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Japan: Interview with Sasaki Toshinao by g86 · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

There is no lack of mystery surrounding the Japanese cyberspace. From the conspicuous number of Japanese blog posts, to the contradiction of rabid anonymous flaming and conformist humble giants, to the overwhelming popularity of TV celebrities, Japan's net culture is a challenge to characterize, to say the least.
There is, however, a history to the Japanese Internet, one that in part explains and ties together its seemingly contradictory elements. A major theme in this history is Japan's so-called lost generation, those people currently in their late-20s and 30s who joined the work force just after the bubble economy burst in the early 1990s. Coincidentally, this was right around the same time that the Internet was making its first appearance in Japan.
In an interview last month, well-known writer and freelance journalist Sasaki Toshinao (佐々木俊尚), formerly of Mainichi newspaper, presented his own interpretation of this history. Sasaki's area of specialization is IT, a topic about which he has written extensively in numerous articles as well as many books, most recently “The Flat Revolution” (2007). The interview was conducted by a group of four third year architecture students at the Tokyo Institute of Technology who call themselves g86, referring to their shared year of birth, 1986.
In their shared blog, which they call “space journal” [ja], g86 conduct face-to-face interviews with, in their words, “people active in Tokyo with a broad view of urban space and life”. The interview with Sasaki starts with him explaining the factors leading to the emergence of Japan's lost generation:
佐々木氏—世代の話をすると、日本で９０年代半ば９１年にバブルが崩壊するんだけど、その時代は就職がきつかった。だいたいバブル世代っていわれているのはね８０年代半ばくらいだから、今の会社の入社でいうと９２年くらいまで。毎日新聞に、僕は８８年に入社して同期が１００人くらいいたんですよ。９１、９２年くらいには１５０人や２００人で９３年になると、一転して１０人とかに激減して、そのころに就職活動始めた人はもうどこにも就職できない。しかも非正規雇用でしか会社で働けなかったりしてフリーターになってしまいワーキングプアに転落する人が非常に増えてきて、この世代がイコール、ロストジェネレーション、要するに日本で戦後初めての親よりも貧しい世代。だから今で言う３５歳くらいの人、７０年生まれくらいの人ですよね。
そのロストジェネレーションとインターネットの出現っていうのはほぼ同じ時期なんです。景気が悪くなったのが９３年くらいでインターネットが日本で普及し始めたのが９５年。二年遅れくらいでインターネットが入ってきて、ロストジェネレーションは社会ではひどい目にあいながらもインターネットを使って新しいコミュニケーションをはじめたと、いうのがオーバーラップして、マスメディアはおじさんたちの言論空間、でインターネットの言論空間はロストジェネレーションたちが軸になるっていう対立軸が発生した。
例えば、それが一番鮮明になったのが一昨年の２００５年。この年にライブドア問題と小泉の郵政解散があった。マスメディアはこぞってライブドアや小泉を批判したんだけど、一方ネットでは堀江、ライブドアを擁護するような声が少なくなかったし、小泉政権にしてもそう。ここで世代間差異が明確になってきて、そこでブロガーすなわちロストジェネレーションは、マスメディアは我々を代弁しているメディアではないことを明確に認識した。つまり世代間断絶があるっていうのがようやく可視化された。さらに結果的に小泉自民党は勝ってしまって、それまでインターネットは隅っこの方で、ちまちまやっていたのが、我々の言論が時世を変えられるんじゃないっていう希望が生まれてきた。だから２００５年というのはインターネット言論にとっては記念碑的な年になった。
その後も、例えばマスメディアは電車の中で携帯いじっている奴らが馬鹿だとか書いたりするんだけど、今まで電車の中で本を読んでいたのが、単に表現メディア、つまりデバイスが変わっただけの話なのに、そういうのがおじさんにはうけるだろうと書いたりした。でも彼らはインターネットの言論空間で何が行われているかは実際知らない。ブログも読んでないし。ブログの世界って言うのはポータルではない。つまりこれを読んで全てわかるっていうのがない。だからよそ者、慣れてないリテラシーの低い人には入りにくいっていうのはあって、彼らは全然接していない。
一方でロストジェネレーションの人たちは、テレビとか新聞を観ても馬鹿じゃないとしか思わない。朝のワイドショーのコメンテーターの言うことに、膝をうつこともほとんどない。逆にブログを見ると、もっともだなと思える人がいて納得したりする。そこでもう完全に言論空間に分断が起きてしまっていてお互い相容れない状況がおきている。
Later in the interview, Sasaki uses the Japanese concepts of “seken” (世間) and “kuuki” (空気) to explain changes in Japanese society and the nature of the Japanese blogosphere:
佐々木氏—最近注目しているのは「空気感」というキーワード。インターネット上にある「空気感」はその中にいる人間にしか可視化されていない。それでは、サークル外の人間はどうやって可視化していくのかっていうことは重要な問題なんじゃないかと思いますね。ブログってそこがある程度可視化されているような気がしますね。テキストの形式でみんな顔文字なんかも使ったりして。それでもう一段階ですよね。行間から滲みでるような何かを作って、それが言語なのか記号なのかよく分からないですけど、それによって可視化されるものには可能性がありますよね。それはブログだけじゃなくて、それこそ空間だとかメタバースとかそういうものも含めて、そこに漂っている空間をどうやって可視化していくのかっていうことは重要だと思います。できれば「空気感」さえ検索可能になればすごくいいですよね。
g86—それはすごく面白い！
鎌谷—かつて日本にあった「世間」というものはもう無くなって「空気」にシフトしたんじゃないかなと考えていて、例えば最近だと「KY(空気が読めない)」だとかそういう言葉が世代を越えて定着していたりして、現代の社会に「空気」というものがキーワードになってきていることは言えると思います。
佐々木氏—「世間」というのは高度成長モデルであって、みんなが共通基盤をもっている時代の「空気」が「世間」と言われていたんだけども、今は全員が同じ共通基盤をもっていないから、空間がセグメンテーションされて、小さくなっているんですよ。それぞれの中にある「世間」に小さい「空気」であるだけで。そこでみんなが共通の「空気」ってあり得るのかどうかとか、そういう小さなセグメントと隣のセグメントが滑らかにコミュニケートできるのかどうかとか、色んな問題が起きてきて、そういう状況になってきたのはここ10年ぐらいの話だね。80年代はみんな同じ共通基盤をもっていて、やっぱり97年ぐらいが境になっていて、それ以降は新しいモデルを作り上げないといけないんだけどまだそこがしっかりと基盤が整っていないというのが現状だと思いますね。97年に何があったかっていうと山一証券が倒産して、通貨危機が起きたんですよね。
g86—なるほど。
佐々木氏—戦後経済の枠組みが消滅した年なんですよ。その数年前の93年には自民党が野党になったり、高度成長モデルが終焉したんです。だから97年を境に「世間」が「空気」に変わったと言えると思います。その新しい社会がどうやって我々の恒久性みたいなものを形成していくのかっていうことがすごく重要な問題だと思います。だから「国家の品格」とかが売れるのは昔を懐かしむ気持ちがみんなにあるからだと思いますね。「３丁目の夕日」だとか。
小林—そのようにインフラが劇的に変動しているこの時代で佐々木さんはジャーナリストとして、どういうスタンスで、どういうことを目指してらっしゃるのですか。
佐々木氏—それはさっき言った「空気感」なんですよね。「空気感」が何をやろうとしていて何を目指しているのか、どういう風に作り上げられているのかとか、「空気」の中にいる人たちは自覚していないわけですよね。その「空気」を活字として固定化する作業をやっているということですね。それが自分の仕事かなと思います。僕にとってジャーナリズムっていうのは時代の「空気」をいかに言葉として定着させていけるかどうかっていうそこのトライアルの連続ですね。
小林—新しいことは下の世代から生まれることが多いと思うのですが、そこでのご自身とその世代間の価値観の相違などで理解に苦しむ事などありませんか。
佐々木氏—僕は今46歳。ネットで活躍している人っていうのは、40代はほとんどいないんですよ。だからそもそも同世代感は無いんです。あまり僕はそういうことは考えない。いかに冷静に分析できるかということに尽きると思いますね。今ケータイ小説の取材をしているんだけども、僕は別にケータイ小説は好きじゃない(笑)ケータイで書いたり読んだりしている人が何を考えているのかっていう時に分析していけばそこから何かが見えてくる。ケータイにのめり込んでいる中高生と僕との相違でいうと、彼らは「空気感」とかに対して身を持って体験していて強いわけですけど、彼らには歴史感とか社会感は無い。僕の方がそれはある。だからそこに基づいて、何でここにこんなモノが存在しているのかっていうことを分析していく。それこそがジャーナリズムですね。

author: Chris Salzberg


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Kazakhstan: Famed DJ Killed in Almaty · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Lena B-va reports the shocking story of brutal murder of the Almaty’s popular DJ and one of the most charismatic representatives of clubbing culture of the Kazakhstan’s southern capital.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kazakhstan: Viva Astana! · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam Kesher reveals the plan of the authorities concerning celebrations and festivities dedicated to the 10-year anniversary of the Kazakhstan’s capital city Astana against the background of economic difficulties experienced by the country.


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Lithuania: Music Education · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Viola in Vilnius – European Capital of Culture 2009 writes about the sorry state of Lithuania's music education.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Mexico: Design of a New Taxi · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Isopixel [es] writes about the Science and Technology Institute of Mexico City and its sponsorship of a contest to design a new taxi for the capital and should be “creative, functional and responds to the needs of the residents of the capital city.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Mexico: Extra Pay for Weight Loss · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Vivir Latino writes about a new Aguascalientes, Mexico campaign offering extra pay for police officers that lose weight so that they can be more effective in foot chases.  The police department is encouraging less of the three “T's”, tamales, tacos and tortas.


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Moldova: VIPs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Public Policy Watch – Politici Publice in Moldova writes about “a relatively recent fashion of identifying and ranking Moldovan VIPs, practiced by local mass media outlets.”


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Mozambique: Yet another social protest · Global Voices
Paula Góes

After Maputo, Chókuè, Bobole and Maracuene, the next Mozambican city to go under cost of living protests was Chibuto, this morning, according to Carlos Serra [pt]. The sociologist blogger says that these social protests seem to be a new phenomena in Mozambique history.

author: Paula Góes


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National Sports: unique expressions of countrywide pride. · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Whether by government decree or by popularity, national sports are part of the cultural makeup of every country. People from many walks of life come together to participate, watch or root for their favorite athletes or teams. Check out which unique national sports Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates have.
Tejo Niguateros by Luis Perez
In Colombia, ramiroparias [es] uploads the following video explaining the rules of tejo, a game which consists of throwing from a distance a 2 kg weight at a platform filled with clay in order to score points related to a circle incised on the clay surface with 4 chips called “fuses” around it. You can view a game in progress on this video uploaded by yecido.
In Japan, Sumo wrestling is the national sport. Sumo is a highly traditional and ritualistic contact sport where two wrestlers attempt to take the opponent out by pushing him outside a circle or by making them touch the ground with anything other than the soles of their feet. The following video by purnamabs shows a match that took place during November in Fukuoka, Japan.
From Malaysia and Indonesia we have Silat: a martial art/folk dance. User pssgmswk shares a presentation.
In Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Camel Racing is part of their heritage, and now it has been brought to modern times. Before, small children as young as 6 were used to ride the camels due to their low height and weight. Nowadays, robots are being used to ride the camels, as you will be able to see on this video uploaded by qatarvisitor.
To view more countries with distinct national sports: check out oina in Romania, the charreada in Mexico, and Mongolian archery

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Nepal: Feudal propaganda · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas discusses the near feudal nature of propaganda in Nepal and its implications on democracy.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Pakistan: Line of Duty · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Lahore remembers those who died in the line of duty – with a few photographs.


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Paraguay: Employment Opportunities to Prevent Yellow Fever and Dengue · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Yellow fever and dengue are serious problems in Paraguay.  RESCATAR [es] writes about employment opportunities for the unemployed to assist with cleaning and transport of garbage to prevent these diseases.


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Poland: Tusk’s Visit to Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about the issues surrounding PM Tusk's visit to Moscow.


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Poland: Who Would Poles Vote For in U.S. Election? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot reports: “So Poles are Democrats, interestingly, and they are rooting for Hilary.” And adds in the comments section: “But it is interesting that Poles in Poland are going Democrat, while Poles in the US often than not vote republican.”


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Romania: Investing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An excerpt from the U.S. Ambassador's speech on investing in Romania – at Transatlantic Politics.


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Singapore: Otter Spotted · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Otterman blogs about an otter that was spotted in one of the nature parks in Singapore.

author: Preetam Rai


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Singapore: Right Way of Saying Nasi Lemak · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Rinaz makes a video to illustrate the right way of pronouncing Malay dishes.


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Sri Lanka: Corruption, the UK and us · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

London, Lanka and Drums can't help but compare corruption and politicians in Sri Lanka and the U.K.


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Trinidad & Tobago: That Was Carnival · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A “green” J'Ouvert was the extent of Nicholas Laughlin‘s Trinidad Carnival.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Turkey: Meeting Ethan Zuckerman and Other Geeky People · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Turkish blogger Erkan writes about meeting GV co-founder Ethan Zuckerman and many other “cool and geeky” people at a two-day conference in Istanbul.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Turkmenistan: Coming Out of Turkmenbashi’s Shadow · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula writes about President Berdymukhammedov’s plans to built huge Constitution Monument in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and suggests that his aim is to come out of Turkmenbashi’s shadow.


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Uruguay: File Sharing Site Raises Questions · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Editor's Note: The following is a translation of an interview conducted by Uruguayan blogger, Martin Balao.  He interviewed the blogger nicknamed E1000, who is one of the driving forces behind the community site Fotos de Uruguay [es] (Uruguay Photos), which began as a community photo sharing site and now provides downloads to Uruguayan musical artists.  The link to the original article can be found on Martin's blog.
1.  When, how, and why did Uruguay Photos come about?
When I went to Spain, as most immigrants do, I began to miss my country.  When one experiences this, the firs thing one does is to try to take the country with you.  You want to take everything that you want to see, touch, smell and hear from your country.  When I entered the internet to look for things, I was very disappointed.  In 2003, there was nothing online about Uruguay, so I decided to do it myself.I didn't have the slightest idea on how to make a site and blogs were not as popular as they are now.  I began with a little bit of HTML and I created my first page.  It was only one page, then I found scripts to make photo albums and there Uruguay Photos was born.  I belonged to various mailing lists and I asked everyone to send photos. I had the the photos, but few visits. I knew that I needed to become friends with Google, and Google likes words, not photos.  I visited PHPNUKE, a site where in addition to photos, there were other interesting things. I began to collect links to newspapers and radio stations that broadcast over internet, and the music began when I got to know other immigrants.  Rapidshare, Megaupload or other places to host files did not exist.  I installed a Tracker for Bit Torrent, and then Miriam and I started to have 1000 shared files by Bit Torrent and eMule, and so then the direct downloads.
2.  What is the significance of the name and why an Argentine domain?
Its name comes from the fact that it started as a photo album, and the domain .ar is due to the fact that the domain is free.  A Uruguayan domain is expensive.  We had a .tk domain, but it bombards you with ads and popups
3. Could you provide us with some figures about the site's activity (visitors, traffic, messages)?
Well, we have more than 5,000 unique visitors per day, some 20,000 page views, very few messages.  Before, when we had the downloads, many people downloaded and left.  Now, we have a little more activity in the forums.
4. What resources are needed and what are the costs associated to maintain the site?
How have you dealt with the funding?I don't know about materials, but you need a pair of computers connected to the internet all day for maintenance, uploads, downloads, etc. The cost for the server is taken care of by Mirian, who pays from her own pocket.   We also need some premium accounts in the different servers, but without a credit card I cannot pay.  Uruguay has many problems with online payment.  No bank has given me the solution on how to pay for an out-of-country service, without charging more than what the actual service costs itself.
5.  What has been your experience with PHP-Nuke?
Nuke is great. It helps those that don't know anything. Ha ha.  It is very difficult to select a CMS (Content Management System), each has something that you are looking for, but none has everything that you want.
6.  Who makes up the staff and how do you distribute tasks?
The staff is Mirian.  The works is distributed between Mirian and Mirian.  Ha ha.  Seriously, I won't give names because there are many and you can be seen in Uruguay Photos, such as moderators, uploaders, and others.  In the end, it is an interactive site, and anyone who wants to help can do so in one way or the other.  The one that is working 8-12 hours a day is Mirian.
7.  What challenges have you had in relation to the users?
Interacting with the users is a very complex. It is difficult to please 35,000 people.  Every day I get messages with instructions on how to administer the site. It's like football, everyone has a different lineup.
8.  Have you had legal problems with the exchange of content due to copyright?
Have you been contacted by an artist?  What are your thoughts on this?Cudisco approached us asking us to remove the direct download, only those songs from DSUS4 (a Uruguayan band) or something like that.  They have asked us to remove their album and we did.  We are not here to bother the artists and I don't think that we do.  No one knows the exact amount that the artist loses with each album.  They also do not know how many artists have been discovered through the internet. If I need to pay 300-400 pesos to listen to an album, I probably won't do so if I only make 200 pesos per day.  Another problem is that in Uruguay, the artists do not reach into the interior of the country.  I live in a town of 15,000 residents and there are no record stores.  A couple of businesses have 10-20 CDs, but they are by international artists.  Here no one risks bringing a vinyl album. I become familiar with artists on a daily basis because of Uruguay Photos.  The radio stations in Montevideo do not reach us or are not listened to.  An artist once said, if my album is not on the internet it is because it is bad, I don't know. I think the question is: if we get rid of downloading, will bootlegging disappear?I want to be clear: only 1 asked us to remove their albums, and about 12-15 asked us to put their album on our site.  Pepe Guerra shares his album on his website, is this self-bootlegging?  In Uruguay Photos, albums have been shared that the newer generations would never have had heard.  3 famous musicians congratulated us.  There are many more musicians that are users on Uruguay Photos.
9.  What are your plans for the future?
Making plans in an area where the changes are constant is very adventurous.  When the services of direct download began, everything apperaed that it would be simple. Instead we have a guy that reports 300 or 400 albums at one time, and that changes all the plans.
10.  Anything else to comment?This project is done only for a pat on the back.  It is not-for-profit, it becomes tedious, it tires, it frustrates, but we continue because of the thanks from a fellow Uruguayan throughout the world.


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USA: Armenian, Azeri Lobbies Prepare for Election · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Marilisa Lorusso's blog turns its attention to how the ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani lobbies are attempting to influence the position of candidates for the U.S. presidential election.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Albania: Attitude Towards the Roma · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Stepping Stones writes about the attitude towards Roma kids in Albania's capital.


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Algeria: On Ayaan Hirsi Ali · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian Nouri discusses his views on Ayaan Hirsi Ali.


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Armenia: US, Russian-backed Regime Change? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Archuk's Blog, which has already asked who exactly woke up the former president, comments on reports that Levon Ter-Petrossian was recently in Moscow. The blogger says that while it's possible the former head of state was there just for a “bowl of of borsh and a shot of Stolichnaya,” it's more likely that the reason for the visit was far more significant and possibly connected to attempts to finally resolve the long-standing conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.


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Bahrain: For sale? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In this post we look at some of things that Bahraini bloggers have been saying during the last month. We start with a complaint about the privatisation of utilities in Bahrain, followed by an opinion about changes at the Ministry of Information, and another about the role bloggers can play in Bahrain. Then there is some advice on using an honorific title to cover a lapse in memory, a blogger's marriage proposal, and another blogger's frustration at being pushed into meeting a potential suitor…
We start with a photo by Mohammed Marhoon, who went out on a photography trip with some of his friends:
Some things are best kept public…
Nido is unhappy about privatisation in Bahrain:
We have sold off the plant that pretty much generates ALL of the water and electricity in Bahrain to far flung companies in Europe and Japan. We no longer own anything that is able to produce water and electricity for us. All of our water and electricity production is in the hands of management in Tokyo, London and Brussels. Could someone tell me how is this a brilliant idea? […] One popular reason people give for letting the private sector take over is that the private sector is more efficient in managing and running a place. […] This is no justification whatsoever for selling off your assets. This is a justification for the private sector MANAGING and RUNNING the establishments. … Many countries, such as France, have these vital sectors owned by the state itself but they are run by the private sector. If there are gains to be had from the private sector taking over management (and even this is debatable in this case) then let them take over running it but you don’t need to sell it off to them! […] Given our oil boom the country SHOULD HAVE ENOUGH FUNDS ON ITS OWN to cater to such crucial sectors. They are a priority. We DO NOT NEED external investment, not in these sectors. Given how much we have poured down the Formula 1, etc, we should be able to stump up an extra 1 billion somewhere to build a decent water and electricity plant which would keep us viable for the next 30 years or so. This should not be hard. Given our government’s obsession with fast bucks however, this money gets instead wasted on less crucial projects. […] Enjoy the water you’re drinking and the laptop you’re powering using that electricity folks, just remember that you’re buying it from the Belgians, the British and the Japanese.
All change
Mahmood is optimistic about changes at the Ministry of Information:
I was thrilled to read in Al-Waqt in the weekend that the new minister of information, Jehad buKamal, affirmed that the new Press & Publications Law will not stipulate any prison sentences against journalists, except for denigrating God or the king. The exception is accepted – for now – as otherwise the law will never get through this parliament. I will be really surprised if a bright spark or two of our esteemed members of parliament don’t stand against such a law and counter it by demanding that every single journalist or writer should be assumed guilty first and not only should they be imprisoned for their troubles, but also levy some public lashings against them too. Oh hang on, this actually had been suggested in the past, so let’s see how far they go this time! The new minister has been a breath of fresh air at that ministry in particular and the government in general. So far, he has released some books which his ministry’s censorship office has withheld from publication or summarily banned for reasons they know best, has come out publicly against the imprisonment of journalists (and hopefully all opinion writers as guaranteed by our constitution anyway) and has lately commission none other than Al-Jazeera – which has so far been banned from reporting from Bahrain – to mount an investigative journalism course for several journalists and media personnel.
Another source of information
MuJtAbA AlMoAmEn sees blogs playing an increasingly important role in Bahrain:
بروز المدونات على السطح أدى إلى أفول نجم المنتديات شيئاً فشيئاً ، وساهم في ذلك خروج أسماء حقيقية ولامعة إلى العلن عبر تدويناتهم .اليوم علينا أن ننتظر بعد مضي فترة ليست بالقليلة على تاريخ التدوين العربي ، أين وصل المدون البحريني في نقل الصورة والتأثير على المسار السياسي المحلي ، وقدرته على إثراء الساحة المحلية وإشغال جزء من مساحات عقول الرأي العام المحلي بشكل خاص . … هل سيتمكن المدون البحريني من أخذ مساحة حقيقية ومؤثرة على مستوى الشارع المحلي ؟ … أعتقد إن على المدون البحريني أن لا يكتفي بالمشاهدة أو بإضفاء التحليلات ، بل عليه أن يكون المؤثر الحقيقي في الساحة ، في نقل ما يحصل في الجوار بشكل حقيقي وصحيح ومحايد ، ليستطيع العالم أن يقرأ ما يجري في البحرين بدون رتوش أو زيادات أو نكهات سياسية تخص طرفاً سياسياً دون آخر .
The rise of blogs has led to the gradual decline of online forums. It has also contributed to the emergence of real names in public via their blogs. Today, we should examine the history of Arabic blogging, after a not too short passage of time: where did Bahraini bloggers reach as regards reflecting and influencing local politics, and what is their ability to contribute to local discussions and local public opinion in particular? … Will Bahraini bloggers be able to take a real position that can influence the local street? … I believe that Bahraini bloggers shouldn't restrict themselves to watching and analysing incidents, but should have a real impact on what is happening and in relaying what is happening in their surroundings in a frank, correct and objective manner, so that the world can read what is happening in Bahrain without exaggerations, or additions, or a political slant which belongs to just one end of the political spectrum.
You know, whatsisname…
Concerned Citizen ‘X’ tells us how useful the title ‘shaikh’ or shaikha’ can be:
In general, the salutations SHAIKHA or SHAIKH are used to call upon a female or male with some degree of respect. Others use it to point out that a person is rather daft. Me, I use them to cover my shortfall; where for some reason or another I cannot remember names of people whom I have just met, or have known for some time. This is no joke, I have gone for weeks directly dealing with people but never knowing or remembering their names. I know it's rude but hey, the brain cells must be rapidly deteriorating in the area of my brain used for recalling names. […] MY POINT being, if you ever meet me in person and I greet you with SHAIKH or SHAIKHA, then you should realize that I have already forgotten your name….don't take it personally……and I apologise in advance.
In love…
Yagoob, a blogger who hasn't been writing much recently, explains why:
The reason I haven’t been active on the blog is that I have decided to get engaged to the love of my life *Woohoo!* And I must tell you it has been a rollercoaster ride! I proposed (meaning that my mother called her mother as we do in Bahrain) on New Years Day. After the proposal, the parents of the bride go and ‘ask about’ the groom from their friends and Bahrain being the tiny country it is, everyone knows each other and can find out everything about you including your favourite cereal and CPR [personal identification] number! A week later and they finally decided to give me the green light to marry their daughter after hearing good things of me in addition to my squeaky clean reputation (alhamdulillah) and want to meet me. The week after, the men of our family (my brothers, uncle and cousins) and myself went to the bride’s home to “officially” ask her hand in marriage, and I got the chance to see her (following the Sunna of the Prophet Mohammed PBUH). On that day, I felt the most self-conscious I have ever felt in my entire life! A terrible experience but every groom has to go through it!
Yagoob then explains the next steps the couple has to take before getting married in Bahrain here.
…and in disbelief…
Cookie has also got marriage on her mind – that is, trying to avoid it! Before she realises what is happening, her cousin drags her away from her exam revision to go to a wedding reception:
after 20 minutes she was here, then we arrived to that reception I don’t know about ! I looked around and said TAKE ME HOME ! NOW, everyone looks cute and well dressed!
then she said : cookie honey, take your sheela [scarf] and abaya off !
me: NO !
she: come on no one is wearing them
me: cause no one is wearing jeans!
she : oooooooooooh ,( taking abaya off me)
me : I’ll kill you just wait
then a woman got out from no where and came to me hugging and kissing and saying here is the future bride!
me in my heart : future bride! you must be blind, take a good look at me I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt my hair is kababa (I have an exam look) and the most important thing is I don’t know who the hell are you !!
After that, my cousin and that woman left me alone. I just started walking in a room full of people I don’t know they were smiling to me like they say poor thing! she has no clothes or hair dryer !
my cousin finally showed up and said: wear your sheela and abaya.
me: thanx (hit her hard)
she : I won’t hit you back cause that woman will kill me ( pointing at the women who kissed me)
me: what is wrong with her !
she: come and see
she took me to the house’s garden and sat on chairs there !
me: It’s cold are you crazy!
she : no just wait
me : I’m crazy when I came with you!
she : just wait la! I don’t know what he finds in you!
me: he!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! who
she : someone!
me : I’ll kill you really, you made me come with you to see a boy!
she : shhhhhh ! he’s here
To find out what happens next, see here.
We finish with another photo by Mohammed Marhoon:

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: Indian Workers on Strike · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Mahmood Al Yousif comments on the treatment of Indian workers on strike in Bahrain.


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Bahrain: Response to Hezbollah leader’s death · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Hezbollah has wide support in Bahrain, and there has been an immediate response to the news of the death of Imad Mughniyeh, a top Hezbollah leader.
Ali Abdulemam remembers when he first became aware of Mughniyeh:
عندما كنت صغيرا كنا نتابع اخبار اختطاف طائرة الجابرية الكويتية، كنت صغيرا حينها، ربما ثمان سنين، لا أعرف لماذا كنت مهتم بها، غير أن مرة أختي اجابت بأن المختطفين شيعة لذلك كانت تتابعها
لم يكن يدر بخلدي أن المدبر لتلك العملية التي استهوتني صغيرا سأكون من المهتمين له مستقبلا ، لا يمر شهر او أسبوع أحيانا لا أقوم بجولة في النت حول هذه الشخصية الغامضة، أحب ان أقرأ عنها
لست هنا في معرض تبيان الكثير من مميزات الراحل، فغوغل يكفيك عناء هذا، ولكني هنا مهتم بتجربتي الشخصية مع الاهتمام بهذه الكاريزما الغامضة
…في زيارتي الاخيرة للبنان، وما قبلها أيضا كنت دائم السؤال عن عماد مغنية، بالرغم من معرفتي بخطورة السؤال، في المرة الأخيرة سألت عضو بالحزب أمام عضو آخر، أحدهم قال محاولا الالتفات على الموضوع وتضليلي، عماد مغنية مات وشبع موت وعظامه تحللت وهن لهلق عم يدوروا عليه، خليهم يدوروا” ولكن الآخر والذي كانت علاقتي معه أقوى نفى ذلك الكلام إجمالا
أكثر ما شدني لهذه الشخصية ، هو درجة الغموض والبطولة المصاغة حولها، العلاقات المتشعبة مع كثير من الحركات الثورية والمؤسسات الثورية، أن لا تستطيع دولة خليجية تعلم بوجوده على اراضيها اعتقاله بل وتسفيره بسرعة كبيرة، أن يعمل أكثر من عملية تجميل لوجهه لتغيير ملامحه زيادة في الاختفاء، أن تكون جائزته هي الأكبر من بين المطلوبين أمريكيا بتهمة الإرهاب، هو هذا وغيره الحاج عماد مغنية
When I was young, I followed the story of the hijacking of the Kuwaiti Al Jabiriya plane. I was about eight years old then. I don't know what made me so interested in it, except that my sister said that the hijackers were Shi'a, and that was why she was following the news.
I didn't realise then that the mastermind behind that operation which triggered my interest as a child would continue to interest me later in life. Not a month or sometimes a week has passed without me checking the internet about this mysterious personality. I love to read about him.
I will not go into the qualities of the deceased, Google will save you the trouble. Here I am interested with my personal experience of being interested in his mysterious charisma. … During my last visit to Lebanon, and the one before, I constantly asked about Imad Mughniyeh, despite knowing the danger of raising such an issue. The last time, I asked a member of the party (Hezbollah), in front of another member, who tried to change the topic and mislead me. He said that Imad Mughniyeh had died and his bones had disintegrated, and those looking for him could continue to do so. The other member, with whom I had a stronger relationship, totally denied that.
What drew me most to this character was the mystery and heroic deeds surrounding him: his relations with a number of revolutionary movements and organisations, the fact that no Arab Gulf country that knew about his presence on its lands could arrest and expel him, that he had undergone several cosmetic surgeries to change his features to further disappear, that he had the largest reward on the list of US ‘Most Wanted’, charged with terrorism – all this and more was Hajj Imad Mughniyeh.
Haythoo also pays tribute:
خطابات نعي من الـسيد حسن نصر الله, من الأمام القائد الخامنئي, من الـسيد فضل الله, من الحزب, من الأحزاب المعارضة, من الأحزاب الثورية في كل أنحاء العالم… و يجب على شرفاء وطننا أيضاً أن ينعوا هذا الشهيد البطل, الـذي جعل من الأمريكان دجاجاً راكض, فإستحق فعلاً لقب الثعلب الشيعي
Condolences messages are pouring in from Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, from Imam Khamenei, from Sayyed Fadlallah, from the party, from the opposition parties, from all the revolutionary parties in the world… and all the decent people in our country should also mourn this martyr and hero, who made the Americans run like chickens, and truly deserved the title of ‘The Shi'ite Fox’.
Related Global Voices Online articles:
Syria: Imad Mughniyeh Assassinated


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Bahrain: What Environment? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger emoodz discusses his country's stance on the environment.


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Bangladesh: On human rights, and people across the border · Global Voices
Rezwan

In this weeks roundup we take a look at what different Bangladeshi blogs are talking about.
On human rights- who is a human?
Rumi of In the Middle of Nowhere discusses the death under custody of Mr. Qayyum Khan, an elected local government representative and a BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) activist. He accuses human rights organizations for not advocating Khan's case:
“Although Mrs. Qayyum’s Khan’s wailing was very intense in TV, I am pretty sure; her wailing will never reach those who make a living out of human rights issues. There will not be any urgent action alert, no statement, no blog, no facebook group, no burning of conscience. If you are a detained university teacher’s wife, a minority leader, a journalist, you are a human. You will be heard , you will be spoken of. But these Qayyums, Alals, Tareqs are inhumans. Human rights watchdogs don’t talk about inhuman rights. Inhumans don’t have right.”
Much ado about the political cases against Sheikh Hasina
Bangladesh's political scene is now buzzing with ever evolving drama of the trial of former Prime Minister and the chief of Awami League on graft cases. In case you are wondering whats the fuss is all about, please read Dr. Abdul Momen's piece who guest blogs at Shada Kalo:
“Both these trials are being conducted in special courts set up under the EPR. The regime is lying in claiming that she is being tried under the ‘law of the land’ and is allowed to defend herself.”
The tale of two Bengals
After a recent visit to Kolkata, West Bengal, India Md. Anwarul Kabir tries to draw a cultural bridge from there to Bangladesh, the former East Bengal:
“Due to socio-political and geographical boundaries with the West Bengal, Bangladesh has produced different flavour of Bengali culture than that of West Bengal.
My interactions with the common people in Kolkata have revealed the fact that many Indian Bengalis perceive a stereotype notion towards Bengali Muslims of Bangladesh. Perhaps this notion has its origin in the Muslim communities in West Bengal who are very conservative and live in closed societies. But in practice, the Bengali Muslims of this part of the Bengal inherently are more moderate and secular.”
On purity of language:
JRahman at Mukti invokes another burning debate. Should Bangla be spoken with the impeccable version or with the evolving accents?
“Who decides on the standards?  Surely it is unreasonable to think that the pundits from the 19th century Kolkata should decide on what we can and cannot say today.”
Travel:
Expat Blogger Shawn at The Uncultured Project has some practical advice to newcomers in Bangladesh. Mickey Leung at Joybangla.info has also a suggested packing list for travelers to Bangladesh.

author: Rezwan


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Bangladesh: Virginia and Elections · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mash has updates from the US as Virginia goes to the polls.


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Barbados: Thoughts on Privatization · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Pull! Push! wonders what would happen if Barbados were to privatize its police force.


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Brazil: 375 years of the Galileo affair · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Vejo Tudo e Não Morro [pt] reminds us that in February 13, 1633, exactly 375 years ago, Galileo Galilei stood Inquisition trial on suspicion of heresy for defending the heliocentric theory of Copernicus, whereas Western Christian biblical references would state that “the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.”


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Brazil: Do not feed the journalists · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Daniel Duende de Carvalho [pt] has been reporting on the humorous clashes between bloggers and mainstream media journalists covering the Campus Party Brazil. “Kept in a aquarium-like cage in the middle of the pavilion, poor professionals from obsolete vehicles that are fated to disappear are being treated like endangered species”. See the ‘Do not feed the journalists’ campaign photos and video. Campus Party Brazil 2008 takes place in São Paulo until February 17.


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Brazil: Oneself cellphone mobile TV · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Mobile webtv live broadcast [pt] proposes a media innovation based on an all times Brazilian favorites street characters: the candy-girls that sell sweeties on trays. “We came up with a new media structure made of a transparent acrylic tray that fits the body ergonomically to allow us to continue walking around with this mobile web television via mobile phones (mobile communication, real-time)”. See their pictures to better understand!


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China: Expecting Democracy in 2008 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

At the eve of Lunar New Year, Zou Tao and Li Tie was holding a banner “2008, expecting democracy in China” in the most busy street of Shenzhen city for celebrating the new year – via sun fuquan's blog (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Dominica: Refinery Plans On Hold · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Steve's Dominica is pleased to report that plans for establishing an oil refinery on the “Nature Island” are on hold.


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East Timor: State of siege extended to 10 days · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Timor Lorosae Nação [pt] reports that the state of siege in East Timor has been extended to 10 days, after the assassination attempts on Monday. In other posts, the blog also reports that Alfredo Reinado's funeral [pt] takes place at 10 am this Thursday (local time), and that a warrant for the arrest of 18 suspects has been issued.


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Egypt: Copts on Al Jazeera  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Al-Jazeera English ran some rare incisive coverage of Coptic issues in Egypt a few days ago, good questions from the interviewer (notably on the census and church-building) with interesting interventions by Michael Mounir, the prominent US-based Coptic activist,” notes The Arabist, from Egypt, and links to the video here.


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Egypt: On Abortion · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“my friend, who is very liberal & believes so much in individual personal rights believes that abortion should be rightfull,” writes FreeSoul from Egypt.


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Egypt: On Winning the African cup of Nation, Ghana 2008 · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Ask any Egyptian, he’d tell you that last Sunday night, February the 10th, wasn’t like any night.. a night like “thousand nights”.. Egypt won the African Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008 after a fierce match with Cameron 1-0. A marvelous score in a beautiful ditto between Abu Tarika and Zeidan.
Egypt won.. Celebrations was almost every where on each and every street in Egypt, as well as in many other Arab countries.
Mona El Shazli [1], started her 11th of February episode from  “El Ashera Masa’an”  with this phrase:
“By the referee’s Koffi Coudja’s whistle, he didn’t –only- mark the end of the match, but an open invitation for thousands and thousands of Egyptians to go to the streets and celebrate the victory. And let the Egyptians live a night of mere happiness, like they’ve never been happy for so long.
And what really astonished me not how the Egyptians were happy, but how other Arab countries were as happy as well. A splendid night indeed, with such unity of feelings all around.”
Under the title “Reflections of the blessing of consolidation with Gaza” [2], Arabawy extracted a part from a BBC article:
“Defending champions Egypt won a record sixth Africa Cup of Nations with a fully-deserved victory over Cameroon. The only goal of the game came in the 77th minute when Mohamed Aboutrika pushed home a Mohamed Zidan pass after a mistake by Cameroon’s Rigobert Song.”
Adfortiori described in his blog post “Masr! Masr! Masr!”  the reactions that followed the match on the streets:
“For a country that is so deeply impoverished and repressed, constant frustration gave way to almost inexpressible joy. The girls on my floor sobbed uncontrollably, and so did some of the men on the street. Cars stopped willingly for young men bearing flags, drums, and flaming aerosol cans. Voices, hands and horns combined flawlessly in the same universal 1, 2, 3 and 4 rhythm and vocabularies were reduced to “Mabruk” “Masr!” and “Oh lay, Oh lay” no matter how comfortable you were with Arabic.”
Zeinobia -as well-  commented under the title “We are the champions”:
“The sounds of the horns began to be heard , I swear if I have energy I would go to the street in the car with my camera. Today Egypt will stay in happiness till dune. Hard luck for the Cameroon , they played great still people of the Cameroon forgive but we need this victory more than you , we need this joy , this happiness.”
Just to mention, this is Egypt’s sixth time to clinch the tournament's title, and the second in a row after last year's win in Egypt. The this forced The Arabist –like many other- to question:
“But is anyone competent enough to explain why the team always screws up when it comes to qualifying for the world cup?”
Shaheda, or the Myrter wrote :
اشار منتخب مصر انه سيتم التبرع بجزء من مكافأة الفريق اثر فوزه لبناء مسجد في كوماسي عاصمه غانا” حسب معلوماتي الضعيفه رياضيا ” .. وحسب ما اظن سيكون اول مسجد يبنى في كوماسي … جزاهم الله خير الجزاء …
“The Egyptian national team hinted that part of its reward would be directed towards building a mosque in Kumasi. And as far as I know, that would be the first mosque there. God bless them. “
Arab bloggers joined in the celebrations too.
From Moroco:
Kaoutar, under the title “Boss, shoof, Masr bte3mel eh!” or “Look, Learn from what Egypt is doing” wrote :
“Compared to many other teams – and I wouldn’t exclude the Moroccan national team – the Egyptians have proved that mastering the game itself is not the only prerequisite for a squad to become champion. Nor is it the abundance of financial resources. The team spirit that reigns has a real magic effect. Look how respectful they are towards each other and towards their coach and how united they are even in the way they thank God after each goal.
And then look how ruthless they are during the whole match. The way they play makes you feel that they truly care! I am not writing poetry here, but I did see the Egyptian legendary “namoutou namoutou wa ta7ya Masr” (we would die to give life to Egypt) dominating the game during yesterday’s match.”
From Jordon:
Roba, wrote under “On Winning”:
“And so this year, the Iraqis won the Asian Cup and the Egyptians won the African Cup. The commentator yesterday was going crazy over that. Well, mabrook to both the Iraqis and the Egyptians, who have both finally given us Arabs something to enjoy. I wish I captured the energy at the little corner cafe in Shmesani as the watchers yelled, shouted, and threw advice at the television, until everyone finally jumped and started clapping and cheering when Abou Treika put in that winning goal. I hope they both have good luck at the World Cup qualifiers.”
From Yemen:
Omar Barsawad wrote a post with the title “A well deserved win for The Pharaohs”:
“Last evening, with a little help from a mistake by the Cameroonian captain — Rigobert Song — defending champion Egypt defeated Cameroon 1-0 and won the trophy of the Africa Nations Cup for the sixth time! A record of the continental tournament. The Egyptians, as always, were: controlled, organized and continuously kept attacking. And they won despite being infancied to win in Ghana.
What is most admirable and applaudable of the Egyptians, is that — unlike all major soccer teams in Africa and the Arab world who depend on expensive, foreign coaches — Egypt has one of their own as the coach: the shrewd Hassan Shehata. Shehata has succeeded in winning the African Nations Cup after failing three times as a player for his country. Congratulations to Shehata and to Egypt! Hopefully Egypt will take their dominance and keep their momentum into the build up towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Hopefully, a team from Africa will win the cup — then.”
For Palestine things were totally different. For what Abo Tarika did, showing his inner T-shirt written on it “Sympathy with Gaza” meant something even deeper than what he really was thinking. And it –really- turned him into “a hero” in everyone’s eyes.
Noura Yunis, an Egyptian blogger, started the talk with a thank you to her Palestinian friends who congratulated her last night after the match, and mentioned a piece of news from El Jazeera:
قناة الجزيرة: عشرات الفلسطينيون تجمعوا مساء أمس بعد المباراة أمام مكتب التمثيل المصري في غزة، والجانب الفلسطيني من معبر رفح، رافعين أعلام مصر
“Hundreds of Palestinians gathered yesterday after the match in front of the Egyptian representation office to the Palestinian national authority, raising the Egyptian flags.”
But that was not everything.
Nawara Negm, an Egyptian blogger, wrote two posts – one immediately after the match, with only one word and a picture..
“Abu tarika”.. and the picture says “We are all Abu Tarika” for young Palestinian students in their schools.
Later on she explained -in another post- why she cried when she saw those other two very moving pictures.
Palestinians kissing the famous picture of Abu Tarika.. with the “Sympathy with Gaza” written on his T-shirt.
We Love you Egypt.
And from Palestine, Hiyam confirmed the above image stating:
“I have never before seen the Egyptian, the Pharos football team so strong – and never before I have seen such a life spirit and such remarkable people as the Palestinians – they will never, never give up the struggle. The Palestinians on Gaza Strip celebrated and encouraged the Egyptian football team to win, in the finales between Egypt and Cameroon, in the Football Championship of the African Nations, on February 10, 2008.
At a time when the Israelis have besieged Gasa Strip, and after the closure of the wall erected by the Israelis in 2005,between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Palestinian football fans was carrying posters depicting the Egyptian football player, Mohammed Abo Tarika, in his world-famous T- Skirt, with the words ” Sympathize with Gaza”. written on the inside of the T-Skirt..”
A well deserved victory. A well deserved best goal keeper for “Esam El Hadary”, A well deserved best player in 2008 African Cup of Nations for “Hosni Abd Rabou” [3] and a well deserved thank you goes to the man of the match “Abu Tarika” for his playing and his respectable way of expressing his opinions, despite how Google removed Abu Trika’s “Sympathize with Gaza” images from the internet.
——————
[1] Mona El Shazli: A young female Egyptian presenter, who is famous for her talk show “El  Ashera Masa’an” or 10pm. The show discusses daily local affairs. Al Shazli proved to be a great success because of her knowledge, and simple way of presenting.
[2] Arabawy was hinting tp the moment when Egyptian footballer Abo Tarika showed his T-shirt with the text “Sympathize with Gaza”, in the Sudan Vs. Egypt match during the African Cup of Nations in Ghana 2008.
[3] Both “Esam El Hadary” and “Hosni Abd Rabou” are players in the Egyptian national football team.
[*] you can see a few more photos in here: http://baki-neko.livejournal.com/72265.html

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Europe: BarCamp Baltics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Daily EM reports on BarCamp Baltics.


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Experiencing global warming in Iceland · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Vida na Islândia [pt] is experimenting what global warming is like in Iceland. “Last week I saw on the weather forecast on television that on last Friday night the temperature would rise from -7 degrees to +5. I was worried that such a sudden change of temperature would make the huge amount of snow accumulated on my balcony to melt and flood the apartment”.


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Guatemala: Targeted Violence Against Bus Drivers · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Photo by David Dennis and used under a Creative Commons license.
Lately in Guatemala, bus drivers and their staff have been targeted in systematic attacks by violent groups. This level of organization in the acts leaves several questions unanswered especially about who are behind the attacks and what can be done. In addition, a lot of people remain afraid.  Tayuyo described the situation on his post 7,8, 9, 10 people murdered [es]:
Esta semana la situación de seguridad ha estado bien grueso, ya que los mareros han asesinado a un promedio de 3 a 4 pilotos de autobuses a diario. Con un pico de 6 muertes en un solo día. A esto, ya han habido muchos que han alzado la voz de preocupacion y con razón.
This week the security situation has been getting complicated because of the gangs that have murdered an average of 3 to 4 bus drivers every day. The highest total was six murders in a single day. And there have been several people raising their voice, and they have a reason to do so.
On the institutional blog Proceso Economico [es], Fernando Monterroso pointed out the importance of a prompt response to the chaos from local authorities:
Hubo un paso hacia delante, por pequeño que haya sido.    Los alcaldes de los municipios del departamento de Guatemala se reunieron con el Ministro de Gobernación para plantearle la desesperación ante la situación de inseguridad.  Hicieron ver la voz de sus electores ante las autoridades del caos que existe.
There has been some progress, even though it has been very little. The mayors of the towns in Guatemala met with officials from the Ministry of Interior to express their desperation because of this insecurity. They expressed the concerns of their electorate, raising their voice against the existent chaos.
The spreading of information regarding the  terror and chaos in the media has played an important role. There are questions regarding the way the information is shown, updated, and cover in the headlines, which can either contribute to the stabilization of the situation or generate misinformation and panic. The media has been saying that these attacks might be caused by organized crime, the army or gangs. The blogger cheguille [es] thinks that gangs are the real culprit:
Ahora las empresas grandes de transporte ya tambien estan siendo tocadas por estos mareros que en lugar de dedicarse a estudiar o a trabajar se dedican a robar, no saben que todo lo que uno hace se paga y que por eso muchas veces aparecen muertos, la gente se cansa de estar manteniendo a estas personas y toman la justicia por sus mano!
Now big transport companies are being attacked by those gangs, who instead of being in school or working, they are involved in robbery.  They don't know that one must pay for their mistakes and that's why sometimes they end up dead themselves, people are tired of feeding those kids, and they take justice into their own hands.
Gangs are a daily issue in Guatemala, not only in the city but also in small villages such as Quetzaltepeque. From the blog PASJUCA [es], led by a Catholic youth group, who denounced the actions in a touristic place:
El día de ayer en horas de la noche un círculo de “amigos, jóvenes o pandilleros” como se les pueda llamar tuvo la genial idea de ponerse a  “jugar” con fuego dentro del Atrio de nuestro Templo Colonial, el cual hace poco fue declarado como parte de una importante Ruta Turística.
Last night, a circle of “friends, young people, or gangs” had the bright idea of playing with fire inside the atrium of our colonial temple, which was just declared an important piece of a touristic route.
You can read the concerns of blogger Perspectiva Militar [es] on his post describing the coverage of the media, in   Ethical dilemma and misinformation:
Dice la nota de redacción, tener un informe de inteligencia y seguridad, donde indica que pudieron haber sido – los ataques – coordinados por personas allegadas a un grupo de oficiales del Ejército de Guatemala recientemente asignados a otros puestos. Los analistas, reitero, deben considerar todas las posibilidades, pero no pueden concluir sin las debidas pruebas y mucho menos hacerlas públicas, mancillando la honra no solo de las personas aludidas sino la de una institución como lo es el Ejército de Guatemala…. Dilema ético para un medio de comunicación: Publicar como labor social de mantener informados a los ciudadanos…. o bien: Publicar para vender.
According to a press note, there are intelligence security reports, where it is written that the attacks might be linked to people closely connected to a group of high ranking officers of Guatemalan army, recently assigned to other functions. The analysts have to consider all the possibilities but they cannot come to conclusions without proof, and especially they cannot make it available to the public, harming not only the honor of those accused but also the honor of an institution like the Army.  He adds: There is an ethical dilemma for the press, to publish as a social duty or…. just publish things to sell newspapers.
Congress argues that a new law is required to solve the situation, but not so many people agree according to LIBERTAS [es] on his post Security crises v The judicial System
La solución de fondo recae en asumir un compromiso serio y de largo plazo para fortalecer verdaderamente las instituciones de justicia: Organismo Judicial, Ministerio Público, Policía Nacional Civil, Sistema Penitenciario, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Forenses, etc. Dicha obligación corresponde principalmente al Congreso de la República, empezando por los presupuestos que decidan conferirles a estas instituciones.
The inner solution is to adopt a serious long-term commitment to truly strenghten the Judicial System: The Judiciary, the Office of the General Prosecutor, Civil National Police, the Bureau of Forensic Investigations, etc. To do so, relies on the Congress that approves their budgets.
The are additional remarks regarding the rumors by Blog Principios [es]:
Muchos son los rumores que circulan acerca de quiénes podrían estar detrás de estos hechos y cuáles son los motivos que los impulsan. Que si son miembros de los distintos grupos del partido oficial peleando por cuotas de poder en el gobierno. Que si son un grupo de policías destituidos, animados por el deseo de venganza. Que si son oficiales del ejercito amenazados con ser dados de baja o, en el mejor de los casos, declarados en “disponibilidad”. Que si son narcotraficantes y contrabandistas marcando su territorio. O mareros molestos ante una posible merma de sus ingresos, si acaso se les dificultara el cobro de impuestos.
There are a lot of rumors circulating about who might be behind the murders and their motives. Some say that they may be some members of the official party fighting for power quota in the government, others say that it might be the Army Officers facing the possibility of being out of a job, or even worst, determined to be “available” or drug dealers and traffickers, because of their territory or angry gangs facing a possible reduction of their income, if the authorities make it more difficult to collect their “taxes.”
The reality reflected in blogs is that illicit networks are taking power in marginalized areas and that the history of violence will not be removed easily from the present. Instead of fighting the results and trying to mitigate the damages, it is the duty of all Guatemalans to look for solutions, care about youth, and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

author: Renata Avila


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Hong Kong: Another Hyperlink Case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The sex photo scandal has developed into another test case for the nature of hyperlink as “distribution” of indecent and obscene article. This time, the suspect posted a hyperlink of a compressed file stored in overseas server. I have written an article on that via inmediahk.net (zh).


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Hong Kong: Apologize for What? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

One of the victim of the sex photo scandal Gillian Chung finally broke her silence. In her statement she claimed that she was too innocent and she apologized for causing the social damage. Cow wondered what she apologized for. The blogger felt that such gesture implied a victory of conservative and feudal value, believing that women can express their sexual desire (zh).


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Hungary: “2ManyBloggas” Party · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Briefly, Pestiside is feeling “old”: “…The discovery of a party this coming Saturday partly dedicated to the foreign-language bits of the local blogosphere that completely ignores us, the old daddy of the business, would be more than enough to let us know our time is long over.”


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India: Blogs and Students · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

contentsutra.com points to IBNLive, a television news channel in India – launching a blogging platform for students.


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Iraq: Pimping in the Green Zone · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Pimping inside the Green Zone in Baghdad? Neurotic Iraqi Wife has the scoop.


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Israel: Cyber-Activists Promote Sderot · Global Voices
Maya Norton

While it may not be the number one topic of conversation on the government's agenda, Israeli bloggers and netizens just can't seem to stop talking about the situation in Sderot. Sderot is a small, low income community in the Western Negev Desert that has been the target of seven years of Qassam rockets from the nearby Gaza Strip.
Sderot's Cyber-Activism–
Sderot serves as a case study for cyber-activism. Supporters seek to bring attention to the stories of real people beyond what the media has chosen to cover. Activists are creating blogs, videos, Facebook groups, and organizations to promote Sderot from a first person perspective.
Here are some of their efforts.
Videos–
Yerushalmit has created this video, “Children of Sderot Just Want a Little Peace.” She says:
“This video [is] dedicated to the city of Sderot in Israel, expecialy to the children of Sderot who can't sleep in quiet.”
The Sderot Media Center, whose tagline is “The human face behind the news,” is using its YouTube Channel to portray life in Sderot today. This moving video provides a first hand look at the lives of children and their families.
And this video, entitled “Tzeva Adom” or “Color Red” after the sirens that sound before quassams strike, is about the efforts of art therapist Shahar Bar as she works with children, helping them to deal with and release their fear in a healthy manner. The video has been widely cited in the Israeli blogosphere.
Blogging–
The United Jewish Communities, the largest Jewish organization in the world, has just started a blog that gives an international outlet for the residents of Sderot and nearby communities to speak about life under fire. Ayana Neta, a 14 year old featured on Voices from Sderot, asserts:
“My name is Ayana Neta, and I am 14 years old. I live in Kibbutz Beeri, about 3 km from the border of Gaza Strip. Like Sderot I also live under rockets.
You probably don't even know it, but besides Sderot, there are more places that also get the rockets. One of them is Beeri. The first rocket that fell inside the kibbutz was 2 [meters] from one of my classmates in the kibbutz. But what I want to tell all of you is what it's like living under rockets, in my kibbutz…
Me and my friends have a tradition of hiking on Saturday. When people say not to go because it's dangerous, we say: “It's our country, and we will go anywhere we like to.” That is truly what I believe in.  If we will give in to the rockets, and stop our lives because of it, well then, the Hamas (the people who fire the rockets) have won. If we will show them the crying children, they have won. If we will break down, THEY HAVE WON. But we won't. We will stay strong and won't break down, even when it gets really tough.”
Lior Tzur joins Ayana on Voices from Sderot. In an entry entitled, “The Influence of the Kassam on My Life,” he writes:
“Hello, my name is Lior Tzur, I am 15 years old and I live in Kibbutz Beeri. I want to tell you about the influence of the Kassam on my life.
The Kassam rocket is a primitive home-made rocket for short range produced by the Palestinian terror organization Hamas. Everyday the Kassam rockets are shot from Gaza to Sderot and the surrounding settlements.
In Kibbutz Beeri we also suffer from these rockets. When the “Red Color” alarm is heard, this is a sign for us that a Kassam has been fired and is going to fall. At this moment we must run to the nearest protected space…
My school is also in the area where the Kassams fall. All around the school there are concrete buildings to protect from the Kassams. When the “Red Color” alarm is heard, we need to run into these buildings in 20 seconds.
In spite of our fear and the danger, I think that we need to stay strong and not give up. If we surrender they will see that we are weak and vulnerable and keep firing rockets on us. We must have faith that this situation will soon be over and there will be peace between us, the Israelis and the Palestinian people.”
Facebook Groups–
But not all advocates of Sderot are for peace. A new Facebook group that identifies itself with the name Residents of Sderot Start to Shoot Qassams Back (תושבי שדרות תתחילו לירות קסאמים בחזרה) urges Sderot residents to start taking the Old Testament dictum of “an eye for an eye” literally. The group's introduction announces:
“Hey people! It cannot be so difficult: if those dimwits from the gaza strip can do it then so can you! Just trawl the Net for informationon how to build ballistic missiles from materials found in the home and let's go!
I'm sure the Gazans will get the message quickly.”
While the group has 275 members and counting, we can't assume that all who joined have done so in support. Many, like myself, are there to follow the group's actions and see what will come of it. Others have joined in order to comment and protest its premise.
Commenter Benji Davis is one objector:
“The situation in Sderot is terrible. But it doesn't warrant a facebook group like this. This is exactly what people use when they make their anti-Israel rhetoric. Is the answer really to launch rockets back at a civilian population? I think Am Yisrael is above this primitive act. i would really like the creator of this group to think about disbanding the group and encourage people to leave the group. If this was picked up by CNN or BBC, just as Jpost did, think about how bad such press would be for Israel.”
Taylor Norwitt contends:
“Bravo! If [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert won't let the IDF protect you, then protect yourselves. It's good to see there's still some Jews with balls.”
And commenter Michael Sone opines:
“Seems clear. If someone threatens to murder you, you are justified in in killing him first as an act of self-defence. The only issue is wether private citizens can assume the role of pre-emption that is traditionally reserved for the government? But what if the governmemt isn't doing an adequate job of protecting you?”
On the advent of this Facebook group, Molly of The Big Felafel writes:
“It might sound random but for many this group is a desperate last resort to end the barrage of kassams. I think it is time to admit that if we wait for the government’s response we will all be as bald as Olmert before there is any retaliation. Therefore it is left up to the citizens to end the rocket fire.”
Jameel of The Muqata gleefully adds:
“Finally!
I've espoused this position for a long time. Finally the residents of Israel and Sderot are shaking off their government induced aparthy, lethargy, and indifference.
First of all they are expanding their protests – and I doubt they will stop it, no matter how many of their protesters the police arrest this time.
But more importantly, they are talking about building and shooting their own rockets back at Gaza. If the High Court won't let the IDF take effective actions, and the government relies on the High Court to tie their hands to avoid taking the needed actions (one of their excuses at least), then they choose to take their defense and offense into their own hands.
(Someone just needs to provide them with better instructions.)”
Lastly, Amir Mizroch, news editor for the Jerusalem Post and the one to break the Facebook story that brought the group much of its publicity writes in his own blog, Forecast Highs:
“I’m not sure how I feel about the ’success’ this group is seeing, partly, I assume, thanks to the ‘Post story on today’s front page and on our website. I’m not sure its a good idea for Sderot people to make their own rockets and shoot them back at Gaza, and I don’t want to encourage it. But as you can see from the comments on the group, many people think its an idea whose time has come.”
Mizroch notes that the town of Sderot went wireless this January, allowing residents free, high quality internet access from anywhere in town. We are left wondering, “Even in the bomb shelters?”
Learn More–
To read more about Sderot on Global Voices Online, follow these links:

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: Zionism in Question · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Richard Silverstein discusses Zionism in this thought-provoking post. “It's hard to write about Zionism. First, it's a belief system that is so deeply entrenched among many Jews that everyone has a clear and fixed idea about what it is. As a result, it is almost impossible for it develop and change as the need arises. Second, Zionism raises red flags among so many on the left that it is difficult, if not impossible to use the term without immediate barriers rising to obstruct discourse,” he admits.


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Jamaica: Murderous Reputation · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Moving Back to Jamaica links to an article in The Economist that he says “painted a damning picture of the Caribbean, but in particular of Jamaica.”


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Japan: Future words of the Web Era · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Japanese web visionary Umeda Mochio (see earlier translated interview) announces the upcoming release on Feb. 27th of his new book, “Five propositions for a web era: These words will open the way to the future!” (ウェブ時代 5つの定理―この言葉が未来を切り開く！ [ja]), at his blog My Life between Silicon Valley and Japan [ja].　According to Umeda's blog, the five propositions center on: entrepreneurship, teamwork, the eye of the techie crowd, Googliness, and the “adult way”.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Jordan: Cairo Pictures · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

mohammad alQaq, from Jordan, travelled to Cairo and shares pictures from his trip here.


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Kazakhstan: Gaisha Madanova – Winter Photos of Almaty · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Daniel presents Gaisha Madanova, the photographer, capturing the streets of Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan, this winter taking photos that are poetic and meditative.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kuwait: Traffic Jam · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mishary, from Kuwait, posts pictures of a traffic jam.


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Kyrgyzstan: Neo-Nazis in Russia Target Central Asians · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Azamat Report says that many people in Kyrgyzstan are learning more about neo-Nazism in Russian because of increasing number of cases of murder and violent attacks againsts Kyrgyz immigrant workers in Russia.


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Kyrgyzstan: New Blog Preview · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

CXW introduces Nomadistan, a new blog about Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, and says it provides an insightful, sometimes humorous, sometimes serious commentary on the past, present, and future of this fascinating country and region.


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Malawi: How I met my Valentine · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Malawian blogger, Victor Kaonga, shares a personal story about how he met his “Valentine”: “I regard myself as someone who does not like sharing much information about myself but for the past few months I have been reflecting over the importance of sharing personal stories and experiences.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Malawi: The truth about Kamuzu Banda · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Felix discusses the first president of Malawi, Dr. Kamuzu Banda: “I have been keeping my ear on the ground since the dictator extraordinaire officially known as Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda aka the Lion King of Malawi died hoping to hear the final truth behind him.”


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Mozambique: The lack of public policy and the social protests · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Custódio Dumas [pt] on the protests against cost of living that have been taking place in many Mozambican cities: “A crowd with no bread does not need a leader. Hunger is already a great leader. An impoverished population does not need propaganda. The very poverty calls for a revolt. There is no way to prevent this to happen in this country while we still have a mean government. The worst is still to come: the next elections will have minimal adherence, as never happened before”.


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Nepal: Migrant workers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

With 600 people leaving Nepal everyday for jobs abroad, Nepal Monitor makes the case for better services for migrant workers.


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Pakistan: Bird Flu · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Crow's Nest on certain strains of Bird Flu being detected in some poultry farms in Southern Pakistan.


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Poland, Russia: Tusk Visits Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis writes about the Polish-Russian relationship and the Polish PM's recent visit to Moscow.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: BBC’s Coverage · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Upset with BBC's coverage of Russia, Windows to Russia! suggests that “that someone from Russia should do a road trip in England to: ‘set out to try and look at some of the major problems confronting Britain!’ They could: ‘look for the dark underbelly’.”


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Russia, Georgia, UK: Badri Patarkatsishvili · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light writes about the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili.


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Russia: The Kremlin Infighting · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes that “for almost five months now, the Kremlin dogs have been clawing and biting each other under the carpet.”


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Saudi Arabia: Businesswoman Arrested · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

THE arrest of a Saudi businesswomen by a religious policeman in Riyadh for having coffee with a male colleague who was not related to her, has brought up the eternal question of whether or not Saudi Arabia wants to join the rest of the world in modernity or remain frozen in time, writes Rasheed Abou-Alsamh from Saudi Arabia.


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Saudi Arabia: Home – The Aramco Brats’ Story · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mochness from Saudi Arabia discusses a new documentary on living in the Kingdom, entitled: Home – The Aramco Brats’ Story.


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Saudi Arabia: Remembering Fouad Al Farhan · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lou from Saudi Arabia pays tribute to jailed Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan in this post.


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Serbia: A Tribute to Desimir Tošić · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dejan Đokić posts a tribute to Desimir Tošić at East Ethnia: “He was a unique and somewhat unconventional figure in modern Serbian history. Tošić was a politician who placed ideas and ideals above personal and material gain. He was a contemporary of Yugoslavia’s turbulent life and its death(s), but wrote about Yugoslav history and politics with an honesty, balance, critical stance and deep knowledge rarely found among professional historians.”


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Serbia: Divided Over Eurovision · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Reluctant Dragon reports on yet another conflict brewing in Serbia: “But Serbia would not be Serbia if it didn’t find something to be divided about. And I’m not talking about politics or Kosovo independence but Eurovision. It’s the time of the year when we decide who will represent Serbia in… hm, Belgrade. On YouTube there is a heated discussion, full of insults and aggression over who should sing in the Arena in May.”


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Serbia: Politics and Politicians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Baby writes on Boris Tadic, Tomislav Nikolic and Vojislav Kostunica.


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Serbia: Relations With the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Viktor Marković of Belgrade 2.0 writes about Serbia's relations with the EU and notes that the country has “a madman as prime minister now.”


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South Africa: Digital trends 2008 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Deshanta is interviewed about digital trends 2008 in South Africa: “I was interviewed by Mandla Shongwe on his show, Jozi Live on SA fm a few weeks back. The interview was all based around Digital Trends in South Africa in 2008 and how South Africans are getting involved in and participating in social media networking online.”


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South Korea: The Gates of Seoul · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sewing from Marmot's Hole introduces to the readers brief historical background of the Gates around Seoul city.


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Sri Lanka: Tamil Culture and a Matchbox · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Tiny Little Fractures isn't too pleased about a students’ association in Canada using the motifs of the LTTE's flag from Sri Lanka.


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Sudan: Three years of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Kush discusses three years of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan: “It is three years tomorrow January 9th since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which brought an end to the twenty years civil war in South Sudan. It is three years that have yet to see results, and a lot more to be desired.”


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Syria: Imad Mughniyeh Assassinated · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

The latest headlines from Damascus talk of a car bomb explosion in the uptown neighborhood of Kafar Suseh. The explosion – as was discovered later today – was a successful assassination attempt at one of Hizbulla‘s top leaders Imad Mughniyeh.
Imad Mughniyeh, is considered to be No.2 in Hizbulla after Hassan Nasrallah. He is on the FBI's top wanted list, and is considered to be behind the 1983 Marines Barracks bombing in Beirut which claimed the lives of 241 marines.
Reactions came swiftly, with Wassim writing:
I heard smatterings this morning that the person who died in the car bombing in Damascus had been Imad Mughniyeh but it wasn't till I made a call to a friend that it was confirmed. He said “Imad Mughniyeh” as soon as he picked up the phone and my heart sunk. In a struggle where many talk and only a few “do”, the loss of even one is felt much more deeply. There will be a quick response. .
Razan, objected on describing him as a militant, saying he was a “fighter“:
My room was shaking the minute I heard that sound. I thought it was Israel, the neighbors thought it was a tank of gas, but only the dead knew what it was.
Update: no “militant” was killed, but a fighter was assassinated.
As to who might have done it, many theories arise. The most obvious accusation would be towards Israel and the US. Hizbulla was swift to point its finger towards the Mossad. Moreover, considering the timing of the assassination – being right before the March 14's Hariri anniversary commemorations, and during Iran's FM's visit to Damascus, and a day after Lebanese March 14 MP Walid Junblatt made his civil-war reminiscent comments about Hizbulla and Syria – many are wondering whether March 14 has a hand in it. Others are suggesting it might actually be a small part of a larger deal in the making between Washington and Damascus.
Joshua Landis‘ blog has an interesting and rapidly updated discussion in the comment section. Here are some of the comments:
Qifa Nabki, said:
I’ve spoken to people close to the opposition in Beirut, and many are also very worried (if not paranoid) that this may have been carried out by the Syrians.
They put it as follows: if it was the Americans, that’s ok because they’ve been after him for a long time. If it was the Israelis, that is very bad (because of all the reasons mentioned above). The worst scenario is that if Syria took him out, as part of a deal with the Americans. With a prize like Mughniya, it would have to be a pretty big carrot for Syria, like another major concession by M14, veto to the opposition, etc.
MSK, said:
The Israelis definitively want vengeance and “targeted assassinations” are part of their M.O. Taking out Imad Mughniyah would give the Israeli leadership loads of bonus points with the Israeli public – he’s been one of the “demons” ever since the 1980s – and at the same time signal to the region “We can get anyone, anywhere.” If he wasn’t safe in Damascus, who IS safe & where?
Qunfuz said:
Syria did it – this is surely nonsense. Not in this way, in their own capital. If they wanted to give him up they would hand him over in Lebanon, and then make a quiet complaint about his ‘kidnapping’ by whichever intelligence service they handed him to. And as Qifa said, it would only be the start of a bigger realignment.

author: Yazan Badran


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Taiwan: Questions to Presidential Candidates · Global Voices
Leonard Chien

With the upcoming presidential election in Taiwan on March 22nd, televised debates will be held on February 24th and March 9th.  Following the Youtube example in the United States, at the first debate, two presidential candidates will answer 20 video questions selected from Peopo website[zh].  Voters in Taiwan are welcomed to make their own 30-second videos, and upload directly to the website.  So far hundreds of questions have been posted, with issues ranging from education reform, relations with China, infrastructure, economic development, environmental protection, death sentence abolition, foreign policies, nuclear energy, LGBT rights, and so on.

author: Leonard Chien


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Tajikistan: Energy Troubles and Fights · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Ian reports that amidst harsh energy and humanitarian crisis in Tajikistan, a more alarming news has come about a gunfight that took place in Garm last week between OMON forces and members of the former opposition.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Save the Dolphins · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Discover T&T Blog and Keith in Trinidad draw attention to the recent phenomenon of dolphins being illegally caught and sold as “fish” in order to “satisfy a sanctimonious need to consume seafood for Lent.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: “Twittering” the Earthquake · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Free Radio feels the earth move under her feet in Trinidad – and immediately posts to Twitter.


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Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Obama Sweeps · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Darwin Day was good for Barack Obama,” writes Trinidadian blogger Further Thoughts, adding: “He looks set to win by a similar margin in Maryland.”


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Two New Iraqi Blogs  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraq Blog Count introduces us to two new Iraqi blogs.


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Uganda: Green Kampala?  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kampala.ver asks, Green Kampala?: “Leonie Rhode is a German Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner whose Masters Thesis is a study about Kampala’s green areas (or whatever is left of it). She spent quite some time over here researching the matter and was smart enough to keep her video camera running…”


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Zimbabwe: Four way choice · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Development Talks blog discusses Zimbabwe presidential politics: “With just under 8 weeks to go before the elections, last week saw the announcement of the failure of the 2 MDC factions to form a coalition for the upcoming election in March. Talks between the two party leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, collapsed after their failure to agree on the selection of candidates in the election.  The other dramatic turn in the week was the announcement by Simba Makoni, a former Finance Minister and member of the ZANU PF politburo, that he would be contesting the elections as an Independent.”


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Zimbabwe: What is the real inflation figure? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zimbabaloola puts inflation figures in Zimbabwe into local context: “Everybody seems to have a different figure for inflation in Zimbabwe. The most commonly used is 24000 percent, though occasionally one still sees the government figure of 8000 percent. That’s year ON year, of course. I’ve used the inflation calculator here to get an idea of what the numbers should be.”


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Arabeyes: No to ‘Offensive’ Blogs · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arab Bloggers Union is urging (Ar) bloggers to report ‘offensive’ blogs. The aim is to curtail the spread of offensive material online, which the union says threatens our morals, ethics and values.
The following letter appeared on Arabic blog portal Maktoob, signed by union president Dr Mohammed Shadi Kaskeen, a Syrian blogger and poet, based in Sweden. It says:
يتابع إتحاد المدونين العرب ببالغ الأسف ظهور بعض المدونات المسيئة التي تكيل الإتهامات والهرطقات والشتائم للأديان والرسل والمعتقدات والمقدسات متطاولة على الذات الإلهية مشككة في قيم الأمة ومقدساتها متجاوزة ثوابتنا وأخلاقياتنا.
ولأننا نثق أن موقع ” مكتوب” هو موقع تدويني عربي خالص يلتزم المسجلون فيه بهذه الثوابت والقيم فإن إتحاد المدونين العرب وهو بيت كل مدون وخط الدفاع عن حقوق المدونين وأراءهم ومع كل إلتزامه بحرية المعتقد والرأي والإختلاف الإيجابي البناء يناشد موقع مكتوب حذف اي مدونة تتجاوز حدود إختلاف الرأي والإعتقاد إلى التطاول على الذات الإلهية والرسل الكرام صلوات الله عليهم والأديان والكتب السماوية والأخلاق والقيم ويطالب بحظر تسجيل أصحابها مرة أخرى في موقع مكتوب, كما يناشد الإتحاد السادة المدونين الكرام إبلاغ الإتحاد بريدياً عن أي مدونة من ذا النوع دون نشر رابطها بين المدونات أو الترويج غير المتعمد لإدراجاتها المسيئة وهو هدف كل مسيء ومتطاول, ويلتزم إتحاد المدونين العرب بإبقاء الباب مفتوحاً أمام التعاون مع إدارة مكتوب لوقف هذه الإساءات التي لا تقل عن الحملة العدائية والإستهداف المستمر لأمتنا وقيمنا وأخلاقنا وثوابتنا.
A commentator to the post said:
Another commentator wrote in:
A third blogger commented:


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Armenia: Bloggers Consider Election Choices · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer posts a comprehensive update and roundup on what's new in the pre-election blogosphere. In particular, the digest examines how some bloggers consider the various candidates on offer and how to cast their votes.


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Armenia: Opposition Discord · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped is disappointed by news that an opposition candidate has not pulled out of the race for next week's presidential election in Armenia to support another, former president Levon Ter-Petrossian. Meanwhile, The Armenian Observer offers another opinion.


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Armenia: Opposition Rally · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Patchwork posts photographs of a pre-election campaign rally held by former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, in Armenia's second largest city of Gyumri.


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Armenia: Trndez · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Today might have been St. Valentine's day, but in Armenia it was also Trndez, an ancient pagan festival now absorbed into the Christian calendar.  Posts from Armenia, a Peace Corps blog, posts an account of the festival.


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Azerbaijan: Appeal · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Leigh’s new adventure in Azerbaijan posts news of an appeal on behalf of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of an Azerbaijani newspaper, currently facing prosecution in Azerbaijan. The blog says that with a “lack of transparency in the Azeri court system, it is hard to know if anyone is ever guilty or innocent.”


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Bahamas: Power Plant Problems?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“For all our concerns for our environment, no one seems to be perturbed about the potentially serious consequences of the proposed power plant by the Bahamas Electricity Corporation“: Dave Ralph at Bahama Pundit explains.


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Bangladesh: Detained by the army · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices on a report detailing a prominent journalist and blogger – Tasneem Khalil's experience as he was detained by the army.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: The cartoon. Again! · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Inspirations and Creative Thoughts isn't pleased with newspapers republishing the Danish Muhammad cartoon.


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Bermuda: Tourism Feels the Love · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“So, it’s time for the Love Festival, Dr. Brown’s annual Valentine’s bacchanal,” writes Vexed Bermoothes, blogging from Bermuda – then adds: “I am not damning the Department of Tourism for their big activities…we just need to look at our cost vs benefit a little more frequently, and using honest benchmarks.”


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Blogging for a freer Afghanistan · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Nasim Fekrat in Kabul has been a very active blogger for years. He has an English blog, a Dari/Farsi one, and a photo blog. He has also contributed to several citizen media projects such as Afghan Press and Afghan Penlog. He talks with us about challenges and achievements in Afghanistan's media and new projects.
Q: Please tell us about Afghan Penlog. When did it start, and what are its objectives?
The Afghan Association of Blog Writers (Afghan Penlog) was established in April 2006. The main objective was to build a community to bring Afghan bloggers together from around the world and defend their rights.
We have also published several press releases about journalist detentions in the last few years.
Recently, I have been offering online workshops for new Afghan Bloggers. In 2008, Afghan Penlog plans to teach blogging more widely in Afghanistan. I personally ran several workshops with individuals, but we want to begin teaching bigger groups. The objective of our workshops is to teach students and young journalists to blog, so they can easily start writing on the web.
We don't have free media in Afghanistan, but through blogging, journalists and other people who can't (or don't want to) use their real names in Afghan media can share their ideas.
Q: How many Afghan Penlog bloggers are there? Are there any non-Afghan members?
In total, there are 128 members whose blogs are all listed on the Afghan Penlog website. Afghan Penlog has pages in both English and Farsi/Dari, and we welcome any Farsi bloggers to become members. There are already two bloggers from Iran. The rest of the members are Afghan bloggers throughout the world.
Media under pressure
Q: It seems in recent times that several Afghan journalists have come under a lot of pressure. Why?
Well, honestly we didn't use to have a media as powerful as we have today.
During the rule of the Taliban, all TV channels, radio and newspapers were shut down. There was only Radio Kabul, which used to broadcast religious songs without music, the Quran, and news from the Taliban. In the time of the Mujahideen it was worse.
After the Taliban fell, within a year several magazine and newspapers started publishing. It increased every day but was still non-professional. Many journalists faced problems, and went to jail. Many others had to leave the country. The reason is the Mujahideen warlords are still in power. When journalists want to say something freely, they may be forced and intimidated by a local governor who was previously a fighter and commander.
Meanwhile, the government in the capital is weak and doesn't have the ability to help journalists. The government also took serious steps towards pressuring and censoring those media which were acting independently. New media legislation is still pending.
The fanatic Islamic fundamentalist figures have also influenced. They do not care what the government says, and they do not care about human rights, freedom of speech, women's rights or democracy. They consider everything through Islamic Sharia law.
Q: How you evaluate the Afghan blogosphere?
Well, Afghan blogs are improving and in increasing day by day. As far as my own research shows, blogs are becoming more popular in Afghanistan. It is a new phenomenon for Afghan people, and they are very interested to go for it. I meet people every day that ask me for help making a blog. The fact that we lack free media also encourages people to blog.
Afghan Press, a new citizen media project
Q: You have been involved with Afghan Press too. What is this project about?
Afghan Press was built in order to give accurate local news to people abroad. I am the director.
As you know, we don’t have online media to provide news to the world independently. Every day we hear bad news of explosions, suicide attacks, road bombings, killings, robberies in Afghanistan, but there is no one to provide information on social issues, women's issues, education, music, literature, culture and Afghan traditions.
When I read the news, I feel sorry for myself and wonder why our country and our people are defined as violent and tough people. I want to explain through Afghan Press that we are no different from the rest of the world; that we are forgotten, and you need to remember us today.
A challenge named electricity
Q: Once you wrote that one of the big challenges for Afghan bloggers is the shortage of electricity. Can you explain the daily challenges that an Afghan blogger faces?
That is right. We Afghan bloggers face severe conditions. We always have power outages. That is normal here. Within 24 hours we have 5 hours electricity, but also periodical outages. We need to write our posts on paper and wait until the power comes back.
Whenever we type and save something to a memory stick, we must walk a distance to access the internet. Probably this will take one hour or less, but we have to deal with this every single day.
A second hand computer can help… a lot
Q: How can international organizations help promote blogging in Afghanistan?
Bloggers in Afghanistan are really poor, and I am sure international organizations could help us. I am asking anybody reading these lines, please help us to promote blogs and digital media in Afghanistan. I believe, if we don’t develop modern media, we will not be able to provide information out of Afghanistan. We need international help.
In order to build this country, we need to inform people, teach the people and guide them. We, the Afghan Association of Blog Writers, are asking people to help us promote blogging in Afghanistan. Second-hand computers, laptops, cameras and flash disks would be a big help.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share with Global Voices audience?
I feel truly lucky to have been giving this chance by Global Voice Online to share my views with its readers. I am very interested in Global Voices and always read the stuff in there, so keep up the hard work. I would like also ask Global Voices to participate and help promote Afghan blogs.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Brazil: Posting together against paedophilia · Global Voices
Paula Góes

At least 200 Brazilian bloggers so far have promised to make a post against paedophilia today and many blogs are already wearing a badge. Tânia  [pt], a state prosecutor, has posted a real history whose end is not a happy one. The campaign has been organized by Luz de Luma [pt].

author: Paula Góes


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Central Asia: Which Candidate is Good for the Region?  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog ponders on which candidate for the post of the United States president may be better for the development of Central Asia and says that John McCain co-sponsored Freedom Support Act, Barak Obama is widely believed to be more of an internationalist and perceived to have sympathy for Muslim countries.


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China: Taxi Driver Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jesse Owen blogs about the blue truck taxi driver hunger strike in Ningbo, Zhejiang. The mainstream media has very little cover on the issue and Jesse has some first hand information and photos.