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Ukraine: Politics Overdose · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On April 2, Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko dissolved parliament and called early elections, but prime minister Victor Yanukovych and his allies disputed the president's authority to do so (see here and here for earlier Global Voices translations). This week, Yushchenko dismissed the newly reappointed prosecutor general, Svyatoslav Piskun, who is the prime minister's ally. Interior minister Vasyl Tsushko accused the president of usurping power, and riot police stormed the prosecutor general's office. Yushchenko responded by placing interior ministry troops under his direct command. Yanukovych condemned the president's order, and the interior ministry said it would defy it. After a day of confusion over who controlled the interior ministry's troops, Yushchenko ordered extra units to Kyiv, but most were stopped on the way to the capital by traffic police acting on behalf of the government.
The outcome of this highly complicated conflict is yet to be seen, but one thing seems clear: many Ukrainians, on whose behalf the politicians involved in the current feud claim to be acting, suffer from politics overdose (and from unusually hot weather).
Here's what two journalists of the Ukrainian weekly news magazine Korrespondent wrote about this political and climatic heat on their blogs (RUS) on May 25.
Vitaliy Sych, Korrespondent‘s editor-in-chief:
I've a feeling that our politicians and ourselves have turned into parallel realities. And that our paths no longer cross. That's it. It's over.
Here's what you see on TV: the parliament wants to impeach the president, the president wants to fire the premier, the Constitutional Court's judges have been accused of taking millions in bribes. You watch it and think: So what? It doesn't mean anything anymore. The amount of important political news has grown so huge that it has practically lost all value. If tomorrow they show on TV that the premier or the president strangled and then ate three infants, everyone will say: How amusing.
Ukrainian politics has turned into a TV soap opera that never leaves the screen and no longer has any effect on the people's lives.
Local businessmen have understood this too already. Upcoming elections used to freeze most significant projects for a year, but now no one pays attention to the elections anymore. They have become routine. Yesterday, I looked through the English-language newspaper Kyiv Post, where I worked once myself. Never before has Ukraine seen such an influx of foreign investors. We used to run an item on arrival of a big investor in the market once a month. Now, there are five or six every week. Even the international ranking agencies have stopped downgrading Ukraine in their economic forecasts.
You'd think that the events like this should cause anxiety. No. No one gives a damn.
That's it, politics has strayed away from the people.
But please tell me one thing: if I [leave the city] for an overnight barbeque tomorrow, will they let me back in if the emergency state is declared?
Olga Kryzhanovskaya, editor of Korrespondent‘s The Country section:
Sleepy Kingdom
The country has found itself on the brink of emergency state, two of the three branches of power have basically become illegitimate. Amazing, but there is no sign of it in Kyiv. There's no tension in the air, people are calmly discussing their weekend plans, no one hurries to turn on the news. After two months of political confrontation, it looks like everyone has simply lost interest to what's going on up there on the top. Summer, heat, beer in the open air. To hell with all this politics. The economy is working, banks are giving out money, stores are giving out food, subway is giving out tokens. This creates an illusion of everything being okay, and the TV news about the storming of the prosecutor general's office resembles yet another Jackie Chan action movie. Wake up, people! A healthy cynicism towards politicians is good. But at some point it becomes dangerous to be apathetic and carefree. Think of 2004. What would have happened if thousands of people hadn't come out into the streets and taken control over the situation? If only 300 paid extras had gathered at Maidan, instead of 300,000 citizens, there would have been no round table and no compromise. And now, until we turn into citizens again, politicians would continue making empty sounds with their authority, instead of looking for a way out.
UPDATE: Several hours after this translation went up, Ukraine's leaders reached an agreement to hold an early election on September 30. According to president Yushchenko, the political crisis is over.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Benin: New government rumored to be considering a Ministry of Religion · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Babilown points to an article in Le Matin (Fr) about rumors that Benin's government plans to create a Ministry of Religion, and outlines the potential of such a ministry to erode the constitutional separation of church and state (Fr). In a comment,  T. Nouatin agrees that although a Ministry of Religion can hijacked by religious interests seeking to exert control over the state, it can also be a means of easing tensions between religious communities and preventing sectarian violence.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Jennifer Brea


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DRC: Congolese Curious About Money Ocean’s 13 Stars Raised for Darfur · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Bien au Bout… writes about his neighbor, Karim, who asked to be shown photographs of Brad Pitt and George Clooney (Fr).  Apparently, Karim was listening to the BBC and heard about an event in Cannes organized by Ocean's 13 stars Pitt, Clooney, Matt Damon and Don Cheadle that raised $9.2 million for Darfur, and was wondering who was eligible to get that money.


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Iran:A more divided country · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Digital Kalashinkov,blogger and journalist, says[Fa] Iranian society becomes more fragmented everyday.The blogger writes there is a growing gap between elites and masses.He adds religion and nationalism can not anymore bring together the majority of people. He says country becomes divided based on ethnicity.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Ultra Conservative Ayathollah Goes to Waterloo · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ultra conservative Ayatollah Messbah Yazdi is invited to the Waterloo university by the Mennonites.A petition has been launched to protest about this invitation.”We're not against dialogue but the Mennonites[Waterloo University] are naive if they think they can open one with these people,” says Haideh Moghissi, a York University sociologist who with 17 others signed a protest letter sent to the university.


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Kenya: are you a regular Mzalendo user in Nairobi? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mzalendo is looking for its users in Nairobi: “Are you a regular Mzalendo user based in Nairobi? If you are interested in being interviewed on your views about Mzalendo by Reuters, please get in touch with us via the contact page.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Korea: Bloggers are not reporters · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

On the 19th of this month, one of the major internet portal sites announced the new period of blog journalism in Korea. Their section, media daum blogger news which opened last November, like other portal sites chose blogger reporters within their portal site, and showed news from their own blogger reporters. Bloggers had a hard time finding other bloggers’ posts by topics and looking for quality posts. The new decision of Daum is to start putting blog news from other portal sites, setting up the direct link to those blogs, and using trackback and RSS systems. They also promised to establish more active blog reporters, such as video clip reporters. After this news, some blggers are happy about it, but others are not. Some bloggers are concerned about their identities and functions of blogs.
A post of a blogger, philomedia, received the interest of other bloggers.
블로거는 기자가 아니다.
나는 ‘블로거는 기자가 돼서는 안된다'고 생각한다. 따라서 블로거는 ‘취재'를 해서도 안된다고 생각한다. (물론 전업기자가 쓰는 블로그나, 전업은 아니더라도 글쓰는 일을 직업의 일부로 삼는 사람들이 쓰는 블로그는 예외다. 그것은 개인 블로그에서 ‘발생한 뉴스'가 아니라, 직업기자가 블로그에 ‘쓴 뉴스'다.) 내가 잘못 생각하고 있는지는 모르겠지만 블로거와 기자의 가장 큰 차이는 ‘취재'를 하느냐 하지 않느냐에 있다고 본다. ‘취재'라는 것은 내 이야기가 아니라 남의 이야기를 간접경험하는 일이고 ‘기사'는 이런 취재를 바탕으로 또다른 제3자(대중)에게 남의 이야기를 알려주는 일이다. 취재의 넓이와 깊이, 기사의 문장력과 매체력에 따라 그 기사가 좋은 기사, 훌륭한 기사가 될 수 있을지 몰라도 취재해서 쓴 이야기는 어디까지나 남의 이야기를 간접경험한 이야기일 뿐이다.
반면 블로그는 내 이야기다. ‘내 이야기'가 일반적으로는 받아들여지지 않는 엉뚱한 이야기일수도 있고, 일반화할 수 없는 특이한 이야기일 수도 있으나 그것은 엄연한 팩트(fact)를 바탕으로 한다. 팩트를 가진 사람이 본인의 입으로(제3자의 입을 빌리지 않고) 스스로 퍼블리싱하는 게 블로그이다.코끼리를 본 적은 없으나 코끼리를 많이 본, 전문적으로 본 사람을 취재하여 코끼리를 그린 그림이 기사라고 한다면 코끼리를 전체적으로 보지는 못했으나, 코끼리 다리 만진 사람이 올린 팩트, 코 만진 사람이 올린 팩트, 꼬리 만진 사람이 올린 팩트, 그러다가 코끼리를 전부 다 본 사람이 올린 팩트들이 모두 모여서 거대한 진실을 만들어 나가는 게 블로고스피어라고 나는 생각한다.
블로거는 기자 흉내도 내서는 안된다.
블로그가 대안 미디어로 기대를 모으고, 많은 사람들이 블로고스피어의 발전을 바라는 것은 그동안 제도권 언론이 전해주는 간접적 사실에 의존하여 세상을 바라보던 것을 이제 팩트를 가진 사람들이 모여 진실을 공유할 수 있게 될 것이라는 기대감 때문이다. 따라서 블로그는 자신이 본 것만 말하고 경험한 것만 써야 한다. 어줍잖게 기자 흉내를 내서는 안된다. 자신이 본 몇 개의 팩트를 바탕으로 억지로 일반화시키는 제도권 언론의 잘못된 전철을 답습해서도 안된다. 괜히 블로그뉴스, 블로그기자단 이라는 단어에 현혹돼서 기사를 쓰기 위해 본업을 제쳐두고 기사꺼리 찾으러 돌아다니거나, 없는 사실을 과장해서 이야기하거나, 하지도 않은 가공의 인터뷰를 적거나 하는 일은 정말 해서는 안되는 일이다.
그냥 자신의 생업에, 일상에 충실하게 살다가 남들과 꼭 공유하고 싶은 팩트가 발생했을 때 한 번씩 블로그에 글을 올리면 그만인 것이다. 좀더 적극적으로 나간다면 미디어다음의 이슈트랙백 같은 코너에 자신이 가장 잘 알고 있는 문제에 대한 이슈가 올라왔다면 트랙백으로 글을 올려주는 정도면 더 할 나위가 없을 것이다. 그러나 미디어다음은 그렇게 생각하지 않는 것 같다. 며칠 보지는 않았지만 미디어다음의 블로거뉴스를 보면 순수한 의미의 블로거들을 육성하기보다는 ‘프리랜서 기자'를 육성하고자 하는 것처럼 보인다. 미디어다음이 막강한 트래픽(독자수)을 무기로 다음의 우산 아래 들어오는 프리랜서 기자를 양산하고, 이를 바탕으로 그동안의 편집권력에서 더 나아가 콘텐츠에 있어서까지 기성언론과 맞상대하겠다는 생각을 갖고 있다면 이는 블로고스피어에 좋은 일일까? 설사 그것이 다음의 기획의도가 아니라고 하더라도 그런 식으로 흘러갈 공산이 다분하다. 그것은 기성언론사보다 훨씬 많은 독자수를 보유하고 있는 포털사이트가 블로거에게 ‘기자'라는 타이틀을 부여하고, 보상체계를 갖추고, 우수한(?)블로거에게는 편집권력을 부여함으로써 이미 시작된 것이나 마찬가지다.
On Philomedia's blog, Nova agreed with his opinion.
저 역시 블로거는 자신의 이야기를 하는 것으로 충분하다고 생각합니다. 그리고 취재라는 형태를 통하지 않고, 개인의 이야기가 직접 전달되는 구조라는 점에서 RSS 신디케이션과 블로그스피어의 역할에 큰 기대를 가지고 있습니다. 이런 생각 때문인지 미디어다음이 말하는 프로블로거, 블로거기자, 기사라는 용어가 마음에 들지 않는 점도 있습니다.
On the other hand, Sepial had a different opinion.
소속이 없다는 점은 담당 데스크의 압력때문에 소신을 꺾을 일이 없고, 블로거이기 때문에(그야말로 뉴스 생산자이자 소비자니까…) 보다 독자와 가까운 글을 쓸 수 있으며, 아무래도 기자보다야 청탁으로부터 자유롭지 않은가 싶습니다… 틀에 박히고 위에서 내려오는 기사가 아닌 기사를 읽을 수 있어서 저는 블로거뉴스도 나름 좋아합니다.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Love for students and rapper trainee teacher.  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Love for students and rapper trainee teacher. Finishing his practice teaching at a middle school, a trainee teacher expressed his love for students with a rap song which he composed and made it into a video clip on the internet. It was hit more than 65,000 times so far. Students sent their love back to him with drawings and pictures that they made. [ko]


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Malaysia: Blog Directory Thoughts · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun is asking readers to share their thoughts on Malaysia largest newspaper and a legal gambling group joining together to form a bloggers directory.

author: Preetam Rai


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Marshall Islands: Petition for Justice for Nuclear Test Survivors · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Minaajet Chamorro is urging readers to sign a petition for justice for the nuclear survivors of Marshall Islands. The Micronesian island nation was site of a series of nuclear tests carried out by the US between 1946 and 1958.


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Morocco: YouTube is Blocked, and the Blogoma is Not Happy · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Late Friday night, A Moroccan in Washington D.C. broke the news that YouTube had been blocked in Morocco.  He remarked that “It's quite saddening to see such a thing happening in Morocco;a country that has made giant steps in freedoms and socio-economic reforms in the span of short 8 years.”
YouTube is not the first site banned in Morocco.  Last year, Livejournal, one of the first blogging sites; and Google Earth, which offers satellite photos in sharp detail of most of the world were blocked.  Certain sites and blogs documenting the Western Sahara conflict have been banned for years now, although a few in English remain.
By Saturday morning, the blogoma had exploded in commentary on the subject, some remarking upon why YouTube had been banned, others criticizing the censure.  Motic was the first to speculate, saying:
This new censorship, as illegal and unacceptable as all the others, has nothing to do with security. It demonstrates once again how clumsy and awkward the Moroccan policy is towards IT and the internet. Moroccan authorities go another step farther away from mastering this tool. Censoring a site secretly and illegally comes to recognizing the enemy's arguments! Is this the best thing that Morocco can do in order to defend its territorial integrity? Censorship is obsolete, it is a reflex of an older era. It can only be interpreted as a sign of defeat and despair.
The blogger made several other posts in French, documenting the reasons behind the censure.
Au début était le blog (fr) also expressed dismay over the censure:
Vous avez sans doute remarqué que depuis deux ou trois jours que la vidéo de Nass El Ghiwane insérée dans ce billet ne fonctionne plus. Ne cherchez pas d'explications techniques lointaines. Le site Youtube est tout simplement censuré au Maroc par Maroc Telecom, filiale de la multinationale Vivendi! Vous avez très bien lu: on censure encore au Maroc.
In the Maroc IT blog, (fr) Omar el Hyani posted a piece urging readers to boycott Maroc Telecom, which seems to be the culprit, and encouraged bloggers to post a graphic in support of the boycott:
Je demanderais à tous les lecteurs de ce blog, de boycotter les produits de Maroc Telecom, et pour ceux qui possèdent un blog ou une page personnelle, d’afficher le logo anti-censure sur leur page
Most bloggers were considerably angry over Maroc Telecom's censoring of YouTube.  Youssef at Maghrebism urged readers to take action, stating his own intent to set up a petition against Vivendi International's actions:
The king & government have to realize that progress is not only words. Saying that you’re progressing is not enough. You actually have to take action to progress.
The reason for this post is my disappointment and anger towards to the silence. We have been silent for too long.
We have been silent after Livejournal, after Google Earth. We didn’t make our voices heard.
This is not only shameful but also dangerous. If we stay silent, more sites and services will be blocked.
We have to speak up and say that the recent block of Youtube is wrong and damaging.
The block doesn’t only damage the internet-users but also Morocco.
So please, let us speak up. Let us make our voices heard and stop the deafening silence.  I’m planning to set up a petition and contact Vivendi Universal, the mother company of Maroc Telecom.  Vivendi Universal has its own department of Sustainable Development, promoting dialogue and social responsibility. Clearly they don’t promote that through the block of a major website?
Morocco Guide surmised that the banning of YouTube will have a negative effect on Moroccan advertising, given the statistics:
You don't need an advanced degree in statistics to conclude that promoting anything in Morocco, music and Hip Hop is the way to go hence this new ad video for the new mobile phone company Sma3ni.
The video was added to Youtube on Mar, 07, 2007 and was viewed by more than 484,876 (surpassing all the 6 versions available at youtube).
In the same vein, El Hafa (fr) noted that the ban will only give a negative view of Morocco while providing free advertising to YouTube: “De cette maniers tous le monde a seulement contribuer a donner encore une fois une image sous-développée du maroc et… faire un peu plus de publiciter gratuite pour youtube.”
Although most bloggers were up in arms over the banning, it would be unbalanced reporting not to mention those who considered the other side.  A post in my own blog, The Morocco Report urged bloggers to speak out against censorship: “Personally, I have no idea what we can do, but I know that keeping quiet won’t help. Morocco bloggers, join me in speaking out against internet censorship.”  The post garnered an inordinate number of comments arguing for both sides.  Two are below:
Myrtus:
While I’m strictly against censorship to silence free speech, personally I can totally imagine why anyone would block You Tube for safety reasons. It’s a perfect medium to pass on any type of information either to influence the masses or to speak in code. While most of us go there for entertainment purposes, there are plenty of political organizations who use it solely for advancing their own political agendas. Who’s to say that terrorist organizations aren’t using it to communicate out there in plain daylight and we don’t even know it.
Everything Morocco:
There is a lot of trash and objectionable, even dangerous material getting posted. I saw a hate video on You Tube that was shocking in the level of ignorance and hostility, but as I said we are all being punished for what a few people are doing and yes, some people are so stupid it is the only way to prevent them from being sucked into an agenda they don’t understand.
Censorship isn’t the answer to eliminating the problem but it’s the simplest method of controlling it/us and government is famous for going for the lowest common denominator and the least thought/work intensive means of problem solving.
It is worth noting that there have been no official news reports as of Sunday afternoon as to the causes behind Maroc Telecom's (or the Moroccan government's) censorship of YouTube.  The only post as of yet to make it to the Google News search for keyword “Morocco” was from MidEast Youth.  The blogoma eagerly awaits answers.

author: Jillian C. York


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New Book Examines Causes of the D.R. of Congo’s Political Instability · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Congopage offers a brief review of a new book by Gilbert Dzassabi, a lieutenant-colonel of the Congolese Air Force (Congo-Brazzaville) who studied in Russia and later in France, where he earned a Ph.D in political science.  Dzassabi tries to explain why his country's troubled neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa), has found itself in a state of perpetual war (Fr) since securing independence from Belgium in 1960.


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Russia: Vacationing Survey · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian-language LJ community eco_altai is a place for fans of ecotourism in the Russian Altai Republic to meet and share impressions and beautiful pictures.
Right now, an interesting survey (RUS) is being conducted there: on vacationing in the Russian Federation.
Only a few dozen bloggers have answered the survey's eight questions so far, but it's currently in the top 10 of the Yandex Blogs ranking, so the number of respondents is likely to grow.
Here's what some of the results look like now:
Question #1: “What's your attitude toward vacationing in Russia?”
32 bloggers think positively of it – but “without fanaticism;” eight bloggers do not care and choose their destination depending on the circumstances; seven bloggers say “it can't be better;” two bloggers would never spend their vacation in Russia and always prefer to travel abroad; and one blogger (LJ user jan-kiepura) vacations in Russia only – “on principle.”
Question #2: “How/where do you spend your vacations in Russia?”
26 bloggers prefer “active rest” – unprofessional camping, skiing, etc.; 20 bloggers go to the countryside – or their dachas; 18 bloggers don't like to venture far away from home and prefer barbeques with friends; 11 bloggers travel to resort areas; and one blogger (LJ user yasheruga) goes on pilgrimage.
Question #3: “Where do you usually vacation in Russia?”
The most popular vacation destination happens to be the Black Sea – including Crimea, which is a Ukrainian territory (23 bloggers report going there); 20 bloggers tour Russia's big cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, etc.); 18 bloggers visit Russia's ancient towns; 13 bloggers go to Karelia; 12 bloggers venture further north; 10 bloggers prefer Altai; and the Ural and the Caucasus each gets seven Russian LJ visitors.
Question #4: “What do you LIKE about vacationing in Russia?”
29 bloggers like the nature's beauty and diversity; 24 bloggers enjoy places that haven't been touched by civilization; as many choose Russia because it means visa-free travel for them; for 17 bloggers it's a way to learn more about their country; low prices appeal to 12 bloggers; six bloggers combine vacations with visits to see friends and relatives living elsewhere; and none of the respondents mention service as their reason for vacationing in Russia.
Question #5: “What do you DISLIKE about vacationing in Russia?”
Bad service (“something's always wrong with the way the trip is organized, the driver's rude, the toilet's leaking, etc.”) is the major drawback for 23 bloggers; 21 bloggers dislike the roads and the infrastructure; 20 bloggers feel sad about the amount of trash; 14 bloggers worry about their safety; 13 bloggers are tired of their compatriots (who “constantly demand to have a drink with them”); ten bloggers feel that all the problems are insignificant; two bloggers want more “exotica” (“palm trees, kangaroos, serfing, etc.”); one blogger (LJ user simeon75) likes it all.


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Syria: Presidential Referendum and Lebanon Clashes · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Today, Syria is reelecting president Bashar Assad for a new seven-year term in office. The process is done through a referendum, which means there will be no other challengers. The referendum paper has a green circle that says “Yes” and a gray one that says “No”. The result is expected to be 99.xx% in favour of the president – as is the tradition in Syria for the last 37 years.
Gorrfried Stutz, has only one word to say…
لا
or
No
While Philip I, of Via Recta, says he will toss a coin on the election date,
Heads, I win … Tails, you lose
Syrian Presidential Referendum, Sunday 27 May 2007
The farce continues for 7 more years
Bob, of Nine Months in Syria reported on all the “spontaneous” festivities that have been taking place,
Today, the parade. The government declared Thursday an official holiday in order to allow bureaucrats, undercover security agents and students alike to express their support, providing free bus transportation to and from the event. Responsible parties noted the names of those who might have forgotten to attend.
Tens of thousands – official accounts will tell us hundreds of thousands – of participants crowded downtown, waving likenesses of the president and nylon Syrian flags that were already frayed by 10 a.m.
Tony Badran, of The Syrian Monitor reports that, the opposition has decided to boycott the referendum…
As to whether a boycott is the best way to send a message and make the voice of the democratic opposition heard, Manna’ said, “I am personally against any presidential referendum, and I consider it to be a form of political fraud and deceit, conducted by the authoritarian regime to force citizens into being partners in the crime of violating free elections in broad daylight. It does not even rise to the level of the bay'a [the traditional political contract between ruler and ruled] known in Arab and Islamic history, nor is it remotely related to the idea of electing a president of the republic.”
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. a group of activists have gathered in front of the Syrian Embassy to protest the referendum, Ammar Abdulhamid of Amarji, reported from site.
The crowd was pretty diverse, and represented Syrians from various backgrounds, ethnic and political. There were also some American and Arab participants who wanted to show their support of our cause. For this, they have our lasting gratitude.
Moving on to our neighbor Lebanon, the last week witnessed very violent clashes between the Lebanese army and an Islamic extremist group by the name of Fatah al-Islam. The Lebanese army have closed on the group in a Palestinian refugee camp called Nahr el-Bared, which houses more than 33,000 refugees.
Lebanese politicians were quick to blame Syria for the group, and while this is always a possibility in a country like Lebanon, several reports came out contradicting that. Many of the reports have even claimed that the group was actually started and funded by the Lebanese anti-Syrian March 14th group, and particularly the majority leader Saad Hariri. Hariri, who is the son of the late prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was accused according to several reports [including this article by Seymor Hersh, which was published long before the clashes began] by funding Islamist Sunni groups with the help of the Saudis to combat the Shia influence in Lebanon, represented by Hizbulla. The reports say that the groups have turned against Hariri, because the funding stopped.
Rime Allaf writes,
So if Syria dun it (which I am not saying it didn’t), did it ask the men to rob the bank, and to lead the army to them, and to make sure it would cause so many casualties in the army, and to then get shelled by the army, and for general chaos to ensue, so that the tribunal wouldn’t come? The analysis goes like this: the Syrian regime is trying to make sure that the tribunal does not happen, so it pushes some buttons and sets the area on fire. Not an unreasonable analysis. It’s also a logic that has the culprit assuming that the Lebanese would go running to the UN to retract the demand for an international tribunal under Chapter VII. Well, that’s what Murdoch’s increasingly trashy publication, The Times, says in yesterday’s editorial: it’s simply Syrian blackmail.
And while the political aspect is very vague, the humanitarian aspect is very clear. Over 30,000 Palestinian refugees are trapped in the camp, under heavy shelling and fighting, with no food and no water for the last five days. It is a real humanitarian crisis. As Golaniya reports her first hand observations when she went to the camp with an aid truck.
So today and after we delivered the supplies to the Safad Bedawi hospital, and to a clinic in Bedawi camp, we went to these theoretical meetings Swedish NGO called Save the Children which are organizing to “educate” the Palestinian refugees’ student since they are missing classes and all. So we are talking about people who have no place to stay, no covers, not enough food, no diapers, wounded, have missing families..etc and they are worried about educating them, so we left them alone with their meetings.
Abu Kareem, of Levantine Dreamhouse, reflects on the whole issue, and feels that it is time to settle the refugee crisis in Lebanon…
One thing that I am certain about it that it is time for Lebanon to change the way it deals with Palestinian refugee camps and their inhabitants. I blame both Palestinian and Arab leaders for the way the plight of three generations of Palestinian refugees was politicized. Everyone wanted them to remain refugees because, the logic went, if they settled (tawteen) in the land of their refuge, they would lose their right and their will to return to Palestine. So instead they languished in misery for 60 years. In Lebanon, their plight was complicated even further by fears that their presence was going to affect the sectarian mix. So the Lebanese state gave them few rights and restricted their ability to work. Most, consequently, remained stuck in abject poverty with no legal documents to allow them to go anywhere and not way to improve their lot. It is no wonder that the refugee camps, rife with despair, became breeding ground for extremism. Add to that the fact that the Lebanese authorities have no jurisdiction within the camps and you a have a recipe for repeated disasters.
Yazan, reflecting on the painful last 3 weeks, posts a link to one of Omar Amiralay's most impressive documentaries. A testimony of Saadallah Wannous, the late play writer, on the whole conflict from his own personal perspective, just few months before he surrendered to his cancer for the last time.
When I close my eyes, and see in the back of my head, images of Palestinians fighting against eachother, of a stateless people dragging themselves into a civil war.
No one can describe this utter feeling of helplessness you feel when you see one of the most genuinely painful Human causes, disintegrating.
I go back to Saadallah Wannous, and quote him, “There are many things that one can talk about…”

author: Yazan Badran


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The best strategy to lose weight.  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

The best strategy to lose weight. A year ago, a blogger bought a bicycle and commuted to work on it. He shows a graph of his weight for a year, which makes it clear that bicycling caused his weight to drop (and then to rise again when he stopped temporarily). He promised to provide a second season of his experience losing weight through bicycling [ko].


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Venezuela: Bloggers Mobilize For and Against the End of Transmission of Radio Caracas Television. · Global Voices
Luis Carlos Diaz

The television channel Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) has enjoyed the ability to transmit over an open television frequency for the past 53 years.  It is the oldest television channel in the country, and its license for the use of the frequency will expire.  The Venezuelan government decided not to renew the license, just as we have written in the past.
The debate in the country continues to be the same: on one side the opposition to the Chavez government considers that this has to do with political retaliation in punishment for the channel's role of political opposition, and on the other hand, the Chavistas support the measure because it can now “liberate” the open television signal from a channel that has destabilized the country through its propaganda.
There is very little gray area in a situation so polarzied, but the best thing is to read both sides.
The Venezuelan blog directory To2blogs.com opened a special section about RCTV and is collecting all of the posts that the Venezuelan bloggers are writing about the subject.  This tells us about the importance of this governmental action in the morale of the Venezuelan blogosphere, because in itself, the process is another opportunity for political confrontation, as we have become accustomed to.  Blogs have been created especially about the topic, those that are in favor the measure (RCTV from the inside) or against it (I am with RCTV).
Up until now, there are more than 2,000 articles just in that site alone.  There is a wealth of opinions about this conflict.
Within the political correctness language, “the non-renewal of the channel's license” means that it cannot transmit over open signal, which will affect the channel's economic standing and also the viewers will not be able to see it.  The channel will not close, but it is restricted to transmit over cable, but because there is also no Digital TV technology in Venezuela, it ends this discussion.
The internal debates within each blog, such as the one at Slave to the PC [ES] with more than 200 comments, center upon whether the measure against the private channel represents a violation of freedom of speech.
Kira Kariakin comments:
Para mí la cuestión radica en los principios que mueven una sociedad que se precie de democrática y en esos principios están incluidos no solo la libertad de expresión, sino el derecho a la disensión, al juicio justo, a la defensa, a la protesta, al trabajo, a la propiedad privada, entre tantos otros que con este retiro de la concesión de la señal para RCTV se violentan. Luego de sentado un precedente como éste no habrá marcha atrás en cuanto a la libertad de expresión en los medios.
Iria at Resteados [ES] criticizes the quality of the channel and thinks that the problem of freedom of speech goes beyond whether or not it stays on the air:
RCTV sigue siendo hoy, el canal que hace 12 años dejé de ver por razones éticas y estéticas. No ha cambiado en estos meses desde que Chávez le dictó la sentencia de cierre.
Así que no tengo más que repetir: “Yo no estoy con RCTV”.
So, I have nothing else but to repeat, “I am not with RCTV”
Lubrio asks at El Espacio de Lubrio [ES] whether opinions and protests are really restricted in Venezuela, and provides an example of the opposition march on May 19, in which there was not a single repressive event.
La oposición marchó el 19 de mayo de 2007 en defensa de RCTV. Miles de opositores marcharon pacíficamente, algo que no pasa en dictaduras. Sin embargo, varios líderes opositores hacen llamados a que el 27 de mayo la población debe permanecer en las calles creando desestabilización para sacar al gobierno, lo cual es transmitido con normalidad en Globovisión y RCTV. Hasta llaman estúpido al Presidente Chávez.
The opposition marched on May 19, 2007 in defense of RCTV.  Thousands of members of the opposition marched peacefully, which is something that does not happen in dictatorships.  However, various opposition leaders are making calls that on May 27 for the population to remain in the streets creating destabilization in order to remove the government, which is a message transmitted with normalcy on Globovision and RCTV.  They are even calling President Chavez stupid.
This week appears to be the end of the line for the channel.  The license expires at midnight on May 27 and another Public Service station designed by the state called Tves will begin to broadcast. This is another station in the hands of the state, in addition to the official station and another four that are broadcasting on a national level.
Caracas is particularly tense and filled with protests and mobilizations for the past week.  Vendors, actors and workers of the channel, university students, politicians, television viewers and members of political parties have all taken to the street …  all in favor or against the shutdown of the station.  Marches and gatherings are separated by geographic and ideological distances. The opposition is actively distributing audio of the protest (mp3) via the internet on the nights of the 26th and 27th in order to sound an alarm in favor of freedom of speech.  The government has released the National Guard and Armed Forces in the city since Friday to prevent any public disorder.
On Monday morning, another intense reason for the political conflict will have taken place.  The communications war in Venezuela will continue, even though the opposition will have one less channel at its disposal.
For a photoset, visit h_xavier's Flickr.
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author: Luis Carlos Diaz


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What terms for parents are popular in Korea  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A blogger discovered what terms for parents are popular in Korea through the search engines of several major portal sites. According to the table and graph that he (she) made, father (a-beo-ji) is used more than dad (a-bba) and, on the other hand, mom (eom-ma) is used more than mother (eo-meo-ni) by internet users. The blogger’s theory is that it shows relations between parents and their children in Korea [ko].


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Whatever Roh Moo-hyun says is unbearable! · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Whatever Roh Moo-hyun says is unbearable! A blogger criticized how conservative media distort what he says, showing how major media source interpreted his speech comparing the whole speech of his when he attended the launching ceremony of the destroyer ‘se-jong-dae-wang-ham’ on the 25th.


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Algeria: Spot the Terrorist  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian blogger and journalist Slimane Boussoufa, who is based in London, UK, narrates to us his experiences crossing borders and how people look at him if he is carrying a backpack in the London Underground.
“It is to be regretted that young Arabs, especially the educated and well groomed, have become victims of  both Arab and western security apparatuses.  In the west, this targeted group has fallen prey to presupposed notions and misconceptions created by the ever wily media, which has perpetuated and deeply etched these stereotypes into the western national conscience.
People here and elsewhere seem to forget that, like their counterparts everywhere, Arab youths also fear terrorist attacks on the transport system,” he writes.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: Burning Books is Depressing · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bint Battuta from Bahrain is distressed that books are being burned in the US because readers are on the decline.
“I can think of so many schools, libraries, and community groups that would appreciate the 20 000 books that this store owner plans to burn… And yes, the places I'm thinking of are not in the States, but I can't believe that there is really no longer a culture of reading there,” she writes.


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Bahrain: Minimum Wage  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Increasing the minimum salary will only be a temporary solution against families and individuals that are being affected by inflation, but this will only be done by dropping employment opportunities and decreasing the quality of the work experience for those very workers affected – and is hardly a reason to endorse the minimum salary legislation and call for it to be enforced,” writes Bahraini blogger emoodz.


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Bahrain: The ‘two seas’ are now a concrete jungle · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

This week we start with Mahmood Al Yousif who mentions an article in Al Wasat newspaper by Adel Marzooq which analyses the state of the Bahraini
blogosphere:
Another issue Adel raises is the cliquey nature of blogs in Bahrain as he categorises us in various strata: bourgeois, personal in nature, political, opposition, activist, little people, etc.
He also suggests that a state of “war” exists in the Bahraini blogosphere as some choose to have only their close blogfriends in their links sections and fight tooth and nail to remove any “outsider” to be considered for inclusion in that blogroll, which clearly demonstrates the cliquiness of the enterprise, he claims.
Mohammed AlMaskati compares an initiative in the UK to make Trafalgar Square a green space, albeit temporarily, to the state of Bahrain's green spaces:
I do not know how I am supposed to feel when I see a Bahraini family having a picnic on roundabouts, their children running around left and right not so far away from the speeding cars, because those roundabouts happen to be the only “green” spots near them, because we do not have much greenery or “natural treasures” that the people of the country can enjoy let alone the incoming vacationer. … Why is it that we are neglecting the natural development or even preservation of our country’s greenery, beaches and seas, and encourage the construction of cement jungles left and right? What happened to the palm tree fields we had? What happened to the sweet water springs all around the country?
“Bahrain” or “Two seas” was called that because it contains two kinds of water, sweet water from the springs and salty water from the sea, it was also once called “Paradise” and “Life of Eternity”, it is truly sad that we don’t have any of that left for us to see, let alone our children.
Silly Bahraini Girl is angry and frustrated at the ruling regarding the capsizing of the Dana dhow, which resulted in the death of fifty-eight people last year:
Our justice system has finally come to terms with itself and has decided to tell the rest of the world the following:
The cost of white trash is: BD172.4 (BD10,000 ÷ 58) per soul.
Indian labour: three years in prison for following ‘orders’
Bahraini accused of manslaughter: 10 year prison sentence and walking out Free after paying BD10,000 bail!
She continues:
This is my Bahrain, people. This is my justice system. This is what we are trying to tell the world about how transparent we are and how everyone is above the law. Thank you Lower Criminal Court! You have once again tarnished the reputation of my country beyond repair. You have once again created families who think our court system is a farce. You have once again reinforced to me personally what I have witnessed all my life living in Wonderland. Thank you for giving me that reality check.
SoulSearch is fed up with having to work:
Have you heard of the phrase: “A slave to the job”, well, that's how I feel right now. I'm at a point where I have had it with work. I feel I have come to a breaking point, where I'm seriously thinking of making greeting cards for a living or something kinky like that! … What do I say to my 2 year-old son, who asks me why I leave him every single day? What do I say to my daughter when she tells me she wants to color a rainbow with her? … I miss my kids, my life is passing by and I'm in the office worrying about other trivialities while I'm missing out on wonderful moments with my children.
Silver Girl is also thinking about work. Amongst other things, she raises the issue of graduates who were sent abroad to university by the Ministry of Education, on the understanding that on their return they would work for the Ministry for a number of years, else pay back the cost of the study abroad (in the region of BD40 000 – approximately US$100 000) – and in a follow-up post she celebrates the apparent cancellation of this requirement. But her main point is to examine what many people believe is the sectarian nature of employment in Bahrain, and also of the struggle for employees’ rights. The Shi'a have a reputation of complaining more and making greater demands than the Sunnis. Silver Girl asks:
قد أفهم بأن لكل مذهب سياسة.. ولكل طائفة ثقافة. ولكن أن تكون لكل طائفة معاناتها؟ وفي مجتمع بحجم مجتمعنا؟ يا كبرها عند الله!
In Bahrain there are not only people who are frustrated with their work or trying to free themselves from obligations, but many who are desperate for a job. Babbling Bahrania has posted an advert placed by a jobseeker in a local newspaper. He is a university graduate, has experience with computers, can speak and write English, and is offering to work between 5am and 4pm without a break for a salary of BD150 (approximately US$400) – lower than the minimum wage.
Our final work-related post is another by Silly Bahraini Girl who wonders if she has been hypocritical in her advice to women making career decisions, because she herself did the work she loved rather than the work that would pay her well:
Not that Bahrainis are spoilt for choice when it comes to jobs, but I have had this conversation with two Bahrainis today and am battling my own demons when it comes to this. … My hypocritical advice to the two girls who asked me about what to do with their careers when faced with choices was the following: follow the money; take the job which offers more.
Yes. I had job satisfaction in my old job but no financial independence. Yes. I loved my job but it did not love me back when it came to money. Yes. I had a good life – but not until I was considered a human being and not a little girl who wanted a job to keep her out of the house and agreed to be paid in pocket money.
We conclude this week with a glimpse of history. Hussain Marhoon writes about the history of Bab Al Bahrain – the Gateway of Bahrain, built in the 1940s. He quotes from a novel by Bahraini author Fareed Ramadan:
ثمة رجل يعرض أوراقه على رجال الجمارك، يمسك صندوقاً محملاً بملابس قليلة. وَلدٌ في العاشرة يقف بالقرب منه، يكاد يلتحم به.
يمران أمام باب البحرين الذي يبدو في هذا النهار الجديد بؤرة للابتهاج والحبور. فالمبنى المطلي بالجير الأبيض الناصع يطل على مرفأ المنامة الكبير، وميدان الجمارك، حيث يمكن للمرء مشاهدة حركة العمال، السفن، والقوارب، بأحجامها وأعدادها الكثيرة التي تصل أحياناً إلى مائة سفينة.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Barbados: Health Care Woes  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Despite encouraging press statements, Barbados Free Press is concerned about the quality of health care being provided at Queen Elizabeth Hospital : “After all, when it gets right down to it, our Queen Elizabeth Hospital is not just the primary health care facility – it is the only hospital in the country.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bhutan: Mocking Democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bhutan: For a Democracy on mocking democracy. “Thousands of people from the east have been denied citizenship and right to vote in the upcoming mockeries. People may not like voting to legitimise the terrorism of the Jigmes but our concern is they need to be treated as citizens.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Block of Youtube: the Moroccan blogosphere react · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

A petition has been launched by Maghrebism to protest the block of the video-sharing site Youtube by Maroc Telecom (Vivendi International). “We demand that Maroc Telecom and Vivendi Universal immediately stop the current online censorship on YouTube and all other services being censored, which is a violation of the right to have free access to information. We believe that Maroc Telecom and Vivendi Universal are promoting censorship within the Moroccan society. This is in direct contradiction to their stated goal of “Knowledge Sharing” as mentioned in their Sustainable Development program documentation,” said the petition.
Maghrebism is also calling on Internet-users to join digg Youtube_blocked_in_Morocco.
Larbi, a prominent Moroccan francophone blogger, choose another way to protest the block of Youtube: his blog is on strike.  Larbi changed the front page of his blog inton a call to protest the ban.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Bolivia:  Troubles with the Constitutional Tribunal and a Bittersweet Mother’s Day · Global Voices
Mario Duran

This week in Bolivia, the political agenda was marked by the situation involving President Evo Morales and the Constitutional Tribunal, which is in charge of enforcing the Constitution.  From the collective blog Katari [ES], Wilder Nina Quispe writes:
En la mayoría de los Estados Democráticos modernos incluyendo el boliviano aceptamos como un incuestionable dato del sistema institucional que los jueces constitucionales (Tribunal Constitucional) revisen los actos del Poder Legislativo o del Poder Ejecutivo y que, en caso de encontrar sus decisiones constitucionalmente discutibles, las expulsen del ordenamiento jurídico nacional, constituyéndose de esta manera en legisladores negativos. Sin embargo, el hecho de dejar este extraordinario poder en manos de cinco jueces no resulta obvia o naturalmente aceptable. Menos aún, en el marco de un sistema republicano y democrático en el que las decisiones deben reflejar una voluntad mayoritaria de la población.(Leer +)
In the majority of the democratic modern states including Bolivia, we accept as an unquestionable part of this institutional system is that the Constitutional judges (Constitutional Tribunal) review the actions of the Legislative and Executive branches.  In the event that they find their decisions to be constitutionally questionable, then they expulse the national ordinance, in which they become negative legislators.  However, leaving this duty in the hands of five judges is obviously unacceptable.  In the framework of a republican and democratic system, the decisions must reflect the will of the majority of the people.
The anonymous blogger that identifies with Guayaramerin a city in the Bolivian Amazon, questions the nationalization of the Morales administration. In Guayaramerin Analytica [ES] he/she says that:
Si se hiciera una análisis correcto de lo que está haciendo en nuestro gobierno, se llegaría a la conclusión de que no es una nacionalización en el sentido estricto de la palabra . Es simplemente, la recuperación de impuestos – el aumento de regalías de las que tanto habló Evo durante su campaña electoral – y de manejo de ciertas cosas claves como quién exporta, quién comercializa, cómo se hace el mecanismo de manejo directo de los recursos naturales, Pero eso no quiere decir que las empresas extranjeras salgan de Bolivia. (leer +)
If one would make a correct analysis of what our government is doing, one would reach the conclusion that it is not a nationalization in the strictest of the sense.  It is simply a recuperation of taxes – the increase of royalties that Evo spoke about in his electoral campaign – and the management of certain key things such as who is able to export, who is able to sell, and about the direct management of the natural resources.  All of this does not mean that the foreign companies leave Bolivia.
The anonymous blogger “E” observes the appearance of transvestites in the streets of Santa Cruz and asks about their rights.
1. Si hay un numero cada vez mas grande de travestis, ¿significa que hay una demanda mayor de hombres “heterosexuales” que quieren tener fantasías con los mismo?
2. ¿Es lucrativa la vida de prostitución que llevan los travestis?, ¿o es que la situación económica esta tan jodida que muchos de ellos se ven obligados a prostituirse?
3. ¿Quienes o que ejercen el control de sanidad de esta población activamente sexual?
4. Sus presencias son un índice de que ¿existe mayor tolerancia en la orientación sexual en nuestra ciudad?, ¿o que la ciudad esta en una degeneración de valores y actitudes?
5. ¿Debemos tener en nuestra ciudad “zonas rosas” como en Holanda? ( Leer +)
1. If there is a an increase in the number of transvestites, does that mean that there is a higher demand of heterosexual men that want fantasies with them?
2. Is it lucrative the life of a transvestite prostitute?  Or is the economic situation so poor that many of them are obligate to prostitute themselves?
3.  Who controls the sanitative control of this sexually active population?
4.  Does their presence signify a higher tolerance in sexual orientation in our city?  Or is our city passing through a degeneration of values and attitudes?
5.  Should we have our own “red light districts” like they have in Holland?
In La Paz, the 5th International Meeting of Historietas? took place and each member of this community showed the good, the bad and the ugly of this event, through their own blogs.  Joaquin Cuevas, one of the organizers of the meeting writes:
Por supuesto los organizadores aceptamos sus críticas, pero defendemos nuestro trabajo con garras y dientes (blog del Marco Tóxico ). Pronto yo también subiré mi balance y fotitos. Ahora me toca dormir un poco y comer bien, que es algo que en estas semanas he descuidado. También me toca dibujar algo pal blog y leer las alucinantes publicaciones que adquirí en el evento. (Leer +)
Of course the organizers accept criticisms, but we'll defend our work with tooth and nail (blog of Marco Toxico).  I will soon upload my take and photos.  Now it is time to sleep a bit and eat well, which is something that we have neglected during the past weeks. I also need to draw something for my blog and read some of the wonderful publications that I bought at the event.
To finish, on May 27 Bolivia celebrated Mother's Day. Alejandra Gomez Suarez explains why we celebrate that date.
Hace 195 años un grupo de mujeres defendió con sus vidas la patria que recién emergía en una proeza que recordamos hasta hoy como las Heroínas de La Coronilla. Hoy les dedicamos la conmemoración del Día de la Madre. El 27 de mayo de 1926 se estrenó el Monumento a las Heroínas y fue contemplado por primera vez por los habitantes de Cochabamba. A mi esta fecha me trae muchos recuerdos tristes…..primero por que no tengo a mi madre cerca mío…y cuando la tuve no supe apreciar su compañia.Y segundo que me encuentro muy lejos de mi país…y estas fechas son las indicadas para que me consuma la nostalia. ( Leer +)
One hundred and ninety five years ago, a group of women defended their country with their lives, which were remembered as the Heroines of the Coronilla.  Today we dedicate the commemoration of Mother's Day.  On May 27, 1926, the Monument to the Heroines was unveiled to the residents of Cochabamba.  This day, for me, brings many sad memories because I do not have my mother with me, and when she was with me I did not appreciate her company.  I also am far from my own country and these dates are precisely the ones that consumes me with nostalgia.

author: Mario Duran


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Brunei: Kaya Jam · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sing Yin prepares the local breakfast accompaniment kaya and shares the recipe and preparation on her blog.


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Bulgaria: George Michael For Tripoli Six · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Eternal Remont reports that George Michael has joined the “You Are Not Alone” campaign to raise awareness of the Tripoli Six, “the six Bulgarian nurses who await death by firing squad in Libya.”


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Cambodia: E-Visa and E-Visa Blog · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Andy Brouwer likes the E-Visa facility offered by Cambodia. “The e-Visa website makes the process a straightforward one, uses paypal for the payment section and also contains a blog to keep you up to speed with further developments as well as a page for sharing your stories about your Cambodia experiences”


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Cambodia: Myanmar and Cambodia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The  latest cartoon by Cambodian blogger/cartoonist Sacrava mocks the recent contacts between Cambodia's strong man Hun Sen and Myanmar's generals. Myanmar recently extended pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's detention for one more year.


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Children’s songs that reflect the times · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Children’s songs that reflect the times. A blogger shows how lyrics and rhythms of children’s songs demonstrate the mood of the time period. The examples from the 1970s and 1980s when Korea was in its struggle for democracy are especially revealing [ko].


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Chile: Broadband Internet at Cheap Prices · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Chilean technology blog, Fayer Wayer [ES]disputes the data that states that Chile is one of the two countries in the region whose residents are able to access the cheapest broadband internet connections.  He calls into question the definition of broadband, but is also pleased that the prices for this connection continues to fall.

author: Eduardo Avila


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China: Student hits teacher video · Global Voices
John Kennedy

It might not be so shocking for those who went to a public high school in most places around the world, but a video entitled ‘Student hits teacher’ has brought a flood of comments consisting of rabid death and sexual assault threats—directed at all the kids in the classroom—racist slurs and even a RMB 5000 reward for anyone who can identify those seen in the short. Days later, names have been found and the internet manhunt is on.
‘A high school student's documentary‘ labels it one member of the Paowang BBS. Here's EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong's summary:
“The students were napping, talking, horsing around and one of them was roaming around filming.  One student said: “This is the geography lesson.  Watch the show.”  Then he walked up to the teacher and removed the teacher's white hat.  The class roared in laughter.  Later, that student went up to the teacher and made for a physical confrontation.  Another student threw a water bottle at the teacher while the first student yelled: “That stupid c*nt!  Kill him!”  The teacher just kept on with his lecture.”
The video can now be found at tv.Mofile. ‘Check out these pieces of garbage, everyone see the truth for yourself, don't be polite’ is how tv.Molive user XiaoXiao introduces the video which with has received over 100,000 and over twenty pages of comments, some of which have been translated below. For posterity's sake, the video has also been uploaded to YouTube and in just two days has also garnered over 100,000 views with over 150 pages of comments, many of which are in English, from Chinese viewers…
Starting with the first comment at tv.Molive:
游客 2007-5-25 21:01:43 没人性啊
The most profane comments have not been translated here, but the language below is still often vulgar.
游客 2007-5-25 21:21:49 MD 这些还是学生吗
还是人吗
NND 就TMD一帮垃圾 来这里弄死你们
游客 2007-5-25 21:22:52 真是社会的渣滓
游客 2007-5-25 21:32:28 也许等他们长大了会明白他们的行为是多么可耻 多么无知 道德沦丧!!也许永远不会.(曾经也是这样的一个学生的我 满复罪孽感 对以前的老师 说声 对不起!.)
游客 2007-5-25 22:30:44 有胆说出这是哪个学校吗??那个象畜牲一样的王八蛋学生叫什么名字??老子到那里来找他,看他又多牛!我叫他吃屎!!放倒他!!畜牲!!!他活在世上是多余的!!!
游客 2007-5-25 23:13:39
不学习可以怪教育,
不尊师你还想怪社会?~!
老人容易吗!~
他的家人子孙看到了你们这样对待他,不抽刀剁了你们几个不知道天高地后的东西.MD现在有学校有未成法保护你们,进了社会你MD要不横尸接头,我跟你们姓
游客 2007-5-25 23:55:46 自以为自己爸爸妈妈有两破钱自己就是TMD大爷。拿无知当本事的一群社会垃圾。
游客 2007-5-26 1:24:18 这是大陆么？这里真的是北京？垃圾填埋场吧？！口口声声说北京人素质高，高考录取分数低合情合理，我呸！和共产党一样垃圾！
游客 2007-5-27 21:17:18 当心gcd的网警…..
What you're not seeing here is the vast majority of the comments, all still very rage and violence. At this point the RMB 5000 bounty is put forth as increasing calls for someone to dig up the student's name and address are posted. Based on the accent in which the students speak, immediate speculation is that the school is either in Beijing or somewhere to its northeast, later said to be the former. Here's what was posted at tv.Molive:
游客 2007-5-26 19:22:11 北京市海淀区艺术职业学校 全能班
游客 2007-5-26 19:46:30 有认识的朋友看到以上的这群渣子男的往死里抽 女的往死里插
游客 2007-5-27 0:22:25 老天，我想全世界也只有中国会有这种事情发生了。
希望大家把这段视频转到各大论坛，引起广泛的公愤，自然会有人去追杀那几个王八蛋!
游客 2007-5-27 2:56:48 去百度海艺吧！
那里 资料更全！
Actually, a lot of the posts at the page the above user linked to are curses aimed at the webmaster for having deleted their previous posts on the subject.
游客 2007-5-27 12:51:43 MD，这群人渣，还不去死，上教育部网站找了半天也没找到邮箱和留言。
游客 2007-5-27 13:43:17
这是北京海艺，海淀艺术职业高中，那个学生叫郭旭
游客 2007-5-27 13:49:39 一群什么玩意儿！！！
这就是我们伟大首都的学生？
这就是我们祖国未来的希望？
这就是我们中华民族未来的栋梁？
连最起码的尊师重教都丧失了，国家的教育是应该到反思的时候了
游客 2007-5-27 15:08:01 生气吗?我不生气!
他们的爹妈在造牠们的时候因为是乱伦
在加上环境脏,乱,差,难免混进螥蝇,臭虫及狗屎的成分.引起基因变化.
惯着牠们,总有人灭了牠们!!
游客 2007-5-27 22:03:36 弗吉尼亚理工大学应该多出几个抢手，到中国来把这些猪狗都毙了！！
游客 2007-5-27 22:56:03 这几个小子长大绝对是祸害,枪毙最好.我真的怒了,我很多外国朋友都看了这录象.他们都很愤怒.我30年第一次那么愤怒.
游客 2007-5-27 22:59:53 一直都觉得我们国家的教育整个变态了，没想到变态得这么严重！说到底是我们整个社会都病了！！~素质教育？这个的素质教育，真不知道十年，二十年后我们国家将变成傻样了？！~~
游客 2007-5-27 23:46:13 精英们责骂毛主席时代学生不尊重教师，现在没有人发动学生批斗老师了，怎么还敢有学生打教师呢？我们的教育到底出什么问题了？我为国家的未来担忧。
游客 2007-5-28 1:03:30 是北京海淀艺术职业学校的SB,已经找出了他们的名字,家庭地址,并且攻击了他们学校的网站…
希望集合大家的力量,共同发出网络通缉令!
游客 2007-5-28 1:05:37 这TM是不是人?
你回家打打你爸爸啊.
TM就一SB龟儿子
我也把他发到我地方的电视台去
TM中国有钱人就是出这些垃圾儿子.
游客 2007-5-28 4:04:55
于悦（第1排-那-个-小-丑　耳-钉-男 绰-号 大-驴） PHONE:1.3.6.8.1.5.9.0.4.3.2 　　郭-旭-女（拍-D-V，认-为这样很好玩让全-国-人-民1-起欣赏的那位）. 海-淀-艺-术-职-业-学-校 高2(5)班 郭旭 Q–Q为3-7-3-0-2-5-2-8-4 电-话88977628 moble:　　13661100088 耳环男家庭住址公布北京市石景山区老山西里首钢机电有限公司七层 家庭电话 010－88977268
Guo Xu, female (the one filming…who thinks this is so fun, giving the whole country something to enjoy together)
Haiding Arts Vocational School
Class 5, Senior 2
Guo Xu
QQ: 373025284
Telephone: 88977628
Cell: 13661100088
The boy with the earring's home address has been made public:
7/F Shougang Machinery & Electrics Co. Ltd.
Laoshanxili, Shijingshan District
Beijing
Home phone: 010-88977268
游客 2007-5-28 5:12:27
这个不合适吧？要是情报错误不就造成误伤了么？
游客 2007-5-28 8:30:54 你们不知道现在做老师有多难,学校和家长逼着要出成绩,学生又不肯学,平时就上课就是这样捣乱,男女学生谈恋爱,晚上出去开房间,考试成绩出来就是个位数,真不知道这样下去国家会变成什么样子
北京市海淀艺术职业学校
省市级重点校
校长：王忠
校址：海淀区北三环西路4号
邮编：100088
电话：62216908
游客 2007-5-28 10:26:13 拿摄影机的是什么人~他跟那些学生一个样，垃圾~真该把他们全发配到伊拉克去，一帮没有人性的东西
游客 2007-5-28 10:46:43 我是老师现在的初中就真那回事，我也教过地理，也让学让当课骂过，只因他上课玩火，我说了句，就让骂了！中国的这一段，我不敢想！中国的教育，我不敢想！老师的工资，永远没着落，这年头，有选择，谁愿意教书！过段时间，我也打算不教了，走了～
One commenter, one of the handful to have registered a name, having chosen ‘Yu Yue's Grave’, writes:
我给那个小子建了 坟
And attaches in the comment this link, at which can be found this photo:
游客 2007-5-28 12:52:35 这就是中国丢弃几千年的传统教育而引进“先进的素质教育”的结果。
这也是发生在经常对别人指手划脚，常用别人素质低来反衬自己素质高的皇城脚下的首都人民，最最低劣的素质。
中国的教育该何去何从？我深感困惑！
不过说实话，我是一名老师。如果这事发生在我的课堂，结果只有一个，用牺牲我的职业找回一名教师应有的人格尊严。
面对这个画面，我想问问我们的媒体，你们还会将责任的大棒打向教师的头吗？
如果你是一个有良知的人，就请您在激愤之余，提醒自己和身边的朋友，教育自己的子女时，多用心，千万别再养成这样的。
就算是为了你，也更是为了这个民族和社会！
谢谢了！
One last comment from tv.Molive, in English:
游客 2007-5-28 15:10:09 SONS OF BITCHES CHINESE TEACHERS DESERVE THESE…..lucky i wasn't there or else it couldv been way worse than that

author: John Kennedy


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Colombia: Global Voices Author Featured on Blogging TV Show · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juliana Rincon Parra, one of Global Voices authors, was recently featured on a Medellin television program called BloggersTV to talk about her work with that city's blogosphere and her blog Medea Material [ES].  However, things didn't go as originally as expected.  Instead of talking about the recent blogger meet-up, she ended up talking about another passion of hers – knitting.  “it left a bitter taste in my mouth that we did not talk about the Medallo Bloguero projects, such as the future workshops, lectures, website with tutorials, blogs, etc.  We left with the impression that we weren't very productive and only took up space.”


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Cuba: Closure of Venezuelan TV Station · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Venezuelan freight train toward a castro-style totalitarian dictatorship is gaining momentum at a frightening pace with the closure and confiscation of one of the few remaining independent media voices in that country, RCTV, and where is the mainstream American and International media?” asks Babalu Blog, while El Cafe Cubano posts a photo of protesters marching against the closure of the station.


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D.R. of Congo: Park rangers attacked by rebels · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“At 4h00 this morning Mai Mai rebels attacked the Burusi Patrol Post here in Virunga, leaving one park ranger dead, four critically wounded, as well as kidnapping Officer Monya. There were 10 Park Rangers stationed at Burusi, including the Conservateur and the Conservateur Communicateur,” writes Atamato from Virunga National Park in D.R. of Congo.


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East Timor: Notable Guests Visiting East Timor · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Xananarepublic says interesting people are visiting East Timor at the moment. “There are a couple of people in East Timor at the moment who, if you get the chance, you should try and meet and maybe buy them a couple of beers.”


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Ecuador: Railway Company Keeps Public Informed · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Luigi Salas [ES] had never traveled on a train in Ecuador.  However, after reading the blog El Tren mas Dificil del Mundo [ES] (The Most Difficult Train in the World) he feels that maybe he should.  The aforementioned blog is written by Héctor Villagrán Cepeda, who is president of the Ecuadoran Railways Company.  The blog updates readers on the progress of a route between various cities in the country.  Salas applauds the transparency and effort of a public official to keep the public well informed.


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Egypt: Blogger being Watched  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Egypt, Issandr El Amrani links to an article by Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, who is back from a visit to the US and is worried about his safety back home.
“Last Thursday, I returned to my country, Egypt, after several weeks in the United States on a Freedom House fellowship. I came home full of anxiety. I feared that the authorities would arrest me as soon as I set foot on Egyptian soil.
“That didn’t happen. But as I went through the airport arrival procedures, I felt that I was being closely watched and followed. Men using walkie-talkies observed me from a distance,” explains Abbas in an op-ed to the Washington Post.


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Egypt: New Syria Opposition Website Launched  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“On the occasion of the re-election (surprise!) of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a new clearinghouse for Syrian opposition news has just been launched. Check out OpenSyria.org,” writes Issandr El Amrani from Egypt.


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Ethiopia: shady dealings of international media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“When news that three New York Times reporters were caught in Deghabur while they were trying to cover rebel activity in the region sipped through last week, American diplomats in Addis Ababa immediately contacted Ethiopian government officials, including the Prime Minister to demand their release.
That triggered a chain of reactions from the government, the diplomats and the press which reveal a curious collusion between a rogue government and institutions which claim to be the agents of the public,” reports Ethio-Zagol.


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Francophone Morocco: Politics, Power, and Money · Global Voices
Hamza Daoui

With the upcoming September 7th elections in Morocco, many young Moroccans are questioning if politics still make sense in their home country.  They're also talking about the issues that matter – Palestine being a big one – and the changes the country is going through.
“If you don’t do politics, politics will do what it wants with you”
This a proverb a friend of Moroccan blogger le mythe (fr) used to tell him.  This week, le mythe asks if politics make any sense in the Maghreb.  He explains his point of view, saying:
Faire de la politique n’est pas pour devenir un électeur passif qui brandit systématiquement sa carte pour faire partie du contre-pouvoir.
Faire de la politique n’est pas devenir le maghrébin de service d’un parti politique lambda, ou le fou du Roi…
Faire de la politique c’est comme faire l’amour…
En effet la politique et les affaires d’amour ne diffèrent pas plus que deux gouttes d’eau.
*An insulting term which implies that a working person of minority is the only one in his community.
He also refers to the famous book of Hannah Arendt, entitled La politique a-t-elle encore un sens?, in which she says:
La politique a-t-elle encore un sens?  Le politique n’est nullement nécessaire, ni au sens impérieux d’un besoin de la nature humaine, tels la faim ou l’amour, ni au sens d’une institution indispensable pour la communauté humaine.
Au contraire, il commence même précisément là où le domaine des nécessités matérielles et celui de la force physique cessent.
Politics means – to most people – power and money, and people who have power always want more power…because more power equals more money. Maroc Bourse (fr) made an announcement about a new pharmaceutical company entering the stock exchange:
La bourse de Casablanca s'apprète à accueillir une nouvelle société dans le secteur pharmaceutique après la société SOTHEMA à partir du 15 juin avec l'introduction de la société PROMOPHARM.
But to some people, money is just a means to an end.  Citoyenhmida (fr) has put out a call to all Arabs to help Palestine because its people are in crisis:
Peu m’importent les responsables de cette situation : que ce soit les dirigeants palestiniens enfermés dans leurs contradictions ou le gouvernement israélien cadenassé dans sa politique intérieure.
Peu m’importe que les USA, qui détiennent les clés de ce problème, ne veuillent pas le résoudre !
…La Palestine est en voie de disparition, sous les bombes, sous les balles, sous le béton du mur de séparation, sous le silence, sous la honte de ses dirigeants, sous l’arrogance de ses adversaires, sous l’indifférence de ses frères!
Naim (fr) commented, saying:
Je crois que pour résumer les avis passés et même qui seront postés ici même, je dirai que le peuple palestinien n'a pas besoin de “paix” mais de justice.
Power and money aren't infinite, and neither is life.  Naim (fr), a university professor, eulogizes Driss Benzekri, who recently passed away:
Un grand homme, digne et sincère, est décédé.  Mes sincère condoléances a sa famille et a tous les épris de la liberté.
Moi, dans tous mes états  (fr), whose name means “Me, in all my states” expresses his sadness at Benzekri's death:
C’est avec grande tristesse que j’ai appris le décès de Driss BENZEKRI. Militant de longue date, activiste au sein de l’UNEM et de la gauche radicale, il fut incarcéré en 1974 puis condamné à 30ans de réclusion.
Désigné par SM comme secrétaire général du Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l’Homme, président de l’Instance Equité et Réconciliation.
…BENZEKRI mérite d’être érigé en héros national. Que Dieu ait son âme dans sa sainte miséricorde. Nous sommes à Dieu et à lui nous retournons.
Photo by Daveyll

author: Hamza Daoui


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From Hankyoreh to Ohmynews.  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

From Hankyoreh to Ohmynews. After the Blue House in Korea announced it would abolish the pressroom in order to fight problems in the media, major media companies including Ohmynews, which got into citizen journalism early, have aggressively opposed the move. With this scandal, a blogger criticizes citizen journalism for being like conservative media. [ko]


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FSU, Turkey: Food Delivery · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Carpetblogger eats pizza in Istanbul and provides “more proof Turkey was never part of the Soviet Union“: “

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Guatemala: Touristic Image from the Outside  · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Voces de Guatemala [ES] recalls the debate regarding the new logo and slogan promoting tourism in Guatemala.  Roberto Lone recently picked up a brochure in a consulate in the United States and wondered how his country is still being seen from the outside.  One commenter was adamant that the brochure lacked photos of modern buildings and highways because many foreigners still see the country as rustic.


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Hong Kong: Flickr photo got warned · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Inmediahk.net's editor (it is me) got a warning phone call from Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority about a filed complaint to a photo sharing link to flickr. The Authority advised the website to take down the photo or fix a pop-up warning message. The author (which is me again) of the article wrote a defence / report on the case (zh).
Some more background on the issue from interlocals.net

author: Oiwan Lam


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Hong Kong: Free Culture Foundation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Hong Kong In-Media has announced the launching of free culture foundation to defend internet free speech space last weekend. The foundation is to provide legal, finanical and organizing assistances to individual and organization.


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Hong Kong: Remixing Government Propaganda Song · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Plastichk has remixed the Hong Kong government Propaganda Song (zh) for the 10 years anniversary of re-unification of Hong Kong to China. It is a mockery to the recent comments by Pro-China Party Chair, Ma Lik's comment on June 4. The two days hit rates from youtube is two times more than the two months hit rates from Hong Kong government website.


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India: Vasai · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Trivial Matters has a wonderful photo post on Vasai, one of the suburbs on Mumbai. A place that  has obviously seen better days. “By the year 1534 the King of Portugal held the seven islands plus Bassein, which was a chunk of mainland territory north of Bombay also known as Salsette but now as Vasai. Here at Bassein the Portuguese built themselves a walled city overlooking the sea, which remains to this day. Its chancels, creepers smother the gravestones of the some Bombay’s earliest colonialists; it seems to have remained untouched, like Sleeping Beauty’s citadel, since the day the Portuguese were forced to vacate hastily by a local Mahratha army. It is a poignant reminder of what was, and of what Bombay itself might have been today had history taken another turn.”


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Indonesia: China Wants Indonesian Radio Station Closed · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun links to a Koran Tempo story that has China asking Indonesia to close down a radio station for airing banned group Falun Gong's teachings. Indonesia has one of the more free media and press in the region.


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Interlocals Citizen Reporter Fellowship  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Interlocals.net has announced its citizen reporter fellowship project: To promote cross-border citizen reporting and dialogue among people from different localities, interlocals.net announces a fellowship project for bloggers and citizen reporters to travel to another country to conduct cross-border exchange, research and reporting.


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Internet Censorship Law Proposal in Israel · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

Internet censorship could slowly and surely find its way to Israel. Now that a new proposal “that is supposedly meant to protect kids from the dangers of pornography, violence and gambling sites”  has passed the primary voting stage in the Israeli Knesset, bloggers writing in Hebrew are asking: What is next?
From Gadi Shimshon's post “say nicely goodbye to your internet“:
The proposed law requires from the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block adult content-based sites (sexual, gambling and violence) from children. The ISPs will require some biometric means of identification for adults, in addition to a personal password, as a means to verify one's age. The current law proposal does not state who claims which sites will be blocked, and technology will be used by the ISPs for this sort of identification. In one of their meetings, it was suggested that for an additional monthly fee, ISPs would offer their customers means to block “harmful” content, when and if requested. There are so many problems that come up. For instance, how and who decides which content is violent or sexual. How problematic it is if all the ISP's in Israel hold a white list of every user's personal information. If this content can be censored, what is the next stage? Perhaps blocking all sites that deal with evolution?
In his post “Amnon Cohen interests the tip of my finger“, blogger Jonathan Klinger describes the many problems which come up when claiming what the “main nature” of a site is:
Too many parents nowadays are unaware of what their children are up to (not only relevant to the internet). The basic argument claims that it is the parent's responsibility and not the country or government, to educate. A simple yet effective solution is placing the computer in the living room. If the government will start dictating what we can or cannot view, there's no promise that in the near future they will not censure other “topics”. The general notions are that this law will probably not be able to get a majority of votes in the Knesset. But that people should react, and think thoroughly about how utterly important it is to protect the freedom of content. Various banners like the one below have been spreading through the Israeli blogosphere, as well as an encouragement to email all those leaders who supported this law proposal in its initial voting stages. There is less than two weeks before the government takes the proposal to the next stage.
The translated text from a banner depicting Amnon Cohen as Israel's ‘big brother': “my brother, your big brother has come… come and meet your new educator”
link to the law proposal in Hebrew

author: Gilad Lotan


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Iran:How Iranian Girls Used to Wear Before Revolution · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here is a photo that shows how Iranian girls used to wear in University of Tehran before 1979 revolution and after that.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Going to School Amid Destruction  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Sunshine updates us about her life in a war-torn country and her daily trek to school.
“As usual I left home early at 6:50 am , to reach school before the exam starts , the way was blocked , but this time FAAAAAAR away from my school , we walked , me and dad alone among the damaged stores and buildings, with police cars everywhere , on burned ground full of windows’ glass , shrapnel, what a good way to start your morning?!” she writes.


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Iraq: US and Iran Meet Over Iraq  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Iranian and American officials (their ambassadors to Baghdad as far as I know) will meet to talk tomorrow in Baghdad. The dialogue, however, started about a week ago….
I'm honestly not expecting much good from such meetings, not in the foreseeable future because the tone of their dialogue on the ground suggests that each side believes (or wants to show) that it has the upper hand in Iraq and the region.
I can't see the slightest hint to concessions from either side so I strongly think that tomorrow's meeting will be only about America and Iran telling each other what they want. The face to face part is the only difference,” writes Iraqi blogger Omar.


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Jamaica: Calabash Literary Festival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Antilles and Caribbean Free Radio report from the 2007 Calabash Literary Festival in Jamaica.


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Jamaica: Mergers and Acquisitions  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's a little like a bad version of The Brady Bunch — each parent tells their children that a marriage is about to happen to join two families together, and… ‘by the way… in case you kids were wondering… nothing will change'”: Against the backdrop of several high-profile regional mergers that “are actually turning out to be acquisitions”, Jamaican blogger Francis Wade has some advice for business executives.


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Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Grenada: Gold at Chelsea · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Life and Times of Michmac applauds both Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada for winning gold at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London.


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Japan: Agriculture Minister commits suicide · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

James at Japan Probe writes about news reports indicating that the head of Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Matsuoka Toshikatsu, committed suicide today, noting that the suicide could be in response to news from a few days ago that Minister Matsuoka had received 13 million yen in donations.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Love Hotels Find a Way · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

With great photos and a lot of background information, Ampontan explains how, despite many obstacles, love manages to “find a way” in Japan: “Love will find a way […] and in Japan that way is usually in a “love hotel”. Since the urge is eternal, the Japanese have no problem with recognizing and calling a spade a spade, so there are plenty of businesspeople looking out for the main chance. That’s why love hotels are a major industry in Japan and are found everywhere—including sedate suburban neighborhoods.”


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Kuwait: Saudi Driving  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Drunk'n'Gorgeous from Kuwait posts this YouTube video of a “driving adventure” in Saudi Arabia. And she thinks it's hilarious!


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Lithuania: Homophobia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Music and Life – Everywhere! writes about homophobia in Lithuania and a few other EU member states.


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Malawians on the world stage: academic honors, music, science and technology · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

There is one discernible theme running through the Malawian blogosphere in the month of May. This round-up focuses mostly on what these bloggers have written in this month, now approaching its end. One Malawian has received international honors for his contributions to world scholarship, while two female Malawian musicians have launched their latest music albums outside Malawi. One Malawian scientist calls for the Malawi government to put in place mechanisms to prepare for the looming disaster that might possibly be triggered by global warming, and two Malawians have made their mark in the world of technology. It has been a month of Malawians showcasing their mettle on the world stage, and here with it all.
Honoring a world class scholar
Blogger Kondwani Munthali, a Malawian journalist currently a Niemann Fellow at Harvard University, celebrates the news that a Malawian scholar has recently been honored by Rhodes University of South Africa, and that a former Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) journalist will be teaching at Rhodes University. The two Malawians being celebrated are Thandika Mkandawire and Joe Mlenga. Mkandawire was recently awarded a Senior Doctorate by Rhodes University for his world class scholarship in development studies and political economy. Mkandawire has been the Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) since 1998. The other Malawian is Joe Mlenga, who recently announced on his blog that he had resigned from MBC. Munthali, himself a journalist with the MBC, writes:
I wish to congratulate Prof. Mkandawire and Mlenga for the Rhodes Honours. This comes to mind how quickly our great poets and academics such as Jack Mapanje and David Rubadiri whom I have heard from so many people here at Harvard and beyond asking. Wole Sonyinka and others have become symbols of their nations and ambassadors promoting good. Apart from the two, people like Goodall Gondwe made an impact at the IMF, early May 2007 when I visited the institution I heard fascinating stories on how he used to move from office to office meeting his juniors and seniors alike to hear them. I was proud to be a Malawian when a room full of World Bank and IMF officials, one screamed, “Malawi is unique, it has its best leadership in the Presidency and Minister of Finance.” I hope the this Leadership given at the global institutions will extend into recognition of our achievers and use them as ambassadors to promote Malawi's values.
Music for the world
Two Malawian female musicians this month launched their latest albums, one in Nairobi, Kenya, and the other in Stockholm, Sweden. In Kenya it was gospel artist Chrissy Kamthunzi, while in Sweden it was musician Fingani Mphande. Victor Kaonga, Global Voices author, witnessed the Stockholm affair, and wrote on his blog:
She says she decided to launch here [Sweden] because she did not have adequate time to do so in Malawi as she was supposed to leave for studies in Sweden. Fingani's album which has ten tracks (most in Chichewa and others in English) can be bought on Radio Yako (www.radioyako.com).
In another posting, Victor writes about the Global Day of Prayer, Sunday May 27, arguing that the day is unlikely to make the headlines because of its religious nature. He reflects on this important day, posting pictures of a celebration of this day last year at Silver Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi:
PROBABLY the world's largest unity is to be reflected this Sunday on the Global Day of Prayer when people from over 190 nations will join together and pray for the world.
But to put this event in the headlines is direct rebuke to most of our global and national issues so editors prefer to keep it away. After all these are “religious things” and covering it would be ‘like promoting their faith’ they argue.
Malawi and a warmer globe
Hastings Zidana, a scientist with the Malawi National Aquaculture Centre, warns that global warming is real, and that Malawi is part of the areas in Africa that are at greater risk. He calls on government to take measures to address the problem:
My questin has been and is always “What is our role as Malawians ?” Do the parliamentarians take this issue with a priority? The image clearly shows that Malawi is in the band of “Areas at most risk”. Let us act now by putting in place necessary policy issues like-irrigation for all crop fields by the year 2030 or 2040, thats 10 yeras before the real thing is on our neck. We can do it there are several organisation dealing with global warimng and environment where, we can tap the resources let alone the credit income which they have just been written off by our creditors.
On the technology front
Malawian blogger and ICT expert Soyapi Mumba gives an update on a new program he has been working on, a search tool compatible with Forefox and Mozilla.
I've become so much interested in the integration of various content available on the web with search since I started developing SearchWith, a search tool for Firefox and Mozilla-based applications. Follow the discussion on Techmeme.
And still in the world of technology, Clement Nyirenda announces that his two papers have been accepted at two international conferences, where he hopes to go and present in September, 2007:
Today, I thank God because the two papers that I submitted to IEEE Eurocon and IEEE Africon conferences have both been accepted. IEEE Eurocon will take place in Warsaw, Poland from September 9-12 while IEEE Africon will take place in Windhoek, Namibia from September 26-28. So far, I have managed to pay the registration fees (280 EUROs) for the Poland conference. I am yet to pay for the Namibia one. I also have to look for funds so that I can travel to these two countries to present these papers.
Clement also announces in another entry that he has since returned to Malawi, having successfully finished his MScEng degree, and has resumed his teaching duties at the The Polytechnic in the University of Malawi.
Also sharing good news for a successful educational endeavor is John, on his blog Soka Liyenda. John informs his readers of his good news:
It is now very official. I will be attending Purdue University next semester. This is the best thing that has happened to me in months. Finally a sigh of relief. It has been a topsy-turvy affair so far. I graduated from DACC last night with an associate degree in Agriculture. I will be a junior at Purdue majoring in Agriculture Economics with an emphasis on Finance and Rural Development.
Unquiet on the political front
The month of May in Malawi has seen the return of a commemoration that was stopped at the dawn of the new democratic era in 1994. During Malawi’s 30 year one-party rule under Dr. Kamuzu Banda, May 14 was celebrated as Kamuzu Day, believed to be his date of birth, on paper. Breaking a long period of silence, blogger Kondwani Kamiyala reminisces over how Kamuzu appeared in the eyes of a 12 year old, the age at which Kondwani began to know about the former president:
A lot has been written about Malawi’s first Head of State, Dr Kamuzu Banda. I look back at my experience with him. This is my general view of the man. I do not seek to write or rewrite history. As a child, this is how I saw Dr Kamuzu Banda, and I transfer those childhood memories into my later life, having seen two presidents after him, and observing the lives of some politicians who were fighting against his ‘oppression’. Enjoy my Childhood Memories of Dr Kamuzu Banda. After all that is said, Kamuzu takes a new image from the eyes of a 12 year old, standard seven pupil….
And to end on this political note, blogger Pearson Nkhoma makes an argument for holding local government elections, which the government has been accused of not being committed to for a number of years now, in contravetion to a constitutional requirement:
A lot has been written about postponements of local government elections. However, with the wrangles that are resulting because of the lack of consultation in the appointment of MEC commissioners, it is inevitable that local government elections would also be postponed for another longer period. History is repeating itself, but does Malawi really need councilors. This is a question that I am trying to answer.

author: Steve Sharra


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Mexico: Abortion Figures After First Month · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

After the controversial decision that allows abortion to be practiced in Mexico City, Chilanga Banda [ES] breaks down the numbers.  In the past month 215 abortions took place, and the majority were through the so-called “abortion pill.”  He also notes that 6% of the women were minors.


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Nepal, Bhutan: Refugees · Global Voices
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Kathmandu Speaks on the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. “. There has been two deaths in two days’ time, while the efforts of the Bhutanese refugees to either seek repatriation or third-country settlement is gaining momentum. A large number of the Bhutanese refugees staged demonstrations in the eastern Nepali district of Jhapa today. The efforts of the refugees to enter their country through India were disrupted by the Indian paramilitary guard present at the border across the bridge over the Mechi river which acts a natural Indo-Nepal border-line.”


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Niger: environmental war · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Earlier this year, I mentioned the emergence of a new rebel movement among the Touareg minority in northern Niger. Since then, the Mouvement des Nigeriens pour la Justice (MNJ) has stepped up its activity, claiming responsibility for a pitched battle with government troops in March and a recent attack on a uranium exploration team,” writes The Head Heeb.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: Doing business with spammers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

the olive ream doesn't take very kindly to the offers of money pouring in his spam box. “My father was a highly reputable magnet-[Would that be a fridge magnet or a babe magnet?] who operated in the capital of Ivory coast during his days. [And where did he operate during his nights?] It is sad to say that he passed away mysteriously in one of his business trips abroad. [It is even sadder for me to say that I am sorry about his ambiguous demise.]”


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Palestine: Refugees’ Plight  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah sheds light on the fighting in Lebanon here, focusing on the plight of Palestinian refugees.


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Papua New Guinea: Elections · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Islandbaby describes the dynamics of voting in Papua New Guinea. “So the result is that people, as extensions of familial and tribal groups, vote in context rather than on perspective and what comes out are unrealistic expectations which appear to have very little to do with the job of political governance, let alone good governance, let alone democratic governance.” The blogger holds out hope for the future with the addition of more younger voters and communications technologies like the mobile phone.

author: Preetam Rai


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Philippines: Globalization Woes · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Manilarat, a supporter of globalization, is having doubts about the benefits of globalization after reading about Mexico's auto industry.


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Philippines: Local Campaigning · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mong Palatino, a candidate in the recent elections (and GlobalVoices contributor) in the Philippines gives us a glimpse into how campaigning is carried out at a local level. “I was not just a candidate for three months. I was also a blogger who became more fascinated in the particular ways of campaigning at the local level”


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Russia, Estonia: Bronze Soldier Rumor · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vilhelm Konnander reports a rumor, which, if true, helps to understand what could actually have been behind the whole Bronze Soldier scandal.


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Russia: St. Pete Trivia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Apricotflan.com shares some St. Petersburg trivia: “How many bridges does it take to make a St Petersburg? 800.”


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Hindi Blogosphere: Scorn at activists and foodies’ delight! · Global Voices
Amit Gupta

Here we are again, ready to peek into the world of Hindi blogs to see what's happening in that part of the global blogosphere. A lot has happened in this time period in the Hindi blogosphere, nothing short of a civil war and though there's a sort of uneasy peace now which hardly betrays anything, it just might be the lull before the storm. ;) So let's go and see what has happened over the last week.
Seema Kumar showed us glimpses of the fashion show Fashionova where students of NIFT-Delhi showcased their creative designs, at The Ashok, as per the requirements for their last semesters of studies. I don't have to say that a lot of fashion designers are coming out in the industry every year & perhaps that might be the reason the prices of apparels are going up! Some modern variation of that famous cliché from Shakespeare, “let's kill all the lawyers“, might surface soon!! ;) Ok, bad joke, pardon me, lets move on. And while we are on fashion, it looks that smartphones etc. are sort of in thing. R.C.Mishra shows us his new HP iPaq.
Merasapna is telling that smoking is injurious to health. It just happens that one of my t-shirts, purchased recently, says “loosing weight, lung by lung” & has an old man smoking a cigarette. Don't think otherwise, I do happen to agree that smoking is not good & I don't smoke myself!! :) So if you do smoke, think about quitting it. :) The summers are hot, very hot in some places and a lot of parts of India are no different. So Hariram lists out some tips to keep your house cool this summer and I must say, having experienced a number of these myself, these tips do work. Manish's travelogue of his vacation to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands continues as he re-visits memory lane and takes us along for a ride to those beautiful isles and blue seas. It makes my resolution to visit those islands even stronger, I'll certainly go on a vacation there!! And Jagdish of Aaina(means “mirror” in hindi) has brought out another blog called Mazedaar Samachar which in Hindi means “Interesting News” and indeed he's blogging about quite interesting news stories, be it a married man caught with his girlfriend on live telecast by his brother-in-law or be it a member of Indian parliament caught by the Indian Railway Vigilance people taking along a gentleman on a ticket issued in the name of his wife! Mirchi Seth on the other hand, is telling everyone how money is made. And he's doing it by citing as example, Coca Cola's acquisition of Glaceu where 30 percent stake holder Tata Tea made a profit of around $500 million in just 9 months as they get about $1200 million for their stake which they got for about $677 million.
Sanjay @ Joglikhi wonders why so called wise people support something blindly without knowing anything about what they are supporting. Indeed, his frustration and anger is apparent in his post. At that, he's probably not far from being right when he says that a lot of NGOs etc are run by gangsters etc. to act as a shield for them and their men, because the most one can hear the human rights protagonists is when there's some criminal is to be hanged for a heinous crime or when a traitor is to be punished for his anti-national activities. As he puts it, Arundhati sees only the Indian armed forces in Kashmir, her impaired vision fails to see traitors & terrorists roaming in the valley killing innocent and those who have made it a living hell for the locals, not to mention the indulgence in anti social activities on Indian soil!! Perhaps the underlying meaning in her context is that she should stick to writing novels only, real life doesn't seem to be her cup of tea, or perhaps she is just another in that larger crowd of so called activists who crave for nothing but the limelight & always voice their opinions on issues they know are explosive but hardly care to stand by some commoner who can use their help in his/her fight for injustice just because the cameras & flash bulbs of the media won't be there to cover their un-glamourous faces!
Rachana has published her first podcast. Its a poem that she has sung(without background music) and even though it's in Hindi, I recommend listening to it. You might not make out what she's singing if you don't know Hindi, but you can enjoy it without understanding it as well!
After all this travel through last week's Hindi blog posts, I'm famished, how about you? Feeling hungry? Why not come along and check the first Hindi food blog, Spicy Ice. There's chinese, a word of caution about crap South-Indian cuisine served in a chain of restaurants called Sagar Ratna and a mention of tasty South-Indian food served in multinational chain Sarvana Bhawan. If the weather is too hot, try the home made mango ice-cream as Garima gives you her recipe. But that's not all, as Sameer shares his recipe of a cool cocktail that he made accidently! This is supposed to be a bilingual blog, so in future there'll be reviews and recipes blogged in English as well.
This concludes our look at last week's blog posts in the hindi blogosphere, sayonara!! :)
Links courtsey: Narad

author: Amit Gupta


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Singapore: Not Impressed by Twitter · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

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South Korea: Private Tutoring Is A Crime? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole reports on warning banners in hagwon neighborhood: All Foreigners are being watched for private teaching and if reported you will be deported and fined.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Miss Universe Pick  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Zahra Redwood will represent Jamaica at tonight's Miss Universe competition as the first Rastafarian Beauty Queen - but Abeni has “taken a liking to Miss Tanzania for being bold enough to enter a beauty pageant sans hair.”


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Uganda: Free solar mobile phone chargers for rural women · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Pius Sawa writes about solar mobile phone chargers in Uganda: “Motorola company has introduced a new innovative technology of phone charging called Motorpower Kiosk.The project was launched on May 10th 2007 in Kampala.
Each Motorpower kiosk is charged by a 55 Watts Direct Current (DC) inverted solar panel, capable of charging twenty phones simultaneously.
The project will offer free mobile phone recharge services for Motorola phones,and is mainly targetting at women in the rural areas,intenting to start up small businessess. This will enable them to communicate and therefore know how to market their products and sell at a profit.”


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Uganda: What if we blogged in local languages? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Country Boyi asks, “What if we blogged in local languages?“: “I've been thinking. It took a workshop on writing for children in Ugandan local languages to have me thinking: what clearly is the importance of indigenous languages, and would it add any value if we blogged in our home languages?”


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Ukraine: Beregynya Festival in Lutsk · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Olechko attends Beregynya, an annual folk festival in Lutsk, and helps her family sell some delicious homemade mead.


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Ukraine: Photo Report · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

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Update on YouTube in Morocco · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Although no cause for the blocking of YouTube by service provider Maroc Telecom has been ascertained, the current speculation is, as Moonlight mentions, is:
La raison de cette censure serait la publication par ce site de 2 vidéos d'un islmaiste malade mental qui (en cachant bien son visage bien sur) a parlé de la fortune du roi en l'insultant.
Maghrebism is encouraging readers to sign a petition for Maroc Telecom and parent company Vivendi to restore YouTube access:
The Moroccan government is usually very sensitive to media-attention. They are often very afraid that their image of a moderate, safe and open muslim country will be damaged.
Not realizing that they damage that image themselves.
So please sign and digg away because that is the only way to make them realize that what they did is wrong.
The petition can be found  here.

author: Jillian C. York


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Where are the garbage cans? · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Where are the garbage cans? ‘Bearing my Seoul’ wonders why it is so hard to find garbage cans in Korea and finds some explanation in a recent article about it.

author: Hyejin Kim


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A special-made signboard for wife of government officials · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

“Wife (Samonim) of the Seoul Mayor and Wife of the District Chief, Welcome to Jung-gu District Office!” A special-made signboard was mocked by bloggers.[ko]


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Albania: Ban on Smoking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

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Albania: Paramotor Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A sampling of Alket Islami's pictures of Albania from the air – over at Our Man in Tirana.