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Bolivia: When Nationalization is Not Enough · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

As the violent course of events calmed down in the city of Cochabamba, another conflict emerged in the city of Camiri, located in the southeastern part of Bolivia known as the Gran Chaco.   The population was protesting that the hydrocarbons nationalization announced by President Evo Morales last May had not gone far enough.  Since most of the area’s economy depends on this industry, groups took to the streets and attempted to enter some of the facilities of the state-run petroleum company Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).
Mario Duran of the blog Palabras Libres provides a summary of what some in the Bolivian blogosphere says about this decision and the subsequent consequences.  Duran provides this contribution to the Global Voices Online weekly Bolivian blog summary.
Without a doubt, what happened in the city of Camiri was the dominant topic of discussion in relation to the social events of Bolivia.  Willy Andres compared the demands of Camiri with what the Morales administration offered:
Las demandas de Camiri- Exigen al Gobierno consolidar presupuestos y condiciones para que funcione la Gerencia Nacional de Exploración y Explotación de YPFB.
– Recuperar los campos cerrados y marginales del país, que no tuvieron inversión para ser operados.
– Promover y apoyar la industrialización de los hidrocarburos a partir de las regiones productoras para consolidar una política energética en la provincia Cordillera.
– Promover la recompra de las refinerías de Santa Cruz y Cochabamba, por ser estratégicas para el control y abastecimiento interno de los productos derivados del petróleo.
The demands of Camiri
-Pressure the government into consolidating budgets and ensuring conditions so that the Management of the Exploration and Exploitation of YPFB and operate
-Restore the closed and marginal fields of the country that did not have the investment necessary to operate
-Promote and support the industrialization of the hydrocarbons in the productive regions in order to consolidate an energy policy in the Cordillera province.
-Promote the purchase of the Santa Cruz and Cochabamba refineries because of their strategic position in the control and internal supply of petroleum-derived products.
The blog Palabras Libres [ES] describes a report he heard on the Erbol radio broadcast.
Una señora con lagrimas señalaba que. “no vamos a retroceder en la lucha”. Camiri que esta en estribaciones de la serrania esta cubierta de gases. Un representante de la Asamblea del Pueblo Guarani (APG) se pregunta: ¿Cómo un gobierno indígena va a reprimir asi a sus hermanos?. Se siguen escuchando disparos, la gente se dispersa, pero las barricadas siguen de pie y la gente no retrocede. Un intelectual pregunta: ¿es este el dialogo a balas que nos ofrece Evo Morales?
A woman with tears in her eyes said, “we will not go backwards in the fight.” Camiri is located in the foothills of the mountains where the gas is plentiful.  A representative of the Guaraní Peoples Assembly asked, “How could an indigenous government repress its own brothers like that?  You can still hear shots being fired and the people are dispersing, but the barricades remain standing and the people are not retreating.  An intellectual asks, “is this the dialogue with bullets that Evo Morales offers?”
The blog Autonomia Ya! [ES] Publisher text griten by the engineer Jironda, who analyzes the need to depoliticize YPFB.
Lo que ahora queda es darle al sistema una sostenibilidad adecuada, buscando mas mercados para nuestros recursos naturales no renovables y por otro lado profundizar la exploración. Acordémonos que si tomamos mas mercados de gas natural y/o gas natural líquido, las inversiones van a llegar, lo estamos viendo con la firma de los contratos. Este es un gran desafío para YPFB, que insistimos debe despolitizarse, ya que solo con una cabeza política, podrá cumplir a cabalidad el plan del Ejecutivo, YPFB es y debe ser una empresa comercial, basada en un sustento técnico muy importante, solo esta forma de trabajo podrá colocar a YPFB a nivel de muchas transnacionales.
What remains to be done is to provide an adequate sustainability by looking for more markets for our natural, non-renewable resources, and to increase exploration.  If we acquire more markets for the natural gas or liquid natural gas, more investment will come, as we are seeing with the signed contracts.  This is a great challenge for YPFB, and we insist that it should be depoliticized, and that with only one head can the plan of the government be fulfilled.  It should be a commercial enterprise based on technical expertise.  Only with this model, can YPFB be placed on the level of other multinational companies.
Hugo Miranda of Angel Caido [ES] reflects on the quality of professionals in YPFB.
Para negociar contra el Ejercito de abogados, ingenieros, economistas, etc, y mas profesionales que tiene PETROBRAS S.A. para que sus negocios anden bien, no solo en Bolivia sino en el mundo entero, se necesita profesionales a la altura y lastimosamente esos profesionales bolivianos que podrian dar algo de batalla no son del MAS (requisito indispensable para entrar a cualquier cargo publico) o se encuentran ya dando todo su conocimiento a alguna Transnacional puesto que lo que te paga cualquiera de estas Transnacionales es realmente lo que vales y ademas te paga para que le hagas ganar dinero no para derrocharlo
In order to negotiate against the army of lawyers, engineers, economists and other professionals that PETROBRAS S.A. has to ensure that its business goes well, not only in Bolivai, but in the entire world, one needs that level of professionals.  Unfortunately, the Bolivian professionals that could contribute something to battle are not from the MAS political party (an indispensable requirement to enter in any public position) or they are already contributing their knowledge to a multinational company that already pays what you are worth.  In addition, they pay you in order to make them money not to bring them down.
In addition to adding his thoughts on the amount of professionals in this important industry, Miranda includes his own stick-figure drawing comparing Bolivian professionals in YPFB as kindergarteners and their rival Brazilian counterparts.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Cambodia: Missing Cambodian Fruits · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Cambodia native Himatsubushi currently living in Japan wishes he had Cambodian fruits to cure his vitamin deficiency.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Preetam Rai


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Caribbean: Another music download site · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

de cooler: soca news announces the arrival of Faluma Digital, a new Caribbean music download site.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Caribbean: New online literary magazine · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Caribbean Free Radio announces the arrival of a new Caribbean online literary magazine;  Nicholas Laughlin provides an excerpt from one of the pieces in the inaugural issue.


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Caught On Camera: Human Rights Video on GV · Global Voices
Sameer Padania

It has been a bumper few weeks on GV for human rights video, so let's get straight into it…
Bandh of brothers… [via Neha]
This footage, filmed by Dinesh Wagle, of United We Blog!, shows motorcycle riders being turned backed by members of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs in Kathmandu.  The NFNTE had called a bandh (strike) prohibiting vehicles from running on the streets, after public buses were torched in an earlier protest during the instability in Terai.
I'd love to know what's actually said in the exchange between the two sides  – any offers to post a transcript or to subtitle via dotsub or elsewhere?
Wagle offers a worrying perspective on the unpredictability of life in Nepal at the moment:
“[…] it’s indeed hard to predict the political and other developments in today’s Nepal. The trend of creating anarchy and take advantage of such situation has increased over the past several months. There is a kind of planned competition to exploit the situation. You never know what’s going to happen when. Anyone can call a Nepal banda any time. General public has to face the difficulties caused by such prompt and unnecessary decisions. Public have always become the victim of such bandas in the past. What can they do other than quietly suffer?”
FarsiTube, Alexander Litvinenko, strikes in Lebanon, maids protesting at the beach in Peru, vlogging from UAE, and clashes in Bolivia after the jump…
FarsiTube shows a different side to life in Iran [via Hamid]
Iranian YouTube hommage FarsiTube holds reasonable quality footage of the 2006 Women's Day march in Tehran that was broken up violently by police.
The site holds a variety of material, including a documentary about the execution of 16-year-old girl Attafeh Sahaaleh.
It's one of a rash of sites like DocuTube using the “+tube” format – if you've come across another one, share it below, or mail me.
The half-life of Litvinenko [via Veronica]
If this video story from Polish newspaper Dziennik is true, the discovery of Alexander Litvinenko's face on a special forces shooting-range target is pretty embarrassing for the Russian authorities, even if the original video does date from 2002:
[Originally from Dziennik]
Russo-phobic blog The Russophobe takes up the story and AP adds more.
Beirut burns as strike leads to clashes [via Moussa]
In late January the Lebanese opposition called a general strike in protest against the government, and finkployd of Blogging Beirut took several videos of the resulting clashes between “Christians of Hazmieh, Beirut, Lebanon and the Demonstrating (with rock throwing and tire burning) Muslims of West Beirut, on January 23, 2007 […]” – the longest of which is below:Video by finkployd of Blogging Beirut
After these pictures were taken, Sunni-Shia fighting broke out in Beirut, and a fight in a student cafeteria spilled over into wider violence.  A curfew was imposed across Beirut in an attempt to restore order.  According to Al-Ahram, tensions remained high over the weekend, and neither the government nor the opposition looks likely to back down.  An estimated 300,000 citizens demonstrated in support of the government on Wednesday on the second anniversary of Rafik Hariri‘s assassination.
Cleaners take protest littorally [via Juan and David]
Hundreds marched onto the beaches of Asia, a Peruvian resort south of Lima, under the banner “Basta de Racismo” (Stop Racism), after domestic workers were banned from swimming at the beaches before sunset – despite a law which prohibits restricting access to the sea.
There are several videos of the protest – a brief taster of Operativo de la Empleada Audaz (Operation Bold Employee), as the action was called, below:
There's a longer version here.
David also sent me a video purporting to show two young men in Lima harassing and abusing their family's domestic worker.  In a post at Peruanista, Carlos A Quiroz appealed for any information as to the identity of the domestic worker or the family, and asked readers to visit YouTube, and to flag the video for “graphic and violent content”.  The video has now been taken down (“due to terms of use violation”), and Peruanista has posted an update, and a host of videos on the broader issue of violence against women in Peru, at “If you beat your wife, watch these”.
This is the first concrete example I have seen of users being mobilised to flag content of this kind, but I am sure there are others – let me know below, or by email.
UAE students vlog on bloggers [via Amira]
This comes out of, I am guessing, a journalism program in the UAE, as the site is entitled “Broadcasters of Tomorrow”.  Please send me more links of this kind, as I'd love to see more examples of local perspectives on human rights stories from around the world.
Cochabamba clashes over coca [via Eduardo]
Finally, Eduardo Avila's superb overview of Bolivia's Black January clashes in Cochabamba, which is required reading and viewing (see videos from YouTubers nenamade and estotaweno), ends with these words:
“A witness in the story stated that the cocaleros (coca growers) had filmed the entire incident [of the death of 17-year-old Cristian Urresti] on a camera. That video could provide clues as to who was ultimately responsible for the brutal death, but it is very unlikely that video will ever find its way to sites like YouTube.”
As this tour of recent videos on GV shows, there's precious little that won't be on YouTube, Ikbis, DailyMotion and MetaCafe before long…

author: Sameer Padania


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Central Asia & Caucasus: Nonmarket Economies · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net discovers a law proposed in the United States Congress that would slap all of Central Asia and the Caucasus except Kazakhstan with extra tariffs because they would be considered to be economies not functioning on market principles.

author: Nathan Hamm


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China and Hong Kong: Ai Xiao-ming · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An interview with mainland China independent film maker Ai Xiao-ming on the Vagina Monologue at interlocals.net.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: greenify · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Peijin Chen from Shanghaiist shows how local governments “greenify” the landscape.


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China: Valentines Day Caption Contest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Onemanbandwidth holds a caption contest of a striking photo which puts soldiers and heart together.


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Egypt: More Dangerous than a Monkey.. · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egypt-based blogger Tom Gara is still in stitches over Hugo Chavez's description of George Bush Junior.   “I really think that describing George Bush as “More dangerous than a monkey with a razor blade” is a perfect, beautifully descriptive analogy. Spot on. Anyone know if this is a common turn of phrase in Spanish? Never heard it before in English…I laughed out loud when I first read it,” he writes.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Ethiopia: detained lawyer released · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Berhane Mogese, the lawyer who was accused of trying to overthrow the government through unconstitutional means, was released by court today after a year of detention. Berhane was arrested in March 2006,”  Ethiopian Life, Culture, Politics and Arts reports.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ethiopia: lives are shared · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A blogger's impression after visiting home, Ethiopia, from China, “Lives are shared. People remember what you did or didn't do years after events have passed. Relationships feel permanent, not in a stagnant boring way but in a manner that is cadenced and reassuring.”


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Guadeloupe: Criticizing the French Socialist Party · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Toto criticizes (Fr) the French Socialist Party: ” Blinded by their ideological rage from another time, they can't stop wanting to instaure a so-called social justice. A social justice which has for main ingredient and main weakness … its tendency to attack property.”

author: Alice Backer


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Guinea: Conté Declares State of Siege · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Senegalese blogger Alex Seck resumes his watch of Guinean developments (Fr): “Dictator Lansana Conté has … appeared in a radio and tv broadcast during which  he announced a Presidential decree instituting the state of siege until Feb. 23 … In short, Conté is choosing escalation … All evidence indicates that Guinea is falling into inexorable anarchy and chaos. Lansana Conté will not be able to avoid his despot's destiny. “


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Guyana: Digicel has landed · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Guyana is abuzz like we have never seen before for a product or service,” writes MediaCritic in his report on the frenzy which has enveloped Guyana in anticipation of today's launch of the new cellular service provider Digicel.


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Haiti: Carnaval preview · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Karlito previews this year's carnaval celebrations in Haiti, predicting that singer Sweet Micky, “will rock Champs de Mars”. He also reports that the new web site http://www.haiticarnaval.org/ will carry a live feed and frequently updated photos for “the diaspora’s viewing pleasure.”


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Haiti: Cité Soleil raids and judiciary · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Jojo at Collectif Haiti de Provence reacts to a story about a recent UN raid in Cité Soleil, alleged siege of the gang leaders who have terrorized the capital with kidnappings: “We acknowledge with emotion and desolation the total blackout on the judiciary activity that should end the process begun by the police. The restructuring of the judicial system is too slow; certain judges have been pinpointed as corrupt judges who were making money by issuing decisions that free real bandits in exchange for huge sums … The judiciary being s o weak, public opinion will start judging the efficiency of peace keping by the number of bandits killed, dead in combat or  … executed. A situation which may have ambiguous effects on public opinion. “


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India: A rather dismal Delhi · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

In Small Pieces on the dismal state of affairs in Delhi. “The same day, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) razes a Mughal era monument in Gurgaon to acquire land for the Delhi Metro. The same day, the Delhi govt unveils Master Plan 2021, which imagines, improbably, endless skyscrapers and pedestrian and cycle tracks.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Kiva, money and lending · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kiran writes on his experience with loaning money at Kiva. “Row after row of picture, description and loan status. Who do I loan to? How do I tell who is more deserving? I might as well have rolled dice and picked the corresponding row. I can’t imagine what Kiva could do to make this better apart from signing up with partners in geographic areas I’m more familiar with, like India or Southeast Asia.”


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Indonesia: Jakarta Flooding · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Java Jive has posted images of from his flood affected neighbourhood in Jakarta. The blogger also describes how he and other Jakarta residents coped with the floods.


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Iran:Ecstasy in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari says that easily you can find and consume ecstasy in Tehran[Fa].He shares his experience where a friend of his invited him to a ecstasy party.The blogger did not consume ecstasy but got surprised to see how easily you can get it.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq – Draft Oil Law Published · Global Voices
Salam Adil

The new oil law planned by the Iraqi government is controversial to say the least. The fact that it is being discussed in secret is doubly so. New blog Al-Ghad gets a leaked copy of the new draft law and publishes the document together with an expert commentary (in Arabic).

author: Salam Adil


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Israel: Apartheid Promoter Jimmy Carter · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Sultan Knish trashes Jimmy Carter for visiting Sudan here.
“Jimmy Carter, freelance moral ambassador to the world, vociferous critic of any free country trying to protect itself from the menace of terrorism, particularly the United States and Israel… is taking a little trip to Africa,” he writes.


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Jamaica: Moving back · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Francis Wade posts an email from a reader who wishes to return to Jamaica but is concerned about crime, along with his response.


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Japan: homeless · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PingMag interviewed a German artist Anke Haarmann who did a documentary about Japan homeless landscape called Public Blue.


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Japan: powder RFID chips · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Edo at Pink Tentacle reports that Hitachi had unveiled a tiny, new “powder” type RFID chip measuring 0.05 x 0.05 mm which they aimed to begin marketing in 2 to 3 years.


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Jordan: Support Dibbin Forest · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger The Black Iris is spearheading a campaign to protect a forest from destruction. Click here to support the drive.


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Kyrgyzstan: Kulov · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tolkun Umaraliev notes that Kulov is not only the former prime minister of Kyrgyzstan but also a popular vodka in many parts of the world.


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Latvia: “Halves” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peteris Cedrins, a Latvia-based blogger who took this picture of a house in Daugavpils, writes:
One house, two worlds. Many of the older houses in Daugavpils are being transmogrified by cheap plastic windows, poor cores wrapped in the dull facades of a poor and tasteless modernity.
Daugavpils is the second-largest Latvian city, pop. 108,260 people. It used to be called Dinaburg from 1275 to 1893, Borisoglebsk from 1656 to 1667, and Dvinsk from 1893 to 1920.
More of Cedrin's Daugavpils photos are here.
His blog, Marginalia, is here.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Madagascar: A Win-Win Solution to Deforestation · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Harinjaka  posts  and cites (Fr) a video by CommerceEquitable.com: “[The organization] … decided to create the cooperative Equimada which put in place a project of  tree planting coupled with an equitable commerce project. The project seeks to create an economic alternative to deforestation. This encourages peasants to plant trees rather than destroy them, by promising to buy their harvest at the correct price. “


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Martinique: The Dangers of Nationalism · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi],  deploring the emergence of a movement led by novelist  Raphaël Confiant in Martinique, cites the words of Guadeloupean Professor Jacky Dahomey (Fr): “Nationalism, a political ideology of social linkage invented in Europe, especially in its excessive form, is what we should not copy here. But be clear that I am not confusing nation and nationalism. “


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Mayotte: En Route to the Farmer’s Market · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Expat blog Mayotte L'Ile au Lagon posts (Fr) annotated pictures of a stroll to the farmer's market of Labattoir. Says the blog: ” Wild mint grows along the road and invades the atmosphere with its tonic smell.  Toothpaste in the outdoors…!!!”


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Myanmar: Arming the Junta · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Yangon Thu is urging Myanmar's neighbours to stop arming the ruling Junta. “The Burmese junta doesn’t need anymore carrots. They need sticks and they need to be beaten with it. OK, if you aren't going to beat them, at least could you starve them? A little? I mean, most of the rich generals in power are so fat anyway, they will thank you for lowering their cholesterol.”


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Nepal: Our very own bishop · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Pope's benediction for Nepal – a bishop. Nepali Netbook says “If anyone had it all worked out these bewildering past months, it surely was Pope Benedict XVI. Nine months after the secularization of the Nepali state, the pontiff has elevated the Apostolic Prefecture of Nepal to the rank of apostolic vicariate. This means Nepal will now have its very own bishop.”


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Nepal: Tax heaven for greedy dodgers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

With Blogdai one never knows the line between sarcasm and pragmatism. The post presents some radical ideas for Nepal. “Make Nepal and international tax haven. Rich foreigners fleeing tax reporting rules in their home country will take a keen interest in preserving Nepal should their little tax shelter be compromised. Allow corporate and maritime registration, if possible, to further benefit the greedy dodgers. “


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Nigeria: the heartbeat of Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Oluniyi Ajao blogs about his experience in Nigeria, “I’ve been in Nigeria since Sunday, so I am well-informed about what I am writing about right now. I just saw an ad on CNN, about Nigeria – the Heartbeat of Africa. I am sad to say that this is just another waste of public funds my the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.”


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Philippines: Call for Help for a Fellow Blogger · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

J. Angelo Racoma describes a case where a fellow Filipino blogger Abe is being sued by a company for hosting an online forum on his web hosting business. The forum had some discussion that the company found offensice. The blogger posted details on how others can help Abe.


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Poland: Football Crisis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about corruption and hooliganism in Polish football.


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Re-writing the history of Cambodia · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

Cambodia’s most prominent literary scholar Keng Vannsak lately unveiled a shocking finding of the life of twelfth-century King Jayavarman VII. As a Buddhist ruler of the Khmer Empire, the sage king who governed the kingdom during its most glorious period in the history, is regarded with great respect and widely known for a potent symbol of national pride for present day Cambodians.
Image from Wikipedia article on King JayavarmanVII
In a series of interviews aired on Khmer Radio Free Asia, Keng Vannsak, now in his 80s, claimed the ancient king was “an utterly ruthless monarch; and that it was he who caused the downfall of the Khmer empire by building too many temples.” A young poet, who often quotes the literary works of the scholar, was astonishingly disappointed by the claims as he expresses that
“As a well-respected scholar, Mr. Vannsak should know which source is worth quoting or analyzing. In this case, however, he shows a complete disregard for academic standards. And it serves him nothing but to weaken his credibility.”
Yet, Thom Vanak believes the pro-French scholar's comment makes sense to him. Rather being silent, he sent a supportive letter to Radio Free Asia editor to keep broadcasting the interview even though it has outraged many and sparked criticism.
Dear Khmer RFA,
Professor Keng Vansak is well respected by majority of us here in Srok Khmer. His insightful research is well received everywhere. Please continue to have the interview session with the professor or otherwise we would be left with the annals of darkness in our Khmer history. Sincerely,
Thom Vanak
Svay Rieng
History has its shadow. Historians study past human activities by making attempt to answer historical questions through the study of written documents, although historical research is not limited merely to these sources. Scholars of ancient Khmer civilization have practically no written records to draw on significant parts of the king's life. However, in historical fiction titled the King's Last Song, Canadian-born author Geoff Ryman describes how the legendary Jayavarman VII (Victory Shield) united the nation and founded the great temples at Angkor. This is simply what Cambodians in this 21st century believe. In the novel, Jayavarman VII is perceived as the great civilizer, while Pol Pot as the great destroyer.
Blogger Sopheak felt both Radio Free Asia and Khmer-language academic should apologize the Khmer nation.

author: Tharum Bun


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Russia: Abramovich · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Roman Abramovich news at Siberian Light – here and here. (He's no longer Russia's richest man but is still the governor of Chukotka.)


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Russia: Article on TV and LJ · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow translates a 2005 article by Yuri Saprykin on the Russian TV and blogging: “Of course, I can't say I agree with all of the author's conclusions, and maybe not even with his main point. After all, I'm not one to criticize people for sitting in front of their computers – or their TV's – from dawn to dusk (or vice versa). Glass houses and all that.”


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Russia: Kaliningrad Restoration · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude continues to write about the attempts to rebuild Kaliningrad: “Kaliningrad is a complete paradox. After the war, while German prisoners of war were rebuilding whole Russian town centres like Novgorod completely in the elegant German style, Russians were busy reprocessing Konigsberg into the poured concrete, Soviet mould.”


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Saudi Arabia: Clear Succession Mechanism · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arabist praises Saudi Arabia for developing a clear succession mechanism for its monarchy. “Contrast that with the utter confusion over Egypt’s own succession system — the refusal of President Mubarak to appoint a vice-president in 25 years and the uncertainty about whether Gamal Mubarak, Omar Suleiman, or someone else altogether will succeed Mubarak,” writes Issandr El Amrani.


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Saudi Arabia: Muslim Swimsuit?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi blogger Khloud tells us about an Islamic swimsuit developed in Australia for Muslim life guards.


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Senegal: Candidates Should Declare Assets · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blog Politique du Sénégal  writes(Fr):”Ïnstead of telling us for the umpteenth time that they believe in ethics and morals … [candidates] should declare their assets. The law doesn't require it but who made the laws?… After all no one is forcing them to run for the highest office! ”


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Senegal: President Wade Wants A Nuclear Plant · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blog Politique du Sénégal writes (Fr): “ [President] Wade … announced that he wants a nuclear power plant. Just what we needed! … Senegal doesn't even have the means to pay for the plant's enclosure, never mind the plant itself! “


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South Korea: artificial beauty · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Michael Hurt from Scribblings of the Metropolitician maps the changing notion of beauty with the development of plastic surgery in South Korea.


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Sudan: candlelight vigil for Darfur · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sudanese Thinker announces the candlelight vigil for Darfur, “A huge thank you to the American Islamic Congress and all others involved for launching a Muslim and Arab initiative to help the people in Darfur.”


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Sudan: unpaid peacekeepers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Soldier of Africa reports that the African Union does not pay its peacekeepers on time, “When I returned from my leave in early January I received my money for October and that was the last money I have seen. This situation of late payments by the AU has been ongoing for all the time I have been here and has already forced me to have to change my leave plans once.”


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Taiwan: Ma Ying jeou · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yesterday, Taipei city Mayor Ma Ying jeou was indicted for embezzlement, resigns as KMT chair, then announces presidential bid.
Michael Turton translated some reports from mainstream media.
ESWN translated a poll from TVBS on public reaction towards Ma's announcement.


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Taiwan: The Justice Won Again · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

After Ma Yin-Jou, the chair of opposition party KMT got sued for corruption, prominent Taiwanese blogger, munch, immediately expressed his thoughts in a blog post titled “Ma gets sued! The Justice won again!“(zh) In the post he mentions that right now the Justice in Taiwan has finally proved its gut against the upper class and bigwigs after suing the President's wife, his son in law, and the popular Presidential candidate Ma Yin-Jou.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Thailand: Ministry of Culture’s 10 Commandments of Thai Love · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Steve Suphan blogs about Thai Culture Ministry's recently launched 10 commandments of love. The ministry feels that the 10 points will help them discipline teenagers.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Dishonesty in advertising · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidad blogger Mani wonders how the people behind a new energy drink being subtly advertised as having the power to alleviate the effect of alcohol can sleep at night.


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Ukraine: Children’s Book · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukraine List writes about the adaptation of Richard Scarry's The Best Word Book Ever into Ukrainian and French.


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Valentine Special: Is Love in the Air in the Middle East?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

If a picture says a thousand words, this is the image Cece, who is based between Bahrain and Kuwait, has posted to sum up how she feels about Valentine's Day.
Although she isn't alone in shunning the tradition, which is fairly new to the region, for others it is a time to celebrate.
Amal, also from Bahrain, says whether single or attached, Valentine's Day has a special flare.
“Though us single ones might be too scared of the nauseating red roses and evil heart-shaped chocolates, though the hooked might be too lazy, though the whatever are too whatever, love still conquers all and leaves all our knees wobbling on the ground and our hearts somersaulting in the sweet air..” she writes.
For Kuwaiti blogger Desert Girl, there is nothing which can take away the sentiments and memories Valentine's Day brings with it.
“VALENTINE’S DAY!!! I LOVE Valentine’s Day. Next to my birthday, it is my very favorite holiday. I love all things Valentine. Love it, love it, love it. I used to get nice, sentimental gifts on Valentine’s day. I suppose those days are gone. (Heavy sigh, pain in my heart.) Ree-ru (ancient history fiancé) gave me a very cool bunny holding a heart one year with ears that moved back and forth and a nose that wiggled. I love bunnies. I think that was the most amazing, thoughtful thing; and so cheap and simple. See, that’s just it – big things are nice to receive, but simple thoughtful things stay in your heart/mind. It wasn’t the jewelry, the cars, the trips, the money… it was that damn bunny that I still have in my sister’s basement that I remember the most,” she writes.
Still in Kuwait, Flamingoliya sums up her excitement about Valentine's in one line:
“Tomorrow’s Valentine’s Day & I’m in love. Don’t ask me with whom. They are too many,” she writes.
In comparison, nothing managed to lift Bahrain-based Scarlett's spirits this Valentine's Day.
“I was feeling kind of guilty for not getting in the spirit of the day at work today.  Everyone it seems has made an effort to do something in their appearance in red, white or pink or a combination of the three, yet here I sat in brown and black.
Glorious arrangements of flowers came traipsing by on their way to ladies with considerate husbands or significant others. One was a red birdcage with two adorable parakeets in it covered in blood-red roses. (the cage, not the birds)
It was actually the cage and the outfit of the girl who received it that was my breaking point. Well, that and the fact that people kept asking what’s wrong with me, saying I look tired/like I’ve been crying- and I haven’t been (although emotionally drained and not enough sleep, but jeez, still!). So I figured “screw it”, and prayed that I hadn’t taken that tube of Chanel’s Premier Rouge RED lipstick out of my makeup case.
Thankfully I hadn’t. Off to the ladies’ I go to meticulously apply my RED war paint……hence here I sit, glaring red pucker in place,” she explains.
Meanwhile, The Black Iris from Jordan, has made up his mind that he will not blog about Valentine on Valentine's Day.
He is adamant that on Valentine's Day, he will not blog about:
…the most common topics:…Love or lack there of.…How it’s just another Hallmark holiday out to break our financial spirits.…How it’s a sign of cultural colonization of the Middle East.…How it’s an emblem of social erosion that will lead to our eventual downfall as a society civilization.
On Valentine’s Day I will not, I will not, I will NOT blog about…The sad scene of people buying 40JD red teddy bears from Safeway.…On Valentine’s Day I will not post…A fatwa…A love poem or an email forward about love…or email forwards with cute puppies and kittens in baskets…Generic love chain letters that flood my inbox.
Wait. Pause. Stop.
On Valentine’s I will not blog about Valentine’s Day.
For An Englishman in Saudi Arabia, Valentine's Day is yet another commercial celebration.
“The transparent commercialism of Valentines Day bothers me a bit. It's nice if you're single and have your eyes on someone special, but if you're a married man why should you buy roses and a card for your wife on just this one day of the year? Wouldn’t it mean more if you bought them spontaneously? The social pressure makes the gesture hollow.
But… we've been married for many years and due to local customs this is the first time that we've failed to buy each other Valentines Day cards. So now that I can't do it, I am wondering why. I am assuming that it is not religious but rather resistance against Western influence?
Anyway, the lack of Valentines Day action in Saudi Arabia does not bother me. Instead I'm going to let it inspire me.
Let's forget “Happy Valentines Day.”
Let's instead say “Be Happy That You're In Love.”
And if you aren't that lucky at the moment?
“Be Happy That You Want To Be In Love.”” he writes.
Still in Saudi Arabia, dykalicious lists the cons and pros for singles and ‘doubles’ on this special day.  (Warning: Read only if you are over the age of 18 for women and 25 for men!)
“I don't think love is necessary to be expressed on one day, but Valentine's Day has a few good things about it if you're with someone:
1. a gift from your loved one
2. almost-perfect behaviour of your loved one
3. you're almost always gonna be taken out somewhere nice
4. attentive and hopefully mind-blowing sex
It's like your birthday, you know? Even though it doesn't really matter, you still know you're gonna get gifts and cake! Except for people who don't have any friends to throw a party for them. Or dead people.
HOWEVER, what about single people?
1. Excuse to go on a date with any other single person
2. excuse to have a one-night stand
3. allowed to be miserable and self-pitying without people yelling at you ‘GET OVER IT!’
4. excuse to masturbate! (if you need an excuse that is. ladies and gentlemen, take out your vibrators!),” she writes.
In Lebanon, the mood is more somber. Valentine's Day is no longer a day of celebration. It was on this day two years ago that former Lebanese president Rafiq Al Hariri was assassinated in a massive explosion in downtown Beirut.
But away from darkness, politics and pessimism, Sasmen posts a video of roses, love words and music to mark the occasion here.
Does this mean there is still hope that love might prevail in the Middle East. Love conquers all, or does it not?


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Vietnam: Getting Ready for Tet · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Emma describes Hanoi where everyone is getting ready for the Tet or Vietnamese New Year holidays.


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Vietnam: Golf Magazines · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Khong Co Ai posts images of new golf magazines being published in Vietnam. Japanese and South East Asian usually do golf packages in Vietnam but now it seems local are taking interest in the sport too.


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War on Israeli Flowers · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Adloyada reports on a war on Israeli flowers in the UK. ‘Yes, that's the word from the spokesperson from Britain's Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign, justifying his group's publicity stunt for the oxymoronically named “Israel Apartheid Week”
in which they chained themselves to the fence outside Carmel-Agrexco, the wholesaler which distributes the bulk of the million-pound plus worth of Israeli flowers imported by the UK.’ she writes.


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Africa: building with mud · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Architecture has an interesting post about using mud as flooring material, “Mud is a very eco-friendly and affordable material even though some might think it is floor finish associated with being primitive or poor. However I think mud is very beautiful flooring material as long as you can compact it properly, keep it from cracking and water proof its surface.”


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Albania: “Lights Out” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Tirana writes about Albania's energy problems and invites everyone to support “the good people of Albania”: “When I was out walking a few nights ago, I decided to try to record the sound of one of the many generators on my phone. I managed to convert this to a five second MP3 file. So I am pleased to announce this new Tirana ring tone is available for your use here. Just click on download, enter the given code and hit ‘get’. Use it for your ringtone, message tone or any way you want in solidarity with the good people of Albania.”


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Anniversary of Islamic Revolution and Iranian Bloggers · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers have written about their feelings, experiences and opinions about Islamic Revolution, with some celebrating its 28th anniversary on 11 February and others regreting it. Let's look at some of these writings.
Mohmmad Ali Abtahi, a former vice president and reformist politician, says the Islamic Revolution was one of the most important events in human history[Fa] “where the flower replaced the bullet.” He adds the unity of people makes this revolution possible. Abtahi says the people's negative thoughts regarding authorities at present cannot reduce the value of revolution.
In ViewfromIran we read another point of view on revolution. The blogger says:
I was happy about the revolution. Now I am like millions of my fellow countrymen who, like me, as young men and women, went to the streets to cheer on the revolution and to shout down with America, and who now feel betrayed and devastated. Will the young people yelling the same thing today learn from me? Will they be like me? Regretful? Homeless?
Omid66 explains why the revolution happened[Fa]. He writes:
a nation became emotional by watching revolutionary Latino movies, became greedy and thought that it can get free water and electricity…when the intellectuals of a nation support the clergy and burn banks and public places…then we understand why the revolution happened.
FM Sokhan, a writer and blogger, says 28 years after revolution we, writers, to say the truth should hide and use pen names [Fa]. The blogger adds their weapon is their pen and instead of bombs, they have words.
Maryam Shabani writes it is said the revolution was to revive “real Islamic values” but year after year we see that Islamic values are buried under weight of hypocrisy and superstition[Fa]. She adds: “it is said revolution was done to bring honour to Iranian citizens but more and more people are under heavy burden of economic problems and poverty.”
This is all this week and see you with another round up soon.


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Arabisc: Are the Americans Bribing Arab Journalists? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Are the Americans bribing Arab journalists? And how should Arab journalists react?
These are the sensitive questions posed by Jordanian blogger and writer Batir Wardam in his blog, Jordan Watch, this week as he discusses the merits of familiarisation trips for Arab journalists, paid for by the US State Department.
Wardam is careful in bringing up the issue for discussion and apologises in advance to his colleagues in the media, who may have benefited from such trips in the past. He also invites them to debate the matter in mainstream media and see what works best for them.
While the US is a friend of Jordan, Wardam is quick to point out some of its policies, which aren't being viewed with ease by the general public in Arab countries where people after question the world's superpower's motives.
Journalists, challenges Wardam, should be wary of the US’ policy since it was directly responsible for the killing of journalists and bombing of television stations in Iraq.
Instead of enlightening the Arabs and preaching to them the American democratic model, Wardam says it is the Americans who need reschooling.
Wardam also suggests ways to teach the American public more about what Arabs think.
الحوار والانفتاح مطلوبان بكل تأكيد، ولكن حسب أولويات عربية ومنها تنوير الرأي العام الأميركي لأنه هو الذي يحتاج للمعرفة، وهذا ما يجعل مهمة الإعلاميين الذين يتقنون الكتابة باللغة الإنجليزية بالأخص مهمة جدا لنشر مقالات في صحف أميركية توضح الرأي العربي، وربما بالتنسيق مع مؤسسات أميركية- عربية، أو مراكز أبحاث مستقلة، ولكن بالتأكيد ليس وزارة الخارجية الأميركية ولا السفار


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Armenia: Blogs as the New Printing Press · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 writes about blogs as the new printing press, discussing experiences with blogging and politics in other countries and how those experiences are worth paying attention to in Armenia.


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Armenia: Economic Publications · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Armenian Economist writes about the number of articles published in economic journals by authors affiliated with Armenian institutions, saying that the low number is a serious issue because it is an indication of quality of education.


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Bahrain: Beware of Big Brother  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Big Brother is watching Bahraini bloggers. Check what eMoodz has to say about it here.


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Bahrain: Bloggers in the News · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Silly Bahraini Girl links to a Poynter Online article quoting our very own GV author Haitham Sabbah.


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Bangladesh: Politics and Blogs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan on the mood in the blogosphere with the political developments in Bangladesh. “People at Drishtipat group blog suspect that strong protests against the MOU in Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wajed Joy's blog may have been heard at last. “


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Eastern Europe: The Islamic Peoples · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

J. Otto Pohl posts the second “imaginary” syllabus – “Mehmet’s Grandchildren: The Islamic Peoples of Eastern Europe and their Ottoman Roots.”


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Egypt: The Rehymenisation Fatwa · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The merits of rehymenisation (yes! you read it right: restoring the hymen in females) are being discussed by Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey here.


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From Lebanon to India · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Respect for the rule of law is what separates Lebanon from India, according to Lebanese blogger Ms Levantine.


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Haiti, India: The Perils of Having Girls · Global Voices
Alice Backer

India-based Haitian blogger NatifNatal writes (Fr): ”For certain families in rural parts of India, doom can hit in many ways: natural disasters, financial difficulty or simply the birth of a girl.” She then posts an article from the India Times to that effect.


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India: On Valentine and Culture · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A little sarcasm and great humour by the Great Bong on Valentine's Day and people “protesting” Western Culture. “An assault party from the Sawarana Samaj Party started hurling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) which burst open releasing rose thorns, hot caramel and debris from broken perfume bottles everywhere.”


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India: Traffic Signal disaster · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Cribber has a video of a traffic signal that badly needs some intervention from the government. “This particular traffic light is on the crossing of D3 Vasant Kunj crossing. The light pole which you see is specially tilted for people to be able to see the traffic signal. This is the easy way out for MCD or which ever authority is answerable to fix this problem. Apparently it does not bother the government that this reflects poorly on the condition of our countries infrastructure.”


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Israel: Where are the WMDs?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Desert Peace tackles new US accusations that Iran is supplying Iraq with weapons here.


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Kazakhstan: Moving the Ministry · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZBlog reports on yet another of the many uses of students in Central Asia. In this case, it is moving Kazakhstan's Ministry of Education into a new building.


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Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan: Radio Cuts · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Adam Kesher reports on plans in President Bush's proposed budget to cut funding for Kazakh and Uzbek language radio broadcasts.


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Kenya: solar concentrator · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Afromusing blogs about solar concentrator (Sun Flower), “This is one product I am looking forward to testing it in Kenya once it becomes available, mainly because it is cost effective, and suitable for those wishing to still be tied to the electricity grid, but supplement their energy needs or even resell it to the Electric company.”


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Lebanon: Anti-Syria Sentiments ‘Real’ · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Mustafa says although a rally in Beirut yesterday was tarnished by useless gimmicks, it showed that the anti-Syrian majority ‘is definitely not “fictional”.’


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Nepal: Interim constitution · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas on the interim constitution and the Madheshi turmoil. “This was a big leap forward in Nepal’s history because it completely denies any power to the king, which signals a virtual end of the 239 year old feudal Shah dynastic rule in Nepal. Most importantly the preamble of the constitution states, the sovereign people of Nepal has promulgated this constitution but not by any single person or a power centre.”


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Palestine: Jerusalem Blogging Day  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Moroccan blogger Mohammed Lachyab says tomorrow (Friday) is the Jerusalem Blogging Day . He urges all bloggers to dedicate their posts on the day to highlight the plight of Palestinians.


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Qatar: US Islamic Forum · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Abu Aardvark (Marc Lynch) is off to Doha, Qatar, to participate the US-Islamic World Forum.  “I hope to be able to blog from Doha like I did last time, wireless permitting,” he writes.


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Russia: Dog Life · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user drugoi posts a photo story (RUS) about the kind man Ilya and his 44 dogs, many of them legless or otherwise disabled, living in a house outside Moscow: “For almost 20 years already he's been adopting these street dogs, treating them and leaving them to live with him. Half of those who live in Ilya's big house are ordinary mutts, and the rest are also mutts – but they have managed to learn what human being are like: they are invalids. Beaten, maimed, half-alive, they show up here and get their treatment, housing, food and the human warmth that they missed while living in the big city.”


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Russia: Kremin and Its Opponents · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Economist's Edward Lucas posts his piece on the Kremlin and its opponents battling in London and replies to critics in the comments section.


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Santiago, Chile: New Transportation System · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

This week marked the debut of the new public transportation system, called Transantiago (ES) . The government and private companies have invested (ES) US$ 292.5 million. Changing the transportation system is a major issue, because they also had to change people's habits. No more coins, no more waiting times. No long journeys. This system is run in the capital of Santiago with its population of over 5 million.
On its first day, hundreds of complaints about its service have circulated the Chilean Blogosphere.  Every social change in behaviour takes some time to adjust. This new system only started on Februrary 10 so we need some time to get used to it.
Luis Alarcón (ES) has his own view of Transantiago, which also gives us an idea of what the transportation system was like before and the dimension of the change:
Imagina lo siguiente: “Te vas al trabajo y subes a un moderno bus que pasa a un horario indicado, para pagar no necesitas monedas solo pasas una tarjeta por un lector y se te descuenta de tu saldo, tiene rampla para discapacitados y marcas para invidentes, además los choferes son amables y educados también es posible que tengas que hacer algunas combinaciones para llegar a tu destino, no importa, puedes bajarte del bus y tomar otro sin tener mayor recargo en tu tarjeta o bien puedes conectar tu viaje trasladándote en una de las tantas líneas de metro que recorren la ciudad.
La imagen podría decirse que ocurre en alguna ciudad europea o ciudad muy desarrollada, pero no, está ocurriendo en Santiago de Chile en plena Sudamérica, se llama “Transantiago” y es la apuesta más ambiciosa del presente gobierno por ordenar un tremendo parque de autobuses, elevar la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos de cara al bicentenario y sobre todo hacer un completo cambio al transporte urbano.
Describing the experience over the last few days and the people's reaction, Cristián Muñoz (ES) wrote:
Luego de 3 días de semi colapso de la ciudad, de pequeñas muestras de caos urbano, de mostrar la peor cara, la de una desorganización de Santiago, las cosas finalmente funcionan, las partes básicas de este mecanismo funcionan, engranó, se afiató, cuajó. El Transantiago está en marcha.  Ok, podrían decirme que estoy loco, que cómo tan positivo, etc, etc. Pero no es así, soy bastante crítico con el sistema, pero no hay que desconocer que por lo menos ahora las cosas andan mejor. La frecuencia de los buses ha mejorado, en los paraderos no se juntan cantidades sorprendentes de personas, ya no. Ahora está todo un poco más organizado. Incluso ya comenzaron a aparecer soluciones inteligentes y otras que son más de criterio. Hoy se vieron filas en los paraderos, algo que NUNCA se había visto en Santiago. La gente se dió cuenta que esto ya no tiene vuelta atrás y que debe ordenarse, al final, el sistema nos sirve a todos. Y lo otro, el directorio del Metro sentó cabeza (o se la hicieron sentar) y ampliará, desde el 1 de Marzo, el horario de funcionamiento del tren metropolitano. Ahora abrirá a las 6 de la mañana, media hora antes de lo actual.
Tomorrow the “Transantiago Users Committee” is organizing a protest(ES) . The people that are on this committee are the ones that used to sing on the buses, sell things and also some community neighbourhoods. All of these people used to gain their salary on buses. This is one of the things with the government is dealing with. Also, most of the Chileans, used to take a daily nap on the bus, while they were going to work, or after work. Some times were on the bus for an hour and a half. Now, they can get home quickly by changing buses or to the tube, so no more “public transportation nap culture.”

author: Rosario Lizana


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Sénégal: Dakar in Pictures · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blog Politique du Sénégal posts (Fr) snapshots of Dakar.


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Slovenia: Culture Day · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Wu Wei writes about Slovenia's Culture Day – here and here.


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Sri Lanka: Future of University Education · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Week in Sri Lanka on the future of university education. “In my view, the Sri Lankan universities today rarely encourages free thinking amongst its student population and fails to serve the original purpose of a university. I myself am an undergraduate in the University of Colombo and I have witnessed first hand how the university culture is tuning more towards something similar to the school culture.


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Tajikistan: Seasonal Business · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Andrea Dall'Olio reports on what one learns about market principles from shopping in Tajikistan's bazaars and the difficulties that Tajik companies trying to make and sell processed foods in the country.


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Tajikistan: Separatism Concerns · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tajikistan plans to give additional autonomy to the Gorno-Badakhshan region, the western part of the country which is mostly inhabited by Pamiris. Vadim says that concerns that this will encourage separatism are exaggerated.


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Tanzania: blogging as a form of leadership · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jaduong Metty considers blogging a form of leadership: I like to call my blogging a “thought leadership”. I have said this once: I could be the best thinker but the worst leader, for various reasons. I like the idea of being a thought leader and I will stick with it for now.


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Thailand: Letter to Minister · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

“Dear Minister, Specifically, what are the relevant Thai laws, regulations, directions, administrative orders, court decisions, and/or expert legal interpretations which empower MICT or any other Thai government agencies block or to “request” the blocking of websites in Thailand?” asks FACT – an anti-censorship group in Thailand in a letter to the government body responsible for online censorship.


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The Balkans: On the Way to EU · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Neretva River writes about the EU's enlargement prospects: “Serbia in the fast lane, Croatia more of the same, and road blocks for Macedonia and Bosnia.”


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Yemen: Journalists on Trial · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Two Yemeni journalists are on trial in their country, reports blogger Said Jane here.


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Zimbabwe: how to challenge oppression · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kubatana blogs on tactics to challenge oppression in Zimbabwe, “In a recent Kubatana email newsletter I asked our subscribers to write 800 words on tactics to challenge oppression. One of my favourite responses is from a woman who offered some real basic suggestions to help improve our lives in Zimbabwe.”


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Algeria: Snake Spell Found · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian blogger Lameen Souag reports that an ancient Semitic scribe containing a spell against snakes was finally deciphered. The spell was found in the Pyramids in Egypt.


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Armenia: Prosperous Armenia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

CRD/TI Armenia Election Monitor 2007 reports on Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia part. Tsarukian's party is popular with the poor for its charity, which critics label vote buying.


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Armenia: Structure Determines All · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Armenian Libertarian-Socialist Movement argues that Armenia's political structure is institutionalizing politics ruled by the military and oligarch without any real alternatives in sight.


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Bahrain: Qaradawi’s Advice to Women. · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Islamic clergyman Yousif Al Qaradawi is urging women to refrain from masterbating in this link provided by Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.


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Bangladesh: In conversation with Raman Mundair · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Black and Gray in conversation with Raman Mundair. “All these things are aspects of me and I have many aspects. I am also human, artist, British, Sikh, Indian etc. I find it difficult to reduce myself to one singular identity. My strength is in my multiple identities. Of course I am painfully aware of the way that some people choose to reduce my identity and see me merely as ‘a woman’ or just another ‘South Asian writer’ etc. “


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Bolivia, Venezuela: Redefining Nationalization · Global Voices
David Sasaki

April Howard, detailing the recent protests in Camiri, draws an interesting parallel between how Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian President Evo Morales are redefining the term “nationalization.”

author: David Sasaki


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China: Aesthetics of Power · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chong translates a cultural critics Zhu Dake's comments on Zhang Yimou's film (director of the Curse of the Golden Flower) and the aesthetics of power that colours Chinese modernity:
It is a problem of Chinese culture. We have a passion for sickness and aesthetics of power rather than ordinary people's aesthetics. In Sichuan province, a small township government even built a Tiananmen Square. People there are poor and starving but the local government spent so much money in it. Some local governments even built squares bigger than Tiananmen Square. They only want to show off their power to occupy space or to build a high building…


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China: Blood Money · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Toadi from interlocals.net has translated a recent report from Huaxia Times(zh) on the operation of a blood collection station in Shanxi where blood plamas is extracted from rural pleasants like a factory to supply a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Beijing.


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China: cycling with goods · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Onemanbandwith puts up a series of photos to show how people carry a dozen pigs, tens of chicken, hundreds of eggs, etc in bicycle or motor cycle.


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China: greatfirewallofchina.net · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A new website www.greatfirewallofchina.net has been set up for testing whether a url is blocked in China or not.


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China: Sexologist shuts up · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Renowned Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe announced last week that she had been told in no uncertain terms, by people whose identity she declined to identify, to shut up.
A longtime fixture of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li is known mostly for her liberal attitudes towards a whole range of sex-related issues which she speaks about at length on her blog and in mainstream Chinese media, and in particular for her many proposals, like same sex marriage, to China's legislature, the most recent attempt being in 2005.
With Li's self-silencing goes the voice of one of the most influential and progressive public intellectuals in China. First, her critics, starting with To Library blogger Drunk Eyes See Sand:
再说了，她所说的什么虐恋啊，一夜情啊，婚外恋啊，换偶啊，乱伦啊，卖淫啊，同性恋婚姻啊，都不是什么新鲜的事情，居然有人说她观点前卫，真的搞笑，还说什么太前卫了，所以人们不能接受，甚至还有说是时髦时尚，简直令人喷饭！相信这些作为饭后谈资的时候，大家最多也是一笑了之，不接受并不代表
而李银河偏偏几次三番几次三番地在媒体和公众场合大放阙词，说什么卖淫非罪化啊，同性恋婚姻合法啊！说得多了，反感的人就越来越多了。本来这些在社会上存在，也没人去刻意干涉，而司法机关干涉最多也仅限于卖淫而已。而李银河把旧时代那些对这些行为的不宽容对待一股脑搬出来，只能说明她还活在她的过去时代，看不到现代社会的文明，而更可笑的是她一直以为自己是文明的，而不接受她观点的人都是野蛮的。甚至狂妄到如果说她某些观点有悖法律，那法律就是错的。这些也是荒唐之极，
…..
而李银河说婚外恋一般是男方占主动，体现了男权主义。而换偶是双方自愿的，她更能够接受一些。那她这更是孤陋寡闻了。只要不是白痴都知道，现在社会出现的换偶现象，绝大部分是以男方为主导的，所以更多的称为”换妻”而很少提及换夫
Ranging even to the rabid like Sohu blogger Guofana to the printably pragmatic Cat898 blogger A Bucketful of Baloney's ironic ‘Li Yinhe, you free-thinking pig’:
我想，这也不好怨天尤人，都是李银河自己找来衰的。老子说；“人之所畏，不可不畏。”这是智者之言，这也就是所谓“犬儒”应该奉行的圭皋了。大家都怕说，就你敢说，则你就很危险了。这不但是中国特色，其实也是国际惯例呢。在“要为真理而斗争”的口号下，牺牲了性命的勇士，不只中国有，国际上也是比比皆是。
Well, at least Chinabounder is back and keeping the discourse going. Here's BlogLegal's Feng Lei, via Tianya, posted on Valentine's Day.
今天，我们很遗憾的看到李银河在自己博客上所公开的”最新决定”。这个决定告诉我们，我们中的绝大多数，还没有勇气或者还没有意识到性生活本身是属于自己的权利、使自己的隐私，更没有意识到性生活本身更鼓要科学和文明的引导。
我们注意到，在李银河以一个社会学家的身份谈论性的话题的时候，公众的反映让人大跌眼镜。当一个社会学家谈到的性的文明和性的层次的时候，我们的民众其实是当作笑话和戴着所谓道德的眼镜来看待和理解这个问题的。他们没有把性的问题当作一门社会科学来对待，相反，而是作为茶余饭后的谈资来对待，并且以自己的原有的观点来评价这个问题。
….
对于很多人而言，可以不接受李银河的观点，却完全不必以卫道士的姿态试图让别人闭嘴，甚至取消别人说话的权利。这本身就是赤裸裸的剥夺。
当我们自己没有能力对自己的生活进行反思和改造的时候，或者说当我们不打算打破自己原有生活轨道和游戏规则的时候，能够容忍不同的声音存在，显然也是一种美德。对我们的社会而言，包容首先就意味着一种进步。我们今天容忍不了李银河的观点，非要她闭口不可，这实在说明我们的精神文明还有待进步，我们的文明还没有达到能够容忍不同观点存在的地步。
Which isn't to say that such viewpoints don't exist. From Pheonix TV blogger Pierre Hanson:
读到这里却是让我很不是滋味了一番，李银河的'闭嘴'，我认为这是我们中国的悲哀，这种悲哀就像上世纪蒋统时代的中国，要让鲁迅闭嘴一样。
…
在这里我想说的是，不管李银河们说的对不对，至少应该给他们一个可以自由的发表自己言论观点的环境，同时我们的李银河们也应该拿出鲁迅先生式的战士精神来，因为这是你们应尽的社会责任。
Bad girl Hexun blogger Yu Fei responds to Dr. Li's speculation that having been silenced in this way will likely lead her down a path of cynicism:
与其封一个专家，不如大大方方宣布性学是丑学，说我们这个社会、民族与万恶的性无关，彻底终止性学研究，好弄个”白茫茫大地真干净”，大家都省心。李博士也好考虑第二次再就业，不必为自己是否会成为”犬儒”而担惊受怕。对同性恋者、妓女，不能因为其是我们社会中小小的群体，或因其超越了我们一贯的行为准则和道德范畴就予与忽略，恰恰相反，也许他们更应该被关注和被关怀。所以，李银河博士的劳动完全在专家的责任心和本职之内。
Some places would understandably be more in tune with contemporary values than Beijing, like Hong Kong neighbor Shenzhen, and its resident, lawyer, blogger and representative to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Yang Yiping posting from the Shenzhen News Blog :
在当今社会，一个学者是想发言还是想闭嘴，则是其个人的自由。作为公众，是想请一个学者发言还是闭嘴，则也是他们的自由。两者都是自由的，这才能称得上是一个理性的社会。学者李银河的性学之说，有人赞成有人反对都是正常的，我们并没有看到有哪个部门出来”封杀”她的言论，也不清楚她的压力究竟来自于何方。性的问题比较敏感，性的内容更有点”儿童不宜”，不顾场合、公开宣扬性学理论的做法可能为大多数人们所难以接受，这或许是李银河受到压力的主要原因。因此，我们不妨建议李银河无须”闭嘴”，只须注意点场合就可以了。
And some excellent perspective as always from ex-Bullog blogger turned independent and Yunnan Air employee He Caitou,
这看起来是学术机构由于官僚体系的压力而钳制学者的学术和言论自由，但是台湾的李敖早在三十年前就解释了这种问题并提供了解决方案。李敖不拿研究院的钱，自己出来贩卖电冰箱，卖牛肉面。为什么？因为李敖认为知识分子在经济上的独立才能赢得人格独立，赢得人格独立才能谈其他问题。
…
李银河受打压，是因为她自己身在体制内，而非江湖人。进入社科院那一天，她就应该知道自己会面对什么，就会有“上面”，有“注意”。李银河拿社科院的工资，那么她在经济上就要依附社科院。她要想放言，想不受打压，离开社科院就可以。或者按照一般路线，熬到满头白发，那么就可以想说什么就说什么。中国最勇敢的人都是70岁以上的老人，到了那时候就可以过把说真话的瘾。
假设现在李银河现在中了2亿元的体育彩票，那么上面的话我相信她绝对不会说。组织上不高兴了，她可以一纸辞呈告诉对方：你不高兴？我还不爽呢。新浪不让她开BLOG了，她可以买服务器自己架个网接着说。派出所要找她去谈话，可以花几百万买个国外的身份，有事请先找大使馆。为什么？因为她经济独立，没必要看老板的脸色。
所以，李银河说自己犬儒不犬儒的，那是空话。犬儒对世界无动于衷，是因为他们对世界所需甚少，木桶也可栖身。李银河要拿社科院的工资，要福利劳保，所以领导说收声她就得收声。这就是经济不独立带来的问题。

author: John Kennedy


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China: the 10th anniversary of the death of Deng Xiaoping · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Positivesolutions blogs about how China Daily plans for the 10th anniversary of the death of Deng Xiaoping. The blogger feels that, under the present context, the China Daily story looks at best unfortunate, and at worst deeply cynical.


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India: A broom seller · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Swajana profiles a man who sells brooms. “Once a family business has been started it will very likely be handed down from generation to generation. Our video here is about one such enterprising young man who sells brooms and mops – going from house to house – he uses his lung-power to advertise his business.”


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India: A positive peace · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Cuckoo's Call on building positive peace between the Hindu and Muslim communities. ‘Positive peace’ is rooted in shared recognition by Hindus and Muslims of the all-round destructiveness of the communal divide, and the need to act purposefully to address this. Positive peace goes beyond tolerance, to embrace ongoing dialogue, mutual respect, and joint endeavours to build a better future for all citizens.


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Japan: cross dressing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampontan blogs about the tradition of cross-dressing show business in japan.


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Japan: foreign crime book editor’s comment · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Debito posts GAIJIN HANZAI editor Saka's comment in his blog and reply to him point by point. In his conclusion, he said: Again, I thank Mr Saka for making his ideology so plain. He comes off as a crybaby who sees other people going about their business, gets angry because the people there remind him of someone who stole his girlfriend in grade school, then puts up posters accusing the people there of ruining his neighborhood. Then wonders why people get angry at him, and accuse them of violating his freedom of expression when they pull those posters down.


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Kuwait: New Mall Opening · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger evolution is excited about the opening of a new mall, which will bring much sought after brands closer.


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Kuwait: Valentine Blues · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Isolated Serenity, from Kuwait, has an interesting array of photographs, with goodies for her family and friends, here.


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Malawian bloggers on nature, health, technology, politics and corruption  · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

The newest Malawian kid on the blog is journalist Kondwani Kamiyala, of The Nation newspaper, one of Malawi’s two daily papers. Since launching his blog on January 17, Kondwani has posted 11 entries in a space of four weeks, making him one of the most active bloggers in the Malawi blogosphere.  For his first post in February, Kondwani writes about the first time he hiked up on Mulanje Mountain, the highest mountain in Malawi and in central southern Africa. Before the hike, Kondwani had imagined Mulanje Mountain through the various myths about ancestral spirits said to reside on the mountain:
My perception of the mountain changed the day I hiked it. We never went as far as Sapitwa, the highest peak which is perched at 3002 metres above sea level. Hiking to Chambe Peak, 2,500 metres above sea level, nonetheless, is an experience on its own. Our hike began with a prayer at Likhubula Forest Office, which is the entry point to this massif.
Kondwani’s other entry for February is on an exhibition combining art and poetry, staged by two lecturers from the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College, Massa Lemu and Timwa Lipenga, titled ‘The Scourge is also a Mask’. Kondwani writes:
On the surface, you would think Lemu and Lipenga would have nothing in common because, for one, the former is a visual artist at heart while the latter is a writer in her own right. But going through the exhibition, titled The Scourge is Also a Mask, you would be deemed wrong. The common denominator in their artistic life is to make Malawi a better place to live in, in spite of their different forms of expression.
Cashiers at Kamuzu International Airport
In his three most recent entries, Malawian blogger Austin Madinga discusses the suspicious behaviour of cashiers working in the parking lots of Malawi’s Kamuzu International Airport, the practice of dumping dead bodies at work premises to force employers to provide funeral expenses, and taking advantage of the power of online collaboration tools brought about by broadband Internet in Malawi . On cashiers at Kamuzu International Airport, he writes:
The cashier, on most occasions, makes sure he does not stamp the day in full on the ticket. why? So that on your way out, the guy at the exit of the park takes it, gives it back to the cashier so he can re-issue it. He can re-issue the ticket for a full 9 days before it becomes useless. Then on the 10th of February, he issues new tickets to be used for another 9 days. Then again on the 20th, the does the same thing. All along he is pocketing a number of K75's in a day.
Dumping bodies
On the practice of dumping dead bodies at work premises to extort money from the employer for funeral expenses, Austin writes:
The employee has to start to realise that in this day and age where people are dying at an accelerated rate (if I can put it that way), not all organisations can afford to transport spouses, children and members of extended families bodies too far away places simply to have people mourn for an hour or two then bury the person. Why can [sic] we simply inter bodies right where the person has died? Why take a four month baby and bury it in the village 400km away? Where is the logic? What is the reason? To sleep next to and chat with it's kinsfolk in the graveyard?
Underutilizing the Internet
In another entry, Austin decries the underutilization of broadband Internet in Malawi, arguing that it provides much more than simply sending and receiving emails. He lists  Skype and its facility for free PC-to-PC phone calls, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, Blogs, Instant Messaging, and photo sharing, and goes further to provide the names of specific services, such as various hosts for blogs and for sharing photographs online. On blogs, he describes it as a tool that journalists could make use of by inviting comment to their articles from readers around the world:
This is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. They can focus on a particular subject such as sports, politics and local news or can simply be a personal online diary. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Some blogs are specialist and focus on photographs (photoblog), videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting) and are part of a wider network of social media. Blogs are free to use and the most common are Blogger, Blogit, LiveJournal and WordPress amongst plenty others.
Floods and traditional healers
Hastings Maloya, another Malawian blogger, writes about the current rainy season in Malawi and the annual hazard it always brings, floods:
The rains are here once again. We should be a happy nation, as we cannot overemphasise the importance of the rains to Malawi whose economy is mainly agro-based. However, as it has always been the case over the years, problems associated with them, especially floods overshadow the importance of these rains
Next, Hastings turns his attention to traditional healers and how much that is said about them tends to be negative:
Surprisingly, much as all of us are free to say all the negatives about the medicine people, rarely are they given an opportunity to give their side of the story let alone allowed to defend themselves through widely accepted media outlets. There is a problem here.
It is against this background that I suggest that these people be given an opportunity to tell their stories and advertise their services as much as they can and through any available medium. The choice shall be ours.
Scotland-based Malawian blogger Isaac Cheke Ziba, who also started blogging in January 2007, writes about problems of leadership in Malawian politics, using the words of the late American civil right activist Martin Luther King Jr. to observe that:
It is no longer time for political leadership to be issuing bad cheques in as far as our development is concerned as a people. Time is up for development cheques given to our people by the political leadership to come back marked “insufficient funds, it is no longer time for the Malawian people to always get raw deals from “scrupulous” people feigning possession of good political leadership, when in fact, it is themselves the really care about.
The economics of smoking
Ndagha, a Sweden-based Malawian blog ran by Victor Kaonga, writes about the numbers of people who smoke in European countries. Ndagha describes the new appreciation he has gained of the work that Malawian tobacco farmers put into growing and selling the crop:
My country's main export earning is from tobacco. Its farmers (smallholder and big) put in a lot of effort to grow the leaves. I was very surprised at the size of the leaf that is exported and sold to other countries-most of them in the west. I never just understood who actually consumes most of the leaf until I visited Europe. I then understood why the leaf makes some money for Malawi though very insignificant to the farmer who works very hard. Again I now had an idea why Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika set the minimum price for the leaf at the auction floors in Lilongwe in 2006. After all the main buyers come from the West.
Church boundary row
Kaonga also writes about a row that has broken out between two synods belonging to the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian in Malawi, over boundaries, pointing out that such disagreement is helping raise questions that haven’t been raised before. But he wonders whether the row is a legacy of the missionary era and unresolved handover problems:
It is helping us ask questions we have never asked before. The questions about when this issue started coming up. We hear it is an old story for about 50 years. Was there a time when they disputed like it is now? How did they solve it then? Why is it a big issue now? Is this a product of missionary failure in handing over to Malawians? Is it another after-effect of the postcolonial period in Africa?

author: Steve Sharra


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Mexico: Regiopedia · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guillermo Castro  points readers [ES] to Regiopedia [ES], a Wikipedia-like site focused on the industrial city of Monterrey, Mexico.


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Mexico: YouTube cartel war · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Boz shows how Mexico's drug war is spilling over onto YouTube. Xeni Jardin has links to the actual videos at Boing Boing.


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Nepal: Madheshi vs. Madhise · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The politics of terminology and the other way round explained at Madhesh Blog. “From historical point of view, the identity “Madheshi” connects people living in Madhesh with their thousands years of history of living in Madhesh, whereas identity “Nepali” refers to their 200 years of history since the conquest of the region by Shah rulers. So people living in Madhesh are Madheshi first (thousands years of history), and then Nepali (mere 200 years).”


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Nicaragua: Alvaro Orozco · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Andres Duque describes the case of Alvaro Orozco, a 21-year-old Nicaraguan who is fighting deportation proceedings in Canada after an immigration court deemed that, according to Duque, “he wasn't gay enough.”


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Omar Al Sharif a Bully? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian-born actor Omar Al Sharif, 74, is a bully, writes Issandr El Amrani following news reports that Sharif, who starred in Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, punched a Guatemalan immigrant and called him a “stupid Mexican” in Beverly Hills.


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Russia, Estonia: The Bronze Soldier, Again · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander writes about Tallinn's Bronze Soldier monument: “Why is it that a WW II-monument repeatedly sparks bilateral crises between Estonia and Russia?”


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Russia: Interview With La Russophobe · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Siberian Light runs an interview with La Russophobe.


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Russia: Registration · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog publishes a reader's comment on the torturous registration process
in Russia.


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Russia: Vladimir Vladimirovich™ · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow translates a recent Vladimir Vladimirovich™ episode: “Once upon a time, Vladimir Vladimirovich™ Putin was sitting in his Kremlin office and waxing his Presidential skis.”


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Russia: Women · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude writes on “why Russian women don’t marry Russian men.”


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Soviet Union: Soda Machines · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos of the long-forgotten Soviet soda machines, at Russian Kafe.


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Sri Lanka: Obama and Identity · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indi.ca has a post on identity in politics, now at centre-stage because of Obama in the US. “Obama is in many ways like myself, a product of the modern age of communications and international travel. By a different shuffle he could be Kenyan, Indonesian or any number of things, but he ended up in Illinois. His sister married a Chinese/Canadian, making his identity that much broader. In many ways this seems un-American, one thinks an American is white and landed in the MidWest, but that is just the temporary view from what is actually a moving entity.”


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Taiwan: kiss and ride · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Mr.6 comments on the effect of (zh)  David Reid’s blog post on the “kiss and ride” road sign near Hsinchu station of Taiwan High-Speed railway. The discussion about the use of “kiss and ride” in David’s blog entry has been picked up by many English newspaper both in Taiwan and abroad in the form of cultural dialogue. Mr. 6 thinks that Taiwanese bloggers who are mainly blogging in Chinese should have more conversation with the English bloggers, while David told Mr.6 that a new startup produced by David and his Israeli geek friend will soon be on the table.


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Tajikistan: Water Pollution · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia, Gulru writes about water pollution in Tajikistan, saying that there Tajik citizens can be part of the solution.


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The Arabist: Israel Sullying Middle Easterners’ Image in US · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Arabist highlights what it describes as the “latest Israel Lobby initiative to sully the image of Middle Easterners” in the US here.


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Ukraine: Corruption · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian journalist Yuri Zushchik spent this Valentine's Day in the company of his wife and her close friend, Sveta, who is dating a “mid-level employee” of the National Bank of Ukraine. On his blog at Korrespondent.net news site, Zushchik shares (RUS) what Sveta has revealed about the origins of her boyfriend's riches:
How they steal at the [National Bank]
[…] He and his children not only own two apartments near the city's center, as well as a country house, but he has recently been given a two-room apartment by [the Bank] – and it's his forever, of course. And a couple years ago, he took $120,000 as a no-interest loan for 40 years (!). The money stolen from the people, which will then be written off as inflation. And since this bastard already has an apartment, and not just one, he bought a jeep on this money. And he drives Sveta around the city in it.
Also, the National Bank's employees can buy coins made of precious metals at prime cost. Sveta's sweetheart sometimes presents them to her as gifts. If you buy gold bars and coins from the National Bank at prime cost and then resell them, the profit will be [rather good]. And again, all this at our expense. And please note that these benefits are for mid-level employees.
The post has generated nearly 200 comments, but they lack focus and are somewhat hard to follow: at some point, Zushchik's readers are comparing the latest James Bond movie to the previous ones, then they are discussing the fate of the Russian intelligentsia of the 19th century, and they also accuse Zushchik of gossiping and of being jealous with Sveta's boyfriend, and they argue about gender issues, and by the end the conversation has somehow veered off towards IKEA furniture.
Ukraine is the country with “the average nominal salary” of about 170 euros a month, and corruption is so widespread and taken for granted that discussing it probably seems a little futile. The first comment to Zushchik's post is about it, and there are a few more, but that's about it:
Nova3000: […] I understand that the National Bank isn't the only example. Same things are taking place at any ministry. It's enough to just compare income declarations of state officials and the way they live (their apartments, cars, clothes, watches, etc.). Why is no one investigating this?
[…]
Bore_is: […] If you gather all these stories in one pile, there'll be enough for a “Real Elite of Ukraine” encyclopedia volume.
Yuri_Zushchik: […] Good idea. Only who's gonna fund [this encyclopedia]?
[…]
Colonel_Sartoris: Instead of blogging this, you could've conducted an investigation of how many [women] accompanied our main nationalist Ivchenko this New Year's and how much it cost our budget, or some other cases like this. And then bring this story to your editor and ask him to publish it in Korrespondent [magazine] – with photos, and the facts, etc. Could you pull it off? That would have been a constructive journalistic work. Not like writing whiny posts.
[…]
yarka: […] And in Europe, where we so aspire to be, it's quite an honor to be a state employee. And this is why state officials there even drive bicycles sometimes. And the head of the World Bank wears socks with holes :) )))) […]
[…]
Cynic: 2 yarka: Don't try to avoid answering, yarka, it's the traditional women's worldview that's to blame for the deep-rooted Ukrainian corruption. A man doesn't need much to be happy – a bottle of beer is enough. But you girls need jeeps to be happy, because it's not cool to ride subway.
yarka: Of course, it's the women who need everything – airplanes, Chechnya and Iraq. I personally need anti-missile defense and other junk. And without the new mobile miracle from Microsoft I'll just never feel happy, too :))) […] If a man, as you say, needs nothing but beer, a woman needs a roof, a place to hide with her children :)) She needs food, to accumulate some fat, because without it she stops ovulating (this info is for those who love super-thin girls :))) Yes, we really do need a lot! And a man only needs a [Kalashnikov] and then he's off to conquer the world! :))


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Uruguay: Las Hortensias · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Posthegemony on the short story, “Las Hortensias” by Uruguayan author, Felisberto Hernández [ES].


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A Week Goes by in Kuwait · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

From a new movie to a naming special day after a popular soft drink (pop for Americans) to creating Kuwait's very own supermarket brand. These were some of the conversations going on at the Kuwaiti blogospehere last week.
K TheKuwaiti talks about a new movie Sharq that is produced in Kuwait. He posts a link to its trailer.
“Sharq” (”EAST”), Directed by Erik Sandoval and Produced by Abdulaziz Alsharhan, “Sharq” is one of the first independent filmes produced in KUWAIT. Stay tuned for links to the trailer and still shots of the movie due to be released in the “Hala Febrayer” festival in Kuwait theatres among many competitions worldwide
Meanwhile, a couple of Kuwaiti bloggers declared February 14 Shani Day  ( Shani is a soft drink that is found around the Gulf countries and produced by Pepsi Co )  Nibaq shows us in one picture how long he is planning to celebrate the day.
intlxpatr takes a picture of a house which she calls the mangaf mansion. She enjoyed its unique look and says:
Every time I see this house, I grin. I love it that someone has the money and the imagination to build exactly the house he wanted, and that he did it knowing he would probably get criticism. He built it anyway. Good on him.
Up for some scary moments? Angelo Over at  Myheaven posts some local horror stories! I wonder which one is the scariest!
The other day, me and my friends were having one of our meaningless discussions and the next thing we were talking about some scary tales (or urban legends) we heard from other folks or other forms of media. Many of us told many stories, and some of them really freaked me out, so I thought to share some of these stories and see if you (by any chance) heard about them somewhere. Now, I’m not saying they’re real, or I want you to believe them, because I assume most of them are urban legends. I chose two stories that two of my friends told and the last one was told by me
Sabah Hussain take us to another day of his life. He goes out and checks the lights at Ahmadi
Yesterday we went over to Maliha's sister's home in Ahmadi as they had been asking us to come over to check out the decorations for the upcoming independence and national days (25th/26th Feb)
Maze Wonders What wrong with the guys here!!?
Every time I observe such incidents happening in public places with guys hitting on girls in a bad manner and approach.This post doesn't apply to all Kuwaiti guys…I know many of them are well mannered and educated and know the ethics of life
It is the start of a new brand? yo ghurt thinks she is witnessing it.
I noticed over the weekend that The Sultan Center (TSC) is holding a Kuwait promotion (for those who don’t know this chain of supermarkets, it’s probably the largest in Kuwait, and the one which many ‘expats’ of all nationalities use). I suppose the promotion is in anticipation of the coming National Days and possibly setting up TSC as ‘Kuwait’s brand’ before the Carrefour and Geant hypermarkets arrive soon.

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Bahrain: Godfather’s Birthday · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif celebrates his birthday on February 23, announces Silly Bahraini Girl ahead of the celebration.


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Brunei: Cinema Halls in Brunei · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Daily Brunei Resources remembers the cinema halls in Brunei and traces their history.

author: Preetam Rai


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Brunei: Need A Good Tailor · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Jewelle in Brunei wonders where all the good tailors have gone too.


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Indonesia: Israeli Scholar Warns Australia on Indonesian Immigrants · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesia Matters has a post on an Israeli scholar currently teaching in Australia. The professor is asking Australia to tighten its immigration policies to prevent Indonesian Muslim immigrants.


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Iran:An Iranian Family in Moscow’s airport for 18 Months · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Moscow007 blog, an Iranian refugee family has been imprisoned in the Russian capital for 18 months. Zahra Kamalfar is an Iranian citizen made a refugee claim, together with her two minor children.You can see a report on them in CNN.


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Iran:Student activist in jail for 2774 days · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ghomarasheghaneh reminds us that Ahmad Batebi, student activitst, is still in prison and there is no news that he will come out of jail soon [Fa].The blogger says Batebi has been in jail for 2774 days until now.


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La Réunion: After Decolonization, Responsibility · Global Voices
Alice Backer

La Réunion  local official Eric Fruteau writes (Fr): “After the end of slavery in 1848, after departmentalization in 1946 and all the other fights to end colonial misery, instaure the great social laws that have marked our island, after the achievement of social equality, we must now anticipate and prepare for reflection on the future and lasting development.”


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Lao: Buddha Park · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Lao Cook is back in his home country and takes us to visit Buddha Park, a place just outside the capital city Vientiane and featuring Hindu and Buddhist sculptures.


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Lebanon: Terrorist Attack and Hariri’s Commemoration · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Two years ago, on February 14, a massive terrorist explosion targeting Rafic Hariri took away his life and the lives of many others. Fast forward, two years and many dramatic incidents later, the Lebanese marked the event with a mass rally in Martyr’s Square. A day before the memorial, a tragic terrorist explosion targeted innocent civilians as two buses exploded in the village of Ain Alaq, near Bikfaya, in Mount Lebanon. Bloggers discussed these two events with posts and photos. The following are a sample of the Lebanese blogosphere’s take on the subjects:
On the Ain Alaq terrorist attack:
Pierre Tristam comments on the explosions and reminisces about his childhood experiences in this part of Lebanon:
How pitiful it all seems. How disarming of any hope for good will. How shattering of those petty old memories—the resort on the hill, the imaginary occupants and their colors within—that had managed all these years to live on unscathed. I don’t believe in the whole psychology of repressed memories. I do believe in the vengefulness of memories, once they decide, as they so often do, to seize on a contemporary event’s violence and absurdity, and recast one’s personal history accordingly.
Angry Anarchist questions how some leaders are capable of predicting these terrorist acts and asks for investigations and trials for the atrocities committed during the civil war:
What I cannot believe is not that there was a bombing — we all knew it was coming, our very own Nostradamus, Samir Geagea, “predicted” it. What I cannot believe is how some people find it in themselves to translate such a horrible act…
Speaking of the investigation and tribunal, why not investigate the systematic murder of 150,000 people (that includes Palestinians, in case some people forgot the Palestinians were people) in 15 years? Maybe that will settle once and for all the Martians vs. Lebanese issue. Oh I see, the ones calling for the international tribunal for the Hariri assassination were the same ones who carried out those massacres and killings. Oh wait, sorry, I take that back. It was the Martians.
Mustapha sees that the bombing was directed at the February 14 rally:
Regardless of who committed today’s atrocities, it is directed at tomorrow’s Christian crowd.
Hillz writes (Ar) about where he was and the reaction of those around him to the murder of R. Hariri two years ago. He goes on to reflect on how politics and the objectives of some political parties evolved, during the past two years. His depiction of what used to be and what it is now forms a surrealistic image of the country and its slogans.
Bashir fears the predisposition of the Lebanese to be swayed into the trap of any sinister action planned for Lebanon:
Something is cooking for us. Something is cooking slowly. And we are too easy.
On Hariri’s commemoration rally:
Skylark has a translation of the controversial parts of the speeches of Jumblat and Geagea during the rally. Skylark also suggests why there was no significant incident during the rally:
Despite the twin blasts on Tuesday morning and weeks of exacerbated tensions, no significant accidents were reported during or immediately after the rally. This was partly due to the repeated requests of many political and sectarian leaders to their supporters to restrain from acts of violence and partly to the twin barbed-wire fence interposed between the sector of square where the manifestation was staged and the sector of square where the opposition is still staging its sleep-in tent camp.
Liliane post photos and a link to a photo album of images from February 14 rally.
Abu Kais had this to say about the event in a post with a video clip:
Something didn’t feel right today. Hundreds of thousands of well-meaning Lebanese took to the street to remember Hariri, and protest against Hizbullah and Syria.
But the city they converged on was physically divided, with Hizbullah in effective occupation of its heart. “It reminds me of Berlin,” said one protestor from Sidon. Indeed. You could not forget, despite the verbal challenges mounted by the speakers, that on the other side of the barbwire, there is an illegal force wreaking havoc in the country. Their presence, one could argue, was designed to cancel out whatever effect this mass rally was supposed to produce.
Mustapha criticizes the speeches that he said tarnished the impressive turnout:
Why lose the calm confidence? Why bring down the level of discourse? Sure the public got a blast, but why risk an irrational reaction from next door’s dictator? What is Walid Jumblat’s plan for countering a Syrian border closure for example? Would he compensate our exporters?
The other side is busy winning hearts and minds by writing editorials in newspapers, and all we’re doing is behaving like buffoons.
There are many more blogs out there in the Lebanese blogosphere. Here are some aggregators that may be helpful in finding them: Lebanon’s Blogs ,  Lebanon Aggregator and News.Beiruter.
Stay well and see you next week for another roundup.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Madagascar: Hundred Greatest Malagasy Historical Figures · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Malagasy Miray starts (Fr) a list of the greatest Malagasy historical figures that it asks readers to complete.


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Madagascar: Pictures of Mahajanga · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Za'Gasy posts  (Fr) pictures of Mahajanga, Madagascar and asks readers to post about what they inspire.


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Malaysia: Sub-Contracting Woes · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Cakap Tak Serupa Bikin ridicules Malaysian government's plans to strictly enforce its affirmative action policies in infrastructure projects. Malaysia awards a lot of its official contracts to Bumiputra (ethnic Malay) contractors. These contractor in turn used to sub-contract it to local or foreign sub-contractors who may not necessarily be bumiputras. Now the government wants the contractors to sign an official declaration not subcontract the project to others.


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Myanmar: Exploitation of Burmese Workers · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Yangon Thu is pondering setting up an information portal for guest Burmese workers to prevent them from getting exploited by scrupulous agents and contractors.


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Palestine: Weekend Roundup · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah gives us a brief round up of happenings on the Palestinian-Israeli front this week here.


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Swahili blogosphere: Sounds of Wisdom, Peacekeeping mission and the Last King of Scotland · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

the annual Sauti za Busara 2007 Festival (Sounds of Wisdom Music Festival), took place this week in Zanzibar.
Tanzania's leading Photoblogger, Issa Michuzi, takes us around  the festival and pays a special tribute to Bi Kidude, a 95 years old 2005 winner of WOMEX World Music award. He follows Bi Kidude on stage as well as backstage relaxing with fans.
 Busara Live has a collection of videos from the festival.
Another photoblogger Mrocky posts a picture  of Tanzanian troops ready to leave for their first peacekeeping mission outside of Africa. They are joining the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Abou Salim  posts a photo of 10 female soldiers who are part of the 77 going to Lebanon, and sparks speculation in the comments section that this may be the beginning of an era in which women will participate and  take leading roles in the once male dominated positions signaling the end the downfall of patriachy:
Watu wanaofanya ustadi wa masuala ya unajimu wanasema tunaingia kwenye zama ambazo moja ya alama zake ni nafasi mpya na majukumu mapya wanaopewa wanawake duniani. Wanawake wa India wanalinda amani Liberia. Sasa dada zetu nao hao Lebanoni. pengine ndio mwanzo wa anguko la mfumo dume.
And, as the disbursement of Tanzanian Shillings 1 billion to each of region is taking place as part of the government's empowerment policy through micro-credit, Charahani doubts whether the loans will alleviate poverty.
He argues that this iniative will not work if the people are not adequately educated:
Umaskini  unaweza tu kuondolewa kwa mikakati madhubuti …. Inapaswa kwanza watoto waende shule waelimike, wakishaelimika kisha hizi pesa hata usipozigawa, maendeleo yatakuja tuu… Elimu ni utajiri tosha unaoweza kuondoa umaskini kwa kiasi kikubwa bila ya kutegemea vitu vingine.
Wadogo zetu ambao wanaingia katika taasisi za elimu ya juu inaonekana hawatasoma tena… hawatamudu gharama za kujilipia asilimia 40 ya gharama wanayotakiwa kujilipia vyuoni… Tumeisikia hotuba ya mkuu wa nchi kusema kuwa hakuna masikini ambaye atashindwa kusoma sababu ya kukosa ada. Maneno haya yanafurahisha lakini hayatoi matumaini sababu yana walakini mkubwa, siyo endelevu
Recently, the Kenyan Swahili blogger, Maitha, watched the film, The Last King of Scotland. He writes,
Baada ya kutazama filamu mpya ya The Last King Of Scotland nimeshindwa kuelewa kwanini watu wanaendelea kutoa filamu kama hizi kuhusu Afrika . Kando na kurundikiwa sifa tele hakuna lolote jipya linalotoka kwenye picha hii
Kibunango reports that after the government of Zanzibar banned the use of mobile phones in schools arguing that they foster immoral sexual behavior, it (Zanzibar government) has also decided to ban students from going to dance clubs. The government argues that this behavior has led to immoral acts and is one of the reasons behind students’ poor performance.
Lastly, Tanzanian bloggers continue to discuss the formation of bloggers’ association. After proposing the name of the organization and  leadership structure, the discussion at the moment is about the constitution of the association. One of the main point of contention so far has been membership eligibility. Some bloggers want membership to be open to blogger only, while others want active commentators to be allowed to be members.

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza