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Peace Corps bloggers from Burkina Faso  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

My first post for Global Voices Online discussed the expatriate bloggers living and working and writing in Burkina Faso. Today, we’ll investigate another group of expatriates living in Burkina Faso as we delve into Peace Corps bloggers.
Peace Corps is a U.S. government program that sends Americans to live in foreign countries for a tad more than a two years working on various development and educational projects. Burkina Faso hosts more than 100 Peace Corps volunteers, with the majority of them just a few years removed from the university. They will spend their time living in villages and small towns scattered around the country working in the fields of health, small business development, girls’ education and some teach at public schools.
In respect to full disclosure, this would be a good time to admit that the metal desk I am currently writing on claims its origin from the Peace Corps Burkina Faso office; as do most of the chairs in my house, ditto for the tables and not coincidentally, the house itself. (The computer remains mine.) These furnishings are not so much a present to me, but to my wife, who is employed in the Peace Corps Burkina Faso office where she oversees a group thirty or so of these volunteers. For those who fear preferential treatment towards certain bloggers: With more than 100 volunteers in country, and the fact that many bloggers write under a nom de guerre, I can’t say that I’ve recognized more than a few names on these blogs.
Now, to the bloggers. As a whole these writers are honest – sometimes brutally so – and perceptive chroniclers of the foreign environment they inhabit. Oftentimes their posts read like letters home, chocked full of local color and enlightening friends and family (many who will never step foot in Burkina Faso) on a variety of topics from cultural norms to working conditions right down to the minute details of their day-to-day routines.
If I had to choose an overall theme of concern to many of these bloggers, I would start with the idea of technology. Roughly speaking, Burkinabé villagers have very little in the way of technology, while many of these young Americans arrive in country outfitted with more gadgets than a U.S. warship. One blogger, Justin Lopina reported his purchase of a solar panel for his house:
About $200 in all (I'm eating poor THIS month!), I'll have all the power I need for lighting, movies, music, and my cellphone. I need to work something out for the gameboy though. Mmm… Power.
Perhaps more disorienting to these bloggers is the dichotomy that exists in urban Africa, where one can find the accouterments of the connected world standing directly next to symbols of rural isolation. This is explained by René, who writes the Peace Corps: Burkina Faso blog:
More than one trainee has gotten up from the cybercafe, walked out into the searing heat, and goats, and vultures flying around like pigeons, and asked “Someone tell me again, where the hell am I?
If you asked 10 Peace Corps bloggers why they joined the organization, each would offer a different answer: It beats getting a desk job; the gratification of working in the development field; travel is another consideration, as is learning another culture and the opportunity to live with different people.
Caleb, who writes Burkina Faso or Bust blog, views his experience as test to see whether he can survive two years without electricity. In the early going he’s found it to be difficult, yet he is amazed at the ease locals conduct their lives:
Instead of children zoning out in front of the television, they are thoroughly entertained with the rigorous activity of playing with for example, my trash… or really anyone’s trash for that matter. Whether it be a plastic bag, tin can, or piece of string, they will find a game to play, or a way to annoy me with it. For an hour straight, to my dismay, a kid played with my watch because if a button is held down it beeps once every ten seconds or so.
A majority of Burkinabé lives in rural settings, but outside of those few who work for the government, villages are largely bereft of any employment outside of agriculture – the country’s primary industry – and a handful of menial jobs. Most people with any education flee their village in search of work in larger cities, a reason the capital Ouagadougou has grown so prodigiously during the past 15 years.
What strikes many of these bloggers is how dissimilar their backgrounds are from their friends and neighbors in the village. “The other day for instance my neighbor asked me if it rains in the US,” writes Lara from the blog Lara in Burkina. (Another blogger was asked if people in the United States live underground.) In the case of the neighbor, it’s not that she lacks intelligence, Lara writes,
It's just that she has no access, for the most part to the outside world. There is no internet, only maybe a few tvs, and no public library.
A flip side exists to the countless references of technology and its absence. More than a few bloggers dutifully list each and every book they’ve read while in the country. These lists are amazing for their scope and breadth.
For many bloggers, life in Burkina Faso’s countryside represents the first time they’ve survived without the aid of those simple conveniences so often taken for granted. (It should be noted that many urban Burkinabé also take these items for granted.)  “In America, there is the luxury of running water. In Africa, its not quite so easy,” claims the writer calling herself Becca Faso in her eponymous blog:
The good pump nearest my house is about a five minute walk away. I dont know if you remember or not but water is really freakin heavy. really…
On the other hand, instead of being seen as the savior bringing awe-inspiring technology to villagers’ lives, many bloggers often find themselves playing the role of the foolish and naïve foreigner trying to understand life in a complicated setting. In this respect, many bloggers focus on locals’ intricate knowledge of their physical environment. “The villagers are very resourceful and can recognize any plant, knowing whether it is edible,” writes Stephanie in Stephanie’s Letters from Burkina Faso:
Once I saw an old lady walking home, carrying a plant she pulled out of the ground. I asked her what she was doing and she told me it was a tomato plant she found and was taking to plant at her house.
Digging up unknown plants and eating exotic foods has its place in many stories: Anecdotes abound regarding eating bush rat or camel meat or some unidentified sauce. Living in close proximity to the animal world, however, presents another issue altogether. “For roommates I have and army of crickets, mice, geckos, all varieties of bugs and spiders, and the occasional scorpion (ACK!),” explains Radhika Reddy in ramblings from radhika in burkina. “The other day I found a snake in my latrine. Hard to panic when squatting so I calmly watched it slither away while my life flashed before my eyes. for all you herpetologists out there, I`m not sure if it was poisonous but it looked like an argyle sock.”
Pictures of idyll and tranquil village life are often shattered by the realities of those simple domesticated creatures: goats bleating, cocks crowing and dogs barking. The tandem blogging team of Jill and Markus McKay-Fleisch created an ongoing list of reasons why they hate the chickens inhabiting their courtyard.
Here are a few highlights:
-They cluck for no good reason.
-They poop everywhere.
-They're dumb. Studies using chickens as subjects require hundreds of trials before they learn anything.
-They eat everything, including chicken meat and their own poop.
-They're ugly. And they smell bad.
-They're hard to catch.
-They  pretty tasty, though.
Living so far away from friends and family is an overriding theme of every Peace Corps blog. Some rely on Ipods and cell phones and DVD players to get through the lonely times, while others have learned to lean on the companionship offered by animals and pets. Life for pets can occasionally be difficult in rural Burkina Faso, and blogs are full of remembrances of the kitty that died or the dog that mysteriously ran off. From Ami and her blog Le Culte du Moi, here’s an example of a pet situation that got away:
The pet camel, as we all know, was turning out to be an expensive pet. Not to mention the fact that it scared Hama, my neighbor, and kept spitting on Hama's laundry whenever it was put on the line to dry. In lieu of “Spitty Cent”, there is now a white goat tied to a tree in my yard. The thing was cute at first (and like, 10 bucks), but geez, it's also annoyingly loud. All night it bleats and starts up again in the morning when the 4:45am azan sounds off.
As I said, this is just a small sampling of Peace Corps blogs from Burkina Faso. Too many Peace Corps volunteers have brought us into their lives through blogging, which is not a terrible problem to have. Their blogs are collected here.

author: John Liebhardt


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China: Website Income · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mi Xiaobin blogs a local survey on the income distribution of virtual community websites in China (zh): 38.2% is non-profitable, 24.4% has less than RMB1000 (US120) income per month, 11% earns RMB1000-5000 per month, 14% has more than RMB 5000 per month.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Howard Out · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution reports on the results of the Australian election: “The demise of Mr Howard will be seen as good news in Havana, given the outgoing prime minister’s close links to US president George W Bush.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Dominica: Happy Hour  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Politicians in Dominica don't think much of the electorate and it may be that they are right”: Caribbean Man shares his views as the island approaches “Happy Hour”.


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Ecuador: Opposition to Constituent Assembly · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Quito, La Carolina writes about the upcoming Constituent Assembly and the possible areas of disagreement between prospective Assembly president Alberto Acosta and Ecuadoran president Rafael Correa, who may be “actually more conservative in his political thinking than he lets on.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Ecuador: Transportation Hub for China · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

¡¡¡Cambiemos Ecuador!!! [es] writes about a proposal to convert the airport in Manta as an important transportation hub for travelers arriving to and from China.


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Georgia: Darba · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Kaukasus posts photographs of the God's Mother Church in Darba, Kakheti, Georgia.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Guyana: Niceties  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We the people of Guyana declare war on bad manners.  We the people didn’t really know who we had to fight. We did forget to look in the mirror before we head out for the battle…”: Guyana-Gyal knows that being nice matters.


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Haiti: Progress against HIV  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As World AIDS Day approaches, Haiti Innovation assesses Haiti's progress in the fight against the disease: “I hope that by this time next year, I can write that we've all become leaders in prevention.”


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Hong Kong: Debate Or Fist Fight · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Diumanpark feels that the weekend Legislative Council by-election debate is more like a street fist fight (zh).


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Hong Kong: O Little Town of Tin Shui Wai · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fai Mao composes a song “O Little Town of Tin Shui Wai” before the Christmas about the town's sorrow.


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Hong Kong: Political Mob · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

During the district council election, civil party candidate Mandy Tam was surrounded and detained for 45 minutes by supporters of her political opponent, Choi Luk-sing, in Wong Tai Sin district. She decided to file a case against the violent act. The chaotic scene has been uploaded in youtube.


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India: Noise and Gods · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The din of Hindu festivals doesn't quite find cheer with Chronicus Skepticus, who wonders if the Hindu gods are deaf as posts.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Where to find Ladakhi food · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A run-down of food options in Ladakh – where sadly enough it is hard to find Ladakhi food in a restaurant at Feringhee.


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Japan: Fingerprinting Illegal Immigrants · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Apart from the official explanation on fingerprinting terrorists, the policy also targets at illegal immigrants — more from Jamie, Japan Probe.


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Japan: Sumie Kawakami Interview · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Marx from Neojapanisme posts an interview with Sumie Kawakami, author of Goodbye Madame Butterfly: Sex, Marriage and the Modern Japanese Woman.


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Kenya: Kenya’s Second BarCamp · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African on Kenya's Second BarCamp: “I’ve been impressed to see the developers and bloggers from Kenya and South Africa taking the time to create gatherings where they can pass on knowledge – everyone ends up profiting from the experience. The techies in Nairobi have just concluded their 2nd BarCamp this year (the first was in March).”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Korea: The Entrance Examination for Colleges · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

The entrance examination for colleges finished last week. Every year it comes along with several events and stories. A story that is never omitted is a tragedy where examinees give up their lives due to the result of the examination. The story always generates opinions and complaints about the current education system.
대구시에서 여학생이 투신자살했다. 자살한 학생은 지난해 지방대에 입학했으나 서울에 있는 대학에 가기 위해 이번에 또 수능을 봤다고 한다. 수능 성적이 원하는 만큼 나오지 않자 실망했던 것으로 알려지고 있다.
학벌사회가 또다시 사람을 죽였다…
대학서열체제가 심화됨에 따라 명문대 학벌의 가치와 서울지역 대학 학벌의 가치가 점차 커지고 있다. 그것은 지방대 학벌의 하락을 의미한다. 그에 따라 지방대 고등교육은 고사하고 있다.
지방대 졸업생 중 60% 이상이 차별을 경험한 적이 있다는 조사 결과가 보도된 적도 있다. 지방대생들은 학벌세탁을 위해 편입을 노리거나, 대학원을 준비하거나, 유학을 준비하거나, 재수를 준비한다. 학벌세탁을 아예 포기한 학생은 절망하거나 공무원시험 준비에 몰두하기도 한다….그런데도 사람들은 입시 때문에 목숨을 끊는다. 세상에 전공공부하고 싶어서 죽을 사람이 얼마나 되겠는가. 한국의 입시는 공부와는 아무런 상관이 없는 신분이 갈리는 장이기 때문에 해마다 죽음이 반복된다…
2006년에도 수능 직전에 성적문제로 고민하던 학생이 투신자살했다. 물론 수능직후에도 자살한 학생이 있었다. 2005년에도 수험생이 투신자살한 사건이 있었다. 이것이 학생 개인의 심성 문제인가?
2006년에 아이들살리기운동본부가 발표한 조사 결과에 따르면 입시 스트레스로 건강을 해친 적이 있다는 학생이 38.5%다. 우울증이나 정신적인 어려움을 겪은 적이 있다는 학생은 32%다. 학교를 그만 두고 싶은 적이 있었던 학생은 45.6%다. 좌절감을 느끼거나 의욕상실에 빠진 적이 있다는 학생은 64.9%다. 자살 충동을 느꼈던 학생은 20.2%다. 그리고, 자살을 실제로 시도해 본 적이 있는 학생이 무려 5%다….
2005년에 중간고사 성적을 비관해 목숨을 끊은 학생은 아래와 같은 유서를 남겼다.
‘시험을 못 쳐서 미안하다. 엄마 아빠, 죄송해요.’
고등교육이든, 중등교육이든 그 어떤 부문에도 경쟁력을 만들어주지 못하며, 아이들에게는 고통만을, 일류학교에 못 들어간 절대다수 대학생들에게는 콤플렉스만을 안겨주는 입시경쟁. 이 체제가 우리에게 주는 것은 사교육비 고통과 학벌이라는 사회적 비효율뿐이다.
The academic clique society killed another person… As university ranks get more deeply involved, values of academic cliques and of colleges in Seoul are getting more important. It means the depreciation of countryside colleges. Therefore, people are reluctant to choose countryside tertiary education.
There was a report that more than 60 percent of college graduates in the countryside had the experience of the discrimination. They plan to transfer to better colleges, to prepare for graduate school, to go abroad, and to decide to stay one more year. Students who give up one of these choices involve themselves in preparing government official examinations.
How many people die because they can’t study what they would like to study in the world? Taking the entrance examination means to step onto the stage to divided classes and therefore deaths continue every year… People give up their lives due to the examination.
There were suicides right before the entrance examination in 2006. Of course there were students who died after the examination. There was the suicidal incident in 2005. Do those incidents matter with students’ personalities?… According to research from an organization to save our children in 2006, 38.5% of students damaged their health due to stress from the entrance examination. Students who went through depression and mental problems are 32%. About 45.6% students wanted to quit school. Students who felt desperation and lost will power are 64.9%. Students who felt the impulse to kill themselves are 20.2% and students who tried were 5%.
A student who gave up his life because of his mid-term examination result left a will, “I feel bad to screw the mid-term up. Mother and father, sorry.”
We can’t make competitive authority to secondary and tertiary education, and give pain to children. The majority of college students who could not go to top-notch schools have complexes. These systems generate the pain of private tuition fee and inefficiency of society.
A netizen compares it with a Japanese horror movie, Deathnote.
매해 수능시험 직후 벌어지는 비관 자살이 또 시작되었다.
방금 ‘수능 끝, 행복 시작? 야먄의 학벌 끝장내자!’ 란 포스팅을 하고 블로그에 퍼나르다가, 접한 안타까운 소식이다. 삼수를 하면서 사립 명문대 진학을 꿈꿨지만, 수능 가채점 결과 성적이 만족할 만큼 나오지 않아 고민했다고 한다.
매해 되풀이 되는 수험생들의 자살.
아무리 교육정책과 교육부장관을 바꿔도 나아지질 않는다.
아니 이젠 한 둘 죽어나가는 것을 아무렇지도 않게 바라본다.
수능시험과 입시지옥, 학벌, 대학서열화의 원흉인 명문대란 괴물이 젊은 생명을 재물로 바치라 하는데, 그것을 처치할 생각은 않는다. 후~ 한 숨만 나온다.
또다시 작동하기 시작한 명문대(SKY)의 데스노트…
올해는 몇이나 죽일거냐?
Examinees’ suicide every year.
Even though we change education policies and ministers of the Ministry of the Education, it doesn’t solve the problems at all. It seems that noboday cares so much about one or two deaths anymore. The entrance examination and its hell, academic clique, and the college ranks… the monster, top-notch universities, request young lives for worship, but nobody dares to remove it… just continual sighs…
Death note from SKY (three famous universities in Korea) that operates again this year! How many people will you kill this time?
A student who went through the entrance examination posted her feeling.
입시가 이제 현실이 되었다.
수능날 가채점을 해보았던, 어제 해보았던 결과는 마찬가지였겠지. 그 동안 뒷바라지한 게 얼마인데 이것밖에 안 나왔냐고 닦달하시는 부모님 마음 모르는 건 아니지만 가장 힘든 사람이 난데, 솔직히 나도 이 성적 믿기지 않고 뛰어내리고 싶을 때가 하루에도 열세번인데 지방대 가서 장학금이나 받고 다녀라, 이런 식으로 몰아붙이는 건 토가 쏠린다. 수능 끝난 다음날부터 어제까지 하루가 멀다하고 소리지르고 질질 짜고 목구멍까지 차오르는 울음을 억지로 꺽꺽 삼켰다.
좌절의 시간은 끝났다.
…더이상 후회하지 말자. 더이상.수능 다음날부터 꾸던 악몽. 시험지를 다시 받고. '10분 남았습니다’ 소리에 심장이 얼어붙던 그 꿈을 다시는 다시는 꾸지 말자..
The time of desperation is done.
…let’s not regret anymore. anymore. Nightmares I had after the exam. Receiving the examination papers again, and hearing the sound ‘10 minutes left…’ I don’t want to have a dream to make my heart be frozen….
What is the meaning of schools, teachers, students, and education?
학교종이 땡땡땡
어서 모이자.선생님이 우리를 기다리신다…
친숙한 동요이지만 왠지 귀에 밝게 다가오는 느낌은 아니네요.
답답한 입시경쟁, 어떻게 해결해야될까요?
A demonstration against the competitive entrance examination starts this year and netizens encourage people to participate in campaigns for the change of education in major cities in Korea at the same time.
입시폐지, 대학평준화 운동본부에서 하는 11월 24일 전국 동시 행동이 점점 지역이 추가되고 있습니다.
다들 오세요 ㅋㅋ
가능, 불가능 같은 아무도 말할 수 없는 문제에 대해 이러쿵저러쿵 논하기 이전에
모두가 직접 나서서 부딪친다면, 뭐라도 되는 것 아니겠스빈까 ㅎㅎ
Everyone please come!
Before we talk about whether it is possible or impossible, let’s face it first and then something can be changed.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Madagascar: Malagasy ingenuity · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Harinjaka writes about tire sandals and other forms of Malagasy ingenuity.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Nepal: Eery Patriotism · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook with characteristic bite on eeriness of patriotism.


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Paraguay: Ice Cream on a Hot Afternoon · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

As a child, Muna Annahas of Muna's Blog recalls the ice cream vendor that would visit her neighborhood on those hot Asuncion, Paraguay afternoons.


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Peru: One of the Few Remaining Blacksmiths · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

From the city of Huánuco, Orlando Bravo writes about one of the last blacksmiths in the district of Panao, Peru [es].  Photos are included in the description of this dying trade.


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Peru: Possible Changes in Fujimori Trial · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The rules in the trial of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori may change if a proposed law passes, which would excuse the accused from being present for much of the testimony against him. El útero de marita [es] discusses these proposed changes.


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Russia: Campaign Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis posts an update on the election campaign.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Election Through Turkish Eyes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Turkish perspective on the Russian election – at The Turkish Invasion.


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Russia: Election “Without a Choice” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mark MacKinnon writes about one of the creators of Russia's “managed democracy” system and the lessons drawn by Putin from the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia: “Who cares what the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe election monitors have to say? They're all tools of the State Department, after all. The opposition? They're all dangerous thugs who belong in jail. The media? Some die, some live. It's really not worth investigating why that is.”


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Russia: History of the Anthems · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about all the anthems of Russia – and admits that John Lennon's ‘Imagine’ would have been the best option.


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Russia: Interviews With Kasparov’s Lawyers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam posts interviews with two of Garry Kasparov's lawyers – Karinna Moskalenko and Olga Mikhailova – who talk about his arrest following an opposition rally on Saturday.


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Russia: Katrina vanden Heuvel on Dmitry Muratov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At Editor's Cut blog, the Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel writes about the volatile pre-election situation in Russia and about Dmitry Muratov, “a tenacious and brave editor” of Novaya Gazeta, who was in New York last week to receive the Committee to Protect Journalist's International Press Freedom Award.


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Russia: The Communist Opposition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog reports on the Western media reactions to the Dissenter’s March and notes: “You wouldn’t known the Communist were in contention if you rely on English media for your electoral news. […] However distance the KPRF may be numerically, maybe its time to face reality and see them as the only real potential political bulwark to United Russia’s dominance.”


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Russia: The Opposition(s) · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A post and a subsequent discussion of the “strange symbiotic relationship between power and resistance” – in Russia and elsewhere – at Sean's Russia Blog.


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Somalia: Somalia Journal: Riot · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

David Axe is currently visiting Somalia and blogs about his experience: “The first time we went to the tiny movie house near the Mogadishu seaport, with a mind to doing some interviews, the manager fussed at us for not making an appointment. It was tense, but not alarming. We promised to call ahead next time.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Road Rage  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“When we repeatedly inflict harm upon each other’s psyches, we must expect the results to be terrible”: Ramblings and Reason blogs about road rage in Trinidad and Tobago.


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Uganda: Broken Sidewalks · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Want will happen to the broken sidewalks in Uganda?: “They tore up the sidewalks and streets for Chogm to rebuild nicer ones. But since the repairs haven’t been finished, and the Queen and other diplomats and visitors have come and gone, they’ll stay half-finished forever. Chogm came and went without the world’s notice or most Ugandan’s participation. Most Ugandans didn’t see the Queen, air their grievances, or even learn to untangle the acronym.”


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Ukraine: Holodomor Commemoration · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taras Kuzio writes about the changing attitudes towards Holodomor. Ukrainiana posts photos from the Holodomor commemoration ceremony that took place in Kyiv Saturday.


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Afghanistan: Another American Movie on Afhan Topic · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghanistanica takes a look at another B-category movie about U.S. military in Aghanistan and offers a trailer.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Baghlan bombing update · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Peter Marton continues to keep a close eye on the developments in Afganistan that have followed the terror attack and blast in the Baghlan town. Now he reviews the report on the matter, prepared by the NPS Program on Culture and Conflict Studies.


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Afghanistan: Baghlan Massacre · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Barnett R. Rubin analyzes the aftermaths of the Baghlan bombing in Afghanistan early this month, reviewing the Senlis Council report, which, as he says, presents a misleading map of Afghanistan showing a clear frontline between a Taliban-controlled south and a government-controlled north.


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Kenya: American political strategist stirs up Kenya election scene · Global Voices
Bankele

Dick Morris, an American political consultant who worked with the Bill Clinton 1996 re-election recently caused a mini stir in Kenya.
He arrived in Kenya and was unveiled by an opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who is the fore runner in the Kenyan presidential elections that will be held on 27 December 2007. But Morris appears to have left the country a day later, leaving behind varied comments on his role and possible impact on the upcoming elections.
The blog Somewhere in Africa in a post titled “ Old political hacks don't die” notes that;
Morris working prop bono  (without pay) is a clever way of avoiding having to secure a work permit in Kenya, which, as I can tell you from experience, is perhaps only marginally less complicated and time-consuming than contesting the presidency.
And adds that;
The campaign of Kenyan president aspirant Raila Odinga could be Morris's greatest political challenge yet. It's almost unheard of for an incumbent head of state to be unseated in an election in Africa, although Raila is leading most pre-election polls.
In a somewhat related post at the same time Where the African woman Thinks, laments the treatment of Kenyan authorities of a fellow African (from Senegal) and asks why it is so difficult for Africans to travel and do business with other African countries
The blog,A Nairobian’s perspective,  highlights Morris’ past tax troubles and notes that the Kenya Government made it clear that he was not welcome in Kenya.
The President Mwai Kibaki did not fail to mention that Dick Morris had been misguided by the opposition and that he would be of no consequence in the elections while  The Government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, mentioned that Morris risked facing deportation as he had visited the country on a tourist visa and had no valid work permit as a political strategist.
The Morris debate takes on a racial, colonial angle at Kenya Stockholm Blog where Okoth Osewe draws a parallel to Kenya's own embassy in Sweden where he says non Kenyan (whites) occupy senior posts as translator, accounts assistant, and local head of the kenya tourist board – jobs that could be handled by Kenyans.
He notes that:
Kenyans in Stockholm (are) crying wolf – they are well aware that at the Kenyan embassy in Stockholm, white Swedish nationals are occupying sensitive positions, not because there are no Kenyans who can take up their jobs but because the Kibaki government has decided to retain them at the Embassy after they were hired by the former dictatorship of Daniel arap Moi. Dick Morris bashers have never raised a finger at these foreign and white Embassy staff who continue to swagger along Embassy corridors like neo-colonial conquistadors who are there to stay.
But the most comprehensive discussions came from the Kenya Imagine forum, which posed the question Does Dick Morris Matter?  in a post that pointed out;
Morris will work for almost anyone. His presence in the party as an advisor shows either a desire to inaugurate a campaign of dirty tricks or that we are being taken over from the outside by unknown forces.
Comments to that post included;
Stephen Wanyama:
Raila is panicking, and that can only mean he is fully aware of his slipping fortunes. No one in the USA would have him (Morris) work on their campaign, do you hear?
MimiMzalendo:
I'm in shock to see racist-veneer comments from elites who may have benefited from foreign academic or working sabbaticals BUT have the audacity to come here and play that ukabila/rascist card. Global talent, be it political-economic-technological, etc is always mobile.
Githush:
believe NARC saw it fit to rely on South African strategists in the 2002 election and wonders if Morris strengths as a media consultant, with a penchant for negative advertising, work in Kenya? We shall see.
Mzalendo Pia:
why Dick Morris is working ‘pro bono’ in Kenya when he has no known interests is one any Kenyan should ask themselves. Why do we still think that foreigners know what's best for us or even, God forbid that they have our best interests at heart.
Seline:
And by the way, there is a second consultant ain't sure but I think he's from Argentina, why aren't we focusing on him?
Serah:
Both Dick Morris and Dick Berg emanate from the same axis, political and economic hit men; there is a tendency among the colonized peoples to suffer from inferior complex complexes.
MimiMzalendo:
Kibaki Camp running for re-election and blasting the “voluntary services” of a foreign political strategist and he completely forgot that in 2002 he himself hired a foreigner as a political strategist on communications.
The man was MARCUS COURAGE and he co-led Kibaki's campaign adverts, policy formulation and communications.

author: Bankele


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Argentina: Restaurant Recommendations from Taxi Drivers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Who better to know where the best places to eat than a cabdriver? Go Where the Taxista Takes You is a blog by freelance writer Layne Mosler and “each week, I hop in a taxi, ask the driver to take me to his favorite place to eat, and chronicle my adventures (culinary and otherwise).”


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Armenia: Labor Dynamics · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Social Science in the Caucasus comments on a World Bank report on labor dynamics in Armenia. The blog of the Caucasus Resource Research Center says that its findings revealing that up to a third of Armenian youth neither work nor study are in line with its own.


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Armenia: “Voting” Underway · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

With the presidential election in Armenia less than three months away, the Armenia Election Monitor 2008 blog reports that voting is already underway. However, rather than casting votes for a presidential candidate, the vote taking place is being conducted by one political party interested in learning which of two possible nominees from within their ranks is preferred by the public.


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Bahamas: Paradise Lost?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Craig Butler at Bahama Pundit likens the current state of the island to John Milton's Paradise Lost.


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Bangladesh: Assessing relief efforts · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

an ordinary citizen assesses the relief and rescue situation after the cyclone.


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Barbados, Trinidad & Toabgo: Minister Accused of Fraud · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press reports that “Trinidad & Tobago’s new Minister in the Ministry of Finance has been accused of fraud by his former Barbados-based employer.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Football Culture” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A new blog about the Balkans has been launched by Özgür Dirim Özkan, an anthropologist: Bosnian Football Culture.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: More Srebrenica Victims · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Srebrenica Genocide Blog reports on the excavation of the remains of 616 more Bosniak victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide in a mass grave located in an area nicknamed “Death Valley.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina, U.S.: Genocide Suspects to Be Deported · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Srebrenica Genocide Blog reports on two genocide suspects to be deported to Bosnia after being convicted for lying on their U.S. immigration papers.


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China: Implementation of Labour Contract Law · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fons from China Herald is interested to see how the new labour contract law in China will be implemented.


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China: Labour Activist Assaulted for Promoting Labour Contract Law  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A woman labour activist in Shenzhen was stabbed and seriously injured by two criminals, the labour center has been active in promoting the to be implemented labour contract law in recent month. – interlocals.net has a full translation of the incident and civic groups appeal.


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China: Media Not Trusted By Media · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief blogs a survey showing that Chinese media is not trusted by media workers in China.


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Colombia: The Breakdown of Negotiations · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Adam Isaacson of Plan Colombia and Beyond provides a thorough analysis of the hostage mediation that was called off by Colombian president Álvaro Uribe.


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Croatia: Election Results · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Illyrian Gazette writes about “(At Least) Six Parties In Search Of A Coalition” in Croatia following Sunday's election. Dr. Sean's Diary writes about the defeat of the pensioners’ party.


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Croatia: Football News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Illyrian Gazette writes about the Croatian football team, music – and Borat.


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Croatia: Some More on Election Results · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Bosnia Vault reviews the results of the election in Croatia.


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Cuba: Unearthing Che  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution reports on a recently-held Cuban press conference “to reveal that they had undertaken extensive DNA testing on…the remains of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara.”


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Georgia: Campaign Begins · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following on from a state of emergency declared earlier in the month, Resistance Georgia reports that the campaign for a snap presidential election in earlier January has already started. However, the anti-Saakashvili blog says that the signs are not good for a free and fair election.


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Ghana: Ghana ICT Journalists on Facebook · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana ICT Journalists Association is on Facebook: “Reminder to join the FACEBOOK Ghajict group.”


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Guyana: The Food of Love  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If this be the food of luuuve eat on, go on, have another”: Guyana-Gyal indulges in some “chawklit”.


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Hong Kong and China: Andy Lau Save Fan From Security Guards · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The video showing how Hong Kong pop-star Andy Lau saved fan from security guards during his concert in Chengdu has caught a lot of attention in youtube and other local video sharing website. (Via Jason Li, Virtual China).


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India: Islamic Volleyball, anyone? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Wonderful post and pictures on “Islamic Volleyball” in the vicinity of Hazrat Nizamuddin's Dargah in Delhi at Indian Muslims.


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India: On Mommy Blogs and Privacy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shallow Thoughts To Profound Insights writes about mommy blogs that probably invade the privacy of children, despite best intentions.


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India: Protests in Malaysia · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Blowin’ In The Wind on protests by people of Indian origin in Malaysia.


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Innovative Tools: Live Bicycle Radio · Global Voices
Rezwan

Cross-posted at Rising Voices.
Via Juliana Rincon we learn about a special bicycle in operation in Caquetá, Colombia:
“It seats two and carries with it a complete radio broadcasting system, able to send out Wi-max signals and be heard not only through the Andaquí Community Radio, but live through Internet as well“.
Radiocicleta [ES] is a community communication project which is breaking down the walls between the studio and the town itself:
“It is sustainable, it is cheap to maintain, it is environmentally sound, it is human instead of fuel powered, it allows for innovation and investigation, it can reach many different places and can be brought inside homes and it brings people together, working as members of a team,” Juliana says.
Affordable internet kiosk with mobile internet
Bangladesh has a population of more than 140 million. Its tele-density was very low only a decade ago because of the inadequate land phone infrastructure (it did not have penetration in rural areas). But thanks to the growth of the mobile phone companies now the number of mobile phone users has risen to 32 millions in a few years and the coverage is across the country even in the remotest of places. The growth rate of the cell phone industry is close to 25% which is remarkable.
In a country where the internet users are less than 1% (only a million) these mobile networks have brought an excellent opportunity for the nation to be connected to the internet which would not be possible with the current network of traditional landphones or expensive dsl cable connections. Some of the operators even support EDGE technology which offers data transfer speeds of up to 128 kb/s.
Using this mobile internet facility people in rural Bangladesh are building telecenters or internet cafés for use of mass people. From this website we learn that the technology required for such internet kiosks is very simple:
“There's only one PC, which functions as a server: each of the other workstations is powered by a small device, not much bigger than a cigarette packet. For another, there's no wired connection between the server and the outside world. The clue to how it's done is provided by a Motorola clamshell mobile phone connected by a USB cable to the server. The Centre is getting its Internet connection via an Edge-enabled mobile phone!”
Using Ndiyo-type thin-client networking in combination with Open Source software dramatically reduces the Total Cost of Ownership of Internet cafes, networked classrooms and small office systems. In the process, it makes it possible for entrepreneurs like Abu Sufian, the proprietor of the Fultola CIC, to make investments which earn revenues for them by providing services to local people and organizations.”
I believe these successes of innovative technologies based on internet can be replicated in all developing countries in the world.
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author: Rezwan


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Blogenyo, a Webcomic about the Philippine Blogopshere · Global Voices
Tonyo Cruz

Recently-launched webcomic Blogenyo seeks to poke fun on the events, intrigues, controversies, issues, and trends among Filipino bloggers.
The person behind Blogenyo describes himself as “a geeky computer engineer and map fanatic” and blogs at vaes9 and Vista Pinas.
Here's the first strip:

author: Tonyo Cruz


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Iran:2nd Weblog Competition on Aids · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Zendegimosbat[Fa] (means positive life),an organization that fights against Aids in Iran, has invited bloggers to write about Aids.This Thursday, the best ones get an award.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:American Soldiers and Children in Iraq · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Razeno has published several photos showing American soldiers taking care of children in Iraq. The blogger says Iranian media never show such photos.Razeno adds that war is a  very dark story but you can see some human emotions there too.


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Iran:Everybody wants to read Gabriel García Márquez · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Khabgard writes that after Iranian governmet banned[Fa] “A Memory of My Melancholy Whores”,Gabriel García Márquez's highly acclaimed book,everybody wants to read this book.The blogger adds thousands of Iranians have already downloaded the free version of this book on internet.


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Iran:Reza Valizadeh,a leading blogger was arrested · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to[Fa] Negarakha and many other bloggers,Reza Valizadeh,journalist and blogger,was arrested today in Tehran.The blogger has been Baznegar site's manager.


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Iraq: Assasination Attempt Against Journalists · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ladybird from Iraq claims that there was an assassination attempt against two Al Hayat reporters for revealing forgery.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Japan: Blog Queen takes a break · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Gravure idol, talento and blog queen Wakatsuki Chinatsu (若槻千夏) announced yesterday that she would be taking time off from blogging. Wakatsuki's official blog, “Maaboudoufu wa Nomimono Desu” (マーボー豆腐は飲み物です) [ja], made famous in part for her tendency to write about celebrity figures and her own love life [ja], has attracted more hits than any other on the popular Ameba hosting service. The blog hit a record [ja] earlier this year when it drew more than 7500 comments [ja] in a single day.
The final post at her blog today attracted thousands of comments (over 4500 at last count) from fans offering their support. In the post itself, she writes:
頭の中がごちゃごちゃしていて、自分らしいblogが書けそうもないので、少しblogをお休みさせて頂きます。
楽しみにしてた人も、そうでない人もごめんね。
時間ください。
The entry was posted just after 8 am yesterday, and within seconds reactions began pouring in from fans. A writer named Hiyoko made the first comment:
大丈夫だよo(^-^)o待ってるからね！
In a comment titled “I understand”, another commenter named Nao-san gives some advice:
ゆっくり休んで
くださいね♪+ﾟ
Shortly thereafter, commenter Aa-san writes:
そうゆう時ありますよね
人間にはお休みが必要な時もあります
ゆっくり休んで下さいねｯ
At 8.15am, Mayumayu writes:
ちなっちゃん、大丈夫？！わかったぁ！待ってるけどぉ、すごぃちなっちゃんのブログ大好きだから、あんま長くは待てません(笑)嘘です。ファンだから待ってます(＾＾)ﾉｼ
At 8.16am, in a comment titled “I really like Chinatsu-san” (千夏ちゃん大好き), commenter Mao writes:
めっちゃぁ寂しいけど、わかった。
またいつか更新するのん待ってるね！
ブログが一番　千夏ちゃんとつながってるような気がしてたから寂しいけど、
千夏ちゃんらしいblogが出来る日まで待つね♪
ブログ更新されんでもめっちゃぁ応援してます★
あと、無理しなぃでね！
Next minute, Tentomushi wishes the blog queen a good morning:
ちぃちゃんの心の休息♪
とても 大切なこと(^-^)
忙しいなかでのブログの更新は大変なんじゃないかって いつも心配してたんよ。
あたしもブログしてる身だから わかるの！
ゆっくり休んでね。ブラウン管でのちぃちゃん見られるから♪
うちらはだいじょぶよ(^-^)v
また 更新される日を まってるね～（´(ェ)｀）
Many fans expressed confusion. The next minute a commenter writes:
どうしたの？ よく分からないけど頑張って下さい！！ずっとずっと応援してます！！復活するの待ってるよ(^o^)
At 8.20 am, another commenter provides some advice:
ブログは自由だよ。
無理に書かなくてもいいと思う(o^∀^o)
ちなっちゃんらしいブログ書けるようになるまでゆっくり休んでね。
待ってます(b^ー°)
Many fans were worried about what had happened. One person writes:
あらま。
心配です。
もし…やらなきゃいけないことがいっぱいなら、
やらなきゃいけないことを紙に書き出すと良いらしいです。
落ち着いたらﾌﾞﾛｸﾞ再開してください☆
A little later, someone named Sesuku makes their first comment:
初コメントです。
ﾁﾅｯﾃｨのブログにはお世話になっています。
面白いので笑わせてもらったり…
書き方を参考にさせてもらったり…
そして時々ある(笑)真剣なコメントで勇気づけられました！
いつになってもいいので、元気に必ずや復活してね。
There are many, many, many more comments. To read the full list (in Japanese), see the comment box at Wakatsuki Chinatsu's blog.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Korea: Foreigners on Korean TV · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A TV program in Korea featuring foreign women who are able to speak Korean and who give their opinions about Korean society and culture has been popular recently. Participants in the program have fast become celebrities due to their exotic appearance. While TV audiences like the program and talk about advantages that can be taken from it, other opinions emerged.
A netizen’s opinion has generated debates.
< 미녀들의 수다>는 한국에 거주하는 미혼 외국여성의 경험을 통하여, 한국사회와 문화에 대해 이야기 해보는 것이 그 프로그램의 기획의도인 것으로 알고 있다. 이러한 기획의도는 우리 자신에 대한 반성의 기회가 되기도 하고, 때론 다른 나라의 문화와 비교체험해 보는 계기가 되기도 한다. 그러나, 위와같은 기획의도는 점점더 퇴색해 가는 느낌을 지울 수 없다. 아니 처음부터 기획이 잘못되었는지도 모른다. 난 처음 이 프로그램을 접했을 때, 늘씬하고 이국적인 젊은 외국여자들이 떼거지로 출연하는 것에 눈이 만족스러웠다. 이쁘고 젊고 거기다가 늘씬하기까지 한 여자 보기를 돌같이 하는 사람이 오히려 드물게다. 그런데, 곰곰히 생각해보면 이는 꽤나 말초적이고 상업적인 방송컨셉임에 틀림없다. 즉, 서양남자들이 동양여자에 대해 갖는 일종의 성적환상과 마찬가지로, 동양남자들도 이국적인 외모와 문화를 가진 외국여성들에 대해 환상을 가지고 있다.
< 미수다>는 이러한 심리를 교묘히 이용하고 있는 것이다. 일종의 외국여성에 대한 관음적 욕망의 충족이라고 하면 내가 너무 앞서가는 것인가?
한국사회와 문화에 대해 반성의 기회를 갖고 외국문화와 비교체험하고 싶다면, 아줌마 외국인이면 어떠하고, 할아버지 외국인이면 어떠하며, 꼬마 외국인이면 어떠하랴.
오히려 다양한 인종에 다양한 연령에 다양한 계층의 말을 들어봐야 하는 것 아닌가?…
최근들어, 점점더 노출이 심한 의상을 입고 나오는 출연자들을 볼 때, < 미수다>는 상업적이고 외모지상주의에 빠진 저급한 프로그램으로 변해가고 있다. 출연 외국여성들이 자신들의 기회를 살려 연예계로 나아가는 것을 탓하고 싶진 않지만, 이러한 흐름이 자칫 < 미수다> 출연이 연예계 입문의 등용문처럼 여겨지고, 앞으로의 출연자들이 그러한 의도로 참가하게 될까 염려된다. 제작진은 출연자들을 섭외하기가 어렵다고 한다. 출연자들이 시청자들의 비난이 두려워 한국에 대해 쓴소리를 하는 것을 주저할까봐 시청자게시판도 폐쇄하다시피 했다. 왜이리 답답한 행동을 하는지 모르겠다. 출연자들의 섭외가 어려운 것은, 출연자들을 젊고 예쁜 미혼의 외국여성에 국한했기 때문이고, ….
사실, 개인적으로는 이제 그만 < 미녀들의 수다>라는 프로그램은 종영했으면 한다. 50회여에 걸친 방송으로 한국문화에 대해 논할만큼 논했고 볼만큼 보았다. 최근들어 점점더 섹시하고 예쁜 여자 출연자에 대해서만 언론과 시청자들의 관심이 집중되고, 한국사회와 문화에 대한 얘기는 뒷전이다. 또한, 제작진들 스스로가 한국문화를 잘 이야기해줄 출연자를 찾는 것이 아니라, 보다 예쁘고 섹시한 출연자를 찾고 있는거 같다. 예쁘면 다 용서되는 세상이라지만, 때론 외모보다도 진솔하고 감동적인 대화를 전해주는 출연자가 보고싶고, 남녀노소, 국적, 인종, 계층을 불문한 다양한 출연자들이 함께하는 그런 프로그램이 보고싶다.
If the purpose is to provide chances to reflect on Korean society and culture and to learn about other cultures, how about middle aged foreign women and grandfather? How about foreign kids?
How about various races and various ages?… Recently they wear more physically exposed clothes. The program turns commercial and significant for the physical appearance. I don’t want to blame them to grasp the chances and to step into entertainment, but this current might lead all participants to have this purpose. The producer spoke that it’s hard to find participants because they’re afraid that their criticisms toward Korea will cause blame from Koreans. How could they say that? The reason why it is hard to find participants is because they limit the participants to young and pretty single women…
In my opinion, I hope that the program finishes soon. For 50 times, they have talked about Korean culture enough. Recently it is focused on sexier and prettier female participants and stories about Korean society and culture are secondary. In addition, the producer is not looking for participants who will talk about Korean culture better and people who are pretty and sexy. It is a world in which beauty can make everything forgiven, but we would like to watch the program where participants can share impressive and moving stories beyond men, women, eldery, youth, nationals, race, and classes.
While many netizens express the purpose was fresh and good, the stronger commercial tendency causes their complaints.
[미녀들의 수다]의 홈페이지의 기획의도는 대충 간추리자면 우리나라 외국인 거주인구가 늘어남에 따라서 그들의 경험이나 의견을 시청자들에게 알리기 위한 것이다. 하지만 그 곳에 나오는 게스트들은 대부분 국내 거주하는 외국인들중에 방송에까지 알리면서 띄워줄 필요는 없는 외국인게스트들도 몇몇 보인다.
외국인 거주자들…약 50만명..
그많은 외국인들 중에 출연한 게스트들의 수는 0.01%도 안되는 부분이고 그나마 요즘은 거의 고정이다. 물론 출연한 외국인게스트들이 인기를 얻어 시청자들도 다음주도 출연시키라는 등이 의견이 원인이 되는 경우도 많겠지만 일단 연출하는 쪽에서 그부분 어느정도 외국인 게스트들의 출연을 더욱 다양하게 해야 하지 않을까 싶다. 적어도 한달에 한번씩은 반이상은 물갈이를 해야 하지 않을까?? 외국인 거주자들중에 그렇게 사람이 없을까????
Foreign residents… about 500,000. The number of participants are less than 0.01% and now they are regular participants. Of course some of them get popular and people would like to see them the next time again. But shouldn’t the production vary more participants? At least they should change them every month. Aren’t there a lot of foreign residents?
On the other hand, a netizen talks about how the program helped his prejudice toward non-Koreans.
전 개인적으로 예전에  백인여성 흑인여성에 대해서 일종의 막연한 두려움을 느껴서 아예 말조차 걸어볼 생각을 못했고 심지어 똑바로 처다보지도 못했습니다. 미녀들의 수다를 보면서 아 저사람들도 똑같은 사람이구나 그렇게 생각이 고처져서 이제는 더이상 백인여성,흑인여성들에 대해서 두려움 같은것을 느끼지 않고 길거리에서 만나도 말을 걸고 합니다. 외국여성들에 대해서 두려움을 고처주고 자신감을 심어준 미녀들의 수다에 대해서 고맙게 생각합니다.
However, the characteristics of the program have been criticized by many netizens.
처음엔 신선하다고 생각했다.  외국인들이 유창한 한국말로 한국에 대해 얘기하는 것이,,
우리나라 사람들 만큼 다른 사람들 눈에 비치는 자기자신에 대해서
신경쓰는 사람들이 있을까?
어쨋든 컨셉은 먹힌것 같았다.
하지만 회가 거듭 될수록 이 프로는 오락프로인지 교양프로인지, 아님 외국미녀들과 한국 남자 연예인들의 짝찟기 프로인지 헸갈리가 시작했다.
그 미녀들 모두 자기나라에선 평범한 사람들 이고 한국말 배우다 어떻게 운이 좋아서 tv에 나오게 된거고, 사실 우리나라사람이 어느 나라가서 그 나라 말쫌 한다고 완전 스타되는 나라가 어딨나?…
사실 한정된 외국여자들 시각이 한국에 대한 올바른 시각이랄수도 없고 차라리 동남아에서 온 외국인노동자들이 한국말도 더 잘하고 한국에 대해서 바른 소리, 도움되는 소리 할 수 있지 않을까?…
Anyway, the concept worked well.
But the more I watch, the more I am confused whether it is an entertainment program or cultural program. Or is it the matching program between foreign beauty and Korean male entertainers?
Those women are ordinary people and are luckily cast on TV while they learn Korean language. As a matter of fact, have you seen Koreans who go to other countries in order to learn their languages and become stars? …
Honestly speaking, limited perspectives from foreign women can’t be the right ones. We’d better listen to foreign workers from Southeast Asia who are able to speak Korean better and to talk about Korea more helpfully….


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Kuwait: Trips, Travel and More · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

Kuwaiti blogger continue to blog about their activities, within and outside their country.
Forzaq8 checks out the Kuwait book fair and reports on it as follows:
Well i went there, bought some books, and took some pictures :)
If you are looking for English books there isn’t much there, its mainly Arabic
Q over at Kuwaitism talks about new newspapers in Kuwait. He writes:
There have been several new newspapers in the market. A friend was commenting a couple of days ago about the lack of creativity in their production, basically they all followed each other,
Also, some bloggers are back from GulfRun – some of them with photographs and reports on the car race held in neighbouring Bahrain.
The Stallion from  The Stallion’s Stable of Thoughts and Experiences updates us about his road trip to Bahrain.
As most of you already know GulfRun 3 took place last weekend! My older brother and I drove down to Bahrain in my Land Cruiser while towing his trailer that had 300 liters of gasoline, 8 tires, brake pads, oils, fluids, and tools!
Marzouq over at zdistrict
posts (among other posts) about the transportation of cars to participate in GulfRun.
I have to say that I was impressed with the way they were handling things for this whole event, there was a lot taking place and for the return trip they had to prepare a lot especially since going through the Saudi Border is like going through hell for them. They make it as difficult as possible, but the organizers are the only ones handling the cars and not the transporters.
Kuwait Advertiser, meanwhile, introduces us to antique shops in Kuwait.
I was invited by a Kuwaiti friend to one of his friends, who owns an Antique Shop. (Actually he owns four.) I was excited because my wife and I love antiques and have quite a collection at home.
We continue our weekly trip in the Kuwaiti blogosphere with Hellraiser, who is covering his trip on a motorbike on his blog Kuwait to Beirut. He is still in Lebanon but planning to hit the road soon.
In my younger year we used to spend 5 weekends a year in Sannine, the last time we stayed there was prior to the Lebanese war in 1974
Last but not least, Bo9agr has come across a strange find in a local supermarket. He writes:
I saw this in our co-op (jam3iya) , it says Afghani Hashish Oil !! they didn't specify what is it used for, for hair? body? or to inhale??

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Kyrgyzstan: Feminism and women’s movement · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Genderstan observes the activity of women’s organizations in Kyrgyzstan, listing the ideological goals of women’s movement and saying that they usually have clearly defined clients and goals.


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Malaysia: Indian Protests · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sophie writes about the protests by Malaysian  Indians that took place on Sunday in Malaysia. The protesters are demanding fair treatment for Malaysians of Indian ethnicity.

author: Preetam Rai


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Malaysia: Indians in Malaysia Demand Equal Rights · Global Voices
Angilee Shah

Malaysian Indian activists made their way through traffic jams, blocked roads and closed train stations to rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday for equal rights in Malaysia.
Police in the city closed roads and two train stations near the British High Commission in anticipation of the rally organized by the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF). They used tear gas and water cannons laced with chemicals to disperse the crowds, effectively splitting the protest into different parts of the city. Protesters were dispersed along Jalang Ampang, near the Batu Caves (the site of a large Hindu temple) and near the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), an area around the famed Petronas Towers. Protestors began gathering at KLCC as early as 7:30am and reports say that police were trying to disperse a crowd at the gates of the Batu Caves as late as 11:00pm.
Photo from Flickr user lastham
Jelas.info blogger describes his first experience with tear gas on Jalan Ampang:
I was near the front, and inexperienced with tear gas, so it caught me a little unawares. Oh by God it hurt.
I thought I was going to suffocate.
It was all I could do to walk slowly away with the fleeing crowd. I wasnít sure if thereíd be FRU beating us from behind as we left.
Because the crowds were so dispersed, estimates of how many protesters attended the rally varies. The BBC, which reported from outside the British High Commission , said that more than 5,000 protesters rallied. The Associated Press (via The Telegraph in India) reported the crowd at over 10,000. Asia Times  estimated that over 20,000 rallied, while the online news site Malaysiakini says 30,000 rallied.
The New Straits Times reports that 136 protesters now face charges. Three HINDRAF leaders were arrested on sedition charges on Friday before the protest, then released on Monday when the charges were dropped.
HINDRAF was denied a permit to march to the High Commission and submit a memo that calls on the British to pay US$4 trillion in reparations for bringing Indians to Malaysia as laborers before the country won its independence in 1967. Protesters said that Malaysia's laws are discriminatory to the country's large, mostly Tamil population. There are over 2 million Indians in Malaysia who are often denied business licenses, property and higher education due to quota systems which favor Malays, protesters said. Many in the crowd carried banners with images of Queen Elizabeth and Mahatma Gandhi.
Police near the British High Commission
But protesters also said that they were rallying to also get the attention of the Malaysian Indian Congress, whose president YB. Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu has led the party since 1979. Many protesters expressed disappointment in the party's longtime inaction to help raise the status of Indians in Malaysia.
Colour Blind blogger Ronnie Liu said protesters were calling for Samy Vellu to step down
MIC Leader S Samy Vellu must step down now. That seems to be the common sentiment of the 30,000 protesters today. Every single Indian brother and sister I met today wanted Samy to go. So Mr Samy Vellu, have you heard their voices?
Disquiet blogger and president of the National Human Rights Society Malik Imtiaz Sarwar compared the reaction by police to the HINDRAF protest to their reaction to a protest in June by UMNO Youth.
I do not necessarily agree with the manner in which HINDRAF has decided to espouse its cause. Though I recognize the point HINDRAF is making, I believe that we should be fighting for the cause of all underprivileged and marginalized Malaysians. Having said that, the apparently inconsistent stance of the Police and the Government where rallies are concerned can only lead one to a conclusion that there may be some truth to what HINDRAF is saying.
While many English-language bloggers and the international press, including AlJazeera  and the BBC, focused on police methods of dispersing the crowd, Malaysian newspapers The Star  and The New Straits Times highlighted injured police officers and protesters’ violent behavior.

author: Angilee Shah


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Nepal: Political Posturing and Peace · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepal Monitor on the political situation in the country one year after the peace accord.


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Nigeria: Nollywood actress Bisi Ibidapo-Obe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nollywood photo blog has a post about the Nigerian actress Bisi Ibidapo-Obe:’ Bisi Ibidapo-Obe could easily pass for one of the most beautiful girls in the movie industry. However, when it comes to fashion she is in the class of those who know how to do it well. She’s always well-dressed and knows what suits her sultry shape.”


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Philippines: Teacher-blogger tries out ‘Wu Wei 10’ with students · Global Voices
Tonyo Cruz

Akomismo introduces Wu Wei 10, a classroom game and merit system  based on the principles of Taoism where:”students are rewarded with Chi points for the tasks they fulfill, and they use these Chi points to level up and cast spells. The objective of the game is to eliminate all the other teams or to be the first to unlock the Dragon King. The reward for doing so is exemption in the final periodic exam.”


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Poland: Kapuściński’s Translators · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Gdansk writes about a collection of stories by translators of Ryszard Kapuściński: “It was to have been birthday present, but Kapuściński died before it appeared. The contributions vary widely in subject matter, some not referring at all to translation making it less than essential reading for the student of the subject. But for the student of colourisation there are some pearls.”


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Poland: Police Jokes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot and his readers share favorite jokes about Polish cops.


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Poland: Public Media Funding · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about sources of funding for Poland's public media.


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Poland: Satire and Chastity · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes about the recent Spanish royalty cartoon scandal and the Polish google bomber's case – as well as the church's initiative to make “chastity trendy” in Poland.


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Poland: Tusk’s Long Speech · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot reports on the recent “policy statement” speech by Poland's new prime minister: “Tusk drones on for three hours […] Meanwhile Kaczynski, Gosiewski and Dorn lose consciousness, as did most of Poland. It was agony. Like listening to paint dry.”


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Russia: Kasparov’s Hunger Strike · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Garry Kasparov is in jail and on “forced hunger strike” – and Robert Amsterdam believes that the ongoing crackdown on the opposition “reveals tremendous insecurities related to an unsustainable state model.”


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Russia: Muslims on the Web · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about Russia's Muslims’ internet presence.


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Russia: Saami Parliament · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russia's Saami “want to set up their own parliament to control the dispersal of government funds allocated to their numerically small nationality,” Window on Eurasia reports.


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Russia: ‘Siloviki’ on Hajj · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about 15 Samara siloviki (“Muslim officers in the Samara branches of the Russian Federation procuracy, militia, FSB and other ‘special services'”) to go on hajj this year.


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Russia: The Marines · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about the history of the marines in Russia.


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Slovenia: Post/Pre-Election Situation · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Marko Bucik writes – here, here, and here – about the post-election situation in Slovenia – which happens to be the pre-election situation at the same time: “I have a slight feeling that the start for the next parliamentary elections has just started and thus we might try to assess the position of various actors.”


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Somalia: Somali culture · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Learn something about the Somali culture from Shafi: “Receiving a guest with such generosity is often praise worthy and the theme of many verses of poetry. In the Somali culture, where families are judged by their hospitality, Sooryo (receiving guests well) is very important and so is Sagootin (seeing them off well).”


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Social Networking  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“As the saying goes familiarity breeds contempt,” writes Abeni, as she wonders about the suggestiveness of profile pictures on social networking websites.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Syria: A Protest Against Censorship · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

To crown the two months of rapid internet censorship, last week the Syrian government decided to block Facebook (The popular social network site) and Shabablek, a very popular local forum for young people, among other websites. And it seems that many have had more than enough of this, and calls for immediate action have risen. Many responses came from the blogsphere, and it seems that a plan of action is in the making.
Many of the organizers are bloggers themselves who are fed up with the censorship on all blogspot blogs.
Razan, a key promoter of the campaign, published the first real output on her blog, this petition, that tried to list all the known censored sites in Syria, and was titled “Knowledge is a Right for All People”…
No to blocked of Internet sites in Syria. The most important thing which distinguishes the human being from the rest of living organisms is his private ability to generate and represent knowledge in all its aspects and find appropriate ways to employ them in the service of his life. In spite of various means of conservation and transfer of knowledge through out history, The press and recently the internet from one of the greatest and most forms of containment and transfer of knowledge. And the Internet is the most popular and wide spread mean and it has the ability to interact with people.
In this event page on Facebook, many ideas were put forward:
1- عرض مسرحي لمدة نصف ساحة قبالة البرلمان السوري.
2- تغطية الأفواه بملصق.
3- توزيع ورود على المارة.
4- توزيع دليل توعية بمواقع الحجب على المارة.
5- رفع لافتات تطالب بكف الحجب في سوريا.
6- العثور على صحفيين و قنوات لتغطية الحدث.
7- العمل على كتابة عريضة ورقية والكترونية قانونية.
8- تحريك دعوة قضائية.
9- الاتصال بشخصيات ثقافية لدعم الحدث.
1- Performing a half hour play in front of the parliament.
2- Covering mouths with tape.
3- Distribute flowers to passers-by.
4- Distribute a guide to the censored websites.
5- Raising slogans demanding to stop the censorship.
6- Inviting the press to cover the protest.
7- Filling out a paper and online legal petition.
8- Preparing to press for a law suit.
9- Contacting cultural figures to support the protest.
The event is getting more popular and more support everyday. One organizer announced today that the scripts for the play will be ready tomorrow. It is making a buzz and making it's way to the pages of Syrian news sites. It is a real breakthrough for Syrian civil society, for few campaigns that involve protesting against the regime have reached this far. The organizers are still weary though, and are trying to make this as public as possible, and trying to avoid politicizing the event as to alleviate any threats by the Syrian government to the members of this protest.
I will try to keep you up date with what will happen.

author: Yazan Badran


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The Balkans: A Dialect of Serbo-Croatian · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Anarchist writes at length about an East Herzegovinian dialect of the Serbo-Croat language: “Although the Serbo-Croatian language is not particularly under threat – well, the language isn't, but the use of the name “Serbo-Croat”, it must be admitted, has significantly dropped ever since the break up of Yugoslavia – my dialect in many ways is endangered.”


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The Balkans: Media Coverage · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Seesaw of Balkan Powder Keg follows Western media's coverage of the volatile situation in the Balkans: “My dear friends all over the world, especially in Europe, please do not say once again, you did not know!”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Murder/Suicide · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

After a mentally unstable father kills his son, then commits suicide, Media Watch asks: “who is ultimately responsible for his (the child's) death?”


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Turkmenistan: A warm-up in relations with Baku · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Maciula analyzes further warming-up of the Turkmenistan's foreign policy – now with another Caspian state, Azerbaijan, after the Azerbaijani governmental delegation visited Ashgabat for the talks on cooperation in the field of oil and gas industry.


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Uganda: Museveni’s big test · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ugandan President big test: “Commonwealth chair is Museveni’s big test
Now that Chogm has passed, it’s imperative that the country takes stock of the historic week when citizens once again demonstrated that they can stick together to attain a common objective.”


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Uzbekistan: Compulsory Cotton-Picking  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bordersca reviews two articles on the topic of still existing practice of compulsory cotton-picking in Uzbekistan, in which practically all population is involved by the state.


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Uzbekistan: Harrassing Journalists · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust calls not to forget the journalists who have given their lives in the pursuit of truth, taking Uzbekistan as an example, although he notes that journalists are not being killed there as often as in, say, Russia.


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Albania: Death Rites · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Living in Shkoder writes about Albanian death rites.


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Albania: Independence · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Albania marked 95 years of independence on Nov. 28, and Albanian Blogger posted “a short history leading to the country’s independence.”


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Annapolis: The View from the Middle East · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

With leaders and politicians from the Middle East and far afield meeting in Annapolis, US, over brokering a peace deal between Israel and its Arab neighbours, the mood remains somber, skeptical and pessimistic among bloggers from the region.
Here's what bloggers from the region are writing:
Palestine: Superfluous Promises
Palestinian Lelia Haddad doesn't hide her pessimism when she admits that people in Gaza don't expect much from the peace talks. She explains:
The conference simply generates new and ever-more superfluous and intricate promises which Israeli leaders can commit to and yet somehow evade. An exercise in legal obfuscation at its best: we won't build new settlements, we'll just expropriate more land and expand to account for their “natural growth,” until they resemble towns, not colonies, and have them legitimized by a US administration looking for some way to save face. And then we'll promise to raze outposts.
Al Haddad further adds:
So then what are people's expectations in Gaza from all of this?
In short, not much. But then, if history has taught them anything, it's that they never have much of a say in anything that involves their destiny, be it Madrid or Oslo or the Road Map. And the moment they do attempt to take control, the repercussions are to “teach” them never to attempt to do so again.
Syria: Palestinians Excluded from Peace
Syrian blogger Omar agrees citing a news site as to how irrelevant the peace talks are for Palestinians on the ground. He posts the following screen shot from Al Jazeera's website and explains:
Photo credit: Omar
The image shows the current RSS feed from Aljazeera.net
the first item translates:
Work is underway in Annapolis, Bush considers Annapolis as the ideal time for negotiations
The second item:
Six martyrs in an Israeli raid on Gaza
I guess Palestinians living in Gaza are excluded from the negotiations underway.
Israel: Remaining Skeptical
Meanwhile Bert, from Israel, says he is skeptical about the success of the Annapolis conference. He also notes the increased security in Israel. He adds:
Like most people in Israel I remain skeptical about the chances of success for Annapolis, and I have my doubts about the whole conference making sense. Still, maybe, just maybe, Ehud Olmert and others are right when they say that the mere fact that this circus takes place is in a way a success and a victory. I thought this when this afternoon I was doing some shopping with our two youngest children. In the shopping center I saw a policeman and -woman patrolling, and I noticed some kind of (semi)automatic gun hanging from the man's shoulder, with the magazine inside. I approached the two and asked if there was a reason for these special precautions. They smiled politely and said quietly “Annapolis”. Every time that Palestinians or other Arabs are seen talking the fanatics, theirs and ours, basically suffer a defeat. I do not have to point out what their victories look like.
Lebanon: Summoned by the Master
The Angry Arab or Dr As'ad Abu Khalil says Arabs attended the event because they were summoned to it by their ‘master’ Bush. He writes:
The New York Times is filled with “analysis” and quotations and citations as to why the Arab governments decided to attend. Some were saying that it was due to fear of Iran, others said it was fear of global warming, and other insisted it was fear of ghosts. The truth is much simpler. Arab governments, including Syria, decided to attend because they were summoned by master Bush.
Egypt: Illusion of Peace Process
The Arabist, from Egypt, says the meeting merely presents an “illusion of a peace process.” He notes:
I mean, is there anything more to Annapolis than providing a mechanism for boosting Mahmoud Abbas while keeping the Palestinian Authority subservient to Israel and the US, thus isolating Hamas and preparing the ground for booting it out of Gaza? And in the meantime recreating the illusion of a peace process Palestinians will never credibly endorse while divided and many in the Israeli political establishment (and certainly the current ruling coalition) have no intention of ever finalizing? Or am I missing something? The NYT could celebrate that if it wanted to, but enough with the @^%^$.
Mideast Youth: Middle Ground
Writing in Mideast Youth, Ray Hanania is urging both the Palestinians and Israelis to give peace a chance. He explains:
There is a middle ground and I suggest that Palestinians and Israelis BOTH start defining it better than they have. Let’s speak openly, not just criticizing each other, but criticizing ourselves. Palestinians need to be honest about the failures of their side, and Israelis need to be honest about the injustices committed by their side int he name of “defending” themselves.
I am hopeful, even if the legion of pessimists and extremists out there are trashing hopes for peace.
Bahrain: Let's Hope
Ammar, from Bahrain, is hopeful too. He writes:
It's started; let's hope for the best. This conference has caused a few sparks, so we'll just have to wait and see if it comes out with any useful solution.
In an earlier post, Ammar also wrote:
Sure, a lot of skepticism surrounds the conference, but there is always the opportunity that something useful may come out of it. Let's hope.


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Argentina: Foreign Taxi Drivers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Juan Pablo Meneses of Cronicas Argentinas [es] writes about the lack of taxi drivers from other countries.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Argentina: Roads In and Out of Uruguay Cut Off · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

De Todo un Poco [es] writes about the roads that have been cut off at the border between Argentina and Uruguay as a result of the dispute over the paper factory.


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Armenia: Renovated Toilets · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Kyle's Journey in Armenia updates its readers on a current Peace Corps project to renovate the bathroom and sewer system in a local school. With substandard facilities at present, the Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) hopes that the renovation will be complete by April.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bahrain: Drunk Driving  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini emoodz drives home the horrors of drunk driving in this post.


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Bahrain: Good Luck in Annapolis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif shares his thought on the Annapolis peace conference here.


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Bahrain: Light Sentence for Pedophile  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Umm Naief from Bahrain is enraged at the light sentence a pedophile received – one year for sexually molesting a five-year-old child!


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Bahrain: Not an Anglo-Indian  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bint Battuta in Bahrain discusses her background in this post.


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Bahrain: One-Year Contract · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Faceless says she has signed a one-year agreement with her boyfriend. Read all about it here.


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Bangladesh: Of frustration, hope and resolve · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Reflecting on the mammoth task of rehabilitation and rescue of the victims of the cyclone, Mukti writes of the frustration, hope and resolve.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Paying The Piper?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cheese-on-bread! suspects that many of the latest developments in Barbados are “all part of the politics game, but I'd rather my Government admit times are tough…than lull us all into a false sense of comfort.”


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Belarus: Palonka Battle · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus writes about the Palonka Battle and the Belarusians’ indifference towards their nation's history.


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Belarus, Poland: Kurapaty, Katyń · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus watches Andrzej Wajda's Katyń and hopes to see a similar film about the Kurapaty tragedy in Belarus one day.


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Belarus: Rock Music and the Regime · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lukashenko's regime makes Belarusian “half-prohibited” rock musicians an offer they can't refuse; TOL's Belarus writes about Belarusian bloggers’ reactions.


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Bolivia: Writing For Indymedia · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [es] writes about a correspondence exchange with member of Indymedia Bolivia regarding articles that Duran contributed that may not be in agreement with the positions of the collaborative website.  Duran wonders if it was a case of censorship.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Trial for U.N. and Netherlands · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Srebrenica Genocide Blog reports: “Dutch court ruled Tuesday that the United Nations and the Netherlands should face trial for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.”


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Brazil: Blogger is awarded prize for investigation · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Eduardo Machado, one of the editors of PEbodycount [pt], received an Investigative Journalism award for his special report ‘Colombia Plan: A Manual Against Violence’, the first account in the country of the very successful  experiment in combating violence in Bogota. His piece was published in a Brazilian broadsheet.

author: Paula Góes


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Bulgaria: Sofia Cab Driver · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petya of Bighead shares a Sofia cab driver story.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China: Digg Model Won’t Work? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Gomain points out that Chinese internet user is more keen on comment rather than voting for a post and the digg model hasn't been very popular so far[zh].

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: “Red Foreigner” Sings Red Songs Naked · Global Voices
Meng Zhang

Red songs, which mainly extol the virtues of Communist Party and patriotic sentiment, are not popular any more among the new generation of China. However, an American blogger who names himself Honglaowai (red foreigner) has revived the Chinese red songs and extensively posted his music videos on YouTube, Youku and Tudou such video sharing websites. What's more, in his red song MVs, he is naked to the waist.
Honglaowai's first red song “If There Were No Communist Party, Then There Would Be No New China”
Creating his blog in Yahoo China on November 7, which is the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia, Honglaowai described himself as “a foreign comrade living in New York“. He called Chinese comrades and quoted Mao Zedong‘s past speeches like “People, only people can be the motive power of the world history” in the Little Red Book. His half-naked performance of Chinese red songs, with Chair Mao's portrait behind him, were quickly spread on Internet and provoked a hot controversy among Chinese netizens.The voices on Honglaowai's special MVs were different from each other while some people believed to perform the classic red songs in such a strange way was improper and even insulting to China, some people just looked it as a fascinating individual show, and some others thought his red songs had been totally antiquated.
The comments in Honglaowai's blog:
作者: 刘礱
太可爱了.. 继续加油哦.. 如果来中国的话可以来找我玩哇..哈哈…
Author: Liu Long
You're so cute.. Please carry on.. If come to China, you can hang out with me..ha ha…
作者：who…
同志，你实在让我太佩服了！这么难的歌都能让你唱得有声有色，不支持不行啊！！加油！欢迎到中国来！
Author: who…
Comrade, I really admire you! You can sing such a hard song so impressively. I have no reason not to support you!! Come on! Welcome to China!
作者：嚣尘
你这个老外不了解中国~~要在中国的网络玩搞笑，扒了衣服唱些过时很久了的革命时代的歌曲是没用的…去你们的WALMAKET买件中国产的衬衫穿穿…应该比你赤膊更有效果…你是美国人…喜欢中国…不过这可不叫爱国…来中国办绿卡吧…（中国绿卡比你们国家的绿卡好办多了）当你成为中国公民的时候…你才能说自己爱中国就是爱国了… 记得…要和谐…和谐…把老外全部和谐了…那社会就和谐了…还有…开播客…是可以…千万别有一丁点侮辱中国或者中国人民的话…NEWYORK可不是中国…是能买到GUN的…要弄死你很容易。
Author: Xiao Chen
You foreigner don't know China~~If you meant to make spoof on China's Internet, it's useless to take clothes off and sing some really out-of-date songs of the revolutionary era….Go to your WALMAKET to buy a made-in-China shirt and put it on….it must be more effective than being half-naked…. You are American…likes China….but that can't be regarded as patriotic…Come to China to apply for the green card…(to get green card in China is much easier than in your country) When you become a Chinese citizen..then you can say your love of China is patriotism…. Keep that in your mind… we need harmony…harmony…When all the foreigners are harmonized…the society will be harmonious….and…it's OK…to open a blog…but never give   out any words that vilify China or Chinese people…NEWYORK is not China…it's easy to buy guns there…so it's easy to do away with you.
作者：光光
你老一口一个同志,一口一个同志的,你知道吗?同志在中国还有另外的一个意思就是GAY,想必你是GAY(同志) 还有,我喜欢你的体型,鼓励你不穿衣服~ 现在的家庭哪还有挂毛主席照片的,我觉得你现在的崇拜有点傻,有点落后,要跟上时代的脚步~崇拜是在心里的~还什么毛主席语录,你当中国还处在20世纪60年代呢吗?
Author: Guang Guang
You always keep saying comrade (同志). Did you know comrade's another meaning in China is GAY? I suppose you are a gay (comrade). And I like the type of your body, encouraging you not to put on clothes~ Nobody would like to hang Chair Mao's portrait on the wall now. I think your present warship is a little silly and backward. You need to follow the trend of times~the worship is in your heart~as to the Chair's Mao's Little Red Book, do you think China is still staying in the sixties of 20th century?
作者：晴天Pi…
同志，你好！！ 我是在土豆上看到同志你的身影的，你很可爱哦！！也很革命哦！！ 不过你真的是国际友人吗？？不要欺骗我们的感情哦！！ 你的中文真的是自学吗？你好厉害哦，虽然还有些表达不是很流畅的地方，但是加以时日，你必定能成为一个中国通哦～～ 不知道在你心目中的中国是一个什么样的国家，只怕你来了以后会发现跟你想象中的会有所出入 但是 依然欢迎你来中国作客！！！ 还有，如果在中文学习上遇到任何问题，都欢迎你随时发问，我相信大家都会很乐意帮助你的~ 加油！！
Author: Qingtian Pi…
Hello, comrade!! I see your videos on Tudou. You're very lovely!! And also very revolutionary!! But are you really international friend?? Please don't cheat us!! Did you really learn Chinese by yourself? You're brilliant. Although some of your expressions are not fluent, after a while you will definitely become an expert of China~~ I don't know what China's like in your mind, but I'm afraid when come here you will find out there are some discrepancies between the real China and your imagination. However Still welcome to China!!! Besides, if you get any problems in Chinese, don't hesitate to ask us. I believe everyone is glad to help you~ Good luck!!
作者：WANGXin
红同志真可爱！ 请允许有五年党龄的我，代表全体为共产主义奋斗的中国青年向你致以亲切问候和衷心鼓励！ 希望你继续热爱中华人民共和国，喜爱中国，早日到中国与革命同志们会师！  和革命同志握手！
Author: WANGXin
Comrade Hong is very lovely! Please allow me who has been in Communist Party for five years, on behalf of all the Chinese youth striving for Communism to extend to you the cordial greetings and sincere encouragement! Hope you continue loving the People's Republic of China, liking China and come to China to meet the revolutionary comrades as soon as possible!
作者：chan…
可是我们还是比较喜欢穿衣服的人哦，下次记得穿衣服哈。 其实偶们是比较保守的，不太喜欢经常革命，一两次就够了。
Author: chan…
But we still prefer people in clothes. Please don't forget to get dressed next time. Actually we are very conservative and one or two revolutions are really enough for us because we don't like that very much.
作者：逆龙鳞
这些你写的blog大都涉及革命什么的字眼,其实…我们也不是以此来判断你是不是我们的朋友:） 嗯,还是不要走”红”为好,如果你喜欢,你可以以行动影响你们周边的人,比如推广一下中国文化,比如改变一下中国在他们眼中因不了解所造成的误解.自学的中文都已经很不错了,我们也很乐意帮助你…
Author: Ni Longlin
Your blogs mostly mentioned the revolution or the related words. In fact…we wouldn't judge whether you are our friend by that standard:) Eh, you'd better not go to the “red” way. If you like China, you may influence people around you, for example, by popularizing Chinese culture or dispelling their misunderstanding about China. Your Chinese is not bad especially when you study it by yourself and we are all happy to help you…
作者：Renee
支持你！喜欢东方文化毕竟是好事， 虽然表达的方式有点过激， 热情了点， 可是可以接受。（你可能不太了解，现在的中国人喜欢资本主义的东西， 不喜欢你把中国和苏联说到一起去， 你还是应该找个讲中文的人教你中文和中国国情） …
Author: Renee
I support you! After all, it's good to like the Eastern culture. Although the way you expressed yourself is a little immoderate and exciting, we can still accept it. (Maybe you don't know too much about China. Now Chinese people like capitalism things and don't want you to put China and USSR together. You'd better find a speaker of Chinese to teach you and tell you something about China) …
Faced with the questions and doubts, Honglaowai finally got on a blue undershirt in his new red song “March of the People's Liberation Army” and briefly replied to the suspicions in his blog:
同志们的问题
同志们好！
在优酷，雅虎，土豆 等网站我最近收到了很多评论。很多人有问题及建议。我现在要给你们回答
1。《唱歌时你怎么不穿衣服？你外猴子，侮辱我们的国家！！〉
我并不愿意侮辱中国。我人这个无产阶级 连衣服都没有。认真共产主义者说，不是衣服而是思想 是最重要的！
2。《你有什么目的?>;
我要庆祝共产党的成功
我要和平
3。《你的中文不够好〉
对阿。因为是自己学的。如果同志们愿意，你们可以帮我改过来 我还没去过中国大陆。如果我去的话，我肯定改良。希望明年有机会去中国
谢谢你们的支持。
革命万岁！
The Questions from Comrades
.
Hello, comrades!
.
Recently I have received many comments on Youku, Yahoo, Tudou etc. where people gave me a lot of questions and suggestions. Here I will reply to them.
.
1.《Why are you naked when you sing the songs? You foreign monkey have insulted our country!!>
.
I didn't mean to insult China. I'm a proletarian even without clothes. To the real Communist, the most important thing is whether he has thought but not clothes!
.
2.《What is your purpose?>;
.
I want to celebrate the Communist Party's success.
I want peace.
.
3.《Your Chinese is not good enough〉
.
No, because I learned it by myself. If comrades are willing to help me, you can correct it. I have never been the mainland. If I go to China, I will certainly improve my Chinese. Hope I can get a chance to China next year.
.
Thank you for your supports.
Long live the revolution!
By this week, more than 75,000 people have visited Honglaowai's blog.  His latest MV published on Monday is a reproduced version of  止战之殇 （The Wound That Ends War) which is an anti-war song in 七里香 (Common Jasmin Orange)，the fifth album of Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.

author: Meng Zhang


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Colombia: Philips to Move Offices from Venezuela · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The multinational corporation Philips has decided to move its offices from Venezuela to Colombia writes the blog Liberal Colombiano [es].


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Colombia: The Future Freedom Plaza in Medellín  · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

President Uribe was recently in Medellín to mark the beginning of construction of the future Freedom Plaza. PISO TR3S [es] does not understand the point of the old-fashioned traditions of officials laying the first stone.


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Costa Rica: Draw for Qualifying for World Cup · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The World Cup qualifying draw was announced and My Dos Colones writes that Costa Rica must be really pleased with their chances.


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Costa Rica: Unions Threaten Strike over Free Trade · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Cristian Cambronero of Fusil de Chispas [es] writes about the unions that are threatening to strike if the Costa Rican Congress approves the Free-Trade Agreement, which was passed by nationwide referendum.


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Cuba: Human Development Index · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution blogs about Cuba's ranking on the United Nations’ 2007-2008 Human Development Index.


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Czech Republic: Discussion of Actress’ Son’s Death Banned · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

When a Czech actress’ infant son died, a number of Czech newspapers closed down discussions of this story on their sites, a step the Czech Daily Word disapproves of: “Being offensive is not illegal.”


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Czech Republic: Lawmakers on Buses and the Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Czech PMs “will no longer ride for free on bus lines operated by private companies,” the Czech Daily Word reports.


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Egypt: A Billion Pounds of Beans  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptians eat more than 1 billion pounds of beans a year, reports Elijah Zarwan.


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Egypt: Polygamy Anyone?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Eman was eavesdropping. Tune in to what she overheard in Cairo here.


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Egypt: YouTube Disables Activist’s Account  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A storm is brewing in the Egyptian blogosphere after video hosting site YouTube removed several videos featuring policemen torturing victims from their site.
“This is by far the biggest blow to the anti-torture movement in Egypt,” writes Wael Abbas, an award winning blogger, whose videos capturing the torture of victims at the hands of police were removed from YouTube.
Abbas (Ar) further explains:
Blogger Hossam El Hamalawy chimes in, describing the removal of the videos  as a “unbelievable”. He adds:
YouTube has just disabled probably the most important channel for the Egyptian blogosphere. Wael’s videos have been central in the fight against police brutality, and YouTube should be proud the Egyptian anti-torture activists have been using its channels in the current War on Torture… but instead, the YouTube administrators played a cat-and-mouse game with us.
El Hamalawy also suggests moving to other hosting sites to continue the anti-torture battle. He writes:
It’s necessary at the moment to start diversifying the tools we use in uploading videos to the web. The response to (what) YouTube is throwing at us will be simply a slow migration from using its service…
Commenting on this post, blogger Mostafa Hussein says that YouTube was within its right to remove the videos. He explains:
Well, the message from youtube is that waelabbas violated their terms of use.
This is actually true if you take a look at it. It states that content should follow the community guidelines[1]. In these community guidelines, there is this statement saying “Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don’t post it.”
This actually means that any video aimed at displaying state violence or torture against civilians will eventually be removed.
Simply, this means that YouTube is NOT the proper tool for this job. And Waelabbas and others posting similar content, should look for a websites, that don’t have similar terms. Or a website that is activist friendly, something similar to Indymedia or others.
Others are however not satisfied, and The Big Pharaoh is calling on supporters to campaign against the closure of the Abbas’ account. He pleads with his readers:
I’m breaking my blogging siesta to report this and ask you to please e-mail YouTube. YouTube has suspended Wael Abbas’ account for reasons that no one can understand. Wael Abbas is an anti-torture activist who posts videos of Egypt’s police brutality. These videos are the only mean to expose what happens in our police stations, without them the cry of people who were subjected to torture will go unheard. I really don’t understand why YouTube took this decision. I am counting on you.
The Committee to Protect Bloggers also has its say on the matter here.


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Estonia: Tallinn and “Devaluation Scare” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about Estonia's capital and the recent “devaluation scare”: “To your average Estonian, who is female, speaks Estonian as a first language, doesn't live in Tallinn, and is between the ages of 45 and 49, the capital must increasingly look like some revolving circus of riots, stag parties, ugly post-modern buildings, and devaluation fears.”


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Ghana: Journalist wins award in web media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ghana ICT Journalist blog reports that a journalist in Ghana has won an award: Emily NYARKO, from Ghana, winner of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI) – GKP Media Awards 2007 First Prize in the Multimedia/ Web media category with “Developing ICT enabled education – the future for Ghana”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Haiti: Going Solar?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Denise Green writes in to Haiti Innovation wondering “if the government ever thinks about solar thermal technology as an alternative to electrical power?  We should exploit the one resource that we always have plenty of – the Sun!”


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Hong Kong: Animal Reproduction Right? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Hong Kong government recently introduced a new regulation which requires animal breeders to have proper license. Some breeders protested that animal should have reproduction right and the license is against such right. Cheung yun-ling argued at inmediahk.net that the regulation is targeting at human who has already intervened into animal's natural life and the license is a way to prevent animal abuse [zh].


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India: Manholes and Sewers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

synchroni-cities reflects on manhole covers. A brief history of the modern sewer system.


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Iraq: Artisans Keeping Tradition Alive · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Alive in Baghdad sheds some light on Iraq's artisans.


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Iraq: Busy Reading · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Attawie updates us with what's happening in her life and how busy she is between painting and reading.


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Iraq: Snubbing Annapolis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

IraqPundit discusses why Iraq may have snubbed the Annapolis conference.


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Israel: Hooters Opens  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Benji Lovitt reports on the opening of Hooters in Israel – along with photographs.


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Israel: Syria’s Official Page on Facebook · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Amir Mizroch, the News Editor at The Jerusalem Post, posts what Syria's profile would look like if it had an official page on Facebook.


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Jamaica: Colourful Chattel House · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Montego Bay Day By Day continues her Wordless Wednesday series by posting a photo of a colourful chattel house in Negril.


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Kuwait: Princessdom Rants  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Princessdom is angry and here is her rant.


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Kuwait: To Travel or Not to ..  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“When you have a decision to take, do you go with your gut feeling or do you sit there and think of all the pros and cons of taking that decision?” asks Kuwaiti blogger Fonzy, who is toying with the idea of travelling to Syria.


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Kuwait: Xmas Bazaar  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Stallion from Kuwait posts an announcement about an upcoming Christmas Bazaar in Kuwait.


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Kuwait: Yes for What?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Joud posts photographs of a new ad campaign and wonders what it is here.


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Madagascar: Building a wooden boat · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ruth explains how people build wooden boats in Madagascar: “Jean finished building his latest boat 2 weeks ago. It’s a traditional wooden boat built using methods passed down from older fishermen in his district…”


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Morocco: Di Caprio in the Medina  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Leonardo Di Caprio is taking a break from shooting Ridley Scott's upcoming movie “Body of Lies”  to kick a soccer ball around on a Rabat's beach and stroll through the old medina (city), writes Moroccan blogger Adilski, who posts pictures too.


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Pakistan: From General to Mr. · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Musharraf is finally stepping down from the post of Chief of Army staff, and is to be sworn in as a civilian President. More at All Things Pakistan.


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Russia: Double Standards · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about double standards in coverage and reactions to the Russian election in the West: “To think President Bush had to nerve to throw his two cents in. […] You gotta be kidding me. I don’t recall any statement when the NYPD locked up 1000 people protesting the RNC Convention in 2004 in what became known as ‘Guantanamo on the Hudson’.”


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Russia: Elections in Dagestan · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog explains “the context that Duma elections will take place in Dagestan.”


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Russia: Pre-Election Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis posts another entry on the pre-election situation in Russia. Here's one of the highlights: “Kasparov's movement United Civilian Front (OGF) started a picket at the doors of the police department demanding to liberate Kasparov. The picket where only one person participates need not be preliminary approved by the authorities, so only man was standing there. However, he was joined soon by some vagrants who carried hand-made signs with similar demands. On this basis, the OGF protester was detained, since he was not alone any more.”


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Saudi Arabia: Treatment of Women  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Arabia’s medieval practices (only one manifestation of its backwards ideology) have been tolerated far too long, notes The Arabist, from Egypt, who links to an op-ed about the situation of women in the Kingdom.


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Slovakia: Press Conference in a Barn · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Deleted by Tomorrow reports on a good-bye press conference held inside a village barn by “the soon-to-be-former minister of agriculture”: it took Slovakia's prime minister “more than 20 160 minutes” to dismiss him – instead of the once promised three minutes.


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South Korea: Migrant Worker Trade Union Leaders Arrested · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

CINA blogs about the South Korea government's crackdown of the migrant worker trade union yesterday (Nov 27).


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South Korea: Wartime Propaganda Movie · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt looks into a propaganda movie Volunteer (Jiwonbyeong) from 1941 in detail to study traces of Korean contemporary nationalism.


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Sri Lanka: Another bomb blast · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Yet another bomb blast in Sri Lanka. Cerno writes “What’s worrying is that I’m not even vaguely scared. I should be but I’m not.”


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Sri Lanka: Through the blogosphere · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

London, Lanka and Drums has a roundup of posts on the Sri Lankan Blogosphere. From food, to exams to quitting blogging.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Bravo!   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Now Is Wow is excited that the feature she worked on for Ledaserene Films will be airing tonight on the Bravo Canada channel.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Come Into My Parlour  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The concept of the ‘parlour’ is a distinctly Caribbean one,” writes My Chutney Garden, as she makes a trip to one of her favourite roadside shops.


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Ukraine: Coverage of Holodomor in the East · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes offers samples of media coverage of Holodomor in Eastern Ukraine.


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Ukraine: Thoughts on Yushchenko’s Bloc · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

It's been nearly two months since the Sept. 30 snap parliamentary election in Ukraine, and although there are plenty of “democratic coalition” promises and hopes in the air, it has yet to materialize. Or not.
President Victor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc (NUNS) and that of his Orange Revolution ally Yulia Tymoshenko have a slim parliamentary majority; pledging to form a government together had been a significant part of their campaigns this past fall. On Friday, however, eight newly-elected lawmakers from NUNS failed to sign a coalition agreement. Prime minister Victor Yanukovych, who has already surrendered his powers, hopes to join the coalition with NUNS, too – and if that happens, the coalition would be known as “broad” rather than “democratic.” Obviously, Yulia Tymoshenko is opposed to this.
Here is what Ukrainian journalist Andrei Smirnov wrote (RUS) about the possible future of NUNS on his blog at Korrespondent.net on Nov. 26:
It's rainy and slushy outside, and the New Year's isn't here yet, so let's talk about politics a little. About the true [Ukrainian] politics – about NUNS. A lot depends on them now, but they aren't moving anywhere (as always). And it's perfectly logical – the bloc consists of small parties, and each one denies itself (because they can't afford to get into the [parliament] on their own) – and denies the bloc, because, having already gotten into the [parliament], they tend to exaggerate their role in the collective success. It is all but impossible to carry out any constructive work with such an inner duality.
Below are a few comments to this post:
Alexandr_1100:
How do you this this will end?
andrey-smirnov:
If they don't create a single party, they'll become irrelevant.
Topor:
On the one hand, it's all very good. It's so much better than what we are now seeing in Russia […].
But here's what I'm afraid of: that the country would get tired of all this before it all grows civilized, and that the country would want something simple and easy to understand. “A strong hand.” “Order.” And all that. People at NUNS can't agree about small things and risk losing something bigger. We've seen this happen before, a thousand times.
[…]
Gm:
Topor, and maybe let them (NUNS) lose their “power”? What do they need it for when they are doing everything to avoid working for Ukraine :)


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Ukraine: Tymoshenko’s B-day & “Feminine Strategies” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Among other, no less important, things, Orange Ukraine reports that the government has declared Jan. 1-7 holidays, Yulia Tymoshenko has turned 47, and someone has written a paper titled, “Beauty Will Save the World: Feminine Strategies in Ukrainian Politics and the Case of Yulia Tymoshenko.”