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China: People’s Conferences · Global Voices
John Kennedy

If you've been following the glorious progress being made in this year's rounds of the parliamentary-ish National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, where members of China's government and military from across the country meet in the highest halls of power, make proposals and decide the future of the country, then you've probably seen this photo being blogged around.
‘One look and you know these people sleep a lot,’ reads the caption given the photo by blogger Wang Xiaofeng. And his readers?
会不会是写提案累的？
好像每年他们都是这么睡着开会的
反正醒着也做不了什么事
如果他们平时都这样的话，和谐社会很快就实现了。
前头那个，开会前在我床上几个晚上。现在当然累了。
Bullog blogger Lian Yue's Eight Continent posted the picture as well. Here's what his readers said:
呵呵，不知道美国开议会的时候，议员会不会睡觉
他们大多争论得很激烈，怎么可能睡觉？我们因为根本就没有争论，所以睡觉的也就多了…
再说了，你要是在议会上睡觉，被电视拍下来之后，下次选民就会抛弃你了
三千多人挤在一个旮旯地方，导致空气中CO2含量上升，O2含量急剧下降，为了减少氧气消耗，保持体力，只好打瞌睡
有没有那位牛友能点出这些人的名字啊？
Fellow Bullog blogger and journalist Ten Years of Chopping Timber, looks back over years of reporting on the two annual meetings with memoirs of an ex-NPC/CPPCC reporter:
到了后面几次，学油了，知道写这类稿件的窍门，打个电话聊几句，就能弄出一篇花团锦簇的东西来。看看其他上会的记者，热衷于和老家来的官员、企业家拉关系，花花轿子人抬人，给他们写几篇稿子，彼此皆大欢喜。我也学着别人这样干过，但心里还是不舒服，觉得自己有些低贱。我心里能猜到那些官员、看我等这些人的心思，别看他们满脸堆笑，夸你为家乡的俊才，心里没准在想：这小子是不是让我给他办什么事？这人将来的前景如何呀？值不值得搭理？
[snip]
领导很器重我，连续几次在大会堂第一次发布会上，都让我出镜提问，我问过一个最傻的问题，在中外同行的众目睽睽之下，竟然问发言人：有境外媒体说中国现在的腐败是制度性腐败、结构性腐败，你如何评价这种评断。当然被断然否定，前不久中纪委干副书记说过腐败和制度无关的一席话，好像当时那位发言人已经说过了。
Also a Bullog blogger and experienced journalist, writer of the well-read Web News This Week Wen Yunchao notes:
今年全国两会言路自由度之高，舆论开放度之大，非以往两会所能比拟。报道中说，”代表真敢说、网友真敢骂、媒体真敢写”。
Could it be that NPC/CPPCC delegates used to be just as afraid of speaking on the issues at hand as the civilians of China were? Daniel Wu of the Lobby China blog makes the fascinating observation that there are a few China's Congressperson who keep blogs, open comments and all, and not just no-name rural despots, but bureau heads at the provincial and municipal levels, several Party members, several NPC representatives and even one president of a state-owned enterprise, most with many fascinating comments and much more active and personalized than the over one hundred blogs officially set up for NPC/CPPCC representatives, journalists and civilians hosted at Xinhua. Has a committee been set up to mobilize the Party faithful like the PLA-educated Zhang Chaohan, to blog the Party line on propaganda arm People's Daily blogs with the aim of shaping public discourse? Have yet to see mention of such in any of the many comments being left.
For sure, this session of the NPC and CPPCC meetings has been a breakthrough for the role blogs have played in facilitating discussion. Spin maybe be inevitable, but issues can no longer be ignored or covered up, even if they aren't brought up. Which many bloggers have done their best to do, like the August 1st Military blog, with quite a few posts over the last couple weeks blogging on such topics as the opening press release for the two meetings, issues put forth by the powerless Democratic party, the government's determination to build a harmonious socialist society against the backdrop of a growing wealth gap, corruption, China's territorial waters and the power role in Asia, the tax system, and the news of upcoming selection of CPPCC representatives for China's millions of migrant workers.
And then there's bloggers like The Fallen Leaves are Flying Again who blog on delegates’ work reports and exactly what stances leaders, namely Hu Jintao, are committing themselves, as well as those bloggers with 50,000 readers like Water of Surging Waves’, who admonish the Communist Party of China leaders to keep things ‘real’ in their speech and action, and things transparent in their work as well as reflecting the growing demand at the local levels of government for more capitalist reforms, very similar to reporter Luo Changping's recent piece in Caijing magazine as translated by Jonathan Ansfield at China Digital Times:
“As the story describes it, the four provinces are vying for official approvals, preferential status or other forms of political support for their trophy projects. The contingent from Hubei tell Caijing they envision creating a new zone around Wuhan in the image of Tianjin‘s experimental Binhai – it's time for the experiment to spread, a Hubei vice-statistics chief argues on his NPC blog – but they admit that their planners aren't as far along as counterparts from neighboring Hunan.”
Many bloggers continue to see the two meetings as not much more than rubber-stamping processes, and there's a strong cynicical tone as bloggers are left writing about proposals like renaming streets and mountains. But, asks the Ten Years of Chopping Timber blogger in another post, has the entire affair become a celebration of parody in itself?
Then there's CCTV news reporter Wang Xiaoya, blogging live from the two meetings, complete with photos, comments and even a Sina blog to boot.
Hong Kong-based Pheonix TV has set up a blog to cover this round of bill-stamping as well, with, as usual, some of the best day-to-day analysis around.
Speaking of Hong Kong, what about the Taiwan issue?
‘People's Liberation Army representatives criticize wording of [a recent Chen Shui-bian statement calling for an independent Taiwan],’ writes china.com bbs user Strong Country Hawk. ‘It would be tragic if both sides of the strait broke out in war,’ to which commenters respond:
打
攘外必先安内！！
先安内！！
早点打，打他个措手不及。
Give literate citizens blogs but no public space to discuss society's ills and you've got a million Chinese Instapundits with a million solutions to all of China's problems. Like the third-world situation in which the corruption-plagued countryside remains. Government, says Hexun blogger CCTV-1000, give the allocated money straight to the ‘peasants‘ themselves instead to local authorities where it gets diverted. Keep finances transparent, he writes, and they're easier to manage than officials, and corruption will be prevented:
为了保证这些钱真正用在了建设新农村并且确实发挥它应有的作用，国家是以审计的办法来监督使用。实践证明，这种上级监督的办法并不能完全制止乱花滥用。办法只有一个，把使用权和监督权交给农民。
以往我们也说要让农民来当家作主，监督举报，但那都是口头上的承诺，名义上的权力，实际上那都是空的。为啥？农民手中并没有真正掌握说话的资本___金钱。现在，我们把国家用于新农村建设的资金，以现金的形式直接发给农民，相当于把建设新农村的权利直接交给了农民，也相当于交给了农民的选择权。交给了农民的话语权，交给了农民的监督权。
Edgy blogger ProState in Flames hasn't missed a beat in blogging the meetings, with posts mocking delegates’ proposals to change the names of historical mountains,
troubled Huang Ju, part of Jiang Zemin‘s ‘Shanghai Gang‘, saying that important decisions made at these sessions of the NPC and CPPCC—the most important so far for Chairman Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao—cannot be decided by one person alone! (Huang's emphasis) as well as posts on the proposed private property law [blogged in great detail here], global warming, and making it an act of treason to serve in foreign armies.
Speaking of which, and credit to Joel Martinsen at Danwei for guidance, of the more controversial proposals put forth being discussed on blogs is the anti-seditious speech law. The blogger at the Letters from China blog has translated part of an interview with Yu Quanyu, the CPPCC delegate who made the proposal:
“Yu is going to propose the following sentences for “Hanjian speech offence”: the maximum jail sentence for offenders who defend the invaders since 1840 (the first Opium War) will be 10 years; the maximum for those who defend the invader since 1931 (the September 18 Incident) will be 20 years.  The person in charge of the newspaper which publishes the Hanjian speech shall be liable and the maximum sentence should be 3 years; however, he will be immune from prosecution if a rebuttal or apology is published within a week.  When asked whether the proposed law would affect the freedom of speech and press freedom, he said although the freedom was protected by the constitution, it must not harm the public interests.”
Having made his proposal, Yu Quanyu then took a minute to bring light to the fact that due to lack of seating space, journalists in the meeting room had been sitting on the floor and demanded that something be done. Readers at independent blog aggregator Bullog had some interesting interesting feedback on this
diu
呵呵，恶搞的手段越来越拙劣，把前列腺脱出去剥光猪
中央六套
最后那一段把众记者拍舒服了.估计他也是觉得自己这提案太傻,所以猛拍一下记者,希望媒体不要太跟他过不去.
其实他太高估中国这帮残疾记者了,什么能说什么不能说他们明白得很呢.尤其是在这个时候,就是再傻的傻话冒出来,也得当圣旨听着,大不了回去在博客上发牢骚.
好兵帅克
不过还是要支持一把喻权域！
恶心，无聊，白痴比废话真诚。
tank man
一点都不无聊，看看人家当驻外记者时写的文章，就知道人家嘴上是马克思主义，心里是马基亚维利主义，老谋深算得很呢！
苏侃
喻权域，老政客，一贯装疯卖傻，无知无畏。跟李希光是宝一对。
Readers at Bo Yong's Bokee VIP blog, all anonymous except for the first three, had even more to say on the speech law:
bianzds
同意！杨忠科
瓦谷
喻权域作为一个高级知识分子,在言论上公然挑战人类的尊严,国家宪法的尊严,是否也应立法来惩治这个”汉贼”？真是堕落到了如此地步，还一副”大义凛然”的样子，国家的前途就落在这些人手上，悲哀！建议，立法将3月5日定为中国知识分子的”羞耻”日。
3
顶！！！！！
4
惩治违法言论是应该的，关健是个定性的问题，而且汉奸这两字本身就存在争议，分裂祖国，为敌张目，违反宪法，为国外敌对势力当枪手都在打击之列。自由有底线这句话是对的，任何一个国家都是有限自由，所以提出这种动议的出发点并没有错，操作上要慎重。
5
喻某可耻！！！！！
So many proposals, it's hard to keep up. Were there any that you thought should have been explained in more detail? Let me know.

author: John Kennedy


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D.R of Congo: park rangers with blogs · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Extra Extra blogs about three Congolese park rangers with cameras and blogs, “Wildlife Direct deserve bounteous credit for arming three elite park rangers in Eastern DRC with cameras and blogs”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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D.R of Congo: room for one more · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Aloma Major posts photos and writes, “In Congo, there’s always room for one more.”


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Ethiopia: Blogger unblocked · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Seminawork reports that Blogger has been unblocked in Ethiopia, “It has been five days since blogspot.com is unblocked in Ethiopia. Readers in Ethiopia can now access this blog directly.”


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Ethiopia: kidnapping in Ethiopia · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Andrew Havens writes about the kidnapping of five Europeans and eight Ethiopians in Afar, Ethiopia, “At the moment, it seems that 13 people are missing – the five Europeans linked to the British diplomatic community here in Addis and eight Ethiopians – possibly from Afar – reportedly taken with them.”


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Ghana: Ghana@50 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An American in Africa on Ghana@50, “Everyone has flags on their cars and their house gates (we do!) and all the businesses are dressed up in bunting. The city has been working for MONTHS to get everything spiffy and nice for the celebration. Last Saturday an army of volunteers was whitewashing the curbing on Liberation Rd. – by hand!”


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India: Communication and the Government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Don't trust the Indian Media on the growth of the cellular subscriber base, and the government. “You know, I sometimes wonder if some of our politicians actually follow a policy of ‘enforced poverty’ – keep people poor and uneducated so that they can hang on to power as long as possible by encouraging politics of reservation and appeasement. I mean, I'm not a loony right-wing guy, but the Sachar Committee report is insane!”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran:A short video against war · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to Iranian.com, we can see a short video against a possible war against Iran.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Israel: Articles Published · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Sarah is excited her article on Judaism and superstition has been published.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Israel: Bad Hummus? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Yael has had bad hummus (crushed chick peas) and is wondering whether the traditional dish has an expiry date. “How long does hummus keep in the fridge once you’ve opened it? I’m wondering because I consumed only a small quantity of hummus earlier today from a carton that had been hanging out in my fridge for about a week. It looked fine. It smelled fine. It tasted ok. I spread some on half a pita this morning with my coffee. My day was going fine. Then blam, about an hour and a half after hummus consumption I got really icky ill,” she explains.


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Israel: Mother Cat and her Kitten · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Rahel posts an amazing picture of a mother cat and her kitten here.


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Jordan: Do Dreams Ever Come True · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger The Black Iris insists that dreams may come true as he posts his wishlist here.


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Jordan: George of Arabia · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

US President George Bush was not welcome in Jordan, according to a video linked by Jordanian blogger Rami here.


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Jordan: Running in Amman · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Lina has taken up running in Amman , where she takes us with he on a tour of her favourite track so far.


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Jordan: Single Women Welcome Again · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Natasha (Twal) Tynes is excited that some of her single friends can visit Jordan, now that her country has retracted “a controversial new regulation that was intended to limit the entry of single eastern European and North African women into the country.”


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Jordan: You Don’t Miss What You Never Had · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Hareega says people only miss what they are used to. In a post dotted with wisdom, he writes: “If you don't try something you'll never miss it. If you don't get sick you won't know how great it is to be healthy. As my best friend Aerosmith says .. ‘You got to lose to know how to win’.”


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Kenya: motorized bicycle · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Afrigadget posts a photo of a motorized bicycle made in Kisumu, Kenya, “They hold about 2 liters of petrol and can get theoretically around 50 km a liter. They cost around 7,000 Kenyan shillings. To start the bicycle you start pedaling manually, then you flip a switch on the left handle that starts the engine. Then you have a normal motorcycle throttle control on the right side.”


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Liberia: free of political prisoners · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

News roundup from Liberia Ledger, “The local human rights NGO FOHRD gave an hysterical address the other day warning that the Ellen Govt is becoming a “dictatorship”. Meanwhile, the US State Department says that for the first time in decades, Liberia is free of political prisoners or polically motivated deaths and disappearances. (Not that the current US government is any judge on such matters!)”


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Liberia: justice to all men? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Elma Shaw blogs about the International Women's Day in Liberia and the motto on the the wall of the Temple of Justice: Perhaps change should begin with modification of this discriminatory and exclusive motto written in large letters on the Temple of Justice. How long will we allow it to remain as it is? Language is powerful. Simply remove the word “men” and everyone will begin to feel the difference as the new motto sinks into the psyche of our society: “Let Justice Be Done To All.”


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Nepal: Madhesi Strike & Interim Government  · Global Voices
Ujjwal Acharya

The issue of Madheshi – the people living in the southern plains of Nepal – hasn’t ended. The Madheshi Peoples’ Right Forum, which led the biggest protest in southern Terai demanding the equal opportunity and inclusiveness, have resumed the strikes once again.
Parmendra Bhagat of Democracy for Nepal believed the calling off the protest on February 7 was a mistake. On that day, the protest was temporarily called off after the government agreed for 49 per cent of the representation of Madheshi in the constituent assembly.
It was a mistake to call off the Terai Band on February 7 in the first place. It was the movement's mistake to not have had a clear agenda. The agenda right then should have been that the Home Minister must resign and a probe commission must be formed, or the strikes would continue. Momentum was lost.
Bhagat argues that the movement should continue until all the demands are fulfilled. He also criticizes media for not covering the issue and a minority group leader for talking against the strikes.
The Madheshi strike has not only lost the momentum that it had, but also drawn criticism of closing down the transportation and businesses. Dinesh Wagle of United We Blog! summaries the defying of the strikes in the region.
Strike orders issued by the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF) have been defied in various districts across the county. However, some districts in eastern Terai remain affected by the strike.
With the Maoists, the insurgents-turned-political party, readying itself to join the interim government in Nepal, its no wonder than the Nepali blogosphere is buzzing with the issue. The bloggers know the entry of the Maoists in the government will be a step ahead for the peace process and making of the new Nepal.
Ghanshyam Ojha of Dedicated to Daniel Pearl believes the interim government should be formed as soon as possible but shows his concern on continuing Maoists violence:
I also strongly feel an interim government, including the Maoist, should be formed as soon as possible. However, the Maoist should issue a public statement, stating that they are committed to stop all the violent activities; including obstruction to other political parties. The Maoist should also stop the public display of their weapons.
Ojha also has an interesting account of how he met with the Maoists supreme Prachanda. The account he gives is something like seen in movies – and of course shows how the Maoists operate in Nepal.
KP Dhungana on Hamro Blog (Nepali language) points out six reasons for delay in the formation of the interim government:
माओवादीको हतियार पुर्ण रुपमा ब्यारेकमा थन्किएको छ भन्नेमा सबै पक्ष विश्वस्त हुन सकेका छ्रैनन् ।
क्रान्तिकारी कुरा गरे झै माओवादीले सरकारमा सहभागी भएर क्रान्तिकारी काम पनि गर्नसक्छन् । जसले अरु दललाइ अप्ठ्यारो पर्न सक्छ ।
अमेरिका स्पष्ट रुपमा माओवादी सरकारमा गएको हेर्न चाहंदैन । उ जसरी हुन्छ माओवादीलाइ सरकारमा जानवाट रोक्न चाहन्छ ।
माओवादीका केही नेताहरु नै सरकारमा गएर अपजसको भारी बोक्नुभन्दा अन्तरिम सरकार नै गठन नगरी गणतन्त्रको घोषणा गरी शुरक्षित हुन चाहन्छन् ।
माओवादीले मुख्य मन्त्रालयहरुको माग गरेका कारणले समेत सहमति हुन सकिरहेको छैन ।
र अन्त्यमा
माओवादीले अहिलेसम्म विद्रोही स्वभाव परित्याग गरेको छैन । सरकारमा सहभागि भएर पनि यस्तै कुरा गर्ने हो भने सरकार अप्ठ्यारोमा परन्सक्ने अन्य दलको निष्कर्ष भएर ।
Meanwhile, Deepak Adhikari of Deepak’s Diary shares his feelings about the Nepali youth seeking future abroad.

author: Ujjwal Acharya


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Nepal: The Iron Regime · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Madhesh Blog on the iron regime and its ways to suppress opinions. “Dozens of Madheshis have been injured from the attacks of armed police forces, in Duhabi, Nepalgunj and other areas of Madhesh; and now the curfew has been imposed and the government continues its old strategy of ruling the country by killing people and suppressing all the voices going against it. “


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Nigeria: African Girl single released · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mimi magazine blogs announces the release of a new single, African Girl, by a Nigerian young musician, Nayo:  “Nayo, MIMI's March 2007 covergirl, has released her debut single, African Girl today. To hear the clip and find out how you can purchase it, visit www.myspace.com/nayo. Nayo has also recorded a video for the track, which can also be found on her MySpace page.”


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Palestine: A Blogger’s Dream Hijacked · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Duried says Izzis's blog has been hijacked by “Zionist Hackers who have obviously felt the righteousness of the cause that Izzi always fought for and the effects that her truthful and touching words have on many.”


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Palestine: Israel Uses Children as Human Shields · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah links keeps us updated with claims, testimonies and a photograph which shows that Israel has used Palestinian children as human shields in its attacks on a Palestinian town.


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Somaliland: we cannot be fooled · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ahmed Quick warns the President of Somaliland, “Mr. President, your clandestine activities and subversive strategy are out there in the open for all to see. And the citizenry of Somaliland are an intelligent; politically conscious, and visionary people that cannot be fooled by a despotic tin pot dictator in sheep’s coating or by anyone else and have a free reign over the people and their motherland.”


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South Africa: blog awards controversy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Wozafriday has some reservations about the South African blog awards process, “I don’t quite understand what the judging criteria will be. How will a panel judge, who may never have read a certain blog, be able to objectively determine whether that blog deserves an award over another blog which the panelist has read the entire year. Are the panelists going to read the archives of all the blogs they have to judge. If they are, they’ll have a hard time doing that with bloggers like Peas and Champs who don’t allow access to their archives, at best the judges will have to assess the blogs on their last week of writing, no pressure on them next week then!”


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South Africa: challenges of leadership · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Someamongus writes about leadership challenges within the main political parties in South Africa, “The ANC, for all that it is a very opaque and clandestine organisation in practice, documents its theory very closely. It publishes discussion documents and position papers regularly, particularly in advance of its major congresses and lekgotlas. The Democratic Alliance does not do this – or not enough – but conversely the DA’s systems are less institutionally opaque than the ANC’s, and DA thinking about leadership can be adduced by observing how it behaves and how it modifies its fairly fluid Constitution and electoral regulations.”


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South Asia: The UK army and racism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pickled Politics on racism, the army and the government. “It is a disgusting stereotyping and an insult to any ethnic minorities who join the armed forces. If he wasn’t racist he’d be trying to stop using racially derogatory terms, not perpetuate them further by saying they are acceptable and used regularly. And the idea that the Army is completely colour blind is also rubbish.”


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Sri Lanka: India, rape and television · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Black Lullaby on how soaps make some serious points sometimes, and how the seriousness of rape related issues are sometimes touched on in Ekta Kapoor's soaps. “An area Kapoor takes very seriously is rape because statistics show that a total number of 36 million women are raped in India every year. Through her soaps she attempts to address this broad issue and make people understand the pain of enduring such a hideous crime and how dealing with it afterward doesn’t get any better.”


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Africa: Ya Ma’Afrika: African-themed TV series · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Joshua Wanyama at African Path  posts a press release about Ya Ma'Afrika, “Ya Ma'Afrika” is a fictional drama show that fuses the lives of 4 African women living in New York City and highlights the cultural experiences, contradictions and challenges of African women living in the West. In the show, Yetunde, Kui, Chipo and Welisane are housemates from all corners of Africa with different backgrounds. The show captures the cosmopolitan side of Africans, rarely shown on TV in the West.”


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Brazil/US: Information about the New Ethanol Alliance · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Raul Zibechi published an informative analysis about the US / Brazil New Ethanol Alliance, calling it ‘the most ambitious attempt to reposition the US in the region since the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas died in Mar del Plata in November of 2005′. Posted on the IRC website, translated from the Spanish by Laura Carlsen.

author: Jose Murilo


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Egypt: Kareem’s Appeal Case Tomorrow  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman‘s appeal is expected to be heard by an Alexandria court tomorrow. (March 12)
The Egyptian blogger made history last month by being the first writer in his country to be sentenced to four years in prison for articles he wrote on his blog.
The 22-year-old former Al Azhar University student was charged with defaming Islam and insulting Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. The sentence was criticised by bloggers, writers, human rights activists and campaigners for free speech from all over the world, who demanded his immediate release.
Fellow blogger Freedom for Egyptians posts an article discussing Kareem's ordeal.
“As an Egyptian fellow blogger I stand with Karim, because I will never side with processes meant to terrorize innocent citizens who are exercising their innate right to freedom of expression and because I will never be part of a tribunal of inquisition in the 21st century. Those tribunals judged arbitrarily and without appeal like the current Emergency Laws and military courts applied in Egypt,” she writes.
“During the Middle Ages between the 5th and the 15th centuries, the Catholic Church was not only a religious institution, but also an immensely rich financial establishment that interferes and influences politics in the West. The largest Sunni religious institution in Egypt and the Middle East, Al-Azhar, has the right to give its say in politics and referring people accused of heresy to courts and prisons. If the measure cannot be damaging enough to send people to prisons like Egyptian blogger Abdel Karim, an irreversible Fatwa (religious opinion) can lead an Islamic fanatic or extremist to put an end to a person exercising his freedom of expression by spilling his blood. The Cairo-based religious institution is financed by the government and their employees are civil servants.”
A website developed by a group of Kareem's supporters posted the following:
Outside Abdul Kareem’s court room, many Egyptians were calling for his imprisonment, and extremists went as far as demanding that he be stoned. (Let us not also forget the prosecution lawyer who called for waging a “jihad” on Kareem.)
It is therefore encouraging for the world to see that many Egyptians, Arabs, and Muslims actually do stand up for Kareem’s right to express himself. In fact, we have set up a section dedicated to ‘Arab & Muslim Voices for Kareem’ to prove this.”
More comments on Kareem's case are available on www.freekareem.org


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Egypt: Osama Bin Laden’s Birthday · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Osama bin Laden‘s birthday falls today. Click here  to read what Egyptian blogger Ritzy Mabrook has to say about the occasion.


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Landing at the Iraqi Blogodrome · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Today's post is on daily life in Iraq. Read moments in the life of an Iraqi blogger, find out the real difference between boys and girls, and learn of the importance of Mutanabbi street… but first my sincere condolences go out to Neurotic Wife whose aunt died recently. She mourned not just for her aunt but for all the others who lost their lives in Iraq. In her words:
When my brother broke the news of my aunt passing away a few weeks back, I went silent for a few seconds. I had to control all the emotions that were going through me at that moment. I didnt wanna break down and cry in the middle of the office. I didnt wanna show my tears to anyone. I kept it hidden deep down inside but the minute I reached my room, a few hours later, I let it all out. I let all my sadness, my anger my frustrations out. I locked the door and hid in the corner and cried. Cried like I havent cried before. I cried so hard that I choked on my tears. I couldnt stop. I guess I didnt wanna stop. I wanted it all out.
I came to realise that this place is unhealthy. Very unhealthy for one's mental health. No matter how much you try to hide it, no matter how much you pretend that you're dealing with the situation as well as anyone, there's a point in time where you just crack. My aunt's death was that small trigger my mind was waiting for, waiting for to break. My words, the words that Id type were empty. I realised that there's nothing I can do to bring back my aunt. There's nothing that I can do to bring back all the good people that lost their lives. Lost their lives because of Iraq. Yes my aunt lost her life because of this place. Had there been good enough doctors to detect the cancer, she wouldnt have ended the way she did. Had my other aunt gotten TB vaccination, she wouldnt have died because of an illness whose cure is widely available in the whole world except Iraq!!! Had my aunt's husband survived his depression of what was going on around him during the first gulf war, he wouldnt have chosen to give up. Yes everyone I ever loved, everyone I ever cherished, everyone who made my childhood memories of this place beautiful, disappeared. Disappeared because of this country. Gone because of Iraq.
If you read no other post this week read this
Condolences in Iraq inevitably comes with morbid stories of the unfortunate deaths of others. But, oddly to comfort the family of the deceased. Marshmallow26 explains:
Most of the comforters use to talk about others tragedies on how they lost their beloved, or how did they barbarously get killed, or tortured before they die or beheaded….The reason of mentioning these real stories is to encourage the family who lost its beloved and to show them that the death of their son/daughter/father/mother,etc was lesser and more kindness than others death…plus, to keep their faith in God, cuz many people blame and question God when they lose someone, and let the devil to misgive and corrupt their minds and hearts about God.
And it works. Her friend, V's father died of a heart attack. V told her the story of one of the condolers..”You won't believe me Marsh!!! It is a disaster !! My dad's death is nothing comparing to those betrayed young men!!!!! I felt like I am condoling that family not them!!!”
The burning of Mutanabbi Street
Bombs explode in Iraq too frequently to distinguish one from the other. But an explosion in Mutanabbi Street last Monday was especially significant. It is said that the Egyptians write and the Iraqis read. And the centre of that reading culture is Mutanabbi street where some of Baghdad's most famous booksellers are based. Iraq Pundit gives us a background to the street:
The poignant image of the wrecked street, with countless bits of burning paper floating down on the stunned residents, reflected an attack not only on Baghdad's people, but on the city's heart and memory as well…
It's certainly true that Mutanabbi Street was once a gathering place for Baghdad's intellectuals. If Cairo is the great city of Arab writers, Baghdad was once the great city of Arab readers, and Mutanabbi Street was where they went to browse the new arrivals, Arab and foreign. … Under the British-imposed monarchy that ruled the newly created Iraq, the city's journalists, poets, and thinkers would gather there to debate the changes that were sweeping across a modernizing and then-optimistic Middle East. By mid-century, the monarchy was gone, and Iraqi poets were advancing a “Free Verse” movement that was revolutionizing Arabic poetry. They too gathered in the street's cafes. But that was before Saddam tried to paralyze the Iraqi mind. Saddam banned many books, and filled Mutanabbi Street with informers.
Treasure of Baghdad mourns its loss with a photo montage and he says, “The Book Market which I spent most of the best times in my childhood, teenage and youth was burned by a car bomb that mixed the blood of readers, buyers and sellers with papers and fire just like Hulago who once burned the Grand Library of Baghdad and threw the books in the Tigris mixing its water with the ink of the books.”
Stories
Chikitita has always been fascinated by books especially those that were banned under Saddam's regime. One she had especially sought after was Macchievelli's The Prince after her friend told her “This is actually Saddam's bible. I've heard everything he is doing is based on whatever this book tells him to do.” The only copies in Iraq were heavily censored. She writes: “Following the invasion, I started hunting high and low for an unedited version, until I got it in 2005. It was funny I could not read it to this day. Not sure why! Maybe because reading it has ceased to be a risky adventure or maybe it read so much like a bad translation. It's been two years since I bought it, it's gathering dust now, and I just cannot feel the urge to touch it.
Few weeks ago I came across a news headline reading, “Man Arrested for Possession of Banned Book”. I immediately im-ed a friend, “Wow they still ban books, welcome to democracy!!!”
Najma went on a picnic with her University class and discovered the essential difference between boys and girls. Prepare yourself for an education:
boys are so different from girls, they know so much poetry, of so many different kinds. I didn't understand most of the Iraqi kind but I enjoyed how fluently they said it.
I wanted to walk a bit with my friend and leave the boys to enjoy their time as they wish, the boys had put their mobile phones and cameras in our purses because they were moving around and playing football…
[Later] They acted the roles of the some of the lecturers, including our Programming lecturer, who obviously so frequently praises me “Excellent Najma, excellent excellent Najma”.. Some of the lecturers have very funny habits I've never noticed and only notice after they talk about it. I concentrate on the lecture so much I rarely find something to laugh at, while the boys can hardly stop themselves from laughing.
Sunshine gives us snapshots of days in her life…
I got my marks, my family was very much pleased, but I wasn't happy and my eyes filled with tears , I don't like to take less than 95% in English.. I was really worried about my physic's mark I took 83% one of the highest marks!!!!!
I got 90% in chemistry, 100% in religion, 95% in history , 94% in geography , 91% in biology, , I got 96% in math (I felt upset too, I had 100%) , I got 85% in Arabic the teacher said “very good, Arabic is really difficult , in French I got 90% , the funniest thing is I got 82% in Art ,hahahahahah , we didn't attend any art lesson…
I heard a shocking news , the poor widow who used to clean my class was killed, I feel really sorry for her children, they lost there parents, the cleaner before her was also killed…
I read my 700 E-mails and answered most of them…
My dad had to do some work in a village near Mosul , called Bahsheeka, grandpa , mama , Miriam , Yosif, and I went with him… we had the best time ever , they have a nice farm , the farmers where working in the farm , it was fun to watch. .. grandpa suggested to go to an ancient Der near Bahsheeka, it was gorgeous .. we visited the cave first , then the church , it is name is Der Mar Mattie , and what a fantastic surprise , when we saw scouts there , playing music , then we went inside the church, we visited the monks’ cists , and chaplains’ and read their stories , I saw a monk , I went and asked him the story behind the Der , we talked for a while he told me the history and the story of monk Mattie. We took many pictures , and returned to the house , we had lunch then the electricity came at 4:30 , I was working on the computer and heavy shooting started , mortars fall on the neighborhood, this lasted for an hour, 3 mortars fall in the street , 2 in the street behind our house , and one in front of it.
The situation in the next day wasn't better…
At 1pm , mama and I were in the garden, Mariam was in the back yard garden, Yosif was running he wanted to go to the garden shoeless ,but our uncle catch him in the corridor , Dad ran upstairs to bring Yosif's shoes , grandma was behind the house bringing fuel , uncle's wife was in the living room.
BOOOM , heavy explosion (a fuel tank full with explosives exploded near my house) , my ears were closed !2 seconds later BOOOM again, mama ran and shouted “Mariam” , I was panicked , there was thick smoke everywhere , I shouted while I was running I wanted to reach Miriam :” something fall on our house”, ” mariam , where are you ” I stopped for a while to have a look, the windows were broken , and the glass was falling down on me , I started to cry and shouting “Mariam” , I turned and saw black smoke and blaze I realized that the explosion wasn't inside the house , I entered the house , everyone was alive !!!!! a true miracle…
Who see my house at that time can't believe that we are alive , when dad saw us alive he started to cry.
I was worried to death before I see my family members, I was afraid that they might be injured. I can't thank God enough, mama bought two muttons and allocated the meet among paupers and orphans( that's how we thank Allah (god))
We kept cleaning and removing the debris and glass for 3 days…
Our house is made of bricks, cement, and iron that's why it didn't fell down, nor damaged completely.
Many glass entered my hands and my mom's while we were working, but we are alive that is the most important thing.
Thank god, grandpa wasn't at home, he was in the other side of the city, he take Warfarin tablets, because he recently had a CVA, and this medicine cause bleeding.
I was so tired, I wake up early in the morning and work ALL DAY LONG, without sleeping enough, nor eating well, I lost 6 pounds.
85 innocents were injured, and more than 25 died
May god protect us all
Indeed, may god protect us all.

author: Salam Adil


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Russia: International Women’s Day · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

International Women's Day – by LJ user ljpost
March 8 happened to be the first really warm and sunny day in Moscow this year, and although crowds were out celebrating the International Women's Day, this didn't silence the Russian blogosphere at all.
LJ user ljpost, whose beer-drinking smiley creation is reproduced above, has also posted a March 8 male joke (RUS):
[She]: Darling, have you bought a March 8 present for me?
[He]: Of course, my dear.
[She]: Is it something that I'll like?
[He]: If you don't, you can give it to me: I've been dreaming about a spinning rod like this for a long time.
Joking (but not beer) aside, LJ user galerist – a well-known Russian gallery owner Marat Guelman – takes a moment to greet his mother, wife and daughter (RUS):
For me, it's not the “International Women's Day” – but the day of mama, Yulia and Eva.
If I've achieved anything, for example, it's only because I wanted to prove my “specialness” to Yulia. That is, she is my motivation. That I didn't screw it all up, in my meanderings, is also her achievement.
My mama, who is now with me always (thanks to LJ) – she may understand little of my life, but her emotions are my energy.
My dear little daughter makes me stay young and easily puts me into a state of idiotic delight several times a day. […]
In the next post, galerist discloses (RUS) the kind of drink he was celebrating with:
We had hemp beer for the holiday dinner today. Maybe it's my imagination, but it somehow got me feeling super super well.
Russian journalist Natalya Radulova (LJ user radulova) adopts Marat Guelman's approach and writes about her beloved female relatives – but in her post (RUS), there's enough material for a few short stories:
Thank you
I suggest we all write about the women who played some role in our life and in the life of our country. Let it be our little “thank you.”
My grandmother Manya (Maria, but this is how we called her). She was born in Tambov region. During the war, soldiers were passing through their village and she sliced the freshly-baked bread and ran to offer it to them. She gave each one a piece, except for one young soldier – and he started crying. So my grandmother went back and brought him the last piece that remained: the heel of the loaf [krayushechka]. She married Pavel, a disabled war veteran, who had been wounded near Leningrad, during an attack to end the Siege. She bore five children.
Grandmother Marusya (also Maria, but for some reason Marusya for short :) When I was little, I used to call her “baba Musya). Her first husband was killed during the war. Her second marriage was with Ivan, a disabled war vet as well. She had four children, one of whom is my papa, Victor. Grandfather had an open wound, which for some reason would not heal, and most of my memories are of my grandmother constantly washing blood-soaked bandages. Grapes and tulips grew in her backyard. Her birthday is March 8.
Galina. My grandfather's sister. She fought in the war. A Hero of the Soviet Union. I know very little about her.
Another Galina. My friend's grandmother [not related to her by blood]. During the war, the Germans gathered the Jews of Odessa and were taking them to be shot. Russian and Ukrainian women were whispering from the archways: “Throw the child!.. [RUS – Brosay rebyonka] Throw the child! [UKR – Kyday dytynu]” And one Jewish woman did just that – she threw her daughter into the hands of a stranger. Galina raised the girl, and then after the war her mother was found – she had survived. But Galya has forever remained part of this family.
Tatyana, my mama. A teacher. Her first child died right after birth, unfortunately. Then I was born, and my brother. My mama still works at school with my papa.
Finally, although March 8 was a day off for many in Russia, some – including riot police at Moscow's Pushkin Square – had to work relatively hard that day. And a tiny rally against Russia's involvement in Chechnya gained some prominence that day, due to the police and media presence – and, above all, thanks to a counter-rally held by a group of activists of Rossiya Molodaya (“Young Russia”), a youth movement that may be labeled as an anti-opposition opposition group.
Some in the anti-war group (no more than two dozen people) were there to also mark the second anniversary of Aslan Maskhadov‘s death (two years ago, on March 8, 2005, the dead body of the Chechen separatist leader was on every Russian TV channel, and Ramzan Kadyrov, then Chechnya's deputy prime minister, now the president, announced that this was his March 8 present to every Chechen woman).
“Aslan Maskhadov is not a terrorist, but a slain president of the Chechen Republic,” was one of the slogans at the rally this year.
Rossiya Molodaya activists stood nearby holding a banner with this slogan on it: “It's better to congratulate women than commemorate a corpse.”
Then, all of a sudden, a young man ran towards the blue toilet booths installed nearby, climbed them and began throwing leaflets from the roof in the direction of the anti-war protesters, chanting the same slogan over and over again, until the police succeeded in bringing him down.
LJ user principiale posted photos of the incident in the ru_politics LJ community and provided a link to this YouTube video, produced by Rossiya Molodaya and viewed 3,078 times so far:

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Taiwan: bloggers act on saving Lo-Sheng Sanatorium · Global Voices
Pipper Lee

Losheng Sanatorium is a hospital for lepers which is located in the suburbs of Taipei. Since 1930s, this hospital is the only public sanatorium for Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients in Taiwan. In 2001, due to the construction of Taipei mass rapid transportation, the authorities planned to transform Losheng to a community hospital, thus put an end to its dedicated hospitalization and care for the leprosy ex-patients. Many students, urban planners and NGO tried to save this sanatorium from that time. After five years, they finally got a chance to make the government reconsidering a new version which reserves 90% of the sanatorium, instead of the original plan, 41%.
However, just two days ago, the Department of Rapid Transit System (Taipei) asked all the leprosy ex-patients remained in the sanatorium to move out before March 13th, or the enforcement will make that happened by the strong arm. In this morning (March 8th), 200 policemen dispersed 50 people who were gathering in front of the residence owned by Executive Yuan Premier, Mr. Su Tseng-Chang. Yao, a blogger who was there on that time, called it as a dark day:
我看到警方拖著一個阿伯的身體，但阿伯無力抵抗，他的義肢因為被拉扯，掉落在地上，而旁邊的學生不捨的哭喊著：警方不要用暴力！然而卻換得了甚麼？一次一次無情的進攻。
After talking with his friend who was also there on that time, DarkBringer described the brutal force on these old,
Brutal Force。毫不掩飾的暴力。這是為了即將到來的強制拆遷作預習嗎？還是今天多打倒一個老人，來日就少搬一個老人？
Although the protest is to ask the government to keep his word that convenes a conference to discuss the new plan in public, news media prefer putting their focus on the conflict itself rather than the statement of the protesters. PipperL wrote down his observations:
看看那些電子媒體的報導，大多集中在「衝突」的場面。是的，就是衝突，有拉扯的鏡頭，有尖叫哭喊的鏡頭，有推擠晃動的鏡頭，這才是那些SNG車和記者們想要的鏡頭。緊張緊張緊張! 刺激刺激刺激! 這樣才有收視率，這樣才能讓拿著搖控器一直轉台的觀眾停在這一台。而當衝突的鏡頭播完了之後，今天去抗議的原因呢? 這個事件來龍去脈的追蹤呢? 各方團體的立場和角力呢? 未來事態可能發展的走向呢? 管他的，進下一則政治人物參選登記的新聞吧。
In the mean time, Ancorena revealed in his blog, that he decided to give his vote for anyone who can help Losheng:
「如果有任何政治人物，尤其是總統大選候選人，能為樂生全區保存採取行動，並且產生實際效用的，在選舉時只要涵蓋到我的選區，就會獲得我的支持。」
Ancorena also made some stickers and suggestions for the people who want to join this protest.
In Taiwan blogosphere, many bloggers are now collaborating their articles, photos, videos and even podcasts together, seeking for support from the society. To step out from the actions in blogoshpere, these bloggers decide to extend the movement to the real world. If the news media report their move, more people may know what's going on. Like the words wenli speak out loudly:
「是該採取攻勢的時候了。」
Written by Swpave, edited by PipperL and abstract. All are GV Chinese Project Team members

author: Pipper Lee


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Third World Women Have a Ways to Go · Global Voices
Alice Backer

For Women's Day, India-based Haitian Blogger Pascale Doresca compares [Fr] the lot of women in the third world to that in the first world and concludes: “Developed countries are far in advance of developing ones if one takes into account that having a daughter in many parts of India is considered a curse, that about 45% of women under 18 are married, that a maternal death takes place every 2 hours in West Bengal. Giving the world's women human dignity is not a feminist act. It is a humanist duty… “

author: Alice Backer


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YouTube blocked and unblocked in Thailand · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Visitors to popular video sharing site YouTube were re-directed to a government web site from Friday to Saturday noon.
2Bangkok has a post on the block
When attempting to reach the YouTube site from within Thailand, the user is redirected to MICT. MICT is the government agency responsible for censoring the internet in Thailand. The reasons and criteria for blocking are usually not made public. In the past, if the resulting controversy over a certain blocking is too great, the blocked site comes back online and the government denies it was ever blocked at all.
MICT stands for the Ministry of Communication and Technology.
Speculating on the possible reasons for the block, forum poster Jromerz writes
Looking around in youtube now (after getting in without typing those three letters in the URL) and its still got blocks up within the site. If you click on a member's profile then you get the mict page again, and some (or most?) clips don't seem viewable.
It must be all those cnn interview posts
Jromerz is referring to the the clips from a CNN interview that features ex-prime minister Thaksin.     Thaksin was ousted by the Thai military and the current military backed regime is not happy with Thaksin getting any form of media exposure.
The 2bangkok forum has more discussion on the block.
There is no official word yet from Thai government if the blocking was deliberate. Thai authorities are known to have blocked sites before without warning.Personal Thailand writes
Turkey blocked the website today but government had some reason for it. Thailand has been known for blocking websites with out warning or reason before.
YouTube was accessible later in the day on Saturday.

author: Preetam Rai


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Zimbabwe: International Women Courage Awards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jenni Williams, the national coordinator of Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA) is one of the recipients of the International Women of Courage awards, “Ms. Williams is as deserving a recipient of the award as any other after what she continues to subject herself to in Zimbabwe for the sake democracy.”


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Afghanistan: Culture or Conflict? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghanistanica examines whether the lack of protection of women's rights in Afghanistan is the result of culture or conflict.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Afghanistan: Free Press · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Safrang says that Afghanistan does not have a free press.


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Algeria: Movie a Waste · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian blogger Nouri says the movie 300 was a fantastic waste of $10! “The film is comprised mostly of exaggerated muscles, computer generated imagery, grotesque or unnecessary sex scenes, and foolishly triumphant dialogue. The film is aesthetically interesting, more for its ahistorical manner than for its beauty. Apparently, Spartans wore no breast plates and rushed into battle in no more than underwear..” he writes.


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Are women headed the wrong way? Gender issues heat up the Bangla blogosphere on the occasion of International Women’s Day · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

As the world celebrated the International Women's Day on the 8th of March, the Bangla blogosphere returned to a heated debate on one of its favourite topics – gender issues.
However, what was interesting was that while the rest of the world talked about empowerment, opposing violence and gendercide, the Bangla world was still grappling with women stepping out of home and their mode of dressing.
Are women doing the right thing by stepping out of the sheltered confines of their homes? Blogger Rongheen gets nostalgic about stay-at-home women. He feels that the world is deluding women with false promises of rights and freedom and as women step out to find their place under the sun, familial love is the sufferer.
Do women enjoy seeing themselves as objects of desire? If not, why do they appear (skimpily clad, more often than not) in various advertisements for consumer goods? Trivuj feels that women are easily deluded in this aspect and are perhaps missing the woods for the trees as far as fighting for their rights is concerned. According to him, Bengali women should seek freedom of thought more than freedom of attire. Blogger Shayon feels that women are offering themselves as bait for molestation by not dressing and/or behaving modestly enough when in the company of men. According to him it is not possible for a woman dressed in a burqa to get molested! Furthermore he shares the blame for the sad plight of women on both the liberals (who encourage women to flaunt their sexuality) and the conservatives (who bar women even the basic rights, ex: the Taliban regime in Afganistan).
This is not to say that bloggers did not comment on the day's celebrations. They did, and many of them were skeptical about the events. According to Amar Jato Katha, on this day, leaders pay lip service to the cause of women and this has become just another day for speeches, marches and conferences, instead of trying to make a real difference. Dhushor Chhaya agrees with him. Sadia feels that it is not enough to talk about women's empowerment but that we should all work towards its fruition. On the other hand, Raag Imon feels that such a day is necessary to prod our conscience and remind us of the  import of issues that we ignore in the course of our daily lives even as we talk about them.
So what kind of woman is the ideal? Well, no prizes for guessing! She is the superwoman who balances home and work, is the perfect mother, wife, employee and is rooted deeply in her community and family, which she puts first, even as she strives to establish her own identity. Something in the lines of Astomeye's mom. A truly daunting task indeed!

author: Aparna Ray


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Armenia: Early Advertising · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 reports that campaign advertisements are going up in Yerevan despite such ads not yet being legally allowed.


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Bahrain: Bahraini Rants Last Coded Message · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Gadzooks!! What method of skullduggery is this? Bahraini rants flapdoodling about and disappearing on me again? I don’t trust him or his vocabularizing filler posts..” is Bahraini Rants last coded message before he takes a break to sort out his real life.


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Bangladesh: Dr Yunus and politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Journal of a Disturbed Mind makes a strong case Dr Yunus in politics. “Running a country is a bigger responsibility in business. But for me, a businessman with a good heart can handle a country better than any law or political science graduate. Consider reading the book Government as a Business.”


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Bangladesh: The blue collar workers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices has an interesting post, (followed by some very engaging comments) on sharing a flight with the blue collar workers. “As I spend more and more time with them, an unpleasant truth gets clear to me. Whatever shame these unruly passengers cause for me, whatever superior I find myself compared to them, the fact is that these passengers are Bangladesh. They represent the psych, the culture, and socio-political belief of the majority people of Bangladesh.”


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Brunei: Lucky Singaporean Readers · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Jewelle says that Singaporean are lucky as their government is not shy to spend money on public libraries and wishes for Brunei to do the same.


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Bush in Brazil and Ethanol: Blogs Report and Debate · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The quick visit of the US President George W. Bush to Brazil last week brought forth a large and diverse reaction from the local blogosphere. The protests and demonstrations on Paulista Avenue [reported by David Sasaki] were initially the most emphasised aspects of the coverage, but as we will see below, other perspectives are being presented and debated. The biofuel cooperation agreement which turned out to be the main agenda of the visit has itself influenced the mood of the online conversation, and suddenly many commenters found out interesting new threads to explore other than the usual Bush bashing. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has once again managed to be a protagonist — even from a distance — by making his histrionic performances as available as possible in the media, but we can see a growing number of Brazilian blogs asking for a more pragmatic ideology-free approach in the foreign affairs with the US in particular and with the world in general. Lula seems to be hearing those voices as well.
No meio de tanto transtorno, como pudemos perceber pelos jornais impressos e televisivos, percebi algumas incoerências… Impressionante ver brasileiros indo às ruas queimar bonecos representando tal presidente, tacar pedras e paus em seus compatriotas (os guardas) e incitar a raiva aqui (No Brasil?) e fazer manifestações com faixa sobre as atrocidades das guerras contra o Iraque, Afeganistão e as divergências claras com nossa vizinha Venezuela… Acho que se tal presidente veio ao nosso país fazer negócios, deveríamos aplaudir e incentivar tal ação… Deveríamos deixar para gastar nosso tempo e forçar para lutar pelo nosso país, e não contra esse Presidente. Ninguém vê nos Estados Unidos ou Europa passeatas contra a Fome e o Desemprego no Brasil…Vamos cuidar do que é nosso para um dia poder pensar em ajudar alguém, ao invés de ficarmos como xiitas sem bandeira, que além que retrógrado expõem a ignorância do povo. Abraço à todos e aproveitando a visita do grindo, Open your mind!
Xiitas sem bandeira – Carlos M. Cunha Blog
É uma pena que esses sejam os “opositores” de Bush. Quando queimam a bandeira americana, essa esquerda não quer queimar a bandeira do capitalismo, ela quer queimar a bandeira da democracia americana, que é uma democracia que funciona. Por isso, não há nenhuma simpatia minha pelos idiotas que estiveram hoje na Av. Paulista. Fiquei com vergonha da cidade hoje, vergonha de ser mostrado no mundo como paulistano, de ver aquele tontos ali, protestando contra o nada, contra o que não possuem a mínima idéia do que é, pois não sabem o que é os Estados Unidos. É uma juventude tola, induzida por “adultos” cujos interesses são sombrios.
Por um amadurecimento político no Brasil – Notas de Maurício C. Serafim
Ninguém tem dúvida de que a eleição de Bush e a ascensão dessa quadrilha religiosa ao poder dos Estados Unidos foi prejudicial para todo o planeta, em todos os sentidos. O que devemos começar a ser é pragmáticos e pensar no país: se Bush trouxe alguma boa proposta de acordos comerciais (piada, claro), ótimo. Se não, beba uma cerveja com Lula e volte para casa cuidar do Iraque. Mas não dá para acreditar que em 2007 ainda continuemos culpando “o imperialismo mau” pela nossa incompetência e pela nossa corrupção. A América Latina se tornou uma caricatura que envergonha a todos nós. Enquanto queimamos bandeiras, bonecos e baseados, países da Ásia se desenvolvem sem chorar as pitangas para ninguém. Enquanto a esquerda recreativa faz gincana em frente ao McDonalds e a direita ignorante rouba, a dona Esmeralda segue vivendo num barraco ao lado do Hotel Hilton.
Da nossa eterna hipocrisia – A nova corja
The different thing about this particular visit of an American President to the country is that for the first time in Brazil's history we have the lead in a technology which has become a strategic asset in a world searching for alternative fuel solutions. It gets better still, when we consider that the rest of the countries (except the US) are very far behind. Thinking about the advantage and studying how to make good use of it looks like an important thread to be explored from now on.
From another perspective, I think we could say that the agreement on biofuels with Brazil can turn out to be a political rescue for an American President with a poor record on environmental issues. Many of his critics consider Bush's fixation on oil to be the main cause of his biggest mistakes in the White House, and the sudden move toward biofuels can signal a change of course in his second term. Indeed, Hugo Chávez may be thinking now how convenient it is to the US to develop a partnership with Brazil where the outcome is the global empowerment of a direct competitor [ethanol] to the Bolivarian revolution's main asset [Venezuelan oil]. But still, the economic and environmental issues of a large scale global experiment on biofuels are yet to be addressed and specialists know well how the political dispute is capable of overshadowing the technical approach.
Em visita oficial à Argentina, o presidente venezuelano, Hugo Chávez, faz, desde ontem (8), uma série de críticas à visita do presidente norte-americano, George W. Bush, à América Latina. Para Chávez, o plano dos Estados Unidos de difundir a produção de etanol é “irracional e antiético”. “Pretender substituir a produção de alimentos para animais e seres humanos pela produção de alimentos para veículos para dar sustentação ao american style of life é uma coisa de loucos”, disse ele. Com esse objetivo, segundo o venezuelano, “Bush anda buscando países com grandes extensões agrícolas e com água, como Argentina, Brasil, Índia e China.” Para Chávez, Bush mereceria uma “medalha” por sua “hipocrisia”. “O cavalheiro do norte descobriu a pobreza na América Latina”, ironizou ele, em alusão a uma das justificativas que vêm sendo dadas por Bush para seu plano de difundir o etanol. “Eu creio que é preciso dar ao presidente dos Estados Unidos a medalha da hipocrisia por ter dito que está preocupado com a pobreza na América Latina.”
Chávez enlouquece e diz que produção de Etanol é antiético – Acerto de Contas
“se o Bush baixar as taxas para o etanol brasileiro, e se o Japão também se firmar como grande importador do combustível, há grandes chances da tese deste artigo se comprovar. Já há grandes grupos internacionais comprando usinas de álcool aqui no Brasil. Se for mais lucrativo plantar cana, então a área cultivada para os alimentos diminuirá. Menos oferta de alimentos, puxa o preço para cima.” Será então que a cruzada pró-biocombustível seria, na contramão, um anti-Fome Zero? Seria o Fome Máxima? Não sei até que ponto isso é alarmismo, má-fé, paranóia ou mistificação.
Paranóia, mistificação e delirium tremens – Futebol, política e cachaça
Há quem avalie que o País só tem algo a ganhar se o acesso do álcool obtido à base de cana-de-açúcar ao mercado norte-americano, onde o produto é feito a partir do milho, for facilitado. Trata-se de uma meia-verdade. De fato, a redução dos impostos exigidos quando o produto entra no mercado americano, o principal pleito brasileiro, permitiria um aumento das exportações. Mas a produção brasileira está longe de ser grande o bastante para saciar a demanda potencial dos EUA por etanol, e o que dirá as necessidades do restante do mundo. Parcerias na área de desenvolvimento de novos processos para fabricar biocombustíveis – com o uso de resíduos vegetais, por exemplo – podem ser até mais bem-vindas do que um corte nas tarifas. Os estudos representam a diferença entre criar mais vagas para cientistas e pesquisadores ou apenas aumentar o recrutamento de cortadores de cana-de-açúcar – a parcela menos qualificada dos trabalhadores da cadeia de produção. Os resultados desses esforços podem permitir aproveitar melhor as vantagens naturais só encontradas abaixo da linha do equador.
Jogo Pesado no Tanque – Desabafo Brasil
Então não é que o sacana do Bush, sim, o das petrolíferas, o inimigo declarado do planeta, quer diminuir a dependência do petróleo, reduzindo à pobreza os povos oprimidos que o vendem, como a Venezuela, o Irão, Angola, etc? E de caminho fazer subir o preço da cana do açúcar e do milho, condenando à fome milhões de desapossados e fazendo aumentar o preço da cachaça e das pipocas. O homem é diabólico e a sua cabeça está sempre a congeminar maldades. Felizmente temos símios à solta nas ruas, a fazer cabriolas indignadas para o “denunciar”, superiormente orientados pelo supremo tiranossauro de Caracas. Abaixo o ethanol, viva o petróleo “bolivariano”! Ethanol é reaccionário, petróleo é revolucionário!
Abaixo o etanol e o Bush – O Triunfo dos Porcos
In the middle of all this we see President Lula each day looking more comfortable about the challenges of his second term, both in terms of domestic and foreign issues. The polls are sending continuous positive signs, in spite of a local media that is always ready to criticize his every move. It appears that the recent hot debate about the anti-American ideology practiced in the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now old dead news.
Pesquisa do Instituto Ipsos revela que o presidente Lula é o chefe de Estado mais bem avaliado e George W. Bush, o mais rejeitado, na opinião dos cidadãos da América Latina. Segundo o jornal O Estado de S. Paulo, que teve acesso ao relatório da pesquisa, o instituto concluiu que Bush está “tomando emprestada” a popularidade de Lula para marcar presença no continente. O estudo revela que Lula tem um saldo (imagem positiva menos imagem negativa) de 36 pontos porcentuais no Brasil, 39 na Bolívia e 37 no Peru, enquanto Bush tem saldo negativo de 43 na Bolívia, 55 no Brasil e 3 no Peru. Lula e Bush têm, respectivamente, 55% e 32% de aprovação entre seus eleitores.
BBB de fato – Blog do Roberto Leite
Estão aí, escancarados, todos os sinais de que a política externa no segundo governo Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sofreu um ajuste fino em relação ao primeiro quadriênio. Errou quem acreditou estar em alta no Itamaraty um suposto antiamericanismo (maior do que o habitual na instituição). O que se passa é o contrário. É uma aproximação estratégica com os Estados Unidos. O primeiro sinal foi a adesão imediata do Brasil ao conjunto de países que sancionaram o Irã por afrontar as determinações da ONU sobre o programa nuclear iraniano. Agora, vem o alinhamento entre Brasília e Washington na política para o álcool combustível. O Brasil será um pilar central da tentativa estadunidense de depender (e fazer o mundo depender) menos do petróleo. Ou seja, depender menos do Oriente Médio, da Nigéria e da Venezuela.
Que anti-americanismo? – Blog do Alon
Depois de dois anos criticando o anti-americanismo da política externa brasileira, agora o jogo virou: serão mais dois anos criticando o americanismo da política externa do Lula. E ele que não ouse a neutralidade, senão serão dois anos criticando a indefinição da política externa do Lula.
Se ficar, o bicho pega… – Luis Nassif Online
As a final wrap-up we bring attention to the practical decisions that will shape the outcome of the US-Brazil biofuel agreement. The stakes and interests embedded in a policy can be measured by who gets involved in the decisions.
George W. Bush vem fazer duas coisas na América Latina, as duas têm igual importância em sua política externa e uma não tem nada a ver com a outra. A primeira é assuntar o assunto etanol. A segunda é ver se consegue neutralizar a presença de Hugo Chávez na região. É papo de alto nível. Bush vem e fica pouco. Quem já veio e continuará vindo para reuniões muito mais discretas é outro Bush. O irmão, Jeb, que foi governador da Flórida. Etanol virou assunto de família. Prioridade.
Yankees go home? – no mínimo weblog
Estão no Conselho, que visa a estimular a adoção dos combustíveis agrícolas, Luis Alberto Moreno, anglo-colombiano que foi eleito em 2006 presidente do Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento por pressão dos EUA; Roberto Rodrigues, ex-Ministro da Agricultura do primeiro mandato de Lula e figura proeminente na estratégia da Monsanto de introdução de commodities agrícolas transgênicas no Brasil; Donna Hrinak, ex-embaixadora dos EUA em Brasília, Jeb Bush, irmão do presidente estadunidense e ex-governador da Flórida; e Junichiro Koizumi, ex-primeiro Ministro do Japão. Pelo quilate dos apoiadores da disseminação do etanol, é possível imaginar o grau de envolvimento que eles têm com os governos de seus países.
A aliança Brasil-Eua – Outra Globalização


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Cambodia: Coffee Roasting · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Phnomenon finds a coffee outlet near his place in Phnom Penh that roasts locally grown coffee beans. The blogger has a pictorial post on the roasting process.


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Cambodia: Life of a Beer Girl · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vutha describes the life of a beer promotion girl in Cambodia.


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Chile: Five points on Bachelet’s first year · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Taking cue from a Miami Herald article, Boz serves up five points on Michele Bachelet's first year in office.

author: David Sasaki


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China: one yuan cn domain · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yee ya comments on the one yuan cn domain marketing strategy of China Internet Network Information Center: Each domain will still cost 80 to 100 yuan a year in subsequent years, so many people register just for fun.Can you count on them to help the development of China Internet?

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Thirsty  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael in the Opposite end of China writes about water crisis in China, with reference to some discussion in recent People Congress meeting.


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China: Who Painted the Mountain Green? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates three reporters account of their different versions of report on the Yunan's artificial “green mountain”.


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Costa Rica: How to Brew Coffee · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Uri Ridelman of Tico Food on “how to brew a cup of coffee the traditional Costa Rican way.


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Cuba: Silvio Rodriguez, troubadour of conscience · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Zenia reproduces an article from Granma, the Cuban news daily, reporting that Cuban folk superstar Silvio Rodriguez has cancelled a concert in Chile in protest over the high price of tickets.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Eastern Europe: Social Anthropology · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In an interview at antropologi.info, Vytis Ciubrinskas, a Lithuanian social anthropologist, talks about the problems that exist in his field in Lithania and elsewhere in Eastern Europe.


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Egypt: Blogger Sentence Upheld · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

According to Free Kareem, the Alexandria Court of Appeal today upheld the four-year prison sentence against Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman.
Dalia Ziada, a human rights activist and translator based in Cairo, reports that the Alexandria Appeal Court has upheld the four-year prison sentence against Kareem Amer.
Furthermore, the judge approved a civil claim filed by the eleven lawyers who want to fine Kareem for ‘insulting Islam’.
Kareem’s lawyers will apply for the Court of Cassation (third degree).
Abdul Kareem Nabeel Suleiman, a.k.a. Kareem Amer, is in prison because he blogged his personal opinions on the Internet.
Kareem‘s supporters, however, are pleading with sympathisers to help him, through applying more pressure on the Egyptian authorities for his release.
We have compiled a comprehensive list of ways you can help Kareem Amer ..The list includes a letter writing campaign, with addresses of the Egyptian President, Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, and Ambassadors from more than 50 countries worldwide! We are also providing sample letters and a press kit over the next few days.
Many thanks to everyone who has been sending in suggestions and sample letters.
Among the tactics the group is using to draw attention to Kareem's plight are signing petitions, organising rallies, a donation drive and lobbying against Egypt hosting the United Nations-sponsored Internet Governance Forum in 2009.
Supporters are also calling upon bloggers to write about Kareem and use the Free Kareem logo as well as send letters to “government officials, diplomats, human rights groups, local media outlets, and the United Nations.”
In your letter, please make clear the following:
♦ Condemn the four-year prison sentence placed on Kareem Amer, who was peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression;
♦ Express deep concern at the conditions of Kareem Amer’s detention, and whether he is being treated humanely and given full access to medical care and family visits; and
♦ Urge the Egyptian government to clearly implement the international standards set out by the ICCPR to which the state of Egypt is a signatory and repeal laws violating these standards.


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Egypt: First Anniversary of Clashes · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“If there’s a dozen guys dressed up like little Darth Vaders chasing you, run like hell” is the advice blogger/photographer Matthew Carrington posts on The Arabist on the first anniversary of “the liveliest expression of popular dissatisfaction with the Mubarak regime in recent memory–the March 2003 demos.”


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Egypt: More on the Blocking of 21 Sites · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Writing in The Arabist Tim Seah has done some homework on an alleged plan to block 21 Internet sites and has posted his findings here.


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Egypt: Blogger Kareem’s Plight Continues to Grab Headlines · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Once again the plight of Egyptian jailed blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman  grabs the headlines, along with support pledges from bloggers around the world.
An Alexandria Appeal Court today upheld Kareem's four-year prison sentence for insulting both Islam and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on his personal blog.
Egyptian blogger Ibn Al Dunya  was quick to report the development.
An appeals court in Alexandria upheld the four years sentence that Abd al Karim Nabil sulaiman(known as Kareem Amer) recieved on the 22 of February by the Muharam Beq misdemeanour's court. One of Kareem´s defence lawyers, Gamal Eid who is the head of the told the AFP news agency that:
“The verdict was not handed down on the basis of the law. It is a religious verdict similar to those of the inquisition.”
Hossam el-Hamalawy, writing in The Arabist, tells us more.
“An Alexandrian Appeals court upheld the four year prison sentence given to blogger Kareem Amer, for the crime of ‘insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak.’
Moreover, the court accepted a Hessba case, filed by a fundamentalist lawyer against Kareem. Hessba, as interpreted by the regime’s theologians, gives the right to any Muslim citizen to file a lawsuit or get involved as a party to a legal case, if s/he deems something as an ‘assault on Islam.’ (Yes, this is happening in Mubarak’s Egypt, whose regime the Western governments like to describe as ‘secularist’),,” he writes.
Writing in Arabic, Egyptian blogger A'ala Abdulfattah, claims that the original ruling was illegal because it was based on clauses which have since been amended in the law.
Meanwhile, Giraldus Cambrensis, blogging at Western Resistance, calls for the suspension of US aid to Egypt until it starts protecting freedom of speech.
“It should be noted that for the past 25 years, America has spent billions in aid to the shabby political regime of Egypt, via its USAID program. If America is so bothered about a lack of democracy in countries like Iraq, then perhaps US citizens should be lobbying their congressmen. While Hosni Mubarak does not allow freedom of speech to those who would criticize him, then perhaps USAID money should be suspended until this freedom of speech, a sine quae non  of democracy, is actually practiced in Egypt,” noted the blogger.
Ben H, from The Daily Transit, says blogging     against Islam or the state in the Middle East is a dangerous territory.
“But while this sorry case may be the first in Egypt, it isn’t the first in the region – nor is it the harshest sentence. In 2005, the Iranian government sentenced blogger Arash Cigarchi to 14 years, according to Human Rights Watch. A BBC report on the sentence says that Cigarchi was charged with “spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries,” – translate: he criticized the arrests of other online journalists. This set off a chain of other criticism and ensuing arrests, including a three year sentence for cleric Mojtaba Lotfi and 18 months Mojtab Saminejad (Reporters sans frontieres).
“Blogs have become the pinnacle of free and personal expression, uninhibited by overhead costs, advertisers, time, or (for better or worse) notions of objectivity – but all of this can be crushed by an intolerant and fearful government. We should be wary of this in our own nations, and lend our support to those who are struggling. Best of luck to Kareem in his appeal, and freedom to the caged voices of Iran,” he writes.
On its part, Reporters Without Borders issued a statement condemning Egypt as an Internet Enemy.
“All of Egypt’s Internet users are being targeted through Suleiman. A threat is now hanging over their heads. We fear that other arrests and website closures could soon take place as the authorities seem to have decided to bring Internet users into line,” it said.
“During today’s appeal hearing, the presiding judge ruled that the courts could accept complaints brought by individual lawyers demanding reparations from Suleiman for “insulting” Islam in his blog, for which he used the pseudonym “Kareem Amer.” He said Suleiman would appear soon before a civil court, which could order him to pay damages to lawyers who had brought complaints,” added the statement.
The organisation said the ruling comes 24 hours after an Egyptian judge filed a complaint against 21 other websites he accused of attacking Mubarak.
“Alexandria appeal court president Abdel Fattah Murad yesterday brought a complaint against the Egyptian government, demanding the closure of 21 websites that ‘attack the President of the Republic.’ Local sources told Reporters Without Borders that the website of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and the very popular blogs Baheyya and Gharbeia were among the sites concerned,” said the statement.
“Egypt is one of the countries which Reporters Without Borders has identified as Internet Enemies. Nonetheless, it has been asked by the United Nations to host an Internet Governance Forum in 2009.”


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French Elections and Darfur · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Pangolin posts [Fr] the flyer for a meeting to take place March 20 in Paris where French presidential candidates including Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy will answer the question: “What do you plan to do about Darfur?”


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Georgia: Impressions · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian writes some of his impressions of Georgia, saying that it is doing far better than Armenia on many counts.


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Guatemala: Purification after Bush’s Visit · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ecuadorean-Mexican blogger Eduardo Arcos can't help but draw attention to the fact that some indigenous Guatemalan organizations will purify holy places [ES] following the visit of George W. Bush. Arcos adds, “I still don't understand why Bush insists on visiting Latin American countries. Nobody wants him.”


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Haitian Women Talk Feminisms · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

This past week, we covered how Kazakhstan and its Women, the Middle East and North Africa, Russia, and South Asia blogged International Women's Day.
Here, two Haitian bloggers write about International Women's Day and the past, present and future of women's liberation.
Roody Edme who blogs at Ailleurs vu d'ici reflects on the the Haitian feminist movement of the 1970s and 1980s, a time when “we were reaching the last quarter of the ‘century that made women’ and many things were in the process of changing” (Fr).
Edme remembers Marie Laurette Destin, credited by some as the mother of the Haitian feminist movement:
Laurette coiffée à la Bo-Derek…déambulait dans les rues de Port-au-Prince comme un « fantasme ». Son chant pareil à celui des « sirènes » fascinait et inquiétait les hommes autour d’elles. Certains ne croyaient pas trop en son MFH dont les méthodes étaient disaient-on trop calquées sur le MLF de France. Marie Laurette faisait, aux yeux de certains, figure « d’hérétique », elle, qui ouvrait trop grande les lucarnes de nos luttes sociales au risque de faire entrer un courant d’air trop libertin venu d’Occident.
Pourtant, bien avant elle, des femmes prestigieuses comme Solange Dominique, Carmen Boisson, madame Gourdet St-Come et Paulette Pouyol Oriol avaient tracé un chemin de lumière. Seulement Laurette y ajoutait des revendications plus modernes comme le droit des femmes à disposer de leurs corps et à assumer leurs choix sexuels…
Laurette, done up like Bo Derek…wandered around the streets of Port-au-prince like a “ghost.”  Her song was like a “siren's” fascinating and troubling the men around her.  Some did not believe much in her MFH, whose methods were said to be too much based on the methods of MLF France [Movement for the Liberation of Women].  Marie Laurette was, in the eyes of some, a “heretical” figure; she who opened wide the skylight of our social battles at the risk of letting in a debauched air from the West.
However, long before her, prestigious women like Carmen Boisson, madame Gourdet St-Come and Paulette Pouyol Oriol traced a path of light.  Only Laurette made more modern demands like the right of women to use their bodies and make their own sexual choices…
…Il n’etait pas idéologiquement correcte de parler de libération de la femme, concept petit bourgeois, alors que le ‘‘peuple’’ etait encore enferré dans la dictature militaire et le sous-développement. Mais les femmes étaient de tous les combats pour l’émancipation de l’ouvrière comme de l’ouvrier, du paysan et de la paysanne.
It was not ideologically correct to talk about women's liberation, a bourgeois concept, while the “people” were still living in a hell of military dictatorship and underdevelopment.  But women were above all fighting for the empancipation of the female workers, as well as the male, of women farmers, as well as the men.
Meanwhile another Haitian blogger, Nancy writing at Notedor.com, criticizes what she sees as a certain brand of feminism that claims women don't need men.
Ce matin dans les rues, quelques femmes protestaient contre la spoliation des coopératives à leur endroit. Leur vue m’a amené beaucoup de souvenirs et de réflexions.
Je me suis revue, pancarte en mains réclamant justice avec les Femmes Engagées dont je faisais partie. Ce jour-là, en cours de route, un groupe de femmes à mes côtés criaient : ” désormais, nous ne voulons plus des hommes “. Je leur ai demandé ce qu’il adviendrait de mes trois garçons et de mon mari ? Elles n’avaient pas de réponses, n’ayant pas réfléchi au sort de leurs enfants mâles. Elles et moi donc n’avions pas les mêmes objectifs, la cohésion d’actions n’existait pas. Je m’en suis retournée chez moi, désolée de constater si peu de raison chez les participantes.
This morning in the street, some women were protesting against the ransacking of local cooperatives.  Their perspective brought back many memories and reflections.
I saw myself, protest sign in hand, out to reclaim justice with the “Femmes Engagées,” a group I belonged to.  That day, on our way [to the protest], a group of women next to me shouted: “From now on, we don't want men anymore.”  I asked them what would happen to my husband and three sons?  They had no answer, not having thought of their male children.  [We] had different goals; there was no coherence in our actions.  I went home, saddened to see the protestors had such little sense.
Similarly, Edme believes that some feminist movements go too far:
Bien sûr, tout mouvement de libération à ses dogmatiques et ou sa langue de bois, un certain néo-féminisme aux Etats-Unis à force de voir le harcèlement partout a fini par installer « une guerre froide » dans les relations entre les sexes. Dans un flirt, l’homme est obligé d’annoncer le geste qu’il va faire pour ne pas encourir le risque d’être poursuivi pour harcèlement…
…Mais ces excès qu’on retrouve dans toutes les luttes politique et sociale, s’ils ne sont pas érigés en système pouvant à terme manacés la pluralité, font partie de l’adolescence de toute véritable démocratie.
Of course, all liberation movements have their dogmas or mindless propagandas.  A certain neo-feminism in the US that [has made some] see harassent everywhere has ended up creating a “Cold War” between the sexes.  When a man flirts, he must announce he is making a move in order not to run the risk of being sued for harrassment…
…But this excess is found in all political and social struggles and, if they are not based in a system that can threaten pluralism, are a part of the adolescence of every real democracy…
Nancy laments the state of feminism in Haiti, arguing that some women emphasize their rhetoric – women do not need men – at the expense of what she considers the “real problems.”
Et aujourd’hui, malgré des progrès immenses en faveur des femmes je l’avoue, je constate que l’objectif de certaines femmes de mon pays n’a guère changé. Elles ne vont pas au fond des vrais problèmes. Car que représentent quelques malheureuses gourdes volées, quand vos enfants portés par vous, élevés et éduqués exclusivement par vous ne peuvent porter votre nom en toute honorabilité ?
Je me souviens de ma colère quand j’ai eu mon cadet et que l’officier d’état civil me refusait le droit de faire faire l’acte de naissance sans l’autorisation de mon mari. Alors que j’apprenais quelques jours plus tôt qu’un mari infidèle avait pu offrir un acte de naissance à son fils naturel, sans l’autorisation de sa femme dont le nom était pourtant porté comme étant la mère légitime. N’était-ce pas un comble ? Un manque de respect pour les deux femmes et un vol d’identité lésant l’enfant pour toute sa vie !
And today, despite what I admit has been immense progress in favor of women, I notice that the goals of certain women in my country have hardly changed.  They don't go to the heart of the real problems.  What does it matter that a few lousy bills were stolen, when the children you carried, raised and educated alone cannot have the honor of carrying your name?
I remember how infuriated I was when I had my youngest and the civil servant refused me the right to register for a birth certificate without my husband.  But I learned a few days earlier that an unfaithful husband would have the right to give a birth certificate to his biological son, without presenting a legitimate mother.  Isn't that unbelievable?  A lack of respect for the two women and a theft of identity that will harm the child for all of his life!
Il y a encore tant à faire pour que la société soit équilibrée et harmonieuse ! A quand des actions concrètes et justes dans notre pays en faveur des femmes ? A moins qu’elles aient eu lieu tandis que je dormais, qui sait ? mon sommeil est si profond !
Femmes d’Haïti réveillez-vous que diable vous êtes au vingt et unième siècle ! Quand vous aurez à commémorer la journée internationnale de la femme dans les années à venir qu’au moins cela vaille la peine.
There is still so much to do for society to be equal and harmonious!  When will concrete and fair steps be taken for the women in our country?  Unless they get there while I am sleeping, who knows?  I sleep so deeply!
Women of Haiti, wake up!  You're in the 21st century for Christ's sake.  When you celebrate the International Day of Women in the years to come, at least let it be worth something.
Edme's take is somewhat more optimistic about the state of the feminist movement in Haiti:
En dépit des terribles difficultés de l’heure, de la mort en silence de nombreuses ‘‘Ginou’’, et de ses contradictions, le mouvement des femmes commencé avec nos ‘‘suffragettes’’ du siècle dernier, a devant lui bel avenir.
And waxes poetic about the accomplishments of Haitian women, the “pride” of their country:
Parce qu’il compte des organisations dont la longévité dépassent celles de toute autre organisation civique, mais aussi parce qu’il compte de brillantes individualités qui font la fierté de notre pays : courageuses marchandes aux étales incendiées par nos chimères politiques, éducatrices forgeuses de destins, éditorialistes de la presse parlée et écrite, romancières et conteuses de nos aventures hybrides, fille du Sud-est au destin de Gouverneure, Directrices de fondation, ‘‘Trésor national vivant’’, journaliste de haut vol parvenue au sommet de l’organisation mondiale, militantes des droits humains cauchemar de nos brutes galonnées…
Le peuple haïtien est reconnaissant à toutes ces femmes qui font la fierté de notre pays si décrié.
Because they include organizations that have been around longer than any others, but also because they include brilliant individuals that are the pride of our country: courageous traders burned by our own political illusions, educators forging destiny, editorialists of the spoken and written press, novelists and storytellers of our hybrid adventures, daughter of the South east with a gubernatorial destiny, directors of fondations, “national living treasures,” a high-flying journalist who has reached the heights of global organization, human rights organizers – the nightmare of our brutes in uniform…
The Haitian people recognize all of these women who are the pride of our so often disparaged country.
Photo from Impactmedia‘s photostream

author: Jennifer Brea


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Hindi Blogoshere: Yahoo! plagiarises from blogs, and cops shake hands with goons! · Global Voices
Amit Gupta

Sorry for the late update again, I've been quite busy off late & hence the fortnightly roundup of the Hindi Blogosphere is a week late. But as they say, “better be late than never”!! ;) So without much ado, lets get going!
Sanjay reported the news changes & the launch of a new look Tarakash website which has been under testing for sometime now. On the other hand, Sunil is writing how India has gained the popularity for developing life saving medicines at low costs in the last few years and how this is under threat given that Swiss medic company Novartis has sued Indian Government as the government refused a Novartis patent on the cancer drug Glivec stating that its not a new composition but rather an old composition with some minor changes & thus(as per Indian law) Novartis can't have a patent on it. The reason why Novartis sued is pretty much obvious, if they loose it, other Indian pharmaceutical companies would be free to make this life-saving drug & will be selling it all over the world at much cheaper costs which can be plainly guessed from the fact that the expenses for treatment of AIDS using the drug sold by the western pharma companies shot upto $20000 while the same treatment using drugs from Indian pharmaceutical Cipla cost just around $2000!! No wonder that these big bullies of drug world were unhappy with South-African government & filed a suit against it(which was later withdrawn) when it tried to buy the drug from Indian companies! Just goes to show that medication is not cheaper & if a cheaper alternative is available you are not entitled to have it, you have a right to a cure only if you have deep and fat pockets!!
Moving on, Tarun completed his 2 years in Hindi Blogosphere(am almost there as well), Shrish reported on how a self-proclaimed spiritual leader Mata(Mother) Nirmala Devi insulted the Indian National Flag by putting it at her feet!! Outrageous as it is, a lot of bloggers called for her head & some people did the right thing of filing a PIL in a court & sending the photos to the offices of Prime Minister & President of India. Now lets see if this thing is noticed at all & if she gets anything for this crime since the Flag Code clearly states an imprisonment of upto 3 years for anyone who insults the Tricolour by trampling it or by any other means!! The travel train continued on my blog though as I wrapped up the travelogue of my Ajmer-Pushkar weekend trip in Part 3 & Part 4. Though in last few weeks, my music preferences have suddenly taken a 360 degree turn and all of a sudden I've been listening & liking World/Fusion/Classical instrumental & vocal music performed by maestros like Shiv Kumar Sharma(plays awesome Santoor), Hariprasad Chaurasia(bamboo flute king), Pandit Jasraj(classical vocal) which I've not heard or liked ever before!! Hard to say that am not surprised by a this sudden change in my taste!! ;)
Indian pro-blogger Amit Agarwal has expressed his views about viability of blogs written in Indian languages from a commercial point & what can be done to popularise them. Jagdish warned about one of the organised frauds being conducted by agents of the Life Insurance Corporation of India regarding which the company has also issued circulars cautioning people about the fraud & asking them to beware of them. The tele-marketeers are rapidly increasing in India and they really make you hate your mobile phones since for some people, a large number of incoming calls is from those marketeers. So as I shared my experiences and vented my frustration at big companies, be it Airtel or ICICI Bank or any other; they are all involved in pushing the tele-marketing to the limit of driving people mad! Sagar also shared his horrible experience with the customer service of his ISP, Tata Indicom and I can vouch for it along with hundreds of others, they indeed provide a third rate service.
Shrish did a comparison between WordPress software & WordPress.com blog hosting which I think is a bit biased in favour of Blogger.com to which he migrated from WordPress.com!! On the other hand, Jitu finally came out with his secret & let everyone know that Google has launched the hindi version of their news site. But sometimes one feels whether the country is going to the dogs?? It certainly seems so when a pack of goons beat up a family infront of policemen & police refuses to file the complaint of the victims & the goons are given medical treatment by the police while the wounds of the victims are shoved aside labelled as minor bruises!! The atrocity is really astounding and even the mainstream media is not interested in bringing these kinda issues to light, they are more busy in covering high profile & glamourous news items like Shilpa Shetty's win at Big Brother!! Even the Nithari case was given a cold shoulder by the media channels who were busy covering the kidnapping of Adobe India's CEO's son when there were about 14 kids kidnapped & murdered by a psychopath and the police were indifferent as ever about it!! It was only acted upon when the media finally ran out of any sensational stories & needed some fuel to keep their respective channels going & continue the inflow of advertising money!! I think thats why Eswami wrote that reporters are pitiful sensation seeking beings & that appears to be true in most of the cases!!
A sensation arose across the hindi blogosphere when Yahoo! stole the content from a couple of blogs when they launched their Hindi & Malyalam portals. As S.Chandrashekharan reports, when accused of plagiarism Yahoo! quietly removed the content without so much as bothering to acknowledge the ridiculous activity & apologizing for it. Imagine, if someone had done this kinda thing with Yahoo!, they'd straightaway sued that guy!! But finally Yahoo! came out with an apology & blamed its content provider Webdunia.com for the incident. I personally believe that Yahoo! should seriously re-consider its content provider as not everytime they can get away with such a thing & what has happened once can happen again. Though am all for second chances but seriously, this kind of act is usually done by amateurs & newbies who don't know what they are doing & no professional would do it as they know that they'd be caught in the act in a blink of an eye!!
Another sensational controversy that gripped the hindi blogosphere recently was regarding who should be shown the door by Narad, the first & foremost hindi blog aggregator which aggregates every hindi blog. This aggregator is responsible for driving a lot of traffic to hindi blogs & the issue arose with some bloggers writing supposed nonsense about religion & communalism, attacking other bloggers on a personal level etc. Sanjay blogged about what kind of blogs should be removed from Narad to which some agreed while some(including yours truly) said that freedom of speech is for everyone & those who don't like a particular kind of posts(or blogs) can just ignore them. All of this was targetted at the controversial & subjectively incorrect group blog Mohalla and this whole issue agitated a number of people who are fed up with this kind of useless debates & indeed this reflected in Jagdish's post when he asked his blog to be removed when Mohalla is shown the door from Narad. But finally after some blasts from here & there, the dust settled down and its peace again, maybe the lull before yet another storm!! ;)
Moving on, in another post, Jagdish replied to a question posed by someone, explaining why Bulls of stockmarket are called so & what are Bears there. Jitu is regretting why he's not in South Korea where a bank sends its employees on dates at its expense!! ;) Google run Blogger.com is being generous on hindi bloggers as it introduced a tool for its users that will allow them to write & blog in Hindi.
And on the end note, there was a Hindi Bloggers’ Meet today in New Delhi which lasted a bit more than 6 hours!!
Thats all for this issue folks, adios!! :)
Links courtsey: Narad

author: Amit Gupta


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Indonesia: Becoming a Full Time Blogger · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesian blogger Fatih Syuhud congratulates a fellow Indonesian blogger who gave up his day job to become a full time blogger.


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Israeli Ambassador Found Naked · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Israel is replacing its ambassador in El Salvador after the envoy was found outside the embassy, drunk, wearing only bondage gear,” reports the Angry Arab News Service here.


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Jamaica: Cricket World Cup opening ceremony · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The W.E.C. group blog reviews the opening ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which took place yesterday in Jamaica.


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Jamaica: On Islamic fundamentalism · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jamaican novelist Marlon James weighs in on the actions of Ahmed Akkari, who circulated a suspicious photocopy designed to inflame Muslim sensibiliites à la the Danish cartoons.


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Jamaica: What makes a work memorable? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp asks: “what makes a work of literature memorable right now.”


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Japan: abortion law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joe from Multantfrog discusses about the abortion law in Japan. Its origin is related to the Eugenic Protection Act, which is to prevent the birth of progeny which are undesirable from a eugenic standpoint, while protecting the life and health of mothers.


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Japan: police behind racist mag? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Debito explains why he believes that Japan police was involved in the racist publication: GAIJIN HANZAI.


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Japan: salmon skin · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Researchers from Hokkaido University have created artificial blood vessels using collagen derived from the skin of salmon – more from Pink Tentacle.


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Japan: self-injury  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James blogs about a recent survey by Japan Health Ministry: 15% of Japanese women between the ages of 20 and 24 cut themselves.


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Kazakhstan: Corporate Management · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZBlog reports that Kazakhstan's government plans to adopt corporate management structures for government ministries.


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Kuwait: Dubai Airport Closed · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“All flights out of Dubai Airport have been grounded indefinitely…
So far due to a Bangladesh bound plane having an incident that injured 14 people…” writes Kuwaiti blogger Kwtia.


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Kuwait: Internet Law Wanted · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Forzaq8 says Kuwait should introduce a new law to regulate Internet services. “We need Some kind of Law for Internet in Kuwait , you can’t just add a Filter Software and block as you like , you can’t block sites because some guy from State security Called and told you so , there should be written order by a committee to block site and you can challenge them on that verdict ,  not just block without any idea why or merit,” he writes.


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Kuwait: US COmpany Moving Closer · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Zaydoun says that giant US energy services company Halliburton is moving its CEO from the US to Dubai to be closer to its sweetheart – Kuwait!


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Lao: Ant Egg Dish · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Laoplanet.net tries out a dish prepared with ant's eggs. “It was crunchy with a popping sound in my mouth. I didn’t get sick or anything afterward. You got to love the way Lao people can be so innovative with Lao food.”


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Liberia: fisherwomen at work · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Photos of fisherwomen at work from Liberia Stories, “I met a lovely group of women in Bong County using a fascinating method for catching fish. They line up their handmade nets, then wade towards them using their hands underwater to shoo the fish in! They will do this almost a hundred times to get enough little fish for a day's meal.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha