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Brazil: Copyright Reform Proposal Under Consultation · Global Voices
Debora Baldelli

Listed among the five toughest laws in the world [pt] with regard to access to information and cultural products in protected works, the Brazilian Copyright Act (Law 9.610/98) is to be reformed. A public consultation [pt] is open until August the 31st, after an extension of the initial period of 45 days in order to expand the opportunity for participation. More than 1,200 contributions about the proposed changes, which have sparked intense debate in the blogosphere and twittosphera, have been submitted since June 14th. The Direito do Povo [pt] blog summarizes the discussion:
“A discussão sobre as aplicações da LDA é sempre complexa. De um lado, os autores e o respeito às suas obras. De outro, o direito de acesso à cultura e ainda os mecanismos que movem a economia e a indústria fonográfica.”
“The debate about the applications of the Copyright Act is always complex. On one hand, we have authors and respect for their works. On the other, the right of access to culture and also the driving mechanisms of the music economy and industry.”
There are important issues at the forefront of the proposed changes, such as the assignment of rights; the right to private copy; permission to copy out of print books; fair use rights to film and music exhibitions at schools as teaching materials; non-voluntary licenses and the role of the Government; the collection office and copyright collectives; and, the possibility of offline access to digitized files from cultural institutions, among other issues.
The most popular issues discussed on the web are public difficulties in accessing cultural information, author freedom related to their works and excessive profiteering by industry middlemen. Regarding the misconceptions of the current law, a researcher at the Center for Technology and Society at Fundação Getulio Vargas Marília Maciel states in an interview for Nós da Comunicação [pt]:
“O atual modelo de proteção de direito autoral privilegia muito mais o intermediário, seja editora ou gravadora, do que o artista propriamente dito.  É preciso que se retome o foco no artista e que se estabeleçam limitações e exceções que possam trazer um equilíbrio de volta, dos interesses do artista e da sociedade em obter acesso ao conhecimento e às obras intelectuais.”
"Pirate is your mother!", by Cultura e Mercado Blog
The culture of freely sharing content and accessing information is often seen as piracy in Brazil. Leonardo Brant, from the Cultura e Mercado blog publishes the image above and questions what piracy is [pt]:
“O que é pirataria? Quem são os verdadeiros usurpadores do conhecimento alheio? Quem a pirataria beneficia? E quem atinge? Podemos considerar piratas crianças e jovens que compartilham arquivos, se apropriando do conhecimento gerado por nossa civilização? Quem é o autor de uma obra remixada? Existe obra 100% original? Como sobreviverá o artista diante da proliferação da dita “pirataria”? E a indústria cultural, é necessária numa época de compartilhamento de dados pier-to-pier?”
The Hackeando Aibo blog points to an incompatibility between the new law, existing technology and the online information sharing conjuncture:
“Ao disponibilizar conteúdo na rede o seu criado também não será prejudicado? Sim e Não. Na verdade é uma via de duas mãos. Se formos pensar pelo lado da desconstrução sim. Mas se formos pela construção a rede é uma nova plataforma com diversas maneiras de ser utilizada sem contar no seu potencial de divulgação, o maior do mundo sem sombra de dúvida. As possibilidades são muito maiores que as dificuldades na relação criador/ Internet. É é exatamente em cima delas que se deve trabalhar. O compartilhamento de informações na rede é um fato que já está dado e defender agora o copyright de 70 anos como as indústrias tem feito é continuar obsoleto frente a uma realidade.”
Although music seems to be in the forefront of the copyright debate, the issue is much deeper. The proposed changes have the main benefit of resolving important issues like the public right of access to culture. The “Cineclube: Apontamentos” [pt] blog emphasizes the importance of the new law for greater circulation of cultural production:
“A trajetória política desse anteprojeto de lei vai ser das mais momentosas, justamente pela importância central que tem no processo de apropriação e circulação da produção cultural que, por sua vez, são cada vez mais importantes para a preservação ou para a transformação das relações de poder na sociedade mundial.”
One of the most challenged points in the current copyright law is the lack of collection transparency. For instance, the role of the Copyright Central Officer for Collection and Distribution (ECAD), a controversial copyright collective of musical works, is one of the most questioned, having even been the target of an investigation into cartels [pt] carried out by the Justice Cabinet, after a complaint that the collective sets indiscriminate and abusive license fees:
“A Lei do Direito Autoral confere ao Ecad o monopólio para arrecadação e distribuição dos valores relativos à execução pública dos direitos autorais. Os titulares dos direitos autorais podem fixar os valores para a execução pública de suas obras individualmente ou por meio de associações. No modelo vigente hoje, as associações fixam os valores dos direitos em conjunto, e não de forma individual. Segundo o ministério, o modelo de gestão coletiva dos direitos autorais conferiu ao Ecad o monopólio legal sobre as atividades de arrecadação e distribuição de valores, mas não sobre a atividade de fixação desses valores.
“The Copyright Act grants ECAD a monopoly on the collection of royalties and the distribution of royalties collected. Copyright holders may set the license fees for public performance of their works individually or through associations. Under the current model, the associations set the license fees of rights collectively, not individually. According to the [Justice] Cabinet, this model of collective management of copyright gives ECAD the legal monopoly on the activities of collection and distribution of license fees, but not on setting such fees.
The artist realm joins the debate. In this video [pt], composer Tim Rescala wonders how an association that should protect artists counts over 7,000 lawsuits filed against it because of irregularities in the collection of rights from those it should protect. Yet some believe the problem is not ECAD, but the lack of government surveillance, as record producer Nelson Motta states in this open letter to Rescala [pt]:
O Ecad, como qualquer empresa, deve ser fiscalizado pelo Estado, que lhe cobra impostos, e pelo cumprimento de leis trabalhistas, comerciais e empresariais. Não é preciso lei nenhuma para isto, é uma empresa que presta serviços, ganha dinheiro e paga impostos.
Meanwhile, independent socio-cultural initiatives have been forced to close down due to the high rates of license fees charged by ECAD. The blog of Ação da Cidadania (Citizens’ Action), for instance, announces that the planned free youth film screening that would launch the NGO's Film Society created with state funding had to be cancelled.
Citizens' Action Film Club cancelled
Although the debate about the new law is ongoing, a recent article on ARS Technica suggests that the United States has a lot to learn from the Brazilian decision to punish anyone who “hinders or impedes” fair use rights or obstructs the use of work that has already fallen into the public domain:
Brazil's proposal could be spun as something hostile to rightsholders, but it's not that simple. The law does provide protection for DRM [Digital Rights Management]; in general, it is illegal to remove, modify, bypass, or impair such anti-copying technology. It's just that rightsholders can't use DRM as a digital lock to give themselves more control over a work through technology than they have under the law. (…)
Canadian Professor Michael Geist, who has stressed the adequacy of the amendment introduced by the Brazilian legislator in relation to anti-circumvention activities, sums it up as a properly balanced approach that doesn't buy into the “more is better” approach to copyright protections: “In other words, the Brazilian proposals recognize what the Supreme Court of Canada stated several years ago – over-protection is just as harmful as under-protection.”
Even with apparent international support for the proposed changes to the Brazilian legislation, there is a need to place greater attention on the lack of dialogue between the country and relevant international treaties, as Marília Maciel emphasizes [pt]:
“Os tratados internacionais que o Brasil assina permitem que os países signatários incluam nas suas legislações nacionais limitações e exceções para uso educacional das obras intelectuais, para facilitar o acesso das obras aos deficientes, para se digitalizar os acervos de bibliotecas, por exemplo. Isso a nossa atual lei de direito autoral não permite. O Brasil tem padrões tão rígidos de proteção à propriedade intelectual que sequer reconhece as limitações e exceções que são facultadas pelos tratados internacionais. Eu acho que seria uma mudança bastante importante, que traria um equilíbrio muito maior entre interesses conflitantes.
“The international treaties signed by Brazil allow signatory countries to include in their national legislation limitations and exceptions for educational use of intellectual works, in order to facilitate access to these works for disabled people, and to digitize library collections, for example. Our current copyright law does not allow this. Brazil has such rigid standards of intellectual property protection that [the country] even fails to acknowledge limitations and exceptions provided by international treaties. I think this would be an extremely important change that would bring a much greater balance between conflicting interests.
At the end of the consultation, the text will be redrafted based on the proposals made by the public. There is no deadline for the Executive to submit the project to the Congress.

author: Debora Baldelli


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Brazil: Disgust at prejudice against atheists on live TV · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Robson Fernando comments [pt] on a declaration of the police-show host José Luiz Datena who has “associated atheists and disbelief in God with everything that sucks” and said that “Atheists have no moral boundaries, the  most brutal crimes are linked to the ‘lack of God in the  heart'” on live TV.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Bulgaria: Government’s Pressure on the Media · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Veni Markovski writes about the Bulgarian government's most recent attack on the independent media: “This latest pressure on the free media comes after a number of worrisome cases, involving journalists in the last years. […] Every government in the last 20 years has come to power at the promise of keeping the media free and independent, and every government has stepped down not being able to fulfill its promise.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Chile: Mapuche on Hunger Strike over Anti-terror Law · Global Voices
Felipe Cordero

On July 12, 2010, fourteen Mapuche indigenous detainees being held at jails in Concepción, Angol, Temuco and Valdivia, began a hunger strike to denounce the Chilean State’s treatment of Mapuche communities in southern Chile. The strike is aimed mainly at ending the use of Chile’s Anti-terrorism Law against Mapuche prisoners.
Yesterday, prisoners Carlos Muñoz Huenuman and Eduardo Painemil Peña also joined the strike at a jail in Lebu – a total of 31 Mapuche prisoners are now on strike. In a press release [es] at Pais Mapuche (Mapuche Nation) [es], Muñoz and Painemil said that:
Con esta medida extrema y justa, extendemos la resistencia llevada a cabo por los presos políticos Mapuche en los distintos penales chilenos, que busca denunciar las injusticias cometidas en contra de nuestro pueblo, las que se ven reflejadas en violentos allanamientos, donde sus víctimas son principalmente ancianos y niños; la utilización indiscriminada y arreglada de testigos protegidos incluyendo menores de edad; el excesivo tiempo de las investigaciones encabezadas por el Ministerio Público que sólo perpetúan la prisión preventiva y en definitiva, rechazar los montajes político-judiciales, sustentados por la aplicación de la Ley antiterrorista, que buscan encarcelar a luchadores sociales Mapuche que hacen frente a la guerra de exterminio que nos declaró el Estado chileno.
Photo by Patricio Valenzuela, used under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
The Mapuche prisoners in the Angol jail issued a statement [es] in the Kilapan [es] website containing their demands:
a) Devolución inmediata del Territorio ancestral Mapuche.
b) Fin a la aplicación de la Ley Antiterrorista, a las justas demandas y movilizaciones sociales del Pueblo Nación Mapuche.
c) NO más montajes Políticos Judicial, bajo la utilización de Testigos Protegidos o sin Rostro.
d) Nulidad al juicio de Lorenzo Alex Curipan Levipan, comunidad Mapuche Rankilko.
e) Desmilitarización de las Comunidades Mapuche.
f) Basta de Persecución Política Judicial del Estado Chileno al Pueblo Nación Mapuche, no mas asesinatos.
g) NO más doble procesamientos de la Justicia Civil y Militar.
h) Libertad a todos los Prisioneros Políticos Mapuche.
i) La inhabilitación del fiscal anti-mapuche miguel Ángel Velazquez por su actitud inconstitucional, en los procesos judiciales, mafioso, torturador y racista.
The demands of all prisoners participating in the hunger strike seem to coincide. Their respective statements differ mostly in the tone and all focus on the use by the State of Chile’s Anti-terror Law.
The Law
Chile’s Anti-Terror Law, a Pinochet-era decree widely used during the seventeen years of the Pinochet dictatorship, allows for the trials of civilians by military courts, as well as the presentation of “protected” witnesses whose testimonies are heard and recorded anonymously.
On Twitter, Montserrat Nicolas (@Curvaspoliticas) commented [es]:
chile no tiene por qué seguir con la ley antiterrorista. es aberrante y corresponde a 1 idea POLITICA. chile no es colombia ni EEUU.
Regarding the law, the blog Mira lo que pasa Chile [es] (Look What’s Happening Chile) republished [es] the opinion of José Aylwin, co-director of the human rights organization Observatorio Ciudadano [es]:
Esta legislación ha sido aplicada preferentemente y casi exclusivamente a personas vinculas a los movimientos okupas, anarquistas y a personas mapuches […E]s una paradoja que el Gobierno […] valore la liberación de los presos políticos en Cuba […] y no tenga el mismo criterio con quienes claramente pueden ser considerados como presos políticos, en el caso de los mapuches encarcelados por la ley antiterrorista.
Chile has been criticized by international organizations for its use of this law. In the report “Undue Process,” Human Rights Watch referred to the situation of the Mapuche in the following terms:
Apart from the due process problems presented by the use of the anti-terrorism law (such cases are heard in ordinary courts), Mapuche individuals accused of violence against the police are tried in military courts in proceedings that do not meet basic requirements of independence and impartiality. It is little wonder, then, that many Mapuche feel that Chile’s progressive new criminal justice system, in force since 2000 in the region most affected by the conflicts, bestows its benefits on everyone but them.
Earlier, on July 19, 2010, Mapuche activists appealed to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva over the law and what they see as the political persecution they face by the State.
Photo by Flick user antitezo, used under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
Blind and Deaf Mass Media
Although more than twenty Mapuche prisoners are now on hunger strike and despite the fact that they make up about a third of the total number of Mapuche persons on trial under the Anti-terrorist Law, mass media outlets have failed to give the story the importance it deserves.
On Twitter, Gonzalo Larenas (@GonzaloLarenas) reflected [es] on the insufficient media coverage of the story:
Esto es noticia y no se comenta, q pasa? 29 mapuche siguen en huelga de hambre en protesta por la Ley Antiterrorista http://bit.ly/cThwzp
This is news and it is not commented, what’s happening? 29 mapuche continue to be on hunger strike in protest to the Anti-terrorism Law http://bit.ly/cThwzp
So far, only regional authorities, namely the Governor of the Cautín Province, have commented on the ongoing strike. The Chilean government of Sebastián Piñera has not yet made public statements about the situation of the 31 Mapuche detainees.
Protests are scheduled to take place on August 2, 2010 in Concepción, Valdivia and Santiago.

author: Felipe Cordero


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China: First hand account of two Chinese artists arrested and beaten · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Under the Jacaranda Tree posts a first hand account written by Diane Gatterdam on the arrest of two Chinese artists, Yang Licai and Wu Yuren.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Looking for supplier · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Petersson gives some tips on identifying good and reliable suppliers in China.


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Cuba: Economic Effects · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The unemployment phenomenon, which is vehemently denied by high officials in the government, is nothing new”: Iváns File Cabinet uses the example of Cuba's only telecommunications company to illustrate its effects.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Ghana: New Ghanaian movie · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

MightAfrican writes about a new movie from Ghana, Sinking Sands: “Recently, Leila sent me the trailer for the movie. “Sinking Sands” is about a couple, Jimah (Jimmy Jean-Louis from Haiti) and Pabi (Ama K. Abebrese from Ghana) in a loving marriage which turns into one of violence and abuse when Jimah becomes disfigured in a domestic accident.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Global Threat of Wheat Killer Rises · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

This post was commissioned as part of a Pulitzer Center/Global Voices Online series on Food Insecurity that draw on multimedia reporting featured on the Pulitzer Gateway to Food Insecurity and bloggers discussing the issue worldwide. Share your own story here.
The risk posed by a fungus that is deadly to the world's second largest crop, wheat, continues to rise. The killer fungus, called Ug99, causes stem rust disease, which can destroy entire wheat fields.
Two new aggressive forms of the fungus were  found in South Africa for the first time earlier this year, raising concerns that it could spread. More than a billion people in developing countries rely on wheat for their food and income.
A close-up of stem rust on wheat crop (USDA/public domain)
As journalist Sharon Schmickle explored in a 2008 project for the Pulitzer Center,  Ug99 poses a major threat because 80 percent of Asian and African wheat varieties are susceptible to the fungus. Since the fungus was discovered in Uganda in 1999 it has traveled to the fields of Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen and Iran.
At the 8th International Wheat Conference in June, several scientific papers about risks and possible solutions to Ug99 were presented, and the discovery of the new forms of the fungus in South Africa, as well as in Kenya, were announced. In a blog post on Philanthropy Action Tim Ogden urges global poverty philanthropists to look towards agriculture and funding for science as he elaborates on the potential consequences of this discovery:
“The new rust has become even more virulent since it emerged. Now that it’s in South Africa, the rust can much more easily spread to the Middle East and South Asia as it can hitch a ride on prevailing wind currents. As the rust spreads—killing up to 80 percent of a wheat crop—farmers around the world will have to replace the varieties of wheat that they use.”
Stem rust itself is nothing new. Controlling it was a major part of the Green Revolution of the 1960s, when scientists introduced genes into wheat to make it resistant to the fungus. When Ug99 emerged in Uganda, it transformed stem rust from a disease largely under control to a major global threat.
A post by Allen Dodson on the Biosecurity Blog of the Federation of American Scientists insists it's vital to deal with this threat:
Though authorities are increasingly aware of the danger [of agricultural pathogens] – whether from naturally occurring outbreaks or intentional acts of terrorism and aggression – the rapid transport of food across agricultural regions and on to markets poses a major challenge for the detection and quarantine of crop pathogens. As global populations and food requirements continue to increase, addressing the threat to the food supply will only become even more important.”
Ug99's spores are transported by wind but can also be carried on clothes or in plant matter. As it migrates it can also mutate, sometimes into deadlier forms. In addition to the new forms of Ug99 found in South Africa, researchers at the June conference also announced two new forms in Kenya. These four mutations of Ug99 have acquired the ability to defeat two of the most important stem rust-resistant genes.
On environmental politics blog Red Green and Blue, Kay Sexton says the situation reveals how fragile our food supply is.
Monkey's Uncle blogger and biological anthropologist, James Holland Jones, says it highlights the importance of evolutionary biology.
Commenting on an article on Wired, a reader going by the name “mwilk” thinks the stem rust problem highlights the need for greater biodiversity:
Sounds like an updated version of the Irish Potato Famine. Another good reason why it is good practice to maintain genetic diversity in important agricultural crops and not to be too dependent on a single crop. Easier said than done in many poor countries, but in the US we certainly have the resources to maintain an agricultural base that can withstand the attack of this type of pathogen. If we have the wisdom is another matter.
Fungicides can be used to combat Ug99, but small-scale farmers without access to these chemicals remain vulnerable. So researchers are trying to stay one step ahead. In June, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched the Web site Rust SPORE to monitor the spread of Ug99 and other wheat rusts. Researchers are also working on breeding new varieties of wheat that are resistant to Ug99.
Nonetheless, Robert Winter, blogging on Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow, says that both the April Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and stem rust have shown the limits of technology:
Perhaps illogically, this attitude to technology and human certainty is lodged in my mind with the recent and growing concern about the spread of the ug99 wheat fungus, a stem rust that we thought we'd dealt to with our science, but has evolved into a virulent new form in Africa and has become a very serious global threat, in part as an effect of our standardisation of wheat types. I'm not a Luddite, and am in general comfortable with many aspects of technological progress, but both these cases show the inadequacy of the risk assessments that we use when we tamper with fundamental forces. It is good to understand the margins of our knowledge.
Still, Steve Savage, blogging on Sustainablog, remains optimistic, listing four reasons why scientists will defeat stem rust:
I’ll wager that the worst potential from this disease will NOT actually occur. This is not a casual wager – the health or even survival of millions of poor people around the world is at stake. Some of my wheat breeder friends might not like me to say this (because they legitimately need more funding), but my bet is still that the breeders will prevail against all odds (and get little credit for it). I base that qualified optimism on having seen what a remarkable group of scientists called “plant breeders” have been able to achieve in the past… Will plant breeders still do their very best to protect the food supply? Yes, they will.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Haiti: Displaced Women and Girls Victims of Gender Violence · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In the aftermath of the devastating Haiti earthquake, women and girls  are still facing gender violence, as some of them not only experience  rape, but then have to face an absent judicial system and less than  adequate medical care.
In the Ms. Magazine Blog, Gina Ulysse wrote Rape a Part of Daily Life for Women in Haitian Relief Camps, where she points towards the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)and Madre‘s Report on Rape in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps as the source of terrifying statistics on gender violence.
Many women and girls have lost their support network as well as fathers, brothers and husbands or boyfriends who might've been able to protect them. So being in cramped quarters in the camps really cuts down on their privacy, many have to shower in public and sleep next to strangers or in locations where they are vulnerable to attacks.  Once the attacks take place, many of the cases being gang rapes, they have yet to face more ordeals: most have no way to receive medical aid from female practitioners and the justice system is almost non-existent,  leaving them to deal with corruption in the police and revictimization from authorities in addition to the stigma from being attacked and the knowledge that their attackers are still at large. Ulysse writes:
Women’s access to justice has been even worse.  Women who reported  rapes–and were already struggling with stigmatization and the  psychological effects of sexual assault–were often mocked or  ignored by police. In some instances, these women have had to deal with  police corruption as well. Moreover, cases have not been prosecuted  by the Haitian judicial system. Survivors remain vulnerable  since they continue to live in the same areas of the camps where they  were attacked and their rapists remain at large. Several women reported  that they’ve been raped on different occasions since the quake.
The IJDH, Partners in Health and New Media Advocacy Program released a video a few months ago with testimonies from the victims. The footage was recorded by Sandy Berkowitz and edited by Harriet Hirshorn.
Even though women struggle to return to normalcy, it is unlikely their situation will improve as the temporary camps seem to be turning into permanent accomodations. Back in January, CARE USA interviewed Dr. Franck Geneus who coordinates CARE's health program in Haiti and asked him about the reasons why there is higher risk of rape in these camps, and he mentioned the characteristics that make the IDP camps a fertile ground for attacks: the lack of electricity that makes camps absolutely dark at night, badly organized camps and non-segregated bathing facilities and latrines so that males and females have their own.
Janet Meyers, Gender Advisor from CARE also put in her own 2 cents regarding how the camps would be established to make women safer in the earthquake aftermath, pointing out many of the same issues last  February. I wonder how many of these issues remain unresolved and if, as these camps turn into more permanent facilities, it will just pave the way for more assaults to take place.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Is Religion Good for China? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kai Pan looks into the blooming of Christianity in China in recent years and addresses the question on whether religion is good for China.


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Jamaica: Fastest Man Alive  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“All is in place for a showdown featuring the three fastest men over 100 metres”: YardFlex.com is looking forward seeing the performance of Jamaican athletes in an upcoming meet in Sweden.


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Jamaica: The Politics of SoE · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Girl With a Purpose says that “the Limited State of Emergency in Jamaica…has now become a political football.”


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Japan: Art on an island · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Nazra Zahri blogged – with gorgeous photos and a video – about her trip to Teshima, one of the seven islands that's celebrating Setouchi International Art Festival.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kenya: Mobile Payment Revolution · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Erik looks at mobile payment services in Kenya: “Kenya is quickly gaining a competitive advantage in the mobile payments space. Led by mobile operator giant Safaricom with their Mpesa product, the market locally sees huge value in mobile money transactions.”


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Kenya: Support for Alcoholic Drinks Bill · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Alan Masakhalia features on Mzalendo Vox Pop arguing that the Kenyan President should assent to the Alcoholic Drinks Bill. Mzalendo Vox Pop is a feature readers share their views on their constituency.


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Latvia: Concerns Over the Future of the Largest Daily, Free Press · Global Voices
Aleks Tapinsh

With the ownership of the largest daily newspaper, Diena [LV], in question, many journalists in Latvia fear business interests and political influence would rule the news coverage ahead of the October parliamentary elections.
“Who is behind Diena,” read last week’s front page headline of the newsweekly Ir. “One year after a change in ownership there appeared a shadow of the oligarchs and a question: Does Latvia still have a free press?”
“The situation is very, very sad, because elections are coming,” a former Diena journalist Gunta Sloga told Swedish radio (SWE). “Many people will not be able to get objective information before the vote, and especially problematic it becomes for those who live in the countryside and do not have an access to the Internet.”
Sloga and a few others had quit the newspaper in 2009 over lack of transparency in the sale from the Swedish company Bonnier. The new owners installed a new manager, who lasted there almost a year. Meanwhile, the owners said the newspaper would maintain its professional integrity. Tralmaks unexpectedly quit in July, bringing the issue of integrity back into the light. The owners appointed Sergejs Ancupovs, the former press secretary for the former prime minister, Valdis Birkavs, as well as a leader of a think-tank connected to certain political parties, to run the newspaper.
On July 20, journalist Kārlis Streips wrote [LV] on his Politika.lv blog:
I'm in deep mourning for Diena. When the first professional journalists departed, I wrote that Diena would still be my newspaper. Now, I don't have a newspaper in Latvia any more. For professional reasons, I'll continue to subscribe, but it'll be all.
In a video [LV] posted on the Diena newspaper’s web site, Ancupovs declined to answer questions about who approached him for this job.
“You know, we won’t be doing that kind of investigation,” he said, after explaining that the Diena newspaper will continue to maintain its objectivity and will not be a subject to political influence.
“Let’s assume that I have fallen from Mars,” he said, calling two journalists who interviewed him, “girls.”
Ancupovs said in a radio interview that the newspaper has always had a political influence. And it will continue to do so.
Jānis Buholcs writes [LV] that the recent change in Diena leadership means it is no longer necessary to hide under the pretense of being above the political influence. Buholcs responds to Ancupovs:
Media controlled by politicians is not the same as media that have their own political sympathies, which those openly espouse. The system of Putin and Berlusconi is not the same as an op-ed in a newspaper.
Pods.lv wonders [LV] if the newspaper's purchase was “the most expensive election campaign”:
If we are to believe information that Diena and Dienas Bizness were paid for 7 million lats (US$13 million), then that's a very expensive toy.
Let's assume that the goal is to influence the election results with the help from these two media outlets and after that liquidate them both. I think it would be too expensive for an election campaign.
On the other hand, considering the amounts of money the plotters could get in many different public bids and purchase requests, then 7 million is nothing but small change.

author: Aleks Tapinsh


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Madagascar: Pillaging of Rain Forests Was Supervised by National Special Forces · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

The Malagasy field researcher who contributed to the report on rosewood illegal logging in Madagascar entitled “Between Democracy and Conservation” explains the method they used in conducting their18-months-long secret investigation [fr]. He states that the investigation was conducted away from the government task force and that he is glad that the pillaging of the rain forest, often under the protection of national Special Forces (FIS), is finally entering the political debate [fr].

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Pakistan: Floods Cause Death And Misery · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hundreds have died and more than a million people in Pakistan have been affected by floods caused by monsoon rains in the last three days. Kalsoom at CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan has details.

author: Rezwan


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Pakistan: Wikileaks Documents And Corrective Actions  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House  analyzes the disclosure of Wikileaks documents on Afghan war and opines that the civil-military leadership of Pakistan should take corrective actions against the extremists within Pakistan.


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Peru: Songs to Celebrate the Independence · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On July 28 and 29 Peruvians celebrated their independence festivities. Juan Arellano from Globalizado published a post [es] with a song that seems to summarize what being Peruvian is all about. He later published another post [es] with more songs. Both posts represent a summary of some of the musical styles from Peru.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Russia: Prosecutor That Banned Youtube Gives Interview · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Marker.ru publishes an interview with Vladimir Pakhomov, city prosecutor that obliged the local Internet provider to block Youtube, Web.archive.org and other websites [EN]. Pakhomov expressed Chinese-government-style philosophy on Internet-filtering: “Provider is obliged to filter the information that goes through its channels to the Worldwide Web”, and didn't exclude probable filtering of Vkontakte and other social networks.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: The First Case of YouTube Ban · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

YouTube under fire in the Russia's Far East. Photo by mauritsonline
On July 16, 2010, Komsomolsk-on-Amur city court issued a decision [RUS] requested by the city prosecutor. The decision requires a local Internet provider “Rosnet” to block IP-addresses of five websites: lib.rus (the judge meant lib.rus.ec, a Russian Internet library), thelib.ru, www.zhurnal.ru, web.archive.org, and… youtube.com.
The court believes those websites host extremist content (several online copies of “Mein Kampf” and a video “Russia for Russians” that accompanied a skinhead-related song uploaded by a user from Serbia [RUS]) while the provider was accused of “not blocking them.” The court decision says:
…проведенная прокуратурой проверка показала, что интернет-провайдер в лице ответчика не обеспечивает должным образом безопасность пользователей в глобальной сети. Жители г. Комсомольска-на-Амуре имеют свободный доступ к сайтам экстремисткой и террористической направленности, которые пропагандируют идеи общественных организаций, содержат высказывания, направленные на возбуждение ненависти и вражды к группе лиц по признакам национальности, отношения к религии, а равно принадлежности к власти, органам управления, а также оправдание террористической деятельности, запрещенных на территории Российской Федерации.
[…]
в целях восстановления нарушенных прав граждан и во исполнение действующего законодательства, доступ к … к Интернет – сайтам … следует ограничить, посредством добавления на пограничном маршрутизаторе правил фильтрации IP – адресов указанных сайтов.
Marker.ru published [RUS] an interview with prosecutor Vladimir Pakhomov, who said that “a provider is obliged to filter information that goes through its channels to the World Wide Web,” and didn't exclude the possibility of filtering Vkontakte.ru and other social networks.
The court's decision, however, hasn't been enforced yet. The provider managed to appeal [RUS] on time and is waiting for the decision of a higher instance court.
Numerous mistakes (both spelling and factual) in the court decision attracted attention [RUS] of various bloggers, highlighting a low level of computer (and general) literacy of a person who wrote the decision. Besides, the measure of IP-filtering is both expensive and inefficient (for various reasons), argued Rosnet in a detailed press release published on its website. Russian Google said [RUS] the decision might be a serious threat for the development of the Internet in Russia's Far East.
Previously, GV reported on other cases of similar accusations against providers (here, here, and here, and many others that were not documented). Until now, however, prosecutors have been demanding to close only small websites. With YouTube, the technique of content removal/blocking was slightly different. The Russian authorities addressed YouTube directly with demands to delete certain videos, and the service usually complied [RUS].
“Rosnet” cited [RUS] two similar cases that were initiated but lost by the same Prosecutor's Office in April and May 2010. Recently, Sova-center reported on a court decision in Chita region, also in the Far East Region: Chita city court obliged a local provider to block the website of “Russian Zabaikalie” because of the neo-Nazi content. Both Chita and Komsomolsk-on-Amur are within 200-300 kilometers from the border with China, a country with the most severe Internet filtering systems. Besides, Komsomolsk-on-Amur has some of the highest Internet prices [EN] and some of the lowest numbers of social network users among cities with the population of more than 200,000 people.
So what is it? Is it geographical proximity that makes blocking practices so tempting, or a technical backwardness? Or, a general trend towards a nation-wide system of content blocking? Stupidity of the local authorities or the beginning of the Great Russian Firewall?
Both, concludes Anton Nossik, IT entrepreneur and a popular blogger. In his column at snob.ru, where Nossik analyzed [RUS] the unusual expansion of the list of extremist materials [RUS] (which grew from 218 items in 2008 to almost 700 now), he quite cynically writes about such prosecution of “extremism”:
грандиозный замысел опустился на уровень исполнителей, у которых в общем случае никакой собственной мотивации насчет идеологического контроля не было. И система принялась отрабатывать начальственный указ… У милиции и прокуратуры появился «план по валу», предусматривающий выявление и запрет экстремистских материалов на подконтрольной территории, физической и виртуальной. …подобрались «эксперты», готовые штамповать по заказу прокуратуры заключения об экстремистском характере любого поступившего от заказчика материала. Устаканилась процедура вынесения судебных решений. Идею требовать от уездных провайдеров фильтрации запретных серверов по IP обкатало УФСБ по Новосибирской области четыре года назад […].
[…]
В результате этой суеты по всей стране оформился внушительный и нелепый конвейер, продуктами работы которого являются и сам Федеральный список запретных материалов, и недавнее постановление о запрете YouTube в Комсомольске-на-Амуре, которое на нем основано. В работе конвейера задействованы тысячи милицейских, прокурорских и судейских работников по всей стране. Которые в гробу видали и свободу слова, и борьбу с ней, но у них у всех есть разнарядка, и нужно ежеквартально отчитываться о проделанной работе. На выходе имеем то, что имеем: нагромождение нелепых и неэффективных запретов, с нулевым практическим выходом — будь то для реальной борьбы с экстремизмом или даже для локального ограничения доступа к цензурируемым произведениям. Весь этот мартышкин труд осуществляется строго для галочки, для отчетности. А главный стимул, которым объясняется высокий уровень активности уездных бюрократов по этому направлению, — чрезвычайная простота всех процедур, позволяющих затем рапортовать об успешно проделанной работе, в условиях нулевого контроля сверху за ее полезностью или эффективностью.
The master plan made it down to the level of executives, who actually didn't have any motivation for ideological control. So the system started working on the order from the bosses… The police and the prosecutor's office got an [overall plan] that foresaw the exposure of extremist materials on the territory they control, virtual or real. … “experts” appeared, who were ready to replicate assessments recognizing as extremist any material they received from their [superiors]. The practice of issuing court decisions also became routine. Novosibirsk region's Federal Security Service was the first one to try out the idea of demanding IP-filtration of banned servers from local providers four years ago […].
[…]
As a result of all this mess, the country got a significant and absurd production line. The federal list of extremist materials, as well as the recent decision to ban YouTube in Komsomolsk-on-Amur are its products. Thousands of police officers, prosecutors and court employees are involved in the work of this production line all over the country. All these people couldn't care less about freedom of speech or about suppressing it, but they all have a plan, and [every three months] they have to report about the completed work. And we have what we have: a pile of absurd and inefficint bans with zero practical result – be it in the fight against extremism or even local limiting of access to the censored works. All this futile activity is being carried out only for appearance's sake, for paperwork. And the main stimulus for the local bureaucrats that could explain the high level of activity in this direction is the extraordinary simplicity of all these procedures, the ease of reporting a successfully-fulfilled job, and no control whatsoever of its usefulness and efficiency from the above.
Nossik concluded that Russia's police “are able to bury any disgusting totalitarian idea,” be it censorship or total surveillance. Although the reality described by Nossik is somewhat true, the case of the first YouTube ban in Russia is the result of a steady and consistent development. Blog or video platforms (like YouTube) are becoming more dangerous for individual bloggers, since the attempts to ban LiveJournal or Facebook after they hosted questionable material are becoming increasingly probable.


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Russia Tops Aggressive Internet Traffic Rating · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Habrahabr users discuss [RUS] the latest Akamai‘s “State of the Internet” report. According to the research, 12 percent of all the Internet-attacks in the first quarter of 2010 were carried out from the territory of Russia, while the U.S. hackers took the “second prize” for 10 percent of the world's aggressive Internet-traffic.


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Taiwan: Build a home for bats · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Green architect, book author, and blogger Alin(阿羚) introduces how to build a home for bats and decrease the rampant trouble of mosquitoes in Taiwan[zht] because each bat can feed on at least 1000 mosquitoes and bugs a day.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Taiwan: Threatened by Microsoft · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Tetralet complains about his recent experience with Microsoft [zht] about how the software giant emailed and called to threaten that if Tetralet does not welcome Microsoft to “help his company on software property management“, Microsoft would report to superiors and “what's going to happen is not predicable“.


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Trinidad & Tobago: TTFF 2010 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands has the lowdown on this year's Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Up Paramin Way  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“This village is stunning – the scenery, the variety of panoramic views, and even the crops on the steep hillside are mesmerising”: MEP Caribbean Publishers visits the village of Paramin, “one of the few communities where some of the older residents still speak French patois.”


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Brazil: Nomad Tribe Protest to Prove Its Existence · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Altino Machado blogs on the tribe Awá-Guajá, a group of nomad indigenous who emerged from the heart of the Amazon forest to prove their existence [pt] and to demand that their land be protected from invasion. Survival International also reported on the story.

author: Diego Casaes


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Egypt: Do Egyptians have a natural aversion towards women? · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Do Egyptians have a natural aversion towards women? Zeinobia is very unhappy with this emerging social trend, Mohaly is wondering where we are going with segregation, Diptychal wonders why they want to shut them up, and Eman Hashim is begging mothers to love their daughters!
Zeinobia starts her post by summing up how Ehab Salah, a TV presenter, shot his wife:
Newsreader Ehab Salah murdered his wife Magda in their house at nearly 4 AM after a huge fight that was heard by their neighbors. Salah killed his wife with a single shot from a gun that he inherited from his late father, the police general.
There were leaks about the details of the murder:
A big verbal fight, economic troubles, the wife slapped the husband then the husband got the gun and then one bang that ended both his wife's live and his as well. Each website imagined certain spicy details between those details in order to create the usual tabloid attraction that have reached to level of discussing their sexual life!!
Zeinobia said she was:
shocked and saddened by the amount of sexism in the comments on the murder in all websites. It is a strange thing to find most men praising the action of Ehab Salah which is killing his wife because she dared and slapped him after reminding that she was the one who was paying their expenses for the last three months!!
Suddenly Salah has become the symbol of manhood despite what he had done is against all laws, norms, traditions and religions, he has become the man who stood against the woman who worked and rebelled against him, despite the fact he was taking drugs during the time of the murder which was proved by prosecution office “he smoked marijuana before committing the crime” and despite the fact his wife suspected that he was having an affair with another woman which made her lose her mind and patience when he came back that bloody night late.
The comments in these websites show a huge amount of sexism against women in Egypt as they are the daughter of evil instead of Eve, the salves who should go back to their houses because they are rebelled on their masters after going to work!!! Strangely women have been always working with men in Egypt since the days of the Pharaohs in the fields on the banks of the Nile!!
The man has killed his wife because of a fight that can happen anywhere , he could have returned back the slap or just simply divorce her and buy his own dignity and freedom but he has killed her, a murder which he should be executed for according to the Sharia laws for God sake !!??
I just wonder where is the lost dignity of these men when they are being slapped on a daily basis by a regime that steals their freedom, their money and their land !!??
Mohaly saw one of the “For Women Only” taxis on the streets and he could not help but wonder:
Why do all the signs indicate that we are heading into the separation of the society between males and females. Females cars in Metro, female queues, female hours in some services, female only restaurants (like [famous actress] Hanan Turk's one), and lately female only taxi (check). I wonder what else will be female only!
I am not against women having their privacy for one reason or another, but I am afraid one day – especially with the fake religious and Wahabi waves invading our society- to wake up and find Cairo another Riyadh!
Diptychal narrates how BUSSY - the Egyptian Vagina Monologues – was forced into silence:
According to their own words BuSSy is about empowerment, about raising awareness about women’s rights, and, (in my opinion what is most important), giving a voice to those who are never heard.
I read today on ArabLit that the play’s latest performance has been forced into a combination of audience-enforced and self-enforced censorship. During their first night of performances, this year at the Opera House, audience members walked out. Audience members criticised these women for speaking about sensitive topics including child molestation and taking off the veil.
All of this got me thinking. Why were those audience members there in the first place? Why would someone who is so averse to self expression attend a play that is well known for what it says. Did they go there, all along with the intention of making their own voices heard, expressing their displeasure? And don’t they have the right to make their voices heard just as the women of BuSSy do? I am not so sure.
I could get a lot of flack for the coming sweeping generalisation but it’s how I feel. We, as an Egyptian people, are perfectly happy to bury our heads in the sand and ignore our problems. No one in Egypt has AIDS. Homosexuality doesn’t exist. Everyone here is God fearing. None of them would suddenly open first on a bus full of people “for no apparent reason.” Everything is just fine.
So a play like BuSSy was bound to be criticised because it sheds light on some of the things we would rather keep hidden.
And the sadder part to me, is that they were forced to self-censor. They were forced to think twice about raising their voices above the din. And that defeats the purpose.
And yet that is the status quo in this country.
Finally, “I beg you! Please love your daughter” urged Eman Hashim:
In another post, Eman Hashim hit the aversion nail on the head:

author: Marwa Rakha


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Georgia: Frozen conflicts, frozen happiness · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
With a little over a week to go before the second anniversary of the short war fought between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, Evolutsia turns its attention to another one of the country's two frozen conflicts, Abkhazia. With both recognized as independent by Russia since the 2008 war, the blog comments on recent reports of renewed inter-ethnic violence while also adding that Russia's increasing influence in the otherwise unrecognized republic is not as well received as many might have thought.
While most Abkhazians, and certainly those in the political class, understand that Russia’s assistance was and remains crucial to their separation from Georgia, there is also a growing feeling that their arrangement with the Kremlin may have a Faustian feel to it.
[…]
[…] with Russians in control of their budget, their borders, and primary transportation links, there is sure to be a substantial well of resentment among average Abkhazians about the veracity of their supposed ‘independence’ and the impunity by which Russians have assumed the commanding heights in Abkhazian economic and political affairs.
Such a sense of resentment, combined with more prosaic disagreements—such as dividing money—can be a recipe for combustion. Heated attitudes and disagreements may have led to the violence, which may be headed towards something more significant unless the Abkhazian, or Russian, authorities can keep things under better control. […]
With outbreaks of violence common, especially on the contact line between Armenia and Azerbaijan as attempts to broker a lasting peace in the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh continue to falter, some analysts believe that the three regional conflicts are not entirely “frozen.”
Nevertheless, the term continues to one most used in connection with Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh, with a tweet sent out from the account of the Georgian blog, Dream for our Brotherhood, saying this also equates to “frozen happiness.”
The blog also comments on a video report [GE/RU/EN] summing up a variety of thoughts from citizens on the two frozen conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The opinions regarding the ways of how to settle the territorial conflicts are sharply divided inside the Georgian society.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Iran: Mohammad Nouri,famous singer, died · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers reported that the Iranain famous singer, Mohammad Nouri  passed away today in Iran. Here is one of his most songs, Jane Maryam.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Abandoned Building Clock · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

@MaripoGoda crowd sourced Flickr photos to build Haikyo Tokei, which shows a different photo of broken clocks in abandoned buildings to tell the time every minute. @mazzo shared [ja] his communication with the developer, who acknowledged that the images for 11:02 and 08:15 represent the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.


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Kenya: Netizens Discuss Kenya’s Referendum · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan citizens will vote in a referendum on August 4, 2010 on a new constitution. The Proposed Constitution of Kenya was the final document resulting from the revision of the Harmonized draft constitution of Kenya written by the Committee of Experts.
The campaigns for the referendum involved two camps: “Yes” camp led by the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga and “No” camp led by the church.
 Two months ago six people were killed and 75 injured in an explosion at a political rally in Nairobi organized by the “No” camp.
Let's see what Kenyan citizens are saying online about the referendum. According to Chris, “No” voters fall into 4 categories:
If you feel offended by some of these reasons then you know the truth usually hurts, especially when you look in the mirror
Those voting No fall into 4 neat categories as follows.
1. Born again Christians too lazy to go on their knees and seek God (because He says in the good book that those who seek him will find him) and find out what His will is as concerns the new constitution. Instead they blindly follow what their church leaders are telling them and shut down their own thinking.
Anyway this group will blindly vote NO whatever arguments anybody tries to put forward.
2. Kenyans who believe that since the majority seem to be in favour, they will look more intelligent and independent minded by arguing against the said new constitution. Many have made a total fool of themselves interpreting the draft constitution. Some are sure that the new constitution will abolish the current penal code. Even some well educated Kenyans (including lawyers) have fallen into this trap of interpreting the draft whilst ignoring the penal code. Or interpreting individual sections out of context. My message to these guys trying to show people that they are extremely intelligent and can grasp things is that this is NOT the time. We are talking about matters of life and death here.
3. Skeptical Kenyans whose experience has convinced them that the political class can NEVER support anything that is genuinely good for the ordinary folk. To be honest I too am amazed at the way things have worked out so that we are on the verge of getting what in my view is the best constitution in Africa—by far. I am totally puzzled that some people would campaign so vigorously for something that will finish them forever. The only way to explain it is to say that there has been divine intervention in this matter and that is why Christians in Kenya should pray very hard lest they vote against the will of God on Tuesday.
4. Those who see red and plug their ears when the word “Abortion” is mentioned. Or shut their eyes tight when they read it somewhere. My message to this group is simple. I will not be sucked into the silly argument of whether or not abortion is allowed in the draft constitution. Instead I will say that abortion is NOT something that should be in any constitution. Even the holy Land Israel does not have it in their constitution, so who do Kenyans think they are?
“Kenya is in a voting mood,” says Lindsay:
Still on the same, Kenya is in a voting mood. We are voting either for or against the constitution. Oh, wait, THEY are voting. Oh no, not me. The government doesn't know I exist! Okay, I can do something about it and I am doing it, but if youve been following this, you know that I started it like three months ago! So that means, I cant vote YES. I am rooting for the constitution. It has good things for us. But I cant vote. I have an ID that doesn't look like me! Huh!
Taabu believes that the referendum will radically alter the political landscape in the country:
Whatever the outcome of next week's referendum on the proposed constitution, the political landscape and chemistry will be radically altered forever. Whether Kibaki will reshuffle his cabinet is neither here nor there but the writing is boldly imprinted on the wall. The church too must brace itself for rebranding after next Wednesday.
First the trophy goes to Moi for standing up to Kibaki to remind him he has all the right to trash the proposed constitution. At least Moi unwittingly accepted that we needed a new constitution 100 days after Kibaki took power. But his beef that the promise was not kept leaves him exposed as very petty. Is it not better to have it in less than 3000 days (8 years) than not at all after close to 9000 days (24 years) of ruin?
Granted, neither Moi nor Kibaki should be criticising each other in public. It is just not right given their ages and our African culture. But Moi should walk his talk of speaking the truth instead of selective interpretation of the draft for political and personal expediency.
Onyango writes about young Kenyan women who are pushing for “Yes” agenda:
From a few green clad women lolling around the park at around 9 am, by an hour later, things were revving up.
First a vivacious and confident delegation from the Coast rolled in speaking in animated Kiswahili about the proposed constitution. Next from the direction of Haile Selassie Avenue and the Railway Club there was a convoy of mikokoteni (yes, that's right, hand carts!) hauling young women from Eastlands, resplendent in their Warembo ni YES! green t-shirts and matching head gear. Soon, a big patch of the usually green Uhuru Park was suffused even more by that colour as the tens mushroomed into hundreds and more with women, and several men arriving for the procession.
By eleven, the blare of music from a flatbed truck equally covered in green banners and green women could be heard as it traversed the Nyayo House- Parliament section of Uhuru Highway. A very feisty twentysomething young woman who I was later introduced to as DJ Sasha (real name Benter Wasonga) was very busy exhorting women to come out in huge numbers not just to Warembo Ni YES! rally at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. Volunteers were in the meantime busy handing out flyers listing fourteen reasons why young women should vote YES, apart from handing out stickers supported by the G10 Coalition captioned in Kiswahili “Ili kuhakisha kwamba una haki ya kuishi, piga kura kwa YES” and green plastic bracelets written, ” I Vote Yes for Change”, not to forget the inevitable Green Cards to counter the Red Cards of the NO campaign.
Rombo observes that the proposed new constitution represents considerable progress for Kenyans. But…:
Here’s the drill:Most people seem to agree that this proposed new constitution has some merits and that it represents considerable progress for us as a nation in many ways and on many fronts.
However, there’s no getting away from the fact that there are two camps, ‘No’ and ‘Yes’ standing diametrically opposed to each other.
Pastor M recently offered two refreshingly eloquent analogies to explain the positions of the two opposing camps.
MAYBE YES
Folk in the ‘Yes’ camp consider Kenyans as people on a journey.
They need to get to a particular destination. Let’s call that destination Z. Z is faraway. Far, faraway. They’ve been waiting for the bus that’ll get them to this far faraway destination for a long time. Maybe they’re even beginning to despair. And then along comes a bus.
The bus will get them to point M. That’s just far, not far faraway. It’s not where they were aiming to go, exactly, but it’s much closer to Z than they are right now. And when they get to M, they know they’ll be able to find another bus that’ll enable them connect to Z.
MAYBE NO
Folk in the ‘No’ camp take a different tack:
In their view, the new constitution is like a sumptuous meal, painstakingly prepared and beautifully laid out… then served with just a touch of poison. What does one do with that? Do you ignore the poison and eat it? Would you eat it?
The important thing to underscore is that many naysayers too acknowledge the proposed new constitution is progressive in many aspects. The point is they feel it contains some deal breakers and they want those resolved before the big vote.
Sue thinks the campaings have been a bit dull:
This time round the campaigns are not as interesting as the past one, I believe it is because most politicians who make campaigns lively are not in the opposition side. There are also rumors of threats from those living in strongholds of those opposed to the Proposed Constitution; this has caused many Kenyans, whose tribes are believed to support the document vacating the regions to their homes or to other safer areas. Many are scared of a repeat of what happened after 2007 elections, when many were affected in the same region. This is very wrong; no one chose to be what they are and should not be victimized because they are of a certain tribe.
The Government is doing all they can to make sure peace prevails, all SIM Cards are to be registered (today is the deadline, many of us wait till last minute and will ask for extension) so that they can apprehend those sending threats and stop crime. Security agents have also been deployed in the affected areas. The Government cannot be everywhere, so it is up to us Kenyans and especially our political leaders to preach peace and stop being primitive. Despite the differences and the uncertainties we face in the coming referendum, we hope to get the best for Kenya and pray for peace during and after.


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Lebanon: Felesteen 2.0 · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

Felesteen 2.0 is setting up a series of new blogs as part of their social media project. The new bloggers are residents of the Shatila camp, ranging from 14 – 22 years of age with diverse educational backgrounds.

author: Katharine Ganly


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Nicaragua: 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media in Managua  · Global Voices
GV Contributor

Flyer for Event 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media
Experts in digital communities will come together for the 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media (in Spanish, “2.0 Encuentro de Blogs & Nuevos Medios”) which will take place on August 12 and 13 at the Central American University (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua. The activity is a practical assessment of web tendencies and the power these alternative ways of communication have to influence public and private spheres.
The gathering [es] will include the participation of experts from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, who will give lectures, workshops and more. The main subjects will be: New Media and Cultural Diversity and Development; Citizen Participation and Advocacy; Content Production for New Media; New Scenarios: mobile applications, new uses and methods, perspectives on the future.
“It is a culturally enriching experience, but it also involves a proposal to emphasize that web activity is not only a novelty, but also a learning method that generates real debate that may influence public opinion,” comments David Ruíz López-Prisuelos, Coordinator at Spain Cultural Center in Nicaragua (Centro Cultural de España en Nicaragua, CCEN).
To help visualize the lectures, the event will begin with a panel discussion about the use of these tools. The panel includes La Carpio Online Project (“Proyecto La Carpio en Línea”) [es]” from Costa Rica, Everything for the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (“Todo por la Costa Caribe de Nicaragua”) [es] from Facebook and Another World is possible (“Otro mundo es posible”) [es]: Organization and action of Nicaraguan social movements on the web. An interesting element will be the use of an open microphone for bloggers to share their experiences.
“It is an activity to discuss the current state of mass media and the tendencies toward other formats that range from micro-blogging to podcasting, and how the media is adapting to various uses and needs that range from basic social organizing to its use in large companies,” says Rodrigo Peñalba [es], an author for Global Voices, a specialist in cultural production in new media and CCEN's special guest to help organize the event.
During the second day, journalist Cristian Cambronero [es] from Costa Rica, Global Voices author Renata Ávila from Guatemala and Yuliana Isabel Paniagua [es] from Global Voices’ project “Hiperbarrio” in Colombia will present on experiences in citizen participation on the web. There will also be a teleconference from the BBC in London, workshops on content creation and a conversation with Nicaraguan bloggers Emila Persola [es], Freddy Quezada [es], Space for Alternative Communication and Sexual Diversity (Espacio de Comunicación Alternativa por la Diversidad Sexual [es]), and Fabio Buitrago [es], who will talk about video-blogging as a channel for environmental education and action.
The lecture series will conclude with a presentation about new tendencies on the increasingly common use of blogs and new media by business corporations,  and with case studies on the management of social networks in the world of advertising. The event will be open to the public until full capacity is reached, giving priority to those who register on the official blog where news and updates will be posted.  For more information visit El encuentro de blogs [es], and also the program [es] and list of Confirmed Presenters [es].

author: GV Contributor


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OneVietnam Network · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The OneVietnam.org social network was launched this month to connect Vietnamese expats and young migrants to the culture and history of Vietnam.

author: Mong Palatino


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Palestine: A Possibility of Military Conscription? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

The Hamas government's Interior Minister, Fathi Hammad, earlier this week announced that he was considering expanding Gaza's military force, initially with volunteers and eventually with conscripts. The existing paid security force numbers approximately 20,000. Bloggers in Gaza have reacted with astonishment to the idea of conscription.
Palestinian youths by Rusty Stewart, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licence
Seeran Nofal writes:
She concludes:
Blogger Kalam writes:
Kalam then gives a list of questions regarding the purpose of conscription:
He continues:
On the other hand, I think that this step could contribute to solving the problem of unemployment; instead of young men “holding up walls”, they would find a place to unload their energy, and their guns.
Kalam concludes with a reminder:

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Philippine Cartography · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Torn and Frayed in Manila blogs about a book on maps of the Philippines by Carlos Quirino.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Philippines: Opposition to Rail Transit Fare Hikes · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Metro Manila commuters of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) will be facing fare hikes as the Philippine government plans to abandon its mandate to subsidize public transportation because of rising operation and maintenance costs. The proposal has been at the receiving end of adverse public opinion.
Photo from pictures.wayn.com
The fare hike would mean waking up earlier for A Commuter's Life.
There are news now that there will be an increase in the MRT fare. That is bad news for those MRT passengers. On the other hand, it will be good news for bus operators. Moreover, that would also mean waking up or leaving house an hour earlier to give an allowance to traffic if the people could not afford the MRT fare anymore.
Tine mulls on the implications of the fare hike to regular wage earners.
Malaking bagay din kahit gawing 25pesos sya. Parang maliit pero malaki ang epekto nito sa budget nating lahat. Parang dodoble ang bayad sa MRT. At ang isang stored value card ko, apat na sakay na lang? Que horror!
Paano na ang mga minimum wage earner? Eh iyong mga mas mababa pa sa minimum wage ang natatanggap? Pag tinaasan nila, mag-bubus na lang ang mga tao at lalong magkakabuhol-buhol ang traffic. Mas lalong ma-lalate ang mga tao sa trabaho, sa eskwela…
What will happen to the minimum wage earner? How about those who earn less than the minimum wage? If they increase, people will just ride the bus and add to the winding traffic. People will become late more often for work, for school…
A Happy Munchkin!!! believes that the proposal is unreasonable and unfair.
where would the students get this additional expense? Of course, [from] their parents who basically gets more expenses including electricity, phone bills, water, food and even their own taxes. Second, million passengers ride LRT and MRT a day. If you were to ask me why I use LRT2 on my way to school? It is simply because riding a jeep instead of LRT is no longer applicable for me. I travel from Marikina to Pureza and I have a class at 7:30am, LRT would take me to school in 20mins whereas in the jeepney I would spend long hours of sitting and pollution intake (traffic is not yet included).
A student leader said that it is the government's responsibility to subsidize mass transit as a public service.
Ridon said that commuting expenses are included in the mounting cost of education in the country, aside from yearly tuition and other fee increases, expensive textbooks and board and lodging.
He also said that it is the government’s obligation to subsidize the LRT and the MRT, especially at a time when the country is facing continuing economic setbacks and costs of education that had more than doubled since the last decade.
A Radical's Nut points out that taxpayers are not only subsidizing actual transportations costs but also “guaranteed debt payments and profits of the transnational banks and big comprador firms that undertook the MRT project through Public-Private Partnership (PPP).”
Taxpayers are subsidizing the debts incurred by the private consortium that built the MRT – the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRTC).  Aside from guaranteeing debt payments, the national government also guaranteed a 15 percent return on investment per annum for MRTC under their 25-year build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement in 1997 with the DOTC.
Thus the so-called “subsidies” go the Export-Import Bank of Japan, Sumitomo Bank, and other Japanese and Czech banks, as well as some local banks like the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI). What made the deal more financially onerous is that the owners of these banks that provided a loan of US$462.5 million in 1998 and the private firms that constructed the MRT have the same owners.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of a youth organization said that the government's justification for the increase is short-sighted.
Photo from Anakbayan
“Mass transportation has benefits that outweigh the primitive economics being cited by the DOTC. Not only does reduce the costs of commuting for many Filipinos, it also helps in lessening the number of other vehicles being used. This leads to a reduction in traffic jams, air pollution along major roads, and the total amount of fuel being used”.
The youth leader cited a study by the U.S-based Brookings Institution said public vehicles used half of the fuel required by cars, SUVs, and light trucks. The same study said that for every mile travelled, private vehicles produce 95% more carbon monoxide and 50% more carbon dioxide than private vehicles.
In another study, this time in Japan, it was calculated that rail systems consumed an equivalent of 6 kilo watts per hour (kwh) for every 100 kilometers (km), while buses consumed 19 kwh per 100 km, and cars consumed 68 kwh per 100 km.


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Philippines: Santa Rosa City Photos · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES posts more than a dozen pictures of the church, old houses, and other historical sites of the Philippine city of Santa Rosa.


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Qatar: Expats Question Future Plans · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, has an estimated 13 million foreign workers, who make up about 40 per cent of its population. Out of Qatar's population of 1.69m people, 200,000 are believed to be locals.
Almost all workers return to their countries after their work contracts end. At Qatar Living, expatriates attempt to answer the inevitable question: What will they do when they return home?
Filipino Obed Castro Jr kicks off the discussion saying:
I am a Filipino who have stayed here in Qatar for almost 9 years happy to say that my stay here has been fruitful, I manage to have my own house and maybe save a little, now i am deciding to go back to my native country, but what will i do when i am back..same to all other nationalities “what will you do with your life after Qatar”
Drmana is quick to answer:
Place of living would change but life would go on normally as in Qatar…..
afrinnabees adds:
no yet thought abt it.as of now Back home is just vacation Spot……..
And Frexie reminds the readers:
for sure your gonna miss the busy life.. You know all things are uncertain.. but its never bad to prepare for something.. so i guess better plan up if your goin home for good…
ochiha says after five and half years in Qatar, she doesn't miss living in her country:
people say that it is amazing to return to your home country and relax, but honestly, I do not feel like that. sure I miss my family, but I really do not miss living in my home country.
is that weird or many people feel the same way
I have been here 5.5 Years already
ex.ex.expat retorts:
whether you miss it or not. If your standard of living and chance for employment is better here, why wouldn't you want to stay until you see the situation in your homeland improve?
And foolish suggests venturing into business:
Why don't you start a small business; be a boss once in your life lol. I'm venturing now on egg production and it's going good. Am planning to go home maybe next year, if my business will go better.
arymoceana supports the idea and reasons:
Sometimes going back scares us the most because we have missed a lot things in our country.We think that so many things changed already there and we may not adjust easily, when the truth is it's us being here in a different culture that has changed a lot.
Try to relax first, enjoy your hard earned money. But make sure you do have a plan to sustain yourself and your family. You know how it is in the Philippines, money flows like water, and you being an OFW everybody thinks you brought a sack full of QR.
Honestly, its more practical that while here, we do start a business in our countries then if its doing okay then that is the time to make a decision to come home. O well, that is just my opinion.
But Mr. Balut cautions those planning to return to their home countries:
1.) Check the economy back home!
2.) Check the crime rate back home!
3.) Check the weather back home!
4.) Check if you have enough money to survive!
5.) Check if once your out of money, your age is right enough to get a good job!
****If the TO DO's don't fit you, better cancel your flight! Go back to work!
If you are a long term resident in one of the GCC countries, what are your long-term plans? What will you do when you return home?

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Qatar: Residents survive change to eight-digit phone numbers · Global Voices
Shabina Khatri

On Wednesday, Qatar added an eighth digit to all mobile and landline phone numbers in the country. Officials said the move is an effort to create more phone numbers in a country that has seen its population double in the last five years.
Hukoomi, Qatar's government website, explains the change:
Under the plan, the first digit of both the fixed and mobile numbers will be repeated.
Thus, if your old number started with 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 all you need to do is to repeat the first digit such as 33, 44, 55, 66 and 77…
All emergency telephone numbers within Qatar, including 999 and 112, will not be affected by the change, and the country code will remain +974.
Numbers beginning with 1, 2, 8 and 9 will not be changed.
Though residents were initially worried that the change would cause widespread confusion, the transition seems to have been made with little incident.
That's thanks in part to several renumbering applications for mobile phones that automatically update users’ contact lists.
The apps, however, didn't appear to work for everyone.
On Twitter, @NazQatar said:
Thanks to screw my phonebook with those apps!! it DOESN'T recognize all numbers start with 00974 #Qatar
@omerm27 said:
its getting kind of annoying already. it's only been two hours
Others were more accepting (and tongue-in-cheek) about the new number scheme.
On Facebook, Fahad Qureshi said:
because too many people are moving to this country, they ran out of phone numbers lol….so now the first digit of every number is repeated….if you ever plan on calling me in the future lol…update your phone books.
On Twitter, mohamed said:
The upside of the telco's in Qatar changing the number format is that I will have to speak to fewer people today. #antisocial
And though the change seems to have gone over peacefully, some continue to worry about the inconvenience having a new number would cause.
On the popular social forum Qatar Living, ajmani said:
All business cards, stationeries, resume's, job sites, other sites, etc etc needs to be updated… i doubt if everyone has fixed it already! Hope there will be a recorded message whenever someone calls on the old number, guiding them to add 3, or 4 or 5 or 6…!
Indeed, for the next three months, those dialing seven-digit numbers will hear an automated message advising them of the new scheme.
Whether that gives people away for the summer and Ramadan enough time to acclimate to the renumbering plan remains to be seen.

author: Shabina Khatri


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South Korea: Court Reaffirmed Its Strict Stance on Chinese Medicine Licencsing · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korean Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a law that allows only licensed acupuncturists and Oriental medicine doctors to perform Chinese medical practice of moxibustion. The court dealt with the issue after an unlicensed acupuncturist appealed a conviction on his moxibustion treatments to over 1,000 people,  South Korea's Joongang reported.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Vietnam: Agent Orange at Danang Airbase · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Thuy Vu of Vietnam Reporting Project visited the Danang Airbase where Agent Orange was stored. Agent Orange is the highly toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War


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Wikileaks’ Japan data on Afghanistan · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Richard Smart at the Tokyo Digital Journalism blog posted a summarized list of Wikileaks’ Japan data on Afghanistan. Raw data can be found on his blog.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Africa: 5 Things You Did Not Know About Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A list of 5 Things You Did Not Know About Africa by Tolu Ogunlesi: “When Western tourists talk about Africa somehow it seems to me that what they really mean is East and Southern Africa, places like Namibia and Kenya and Botswana and parts of Uganda where you will find safaris and zebras and elephants and lakes in abundance.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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China: Sex workers demand legalization, organizer detained · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Sex workers and their supporters in south central China's Wuhan took to the streets with red umbrellas last Wednesday to collect signatures calling for the legalization of prostitution.
Among them was Hooligan Sparrow, who several years ago made a name for herself by posting nude pictures of herself online, and today runs a women's rights organization; her Twitter profile describes her as a “feminist, member of the prostitution movement and sex worker”. Just before noon on Sunday, Hooligan Sparrow reported on Twitter that she had been taken away by police.
On Friday, Hooligan Sparrow uploaded video of the petition action:
[link1]
[link2 **08/06 update: the first video was mistakenly embedded twice, this has been corrected. Thanks, Juan!]
As well as photos and a blog post which have since been harmonized:
我不知道这算不算中国的NGO第一次上街倡议性工作者合法化，这对于我们工作组来说，是一个非常郑重的决定。
以前我并不打算去要求合法，只希望姐妹的权益在目前的环境下，能够更大化地得到保护。
但今年疯狂的严打，让我绝望。每天打开新闻，看到全国铺天盖地的扫黄行动，看到镜头下，姐妹们低着头，捂着脸，被游行，被曝光，被社会残暴地扯到大庭光众之下羞辱，我就决定了，我不能再迟疑，不能再软弱，必须要有一种坚定的声音来反对他们这么做。
是的，我提倡合法化，就在扫黄严打的风口浪尖上！
几十年来，扫黄一直就是作秀，扫黄从来没有什么社会成果，从来都是今开打，明天开，东边打，西边开。除非是消灭人权，灭绝人性，否则，根本压制不住，人口比例失调，单身性压抑带来的强大社会需求。
我们今天到了街头。
许多人对我们的提倡不理解，一些路人表情怪异，这大概是他们第一次发现，有这么怪的事情，居然还有人提倡性工作合法化。一些中年的妇女，更是不理解，她们说，“合法？合法那社会不乱套了吗？”
所有的人，都对国家机器，国家机构的管理能力，没有信心，他们认为一合法，全国的女人都会去做妓女。
合法化纳入管理，可以控制从业的人数，审查从业者的年龄，根本不会是全国的女人都做妓女，而市场也有自我调控能力，当全国的女人都做妓女，性变得便宜了，做白领跟做性工作者工资同等时，女人们自然会有更偏向主流的选择。
Many people don't understand what it is we're advocating, and some passers-by gave us strange looks—this most likely being their first time to encounter people calling for, of all things, legalization of sex work—and feeling strange about it. Some middle-aged women were even less understanding, saying “legalize it? Wouldn't that turn society upside down?”
You see, nobody has confidence in the capability of state organs and authorities to keep order; the way they see it, if sex work were ever legalized, all the women across the country would go and become prostitutes.
Legalization, combined with management, would allow for control over the numbers and age of practitioners, and would never result in all women becoming prostitutes. Besides, the market self-regulates; if all women were to go and become prostitutes and sex became cheap as a result, such that the wages equaled that of a white collar worker, women would still naturally gravitate toward the more mainstream option.
合法，并不等于放纵，泛滥。只是让现在的行业，阳光化。
但她们的脑袋，从来都不关心社会问题，早就锈掉了，去跟她们讨论这些有意义吗？她只会考虑到，合法化了，她的老公，就会明目障胆去找小姐了，法律不能帮助她来管男人了。
Legal is not the same thing as unrestricted or unchecked. What it does mean is this current profession would be brought into the open.
But these women, for whom social problems have never been given much consideration and whose minds went rusty long ago, would engaging them in discussion be of any use? The only thing they're concerned with is, were it legalized, whether or not their husbands would start visiting prostitutes openly and flagrantly (the law being, after all, unable to help them control their men).
一个中年妇女，是我们坚定地支持者。她是街边卖报纸的阿姨，“你们这样有用吗？没有用的，社会已经坏掉了，当官的，就只知道自己捞钱，哪会管百姓死活？”
“你这样做不仅没有用，还会把自己累死！”
“你这样做，政府给你钱吗？政府感谢你吗？”
我只能笑。
但她很气愤。
“你是什么人，什么单位的？你是学生吗？”
One middle-aged woman, though, adamantly supported us. A roadside newspaper vendor, she asked, “is there any point in you doing this? It's useless, society is already messed up, and officials, all they know how to do is make money for themselves, why would they give a crap about us?”
“Not even just useless, you're gonna burn yourselves out if you keep going!”
“Will the government pay you for what you're doing? Would they even thank you?”
All I could do was laugh.
But she was really angry.
“Who are you, anyway? Who do you work for? Are you students?”
我告诉他，我是一个社会组织的负责人，我们做了五年了。我也告诉她，我并不指望立刻改变，中国确实存在官员腐败的问题，正因为如此，才需要民众出来监督，发出声音，那他们才会改变。一年没有变化，我们花五年来争取，五年不行就十年，十年不行，一百年，总会改变的。
她仍然绝望地断言，但她说，只可惜她不认识字，否则报纸不卖了，就跟我一起干了。
I told her that I'm a community organizer, that I've been at this for five years. I also told her that I don't expect immediate change, and the fact that officials are so corrupt is precisely the reason why citizens need to stand up and monitor them, make their voices heard, that only then will they change. A year from now, if nothing has changed, then we'll spend five years fighting; if five years doesn't change anything, then ten years, or a hundred years if necessary; things will change eventually.
At that, she suddenly went quiet, and then she said, it's too bad that she can't read, otherwise she'd quit selling newspapers and come join us in our fight.
我没有想到，一个没有文化的卖报的阿姨，面对社会问题，有如此大气的胆识。她比起在街边那些稀里糊涂，看着展版傻笑的，所谓受过高等教育的人，强了不知道多少倍。
有几个年轻人，支持我们的签名，他们认为，应该合法化，并提到台湾也有人在倡议合法。
还是需要拓展视野，中国百姓的生活太闭塞，信息太闭塞，她们根本不知道做为人，自己拥有的权益，和应该尊重别人的权利。
而今天，我上街倡议合法化，是在行使一个人群的表达权，话语权！
不管你支不支持，性工作者有权利发出自己的声音，表达自己的诉求。
请不要阻止我们，请给性工作者一个发声的空间。
I hadn't expected that an uneducated middle-aged newspaper vendor like herself would be so brave about tackling social issues. Compared to the knuckleheads standing around smiling stupidly as they read our posters, these so-called highly educated folk, she's a hundred times stronger.
A few youngsters signed our petition in support; in their view, it ought to be legalized, and some even pointed out that a similar campaign is now underway in Taiwan.
Still, a broader view is needed. Chinese people are too closed-off in their lives, too cut off from information, many don't even know what it means to be alive, never mind embrace their own rights and interests or respect the rights of others. My going to the street today to call for the legalization of sex work was merely me exercising my right to free speech and right to be heard!
Regardless of whether or not you support them, sex workers still have the right to make their voices heard and to express their own demands.
Please don't try and stop us. Instead, please try and give sex workers a place to speak up.
Sina blogger Li Gong touched on the subject of legalizing sex work in his lengthy July 18 post, ‘At present, China needs to be arresting corrupt officials, not prostitutes‘ in which he expands on a number of reasons why China today is ready for just such a move:
从历史上看;改朝换代大多是因与官员腐败有关。而无因卖淫嫖娼有关。最近从北京开始打击卖淫嫖娼行动，全国各地也开始了,从网民反映中看出支持度不是很高，网民好象是同情卖淫理解嫖娼居多，好多网民还是要求惩治腐败的。
本人认为;惩治腐败是政府目前的首要工作，[…] 基于目前社会现状，我认为打击卖淫嫖娼不是政府的要务，应修改现行法律，允许卖淫嫖娼合法化，具体理由是：（1）卖淫合法化可以使我国性服务行业由非法隐蔽转向合法公开，有利于政府加强对卖淫人员健康的管理，防止艾滋病以及其它性疾病的传播；（2）卖淫合法化可以改变我国性服务行业长期受公权力庇护而得以非法存在的现状，减少国家权力腐败；（3）卖淫合法化有助于重塑国家法律权威，不至于再出现“小姐”集体宣誓，公然挑逗国家法律的尴尬局面。
Historically, the reasons behind the majority of dynastic changes have been related to corruption, not prostitution. Recently, Beijing has launched a crackdown on prostitution, followed by crackdowns across the country. Judging from netizens’ responses, the level of support for this is not high. It seems that the majority of netizens are sympathetic to prostitutes and those who procure their services, at the same time demanding that corruption be stamped out.
Personally, I feel that fighting corruption is a priority for the government at present. […] Based on the current social status quo, I feel that fighting prostitution and solicitation should not be a priority for the government, which should alter the existing laws and allow for the legalization of prostitution and solicitation. The reasons for this are: 1) Legalization of prostitution, allowing China's sex service industry to go from being illegal and underground to legal and in the open, would make it easier for the government to better manage prostitutes’ health and prevent the spread of HIV and other STDs; 2) The legalization of prostitution would alter the status quo in which China's sex industry is allowed to exist illegally under the protection of authorities, thereby reducing state authority corruption; 3) The legalization of prostitution would help restore the authority of state laws, preventing a recurrence of “ladies” making collective oaths or other awkward situations which overtly challenge state laws.

author: John Kennedy


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India: Stereotyping The Middle Class · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anirban at It's A Miracle stereotypes the Indian middle class in 15 points.

author: Rezwan


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Indonesia: Absentee legislators · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Multibrand wants absentee legislators in Indonesia to be investigated after the publication of a report about the declining attendance in the House of Representatives.


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Indonesia: Gossip shows and sex change declared forbidden · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Indonesia's highest state sponsored Muslim clerical organisation, the Majelis Ulama Indonesia, has issued a fatwa (ruling) declaring gossip shows and sex change operations as haram or forbidden. The government is not obliged to apply the fatwa into law.


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Indonesia: “Social networks as the fifth estate” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Unspun links to an article published at futuregov where a commissioner of the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority was quoted as saying that social networks are Indonesia's fifth estate.


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Japan: Is it wrong to climb Mount Fuji empty-handed? · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it matter if it made a sound or not when the tree was doing its own thing? Blogger Mojix ponders mountains, morals, and messages in a Japanese post titled “Is it wrong to climb Mount Fuji empty-handed?“.
Note: The post was translated in its entirety with permission from the blogger. All links were added by Tomomi Sasaki for reference.
Excerpt from the Yomiuri Online article “Man climbs Mount Fuji empty-handed on a whim, needs help”, published July 3rd, 12:07: (Note: the article is no longer online)
July 2nd, 21:45 – A man called the police from the Eight Station on Mount Fuji [altitude: 3,250 meters], saying “I’m climbing Mount Fuji but didn’t come with a flashlight. It’s too dark to see the road and I’m scared. Please help me”.
Six mountain rescue workers from the Fujinomiya Precinct of Shizuoka Prefecture Police headed out around 23:30 and rescued the man who had climbed down to the Sixth Station [altitude: 2,490 meters] by himself. The man had no injuries. According to the Precinct, he is a 22 year old pachinko parlor worker from Nakano Ward in Tokyo. He had started climbing Mount Fuji from the Fifth Station on the Fujinomiya Course around 17:00. Upon reaching the Ninth Station [altitude: 3,460 meters], he gave up and began to descend before calling for help with his cell phone when it became dark.
The man was wearing a long sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers. He was empty-handed; he wasn’t carrying any food or equipment. The climbing season for Mount Fuji started on July 1st but the temperature around the Sixth Station is 2 degrees Celcius. The man had no climbing experience and was apologetic, saying “I started climbing on a whim”. The Precinct stated, “One wrong step and it would have been a matter of life and death. We’d like everyone to come fully prepared, even for summer mountains.”
View this graph for a visualization of the altitude of each Station in the article “A guide for climbing Mount Fuji and enjoying Mother Nature” from the  Japan National Tourism Organization.
Mojix goes on to explain his viewpoint after the excerpt.
To an experienced climber, attempting Mount Fuji without any gear is ridiculous. They might say, “Don’t underestimate mountain climbing!”. Be it Mount Fuji or the South Pole however, I think that the decision is fundamentally one that should be left to the individual.
I bet there are lots of folks that climb Mount Fuji empty-handed. It becomes newsworthy like this when an incident occurs but many people probably return unharmed. Perhaps they even come back thinking, “Oh, that was much easier because I wasn’t carrying anything”.
Now, the problem is when a person gets lost or almost dies. They then require rescue, which incurs a cost to society in general. Even if a rescue attempt isn’t made and they perish, a dead body can’t just be left up in the mountains. It's a burden either way and society foots the bill.
The issue isn’t about climbing Mount Fuji without equipment. It’s about “not being able to take full responsibility of one’s actions” and “causing problems to society” when something happens.
On the other hand, if a person can take full responsibility and not cause problems, nothing should be prohibited, not even the most foolish undertaking.
The rescued man was purposely described as being “a 22 year old pachinko parlor worker from Nakano Ward”. The description of his outfit with the comment “not carrying neither food nor equipment” leaves the reader with the impression that he is a carefree, perhaps even reckless, fellow. Think about it, though! People will get lost when they get lost and die when they die… even powerful executives and high level bureaucrats, and even in full gear. In fact, it could be said that an experienced person might be more at risk because of false confidence.
What it boils down to is that this type of article is one form of “public service announcement”. If more people start climbing Mount Fuji without the proper equipment, the chance of trouble increases and the cost of rescue missions starts to pile up. So, they tell us to be properly equipped when climbing Mount Fuji. It’s like those Moral Education classes in elementary school, but all throughout the year and utilizing the mass media.
A prohibition to climb Mount Fuji without equipment doesn’t really affect our freedom. However, the influence is more widespread when the topic is restriction on Konjac jelly manufacturing, selling medicine online, hiring temp workers, or terminating employment contracts. The government’s position is usually to promote stricter restrictions for these kinds of topics. Therefore, any news with a “public service announcement” flavor takes the angle of “Disasters occur because there are no restrictions in place. If we make rules, we can prevent these disasters.” The disadvantages, cost, or unfairness that would arise from such rules do not receive any mention.
While there’s no denying that the man took a foolhardy action, making a point of mentioning that he was “a 22 year old pachinko parlor worker” gives off the air of a carefully designed public service announcement. Had the man been an executive or high ranking bureaucrat, I very much doubt that this would have hit the news at all.


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