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Israel: World Cup Bonanza – Back to the Game · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Dear Readers of Global Voices, however much I wanted to bring you a post on the World Cup from the Israeli blogosphere, I am foiled by a minor dilemma. You see, it seems that most Israeli World Cup fans are too busy watching the games to blog about it. So I bring you a sampling of three.
Cultural Perspectives
First is David of the Israelity blog. David identifies himself as “one of those one percent of the Israeli male population” who does not watch, and is thus able to report back on the excitement. He writes:
Photo Credit: Marcp_dmoz via Flickr
“Israel, which hasn’t qualified for the seemingly endless tournament since 1970, goes crazy at World Cup time. Restaurants and bars offer special deals and fill up with rowdy patrons, and if you go outside in your neighborhood, you can hear the irritating buzz of the Vuvuzelas, the South African noisemakers in the shape of trumpets which fans blast through every game, coming out of the TVs of every house on the block…
Even people who don’t normally follow soccer join the bandwagon at World Cup time, rooting for their native country or a favorite of theirs. The topic of whom should Israelis get behind was treated with irreverence by Jerusalem Post reporter Gil Hoffman last week, who went through all 32 participating countries, and their affronts to Israel and the Jewish people, before tongue in cheek concluding that the only teams worth backing were the US, Holland and Denmark.”
David concludes:
“If everyone likes something so much, there has to be something wrong with it. I’ll wait until 2019 when Israel makes it in again.”
Our second cultural ambassador is Benji Lovitt of What War Zone??? who does not add much insight to our investigation (perhaps he had to get back to the game), but simply posts an entry entitled:
“If the US Wins the World Cup, I'm Naming my First-Born Vuvuzela.”
My dear readers, you are free to root for the US or not. I'll update you in 9 months as to whether Lovitt stood by his claim.
And what would the sugar of sports and entertainment be without the spice of regional conflict?
Elder of Ziyon responds to the news that Israeli World Cup coverage is being provided in Hebrew and Arabic. He references an article in Palestine Today [Ar], writing:
“Gazans are scrambling to find ways that they can watch the World Cup. Al Jazeera is scrambling its World Cup signal and requires that viewers pay for the right to watch it. It is unclear from the article whether Gazans are unable or unwilling to pay, so they are trying alternative means to receive the games…
The article then mentions that “the occupying power” is providing World Cup coverage in Arabic for free, alongside its Hebrew coverage. It is hiring senior Arab sports analysts for these broadcasts.
But rather than showing appreciation for this move, the article says that this is being done to steal Arab viewers away from the Al Jazeera coverage!”
…Arabs might privately appreciate and respect what Israel does, but the culture is set up so that it is inconceivable that this private appreciation will ever translate into the public sphere.
[For a link to the article referenced, please see the original blog post.]
Mattjew of Blogs of Zion, posting in 2008 in a long build-up to the 2010 World Cup festivities, offers us an historical perspective. He teaches us that Israel's only official foray into World Cup play was in the Mexican games of 1970, but that we were defeated in the first round. Israel's next taste of championship play was in the finals of 2006 in Germany, but the team failed to make the qualifying rounds.
As an addendum shedding light on Arab and Israeli play, Mattjew adds:
“Groupings for the World Cup soccer qualifying matches depend on location. It is obvious that Israel has been lumped into European soccer play since 1948 because of one reason, FIFA is too nervous to handle and be responsible for a potential match between an Arab or Muslim country against the State of Israel. The Arab nations have always had trouble playing the European top notch national teams whereas Israel can hold their own and have proven so in 1970 and 2005. If Israel were in their rightful groupings they probably would have made it to the Finals of World Cup play many times in the past 60 years.”
Bnei Sakhnin – Team Logo
Strangely, Israel's World Cup blog has been silent since May. Their last entry was a review of the film “After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United,” which chronicles the story of a mixed Arab and Jewish soccer team that won the European State Cup in 2004 (the same team referenced above). Author Ibracadabra explains:
“The film asks…what’s next for a team fielding Arab, Jewish, and foreign-born players, owned by an Arab, coached by a Jew – and symbolically representing the over 1.4 million Arabs who are citizens of Israel?”
He speaks to the universality of the film, to which any devoted fan can relate:
“Soccer clubs and rivalries are rooted in politics. In religion. In cultural identity. We can’t escape that. And in this film, [Director Christopher] Browne doesn’t attempt to escape that. But the film does a surprisingly amazing job of actually not letting politics take over. And that’s refreshing. Sure, the backdrop is a conflict in the Middle East but the film focuses on the little things – the obsessive fan, the under stress Captain (Abbas Suan), the owner with pride, the local small town broadcaster / anchorman who is a strange figure of fun – “The day of the game, I can not even eat, I can not even speak, only smoking and drinking coffee,” – and the coach stuck in the middle of it all…
As for this author, I'm signing off with the sound of vuvuzelas ringing in my ears. To read more, check out Global Voices Online's special World Cup coverage section.
1. Real Madrid stadium (2009) by Marcp_Dmoz via Flickr with Creative Commons license
2. Sakhnin United (Bnei Sakhnin) team logo sourced from Wikimedia Commons with Creative Commons license


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Poland: Initial Microblog Coverage of the Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Sylwia Presley

The first round of the presidential elections in Poland finished at 8 PM tonight. You can see profiles of all the candidates, as well as the initial results of a poll, on this Gazeta.pl website [PL]. According to this poll, Bronisław Komorowski received an estimated 45.7% of the votes, which puts him only a few percent away from winning the elections in this first round. Jarosław Kaczyński, the brother of the late president Lech Kaczyński, is said to have received 33.2% of the votes. Grzegorz Napieralski, with his 13.2% of the votes, comes in the third place.
Next to the preliminary results released by the mainstream media, we are looking at reactions emerging on microblogging services. Both on Twitter and on its Polish mirror service, Blip.pl, people are expressing their initial thoughts about the announced results under #wybory [elections] hashtag.
Many of those who did not vote are re-tweeting @ChrisApril, who posted [PL] his view in the form of a photo featuring all the candidates’ names crossed out:
My photo of the day: http://htxt.it/MkSh #elections
‘I do not give a shit about you. None of you is worth my vote’
A few users question the quality of exit poll predictions. @lecrerro points out [PL]:
Not the methodology but the very fact that something like polls exist is unacceptable. I suggest deciding whether it's a poll or the elections.
@michio is also questioning [PL] the accuracy of the announced results:
WHERE IS THE REPORT OF INDEPENDENT OBSERVERS #ELECTIONS
Another Twitter user, @jacekgalka, points out [PL] the fact that the actual results are not available yet:
oh fun. 3 hrs after the elections and we still cannot be certain who won and if there will be the second round. Whether he won with 5 or 13 is a huge difference.
Others start commenting on the announced results. Some, like @szwalowski, refer [PL] to the less popular candidates:
It's sad that my candidate lost even to Korwin-Mikke! #elections
Others criticize choices of those citizens who support the leading candidates. @sweetdreams is harsh on the region which supported Kaczyński [PL]:
Lublin area..SHAME ON YOU. Another #elections, and you are still supporting the Kaczyński brothers.  F@@@@@ backyard of PiS party:/
Other voices speculate about the actual results. @maleństwo points out [PL]:
#elections really interested whether Komorowski would win… He is the lesser evil out of the two in my opinion.
@darekespl agrees with her, linking to the previous blip [PL]:
http://blip.pl/s/98043436 I must say I will also go for lesser evil during the second round #elections
As discussions continue, it's worth following the hashtags for the three leading candidates, too: #komorowski, #kaczynski and #napieralski. The official results will be published as soon as the counting of the votes is finalized. The second round of the elections is planned for July 4.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Sylwia Presley


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Russia: Analysis of Hacker Attacks On Bloggers · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Over the last five years, more than 40 RuNet bloggers have become targets of hacker attacks, most of which were carried out by a group of hackers named The Brigade of Hell. The hackers’ targets have been both political and commercial bloggers. After defacing and deleting content of their victims, hackers have received no punishment. Moreover, it's been recognized that the group receives orders from high-ranking government officials when employed to attack political bloggers.
The Brigade of Hell, a territorially-dispersed network consisting of nearly 20 bloggers and IT-specialists, is headed by a Germany-based hacker who calls himself Hell (also known as Helloween, Torquemada, Hacker Hell, or Great Hacker Hell). According to Vladimir Pribylovski [EN], a renowned dissident, historian, political analyst, and the main investigator of hacker attacks on bloggers, the group is coordinated by Timofei Shevyakov [RUS], a lead analyst of the pro-Kremlin resource politonline.ru and a former employee of the Foundation for Effective Politics [EN], the main pro-Kremlin political think tank.
A screenshot of the site "Virtual Inquisition", the main medium of hacker 'Hell'.
The first attacks began at the end of 2005 and were initially carried out by Hell and another highly-skilled hacker, Kazakhstan-based Yuri Makhno [RUS] (also known as maxho_mactep, mactep_maxho). The first hacker attacks were performed in two steps. First, a hacker would get access to the blog (most of the hacked accounts were based on LiveJournal), deface it, and delete the content. Then, another hacker would contact the victim offering help in restoring access to the blog in order to gain the victim's trust. Everything would happen within several hours of the hacking action, so the blogging platform's technical support had little or no time to intervene. After the initial attacks, LiveJournal started to make backups for all the blogs it hosted.
As the Russian election period was approaching (the parliamentary election in December 2007, the presidential election in March 2008), the activity of the hacker group rose exponentially. Eighteen of the 43 known hacker attacks took place during 2007. Both liberal and conservative political bloggers were attacked (including a nationalist politician Viktor Alksnis [EN], as well as a number of websites of the liberal “Yabloko” [EN] party). At the same time, journalists and investigative bloggers were attacked (e.g., a top-ranking blogger Andrei Malgin [RUS], or Yelena Tokareva, executive editor of the online tabloid stringer.ru). A full list of hacked accounts with dates of the attacks and background on the Brigade of Hell is available here [RUS].
Another case, when a hacker attack was used for a political reason, was the Russian-Georgian war of August 2008. The blog of Oleg Panfilov [RUS], a Russian journalist who took the Georgian side in the conflict, was hacked two weeks after the start of the war. Later, Panfilov himself had to move to Georgia due to personal security reasons: he had received several threats of physical reprisal.
The blog of Vladimir Varfolomeev [EN], deputy executive editor of the liberal radio station Echo Moskvy, was hacked after a critical post on Russian economy and censorship practiced in Russian newspapers: he had claimed that newspapers were forbidden to use the word “crisis” and to write about the recession. A couple of months later, the exchange rate of the Russian ruble rose almost twice towards the U.S.. dollar, while the country's economy faced a downfall as a part of the global recession [EN]. Varfolomeev later explained [RUS] the attack:
Кто-то считает, что взлом блога готовился давно. Скорее всего, так и было – сигнальчики в виде соответствующих угроз поступали периодически.
С другой стороны, думаю, последней каплей стал недавний пост о кремлёвской финансовой цензуре, уж слишком большой и серьёзный отклик он вызвал.
Most of the hijacking cases were carried out through e-mail hacking. The New Times explained [RUS] how it worked: hackers were combining technical and “social” methods of hacking, researching their targets, then hijacking e-mail accounts with the help of additional questions (mother maiden's name, pet's name, etc.), and then attacking blog accounts.
Explanations of hacker attacks were often posted at the ‘official’ website of the hacker group called Virtual Inquisition [RUS] (the site seems to be authentic). The language of the site is a highly transformed Russian Internet slang with lots of cursing and personal threats towards earlier and potential future victims.
However, by the end of 2009, hacker attacks stopped. Not for a long time, though: in spring 2010, they resumed. This time, they were aimed at commercial bloggers (those who earn money by promoting certain products or services). In March 2010, the blog of Igor Bigdanov, one of the top Ukrainian bloggers, was hijacked [EN]. Somewhat later, the blog of another top-ranking paid blogger Maxim Sviridenkov was hijacked and defaced [EN]. Hackers also attacked Sviridenkov's supporter Renata Guseletova, who declared publicly that hackers should be prosecuted. The attacks on the blog and Facebook account of journalist Igor Maltsev took place next [EN].
After the attack, Sviridenkov called for justice [RUS], especially considering the fact that the alleged hacker lived on the territory of the European Union (several victims spotted German IP-addresses of several attacks) – he asked his readers to spread the news about the attack. To back up his words with actions, Sviridenkov filed a complaint [RUS] with the Russian police.
Several conclusions can be made. First, every blogger (both in Russia and elsewhere) is a potential target of blog hijacking as long as the Brigade of Hell exists. Currently hackers enjoy impunity, while bloggers can only resort to tightening blog and e-mail security, but cannot rely on legal enforcement. Second, currently the hacker group is not receiving orders to attack political bloggers, but is spending its time on commercial cases. However, this is likely to change closer to the upcoming elections. Third, the most significant hacker methods are social – bloggers who deal with controversial issues should be careful about the information they leave about themselves on the Web.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Africa: Africans need CSR · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Zulu Mathabo writes an article inspired by the poor performance of African soccer giants in the current FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010. He argues that The African natives need CSR (Consistency, Self-Discipline, Resolution).

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: Digital Citizen Indaba 5.0 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The theme for the fifth annual Digital Citizen’s Indaba (DCI) at Rhodes University in Grahamstown is “Africa’s Underdevelopment: Digital Citizens Talk Back.”


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Africa: The African Peering and Interconnection Forum 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The African Peering and Interconnection Forum 2010 will be held in Nairobi on the 11th and the 12th of August 2010. The landmark event has the theme of “Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection”.


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Bahamas: At a Loss · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Weblog Bahamas is concerned about the government's apparent inability to deal with the crime situation.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bolivia: Aymara New Year · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog Letras Alteñas [es] has posted two videos showing the celebration of the Aymara New Year in the city of Tiahuanacu.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cameroon: On Cameroon’s World Cup exit · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon became the first team to be knocked-out of the World Cup after a 1-2 defeat to Denmark. Here is a tactical perspective from Cameroonian blogger George Fominyen.


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China: Private health care  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tessa Thorniley from DANWEI blogs about the development of private health care business in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Silence about gambling crackdown? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Angry Chinese Blogger explains the rationality of China-watchers in reporting Chinese government action, taking the recent gambling crackdown as an example.


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China: The citizens’ pledge · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

C. Custer from China Geek translated a citizens’ pledge written by a blogger, Tiger Temple, and circulated around the Internet. The pledge is a moral statement against social and political corruption.


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Colombia: Beauty Queen falls from Molested Mare · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Diarionocturno brings us citizen video from a regional Colombian parade: Keeping calm was impossible for this beauty queen in Andalucia, Colombia as the mare she was riding during a festival turned out to be in heat and was courted by a stallion who tried to mount both beauty queen and mare.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Costa Rica: Resident Physicians on Strike · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Conejitos Suicidas [es] writes about a strike by resident physicians in Costa Rica who claim that Social Security “violates the rights of future specialists in various fields of medicine” [es]. The blogger asks the residents on strike to reconsider their attitude and the government and the citizenry to defend Social Security.


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East Timor: Expansion of the Energy Sector under Discussion · Global Voices
Janet Gunter

The past months in East Timor have revealed serious tensions between Timorese leaders, Australia, and Woodside, the multinational company hoping to profit from new petroleum resources in Timorese territory.
Don Voelte, the CEO of Woodside Petroleum, visited Dili last month, and was not warmly received by the Timorese government including Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. President Ramos Horta broke ranks from the Government and at least met with Voelte.
At issue is how to develop new petroleum resources in the Timor Sea south of the country.
East Timor was accruing revenue from taxes on oil exploitation in the Timor Sea south of its territory even before its formally recognized independence in 2002. The total tax revenue from this oil reserve is estimated to top out around $8 billion during the life of the oil reserve (discussed here).
Flickr User United Nations Photo, CC
But there is a potentially huge reserve of natural gas nearby in the Greater Sunrise field, and with increasing global demand for liquified natural gas (LNG), East Timor is hoping for a massive second windfall from the Timor Sea.
Timorese NGO La'o Hamutuk cites on its new blog Woodside's 2009 Annual Report in relation to the LNG
The Sunrise LNG Project involves the development of the Sunrise and Troubadour gas fields, collectively known as Greater Sunrise, located offshore, approximately 450 km north-west of Darwin, Northern Territory. […] The Governments of Timor–Leste and Australia will receive an equal share (50% each) of government upstream revenues from the development of the Greater Sunrise fields. This revenue will deliver long-term, stable and significant cash flow to Timor-Leste and Australia over approximately 30 years.
The Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão has implied that the future of Greater Sunrise is more than about business, that it is particularly historically significant, referring to the agreements between Australia and Indonesia during the forced occupation of the country that lasted for 24 years. Timorese news outlet Tempo Semanal recently described Gusmão reminding an audience in Dili [Tet]
Ho lampu verde xanana hatudu ba mapa area konjunta Timor leste ho Australia nia dehan, “iha ne’e area ida ne’ebe ita esplora hamutuk. Iha 1989, bainhira bapa sira sei kaer ita, dadur ita, oho ita, Ali Alatas ho Garreth Evans, Menlu Indonesia ho Australia sa’e aviaun ida, iha loos klaran ne’e, hemu tiha sampainia, fui ba ita nia ran leten hodi asina lima puluh persen ba Australia. Tan ba Australia rekonese integrasaun no lima puluh persen ba Indonesia tan nia simu integrasaun.”
Eis lider maximu da rezistensia iha luta ba libertasaun nasional Timor Leste ne’e reitera ho hatudu lampu verde ba area konjunta hodi dale, “Loloos ida ne’e hotu ita nian.”
With a green light, Xanana showed the joint area between Timor and Australia, saying “here is the area we will exploit together. In 1989, when the Indonesians were capturing us, imprisoning us, killing us, Ali Alatas and Gareth Evans, the Foreign Ministers from Indonesia and Australia got in a plane, and right over the middle here, they drank champagne, on top of our blood, to sign 50 percent for Australia. Because Australia recognized “integration” they got 50 percent from Indonesia.
The former leader of the resistance during the struggle for national liberation of Timor Leste reiterated, showing the area with a green light, “In truth this is all ours.”
Cartoon by Gus Leonisky from Your Democracy
The issue of the future pipeline and processing plant for the LNG has been the largest stumbling block between Australia and East Timor, and Woodside, the company with the largest share in the project. Under the Timor Sea Treaty, the development of the Greater Sunrise field is to be determined by the two countries. In late April, Woodside and partners announced their finding, that only two options were commercially viable, a floating processing plant or a pipeline to Australia, essentially rejecting a pipeline to East Timor's south coast.
East Timorese from all parties have pushed for an LNG pipeline and processing in East Timor, which they hope would generate jobs and economic development. Yet some take a more pragmatic approach, recognizing the complexity of the negotiation.
Another Timorese NGO Luta Hamutuk wrote in March [Tet], after having their loyalties questioned by the government,
Bainhira Luta Hamutuk halo vizita ba iha Viqueque, lideransa komunitariu nomos povu barak husu kona-ba posibilidade kadoras ba iha neba, tamba ofisiais guverno dala barak promete buat oi-oin iha neba nune to’o agora povu hein hela ho laran metin hodi simu kadoras. Problema lolos ne’e iha nebe? Bainhira guverno tun ba baze hateten tun-sae kona-ba kadoras atu mai ona; maibe realidade hatudu momos katak iha tensaun antre guverno Timor Leste ho Woodside nebe agora buat hotu sai la-klaru tiha.
Loron Económico, the only blog dedicated to economic analysis on Timor, discusses the emphasis on the “rapid expansion of the oil and gas sector” in the draft Strategic Development Plan currently being promoted by Gusmão. Blogger Lino Freitas writes [pt]
Quanto àquele pressuposto, ele parece ser de tal maneira forte e central a todo o Plano que qualquer “desaire” neste domínio — por exemplo, a não concretização a curto-médio prazo da instalação da fábrica de liquefacção do gás natural na costa sul do país — pode deitar por terra todo o “castelo” construído sobre essa base.
In relation to this assumption [the rapid expansion of the oil and gas sector], it appears to be so strong and central to the whole Plan that any kind of “snub” in this area — for example, the failure in the short to medium term to build a liquefied natural gas facility on the south coast of the country — could knock down to Earth the whole castle constructed on this foundation.
Yet freelance journalist and blogger Matt Crook observed earlier this month
The government of Timor-Leste continues to launch daggers at all things Woodside over development of Greater Sunrise. […] The government is obviously in no rush to go ahead with Greater Sunrise.
La'o Hamutuk blogged in late April when Woodside announced it would choose a floating LNG plant
This post was the second in a series of two on Timor's natural resource wealth. The first post looked at the issue of Timor's Petroleum Fund and budget allocations from oil revenue.

author: Janet Gunter


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Ecuador: Bloggers Analyze Truth Comission Report  · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

On May 2007,  a Truth Commission [es] (TC) was created by presidential decree; its purpose is to investigate and collect information on human rights violations attributed to the security forces in the last 25 years. This past May 7, after three years, the Truth Commission handed out  its report [es]  to President Rafael Correa, which included  831 human rights violations affecting 456 victims between 1984 and 2008. Bloggers have analyzed the report from different points of view.
While President Correa has acknowledged that there are “some setbacks [es]” regarding violence in his administration, he has warned the police and the military that they are not forced to obey orders that violate human rights. According to law, the investigation will begin with a Preliminary Inquiry [es], said State General Attorney, Washington Pesantez. The state will issue a specialized unit of prosecutors and operational staff to investigate the alleged crimes from the report.
Head of the Ecuadorian Truth Commission at work. Photo by Guillermo Sornoza used under Creative Commons license.
Most of the violations (68%) relate to the period where the Conservative government of León Febres Cordero  (1984-1988) was in power. Lillie Langtry of Memory in Latin America says she is baffled by the “so-called truth commission”  the Associated Press refers to.  But she also summarizes the key findings in the report:
» Between 1984 and 2008 there were 456 confirmed victims of human rights violations in Ecuador (clearly, there will have been more, but a TC always has budget and time limitations and is also only mandated to investigate particular crimes – in this case essentially murder, disappearance, and torture).
» Over half of these took place during the Presidency of León Febres Cordero in 1984-88.
» The Commission identified 32 instances of extrajudicial execution, 12 attempted homicides, 9 cases of forced disappearance, 214 illegal deprivations of liberty and 275 victims of torture.
» The report blamed police for 50 percent of human rights abuses, the military 28 percent, government officials 10 percent, court officials 6 percent and foreign agents 6 percent.
» The Commission found that the government consistently overstated threats from rebel groups and that the abuses were not isolated occurrences but part of a consistent counterinsurgency strategy.
Assembly woman Maria Paula Romo [es] states that this report is not yet a judicial decision or ruling, but rather a gathering of information and data from one part of Ecuador's democratic history. What she does not mention is that the TC could fulfill its job thanks to cooperation from the Armed Forces and the Security Council of the USA, who provided at least 30,000 pages to the TC [es] for this case, as well as the National Police of Ecuador [es], which has played along to deliver another 250,000 pages which are part of its secret files.
There are Ecuadorians,  however,  who question the report. Blogger Victor Vizcaino of La plegaria de un pagano [es] quotes former Police chief, General Edgar Vaca, who denies torturing anyone  and claims that the report is biased, and that the investigation of the police in criminal matters is a technical matter and interrogation acts do not constitute torture.
However, blogger Vizcaino adds his opinion saying that there is a difference between similar commissions in other countries. He says that in this case, what some groups seek is to make big money as a result [es]: ex-guerrillas members  like Alfaro Vive Carajo and Montoneras Patria Libre [es] will receive a compensation of 50,000 dollars imposed as a standard fee, to pave the way for their dream to sue the state for millions of dollars.
Blogger Saulo Ariel of La cueva de Saulo [es], also thinks the report is biased and he writes why this commission should be called after president Correa, the Correa’s Truth Comission because, according to Saulo, they look for their own truth and not the real one.  He challenges the reputation of the president of the commission, Elisie Monge:
[Ella es] una persona que ha estado vinculada con las asociaciones y negocios socialistas o seudo comunistas dirigidos a proteger a sus brazos armados, a sus grupos de choque, en su enfrentamiento fratricida con los grupos violentos del conservadorismo. Persona que hace gala de un humanismo siniestro cuando se desgañita en favor de los derechos de los delincuentes contumaces, mientras ignora la violencia que sufren las víctimas inocentes; actividades inmorales encubiertas con el disfraz de activismo a favor de los Derechos Humanos. Una persona de ese calibre, nada tiene que hacer en una Verdadera Comisión Investigadora.
Guillermo Sornoza of El Ecuador de Hoy [es], has never sympathized with Correa, but he thinks that it is because of this “state violence” that crime has not flourished in the country:
Honestamente hablando, gracias a esos “excesos”, no se permitió que germine la semilla del terrorismo aquí en el país.  No me malinterpreten: no apruebo los métodos, no me gusta la violencia (solamente en los juegos de video), pero como dice Uribe: no eran angelitos.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Egypt: And the First Arabic Domain goes to … President Mubarak · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Egyptian President, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak registered the first  Arabic domain in Egypt: مبارك.مصر . In her post, Zeinobia expects that Mubarak.Misr would be the official Mubarak 2011 campaign  website.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Egypt: Looking Inside Mr Egypt  · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Twenty-six-year-old Tarek Mohammed Nagiub Abdel Gawad has been named Mr Egypt 2010. He was also Egypt's candidate in the Mister World 2010 male pageant, which was held at Incheon, Korea, recently.
According to  Universal Queen:
Tarek’s ambition is to have a career in fashion. His hobbies include football, volleyball and painting. “Don’t cry over spilt milk is his personal motto”.
Zeinobia  says the young man looks “dumb” and does not represent Egypt:
I will not say anything except that this young man looks dumb, really dumb. Of course I can't expect high I.Q from a person who accepts to participate in this pageants.
This video is circulating in the Egyptian Facebook universe, where many people have commented in the usual Egyptian homophobic way.
By the way who is this guy ?? and why we did not hear anything about Mr. Egypt 2010 in the media in general !!?? I know after the controversy of Miss Egypt in 2007 Mr.El-Sibhay has disappeared and so I am just wondering on how he organizes the Mr. Egypt event and attracts contestants like the champ above !!??
On Egypt Search Forum, another video was posted of Tarek singing Get Down.
Comments on the forum ranged from:
Mr Egypt – hmmm – not bad at all.
I hope the best is inside him though!
to
Is that Mr./ Egypt 2010 …shame on us Egyptian men it seems Wasta [favoritism] is everywhere even in that false competition.


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Eritrea: Eritrean journalists in diaspora · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An analysis of experiences and activities on Eritrean journalists in the diaspora by Adal Voices Of Eritreans.


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Eritrea: I dream therefore I am · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

CapitalEritrea writes about art competition in Eritrea titled, “I Dream Therefore I Am.”


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Haiti: World Cup 2010 · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Haitian blogger Potoprincipe publishes this post [Fr] dealing with the need for Haitians to use the FIFA World Cup as an outlet for anguish and frustration and dreaming about the fact that while men get caught up in their passion for football, women take charge of the reconstruction of the island.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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India, Bangladesh: The Other Side Of Rabindranath Tagore · Global Voices
Rezwan

Words From Solitude highlights the other side of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

author: Rezwan


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India: The Battle Of The Have-nots · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nila-kantha-chandra at Cuckoo's Call comments on the Maoist insurgency in India: “it seems we are living under the shadow of looming violence. A civil war, where the have-nots finally turn against the haves”.


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India: What Does It Mean To Be Indian? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

What does it mean to be Indian? Priya Ramani is editor of Mint Lounge, the weekend magazine of business newspaper Mint, and an article she wrote recently about her feeling that she wasn't really Indian provoked heated debate online.
While humorously written, by drawing on stereotypes of Indian behaviour Ramani's article was certain to inflame passions:
Recently I’ve become increasingly convinced that I’m not an Indian. […] I don’t like (or understand) a single Indian soap currently on air. I never talk loudly to my maid, stockbroker or random friend during a movie. I always wait to let people exit an elevator before I enter. I don’t believe that Mumbai’s moviegoers should be forced to stand to attention every time they want to see Shrek (or anyone else) on the big screen. I don’t feel pride—only impatience that my popcorn’s getting cold—when I’m forced to listen to Lata/Asha do a slow-mo version of the national anthem before every single movie I watch in the city of my birth. […] I don’t think we’re the greatest people on earth. I don’t understand our sense of fake pride and nationalism. That whole chest-thumping Jai Ho phase? I never got it.
Flag of India (from Wikimedia Commons)
Well-known blogger Greatbong writes in response to Ramani's statement that she doesn't think Indians are the greatest people on earth:
Absolutely we are not. No country is. Yet everyone says they are. If I had a dollar every time someone on US TV, including intellectual powerhouses like Obama and columnists of the best newspapers in the world (and no I am not referring to Fox News anchors), say “There is no doubt that America is the greatest nation of all” and similar hyperbole, I would have been able to buy myself a ticket in a major party to contest an Indian election. Similarly outrageous is the chest-thumping desi patriotism that makes us go “Ooh Aaah India” during a cricket match, a feel-good buzz as empty as the calories of the products of the companies who sponsor such slogans.
Greatbong continues:
However being proud of one’s country does not imply a belief in its “bestness” and its infallibility. As a matter of fact, patriotism lies in accepting our faults (and we have many, a few of which Ms. Ramani mentions). But that should not be taken to an extreme because then we lose sight of what it is we have got right. And once that happens, we stop working to safeguard it. When I say I am proud of being an Indian, I mean I am proud of its culture of plurality and its intrinsic tolerance of contrarianism. […] The Indian spirit of acceptance is something that is often not in evidence in some of the “freest countries of the world”. […] Unfortunately, we are marching fast down a path of competitive intolerance, one that will lead to us to become a mirror of Pakistan, characterized by bigotry of the worst kind. When and if that comes to pass, then yes I am going to raise questions about my identity as an Indian. But till that happens, it is vital, at least for me, to not only recognize what ails us but also what does not, to stay grounded between the extremes of self-flagellation and gratuitous back-slapping.
Commenting on Greatbong's post, Shan says:
[Ramani's] article reflects a lot of what we think, but then ruins it all by equating certain traits with “Indianness”. Indianness is something that no one, not even bigger and better philosophers and sociologists than her have been able to define. But that does not stop our lady from ranting against anything she can think of. Poor writing. Poorer thinking.
Another commenter, liberalcynic, writes:
What bothered me most about her article is not that her whole non-Indian thesis has a flimsy leg to stand on, but the tone of the whole article. So much condescension!
Arindam comments angrily:
I don’t know what kind of delusions some money, a western education and sheer good luck can bring to people. The real irony is that they talk about India and its people – of whom they are only ashamed if anything. I hear the same foolishly condescending tone in Priya Ramani’s diatribe. Unbelievably, these people don’t stop short of anything – having to stand up for the National Anthem, much less take pride in it, is a big pain in their bacon-puffed bottoms. Their tolerance for another Indian is zero, but they’d go drooling after a foreign guest at a club dinner wagging their tails behind them. The very perspective of the stereotypical Indian that Priya Ramani has is a western one, she is an unabashed western apologist – and she lies through her teeth when she says that white is not her favourite color of skin.
Blogger Manasa Malipeddi in Bangalore thinks Priya Ramani's article was brilliant, but she examines some points that Ramani made:
None of the things she wrote, mean that she is not Indian. […] We aren't the greatest people in the world. True, only a zealot would say otherwise. She never understood Indians’ sense of (fake) pride, as she puts it, during the “Jai Ho” phase. Agree Jai Ho wasn't A. R. Rahman's best. I'd also like to say that Slumdog Millionaire isn't an Indian movie, but a movie about India made by a foreigner, and we need not feel proud that it won Oscars. But aren't we happy that A. R. Rahman, with that song, has catapulted Indian contemporary music (the kind I think the author likes since she doesn't like Lata's slow version of the national anthem) on to the world stage? Why shouldn't that make us happy, and proud? […] The author has harped on the stereotype that outsiders have about Indians, and tried to fit herself in it. She didn't fit in. Doesn't mean she's not Indian.
Blogger Raj in Chennai is suspicious of patriotism in general:
I agree with her about the chest-thumping and the constant proclamation of patriotism that we keep indulging in. When Sachin scores runs, he is not doing it for himself, but is sweating it out for his motherland. When Amitabh is acting, the last thought on his mind is money; he is working for the greater glory of the country and to keep the country’s flag flying high. Every morning these guys wake up and feel the need to say something profoundly patriotic on their blogs or tweets. (“My caste? I am an Indian.”) As Shaw put it, patriotism is the unreasonable belief that your country is the best merely because you were born in it. Being born in India was a random genetic event. Just accept it as a fact and move on. You don’t have to be proud of it, nor have to regret it.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Jamaica: Social Media Benefits  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In light of the recent state of emergency in Jamaica, diaspora blogger Labrish calls social media “a strong wind at the back of citizen journalists and ultimately a benefit for the cause of democracy.”


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Japan: Butoh Legend Kazuo Ohno Passes Away · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Kazuo Ohno, legendary performer and one of the founding fathers of Butoh, passed away on June 1st at the age of 103. A quote from his bio provided by the Kazuo Ohno Dance Studio:
When he dances, he vitalizes himself. An ordinary old man becomes a somebody who gives power to others. People love to encounter Kazuo because of that. He lives long, he moves people deeply. Kazuo Ohno is an artist who has enlarged human potential.
Butoh is an avant-garde dance form that originated in post WWII Japan, characterized by white body paint and conceptual, tortured movements.
This is a clip from “Beauty and Power” called “Admiring La Argentina”. Directed by fellow Butoh founder Tatsumi Hijikata and premiered in 1977, the piece is a tribute to the Spanish dancer Antonia Mercé (known as “La Argentina”), whom Ohno saw on stage in 1929 when he was 22.
Many reflected on the times they had seen Ohno perform and how it impacted them. Michiko Murayama at the True Colors blog, on the first time she saw La Argentina, several decades ago:
観客との見えないエネルギーの交換を、確信犯的に遊ぶがごとき完璧に自由な魂と肉体を目の当たりにして，痛快で笑いをこらえきれませんでした。深刻さなどとは縁遠く、果てしなく、宇宙へひろがり一体化する肉体と魂がとても自由に感じられたのでした。
美しくて、滑稽で、純で、潔くて、愛に溢れている、その存在。
当時新しいダンスの地平を求めて仲間と作品作りに日夜没頭していた日々…変化を求める時に、人はどうしても怖れや不安が出てきて当たり前なのですね。　そんな時この舞台に遭遇した私たちは、限りない勇気とエネルギーをもらい、意気揚々と劇場を後にしたのを覚えています。
Beautiful, comical, pure, spirited, and full of love… this was his existence.
During this period, I was spending my days and nights absorbed in creating dance pieces with my fellow dancers, trying to break new ground. When a person thirsts for change, it is natural  for feelings of fear and uncertainty to surface. We chanced upon his performance at a time like this, and I remember that we left the theater elated, having received endless courage and energy.
Base player koyu also lists his experiences and concludes:
以前から何度も書いていますが、私にとって舞踏は自分の創作活動に指針となる芸術様式といっていいほど影響を受けております。
大野先生、長い間、ありがとうございました。
Ohno Sensei, thank you so much for the many years.
Blogger fujita244 said:
力強さではなく、魂の揺れる感じ、心が襞でできていることを肉体で表現していた。
晩年の皺くちゃな肉体が、繊細な魂そのもののように見える人だった。
70歳を過ぎて国際的な評価が高まり、80歳、90歳になっても踊った。
私が見るようになったのも、この頃だった。
His international fame came after reaching his 70s, and he danced on into his 80s and 90s. It was during this time that I became a fan.
Kengo Nakamura posted some gorgeous shots of Ohno in Yukio Nakagawa‘s outdoor performance piece “Hanagurui” (Craze of Flowers) in 2003.
For his 100th birthday, 47 photographers who were inspired and in some ways even defined by him, put together a photo exhibition titled “Kazuo Ohno as caught on film by photographers”. The committee was headed by Eikoh Hosoe, a pillar of modern Japanese photography.
Even after he lost mobility, Ohno found ways to express himself using his arms and torso:

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Japan: Online seminar on digital journalism · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Joi Ito holds a weekly seminar on digital journalism at Keio University, that is live broadcast  [en] on UStream. Today's guests were New York Times journalist Hiroko Tabuchi and Jun Hoshikawa [en], executive director of Green Peace Japan.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Kenya: First cyber games tournament · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan gamers are organising their first tournament to be held at the iHub on the 26th of June 2010 and will run from 10am to 6pm.


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Martinique: Interview with a Nappy Girl · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican blogger Vee Un Lezard a Madinina assesses [Fr] her six-month long experience with her natural hair, inviting readers to discover her “Interview with a Nappy Girl” [Fr] posted in the blog Crépue et Re-belle (Nappy and Beautiful Again/Rebel) [Fr].


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Martinique: Regional Reactions after Insult  · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican Bondamanjak [Fr] tries to explain the dismissal of Martinican native football player Nicolas Anelka [Fr] after he insulted his coach. Meanwhile, Guadeloupean B. World Connection has re-published  [Fr] posts [Fr] about the latest developments.


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Russia: Flaws and Pitfalls of the Subsidized “Social” Internet Plan · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

PM Vladimir Putin meets with Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev (Photo: premier.gov.ru).
The Russian authorities continue to work on reducing the digital divide in the country. A few months ago, the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) [ENG] started [RUS] regulating Internet access prices through prosecution of some of the local telecommunication operators. Now, in addition to this type of regulation, the government is working on providing subsidized Internet to those who can't afford it. Last week, Igor Shchegolev, the Russian minister of communications and mass media, notified [ENG, RUS] prime minister Vladimir Putin that the country's largest, state-controlled access provider “Svyazinvest“ [ENG] would be launching a subsidized Internet access plan.
Сейчас, в связи с тем, что у нашего населения большие ожидания, что тарифы будут сопоставимы по всей стране, компания приняла решение ввести так называемый социальный тариф. Он будет фиксированный. Это будет небольшая скорость доступа, но тем не менее он будет позволять пользоваться информационными услугами, государственными услугами. Там, где есть преимущественно текстовая информация. За доступ к видеоинформации и к более сложным услугам придется платить дополнительно. Но те, кому нужна будет базовая информация, смогут приобретать это по умеренным тарифам.
According to Shchegolev, the speed of the “Social Internet Plan” will be 64kbps. The price of access will vary between 250-500 rubles ($8-$18) monthly. However, in the Far East the “Social Internet Plan” will be much more expensive due to infrastructural problems.
The “Social Internet Plan” is not the only state initiative to reduce the digital divide. A few days earlier, a presidential working group for Aerospace and Telecommunications approved [RUS] a “Social Plug“ project. The “Social Plug” is a special panel that will include access to three radio channels, eight public TV channels and limited Internet access to “socially important” websites. Furthermore, it will have an “emergency” button (112 service, which is the Russian analogue of 911) and a loudspeaker for emergency situations that can be used by authorities for notification of the citizens (a picture of “social plug” can be viewed here). The monthly cost of the plug will be 50 rubles (less than $2). For additional payment, it will also be possible to get broadband Internet access via the “Social Plug.”
The “Social Plug” project was first introduced to president Medvedev in 2009 by the Moscow Municipal Radiobroadcasting Network (MGRS) and was approved by the Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov in a special order “On organization of Moscow’s population notification in peace and war emergency times” [RUS]. However, the current project goes far beyond the Russian capital. The system is to be established in 39 biggest cities. According to some estimates, some 30 percent of the Russian population are supposed to have “Social Plug” in the next five years. The project's budget is 50 billion rubles (almost $2 billion). MGRS has already launched a pilot version and installed the plug in 560 Moscow apartments.
“The ‘Social Plug’ is a real step towards information society, aimed at reducing digital inequality. It is a sure way to provide e-government services for citizens”, said [RUS] the general director of MGRS Vyacheslav Ivanyuk.
There is no doubt that the Russian initiative to reduce the digital divide and make the Internet accessible to everyone is more than welcome. However, the new initiatives also raise several significant concerns. The first concern is about the prices of the subsidized Internet plan as well as about its speed. The information that 64kbps Internet will cost between 250 to 500 rubles upset Russian Internet users.
Aleksei wrote:
LJ user andrey-fromfili wrote [RUS]:
Текстовый интернет и дополнительная платная услуга за видео. Они кого опережают, таксофон?
User grandmother commented on a Komsomolskaya Pravda article [RUS]:
У меня безлимитный интернет 1000мб/с за 500 руб. Скорость устраивает, говорю и вижу своих детей и внуков по скайпу. А нам нищим пенсионерам предлагают непонятно что и за теже 500 руб. Опять одно воровство. Путин должен спросить нашу молодежь по этому тарифу, они все знают. А чиновники как всегда обманывают.
User groal suggested that the high prices of “social Internet” is another example of corruption:
провинция Псков плачу за инет 250 рублей за 1 мегабит.. кому то явно откатов захотелось думаю социальный инет должен стоить 100 руб и не больше при скорости 512 мегабит а всё остальное это распиливание госбюджета
According to user Ivan, the new “social Internet” may cause an increase in commercial prices:
Ну всё ребята! Цена на социальный определена, теперь ждите повышения цен на Интернет. А вообще люди, получающие миллионные зарплаты вряд ли понимают, что 500 руб. и 5 руб. это совсем разные деньги!
However, some users noted that the situation is different in Russia's remote regions. Arseniy suggested that it was better not to measure the situation everywhere according to the Moscow standards. According to his comment at Komsomolskaya pravda website, his provider offered 512kbps Internet access for 800 rubles. Another reader, La Vesce, wrote that in Sakhalin, 512kbps access cost him 2,000 rubles.
Indeed, the “Social Internet Plan” is not relevant for many Russian regions. According to a Yandex research [RUS], the average speed of the Internet in big Russian cities in 2009 was between 410-1100kbps. The average speed in Moscow and Saint Petersburg is much higher (8.5mbps and 7.4mbps, respectively). Moreover, the research says that the average price of the 1mbps speed Internet in Russia is about 500-600 rubles per month. It could be attractive for the Far East, where the average is 1,465 rubles, but, according to Shchegolev, the price of social Internet in remote places will also be higher. Moreover, some of the companies already have some kind of “social plans.”
However, the prices are not the only issue raised by the new initiative. Since the goal of these projects is to provide access to a specific type of content, it raises significant concerns about the net neutrality [ENG] of the “Social Plug” and “Social Internet Plan” projects. LJ user Shatunmedved asks [RUS]:
Интересно, какие по мнению правительства сайты самые социально значимые?
Indeed, it appears that the subsidized Internet will provide access to a very specific, limited segment of the Internet, which is based in Russia and has primarily text content. Moreover, some of the official statements confirm that the project is approached as a way to ensure the success of e-government development plans. It’s not clear if the limitation of access will be done only through the limitation of access speed or through the limitation of available websites as well.
To better understand the “Social Plug” project, one should recall its historical predecessor: a radiotochka. The Soviet radio broadcasting services [ENG] were based on a network of wired radio and sound devices [RUS]. The device, called a radiotochka (a radio plug), could broadcast several governmental radio stations (depending on the number of buttons it had). Usually, every Soviet kitchen was equipped with a “radiotochka.”
A classical Soviet "radiotochka" at hotel in Ulan Ude. Photo by flickr-user Samdj2010.
One can imagine applying the “radiotochka” model for the Internet. Button #1 is for the government news website; button #2 is for the e-government portal, and button #3 is for the government search engine.
It’s certainly just a metaphor and, perhaps, its proper place is in some dystopia. But the “radiotochka” model definitely represents the logic behind the “Social Plug”: it is actually a modernization of the old Soviet “radio plug” model. Moreover, a system that provides authorities with an option of having its voice heard in every house is really something out of George Orwell’s “1984.”
The possibility of a “Social Plug” becoming a new “radiotochka” is very limited. The idea to modernize the Soviet concept made some Russians smile. Denis Proshin wrote:
The “Social Plug” may turn out to be a technological rudiment from its launch. According to the Computerra web portal [RUS], Moscow Internet providers are not interested in using the “Social Plug” system, as they already have their own infrastructure. Moreover, the website reminds its readers that most Russian citizens continue to pay some 34 rubles for the existing “radio plugs” that remain from the Soviet times: it's very difficult to waive this service, even though it is useless for the majority of the population.
At the same time, the “Social Plug” model can exceed all expectations and fulfill the prognosis of Michael Gurevitch, deputy director of a major Russian Internet company RBC, who recently said this [ENG] to GV:
I believe that the majority of Russians will take advantage of this free option and will find it satisfying. They won’t want to expand the range of available sites if they have such a free option.
In this case, the violation of the net neutrality by both Russian “social Internet” initiatives can contribute to the development of the state-affiliated national cyberzone and isolationism tendencies in the RuNet. In other words,  the new plan of the Russian government can be interpreted not only as an attempt to make Internet more easily available to the Russian citizens, but also as a chance to prioritize a certain segment of the Internet as a part of the sovereign internet [ENG] creation.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Singapore: Government steps up anti-littering drive · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Despite the strict laws against littering in Singapore, the number of offenders still went up in recent years prompting the Singapore government to intensify its anti-litter campaign. A more aggressive shame campaign will be implemented and “litter-free Ambassadors” will be recruited.
From the Flickr page of xcode
Tan Kin Lian believes Singapore should revert to being a “fine” society
Singapore used to be a “fine” society. There is a fine for littering and for jay-walking. This has been relaxed for the past one or two decades.
The environmental agency is now taking action to enforce littering. It is time to take action to enforce other aspects of our law, such as jay-walking and cheating. We need to revert back to our fine and orderly society.
Rex is surprised that the government will spend 12 million dollars for the anti-litter campaign
I was so surprised today to read that the government will spent TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS on the campaign to enforce no-littering habits. TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS. Oh my god. The already filthy rich newspaper, topnotch media companies, are no doubt the main beneficiaries, carrying full page advertisements, creating commercial clips run on prime time TV
Chee Ming writes that foreign workers, which comprise 20 percent of Singapore’s population, should be reminded as well about the campaign
It's strange that we have to enforce law to deter littering when we have litter bin all around Singapore. In fact, I suspect Singapore is the country that has the highest proportion of rubbish bin to population.
Since we were well-educated from young not to litter, I think the fine imposed on littering is targeted at Singaporeans who are less well-learned, or well-taught, or both. Oh, and don't forget the 20% of the population whom we called “foreign workers”.
Uncle Sha wonders why the litter issue is treated by the media as a headline news story
For me personally the topic at-hand does not have any merit to be bumped as top headline.
How about local issues such as disparity in high and low income earners, the growing number of homeless in Singapore, and such.
I know that the NEA is trying to drum up the message of us not to litter in public, but I felt the majority of such litterbugs are actually our new Foreign Talent and Foreign Workers.
Trial of tears suggests some measures to humiliate the litterbugs
a) …publish the address of litterers and legally allow the public to litter the litterer's home for a week.
b) Don't just fine litterers. Instead make them wear a huge board around their necks and stand at busy areas proclaiming their anti-social act. Also publish their identities on Facebook for everyone to see.
c) I personally like this one. Make them work in an incineration plant or food recycling plant for a week doing tasks that exposes them to the stench of rubbish. Let's see how they like the smell of what cleaners are exposed to. Better still send them to work in a plant that recycles human waste.
d) Make litterers bear the cost of cleaning up the area they litter for one year. Yes, littering is not free. There is an actual monetary cost involved.
The anti-litter campaign has generated a debate on whether foreign workers should be blamed for the pollution problem in Singapore. The discussion became more intense after the freak flood in Singapore last week with some netizens blaming foreign workers for the trash accumulation in the city. Meanwhile, foreign workers are reminding Singaporeans that the locals should not blame the influx of foreigners as the only reason why littering is getting worse.

author: Mong Palatino


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South Korea: A Generational Tug-of-War Over Subway Seats · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

In South Korea, a generational tug-of-war is surfacing daily over a subway seat. Physical or verbal hassles over the seat have been reported online and new posts complaining of elderly people's blatantly inappropriate behaviour on the subway are mushrooming over the internet.
One strange scene for a foreigner when he first lands in Korea would be three empty seats at every four corners of a subway compartment which no one dares to take. Often visitors witness a weird scene of teens or younger adults resting on that special seat who immediately spring to their feet when an older person approaches.
That seat is called a Noyak seat, a subway version of the handicapped parking space, the seat reserved for the elderly and the weak. Though it is stated that the Noyak seat is for the elderly, handicapped, pregnant women and women accompanying kids, it is usually exclusively elders who win over the seats.
Complaints on the aggressiveness of elderly people in occupying the Noyak seat have been reported in local media and online blogs. Senior people have shoved exhausted students, people in their 20s and 30s, and young pregnant women off the seat. More than a few elderly people have literally kicked and pushed away young people from the seat with their canes. Hurling abusive comments at younger generation and embarrassing them into leaving the seat are common in subway, some even cursing mothers for not teaching their children courtesy and respect to elders. These clashes, if the young choose to fire back, often turn into a screaming match, a physical hassle or even serious injuries and lawsuits which local media makes news.
South Korea's newspaper Hankook Ilbo quoted Seoul's subway coporation's report that shows the increasing clashes between the elderly calling dibs on the Noyak seat and the defiant young generation who often choose not to feign respect.
서울도시철도공사(5~8호선)에 따르면 지난해 노약자 석을 놓고 벌어진 자리다툼 관련 민원은 총 121건에 달했다. 올 들어 지난 4월까지 접수된 민원도 총 84 건으로 증가 추세를 보이고 있다.
Subway tickets are provided for free for people over 65 and the elderly have used this free pass to sit through to the very last stops. A blogger Karsonic stressed that although allocating more Noyak seats in subway is understandable considering Korea is turning rapidly into an aging society, the senior people have also become free riders of society causing huge financial deficits.
노약자석이 부족하다고 말하는 사람들이 점점 늘어나고 또 우리 나라가 고령화 사회로 접어드는 관계로, 이제는 수도권 전철 각 운영 주체들간의 노약자석 늘리기가 대세인 것 같습니다. 게다가 또 다른 문제는, 어르신들이 운임을 단 한 푼도 내지 않고 있다는 것입니다. 아시다시피 65세 이상 노인들의 지하철 운임은 무료입니다. 하지만 이 분들은 이 운임 무료를 이용해서 소요산, 천안, 인천 등 종점이란 종점은 다 돌아다녀서 운영주체들의 적자에 한 몫 제대로 하고 계십니다.
People over 60's are the survivors of the Korean War which devastated Korean peninsula, whom suffered under the authoritarian rules and endured through radical societal shifts as South Korea turns from agricultural society, to industrial and knowledge based society in less than a century.
A Daum blogger ‘Yoon Tae’ pointed out that elderly people are victims of one of the toughest time of Korean history when modern and proper education were given only to few privileged and now they feel they are being ostracized from the society.
노인들은 대부분 어려운 시기에 교육을 제대로 받지 못했습니다. 그렇다보니 나이가 들면 보상심리와 함께 세대적 상대적 박탈감이 많이 작용 할 수 있으며…
South Korea's urgent need to restore the nation and compete against North Korea by scoring economic developments has led to a phenomenal growth on almost every level, but at a cost the welfare of minorities. A Naver blogger Hayan111 commented that Korea's utmost priority on economic growth has lead to serious neglects of minority rights and the elderly people have come back to fight for their place in the society.
한편 노인들의 권리가 이 정도까지 실추되게 된 배경은 우리 모두가 알고 있다시피 이분들이 시대의 변화에 적응하지 못한데다, 마땅히 노인들의 권익을 보호해 주었어야 하는 우리 사회 역시도 권익 보호에는 안중에도 없이 앞만 보며 달려왔기 때문입니다. 자기 관리에 실패한 노인을 더 이상 공경만을 할 수는없는 시대가 오면서 이들은 지하철의 ‘자리 하나'를 확보하는 것으로 잃어버린 자존심의 일각이나마 회복하려하는 눈치이건만, 이분들이 연세에 걸맞는 지혜와 품위를 가지지 못한다면 단지 나이가 많다는 이유만으로 공경받을 수 있는 평화로운 세상은 다시는 찾아오지 않을 겁니다.
More allocations of the Noyak seat were greeted with furious criticism from the younger generation and some people are even suggesting a separate compartment for the elderly. Conflicts from contacts seems unavoidable in the heterogeneous Seoul subway.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Sri Lanka: Why Do Online Brand Communities Fail? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ami's space explains the reason why most online brand communities fail – because they don’t define success the right way.


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Taiwan: Where is the mainland? · Global Voices
David Reid

Tim Maddog at Taiwan Matters discusses the use of the word “mainland” by people in Taiwan to refer to China. He argues it is part of an indoctrination effort by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). He has translated an article which discusses how the use of the word affects people's ability to form their own clear national identity.

author: David Reid


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World: Protecting Human Rights on Citizen Video · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Making a video to protect human rights might backfire and end up threatening the rights of those who appear or participate in the video. WITNESS’ The Hub shares with us how we can make a human rights video that gets the message across while minimizing the risk to those involved.
The post Protecting yourself, your subjects and your human rights videos on YouTube by Sameer Padania from WITNESS and Steve Grove from YouTube,  includes the following animation which tells of the essential steps to take to protect participants before deciding to make a human rights video.
One of the important items is the issue of protecting those you feature in the video through consent:
In the past, videographers could generally control the size and scope of their audience, but nowadays it’s safe to assume that if a human rights video is online, it’s only a matter of time before the offenders see it.   So it’s always good practice to get informed consent from the people you film.  That means making sure they understand the possible negative consequences of appearing in your video.  You can also blur or obscure faces, to mitigate the ability of authorities to reveal someone’s identity or location.This is important: authorities in Burma, for example, have used online footage of protests to identify and arrest activists.
In the post, they include examples of how to obscure someone's identity that can be high tech (using software) or low tech (using back-lighting, for example).
Other videos in the WITNESS series cover topics like Filming, Audio & Using Cellphones , Filming & Protecting Interviewees  as well as how to effectively and ethically Editing and Distributing Your Film .
One aspect to keep in mind is how to make a local story of global importance, and poet and writer Kwame Dawes in this video for YouTube's Project: Report speaks about how to make people connect with the story you want to tell:
Other issues mentioned in the WITNESS post are how to distribute the film for the best effect: whether to make a worldwide impact or if it is better to keep the video local but show it to key actors that can take action regarding the human rights issue that is being shown. Also, some keys are given which would keep the videos from being flagged as inappropriate including correctly tagging videos and making descriptions which will add as much context as possible, getting consent from everyone shown in the video so they can't flag it, understanding local laws on legal issues regarding certain topics or characters shown in the video, understanding copyright so your video isn't flagged due to copyright violations, and also getting in touch with YouTube to let them know what sort of content you are publishing.
The best way to get people to see your Human Rights video is to tell others about it: email Global Voices authors who can write about your video, write to CitizenTube or WITNESS or send all of us a message on twitter: @citizentube, @witnessorg or @globalvoices.


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Barbados: Slow Decisions · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground is concerned about “the slow pace of decision making in government.”


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China: Advertisement from One Immigration Agency · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PH from Veggie Discourse translated an advertisement from an immigration agency telling its customers why they should migrate to the America.


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China: Online World Cup sick leave doctor note · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Want to watch World Cup rather than going to work? You can buy sick leave doctor online! (more from Shanghaiist)


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Cuba: Letter for Ferrer · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Just know I will be watching. And as I have done for almost 5 years on my blog, I will be holding you and your government to account what it does on Tuesday…and so will many others around the world”: Uncommon Sense publishes his letter to the Cuban government on behalf of Dr. Darsi Ferrer.


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Guadeloupe: Our first soldier killed in Afghanistan · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Blogger Gwakafwika expresses [Fr Creole] his sadness with the death of a 27-year-old Guadeloupean native soldier serving in the French Army, in Afghanistan last week.


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Haiti: Farmers fighting against Monsanto’s seeds · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Espas Ayisyen Toulouse republishes [Fr] Haitian Peasant Movement of Papaye‘s (PMP) official declaration after their long demonstration against the deal between the Haitian Government and the American firm Monsanto, to provide hybrid seeds to Haitian farmers.


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India, Pakistan: On Friendship Between Two Countries · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chowrangi questions why do Indians and Pakistanis have to hate each other?


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India: The Saga Of The Tele-evangelist · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif  highlights the curious case of tele-evangelist Zakir Naik & tele-journalist Shekhar Gupta.


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Mexico: A Politicians Guide to Campaigning using Social Media  · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Pepe Flores [es] from Vivir México [es] has come up with a two-part guide for politicians who want to use social media when campaigning. Part 1 [es] includes: personalizing your message, establishing an agenda and promoting debate. Part 2 [es] includes: showing your “human” aspects and getting informed.


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Nepal: The Twitterati And The World Cup Conversations · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dinesh Wagle at United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal rounds up Nepali Twitter users’ conversations on the football world cup.


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Nigeria: Reactions to Sani Kaita’s red card on Facebook · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian football fans are deeply divided over Sani Kaita who was sent off in Nigeria's second Group B 2010 FIFA World Cup match against Greece for kicking Vasilis Torosidis. Nigeria went on to lose 2-1. Football fans are discussing Sani Kaita's foul on two Sani Kaita Facebook pages.
Most of the comments by  are negative, but some are positive. Let's start with negative comments.  Zalarmy leaves this comment on Sani Kaita page:
First it was SANNI abacha (the
ex-president), then SANI Yerima the
(Senator that kept a 13yrs old girl, all in
the name of marriage), later SANNI lulu
(the ex-NFA Chairman), Now, SANI kaita
(the footballer). For how long shall we
allow SANI(S) to spoil the name of this
country? Kai.
Emeka says that a new English word has been added to the dictionary:
A NEW WORD HAS BEEN ADDEDTO THE DICTIONARY – “KAITA” A man who single-handedly hindered the hope of his country for reasons best known to him. “Kaita” can be used in placve of words like “Jeopardy”, “Hinder”, “Sabotage”, “Disrupt”, “Antagonist”, “Fool”, etc. Examples are: Don't Kaita what we have been building for 11 y…ears in one day. Don't be a Kaita, etc
17 June at 21:44
Leke describes the new word in more details:
New English Word
KAITA (Kai-ta)
v. Kai*ta, Kai*tas, kai*ta'ed, kai*ta'ing
1. To single-handedly dash the hopes and aspirations of one's nation in the full glare of other nations
2. To karate-kick your way out of the greatest stage/spotlight ever known to man
3. To destroy/zap/siphon the energies of teammates plus 140 million people through unexplainable stupidity
4. To act foolishly, unintelligently or irrationally and IMMEDIATELY regret the action by falling on your knees
Usage:
“Please, please, do not KAITA what we have been building for 50 years o! Oloshi!”
“I don't care what people say, I will KAITA the multi-billion dollar plan!”
“That man, you know, the hopeless, useless, visionless, KAITAing guy!”
“I was KAITAing until I met Jesus!”
18 June at 09:17
KAITAnolokopolous is a new Greek god, writes Charles:
A bill has made its way with lightning speed on the floor of the Hellenic Parliament of Greece, proposing a new Greek god:
KAITAnolokopolous – A god who gives undeserved victory by causing your opponent to act with wanton idiocy.
The motion was carried unopposed!
All hail KAITAnolokopolous!!!!! (PS: Please pronounce slowly to avoid a tongue-biting incident)
18 June at 05:17
Oki says that Sani's service is needed in the police force:
YOUNG MAN UR SERVICES ARE NEEDED IN THE JOS/KANO POLICE FORCE.THEY WILL EASILY SIGN U ON ON LOAN COS U'VE DISPLAYED AT AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY THEY NEED AT THE FORCE.PLS DO NOT DELAY,DON'T EVEN WAIT FOR THE NEXT MATCH.THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY U'VE BEEN WAITING FOR..GO FOR IT.
18 June at 02:05
Some fans are positive and simply want Sani Kaita to be forgiven.
John thinks that Sani never meant to hit the guy:
i just watched the replay very well and i think he never meant to hit the guy… its like he was just playn…. dnt crucify him bcuz of the little thing he did… he is still a good mid-fielder..
Human beings are bound to make mistake, notes Adeleway:
human being are bound to make mistake and when it comes we are also meant to patch our self up and keep moving the ability to stand up after our fall is what makes a man. my prayer to God is that he gives nigeria the grace to qualify for second round so that you can correct the error you committed and if Allah says its over so be it but i hope you learn from this great mistake that Anger is deadly enemy it can mar a person withing a twinkle of an eye may god forgive you bless you and guide you in your future endeavour
Sunday at 11:32
Alphonse argues that the match was not lost only because of Sani Kaita's red card:
I know how much we are all annoyed because of this flop. But the reason for the lost match is not only Kaita stupidity. Reasonable should question the mental fitness of our players. Why were they all shattered the way they did. The technical crew should have known that such things happen in football. If the Lions of Cameroon could hold on to a victory in a similar situation in the 1990 world cup game against Argentina and finishing 9 on the pitch why couldn't our dear Eagles do same on a bas day like yesterday. The problem is not only Kaita but this type of arrangement that gives nothing at last. We can not continue waiting for miracles while others work hard for their survival. The match of yesterday had revealed the inner problems a lot of Nigerians carry on their back daily. You can now see, good luck was not enough to save a situation like this. Think about it!!!!!!!!!!
17 June at 23:15
“Leave the guy,” pleads Adefolajunwonlo:
Leave the guy. I was very pissed, but we should stick together. A lot of countries are happy especial the African ones. let's forgive the guy and focus on the obstacle at hand. I have faith in Naija. UP SUPER EAGLES. To KAITA be more careful what you do when you represent your country. It's not a personal thing. It's a national duty
Sunday at 08:16
Jimoh reminds Nigerian fans that we all make mistakes:
it a pity we Nigerians like insulting but once in a while we need to sit down nd understsnd that things like this happens.if all of us have been castigated for mistakes w have made in our lives would we still be living?this is what we should ask ourselves not all this rubbish and act hypocracy have been seeing so far.kaita nxt time be more professional thaank u
3 hours ago
“Make una leave sani kaita alone o…,” cries Ubon in Nigerian Pidgin English:
make una leave sani kaita alone o… him na human being n no de above mistake. put urself 4 im place if all the whole naija de throw yabbis on una, au una 4 feel. d mistake don hapen e don hapen, we supose de encourage d team to see if they go qualify 4 d second round instead of crucifying kaita. make we gada pray 4 our dear country naija.
Saturday at 09:27

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Peru: Oil Spill in Rio Marañon · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Globalizado [es] reports on an oil spill in Rio Marañon in the Loreto region of Peru; the river is the only source of water for 28 native communities. The post also includes a video [es] showing the river after the spill. .


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Trinidad & Tobago: Football & Fete  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires has figured out the difference between World Cup football and Trinidad and Tobago Carnival.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Africa: Blogging the World Cup at Digital News Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Follow bloggers Eduardo Avila, Rebecca Wanjiku and Daudi Were writing about 2010 FIFA World Cup at Digital News Africa.


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Bhutan: Handling Death In A Family · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshokey at Kuzu Bhutan Weblog explains how hard it is to handle death in the family.


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Brazil: “CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT”, Phenomenon Continued · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

After the enormous success of “CALA BOCA GALVAO”, it could be that there is a new phenomenon arising.
Since June the 20th, “CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT” is on the worldwide trending topics and, once again, the international audience wonders what Brazilians mean by it. Although, this time, the popular revolt seems to be not only against a Rede Globo reporter, but also against the network itself.
“CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT” means “Shut up Tadeu Schmidt” [pt].
Sydnei Rezendo from the SRZD blog explains [pt]:
Depois do sucesso do “cala a boca, Galvão”, a onda agora é “cala a boca, Tadeu Schmidt”. O motivo da revolta com o apresentador do “Fantástico” é porque ele afirmou que a “Globo se preocupa com a verdade e em transmitir a melhor informação”.
O técnico da seleção brasileira, Dunga, proibiu a presença da imprensa nos treinamentos, resultando em uma verdadeira guerra entre os profissionais da imprensa contra o comandante da seleção.
Nem a vitória sobre a Costa do Marfim por 3 a 1 e a classificação para a próxima fase amenizou a situação. Durante a entrevista coletiva depois do jogo, o jornalista Alex Escobar estava ao telefone, falando com o também jornalista Tadeu Schmidt, irritado, Dunga o chamou de cagão e de merda.
After the success of  “shut up, Galvão”, the trend is now “shut up, Tadeu Schmidt”. The reason for the revolt with the host of “Fantástico” is because he said that “Globo is concerned with truth and to pass on the best information.”
The Brazilian [national football team] coach, Dunga, forbade the presence of media in trainings, resulting in a real war between media professionals against the national team's coach.
Neither the victory over Ivory Coast 3-1 and qualifying for the next phase eased the situation. During the press conference after the game, the journalist Alex Escobar was on the phone, talking to another journalist, Tadeu Schmidt, angry, Dunga called him chickenshit and shit.
Watch the video featuring An Angry Dunga.
Rede Globo, the main television network in Brazil and one of the biggest in the world, has a past full of controversies [See no. 8 in Wapedia Rede Globo]. Tadeu Schmidt [pt], is a successful sports journalist who has worked since 2000 with local and international sport events such as the Olympic Games, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the Formula 1. He has also hosted and co-hosted many sports programs on Brazilian television.
Babado.org blog summarizes [pt] the controversy which arose between Rede Globo and coach Dunga:
O técnico Dunga proibiu a imprensa nos treinamentos  e até mesmo  exclusivas pré combinadas entre a Globo e Ricardo  Teixeira, o que resultou em um ataque direto dos meios de comunicação da  Rede Globo contra a fama do técnico.
"Dunga is my friend: Messed with him, messed with me, chickenshit". Used under permission
Stanley Burburinho from Vi o Mundo [I saw the World, pt] summarized many reactions in this post [pt], denouncing several attempts to demonize Dunga.
Brazilians try to explain through Twitter what “CALA BOCA TADEU” means, joking once again with international followers who don't understand such expression, lying with environmental or entertainment mottos in order to promote the tag. But many are using the tag as a way to show profound discontent with the TV network accused by some of trying to overthrow Brazilian's team coach Dunga and also to be too much used to exclusivity.
@andre802: CALA BOCA TADEU  SCHMIDT – “Cala Boca” means SAVE. “Tadeu Schmidt” is a kind of flower of  Amazonia in extinction.
@jeanjmichael: SAVE THE BRAZILIAN  Donkeys! TWEET CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT AND DONATE 0,01 CENTS FOR THE  NORTHEAST Donkeys Organization!
@joaolemes_: @auroradesigns CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT  It's not do with nature conservation, but with  a criticism of the commentators on TV Globo.
@lucianaparaguai: CALA BOCA TADEU  SCHMIDT is the new Galvao Institute's Project 2 save the Tadeu Monkeys  in the Amazon Forest from extinction. We need ur help
@ca_fontenele: @britnega “CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT” is the Britney  Spears’ New Single. Comeback 2010. Coming soon
A fake Dunga profile has been created on Twitter: @DungaRei [King Dunga], and many Twitter users came to defend Dunga's attitude towards Globo and Tadeu Schmidt:
@AndresaVaz: O Dunga peitou a  Globo e agora querem desmoraliza-lo… RETWEET http://migre.me/QP3g CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT
@DungaRei:  A Globo pode  discordar do treinador, mas o treinador nao pode discordar da Globo,  CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT, Dunga neles!
@emersonluis: No meio de uma #worldcup a Globo  quer derrubar o técnico da seleção
Twitter campaign asking for a day boycott of Globo on the 25th June
On the other hand, some users have stepped up to defend Globo's reporter Tadeu Schmidt against what they've considered an overeaction [@nanibeequeen, @raquelvidal, @engthales, pt].Despite the huge success of “CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT” and the visible support over Dunga's reaction, some bloggers disagree with his attitude.
Castrezana, from the blog OMEdI [pt] not only criticizes the behavior of the coach, but also the Globo's press release considering [pt] Dunga's behaviour as “incompatible with the image of a winner”:
Como assim, “incompatível com a imagem de vencedor”? O Dunga venceu  jogando duro, pesado e, com certeza, xingando a maioria dos adversários.  Quer dizer que para a emissora xingar dentro de campo pode, mas xingar  aqueles que ficam o tempo todo enchendo o seu saco fora de campo não?  Que xiliquenta, essa Globo.
Acho que ele exagerou, sim, e se era para xingar, que fosse na miúda,  longe das câmeras (o que é muito difícil, numa Copa do Mundo).
What do you mean,  “incompatible with the image of a winner? Dunga won  playing hard, heavy, and certainly, cursing most opponents. It means that the [TV] station can swear on the pitch, but it cannot curse those who spend all their  time pissing it off outside the field? What hissy fit, this Globo.
I think he overreacted, yes, and if it  was to swear, let it be away from the cameras (which is very  difficult in a World Cup).
Blog Opinião FC [CF Opinion, pt] also criticized Dunga's behaviour as unjustifiable:
Dunga ouvia as perguntas e xingava o repórter, visto como inimigo, numa  atitude lamentável e digna de um moleque. Falta de respeito com quem lhe  perguntava na coletiva e para com Escobar. Mesmo que o repórter tivesse  lhe provocado, nada justificaria tal atitude, que aliás, é pouco  inteligente.
On Twitter, users also criticized Globo's position as the leading Brazilian network:
@emersonluis: Dunga está  atrapalhando os negócios da Globo com as negativas de exclusividade. Vai  ser pau nele o tempo todo
@hnobreg: Dunga não faz  média com ninguém. A Globo é que não tá acostumada a ser tratada como as  outras emissoras. Bem feito! CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT.
Smile! You're been manipulated!
Even some more radical comments on the Globo network where seen:
@gerDuden: E o CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT superou o CALA BOCA  GALVAO. Pq não unificá-los num CALA BOCA GLOBO?
@siomaracampos: Enfim uma campanha  massa!! CALA BOCA TADEU SCHMIDT contra a manipulação televisiva da Rede  Globo. Agora tão jogando os cachorros no Dunga
@tudook: Dunga neles! Globo manipuladora!!! CALA BOCA TADEU  SCHMIDT CALA BOCA GLOBO –> Simplismente uma emissora MANIPULADORA!!!
Supporting Dunga, Miguel Grazziotin says [pt]:
Rosana Hermann has the perfect ending:
@Rosana: Eu amo o povo  brasileiro, que transformou o TrendingTopics do Twitter no paredão de  fuzilamento da vingança. :)
Frontpage of the website "Globoesporte.com", sports page of Globo's network, where you can see that all associated bloggers have something to say about Dunga: The company's position.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Cape Verde / Equatorial Guinea: Journalists Kept Away from Official Visit · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Amilcar Tavares posted several diagrams [pt] in his blog comparing the development of Cape Verde with Equatorial Guinea. The controversial President of the latter, Teodoro Mbasogo, visited Cape Verde last week and was kept away from journalists by the President Pedro Pires.

author: Sara Moreira


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Central African Republic: Central African Voices on Peace · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Check out Jina Moore's slideshow of Central African voices on peace.


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Colombia: Rethinking the War on Drugs · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Albeiro Rodas writes for Colombia Passport about recent reports from The United Nations Office on Drugs (UNODC) and says that “for an international community opinion […] this War on Drugs is divided and it has several points to recognize and rethink.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Cuba: Ferrer Released · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Several Cuban bloggers report that prisoner of conscience, Dr. Desi Ferrer, has been released, but must serve the remaining four months of his prison term under house arrest.


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Iran: Derakhshan’s trial started · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to [fa] several sites including Fars News, Hossein Derakhshan‘s trial started today. The Iranian blogger has been in jail for 21 months and he was accused of “collaborating with ennemi states, doing propaganda against Islamic regime, insulting religious sanctities  and doing propaganda for anti-revolutionary groups.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Mir-Hossein Mousavi Cartoon Upsets Greens · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

A leading Iranian cartoonist and blogger based in Canada, Nikahang Kowsar, posted a cartoon this month of  opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi that has caused numerous reactions in Iranian citizen media.
It shows Mousavi sitting at a desk 10 years from now, writing his 300th statement.
The cartoon is not directly insulting of Mousavi, but it shows an unfavorable outcome for his supporters. Perhaps responding to indignation over the cartoon, Roozonline, an opposition website, removed it from their own site without explanation. Meanwhile, several conservative (pro-government) websites within Iran have re-published the cartoon and “celebrated” what they see as a mood swing among “counter-revolutionaries” (the opposition).
Sabz1388 writes [fa]:
Mousavi is not a saint, he is a human-being from Earth who makes mistakes. Nikahang asks us about Mousavi's reaction to executions in the 1980s… I do not know, I was very young at the time, but Mousavi did criticize recent executions… Arguments for and against Nikahang just make us stray from news and activities of the Green Movement.
Jacoobjacoobi refers [fa] to Mousavi's 300th statement in the cartoon and says that even the most severe Mousavi critics cannot deny that he is resiting and demanding the rights of the Iranian people.
Sogholme argues [fa] that Nikahang is making fun of Mousavi's non-violent form of struggle. Nikahang, himself, disagrees and writes [fa] that he too supports non-violence:
“Some friends asked me if I want to destroy Mousavi. My answer is not at all. I have no personal problem with him… I am a cartoonist and I should make fun of all sides of power. Questioning them.”
Nikahang drew another cartoon displaying Mousavi as a “green” saint, comparing him with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who once claimed a light surrounds him in a speech at the United Nations.


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Jamaica: ‘Dudus’ In Custody  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

News broke late yesterday that Jamaica's most wanted man, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke – whose pending extradition to the United States to face charges of drug and arms trafficking threw the island nation into a state of emergency thanks to a standoff between alleged criminal elements and national security forces – had finally been captured.
There appears to be some debate over whether Coke was actually caught, or if he turned himself in with the assistance of Reverend Al Miller, now deemed to be “a major person of interest.” Jamaica Salt comments:
So Christopher Coke is in police custody after the police on the checkpoint at Nelson Mandela Highway recognised him with the Rev Al Miller.
The negotiations to hand himself in had been well reported before the killings in Tivoli Gardens which left 74 people dead (Seaga says the number is 150).
Now the police want Rev Al Miller as they seem to be upset that they were going to be bypassed altogether.  It seems Dudus was in Kingston and surrounds all this time – as were his family.  The police didn’t find him, although they are trying to say that there was “intelligence” which led to his capture.  The facts are that he was arrested on the way to handing himself in. Kingston is not that big.
Now police Cssr Ellington wants Rev Al Miller – but the police let him go at the time and he had plenty of opportunity to question him following the surrender of the brother and sister, why didn’t he talk to him then?
Cayman-based Jamaican blogger Mad Bull also has some questions:
I wonder if he was running to go and hide somewhere else again, or if the goodly Reverend was, in fact, taking him to the U.S. Embassy. I wonder whose agenda the Reverend is really pushing? How come he is so tight with criminals and drug king pins and so on.
After all, he has mentioned publicly that he has been counseling Dudus to give up himself for some time. How come he can communicate with Dudus seemingly at will and the Jamaican government can’t find him? Why has he not worked with the Government to bring him to justice? Interestingly enough, it was the same Reverend Al Miller who facilitated the surrender of two of Coke’s siblings in the past.
Labrish notes that the police have “raised the threat level from criminal violence against the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to extremely high, meaning that attacks are expected imminently”, while Girl With a Purpose provides further details:
He was taken into police custody at Ferry near the Hydel Group of Schools on the border of St. Catherine and St. Andrew, less than one hour ago during a Police Spot Check in the area.
Apparently Mr. Coke was on his way to the US Embassy in Liguanea, St. Andrew, to turn himself into the US authorities there.
Parliament is to take a vote tonight, as to whether or not to extend the State of Emergency to July 22,2010.
Cabinet has already given the go-ahead for it to be extended. (Also the Parliamentary Opposition has verbally expressed its agreement with the extension…so the vote is just a formality).
There is also to be a State of Emergency implemneted for the parish of St. Catherine, due to the troublesome rise in incidents of crime in that parish.
The St. Catherine State of Emergency will start at midnight tonight and last until midnight, July 22, 2010.
Jamaica Salt manages to find the humour in an otherwise serious situation:
A little bit of comedy in all this, is that the police say they found him wearing this disguise – a wig and fake glasses.  It seems funny that a man who is supposed to be an alleged mastermind of a gang worth millions should choose this little disguise.  Some might have fled to S America and had plastic surgery, Dudus stays in Kingston dressed like a Swiss boy.
But Salt, along with other bloggers, cannot help but speculate as to what happens next:
Dudus faces life in prison in the US if convicted of the drug and gun charges against him.  it will be interesting to see what he says when he gets there – is he going to spill the beans on PM Bruce Golding?
The Wickedest Time has more questions than answers:
The big question is what next?? Will he suffer the same fate as his father who was burnt alive in a Jamaican jail while waiting for his extradition to the US?? Who will recieve the US$60,000/JA$5 Million bounty that was rested on the head of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke?? When will it be released??
The one month crisis that forced Jamaica into a state of emergency claimed the lives of one soldier and 73 civilians… so now that he is in custody, will the lives of the citizens go back to normal?
Chez Hsia gets the last word:
Dudus was transported to the Spanish Town Police Station, then Spanish Town prison, and then airlifted back into Kingston, where he is awaiting a court date that they say will be set in the next couple of days.
My guess: the Jamaican government will use the delay to try and charge him with a crime based on information they have obtained during the detention and inquisition, and will resist handing him over to the US on the grounds that they want to prosecute him domestically first.  It will be an interesting few days watching how this further unfolds…whether the US turns the screws to get custody of him, or whether they are diplomatically required to respect the autonomy of the Jamaican people to prosecute their own, even if it is merely a ploy to prevent Jamaica’s leaders from being implicated in criminal activity.  Stay tuned…


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Jamaica: The capture of Dudus · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Labrish is following the breaking news that Jamaica's most wanted man, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, has been captured.


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Japan: A day at an elementary school · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Ploychompu Srisa-an, a student at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, spent a day teaching at a Japanese elementary school as part of an exchange program. She created an in-depth video of her experience.


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Japan: Okinawa Memorial Day · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Today marks the 65th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa [en]. To commemorate this day, blogger 1919yasuyuki uploaded a video [ja] shot at the  Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum [en].


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Kenya: On loving football · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Pundit discusses her love with football: “I remember hanging out in our Mada balcony waving the AFC flag (I had a special mini-one) as the isukuti entourage swept through from Kibera on their way to City Stadium or Nyayo Stadium.”


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Mexico: 300,000 Tons of Electronic Waste · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Mexico produces about 300,000 tons of electronic waste each year. According to Pepe Flores [es], Mexico is behind in legislating on this issue and warns that the electronic residue presents a sanitary risk.


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Nepal: India Stops Newsprint Consignment · Global Voices
Rezwan

United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal reports that Indian authorities are holding 1,000 metric tonnes of newsprint consignment to Nepal which is threatening the publications of a few newspapers and magazines.


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Russia: Police Would Like to ‘Cooperate’ With Bloggers · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Valery Gribakin, head of the public relations department of the Russian Ministry of Interior, expressed a will to meet with top-ranking bloggers in order to discuss ways of possible cooperation, rsn.ru reported [RUS]. Bloggers have lots of questions to the police but don't expect the answers, sadly comments anti-corruption blogger navalny.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: President Medvedev Visits Silicon Valley · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, during the widely discussed tour to the Silicon Valley, dined with Arnold Schwarzenegger [EN], visited Apple [RUS], officially started [EN] an account on Twitter [RUS] at the company's headquarters, and refused [EN] to meet with Google‘s creator Sergey Brin. The Russian blogosphere reacted [RUS] with a number of jokes and caricatures [RUS] on that matter.


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South Africa: cueTV to make films for cityoneminutes project · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

cueTV has been selected to make a series of short films for cityoneminutes, which is part of a global multimedia project that captures moments from cities around the world.


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South Korea: World Cup and Monopolistic Gambling · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A biggest gamble in South Korean broadcasting history was made by SBS (Seoul Broadcasting System) who purchased the exclusive World Cup broadcasting rights from FIFA with 63 million US dollars. As Korean national soccer team made to the round of 16, SBS, one of three major TV terrestrial networks in Korea will likely to get a bigger share of victory. The chance of SBS keeping the upper hand in this industry in a long run, however, is unpredictable as Korean people respond angrily over SBS World Cup coverage, blaming it as a low blow of scrapping off people rights’ on channels selection.
An Egloos blogger Heynews commented how speculative the SBS’s investment on the World Cup was, adding it may never be able to reimburse hemorrhaging money it spent on the transmission rights. However, as Korean national soccer team made to the round of 16 by today, news articles on a substantial increse of SBS's profits are pouring over.
SBS 역시 대한민국 대표팀의 운명과 함께, 적나쟈 흑자냐의 기로에서 왔다갔다 하기 때문이죠. 증권가에서는 대한민국이 16강 이상의 성적을 내면 순 이익을 기록하겠지만, 예선 탈락하면 적자를 낼수 있다고 분석하기도 했습니다.
The exclusive transmission rights alone had cost 75 billion Korean Won (USD 63 million). When other expenses like live broadcasting expense in South Africa is added, the total expenditure SBS had to spend reaches around 108.6 billion Korean Won. (USD 91 million) SBS has hurriedly piling up the money by selling advertisements; a 15 seconds commercial on the day of the Korean match reaches around 92 million Korean Won (USD 80 thousand), making it the priciest ad in Korean broadcasting history and the total revenue SBS made on a single match day by ads tops 650 billion Korean Won (USD 55 million),  Herald business reported quoting KOBACO(Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corp.)
People'a anger on SBS would be weird to outsiders like Americans who used to watch media giants like NBC exclusively broadcasting Olympic and other sports event. SBS decided to prohibit several places like local restaurants and the gigantic TV screens on the Plaza to broadcast the World cup without paying for it, an act customarily condoned in the past regarding people's high interest on the match. A Naver blogger Woony expressed her anger over the SBS’s behavior of shoving its’ exclusive broadcasting rights up everybody’s nose while  neglecting its primary purpose as citizen’s media.
또 SBS에서 아무도 원하지 않는 월드컵 단독중계를 한다고 하니 국민들은 물론 저도 화가 납니다. 더욱 화가 나는 것은 SBS에서 사람들이 많이 모이는 이벤트 행사장 뿐만 아니라 레스토랑에 원래 달려 있는 TV 에서도 월드컵 중계권을 사야 경기를 보여줄 수 있다고 호텔들이나 대형 음식점에 공문을 보냈다고 해요…손님들이 월드컵 경기를 틀어달라고 할 때가 분명히 있을텐데, 어떻게 모든 대형 음식점들과 호텔에서 그 비용을 다 대라는 건지..날이 갈수록 언론사의 기능을 상실하고 독점권만 가지려는 SBS 가 참 안타깝고 씁쓸합니다.
Most of hotel chains have made neither positive nor any official statement on this matter, except the Imperial Palace Hotel who bought the transmission rights even before the World Cup started. The hotel’s chairman is Cha Du Ri’s (Korean national football player and the son of legendary football player Cha Bum Kun, or Cha Boom) father-in-law who will also be hanging a gigantic poster of his son-in-law soon on the hotel exterior, according to South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo.
Though the Korean team’s entering the round of 16 will momentarily stifle people’s complaints over SBS, it does not mean the anger will be forever forgotten.  An Egloos blooger STWorld commented  SBS had deprived of people’s choice on their favorite commentators while  a blogger Zihuatenejo expressed  that it is unpleasant to let SBS decide what to watch when there are two matches happening simultaneously.
SBS 가 단독 중계에 나설 경우 모든 경기를 생중계해주는 것은 불가능해진다…결국 시청자로서 ‘내'가 기대하는 경기를 골라보는 것이 아니라 SBS가 중계해주는 경기만을 지켜볼 수밖에 없다.
Many speculation on the reason of SBS making this unpopular decision. Naver blogger Saheilu who claims he had a discussed this issue with SBS journalist said the exclusive coverage is a SBS’s desperate move for a survival in this rapidly changing media industry.
우선 SBS 기자는 “지상파의 위기”를 언급했습니다. 현재 케이블티비 가입자 수는 1,500만 명에 이르며 2009년 80%의 보급률을 기록했습니다. 게다가 방송과 통신이 결합하고, 각종 뉴미디어가 생겨나면서 지상파 방송은 경쟁력을 크게 상실했다는 것입니다. 결국 관건은 변화하는 미디어 업계에서의 경쟁력 확보인데 그 답은 다른 방송국, 다른 매체보다 확고하게 나은 콘텐츠 경쟁력에 있다고 합니다. 그 중 하나가 국제 스포츠 경기 중계권 확보라는 것입니다.
Though the old strategy of ‘Bet big and win big’ seems working for SBS for the moment, a more creative approach would be needed to gain people's approval and to survive in the new media landscape.


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Sri Lanka: A Letter to A Child  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Prageeth Thoradeniya at MindWind writes a letter to a child explaining his experience as a child.


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Sri Lanka: Targeting Buddha Bar  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indi.ca reports that the Sri Lankan government is investigating the Buddha Bar international chain of restaurants for ongoing LTTE activity abroad.


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Taiwan: The Chiang Kai-shek personality cult · Global Voices
David Reid

Michael Turton analyses a paper by Jeremy Taylor which looks at how a personality cult was built around Chiang Kai-shek in Taiwan and China.