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Tanzania: blogging the Rwanda genocide tribunal · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Walk on the Wild Side writes about his experience at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania, “The case I was attached to is often refered to as Military II and contains two of the biggest genocide suspects the Tribunal has nabbed so far- Augustin Bizimungu (who was chief of staff of the Rwandan army during the genocide) and Francois Ndindiyilimana (who was head of the Gendarmes) plus Francois Nzuwonemeye and Innocent Sagahutu who were also high-ranking military officers. The most astonishing thing about this case is how enthusiastically the defence is completely bungling up their case. Some of the incompetence on show over the last few weeks has been a marvel to behold.


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Cartoon used by permission from artist
Worries concerning a possible civil war in Bolivia have simmered for now.  However, cartoon blogger (for a lack of a better term) Joaquin Cuevas was celebrated for his recent parody of the campaign for the Constituent Assembly, which originally said “Todos Juntos Hacia la Asamblea Constituyente.” (Everybody Together Towards the Constitutent Assembly).  Instead, his campaign was for a possible civil war in Bolivia sponsored by non-existent National Campaign of Regionalism and Intolerance Pro-Separation of Bolivia.
His blog El Inofensivo Chico Larva [ES] continues to attract rave reviews for his take on current events in Bolivia.  Many commenters came from the Bolivian blogger community, such as Ron Del Dia, who said, “I'll pass along this cartoon because it made me reflect…I hope it does the same to my friends on this side of the country.”   Others also recognize the talent of Cuevas, Danilestat of Preambulo Rojo [ES] said, “I now become aware that there is talent in this country, you have a gift for social commentary.”
Sometimes they say “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but judging from many of the comments admiring and causing others to pause and reflect on the situation in the country; perhaps, a cartoon is worth just as much.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: Folk wisdom · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Christopher Yee Mon dishes out some Trinidadian folk wisdom gleaned from his Auntie Kim. An example: “To Cool You Down in the Sun (Heat Stroke?): Drink Maryshutyuhdoor. Maryshutyuhdoor is the grass in the savannah whose leaves close up when you walk on it. (Could Kill You)”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Trinidad & Tobago: The globalisation of Second Life · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Trinidad blogger and Second Life player Taran Rampersad looks at Second Life in the context of the global economy: “Issues of Digital Divide are as much of a factor as the dominant cultural trends within SecondLife itself, but as more people come online – more people will enter virtual worlds. And as more people enter virtual worlds, the virtual economies could become less geopolitically dependant and conversely have more geopolitical effect. Is that not globalization?“


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Uzbekistan: A New Tune? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Registan.net, Bertrand reports that Uzbekistan's president is using a new explanation for last year's violence in Andijon and he discusses some of the possible explanations for this change.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Venezuela: Meaning of Security Council Vote · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Caracas Chronicles on what the UN Security Council vote is really all about: “Those of us focused on Venezuelan affairs will tend to examine the UN Security Council election this week for clues about Chavez's international standing. Probably, though, the vote tells us more about the way the world's governments feel about US hegemony.”

author: David Sasaki


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Video exposes child-soldier’s identity · Global Voices
Sameer Padania

If you've seen the guidelines for this site, you'll know that there are types of footage that we wouldn't post, and circumstances surrounding the shooting of particular videos that mean we wouldn't even link to them.  Today's post is about one of those videos.
I was researching a possible post about child-soldiers, when I found a video on a video-sharing site, said to be an interview with a teenage former child-soldier.  In the video, the youth makes a number of allegations against the rebel organisation that he claims abducted him, sexually abused him, and sent him out on military operations – allegations broadly consistent with research conducted in his country by respected international human rights organisations.
But unusually for a video carrying this kind of allegation, the youth involved is identified by name, and in the accompanying text, by location.  Human rights organisations (and media) would almost always advise protecting the identity of a minor in such a situation (see pages 16 and 17 in this document, for example) – whether by pixellating or obscuring his/her face, by shooting the video so that their face cannot be seen, e.g from behind or in silhouette, or possibly disguising their voice or re-voicing the audio.  The photograph below shows how easy it is to pixellate an image to conceal someone's identity.
In the case of the video I had found, none of these protocols was followed.  I wondered for quite a few days whether to post this video, which I felt brought out many important issues within a conflict where the recruitment of child-soldiers is common.  It's horrifying testimony (and by no means rare), and the youth's story deserves to be heard – but the video raises a huge number of questions.  Therefore I've decided against showing you the video itself.
The video is quite short, and in it the youth seems to be giving a prepared statement – there's no one asking questions for clarification, as there was by contrast in the Alive In Baghdad video a couple of weeks ago.  The text accompanying the video states that the army found the boy after he escaped from his abductors, so I have assumed that the army shot the video.
Did the army explain to him clearly and adequately what the video was for, and how it would be used?  At no point in the video or in the accompanying text is it made clear whether the boy in question has given his consent to the use of this video online.  Was he given a choice of whether to take part, or of when, where and how it would be filmed?  He mentions his parents in the video – were they asked for their consent?  If we assume that his alleged abduction and subsequent sexual abuse caused him trauma, what support and follow-up was offered to him?  How informed can his consent be considered?
As video has become an increasingly accessible technology, it has become easier to use video as a weapon in the information war.  In the recent conflict in Lebanon, for example, the Israeli army, Hizbollah and citizens in Lebanon and in Israel used video to collect evidence of alleged atrocities and human rights violations.  Whichever organisations collect and release footage and testimonies in conflict situations, they need to be able to answer questions about the origin of testimonies and footage satisfactorily – otherwise they run the risk of seeming exploitative, and perhaps unreliable.
So who released the video I found, and why did they decide not to protect the youth's identity?
I did a simple search for the youth's name and easily found the site where the original video is hosted.  It's an official government site.  I emailed the editor of the site to ask how they came by this video, and what guidelines they followed in uploading it.  As yet I have not received a response to my questions, although I did get an acknowledgement of my email, with the following warning showing just how sensitive an issue this is, both for governments and other entities:
“If you are willing to undertake a research on Child Soldiering, let us say [this country] is the best place. But of course if you do so, you will surely get in to lot of troubles, including threats on your life.”
Troubles aside, it’s clear that in this particular case, the government concerned has clearly not followed the best-practice guidelines that should be employed by any organisation engaged in the welfare of former child-soldiers.  The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, a group of organisations working to promote a ban on the recruitment of children under the age of 18 into the armed forces, and to support the demobilisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of child-soldiers into their societies, offers links to international standards for this kind of work that should serve as a useful model.
I have written again to this government website outlining these concerns, and to the person who uploaded the video onto the video-sharing site, asking them to consider removing the video, until they can apply relevant guidelines to it, and I'll report back on what I hear.
The editor also said that
“It is a pity that none of the former government could use the technology to reveal the truth of our country to the world.”
Whatever the truth of that country's conflict, the government is accountable for the implementation of international human rights standards and international humanitarian law within their own borders – and on their own websites.
Governments contemplating the use of children's testimony in similar situations, should ensure that they protect children and respect human rights norms on posting sensitive content of this nature.  That way they can avoid accusations of exploitation and propaganda.
If you're interested in reading more about children and armed conflict, here are a couple of excellent resources:
Choike has pulled together an array of reports, research, tools and articles on the issue.  The Human Security Gateway pages on Children and Armed Conflict point to a huge range of reports.  Page 113 in the Human Security Report covers child-soldiers.  And the Watchlist's Country Reports on the use of child-soldiers give useful background on countries where this is a particular problem.

author: Sameer Padania


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Voices from Kazakhstan  · Global Voices
Leila Tanayeva

Walking around the streets of Almaty, we picked up and brought for your attention the conversations from the Kazakh blogosphere.
The recent visit of Kazakh President Nazarbayev to the White House was discussed by LJ user adam_kesher (RU):
Roughly speaking, the United States have two reasons not to annoy Kazakhstan – oil and security, and two things that annoy themselves – corruption that prevents growth, and authoriarianism, which is so unlimited and unpunished, that it led to two political murders.
ghola-tleilaxu: This is a comedy. Interesting one, though.
adam_kesher: It is. Khabar (state TV channel) gives you an impression that everyone in the United States was so happy about the visit.
lunaric: And everyone puts up a good front. Borat's art though should be discussed on intercontinental level :). It is unbelievable how he spoils our image in front of international community!
adam_kesher: He's cool. Have you read about his visit to the Kazakh embassy and the White House?
lunaric: No :). Do you know when Otau Cinema (Kazakh cinema chain) will release his film?
adam_kesher: Otau first played fool and said – we will show the film but we don't know what it is about. Then Ministry of Foreign Affairs told them – we do not want to stop you but the film might insult some people's feelings and cause discontent. So, Otau Cinema is probably afraid of a civil war that Borat Sagdiyev might cause and will not show the film in the end. I will go to Bishkek to watch it.
ehot: I'll join you.
adam_kesher: Deal :)
More than anything, the visit is an image-boosting event, writes adam_kesher, though it is reported that Condoleezza Rice spread memo to OSCE-members’ embassies in the US on not giving in to Kazakhstan’s lobbying for OSCE chairmanship.
Esbergen writes on Russian-language neweurasia Kazakhstan that during his visit, Nursultan Nazarbayev stated that his country will always be a friend of the United States, a country that guaranteed Kazakhstan's security at the start of its independence (RU). These words, thinks Esbergen, can be regarded as a reflection of real situation since the United States play and will continue to play an important role in Central Asia. It is clear though that Kazakhstan will have to sustain a “friendship” with other influential centers of Eurasia, including Russia, China and European Union, and, possibly, India in the future.
Russian-Georgian conflict made Kazakh bloggers wonder what would be its impact on Kazakhstan. Stavros writes on neweurasia that since numerous Kazakhstan citizens work in Russia, many illegally, it is a central issue and touches all ethnic groups, not just ethnic Russians.
Nurzhan posts his written in February article on Kazakh investments in Georgia, thinking that it would be an interesting topic in light of the current developments.
…the relations between Georgia and Kazakhstan revolve around natural gas. During the recent visit of Georgian Prime Minister, Zurab Nogaideli to Astana, there was an agreement reached. In that agreement, Kazakhstan would supply Georgia with natural gas at a price of 68 US dollars for thousand cubic of meters. The agreed price is very favorable to Georgia given that the South Caucasus state is in desperate need for this high-value commodity after recent disruptions of gas supplies to Georgia as well as Russia’s energy dispute with Ukraine.
Pressing, a new blog on Kazakhstan journalism, reports on an unusual press-conference that the journalists of Pavlodar were invited to (RU). The press-conference was held by KNB (Committee on National Security) and after the news on catching the drug-dealers, the KNB official told journalists that one of their staff members was arrested for bribery. In a very subtle way, the journalists were told not to report the exact name and post of the official.
The news that the Russian media company “Soup” signed a deal with Six Apart, the owner of LiveJournal blog service did not get a positive response in blogosphere. According to this agreement, “Soup” got a license to provide services to 681 thousand of those Livejournal users who write in Cyrrilic, Kazakhs among them. Since Kazakh LJ users usually read Russian Livejournals, the Kazakhstanis’ response is similar to Russian. One of the Russian LJ users sartac writes (RU):
The deal means that Russian company of Nosik (Anton Nosik, dolboeb.livejournal.com) and Mamuta will control all our diaries, will get access to “friends only”, private entries. Maybe the Abuse Team (the conflict resolution division) will also get a right to close our journals. I suggest stating your attitude to these actions by virtual “relocation” to another country beyond “Soup's” control. Other possible actions – change of time zone, city and writing in Latin script.
Upd.: Read the official comments. Soup will have access to personal information. If you indicate that you are not in one of the fomer USSR countries in your profile, you are out of their jurisdition. They are worried.
Leila's post on Russian-language neweurasia Kazakhstan concluded that blogs can be regarded as online media and be regulated by media laws. In comments, Marat reacted that he would have to start using allegories and the language similar to Aesop's fables in his Livejournal.
Adam Kesher regrets that the Kazakh Government is occupied with propaganda rather than real reforms in his post on neweurasia Kazakhstan (RU), when he analyzes the reports of the state information agency Kazinform.
In July 2005, Congressman Chris Smith accused the agency of misinterpreting his words about the country's possible chairmanship in OSCE. The practice of filtration of the statements by authoritative politicians to present praises and brush away criticisms shows the final goal of a propaganda, which is to creat an illusory “international recognition” of the regime and unwillingness to make reforms, that the international community insists on.”
If you read Russian, or at least know what is “da” and “net”, you can guess along with Kazakh bloggers whether Kazakhstan will indeed become a chairman of OSCE in 2009. On November 3, one month before voting takes place in Brussels, we hope to open a poll on English-language neweurasia Kazakhstan too.

author: Leila Tanayeva


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Barbados: Hair, race & breast cancer · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A newspaper report on one woman's public hair-shaving in support of breast cancer awareness reminds Titlayo of the extent to which Barbadians are still grappling with issues of race.


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Africa: Africans and victimhood · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Enanga's Pov writes about Africans and victimhood: “Have you not met the kind of African who likes to detail the things that are wrong with our continent, how we have been raped and plundered over centuries, the sort of African who has all the details (real and imagined) of what the White man did and did not do, and who enjoys the telling? Have you not met them?”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Bangladesh: On fasting · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Morris the Pen on fasting, Ramadan and fastlets. “Our speaker talks of how he looked forward to this as a child (the ‘Iftar’ or breaking-the-fast evening celebration is a time of joyous togetherness and seems like  a ‘month of parties’). However, as an entrepreneur in middle age, he found it bothersome – lower productivity, workers heading home at 3 in order to be ready for Iftar, and a constant sense of tiredness.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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China: Botched jobs · Global Voices
John Kennedy

‘Yes, journalists in China do have it rough,’ Bullog blogger Siyi says back to a recent BBC article, ‘but we're not all the innocent victims that you seem to think’ in:
中国是记者最大的监狱？
监狱，还是桑拿中心？
BBC 最近一篇文章中说：”The media rights group Reporters Without Borders describes the country as the world's ‘largest prison for journalists'”.（那个国家是世界上最大的记者的监狱。）
the country ，在那篇文章里，就是中国。
监狱这个词，也中肯，也不中肯。中肯的是，它反映了我们的老大哥在监督舆论上干得有够硬朗。不中肯的是，它美化了中国的媒体。
中肯的一面不用多表扬，我们单说说不中肯的一面。
监狱的潜台词，其实是中国媒体从业人员都被囚困起来了，就像方志敏，或者小萝卜头，这未免指娼为良。
我承认现在仍然有少数理想主义的优良媒体人，用尚未麻木的社会良心，执著地做这个荒诞时代的苏格拉底式的牛氓，对他们来说，中国确实就像是一所监狱。
但是更多的媒体人，已经顾不上照看什么社会良心，而是习惯把屈服权贵当成”讲政治”，把无中生有当成”创造性”， 把哗众取宠当成”新鲜感”， 把低级趣味当成”平民化”。对他们来说，媒体不再是天下公器，而是一种工具——为个人争取印着毛主席胖脸的纸张，为头头争取比牛博沙发更宽大的交椅，为集体争取跟十大魅力女性一样名满天下的荣誉。因此，他们被官府逼奸，与商业和奸，却又将民意诱奸。对这样的媒体人来说，中国肯定不是一所监狱，而是一所桑拿中心。
Sina.com‘s Chinese name—xin新+lang浪—can be interpreted in either of two ways: New Wave, as most people see it, or friend-of-Bullog blogger Yang Meng's take—in which he uses, presumably as emphasis, the same sort of language for which he takes Sina to task—based on his recent scan of the news portal website's headline choices, New Dissolute:
新浪”浪标题”一览
我经常用的信箱是新浪的，只要登陆新浪首页。就要被迫忍受它的弱智新闻的视觉强奸。
问题是，我每天都要登陆信箱，所以，基本上每天都要被丫白白强奸一回。
天长”日”久，身心相当不悦。
以10月20日浪首页为例，光从标题看，”道听途说”型和”奸淫掳掠”型占
了绝大多数：
张国荣跳楼真实内幕
陆游与表妹离婚真相
我所见过女人中的人间极品(图)
自拍女王 帅哥半裸写真 红外透视照片
美女最大尺度性感照
找个人妖做老婆也不错
真人假扮僵尸街头聚会
妓女在网上写日记
女子电梯内被刺身亡(图)
最后的处男
我与少妇房东
清华学子成长隐私
富婆云集的热门项目
史上最全火暴孕妇组照
皇后到妓女的传奇
陪陌生女人分娩
仔仔大S姐弟恋
娶个妖精做老婆
一个淫贼日记
DV：某女同的内心独白
女生肩上的透明带
丰满MM沙滩奔跑
一个平凡女孩到”色”女郎蜕变全过程(图) 。。。
我最讨厌后面带”（有图）”字样的标题。因为打开之后，很多时候你发现”图”和文章内容根本八杆子打不着。基本就是”骗点”，能骗点就骗点儿。谁说色情暴力不是生产力？什么新闻规则，什么信达雅，美感，真实，规范，在新浪统统遭到颠覆。有头无尾的，半半拉拉的，都集体亮丑。我统称之为”浪新闻”。
见过浪的，没见过你这么浪的。这样低劣的标题制作水准，居然也混成了门户网站。看来中国的很多事情是没有道理可讲的。新浪果然并非浪得虚名。
Before you say they doth blog too loudly, here's a recent post from Sina blogger and sexologist Li Yinhe, as renowned in China as she is outspoken and controversial, calling for reforms to laws aimed at tackling China's most ubiquitous vice in:
性工作的法律与道德问题
:
最近，哈尔滨的疾病防控部门为了在卖淫者当中开展防治艾滋病教育，将性工作者召集在一起进行教育，并且向她们免费发放了安全套。对于这种做法，很多人表示反对，负责扫黄的警察也感到自己的立场比较尴尬，有点无所适从——本来，如果按照现行的治安管理条例，应当将这些性工作者一一抓获归案，处以治安罚款或送去劳动教养，这是警察的责任，可是现在只能眼睁睁地看着这些性工作者堂而皇之地走进酒店，还堂而皇之地坐在那里开会，最后堂而皇之地走掉。总而言之，不知是哪里出了逻辑错误，使人感到矛盾、困惑。
在我看来，人们所感受到的逻辑混乱源自法律与道德这两个领域的混淆。法律管了道德领域的事情，所以造成了上述的尴尬局面。具体地说，成年人的性活动和性交易应当是由道德来规范的事情，而不应当由法律做硬性规定。因为按照现代社会的价值观，所有不违背三项基本原则（自愿、私秘、成人之间）的性行为都不应受到法律的制裁，而性交易当中的从业者和消费者大多并没有违反三项基本原则。而这就是大多数现代社会选择了卖淫非罪化政策的原因。
卖淫对策中的非罪化这一立场是极其重要的，它揭示出很多人、特别是道德保守派不愿意正视的一个现实：完全免费的性仅仅是两性关系的理想境界，而现实中存在着大量不免费的性关系。在这些关系当中，女性的角色有以下三类：
第一类：妓。短期交易关系，无婚约。
第二类：除丈夫外无其他经济来源的妾（近称：二奶）。长期供养关系，无婚约。
第三类：除丈夫外无其他经济来源的妻。长期供养关系，有婚约。
显而易见，这三类人并没有本质上的区别。因此，只制裁其中的一类或两类是不合逻辑、也是不公平的。而全世界不会有人认为与丈夫有供养关系的妻子是应受法律制裁的，同理，另两类人也不应受法律的制裁。按照一般的社会道德标准，免费的性才是道德高尚的，而不免费的性是道德低下的。但是，一位成年人、一位公民有权选择自己的道德标准。如果他选择了一种不道德的生活方式，社会道德可以批评他，教育他，却没有权利用法律去处罚他。用法律的形式来处罚公民的不道德行为，这是一种立法上的道德清高主义。一个现代法律体系的基本原则在于：不应当以社会上一部分人的道德标准作为依据订立法律，去惩罚社会上另一部分人不侵害他人权利的行为。
自从中国大陆实行改革以来，一些贫困地区的妇女以卖淫为摆脱贫困的手段，在那里出现了”笑贫不笑娼”的情况。这同样反映了妇女地位的低下，这些妇女道德水准的下降和社会道德水准的下降。这种现象同一些女性”傍大款”作太太显然属于同一性质的问题，都是女性将自己的性服务作为商品出售的行为，只不过前者（性工作者）是短期的、多次性的零售，后者（专职太太）是长期的、一次性的批发。如果用法律手段来制裁，只制裁前者不制裁后者是不合逻辑的；而没有任何一个人会持后者应受到法律制裁的观点；由此推论，对前者用法律手段制裁也是不公平的。如果前述逻辑是完备的，我们只能得出如下结论：对付卖淫行为，只能采用提高妇女地位、提高妇女道德水平和整个社会的道德水平的办法，而不可采用将卖淫行为非法化、刑事化的办法来加以解决。正如沃芬顿报告所指出的那样：私人的不道德不应当成为刑事犯罪法制裁的对象。
我在卖淫对策上的主张是，在我国现有的不以卖淫为刑事犯罪的法律基础上，进一步实现卖淫行为的非罪化。这意味着要修改现行治安条例中关于卖淫活动的条文，修改现行刑法中关于淫媒的有关条文。对于成人之间双方自愿的交易行为由商业法规加以规范。对于社会道德风尚问题用加强道德教育的办法，下潜移默化的长期功夫，而不能试图以不合理的严刑峻法一举解决道德问题，因为这样做只会欲速则不达。

author: John Kennedy


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Guyane: Too Hot to Cook · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Food blog Cafe Creole writes (Fr): “It is very very hot in Guyane right now. We are in the big dry season at least until December 15 … don't feel like eating and even less like cooking. I am sorting my pictures and my documents. ” The blogger then posts pictures and the stories around them.

author: Alice Backer


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India: On Calcutta · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Cuckoo's Call reflects on Calcutta and its people. “But you would'nt know all this when you first meet them. They are up-standing human beings, with a sense of self, with a sense of dignity, aware of their equality with anybody else in a democratic society, articulate; being crushed relentlessly by life, but miraculously struggling on, waging a million tiny ineffectual mutinies to live on.


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India, Pakistan: Kashmir from the 70s in pictures · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Dristis-Mudra has a fascinating collection of Black and White photographs on a flickr set. They are from the 1970s when the photographer was travelling in Kashmir.


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India: Podcast on Diwali · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kamla Bhatt has a wonderful podcast with Indian diaspora from around the world on how Diwali is celebrated by those outside the country.


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Laos: Vegetable Garden · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at laocuisine.net introduces some vegetables from Laos that the blogger has been growing in her garden.

author: Preetam Rai


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Myanmar: Floods and Life · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Myanmar blogger Moe Moe links to photos of the recent flooding in Myanmar on another Myanmar blog. The pictures reminds her of her younger days in Myanmar. “I really liked the picture of the kids having fun in the flood. LOL. It's kind of like, these kids finding reasons to be happy when there's this awful thing called flood going on and disrupting their lives.”


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Nepal: The Haughty King · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on the haughty king – as he refuses to answer the questions raised. “King Gyanendra has again repeated his act of stubbornness by refusing to answer the questions of High Level Probe Commission (HLPC). This must have alerted the SPA-Maoists as it reflects the same old mentality, tradition and work pattern of the king.”


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Reunion: Blogging to Decrease Elected Official Impunity · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Prolific Reunion blogger Pierrot Dupuy is happy to see a proliferation in his mostly local audience (Fr): “We beat our last record [in the number of hits] yesterday … by more than 17%! … I am happy to know that you are thousands to read the blog every day and that you are more and more numerous. … I am also happy that more and more of you are leaving comments. … The more numerous you my readers are the more La Reunion will be aware of the antics of our elected officials. That is one of the best ways to get our community moving and to let our elected offiials know that the impunity they've enjoyed is over.”


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Russia: The Second Blog War · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

(more buttons and userpics are here)
The Russian-language blogosphere (commonly known as ZheZhe) is on fire: some users are shutting down their blogs, others are emigrating to the virtual Trinidad & Tobago – all because LiveJournal.com's owner Six Apart has decided to team up with the Russian internet company Sup, founded this year by Aleksandr Mamut, a Russian “oligarch,” and Andrew Paulson, an American entrepreneur.
This isn't the first time that ZheZhe (an abbreviation of ZhivoyZhurnal – “LiveJournal” in Russian) is in rebellion: the first “blog war” has been documented by Anna Arutunyan in the July 2005 issue of the Exile.
Assurances from managers of Six Apart and Sup have left many unconvinced and still concerned over whether the Russian security services would gain access to their personal information and whether the new Abuse Team would carry out ruthless purges. A number of ethnic Russian bloggers are furious over the fact that some of Sup's top managers are Jewish; their favorite object of hate now seems to be Anton Nossik (LJ user dolboeb), whose opinion on journalist Anna Politkovskaya's assassination was translated for Global Voices earlier this month.
LJ user kimmi8, a Six Apart employee, attempts to clarify the situation (and LJ user yakovis translates her entry, posted in the lj_biz community, into Russian):
We've licensed SUP, a Russian internet company, the right to use the LiveJournal brand. They'll be operating portions of the LiveJournal service for our Russian userbase (and only for those that want this support). This partnership is an effort to improve the speed, usability, and services that are offered to our Russian community. The only changes that Russian users will see is an improvement to user experience, translation, and support.
The Russian users that have agreed to this support will still continue to be a part of LiveJournal, for as long as they want to be. SUP will be able to promote other products or services they develop to the Russian community, but they won't be able to disconnect anyone from LiveJournal or break apart the community. LiveJournal will still be in control of your journals. We're partnering with SUP to offer a better experience, since we know we've been strongly limited by not being able to serve our Russian community in their native language.
Here are a few of the common questions we know you have:
* What criteria will be used to determine whether a journal is “Russian” or not?
It will be a combination of if you write primarily in Cyrillic, have listed your location as a country from the former USSR, or use a Russian browser.
* Will there be a way to opt out of having my journal transfered?
No journals are being transferred; it's just a change in how the site will be supported.  You will be able to opt out of getting the new Russian features, and to continue to be supported by LiveJournal/Six Apart).
* Will information from these journals be given to the Russian government? Personal information?
No. Not in any way that would not happen today, such as a court-ordered subpoena. SUP is acting as our agent and will be bound by our Privacy Policy.
[…]
According to the results of an LJ opinion poll, over 50 percent of respondents (1,741 votes so far) are against Sup's takeover; roughly 20 percent are still undecided and as many don't care; and only 8.5 percent consider the changes positive.
LJ user sholademi, whose post on children's drawings of Vladimir Putin was featured on Global Voices in August, thinks that ZheZhe won't last till winter.
This must be a bit of an exaggeration – even though some of the 300,000-plus Russian users’ accounts will surely land in Trinidad & Tobago's blogosphere, as a result of the ongoing virtual exodus flash mob: “Let's make this small but proud state the leader of the world Internet!”
Another resistance initiative has been suggested by a Ukrainian-language blogger none_smilodon, who decided to write his entries using Greek script instead of the Cyrillic:
***
There are currently three LJ communities (RUS) whose members oppose Sup: anti_prodazha (“anti-sale: We are for freedom in the LJ”), antisup, and no_sup.
***
One LJ community, sup_ru, is maintained by dolboeb and contains suggestions to Sup's management (RUS) on how to improve ZheZhe, among other things.
***
LJ user yojik_yamamoto chronicles (RUS) what he calls “the hysteria.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Senegal: Stargazing · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Chroniques de Ndoumbelane is sad (Fr) that city life in Senegal no longer allows for the stargazing that is so cherished in rural towns.


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South Afria: lesbian photo-activist · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari, who is visiting South Africa, writes about Zanele Muholi, a South African lesbian photo-activist: “Met Zanele Muholi, a lesbian photographer-activist. Progressive, radical, beautiful, challenging. Zanele took the photos behind “Tommy boys, lesbian men and ancestral wives” and is also the Community Relations Officer at FEW (Forum for the Empowerment of Women).”


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South Africa: African-American muslim in South Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kameelah writes about her experience as an African-American muslim in South Africa: “today i took a metered taxi to pritchard street to meet with some folks at the public affiars section of the johannesburg american consulate as a part of being a fulbrighter. i was telling them about my experiences so far and someone brought up the efforts they are initiating with the joburg muslim community. then this same someone says it would be great for me to come to events and meetings as “proof” that america is not at war with muslims. this is all before they even asked about my experiences as a muslim in america which are not all that pleasant.”


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Tonga: Tonga and Nationalism · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Tongan native Samiuela LV Taufa compares the Australians with the Tongans on their respective ideas of nationalism and belonging. “As I understand Tongans, we're only truely nationalistic when it is to contrast/combat another national. Whereas we seem to identify much closer to our inner community (township, school.) Of the Australians I grew up with, they would identify themselves closer to their ‘nationality’ than with their township.”


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Vietnam: Rooftop View · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at itsthefinalworld posts pictures of Saigon's skyline. Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City is one of the fastest growing cities in South East Asia with a rapidly changing skyline.


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Vojaĝo tra Esperantujo / A trip through Esperanto-land · Global Voices
Steven BREWER

author: Steven BREWER


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Africa: Madonna adoption debate · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Diary of a Mad Kenyan Woman has a Madonna opinion,”And wouldn’t you be disappointed if I didn’t? As you can probably imagine, the whole set-up is ridiculous and absurd as per maoni yangu. The boy has a father. He may not be a celebrity, a star or white, but he is this boy’s family. He gives him up to Madonna on the clear and stated grounds that he hopes for a better life for his son, which he, the father, himself cannot afford to give him.”


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Celebrating the Birth of the Guadeloupean Nation · Global Voices
Alice Backer

On October 21, Convention Pour Une Guadeloupe Nouvelle  commemorated a historical moment (October 21, 1801) it identifies as the birth of the Guadeloupean nation and added: “Nation without state, Guadeloupe is eternal and no one can destroy it. Our national rights must be respected by the French authorities that govern us today.”  On October 21, 1801 the Guadeloupean army temporarily defeated troops sent by Napoleon to reestablish slavery.


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Global Warming in Madagascar · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Lakes Region, Madagascar. Photo by Claude Springer.
After seeing Al Gore's film on global warming, Malagasy blogger Aiky from group blog Madagascar Croissance, reflected this week on the effects of global warming in his country, stirring up debate among commentators to the blog.
Rainfall, Hurricane and Letchi Harvest
Dans l'état actuel des choses, il a été constaté diverses anomalies qui semblent être liées à ce phénomène. Tout d'abord, au niveau de la pluviométrie, ceux qui ont eu l'opportunité de visiter la Grande île l'année dernière ont pu constater que pour une fois depuis des années il n'y avait pas eu de passage de cyclone comme on peut s'y attendre tous les ans.
Pire, il n'a pratiquement pas plu!
Worse, it almost didn't rain!
Cette année, la saison de pluie tarde encore à venir. Ceci a un impact assez déplaisant au niveau de la campagne de letchis par exemple ou encore à d'autres cultures qui nécessitent une pluviométrie assez élevée. On s'attend déjà à ce que la récolte sera moins bonne cette année (2006) et on essaie d'anticiper en conséquence.
Relieved to find this discussion on the blogosphere, Tattum, a reader of the blog weighed in on the rain scarcity issue  in the comments section:
Figure-toi qu'il n'a tellement pas plu, que le niveau de Mandroseza est tellement bas, que le quartier de mes parents, où il paraît le réseau d'eau est si vétuste (et que sais-je encore), et bien, ils ont des coupures d'eau pouvant durer toute une journée.
Je me demandais aussi pourquoi la plupart de nos voisins avaient des châteaux d'eau au fond de leur jardin, maintenant on comprend mieux.. On en est là quoi… Je ne fais pas un topo à quel point ma famille (et plein d'autres) est excédée par la situation.
Temperature Changes
In the original post, Aiky continued:
Le réchauffement de la planète semble ainsi bouleverser le climat du pays. On constate un léger augmentation de la température générale avant la période normale. Cette augmentation est del'ordre de 1 à 1,5 degré Celsius. En effet, en cette période de l'année (mois d'octobre) les températures doivent déjà avoisinner les 8 à 29° alors qu'actuellement on peut constater une température variant de 10 à 31°
Remote Areas Hit Hardest
Pour l'heure, c'est toujours les régions assez reculées comme Amboasary dans le sud qui sont les principaux victimes. Les différents projets d'adduction d'eau ne sont pas suffisants et la population locale se nourrit encore de cactus “Raketa” à cause de l'absence d'autres aliments (manioc, riz, etc.)
Le trou dans l'ozone est déjà un problème majeur pour la planète et si on ajoute le réchauffement de la planète, onpeut s'attendre à une mutation immédiate des espèces vivants.
Avis aux responsables…
Word to the wise…
Deforestation
JoganY, another reader to the blog wrote in the comments section:
N'oublie pas aussi de relever que nous sommes intimement concernés car nous “avions” une grande résèrve de forêt primaire que nous avons déléctueusement grillé au bûcher des vanités.
L'inconscience et l'appât du gain à court terme prônent évidemment sur les solutions durables et induisent des conséquences irréversibles. L'exploitation intensive des terres par le tavy et l'exploitation du charbon de bois ruinent nos campagnes et nos forêts. Malgré l'intensité de la sensibilisation (je veux bien le croire), la “Vertitude” (Néologisme de jogany entre “vertu” et “vegetation” pas des meilleurs je sais…)de Madagascar se perd dans les torrents du Betsiboka ou d'un autre fleuve couleur sanguine.
Kyoto dans un de ses chapitres propose le système du “Droit à la Pollution” (un truc horrible mais horrible), j'imagine encore une fois que certains vont se jeter sur ce nouveau filon (ben oui des $ $, le rêve!). Histoire d'aggraver la situation mais bien entendu là encore, on n'y peut rien…
Lack of conscience and short-term gain obviously prevail over durable solutions and inducee irreversible consequences. The intensive exploitation of lands by tavy and charcoal exploitation ruin our countryside and our forests. Despite the intensity of outreach campaigns (or so I want to believe), the “Green Virtue” … of Madagscar is being lost in the torrents of Betsiboka or of another blood-colored river.
Kyoto in its chapters proposes a system of “pollution rights” (a horrible, horrible thing). I can imagine that some will throw themselves at this new idea (yes $,$, what a dream!). All of this will probably make things worse but here again, nothing we can do…


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Kenya: is presidential poll a fraud? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You Missed This writes about the Presidential race in Kenya, “Somebody somewhere is very determined to push forward Kalonzo Musyoka's candidature for President. Poll after poll has put him way ahead of all other candidates. The strange thing about these polls is that they contradict what we all know about Kenyan politics.”


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Madagascar: How to Invest · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Madagascar Croissance says (Fr) real estate and rentals are promising investment sectors in his country right now.


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Malawi: innovative use of SMS in Malawi · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mangaliso's World writes about innovative use of SMS applications in Malawi, “Observing carefully at the market cellular phone operators Telekom Networks Malawi is leading the way on added sms services initiatives. Theservices span from agriculture sector to your personal convinience.”


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Senegal: Wade and the PDS v. Seck · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Looking to upcoming elections in Senegal, Blog Politique du Senegal writes (Fr): “May [Idrissa] Seck bleed the PDS [Senegalese Democratic Party] to death. I certainly won't be complaining. … Wade did not have the political finesse to create an efficient party. His authoritarianism … made him build a    monster with a thousand unsynchronized arms. His fear of internal competition caused him to develop a strategy close to Stalin's.”


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The Week That Was in Bahrain  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

It has been yet another busy week on the Bahraini blogsophere, with some bloggers rallying behind an anti-sectarianism campaign, Just Bahraini; others just back home from a long holiday; and one celebrating his/her (?) birthday!
In local politics, Mahmood Al Yousif is keeping us abreast with all that's happening on the ground.
He doesn't seem too happy that the first Bahraini woman to win a seat in Parliament, was elected by default and doesn't mince his words about it.
She somehow changed her residence to the islands of Hawar, those strips of land rich in bird life (it’s supposed to be a natural reserve with even osprey nesting there habitually) and very rich sea life around it too with the dugong making their home in the deep water channels around the islands. But in that constituency there are only 1,000 voters, and I’m not sure if the dugong and the shags are actually counted too, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say she won fair and square. However, before doing that completely, I must confess my confusion that in an election that every single seat is fought and every single constituency fielding at least 2 candidates, how come the political societies didn’t wake up to the fact that Hawar was up for the taking?
With local elections slated for November 25, Mahmood is also unhappy that the former Speaker is running again – despite announcing earlier that he wouldn't.
The last minute entrance, although he would like to think is being dramatic, the fact of the matter Harry is much better at it. Nevertheless, his excuse is that he was in conference with God, as he does every Ramadhan in the last 10 days. Don’t know what they were talking about (I think it really was just a single-sided conversation if you ask me, and Dhahrani has the hammer) but I guess he interpreted the conversation that he has to do his public duty and place his posterior on an already reserved Speaker of the House leather seat.
In the infectious world of blogging, Mahmood even passed the bug to his brother, Hani, who lives in the UK.
This week Hani tells us about the new craze – iphones, shows us a clip from a Japanese talent show which leaves him in stitches and introduces us to a new artist.
He's doing all this while he is busy with a shoot for a Johnnie Walker ad!
Away from work, Blayde is celebrating his/her (?) birthday with an influx of emails from the forums he/she is a member in. Head there and wish Blayde a Happy Birthday to make him/her feel a whole lot better!
Meanwhile, Bint Battuta is back in Bahrain after a globe-trotting expedition which took her to the UAE, Italy, the UK and Switzerland, from what I gathered from her blog.
Sandwiched between Moroccan girls at the Bahrain International Airport, Bint Batutta snaps when the girls behind her attempt to jump the line!
Away from local issues, Haitham Sabbah, an ‘Uprooted Palestinian Blogger‘ based in Bahrain, posts a picture of Jordan's First Family enjoying a late night meal at a “humble” and “crowded” restaurant in Amman.
The sighting is a rare one indeed for seeing Royalty in such surroundings is only alive in fairy tales!

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Togo, Congo, France: Failed Diaspora or Simply Depression? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem reposts (Fr) an email allegedly authored by Kabiona-Kaseke, a Congolese lamenting the failures of the African diaspora. Says the email: “Diaspora, we have failed in our dreams. Dreams of succeeding in our native countries after studying in the West. … Diaspora, we've failed in our relationships. Failed at having balanced lives as men, African-style. … Failed at educating our children.” The blogger wonders whether the author is depressed but concedes: “What exile or immigrant hasn't asked those questions?”


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What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — about the armed forces · Global Voices
Tim Muth

Salvadoran bloggers on the left are writing posts questioning El Salvador's level of military spending, particularly where there are pressing social problems in the country including crime, sanitation, and poverty.   This small Central American country of six million people had a military budget in 2005 of $162 million (source: CIA World Fact Book).
The blogger Hunnapuh looks at the level of spending(es) on the armed forces.  He performs some basic math to show that persons in the armed forces above the lowest ranks are earning more per month than a teacher or a doctor.  This disparity has lead Hunnapuh to campaign on his blog for the abolition of the army.
El Visitador disagrees, calling the army a necessary insurance policy(es).   Without an army, he asserts, El Salvador would look like Cuba and Mexico would be ruled by Commandante Marcos, as armed rebel movements take control of Latin American countries.
On the Hunnapuh blog, a poll (es) is being conducted asking readers if they favor abolishing the army.  70% in the poll favor abolishing the army, but this may have more to do with who reads blogs in El Salvador than it does with actual popular sentiment.
Meanwhile, Tim's El Salvador Blog describes the war of words between Honduras and El Salvador over the deserted island of Conejo in the Gulf of Fonseca, and wonders whether the army is maintained for just such a dispute.  Hunnapuh believes it is no coincidence(es) that, just when voices are starting to be raised about the abolition of the army, a border dispute and an affront to Salvadoran sovereignty appears.

author: Tim Muth


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Africa: call for Fela centred short stories · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Wordsbody announces the call for Fela centred short stories from Reputations Consulting, “Call for Fela centred, fictional short stories,features articles and biographical sketches on “FELA The Folklore: A Peoples’ Biography for all categories of prose writers.”


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Africa: open source African architecture · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Timbuktu Chronicles writes about Osafa, open source African architecture, “Osafa will be a Wikipedia-like platform where the ‘source code’ of construction projects, i.e. floor plans, building descriptions, drafts/photos and commercials calculations are being shared under an open licence, ready to be reused or adapted, without licence fees. We want to apply the success factors of Open Source Software to the intellectual wisdom of African architecture. Osafa is to be used by all stakeholders of construction projects in Africa, professionals and hobbyists, Africans and non-Africans, world changers and business people alike…”


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Argentina: Blogs and Marriage Proposals · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Debby Novitz says that just eight hours after her blog was mentioned in the daily Clarín, she received “1700 hits, 4 marriage proposals, and many, many emails.”


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Argentina: Music: The Underwater Robot · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale links to the can't-be-missed music video from the Argentine band El Robot Bajo El Agua.


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Armenia: Critical Mass · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At ArmYouth Blog, akhtamar reports on October 22nd's Critical Mass in Yerevan.


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Armenia: Notes from the Blogosphere · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian rounds up the Armenian blogosphere.


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Barbados: Concorde go home? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A British letter-writer suggests that the Concorde aircraft that Barbados was given by British Airways be relocated to a location where it would receive better treatment, but Titilayo finds evidence to suggest that Barbados's Concorde isn't the only one being housed under less-than-desirable conditions.


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Barbados: Was Adams lazy? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A new book about the failed West Indies Federation describes Sir Grantley Adams, Barbados's first premier and national hero, as “lazy, lethargic” — sets Barbados Free Press wondering if this could have been true.


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Belarus: Church Protest Rally · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an underreported church protest rally that took place in Minsk last Saturday.


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Belize: Dog’s eye view · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Belizean canine blogger Nurse Melly reports on the progress of an animal shelter being build on Caye Ambergris and admonishes humans for feeding crocodiles.


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Bolivia: Border Military Bases and Internal Conflicts · Global Voices
Iria Puyosa

The treaty between Bolivia and Venezuela to build military facilities on the borders with Paraguay, Chile, Perú, and  Brasil is being discussed in political blogs from Perú and Chile.
Chilean conservative bloggers writing at El Rincón de Michelle [ES] agree that the treaty should be regarded as evidence of Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez being “a latent threat to the Southern countries”.
On the contrary, participants in the discussion at El Morrocotudo- a citizen daily from Arica – disregard conservative reactions as exaggerations. Ignacio Lozano points out that the polemic may have the goal of weakening Venezuela’s aims of obtaining a seat at the UN Security Council (about such issue listen to the Reporte Duna / podcast [ES]). Emanuel González highlights that the amount of investment on weapons by Chile and Perú is higher than what Bolivia is planning to invest.
Chile a gastado en armamentos alrededor de 3,000 millones de dolares ultimamente, Peru se dispone a gastar 600 millones de Dolares y nos vamos a preocupar por que Bolivia va gastar 50 millones de dolares? (sic)
Certainly, Venezuela will fund $49 million to build two military bases in Bolivia: Puerto Quijaro (in Paraguay’s border) and El Prado (in Brazil’s border). Nonetheless, the treaty will be expanded to 24 border military facilities, although not all of them are exactly military bases but rather mere soldiers’ lodging units.
The Brujo Político from  Perú guesses  that the true goal of the military treaty between Venezuela and Bolivia may be “to repress popular struggles that, should they continue, could mean checkmate for Evo Morales’ government” [“reprimir las causas populares que de continuar creciendo pondrían en jaque al gobierno de Evo Morales”].
Brujo Político [ES] supports his guesses on the series of conflicts in Bolivia throughout October, among which the Huanuni clash is paramount. In that mining town at the region of Oruro, mining laborers and mining cooperative members clashed for the right to operate a tin mine. The clash resulted in 16 deaths and at least 78 persons injured. This Bolivian crisis has involved a civil strike demanding that the new constitution must be approved by two thirds of the Constitutional Assembly, demonstrations by the coca farmers, rumors about a conspiracy for a coup against Evo Morales and threats of civil war.
Bolivia-Eclipse (from Utopia island at the Bolivian sea) maintains that:
Ver a Bolivia como posible agresor es un despropósito total: Bolivia es el país más pobre de Sudamérica, tiene una población muy reducida en relación a todos sus vecinos (excepto Paraguay), y no tiene las condiciones económicas, políticas, militares ni sociales para representar una amenaza militar para países como Perú, Chile o Paraguay.
Nonetheless, Bolivia Eclipse asks what the benefits for the Bolivian people are and which are the concrete goals of this military treaty.

author: Iria Puyosa


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Bulgaria: Tripoli Six on WNYC · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Declan Butler posts an audio of himself and vice president of Amnesty International USA on the NY Public Radio's show on the Tripoli Six.


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Cayman Islands: Celebrity adoption · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Following on the heels of Madonna’s adoption of a little Malawian boy, eccentric actress Renee Zellwegger has announced her intentions to adopt a Caymanian,” writes Cayblogger.


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China: 70 years anniversary of Lu Xun’s death · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lyn Jeffery in Virtual China suggests some sites to visit around the 70 years anniversary of Lu Xun's death. Lu Xun has been considered as the father of modern Chinese literature.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: defending political poem · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The prosecution of a SMS political poem written by a local civil servant, Qin Zhongfei in Pang Shui in Chongqing city, has raised great concern from local journalists and bloggers. Li Tian Lun comments that the poem was a great political poem and local government should accept criticism by people.(zh) Zan Ai Zong points out the silencing effect of the case (zh).


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China: history book · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shang Peijin in Shanghaiist has translated an interview with a Chinese historian Zhu Xueqin on Shanghai's new history text book, which gives more emphasis on people's history.


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China: new labour law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fons Tuinstra in China herald blogs about some background fact and fiction concerning the new labour law. Interlocals.net also have some more background information.


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China: water in Beijing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen in DANWEI translates a discussion about water conservation in Beijing, one of the measure is a ID system for water consumption.


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China: writers meeting · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maryannodonell blogs about her experience in participating the second nanshan district writers federation council meeting on literary creativity in her Shenzhen fieldnotes.


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Dominica: The dubious benefits of CWC 2007 · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Kenny Green of Dominica isn't put off by reports that the Cricket World Cup, which is set to take place next year in the Caribbean, may be moved instead to South Africa: “Hosting any WC is like having a house party for someone else at your home, who pays you to get the place ready, and then proceeds to tear it up and leave you to clean up. The Caribbean needs to improve for itself, not to host some event where the real beneficiaries are already some of the best off people in the region. . . . So help yourselves to South Africa, ICC.“


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Ecuador: YouTube and Second Round Elections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Cristian Espinosa shows how journalist Carlos Vera of Ecuavisa is taking advantage of YouTube [ES] to draw attention to video clips that might have been otherwise missed by voters in next month's second round elections. The first video [ES], which shows millionaire candidate Alvaro Noboa paying off a supporter run over by his caravan, has already been watched nearly 5,000 times. His competitor, Rafael Correa, doesn't get off the hook easy, however, as Vera produces a video clip [ES] in which Correa seemingly defends the economic model of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.


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India: India and India Inc. · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Govindraj on the Tata-Corus deal that's doing the rounds and India Inc. “Increasingly, when I am asked by people about what’s happening in India, I say there are two India’s, India and India Inc. There were always two Indias or maybe more but the other India earlier was just educated, aware and ranged in income levels from the middle class to the affluent.”


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India, Pakistan: Kashmir and the Indian Army · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

~Kashmir~ on the Indian Army. “Does a 19 year old boy deserve to be tortured with hot iron rods? Does the brother of a 10 year sister old deserve to be burned? Does the only bread winner of a family deserve death at the hands of an occupational army for the sole crime of being a Kashmiri?”


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Jamaica: Pam Mordecai · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jamaican writer Pam Mordecai is the subject of the second installment in Geoffrey Philp's “In My Words” series.


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Japan: allow Japanese nukes · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mutantfrog comments on the idea and argument on Washington Post that the US needs to allow Japan to arm themselves with nuclear weapons to protect against North Korea: I’m frankly surprised at how bad his reasoning is in this column, how much it sounds like the writing of an enthusiastic but narrowly informed freshman in Poly-sci class.


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Japan: first lady · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kaishin in Japundit blogs about the public opinions towards the new Japan first lady, Akie Abe.


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Japan: right winging it · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP blogs about some recent right wing activities in Japan in Japundit.


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Kazakhstan: Atyrau Violence · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Leila rounds up some of the blogosphere discussion of the recent violence in Atyrau between Turkish and Kazakh workers.


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Kazakhstan: Borat, the Political Psychology · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts explains the political psychology of the Borat-Kazakhstan relationship.


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Kenya: former Attorney General should shut up · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You Missed This thinks the former Kenya's Attorney General, Charles Njonjo, should shut up!: “This was the kind of behaviour going on in Kenya when Charles Njonjo was the powerful AG and a member of Kenyatta’s kitchen cabinet. Njonjo more than anybody else promoted the propaganda politics against the Luo community that promoted tribalism and kept Raila Odinga’s father, the late jaramogi Oginga Odinga from making a political come back shortly after the death of Kenyatta.”


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Kenyan Blogosphere: Debate over social responsibility, freedom of speech, and censorship · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A heated debate has been raging in the Kenyan blogosphere over the removal of one blog, My Part of the World, from the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW) aggregator. The aggregator is part of the vibrant community of Kenyan bloggers at home and abroad. The debate has centered around issues of decency, freedom of speech, censorship, social responsibility and has been marked, at times, by personal attacks both subtle and direct.
Thinker’s Room, who noted that the debate was “generating more heat than light,” tried to summarize the events leading to the removal and the subsequent hot debate involving bloggers and readers:
From what I can gather, the facts are as follows:
•	Acolyte put up a post on his blog
•	Some people objected to the content of the blog
•	Acolyte received a mail informing him that he had been taken off the KBW aggregator due to his post
•	The KBW admin team put up a post clarifying grounds from expulsion from the aggregator
•	Acolyte denies that this was the reason for which he was expelled
•	One of the Admin put up a post further clarifying that Acolyte had not in fact been removed from KBW – he had only been removed from the aggregator
At first, there was some confusion. KBW says that Acolyte misread their email and was confused as to whether his blog had been removed from the aggregator or his membership completely revoked. Daudi, the founder of KBW and a leading figure in the Kenyan blogosphere, writes in his blog, Mental Acrobatics:
I assume we all understand now that Acolyte was not removed from the webring. I also assume that no one holds the KBW Admin Team responsible for him misreading or misinterpreting that email to mean that he has been removed from KBW. You can blame us for many things but we can not and will not be held responsible for someone not bothering to read an email properly.
The email sent to Acolyte by KBW Admin team, and to which Thinker’s Room refers, reads:
While we accept that you can write what you want on your blog, we do not have to accept insults, destructiveness and negativity on KenyaUnlimited and thus have it reflected on to KBW. As you appear to be keen to encourage discord with your posts contrary to the aims of KBW, we are removing your blog from the KBW aggregator forthwith.
This email was not the first one from the administration of team of KBW to Acolyte, the blogger behind My Part of the World. The team had previously written him regarding comments he had been making about the Kenyan Blog Webring:
We write this email in regard to various comments you have made regarding the administration team of the Kenyan Blogs Webring. The latest examples being the post on your blog at this link: http://mywordsonly.blogspot.com/2006/06/answers-part-i.html and another example being the comments you have made on nmjoe.blogspot.com.
One of the comments the email is referring to reads:
No need to be civil here it seems. First of all I see me disguising myself as a wise move as I get to comment (besides when to std 3 kids disguise themselves and why?).Yes to some extent I do not need KBW and yes I was this close to leaving but a blogger whom I respect talked me out of it and their explanation made a lot of sense. KBW is not the inner clique whom I may have disagreed with but every other blogger who is a member. Plus the fact that I may disagree with some of the KBW stalwarts does not [mean] I disagree with KBW's aims which are pretty noble.
Writing a post about why his other blog, Instigated By…, will not go mainstream Acolyte remarked:
Secondly KBW is in many ways turning out to be the polar opposite of Kenyan forums like Mashada and Kenyaniyetu. Whereas people in Mashada et al are tearing each other into shredds for any reason whatsoever, bloggers in KBW bend over to please and approve of each other. Disagreement is rare on blogs in KBW even when contentious issues are brought up. Someone told me that this is because dissenting voices rarely speak and those who support do so to keep the blogger in question coming to their blog. I on the other hand do not hesitate to voice my opinion instead of clapping like a seal awaiting a fish from the ring master in the circus. Conflict and criticism can be constructive; that is something that people need to learn in KBW and indulge in it more. Finally some of the opinions here do not go with the progressive liberal flow and are bound to ruffle feathers
After the removal of his blog from the KBW aggregator early this month, Acolyte posted a three-part fictional interview series, Membership Revoked: The exclusive interview, in which CNN’s Jeff Koinange interviews him about the situation.
The interview begins:
Latest reports are that as of October 5th Acolyte was no longer a member of the Kenyaunlimited Web Ring. CNN decided to send their top ranking reporter on African issues, Jeff Koinange to interview Acolyte and find out what led to this state of affairs.
PS: The interview may be fake but the sentiments, comments and information in it are very very real!
Responding to a question from “Jeff Koinange” Acolyte explains:
I guess my posts just didn't encourage the spirit of peace, love and unity…I am no longer part of Kenyan Bloggers’ Webring ( KBW ). It was decided that I was causing too much conflict and disharmony with my posts.
One of the posts he is referring to was written in February, 2006. It was about his comment on a post written by another Kenyan blogger, Mshairi. Mshairi, a UK based blogger, wrote a post asking bloggers to stop insulting women. She wrote:
I have recently been greatly disturbed by two instances where two male bloggers discussed and described women in misogynistic terms.  In the first instance, a blogger described a situation in which a female boss, according to him, was being unreasonable. The derogatory language used to describe the woman left me reeling and had me reaching for the sick bag. The descriptions included ‘ignoramus’, ‘spiteful, angry menopausal bitch’, and ‘ruthless menopausal maniac’. All that remained was the blogger to call the woman a prostitute. Wait, he did.
In the second instance, another blogger wrote, “lesbos probably need a dick whipping”. I agree wholeheartedly with a comment left by someone on this post: “Dick-whipping is such a violent way of speaking. It ultimately translates itself into rape.” Later on, the blogger backtracked and said what he meant was that “lesbians would most likely have a change of heart on their sexual orientation if they had mind blowing sex with a guy.” How very vain, egotistical and self-serving. This is an offensive statement in its own right and an insult as the meaning is that women do not have the sense to know their sexual preferences.
Reacting to Mshairi’s post Acolyte (writing as Instigator) offered his opinion on the subject:
Why don’t you start your own blogosphere then where all the posts can meet your standards? The fact is that there is freedom of expression on the net and as a result people will say what they feel, it doesnt make it right but it will happen.
He then wrote a post in his blog, True Instigation:
A certain blogger took exception to this comment that I made in response to her post that insulting of women by bloggers must stop. Please not that these insults were 2 posts out of the hundreds that go up from the 120 plus KBW blogs!Yes women are under a deluge of insults!This is what I said!
Another post, which he later deleted from his blog, was a reaction to media reports about the meeting between the Tanzania's President, Jakaya Kikwete and the US President, George Bush where they reportedly discussed “political instability” in Kenya.  He called the Tanzanian President a “dumb bitch” for discussing Kenyan issues while he is the President of Tanzania and invited Tanzanians (provided that their English and computer skills allow them to do so!) to defend their President.
According to Acolyte, it was this particular post that “broke the camel’s back”:
Jeff Koinange: So what was the straw that broke the camel's back?
Acolyte: It was a strongly worded post I wrote about the Tanzanian President committing a diplomatic gaffe by discussing Kenya's political situation with President Bush.
Jeff Koinange: So what went wrong?
Acolyte: A Tanzanian member of KBW who also does bilingual online projects and enjoys a close relationship with the one of the KBW admin members blogged about it and that's when the shit hit the fan.
Jeff Koinange: So exactly what happened.
Acolyte: Well he wrote a long convoluted post about it and singled me out for criticism and complaint and said that he would continue to blog about the issue.
Jeff Koinange: What did you do in return?
Acolyte: I wrote a post where I reffered to the issue and admitted that my use of such strong language to refer to a leader was in bad taste but that I stood by sentiments but not the words and by now I had taken down the post. I also said that if anyone had a problem with the post they should have emailed me, we would have discussed the issue amicably.
The Tanzanian blog he is referring to is Jikomboe, a Swahili blog. Jikomboe condemned the use of foul language to refer to the President of Tanzania and pointed out that since Tanzania is the African representative to the UN Security Council and a member of the UN Peace Building Commission, there seems to be a justification for the two leaders discussing issues of peace and security outside their respective countries.
After Acolyte’s first interview, another Kenyan blogger, Uncle Joe's, in a post reminiscent of tabloid drama, promised to reveal inside information about KBW. However, he later changed his mind and removed the post saying:
I say let everyone carry his or her own cross. We all blog as individuals and should carry the responsibilities for what we do and what we say. I have always said that for me blogging was serious business and I intend to continue on that path. I intend to lead by example and character.
The administration team of Kenyan Blog Webring weighed in with a post titled: KBW Membership Clarification:
The Admin Team of the Kenyan Blogs Webring has been working with and for Kenyan bloggers for over two years. In this time we have never kicked a single blogger out of the webring because of what they write on their blog or because of the opinions they express on their blog.  The only reason bloggers have been removed from KBW by the Admin Team, thus far, is for not having KBW ringcode visible on their blogs as this is a condition of membership. Even this action is only taken after numerous warnings have been ignored or dismissed. We ask that you remain vigilant to any lies and disinformation that may suggest any action by the Admin Team to the contrary. We challenge anybody with information to the contrary to provide proof. Then together we can all use that skill beloved of bloggers, verification.
Daudi, of Mental Acrobatics, offered his thoughts on the issue:
Secondly why is it that any little negative rumour, innuendo, allegation about the actions of the Admin Team is treated as gospel by a small minority of our members? Why are you so quick to believe any lie propagated about us? Where is the pause for reflection? As a large part of blogging is about verification, checking that the information you share is correct, I find this lack of verification interesting and frustrating. It seems some people would believe anything that is written about the Admin Team regardless of how ridiculous or ludicrous it is.
Acolyte posted the second part of the fictional interview with CNN:
Jeff Koinange: So what do you make of the latest post on the Admin blog?
Acolyte: To be honest I think people are not reading from the same script at all. It is time that matters were clarified. My expulsion had nothing to do with the code on my blog! And it couldn't be because I removed the code after I received the email telling me that my blog had been taken off the aggregator and was no longer on the list of KBW member blogs. So the code isn't an issue at all and shouldn't be talked about! Let it be known this isn't an attack on the Mental and the rest of the Administrators! It is about transparency, accountability, misuse of powers, censorship and other issues I am going to touch on. I am not out to destroy KBW but I think there are some important issues here we have to deal with! This is also an open acceptance to Mental's offer to dialogue.
Noting that his relationship with KBW has not always being rocky, he wrote:
Jeff Koinange: So have things always been this way between you and the KBW Administration?
Acolyte: No! One of them was who sees me as a tool of destruction was among the first people to comment on my blog and the founder too has commented on my blog before.
Jeff Koinange: So when did things begin to sour?
Acolyte: Well as a person I have always enjoyed debate and intellectual conversation, so what I did was set up a blog persona (Instigator) who would go around and ask hard biting questions about issues so as to instigate discussion, I also began to use the corresponding blog for social satire on many issues but focusing on gender issues in the Western world.
Jeff Koinange: Was this identity a secret?
Acolyte: No it wasn't, I told several bloggers about it and even had the persona guest blog on my own blog for a while. Other bloggers have even openly linked me with that persona.Another example here. So this was an open secret!
Jeff Koinange: So you did not use the persona to make personal attacks.
Acolyte: Oh no not at all! I set it up for fun. Besides which people knew who I was so it wouldnt make sense at all!
In the meantime, Thinker’s Room asserted that removal of My Part of the World from the aggregator was a form of censorship, which bloggers should unite against. He wrote:
It is news to me that being a KBW member does not qualify one to be on the aggregator. I am sure I am not the only one who thinks that it is implied, especially if there is nothing saying the contrary, and especially more upon reading the excerpt above.
The question is:
1.	What are these criteria
2.	Where are these criteria
3.	Why are they not in the open, in the interests of transparency
I have no problem in maintaining control of the aggregator, or even KBW itself provided that the rules are set, the rules are clear, and the rules are in the open.
Until then it is going to be very difficult to justify Acolyte’s expulsion from the aggregator, and why this does not amount to censorship. Bloggers unite as one to defend freedom of expression in the media.
Thinker’s Room sees the difference between what he calls “KBW infrastructure” and the blogging community:
We must begin to differentiate the infrastructure from the community. KBW is not the infrastructure it is the people.
Mental Acrobatics wrote another piece titled “Engaging in the Issues” maintaning that while debating about “right,” bloggers should take into consideration issues of responsibility as well.
Here is the other side of the coin. While many of you express shock that there is no right to appear on the aggregator how many of you have raised the issue of the responsibility that goes with the right? If there is a right to the aggregator there must be by extension a responsibility to the aggregator. I would like to hear you thoughts on what those responsibilities may be.
Mental Acrobatics argued that the removal from the aggregator did not infringe on the right to free speech nor amounted to censorship:
Another argument doing the rounds is that by removing a blog from the aggregator the Admin Team has infringed on the right to free speech of that blogger, some even say censorship. Again i call nonsense. You are free to write whatever you want on your blog. Your speech can be as free as you want on your blog, how does removing you from the aggregtor infringe on that freedom of speech? How has the Admin Team stopped a blogger from exercising that right to free speech? Or are you saying that removal from the aggregator is equivalent to forceably shutting a blog down? If the Admin Team decided to take the aggregator down completely would all KBW members have had their right to free speech violated?
He observed that balancing individual freedom of speech and community moral sensibilities involves many challenges, and responded to questions about KBW code of conduct:
Consider a new Kenyan blogger joins the webring, after about a month all they post on their blog is message saying “fuck KBW” and nothing else. Repeatedly over and over again. Would you leave them on the webring? What if a blog written by a Kenyan which was full of pictures glorifying rape (and believe me these blogs do exist) applied to join the webring? We concluded that such blogs would have no place in our community. Basically it is all about common sense. Everything does not go. There has been no code of conduct because we deal with each issue on a case by case basis.
Another blogger, White African, commenting on Mental Acrobatics’s blog, offers a suggestion regarding KBW policy-making mechanism. He thinks KBW should adopt a user-based moderation, something similar to Digg, to empower the member base.
KBW is the best “community” of bloggers in Africa, this is due in no small part to the efforts of the admin team, AfroM and the ability of Kenyan bloggers to partake in debates with a certain level of maturity. In short, you rarely see the flame wars here that you do in other parts of the blogosphere – people generally do seem to care.  My only comment on this drama is to remember that KBW is a platform propped up by its membership. Platforms are at their best when they are agnostic and operate free of subjective thought towards the member base.   Here’s a thought, that might or might not be worth considering in the future. Empower the member base to decide the outcome of important decisions, make it a true community where the members have influence (see Digg as an example of user-based moderation).
In his final part of the interview, Acolyte promises not to write about the issue anymore:
Jeff Koinange: So is this the last we are hearing about the issue?
Acolyte: Indeed yes. I think that if I post anymore the focus on the issues at hand will be lost. I hope that bloggers learn from this experience to learn to ask questions when they need to be asked. Other members are more than welcome to blog about the issues at hand. For me life must go on.
He then set some ground rules on his blog:
Today marks a return to regular programming in Aco Land. No more crusades, blogwars and beef. Life back to normal! The last few weeks had been so hectic that I actually contemplated taking a long hiatus from blogging because it had become no fun at all! But I was threatened by physical violence so I will take my hiatus later but for some time I won't be blogging daily, pole sana. Now since I am no longer an active member of a blogging community I have to set down some ground rules on my blog.
1. This is my blog and I am god here – Now that there is no longer a body that I am responsible to and whose reputation I have to uphold, I can pretty much do whatever I want with this space. If you can't deal with it; please move on.
Since its inception in July 2004, KBW has been an inspiring example of a successful African blogging community with its webring and an aggregator. Earlier this year the community held its first Blog Awards, Kaybees Awards 2006.
Now, what is the future of KBW? Daudi, its founder, writes on his blog:
These past few days may give the impression that we as a webring are going through some kind of crisis. That we are on the brink of collaspe. WE ARE NOT. We are stronger than ever, growing as fast as ever, the number of people reading the aggregator continues to grow, the number of people reading all our blogs continues to grow, together we continue to be recognised as a powerful force online. We are doing well we are going places. Let no one tell you otherwise.


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Kyrgyzstan: Demand for Reform · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia looks at the Civil Society Forum's demands to the Kyrgyz government for reforms and finds some commendable points. Ultimately though, she says, the fact that the group put their demands in the form of an ultimatum shows that they are more interested in the fight than solutions.


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Malawi: Madonna and child · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Madonna and little David: the debate continues, “Then again, my concern remains with this little boy who has been thrown in a mix of affairs between a poor father with no means and a foreigner with more than enough to offer. There is nothing wrong with adoption so long as the intentions and methods are genuine. On the other hand, there are plenty of children to “choose” from here in the U.S. and in the U.K. that need homes and a family. But…it seems that in the current “aid” times we are living in, your level of compassion depends on the region and place you adopt from in third-world countries, as well as your number of charities.”


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Malaysia: History not Important · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Blueheeler goes in search of archives of a newspaper in East Malaysian province of Sarawak and finds that the city does not care about its history.So, in short, the Sarawak Tribune, the most important English newspaper on Sarawak/Bornean issues, with its 60 years of reporting the going-ons in Sarawak, cannot be accessed in Sarawak.When I told this to an academic working at UNIMAS, he said “Don't you know? For Sarawak, history is not important. Not only can you not find the Tribune, there's no history department at the University!”.


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Martinique, France: Stereotypes of the French · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Pondering stereotypes of the French, Martiniquan Le Blog de Moi writes (Fr): “When I arrived in the States with a group of people from all over France, … our recruiter explained to us very seriously that because of complaints by American students, he encouraged us to bathe and to change clothes regularly i.e. every two days on average! Faced with the shocked expression of the DOM-TOMers [i.e. people from the French Overseas departments of the Americas and Oceania] in the group, he then proceeded to explain that the remark was for the benefit of the “French from France” who werle ess used to live in tropical climates.”


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Nepal: Peoplocracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! on Peoplocracy in Nepal. “It would not be incorrect to state that we may have taken a step forward, only to return to the crossroad again taking two steps backward. It is even more likely that we would never be able to move away from the crossroad, making it a permanent feature.”


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Nigeria: $380 billion stolen since independence · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Akin writes about emblezzement of public money in Nigeria, “Strangely, none of the Nigerian blogs I visit daily seemed to have picked up on this issue that Nigerian leaders have ‘stolen’ $380 billion cumulatively since independence with the worst atrocities in the 80s and 90s.”


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Nigeria: latest on Nigerian stock exchange · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Latest on the Nigerian stock exchange from StockMarketNigeria, “Last week was not a too impressive week as the all share index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange dipped by 2 percent. This was as a result of declines in share prices of some leading blue chip companies.”


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Nigeria/Cameroon: new African film available online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Collaboration between Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, and Cameroon's English language film industry has produced a new film, Before the Sunrise. Scribbles from the Den writes about it: “Before the Sunrise, the first major collaboration between Nollywood and Cameroon’s budding English language film industry is now available online. The movie can be viewed or purchased from the inollywood or izognmovies websites. Filmed in Buea and Limbe, in Cameroon, Before Sunrise was launched amidst great fanfare at the Yaounde Hilton in July 2005.”


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Pakistan: Podcast on festivals, earthquake and Politics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

iFaqeer has a podcast. “This program congratulates celebrants on Ramzan, Eid and Diwali, with some thoughts on the spirit of the season; discusses the first anniversary of the earthquake in South Asia and the role of the blogosphere in helping remember those in need; and throws out some political thoughts on matters of social concern, also discussing the
recent exchange between a seminarian (madarasa student) and Gen. Pervez Musharraf that made the rounds on the Internet.”


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Panama Canal Referendum · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: From Chiriqui Chatter: The Vote for the Big Dig
The vote is today for the expansion of the Canal. Voting in Panama is a very serious thing both for referendums such as today’s and for governmental offices. All sides fiercely try to get their vote out. It is interesting that they shut down all alcohol sales midnight before
the voting offices open. No alcohol will be sold all day.
My expectation is for the “Yes” vote to carry. I think expanding the Canal is something that should happen, but I am not sure that all costs
are accurately forecast or all ecological effects are understood.Continue reading…
#2: Quitenle la Camara presents a pictorial review of the people who voted NO for the Referendum: Los que dicen NO! Do not miss up this very impressive report infused with questions, tears and death.
#3: From JArango.com: Some Thoughts on The Panama Canal Expansion Project
I’m very proud of my country tonight. Once again, we have proven capable of taking a major national decision via democratic vote, peacefully and in a very organized manner.
I’ve always thought the phrase “Panama Canal” its a bit of a misnomer. It was US capital, know-how, engineering, equipment, and leadership that built the Canal. (Perhaps a more fitting name would be “The US Canal through Panama”.) As a matter of fact, Panama owes its independence to the fact that Colombia (of which Panama was a province) was hesitant to allow the Americans to build the Canal. Read more…
#4: From Publius Pundit: World Watches Panama Amid Big Victory for Trade
…Everyone in the world who trades is watching Panama today. If Panama passes the referendum, whole new trading opportunities will spring forward. All of those ports will benefit. Shipping costs will fall, more nations will be able to participate, and living standards will rise – around the world. Walmart prices will get still lower, countries like India and Senegal will be able to get deeper footholds into world trading, energy supplies will become more abundant – the possibilities are endless – and they are all good. Read the complete post…
#5: From Colteryhan.com:  Ocu, Festival del Manito
I was caught in this young girl’s gaze.  The waiting was over, and the drums had come to life at the rear of her delegation.  The girls’ polleras (folkloric dress) swayed in rhythm, while the boys, in their montunos (folkloric outfit) danced in place.  The young girl had stood motionless up to that moment, and with her friends anxiously waiting, her dress slowly started to move back and forth.  Then, with some gentle prodding and a big burst of laughter from all the children, the delegation from the Corregimiento de Los Llanos (a district in this rural area) marched their way into the 35th annual Festival del Manito. Continue reading and enjoy the amazing photography!
#6:  From Heidibella in the Tropics:  Handed Down from the Angels, Angel Food Cake!
There is nothing more light and fluffy and delicious than an Angel Food Cake. Adding lemon curd between the layers makes it a DIVINE experience. Sure, you can buy an angel food cake, and you can buy lemon curd. But this is so easy to do that there is no reason for storebought when you can control the quality of the ingredients by making it yourself, as I did today. Get cooking…
#7: From Martin's Panama Weblog: Casco Viejo
On sunday morning (honestly it was 12am ;-) we took the Diablo Rojo to Downtown Panama to visit Casco Viejo which is the second oldest part of
Panama (after Panama Viejo). Casco Viejo is a nice place with lots of old buildings and the Canal Museum. It is surrounded with the not so nice parts of Panama City ("no-go" areas) and is thus heavily patrolled by a special Tourist Police (very friendly guys) who keep telling you where it is not a good idea to go. Nevertheless, Casco Viejo has the presidential palace, the canal museum, national theatre, the French embassy, and many more old buildings. It's quite interesting that this (rather important) part of Panama City is surrounded by completely run-down areas.  Read more…

author: Melissa De León


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Peru: El Señor de los Milagros · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Klephblog explains the importance and history of Peru's El Señor de los Milagros: “There is, perhaps, nothing more Peruvian than The Lord of Miracles. For almost the whole month of October is devoted to this unique religious icon and it is venerated by Peruvians across the globe.”


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Russia: Balcony Embellishments · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude writes and posts pictures of the Russian balconies: “Balcony infill is not taught at any Russian technical school. Neither are there any known materials which bond easily with Soviet drill-resistant iron and concrete. Every unsuccessful attempt is therefore a triumph of individual creativity.”


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Russia: Billfold Scam Averted · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

To protect himself from becoming a victim of a “billfold scam” in downtown Moscow, Snowsquare stops for a drink at Cafe Pushkin.


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Russia: Freedom to Blog · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Two-Zero, an expat in Moscow, explains why blogging is so popular in Russia and why many bloggers are concerned about losing their freedom to blog.


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Russia: Putin’s Rape Remarks · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

White Sun of the Desert writes about rape and Vladimir Putin's sense of humor: “Russian humour, often thought not to exist, is very dry and often exceptionally dark.  In many cases, it cares little for the sensibilities of those who are easily offended.  This is, after all, a country which within living memory deemed half of its citizens criminals and threw them into icy labour camps.  So my take is that Putin was simply making an exceptionally crude joke which would not cause the same offence to the Russian men in his entourage as it would to western journalists.”


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Russia: Rush Hour · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Two-Zero posts pictures and writes about a rush-hour on the Moscow subway experience.


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Russia: The Ongoing Golden Calf Translation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Languor Management links to the site of Maciej Ceglowski and Peter V. Gadjokov, who are translating The Golden Calf, a 1930 Soviet classic by Ilya Ilf and Evgeniy Petrov: “Seventy years after its publication, The Golden Calf remains a cult classic among Russian readers, but it is out of print in English translation. This will be the first time in nearly forty years that The Golden Calf will be available to English speaking readers. This is a volunteer translation project, and we're making it available to readers free of charge.”


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Serbia, Montenegro: Flag and Constitution · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Florian Bieber of East Ethnia has an idea about national flags. Also, he knows the word count of Serbia's new constitution.


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South Africa: do you remember the days of Apartheid? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks takes us back to South Africa's Apartheid era with a post about Prison Number 4, where Ghandhi and Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan-African Congress, were jailed: “TAUSER was the process of forcing black prisoners to strip naked, jump in the air in a scissor like move which would expose all parts of their bodies including the rectum. It was done in the open yard in front of all the other prisoners and the guards to check the prisoners were not hiding anything. Once political prisoners started entering the jail they began a protest to end the TAUSER.”


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Tanzania: agricultural residues for low-cost housing · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Architecture and Design writes about the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy:”One of the 2006 finalists for using agricultural residues to fire high-quality bricks for low-cost housing is the Mwanza Rural Housing Programme (MRHP), Tanzania.”


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Turkmenistan: The Heart · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peter of neweurasia notes that Turkmenistan's president has publicly admitted that he has health problems and he discusses what this might mean for Turkmen politics.


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Ukraine: News Digest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine and Foreign Notes both discuss president Yushchenko's relationship with his own party. Foreign Notes also re-posts two newspaper stories from eastern Ukraine: on the ongoing rallies against high utility tariffs and the position on joining NATO.


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Ukraine: Photos from Kherson · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“The robots welcome you to Rusted Future World.” – 36 photos from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, by Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine.


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Venezuela: Interview with Alek Boyd · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Daniel Duquenal interviews Alek Boyd, who left his career and political activism in the UK to follow Manuel Rosales’ opposition campaign and cover its daily progress at Vcrisis.


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Africa: African blog for Best of Blog Award · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks has been nominated for Best of Blog Award, “Received this email yesterday: Black Looks has been selected as one of 10 nominees in the Best Weblog/English category of the Best of the Blogs (www.thebobs.com), making Black Looks open to two awards. The first comes from the BOBs’ jury – The second is decided by public vote.”


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Ahmadinejad: Let the Population Grow · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir reports about Iranian President's speech about the population growth. President Ahmadinejad said they say two children are enough [a famous slogan for controlling Iran’s population growth in the last decade]. I oppose this…if our population increases we will defeat them [Westerners]. The blogger adds it reminds me of what the Islamic Republic advocated for during the war with Iraq. Then, they encouraged people, through financial aids and propaganda, to enlarge their families. At that time, they needed soldiers.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Albania: Homemade Raki · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“…After two weeks, the grapes were ready to be turned into raki. First they were loaded into the still…” – Step by step, Our Man in Tirana shows how a container full of homegrown grapes eventually yields 12 liters of homemade raki.


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Arabisc: Secret Meetings and Eid Greetings  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

It's Eid in the Arab world and Arab bloggers are celebrating the end of the Holy Month of Ramadhan with a riot of activity on their blogs.
From Libya, Lona and A.Adam, writing in Flying Birds, wish us all a Happy Eid by posting a picture.
The same sentiments are shared by Te3meh from Egypt,  who also posts a graphic design.
Omani blogger Zaid Al Saidi  has a few questions about Eid.
Osama, from the UAE, too is celebrating Eid, which has opened his eyes to a new practise.
Writing from Bahrain, Saudi bloggerSara talks of her experiences in the island kingdom near home, where she goes to school. Although Bahrain is separated from Saudi by a 25km causeway, the two countries are in more than one way worlds apart.
This week she tells us about a ride she took with her cousin Zain, who has just got her driving license.
The ride takes Sara back to a road accident she had when she was on holiday in Monte Carlo and how it shook her father and all those around her after Zain pops a question about whether she feared her father.
Back on the road, Sara relates a story only too familiar for girls in Bahrain.
Intrigued? Head to her blog and read more about her secret meetings and adventures.


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Armenia: Kashatagh · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes From Hareinik draws attention to the depopulation of Kashatagh, territory captured by Armenian during and settled by Armenians after the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bahamas: Violence in cabinet · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Sir Arthur Foulkes is highly critical of the handling by the Bahamian Prime Minister of a fight between two members of parliament in the Cabinet room.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Barbados: “Abortions provider” candidate · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press wonders whether a political candidate's affiliations with a clinic that provides abortions — which are legal in Barbados — will affect his candidacy.


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Belarus: Persecution Continues · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Former presidential candidate is in jail and on hunger strike; 60-year-old woman is sentenced to two years for requesting a psychiatric exam for the country's president – and this isn't all of it, writes TOL's Belarus Blog.


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Bermuda: Another anti-expat flyer · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

A new anti-expat flyer hits the streets of Bermuda. Christian S. Dunleavy reports.


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Bolivia: Agrarian Reform · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Wes Enzinna guest-blogs at Blog from Bolivia about Evo Morales’ land reform plan and the resistance it has met.

author: David Sasaki


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China: city without dogs · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In preparation for the Olympics, Beijing city government is now catching street dogs without proper license. Han song wrote a short piece fiction on “city without dogs” (zh).


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China: dam project in tiger leaping gorge · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

DANWEI has a post on the future and potential conflict of the dam construction plan in the tiger leaping gorge in Yunnan province.


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China: Good cop/bad cop · Global Voices
John Kennedy

A story shared by A-list blogger-journalist Huang Tingzi (黄亭子) about an engineering student recruited by Chinese cops on his campus who—along with four colleagues—one day finds himself quite a bit in over his head:
读大学时，庄警官念的是无线电专业，毕业前,本打算去IT界发展。结果，正好遇上公安局招干，陪同学一块去顺利也报了个名，没想到很快就被录取了。
进了公安，庄警官明白，原来公安局正忙着”科技强警”，到处招揽科技人才，只要是理工科专业的大学生，没什么生理缺陷的，一般都会录取。没有经过任何训练，庄警官就这样穿上了警服，每天跟老同志和其他新来的同事们一起，忙着给架设通信线路、检查机器设备。
一个秋天的午后，庄警官来到玉皇山上检查对讲机的发射塔。
拨开蒿草，沿着小路走进去，他惊奇的发现，发射塔下居然有人搭了个棚子，挑开棚子的布帘一看，里面躺着一个中年男子，十分邋遢。
“喂，你怎么会在这里的？躺在这里做啥？”
男子白了他一眼，没说话。
“听见没有，我问你话呢！”
男子翻了个身，管自己继续呼呼大睡。
庄警官不敢造次，打了个电话给上司，请求增援。半个小时后，通讯科长带了一个同事赶到。庄警官顿生豪情，上前叫醒了仍在熟睡中的中年汉子。汉子显然很不高兴，睡眼朦胧中坐了起来，打了个哈欠，茫然地看着眼前的一众人。
“喂，这个地方是公安局的，你在这里做什么？”
这汉子盯着眼前的三位看了一会儿，又躺了下去。
“你耳朵聋的啊？”庄警官觉得很没面子，大吼了一声。
鼾声迅速响起，仿佛在嘲笑他的无能。
庄警官大怒，顾不上眼前的男子衣着肮脏，一把抓住他胸口的衣襟，将男子揪了起来。
这时，庄警官发现男子的眼神有些不对劲，他意识到自己碰上精神病了，而且是个武疯子。
为时已晚。
庄警官很快被掀翻在地，这名男子力大无穷，格斗中几乎扭断了庄警官的脖子。庄警官只是一个白面书生，手无缚鸡之力，面对强敌，只能俯首称臣。
“弄翻他，扣起来！”科长发话了。
科长和另一位同事没有穿警服，一个瘦瘦高高，一个戴着深度近视眼镜，俩人看上去更像是实验室里的研究员。
第一轮的较量占了上风后，中年汉子的斗志完全被激发出来，目露凶光，脸上写满了兴奋的表情，并摆出随时准备攻击的架势。
“哎哟！”就在犹豫间，同事的眼镜被打飞了。
科长瞅准空子，疾步上前一把抱住了汉子的腰部及双手，汉子死命挣扎，科长的体力渐渐不支，明显有点扛不住这个男子。
“你们站在旁边看热闹啊？还不快动手？”
庄警官和两人反应过来，急急忙忙冲了上去，一左一右扭住汉子的胳膊。这汉子说了一句：”人多有用吗？嗨！”一发力，就把抓他的手全给挣脱了。他随即捡起一根木棍一通乱打。
三名警官且战且退，最后退到了草丛外，三个人的身上，沾上了不少泥土，个个神情狼狈、苦不堪言。
“我们报110吧。”庄警官说。
“不行，现在被弄成这副鬼样，叫了110来让他们看笑话？”科长否决了这个提案。
半个小时后，另外两名同事赶到，同时带来了手铐和警绳。
“弟兄们，一起上！”
五个警察一拥面上，在汉子的顽强抵抗下，经过长达十几分钟的拉锯战，最终七手八脚将此人按倒在地难以动弹。
“上铐。” 科长下令，庄警官立即扑了上去，把手铐套在了汉子手腕上。
“OK了。”庄警官起来拍了拍手，这是他第一次给人戴手铐，很兴奋。
汉子站立起来，手铐很轻巧的从手间滑落。
手铐坏了。
“马上绑起来。”在场的警官几乎都说了这句话。
一阵短暂的混战后，五个警官再次将疯子按倒在地。周围，已经聚集了一些围观的人群。
捆绑时，几个警察发现没有一个人会使用警绳。每次绑得差不多时，疯子总能轻松的挣脱，如此再三，疯子趴在地上哈哈大笑，围观的市民也乐不可支。
科长示意脱下疯子的裤子，抽出疯子的皮带反绑胳膊。
庄警官又自告奋勇，褪下疯子的长裤后，露出了里面的花短裤，结果发现疯子没有系皮带。这种滑稽的场面令在场的人，包括警官们自己都忍俊不禁。
一位好市民站了出来，他把疯子脚上的一根鞋带抽了出来，在得到警官们允许后，把疯子的两个大拇指绑在了一起。
“起来，走。”
警车就停在百米之外。
快走到警车时，疯子举起了一只手，呵呵直乐。鞋带松了。
庄警官几乎条件反射般要将疯子按倒，但发现他的力气太小，根本不足以对付这个家伙。其他几个同事见状再次发力，四五个人又扭成了一团。
鏖战良久，不分胜负。疯子没法逃跑，几个警察也不能完全制服他。只有一帮闲人帮旁边看热闹指点江山。
僵局。
这时，出人意料的情况发生了，疯子说：”你们把车门打开，我自己进去，烦都烦死了！”
警车开到半山腰时，庄警官向科长要了一根烟。吐了一口烟之后，叹了口气：”我们，不是抓人的料。”
From cops in the bushes to thought cops in the bookstores, a post from Tianya blogger Self Made So Clear about the closure of a prominent bookstore in the capitol of Eastern China's Zhejiang province, and some background on the not-so-clear reasons it's gone:
顾先生10月19日说：”今天的《都市快报》第46版有署名'湖'的报道：《杭州从此无三联》。报道说：上周最意外的，当是杭州三联书店的歇业。在关掉杭州文化商城的批发部一个月后，三联书店杭大路门市，也落下了卷闸门。三联书店的危机始于6月，我那时在新疆参加全国书市，听到了杭州发来的消息：三联书店有麻烦了。据说，事起翻印非法出版物。此后有关三联书店的传言很多，8月份，我在上海书市，遇见几家北京的出版社市场部负责人，他们在书市结束后就直奔杭州，运走了各自在三联书店架子上的书——据称，这是为了降低风险，免得一朝三联关门，结不到书款。过去的两三个月中，三联基本上没进新书，销售渐淡。有关书店即将关门的消息，也在业界盛传。不过三联选择在上周'自行了断'，退货关门，还是令人始料不及。此前，还在猜测三联也许能渡过难关，继续开下去，毕竟这是杭州图书的一大品牌。……我去三联书店的那天，他们正在处理最后的几件退货，书店空空如也，一片萧瑟——仿佛秋天先来了。所有员工都脸色凝重，呆呆地或站或坐，好像不敢相信眼下的事实。据称，作为公司的杭州三联书店将在近期注销，'三联书店'的品牌由北京三联书店收回——杭州从此无三联了。三联书店原址，有可能变成杭州文史书店——原来在文三路的文史书店，刚刚拆迁，正在到处寻找店面。”
江先生9月6日从网上发来一份《稽查快报》（杭州市文化市场行政执法总队办公室编）其中一段这样写道：”三是以查处大要案件为突破点整治出版物市场。6 月21日至23日，总队积极配合市公安局经济文化保卫支队，联合查处了杭州生活?读书?新知三联书店违法经营政治性非法出版物案件，共收缴《晚年周恩来》（高文谦）、《党史笔记》（何方）、《邓力群自述：十二个春秋》（邓力群）、《毛泽东私人医生回忆录》（李志绥）等非法政治性书刊4种426本。目前总队与公安机关已就此案成立专案组展开全面调查，追踪来源，全力追缴已流向社会的部分政治性非法出版物。”江先生说：”最后一段很有意思：'下一阶段，我们将继续保持高压态势，围绕网吧、出版物、娱乐场所等重点积极开展各项整治工作，加大对违法经营活动的查处力度，在实践中进一步探讨和尝试创新监管方式，为解决文化市场存在问题做出应有的贡献。'”


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China: the elephant in the newsroom · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The imagethief discusses about the quality of China's English language media, which, in his opinion is related to the elephant in the room studiously overlooked in the article above.