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Cambodia: Rice politics · Global Voices
Chhunny Chhean

Rice is more than a staple of the Cambodian diet.  It also implicates land rights, trade and international relations.
A post on The Mirror reveals the frustration of Cambodians, including Cheam Yeap, a Cambodian People's Party official, over land leases to neighboring Vietnam.  From the Mirror, citing Cheat Khmer, Vol.1, #40, 18.3.2009:
Thousands of hectares of citizen’s land lying along the Yuon [Vietnamese] border of An Giang Province, bordering Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, are being leased to Yuon companies by Khmer authorities along the Yuon border to grow agro-industry crops. The Phnom Penh Post published an article on 26 February 2009, quoting the Svay Rieng governor, Mr. Cheang Am, that 10,000 hectares of land in Svay Rieng are prepared to be leased to Yuon companies along the border and also, the Prey Veng governor, Mr. Ung Samy, told the Phnom Penh Post that he will discuss with Yuon officials in Yuon [Vietnam] about the leasing of rice fields along the border to Yuon companies to come to do rice cultivation in Khmer territory.
Yeap is concerned the leases will evolve into ownership changes, resulting in a reduction of Cambodian territory.  Others, like Prum Soanara, an engineer, thinks the land is best utilized if given to the country's own citizens to cultivate rice.
KI Media highlights the problem of illegally imported rice with an article from the Nation:
The Thai Rice Exporters’ Association and the Board of Trade of Thailand (BoT) will soon propose that the Commerce Ministry set up a Public Warehouse Organisation as an “import agency” to oversee rice imports once the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) eliminates all import tariffs.
The agency would institute measures to protect Thai farmers, such as requiring imported rice only be used for raw purposes in manufacturing.  However, exporters are worried such protections encourage those seeking to manipulate the system, thereby increasing the amount of illegally traded rice, including rice grown in Cambodia.
In addition to its practical roles, rice is symbolic of Cambodian culture, as this video shows.  This piece from Khmer Civilization involves images of rice from farm to market:
The thumbnail image used is from the Flickr page of Nohch

author: Chhunny Chhean


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Cuba: Interview with Blogger Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo · Global Voices
Claudia Cadelo

Editor's Note: This is an abridged version of the interview of Pardo Lazo. For the complete text, please visit Claudia's blog Octavo Cerco [es].
Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo has been blogging since 2008.  He was born in Havana, Cuba on December 10, 1971. With a degree in biochemistry obtained in 1994 from the Department of Biology from the City of Havana, he left the sciences for literature. In this field, he received many prizes from official publications such as the Short Story Prize from the magazines La Gaceta 2005 and Cauce 2007 and many other awards.  His unofficial publications can be seen as the editor of the e-zine the Revolution Evening Post.
Now he has been publishing in many blogs and digital magazines such as Revistas Cacharro(s) [es], 33 y 1/3 [es], Desliz [es], and The Revolution Evening Post [es], Fogonero Emergente [es], Penúltimos Días [es], Pia McHabana [es] , and Lunes de Post-Revolución [es].
Boring Home book cover
Recently, Pardo Lazo published his book called Boring Home, which was not published by Letras Cubanas. Instead the book was presented at a event on the outskirts of the International Book Fair in Havana. During the week before the presentation, which was organized by blogger Yoani Sánchez of Generación Y [es]. the author had been targeted by a police operation, and by personal threats by email and telephone. Despite that, the book presentation of Boring Home was well-received with the participation of many writers, photographers and bloggers from around the country.  The book can be downloaded here (.pdf format) in its entirety.
Claudia Cadelo: When did you start with your blogs Pia McHabana and Lunes de Post-Revolución?
Orlando Luis Pardo: Pia McHabana (whoever it is) started to blog in August of 2008 after a time lost in the internet (I think it has been lost again). In October 2008 I started to write more regularly on my blog Lunes de Post-Revolución, where I publish, more than posts, all of the weekly columns: essays, opinions, delusions, interviews, features, vile ironies, reports, dreams. This blog is my best effort as an author. I would like to see them published on paper some day, but I suspect that it would be a intolerable book.
CC: Was it through the use of blogs that you started to become part of the blogosphere or did you work on another digital space?
OP: Previously I had sporadically appeared on other websites, such as official magazines like Made in Cuba, Esquife, Alma Mater, El Caimán Barbudo and La Jiribilla. Of course, I also became involved in alternative editorial projects like the indpendent magazines Cacharro(s), 33 y 1/3, the projece Desliz, and my own irregular e-zine called The Revolution Evening Post (which I produced together with Cuban writers Jorge Enrique Lage and Ahmel Echevarría Peré). In the blogs Fogonero emergente y Penúltimos Días, among others, one can read a large part of my work as a blogger columnist. There, little by little I started to draw in readers and other friends.
CC: Talk to me about the story behind the book “Boring Home.”
OP: Boring Home is a book using a play on words, where the stories mean less than the discourse.  There are extensive stories and others of only one page, but all of them emerge with that pleasure of savoring the words: alliteration before the literary. The characters of my book are lazy and are obsessed with the act of narrating posthumously: how to compile prime material of fiction, how to be an accomplice by provoking friction.
Pardo had been receiving anonymous phone calls after the digital convocation for the book Boring Home, which has been rejected by the state publisher Letras Cubanas, even though it had been approved for publication months before.  He said that he had heard rumors that high ranking officials had read the book and some of his blog columns. He adds that he did not respond to any personal attack because then he could be labeled as a “dissident, mercenary, counter-revolutionary, agent, etc.” The prohibition of the book was never made official, according to Pardo and he indicates that it has partly to do with his work as a blogger in order to make an example of him.
CC: You also participate in the blogger gatherings organized by Sánchez, you have many blogs and are a part of Voces Cubanas. How do you feel with the presence of the small blogger community who supported you during these difficult days?
OP: Solidarity. Even without needing to know the entire gravity of the situation, they showed solidarity, civil sympathy, and even a good sense of humor. I thank all of them, especially Yoani Sánchez for accepting the challenge of presenting my book, knowing that no other Cuban writer would be willing to do so.  And to you, Claudia, for opening up a window to be able to breath despite such foul air, and for this interview. The bad readers say that they manipulated me to make a big show (even in the phone threats they told me), but to sow this type of carrion is among us the oldest trade in the world.  Also, many nice readers and Cuban bloggers attended the book presentation around La Cabaña: we didn't even invade the space around their walls, it was enough to leave a symbolic graffiti next to the drawbridge of the Kafkabaña Castle.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Claudia Cadelo


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Cuba: Three Strikes  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The president of the Writers and Artists Union of Cuba…affirmed that all Cubans can travel, except those who have a debt to the justice system…I have never been charged in court yet I am condemned not to leave this Island”: Generation Y‘s exit permit has once again been denied.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Dubai: Not a Melting Pot  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Dubai, UAE, is not a melting pot, writes Tunisian blogger Subzero Blue. Click on the link to find why many expats never feel at ‘home’ in the cosmopolitan city.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Ecuador: Barcamp and Sunday Morning in Quito · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

The Ecuadorian geek and blogger community met up on March 21 in the capital city of Quito for Barcamp Ec [es].  The first of its kind in Ecuador and it attracted bloggers and experts from a wide range of fields who traveled from different locations across the country to attend.  This event followed another event in Quito called Domingo en la Mañana (DELM) [es]  or better known as “Sunday Morning” on February 22 and gathered entrepreneurs, business and other internet enthusiasts. Attendees and participants provide their thoughts on the events.
Barcamp Ecuador logo
Paul Barahona helped with organizing both BarcampEc and Domingo en la Mañana.  As one the most enthusiastic Ecuadorian bloggers, he offers his impressions of what took place at Sunday Morning in Quito.  Paul works under a online nickname Palulo Panda and he published a “Pandacast” with thoughts on DELM:
Ese fue un encuentro muy productivo, pues se consolidó aún más la comunidad que mira a la red de redes como un espacio para aprender, compartir y generar ganancias. Por cierto, aquel no fue el primer encuentro de emprendedores 2.0, ya que en el 2007 se realizó el Loxa Bloggers y en el 2008 el Primer Encuentro Virtual de Bloggers.
That was a very productive meeting, as it further consolidated the community that looks to the internet as a place to learn, share, and generate profit. Incidentally, that was not the first entrepreneurs 2.0 meet up, that in 2007 the Loxa Bloggers and in 2008 and the First Virtual Encounter of  Bloggers took place.
Group of participants in the BarcampEc outside CATO. Photo by Carlos Correa and used under Creative Commons.http://www.flickr.com/people/calu777
During BarcampEc,  there were over 200 hundred people in attendance at the event which took place on the first floor of the Engineering School at the Catholic University in Quito (CATO). Many Ecuadorians were following the developments through the internet and as one the participants said, that the cream of the crop of Ecuadoran geeks were here The list of speakers can be found here and if you are interested on knowing more about the Barcamp just Google it under the term barcampquito09.
For the most part, participants were pleased with BarcampEc. Eduardo Palacios, who also spoke at Barcamp tweeted:
Finalizada la primera mitad del Barcamp. Hasta aquí, un éxito.
The first part of Barcamp has ended. So far, a success.
Christian Espinosa of Cobertura Digital [es] also was a speaker and one of the topics he shared was the Web 2.0 and the Impact on Journalism 2009 (slideshare). He also was one of the first to comment with his impressions after Barcamp Quito 2009 ended. He stresses that this was a great example for others wanting live coverage of a similar type of event.

author: Milton Ramirez


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El Salvador: Blogger and Twitter Gathering · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Bloggers and users of Twitter from El Salvador are planning a get-together called Twittblogs on March 29 in El Salvador writes Queith [es]. The event strives to be inclusive of “those users of Twitter that don't have blogs and the bloggers that don't use Twitter.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Fiji: ‘It was stones, now it’s molotov cocktails’  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

In the weeks between late January and mid-March, at least six people in Fiji who could be termed “public opponents” of the country’s military-backed government have been targeted by unidentified individuals who late at night have thrown large stones at their houses and severally damaged their cars and other property.
The victims include two journalists, including the editor-in-chief of the Fiji Times, a trade unionist who is the head of the new Movement for Democracy, a prominent businesswoman, a former labor minister, and a lawyer who represented two men charged with planning to assassinate Voreqe Frank Bainimarama, the country’s Prime Minister who came to power in a December 2006 military coup.
Questions swirl regarding the perpetrators’ identities. Many stoning victims contend the attacks are politically motivated and a few claim to know who did the damage, even silently pointing a finger at Fiji’s government for either tacitly sanctioning the attacks or, perhaps, planning them. The police have investigated the attacks, but so far have come up with no tangible information. Many political bloggers called for Frank Bainimarama (or someone in the government) to deplore the attacks, which they claim are attempts to intimidate those critical of the regime.
Condemnations became more vociferous Monday after police reported that three unidentified men threw bottles filled with kerosene and sugar at two separate houses in Suva, the country’s capital. Only one bomb ignited at one of the houses, but no one was hurt. (The second house suffered a broken window.) The victims include Fiji Times editor-in-chief Netani Rika and former senior army officer Colonel Sakiusa Raivoce, a solider in Fiji’s army who currently runs the military recruiting firm Global Risks Services. Both men had rocks thrown at their houses a few weeks back.
Bainimarama, the head of the country’s military, came to power claiming to rid the country of what he saw as debilitating corruption and Fiji's long history of divisive racial and religious practices in the political sphere. (Fiji’s population is largely split between indigenous Fijians, who make up nearly 60 percent of the population, and Indo-Fijians, the ancestors of workers brought to the country by  British colonial rulers to work on sugar and copra plantations.) On top of this racial disunity at the political level, many of Fiji's political leaders have open contempt for each other, often using the court system to force consensus. Writing about improvements in the Fiji media, journalist David Robie argued in the Cafe Pacific blog, “If the current regime and previous Fiji governments had spent even a fraction of their legal bills on sustained and committed media training and education in the country, then substantial progress would be made.”
Even nominally pro-government bloggers (and forum posters) have criticized Bainimarama for remaining silent regarding the attacks or being too weak to stop them.
real jack at the Fiji Board Exiles forum argues these attacks shows the military regime cannot guarantee the safety of its citizens:
FB has not condemned the attacks – nor has anyone from the millitary. if this state of affairs continues and gets worse they should not be surprised if the UN and the Commonwealth decide to not participate in the Presidential Forum and the whole thing falls apart – and then the whole process is scuttled and then the country descends into anarchy – the longer this state of affairs continues the more UNSTABLE the situation will become – it was stones, up until last week, now its molotov cocktails – next it will be guns and then nitro fertilizer homemade bombs.
this thing starts off small – and it gains its own momentum – and as people get emotional and upset they end up not giving a damn – that callous attitude by the regime only feeds into that sense of frustration that will translate into anger and will end up scuttling whatever achievements achieved todate.
[Here is some background on the upcoming Presidential Political Dialogue Forum, which could lead Fiji to elections after the country’s race-based electoral code is modified, Bainimarama hopes will force parties to reach across racial lines for support, limiting the power of nationalist parties.]
Alohabula1, also from Fiji Board Exiles, argues the government is not living up to its promises:
Bottom line -if FB's motive for taking over the government was for the security of the nation, THEN it follows that he MUST squelch this kind of behavior in the bud and catch the perpetrators.
Given that scenario, it is not that easy to catch whoever is doing this, its not like they leave a lot of evidence in their little cowardly drive bys, but FB and the Police had better make a concerted effort to try if they want to keep up any kind of appearances and do their job of securing the nation.
While the stonings were going on, much of Fiji’s political blogosphere have claimed the rock attacks were perpetrated by members of the country’s military. With molotov cocktail attacks now reported, Intelligentsiya continues that charge.
Anarchy has peaked in our shores.
While many already have strong but silent suspicions about who exactly is behind this, one would be hard-pressed to ignore the fluorescent coated trail of crumbs leading all the way up to QEB.
[QEB= Queen Elizabeth Barracks, the national headquarters of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces in a suburb of Suva.]
Raw Fiji News, who before correctly predicted that Raivoce is on the “stone throwing hit list,” maintains the ratcheting up of intimidation tactics have now put lives in danger.
Two families,Fiji Times Editor, Netani Rika and retired outspoken soldier, Sakiusa Raivoce, were attacked in the early hours of the morning by some Fijian men armed with home made bombs.
These are families with children and it is indispeakable to ever think that Frank has chosen to go down this cowardly road to try and intimidate people.
How dare you Frank to try and burn the children of Fiji.
We say, stand up Fiji and protect your children now!
These unrepentant few must be stopped once and for all!
Before the molotov cocktail attacks, the government had issued a single statement, claiming the police were investigating the vandalism against individuals. It did little to fend off criticism in the blogosphere. (After the molotov cocktail strikes were reported, the government announced it will consider providing state security to the victims of strikes.)
Yet, media watchdog Crosbie Walsh, an academic formerly living in Fiji and now residing in New Zealand, argues the Bainimarama-regime has nothing to gain from these attacks, especially as it has begun meeting with political parties to attempt to set a roadmap for holding elections.
From Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be:
[I]t defies logic that the Government is behind these attacks at this critical time when it is seeking the support of  political parties in advance of the President's Political Dialogue Forum.  If the hooligans were anti-Government, their actions could help to derail the Forum. If they were pro-Government, their actions give anti-Government elements the high moral ground. Either way, their actions do not help the Forum process.
It's also worthy to point out, I'd argue, that no high ranking member of SDL, the governing party forced out of power during Fiji's December 2006 coup, have been targeted in the vandalism or by those throwing molotov cocktails. A discussion on that lies here.
Let’s end with a little ditty from Loyal Fijian.
A little background: A volcano erupting near Tonga last week may have had something to do with an 7.9 magnitude earthquake Friday, March 20 that lead to fears of a tsunami heading directly for Suva, prompting the government to close schools and send civil servants home. A lovo is a traditional earthen oven in Fiji used for baking anything from pigs to chickens to fish, all cooked over hot coals or rocks. The stoning perpetrators used lovo stones to vandalize the victims’ houses.
Wow wee, its has been an eventful week
Rumours and speculation were flying thick
Well, so much happening, not good for one weak of heart
I guess from the beginning is a good place to start
Netani Rika got a rude awakening
Somebody stoned his car, now thats a naughty thing
Then Attar Singh heard a loud bang, Oh my God, Oh Nooooo
Hey, shouldn't these stones be in the lovo
Now Now, before you accuse Loyal Fijian of justifying these acts
Take a deep breath, lets just look at the facts
Lovo stones belong inside the earth, under the fire
If they end up in peoples cars, now that means the situations getting dire
Our sympathies with Attar and Rika
Loyal Fijian stands for speaking your mind without favour or fear
Then there was the underwater volcano going off near Tonga
Tsunami is the last thing we need, if you see the big waves be sure to honker
The shops were closed, public servants took a break
Yes sir, count me in, a day off, I'll be happy to take
Isnt it funny, how we do this every time
Make it so funny and make it rhyme

author: John Liebhardt


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Haiti, U.S.A.: Temporary Protected Status  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As U.S. President Obama grants Temporary Protected Status to Liberians, jmc strategies asks: “What about the Haitians?”


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Hungary: PM’s Resignation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Coverage of the unexpected resignation of the Hungarian PM at Hungarian Spectrum – here and here; Central Europe Activ; A Fistful of Euros; Pestiside.hu; and Eternal Remont.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Indian Premier League Cricket In Africa? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Srikanth Mangalam at i3j3Cricket is outraged at the news that this years Indian Premier League Cricket will be played in South Africa: “Yes, all this drama regarding security is all about protecting the politicians during their (election) campaigns. It has nothing to do with protecting the citizenry.”

author: Rezwan


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Iran: Dr. Hesam Firouzi, Another Jailed Blogger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

It was  jailed physician and blogger, Dr. Hesam Firouzi, who recently got the word out through his lawyer about the death of blogger Omid Reza Mir Sayafi in Tehran's Evin Prison. He said he urged prison authorities to send the dying prisoner to a hospital, but they refused.
According to Human Rights Watch, Hesam Firouzi has long been a trusted physician to political prisoners including Ahmad Batebi, Akbar Gangi, Ayatollah Burujirdi, AbolFazl Jahandar, the late Akbar Mohammadi, and many others.
His crimes, according to the 6th Branch of the Revolutionary Court in Iran, include activity against national security, the provocation of public opinion, the spreading of falsehood, providing shelter and medical treatment to political prisoners.
Firouzi is serving a 15-month sentence. He published [fa] his last blog post shortly before being sent to jail. He wrote he wished for freedom for Iran and published a photo of his daughter.
Dr. Hesam Fioruzi's 7-year old daughter, Ava, wrote [fa] the following poem addressed to the people who took her father to prison.
“We want the real world. This is not our real world because there are a lot of conflicts in it. Now it is 5 o'clock, down with torture. This poem is for interrogrators of my father because I do not want they arrest him again.”
Behzad Mehrani, a blogger and human rights activist, published  a letter to Ava in his own blog [fa]:
شاید در مدرسه به تو بیاموزند که زندان جای انسان های خطا کار است. به تو دروغ نگفته اند اما همه ی حقیقت را نیز نگفته اند. پدرت زندانی است چون انسانی شرافتمند است،
A petition has been launched  [en] to support Dr. Firouzi. Many bloggers, human rights activists, and student associations have already signed.
More than two years ago, Firouzi was jailed for about three weeks, when he was accused of hiding an escaped political prisoner and giving interviews to foreign media.
After his release he shared  his prison experience in his blog in an open letter to government authorities. He wrote that he once found himself in a 15 to 20 square metre cell with 19 to 20 other prisoners. He said in some parts of the prison, drugs, especially crack, can be bought easily.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Is Egypt on the verge of a cultural revolution? · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Between Bahaa Taher's first Arabic Language Booker Prize, bloggers’ books, Youssef Zidan's Azazeel's Booker prize, writing competitions on Facebook, the Sawiris Foundation Competitions, and new creative initiatives to nurture new blood, Egypt's literary scene has been revived over the past few years.
Radio Horytna launched a new competition which encourages youth to read, critique, and review a book, Shaymaa El Gammal wrote:
Maha Elenany wrote about the conditions saying:
Shaymaa El Gammal also blogged about another competition

author: Marwa Rakha


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Israel: The Pomegranate · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Hatam Kanaaneh, who blogs at A Doctor in Galilee, writes about the pomegranate: “Rumman – Arabic for pomegranate, originally the Pharonic name for the Iranian native fruit – has a special romantic ring to it in my heart.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Jamaica: The Red Earth  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The fact that a rich natural resource can be a curse on a country has rung true everywhere – whether it’s oil in Nigeria, cobalt in Congo or in fact bauxite in Jamaica”: Jamaica Salt blogs about the long-term cost of mining aluminium ore on the island.


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Jordan: 19-year-old woman killed by father and brothers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kinzi reacts to news that a 19-year-old girl was killed in Jordan by her father and brothers for wearing make up and talking to men saying: “Better ban Maybelline from Zarqa, it gets girls in trouble. As does talking to strange men, of course.”


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Jordan: Call to end Honour Killings  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Qwaider calls for an off and online campaign against the so called honour killings, in which women are killed by relatives for having relations with men. “Every year, over 20 women lose their lives on suspicion of infidelity in Jordan alone,” he notes.


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Jordan: Psychological Problems  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A million Jordanians suffer from psychological problems. Osamaa Al Romh discusses the phenomena in this post [Ar].


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Kuwait: Keep your bug eyes sunglasses on  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti Marzouq has a problem with “bug eyes” sunglasses and reflects: “There have been many a times where a woman has taken her sunglasses off and you get that reaction where you think she should have kept them on.”


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Latvia: Corruption and the New Bridge · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Baltic writes about Latvia's corrupt political “elite” and its role in the scandal surrounding the construction of a new bridge in Riga.


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Maldives: Free Speech Under Threat · Global Voices
Saffah Faroog

Male, the capital of Maldives. Image by Flickr user mode (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mashafeeg/397839215/)
In early March Mohamed Nasheed, the new President of the Maldives, met with Frank La Rue, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression. In the meeting Nasheed expressed his government’s commitment to free speech and announced that Maldives will be made a haven for dissident writers from countries such as Burma. However, within a week writers from Maldives found their right to expression at risk as the government instructed the two Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country to ban several websites and a blog.
In October 2008 thousands of Maldivians flocked to polling stations in a historical election – the first multiparty election in the country – that ushered the first democratically elected government. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had ruled the country for 30 years since November 1978, was challenged and defeated by Mohamed Nasheed, a former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience, in a run-off. Various political factions that competed in the first round of election backed Nasheed – a former journalist and acclaimed writer – in the run-off, hoping for a slice of the cake after a new government was formed. While structuring the new government, a Ministry of Islamic Affairs was created, and assigned to Adhaalath Party, a conservative religious party in the ruling ‘coalition’. It is the Ministry of Islamic Affairs which is issuing instructions to block websites.
Even though some pornography websites are among the list of blocked sites, there is a website with information on Christianity and another website consisting of information on Islam, raising fears that faith-based websites that offer a different view than the one interpreted by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs are targeted. Moreover, the banning of Random Reflexions, a popular blog by the blogger Simon, who discusses a variety of issues and topics, has led to many Maldivian bloggers to examine this new assault on free speech.
Shaari thinks that Internet should be open for healthy dialogues and discussion and to foster tolerance:
this is a sad day for democracy.
i'm a believer of islam & i've good friends who arent. they have their basis for disbelief & i've no problems with that. in any case the debate between faith vs science should prevail cos it's a healthy one & it remains a firm test of humankind's ability to accept & tolerate.
Thadu describes the blocking of websites as turning “the internet into an intranet”:
Converting the internet to an intranet for Maldivians seems to be what the Islamic Ministry is trying to do. And this action is in contrary with the efforts and hard work of the several people who tried and who are trying to make Maldives a pure democratic country. There are 12 countries marked by the Reporters Without Borders as enemies of the internet. And if the Islamic Ministry continues its barbaric style of protecting people, Maldives is going to be on that list as well, putting in vein the work of several people.
In a new development the ban on Simon’s blog has been lifted after he approached Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) and he shares his thoughts on the blockade:
I admitted to Mr. Nasih that some of my writing may contravene this reservation in the constitution. But this too is debatable. What the tenets of Islam are to some might not be the same for others. It is susceptible to interpretation. I could, for example, argue that the sale of alcohol in the Maldives is against the tenets of Islam. What then?
In any case, I did make a compromise. I promised to look through my posts and review past entries for any that may contravene this clause. So I have reviewed and taken the necessary actions. If CAM or MoIA still finds anything that they think does indeed break the law then they can always contact me directly.
If however they ban this blog again, I will take the matter to the court.
I want to thank all the blogs that have voiced their disdain towards this crackdown on websites/blogs by president Nasheed’s government. Ideally, I believe no websites should be banned and no one should have to make compromises on freedom of speech.
The ban on the other websites is still enforced and at least for the moment Maldivians have to live with a censored version of democracy.

author: Saffah Faroog


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Nigeria: Obasanjo On Hard Talk · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Read Akin's analysis of Olusegun Obasanjo's Hard Talk on BBC, ” One can say Stephen Sackur of the BBC Hard Talk programme found it hard to talk with President Olusegun Obasanjo, the erstwhile president of Nigeria on his programme…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: The Winners of Naija Bloggers Award 2009 Are… · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The winners of Category A of Naija Bloggers Award 2009 have been announced.


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Pakistan: Declaring Negligible Wealth · Global Voices
Rezwan

Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan is outraged with the populist practice of Pakistani politicians of declaring a negligible amount as their wealth: “I am not an idiot, and I would really really appreciate if our politicians stopped insulting my intelligence!”


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Palestine: First Palestinian Search Engine Goes Live · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Click on Tech reports on the launch of ZAAD, the first Palestinian search engine, which is available in Arabic and English.


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Palestine: Remembering Rachel Corrie · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Gazan blogger Fida Qishta commemorates the death of American activist Rachel Corrie six years ago: “Every year we remember 16th March. We remember a kind, insightful, talented person committed to the plight of the Palestinian people. Her name was Rachel Corrie. … We should remember Rachel and all that she stood for. Similarly we must never let the world forget all the innocent Palestinian souls who perished without mercy.”


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Palestine: Robbed of a Childhood · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Gazan blogger Ayman Quader describes the plight of children who are forced to work because of the desperate economic situation in the Gaza Strip: “It is true that Palestinians have honed a collective resilience in the face of historic hardships. But this strength should not be sentimentalized. Children, who remain exquisitely sensitive to their circumstances and surroundings, need a healthy environment in which to develop and thrive, explore and play, hope and dream. The captivity imposed by the siege has robbed them of this freedom.”


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Palestine: The Importance of Plastic · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In Gaza, Eva Bartlett describes how plastic sheeting is playing an important role: “The siege is still on and cement is still unavailable. Major reconstructions and repairs won’t happen for a long time, just as the thousands of houses needing to be re-built won’t be so until Egypt and Israel allow in building materials. The easiest and really only solution now is simply to lay plastic sheeting over the tin roof.”


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Palestine: “Welcome to the Gaza Zoo!” · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

At the New Internationalist Gaza Blog, Louisa Waugh describes seeing hordes of foreigners arriving in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks – and calls it the Gaza solidarity circus.


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Qatar: Cooking for Purim · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Jocelyn is an American living in Qatar, who loves cooking: “There's just something about living in a Muslim country that means the Jewish holidays seem to sneak up on me… so of course, I just realized today that tonight was Purim. A trip to the grocery store and a hurried email invite later, we had a house-full of guests coming to celebrate with us, and all I had to do was the cooking!” A recipe for Hamantaschen follows.


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Qatar: Unpeg the Gulf Currency from the US Dollar  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qatari Ali Al Jaber has formed a Facebook group entitled Unpeg the new Gulf currency from the dollar (Peg it to gold).


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Saudi Arabia: What books won’t tell you about twins  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Expecting twins? Nzingha, who is married to a Saudi, tells us in this post what “the books won't tell you.”


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Slovakia: Presidential Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Central Europe Activ and A Fistful of Euros write about the presidential election in Slovakia.


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Sri Lanka: The Rationale Behind Blogging · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Whackster's Lair from Sri Lanka asks some questions to find out why we blog: “are we all boring? or are we just interesting to some people? and if we are interesting is that the sole reason to keep writing? or are we writing for our own pleasure in which case comments and hits and such like will be just a bonus? But what is this ‘own pleasure’ we seek?”


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St. Lucia: Visiting Gros Islet · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands’ Blog visits St. Lucia and discovers that “the fishing village of Gros Islet – the principal setting for Derek Walcott’s Omeros – seems serenely frozen in time.”


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Thailand: Summary from the academic forum on Lese Majeste · Global Voices
Markpeak

Lese Majeste is still a hot issue in Thailand. On 21-22 March, there was a two-day academic forum, “Various Opinions on Lese Majeste”, at Thammasart University, Bangkok. Many big-name scholars from political science and law schools, and an ex-dean of a famous university attended the event.
The summary of day 1 is available in English at Prachatai (in Thai). The same English article was also published on The Nation, a leading Thailand daily. Unfortunately, I can't find the English summarization of the second day yet (Thai is available if you're interested and can read in Thai).
Let's see some quotes from day 1 of the discussion:
Prof Thongthong Chandrangsu, a well-known royalist, expert on royal history and former dean of Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Law.
“I don't see the letter of the law as problematic, but the application of it is when used in an all-encompassing way. That is my honest opinion,”
also:
He added that anyone who felt someone was acting or speaking inappropriately about the monarchy, or was uncomfortable about someone's attitude towards the monarchy, might simply file a lese-majeste suit, which made the application of the law “problematic”.
However, he opposed a suggestion by someone in the audience at Thammasat University's Faculty of Law to only allow the Office of the Secretary to His Majesty to file or approve lese-majeste suits as tending to drag the monarchy directly into the conflict.
Nidhi Eoseewong, a famous Thai historian, proposed the idea of “sacred space conflict”
Nidhi said the “sacred space” where the monarchy was revered must be reduced to fit a democratic system.
“If the sacred space is too large it will occupy and reduce the public's space,” he concluded. Nidhi also urged certain political groups to stop using the fear of republicanism as a political weapon, saying that never in the modern history of Thailand had republicanism been a viable alternative.
Kasien Techapira, political science lecturer from Thammasart University:
“Those who support the protection of the monarchy principally through coercion damage the monarchy … They may unknowingly shift towards fascism in the name of monarchy,”
Magsaysay Award winner and human-rights lawyer Thongbai Thongpao:
“The wording of the law is also copious and has since been further expanded in interpretation. Some have even said that praising the monarchy in some circumstances could be construed as sarcasm. It's not easy to reform the law either, because it would be problematic to make it more specific.”
On day 2, there were the speakers from law schools, the representative of The Ministry of Justice (who enforces the Lese Majeste law) and the member of senate who is on the committee for Lese Majeste issue.

author: Markpeak


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Trinidad & Tobago: Meaningful Art · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trin (Surviving Life in Trinidad and Tobago) is of the opinion that “while Fay Anne and other Carnival artists deserve a prize for their contributions, that prize should not be so large that it prevents the Ministry from being able to fund a balanced cross-section of artists who represent our culturally diverse islands.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Savannah  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Trinidad and Tobago, Haveworld takes a stroll around the Queen's Park Savannah – and he has the photos to prove it.


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Tunisia: Hunger Strike Students Defend Right to Study · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

Five Tunisian students have been on hunger strike since February 11th to defend their right to study. Their health is seriously deteriorating but the government is ignoring their request. More on the story on Facebook — here and here.

author: Lina Ben Mhenni


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Tunisia: New 50 Dinar Banknotes Soon   · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisia will get new 50 Dinar banknotes, writes SubZero Blue, who calls for an end to the 30 Dinar notes saying: “now if they’d only kill that damn stupid 30 Dinar note! I mean, what the hell were they thinking?! Someone must’ve been seriously drunk the day they came up with that.”


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Egypt: Women turn to the Internet to fight taboos  · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Young middle and upper class Egyptian women resort to the internet to fight their battles against taboos. The BBC interviewed some of them and Mohamed Hamdy of Bloggers Times comments on the article.
Quoting Reem Abdel Hamid of Al Youm 7 Newspaper, Hamdy wrote:
The BBC cited Dalia Ziada's call upon the Saudi Arabian government to stop their discrimination against women. Hamdy notes:
Hamdy notes how another blogger spoke about the Arab obsession with virginity. He explains:
Girls and only Girls - the first online radio dedicated to girls only – was another initiative that Hamdy reports about:
وأسست هذه المحطة أمانى تونسى(25 عاماً) وهى إحدى الفتيات المصريات التى أصابها الإحباط بسبب الطريقة التى تعامل بها النساء فى مصر. تقول: ” نحن تقريبا لسنا أحياء فى ظل الاحتمالات الدائمة لتعرضنا للتحرش الجنسى”، وتتساءل عن أى حياة هذه. ومن البرامج التى تقدمها “بنات وبس” برنامج ” مش كل الطير” الذى يحمل رسالة مؤداها “ليست كل البنات حمقاوات”. ويتحدث البرنامج عن الخدع التى يستخدمها الرجال للإيقاع بالفتيات.


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Algeria: Reelections Set  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has launched a reelection campaign, according to Daily Maghreb.

author: Jillian C. York


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Armenia: The price of success · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blogian says that passengers on local transport in the Armenian capital, Yerevan were recently impressed by the vocal talents of his 6-year-old niece. However, the blog notes, while talent is not enough to succeed in Armenia, money is.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Cultural Clash · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Scary Azeri in Suburbs remembers a visit from her teenage years to the mountain village of Ismailli. The blog says the trips were always a welcome escape from the summer heat of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, but the blogger also remembers that they also highlighted the cultural differences between the country's urban and rural population.


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Azerbaijan: Referendum warning · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following last week's controversial referendum in Azerbaijan, Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on news that the Council of Europe has warned Baku that it could be expelled from the international body as a result of the conduct of the vote. However, the blog notes, it is unlikely that the Azerbaijani authorities will take heed of the warning.


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Barbados: Suspect Arrested  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press and Bajan Dream Diary both blog about the recent arrest of a suspect in the Terry Schwarzfeld murder.


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Bolivia: Day of the Sea Remembrance · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

“One of the first things they teach you in school is that we lost the ocean on March 23, 1879. Well they don't they say we lost it, but they say the Chileans stole it,” writes Vania Balderrama of Capsula del Tiempo [es] about the reasons behind the Day of the Sea remembrance held in Bolivia.


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Brazil: A Private Nature Reserve – Is It Possible? · Global Voices
Danilo Gonçalves

Every citizen is responsible for the environment. To get this message across, the Brazilian Government is pushing all elements of society to act greener, restricting parameters for pollution and investing in green business. Among these initiatives is the establishment of the new conservation units, where private landowners and companies are allowed to join the National Conservation Units System (SNUC). Moreover, among the types of conservation units, there is the Private Natural Heritage Reserve (RPPN), a natural reserve with a perpetual lease: once an area is given the status of RPPN in the Real Estate Register Office, it can not be downgraded. For an area to get this title however, it has to fall into one of the following categories:
There are nearly a half-million hectares of privately-owned land protected by federal and state laws in Brazil. On the one hand, this initiative restricts the use of the land. No longer are exploitative practices allowed and the areas must be recovered and maintained with private investment. On the other hand, the Government invests in the RPPN program making specific funding accessible to property owners. Although exploitative practices are forbidden, new activities are encouraged, among them leisure trips, scientific projects, cultural and educational activities, and ecotourism. Furthermore, there is a modest tax reduction and land owners have privileged access to rural credit and can apply for financial support from NGO's and environmental funds.
The RPPNs are having a great impact on society. A naturally preserved landscape can help the understanding of green issues, like the importance of a balanced environment. Many bloggers are reporting their experiences watching the growth of this type of reserve, such as Fernanda de Souza Pimentel, from the Pitaquinhos da Fernanda [pt] blog, who describes a visit from her environmentalist father to her school last November:
“Hoje na escola onde eu estudo, a Escola de Educação Básica Nossa Senhora (Angelina, SC), aconteceu a 1ª amostra pedagógica do colégio.
Meu pai foi convidado para palestrar sobre a RPPN Rio das Lontras e o seu trabalho pela causa ambiental. Alunos e professores foram convidados a assistir essa aula na sala temática do mundo animal, ensinando aos alunos o quanto o meio ambiente necessita de cuidados.”
Since 2002, her family has owned the land in Santa Catarina that became the RPPN Rio das Lontras in 2005. The reserve has its own blog [pt]  and a fauna photo album, kept by Fernanda's parents, Chris and Fernando, to document the work they carry out. In their latest post, they describe their work cataloging the bird species found in the area, some of them in danger of extinction. Thanks to their work you can hear them sing. In the blog, they explain how the work is going [pt]:
“A singela casinha que alugamos como base para abrigar outra equipe de pesquisadores tem ao fundo uma vista parcial da RPPN Rio das Lontras. … Aqui um aparelho de GPS e um medidor de temperatura e umidade aguardam na janela a hora de ir a campo;… O levantamento visual e auditivo foi o método utilizado em campo para a elaboração da lista de espécies da RPPN Rio das Lontras. Foram registradas 127 espécies na RPPN e em seu entorno imediato.
Teacher Thaiza Montine went with her school on a trip to Banana Menina, a reserve dedicated to education and research, as a competition prize. In the post quoted below [pt], she publishes the pictures and describes her excitement:
“Um passeio maravilhoooooso e extremamente produtivo, uma vez que, além da visita ao lugar também fomos agraciados com o Programa “Povos do Cerrado”, e tivemos várias palestras e aulas ministradas no meio da mata, envolvendo Meio Ambiente, Arqueologia, História de Goiás, Biologia e Gastronomia. Uma maravilha, realmente, de premiação!”
The RPPNs are developing fantastic educational activities for the people who live around the reserves. These private initiatives are opening a window on environmental issues, helping students to better understand and visualize the importance of nature. The Brazilian RPPNs — considered unique among international schemes — have proved hat the environment and humankind can live in perfect harmony.

author: Danilo Gonçalves


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China: Filming Confucius · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from Danwei puts together discussions on the filming of Confucius. Apart from the news that Chow Yun Fat will be starring the film, the transformation of “Confucius” as a new cultural icon by commercial force is a main concern.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Names to be remembered · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The death toll and identity details of school children victims in the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake last year has been sealed in a black box by Chinese government officials, like a state secret. Last December, Ai Wei-wei, a most respectable intellectual and blogger, decided to compile the names of school children who died in the earthquake with a voluntary working team. Up till now, they have collected 2,735 children's names with their parent's contact details. All the information has been uploaded to bulloger.com, an exile website hosted in overseas server, as the online discussion of this civil initiative has been harmonized in China.
Why are Ai Wei wei and the team of volunteers so determined to collect all these names? Or why does the Chinese government want to hide the figures and names? While there is no explanation from the government, Ai Wei wei tells his part of the story:
三百天前，我去了四川汶川地震灾区，看到的是无尽的伤痛和恐惧。
今天，我们仍然不能够知道在地震中，谁离开我们去了。那些孩子为什么会离开，是怎样离开的。他们在废墟下期待的时间里，心里在想着什么。
我在那次灾难中没有伸出手，我实在感到无力。
他们说，学生的死亡与他们的存在无关。他们说这是必然的，是不可避免的，是经过专家论证的。他们闭口不谈腐败，回避“豆腐渣工程”。掩盖事实，以“维稳”之名，威胁、监禁、迫害要求真相的学生父母，公然的践踏宪法，践踏人的基本权利。
那些在地震中死去的孩子，不是语焉不详的一串数字，不是“维稳”业绩的成果。
那些孩子，他们有父母亲人，有幻想，会欢笑，有一个属于自己的名字。这个名字属于他们，三年、五年，十八，十九年，这是他们可能被记忆的全部，可被唤起的全部。
拒绝遗忘，拒绝谎言。
我们启动了“公民调查”。追忆逝者，关怀生存，承担责任，为了生者的可能的欢乐。寻找每一个孩子的姓名，记住他们。
那些对公民存有不该有的幻想的人，请记住了，我们一天没有离去，这些孩子就不会离去。这是生活理由的一部分，我们不会放弃的。
Today, we still don't know who have left us in the earthquake, why the children have to leave, how they have left us. Or what they were thinking when they were trapped in the ruin.
I had not given much help in the disaster, I felt so weak and helpless then.
They said, the death of school children had nothing to do with their existence. They said this is inevitable and experts backed up the argument. They didn't utter a word on corruption and avoid addressing the issue “bean dregs project” (poorly structured school buildings). They covered up the facts. And under the name of “stability first”, threatened, detained and prosecuted parents who are looking for the truth and for an answer. They tread on the constitution and people's basic human rights.
The children who died in the earthquake, they are not numbers, nor a performance of “stability first” principle.
All these children, they have parent, have their own dreams, laughters and names. The names belong to them, the names will become memory of them, even though the memoru may not last forever – 3 years, 5 years, 18 years, 19 years, the names is a mark that reminds the world about them in the future.
We have to hold on to our memory and reject lies.
We start “citizen investigation” to remember those who passed away, to care about those who still survive. We take up our responsibility to search for the school children's names, so that they can be remembered.
For those who don't believe in citizen's effort, please remember this: the children won't be gone if we continue to hold on. This is part of our lives’ raison'd etre and we cannot give that up.
According to Xinhua's report back in December 2008, in the 5.12 earthquake, among the 159 counties, 14,000 schools have been destroyed and 91% of them are public schools. However, officially, the collapse of school buildings is mainly the result of the magnitude of the earthquake, rather than human error in the construction of school buildings.
Whether or not there are human errors in the “bean dregs project” is up to further investigation and debate, however, it won't be easy for Chinese netizens to further discuss the matter as Ai Wei-wei's hard work has been harmonized in Chinese internet. According to Zhang3's blogpost and explanation, on 19 of March, a post titled as “Qing-ming festival is approaching, Let's commemorate the children victim together” was put up in a forum in Tianya. Within 4 days, the post has more than 100 thousand hits and 3000 comments, and the forum planned to organize a live chat with Ai Wei Wei. But all the related posts were deleted in the afternoon of 23 of March. The explanation is:
由於某些大家知道的原因，原定今天的艾未未先生訪談因故取消，特此告知，並向天涯網友致歉！
The interview is now published in bullogger.com in two parts: One and Two. In the interview, Ai explained that he wanted to finish the compilation in the anniversary of Wenchuan earthquake in coming May.
Information concerning Ai Wei wei's list have been circulated via twitters, a number of bloggers and netizens still managed to join in and pass on the discussion. Bai Yu-ji from my1510 gives high respect to Ai's initiation and criticizes the government for burying the dead without proper investigation and explanation:
是的，我们不知道他们为何死，但至少知道他们已经死掉了，而不是失踪。他们曾经是，现在也是我们的弟兄姊妹，亲人儿女，没有一个冷血到透顶的心脏，怎么把他们偷偷抛弃，埋掉不理呢？…
然而，究竟为了一个怎样的理由不肯去寻求、整理、公布这些遇难而死去的悲苦孩子的名单呢？为了国家么？那是怎样的一个国家呢？为了人民么？那又是怎样一群人民呢？那都不可能，我想不出任何的理由。这样荒诞而离奇的事情，为什么会发生。…
Why there is no effort to sort out the poor children victim's name list, why there is no announcement? For the sake of our nation? What kind of nation will do that? For the sake of people? What kind of people want that to happen? I can't think of any reason. How could such absurd and non-sense thing have happened…


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China: Racist? or new PC colonialism · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Uln from Chinayouren joins in the discussion among  China Geeks, wangxiaofeng and heicaitou over a picture on evolution and its racist implication.


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China: Taking Kimono Picture · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Two Chinese women were driven away by around 10 Chinese onlookers when they were taking photos of cherry blossom with their Kimono outfit in Wuhan University. In a Sohu poll, more than half of the votes support the onlookers’ action. Fauna from ChinaSMACK has translated the discussion.


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Colombia: Are Politicians Making the Most Out of Twitter? · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

After the success of current US President Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential elections, partially prompted by his campaign's use of internet tools in order to reach voters, politicians (and those in charge of public relations within their campaigns) around the world wish to emulate it. One month ago, GVO's Veronica Khokhlova wrote about how the President of Ukraine and other prominent politicians started to use the Twitter microblogging service. Well, a few weeks later, after a lot [es] of coverage [es] in the Colombian mainstream media  about Twitter, at least two presidential pre-candidates for the 2010 election have opened their accounts.
Even though there was an account for current Colombian president Álvaro Uribe @alvarouribe [es] (which clearly stated it was a “humouristic microblog” and not an “official” account), after journalist Andrés Cavelier published an article [es] about Twitter at the economical daily Portafolio, President Uribe's press secretary asked Twitter administrators to delete that account. Of course, after initial [es] skepticism [es] from Colombian twitterers, it seems both @German_Vargas [es] and @rafaelpardo [es]‘s accounts are legitimate [es]. These accounts belong to Germán Vargas Lleras (47, from centre-right Radical Change party) and Rafael Pardo Rueda [es] (55, from Colombian Liberal Party).
Here are some of the first reactions when Mr. Vargas Lleras (or people inside his campaign) launched his Twitter account (@mrmuller seems to be among the first ones to notice it [es].
Camilo @hyperconectado:
Siguiendo a @German_Vargas, para decirle que me da miedo cuando habla
@leidymarmalade:
Mañana @german_vargas descubrirá sus 6 primeros amigos con avatar
Mauricio Duque A. @enmediodelruido:
eso de que @german_vargas ande indicando sus movimientos no debe tener contentos a los de su seguridad. Ahora va para el aeropuerto
Having chicken soup for lunch in Villeta
When reading @German_Vargas tweets, it is easy to notice that he answers the What are you doing? question in a literal way. He (or a campaign staffer) really tweets what he is doing: where he is going, what town or city he is visiting, who is interviewing him, and (what some twitterers best notice) what he eats or drinks.
Some Colombian twitterers have started a “contest” or “bet” to see who will be the first to get a reply from him (some actually try by asking him serious questions, though).
Of course, some twitterers voice their dissatisfaction:
@leidymarmalade:
Yo sinceramente creo que @german_vargas es re n00b y no sabe hacer replies
@irenarco:
ahora German_Vargas le añade al GPS de su campaña (que no es interesante, insisto) la info gastronómica. ¿y las ideas?
@Patton:
yo creo que es que @German_Vargas no se ha dado cuenta que no solo se escribe sino que también se puede leer. #hayqueleer
@abadiavernaza:
Quien escribe el Twitter de @german_vargas es una vieja que le carga los papeles, y como nosotros, no tiene ni put* idea de nada
Days later, @rafaelpardo appeared. Though, as Juglar del Zipa [es] states (see below), at first he was pretty much doing the same “mundane” things that his rival was doing, later he started to ask some technical questions [es] and to voice some of his thoughts, such as this one about the release of two imprisoned FARC guerrillas to become “promoters of peace”:
@rafaelpardo:
pienso que la liberacion de los dos de las farc es inexplicable, inconveniente e ilegal. Que hay detras? that is the question
Some twitterers react to Mr Pardo's debut and draw comparisons with his rival (and with Obama):
Alana Farrah @allyfar:
Parece que @rafaelpardo sí se pilló que la cosa es decir qué estás pensando
Mauricio Duque A. @enmediodelruido:
@rafaelpardo pregunta cosas como un ser vivo, no como @german_vargas que parece un robot
Andrés Meza-Escallón @apoloduvalis:
think @German_Vargas and @rafaelpardo are doing lifestreaming (what I'm DOING) instead of the more interesting mindstreaming (what I THINK)
AM Amaya Villarreal @AMAV:
pues sr. asistente de @German_Vargas: lamento que tenga que hacer un trabajo tan rídiculo, emulación de tres [pesos] de lo que hizo Obama.
Juglar del Zipa [es] summarizes and writes about the Colombian e-candidates’ arrival to Twitter (some of the ideas written lines above come from this post):
¿Acaso no saben que Twitter puede ser mucho más que responder qué estás haciendo? ¿No saben que por medio de Twitter uno puede establecer relaciones próximas con gente o conocer la textura de las opiniones más allá de las simples encuestas? ¿No saben qué es lo que se ha dado por llamar dospuntocero? ¿Algún día se le medirían a un blips&candidates? ¿Realmente serían capaces de sostener un debate, de dialogar? Claro que no.
Estos candidatos, que de seguro «en la vida real» miran a la gente como si estuvieran treinta pisos por debajo, no querrán untarse de pueblo, a pesar de estar ejerciendo. Mucho menos querrán recibir preguntas de ningún tipo de la gente rara de Internet. Y ni hablar de responderlas. Para nadie es un secreto que la ilusión del contacto es lo que tiene a Uribe donde está.
Don't they know Twitter may be much more than answering ‘what are you doing'? Don't they know that, through Twitter, you can establish close relationships with people or know the texture of opinions beyond those simple polls? Don't they know what's that thing they call “2.0”? Would they someday be brave enough to participate in a ‘blips&candidates'? Would they really able to hold a debate, to dialogue? Of course they don't.
These candidates, who “in real life” look people as if they were 30 floors below for sure, won't be willing to “mix” with the people, despite they're in a public office. Let alone to read any kind of questions from strange Internet people. And even less to answer them. It's not a secret to anyone that the illusion of contact is what has put [President] Uribe where he is now.
There's a really insightful comment [es] by @FabianPrieto to this post:
Pues este lanzamiento de candidaturas via twitter son un abrebocas a la ofensiva 2.0 con las que algun guru-web2.0 debe estar haciendo de las suyas (si el mismisimo) Todos quieren campañas tipo Obama, pero se van por lo barato… no hay ningún estudio preliminar sobre la efectividad de este tipo de comunicación… Ni siquiera creo que sepan a quien le están hablando. Sus mensajes son tan cargados de “vida cotidiana” con la misma personalización de un mensaje de Tigo. Igual sería bueno llegar a que estos candidatos conocieran el tag #yoconfieso a manera de transparencia política.
Well, this candidacies’ launch vía twitter is a sneak peek to the 2.0 offensive which some guru-web2.0 (yeah, the very same one) must be indulging his ways with. Everyone wants Obama-like campaigns, but they choose the cheap way… there's no preliminary study on the effectiveness of this kind of communication… I don't even think they know who are they talking to. Their messages are as full of “daily life” as the customization of a Tigo SMS. Anyway, it would be good for this candidates to learn about the #iconfess hashtag, as a political transparency [exercise].
The race to the May 2010 presidential election has just begun. Despite the fact that President Uribe has been ambiguous about his possible run for a third term (which would have to be allowed through a constitutional reform), some candidates —such as Mr Vargas Lleras, who is already touring the country— have started their campaigns. Last week, it was learnt that 38.5% of Colombians (17.1 million people) have internet access and that almost 4 million users access [es] the net through mobile devices, a number which may grow despite the global economic crisis. It would seem there is a “potential” audience for these e-candidates but, so far, they have failed to reach it correctly. Vargas Lleras, Pardo and other candidates have a lot to do and learn if they actually decide to use the internet as a medium to campaign.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Cuba: Reports of Detainment  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Uncommon Sense and Sunrise in Havana blog about reports that a photographer and a musician have been detained in Cuba “after offering their show of solidarity in Placetas for political activist Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez).”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Cuba: The Black Cuban Woman  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana Times republishes a mainstream media news article on a black, female Cuban blogger who writes about gender, sexual diversity and racism.


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Estonia: “Kevadväsimus” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about kevadväsimus – ‘spring fatigue’ in Estonian: “It is the yearning for sunlight and all of the earthly pleasures that you know must be right around the corner coupled with the grim knowledge that nature will find a way to delay your satisfaction for as long as possible.”


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Ghana: mPedigree Fights Counterfeit Drugs Using SMS · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

mPedigree is a company in Ghana using text messaging to fight counterfeit drugs. Last year 3000 people sent messages in a pilot scheme. They received replies from manufacturers in an average of three minutes.


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Honduras: Personal Opinion on President Zelaya · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Ardegas of Born in Honduras provides his personal overview of his “controversial” president, Manuel Zelaya.

author: Eduardo Avila


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India, Bangladesh: Frail Relations · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vinod Joseph at Desicritics asks “Why aren't Indo-Bangla ties warmer?”


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India: Social Media Summit 2009 · Global Voices
Rezwan

India Social Media Summit 2009 will be held on 27 Mar, 09 in Mumbai, India. More infos on the summit are available at the summit Twitter and Facebook pages. Follow the summit in Twitter – #SMSummit09.


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Israel Boasts Top Researchers in Medical Marijuana · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Caught with cannabis in Israel? It may very well go to a good use. Israelity reveals that Israel has one of the top medical marijuana programs in the world, treating pain associated with cancer, HIV, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, and post-traumatic stress syndrome, with the narcotic.

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: Boxes Containing Treats Blocked From Entering Gaza · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Jam, biscuits, date bars, tea, sweets, and tomato paste are among the foodstuffs that Israel blocked from entering Gaza, Eva of Israel reports on Mideast Youth. Over 3,000 boxes were denied entry and all boxes containing these items will be detained in the future.


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Israel: The Language of Taxis · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Rasha Helwa, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel living in Acre (and describes herself as living in Palestine), has written a series of short posts at her blog Zaghroda about her thoughts when taking shared taxis, and on the significance of the language – Arabic or Hebrew – that the driver chooses to use.
In her first post, Rasha wonders:
In a second post she recounts a specific incident:
In her third post Rasha is left wondering:


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Israel: Thwarted Bombing Had Capacity to Kill 30,000 · Global Voices
Maya Norton

A bombing was thwarted in a mall in Haifa, Israel on Saturday night, ExpatEgghead reported. Israeli news stated that the 40 kilogram car bomb had the power to kill 30,000 people.


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Israel: World Leader in Water Technology Solutions · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Israel is the world leader in water technology solutions with 75 per cent of sewage water recycled for agricultural use. Israeli water technologies are exported to more than 100 countries worldwide. Jonathan Shapira of Cleantech Investing in Israel and Jacob Richman of Good News from Israel have the story.


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Jamaica: Election Example  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the West Portland by-election is settled, Girl With a Purpose says: “What should be noted…is that this by-election went through without incident…the majority of Jamaicans are tired of the crime and violence in general, but especially at election time.”


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Kuwait: Cats don’t like summer  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The poor Qatteri Cat with his luxurious thick furry coat starts getting a little uncomfortable around this time of the year, when the temperatures rise, and by May or June, he starts getting lumps in his fur – no matter how often I comb him,” notes intlxpatr, who lives in Kuwait.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Kuwait: Economic losses in perspective  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti Bashar reflects on the losses incurred by billionaires in today's economic crisis.


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Kuwait: Good candidates?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti The Aggressor discusses who makes a good parliamentarian in this post.


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Kuwait: “I don’t want to go to school”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ansam, from Kuwait, shares this conversation between her seven-year-old nephew and her sister on school.


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Kuwait: Send the Police Back to School  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti 4th ring posts a photograph of a police car – where the word police is misspelt in both Arabic and English.


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Kuwait: Why the government shuns young Kuwaitis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Kuwait, Hilaliya discusses why the government shuns young Kuwaitis.


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Morocco: Early English Writings · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Moroccan blogger VOLVBILIS discusses early English writings on Morocco.


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Morocco: Olympian Said Aouta Sacked  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

According to the Daily Maghreb, former Olympic champion Said Aouta has been fired from his position as technical athletics director.


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Morocco: War in Shi’a Ideology  · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Moroccan authorities are aggressively fighting Shi'a ideology in Morocco, says A Moroccan About the World Around Him.


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Pakistan Day And The Lawyers’ Movement · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pakistanis celebrated Pakistan day yesterday. Chapaty Mystery discussed the significance of the day and mentioned how the recent successful lawyers’ movement has provided “an opportunity for Pakistan to undertake a serious re-consideration of its self-conception.”

author: Rezwan


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Palestine: Art as Resistance · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Abdelfattah Abusrour, director of Al-Rowwad Culture and Theatre Center in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, crossposts an article he has written about the use of art as a means of resistance: “I was born Palestinian and I don’t want to do anything to change this. I was born in a refugee camp, in my own country, and there is nothing I can do about it. I was born under occupation, and I will do everything possible or impossible to change this.”


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Palestine: Resistance – Not Charity · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Marcy Newman writes at Body On The Line about the importance of resistance by Palestinians, not charity from foreigners: “the use of this word ‘humanitarian,’ to me implies that palestinians are some sort of charity case who are not capable of taking care of themselves, of fighting this battle themselves…the sweet taste of freedom when one takes that freedom for themself is irreplaceable.”


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Palestine: The Politics of Food · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Anne at Mapping The Margins describes her attempts to only buy food that is produced locally by Palestinians, rather than Israeli products.


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Qatar: The Museum of Islamic Art  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bint battuta in bahrain visits the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and offers her observations and photographs here. Dubai-based The Bohemians also visited the museum and posted this photograph.


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Senegal: One foot in Granada and the other in Dakar · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Luna at Expatria is getting ready to move to Dakar, Senegal, “I am spending [time] with Senegalese migrants here in Spain: listening to their stories about Senegal, taking pictures of them that I will then take to their friends and relatives, listening to their music and eating their wonderful rice with fish (thie boudienne).”


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Serbia: 10 Years Since NATO Bombings · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Yankee-in-Belgrade writes about the NATO bombings of Serbia that started ten years ago – and posts a picture from that time.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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South Africa: Uproar over visa refusal for Dalai Lama · Global Voices
Ismail Dhorat

The South African government has denied the Dalai Lama a visa to attend a Peace Conference that will be held in South Africa. The government decision has sparked an uproar online on Twitter, Facebook and blogs.
The government's stance on this has been:
The Dalai Lama’s presence at the conference would have distracted the world’s attention from South Africa’s hosting of the World Cup and drawn it instead into the fraught relations between the Dalai Lama and China, one of the country’s most important trading partners. Thabo Masebe, a government spokesman, said the Tibetan leader’s presence “would not be in South Africa’s best interests.”
Ironically, by refusing the visa application the spotlight is now focused on exactly what they are trying to avoid. A Google search for the statement above results has over 2000 results, 100's of twitter posts and several facebook groups have been created to protest it.
Here are some views in the blogosphere:
Maggie writes:
This supine and venal move is so shameful. For some more cheap goods the last vestiges of our credit as a moral country are squandered. Apparently this move was to keep the eyes firmly on the 2010 FIFA prize and not on Tibet. Instead we will have our status as Most Slippery Nation on Human Rights Issues branded into the consciousness of the world. I can only hope that the fickle powers that be decide reconsider.
Nigeria Best forum Blog writes:
South Africa is China’s largest trading partner in Africa, with 2008 trade standing at 100bn rand ($10bn; £7bn).
Dai Bing, an official at the Chinese embassy in Pretoria confirmed to Sapa that Beijing had warned the South African government that allowing the Dalai Lama into the country would harm bilateral relations.
Tony Mcgregor thinks that the South African government “should have simply ignored the Chinese, who are not, let's face it, helping development in Africa out of the kindness of their hearts…”:
What has the denial of the visa to the Dalai Lama done if not exactly that? The rank stupidity of the decision not to allow the Dalai Lama into the country, which he has by the way visited on quite a few occasions before, is breathtaking, and when linked to the human rights issues involved actually quite criminal.
The ANC has really pulled defeat out of the jaws of victory on this issue. If they had simply ignored the Chinese, who are not, let's face it, helping development in Africa out of the kindness of their hearts but out of a cold and rational understanding of economics, the Dalai Lama would have come and gone without making too many ripples and the Chinese government would soon have gotten over their fit of pique and back to the business of exploiting Africa again.
Marung show the link between the ANC, “Zuma Project” and the Communist Party of China:
The ANC`s election fund is estimated at a conservative R500m amount and enables it to hire everything and everybody in its desperate drive to remain in power and keep its president from his day in court.
…
The common denominator is that all who are funding the Zuma project have all sorts of unsavoury backrounds. One such funder is the Communist Party of China with its terrible human rights record.
The denial of entry to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to attend a peace conference in South Africa was said to be at the behest of the government of China.
It is all too clear that many issues about the country will be decided by these funders.
Simon Halliday writes:
maybe it suppresses speech, shows South Africa kowtowing to Chinese interests and promotes illiberal politics inconsistent with the South African constitution.
Llewmina compares the government's stance to making a deal with the devil:
Whether told in legend or movie or comic book, the theme remains the same – make a deal with the devil, trade something you think is trivial for some quick-fix material goal. Satan, in whatever guise (and remember his name is “Legion, for we are many”; Mark 5:9) invariably breaks his promise – a demonstration of his irrevocably evil nature to which his is eternally a slave – and the damned soul realises that he or she has given away the most valuable treasure they'll ever own.
That is precisely what the ANC has done with denying the Dalai Lama a visa to visit South Africa.
Tracy Stokes highlights the irony in the decision on South African human rights day while Ismail highlight the irony of it all as well.
It has not been possible to find even a single post in support of this decision. Other Nobel peace prize winners have also threatened a boycott since the announcement.

author: Ismail Dhorat


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Sri Lanka: Combine Harvesters Take Over  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rajaratarala at Perceptions: musings of a renaissance farmer reports that this year more and more Combine Harvesters have taken over the job of harvesting from the manual labors in rural Sri Lanka.


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Student Elections in Nepal · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

Last week Nepalese students exercised their democratic rights. Student elections were held at public universities and colleges campus throughout the country. Private institutions do not hold elections. The call to include them in the process has been growing over the years but fearing vapid political interference in college environment, private colleges and universities prefer to stay away from student politics.
The event was marred by violence and accusations of cheating. Tlell describes the annual exercise in a post as:
“These elections, unlike most of the student elections I have seen, are incredibly heated and tumultuous events.  They are political statements of youth who through their voting align themselves with national political parties.  That’s right, you heard me, ALIGNING themselves with various national Nepali parties. The result is a highly charged, dangerous and fear festering process that looks nothing like a democratic voting process and more appears to resemble violent mob behavior.”
At MySansar, a Nepali language blog, there are pictures of students aligned to Nepal Student Union burning college furniture, clashing with security personnel. They were reportedly expressing their frustration over the poor performance of their group.
Although the annual student elections are held to elect representatives to champion student's interest, there are those question the benefit of the exercise. Divas, a student, says:
“The phrase ‘Free Students Union’ itself is a misnomer, since although they call themselves the Students’ Union, all contesting groups in fact are student wings of the major political parties – hence they work more in the interest of their mother parties than for the academic needs of students.”
He also points towards the growing influence of ethnic politics in the elections:
“The student bodies of an ethnic group Limbu in the eastern mountains, the Limbuwan Students’ Council (LSC) have vandalized the Panchthar Multiple Campus and forced to put off the election until next notice. The Limbu students demand for a proportional election system in their stronghold areas covering nine districts. Even if the elections are held in other campuses, I’m sure that the only basis for choosing the representatives this time would be the cultural & ethnic one. The Madhesi students in Terai would choose Madhesi candidates, Newars in Kathmandu would choose Newar candidates, and so on.”
Jhamak Thapa also expresses his frustration at the attitude of student leaders. He says that instead of aligning themselves with national political parties and their agenda, student unions should focus more and student and education issues.
On the results front, as of Saturday March 21st Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) aligned All Nepal National Free Student Union(ANNFSU) is leading with wins in 93 colleges. Nepali Congress’ student wing Nepal Student Union has won in 61 colleges and Maoist aligned All Nepal National Independent Student Union – Revolutionary (ANNISU-R) is in third place with 55.
Polls were postponed in various colleges-including nation’s major institutions Nepal Law Campus, Padma Kanya Campus, Saraswati Campus because of violence. According to Myrepublica, vote counting at Tribhuvan University Central Campus, Kirtipur, Prithivi Narayan Campus, Pokhara and Ramsworup Ramsagar Multiple Campus, Janakpur has been halted due to dispute among the students.

author: Bhumika Ghimire


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Taiwan: Photos capture daily life · Global Voices
David Reid

Photo essays by Michael Turton and Shan Ding Lu capture scenes of typical Taiwanese life.

author: David Reid


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Trinidad & Tobago: A World of Orchids · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Trinidad and Tobago, My Chutney Garden says: “Orchid growing is not for the fainthearted.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Pompoms  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I thought for a second I was hallucinating. Like I think I’m hallucinating when I hear some wild rumour that Papa Patos wants to invoke the Terrorism Act during the Summit of the Americas to stop people from protesting. I mean it can’t be, can it? Cheerleaders in cricket? Why, that’s like making Trinidad mas in sweat shops in China”: Attillah Springer is still grappling with her “righteous pompom indignation”.


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Ukraine: Women · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Alina Rudya's Kyiv Post piece on Ukrainian women has generated 133 comments so far – as well as a discussion at Natalia Antonova's blog.


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Africa: Google AdSense Payment Scam · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bloggers and website owners in Africa are getting taste of a new scam. Naturally, it's probably not originally created to be a scam, but it's turned in to that for those in Africa who use Google AdSense, Miquel reveals.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: What is African drama? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“What is African drama?,” blogger Anne Manyara asks. “Is it any kind of drama, as long as the cast is African? A play written by an African? A play written by anyone, as long is it is about African issues? Or is it a play performed in a venue with an African name, like Bomas of Kenya?”


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Azerbaijan: Novruz in absentia · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Scary Azeri in Suburbs recounts celebrating Novruz in London with her friends from Azerbaijan. The blog says that for a moment she felt as if she was in Baku and also reflects on married life in the U.K.


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Belarus: Death Penalty and the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander writes about death penalty in Belarus and how it should affect the EU leaders’ approach to the country.


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Belarus, U.S.: “Nationality Censorship in the U.S.” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Evgeny Morozov writes on Newsweek.com about a case of censorship by a U.S. web-hosting company involving a Washington, D.C.-based Belarusian, Yaraslau Kryvoi – LJ user yarik, whose own English-language account of what happened is here: “When I called for clarifications, a Bluehost representative told me that I “abused” their terms of service because I happened to be in Belarus when I set up my account with them. […] According to Bluehost, Belarus is a “Sanctioned Country” and this is why I am not good enough to be their customer.”


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Bolivia: Foreign Tourists Visiting San Pedro Prison · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Foreign tourists had been visiting the inside of the San Pedro prison [es] in La Paz, Bolivia until an investigation put a stop to the unusual attraction writes Willy Jordan.


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Cuba: Antúnez Surrounded  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Uncommon Sense and Octavo Cerco share their thoughts on reports that the Cuban police “have surrounded the home of Cuban dissident Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), who for more than a month has [led] a hunger strike to protest abuses by the Castro dictatorship.”


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Cuba: Detainees Freed  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The previously detained Cuban photographer and musician have been released – Sunrise in Havana has the details.


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Czech Republic: Government Loses No Confidence Vote · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr. Sean's Diary writes about “he first time a Czech government has been unseated by a vote of confidence since 1989 and, if I'm not mistaken, ever in modern Czech history.” Eternal Remont is pleading: “Oh Czech Republic, do NOT go Ukraine on us…please.”


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Egypt: Google doodle by orphans · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

More than 160 Egyptian orphans took part in a Google doodle competition, held for the first time in Egypt and the Middle East. The winning design will be displayed on Egypt's Google homepage google.com.eg on April 3, which marks Orphan Day in Egypt. The day is celebrated annually on the first Friday of April.
Over the past few years, Google has shown more interest in the Middle East, starting with the opening of its Middle East office in Egypt, in 2006. Add to that, Google recently launched a new blog in Arabic.
Teedoz writes about the doodle competition saying:
Mohammadkotb and Ahmed Hamdy published a forwarded email from the Google Student Ambassador at Alexandria University, Amr Ebaid, who explains further details of the competition:
On 20th of March, Google organized the first ever Doodle for Google Competition in the Middle East. We invited over 160 orphans from different orphanages in Egypt at the GUC premises for a fun day. The kids drew AMAZING doodles that exceeded expectations. It was loads of fun, and most importantly, the kids enjoyed it!
Khaled AbulNaga, the Egyptian movie star, attended the event, and he was really touched by the children, and decided to sponsor one of them until he graduates from college!
Commenting on the email, MohammadKotb wrote his reactions after reading it, as well as mentioning the doodles he liked and voted for:
So after reading this email, I went to the link of the doodles and really I found very nice doodles made by the small Egyptians, who are very genius, and I have liked two doodle. The first doodle which is very very simple which is the doodle in the beginning of my post made by a child called Gaber Seror he is 15 years old, and this was the doodle I vote to it. And the second one was the following doodle and it was made by a child called Ahmad Taha who is 11 years old, and the most thing I liked it in this doodle is “Edret el fool” as I love the beans sooooo much
Google doodle by Ahmed Taha, 11 years old.
Noblese also urged people to vote for the winning doodle, in order to encourage young Egyptian talent:
Now, we want the whole world to know how talented Egyptian children are…we want to share this link with everyone, and ask people to vote for the winning doodle. The voting will last until the end of March, so VOTE now and forward to all your friends.
VOTE NOW: http://www.google.com.eg/myegypt – English Version
PLEASE FORWARD and SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS…show the kids that their art was well appreciated.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Guadeloupe: Happy 70th!  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands Blog sends greetings to Guadeloupean novelist Myriam Warner-Vieyra on her 70th birthday.


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Guyana: Don’t Get Fooled Again  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal blogs about Allen Stanford, issuing this piece of advice she learned from a friend: “Beware of those with sugar-tongue and oily lips.”


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Hungary: Gyurcsány’s Possible Successors · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about PM Ferenc Gyurcsány's possible successors.


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India: Analyzing Past Elections · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kenney Jacob at Disruptive Technologies, Education and Some Social Issues blog publishes a series of analysis on India's past elections. Read parts I, II, III and IV.


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India: South Indian Food Blog · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Words are my food, food is my passion..” – this is the tag line of the food blog ‘The Chennai Foodie‘.  The blogger posts reviews of different restaurants in Chennai, India and their foods based on real life experiences.


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Jamaica: Lessons from the By-Election  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeng News Magazine asks of the results of the recent by-election in West Portland: “What does it tell us about where things currently stand in Jamaica, if this constituency can be viewed as a microcosm of the Jamaican body politic?”, adding, “It’s high time this dual citizenship issue is seriously and objectively addressed.”


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Kenya: Turning shipping containers into offices · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Afromusing writes about a project using shipping containers as pre-fab offices in rural Kenya.


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Liberia: Liberian tailor wins US$10,000 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Samuel T. Bowin is a Liberian tailor who lost everything except a pair of trousers and a shirt. How did he win US$10,000?


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Liberia: Obama is not the first African-American president · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In his post titled, Everything you ever wanted to know about Liberia (And more), David Sasaki points out that the first African-American president of any country was the Liberian president J.J Roberts who was born in Norfolk, Virginia.


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Libya: From Funerals to Weddings  · Global Voices
Fozia Mohamed

It's been difficult to pinpoint what the Libyan blogosphere has been discussing in the past months since the Gaza bombings.
This is because many of the more known bloggers have been on a bit of Winter hiatus. However, the good thing about the Libyan blogs is despite its relevant modesty, there is always a new crop coming out. As a reader, it takes me a bit of time to adjust but then I learn to appreciate the new blogs and the fresh perspectives.
In this regard, I've been touring the Libyan blogs for the last couple of weeks hunting for those voices and stories of interest. The only common line sometimes would be that the author is Libyan or lives in Libya.
American (living in Libya) blogger  On the Edge  recently wrote about miscellaneous events  but the most heart wrenching part from her post was the passing away of the family cousin as a result of medical malpractice in Libya.
“The second funeral was for a well loved cousin .This was over the week end and up until today it continues .She had asthma and was ill with it off and on but we all knew this . Sometimes she would have to be hospitalized for treatment but never for long .On days like we had last week when it was so dusty , it was hard for her to breath. Sometimes this lead to a chest infection , which is what had happened to her last week .
She was feeling bad and having breathing difficulty's and felt the need to go see the doctor . She did and he told her she had a chest infection that needed a injection of anti biotic”s to give her immediate relief , along with a breathing treatment . She said ok , but I can't have penicillin . I am allergic to it . When the injection came she asked what the medicine was and was told it was penicillin . She told them not to give it to her because of her allergies and they told her not to worry about it . She argued with them over it but they gave it to her anyway .[sic]”
Khadijateri, another American blogger married to a Libyan, is asking for feedback on the newly released WiMax internet service. She received a lot of tips in the comment section.
“I ‘ve been watching the news about Libya's Wimax Internet. It opened to the general public a few months ago but I only know one person that paid for a subscription and modem only to find that there was no reception where they lived (not far from Tripoli's city centre).”
It is worth noting Libya is another country which has taken the step to deploy WiMax to provide internet users with another choice and bypass infrastructure difficulties.
Shahrazad is a new female Libyan blogger, who has been working as a tour guide but is looking into changing her profession. Shahrazad has two blogs Shahrazad's Blahs and  Shahrazad's secret recipes, which is self explanatory.
In her latest post Shahrazad takes us on a tour of the souk [market] in Tripoli and we are regaled by her photos, which trigger a trip down memory  lane for her readers.
“The souk is a favourite place of mine and I enjoy shopping for old Libyan and Italian silver things-from trays to jewelery. “
Anglolibyan has been invited  to a screening of a documentary Autumn Thunder about Libya by Prince Mohammed Alsenussi, a son of the nephew of the deposed late King Idris of Libya. During the event which took place in London he managed to meet up not only with the dashing prince and some friends but also with another Libyan blogger going by the name of Braveheart.
Though Autumn Thunder as described deals with the usual issues presented by exiled monarchies it made a good launchpad  for discussion about the various merits of changes undertaken in Libya since independence.
The recent celebration of Mother's Day ( March 21) in the MENA region and especially in the Arab speaking world  has brought its spate of posts for the occasion. This is especially true for Libya since we celebrate Children's Day on March 20 and so the two events are always linked.
While there were numerous posts for the occasion the most touching is again by one new member of the Libyan blogosphere. Lolita from Lolita's Corner writes:
” The mother in me
Tried all I could
But to no avail
To hear little footsteps
Running and giggling away
Dreams and wishes are just that
But reality is a different showcase
Which I have to face and hopefully accept”
Lolita's  melancholic poetry style goes straight to the heart and seems to be a coping mechanism  to help with the loss of her parents and also to exorcise lost love. Additionally we learn that she is unable to have children, which is of course doubly sad on mother's day.
Safia's latest reincarnation on the blogs goes by the name of LadyCroc's Lounge. Her posts on any topic, including the latest one, are  always questioning, quasi metaphysical with a sprinkling of sufism denote an inner search for the truth and for  peace.
“There are indeed moments of bliss. During such moments I can truly feel the rainbow touching my heart. Those are the moments of mercy.
A few days ago I felt such a moment. My biggest wish in such a moment is to have the ability to kill time instantly, or just to freeze everything, continuing forever and ever in that short moment. These are moments of strenght for me, reviving my soul like hot spring rain reviving frozen buds buried in the cold soil of winter.
Allahs mercy, even if just short of an eyedrop, is truly eternal!”
Luna also is a recent addition to the Libyan family, she is giving away her two daughters in marriage very soon and has stepped into a hornet nest recently with her topic on relationships between Libyan men and educated  smart Libyan women.
“When discussing this issue with my girlfriends many which are multicultural ,some married to Libyans others divorced, we came to a conclusion that men in general , but especially Libyan men, seem to thoughroghly enjoy the intelligence of women ,in everyday co working relationships, while discussing current or past issues- but at the end of the day, that they settle for the stupid ones when marrying , to make them feel grand machos! [sic]”.
This were just a few of the varied topics being discussed in the Libyan space.

author: Fozia Mohamed


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Madagascar: Roots of the Turmoil · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Stephen Ellis, co-author (with Solofo Randrianja) of Madagascar: A Short History, explains that Ravalomanana's removal can be attributed to two main factors:  his use of presidential power to further business interests and his alienation of the provincial political class and the armed forces.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Malaysia: Government’s love-hate relationship with new media · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

During a speech in a Party assembly, Malaysia's incoming Prime Minister said that new media should not be regarded as enemy. But hours before the speech, the party banned almost all online groups from the event.

author: Mong Palatino


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Maldives: Petition And Democracy · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Maldives government is facing a growing number of petitions protesting various things. Abdullah Waheed asks some pertinent questions.


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Myanmar: Hip Hop craze · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

According to blogger Fear from Freedom, Myanmar youth in Yangon is having a fever of Hip Hop fashion, songs and dance.


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Nigeria: Blogsville Initiatives · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Blogsville Initiatives is a post about various initiatives started by Nigerian bloggers, which include Naija Bloggers Award and Blogsville Idol 2007.


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Palestine: A Mother’s Pain · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In Gaza, Lebanese activist Natalie Abou Shakra tells the story of a mother who took part in a protest for the release of her son, a political prisoner in the Nafha top security prison in Israel, whom she hadn't seen for 25 years; on her way home from the protest she died.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Poland, Belarus: TV Polonia/Belsat TV Controversy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitsky writes about the controversy surrounding the recent sacking of Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, director of TV Polonia and Belsat TV.


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Serbia: More on 10th Anniversary of NATO Bombing · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More coverage of the 10th anniversary of NATO bombing of Serbia: Balkan File; Bill's Blog; Gray Falcon; and Nothing Against Serbia.


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Spiderman in Thailand · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An autistic kid climbed outside the window on the fourth floor of a school building. How was he saved? A Bangkok fireman pretended to be Spiderman to convince the kid to move to safety inside the building. Check a video report of the story.


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Sri Lanka: Divided Political Opinions · Global Voices
Rezwan

Somapala Gunadheera at Groundviews analyzes the grid of Sri Lanka political opinion, which shows how deeply divided the opinions are.


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Tunisia: Bloggers Divided on Qaradawi’s Visit  · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

Discussions continue in the Tunisian blogosphere and Facebook following the visit of Egyptian Islamic scholar Yousif Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar, to the secular country two weeks ago.
While some were enthusiastic, applauding the visit and creating a Facebook group to express their joy and happiness, others have formed a  group protesting against and opposing this visit.
Qaradawi's official visit to Tunisia on March 4 and 5 was to celebrate Kairouan as a capital for Islamic culture. This visit is considered his first official visit to Tunisia since he accused the Tunisian government of hostility towards Islam and Muslims. He also accused Tunisian poet Sghaier Awled Ahmed, of being an infidel in his book: Secular extremism in Islam: The Cases of Tunisia and Turkey, which was published in 2001.
The supporters of the visit saw in this official visit a change in the government's policy towards Islam and Islamism and a sign of the failure of the secular project in Tunisia. Rashed Ghannuchi president of the now banned Islamic movement Annahdha  shared the movement's joy over the visit and he also called upon the Tunisian authorities to cancel the decree prohibiting the hijab (Islamic headscarf worn by women), in a Press release he issued from London.
The visit's opponents explained on their part that Qaradawi had already attacked Tunisians and Tunisia in his book cited above. They saw this visit as another of the games played by the Tunisian government to win support during the elections, especially since Qaradawi started his visit by going to the premises of radio Zaitouna, established by the Tunisian president's son-in-law Sakhr Materi, who is establishing an Islamic bank in Tunisia. They saw this initiative as a support to these projects, especially that Qaradawi is very popular among Tunisians. Furthermore , they saw in this visit a threatening to the secular environment reigning in Tunisia since the rule of the first president.
Tunisian Debate expressed his opinion through caricatures as usual:
He added:
La dernière visite de l'Imam Qardhawi aurait pu passer inaperçue si elle n'avait revêtu un caractère officiel. En effet, Le tapis mauve que lui a déroulé le ministre de la culture et les Unes que lui ont consacré les médias ont suscité un vif débat dans la blogosphère. Les Laïques y on vu une menace contre les acquis progressistes amenés par Bourguiba tandis que les conservateurs se sont réjouis du retour à la normale de la Tunisie qui se réveille enfin de sa laïque léthargie made in occident. Un dialogue de sourd entre les uns et les autres a noyé toute possibilité d'entente sur la sempiternelle question de la laïcité et de l'Islam.
He also talked about authorties’ agenda behind this official invitation:
Le régime en mélangeant les genres entretient des clivages et empêche la société de débattre clairement de ses divergences. Sa stratégie consiste à acheter la paix sociale en usant de toutes les voix discordantes que peut produire le corps social. Il les récupèrera à son compte et les mettra en scène dans un simulacre de démocratie.

author: Lina Ben Mhenni