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Colombia: The Release of Alf Onshuus Niño · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Otra Expresión [es] reports that Colombian-Norweigan Alf Onshuus Niño was recently released by the FARC in an act unrelated to the recent rescue of 15 hostages. The blogger at Balada del Elefante Azul [es] also mentions this and is especially meaningful since he has blogged about the kidnapping of his personal friend.


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Poland, Lithuania: “Ill Starred Wars” · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Copydude comments on the US Missile Defence Shield, Poland and Lithuania.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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East Timor: Protest against luxury motor vehicles · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The East Timor Students Forum is threatening hunger strikes against the decision of the National Parliament to purchase luxury motor vehicles.

author: Mong Palatino


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Ecuador: LDU Crowned Winners of Libertadores Cup · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Gabby Corsales celebrates the victory of the Liga Deportiva Universitaria football team in the Libertadores Cup [es], awarded to the best squad in South America and Mexico. LDU became the first side from Ecuador to win the prestigious tournament.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Global Lives Project: Recording the lives of 10 people for 1 day · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The Global Lives Project is a global initiative created to showcase the lives of 10 different people from all over the world by following them and recording 24 hours of their day in video. These 240 hours of material will be shown at the same time in an installation where a person will be able to walk through 10 different rooms projecting each one of their lives, and a central hub where the 10 screens will be seen simultaneously. Following, their project presentation where they explain what their goals are, how they plan to reach them and more information on the project:
What they are attempting to do is showcase the diversity in the planet, to be able to show to any person how others live, unedited and unscripted. Not only will it be available during the installation, but the content will be online, as a sort of collaborative online video encyclopedia of human experiences.
They are also looking for video makers in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa, exhibition hosts who could show the  20-meter diameter exhibit, translators and funders. More information can be found at their website.  So far they have shot a pilot with a US cable car driver in San Francisco and a Brazilian musician/city permit inspector, as well as a shoot in Malawi and another in Japan.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Indonesia: Manhunt for terror suspects · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Indonesian police have launched a nationwide manhunt for two top terror suspects behind the latest deadly bombings in Bali. SPH purple reporters provide key background information about the activities of the suspects.


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Iran: Peaceful protest movement against corruption · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here is a film in YouTube showing a peaceful demonstration against corruption in Mashhad, the second largest city in Iran, about 10 days ago.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:”A realistic approach to nuclear crisis” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former Iranian vice president and blogger, writes about nuclear crisis and says a “realistic approach is a national need in the dangerous conditions of the country and it is a need for preserving Iran.”


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Iran:Arian, a popular pop music group · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari has published several photos of Arian, a popular pop music group in Iran.


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Iran:Congratulations on high oil prices · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to View from Iran, we can read translation of a sms going around Iran right now:”We congratulate the Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian people the increase in the price of Iranian oil to $100 a barrel.”


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Russia: Home of Sochi Olympics 2014 · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Mmd Russia Blog draws attention to a recent report on the Krasnodar region and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.


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Kurdistance: Where Have All the Bloggers Gone? · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Coverage of the Kurdish blogosphere began on Global Voices in September of 2005, and since that time the Kurdish blogosphere has waxed and waned in its content. As I look at my feed-reader today, out of the 74 Kurdish blogs listed only 11 have updated their sites in the past two months, and even a smaller handful (three or four) have updated in the past week. Where did the conversation go? The answer is to places like Facebook and forums like Roj Bash Kurdistan and The Kurdistani Forum.
So how many Kurds are on Facebook? A sizable number in fact. Two Facebook groups (where membership is invitation only) sport fairly large numbers: How Many Kurds are on Facebook? has 1,367 members, and Support an Independent Kurdistan has 1,452 members. Of course this begs the question, with so many members on Facebook, how come more Kurds aren't blogging? After his site was hacked multiple times From Holland to Kurdistan closed his blog to private readers only; and after similar persecution in Iran, Medya from MedyaDaily was forced to stop blogging. As one poster on the Facebook site I (heart) Kurdistan put it:
I want to tell you that I knew a lot of kurdish blogs, which were full of turkish idiots people ( I don't mean that turkish are all idiots, but those ones were) who posted insults on those blogs, and it always became very violent, no discussion was possible, and the website host had to delete those blogs because of this violence !
So how can we have blogs from kurdish people when others enjoy breaking all hopes of sharing our culture !!?? All kind of people can go on Internet so fortunately other ways are possible to get stronger and respected !
And in response:
It's sad about the blogs, and giving so easily up. People should not response to them and let them bark, and let the people know how they are. I've blocked/deleted countless many of such people who come and curse at the entire kurdish nation. Because they are not worth to waste my time to reply.
What can be done to counteract the quietening of voices in the Kurdish blogosphere? Facebook poster Rezan offers the following list:
10 simple things you can do right now for Kurdistan!
* 1. Create a blog about Kurds. The more blogs we have about Kurdistan and Kurdish culture the better.
* 2. Be active on Wikipedia, add articles, and be active in promoting Kurdish history and culture.
* 3. Create a group IRL in your city, that you meet each week to discuss politics. Be creative. Do not be afraid to discuss politics. We HAVE to learn to discuss our difference not our common. Find activities to do, like create a dance group, open a seminar at your university or school.
* 4. Create a website with photos from your Kurdistan trips. Power up Google Images with Kurdish and Kurdistan.
* 5. Promote Kurdish Language. Go to courses or ask for help from friends and schools to learn your mother language. If you are good at it, offer your help to those Kurdish youth that cannot speak Kurdish.
* 6. Write an article about Kurdistan to your local newspaper. Give your hope and dreams of a country of our own. Promote the greater Kurdistan.
* 7. Donate money in several Kurdish organizations. If you don’t have money, find sponsors from companies that could donate money for Kurdish youth non-political organizations.
* 8. Become active your local non-Kurdish political parties. Having Kurds in American or European political organizations has the most profound effect on foreign affairs.
* 9. Send a letter to your local politicians to include the Kurdish struggle in their events and discussions.
* 10. Be a role model for other Kurdish youth. Be active. Become productive. Promote Kurdistan and Kurdish culture. Make sure that follow your steps!
If you are interested in seeing more of the Kurds online, here are just a few of the Kurdish Facebook sites:
How Many Kurds are on Facebook?
Kerkuk-The Heart of Kurdistan
I (heart) Kurdistan
I am a Kurd
Friends of Kurdistan
Fundraising for Kurdish Rights
Asimilasyon bir insanlık suçudur…
Free Kurdistan
Happy is the one who says, “I'm a KURD”.
Support an Independent Kurdistan

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Laos: Reflections on communist invasion · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Laotian Teacher recalls the sad experience of Laos under communist rule


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Laos: Solar-powered lanterns · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A company is bringing solar-powered systems to light up the remote communities of Laos.


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Malaysia: Higher education · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Tempinis diaries thinks Malaysia should seriously consider setting up an academic advisory panel for higher education.


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Malaysia: Political scandals · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Sex charges, disappearing witnesses, murder, fuel protests. Indeed, political drama is unfolding in Malaysia.   Mr. Definite observes local politics gets interesting.


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Mexico: Tram in the Historical Center of the Capital · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A new tram will be constructed in Mexico City capable of transporting 240 passengers and will begin in the historical part of the capital city.  El Nahual is in favor of this new project because [es], “it is quiet, does not contaminate, promotes the use of public transportation, etc.“


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Nicaragua: Blog of Salvador Cardenal · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Nicaraguan singer-songrwriter Salvador Cardenal's blog provides photos of recent concerts and information about upcoming events.


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Nicaragua: Ex-Sandinistas Part of Renovation Movement · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Política Nica [es] writes about the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) of Nicaragua and writes that it is comprised of “ex-revolutionaries combing their gray hairs and willing to swear upon institutional laws..and for many years they had been stigmatized by the right as a group of leftwingers guilty of the destabilization of national laws during the Sandinista Revolution.”


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The Oil and the Glory: Guest Column · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Author Tom de Waal guest-blogs about changing Russian-Azeri relations at The Oil and the Glory as Russian President Medvedev heads for Baku.


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Vietnam: Dissident monk passes away · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Ven. Thich Huyen Quang, the Supreme Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam has passed away. Vietnam Human Rights Journal comments: “It is sad that a man of Thich Huyen Quang's stature could have been forced into a form of internal exile in central Vietnam, essentially cut off from the outside world, for no crime other than speaking out boldly for religious freedom and human rights. He has truly lived by the Quaker expression, ‘speak truth to power’, and has paid a price for it.”


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A Sudanese Touristic Destination and Sudanese-American Soccer · Global Voices
SudaneseDrima

These last few weeks there was no distinct event that captured the attention of the Sudanese blogosphere. So, what I have here for you today is a nice and simple roundup of random posts from Sudanese blogs. Let's get started, shall we?
Amjad, who is now currently studying in the United States, blogged about the existence of something called the Sudanese-American Soccer League (SASL). Yes, there's actually one in America.
Colorado (blue) vs. Irving (red & white)
With the number of Sudanese-Americans growing, the Sudanese communities here have decided to create a soccer league for the Sudanese communities all over the United States. There is a good number of Sudanese-Americans in different states in the US, and so it was a good idea for each community in each state to establish its own team and join the Sudanese-American Soccer League (SASL).
Drima blogged about Obama's historic victory with excitement and gave his analysis for why he thinks the next President of the United States will be a Democrat:
We knew this was coming for a while. Win or lose, Obama has achieved the seemingly unachievable
… We’ve still got many months to go and a lot can happen. Potential controversies and campaign management on both sides will of course also be two factors in the final outcome, but at the end of the day, by looking at the midterm election results and the current circumstances, I’d say America is in the mood for a Donkey president.
JohnAkec in Southern Sudan shared his thoughts on a speech he attended by Mr. Pagan Amum, the secretary general of Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM):
In his approximately one hour speech, Pagan Amum did not mince his word but put the responsibility for the Abyei’s carnage squarely at the door of NCP and president Omer Al Bashir: “All these atrocities were committed by the so called People’s Armed Forces which never fired a single bullet against a foreign army since Sudan’s independence in 1956!….President Bashir is responsible for the death and displacement of 100 thousand Abyei citizens 100% ” he told his cheering audience. I agreed with comrade Pagan 100%.
Sudanese Returnee told us that he's still safe and alive after returning to Southern Sudan and being absent from his blog for an extended period of time:
It looks like ages since I last posted anything from Juba, so much that I did not know what to blog about…
First there was the National Census that I so much longed to be part of. I am told the guys came home,  but I am not too sure I have been counted.
Then came the SPLM Second National Convention (splmtoday.com) which I believe was historic to the SPLM.
And Khartoum got hit but JEM, Khartoum hit Abyei and SPLM re-elects Kiir as Chairman.
Juba is changing everyday. I promise to send you pics of before and after some time soon.
As for now, just wanted to show the blogsphere that i’m alive.
Rara Avis is still too busy to blog she says:
Since my last malnutritioned post, I have been so preoccupied with my busy academic and friends-full life, that I could only browse and browse and read other peoples’ blogs and not updating mine.
Last but not least, allow me to leave you with these pictures of touristic destinations in Port Sudan. Kizzie blogged them:
Yes this post contains some shameless Sudan-promotion, but it's a beautiful country and you should visit Sudan it sometime. Sudan is not exactly on your list of “must visit countries” , but put aside your list for a bit and look at the pictures.
This is not about Sudan, but this is about port Sudan, one of Sudan's most beautiful cities.
It's the perfect place to visit….friendly locals, nice beaches, one of the world's best diving areas, nice hotels and resorts and the city is very tourist-friendly.
Remember, tourism is always good for the locals:)

author: SudaneseDrima


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Bahrain: Broken promises? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Yagoob asks why needy Bahraini families have not received the financial support they were promised six months ago that was aimed at protecting them against inflation.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: Playing the blame game · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Redbelt argues that Bahrainis always refuse to take responsibility for their problems, and prefer to blame external factors.


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Bangkok’s new taxi fare · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

HaPPi like a HiPPo blogs about the new Bangkok taxi fare which was adjusted due to rising oil prices. According to him, good news for drivers but bad news for passengers.


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Bangladesh: Load Shedding · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bangladesh From Our View on the nagging problem of load-shedding and electricity outages.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Tourism Threat? · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Barbados Underground comments on a recent newspaper article headlined “No tourism threat from Trinidad”, and suggests the reality may soon be very different.

author: Skye Hernandez


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Belarus: Change · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon writes about change in Belarus – “the kind that the cashier gives back at the store.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bermuda: Hate Crime · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Vexed Bermoothes applauds a Bermudan judge's ruling that recognised an attack on a gay man as a hate crime, “even though the law provides no protection for sexual orientation.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Chemical Weapons; Dutch Graffiti · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Srebrenica Genocide Blog writes about chemical weapons allegedly used against Srebrenica civilians and about the obscene graffiti left by the Dutch troops stationed at the UN base in Potocari.


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Brunei: Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Commonwealth Expedition is looking for a Bruneian lady to join the Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition next year. Brunei Lifestyle mentions the details of the audition.


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Brunei: Expensive birthday celebration · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Dear Brunei asks if it is really necessary to build road arks, billboards and banners to celebrate the birthday of the Sultan of Brunei. The money, according to the blogger, should be given to charity.


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Bulgaria: Bojidar Antonov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Via Veni Markovski, a link to a Bulgarian-language blog of Bojidar Antonov, who has recently finished a 30-day, 1,500-kilometer run across Bulgaria. (An intro in English is here.)


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Cambodia election guide · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

GV author Caroline Finlay publishes a briefer on the coming Cambodian elections.


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China: Are you in? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

You might be in The Lost Ring already and not even know it, unless you've been keeping up with the biggest alternate reality game seen so far. Lyn Jeffery at Virtual China looks at how Chinese netizens figure into the mystery—or not, thanks to internet censorship.

author: John Kennedy


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China: Canteen=Translate Server Error · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Buxi posts a funny photo of a translation error caused by the failure of online translation server.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Citizen journalists prepare for the Olympics · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Footloose citizen reporter Zuola has said [zh] he's going to be there, religious extremists are going to be there, foreign media seem to be looking for local stringers, and cutting-edge web 2.0 companies are so convinced that something worth vlogging will happen during next month's Beijing Olympic Games that they're giving away free stuff, despite the apparent attempt to ban any filming of Olympic events.
Can we say that any citizen reporter in the area worth their salt should already be finalizing plans to be in Beijing on 888? If you're not, now's the time to reconsider. Late last month, global citizen journalism site GroundReport announced a 500 USD prize and top spot on their homepage for best citizen reporter video taken next month:
“Because the Beijing Olympics will be the first covered by Citizen Journalists. And while traditional media converges in Beijing, we want to know the story behind the story, from regular people like YOU.”
If you visit the site, don't forget to check out the rules. Top of the list of ideas for things GroundReport is looking for: Protests.


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China: Interviewing Mr. Strong Pig · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A netizen wrote a funny dialogue between a reporter and Mr. Strong Pig (a pig survived in the Sichuan earthquake for 36 days) for reflecting media operation and spoofing various social problems happened within 36 days. (Via Zhao Mu's Blog)


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China: Is Sarkozy the problem with Sino-French relations? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Okay, this post comes inspired by GVO Lingua. Bush is coming to the Olympics, but French President Nicolas Sarkozy has pegged his decision on the outcome of talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, currently underway. Pending that, many Chinese netizens are now telling Sarkozy not to bother showing up.
This week, Wen Wei Po Paris correspondent Zheng Ruolin critized French President Sarkozy for fumbling Sino-French relations through his stance on Tibet in his ‘A Chinese Journalist’ column on Rue89.com. Seeing that, Sohu blogger ‘Cai Xiongshan’ translated many of the comments (Zheng btw is also a Sohu blogger) left there into Chinese, and here are a few:
21H54 05/07/2008
Avec sa politique bling-bling-n'importe-quoi, Sarkozy va nous facher avec toute la planète.
以萨科奇的浪子策略，他会激怒全球。
21H59 05/07/2008
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité vous y croyez vous ?
je suis français et cela fait bien longtemps que je n'y crois plus, c'est comme le père Noël.
自由，平等，博爱，你相信吗？我是法国人，我很久不相信了，这就像圣诞老人。
M Zheng,
je pense comme vous qu'à force de vouloir jouer sur la corde raide, Sarkozy va réussir à mécontenter tout le monde.
Là où je ne vous suis plus c'est votre conviction que l'opinion Chinoise puisse avoir une influence sur l'opinion Française.
Rappelez vous, lors de l'opposition de Paris à la guerre en Irak, les Américains furent très mécontents de l'attitude Française et on a vu se monter une campagne anti-Française au USA. Malgré cela, si Chirac a eu des mauvais sondages ce n'est certainement pas parce qu'il avait mécontenter les Américains.
En ce qui concerne les touristes Chinois, s'il ne voulaient vraiment ne plus venir en France, on comprend mal alors le pourquoi de ce boycotage officieux de la destination Française sous la pression des autorités Chinoises ? Il s'agit là d'une maneouvre d'intimidation indigne d'une nation qui doit acceuillir les Jeux Olympiques.
Je terminerai sur l'arrogance de vos propos : “Ils veulent du travail, l’augmentation du pouvoir d’achat, la maitrise de l’inflation… Et c’est la Chine qui peut leur apporter tout cela et personne d’autre.”
Il ne faudrait pas que la Chine se fourvoye dans cette illusion. Incapable de maitriser son environnement, elle se croit capable faire la pluie et le beau temps de nos economies, j'ose esperer que cela n'est que votre point de vue.
郑先生，我和你一样认为萨科奇在走钢丝，他将激怒所有人。我所不同意的是你确信中国舆论将影响法国舆论。
提醒您，在伊兰克战争时，美国人对法国人态度很不满意，我们看到一场反法运动在美国。尽管如此，如果当时希拉克的民意调查支持率很低，但那明显不是因为他让美国人不高兴。
关于中国旅游者，如果他们真的不愿来法国，我不能理解为什么中国官方施压抵制法国作为旅游地呢？这是一个即将迎接奥运的国家的恐吓手段。
我以您高傲的言论结束：“他们要工作，提高购买力，控制通货膨胀，中国可以带给他们而不是别人。”中国不应该如此自我陶醉而迷路。目前中国对其环境恶化无能为力，却自信能控制其经济，我斗胆希望这不仅仅是您的观点。
I'll have you know that when the war against Iraq began, Americans were quite displeased with the French and we saw an anti-French movement in America. Despite this, opinion polls showed low support for Chirac at the time, but that obviously was not because he had made the Americans unhappy.
As for Chinese tourists, if they really don't wish to come to France, I don't understand why Chinese officials are pushing for a boycott against France as a tourism destination. And these are intimidation tactics coming from a country about to host the Olympics.
I'll end with your arrogant words: “they want jobs, to increase their purchasing power and control currency inflation. China can provide this, but not others.” China ought to not get so lost in such narcissism. At present, China is unable to do anything about degradation of its environment, yet it's confident it can control its economy. I dare hope this is not your view alone.
01H02 06/07/2008
Cher Daniel,
Je pense que dans notre ère mondialisée, les opinions d’un peuple influenceront tôt ou tard un autre, car les informations sur le net n’ont vraiment plus de frontières, et avec nos bonnes volontés et nos sincérités, nous arriverons à vous montrer et démontrer que la réalité du Tibet et de la Chine n’est pas ce qu’on voulait vous faire croire ! La France est quand même le pays de Voltaire, et de Rousseau, elle devait avoir un esprit suffisamment large pour écouter et comprendre les autres civilisations, et pas les rejeter sans connaître réellement la vérité ! J’ai vécu 15 ans ici, et vous voyez, certains (peut-être mes anciens compatriotes) m’accusent encore « ne connaît rien sur votre pays ». Alors je me demande combien de gens ici ont déjà posé le pied sur le sol de mon pays ? Donc expliquer, et discuter dans un esprit égal et ouvert, ça sert toujours quelques choses, et un jour quand un jeune Français connaît le système féodal-servage du Tibet sous la règne de dalaï-lama, on comprendra qui est contre la réforme démocratique en 1956… Et tous les événements depuis s’expliquent automatiquement !
Concernant Ils veulent du travail, l’augmentation du pouvoir d’achat, la maitrise de l’inflation… Et c’est la Chine qui peut leur apporter tout cela et personne d’autre.” C’est vrai, vous avez raison, je suis maladroit, en pensant provoquer un débat il vaut mieux des piques qu’un verre d’eau tiède, je blesse à mon tour les Français, je m’excuse sincèrement ! Mais pour un simple citoyen, c’est une chose, pour un président de la République, il faut agir dans l’intérêt du peuple, non ? Pour les touristes chinois, le gouvernement ne peut qu’interdire les fonctionnaires d’état de venir en France, mais pas d’individus.
Merci pour votre mise en garde, je ferais attention.
亲爱的丹尼尔
我想在我们这个全球化的时代，异国民众舆论或早或迟影响其它国家，因为网上信息传播没有国界。怀着美好愿望及真诚，我们会向你们展现真实的西藏，中国也不仅仅是我们曾想让你相信的中国。法国是伏尔泰的国度，卢梭的国度，她应该有足够的气质去聆听和理解其它的文明，而不是在一无所知的情况下排斥。我在这里生活了15年，您看，有人指责我还是“对你们的国家一无所知”。我问自己你们多少人足迹到过我的祖国？所以，应该在一种平等和开放的精神下解释，讨论，这样或多或少有用，当有一天法国年轻人明白在达赖喇嘛统治下的西藏农奴制度时，人们就会明白是谁反对1956年的民主改革，所有的一切就会不证自明。
关于我说的“他们要工作，提高购买力，控制通货膨胀，不是其它而是中国”对，您有道理，我很愚笨的认为激起这样一场辩论用锋芒毕露比一杯温水好，我伤害了法国人，我真诚道歉。但最为一个简单的国民，是一回事，最为一国之总统，应该以人民利益行事？不是吗？作为中国旅游者，政府紧紧只限制国家公务员来法国，并没有禁止个人。
As for what I said “they want jobs, to increase their purchasing power and control currency inflation. China can provide this, but not others.” Yes, you make a good point, I very foolishly felt that making a spectacle to set off this debate would be better than something mundane, and in the process I hurt the French people and for that I am truly sorry. But, being a simple citizen is one thing; being a nation's president who ought to act in the people's interest is another, no? As a Chinese tourist, the government at most can only restrict civil servants from coming to France, but it cannot prohibit individuals.
09H05 06/07/2008
Dans les pays dits “non démocratiques”, la plupart des
gens savent qu'il y de la propagande officielle
Par contre dans un pays dit ‘démocratique”comme la France, la plupart des gens croient qu'il n'y a pas de
propagande officielle ! mais c'est pire , c'est plus vicieux, car “la propagande”est distillée par les médias à la solde de gros groupes financiers !
Enfin , soyons fiers de nos médias français indépendants et donnons des leçons à la Chine !
在一个 非民主国家，大部分人知道有官方宣传。相反，在一个所谓的民主国家，如法国，大部分人认为没有官方宣传。这更糟糕，更缺陷，因为宣传被支持媒体的财团所控制。
最后，为法国的媒体独立而自豪吧，给中国人上课！
Finally, let's be proud of France's independent media, and show the Chinese a lesson!
12H10 06/07/2008
C'est assez drôle, quand Mr Zheng Ruolin exprime son avis, on lui rappelle tout de suite que la Chine n'est pas la France, et quand France, on peut critiquer allégrement le Président sans rien risquer.
Mais il y a quelque chose que je ne comprends pas, bien que je lise et que je relise cet article et tous ceux traitant plus ou moins du même sujet : pourquoi les relations entre la France et la Chine passionnent-elles tout le monde à ce point? Ca frise l'hystérie. Peut-être parce qu'en France nous avons de belles valeurs, de beaux idéaux, une Révolution dont on oublie souvent le caractère sanguinaire ? Peut-être à cause des restes de l'ancienne politique néo-colonialiste, qui fait que les pays européens et la France en particulier aiment à rappeller à tout bout de champ à quel point nous sommes sages et démocrates ?
Et puis, pourquoi taper à ce point sur la France (qui l'a peut-être un peu cherché) quand il y a pas si longtemps à l'échelle de l'Univers les Anglais ont déclenché une guerre en Chine pour contrôler les routes de l'opium ?
很奇怪，郑先生发表他的观点，我们提醒他中国不是法国，在法国我们可以激励批评总统而没有任何危险。
但有些东西我不理解，虽然我重复读了这篇文章，或多或少是一个主题：“为什么中法关系如此让所有人热衷呢？”到了杰斯蒂里的地步。可能因为在法国，我们有好的价值，我们的思想，我们的大革命。可能由于殖民历史，让欧洲国家及法国尤其喜欢回忆起我们的明智和民主。
然而，为什么这一点紧紧抓住法国呢？英国不是对中国发动了鸦片战争为了控制鸦片输入吗？
22H57 05/07/2008
Monsieur Zheng,Je suis abusolutement d'accords avec vous!Sarkozy doit reflechir.Il ne faut pas toujour traiter les affaires chinoises dans une maniere francaise.Aujourd'dui,la Chine,est capable de dire “non” dans le monde,pourquoi pas?!
Cest vrais,La Chine a beacoup de problemes,mais la Chine s'ameliorer toujours. Il faut fair les francais connaitre mieux la Chine ,sinon,ils pensent que la Chine est toujour a l'epoque de Mao.
Je suis alle a l'universite a paris pour communiquer avec les etudiants .Il y a des etudiants qui ne savent pas ou es tibet sur le plan de la Chine,mais lls parlent Tibet comme specialistes.Ce n'est pas responsable!
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité on veut bien ,mais il ne faut pas jouer double jeu au nom de Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité .
Le peuple chinois ne accepte jamai ca !
郑先生，我完全同意你的观点，萨克奇应该反省下。不能总是用法国人的方式来看待中国问题。今天，中国有能力说“不”，为什么不呢？
是的，中国有很多的问题，但中国一直在改进。应该让更多的法国人了解中国，否则，他们都以为中国还是处于毛泽东时代。
我曾经去法国大学和大学生交流，有的学生都不知道西藏在中国地图哪里，但谈起西藏问题就像专家一样，这是不负责任的。
自由，平等，博爱，我们中国人也想要。但不应该以自由，平等，博爱之名去耍政治手腕。中国人民决不接受！
And here's just one comment from the 140+ others left on Xiongshan's post:
自由、民主、博爱，多么令人陶醉的字眼！可是，这和一个国家和民族的发展和文化传统相关。如果不是8过联军的入侵，如果没有列强的瓜分，如果没有那么多的赔偿，那么自由、民主、博爱可能我们早已经走在了他们的前面。难道他们忘记了自己曾经是怎样的一个不知道羞耻的侵略者吗？拿走我们的黄金白银，然后给我们鸦片，是我们的民族饱受压迫和饥饿，屈辱、落后曾经和我们相伴那么久，难道是我们自己的过错吗？我们的人民生活刚刚走向繁荣富强的道路，也是我们努力勤奋的成绩。他们就说三道四，为什么呢？他们害怕什么呢？难道这就是他们的“自由、民主、博爱”的象征吗？这就是他们的“人权宣言”吗？我不明白这是怎样的一个逻辑？都不知道《诗经》是那朝那代，却对它的内容大加歪曲评判，不知道我们的西藏在中国的什么地方，却对其历史和地位枉加评说，不觉得可笑吗？这是标准的强权政治的产物！


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China: Let’s do push-up! · Global Voices
Bob Chen

You know why millions of internet users in China are doing push-up?
In Tianya.cn, posts about push-up poured in. When a new post was put on the discussion board, people would rush in and left a very short comment, for example, “I am here to do push-up!”, “What the hell has it anything to do with me? I am just here for push-up!”
Many people have registered new IDs named with phrases including or related to “push-up”. In baidu.com, where people could create groups with keywords, the push-up group gained over 10,000 posts overnight, while only some hundred a few days ago.
Fuwocheng.com, a website named with the Chinese pinyin of push-up was open. On the site, you can click on the button “make a push-up”, and then see how many people from different regions are doing the same exercise with you. Shanghai topped the list now with almost 20,000.
But there is one thing weird: you can do no more than 3 push-ups. Also, occasionally people will jump out, warning kind-heartedly that you should stop when doing 2.
注意，俯卧撑最多只能做两个，否则后果自负！
Caution! Only 2 push-ups! Or you should be responsible for your action.
And
做完俯卧撑后要四周看看，小心有人被自杀！
After doing push-ups, please watch around. Be aware that some one will be suicided !
(not a mistake, here suicide comes to be a passive voice. You'll know the answer later.)
Now, doing 3 push-ups has been called the most fatal weapon ever.
The origin of PUSH-UP tide.
The origin of push-up, with significant political implication, has to be traced back to the recent riot happened in Weng’an, Guizhou on 28, June. On that day, a crowd of more than 30.000 people set fire on the police office to protest that the local police were hiding up three young people, with potential tie to local officials, who were suspected to be responsible for the death of a 15-year-old school girl, Li Shufen (李淑芬). Li's parents claimed they raped and then killed their daughter, judged by her injured body.
Rumors pointed that police exculpated for the real murders, saying the girl was only drowned.
Though the scene of unrest was recorded by locals’ cellphones and cameras, shocking the country when people saw hundreds of junior high kids smashing and breaking up the police station, the state media only gave a few words on it, claiming it was an incident ignited by a few criminals.
Meanwhile, the censorship was launched, and administrators were working 24 hours a day to wipe out any related entry on the Chinese internet. But the videos and words of mouth were impossible to be taken out completely.
Though under the pressure, not until 1 July did the Office of Information in Guizhou finally published an official statement. It changed no tone, still attributing the unrest to a crowd misdirected by a small group of agitators, and defended that the girl was drowned without being raped.
Exactly this statement, which brought back what happened at the night of 21, in police’s point of view, gave birth to the great tide of push-up.
A passage (quote from Caijing.com) goes as follow:
经过调查得知，6月21日20时许，李树芬与女友王某一起邀约出去玩，同李树芬的男朋友陈某及其朋友刘某等吃过晚饭后，步行到西门河边大堰桥处闲谈。李树 芬在与刘某闲谈时，突然说：“跳河死了算了，如果死不成就好好活下去”。刘某见状急忙拉住李树芬，制止其跳河行为。约10分钟后，陈某提出要先离开。当陈 某走后，刘某见李树芬心情平静下来，便开始在桥上做俯卧撑。当刘某做到第三个俯卧撑的时候，听到李树芬大声说“我走了”，便跳下河中。
The investigation shows, at 8.00 pm 21, June, Li hang out with Wang, his boyfriend Chen, and Liu, a girl (4 altogether). After dinner, they chatted and walked to the Dayan bridge across the West Gate River. While talking with Liu, Li suddenly said: “I’ll just jump into the river, whatever. But if I am not dead, I’ll live on.” Liu had to pull Li back immediately to prevent her from suicide. Ten minutes later, Chen left. Liu, because he saw Li had already calmed down, started to do push-up on the bridge. When doing the third one, he suddenly heard Li crying “I leave”. Then Li jumped into the river.
3 hours later, her body was found.
3 push-ups, a fatal weapon, a curse, or a magic? At least this is the greatest fun people found from this statement, making people burst into laugh. Numerous suspicions had not been clarified. How dare gangsters smash police office? Are all the kids shown in the videos criminals? Why did Li want to commit suicide? Why was Li’s uncle roughed up after complaining to the police office? There was no explanation, but a push-up joke.
As the war of posting and post-deleting was still going on, netizens were fed up with further struggle. Finally, a few minutes after the official statement, a post named 我是来做俯卧撑的 (I am here to do push-up) showed up on Tianya, and the push-up campaign gained momentum in a crazy speed. Posts alike sprawled over the internet. This might be the only way in which netizens are able to allude to what they care, or just simply vent their anger and grief.
给我做三下俯卧撑，我也能推动地球。——阿基米德
做俯卧撑还是不做，是个问题。——哈姆雷特
我有一个梦想，有这麽一天，每一个黑人都可以自由地做俯卧撑，而没有人去问他们为什么！——马丁.路德.金
Give me 3 push-ups, I can push the earth. ——-Archimedes
To push-up or not to push-up, that's the question. ——–Hamlet
I have a dream, that one day black can do push-up freely, and nobody will ask why. ——-Martin Luther King.
The list goes on.
A famous host Qu Zhihang(区志航) is doing push-up at the the National Stadium, picture from Qu's blog.
Famous saying were changed into push-up mode. Famous stories were replaced into a push-up plot. Celebrities pictured themselves doing push-up. People’s creativity silently but vividly fights against the censorship. We do push-up!

author: Bob Chen


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China: Relatives and Friends of Homosexuals Association · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Li Yin-he is glad to see the setting up of “Relatives and Friends of Homosexuals Association” in Guangzhou on 28 of June, 2008.


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Cuba: Ties with the US · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Circles Robinson Online joined two Fourth of July celebrations in Havana, and finds history and culture make for a closer relationship than one would expect between Cuba and the US.


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Debate Over India-US Nuclear Deal · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

For the past few months there has been a heated debate in India about its its nuclear deal with the USA. This is an issue for which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has lobbied hard and tried to get political consensus. In fact, some analysts and observers point out Mr. Singh was ready to go for snap national poll, if required.
The Left Party led by Comrade Prakash Karat, which is an important coalition member of the current government in power has not been in favor of the nuclear agreement with USA. The Indian Political Blog writes:
And then, suddenly, like a Jack in the Box suddenly popping out, the Congress and the Prime Minister appear to have outsmarted the Left.
…
Where does this leave the Left ? It has an alltime high of 59 MP’s, but Kerala is famous for changing its political mind quickly, and the Left suffered some major reversals in West Bengal local elections, thus ensuring that early next elections could see a much reduced Left MP count. Even now, it could almost seem like that they are no longer relevant.
This past week the government was able to garner the necessary votes and support in spite of the Left Party's opposition.
Touchbase has a succinct post that demystifies the US-India Nuclear deal right from the 123 agreement to the Indian Left party's opposition to the deal. He writes:
So the deal contains many loopholes when it comes to national security. But at the same time helps to satisfy India's growing need for power. So its going to be a tough time for this minority government to finalise a decision regarding the deal.
Prof. T. T. Ram Mohan of Big Picture writes that the India-US nuclear deal has been reduced to a test of patriotism. He goes on to present two contrarian views about the nuclear deal and concludes:
Chellaney is right. This deal is about a strategic alliance with the US to counter the rise of China, it is merely being presented as an energy proposition for political and diplomatic reasons. The real worth of the strategic alliance lies in the transfer of a whole range of advanced dual-use technologies- these technologies cannot be transferred unless India's status as a nuclear power changes.
There are a couple more steps before this deal can be ratified by the US Congress. These steps include getting approvals from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Supplier's Group.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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Dominican Republic: Government Provides Incentives for Conservation · Global Voices
Alan Davidson

The “green” movement is not only sweeping across Western countries like the United States, Australia, and the continent of Europe, but has now spread to the Dominican Republic. The country has apparently decided that it needs to conserve and maintain its resources based on the report from DR1’s environmental blog
The DR's Environment Ministry (SEMARENA) has launched a environmental services payment (PSA) program. The basic concept is to encourage parties — whether communities, farmers, landowners, or others — to act in an environmentally responsible manner by compensating them for behaviors that result in the recovery, conservation and/or sustainable management of natural resources.
This is moderately old news in the world of instant technology as this occurred way back in May of this year. However, what this has begun to produce is a heightened awareness to ecological friendliness in the Dominican. The most recent and forefront of this environmental spirit is the Nature Conservancy and the Caribbean nations collaborating to begin the “Caribbean Challenge”, which is designed to protect the marine life that feeds the Caribbean people and attracts tourism. The reason for this challenge, as Caribbean Beat blogs, is because presently
Destructive fishing methods, pollution, heavy industry, and climate change are degrading regional coral reefs and marine ecosystems, which have a trickle down effect of negatively impacting fishing and tourism industries, and threatening some of the region's unique marine life with extinction.
Blogger Temasactuales  writes that he would normally be skeptical about such a governmental endeavor of this monetary proportion ($40 million), but thinks this has positive aspects that might make this project viable. Those things are
Finally, Christopher Ward, an expat living in the Las Flores area, polled the residents of said area about their environmental concerns. He writes “their major concerns were planting trees, picking up the garbage and rerouting their black water so it isn’t going directly into the river.”
It is promising to see the Dominican Republic, which is tangled in governmental discrepancies, do something to sustain and preserve the beauty that is driving more and more people to vacation here. It is, also, hopeful to notice how they are taking the initiative to feed themselves with the abundance of natural resources at their fingertips.

author: Alan Davidson


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East Timor: Budget process · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Timor Leste News uploads an analysis of the budget process in East Timor. The process was described as “increasingly inefficient, undemocratic, hasty, short-sighted and secretive.”


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Japan: Cup Sake · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ad Blankestijn from Japan Navigator writes about the history and culture of Japan cup sake.


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Jordan: King Abdullah Comments on Websites  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

King Abdullah II of Jordan has left two comments this past weekend on Jordanian websites, including the local daily newspaper, Ad-Dustour (Arabic), and blogger Naseem Tarawnah's The Black Iris. The King's comments were generally in response to a recent, candid interview with the local press in which he cleared up a series of controversies that had gripped the country for the past several weeks. In his comment, the King thanked the people for their feedback and encouraged everyone to continue to comment boldly and without fear.
“Thank you all for your feedback and comments. I am very happy and proud to see so many responsible citizens engaging in this dialogue. People must not be afraid to express their opinions without using aliases. We are a country of freedom, tolerance, diversity and openness, and everyone has the right to express their thoughts – no matter what they are – in an atmosphere of respect, so long as they are not personally offending others, attempting character assassination or undermining the nation's interest. Your comments only indicate how deeply you care about Jordan and its future and I am happy that we are partners in the development process.”
Viewed largely as indicative of the King's support for the media – specifically online -warious Jordanian bloggers have reacted to the King's comment on their own blogs:
“I am absolutely amazed, that a leader of a country, who probably has a million things to do, takes the time to read the views and opinions of ordinary citizens to communicate with them. He's more humble than your average Jordanian. If only more politicians would follow in his footsteps!” – Farah of “Observations of a Jordanian”
In a post entitled “The Jordanian Exception”, Farah Sharif states:
“Upon reading His Majesty's commentary on Black Iris and the daily which is dearest to my heart and mind, Addustour, I've never been more struck with the sheer power that the relationship between a leader and his people can hold.”
Even the Danish Ambassador to Amman, Thomas Lund-Sørensen, had something to say about the news on his personal blog:
Apart from the content of HM's comment I think this also mark an important day for the Jordanian blogosphere – more and more people are paying attention to what is going on in this media including at the highest level.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Lithuania: Hackers’ Attack · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eternal Remont comments on the recent hackers’ attack on 300 Lithuanian web sites that were defaced with Soviet symbols and anti-Lithuanian slogans.


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Morocco: An Interview with Sandy McCutcheon · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The View from Fez is arguably the most popular English-language blog in Morocco, and one which is oft-quoted on Global Voices.  Since its inception in 2005, the blog has had over 400,000 visitors from all over the world; they come to learn about Fez, be entertained, and live vicariously through the blog's authors, one of whom is Sandy McCutcheon.
McCutcheon is the author of 11 novels and has just completed “The Hill of Mice” – a novel set in the Fez Medina. He is the founder of The View from Fez and its primary author.  McCutcheon is also a gracious host as I learned last year when he invited me to visit the riad for one of his many parties.  I recently had the chance to interview him.
The central fountain of Riad Zany's courtyard
When did you first visit Morocco?  What drew you to Fez?
I first came to Morocco seven years ago and fell in love with the country in general and Fez in particular.
Fez attracted me because of the vibrancy of the people and the extraordinary history that surrounds you on every corner. Yet my view was that here was an exceptional city in transition – the traditional lifestyle hand in hand with technological progress. The arrival of the internet in the Medina, the great mobile phone coverage and the uptake of new design and building techniques alongside the traditional all indicated a city that was very much on the move.
Tell us about the famous Riad Zany.
Discovering Riad Zany was a momentous occasion. A 3-4 hundred year old riad in (at the time) unfashionable part of the Medina, Riad Zany took over our lives. The restoration that Suzanna Clarke and I embarked on seemed an almost impossible task, but with the help of great traditional craftsmen and women as well as expert guidance from David Amster made it all possible. Our decision to go down the path of conservation restoration did mean that progress was painfully slow at times, but the end result well worth it. We opted for stripping the the house back to a simple form with little ornamentation, so that now the riad is a very livable, simple house of charm and quiet beauty. It has turned out to be a perfect venue for both traditional and contemporary music recitals which have attracted up to 70 people at a time. This year we also included two concerts from professional Australian musicians who jumped at the chance to pause from their European tour and perform in Fez. Last year my wife's book “A House in Fez” was published in Australia and New Zealand where it immediately sold out. In May the book was published in the Uk and will also come out in November in the USA. A Korean language edition is expected this year. As a result of the success of Suzanna's book, guest house owners in Fez have experienced an increased number of Australian and New Zealand visitors.
Author's Note: Riad Zany is named for Suzanna Clarke.  Suzanna=Zany.
How do you keep abreast of everything going on in Fez?
Running The View from Fez is an almost full-time job. Thankfully  I have a number of people in Fez who can both write well and take great photographs so that even when I am not in Fez, the blog bubbles along. We recently had our 400,000th visitor, but sadly didn't have time for a party to celebrate!
Tell us about some of the exciting changes happening on Fez
Fez is moving fast into a new era of design and sophistication with the opening of chic restaurants, tapas bars and hammams [traditional baths], while still preserving the traditional street food and local bath houses. In the area of design, new shops selling modern Moroccan designed products are a breath of fresh air and a clear indication of the talent waiting to explode over the next few years.
What concerns do you have about the future of Fez and Morocco in general?
I have no great concerns about the future for Fez or Morocco. The increased number of Moroccans who are buying properties in the Medina is a good sign and the relaxation of rules on guest houses is very welcome. However the recent increase level of tax on guest house owners is a very bad thing as is the increased landing charges at Fez airport which resulted in Ryanair stopping direct flights from Britain. Obviously this benefits Marrakech and Casablanca, but it has cost Fez millions.
Alternatively, what excites you?
What excites me about Morocco is the huge pool of young people who are grasping the opportunity to take the country forward. The efforts by the King in reforming the country are also to be applauded but more is to be done, especially in the area of free speech and press freedom.
You spend only a portion of your year in Morocco.  What do you do the rest of the time?  What do you do to relax?
I spend about half the year in Fez, mostly concentrating on my writing, but when not here I tend to divide my time between Bordeaux where we have an apartment and our house in Australia. When relaxing in Morocco I tend to stay in Fez although I do love the mountain villages and the area around the Rif. And in Fez, to relax… I sit in the courtyard of riad Zany and listen to the birds and the fountain!
What's your favorite Fassi restaurant?  Handicraft?
My favourite restaurant in Fez is Thami's a little street cafe run by a man with a huge sense of humour and generosity. And my favourite handicraft is “the mat man” – an older guy who is the last traditional grass mat weaver making mats for the mosques but also selling place mats for table settings from a tiny dirt floored workshop in a narrow alley off the Talaa K'bira – a wonderful individual and a real craftsman.
Photo by Jillian C. York

author: Jillian C. York


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Myanmar also needs tourists · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Bangkok Dazed is visiting Myanmar and reminds us that one way to help the cyclone-ravaged country is to visit it. He writes: I lost track of how many people who told me “You are the first tourist/customer we have had in two months.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Pakistan: Bomb Blasts in Karachi · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pakistani Spectator on a series of bomb blasts in Karachi a short while ago.


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Pakistan: Comparing Weddings · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

An email forward with photographs of weddings of the sons of the Pakistani Prime Minister the  Iranian President (Ahmadinejad) has A Jaywalker's Diary thinking.


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Pakistan: Suicide Bomber · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pak Tea House on yet another suicide bomb attack in Islamabad.


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Palestine: Journalist Mohammed Omer awarded, then beaten · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Mohammed Omer is a young journalist from Rafah, a town in Gaza.  Just a few weeks ago, at the age of 24, Omer was awarded the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Award for outstanding journalism for his reporting on Gaza.  Upon his return, however, Omer was detained by Shin Beit, only to reappear half a day later in an ambulance.  Israeli officials have admitted to detaining Omer, but have stated that he was held for “smuggling” and that his injuries were sustained when he “fell”.  Photographs have emerged of Omer in his hospital bed, and bloggers have expressed their anger and concern.
DesertPeace was among the first to comment, and was outraged by the lack of media coverage:
A week ago my dear friend and Brother, Mohammed Omer, was nearly beaten to DEATH and tortured by Israeli Security officers.
This week, two Palestinian children were killed in cold blood by Israeli forces. Eight others were wounded.
Did you read about any of the above in any reports issued by the Associated Press?
NO!
The blogger also links to a podcast in which Omer is interviewed.
In the comments section, David Baldinger responds:
Omer’s bravery is awesome. I could not have endured this treatment. Even though the abuse was bad enough, what is also sad is that this occurred after his days of happiness abroad. This is one of those stories we should not let die. There is no excuse or explanation that can justify what was done to Omer. Maybe some good will come from the bad. This illustrates that the Israeli government lies and can’t be expected to control its forces.
Finally, Munich – and a little bit of everything commented on the podcast, saying:
Someone who listened to it said that this it is the most moving thing he has heard in a long time. It is Mohammed Omer speaking from his hospital bed to Nora Barrows-Friedman on Flashpoints on Pacifica Radio. She was in Palestine recently.
Man's inhumanity to man. You can only weep.
A petition to demand action can be found here.


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Poland, U.S.: Missile Shield Opposition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis writes about Poland's refusal to host the U.S. missile defense shield: “According to Republican adviser and historian Edward Lutwak, ‘the government of the Republic of Poland by rejecting the US offer forfeited a valuable partner that would protect it against Russia. It is an elementary mistake.’ Such talk will certainly convince Moscow that the shield is directed towards them, an even more elementary mistake.”


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Puerto Rico: Independence, Anybody? · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

The occasion of the USA's Fourth of July celebrations prompts Gil the Jenius to think about why Puerto Ricans reject the idea of their own Independence.


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Russia: TNK-BP; Khodorkovsky · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

FP's Passport writes about the ongoing TNK-BP scandal and new charges against Mikhail Khodorkovsky.


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South Korea: Anti-government protests · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Cheong-Hee from Seoulidarity writes more background about the anti-beef importation protest and stresses that the movement force comes from within, such as the privatization of public sectors such as health care and the water system.


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South Korea: More Developmental Project · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt from Gust of popular feelings blogs in details about two giant developmental project in South Korea, one is Han River ‘Renaissance Plan’ and the other is the Yongsan ‘Dreamhub’.


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South Korea: Pro-Beef and Anti-Beef · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In last weekend, the Seoul streets were full again with protesters. On the other hand, conservative groups are planning for a US beef tasting party for some 10,000 people in downtown Seoul on July 12. (via Marmot's Hole)


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Southeast Asia: Largest oceanariums · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Bisean lists the largest oceanariums in Southeast Asia.


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Syria: Police Kill 25 in Sednaya Massacre · Global Voices
Razan Ghazzawi

Meanwhile, the Syrian News Agence, SANA, issued a statement from the authorities saying that it has “restored calm” over the prison after “riots” been caused by “terrorists” and “extremists”.
Syrian bloggers inside as well in the diaspora reflected on this tragic incident. We start with Ahmad (Ar) blogging from Syria who lists the names of the Syrian detainees who lost their lives when they defenselessly got shot at by the Syrian police:
1-     Zakariya Affash.
2-     Mohammad Majawish.
3-     Abdelbaqi Khattab.
4-     Ahmad Shalaq.
5-     Khaled Bilal.
6-     Moayad Al Ali.
7-     Muhannad Al Omar.
8-     Khodar Alloush.
9-     Mahmud Abu Rashed.
Ahmad asserts to his readers that the detainees did not use weapons as they took control of the prison, but through negotiations with the Syrian police they surrendered. He also mentions news spreading about the possibility of the detainees’ parents being able to visit their sons, husbands and relatives in prison last night, but Ahmad says no such thing has confirmed so far.
Contrary to what human rights sites have been saying about the protest held for political reasons, Ahmad ends his post by explaining the real reasons behind this second protest in the Syrian prison:
“ الهدف منها تحسين الخدمات و الحد من الاكظاظ المفرط ، و تقليل جولات التعذيب الذي يعاني منه السجناء الإسلاميون بكثرة كما يُشاع في الفترة الأخيرة. بالمناسبة : المدوّن السوري طارق بياسي معتقل في هذا السجن ، سجن صيدنايا ، نسأل الله أن يحميه و يحفظه.“
“The reason was to call for an improvement of conditions in prison cells, to lessen the congestion, and decrease the torture rounds that “Islamists” detainees suffer from in prison…By the way, Syrian blogger Tariq Baiasi is held in this prison, Sednaya Prison. We ask God to protect him.”
Our next blogger Gottfried Stutz demands upon the Syrian regime to stop the “immediate killing” of the unarmed detainees and calls for the release of all the detainees and prisoners of conscience:
“Rather than send a president and a minister to get a sun tan with Nicolas Sarkozy on Place de la Concorde during the Bastille Day parade, the Syrian regime has a duty to inform its people about that prison, to stop the killing immediately, to hold fair trials, and to free all political and opinion detainees.”
Another Syrian blogger, in fact one of the new voices on the Syrian aggregator, Syria Planet, is Disaffection whose first comment on the massacre was: “there’s no smoke without fire”, he explains:
“This incident must have been provoked, got out of hand, while the security forces, instigating it, and out of sheer incompetence lost control where by reinforcements had to be called in to contain the situation at any cost. The usual cost.”
Finally we end up this round up with a quote from another anonymous new Syrian blogger, Jabz, who blames the regime for its constant “failures”:
“This is horrific stuff, shame on the government. This is not the first time the government has failed to do what it’s supposed to do this year, with fighting occurring between two sects in Hama early this year.”
It is notable to mention that this is the second time in two months that the detainees and prisoners at Sednaya prison protest against their dreadful imprisonment conditions.
Families of the prisoners and detainees have plead the Syrian President to stop this hideous treatment of unarmed citizens and asked to know the fate of their relatives.
This second massacre marked the 27 anniversary of Tadmur (Palmyra) Prison massacre. Click here for more information.
May their souls rest in peace.

author: Razan Ghazzawi


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Trinidad & Tobago: Embarrassment of Riches   · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

The US President's statement that Trinidad & Tobago no longer qualifies for preferential trade status causes Four Fingers and a Thumb 2.0 to consider all the ways in which the twin-island republic is “too rich.”


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Ukraine, Russia: Integrum Technologies Ordeal · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hans Stege of Kremlin, Inc is trying to figure out who's behind “a mysterious Austrian investment firm called Integrum Technologies [that is] involved in the controversial Vanco Black Sea offshore project.”


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U.S.: Lara Vapnyar’s Fiction · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude recommends Lara Vapnyar's fiction: “In ‘Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love‘ you can taste the lives and longings of Russian emigres in America. If you’ve ever lived abroad, you can relate to the theme easily.”


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Afghanistan:  From Life of Fear to Life of Freedom · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Rumi tells the story about the secondary school in Mazar-i-Sharif, northern town of Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Suicide Attack on Indian Embassy · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Sanjar reports that the Taliban suicide car bomb has hit the Indian Embassy in Kabul, killing 41 people and wounding 141.


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Angola: Growth and changes · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Hippo, a British expatriate living in Angola, has a long post about the changes the country is about to face with the  new property law came into effect in Angola on the 15th of June. “On paper, we are worth a lot more than a week ago. Imagine how much more wealth will be generated with access to capital. Maybe the Economist should revise its forecast because there are a lot of us that cannot sleep at night. Not through worry, but through unaccustomed anticipation”

author: Paula Góes


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Argentina: Students chain themselves demanding a better school · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In the province of Rio Negro near the city of General Roca in Argentina, the students of the CEM 106 are asking the government to follow through with their promises of solving the problems their school has. Videos of the open sewage drains in front of the school, of the 3 classrooms for more than 240 students and the septic tank which overflows in the backyard provide visible proof of their needs. In spite of the governments promises back in  June to solve this issues, nothing has changed, and this has caused the students to chain themselves outside the regional office for Rural Education.
The description and the streaming captions on the video [es] uploaded by emilioris from CorteDirecto website, tell the same story: students and parents of the 106 High School, located in the rural area of General Roca have chained themselves instants ago to the regional office of the Provincial Educational Council Delegation. We should remember that since June 11th the educational community resolved the buildings occupation under the agreement that the CPE would follow through their promises made in the last years and begin the expansion of their buildings, since currently they only have 3 rooms for 240 students.
Students also walked around the campus shooting this video [es]: You can see the mud on the road, the open sewage, students having classes in the hallways, the tiny kitchen where milk is prepared for the students, bare rooms, and in the back, the area where they take physical education, which every once in a while gets flooded by the full septic tanks.
The following video [es] is of the students decision to occupy the school as a way to show their displeasure with the way the regional administration is ignoring their plight. In one part of the film, the interviewer asks a student if the occupation of the school won't interrupt lessons to which the student answers that they've already lost many classes due to heaters breaking down, to lights not working, to flooding and lack of enough classrooms.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Armenia: Corruption & Scapegoats · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blogrel reports that the head of the notorious Passport and Visa agency (OVIR) in Armenia has been fired for corruption. However, Unzipped wonders why no legal proceedings have been launched and if the government is truly fighting corruption in earnest.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: LGBT Blogs · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With blogs fast becoming synonymous with heated online political debate of late, there is the danger that the much larger potential for blogging in Armenia is missed. That is, while most political blogs simply duplicate the views of an already polarized media, the voices of those stuck in between, denied access to the airwaves, or who are simply misrepresented, are often ignored.
However, in the area of specialist subject matters such as education, the situation might be slowly changing. This is also true when it comes to an emerging and active LGBT blogging scene. Ironically, bloggers were first used by the media to perpetuate the homophobia prevalent in society, as Unzipped: Gay Armenia reported in January.
What on earth homosexuals have to do with an article on blogging in Armenia, one may wonder. The answer is simple. Journalist Tatev Harutyunyan probably worried that her article on blogging would not attract much attention, so she had to sensationalise it, to spice things up. What else could be more attention grabbing than gay-related headline or homophobic rhetoric? Nothing, apparently.
[…]
I was not surprised in relation to Aravot newspaper’s periodic ‘masterpieces’. Last spring it published an ill-informed and blatantly homophobic article on gay people in Armenia, ironically rightly stating that gay life is pretty much hidden in our country without even realising (?) that it’s partly because of media attitudes like theirs, that gay men and women prefer remaining ‘in closet’ (“hidden”).
Since then, however, the number of LGBT blogs from Armenia and the Diaspora has mushroomed. In part, this is probably because of the important precedent set by Unzipped: Gay Armenia. The blogger from Armenia now resident in England truly did cover sensitive issues such as gender, homosexuality and homophobia in what still remains a largely male-dominated patriarchal society with little regard for sexual minorities or women's rights.
According to UNICEF report released today, 1 in 4 surveyed women in Armenia (22%) believe that under certain circumstances, husband has the right to beat his wife. The situation is even worse in Georgia – 30%. (in Ukraine – 5%; and in Uzbekistan – 70%!)
Survey was conducted among women 15-49 yrs old.
[…]
Sadly, not a shocking news…
In a country where many issues are only covered only in a localized rather than regional context, Unzipped: Gay Armenia also took upon itself to cover neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia without resorting to nationalist rhetoric, bias or prejudice given that many territorial disputes and frozen conflicts linger on in the region.
This is especially true in the case of Babi Badalov, a gay Azerbaijani artist seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. Although Armenia and Azerbaijan are still effectively at war over the unresolved conflict of Nagorno Karabakh, Unzipped: Gay Armenia continues to cover his case in a way that most local journalists probably wouldn't.
Babakhan Badalov, (Babi) is an openly gay, internationally renowned radical artist and poet from Azerbaijan. His art and poetry have been explicitly critical of the government and present/past presidents. These factors have led Babi to become a target of repression and persecution over many years. These factors have led Babi to become a target of repression and persecution over many years. He has recently been described by the government and prominent public figures as being a traitor to Azerbaijan.
Since Unzipped: Gay Armenia, other blogs by members of the LGBT community in the Diaspora have sprung up. These include An Armenian Lesbian Blog, The Thoughts of a Californian Garmo in Europe, Queering Yerevan, AGLA NY, and Hye Trent. More importantly, perhaps, a new Armenian LGBT organization is using its blog to effectively report on matters that the local media usually does not. What makes PINK Armenia unique is that it is actually located in Armenia.
Given that blogs can serve as a medium through which unrepresented groups or voices can communicate their ideas, thoughts and concerns, LGBT/Gender blogs arguably illustrate the potential blogging has in countries such Armenia and neighbors such as Iran. Other key groups which blogs could also empower — especially if they were to utilize social networking sites, online video and podcasts as well — include youth, ethnic minorities and environmentalists.


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Barbados: Response to Budget · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Bajan Global Report and The Bajan Dream Project comment on the first Budget Speech of Barbadian Prime Minister, David Thompson.


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Bulgaria: Intolerance and Gay Pride · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kyle Grady of What's Going Down? writes about “Sofia's week of intolerance” leading up to Bulgaria's first gay pride parade: “The parade itself, which was marked by confusion, anxiety, and tension, felt more like a final verdict than the main event, and I'm happy to report that in spite of all the negativity that surrounded it, the parade was an unqualified success.”


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China: Agricultural Revolution · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xueyong predicts that, with the world food crisis, the development of agriculture may become an economic driving force. The blogger hopes that China can make use of the opportunity to develop its agriculture and improve the living condition of rural population.


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China: Blood Storage and Internet Censorship For Olympics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Keeptalking pointed to two local news, one on Beijing city government's call for reserving blood for the Olympics, one on Guangzhou city government's announcement on increasing internet and mobile phone monitoring during the Olympics.


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China: Comment on the Shanghai Police Murder Case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Happyvag, a police blogger, comments on the recent Shanghai police assault case which resulted in the death of 5 polices. He admitted that the violence comes in a circle and if the police department doesn't change its practice, there will be more police assault cases.


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China: Crackdown on Olympic-related video content · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Was it footage of the Olympic torch relay that killed top video sharing website 56.com? Danwei's Eric Mu today reports that 20 such sites were recently censured for carrying “Olympic-related content”.


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China: Getting from Beijing airport to city center · Global Voices
John Kennedy

David Feng at CNReviews has compiled a lot of information showing everything one needs to know to get them from Beijing's airport to the center of the city.


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China: Stock Market · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ah Q wrote an article about the stock market character in China: strong government intervention, media (mis)information and lack of monitor in stock market listing.


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China: Summer Olympics Disaster Guide · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Probably going to see a lot more posts like this in the coming few weeks, so let this be GVO's chance to (hopefully) get it out of the way now: What could go wrong in Beijing? Everything.. Via Shanghaiist.


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China: Wall Street Journal gets it wrong on Weng’an · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Buxi comments on the recent report by the Wall Street Journal which stressed the power of blogger (in particular Zola) in exposing the Weng'an incident. Buxi points out that traditional media has a much stronger role in Weng'an, not any individual blogger.


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Czech Republic: Radar Treaty · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Reference Frame writes about the signing of the Czech-U.S. radar treaty – and notes that “among internet […] users, 3/5 of the people do agree with the radar.”


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Czech Republic: Top 10 Attractions · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks writes about the Top Ten Attractions of the Czech Republic.


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Hong Kong: Shaping Hong Kong’s Digital Future · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Charles Mok blogs his speech on the conference: “Shaping Hong Kong's Digital Future”.


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Hungary: Intolerance and Gay Pride · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the attacks on the gay pride parade in Budapest.


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India: From Cape Town to Bangalore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

city-city-bang-bang relocates to India from South Africa and reflects on her experiences.


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Jamaica: Heat in the Dancehall · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Several countries have banned Jamaican dancehall artists because of the violent, misogynistic and often homophobic content of their lyrics. Claude Mills.com discusses the marketing nightmare that this offshoot of reggae has become, and asks “Is Dancehall Dying?”


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Japan: Comment about abductions sparks harsh reactions · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Liberal Democratic Party member and former Chief Secretary Koichi Kato has sparked harsh reactions from bloggers [ja] and on 2channel [ja] with a comment he made on July 7th. In his comment, Kato connected the stagnation of Japanese-Korea negotiations with the government decision in 2002 not to return 5 Japanese abductees to North Korea after they had been delivered to Japan by North Korea for what was expected to be only a short time. The abductees were among a group of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s, most of whom remain missing to this day.
According to the wire report [ja] quoted in blogs and forums, on the decision in 2002 not to return the visiting abductees to Pyongyang, Kato commented that: “(It was said that) if they were returned once, Pyongyang would kill them, but this is what distinguishes my political stance (from those of politicians like Abe [Shinzo]). There is no reason to believe that they would have been able to do that.”
Blogger jieeku at rare metal responds:
私はこの記事を読んで、憤っています。
どの様なことを言われても、拉致は犯罪行為のなにものでもないのですよ。
拉致被害者の家族の方がｵｯｼｬｯﾃいます。
「拉致問題は簡単なことなんです。犯罪だから」っと。
国民の大多数の人々が、拉致は犯罪だと考えています。
お国の政治家さんらは、被害者の方々を政治の道具としてしか、お考えになっていませんか？
日本国民を未だに犯罪から救い出すこともしないで、加藤さん、何をｵｯｼｬﾃおられるのですか。
Blogger kisaragiyayoi852 asks:
人として恥かしくないのか？
政治家って国益のためならば個人を見殺しにしてもいいという考えしかないのか？
Some were much more succinct in their message. Blogger yoshikazu53toyoshima reacts to the news with two lines:
黙れ、売国奴！
日本から立ち去れ！
At Cthulhu in the Water, another blogger offers this perspective, drawing a comparison with the hijacking of Japan Airlines Flight 351:
加藤紘一（敬称を付ける気にもならない）は、拉致被害者やその家族に面と向かって同じ台詞を言うことができるのか。もしも、北朝鮮との交渉に生け贄が必要だというのなら、なぜ、自分の家族を差し出すと言えないのか。かつて、よど号ハイジャック事件が起きたとき、山村新治郎運輸政務次官は人質の身代わりとなって男を上げた。同じように、加藤紘一が自分の家族を差し出せば、政治家として株を上げることができただろう。自分は安全な場所にいて、無力な拉致被害者を生け贄にしようなど、卑劣きわまりない。

author: Chris Salzberg


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Kazakhstan: No commitments · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam reports that General Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of OSCE R. Oliver Spencer has said in Astana that Kazakhstan will chair the OSCE in 2010 even if the commitments, undertaken  in Madrid last year, are not going to be fulfilled.


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Kazakhstan: Nobel for Nazarbayev · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust reflects on a letter from U.S. Congressmen Darrel Issa and Charlie Melancon in which they nominated Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of Kazakhstan, for the Nobel Peace Prize.


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Kazakhstan: Opposition wants reforms · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam says that opposition in Kazakhstan offers its own draft legislation to be adopted in order to enhance democratization of the political system and “earn” a grounded OSCE chairmanship of Kazakhstan in the OSCE.


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Kosovo: Portugal’s Stance; Discounts for “Recognizers” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Cafe Turco writes about Portugal's failure to recognize Kosovo – and a discount offered at one Pristina hotel to “visitors from countries who support the independence.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Peace Corps’ 10 years · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Elena reports that Peace Corps celebrates it’s 15th anniversary of activity in Kyrgyzstan.


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Malawi: Radio Host seeks Help in Blog · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

An 18 month-old radio program that attracted a faithful following in Malawi is in danger of ceasing, thanks to expensive phone rates and limited bandwidth. The program's host, Malawian blogger Victor Kaonga, has made an appeal for the program to find sponsorship and be saved.
Malawian blogger Victor Kaonga, a broadcast journalist as well as a Global Voices author for Malawi, has issued an appeal for sponsorship to save his TransWorld Radio program where he interviews Malawians living outside Malawi in the Chichewa language. It is titled A Malawi Kunja kwa Malawi (Malawians outside Malawi). It has been running weekly since January, 2007.
Victor writes in his blog that the program is threatened with closure due to prohibitive costs of international calling rates and low Internet bandwidth in Malawi. He was able to meet the costs of running the program from his living allowances whilst in Sweden, where he was studying for his masters’ degree in global journalism. Victor successfully defended his thesis and returned to Malawi in June, where he has continued the TransWorld Radio broadcasts.
In reminiscing about the program, Victor writes:
It has been a wonderful 18 (plus) months of programming with A Malawi Kunja Kwa Malawi. ‘Wonderful’ in the sense that my understanding of the global role of Malawians has increased while at the same time imagining the impact of the absence of such Malawians at home.
Malawians are said to be an itinerant people, found in parts of the world both well known and obscure, a fact easily noticed in the geographies of the places where Victor has found Malawians to interview.
Victor gives a glimpse of the composition of the 76 Malawians he has hitherto interviewed, noting that they have represented various parts of the globe, including Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Americas, the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Malawians outside Malawi frequently discuss the role of the Malawian diaspora in Malawian affairs, and Victor touches on this sentiment when he lists the four ways in which the program is unique:
# This is the first radio programme in Malawi featuring Malawians abroad on a regular basis.
# It is a programme that helps link on air the locals with their relatives near and far.
# The programme also helps extend the influence and ministry of radio in Malawi.
# It is a programme that is in tune with the modern times in this ever-growing global village.
Victor expresses the hope that he will find the sponsorship needed to enable the program to continue, and one response to his post has already provided suggestions. Clement Nthambazale, another Malawian blogger currently studying for a PhD in Japan, has commented on Victor's post, launching with the hope that the program will be saved:
This programme MUST NOT die. I hope that you will be able to find some some sponsors who will help with production costs especially with the increasing number of listeners.
Secondly, I would like to let you know that you can phone at very cheap rates from Malawi to other countries.Sometime last year,I attended a Voice over IP Workshop which was organized by MACRA. After the workshop, I wrote a blog post highlighting the proceedings of the Workshop and my concerns on Malawi's delay in setting up a VoIP policy. Through this post, I got connected to Havar Bauck,who works for Vyke, a Norwegian company in the callshop and callback market…

author: Steve Sharra


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Nepal: On Democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepal Monitor on the importance of democracy, and a “citizen's roadmap” to it.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Nicaragua: Protesters Pay Visit to Former President · Global Voices
GV Contributor

The hunger strike by Dora Maria Tellez to stop the Supreme Electoral Court from banning the Sandinista Renovation Party for this year's municipal elections lasted 13 days.  However, it did not stop the banning of the political party. Since then, there have been new protests and meetings to oppose the political and economical measures of the goverment.
Within this context, all sort of political movements have been caught up in the confusion. Liberal candidates march together with members of the former Sandinista Front Party, while the goverment works on a pact with the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Liberal Party.
Just this last Saturday, after a rally in central Managua, two groups formed to go “visit” political personalities. One group visited the Assembly's president Rene Nuñez, and the second group found former president Arnoldo Alemán dining at a local restaurant. Alemán had been convicted for corruption charges that took place during his presidency.
The group stood outside the restaurant singing and shouting against this tried and convictedpolitical figure. The funny side of this is that Alemán had been proven guilty of corruption, but has permission to visit anyone he wants inside Nicaragua.
Jorge Mejía Peralta [es] was present and documented the event on his blog [es]:
Unos cuantos entraron, y ya adentro comenzaron a gritarle a Alemán corrupto, que no es ninguna ofensa porque está mas que demostrado que ha sido ladrón. Con condena judicial firme.
Hubo forcejeos y los escoltas del ladron y corrupto hicieron que expulsara del restaurante a los jóvenes. posteriormente pasaron alrededor de una hora, con megáfonos, banderas de Nicaragua y letreros de precaución por corrupto cerca, increpando a Alemán y a toda su familia.
Más de 20 efectivos de la Policía Nacional de Seguridad Personal, mas escoltas, cuidaban al reo Alemán. Cuando iba a salir del restaurante, los policias, si, los policias que pagamos con nuestros impuestos empujaron y golpearon a algunas de las muchachas que estaban ahi, incluso desplazando las camionetas de lujo sin precaución, poniendo en peligro la vida de dos jovenes y de uno que otro policía.
(…)
Hoy sale vociferando el señor Leonel Teller diciendo que una turba trató de asesinar (Con que señor teller? con la bandera de Nicaragua???) al ex presidente y a toda su familia.
A few entered, and inside they starting shouting “Corrupt Alemán”, which is not offensive because it has been demostrated that he is a thief. With a strong judicial sentence.
There were struggles and the bodyguards of the corrupt thief forced the protesters to leave the restaurant. Then later, for about an hour, the protestors used speakers, flags and signs that read “Beware, Corrupt Person Inside”, and continued shouting at Alemán and his family.
More than 20 officers from the National Police, plus the bodyguards, guarded Alemán. When he planned to leave the restaurant the National Police, paid with our taxes, pushed and hit some of the protesters, even moving vehicles without any care, putting lives in danger.
(…)
Today, spokesman Leonel Teller  said that a mob tried to kill Arnoldo Alemán and his family (with what? with the national flag?)
In addition, Mejia's Flickr page has pictures of the restaurant “visit.”
These groups also organize online and they recently visited the home of National Assembly president Rene Nuñez.
Protestor with sign outside of Nuñez’ home reading “Danger! Corrupt Man 20 Meters Away.” Photo by Jorge Mejia and used under a Creative Commons license.
Protestor with sign outside of Nuñez’ home reading “Contaminated Area.” Photo by Jorge Mejia and used under a Creative Commons license.
Another online Facebook group was created to support the hunger strike of Dora Maria Tellez, and is now working on a apolitical AntiPact independent movement. Recently The Miami Herald published a report on this group. The group has 1500 members as of now, even though not all of them attend the protests.

author: GV Contributor


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“No Car Day” in Southwestern Chinese City · Global Voices
Kelly Proctor

Last year, Kunming, China took part in “No Car Day” (无车日). Now, the southwestern Chinese city has gone above and beyond by instituting a “No Car Day” every month.
Kunming, home to many environmental NGOs, has Car Free Days on the last Saturday of every month. China's Green Beat gives us the skinny:
The policy has its limitations, of course. Rather than fully banning cars throughout the entire city, only private cars are forbidden to enter the first ring road. Taxis, buses, bikes, scooters, and special purpose vehicles (or vehicles with greater than 17 seats that are more than 50% full) are allowed to travel anywhere in the city.
They go on to say:
The policy seems to have mixed results. On September 22, the Kunming Environmental Bureau reported much better air quality due to the limitation of private cars…On the same day, the BBC reported Beijing drivers as having all but ignored the call for No Car Day, where the event was voluntary and not enforced as in Kunming.
China's Green Beat “Green Sisters” Ouyang and Jenny give a report about the day.
Video: No Car Day in Kunming
China plans to hold a car-free day in 108 cities this Sept. 22, as part of the world's No Car Day. China's No Car Day should cut 3,000 tons of emissions and save 33 million liters of gasoline.
In addition to the ‘No Car Day’ initiative,  Beijing is planning major  traffic restrictions around this year's Olympics in Eastern China.

author: Kelly Proctor


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Pakistan: Blasts in Karachi and Islamabad · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A series of violent attacks in Pakistan, a bomb blast in Islamabad and then a series of bomb blasts in Karachi. More at CHUP!


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Pakistan: Taliban and Vanity Fair · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Five Rupees reacts to an article on the Taliban and Pakistan in  Vanity Fair.


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Serbia: New Government · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Fistful of Euros announces: “Serbia has a new government! […] It took just 57 days, which by Serbian standards is pretty quick.” East Ethnia labels the new government as “unstable, short-lived.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Serbia: State-Controlled Media · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

East Ethnia writes about Serbia's state-controlled media.


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Slovenia: Archaeologist Borut Križ · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Borut Peterlin posts a portrait of Slovenian archaeologist Borut Križ and writes about his work.


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St Vincent & The Grenadines: Don’t Blame the Victim · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

And Still I Rise comments on the recent rise in the number of rapes reported in St Vincent & The Grenadines, and cautions those who say women's mode of dress is to blame.

author: Skye Hernandez


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Trinidad & Tobago: Fashion forward? · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Afrobella comments on the highly publicised all-black issue of Italian Vogue, and wonders whether it's a “one-time-only bone” to placate the increasingly loud chorus of complaints from women of colour.


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Trinidad & Tobago: RIP Grace Dolsingh—The Fight Continues · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Trinidad blogger Rights Action Group T&T bids farewell to a community activist, and asks in her memory that “the government reconsider its notion of development to include the needs of its people.”


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Ukraine, Canada: Yushchenko and the Diaspora Media · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taras Kuzio writes that president Victor Yushchenko seems to be avoiding the Canadian-Ukrainian media.


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Ukraine: Corruption and the Media · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A discussion of corruption and the state of the media in Ukraine – at Nash Holos.


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Ukraine: Traffic Chaos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

MoldovAnn writes about the traffic chaos in Ukraine.


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Ukraine: Western Political Consultants · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taras Kuzio writes on Western consultants working for Ukrainian parties.


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Uzbekistan: Attack on RFE/RL Uzbek Service · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Libertad writes about the attack of state-controlled TV channels against RFE/RL Uzbek service staff.


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Uzbekistan: Lady of the Hour, GooGooSha · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Michael Hancock writes about Gulnora Karimova, daughter to Islom Karimov, president-for-life of Uzbekistan.


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Afghanistan: Bombing in Kabul · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

There was a massive suicide bombing at the Indian Embassy in Kabul Monday, killing upwards of 40 people and injuring hundreds more. Many expats and locals are confused at why the crowds near the Indian embassy—which resides on a pleasant and well guarded street by most accounts filled with bookstores and shops—were targeted for destruction. Local bloggers have reacted quite strongly to the attack, as it carries some complex geopolitical implications.
Sanjar notes that the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, and posts some disturbing pictures of the aftermath. He even makes the importance point that it is not just the Taliban who kills scores of civilians in bombing attacks—the U.S. and NATO do as well, sometimes with far greater frequency:
However I have been to the other side of the argument too. After 9/11 I did not feel sorry at all I thought it was an incident which had some collateral damage which compared to my experience was nothing. In my life time over two million of my compatriots have died and half of the country have fled. I believed 9/11 is good for Afghanistan. the world would be so pissed off that they won’t tolerate Taliban and Afghanistan is going to be a better place without Taliban. I have no sympathy and connection with people who died on 9/11 what so ever, while I am deeply connected with two million people who died in my country in my life time.
My response right now to this incident is; if my little brother comes home safe and he is not among dead and wounded children, this is a nice attack with horrific collateral damage. This is an unfair world and everybody pursues an agenda and collateral damage happen it was just yesterday that Americans bombed a village and killed 25 people in wedding when they suspected it of a Taliban gathering in Nangarhar province; it was the day before yesterday that Americans bombed a village in nuristan and killed 15 people in a mistaken attack.
Andrea suggests that this sort of comparison, however, might not be helpful:
Comparing deaths and pain is never particularly helpful, and is definitely not my point. But these horrible tragedies do make me wonder that we need to think more creatively about peace in Afghanistan. These issues are difficult and it is easy to point fingers and declare “right and wrong” and proclaim “evil” versus “good.” In Afghanistan, the lines are not clear. When talking about peace, a favorite writer of mine Thomas Merton requests the individual first to discover our own tendencies toward evil and destruction and recognize the confusion in that process before racing out to blame and chose evil around us.
When an Afghan friend of mine Cobra heard the news she ran out to me, eyes welled with tears and cried, “This is not my Afghanistan. No, this is not good.” My guess is she has been searching for her Afghanistan for a long time. I hope to search for this for her as well, in the small small ways I can.
Nitin Pai, on the other hand, takes a different track and suggests that this was a deliberate attack on Indian officials, aimed at  disrupting India's growing presence in the country:
Attacking construction crews in the Afghan countryside is one thing. Attacking top diplomats at the Indian embassy in Kabul is another. Why the Taliban sought to escalate their violence against India remains the question. Not least when they are engaged in a two-front war—against the US & NATO forces in Afghanistan, and, to some extent, against Pakistani forces in Pakistan’s tribal areas and NWFP. The embassy might have offered a target of opportunity and the attack might have been a tactical success, but its strategic utility is suspect.
That’s because India is quite unlikely to be deterred by this attack. It is unlikely to scale down its reconstruction initiatives. If the attacks were intended to provoke and suck India deeper into Afghanistan, then that too is unlikely to happen. In all likelihood, the Indian response would be to harden the targets and move on.
That opens up the other possibility: is this the handiwork of Pakistani interests?
Barnett Rubin sees this as a bit far-fetched, and offers a warning:
[I]n my (admittedly limited) contact with Taliban and in examining Taliban texts from Afghan sources, I see a focus on foreign troops in Afghanistan, not the Karzai government or India.
I heard on the radio that “Taliban” have claimed responsibility for this act. (Also reported by Reuters.) Let's see which “Taliban.” Did it come from the former Taliban leadership in Quetta, or did it come from the Haqqani group in North Waziristan? (Note that both command and control centers of the Taliban are in Pakistan.)…
Let me stick my neck out here: I don't believe that the Kandahari Taliban leadership would mount an attack like this against the Indian embassy. The idea of such an attack came from some combination of all or some of the following: the Haqqani group (as part of a campaign for Pakistani support), Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida, and the Pakistani security agencies, or private entities under their supervision.
It is obviously too early to tell why the attack actually happened. But for now, let us just pray for the safety of those who are alive in Kabul, and for the victims who are not.

author: Joshua Foust


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No Movement on Death Sentence for Afghan Internet User · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh is a journalism student at Balk University in Mazar-i Sharif.  He supposedly copied text from an Iranian website criticizing Islam's stance on the treatment of women, and added his own thoughts on the matter—much like a blogger would. For this, the Afghan intelligence services investigated him, and after his arrest a court in Balkh province convicted him of heresy and sentenced him to death.
At his most recent appeals hearing, according to Jean MacKenzie at IWPR, Kambakhsh was berated by his own judge:
Presiding judge Abdul Salam Qazizada has weathered several Afghan administrations. He is a holdover from the Taleban regime, and his antagonism to the defendant was visible…
During the session, Qazizada appeared to take on the role of prosecutor rather than impartial judge, engaging in a legal duel with defence attorney Mohammad Afzal Nooristani. Lacking a gavel, he repeatedly banged his pen against his microphone in an effort to halt Nooristani’s defence of his client.
Time and again the judge attacked Kambakhsh, who sat pale but composed in the defendant’s chair.
“Just tell me why you did these things,” insisted Qazizada. “What were your motives?”
“I cannot give you reasons, since I did not do anything,” responded Kambakhsh.
Kambakhsh is alleged to have been beaten since his initial imprisonment last December, however given the length of time it took for an examination to be scheduled, most of the physical markings have healed over. Though he plead guilty, he claims to have done so under duress.
Kambakhsh also stands accused of moral character flaws such as asking too many questions in class, seeking attention and popularity, being impolite, and swapping dirty jokes over his cellphone.
Kambakhsh faces many obstacles: his defense lawyers hadn't examined his case file even a week before his first appeals hearing, and the Upper House of Parliament has voiced its support for his execution, along with conservative clerics and some tribal elders.
In 2006, Abdul Rahman was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity. His life was spared when, under intense international pressure, he was declared legally insane and deported to Italy. Similar international pressure is not as readily apparent in Kambakhsh's case: a story on his case in the international media has not appeared for months, despite worrying indications this is a revenge case for his brother's work with IWPR.
See heartbreaking images of Afghan policemen escorting Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh after a court hearing in Kabul on May 18, 2008 at the dailylife website.


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Afghanistan: Warnings for the Future · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

If there is any one theme to emerge from the Afghan blogosphere lately, it is warning about the future.
Sanjar starts things off by noting the slow degradation in Afghan-Western relations:
No doubt that there are numerous foreigners who lets say deserve to be in Afghanistan, in a sense that they are professional, culturally sensitive/receptive and above all respect afghans; but only one devious westerner *only a single one* is enough to be cynical and question them in a categorical term. its up to the rest of good westerners to criticise the conduct of the tricky single or group and do not side with them merely because they are fellow westerner. As a member of a group it’s the duty of the individual to bear some responsibility for the action of his groupmates. This sense of shared responsibility forms the basis of any constructive criticism of the group from within.
He is especially angry at the Western arrogance in writing about Afghanistan from the so-called “Kabul Bubble,” in which Westerners rarely interact with the local population. It forms a neat subcontext to his thoughts on how women's rights have evolved over the past three decades:
Women in Afghanistan were not suddenly plunged into brutal un-freedom when the Taliban came to power in 1996. Nor have they always been subject to repressive rule. In a documentary that is both intimate and broadly political, Meena Nanji offers a view of the past thirty years of Afghanistan's history through the lives of three women…
Via interviews, narration, and written and archival footage, Nanji compellingly argues that the loss of women's rights in Afghanistan is not a simple story that revolves around the Taliban. It is a much larger-and continuing-story of a nation that has suffered through near-constant war and mass displacement over several decades.
Of a similar note, The Rumi—who recently noted First Lady Laura Bush promoting girls’ schools—sees a looming problem in the northern part of the country:
Thousands of families have been forced to leave their homes due to food and drinking water scarcity in Balkh, northern province of Afghanistan. Families ended up in a desert of Sholgara district where started to live in camping in the two side of a tiny river.
Balkh an agricultural province did not received enough rain and snow this year. Local farmers lost their fields and left them without any food in whole summer. Water and food shortages have forced some families to eat grass.
Drought is not the only problem facing northern Afghanistan: Tim Foxely thinks hard about recent press reporting that Germany is to send another 1,000 troops to the country.
To be fair, this may imply a future potential to get involved in combat operations and/or in other parts of Afghanistan, but it doesn't seem a particularly strong statement.  The current German parliamentary mandate for no more than 3,500 soldiers expires in October.  Interestingly, it appears that at the same time, the German troop ceiling for its separate Operation Enduring Freedom mandate has been reduced from 1,400 down to 800.  In terms of pure troop numbers, a cynic might note that not much has actually changed…
On a much more upbeat note: Nasim Fekrat has hosted his second blogging workshop in Bamyan. He writes:
After some theoretical discussions, the rest of the second day was dedicated to practical issues. According to directors, main goal of such workshops is to turn this new phenomenon into a public one so as to ensure that everybody practices the right of free speech with no censorship. Since increasing pressures of Information and Culture Ministry has led to more censorship by e-media and private TV channels, weblog may be a better choice to experience free speech as well as institutionalizing this principle in the Afghan society.
Along with the return of Alex Strick van Linschoten—fresh from travels to Beirut and Mogadishu—this bodes well for the future of Afghan voices online.


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Armenia: Political Football · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on an opinion piece by Armenia's new president published by the Wall Street Journal in which Serge Sargsyan hopes that September's Armenia-Turkey football World Cup qualifying match in Yerevan can be the catalyst for amicable relations between the two countries. Currently the border between Armenia and Turkey is closed.


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Bahrain: Pictures from Budapest  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bint Battuta in Bahrain shares with us some of the pictures she clicked while touring Budapest, Hungary.


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Bahrain: Smart Cars..Stupid Owners  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif points us to smart cars … with what he described as stupid owners. Click here to find out why.


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Bahrain: Tying the Knot  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mohammed Al Maskati is tying the knot — but keeping the details away from his blog.


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Bangladesh: E-Book on National Security Council · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Drishtipat Writers’ Collective (DWC), a writers’ group on Bangladesh, publishes an e-book on the prospect of National Security Council in Bangladesh. More at Unheard Voices.


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Barbados: Abuse or Discipline? · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

Bajan Global Report quotes from an educator to make the case for retaining corporal punishment in Barbados schools.