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Palestine: Allowed No Passage · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The saga of journalist and blogger Laila El-Haddad, who writes at Raising Yousuf and Noor: diary of a Palestinian mother, was carefully covered by Global Voices last week.  However, as El-Haddad moved into her 36th hour at the airport and her tweeting and blogging ceased, fans, friends, and readers became concerned.  When we left off, El-Haddad had been deported back to the United States, despite carrying the proper documentation to enter Gaza.  She was concerned, for her U.S. visa had expired.  Here, she tells her story:
The trips to the outdoor recreation store- in preparation for what I anticipated to be a long and tortuous journey across Rafah Crossing to Gaza. The inspect repellent; the mosquito netting; the water purifier; the potty toppers for my kids ad the granola bars and portion sized peanut butter cups. This time, I wanted to be ready, I thought to myself-just in case I got stuck at the Crossing. The Crossing. My presumptuousness is like a dull hit to the back of my head now.
Speaking of her documentation, she explains:
I hold a Palestinian Authority passport. It replaced the “temporary two-year Jordanian passport for Gaza residents” that we held until the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority in the mid '90s, which itself replaced the Egyptian travel documents we held before that. A progression in a long line of stateless documentation.
It is a passport that allows no passage. A passport that denied me entry to my own home. This is its purpose: to mark me, brand me, so that I am easily identified and cast aside without questions; it is convenient for those giving the orders. It is a system for the collective identification of those with no identity.
El-Haddad ensures her readers that she followed proper procedure.  She writes that she had no thoughts that she wouldn't be let in:
I did not want to repeat their ordeal, so I called the embassy this time, which assured me the protocol had changed: now, it was only Palestinian men who were not allowed to fly to or enter Egypt. Women were, and would get their visa at the Egyptian port of destination. I was given a signed and dated letter (April 6, 2009) by the consul to take with me in case I encountered any problems: “The Consular Section of the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt hereby confirms that women, who are residents of the Gaza Strip, and who hold passports issued by the Palestinian Authority are required to get their visa to enter Egypt at Egyptian ports and NOT at the various Egyptian consulates in the United States on their way to the Gaza Strip for the purpose of reaching their destination (i.e. Gaza Strip)” it read.
She describes the attitudes of Egyptian authorities, depicting the debasement she and others were subjected to:
Officer #1 divided up the room into regions: the 5 or so south Asians who were there for whatever reason-expired paperwork, illegal documentation- were referred to as “Pakistan” when their attention was needed; The snoozing, sleep-talking woman in the back was “Indonesia”; and the impeccably dressed Guinean businessman, fully decked in a sharp black suit and blue lined tie, was “Kenya” (despite his persistence please to the contrary). There was a group of Egyptian peasants with forged, fake, or wrongly filed Id cards and passports: a 54 year old man whose ID said he was born in 1990; another who left his ID in his village 5 hours away, and so on.
As we now know, El-Haddad was deported back to the United States, the country from whence she had came and for where she did not have a passport or permanent residency.  Upon arriving, she tweeted:
Laila El-Haddad "tweeted" this message upon arriving in the U.S.
She later described in more detail:
Eventually, we reached Dulles Airport. I walked confidently to the booth when it was my turn.
What was I going to say? How do I explain this? The man took one look at my expired visa, and my departure stamps.
“How long have you been gone?”
“36 hours” I replied bluntly.
“Yes,I see that. Do you want to explain?”
“Sure. Egypt forbade me from returning to Gaza”.
“I don't understand- they denied you entry to your own home?”
“I don't either, and if I did, I wouldn't be here.”
With that, I was given a a stamp and allowed back inside.
Although El-Haddad and her two children became mildly ill following their trip, all three are now safe and in the United States, a country which has been a second home to them for some time now.  El-Haddad concludes:
Now that we are warm; clothes; showered, rested and recovered from whatever awful virus we picked up in the bowels of Cairo airport, I keep thinking to myself: what more could I have done?
“The quintessential Palestinian experience,” historian Rashid Khalidi has written, “takes place at a border, an airport, a checkpoint: in short, at any one of those many modern barriers where identities are checked and verified.”
In this place, adds Robyn Creswell, “connection” turns out to be only another word for separation or quarantine: the loop of airports never ends, like Borges’s famous library. The cruelty of the Palestinian situation is that these purgatories are in no way extraordinary but rather the backdrop of daily existence.”


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Peru: Traditional Music Takes on Internet Love · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Huayno Peruano by Otra Vez me Hice Mujer
While internet romance has lost its shock value to many online veterans,  certain segments of the population who have so far remained outside of the online revolution are just catching up with these changes and are exploring the pros and cons of cyber-romance. Here we bring you three music videos for songs by Peruvian folklore singers who provide us their Andean perspective on these new ways of finding and bonding with romantic partners.
Amazilia Alba from  Bottle to the Sea [es] blog brought these videos to our attention on her post Cybernetic Love [es]. In this post she provides us with cultural background to this phenomenon. Facing an agricultural crisis, many youth migrate to bigger cities in search of work and opportunities. This, added to the growth of Internet Cafes in many cities, brings different indigenous geographical communities in contact and is bridging the isolation rural communities were once in. She sums it up by stating that these songs reflect how the Andean population is conscious of the advantages and disadvantages of  “love on the internet”.
The first song she selects is the huaylarsh, a type of huayño [en](a traditional and popular widespread dance of the Andean regions) titled Internet Love:
Gracias a un comentarista en UTdeM tenemos este huaylarsh de Estrellita de Huayllar (Edith Mayta) de Huayllar, Angaraes, Huancavelica. Con una visión positiva y lúdica sobre las posibilidades del coqueteo por internet.
The lyrics basically say:
Hola como estas amiguito mío quiero que me des tu correo de internet. Vamos amigo carita bonita quiero conocerte ya mucho mejor.
Mira que me siento muy enamorada tan solamente amor de internet. Creo que me siento ya muy enamorada dame tu cariñito por internet
See that I feel very in love, only through internet love. I think I am very much in love, give me your affection through internet.
The next video is what Amazilia calls the Summer Hit, and she selects one of the many different versions of it, which she considers is the better one due to the good dancing in it. From the highlands of Cuzco, Mariposita de Espinar (Vilma Chavez) and the Carnavaleros of the South bring us Cybernetic Love, a far more jaded view of love in the times of Internet:
The lyrics go:
¿Por qué quieres saber mi número telefónico? ¿Para qué quieres saber mi correo electrónico? Seguro quieres jugar, conmigo vas a perder. Por celular no podrás, por internet tampoco.
Then the voice-over guy insists that he wants the number to meet-up and the email to chat and stay in touch, to which the girls in the chorus reply: Cyberlove? With me, never! Go away stuck up cholito.
This next video is a strange concoction: after a long presentation enumerating the multiple characteristics of the singer, the songwriter and the band, and among greetings to family members, greetings to the audience and to places all around Perú, The Sweet Party Girl of Espinar and the Rays of Love sing Jhony Milagros’ song “Internet Love”, where the possibility of online romance is rejected because anyone who truly loved her would look for her until she was physically found:
Yo no quisiera enamorarme de un amor por internet. Son ilusiones, fantasías, caprichos: sólo me harán llorar.
Estoy buscando un amorcito que me quiera igual que yo. Si tú me quieres con toda el alma te amaría hasta la muerte.
Si tú quieres conquistarme no lograrás por internet. Si de verdad tu me amarías me buscarías hasta encontrarme.
I am looking for a lover who loves me as I love him. If you love me with all your soul, I will love you until death.
If you want to conquer me you won't be able to on internet. If you really love me you would look for me until you found me.
Internet romance is not the only modern subject songs are focusing on. Amazilia has also written another post where she shared two other videos, this time both are in Quechua, about cell-phones in the Andean Culture.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Poland: Discount Tickets for Foreign Kids · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Travels Without My Spaniel wishes it was possible for foreigners to buy their kids discounted train tickets in Poland.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Qatar, Dubai: Responding To British Media “Bashing” · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In recent weeks reports in the British media about the Gulf states of Qatar, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, have provoked debate amongst bloggers in both places. BBC Middle East correspondent Katya Adler visited Qatar and described her experience in Trying to lift the veil on Qatar, and the BBC's Panorama made a programme about Dubai called Slumdogs and Millionaires. The most controversial report was by Johann Hari of The Independent, called The dark side of Dubai, which prompted a response in Arabian Business and The Independent by one of the people he interviewed, Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi (to whom Hari in turn responded).
Katya Adler's report, in which she describes Qatar as “a veiled society, physically and socially” was received with mixed feelings on the country's blogs and forums. The Qatar Visitor blog says:
[Adler] fails to get under the skin of the country. In many respects she has the same experience as many expatriates here – the people she meets, apart from in an official capacity, are not Qatari. Yet Qataris, when you meet them, are generally friendly people when approached, and while Qatar has its faults hospitality to guests is not one of them.
Marjorie in Qatar also finds fault with some facts presented in the article, as do some commenters on the popular Qatar Living forum, such as Qatari diamond:
The article is a bit pathetic and parts of it untrue. She didn't try very hard to meet locals. […] There are many Qataris who live completely in Qatari circles having only the most minimal interaction with expatriates. I guess they like it like that. On the other hand, there are Qataris who interact at all levels with expatriates. We're a mixed bunch ;) […] Sorry, but on her ONE visit to Qatar she expected a lot with minimal input from herself. Pffft. Are we supposed to be rushing up to expatriates, grabbing them by the hand and saying ‘come meet the natives, see the natives at play?’, whilst sprinkling them with rosewater and offering a cup of kahwa [coffee]. Give me a break.
PaulCowan says:
I'm really a bit confused about what that BBC woman was trying to achieve. Would anyone find out anything more if they jetted into London on a mission to find out what makes society tick? Isn't the concept really a little bit absurd?
The BBC Panorama programme, Slumdogs and Millionaires, focused on the living and working conditions of South Asian migrant workers in Dubai's construction sector. On the UAE Community Blog, John B. Chilton says:
Yes, there are abuses and the downturn in the economy has played a role. But on the whole these workers are here because it's better than the alternative of being home. Why else are they upset when there is talk of limiting the amount of time an expat can work in the country? And when considering how poorly they live consider that most are sending home a large portion of what they earn.
An anonymous commenter responds:
Or they have been DUPED into thinking it would be better than home and into paying a fortune in illegal fees to come here and now cannot afford to leave?
And Bob, NY asks John B. Chilton:
Since you find their working conditions quite acceptable, I'm sure you would have no problem if your son or daughter worked and lived like these workers do, true? Or is it fine only for South Asians to work under these conditions, and not caucasians? You write like the colonialist you are.
The Life in Dubai blog reports that the Panorama programme caused official ripples:
According to Gulf News, the Ministry of Labour will investigate the claims made in the programme that expat workers are made to live and work in completely unacceptable conditions. […] As the Minister points out, the rights of workers is covered by legislation. The problem is that companies ignore rules and laws – not ony in Dubai but just about everywhere – and they need enforcing. It's no secret in Dubai that some labour camps are way below the standards they should be, even the local press has run stories about it. The media can find violations but somehow the inspection teams miss them.
The media report which generated the most controversy was Johann Hari's hard-hitting article in The Independent entitled The dark side of Dubai, in which Hari described Dubai as “a living metal metaphor for the neo-liberal globalised world that may be crashing – at last – into history”. Hari interviews both expatriates and citizens, and paints an extremely bleak portrait of the emirate.
At the UAE Community Blog, samuraisam gives examples of how many times “dark side” has been used in headlines about Dubai over the years. Life in Dubai calls Hari's article “the most vitriolic piece on Dubai so far”, and says:
[Johann Hari] reports on a group of Brits – but has obviously been at pains to scrape the bottom of the barrel. […] He doesn't bother to point out that the excesses of a few are outweighed by tens of thousands of extremely hard working expats, from Britain as well as the rest of the world. Tens of thousands who are working and saving, putting their children through school, who know how to behave.
Among the commenters on the post, The Sandman says:
It's getting a bit ridiculous all this Dubai-bashing. It seems like every British paper is sending out a journalist for a three day trip, getting the worst stories they can find, and putting them in an article. People forget that Dubai was a normal town before the boom of the late 90s. It's not like the town has ‘fallen from the sky’ or whatever the article said.
Chris Saul argues that Hari makes a lot of factual errors, and says:
Journalists seem to fall to pieces when it comes to Dubai. Context and balance tend to be thrown to one side and the results tend to be fawning pieces that describe Dubai as the most wondrous place on earth, or sneering hate-pieces filled with stereotypes and dubious quotations. There seems to be little in between.
In Qatar, Hari's article was read with interest; on the Qatar Living forum tallg comments:
Qatar obviously shares many of the same issues, and they are treated in much the same way – look the other way, brush it under the carpet, everything is fine.
FranElizabeth wonders if those living in Qatar are as complicit in exploiting workers as Hari indicates that Dubai residents are:
This has really opened my eyes. Every time I drive on the Dukhan-Doha road I see masses of these workers out in the burning sun – I have always tried to put my mind at rest by thinking that it is their choice to be here.. it's probably only short term… the money they make is probably a fortune to what they would earn at home…I'm just as blinkered! We have made a choice to come here for the money and is just a lottery that we were born Western – but I have 2 young kids to support and that was nearly impossible at home. Is it as corrupt here, do you think???
Gypsy comments:
Articles like this make me feel dirty. […] Whether we agree with it or no, or sound like the @#$&s in that article or no, we do support what happens here. I do think he should cut us a little slack in that, as expatriates we don't have much power to enforce change, however that doesn't make our hands entirely clean, we are still enjoying the slave society.
Johann Hari's article was re-posted and linked to on blogs around the world, and further debate can be read at the Freakonomics blog, Joi Ito's blog, and Boing Boing.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Russia: Attack on Lev Ponomarev · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Very belatedly, links to posts on the attack on human rights activist Lev Ponomarev, at Robert Amsterdam's Blog – here, here, and here.


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Russia: Failed DDoS Attack · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Profy writes about a misguided DDoS attack carried out by opponents of a Russian reality show, who “did not bother to check who exactly their attack will target” and hit a Dutch-owned logistics company instead of a Russian TV channel site.


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Russia: Medvedev’s Income · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog compares Medvedev's salary to that of other world leaders.


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Russia: Notes on Moscow and Sochi Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mark MacKinnon shares his impressions of Moscow and writes about the upcoming election in Sochi: “Nemtsov has already had ammonia thrown at him by unknown assailants dressed in women's clothing and Volochkova has apparently now been disqualified for leaving her birthday off one of the documents she submitted with her registration papers. A porn star and a prominent freemason have also joined the race. It's enough to make a former Moscow correspondent tear up with nostalgia.”


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Russia: Putin’s Address to the Duma · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Highlights of PM Putin's first annual address to the Duma – at CrisisCrunch.


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Russia: Thoughts on Stalinism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vadim Nikitin writes about Stalinism at Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog: “Stalinism was thus the political equivalent of the Columbine massacre, on a national scale.”


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Russia, Ukraine: Education in Russian/Ukrainian · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about “a Russian activist [who] has written President Dmitry Medvedev asking that the Kremlin help Russian regions provide assistance to Russian-language schools in Ukraine.”


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Rwanda: Fifteen years after the genocide · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Today marks the end of a week of national mourning in Rwanda to mark 15 years since the genocide which killed 800,000 people. On the 7th of April ceremonies were held in the capital Kigali, and in Nyanza, where more than 5,000 people were slaughtered. At a stadium in Kigali, thousands of candles spelt out the word “hope” in three languages.
Rwandan blogger Negrita's Chronicles asked her readers to join the nation-wide candlelight vigil for the victims through her blog:
It has been 15 years since the Genocide forever changed my home and my people.
The world stood silent as cries for help went unheeded.
Please join us in lighting a candle in memory of those whose lives were taken and in hope for a future of peace, justice, and true reconciliation.
In succesive posts, Negrita posted a video for the campaign Candles for Rwanda, and the song ‘Never Again’ written and recorded in commemoration of the Genocide. The song was composed by Rwanda's gospel singer Jean Paul Samputu in Kinyanrwanda, but its choruses are sung in different languages (English, French, Swahili, Kirundi and Kiganda) by various popular regional musicians.
Pictures of children victims of genocide at the Kigali Memorial Center (Photo by Elia Varela Serra)
Martin Leach, the head of the DFID (British Department for International Development) in Rwanda attended the ceremonies in Nyanza, which he describes in his blog:
Hundreds of people trudged up the long hill to Nyanza, many of them wearing something purple, a neckscarf, a wrap, even a purple wristband. The colour purple is the colour of mourning in Rwanda and yesterday, 7th April, was the 15th Anniversary of the Genocide. At the top of the hill I joined the large crowd at the Commemoration Ceremony. Wedged between two ambassadors, I heard heart breaking accounts from survivors of the massacre which took place on the site where we were seated, with no one to protect them against the brutal attacks of the militia.
But it was the young people who moved me most: girls dressed in purple and white reciting poems in Kinyarwandan about the need to take courage for the future in spite of the sorrow and grief, and a youth choir with ‘Never Again’ emblazoned on their T-shirts and headbands, singing with emotion about the importance of never forgetting the genocide. And it was emotional. Even the Government Ministers were shedding tears, remembering their experiences and lost loved ones. I can't imagine it – one million people killed in 100 days: as the Lady Mayor of Kigali said ‘an unspeakable evil’ had gripped the country.
Michael Abramowitz of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was in Kigali for the ceremonies. In the blog World is Witness, Abramovitz recounts the testimony of a genocide survivor called Venuste that moved the audience with his story during the ceremony:
Venuste, who looked to be in his 50s or 60s, with a dignified bearing, proceeded to tell the hushed crowd how his family and neighbors decided to take refuge at the nearby L’Ecole Technique Officielle, thinking that might be a safe refuge because of the small contingent of Belgian United Nations soldiers stationed there. But four days later, to their great shock, the small U.N. force departed, telling those gathered on the school grounds that “gendarmes” would rescue them.  The U.N. soldiers ignored their desperate pleas not to leave them at the mercy of a menacing crowd of government soldiers and armed militia that surrounded them outside the gates of the school.
After the departure of the last U.N. soldier, Venuste and some 5,000 others who were gathered on the school grounds were forced to walk a jeering gauntlet of Hutu militiamen, soldiers and civilians wielding machetes, guns and other weapons. Some of those who survived described it as a “death walk.” Venuste lost his right arm, hacked off by one of the tormentors. The walkers came to this unremarkable hill, where they were encircled by a gang of killers and set upon with grenades, machetes and clubs. Within a few hours, Venuste said, “We were lying in pools of blood.”
Of the 5,000 or so who sought refuge from the U.N. near here, roughly 100 survived, according to Venuste. He lived only because he laid still under dead bodies, overlooked by the killers searching the carnage for signs of life.
Impressed by the economic development of Rwanda, Abramowitz sees no traces of the atrocities experienced 15 years ago:
As I first-time visitor to Rwanda, it’s hard not to be mystified by the mismatch between the ferocious events of just 15 years ago and apparent calm and prosperity in Rwanda, which aspires to be the hub of an economically vibrant East Africa. As we drove out of town to one of the churches where you can still see the skulls and belongings of murdered Tutsi, we passed by workers digging up ditches on the side of the road to lay down new fiber optic lines. A newcomer thinks: How can this beautiful country, routinely described by Africa hands as one of the better functioning countries on the continent, have experienced such savagery?
Ugandan fishermen pulling bodies out of Lake Victoria that had traveled hundreds of miles by river from Rwanda (Photo by Dave Blumenkrantz, used under a Creative Commons license)
Colette Braeckman [Fr], a Belgian journalist and author of several books about Central Africa, was also present at the anniversary ceremony in Kigali of which she writes:
Depuis la foule amassée devant le « jardin de la mémoire » et le monument consacré au génocide, des cris jaillissent, perturbent les discours officiels. A tout moment, des corps convulsés ou immobilisés par les syncopes sont emportés par des ambulances. Lorsque Venuste Kasirika s’empare du micro et raconte son calvaire, son récit est ponctué par les sanglots qui secouent l’auditoire.
Walking around modern-day Kigali, Braeckman makes a similar observation as Abramowitz about the disconnect with the horrible past:
Dans cette cité moderne, ambitieuse, dont les quartiers populaires ont été rasés et les habitants transplantés plus loin, au milieu de ces immeubles abritant des banques, des commerces et des bureaux, au vu de ces parterres taillés au ciseau et de ces espaces verts qui ressemblent à des jardins anglais, comment croire que, voici quinze ans, les bennes de la voirie ramassaient les cadavres à la pelle et les déversaient devant l’hôpital, comme des tas d’immondices ? Au vu de ces gens bien habillés, portant tous des chaussures de ville (les nu pieds sont interdits) comment se souvenir de ces tueurs au regard halluciné, ivres de bière, de chanvre et de haine, ceints d’amulettes, qui brandissaient fusils et longues machettes et traquaient, comme du gibier, leurs voisins tutsis débusqués dans les faux plafonds, les fossés et les fourrés de haies vives ?
Yves Zihindula [Fr], a Congolese blogger based in Goma, remembers the genocide as seen from the other side of the border:
Voici 15 ans jour pour jour, que des centaines de milliers de gens (réfugiés) se sont déversés en République démocratique du Congo. Cette date me rappelle les images abominables des femmes et enfants affaiblis par la faim dans les rues de Goma. Je me souviens avoir vu des cadavres d’homme dans le lac Kivu, jetés depuis la partie rwandaise du lac et emmener par la vague vers les bords du côté congolais. J’ai vu à l’époque des camions à benne transporter des corps humains et déposer dans des fosses communes.
Des souvenirs pas du tout bons. Ça me fait toujours bizarre de réaliser cette tragédie. Des humains s’entretuer. Quand bien même chez les animaux, ces genre des situations arrivent rarement. J’ose espérer que ça ne se répétera plus jamais et que l’Afrique entière (pourquoi pas le monde entier) en a tiré les leçons.
Not good memories at all. It still feels weird to realize this tragedy. Humans killing each other. Even between animals these kinds of situations rarely happen. I dare to hope that this is not going to happen again and that the whole Africa (and the whole world) have learnt a lesson.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Sri Lanka: On Allegations By The Diaspora · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Blacklight Arrow comments: “the diaspora, organized and spurred by LTTE front organizations, chants its mantra of concentration camps and Sri Lankan government genocide of the Tamils, ignoring the fact that it is the LTTE, and not the government, that is holding the Wanni Tamils in these inhuman conditions.”

author: Rezwan


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The World According to Mom · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

What do blogging mothers around the world think are the five best things about being a mom? Global Voices has teamed up with Catherine Connors a.k.a. Her Bad Mother in Canada to ask this question and encourage mom-bloggers around the world to reach out and link to one another. So far, more than 85 bloggers in 26 countries have responded. But we're still looking for more.
Catherine led off with this post, introducing the idea:
A few months ago, my friend David asked me if I thought that it would be possible to travel around the world via blog. “Like Around The World In 80 Days,” he said, “but on the Internet. Around the world in 80 clicks. 80 mom-blogger clicks!” “I don't know,” I said. “But it sure sounds like a cool thing to try.” “Cool. And if you could visit, virtually, moms around the world, what would you want to talk to them about?”
Among some of the most poignant entries are, Hip Hop Grandma  in India who describes how her love for her children changed how she identifies herself within her family; Bolivian blogger Capsula Del Tiempo writes (in English and Spanish) about the super powers she immediately acquired through motherhood, like “Supersonic Nighttime Hearing” and “The Ability to Tell the Future”; and Touched by an Angel, a Filipina mom blogger, writes a “graduation speech” for herself on the accomplishment of having mothered three beautiful children.
Global Voices authors helped identify blogging mothers around the world, and Catherine's friend David Wescott in the the United States took the lead in contacting them and keeping track of links to all participating mothers in his own blog, It's Not a Lecture. In his second of four updates (so far), he wrote:
This thing is really taking off. Since Catherine launched the global mom-meme, I have found about 40 posts from moms in or from 14 different countries. Moms in at least a half dozen other countries have already been tagged, and a Korean-American mom group blog called Kimchi Mamas has put the call out for Korean bloggers to participate.
Posts are bookmarked and tagged by country at the 80clicks delicious page. It's going to get much harder to keep track of everything, so if you're participating and want to be added to the list please leave a comment either here or at Catherine's post so we can make sure you are represented.
Days later, David wrote in his fourth update:
The momentum continues for the global mom-meme started at Her Bad Mother. I've found more than 85 moms in 26 countries all sharing what they love about being a mother. Here are the additions I've found – and I stress “I've found” because I'm almost certain there are a number of posts I haven't found yet…
… The meme remains dominated by [American] expats so I'm still trying to find the right standard for countries. In this case the bloggers in Italy, Bahrain and Morocco are all American, and at least one of the bloggers in Korea is a Canadian expat – but they all seem to have something that convinces me it's ok to list them in that country.
Global Voices readers around the world: Help us bring more global bloggers to this meme by writing a post in any language in your own blog about the five things you love the most about being a mother (or father!) Tag your friends, add #globalmoms to your posts and tweets, and help us get “Around the World in 80 Clicks”.

author: Solana Larsen


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Trinidad and Tobago: Saving the Mangrove · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Is Essar and mangrove destruction the best way forward and is melting steel the best way for a small country with only a few yeas of gas left to develop?”: This Beach Called Life encourages you to sign a petition to save “the Claxton Bay mangrove and the environment in Trinidad and Tobago.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Ukraine: Good Museum Leadership · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Uncataloged Museum writes about Ukrainian women and good museum leadership.


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Ukraine: “New Safe Confinement” for Chernobyl  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Chernobyl and Eastern Europe posts “a short video showing the design of the New Safe Confinement structure that is designed to cover the original Sarcophagus and remains of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant”: “Work on the New Safe Confinement is still considered to be on schedule.”


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Ukraine, Russia: Local Women, Western Men · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Why Ukrainian women go for Western men” and vice versa – at IZO.


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Western Sahara: Landmine Injures Five During Peaceful Protest · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Last week, Saharawis and Spaniards stood together in solidarity against the berm (“Wall of Shame”) built between Morocco and the Western Sahara, over which Morocco claims sovereignty.  The protest, dubbed the International March against the Wall of Shame, resulted in an unconfirmed number of Saharawis injured by landmines.
Blogger Sahara Ocidental, who is based in Tindouf, is one of the only bloggers discussing the incident.  Prior to its inauguration, the blogger wrote:
Hundreds of Spanish visitors spent the evening hours on Thursday making final preparations for their march of protest and solidarity in front of the Moroccan-built wall that divides the Western Sahara in two.
Lunches were made, bags were packed, and orientation sessions were held to make sure that all of the participants were ready for Friday’s events, organized and coordinated by the National Union of Saharawi Women (UNMS).
These 300 Spaniards have signed up to make the two-hour trip, but several hundred more – from Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, France, Austria, Portugal, El Salvador, Mexico and other countries – will be accompanying them as they demonstrate their opposition to the Moroccan occupation in the Western Sahara and the physical barrier erected between the Saharawi refugees near Tindouf, Algeria, and their family members still living in the territory occupied by Morocco.
The blogger then states that, during the protest, five Saharawis were injured when a 19-year-old accidentally detonated a landmine:
Five Saharawis were injured in Rouss Essabty on Friday, 70 km from the Saharawi refugee camps, when a 19-year-old boy stepped on a landmine.
The victims, along with 3,000 other Saharawis and international activists, were participating in a peaceful protest against the Moroccan wall that divides the Western Sahara.
The blast occurred when the five victims were attempting to approach the wall by clearing a path through a barbed wire barrier that surrounds it, which is known to the Saharawis as the Wall of Shame. Three of the victims, identified as Ibrahim Hussein Abait, Hamdi Fadli Adbelahi and Mohamed Salim Bouda Larossi, were passing through an active minefield with more than 300 other demonstrators.
Ibrahim, from the Saharawi refugee camp of Dakhla, suffered the gravest injury, losing more than half of his left foot in the explosion. Hamdi and Mohamed sustained minor burns and shrapnel wounds to their faces, arms and backs.
In February, two Saharawis were killed when a landmine detonated.  The Western Sahara is known for having scores of landmines left over from conflicts dating back to World War II.

author: Jillian C. York


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Americas: Eye on the Summit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the much-anticipated opening of the Fifth Summit of the Americas – which will see 34 Western Hemisphere leaders coming together to discuss issues related to human prosperity, environmental sustainability and energy security, not to mention the global financial crisis – fast approaches, regional bloggers continue to closely monitor developments.
From the host country, Trinidad and Tobago News Blog continues to post daily roundup links of mainstream media stories on the Summit, along with a growing photo gallery of official events.  Club Soda and Salt, a “Barbados-born Trinidad-bred Brooklynite”, is concerned about a report in The New York Times, which suggests “that irrational drug policy and illegal guns are two of America's biggest exports, and together, they produce disastrous results in Latin America and the Caribbean.”  The blogger says:
I wonder if anyone will ask Obama about America's destructive drug policy at the Summit, rather than focusing everything on Cuba? Don't get me wrong, I think US Cuba policy is terrible, but I also think the impact on say, Trinidad, of lifting the embargo will be limited (if not slightly negative, since Cuba will become competition for outsourcing and tourists). To be honest, the talk about Cuba strikes me as a lot of grandstanding — it's a very easy way to look like you are “standing up” to the powerful Americans.
In any case, a rational conversation about drug policy in our hemisphere would be nice. I'm not going to hold my breath.
Cuba, however, continues to be top of mind for some bloggers.  Alfredo Prieto, writing for Havana Times, says:
Even if the subject of Cuba is not reflected in the Final Declaration -because of that being considered OAS territory-, the issue will fall like a Juggernaut onto the warm beaches of the Trinidad and Tobago conference site.
The acceptance of the socialist island is supported by the wave of elected left leaning governments in the region further backed by unprecedented developments, such as the recent pro-Cuba activist stance taken by Brazil.
But obviously the Cuban question cannot be viewed as stemming from smugness in itself, but as a part of the US’s political problem toward Latin America, one in need of structural change…we are waiting, with a good bit of impatience, for what will come out in the group photo of this Summit of All (Minus One).
Guyanese blogger Imran Khan thinks that Trinidad and Tobago's hosting of the Summit is “public relations and advertising that country could not pay for” – assuming, of course, that all goes well – although things seem to have got off to a rocky start.  Khan continues:
I fear though that this Fifth Summit of the Americas will be nothing more than a charade. It is shaping up to be nothing more than the Meet Barack Obama Parade. Leaders and their respective delegations are so hyped about attending that it is painfully obvious that they seem more keen on getting a photo op with the global superstar that is Obama.
They are attending, it would appear not for the purposes which one attends a summit of this nature…members of the respective delegations seem to be treating it more like a concert.
The best (and worst thing) which could happen to the Fifth Summit of the Americas is for Barack Obama to cancel his attendance.


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Armenia: Obama, Turkey and… Unzipped · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on recent reports that Armenia and Turkey might be close to finalizing the first stage of a deal to normalize relations. In particular, the blog gives its own opinion on how the long-running dispute over the massacre and deportation of as many as 1.5 million Armenians from the Ottoman Empire during WWI should be considered in light of such developments.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Operatic Sheki · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan says that while the government has started to publicize the history and culture of her country abroad, there is still much to discover. For example, she reports, the first female opera composer in the Orient was not only Azeri, but also came from her home town.


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Bahamas: Health Care Paradigm · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Larry Smith, writing at Bahama Pundit, says that “the government will soon propose major medical reforms”, but notes: “The big challenge today is to find a sustainable solution…we will have to change our frame of reference from over-reliance on tertiary medicine, which focuses on expensive hospital care, to lower-cost preventive medicine that is more patient-driven.”


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Bangladesh: The Rich Culture Of New Year Celebrations · Global Voices
Rezwan

An ordinary citizen writes about the rich culture of celebrating the Bangla New Year, Pahela Baishakh in Bangladesh.


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Barbados: HIV & Young People · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bajan Dream Diary takes a look at the HIV epidemic among Barbados’ youth.


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Barbados: Reputation & Governance · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados has hired a Canadian company to transform the Barbados Stock Exchange into an international one, but in light of existing integrity and freedom of information laws, Barbados Free Press says: “One has to wonder…if Barbados’ international reputation is more a result of luck, hype and spin than a reflection of reality.”


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Bolivia: Journalist Rojas Resigns Due to Threats · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Andrés Rojas, the Bolivian journalist who was threatened with expulsion from working in the city of El Alto by the Regional Worker's Union for what they perceived to be negative portrayals of the city, resigned from his position at Channel 57 based on anonymous death threats to him and his family.  Edwin Velasquez writes that “this is a very negative precedent for the city of El Alto, authoritarianism and threats have won and we all lose [es].”

author: Eduardo Avila


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China: Chat with Anti-CNN.com · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Rebecca MacKinnon, a former CNN reporter, chatted with the core members of Anti-CNN.com on Monday. She has written down a summary of the conversation in her blog.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: Recommendations on How Politicians Should Use the Internet · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In light of the campaign “spam” being distributed by politician Laura Chinchilla [es], Marcial Cambronero has recommendations on how politicians should take advantage of the web 2.0 tools to reach potential voters in Costa Rica [es], and avoid the mistakes of those that send out too much information to the point of overkill.


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Cuba, U.S.A.: Play Ball  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The ball is in Cuba’s court after Obama threw it yesterday, as he announced new flexibility in his policies toward Cuba”: From Havana, Generation Y says: “The game would become more dynamic if they let the Cuban people take hold of the erratic ball of change. Many would kick it to end censorship, State control over information…and the punishment of those who think differently.”


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Fiji: The calm after the storm?  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Let's try to catch up a bit today. “The Civil Service, Statutory Organisations and all arms of Government involved in delivery of public goods and services will continue to function normally despite the abrogation of the 1997 Constitution,” says a Government of Fiji press release.
These are the comments of Commodore J.V. Bainimarama, Prime Minister as he assured that there would be no disruption in the delivery of public goods and services and that to lives of people.
Commodore Bainimarama said that there will be many changes brought about in the coming days and weeks, which will be all for the good of the people and the country as a whole.
He said that the public need not worry about these changes as they are all meant to improve the delivery of public services through simpler processes, quick decision making and improved handling of enquiries and needs of ordinary members of the public.
In response to an April 9 court ruling declaring the military backed government of Frank Bainimarama came to power illegally when he dissolved Parliament and deposed the government of Laisenia Qarase, the country’s President nullified the Fiji's constitution, fired the entire judiciary and appointment himself head of state and the armed forces. He then re-appointed Bainimarama and swore in his entire government.
Bainimarama, Fiji's military leader, came to power in December 2006, he said, to clean up the corrupt Qarase government. He also wanted to replace what he saw as Fiji’s divisive, ethnic-based politics that pits political parties aligned with indigenous Fijians with parties aligned with the Indian ethnic minority, descendants of cane workers brought to Fiji by the British colonial rulers. It was Fiji's fourth coup since 1987, three of which took place to expand the political power of indigenous Fijians.
Before the events of Easter weekend, Fiji had been under intense pressure from neighboring countries and governmental bodies to hold elections, as Bainimarama once promised. However, government supporters maintain that scheduling elections with Fiji's communal-based electoral system will merely perpetrate the country's track record of ethnic-based favoritism in governance.
Bloggers of all stripes are now sifting through the debris of a completely changed political landscape – one that will see the Bainimarama government remain in power until at least 2014.
One blogger has closed up shop for the time being. To another, the situation remains pretty much the same.
From Oceanic: User Experiences from the South Pacific.
The doomsday headline “Fiji military given OK to shoot civilians.” called out to me from UPI.com. I'm not sure what was more jarring, actually. Was it that fear-mongering, sensationalist headline or the fact that UPI.com's tag line is “100 years of journalistic excellence”? Some international media outlets use old video footage of the 2000 coup with soldiers in the streets carrying weapons. I don't believe a tiny “file footage” in the corner of the screen is fair, either.
As an expat, I don't openly comment on any of the politics in the country and for obvious reason. I see positives and negatives in everything anyway and there is also enough noise out there from other sources. However, one of challenges Fiji will continue to face when not enabling open communications with the rest of the world are stories such as the sensationalist one above. I've received well more than a handful of emails and messages from friends in other parts of the world who appear to be getting warped views of what's happening in Suva.
“Are you safe?”, understandably, is the most common question I hear and I still respond with the stock answer I have always used.
“I feel safer here than on the streets of any big city in the world.”
Fiji is a very safe country, even in the face of some rising “petty crime” which include home invasions and robberies. For tourists, though, this is not a risk and the news they are seeing on TV and the warnings from their governments are, frankly, blown well out of proportion. I'm not saying the situation isn't serious, though. It is serious, but things DO NOT feel unstable at all in Suva right now. Could this change? I suppose it could but I'd like to believe it won't. If I felt that there was a real danger, I would not be keeping my kids in school right now.
Because it has no working framework of the constitution, Fiji's new government has ruled through a series of decrees, including the public emergency regulations, which gives extra search, seizure and detention powers to the police. What has made the most news, however, is the new rules for Fiji’s media, which direct government minders to work in editorial offices approving “pro-Fiji” stories and denying stories that negatively portray the President’s abrogation of the constitution. The government claims the rules are temporary measures to insure the media does not publish material that may “give rise to disorder.”  The rules enjoy very few supporters within media circles. (Here's what bloggers think.)
I know I covered this issue previously, but this post offers a different take. Loyal Fijian argues a free media is no one's enemy.
Let the media report freely and without censorship. And with the freedom to report freely comes the responsibility to report fairly.
Media freedom is about Economics folks. Media freedom is what made Rupert Murdoch a billionaire. Media freedom is what made Larry Flynt, the publisher of pornography, a billionaire.
Media freedom means money.
The Interim Government accuses the media of being selective in its reporting of employing individuals who have allegiances to political parties or are using their positions to pursue personal agendas.
Loyal Fijian will let the people decide if certain Fiji media outlets at times have been less than balanced due to the influence of certain persons with agendas to push.
Like many media critics when looking at Fiji’s media, the issue of responsibility arises.
With freedom comes responsibility. Can Fiji's media outlets take a good look within themselves and say they are totally dispassionate in their reporting, their journalists don't have “favored” sources or driven by allegiances to political parties or traditional links?
Can they?
The best thing the Government can do is to remove the censorship and let the media go about its work.
As we here at Loyal Fijian have said all along, the people are smart enough to sense rumour and innuendo from facts .
Bloggers like WhyFijiisCrying and its clone Solivaksasama which sprung up after the 2006 are now totally discredited due to their rumour mongering and mindless slander.
But the best defence against such bias is to let them talk or write, present your own side of the story and move on .Censorship is not the solution.
The move to impose censorship is an admission that the information machinery of the Government is not doing its job as it should. Get better at the game , dont take the ball and go running home. That never made anyone any friends.
Getting reliable news from inside Fiji – even for those living in the country – has been difficult. By most accounts, all foreign journalists have left the country. With the local media mostly quiet regarding political issues, Fiji's political bloggers have been publishing nearly non-stop.
A few quick updates: Fiji’s government has arrested the president of Fiji's Law Society, a long-time critic of Bainimarama. He may have been arrested for comments he made to an Australian reporter, who was later deported.
The government sent troops to the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Suva and reportedly fired the Central Bank Governor, who had previously sparred with Baininiarama over the state of the nation’s economy.
Worried that it could lose its diminishing foreign reserves, the bank then tightened exchange controls. Coup Four And A Half reports that Fiji's Dollar has been devalued 20 percent.
The Fiji Times reports that one of its photographers was detained by police for an hour, along with a Fiji TV reporter and cameraman, due to their coverage of a peaceful protest by members of Fiji Law Society.  (Raw Fiji News has a few tidbits on the protests.)
Coup Four And A Half reports that Fiji TV reporter Edwin Nand spent his second night in jail. Raw Fiji News reports he has been released.
James Murray, who writes the Views on the News blog at News 3 in New Zealand, reports that people in Fiji can send information via email to foreign journalists who continue to report on the country from afar: freefiji@newspapers.co.nz
The blog at the Soli Vakasama site is also running a defacto forum for those wanting to get their letters to the editor published.
Pat Craddock, a former journalism professor, writes an open letter to Fiji's Prime Minister in Café Pacific blog, wondering what to make out of news by blogs?
So – only good news can be reported. Wow –perhaps the army can try and shut down Al Jazeera, BBC and CNN too? I notice their reporting doesn't praise the army for their actions.
Fiji journalists must be finding it hard to discover what good news there is to report on the army?
Commodore, your actions this week have surely given a new lease of life to Fiji blog sites. For us in NZ – and Oz and elsewhere – where else should we now look for news on Fiji, but through the blogs? I read tonight on a blog site that the army is taking petrol from gas stations without payment – true or untrue? How am I to assess the truth of this comment – not from the Fiji newspapers, surely? They won’t be allowed to print that type of bad news, even if it is true?
So… a wait until possibly 2014 before the citizens of Fiji can vote for the government they want? Most governments voted by the people, would not get that lease of life with long term promises to improve the lives of their citizens. From 2006 until 2014 is eight years… a long time for a visionary leader to prepare policies of political change. Too bloody long.
[Here is a link to the gas station piece.]
Crosbie Walsh, who writes Fiji: The Way It Was, Is, And Can Be is unimpressed by some of the statements coming from New Zealand journalist (and blogger) Michael Field, claiming Bainimarma is “stoking the coup culture,” (something the PM has promised to extinguish), along with former Fiji military Land Force Commander
Jone Baledrokadroka for an op-ed piece which calls Easter weekend’s events a “a naked power grab.”
Most of what I've read and heard, though understandable, seems poorly considered, and the extreme and provocative  comments – by Baledrokadroka, Michael Field, one of the Australian judges, and some of the anonymous bloggers – must be condemned for adding fuel to what could develop into a highly dangerous situation.
I think it important to recall earlier emergency regulations that were  heavily applied when first announced, but eased back as authorities became  better placed to assess the situation.
Let us hope this will be the case again. That will be the time  for reasoned comment — and some release of present frustrations. Meanwhile, the fewer inflammatory comments, the better.

author: John Liebhardt


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India: Voting Rights For Indians Living Abroad · Global Voices
Rezwan

Law and Other Things blog discusses the legal aspects of providing voting rights to the Indians working and studying abroad and comments: “giving them the right to vote may help entice them to stay politically active and think of themselves as invested in their country's future in a different way.”


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Israel: Celebrating the End of the Passover Holiday · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Middle Eastern Jews conclude the Passover holiday with the breaking of bread– and other treats– in a holiday called Mimouna. Yonatan Dror Bar-On of Dutchblog Israel posts a mouthwatering photo of his feast.

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: Responding to Upswing of World Antisemitism · Global Voices
Maya Norton

“It’s no secret that antisemitism around the world is on an upswing,” writes Occidental Israeli, who suggests possibilities for its mitigation.


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Israel: Sandstorm Hits Israel  · Global Voices
Maya Norton

A sandstorm enveloped Israel last night, whipping branches off trees and sluicing clothing from lines. Yudit of Occupied reports: “After a hot dry Khamsin day, the wind is picking up like crazy, howling around my home and blowing ultra-fine dust into and onto everything and i can hear the sea waves going wild.”


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Israel: West Bank Mosque Contains Weapons Lab · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Lirun of East Med Sea Peace reflects on the fact that a mosque based in the West Bank was recently found to harbor a weapons lab: “i think these sorts of things have contributed to the devaluation of muslim holy place sanctity in the eyes of the average israeli.. and have lead the army to take a ‘no chances’ approach in operations such as the one we saw in gaza.”


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Japan: New Publishing Models for Manga · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Experimenting with new publishing models to overcome the decline of manga magazines, Shuho Sato has announced that he will be posting updates of “Say Hello to Black Jack (Sequel) – 新ブラックジャックによろしく” on his site one month after their publication in Weekly Big Comic Spirits.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kuwait: Is Graffiti Art or Vandalism? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

It is a recurring question: Is graffiti art or vandalism? This question was recently the centre of debate in the Kuwaiti blogosphere.
Mark, who blogs at 248am.com, posted a video from YouTube, kicked off the controversy when he wrote:
A group in Kuwait called BLD have started posting videos of their graffiti escapades. So far they’ve posted only one video titled “Kuwait Graffiti #1″ and there is a second video on the way soon. I personally prefer more colorful graffiti which hopefully their second video will contain.
The post attracted 56 comments so far, ranging from those who thought that engaging in graffiti was better than “harassing girls” at malls to those who expressed outrage and suggested getting the police involved.
Stafa commented:
Cool seeing kids engaging themselves in activities (even if it’s minor vandalizing). It’s better than hanging out with the wrong people in malls, chasing and harassing girls
b shares an inspiring story about how this art form was utilised in a school by a quick thinking principal to discourage students from smoking:
that’s nothing last year i was in al 3dwany high school in audailiah and a bunch of student’s had this talent going on real good, so the principal of the school asked them to do a no smoking pics and words on the school wall inside near the Cafeteria cuz all the students smoke there
Kuwaiti was outraged:
… Unfortunately… I’m so upset from my I see… is that what you guys learned from the Private schools… !!
I’m in the mid of 30’s .. and I don’t recall that we done such thing before.. it’s a waste of Money
3azeez suggests getting the police involved:
Kuwait is small and everyone knows everyone else. This kind of graffiti is ruining many places in Kuwait and one of them is where I live. Therefore, I highly encourage anyone who knows these kids to download
the video and report them to the police.
He further adds:
Any illegal act should be reported. Whether they own the building, or its to be demolished or not is a matter to be investigated later on. Yes people like that do vandalize my neighborhood and I dont appreciate
seeing this kind of tasteless stuff where I live. If you disagree with me then bohoo… its illegal so its not a matter to be discussed.
Now that Kuwaiti bloggers and their readers have had their say, what do you think?

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Mali: Model village show power of investing in people · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Le Pangolin writes about Teriya Bugu, a model village on the Niger river, in Mali, “proof that Africa has every opportunity to advance so long as it invests in people, especially farmers.  Hope is a value Africa should invest in” [Fr]

author: Jennifer Brea


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Mexico: Controversy Over Burger King Advertisement · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Unapologetic Mexican thinks that the controversy around a recent Burger King advertising campaign should be targeted at how Mexicans are being portrayed, rather than the criticism of how the Mexican flag is being used.


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Peru: Mass Sterilizations During Fujimori Term · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

After the sentencing of Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori for crimes against humanity, Silvio Rendón of Gran Combo Club [es] summarizes the events behind the mass sterilizations of indigenous women without their consent during Fujimori's term.

author: Juan Arellano


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Russia, U.S.: YouTube Orchestra’s Gennady Krutikov’s Visa Ordeal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Podstantsiya, a Russian podcasting portal, posts an interview (RUS) with Gennady Krutikov, member of the Russian National Orchestra and one of the three Russian participants of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project, who is on his way to the United States but will not be able to perform his part at Carnegie Hall tonight due to U.S. visa regulations problems. Krutikov's YouTube Symphony Orchestra intro video in English is here.


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Some Interesting Factoids and Trivia About the Indian General Elections 2009 · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

On April 16th, 2009 the first phase of the voting for the Indian general elections will begin and conclude on May 13th, 2009. This is the 15th general elections in India since it became independent in 1947.
Over a million electronic voting machines:
There are 714 million people that are eligible to vote. About 1,368,430 electronic voting machines have been deployed across the country.
Restructuring of constituencies:
This is the first time where quite a few states have been redistricted to allow more urban representation. Karnataka, especially Bangalore,  is a case in point, where because of the redistricting there is an increase in the number of seats from the urban areas, when compared to the rural ones.
40 million more voters:
India’s population is over 1 billion and about 60 percent of the population is under the age of 35 years.  There  has been a well-coordinated multi-pronged media strategy to reach out to young voters, who form a significant chunk of the Indian electorate. Perhaps for the first time filmmakers and actors from the Indian film industry, especially Bollywood have stepped out of their comfort zone and pitched in to help in either election campaign and voter mobilization. According to one media report there are 40 million more voters in this election, when compared to the previous election held in 2004.
Explosion of online information resources:
What is significantly different about this general election is the amount of information that is available to the Indian voters through different media channels and languages. For instance, tech giants Yahoo! and Google have pitched in and created election special sites that is a mashup of maps, videos, audio and print.  Most mainstream media have created election special sites for their online, broadcast and print versions. And then there is the ubiquitous mobile phones where every mobile user gets targeted SMS or voice messages from various political parties.
The Election Commission of India has made available a wide range of information right from how to become a registered voter to political candidates, who have been disqualified to contest in this general elections.
Over a thousand political parties taking part:
According to the Election Commission of India there are a little over 1,000 political parties contesting at the local and national level according to this rather absorbing list of the various political parties and their political symbols. The Election Commission has done such a thorough job that they have also printed a list of free symbols that can be used by the political parties including kite, pressure cooker, diesel pump and kettle among others.
The Election Commission has made available a lengthy document that is 333 pages long that lists 3423 candidates, who have been  been disqualified to participate in this election. And perhaps for the first time there is an online website called No Criminals that is geared towards educating voters about political candidates that have a criminal record and stop them from contesting elections. According to one news report the Congress Party has the most number of rich politicians in the country: 121 members.
Myths and predictions:
There are quite a few myths that have built over the years about the Indian electorate. Yogendra Yadav, a well-known psephologist breaks some of the myths in this article published by the BBC. One of the myths that Yadav dispels is that currently more Indian women exercise their right to vote when compared to Indian men. Also, there has been a decline in the number of women, who turn to their husbands for political advice when it comes to voting. But, he does point out that Indian women tend to follow in the footsteps of their husbands when it comes to voting for political parties.
When it comes to the youth votes in India Yadav points out:
There is no evidence to suggest that the young are politically more active than others. If anything, they are less politically active – obviously they have other anxieties in life, like preparing for a professional career.
One of the myths that Yadav did not address is the role of astrology and astrologers and their influence on politicians and their astrological predictions on the election outcome. Already reports have started streaming in from various astrologers that this election will result in a hung parliament meaning no single party wins a clear majority. I wonder if the astrologers based their predictions on the opinion polls that predict there will no clear winner in this election. What do you think?

author: Kamla Bhatt


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Thailand: Extended holiday · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The government of Thailand extended the country’s traditional New Year holiday festivities for public safety in case the Red Shirt protesters organize a new round of protests.

author: Mong Palatino


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Thailand: Red Shirts paid to protest? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Red Shirts have ended their protests. The leaders have been arrested and an arrest warrant was issued against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Red Shirts have been protesting for the past three weeks; they were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who was accused of using illegal means to achieve power. Last Sunday and Monday, violence erupted between protesters and the military. The confrontation killed two protesters and injured more than one hundred.
Most of the Red Shirts are supporters of Thaksin. Thaksin, who has fled the country to avoid trial for corruption charges, has been addressing his Red Shirt supporters through a video phone. Thaksin’s critics accuse him of using his wealth to finance the protest activities of the Red Shirts. They cite one of Thaksin’s video messages which they believe contains an evidence of Thaksin admitting that he is paying the Red Shirt protesters. The original video was already watched by a quarter of a million people. Watch the video with the English subtitles.
The controversial quote is translated by Jotman:
If (they) return democracy to the people, and return a democratic constitution (to the people), then whoever is in the government, I'm ready to give advice. But if you people want me back to do the job, then I'm ready to serve you. I'm ready to work hard at the age of sixty. And you don't need to go to queue up for 500 baht. Brother and sister, those people who use to receive the edible fruits of democracy during the Thai Rak Thai administration when I was prime minister. . . .
Was this an admission the he was funding the provocative street actions in Thailand? Or was he referring to the government assistance for elderly citizens?
For other updates, Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported about the national address given by the Prime Minister concerning the end of protests in the nation's capital.
In regard for the feelings and concerns of the public that the operation undertaken by the Government to resolve the demonstrations at Government House could lead to violence and damage, Prime Minister Abhisit gave his reassurance that the Government has never regarded anyone as its enemy and has tried at all times not to cause damage or losses.   In order to make sure that the demonstration is put to an end, it was necessary for security officers to move in and ask the protesters who did not support violence to return home. On the morning of 14 April, the operation produced results and the demonstrations ended.  The roads previously blocked have now been reopened. The Government has facilitated protesters in their journey home.  The Prime Minister thanked all sides for their cooperation.
The government is helping the protesters return to their provinces by providing them with free transportation.
Khi Kwai explains why the Red Shirts, which were almost triumphant after forcing the cancellation of a major Asian Summit last weekend, suddenly lost momentum and were defeated by government forces.
The recent wave of demonstrations had started as a stunning success for the red shirts. The series of coordinated actions that led to the spectacular debacle in Pattaya revealed an unexpected measure of discipline and organizational prowess for a movement often thought of as rudderless and unruly
The luck of the red shirts turned in a mere matter of hours. By Monday afternoon, the movement’s once-buoyant leadership had effectively lost control of the situation. Supporters scattered all over Bangkok resorted to desperate measures to halt the army’s methodical advance through the capital.
Thanong consults his astrologer to make sense of what is happening in Thailand:
Neptune is now hovering above lakhana duang muang, magnifying its influence over events in Thailand. “We might have a very serious incident this evening and it will deterioriate further,” my astrologer said on Sunday.
But beginning Tuesday of April 14, 2009, Neptune will gradually move out of Lakhana Duang Muang to the right side of the Sun. This means that the bad omen or bad incidents against Bangkok will subside. The situation will improve.
Red Shirts in central Thailand. From Flickr page of izumiflowers
Bloggers are trying to assess which group started the violence: The Red Shirts, Yellow Shirts, Blue Shirts, or the military? All of them may be guilty of instigating violent actions. nganadeeleg advises Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva  to institute major reforms in the country in order to improve his image.
Now is the time for Abhisit to decide how he wants to go down in history – it's his choice whether he is seen as another in a long line of elite manipulators, or a true reformer.
Whichever route he chooses, he is unlikely to win a fair election in the short term, but if he chooses reform he at least will eventually be fondly remembered by the majority (and he is actually young enough that he might one day win an election fair & square)
Thumbnail image used from the Flickr account of Y-Not


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The Role of Mobile Technology in the 2009 Indian Lok Sabha Elections · Global Voices
Rezwan

Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics Blog writes about the role of mobile technology in the 2009 Indian Lok Sabha Elections. The use of mobile technology includes sms based campaigns, voter registration drives, election monitoring and many more.


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Uganda: President’s wife appointed to cabinet · Global Voices
Rebekah Heacock

Janet Museveni
February's cabinet reshuffle has Ugandan bloggers making 2011 election predictions.
Among the new appointments President Yoweri Museveni made was the posting of his wife Janet as state minister for Karamoja, a region in northeastern Uganda that has been plagued by conflict and extreme poverty for decades.
While some bloggers think the high-profile appointment could bring much-needed attention to the region, others are more skeptical.  Ariaka notes:
Takinfg the cue, H.E President Yoweri  finally made the cabinet reshuffle that had lingered in the grapvine for over six months.  And what a reshuffle. We saw the appointment of a first lady, also MP for Ruhama county of Ntungamo district to the Karamoja portfolio.  We saw Syda Bumba, transfered from Labour to the all important Finance docket.  It is the first time in Uganda that a first lady is a Minister, forget that hers is a junior portfolio.  It is also the first time that a women has been appointed a finance Minister.
These are not simple appointments.  It is a political chess game where the master has his eye set on victory.
Daniel Kalinaki, a journalist who often blogs on political issues and who published an editorial on the appointment in Uganda's Daily Monitor, agrees:
There is, of course, nothing wrong with Janet’s ambitions. She is a Ugandan and has a right to seek or be appointed to any office for which she is qualified. However, when a President has been in power for 23 years and begins to surround himself with relatives, friends and in-laws, he begins to look more like a village chief bent on carrying on his bloodline than a reforming democrat.
Antipop at Let There Be Me takes a more humorous approach, speculating on how Museveni arrived at his decision.  She offers several theories, including that the announcement was a belated Valentine's Day gift:
The one about Valentine's day
…The next day at breakfast, realizing that he was in trouble, and not willing to get into any confrontation, he told her that last night was a deliberate move to get her all worked up but he had a surprise for her that would sure make up for everything. And on Tuesday Feb 17th, she learned of it in her favorite tabloid. She found out just how long she would have to travel to unveil her belated Valentine ’s Day gift and was not amused. Lingerie would have done just fine.
Not all bloggers are as critical, though.  Phantom of Even Steven ends a post on the Oscars by asking:
In other news, what’s so bad about posting Janet Museveni to Karamoja?
Commenting on the post, chanelno5 defends Janet Museveni:
There is nothing wrong with that. If she wants what everyone shuns go ahead. In fact those people might benefit from her appointment.
Tumwijuke at Ugandan Insomiac considers this point of view, but she still questions the appointment:
Perhaps this appointment is Yoweri Museveni’s way of sending a message of solidarity to the people of Karamoja.  Perhaps he hopes that the bevy of brown nose humanitarian types who support his wife’s every cause will transfer their ‘goodwill’ to developmental programs in Karamoja.  Perhaps a picture of Mama Janet cuddling a snotty nosed Karamojong baby will be good PR for the Museveni government.
Still, I can’t shake this ominous feeling…
Dennis Matanda, who recently posted the second part of a four-part series titled “Uganda's Next President,” offers his predictions on who will succeed Museveni:
Although the current President has not made an effort to groom a successor from the ruling National Resistance Movement, his wife Hon. Janet Museveni, MP who recently became appointed Minister and his son, Lt. Col. Muhoozi Kainerugaba are front runners.
Joe in Uganda summarizes the shake-up in a post titled “Dynasty?”, noting that Janet's appointment “was widely seen as a sign of things to come.”  He adds:
On a personal note, having worked on Karamoja for the past two months, I was delighted to see a high profile Minister taking over the portfolio. The region is in urgent need of attention.

author: Rebekah Heacock


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Azerbaijan: Freedom of speech, censorship and expulsions · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on news that a student activist has been expelled from his university. The blog says that the move is most probably connected to his political activities and wonders when the cycle of repression and intimidation will end.


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Bangladesh: Photo Essay On Child Labour · Global Voices
Rezwan

Photojournalist Zoriahfeatures Bangladeshi photographer G.M.B. Akash and his photo essay on child labor in Bangladesh.


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Bhutan: Finding Yourself · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dorji Wangchuk urges all Bhutanese: “create an opportunity to travel back to your roots. Forget Bangkok or Hong Kong for once. You will not only re-discover your own country but you will also find ‘yourself’.”


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Brazil: Does the country play a new role in the world? · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

“I love this guy. He is the most popular politician on Earth”. Those were US President Barack Obama's words towards the Brazilian President Lula da Silva, and they have intrigued and enchanted the international community, let alone Brazilians. For some, it was an absurd display: is the country doing so well? For others it was a moment that highlighted that the biggest nation in South America has increased its importance among other countries in the last years, and those seconds captured in video have crowned the epic career of the poor guy who was born in the Northeast Brazil and has done a great job as President. According to the Imprensa Marrom (pt) blog:
“Em 2002, o preconceito de boa parte dos brasileiros era muito nítido e o discurso bem treinado: esse presidente semi-analfabeto vai envergonhar o Brasil. Alguns ainda falam isso, com frases como “esse sapo barbudo nunca estudou” e “não se precisa mais estudar no Brasil: o Presidente só fez até a quarta série”.
Mas hoje, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva ouviu, sem dúvida, a frase mais gratificante de sua carreira, que simplesmente quebrou as pernas de todos esses pseudo-argumentos para criticar sua carreira política”.
But today [April the 2nd], Luís Inácio Lula da Silva has no doubt heard the most gratifying phrase of his career, which, simply, has broken the legs of all those pseudo-arguments that criticize his political career”.
In the family group shot of leaders at the reception with her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace, Lula sat alongside Queen Elizabeth II, in the middle of his counterparts, all of whom together run the most powerful nations on Earth. For other bloggers, the images are the answer to the question about Brazil's position on the planet, as  (pt) puts it:
“Trata-se de uma imagem emblemática sobre a nova posição que o Brasil ocupa no mundo, pois até pouco tempo atrás não era tão comum o nosso país participar de reuniões deste porte, muito menos presidente brasileiro sair tão bem na foto, cheio de graça e moral”.
Has Brazil conquered a historical position in the international community with far-reaching results? Has Lula, the former metalworker who, unlike previous Brazilian presidents, does not have an academic background and can speak no English, become a symbol of this new Brazilian status?
Maybe the answers to all the questions above are more likely to be positive, but for Xico Lopes from the Em Pauta blog (pt), the biggest concern over G-20 and Brazil should be the 1 trillion US dollars that leaders promised to pump into the International Monetary Fund (IMF), aiming to help some countries out of the crisis. Brazil made available $10 billion during the G20 Summit and last week agreed to loan up to an extra $4.5 billion to the Fund. Using a mainstream media vehicle as a source, Lopes says:
“Este dinheiro conforme levantamento feito, corresponde a nada mais nada menos do que (a dias de hoje) mais do que o dobro do que já foi disponibilizado para o desenvolvimento. Ou seja, penso que estamos a ver nosso dinheiro, sim, porque os recursos não são dos países, são nossos, gerados pela nossa capacidade de trabalho e poupança, serem desperdiçados, basicamente para cobrir o monumental rombo gerado por banqueiros e investidores gananciosos, inescrupulosos e tentar assim, resgatar a credibilidade em tais instituições.”
Surprising many, this is the very first time in its history that Brazil is set to lend money to, instead of borrowing from, the Washington based IMF. The country that used to have an external debt in quantities beyond the governments’ political ability to repay now sees things the other way around. “If it doesn't affect our international reserves, we will do so”, said Lula, with the country’s international reserves today boasting over 200 billion dollars.
Some bloggers did not let it go lightly that the IMF is the same institution that used to force Brazil into tightening its belt by controlling the governmental budgets – such as by cutting social expenditure and speeding up privatisation to meet targets – as part of the conditions for getting loans. In 2005, however, Brazil managed to pay off its debt of US$ 15.5 billions to the IMF, and the country has now offered money to the Fund. However, as Jose Correa writes at the collective blog Trezentos (pt), emphasizing that the economy and crisis are more twisted than we think and nothing has changed – the economic order remains the same:
“Mas falo tudo isso só para chamar a atenção para o que andam dizendo pessoas dentro do sistema que parecem entender alguma coisa do que está se passando (Stiglitz, Krugman e Roubini, este conhecido como Dr Destino). Eles parecem concordar que o último grande pacote proposto pelo Mantega do Obama (O secretário do Tesouro, Timothy Geithner, que também já trabalhava pro Bush) é dinheiro do contribuinte jogado pelo ralo. A posição mais dura veio do Joseph Stiglitz. ‘ O que a administração Obama está fazendo é mito pior que a nacionalização: é o capitalismo artificial, a privatização de ganhos e a socialização de perdas. É uma ‘parceria’ em que um parceiro rouba o outro. E essas parcerias – com o setor privado no controle – têm incentivos perversos, piores até que os que nos colocaram na encrenca.
E o Doutor Destino, como é conhecido Nouriel Roubini, diz que tamanha injeção de dinheiro no sistema até pode tirar a economia do buraco (em 2011), mas então a conta terá que começar a ser paga.
Conclusão: apesar de toda a operação de relações públicas do G20, a política econômica do Obama continua sendo a do Bush e o horizonte para o capital continua sombrio
Mas tudo tem seu lado positivo: com a crise, o desmatamento na Amazônia está caindo”.
And Dr. Destiny, as Nouriel Roubini is known, said that such money injection into the system can even rescue the economy from the slump (in 2011), but then this bill will have to be paid.
Conclusion: Despite the incredible operation of the G-20's Public Relations, Obama's economic policy is still the same as Bush's and the horizon for the capital remains gloomy.
But everything has a bright side: with the crisis, the scale of deforestation of the Amazon is decreasing.

author: Thiana Biondo


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China: A hoax related with gender and race · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translates and explains in detail an Internet hoax that a Zhejiang University Girl rebuking her professor's comment by saying that she likes dating foreigners. The hoax touches upon sensitive issues concern with gender and race and results in hot debate.


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China: Netizen arrested for T-shirt protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a local news story on “Chongqing netizen arrested for printing and distributing t-shirts opposing the bus fare hike!“


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China: protest on children being kidnapped · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Over 100 parents protested in Dong Guan to express the grief of losing their children. They complaint that their kids were kidnapped. The banner they held reads: ‘we are selling all we have to raise 10 million as reward of finding back our children’. It is said that since 2007 more than 1000 kids in the town were lost due to human traffic.

author: Bob Chen


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China: the digital age, Orwell’s “Newspeak” and Chinese media · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Alice from DANWEI has translated Hu Yong's interview on the future of the Internet in China, and how it will shape a healthier society. Hu is associate professor at Peking University’s School of Journalism and Communication, and a pioneering developer of China's Internet.


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China: Wuhan government building on fire · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Here is a twitpic on the fire happened in Wuhan government building today (April 16). A number of tweets said that the news had to be down played, so far all the reports very brief and there are very few photos circulating online.


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Cuba, U.S.A.: Remembering the Prisoners  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Cuban Americans may be about to flood the island with cash and visits,” says diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense, “but political prisoners in the Castro gulag are not likely to enjoy any benefits of the largesse.”


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Cyber-activism in Vietnam · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The website Viet Tan features an article about cyber activism and online repression in Vietnam.


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D.R. of Congo: Furor Over Kabila’s New York Times Interview · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

The Congolese blogosphere had harsh criticism for Congolese president Joseph Kabila‘s recent interview in The New York Times.  In it, Kabila talks about Rwanda, AFRICOM, Chinese investment, and his passion for motorcycles.
He also talked about how good help is hard to find; many bloggers have blasted him for it.  Kabila blames corruption on Mobutu‘s legacy and the ineptitude of his own officials, rather than taking responsibility for his government's problems:
Q: Do you have the right people to help you?
A: (Long pause) Mobutu led this country for over 37 years. He created a political class and he created a mentality and we haven't done away with that. The old ways are bad – corruption, misrule, mismanagement and all that. Our biggest mistake is that we have not found enough time to train and form our own cadres. You don't need a thousand people to transform a country. No, you need 3,4, 10, 15 people with the necessary convictions, determined and resolute. Do I have those 15 people? Probably 5, 6, 7, not yet 15.
On Forum Réalisance [Fr] Musengeshi Katata writes that Joseph Kabila he has injured every Congolese who had read the interview:
Tous les professeurs d´université, les officiers d´armée, les instituteurs, les techniciens, les ingénieurs, les médecins, les banquiers, les ouvriers qualifiés, de parents éduquant leurs enfants, de ministres, d´avocats, de députés…etc qui travaillent chaque jour à bâtir l´avenir une nation ; tous ces gens se réduisaient à une équipe de 15 initiés ? Renversant. Est-ce bien un chef d´état qui parlait ou n´était-ce rien d´autre qu´un mauvais entraîneur d´une équipe de rugby ou de football ?
Apparemment ce président en mal de résultat positif veut faire passer, et cela plait beaucoup aux occidentaux en ces moments incertains de crise, son peuple comme un ramassis de crétins et d´incapables.
All the university professors, army officers, teachers, technicians, engineers, doctors, bankers, skilled workers, parents educating their children, ministers, lawyers, deputies…etc who work each day to build the future of a nation; all of these people reduced to a team of 15 insiders?  Flipping it around, is this really a head of state talking or nothing other than a bad coach of a football or rugby team?
Apparently, this president, having no positive results, wants to make his people out to be–and this pleases a lot of Westerners in these uncertain moments of crisis–a bunch of idiots and incompetents.
C´est à se demander : dans ce cas, que fait-il encore au pouvoir, que diable, si personne ne lui fait confiance et qu´apparemment il ne sait pas choisir les hommes qu´il faut pour obtenir des résultats satisfaisants à sa politique?
Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2002 (Wikipedia)
Congoliberte thinks that if Kabila really believes there are only seven people in his government worth their salt, it's time to clean house:
Apparemment, il est obligé de ne s’appuyer que sur 6 à 7 personnes, c’est-à-dire moins de 10, dans un pays qui revendique déjà 70 millions d’habitants, pour faire bouger les choses. C’est grave…
…Congolaises et Congolais cherchent à savoir la raison d’être d’un cabinet présidentiel composé de plusieurs dizaines de conseillers, d’un gouvernement de près de 60 membres, d’un Parlement de 500 députés et 120 sénateurs…
…Des talents et patriotes cachés, qui se comptent certainement par milliers, rongent leurs freins à l’ombre de ceux qui ont pris le pays en otage. Les Congolaises et Congolais attendent de lui un travail urgent de nettoyage des « écuries »…Pourquoi n’innoverait-il pas à mettant en place un cabinet présidentiel de moins de 10 conseillers et un gouvernement de moins de 15 ministres ?…C’est maintenant ou jamais, que le choix de l’excellence s’impose à lui.
Apparently, he can only rely on only 6 to 7 people, less than 10, in a country the comprises more than 70 million inhabitants, to make things happen. This is serious…
…The Congolese are looking for the justification for a presidential cabinet composed of several dozen advisers, a government of almost 60 members, a parliament of 500 deputies and 120 senators…
…Hidden talents and patriots, who certainly number in the thousands, are chomping at the bit in the shadow of those who have taken the country hostage.  Congolese men and women are waiting for [Kabila] to clean out the “pigstys”…Why shouldn't he innovate, putting something in place a presidential cabinet of less than 10 advisors and a government of less than 15 ministers?…Now or never, it's time to make the right choice.
Mouvement Libération du Congo –  Diaspora thinks Kabila's statements about the dearth of competent officials rings colonial:
Pour ceux et celles d'entre nous qui savent que « les crimes organisés en Afrique centrale » ont bénéficié des services anglo-saxons, il est possible que Joseph soit en train d'envoyer un signal fort à ses « parrains » pour expliquer sa méthode de travail.
A la lecture de la réponse de Joseph Kabila à New York Times, on se croirait en présence d'un Karel De Gucht, Ministre des affaires étrangères Belge, affirmant qu'il n'a pas trouvé au Congo, autour de Kabila, des hommes politiques dignes de ce nom. Quand on connaît toutes les misères que les propos de De Gucht ont suscité et qu'on entend le même discours de la bouche du « raïs », on se dit: « ça sent mauvais ». Face à l'échec patent d'une politique fondée sur l'exclusion, la violence, la corruption et le mensonge, Joseph trouve vite des boucs émissaires: Mobutu, les mobutistes et la mentalité mobutiste. Cette interview aurait été convaincante si Joseph pouvait citer trois ou quatre mesures phares prises pendant ses 7 ans de règne pour un bonheur congolais partagé. Il n'y a en pas eues.
For those among us who know that “organized crime in central Africa” has benefited from the services of Anglo-Saxons, it is possible that Joseph is sending a strong signal to his “godfathers” to explain his methods.
Reading Joseph Kabila's response to the New York Times was like being in the presence of Karel De Gucht, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, claiming that in Congo he did not find, around Kabila, politicians worthy of that title.  If you're familiar with all the miseries that De Gucht's remarks caused and to hear the same discourse come from the mouth of the “raïs” (i.e., Kabila), you have to say to your self “this feels bad”.  Faced with the patent failure of policies founded on exclusion, violence, corruption, and lies, Joseph quickly finds scapegoats: Mobutu, mobutists, the mobutist mentality.  This interview would have been convincing if Joseph could have cited three or four measures in his 7 years of rule taken for the common Congolese good.  There aren't any to be had.
Some bloggers also debated statements Kabila made about Rwanda, with which relations have been tense.  Among other things, Rwanda has so far refused to extradite Laurent Nkunda, former head of a pro-Tutsi rebel group which operated in eastern Congo.  Kabila told the New York Times reporter:
“What are Rwanda's interests in the Congo? I like to believe that they are the same. But if there is a hidden agenda, and Rwanda's interest is more or less controlling the mining concessions and all that, illegally, and if they have a hand in each and everything that goes on in North and South Kivu, then we're still a long way from trust. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, once again, probably for the last time”
The Mushaki Pager wonders what made Kabila take such a strong stance:
Très peu diplomatique. Veut-il fâcher les autorités rwandaises ? A-t-il fait un deal avec la France lui permettant d’utiliser un langage aussi provocateur envers ses alliés rwandais dont le président disait encore tout récemment que l’amitié avec Kinshasa était solide ?
Afrique des Grands Lacs posts a French translation of the interview and writes:
Mr. Kabila a encore affirme que le Rwanda va extrader Laurent Nkunda et que celui-ci fera face a la justice congolaise. Cependant, on peut se demander de quelle marge de manoeuvre dispose Kabila pour obtenir de Kagame l’extradition de Nkunda…
Je suis ebahi que Kabila declare qu’il n’y a pas de mandat d’arret a l’encontre de Nkunda. Cette grave contradiction dans une meme interview est un signe clair que Kabila ne travaille pas pour l’extradition de Nkunda. Si le Chef de l’Etat lui-meme “oublie” un mandat d’arret international lance par la justice de son pays, comment voulez-vous que ce mandat ait un effet?
On Forum Réalisance [Fr], Katata criticizes the general merit of the interview, in particular what he thinks is Kabila's lack of substance.  He blames Western media bias:
Il est tout de même surprenant qu´un président élu puisse avoir si peu de substance dans son interview dans un journal aussi important que le New York Times.
Beaucoup diront : cela a à voir avec les questions qui lui ont été posées et ce que poursuivait le journaliste dans cette Interview. Et ici je reconnaîtrai que c´est plausible : il s´agissait plus de faire une quelconque publicité à un président africain dont on voulait se rallier la sympathie, qu´à éprouver sa maturité logique ou sa compétence politique. Après tout, les américains se font une idée précise de l´Afrique : celle d´un continent de pauvres, de défaillants et d´incapables dont on avait besoin pour se sentir encore plus fort dans sa richesse et sa puissante politique, militaire et économique. Un grand continent de mendiants auxquels on octroyait périodiquement une aide surfaite, dont on résolvait tant bien que mal les problèmes qu´il ne savait résoudre lui-même.


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French Caribbean: “Les Scoops d’Or” Competition · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

[All the links in this post lead to French language sites]
On the blog Les Scoops d'or, Lagencedecom’ and Scoop announce the launch of a new blog and website competition in the West Indies [Fr]:
Après le succès de l’édition 2008, les Scoops d’or reviennent en 2009 avec un nouveau défi : faire découvrir non plus uniquement les sites internet de la Martinique, mais ceux aussi de Guadeloupe, Guyane et de la Diaspora antillaise.
A cette occasion nous lancons notre site Internet qui permettra à tout un chacun de visiter la première exposition virtuelle des meilleurs sites internet de la caraïbe francophone.
It gives us the opportunity to launch our website, so that users can visit the first virtual exhibition of the best French Caribbean websites.
Competing categories include:
Sites Perso/Blog, Sites de Ecommerce, Site ou blogs d’Entreprises, Sites de Media, Réseau Sociaux & Forums
At present, there are about 69 blogs registered in the competition and the leaders thus far are “Massacre sur Facebook” for Guadeloupe, with 88 votes and “Kasper Extended” in Martinique, with 144 votes.  In French Guiana, the frontrunner is a blog with a pun on the French name “Guy’ Yann“, which has had the most votes so far: 365.  Finally, the West Indian diaspora is represented by “Zagriyen.fr” which has garnered only 9 votes – on par with Bondamanjak, a socially and politically-oriented Martinican blog, whose vote tally is also 9 at the time of this posting.
While the votes increase every day, there are great discrepancies in the numbers depending on the territory – French Guiana appears to be the most active, as compared with the poor showing for blogs from the diaspora.  This is probably exactly why the “Scoops” team has launched the project – to encourage more interaction among bloggers.  One way that the organizers of the contest try to keep the discussion going is by featuring interviews with bloggers in the blog section of the website.
If you want to know more about this fast-growing phenomenon in the French West Indies, “Les Scoops d'Or” can be easily found on Facebook and Twitter.
The deadline for this competition is May 10th 2009, and results in the different categories will be made public from May 11th to 17th in Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Paris. Don't forget to press the “J'aime” button to vote for your favorite blog!

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Global: Hijablogging Fashionistas  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

In March, we caught up with a new crew of “hijabloggers” – women who wear the hijab and blog about it.  Such bloggers span the globe, blogging about a wide variety of issues from parenting to fashion to travel to politics.  In this post, we will re-visit the “hijablogosphere” to see what's new.
One fantastic new “hijablog” is Hijabs High, a collection of photographs of women around the world wearing hijab.  Dubbed “the Muslim Sartorialist” by other bloggers, the blog's “about” section reads:
Hijabs High is inspired by the stylish and dynamic global community of Muslim women who fuse their identities and pronounce their place in the world everyday through beauty and fashion.
It is my hope that this blog inspires, motivates and encourages Muslims and non-Muslims alike to revisit their perceptions of the “look” of Muslim women who wear the veil and encourage us all to be a little bit more fabulous.
To the chic gang of Hijabs High  photographers  – you know who you are  – thanks for doing it all with grace and panache. :)
Finally, Hijabs High owes a debt to The Sartorialist, who first helped focus our cameras on the everyday. Thank you.
Hijabi Style, another fashion-forward blog, has recently done a photo post on Egyptian designer Reham Farouq, who designs specifically for wearers of hijab.  The Hijablog did a similar post recently on Farouq, which garnered a number of comments praising the outfits.
Last but not least on today's tour of “hijablogs” is a great post by Nuseiba, whose blog has the goal of amplifying and shedding light on “the myriad of voices and experiences of Muslim women.”  In a post entitled “Why feminists need to start lovin’ the hijab,” the blogger writes:
So I was reading the news this morning and I chanced upon this. It seems the hijab has set off a national controversy in Norway. It all started when a Muslim woman petitioned to wear her hijab with her police uniform. And from there things pretty much went downhill when another Muslim woman set fire to a hijab on International Women’s Day. Oh, don’t you just love these gliberal feminists! They are quick to flutter their hankies on behalf of feminism, but rather see a Muslim woman’s brains splattered to the walls of her house than see her trapped in a hijab!


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Guyana: Journalistic Ethics · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I have known for some time that the various media houses seem to have no documented policies against journalists accepting gifts” – but Imran Khan thinks it a “grave, tragic and reprehensible situation” that Guyanese journalists are reportedly taking bribes.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Haiti: Donor’s Conference  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“When it comes to development, it is not a one day conference that matters most but long-term engagement”: Haiti Innovation reviews the recently concluded Haiti Donors Conference, while Haiti, Land of Freedom notes that “the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) plans to go forward with
partial Senate elections this weekend.”