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What does Krill Fishing and Sandalwood Harvesting Have in Common? · Global Voices
Samuel Maina

At first glance, there is no way Krill and Sandalwood  could have anything in common: one is a sea animal and the other is a land plant. If you examine the plight of both species of biodiversity, then there are some similarities.
World renowned Kenyan conservationist, Dr Richard Leakey, who just returned from a trip to the Antarctic, reports in his blog that Japan has developed very effective Krill fishing techniques that ensure great success for the fishing boats:hauling massive tonnage of the tiny crustacean. As a result, they are rapidly depleting the resource. Krill are tremendously important as the base of virtually all vertebrate food chains in the sea.
This depletion of the basic food of the sea, according to Dr Leakey, is affecting the entire food chain and having detrimental effects on large and charismatic sea animals higher up the food pyramid such as whales, orcas, penguins and seals. Add to this the effect of the terrible global warming/climate change twins and the survival of wildlife in the Antarctic becomes rather strained. Dr Leakey says:
The other alarming information I obtained was that the Krill (the essential base of the food chain for the vertebrate fauna) are also being depleted.  Whilst climate change and its effect on ice flows and pack ice have a major bearing on this, there is today massive fishing for krill by Japan.  I was told that new techniques for extracting krill at a far greater tonnage were now having devastating effects on the population density.  This will have an additional impact upon the survival of other biodiversity further up the food chain.
Sandalwood is also caught up in the same over-extraction debacle. A Kenyan example is drawn by Saving Kenya's Forests blog. The blog says:
Kenya is losing the Sandalwood tree (Osyris lanceolata) to illegal harvesting. The harvesting – initially reported in the Chyulu hills – seems to have escalated and has now been reported in Kajiado, Taita, Amboseli and surrounding ranches, Samburu, Koibatek, and Kikuyu Escarpment and many other areas. In most areas it’s being harvested without much control.
Sandalwood is mostly used in making perfumes from its essential oils within the heartwood of its trunk, main branches and roots. According to the blog, the sandalwood is being traded in neighboring Tanzania and after semi-processing, the product is exported “to Indonesia, India, South Africa, France, Germany and eastern Asia countries for the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry”.

author: Samuel Maina


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Zimbabwe’s Bloggers React As The Opposition Joins Hands With Mugabe · Global Voices
Denford Magora

Zimbabwe's bloggers are reacting with hope, but also anger and dismay to Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to join Robert Mugabe in a coalition governmet. It is a wonderfully eclectic mix that reflects the sheer emotional exhaustion of the Zimbabwean people after a marathon seven-month political impasse, which was compounded by the world-record inflation levels.
Amanda Atwood, writing on the Kubatana Blog a few hours after the announcement was made, expressed utter dejection in a post entitled “It's Official, The MDC Has Sold Out“. She wrote:
This deal is entirely detestable. In its statement today the MDC said this didn’t mean it was giving up the struggle, just taking it to a different arena. But it’s hard to imagine that the party will have much success fighting for true democracy inside a flawed government, when it has come to such little effect outside it. A friend of mine yesterday said he’d heard this deal likened to putting on a dirty shirt. I said it’s more like putting on a dirty condom – smelly, sticky, damp, diseased and distasteful.
Admittedly, I don’t know what other the option the MDC had. A different party – one which was more Movement than Party might well have had different cards to play. But the MDC lacks the capacity to lead any sort of civil disobedience or “make the country ungovernable” movement, which might have resulted in a different outcome. Instead, the MDC has tended towards negotiations and legal challenges and contesting undemocratic elections. This strategy has left it high and dry at this most recent negotiating table.
The day after the announcement, Saturday, 31 January 2009, Eusebia at the Blog Peace Love and Happiness, was in a different mood, saying she felt like the storm in Zimbabwe was now over. In a post Entitled “Zimbabwe: The Storm Is Over” she says:
In the low-density area where I lIve there is no open jubilation because in September last year when the GNU agreement was signed some people openly celebrated only to have their hopes dashed a few days later, so now people are cautious about celebrating too soon and prefer to have a wait and see attitude. Personally I have chosen to accept this new development in Zimbabwe with an optimistic mind, I know just how the suffering of the ordinary people in Zimbabwe had reached unprecedented levels and I know how the ordinary people were now in desperate need of a solution to end their plight and I want to believe that the three GNU leaders will work together to rebuild the nation they had destroyed so that ordinary Zimbabweans can once again lead a comfortable life. For some of my fellow bloggers to now dwell on pointing out how they think this union is a mistake and predict doom or dwell on how Tsvangirai has been outwitted by Mugabe is rather inappropriate if they have the country's best interests at heart.
And dwell on how Tsvangirai has been outwitted is exactly what I did on my blog, Denford Magora's Zimbabwe Blog. I have written repeatedly that Tsvangirai would join because he had been boxed in cleverly by Mugabe and SADC. But I still thought that when he did, he would be doing so with some really meaningful concessions from Mugabe.
On the day of the announcement as well as the day before, I pointed out on the blog that Tsvangirai was walking into government with none of his really important demands met. Jestina Mukoko's continued detention and torture is only one of these demands, as I explained in my post entitled “MDC Formally Agrees To Join Mugabe in Government”:
Does this mean that the oppression and violence will stop? Will political detainees be released? Will money and employment become available?
No.
Mugabe will continue to rule the roost and Tsvangirai/MDC will be sidelined. I see this power-sharing government being very similar to the ZANU PF/ZAPU ‘peace’ accord in 1987 which resulted in the virtual demise of ZAPU.
But I do NOT believe that the MDC have sold Zimbabweans down the river…
No voices were raised in support of the agreement in any of the threads at newzimbabwe Forums. Here, ZANU PF supporters openly taunted the MDC supporters who, when they did respond, did so by exclaiming that Tsvangirai had sold out and disowning him and the party. Some looked with hope to rumour of a split between Tsvangirai and his Secretary-General, Tendai Biti, urging him to form a new party in a thread entitled “Letter to Biti”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Denford Magora


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Russia: EU and Human Rights · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Following “a notable exchange between PM Vladimir Putin and EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso,” Robert Amsterdam writes: “In my opinion, it was about time that Europe woke up to the fact that it is not OK, it is not normal for the leadership of any country to say nothing about the assassinations of human rights lawyers in broad daylight on the sidewalks on their capital.  We can only hope that this is the beginning of a new dialogue and a greater interest in the plight of the Kremlin's victims, and not the last word.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bangladesh: The Six Hundred Thousand Dollar Cricketer  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Back to Bangladesh comments on the Bangladeshi cricket star Mashrafee's remuneration, who recently was “sold” to an Indian outfit for $600,000 in an auction: “The amount may not be much compared to what Western sports stars make, but here it is staggering.”

author: Rezwan


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Cambodia: Report accuses elite of theft · Global Voices
Chhunny Chhean

Global Witness, a non-governmental organization based in London released Country for Sale on February 5, 2009.  The report warns that Cambodia risks descending into a kleptocracy, alleging that large sums of monies paid to the government are benefiting the ruling elite instead of the people of Cambodia.
Vuthasurf reiterates the report's charges while highlighting the role of private companies:
Private sector companies also have a role to play in improving the governance of Cambodia’s extractive industries. So far over 75 companies are working in Cambodia’s extractive sectors, including some internationally known operators such as Chevron and BHP Billiton. Country for Sale documents how many of these companies have already paid significant upfront sums to the government.
At KI Media, Heng Soy posted an article from Voice of America.  Comments to the KI Media post reveal resignation and anger.  One anonymous commenter, like Vuthasurf, emphasized actions of private companies:
[I]f this is true at all, perhaps, the companies who bought the rights to invest or bought the monopoly are the ones to blame for encouraging and tolerated corruption.
Al Jazeera coverage includes an interview with Gavin Hayman of Global Witness:
Global Witness also published a report on illegal logging in 2007, Cambodia's Family Tree.  The Cambodian government banned that report.

author: Chhunny Chhean


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Hungary: Political Corruption · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about political corruption in Hungary.


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Iran: Iranian blogger, Mirsayafi was jailed · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

OmidReza Mirsayafi, an Iranian blogger and journalist was jailed on Saturday.Read more here and here.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: YouTube and Facebook are not filtered anymore · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Somayeh Tohidloo, an Iran based blogger, reports [fa] “that something strange happened a few days ago: YouTube and Facebook are not filtered anymore in Iran.”


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Jordan: Reckless school bus driver  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kinziblogs, writing from Jordan, complains about a reckless school bus driver in this post.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Kuwait: Hotel security ‘a gimmick’  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mark, in Kuwait, complains about lax hotel security, after being allowed to pass through a security checkpoint, without a huge suitcase in his trunk being checked. He remarks: “I always knew hotel security was just a gimmick of a sort to let guests feel more secure.”


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Lithuania: Guantanamo Inmates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lituanica writes about speculation that Lithuania might accept some Guantanamo inmates.


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Madagascar: More than 25 killed in march to presidential palace · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

See our special coverage page on Madagascar's Power Struggle.
At least 25 people were shot dead today in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo during a march to the presidential palace called by the city's mayor Andry Rajoelina after he declared himself the leader of a new transitional government at a political rally. In the past weeks, a power struggle between the mayor and the president Marc Ravalomanana has led to both violence and looting.
The political gathering took place in downtown Antananarivo around noon local time. Rajoelina announced the creation of a new transitional government, with himself as its leader, in spite of the fact that the current government is still in place. He asked his supporters to march to the presidential Palace in Ambohitsorohitra.
When the massive crowd arrived at the palace, a delegation entered the palace at 14:46 local time. This is when shots were fired. The local twittersphere and other bloggers reported:
Preliminary reports indicate that dozens of bodies are laying on the streets. Among the casualties, is said to be a cameraman from the RTA TV station (official confirmation still pending).
As of 15:40 local time, shots were still being fired. Rajoelina asked the armed EMMONAT forces, a military entity accepted by both parties and created during the crisis, to intervene and protect the crowds.
News releases (Reuters, Al Jazeera) report up to 25 deaths as images are currently streaming on national TV. BBC and AFP only reported 5 casualties so far. Live online reports can also be found in French here.
This is a live search of Twitter for “#madagascar”, which is the tag people have been using throughout the past weeks of political tension and occasional violence.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Morocco: 10-digit numbers soon  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Morocco will move to a 10-digit numbering system on 6 March, due to the high demand for mobile services,” reports The View from Fez.


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On Overseas Filipino Workers · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

That Word in Me reflects about Overseas Filipino Worker (OFWs). “OFWs are not heroes. They don’t work abroad so they can help ‘alleviate’ our country’s economic status by their remittances… There are very little jobs that can sustain an ordinary Filipino and I bet if he had a choice, he’d rather be working here than elsewhere.”

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Palestine: Shoe thrown at Israel’s ambassador to Sweden  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian Laila El Haddad links to a video and story showing protesters throwing a shoe at Israel's Ambassador to Sweden Benny Dagan, during a talk at Stockholm University.


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Peru: El Comercio Newspaper Activates Comments · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Peruvian newspaper El Comercio recently activated the comments section on its online version writes Letra Suelta [es], but wonders whether its readers are capable of treating one another with respect.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Philippines: Creating A Top-rating Noontime Show · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Insoymada drafts a primer on how to create a top-rating noontime show for Philippine television.


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Plans for Angry Arab TV News Service Underway  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From the Angry Arab News Service, Lebanese Dr Assad Abu Khalil writes: “I have received enthusiastic messages from readers around the world expressing their desire to volunteer for the upcoming Angry Arab TV News service. This is the beginning: we can first formulate a plan that I can post, and then we can make a list of the volunteers around the world and decide how to go about doing it.


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Qatar: Tagged.com blocked  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Twitter user Ammar Mohammed, from Qatar, reports that tagged.com has been blocked in that country.


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Russia, EU: Barroso’s Criticism of Russia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

George Iulian Jiglau writes this about Jose Manuel Barroso's criticism of Russia's human right record at Th!nk About It: “Do you risk the energetic safety of several EU member states for the sake of presenting yourself as the defender of human rights? Shouldn’t this kind of ‘concerns’ be left in the hands of diplomats?”


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Russia: Notes on the Protests · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog compares the protests in Russia to those taking place elsewhere.


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Russia: “Race, Gender, and More Violence in Moscow” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An update on “race, gender, and more violence in Moscow” – at Moscow Through Brown Eyes.


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Russia: Unemployment and Law Enforcement · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes: “Some 5.8 million Russians are currently out of work. By the end of this year, that figure is expected to rise as high as 7 million. One area that will not be hit by job losses, however, is law enforcement.”


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Russia: Vegetarian Borscht · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian Blog shares a vegetarian borscht recipe.


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Syria: Israel arrests and deports aid workers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syria News Wire reports that a group of Syrian and Lebanese aid workers have been arrested and deported from Israel.


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Ukraine: Grey Market Car Importers and the Customs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petro of Petro's Jotter describes how Ukrainian customs officials benefit from the crisis and the “grey market premium car importers.”


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Ukraine: “Pynzenyk Memo Divides Cabinet” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana writes about the reactions to “a written wake-up call from Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk that extrapolates current economic data and warns of an impending economic meltdown.”


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Armenia: Tax Lottery · Global Voices
Simon Maghakyan

Unsuccessful with punitive measures to prevent widespread tax evasion, the government of ex-Soviet Armenia has introduced a monthly national lottery based on an 8-digit number found on the back of sale receipts. From increasing sales to encouraging male customers to hit on female shop assistants, bloggers think the initiative to make businesses accurately report sales and pay taxes has the potential to prove a win-win situation for everyone.
Notes from Hairenik, a blog by an American-Armenian living in the country, recounts first becoming aware of the new initiative.
A few weeks ago while riding the metro to work I noticed a sign in the train car reading that consumers should be sure to take sales receipts so that they will win money. I didn't understand the logic in that naturally so I shrugged it off and went to the office.
Turns out that the government is now requiring and enforcing that all stores, no matter how small, install cash registers, or calculators at least as many vendors are using, to print receipts. The paper rolls that the receipts are printed on are government issued.
[…]
On the back of each check is an eight-digit number which ends with an Armenian letter. Apparently at some time in the near future these numbers will be called, like in a lottery, and if the number called matches the one on your receipt you can win money–up to $16,000 if you're lucky enough… I am not ashamed to admit that I am indeed saving all the receipts that I receive, in case I happen to win enough cash to put down towards the payment of an apartment. You never know.
[…]
[W]hat's the excuse of thousands of citizens who make money but refuse to pay [taxes]?
Having recently visited Armenia, Areyon [RU] is also unhappy with businesses who refuse to pay taxes.
Он не может понять, зачем ему ставить кассовый аппарат, деклалировать свои доходы и исправно платить с них налоги – то, что давным-давно принято во всем цивилизованном бизнесе…. А освещение на улицах города, а ремонт дорог, а стрижка газонов, а закупка вооружения для обороны семей этих самих лавочников – откуда именно правительству получать и тратить деньги на эти общегосударственные нужды?
Even fierce critics of Armenia’s current government such as Nazarian are encouraged.
[…] In Armenia there is no social contract of providing receipts. Tax evasion has been, and remains, a popular way of accumulating wealth for the business elite in the country. One way has been to under-report revenues. You basically have two sets of books: one is the real one used for decision making, and the other one is for the government where your revenues are the same, or less than, your expenses so you don't pay income tax…
The new approach is to incentivise the consumers by giving them money. Getting a percentage of the sales would not make much sense (who cares about a few cents per purchase?) so the government pools this percentage into a lottery with a few prizes depending on the amount on the receipt as big as $16,000. Obviously, there is a lot of interest among the consumers. By basing the prize on the amount of the purchase, they make sure that the consumers demand that the sales be recorded correctly. Through a televised lottery they make sure that the retailers do not keep two sets of receipts, i.e. give out a fake receipt.
The upside for the retailers is that they get a way to promote their brand for free. Another upside for the retailers will probably be that the amount of the average sale will increase since the prize depends on the amount.
The possibility to increase sales is particularly significant during the global economic meltdown. The Armenian Economist already reports that sales in 2008 were down in comparison to the previous year.
Compared to 2007, sales dipped by 5 percent in March [2008] following the disturbances in Yerevan on the first of the month. In early August, war broke out between Georgia and Russia which in effect cut off Armenia's links to most of its trading partners. Real estate transactions dropped by 22 percent in that month compared to sales in August of 2007. And it has been on the decline ever since, with sales lower than the comparable figures for 2007 by 35 percent in November. Obviously instability in Georgia does not bode well for Armenia. It is not clear whether the global financial crisis has hit Armenia as of yet…
While the lottery system might increase sales, there are other potential perks and incentives, it seems. The Tert blog says it also provides male customers a new way to hook up with pretty shop assistants.
Մեր փողոցի խանութներից մեկում մի սիրունիկ վաճառողուհի կա։ Որ ասես հանվի` կհանվի, բայց որ ասես` ՀԴՄ կտրոն տու, կարող է մի ապտակ ստանաս։ Մի 2 օր առաջ առանց պահանջելու կտրոնը խփեց, ասի` չեմ ուզում։
Երևի կյանքումս ոչ ոքի այդքան երջանկացրած չկամ։ Մի խոսքով` մեր ֆիքստուլ հայ տղերքը սիրունիկ աղջիկներին կապելու հրաշալի միջոց ունեն` ընդամենը հարկավոր է մտնել խանութ, ինչ-որ բան գնել ու հետո արհամարհաբար հրաժարվել շահող կտրոնը վերցնելուց։
Of course, as The Armenian Observer comments, the initiative is likely to be most successful with women.
While the resistence is high among small traders and often even big shops and restaurants to install the cash machines and accurately supply receipts, it seems that housewives mostly enjoy the whole process of asking the receipts with the prospect of winning the big prize.
The first lottery draw took place live on Armenian Public TV H1 on February 6, 2009 with 76201843 as the winning number while oversight in the process is also provided online by http://www.e-tax.am.

author: Simon Maghakyan


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Malawi: Of Election Fever and Going Digital · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

The week gone has been a politically hot one for many Malawians as they have seen their presidential and parliamentary candidates present their nominations papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission ahead of the May 19 polls. By the end of the exercise, about 8 presidential and over 500 parliamentary candidates presented their nomination papers to compete for the 193 seats in parliament.
Journalist Kondwani Munthali earlier on shared his views on the political developments which are expected to lead to the most contested at both presidential and parliamentary levels. He writes Viva My Country's Democracy:
Yes, I said DPP has no structures to manage itself through primaries, I am glad two Ministers recalled my discussions with them and called me. For UDF how they can managed the situation of Muluzi will be entirely to them. For MCP it seems they have changed indeed, the guys look serious enough to upset tables. For today thats where it ends
Another blogger under Ndagha agrees with Munthali that Malawi's politics this year is getting hotter. He hope that its players have a genuine heart for the Malawians and not necessarily to serve their own interests. He says that for him this year offers hope. How and why?:
For me, the parliamentary race will the most exciting as it will showcase lots of new entrants-most of whom in my view can make important contributions to the country's development. I wish we had popular new faces on the presidential race.
Another journalist Mzati Nkolokosa terms this political time in Malawi as a Season of Rumors. He writes a long post focusing on Brown Mpinganjira who has dumped the party he helped to form and paired himself with John Tembo of the Malawi Congress Party as a running mate.
It is right to call this period a season of rumours. But Brown Mpinganjira must go on to accept that crucial political truths in Malawi start as rumours.
Brown Mpinganjira, the cleverest politician in Malawi according to Jack Mapanje, is good at communication. He knows words that are loaded with meaning, he speaks poetry, and he can confuse people, even journalists, who don’t follow him critically.
Most Malawi's public offices are not fully computerised. While there are some efforts to improve this, it remains a challenge to most government departments and agencies. One of the offices that serves lots of Malawians is the office of the Administrator General where among others, clients are helped with services regarding their deceased estate.
Having attended a short course on data entry, journalist Pauline Kalumikiza writes on the importance of such offices going digital:
The reason is that, it takes so long for them to help the benefiaries due to their manual storage. I think it is laborious and time consuming, because they handle multiple of files so them to take out one, it takes ages.
Most of the times, they will tell you that ‘Sorry come next month, give us time to look for it’. Now Imagine a person is coming from Nsanje to the AG’s office in Blantyre; he comes again as per the arrangement and is told that he should wait for another week, very frustrating isn’t it?
Yes technology has its own disadvantages but I think, the AG’s office would save time and energy by going digital.
We cannot be talking of making ICT accessible to everyone, if our important offices that hold crucial information are still using manual storage system. Zisinthe! (Let things change!)

author: Victor Kaonga


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Russia-EU: Relations at a low · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Russlandblog comments on [GER] deteriorating relations between Brussels and Moscow following Russia's war with Georgia and its gas crisis with Ukraine.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia, Poland: Economy Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Hugh posts updates on the Russian and Polish economy.


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Russia: Reflections on Recent Murders in Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

According to this roundup that appeared on Robert Amsterdam's blog on Feb. 6, the past week hasn't been too peaceful in Moscow and Moscow region:
[…] A former deputy mayor of Grozny was gunned down early yesterday morning in western Moscow in what authorities said appeared to be a contract murder.  Yuri Grachev, the 72-year-old editor-in-chief of a [Solnechnogorsk] newspaper critical of the authorities, suffered concussion after being beaten near his house.  The editor in chief of the independent Ekho Moskvy radio, Aleksei Venediktov, says he found a chunk of timber with an ax embedded in it outside his apartment door in Moscow yesterday. […]
In another post on Robert Amsterdam's blog, James wrote this about the official response to the situation:
[…] But the state doesn't seem too happy to have Moscow pitch itself into a downward spiral toward 1990s-style gangland shooting gallery.
Today President Dmitry Medvedev made it clear to the country's security organs that their focus must be on “extremism,” as “this type of legal violation inflicts colossal damage and is a systemic threat to national security.”
But more than an effort to protect his own citizens, these comments appeared to include permission for a crackdown on any unrest related to the economic crisis:
“We are falling under the influence of the global crisis — a worsening problem of unemployment and other social issues. At such a time one encounters those who wish to speculate — to use the situation. So one can't allow an already complicated situation to deteriorate.”
LJ user kozenko (Andrey Kozenko, journalist for the Russian daily Kommersant) posted this morbid mock letter to “out-of-town relatives” (RUS) on his blog, in which he described the situation in the Russian capital:
[…]
All is well here in Moscow. Only three high-profile murders in the past day – former vice mayor of Grozny, a businessman [Kakha Kalandarishvili] and an institute's director [Leonid Baron]. And only two of them can be considered contract killings. And this time no one was killed in the middle of the day. In general, everything is as usual and it's not even interesting to talk about it.
Remember how completely different it was in the wild 90s. Say, two killers would enter an office of “Thunder” company, [boom] – and there are 13 corpses. Gravestones made of black granite, and on them, along with the portraits of the guys, there are [VAZ-21099] cars, which they rode. Though, considering the [lavish spirit] of those times, the guys could be buried right in these [“nine-nine” cars]. But they were probably too shy.
Well, in our remote lands, my dear, it was scary in those 90s – something happens and then it takes a month for the whole city to recover its senses. And here it all happens every day, so it's not scary. Recently, everyone was discussing a girl who wrote on her blog: “My classmate was killed today. Ah, but I bought myself…” Can't remember now what it was that she bought. Nail polish or something… They were right to criticize her. But if you think hard, it's totally possible to understand her, too.
So this is the way we live now. Lots and lots of work. But these aren't the times to complain about it. People are more likely to brag about it now. So I'll finish working around 9 PM, as usual, and will go home. I'd like to watch some kind and good movie tonight, to get myself distracted. I'm trying to decide between [The Omen] and [Hostel]. I guess I'll go for The Omen. We've got enough of blood here already, but there's a lack of the devilish stuff. Nothing but a gray routine.
Kisses to you, take care and don't worry. A.


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Russia: Tension in Dagestan pressures Moscow · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user sunlike77 writes about [RUS] rising tensions in Dagestan as violence and human rights’ concerns increase, making it a major hotspot in the north Caucasus.


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Ukraine: $5 Billion Loan From Russia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's decision to borrow $5 billion from Russia.


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Ukraine: Victor Yushchenko’s Popularity Waning · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

According to a poll carried out last month, Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko “would have won less than 2.9% of the vote if the presidential elections were held in late December 2008 or early January 2009.” Among reasons for such low approval ratings is “the relentless infighting” between the president and PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
On Feb. 5, Tymoshenko's cabinet survived a no-confidence vote in parliament: the motion won 203 votes in the 450-seat assembly; a minimum of 226 votes is required for a motion to pass. LEvko of Foreign Notes wrote this about the implications of the vote for the president and his political allies:
Only 10 [NUNS] deputies supported a [PoR]-sponsored no confidence motion in the Tymoshenko-led government in the Ukrainian parliament today. Amongst the 10 were presidential secretariat head Viktor Baloha's ‘Yedyniy Tsentr’ group, and Yushchenko's brother Petro.
The numbers are very bad news for the president. The pro-presidential NUNS entered the current parliament with 72 deputies in Autumn 2007. With an ever-receding power base, the chances of a second presidential term for Yushchenko are almost nil. […]
Also on Feb. 5, LJ user kotyhoroshko wrote this (UKR) about the president:
A way out for the country
Yushchenko now has a historically ideal opportunity to resign.
His resignation will partly solve the political crisis.
He will avoid the unnecessary trouble related to the [upcoming presidential] election campaign.
He will not drown in the [fecal matter of discrediting information on him].
Perhaps, in some 20 years, he will be remembered as not the worst president. People's memory is short.
Below are some of the comments to this post (UKR):
marmuletka:
Unfortunately, Yushchenko isn't reading your LJ [blog].
***
ukrainietis:
He will be idolized again not in 20 years but in two or three years. Because those who will replace him will most likely be [extremely inadequate]…
***
gonchar73:
The problem is that Yushchenko's orbit is comprised of those who are profiteering from their proximity to the president. It's them who are holding him by the throat, singing panegyrics to him and are assuring him with foam at their mouths that [he] hasn't fulfilled his mission yet. And this is why Yushchenko's circle will not allow this to happen. But I agree – it's a very good time to at least declare this: “I'm not going to run for a second term and I will not create obstacles for the government until the end of this term. But from now on, all responsibility for the state of things is exclusively on [the government].”
***
irishhighlander:
The best option is this: let these non-traditionally gifted people collectively lead the country to default. And then leave. All of them – Yushchenko, and Tymoshenko, and [Yanukovych], and the whole [parliament]. And even better – a collective hara-kiri.


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Argentina: A Shortage of Coins · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Ian of Good Airs [es] examines some of the theories behind the shortage of coins in Argentina.


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Armenia: Eurovision Hopefuls · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Although considered by most viewers in Europe as somewhat of a joke, there is no doubt that the Eurovision international song contest is taken very seriously indeed in the South Caucasus. Seen as a perfect opportunity to showcase national culture and identity, many in Armenia are already impatient to discover who will represent them at the contest to be held in Moscow in May.
One possibility is that local singers Inga and Anush will represent the country and they already have a Facebook group set up to support their bid. However, The Armenian Observer is not impressed.
As I can’t stand these girls whining and barking, pretending to be singing, I kept postponing posting about this, however, having received an invitation to join a Facebook group supporting the girls at Eurovision, I came to understand, that like it or not, they will be representing Armenia and I’ll be supporting Armenia – despite this obviously poor choice. After all – Eurovision is strangely enough, a really big thing in Armenia, and there aren’t very many alternatives to them either. […]
Others, however, feel differently. Unzipped: Gay Armenia, for example, hopes the two singers will be chosen at the national draw on Saturday.
Inga and Anush Arshakyans revealed that they will perform song “Gutan” as Armenia entry in Eurovision 2009. Of course, if they are chosen to do so during the final selection on 14 February. […] They are talented, have good voice and performance skills. They are not boring, and different in a nice way. And I quite liked their song “Gutan” – mixed folk song. Not bad. Not bad at all. Quite good, actually. Go Inga and Anush!
Real Armenia agrees.
[…] my vote goes for Inga and Anush Arshakyan!!!
Arshakyan initially started with the Armenian State Song Theatre and later presented Armenian ethno-folk songs in modern arrangements. The music saves the traditional melodies and adds a beautiful modern twist to them.
In five days time, the choice will be made and Armenians at home as well as abroad will be preoccupied with very little else.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Australia: Bushfires devastate Victoria · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

It is being called Australia’s worst natural disaster. Bushfires have devastated the South East. The worst impact is in Victoria  with 108 confirmed deaths and more than 750 houses incinerated. Whole towns such as Marysville have been wiped out, destroying their communities.
Disbelief has been a very common reaction. Daryl Mason at The Orstrahyun:
The scope of the destruction, the scale of human tragedy of the apocalyptic Sunday fires in country Victoria, Australia's worst bushfire disaster, is beyond comprehension.
More than 100 dead, almost 1000 homes, properties and business destroyed, entire towns and villages in country Victoria laid to waste, some 350,000 hectares burned.
Reading through dozens of stories, listening to the stories of remarkably calm and lucid survivors on radio, trying to take in all those images of horror on TV, of entire towns obliterated by fire and cyclonic winds, of lone firefighters taking on five and six story high walls of flames with a single hose, of frantic survivors trying to find missing friends and family members, it's impossible to summarize any of it, all of it.
A Holocaust Of Fire, Cyclones Of Flames, Burn 100 To Death
The indiscriminate nature of the tragedy was brought home by the death of a very well known Victorian, former news reader Brian Naylor. Like most members of our local media he was well acquainted with bushfires. Andrew Norton, at his self-titled blog, paid tribute to him:
Among the 108 confirmed dead as of this morning is Brian Naylor, who read the Channel Nine news for twenty years from 1978, in the years when Nine news dominated the ratings. Almost everyone who lived in Melbourne at that time would have received part of their news from Naylor, who had the sober, sensible and reliable demeanour we prefer in newsreaders, but could also handle the touching or quirky stories that Nine often liked to finish with.
He ended each broadcast with ‘may your news be good news, and goodnight’. It’s so sad that he ended his life as part of a very bad news story, for so many people.
Brian Naylor and dozens of others, RIP
Twitter has been buzzing during this emergency. Annette's Blog, Shoosh, the grown-ups are talking, posted her tweets last night:
# 08:41 Oh dear gods. Woke up to find the #bushfires became a lot worse overnight. It sounds like 2 whole towns got wiped out and familes missing.
# 09:34 In shock. Official said the Vic #bushfires are 300% their WORST cast scenarios! Skynews report: tinyurl.com/by4d8f
# 09:54 Bloody hell. Even the Premier is on Twitter @vicpremier. He's asking for blood donations (tho not thru Twitter). Will now watch TV news. eep
# 10:20 Whoa. Just found out that friends who moved to Kinglake lost their home but were among the “lucky ones” who got out alive. o_0 #bushfires
# 11:09 searching for Lixa who lives in the abandoned church in Craigieburn, outside of Melbourne. Worried about her. #bushfires #melbourne
Tweets for Today
Her twitter search is very active.
Meet Me at Mike’s is a craft blog. It took up the issue of how its readers could help:
I know that lots of saddened people want to make SOFTIES to donate to kids affected by these fires. Bianca at The Toy Society posted last night about that – and a couple of people commented here too. I think it's definitely worth making softies to be distributed down the track, once things have settled down a bit, and agencies are accepting that kind of thing. I think they'll be warmly received. But it's really important to try and help with the immediate issues that people are facing too. Donate money. Or donate blood. Or donate your time. You can do that here.
Victorian Bushfires – Ways To Help Today (and Tomorrow!)
The link is to the Red Cross. My mother worked for them at the time of Australia’s previous worst natural disaster, Cyclone Tracy, that hit Darwin in 1974. On Christmas Day, the morning after the cyclone, she woke us up and told us we were would be having lunch without her. We didn’t see much of mum for several weeks. Her usual job was helping to re-unite migrants and refugees who had become separated. She did wait for a phone call. The mass evacuation of Darwin was our own version of these international diasporas.
This is an ongoing emergency with fires still burning out of control and a lot of summer heat to go.
Picture on front page from the Flickr page of sunrise.seven

author: Kevin Rennie


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Australian wildfires and web tools  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

What Australia is calling the deadliest fires in its history claimed the lives of at least 108 people, burned a half million acres of land and destroyed an estimated 750 homes over the weekend of February 7 – 8.
In the worst hit state, Victoria, firefighters counted more than 45 active blazes, and as of Monday (Australian time), eight were still burning. Scores of people remained unaccounted for in this area north of Melbourne.
Fires are common during the Australian summer, but uncommonly high temperatures (Saturday, thermometers topped out at 47 Celsius — or 117 Fahrenheit), strong winds and one of the worst droughts on record combined to create these devastating blazes that surprised entire towns.  Survivors say in some places walls of flames reached four storeys high and bolted across the land. People hid in pools, in olive groves while others had time to evacuate. Victims were found in cars, in houses, unable to escape the flames, smoke and heat.
The death toll accounts for Australia’s largest natural fire disaster, surpassing the 75 victims of fires on Ash Wednesday, 1983.
With devastation so widespread, and the threat of fire continuing, citizen journalists have had a hard time getting near the scenes. Yet, the internet is full of pertinent information for those living in affected areas about the continuing spread of fires and those outside who want to stay tuned.
Three developers, Alan Noble, Raul Vera and Pamela Fox, at Google Engineering created a Google Map illustrating the real-time status of fires within Victoria. They also added functionality for users search by specific address.
Here is their explanation at the Google Australia blog:
We've today pulled together a Flash Map, containing the latest up-to-date information about fire locations and their status from the Country Fire Authority (CFA). The Flash Map is updated in real-time from the CFA website via an RSS feed. We hope that it's of some use to people who may be affected, to emergency services personnel, and that it takes some load off other websites which are being inundated. The map certainly makes the scale of this disaster immediately apparent.
Here's the map:
Referenced in the above post is the CFA, the County Fire Authority — one of the world’s largest volunteer-based emergency services — whose site continues to update the different fires they are responding to across the State of Victoria.
Using much the same technology as the Google developers, the Australian newspaper has created an interactive map demonstrating where deaths have occurred.
Here is a satellite image of the fires from the University of Maryland/NASA Modis.
The same group also created a time-sensitive fire mapper using satellite images to see fires within the previous 24 hours, 48 hours, week, all the way back to 2005.
Aus-Emaps.com provides is a link of Brush Fire incidents throughout Victoria.
[A big hat tip to Edward Vielmetti for the information on his blog].
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used his Twitter account to inform his more than 7,100 followers how to donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund or providing contact information for those needing emergency government assistance.
Staying with Twitter awhile longer, people have used the micro-blogging platform for a variety of information pertaining to this disaster.  A volunteer fire fighter, Tweeting under cfavolunteer was very much in the thick of things Saturday.
In one tweet of many:
Is sitting for a short break for the first time in 12 hours. But about to go back to the fires.
Another:
Returns from the township of Calignee where everything is gone.
Another:
7th February 2009 will go down in history for all the wrong reasons. I hope people are safe, especially after what I have seen.
Finally winds down after another day. Atleast I can rest. I feel sorry for people who have lost property and loved ones.
Will probably not recover from what he has seen today.
People are also using the platform to ask specific  questions:
geehall1, living in Melbourne, inquires:
Anyone with updates Beechworth and Gippsland areas? Any other parts of the state?
Strictly, a writer and web publisher living in Brisbane, provided a lot of information.
Urgent Crystal Creek etc west side of Black Range increased – LEAVE now if you can
46 fires burning across the state, 8 not contained
Photos have been the perfect medium to demonstrate the destruction of these fires. Australian-based photographer Aussie_Pecker started a group pool called Victorian Bushfires – February 2009 because he wanted to create “[a] historic diary, recording the images from the worst fires to ravage our beautiful state.”
Then we have Facebook groups, like those supporting fire fighters, to protecting the australian bush against bush fires –
“Every year in australia,we have to contend with bush fires and quite often , delibritly lit fires,so lets make an effort to fix the problem.” — or an anti-arsonist group and a group organizing a Bushfire relief fundraiser:
My home State of Victoria is burning. As of right now the death toll is 108. Thousands of people are homeless with entire towns having been burned to the ground. Please join me in helping to raise as much money as we possibly can through the Australian Red Cross to help these people rebuild their lives. Facebook is a wonderful worldwide community. Let's use it to help these devastated communities
On YouTube, people are capturing photos of the fires and putting them to music, but so far everything has copyright restrictions. I’ll check back later.
Photo on front page taken from the Flickr page of jsarcadia

author: John Liebhardt


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Barbados: Grammy Drama · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Bajan blogosphere is livid over reports that Chris Brown allegedly assaulted pop sensation Rihanna.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados, St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Windies Win  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires [Barbados] and Abeni [St. Vincent & the Grenadines] comment on the West Indies cricket team winning its first Test Match against England in a nearly a decade.


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Bolivia: New Authorities Take Power in Marka Dalence · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Virginio Sandy describes and posts photos of the consecration and taking of power by the new indigenous authorities in his community of Marka Dalence [es] in the Department of Oruro, Bolivia.


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Brunei: Who deserves the undistributed zakat funds? · Global Voices
Noor Hidayah

Before Brunei was swept by floods, landslides and soil erosion, the hot topic in town was the hundreds of millions in surplus of the zakat or tithe collections.
The paying of the zakat is one of the pillars of Islam. It is an act of giving up a percentage of one's wealth to one of the different categories mentioned by Allah in the Quran. It is derived from the root word “tazkiyah”, which means “purification”. Zakat is thus hoped to bring about blessings, purification of the soul and an increase in good deeds.
On Wednesday, 14th January, His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei queried the Islamic Religious Council of the balance of B$ 200 million (in 2004 alone) from zakat collections that were yet to be distributed.
Upon this public announcement of the surplus of zakat funds, it has created a form of ‘mass panic’ amongst the citizens. It had led to a mass congregation of people congesting the Ministry of Religious Affairs’s office, as they all had believed that they had a share to the zakat balance.  The office had then became too overcrowded, and they had to distribute the zakat application forms at the Stadium Hassanal Bolkiah.
Brunei Lifestyle managed to take a look at the zakat application form and she said:
Before filling in the form, the front page made it clear on the definitions of those who have the right to receive the zakat. It says (in Malay) the definition of a:
Fakir –  Seorang Islam yang papa tidak mempunyai apa-apa pencarian atau harta atau orang yang tidak boleh mengadakan setengah daripada keperluan untuk nafkahnya dan nafkah orang-orang yang wajib ditanggunya.
Miskin – Orang Islam yang sungguh pun mempunyai sedikit harta atau apa-apa pencarian tetapi cuma dapat mengadakan lebih daripada separuh keperluan nafkahnya dan nafkah orang yang wajib ditanggungnya.
So applicants have to ensure that they are considered as a poor or it will be a sin for them to receive zakat when they know that they are not entitle to receive it. The MRA said that in 2007, about 4% of the Brunei’s population were classified poor.
Fakir – A Muslim who has no source of income or wealth or those who are unable to fulfil half of the needs for him/herself and those of their dependents
Miskin – A Muslim who, though has a bit of wealth or source of income but could only manage to contribute for more than half of his/ her own need and their dependents
So applicants have to ensure that they are considered as a poor or it will be a sin for them to receive zakat when they know that they are not entitle to receive it. The MRA said that in 2007, about 4% of the Brunei’s population were classified poor.
Unfortunately, those who have sought for this share of the surplus of zakat collections did not appear to fall under the categories of fakir, or miskin. Many of the applicants who were interviewed by Brunei Times (a local news provider) admitted that they were burdened by debts accumulated due to overindulgence. Examples were excessive credit card bills, automobile loans and personal loans. Ranoadidas was concerned about such people who were demading this share of the undistributed zakat funds:
It’s a shame (if it’s true) that the working class of our society are applying for the remainders of the unused Zakat funds (BND 200 million). Or perhaps, they misinterpreted on who are be qualified to get share of the Zakat.
According to a source, the Ministry of Religious Affairs building was packed as tons of people made their way to get hold of the application form. To make things clear, the Acting Secretary of Islamic Religious Council of Brunei, Hj Abdul Wahab, said that not all will be eligible to claim the Zakat funds and that also includes those in debt with loans. I think there’s gonna be a long debate with regards to this matter.
Senor Pablo was also unimpressed with the idea of people claiming to be part of ‘al- Garimin’ category because of their huge debts that were due to this intemperance.  Those in the al-Garimin category are people who are in debted according to the Syariah Law. This is one of the groups that have a right over the zakat collections. In Brunei, to qualify under this category, one has to be Muslim, without any source of income to clear the debt, and is taking debt to finance basic necessities in line with Syariah Law (Brudirect.com, 2009). Senor Pablo believed that people should learn to become independent and realistic in living within their means.
Hmmm. I dont’ think it is funny to pretend you are poor and think that you can get a slice of the pie. How humiliating to read that there were some who think they come under the ‘Al Garimin’ category when they drove in luxury cars… when in reality they are not poor or destitute.
What do I want my kids to learn from all these? Learn to be self-reliant, independent or as the title of the post says it… Berdikari! [Independent!]
Learning to be self-reliant and being realistic on what you can afford and what not. Be smart in making financial judgment is equally important. I guess some of us have the mentality of ‘keeping up with the Jones’. We always wanted to be above the rest. That is fine if you can handle it. There is no point in burdening one self just to keep up with others’ lifestyle.
Brunei resources said that the zakat funds should be given to those who are in real need of them. He is also concerned that an unfair distribution of the remaining zakat collections may cause some Bruneians to stop paying their zakat.
In our country of plenty, there are a number of these people who need our help. The Zakat funds must be used but not to pay for those who are on debt to pay because of over indulgence but to help genuine cases. The long queues to get the assistance forms and the media coverage on the possibility that many of these in the queues are in financial trouble of their own making have not helped.
It is also worrying that I have met a number of people who used to pay their zakats are now thinking of not paying zakats anymore. They said that why should their zakat money be used to pay for those on debts because they spent money on mobile phones etc. They might as well give their zakats directly to mosques and other noble causes. These are worrying trends and may have an impact in the amount of zakat collection in the future. We certainly need to think the right usage of the zakat funds.
Asid suggested that the Islamic religious leaders and the academian should come together and have a dialogue, and conduct research to solve any future zakat related problems:
Perlunya diadakan satu perbincangan Ilmiah yg mengumpulkan Ulama2 dan cendikiawan2 bagi sama2 membincangkan permasalahan2 yg timbul daripada isu zakat ani. Kita perlu mendengar pandangan2 yg baru serta resolusi2 yg praktikal bagi menangani benda ani. Kajian2 akademik yg mendalam daripada bijak pandai akan sangat2 membantu menyelesaikan masalah2 yg timbul. Keberkesanan dan kecekapan badan yg bertanggungjawab hendaklah diberi perhatian penuh bagi sama2 mencapai dan menjunjung Titah dan Hasrat Kebawah Duli ini. Daripada pengumpulan, pembahagian yg adil dan seksama hinggalah pengagihan yg telus dan sempurna, semuanya harus dititikberatkan.
The paying of the zakat is meant to bring about blessings, a purification of the soul and a way of increasing one's deeds. It allows us to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, and help those who may not even have the luxury of having a proper home or a proper meal. Thus, these basic ideas need to be communicated amongst the muslim citizens in Brunei, so that they could appreciate the function and the contributions of the zakat system.  Bruneians also need to learn to become independent, and to live within their means as to not bury themselves in debts due to their overindulgence.  Also, to overcome any possible zakat related problems in the future, a dialogue should be held amongst the different Islamic religious leaders, academian and the organisations that handle the zakat funds.

author: Noor Hidayah


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China: Sitting on a Firework · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Uln from Chinayouren blogs about the crisis that appeared in news and statistics but is absent in daily life in China. The blogger points out three factors that contribute to the incoherence between theory and observation: delay, inertia and transparency.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Worst Drought in 50 years · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A worst drought in 50 years, affecting more than 12 provinces and more than 9.3m hectares, in northern China has hit 43% of the country's wheat crop. The Office of State Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned that 3.7 million people and 1.85 million livestock had lost access to drinking water. In Feb 7, Premier Wen Jiabo visited a village in Henan and urged local officials to place “top priority’ on relief work. Soon after Wen's visit, it started raining in the area… is that miracle? well, it is chemical cloud seeding.
The youtube video below showed the drought situation in Shandong province:
Due to the impact of financial crisis, a large number of migrant workers has returned home to rural area, the drought will make their lives even worse and affect the central government's policy in developing the internal market to deal with the crisis. badanjilin, a blogger with rural background is very worried about the negative impact of the drought:
虽然各地都在想方设法抗旱，然效果不甚理想，如果老天不给降水的话，夏收就会严重减产，加上金融危机，可想未来农民的日子咋过？这些年，基本上是风调雨顺，农民在粮食自给自足的前提下，外出打工，挣点钱来改善生活，一旦再不下雨，农民的生活将是雪上加霜。我是一个农民的儿子，而且自己也曾经务农两年，深知农民的疾苦，在所有行业里，农民是最苦的。三农（农业、农村、农民）是中国面临的最大问题，正因为这样，国家在每年初都出台一个以农民为中心的一号文件，惠及农民百姓。即便这样，对农民来说，还是有相当人口在贫困线下生活。
Irrigation system and suggestion on rural collective
Pinklady from Tianya forum, among a number of voices, pointed out that the country had spent too little to develop a more effective irrigation system in good time. The blogger believes that the ultimate solution is the drip irrigation systems:
为什么，改革开放三十年了，我国华北地区的滴灌系统还没有建立起来？滴灌系统这玩艺儿也不复杂，不就是水泵加PVC管子吗？政府贴一点，农民掏一点，自个儿埋上不就得了。我们现在生产水泵加PVC管子不是小菜一碟吗？
我来告诉你们，为什么我们在华北、西北地区大规模推广滴灌系统都失败了。关键的问题是，滴灌系统，他再小也得是个系统，一家一户，一亩三分地的搞没法搞。问题就在于包产到户，回到小农经济了就没法搞。和修库、修渠是一样道理，你不去组织农民，就没人去搞，单个人搞，水管都被人扒了去卖钱。还有，就是中国农村的宅基地和坟地把早把农田搞得的一团糟。你去看看以色列的集体农庄，乌有上有介绍，必须是大农庄，集体农庄才能搞这玩意儿。所以这个问题不是经济问题（不差钱），也不是技术问题（早解决了），是中国农村的体制问题。
Environmental crisis rather than developmental crisis
However, Wind on water, pointed out that money and development cannot solve the water shortage problem. Water is best stored underground.
在一路高歌的“小农经济”和“市场体制”行进中，有谁想到水资源的危机已经严重威胁我们的生存环境呢？官员们会讲，我们有钱，我们给农民“水源补贴”！以为“钱是万能”的？没准还加快水资源枯竭进程呢？！金钱主义正在毁灭人类的生存环境……
Another omen?
Last year during the spring festival, the southern part of China was hit by a serious snowstorm, followed by an earthquake; this year, it is the drought. People are worried that there are more disasters to follow. A post has been circulating in the internet saying that the drought may be a sign for another series of earthquakes. Littlepjy has copied the post in her blog.


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Cuba: Internet in the Year 2011 · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Alejandro Perez of Bloggers Cuba [es] responds to an interview given by Boris Moreno, Vice-Minister of Information Technology and Communications and his outlook for the Internet in Cuba in the year 2011.  Perez sees some contradictions when Moreno says that “we (the Ministry) are not interested in restricting the use of new technologies for information and communication…” however, he is also hopeful for the new fiber optic from Venezuela to be installed by early 2010.


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Dominican Republic: Contrasts in Transportation · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

There is a big difference between the new Metro system in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and other forms of vehicular transportation writes Rocío Díaz of Monaco [es].


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Ecuador: An Interview with Winner of Best Latin American Blog · Global Voices
Milton Ramirez

Even though he was unable to travel to Spain [es] to receive the prize for “Best Latin American Blog” in the contest [es] sponsored by the Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos, Carlos Suasnavas is humbled by the recognition and dedicates it to his readers. The blog, which he co-writes with Evan from Argentina, is called Sentando Frente Al Mundo [es] (Sitting in Front of the World) and was chosen by a jury and by other bloggers. In this interview from his hometown of Quito, he shares a little about his reasons for having a blog in the first place and about why he believes he may have more readers outside of Ecuador.
Milton Ramirez: Who is Carlos Suasnavas?
Carlos Suasnavas: Carlos Suasnavas is a 37-year-old Ecuadorian, who loves a good book, classic literature, science in general and who tries to share something on his blog that he has read, learned or has impacted him deeply. He's also a businessman, aware of the economic situation of his country, the welfare of their workers and customer satisfaction.
MR: Your blog is summarized in the expression “Sitting in Front of the World” What does that mean for you?
CS: It means that you and I or anyone else are lucky enough to be able to sit in front of the window of the internet which gives us the knowledge of cultures, customs, stories, lifestyles and attractions of this small blue planet. Personally, I feel privileged to be born in this era where we have this wonderful window to the world on our desk. Yet I cannot understand that there are people who only come to look for pornography or celebrity gossip when you have at your disposal the ONLY tool that brings to your home virtually all human history, art, science, technology, politics, as well as your planet, its geography, animals and a thousand other things to your home. Sometimes we do not consider how fortunate we are to have any information from anywhere in the world just a click away. My blog's name, Sentado frente al mundo, encompasses the whole idea.
MR: What do you think about Ecuadorian blogosphere and as habitual reader, which would be your favorites?
CS: Regarding Ecuadorian blogs, as in everywhere, you have high quality blogs, but also from the others. It is that there are still bloggers who think the rest of us are interested to know about their private, emotional, or sexual life, but since a blog is free they can do it and there are no rules to follow, therefore you also find a lot of garbage out there. And since blogs are global, you also have readers for everything too.
On my Bloglines account I check the good classic Ecuadorian blogs, that remain since I started and learned from them, such as CeroCuatro [es], Aura Neurotica [es], La Gaby [es], Atrapasueños [es],  Ecuador Ciencia [es],  Tecnodatum [es], Sueños y Cuentos [es], and El Apestado [es]
MR: In an recent video interview  you said that people blog to unburden themselves. Do you have a favorite post in which you unburdened yourself and why?
CS: As you all know, my blog had been in an evolutionary process, from being a personal blog to what it is today. In the midst of that process, several posts remain from the romantic stage and which I recall with great affection such as “Angels and Demons‘ which was a very simple text about a woman who was very important in my life, but I liked that text very much and which I have seen copied on many blogs, some provided the source, others didn't (which is not something that really interests me), I have seen it in personal spaces, forums, and once someone showed me a photoshopped picture with the text as a postcard. Another curious thing was the e-mail I received containing a text of another post of mine called ‘Thrown Cards.’
These are things that once bothered me, but now I look back and I feel really proud. And like I said, those were other times and my motivation at that time also was different.
I have always written to unburden myself, but I've tried to be as careful as to what to reveal from my personal life. I've shown the world only what I wanted them to know about me. If one believes that because one has read my blog one completely knows Carlos Suasnavas, then one is wrong.
MR: How are Ecuadorian blogs contributing to conversation by citizens? Why do you think your posts are read mostly by foreigners rather than Ecuadorians.
CS: I do not believe such dialogue is being built because a blog by nature is biased. Beginning with the President, we complain about how printed press and television media is biased, what can we expect from a blog that is written by someone according to the reality in which they live? There are blogs for and against the government. So far I have not seen a single one which is fair. Until there is fairness, dialogue cannot exist. What takes place are debates in which everyone thinks he or she are the owners of the truth.
The fact that my blog has more foreign readers, I think it is due to two specific situations. First, thanks to the charisma that comes from my co-blogger, Evan, who is Argentinian and shares the same tastes in topics that we post. When I want to change or change gears on my blog as I did a year ago, she captured my ideas perfectly. The other reason may be that my blog there is no morbidity, politics or my personal life, topics that Ecuadorians enjoy to read.
MR: How has the perception of the blogger/entrepreneur Carlos Suasnavas changed in the national media since you received your award as Best Latin American blog?
CS: It is a coincidence that I am an entrepreneur and blogger at the same time, and it was another happy coincidence that I won the Best Latin American Blog. A high school or college student, a housewife or any office employee could have won it. It could also be won by a journalist, but this is the beauty of freedom of the Internet, you do not need to categorize yourself in only one activity or show your diploma to open your own blog. It is an activity where your diploma does not matter, it only matters if people like what you publish and they continue to read.
I don't know if the media looks at me differently. I do know my friends don't. Admittedly, this award has given me enough media coverture, some press interviews, but from there, it did not change anything. The only thing that I appreciate is the increased traffic to my blog, that my blog is being read more and the pleasant satisfaction of knowing that it helped to increase a bit the general culture any reader.

author: Milton Ramirez


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Georgia: Royal Wedding · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Yesterday's wedding between two descendants of the Bagrationi dynasty which ruled Georgia for at least 10 centuries has captured the imagination of royal watchers worldwide. However, for those pondering the state of democracy in the post-Soviet country since the November 2007 unrest, the marriage between Prince David Bagrationi-Mukhraneli and Princess Anna Bagrationi-Gruzinsky has also reinvigorated talk of reestablishing the monarchy.
Last August, for example, Gerald Warner wrote on the Daily Telegraph blog that a constitutional monarchy might be the best model for Georgia to follow.
Democrats have been talking about monarchy on the British model and citing the example of King Juan Carlos in Spain to prove the practicability of a restoration. What brought things back to the boil, however, was a sermon preached by the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch Illia II, on October 7 last year, in which he publicly called for the restoration of the monarchy as the “desirable dream of the Georgian people”. That led to the question being debated in parliament.
[…]
The acknowledged head of the royal house, the de jure King George XIV, died earlier this year; but his 32-year-old son Prince Davit could be called to the throne of his ancestors as David XIII. This could be the holistic reinvention of itself this unfortunate nation needs.
Royal World agrees.
[…] While the “fairy tale” element of monarchy is important and should not be belittled, that does not mean that a restoration would have nothing to offer Georgia's very real problems. The world's remaining monarchies make a substantial tangible difference in the lives of their substance; why would Georgia not wish to emulate them?
However, also writing for the Daily Telegraph blog, Sarah Marcus is less convinced.
[…] it's doubtful that the restoration of the monarchy will become anything more than a fantasy in the foreseeable future. While one of the opposition parties, the Christian Democrats, has made some noise in support of Georgia becoming a constitutional monarchy, no one really appears to be taking the issue seriously enough to do much about it.
Although the wedding has received a considerable amount of attention here and 40% of callers to a television show discussing the marriage said they that supported the idea of a constitutional monarchy for the country, many people I've talked to seem to regard the idea as an entertaining diversion from the real issues dogging this country.
[…]
In some ways the dream of a restoration of the Bagrationis is a dream of instant escape from today's complex problems into an era when Georgia's glory days might live again.


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Iran: Islamic Revolution in photos · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Iranian.com we can see several photos of Islamic Revolution in 1978-79.


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Jamaica: Broadcasting Ban  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Stunner's Afflictions supports the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission‘s ban on “the promotion of the activity called Daggerin and songs such Rampin Shop which feature an overdose of sexual references and violence.”


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Madagascar : Bloggers react to Red Saturday’s bloodshed · Global Voices
Mialy Andriamananjara

Since riots and lootings claimed fifty dead in Madagascar on January 26, the situation has become bleaker. Saturday, February 07 was an even bloodier day. Dubbed “Red Saturday” by some, it saw the presidential guard fire upon a crowd of protesters who had gathered outside the Presidential palace of Ambohitsirohitra.
The crowd had marched to the palace where it wanted to install Monja Roindefo. Roindefo had minutes before been nominated “Prime Minister” by Andry Rajoelina, himself proclaimed “President”, by the protestors that started demonstrating in December, when Andry Rajoelina's TV station was shut down by the Ravalomanana government. The protests have since become violent, resulting in lootings and riots, and with its supporters demanding Ravalomanana's resignation.
Among the victims of Red Saturday was Ando Ratovonirina, a 26 year old cameraman for the television station RTA. He is no stranger to the Malagasy Global Voices team, as he was the one who reported on citizen media in Antananarivo, as encouraged by FOKO, a Rising Voices grantee.
Bloggers have reacted strongly to the news, struggling to understand what circumstances led Malagasies to fire upon each other. Bloggers discuss who bears final responsibility for the massacre: those who incited, then led, demonstrators to the presidential palace, knowing that it was marked a “red zone” and that the soldiers there would have liberty to fire upon anyone violating the “red zone”, therefore creating “martyrs” for a protest movement running out of steam; or those who gave the orders to shoot.
“Pour provoquer la sortie de l’impasse créée par une auto-proclamation, les tenants de la prise de pouvoir insurrectionnelle emmènent la foule marcher sur un Palais présidentiel. Classés zones rouges, ces bâtiments sont protégés par un régime de protection spéciale qui expose les contrevenants au pire.
Quel que soit le Président en fonction, quel que soit le Palais concerné, quel que soit l’opposant qui mène la foule, quelle que soit la cause à défendre, quels que soient les militaires, les règles sont immuables : on ne peut impunément pénétrer dans un Palais d’Etat.”
Solofo, Avylavitra and Barijaona were eyewitnesses.
Solofo posts pictures of before and after the shootings and pointedly wants his readers to notice a certain man wearing a grey tie and black suit. The same man is apparently shown in a video posted on topmada.com .
“Hitifitra hono izy… Tsy misy vahoaka mihemotra izany eo.”
Barijaona :
“J'étais persuadé que tout avait été négocié à l'avance, que la foule resterait gentiment à distance, que seule une petite délégation entrerait à l'intérieur des grilles du palais et que c'est cette délégation qui demanderait ensuite à la foule de se disperser.
J'étais trop loin pour savoir ce qui s'est passé dans la foule peu avant que le cordon de sécurité ne lâche. Si un responsable du mouvement a laissé entendre qu'on pouvait “y aller”, sa responsabilité est énorme.
Je ne peux parler que de ce que j'ai vu et entendu de mes propres yeux, mais ai trouvé étonnant que Andry Rajoelina et Monja Roindefo soient restés à l'écart des délégations négociant l'entrée dans les grilles du palais.”
Avylavitra wonders if laws are void during exceptional times like these:
“Satria tokoa mantsy na aiza na aiza, dia ny vahoaka no tompon’ny fahefana fa mpindrana fotsiny ny mpitondra. Ka raha vahoaka haka izay nampindraminy no andraisana azy ireo, tsy ho azo natao ve ny nifampiresaka taminy? Raha ny fandraisako azy mants (tsy asiko firehana an!), dia rehefa tonga amin’ny fara-tampony toy izao ny fitakian’ny vahoaka, dia efa lasa ambonin’ny lalàna rehetra izany fitakiana izany, ka mihisaka maka zoron-trano daholo aloha na ny Lalampanorenana, na ny hafa. Diso ve aho? Raha eny, mba hazavao ny saiko.”
He writes about his visit to the injured at the HJRA hospital and posts pictures of the wounded and dead (Warning: very explicit pictures).
Tsy nitsahatra ny fivezivezen’ireo taxi sy fiaran’olon-tsotra ary fiara mpamonjy voina hatramin’ny fito ora hariva (19h) nialako teny amin’ny HJRA androany. Noho ny fahafenoan’ny toerana tao amin’ny tranom-paty dia nisy tamin’ireo razana no napetraka teny ambony bozaka teo an-tokontany aloha mandra-pandamina ny tao anatiny. Be ireo olona tsara sitrapo no namonjy hainga ny HJRA mba hanone maimaim-poana ny rany ho vonjy aina. Hatramin’ny karana aza dia tonga teny. Nanontany azy ireo aho ny amin’ny antony nahatongavany teny hanome rà. Sao mba misy havany marary ao. Rehefa tonga tety tokoa mantsy ka natao ny fanisana faramparany azoko natao talohan’ny nialako ny hopitaly dia dimampolo latsaka ny maty voatifitra. Ny naratra moa dia miditra isaky ny minitra angamba. Misy ny afaka nalefa nody fa ratra vokatry ny fifanosehana kely, fa nisy ireo nojerem-potsiny fa tsy nisy azo natao aminy intsony, nefa tsy vitan’ireo mpitsabo koa ny tonga dia hanatitra olona miala aina ho any amin’ny tranom-paty avy hatrany.
He also reports on people's reactions on radio:
“Ireo onjam-peo izay henoina amin’izao ora izao dia mikiaka valifaty noho ny rà latsaka , ary mitaky ny fisamborana an-dRavalomanana daholo izay antso an-tarobia tafiditra. Miantso tody ihany koa ho amin’ny taranak’ingahy Ravalomanana, ary misy mihitsy aza ny midradradra ny amin’ny hisamborana sy hamonoana azy.”
Jentilisa writes on immediate reactions in the streets after and during the shootings, with other reactions than those cited by Avylavitra. He also reports on opportunists who pounced on the occasion to wreak more havoc and loot some more:
“Ny nahavariana, teny Soarano indrindra aho no nandre ny tifitra voalohany, fa nikoropaka avokoa na dia ny olona tany aza. Samy nandositra avokoa na ny mandeha an-tongotra na ny mpitondra fiarakodia ka nisy ny tsy nahatandri-tena intsony ka nodonin'ny fiara izay nanavotr'aina ihany koa. Mafy dia mafy ny nahazo ilay ramatoa voadona… Tsitapitapitr'izay fa nikatona avokoa ny toeram-pivarotana rehetra. Maro tamin'ny mpivarotra amoron-dalana no nanangona ny entany. Tsy niala tamin'ny toerany kosa anefa ny atsasaky ny mpivarotra teny Isotry (tsena ny andro Asabotsy) izay mihevitra fa tsy hanenjika olona hatreny kosa ny mpitandro ny filaminana. Nahare poa-basy koa ny teny Besarety, nahavariana ihany io raha ny halavitry ny toerana no heverina, hay saiky hisy hamaky avy hatrany indray ny shoprite teo Ambodivona izay tsy vaky nandritra ny andron'ny talata 27 janoary 2009. (…)
Nitantara mivantana avokoa manko ny ankamaroan'ny fampielezam-peo tamin'ity vanim-potoana “lehibe” ity… ka maro tamin'ireo tsy mankasitraka ny tolona no efa mitaintaina nahatonona mihitsy hoe “tifiro! tifiro amin'izay!” ary mba nahatonona koa izy ireo hoe “ela loatra koa izy izany!”. Malahelo aho milaza aminareo fa maro tamin'ireo izay tsy niomana ho eny, no nahasahy nilaza mihitsy hoe “nahazo izay notadiaviny izy izany!” ka toa tsy antra fo tamin'izay niharam-pahavoazana mihitsy aza. Ny mpankasitraka ny tolona sy izay nankeny Ambohitsorohitra kosa (ny teny Isotry no tena nohenoiko) dia mamerimberina hatrany fa “ny mpikarama an'ady” (ilay laingalainga nafafy hatry ny ela) no nitifitra fa tsy nisy Malagasy nitifitra izany. Maro tamin'izy ireo no nanozona ny filoha Ravalomanana sy nilaza azy ho mpamono olona. Inona koa? ny filoha Ravalomanana sy ny Praiminisitra no naneho voalohany ny fiaraha-miory sahady… fa i Andry Rajoelina kosa tamin'ny 18:30 vao nanao izany sady “nitomany” nanameloka an-dRavalomanana ho tompon'andraikitra amin'izao vono-olona izao. “
Jentilisa also analyzes the two only possible outcomes of Saturday's rally when Andry Rajoelina nominated Monja Roindefo, as “prime minister” of his governement:
“Tranga roa no tsy maintsy hitranga nanomboka ny tolakandro ka efa tafakatra teny Antaninarenina amin'izay ireo olona (miala tsiny mivantambantana miteny hoe ny avy any ambany tanàna no tena maro an'isa tamin'ny fitarihana sy fialohavana teny ampilaharana tonga teny Antaninarenina): Na mitifitra ny mpitandro ny filaminana na may Ambohitsorohitra, ireo ihany, tsy misy hafa. Raha nanaiky ny hidiran'ny vahoaka ny lapan'Ambohitsorohitra ny miaramila tao anatiny dia mivandravandra fa tsy mifehy ny tafika intsony ny filoha Ravalomanana ka tsara ho azy ny miala ny toerany avy hatrany. Ny olona koa etsy andaniny efa mihorakoraka ny “ela loatra” ary tsy maintsy handroso (“jusqu'à la mort” hoy ny tarigetran'ny mpanohana ny TGV izay). Ny zavatra nahavariana dia tsy niakatra nankeny Antaninarenina mihitsy i Andry fa ny lalana mody ny azy no nasiany olona, noho izany dia ny Jly Dolin Rasolosoa no tena nandrindra ny fihetsiketsehana rehetra sy ny fifampiresahana tamin'ny mpitandro ny filaminana. Ny “Praiminisitra” vao notendrena Monja Roindefo Zafitsimivalo kosa moa dia karazana kofehy manara-panjaitra ihany.”
POV, a cartoonist, wonders what led the demonstrators to rush towards armed soldiers:
“Puis les coups de feu ont éclaté. Les enquêtes démontreront peut-être ce qui s’est passé. Je doute que ceux qui étaient en première ligne allaient se ruer sur une rangée de soldats prêts à tirer. Je soupçonne que la pression de la foule en arrière les a poussés à faire un pas trop loin, vers la zone sécurisée.”
POV condemns Andry Rajoelina's actions :
“En lâchant sa foule sur le palais présidentiel, il a su (et espéré ?) qu’il y aurait certainement de la casse. Tel un général sur le champ de bataille, il se tient en retrait, observant les manœuvres de sa troupe, dirigée par ses lieutenants.
De tous les endroits où il pouvait envoyer sa horde, il a choisi le palais présidentiel. Symbolique, certes, mais c’est également une zone rouge – un site où les gardes sont autorisées, voire tenues d’ouvrir le feu sur ceux qui outrepassent les limites. Il a galvanisé la foule de rhétoriques du genre « entrez-y, le palais présidentiel appartient au peuple ! » Selon des témoignages, les gens ont d’abord flotté autour du site. Des pourparlers étaient en cours entre les lieutenants de Andry Rajoelina et les chefs de la garde présidentielle.”
News2Dago  reproduces a column written by Valiavo Nasolo Andriamihaja, where the latter wonders if President Ravalomanana is still in charge in the country and calls for him to resign if he has lost control:
“Impiry impiry, hatramin’ny nanombohan’izao raharaha izao, no nitsangana sy niteny ny olona maro sady tsy momba ny atsy no tsy momba ny aroa : «mampidi-kizo izao fiziriziriana izao, tsy maintsy ny resaka no vaha-olana». Tsy misy nihaino isika.(…)
Ilay Filoham-pirenena, tsy hita, tsy nandrenesam-peo, mahabe ahiahy ny olon-tsotra manara-dalàna sady tsy tia korontana. Raha mba miteny indray, lavitra loatra, toa zary miafina, sanatria toa efa lositra. Fa Fanjakana inona loatra ity eto amintsika ity ? Tompon’andraikitra amin’ny haja sy voninahitra fotsiny fa mialangalana rehefa misy fahasahiranana ? Ianao ihany, Ravalomanana, no nihomehy ilay mpiandry omby miandry omby tokana : «tsy fantatra intsony, hoy ianao, iza no sefo, izy sa ilay omby». Mbola sefo ve ianao, Ravalomanana ?”
A feeling echoed by a commenter on Avylavitra's blog:
“Maninona raha noraisina fotsiny ireo solo tenan’ny mpitokona dia nosamborina raha nilaina dia naparitaka fotsiny ny olona avy eo ? Raha tsy mandray andraikitra haingana ianao sy ny gouvernemantanao eny fa na amin kery aza raha ilaina hampandeha ny raharaha andava,andro dia tokony ary rariny raha mametra pialana ianao.”
On rumors spread by the VIVA and Antsiva stations, both supporters of Andry Rajoelina, that the presidential guard did not warn before shootings and on the rumored presence of weapons among the demonstrators, Jentilisa comments on Avylavitra's blog:
“Miarahaba anao rahalahy! Tamin’ny vaovao manokana navoakan’ny Tvplus voalohany indrindra tamin’ny Asabotsy dia nisy iny tovolahy naratran’ny bala tamin’ny tongony iny. Nisy nibata ilay zalahy io ka rehefa napetraka tamin’ny tany tao amin’ny toerana vonjimaika hitsaboana ilay zalahy dia nisy bala niraraka avy tamin’ilay olona sivily nibata io naratra io. Tsy niverina intsony ilay ampahantsary fa notapahina nandritra ny vaovao manokana hafa rehetra tamin’io andro io. Midika izany fa “nisy” nitondra fiadiana avy taty amin’ny vahoaka, izay nolazain’i Andry Rajoelina tamin’ny resaka nifanaovana tao amin’ny Viva TV androany, fa na nitondra fitaovam-piadiana aza ny vahoaka araka ny nambarany tsy tokony hamaly mihitsy ny mpitandro ny filaminana.”
Finally, Lomelle and Pakysse both write moving hommages to Ando, the journalist who lost his life while covering the rally and the siege of the Presidential Palace.

author: Mialy Andriamananjara


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Morocco: And The Winners Are… · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The second annual edition of the Maroc Blog Awards were held in Casablanca on January 31.  The awards honor the best Moroccan bloggers (as well as bloggers whose primary blog topic is Morocco) in 13 categories.  This year, awards were given in the following categories:
Reb, who is an American researching the Blogoma (Moroccan blogosphere), congratulated all of the winners:
This is a little late–I was out of town last week–but congrats to all the winners of the 2009 Maroc Blog Awards! You all definitely deserve recognition.
Robin Des Blogs, winner of the Blog of the Year and Best French Blog categories, wrote about attending the ceremony and winning the award:
Dire que jusqu’à ce matin j’ étais un citoyen ordinaire, juste un mec avec plein d’ambitions et de rêves comme tout le monde…Ce soir, je rentre chez moi avec cette impression de pouvoir tout faire, non pas parce que je me suis découvert quelque talent caché ou des forces mystérieuses, mais parce que j’ai gagné au Maroc Blog Awards…deux titres dont l’un n’est tout autre que le prestigieux blason de meilleur blog marocain de l’année 2009, rien que ça… Tu parles d’une soirée !
The blogger also shared a photo from the event:
Casawaves, who won the award for Best Thematic Blog, shared videos from the event, including this one of a percussion group performing:
Saad Erraji, winner of the Best Skyblog category, also shared a photograph from the event:

author: Jillian C. York


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Azerbaijan: Obama campaign manager in Baku · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Just weeks before a controversial referendum will likely remove a constitutional two-term restriction on the presidency, Barack Obama's campaign manager yesterday visited Baku, capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan. With foreign broadcasts recently banned in the oil-rich former Soviet republic, the trip has not been well-received by most online political commentators.
Letters in Bottles explains why the visit by David Plouffe has caused concern in some circles.
Azeri President Aliyev, fresh off a crooked win in the November presidential race, is seeking to cement his power by putting through a constitutional amendment to end presidential term limits […]. As a good democrat, Aliyev has blocked opposition access to the media, while he uses his his cronies to push the measure:
[…]
The US embassy there claims he will be acting as a “private citizen,” but Plouffe would have to be hopelessly naive not to realize that his talk will be used by the regime as a further piece of evidence that this referendum is a perfectly legitimate form of democratic expression.
Before the visit, Jemal Public Affairs urged Plouffe not to go.
Barack Obama’s Campaign Manager David Plouffe’s impending trip to Azerbaijan is inappropriate and should be cancelled. I hope that the President and Sec. of State Clinton dissuade Plouff from traveling to an authoritarian county to promote the government’s undemocratic ambitions.
This kind of trip is dangerous and represents the worst of American foreign policy. It’s anything but a break from the past 8 years. Cozying up to a government not because they share our values of liberty and freedom, but because of oil revenues.
Writing on the Harper's blog, Ken Silverstein is also less than impressed.
A Plouffe associate confirms details of the trip to Politico. He says Plouffe will be speaking to university students “about the 2008 election and the power of grassroots people to make change…He’ll be focusing on the power of democracy and what it means to people around the world.”
Spare us. Plouffe was invited by a pro-government group headed up by hacks loyal to the regime. Whatever his motivation is, and I could make a pretty good guess, democracy in not high on the list.
The Carpetblog, written by a keen observer on all things Azerbaijan, offers Plouffe some advice.
No one knows better than Carpetblogger how to ingratiate oneself to an obscure, corrupt dictator with oil, so we're a little miffed Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe didn't call us before his upcoming trip to Azerbaijan.  Who hearts Baku more than Carpetblogger?
[…]
Remember, David, it's not selling out, it's buying in! We're glad GovAZ is establishing links with the new administration and we hope you're presented with some quality investment opportunities while there. Democracy is for chumps!
And while RBO examines U.S. strategic interests in the region, 27 Months in Azerbaijan wonders if Plouffe's visit is more than just that of a private citizen.
Right after the Georgia-Russia conflict over Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Dick Cheney […] met with the president.  To me, that message read “we’ve kind of got your back as long as the oil and gas keep flowing.”
Now, it appears David Plouffe, the Obama campaign strategist is coming to Azerbaijan:
[…]
[…] It’ll be interesting to see if America’s foreign policy shifts toward Azerbaijan.
Whatever the reason for his visit, however, few media outlets had the opportunity to cover it. The Foreign Policy blog, for example, says journalists were denied access to Plouffe.
The journalist in Baku who broke the story of Plouffe's visit, of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, told a contact that she and other journalists tried to attend Plouffe's speech Monday at Baku's Gerb (Western) University but were not allowed in. […]
Dirty South… Caucasus thanks Plouffe for “stopping by.”


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Pakistan: Street Foods in Lahore · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chapati Mystery posts some mouth-watering pictures of street foods in Lahore.

author: Rezwan


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Sri Lanka: The LTTE Menace · Global Voices
Rezwan

“The LTTE is simply a nihilistic organization like Al Qaeda. It’s not designed to actually win anything, it’s just a sore loser. They slaughter to make a point, but never to win one,” comments Indi.ca hearing the news that a female LTTE rebel has blown herself up, killing 28 people and injuring dozens more in the North-East of Sri Lanka.


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Taiwan: Naked nurse ads · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates local news stories about naked nurse ads of plastic surgery clinic at Tainan, Taiwan.


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Trinidad & Tobago: In Defense · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life blogs about the UDECOTT defense, while The Manicou Report weighs in on the recent resignation of the Integrity Commission.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Line Jumping  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As three police officers make an “emergency” trip to KFC, Trinidadian blogger Paolo, who witnessed the incident, has this to say to the Acting Commissioner of Police: “I do not expect that you knew about this, but now I hope you do. So what the hell are you going to do about it?”


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Italy: In Defense of the “Right to die” · Global Voices
Bernardo Parrella

UPDATE: Eluana Englaro died few hours after this post was written.
A legal battle over a young woman's ‘right to die’ after 17 years in a coma has spurred both vast online commentary and activism in Italy. Mostly in defense of “Eluana Englaro's choice”, Italian netizens have signed petitions, organized protests, and made YouTube videos of their own ‘living will’ testimonies, in defiance of both prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Vatican.
Eluana Englaro is a 38-year-old Italian woman who was left in a vegetative state after a car crash in 1992. Shortly before the accident, Eluana had paid a visit to a friend in a coma, and expressed to her father her firm will never to be kept alive artificially in case something similar should ever happen to her.
While lovingly caring for Eluana all these years, Beppino Englaro, her father, started a decade-long court battle to fulfill her wishes and allow her to die, even though Italian law does not recognize living wills [en]. The legal dispute eventually reached Italy's higher court and the European Union court in Strasbourg, and the final rulings supported Eluana's request to die. On Friday, February 6, her doctors began preparing to remove her feeding tubes.
Embracing Vatican ideas, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi tried to reverse the court ruling [en] by issuing an emergency decree that was quickly approved by the parliament. Italy's president, however, refused to sign it, and was supported by many legal scholars, journalists and ordinary citizens. Then, in a race against time to “save Eluana”, Berlusconi announced the immediate introduction of a “special bill” [it] that could be ratified by the parliament within one week, thus skirting the president's veto and forcing doctors to resume the feeding of Eluana. He also suggested a possible constitutional amendment, if necessary.
Photo by Radicali Milano, released under Creative Commons on Flickr.
While public events, both “pro-life” or “pro-Eluana”, were held during the weekend, a large rally is planned for Valentine's Day (February 14) in downtown Rome [now moved to Saturday February 21] against the “obscurantist dictatorship” [it] of the government initiatives.  With Italy on the verge of a constitutional crisis, unprecedented since World War II, the whole country is now engulfed in heated discussions that are overflowing on the Internet.
A subversion of justice
Most bloggers see the Berlusconi move as an attempt to subvert state institutions. Mente critica [it] writes:
Sconfessare per decreto legge una sentenza definitiva di una Corte di cassazione è un colpo di stato verso uno dei legittimi poteri della repubblica. Un atto così incostituzionale che probabilmente nemmeno Franco o i colonnelli della giunta militare greca avrebbero avuto l’ardire di tentare.
Random bits, un blog antropologicamente inferiore [it], after declaring his closeness to the parliament majority party, has this to say about the emergency decree:
Non siamo (ancora) di fronte a comportamenti apertamente golpisti, ma ci stiamo pericolosamente avvicinando al limite (…) ricordando al governo l'importanza della separazione dei poteri e dei meccanismi di checks and balances.
Open World [it], quoting Berlusconi saying that Eluana Englaro in her current condition “is a person who could even have a child”, supports the need of a living will legislation and adds:
Il Governo sta autorizzando una parte molto importante dell’elettorato, quello cattolico, di diventare il padrone di uno Stato Laico come è l’Italia. Come è per Costituzione il nostro Paese è tutto il contrario di quello descritto dal Presidente del Consiglio.
With pressure from the Vatican mounting all around, Catholic priest and blogger Paolo Padrini expresses his views on Passi nel deserto [it]:
In questo momento una sola cosa potrebbe disinnescare la miccia dello scontro sociale, oltre che istituzionale. Al più presto dovrebbero riunirsi i parlamentari cattolici di tutti gli schieramenti, presentare una legge sospensiva di ogni decisione fino ad una completa decisione circa una legge di “fine vita” che regoli anche il cosiddetto “testamento biologico” togliendo da esso ogni possibile fraintendimento pseudoeutanasico.
In Italian newspaper La Repubblica, a renowned constitutional scholar, Stefano Rodotà,  has decribed the situation as a “constitutional tsunami” [it] and expressed concern [it] that “the anxiety of so many members of parliament will lead us to a shore where there is very little respect for people's rights and for their own humanity.” A commenter on this last article, 1partigiano wrote:
di nuovo il governo fa leggi ad personam, vedi il caso Eluana. La politica che deve fare leggi utilizzabili per tutti si accanisce su un fatto specifico da farne un decreto,noi cittadini dovremmo prendere coscienza di chi ci governa, della sua arroganza e ignoranza politica.
Online activism for “Eluana's choice”
Flickr has more than 150 pages with photos from rallies, drawings and other kind of pictures related to Eluana's case.
Facebook is a hotbed for activism: these days many people are protesting the Government actions by obscuring their profile picture, while a group supporting the Valentine's Day rally [it] in downtown Rome [now moved to Saturday February 21], quickly gained more than 2,000 members, and a petition supporting [it] “Eluana's choice” has been joined by almost 86,000 people. Several other groups are discussing the issues at stake and organizing local events – again, the vast majority supporting the court decision.
Last but not least, a campaign to email people's living will [it] directly to the labor minister is currently underway: they fill in and sign a form stating that they are against any prolonged artificial life support. Taking this strategy to the next level, dozens of people started short videos posting on YouTube [it] in which they detail their living wills. More than 100 videos are currently available, many of them with hundreds of viewers.
Also on YouTube, is the following video supporting a bill, recently introduced by Senator and surgeon Ignazio Marino, favoring the legal value of such ‘biological testaments’ (or living will):
This post was co-authored by Eleonora Pantò.

author: Bernardo Parrella


text:
Azerbaijan: Plouffe visit not on Obama’s Behalf · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following the recent fallout from this week's visit to Azerbaijan by Obama campaign manager David Plouffe as well as news that his $50,000 speaker's fee will be donated to civil society groups in the region, the New York Times’ The Caucus blog says that the White House denies the controversial trip was on behalf of the new U.S. president.


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Bahrain: A ban on pork? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Ammaro cannot believe some MPs have called for banning pork: “Banning something doesn't make people more religious…Oh, and this may shock you MPs, but the people who usually purchase pork AREN'T USUALLY MUSLIM.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha