desire to remove it from power. … Too many pro-Palestinian foreigners who come here are too scared to be openly critical of Hamas because they are scared to ‘hurt the cause.’ “


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Palestine: Parallels with Native Americans · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Samuel Nichols, an American who works with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, writes about the parallels he sees between the history of the Native Americans and the situation of the Palestinians.


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Palestine: Twittering Gazan Mom Stranded at Cairo Airport Deported after 36 Hours · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Her tweets have gone silent and her last message spoke of a deportation to somewhere other than home.
Home is Gaza in Palestine, which journalist and blogger Laila El-Haddad and her two American-born children Yousuf and Noor (who is reportedly 15 months old) can't travel to, to be reunited with their grandparents except through the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border – which is closed.
Egypt won't let them through; and El-Haddad's visa to the US, where she has flown from to the Cairo Airport where she was stranded for 36 hours, had expired.
In the meanwhile, her saga which she broadcast to the world on Twitter and an intermittent wi-fi service at the airport, is making waves on blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, drawing attention to the ordeal of this travelling mother, and that of scores of Palestinians harrassed, interrogated and banned from travelling, even across Arab countries, just because they are .. erm .. Palestinian.
El-Haddad's last blog post on Raising Yousuf and Noor: dairy of a Palestinian mother said:
quick post to let everyone know after 36 hours I am being deported- away from my home. more later
On Twitter, she wrote:
American-Palestinian KABOBfest reports on El-Haddad's ordeal. In a comment Hami explains how he too has been through a similar experience in Egypt:
It sucks to be where she is. Allah Yikoon Ma3aha [May God be with her]. I have been held at that exact room! It's messy and crappy and full of Gazans. two to three armed Egyptian officers guard you and if you want to get food, an Egyptian runner goes to buy you food–off course you pay through the nose. The guards hold your passport till they deport you on a bus (they charge you an arm and a leg for the ride) and you do not see your
passport until you get to Rafah. Off course the bus driver will hustle you for a tip. It's not cool, but frankly what can the good people of Egypt do? the regime sucks equally for both of us.
Back on Twitter, Mauritanian activist Naser Weddadi  makes the following call:
He also adds:
Echoing similar sentiments, Helena Cobban on Just World News added:
So today is Passover. Tomorrow is the commemoration of 61 years since the Deir Yassin massacre. Tomorrow is also the commemoration of the start of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
… And Laila is stuck with her kids in Cairo airport, facing deportation. Apparently they don't where to deport her to since her US visa has run out.
Just let her go home!!!!
The question on many bloggers/followers mind now is where is El-Haddad and her two children and what has happened to them? Stay tuned for more updates.


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Peru: Ex-President Fujimori Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori received his sentence: 25 years in prison convicted for crimes against humanity during his 1990-2000 administration. He was found to be guilty in his role of 25 murders during the operations against the Shining Path terrorist insurgency that gripped the nation. The blog Fujimori on Trial has been following all of the developments over the course of the trial.   With the news of the ruling, the mainstream media has placed the news on the front page, and Espacio Propio [es] collects the covers on many of the country's newspaper.  Of course, many Peruvian bloggers write their reactions.
The blogger from Pepitas [es] writes:
Este es un fallo histórico. Un tirano es sentenciado y permanecerá en la cárcel por lo menos hasta el 2020 (su condena es hasta el 2032 pero sí tiene derecho a beneficios carcelarios) Lo cierto es que Fujimori saldrá de la cárcel cuando tenga 81 años. No podrá ser indultado o amnistiado en un futuro. Que quede claro. Alan está advertido y también la hija del chino asesino y ladrón.
The blog CPM II [es] makes things completely clear with the post: Justice: The murderer and thief is sentenced:
Se ha hecho justicia! Que en esta hora exaltante y gratificante para todos los demócratas del Perú, nuestro pensamiento vaya a las víctimas por cuyo asesinato fue juzgado el ex tirano, para ellos y para sus padres, hermanos, esposas e hijos. Para todos aquellos que, tras las masacres de La Cantuta y de Barrios Altos se quedaron por años hundidos en el dolor y en la desesperación de ver calumniados a sus seres queridos y de verse acusados ellos mismo de simpatizar con el terrorismo por reclamar la justicia y verdad.
Another blogger, Andrés Edery, writes [es]:
Sin ni siquiera haber asimilado aún esta gran noticia, se me ocurren dos cosas al vuelo: 1) La próxima vez que algún mandatario peruano quiera hacer justicia con sus propias manos, se lo pensará dos veces. 2) ¿Fujimori es el único político de alto rango que debe responder por su, presunta o no, responsabilidad en una matanza? Yo creo que hay otro, y bien gordo.
In Spacio Libre [es], there is optimism in this news:
ayer ha sucedido un hecho singular en nuestra historia nacional. Un hecho sobre el cual los peruanos nos sentiremos orgullosos por generaciones. La condena al ex Presidente Fuijmori hecha por una Sala Especial de la Corte Suprema, con la mayor pulcritud jurídica posible, nos hace pensar que no solo Otra Mirada, sino también otro Perú es posible. Un país en el que delincuentes como Fujimori están notificados de que sus crímenes no quedarán impunes, más allá de los altos cargos que puedan ocupar en el Estado.
Evaristo of Perú Político [es] writes about some basic points of the sentence:
¿Cuál es la lógica de la autoría mediata dentro de una organización de poder?
Ser autor mediato no solamente significa estar a la cabeza de una organización de poder. Si ello fuera el caso, el gerente general de una empresa podría ser acusado si un trabajador suyo cometiera, de forma aislada, un crimen. Para ser autor mediato en una organización de poder, el culpable tiene que que tener “dominio de voluntad”. Es decir, debe tener control sobre las acciones de sus súbditos.
To be the mastermind does not only mean being the head of a power organization. If that is the case, the general manager of a company could be accused if a worker would commit a crime in their own. To be a mastermind of an organization of power, the guilty must have “control of the will power” of the workers. In other words, must have control of the actions of their subordinates.
In Perú es Babel [es] emphasizes the attitude taken by Fujimori's daugther, Keiko, who is trying to clear her father's name and has also been speculated to be a future presidential candidate:
Keiko ha manifestado que ese fallo “ha sido una victoria para el terrorismo”. ¡Por Dios qué falta de visión democrática! En otras palabras ha dicho que los deudos de esos casos eran terrucos. Además de dejar bien claro de que si la sentencia les salía a favor, ahí si había justicia y de serles desfavorables -como lo fue- el fallo es prevaricador, injusto, ilegal, en otras palabras se pican. No ¡pes!
Keiko has stated that this decision has been a “victory for terrorism.” My god, what lack of democratic vision! In other words, she said that the relatives of the victims were terrorists. In addition, it was left clear that if the sentence fell into her favor, then justice would have been served, but if it would have been unfavorable – as it was – then the decision would be unjust, illegal. No way!
Supporters of Fujimori do not agree with the decision. Juventud Fujimorista 2011 [es]  (Fujimori Youth) defends the ex-president:
El Presidente Fujimori, quien nos salvó del Terrorismo (razón por la cual ahora lo han condenado en una muestra claramente vengativa), quien pacificó a nuestro país derrotando a Sendero Luminoso y MRTA (razón por la cual le han sentenciado a 25 años de cárcel), quien fundamentó una economía sólida, gracias a la cual Toledo y García incluso se han tomado la libertad de sentirse orgullosos de tener una presidencia con una “economía estable”.
Guille of Pueblo Vruto [es], even though he is not a Fujimori supporter, writes:
esta condena tiene sesgo político. Me parece un poco fuera de lugar llamarlo un triunfo de la democracia porque hay selectividad en los fines y exceso innecesario en los términos (ver imagen de portada) que alimentan pasiones en ambos, polarizando antidemocráticamente el ambiente. Del probo juez César San Martín se conoce su compromiso con los DD.HH. Pero lamentablemente estos de un tiempo a esta parte se han convertido en instrumento político. La tolerancia del derechohumanismo mundial (que ha estado presente en primera fila en el proceso y la sentencia contra Fujimori) hacia personajes como Fidel Castro y Hugo Chávez (que tienen un record mucho más largo, abultado y gravoso que Fujimori e, incluso, Pinochet) así lo demuestra. Por eso no descarto que este fallo sea producto de no poca presión política y que pueda servir de capital para ciertos afanes, incluyendo los del propio fujimorismo.
Silvio of Gran Combo Club [es] tries to imagine Fujimori's future:
Las opciones de Fujimori son secundariamente legales. Ya pidió la nulidad y seguirá su trámite. Su teatro de operaciones pasa ahora de lleno a la política. Posiblemente se trate de que sus víctimas se den por bien servidas con lo ocurrido el día de hoy. Una opción sería que se declare nulo el veredicto de hoy. ¿No es posible? En el año 2003 se desestimó la acusación contra Fujimori por las esterilizaciones forzadas. Fujimori tiene varias acusaciones pendientes, como la del caso Castro Castro.
There are certainly many options and it is certain that ex-president Fujimori still has a lot of supporters. Any achievements that may have taken place during his administration are overshadowed by the discovery of the immense corruption and attacks against human rights. And as always, there is much left to be said [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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Russia: “Extorting the Victims of Beslan” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A translation of LJ user varfolomeev-v‘s report (RUS) on how “The State is demanding money from former hostages in Beslan” – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.


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South Africa: Yet Another Jacob Zuma Fiasco… · Global Voices
Muhammad Karim

The hottest topic circulating the South African blogosphere is none other than the infamous Jacob Zuma (yes, him again).  This time, the ANC President is making headlines not for any more embarrassing or inappropriate conduct but for clearly dodging all of the charges (783 of them) made against him in an eight-year long running fraud case against him.
This week Monday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped all charges against him citing taped evidence, obtained by Zuma's lawyers, of a ‘conspiracy’ against Mr. Zuma.  Evidence which should have never made the light of day in a public forum, which begs the question of how they got there in the first place…
Here's the buzz in the blogosphere…
Subversive Africana: The Luck of Jacob Zuma:
Well gosh, he dunnit again: he got off. I am reminded of a piece of liturgy…wait (rifles through her library looking for the relevant Book)…here it is:
‛They were bound to clear you,’ said Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Harry had entered the kitchen and was now holding a shaking hand over her eyes, ‛there was no case against you, none at all.’
‘Everyone seems quite relieved, though, considering you all knew I’d get off,’ said Harry, smiling.
Mrs Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George and Ginny were doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went: ‛He got off, he got off, he got off…’
The difference here is, I wouldn’t mind Harry Potter for president. Jacob Zuma…well, no shining endorsement there, the man mispronounces “divisive”. I see this as an omen.
I watched both the National Prosecuting Authority’s announcement, and the Zuma press conference the day after that announcement, live, because hey, I have no life, and I had a few thoughts on the long-winded speeches that I’ll share with you, the lucky and beautific reader of this blog!
They are: if the (acting) head of the NPA (I forget his name) uses the words “process”, “abusive” or the phrase “offends one’s sense of justice” one more time, we’ll have to shoot him. Those jingles are still reverberating in my head, and I wasn’t even paying close attention throughout; I was reading, aloud and with an unexpected flair, about Shylock and his pound of flesh, too, because speeches are boring mahn.
Newswatch Blog:NIA deputy chief leaked recordings:
The National Intelligence Agency’s (NIA) deputy head, Arthur Fraser, leaked secret recordings to ANC leader Jacob Zuma’s lawyers — evidence that ultimately halted his prosecution, according to a report today.
Quoting from three independent sources, the weekly Mail&Guardian said Fraser was once closely linked to former president Thabo Mbeki but had “changed his political tune some time ago”.
“The office of the Inspector General (of Intelligence) is investigating it,” NIA spokeswoman Lorna Daniels told Sapa.
“We strongly deny it. We have no further comment,” she added.
Based on information obtained from the recordings, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) this week announced it would halt the prosecution of Zuma, who was facing fraud and corruption charges.
The charges were dropped by the High Court in Durban on Tuesday.
The tapes are recordings of phone conversations between former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka and former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy, discussing, among other things, the timing of an announcement to re-charge Zuma.
These conversations happened in the weeks before the ANC’s conference in Polokwane in December 2007, when Zuma was elected its new leader, in a race closely contested by Mbeki.
NPA Acting National Director Mokotedi Mpshe said on Monday the recordings showed that McCarthy had abused the legal process.
The Times Blog: DA lays charges against Zuma lawyer:
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has laid criminal charges against ANC president Jacob Zuma's attorney Michael Hulley and the National Intelligence Agency's deputy director Arthur Fraser at the Durban Central Police station.
Hulley was charged on the grounds that he was allegedly in possession of illegal or stolen recordings of intercepted telephone conversations while Fraser, the brother of the former minister of public service and administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, was charged with distributing the illegally-taped conversations.
On Monday, the National Prosecuting Authority announced it would drop corruption charges against Zuma, saying the taped conversations between former NPA head Bulelani Ngcuka and former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy pointed to an “abuse of process” in handling the Zuma case.
DA safety and security spokesman Dianne Kohler Barnard said: “Neither Mr Hulley nor his client is a state official and Mr Hulley appears to have obtained these tapes specifically for the purpose of assisting his private legal client, Mr Zuma. As such Mr Hulley appears to be in possession of stolen property.”
Kohler Barnard said the charges were laid in terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002.
She said: “We believe that an investigation must take place into the circumstances surrounding this intercepted communication.”
Orion Spur:Zuma takes aim at Constitutional Court judges’ “godly” powers:
All 783 corruption charges against him withdrawn by a de-toothed National Prosecuting Authority before the court case could even begin, soon-to-be South African President Jacob Zuma:
has blasted the conduct of the judiciary and questioned the supremacy of the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land, saying it “is not God”.
Maintaining a posture of sneering, laconic cynicism just doesn’t do it for me anymore. I’m not in the mood to deconstruct the message, or interrogate the fricking subtext, or expose the hidden agenda of the publisher of the message.  Academics have always been useless in the face of thuggery. We’re heading towards an epic fuckup and we’re too civilized to stop it.
From the Yfm Political Blog, we get a scary idea of the large following Mr.Zuma has backing him…
About 71% of ANC Supporters –  believe Party President Jacob Zuma – is innocent of fraud and corruption charges  – but 31% of South Africans  – believe Msholozi (Zuma) should face the music.
This according to a survey by Ipsos – Markinor –  into how the Mzansi(South African) public  – perceive the ruling party’s presidential candidate.
Anneke Greyling the Director of Ipsos Markinor says  – the survey questioned over 3000 citizens  – who have registered to vote in this years general elections.
Mr.Zuma is still running for elections and PaintBall Craze blog shows us how the public are creatively reacting to his running for the presidency now that all charges are dropped against him…
THE ANC is not amused by fake election posters mocking its president, Jacob Zuma.
The posters appeared on streetlights on Jan Smuts Avenue and Oxford Road, in Johannesburg, yesterday. They have been placed above real ANC posters that feature Zuma’s face. One fake poster says: “What a lovely kanga you are wearing.” The next asks: “Was it made in China?” All the fake posters use the ANC’s colours and carry the slogan: “Vote Zuma. A better life for me.” One poster declares: “Justice is the name of my next wife.” The ANC has blamed the posters on “mischievous forces of darkness”.
ANC spokeswoman Lindiwe Zulu said the ruling party would complain to the Independent Electoral Commission and would open a case with the police . “This is sabotage. First they were defacing our posters, but now they are doing this. We are going to act,” Zulu said. Some of the fake posters are written in German, Portuguese, French and Italian. One, in Sotho, declares: “Ke nako ya go ithuta sezulu” (It’s time you learned to speak Zulu). Another proclaims: “Bush and I have plenty in common.”
And finally, a word by SA-Essay summing up the general feeling of bloggers and South African citizens alike when it comes to the effect this will have on its government structures…
African National Congress President Jacob Zuma – likely to become the country's next president – has blasted the conduct of the judiciary and questioned the supremacy of the Constitutional Court as the highest court in the land, saying it “is not God”.
And Matthew Phosa doing the same for the treasury:
The government under ANC leader Jacob Zuma would set up a commission after the election to oversee all the ministries, including the National Treasury, a senior official of the ruling party said yesterday.
The commission would co-ordinate the implementation of government programmes, as well as spending, budgets and “how they are being handled from top to bottom”, said Mathews Phosa, the ANC's treasurer general.
These are the 2 sections of government which have fared well for the last few years years. They have both been consistant and (mostly) effective.
Interference in either of these WOULD be the final curtain for stability in south africa. And they are already celebrating their victory, and revenge.
God help us all.

author: Muhammad Karim


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Trinidad & Tobago: Socialist State?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Just remember, not too long ago, the prime minister almost got away with this statement. ‘Some of the most prosperous nations in the world are dictatorships.'”: Paolo's Blog suggests that Trinidad and Tobago may be “goose-stepping towards a socialist state.”


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UAE: May 9 BarCamp Planned for Dubai  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“After the DemoCamps, Tweetups, and Twestival; Dubai will soon be witnessing another interesting event: BarCamp UAE,” writes Mohamed Marwen Meddah of StartUp Arabia, about this May 9 event.


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Ukraine: “Operation Yatsenyuk” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis writes about the prospects of Arseny Yatsenyuk – “a glimmer of hope shines for many in Ukraine who are fed up.”


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Bangladesh: This Road Is Also Ours · Global Voices
Rezwan

Unheard Voice blog of the human rights group Drishtipat informs about an unique campaign launched in the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh for ensuring dignity for women in the streets. The Drishtipat campaign is titled “Ei Poth Amadero (this road is also ours)”.


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Brazil: Tips to face the crisis from a popcorn street seller · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Well before the beginning of the global economic crisis, a Brazilian street seller was on his way to becoming a very famous entrepreneur in the country by doing just one thing: selling popcorn, with a personal touch. 36 year old Valdir Novaki used to work as an itinerant farm labourer, until he arrived in Curitiba, in 1988, where he started working as a newsagent, then as a car park driver. His ambition was to get a license to open a popcorn trolley, and become a successful business man. His ultimate dream was to become the best and best qualified popcorn seller in Brazil. Here is his profile:
"If everyone one can have a website, why shouldn't a popcorn seller have one?"
Contact: Through the “contact” form on the website or mobile phone: (+55) 41-8417-6579
Personal characteristics: Communicative, helpful and observative.
Skills: great ability to understand business opportunities; quick learner from lessons/guidance; great managerial potential; good teaching skills with people of all levels.
It took Valdir 12 years to become licensed by the city council, and by the time his dream came true he had already been in business for 3 years, operating a friend's licensed popcorn trolley which he used to rent. On getting his own license, Valdir was able to sell popcorn on a fixed spot in Tiradentes Square, where he has been working for nearly 3 years. The business quickly flourished, in a quite unusual way for this narrow field. Álvaro Borba [pt] tells us what makes Valdir special, and so attractive to customers: he has managed to innovate in a field that many would think has little room for imagination:
O novo carrinho foi levado para a Praça Tiradentes, o marco zero de Curitiba, e ganhou uma identidade visual feita especialmente para ele.  Surgiu, também, o kit higiene, que inclui palito de dente, guardanapo, balinha de hortelã (sempre providencial depois da comilança) e material promocional elogiando a qualidade dos ingredientes, aos quais o pipoqueiro hoje se refere como “insumos”.  No bolso frontal dos uniformes usados por ele foram estampados os dias da semana, para que o freguês tenha a certeza de que Valdir não usa hoje a roupa suja de ontem.  Por fim, foi criado um plano de fidelidade para beneficiar os mais assíduos e um site (saboreie aqui) para divulgar a marca Pipoca do Valdir.
Valdir offers two main promotions through loyalty cards: with one of them, the customer gets a free bag of popcorn for every five bought. The second, called “a dozen of ten”, the customer pays for ten popcorn bags in advance and gets twelve. In his website, there is a map of his usual spot for new customers to find him and a detailed description of equipment and products, including the providers of his raw materials. Valdir also shares popcorn recipes and curiosities, his customer testimonials and also information about his volunteer work with an institution for disabled people Pequeno Cotolengo and the Cancer Hospital Erasto Gaertner, where he takes his popcorn trolley to entertain kids. There is information regarding his new professional development: business and marketing lectures too.
Valdir, in a lecture for a bank. Picture from his website.
Despite the fact that Valdir only had the opportunity to finish elementary school, he now coaches students and business people of all ranks. For just over a year, Valdir has travelled around Brazil giving motivational lectures, entrepreneurship tips, and maybe some inspiration. Some of his ideas on how to develop  business came from Ricardo Coelho [pt], a marketing and business consultant and professor, and a loyal customer of his popcorn. He saw a natural talent in Valdir and has since helped the popcorn seller on the ladder to become a business coach:
Todos nós sabemos da importância em ajudar quem quer ser ajudado e a satisfação de participar do sucesso destes nossos parceiros. Isto ocorre comigo, quando referendo o pipoqueiro Valdir como um exemplo vivo do que é ser empreendedor e como a prática é uma escola com muito mais conteúdo do que muitos livros de grandes pensadores mercadológicos.
Marina [pt], a self confessed popcorn addict, gives us first hand accounts of her experience as a customer and explains why Valdir is her favorite popcorn seller ever:
Com dois reais você compra um BIG pacote de pipoca (que vem com aquela sacolinha para você poder levar melhor pela sua caminhada e onde a ajudante do pipoqueiro faz questão de colocar mais pipoca ). Só que além disso, olha o que é ser pipoqueiro no século XXI: ele coloca um pacotinho com um guardanapo, um palito de dente e uma bala de hortelã. Quer mais do que isso? Ele ainda te atende como se você fosse a melhor cliente, a mais especial e que ele ficou muito feliz em ver! Além de alguns visíveis cuidados de higiene. Para ver, que até no mercado de pipocas é preciso se adaptar… Viva o Valdir, o melhor pipoqueiro do mundo!
The Hygiene Kit – Why didn't anybody think of it before?
Geziane de Mattos Diost [pt] interviews Valdir and confirms that he is extremely friendly, kind and charismatic, a person who knows how to make all customers happy and attend to their every need, always with a large smile on his face. Focus, innovation and creativity are his keywords, but besides, he just loves what he does and that might make his popcorn just more tasty than his competitors':
Mas o sr. Valdir vive sempre assim, de bom humor? “Ah, todo dia eu tô de bom humor. E o segredo pra isso é a gente olhar pra trás. Se a gente olhar pra trás, vai ver que tem gente muito pior que a gente. Eu tô com saúde, tô trabalhando, minha família não tá passando necessidade… então, é só alegria! Dessa forma a gente supera as dificuldades! Tô sempre com o sorriso no rosto porque eu sempre digo que o sorriso é a menor distância entre duas pessoas. E pra eu ser um pipoqueiro eu tenho que estar feliz!”.

author: Paula Góes


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Georgia: Citizen media and the Tbilisi protests · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on the Frontline Club blog, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor says that the online coverage of two days of protests in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, by student and professional journalists has set new standards for citizen media in the South Caucasus.


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Georgia: Opposition ultimatum passes · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

An hour after an opposition ultimatum for Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to resign went unheeded, reports indicate that thousands of people continue to protest in the country's capital, Tbilisi. Radiobedniereba’s Blog, a GIPA Journalism School blogger, has more on the latest developments.
The Opposition parties, raised an ultimatum to President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign in 24 hours. The ultimatum time expires on 3 p.m. today. If Saakashvili will not resign, permanent demonstrations will start in all of Georgia, the opposition leaders say.
[…]
Protestors are waiting for Saakashvili’s decision and the opposition parties’ plans that are going to be announced today, at 4 p.m.
However, the number of people taking to the streets is believed to be much lower than yesterday, a national holiday, and expat blogger Wu Wei isn't expecting them to succeed.
At the end of the day, the Opposition gave Saakashvili 24 hours to resign.  It doesn't seem very likely that he would do so.
[…]
The police were only bystanding or inside important buildings and had instructions only to take action if the demonstrators tried to enter the buildings and take them over, which didn't happen.
It seems it was a fun day, but the Opposition did not impress anyone with a coherent plan to take over.  Nor did Saakashvili impress people with his offer to the Opposition to discuss and improve the Election Code.  It's not enough to improve transparency and debate over policies, which is really needed.  There needs to be more debate in the press and TV and Parliament.
According to Alanaga's Blog, one of many set up by the GIPA Journalism School especially for the protests, the Georgian president had made that quite clear earlier in the day.
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili answered the second day of demands for his resignation with a call for dialogue, Friday.
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Saakashvili expressed his satisfaction that violence didn’t take place during the demonstrations from none of the sides: neither from the demonstrators nor from the Police. He also pointed out that his plans for dealing with protesters was transparent, as he briefed partner governments and the press on his plans to maintain order during the demonstrations.
In fact, one tweet from a veteran Georgian blogger seems to imply that the embattled leader appears remarkably calm.
dv0rsky: @onewmphoto only news at this moment is that president #saakashvili was yesterday in sighnaghi with his friends – in a restaurant… :)
Indeed, so far free from the clashes which led to a state of emergency being declared, the GIPA Natalie5n Blog confirms that the atmosphere is far from tense.
Both sides took credit for the peaceful first day protests. According to opposition leaders the peace lasted during the day because the protestors were “well organized and in a nonviolent mood,” said Zviad Dzidziguri, a prominent member of the Conservative Party. Government officials maintained the fact that the police was restrained and instructed not to obstruct any peaceful protests.
Some Georgian experts are saying that much depends on how long each side can maintain the goodwill.
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Another political scientist, Soso Tsiskarishvili, who ran Georgia’s External Economic Relationships Department under ex-President Eduard Shevardnadze, adding:
“The side which will use violence first will lose.”
Late last night, fieldreports posted a mobile video interview with the head of the Young Georgian Lawyers Association whose organization is monitoring the protests.
However, the GIPA Journalism School Blog says that there has been at least one case of violence and intimidation.
Three activists of the Why? Public Movement were beaten yesterday at 11.30 pm Thursday when driving home from protests in front of Parliament.
Natia Kobalia, one of the leaders of “Why?” said that men in black masks, driving three jeeps, stopped the activists’ car, pulled out the six activists, and began beating the three boys with cudgels.  The girls weren’t harmed.
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One boy was treated for a concussion at Saint Michael’s Hospital in Tbilisi, and other two had more minor injuries.
And as Arevik’s Blog explains on why many Georgians from all walks of life are discontent with the situation in the country, the GIPA Journalism School Blog says the opposition plans to hold daily rallies until their demands are met.
In response to President Mikheil Saakashvili’s refusal to resign Friday, opposition leaders urged people to protest daily at 3 p.m. in front of Parliament, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the president’s administration building in Avlabari.
“We are not going to break into the buildings, our disobedience will just be demonstrations,” Levan Gachechiladze told a crowd Friday, April 10, gathered in front of Parliament. […]
More updates will be posted on Global Voices Online if and when any new events occur. In the meantime, it's worth keeping an eye on the GIPA Journalism School Blog as well as Twitter at #tbilisi.
mishab: RT @govtofgeorgia: Opposition Leaders Say Want ‘Public Talks’ with Saakashvili http://civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=20706 #tbilisi
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perspectivelute: #tbilisi is this a divergence in tactics? Gachechiladze wanting civil disobedience, Burjanadze wanting a public debate with Saakashvili?
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mhikaric: As predicted, the Opposition is doing a lot of nothing, leaving the ball in Misha's court. Alasania is probably glad he hedged. #tbilisi
perspectivelute: @mhikaric not much the opposition can do, is there, except hope the govt. loses its cool? they've trapped themselves #tbilisi
[…]
mhikaric: Maybe Burjanadze can hope nomenklatura friends send money to keep the protests alive. W/o Patarkatsishvili's money they're stuck. #tbilisi
There are are also updates from the mobile phone of Frontline Club blogger Guy Degen on Twitter (text) and Utter (audio) as well as Qik (video) and 12 seconds (video).
Qik Video on 12seconds.tv


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India: The Election Extravaganza · Global Voices
Rezwan

Snigdha Sen at Blogher terms the upcoming Indian election 2009 as the biggest, the fanciest and the craziest celebration of democracy in the world.


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Indonesia election: Funny stories · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Plis Deh Jakarta! gathers funny stories during the April 9 Indonesia Election Day. For example: an election booth head was not registered to vote, proliferation of ghost voters, and the lowest turnout of voters was in the housing complex of the Parliament.

author: Mong Palatino


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Indonesia: Free Starbucks coffee for voters · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

April 9 is Indonesia's Election Day. Starbucks announces it will give a free cup of coffee to voters. This leads blogger Multibrand to ask if Starbucks is sponsoring the Indonesian elections.


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Indonesia: The next Vice president · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democrat Party is poised to dominate the polls. akhyari mentions the possible nominees for the Vice President position.


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Iraq: Remembering April 9, 2003 – When Sitting on the Fence is Difficult · Global Voices
Salam Pax

While the 9th of April 2003 was a defining day in the history of modern Iraq most of us Iraqis can’t really agree on what to call it. Is it the Fall of Baghdad or the Liberation of Baghdad?  Using one or the other pins you to one side or the other. Sitting on the fence is difficult.
In previous years, the Iraqi government used to mark the day with a public holiday, calling it simply ‘Baghdad Day’. That’s good fence sitting, don’t you think? This year though Baghdad Day wasn’t a public holiday. A couple of thousand people from both ends of the Shia and Sunni spectrums went out on demonstrations but millions of Iraqis just went on with their lives as if it was any other day.
The Iraqi blogosphere reflects this collective shrug. Out of more than 100 blogs listed on Iraqi Blog Count, only 11 bloggers wrote about this day and they were mostly bloggers living outside Iraq. But before I move to them I want to turn your attention to a blogger writing from within Iraq first.
Baghdad Dentist, whose last post was exactly one month ago, puts together an insightful situation report on Baghdad six years after that eventful day. If you’re going to take a look at one blog in this summary make it this one. From the security situation to fun, it’s all there and in bulletin form!
On relationships, he writes:
I've noticed the increase of divorcing couples.
On Education, he observes:
Better to be called deterioration!
And, my favourite, on the Baghdad Municipality, he says:
The municipality bought artificial palm trees. For god's sake, we have enough palm trees to fill Baghdad. [The plastic ones are] not as nice as the natural ones. Yellow made of plastic with lights during night (if the power is on)!!!
One of my pet peeves… how could a city that prides itself on its dates use yellow plastic disco lit palm trees? That is just so sad. As I said previously, if it’s just one post you’re going to read, Baghdad Dentist’s is the one.
MixMax, writing from Sweden on his blog Iraq The Lasting Love, looks back at the last six years. He talks about his joy at seeing the statue of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein being toppled but notes how quickly was that joy drained away with the chaos that followed.
After 9 April 2003, Iraq became a different country from that I used to know. It became entirely different from the Iraq I was dreaming of.
It’s a long post but really worth a look. It’s in English too, so what are you waiting for? What I personally find interesting is that he shows how difficult these times were and still are for us as Iraqis – how difficult it is to be stuck in this moment of time between a regime that ruled with fear and cruelty and a war that rid us of that regime but plunged us into deeper chaos.
While MixMax’s post did not make it clear whether he is commemorating the fall or liberation of Baghdad, blogger Zahra al-Rawi has no time for fence sitters. She’s written a passionate post titled Lest we forget:
Who could have imagined that six years pass and Iraq would still be occupied? We know that America is stalling and fooling us with what it calls ‘withdrawal plan’, with no withdrawal. Six years we've been suffering from them. Sucking away our oil and the riches of our country and more importantly our blood.
There is a single comment on her post. Mahmoud al-Rawi who blogs on the Arabic blog Mahmoud: Muslim Iraqi Pharmacist  writes astutely:
Dear sister, these tragedies weren’t the result of the occupation only.
His own post on the day is a transcription of a prayer for divine guidance for all Muslims.
Eye Raki, from London, also posted on the 9th of April. In 6 Years Today, he looks back at the blog post he wrote in 2003 on the same day:
At the time I was angry that people had given up on Iraq. Many journalists wanted to portray Iraq as a failed state because that type of news sells well.
But unlike Zahra, Eye Raki is much more optimistic and thinks Iraq has turned a corner under Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s leadership. The post is more ‘Liberation’ than ‘Fall’ and Hayder al-Khoei, who writes Eye Raki, says a new Iraq was born in 2003 and it is here to stay:
I don't know how Iraq managed to survive. I don't know how the Iraqi's managed to survive. But they did. Every morning bad news and then in the evening even more bad news. The instinct for survival was probably just as vital as the surge and Maliki's jihad against the terrorists.
A notable if slightly lengthy commemoration post is published by Layla Anwar on An Arab Woman Blues. It’s a two-part interview with Malcom Lagauche, author of The Mother of All Battles: The Endless US-Iraq War, who talks with her about ‘the fall of Baghdad as seen by an American’.
So there you have it. There are a couple more posts on the anniversary but as Layla notes we all have the attention span of squirrels. She split her interview into two parts in order not to scare you with a lengthy post and I shall end mine here too.

author: Salam Pax


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Japan: Chalk Drawing of Ichiro Suzuki · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

WBC afterglow? A video of a portrait of Ichiro Suzuki drawn with sidewalk chalk by artist Phil Hansen has recently been making the rounds in the Japanese blogosphere.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Pakistan: No Respite · Global Voices
Rezwan

Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan reports that troubles are brewing all over Pakistan. Quetta is burning due to riots, violence spreads in Balochistan and Karachi is tensed due to the clashes in the Shanaakht Festival 2009 – no respite for Pakistan.


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Sri Lanka: New Year Celebrations · Global Voices
Rezwan

Cerno describes about the upcoming new year celebrations in Sri Lanka: “It is a tricky holiday to explain to non Sri Lankan friends abroad. The short version is it to cut through all the astrology induced rituals such as chicken kicking and describe it as a family network revitalization event.”


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Thailand: Taxi drivers join Red Shirts · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Last December protesters shut down Bangkok airports. Today the Red Shirt protesters are supported by taxi drivers who used their cars to block traffic in the city. See also the reactions of Twitter users to the ongoing protest.


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Vietnam: Informal economy · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnam's informal economy may be helping it survive the economic recession, writes blogger Antidote to Burnout


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Zimbabwe: The truth from the Deputy Prime Minister · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Eusebia discusses the recent speech by the Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, “The speech was so full of truth that it made me realise that at least we have one man in the coalition government who has the intelligence to objectively evaluate perfomance of the coalition government and point out exactly were they are going wrong.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Bahrain: Airport Stories · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Yagoob recounts some of his recent experiences in airports – including meeting a Japanese security officer in Nagoya who wanted to practice speaking Arabic.


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Bahrain: Authorities Censor Just Bahraini · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Just Bahraini has been blocked by the authorities in Bahrain. “I don’t know what the rationale used at our respected Ministry of Information to block this particular site, a site which I created in order to find common ground between all Bahrainis regardless of confessionalism or religious belonging,” writes Mahmood Al Yousif, who runs the blog.


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Bahrain: The Pleasures of Motherhood · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Um Naief is an American married to a Bahraini, and she has written a post about why she enjoys motherhood so much.