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Poland: Bomb Scare · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

In its latest blogcast, PolBlog interviews Newsweek journalist Wojciech Rogacin about yesterday's bomb scare in Warsaw.


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Poland: Down to the Wire · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot reports the Polish presidential run-off is a nail-biter, and comments on yesterday's bomb hoax.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nathan Hamm


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Puerto Rico: Thoughts on Statehood · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gil Schmidt, who lived 20 years in the U.S., argues that Puerto Rico never has a chance of statehood. Following his post, a commenter writes, “That's absolutely right. Puerto Rico's status means nothing to Americans. To Puerto Ricans, it means everything.”

author: David Sasaki


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Race on the streets of London · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger in UK, Confessions of the Mind has a racist experience on the streets of London – not your usual in your face racial abuse,  racial innuendos, being reminded you that you are different  because of the colour of your skin but an outright vile shocking one…

author: Sokari Ekine


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Taiwan: Banking Reform · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Jujuflop discusses banking reform in Taiwan.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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This week in the Caribbean blogosphere · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

It was an active week in the Caribbean blogosphere, with most of the buzz coming out of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago:
Jamaica
In Jamaica, much of the discussion focused on the incessant rainfall, which caused serious flooding in several parts of the island this past week. “I drove through the bog walk gorge on Friday evening and believe me, it is a sight when that Rio Cobre river is as angry as it has been in all this rain,” wrote CoolDestiny on Sunday as the island braced for more bad weather in the coming week. Also blogging about the weather were Fyr and Mad Bull and Stunner posted some photos of flooded streets in Kingston and a broken bridge. Charles Matheson wrote a short but detailed account of some of the weather-related goings-on, saying that “The Yallahs Fording in St.Thomas is impassable, so is the Bog Walk Gorge and Barry, several roads in and around Spanish Town are inundated, so too several communities in the Sunshine City of Portmore. There are communities in the parish of Clarendon that are also marooned,” and on Wednesday reported on heavy traffic jams between Kingston and Portmore. Stunner was ecstatic to catch a glimpse of the sun on Friday, a sentiment echoed by Dr. D.
Scratchie blogged about the weather too, but was also concerned with National Heroes Day, and indeed, the Jamaican blogosphere wasn't short on buzz about social and cultural issues. Mad Bull welcomed the return of “cultural songs” to the Jamaican music scene. Group blog Jamaica Culture and People solicited opinions on the legalization of marijuana while participant Missie raised the topic of traditional Jamaican attitudes toward care of the elderly and wondered how these might have changed. Missie also contributed an enticing photo of a traditional Jamaica breakfast and a re-post from the blog forum about the evolution of Red Stripe Beer.
Speaking of Red Stripe, Owen had some reservations about a Red Stripe-sponsored competition in which the first prize is a Hummer: “Wouldn't it be better to have the prizes be 20 cheap cars instead of just one expensive one?” he asked. And Dr. D. took on the topic of remittances, saying, “I get the impression that lots of our people feel that their folks ‘up so’ serve one sole purpose……to send money and consumer goods for them, as fast as a magic wand can be waved.”
Visitors to the country had things to say as well. Berkman Center Clinical program participants filed audio reports about their time in Jamaica and one of them is keeping a journal. Ethan Zuckerman also blogged about “sitting in a conference room in Kingston, surrounded by telecoms employees, prison wardens, recently released former inmates, high school principals and a couple of somewhat confused Harvard professors” at the “Cyber Strategy for Caribbean Business Leaders” conference in Kingston and observed that in spite of the island's relatively small size, “almost everyone in the world has an impression of Jamaica – accurate or not – connected to Bob Marley, Red Stripe beer, reggae, ragga, dancehall… In the sense of “nation brand”, Jamaica’s got an extraordinarily strong one.” Nesson was there as well and talked here and here about the event.
Trinidad & Tobago
A bomb blast in the district of St. James on the evening of October 14–the country's fourth for the year–had the T&T blogosphere abuzz with activity. On the evening of the incident Caribbean Free Radio provided blow-by-blow reports taken mainly from the television news. The following day Sirius83's Journal of Insanity posted a few screen caps and Taran Rampersad offered an update and some analysis. Despairing responses came from Small Island Girl, independence of mind and Sinpo, who made the point: “At least when bombs go off in other countries, someone makes a statement detailing the reasons why. In this case, no one has said anything.”
Free Trinidad was nonetheless hopeful when Yasin Abu Bakr, mastermind of the July 27 1990 coup in Trinidad and Tobago, was taken into custody on the night of October 14 (Bakr was released on Monday), though Free Trinidad  was not amused when the Prime Minister refused to reveal the identity of “Mr. Big”, the person he claimed was responsible for the bombings. Equally unimpressed was Seldo.
The government response to the incident, in fact, occasioned a call for civil disobedience from Nicholas Laughlin, who commemorated his third anniversary as a blogger with a flurry of posts this week. Laughlin commented on the destructive wave surges on Trinidad's north coast (which also affected the Guyana coast),  linked to an article about the Guyanese climber attempting to scale Mount Roraima from the Guyana side and scooped the local newspapers with the news that a local surfer had called Trinidad and Tobago's Met Office to warn them that the waves were coming but was ignored, but he didn't think too much of TIME magazine's “100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present” list (though he did note the two Caribbean inclusions). All this while performing his duties as a judge for the inaugural Derek Walcott Fiction prize. Further unproductive statements from the government made Laughlin even more determined to participate in the anti-crime rally on Saturday, which Taran Rampersad may also attend. Rampersad also speculated on the cause of the “rogue waves” on the north coast  and weighed in on the RSA Adelphi Charter, as did Jacqueline Morris, who asked as well why the Caribbean isn't talking about Internet governance. Jonathan Ali wondered whether a letter from the chairman of the Committee for Social Transformation to the newly-appointed High Commissioner for Canada (who has been reported as saying that crime in T&T is being sensationalised) had been cc'd to the government leadership. And CaribPundit trawled some of the region's newspapers and came up with her own editorial, in addition to expressing opinions on a host of issues affecting Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Haiti.
On a lighter note, bookbinder Richard Bolai showed some of his recent works, and Hassan Voyeau is looking forward to the Trinidad & Tobago football team's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain, noting that “which ever country wins that country would be the smallest country ever represented at the World Cup”.
And now we go alphabetical again. . . .
Aruba
Lost In Smallness broke her promise about not commenting further on “the case”.
Bahamas
Wolfgang briefly tracked the evolution of T24 as it changed into Hurricane Wilma.
Barbados
this, that & whatever offered a glimpse at the lineup for the 2006 Barbados Jazz Festival.
Belize
Escribbler was anxious as Hurricane Wilma neared Belize, and relieved as she bypassed the country.
Bermuda
Over at A Limey in Bermuda, Marsha Wiggins is skeptical of the idea of political independence for the island.
Cayman Islands
Cayman Time reported that Breast Cancer Awareness is being commemorated in Cayman with a variety of activities over the month of October and posted a report on the effects of Hurricane Wilma specially targeted at “sensationalists”.
Grenada
YingYang mixed personal reminiscences with historical accounts and photos in a substanial post marking the 22nd anniversary of the 1983 uprising.
Guyana
Monologist was inspired by an account of President Bharrat Jagedo's return to his ancestral village in Uttar Pradesh, India, but Canadian Michiyo, blogging about “the realities of doing international work in Guyana” misses “walking in a street without being constantly called “Chinee girl” and experienced yet another power outage. And over at Living Guyana, MediaCritic continued his ongoing critique of Guyanese television.
Haiti
At Ayiti Se Beau, kutielicious solicits opinions on presidential hopeful Dumas Simeus. I've also spotted two other blogs being written from Haiti: Sujata's in Haiti, by a public health worker based in Jeremie, and Haiti Blog, a Spanish-language photoblog, but nothing from them in the past week.
St. Lucia
Looshan Ramblings called for some perspective on the part of his compatriots, who he says are wasting their time decrying PM Sir John Compton's “secret meeting” with Taiwanese officials when they should be focused on the murder rate in St. Lucia, which stands at 33.
West Indies Cricket
Ryan Naraine's exhaustive coverage of West Indies cricket this week included another response to Texan billionaire Allen Stanford's investment in a regional cricket tournament, with Naraine drawing our attention as well to the stereotyping of the West Indies team in the Australian press in advance of the WI tour to Australia.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Venezuela: Transparency International Corruption Index · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Like many bloggers in the developing world this week, Daniel of Venezuela News and Views takes a look at why corruption and unexmployment remain high.


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From the Jordanian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Roba Al Assi

“The Candy Man” by Roba Assi
With Saddam Hussein's trial and the finding of the Melhis report, political sentiments are  running high in the Jordanian blogosphere. In regards to the uncovering of the Melhis report, Deeb Dweik thinks that there hasn't been enough evidence exposed to implicate the Syrian government, while Natasha Tynes describes the Lebanese as “admirable” because they never fell for the conspiracy theories of the Arab world and immediately  pin-pointing the culprits.
Talk about the Saddam trial has also accelerated due to a controversial cartoon by Jordanian cartoonist Emad Hajjaj that describes the trial as “humiliation to Arabs”. Natasha Tynes disagrees with him and says, “As an Arab, I was not humiliated; quite the contrary I am glad justice is being served”, while Jameed says, “Not only are many of his political cartoons unwitty, but are also shallow and mimic at their deepest level”. Ahmad Humeid wonders, “Where is the disconnect between the social Hajjaj and the Political Hajjaj?” Hareega says, in respect to recent news and American involvement in Arab politics, “It's better be us who change it because if we didn't, one day others will.”
On a local front, Khalaf comments on the National Agenda Committee's announcment that the National Agenda will be posted on the web for citizen's comments, and also describes the Ministry of Agriculture's notification to farmers that losses incurred as a result of bird flu will not be compensated as a “stupid and short sighted decision”. Naseem Tarawneh has an interesting post on “Jordan's mysterious money history”. Lina Ejeilat is asking Jordanians to “change the general façade of Jordanians on the street; the grumpy, cranky, frowning lot!” and asks, “Do you think you can do it?”
Zeid Nasser explains one of the new tech terms- “Web 2.0.”, and Ibrahim Owais will start is joining Advertising/Design Goodness  to take care of the Middle Eastern ads section.
Roba Assi comes back from a visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and writes about meeting Saudi blogger Farooha of Farah's Sowaleef and her fascination with how different the Saudi culture is. Haitham Sabbah reports that the first cinema is opening in Saudi, but describes it as “funny news” as it is only for women and children and only shows cartoons, and he also writes about movie Paradise Now at the 43rd New York Film Festival.

author: Roba Al Assi


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Images from Bahrain: Dressed up for Gargaoun · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

“Gargaoun” by Chan'ad

author: Haitham Sabbah


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This Week in the Kenyan Blogosphere · Global Voices
Marc

Alpha Rwath blogs about meeting Senator Barack Obama. This particular Senator from the state of Illinois has an almost cult following in Kenya by virtue of his father having been born there. So popular is Senator Obama that a lager going by the brand name Senator has invariably been re-christened ‘Obama’ and is ordered by that very name!
Mutumia is inspired by the example of wedded bliss given by her grandparents who have been married for some 75 years and wonders about the traditional notions of romance in African culture.
The Mad Kenyan Woman is acutely puzzled as to the rationale behind an article in the local press that defends the contribution of white authors to African literature, wondering why they need to be defended in the first place.
Bankelele highlights the entry of  Pesa Point,a new player into the Automated Teller Machine field, that will introduce a network of independent ATMs, making it the second largest player.
Kenyan Pundit briefly returns to the US after moving to Kenya and is blogging  on the PopTech conference in Camden Maine along with other young leaders of Africa, bloggers, politicians and activists.   On the first day she realises that there are a FEW things she is missing living in Kenya.
“It’s left me floundering a bit as I try and find people who can relate to my “eclecticness” and who see it as a plus rather than a symptom of still not knowing what I want to do when I grow up. It’s one of the (few) things I miss about the U.S., the ability to reinvent yourself constantly and to explore the path less traveled without being (heavily) penalized”.

author: Marc


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African Women Blogging · Global Voices
Nish Matenjwa

“Are we are a definition of ourselves, or other people's definition of us,” ponders Keeper of her thoughts and asks whether her identity is one “…constructed for myself as a response to a global hierarchy that places the African woman at the very bottom of the rung? Or is it a facet of my identity that's always been there but has never needed to assert itself?”
With voting over in the Liberian elections and a new president about to declared, Black Looks writes about the founding of Liberia whose recent civil war is directly related to the forceful taking or buying of land for virtually nothing from indigenous chiefs by African Americans who settled in Liberia in the 18th Century. This led to conditions which in many aspects was not so different from other colonised African countries.
Black Looks also celebrates the awarding of the  International Press Freedom Award to Beatrice Mtetwa a Zimbabwean human rights lawyer by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Meanwhile, in view of the current constitutional crisis threatening to tear Kenya apart, Chanuka  calls upon fellow Kenyans to first read and understand the contents of the Kenyan Constitution before voting on the upcoming referendum and not be swayed by politicians  who may not have the interests of Kenyans at heart.
Boitumelo Mofokeng writes about the debate around the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 which is the first resolution ever passed by the Security Council specifically addressing the impact of war on women, and women's contributions to conflict resolution and sustainable peace.  Boitumelo is categorical there would have been no need for this resolution had the UN been an inclusive and progressive organisation right from the start. She points out the UN is lacking in gender balance as can be seen in the disproportionate numbers of women working in auxiliary and support roles within the organisation and as a result, has lost the opportunity of setting a good example for the governments it seeks challenge. She concludes by telling the UN, “it's either with us but not without us! Hear our voices!”
Solar energy is not just about environmentalism says Afromusing who writes about companies that have made millions of dollars in profit through renewable technology .
Although the recently held Car Free Day in Johannesburg was mainly unsuccessful due to an inadequate public transport system, Bronwyn feels the publicity around the environment can only be a good thing and insists the media has to keep writing about this critical issue and also hold leaders accountable.
Nneka gives a memorable response to a suitor who once told her, ”I like girls like you, because you don’t ask questions”.

author: Nish Matenjwa


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Echoes from the Tunisian blogosphere · Global Voices
Mohamed Marwen Meddah

The 7th Tunisian blogger meetup was held last Saturday. We met for a Ramadan dinner, then spent the evening together. We talked about everything; Ramadan, religion, blogging, new blogs, WiFi, the internet, personal stuff, …etc. As usual it was a lot of fun. The next Tunisian blogger meetup will be on November 18th.
Adib, the Tunisian veterenarian blogger, was a guest on the Tunisian radio to talk about the races of hunting dogs and especially the “Sloughi”, a race only available in Tunisia and the Maghreb region. (in French)
Drako writes about his decision to start discovering his country, Tunisia, and how he drove to Thuburbo Majus, a Punic-Roman city 60Km south of the capital Tunis.
He writes about it, it's history and the guide that claims he is the last Roman in Tunisia. He also took some really nice photos. (in French)
On the occasion of the World Day for the elimination of poverty, Zizou writes about how proud he is of the social development that has taken place in Tunisia over the past years, how poverty has been greatly reduced, and how rural areas have been developed.
He thinks this should be maintained by extending the 2626 National Solidarity Fund and transforming it into a National Human Development initiative. (in French)
Chikipi writes about attending a UNESCO ALECSO club media event at the Mederssa Chaabaniya, near el Hafsiya in downtown Tunis, that revolves around the topic of Multimedia and Youth. There was a presentation of the club's activities, work and future objectives. (in French)
Nejla has added a new section in her new women portal Nawarat called “They Blog”, in which she will be posting extracts from Tunisian blogs by female bloggers and linking back to them. (in French)
Karim writes about attending the World cup qualifier between Tunisia and Morocco and gives us a review from the stadium with a photo gallery of the event.
Houssein talks about how annoyed he gets by blog entries that end by the blogger asking “What do you think?”. He doesn't like the impression that he “must” answer and sees it more as an invitation to close the window and stop reading. (in French)
Chouchitou writes about the changes in the website of Tunisian daily newspaper “La Presse”, with more colours, more sections, new presentation and better archiving. (in French)

author: Mohamed Marwen Meddah


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Iran: How do Iran track citizens going to Syria? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Letter N says: “If you are an Iranian citizen who wants to go to syria, you need to go to the nearest Iranian Embassy, which then gives you an official letter saying in effect : “so and so is our citizen, please give her a visa”. It is a formality, of course, which was most likely set up to allow both the Syrian and Iranian governments the ability to track their nationals who enter their borders from a third country.”


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Mexico: Wilma Destroys State of Quintana Roo · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos [ES] and Olganza [ES] both have continuously updated coverage of Wilma's impact on the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo in Mexico. Alfredo has a bilingual post about a phone line to locate tourists in Quintana Roo.


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Steppin’ into the Turkish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Welcome back to the Turkish Blogosphere….  Here is a quick update on the newest items from the Turkish Bloggers who post mostly in English.
Zik Zak has an interesting link to an educational book called “Who are the Turks” if you are interested in learning more about the Turkish people.   Turkish Digest is also an interesting site for up-to-date news information on Turkey.   Mavi Boncuk has a couple of interesting book reviews on three new books out:  The Young Turks by Moris Farhi,  The Yezidis by Eszter Spat, and  Sufi Cuisine by Nevin Halici.  Mustafa Akyol of the The White Path, who writes on many of the social/political aspects of Turkey has been focusing on  Intelligent design and the Intelligent Design Network which he was recently was asked to join.  Idil from  Ignore Me If You Can wrote recently about recent  earthquakes in the Aegean, which is a concern for many Turks in the region, especially those living in the Istanbul and Izmir region which suffered so in the  1999 Earthquake.  Murat from  Amerikan Turk recently had his photo in the  VELONEWS photo gallery.  Mert Ulas ponders on how much  control he has in his life, and  what the perfect operating system would look like.  Socioeconomics has a very interesting read on  randon thoughts on States and the human race.
Very little has been written about the bird flu in Turkey this week, although Idil from Metroblogging Istanbul wrote about a press conference given by the Turkish government to show that there is nothing wrong with eating poultry.  Another interesting item off of  Metroblogging Istanbul was about a project called the  Face of Tomorrow, where photos of different individuals from various regions are blended to create one common face, you can see the  face of Istanbul here.
I had entended to focus a little on Turkish poetry blogs today, but that will have to wait for another day as there will be a lot of bridge-blogging involved.
As there is such a large number of Turkish blogs (Blog Kardesligi alone has over 800 listed) I thought that I would start a feature of the top 3 most interesting finds of the week…So here are this week's top three:
1. Kutuphane (Library in Turkish) which posts about different libraries.
2. Back to the 80's (in Turkish) focuses on all things of the 1980's pop culture.
3. A fantastic photo blog can be found at Tenturdiyot.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Video from Bangladesh: Rickshaw Traffic · Global Voices
Andy Carvin

Video of bicycle rickshaw traffic in Comilla, Bangladesh.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Andy Carvin


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Superstitions · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan blogger Mshairi discusses the issue of superstition particularly the 7 years bad luck said to happen should you break a mirror.


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogs, Kisses & Roses, Boggy Woggy and Nigerian Times, report on the plane accident in Nigeria at the weekend as well as the untimely death of Mrs Stella Obasanjo, wife of the President Olusegun Obasanjo.


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Argentina: Another Anti-Bush Bomb · Global Voices
David Sasaki

GoodAirs covers yet another small explosion, this time at a BankBoston ATM, in protest of George Bush's upcoming visit to the Summit of Americas. GoodAirs also digs up some info on the group's apparent inspiration using Wikipedia.


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Argentina: Sunday’s Election Results · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wrighton has an entertaining rundown of Sunday's election results in which the current first lady, Cristina Kirchner easily beat out the former first lady Hilda Duhalde to become senator of Buenos Aires Province. Complete with fancy graphics.


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Bangladesh: A bigger piece · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan has a post on Bangladesh and her neighbours – on policies of immigration, trade and roads.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Education Blues · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kazi has some opinions on schools in Bangladesh – and encourages a dialogue on his blog on methodology.


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Egypt: Churches After Muslims Riots · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Sandmonkey reports more churches that were attacked last week over deadly riots sparked by a play deemed offensive to Islam.
egYptianist posted some photos of the riots.
Ritzy tells us that Egyptian Grand Mufti Ali Juma'ah says there is no CD/DVD that is offending Islam that has led to the riots.


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Egypt: Iftar for Prisons Freedom · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Baheyya writes: “We, the mothers , wives, and children of detainees in all of Egypt’s prisons, have the pleasure of inviting you to a group iftar on Tuesday, 22 Ramadan, 25 October 2005 , in front of the Egyptian Interior Ministry. We invite you to join us in preparing for the iftar by starting our protest march at noon on that day.”


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Images from Afghanistan: Winter Streets in Kabul · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Winter Streets in Kabul” by TKnoxB
Cabs share the snow-covered streets with men on bicycles in Kabul last winter.

author: Paul Frankenstein


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Iran: Bloggers Trial · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Shahram Kholdi says that Iranian bloggers Farid Modarresi and Hossein Abdollah Pour was tried yesterday for charges of insulting high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic (two members of the Expediency Council and the former President, Mohammad Khatami) and taking action against the national security.


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Iraq: Ambulatory Clinic · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mama on her way to work. Mines in the middle of the road, no road safety, lack of gasoline, and as a dentist without dental fillings & preventive materials, It's really hard to conserve a job ,and not easy to abdicate it. Praying for, Mama!


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Iraq: Iraqi Constitution Results · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Hammorabi posts partial results of votes for the Iraqi Constitution.
Christopher hopes that Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq can show the vote was fair.


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Israel: anti-Zionism · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Imshin said all what she had to say about anti-Zionism.


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Living with Peace in Darfur · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Darfuran refugee,  Alephonsion Deng writes about his experiences and hopes for the future in Darfur blog Passion of the Present


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Malaysia: Blogebrity? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

“I heard you're a blogger so you must have lots of thoughts.”  Curious non-bloggers corned Kenny Sia at an impromptu bloggers’ meet; our hero ends up in an awkward, beauty queen-related moment.


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Nepal: Role of the army · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy for Nepal has a post on the army and the scope of the army's role in the fight for democracy.


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Trinidad and Tobago: Death March Protests Surge in Violence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Nicholas Laughlin writes articulately about why 10,000 to 15,000 Trinidadians marched against the recent violence that has enveloped their country. Taran Rampersad wonders if it will make any difference. Georgia Popplewell has photos.


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Nigeria Poet · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Molara Wood, invites us to read her review of Nigerian poet, Tade Ipadeola who has a new book “Poetic Rain”.


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Pakistan: Baby Estonia · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A baby named Estonia. Rescue and Relief in Pakistan have a human face, and some very interesting outcomes.


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Pakistan: Larger than life · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Misha has views on big screen personalities and television shows in Pakistan.


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Pakistan: Shelter for earthquake victims · Global Voices
Angelo Embuldeniya

Entitled “Tents for Quake,” an initiative is being carried on round-the-clock for the last two weeks to raise funds and channel them in the shortest amount of time to purchase and distribute tents in Pakistan through effective distribution networks. The tents are for small villages that have not been helped by any relief agency, due to the sheer magnitude of the disaster and difficult terrain, and where people are sleeping at sub-zero temperatures at night under the open sky without any shelter.
This initiative is being carried out by a small group of friends across Pakistan, the United States and the United Kingdom. Comprising of young professionals and graduate students, the group has been informally documenting its progress at the TentDrive blog
The group is focused on -
1) Soliciting and channeling donations, especially cash donations from the U.S. toPakistan
2) Researching appropriate avenues of obtaining high-quality goods, specifically tents
3) Finding and implementing effective distribution networks and engaging in follow-up
The group has implemented a three-pronged strategy of fundraising and reaching the affected while purchasing a combination of different types of tents available in Pakistan. More about their strategy here.

author: Angelo Embuldeniya


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Philippines: Conference Report · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has reports here, here and here on its recently concluded “Journalists as Bloggers” Conference.


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PLO should learn from ANC · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

South African blog, “the fish bowl”  points to an article in todays Houston Chronicle, which discusses the need for the PLO to learn from the South African example, and the differences between the PLO and the ANC in both policy and ideology.


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Religious harmony severed in Egypt · Global Voices
Mostafa Hussein

The Egyptian blogosphere has been agitated by the events in Alexandria that shook the country. Four died (3 killed by riot poilce), tens wounded and 100 detained after 5000 angry Muslim protesters demonstrated against a play that the protesters considered offensive to Islam. Protesters demanded an official apology from the Pope.
The two highest religious figures in the country, Sheikh Tantawy and Pope Shenouda III, published an official joint statement. Urging both Christians and Muslims not to resort to violence. The play was staged 2 years earlier, but have been released recently on CD.
Sandmonkey notes that the events did have a political impact. The Christian candidate of the ruling National Democratic Party in Alexandria withdraw his candidacy from the parliamentary elections as a result.
Friday events shook the Egyptian blogosphere. Nearly every frequent blogger did have something to say. Some were depressed others were angry, few others were in horror and fear. Everyone was feeling what The Big Pharoh said about the fabric of the society being torn apart.
“What those Muslims have done doesn't belong to the teachings of Islam.” This was mostly the consensus in Arabic blogs. Arabic blogs were also full of analysis. (Most of the following links are to posts in Arabic) But the wide spread response was either horror, fear or sadness.
Few think that what is going on is a normal reaction to the denial by the government to the increased sensitivity by the two groups. Some see that what is happening today is a result of years of increased sensitivity between the relationships between the two for years. Maged emphasizes governmental denial by finding nothing about the events in official newspapers for two days. And blames the government and both parties for what happened. And asks why the church insists on blindly following the government and never opposing it in any matter.
Yet some think that those events were politically motivated. Some think the events were perpetrated to tarnish the powerful Muslim brotherhood candidates in the next parliamentary elections. Spring456 thinks the exact opposite, that these events will make the brotherhood win more votes. Hazem asks why their newly elected president did not issue any public statement till now. He also thinks that the joint statement by the two highest religious figures will be of no impact on the angry crowd. Some ask the angry protesters why they were venting anger on the powerless few while the government is left to oppress its own people.
Alif, among other things, thinks that it is pointless to create any form of creative production that criticises other faiths. Since any faith will consider the other one as mistaken. It has been like that through history all over the world, and it should not be of any importance to the side making the production.  And says that Coptic Christians are making the same mistake that Egyptian Muslims made several years ago. R says that it was almost a rule inside the church that it was not allowed to talk about Islam and asks if this play will open a discussion on what Muslims produce that might be offensive to Christianity.
Egyptian Person says “I downloaded and watched the play and I didn't find anything in it that conflicts with what a Christian or non-Muslim person believes in generally about Islam or some of its followers, so I don't see a reason for the astonishment or anger by some people.” And adds “Freedom of belief and expression must be given to everyone, and when people disagree, they can discuss and debate their differences, and at the end, every person follows what they believe.”
Mohammed, despite knowing that the police detains anyone on the streets in events like these. Decided to go to the street, the same day the events happened, after seeing horrifying pictures from Al-Jazeera. He went in the evening and discovered that the clashes with the police were still going on after the midday “Friday” prayer. He stood few hundred meters from the riots while shops where open and house wifes were normally buying food. Yet at the end of the road he can see young men dodging rubber batons and running away from tear gas. Shops near the riots were closed. Mohammed paints an eerie picture of what the atmosphere was like by quoting people who were involved. They were mostly anti-government and hateful.
In response, bloggers decided to take peaceful action and try to bring back peace and reconciliation.
Karim asks his readers to “set up a show of solidarity for the Christian community sometime this week.” While a group of bloggers are finalising, on a wiki, an open official statement in response. The statement is titled “An invitation to reconciliation and admission.” Which invites both Christians and Muslims to admit their own mistakes, apologise and oppose hate.
Even more ideas are appearing in blog comments. Some think that they should ask both Muslims and Christians to fast for a single day together. Others think they should hold banners and signs and stand in the place the events took place. While ikhnaton2 thinks they should hold regular seminars discussing issues and to open a dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

author: Mostafa Hussein


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Singapore: Signs of Life · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

unkster has thirty-six signs you've been in Singapore too long.


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Sri lanka: Unemployment · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lanka Citizen on World Bank's explanation behind unemployment stats in Sri Lanka.


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Taiwan, China, Singapore: Debunking a “History” Book · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The View from Taiwan‘s Michael Turton reposts an email from from a National University of Singapore professor critiquing the myths, fabrications and inaccuracies that plague a recent book on the 15th century voyages of the Ming dynasty navy.


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Terror & intimidation in Ethiopia · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopian Paradox reports on the campaign of terror and intimidation being carried out by Prime Minister Zenaw of Ethiopia against the Opposition.


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Thailand: Food Critics · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Tom Vanvanij critiques some of the New York Times‘ choices for “real” Bangkok street food.


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This Week in Palestinian Blogs · Global Voices
Shaden Abdulrahman

In The Electronic Intifada, Palestinian DAM, the first Arab World rap group from Lydd and US based band the Philistines take NYC's East Village by storm! Their CD is finally out: Free the P,  dedicated to the youth of Palestine. The proceeds will go to Slingshot Hip-hop, a documentary film that focuses on the daily life of Palestinian rappers living in Gaza, the West Bank and inside Israel. DAM performed “Born here” and Invincible dazzled the crowd with her “No Compromises”. Other artists performed at the show were Immortal Technique, Akil Dassan , Anthony Morales in addition to the rest of Free-the-P artists. At the end of the show Tamer Nafar the most out-spoken Palestinian rapper stressed the solidarity of all Palestinians regardless of their religions.
Sabbah of Sabbah's Blog talks about Paradise Now, a story two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a major operation in Tel Aviv. It centers on what is presumably their final day on earth. Starring Kais Nashif and Ali Suliman, directed by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad. “Paradise Now-and as expected- did not escape the Anti-Semitic charges from Zionists“, Sabbah adds, “a small google for Paradise Now will lead you to so many rants and accusations to the movie and to critique review Germany’s daily WELT (Dutch) to the German Authorities who Co-Financed it (poor Germans)”.Hani Abu Assad’s Paradise Now won the AGICOA’s Blue Angel Award for the best European film at the Berlinale 2005 and Amnesty International Film Prize. The film has been acquired by Warner Independent Pictures. Sugar Cubes posts a movie review written by ihath about Paradise Now.
On media again, umkahlil quotes Palestine Chronicle  regarding the lack of coverage in the New York Times about Palestinian non-violent resistance. She writes also about  Joe Carr's account of the October 15 Bil'in protest. Joe writes: “I completely affirm Palestinians right to resist Israeli colonial occupation. Palestinians have the right to do much more than throw rocks at soldiers committing colonial genocide, and they must if they are to survive. Boys with rocks are hardly a match for the Israeli Military heavily stocked with the US’s most deadly weapons, so it is my responsibility to help protect these boys as they symbolically resist. ” Joe was injured while protecting Palestinian children from rubber-coated bullets during the anti-wall demonstration. umkahlil calls to action for Walid Hanatche who has been in administrative detention for three-and-a-half years, since May 2002 without charge, Walid‘s wife has been diagnosed lately with brain cancer, both Walid and his wife are students at Birzeit University.
In peacepalestine,  the Academy forces Italy to exclude Private. The film by Saverio Costanzo has been excluded by the Academy in the category of Best Foreign Film, thecutter suspects the scandal has political reasons behind it. Private won the Golden Leopard, the top award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. The film reviews are worth checking, quoting one of them:
The danger upstairs
Elemental fear and the struggle for dignity thicken the air in a Palestinian family's house taken over by Israeli soldiers in the tense thriller “Private.”
What a Palestinian wants? asks Sabbah, priorities of Palestinians have shifted for the first time after the Gaza disengagement with economics coming on top, ending of occupation and corruption ranking second with a wide gap between the first priority and the second of approximately  15 percent according to the  Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. On the other hand, Yossi Beilin says Israelies want to dump the Road Map because the deadlines will pass unmet and the map will expire leading to unending violence. The Road Map might reach a dead end soon, according to Mahmood Abbas prisdent of Palestinian National Authority.
Bethlehem Bloggers say suffering does not always come with blood and explosions, to explain, they illustrate with one example: marriage in Palestine, it's not that simple even if the couple live so near. You or your future wife might risk losing the right to return to your home after leaving for a few hours. Freedom of movement is not guaranteed for non-Jews and the Apartheid Wall has turn Palestinians life into a living hell. Moreover, a new illegal settlement is being built around Bethlehem. A review for the new documentary 500 Dunam on the Moon posted by Bethlehem Bloggers. 500 Dunam on the Moon narrates the  story of three villages in one: Ain Hawd, Ein Hod, and Ain Hawd Al-Jadida (same village). Lina Abu al-Hayja wonders why is there writings on the moon?. Lina is one of the participants in the film, the majority are Abu al-Hayja (Abu al-Haija) descendents, the original inhibitants of Ain Hawd village.
In Winds of ChangeChange in the Middle East?, Marsden wonders why Ha'aretz changed the wording in its news story on a Palestinian teenager killed for throwing Molotov cocktails from “IDF kills Palestinian suspected of throwing Molotov cocktails at Israeli cars” to “IDF kills Palestinian suspected of fire-bombing Israeli cars” and says Israeli officials call for changes in Syrian rule!
In Rafah Pundits, two hundred Fatah members resigned expressing their concerns over the lack of democracy and transparency, weakness in performance and growing nepotism within the Fatah party.
International Solidarity Movement reports that Israeli military arrested non-violent activists in Bil’in and accused them of damaging the foundation of annexation barrier – 23/10/05.
From Palestine Blogs, a post that talks about house demolitions in Palestine, the article titled Bulldozing the chance for peace says “Since 1948, Israel has bulldozed more than 400 Palestinian villages and built more than 600 Jewish colonies in their place.” and that “some 2,000 demolition orders for Occupied Jerusalem, and another 2,000 or more in the West Bank, remain outstanding, threatening some 6,000 families.” At the end Palestine Blogs quotes Theodore Herzl who described the process of seizing Palestine from its inhabitants on 1897 by “The process of expropriation and displacement must be carried out prudently and discreetly. Let the landowners sell us their land at exorbitant prices. We shall sell nothing back to them.”
In PALESTINEFREEVOICE, In a period of 36 weeks, 15,825 Israeli violations resulted in the death of 112 Palestinians and injury of 852 others, while 2,907 civilians were arrested and 35,344 dunums of arable lands were expropriated. And Palestinians warn of allowing Jews inside Al Aqsa Mosque.
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author: Shaden Abdulrahman


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Trinidad and Tobago: More on Death March · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Caribbean Free Radio has an updated summary of Saturday's “Death March” against crime and lack of accountability in Trinidad and Tobago. Dancehall Blog says that local musicians played an integral role.


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Zimbabwean Disease · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean author, Chengerai Hove, writes in this weeks Pambazuka News of a  “Zimbabwean disease” which dictates that once an institution is formed it becomes a national cause to tear it apart.


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1000 Naira · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla's Weblog introduces us to the Nigerian currency, the Naira, and the new  N1000 bill which unlike previous notes does not feature  the face  a famous or “infamous” Nigerian as the case may be.


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Africa and Pop!Tech 2005 · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethan Zuckerman of My Heart's In Accra reports on the response of African participants to this years Pop!Tech 2005 conference in rural Maine.


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Azerbaijan: Election News Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia rounds up the week in Azeri political news.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bahrain: Mehlis Report · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

manama-republic wonders: “Given the pervasive technical and human assets both the US and Israel have in Lebanon and in & around Damascus, is it conceivable that such an extensive operation could pass from planning to communicating (over mobile phones) to diabolic implementation over several months and by so multitude of conspirators, men and materiel, without anyone else ever getting a whiff of it?“


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Bananas and Oranges in Kenya · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

ThinkersRoom discusses relationships and making the decision to lie or not to lie to your partner – Bananas against and Oranges for!


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Bangladesh: From Pakistan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Me, myself and Bangladesh has a post on the review of the work of Eqbal Ahmad.


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Brazil: Challenges Ahead · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alex de Carvalho moblogged some notes from a day-long forum on the sustainability of Brazil's economic growth.

author: David Sasaki


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Brazil: Firearm Ban Voted Down · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Luís Afonso Assumpção celebrates the decision of Brazilian voters to against a ban on selling firearms. Made in Brazil hopes it means that the government will start acting more serious when it comes to public security.


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China: Guide to the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

China bloggers have been praising China Blog List, a collection of English language weblogs focused on China assembled by John of sinosplice.


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Costa Rica and its Future with Today’s Politicians · Global Voices
Roy Rojas

Este artículo también está disponible en español
In the last few years, politics in Costa Rica have changed radically compared to what was known 10 years ago. What used to be the race to become President in the past decade is now much different.
The traditional political parties, Liberación Nacional (PLN) and Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) are damaged and have gone from complete bipartisan control to, today, disputing their power with less traditional parties like Movimiento Libertario (ML) and the Partido Acción Ciudadana ().
Evidence of this dispute can be found in the Legislative Assembly, where out of the  57 deputies, 19 remain in power from the Social Democrats, 17 from the PLN, 14 from the PAC, and 6 from the ML. It seems that in the next government, according to the polls, the division of power will remain much the same, but with an ample majority of the PLN, followed by ML, PAC, and finally the PUSC. One only hopes that the next parliament won't be as ineffective as the one which will soon be leaving.
In the last year, the PUSC has appeared affected by the accusations of corruption pointed at two major leaders, Rafael Angel Calderón and Miguel Angel Rodriguez, which have come to affect the general credibility of Costa Rican politicians as well as helped other parties strengthen
Such acts have provoked ex-president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Oscar Arias Sanchez, to aspire to reelection. Given his large following he is virtually guaranteed victory in the upcoming 2006 elections. But such facts don't minimize the large support for the two new political parties: ML, headed by Otto Guevara and PAC headed by Otón Solís. Nor will it stop the parties from grabbing a good quantity of the legislative posts.
Various blogs in Costa Rica have come out expressing their opinions, some impartial and others not as much, like in the case of The News Star, where posts like Oscar Arias en la UCR affirm a consistent support for Arias. Others, like betobet.com by Alberto “Beto” González allow one to understand their support of the Libertarian Movement of Otto Guevara and give a point of view in various themes of national interest like the free trade agreement with the United States in posts like “Exodo,” which says in part:
Quickly, Costa Rica is transforming from what was, for many years, an exception to the rules in the most economically unequal region of the world to become “just one more of the mountain.”
It is something worrisome which we as “Ticos,” or Costa Ricans, have to think about seriously. Other blogs like La Suiza Centroamericana show disagreement with the politics of Otón Solis of the PAC in posts like Cada Día Se Hunde Más (Sinking More Every Day).
To conclude, it's still to premature to say if Costa Rican politics are changing for the good or bad. We have to wait a few years to see the results of what we are planting today, but all Costa Ricans hope that the harvest will bring juicy fruits.

author: Roy Rojas


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Dominican Republic: Gas Leak Causes Harm · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bracuta has a personal account of yesterday's gas leak in Santo Domingo that does not correspond with official statements saying the leak was not harmful. A commenter has already offered legal services. DR1 searched the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency website “and found that it ‘can cause death by respiratory paralysis. It is an eye and respiratory tract irritant. Exposure results in pulmonary edema and hepatic and renal damage (Clayton and Clayton 1981-82, p. 2067)’ see http://yosemite.epa.gov/oswer/CeppoEHS.nsf/Profiles/74-93-1?OpenDocument”


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Dominican Republic: Tropical Storm Alpha · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Diego Vega writes in a comment on his own post that Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was left unscathed by the first ever “tropical storm alpha.”


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Egypt: Alexandira Play · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zeinobia wonders: “Sure this play will be a historical one, causing all this division in Egypt, putting the nation on unity. So does it really insult Islam that the church must apologize officially for its support and bless to its production or what?“
On the other hand, Egyptian Person says that Religion in the Middle East is indeed a perfect tool to control the masses. He ends up saying that the whole thing seems to be a dirty political game by the Muslim Brotherhood candidate.


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Egypt: Egyptian Monitors · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ritzy says that Egyptian Monitors for the parliamentary elections are allowed as long as they register with the government first. This way it will be easier for the government to round them up and arrest them after they rig this election as well.


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Effect Measure on Facing the Global Bird Flu Threat · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

With recent reports of avian flu in Western Europe, the disease is clearly no longer East Asia's problem.  It's a dilemma for the world.  Last week I emailed Revere, the pseudonymous leader of Effect Measure, a public health group blog.  Since its inception in late 2004, Effect Measure has been covering the global response to avian flu.  My goal was to discuss the pandemic fears and what the world — and ordinary people — can do to prepare for it.
Revere, an environmental epidemiologist in a senior faculty position at a major research university, has 40 years of experience in medicine and public health.  He is also one of the individuals behind the Flu Wiki, an Internet-based experiment in community mobilization and knowledge-pooling to face the feared epidemic.  He paints an alarming picture.  “If a pandemic is going to happen (and we don't know how to predict if it will or not with certainty), it will happen whatever we do,” he writes. “There will be no “outside” for help to come from, so each community needs to prepare to cope on its own.” In previous flu pandemics, hundreds of thousands of people went sick or died, leading to massive disruptions as workers failed to show up to work and instead surged into ill-equipped and ill-prepared hospitals.
Revere sees two big tasks ahead: managing the consequences of a potential pandemic, and building (or rebuilding) the world's rotting public health infrastructure.
GV: Why did you start blogging?
Revere: The blog originated as a forum to discuss the failed leadership in public health in the U.S. (also elsewhere).  We have posted almost 700 items on a wide variety of public health topics.  The most frequent, however, has been bird flu, which we began to talk about almost a year ago because it seemed the perfect metaphor for failed leadership in public health.  At that time it was difficult to convince people of two points: that avian influenza was a serious potential threat; and that we weren't prepared to meet it.  Hurricane Katrina solved the second problem and along with the inexorable spread of bird flu in poultry and wild birds contributed to solving the first.  Bird flu is now on the public agenda worldwide.
GV: How well are current measures, like the destruction of infected flocks, working to contain the disease?
Revere: The idea that mass killing of infected birds could stop this disease from spreading had some intuitive appeal as long as it was localized.  This tactic seemed to have success in Hong Kong in 1997.  However the disease game back with a vengence in Southeast Asia in 2003 and has since become a panzootic (pandemic among animals, in this case birds) throughout Asia.  It is too late to stop it in this way.  The genie is out of the bottle.  Mass culling will buy a short amount of time, perhaps, but isn't likely to be effective at this point.
GV: But do vaccines exist that will protect us?
Revere: One or more experimental vaccines do exist.  There is no proven vaccine and none that is in production or whose production, even if begun immediately, would supply more than a fraction of the global need.  Most places also have no effective public health infrastructure to deliver a vaccine, even if it existed.  The known results for the [National Institutes of Health]  vaccine trials suggest that we do not have a practical recipe yet, as the data suggested that the dose required was far in excess of production capacity.  Many countries are working on producing a practical vaccine for humans at the moment (Hungary is the latest to claim success), but it isn't realistic to suppose we will have a vaccine solution for some years. We also don't know what genetic version of the virus will wind up being the pandemic strain, so it isn't possible at the moment to make a specific and effective preparation until that information is known, i.e., until after a pandemic starts.  With current methods, a vaccine would take six to eight months to be produced. Many groups are working on techniques to speed this up (e.g., cell culture or DNA-based vaccines).
GV: Can the global public health infrastructure cope with this threat?  Will developing countries bear the brunt of the possible pandemic?
Revere: Ad hoc workarounds will be the hallmark of both developed and developing countries.  Many developed countries have seriously neglected or weakened their public health infrastructures (the U.S. is a prime example), and the main tasks of consequence management will fall to local communities anyway.  Some developing countries may be better off in this regard as they will not have so many critical infrastructure interdependencies and will have social structures that better allow “neighbor helping neighbor,” which is what this will come down to.  But the developing world will still bear the brunt, mainly because it has less material resources and poorer baseline health.
GV: What can individuals do to prepare?
Revere: We believe that the key need at the moment is for individuals to get together to anticipate and plan for a situation where there might be extensive absenteeism (say 30%).  Once you begin to think the consequences of this through, you also begin to realize that there is much that can be done in advance to ameliorate the impact.  The Flu Wiki is devoted to this kind of planning. Just to take one small example, many retail businesses like pharmacies (and food stores) operate on a “just in time” inventory system.  If the supply chain is interrupted for a week or ten days, serious shortages result.  Thus diabetics or heart disease patients might find that they can no longer find insulin or blood pressure medication at their local drug store.  A state or community could make a very short list in advance of such medicines and plan for an alternate source and supply chain, perhaps using the National Guard or militia for transportation and logistics to a distributed series of wholesale supply points. Volunteers could be enlisted to distribute them.  There are many examples like this.  It doesn't take a lot of resources or outside help, but it does require some foresight.  Now is the time to get ready.
GV Note: Avian Flu and The Coming Influenza Pandemic? are other blogs tracking avian flu news.
Photo: ‘Vanishing’ by 3 steps ahead (Bartholomew Plucinski).

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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Georgia: Deinstitutionalization · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia has photos from and a report on an orphanage for special-needs children in Georgia that is making great strides in deinstitutionalizing its residents.


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Georgia: Orphanages, Social Workers, and More · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has more photos and brief reports from his recent trip to Georgia.


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HIV drug trials in Southern Africa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mzansi Afrika reports on new trials for a HIV/AIDS gel for women which will begin in Uganda and South Africa this week and later this year in Zambia and Tanzania.

author: Sokari Ekine


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Hungary: Avian Flu · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Hungarian Accent rounds up the latest buzz on avian flu from the Hungarian blogosphere.


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Hungary: The Tragedy of ’56 · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar reflects on the real tragedy of '56 on the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising.


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Images from Ile-Ife, Nigeria – A Spiritual People! · Global Voices
Edward Popoola

A Spiritual People by  Jangbalajugbu-Homeland Stories
Nigerians were rated as the happiest people on earth some time ago – the reason is simple. Nigerians are a spiritual people!

author: Edward Popoola


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India: Blog Quake Day · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Desipundit has an idea to make blogs work for disaster relief. Blog Quake Day on 26 Oct 2005. The idea being – We request each of you to make a small post about the earthquake, and direct your readers to a suitable avenue for donating to the relief efforts.


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India: Online Blues · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Atanu Dey on why internet connectivity (of the Broadband kind) is expensive in India and what it means in terms of untapped potential.


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Iran: Blogger in Jail · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Blogger Seyyed Ahmad Seyyed Seraji has lost his appeal and is now to serve 18 months of jail (and receive 30 lashes), on charges of attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran and insulting the Supreme Leader, Shahram Kholdi reports.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Iran: Exceptional Stupidity · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Pedram says that Bush administration must truly think that the citizens of this country are just exceptionally stupid. The way they turn stories around, present complete fiction as actual facts and move their chess pieces in and out of favor with the public and mass media, without a genuine conviction in national idiocy could not have been pulled off.


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Iran: Week in Review · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

DoctorZin provides a review of this past week's [10/16-10/22] major news events regarding Iran.


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Iranian Clerics  & Blogging: Ayatollah Goes Virtual · Global Voices
Farid Pouya

More Iranian clerics are blogging and share their ideas, beliefs and daily life on internet. It is amazing that clerics who control literally everything in country need blogs to express their ideas.
In Islamic Iran there are  several religious (clerics) bloggers who criticize Iranian state with soft words and try to discuss people’s concerns beyond official propaganda.
One of these bloggers is PejvakeKhamoush (silent echo)(link in Farsi) an Iranian cleric from Khuzestan who is living in Qom. In his blog we see Ganji’s (jailed journalist) photo and he asks for his freedom…He talks about his daily experience in front of an Iranian store. He explains how it has become difficult for many to buy their daily meat and other basic food. He says
“When there is no bread no meat what to do with nuclear technology”
He bravely publishes news and articles from other Iranian sites including opposition ones in exile.
Another one is Hajji(link in Farsi). He says that superstition and religious get really mixed up in Iran. According to this cleric many people come to high ranked Ayatollahs’ offices to be anointed or get a miracle. Usually they give an object (cloth for example) to Ayatollah’s servants and Ayatollah touched them and returned them back to people.
Another blogger is Hojreh(link in Farsi): He says Iranian Mullahs sometimes takeoff their traditional cloth because they know people dislike them. They prefer to be not known as clerics!
There are traditional clerics too. One of them is ye donya pedar gom kardam(link in Farsi). His blog is full of stories about miracles, saints, prayers…
Webnevesht is  country's former Vice President's blog. This reformist blogger,Mr.Abtahi, publishes photos that he takes, his political ideas and his daily life. Recently he talked about private TV stations:
For sure if the writers of the Constitution were in the current situation of the world, they wouldn't consent to the exclusivity of radio and TV!
But there still exists the possibility of starting private channels but to understand that the cold war is over and the communication revolution has removed the borders is difficult for many!
It is interesting that Iranian people from different walks of life are involved with blogging. If clerics, who rule over Iran, need blogs to express themselves then we can understand importance of blogs for the rest of population!

author: Farid Pouya


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Iraq: Constitution Approved · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Truth Teller says that the constitution passed the stage of obstructed labor. The biggest fraud in the history of Iraq. Don't say the referendum at Saddam time was bigger, NO, although those who vote yes to Saddam were 99.96%, they vote yes because they can vote nothing but yes. In this referendum we vote “No” but the result appeared “Yes”.
Hammorabi says that the only two provinces voted No by more than 66% are Tikrit which is Saddam's birth place and Ramadi which is dominated by the terrorists… This is a real democracy by which the constitution passed.
While Christopher asks: “The real question now will be whether the Sunnis will accept this vote as fair. Saleh Mutlaq of the National Dialogue Council and others have said they defeated the referendum in all four Sunni-majority provinces: Anbar, Diyala, Sulahhadin and Ninevah.”
On the other hand, Omar earlier asked – Polls: can we rely on them? He still have mixed feelings about this poll and the way its results were reported and these feelings drove him to the conclusion that we should neither believe nor entirely discredit the report.


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Israel: Galloway accused of lying to US Senate · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Adrian says that Galloway lawyer must be ordering yet another Lexus.


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Israel: Police are Mistaken · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Yisrael Medad reports that Maariv newspaper, relating to the error in Justice Cheshin's decision, reported that a police spokesperson said that they knew it was a mistake because since 1967 no Jew has ever prayed on the Temple Mount nor ever will. In 1978, 11 Jews assembled in front of the Al Aqsa Mosque and prayed mincha.


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Israel: Rachel Corrie · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Rick Richman writes that if you Google “Rachel Corrie” (the 23-year old killed in Gaza in 2003 when she stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer which ISM says that driver deliberately ran over her twice), you will get about 520,000 pages that mention her.
On the other hand, Sultan Knish says that new Rachel Corrie opera to be unveiled in London.


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Jamaica: Reinstate the Death Penalty? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Stunner's Afflictions and The Doctor is In discuss the possible reintroduction of the death penalty in Jamaica. Both posts generate healthy debate in the comments section.


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Jordan: Mobile Blogging · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Jameed invites you to comment on his recent catches of his mobile blogging.


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Kyrgyzstan: American Football in Bishkek · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Mental Wanderlust has photos and a brief report on the charity game of American football held in Bishkek over the weekend.


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Kyrgyzstan: Demonstrations · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Claire Wilkinson has photos and a report on demonstrations for and against Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister.


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Lebanon: Mehlis report · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mustapha says that Aljazeera not only dislikes the Mehlis report, it’s also demonizing the Lebanese position.
Lebanese Political Journal says that Lebanese Uniting – Palestinian and Syrian Miscalculations.
BOB reminder: “Did you listen to what the people said, minutes after Hariri was killed? Every Lebanese knew who killed him! They knew and they shouted it, loud and clear, when they marched on Martyrs Square.“


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Myanmar: Ten Year Anniversary · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Burma watch.com has a roundup on global commentary on the 10th-year anniversary of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest.


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Nepal: What does Nepal want? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Samudaya.org has an extremely insightful article on what Nepal wants for itself. Within Nepal, what is discourse on economic, political and cultural options that the country has?


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Nigeria – questions · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger, Musings of a NaijaMan, asks some serious questions about Nigeria's “Black Weekend” in which 117 died in a plane crash and the 1st lady died on the operating table following liposuction surgery.


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Palestine: Israel Shamir interview · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

thecutter announce for an upcoming interview. Peacepalestine is putting together a group interview with Israel Shamir. Book your chance to ask him a question on this blog.


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Palestine: Living in Gaza · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Imaan says that by now she already spent close to four months in Gaza. There has been many struggles, however she have come to realize that the Gazans do love their Gaza. They even sometimes refer to it as “sweet Gaza”. Many people live satisfying lives there. Even their lives has over the months developed a certain “sweetness” to it. One of the things that really has surprised her is that Gazans try to live normal lives in spite of the difficulties, they focus on the positive things rather than the negative. She says, we've had sleepless nights because of bombs being dropped at Gaza, but they still go to work in the morning.


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Palestine: Mother of Prisoners · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

umkahlil reports that Farha Barghothy, a great popular poet, and one of the leaders of the Palestinian women movement, died on Saturday. Farah a.k.a. “Mother of prisoners“, kept reiterating before she died,  “I want to see them before I meet my creator” of her two jailed sons in Ashkelon Israeli prison, Nael, the youngest, and his elder brother Omar.
On the other hand, umkahlil says that a 4-month old infant was injured as well as three women. One of the women was an elderly, when Israeli bombing by F16s targeted a free clinic.
Mohammad has some photos and update of the F16 bombing attack on Gaza.


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Palestine: Nablus Olive Harvest · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

International Solidarity Movement announce beginning of Olive Harvest Campaign, Nablus Region.


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Philippines: Zafra Eats Her Words · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Some years ago, popular columnist Jessica Zafra founded a magazine in Manila named Flip: The Official Guide to World Domination, in which she argued that Filipino migrant workers were the vanguard for a global takeover.  Today, she admits she was wrong.  “I thought we were going to achieve world domination through our maids and nannies,” she writes.  “It turns out we're not really interested in world domination; we just want to be maids and nannies so we can get out of here.”


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Poland: Opinion Polling Scandal · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Polish opinion pollster predictions for both the first and second rounds of the presidential election were way off. the beatroot discusses what it all might mean.


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Poland: Twins  · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The twins are in after Lech Kaczynski’s victory in this weekend's presidential election in Poland. His twin brother, Jaroslaw, is the head of the Law and Justice parliamentary faction.


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Qatar: Living in Qatar · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

MCBC wonders: Is Qatar a good place to raise a young family?


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Rapping for Palestine · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger Soul on Ice attended a conference over the weekend in London organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign.  The concert featured civil rights rap group “The Last Poets” and British Caribbean activist poet, Benjamin Zephaniah.


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Roller coasting in Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean Pundit has a guest writer, Eddie Cross who has written an article on the “roller coaster” politics in Zimbabwe and it's affect on the lives of ordinary citizens.


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Russia: 15 Years of McDonald’s · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Russian Marketing Blog reflects on what has changed at McDonald's in Russia after 15 years.


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Singapore: Government Blogging Guidelines · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

mrbrown finds on the road to work a Singapore government circular listing guidelines on public communications for civil servants.  “Civil servants may create or participate in a blog,” it reads. “However they should be mindful that the internet is another public forum and that they will be personally responsible for what they write.”


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Singapore, Thailand: Grading the Media · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

A ranking that placed Singapore as No. 140 in press freedom sparks much discussion in the local blogosphere. Singabloodypore explains the sorry state of the island state's docile media.  Omeka na Huria points out that Thailand appears to be learning from Singapore in reining in its own press; Thailand's ranking dropped from from 59 to 107 in a single year.  More reactions here.


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Sri Lanka: Language  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Chandare has a post on identity, language and politics in Sri Lanka.


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Sri Lanka: Religion and Education · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

We grow into our religion, but how much do we learn about other religions? One one things on her attempt to know more about other faith systems.


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Vietnam: Lone Star · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

A Viet soul in Texas rails against outsiders misunderstanding Vietnam.  “We are 1 people, 1 country now, and don't try to think us as two countries anymore.”  Meanwhile, American blogger in Hanoi No Star Where confirms as well that “The war is in the past.”


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War crimes in somaliand · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Inside Somaliland reports on the arrest in Sweden of a member of Somalia's Transitional Federal Parliament on suspicion that he was involved in war crimes in the Horn of Africa.


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Yemen: Bird Flu · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Sabbah says that reports fear that Bird Flu reached Yemen. On the other hand, Oleander is happy that Taiwan officials said they had applied for the right to copy the drug – but the priority was to protect the public.


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Yemen: Rocket Hit Saudi · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Sabbah wonders what's behind the lack of info behind the rocket that was fired at Saudi Arabia from Yemen?


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger Trae Days complains that Nigerians have “too much God in their heads” We put too much of God in our thoughts, words and actions when in fact we ain’t that holy.


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Argentina: Turpentine’s First EP Available to Download · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Zona Indie says that Argentine band, Turpentine is reminiscent of Sonic Youth or Soundgarden with a PJ Harvey-like voice. Their first EP can be downloaded for free.


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Australia, Singapore: Execution · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Several Singapore blogs are campaigning to stop the execution by hanging of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van in the city-state for heroin smuggling.


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China, Taiwan: Map Mess · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

When Google Maps labeled Taiwan a province of China, the company received protests from Taiwanese — and anger from China at its efforts to change the label.  Then Google removed the legend.  But all still doesn't seem right. Angry Chinese Blogger notices the difference between when one searches for Taiwan using English and when using Chinese.


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Egypt: The Basilica Church Vigil · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Karim just announced that on Oct 30 at 6:30 there will be a short vigil in front of Basilica Church in Heliopolis, to display Egypt’s religious interconnection.


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Egypt: The Religious Conflict · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ibn Al-Aziz and Alaa made this site http://egyptnow.blogspot.com/ (Arabic) asking Egyptian bloggers to come together for forgiveness and to open healthy conservation to counter any negative effects of last week incidents.


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FLOSS Debate at BytesForAll · Global Voices
Frederick Noronha

There was this slug-fest at the BytesForAll mailing list. As one of the co-moderators, I simply shouldn't be getting dragged-in. But sometimes, claims and statements need a challenge. As you could guess, the Big Battle was about proprietorial-versus-FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software). It was quite predictable as to who would take which side. And, after some debate, there were these couple of great posts here and here , that put things neatly in perspective — thanks to David Geilhufe who is co-founder of the SocialSourceFoundation.org and Sunil Abraham of  Mahiti.org.
It all started with a rather dismissive-of-FLOSS post by University of Manchester's Dr Richard Heeks  offering a link to what is termed an eDevelopment Briefing titled “Free and Open Source Software: A Blind Alley for Developing Countries?” . This blogger's response and the brief text is here for viewing.
It turned into a “Richard versus Richard” fight with Richard “RMS” Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation joining in the debate with these comments. There was a longish debate on benchmarking FLOSS. Javier Sola, a Spanish-Chilean working on Khmer language localisation in Cambodia, added some interesting points here There were also comments which could be taken as supporting of proprietorial software (strange that any proponent of it should call it this restrictive time!)
Sunil Abraham argues how proprietorial software could kill — no exaggeration, due to its delays and restrictions in a post-Tsunami situation. He also argues that “because Sahana (a Free/Libre and Open Source Software project to cope with disasters) is FOSS, the earthquake stricken people from Pakistan and India don't have to spend money earmarked for food on software.” Then, in an almost tongue-in-cheek Sunish manner, he argues that FLOSS “increases the responsiveness of an organisation. This is important whether it is peoples lives or greater profits.”
David Geilhufe has this  very interesting response to argue that FLOSS offers “viral diffusion” (to enable its uncontrolled spread, of course in a positive way), local control and lower barriers to entry. Well put, and very well argued. Here's what David argues eloquently: “There is no religious war here, but I think the staunch defenders of proprietary code get stuck on analyzing the software… this isn't the important part. One needs to analyze the innovation and use of software… that, I believe, is where the real ICT impact lies.” It impressed me enough to jump to David's Social Source Foundation. Self-description: “The Social Source Foundation is a nonproft organization that exists to create open source, mission-focused technology for the nonprofit and NGO sector.”
Don't miss another link below his .sig file to the OpenNGO.org network. Self-descrption: “OpenNGO is an open source project to create a set of web-based tools designed to meet the needs of small U.S. nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations across the globe.”

author: Frederick Noronha


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India: Education and Schools · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Atanu Dey on education in India – comparing the ends of the spectrum of schools. The posh one, the one run by the government and the invisible one – where children work on streets.


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Indonesia: Poor Credentials · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Indonesia Now lists the credentials you need to qualify for government handouts to offset the impact of fuel price rises.  Some of them: no electricity, a house made of bamboo, a mud floor and meals only once or twice a day.


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Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey: Inside Nobel Information · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Kotaji claims to have inside information on the Nobel Prize for Literature discussions, which he says came down to Indonesia's Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Turkey's Orham Pamuk and South Korea's Hwang Sok-yong as finalists. But Britain's Harold Pinter emerged as the compromise choice.


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Japan: Mobile Auction Space · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Technology blogger Gen Kanai shares his end of a conversation with a telecoms analyst on mobile auctions.


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Japan, South Korea: Compulsory English · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The Asia Pages weighs in on proposals in both Japan and South Korea to prioritize English — most controversially, in South Korea, to make it the official language in certain free economic zones.


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Kenya: Lokichoggio · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan banker Bankelele provides us with some financial news from Kenya including the impact of peace in Sudan for the Kenyan town of Lokichoggio which has been the base for humanitarian operations for 20 years.


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Nepal: Free Radio in Nepal · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! has a photo-post on the protest against the atrocities committed against Kantipur FM – and Independent Radio Station.


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Nepal: State as Terrorist · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Radio Free Nepal talks of the State as the terrorist – in this case action taken by the State against an independent FM Radio Station.


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Nigeria:  Whats wrong with Lagos · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ante Thoughts – back in Nigeria for a year – is “hanging in there”. On a brief break from teaching in Edo she has some introspects about being in Lagos.


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Pakistan: Emergency/Broadcast Radio for Quake Survivors Urgently Needed · Global Voices
Angelo Embuldeniya

Internews, a leading international media development organisation, has called for immediate action to improve the information flow to victims of the huge earthquake which hit Pakistan on 8 October, leaving over 53,000 dead and up to 3 million homeless. Local media in the disaster zone has been badly affected, with public and commercial radio broadcast stations and newspaper printing and distribution facilities largely destroyed.
Internews has already dispatched a radio production unit with a team of 12 reporters to produce programmes highlighting the immediate needs for the people in quake-hit areas in the local languages. The programmes are being aired through a private FM station in Abbottabad city in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), with a signal that can reach almost all of the tremor-hit zone of northern Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
The major needs for broadcast/media infrastructure, production & training support are as follows:
-  transmitters, antennas, mobile radio studios, and generators
–  minidisk recorders, portable computers, satellite phones, transportation, and technical support
– field & mobile production equipment
If you are able to assist with this need or if you know someone who can help out with getting these emergency radio sets please contact Adnan Rehmat  at +92(300) 850 6354 or contact the Internews Office in Pakistan at +92(51) 287 7984. Alternatively you may send an email to Adnan or Ivan Sigal.
Source: ReliefWeb & Contact with a team on the ground


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Puerto Rico: Statehood, Autonomy, and Dependence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gil Schmidt says Puerto Rico's status of Estado Libre Asociado, or ELA, should stand for “Emotionally Lackadaisical Adolsescene. Aníbal Freytes says statehood is an illusion.


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Saudi Arabia: Blogger Meetup · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ahmed announce that first Saudi Bloggers meetup is to take place this Friday. Second one he is organizing for eastern province bloggers. Good Luck!


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Saudi: University Bulletin · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Farooha says that bulletin boards in universities are usually put up for academic purposes. Timetables, grades, notices and scholastic contests are all examples of what one would expect to usually find hung up by the ever so concerned faculty. However, in KSU, you would find “Conditions to Wear Hijab” poster.


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Video: Scenes from a Bangladeshi Telecentre · Global Voices
Andy Carvin

Video montage of a telecentre based at a girls school in Comilla, Bangladesh. The telecentre is run by Relief International's Schools Online program, which coordinates 20 telecentres across the country.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS


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Singapore: Complaining · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Double Yellow muses on Singapore's new pastime: complaining.


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South Africa: Civil Rights · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The FishBowl from South Africa comments on the passing of civil rights activist and feminst, Ms Rosa Parks aged 92.


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South Asia: Blog Quake Day · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

It's Blog Quake Day!
Over the last year blogs have become instrumental in gathering support for causes and highlighting issues that have been forgotten by the Main Stream Media. Sepia Mutiny made a crucial statement – that there was no excuse to not give, when those with so little were giving so much.
So, while Kofi Annan slams countries for only committing to about a tenth of what quake victims need, victims of the tsunami—who are still suffering from their own tragedy which stole 200,000 lives all over Asia— have donated to local quake relief efforts. Maybe the world is suffering from “disaster fatigue”.
Responding to this call – DesiPundit announced Blog Quake Day on 26 Oct 2005. Calling to all bloggers worldwide to exericse their power
We request each of you to make a small post about the earthquake, and direct your readers to a suitable avenue for donating to the relief efforts… Every single dollar contributed, multiplied by the vast numbers of bloggers, will go a long way in helping these people rebuild their lives.
Blogs the globe over have responded to this call. Instapundit echoed the thought. Chapati Mystery has T-shirts whose sales proceeds will go for Earthquake relief.  An appeal to podcasters.  Other posts on Blog Quake Day  – Sepia Mutiny, De Growchy Owl, Truth and Beauty, Veiled4Allah, Travel tales from India.


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South Asia: Skin, Milk and Coffee · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The world of Brown, Black and White. Airport security checks are one place where prejudices and fears become obvious. The Vantage Point recollects an incident when a White Man perceives himself as the Milk in the Coffee. A dash of White so the Brown isn't too apparent.


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Sri Lanka: Assault  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Morquendi has a post on Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) News Director Raja Katugampola being assaulted and provides the context to the story.


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Syria: Future of a Rogue Regime · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ammar says that in a strict legal sense, the Mehlis Report raised more questions than it answered and ultimately proved nothing. Moreover, the UN is not exactly a court of law. The evidence presented to the Security Council does not need to be conclusive. It simply needs to establish enough political credibility to allow for a specific course of action to be adopted. This is what many in the Syrian regime fail to understand.


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Syria: Media Bias? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Rime Allaf wonders: “It would have never occurred to me that one of the TV channels, namely Al Arabiya, would actually find Hariri's appearance to be more newsworthy than the session at the UN, cutting to live coverage from London! That it happened exactly when the Syrian ambassador, Faisal Meqdad, was delivering his statement will add to Syrian paranoia; is that justified, or was it purely a coincidence?“


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The Week That Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The buzz continues within the Bolivian blogosphere with the publication of the most recent article in the Bolivian press.  The Extra section of El Deber featured the three creators of the website Mundo Al Revés  for their work of encouraging other Bolivians to begin blogging through website hosting and other technical support.  The article also featured an extensive interview with Miguel Esquirol, author of the blog El Forastero.  There, he gave tips for those wanting to delve into the world of blogs.  He also gave suggestions of eight noteworthy blogs.
Esquirol is also the co-creator of the Blogs de Bolivia site, which continues to uncover new Bolivian blogs on a daily basis.  Its most recent discovery belongs to the blog of one of the most famous contemporary authors of Bolivian literature.  Edmundo Paz Soldán, a Bolivian writer who also teaches at Cornell University, recently started his blog Río Fugitivo.  The Blogs de Bolivia site was also recently featured in an article in Los Tiempos Del Mundo newspaper,
In the past, the Bolivian blogosphere has always been small enough that topics rarely overlapped.  That changed during the past week, several bloggers commented on a common theme, and some even directly referred to another post in another blog.  Miguel Centellas of Ciao! commented on a recent post in the Democracy Center’s blog written by Jim Shultz about the role of former President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada’s in the death of a civilian nurse in February 2003.  Centellas clarifies some points that he believes were missing from Shultz’s entry.  The campaign website for the Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS) was discussed from two distinctly different viewpoints by MABB and Barrio Flores.  Antonio Saravia and Alvaro Piaggio both applauded the recent march of Bolivian factory workers who support a free trade agreement with the United States.
A relatively new blog called Donde Estoy?  Notes from Bolivia highlighted her recent experience sitting in the Zona Roja during a fútbol game between the Cochabamba teams Jorge Wilstermann and Aurora.  She writes that the vulgar language used in the stands was very shocking.  Tyson and Carolina are back in Cochabamba to continue their work with orphans, which is documented in their blog Camino de Amistad.  Finally, Andrea finds the response particularly humorous from Miss Bolivia, when asked the question “if you were president, what would be the first thing you’d do?” in her blog Lo Digo Yo.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

This week marked the beginning of a trial for Saddam Hussein, not only is this trial an unprecedted event, but the question that lingers is that can he really be tried for all of the atrocities that he is credited for. Another interesting aspect of the trial is that the primary judge in the case is a Kurd, which is a sweet victory for the Kurdish peoples. Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes gives a moving post about why it is important that this trial is happening, and gives us some details of memories he carries from being supressed by Saddam in his youth.
Of course, when there is any speculation on what Saddam is or isn't responsible for, the issue of Iran being “next on the list” or wheter or not Iran was responsible for items attributed to Saddam comes back to the surface. On the Kurdistan Bloggers Union there is an interesting discussion as to the issue of  who is responsible for the gassing of Kurds at Halapja, some critics site Iran as the perpetraitor of the deed, while it is the Iraqi regime that is traditionally held responsible. Vladimir from From Holland to Kurdistan muses as to wheter or not Iran might hold the same fate as Iraq and have its regime dismantled as well. Speaking of Iran, there has also been a revisiting of the history of Iranian oppression of the Kurds, the blog Land of the Sun: Kurdistan gives an excellent overview of Iran's actions towards the Kurds of Eastern Kurdistan.
Recently there has been an upsurge in violence in the previous peaceful areas of Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan which has been causing some concern for the Kurds in that region. Especially as there are rumors that the violence is stemming from and sanctioned by the Sunnis of Iraq.
Other issues currently facing the Kurds of Iraq are the political aspects of a new country. The new Iraqi Constitution was recently passed, however that does not mean that Iraq's stability is ensured. Kurdish critics have begun to argue that perhaps too many Kurdish consessions were made in forming the new Constitution, others have agreed with US President George Bush that the Kurdish political parties need to unite to be effective.
Perhaps the best reaction to the Kurdish involvement is the following picture posted from the blog Koerdistan:
Although the results of the constitution vote came out only yesterday, the Kurdish blogs have yet to fully comment on its impact, but I expect that more will come out in the week to come.
Iraq and Iran have not been the only countries that the Kurds are discussing this week. Turkey has also been looked at for not only its formal opening of talks with the EU but also its citizens support of honor killings. Plus, this week there was also news about Reporters without Borders report on Turkey's lack of freedom of the press.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Tunisia: Natural Born Searchers · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

MMM is searching…


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Uganda: LRA militias · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jewels in the Jungle introduces us to the “night commuters” the children and adults that parade every night on the rural roads of Northern Uganda to seek shelter from marauding bands of armed militias.


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UK: Archbiship of York · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal reports that racism is not yet dead! The newly installed Archbishop of York (originally from Uganda) Dr John Sentamu revealed he was greeted with racist letters, including some covered in human excrement.


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United Arab Emirates: After Iftar, Sniftar · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Keefieboy describing pubs at Dubai: “Iftar is the breaking of the fast after sundown during Ramadan. Sniftar is a poetic misspelling of ‘snifter’ to make it rhyme with iftar.”


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United Arab Emirates:  Milton Keynes @ Dubai · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Feed Your Head of Dubai Blog says that he is the only one who sees the similarity between Dubai and Milton Keynes. After all, he believes that Dubai for most people is a hotel. Looks shiny and nice on the surface but is ultimately soulless and if you look carefully you will see some serious flaws.


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Uruguay: First International Animation Festival of Uruguay · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Animate a weblog focused on animation in Uruguay announces that the First International Animation Festival of Urugay will be held in the city of Salto from November 16th through the 20th [ES].


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Venezuela: BBC, Pumpkins, and “No More Politics” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Daniel fact checks the recent BBC interview with Hugo Chavez. Babalu Blog and Bugs’ Blog post about Smashing Pumpkins in Venezuela (no, not the band). And Iria swears off politics until the campaigning ends.


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Vietnam: Know Your Greens · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Food blog noodlepie asks for help identifying what's in those sideplates of tasty greens and herbs that come with meals in Vietnam.  Help them here.


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Voices from Zimbabwe Plus 3 · Global Voices
Zimpundit

Welcome to the inaugral edition of the “Voices from Zimbabwe Plus 3″ where I hope you'll find news from several small African blogospheres.
Zimbabwe:-In what has now known as the MDC Senate Debacle, the Movement for Democratic Change, Zimbabwe's main opposition party is locked in a stalemate over whether they should participate in the senate election late next month.
The Bearded Man moans the MDC's infighting thus,
“Sadly the fighting within the ranks of the MDC continues. Gift Chimanikire has publicly labasted the MDC leader, stating that the party WILL contest the senate elections and anyone who thinks otherwise should just ‘shut up’. Mugabe has been quoted as saying that the fighting within the opposition party show it to be an ‘irrelevent party’.”
Eddie Cross, a top political advisor to Morgan Tsvangirai the MDC leader, shared some of his views on the crisis with readers at zimpundit.
Reknowned author Chenjerai Hove uses the disease analogy to explain what is happening with the MDC.
Meanwhile Boinky of of Mugabe Makaipa lauds the fact that the Zimbabwean dollar is going to be scrapped “at a date to be announced.”
Jonathan Moyo the one time Mugabe critic turned top Mugabe henchman and ditched by Zimbabwe's strongman charges that the MDC is a party founded on “protest politics” and lacks ideology hence it's frequent failures.  You can find more on this and other startling developments in Zimbabwe in zimpundit's Monday post.
Finally, Sokwanele, the civic action blog shares one of the many valuable lessons he's learnt from life in Zimbabwe.
Malawi:-Geeta points out the irony of the season's first rains while hunger threatens to make life tougher in the country.
Rwanda:- George Conard writes about the vast potential cell phones have to change life in the developing world as more and more people use the cell phone “a platform rather than just an application.”  Some in Rwanda are already using cell phone airtime in place of the currency.
Burundi:-  RW chronicles the loss of civilian life at the hands of Agathon Rwasa's Forces nationales de libération (FNL) during September.  Here's another extensive list of atrocities.
More from ZimPundit next week!

author: Zimpundit


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Zimbabwe:  Constitutional Amendment 17 · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

ZimPundit considers and explains the irony that Zanu PF may have given the people hope in the form of the  Constitutional Amendment No. 17 – The overbearing legislation set out to limit the movements of citizens deemed hostile to national security, protect the government from domestic litigation over their botched land reform, and reinvoke an upper house or senate.


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Argentina: Sunday’s Election and Bush’s Visit · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ian of GoodAirs tries to give more meaning to last Sunday's election compared to what he saw as a boring, girl fight story picked up by the international media. Meanwhile, Mirko doesn't understand why Argentines are making so much fuss about Bush's upcoming visit [ES] for the Summit of the Americas.


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Armenia: Pollarding · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes from Hairenik reports on pollarding and other forms of tree abuse in Armenia.


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Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Detention center blaze · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Somali/Dutch blog ayaan hirsi ali – has a report on the fire in a Netherlands detention center for illegal immigrants and drug dealers which resulted in the death of 1o people and a further 15 injured.  Prisoners have accused the guards of a slow response despite cries for help.


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Bahrain: 2006 F1 Kick Off · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) would officially kick off the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship season, Mahmood reports.


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Bahrain: Real Jews · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zainab Alkhawaja wonders, who is real Jews?


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Bangladesh: Sumi Khan  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices has a post on Sumi Khan of the Samakal Daily receiving a courage in journalism award from the International Women's Media Foundation.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Reconciliation Walk Really About Reconciliation? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Commenting on today's “reconciliation walk to relive the horrors of slavery and the slave trade,” This, That & Whatever asks if this is not really “about what a bunch of (well-meaning, I'm sure) white folk can do to feel all righteous and good about themselves?” Commenters seem to think it is.


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Burundi: Agathon Rwasa · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Agathon Rwasa - the blog set up to highlight the  atrocities committed by Burundi rebel group, the FNL and to ensure their leader  Agathon Rwasa is brought to justice – reports that even Rwandan genocidaires the FDLR (Democratic Forces for Rwanda Liberation) are denying collaborating with the FNL to destablise the Kigali (Rwanda) and Bujumbura (Burundi) regimes.
“Too nasty even for the butchers of 1994? The FDLR, a Congo-based group made up of remnants of the forces which carried out the Rwandan genocide, have been eager deny reports of links with Rwasa's FNL.”


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Cameroon: Life with mice and roaches · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jennifer Kennedy is spending two years working as a teacher in Cameroon.  Her blog Life in Cameroon chronicles her daily experiences which in this case is trying to come to terms with roaches and mice and having her friend who is Japanese being identified as Chinese –


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China: Sprucing Up Blogs · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Chinese blog service Bokee.com has launched a tour of campuses to teach students how to make more interesting blogs.


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Colombia: La Cocterlera Nominated for BOB · Global Voices
David Sasaki

blogscolombia.com proudly announces that Valentina's weblog, Colombian Realities has been nominated for a Best of Blogs award.


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Egypt: Egyptian Intelligence · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Did you know that this Year the Egyptian Intelligence is celebrating its 50th year anniversary? Zeinobia writes.


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El Salvador: Brain Drain · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim comments on the release of a recent World Bank report on “brain drain,” which found that “one third of Salvadorans with a professional education live outside of El Salvador.”


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Ethiopia: Trafficking to Bahrain · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia has a post about an Ethiopian woman who has gone public with her story about being trafficked to Bahrain.  Her story has been made into a film by the International Organisaiton of Migration in order to end the silence around the trafficking of Ethiopian women.


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Georgia: More Deinstitutionalization · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia has more photos and reporting on social social services in Georgia.