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“Mort Pour Rien” – Dead for Nothing in Paris · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bouna et Zaid
Members of Paris’s  African community have been rioting in the streets of Paris for the past 9 days. The riots were triggered by the death of two youths of African descent,  Bouna Traore, aged 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois as they ran from the police.   A third youth who escaped death, said they panicked and ran because they found themselves near  the scene of a break-in  incident where police began to arrive.  The police deny any involvement in the boys’ death.  It should be noted that these young people are not immigrants. Their grandparents and possibly their parents are but they are born in France and are French citizens.  Constantly referring to them as "immigrants" is a problem in itself and reinforces their exclusion from mainstream French society.
The boys did not have criminal records, nor were they known to the police, so why did they run? The explanation given in Indymedia Paris by Laurent Levy is very plausible given the appalling racist record of the French police.  They knew what would happen to them if they were stopped for an ID check.  They would risk being detained and spending several hours being humiliated at the police station – you do not have to have much of an imagination to know the kind of taunts the boys would be subjected to.  It was late and they wanted to get home where they were expected by their families.  Levy also asks why the Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy had to say that this drama took place after a burglary attempt implying the boys were invovled or boys "like them": i.e. Africans and Arabs.
Following the death of the boys on Thursday there were two days of riots.  On the Saturday community members in an attempt to calm the situation organised a silent march in memory of the teenagers.    In the evening, some 150 young Africans met with the Mayor to discuss the events.   The mayor talked about the cost of the damage but did not make any reference to the heavy handed policing.  The youths became very angry at the police, the repression, the abusive language directed at their mothers, calling them sluts.  The police began to arrive with flashballs (for shooting rubber bullets) and riot gear provoking the crowds.  They then told the brother of one of the dead youths to go home. He took three steps towards  the police who then began to fire tear gas at the crowd.  The following day, about 8.30pm on Sunday evening there was another incident which took place around the local Mosque. By this time according to Netlex things had calmed down but it seems the police presence was heavy in the area.  It is not clear what exactly happened but the police released tear gas grenades one of which landed in the local Mosque during prayers which was full of families.  A panic followed as the building filled with smoke and people were crying and coughing and running. It is this incident that triggered the riots again and they have continued ever since spreading into a worsening situation and spreading to other French cities.
Tarik parle : «J'aimerais rappeler les faits, dit-il d'une voix posée.
Il y a eu énormément de comportements agressifs, d'insultes, vis-à-vis
des gens qui habitent ce quartier. Dimanche, il y avait des policiers
qui étaient là pour taper du bougnoule, il faut bien le dire. Il y a eu
des femmes insultées en sortant d'ici. Les policiers en sont venus à
tirer une grenade dans la mosquée. Et la violence est repartie.» Il conclut : «On
est dans un Etat, mais on ne sait pas si c'est un Etat de droit. Je
demande aussi un message du gouvernement pour nous rassurer.
Rassurez-nous. (Liberation)
Tarik said"I would like to remind you of the facts. There was a lot of aggressive behaviour and insults towards the people who live in this quarter.   On Sunday there were police here who came for a fight.  There were women who were insulted as they were leaving the mosque.  The police came to throw a grenade in the Mosque and the violence started again.  We are in a state (government) but I don't know if it is a state of rights.  I am also asking the government to reassure us.
The riots are reminiscent of the inner city riots in England during the mid-1980s when racial tensions came to ahead and Black people in a number of inner cities took to the streets in running battles with police following arrests of Black youths.  The reasons then are the same as the ones facing North and West Africans in France today; inferior education, lack of job opportunities, appalling housing conditions in run down estates (three arson related fires have taken place this year in properties lived in by West Africans) exclusion from the political process with no representation in government or in the police force; institutionalised racism, racist police who systematically harass young West and North African males; the criminalisation of wearing headscarves.
Senegalese blogger, SEMEtt ou l'étincelle noire  explains how  minorities feel in today's France (translated).
France has to get a grip of itself. It is becoming less and less a prized destination because of the increasing racism and the incongruous nationalisms and xenophobia.  The bad treatment of Africans and minorities in general such as the fires in the buildings and expulsions from our point of view constitute violations of our human rights. This makes us look at the coup d'etat of the French National Front at the last elections as the symptom of the social explosion that is lying in wait for France.
In other words the two issues,  first the abuse of people and secondly the popularity of Le Pen's Front National, when the two are put together you get what is happening in Paris and other French cities today – explosions of people.
The response of the Government has been to encourage the police's heavy handed methods of control including the use of arms.  A video recording shown on Afrik.com shows  what appears to be plain clothes policeman shooting  at civilians on the streets of Paris.   Their intransigent refusal to acknowledge the economic and social deprivation that ethnic minority communities face is further proof of France's failing race relations.  Nicolas Sarkozy ( minister of the interior) has further inflamed the situation by describing the youths as  "racaille" – scum.
"vous
en avez, assez, hein! Vous en avez assez de cette bande de racaille. On
va vous en debarrasser"  (You have had enough eh! You have had enough
of these gangs of scum.  We are going to get rid of them for you.)
Netlex Blogs
adds that by borrowing the language of the extreme right to stigmatise
"the Scum"  "le ministre ne joue-t-il pas les pompiers pyromanes?" – literally – "isn't the Minister playing at being an arsonist firefighter?"
One interesting factor emerging in the blogosphere and mainstream media is that references are now being made to "terrorists" "Islamists" and "fundamentalists".  LittleGreenFootballs, makes reference to a report in an English speaking French paper, Expatica, that claims an "Algerian" group has called France "Enemy no.1".
"The only way to teach France to behave is jihad and the Islamic martyr," the group's leader Abu Mossab Abdelwadoud, also own as Abdelmalek Dourkdal, was quoted as saying in an Internet message earlier this month.
The report goes on to say that nine people arrested by the French police on Monday were supposedly part of this group – the GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat).
Another blog, AndrewSullivan.com, has a report from the New York Post  which concludes that
This is still a religious war: of fundamentalism versus secularism. And Chirac is discovering that no amount of appeasement can stave it off.
Palemtto Pundit continues with the references to "terrorists and islam".  This kind of language is inflammatory and  distracts from the root cause of the disaffection and marginalisation of ethnic communities in France.
One has to ask who benefits from spreading this kind of information when the reality is that the Muslim community leaders have themselves tried to calm the situation.
The Maghreb blogosphere (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria) except for The Moor Next Door is surprisingly quiet on the Paris riots? Why?
There will people out there who will say – nothing justifies the rioting and vandalisation that is taking place.  Of course one could say that but I do not think it is particularly helpful or constructive as the rioting is happening and there are reasons why it is happening.  What is taking place in France today has been brewing for the past 30 years. People and especially young people who are constantly and incessantly faced with racism and marginalistion in their daily lives whether on the streets of the  US,  Europe, Palestine,  apartheid South Africa, or Bolivia will eventually take to the streets. The riots are the outcome of a culmination of experiences and incidents over a period of time, they are not simply happening in a vacuum of nothingness.  France will have to face the reality of this otherwise it and Europe will sink into further violence as communities become even more polarised.
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Egypt: Cartoons Causes Egypt-Denmark Crisis · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ritzy says, Egypt is closing its dialogue with Denmark on Human Rights and discrimination because of a dispute over cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohamed that was published by a newspaper last month. The diplomatic snub comes after the Danish prime minister refused to meet Egypt’s ambassador, along with ten other ambassadors from Muslim states.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Egypt: Coptic TV · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Sandmonkey reports that Egypt's Christian Coptic minority is to launch its own satellite television this month, but even some Copts fear the church's patronage of the channel will fan sectarian strife.


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Egypt: Government Denies the Play · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Samer Atallah wonders, until when will the government continue to hurt everyone by lying? He says, the government continues to treat Egyptians as stupid, brainless, and ignorant individuals who will believe everything that is told to them.  The General Prosecutor was quoted claiming that the church did not produce a play in the first place and that there were no CD that contained such a play. Here is a link to the play.


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From the Jordanian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Roba Al Assi

Jordanian Bedouin posing in one of Jordan's vast deserts by Laith Majali
With the occasion of Eid, a holiday celebrated bi-annually by over a billion Muslims, the Jordanian Blogosphere wishes everyone a happy and blessed Eid. Don't miss out pictures of Ma'mool, the holiday dessert, and a  special Eid podcast by Ahmad Humeid.
Freedom of speech isn't having a very good week. Sabbah reports that the draft of Press and Publications Law is problematical and needs to be significantly reworked if the Kingdom is to deliver its stated goals of modernisation and democratisation. This event coincides with the detaining of Egyptian blogger Abdolkarim Nabil Seliman, and the sentencing of Libyan Abd al-Raziq al-Mansuri, an Internet journalist, to one-and-a-half years in prison after he published articles critical of the government.
On a more local front, Shaden of Sugar Cubes writes about the environmentalists protest against the pollution of Wadi Himara while Firas of IHeartAmman wonders “Why don't we have Greenpeace in Jordan?” Natasha Tynes of Mental Mayhem claims that she found the recent reports on drug-use by Jordanians disturbing, and Naseem Tarawneh of The Black Iris speculates, “Why is it that pessimism must surround everything in Jordan?“
Lina Ejeilat meanwhile poses a question to all- “Have we lost the ability to laugh at ourselves?”, and also has pictures of her explorations of the South of Jordan.

author: Roba Al Assi


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Mongolia: Religion in Mongolia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Shards of Mongolia discusses religion and religious change in Mongolia.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Participative news blogs, a new Chilean voice · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Chile’s first participative news blog, “El Morrocotudo”, was born last week in the northern city of Arica. The newly launched blog has already attracted 200 registrations from all over Chile.  The focus of interest spreads from local concerns in Arica to national Chilean and international issues.
The project has been promoted by students of Senator Fernando Flores, who has been actively promoting blogging as part of his lectures at Tarapacá University. Some of these students are also part of this university’s innovative Entrepreneur Center, created in 2001.
Over the last 15 years since the restrictive period of military government (1973-1990), journalists have been able to develop their profession in increasingly autonomous ways. Changing journalism practices however move within an ambiguous terrain. Mauricio Hoffman, a well-known television news presenter, recently had to close his blog after a misunderstanding regarding his personal analysis of media, which in turn triggered a public controversy about blogs and identity.
On the other hand, almost the 90% of the newspaper market is owned by just two large enterprises: Copesa (publishers of “La tercera”, “La Hora”, “La Cuarta”, “Siete mas siete”) and El Mercurio (with “El Mercurio”, “Las Ultimas Noticias” and “La Segunda”). This situation was enough motivation for a group of active journalists to launch a blog to discuss subjects that the existing media would not publish.
At present, of the press market, El Mercurio, has its only one RSS system in its editorial content - for the youth-oriented magazine, “Zona de Contacto”. From Copesa, there are blogs for the sports section of “La Tercera” and the top selling newspaper “La Cuarta”, however neither critical issues.
Another news blog, “Lanalhue Noticias”, produced by interested local people appeared recently in Cañete, a very small city over 2,000 miles to the south of Arica; however unlike “El Morrocotudo”, the public can only comment upon articles, not submit them.
The new Chilean grass-roots blogs “El Morrocotudo” and “Lanalhue Noticias” have been launched to offer news in different participative ways and to provide other alternatives that allow ordinary people to participate in the debates of national issues.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Russia: Revolution Still Viewed Positively · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Guillory reports that the 1917 revolution is still viewed positively in Russia.


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This week in Israel: Remembering Yitzhak Rabin · Global Voices
Lisa N. Goldman

On November 4, 1995, following a peace rally that is estimated to have attracted nearly 500,000 people to Tel Aviv’s central square, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. Rabin’s violent death is commonly regarded by the vast majority of Israelis as one of the most tragic and momentous events in their country’s history; every Israeli remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing that night. This week, is the 10th anniversary of what Israelis call “retzakh Rabin” – Rabin’s murder.
The commemorations began yesterday with the first of a series of ceremonies that will culminate on Saturday, November 14, when the Hebrew calendar date of the anniversary falls.  The memorial rally will be held next Saturday night in Tel Aviv, in the place that is now called Rabin Square. Bill Clinton, who touched the hearts of so many when he bade farewell to Rabin in Hebrew with the words “shalom haver” (goodbye, friend), is scheduled to be among the speakers.
Israel’s three daily newspapers devoted most of their weekend editions, which are published on Fridays, to articles that commemorate Rabin and examine his legacy. Haaretz newspaper issued its Friday edition with a black border to indicate mourning, and included a supplement devoted exclusively to the 10th anniversary.
And several Israeli bloggers have written about their memories and feelings.
Shai has written a series of posts that include a vivid description of how he heard the news, what he saw on the streets of Jerusalem and a sober analysis of how the event affected Israeli society and politics. In the first post of the series, he writes:
Rabin’s murder was the first in a long chain of horrible events that destroyed a lot of our assumptions about how things are. It destroyed the idea that, no matter what, the internal political debate in this country would remain in the realm of the political and not veer towards the realm of violence.
The rest of the series is here, here and here.
Shai and I were also invited to participate in a discussion of Rabin’s legacy hosted by the BBC World Service’s programme World Have Your Say. You can listen to the audio link here.  (You can hear us about 15 minutes into the programme).
Other bloggers who wrote about Rabin are He of Something Something and poet and Tel Aviv University professor of literature Karen Alkalay-Gut, who included a poem she wrote (November 3 entry) about Rabin. I also posted about my memories here.
But not everyone in the Israeli blogosphere is writing about Rabin this week, and I wouldn’t want readers to have the impression that we are all walking around in a state of mourning. We remember, yes, but we also live our lives. So here is what some other bloggers have been writing about.
Stephanie Freid of Stefanella’s Drive Thru wrote a hilarious post about  English mis-spellings and mis-translations on menus in Israeli restaurants. Steak Intreecote, anybody?
Brian Blum of This Normal Life wrote a touching post about the bat mitzvah, or coming of age ceremony, of his daughter Merav in Jerusalem. It is customary for the young person to give a speech, and Merav chose to speak about how one should read the stories of the Bible. Should we take it as literally true that God created the world in six days? If we do not take this literally, then why are these stories important?
John, a non-Jew from North Carolina who lives with his Israeli partner (and clerk to Israeli supreme court president Aharon Barak) Yaacov in Jerusalem, writes about the issue of privacy versus security in a very security-conscious society.  How would you feel if a police officer called you at home to ask if that was your car parked in front of the President of Israel's residence? John couldn't decide if he was thrilled about carrying on the whole conversation in Hebrew (he's only lived in Israel for one year) or disturbed that the government could track him down so easily.
And Chayyeisarah, a modern Orthodox journalist who moved from New York to Jerusalem two years ago, provides a lighthearted list of what she learned  after her breakup with her first Israeli boyfriend.

author: Lisa N. Goldman


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Images from Palestine: Cameraman · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Cameraman” by Dave Berger

author: Paul Frankenstein


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Iran: Woman Banned in Virtula World · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian Feminist Tribune was filtered too. “We, the women, are forbidden products in real world of society, now we are banned in virtula world too.” (Persian)

author: Fred Petrossian


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Africa: Black women working alone · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

What an African Woman Thinks discusses how it feels to be the only Black woman working in a large global Faith Based Organisation “This has been my reality all my working life: I don't know any different, so I just do what I have to do.”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Africa: Tradition v modernization · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Chippla's Weblog discusses an article “Between African Culture and Modernization”  which “reminisces a lot about the good old days when most societies in Africa lived by societal norms and mores (or African culture if you prefer) before the advent of the European colonisers which changed all that forever.”


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Argentina: Summit of the Americas Rioting · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Nadine Farid offers an up-close description of the rioting at the Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata.

author: David Sasaki


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Bangladesh: The future of SAARC · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rezwan wonders if the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is becoming less important.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: The hijab · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Razib Rashedin on the origins of the Hijab (veiling and seclusion of women) and it's place in Islam.


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Best Blog of Costa Rica · Global Voices
Roy Rojas

Este artículo también está disponible en español
The Bloggos group has chosen five of the best Costa Rican weblogs and the voting has already begun.
The five finalists are:
Caos entre ángeles y demonios
fusildechispas
betobeto.com
korova-milk-bar
Medea Material
Best of luck to all the finalists. You can vote here.

author: Roy Rojas


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Brazil: Bush-Lula Joint Statement · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Beautiful Horizons calls the Bush-Lula joint statement a “study in hypocrisy. Boz says the U.S. must follow through on promises to cut farm subsidies. Comings Communique wishes Brazilian protesters against Bush would get better translators.


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Brazil: Lula and Cuba · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Luís Afonso Assumpção goes through the speculation that the Cuban government helped finance Lula's presidential campaign. Comings Communique posts an audio file describing, among other things, Brazilian red tape.


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China, Japan, Korea, India: Pan-Asian Sidenotes on Old Travelogues · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Preetam Rai at betterdays took photos of the wry commentary penciled in the margins of an old travelogue written in the 1930s by an American traveler who visited China, Japan and Korea.  Rai had bought the book in Bangalore bookshop.  He observes: “The commentator was surely a proud pan-asianist. Pan-Asianism was encouraged by the Japanese. They urged all Asian countries to band together and beat their colonial masters. Pan Asianism found strong support in India.”

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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China: Why So Friendly? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Talk Talk China‘s post wondering why his Chinese hosts continue to offer him food even after he's sated has touched off lengthy discussions on hospitality, insincerity and cross-cultural misunderstandings.


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Cote  d’Ivoire: French peacekeepers · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Head Heeb reports on the latest developments in the conflict in ‘Cote d'Ivoire.  French peacekeeping troops are once again responsible for the death of an Ivoirian – this time a local gang leader – who was suffocated to death by an amored vehicle.  However Heeb points out that this time “the French government seems to be doing the right thing with respect to this killing; the soldiers involved are facing charges, and their commanders have been suspended pending investigation. At the same time, it is further proof that the French presence in Cote d'Ivoire is turning into a case study in how long-term peacekeeping can turn into counterinsurgency” .


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Court Orders Philippine Blog to Remove Post · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The blog of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, or PCIJ, has made history — of sorts. Last week, the PCIJ was served with a court order to remove this Aug. 12, 2005 post related to an ongoing political scandal.  The scandal revolves around taped wiretaps allegedly of Philippine Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordering an election official to rig her election.  The President admitted the voice on the tape was hers, but her government claimed that the recordings had been doctored.  Opposition politicians seized on the ensuing controversy to lead an aborted attempt at her impeachment.
The PCIJ post revealed information from a police dossier on the background of Jonathan Tiangco, an audio expert presented to dispute the authenticity of the recordings.  The post described several criminal cases against Tiangco and mentioned that Tiangco had two wives.  In October, Tiangco's spouse requested a temporary restraining order against PCIJ, which a lower court granted after the Philippine Supreme Court turned down her petition. The order enjoined PCIJ for 20 days from “broadcasting, publishing or posting or causing to broadcast, publish, or post articles and statements similar and related to, or connected and in conjunction with” that blog post. In its post announcing the gag order and the removal of the post, PCIJ directed its readers to look to Google if they wanted to know the deleted post's contents.
The action spurred much commentary across the Philippine blogosphere, particularly among its most active participants: journalist-bloggers and lawyer-bloggers.  Media blogger Jove Francisco fretted that the court action could frustrate efforts by both the local mainstream media and bloggers to police themselves, while columnist-blogger Dean Jorge Bocobo calculated that the Tiangco action will end up where most libel suits in the Philippines go: dead in the water.  Law professor-blogger Edwin Laceirda launched an email-writing campaign. Journalist-blogger Manuel L. Quezon III called for full support of PCIJ.  Sassy Lawyer isn't so sure, pointing out that the PCIJ backgrounder on Tiangco didn't have to mention his marital arrangements:
[I]f you must write to the Supreme Court regarding this issue, then write you must. We all want to see the right to freedom of expression upheld. But neither should we triviliaze Rona Tiongco’s right to privacy. If we do that, we triviliaze our own right to privacy.
Other bloggers wondered about the reach of the order.  Technology blogger yuga asked: “What if every other Filipino blogger re-posts the entry in their respective blogs?” Some already have. Another intriguing and potentially far-reaching question: In directing blog readers to a Google cache, did PCIJ violate its obligation to refrain from “causing to broadcast, publish, or post articles and statements similar and related to, or connected and in conjunction with” the post? Law professor J.J. Disini thinks there is an argument that it did.


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Ethiopia: Meles · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopundit provides an analysis of the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia 14 years after liberation “MELES THE SUPERMAN SWALLOWS GOLD AND SPOUTS JUNK“


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Ethiopia,Eritrea border crisis · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Friends of Ethiopia looks at the border crisis between Ethiopia and it's neighbour Eritrea and notes that the crisis conicided with the continued political violence in Addis and Adaba.


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Guatemala: Drug-Running and Cuban Doctors · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Rob Mercatante discusses Guatemala's place in Western Hemisphere drug smuggling while Chapinadas is thankful for the aid of 600 Cuban doctors [ES] currently in Guatemala to help hurricane Stan victims.


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India: Volunteering at NGOs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Bangalore based collablog Everman's City has information on how fellow-bloggers could contribute to an ongoing Education initiative in the state. It's incredible when blogs use their ability to communicate for such causes – especially as it goes far beyond disaster relief blogging, and is focused on development blogging.


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Iran: Open Letter to President · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kaskol Haji who presents himself as a faithful person to Islamic Republic wrote an open letter to Ahmadinejad. Haji mentioned raising prices of some products by goverment has disappointed many who voted Ahmadinejad. (Persian)


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Iran: Woman Working Hours · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to director of Center for Women & Family, Women's work hour will be reduced. Then they can spend more time in their families. Sooratak say that women will be more at their husbands’ service. (Persian)


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Kenya: Civil Rights  · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Afromusings is struck by  “the fact that the anti colonial movement, a part of Kenyan history inspired liberalism and the civil rights movement in America (60’s and 70’s)” but is disappointed that “that special thing (for lack of a better word) that inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and the feminists is gone” in todays Kenya and US.


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Malaysia: Looking for Electric Cars · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Stuck in Eid traffic, asean auto bemoans the absence of hybrid cars in the Malaysian market.


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Myanmar: Moving Capital · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

In a surprise move, Myanmar's government announced that it was relocating the country's administrative bodies from Yangon (Rangoon) to a new, administrative capital 320 km to the north in the town of Pyinmana.  Mizzima.com considers the various explanations, from severing the government from foreign embassies to entrenching the military-led government in a remote, fortified location.  Writes Burma Watch.com “This is a prime example of one of those mysterious events which can only come from a brutal regime. No one is really sure of the logic behind the move but one knows it can not be good.”


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Nigeria: MTV award · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Nigerian blogger, Grandiose Parlour celebrates Nigerian musician, Tu Face who recently won MTVs “Best African Artists of the Year” award.


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Pakistan: Khunjerab Pass · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Light Within on the beautiful Khunjerab Pass, its history and times.


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Palestine: Gaza Eid Joy · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Even though Eid really isn't that much different from every other day it still gives an long needed opportunity for joy, Imaan says.


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Palestine: Open Bethlehem · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Bethlehem Bloggers wonders, Bethlehem, a place of Christian pilgrimage for centuries, will soon be encircled by Israel's security barrier. Is the town to become no more than a museum among ancient shrines?


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Saudi Arabia:  An Eid trip to the homeland · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Descriping here hometwon during her Eid vists, Farah says, “I cannot begin to describe the comfort I'm instantly overcome with as soon as I set foot in to this land. It is a land where simplicity prevails, where maintaining a kind heart and an affectionate, caring and God fearing soul is the underlying constitution, and where mud homes stand tall and persist to look modernism in the eye.
As shameless as this may sound,(it is my hometown after all,) it is a land where men can still be described as gallant, chivalrous, and courteous, and where getting the female tingles all over as a result of these fine young men's ongoing fine deeds is the norm.”


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South Korea: Traitor or Hero? · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

American and Korean bloggers writing about South Korea are incensed about the hero's welcome given in Seoul to Robert Kim, a Korean-American arrested in 1996 for passing classified information to the Korean government.


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Sri Lanka: The third candidate · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Tamiliana  on Elections 2005, and how in every round of elections, other than the two big candidates there's also -
These candidates fighting a lost battle provide spice, , sizzle, sparkle and colour to the campaign. They prevent monotony and add variety to what may have been drearily dull otherwise.


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Sri Lanka: Thinking economics · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The turf war for Elections 2005 and an analysis of the economic promises and agenda of the candidates  at Mahoshada.


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Steppin’ into the Turkish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

After a 15 day hiatus, the Turkish blog review is back.
I found some information on Turkish Podcasting!  The website Kevin and Fatma take on the World! are in the planning stages of weekly podcasts.  At the moment they only have a few test podcast shows, but it is a worthwhile project to continue to check the status of.  Alacakaranlik Istanbul is another site that is also trying to begin the Turkish podcast venture.  They currently only have a few test shows.  But by far the coolest podcast discovery of the week for me is from the site  Devletsah.com which has an entire archive of podcasts giving recipe instructions (in Turkish).  And our list today would not be complete without Undomondo a wonderful Mp3 blog, that focuses on new and upcoming Indie music in Turkey and throughout the rest of the world.
Mert Ulas has been dabbling with videoblogging.  Mert gives us a tutorial on videoblogging and the oppurtunity to listen and watch part of a lovely little diddy called  “thinking about my doorbell”.
Moving on to our normal fare…. Turkey has been graced with two holidays the past two weeks: Turkish Republic Day and the end of Ramadan  Eid al-Fitr, which the Turks call Seker Bayrami or Sugar Festival. Here are some Turkish Republic Day greetings from Metroblogging Istanbul, and Happy Bayram wishes from American Turk.  Phanja from The Need to Know describes the similarities between Seker Bayrami and the Halloween.I am happy to report that Turkish Torque is posting again.  They have an interesting post on an upcoming  Janissary scuplture exhibit in Paris.  Ever posting on the history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire, Mavi Boncuk has a profile of architect Alexandre Vallaury and biography of Claude Alexandre Comte de Bonneval who converted to Islam in the 17th Century and became a Humbaraci.   Metroblogging Istanbul has a post about a  turkish soldier caught in terrorist violence in Eastern Turkey who calls home shortly before he died from enemy fire and a post about the  arrest of Human Rights activist Eren Keskin.  A newly found blog entitled Erkan's Field Diary details various aspects of the Turkey/European Union situation, the website is a format for Erkan to post things that pertain to his thesis.  His latest post is about European Stability Initiative.  Murat from American Turk has a frightening post about Sleep paralysis.
For the interesting finds section for this week:
1. Farketing a design weblog.
2. Topkapi Palace which deals with issues of Orientalism.
3. Aegean Disclosure which describes itself as ” a turkish blog which would prefer to write about film, but other things endlessly get in the way, so one is simply content to keep the ocean floor visible.”

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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This Week in Palestinian Blogs: More Violations of Human Rights and a Little Bit of Art · Global Voices
Shaden Abdulrahman

While most news wire took the comments of the Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad on Israel out of context, in peacepalestine, an article from Tehran Times explains the context in which his speech occurred. It turned out that the Iranian president did not mean a phsycial annihilation of Israel, but rather a non-violent confrontation of the Zionist movement and schools. On the same matter, Sabbah sadly asks: did anyone react when Israeli leaders shamelessly demanded Palestine to be wiped off the map?
Israel's aids to Pakistan after the earth quake are dependent on Pakistan's recognition of Israel. peacepalestine reports that a 200-memeber delegation of Pakistan are to visit Israel as ordered by Western Europe and the US if they want to receive loans.
Italy threatens in the same “Support Israel or else” way those who do not take part in a demonstration infront of the Iranian embassy by considering them not only enemies of Israel but also enemies of every Italian Jewish as stated by the leader of the Roman Jewish Community.
Haitham Sabbah has finally found the famous Ariel Sharon interview by Amos Oz dated 1982. Other outrageous things said by Israeli leaders about Palestinians and Arabs can be read here
peacepalestine writes about an index that measured freedom of press in all countries of the world in which North Korea ranked 167th. While surprisingly the Palestinian Authority (PA) ranked as the 82nd and was considered friendier towards press than Israel who ranked as the 92nd. The index was made by Reporters Without Borders.  following up the Italian pro-Israel agenda, peacepalestine wrote about a press statement by Forum Palestina in which a decision was made to dedicate a week of action that is about the rights of the Palestinian people from 12 to 19 November in Rome/Italy. The peacefull democratic acitivties of the coming week will put out the flames of war and lies lit in Rome by the pro-Israel demonstration.
Israeli air raids continued on Gaza Strip and a child was shot dead in the heart and head by Israel occupation forces for holding a toy gun. Ahmad Khateeb was shot while walking down a street in Jenin Refugee Camp in a visit to some relatives. Ahmad‘s family response to the hosiptal's request of donating their dead child's organs to other Israeli patients might come as a surprise to some of you considering the state of emotions they are still going through. It should be mentioned (for the sake of comparison) that Israel deprives patients and urgent cases in Gaza Strip of having medical treatment abroad.
Meanwhile, Imaan from Living in Gaza city nicely describes her Eid days, she says she hasn't seen people as happy and joyful since the time she arrived Gaza.
Talking about Eid in Palestine, Israel occupation forces wished the Palestinians a happy Eid on its own way by sending voice messages to their mobile phones early in the morning. “thousands of Palestinian customers with the local Mobile Communication Network- Jawaal, received a voice message sent from some private number”. The message said:
“This is the IDF, we wish you happy Eid. We work continuously to protect you. You must shun the terrorists from your society. We warn you from attempting to threaten or harm our security. You must cooperate with us to help us provide you with better life standards and safety. Once again, refrain from assisting or accommodating terrorists in your homes”
On air strikes umkahlil writes about an appeal to individuals and professional organizations to join a protest against the Israeli air forces policy of illegaly flying over the occupied Gaza Strip. Inhibitants of the strip risk sever mental health problems caused by supersonic booms, especially children. Supersonic booms are contradiction to Geneva Convention & International Convention for Rights of Children.
In Bethlehem Bloggers, a report via Guardian says Bethlehem will be soon encircled by Israel's security barrier. Church of the Nativity lies in the heart of Bethlehem marks one of the most sacred sites-the birthplace of Christ.
Inside the Church of Nativity, by Sugar Cubes
Israel's assassination policy continues as two of Gaza masterminds were assassinated in a missile attack.  The two victims were Hasan Al-Madhoun, aged 32, the leader of the Al-Aqssa Martyrs Brigades, a breakaway group of Fatah. And the other victim was identified as Fawzy Abu Al-Kar; aged 37, one of the most wanted leaders of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement.
From Sumoud, 13 AMB activists detained in PA jails go on hunger strike in a protest against an unjustified detention while their families urged an immediate release. The detainees were accused of planning and involvement in anti-occupation targets, the latest of which a raid that left 3 settlers killed and 30 others injured.
Eye witnesses from the International Solidarity Movement  say on the 29th of October, they were called to the streets by local Palestinians of the village of Bil’in. A force of three jeeps full of Israeli soldiers armed with M-16s were conducting night raids to arrest villagers in Bili’n. we were witness to two of the arrests, one of which was a young boy of 14. The other was a young man of about 18. There was one further arresst that we did not directly witness. Most of the 19 people arrested in the past 2 weeks have been young men below the age of 19. They further said that a Palestinian man was taken and used as a human shield. ISM team filmed everything.
This week, a Travel Exibition by ‘Made in Palestine’ is being held in Vermont between 18th of Oct and 20th of Nov:
Made in Palestine is a collection of contemporary art made by 23 Palestinian artists and refugees who live in the occupied territories and in the Diaspora. According to curators at the Station Museum, it is “the first exhibit of contemporary Palestinian art ever displayed in the United States.” The exhibit includes works in many media, including oils, paper, video, sculpture, textile art, ceramics, and photography.
Source
Made in Palestine current Traveling Exibition is taking place since the 18th of Oct and will continue until the 20th of this month Nov in Montpelier, VT, USA. Other tentative locations: New York City and Mexico.
Read more about this event.

author: Shaden Abdulrahman


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This week in the African women’s blogsphere · Global Voices
Nish Matenjwa

Feeling like ‘…woman standing at the edge of belonging, watching as male speaks to male, white speaks to white’, Keeper of her thoughts describes how it feels to work in a faith-based donor organisation largely led by white men.
In response to the recent violence in Kisumu, prousette takes issue with the current leaders in this part of Kenya who have failed in developing an area that has ’some of the best brains in the country’.
November 10 will be the 10th anniversary of the extra-judicial execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian author, author, television producer and environmental activist who was campaigning for the rights of the Niger Delta people. Black Looks writes about a report published by Amnesty International that states the cause Saro-Wiwa died for remains as relevant as ever.
Bronwyn also writes about the report and says, ‘As long as the oil keeps pumping, to hell with human rights and the environment.’
Mymmoh writes about the indignities faced by African students in the US when asked questions such as whether ‘you learnt English on the plane’ or when statements are made such as ‘you speak good English’ and wonders who is worse – the people who ask such questions or the ones who assume they know and thus make ignorant statements.
In an overhead conversation, Nyakehu hears two men maliciously and viciously gossip about a woman and thinks the vitriol is just a case of sour grapes.
Wangari illustrates the complications in finding a place to live in London. ’Not only had I lost money, I had nowhere to live and I had to vacate my flat in a week’, she writes, while describing last week’s events when she thought she had been conned by a landlord.
Finally, in a week where one has been greatly troubled by the continuing  rioting in France, Black Looks writes an eye-opening and excellent account of the riots and related issues and says
“People and especially young people who are constantly and incessantly faced with racism and marginalistion in their daily lives whether on the streets of the  US,  Europe, Palestine,  apartheid South Africa, or Bolivia will eventually take to the streets. The riots are the outcome of a culmination of experiences and incidents over a period of time, they are not simply happening in a vacuum of nothingness.  France will have to face the reality of this otherwise it and Europe will sink into further violence as communities become even more polarised”.

author: Nish Matenjwa


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Tunisia: Blogs Ban Left · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Neila Charchour Hachicha says that here blog, the PLM's website and a number of dissident sites and blogs are accessible again in Tunisia. She hopes these are not just ponctual measures taken only before the WSIS in order to give a better image of the Tunisian regime.


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Turkey: Depressed Turkish Women · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ugur says, according to a survey conducted by Turkish Ministry of Health at 12,000 households, 19% of Turkish women are “slightly,” 24% “medium level,” 13% “a lot” and 8% “extremely” depressed.


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Turkey: Zaman · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Erkan says, Zaman is the first online Turkish newspaper and as far as I know it is only paper that is completely translated from Turkish to English. It is again the first newspaper that had an op-ed page.


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Uganda Democracy · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Tanzanian/Ugandan  blog  East African_Peripetatic reports that Ugandan democracy is still ” a big dream“


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Venezuela: Poet and Novelist Antonia Palacios · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guillermo Juan Parra introduces Venezuelan poet and novelist, Antonia Palacios and posts the first of eight translated poems.


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Yemen: First Blog? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Thanks to Stacey, I've finally found the FIRST Yemenis blog. Mustapha Ahmed No'man, is the Yemen Ambassador in India, just started his blog. All the best!


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Zimbabwe: civil society demonstrations · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Zimbabwean Pundit reports on the weekends demonstrations by a coalition of civic action groups “National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), and the heavy handed response of Mugabe's security forces. On “Saturday, police used teargas to break up protests in the five major cities by members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) civic alliance, which campaigns for a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe.”


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· Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Ethiopian News reports that 24 opposition leaders have been brought to court in Addis Ababa.  Althought they have not yet been charged they are “suspected of “trying to bring an end to the constitutional system by violence.”  Meles has blamed the main opposition group, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy for the  violence and vowed that opposition officials would be prosecuted.


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Al-Hurra! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Abu Aardvark says that Al-Hurra, the Arabic language satellite television network set up by the US administration to promote freedom and democracy in the Middle East, is to be investigated for possible irregularities.


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Argentina: Boca vs. River · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Diego describes the madness at Argentina's fiercest soccer rivalry: Boca vs. River.


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Argentina: Recycling as a Social Program · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ian of GoodAirs writes about Buenos Aires’ mostly foreign-born population of cartoneros who pick through trash on a daily basis for recyclable goods.


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Armenia: Shprot Unmasked · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At Blogrel, Harmick laments the state of Armenian pop music and the pressures that made the one innovative act just more of the same.


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Armenia: Trash TV · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Martuni or Bust!!! says that Armenian public television is inexcusable trash.


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Azerbaijan: Election News · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia and Blogrel have numerous reports on Sunday's election in Azerbaijan.


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Azerbaijan: Views on Nagorno-Karabakh · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Katy of Blogrel reports on Azeri views on the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakh that she has encountered in Baku.


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Bangladesh: Matrimony and Blogs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Tazzy is just a little bugged with Global Voices. (She's kidding!)  She seems to have a certain flood of matrimonial proposals thanks to her blog.


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Cambodia: Comics Spread · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

At webbed feet, web log, jinja assembles a collection of links about the growing hipness of Cambodian comics.


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Chinua Achebe: Oral traditions · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Black Star Journal posts on a recent comment by Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe who does not believe there is  “there would be no cause for concern if oral storytelling died out.” He said “Oral storytelling was important when I was writing – it may not be important when the next generation is writing,” he said. “Obviously I believe in the importance of stories, but whether oral, or written, or televised, I cannot lay down the law. We are fascinated by the oral tradition, and it's right that we should be fascinated. But if it's not going to work any more in the future, then rather than sit and weep and mourn, why don't we find out what has come to replace it?”


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Colombia: Are Colombians Friendlier · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jaramillo uses the scientific method to answer the question, are Colombians friendlier than anyone else.


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Egypt: Christian Egyptian exodus · Global Voices
Karim Elsahy

Nora Younes (arabic) writes on the initiation of a modern day Christian Egyptian exodus (Arabic) that Sandmonkey was nice enough to translate.

author: Karim Elsahy


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El Salvador: Metropolitan Cathedral Occupied by Protesters · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim's El Salvador Blog says that the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador has been occupied by protesters calling for the repeal of Law 103.
Update: Meg has a first hand account.


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French riots · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Senegalese blogger, SEMEtt l'etincelle noire comments the continued riots in the cities of France.   He presents us with his thoughts on TOLERANCE: “Tolerance and indiference. indiference is a condition with no pain or pleasure without worry or desire/ indiference has nothing to do with tolerance/ tolerance is acceptance of difference/ one who is indiferent has no need to practice tolerance/ Maurois? wrote ‘the worst thing about old age is not the weakening of the body but the indiference of the soul'” (in French)


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Horn of Africa: HR petition · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Inside Somaliland reports on a petition against the worsening human rights violations in Ethiopia.  The petition is being organised by a Horn of Africa coalition consisting of “Human Rights Defenders from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Somaliland, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania, united in the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network based in Kampala;


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India: BPO sector · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry has been at the receiving end of a lot of flak recently. Amit Varma puts forward a strong case for the BPO sector as something that empowers young people, and not a way of making slaves of them.


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India: The 100 USD laptop · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A guest post on Amardeep Singh's blog on the 100 USD laptop for developing countries.


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Iran: TV False News · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Hanif Mazroi writes that Iranian TV broadcasts false news. Recently Iranian TV reported that US Foreign Affairs asked for Akbar Ganji to be liberated and US thanks for all Ganji has done. Blogger says TV wants to give this image that Ganji was a spy! (Persian)


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Iraq: Fallujah Massacre and Chemical Weapons · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

LadyBird of Baghdad Dweller,  Nur al-Cubicle, thecutter of PeacePalestine and Sabbah, all write about the breaking news of the proof that the U.S. troops used Chemical Weapons in Iraq. The movie was broadcast by the Italian RAI News 24 today, and created a shock around the world about a controversy topic that was once denied by U.S. official last year.


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Japan, Korea: New History Blog · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

The people behind the Japan History Blog announce another member of the family: the Korea History Blog.


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Kyrgyzstan: Bone Games · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Golden Road to Samarqand writes on the many games played with sheep bones throughout Central Asia.


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Kyrgyzstan: Thoughts on the Revolution · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Shirin of neweurasia has thoughts on the Kyrgyz revolution.


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Malaysia: Urban v. Rural Dates · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

midnite lily's think deck compares dating boys from Kuala Lumpur with dating boys from small towns.  Her verdict: city boys are stingy, country boys are sweet.


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Nepal: Who will represent Nepal · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The King is about to represent Nepal at SAARC -
Nepal’s kings attended the SAARC summits between 1984 and 1990, but when democracy was restored in 1990, an elected government headed by a prime minister used to attend the regional meetings.


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News about Iranian Blogs: Filtering, New book and Ramadan · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Iran, government is privatising filtering! A company, “Delta Global”, gets exclusivity from Iranian government to impose filtering on virtual world. Irony of story is that American softwares are used to block Iranian sites & blogs! American companies say that Iran uses their softwares without permission or payment. Probably Iranian government thinks filtering softwares are Linux kind softwares!!
Blogger Said Hatami( link in Persian) who has given instructions and address in his blog how to escapeblogrolling filtering, says his new address gets filtered too. In Global Voices there was a writing by Rebecca MacKinnon, which talks about American companies and filtering in Iran.
A new book about Iranian blogs hit book stores: “We are Iran: Persian Blogs” written by Nasrin Alavi. Hoder, a Toronto based blogger, writes about the book:
“Now we could show the world that Ahmadinejad is not representing Iran.  We are what the new Iran is these days”.
Reza who left a comment on Hoder’s writing says:
“We are not Iran . Iran is full of those who support Ahmadinejad and voted for him”
First review about book appeared on BBC Persian site:
“There is no introduction in book and we can not understand her method…Writer gives a black & white image of Iranian blogs (blogestan) and failed to represents pluralistic image of Iranian blogs (Blogestan)”.
Alavi writes in Financial Times:
“It is still not clear if Iranian blogs are merely a place for the beleaguered to let off steam or a modern-day Gutenberg press that will usher in an age of democracy. Perhaps the greatest legacy of the republic is its children, whose voices can be heard clearly in the Iranian blogosphere”.
Ramadan ended in Iran among confusion! Most Muslims insist on the local physical sighting of the moon to mark the beginning and end of Ramadan. Great Ayatollahs announce the end of Ramadan with one day difference from each other. Hojreh ( link in Persian), an Iranian cleric, has done a research on his blog to show where origins of this confusion are.


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Nigeria: Finance minister · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

South African blog, The Hope Flower, comments on an article in the UK Guardian about Nigeria's finance minister,  Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is one of only three women finance ministers in the world.  Hope Flower finds the piece interesting as it addresses relationship with motherhood and ambition – something that only women have to consider.


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Pakistan: South Asia in Literature · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Organic Brew on literature and movies in South Asia, and the perception of South Asia in the same.


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Philippines: Starry-Eyed · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Responding to Divergent Poles‘ disappointment over the fact that showbiz-oriented blogs have knocked all save one political blog off the Pinoy Top 10 Blog list, yuga offers some explanations why  showbiz blogs rule the Filipino blogosphere.


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Poland, Hungary: Secret Prison · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu, Hungarian Accent, and the beatroot all discuss the allegations that the CIA is operating a secret prison in Eastern Europe.


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Poland: No Chains · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

the beatroot reports that Poland's new Finance Minister doesn't much like foreign supermarket chains doing business in Poland.


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Puerto Rico: West (Indies) Wing(ing It) · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Gil C. Schmidt applies West Wing, the television show, to the West Indies.


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Race in Europe · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Commenting on the trouble in France, Naijablog, observes that “what is taking place in France is only an extreme version of what you can see up and down the UK at the moment.”


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South Africa Student Movement · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Floyd's Perspectives provides some historical background to the South African student movement and examines their role in the ANC and the anti-apartheid struggle,  He also considers whether, in post apartheid SA, the movement needs to rethink its overall ideology and direction.


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Sri Lanka: Satellite Radio · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

An addressable satellite radio system for hazard warning was demonstrated to Sir Arthur C. Clarke in Colombo. The radio set can be switched on from the master control, and converted from a conventional radio to a specialized hazard alert system.


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Syria: Friends of Syria · Global Voices
Karim Elsahy

Friends of Syria, a site set up to provide a level balance appropriating both blame and virtue on those that deserve either; regardless of association invites people that want to voice their solidarity with the ordinary people of Syria to sign their support.


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Thailand: Populism and Nationalism · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Tom Vanvanij posts his opus explaining populism and nationalism in Thailand.


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Venezuela: Danilo Anderson Murder Trial · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Leftside and Venezuela News and Views both opine on the recent indictment of seven prominent Venezuelans in the murder trial of Danilo Anderson as he was investigating the 2002 coup of Hugo Chavez. Daniel of Venezuela News and Views also links to and recommends a video of Anderson's friend, Carlos Herrera


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Video blog: The Liberian Refugees of Buduburam · Global Voices
Andy Carvin

Video documentary of my July 2005 visit to the Liberian refugee camp in Buduburam, Ghana. I learn about the challenges faced by Liberians forced to flee their homeland, as well as some of the training programs available to them. I visit one of the camp's telecentres, as well as an women's literacy support group. Music used with permission of Alula Records.
Nine minutes, 50 megabytes.
Low-res version (20 megabytes):
http://www.andycarvin.com/video/refugees-low.mov
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Andy Carvin


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Voices from Zimbabwe Plus · Global Voices
Zimpundit

A coalition of opposistion civic groups, the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) held improptu demonstrations in major cities in Zimbabwe on Saturday.  This is Zimbabwe, the blog hosted by protest group Sokwanele/Zvakwana reports that 18 people were arrested by Zimbabwe's brutal police who were caught unawares by the demonstrations.
“[Saturday's] protests saw 18 people arrested by the police . They will all face charges of breaching the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). In Zimbabwe, it is illegal for people to gather in groups of three or more to discuss politics or hold public demonstrations without first seeking police permission. “
Both This is Zimbabwe and Zimpundit are anxious about the prospects  of even larger protests called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) for today.
“Tuesday, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) intends to have it's 300,000 members on the streets after what it calls a breakdown of talks with the government,”
writes Zimpundit
FirePussy notes that while there may be “no explosions” in Harare, people in some of the city's most impoverished neighborhoods have been without water for over a week now. Tragically she notes, the nation has submitted a bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 2010, a move which will obviously cost the nation billions of dollars.
“I noticed a group of women waiting for a lift at the corner of Enterprise Road and Arcturus Avenue. What caught my eye was that each of the women had a 5 litre plastic container of water by their feet. They were probably on their way out to Mabvuku/Tafara a high-density suburb otherwise known as a township, east of Harare. This high-density area hasn’t had water for the past week.
But hey, the national football association have recently put in a bid to host the 2010 Africa Cup. Never mind the fact that our decrepit infrastructure (and that includes the government) can’t supply clean drinking water to its urban residents.”
Congogirl has notes that one the nation's best established citizens is ready running for president.  Oscar Kishala, the senior director of oncology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals in Cambridge, appears ready to leave behind his life of luxury for the tremendous taks of restoring his war ravaged country.
Mike of Hacktivate points out MSMs inability to articulate a full perspective of the world's story.  He is surprised by a New York Times article that focuses on deforestration but neglects the fact that it is hunger that forces people to take logging jobs;
“Surprisingly there is not a single mention of the famine, but perhaps that is a good thing as people tune out when they hear about another “famine in Africa”. Instead it talks about how Malawi is losing its forest, and how the loggers manage to survive with their sad profession.”
He also has exciting reports about two new innovations that hold exciting prospects for the lifestyles of Africa's millions.  First, is the “hipporoller” which simplifies hauling water over long distances–a mundane reality in Africa.
Second is Amazon's Mechanical Turk which pays people for doing simple tasks that computers cannot do.
Read Ethan Zuckerman's discussion of this scheme here.

author: Zimpundit


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A Malaysian Metablog · Global Voices
Mack Zulkifli

In emulating Global Voices Online, Malaysian bloggers now have a submission based metablog called Blogs Malaysia. It's founders encourage Malaysian bloggers and blog readers to submit the URL of entries that capture their attention and share it with others. A group of editors sieve through the submissions and vote on which goes up.
They write about the project, in typical Malaysian English, here.

author: Mack Zulkifli


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Cambodia: Khmer Rouge Killers Captured, Khmer-language Software and Phnom Penhers · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

Khmer Rouge killers have been captured after three foreign tourists were murdered a decade ago. Tan and Trev wrote that “an Englishman, and Australian and a Frenchman board a train… Before political correctness took hold, some jokes might start with a set-up involving three nationalities. However in 1994, this circumstance was far from a laughing matter. This mix of three tourists, along with 13 Cambodians, were killed when ransom negotiations with the government failed. A decade later, their Khmer Rouge killer has been brought to justice.”
De-mining and victim assistance was included in Cambodia Millenium Development Goals, to be achieved in 2015. A scientific discovery,  aland-mine detecting plant, has been made by Danish scientists and will probably benefit the efforts to make the war-torn nation safe from unexploded mines. “AsiaPundit is amazed by this latest piece of bio-technology news, while not specifically Asia related, could have great applications in Cambodia and, eventually, in a unified Korea…. a plant that can detect landmines.”
An alternative to Microsoft proprietary commercial software, Free Open Source Software is making its inroad in Cambodia by efforts of the National Information Communications Technology Development Authority of Cambodia and KhmerOS project of Open Forum of Cambodia, a local non-government organization that hope to foster and facilitate communications in Cambodia. Beth Kanter, a non-profit technology consultant, believes that Open Source is a power, and imagines Cambodia as a Microsoft free zone. “The country’s free software movement is a good way to speed development and computer proliferation in the country.” Santepheap, the Cambodia Weblog, commented. Also, AsiaMedia reported that
” staving off a possible Microsoft monopoly and promoting Khmer-language computing are the driving ideas behind a Cambodian government project that promises to bring free Khmer software to Cambodian computers by next year…A copy of the government's master plan for promoting open source shows the government hopes to install a Khmer-language Linux open source operating system, which would run in place of the Microsoft Windows operating system, by next year. Government computers would then be completely free of Microsoft.”
Khmer-language software has increased the number of Khmer-language weblogs in the Cambodian blogosphere in recent months as more Cambodian computer users find it easier to communicate in their local language. Inside the Cambodian blogosphere, Cambodia webloggers have converted the name of Khmer-language weblog to Klog and Cambodian weblog to Clog.
PR, a Cambodian-American in the United States, wondered which is the right term to represent people who originally come from Phnom Penh: Phnom Penher or Phnom Penhoi? Provincial people usually call them ‘city citizen’ — Nak Krong, or Nak Phnom Penh in Khmer language. Phnom Penhoi is a French term. It sounds interesting to say New Yorker and Hong Konger, so why not Phnom Penher? This distinguishes them from provincial people, for whom electricity, and many other modern facilities are not comparable to the city. PR also posted an interview of Juliette Binoche with Rithy Panh from a post of message board. Rithy Panh, a director and film maker, talked about his work on memories and identity in a post-genocidal society marked by the ravages of post-colonialism.

author: Tharum Bun


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Cambodian Kids with Swords, Guns, and Poems · Global Voices
Beth Kanter

Last month Jinja captured this photo of these two Cambodian boys playing with toy guns in the streets of Phnom Penh.   Even though Jinja played with guns as child, he thought these scenes were a little disturbing because the guns looked so real!
A few days ago, Chlim01 is Bored blogged about a recent news item about children and young adults attacking each other with Samurai swords, injuring a 10 year-old- boy and briefly alarming people living in a provincial town.  The kids with swords were arrested by police.  All were clients in a NGO's drug program, Mith Samlanh,  and were recovering from drug addictions.   One wonders how these got their hands on Samurai swords?
Despite the newspaper headline, the organization is well-known for its work with homeless  kids in Cambodia and one of the two NGOS that dares to work with drug users in this country.  Mith Samlanh's programs have been mentioned on blogs by expats, like Sweet Cucumber and Jungle Blog.
Life as a homeless child in Cambodia is a very difficult life, as this poem by a former orphan and blogged by  Tharum indicates.  There is a ray of hope, as this struggling poet was able to improve his circumstances.

author: Beth Kanter


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China: Beijing Bestsellers · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Danwei tells us what books are bestsellers in Beijing.  At the moment, TV tie-ins are really popular.


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China, North Korea: Good Relations · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Angry Chinese Blogger discusses the friendship between North Korea and China.


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Colombia: 2006 Foreign Aid Outcome · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Adam Isacson posts an English translation or an article he wrote in the Colombian daily, El Espectador about recently approved U.S. foreign-aid bill for 2006.


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Egypt: When will the circus end? · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zeinobia is annoyed by the noise pollution created by some of the parliamentary election campaigns. Election started its first phase in Egypt today.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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El Salvador: Corruption and Donations · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Marie uses her experience in El Salvador to think about corruption's affect on donations to development groups.


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Explosions Rock Jordanian Capital, Amman · Global Voices
Roba Al Assi

Three explosions hit Jordanian capital Amman Wednesday night; one in Radisson SAS, the second in Hyatt Amman, and the third in Days Inn.
For more on the explosions occuring in Amman:
Aggregated news feeds from Jordanian blogosphere community, Jordan Planet; AP ; Flickr; MSM RSS; Technorati posts tagged with “Amman Explosions”
Up-to-date Jordanian bloggers reaction:
Random Consistent Ideas, Arab Chatter, Tololy's Box, SHIFAA, Whats up in Jordan?, I Heart Amman, mozzy's blog, 360east | Ahmad Humeid's blog and podcast, Thoughts that Echo, Into the Wind, Isam Bayazidi's Blog, jameed.net,Reega Reega Hareega, Sugar Cubes, Mental mayhem, And far Away, Sabbah's Blog, Abeer’s Blog, Chronicles Of A Utopian Writer, PALFORCE, Part of MY world, Bataranzi, Discovering life, AquaCool, Daoud Kuttab.
Update[November 10, 4:40 PM]:  Thousands of angry Jordanians rallied Thursday shouting, “Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!”
Update[November 10, 1:40 PM]: Jordan TV – There is no truth to reports that Israelis staying at the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman on Wednesday were evacuated by Jordanian security forces before the bombing that took place there.
Update[November 10, 12:06 PM]:Tourism Board Hotline – +9626 5678444
Update[November 10, 12:04 PM]:Demonstrations of anger sweeps Jordan – Largest Demonstrations expected to take place at 1:00 PM today starting from the Third Circle in Jabal Amman and heading towards Dakheleyeh Circle.
Update[November 10, 11:00AM]: Jordan Planet publishes the names of the casualities.
Update[November 10, 7:16 AM]: Al Qaeda claims Amman blasts.
Update[November 10, 6:26 AM]: King Abdullah the Second visited the affected hotels earlier this morning.
Update[November 10, 5:05 AM]:Shocking photos from Jordan News Agency here and here.
Update[November 10, 4:11 AM]: According to Al-Jazeera, Jordanian Police put their hands on a video recording showing the suicide bomber of Hyatt taken by someone in the hotel by accident.
Al-Arabia also confirms that  a fire was started earlier last night in Amman in order to divert attention from the incident about to occur.
Update[November 10, 3:44 AM]: According to Elaph, Jordanian authorities have arrested 12 people from different nationalities including Iraqis, Bahrainis, and Jordanians. Al-Muashar also said that death tolls could have been higher if one of the explosive laden-cars managed to smash into the entrance.
The Islamic Action Front and the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood both condemned the attack referring to it as “Terrorist and criminal attack”.
Update[November 10, 1:31AM]: Eye witness on Al-Jazeera says that suicide bomber was speaking in an Iraqi accent.
Update[November 10, 1:06 AM]: Al-Arabeya reports that Iraqis have been arrested, and Mamdoh Abadai called for marching in opposition against such acts of terrorism.
Update[November 10, 12:29 AM]: Jordanian police Maj. Bashir al-Da'aja said officials believe all the Amman hotel blasts were carried out by suicide bombers.
“The attacks carry the trademark of al Qaeda,” a police source said on condition of anonymity in line with police regulations. “However it is not certain. We are investigating.”
Ayman al-Safadi, editor of Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper, told Al-Arabiya satellite network that it was a “terrorist operation.”
“Finally, the terrorists succeeded in breaking the security in Jordan,” he said, referring to past success in foiling a number of terror plots.
Source: CNN
Update[November 10, 12:29 AM]: There are conflicting reports on the matter of casualities; Al Arabaya reports 67 fatalities and over 150 deaths.
Update[November 9, 11:50 PM]: Jordan announces three days of mourning.
Update[November 9, 11:27 PM]: According to Al-Jazeera, casualities have reached 53 deaths and 300 injuries.
Update[November 9, 10:59 PM]:  According to Jordanian officials, latest casualities are 31 deaths and 200 casualities, among them Chinese and Iraqi nationals, most casualities are Jordanian.
Update[November 9, 10:50 PM]:  According to Al-Jazeera, some suspects have been detained, their involvement has not yet been determined though.
Update[November 9, 10:39 PM]: According to Abeer El-Ziben of Jordan TV, all roads in and out of the capital have been blocked; authorities are now looking for suspects il Al-Weibdeh area in West Amman, near explosion sites.
Update[November 9, 10:15 PM]: Jordanian News Agency Petra reports that the bombings were results of suicide attacks. As is natural in such cases, videos and images captured by reporters have all been confiscated.
Update[November 9, 10:11 PM]: Casualities have reached 20 deaths and 120 injuries according to Al-Jazeera.
Update[November 9, 9:58 PM]: Casualities have now reached 18 deaths and 45 injuries according to the AFP.
[November 9, 9:30 PM]: Five fatalities have been reported and tens of injuries.

author: Roba Al Assi


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Images From Indonesia: Hi, It Stop Working! · Global Voices
Paul Frankenstein

“Hi, It Stop Working” by Budi Sukmana
A tuk-tuk driver in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, pushes his stalled vehicle and its passengers to safety during a sudden downpour.
Note: We found this photograph because the photographer tagged this image with the “globalvoices” tag in Flickr, making it easy for us to find it. If you want your images to be seen by our editors, tag your photographs with “globalvoices,” too!

author: Paul Frankenstein


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India: Racial Attacks in the US · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Patrix at Nerve Endings Firing Away talks of racial attacks (targetting South Asians) in his university in the US.


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Iran: Riots in France · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mr.Behi writes: At the moment, Iranian government is really anti-western in attitude and they are very pissed off that France together with other countries condemned Ahmadinejad for his speech. As a result, Iranian media is trying to show that there are peaceful Muslims that have the right to fight and the ugly secular French government is ignoring them.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Whale Hunt · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

A whaling fleet sets sail in Japan, ostensibly for research. Tokyo Times is skeptical.


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Jordan: More Arabic Blogging Services · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Isam Bayazidi is happy to hear about more Arabic Blogging Services. After Fastlink and Al Bawaba blogging services, now comes Jeeran Blogs. Isam also plans to start the Arabic section of Jordan Planet aggregator as soon as there is enough Jordanian Arabic Blogs.


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Kenya: Marathon · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Mentalacrobatics celebrates Kenyan marathon runner,  Paul Tergat who won this years New York Marathon on his first attempt.

author: Sokari Ekine


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Malaysia, Hong Kong: I Want My Soap TV · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Simon of simontalks.com has a helpful list: “How to Tell if Your Girlfriend Watches Too Many Hong Kong Serials.”


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More information on Abdolkarim Suleiman’s detention · Global Voices
Ethan Zuckerman

Our friend Elijah Zarwan writes from Cairo, where he's involved with a number of human rights efforts. He recently travelled to Alexandria to meet with Mohammed Morsi and Malek Moustafa, Egyptian bloggers who've been working hard to document the arrest and detention of Abdolkarim Suleiman. Elijah, Mohammed, Malek and an human rights attorney met with Suleiman's family, trying to learn more about the case – Elijah's account and analysis of the situation follows below.
We've posted pieces about Suleiman's detention previously, as Justice for Abdolkarim and Egyptian Blogger Taken in Detention.
At 3 a.m. on October 26, plainclothes security agents arrested Abdolkarim Suleiman from his home in the Muharram Bek district of Alexandria, which had been the site of deadly sectarian clashes over the two previous weeks. The security agents, who produced no warrant, searched Suleiman's house and confiscated printed copies of his online writings. Suleiman, who studies Islamic jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University, has published blog posts and articles against honor crimes, the imposition of the niqab (full veil), female genital mutilation, and against the Egyptian government. He became active in the Kifayah movement in August 2005. On October 22, when rioters in Suleiman's neighborhood clashed with police, Suleiman posted an account of the riots, criticizing the rioters and Islam. Days later, his family says, Abd al-Karim was attacked and beaten up by young neighborhood men. Suleiman's brother, Abd al-Hady, believes Alexandria Security was operating on a tip from neighborhood youths.
Repeated attempts by family members and Alexandrian human rights lawyer Mohammed Khaled Al-Tunsi to get more information on Suleiman's case from Alexandria Security have met with no success. On Nov. 6, security agents returned to Suleiman's house and told his family that he was being held in an unspecified detention center for political prisoners. They did not specify on what charges he was being held. On Nov. 8, Al-Tunsi again telephoned contacts in Alexandria Security to inquire about the case. His contacts said they would get back to him, but as of 11 p.m. on Nov. 8, they had not.
Since Security agents visited the Suleiman house a second time, the Suleiman family have been less willing to talk about the case. (We — bloggers Mohammed Morsi and Malek Moustafa, lawyer Al-Tunsi, and I — spent most of last night trying to cajole them into talking. Al-Tunsi had some success with the mother, but she added nothing new to what she had already said. We set an appointment with Abd al-Karim's older brother for 11 p.m., but he never showed up, though his mother said he had left the house at 10:45 p.m.)
Suleiman is either unlawfully detained or has been detained under the Emergency Law. Had Suleiman been lawfully arrested for violating the Penal Code, police from the Muharram Bek precinct would have made the arrest. They would be required to transfer him to the prosecutor within 24 hours. The prosecutor would then interrogate him and request a court date.
Alexandria Security now has two options: They can either detain Suleiman under the provisions of the Emergency Law that allow detention without charge of individuals deemed to be a threat to public order, or they can charge him with defaming religion or
exciting sectarian strife under the terms of Article 98F of the Penal Code (Law no. 29 of 1982 allows for sentences of between six months and five years or fines of between LE500 and LE1000 for “exploiting and using religion in advocating and propagating by talk or in
writing, or by any other method, extremist thoughts with the aim of instigating sedition and division or holding in contempt or disdain any of the ‘heavenly religions’ [i.e. Islam, Christianity, or Judaism] or the sects belonging thereto, or prejudicing national unity or social peace”). Suleiman's defenders grant that his October 22 post held Islam in contempt and, given the background of sectarian strife in Alexandria, could be read as “prejudicing national unity and social strife.”
The latter option would play better in Egypt, where the Emergency Law is unpopular and Islam is popular, but would risk turning him into a cause celebre abroad, particularly among religious conservatives in the United States. Detaining Abd al-Karim under the terms of the Emergency Law carries its own risks: In his campaign for reelection this summer, President Hosni Mubarak promised to suspend the Emergency Law in favor of a counterterrorism law and to pass legislation reinforcing citizens’ right to a fair and speedy trail. Invoking the Emergency Law, particularly in such a high-profile case so soon after the election, would give lie to these promises of reform and would also surely raise eyebrows abroad.
Nowhere did Suleiman call for violence against Muslims. Nor did any such violence follow his post. There is little to suggest that his blog was widely read in Muharram Bek, a working-class neighborhood where economic constraints make Internet use rare. Suleiman himself does not own a computer and maintained his blog from a local Internet cafe. Suleiman was not responsible for the violence in his neighborhood, nor will his detention solve the problems that led to it.
The question of the legality of Suleiman's detention aside, Egyptian officials conducting a cost-benefit analysis of Suleiman's continued detention must conclude that it's not worth it. His detention has already attracted significant attention from local and international
human rights groups and media. Particularly on the eve of the World Summit on the Information Society, where Egypt has the opportunity to present itself as a regional leader in attempts to foster an information society, Suleiman's case has the potential to cause more trouble for the government than it's worth.

author: Ethan Zuckerman


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Myanmar: General Laughter · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

Burma Digest writes down some jokes about Burmese generals.


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Namibia: Men for Change · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Vilho's World – Namibia reports on a scheme by the Council of Churches in Namibia which aims at changing the attitudes of men towards women and children abuse.  It also hopes to “strengthen men's responsibility in their families and society at large.  The group is to be called NAMEC (Namibian Men for Change)


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Nepal: Krishna Pahadi in NYU · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy For Nepal on Krishna Pahadi at the New York University.
Krishna Pahadi gave a synopsis of what was going on in Nepal. When he got arrested after 2/1, the authorities told him he was in for 10 years. He was out in less than 150 days.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Nepal: Restrictions on NGOs · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News from Nepal publishes an open letter to Minister for Children, Women and Social Welfare from two leading international human rights group on the issue of the proposed code of conduct for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) being formulated by the royal government which would place unacceptable restrictions on the activities of NGOs.


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Nigeria: Awayrians · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Grandiose Parlour introduces  Nigeria International, a documentary featuring the views of  “the awayrians” ie foreigners and Nigerians at home and in theDiaspora.  The documentary is a weekly magazine-style television programme to be broadcast around Nigeria, and around the world to Nigerians. It aims to provide a realistic and up-to-date view of Nigerians’ fortunes, challenges and opportunities at home and abroad.


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Nigerian Blogs This Week · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

from Naija Jams discusses a  recent 419 (scam) article that was floating around the blogosphere and online media. The article appears to have  centered on a song by popular musician, Nkem Owoh.  Jams was confused (as I am and probably you are) until he saw the video of the song "Oyinbo man, I Go Chop Your Dollar"… Like Jams you will have to  watch the video and all will be revealed.!
Kazey Journal decides he has had enough:
Kid's Doc in Jos is a blog by Dr Mike Blyth a pediatrician at Evangel Hospital in Jos, Nigeria. This week he meets with Baby O and his mother.  "The baby is bouncy and happy" but cries all night. !   But this is not such a happy story as Baby O was born without any arms
“A big blessing was that when O was born, early this year, we happened to have a magazine article about a young man (Kyle Maynard) who has a similar defect and who is a successful wrestler, among other things. The mother has read that encouraging article. This week I told her just a bit about Joni Eareckson Tada. We’re going to meet again Friday and compare notes about what we have found on the Internet about caring for these children, and I’ll take her a copy of Joni. I’ll mention this blog and perhaps she’ll be willing to share some thoughts or a photo.”
Nigeria's next elections will be held in 2007.  Chippla's Weblog, is baffled as to why anyone would want to vote for retired Nigerian military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida in 2007.  "But then again this is Nigeria…"
“But should I be any surprised? After all, we are talking about Nigeria. Reports of the Babangida campaign group hiring aircraft to spread the new gospel: "IBB – The Brave Reformer" are already filtering in. And they have chosen to do it in style, using a large banner to proclaim the coming of the kingdom, a message with resonates via an aerial campaign.”
CyBlug (GidiBlog) also has a “must see” video this week.  This one is a  view of Nigeria from Nigerian International – a documentary about "showing the perception of Nigeria both by foreigners and Children of Nigerians living abroad (awayrians)  it gives a good insight  for those people completely ignorant  of Nigeria, in digital format online".  For tasters one woman expected Lagos to be like Peckham! (south London that is) – a bit like me going to the Costa del Sol and expecting it to be like England!  Via Grandiose Parlour
Finally Orikinla Osinachi of  Nigerian Times Blog   has some thoughts on "Why America has failed to catch Osama Bin Laden".  He also asks a number of key questions about Bin Laden, America and God.
“As I was wondering, I was thinking of the possibility of the impossibility.
Why America has not been able to catch Osama bin Laden.
What if Osama bin Laden repents?
Will America forgive him?
What if the devil decides to repent?
Will God forgive him?
You think I am nuts to have such weird thoughts.
Well, with God all things are possible.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS


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Pakistan: Mukhraran Bibi · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mukhtaran Bibi, the Pakistani rape victim (and became Musharraf's pet peeve) was Glamour's Woman of the Year recently says pakistani perspective.


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Pakistan: Proud of Islam · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lahoree takes pride in the recent in the donation of 12 year old Ahmed Ismail Khatib's organs who was shot in the town of Jenin by troops who mistook his toy gun for a real one. The child's organs have been donated to six Israelis, including five children.


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Palestine: Israel Used White Phosphorous · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

While the U.S. use of White Phosphorus in Iraq is still burning, umkahlil and thecutter are reminding that Israel used White Phosphorus in an antipersonnel mode in populated areas in southern Lebanon and Palestine. (Reference: Human Rights Watch Report)


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Peru, Chile: Alberto Fujimori’s Arrest · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Randy Paul and Western Hemisphere Policy Watch both go over former Peruvian president, Alberto Fujimori's arrest in Chile. Boz says that Fujimori critics should remember their history while Juan Arellano has a valuable summary of what Peruvian bloggers are saying (ES) about the arrest.

author: David Sasaki


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Poetry for peace in Palestine · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Kenyan poet, Mshairi celebrates “wisdom” over “darkness” in her poem “Yearning” dedicated to the family of the  Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank who have donated his organs for use in Israel, in the hope of promoting peace.


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Russia: Fascism Rising · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yuri Manchur, Jr. reports that communism may be dead, but fascism's alive and well in Russia.

author: Nathan Hamm


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state controlled journalists · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Meskel Square wonders whether there is “somewhere in the developing world” a special school for training “journalist employed by state-controlled newspapers” who begin their day with “the  “mass recitation of: “Government leader A met government leader B to discuss matters of mutual interest. Government leader B reaffirmed his commitment to provide support for the realisation of ideas forwarded by Government leader A.”


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Sudan: Lords Resistance Army · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Uganda-Can reports that Ugandan rebel group,  the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) will in future be challenged by southern Sudanese forces.   Salva Kiir, Sudan's new Vice President has put dealing with the LRA as one of  the top three priorites for rebuilding southern Sudan.


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Syria: Labwani Arrest · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The Syrian blogger, Ammar of A Heretic's Blog writes: In the arrest of Syrian dissident, Mr. Kamal Labwani, of Damascus Spring credentials, and in the events leading up to it, including denunciation by opposition groups of Mr. Labwani’s meeting with the US Deputy National Security Advisor, Mr. J. D. Crouch, the Syrian regime and opposition are revealing their true face, again.


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Taiwan: Poetic Justice · Global Voices
Jose Manuel Tesoro

In response to the Taiwan government's apparent persecution of a pro-reunification TV network, a poet named Du Thirteen threatened to murder the premier and his family.  the leaky pen has a summary here.

author: Jose Manuel Tesoro


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

An event in Washington DC attracted a lot of attention in the Bolivian blogosphere during the past week.  A lecture by former Bolivian President Gonzalo “Goni” Sanchez de Lozada was supposed to be the night’s main attraction.  However, a group of U.S. activists presented the former Head of State with papers to appear in a Bolivian court, which apparently was not on the evening’s agenda.  The Bolivian government had requested that Sanchez de Lozada testify about his role in the events of October 2003, in which approximately 80 protestors and police were killed.
Christian Gomez, author of the blog Juanson World, was the event’s organizer, which was hosted by the organization Princeton in Latin America.  He was able to answer directly to some of the comments and criticisms  launched at him in the comments section of the Democracy Center’s blog.
Eduardo Avila also blogged about his firsthand account of the event in his blog Barrio Flores.  In addition, Paula Pfoeffer, an Australian librarian living in Bolivia, posted a report written by U.S. citizen Douglas Hertzler, who served Sanchez de Lozada the papers to appear in court.
Meanwhile, in the Southern part of the hemisphere, the Summit of the Americas in Argentina also became a topic of discussion, especially because MAS Presidential candidate Evo Morales took a prominent role appearing side by side with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and soccer superstar Diego Armando Maradona. Miguel Buitrago of MABB posted a humorous cartoon depicting the two celebrities exchanging musical and footballing tips.  Also, Rocko, who maintains a blog containing the columns of Paulovich, posts one column about a fictional meeting between the two, which includes the exchange of the year:
Maradona:  For which football team did you play for, when I played for Boca Juniors?
Evo: I played for Coca Juniors in the Chapare.
On a more serious note, Nick Buxton of Open Veins wrote about his experiences in Mar del Plata where he accompanied a delegation from the Movement against the TLC and ALCA.  The delegation ran into a string of bad luck incidents including finding cockroaches in the food, lost luggage, a stolen wallet and a scam involving the local police.
With less than six weeks to go before the scheduled December 18 elections, many bloggers are discussing strategies and possible outcomes.  Alvaro Ruiz Navajas writes in his blog Off Topic and wonders whether Morales might benefit from the roadblocks constructed in Congress against the elections. Miguel Centellas publishes on his blog Ciao! his predictions on how the election results may shape up.  He also recently updated his Bolivian politics wiki to reflect the changes in the candidate lists, which needed to be modified due to the redistribution of Congressional seats.
Finally, a new blog called Journal of Bolivian Business and Politics was recently launched.  The site's author is Jonathan Olguin, a Bolivian living and studying in Florida, and he writes that the Brazilian budget airline carrier GOL recently began its service to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Travels in the Kurdish Blogosphere · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Well it has been a busy week in the Kurdish Blogosphere. Perhaps the most startling is the infighting between the members of the group blog the Kurdistan Bloggers Union. Having been a prominent blog for over a year, KBU has spawned a forum and a news site, however lately disagreements in leadership have lead to some reorganization of the blog, namely being the separation of association of the KBU name from the forum and news site. Now that the major issues have been worked out the blog is back to its normal form. A new piece has been posted discussing a recent political speech that was given by George Gallaway in the UK as part of his RESPECT project.
If we are talking about people’s lands being invaded then I think RESPECT should cover the whole globe. Can I humbly say, as Kurds we would be very happy for such an initiative, but I thought it was specific for some people because I heard words like Muslims, Palestinians, Arabs, Congo a couple of times Africa and NEVER Kurds,(omit as you like) Chechens, Kashmir etc! I think RESPECT cares about bits of Balfour treaty and doesn’t care about the rest of it!
Hiwa from Hiwa Hope's has been discussing a wide variety of issues. He received a reply to a letter he had sent regarding misinformation about the Kurds in a recent article, the original letter was covered in last week's post. He also discusses how the roads in Turkey are so bad, especially in the Southeast/Kurdish areas that it must be true that traffic accidents cause more deaths than terrorist violence in the region. Also there was a young Kurdish man from Iran who was recently sentenced to death for the crime of drinking alcohol.
Pearls of Iraq, a new blog discussed last week, has an interesting discussion on fuel shortages this winter in Iraq. She also clarifies her roots, she wanted everyone to know that she isn't Kurdish or Iraqi but someone who cares deeply about the people of that region. I think that most Kurds would have no problem adopting her into their family.
After a long haitus Kardox is back to blogging again. His most recent post praises Kurdish activist Kani Xulam, who is the founder and director of the American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN), for Kani's recent article about the current state of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey.
Vladimir from From Holland to Kurdistan writes about a pro-Palestinian and pro-suicide bomber cartoon made and promoted by the Iranian government and the irony surrounding a propaganda piece that supports the Arab cause coming from a country that actively suppresses them within their borders. He also posts about a Kurdish party that he recently attended. The pictures are superb! The post notes that no matter how “bad” things have gotten for the Kurds, they still manage to dance in the good times and the bad. And anyone who has been to any Kurdish function where dancing is involves can understand the power and solidarity that dancing can create.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Trinidad and Tobago: Crime Debate · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Taran Rampersad goes over the crime debate that took place in Trinidad and Tobago's Parliament.


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Ukraine: Looting the Past · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Scott Clark reports that in addition to state assets, history is being looted in Ukraine.


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Venezuela: Opposition and Law · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Oil Wars tries to figure out if the opposition in Venezuela truly wants a better legal system or is just seeking complaints against Chavez.


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Western Journalism · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Malawian blog afrika-aphukira criticises the reporting of Africa by Western journalists for failing to go beyond “the vivid portrayal of the problems” and “attempt an analysis of the contexts within which these problems occur, African problems are written about in a manner in a manner that portrays Africans as having no clue as to how to solve their own problems, and making no efforts to even understand how and why we end up with such problems”.


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When the heat is on – run · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Jewels in the Jungle adds his voice to the running commentary on the Paris riots in the blogosphere  and wonders what would happen if the riots spread to Germany and possibly the rest of Europe – meanwhile he has his passport, airline ticket, clothes packed and car keys on the ready – lucky fellow to be able to up and run when the HEAT starts.