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USA: “Obsession” Anti-Islam Film Angers Bloggers · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Last week, many newspaper subscribers across the United States were surprised to discover a DVD inserted into their Sunday paper. The video, which can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, is entitled Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West and portends to compare the threat of radical Islamism with that of Nazi Germany prior to World War II.  The DVD's release was timed to match the upcoming elections, and distribution of the DVD was almost entirely within swing states.
Almost immediately, newspapers began receiving complaints for their inclusion of the DVD, which was funded by The Clarion Fund, a group set up to combat “the most urgent threat of radical Islam.”  Bloggers in the U.S. and abroad have expressed anger at both the distribution of the DVDs and the related crime.
Jordanian blogger Ali was understandably outraged at the timing:
While We Arabs and Muslims were busy thinking of food during Ramadan and watching Bab El Harra and Asmahan and the remaining 120 series on TV, having our delicious Sheesha’s (Water pipe) after Iftar, some mysterious group or organization was sending this disturbing DVD. The DVD bashes Islam and Muslims and warning Americans from expected terrorists attacks.
I see this as a typical fear-mongering propaganda that is always targeting the American people around Public Holidays and Anniversaries to remind the average American that those uneducated savage killers are still out there and they are ready to get to you.
Can you imagine the damage that was done to Muslims and Arabs and the lousy image we have in the west and the USA?
Not all Americans are well informed or well travelled, or have even met a Muslim. Therefore such hate DVDs will make a huge negative impact on the way they view Muslims and Middle Eastern. This will not be difficult for the relations between the West and East but also for Americans with Arab background living in America who can be harassed or be involved in hate crimes.
A Tale of Three Beans, also a Jordanian blogger, responded to Ali's post in her own blog.  She wrote:
So, while I'm on the topic of misleading and outright lying, I wanted to go back to a post by Ali. I know he thought I missed his comment, but this is one of those conversations that requires thought and mulling over. Ali's post was on the mailing of 28 million copies of an inflammatory movie called Obsession to voters in swing states in the US. Now, long ago in my life, I learned not to comment on something about which I have no personal knowledge. So, I went out to youtube and watched the movie. It's divided into 10 six (ish) minute segments. So, now I've mulled and fermented my ideas and have some thoughts.
She then dug deeper into several of the issues related to the video, debunking myths and correcting poor translations.  She also pointed out that there are a few valid points in the DVD, saying:
One fundamental message that followers of Islam would do well to heed is that Americans, average Americans, are scared of you. No, not just the radical Muslims -all Muslims. This is normal, it's natural. We're almost always scared of anything that's different. And, you look different. Sadly, both non-Muslims and Muslims alike get drawn into the trap of focusing on differences. Instead of pointing out the similarities between Ramadan and Lent to help bridge the understanding gap, the message delivered is that Christians wouldn't understand fasting (which says more about a lack of understanding of Christianity than anything). Islam and Christianity may vary widely, but they also share similarities. If you can help Americans (and Westerners in general) see that, you will be doing all of us favor. Each of you can play a role as an ambassador of your faith.
Finally, she concludes:
The reality about Americans is that while we may not be the most aware people in the world (nor are we the least, by the way), it's mostly a country of good people. They get up every morning and eat breakfast. They work hard to provide for their families. They love their children and want the best for them. The more things are different, the more they are the same. Americans are just like Jordanians. They're people who try their best to live life and ensure the well-being of their families. Understanding that whatever differences in tradition are just that – differences in tradition – may help bridge this gap. Remember that while you may even agree that American women are immoral, in the same way Americans agree that Arab women are subjugated and without rights. Neither picture is either wholly true or accurate. I think if we all try to understand each other better (not necessarily become like each other), our conversation will be richer and we may be able to leave fear behind and move forward with understanding and respect.
Writer and blogger Laila Lalami expresses few feelings toward the DVD but states that it won't make a difference anyhow:
I don’t, however, think that the DVD will have any effect on swing voters. We are so awash in Islamophobia in the States that any voters likely to be swayed by yet another Muslims-equal-terrorists rant are likely to have already made up their mind by now (and it’s not for Obama, let’s face it.)
Global Voices Morocco author Lalla Lydia explains why we should all watch the video:
I've noted that a lot of you are recognizing this sweet and unseasonal valentine as propaganda and tossing it in the trash.
I wish you wouldn't. Watch it. Like I did. And take notes.
I think it's well done. It reached its goal of scaring the crap out of viewers with all its rising crescendos of fear mongering, driving music and fast-paced images of terrorist attacks around the world.
Less than a week after the DVDs were distributed, children at a Dayton, Ohio mosque were the victims of an apparent hate crime in which gas was sprayed through a window of the building.  Bloggers immediately connected the two incidents, despite the mainstream media's denial.
KABOBfest, a blog written by a group of mostly Arab-Americans, reported on the incident:
Is it mere coincidence that this attack comes after the “Obsession” DVD was distributed in the area? It just may be, and hopefully the policy investigate this vigorously enough to give us an answer.
This alarmist, Islamophobic video has been sent to swing states by a shadowy non-profit, the Clarion Fund. It is claiming to have sent 28 million copies. Most of the recipients will recognize it as the hate-ridden drivel it clearly is; but others may be inspired to secure the homeland and attack the enemy within — and this senseless attack may be one such case.
Interestingly, none of the mainstream media have covered this story. Perhaps if a Muslim committed a parallel attack at a church or synagogue, it would be newsworthy. What ever happened to the “man bites dog” theory of media interest? Perhaps we should update the adage to reflect the modern ethnogeography of violence: “White man attacks Muslims, that's not news. But when Muslims attack Whites, now that's a story!”
A Diamond's Eye View of the World, an American who blogs about Lebanon, reminds us that we have the right to protest the distribution of this DVD, sharing the Clarion Fund's address and urging us to write polite letters:
And if you want to contact the Clarion Fund, the address given on the DVD packaging is:
255 W. 36th Street, Ste. 800
New York, NY 10018
(646) 308-1230
Just remember: be polite, be professional, and articulate your position using evidence, not personal insults.
Also of note is that a group called Obsession With Hate has been set up to combat the propaganda perpetuated by the film.

author: Jillian C. York


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Guatemala: Ex-president Portillo extradited  · Global Voices
Renata Avila

After hiding from Justice for four years in Mexico, former President Alfonso Portillo was extradited to Guatemala, where he will face serious charges of corruption and other felonies.
Blogger Tigre 007 [es] said that Guatemala is celebrating the capture. It might just be the case to mark the beginning of declining corruption levels in Guatemala. Happy news for Guatemalans, because  one of the largest frauds with public money might have been forgotten … but not anymore: a former President will be prosecuted in one of the countries with the highest levels of corruption.
However, many people, according to Megachapines Blog [es], still sympathize with the “Zacapaneco” (Portillo's nickname) alleging that this prosecution is fueled by political pressures and is not a fair process. Some hours later, the thought that this would be a fair process was dispelled, and the sensation that it was all a media smokescreen floats around.
At Carpe Diem, Luis Figeroa writes [es]: “Fixed like wrestling or church pews”:
Más arreglada que la lucha libre, o que las bancas de una iglesia, estuvo la entrega de Alfonso Portillo. ¿Va usted a creer que en la Torre de Tribunales había gente que, espontáneamente, gritaba ¡Zacapa te apoya!?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Renata Avila


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Hong Kong: Who Decides What We Can See On The Internet? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Hong Kong government suggests to filter the internet in order to “protect” youth from indecent and obscene article. The issue then comes to “Who decides what we can see on the Internet?” – ESWN has translated a local newspapers article on this.

author: Oiwan Lam


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India: Attacks against churches · Global Voices
Rezwan

While condemning the recent violence against the Christians Vivek Bharat at Desicritics provides some background of the conflict that led to the attacks on churches in Karnataka: “A pamphlet titled Satya Darshini…was being freely distributed among members of the New Life Fellowship sect of the Pentecost Mission in Mangalore, ..which contained derogatory references to Hindu Gods and Goddesses.”

author: Rezwan


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India: Terrorism religious? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Balachandran at An Unknown Indian is furious over the Hindu nationalists attacks on the Christians in Orissa, India: “I wish to question those ignorant fools as to where the hell in their scriptures are they asked to promote violence against people of other faith?”


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International Eye on the US Elections · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

As the US Elections loom closer, international attention to US foreign policy and the candidates has increased. Projects like Current TV's Collective Journalism and Global Voices’ Voices Without Votes have taken the task to gather this information and bring a global perspective on a local issue.
Current TV's Collective Journalism program has started a series of video reports on how the rest of the world views the US. In The View from Over There, people from many different countries state their views on foreign policy, the war in Iraq, the situation with Iran and mention who they would want as the future president of the USA. The video interviews are sometimes in different languages, but all of it is subtitled in English.
This video also uses footage from other shows on the US Elections 2008, but this time concentrating on the foreign perspective. This is something Global Voices and Reuters have been doing for a while now at Voices Without Votes: gathering opinions from all over the planet on the US elections. If you have any posts you would like to submit to the site, you can do it here.
Current TV's next Collective Journalism assignment will be a worldwide view on the US immigration policies.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Iran: Shopkeepers strike over VAT introduction · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers such as Avareh and news sites reported[fa] that Shopkeepers in several cities in Iran such as Tabriz and Isfahan pressed on with strikes on Wednesday to protest against the government's introduction of value added tax.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:An Iranian Lesbian needs urgent help in Sweden · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian Queer Organization (IRAQO) asks people to help a young Iranian lesbian who escaped Iran to Sweden in January 2008 on base of her sexual orientation. According to this organization she is at a mental hospital now.


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Jamaica: Quick Picks  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican Marlon James announces his picks for this year's Nobel Prize in Literature: “My money is on Adonis, largely because a poet is overdue.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: Web becoming Fifth Estate · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Ikeda Nobuo at OpenSpectrum Japan reports on two news stories related to copyright law in Japan: the conditional access system B-CAS has been scrapped (and with it so-called “Dubbing Ten”), and on September 18 the plan to extend copyright from 50 to 70 years was also abandoned. Ikeda observes that this may be an indication that the Web is becoming the “Fifth Estate” in Japan to compete with mass media.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Kenya: Ushahidi Updates · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ushahidi, the crisis monitoring mashup originally developed to monitor post-election violence in Kenya is evolving: Steve Mutinda put together a working Ushahidi Java application – and surprised me with it, this Saturday. It works well, and he and Wilfred Mworia are hard at work on the Ushahidi API to ensure that this app and the Ushahidi iPhone app both can sync with the database easily.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kenya: Website to Showcase the Real Nairobi · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Frank writes about 24 Nairobi project in Kenya: “Check out this cool website called 24 Nairobi which contains nice pics.Its aim is to showcase the real Nairobi apart from the Western sterotype of African cities.”


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Liberia: Liberia’s History 101 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David Sasaki is in Monrovia, Liberia to teach Liberians how to blog. He writes a short history of the country: “Liberia’s history – and specifically its relationship with the United States – is fascinating. The country was founded and colonized in 1847 by freed Black slaves from the United States. By 1867 more than 13,000 Black Americans moved to independent Liberia.”


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Morocco: Film Festival in Tribute to Youssef Chahine · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Daily Maghreb reports that this year's Marrakesh film festival will pay tribute to British cinema and honor recently deceased director Youssef Chahine.


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Nepal: Plane crash in Lukla · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bimal Gautam, a photojournalist from Nepal posts some photos of the crash of an Yeti Airlines plane in his photoblog. 18 persons died in the air crash in Lukla today including 14 Germans, 2 Australians and 2 Nepalis.


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Pakistan: Zardari again? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Teeth Maestro critiques yet another quote of Pakistan president Asif A. Zardari that caused much uproar in Pakistan. He mentioned that the militant Islamic groups operating in Kashmir are “terrorists” while they are deemed as freedom fighters in Pakistan.


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Peru: blog cracking hints at censorship · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Fernando from Pepitas.com posts the notice he received letting him know that strangers tried to crack his blog, targetting specifically 3 posts with complaints about two ministers. Luckily the attack was detected and although all the comments were erased by the crackers, the were able to recover most of them.

author: Juan Arellano


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Saudi Arabia: Who polices the religious police? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Susie of Arabia writes about the Muttawa, or religious police, in Saudi Arabia and asks: “Who exactly is in charge of policing the Mutawwa here and how much are they getting away with beyond their authority? I know they are only human and they make mistakes, but many of their mistakes are HUGE and only serve to further tarnish the image that much of the rest of the world has that Islam is radical and dangerous.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Trinidad & Tobago: Cricket & Culture  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Review of the Indigenous Caribbean Center examines “the relevance of a West Indian culture forged by cricket.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Eye on the Prize · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian blogger Nicholas Laughlin understands that “literary prizes play a hugely important role in what you might call the literary economy” – which is why he's agreed to be a regional judge for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.


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Uganda: LGBT activists forced into exile · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari writes about the plight of LGBT activists in Uganda: “Following the arrest of Georgiana and Brenda, 5 members of SMUG, knowing they were a target of the police and fearing further arrests, had to escape from Uganda and are now all having to live in exile.”


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Afghanistan: Hitch on heroin · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust examines some of the issues surrounding opium eradication in Afghanistan, and argues that focusing on opium itself misses the point.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Azerbaijan: Election Web Cams · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Herron Family News reports on a return visit to Azerbaijan to review preparations for next week's presidential election. The blog notes that the country's Central Electoral Commission has authorized the installation of web cams in polling stations so that voting can be monitored online.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: The Forgotten War · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

In an extended post accompanied by photographs, Michael J. Totten introduces his readers to the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. The blog compares the mood in Azerbaijan with that in neighboring Georgia, another country in the region with its own territorial conflicts to contend with.


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Bahamas, Jamaica: Money & Culture  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bahamian Nicolette Bethel and Jamaican Geoffrey Philp have a conversation about art, culture and money that leaves the latter to conclude: “Culture is too important to be left in the hands of people who only know about money or power.”


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Bahrain: I Want My Daughters to be Arrogant  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Bahrain, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli wants to teach his daughter how to be arrogant. “So for my daughters, it begins with teaching them to be as arrogant as men tend to be about their chances of success,” he observes.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bangladesh: Celebrating Durga Puja · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shahnaz at Dhaka Dweller posts pictures of Durga Puja, an annual Bengali festival that celebrates worship of Hindu goddess Durga. She also describes the festivities covering ten days.


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Barbados: Draft Freedom of Information Bill  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The government distributes the draft Freedom of Information Bill for feedback, prompting Barbados Underground to encourage citizens to read it and make suggestions: “This is what democracy is about, PEOPLE participation by the PEOPLE!”


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Barbados, U.S.A.: Being Presidential  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbadian diaspora blogger Jdid weighs in on the “town hall-style” US Presidential debate: “Obama has shown himself to be presidential material just by his cool manner…I'm speaking about his grace under fire, what seventeenth century Caribbean buccaneers referred to as being ‘pistol proof’.”


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Bhutan: A kings dream · Global Voices
Rezwan

Expressions blog pays tribute to the King of Bhutan, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck recognizing that the nation’s dreams are shared fully by the new King.


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China: Lifan Landslide · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a Guangzhou Daily report which explains how a reporter blog post about Lifan Landslide incident has managed to turn from a “natural disaster” into a “major incident with accountability”.


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Cuba, U.S.A.: Thoughts on the Embargo  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban diaspora blogger Child of the Revolution disagrees with the suggestion of an “independent scholar” that “lifting the embargo is no longer ‘just a noble but hopeless idea’ but smart politics.”


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Egypt: Gaza Solidarity Activists Kidnapped, Abused and then Released · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

While celebrating the 6th of October victory and in alliance with the International Solidarity Movement to break Gaza Siege, activists from  different Egyptian civil entities, syndicates, and political parties decided to head to Gaza in an attempt to break the siege.  The attempt was cut short by the Egyptian Security, and around 36 activists were ‘kidnapped’ and detained.
Alzahrawi  reports:
“Central Cairo was a barrack yesterday to stop a popular campaign that hoped to break the siege on Gaza, security forces cordoned off areas surrounding the Press syndicate. Police officers searched the people in the middle of the streets and banned the access of whoever found participant in the convoy, and for the first time the Egyptian company for the Subway management and operation closed one of its stations downtown to prevent ordinary people from getting mixed or joining the convoy members’ protests, a step that was meant to tighten the security over the entire region.”
He adds:
“On the other hand, In Rafah, Egyptian security arrested more than 100 activist to stop a convoy that managed to reach Salahuddin gate at the Rafah border crossing”
A few hours later, news started to come out about the release of some of the detained activists.  Malek confirms in a post on the Hesham Mubarak Law Center blog:
In a phone call with Ghazl el Mahala labor leader Kamal El Fayoumi, blogger Arabawy was told that activists were maltreated and violently assaulted during their detention:
“I spoke with Ghazl el-Mahalla labor leader Kamal el-Fayoumi, who was released around two hours ago. He said he was kidnapped by the police six blocks away from the Press Syndicate around 10am. He was approached by a plainclothes agent who requested his National ID Card, while four other thugs surrounded him. He was taken to a truck with three others, which drove them to Tora's Central Security Forces Camp, south of Cairo. Kamal said he was blindfolded and interrogated by a State Security officer, who slapped him on the face a number of times, punched him in the stomach, while shouting the worst verbal insults. Kamal met at least six other detainees inside who said they faced similar treatment. Around two hours ago, the detainees were taken, split into two groups and thrown out in a remote desert area near Maadi.”

author: Nermeen Edrees


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Guyana: Working It  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal gives an example of the “true, true story that some watch while you labour in the heat, then they sneak in cool, cool and reap.”


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Haiti, U.S.A.: Big Stick Policies?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger is curious about John Mc Cain's debate reference to “his hero, Teddy Roosevelt, who said, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick'”, adding: “When you look at the world economic crisis that has resulted from the U.S. doctrine of ‘total world domination’, the instinct is to say–how the mighty have fallen, on their big stick.”


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India, Pakistan: Death by religion · Global Voices
Rezwan

Diganta Sarkar at The New Horizon comments: “the religion first eats non-religious, then the other religions, then starts eating the self. Pakistan has already arrived at the last stage. India is still at the second one … but how long?”


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Indonesia: Views on the U.S. Financial Crisis · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Americans are afraid of another Great Depression as the Wall Street crisis continues to worsen. Meanwhile, many Indonesians are afraid that the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis will happen again if the U.S. economy continues to deteriorate. Indonesia was badly hit during the 1997 economic crisis. Many people can still remember the huge negative impact of the regional recession a decade ago.
Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. But it is also facing tremendous economic challenges. Poverty is rising, unemployment is high, and unrest is mounting.
What are the views of Indonesian bloggers and residents on the Wall Street crash?
First, a background on the Indonesian economy.  Indonesia Project writes:
“Indonesia’s inflation rate is now well over twice as high as the central bank’s target of about five per cent. There are two convenient scapegoats: big increases in both oil and rice prices. But the real explanation, as always, is unduly loose monetary policy.”
The Polar Bear Diaries is not optimistic about the status of Indonesia’s economy:
“Indonesia survives by exporting produce from its large workforce. Local market purchasing power is limited. A large percentage of the population live from hand to mouth, with little or no savings. But those exports are falling compared to imports, and the general cost of living is rising dramatically. Exports will fall a lot further as consumer confidence in the West is eroded.”
The Wall Street crash had an immediate impact on Indonesia’s economy. Everything Indonesia reports:
“Indonesia's composite index fell around 10% in a single day Monday, the kind of drop that would have American market commentators running for their bottles of Maalox…Contracting economies means less energy consumption which means Indonesian commodity concerns, like coal companies, get hammered.”
Indonesian banks suffered too which pushed some local investors to seek government assistance. Exegesis disapproves this kind of behavior:
“Have you read newspapers lately? I'm talking about those people trying to ask compensation from the government for their investment loss due to the crippling effect from the Wall Street's recent fiasco. They are amazing. When they decided to put their money in private investment bank, they did it out of respectable greed and of course without consulting any government whatsoever (in fact it's really like: hey this is my money, you government stay away!). Now the bank they put their money with is facing serious problem and is likely to share the pain with their individual ‘investors’. And they're asking the government to pay for their loss? I don't get it. I really don't.”
Meanwhile, Id economy shares the government's optimism:
“I fully agree with government about the current condition, we're still good to go but we should anticipate for contagion effect, in this case by fighting liquidity squish both for domestic currency (by limiting credit expansion) and foreign currency (by promoting export).”
The public is advised not to panic:
“If you ask me what next, to be honest I do not know. Since that's all depends on the market now. Depends on the result of maintaining current account we will see up and down in rupiah's exchange rate that's for sure. And depends on the credit growth reform we will see (in my opinion) slowdown in economic growth. But how the swing up and down is completely up to the market to decide. Yes, please play safe these days, there are panic people out there, and it is a bliss and bless for us not to be panic (now).”
treespotter hopes the situation in the US will improve:
“I am not an American but I have financial interests to see the market go back to where it was (if possible, circa 2005). Similar to America, I’m up to my neck in debt and survive only on steeply declining asset and a line of credit. I don’t get to vote for American president and I don’t have a representative to call. I get to watch the whole thing from television and the internet, and I truly wonder if anyone there really knows what they’re doing. I sincerely hope so.”
Cafe Salemba supports the bailout program of the US government:
“You may agree or disagree with the plan, but I think it is imperative to at least understand that this is about how to deal with credit market, the heart of the economy that keeps its lifeblood flowing, that doesn't work. One lesson from the 1930 Great Depression and 1998 Asian Crisis is that the failure to do so will bring a prolonged credit crunch and output contraction. It could become indeed very nasty.”
The threat of economic recession is affecting personal perspectives. Java Jive writes:
“It’s October, so it must be that time of year when I freak out about the future, to stay in Indonesia or not, to seek another career option, or simply maintain what I’ve been doing for so long now. It doesn’t help that the American economy has been thrown in the canal, nor that the Indonesian economy is now heading towards possible turmoil as well.”
Indonesia Matters discusses the prospect of making the sharia finance as alternative to the US economic and banking model. A lively discussion in the comments section ensues:
Andy notes how the West managed to survive economic recessions in the past:
“Whatever happens in the west now I don’t believe will be as bad as 1987 and certainly not as bad as 1929. And from both cases the west returned stronger than ever before. Compare that to now where Indonesia still hasn’t recovered from 1998 even though ten years have passed.”
Marisa points out the need to reform the US financial sector:
“How does USA’s financial crisis affect Indonesia, anyhow? According to Faisal Basri on last night’s news, it has not greatly affected Indonesia, because Indonesia hasn’t reached that certain economic depth with the US that would make it as affected as, for instance, Australia. Oh wow, apparently Indonesia isn’t so westernized after all, we just look westernized.
“While our Asian third world brains are beginning to question the worthiness of our loyalty to the Great White Hope — vice versa, America must endure whatever it is they need to endure…I do absolutely agree that American financial sector must reform itself, especially after Bush administration and the way its doing things.”
Unspun questions the imprecise reporting of Indonesian newspapers about the financial crisis. Via Twitter, vmahmud writes: “…is now seeking tweets from the U.S. Stock Exchange. Everyone have their parachutes ready?”

author: Mong Palatino


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Iraq: Once a Year Family Gatherings  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Sunshine shares family gathering over Eid in this post. “since the war started we couldn’t see each other except in occasions, we took a lot of pics,” she notes.


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Israel: Yom Kippur Riots  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

‘Yesterday marked the beginning of Yom Kippur, or, the Day of Atonement in the Jewish faith. It is a pitiful irony then, that it should end in riots accompanied with chants of “death to the Arabs”, following an attack on an Israeli Arab man who merely tried to drive from one side of the city to the other,’ writes Caledoniyya.


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Jamaica: Olympians Call for End to Violence  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the Jamaican Olympic medalists implore their compatriots to “stop the violence”, A Fe Me Page Dis Iyah says: “I hope someone listens to them.”


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Japan: Verbal gaffs and Japanese politics · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger Ken writes about verbal gaffs in Japanese politics [ja]. Ken uses the example of a recent statement by Minister Nariaki Nakayama, which the blogger says became a gaff because Nakayama offended both the teachers union and citizen groups opposing expansion of Narita Airport. Ken argues that verbal gaffs are characterized by being value judgments and not factual statements, as in Nakayama's statement about Japan being “ethnically homogeneous”, which came on the heels of the Ainu being recognized as an indigenous people, and thus was not taken as a fact but as a personal criticism.


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UAE: The Masters of Emotional Blackmail  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“[I]f you observe children, you find that they are masters at emotional blackmail, and so are parents when they get older, simply coz they go back to being kids again!” observes Pandima's Box, from  the United Arab Emirates.


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Jordan: We are ‘Backward’ Because …  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Instead of spending our time on improving our lives, economy, well being and living standards we spend time watching people and what they do and say,” writes Ali, about life in Jordan and the Arab world.


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Kazakhstan: Language, Economics and Foreign Policy · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The Kazakhstani authorities have again brought up the issue of state language. Kazakh language has been heavily depreciated in the Soviet times against the background of inculcation of Russian language. Earlier, officials restrained themselves from outright expulsion of the Russian language (which still dominates in the official paperwork and in other spheres), leaving this field to a few nationalist movements. Now everybody is concerned over the plan to introduce a TOEFL-like standard Kazakh language test, which will be required at employment starting from 2010.
“I repeatedly wrote that Kazakhs dominate in public service (no matter if they know their mother tongue or not). Some good doctors or drivers will leave the country – or just migrate to the private sector – but everything will remain the same. In either way, my children will study in a different country”,
writes slavoyara, a journalist from the northern part of the country, which is populated primarily by the Slavic people [ru].
dojdlivoe leto from the same region is a bit more positive – and still she wonders [ru]:
I wonder how they are going to work this out? Will they open free of charge language courses? Or will they simply fire everybody who doesn’t know Kazakh language in 2010? I mean, if you want everybody to know the language, be kind, create opportunities.
Meanwhile, alim-atenbek studies his pension fund account [ru]:
During my short work experience, I saved 388,000 tenge. Now I have their 368,000. The “accumulative pension fund” ate away my 20,000 tenge – or 5 percent! Taking into account 20 percent inflation in 2007, I am losing a lot. The fund’s officers blame credit crunch, but here is a couple of questions: does the state regulate activities of the funds – e.g., in terms of top managers’ salaries or assets they are investing into? And will these losses be reimbursed?
Megakhuimyak is looking at another – institutional – victim of the economic crisis. Nurbank is a great example of how politics affect business. Its shares went down not due to the credit crunch – they fell earlier, due to the conflict between the bank’s owner Rakhat Aliyev with his former father-in-law, Mr. President Nazarbayev [ru]:
Its shares showed steady growth until January 2007, when the scandal with the top-managers emerged [they were abducted and tortured by Aliyev]. The shares fell down from 62,500 to 52,500 tenge. Then, as the issue evolved into a bigger problem, the price was slowly going down. When the investigations intensified, shares collapsed down to 27,500. Then the financial crisis made a finishing blow – the current price is 17,000 tenge.
Mumo-cult reports on the visit of Marat Tazhin, foreign minister of Kazakhstan, to Washington, D.C., where he presented the President Nazarbayev’s book [ru]:
People were wondering why the author himself didn’t come, whu Tazhin refuses to sign the book, why he is so shy and laconic… However, open bar with unlimited alcohol, delicious food and free books pacified the public.
Meanwhile, weathercock is alarmed – against the background of recent developments on the Caucasus – over the news article in the New Yourk Times [ru]:
Did Kazakhstan anger Russia in some way? Russian army is conducting maneuvers in 300 miles from the Russia-Kazakh border…
Also posted on neweurasia.


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Kuwait: BBQ Blues  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Kuwait, Danderma's Weblog is planning a BBQ and is considering the options: American, Lebanese, Italian/European or Mexican?


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Kuwait: Blast from the Past  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti Fernas links to an archive of photographs of a British family who lived in Kuwait in the 60s and 70s.


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Kuwait: Dirty Handy Men  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Kuwait, Twenty Three & Enjoying Life shares her thoughts on handy men. “Jeez, this morning, the AC guy came to clean the AC. He left and the place is so filthy. Dust everywhere. Why can’t they clean up after themselves?” she asks.


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Kuwait: Farewell iPod  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The iPod shall soon die, says Q8Geeks, from Kuwait.


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Kuwait: Vaccines and Babies  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

No3ik, from Kuwait, shares her concerns about administering vaccines for babies. “a lot of ppl are shunning them for now and only giving them two years after birth .. to prevent some of what is believed to be harmful side affects (one of them is Autism!) and to give the baby's body a chance to build a stronger immune system,” she notes.


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Kuwait: Where’s the Asian Market?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Area 77, from Kuwait, has food on his thoughts. He asks: “Does anyone know if there’s an Asian Market in Kuwait? Or a place that sells Asian foods like tiny crabs and seaweed crackers and other stuff like that?”


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Kuwait: YouTube Islam  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bu Ziyad, from Kuwait, stumbled upon YouTube Islam. “No points for creativity -I have a feeling some copy rights are infringed. Anyways I'm sticking to the other You Tube,” he notes.


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Lebanon: ‘Kidnapped’ Amercian Journalists Found in Syria Jail · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tony Bey, from Lebanon, reports that two missing American journalists have been found – detained in Syria.


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Liberia: Rebuilding National Media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David blogs from Monrovia about rebuilding Liberia's national media: “Developing Liberia’s national media is key to 1.) promoting democracy, 2.) promoting national identity, and 3.) fighting corruption. We have been visiting all the different players involved in Liberia’s media development. First stop was the Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism (giving a new meaning to ICT).”


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Madagascar: BarCamp Madagasca · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sixthman attended BarCamp Madagascar: “SA lot of people attended the barcamp and most of them were … bloggers. This was an opportunity for me to see some of them that I only knew by pictures through blogs like avylavitra, DotMg or Jentilisa – who talked about the Global Voices Online and released a book containing what he’s been writing as a blogger since 2006.”


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Madagascar: Reporting from the edge of the world · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethan writes about reporting from remote parts of Africa :”How do we get stories from places like Ilakaka, remote locations in Africa with no permanent press presence? Historically, we’d have to wait for something bad to happen – a mining disaster, an outbreak of disease. I see the photos in the Globe as evidence of what might be a healthier form of storytelling – a picture of a place that’s fascinating, whether or not it’s especially “newsworthy” today. The gembloggers are an interesting complement to this sort of reporting.


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Maldives: First free election underway · Global Voices
Rezwan

Maldives Live covers the first free election in Maldives that started yesterday. The latest results indicate that the long serving (since 1978) president Maumoon Abdul Qayyoom is leading.


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Pakistan: Violence continues · Global Voices
Rezwan

CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan informs that strings of bombings continued in Pakistan targeting the security forces in recent days as a direct response to the army offensive against Islamist militant strongholds in the tribal areas. The blog asks: “Will this still be seen as the military’s war on militancy, or will the Pakistani government take a more active role in the offensive?”


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Palestine: The Jews and Israel  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Pundit links to a story about a historian who claims that the idea of a Jewish people was “invented” and that “most of today's Jews have no historical connection to the land called Israel.”


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Saudi Arabia: Accidents and More  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Stilettos in the Sand, from Saudi Arabia, provides a local round up of accidents, incidents and crimes.


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Saudi Arabia: Business opportunity · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Aysha Alkusayer has a suggestion for anyone looking to invest in Saudi Arabia: daycare. “Here’s what’s changing in Saudi. Young couples are moving away from their family’s house to wherever their jobs might be. If both mommy and daddy are working, comes the tough part of what to do with the child.”


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Saudi Arabia: On Misyar  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Stilettos in the Sand, from Saudi Arabia, shares her thoughts on ‘temporary’ marriages or misyar, in this post.


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Seychelles: Seychelles Joins Pan-African e-Network · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Seychelles is the second African country, after Senegal to join the $1 billion pan-African e-network project initiated by the Indian government,” writes Gervais from Seychelles.


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South Korea: We don’t want to go bowling with you. · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Nuna from Ask a Korea! comes up with three possible answers to a question on why his Korean schoolmates suddenly back off from a bowling date.


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Syria: Saudi Paper Banned  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian-Saudi relations have reached an all low point, where even a Saudi newspaper has been banned. Sami Moubayed explains on Syria Comment.


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Turkey: Time for Questions  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Turkey, Erkan's Field Dairy notes: “After the attack on the Aktütün military outpost on Oct. 3, killing 17 soldiers, something new has happened; for the first time people are openly starting to question the General Staff.”


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Ukraine: Parliament Dissolved, Again · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes and Ukrainiana comment on the announcement of dissolution of Ukrainian parliament by Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Armenia: Diasporan War Veteran Faces Deportation · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on the case of Sargis Hatspanian, a French-Armenian veteran of the war with Azerbaijan who came out in support of the radical opposition during February's disputed presidential election. The blog challenges the official line that Hatspanian is an illegal alien in Armenia and questions the legality of his possible deportation from the country.


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Azerbaijan: Predictable Election · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing from Azerbaijan, Herron Family News details various meetings that have been held as next week's presidential election draws closer. However, the blog notes, the outcome of the vote is predictable. With the main opposition parties boycotting the election, the incumbent president will be re-elected. The only unanswered question is whether voters will actually bother to go to the polls.


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Bangladesh: Racism faced in Saudi Embassy · Global Voices
Rezwan

A Bangladeshi blogger Juboraj was refused visa from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Ghana and denied to perform Hajj in Saudi Arabia citing the reason that only citizens of selected countries (USA, EEU, Australia, UK etc.) are allowed to receive Saudi Visa from a third country. When he asked why Bangladeshis do not get the opportunity he got this reply from the counselor: “Because you are from Bangladesh. you are Miskin (beggars).”


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Brazil: A day in jail for blog comments · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Interrupting his blogging holidays, police officer Alexandre de Sousa [pt] posts in solidarity with Major Roberto Cavalcante Vianna, the first Brazilian citizen jailed for commenting on a blog:
Fui aluno do Major Roberto Vianna no Curso de Formação de Oficiais. Era meu instrutor de Direitos Humanos. Pessoa íntegra, estudioso de Segurança Pública, exemplo. Sua transgressão grave foi assinar um comentário se solidarizando com o Major Wanderby, denunciado por indisciplina na Auditoria Militar da PM. Punição de prisão! 12 dias preso por comentar em um blog! Caro Major Vianna, Gostaria de apoiá-lo neste momento cruel e de gosto duvidoso! Continue firme na sua caminhada. Não esmoreça. A sua arma mais forte é a sua determinação. Cumprimentos daquele que te admira muito e que aprendeu muito com o senhor.
At the heart of the trouble is another police Major and blogger, Wanderby Medeiros [pt], who informs us in one of his latest posts that Major Roberto Vianna was jailed on October 07 initially for 12 days, but he was freed the day after due to a habeas corpus. In an earlier post, he explains further Vianna's error:
Roberto Vianna fez um comentário não apócrifo no blog de um cidadão que se opõe às nefastas políticas “públicas” de Sérgio Cabral, José Mariano Beltrame e companhia!
Vianna exerceu um direito constitucional!
Journalist Gustavo de Almeida [pt], the only non-police blogger in this article, although many other civilians have commented on the issue, digs out the actual comment that caused the order, a message of solidarity for Major Wanderby with a criticism of the way the police force has been led in Rio de Janeiro:
A quem serve o Comando Geral de quaisquer instituições ? Quando alguém assume tal nobre função, não o faria para zelar por todos nós? Zelar por todos nós não incluiria combater a corrupção em todos os seus segmentos?
Stive [pt], on the other hand, investigates and uncovers the news that most of the punishment that has fallen on Major Wanderby is for posting on blogs, his own blog being one of the most popular and commented on among police officers. He says this is lamentable:
O major Wanderby é um dos pouquíssimos oficiais superiores que NÃO se omite diante de tanta sacanagem injustiça e ele manifesta isso em seu blog, que tem sido visto pelos olhos do alto comando como subversivo, incompatível para sua função. Não é de se estranhar que a maioria dos blogs policiais de protestos o autor prefira não mostrar a cara, afinal quem vai querer ser punido pelo comandante geral como já aconteceu com o major três vezes.
Mônica [pt] believes the police regulation which disallows officers expressing their opinions the way they see fit is archaic and from the era of dictatorship, and wonders what might happen to a less senior officer:
O caso acima é com oficiais superiores, imaginem o que acontece com a gente. Prender um oficial superior por expressar sua opinião não é ilegal? Não fere o que diz nossa constituição? Ainda nos criticam por não colocarmos a cara aqui!
José Ricardo [pt] says he favors freedom of speech, despite the fact he doesn't exercise it himself. He avoids commenting further on the Major's imprisonment, but leaves a piece of advice for his readers:
Portanto, companheiro, cuidado com o que você diz na caixa de comentários dos blogs.
Despite the fact that they are not allowed to, these officials have been strongly opposing the current government. Major Wanderby was one of the organizers of a movement claiming a better wage for the police – a newly recruited police officer earns $500 a month. They blame the low wages and appalling working conditions of so high a risk job as the causes for the collapse of the Brazilian military and corruption among officers. According to a U.N. Human Rights Council report released last September 15, the Brazilian police is linked to 1 in 5 murders in Rio de Janeiro.
Even though under tremendous pressure not to publicly speak out or criticize the Brazilain police force or government, more and more police officers of all ranks, anonymously and not, have been using blogs as a tool to inform and mobilize. See a previous article on the subject.

author: Paula Góes


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China: Melamedia · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Bandurski from China media project continues to discuss the media's responsibility in the poisonous milk scandal and translates in partial an article “N-number of Ways the Media’s Conscience Can Be Bought” by Meng Bo.


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China: Melamine is Inevitable? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In Oct 7, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine jointly issued a notice which state the upper limit of melamine in milk product. For infant formula, the maximum level is 1mg/kg. As for other formula that contain more than 15% milk, the maximum level is 2.5mg/kg. Any product exceed this level will be banned. In Oct 8, the Ministry of Health held a special press conference explaining that it will be rather impossible for food products to have zero percent melamine because of contamination during packaging process.
High spirit baby invited readers to comment on the policy in bbs.clzy.cn
User high-spirit noticed the contradiction in the government's statements:
当初检验的时候，那么多的企业都说没有检出三氯氰氨，现在又说三氯氰氨不能完全避免，那倒奇怪了，既然不能完全避免，那么多企业当时怎么就没有检查出来含三氯氰氨呢？
这不是自相矛盾吗？
退一步讲，就算三氯氰氨能通过环境、包装等途径进入到食品里面，那我就要问了，奶农往奶里面掺三氯氰氨违法，通过别的途径往奶里面加三氯氰氨就不违法了？哪里的环境有问题就查哪里，谁的包装有问题就找谁的事，这才是解决问题的正道。
Isn't it contradictory?
Let's take a step backward. If melamine can enter the food product through the industrial environment and packaging process, how come it is illegal for milk farmers to add melamine while other forms of contamination become legal? If there is something wrong with the production environment, deal with it, if there is something wrong with the packaging, deal with it. This is the right way to solve the problem.
User applexiaohong said:
化工原料都能正大光明的进入食品，还有什么可以放心食用的东西呢，难道物质的丰富与发展就得以牺牲人身体为代价吗？我觉做食品还是得做良心！不能利益熏心！！
User Kunming CEO said:
这条新闻太好笑啦。我想问问这些国家机关：莫非这也是国际惯例么？还是中国特色？！
Ran Yunfei interprets the joint statement as a legalization of Chronic murder.
In the comment section of Ran's article, Da Ren You Da Leng suggests that:
为了大家更好地响应五部委的号召，强烈建议五部委要员，每天，在中央台< 新闻联播>中，当众喝一盒限量版三聚氰胺液态奶，喝时必须把批次用特写打出来。
身先士卒，大概就是这么回事情吧！
They should stand in the front!
However Quick Sword pointed out that 2.5mg/kg is an international standard:
据说是根据美国FDA的分析结果,微量三聚氰胺（小于2.5PPM）对人体无害。http://xys2.dxiong.com/xys/ebooks/others/science/dajia9/sanlu205.txt
Newbie wishes good luck to “made in China” milk product:
祝国产奶粉好运
Hu Mang's comment has been widely circulated in internet media. The writer points out that the Chinese government should work towards zero melamine for solving the problem:
关于三聚氰胺的问题，不应该是一场讨价还价的谈判，而应该是一场从“零”开始的审判。也许只有这样，我们才能真正还国内消费者一个交代，才能真正许国内乳品业一个未来。


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China: Melamine Inevitable, even for EU Commissioner · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Melamine-tainted milk gave made-in-China a tough punch, and to reassure the world of China's product safety, premier Wen Jiabao affirmed that “we'll revive the Chinese food industry very soon,” at the World Economic Forum held in Tianjin last month.
The widely-influential milk scandal was resulted from the industrial chemical melamine added to not only milk but yogurt and infant formula. It has led to kidney stones crystallized in body that inflicted hundreds of babies, and killed 3.
At the Forum, Wen kept on saying, as China daily described,
Wen said he was very moved when he saw in television European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson drinking a cup of Chinese milk on Friday to show his trust in China-made products. “It's because he not only sees the present, but the future as well,” Wen said.
This Mandelson, 9 days later, was rushed to hospital in England due to unbearable pain, and after inspection, the trouble-maker is revealed—–kidney stone.
Mandelson might have gone through his most dramatic days in the period of time. In the reshuffle on Friday, Mandelson made a surprise return to the Britain cabinet under Brown's appointment. And on his first day in the office, kidney stones sent him to doctors. Would he relate his misfortune with the milk drunk a few days ago?
Whatever, Chinese blogger have already picked up their pens for responses.
Blogger “prostate inflamed” published on bullg.cn an entry, named “the Chinese milk stunned the  world again“. Nothing more did he do than juxtaposing the two news stories, “Wen was impressed by Mandelson's drinking of China milk”, and “on his office move-in day, Mandelson was sent to hospital due to kidney stones “.
Fishabc0 could only sigh in his comment,
立竿见影
And Nasheishei summarized in one word:
黑色幽默
Netizen 无上荣光 (Ultimate glory) exclaimed:
我喜欢英国幽默。这绝对是一场精彩的行为艺术表演！这是对中国政府官商勾结坑害百姓的机智嘲讽。非常精彩！
Another well-known blogger  宋石男, in a further step, wrote to analyze Mandelson's kidney stones,
在我看来，事件真相有两个可能：
1、曼德尔森早就知道自己有肾结石，故意当众喝中国牛奶，是在落井下石。
2、曼德尔森不知道自己有肾结石，勇敢地当众喝中国牛奶，是好心办了坏事。
Whichever is the truth (I personally incline to the latter), it would be as 老碗 says,
中国奶的确没让世界人民失望
But overall, it's never good to be a group of people, who can only make fun of ourselves, while find no way out, no way to change, even no no way to keep ourselves and baies from poison.
驴夫 says,
最近心情很忧伤 看到这个故事于是忧伤有了愉悦 成了愉悦的忧伤
This is our bitter joy melted in milk
(Pictures from Wikipedia, use under permission license)

author: Bob Chen


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Costa Rica: Disappointment in Latin American Idol Results · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Cristian Cambronero of Fusil de Chispas writes about the grand finale of Latin American Idol, where Costa Rican Maria Jose was up to the last minute singing for the first place. Much to the national disappointment, she didn't win, ending the three months of nail biting as Panama's singer walked away with the coveted prize.


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Cuba: Human Rights Activist Re-Arrested  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that a Cuban human rights activist who was paroled from prison earlier this year because of poor health, now faces up to five years in prison “on a charge of ‘attacking’ — which has been used before to silence critics of the dictatorship.”


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Cuba: Keep on Blogging · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y offers encouragement to a rural blogger (whom she refers to as “peasant of agile keys and posts as sharp as machetes”), who paints a picture of what blogging in Cuba is like: “Time is scarce and expensive.  You have to resend posts and emails that are interrupted when the line goes down.  You can’t read or respond to comments.  There is little chance of establishing relationships with other bloggers…”


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Honduras: One Man’s Struggle to Get out of Debt · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

La Gringa points us out to English language blog “I owe so much”, where one man writes in English about his experience trying to get out of credit card debt in Honduras. He writes bluntly and honestly about how much he owes and how he got to that amount, how he now drives his girls to school to save on school bus fees,  how he has set up a VOIP business for extra income, and bit by bit he pays back his debt.


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Jamaica, U.S.A.: Crossing the Racial Divide  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican diaspora blogger Geoffrey Philp has been closely monitoring the US Presidential race and thinks that “there is a need for real patriotism on both sides and for the voices of rationality and impartiality to speak up. America used to have them–before she turned over her media to spin doctors, liars, and partisan pundits–to speak the truth to and about each other across the racial divide.”


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Japan: Machida city council requests regulation of Street View · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Blogger and lawyer Yōji Ochiai [落合洋司] reports on news [ja] that the Machida city council in Tokyo has made a written request [ja] for investigations into regulation regarding Google's Street View Service, which has sparked some negative reactions in Japan [ja]. “My position has been to oppose entirely the targeting, without careful consideration, of Internet services for legal regulation, “Ochiai writes. “However, I have a feeling that the issues that have led to the submission of this written request cannot be so easily brushed away.”


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Latin America: Reporting On, Twitter for journalists gets popular · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

The success of Twitter has had an enormous influence on many new sites, that want to copy the formula: short messages, from all kinds of devices, for a restricted audience. One of the sites that follows this example is Reporting On, a kind of Twitter for journalists, that has been in working in beta phase since last year. And if you register, you'll find the site is getting quite successful particularly among Latin American journalists.
The structure is very similar to Twitter's; we can write up to 140 characters, which most users take advantage of to write news in the form of headlines. Each piece of news can be tagged with many words. In the left column, we can find the most popular tags. We can comment in each others posts as well as reply to them, but we can't follow certain users or filter contents, except for the tags.
Pablo Mancini interviewed Ryan Sholin, who's behind the project, and he points out that Reporting On “is a non profit project financed by Knight News Challenge in order to improve local news, connecting people who don't talk with each other enough”. And he adds: “once the site is working with a healthy amount of applications, I will make the code open source and invite developers and journalists  to improve it so they can launch their own versions of the site”.
Also talk about Reporting On: Bloc de Periodista (en español); The Exploding Newsroom; Random Mumblings; and Linchpen. At DigiDave you can find another interview to Sholin.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Maldives: Second round of elections · Global Voices
Rezwan

Think Maldives blog informs that the presidential election of Maldives has gone to a second round as none of the candidates could get 50% of the vote. ArtWork predicts who will win in the runoff.

author: Rezwan


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Moroccans for Obama? · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

“When the Americans are getting ready to elect a president, the whole world holds its breath,” writes Moroccon blogger, Robin des Blogs [Fr].  It's a sentiment held by many around the world, but some Moroccon netizens aren't sure which outcome–an Obama or a McCain presidency–would be best for Morocco.
Obama, McCain and Western Sahara
RDB writes that the election matters most to “Third World countries that live under Uncle Sam's wing, or worse, rot under the boots of his GIs” and agrees that an Obama win would be a chance for America to make history.
However, there is another issue Moroccans should consider: the fate of Western Sahara:
A Maroc, les élections américaines représentent un enjeu plus que majeur, puisque directement liées (qui dans ce monde ne l’est pas?) à l’avenir du pays. La connexion directe s’établissant dans les relations Mc Cain-Maroc et Obama-Mandela. Quoi?! C’est plus simple que ça n’en a l’air. Mc Cain l’ancien président du comité d’amitié marocco-américain, est le choix du Maroc, puisqu’il semble tourné vers les intérêts du royaume du moins sur le papier, tandis qu’Obama est un ami d’un vieil homme appelé Nelson Mandela. Vous ne voyez toujours pas l’anguille? Fouillez sous roche, où mieux sous sable…Le Sahara!
Oui, c’est un peu tiré par les cheveux, mais c’est une option qui peut se vérifier…On sait tous que Mandela, l’icone mondiale de la liberation des minorités, est un protecteur et défenseur de la cause séparatrice du polisario. Par extention, Obama pourrait être influencé dans ce sens et faire basculer la balance…
Si cette hyppothèse se vérifie, le Maroc croisera les doigts pour que Mc Cain sorte gagnant des urnes…
A reader, Cogito, writes that while he's still thinking, RDB's post has nearly made him change his mind about Obama:
En parlant de ton article à un ami, il vient de me confirmer qu’effectivement c’est le parti républicain qui a toujours été du coté du Maroc en ce qui concerne le dossier du Sahara. Le parti démocrate étant toujours du coté des minorités….
Et moi qui faisait que défendre et espérait qu’Obama soit à la tete des Etats-unis sinon ça serait la catastrophe avec ce Mccain’sh, je me retrouve en train de revoir ma position, par amour pour mon pays, par pragmatisme parce que la priorité pour moi est l’avenir du Maroc avant tout…
I was talking about your article to a friend, and he just confirmed to me that effectively, it's the Republican Party that has always been on Morocco's side when it comes to the Sahara issue.  The Democratic Party has always been on hte side of minorities.
And me, who was defending Obama and hoping he would become the leader of the United States, since otherwise it would be a catastrophe with McCain, I find myself in the process of rethinking my position, for the love of my country, for pragmatism, because the priority for me above all else is the future of Morocco…
But Spy Jones doesn't think Western Sahara is much of an issue:
Un McCain soit-disant pro-Maroc, et qui prône le prolongement indéfini de l’Iraq… Tu trouves ça défendable comme parti pris ??
Je crois qu’il ne faut pas se faire d’illusions, et que la question du Sahara ne sera pas perdue au Maroc à cause d’Obama (Cet ignare de McCain ne fera pas bouger les choses ne serait-ce que d’un iota), et qu’il vaudrait mieux soutenir Obama pour mettre fin à une guerre injuste et cruelle qui a ravagée un pays entier, et qui l’a mise à feu et à sang.
En plus de pouvoir mieux traiter avec la crise financière que ne le ferais McCain, Obama sera moins belliqueux que Bush et consorts, et ne cherchera pas à provoquer une guerre avec l’Iran pour servir les interêts des lobbies militaires.
A so-called pro-Morocco McCain, and one who advocates the indefinite continuation [of an American presence] in Iraq…Do you find that bias defensible?
I think that we musn't have any illusions, that Morocco will not lose on the Sahara question because of Obama (that idiot McCain won't make an iota of difference), and that it would be better to support Obama to put an end to the unjust and cruel war that ravages an entire country, and that has engulfed it in fire and blood.
In addition to being better able to deal with the financial crisis than McCain, Obama will be less aggressive than Bush and his consorts, and won't try to provoke a war with Iran to serve the interests of the military lobbyists.
Belier, a supporter of Ron Paul, writes in the comments that choosing between Obama and McCain is like choosing between Pepsi and Coca-Cola.  “à 2012 peut être!”  “Maybe in 2012!” he writes.
Facebook group: Moroccans for Obama
On the Facebook group, Moroccans for Obama, some Moroccans rallied in support of Obama, others remain cynical about his chances:
Karim, posting from Orlando, FL, writes:
c lui la sollution pr la pai en iraq!! et c lui la sollution pr la survie des américains aussi, ils doivent etre des idiots pr ne pas voter pr lui!!
obama for change …c le seul démocrate qui pourra apporter la paix ds le monde en tt cas pr le moment… jespere qu'il restera ainsi une fois élu président of usa…to be continued
Oui moi aussi je soutien Barrack Oubama j'espère bien qu'il va pas nous décevoir,et qu'il va travailler pour le bien de ce monde.Obama et mille fois mieux que Mc cain = (Mc cayne meno walo)
Moussa, a Moroccan living in Kentucky, writes:
I admire this guy, but in the white america he has no chance. race is a big issue. i lived in kentucky and i am 1000% sure people wont vote for him cuz he is black.
Louarni Ashraf:
they have one chance to prouve that USA is not a racist country …i don't think that it's hard to realize …everybody want to see an african american as a president of the united states of america !! god bless ya nigga !!
Faty Owns You:
It's all false hope.
He surely will be the president…until he gets shot.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Nepal: Celebrating Dashain festival · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bibek Paudal discusses the controversy regarding whether the new Maoist Prime Minister observed Dashain festivities (15 days long national festival of Nepal) or not. He reminds: “Dashain is a Nepalese festival, not a Hindu festival. Calling Dashain anything other than a social-cultural festival is undermining the many unique Nepalese elements it symbolizes.”


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Pakistan: Still ignoring the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

“The politicians in Pakistan religiously issue statements each year bemoaning the plight of the stranded Pakistanis,” Raza Rumi writes about the stranded Pakistanis (Biharis) in Bangladesh and the appalling life they lead as they keep their hopes alive to return to Pakistan.


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Palestine: The 9/11 Truth Movement and Nobel  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Dr. David Ray Griffin and everyone involved in the 9/11 truth movement have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The recipient of the Peace Prize will be announced this Friday, October 10,” announces Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah.


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Japan: Rikimaru Toho, the first manga narrating cantastoria · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

His stage name is Rikimaru Tōhō (東方力丸). He defines himself a “manga [Japanese comics] reader”, and for five years he has been enchanting hundreds of passersby with his performances in the suburbs of western Tokyo.
A legendary performer, Rikimaru Tōhō's popularity is due not to TV or radio shows (although he has participated in several minor programs recently) but to his ability to modify his voice and play the parts of the characters (men, women and children) in the stories he reads, to the emotion he puts in this storytelling, and to the warm and polite way in which he interacts with his listeners. What makes him particularly unique is that he has been able to modernize one figure that is present in many cultures: the figure of the cantastoria who passes on the traditional narrative folktales. The tales that he narrates, however, are the stories from manga — products of modern Japanese popular culture.
At Josei Jōi Jidai (女性上位時代), a blogger writes about when she and her sister attended a manga reading by Rikimaru Tōhō.
梅雨の中休みで好天に恵まれた日曜日。買い物ついでにふらふらと立ち寄った井の頭公園は、ギターを奏でて歌う人あり、刀剣でジャグリングする人ありと休日っぽい雰囲気。その一角でビニールシートにマンガを並べ、傍らに佇むアヤシイ人発見。
ｲﾀ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━ｯ!!
長髪にハチマキ（タオル？）、ヒゲ面・メガネのこの方こそ東方力丸さん。好きな漫画をリクエストすると、セリフから効果音まで力を込めて読み聞かせてくれる「漫読家」です。深夜番組「あらびき団」で見て以来、非常に気になってました！ちょうどカップルが「NANA」を読んでもらっているところで、その後私が目を離した隙に、妹が力丸さんと交渉を成立させ、私も一緒に風呂用のイスに着席。漫画は彼の十八番であろう「北斗の拳」。
「最近浮かれているわたくしですが、力を入れてやらせて頂きます」と丁重な挨拶を述べ、きっちり正座をして漫読スタート。ケンシロウとラオウの死闘、それを見守るリンやバットにユリア。キャラを見事に演じわけ、技が繰り出されると私たちに誌面を近づけたり離したりという演出も。腹の底から出す声が周囲に響き渡り、その迫力にどんどん人が集まってきます。す、すごい！！「北斗の拳」はちゃんと読んだことがないけれど、全巻読破したような満足感があるとかないとか。(´∀｀)
おひねりで妹と一緒に千円を出したら（計二千円）、「いやいや、こんなにもらえません。この千円でお二人でマックでも…」と返されました。なんて律儀なお方でしょう。ますます高感度アップです。最後にはチョコ菓子までくれました。
Here is how the blogger at Jōnetsu no Omosa wa Yoru no Unagi (情熱の重さは夜のウナギ) described their first encounter with Toho Rikimaru-san, in a post from three years ago:
もう何度も見かけていましたが、ちゃんとお金を払って読んでもらった事がなかったので友人Iさんと勇気を出してお願いしました。
「特攻の拓　第一巻」です。[…]
効果音はもちろん凄かったのですが、女の人の声もちゃんとしてくれるのが超面白かったです。
はじめは誰も居なかったのですが。私たちが聞いていると20人くらい集まってきてました。
A blogger at Shūmatsu Kichijōji Tanken (週末吉祥寺探索) is enthusiastic about Rikimaru's performance:
頂いた名刺には「漫読家」と書いてありました。
その名の通り、ずらりと並んで置いてある漫画の
中からリクエストで力丸さんが読んでくれます。
少年、少女漫画など幅広いジャンルがあります。
私がその中でも特に好きなのは北斗の拳です。
「あたたたたたたたたったたたたたあああああああ！！！！！」
と血管が切れそうな勢いで漫画を読んでくれます。
３人ともそれぞれ表現方法に違いはありますが、
人を立ち止まらせ、引き付ける魅力があります。
Last year, Rikimaru Tōhō launched his own blog, and despite his supposed inability to keep any form of diary updated, since he started, he's been constantly updating it with pics and entries about his life and activities.
Here are the two of the first posts in which he introduces himself. In the first post he writes:
ちなみにオイラの活動です。
仕事は事務所からのお仕事や、御依頼頂いた番組、イベントなどにも出演させて頂く他、
普段は下北沢や井の頭公園で漫画を読ませて頂いております。
毎週土曜日・・・下北沢駅南口ガード下　２０時頃～２５時くらいまで
毎週日曜日・・・井の頭公園 野外ステージ前付近　１２時頃～夕方暗くなる前まで
そのほか平日の夜も下北沢では出没するときもございます。
天気によっては井の頭公園の方は遠慮させて頂いている場合もありますが、
下北沢に関しては雨が降ろうと、
雷が脳天に落ちようと（それはそれで面白い光景かもしれないなぁ）やらせて頂いております。
And in another post:
オイラの普通の日常。
朝起きて９９ショップで自炊の食材を買い、
コンビニエンスストアーで立ち読みをし、
古本屋で漫画を買う。
古本屋で漫画を買うと作者さんに印税が入らないだろうから悪い気がするが、
１００円で買えるのは安くて得をした気分になる。
四畳半に帰って、サイモン＆ガーファンクルと、
タイマーズを聞きながら買って来た漫画を読む。
良い作品だ。
是非普段のレパートリーに加えさせていただきたい作品だ。
四畳半で稽古をする。
飯を食う。
丼に白米をよそい
萌やしをさっと煮て
白米の上にたっぷり盛ってやってポン酢を掛けて食う。
原価はバカみたいに安い即席料理だが実にうまい。
ＴＶの国会中継を見ながら稽古をする。
喉の炎症を抑えるステロイドを飲む。
声の出はだいぶ良い。
おじゃる丸を見る。
忍たま乱太郎を見る。
体を洗って歯を磨いて下北沢で漫画を読ませてもらう。
こういった日が一番幸せだ。
Even when he is too busy to write a long and detailed post, Rikimaru Tōhō never forgets to thank the people who stopped by to listen to his manga readings:
どようび、にちようびにマンガよみをみていただいた
“おきゃくさま”“まちのみなさま”
ありがとうございます。
たいへんこうひょうでした。
ありがとうございます。

author: Scilla Alecci


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Sri Lanka: Plights of the displaced people · Global Voices
Rezwan

The recent military operations in the Kilinochchi district in Sri Lanka have led to mass displacements of the civilian population. An eyewitness writes in Groundviews about his personal experience of the plights of the displaced people.


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Taiwan: Government Interferes with Media · Global Voices
David Reid

Michael Turton looks at how the KMT government is attempting to control content at the public media institutions (PTS, RTI and CNA). He follows up with details of the response from the International Federation of Journalists. Claudia Jean gives examples of more broader attacks by the KMT on freedom of speech.

author: David Reid


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Taiwan: Sticker Action · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A website has been set up for bloggers to launch sticker action in Taiwan. A most popular sticker is “this blog doesn't contain melamine!” (a total of 805 stickers counted).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Trinidad & Tobago: Caribbean Sweeps Book Awards  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Antilles, the blog of the Caribbean Review of Books, notes that “the Caribbean is well represented” among the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award winners: “Three of the four categories were won by Caribbean books.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Coconut Water  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian blogger Now is Wow Too recounts an interesting conversation she had with an coconut vendor.


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Tunisia: National Day for Freedom of  Blogging on November 4  · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

Tunisian bloggers are rallying for a National Day for Freedom of Blogging on November 4. The day will coincide with a court hearing for a lawsuit filed by the journalist and blogger Zied El Heni against the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI).
It all started when Tunisian internet  surfers welcomed with happiness the repeal of a ban placed on video sharing sites YouTube and Dailymotion. Many Tunisian bloggers celebrated this repeal of the ban by posting videos of songs downloaded from those two video websites on their blogs. But their happiness was cut short as the repeal did not last more than 24 hours. Very soon, the Tunisians discovered that there was in fact no repeal of the ban at all. Rather, a problem with the software and filters used by the ATI resulted in its failure to block these two video websites. The repeal of the ban, which had been welcomed with such enthusiasm, was actually just an accident and a mistake.
Meanwhile, journalist and blogger El Heni is suing the ATI for the censorship of Facebook, which had lasted for 16 days. The trial will take place on November 4 and as a sign of solidarity with his action, a group of bloggers  decided that this date will henceforth be baptized as a national day for blogging freedom.
Blogger Abunadem, whose blog had been censored more than twice, spearheaded the campaign on Anticensuretounes, collective blog by Tunisian bloggers on anti-censorship. He explains:
Writing on the same blog, Bachbouch further explains:
Tunisian blogs became the main supplier of unbiased news for Tunisians living inside and abroad. Blogging became a responsibility and bloggers are now citizens who can create jeopardy to any government agency trying to cover and shadow information that doesn’t project a picture of a stable and democratic, government of a country experiencing a fast economic growth.
That in mind, we decided that, as we took this heavy responsibility on our shoulders, we are entitled to a law that protects us from any abuse and unlawful censorship. This law should also shield us from any unlawful investigation and arrest due to the content of our blogs as long as it doesn’t break any law acknowledged by our constitution. This same law will punish any person or entity that shall intentionally break it.
Zied El Heni’s symbolic law suite against “Tunisian Internet Agency” inspired us to launch our movement and decided to have November 4th, the date of the first hearing, as a National Day For Freedom of Blogging. This movement was immediately embraced by most if not all the Tunisian bloggers who will be the force that fuels and inspires this movement.
We will be reaching out parties of our government soon with all our demands hoping for a great cooperation.
The result is an overwhelming support from bloggers, such as Mayadine, who writes:
To support the initiative, Facebook user Bassem Bouguerra created a Facebook group entitled: November 4th: A National Day for Blogging Freedom. Since its launch on October 1, more than 330 members have so far joined the call. This relatively great number can really be considered a great achievement, in a country where people have been raised in fear of speaking out freely.  This show of support is also remarkable considering that many people avoid joining groups dealing with matters of freedom of expression and other controversial issues. They fear persecution and jail.
Members on the Facebook group are exchanging ideas about the best methods to overcome censorship and limits on freedom of expression.
Seifeddine Ben Fatthallah, for instance, writes:
“I hope that the trial against ATI will not be only Zied El Heni's trial against ATI but it will be rather the trial of all Tunisians against  ATI. It will not be only for internet users. In fact, the problem is larger than it seems to be as it is going beyond all limits. I hope that the information about limits on freedom of expression will reach every Tunisian citizen.”
Hayett Abed explains that Tunisian law guarantees freedom of expression. He notes:
Tunisian law guarantees freedom of expression and this freedom should be through all available means. Because Tunisian law lacks stipulations about blogging and because the Internet is part of new media and modern technologies, the government's approval to introduce such technologies to our countries is equivalent to its approval and acceptance to the use of the different services available on internet, including the different websites and blogs created by internet users.
And while it is really sad to see so many blogs and websites under the TAI's siege, and witness how Tunisia continues to violate freedom of expression while claiming at international gatherings that it is a leader of freedom and human rights, it is inspiring and encouraging to see so many Tunisians voices rising to say No to oppression and barriers on freedom of expression.

author: Lina Ben Mhenni


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Ukraine: Voting Again – For the New Ones, and Against Them All · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Oct. 8, president Victor Yushchenko announced the dissolution of the Ukrainian parliament. The snap election – the third parliamentary vote in Ukraine since the 2004 Orange Revolution – has been scheduled for Dec. 7.
Here is what some Ukrainian bloggers think of the political situation in their country.
LJ user logvynenko wrote this (UKR) about the general incompetence of the main political players represented in the Ukrainian parliament – Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc (BYuT), Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc (NUNS) and the Party of Regions (PR):
[…] We've already seen the collaboration of all possible configurations of the political forces that are present in the parliament. BYuT+PR, NUNS+PR, BYuT+NUNS. None of these collaborations resulted in getting the following issues resolved:
- [Lawmakers’ immunity from prosecution] has not been lifted – a promise made by practically [every political force]
- Tax cuts haven't been introduced, even though they were promising to do it at least regarding the [value-added tax]
And so on. I can name dozens of these [unresolved] issues. But these [two] are the most popular.
So, I don't see a point in [re-electing] the lawmakers who worked in [the parliament of this convocation]. Because it'll change nothing. When it is necessary to decide on important issues, they are fighting for power and everything else  – and this is all they are doing.
I am electing them so that they worked, and instead they are wasting their time on [popular political TV talk shows].
I AM NOT VOTING FOR ANY OF THE PARTIES THAT ARE NOW PRESENT IN THE PARLIAMENT
And don't try to scare me that this will help [Victor Yanukovych of the Party of Regions] – just don't.
[…]
Do you want a new life? Let's elect different people.
There were some among LJ user logvynenko‘s readers who were not aware of any new political forces that could be considered a good alternative to the already established ones:
anatolkukula:
Do you have info on whether someone new is going to appear (someone truly new)?
There were those who favored being as careful about the “new” forces as about the “old” ones:
duvosvit:
I agree with the idea and the slogan, but most likely I won't vote for the parties that are not in the parliament now but have “familiar faces” [among their candidates].
[…]
ot_taka_ja:
Voting for new [party] names isn't the same as voting for new people. But the idea is good. […]
There were some who planned to simply skip the vote:
gothic_inside:
I haven't been voting at all since 2003. And I don't regret it – it's a waste of time, and I'm just too lazy to go there to check the ‘against all’ [square on the ballot].
And there were those who were going to vote against all candidates, an option available to Ukrainian voters:
gapusia:
I am for voting against all! The new ones do not have enough time [to gain impact], while the old ones should be in jail… Skipping the vote means showing [that you don't care], and then you don't have the right to be critical of those in power. But ‘against all’ – that's a stance!
There is even an LJ community for Ukrainian ‘against all’ voters – proty_vsih. LJ user chapeye asked this question (UKR) there on Oct. 9:
What's the difference?
Mathematically, politically, morally, etc.:
- to vote against all;
– to [skip the vote];
– to [leave with your ballot];
– to spoil the ballot with obscenities.
I'm serious. Is there a difference? […]
Here is one of the responses:
mrs_jk:
It's necessary to go for the sake of the turnout. Then it would be more difficult to falsify the vote, fewer chances for the radical marginals, more chances that the election would be valid.
‘Against all’ – a way to declare your position. Basically, this wouldn't harm anyone, but it's one of the ways to express your protest.
Spoiling the ballot – the protest wouldn't be heard, because in the overall statistics it would be registered as nothing but spoiled and there'd be no way to tell if it happened accidentally or not. With the ‘against all’ vote, it is definitely not accidental.
As for the third item, as far as I understand it, it's the same as not showing up for the vote. The only difference is that the commission members would have to fill out a missing ballot form, and it'd take them longer to do the count […].
In another post (UKR, RUS) in the proty_vsih LJ community, LJ user alex_rubanov wrote that he couldn't find the ‘against all’ voting results from the previous election and asked whether these votes were being counted at all. LJ user dr_dick replied:
They count them :)))) They do count them :))) But they publicize [these results] somewhat reluctantly. And they are really not into commenting them :))))
It's growing by approximately one percent with each new vote since 2004.
I guess it was 1.7 [percent] in 2006, and 2.63 [percent] in 2007. I may be wrong about the fractions, can't say exactly from the top of my head. Let's overcome the [3-percent] voting barrier, while [we still can, while the ‘against all’ option is still there].
I know the exact figure for the ‘against all’ vote in Kyiv in 2007 – 4.44 percent. Nationwide, it was less.


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XDR-TB: Photographer Brings Emerging Disease Into Focus · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

In 2007 renowned war photographer and photojournalist James Nachtwey received a TED Prize, granting him $100,000 and one wish to change the world. Nachtwey's wish was to share a vital story in an innovative way using news photography. Last week his wish came true with the unveiling of his photos, which show the global impact of XDR-TB (extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis), and the launch of a multimedia public health campaign.
XDR-TB was brought to the world's attention in 2006, after it was identified in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is a mutation of tuberculosis (TB), a contagious bacterial disease that usually affects the lungs. TB, which spreads through the air, is a major cause of illness and death worldwide, particularly in Asia and Africa. In 2006 there were 9.2 million new cases of TB and 1.7 million deaths from the disease.
TB is treatable, but inadequate treatment can lead to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the disease, such as XDR-TB. This type of TB is resistant to all of the most effective anti-TB drugs, severely limiting treatment options for people with XDR-TB and resulting in a much higher death rate. This video provides an overview of TB and XDR-TB. It's unknown how widespread XDR-TB is, but it's estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 new cases surface every year, and XDR-TB has been found in 49 counties around the world. Scientists are calling  XDR-TB a serious emerging threat to public health.
Ridzuan, blogging on Ridz.sg, expresses dismay over the unnecessary emergence of XDR-TB:
“There is a problem when a disease that’s both preventable and curable is allowed to mutate to become a strain that’s extremely resistant to the drugs that we use today.”
Nachtwey traveled to countries such as India, Cambodia, South Africa, and Lesotho to put faces to this problem. His photos and the accompanying XDR-TB Web site were launched on October 3. This short video shows 37 of his black and white photos, revealing XDR-TB's terrible impact.
The release of this video and the unveiling of Nachtwey's photos, have created a buzz among the art and public health communities. tunneling thru’ talks about the emotional impact of his photos.
“I don’t know anyone who is suffering from it [XDR-TB], but that is no excuse for me to flip through an album or site and walk away unaffected. There is no personal angle to this. Just a need to share and see if it makes a difference. The pictures within spoke more emotions than I knew I was capable of.”
Bloggers are also discussing how Nachtwey's images are motivation to take action, and the power of his photos to create change. Luke Freeman, blogging on A Shoe Box Full of Pictures, says:
“The photography is powerful, yet the purpose behind the images gives this project even more meaning. These are not just images. Work like this will change the world. Photography, coupled with a selfless, heart-felt response has the power to affect change.”
Since TB is a major cause of death among people with HIV/AIDS, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, concerns also exist about XDR-TB's potential impact on those who are HIV positive. There were an estimated 710,000 HIV positive TB patients globally in 2006. Journal of the Plague Years points out that despite this, only one percent of those diagnosed with HIV are tested for TB worldwide, and that TB testing must become routine for HIV positive people.
“Doctors, scientists and public health experts are warning that a worldwide pandemic of extremely drug resistant tuberculosis will be the next big ‘surprise’ to emanate from the AIDS epidemic, if, as we move forward we are not informed by our look at the past.”
In My Heart's in Accra…, Ethan Zuckerman, a co-founder of Global Voices Online, discusses other steps needed to stop XDR-TB.
“Nachtwey’s intervention is a timely one – the ways to prevent XDR-TB from becoming a pervasive global threat have to do with strengthening healthcare systems in vulnerable nations. If hospitals and community health organizations can diagnose TB early and ensure compliance with treatment, the disease shouldn’t progress to multiple drug resistance. But improving developing world hospitals is a difficult and expensive task. Eliminating pharmaceutical fakes may be even more difficult. Fake prescription drugs are extremely common in developing nations.”
Sproutingforth, blogging on Urban Sprout, adds that the lack of funding is a major issue.
“Reversing the TB epidemic is a political issue as much as it is a health issue. The World Health Organization estimates that it will cost approximately $6.7 billion annually to reverse the TB epidemic. Currently, only slightly more than half of that is projected to be available at current funding levels. This gap is costing millions of lives.”
Nachtwey’s photographs will be on display throughout October in public spaces spanning all seven continents, including cities such as New York, Paris, Melbourne, Seoul, Hong Kong, and London.
Stop XDR-TB logo posted by  ElseKramer on Flickr.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Armenia: Peace Corps Volunteer Blogs · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

While the number of blogs on or based in the South Caucasus is often put in the tens of thousands, the actual number of bloggers is significantly lower. Moreover, the vast majority based on the ground are usually situated in the capital cities of the three republics making up the region. Low Internet penetration standing at just 5.8 percent in Armenia, 12.7 percent in Azerbaijan, and 7.8 percent in Georgia as of 2007 makes the situation doubly worse.
It's not surprising, therefore, that most bloggers are part of a small and somewhat exclusive group of foreigners and locals working in the media or civil society and international organizations. Most are Yerevan-based and information from outside the capital is lacking as a result. However, in recent years the U.S. Peace Corps has allowed its volunteers to set up blogs to update friends and family back home.
That wasn't always the case, as the Unfocused Wanderer detailed on one of the first PCV blogs from Armenia in January 2006.
I apologize for not posting before, but the internet connection in Berd where I'm assigned to an NGO is very poor at its best. I've been somewhat concerned with the Peace Corps policy on posting information on the internet as well, but I've gotten over that lately. So, what I'm going to try and do is go chronologically from training until now until I can simply point my friends and family to this blog to keep everyone updated on what's going on here in Armenia.
Since then, PCV blogs have begun to offer a rare insight into life in the regions of the country. Mark in Armenia, for example, talks about the problem of giardia, “a nasty parasite that reproduces in our small intestine.”
[…] I have had a couple horrific days of stomach problem, but I haven’t been lucky enough to get giardia so far. One of my friends, a fellow A-16 (since we are the 16thgroup of volunteers to come to Armenia (‘A’), starting in 1992 till now, 16 years of volunteers helping Armenia), had giardia and he look deathly ill after having it for 2 days. His face was stark white and he looked like he was now only made up of 60% water, before he was a fairly big guy from Wisconsin. I think he is better now, but I’ve been told everyone gets giardia during their tour in Armenia.
Moore From The Source introduces its readers to “nightlife” in the country's second largest city of Gyumri.
[…] nightlife is not really something that I get on a regular basis. Really, unless I’m in Yerevan, there isn’t much of what we would call in the states a “nightlife”. But, that’s not to say that there aren’t exciting things that happen at night. So, I’ve decided to sketch out a few nocturnal events that have happened recently.
1. Wolves! In a daring effort to reclaim the land for nature’s original tenants, a pack of wolves deftly sneaked into the city of Gyumri under the cover of night’s darkness. The citizens of the city awoke to the terrified sounds of cattle being slaughtered and devoured by the hundreds. When morning dawned, a total of 300 head of cattle had had the likes of life removed from their bones, courtesy of countless encounters with the vengeful jaws of relentless wolves, who incidentally turned out to be fairly efficient at what they do. […] So that’s exciting.
The blogs also unintentionally introduce oversight and transparency into regional development projects as well as highlight some of the needs. A recent PCV who left Armenia this summer wrote about his project in Noyemberian late last year.
I haven’t mentioned much about the school and our handicap accessibility projects lately, as our work from the ramps is pretty much done. The biggest step, which the school director and I started discussing over a year ago, is renovating their bathroom and sewer system to make them accessible (and usable, really). Right now, students and teachers have to go to the bathroom outside, which is horrible in the winter and completely unsanitary, as there’s no place to wash up afterwards. And considering the whole facility is on a muddy slope, it redefines the word “inaccessible”.
Others, such as Staci in Armenia, simply detail daily life in the regions of the country.
It’s starting to get cold here and there is snow on the surrounding mountain tops. It won’t be long until it’s on the ground here. Everyone in the village keeps telling me how long and cold the winters are, when I tell them there’s snow where I live in the United States they seem to think I’ll survive here. The difference is the lack of central heating and heat in the buses and cars. The wind chill is also a factor here. On the bright side they make great quilts here that are filled with wool, not processed but actual clumps of sheep’s hair. They are really warm and even though the bedroom is cold sometimes, the blanket really keeps you warm. If nothing else I’ll just wrap myself in one of these all winter.
At times of political turmoil, however, it is often impossible to avoid commenting on the situation. During the recent post-election unrest in Armenia, for example, Kyle’s Journey in Armenia updated its readers back home.
With the country essentially on lock-down, Peace Corps has put us on high alert and is requiring us to stay at our sites until further notice. Outside of Yerevan (and Noyemberyan is no exception), things are functioning as normal, and we have not had any problems with civil unrest here or in our region at all. Schools and businesses are open, and we are going forward with life, albeit with a black cloud looming over the country. […]
[…] We will see in the next couple weeks, but until then life will remain tense and uncomfortable. It can only get a lot better, or a lot worse, from here. Hopefully this State of Emergency will do the former and at least keep people off the streets. It has, of course, disrupted some things in my life (for instance, my friend was supposed to come teach a class here this week, and my skiing trip was canceled) but I am safe and not worried about the situation getting worse here in Noyemberyan.
Interestingly, the blogger was later instructed by the Peace Corps to password protect the entry so that only those who requested access could read it. However, the password was revealed a few days later.
[…] Due to the delicate political situation in the country, and Peace Corps’ role as a non-politically affiliated organization, I was asked to password protect my last post about the situation in Yerevan, and any future posts about politics in the country. The password is, and always will be, my last name. […]
Blogs have also been used to discuss the activities and purpose of the Peace Corps in countries such as Armenia. An account of a rare visit from a local Armenian based in Yerevan to a PCV site in the north east of the country posted on my previous blog prompted much discussion and an opportunity for volunteers to counter any criticism leveled against them in the comments section of the post.
There are 80 of us all over Armenia. Americans who are not Armenian who speak decent Armenian and are here to simply help. I would like for people […] to come see the work that can be done. More importantly, the work we are doing is not about resources but about change. It is about throwing off the blanket of Soviet era thinking and being cheerleaders to help our communities improve themselves. […] Resources, although nice, are not required for change and improvement. Hard work, community and a vision for a brighter future is all that is needed to improve rural Armenia.
Come one, come all. Find a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural area of Armenia and see the country as you would have never experienced it other wise regardless of your ethnic heritage.
And, as a sign that blogs are now being taken seriously by the Peace Corp itself, posts from many of these blogs are handily available from one source — A PCV Wiki at http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/journal/. There is also a list of past and present PCV blogs from Armenia at http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/am.html.


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Bahrain: Credit crunch explained · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Evil Odd explains the credit crunch in simple terms: “There are three sheep in the farm. One carries inedible, infected meat. The other carries somewhat edible, but mostly tasteless meat. And the third carries what the rest of us know as good meat. The farmer realises that he cannot sell his sick sheep in the markets…and realises that if he sells packaged meat and uses a mixture of all three sheep in each package, that he will get most value out of his investment.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: The pleasures and perils of studying abroad · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Although Bahrain has a number of universities, both government and private, many Bahrainis have the opportunity to go abroad to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate studies, often by means of scholarships. One of the first problems they face is that few people know where Bahrain is. In this post we hear about the experiences of three bloggers who have just gone abroad for higher studies, to Japan, Britain and the United States, and a fourth blogger who has been studying in India for some time.
Cradle of Humanity has just gone to study in Cleveland, Ohio, and she is feeling a little frustrated:
I sometimes dread it when people ask where I come from.  Not more than 10% of people who hear “Bahrain” as answer have some sort of idea where that country might be, but that’s not my cause of annoyance. For those who know that Bahrain is indeed in the Persian Gulf, there is one thing that comes to mind – wealth. Some people might ask, but it’s those who assume who annoy me the most. For the past two months I made a lot of friends, mainly Indians given the demographics of the student body in my program. Despite the fact that most of these are actually Indian elites, owners of chains of businesses and are wealthy themselves – they love to point out that I must be wealthy. When at some occasions I said just that, it appeared that some have the notion that we’re unnecessarily wealthy, that is, it’s undeserved wealth; while theirs is hard worked for. Oh, and they use Bahrain and Dubai interchangeably.
-    Public transport here is not very good, but getting a car is very expensive. I would’ve got one
–    Used or new?
–    Used, I’m only here for a short period of time.
–    Get a new one it’s better
–    It’ll be much more expensive
–    But you come from Bahrain, you can buy a car!
-    You mean you’re not rich?
–    Actually, no.
–    Everyone in Dubai was rich.
–    I don’t know about that, but not everyone in Bahrain is rich.
Yagoob, who has just arrived in Nagoya, has to deal with something even more basic – language:
To be honest, the culture shock has hit me very hard! Hardly anyone I’ve met so far had the slightest knowledge of the English language. I feel like a 21st century caveman, trying to communicate with the most primitive of ways, hand waving and speaking English in a very slow and loud way. […] My dorm room is quite Japanese, extremely tiny and everything is earthquake proof so it’s like living in an aluminium sardine can. Many of the things I have around the room seem to have instructions on it, but all in Japanese so I have no idea how they work so far! […] The subway is quite reminiscent to the London Tube except that it’s much cleaner and a person like me sticks out like a sore thumb (as if a tall fat sweaty hairy Arab wouldn’t stick out anywhere). […] The people of Nagoya seem to have never met a Bahraini before, at least that’s what the people at my dorm office say, although I am surprised that they know where it is (maybe because of the many hard fought battles on the football pitch over the last few years) and when I chatted with one of my Chinese neighbours, ‘Andy’, he said, “Aah, you are from West Asia!” I guess I am…especially when I’m in the Far East.
MuJtAbA AlMoAmEn studies in India, and tells us what he likes about being there:
Bride Zone has just arrived in the UK to study, and she is missing home:


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Brunei: Cell phone cake · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A birthday gift for whatiate2day from Brunei:  a cell phone birthday cake


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Brunei: Railway line, 1952 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Daily Brunei Resources writes about a 1952 Brunei Darussalam Annual Report which mentioned an old railway line in Brunei.


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Dominican Republic: 1st twitter meetup · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Claudia Chez Abreu [es] writes about the upcoming Twitter.do meet-up. They still haven't decided on a date, but they are working on a spreadsheet to estimate number of participants who would show up and the best date for the event. The plan is to go bowling, so if you are a twitterer in Dominican Republic and would like to catch up on all the details, subscribe to the @dominicanos twitter feed, then go to Claudia's blog and sign up!

author: Juliana Rincón Parra