text:
South Africa celebrates Youth Day and remembers the past · Global Voices
Ismail Dhorat

June 16, which is now referred to as Youth Day here in South Africa is day when we remember the past. On June 16, 1976 the Soweto uprising occurred sparked by laws that would force all education to be delivered in Afrikaans.
On the morning of June 16, 1976, thousands of black students walked from their schools to Orlando Stadium for a rally to protest against having to learn through Afrikaans in school. Many students who later participated in the protest arrived at school that morning without prior knowledge of the protest, yet agreed to become involved.
It is estimated that between 300 and 600 people lost their lives during the uprising, which became a defining moment in the resistance against apartheid.
On the blog Redemption Time the author reflects on the day:
I could say a lot about this day, but will restrict my words to making these few points.in all of history, the apartheid system and what it did to the people and youth who were oppressed under it will forever remain one of the worst tragedies to befall humankind. i therefore give full respect to those youth, who on this very day, challenged the apartheid forces and neglected bantu and afrikaans medium instruction in 1976. hector peterson and those whe were at his side, standing up for their rights, will forever be remembered and honoured in this country.
At the Platform 2 blog, the author writes about celebrating rebellion on June 16 and music as a form of protest:
The Hip-Hop nation will know that on June 16 a son was given to us, in a form of a rap legend, a rap genius was born from the political activist Afeni Shakur and Mzansi nation will also know dat on the same day of 1976 history was made. It is a blessing to commemorate this day not only as a young South African but as Hip-Hop fanatic. The music we listen to bring as much revolution as the young freedom fighters that took their rage to the street. They fought a different cause relevant to their political struggles but with the same intentions of liberation as of the youth of today. Well, we might not be as mobilized as the young people of ’76 but the truth is, we need the same things, we need our freedom, this was evident during our April voting period as young people voted in majority. We came together to defend our liberty, we voted because we wanted our pains and struggles to be heard. After we nearly had our intentions twisted with xenophobia, crime and drug abuse, we fought back positively like the Hector Petersons rebelled against the Bantu education system we brought our own rebellion to the voting station.
Fabulosity writes that the issue was about more then just education in Afrikaans:
The issue however, was not so much the Afrikaans as the whole system of Bantu education which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers.
Thando Tshangela discusses the effects of the protest:
This started an era of student and youth activism that culminated in the 1980?s unrest in black townships and the crisis in the culture of learning and teaching as the student took the battle against apartheid to the streets. The aim was ?to make the country ungovernable? and ensure that freedom was achieved at all costs even if it meant their education had to suffer. Their motto was  ?liberation first and education later.?

author: Ismail Dhorat


text:
South Korea: Citizen declaration · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Cynthia Yoo from Ohmynews International reports on a citizen declaration petition against President Lee Myung-bak's government.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: The Outsiders  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We are all begging to be let in. For our voices to be heard. For our opinions to matter. And the father of the nation builds a big tall wall around what is for him and those who support him. Like a club bouncer he gets to say who gets inside and who stays outside”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer says we are all outsiders.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


text:
Arab World: Let the Iranians do Whatever they Want · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iran's presidential election and its aftermath have grabbed the headlines of blogs across the Arab world this week as bloggers from all walks to life react to the latest developments in the region.
Jordanian blogger Hareega asks the rest of the world to stand aside as Iranians sort out their internal affairs on their own:
They had elections, whether or not they were fair is something we don't know and I don't think anyone will have the ability to tell. I hate Ahmadinajhad but I like democracy and when people vote, their opinion needs to be respected. I hate it how the US's attitude towards every other country where if “our guy” wins the elections would have been fair and the people spoke up their mind, but when the “bad guy” wins the elections are unjust.
Let Iranians vote for whoever they want to, and if they're taking the streets and are going bring down Ahmadinajhad let them do it themselves. The last time the bad guy was brought down by a criminal military invasion things did not go very well and it was a country a little bit close to Iran both geographically and alphabetically.
At Arab-American joint blog KABOBfest, Kalash discusses the role the US plays in Iranian elections and sentiments on the street:
Whether or not Mousavi had the election stolen from him, it seems clear the ruling class has made a calculating move. Anti-American sentiment is one of the strongest cards those wretched clerics hold. By merely softening the tone Tehran hears from Washington, Obama has weakened their hand considerably. But re-instating Ahmadinejad ensures that US-Iranian relations will continue down a rocky road. What happens next is crucial. If Obama takes a firm position as a result of what’s happening, the mullahs may emerge victorious.
That would be a real shame. The system of governance in Iran is terrible. There is no democracy to speak of. The people are ruled by despotic men of ‘faith’ who do nothing to advance their country’s interests. Aside from keeping Iran in the headlines, Ahmadinejad has done nothing to improve his country’s standing in the international community. It should come as no surprise that so many Iranians are opposed to him. It’s tempting to say that US officials have learned from past mistakes, but they could be helping to incite protests now just as they did back in 1953.
Hopefully what is happening right now is a homegrown phenomenon. Iran needs another revolution if it is to rid itself of the backwards theology pulling the strings. Mousavi is hardly the right person to lead such a movement, but what’s important is that the people rise up. The process won’t be easy. We may be witnessing the beginning of something huge… It won’t happen overnight, but the “Islamic Republic” is bound to fall one day or another.
Pro-Palestinian Jews Sans Frontieres  writes:
I don't know what is going on in Iran. The liberal bull#*it about the supposedly pro-Western reformist Moussavi supposedly pulling an upset victory over the supposedly retrograde Ahmedinejad doesn't make much sense.
On the people of Iran, the blogger says:
These people show courage facing an armed and willing to kill repressive state apparatus and they are making history. They are blessed.
From Egypt, Wael Nawara [Ar] at Weekite comments on US President Barack Obama's reaction to the Iranian elections saying:
And finally Irish for Palestine  notes:
The Western media is pushing this idea that all the unrest we are seeing in Iran is because people want to overthrow the Islamic Republic, which I think is a dangerous thing to be pushing, but hey, the media have an agenda. [British journalist Robert] Fisk agrees and says this is not about overthrowing an Islamic state, they just want get rid of Ahmadinejad and have faith in the voting process.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Bahrain: Cultural Comparisons · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Cradle of Humanity, who has spent time studying both in the UK and the US, has come to a conclusion that surprises her: “I think I came to Cleveland expecting to find Cardiff, and that’s why I was shocked…What’s amazing is that Cleveland has more in common with Bahrain.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


text:
Bermuda: Guantanamo Protest  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Bermudians continue to react – unfavourably for the most part – to their government's acceptance of former Guantanamo Bay detainees as full citizens of the tiny island, bloggers comment on yesterday's protest and what the public outcry could mean for the nation's Premier.
The Devil Island, known for being a cartoon blog, says:
Didn’t have anything written, but I wanted to doodle SO bad.  There’s tonnes of blogs talking about it. I’ve spent the afternoon and evening bitching about it and talking about it and reading about it. I’m going to wait for the next step.
I HOPE that he [the Premier] doesn’t wriggle out of this, but I’m not holding my breath. I can’t find it in myself to put anything past him.  One of his “supporters” actually compared this to Dr. King.  Sickening.
I WOULD however like to welcome these Uighur gentlemen to my home. If the vetting turns out copacetic and you guys are cool, we’re cool.
Breezeblog actually posts a video of the protest, which features “the moment Janice Battersbee told Premier Dr. Ewart Brown what many Bermudians think of him.”  While the racial divide in the island's politics was evident, the blogger writes:
It took great courage as a PLP supporter to stand in front of her country’s leader and deliver that – and credit to Brown, he stood there and took it with dignity, even if he must have been seething and humiliated inside.
There’s been a lot of internet and radio chatter about how the crowd was overwhelmingly and depressingly white – no surprise there – and sadly Hott 107 almost seemed to dismiss the protest because of the racial imbalance. But  the pro-Brown support was noticeable by its absence.
It was encouraging to see Bermudians willing to stand up and be counted and as such it was a good day for democracy. The people told their elected Premier in no uncertain terms what they thought of him without fear of arrest or police brutality. If nothing else, it will have impressed the four Uighurs who can only dream of such freedoms back home.
Catch a fire takes notice of “a counter-demonstration” that was carded for the same time of the original protest action:
This demonstration is being billed as supporting the decision to bring the Uighurs here.
This blog takes the position that it encourages active and critical participation in Bermuda’s politics, and to that degree I hope that there is a good turn-out for today’s demonstrations, as such activity is to the credit of our democracy.
This blog is, without hesitation, in the support of those who are critical of how this decision was made. I feel that the decision was made not on humanitarian grounds and that describing it as such is a red herring and emotionally manipulative deflection. I believe that the way this was done was contrary to the Constitution, and unnecessarily so.
Now that the Uighurs are here they should stay, but the way the decision was done needs protested.  Either way, everyone have fun, be careful, confront ignorance and generally exercise your democratic rights, either for or against the decision.
Meanwhile, the Premier's reaction to the protest does not sit well with Vexed Bermoothes:
Don’t expect much from Dr. Brown.  His comment on the protest:  ‘As some of you might know, I grew up in the protest era. This is nothing new to me. I have seen them larger and longer.’   Be careful what you ask for Dr. Brown.
Know we know why the Sally Bassett statue was placed in front of the Cabinet building:  so the Premier can stand in front of it whenever he is in hot water to try and shift the dialogue to one of racial martyrdom.  Nice try.
Vexed Bermoothes is also focused on the irony of the entire deal…
On the day that the PLP seeks to wrap itself in laurels of humanitarianism, their Government admits that there are still no funds to replace the decrepit and wholly inadequate homeless shelter in Bermuda.
I encourage all those international groups who are puffing up Dr. Brown for solving their problem, to feel free to encourage and assist the Bermuda Government in finally fulfilling its obligations to its own people.
…not to mention the safety issue:
Premier Ewart Brown stated in the House of Assembly on Friday that Police Commissioner Jackson had done a thorough security check on the Uighurs.
Well, maybe not.  As it turns out – like everyone else in Bermuda, the Police only learned about the uighurs on the radio news on Thursday morning.
Is it not a crime to ‘bend the truth’ in a statement to the House of Assembly?
The crowds at Parliament at lunch today – which spilled onto the surrounding streets – were noisy and fed up particularly compared to the meagre team of Brown supporters that gathered in his stage-managed appearance.  It will be untenable for the PLP to retain support for the Premier in the face of such public displeasure.  The constant circus surrounding him has become a debilitating distraction for Bermuda.
This leads the blogger to turn his attention to the opposition party‘s call for a vote of “No Confidence” in Premier Brown:
Typically a motion such as this would be voted upon two weeks after being tabled. Understandably, the Premier’s team are pursuing all options to keep that from happening.
It is clear that there is considerable public discontent regarding the leadership of Dr. Ewart Brown.  The Speaker (although currently drawn from the PLP ranks) has a strong responsibility to be impartial in conducting the affairs of the House.  He must facilitate the debate of this motion as soon as possible, so that Bermuda can clear the air and get our Government back to work.
Finally, he has a few words of wisdom for “international groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch [that] are freely tossing around humanitarian plaudits driven by their deep concerns about Guantanamo Bay and everything that it represents”:
They are incorrect if they assume that the backlash towards Dr. Brown is based on the Uighurs alone.  It is not.  The backlash is based on the accumulation of ‘unethical but not necessarily illegal’ acts under his tenure.  If there is no respect amongst our top leadership for the Constitution, then there is no Rule of Law.  And if there is no consistent rule of law, then there are degrading and unreliable human rights for Bermudians.
In short, it is fundamentally wrong to undermine the Bermudian Constitution so that the American Constitution can retain its lustre.


text:
Bhutan: Unmatchable Rural Hospitality · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dorji Wangchuk is amazed by the hospitality of the people from the rural areas of Bhutan and proposes that the urban Bhutanese should find some ways to reciprocate that gesture by helping the rural people.

author: Rezwan


text:
China: Missiles threaten Taiwan and more · Global Voices
David Reid

The Taiwan Link looks at China's Anti-ship Ballistic Missiles and the threat they pose to Taiwan. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato looks at the missiles and China's second-generation nuclear-powered submarines. Both consider that the weapons systems pose threats to targets beyond Taiwan.

author: David Reid


text:
Costa Rica: Chairs, Posters, and Lamps on Exhibit · Global Voices
Jenny Cascante Gonzalez

A curious collection of chairs, posters, and lamps are currently on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design [es] in San José, Costa Rica. The 300 pieces of Spanish artwork are distributed equally in quantity, and contains works from some of the biggest names in European Art History with pieces of some of the most distinguished Spanish artists and designers such as Picasso, Gaudí, Miró, Dalí, Tusquets, Mariscal, Moneo and Hayón among others. This traveling exhibit called “300% Spanish Design” has caught the attention of Costa Rican bloggers.
Dario Alvarez delivers a description of the exhibit in his blog Arquitecturas [es]:
España exporta su valor artístico en decoración. Las piezas más selectas y representativas del diseño español de los últimos 100 años se exhiben en Costa Rica cuando la muestra ‘300% Spanish Design’ abra sus puertas en el Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo (MADC) de este país.
On the other hand, Jose Pablo and Manuel of Sorry Zorrito [es] are more inquisitive about the exhibition:
¿Por qué sillas, lámparas y carteles?
Debe de ser muy difícil exponer el arte y el diseño de un país tan rico en ambos campos utilizando solo 3 objetos, es por eso que esta exposición decide tratar con elementos cotidianos y humildes que ayudan a las personas día a día con sus quehaceres. Según Juli Capella son objetos que logran reivindicarse con un uso humanista y social del diseño al servicio de la persona.
Why chairs, lamps and posters?
It must be really difficult to present the art and design of such a rich country in both fields by only using those 3 objects, the exposition decided to deal with the common items that help people to cope with their daily routine.  According to Juli Capella (the curator), these objects manage to achieve reinvindication with its humanistic and social use of design in service to the individual.
The exhibition had previously visited Saitama, Lisbon, Athens, Shanghai, Beijing, Fortaleza, Sao Paulo and Bogotá.  Its next destination will be Mexico in August.
In Costa Rica, the exhibits will be presented in all of the rooms of the museum and will last until July 12.  One of the sponsors, The State Society for Action in External Culture (SEACEX for its initials in Spanish) offers a virtual tour with pictures and description of all items. In addition, the Museum can be followed on Twitter.

author: Jenny Cascante Gonzalez


text:
Egypt: Friends in Jerusalem  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Leftist [Ar] introduces us to two of his friends, who live in Jerusalem.


text:
Guyana: Domestic Violence Tweets · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Signifyin’ Guyana republishes an interesting Twitter conversation with fellow bloggers about domestic violence.


text:
India: Mob Justice · Global Voices
Rezwan

I love life… so I explore thinks that “mob justice may not be correct or fair, but it is effective and efficient”, especially in the context of corruption in the judiciary and police forces of India.


text:
Iran: Islamist bloggers react to protest movement · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

As protests grow in Iran against the June 12 presidential election results that declare Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner, some Islamist bloggers explain why they believe Ahmadinejad won, and the opposition leader, Mir Hussein Mousavi lost.
While international media is awash with news about how Mousavi supporters are using the internet to make their views known, several bloggers are using the same tools to make a case against the opposition candidate.
Before the election, more than 100 bloggers publicly declared their support for Ahmedinejad on a campaign website created by his followers that made use of both YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Hamed Talebi, writes [fa] that we should consider several issues about the current situation such as:
اقلیتی وقیح می خواهند تصمیم خود را بر اکثریت تحمیل کنند و در این مسیر از ساده دلی مردمی که به میرحسین موسوی رای داده اند سوء استفاده می کنند.
He adds:
جنگ، جنگ احمدی نژاد و میرحسین نیست. و نباید گذاشت به جنگ رای دهندگان به این دو منتهی شود. این، جنگ بین اکثریت مردم بی زبان و بی رسانه است با جریان تندرویی که پیش تر هم در حرکت هایی همچون تحصن نمایندگان مجلس ششم و غائله 18 تیر نشان داد ابایی از به آتش کشیدن مملکت و قربانی کردن مردم و منافع عمومی ندارد. میرحسین نیز در خوشبینانه ترین حالت، قربانی این جریان فریبکار است.
The blogger questions how can we bring people's confidence back.
Ahestan says [fa] Mousavi tries to blame Ahmadinejad's supporters for burning public bulidings? Based on what evidence does he make such claims? It is just like his claim about his victory in the presidential election?
The blogger wonders if Mousavi claims all his supporters protest peacefully, why some of them tried to storm a Basij [para military] base.
Khakrism writes [fa] that several Hezbollah and Basij members were murdered during this crisis time, and that American and British media manipulated Mousavi's supporters to believe that the [Ahmadinejad] government is a liar.
Nasleh Khomeyni says  [fa] that Mousavi's western style campaign made him lose credibility among voters and that the demonstrations after the election show his supporters are coming from one class of society, and that he does not have majority support.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran: Revolutionary Guard cautions bloggers · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to Guardian, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said through the state news service that Iranian websites and bloggers must remove any materials that “create tension”, or else they would face legal action.


text:
Iran:’Football players support protest movement’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

IranRiggedelect twittered that BBC reported that ‘six members of the Iranian football team have used a televised match to protest about the presidential election result. They were wearing green wristbands, thought to be a symbol of their support for the opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi’.


text:
lran: Tohidloo, reformist blogger arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Somayeh Tohidloo, a female reformist blogger was arrested. As protest against Iranian presidential election grows, Iranian authorities arrested several political activists. recently she and a couple of bloggers organized an internet interview with former president,Mohammad Khatami.


text:
Macau: An unpopular Chief Executive coming to town · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yesterday Fernando Chui Sai On, Macau's former secretary for social and cultural affairs, announced that he had obtained 286 nominations from the territory's 300-member election committee which implies that he will automatically become the next chief executive of Macau.
Different from Hong Kong, Macau has been a very apolitical city and its citizens are not very critical of the government even though they are aware of the corruption among top ranked government officials. The most notorious case is the Ao Man Long's billion dollars corruption scandal. However, this time some citizens have decided to speak up and self-organize against Fernando Chui.
In a major forum in Macau, cyberctm, a poll (dated June 17) shows that around 80% netizens have voted against Fernando Chui for being the next chief executive. Here are some of the comments explaining why:
LST0011 (2009-5-12)
無用架!你老豆有無水呀?你老豆有無佢老豆咁有面呀?你有無佢咁無齒呀?你有無佢咁中意帶住屋企人去行街同做人呀? 無呀嘛,咁咪抵佢做咯…就係咁簡單!
2014 (2009-5-12)
應該係研究某人係唔係要坐牢, 而非係唔係做特首
亞嬸 (2009-5-13)
上世紀勁大貪官和珅係皇帝面前都係一隻討皇帝歡心的狗奴才…..只有狗奴才先會懂得主子的喜惡……..競選澳門的特狗的致勝之道—首要都係要取得亞爺歡心…
icezero1001 (2009-5-14)
明知自己冇民望都出來參選,睇來佢背後勢力都幾大
ohmybuddy (2009-5-15)
反對貪官奸商做特首!!澳門前途一片黑暗!!!
愛瞞停轉日 (2009-6-11)
中央已放棄澳門
A majority of the netizens who voted against Fernando Chui believed that he is another corrupted businessman who had given and will continue to give favor to his family business with his political power. For example, this forum post (zh) pointed out that he had given a health reform consultant contract to his own circle.
Moreover, when he acted as the secretary for social and cultural affairs, he was responsible for the East Asian Game, and it turned out that the government had exceed the budget for more than 2 billions. The following youtube video challenges Fernando Chui's integrity and ability to be Macau's CE:
The video also pointed out that as the secretary for social and cultural affair, he approved the construction of Macau-China Liaison Office building which destroyed Macau's historical and cultural heritage.
Last month (around mid May), some citizens wanted to publish an advertisement in major newspapers to voice out against Chui but their bank account was suspended by the Macau Commercial Bank. Mainstream media had censored away all the negative public opinions and Internet forum becomes the only channel for the public to discuss the CE election.
In spite of all the public discontent, Chui gained more than 90% vote in the small circle CE election committee. It is likely that the latent political tension within the community will probably increase in coming years.


text:
Mexico: Water Shortages Affecting Nearly 2 Million Residents · Global Voices
Issa Villarreal

Nearly two million citizens have been affected by the recent reduction of water services in the Valley of Mexico. According to Mexican Newspaper El Universal [es], the Cutzamala System, which manages 20% of the drinking water for the valley, is not working at full capacity and cannot supply its own region: 10 districts from the Federal District and 13 municipalities from State of Mexico.
To prevent drought and more severe problems, the first action of reduction was taken during Holy Week and affected more than 700 thousand people. Those suffering from shortages have used the water for domestic use from tanker trucks that visit each neighborhood regularly, says blog Vivir México [es]. In May, the reduction extended to 25% of the water supply throughout the weekends [es], and will prevail that way until further notice.
However, with the aggravating circumstance of the rupture of a water pipe in the State of Mexico [es] the water service was reduced by 50% in several blocks for 48 hours during the last days of May.
Photo by Flickr user Wonderlane. Used following Creative Commons license from http://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/3388022312/
Jessica Uribe, from the blog Vivir México [es], writes about the uncertainty of the government's actions regarding the water problem:
A pesar de todas estas afectaciones y de que es obvio que se necesita el gobierno federal no ha podido dar una respuesta al gobierno capitalino sobre la inversión que necesita el Sistema Cutzamala para ser rehabilitado y modernizado en su totalidad, esperemos que sea pronto cuando decidan el futuro del más importante sistema de abastecimiento de agua de la Ciudad de México, pues cada vez son más los problemas que tiene y más tiempo el que se tardan en solucionarlos.
Despite all of the impacts and that it is obvious that the federal government has not been able to respond to the capital's municipal governemnt about the economic investment to completely repair the Cutzamala System, let’s hope they will soon decide the future for the most important water system in Mexico City, because there are more and more problems and it takes more time to solve them.
Blogger Lesley Tellez of The Mija Chronicles shares her experience in her first day without water in April:
Then today, we woke up to find we had no water. It’s a problem throughout our neighborhood. Undeterred in my quest to become the cleanest woman in Mexico, I ended up taking a medieval-type shower, heating up water on the stove and then carrying it into the shower in my largest mixing bowls. It actually worked pretty well, to be honest. Something tells me tomorrow it won’t be as fun.
Despite the delicate situation of the neighborhoods with short water supply, some citizens question whether this is the best way to solve the problem. Blogger Daniel Hernández in his blog Intersections reviews some inequalities in the water shortage:
That's 12 days of sporadic, low-pressure water at the tap for who knows how many millions of people. And no water — none — for perhaps millions more. That means dead toilets, no showers, panting plants. Some boroughs and specific neighborhoods have not been affected much (you can guess which), and others have been so severely (guess which again).
(…) Time to make some serious offerings to [prehispanic god] Tlaloc?
Jesús Chaírez comments on his personal blog the contradiction of the water shortage and urban sanitation methods from the government:
Then, like every morning, I looked out my window – this time in amazement: With all the talk of there being a water shortage here in Mexico City I look out my window to see a city crew cleaning the sidewalks of the park across the street, Alameda Santa Maria la Ribera, not with brooms but WATER! The Mexico City government at work using precious water to hose down and clean sidewalks. This is insane, but this is Mexico.
In the blog The Mex Files,  the authors mention that the massive reduction of water supply in Mexico City should be considered a warning to cities growing rapidly without taking care of the most basic services:
Of course, “¡Como México no hay dos!” when it comes to geographic and geological challenges, and the strain on a water system in a city that’s grown exponentially over the last half century, coupled with what was considered good engineering practices for the last 500 years (draining Lake Tezcoco) made Mexico City’s water system more vulnerable to dramatic problems than others.
(…)
This should be a wake-up call to start paying attention to the basics, but I expect we’ll wake up one morning in Chicago, or New York or London shocked, shocked that OUR systems have just stopped working and we won’t have a clue how it happened.  Same way it’s happening in Mexico City.  Just not paying attention to the basics of life.
Workers from the Comisión Nacional del Agua (Conagua, Water National Comission) declared to newspaper El Universal [es] that the stability of the Cutzamala System should be regained partially with the repair to several dams that started in April.

author: Issa Villarreal


text:
Morocco: Local Elections Results  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Writing at the Maghreb Politics Review, Alle updates us on the results of the Moroccan local council elections.


text:
Morocco: Lost Affection with the Silver Screen · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Collective blog The View from Fez reports on the dramatic decrease in the number of movie theatres in Morocco and their shrinking audiences. “In a country of more than 30 million people, there are currently only 50 cinemas, down from 70 just last year. They were 250 in 1995,” notes Abdallah Mchanna.

author: Hisham Almiraat


text:
Pakistan: Chinese And Japanese Characters On Public Transport · Global Voices
Rezwan

Doodh Patti notices that “over the past few years, Chinese and Japanese characters have increasingly appeared on Pakistani public transport as decorations.”


text:
Pakistan: Volunteers For IDPs in Swat Region · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chowrangi blog calls for coordination and collaboration between volunteers engaged in the relief works for the IDPs of Swat and Malakand in Pakistan.


text:
Qatar: Log Book for Bar Patrons  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Paraglider, at the UAE Community Blog, reports: “The Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority and Ministry of the Interior (!) requires that access to any bar shall be on production of a valid ID or Passport. Originals only, no copies. But it is not enough just to flash the card. The details, name, ID number, date and time, are to be manually entered into a log-book…Because there was no explanation accompanying the ruling, rumours are rife.”


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Creative Prosperity  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands highlights the wonderfully creative animation by Trinidadian artist Wendell Mc Shine, which he produced for a new music video.


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Smelter & Democracy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As a legal ruling causes construction on the proposed Alutrint aluminium smelter to come to a halt, This Beach Called Life comments: “This case is destined to go to the Privy Council and if the EMA (Government) should lose then the reputation of the EMA would be damaged beyond repair and this would send a signal to the world that the threat to democracy is alive and well in Trinidad and Tobago.”


text:
Turks & Caicos: Battle with Britain · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Following allegations of corruption in the Turks and Caicos, Repeating Islands reports that ”the court of appeal in London is considering a last minute application from the former prime minister of Turks and Caicos…to stop the imposition of direct rule by Britain.”


text:
UK: Romanians Attacked in Belfast · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LimbicNutrition Weblog writes about violence against Romanian immigrants in Belfast.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Arab World: “Iran is a Democratic Dictatorship” · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Reactions continue to pour across the Arab world over developments in Iran, in the aftermath of the country's presidential elections which saw Mahmoud Ahmedinejad winning a second term, with 66 per cent of the overall votes.
In this round up of reactions, Arab bloggers compare between the political scenes in their countries with that in Iran as well as offer their insights to developments on the ground.
On Twitter, Essam Al Zamel [Ar], from Saudi Arabia, quips:
A screenshot of Al Zamel
The European Union is calling for an investigation on the results of the Iranian elections. What a farce! Arab countries hold elections where the winners win by 99 per cent and we haven't heard any objections from them!?
Jordanian Ali Dahmash also notes how democracy in the Arab world pales compared to that in Iran:
Iran is a Democratic Dictatorship State as I name it. The country enjoys a good amount of liberalism and freedom that doesn’t exist in the Arab World. The men and women of Iran get to choose their leadership, but the Supreme Leader is still in control of everything. Women can vote, work anywhere, drive, travel, ski in the mountains but cannot nominate themselves in the elections. Iran is the largest democracy in the Middle East and the second after Lebanon, but minorities like Baha’is, Homosexuals and Armenians are still subject to oppression, persecution and the threat of being jailed or killed.
On the latest turmoil regarding the election results, the blogger explains:
While Mousavi accused the government of fraud and deception in the elections; since 14 million votes were not counted, his supporters took their despair and anger to the streets of Tehran. Most of the demonstrators are youth who are seeking reform and change. This middle class age group has always been the flame that flares any revolution or uprising. But I don’t see this as a revolt against the Islamic state, something that many people are looking forward to, but a slow reform process for change and modernization that should take its course. This is an inevitable internal path that should not be imposed by external powers or international threats. Time will eventually change Iran.
And Dahmash also comments on the power of Twitter, which has allowed the voices of Iranian protesters to echo around the world, despite the Iranian government's clampdown on free speech:
The government still controls the media and access to Internet sites such as (You Tube) & (Facebook) that are currently inaccessible. It has blocked International media from covering the riots. So protestors have switched to Twitter and other social networking sites to report what is going on in the streets of Tehran. Traditional media are also turning to Iran’s Internet users to get reports and videos of the situation there. The Obama administration has urged Twitter to delay its maintenance outage as this is the only way for Iranins to communicate with the rest of the world! Many protestors are risking their lives by using their Phone Cameras to shoot videos and pictures of the rallies that started peacefully a week ago and turned out violently with 7 slain so far.
Our last stop is at Palestinian Pundit, where Zarathustra lashes out at Arab youth saying:
What is taking place in Iran today (regardless of which side you support or if the opposition is truly reformist or not) only reaffirms how the Arab people (youth in particular) are the most impotent and spineless people in the middle east.
When was the last time that they defied government orders and went to the street by the tens of thousands to show their displeasure with anything their government has done ? Arab regimes have mastered the art of oppression so well for generations that they have created a generation of Arab youth that is fully happy to sit down, play cards , smoke Hookah and dream about going to Dubai or the west to work and make a lot of money. A generation of youth that cares more about meaningless danish cartoons humiliating the prophet than their daily humiliation and oppression. You have youth movements active all around the world from Latin America
to Iran to Turkey where the young people are trying to take an active role in determining their future, but not in the Arab world.
Arab youth's indifference and apathy is a direct result of the massive failure of their parent's generation. It is sad that everyone in the 3rd world it seems is attempting to change their reality , except Arabs , where the same tyrants and their sons have been ruling them for decades and that does not seem to concern them at all.


text:
Bahrain: Ahmadinejad, For And Against · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahrain has many historical and cultural links to Iran. A number of Bahrainis (both Shi'a and Sunnis) have Persian roots and speak Persian, and many of Bahrain's Shi'a community regularly travel to religious sites in Iran. On Bahraini blogs and forums there has been a lot of support expressed for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, thanks in particular to his reputation as a clean politician and modest person, but he is not popular with everyone.
Rayyash wanted Ahmadinejad to win:
وعودا الى نجاد المتواضع والنزيه والذي كشف عن ميزة جديدة وهي الشرس !! حيث كشر عن أنيابه في المناظرة التلفزيونية مع خصومة ولكنه لم ينجح لأنه ناقش في الخصوصيات والامور التي لاتمت للسياسة بصلة وهي ضربات تحت الحزام ما كان يتوقعها منافسوه!! ولعلها كشفت بكل جلاء أن في السياسية ترفع جميع الخطط الحمراء والشرعية !!!
Returning to the modest and honest Ahmadinejad, we see that he has revealed a new quality, and that is his ferocity! He bared his fangs in the televised debates with his opponents, but he did not succeed as he discussed private matters and issues which had nothing to do with politics, and which were hits below the belt – that his opponents did not expect! This clearly shows that politics removes all boundaries and propriety!
On Bahrain Online, the most popular forum in Bahrain, Tammuz commented before the election results were announced:
On the same thread, Al Shafaq says:
On another thread, Athbat Al Oyoun says:
Ali Abdulemam is no fan of Ahmadinejad:
I used to call Ahmedi Najad the crazy, even when i was in Iran talking with my cousins while we are talking about his politic, i used to call him crazy so i mean no harm to all of you.
honestly i was supporting mir hussain mosavi because i feel Iran will need a presedent like Khatami, more freedom, more respect, freedom of choices to be made…this is what i believe not in iran only but in every where in the world, but at the end, we are not iranian, we have to respect this crazy [man] when he come to the power and we have to deal with him for the next four years
I was following the election by persian blogs, thanks god i know persian so it was easy for me , the strange things i discovered is, Najad failed in economic area, and its reflecting the poor people which is the majority in Iran, but the poor majority didn't talk about economy as its one of their criterias , these were talking that Najad is clean, we need to vote for clean people


text:
Bangladesh: Daylight Saving Time  · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Bangladesh government has decided to implement daylight savings for the first time starting midnight on Friday, June 19, 2009. Expat blogger Estelle Visagie wonders how the people of Bangladesh will cope with the changes.


text:
Barbados: Illegal Immigration  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Illegal immigrants have rights too”: Bajan Dream Diary discusses the issue in light of the country's recent move to tighten its immigration policy.


text:
Bermuda: Another Protest Planned  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Many Bermudian bloggers plan to attend a new protest against Premier Brown's decision to accept former Guantanamo Bay detainees into the island.


text:
Bolivia: Warnings of Scams in El Alto · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Falling victim to scams in Bolivia is not uncommon. Attempts to swindle people out of money come in all shapes and sizes, and often come at times when people are most vulnerable, in a hurry or when they are alone, for example. There is a term called “El Cuento del Tío” that is often used to describe these tricks targeted on people in attempt to receive money or other material goods. There is no exact translation for the phrased, but it loosely means, “The Uncle's Story” and can refer to a relative or the god of the mine shafts.
Two bloggers from El Alto share their experiences of being deceived, as well as a failed attempted to be tricked, respectively. They both wanted to share their stories, so that the same thing does not happen to anyone else.
Nancy Condori of El Chairo [es] retells her experience during some travels with her mother, where they fell for a convincing story:
Al promediar aproximadamente las 8 de la noche, nos encontrabamos en la terminal de el Alto en busca de una Flota con destino a Potosí ,en vista de que mi madre se dedica al comercio y entre tanto lleva mercadería al lugar ya mencionado; entonces, como era un dia de demanda de pasajeros no había flota disponible para transvordarla,tanta era la desesperación de viajar supongo que el antisocial se dió cuenta y se acerco a nosotras ofreciendonos llevarnos, indicando de que venía de la terminal de la ciudad una flota vacía y que podía cargar toda la mercadería afirmando que era ayudante te una linea de buses X, pero a cambio teníamos que adelantarle para reservar espacio, bueno mi madre le adelanto un monto considerable para tal hecho.
Sin embargo nosotras no fuimos a la oficina de tal empresa para serciorarnos de que ese tipo pertenecía al personal, hasta que llego tal flota a la parada, mi madre se subio tranquila y yo le dije al ayudante que estaba cargando en ese momento las maletas suba mis bultos pero, el me dijo su boleto y le dije le page al otro ayudante, no existe ningun otro ayudante respondió, me quedé asustada y mi madre al percatarse de tal situación hizo un escandalo porque el muchacho que le cobró ya no aparecía en esos momentos, no sabíamos que hacer talvez es culpa nuestra por confiar y no aserciorarnos de que era cierto de lo que decía ese muchacho ladrón y no pudimos rescatar tal dinero fue una estafa que podíamos evitar si hubiésemos comprado los boletos de la boleteria.
At approximately 8 pm, we were in the bus terminal in El Alto looking for a bus heading to Potosí, and since my mother is a businesswoman, every once in awhile she takes merchandise to that city; since it was a high demand day there was no longer any seats. We were so desperate to travel that the delinquent must have noticed and approached us offering to take us. He indicated that there was an empty bus coming from La Paz, and that he could help us load the cargo, assuring us that he was an employee of the X bus line. However, in exchange, we needed to pay him in advance in order to reserve space. My mother gave him a considerable amount for advance payment for this.
However, we did not go to the office of this company to make sure that this man belonged to the staff, until the bus arrived to stop. My mother boarded the bus and I told the bus assistant that they were loading the suitcases and cargo. The assistant asked for the bus fare and I told him that I already paid the other assistant. There is no other assistant, he responded. I became scared and when my mother noticed what was happening, made a huge fuss because the man already charged her and did not appear at that time, we didn't know what to do. Maybe it was our fault for trusting and for not making sure what the thief was telling us and we could not get out money back. It was a scam that could have been avoided had we bought the tickets at the ticket counter.
Marisol Medina of Lengua, Cultura y Sociedad [es] was a little more vigilant when she soon noticed that things were too good to be true:
Estaba en la ceja de la ciudad de El Alto esperando a unos amigos para ir a pasear por alguna extraña razón llegue temprano, y como era domingo no había mucha gente. Me encontraba sola y de pronto se me acerca dos mujeres que afirmaban ser de la empresa COCA COLA y que estaban entregando premios.
Bueno la señora me da un calendario con dos papeles envueltos y me dice que los abra para ver que me gane (lo mas increíble era lo rápido que hablaba esta señora, realmente te confundía). Abrí el primer papel y según ella me gane 10 bolivianos yo me alegre luego me ice que abra el segundo papel y lo hice me gane 15 camisetas las cuales, según ella, debía recoger en la empresa con mi carnet de identidad.
Lo siguiente que paso es que ella me dice que le tengo que dar 100 bolivianos si quiero ganarme mas premios y ahí fue cuando me di cuenta del engaño hice una mueca con mi cara la cual no pude disimular y la señora me pregunta que me pasa y yo le dije que nada. Bueno la señora sigue y me pregunta si quiero ganarme más premios, y yo le dije ¡NO! Me pregunta por mi celular y yo le seguí respondiendo ¡NO! Las dos señoras se apuraron y se marcharon llevandose los 10 pesos que me había ganado. Creo que se dieron cuenta de que yo ya me había dado cuenta de su artimaña
I was in the Ceja (area of the city with a lot of pedestrian and public transport traffic) in El Alto, waiting for some friends. For some strange reason, I arrived early and because it was Sunday, there were not many people. I was alone and soon two women approached me saying that they were from the COCA COLA company and that they were giving away prizes.
One woman gave me a calendar with two wrapped papers. She told me to open them to see what I had won (what was incredible was how fast the woman spoke, she really confused me). I opened the first paper and according to her, I won 10 bolivianos (approximately $1.50 USD), which made me happy. Later, she told me to open the second paper and told me that I had won 15 t-shirts, which according to her, I must pick up at the company with my identification card.
Later, she told me that I should give her 100 bolivianos (approximately $14.00 USD), if I wanted to win more prizes. That is when I realized that it was a trick. I sneered, which I could not hide and she asked me what was wrong and I told her nothing. The woman continued and asked if I wanted to win more prizes, and I said No! She asked to see my mobile phone and I continued to say No! The women hurriedly left and took the 10 bolivianos that I had supposedly won. I think they realized that I knew about their trick.
These types of attempted scams happen in every large city in Bolivia, and comes in different variations. These bloggers share their experiences, so that others can spot similar attempts in the future.

author: Eduardo Avila


text:
China: Interviewing Deng Yujiao · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated Southern Metropolis Daily's interview with Deng Yujiao, the nail beautician who was set free by China court for killing a local government official when defending herself against sexual assault.


text:
China, UK: Chinadialogue.net founder awarded OBE · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Isabel Hilton, the founder of Chinadialogue.net, a bilingual English-Chinese website about the environment, was admitted to the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work promoting environmental awareness in China.

author: Solana Larsen


text:
Cuba: Lessons from Iran  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Havana-based blogger Generation Y thinks that “what is happening in Iran and its dissemination through the Internet is a lesson for Cuban bloggers.”


text:
Dominican Republic: Bicycles as Alternate Form of Transport · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Joan Guerrero of Duarte 101 [es] asks whether bicycles could be an alternative form of transport for residents in the Dominican Republic. A commenter adds four points that could make it a reality, such as tax incentives for those that bike to work, as well as lanes set aside for cyclists.


text:
Guyana: Blackout Stimulus Package?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“People across the country are cussing bitterly about the almost nationwide blackouts which Guyanese are suffering on a daily basis”: Imran Khan thinks that “there is serious economics behind it all.”


text:
India: Failure Is Not An Option · Global Voices
Rezwan

India, the defending champion, was out of this year's Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament early. No wonder the cricket crazy nation is buzzing with the discussion “what went wrong”. Blogbharti summarizes some bloggers’ reactions.


text:
Iran: 22 Political activists arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kawdess tweeted that 22 political activists were arrested in Ahwaz,in the south of Iran.


text:
Iran: CNN website filtered · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

IranRiggedElect tweeted that CNN website was filtered in Iran.


text:
Iran: Comparisons and Scenarios · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkans via Bohemia looks at how the events in Iran “would play out vis a vis other successful and unsuccessful revolutions in the past two decades,” including those in Serbia, Czechoslovakia, Ukraine and China.


text:
Iran: Electronic Sit-in In Solidarity with Iranians · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

An electronic Sit-in solidarity action was launched to support the large numbers of Iranian people who have been taking to the streets since June 13, 2009 to claim their right to free and fair elections.


text:
Iran: Green Silent Protest Movement in photos · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Protesters all over Iran continue their demonstrations against the June 12 presidential election result that declared Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner. Supporters of Ahmadinejad's challenger, Mir Hussein Mousavi, and many Iranians who profess to believe in “change” continue to use the colour green as the symbol of their movement. Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, the other reformist candidate, have asked people to stay calm and protest peacefully.  While Iranian state-run TV is not showing images of the demonstrations, Iranian citizen media is full of fascinating photos.  Hamed Saber has published several photos on Wendesday's demonstartion in Hafte tir Square in Tehran. These photos reveal the nature of Iranian protest movement:
Green Silence or Silent Protest
No time to rest
Creativity
Huge Masses
Che meets Mousavi
Kosoof also published the photos of Tehran march when Mir Hussein Mousavi and Mehdi karoubi were present:
Mass Movement
Mir Hussein Mousavi among People
Mehdi Karoubi Greetings Crowd
On Thursday Mousavi delivered a speech in Imam Khomeni Square in Tehran. His wife, Zahra Rahnavard, was with him and appears in following photo.


text:
Iran: Mass media propaganda against internet sites  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Change for Iran twittered that “the Iranian government is now running a mass media propaganda about US & Israel joint force working in some Internet sites against Iran.” Change for Iran did not mention the names of these sites.


text:
Iran: State-run media try to demonize protesters · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Hadi Nili twittered that the Iranian state-run media are still trying to demonize protesters and label them as “hooligan”s,”murderer”s, and western-allies.


text:
Iran: The Power of Allaho Akbar · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Jadi tweeted that this night the power of Allaho Akbar [God is Great] and Down With Dictator is at least tripled! At night people shout Allaho-Akbar from their rooftops to protest against Iranian presidential election's result.


text:
Iran: Wearing Black · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Persain Kiwi tweeted that today “Sea of Green [the protest movement's colour] will wear black in respect of those who have been killed by the Iranian government.”


text:
Iran:Repression in Urumiye · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In You Tube we can watch the Iranian police repressed a protester in Urumiye in Western Azarbaijan province. As protests against Iranian presidential election‘s reults grow, security forces repress more and more protesters around country.


text:
Iran:’Some posters and slogans’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Nikooonnevesht has published several posters in English for Friday's protest demonstration.


text:
Iraq: Getting ID Badges  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Writing at Baghdad Observer journalist Mike Tharp describes the ritual he went through at the International Zone in Baghdad to get his “U.S. military ID badges so we could be street legal and enter places we couldn't go without ‘em.”


text:
Kenyans Race to Get Furadan Banned · Global Voices
Samuel Maina

Lion cub poisoned in the Masai Mara
Kenyan conservationists are making gains in their push to have Furadan, a carbofuran-based pesticide that has so far caused the death of 76 lions, banned in the country.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Naivasha Constituency, Honourable John Mututho, has now joined the call for a total ban on this lethal poison by taking the appeal to parliament. On Tuesday, 2 June 2009, the Baraza blog reports scanned some pieces from the news, and reports that  Hon. Mututho asked the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife for the ban amid overwhelming support from other parliamentarians.
In today’s national newspapers in Kenya, there were two stories about lion poisoning in the Masai Mara. One in The Standard reports the Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Services Dr Noah Wekesa saying that lions were dying in the Masai Mara and Furadan was responsible. He however referred Hon. John Mututho’s call for its ban to the Agriculture Minister and the Pesticide Control Products Board.
In the other news item appearing in the Daily Nation, the Kenya Wildlife Service, which is the custodian of Kenya’s wildlife, has accused farmers of poisoning one lion, some hyenas and 35 vultures in the Mara. The KWS said that there were traces of a pinkish substance on the carcase that was used to bait the these carnivores and scavengers.
The Minister on his part, while acknowledging that Furadan was killing many lions in a country that now has only 2100 lions down from 30,000 a few decades back, however, referred the question of the ban to the Minister for Agriculture and the Pest Control Products Board – the government organization that regulates pesticides in Kenya.
Kenyan conservationists have been fighting for the removal of Furadan from the market since the mid-1990s when massive poisoning of wild ducks was being witnessed in the rice-growing Mwea Irrigation Scheme in the Eastern Province. It was however the recent coverage of lion poisoning problem by American broadcaster CBS that this issue has become of great concern for Kenyan leaders. Hon Mututho however had asked for a ban back in 2008 following the death of lions in Masai Mara.
Although FMC Corporation, the Philadelphia-based manufacturer of Furadan announced an immediate withdrawal of the lethal chemical from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania just hours after the CBS programme on 60 Minutes, lions and other wildlife are still being poisoned with Furadan. Martin Odino, a Kenyan researcher attached to the National Museums of Kenya, has been reporting in his Stop Wildlife Poisoning blog about alarming poisoning of birds which seem to be sold for food.
About a month after FMC's withdrawal of the chemical from the market, Baraza blog reports that an eight-month-old lion cub died after consuming a carcase of a cow that had been laced with a pesticide suspected to be Furadan. Several hyenas and an estimated 40 vultures were also poisoned by the same carcase. With the lion cub was four other lions whose fate has not been established yet.
These poisoning cases have made conservationists relentless in their pursuit for the ban. On 9 June 2009, conservationists met at WildlifeDirect offices in Nairobi and in that meeting, they brought out the dire situation facing birds. It emerged that even as lion poisoning was in the limelight, the poisoning of birds was equally catastrophic. A report by KWS indicated that birds were being poisoned in ‘pick-up truck loads’. WildlifeDirect, which convened this meeting, promptly issued a statement throught the Baraza blog.
The Baraza blog provides a way for readers to make a donation.

author: Samuel Maina


text:
Lebanon: Bloggers React to Iran Crisis · Global Voices
Antoun Issa

Only a week after its own tight elections, Lebanese bloggers have been intently watching the fallout from Iran's disputed polls.
The turmoil in Iran – a key power broker in Lebanon and main supporter of the powerful Lebanese Shia group Hezballah – has received mixed reactions.
Whilst many of the bloggers are resisting to choose a side in Iran's dispute, they have plenty to say on other fronts.
Asad Abu Khalil at the Angry Arab News Service has slammed the UN, Western governments and media for their double standard approach to Iran's elections:
There is so much hypocrisy in the Western coverage and official reactions to the developments. Most glaring for me was the statement by the secretary-general of the UN who insisted on the respect of the will of the Iranian people. Would that US designate utter such words, say, about Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and other dictatorships that are approved by the US?
Asad continues by criticising both Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Mir Hossein Mousavi for their failures, instead highlighting the plight of the Iranian people as his main concern:
Typically, I support neither side in the Iranian situation: but I support those Iranians who are struggling against both sides. I have worried before about the impact of Ahmadinajad's stupid rhetoric on the Iranian public attitudes toward the Palestinian question. I worried that in the long run it will move the public away from solidarity with the Palestinians.
but I am in no way sympathetic to Moussavi. He is a man who suddenly discovered the virtues of democracy. When he was prime minister back in the 1980s, he presided over a regime far more oppressive than Ahmadinajad's. And why has no Western media really commented on his rhetoric during his own campaign: the man kept saying that he wants a “return” to the teachings of Khomeini. I in no way support a man who wants a “return” to the teachings of Khomeini. But Western media are always quick to pick villains and heroes: especially when one side is identified against Israel.
Sursock points to the Ahmedinijad-Mousavi dispute as a deep internal struggle within the ruling establishment that is tearing the Islamic Republic apart:
The elections in Iran have revealed the deep divisions at the heart of Iran’s ruling class.
The country is internationally isolated, faces a growing economic crisis and is ruled by a faction associated with the “hardliners” that want to be the main beneficiaries of privatisation of state-owned companies.
This faction has coalesced around the incumbent president Mahmud Ahmadinijad. They see his populist appeal as an important bulwark against the deep discontent that is sweeping the country.
A second section fears that the widespread corruption at the heart of the system is undermining popular support for the republic. They want the economy opened up and strip from power those they see as lining their pockets.
This faction, that includes many senior figures in the religious establishment, has put its hopes in Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Mousavi and other reformers want to harness the growing disquiet in the country to oust one faction of the ruling class from power. They want Ahmadinejad and the hardliners removed, but also limit the scope of popular anger.
The danger is that this movement could quickly run out of their control.
Meanwhile, Abu Muqawama has ridiculed rumours that Hezballah has sent 5,000 paramilitaries to support Ahmedinejad:
A friend of mine raised a good point regarding the Spiegel/VOA claim that 5,000 Hizballah footsoldiers were on the streets of Tehran. 1) Hizballah had approximately 1,200 full-time fighters in 2006. So unless they have beefed up their ranks much more rapidly than anyone could have guessed and 2) have left southern Lebanon now completely defenseless, the odds that they have deployed 5,000 to Tehran to put down some popular revolt is just silly.
Joseph el-Khoury at ArabDemocracy compares Iran's theocracy to the Soviet Union, but warns the West on expecting a friendlier Iran should a regime change occur:
The Iranian theocracy is a regime ‘against nature’; one that defies the basic aspirations of human beings for freedom and emancipation. In a way, it is no different from the Soviet illusion, which seemed unshakable for decades only to collapse overnight like a pack of cards. These regimes shared a similar path, from popular revolutions against a Western backed Monarch they turned into authoritarian leviathans promoting the interests of a small group of self reproducing autocrats.
The demonstrations are inevitably the start of something, an awakening perhaps that will hopefully be followed by a process of political maturation. But talk of a pro-American ‘democratic’ Iran is wishful thinking limited to western powerhouses and their media outlets…these same outlets who brought us the ‘liberation’ of Iraq and the ‘pacification’ of Afghanistan.
Finally, a supporter of Lebanon's pro-American March 14 bloc has posted bloody images of Iran's violent protests on his blog, Blacksmiths of Lebanon. He finishes his post with a quote that summarises the fear of many pro-March 14 Lebanese:
As level of chaos rises in Iran, worries grow that Hizballah will act to create a distraction in the region, sparking Leb bloodshed.

author: Antoun Issa


text:
Malawi: Malawians are not fools · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kondwani tells the British media that Malawians are not fools: “We are not a foolish people and niether do we spend time hero worship a human being. Malawi is a God fearinf[g] country, ranked number two in Africa as the most peaceful country and by the Economic Intelligence Unit as the fastest growing economy in Africa…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Philippines: Word of the year · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Morofilm is nominating the word “scripted” as the word of the year in the Philippines.

author: Mong Palatino


text:
South Africa: Bafana needed Bernard Parker · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Supersport commentator and blogger, Mlambo, writes about the Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa: “The new no 17 Bernard Parker’s 20th minute goal and 12 minutes later dazzling run and shot that required Glen Moss to pull out his best save of the evening was just what I, millions of South Africans, Africa as a whole and Bafana needed to settle our nerves.”


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Tecia’s Body Found · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog and The Trini Outlaw report on the discovery of the body of a ten-year-old girl who had gone missing last week.


text:
Uruguay: Daily Users of Internet · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Statistics in Uruguay shows a big jump in the number of users that access the internet on a daily basis from 11% to 33% in just six years, notes Gabriel Budiño of D Todo 1 Poco [es].


text:
Arab World: Berkman Launches New Arab Blog Study  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Harvard University's Berkman Centre for Internet and Society has released a study of the Arabic blogosphere entitled Mapping the Arabic Blogosphere. About 35,000 active blogs were covered. “The goal for the study was to produce a baseline assessment of the networked public sphere in the Arab Middle East, and its relationship to a range of emergent issues, including politics, media, religion, culture, and international affairs,” announced the centre.


text:
Bahrain/Tunisia: Censors of the Net · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Sesawe‘s blog publishes an English translation of an article which appeared in France's Le Monde 2, entitled Censors of the Net, written by Claire Ulrich, which focuses on censorship, including that in Bahrain and Tunisia, to name a few.


text:
Bangladesh: Back From No Wo/man’s Land · Global Voices
Rezwan

Renowned photojournalist and blogger Shahidul Alam, who was arrested by Indian border guards first and later by Bangladesh police, has been released on bail and has written in his blog about the incident.


text:
CCTV’s propaganda campaign against Google.cn · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On June 18th, China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre (CIIRC) published a report  in its frontage condemning Google.cn for spreading obscene contents.
The report, titled as “Strongly condem google for spreading indecent and obscene information”, said:
互联网违法和不良信息举报中心近日根据公众举报并经核查，“谷歌中国”网站(google.cn)大量传播淫秽色情和低俗信息，严重违反国家有关法律法规，违背社会公德，损害公众利益。
Founded on June 10, 2004, (CIIRC) is sponsored by the Internet Society of China and supported by the Ministry of Information Industry, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China
Very quickly, CCTV in its evening news highlighted the CIIRC's condeming notice and had a follow-up story in its “focus interview”. The news feature gathered various public opinions from teachers, parents, university students and youth experts against google.cn:
Part One
Part Two
Jason Ng from Kenengba transcribed the university student's interview in the second part of the feature story for analyzing the CCTV propaganda tactics:
我觉得黄色、淫秽信息在网上的毒害特别大，特别是经过像Google的链接，那种毒害特别大。
就我一个同学吧，他以前就是青少年比较好奇这些东西，他就去点那些黄色网站什么的。然后就搞到那段时间心神不宁，然后后来国家打击黄色网站了，他就没上，那段时间就好了。结果后来他又发现通过Google这些用户比较多的搜索引擎可以打开这些网址，然后又进入了这些黄色网站，Google里面的链接特别多，然后就导致他又反复了。
For example, I have a classmate. He was like every other youth, very curious about such thing. Therefore, he visited porn site and lost his mind in it. Later, the government clean out the porn sites and he could not visit anymore. He then became better. However, he then discovered that via Google.cn's search engine, he could open these kind of websites again. Google.cn has more that kind of links. Then his condition got worse again.
Update (June 19 3:31pm): latest information from twitter suggested that the university student Gao Ye was a staff member of CCTV. In this Xiaonei (Chinese version of facebook) status update, he chatted with the reporter team. Now that his identity has been disclosed, he started to delete his status record. Below is a screenshoot of his status record before the deletion:
Jason also pointed out that CCTV was trying to promote Green Dam after all the criticism against the software. Here is his explanation:
要打破各界的舆论质疑，最好的方法不是去封锁这些报道，而是制造另一种报道。…在短时间内如何营造出互联网确实是危险重重、低俗满布、未成年人成长艰难呢？编辑们绞尽脑汁，终于想到了搜索引擎。
因为只针对某一个或几个网站出现低俗内容，那是没有说服力的。搜索引擎就不同了，搜索引擎是互联网的入口之一，有了它，网民可以找到几乎任何信息。
但是，由于百度春晚的时候已经交了4000万的保护费，不能再拿百度开刀了，于是很自然地就想到了拿Google开刀
If they only tareget at a number of websites, it won't be convincing. Search engine is different, it is the entrance to the Internet and netizen can get whatever they want via search engine.
However, Baidu had already paid 40 million protection fee (ad contract) to CCTV, they can't pinpoint at it anymore. So google.cn becomes the target.
Another blogger, lyngle, also pointed out that CCTV is not fair towards google.cn and he compared the image search result between google.cn and baidu.com by searching “mm” (standing for girls). Below are the screen captures of his finding:
Google.cn's image search of “mm”
Baidu.com's image search of “mm”
In the twitter, there are a number of tweets saying that propaganda department has instructed major portal sites to promote the news to the frontpage. There are also speculation that anti-vulgarity is only a means to further censorship:
huyong CCTV fuck Google 再次证明，反低俗是手段，搞审查是目的。
wenyunchao 这轮批判谷歌最直接的目的看来是当局不想让谷歌推出可用SSL方式访问的Search服务。

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: Internet with Chinese characteristics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Alice Poon from Asia Sentinel has translated Leung Man To’s introductory remarks at ifeng.com on Hu Yong's newly published book “The Cacophony of Public Voices” (眾聲喧嘩).


text:
China: Speaking for the Party Or the people? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated various articles about a recent catchphrase in the Internet: “Will you speak for the Party?  Or will you speak for the people?” The sentence was uttered by a Zhengzhou city government official of the urban planning department Lu Jun to a reporter who was doing an investigative report on local development issue.


text:
Confederation Cup: Egypt beats World Champions Italy in Football Victory · Global Voices
Tarek Amr

Egypt moved closer to reaching the semi-finals of the Confederation Cup after a famous 1-0 win over Italy, the world champions. After the match, many Egyptians took to the streets loudly beeping their car horns at midnight. Streets became crowded after traffic was light during the match. Young men were seen hanging from the windows of moving cars, cheering and waving Egyptian flags.
Twitter was almost as crowded as the Egyptian streets, but this time there were tweets during the match as well as after it.  The tweets started to pour in after Egypt's first goal against Italy:
Non Egyptians and for sure Italians were there to comment on the match also.
The tweets related to the match were sufficient to bring Egypt as one of the main topics on twitter.
During the last few minutes of the match, all the Egyptians fans were not able to wait for the referee's whistle.
And finally the referee's whistle caused a real flood of tweets.

author: Tarek Amr


text:
Egypt: A New Presidential Candidate in the Making · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

In September 2005 Ayman Nour of Al Ghad Party and No'man Goma'a of New Wafd Party nominated themselves against President Hosni Mubarak. Nour was charged with fraud and Goma'a was accused of insanity! Since 2000, Gamal Hosni Mubarak  has the been groomed to be his father's successor as the next president with no apparent opponent. Today, rumor has it that Omar Soliman, Chief of The Egyptian General Intelligence Services, is an eligible presidential candidate.
With only 19 members, I support & I am proud that “Omar Suleiman” is the next President of EGYPT is a Facebook group campaigning for Suleiman; Wael Samir, creator of the group ended his introduction of Lieutenant General Omar Soliman saying:
Gen. Omar Suleiman, .. I am proud that you are the next President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
and about his future political role, he wrote:
In the recent years, due to his powerful role in Regional political scene, many speculations rose to conclude that Suleiman will succeed current Egyptian president, Mubarak and become the fifth Egyptian President, or at least become a Vice President. Although many have voiced that these rumors are true due to many factors including power, respect amongst Arab leaders and Israel, neither Suleiman nor the National Democratic Party spoke of this or commented on any future political role for Suleiman. Despite this, he still remains a plausible presidential candidate, should the next president come from a military background.
El Negm El Sa3ed (Rising Star) is the anonymous owner of Omar Soliman's blog. His slogan is:
The Arabist is so excited about this blog:
[A] Blog dedicated to advocating Omar Suleiman as Egypt's next president – today's front page story in al-Dustour. Its slogan: “no to the Brothers, no to Gamal”. I think this representative of a fairly large constituency in Egypt, but you have to wonder: Mubarak-haters are unhappy with his son, understandably, but why then go with his right-hand man? The other thing you have to wonder – who's behind the blog? Is this a test balloon by the Omar Suleiman people as we approach succession? The game is on, people, the game is on.
In this post, El Negm El Sa3ed quotes what renowned Egyptian politicians have to say about Omar Soliman in comparison to Gamal Mubarak:
Speaking of Gamal Mubarak, Wael Nawara posted this poll on his blog:
In this post he quotes Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper saying:
In that post, he quotes The Global Post saying:
The blog showcases various clippings from Al Dostoor Newpaper, Al Osbou’, Al Jazeera Channel, The BBC Video Report, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, and more – all in support of the new presidential candidate.

author: Marwa Rakha


text:
Egypt: American High School Students Visit Farm  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Maryanne Stroud Gabbani writes about the two-week visit of a group of California secondary school students to her farm to learn more about real life. “They've stayed at my farm in the midst of Egyptian farmers and visited some of the less touristy sites of Cairo […] two weeks in Egypt will open their eyes to the richness and variety of life in a country that they've previously seen in a fairly two dimensional aspect. The hope is that they will return to assess their own lives and country in a new way,” she explains.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


text:
Egypt: Between the Swine Flu and Approaching Plague · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

Terror and panic have gripped many Egyptians after the first case of H1N1 influenza, or Swine Flu, was detected in the country.  The panic had actually started before the virus hit, prompting the Egyptian government to cull pigs. Now that the disease has made its  way to Egypt, bloggers are questioning the whole sanitary and health related issues that are considered preliminary elements in combating the disease.
Mohaly kicked off the discussion with a broad question: “Why is it hard to be clean?” In this post he says:
I realized that all the precautions to avoid Swine Flu are simply about “BEING CLEAN” and I also realized that the danger in Egypt is not because of the flu itself as much as not having the “being clean” culture.. I kept on thinking and I wondered Why aren't the majority of the Egyptian people in the 21st century clean? what have led to this? If the religions tell us to be clean, and all creatures care about being clean, so why aren't we?
In an attempt to raise awareness among the public, pharmacies have started putting out signs calling upon people to take all the required precautions,  reports Abul Ma3aly Fa2ek in his blog:
Swine Flu mania has gripped Egypt, which is still suffering from an increasing death toll from the avian or bird flu, which is considered by health authorities even more dangerous than swine flu.  And just as you would think that we have had our fill of diseases, the deadly Plague has been reported in neighbouring Libya, poising a valid threat to the Egyptian western borders.
On the Pandemic Information News blog,  blogger Common Ground describes a “Triangle of Death”  poised by “triple catastrophic diseases.”
On the plague threat in nearby Libya, the blogger reports:
He then notes:
Writing at Egyptian Chronicles, Zeinobia  too discusses the plague threat on her country:
Forget about H1N1 and H5N1 ,now we are having in Egypt even much more dangerous deadly catastrophe knocking on our Western doors : The Plague , the black death that can't be comprised.

author: Nermeen Edrees


text:
Egypt: Sign Avaaz Settlements Petition  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Dalia Ziada announces that she has just signed an Avvaz petition, which supports US president Barack Obama's call to stop the building of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territories. So far, 179,699 people have signed the petition.


text:
Egypt: Weekend Digressing  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Nermeena has been away from the Internet for a while and shares tidbits from her life in this post, including the latest book she is reading.


text:
India: Doing Something For The Country · Global Voices
Rezwan

Parth Dave at The Indian World introduces an website titled One Letter A Week (ONLW) which aims at addressing socio-economic or cultural issues of India by encouraging readers to write a letter each week to the respective authorities and publish them in the site.

author: Rezwan


text:
Iran: FaceBook in Persian · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Cyrus Farviar reports Facebook is about to launch its Persian-language version of the social networking software.


text:
Iran: Google translates Persian · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several bloggers welcome this news that Iranians can now translate, in Google Translate, any text from Persian into English and from English into Persian — whether it's a news story, a website, a blog, an email, a tweet or a Facebook message.


text:
Iran: Khamenei on the election · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Change for Iran tweeted that Iranian Leader, Ali Khamanei today said “people should not go to streets killing Innocent basij & police troops, it will have a bad outcome if it continues.” and “defeated candidates should accept the outcome of election and by calling people in streets, they help ennemies.”


text:
Iran: Reformist and activist bloggers arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

As protesters continue their demonstrations all over Iran against 12th June presidential election results, Iranian authorities have arrested hundreds of activists, including bloggers.
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former reformist vice president and an adviser to Mehdi Karoubi, a reformist candidate, was arrested last Tuesday. Abtahi used to update his blog each day for several years and share his opinion on different topics, including Iranian issues.
Here is the last post that his friends published in his bilingual blog, Webneveshteha:
Mr. Abtahi arrested
Mohammad Ali Abtahi,former vice president during Mr. Khatami's presidency and the advisor to Mr. Karroubi in the presidential election had been arrested today (Tuesday). Whenever he gets released, he will write here on his website
In one of his last posts he called election “obvious cheating”:
I analyzed the obvious cheating. It was a huge swindling. Election was planned so wisely. From one hand it made a new record of voting as it broke the previous record of Mr. Khatami who had gained more votes in second term of his presidential election and Mr. Ahmadi Nejad should gain more than him. Also they would like to destroy Mr. Mosavi and his companions. Another important part of scenario was the story of Mr. Karobi's 300,000 ballots. Although Mr. Karobi had a fixed huge number of votes, they considered 300,000 votes for him avoiding others to say such democratic mottos. Meanwhile information of other towns was showing at least equal votes for Mr. Mosavi and Ahmadi Nejad.
Somayeh Tohidloo, a female reformist blogger was also arrested. As protests against the Iranian presidential election results grows, Iranian authorities continue to arrest political activists. Recently, she and a couple of bloggers organized an Internet interview with former president Mohammad Khatami.
It seems that her blog is no longer accessible.
Mojtaba Saminejad, an Iran-based blogger and human rights activist, informs us about several other arrested bloggers.
Saminejad says that Shiva Nazar Ahari, a female blogger and human rights activist, Mehesa Amarabadi, a female blogger and journalist,Karim Argandehpour, a blogger and leading journalist and Amad Baharvar have all been detained.
So far there is no information about the charges against those bloggers.


text:
Iran:’Life imitates art’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

It's all connected writes about Iran’s Opposition and Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (The Story of Zahhak and Kaveh).


text:
Israel: Journalism 101  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

At Checkpoint Jerusalem, Dion Nissenbaum discusses what he describes as Israeli Journalism 101 in this post.


text:
Jordan: Hands off private schools  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

At Creative Jordan, Yusuf Mansur argues in favour of private schools. “Jordanian policy makers, lacking the resources to promote world-class educational systems, have focused their attention on overregulating the private schooling system,” he writes.


text:
Mauritania: A Page from Khomeini’s Playbook · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mauritanian Nasser Weddady and American Jesse Sage, who direct the HAMSA civil rights initiative of the American Islamic Congress share their thoughts on developments in Iran in this post, entitled “Revolution: Taking a Page from Khomeini's Playbook.”


text:
Nepal: The Musicians · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kathmandu Blogger writes about the unsung heroes of Nepali Weddings, the musicians.


text:
Pakistan: Enriching Google Map Data · Global Voices
Rezwan

Pro Pakistani informs that “Pakistani netizens are posting more localized information and data to the Google’s ‘map maker’ than the web users of any of the 160 countries”.


text:
Pakistan: Karachi Without Power · Global Voices
Rezwan

On the 17th of June Karachi witnessed the worst power breakdown which lasted about one day. Raja Islam at Karachi Metblogs liveblogged the power outage. Doodh Patti posts pictures showing some people sleeping on pavement outside their residences to beat the heat.


text:
Palestine: Finding Lost Relatives Online  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Mona, who lives in Canada, discusses how the Internet is being used to search for long lost relatives.


text:
Tanzania: Blogger arrested for publishing manipulated images of the president · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

The alleged owner and blogger of the blog Ze Utamu (zeutamu.com) has been arrested in Tanzania.
The alleged arrest has been in discussed at Jamii Forum, a popular Tanzanian Online Forum, since yesterday. And today, Swahili Time has posted the news along with a picture of the arrested blogger, Malecela Peter Lusinde, 39, an IT consultant from Essex in the UK.
Swahili Time reports that Tanzania’s police in cooperation with their UK counterparts have collected enough evidence to conclude that Lusinde is the owner of Ze Utamu Blog which was blocked in February after publishing manipulated photographic images depicting Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete engaging in lewd sex acts.
Legal aspects of the arrest are not yet clear. Tanzania does not allow dual citizenship and since Mr Lusinde is a UK citizen of Tanzanian origin, it is not yet known under which law Lusinde will be charged. The post in the Swahili Times says:
Habari zilizothibitishwa zinadai kuwa Ndg Malecela amerudishwa Tanzania kwenda kujibu tuhuma mbalimbali za kuendesha mtandao uliokuwa unadhalilisha watu,kuna malalamiko 6850 yaliyoandikishwa kulaumu udhalilishwaji wa watu uliofanywa na mtandao huo […]
Haijaeleweka wazi Ndg Malecela atashitakiwa kwa sheria gani? Lakini ni wazi kwamba atashitakiwa Nchini Tanzania.Licha ya Ndg. Malecela Polisi wa Upelelezi wamezungumza na Watanzania wengine wawili katika miji ya Wichita na San Diego Nchini Marekani,ambao pia wanahusishwa na Mtandao huo wa Ze Utamu.
It is not clear under which law Ndg Malecela will be charged. Also detectives have spoken to two Tanzanians in Wichita and San Diego in America in relation to their involvement with Ze utamu blog.
Besides legal aspects, members at Jamii Forum also commented on the perceived double standards. Semilong said:
Is utamu the biggest ever crime committed by a Tanzanian?
watu wa JF kwa double standards wanashabikia zeutamu kukamatwa na wakati watu wana loot nchi yetu wanatembea huru
wangeshirikiana na interpool kuhakikisha hela zilizokuwa duabi, jerzey na kwinginepo zinarudi TZ ingekuwa ni jambo la maana kulikoni zeutamu[…]
JF people have double standards they support the arrest of Ze utamu while looters of our country walk free…
They should have collaborated with Interpol to make sure that all the money stashed in Dubai, Jersey and other places is returned to Tanzania […]
Also at Jamii Forum, BlueRay supporting the arrest adds:
Your argument is weak. Two wrongs do not make a right. We do not want British citizens (of Tanzanian origin or not) to fling unchecked rampant numerous unfounded character assassinations on Tanzanians.
Does the Tanzanian government project a sense of misguided priority in pursuing this rather than EPA , of course, yes. But it is also possible that this was a quick slam dunk because this guy left his tracks left right and centre, IT consultant indeed! … What saddens me is that it took gross and pornographic caricaturing of the president himself for this to happen.
My concern is our internet laws are practically non existent, and our jurisdiction may be limited because this presumably happened over British web servers (?) by a British subject. So if the guy gets a good attorney, and the government does not use extrajudicial means (if it does not Ghailani him under some autocratic anti-terrorism preventive-detention like draconian)
The guy may walk scot free.
* Global Voices Online has not verified the information published in the blogs covered on this post.

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza


text:
The Irony of Iran’s ‘Twitter Revolution’ · Global Voices
Gaurav Mishra

I had earlier written about the use of social technologies in the 2009 Iran presidential election campaign.
Now, Mir-Hossein Mousavi‘s supporters are disputing the overwhelming victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the elections (Hamid Tehrani at Global Voices).
Various observers have called the protests ‘Facebook/ Twitter protests’, claiming that social media tools have been critical in organizing these protests (Clay Shirky on TED Blog, Lev Glossman in Time, Mark Ambinder at The Atlantic). The #IranElection Twitter feed has indeed been hyperactive all week (Ben Parr in Mashable).
Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Delicious have also been used to organize DDOS attacks against government and pro-Ahmedinejad websites, including Ahmadinejad.ir (Noah Shachtman at Wired). It seems that some US bloggers are also promoting these DDOS attacks (Nancy Scola at TechPresident) and a DC based political firm is actually participating in them, in a misguided (and illegal) attempt at digital activism (Evgeny Morozov at Foreign Policy).
Some Ahmadinejad supporters are also using blogs and Twitter to explain why they believe he legitimately won (Hamid Tehrani in Global Voices).
In an attempt to quell the protests, the Iran government has blocked several social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, apart from several international news websites (Richard Sambrook at BBC, Associated Press).
On the other side, the US State Department has reportedly “asked Twitter to refrain from going down for periodic scheduled maintenance at this critical time” (Elise Labott at CNN, Nancy Scola at TechPresident).
Twitter is being used in many ways in post-election Iran: for organizing protests, for sharing first hand reports from the ground, for focusing international attention on the protests and for changing the news agenda for international news organizations.
When the dust settles down on the Iran election crisis, we will see that Twitter was more useful as a media tool and not as an organizing tool. We will see that Twitter didn't really change much in Iran in terms of organizing the protests, but it did play an important role in engaging the international community in the protests and focusing media attention on the protests (see Evgeny Morozov at Foreign Policy, Daniel Terdiman at CNet and Marshall Kirkpatrick at RWW on #CNNFail).
In fact, there are less than 10,000 Twitter users in Iran (Sysomos via BusinessWeek) and less than 100 of them seem to be active. Given these small numbers, it's quite amazing that their tweets have generated such a multiplier effect via retweets etc. (The number of Twitter users in Iran might be artificially high as of today because of a misguided campaign that asked people to change their Twitter location to Tehran to make it difficult for the Iran government to target dissidents.)
However, the on-ground organizing in Iran is probably happening via mobile phones and offline networks, the same networks that were previously used to mobilize Mousavi's supporters to go out and vote for him.
Calling the Iran protests a ‘Twitter Revolution’ is not only distracting but also dangerous because it reduces a legitimate broad-based grassroots movement to what's quickly becoming a cliche, after Moldova.
Mary Joyce at DigiActive.org uses my 4Cs social media framework to evaluate the campaign and says: “this campaign has achieved Content Creation and Collaboration on Collective Action, but will it be able to create a Community which will sustain long term action once the Iranian election is gone from the headlines?”
Evgeny Morozov shares my skepticism about “the claims that Twitter has been instrumental in organizing the protests” and thinks that it mostly played a role “in publicizing the violence or the already planned protests and rallies.”
Nancy Scola at TechPresident agrees that, “as we saw in Moldova, the idea of a “Twitter Revolution” isn't always borne out by the facts, at least to the extent that the uprising would have not taken place without the tool.”
Brand Stone and Noam Cohen at NYT agree with me that “labeling such seemingly spontaneous anti-government demonstrations a “Twitter Revolution” has already become something of a cliché.
Kara Swisher at AllThingsD is annoyed at the media hype for Twitter “because it is how the tools are used by people, more than the tools themselves, that should be the focus.”
Ethan Zuckerman is amazed at “the extent to which reporters from really good newspapers are all asking the same questions.”
Marc Ambinder at The Atlantic reminds the intelligence community that most reports on Twitter are noise, not signal intelligence.
Tom Watson at TechPresident reminds us that there are limits to what technology can do, “especially when men and women are marching in streets patrolled by the troops of an absolutist religious dictatorship, facing soldiers’ guns in public and the noose behind the prison wall.”
Cross-posted at Gauravonomics, my blog on social media and social change.

author: Gaurav Mishra


text:
Vietnam arrests prominent lawyer and writer · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security police arrested Le Cong Dinh last weekend in Ho Chi Minh City for participating in subversive activities. Dinh is a prominent pro-democracy lawyer, human rights advocate and writer. Several media groups and local scholars have condemned Dinh’s arrest.
Dinh is charged with violating Article 88 of the Vietnamese criminal code which bans the distribution of anti-state propaganda. Dinh is accused of “colluding with domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the Vietnamese state.” If found guilty, Dinh could be jailed for three to 20 years depending on the gravity of the offense.
Who is Le Cong Dinh? A brief profile of his human rights advocacy background:
(Dinh), who has a law degree from the US’s Tulane University, was close to several of the dissidents who formed a pro-democracy movement in 2006 known as Bloc 8406. He served as a defense lawyer at the trial of human rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan in May 2007, where they were sentenced to prison for “disseminating propaganda that was harmful to the State.”
Amnesty International criticizes the Vietnamese government for stifling freedom of expression:
“The arrest appears to be yet another indication of Viet Nam's determination to stifle freedom of expression, and silence anyone who criticizes the government or holds different views.”
Amnesty International added that at least 30 dissidents have been sentenced to long prison terms since 2006 for being involved with pro-democracy activities and human rights issues.
Southeast Asian Press Alliance analyzes the political implication of Dinh’s arrest
Given his reputation and experience as a defender of other writers and advocates of human rights and democracy in Vietnam, Mr. Dinh's arrest is a simultaneous attack on two sectors vital to democratic reform in Vietnam or any society. It sends a chilling message not only to other writers and citizens who peacefully advocate for change, but also to those in the legal community who would defend the Vietnamese people's right to free expression.
Dinh has reportedly confessed to authorities that he had indeed participated in several activities that violated Vietnamese laws. He has allegedly asked for clemency from the state, according to the same news report.
There is an online petition urging Vietnam to immediately release Dinh “since his arrest is a huge blow to democracy and human rights.” The campaign also encourages everyone to write and send letters to Vietnamese embassies around the world to show support for Dinh.
The Free Le Cong Dinh blog was also set-up to provide the latest information about Dinh’s case.


text:
Afghanistan: Local conflict is aggravating · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding reviews a new report from the “Cooperation for Peace and Unity” organisation, which notes that local conflict in Afghanistan is increasing at a faster rate than the insurgency and armed conflict.

author: Adil Nurmakov