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Jamaica: All That Glitters  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Homophobic statements from a member of the Jamaica Prime Minister's cabinet prompts Abeng News Magazine‘s Kadene Porter to say: “The abundance of divisive nonsense-statements that he and his band of ministers seem to come up with is drawing more than ribaldry from a nervous and watchful public.”


text:
Japan: Municipal opposition to Street View · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Demands by municipal assemblies and bar associations across Japan that Google revise [ja] or even halt altogether [ja] its new Street View service, rolled out in 12 Japanese cities late last summer to mixed reactions, have triggered renewed debate on issues of privacy and the limits of public space. The latest moves by municipal governments come on the heels of demands by a group of Japanese lawyers and professors, who petitioned Google in mid-December to retract its service. In this latest stage of the ongoing debate about GSV, the Tokyo municipal government on February 3rd invited Google to discuss its service with the public. A transcript of the session [ja] was posted online by blogger and security researcher Hiromitsu Takagi [高木浩光].
The latest round of discussions on GSV has again sparked concerns about stalkers potentially using Google's service to no good [ja], with cases being reported of online bullying through the use of linking on bulletin boards such as 2channel. In a Feb. 11th post at GRASSBLOG, one blogger describes a more subtle incident of privacy violation [ja] through GSV:
親しくしているけどまだ自宅に招待していない知人から、ある日突然、自分の住所を正確に言い当てたメールが送られてきました。その人が知っているのは私の最寄駅と、大まかにどの辺に住んでいるかという情報。とはいえ常識的に考えてこれだけで正確な住所は特定出来るはずがないと思うのですが（そもそも常識的に考えてそういうことをしないで貰いたい。親しき仲にも礼儀あり）。聞くところによると、「その辺をGoogleストリートビューで見てたら、以前（私から）見せてもらった写真と同じ風景があったから、そこが自宅なんだとわかった」とのこと。慌てて確認してみると、インターネット上に、見なれた我が家の外観がばっちり写っているではありませんか。
こうなってみて初めてわかる、自宅というものが自分にとっていかに大切で、神聖であるのかということ。自分と生まれ持った家族以外には不可侵の住処（たまに友達を呼ぶ、とかそういうのは置いといて、日常的な意味で）。外観とはいえ、家族と過ごす居間、誰の目も気にせずくつろぐ自室、いつも出入りする玄関。これを、他人に勝手に撮られた写真で俯瞰して見るというのがこんなに薄気味悪いものだとは。
In a post entitled, “Will Street View be continued?”, blogger Nono considers the issue [ja] from a different perspective:
平成3年5月にいわゆる「暴力団対策法」が施行された。このときに初めて「暴力団員」という言葉が法律で明文化されたのである。それまでは大学のサークルや、主婦のお茶会などと同様に単なる任意団体に過ぎなかった。同法施行により公安委員会から「指定暴力団」と指定された組織が、それまで取り締まりが難しかった、民事介入暴力などのグレーゾーンの行為に対し、当局が中止命令を出したり罰則規定も設けられた。
グーグル社の「ストリートビュー（SV)」が問題視されているが、SVは上記「暴対法」が施行される前の、グレーゾーンのようなサービスであるように思える。グーグル社が主張する「公道での撮影は問題がない」ということ自体は正しいからだ。
その一方で、SVに対して、全国から規制を求める声が高まっている。「プライバシーの侵害」だとの反対派意見が多くなってきたのだ。福岡県弁護士会は「多数の市民の肖像を根こそぎ撮影し、事前に撮影の説明がない」とグーグル側にサービスの中止を求めた。東京・町田市議会などでは国に対策を取るように要望書を出している。
Finally, at Eternal Place Hokkaido, blogger pira takes a different position [ja], comparing Street View to Doraemon's dream-like “doko demo doa” (or “anywhere door”):
日本は自宅の玄関に、「ここは〇〇の家です」とわかるように当たり前のように人様に公開しているのが殆どです。街頭から見えるところに洗濯物を干すのもある意味見られても仕方ない、あるいは気にしないから干してるのだと思います。それが写真として公開されると個人情報の流失というのでしょうか？私はちょっと違う気がします。どうしてもというならその箇所だけぼかせば済むことです。
ただ、個人が公開の拒否を申請するのはいいとして、自治体が規制の動きをしていることを聞くと、なんだか時代に逆行している気分をおぼえたりするのです。
場所の確認、見積などに利用されれば、コストが下がるサービスも出てくるはずです。個人にとっても行きたいところの景色が見れてお金もかからないですし、思い出の場所にも簡単に行けます。まさにそれは待ち望んでいたドラえもんの「どこでもドア」、夢のマシーンです。
ストリートビューの良さをもっと考えて、世論が地図の可能性を閉じてしまわないことを私は願っています。

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Chris Salzberg


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Jordan: Empowering Women, Emos and Live Mesh · Global Voices
Mohammad Azraq

Jewelry desigher/activist Nadia Dajani talks to 7iber.com about her profession, and how she empowers women in Jordan by teaching them how to make and sell handmade well-crafted jewelry:
Nadia Dajani is a rare woman who has been able to combine her talents, unique upbringing and passion to succeed on her own terms in Amman. Even rarer, she is bringing other women along a parallel path with her from some diverse regions of the Middle East.  We had the privilege of learning more about Nadia herself, her work, and the where she is taking her expanding vision.
7iber: In addition to being an artist and business woman, you created a new niche in empowering underprivileged local women.
ND:  I am a strong advocate for corporate social responsibility, and giving back to the community and to society inspires my work. All our products are handmade in Jordan by Jordanian ladies. Till now, I have trained over thirty needy women in the art of jewelry making in order to provide a livelihood for their families. Most are illiterate, have no education, some even physically challenged, but they are now learning the same principles which propelled me at St. Paul’s. Many have natural artistic inclinations, but of course, had no outlet for these artistic tendencies. I look for women who are enthusiastic about wanting to learn, and to create- for if the love of making a piece is missing, an element of its beauty will be lacking as well. It has been a joy to watch the ladies come alive as their creativity is integrated into satisfying work. They are reflecting the true soul of our country. Through their work, one has built an extension on their small home, another put her daughter through nursing school, and by and large, their self confidence has increased as well as their sense of identity as they have pride in their abilities and their talents.
The Arab Observer talks about the perception of teenage-adopted emo culture amongst older traditional writers:
So you have been to the mall, and were appalled of the behavior of teenagers?
It is not those who smoke that bothered you,
neither those young boys harassing young girls
or even those bored ones, not knowing how to spend their spare time except by strolling back and forth in boredom
What bothered you is their looks!
Guys don't look like “men”? huh
Girls don't look like “women”? huh
It is a totally new culture that you can't understand
so you freak out and warn of a disease!
Satanists are on the rise!
and then you discover homosexuality
It spreads like a cholera for the lack of strict rules! no?
and then
this is something new
a catch for the attention your readers
EMOS!
And Qwaider talks about the new software from Microsoft Live Mesh, which lets you synchronize all your data on your computer and access them from anywhere in the world:
If you've had to share files, pictures, music, favorite radio stations or -whatever- recently you, have probably received them through this AMAZING new technology that has been -literally- long overdue. But in this connected world. There is no such a thing as too late… This Amazing video (check the awesome MacBook Air in it), shows how you can simply and easily synchronize (and simplify) your life

author: Mohammad Azraq


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Madagascar: Rumors terrorize Antananarivo · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Truth and freedom of speech and opinion seem to be victims of the political crisis that is now crippling Madagascar.
Threats are being made and rumors being spread, all contributing to a climate of terror that prohibits peace and normal life.
Jentilisa, a blogger who has not given his support to Andry Rajoelina's protest movement, reports receiving threats:
“Alina fahatelo aho izao no misy fanelingelenana (harcelement nocturne)(amin'ny 12 alina, 2 ora, 4 ora ary @ 5 sy sasany maraina) amin'ny alalan'ny antso finday hatrany ary tsy menatra ny mampiseho ny laharan'ny findainy izy nefa rehefa antsoina tsy mamaly.”
Les Nouvelles report attacks on the home of Lala Rasendrahasina ,the leader of the FJKM
(Fiangonan'i Jeso Kristy eto Madagascar - Association of Protestant Churches in Madagascar). The FJKM is now serving as mediator in the negotiation talks between Ravalomanana and Rajoelina, in the power struggle that has paralyzed the island since January. The FJKM was seen by some as being too close to Ravalomanana.
“Finalement, ils ont essayé de repérer les assaillants en scrutant prudemment l’extérieur, mais impossible pour eux d’identifier qui que ce soit. Au hasard, l’un des agents a visé sur une ombre, et son tir s’est avéré suffisant pour faire fuir les agresseurs.”
News2Dago does not find these attacks surprising:
“Manarak'izany dia mitohy hatrany fampihorohorona ny olona mpanelanelana ankehitriny satria dia nisy nitoraka sy nihaodihaody ny manodidina ny tranon'ny filohan'ny Fjkm Lala Rasendrahasina. Tsy mahagaga izany satria dia dradraina ao @ radio viva isan'andro oe mpiray tsikombakomba @ mpitondra jadona.”
The Order of Malagasy Journalists calls its colleagues
“for more restraint and to stop the hatred, incitement, rumors and misinformation in their news items and editorial line.”
Some journalists have been heard inciting mobs to hatred on various radio stations, especially the TGV VIVA radio station. Journalists have shamelessly designated some individuals as “Enemies of the People”, while giving information on their homes and license plate numbers on the radio. These “Enemies of the People” are then targeted by mobs and their homes are burned down or looted.
“Mba meteza kely fotsiny eo @ toeran'ireo voaromba ireo mpanao gazety manondro molotra ireo mba manana vady aman-janaka ihany. Ovay ihany koa ny fomba fanao fa mbola tsy tara. Tao aorinan'ny 17 janoary no nankaty izao dia maro ireo olona voaroba. I Moxe Ramandimbilahatra, nanaraka azy omaly i Eugène Randriamiandrisoa teo koa i Saholimalala izay mpanolotsainam-paritra ny antoko Tim dia farany izay natao antsoantso omaly t@ radio viva dia i Jaquot ny tarika Green. Lazaina fa fahavalom-bahoaka daholo ireo olona ireo dia robaina ny fananany.”
On Wednesday, Ravalomanana organized a rally attended (according to AFP) by 30,000 supporters (according to DW the number was 50,000).
The rally was deemed successful, as people came in droves despite pouring rain, as reported by tgoose.
“Finally! the incumbent speaks up and his people show Madagascar and the world that they are not interested in a new government being forced upon them. I was really starting to wonder what Ravalomana could do. I hope this is the beginning of a realisation for the Malagasy people… Wouldn’t that be great?
There was about 30,000 people inside of the arena and about 10,000 outside of the arena, all standing in the rain supporting their country and democracy. Most inside where shouting “Arrest TGV!” repeatedly (which is not a bad idea) and carrying around banners that say “Tsy Mila TGV” (We dont need TGV)!”
Singers were invited to perform, among them Samoela, whose song “President” seems now prescient in describing this power struggle:
“si je serai président par hasard
nous on saura jamais,
seul dieu le sait
mais s'il mettra un conard au pouvoir
j'aimerai bien m'y voir”
“if I become president by chance
we never know
only god knows
but if he makes a jerk president
i'd really like to see myself in that position”
Other artists declined at the last minute, citing threats from the Andry Rajoelina TGV camp, while it was reported that journalists tried their hands at intimidating artists to stop them from participating in the incumbent president's rally.
“Rolly Mercia du quotidien La Vérité aurait déclaré sur la radio Viva que les artistes qui se produiront à Mahamasina pour la contre manifestation pacifique, pourraient avoir des répercussions sur leur carrière professionnelle. L’animatrice de Viva aurait aussitôt donné une liste de noms d’artistes censés se produire à Mahamasina.”
A comment, by Razz, severely criticizes those who attended the Ravalomanana Rally:
“Faut-il rappeler que cette fête que le parti Tim compte tenir à Mahamasina se passe au moment où les citoyens malgaches sont encore en douleur suite à la tuerie volontaire d’une centaine de personne trois jours plutôt à Ambohitsorohitra. Par ailleurs, le show artificiel de Mahamasina coïncide à la commémoration de la date d’assassinat du colonel Ratsimandrava le 11
février 1975. De qui se moque-t-on ? « Seuls les ‘danseurs de nuit’ (mpamosavy) qui jubilent et s’éclatent sur la douleur et le décès de leur voisin », s’indigne une mère de famille habitant dans un bas quartier de la capitale pour faire allusion au show de Ravalomanana à Mahamasina”
Worse, some in the South of Madagascar warn that some are ready to launch ethnic fighting.
“Nanaitra ihany anefa ny fitarainan'ny loholona voafidy sy voatendry avy any fa misy ny mikononkonona ady an-trano (fomba filaza ampahibemaso ny hevitra ambadiky ny ikonokononana fandrobana fa ankehitriny kosa tadiavina hanaovana fandripahana ny Merina – sy ny Betsileo – monina any amin'iny faritra iny). Efa nisy anefa ny olona milaza (na mieritreritra) fa tena ao anatin'ny teti-panorona mihitsy io fandripahana olona toy izay nitranga tany Rwanda namonoan'ny Hutu ny Tutsi tamin'ny 1994 io.”
In these uncertain times, no real objective news is available, and the propaganda machines are spreading mad (or not so mad?) rumors that contribute to a climate of terror and uncertainty on the island.
Rumors that Ravalomanana has fled the country, rumors spread back in January:
“Unconfirmed reports claim that Andry TGV told the crowd that President Ravalomanana left the country.”
Rumors on protesters of both camps being bribed:
“Les manifs sont devenues une source intéressante de revenus en ces temps de crise économique d’autant que les deux partis n’hésitent pas à payer.
“Pour la ville d’Antanifotsy, trois cars sont partis ce matin en destination du stade Mahamasina. Les personnes à bord ont déjà empoché 75.000 Fmg par tête, selon les témoins oculaires sur place. Dans la capitale, des chefs dans l’administration ont mis une pression à leurs subordonnés pour se rendre à Mahamasina. “
This website posts a picture of a certain blue car from which TGV supporters would have received money on Saturday February 07, 2009, before the bloodshed.
Other alarming rumors keep swirling:
Rumors about looters and proTGV protesters getting ready to destroy whatever is left of Ravalomanana's stores in Antsirabe:
“Araka ny fanampim-baovao azoko dia ny karana sy izay olona rehetra niara-niasa tamin'ny TIKO rehetra no nokasaina horobaina tany Toliary sy hovonoina mihitsy. Re ihany koa fa miomankomana ihany koa ny jiolahim-boto na mety ho mpanohana ny TGV na mpandroba tsotra handroba sy handoro izay sisa tsy potika sy tsy may tamin'ny fananan-dRavalomanana Ao Antsirabe ao amin'izao ora hanaovana fanampim-baovao izao (10:30 eo amin'ny piste fanaovana hazakazan-tsoavaly ry zalahy amin'izao fotoana izao ho an'izay mahalala an'Antsirabe). Efa nampitandrina anefa ny mpitandro ny filaminana fa hitifitra avy hatrany ry zareo na tsy “zone rouge” ary ny toerana kasain-dry zareo horobaina sy odorana.”
Rumors that the French envoy has called Andry TGV “president”, and rumors that the French Embassy has denied his having done so :
“L’Ambassade de France aurait démenti les propos d’Andry TGV tenus sur la place du 13 Mai hier. Celui-ci avait déclaré que durant les entretiens d’hier, Mr Joyandet l’aurait salué en utilisant le terme de “Mr le Président” “
Rumors on Andry TGV being the target of mercenaries (spread by Andry TGV himself):
“Andry Rajoelina a été victime d’une attaque des mercenaires sur la route digue dans la nuit du dimanche 9 février dernier selon les révélations qu’il a faites sur la Place 13 mai. (…)
Rumeur ou réalité ; les preuves font pour l’instant défaut dans tous les dires de Andry Rajoelina. Il se dit à maintes reprises être l’objet d’un mandat d’arrêt. Jusqu’à présent aucune photocopie d’un quelconque mandat d’arrêt n’a été révélée. Il a déjà affirmé être poursuivie par des personnes inconnues, sans apporter de preuve concrète.”
Rumors about some hotels harboring mercenaries (spread by Andry TGV himself) and refuted by the hotels:
“Andry Rajoelina a aussi pointé du doigt l’hôtel restaurant Papango en fa ce de la Place 13 mai, d’héberger un tireur d’élite qui serait en charge de le tuer”
“Accusé par des manifestants de la Place 13 mai d’avoir abrité des tireurs d’élite samedi 7 février dernier, l’Hôtel du Louvres sis à Antaninarenina et accolé au ministère des Finances, dément. L’autre établissement hôtelier, Le Colbert, sis lui aussi dans les parages, précise que l’établissement appartient exclusivement à des particuliers et Marc Ravalomanana n’a
aucune part dans son capital comme on veut le faire croire. Le Colbert aussi a été soupçonné d’avoir abrité des tireurs, auteurs du massacre ce samedi ensanglanté du 7 février dernier.”
Dizzying rumors that prompt a comment on Jentilisa's blog:
“aiza kay no tena misy lahatsoratr'olontsotra fa tsy mpanao gazety fa toy ity anao ity ihany, fa izany hoe tena olona tsy miandany @atsy na ny aroa fa tena mba milaza ny zavamisy objectivement?”
In all this mess, R1lita is desperate for peace and the right to a normal regular life.
“I think people here just want to live in peace. They want to go to work or to school without the fear of being trapped in riots, or taken by force to join those who are on strike. Shop owners want to open their businesses and be sure that no one will loot and burn them. We are fed up with this feeling of permanent insecurity.The last protest [Andry Rajoelina's protest] didn’t draw as many followers as before still people are wary because nothing is sure yet. Even though we are back to our daily life we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


text:
Palestine: A community oven in Gaza · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Canadian activist Eva Bartlett describes how a community oven has been set up in a village in southeastern Gaza: “For the many villagers who can’t afford, or can’t find, cooking gas and who are exhausting firewood supplies (although the Israeli military’s bulldozing and tank-ravaging of olive and fruit trees provides a depressing new source of wood), one shekel can bake 10 rounds of bread.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Palestine: Gaza’s Valentine’s Day flowers · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In Gaza, Prof. Said Abdelwahed reports: “For three years Israel gave no permission to any farmer to export flowers! Gazans had to “eat and drink’ flowers for two years. Well, this year, after the invasion, Holland bought 25000 flowers to be shipped in three shipments. Yesterday, Israel permitted shipping 10000 flowers! Happy Valentines day!”


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USA: Marrying for Love and Country · Global Voices
Hoa Quach

Whether for love or for visa, deciding whether to marry is never an easy thing. In the United States, where more than 12 million people live as “undocumented” immigrants, falling in love and getting married to an American is one way legal status can be resolved.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 1,052,415 people obtained “legal status” in the United States in 2007. Of these, 274,358 people obtained it by marrying U.S. citizens.
On the website of anti-immigration advocacy group Center for Immigration Studies, David Seminara questions how many of these thousands of marriages were really for love, and highlights examples of mail-order brides, arranged marriages, and money exchanging hands.
Plenty of immigrant bloggers discuss their own thoughts on marriage and documents in the United States.
Marriage of inconvenience
El Random Hero in California writes that as an undocumented migrant, friends and family have suggested marriage to him as an option, but that he finds the idea too far-fetched:
“It's one of the hardest things to do for me personally really. Being of illegal status in this country I feel that this is a burden I should carry alone. Of course countless friends have joked and suggested that I get married to an American girl and get my papers. 9-11 changed the world forever and its affects are still being felt in waves. Getting married is no longer a viable option because immigration has seriously started preventing and prosecuting individuals involved with green card marriages. Then there are the moral ramifications of spitting on the sacred act that is marriage so I'm left at a cross road.”
In another blog, Damn Mexicans, the blogger discusses a newspaper article about Julia and Gustavo, two siblings who came to the United States at age 11 and 18. Gustavo married an American citizen, but Julia remains undocumented as she works her way through college.
“…too many people think it's as easy as marrying an American citizen. Julia is 18 and has never had a boyfriend. Think back and try to remember who you were dating at the age of 18. Think if you married that person. shudders. For most of us, it's a scary thought. 18 is too young to get married and Gustavo being married at the age of 21 was too young as well but forced into it by his situation.”
“Till death do us part”
According to the organization, Surviving Spouses Against Deportation, some people are threatened with deportation when their “legal” husband or wife dies.
“Because of a flaw in the law, legal spouses of American citizens face automatic denial and threat of deportation when their spouses die during lengthy bureaucratic green card processing. There are over one hundred eighty of these cases across the country affecting women, mothers and children.”
Blogger My life as an Alien discusses one case.
“Dahianna Heard, the widow of Jeffrey Heard, killed in March 2006 when the Army soldier was shot in the head by insurgents while delivering equipment to U.S. troops in Iraq. Dahianna Heard, a citizen of Venezuela who lives in Florida, now could be deported even though she and her husband had applied for her residency permit and were awaiting completion of the paperwork. They also had a son who is a U.S. citizen but faces an uncertain future if his mother is deported.”
The blogger writes that she has gone through all the “hurdles” to gain citizenship but can understand how the spouses must feel.
“It is hard to move to a new country, it is a big adjustment. And after you make this new place a home, the old country is not home anymore. I can’t imagine losing my husband and then my home.”
Broken dreams, strong hearts
Amy is a U.S. citizen living in Chicago, Illinois while her husband Carlos, once an undocumented migrant, is now living in Monterrey, Mexico. Amy writes in their shared blog, Destinazione Paradiso that because Carlos migrated from Mexico to the United States “illegally” as a teenager, he faces legal problems that even a marriage can't fix.
“You see, contrary to popular belief (blog post on THAT coming soon), people brought into the US illegally can't simply fix their status by returning to their home countries and asking for a visa. Nor can they fix it automatically by marrying a US citizen. And while generally, crimes committed as a minor are viewed differently than those committed as an adult, in the immigration world, age doesn't matter: you can be held to the same penalties whether you entered illegally at age 8 or 58.
Carlos’ immigration story just happens to cross not one, but TWO grey areas of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1996. It happens that while the law forgot to specifically address minors in certain areas of the Act, the US consulate in Mexico has recently decided to apply its own rules and treat minors identically to adults.”
In October 2008, Carlos was given the verdict that he could no longer legally enter the United States. His wife Amy wrote:
“Well, sadly, our year-long immigration adventure has experienced a violent and devastating collision with the reality of immigration law. After nearly 11 months, two humiliating Mexican jobs, thousands of dollars, 9 international flights, endless hopes and dreams, and tons of prayers, we are left empty-handed. As things stand right now, Carlos is banned from entering the US for life, and there is no opportunity for a waiver. This was always a possibility, sort of the worst-case scenario, but this is now our only scenario.”
Nevertheless, Amy writes that the fight continues.

author: Hoa Quach


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China: On privatization of rural land · Global Voices
Andrea Fenn

For those not quite interested in fireworks and dumplings, the Spring Festival mainly becomes a yearly pretext for reflecting upon the condition of Chinese peasants and the state of China’s countryside.
During the week of hearty celebrations for the new year, millions of temporary workers return from the cities where they are employed in manual, low-level occupations to their hometown in the countryside, where their family still lives and owns usage rights over a piece of land. Chinese migrants keep their family in the country for two main reasons: the first is that, under the current land use regulations, each rural household has the right to use a portion of the collective land of a village, and this right can be withdrawn if the land is left idle, or if no one is actually occupying the grounds. Having a member of the family still residing in the countryside, thus, becomes a feeble guarantee of not being deprived of the the land. The other reason, of course, is that migrants in cities do not have access to the basic social services –education, primary health- they could enjoy in their home village, so they prefer keeping parents and children in the country even though cultivating the land is often not a profitable activity for many Chinese farmers. And yet, all this is about to undergo profound transformations.
On October 12, the Plenary Assembly of the CCP approved the “Resolutions concerning the many important problems in the development of reform in the countryside”, a law draft aiming at boosting development of the rural areas in the country. Among the bold targets listed in the draft, the text pledges the duplication of the current average income of peasants by 2020, together with a generalized improvement of the living standards, consumption power, and cultural level of rural population in the countryside. For those used to look through the boasting and overly ceremonious texts of Chinese laws, there seems to be nothing to be excited about. And yet, disguised among the 20 and more pages of vacuous legalisms, a line has given the jitters to many Chinese, farmers and not: the Government plans to promote new forms of management of the rural land, which include transfer, sale, sublet, and shareholding.
In sum, a cryptic sentence seems to finally give the green light to privatization of land. As a matter of fact, rural privatization is already widely practiced by local governments, which confiscate land from farmers, and then sell it to private investors at high prices. Nonetheless, in case the draft were to be transformed into effective law, trading and privatization of land would be given a steep and unprecedented acceleration. Comprehensibly, this perspective has generated fervent debates among the Chinese Internet community, and since October forums and weblogs have been invaded by discussions and judgments about rural privatization. What is ultimately the prevalent opinion of webnauts towards land reform?
On one hand, many web users recognize the positive intentions behind the law framework and, at least on the paper, support privatization of rural land. In the forum of www.sohu.com, an anonymous reader so reassumes the position of supporters:
你们看懂了国家政策没:_国家这个决定是必须下的。土地向少数人手中集中便于生产规模化，学过经济的都知道只有规模到达一定大的时候才会产生效益，同时农民是转让土地不是无偿的交出土地，失去土地的农民可以去乡镇企业打工，可以离开土地但不离开家乡。中国有九亿农民是游离在市场经济以外的。国家让他们失去土地就是想把他们拉进市场经济体系里面来
On the same lines, China’s Future General adds from his blog:
还有个情况可能知道的人不多，那就是现在农村里的很多地是荒废着的。因为青壮年基本上都进城打工了，老人家没力气种地，更何况种了也是亏，于是地就荒在那儿了，老人家身体还好的，也就随便点上些小菜，自给自足而已。那租给别人种行不？可以，但是本来种自家的地就不赚钱了，谁还愿意花钱租人家的地来种呢？除非碰上有农业资本家下乡来了，租上你家的地用一用，但那种情况并不多。
那么农民们在一起搞合作经营集体经营行不行？还是不行。这固然比现在的单干好得多，但赚来的钱仍然是“僧多粥少”。比方说，外国十个人经营一百公顷的土地，赚了钱十个人分；中国一百个人经营一百公顷的土地，赚了钱一百个人分。就算中国和外国的这一百亩地赚到的钱是一样多的，但中国是一百个人分，那就太少了。所以“僧多粥少”的原因不是“粥少”，而是“僧多”，中国仍然需要把从事农业的人口数量降下来。
Despite being generally in favor, many Internet users do not hide perplexities about the envisaged privatization plan. In a popular sohu.com forum, some users suggest:
中央的政策是好,就是从省,市,区,镇一级级传下来的执行力度比政策的优惠力度更待加强啊（广州）
问题在于如何保证农民自愿出让土地使用权，如何确保农民得到合理补偿，否则，就是新的土地兼并的开始。工业原始资本积累已经实现，现在开始农业了！！！
国家的政策每次都很好，数据都很漂亮，可是这些数据里面的水分太多。全国经济普查、粮食普查、土地普查甚至人口普查都是假的，浪费了纳税人的钱却什么也没有得到，只是一些假的东西，这岂不是太可悲了！
In spite of these voices of approval, it seems that the majority of Chinese web users still keeps a very skeptical look towards the perspective of abolishing the collective ownership of rural land, and so losing the last bastion of socialism in a country torn between a hasty transition to the market economy, and resisting elements of a fading past. On the pages of Baidu Answers, hgf168 so answers to the question “why can't Chinese land be privatized”:
因为这是社会主义国家最后一个标志。其它东西都可以私有化，唯有土地不能私有化，否则就是实行资本主义制度。
In the past years, Chinese websites have conducted surveys to sound off the opinion of peasants towards land privatization; the results have always been of strong opposition to reforming the current system. In regard, Chinese web users seem to have the same unconvinced attitude: in fact, roaming forums and blogs, the voices that oppose the plan largely outnumber those favorable to privatization.
Among the skeptical voices that have risen against rural reform, the one of Li Changping’s emerges. Mr. Li, a renowned rural governmental officer who keeps a much-frequented blog about rural issues, wrote a famous article right at the time of the Plenary Assembly, in which he urges China not to follow the example of the Philippines, which abruptly privatized their land causing great social turmoil and the impoverishment of the population:
笔者认为中国错误的农业和农村现代化政策已经产生了严重的后果。
首先，第一个后果是：小农依赖农民工工资维持小农家庭经营，如果长期这样下去，农民工在城市安居乐业就不可能，减少农民也不可能，城市化就会彻底失败；如果没有农民工工资维持小农家庭经营，小农就会大面积破产，“五个转变 。
第二个后果：中国农村经济占GDP总量的12%弱，其中种植业和养殖业大约占5%左右，只有这5%是农民的，其余都被非农民占有了。5%的GDP，要养活60%多的人口，是不可能的。两极分化是必然的，全面小康是不可能的。
后果之三：中国农民正在失去国内和国外“两个市场”，国内的土地密集型农产品市场正在逐步被跨国农业集团占领；国外的劳动密集型农产品市场正在被进入中国的日韩等“高科技农业园”抢占 。
毫无疑问，中国应该学习的是日韩和我国台湾农业和农村现代化模式，而应该避免走菲律宾失败的老路。
On the pages of his blog Wen Tiejun, a prominent journalist and economist, uses even sharper tones to attack the idea of land privatization:
近年来理论界很关注“三农”问题，但不少学者却继续以西方的理论逻辑来套用于国情不同的本土问题。[。。。] 但把这种理论逻辑直接套用在发展中国家的“三农”问题上，则显然缺乏经验依据。反而是几乎所有人口过亿的大型发展中国家，在继承或采行西方制度之后，普遍受制于耕者无其田和城市贫民窟化，并由此造成社会动乱。[。。。] 　　事实上，西方发达国家得以顺利实现（请注意这里突出的是“顺利”）工业化、城市化和农业规模化、产业化的前提，本质是殖民主义和帝国主义。离开西方中心主义派生的这两个主流，西方模式的现代化就无从谈起。
The positions of these two analysts have received warm praise by Chinese web users, especially as they stir the nationalist feelings that are strongly diffused in the young population. An anonymous mobile phone user posted an inflamed comment on the sohu.com forum platform:
想快富就卖地，出生的人还能分到地吗？到时把地都卖给外国人，那不就成了汉奸，我要搬家到城里，把地一卖出，一大片的好地就在中间有一个大楼盘在开发。在官商勾结一下，我们下辈子吃什么？做在办公室白吃，怎知粒粒都辛苦。
Besides, a large part of the web community is concerned with the conditions of peasants, and with the consequences that land privatization could have on the life of poor farmers. Here is a comment posted by a farmer about the privatization plan on sohu.com:
我是一个农民,为了生计。我只能出卖土地了。卖了好大一 笔钱,生活过得还不锖。二十年后,土地钱吃完了,穷的叮叮响,于是到土地家做长工,十年后还是一样,更穷了,为了生存权,于是只能揭杆起义了
From his blog, Yu Ran describes his investigation in the countryside and a conversation with some peasants:
到过的几个省份都有这么一些农民弃房舍、弃承包地，携子拖女的举家外出打工了，可当如今工作无着时再回到农村，他们发现自己已经失去了最最基本的生存保障——土地了（尽管有后来颁布的土地承包法，可是这些失地、失业农民大多都是在二次稳定土地承包权之前就放弃了承包，尽管他们放弃了承包土地，可他们的身份依然是农民，土地依然是他们的一切社会保障和生存最后防线）
如今失地又失业的农民工现象已经不容忽视，目前多数还是一种隐性状态，还没有完全被人们所知晓所重视，一旦这些失业又失地的农民长期处在无业可就、无地可种、没有任何社会保障的境况下，他们将面临着严峻的生存危机，而不是收入高低的问题、城乡收入差距问题了。有些专家、学者还站在那里大谈“刺激农村消费，拉动内需……”之类的话，殊不知农村、农民连一个最为基本的社会保障体系还都没有时，你一味的只想着让农民怎么去花钱，刺激一时的经济增长，不知这样短视的经济增长方式对整个和谐社会的发展是利还是害？
In sum, for most Chinese web users a reform of rural land only risks to give way to an even more ferocious impoverishment of the countryside and of its farmers. In order to obtain the favors of an increasingly conscious Internet public opinion, the government will have to give convincing explaination on how to fight land expropriation, and on how to improve the conditions of farmers and migrant workers. Although inhabitants of a virtual world, Chinese bloggers seem to have a clear idea of the tangible needs of the rural population.

author: Andrea Fenn


text:
Armenia: New and old traditions mix on St. Valentine’s Day · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Founded in 301 AD, Armenia’s longest surviving institution, the Apostolic Church, is considered the world’s oldest national Christian order. But, over 1,700 years years later, pagan traditions remain alive in the country even if now absorbed into the Christian calendar. While much of the world marked St. Valentine's day, Armenians also celebrated one such tradition — Trndez.
In addition to introducing tourists to another holiday also celebrated in February, the Envoy Hostel Blog provides a background to Trndez and posts some photos of how the day was marked by guests and staff.
Trndez (Candlemas) is another popular Armenian holiday, dating back to pre-Christian times; it was connected with the fire/sun worship and thus coming of the spring and fertility. […] The main partakers of the feast are newly-married and loving couples who jump over the bonfire. It’s believed that the evil will be swept away and happiness will come to people’s homes. The ceremony is followed by traditional songs and dances around the fire. People also light candles from the blessed fire to take them to their places and keep them till the next holiday of Trndez.
Ezhenka [RU] posts a photo of a Trndez fire saying that she was “present today at the charming and remarkable Armenian holiday of Trndez,” during which individuals or couples circle or jump through the flames. Christian or not, Haykuhi [AM] provides her readers with the holiday’s current interpretation.
Տյառնընդառաջ նշանակում է «ելնել Տիրոջն ընդառաջ»: Ժողովուրդն այն անվանում է նաև Տերընդեզ, Տըրընդեզ, Տըրընտես, որոնք «Տերն ընդ ձեզ» արտահայտության ձևափոխված տարբերակներն են:
Հայ Եկեղեցին Տյառնընդառաջը տոնում է փետրվարի 14-ին, Քրիստոսի Ծննդից՝ հունվարի 6-ից քառասուն օր հետո:
Տյառնընդառաջը Հայ Եկեղեցում հանդիսավորապես տոնվել է դեռևս վաղ շրջանում: Այս մասին [է] վկայում… Մովսես Խորենացու Տյառնընդառաջ տոնին նվիրված շարականը:
The Armenian Church celebrates Tearnentarach on February 14, forty days after the birth of Christ, January 6 [in the Armenian tradition].
Tearnendarach has been officially celebrated by the Armenian Church since early times. This is testified by…a hymn devoted to Tearnendarach [written by the 5th century] historian Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Choren).
Armenia.ru [RU] posts a description of the tradition.
Трндез (Տյառնընդառաջ в переводе с армянского — «Встреча с Господом») появился еще в дохристианской — языческой Армении. В те далекие времена армяне поклонялись огню… Смысл праздника был в том, чтобы усилить тепло солнца, воздействуя на холод с помощью огня.
Meanwhile, St. Valentine's Day did not go unnoticed in Armenia with Unzipped: Gay Armenia reporting that a new tradition was also introduced.
To mark Valentine’s day, Brabion Flora Service in Yerevan initiated an unprecedented PR action. They announced that all men who will be at their flora salon at 2 pm local time in swimwear or underwear only, will get a free bouquet. The organisers expected 1 or 2 men to turn up, but there were 10 or so there.[…]
Trndez, Oshagan, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1999, Licensed under Creative Commons

author: Simon Maghakyan


text:
Armenia: Social Problems · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Writing on her new Dotcom blog, 15-year-old Arpen discusses some of the social problems affecting Armenia today. In particular, the young blogger singles out unemployment, violence and pollution.

author: Onnik Krikorian


text:
Armenia: St. Sargis Day  · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Although the world celebrated St. Valentine's Day yesterday, many Armenians instead prefer to celebrate St. Sargis Day. Writing on her DOTCOM blog, 14-year-old Diana details the tradition observed by young people who eat salty bread before going to sleep in the hope that their true love will be identified in their dreams bringing them water.


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East Timor: Suai Media Space Challenges the Digital Divide · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Nine years after East Timor was connected to the Internet for the first time, the country still faces a deep digital divide. Physical access to technology, resources and tools is difficult; one hour surfing the Internet is as expensive as the basic daily salary, and digital citizen participation or e-commerce is virtually non-existent. In the smallest communities, such as Suai, in the south of East Timor, connectivity through the Internet remains a dream.
Among those fighting to minimize this digital divide is Australian documentary-maker Jen Hughes, the founder of Suai Media Space – a social media project connecting the people of Suai with the world community. Putting culture and creativity at the centre of friendship, the project's main aim is “for the voices of the youth of Suai to be heard all over the world”.
Q: How did you get involved with East Timor?
A: I began following the story of friendship between Port Phillip (my neighbourhood) and Suai in December 1999. The friendship was begun to help Suai recover. I was interested in what role this kind of cross-border cross-cultural friendship would play in the recovery of the Timorese people from trauma and devastation, and what the Timorese would be doing to recover themselves.
The result is the Suai Media Space website where there is content written and made by youth and others from Suai as well as myself and a documentary in the form of a series of video Letters to Suai and Port Phillip (that I will be uploading this year). I shot the footage over nine years as I followed and participated in the friendship between people from these two extremely different places. Viewed together the ‘letters’ reveal a rich and beautiful Timorese traditional culture that serves the Timorese well in their healing process.
They also reveal a culture in transition to modernity, indeed to post-modernity and the digital age, as the young are keen to embrace digital tools and the Internet to express their music and their stories.
Q: Which are the communities you work with?
A: There are two communities I work with. Port Phillip in Melbourne and Suai a rural town in Southwest East Timor. Getting them involved actually on the website is difficult and it is still emerging. From 1999 to now my ‘project’ has evolved in response to what the Friends of Suai has been doing, what is going on in Port Phillip and East Timor, particularly Suai, my resources and technological changes. I began by collecting stories and forming relationships in Port Phillip and Suai as well as Dili and Darwin the bridging cities. Within those places the people who relate to my project are mostly Australians, Timorese and Timorese Australians living in Timor and Australia.
Q: How does the community get involved with the project?
A: There are so many ways the community can get involved it is really up to their imagination. But just becoming a friend of Suai by viewing and reading the stories, commenting, linking through your blogs or websites or joining the friendship through the various avenues is a great start. Another very important contribution is translation of course. The more languages we have the more diverse our community can become.
It may be, that community involvement on the website grows this year, it may not come in the ten year period I have committed to the project or at all. At present people from both communities can request to become an author, in which case they can do everything themselves because the website is built with blog software to enable this. Anyone can join the Facebook group, subscribe to our YouTube page and link to it, send a story and photos or a short video by email, CD, DVD, and I'll upload them on their behalf.
I have created a Ning social network site too. I haven't promoted the social network sites yet. I'm waiting for Broadband to arrive in Suai and for them to have some more workshops. Then they can show each other the site and teach each other. If people wish to help me or just talk to me because they have particular skills they would like to offer, they can contact me and start the conversation.
There have been many activities with various people in the Community in Suai which has led to the development of content. This year a young man by the name of Chamot from Kamenassa Suai, heard about Suai Media Space through a mutual friend, and sent me his poems by email requesting that I upload them to Suai Media Space. I have invited people who visit the site to translate those. We are looking for an English and a Portuguese translator for these if anyone would like to volunteer?
Q: How do people access the Internet from East Timor, and particularly from Suai?
A: The Internet did not come to the Suai community until about 2004. In 1999 in Port Phillip we had dial-up access in our homes businesses and libraries. In East Timor all communication infrastructure was destroyed by Indonesian backed militia as they left the country after the vote. By the time I went to Suai in July 2000 Telstra Australia was providing expensive mobile telephone communication that was unreliable in the districts and landline connections in Dili. I think the connection was going from Timor via Darwin and back into Timor. I heard calls were billed at international rates.
In the emergency phase the UN had a satellite in Suai which some of the NGO's could use but in the main we relied on mobiles. Occasionally when a friend from the UN helped we could use their email access. The UN took the satellite with them when they pulled out! At this time access for Timorese was extremely difficult. UN people and UN police often didn't know who were militia and who were not and so often foreigners could get access to special privileges like access to the Internet and helicopters to Dili, that locals could not.
The Timor Telecom Internet access in Suai is a dial-up connection. The office provides one computer terminal for the whole Covalima area, plus one can plug in a laptop simultaneously. So for the few who have a laptop they can usually jump on quite quickly while others are using the Timor Telecom computer. The cost is exorbitant for the majority of people at $US2 per hour. The Timorese people I know who used the Internet were waged with jobs in NGO's.
I was giving story writing for the Internet workshops which were accompanied by photographs that had been reduced in size to under 30 KB in Photoshop. We were able upload the text but we were unable to upload the photographs or send them by email to Australia for uploading whilst using the Timor Telecom terminal and an Apple McIntosh laptop. Several times we tried to get help over the counter locally and to contact Timor Telecom in Dili to get help with this but in the end gave up in disgust. I am a very experienced Internet user and my colleague, who is also Australian, but who has worked and lived in East Timor and Indonesia for several years, is very experienced user of email and Timor Telecom. She speaks Tetun but not Portuguese. Together we were unable to get help. The local terminal gives frequent warnings about viruses, but when we asked local office staff how to respond to it we were advised to ignore it.
When free broadband access is available in Suai the social network software linked to the site should make the connection between the two communities and the rest of the world more real on a broader front. Then all we will have left as an inhibitor will be the language barrier! To overcome this we will need some volunteer translators and some good community cultural development concepts to grease the wheels of the relationships. Then we shall see if we can truly have a friendship between two communities that helps the people of Suai rebuild.
Q: How did the YoMaTre, the Youth Media Centre start? How has the project developed?
A: I began working directly with the coordinator of the Covalima youth Centre, Ergilio Vicente in 2006, when I partnered with the Friends of Suai. I met Ergilio before that, in 2000 when we first discussed the project and I also knew Josh Trinidade who set up the youth centre in 2000. The rest of that story is on the website.
My first ‘community involvement’ was in the form of an attempt at a friendship with Sergio da Costa, who is a Suai artist. He was about 18 when we started, now he is 27. Sergio and I began exchanging things such as art materials, tape recorders, tapes, CD’s letters and paintings, by asking people to carry them for us. And this is how most of our content in the form of movies, letters and photographs have exchanged hands over the first eight or nine years. Sergio’s work and other artistic works from Suai can be seen here.
My first ‘community involvement’ was in the form of an attempt at a friendship with Sergio da Costa, who is a Suai artist.
Initially Sergio gave me and sent me a lot of his drawings. Some of them were intensely sad self-portraits. So in 2003 I returned to Suai with them and Sergio and I made a video about his work with him providing the narrative for it. I edited it and checked it with him when I returned in 2006. That video is still to be uploaded this year. He has a copy of it on DVD and I have some more material to add to it. All of the films I make are sent to Suai or I take them and they are screened there in a variety of contexts – public and private. The Circle of Stones is the most popular.
In 2006 we delivered media tools funded by the Friends of Suai in Port Phillip, and I ran the first video production workshops. Since then YoMaTre a youth media training organisation has been formed and a range of Internet and video production workshops have been held.
In June last year we held workshops to teach the YoMaTre members how to write for the Internet, take digital photographs and how to manipulate and downsize them for the web and we made some imovies. As well as this we showed them how to upload the stories in to Suai Media Space. Their stories can be read in Tetun (the local language) and English. Here you will also see stories and photographs written by YoMaTre members about their Peace activities late last year.
I stay with the Timorese market people and sleep on the floor in Suai. I shop in the local market, and I have been doing this for nine years. As I drove past the market in June 2008 I heard a voice yell out “Jen Hughes” – that was a bright moment for me.
Q: Despite difficulties in access to the Internet, the Port Phillip and Suai communities seem to love interacting between themselves. Can you tell us about the Exchanging Rock Messages project?
A: In 2001 I made a film calling for justice that was based on footage shot on the occasion of the first anniversary of the massacre in Suai. It was called the Circle of Stones.
At that first Anniversary the people of Suai had placed a rock or a simply inscribed rock in a circle outside the Church where the massacre took place.
The following year I initiated a screening of the Circle of Stones and a remembrance event in Port Phillip at the St Kilda Town Hall. Since hi-tech solutions for connection and involvement were not available I thought it would be great to use the communication medium used by the people of Suai to remember their loved ones. So we invited the people of Port Phillip to bring a rock inscribed with a message to the people of Suai and form a circle of stones to remember those who died on the Second Anniversary of the Suai Church Massacre, September 9, 2001.
About 200 people attended that, viewed the film, listened to music and stories and placed a rock and flowers in a circle outside the Town Hall. These rocks and the circles of stones now link the two communities and before the 10th Anniversary in September all those rocks will be on Suai Media Space in a special place. In September this year also, we hope this story will be projected at the 10th Anniversary of the Massacre in Suai.
Q: And what about the self-portrait exchange?
A: A youth worker in Port Phillip initiated a self-portrait exhibition for youth in Port Phillip and asked the Friends of Suai to invite some artists from Suai to send some paintings to include in it. Sergio’s prolific portrait painting practice means he knows all the other artists in Suai, so Sergio was called upon to introduce them to the Friends of Suai.
One was a very talented young man in a wheel chair from Suai Loro named Atoy…
… the others were young boys whose work could be seen all over the walls of Suai.
They were paid and given art materials to produce self-portraits for the portrait exhibition in Port Phillip. This in turn led to the broadening of an exchange of self-portraits between schools. The schools haven’t given permission for uploading these yet but it is expected we will do this in the coming months.
Q: What are the main challenges you have found during the last 10 years?
A: One of the major challenges of the project has been getting people to understand it. That has been a learning curve for all of us, including me as technology kept changing over time (and still is). Practical people often said food in the mouths was more important. My answer to that was that not everybody could work in the same field and the young people were unemployed and bored. This never convinced anyone. I was just lucky that the two co-ordinators of the Friends of Suai in Port Phillip who held office the longest both appreciate the power and importance of media and could see my point about the media arts and their role in the future of young people in Suai. One of the challenges was I had to learn about community development processes. One important thing was that the request for assistance for particular projects had to come from Suai. Their priorities were different from mine naturally, and Ergilio didn’t request the media tools until he saw their usefulness for educational videos in his community, after Oxfam held a media workshop within their HIV program and it was this request that led to the media project I had envisioned getting funding.
I didn’t realise until last year (2008), that Ergilio hadn’t really understood the project we initially discussed in 2000. (I don’t think I exactly knew what it was then either!) I was warned many times in 2000 not to make promises I couldn’t keep, so I took his instruction to “go away and get started” seriously. The irony is, that discussion with Ergilio in 2000 led to me dedicating the next ten years to working to keeping my promise! There is a line in an Australian Paul Kelly song that says “be careful what you dream of, you just might get it!” Well I did get it! ] Over the past nine years, I’ve found the project has reached goals in very different ways than I had originally envisaged, and at very different times. It was Ergilio’s request in 2005 that eventually led to the setting up of the media group in Suai and it is their needs in concert with the actions of the Friends of Suai and others, that are really shaping the media group. Now the International Journalists Federation are involved too, so that is adding another dimension to their skills training. The website and the media project we have now fit my original vision on some levels, but not all. The fact of their existence and their positive impacts, are very satisfying.
The challenges have been enormous, both personally and professionally. Some of them come through the stories above about community involvement. Personally, I have needed tremendous patience and grit that has armed me with the determination to keep going and keep on learning about community development processes and the technical skills as technology kept changing and just keep on going as the project was never predictable. I often recall Australian activist Lee Kirk introducing me to the mantra “neineik neineik” or “slowly slowly step by step” when she was working in Suai. I learned to listen carefully to Ergilio and to stay flexible letting it evolve and not giving into the expectations of others.
Until recently we didn’t even have regular dial-up Internet contact. Many times sms was the best way to communicate. Just today Ergilio has requested my Skype name! The whole thing would have been impossible without the personal patience and tolerance of Ergilio Vicente and Simao Barretto in Suai. Not to mention the work of the Friends of Suai in both places.
Q: It is the dream of Suai Media Space for their voices to be heard all over the world. How can people get involved and help this dream come true?
A: I know the young people of Suai would be very happy when people actually respond to them in the comments or email them. It may sound too simple but by giving them an audience you are providing them with a great gift. That's the first thing. The second is for the audience to tell them who they are and what they are interested in.
What's also needed are Indonesian or Tetun speaking tutors for training programs. Anything like this needs to be well planned in advance. Any training programs need to meet the needs of the youth in Suai and they usually identify what they want. The Friends of Suai are currently moving through a consultation process to identify a more structured and even program of training and when this is in place a call for trainers can be made. However that group have other demands on their financial resources too and at this point they have not committed funds for training for the next two year period. Covalima Youth Centre is pretty well managed and capable of planning implementing their media training, financial support for that would be wonderful.
Another contribution by community could be translation of menus and handbooks or purchase of Indonesian hand books. Or, I've always thought it would be great to have ‘how to’ instructions in Tetun or Indonesian on line for them. There may already be Indonesian sites like this. If there are I'm not aware of them and providing those links would be great.
***
Also check Suai Media Space on YouTube, and friends of YoMaTre facebook group.
This interview is part of a series of posts to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the arrival of the Internet in East Timor. The first article explained the huge digital divide in the country. In the next post, you will find out more about the difficulties that bloggers from East Timor face when uploading content to the Internet and the “Tele Schools“, a solution that the Government has decided to adopt as a way to provide local education without a need to access the Internet.

author: Sara Moreira


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Estonia: National author as gay icon · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Itching for Eestimaa reflects over the Estonian 19th century author Kristjan Jaak Peterson and his potential as a gay icon.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Ethiopia: Baalu Girma Foundation Formed · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Arefe announces the formation of the Baalu Girma Foundation. Baalu is the famous Ethiopian writer and journalist who was abducted 25 years ago by the Ethiopian military. He has not been heard since that time.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ethiopia: “St. Mary” thrown out of monastery · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An Ethiopia woman who claims to be St. Mary has been thrown out of a monastery in Ethiopia where she started her own sect.


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Guatemala: The Shuco Hot Dog · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Guatemalan Shuco Hot Dog, which contains avocado sauce, boiled cabbage, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and other meats, is starting to become world-famous writes Rudy Girón of La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo noting that it now has its own Wikipedia entry

author: Eduardo Avila


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India: Religions and Fundamentalists · Global Voices
Rezwan

M.J. Akbar makes a point that all religions are not same, but fundamentalists are.

author: Rezwan


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Lebanon: A Civil Marriage Valentine · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

Renewed calls for Lebanon to allow civil marriages were made in a Valentine ceremony at a Beirut bar over the weekend.
Several inter-religious couples staged mock weddings at a bar in Beirut's trendy Gemmayze district to protest the country's stiff marriage laws.
As it stands, civil weddings between inter-religious couples are only recognised if the marriage did not occur on Lebanese territory. For a country with a handful of religious sects, this makes for a sticky situation for many cross-sectarian couples.
The protest is part of a general campaign within the country to replace stifling religious and sectarian control of Lebanon's political institutions with a secular, equal-for-all system.
The Valentine ceremony came only a few days after Interior Minister Ziad Baroud declared that citizens may now remove their religious identity from their national IDs if they so choose.
The move was applauded by many Lebanese bloggers, although others remain skeptical.
Ms. Tee from B-side Beirut was among the supporters of Baroud's decision:
I have been swamped with teaching, so I have not been really paying attention to the news lately. So when I learned that I now have the option to actually remove my sect from my personal status register (Nufus) I had to rub my eyes and pinch myself. How did that happen?
Apart from increasing my respect for minister of interior, Ziad Baroud, even more, this is probably the only piece of news coming from Lebanon over the past few years that I find worth celebrating. As the atheist product of a mixed marriage, I take this personally.
A stoke of optimism from The Lebanese Inner Circle:
Although this move initially only removes reference to one’s religion, the aim is to remove religious law altogether, and reach a civil law which will apply to all citizens, leaving religion a personal matter.
In a country where sectarianism is so ingrained, it will be interesting to see how many Lebanese actually take advantage of this opportunity.
A hats-off from Hanibaal at Lebanon Iznogood. However, he states that more is needed and provides a broader perspective on the religion versus secularism struggle in the country:
While this is a major step forward towards a secularization of the Lebanese political system, major hurdles remain in eliminating religion entirely from public life. Lebanon's political system remains one of the most primitive in the world since one's national identity and political life are not governed by independent State institutions, but rather remain tightly in the hands of the churches, mosques and other organized religions that dominate the State. Lebanon's so-called democracy is a fallacy; the reality is that Lebanon is a federated theocracy where religious communities – not people – are represented in the government and State institutions.
Hanibaal also cautions that Baroud's announcement may be a “smokescreen” to appease Lebanon's secular supporters:
Another example is that in Lebanon you cannot be a Hindu, an agnsotic, a Bahai, an atheist, or a member of any other religion than the 18 that the Lebanese constitution recognizes. You have no civil status if you are not a member of those 18 communities. In effect, Minister Baroud's decree may be a smokescreen because it only removes “reference” to one's religion, but one's religion will continue to determine who votes and who runs for public office.
And in the struggle for civil marriage, Hanibaal highlights current realities in regards to inter-religious relationships in Lebanon and the plight of women in this regard:
In Lebanon, no two spouses in an inter-religious marriage are allowed to keep their own individual religions; Typically, the wife has to abandon her religion and convert to her husband's in order to be allowed to marry him. “Honor killings” are still protected by the law in Lebanon: Every other day, a Muslim woman is killed because her brother, cousin, or any male member of her extended family accused her or suspected her of an out-of-marriage relationship. Often, this is how a male relative who had forced a female member of his family into prostitution but who fears the woman might go public, silences her by killing her then declaring that she has “dishonored” the family.
Ms. Tee from B-side Beirut is also aware of the concerns, but believes Baroud's decision has put the country on the right path. She also reflects on the perplexity of “sectarian citizenship”:
It is, of course, nothing like a magical wave of the wand which undoes sect. Clearly, the parliament, voting system, and our “representative” “democracy” can continue along the same lines even if the very last citizen were to remove his sect from the register. Particularly when they are all based on a census whose population no longer exists.
But that is precisely why the option to remove one’s sect from the register is so phenomenal: the burden of responsiblity rests with me, as a person and citizen, to go tomorrow early morning and remove my sect from the Nufus register. And therein lies the challenge. What will become of it will only be a viable discussion once the widespread rejection of sectarian citizenship becomes fact. So, I find myself wondering, how many will do it? And how many will ask themselves: who am I if not my sect?

author: Antoun Issa


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Nigeria: NaijaPulse: Nigerian Microblogging Service · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Loy's analysis of NaijaPulse, a new Nigerian microblogging service: “Unlike Twitter, the site allows you to create groups, features users and has a link for popular posts. If you favour a post, it will be featured as a POPULAR on the right sidebar. You can also tag a word by preceding it with the hashtag (#).”


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Ukraine: History of Anarchism · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Der Spiegelfechter writes about [GER] anarchism in Ukraine during the Russian 1917-21 civil war.


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Venezuela: Live Coverage of Referendum · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

No Suma Cero [es] has coverage of the February 15th Venezuelan Referendum using the Cover It Live tool.


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Zimbabwe: Take Action For Roy Bennet · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokwanele's call for action to support Roy Bennet: Please call (or sms the cell) these numbers to let the police holding Roy Bennett know that the world is watching very closely and want Roy Bennett to be released immediately. Tell them you will continue to monitor the situation closely, and that you are conveying your concerns to your local MP and the government in your country.


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Africa: Mobile-XL releases SMS Browser for Mobiles for Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mobile-XL has released a mobile browser for SMS in selected African markets. The browser has been released in collaboration with Nokia.


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Arab World: Gasping for Air! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A massive dust storm engulfed the entire Arabian peninsula, leaving the people of Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, gasping for air.
Usual for this time of the year, in Kuwait schools and public departments closed early     on the day of the storm, as dusty gusts picked up speeds of up to 85km per hour, halting oil exports in the oil-rich emirate.
YouTube user q8lightning posts this video:
He further explains:
A sandstorm blew dust from Tuesday night and got worst in the next day Kuwait is now in the middle of winter and sandstorms are already blowing thats because we didnt get enough rain until now.
At Travel Off the Cuff, a message board for travellers, Mark Wolinski complains:
I arrived in Kuwait last night only to find that the dust storm which had descended over Bahrain was even worse in Kuwait. I looked out of the window of the plane and it was a wall of beige.
And still in Kuwait, Flickr user Mink posts the pictures above, with the following explanation for the first picture:
Two Black Cats Watching from atop the wooden fence. It's the first major dust storm in 2009 and it hit really hard. The skies were orange and the air laden with thick dust. When it fell within the next few days, it took a long time to clean up
Mink describes her second shot as:
A perfect view of a sandstorm
And for Granola Girl, dust is one of many reasons for her to pack up her bags and bid Kuwait goodbye:
Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East without a desert. Today, after waking up to howling winds at 2:00am and not sleeping well after that and then inhaling dust all day in a bad sand storm, I am very happy to leave the desert behind.
In nearby Khobar, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Assad Abu Hussain [Ar] posts a few pictures and calls upon his readers to pray to God for forgiveness and rain.
Still in the Eastern Province, Abu Omar posts more pictures of the dusty horizons on Aswaq City [Ar]. He also cautions his readers saying:
Moving to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Rusha also posts pictures from the storm and offers us an explanation about the different types of sand bowls you could expect to find yourself in the desert of Arabia:
Fine dust blows into everything, coming in through every crack- windows, doors, air conditioning vents, exhaust vents. Breathing is labored as it gets into your lungs. Land and air visibility is greatly reduced. People wax poetic about shamals, I tend to cough.
Looking up the various types, remember my last post about driving through a sandstorm with intermittent rain? That is officially called a haboob.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Armenia: Be Free · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia says that while the voice and music of local singer Shprot might be nothing remarkable, her performances are. Challenging traditional notions of gender, sexuality, religion and nationality in the South Caucasus country, the blog says that the controversial singer's message is one that all Armenians should take heed of — be free.


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Bangladesh: Nuclear Energy Required · Global Voices
Rezwan

Alap Bangladesh discusses Bangladesh's energy crisis and opines that Bangladesh should start constructing nuclear power plants to tackle the issue.


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Barbados, Grenada: Domestic Violence  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Ongoing attention to the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident prompts Blah Bloh Blog [Grenada] and Barbados Underground to focus on the issue of domestic violence in the Caribbean.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Accountability  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“What possesses the leader of a political party to appoint someone who is viewed as the patron of his political party, who is the chairman of a major regional financial entity (CLICO Barbados), as the chairman of government-controlled/national broadcasting company?”: Living in Barbados thinks that the government has some explaining to do.


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Belarus: The case of external liberalisation · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user Plaschinsky begins [RUS] a series on the externally driven liberalisation and transitional democratisation of Belarus.


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Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla: New Constitution  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Vexed Bermoothes [Bermuda] and Corruption-free Anguilla blog about the Cayman Islands’ new draft Constitution and Bill of Rights that is scheduled to go before a public referendum on May 20.


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Cuba: Interview with Blogger Reinaldo Escobar · Global Voices
Claudia Cadelo

Cuban blogger Reinaldo Escobar was born in 1947 in Camagüey, and graduated with a degree in journalism from Havana University in 1971. He is one of the few bloggers that has worked professionally as a journalist: first in the magazine “Cuba” up until 1987. Here during this work, he was able to travel and visit practically all of the Cuban municipalities where he wrote about many different topics.  He later joined the staff of the newspaper “Juventud Rebelde,” (Rebel Youth) where he was later expelled in December of 1988 for what he calls writing with “youthful rebellion.”
Now he is an independent journalist and celebrates his firing from the newspaper, together with his wife, Yoani Sánchez of Generación Y [es], whom he met in 1993. From here in 2004, he became editor of the magazine “Consenso” which eventually became the portal Desde Cuba [es], which is is also where his blog Desde Aquí [es] is hosted.
He is also very active in the Cuban blogosphere and will be on the jury for the blogging contest called “A Virtual Island [es],” gives presentations during the blogger gatherings, and is part of the team that is preparing to launch the project “Cuban Voices [es],” where to date, 8 bloggers will have their blogs hosted and which will be inaugurated soon. For Escobar, blogging allows him to write about those topics that come to mind, but where he cannot find a space in official Cuban media.  Here is a short interview about his interest with blogging.
Claudia Cadelo: How did you start with blogging?
Reinaldo Escobar: In 1994, I touched a computer for the first time, so I arrived late to using technology.   Thanks to Yoani Sánchez, author of the blog Generación Y [es], my partner for the past 15 years, she introduced me to this new form of expressing ideas called a blog.  She taught me and motivated me, and she still pushes me when I don't write in my blog for more than one week.
CC: What do you see is the value in blogs?
RE: I think one finds an elevated level of freedoms in blogs, and people can aspire to it when they wants to express themselves.  Whether or not it is journalism, will be a discussion for the future.  It is like the debate whether or not acupuncture is medicine, whether or not chess is a sport, or whether or not yoga is a religion. These phenomena emerge and acquire their own identity, independent of definitions and labels given to them.
CC: What are your thoughts on a blogosphere that is often polarized?
RE: Now, I have chosen moderation, which is not synonymous with cowardice or conservatism.  Sometimes, I write incendiary words and I have the urge to insult and discredit, especially with those who insult and discredit others as if it were their job, most of them are opportunist and.. . (see, it does not take much to fall into temptation), but I contain myself. Even though I prefer not to belong to any political organization, I believe that I have a commitment, a citizen's obligation to my country and its future. I enjoy the characteristic (for some it is a defect, and for others a virtue) of not remaining quiet when I sense that it is necessary to say something. I am that person that tells the passerby that their shoe is untied, that signals a driver when he or she drives with their lights on during daytime. Whey should I remain silent when I have the feeling that my children's future is in danger? I don't feel like a hero or anything else. I chose the risks of responsibility, before brave imprudence or indifferent comfort.

author: Claudia Cadelo


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Cuba: Revolution.com · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y is “more alarmed than comforted” by “hopes for broad access to the internet” in Cuba, but notes: “A true revolution.com takes place parallel and contrary to the rationing they want to impose on the virtual world.  Its commanders carry strange names like Gmail, WordPress, Skype and Facebook: they do not create divisions but rather unite people.”


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Egypt: Kareem writes from prison  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Free Kareem, a blog set up to rally support for jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulieman, posts excerpts from Kareem's latest letter from prison, sent to Egyptian blogger Wa7da Masrya.


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Egypt: Pharmacies on strike  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Moftasa reports on Twitter that he saw five pharmacies closed on his way to work because of a strike.


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Egypt: Saddam’s Nephew Blogging · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Chronicles points out that former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's nephew has a blog – Crime is a human instinct.


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El Salvador:  A New Archbishop in San Salvador · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The new Archbishop José Luís Escobar Alas recently took possession of his archdiocese of the capital city of El Salvador writes Carlos X. Colorado in a guest blog post at Tim's El Salvador Blog, where he also writes that the new Archbishops offers, “a striking contrast both in style and in substance to the man he is replacing, the 75 year-old Msgr. Fernando Saenz Lacalle.”


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Global: Appointment of Saudi Arabia’s First Female Deputy Minister Makes Waves · Global Voices
Eunice del Rosario

As millions of women the world over marked Valentine’s Day with gifts from their loved ones, one woman – in a country that has banned the holiday and labels it a ‘sin’ – has good reason to never forget February 14, 2009.
Meet Noura Al Fayez, teacher extraordinaire, a product of the US education system, who last Saturday became the first ever woman deputy minister in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Bloggers around the globe were abuzz as soon as the news of Al Fayez broke, with thousands of ‘Twitterers’ microblogging about the new official literally minutes after networks, including Saudi state-run Channel One, reported it on Saturday.
Briton @lizaquincy wrote:
She added in a later tweet:
“For sure it's a giant step for ‘womankind’ in Saudi Arabia, but really —- how can it work when women's right are often violated there?”
American @jeffwarrens responded to Liza’s ‘tweet’ by saying:
Another American Twitter user @Jacob1207 said simply:
King Abdullah on Saturday also dismissed the chief of religious police and a cleric, who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast ‘immoral’ content.
What has been widely reported as “the shake-up”, the king’s first since coming to power in August 2005, included Al Fayez’s appointment as deputy minister for girls’ education – by far the highest government position any Saudi woman has attained.
But as the news of the kingdom’s first ever female minister continued to sink in, global bloggers are fast expressing their concern for Al Fayez.
They are quick to question whether or not she would have any influence in a country, where women still face severe discrimination in many aspects of their lives – including education, employment and the justice system.
Eman Al Nafjan, the woman behind Saudi Woman’s Weblog hailed Al Fayez’s new appointment calling it a leap of progress for her country.
“Today is definitely a happy day. Saudi Arabia has made a leap of progress. King Abdullah surprised everyone yesterday morning with major overhauls to the judicial and educational system. And the biggest bombshell of all was that a woman was appointed as head of girl’s education. This is a position that has always belonged to the longest bearded most conservative muttawa possible and now to have a woman in it is FANTASTIC, notwithstanding the fact that the woman who was chosen is a moderate Muslim, educated and a highly qualified woman. She has extensive experience in girl’s education. I doubt that that they could have found anyone more qualified.”
Eman, who herself is a teacher in Riyadh, also noted that Al Fayez’s photograph in a local newspaper shows her face uncovered.
“Now there’s a lot of buzz that of course she wouldn’t be this progressive unless she was a non-tribal woman, probably originating from Jordan or Palestine and she definitely is divorced because no “real” Saudi in his right mind would allow his wife to appear publicly with her face uncovered. I am very proud to say that actually she belongs to one of the biggest tribes in Saudi, Bani Tameem from Al Nawayser part of it and she is from Al Washim here in Najd. Her husband very much supports her and is proud of her.”
Blogger, Rasha, who is also from Saudi Arabia, expressed her hope on MidEastYouth.com that this would be a turning point for her country.
“King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia surprised the nation with a shakeup that is considered the biggest change that happened in this country in 20 years.
“Noura Al-Fayez, an official at the Saudi Institute for Public Administration, was elevated to the new post of deputy minister of women’s education; the first time a woman has been appointed a deputy minister in the history of this country. Al-Fayez’s appointment appeared to be the king’s response to increased lobbying from women’s rights groups against discrimination.
“Other changes have been done in several ministries and hopefully this will be a turning point for this country. However, actual changes do not happen overnight. yet this is a step in the right direction I believe and I hope to see the fruits of all positive changes in my lifetime ..”
Reme Ahmad, whose blog OpEd took a break from Malaysian politics to write about Al Fayez in his post Saudi Appoints First Woman Minister.
“Alright, so she is a DEPUTY Minister. OK lah. Better than nothing. I wonder whether the Saudis would soon allow women to drive…
“As for women ministers, in other Muslim countries, I am glad to say this is a non-issue. We had two Battling Begums in Bangladesh, both of whom were prime ministers. One of them is now back as PM, fighting off the other.  In Pakistan, Benazir (Bhutto) is still a top name despite her demise a year ago. In Southeast Asia, we have ministers-in-bujakurongs (different from bananas-in-pajamas) in Indonesia and Malaysia for a long time.
“Still, hurray for Saudi Arabia, the country that guards the two holy mosques.”
American Merv Benson, author of Prairie Pundit, believes the shake-up was necessary.
“(Sheik Ibrahim al-Ghaith, former head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice) and his thugs were a continuing source of embarrassment to the Saudis. They arrested a business woman for having coffee at a Starbucks with a business associate. In another case they arrested an immigrant who was assisting a sickly neighbor.
“Perhaps their most heinous act led to the death of girl students who were not allowed to escape a fire in a dormitory because they did not have escorts or “proper” attire.
“This appears to be a wise move by the Saudi King.”
The Cylinder  noted that King Abdullah’s shake-up represented “tiny baby steps”.
“Saudi Arabia has appointed the kingdom’s first woman minister in a cabinet reshuffle that also saw the dismissal of four ministers and heads of the powerful religious police and judicial bodies. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz appointed Noura Al Faiz as deputy minister for women’s education, in a move considered a milestone in Saudi Arabia.
“Really tiny baby steps … and such a long way to go!”
Sabha999  wrote on Religion Compass that the world is definitely going to keep a close eye on women’s rights following the latest appointment of Al Fayez.
“While the religious police were busy with detaining salesmen for selling Valentine gifts, King Abdullah removed the chief of the religious police on the banned holiday.
“Educational changes too are expected, with the appointment of Al Fayez, the first woman ever to serve on the Saudi cabinet, as deputy for girl’s education. All of this is believed to shake up the religious establishment.”
It is a known fact that it is against the law to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Saudi Arabia. Each year, religious police make their rounds to make sure that no one marks the banned holiday.
Officers randomly check stores for gifts and other items that are red or suggest the holiday and have them removed from shelves. Each year, a number of sales personnel are detained for days for breaking the said law.
Valentine's Day, banned because of its origins as a celebration of the 3rd century Christian martyr, is also targeted because unmarried men and women cannot be alone together.

author: Eunice del Rosario


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Guadeloupe, Martinique: Farewell Mr. N’Diaye · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican blogger Imaniyé and Guadeloupean B.World Connection  both pay homage to Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, who recently passed away. He was the Conservator of Gorée Island and instrumental in making French West Indians go back through the Door of No Return in the late 1990's.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Honduras: The Tourist Destination of La Esperanza in Intibucá · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The town of La Esperanza in the department of Intibucá, Honduras is an excellent tourist destination [es] according to Hugo Chinchilla.  In addition to colonial architecture, it also attracts many visitors during Easter's Holy Week.


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Hong Kong: Network Mobilization Against Religious Hegemony  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yesterday (Feb 15), more than 800 people participated in a demonstration against Christian Right Wing in Hong Kong. The rally has no traditional NGO back up and it is mainly mobilized via facebook groups.
Sidekick reported about the rally via twitter during the rally and put the messages together in her blog. Actually she joined the rally because she read my message in twitter:
因為之前在twitter，見oiwan 說 ：
雖然對於２月１５日的遊行抱有疑惑，但會去做民間報導。畢竟這是網絡動員與淫審論爭的大事件！
於是令我也興起參加之念。
昨晚跟紫草 im，叫他今早吵醒我，所以雖然昨晚不算睡得太好，也能夠起來參加，跟他一起去……
“Although I have certain doubts about the Feb 15 rally, I will go there for citizen reporting. Moreover, this network mobilization is a big issue regarding the indecent censorship debate!”
The message encouraged me to join.
Last night I asked cek ho via IM to wake me up this morning. Although I didn't sleep well last night, I still managed to join the rally with him…
Below is a video on the gathering before the rally:
And here comes a selection of Sidekick's twitter messages:
# 12:11p.m. 現在遊行人數應有四百人左右。
# 12:13p.m. 大會呼籲大家去到恩福堂時要保持冷靜，安靜。我們會在那裡默哀五分鐘。
# 12:16p.m. 我們在恩福堂門口綁上藍絲帶
# 12:18p.m. 下雨了！不過我有戴帽，cnbloggercon 的rss 帽，標準網民打扮。
# 12:20p.m. 林輝說，覺得九成人是新面孔，好開心。
# 12:25p.m. 我們離開了長沙灣的恩福堂，現遊行往太子的明光社。我們邊行邊喊口號，警察封了兩條行車線給我們。
# 12:32p.m. 我們在路上，遊行隊伍越來越多人。@oiwan 覺得應有500人了。
# 12:34p.m. 新口號：明光社，食屎！
# 12:37p.m. 今日遊行，女生不算少了。@oiwan 估佔兩成。
# 12:42p.m. 新口號二：蘇穎智，收皮！
# 12:48p.m. 一個達六七百人，佔四份一馬路的遊行，竟然不見有電視台新聞部採訪。@oiwan 覺得好離譜！
# 12:55p.m. 到西九龍中心。林輝說遊行隊伍像貪食蛇，越行越長。:)
# 01:07p.m. 差不多走到太子了，快到明光社了！
# 01:11p.m. 看不到龍尾
# 01:18p.m. 盲光社，可恥！
# 01:20p.m. 聽說後面就是盲光社
# 01:23p.m. 我們已經過了明光社，但卻繼續前行。不知終點在哪。
# 01:25p.m. 大會說遊行人數有八百人！
ESWN has translated two Chinese newspapers reports on the rally and Doctor Fat's reflections after the rally:
In the history of religion in Hong Kong, the date Feburary 15, 2009 will be remembered.
On that day, several hundred citizens (mostly netizens) marched in the streets to “support the values of civic society and oppose right-wing religious hegemony.”
As an ordinary citizen and as an ordinary participant, let me first of all sincerely thank the persons who organized the demonstration march as well as the other volunteers.  They turned a dream into reality and a call into an action.  As I walked along the Cheung Sha Wan Path down to the Flower Market, I was indescribably moved: A group of people with different faiths, different sexual tendencies, different political stances, different education and backgrounds can come together for the same feelings (or perhaps the same anger) in a peaceful, rational and restrained manner.
In fact, all the concerns before the march about any violence were redundant.  The marchers may have occasionally yelled out aloud but it did not bother me.  Overall, the demonstrators were very disciplined and self-restrained.  In front of Yanfook Church, everybody chose to hold a silent protest and to tie blue ribbons on the barriers outside the church.  Dr. Chen's reading of “Ask less for love from others, but give all your love out instead” from St. Francis’ Prayers was supported and approved.
I saw that the Christians were able to read from the Bible as they marched, I saw that the Hong Kong Golden Forum friends could hold up their banners, I saw that gays could hold their hands together without fear, and I saw that students could protest aloud about the fake responses [that their school organized] as well as articulate their vision for education.  We came together by respecting each other.  We may have argued over the Internet over our views about religion, but once out in the streets, the rationality, restraint and tolerance were admirable and touching.
Before the rally, there are some discussions on internet mobilization. Cek Ho argued that internet mobilization is based on reaction against someone or something:
這種以「攻擊對象」主導的運動，導致了社會運動的一種結構性改變。我們不可能由籍著宣揚某種信念而動員；而是必需等待某人做了某事，而成為被攻擊對象，才能作出有效的動員。215 遊行的團體宣稱堅持「公民社會」，不過，香港從來不缺「公民社會」的論述和支持者，為甚麼它偏偏能在這時刻爆出？為甚麼它能在 Facebook 中，以一天近乎 200 人的驚人速度增長？因為，這 group 的名字是《香港反「保守基督教派霸權」運動》。「保守基督教派」這名詞，一看就知是最近在《淫審》和《家暴》條例中，大放厥詞的極端基督教勢力。這些保守勢力，一早已讓人牙癢癢的，欲除之而後快。時勢造英雄正確無比，不過造時勢是，卻往往不是英雄而是狗熊。
可是，這亦導致了社會運動上的難以管理。以仇恨為主體的運動，當仇恨發洩或退卻後，它就會從火線上退下來，無法再被動員，亦難以在相關議題上作出動員── 因為議題可能有關聯性，但卻未有白癡走出來，淪為攻擊對象，呈現一種仇恨對象缺席、沒著落的狀態。
However, because of this, it is rather difficult to manage such movement. When hatred is the driving force for the movement, when it is cool down, it will be difficult to be mobilized again — as no idiot will give in himself to fuel people's anger. When hatred is absent, the mobilization would be disintegrated.
I have replied Cek Ho with another post at inmediahk.net:
紫草說對了一半，網絡的特性往往是「即時性」和「反應性」(reactionary)，心之所感，再複製、重組和散播相關的訊息，形成一股情緒。更重要的是把這些情緒反應轉化為動員（要有理據），再轉化為運動（要有改變社會的議程），則要細緻地經營論述，鞏固既有的網絡。我覺得大家都在學習。
回到這次「反保守基督教派霸權」的動員，「反應情緒」主要來自家暴條例和淫審諮詢的宗教右翼聖戰號角，另一個源頭是那些以泛道德作為管治手段／政治籌碼的政客。雖然這次遊行，組織者打正旗號「反」保守基督教派霸權，但有別於其他網絡動員，組織者很強調網絡的團結：「able to join hand」，而且在動員的過程中，亦不斷地修正綱領
Back to this anti-conservative Christian hegemony mobilization, the reactionary sentiment comes from the Holy war launched by the Christian right concerning the Domestic Violence and Obscene article ordinance, another sources is those politicians who try to manipulate moral issue as a means of social and political control. Although the rally is titled as an “Anti” Conservative Christian Hegemony campaign, organizers have stressed solidarity within the network and have been amending their agenda in the process.
After the rally, I have identified a number of mobilization core from the participants:
除了一些鬆散的個人透過 facebook 等網絡聚合，據我於互聯網和現場的觀察，遊行的動員，有幾個核心：一．主辦的核心（包括香港青年聯會）；二．高登、奧賣葛、投訴波兒（以上三者有些重疊）；三．同運團體；四．社民連；五．進步基督教徒；六．獨媒、影行者、媒體工作者。本來以為會出席但缺席的社群包括 blogger、維基人、文化藝術工作者、正統學界（有些大學的小組，如港大社工小隊，但學聯學生會似乎沒有積極動員）。
整個動員，不靠主流媒體或街上 banner 的吹谷、沒有政治明星（社民連幾大巨頭禮貌地避場），而是幾個動員核心的成員，一個連一個的拉出來，而這些參與者，對事件的了解相當深，隨便問一個人，大概都能講出十個理由他／她為什麼要出來行，而不是靠情緒和慣性，所以這八百人潛在的力量很大。
The whole mobilization was not based on mainstream media, nor banner in the street. There wan't any political stars (LSD's leaders avoided their presence). The mobilization was based on all these core groups, one linking up to another. That's why most of the participants have good knowledge of the issue. You can pick up a participant randomly and s/he can give you a dozen reasons why s/he participated in this rally. This is not based on sentiment nor habit, and the 800 participants have strong potentials in future mobilization.
In the facebook, many members explained why their decided to join the rally, rationally and with positive values:
Don't Fok: 如果今次都唔出聲既話,唔會再有人可以幫我地呢d小市民出聲架la!!!
fuck the 霸權主義者everyday!!!
Michael Luk: I promise I'll be in my best behavior on Sunday, but it's really hard to keep cool: These evangelical frenetics have been around abusing our mind and suppressing our civil rights through terror and censorship for too long. These “Christians” disseminate hate and suffocate free thoughts in the society. It's about time to kick them out from schools and the streets, and let them traumatize each other in their own churches.
Paul Chan: 這不是基督教徒的社會, 這不是天主教徒的社會, 這不是佛教徒的社會, 這不是非主流教徒的社會, 這不是無神論者的社會.
這是我們不分宗教信仰和不分種族的社會, 所以請你們互相尊重, 和諧共容. ^^
This is a society that is not marked by religious belief not race, so please be respectful and be tolerant.
Kin Chan: 少數基督教派絕對唔可以代表全部香港人的價值觀
少數基督教派更加唔可以將自己的價值觀強加於人
Fan Hin Hung: 點解要抹殺青少年正確教育青少年明辨是非ge機會?
點解因為要創造一個”純潔”ge世界而剝削其他人ge自由?
點解唔俾青少年認清呢個世界,呢個社會ge另一面?
點解要過份保護我地ge下一代?
點解要灌輸大人自認為”完全正確”ge睇法俾我地ge下一代?
ChurmanNg: No matter how Pastor So presented his view, it is not the main point that i am criticizing, it is his freedom to give his own speech.The main idea for my opinion is that we should not analyze this issue from the perspective of ethical value, but the priciple of law, which is protecting everyone in the society,should be written based on respecting differnet kinds of value in the society. Note that even Christian is not the god, we can not force the others to accept the value we believe in.To make the others understand that the value of Holy Bible is absolute truth, we should preach by love,and our good examples.
Eleanor Cheung: sorry, i won't be able to attend (have to work).
hope people in our society, whether christian or not, have more understanding for each other lah. wouldn't it be nice if one day we can transcend this dualistic discourses and struggles between conservative vs liberals; pro gays vs anti gays; god vs devil etc.
i'd like to send loving kindness (metta) to those who are religious right (宗教右翼霸權); may be what they lack is a bit of love. according to christianity, god loves unconditionally, i hope they can feel god's love for them as well as for all beings unconditionally, no matter they are christians or non christians, gay or not gay, israelis or palestinians etc.
HK Akaraon: I am a christian myself but I don't really like those who are on the far end of the line – (the conservative Christian) (保守基督教派). I rather stay somewhere between heaven and earth and anywhere else except hell rather than meeting them in person or even talk to them. I know some people like that but trust me they won't believe in any other people's concept except their own until you prove them wrong or when they suffer from their own self made consequences. (Those HARDCORED RIGHT – WINGED EXTREMISTS!!!) If you think that the the stuffs on TV will make your child turn bad (DONT WATCH IT THEN). If you think that magazines will make them turn bad too (DONT LET YOUR CHILD GET THEIR HANDS ON IT THEN) DONT THROW YOUR BLOODY RESPONSIBILITIES AS A PARENT TO THE GOVERNMENT AND THE WORLD. YOU ARE A FAILURE AS A PARENT AND GOD GAVE YOU FREEWILL SO…. STOP BEING SO STUCK-UP!!!!!!!!

author: Oiwan Lam


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India: The Free Hug Campaign · Global Voices
Rezwan

AJ at Desicritics.org joined the Hug Karo, Pub Bharo aandolan (hug and fill the pub movement) and posts his experience including photos. This was organized by the Blogaloreans (Bangalore Bloggers group) to protest the moral policing of Shree Ram Sena activists in Mangalore.


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Iran: Bloggers Remember 30th Anniversary of the Revolution · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thousands of Iranians celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution on February 10, by rallying in Tehran and other major cities in Iran.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, delivered a speech on this occasion praising the revolution's achievements and calling Iran a superpower.
Several Iranian bloggers, both citizens and politicians, blogged on this topic.
Potin has published several photos of the revolution anniversary rally in Tehran where people carried the Islamic Republic's flag, revolutionary posters that praise “30 years of freedom”, and anti-USA/Israel/United Nations symbols (above).
Contrary to the opinions of those who participated in these rallies and the Iranian authorities, Ghomar Asheghaneh, an Iran-based blogger, does not believe that Iran is a “free country”. He rejects Ahmadinejad's claim that  there is “unique freedom” in Iran and says [fa]:
همه بهره‌یی داریم از این نعمت سی‌ساله؛ وبلاگ‌نویس‌اش باشی، نشانی‌اش امیدرضا میرصیافی‌ی ساکن اوین و مجتبا لطفی‌ی ساکن زندان قم، معلم‌اش اگر باشی، روی تخته سیاه طناب برای‌ات می‌کشند و می‌شوی فرزاد کمانگر، دست‌های‌ات اگر از سختی‌ی کار پینه بسته باشد و کار به کارگری کرده باشی، منصور اسانلو می‌شوی و تبعیدی به زندان رجایی‌شهر…
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the former reformist-vice president and blogger considers that the Islamic Revolution was a good thing. He writes [en] (sic):
Most of the events that happened and are happening in the country's administration can be acceptable or inacceptable for revolution generation and it is possible that current generation have different wills because of passing 30 years and new achievements in the world in the 30 years and communication will be the most important of them, but we should not forget that events should be reviewed in its exact time. Our generation is proud to their revolution which had happened 30 years ago and nothing can deny past events. If today's generation denies their predecessors of course future generation will deny them too and such chain will be continued for all generations. Also our generation should not be ignoring wills of next generation.
Mr.Behi belongs to a new generation who did not experience the revolution and wants “another Iran”. He writes [en]:
I was only one when Iran revolted in hope for change. Now I look back and wonder about those who made it happen. I can't put myself in their shoes though as my world is very different from theirs. Chanting ‘No East, No West’ is no longer valid for me. I am neither ready to change my life for an ideology. If they wanted Iran to change the world with revolution, I now want it to embrace the world with open arms.
Ahestan  published  [fa] several links to Ayatollah Khomeini's speeches and revolutionary songs. The blogger reminds readers that political prisoners were tortured under Shah's regime.
Channel 4 News online in the United Kingdom has also published a report on Iranian bloggers’ posts about the Islamic Revolution, 30 years later.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: 25 Random Things  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ceasar of Pentra, from Iraq, shares 25 random things about himself in this post.


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Iraqi bloggers meet  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Attawie describes meeting up with other Iraqi bloggers in Amman, Jordan, in this post.


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Israel/Arab World: Reflections on Waltz with Bashir · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Rantings of an Arab Chick posts a trailer from Waltz with Bashir by Israeli  Ari Folman about his experiences during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. “I think this is a film I'll want to see… And not see,” she notes.


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Jamaica: Explicit music banned · Global Voices
Bianca Welds

The long-standing controversy over the appropriateness of certain music for public airplay has once again reared its head in Jamaica. Following public discussion about a recent release by Vybz Kartel and Spice entitled  “Rampin’ Shop”, the lyrics of which are particularly explicit, the Jamaica Broadcasting Commission announced a ban on all sexually explicit music deemed inappropriate for airplay. This ban went into effect on February 6, 2009 and covered all songs that promote the act of “daggering”, as well as any songs that use editing techniques to remove expletives and other lewd content.
Jamaican blogger, Girl with a Purpose notes that while she does think the ban will be effective in reducing the lewd music that is heard “for probably 50% of the time…via radio and television”, a large part of the responsibility lies with the adults of our society, especially parents, who need to censor themselves and realize that:
To expose their young children to lewd and explicit music, thus making them prematurely ready and aware of sex and violent acts, is wrong.
Another trend in these discussions is the issue of other musical genres besides dancehall (i.e. soca and calypso, hip hop, rap etc.), especially as Jamaica enters its Carnival season – a time when imported soca music takes centre stage across the island. Amidst cries of hypocrisy by several Jamaican artistes who feel that dancehall is being unfairly singled out, MadBull, a Jamaican blogger in Cayman, writes that he fully supports the ban and thinks it should be extended to any genre of music being considered for public airplay. He exclaims on his blog:
What about soca and hip hop and so on? I don’t care what the genre is! If the lyrics dutty, drop dem too! That's what I think!
Outspoken Jamaican blogger, Agostinho, published on his blog a letter he submitted to the editors of various local media in which he discusses the need for dancehall to revamp its image. While he acknowledges the place of dancehall music in Jamaican society and its importance as the centre of popular culture, he feels that dancehall has a responsibility to the society from which it springs to reform its image…
not just in the interests of practicality given its increased powers of importance in the society, but also as a means of demonstrating its inherent versatility/creativity. The latter, as we are aware, goes beyond a focus on only themes of sex and violence. Excuses regarding a chronic lack of education on the part of many of its producers and artistes are an insult to the diversity of intelligence and depth of talent within the industry/culture. These must yield to the more urgent demands of true national development, cultural pride and meaningful progress.
Stunner's Afflictions also explains his thoughts on the ban. He fully supports the move by the Broadcasting Commission, noting that it was long overdue:
It is their job to police what is good for public broadcast as prescribed by Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations. So why did they have to wait on public outcry and pressure for them to take a step to ban such material? What have they been doing and what are they doing, for my hard earned taxpayer dollars? The Broadcasting Commission need to pull up their socks and this incident really shows them up.
His followup post on Valentine's Day sought to remind readers of a crucial point:
Not all of our Dancehall/Reggae music is less than desirable. There are still very good songs being played on our airwaves.
He goes on to share a video example of one such song, “Love Reigns” by Tarrus Riley and Bugle, two of Jamaica's newer artistes.
Since this public ban on explicit music, support has begun for more positive products to come out of the Jamaican entertainment industry. YardFlex, tagging itself as the Ultimate Jamaican Entertainment Magazine, reported recently on Tychicus, a self-described healer and prophet who staged a one-man protest last year against “daggering”, and who has since come out with some clean dances that he says are inspired by the Almighty.
This discussion is ongoing as the ban is only 10 days old and the full implementation and its effects are yet to be seen. Jamaican bloggers have all come out in full support of the ban, and see this as a time for Jamaican artistes to step up and prove their creativity to the world.

author: Bianca Welds


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Jamaica: Sex vs. Erotica  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I have no problem whatsoever with sex in fiction. But I do have a problem with erotica”: Jamaican author and blogger Marlon James explains.