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Syria: Snag Hits Blogging Contest  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

As local blogospheres around the world grow, many blogging communities are organizing meetups and competitions to reward bloggers and build a better sense of community.  The Syrian blogosphere, which is quite active and centered around Arabic and English, has recently joined the realm of competitive blogospheres, with a competition for the best Syrian blogs launched by blogging community Almudawen, and sponsored by several Syrian organizations.
Syrian blogger Omar Mushaweh, writing at AlMarfaa, announced the competition [ar]:
The competition has not been without controversy.  Abu Fares, a Syrian blogger who writes in English, expressed frustration at a clause in the blogging competition's rules, stating:
This is a commendable effort on their part if it's indeed intended to honor outstanding Syrian blogs, encourage and support a blogging culture and expose the role of blogs in the making and shaping of a civil society in Syria. However, if you read the 5th and last condition for blogs to be accepted in the competition, this is what you'll find (translated word by word): the contents of which [the submitted blog] must not dissent from the accepted mores and morals (i.e. sex through videos or photos, hostility to religions, cussing, swearing and bad taste). Do I take it that it is acceptable for a blog to attack trans-dressers but not Sheikhs and priests? Or, for the sake of argument, is a photo of a random cloud in the sky in the shape of an eye and a comment underneath that this is the eye of God acceptable but not another photo of a woman's perfect behind with the apt remark that this butt is an elegant example of the splendor of creation (if we're so inclined to believe)?
Global Voices’ own Yazan Badran, in his blog On Olives and Sake, discussed the aftermath of Abu Fares‘ observations, analyzed the situation and, following its resolution, wrote:
The discussion that followed was an interesting experience. After years at Wikipedia, I’ve learned to always start a discussion while assuming good faith, and this was very much inline with that. And while there was a major disagreement on the most fundamental issues, Omar Mushaweh, the Admin of Al-Mudawen, (and the only representative from the site in the contest, it should be mentioned), was quite courteous in understanding the reservations that I, and other Judges, had on said prerequisite. And he readily accepted to remove it.
Yazan, who will also be judging the competition, added:
It is interesting to note, that while there was no consensus on the issue itself, there was a consensus on resolving the issue. Not to make a big deal out of it, but it is a refreshing incidence in a blogosphere that is growing more and more apart, and more and more bitter.
Readers of Yazan's blog shared their reactions in the comments.  Katia applauded the decision, stating:
The majority is not always right, that is a fact. In a pure democracy, both the majority and the minority each have common interests and that is basically the only rope holding them together. Once the cards get shuffled, the positions change and individuals whose interests do not match the group’s anymore, end up disappointed and bitter. Eventually, many of those who find themselves at the short end turn to extremes to show off their difference from the “evil” group and its “corrupt” stands. Now, if only the concepts of compromise and consensus were practiced as thoroughly as pure lobbying, we could see some sunbeams shining through again.
Another reader, Razan, noted that:
Nevertheless, this condition does not stand on its own when it comes to Almudawen’s problems. On AlMudawwen’s “add your blog” page, the same condition appears at the bottom of the “conditions” list to add a blog.
Musing on the blogosphere in general, she added:
It’s worth to note, that posts on intimacy and sex is another approach to understanding a given society. So if there is a blogger telling us about Hash and sex, I think it tells us a lot about a certain society that it exists in Syria and it’s marginalized by “our given morals”. By marginalizing these voices, we are to put it bluntly: censors, worst type of censors, since we advocate “free speech”. I don’t mind at all, for almudawwen to accept certain voices, but it should be clear about it, presenting itself as accepting like-minded voices, but i think it’s not right to say something and do otherwise.
Syrian bloggers have until August 22, 2009 to submit their blogs to the competition.


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Ukraine, Russia: More on Medvedev’s Statements · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes comments on president Medvedev's Ukraine address: “Maybe fearing that his boss may have overstepped the mark, deputy head of the Kremlin's administration Aleksey Gromov says today that Dmitriy Medvedev's statement on the bad blood between Moscow and Kyiv was not directed against the Ukrainian people, but only against President Victor Yushchenko personally. [Whipping a dead horse then..]”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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U.S.V.I.: Alternative Energy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The U.S. Virgin Islands will soon have two alternative energy facilities which will “convert an estimated 146,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste into refuse-derived fuel.”  Repeating Islands has the details.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: No Adoption By Expatriates  · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Coolred writes about the recent case of an abandoned baby: “There have been quite a few expats here in Bahrain that came forward wanting to adopt this baby boy. Turns out the Bahrain govt is REFUSING to allow an expat to adopt him.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bangladesh: Krishna Janmashtami Parade · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sadiq Alam at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts writes about the Janmashtami Parade in Dhaka, which is celebrated to mark the birthday of Lord Krishna: “(the) most striking feature of Janmashtami Parade is the custom of dressing up as Krishna, Radha and other characters from the life of Krishna.”

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Domestic Violence Charges  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean bloggers are following the story of a Barbadian politician who has resigned under suspicion of spousal abuse charges.  Living in Barbados comments: “The story is huge. Caribbean politicians do not resign for much. They certainly do not resign for things like wife/woman beating–a sport where the region could produce many Olympic champions.”


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Belarus: Cell Phones and School Uniform · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Evgeny Morozov of Foreign Policy's Net.Effect reports that “a Belarusian textile company has developed a special school uniform that protects kids from… electromagnetic radiation emanating from their cellphones! The uniform features a dedicated pocket that can store the phone and make it safe for those who wear it.”


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Bolivia: Bizz Awards for Companies · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Renzo Colanzi of Mientras Estás Aquí [es] uncovers the real meaning of the “Bizz Awards,” which Bolivian companies like the airline Aerosur have been congratulations themselves for receiving. Colanzi finds out that companies can pay to register and receive the award.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Brazil’s Forum for Digital Culture reaches out to the blogosphere · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Cyberspace is more and more inhabited by government institutions in many countries. Whether it is for the sake of elections, as during President Obama's campaign in 2008, or for the sake of fighting for fair elections as recently happened in Iran when Twitter was used by the Mousavi campaign, during the election and also in the subsequent demonstrations.
Despite the fact that the 2010 presidential race is already warming up on the Brazilian Internet, as future candidates start to blog and twitter to promote themselves online, the government has just taken the first step in becoming digital. On 31 June the Ministry of Culture and the National Network of Education and Research officially launched the Forum for Brazilian Digital Culture. The project consists of a social network that aims to encourage Brazilian netizens to collaborate in creating a new mode of addressing public policies.
Brazil's Digital Culture Forum banner
This initiative has gone down well with Bloggers and twitter users who think that the government has finally made an effort to reach out to people and include them in public policies through the Internet, a direct and bureaucracy free communication tool for contacting citizens. The network was initially limited to only 300 people, but after its launch, it has been opened to anyone interested in #culturadigitalbr, as it has been referred to on Twitter.
Lady Bug Brasil [pt] was invited to the launch of the event. She commented on her blog [pt]:
Em tempos de luta, censura e políticas públicas que precisam de retoques, é um alívio saber que há esperança e iniciativas democráticas que abrem espaço para as muitas vozes que habitam a rede.
Gilberto Jr from the startupi blog was also invited to the launch. He blogged in English:
The simple fact that the federal government initiated this project is highly commendable. It opens discussion within communities, using the web as a base to stimulate discussion and create a kind of digital democracy (not just in the world of computing, but in Brazil in general).
The project features some other social network characteristics such as a Facebook-like wall-to-wall comment system and the chance to aggregate online discussions taking place on forums or Orkut. Everyday, new users join the network and many discussion topics have been created. Another interesting point to the launch was that many bloggers were invited to the press conference alongside the mainstream media.
Bloggers at the Q&A session with the Minister of Culture Juca Ferreira. Photo by Flickr user Andre Deak
Filipe Saraiva from the Liberdade na Fronteira blog [Freedom at the Frontier, pt]  gives his thoughts on this case. He praises the government saying [pt]:
Penso ser uma iniciativa bastante louvável por parte do governo. Em tempos de repressão ao compartilhamento na rede, vistos nos recentes casos do julgamento do The Pirate Bay ou no Projeto de Lei Azeredo, fomentar um espaço de discussão pública sobre um tema ainda bastante controverso mostra disposição e abertura para novas práticas e idéias que surgem no ciberespaço.
Twitter user @raquelcamargo highlights a possible problem on the Forum, tweeting [pt]:
As discussões no Fórum da Cultura Digital acabam rápido, sempre com poucas mensagens.
CulturaDigitalBr has five main subjects up for discussion at the moment. They want to build guidelines for the access, production, promotion, preservation and free circulation of culture on any of these themes and topics are divided as follows [pt]:
1. Memória Digital (acervo, história e futuro);
2. Economia da Cultura Digital (compartilhamento, interesse público e mercado);
3. Infra-estrutura para a Cultura Digital (infovia, acesso e inclusão);
4. Arte Digital (linguagem, democratização e remix);
5. Comunicação Digital (língua, mídia e convergência).
2. Digital Culture Economy (filesharing, public interest, marketplace);
3. Infrastructure for Digital Culture (information highway, internet access, digital inclusion);
4. Digital Art (language, democracy and remixing);
5. Digital Communication (language, media and convergence)
They also highlight the following, on the same page [pt]:
Caso você queira discutir um tema que não caiba em nenhuma dessas áreas, crie seu grupo, convide quem mais possa se interessar por ele e toque a conversa. Este é um espaço radicalmente aberto às suas idéias e opiniões. Dependendo da dimensão que ela tomar, o coletivo pode decidir por transformá-la em eixo oficial do Fórum. Questões relevantes como o acesso ao conhecimento científico, a educação e a diversidade são transversais e, sem dúvida, são objeto desta conversa.
The tweeter responsible for the Ministry of Culture's twitter account is shot live-tweeting the event. Photo by Flickr user André Deak
Bloggers think that this initiative is very positive and that step by step the Brazilian government is changing its conception of how the Internet and its users might contribute to the way public policies are made currently. As a matter of fact, it seems that not only Brazil but many other countries are also embracing social media as a tool for keeping in touch with their citizens.

author: Diego Casaes


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China: Significance of Xu Zhiyong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wang Jian Shuo started to write a series of article about Xu Zhiyong and the significance of his role in the development of civil society in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Costa Rica: Long awaited for Train in Inaugural Run · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

After years of waiting, Costa Ricans finally have a new train in service. The Costa Rican President, Oscar Arias, drove the train on its first time on the railroad tracks, which had been set more than 100 years ago, and had been out of use for decades.  The train goes from Downtown San Jose to the neighboring city of Heredia, where many of those who work in the Capital city live.
The following video was uploaded on YouTube by mavirutube and shows President Oscar Arias addressing the audience at the train's maiden voyage and inauguration, about the importance this new service will have for commuters and all citizens in general. The excitement at the new trains is visible through the hundreds of people lining the train tracks waiting for the train, waving flags and hands as it passed.
On the online forum 89decibeles, Yogi posted on the eve of the inauguration:
Pues bueno, como buen ciudadano herediano que soy estoy feliz de que mañana comienze a funcionar el tren. Porque? Porque simple y sencillamente el servicio de autobuses de heredia San Jose es una mierda.
Yogi also mentions that although the service is set to run only during rush hour, he hopes the service will extend throughout the day, although he seems it is unlikely, since the same companies that run the inefficient bus services are complaining that the train would take away their income, specially because the train ticket fixed price was set out to be lower than the bus fare.
Inclusive el pasaje del Tren inicialmente iba a estar como en 300 colones, pero debido a la queja que interpusieron las compañias autobuseras lo subieron a 350(precio fijo). Lo sacaron con base al promedio de las 4 tarifas de los buses que dan este servicio Heredia- San José.
Aducieron que “era competencia desleal” ya que el pasaje del tren estaba muy barato y por lo tanto les afectaría demasiado en cuanto a los pasajeros.
Marcos… on his blog Some Opinions and Some Songs,  had something to say about the position these bus companies have taken:
Image from crtrenes.blogspot.com
Lo primero, una de las primeras reacciones que escuche sobre el tren fue a algunos autobuseros decir que el costo del pasaje debía ser más caro porque si no demasiada gente dejaría de usar buses. Déjenme decirles a todos esos autobuseros, que según entiendo, esa es una de las intenciones, no vas a hacer una inversión millonaria en un tren para que la gente siga usando buses, no para nada, ni que fuéramos idiotas. El chiste es de hecho, que se usen menos buses y vehículos particulares para ver si se logra sacar algo del tránsito que hay en la ruta San José – Heredia y si podemos empezar a avanzar con una rapidez mayor que 6km/h, porque ni por nada en el mundo se va a hacer un tren que no lleve gente sólo porque se ve bonito o porque que dicha tenemos tren.
This next video by lucifer488 shows one of the cultural acts presented to welcome the train upon its arrival into Heredia. The combination of band music with the giant dolls (giganta) is called a cimarrona, and is quite popular during popular festivities. Can you spot the giganta made to look like President Arias?
Not everyone is happy with the train, ziesing in Foro of Costa Rica has several complaints:
La cola que hay que hacer para lograr viajar es interminable tanto que despues de estar en la estacion por mas de una hora sin siquiera poder comprar el tikete es mas facil para cualquiera buscar la parada de bus mas cercana.
Es como una empresa de buses con 2 autobuses pero en rieles, si pense en algun momento que podia llegar mas rapido al no toparme con las presas la ilusion cayo al suelo al ver que la presa de gente en las estaciones atrasa el doble que las de la pista y me termine de desilusionar cuando me di cuenta que el bendito tren cuando da paso se queda pegado tanto como cualquier carro o autobus.
And he isn't the only one. Other users complain about how the train stations are located in solitary and dark areas, making passangers likely to get mugged, and how drivers don't even have enough visibility to be able to know when the train is coming, and there are no gates or light signals installed.
Because the train tracks had been abandoned for so much time, people have stopped paying attention to the Train Crossing signs, and already there have been colissions between the train and cars, although with no casualties. Other concerns that have been voiced have to do with insurance and wether passengers will be covered when riding: back in 1926, the Heredia-San José train saw one of the worst train accidents in Costa Rica's history when the a packed train plummetted from the bridge over the Virilla River and more than 300 people died.
In the next video by manuels89, you can see the train arriving at the Heredia station, and an example of how people are not used to being around trains: there is a worker with a bullhorn warning passengers waiting to board to stay out of the tracks and he even has to pull back someone who is standing right in the way of the train.
Crtrenes, a blog about trains and railroads is already posting information on the possibility to have trains to other neighboring cities close to San Jose such as Cartago and Alajuela. Crtrenes also took the picture that graces this post, of the inaugural run. You can see more images and read their report here.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Croatia: Lobsters and a T-Shirt · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky writes about “an entire aquarium of lobsters” liberated by a Slovenian tourist in Croatia, and about a t-shirt that got a Croatian cameraman Ivan Cvirn fired from RTL Croatia.


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Cuba: The Maleconazo · Global Voices
Carmen Ferreiro

Cuban blogs are full of speculation about how the present hardships troubling the island will be resolved, even reflecting on how similar conditions 15 years ago impacted Cuba then. August 5th marked the 15 year anniversary of the largest uprising of discontent the revolutionary government of Castro faced since the early years of the triumph of the revolution. The Maleconazo, as it is known, took place in 1994 around Havana’s well known waterfront route, near the port where the ferry to Regla is moored.
Here, hundreds took the streets when rumors flew that the ferries had been hijacked and were leaving for the United States. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, subsidies from the once superpower ceased, resulting in a major downturn for Cuba's state-run economy. The economic situation became dire, with blackouts and food shortages, and many of Cuba’s youth – then as is the case today – sought to flee to the U.S., taking the path they know best to escape the lack of opportunities and liberties in Cuba.
The government’s response to these actions was to send the state’s fast-acting brigades (department of state security officials) to the congregation at the port, in an effort to control any possible uprisings.  What ensued was a large protest by Cubans who began shouting: “Freedom; Cuba yes, Castro no” and scuffling with police as they expressed their dissatisfaction with conditions on the island. Havana residents began pouring into the streets, significantly increasing the number of protesters. Discontent over the lack food and other basic needs had been building up like a pressure cooker; this was the eruption.
A similar crisis seems to be fermenting in present-day Cuba, the result of cutbacks in dietary goods, energy consumption and other service necessities. An editorial published in the blog Asociación Pro Libertad de Prensa (Association for Freedom of the Press), run by independent journalists in Cuba, asserts:
puede afirmarse que las condiciones políticas, económicas y sociales del país han empeorado.
The piece goes on to conclude that:
La impopularidad del régimen alcanza cotas difíciles de ser superadas…perdida la confianza y hasta la esperanza…el pueblo espera inútilmente por una muestra de racionalidad o al menos, por un poco menos de egoísmo por parte del gobierno.
Photos taken by Dutch visitor Karen Poorts to Cuba in 1994 – as well as anonymous home videos of the incident which have been posted on YouTube – show large groups of people marching through the streets, expressing (without fear of repercussion) their discontent with the government.
Award winning blogger Yoani Sanchez chose to video tape the site of the Maleconazo, while other activists and bloggers reported on the measures taken by the state to prevent another Maleconazo, or Day of Resistance. As has been the case for the past two months, Internet connection was very slow, making it challenging for Cuba-based bloggers to send images and reports to bloggers outside Cuba, who then publish their news. Cuban human rights and civil liberty activists were prohibited from undertaking any commemoration events. State security police agents utilized the now-common practice of surrounding neighborhoods, preventing people from leaving their homes or receiving visitors, even for small gatherings.
Interestingly enough, the protests continued online – at least from sources outside Cuba, – with Josan Caballero's Blog even showing solidarity via a Facebook initiative:
La idea nos llega de Facebook. Joel Riev nos propone utilizar hoy, cinco de agosto, este video, junto a las siguientes palabras, que hacemos también nuestras:
‘Propongo a todos de publicar este vídeo en sus páginas (blog y profilo fb) este 5 de agosto, para no olvidar cómo nos cortaron las alas. Yo estaba allí y me arrestaron…’
‘I propose to all who publish this video on their pages (blog and Facebook profile) this August 5, not to forget how they clipped our wings. I was there and they arrested me…’
Penultimos Dias (ES) writes a post which details one Cuban's perspective on The Maleconazo, while the blog sin EVAsión sums up the occasion this way:
Quince años atrás yo no estaba en el Malecón, pero recuerdo ese día como una muestra de la rebeldía de numerosos cubanos, que levantó la expectativa de cambios en muchos de nosotros. Ese día creímos que estaba cercano el fin de la dictadura. Yo nunca he querido irme de la Isla; he creído (románticamente, lo sé) que soy más útil aquí, que pertenezco a este lugar y que mi resistencia es también mi particular homenaje y mi respeto a la Cuba que queremos todos, incluyendo a los que se rebelaron aquel día. Ellos, estén donde estén, son un ejemplo de dignidad. Me gusta pensar que somos algo más que 110 mil kilómetros cuadrados de geografía…Ellos dijeron “basta”; no importa ahora cuán efectiva fue su acción: fue la última muestra de rebeldía popular masiva que recuerde Cuba.
La descarada reseña del Granma a propósito de la fecha me obliga a insistir en un derecho que nos corresponde: el 1ro de enero todavía es suyo; el 5 de agosto es (y será) nuestro.
The shameless critique of Granma concerning the date forces me to insist on a right that affects us: the 1st of January it is still his; August 5 is (and will be) ours.

author: Carmen Ferreiro


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Dominican Republic: The Film Sugar About Young Baseball Player · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

José Rafael Sosa gives a thumbs up to the movie “Sugar,” [es] which chronicles the life of a young baseball player from the Dominican Republic trying to make it in the United States.


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El Salvador: SV Net and the Administration of the Domain .sv · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

FaFa Monge provides his thoughts on the SVNet, which is the agency that is responsible for administering the domain addresses .sv [es] for El Salvador. Even though the prices are acceptable, Monge thinks that the site could do more to encourage the purchase of these domains, such as offering the option to use a credit card.


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Georgia: Evolutsia.net · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

A new blog in English on the Republic of Georgia has been launched at Evolutsia.net. The blog promises musings on Georgian politics, the Caucasus, and all things Khachapuri and says it will offer “information and analysis without bias or prejudice.”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Guyana: “Brigah”-Free  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Guyanese got a word for this way of behaving. Anybody who is too proud or haughty, we does say them is brigah”: Guyana-Gyal attends a wedding that is refreshingly free of labels.


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Haiti: The U.N. & Elections  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dying in Haiti publishes an article by Bob Corbett which speculates as to “why the United Nations could keep so silent about the fraud during Haiti's April Senatorial elections and the June runoffs”, adding: “It's time to make some significant changes; now.”


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India: Internet And Confidence · Global Voices
Rezwan

Arunn at Unruled Notebook tells why writing Science in the internet is a waste of time in India's context: “Indian public doesn’t have high confidence on the information they receive from the internet.”


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India: Swine Flu Scare  · Global Voices
Rezwan

In India, the Swine Flu deaths rose to twenty from ten in a matter of a couple of days. The number of Swine Flu infected people rose to more than 1000 for the first time. The hardest hit state is Maharashtra with its two mega-cities, Mumbai and Pune on the top of the list of the victims. And now it seems that panic is spreading more than the virus itself. In Mumbai, schools have been ordered to close and in Pune the traffic is unusually lean. The sick people are lining up at the crowded limited H1N1 testing centers. Bloggers react on this tense situation.
Techno360 blog posts images to depict how Indians are embracing this Swine Flu panic.
Some blogs are posting informative articles on how to cope with Swine Flu. Some are posting information about the Swine Flu test centers across India. The Kanpur Schools Parents Association blog posts a detailed FAQ on Swine Flu.
But its the Indian media which is sensationalizing the news with its 24-7 coverage without trying to calm down the situation. The Revolutioners blames the media for creating the Swine Flu scare:
We all Indians are victims of Indian Media bullshit. We can’t escape it though till the time our own government is not willing to do anything. There has been several instances where the impact of media could have saved us  Indians from a lot of miserable events.  But our Indian Media chooses to be the utter crap. Just for the sake of TRP they are showing anything and everything. I don’t know when will this stop. I wish I could do something about it.
Dr. Suraj A. Dhirwani writes about the panic and panic management:
The Swine Flu is here – Believe it or not… but it is around…
But you know what else it has brought along with it? FEAR & PANIC.
Its very funny to see that in spite of 26th July & innumerable terrorist attacks, Mumbaikars have not learnt a single lesson in Panic Management.
Firoz Shakir speaks of another sad fact:
Life is incomplete without the politics of opportunity, the swine flu will be politicized, as the assembly elections are round the corner.
The economics of Swine Flu is quite intriguing. Already the price of surgical masks has gone 20 folds and still its unavailable in many places and it has not even been proven that these masks can stop swine flu. Opportunists are lining up with claims that Tulsi (a common herb in India) scares away Swine Flu or Yoga can cure Swine Flu.
Agnitrisha at Lazy Ponders blames the government for not doing enough:
How can a government be this clumsy? Do they know what is the net result of inviting a disease like this in India? Where people proudly move around with contagious diseases, without being least bothered about the danger they are causing to others.
Or in a country where people don’t have the money to go to doctor unless they are extremely sick.. how many people will be infecting before visiting the doctor?
India caught day dreaming wonders:
We are planning to launch 3G services to empower Indians with the small piece of gadget in their hands. People like Nandan Nilekani have been appointed for UID (Unique Identification Development Project) to give a unique identity to every Indian. On the other side, Indians are losing their identity to the dreaded disease, from which we have failed to contain ourselves.
Why is it that India as a country always wakes up after the thief mopes the place? Why can’t we equip ourselves beforehand to prepare and fight such a menace? Do we lack a reason or conviction?
Hariharan at Just a Regular Blog asks people to face this problem with logic, not panic:
At Pune … There is a mass hysteria about the Swine Flu … Why Pune … All over India … People are calling us with concern and worries asking how we are doing … etc etc … The news channels are adding fuel to the fire by flashing news after news about it (with background music that would add to the panic) and newspapers showing only the negativity of the whole issue (Photos of people standing in line for a test and people in masks .. deserted roads etc) !! But do we need to really worry so much ?? 17-18 deaths in India out of 100 crore population … more people die every day of other diseases … Ok … I am not trying to undermine the seriousness of the issue but also so much panic is also not at all required …
Most cases if you note the people who died either were kids (with a weak immunity) or people with other complications …
So lets resolve not to panic and face this problem with maturity and composure and without getting into a frenzy.
Here are some reactions from the Indian Twitter users:
Akshay:
‘More than 1000 people die of tuberculosis every day’ in India – ‘#swineflu death toll – 17′ – think about it.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Twitter user Shashi Tharoor:
battling a cold and cough so will call it a night. No reason to suspect swine flu, though! Media-led panic is unnecessary & disruptive.
And last but not the least, Deepak has this advice:
Government and media needs to be more sensible and should do more to make people aware about the flu's symptoms, information about testing and testing centers across the country, protection and cure of the disease than spreading panic.


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India: Swine Flu Vs. Other Diseases · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nita at A wide angle view of India discusses whether Swine Flu is more dangerous than other types of influenza or seasonal flu or not.


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Jamaica: Track & Field  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Iriegal reports that all 5 Jamaican track and field athletes have now been cleared of charges “after the country's anti-doping panel failed to determine whether the banned substance was on the prohibited list”, while Abeng News Magazine interviews Veronica Campbell-Brown, who will seek to defend her world title at the upcoming IAAF World Championships.


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Mexico: Second Annual Human Rights Film Festival · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mexico's second annual human rights film festival is underway in its capital and organizers hope to attract more viewers this year writes Mexico Reporter.


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Pakistan: What Is There To Celebrate?  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Today is the 62nd Independence Day of Pakistan. Raza Rumi at Jahane Rumi posts his reflections on celebrating the day.


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Palestine: In Jail For Being Palestinian · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In the West Bank, Samuel Nichols writes: “A man came to our house, asking, ‘Where is Nasser?’ I didn't quite know how to respond, because Nasser is in jail. He's not in jail because he did anything wrong. He's in jail because he's Palestinian.”


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Peru: Robbery of National Geographic Crew in Nasca · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Barbara Drake of An American in Lima recaps the recent robbery of members of a National Geographic film crew, who were in Peru to document the famous Nasca Lines.


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Russia: Man-Pupu-Nyor · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Soviet Russia writes about Man-Pupu-Nyor, “one of the most impressive and magic geological legacies on the planet,” located in the northern Urals.


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Sri Lanka: Flood In IDP Camps · Global Voices
Rezwan

GroundViews informs that “torrential rains in Vavuniya throughout the day have severely affected IDPs interned in Menik Camp, particularly in Zone 3 and Zone 4.” See Vidura's Twitter messages http://twitter.com/apelankawe for updates from the ground.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Raisin in the Sun  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diligently studying the contents of his breakfast cereal, Trinidadian B.C.Pires notices some similarities between raisin bran and politicians: “It strikes me we could be talking about governments as easily as cereals here.”


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Armenia: Youth rally for detained activist · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Frontline Club posts photographs of yesterday's rally by an opposition youth movement in support of a detained fellow activist. Unzipped also posts video of the demonstration.


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Azerbaijan: Another Eurovision controversy · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

A Fistful of Euros comments on news that the telephone numbers of Azeris who voted for the Armenian entry during this year's Eurovision Song Contest have been obtained by police and one person has already been called in for questioning. The blog compares the situation in both Armenia and Azerbaijan as it pertains to tolerance of the other.


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Chile: BlogPower 2009 in Santiago · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The BlogPower 2009 [es] event will take place on August 15 in Santiago, Chile. Maria Pastora [es], a blogger and journalist, will be tweeting the conferences at @blogpower.

author: Juan Arellano


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Cuba: Blogging Event in Spain · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Even though probably no bloggers from Cuba will be attending the event, David Chapet of BloggersCuba [es] still thinks it is important to follow the event Blogueando a Cuba [es],which is taking place in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.


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Global Voices Unofficial Mascot Loses Left Eye · Global Voices
Allen Smithee

An unofficial mascot of Global Voices bloggers known as “GV Ferret” lost his left eye in a fight with a cat on Wednesday night in Boston. Images of the furry, yellow creature wearing an eye patch and bandages surfaced on Facebook soon after.
"Who turned off the light?" said the Ferret
“I hate cats,” tweeted @gvferret on Friday, still hurting from his injuries, and wondering when he would be fit to travel and read his favorite website once more.
Bloggers were on the scene at the time of the incident and were able to catch this shot of the feline attack. Rumor has it the cat belongs to Jillian C. York, a prolific blogger on Global Voices.
"I thought you were my friend," cried the Ferret.
From Miami to the World
GV Ferret first started following in the footsteps of Global Voices in Miami earlier this year. A delegation of bloggers attended a conference called WeMedia in February, and in their spare time they taught the furry creature how to blog, take digital photos, and tweet.
He learned fast.
Soon he was visiting bloggers in Guatemala, Japan, Egypt, Thailand, the Netherlands, and New York. He even signed up with Dopplr so his friends around the world could follow him.
Tokyo: Eddie, Yazan, Hanako, Chris, Jannie, GV Ferret, Rafik
New York: Juhie, Solana, Jillian, Anas, Lova
Cairo: Ndesanjo
Amsterdam: Jeremy, GV Ferret, Percy
Still going strong
“I had a small accident. I'm okay, but like @ethanz I'll be wearing an eyepatch for awhile,” tweeted GV Ferret on Friday referring to the interesting coincidence that Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman is currently recovering from eye surgery as well.
GV Ferret appears not to have updated his Dopplr account recently, which means there is no telling where he will show up next.
Representin'

author: Allen Smithee


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Guatemala: Educational Portal for K’iche’ Community · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Guatezona [es] writes about the new educational portal called Skoool, which offers bilingual resources in Spanish and Maya K’iche’ targeted to the indigenous community K’iche’.


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India: Shahrukh Khan Detained At An US Airport · Global Voices
Rezwan

Aaman Lamba at Desicritics reacts on the detention of the Bollywood celebrity Shahrukh Khan at Newark Airport by the US Immigration Dept.: “There is a natural query on whether this may have any relationship to traveling while brown, or while Muslim, for that matter. Were Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt to be detained in this manner, instead of getting the usual grand welcome, the brouhaha would likely be quite deafening.”


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Japan: Law Banning Cell Phones for Kids Passed in Ishikawa · Global Voices
Saeko Robinson

Ever since Ishikawa prefecture (500 km/315 miles north of Tokyo) passed the first of a kind regulation in the nation to limit cell phone usage for kids and tweens on June 29th, the blogosphere has been buzzing with what's appropriate and what's not for kids and cell phones.  The “Ishikawa Children Comprehensive Act” [ja, pdf] Article 33 reads “Guardians must try not to let their students who are in elementary, middle, and specially supported schools have cell phones except in case of disaster prevention, crime prevention and any other special purposes.”  The law goes into effect on January 1st, 2010.
Chuei at Mainichi Blog doubts the effectiveness of this regulation.
これによって、「子供の携帯電話を解約しよう」とか考える親は余りいないだろうね。大体、携帯電話でもパソコンでもウェブ閲覧やＥメールができるのに、何で携帯電話だけ規制なんだろうね？携帯電話の通話機能がいけないとも思えない。
家庭用の火災報知器を設置する義務も、罰則が特にないために設置が進んでいないようだし、この条例が施行された所で効果のほどは知れているだろう。多分今後携帯電話が絡んだ小中学生の事件が発生した時の県の言い逃れ（学校に責任なし）とか、そういうことに利用されそうな条例だ。
I don’t expect much effects of this law because there is no particular punishments or fines just like the rule obligating the installment of the fire alarms in homes.  Perhaps, this law can be used in the future in cases such as when incidents involving cell phones and elementary and middle school students happen in which the prefectural government can excuse itself, (i.e. no responsibilities for the school).
Usagi Inu at Manya Hompo suggests prepaid phones will solve all the problems.
私が思うには、ネットに繋がらないプリペイドの携帯電話を持たせたらいいと思います。プリペイド携帯は決められた度数を越えて使う事ができないため、使いすぎを防止するにはいいと思います。
しかし、不景気の時勢に親が子どもの携帯電話の料金を払うなんて時代が変わりました。自分が子どもの頃は携帯もなく、親に連絡する時は小銭を持ち歩いて公衆電話を探していましたけど、今では公衆電話を探すのに苦労するから、子どもに携帯電話を持たせるのも仕方ないのでしょうか。
However, the time has changed for parents to be paying for cell phones for children during a recession. When I was a child, there were no cell phones.  I had to look for a payphone with change if I needed to contact my parents.  Well, nowadays it’s hard to locate payphones so it may be inevitable to give cell phones to kids.
Mobile advocate member #1 of SATT which provides educational materials including online learning says he is disappointed with the law.
持つこと自体を禁止してしまうと、たとえば「公教育の中にケータイを取り入れる」といった試み自体ができなくなってしまいます。
He adds the lawmakers should have focused on the possibility rather than limits.
ケータイは、日本においてこれだけ普及し、データ通信部分も含め世界に誇れる技術の固まりなので「制限」から入るのではなく、「何ができるのか」といった可能性に目を向けてほしかったと思います。
This father of two sons, Kimme can’t understand why kids need cell phones so early.
我が家は長男が携帯を持ったのは大学に入ってからだ。次男はプリペイド携帯を持たせているが、インターネットを利用出来るようなプランには一切なっていない。いや、別に長男にしろ次男にしろ、自分でバイトして携帯代金払えるなら使って良いと私は思っている。
でも、小学校や中学校の間ははっきり言えば、必要ないと思っていたりする。こんな条例が出来る前から、我が家じゃ小中学生に携帯持たせる気なんてさらさらない訳だ。
でも、条例が出来ちゃうぐらいなんだから、持ってる子供もそれなりにいるって事なんだろう。
防犯の目的で携帯を持つって意味が個人的にはわからない。いや、確かに迷子になって携帯持ってたら探せたりするかもしれない。不審者に連れ去られたら連絡が出来るのかもしれない。塾の帰りが１０時とかだったりするのかもしれない。
でも、防犯のタメに携帯を持たなくちゃならない社会の方が間違っていると私は思うのだけれど。
それよりも、小中学生に携帯電話を持たせる事で引き受けるリスクの方が、よほど大きいとは思わないのだろうか？
However, while in elementary and middle schools there is absolutely no need.  Even before this kind of a law passed, we had no intention of giving cell phones to kids so young in my family.
I guess though the fact that such law got enacted means enough kids are given cell phones of their own.
I don’t understand what it means to have a cell phone for crime prevention purposes.  Well, if they’re lost, a cell phone may help.  Maybe it can help if a child is kidnapped.  Or perhaps to let me know they’ll be home at 10 p.m. after a “cram school” (tutoring schools).
But I think the society is wrong if a child has to carry a cell phone for crime prevention purposes.
Conversely, don’t you think it’s a much bigger risk being exposed by giving a cell phone to elementary and middle school kids?

author: Saeko Robinson


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Mexico: The Effect of the Victory of the U.S. · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mac of El Rincón No Poético [es] is not impressed by Mexico's 2-0 football win against the United States. He would be content if the win would solve some of Mexico's problems such as defeating narcotrafficking or speeding up work on the Metro's Line 12.


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Sri Lanka: Blogs Only Source Of Information From IDP Camps · Global Voices
Rezwan

Committee To Protect Bloggers quotes an Amnesty International report, which says that anonymous blog entries are the only source of information from IDP camps where: “attacks on journalists, relentless intimidation, and government-imposed restrictions on reporting threaten freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and jeopardize the safety and dignity of civilians displaced by war.”


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Taiwan: Criticisms of government response to floods · Global Voices
David Reid

Following the terrible flooding from Typhoon Morakot there has been widespread criticisms of the Central Government for its slow response. Claudia Jean has written two posts detailing some of the failures of the Central Government: Part 1 and Part 2. The View from Taiwan looks at criticism of President Ma in the international media.

author: David Reid


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Afghanistan: Khost Comes Under Attack Again · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust writes about new terrorist attacks of suicide bombers in Afghanistan, a week before the country's presidential vote.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Brazil: Lawsuits force popular political blog to close down · Global Voices
Paula Góes

The A Nova Corja blog [The New Scum, pt], a symbol of independent and investigative journalism on the Brazilian blogosphere, has published a farewell post [pt]. On August 6th, the last remaing blogger of the group, Rodrigo Alvares, announced that he has decided to close the blog down due to professional commitments and a consequent lack of time to carry on posting as much as he would like to.
Over the past five years that the blog has been online, Nova Corja stood out mainly because of its coverage of corruption scandals in the Rio Grande do Sul Government, accusations that have now led the Federal Public Ministry of that state to investigate governor Yeda Crusius for malpractice and administrative dishonesty. Nova Corja was also known for its acid, dark sense of humor and for its unyielding opposition to PT, the ruling Labour Party of Brazilian President Lula – although at the same time the blog was often also accused by its many foes of backing the same party.
The last post has gathered, at the time of publication of this piece, nearly 300 comments. According to Alvares, the blog's archive will still be available online as a testimony of its fight against corruption:
Espero que o A Nova Corja permaneça como registro da demência que assola não só o governo Yeda, mas a política gaúcha e brasileira. As eleições do ano que vem serão as mais importantes desde 1989, e boa parte da bandalha praticada por eles ultimamente está nos arquivos do blog.
ABRA$$O
$EE YOU
"$ee you". Design Leandro Demori. From Cristiano Zanella's blog
Lúcia Freitas [pt] remembers that Nova Corja was the only Brazilian blog invited to attend the G-20 Summit in London last April. She is very concerned at the low interest the news seems to have raised on the blogosphere, as only a few blog posts and twitter reactions can be found online:
Não houve proteção da comunidade, blogagem coletiva, indignação. Passou batido.
Bad, bad bloggers
Um mergulho no silêncio de jornalismo bem-feito, claro, contundente. Derrubado por uma sequência de processos na justiça que dão dores de cabeça incuráveis a cidadãos no exercício do seu direito à livre expressão.
Este tipo de silêncio é péssimo para todos nós.
Eu, como blogueira E jornalista, fico com vergonha, vergonha, vergonha. Primeiro de mim, por não ter lido os feeds por dois dias e não ter visto tamanho absurdo. Segundo de meus vizinhos de rede, que se reúnem tão facilmente para o #lingerieday, mas não se preocupam nem por um instante com as questões mais profundas que nos cercam e atingem.
A source of well-writen, clear, forceful journalism descends into silence. It was overthrown by a string of lawsuits that cause an incurable headache for those exercising their right to freedom of expression.
This type of silence is bad for us.
I, as a blogger and journalist, am ashamed, ashamed, ashamed. First for not having read my feeds for two days and having not seen this great absurdity earlier. Secondly, for my network neighbors, who gather themselves together so easily for the #lingerieday, but do not bat an eyelid about the deeper issues affecting us.
While most of the blogosphere remains silent or unaware of Nova Corja's closure, one blogger celebrates the news: Polibio Braga [pt], one of the blog's plaintiffs, is happy to have helped to shut down yet another blog, having done the same a few years ago, when he filed a lawsuit against the Tomando na Cuia blog [still online at a new web address, pt]. On the second occasion, however, Nova Corja won the case as the lawsuit was rejected on the grounds of ineptitude. Nonetheless,  Polibio Braga [pt] celebrates:
A remessa dos dois blogs para o aterro sanitário virtual da Web, é uma homenagem do editor a todos os jornalistas caluniados por grupos iguais de delinqüentes políticos petistas. Além da família comum, os editores dos dois blogs escondiam-se sob pseudônimos e alojamentos em provedores fora do país que acolhem todo gênero de bandidos.
Because of its investigative work, often scooping the mainstream media, Nova Corja has been subject to three lawsuits over its 5 year existance, and some of its bloggers and their families have been subject to various threats. According to Marcelo Träsel [pt], one of the blog's past collaborators, the main motivation behind the blog's closure is indeed this set of three lawsuits they faced, but not because the bloggers were afraid of the consequences:
O problema é que eles custam dinheiro, mesmo quando o juiz decide a seu favor, e, principalmente, tomam muito tempo. Todos os membros atuais e antigos da Corja têm empregos e famílias para cuidar. O jornalismo político era algo como uma prestação de serviços à sociedade, um voluntariado. Quando os poderosos foram perturbados e resolveram se aproveitar do Judiciário para tentar calar a Corja, porém, a sociedade mostrou-se incapaz de ajudar. O tempo livre antes dedicado ao jornalismo passou a ser dedicado a defender-se da litigância de má-fé. Algumas famílias até mesmo sofreram ameaças.
Träsel, who says the news is a nail in democracy's coffin, carries on and urges the creation of an organization similar to the Electronic Frontier Foundation in Brazil:
Algumas lições importantes podem ser tiradas desse caso. Primeiro, percebe-se que o bom jornalismo ainda faz diferença. A luz do dia incomoda aos poderosos e, no contexto da comunicação em rede mediada por computador, está ao alcance de qualquer cidadão expor os fatos ao sol. É o que chamo de webjornalismo cidadão, uma prática cada vez mais incensada como panacéia para os problemas do jornalismo. Pois bem, esse caso mostra os limites do webjornalismo cidadão.
Expostos ao sol, os políticos e sua entourage costumam sentir-se acuados e apelam ao Judiciário para tentar calar seus inimigos. Não precisam nem mesmo vencer um processo: os trâmites legais em si mesmos já têm um enorme poder disruptivo sobre o trabalho de pessoas que não vivem para a política e precisam se dedicar à vida real. Repórteres funcionários de empresas de comunicação podem contar com o setor jurídico para defendê-los nestes processos e seguir com sua rotina produtiva. Também não precisam pagar os custos judiciais. Repórteres amadores ou sem apoio institucional, por outro lado, são alvos fáceis para a intimidação jurídica.
When exposed, politicians and their entourage often feel cornered and call the judiciary to try to silence their enemies. They don't even need to win a case: the legal procedures themselves have the major disruptive power to end the work of people who do not live on politics and need to do something real for a living. Those reporters employed by media companies may have the company's legal arm to defend them during these lawsuits and can carry on with their production routines. They also need not pay for the court costs. Reporters without institutional support or amateurs, on the other hand, are easy targets for legal intimidation.
Maurício Caleiro [pt] says 	that the powerful and corrupt forces who used to enjoy the complicit silence of the mainstream media are behind the move to close blogs. He calls for immediate action:
Portanto, se nada for for feito para garantir ao menos a certeza de defesa jurídica, a blogosfera política independente e crítica – que, diante dessas circunstâncias, tende a encolher – vai repetir o que acontece no universo do grande capital que tanto critica: blogueiros que são suportados por portais ou que, devido a alta audiência e longevidade na rede, já constituiram suas próprias redes informais de proteção jurídicas, tendem a sobreviver; a massa de neófitos e de independentes que lutam para conquistar um espaço ficará jogada aos tubarões da litigância. Portanto, é preciso reagir. E já.
For further information about recent attacks on freedom of expression in Brazil, please see the following Global Voices posts:
Plaintiffs try to silence one of the country's leading journalists
Judicial decisions, a growing threat to online freedom

author: Paula Góes


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Egypt: Blindfolding Lesson · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Moftasa discusses the impact of blindfolding when used for torture, noting the impact on the perpetrator. “We have to learn from both parties, if we want to understand its results more and perhaps stop people from inflicting it,” he adds.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: Gamal Mubarak … Why Not? · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Coinciding with Gamal Murbak's Sharek initiative, Egyptian singer Mohsen El Sayad decided to campaign for Gamal Mubarak in his own way [AR].
Leih Maye7komshi (Why is he not fit to rule?) is the name of the song and Wa7da Masreya quoted the lyrics:
Concluding her post, she wrote:
Appy planet also posted the lyrics and commented:
Ibn Ad Dunia also posted the song saying:
As a teaser to my (possible) blog post about yesterday´s hyped Sharek event featuring Gamal and the future of Egypt, the young and bright, i´ll give you Mohsen el Sayad´s song in honuor of the reluctant politician, NDP hot shot, eloquent speaker , patient listener and perhaps Egypt´s future leader – Enjoy!
And Tariq Ez AlDen does not believe that Sharek will create the desired outcome:
في مقابل ذلك فإن مجموعة مثل “شباب 6 ابريل” وهي المجموعة التي تكونت على “فيس بوك” لتأييد الإضراب العام في مصر يبلغ عدد أعضائها أكثر من 74000 عضو.
Finally Ahmed Al Sabbagh has a few questions to ask Gamal Mubarak:
هل ركبت أتوبيس 112 من ميدان الجيزة لتذهب إلى قصر القبة متخطياً رخامة الكمسرى الذى ما أن يراك حتى يصرخ فى وجهك : الأوتوبيس فاضى جوه يا جمال .. لتدخل إلى أوتوبيس يضم من الكتل البشرية شكلاً معدلاً لعلبة سردين منتهية الصلاحية .. وهل نالتك من الشتائم والسباب من تلك السيدة التى دائماً ما تتواجد فى طرقة الأوتوبيس بعد أن تنصل المجتمع من تقدير المرأة منشغلاً برفع شعارات تمكين المرأة وحريتها؟
هل جربت البحث عن شقة إيجار قديم لتقضى ريعان شبابك كعب داير بين السماسرة والوسطاء وولاد الحلال حتى تكتشف أن الأربعين داهمتك ولا تملك من أسباب الجواز سبباً واحداً ؟
هل عملت فى شركة قطاع خاص وعدتك بمرتب كبير ثم إكتشفت أن هذا المرتب الكبير لن يسمح لك بالحصول على شقة حتى لو ظللت تدخره طوال 140 سنة ؟
هل شعرت للحظات أنك تحتاج للهروب من هذا البلد حتى لو فى قارب عبر البحر المتوسط وحتى لو كان مصيرك فى بطن حوت من كتر ما رأت عينك من الذل والمهانة والإحباط واليأس فى بلد عمر حضارته 7000 سنة أصبح يستورد القمح بحشراته بعد ما علم البشرية كيف يزرع الأرض ؟

author: Marwa Rakha


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Egypt: Limited Internet is Unlimited Backwardness  · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

In a previous post, Tarek Amr captured the initial reactions to TE-Data's fair usage policy (FUP) , followed by more adverse reactions  hitting the Egyptian blogosphere. Then the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology changes its mind.
Several videos were created and posted to mock the FUP decision; Ashraf Hamdy wrote ET Data … destroy your life and Adham posted a Hitler dubbed video against the unfair decision.
ElLeithy wrote a post celebrating the victory of internet users:
Tarek Ez Alden reported a demonstration that took place on August 13:


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Egypt: The Nile Basin Treaties  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia discusses the Nile basin treaties between Egypt and its African neighbours in this post, which sheds light on the current crisis on the great river.


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Egypt: We are All Egyptians  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“We need a law which recognises us as Egyptians only, not as Muslims or Christians but as Egyptians only,” writes Wael Nawara [Ar], from Egypt.


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Hungary: Parking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about parking in Hungary.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Iran: A cartoon depicts Mousavi as a ‘brutal killer’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Some Iranian bloggers have published a cartoon depicting Iranian opposition leader, Mir Hussein Mousavi as a ‘brutal killer’.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Bella Ciao song and Iranian protest movement · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here is a video film where Bella Ciao, an old anti-fascist resistance song has been added to the Iranian protest movement's photos.


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Israel: Double Standards? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Israel, Orly comments on media and online reactions to the bombing of a mosque and the killing of an Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic extremist group in Gaza over the weekend. “I can’t help but shake my head and ask, do these people have amnesia? In December Israel used the same reasoning – ‘to destroy Islamic extremists’ – in order to wage a relentless 22-day military operation on Hamas,” she writes.


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Kazakhstan: A bit on KazAtomProm · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Michael Hancock reflects on the scandalous case of the Kazkahstan's national nuclear company, whose top management was accused of wrongdoing and theft.


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Kyrgyzstan: Crackdown on Uighur Protests  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust tells that the Kyrgyzstan’s police detained two Uighur community leaders after they accused China of “state terrorism” at a rally.


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Maghreb: The Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Alle, at the Maghreb Politics Review, writes: “More gas from Africa (Nigeria, Algeria, Libya, etc) could help in the
EU’s gas battles with Russia, for one thing. But, needless to say, there are some complications.”


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Morocco: Faith and Jasmine · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Jamal Laoudi, blogging for Maghreb Voices, tells the tale of a love lost.

author: Jillian C. York


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Morocco: New US Ambassador  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ibn Kafka writes about the newly appointed US Ambassador to Morocco – Samuel Kaplan and the remarks he made before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “I doubt however that Kaplan, well past retirement age (he’s 73) and who isn’t presented as mastering either Arabic or French, will play much of a role in US-Moroccan relations,” he adds.


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Pakistan: Independence Day Celebrations · Global Voices
Sana Saleem

On Friday the 14th of August, 2009 Pakistan celebrated its 62nd Independence Day. This year the mainstream media launched special coverage of the celebration of independence on TV and on the web. The bloggers also joined in with their own campaign. The twitter Go Green Campaign continued with over 6200 twitter users from around the globe successfully bringing #Pakistan on the top of the most trending topic on twitter. Another campaign was launched by Pakistan’s biggest Blog aggregator Teabreak, where bloggers sent in their pieces reflecting their thoughts on the special day.
Hamid Abbassi on Chowrangi talks about the celebrations and joy of the internally displaced people of Swat valley region as they are traveling back to their homes:
This 14th August is more special than any other I could remember, as just a few months back we were fighting a war to save our very existence, against an evil enemy which was all out to disrupt our foundations. At the same time there was a flood of IDP’s in the open skies, uncertain about there future and fate. But the sweetest memory came last night from the streets of a valley named Swat, where the locals poured in thousands to celebrate.
Kalsoom Lakhani at Changing Up Pakistan also talked about the spirit of the IDP, narrating her meeting with the IDP families living in Islamabad and their spirit of unity:
One mother told me her daughter couldn’t attend school for nearly two years because of the Talibans. Another said they didn’t have enough money to pay their electricity bill, let alone come up with rent for her and her ten family members living in cramped quarters.(..) Sitting across from those women yesterday, their courage brought tears to my eyes. Their story taught me how important it is to reach outside one’s comfort zone to help fellow citizens in need, regardless of their caste or creed. At the end of the day, we must remember that we are all Pakistan. Hum ek hain, [“We are one.”].
Max Robinson at Teabreak’s campaign blog gives his perspective about the Pakistani People:
Despite all its troubles over the last 62 years, Pakistan is still here. Its people remain the most hospitable I’ve ever known and have made me feel as if I belong. That’s something I cherish and one-day hope to repay in kind.
Saesneg comments:
The resilience of Pakistanis was shown during the IDP crisis, which prompted mass acts of kindness among ordinary people. Although the figures of cash raised may not have been as high as during the 2005 earthquake, many homes, schools and other buildings opened their doors to the displaced during the Swat action.
Many Twitter messages contained informative facts about Pakistan. Some of the most interesting tweets were from Hina, which can be seen compiled on her blog with a post titled “#Pakistan Twitter Treasure Archive”:
hinstance: The oldest evidence of human life (100,000 to 150,000 years ago) in #Pakistan was found in the Soan River valley of Pothohar Plateau.
hinstance: Balochistan has the second largest Juniper forest in the world, which covers an area of about 247,000 acres. #Pakistan
Farhan Masood, an inventor and a futurist initiated the GO Green Campaign was also on the game and tweeting:
@farhanmasood: #Pakistan Go Green made us realize our strengths & weaknesses so we should work upon them and come out as better Pakistanis.
Many twitterers from across the globe also joined in to celebrate Pakistan’s Independence Day inspired by the Go Green Rally on Twitter. In a friendly gesture Indian and Pakistani tweeps also exchanged wishes on the occasion.
@JoannaV40 Happy Independence Day #Pakistan Zindabad!
@maxrobinson Happy Birthday #Pakistan! May you live on forever.
@Jamash Tweet to keep #Pakistan #India and #IndiaPakPeace in trending topics – let your voice be heard for peace.
@nabiluppal Happy Independence Day to #India and my#Indian friends. May we all live in peace & respect. -From#Pakistan
kaushal Happy Independence Day #India #Pakistan – looking forward to better times for all!
The Go green campaign was also widely covered by the mainstream media. I, along with Faisal Kapadia talked about the Go Green Campaign at Breakfast at Dawn with Naveen Naqvi.
Part 1: Breakfast At Dawn- Go Green
Part 2:
On my own blog I wrote about the journey of Pakistan as a nation, highlighting the recent events in Gojra and the Christian community’s condemnation against Gojra riots by not celebrating the independence day and hoisting a black flag:
These gestures are symbols that many in our society are aware of their rights, and that for them the Independence Day means a lot more than just a celebratory gesture. Celebrating Independence Day is not only hoisting flags, painting green and enchanting slogans; it goes much deeper to the very roots of ‘freedom and right to exist (co-exist) as a society.’ Let us hope we all realize that soon and march forth to a much-needed change.
Pakistan Zindabad ! (Long Live Paksitan)

author: Sana Saleem


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Peru: Lack of Reconstruction Two Years After Earthquake · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

August 15 marked two years since an earthquake struck Southern Peru, and primarily affected the areas of Ica, Pisco, and Nazca. Other mountainous areas such as Huancavelica were also affected. Now that 2 years have passed after the earthquake, the opinion of many is that there has been very little accomplished in regards to reconstruction of these areas, and much of the blame has been placed on the government. Nevertheless, official government figures show that almost 2 million soles have been spent [es] (approximately $680,000 USD), but those residents of the affected areas have been asking the president to clarify on what the money has been spent.
Meanwhile, the protests continue because the citizens are not content with the lack of action. The website Voces por la Reconstrucción [es] (Voices for Reconstruction) announces a regional strike for September 8 [es] and says, “The whereabouts of the numerous donations received by affected cities never arrived to their destination .. In light of this lack of information about the whereabouts of these funds …  a commission has been formed to control the funds received by public and private entities in civil society. ” With all of this, a public hearing involving leaders and affected residents was called by the Reconstruction Collective. Another initiative is the Citizens Caravans, which is described by Enlace Nacional [es] in this video:
Bloggers are also distributing this information. The blog Cañete Hoy [es] writes that “the promises continue to arrive, but the reconstruction does not,” and that includes a video about this situation in the city of Cañete. More information can be found on the blog Colectivo de Periodistas de Ica [es] (Ica Journalist Collective). On the other hand, Chinganita Peru [es], Julián writes that slogans like “Trafa Perú” (Peru Deception) can be seen on walls throughout the capital city of Lima in regards to this slow reconstruction effort.
Luis Vigil of the blog Mejor Hablar de Ciertas Cosas [es] blames the government because the cities have yet to be rebuilt:
La pregunta es, ¿por qué no renacen las ciudades afectadas? ¿Qué tanto se demoran? No me explico, es más; la ayuda internacional llegó de inmediato. ¿Se repartió bien? ¿Acaso no enviaron millones de dólares para la reconstrucción de las zonas afectadas? ¿Dónde está?
Meanwhile the blog Otras Tardes [es] publishes accounts of those who experienced the earthquake. The blog WEBM [es] writes that the suffering continues in Pisco two years later:
Es increible que a dos años del terremoto muchos politicos esten contentos al decir que se han reconstruido 198 casas. Si h***** pero se cayeron cerca de 2,000! Tambien las donaciones dadas a los afectados para que puedan reconstruir sus casas fueron dadas en cheques sin fondo! Osea, encima de que no los ayudan los engañan!
However, not all bloggers are writing about complaints. Jaime Espejo Arce of Fiscalización Ciudadana [es] (Citizen Control) in addition to providing his thoughts on the attempted reconstruction, highlights some efforts to restore the Señor de Luren Church in Ica:
La entrada al Templo permanece como si el terremoto hubiera sido ayer. Algunos restos de la infraestructura amenazan con seguir desprendiéndose. … El millón de euros destinado por el Vaticano inicialmente para el Templo de Luren tuvo otro destino. Según el sacerdote Edmundo Aparcana, vocero de la Diócesis de Ica, “el millón de euros se distribuyó en tres partes: una parte fue a Ica, la otra para Cañete y Yauyos y la parte final para Huancavelica. … Por tanto, a fin de reconstruir el Santuario de Luren se llevará a cabo una Teletón este sábado 15 de agosto; mientras que la colecta nacional – a través de la campaña Compartir- se desarrollará el 21 de agosto.
It appears that the actions of the state are held up by bureaucracy, and a story in the El Comercio newspaper states [es] that the just the paperwork for some technical evaluations for some works can take as long as 6 months. As the blog Café Taipá [es]  writes, “Two years after the earthquake, the government announces its achievements, but reconstruction is not part of them.”


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Philippines: Inspired by Cory · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

mojojho, a Filipino living in Bangkok, went to the Philippine embassy to register as an overseas absentee voter. She was inspired to register when she learned that democracy icon and former President Cory Aquino died two weeks ago.

author: Mong Palatino


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Russia: Two Jets Collide at Air Show · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Two Russian Su-27 fighters collided Sunday near Zhukovsky airfield during a rehearsal for the MAKS-2009 air show, killing Col. Igor Tkachenko, the commander of the Russian Knights flying group, and crashing into summer houses. LJ users pompeya, kpoxaxa, and mfirishka have posted a few photos (RUS) from the site of the tragedy.


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Saudi Arabia: Designing Wallpapers · Global Voices
Mohamed ElGohary

Saudi blogger Bandar designs beautiful wallpapers. He is also interested in Web2.0 tools and blogs  about his reactions to them.

author: Mohamed ElGohary


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Serbia: Belgrade Murals · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos of new Belgrade murals – at Belgraded.


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Singapore: Regulating taxi fares · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Tan Kin Lian believes taxi fares must be regulated and standardised in Singapore


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Terrorism crackdown in Indonesia · Global Voices
Juke Carolina

On August 8th, Indonesian TV stations aired reports about shootout between Anti Terrorism Unit Densus 88, the police and a group of men, presumably Indonesia's most wanted terrorist Noordin Mohammed Top and his gang,  in rural Central Java town Temanggung. Top is a Malaysian citizen believed to have orchestrated bombings in island resort Bali and the more recent Jakarta's dual bombings.
Top has been living nomadically around Java for years and has actively recruited suicide bombers, one of which was 18 year-old Dani Dwi Permana, who carried out an explosion last month at J.W. Marriott Jakarta. Dani believed that Islam is now in chaos and only Jihad can purify it.
A few days after the shootout, the media reported that the last-standing slain militant was not Noordin, it was Ibrohim, the former J.W Marriott who's also Noordin's sympathizer and the person who help smuggled explosive materials inside the five-star hotel.
Angry Infidel, the Tea and Politics blogger says:
Bad news: the dead man was a florist and an admirer/follower of Noordin […]
Noordin knows very well how to elude the police and has dedicated time to improve his net of supporters. They even think he is like a “pop star”, something which explain that some other guy offers himself to die in his place (and of course, the possible brainwashing as in the sects). His legend (and as a result, his admirers) and the possibility of making everyone who took part in Bali bombers’ trial of getting killed have grown these days: no prudent Govt. would have said anything about him being killed, if there was a possibility (even if it was remote) of him escaping the siege. Specially because Noording has escaped repeatedly in the past from the police. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the first man on Noordin’s “kill list” as we have seen now.
According to online news portal Detik, Ibrohim was groomed for an attack mission on the residence of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Cikeas [id], West Java. The same Ibrohim, 36 year-old father of  four, is also identified by JI expert as one of Noordin's sleeping army, which means that he could assimilate right back to the society soon after he fulfilled his assignment.
Blogger Patung posted maps of raids made by Anti Terrorism Unit 88 against Noordin Top's terror cell.
On Patung's post Parvita commented:
For one Noordin that died, there are hundreds of Noordin born. Noordin have spread his teachings. I was plainly amazed that the police managed to catch the person that will commit suicide bombing in August. I would really like to know what is in the suicide bombers mind.
Odinius also commented on Patung's post, saying:
Good bloody riddance. Unfortunately, the extremist pigs, the sheep who follow them, and the weasels who publicly defend them will likely continue to blame anyone and everyone else for the bombings. Any rational person, though, has to conclude that this has been a problem within Indonesian Islam, and had to be dealt with in large part by Indonesian Muslims. This is exactly what happened. Not to denigrate or marginalize the role of non-Muslims Indonesians, or the assistance of foreign governments in aiding Indonesia with intelligence and funding for Densus 88, but the government’s ability to politically go out and take these mutherf***kers out has more to do with the general sense of revulsion against the bombings and the perversion of Islam that they represent. This was not really present in the earlier bombings to the degree that it has been since July.
Via Twitter, citizens expressed their support and contentment of the police and Densus 88's accomplishment.
@yangmaulana
It was Ibrohim, not Noordin. Congratulations to the Indonesian Police and its Densus 88, which made a big step in handling terorism in Indonesia.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, on his speech [id] ahead of the Independence day commemoration, acknowledged the courages work of the national police force.
Pada kesempatan yang baik ini, saya sampaikan terima kasih dan penghargaan yang tinggi kepada segenap jajaran Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia yang tidak kenal lelah dan menyerah dalam memberantas terorisme di tanah air. Saya minta, aparat kepolisian dan jajaran aparat keamanan lainnya untuk tidak pernah lengah. Terus tingkatkan kewaspadaan, serta cegah dan berantas aksi teror hingga ke akar-akarnya, di manapun mereka berada, siapapun mereka, dan apapun motivasinya.

author: Juke Carolina


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Thailand: Life of bra workers · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Prachatai uploads an article written by Tippimol Kiatwateerattana who tackles the conditions of female workers in a bra factory in Thailand.


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Turkmenistan: Ministry of Education clamps down on students · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Orazdurdy reports that dozens of students at Ashgabat (capital of Turkmenistan) airport were not allowed on board a plane heading to Almaty. This is the latest incident in a broader trend: hundreds of Turkmen students still cannot leave the country in pursuit of education abroad.


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Uzbekistan: Religion-related murder in Tashkent · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Noah Tucker reports on a highly controversial killing in Uzbekistan, in which an Interior Ministry's agent was shot to death in his own apartment.


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Uzbekistan: Worst Daughter in the World? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Timur comments on the Foreign Policy journal's rating of the worst presidential kids, in which the daughter of the Uzbekistan president was mentioned.


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Armenia: Environmental activist charged with libel · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on the case of Mariam Sukhudyan, an environmentalist who recently put her name to an open letter posted on a blog alleging sexual abuse at a Yerevan educational facility for children with special needs. The blog says that the charges of libel against her are yet another example of the absurdity of the local legal system.


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Azerbaijan: Sheki · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Joe's Tripping posts photographs and reports from visiting various destinations in and around Sheki, Azerbaijan. In the first post, the blog says that the King's Palace in Sheki is the most impressive building in the country, while Kish is notable for its fresh air and friendly atmosphere. The blog also visits Qax and Ilisu.


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Barbados: Goddard Passes Away  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press and Keltruth Corp. are saddened at the passing of Barbadian entrepreneur and independent senator, Sir John Stanley Goddard.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bermuda: Business Savvy · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Bermudian retailers could learn the value to providing better service if they’re serious about staying in business”: The first rule of better service, according to 21 Square? – “Don’t insult your customers.”


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Bhutan: Boost For The Media · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay, the leader of the opposition in Bhutanese parliament and a blogger, informs about two good news for the Bhutanese journalists: 1) The King has ordered to “strengthen media agencies so that they may carry out their duties, without fear or favour, in the interest of democracy” and 2) The journalists got a new press club equipped with internet, TV, a restaurant and a bar.

author: Rezwan


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Blogger of the Week: Haute Haiku from Kenya · Global Voices
Rebekah Heacock

Haute Haiku is one of Global Voices’ newest Sub-Saharan African authors. He writes about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) blogosphere in Africa, including bloggers’ thoughts on HIV transmission among men who have sex with men, and how gays and lesbians are treated in East Africa. Haute also blogs about being a gay man in Africa on his personal blog, Single gay life in Kenya.
Haute Haiku
In many Sub-Saharan African countries, homosexuality is illegal and punishable by sentences ranging from payment of fines to several years or life in prison. According to the International Gay & Human Rights Council more than two thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing consensual same-sex acts, and across the continent people are subject to both physical attacks and discrimination.
Though life in Kenya is reportedly becoming easier for gay people, there is still legislation in place that says homosexual men (not women) can be sent to prison for up to 14 years. In countries like Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania, laws like these have been in place since colonial times, while in Burundi a ban on homosexuality was only just introduced in April of this year.
Consequently, many gays and lesbians throughout Africa live in fear of having their sexual orientation discovered. A small number make use of blogs to help spread knowledge and understanding of what it means to be gay.
How did you start writing for Global Voices?
I got an email from Ndesanjo Macha our Sub-Saharan Africa editor asking if I could cover LGBT issues, and I thought why not? I was skeptical at first, just wondering how many good writers turned him down before he got to me.
How did you get interested in writing about LGBT issues?
I used to read other people's blogs in a jam when going to school. I thought: I could do this. Mostly I wanted to meet people I could identify with, and when I started, I made a vow not to write concerning hate, phobia, or gay rights. Just gay life in general; why we are single, dating etc. Some homophobic remarks from a senior person in government triggered this. I decided no more homo-ignorance.
If you had to, how would you characterize the African LGBT blogosphere?
Progressive. Every day, all sorts of people come out: young, old, confused. There are over 20 queer blogs in Kenya, and most are active. Everyone has got their own beliefs. Some believe in the gay gene, or think they run the gamut of the gay rights movement… And there are those who believe they do not have to be effeminate to be gay. It is all about celebrating diversity.
What are the African LGBT issues you are most interested in communicating to the rest of the world?
Gay marriages aside, I'd say safe sex and control. Since people of different sexual orientations exist, and African leaders have refused to acknowledge this, there should be a campaign for MSM (men who have sex with men). It is a sad fact, to them, but if they ignore this, it is going to blow right up in their faces. They shut down such clinics, and even the ones that are still open are not visited by gay people. The staff would like to help, but politicians say there is no place for gay men in Africa.
How many languages do you speak?  How did you decide to blog in English?
Two: English, Swahili, and maybe three, if we are counting my mother tongue. I guess a lot of people blog in English in East Africa, and have gotten quite a lot of readers as a result.
What do you do when you're not blogging?  What are some of your other interests or hobbies?
I am still in school, studying business management. My interests are practicing my slam poetry, which is spoken word poetry.
You can read all the posts written by Haute on Global Voices here.

author: Rebekah Heacock


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Bolivia: Divided Opposition · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In the upcoming December elections in Bolivia, Miguel Centrellas of Pronto* writes that the dozen opposition candidates will divide the vote when facing the incumbent President Evo Morales.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Brazil: Newspaper tries to silence a blog and the blogosphere reacts · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Roberto Moraes [pt] publishes a list of bloggers who have written in solidarity with his blog, after a lawsuit was filled by Folha da Manhã newspaper [pt]. The blogger asks: “Is a media organization that tries to silence other opinions reliable?”


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Caribbean: Bolt Does It Again!  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 100 and 200 meter events, Jamaican Usain Bolt, sprinted to an even more impressive victory this past weekend at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, clocking 9.58 seconds to beat his own record.  Regional bloggers are in a celebratory mood, particularly in Jamaica…
Life, Unscripted, on the Rock unabashedly says:
Mi glad bag buss!
BIG UP, Bolt and Asafa. Lightning Bolt scorched, and Asafa [Powell, who took home the bronze for Jamaica in a time of 9.84] showed us what he’s made of.
Congratulations are also due to all the Caribbean participants on a job well done.
Abeng News Magazine writes of the victory:
Usain Bolt’s sizzling 9.58 sec world record 100 meters run on Sunday gave Jamaicans one more reason to celebrate, despite the tough economic times facing the island.
The significance of the achievement is not lost on The Phoenix in a Gas House:
One day Usain Bolt is going to do something that a normal human being might do. He'll spill his tea, or drop his chicken nuggets, or trip over his shoelaces.
One day. For now, he astonishes and astounds with everything he does.
Almost exactly 73 years ago in this Olympiastadion, Jesse Owens produced an athletic performance that made sporting history. Before Sunday night, it seemed impossible that anyone could ever match those deeds.
That was before 9.58 seconds. That was before Usain landed.
The greatest 100m in history? Surely. The greatest sprinter ever? Unquestionably.
Girl With a Purpose, meanwhile, is “still amazed…in wonderful shock and awe!” – Stunner's Afflictions adds:
Once again the man dubbed the fastest man on earth has proven why he got that title and in fine style.
Bloggers from Trinidad and Tobago also put in their two cents’ worth.  Trinidad and Tobago News Blog calls the win “amazing” and ttgapers.com says:
Usain Bolt proved again he races in a world all his own.


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China: Dangers Of Uploading Your Photo Onto The Internet · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK picked up a post from NewSC and showed how one's photo protrait was transformed by other netizens.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Rape and beatings in a Beijing “black jail” hotel · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Black and White Cat explained the background of a recent rape case in a Beijing “black jail” hotel for petitioner with a translation of local investigative report by Southern weekly on 6 of August. The Chinese report was censorsed and deleted because of its politically senstive content.


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Dominican Republic: Cyber-Journalism Olympics · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The third Cyber-Journalism Olympics will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where participants will learn how to write for the internet according to Luijo of Ahí é Que Prende [es]


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Egypt:Kareem’s final appeal · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kareem’s, Egyptian blogger, final appeal will take place on Monday and Rawda Ahmed, his lawyer, will be there to hear the final decision.


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India: Media And Shahrukh Khan’s Detention · Global Voices
Rezwan

Did the Indian media overreact on the news of Bollywood Actor Shahrukh Khan's detention in the US? Harini Calamur at POV opines: “I wonder how much airtime was spent on this – and to the exclusion of what? [..] On the day Shahrukh Khan got detained for two hours [..] 21 farmers committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh because they couldn’t pay off their debt. But, farmers committing suicide cannot be sponsored, it does not drive up TRP’s.”


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Jamaica: Garvey’s Birthday  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands notes that “today marks the anniversary of the birth of Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr…the first person to be declared a national hero of an independent Jamaica.”


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Japan: Bean Curd · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ad Blankestijn from Japan Navigator explained more or less everything you need to know about Tofu or Bean Curd.


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Japan: Food self-sufficiency ratio calculation · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

JMR at Eris in Asia blogs about the reasoning behind the Japanese government's use of “the calorific method of calculation, rather than the near universal cost-base calculation” to calculate food self-sufficiency ratio.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Mexico: Anniversary of Fall of Aztec Empire · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

On August 13, Jesús Chairez commemorates the 488th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec empire in Mexico by visiting Tlatelolco, also known as the Plaza of Three Cultures, which is the site where Emperor Cuauhtémoc was defeated by the Spainards.


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South Korea: Gendered Health Drinks · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Grand narrative looked into the advertisements of health drinks and examined how they were depicted with gender conotation.


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Sri Lanka: From The Blogosphere · Global Voices
Rezwan

London, Lanka and Drums posts a roundup of some latest updates from the Sri Lankan blogosphere.


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Sri Lanka: Images Of The Flood In An IDP Camp · Global Voices
Rezwan

Groundviews posts pictures of the flooding in Menik Camp and updates on the increasingly desperate situation for the IDPs.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba, U.S.V.I.: Eye on the Weather  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

This Beach Called Life and Coffeewallah blog about Trinidad and Tobago's rainy season, while Havana Times is keeping an eye on Hurricane Bill and News of St. John says that “Ana has arrived”.


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USA: “I am getting deported on Wednesday” · Global Voices
Hoa Quach

Update: When Herta reported to the authorities on August 19 she was told she can remain in the country until November 9. She says there was a 9-inch stack of letters from supporters that her attorney has asked be added to her file. The campaign continues.
Herta Llusho is a 19-year old student at risk of being deported from the United States to Albania on Wednesday, August 19.
Bloggers at DreamActivist.org and other immigrant rights blogs are calling on Americans to help delay her deportation until new legislation is enacted that would enable her to stay.
And they have listed numerous ways for people to help, including: calling senators and congress members, joining groups and organizations or by simply blogging about her story.
Herta's Story
Herta is a freshman at the University of Detroit Mercy, majoring in electrical engineering.
Eight years ago, as a child, Herta arrived in the United States from Albania with her mother, in pursuit of the ‘American dream’. She graduated middle school and high school with good grades.
Llusho (third from the left) with friends during her high school graduation ceremony.
By definition, Herta is an “undocumented immigrant” but her family have been trying to obtain legal status for her since her first year in the U.S. On August 19, their hopes for her future may be shattered. This is when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plan to return her to Albania.
In an email sent to Dreamactivist.org subscribers, Hersha writes:
“Despite our best efforts, on August 19, I will be removed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from the only place I know as my home. I will be sent back to a country that has become a foreign place to me. I don't even speak Albanian well anymore.”
Herta’s father stayed in Albania, while her mother and siblings ventured across the Atlantic Ocean.
“My parents brought me to the United States because they believed in the promises this country had to offer. To them it was the land of opportunities, values, and ideals. They were faithful believers of the American Dream, meaning that through hard work, education, and good character their children could accomplish anything they wanted.”
In this video made with Kyle de Beausset from Citizen Orange, Herta explains what she is going through.
Blogging for Llusho
Several bloggers  have written about Herta and encouraged their readers to fight for her cause, including American Humanity, B-Listed, Documenting Me, Nuestra Voice and Standing FIRM.
Change.org is hosting an online petition to help Herta, and the SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is facilitating phone calls to senators on their website. On Facebook Herta's cause has attracted more than 2000 supporters.
Kyle from, Citizen Orange wrote about meeting with Herta and her older brother Lirjon, who has a student visa.
“Lirjon and Herta are incredible people. Herta is especially lucky to have a brother like Lirjon who has been tirelessly advocating for her. Even in the short time that Lirjon and Herta introduced themselves to my family, they had a huge impact. It was a special moment for me, too. My family is used to seeing me type away at a computer. This was the first time they got to meet the real people whose lives I'm affecting.
He continues:
“Herta would probably not want me to describe it this way, but the U.S. has spit in her face and she has responded only with love. That deep, true, and endearing love in the face of injustice, when acted upon even by one person, does more for the betterment of the universe than millions of angry demonstraters will ever do. By fighting to stay in the U.S., Herta is participating in what Gandhi would call “satyagraha”, which the Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. often translated into “truth-force” or “love-force.” Those who support Herta are participating in satyagraha, too.”
“I continue to believe…”
With the support of DreamActivist, Citizen Orange, and many others – Herta has shared her story with the world. Their hope is that a proposed bill called The DREAM Act will be passed soon. It would allow undocumented students, like Herta, to become legal residents depending on certain prerequisites, like age of arrival and years of study.
Although federal lawmakers first rejected the bill in 2007, it was re-introduced with some changes in March 2009 and supporters hope that it could gain enough support to be passed with President Barack Obama in office. Should it pass, it is estimated that around 65,000 undocumented students who entered the U.S. as children would be permitted to stay.
Herta hopes that her life may take the same turn as another 18-year old undocumented immigrant and student, Taha in New Jersey. Taha, would have been sent back to his ancestral home of Bangladesh – however, after support from two senators and other Americans – Homeland Security deferred his deportation.
Now, Herta is asking for the same.
“Help me delay my deportation until I finish college or until the DREAM Act is passed. Help renew the promise of the American Dream for me, so that together we can work renew the promise of the American Dream for everyone”

author: Hoa Quach


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Africa: Mobile Money Transfer Directory · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Erik writes about the creation of a Mobile Money Transfer Directory in Africa.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: The Africa Knowledge Transfer Partnership · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

CareerNigeria has a post about The Africa Knowledge Transfer Partnershio (AKTP): “The Africa Knowledge Transfer Partnership (AKTP) is among the world’s leading initiatives helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and expertise…”


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Armenia: Newspaper promotes homophobia and hate crimes · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In an extended post, Unzipped: Gay Armenia reacts in horror to an article published by one local newspaper which not only displays its own homophobia, but also appears to advocate hate crimes — including murder — against gays in the country.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Eurovision voting scandal · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Although held in May, some media outlets in Azerbaijan last week reported that 43 people who voted for the Armenian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest have been identified by police and one has even been called in for questioning. Still effectively in a state of war over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the news is just the latest of many scandals surrounding both countries in the international music competition.
The Snowolf says that it is not sure whether the news is alarming or entertaining. By the end of the post, however, the blogger seems to have decided on the former.
[…] Bloody hell. He voted for a fucking song. It's not just us that use the security dogwhistle as an excuse to give someone a hard time for the hell of it, then.
[…]
One final little question; How did the authorities know this man had voted for the Armenians? I'm willing to bet that it was down to the retention of all telephone calls and text messages on some sort of central database.
Brett Neely comments on the Soviet-era tactics employed by the authorities.
The super-cheesy annual Eurovision song contest (held in May) has had its share of political undertones in the past few years (Georgia, Russia, etc), but the latest case of politics creeping into the event has a downright Stalinist cast to it (minus the Siberian gulag).
[…]
Though the Azerbaijan entry wound up getting a very respectable third place, the thought that Azeris might support Azerbaijan’s arch-enemy, Armenia, was a bit too much. Never mind that the Azeri entry included an Iranian-Swedish singer joined by an Azeri pop star – which prompted Nasirli’s protest vote for Armenia. Even scarier is how the Azeri spooks discovered Nasirli’s “traitorous” voting:
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A couple of points worth noting here. First, the Azeri state must feel insanely insecure if someone within the security services felt the need to look up SMS records to find out who’s not for Team Azerbaijan in one of the world’s silliest televised events. Human Rights Watch has documented the country’s heavy-handed attempts to silence dissent.
Others are not surprised, especially as Eurovision was already off to a bad start with Georgia's aborted entry in February. Eurovision central has more.
[…] his action is broadly representative of Azerbaijan’s government. International Politics rearing its head in the Eurovision? Who’d have thunk it?!
Here’s the Armenian entry that got the voters in trouble – I wonder if they still think it was worth it?
A Fistful of Euros says that the news is indicative of the state of democracy — or lack of it — in both republics.
That’s actually a fairly good index of the relative freedoms of the two countries. Armenia is a managed democracy, where the opposition is kept pretty toothless. Last year, when the government got tired of peaceful protests over a stolen election, they gunned down a bunch of protesters in the street. (And then blamed the opposition, of course.)
That said, Armenia has a formal opposition. The Armenian press is free-ish. (Well, newspapers are. TV and radio, not so much.) Open criticism of the government is tolerated. […] And there’s a much wider field for… I’m not sure how to say it… not dissent exactly. Opinions that differ from the nationalist consensus? There are boundaries that can’t be crossed in Armenia, but they’re much wider. Nobody really cares if you vote for the Azeris.
Azerbaijan, on the other hand, is a fairly repressive dictatorship. There’s not much more to say. Politically, it resembles the former Soviet republics of Central Asia much more than it does either of the other two countries of the south Caucasus. And Azeri society allows much less room for public dissent.
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Anyway. Azerbaijan is a wannabe police state, the Nagorno conflict is intractable. Not really news. But once again, we see the power of Eurovision! And that’s always worth reporting.
Notes from the Bartender says the incident is Orwellian, but adds that the song didn't deserve being voted for in the first place.
Although amusing, these sorts of stories always make me wonder about the mindset of people who get into positions of power. Is their grip on power so tenuous that they need to monitor who their citizenry vote for in a song contest? Are the government really using resources to read everyone’s phone texts? How distorted has their sense of patriotism become?
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[…] Long-time EU members now seem to treat the contest as something of a joke, seeing who can enter the most ridiculous contestant. New inductees into the wider European community, however, tend to take things a little too seriously, perceiving victory as a mode of national advancement.
I could understand if this was a visit from the Taste Police. […]
Life after Helsinki 2007 calls the heavy-handed tactics absurd, while The Armenian Observer simply concludes that if only 43 Azeri citizens voted for Armenia in this year's competition, and reportedly without the telephone number to do so being displayed, it is unlikely that any will do so in 2010.


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author: Ayesha Saldanha


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