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Belarus: Give Lukashenko his LuNet! · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

When the Belarusian activist Dzianis Dzianisau was detained for nearly two months on charges of “taking part in manifestations which disturb public order”, the Belarusian blogsphere successfully organized an online (and offline) campaign to raise the bail (15.500.000 Belarusian roubles or $7,300) and got the young political prisoner out of jail. According to Belarusian blogger and activist Zmieter Soltan (listen below to our podcast interview with Zmieter), the campaign involved several Belarusian online communities on LiveJournal: “There were multiple posts with photos of Dzianis, updates on the investigation of his case, on the likely charges which would be put against him, photos of his mother and girlfriend, reports about the event when he was arrested, regular updates on the money raised to date, accounts from visits to the prison.”
The most recent episode of the Belarusian cyberactivism is much more creative and cynical. This time, it came in the form of birthday gift to the country's president, Alexander Lukashenko, after he complained about the anarchy of the Internet. During a visit to the state-owned newspaper Sovietskaya Bielorussiya, President Lukashenko announced his plan to tighten restrictions on Internet and said: “It is time to stop the anarchy on the Internet. We cannot allow this great technological achievement of man to be turned into an information garbage heap.”
The use of the Internet is already restricted in Belarus. According to the OpenNet Initiative report on internet filtering in Belarus, most cybercafés require users to show identification and keep the logs of their online activity. In reaction to Lukashenko’s comments, Belarusian activists from the online community “Third Way” have joined forces and launched the LuNet campaign to raise awareness about the threats to the online free speech that a new media law presently in the works could represent. The LuNet campaign comprises the following: the LuTube video-sharing website, LuJournal blogging platform, Lundex search engine, and a web portal tut.lu.
In this interview with Pavel Marosau of LuNet, we talk about the campaign, Belarusian cyberactivism and the threats to the freedom of online expression in Belarus.
In an interview reported by Reuters, President Alexander Lukashenko said: “It is time to stop the anarchy on the Internet. We cannot allow this great technological achievement of man to be turned into an information garbage heap“. What measures has he taken to stop “the anarchy on the Internet”?
President Lukashenka said that about anarchy in internet during the meeting with his loyal journalists from Sovietskaya Belorussia propaganda newspaper. Despite the fact that he controls all TV, FM and wire radio stations, and most of newspapers, he is still not satisfied. He views the Internet as threat, as neither he nor his men have succeeded in putting the Internet under total control. I think he can't fully understand what the Internet is, as he's a man with old Soviet mentality. And of course, he's afraid of what he can't understand.
His advisors proposed him several ways “to stop anarchy on the internet”. The most evident and dangerous for us is adopting a new law on media in his “pocket” parliament which would oblige all owners of “harmful” websites to register them thus constraining freedom of its owners and authors by equaling websites and press. It would make the repressions and persecutions of websites’ owners and authors much easier.
Belarusian authorities have been combating for years with unwanted opinions in internet by persecuting specific people. However, they used some very exotic punitive articles and methods of punishments and it was never done on a regular basis. For instance, me together with my colleagues, Andrei Abozau and Aleg Minich, are still persecuted for slandering Lukashenka by cartoons (www.multclub.org) which is why we have to live abroad at the moment. In August 2007 Andrei Klimau, a notorious Belarusian dissident, was found guilty of calling for overthrowing Lukashenka's regime and sentenced to 2 years of prison for his publication in internet. A famous and harsh critic of Lukashenka, Andrei Suzdaltsev (www.politoboz.com) was possibly poisoned, which resulted in diabetes and partial eyesight loss. Owners of United Civil Party of Belarus website were sued by one Belarusian official claiming damage to his reputation because of an article the website had published accusing his son of abuse of law. As you can see Belarusian authorities are quite creative in persecuting internet dissidents. However, all that methods are no longer enough for them so they need an instrument of mass repressions.
It would be reasonable to put another example of Belarusian civic associations’ liberties cut. Before presidential elections in 2006 Belarusian parliament adopted a law which severely increased punishment for being a member of so called “unregistered organizations”. Both in that time and now most of oppositional organizations are not registered as the government simply doesn't want to register them. Just after the adoption of law a campaign against independent observers, youth activists, and politicians was unleashed. People were sentenced to up to two years terms of imprisonment. Belarusian internet community can face the same. This is why we are protesting so actively against those punitive measures inspired by Lukashnka.
Why did you choose Lukashenko's birthday to launch LuNet?
We have chosen that date because Lukashenka is the main initiator and inspirer of repressions against independent internet in Belarus. It would have been just if Lukashenka experienced by himself all amenities of tightly-controlled, no alternative information environment, which is Lunet as we understand it. That's why we gave him Lunet as a birthday present. The Lunet campaign was firstly designed as a small action of protest against regime's repressions toward internet. However, it gained much attention and support in internet community with many different people joining it. That's why we decided to turn it into a constant action with new undertakings in support of independent internet in Belarus appearing all the time.
Are social networking websites like YouTube and LiveJournal being targeted by censorship? If no, why did you choose them as example to build this funny and original Lukashenko-friendly customized version of Internet? And apart from YouTube and LiveJournal, you've also built a Lundex and tut.lu. What are these websites?
Challenges our digital century provides are not easy for Belarusian regime. The authority representatives as I said can't completely understand the essence of internet as their mentality is still of that of a Soviet man. That is why they are examining closely (as they admitted themselves) experience of other states repressive toward internet, such as China and Iran. Especially since Lukashenka has got good relations with them and large arms supply contracts. But I'll repeat it one more time: it is much easier for the regime to put to jail or intimidate certain author of internet publication, to hack or restrict access to a certain website than to introduce a large-scale system of content filtration, especially if it is intended to be applied to such huge communities as Youtube or Livejournal. We have chosen them as well as Yandex search engine and tut.by, the most popular Belarusian web-portal, because they are very popular among Belarusian audience. Belarusians have become attached to them. And, by showing in a satirical and a little bit hypertrophied form what model of internet Lukashenka is about to introduce, what changes they may face if government attempts to put internet under control, we wanted to raise awareness of Belarusian internet users. There's a good saying: “The only thing evil needs for a complete triumph is good people doing nothing”. We wanted other Belarusians and our colleges from abroad to stand for our freedoms and we are sure that it will help to protect them.
Can you tell us more about the Internet-community “Third Way” and the Bеlarusian cyberactivism, did you also launched other spectacular campaigns like Lunet? Are you providing circumvention tools to the Belarusian internet users? And what is the relationship between activists and the belerussian blogsphere?
Third Way internet community (www.3dway.org) is a group of young Belarusians and their colleagues from abroad living in 9 different countries, whose mission is to transform Belarus into a successful and able to compete country with the priority of liberal values, open society, and democratic civil system. We work together by actively using modern web technologies in order to provide Belarusian with information alternative to state propaganda, to look for and involve into cyberactivism talented Belarusian from different countries of the world, to educate them, to create a network of partnership and cooperation with their help, to present our country abroad, and to lobby not Lukashenka regime's interests but those of Belarusian society.
We are related to Belarusian cyberactivists from the very beginning, we are a part of them, and we are helping each other all the time. Most of Belarusian cyberactivists are concentrated in Belarusian blogsphere, as well as in such projects as Pozirk, Pavetra, BelMov, Moladz.org, Gart, Initsiativa, Bunt… They are not only active in internet but also in offline where they conduct flash mobs and actions of protest.   Since 2005 we have conducted various internet campaigns together with Belarusian cyberactivists communities and youth initiatives: protection of Minsk history (against renaming streets) in 2005 and Hrodna (against demolition of historical center) in 2007, in support of Actions of Solidarity in 2005 and Belarusian satirists in 2006, for freedom of Belarusian political prisoners in 2006. Since May 2007 we have been acting together in the framework of Together For Freedom! Manifesto (www.peremen.info). Both activists of Belarusian NGOs and internet activists are engaged in these campaigns. The Third Way is providing coordination and technical support of these enterprises. As for security measures for Belarusian cyberactivists, we are actively propagating Skype as a convenient and multi-purpose tool. Also we have conducted several workshops on information security for Belarusian civic activists together with our Ukrainian partners and shared our own experience. But progress goes on and Skype is not that safe nowadays so in 2008 we are going to introduce new solutions in the sphere of internet security to our Belarusian partners. The Third Way community is in friends with Belarusian blogsphere from the moment of its coming into life, many notorious bloggers are in friends with us and are active members of our internet community. We have good relations and close cooperation with Pozirk blogging project, Minsk_by blog-community.
How do you assess the the general filtering and censorship situation in your country ?
Pavel: There is a system of content filtering in Belarus. This system based on Chinese technologies was installed into state internet provider Beltelecom's equipment not a long time ago. However, the main purpose of this system is not preventing people from accessing free information but a surveillance for Belarusian internet users. Limiting access to certain websites is not done on a regular basis. During elections, referendums, and other occasions crucially important for the authorities, Belarusian opposition websites are being temporally blocked for Belarusian users, they are hacked and put under some other destructive actions.
Sami: What was the reaction of the Belarusian regime to the Lunet campaign?
I think they didn't knew how to react to that internet performance. That is why they have chosen to keep silence. Nevertheless the authorities are continuing preparation of new repressive laws justifying it by “protection of common people's interests”, and are also likely to be preparing show trials against Belarusian cyberactivists.
Sami: What is your next move?
Pavel: We would like to cover this topic during all period the new law on media is being discussed and adopted. Not only in a satirical form of LuNet though we have some fresh ideas in that sphere as well. We would like to cooperate with Belarusian politicians and public figures in order to motivate them to address global community so it would influence the situation with freedom of internet in Belarus. We would like to show some examples of censorship and restrictions of internet in other countries to Belarusian users so they would completely understand what exactly is waiting for them. More than that, we are enforcing cooperation and solidarity between social and political internet projects and blogsphere in Belarus. In the framework of Time to Win civil activists alliance we provide safe and free hosting in Germany and USA to new internet projects on social and political issues, we consult and help new initiatives to make their own websites. Together with our German partners we are preparing new tools of safe communication, anonymization, and filters-avoiding for Belarusian cyberactivists.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Botswana: The Nata Blog at UN conference · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Nata blog from Nata village in Botswana is featured on two seminars at a UN conference on ICT: “Pictured above is Melody Jenkins presenting the Nata website at 9'oclock this morning to an international audience at the Global Conference on ICT and Youth for Development.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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China: How Much Should Be the Average Salary Of Chinese Worker? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Xueyong tried to calculate a fair average salary for the Chinese Worker (zh). Using the statistic from United Nation, an average worker in China produces USD12,642 annually, while their US counterpart is US104,606 per year. If 39% be allocated to the worker, an average Chinese worker should have RMB3,246 per month; however, ordinary worker from the city only gets RMB1,750, while rural migrant worker working in South China only gets RMB600 per month.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Lunquan Land Expropriation  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Memedia has a special issue on Lunquan land expropriation story(zh). Local villagers are fighting against the government's illegal land expropriation. Even though the central government has showed concern over the forced farm land expropriation in the district earlier this year, the local government continued to destroy the farm land. Bloggers and netizens keep on posting and disseminating information in the Internet against local government's brutal action.


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China: Piano House · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kenneth Tan from Shanghaiist reports on a newly constructed Piano House in Anhui Huainan.


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Colombia: FesTAS.org Festival · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

FesTAS.org is a festival about open technologies that will take place in the city of Tenjo on October 6. Martín Giraldo of Radio Capsula [ES] will speak about open software and extends an invitation to all.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Hindi: Cricket in the air and a martyr is remembered! · Global Voices
Amit Gupta

It seemed as if all hell had broken loose on the evening of 24th September here in Delhi when Sreesanth took that catch of Misabh-ul-Haq that sealed for India the first ever Twenty20 World Cup!! I'd hardly blinked an eye and all of my neighbourhood was rocking with the wizzes & booms of fireworks!! The BCCI (Board of Cricket Control in India) president Mr.Sharad Pawar immediately announced an award of US$2 million for the team and about US$250,000 cash award for Yuvraj Singh for hitting 6 sixes in an over (six balls), a first in Twenty20 Cricket. And the nation has been abuzz with it since last five days, news channels repeatedly showing the historic moment and how the team has risen to the status of world champs in the last month as they trampled over (an already out of the tournament) England and then nudged out power-horses South Africa and (reigning and four time world champs) Australia on their road to the world cup finals where they bested arch-rivals Pakistan whom they had beaten earlier in a group match which many had called a chance win. Two days later the team came back home and as they landed at Sahar Airport in Mumbai, thousands thronged to catch a glimpse of them as the team paraded the jam packed roads of the city in an open bus. If that was not all, just about every player in the victorious team was showered with awards(cash, land etc.) by governments of their respective states as they saw opportunity to butter up their vote banks in this cricket crazy country.
All this showering of affection and awards, however, didn't go down well with many. A number of people questioned the state governments’ actions of showering cash when on other hand they plead lack of funds when it comes to other sports and improvement of basic facilities provided to players in domestic circuits. Many of the people questioning all this happen to be bloggers as well, so while Neeraj questioned the state of negligence towards national game hockey whose players have never been awarded even a quarter of what the cricket team got, some media persons, like Rajesh, got their chance to attack Gujarat chief minister Mr.Narendra Modi since his government didn't announce any award for the Pathan brothers who are from his state. Irfan Pathan played a key role in the World Cup final claiming 3 important wickets. Perhaps fearing political and media backlash for not making offerings to the gods of the moment, Modi government announced the cash awards for the Pathan brothers. However now that that issue has been taken care off, Rajesh pounced back on government for giving godly treatment to cricketers while hockey and its players are neglected!! Talk about turn arounds, this is the fastest I've seen in a while!! ;)
But this is not all, some Indian Hockey Team players seem to be considering going on a hunger strike in protest against lack of awards for them after their recent win in Asia Cup while the cricket team got a truckload of goodies from state governments! Meanwhile, since a lot had already been written on Cricket vs. Hockey on the awards and rewards issue, Jitu wrote about his childhood days & his experiments with cricket, cricket is in the air afterall!!
And India celebrated this 28th as 100 years earlier on this day a boy was born in a sikh family in Lyallpur(now known as Faisalabad which is in Pakistan). This boy was named Bhagat Singh who went on to become the most celebrated martyr in the Indian struggle for independence. Bhagat Singh, at the young age of 23, laid down his life for the nation & for his desire of independence from the British; he was hanged on 23rd March 1931 along with two of his less celebrated revolutionary friends Sukhdev and Rajguru. While a number of bloggers wrote on the occasion keying in their thoughts on the great martyr, I didn't find a single mention of Sukhdev or Rajguru who also got the hanging besides Bhagat Singh for just about same reasons, nor did I come across any tribute for Sukhdev on 15th May, the date on which this great revolutionary was born in 1907, just 4 months and 13 days before Bhagat Singh was born!! Feeling not-so-good thoughts/emotions at work inside, I didn't bother reading up on more Bhagat Singh tribute blog posts. Nothing against the great martyr but I feel that his two loyal friends who lived & died by his side sharing the same ideals have been robbed of their share of limelight which they very rightfully deserve!
Links courtesy: Narad

author: Amit Gupta


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East Asia: China’s Responsibility In Burma Repression · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Franklen K S Choi from inmediahk.net quoted reports about China government's various military and economic investment in Burma for arguing that China has moral responsibility for the repression in Burma. He urged people from Hong Kong to give pressure to China government by demonstration and signature campaign (zh).


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Ecuador: Correa’s Clear Victory · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Autentico Ecuatoriano [ES] sees Rafael Correa's landslide victory in Ecuador's Constituent Assembly election as a sign tht he is not as disliked as many in the opposition would lead one to believe.


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Ecuador: Exit Polls for Constituent Assembly Election · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Ecuador Elige [ES] provides data from current exit polls that predicts Rafael Correa's political party Alianza País to win at least 65 representatives for the Constituent Assembly.


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Ecuador: More on the Constituent Assembly Elections · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Cronicacero [ES] provides some interesting points in regards to the Constituent Assembly elections in Ecuador.


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El Salvador: Mauricio Funes, FMLN Candidate · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Tim Muth writes about the official announcement that journalist Mauricio Funes will be the FMLN candidate for the 2009 president elections in El Salvador, and that, “It will take all of Funes’ media skills to combat the well-financed media campaign which ARENA is sure to mount.”


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Grenada, USA: Talking to Tobias Buckell · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp talks to Grenada-born speculative fiction novelist Tobias S. Buckell about his literary influences and inspirations.

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Guatemala: And the Winner is Carlos Peña · Global Voices
Renata Avila

Last week, when the finals for Latin American Idol took place, all the restaurants around Guatemala City were crowded. It was the final of the contest and all were expecting that Guatemalan singer Carlos Peña would win. People sent messages on their mobile phones and when the Guatemalan was announced as the winner, it was like a national holiday, with fireworks, tears, hugs and smiles. Bloggers were active, supporting, promoting and even criticizing the idol, as were the printed press, radio, t.v. and pages on the internet. This week media mirrored the blogs, as you can see on Periodicos de Guatemala [ES].
Blogger Recuerdos Futuros [ES] on her post Ganó said:
Pocas veces he visto Guatemala unirse para dar apoyo. Sucedió en el terremoto del 76, sucedía cuando la Teletón era confiable, sucedió para el huracán Mitch. Incluso sucede todavía cuando la selección de fut guatemalteca juega en las eliminatorias mundialistas. La gente en Guatemala puede ser muy unida, si encuentran el motivo. Me parece increíble que un chico de 19 años haya causado este movimiento. A todos se les escucha orgullosos al hablar de él. En los medios no han dejado de incluirlo.
Only on a few occasions have I seen Guatemalans come together to help someone. It happened after the '76 earthquake when the Telethon was trustworthy, after Hurricane Mitch. It even happens when the soccer team plays the preliminary rounds for the World Cup. People in Guatemala can be united if they find something to move them. It seems to me unbelievable that a 19 year old boy caused such movement. All are proud of him, and in the media they can't stop talking about him.
As blogger Angel Elias Said on”Latin Americal Idol Guatemala?
No hay razón para pensar que Peña no agradecerá las muestras de cariño de sus compatriotas, que se mueven muy mediáticamente. Y que como la moda es Peña, pues a apoyarlo. Pero tuvo que llegar a esas instancias. Tuvo que salir del país para ser querido por éste. Ese es el resultado de nuestro malinchismo colonial. Creemos en el espejo llamado TV, y mientras no se aparezca allí, no tiene valor alguno. Mucho menos si es chapín.
There is no reason to think that Peña did not appreciate the displays of affections from his fellow Guatemalans. And now that Peña is all the current craze, we must support him.  It had to reach tht level.  He had to leave the country to be loved by the country.  That is the result of our colonial envy.  We believe in the mirror called TV and as long as one does not appera there, then there is no value.  Much less if it is chapín (Guatemalan).
Blogger Kairos not only is proud of being guatemalan but also proud of young people succeding in arts, as he said on Entre Carlos Peña y Julio Hernández Cordón :
Aquí en Guatemala es donde tenemos el mejor café y es donde nacen muchas ideas para beneficio de todos. Y me siento muy feliz viviendo en este tiempo en el que Carlos Peña con tan solo 19 años da a Guatemala un nuevo triunfo al ser el nuevo Latin American Idol  y el joven director Julio Hernández Cordón con su película “Gasolina“, ganó el premio “Cine en Construcción” del 55° Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián, que permitirá finalizar la cinta.
Here in Guatemala we have the best coffee and where many ideas are born in benefit for all.  I feel very happy to see Carlos Peña, who at only 19 years old, can give Guatemala a new victory as the new Latin American Idol.  The young director Julio Hernández Cordón and his film “Gasolina” won the prize “Cinema in Construction” in the 55th International Film Festival in San Sebastián, which allowed him to finish the film.
Additional remarks by Victux mind [ES] on his post: La Lección..
Es irónico que necesitemos que nuestros artistas tengan que salir al extranjero para ser descubiertos por otros y tengan que ponérnoslos arregladitos y en la televisión internacional para que nos volvamos eufóricos y decidamos “apoyar al artista nacional” con los ojos cerrados, aunque eso implique desembolsar cierta cantidad de dinero, como fue en este caso.
It is ironic that we need for our artists to go abroad in order to be discovered by others and they need to be dressed up and on international television in order to for us to be euphoric and decide to “support national artists” with eyes closed, which means to give up a certain amount of money, as was the case.
Lawyer Carlos Loarca had strong criticism for Guatemalan Head of State on his blog  Pluralidad Jurídica [ES]
El presidente también felicitó a Carlos en nombre de todo el país “Te admiramos; hiciste realidad el sueño de 13 millones de personas”, pues no fue mi sueño, y no creo que lo haya sido el de los cientos de miles de niños y niñas menores de 5 años con desnutrición crónica, ni de las madres y padres de las víctimas del feminicidio, o de las madres o padres de las 5 personas que la policía secuestro hace un par de días y que ejecutó extrajudicialmente, y así, una gran lista que sueña con respeto, trabajo y comida. Hasta los sueños nos niegan, sólo se vale soñar los sueños de otros.
The president also congratulated Carlos on behalf of the entire country, “We admire you, you made the dream come true for 13 million people,”  well it wasn't my dream and I don't think it was for hundreds of thousands of children under the age of 5 years old with chronic malnutrition, or for parents of the victims of feminicide or the parents of the 5 people that the police kidnapped and executed and the long list that dreams of respect, work and food.  When the dreams are denied, all that is left is to dream the dreams of others.
However, on the night that the finals were taking place not all Guatemalans were glued to their television sets.  Other cultural activities continued, as well as a sad reminder of the realities of daily life.
Blogger  Lunapark told us how Mexican artists shared in a rural area classical music:
La actividad cultural de Quetzaltenango no se detiene. El miércoles por la noche, el Teatro Municipal se llenó durante la participación del Cuarteto de Bellas Artes de México.
The cultural activity in Quetzaltenango does stop. Wednesday evening the Municipal theaterr was crowded during the performance of the Cuarteto de Bellas Artes of Mexico.
Blogger Sabina, Galeano y otras cosillas… [ES]  said on his post  Maria:, where he told the sad story of her housekeeper the same night of the contest:
Ayer cuando iba en el autobús de regreso hacia su casa, en Ciudad Quetzal, iba una pareja joven con su niña pequeña, de repente se subieron tres tipos a balear al muchacho, sangrando y agonizante, lo bajaron junto con su esposa e hija, diciéndole al piloto que se fuera rápido, así lo hizo y casi choca, hubo varios desmayados por la impresión.María dice que no se le borran las caras, ni la escena de sangre, que qué puede hacer.
Yesterday, when I was on my way back home on a bus in Ciudad Quetzal, there was a young couple with their little girl, when suddenly three men boarded and shot the man, who was bleeding and dying. They forced him to get off the bus with his wife and daughter, telling the driver to drive fast who almost crashed.  They were many who fainted at the sight.  Maria told me that she cannot forget the faces or the bloody scene but she can do nothing about it.

author: Renata Avila


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India: Chess and Spectators · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Plus Ultra on Viswanathan Anand (the chess player), him winning the recent World Chess Championship, in the context of the recent cricket win.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran:79 Dolphins died in Persian Golf · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir reports that oil contamination is blamed as one of the possible reasons behind the death of 79 dolphins in Persian Gulf.Watch the photos.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:People and Ahmadinejad · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari writes[Fa] that Iranian people have no right to protest President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s “way of doing things” because they voted for him.The blogger adds Ahmadinejad is a man without enough experience to lead country.


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Is there a future for e-commerce in Africa? · Global Voices
Oluniyi D. Ajao

The past week turned out to one that came with an interesting debate online about the prospects of e-commerce in Africa.
Oluniyi David Ajao started with throwing an insight into the popularity of e-gold (a digital gold currency) in Nigeria. Other online payment systems might indeed follow the same growth pattern, in Africa: Why is e-gold popular in Nigeria?:
Not a few Nigerians take part in global commerce via the World Wide Web. According to Internet World Stats, there are about 5 million Internet users in Nigeria. This is only 3.57% of Nigeria’s 140 million people (2007 official census).
These people need to make payment online to facilitate their participation in e-commerce. Aside buying and selling online, others invest in foreign stock markets, foreign currency market (Forex), High Yield Investment Programs (HYIPs), Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) schemes etc.
Erik Hersman blogging for Thought Leader, highlighted what he saw to be the problems with participating in e-commerce, from Africa – especially South Africa: The problem with e-commerce and online payments in Africa.
A lack of true online payment options is crippling African e-commerce, and South Africa is no exception. The inability to accept payments for products and services on equal footing with the rest of the world means that many viable business options are not available for merchants in Africa.
The few options there are for African e-commerce take a certain amount of business history, wealth or contortions to attain.
Erik Hersman makes some suggestion towards the end of his blog post:
I would submit that the solution for Africa needs to be bank and carrier agnostic.
So, the beginnings of possible solutions are being seen, but no one has created the ultimate e-commerce option for Africa. Of course, if PayPal were to just allow us all to go through a little more stringent verification to ensure that we are real people with real businesses in Africa, then it would scoop up most of the online business overnight.
However, he got a direct response from Oluniyi David Ajao who is suggesting that it is indeed possible to participate to some extent in e-commerce from Africa, today:  Is a common African e-commerce platform possible?:
The few options there are for African e-commerce take a certain amount of business history, wealth or contortions to attain. […]
These are also true, but only to some extent. Erik Hersman obviously had the mainstream payment systems that evolve around the major credit/debit card brands in mind. But even with only MasterCard and Visa in mind, it is still possible for an African merchant to participate fully in the global e-commerce arena.
He goes on to list and explain some online payment methods that can enable full e-commerce participation from virtually any African country. He concluded thus:
I believe I have proved beyond reasonable doubt that residents of Africa can indeed participate in global e-commerce, even today! I fully understand the angle you are pushing – Erik Hersman – but I believe your model of an African e-commerce platform would only be feasible, if African countries had a tight economic union. A union with common financial regulations and common economic policies. The European Union is a classic example.
As of today, this is not the case. Not even the regional blocks (at least I am very sure about ECOWAS) are united economically though efforts are being made in this direction. I know of two examples of your e-commerce model that already exist in Europe and work well for Europeans: Moneybookers and ChronoPay.
Is African e-commerce platform possible? Yes it is. However, Africa countries need to unite for this to be possible. Every other thing shall follow. Finito.
Grandiose Parlor joined the conversation by asking: Could Airtime Driven e-Commerce Work in Africa?:
There are similar Pan-African driven discussions as Erik-David’s debate on the blogosphere and mainstream media, but I feel given the socio-economic and political state of the continent – beyond their intellectual appeal, many of those conversations are dead on arrival: There are just too many limiting factors that make the realization of the vast majority of Pan-African concepts too difficult – if not impossible. Don’t get me wrong, Pan-Africanism is a great and sweet concept – who wouldn’t want to have access to the second-largest and second most-populous continent in the world?
Even in Nigeria – a country I’m most familiar with, and it’s immediate extension, the West African subregion – the creation of an online payment system that is “bank and carrier agnostic” is still difficult but carries a better chance of happening and succeeding.
Grandiose Parlor has this to ask:
One “common denominator” characteristic of most Nigerians – including those in the informal economy – that I’ve discovered is that they all purchase airtime minutes. Could those minutes be used some how as legal tender for online transactions and e-commerce?
Are you based in an online merchant based in Africa? If yes, what challenges have you been facing? Have you used any of the suggestions from the bloggers? Join the conversation by posting your comments.

author: Oluniyi D. Ajao


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Jamaica: Replacing Portia · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

In the aftermath of Jamaican elections, Moving Back to Jamaica reflects on the difficulty for the People's National Party of replacing its head, former prime minister Portia Simpson-Miller.


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Japan: New Justice Minister wants “automatic” executions · Global Voices
Jens Wilkinson

New Justice Minister Hatoyama Kunio, upon taking office on September 25 (actually at his outgoing press conference, before he was reappointed to the position), stated that he supported creating a “conveyor belt” process for executions, so that the justice minister (meaning himself) wouldn’t have to sign death warrants.
In view of the already problematic nature of the Japanese death penalty process, as described here before, this is an alarming prospect.
The Japanese blogosphere was understandably divided on the issue. Conservative bloggers tended to applaud the statement. For example, Chimata no Wadai stated:
鳩山法相は『法務大臣に責任をおっかぶせるような形ではなく、半年以内に死刑執行されなければならないと自動的に進むような方法がないのかなと思う』と発言した。吾輩は双手を挙げて大賛成である。やっとまともな発言をする法務大臣が現れて嬉しい。死刑の判決が出されても法務大臣が署名しなければ死刑の執行ができないということは司法の独立を阻むものではないか。
Blogger Otama obasan de mo wakaru, who does not seem to be personally against the death penalty, finds Hatoyama’s position irresponsible.
と語ったそうですね、鳩山さん。こういう司法や憲法をわからない人がなんで法相やってるのでしょうか？過去サインをしなかった法相がみな、単に、はんこをつくのが嫌だったと本気で思っているのかな？
From a more liberal perspective, blogger Big Bang makes a good point about Hatoyama’s responsibilities.
ところが、彼がここで言っているのは死刑執行廃止論ではない。死刑執行の最後のボタンを自分が押すのは嫌だと言っているのであり、またその行為を最 後の一人に委託するのは酷だと言っているようだ。では、一体誰が一人の人間の命を奪うことの最終責任をとるのか。それを乱数表に委ねるというのは悪質な責 任放棄であろう。そもそも鳩山氏に誰かがその役割を強制したわけではない。その役務がつらいというなら、彼は法相を引き受けるべきではないし、その自由がある。
Finally, the blog Bogus News carried an interesting but implausible story, that Hatoyama was planning to develop an execution robot, sort of like Robocop.
全自動死刑執行ロボは、法務相の署名が必要なことから執行の滞りが問題となっている死刑を自動的に行うべく開発された。スイッチオンで自律的な判断に基づいて捜査を開始。

author: Jens Wilkinson


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Japan: Pregnant Foreign Woman Rejected By Hospital · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Debito blogs a local news about a pregnant foreign woman rejected by 5 hospitals 7 times. There are some good discussions in the comment session.


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Japan: Red Spider Lilies  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Overoften from Japundit blogs pictures of red spider lily field from rural Japan.


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Laos: Dam And Flooding · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

New Mandala analyzes a dam construction project by a Chinese company in Laos and the impact it will have on the locals.

author: Preetam Rai


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Lebanon: Senate vote to divide Iraq · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“It is Sykes and Picot all over again. This time dividing the already divided,” stated UrShalim regarding the U.S. Senate's vote to divide Iraq.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Upcoming Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Recent blog posts about the upcoming presidential election in Lebanon reflect the feeling of apathy and mistrust towards politics and politicians currently spreading around the country. You have posts ranging from questioning the actions of the leaders to posts questioning whether they really are the leaders. Anyway, expect more on this subject during the coming weeks, since the elections are expected to be held before October 24.
When the Lebanese MPs convened for their first session of presidential elections, their total number in the parliament building was 91. The number needed for a two third quorum is 86, but since only 76 of them actually entered the assembly hall, the election was postponed for more than three weeks during which negotiations for a compromise president is expected. The Inner Circle, who mentions these numbers, also quotes a 25 year old engineer in the Gemmayze entertainment area of Beirut as saying: “They’ll sort it out. They’re just playing around. Everyone is fed up. Each side wants to show it’s stronger so they’ll just keep delaying to the last minute.”
Jeha's Nail starts off an article by writing how the Lebanese so often get lost in the debates of who did what and to whom while their politician and innocent bystanders get blown up with “morbid regularity”. Jeha continues and describes how the “survivors are quietly holed up in the Phoenicia, waiting to meet again in another (useless) parliamentary meeting, while their bosses negotiate (fruitlessly) to get out of the impasse.” And like many others Jeha would like to be spared from “trying to understand the idiotic dialog of the puppets who claim to rule us [Lebanese]…”
Beirut Spring points out how every time the U.S. Bush’s administration shows its  support for a candidate, in any free elections in the Middle East, that candidate loses. Then he moves on to question the wisdom of Saad Hariri’s forthcoming visit and meeting with President Bush in the United States. Hariri, the head of the largest parliamentary bloc, is expected to discuss the upcoming presidential elections with President Bush during their meeting.
Blacksmith of Lebanon is on “analysis strike”. Nevertheless, he reports on the eligibility of some prospective candidates to the presidential elections. He explains why, according to the constitution, it may not be possible for some of them to run. He ends his post by describing the latest convening of the parliament to elect a president as kicking off the electoral process but accomplishing nothing.
Abu Kais discusses the contradictions involved in negotiating a compromise presidential candidate. He also details, according to his analysis, the positions of the different parties involved in these negotiations. Especially those of the of the March 14 bloc and the opposition bloc. He concludes that although the age of immaculate conceptions is over but then he (sarcastically) wishes them [the negotiating parties] good luck.
Riemer Brouwer suggests that in the next elections every Lebanese should vote for a candidate with a different religion than that of the voter. This, according to Riemer, is supposed to bring a reduction in tensions and an increase in communications across the sectarian and religious divides in Lebanon. Although this suggestion has to do with the election of members of parliament, it is still of interest since it is the elected parliament that will eventually elect the president of the nation.


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Mali: Alicia Keyes and Oumou Sangare sing duet · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Echanges, Reflexion and Cityonenete posts a You Tube video of Alicia Keyes’ duet with famed Malian songstress, Oumou Sangare.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Myanmar: Freedom From Fear · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Myanmar blogger May asks Why is the world Watching us?


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Myanmar: International Bloggers Day For Burma · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

International bloggers are coming together to mark October 4th as the international bloggers day for Burma.


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Myanmar: More International Support   · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Yangon Thu links to sites that have pictures and news of international support for the protests in Myanmar. The blogger also requests readers to write to International Committee of the Red Cross to aid the monks who are on hunger strike in Yangon.


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Myanmar: Soldiers Trying to Reduce Monk’s Influence · Global Voices
yangonthu

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), a non-profit news organization and one of the few places where the news from Myanmar still trickling in has posted a report in Burmese on soldiers trying to get the monks to give up their religious life.
Some 300 monks who were arrested a few days ago were delivered to a garage just out side of Insein GTI College. The soldiers are reported to be trying to force the monks to ” give up the secular life, to disrobe – become a layperson and no longer honour the ethics of being a monk.”
It is considered to be a sin to just give up being monkhood without valid reasons. The soldiers are trying to significantly lower their influence on people down, to shame them.
DVB also mentioned that soldiers ordered the “most senior monk in Insein” to come over and read pali scriptures that will begin the process of “shaming the monks” to make monks change into laypersons. However, the monks, who are supposed to repeat the pali scriptures read by the senior monks, refused to repeat them and after a while, the senior monk said that he can't convert them into laypersons and that it just won't happen and refused and supposedly left.
There are reports that the soldiers are also beating the monks in Insein. When a plumber came to fix the water pipes in the place, a monk looked up to see him and a soldier is said to have hit him with his belt.
There was also a report that when the army truck with these monks passed by cars on the street, one driver made the mistake of honking (probably in fear) and the soldiers stopped the truck and arrested the driver who honked.
There are also reports that a monk with wounds on his feet was brought to the general hospital and the soldiers ordered the doctors to not treat the monk until he converted back to a layperson. The monk then replied that he will not revert to become a layperson and preferred to die from his wounds.
Apparently, the hospital staff had to get the permission of the Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Mya Oo to be able to finally treat the monk.
Witnesses report that soldiers have surrounded the entrances and exits of the general hospital and are interrogating everyone who is visiting.

author: yangonthu


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Myanmar: Yangon Before the Protests · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Dazed posts pictures of Yangon from two weeks ago. “I keep thinking about Yangon as if was just two weeks ago when I was there: so pleasant, so peaceful, so friendly … so normal. What the hell has happened?”


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Pakistan: Democracy and Governance · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan on the idea of a democracy versus a government by the elite.


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Pakistan: To the Thar Desert · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

In August '06, the day after monsoon rains flooded the streets of Karachi, the 4×4 Offroaders Club Karachi set off to the Thar desert, an hour long video at Off Road Pakistan.


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Palestine: Congrats Ms Bahrain · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah highlights aspects from Miss Arab World 2007. Despite being veiled, Ms Bahrain clinched the title.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Palestine: Middle East’s Billionaires  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

QuiQui from Kabobfest  discusses Middle Eastern billionaires in this post.


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Peru: Protest For and Against Fujimori · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Gran Combo Club [ES] writes about recent anti- and pro-Fujimori protests in Lima.


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Sri Lanka: First glimpses of Oman · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Sri Lankan blog – Pirat's Pandemonium on first impressions of Oman.


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Trinidad and Tobago: Visiting Paramin · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

My Chutney Garden visits the hilltop village of Paramin in north Trinidad and posts photos of the herbs the villagers are famous for growing.


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Ukraine: Background Info; Election Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Manuel Alvarez-Rivera of Global Economy Matters provides an extensive background on the political situation in Ukraine and posts updates on the Sept. 30 general election.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: Demography · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Hugh of A Fistful of Euros writes about Ukraine's demography: “The fundamental situation is that – even if this sounds very dramatic – Ukraine as a country is dying.”


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Ukraine: Volodymyr Lytvyn · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Volodymyr Lytvyn, a “wily fox” who may also become “the kind maker” in yesterday's general election.


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Ukraine: Yulia’s “Slavic Curse” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A discussion of Yulia Tymoshenko's good looks – over at Wonkette.


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Uruguay: Supporting Making Abortion Legal · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

From Uruguay provides a recap and photos of a demonstration in Montevideo in support of making abortion legal and against sexual orientation discrimination.


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Africa: The AfroSpear Carnival: Religion and Negritude · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This is the Second AfroSpear Carnival dealing with the theme of religion and negritude: Two brave souls so far have dipped into this subject with honesty and clarity. First, Femigog @Sable Eklectik lets loose with righteous truth in  “Carnival of Faith.” Then, we have DJ Black Adam in counterpoint to Femigog, providing his analysis with “Is Christianity the White Man’s Religion?”


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Bahamas: More homeless people? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

“There seems to have been an increase lately of people aimlessly wondering the streets,” writes Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit, as he contemplates the growing number of homeless people in the Bahamas.


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Bangladesh: Bloggers demand release of detained cartoonist · Global Voices
Rezwan

Zafa Noor writes in E-Bangladesh:
“It has been two weeks since Arifur Rahman’s cartoon “Naam” was published which prompted the Bangladesh police to take him to jail and lock him up without pressing any formal charges or allowing him any legal representation in his defense. Arif was picked up from his Uttara residence under Section 54 of Code of Criminal Procedure for drawing the very harmless cartoon that portrayed a widely used naming convention for Bangali Muslim men. The cartoon did not insult the prophet in any way, nor was it Arif’s intention, because his own first name is Mohammed (newspaper reports addressed him as Md. Arifur Rahman).”
(photo credit: the Daily Star)
Arifur Rahman is just twenty three years old, who just a month before his arrest, received an award from the government for his cartoon against corruption. The editor of the Daily Prothom Alo apologized for publishing the cartoon but It is interesting to see that the political Islam has been keeping this issue alive and demanding ban of the progressive newspaper Prothom Alo. They have also targeted another popular magazine of Prothom Alo group called Saptahik2000, which had to take their Eid issue from the shelves as the Government banned it for publishing some words of a memoir of an exiled writer Daud Haider. The third world view and E-Bangladesh have more backgrounds on this.
The Bangladeshi bloggers are calling for an international campaign to free Arifur Rahman who was detained for his harmless statirical cartoon published in Alpin, the satirical supplement of the Bangla Daily Prothom Alo. It must be noted that Bangladeshi media are surprisingly silent about Arifur Rahman's release.
* Shourav created the splendid banner above and called for support. (Anybody can use it under creative commons)
Other bloggers chimed in:
* Mash at “Or how I learned to stop worrying” calls him the Bangladesh cartoonist hero.
* Keep me honest
* Addafication
* Dhaka Shohor
* Voice of Bangladeshi Bloggers
- In the Middle of Nowhere who also asks to free Nurul Islam, the Bangladeshi aid worker (BRAC) kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Talibans.
- Serious Golmal
- Unheard Voices
- Tacit
- And some more bloggers in Bangla blogging platforms “Bandh Bhanger Awaaj” and “Sachalayatan“
Many international organizations demanded the release of Arifur Rahman:
- Reporters without border (RSF) – Cartoonist arrested over harmless play on name Mohammed. Excerpts:
“The play on words had no intention of attacking the Prophet,” Reporters Without Borders said “It was a joke about a cultural custom. The government should not yield to pressure from extremist leaders who are trying to politicize the case. Rahman should not be made a scapegoat. He must be freed.”
- International Press Institute (IPI) protests jailing of Cartoonist in Bangladesh and suspension of publication of satirical weekly. Excerpts:
IPI would like to remind Your Excellency that the state of emergency imposed in January after the cancellation of the general election is not an excuse to restrict press freedom. With a general election planned for the end of 2008, it is vital that the country’s citizens have access to information and that the media is free to report facts and express opinions.
Please show your support for Arifur Rahman by putting the badge on your blog.
Join the facebook group to get the updates of this campaign.

author: Rezwan


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Bangladesh: Geneva Camp in Dhaka · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

imperfect world 2007 on people living in Geneva Camp in Dhaka, people waiting to be repatriated to Pakistan after the creation of Bangaldesh in 1971.


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Bloggers’ Notes From Web2forDev Conference · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Web2forDev is the first conference on participatory web for rural development, which took place from 25-27 September 2007 in Rome, Italy. Bloggers who were covering the event included African journalists who were blogging both in English and French at the Web2forDev blog.
Brenda Zulu, a journalist and blogger from Zambia asked participants what they learnt on Day Zero:
I asked people about what they learnt on Day Zero Web2.0fordev conference and what they where going to take home.
Prince Deh GINKS Assistant Network Coordinator, Ghana
I am planning to host local language videos and translate the text in English because I realise that many people get my stories and information from the blog. Video blogging has enhanced my knowledge and sharing skills.As you see people are attracted by video and they want to see and hear at the same time. I have learnt how to use delicious, wikis and tagging. One thing is that if you don’t tag your work not so many people will read about it.
William Eziniwa Nwangwu, Nigeria
Regional Center for Information Science, Lecture
I have been wondering why Web 2.0? Isn’t it a new word for an old thing?I have discovered how it is being used and sometimes it worries me as an academician. Some Universities in the
USA have banned students giving reference to wikis as one of their sources of researched information. In wikis who is the author? Is the information peer reviewed? In my institution I limit the reference of wiki copies.
On day 3 she spoke with Wycliffe Ochieng Arua of Agricultural Commodity Exchange from Kenya:
It has been a great conference and the way forward especially if there is a way we could work together to blend the existing web 2 tools that are used in Africa putting in mind our users farmers they would like to access these application.I am looking at mobile telephone and interative voice resposnses an dthe local FM stations in Kenya.
I have taken home a lot of knowledge and I am very much informed now about blogs and wikis and would like to certain up a blog in our organisations especially when we are contributing to a proposal.
I think we used existing network to reach the people CSOs are working with on the grassroot level.
Chris Kgadima posted a podcast of his interview with SANGOnet ICT Services Manager, Matthew de Gale. Matthew talks about Citizen Journalism project designed to promote the use of Web 2.0 bu rural communities in Africa:
SANGOnet is an Information Communication Technology NGO in Southern Africa that promotes and support ICT projects in the region. They are currently setting up Citizen Journalism project with the aim of promoting the use of Web 2.0 by rural communities on issues of development. SANGOnet ICT Services Manager, Matthew de Gale explains how they are planning to make this project to provide communities with necessary skills and opportunities to utilize Web 2.0 to improve their lives.
Interviewee:Matthew de Gale ICT Services Manager SANGonet
Interviewer:Lillian Malete, Nkgowa Media
Brenda Zulu covered the session on video blogging for rural communities in Africa, Vlogging: amplifying voices of rural communities in Africa?:
Rural communities in Africa can have their stories shared with the larger audience using video blogging which is a Web 2.0 application to amplify the voices of the grassroots in the future.
Sharing his experience as a Vlogger, Prince Deh said he had been creating videos and posting them on a blog and hence received feed back from all over the world. “How do we solve the problem of rural connectivity in order to extend the benefits of Web2.0 tools much wider beyond the scope of the cities?” he asked.
Togolese multimedia journalist, Noel Tadégnon, posted a video of his interview with Kuami Ahiabenu from Ghana about empowering journalists with online tools, “Making a case for online training.”
Online training, according to Kwami Ahiabenu, will become the dominant means of training for journalists:
Making a case for online training of Journalists in Africa, Kwami Ahiabenu II from the International Institute for ICT Journalism (PenPlusBytes) observed that online training was going to become dominant means of training and that there was need to invest time and energy to ensure that it becomes  part of a capacity building projects and programmes application.
He noted that though there are costs associated with online training in the long run online training was relatively cheaper and cost effective. An achievement was that online learning provided an opportunity for Journalists to learn about new tools and use them in the process of learning
In overcoming the challenges, Ahiabenu II explained that the course used a group e-mail list as their primary course delivery tool in order to ensure low bandwidth participants are not left out of the course.
Holly Ashley, the Assistant Editor, Participatory Learning and Action, wrote about from Ugandan web 2.0 pioneers:
I felt like I had found a magic bean.  Ednah works for a Ugandan NGO, Busoga Rural Open Source & Development (BROSDI). It’s a not-for-profit organisation that works with government and civil society in improving rural livelihoods. Within BROSDI is a project called Collecting and Exchanging of Local Agriculture Content (CELAC).
Both BROSDI and CELAC project make extensive use of Web 2.0 approaches. But it’s a real combination of Web 2.0 and grassroots participation. For example, CELAC is almost entirely populated with locally generated content. As Ednah says, ‘We are sharing information from our great grandfathers that we are losing in our generation.’
Essentially, it’s a great combination of the online – Blogs, Google Maps, Wikis, online documentation, chatrooms – and the offline – a weekly mobile phone SMS farmers’ information service, village knowledge brokers, monthly farmer forum meetings, village meetings, radio, and hard copy documentation. They are even developing an e-learning tool for primary school children.
Ethan Zuckerman shared some highlights and his overall impressions:
Kwame Ahiabenu from the International Institute for ICT in Journalism (PenPlusBytes) in Accra, Ghana, makes a persuasive case for the importance of basic tools in online education. His team offers free online trainings for journalists on how to incorporate IT into their journalistic practice and better use IT tools for reporting. The courses are offered via email, and while they encourage the use of fairly complex online tools, they’re accessible to anyone who can participate in the email lists, which helps explain their popularity with users throughout Africa, and as far away as Bangladesh and Australia.
Two overall impressions:
- There’s a great deal of enthusiasm for the tools of web 2.0, but I worry that people are embracing tools because they’re worried about falling behind.
- Those of us who have been working in ICT for development for a while may – or perhaps should – be starting to feel like it’s “put up or shut up” time for these tools. We need to get beyond discussions of how these tools might benefit people and get closer towards ensuring they do benefit people.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Bolivia: Four Year Blogging Anniversary · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Miguel Buitrago celebrates four years of blogging at MABBlog about Bolivia and Bolivian politics.


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China: Coral Studio QQ Version  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Coral Studio is a lab set up in Beijing Technology University. Recently a programmer has developed a QQ beta version that help the QQ user to get rid of the advertisement when they are using QQ. The case ended up in a criminal arrest of the developer. Keso found the criminal arrest action was too harsh as cracking programme can help technology to innovate (zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Daughters At Home · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kanchai comments on a popular T.V drama, Daughters At Home, in his blog (zh). The story is about a happy family with three kids. However, such kind of ordinary happiness is not ordinary at all as family structure has changed radically in the past few decade.


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Ecuador: Alianza Pais Wins the Majority of Seats · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

Photo of Rafael Correa during the campaign.  Taken by Manuel Nieves and used by permission.
This past weekend nearly 9 million Ecuadoran nationals and others who live abroad voted looking for a change in direction of Ecuador politics.  Seats for the Constituent Assembly were up for grabs, and the current President Rafael Correa's political party, Alianza Pais, was expected to win a large majority of these positions.   Even though the official tally is still being counted, early estimates have given Correa a majority in the 130-member assembly.
EcuadorElige [ES] has been following all the conversation regarding this election and shares with us some links of some of the most recognized Ecuadoran bloggers and what they have to say about the election.
The blogger Don Xavier [ES] writes about the different threats and warnings given to voters if Correa was given increased power in the country's affairs.  He makes a reference to childhood saying about witches, old men in coats and a cuckoo that would take small children away if they did not do what they were supposed to.
Ahora ya no dicen CUCO, se refieren a el como CHAVEZ, no me amenazan con la BRUJA en vez de eso me dicen que van a derogar la dolarización y que el VIEJITO DEL SACO no es nada mas ni nada menos que el SOCIALISMO DEL SIGLO XXI.
Now they no longer say CUCKOO, talking about him like CHAVEZ, they do not threaten me with the WITCH, and instead, say to me that they are going to change the dollar currency and that the VIEJITO OF the COAT is  nothing more than the SOCIALISM OF the 21st CENTURY.
Libertad Ecuador [ES] is worried about the results and what might happen to the country now that Correa has increased control:
Solo cuando pierdan su trabajo o una posibilidad de negocio y se les haga imposible enrumbarse nuevamente debido a la recesión económica ya iniciada gracias a las políticas populistas del Rafico se darán cuanta del error cometido.
Only when they lose their jobs or any business possibility and for them it becomes impossible to find a path due to the economic recession already initiated thanks to the  Rafico's populist policies, will they realize of the mistake that they committed.
El Federalista [ES] sums it up bluntly:
The winer: Correa, the losers: everyone
El ganador: Correa, los perdedores: todos
Cronica Cero [ES], mocks of two of the most senior parties in Ecuador for not acknowledging their defeat:
En la hora de la derrota, ni Jaime Nebot, ni Nicolás Lapentti acudieron a dar la cara. La historia seguramente los marcará como cobardes, faltos de entereza para reconocer que se equivocaron.
…In the hour of the defeat, neither Jaime Nebot, nor Nicholas Lapentti appeared. History surely will mark them as cowards, without integrity for not admitting that they were mistaken.
El Manaba [ES]  author of a very popular blog in Ecuador concludes:
Una leccion para los partidos politicos, o se renuevan o mueren
A lesson for the political parties, either they change or they condemned to die.
Ecuador will know if the majority of assembly men and women who were picked up to change the Ecuadoran Constitution were the right people and whether giving Mr. Correa more power will mean a positive change for emigrants, locals and all people living and will grow up in this country.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Estonia: Winter · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about “the abyss of the Estonian winter.”


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Guatemala: Immigrant’s Earnings Seized as He Returned Home · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista provides her thoughts on the battle waged by Pedro Zapeta, an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant in the U.S. whose earnings were seized by federal officials as he was returning to his native land.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Hong Kong: District Council  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

As the District council election is approaching, erynnyes from Those were the days wrote an article on the diminishing power of the district council in the past 10 years (zh). The councilors don't have much resources and are acting like volunteers in the districts.


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India, Burma: Notes on a gathering · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sacred Media Cow on a gathering in India in support of the pro-democracy protests in Burma.


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India: Ethics and Slum Tours · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mumbai Magic on poverty, and the ethics of slum tours.


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India: Faculty and Institutions · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

nanopolitan on attracting faculty in Indian institutions, and keeping them there.


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Iran: Ahmadinejad’s trip to USA · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Pasdaran informs[Fa] us that several Iranian leaders including a reformist leader considered Ahmadinejad's trip to USA and his speech in Columbia University very fruitful.


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Iran:Ministry of Guidance and Blogs · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Fahimeh in her blog,Occupation Reporter, says[Fa] that the Ministry of Islamic Guidance published a 40 pages study about blogs.According to this study only 40 percent of bloggers mention their real names in their own blogs.This study also mentions that a growing number of blogs write about politics.


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Iran:The Day After We Bomb Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Chris Weigant writes in his blog that “enough attention is not being paid to what happens after we rain death from the skies down on Iran. Which is a shame, because that's what we ignored during the ramp-up to war with Iraq.”


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Japan: Rice Paddy Art · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs pictures of rice paddy art in Inakadate village.


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Jordan: Hacking Apple Products  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“One of the reasons I love Ramadan is that I become productive in a crazy way… After the nap I start hacking & experimenting with different stuff. Don't think of hacking the wrong way. So what have I been up to recently? Mostly hacking Apple related products; the two most enjoyable toys were the iPhone and Apple TV. If time permits I'm going to start blogging more about that,” writes Ammar Ibrahim from Jordan.


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Lebanon: Fires across the country · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Lebanese news services are reporting the ignition of numerous brush fires across the country, causing residents in some areas to flee. Blacksmiths of Lebanon posts updates and photos.


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Lebanon: Israel spinning nuclear threat · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Israel, Israel Army Radio, and Haaretz are spinning the threat of a nuclear war in the Middle East to legitimise Israel's hidden military nuclear program, writes Sophia.


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Lebanon: You Are What You Sound · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“During the (un)civil war, people got killed because they had the ‘wrong’ pronunciation of tomato at the ‘wrong’ road block,” writes Lebanese blogger Moussa Bashir.


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Malawi: Doing business in Malawi · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An inspiring story about starting a business in Malawi: “As Victor Gondwe was clearing the bush, many people around thought that the computer analyst just back from Seattle had lost his mind, but when he promised them a few American sardine boxes in exchange for back-breaking work, they accepted. Three years later, Ufulu Gardens was opening.”


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Myanmar: List of Detainees and Letter From A 88 Generation Worker · Global Voices
yangonthu

Blogger Niknayman has a list of names and affiliations of over 300 monks and civilians who have been arrested by the Myanmar Military Regime. Many are from the National League of Democracy, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Newspapers across Asia are putting the number of detained people at 1500. Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norwegian organization reports that the number of arrested is much higher at over 2000. Death toll is rumoured to be in the hundreds, though the Myanmar Junta refuses to confirm the official number.
Democratic Voice of Burma is quoting this announcement from Ko Sein Lin, a 1988 Generation worker. In 1988, there was a similar protest against the Myanmar Junta, led mostly by the students. These protests were brutally crushed by the Junta and over 3000 people were thought to have been killed and many more tortured.
Ko Sein Lin urges the rest of the workers to join in the protest against the Myanmar Junta:
Only the citizens of Myanmar should be the Mother and the Father of the country. (The Myanmar Junta has repeatedly tried to brainwash the citizens by trying to elevate the army's status as that of being the parents of the country.)
During the “Sangha's heroic  act of peaceful defiance against the Junta”:
1) Many monks, students and civilians have been ruthlessly killed, beaten and tortured by the evil Junta, in a bid to crackdown on the protests. We workers from the 1988 generation vehemently oppose these acts of violence.
2) We urge the workers in the government sector and also those in the public companies to look upon the flag of the Sangha (monks) and to be united as one and we also urge the founders and CEOs of the public and private companies to support the workers’ unity.
3) We, 88 Generation workers would like to announce that we will unite with the citizens of Myanmar, in protest against the evil Myanmar Junta and will join in the fight against the military regime, until they are wiped out.
The citizens of Myanmar should study the legendary history of Myanmar (where we have been victorious) and be prepared to fight as one, even if there were to be bloodshed. [author's note: this sentence was especially difficult to translate as it was a Myanmar idiom that does not exist in English but yours truly has tried her best to convey the meaning behind it]
We would like to request that all workers cease work and to join in the protest against the evil Junta.
-Workers from the 88 Generation


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Palestine: Playboy Anti-Semitic?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah claims that Playboy  is now being slanted as anti-semitic.


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Peru: Superman at Machu Picchu · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Superman meditates at the archeological Peruvian site of Machu Picchu in the latest issue of the comic book series writes Comic Peru [ES].


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Philippines: Bloggers React To Poll Chief’s Resignation · Global Voices
Tonyo Cruz

The corruption scandal that Mong Palatino reported as having reached the Philippine presidential palace is unfolding fast.
Benjamin Abalos, the powerful chair of the  Commission on Elections (Comelec) who was implicated in the National Broadband Network (NBN), resigned from his post on Monday.
Just last week at the Senate, former socio-economic planning secretary and now Commission on Higher Education chairman Romulo Neri accused Abalos of trying to bribe him into favoring Chinese firm ZTE in the construction of a US$329-million NBN for the Philippines. Neri told the senators that he heard Abalos tell him during a golf game, amid chats about the NBN: ” Sec, may 200 ka dito” (Secretary, you have 200 here). Neri told senators that Abalos clearly meant 200 million pesos. Comelec spokesman and blogger James Jimenez posts Abalos's resignation statement  and capped it with a question/remark asked of him minutes after his now-former boss made the announcement on national television:
Can you say ‘surprise move?’
The immediate reactions of journalists, at least those I saw reporting on ANC, was that of shock.
Manolo said it was a welcome development that should be accepted by those crying for Abalos's head eversince:
For those calling for his resignation for ages now, don’t hit a man when he’s down. He resigned to save his ass, but he still resigned. Give him credit for that. Now, on to the harder part, hauling him off to court. Credit is due for resigning but that’s as far as credit goes. In a country where too few resign despite the public clamor to do so, he did it; but he also did it, to avoid what could have been an historic impeachment. So a historic trial necessarily comes next.
Perhaps one of the many who wanted to Abalos to resign is My name is Daaaviiiiid…who shares that:
Personally it’s been something I’ve been hoping he’d do for a long time. If you check him out online as much as you could, it won’t be surprising if you’ll find a lot of…questionable acts he appears to have committed.
While we're taking on corruption, philiblogs.com asks a relevant question:
Abalos also claimed he would continue the crusade to clear his name and reputation. How noble! But who’s going to clear the name and reputation of the Philippines that by now has firmed up its reputation as a corrupt nation after this scandal?
Another blogger, Ideological Soup, did not mince words in a really scathing reaction to Abalos's resignation statement:
I was extremely bowled over by Abalos's resignation statement, more so when he mentioned the words “to clear my name and reputation.” His crusade to clear his already tainted name by his own wrongdoings is something beyond imagination. History will not be so kind to those who try to distort it. And reputation, this is something that you can't buy, something that you can't pay for, even if you bribe somebody for 200 million or 200 billion to grant you good reputation.
Even Comelec employees reportedly went wild with glee over their chief's resignation.
Oragon is skeptical. Apart from listing three implications of Abalos's action, Oragon says:
[T]he resignation may be viewed as a combination of legal strategy and political maneuver. The first would seek to provide a breathing space for Abalos, the latter would put a breathing space for political leaders implicated in the scandal.
Abalos's resignation effectively stopped the efforts in the House of Representatives to impeach Abalos or, in other words, hold him politically liable, for his role in the NBN-ZTE scam.
christabel is cynical. Hear her speak on the event as sandwiched between thoughts on college basketball and showbiz :
Like some Filipinos, I don't know what to believe anymore. I'm still waiting for further events and I just pray one thing, for the truth to be set out and for corruption to end but just some time ago, the Philippines was named as one of the most corrupt countries in the world today. It's very disappointing.
The team blog of the  Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism thus smells a rat and dubbed Abalos's act as no different from Richard Nixon's.
In Cradle of the Brave, journalist Reeza Singzon shares her conversation with a jurist:
In a conversation this afternoon with the mild-mannered and soft-spoken retired Court of Appeals Justice Santiago Javier Ranada, I brought up the subject and said “Well, now that he is no longer an impeachable official, he just untimely opened himself up to criminal prosecution.”
Justice Ranada said, “That may be true, but remember that resignation does not mean admission of guilt.”
Reeza also issues this warning:
Abalos’ persecutors still have a long way to go if they want his head on a platter. Abalos may yet turn out to be greatest strategist in all this, knowing full well that by rendering impeachment moot, any alleged wrongdoing on his part will have to be proved the hard way— beyond reasonable doubt in a criminal case before a fair and impartial court of justice— instead of the highly political and biased impeachment process.
Such cynical view is perhaps shared by many, considering the government's track record. As I have previously pointed out, the Ombudsman may again fail the public's expectation that criminal charges be pressed against Abalos immediately after he relinquishes his post, if we base it on what the agency has done regarding an earlier scandal that rocked the Commission on Elections which Abalos headed.
For AWBHoldings, Abalos has become a lead nominee for his Wall of Shame this year.
The Senate is expected to continue its inquiries, until the whole truth is laid bare. First Gentleman Mike Arroyo may be summoned by the chamber and, if he ignores the summons, may be arrested and forced to sit before the senators.
While there are now millions of Filipino netizens, only this minority may be able to understand what the NBN project is or what it hopes to achieve. Methinks it is a really good project to link together all government agencies, national or local, as well as schools and businesses. Similar projects have done wonders in other countries like Australia. The problem is that the government which aims to do it is so unpopular, graft-ridden and widely perceived to be inefficient and incompetent — so much so that the NBN project is now cursed as if by authorities’ reverse Midas touch.
For background info and latest news on the NBN, please visit the Inquirer.net‘s  NBN microsite. Tek 4 d Pipol gives an alternative, nay, progressive view on an NBN for the Philippines  for the Philippines. Ditto for physicist Dr. Giovanni Tapang who reminds us in his blog Penguin tales:
Improving telecommunication services by using modern technologies, without corruption and foreign interests, will always be a welcome development for the people.
I agree.

author: Tonyo Cruz


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Russia: “Putin Wants To Be PM” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mark MacKinnon and Sean Guillory write about yet another one of Vladimir Putin's surprise moves.


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Russia: Understanding “Putin’s Plan” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Darkness at Noon attempts to understand “Putin's Plan.”


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Russia: Vasily Yakemenko · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the Kremlin's man in Russia's youth world.


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Serbia: Now on Second Life · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade 2.0 writes about Serbia's presence on Second Life.


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Syria: Reflections from the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Ramadan is a period not only of fasting and restraint, but also of reflection, judging by posts from many Muslim bloggers.  Syrians (whether Muslim or not) are no exception, taking this period to reflect upon philosophy, patriotism, and Ramadan itself, among other things.
Abu Fares shares his private thoughts about Ramadan:
I also see no reason to live if my vanity is not subdued by my private notion of faith. I have rejected trekking along a railroad track that could only reach a predetermined destination. I have as well abandoned the delusion of sauntering in an open desert without a compass in hand. My chosen path is shunned at from believers and agnostics. It’s an inacceptable compromise to both, a shortcut leading to a cul-de-sac at best. Yet I persist and when the moment comes and I can’t walk no more, I will look behind from wherever I happen to be and lip-sing with Frank Sinatra: “I did it my way”.
The post garnered a variety of comments.  From KJ:
How I live my religion is that religion is a pact exclusively between me and God and no one else has the right to probe into it. You can't standardize something that depends highly on individualistic responses and feelings to the subject matter. I keep my own values, which are mostly guided by religion, and I have other built in values that happen to correspond to the values of my religion (like not drinking). I try to seek knowledge and not limit myself, as well as try to find the formula that JAZZ mentioned. It is a difficult process, but in the end when I manage it (and I know I will), I will be greatly pleased because I know I would have fulfilled, hopefully, my religious and spiritual duties as well as have seen most or all what I would have liked to see and experience in my non-confined life while maintaining my social standards and values.
Dubai Jazz:
My argument is that the richness and the colorfulness of a person's life has nothing to do with his/her religion, that, in my humble opinion, is also applied to one's achievement in life.
An atheist can become a nuclear scientist if he has the faculty, a highly devoted Muslim can be a successful poet if he has the potential.. and so on..
The challenge which is facing Muslims nowadays is this: could a devoted Muslim live his life to the full and enjoy it, and at the same time keep his values intact?
The answer is yes, we can Abu Fares, we can… and if I fail to find the formula, then it is my own shortcoming not Islam's…
But the reflection during this holy month was not only focused on the fast – Decentering Damascus discusses what it means to belong to Syria…
With a country and our belongings to it, the process becomes rather complex. Each Syrian loves her Syria, and each fights or not, to maintain the Syria she sees or wants to see growing. I think most of our belonging to Syria is either fictionist if not imagined. For some, Syria lies in Syrian food, for others it lies in old cafes in Old Damascus. Some belongings to Syria lie in the longing for her. I think some belongings are “touristy” when it comes to Syria's traditional atmosphere.
Syrian becomes its “ornamentation”.
I believe racism, sexism, sectarianism, human rights’ abuse, are unconsciously celebrated in the Syrian daily life. Just like the Syrians are now the prime reason for everything wrong happens in Lebanon, the Iraqi refugees are the prime reason of everything wrong happens in Syria, if one caught AIDS, it's an Iraqi girl, if one cannot find a job, it's the Iraqis’ fault, if a family are sleeping in the streets, it’s the Iraqis fault. Syrians now, and away from the regime's tyranny, are constructing the “Syrianism” within this binary opposition “Syrians/Iraqis”, as a continuous process that started with the “Syrians/Lebanon”. Syrians are formulating a belonging to Syrian in opposition to the “new comers” of Syria.
…While Wassim of Maysaloon discusses his recent trip to Syria and what it meant to him:
The trip was over far too quickly, but a terrible weight was on my mind by the end of the first week. This wasn't just “Syria” for me anymore, an artificial state with it's own flag, national anthem and football team. This was “the beating heart of Arabism” as Mansfeld put it, for Muslims, Christians and Jews it is the land where they believe the final showdown between good and evil will begin, where Jesus will return. I can't emphasise the sheer weight of seeing history living and breathing in front of me, both in the streets of Damascus and in it's National Museum. Stereotypes which had been imposed on me since birth by virtue of an education in the West were now being completely stripped away. I didn't just understand Edward Said, I lived what he had said. I also felt frightened because for the first time in my life, I felt acutely aware of who “I” am, not just a Syrian, but an Arab and a Muslim. Both of these terms I was to recognise carry with them immense responsibilities and a breathtaking shift in the lense one might normally view the world with. They have been weighing heavily on my mind since I got back and this is where my post becomes serious.
Finally,
Brutally Honest shares her feelings the power of words:
Simple encouraging words that are from the heart, are of great value to me, simple words that I end up printing out and sticking onto my monitor to be a reminder of how loved and appreciated I am. The worst thing that you can do is not to show your appreciation and concern towards someone who is of value and importance to you, or not to express your feelings and gratitude towards a loved one. Forgetting that every moment in life is of great value and that life will pass sooner than you think and then it will be too late.
Creative Commons-licensed photo by DWinton

author: Jillian C. York


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Trinidad and Tobago: Saving the Savannah, eight years on · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Coffeewallah recalls an incident eight years ago, when activists protesting the paving of the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain had a truckload of gravel dumped over them. “Unless you are willing to do something, you lose your voice and sometimes even your rights.”

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Ukraine: Election Math · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana and Orange Ukraine consider the math of the Sept. 30 vote.


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Ukraine, Estonia: Yulia Tymoshenko · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa offers an Estonian perspective on Yulia Tymoshenko.


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Ukraine: So Long, Oleksandr Moroz? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

According to the preliminary results of Ukraine's Sept. 30 snap parliamentary election, five parties and blocs out of 20 will most likely get the minimum 3-percent share of the vote required to enter the new parliament: the Party of Regions, Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc, Our Ukraine/People's Self-Defense Bloc, the Communist Party, and Volodymyr Lytvyn's Bloc.
It also appears that Oleksandr Moroz, leader of the Socialist Party, who was Victor Yushchenko's ally during the 2004 Orange Revolution, but joined Victor Yanukovych's coalition to become the speaker following the March 2006 vote, is not getting a sufficient number of votes this time.
It's still a bit too early to tell for sure, but a number of Ukrainian bloggers are already cheering the renegade Socialist leader's defeat. Yaroslava Naumova, editor of the Life section of the new Ukrainian-language weekly Novynar, wrote this (UKR) on her blog on Oct. 2:
Observing my friends and colleagues for the past two days, I've arrived at this conclusion: there is a lot more interest in the fate of the Socialists than in who will come in first or even in the future [coalition-building process]. We call one another, check the latest figures, regions where the vote is still not over, etc. That is, everyone's had enough of Grandfather Moroz. This has become a matter of principle, and everything, even the more important things, are pushed back. And so we have one more peculiarity of this election: “Moroz isn't gonna get through” (?!) :)
Here are the comments to this post:
reporterka:
To Yaroslava. I think it's not as much of an interest and concern for the fate of Grandfather Moroz, but rather cynicism: whether he'll get what he deserves.
Yaroslava Naumova:
Right, it's something of a way to check whether there is justice in this world :) and we are all busy now trying to get an answer to this rhetorical question :)
Anatoliy:
It seems to me that this will serve as a lesson to others (the leaders).
Borys Kushniruk, an economist who maintains a blog at Ukrayinska Pravda, a popular online publication co-founded by Georgiy Gongadze in 2000, wrote this (UKR) on Oct. 1:
[…] The Socialists’ failure to get into the parliament may become one of the most important results of this election. Betrayal of their voters and public lies that [abounded] at the time of their joining the Party of the Regions had to be punished. Such a result of the vote has to become yet another new tradition of the Ukrainian parliamentary system. Parties, and, even more so, their leaders, have to bear responsibility for their actions […] and [their voters] have to punish them by no-confidence vote.
Here is a handful of readers’ reactions:
zinik:
How are you going to survive without Moroz? Who's going to act as a [scapegoat]? The [president]?
PVN:
The author's so naive. Moroz is out – so what? Other fools have voted for Lytvyn, a faithful Kuchmist. […]
LH:
What's there to be happy about? It would've been better to have 3 percent of the Socialists in and [all] the Communists out. Just think of their constant screaming about NATO. Sick of them.


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Albania: Buying Property · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kolin of Living in Shkoder, Albania offers advice on buying property in Albania – “as one who has bought land, and an apartment in Albania.”


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Albania: Miss Globe 2007 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Tirana writes about the Miss Globe 2007 beauty pageant held in Albania's capital.


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Albania: Online Bookstore · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Albanian blogger Elvis Plaku writes about the launch of an Albanian online bookstore.


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Albania: Sir Norman Wisdom · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Albania writes about Sir Norman Wisdom's Albania connection.


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Arabeyes: What’s Your Religion?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bureaucracy is a way of life in some Arab countries. Egyptian blogger Nora Younis shows us what happens when bureaucracy mixes with religious profiling, in this post I am translating from Arabic.
Nora writes:


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Argentina: Kirchner Couple’s International Tour · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Javier Noguera of Grito Argentino [ES] writes about the Kirchner couple's “successful international tour” to the United States, where they participated in the UN Summit, Americas Council and the Clinton Global Initiative.


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Barbados: Big banks vs small ones · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Notes from the Margin reacts to news that a major regional Caribbean bank has been bought by a much bigger Canadian bank.


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China: Incitement to subvert the state’s power · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Angry Chinese Blogger reports the arrest of another journalist. In September 30, Chinese security forces formerly detained Lu Gengsong, a freelance journalist and former teacher at a regional police academy, on charges of “Incitement to subvert the state's power”.


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China: Is ad-blocking illegal?  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has provided more background concerning the arrest of the Coral QQ author. He also translated Keso's commentary on the issue.


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Dominica: Creole time · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

October is the month for celebrating Dominica's Creole heritage. Living Dominica gives a run-down of key upcoming events.


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Equatorial Guinea: The creator of first African e-cartoon magazine · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africaninement writes about an African cartoonist who created the first ever e-cartoon magazine called Para-Jaka.


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Facebook blocked in the United Arab Emirates? · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

[More on GV Advocacy…] According to Download Squad, access to the popular social networking website Facebook has been blocked in the United Arab Emirates…

author: sami ben gharbia


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Hong Kong: An Old Letter · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Seechuen found an old letter written in 1974 in an old book. He googled the names in the letter and returned it to the owner (zh).


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India: An evening in Colaba · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Windy Skies with photographs and observation when in Colaba in Bombay.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Me and My Blog · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Are we our blogs? The Mad Momma has an interesting post explaining her personal life in the context of her blog.


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Jordan: Interview with Wael Abbas  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Natasha Tynes  links to her interview with award winning Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas.


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Korea and Japan: Comfort Women · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Melissa Wabnitz from Ohmynews wrote an article about Korean comfort women and their history in struggling to get an apology from the Japan government.


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Korea: Intra-Korean Summit Notes · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

“Peace declaration” has been agreed upon on the intra-Korean summit. North Korea will provide a complete list of its nuclear programs and disable its facilities by Dec. 31. Robert Koehler posts some notes on how the Korean government prepared for the summit.
Walter Hendler from Ohmynews also wrote a pre-summit commentary.


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Korea: Moving on from Afghanistan · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

The senior pastor at the Saemmul church, which sent 23 Korean volunteers to Afghanistan where they were kidnapped, was re-appointed on the 30th of September. The event provided bloggers with another chance to look back at the incident.
결국 예상대로 된것같네요…
샘물교회에서는 93%이상의 지지를 받아 박은조 목사님이 재임용되었습니다
아무리 배타적이고 이기주의인 한국기독교라 하지만
국가적재앙수준이었던 피납사태의 주체적인물이었던 박은조 목사가
공산주의에서나 볼수있는 90%이상의 지지율로 재임용된 사건은
종교이전에 참된민주주의 대한민국에 사는 한 시민으로써 심한 괴리감이 듭니다.
개인적으로 교인도 아니고 박목사를 알지도 못합니다
얼마나 신앙심이 깊은 선지자이신지, 또 얼마나 주위를 보살피는 분인지 저는 잘 모릅니다
하지만, 정말 자숙하고 반성하신다면
처음 피납당시의 초심으로 돌아가 교계를 떠나심이 오히려
많은 비기독교인들의 눈에 한국기독교의 희망이 그나마 남아있음을 느끼게하지 않을까여?
무엇에 그리 집착하십니까?
정말 아직도 구원해주어야 할 어린양들이 그렇게 많아서입니까?
아님 그동안 쌓아놓은 교회의 자산이 아까우십니까?
잘은 모르오나 교인 3000이상의 샘물교회 담임목사이셨으면
아마도 꽤 오랜기간 목회활동 안하셔도 잘 사시리라 믿습니다…
Comparing Christianity to communism made some bloggers disagree with him.
공산당이라….. 지나친 데요.
교회투표는 정치권 같은 데서 하는 투표랑은 다릅니다.
비리나 인물에 심각한 문제가 있지 않는 이상 왠만하면 재신임 됩니다.
오히려 목사가 재신임 되지 않는 게 재앙으로 느껴질 정도로 놀랄 일입니다.
목사가 바뀔 경우 그 교회 다니는 사람들이 많이 다른 교회로 옮기죠.
더군다나 샘물교회는 박은조 목사가 세웠는데……
정치권에서 하는 투표랑은 다른 것이 대통령의 경우 대통령이 맘에 들지 않는 다고 다른 나라로 이민을 갈 수는 없지만 교회는 교회다니는 사람들이 세운 것이 아니라 목사가 세운 것이 대부분이다 보니
교회다니는 사람들은 목사가 맘에 들지 않으면 다른 교회로 옮기고 마는데 7%의 반대나 있다는게 오히려 놀라운 일이죠
The reason why it is different from political elections is even though the elected president is not likable, people don’t leave the country. But a church is built by a pastor, not by church believers. Therefore, if the believers don’t like the pastor, they instantly change their churches. I am rather surprised that there was 7 percent objection.
Another blogger talks about different perspectives inside and outside Christian boundaries.
만일 박은조 목사가 극악무도한 짓을 저질러 교회에서 퇴출되었다면 또 모를까…. 교회라는 지극히 종교적인 틀안에서보면, 피랍자들이나 그들을 보낸 교회측이나, 절대로 잘못된 행동이었다는 생각을 할 수가 없습니다..
교회에서의 제1의 덕목은 “복음전파”이고, 때문에 많은 신도들이 알게 모르게 선교를 통한 전도를 행하는것이며, 이는 절대로 비판의 대상이 될수가 없습니다… 이런 행위 자체를 비판한다고하면 이미 그것은 기독교의 교리를 벗어난 행동이고, 이단이며 사이비인데, 이런 생각으로 똘똘뭉친 저들이 어떻게 박은조 목사 및 피랍자들을 비난할수가 있겠습니까?
오히려 아무나 하지 못하는 오지에 가서 선교를 실천한 그들이거늘… 이는 국가의 법을 어겼든 가족을 배반했든.. 그 어떠한 희생이 따르는 일이었다 하더라도, 최소한 기독교 세계에서는 “영웅”의 행동이었을 것이며, 앞으로도 그들을 더욱더 추앙하면 했지, 절대 비판의 칼날을 내세울 리가 없는 것이죠…
어느 신문기사에 실린, 이번 사건에 대한 사설을 읽게 되었는데… 그 사설의 논조는 이번 피랍사태를 비난 하는 사람들은 반기독교 세력들이고, 중산층 이상 대부분의 상류층은 기독교 신자인 관계로, 가난하고 가진것 없는 반기독교 세력들이 가진자들에 대한 증오가 잘못 표출되어, 이렇듯 비 상식적인 비난이 이어진다는 것이었습니다… 불교신자든 혹은 통일교를 믿든 JMS를 믿든 대순진리를 믿든… 아니면 아무런 종교가 없더라도 풍요로운 삶을 사는 사람들이 많이 있거늘…
They practice their missions in backward countries… even though they disobeyed the national regulations and betrayed their families, and what they do could cause any kinds of sacrifice, it is the behavior of “heroes” in the Christian world. Christians will revere those missionaries more and more and will not aim their knives of criticism at them.
I read a column in a newspaper. The main point of the column was that people who are upset about this hostage incident are all anti-Christians. The middle and major high classes are mostly Christians and, therefore, anti-Christians who are poor express their antipathy against other classes in a wrong way with this incident. The column said that that’s why these kinds of nonsense criticisms don’t stop. Who cares whether they’re Buddhist, Unification believers, or any other kind of religious people? There are so many people who have prosperous and meaningful lives without religion…
The pastor’s reappointment brought up another issue related to the hostage incident.
…아프간 현지 언론은 두 명의 인질이 조건없이(?) 석방되기도 한참(2주)전에
그들이 강간당했다고 보도했다.
http://www.afghanlord.org/2007/08/korean-hostages-raped-by-taliban.html
심지어 한 네티즌은 의혹과 관련하여,
“피랍 여성들 중 생리를 안하는 두 명만 먼저 석방한게 아니냐, 정확히 피랍후 한 달여 만에 석방된것도.. 만약 피랍 사태가 장기화 되면 3개월 이상 된 여성은 석방후 아이를 낳아야만 하는 상황이 되기에 급했던거 아닌가?” 라는 억측을 하기도 했다.
두 명은 언론과의 접촉을 완전차단한채 국군 수도병원의
대령급 이상 입실 가능한 특실에서 산부인과 검진 등을 받았다.
ABC News는 이 두 인질들이 반복적으로 강간당했다고 진술함에 따라
한국 정부의 탈레반 협상 노력이 급물살을 탔다고 보도한다.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=3549862&page=1#comment
국내 언론에서는 일언반구 의혹제기도 없었던 사실이
외신에 의해 증인까지 갖추어 보도되자 국민들은 허탈해 했다.
하지만 이에 대해 피랍자들은 ABC뉴스를 명예회손죄로 고소하겠다고 나섰다.
http://news.media.daum.net/society/affair/200709/03/newsis/v17994150.html
그리고,
http://www.freezonenews.com/news/article.html?no=19624
이 같은 보도에 대해 ABC뉴스 한국지국의 한 관계자는 3일 < 프리존뉴스>와의 통화에서 “잘 모르겠다”고 답했다. 그는 “(아프간에서) 현지 기자가 소식통을 통해 나름대로 정확하다고 판단했기 때문에 기사화한 것 아니겠느냐”며 “그건 본사 데스크에서 판단할 것이다.”라고 말했다….
있지도 않은 사실로 인해서,
아직까지 강간당한 여성은 무언가 특별한 것을 잃은 낙인찍힌 존재로 여겨지고,
시집조차 제대로 가지 못하고 더럽다고 욕먹는
우리 나라의 후진적인 페미니즘으로 인해서,
피랍자들이 이중적인 고통을 당한다면 얼마나 불행한 일인가..
Even some netizens assume “Didn’t those abductors release two female abductees who skipped their periods? The reason why they released them exactly after one month might be that they were afraid that those women might deliever babies there if the ransom takes longer.”
The two abductees were completely blocked from media and they had their bodies examined in a military secret hospital.
ABC News reported that those two women confessed that they were repeatedly raped and therefore the negotiation went smooth after that.
The internal media never mentioned this at all, but the external media even showed this news with witnesses and our civilians were perplexed.
But those abductees said that they will sue ABC news for libel.
And,
About this report, a person who works at a Korean branch in ABC News answered, “I don’t know about it well” on the phone interview with Freezone Newson the third of September. The person added, “I think that they must have made it an article because they judged that the information they got was correct” and “it’s by the judgement from the main branch.”…
By the unproven truth, those women would be regarded as some who lost some special things. Due to backward feminism, they might be blamed as dirty and not be able to get married. How miserable it would be that those abductees go through dual pains!….

author: Hyejin Kim


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