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Australia Day brings on a stoush · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

It isn’t a quiz answer from the film Slumdog Millionaire but  January 26 is one of India’s national days celebrating independence from colonial Britain. It is also Australia Day. The difference is that our day is the anniversary of European occupation in 1788, known by many as invasion day.
An online debate about the appropriateness of this date was already simmering before indigenous leader Mick Dobson was named Australian of the Year on 25 January 2009. The old left position was captured by John at En Passant:
Australia Day perpetuates our founding myths and enslaves our Aboriginal brothers and sisters. In the spirit of true reconciliation let’s abolish this celebration of genocide. Let’s instead celebrate the 65000 years of indigenous history and their stewardship of this land.  And pay the rent.
Australia Day -a celebration of genocide
Harry Clarke, on his self-titled blog, aired his strong opposition to a change:
Australia day is viewed by certain backward aboriginal groups as Invasion Day – they want the date changed – (that would improve things?) presumably to a ‘year zero’ – but how do you date the Dreamtime?  Well I have no idea but who should care about such myths anyway? Attempting to change the date would be a move by the Rudd Government I would favour – they would then be thrown out of office. Go on Kevin try to change that date! Aboriginal Australians would not have been better off living under Indonesian or Chinese control and enjoy better living conditions and prospects as a consequence of the advent of white settlement.  Aboriginals need to make a go of it.  Many are.
Australia Day
Jack the Insider, who blogs anonymously for News Corporation, sought a middle position, arguing for two national days:
26th January is not a day of celebration for indigenous Australians, many of whom prefer to refer to that space on the calendar as Invasion Day. The reality is that the men and women of the First Fleet, under Governor Phillip’s orders, sought empathy and understanding with the natives they encountered there: the Eora people. The degradation and brutality would occur later.
Australia Day – why not have two?
There are very few indigenous Australian bloggers who comment on politics regularly. One site is Whenua Fenua Enua Vanua, ‘revolutionary anti-colonilaism & anti-capitalism in the Pacific’. Ana posted a YouTube song Invader Captain Cook by Angus Rabbit:
Her post includes a reprise of an earlier article ‘Captain Cook, Joseph Banks and smallpox’   by John Tracey. It alleges a policy of deliberate infection of aborigines in the early years of white settlement. There is no shortage of alleged “wild conspiracy stories”, to use John's words, about colonial Australia's treatment of indigenous people.
Mick Dobson’s call for a national conversation about Australia day and its timing has brought the kind of swift blogger reaction that usually accompanies all indigenous controversies.
A less than subtle response came from kevgillett.net a blog that states clearly on its banner: “If you can read this page, thank a Teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a Soldier” :
I don’t care that Pat is black but I do care that he puts the colour of his skin before his nationality.
We’re all Australians mate, and the vast majority of us are very happy with the date of Australia Day. Amongst other things it marks the day your race started coming out of the stone age and if you don’t see that as a positive then go back to the Simpson Desert and revert to eating goannas – in another million years or so you might even invent the bow and arrow and become more proficient at hunting.
If you blanche at that thought, then get back to the job at hand of lifting the quality of life of your people. It must include getting rid of the poor bugger me mentality and joining mainstream Australia. Agitate to get your people out of the outstations and into the towns and cities where the schools, medical centres and jobs can be found.
Australia Day
At Public Polity, Sam Clifford argues for a date that will celebrate both reconciliation and a new Australian republic:
… it needs to be the date of the adoption of a new constitution which has been updated to reflect the Australia in which we live, the Australia which has been before us and the Australia we can be together. We need a treaty with the indigenous nations (all of them negotiated individually) and a recognition that it is the people of Australia who are sovereign over themselves.
Should we move Australia Day?
This would certainly be in line with India where January 26 officially celebrates their becoming a Republic.
Former Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett has a similar perspective:
But it is not only Indigenous Australians who feel that 26th January is not the best day to celebrate our unity as a nation, as Ron Barassi’s views make clear. Many of the millions of Australians who are not of British heritage are also likely to find another day more meaningful. Plenty of other people who, like me, have some British ancestry, also feel the same.
Nor are those concerns limited to what 26th January symbolises when it comes to the dispossession, killing and discrimination endured by Indigenous Australians which flowed from the date in 1788.
The debate on changing Australia Day
Ron Barassi is an Australian Rules football legend, as player and coach, who has Swiss Italian ancestry.
Post Script: 13,000 people from 120 countries became Australian citizens at ceremonies around the nation on 26 January 2009.

author: Kevin Rennie


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Bahamas: Planting Trees · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“One million new trees planted in the Bahamas by October. Its an ambitious goal, and the most worthwhile always are”: Womanish Words has joined the campaign.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: The Trousers Island · Global Voices
Rezwan

Maverick Tanvier's Journal comments that Bangladesh is becoming a ‘Trousers Island’: “one in every seven trousers sold in the USA is made in Bangladesh”.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Help Needed  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If you need an ambulance in Barbados…call a newspaper reporter!”: Barbados Free Press hates “the ‘island time’ third world standards and attitudes that keep us down.”


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Bhutan: Becoming Liberal To Sex · Global Voices
Rezwan

Freedom in Bhutan writes that the Bhutanese society is becoming liberal to sex. The free distribution of condoms have a role to play in this.


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Brazil: Extradition refusal threatens relations with Italy · Global Voices
Paula Góes

The Brazilian government calls Cesare Battisti a political activist. For the Italian government, the writer is a convicted terrorist. The controversial decision of the Brazilian government to guarantee political refugee status for him, two weeks ago, has divided opinions in Brazil, attracted severe criticism in Italy and is on the verge of causing an international rift in the otherwise friendly Brazil-Italian relations.
A former member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism, a far-left group which supported violent revolution in Italy in the 70's, Battisti has been tried and sentenced to life in prison for a series of crimes, including murder. He first fled to France, and after causing diplomatic tension between Italy and France, he fled to Brazil, where he had been living since 2002 and a request for his extradition was being considered by the Brazilian Supreme Court.
However, Battisti has just been given the status of political refugee by Brazilian Minister of Justice Tarso Genro, after his initial request for asylum was denied by the National Committee for Refugees, on the grounds that Battisti had been convicted in his absence and on the basis of allegedly unreliable evidence. Genro's decision, later backed by President Lula, has caused the authorities in Rome to recall its ambassador to Brazil, Michele Valensise, “for consultation” as the latest development of the escalating row.
There have been calls for a boycott of Brazilian goods – in 2008 business between the two countries generated US$ 10bn – and requests for Italians to cancel holidays to the country. Even the  Brazil vs. Italy friendly football match in London on February 10 might be called off [it].
In Brazil, opinions are divided and there are at the moment two petitions doing the rounds on the internet, one in support of the Italian government [pt], the other in support of the Brazilian decision [pt]. While the Italian government seems to be increasingly angry, their Brazilian counterpart has tried to play the issue down saying that there is no diplomatic crisis. Marcos Otterco [pt] says that the fact that the Italian ambassador to Brazil was recalled is ominous:
Se a Itália levar adiante sua retaliação, e tudo indica que isso não ficará barato, o Brasil terá muito a perder e nada a ganhar. Prepare-se para onda de deportação de brasileiros residentes na Itália.
On the other hand, the blogger at Consciência.net [pt] says that successful crime novelist Battisti was an unimportant militant who only took central stage after he wrote a book denouncing the Italian justice system's poor handling of trials. According to him, there are other interests at stake:
É para esconder do mundo que seus julgamentos não passavam de linchamentos com verniz de legalidade que a Itália quer calar Battisti.
E salta aos olhos que a sanha destrambelhada de Berlusconi e seus cúmplices tem o objetivo secundário de humilhar os eminentes cidadãos libertários do mundo inteiro que abraçaram solidariamente a causa de Battisti.
And it is clear that the clumsy wrath of Berlusconi and his accomplices has the secondary purpose of humiliating eminent libertarian citizens of the world that jointly embraced Battisti's cause.
Not surprisingly, public opinion in Italy has perceived the concession of refugee status for the Italian citizen as a display of support from the Brazilian government for the extremist movements that ravaged Italy, not to mention the insult to Italian society. Juca [pt] thinks that President Lula, on the other hand, did not perceive the gravity of the situation and now has a very hot potato in his hands:
Agora, estabelecido o escândalo, não sabe o governo Lula o que fazer para que o incidente não se transforme em uma grave crise internacional que poderá render ao Brasil o afastamento, por falta de convite, para a importante próxima reunião do G8, grupo atualmente presidido pela Itália, sob a alegação de que o nosso país não colabora com o combate internacional ao terrorismo, ao contrário, o prestigia dando refúgio a terroristas.
Whereas some people claim that, with this decision, Brazil shows it is an example of democracy [pt] and that the criticism is part of a political dispute. Ralf Rickli [pt] highlights that the media has so far only shown one side of the story: the protests from the Italian side. The blogger comments on the doubts cast on Battisti's trial in absentia in 1987, and mentions the fact that the Mitterand government had also denied his extradition. The blogger asks: “why doesn't our mainstream media report this?” and answers:
E aí de repente lembro que o atual primeiro-ministro da Itália é um magnata da imprensa… Representante típico de uma certa direita que se vale da força da imprensa como instrumento de poder – com o qual vem se safando inclusive de repetidas acusações de corrupção e de ligação com a Máfia.
Mas deve ser só coincidência, não?  Não deve haver nenhuma relação…
But it should be only coincidence, no? There should be no relationship…
On the press handling of the issue, Sociologist Rudá Ricci [pt] calls most criticism an irrational reaction of left-wing militants and some of the media:
Irracional porque do ponto de vista legal, o ato não fere nenhum princípio. Mas é um ato político, sem dúvida. E é por aí que a nuvem de fumaça se espalha. Comecemos pelas reações à direita:
1) O Clube Militar emite nota destacando que se trata de concessão de asilo a um assassino sanguinário. Aliás, vai mais longe e cita uma tal “ditadura sanguinária”;
2) O governador José Serra, de olho no eleitorado paulista (muito conservador) afirma timidamente que se trata de um equívoco. Tímido porque ele mesmo foi um refugiado político no Chile e conviveu com brasileiros que eram denunciados pelos mesmos crimes que Battisti;
3) O senador e ex-presidente italiano Francesco Cossiga ataca Tarso Genro dizendo que se trata de um ministro “cretino”;
4) A polícia italiana diz que o próprio Battisti matou quatro pessoas. Ele nega.
Os argumentos são exagerados e frágeis, como se percebe.
The arguments are exaggerated and fragile, as we understand.
Others don't quite agree and think the country has taken a wrong turn. Fernando Rizzolo [pt] qualifies the Brazilian Government's decision which has put Brazil in a fix as marred by ideological ties rather than legal considerations:
É impressionante a que ponto a paixão pela ideologia da esquerda faz com que um País como o Brasil se indisponha com a Europa. Não é possível que o ministro Tarso Genro, o PT, o presidente Lula encontrem neste cidadão Battisti “algo maior” ao defendê-lo e colocar o Brasil numa situação complicadíssima. A Itália é uma democracia, a própria esquerda italiana não o defende. Para que tudo isso ? Lula deveria ter reconsiderado a decisão de Tarso, mas não, o PT tem um amor incrível as causas esquerdistas, a ponto de sacrificar um País, não é ?
Leandro Sartori Molino [pt] believes that both governments are making a mistake in putting at risk the historic relationship between Italy and Brazil over such a little issue:
Mas nós, meros cidadãos brasileiros e italianos, que não temos nada a ver com essa ridicularidade, estamos, no mínimo, assustados: o que poderá ocorrer conosco, que adoramos passear pelas Praias do Nordeste brasileiro, sambar em seu impressionante Carnaval, tomar um delicioso “spresso” na Piazza Novona, ouvir os gondoleiros de Venezza ao passear por seus canais, tomar vinho, comer uma deliciosa macorranada, tomar caipirinha e comer feijoada?

author: Paula Góes


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Brunei after the floods: A time of loss and prayers · Global Voices
Noor Hidayah

For the past week or so, Brunei has been experiencing some of the worst heavy rains and floods. This continuous downpour has not only lead to floods, soil erosions and landslides, but it has also taken the lives of two people.  Brunei Lifestyle blogged about this incident:
The first death was that of a 46-year-old woman who was trapped under the debris of mud and concrete as her house at Kampong Madang in Berakas was affected by a landslide. The news report said that she was fast asleep in her bedroom when other occupants in her house heard a loud bang from the woman’s bedroom which was located at the back of the house. The occupants tried to pull her out of the room but failed. Police report said that this occurred at around 10.45pm on Tuesday night.
Two hours later, a 19-year-old woman was trapped in a drain when she was on her way home. The reports said that the woman and her father were trapped in their car as they tried to reach their home at Kampong Katok in Gadong. The woman insisted to walk home which was only about 600 meters from where they were trapped. The father was trying to stop her as the current was very strong and the water was rising very fast. The father said her daughter slipped to a drain and he tried to pull her out with the help of passers-by. They failed as the woman’s pants got caught to the grill and the current was strong that she drowned.
She also posted pictures of the skies. This is one of them:
Islam is a religion that is well rooted in Brunei. It has been the predominant religion of Bruneians for many generations. Therefore,  it is only natural when some have decided to view the recent weather condition with a  spiritual outlook. Arab Families encourage us to use this time to reflect, and to increase our prayers and supplications:
Untuk renungan kita bersama,
Berdoalah kita semoga Negara kita terhindar dan semoga kita semua terhindar dari pelabagai musibah dan bencana alam, Amin!!! Seperti mana yang kita semua ketahui dan lihat baru baru ini keadaan hujan dan banjir kilat di sana sini maka berdoalah kita semua, sesungguh nya doa adalah senjata orang2 Mu'kmin.
Hendaklah selalu berdoa kepada Allah SWT supaya kita terus diberi rahmat, nikmat serta pertolongan Allah SWT terutama apabila berhadapan dengan ujian sebagini. Ibnul Qayyim berkata, doa adalah saranan paling kuat untuk mencegah musibah dan mencapai apa yang diinginkan.
Doa adalah satu bentuk ibadah kepada Allah SWT. Menurut al-Asqari, doa adalah permohonan kepada Allah SWT supaya Dia mendatangkan sesuatu yang bermanfaat dan menjauhkan daripada segala bentuk kemudaratan.
Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud:
“Apabila manusia ditimpa kesempitan, dia berdoa kepada Tuhan-Nya, dalam keadaan bersungguh-sungguh untuk kembali kepada-Nya. Kemudian apabila dia dianugerahi dengan nikmat daripada-Nya, dia lupa doa yang dipohon kepada Tuhannya sebelum itu dan dia menjadikan untuk Allah gandingan untuk menyesatkan (manusia) daripada jalan-Nya.” (Surah al-Zumar, ayat 8).
Nabi Muhammad SAW bersabda yang bermaksud:
“Doa itu bermanfaat terhadap kejadian yang sudah berlaku atau kejadian yang belum berlaku. Oleh itu, wahai hamba Allah, hendaklah kamu berdoa.” (Diriwayatkan oleh Ahmad, Ibn Majah dan lain-lain)
“Prayer is beneficial towards something that has already happened or something that is yet to happen. For that, oh Allah's servants, you should pray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and others)”
Let us pray that our country and all of us are to be protected for all types of tribulations and natural disasters, Amin! As we all know, we have been experiencing rain and flash floods so let us all pray, for it is the number one weapon for the Muslims.
We must be consistent in our prayer to Allah so that we will always be blessed and be given help from Allah especially at times like these. Ibnul  Qayyim said, prayer is most effective in preventing harm and achieving what is desired.
Prayer is a form of worship to Allah. According to Al-Asqari, prayer is a plea to Allah so that He will provide us with something that is beneficial, and to protect us from all forms of harm.
Allah said:
“Now [thus it is] when affliction befalls man, he is likely to cry out to his Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help]; but as soon as He has bestowed upon him a boon by  His grace, he forgets Him whom he invoked before,  and claims that there are other powers that could rival God – and thus leads [others] astray from His path. Say [unto him who sins in this way]” (Surah Al Zumar: 8)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“Prayer is beneficial for something that has already happened or something that is yet to happen. For that, oh Allah's servants, you must pray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and others)”
Turquoise and Roses also urged her readers to pray for the Bruneians whose homes may have been destroyed by the floods and landslides.
But most importantly, pray tonight for your fellow Bruneians whose homes are destroyed by flood and landslides.

author: Noor Hidayah


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Bulgaria: Martin Borilski Petition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Maya's Corner writes about an online petition to “[demand] just sentences for the culprits and punishments for prosecutors and judges responsible for the outrageous acquittal” of two Bulgarians implicated in the murder of Martin Borilski, a Bulgarian student, in Paris in 2000.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China and U.S: The Timing of Charter 08 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Roland discusses about the timing of Charter 08, a joint statement for political reform signed by more than 300 intellectuals, in relation to the politics in the U.S to account for its impact.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Political Prisoners · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports on the experience of some of Cuba's political prisoners because he believes that “it is a truth that one day will set them, and their country, free.”


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Czech Republic: Hradec Králové · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Journeys of Captain Oddsocks writes about Hradec Králové, “one of the oldest and most important cities in Bohemia.”


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Egyptians are Going Local · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

Another campaign is in the works in Egypt. Inji, an avid blogger and young economist who is distraught by the numerous emails and SMS messages calling for boycotting products decided to “boycott the boycott” and take it to a positive extent. She is proposing to her readers a national driven project which she simply puts as Buying Egypt Back. In her proposal Juka  said:
“Let's buy Egypt! Let's buy Arab products. Even better let's produce Arab products. Walk into your local supermarket and tally up what percentage of the products you’ve bought were manufactured locally. Then think to your purchase decision mechanism, did you automatically dismiss the local substitute for the global brand? I know it’s a lot to ask, and that yes you’ll miss your gourmet coffees, teas and meals. Yet for a change. Let's be proactive. Let's BUY EGYPT!”
Inji’s blog readers were all enthusiastic about the project as apparently young Egyptians are aspiring a change, and they still believe in the prosperity of their country.
Jessy who created the Arabic logo for the campaign said:
“*claps really hard* I hate those boycott messages. First of all because I hate being told what to do and nagged to do it. Second of all most of the boycott emails have no basis that these companies are aiding or not aiding the causes.
As for buying Egyptian, this is exactly what we need. Our economy needs it regardless of what is going on in the rest of the world and once we understand that we need to help ourselves before expecting anyone else to help us we will finally be on the road to some improvement.”
Others, however, were skeptic:
Will E who is heartily for the idea still believes we have some issues to consider:
“The idea in theory is great, and I’ve thought of it many times. It’s appealing and I am personally all for it, and am willing to suffer a bit but let me be the voice of reason. Buy Egypt means supporting all those companies who cheat with materials, quality and components and telling them it’s okay you don’t have to learn how to be efficient, you don’t have to learn how to provide good service, we’ll buy your products anyway and you can make some money.
Why do Egyptians raise prices of everything local and imported even when the cost of making it drops? I wish buy egypt were the answer… I really do.”
Dee  adds:
“Easier said than done ya Juka, have you seen the quality of the products in question? I wish it were an option, but its not and that allege is based on trial! Will promise you to try again, but I don’t have my hopes up (and you already know that I’m not spoilt brand brat, right?”
Juka then replied practically to skepticism and went through her daily routine, in which she enlisted and came up with many quality local alternatives.
At the end Inji pleaded with her readers to hang on to the positive:
“Let's focus on the bright spots and let's work on identifying pioneers in the dark ones”.
The effort has kicked off   and will work as follows, says Juka:
“1) It is an invitation to one and all to start going local (Arab) in all their purchase decisions.
2) On a weekly basis in this outlet I will post either an Egyptian/Arab success story or a customer complaint directed to a local company. Feel free to start e-mailing me those.”

author: Nermeen Edrees


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Haiti: Mardi Gras  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger offers a glimpse into Mardi Gras celebrations on the island.


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Haiti, U.S.A.: Obama & Abortion  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Haitian diaspora blogger Finian says: “This is where Obama loses my support. I believe abortion on demand is wrong.”


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India: Rural vs Urban India · Global Voices
Rezwan

India in Peril posts a comparison: “(The) economic gap between the urban-rich and the rural-poor is very wide. This may be understood by the fact that a rural-poor is available for 10-12 hours of hard work a day for Rs 2,000/- a month, while the minimum wage of a government employee with practically no work is Rs 12,000/- a month.”


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India: What Is Info-activism? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Aparna Ray at Newsmericks explains ‘info-activism’ with a limerick. Read it here.


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Indonesia: Top Religous Council Perceived Corrupt · Global Voices
Martin Manurung

The latest survey of Transparency International Indonesia includes Indonesia Ulemas Council (MUI) in the top 15 of the most perceived corrupt institutions in the country.

author: Martin Manurung


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Iran: A conservative site was filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Fardanews, a conservative site that criticized Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and conservative Keyhan newspaper over Gaza was filterd. This site was close to Tehran's mayor,Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:The first mixed football game draws punishment · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

The first mixed football (soccer) game — females vs. male teenagers — since the 1979 Islamic revolution led to  punishment, as an Iranian football club said it had suspended three officials involved. Coralit,an Iranian blogger, says [fa] that some people filmed the match by their mobiles and these films were used as proof against the officials.


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Japan: Robot Puppets · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs about the use of robot technology in classic bunraku puppets in Japan.


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Latvia: Politics Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Two updates on the post-Jan. 13 politics in Latvia – at Baltic, here and here: “Whoever you speak today in this Baltic country recognizes that discontent about the present political class is simply unbearable.” All About Latvia adds: “If Latvia were a civilized country, the government would have long collapsed following the Jan. 13 riots.”


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Latvia: Riga Riots Followup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A followup on the Riga riots: Free Speech Emergency in Latvia reports on “an informal movement of non-violent resistance, called The Penguins (Pingvini).”


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Madagascar: “History repeats itself…as a farce” in recent unrest · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Members of a Yahoo! forum are wondering how the situation in Madagascar degenerated into looting, general anarchy and the current power vacuum; how the crisis and general mayhem could have been avoided; and how the situation is different or similar to 2002, when eight months of political turmoil and violence shook Madagascar.  Then, ironically, it was the currently embattled President, Marc Ravalomanana, who was demanding democracy and was heralded as the people's choice.
“Ny fanontaniana mipetraka sy tonga ho azy dia ny hoe inona moa no mahasamihafa ny zavatra potika amin'izao taona 2008 izao amin'izay zavatra potika tamin'ny taona 2002? … Ka inona ary no vaha-olana tsy hiverenan'ny fanapotehana
intsony?”
Rajiosy  titles in one of his posts that
“L'histoire se repete… en farce”
Rajiosy then retraces the history of Madagascar's political instability
.
Burzano 2000 thinks we need to educate the masses in order to avoid the repetition of violence:
“Mila tadiavina (ianarana) ny lalana sy rafitra ahazoan'ny vahoaka maneho hevitra amim-pahatoniana sy tsy arahin-kerisetra. Mila tadiavina koa ny lalana ahazoan'ny eo amin'ny familiana amin'ny ambaratongam-pahefana rehetra mihaino ny feon'ny vahoaka sy manova famindra tsy arahin-kerisetra rehefa misy ilana izany. Mazava be ilay zava-nisy sy toa mbola misy iny hoe “Émeutes de la faim”. Aza adino fa be dia be ny olona efa tsy nihinana sakafo afa-tsy indray mandeha sy tapany isan'andro na latsak'izay aza raha tsy hiresaka afa-tsy ny ao Tana sy ny manodidina fotsiny aza.”
This opinion is seconded by Nasolo Valiavo Andriamihaja , a well known columnist at the daily Express de Madagascar, who thinks the chaos was predictable based on Malagasy history. He makes a strong case for teaching people to think independently and resist being used for political purposes  :
“Inona no nitondra amin’izao tampin-dalana izao ka tsy efa nosoratana teto hatramin’ny 2002 ? Inona no mbola hitranga manaraka ka tsy efa hita soritra hatramin’ny 2002 ? Kitaontaona azo nihodivirana tsara mihitsy ny hitsin-dalana noraisin’ny fitondran-dRavalomanana. “
…
Tsy tojo izao fidinana an-dalambe izao sahady indray ny firenena raha nanana fanetren-tena ny fitondrana. Teny natao tamin-dRatsiraka izany tamin’ny 2001, teny naverina tamin-dRavalomanana hatramin’ izay fito taona izay. Ny anay, izay tsy  hikatsoan’ny fiainam-pirenena fotsiny ihany. Ny orinasa mamokatra soa aman-tsara, ny fivarotana mitady fivelomana, ny aina sy ny fananan’ny tsirairay tsy misy ahiana, ny mpiasa tsy lany andro mitokona, ny mpianatra tsy very taona, ny raharaha politika mizotra milamina amin’ny fifidianana voafetra mialoha. Fiainana tsy mila voatsiary fa moramora toa ny any Amerika : ny 4 novambra, isaky ny efa-taona ihany, no misy fifidianana Filoha.
Ny ahiahinay dia ny hiverenan’izao isan-taona, isam-bolana, raha isaky ny mahatsiaro dia hiantso korontana, hamory vahoaka. …
Raha mbola tsangan’olona hatrany no harahin’ny Malagasy dia tsy hisy fandrosoana eto na hanova Filoha isam-bolana aza isika. Tsy misy izany Mesia izany, tsy misy izany fahagagana izany, ary adala izay mino fotsiny ihany. Fitaizana voalohany tsy tanteraky ny antoko politika sy ny mpitaiza isan-tsokajiny (média, société civile, fiangonana, sekoly, raiamandreny) tao anatin’izay dimampolo taona naha Repoblika ny tany izay. Tsy ny fitaomana azy hidina an-dalambe, izay miafara amin’ny faty olona na fandravana fananana, no fitaizana tsara indrindra omena ny vahoaka. Hita izao fa izay mitaona azy hitokona androany, hifoterany hikomy rahampitso.
Ilay hoe demokrasia, tsy kabary fotsiny. Vahoaka ampy fahalalana no fototry ny demokrasia. Tsy mihinana amam-bolony, tsy mankatoa fahatany, tsy manaran-drian-drano. Vahoaka mifidy manavaka fa tsy mandatsa-bato fotsiny. Vahoaka mandinika fa tsy manao rebik’ondry (2). Tsy vita izany tamin’ny 1972, tsy vita tamin’ny 1991, tsy vita tamin’ny 2002, mbola tsy tanteraka ihany indray 2009. Tsy azo ataon’ny mpahalala ny milavo lefona fa fanabeazana tsy maintsy hirosoana io, satria tsy hisy fahagagana rahateo koa. Sanatria mantsy izany hoe ozona ho an’i Madagasikara ny toy izao.”
Meanwhile, others passionately regret that the Malagasy politicians, those in power and those in the opposition, will not be the ones suffering most from the crisis:
“Ny politika Malagasy moa izany dia efa mahazatra fa miala an`Ankatso dia Ambohidepona, ny mampalahelo dia na ny mpitondra amin`izao na ny mpanotra dia olona tsy tena mijaly na koa tsy tena nijaly tamin`ny 2002 na 1991. Mba tsinjonareo ireo ve ireny mpivarotra anana eny antsena sy mpianatra nandeha tongotra 30 km nandroso sy niverina nandeha nakao antananarivo, mba tsinjonareo ve ilay mpampianatra amin`ny EPP, mpampianatra iray mampianatra kilasy 5 no sady tale, mba tsijonareo ve ny olona voan`ny rivodoza mila fanampiana nefa tsy misy manampy, mba tsijonareo ve ny olona mitady ny hoaniny isanandrosanandro, mba tsinjonareo ve ny mpibata entana na reraka aza dia miasa hatrany….indrisy ny an`ny mpanao politika malagasy rehetra dia haka fitondrana mba hampiadanany ny tenany…
Izaho manokana dia “halako” izay olona mampijaly ny Malagasy na mpitondra io na mpanohitra, ireo mamitaka ny tsy mahalala sy manao tohatra iakarana ireo sahirana; na tsy afa miteny aza ireo dia ny tody tsy misy fa ny atao no miverina. Dia tena firenena voahozona ve i Madagasika, tsy misy afatsin`ny mifampidera hery ve ny ain`ny mpanao politika Malagasy.
TOkony mandeha mitazona angadin`omby kely aloha ireo mpitondra fanjakana sy mpanohitra ireo mba ahatsapana hoe mafy ny miasa mamelotena sy mitady ny ho anina isan`andro, ario ny akanjo mianjaika be ireny dia mba miloloava vary amin`ny gony hatero ho an`ny traboina.”
And Tomavana laments that in all this chaos, the victims of cyclones which have last week devastated entire cities have all but been forgotten.
“Inona moa izany fa andro iray fanampiny tsy ahafahan’ireo traboina miantehitra afatsy amin’ny tenany ihany indray iny andro iray iny. Inona intsony koa moa no ambarako eo afatsy ny hoe raha mbola zo atao … dia aza mba mipetraka any amin’ny faritany ihany zalahy e !”

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


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Madagascar: Negotiations canceled as unrest spreads · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

There was a slight hope of a rapid resolution in the currently undergoing social unrest in Madagascar. Leaders of both government and opposition announced a meeting would be held yesterday. That meeting was canceled after both parties failed to agree on preliminary conditions. In the meantime, lootings are still ongoing in the capital city and several sources reports that there are growing mobs in the cities in the provinces. Twitterer Daniel Austin, from the town of Ambositra in the southern Region writes:
300-strong mob brandishing sticks & stones set fire to the government forestry building in Ambositra #Madagascar this morning
To better understand how a country better known until now for its unique biodiversity has reached this point of unrest, here is a timeline of political events in Madagascar for the past year that help explains the causes:
- December 2007: Municipal elections in Antananarivo lost by governing party against a young self-made businessman, not unlike the current president.
– November 2008: Prospective land deal with Daewoo Logistics draws outrage nationally.
– December 2008: Conflict over the alleged improper broadcasting of political speech and its unsuing closing of the broadcasting television station.
– January 2009: Series of unusal prison Breaks all over the nation.
- January 2009: As tropical storms hit Madagascar, political demonstrations against government expand. In a cruel twist of irony, the regions hit by storms are also the ones closely involved in the prospective land deal.
Despite calls from both president Ravalomanana and his opponent Rajoelina for a return to order and calm, bloggers still report looting of major shopping centers and gun shots. Some even call for a curfew as confusion seem to reign as of Jan 27th 10:00 GMT.
Many reports are still pouring in, often conflicting. One has to keep in mind that objectivity is hard to come by as frustration settles in.
Here are a few reactions from bloggers:
Andry is infuriated by the lack of order:
“my personnal feeling is that violation of laws and public orders have become legal and authorized. Who will protect innocent citizens? Are we going to stay and wait for our turn?”
( Looting and fire via Andry)
Barijaona witnesses more police in the streets in Antananarivo (fr):
#madagascar : précision : forces de l'ordre plus présentes que la veille _à Antananarivo_ .
Carole on Facebook writes:
” 15h15, les coups de feu ne s'arretent pas à Analakely, coté pavillons.”
Latest tweets reporting from radio news indicate that a curfew might be implemented soon.
Update: local radio now streaming online (mg).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Madagascar’s resourceful kids · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Green Boy by Patrick
This week, two videos from Madagascar show us how children make do with their situation and rise above it using ingenuity, creativity and a bit of daring. First is Toky, who makes tin cars out of waste materials, and the other is the Green Boy, a kid who makes a living in the streets not by begging, but by showing off his acrobatic skills.
Koloina who writes at Gasykool's Weblog tells Toky's story:
Raha i Toky manokana no resahina dia Tovola kely mahafinaritra izy ary azo lazaina hoe anisan'ireo ankisy lahy tia karokaroka sy matsilo saina izy.Zazalahy kely tsy mba azonao ambakainy izy ary tsy azonao resen-dahatra raha tsy mazava aminy izay tianao atao miaraka aminy, fa raha tsy izay dia tsy ho azonao mihitsy izy. Rehefa miaraka aminy dia tsimaintsy mazava ny fepetra satry ny azy rehefa izay dia izay tsy miova amininy raha mbola azo atao (ohatra hoe ndao hiaraka hiantsena dia ividianako mofo ialahy avy eo ) tsy vita mora izany fa rehefa noekena dia atao fa raha tsy izany dia mety tsy ho hahazo azy intsony ianao amin'ny manaraka. Ny fialambolin'i Toky ankotran'ny manamboatra ireny kilalao fiara kapoka ireny dia manao sary mijery, dessin animé ary milalao bisikileta .Itantsika fa tsy voatery mividy eny antsena na mahazo avy any amin'I mamany na ny dadany na ny manodidinazy i toky vao manana kilalalao ho lalaovina. Araka ny efa voalaza etsy ambony hoe manamboatra kilalao izy, tsy mba midongy aminao izany izy na andeha hiady amin'ny namany. Efa nahavita be dia be izy ary maro karazany mihintsy fa araka ny fantatsika fa mila miovaova ny zavatra avoka sy ny kilalao dia lasa pièce détaché no niafaran'ny fiara sasany. Na dia efa vitsy aza ny ankizy manao izany dia ho an'ny toky dia anisan'ny fahafinaretana ny manao izany ary sady faly be ery izy satria nahavita kilalao ho lalovina.
Koloina made a video of Toky's artistic process, documenting how the 11 year old child uses cans, mails, discarded wood and even broken slippers to make his creations:
It is Patrick, who blogs as layshiyuu, who brings us the story of the Green Boy, and tells us how instead of begging, this young man shows off his flexibility and strength, entertaining crowds in exchange for money:
Green boy is still very young for working because, he is only 14 years old. But you know he has a dream like all the children. He want to make a very big show on the stage one day but as he said he hasn’t any hope to intend his endeavor because he is poor and indeed hasn’t any access to go to school.
Both Koloina and Patrick are part of Foko Madagascar's Blog Club, which won the Rising Voices Micro-grant to teach youth how to use citizen media tools such as blogs, video and images to show others that Madagascar is more than jungle and lemurs. You can view Another one of the beneficiaries of this program is Theo, who made the following video interview with a South African Pastor, who had a message that touched Theo about thankfulness, and how important it is to show appreciation for the gifts one receives:

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Morocco: Skiing in Morocco · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Peace Corps volunteer Liz writes about the experience of skiing in Morocco.

author: Jillian C. York


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Nigeria: Developing Women 2.0 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A new NGO named W.TEC has adopted Web 2.0 tools and technologies in order to facilitate knowledge gathering and sharing amongst Nigerian women.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: Review Of Chicago, The Musical  · Global Voices
Rezwan

CHUP! – Changing Up Pakistan posts a review of Karachi’s production of Chicago, the renowned musical about the city of Chicago in the 1920s.


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Peru: Police Officers Killed in Pómac Forest Reserve · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

On January 20, three police officers [es] were killed by peasants who were illegally occupying lands in the Pómac Forest Reserve in the Lambayeque region of Peru. The police were carrying out a court order to remove hundreds of families from these lands, when they were attacked by some of the peasants firing rifles. News of the incident made headlines, especially the fact that the land occupiers were armed, some say with assault rifles. Some called for the Chief of Police and the Minister of the Interior to resign because there were reports of the resistance that the police officers would face, and despite that they still sent them unarmed [es]. The incident was also a topic of discussion by Peruvian bloggers.
Silvio Rendon of Lapicero Digital [es] condemns the incident:
El caso de Pómac es totalmente condenable. Han sido disparos a matar, no muy diferentes a los disparos a matar durante el paro agrario del año pasado. Los policías deben saber que la sociedad está con ellos, que se condena los asesinatos de sus compañeros con la misma dureza con que se condenó el asesinato de los campesinos. … La primera reacción de los policías al ver a sus compañeros muertos fue reclamar por la defensa de sus derechos humanos.
They (the police) were shot at in order to kill them, not any different than what happened during the agricultural strike last year. The police ought to know that society is on their side, that the murder of their colleagues is condemned as harshly as when peasants are killed… The first reaction of the policemen upon seeing their dead colleagues was to call for the defense of human rights.
Eduardo Villanueva of Casi Un Blog Mk.II [es] insists that the police actions were improvised and thinks that the Interior Minister's explanations were not enough:
Las denuncias de parte de los policías sobre falta de recursos, hasta el punto de no estar correctamente alimentados, solo complican más el panorama. La responsabilidad de la cadena de mando es muy grande y el ministro debe dar la cara y asumir responsabilidades. No se trata de exigir renuncias por sí mismas, pero si las explicaciones no son convincentes, el sr. Hernani debe volver a su plácido retiro.
The complaints from the police regarding the lack of resources, even to the point of not being properly fed [es], only complicate the panorama even more. The responsibility of the chain of command is large and the Minister (of the Interior) must show his face and take responsibility. It doesn't have to do with calling for resignations just for the sake of calling for it, but if the explanations are not convincing, then Mr. Hernani (the Interior Minister) should return to his peaceful retirement.
Suana Villarán says that the country doesn't need heroes, and it appears that the government doesn't care about the lives of the police [es]. She also adds that other means should be used to solve the conflict:
Existen escenarios de riesgo muy graves y la conflictividad en nuestro país se incrementa día a día. Es una responsabilidad política y sectorial y no policial el prevenir los conflictos, identificar su naturaleza, a los actores , sus demandas y expectativas y actuar con madurez en los acuerdos.
There are very serious and high-risk scenarios, and the number of conflicts in our country increases each day. It is a political and sectorial responsibility, and not a police responsibility to prevent conflicts, identify the type of conflict, the actors, their demands, and expectations, and act with responsibility to come to agreement.
Mr. T of Querido Pueblo Peruano [es] analyzes the situation and sees land invasions as a reoccurring problem in the country:
Un terreno que sea propiedad, digamos, del ejército o de la policía. Viene un grupo de pobrecitos con su banderita del Perú y sus esteritas, se plantan y luego comienzan a gritar: “¡Agua y desague, agua y desague!”. Porque como son pobrecitos el Estado se tiene que apiadar de ellos y darles terreno mientras que algunos sociólogos salen a afirmar: ¡Ahí está el Capitalismo emergente! ¡Ahí está la nueva burguesía que llegó en los años 50 para quedarse … El problema es que estos señores invasores NO SON POBRECITOS, de hecho son una red de tráfico de tierras muy bien estructurada. Un negocio especulativo que se vale de robarle tierras al Estado. A ver, supongamos que el Estado cede; entonces el metro cuadrado de tierra puede llegar a multiplicar por diez su precio si se logra el objetivo de instalar agua y desague. Esto no es una humilde invasión sino un anómico mecanismo de mercado que ha venido operando descontroladamente.
Let's say that there is land owned by the army or the police. A group of poor people with their Peruvian flag and their mats, sits down and later begins to yell “Water and drainage, water and drainage!” And since they are poor people from the State, one must take pity on them and give them land while some sociologists come out to say, “There is the emerging capitalism! There is the new bourgeoisie that arrived in the 1950s to stay… The problem with these invaders is that the are NOT POOR, in fact they are a well-structured network of land traffickers. A speculative business that tries to steal land from the State. Let's say that the State gives in, then the price of square meter of land can multiply by 10 if they achieve their goal of installing water and drainage. This is not a humble invasion, but an anomic market mechanism that has been operating out of control.
Finally, Javier Fernández of Javi270270 ¿Qué pasa? [es] is personally moved by the events and writes:
Es una verdadera lastima la muerte de los policías. El brutal video solo pude verlo una vez. Demasiado fuerte y es que he visto muchísimas películas con situaciones simuladas y, en este caso, se cumple que la realidad supera a la ficción. Decidí no escribir en el momento de rabia y frustración (que aun los tengo pues lamento profundamente este episodio).
Meanwhile, damages caused by almost seven years of occupation by the squatters are indeterminable, and presumably the damages made to some archaeological sites are irreparable. When it comes to the ecosystem, it will take some time for it to return to its previous condition. This is much related with the slowness of the judiciary system, as El Comercio reports,  not all the squatters have been cleared out yet [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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Poland: A Trip to Łódz · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

20 east writes about a trip to Łódz.


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Poland: A View on Entropa · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot comments on Entropa: “I don’t know which is sadder: the state of some contemporary art, which has to delve into crude stereotypes to get its kicks; or politicians like a Giertych, or a Kaczynski who provided, on an enamelled plate, the crude stereotype of Poland in the first place?”


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Poland: Back Home From the UK · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

the POLSKI blog writes that due to the crisis, many Poles are returning home from the UK – and others are encouraged to by a UK-based organization called “Poland Street.”


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Poland: Katarzyna Hejna on Feminism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Katarzyna Hejna talks about feminism in Poland – at Polandian.


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Poland: Name Days vs Birthdays? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

the POLSKI blog writes about celebration of ‘name days’ in Poland.


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Poland: “No More Scapegoats” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about what George W. Bush's departure might mean for Poland: “And now Bush has gone, who are they gonna blame for all the other stuff he wasn’t responsible for? Maybe one day we are going to miss Old George. No more scapegoats.”


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Poland: Obama, BBC and ‘CIA Prison’ · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about a BBC reporter's failed attempt to find out whether Poles were “pleased with Obama” for his decision to shut down Guantanamo “and all rendition camps, one of which was in Poland.”


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Reporting the University of Philippines Student Referendum · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Student publications led by the Philippine Collegian are conducting an online real-time coverage of the week-long Student Regent Referendum at the University of the Philippines (UP). The referendum will ratify the guidelines for the selection of the highest student official in the country's premier state university.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Romania: Czech Villages in Banat · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

CzechFolks.com writes about the Czech villages in the south of the Romanian Banat: “People in Banat have preserved their heritage for more than 180 years by simply passing it from one generation to another.”


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Russia: Anastasia Baburova’s Blog · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Excerpts from the blog of Anastasia Baburova, a 25-year-old journalist killed in Moscow last week, translated from Russian – at OpenDemocracy.net.


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Russia: “Creeping Police State or Looming Anarchy” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes that “[r]ecent commentary on Russia has tacked back-and-forth between these two apparently contradictory narratives — the creeping police state vs. looming anarchy.”


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Russia: Finno-Ugric Dimension of Gas Dispute · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about the Finno-Ugric dimension of the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute.


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Russia: iPhone Apps · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light reviews “the best Russian iPhone apps.”


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Russia: More on Markelov and Baburova · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on the killings of Markelov and Baburova – at Sean's Russia Blog.


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Russia: “Mourning Markelov” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam writes: “Russia was a safer place when Markelov was still alive, because at the very least, his advocacy was ultimately emblematic of moral outrage – seemingly our last defense.”


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Russia: New Journal on Siberia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about a new journal intended to promote an “expanded understanding” of Siberia.


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Russia: Pro-Government Rallies · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about “Moscow’s plan to organize pro-government demonstrations.”


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Russia: “Should People of Color Go to Russia?” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moscow Through Brown Eyes wouldn't advise “a young person of color” to come to Russia for long-term study: “The world is large and there are many options. You shouldn't have to fear for your life every day.”


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Russia: Siege of Leningrad Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On the 65th anniversary of the lifting the siege of Leningrad, one of the most popular posts in the Russian blogosphere, by LJ user komen-dant (RUS), features Sergei Larenkov's selection of contemporary photos of St. Petersburg merged with historic images that were taken during the siege from the same vantage points. More historic photos of the siege – in this post (RUS) by LJ user sinitzat.


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Russia, Ukraine: “Far From Over” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Streetwise Professor writes: “In short, the Gas War is just the surface of things. Under the surface one finds the true dynamic–Russian imperial ambition resisted by a nation struggling to realize an independence long denied, but doing so under a confused, divided, and corrupt leadership.”


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Russia, Ukraine: “Gas War IV” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis analyzes the Ukraine-Russia gas dispute and the agreement signed: “There is a natural temptation to assess the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ of the Russian-Ukrainian Gas War IV, which emerged from a commercial crisis to a political game.”


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Russia, U.S.: Igor Panarin  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Ivanov Report writes about Igor Panarin, “the second most hated Russian in the United States.”


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Serbia: Belgrade Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lots of beautiful photo vignettes from Serbia – at A Yankee-in-Belgrade, including these two pictures of elderly women, one selling pine branches and the other selling thistle.


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Serbia: Belgrade Tips, Photos; Fan Fight in Melbourne; Entropa · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded posts more Belgrade tips; translates a joke about unsuspecting “terrorists/tourists” in Belgrade; links to Belgrade and Serbia photos – here, here, and here; writes about yet another fight between tennis fans in Melbourne; wonders how Serbia would be represented on Entropa if it were part of the EU.


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Slovenia: A View on Entropa · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky writes that Entropa “takes apart [Slovenia's] totally unfounded conviction that it is the centre of the world and that all great things somehow started here. Even tourism, for crying out loud!”


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Call for Justice  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Let the courts speak loudly on behalf of all the little children whose voices are silenced by these criminals”: Blogging from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Abeni is all for throwing the book at sexual offenders.


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The Philippine Internet Cafe Industry  · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Into the Digital Light writes about the challenges faced by the  Philippine Internet Cafe Industry in light of the global economic crunch.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Big and Bad?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Following a statement from the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago‘s chief operating officer that implied that the company was answerable to no-one, Jumbie's Watch says: “When yuh big, yuh big, and when yuh bad, yuh bad. Not so?”


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Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Bye Bye Bush  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Notes from Port of Spain has a few parting …um…thoughts on former President George W. Bush.


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Ukraine: “Gas Humor” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana shares some “gas humor” from Ukraine.


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Ukraine: Travel to the Exclusion Zone · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Chernobyl and Eastern Europe Blog writes about “Photos of Your Home” at Pripyat.com, the project “developed as an opportunity for former Pripyat residents to see pictures of their former homes/apartments.”


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U.S.: Polish Place Names · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A compendium of U.S. towns with Polish names – at Polandian.


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DRC:Virunga Gorilla Population Has Grown · Global Voices
Samuel Maina

On Tuesday, 27 January 2009, D.R of Congo's Virunga National Park authorities issued a press release declaring that the population of habituated – or human tolerant – mountain gorillas in the Park had increased by 12.5% in the last 18 months (from August 2007 to January 2009) despite the fierce fighting that has engulfed the Mikeno Gorilla Sector inside the Virunga. The Mikeno Sector is the only place in the Democratic Republic of Congo where Mountain Gorilla, Gorilla gorilla beringei, is to be found.
Paula Kahumbu rejoiced at these news in the Gorilla Protection blog at WildlifeDirect and relayed the press release in that blog post. The release says that there are now 81 individuals in the habituated groups – including 10 new infants – up from the 72 counted in 2007. The press release said:
During the 16-month period from August 2007 to late January 2009, 10 baby gorillas were born into 4 of the habituated families – the Kabirizi, Mapuwa, Lulengo and Mapuwa families – and 2 adult female gorillas previously non-identified (from non-habituated groups) have joined habituated gorilla families. Three gorillas that had been previously identified in the August 2007 census have not been found and are listed as missing.
More than 50 Park Rangers conducted over 128 patrols during the census and apart from counting the habituated gorillas, they estimated a non-habituated gorilla population of 120 individuals, thus indicating that the gorilla population in the 250 kilometre square Mikeno Sector now stands at 211.
The world population of gorillas in the wild is estimated to be 720 individuals and an increase of about 9 gorillas in this sector is indeed great news coming at a time when scientist have indicated that in Uganda the mountain gorilla population may have declined by about 10%.
You can read the entire press release as relayed in Gorilla Protection blog.

author: Samuel Maina


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Arab World: “We Stopped Saying Israel…” · Global Voices
Anas Qtiesh

The controversy over the war on Gaza is never ending. Voices calling to prosecute the Israeli officials and officers for war crimes led to warning top Israeli officials against traveling to Europe in fear of impending war crime law suits. Others still claim that what happened during the Israeli aggression was actually in self defense. The Arab online community, getting sick and frustrated at the atrocities that were happening and the media warring that was going on both online and offline, launched a campaign that was sparked by the following tweet (message on microblogging site twitter):
Alloush [ar] from Syria explains the idea behind the campaign to start using the word Israhell:
الواقع يقول أن إسرائيل في احتلالها للعرب ارتكبت أفظع المجازر وأقذر الأفعال التي شكلت معاناة انسانية حقيقية لهويتنا العربية، الواقعية تقول أنها Israhell وليس Israel، ما هي الترجمة الأصح لهذا المصطلح الجديد، هل نقول إسراحيم [إسرائيل+جحيم]، أم إسرارير [إسرائيل+شرير]، أم نلتزم بـ إسراهل، ربما كيان الجحيم أفضل ترجمة.
The campaign got its artwork from the popular art website DeviantArt by Algerian designer Hamoud.
The design attracted a flood of comments from people on both sides of the line of fire. DeviantArt user ~Arkangel-Wulf jumps to defend the Israeli side saying:
Your thoughts and opinions are your own. But this is not an appropriate place to voice these opinions. Freedom of speech is only just until it's used to hurt others. Not all of Israel is behind their militarist's decisions. Don't scorn an entire country for the actions of a few.
We also see another online initiative – the Israeli Crimes Against Humanity Encyclopedia [ar/en]- which is a joint effort of Syrian, Egyptian and Saudi bloggers – documenting the success of the campaign:
we got IsraHell about 40.000 result 6 days ago
2 days ago we were about 102.00
now we are about 117.000
The post is dates back to January 15th, 2008. A search at the time of writing this post shows 127,000 results.
While military operations are currently on hold, no one knows for how long this fragile ceasefire would hold, and when would all hell break loose again.

author: Anas Qtiesh


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: Young Bloggers Bridge Geopolitical Divides · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
Nearly 15 years after a ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, a lasting peace remains elusive and few citizens of either country have the opportunity to meet or communicate with the other. That might be all set to change, however, with DOTCOM, a project funded by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by Project Harmony.
Bringing together 90 American, Armenian and Azerbaijani teenagers aged 14-16, participants will use online tools such as blogs to “create socially conscious media that will impact communities across the U.S. and the Caucasus.” Global Voices Online briefly spoke to DOTCOM Program Director Elizabeth Metraux earlier today.
The hope for students in DOTCOM is that they'll acquire the skills and confidence to engage in meaningful discourse about subjects that matter. Students have a lot to say about conflict and poverty and human rights and education. DOTCOM is designed to teach students how to use social media to inspire change on those critical issues.
With negative stereotypes of the other perpetuated by the national media in both countries, the task won't be easy, but blogs by some of the participants are already starting to appear online. Even if separated by closed borders and ceasefire lines, they will at least be able to glimpse into each other's lives albeit on the Internet until 10 of the teenagers from each country will meet in the United States in July.
The blogs have only just been set up and the number of posts are presently at a minimum, but Global Voices Online wishes the project success and hopes to produce regular roundups of content as more entries appear. Meanwhile, although there might be many obstacles to overcome and some which might even prove insurmountable, 15-year-old Edita from Armenia offers a glimmer of hope.
Through DotCom, I would like to see a new project developed where we can discover the cross cultures and lifestyles of Americans and Azerbaijanis for Armenian young people. It gives an opportunity of cultural unification.
Writing on the blog of Dilara, a 14-year-old girl from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, another young Armenian participant, 15-year-old Nare, leaves a similar comment.
Hi Dilara:))) Glad to meet you:) I'm from Armenia and I want to know more about Azerbaijan!!! I think it will be very interesting to work together:)))
15-year-old Samira also hopes to find new friends through the project.
I like to keep touch with different people. One of the main reason that i joined to this project that i'll find a lot of friends there, to learn the secrets of media deeply. i love to read articles about the culture of foreign countries. i believe that i'll learn a lot of things in this project.
Another Azeri participant, 16-year-old Samir from Baku, expresses a similar hope.
I think it's important to strengthen the relations among the countries,to stop conflicts among countries and to develop the cultural and scientific ties.
DOTCOM's main website is at: http://dotcom.ph-int.org and has a Facebook Group here. A blog set up to present different modules to participants can also be found here while many of their blogs are listed on the profile pages of the Armenian and Azerbaijani program managers.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Council of Europe Reprieve · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Yesterday's meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) gave Armenia one last chance to avoid sanctions following last year's clashes between opposition supporters and security forces in the aftermath of a bitterly contested presidential election. The disorder claimed at least ten lives and dozens of opposition activists were rounded up during the state of emergency that followed.
Armenian bloggers naturally reacted to the news, but most were unhappy with the PACE decision. On Monday, for example, pro-opposition blogs such as tzitzernak2 already sensed that Yerevan would be granted a reprieve when the president announced an amnesty for 16 people charged during the post-election riot.
[…] Talk about really trying to pull one over. If the PACE folks buy the release of these 16 as a release of political prisoners and significant movement towards the principles set forth in their own documents, well then they've compromised not only their principles, but they've been duped, chumped, sucker-punched, bamboozled, hoodwinked, and hornswoggled.
And maybe they want it that way, which is just a whole new level of immorality.
Another pro-opposition blog, Nazarian, agreed.
There is no doubt that the Europeans are going to claim this as a gesture of goodwill by the Armenian regime. All they need is a light excuse to maintain their current approach. As long as Serj doesn't eat little babies for lunch, the Europeans are not going to bother with Armenia's problems. […]
When Armenia's reprieve was finally announced in return for amendments to two articles of the criminal code used to detain and prosecute opposition supporters and activists, tzitzernak2 accused PACE of hypocrisy.
Things aren't black and white. But the fact is that they inserted themselves into a situation where they claim objectivity and imply an ethical upper hand. Yet their own involvement has been completely subjective, and unethical. It led to the situation getting worse, not better. And at every turn, every opportunity, when they had “the means,” they did not have “the will.”
They fed the fire until it became a pyre.
And now these articles 225 and 300 are supposed to be a bucket of water on the pyre.
A more neutral response came from The Armenian Observer who nonetheless expressed concern with the fragile and often highly-flawed process of democratization in the country.
Armenia has been living under constant pressure since December 17, 2008 – after the adoption of a suggestion by the PACE Monitoring Committee to suspend the voting rights of the Armenian delegation over concerns that political prisoners exist in Armenia and that the provisions of PACE resolutions 1609 (08) and 1620 (08) have not been fully implemented.
[…]
I really hope, that there are no sanctions against Armenia, but that there is a very strict resolution with some type of control mechanism, to make sure the country doesn’t fall off the track of civil liberties. Otherwise, what do we need the CoE membership for?
Writing in response in the comments section of the post, the pro-government realarmenia instead accused the Council of Europe of interfering in the internal affairs of the country.
I don't like such kind interrogation in Armenia’s internal affairs.
It’s shameful for country claimed itself as an independent.
[…
When Armenia become member of the PACE the articles 225 and 300 were the same like now. How they(Europe) agreed on Armenia membership?
Really I don’t care will be Armenia’s vote suspended or not, because this double-standard Assembly has no moral value to judge on.
Unzipped disagreed.
There were endless statements over the past few weeks that voting at the PACE to deprive Armenian delegation of voting rights is a “humiliation” for our country. Well, we are now escaped that “humiliation” for at least 2 more months. PACE has just voted to come back to Armenia’s implementation of its obligations at its April session. But did we escape from real humiliation? I do not think so. PACE is not a right place to look at for “humiliation”.
I am not mentioning here broader issues like no free elections, state of human rights in general and so on.
Here are real humiliations which Armenia faces currently (my top 3):
1. Existence of political prisoners
2. Armenian parliament
3. Lack of independent TV station (with nation-wide coverage)
In the digital age, however, Office Zombie  was at least impressed that she could watch the PACE sitting streamed online, especially in a local environment where the media is politically polarized and rarely objective.
The opportunities that IT opens up for us are great!!! Its great to be sitting in an office in Yerevan and directly watch the PACE hearing on Armenia. If only we also knew French… :) Anyway, no suspension of voting rights, yet another Resolution on Armenia, commitment to revisit articles 225 and 300 of RA Criminal Code. We'll lets just wait and see what happens next…
I'm also interested how our media will cover the issue as a whole, I'm nearly sure they'll just sort of miss out on all the criticism from the monitoring group's members and will mainly focus on positive attitude from Russia, Ukraine, Italy, etc :)
Interestingly, at time of writing, there appeared to be no posts made by bloggers in support of the PACE decision.
Photo: 1 March opposition rally, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Licensed under Creative Commons


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Armenia: No PACE Sanctions · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Life in the Armenian Diaspora comments on yesterday's decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe not to suspend Armenia's voting rights in the influential body. The blog says that promises to amend two articles of the Criminal Code remind it of moves to change legislation in Turkey and that it cannot see the country moving closer to Europe until the rights of its citizens are properly respected. Nevertheless, the blog concludes, another problem lies in the absence of any “honest reformer” to lead calls for such changes.


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Armenia: Open Letter Against Intolerance · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Queering Yerevan posts an open letter in Armenian and English for its readers to sign in protest at growing intolerance and homophobia in the pro-government and pro-opposition media as well as from some representatives of civil society in the country. Meanwhile, Unzipped: Gay Armenia links to previous posts detailing the problem.


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Azerbaijan: Parliamentary Deputy Blogs · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The USAID Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) blog reports that it has helped five deputies from the Azerbaijani parliament set up their own blogs. The blogs in Azeri are at kamranramazanov.blogmilli.com, mmehdi.blogmilli.com, mmfirdovsi.blogmilli.com, rafikismayilov.blogmilli.com, and vuqarqaracayev.blogmilli.com.


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Bahamas: A Better Way · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Bahamas is so very rich in culture that we could all be benefitting from it.  But we’re not”: Nicolette Bethel explains why.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: Bloggers united against decision to block websites · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bloggers in Bahrain are fuming at a decision by the country's Minister of Information to block access to scores of websites, as well as prevent access to proxy sites which enable surfers to get to sites in a roundabout manner.
Ammaro is defiant:
MINISTRY; HERE'S A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR YOU. YOU CAN BLOCK A DOOR, YOU CAN BLOCK TWO, BUT YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO CENSOR THE INTERNET, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. THERE ARE A MILLION AND ONE WAYS TO GET AROUND YOUR BLOCKADES, AND YOU'LL NEVER KEEP UP WITH THEM.
Rayyash says:
Hussain Marhoon has a slightly different position:
Jenan asks:
Mohammed Marhoon also has a question:
The Redbelt says:
Let me try to paint you a picture:
It is the 1980’s. No internet and no Satellite TV channels and nothing. The only communications we have with the outside world are videotapes, cassettes, books and magazines. In these simpler times, banning something would actually work. If the government says for a reason or another that a film for example is unacceptable and not wanted, the majority of the population, if not all, will not get to see it. Tapes will be easily found and confiscated. And then what? Banning media at that age was quite effective. But that was a long, long, LONG time ago. Just look at my brother, he was a mere idea in ’86 and was born in ’87. Today he is a 186 cm tall man, with a goatee, driving license and a college degree. Media has grown that much too.
Eyad wonders about the business logic:
Let’s not look at the internet as the super highway of information but look at it as a product, the people in their homes are paying a good amount of money and on a monthly bases just to access the internet and have a good time doing so, based on that fact [telecommunication companies] are heavily investing in networks and technology to get that connection to every home and business in the country; what if people based on giving these circumstances stop subscribing to internet services or resorting to other options like subscription sharing, how can these ISP’s justify their investment and effort to improve services when the Government is not helping at all.
Funaki says:
We have been blessed with a mind of our own that we can use to make decisions and distinguish between right and wrong. I don’t need anyone from outside coming and telling me what is right and what is wrong.
Yagoob makes a similar point – and has a request for the Minister:
People should be free to do whatever they want online, whether it’s safe or sinful is really none of the government’s business… We are not cattle that need to herded and shown the ‘righteous’ or better put ‘the government’s’ way. […] Your Excellency, blocking these websites will in the short and long term continue to undermine the freedoms given to the Bahraini people through the constitution and depriving useful websites from the residents of Bahrain for no reason whatsoever. Please reconsider and lift the ban off these websites and let us as a people grow more knowledgeable, educated and inspired…
Hussain Yousif says:
I would like to thank the government for reminding us that Bahrain is still a new version of a third word country where freedom is something to talk about but not to experience.
Silly Bahraini Girl is scathing:
This isn't yet another move to curtail my freedom of expression as I am free to say and write what I want, not that anyone will listen to me. What I am not free to do is surf the Internet as I please, because I am a child in the eyes of the authorities – a child who should be told what I am allowed and not allowed to read. And since no one is listening, I would like to thank the authorities for blocking access to all those websites and would like to request it to block access to the entire Internet as frankly, we have no use with it.
Sous, a Swedish woman living in Bahrain, is furious:
THIS IS INSANE! IMMENSLY INSANE!!  I CAN’T BLOODY BREATHE! THIS IS INSANE!
Suad wonders:
Mohammed Zainal is in disbelief:
It is sad, seriously its not funny, my previous post was about how technology is evolving and how people are using it to develop new applications everyday, changing the media landscape, inspiring people with the web2.0 ++ tools and elements …
Is this what our “Age of Engage” ought to be?
MuJtAbA AlMoAmEn thinks that blocking sites is not the solution:
Hayat questions how the decision has been made:
Khalid says:
Qassim Ahmed has an idea:
In another post, Ammaro has decided he's figured out what's really going on:
Remember the Matrix? Remember how the whole world you lived in, which you believed was real, was in fact completely made up? Just a mirage? That's probably what the internet is in Bahrain. The internet was all a mirage created by the Bahrain government, to let you think that you're connecting to the outside world, when in reality we are kept very isolated from everything and everyone else. All the sites you've ever visited were set up by creative individuals in the Ministry of Information; every single one. There's a guy who writes the CNN website, and makes up the world news, another guy who writes the BBC website. It's sort of obvious that they're sitting next to each other when doing this; the news is almost exactly the same on both sites… […] We've been living a lie. The new website bans aren't really websites being ‘blocked’. It's actually a side effect from the Global Credit Crunch, where the Ministry has had to fire a large number of employees because of a shortage of funds, and couldn't sustain as many websites as it used to. Therefore the ban.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bangladesh: The Current State Of Telecommunications · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Journey SEO discusses the current state of telecommunications in Bangladesh in a series of posts.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Journalists Concerned · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Barbados Association of Journalists writes in its blog that it is “concerned by the recent notices issued by the Labour Department requiring freelance media personnel to register with the Chief Labour Officer and pay fees of $550…this action is unprecedented in the history of our island and in our view, has serious implications for our constitutional rights to freedom of expression.”


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Bolivia: Child Labor a Question of Culture? · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Vasquez of Un Boliviano en la Argentina [es] describes a recent conversation with some friends about the practice of child labor, and one wonders whether it is a question of culture noting that many rural children work in the field as a means of learning from parents.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bolivia: Under-20 Football Team Loses Yet Again · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

“More of the Same,” writes Jaime Galarza of Once a Once [es] regarding the latest in a string of international debacles by the Under-20 Bolivian National Team, who lost all three games in the first round of the South American football tournament.


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China: Name Change for the Minzu University of China · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Highpeakspureearth discusses the cultural political implications in the recent change of English name of “the Central University of Nationalities” to “Minzu University of China” (MUC) (since November 20th, 2008).

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Against Bullfighting in Medellín · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Andreata of Jovenes Pensantes [es] thinks that more people should protest the annual bullfighting festival in Medellín, Colombia since it is “another death celebrated by many insensitive persons and executed by those.. bullfighters.“


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Erin Brockovich wanted in Egypt · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Egyptian Blogger sued for slander and looses. Zeinobia wrote about Tamer Mabrouk who blogs from Port Said and who published a report supported by photography showing how “Trust Chemical Industries” Company was polluting the Lake Manzala with its chemical wastes from their factory. Author of “El Hakika” blog has to pay L.E 2500 as a fine and L.E 40,000 compensation for the company !!
Zeinobia says:
I feel sad because there were photos enough to open an investigation about the company and its environmental practices. Lake Manzala is from the most important salt lakes in Egypt. Thousands consider this lake as a source of living from fishing . Instead of supporting Tamer ,we stand beside those who destroy our environment :(
“Trust Chemical Industries” company was acquired by the Indian Sanmar group in 2007 by the way.
“TCI” won’t be the first pollutant factory that wins its battle against the people , we got other factories in Shobra El-Khaima and Kafr El-Sheikh and we are just giving up the struggle !!
Sometimes I believe that we can have our own Egyptian Erin Brockovich !!

author: Marwa Rakha


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Fiji: Bloggers discuss newspaper publisher’s deportation · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Fiji’s government deported the publisher for the Fiji Times Monday, January 26, a few days after the newspaper was found guilty of contempt of court and fined nearly $55,000 for printing a “scandalous” letter to the editor.
Rex Gardner, an Australian citizen, is the third foreign high-ranking media officer to be ordered out of Fiji in the past 12 months. Evan Hannah, the man Gardner replaced, was whisked out of the country in May because “he was a threat to national security.” On February 25, 2008, government officials told Russell Hunter, publisher of the Fiji Sun, he had to leave the country immediately for “conducting himself in a manner prejudicial to the peace, defence, public safety, public order, security and stability of the sovereign state of the Fiji Islands.”
Fiji authorities say that Gardner’s deportation stems from the guilty verdict handed to the Fiji Times on Thursday, January 22 for contempt of court for printing a letter to the editor criticizing the High Court for validating the legal maneuvers that dissolved Fiji’s Parliament after the December 2006 coup that brought Voreque Frank Bainimarama to power. It was Fiji’s forth coup since 1988. Gardner’s work permit was to expire at the end of February, but he was seeking a three-year extension.  (Blogger reaction to the court verdict is here.)
Local and regional media commentators largely criticized the deportation, which coincides with the country’s Attorney General meeting with members of the 16-nation Pacific Island Forum in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea over Fiji’s government backing off on a promise to hold elections in March 2009.  Tuesday, January 27, the organization gave Fiji a May 1 deadline to announce an election date that should take place this year or be suspended from the Forum.
Bainimarama, the country’s Prime Minister, did not attend the meeting because he is overseeing the relief efforts in the wake of recent flooding that took the lives of 11 people and caused an estimated $30 million in damages to infrastructure and crops in still incomplete assessments. Fiji is a former British colony whose population is currently composed of nearly 60 percent ethnic Fijians and slightly less than 40 percent Indo-Fijians, the descendants of immigrant workers brought to the islands by colonial rulers in the 19th century. Bainimarama has long maintained that he will not allow elections until his government has implemented changes to the nation’s electoral code that apportions seats in Parliament based on race. This process could take as long as five to 10 years, Bainimarama recently told members of the military at a parade.
Let’s get back to Gardner’s deportation.
The bloggers at IG Fiji fully supported the decision.
This has been long coming and Gardner should have realized long ago that any seditious comments or comments which have the possibility of raising instability in this country will have serious consequences on the individuals involved. The govt. along with the army will not be toyed with by unscrupulous people such as Gardner who concoct seditious stories merely to increase paper sales. We hope that this move will result in the media learning that every action carries a consequence and their recent behavior will not be tolerated by this govt. unlike the previous SDL govt. which used the media as its mouthpiece for spewing their propaganda all over the place. People such as [Fiji Television CEO Mesake] Nawari and other key media officials were all hand-picked by the SDL criminals and they ensured that every item published praised the govt. instead of exposing the rampant level of corruption going on inside the govt. and the fact that the govt. treasury was nearly empty.[Note: The SDL, or Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, government was overthrown in December 2006 by the current regime.]
As per the requirements of expatriate working conditions, any expatriate found to have been served with a sentence of a legal nature is in breach of their working contract and as such will be subject to deportation at the discretion of the govt. Gardner obviously thought this was a joke and flaunted this to the point where he reaped what he had effectively sowed. The govt. will continue to monitor all expatriates who come into Fiji and then try to dictate or impose their ideals on us. We will not allow such behavior and Gardners deportation should come as no surprise. Regardless of the comments that will no doubt follow this news, the NZ and Australian govts. are in no position to tell us what to do. Our country will be run according to the laws of Fiji and not other countries laws. Any expatriate who feels they have a right to comment in our local political affairs is mistake and will be taken to task if discovered.
At the Fiji Board Exiles, real jack argues that foreigners like Gardner must pay the consequences for breaking local law.
…Gardner is here on a work permit – which has clear stipulations regarding criminal offences committed in Fiji and convictions on those offences – its grounds for cancelling his work permit – the Fiji Times, their editor and their lawyer should have realised this whenit all started – it is a SERIOUS thing – instead they went and wrote a smart aleck apology in the papers and then they went and wrote a smart alec explanation – this is what happens when you have a cowboy editor, a cowboy lawyer and a gung ho publisher.
first of all they should have vetted that thing, second they should not have written that smart alec explanation / apology, and third they should have taken this thing seriously – if this is how they want to run their business then they would be better off becoming an NGO politicians group or something like that.
Kautillya contends the Fiji Times misses the point by arguing Gardner's deportation smacks of media intimidation.
It may be in the newspaper's best interest to make this look like some kind of an attack on the media – that the regime is going after rights in the constitution – Bill of Right regarding freedom of expression. That the publisher was guilty of some “crime” for publishing something that the regime did not like. That is why they are trying to tie this case with the previous deportations and make it look like there is a pattern of behavior on the part of the IG.
gdevreal wonders about the timing of the expulsion:
And do it on the day before the Forum for all the World to see.
It is time the nations of the world just stop recognizing Voreqe as having anything to do with Fiji. He gives the nation a bad name and he has no mandate, so why don't Australia and New Zealand pick a new leader for Fiji until the election can take place.
Fiji Girl calls the deportation predictable.
Why is this upsetting?  Well, it shows, in a telling way, that this illegal regime has no interest in any pillars of the democracy, such as free and unfettered media, independent judiciary, elections, human rights.  But we knew that already.
It means that the excellent journalists at The Fiji Times will wait and see who Gardner’s replacement is.  Will it be another old Fiji hand, like Gene Swinstead, or a new boy / girl on the block?  The feminist in me hopes News Corp will send a woman.  I’d love to see the military try their idiocy on a hard-boiled news she-hound.  It will be interesting to see what the Murdoch family’s next move is.
It is personally upsetting because I found Rex Gardner to be a decent man, an extremely talented old school journalist, and I think he had a lot more too offer Fiji and our future than this ridiculous, self-aggrandising illegal regime would ever permit.  That is a pity because right now we can use all the talent and help we can get, to get our beloved nation back on track.
But most of all it is upsetting because it proves, yet again, that Vore is a One Trick Pony.
Soli Vakasama asserts the deportation proves the current government can’t take criticism.
So the Fiji Times publishes a letter to the editor written by a correspondent concerned for the welfare of the citizens of Fiji and the illegal stance the interim regime has taken by hijacking a democratically elected government and preventing the country from moving forward. so what, it’s what the public can read and deduce for themselves.
Our meagre industries have collapsed, our rights have been violated, highly qualified citizens have been deprived of their jobs, yet the ignorant coup apologists feathering their nests with Piggy Bhainimarama pointing his trotters expect us to stay quiet.
Is there any wonder blogsites have sprung up overnight so people can disseminate their opinions on the illegal ignorant regime.
New Zealand academic Crosbie Walsh, who runs Fiji: The Way it Was, Is, and Can Be, a blog following unbalanced reporting in international coverage on Fiji, feels the deportation reveals the grave image and diplomatic difficulties facing Bainimarama’s so-called Interim Government.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this incident, it provides the IG's critics with more fuel for their fires, and is another example of the IG's diplomatic ineptness. The Government desperately needs wise advisers and spokesmen who think very carefully before they speak. If its cause is just, as it believes, it is certainly not winning any friends by Gardner's deportation.

author: John Liebhardt


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Fiji: Internet and BPO industry · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

According to The Coconut Wireless, Fiji needs to expand its internet infrastructure if it wants to attract investors in the Business Process Offshoring industry.

author: Mong Palatino


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Guyana: Going High-Tech · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana 360 maintains that the former First Lady is not the only one who has suffered “high-tech abuse” at the hands of the country's President.


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Hong Kong: Fortune Stick Reading · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN summarized local newspapers reports on fortune stick reading in Lunar new year. The unfavorable outcome stirred up a hot discussion about: who is the traitors inside home?


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Hungary: Budapest Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow posts two photo sets from a trip to Budapest last summer: street art and various city scenes.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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India: What does the fall of LTTE mean? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sandeep R. comments: “the tough stand of Indian government against LTTE could worsen the terror situation that India is already facing.”


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Iran: Political prisoners under more pressure · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ghomar Asheganeh, an Iran based blogger says  [fa] that “Iranian political prisoners have been under more pressure recently.They are forced to follow some religious activities such as prayer in order to meet and contact their family members”.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Is New Zealand bullying Fiji? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Kiwipolitico accuses New Zealand of being hypocritical and neo-imperialist for criticizing Fiji's military leadership yet it maintains trade and diplomatic relations with countries with “less than stellar human rights records.”


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Israel: Where is Mahmoud al-Zahar? · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

A Palestinian source was quoted on Sunday as saying that senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar was injured during the final days of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The paper also reported that Zahar was taken to Cairo, Egypt, before a medical team could reach the area of the Strip in which he was injured. No further details were given about either the severity of his injury or his current condition.
According to Awan’s report, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar [half Egyptian] is wounded in the last days of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and secretly transferred to Egypt by ambulances.
Effi Fuks writes:
(thanks for the link Nasser!)

author: Gilad Lotan


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Japan: Dual Employment System · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Adamu from Mutantfrog questions if the dual employment system is an asset for Japan to deal with the economic crisis.


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Egypt: “Kleenex” Literature at the Cairo International Bookfair · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

With more than 15 new titles, Egyptian bloggers took the 2009 Cairo International Book Fair by storm. Conventional writers label bloggers’ literature as “Kleenex” Literature. Ghada Abdel Aal spoke up on behalf of bloggers.
Ahmed Al Sabbagh wrote:
Ahmed Al Sabbagh also linked to Ghada's video [AR] where she started by defining bloggers’ literature as follows:
Like any other form of literature, blogging expresses a human being's thoughts, feelings, and inhibitions.
She also quoted Tawfiq El-Hakim describing the essence of real literature saying
It is the open air literature; the literary expression of freedom and passion; words that reach out from one heart to another exposing the depth of the human psyche in freedom, honesty, and sincerity. Tawfiq El-Hakim also said that our share of such kind of literature is minimal just as much as our share of honesty and openness is minimal – This is exactly what we as bloggers do.
Then she moved on to defending the simplicity of blogging:
In an interview, Mr. Youssef Al Ka'eed said that if you need 10 words to express a thought then use just 10 words to express that thought. There is no need to show off our lexicon, since our aim as writers is to deliver our messages in the most comprehendible form. Hence, we are not shallow … we are merely simple and writing a light fun entertaining book is not a crime.


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Latvia: Economy Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An update on the economic situation in Latvia – at Edward Hugh's Latvia Economy Watch.


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Latvia: Flash Mob To Support Public Radio · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Free Speech Emergency in Latvia writes that “employees of Latvia's public service radio (Latvijas Radio) have called for a flash-mob to gather near the parliament (Saeima) building for five minutes on Friday, January 30 to stand in complete silence to protest the “silencing” of the national radio service through budget cuts and a large deficit apparently cause by negligence by persons and authorities responsible for the oversight of its operations.”


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Mexico: Startling Discovery in Tijuana · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Hache [es] writes about the recent discovery of a man hired by drug cartels in Tijuana, Mexico who disposed the bodies of a reported 300 murdered victims in cauldrons of acid and that the man felt “nothing.” He also claimed that “it is a common job.”


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Pakistan: Lawyers And The President · Global Voices
Rezwan

Teeth Maestro discusses about the recent controversy regarding Pakistan president Zardari's remark on the lawyers’ protest.


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Peru: Interview with Juan Arellano · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Global Voices in Spanish coordinator Juan Arellano is interviewed by Ikitozz City [es] about the Peruvian blogosphere and his work at Global Voices.


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Poland: Racism, Bad Roads and Euro 2012 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Writing about Euro 2012 and racism, the beatroot concludes: “There are some nasty little racists at Poland’s football stadia, but believe me, Poland’s roads are a lot bigger threat to the fabric of society – and international football tournaments – than those idiots.”


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Poland, UK: “Reverse Migration of Poles” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As more Poles are reportedly leaving the UK, the POLSKI blog notes that “it may imply that the era of cheap Polish labour – and jokes – might be coming to an end…”


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Romania: Rural Life in the EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tessa Bunney, who photographed rural life in the Carpathians of Romania, wrote this about the implications of the EU accession for some of the subjects of her photos: “The Romanian government’s interpretation of EU policy has resulted in the banning of horse and carts and hand milking of cows. No animals are to be kept within 200m of the house. If they decide to strictly implement these rules it will be the end of the family farm. No animals will mean no hay and the landscape will change forever.”


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Russia: Blog as Mass Media Outlet · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user ottenki-serogo is the first Russian blogger to have officially registered his blog as a mass media outlet. Many readers are asking: “What for?” One of the 168 comments to the post (RUS) with a scanned copy of the registration certificate, by LJ user vlada_lad (RUS): “Good thing that readers don't have to register anywhere yet. :)”


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Russia: “Economic Shock Therapy” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog cites the director of the Serbsky State Scientific Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry, who says that “since the financial crisis requests for psychologists have grown by 10 percent and psychotherapy by 20 percent. So much so that the Center has opened a hotline for people in psychological distress.”


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Russia: “Izbrannoe” Stops Publication; Gryzlov’s Crisis Denial · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow links to LJ user barabanch‘s report (RUS) that the online magazine Izbrannoe has stopped publication, and notes on Boris Gryzlov's denial of the economic crisis.


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Russia: Medvedev vs Putin’s Espionage Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

RFE/RL's The Power Vertical reports that president Medvedev “has instructed his administration to re-work a controversial bill broadening the definition of treason and espionage to assure that it doesn't violate human rights.”


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Slovenia: Honoring Auschwitz Survivors · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr. Filomena dedicates a post to her grandfather’s sister, an Auschwitz survivor: “She was not a Jew, she was not Roma, she was simply the sister of a man who would not bow to the territory-hungry aggressor who’d tried to make his Slovenian family deny its roots and turn its members into his nationally correct citizens.”


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Sri Lanka: After The War · Global Voices
Rezwan

Darini Rajasingham Senanayake at Groundviews opines that the long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka cannot be solved by military means alone. “It would require a political solution that ensures power-sharing with the minorities in the north and east. Otherwise the LTTE would very likely regroup and return to fight another day, as has occurred in the past.”


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The plight of the Rohingya · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Rohingya have been called “trafficked victims”, “refugees”, “forced migrants” and “illegal migrants”. The Irrawaddy provides a comprehensive background to the situation of the Rohingya. This issue has involved Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and even the United States.


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Trinidad & Tobago: New Grassroots Effort  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“As tens of thousands come together in Belem, Brazil for the…World Social Forum, we send early word of a parallel volunteer, grassroots effort coming out of the Caribbean to extend the debate over globalization and the global economic crisis into new realities of social justice, equity, sustainable development, and peace for our region”: Trinidad-based blogger S. Cupid Theodore explains.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Pelham and Pan  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Free Radio publishes another podcast, this time focusing on “veteran producer and steel orchestra arranger, Pelham Goddard” as he discusses the evolution of steel pan music.


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Two-party system inappropriate for Singapore? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

groundnotes criticizes Singapore's Prime Minister for saying that political change cannot come from the opposition but from within the ruling party and that a two-party system is not suitable for Singapore because it doesn't have enough talent.


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Ukraine: Medical Center for Street Children · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scenes from the Sidewalk posts pictures and writes about the only medical center in Kyiv “where street children can get medical attention without documents”: “Many At-Risk Children or street children do not have these documents and will be turned away at the door if they try to get medical attention. (I have been through this experience with a child I tried to help. It was pretty ugly.) Most of these children would not even consider going to a doctor if they needed it, because they know they will be turned away.”


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Africa: Of Investments and Trade in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Yangu discusses the future of trade and investment on the African continent. He argues that, “That Investment opportunities in Africa have expanded over the past few years is no longer a matter of conjecture but rather an issue that a lot of analysts, venture capitalists and investors at large are exploring with a lot of gusto. For a continent that was often synonymous with political strife, ethnocentric skirmishes, disease and immense poverty, this paradigm shift is at the very least, very impressive.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Armenia: Army Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

517 Design [RU] posts photographs of a youth procession to the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan to mark yesterday's Army Day in Armenia. The national holiday also gave the blog the opportunity to reflect on the 17th anniversary of formation of the Armenian army.


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Azerbaijan: Democratization Under Siege · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines comments on the state of democracy in Azerbaijan and wonders about the country's future now that foreign radio broadcasts have effectively been banned and a referendum to remove the two-term restriction on the presidency is scheduled for March.


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Bangladesh: Urban Life · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ashley Wheaton at The Dhaka Diaries portrays the urban life of Bangladesh through a series of photo essays.