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Egypt: “The Inevitable Mubarak Photoshopping Contest” · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

As the 2010 Peace Talks–the latest round of direct negotiations between leaders from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, and the United States–kicked off at the beginning of the month, Egyptian bloggers were already expressing skepticism about their outcome, as well as about the involvement of President Mubarak (who is often the target of protests in the country).
Though bloggers may view Mubarak one way, however, Egypt's most widely-circulated newspaper, Al Ahram, sees things differently.  As blogger WaELK reported on his blog, the paper, using relatively advanced Photoshop skills, placed Mubarak front and center in the lineup of heads of state:
The original photo showed American President Barack Obama front and center, with Mubarak at far left
Outrage at Al Ahram
Several bloggers were aghast at Al Ahram‘s actions.  At the Eskandarany blog, Ismail Mohamed writes:
I got to know Mr. Osama Saraya [the editor of Al Ahram] for the first time through the series of posts he wrote about El Baradei few months ago. He wrote there that Dr. El Baradei holds another nationality beside his Egyptian one, however he said that he is not pretty sure of this information. I then wrote wondering if the Editor in Chief of Al Ahram (one of the oldest newspapers in Egypt) is not sure about information related the fourth Egyptian Nobel laureate, then who on earth should be sure then! And who is supposed to tell us the truth then!
The blogger adds:
This time, Saraya comes back with justifications as if the whole world is wrong and it's only him – the experienced journalist and editor in chief – who is right. Just after Al Ahram published the doctored photographs – or what Saraya calls Symbolic Photographs – Saraya came to tell us that the photo showing president Mubarak in front of the other leaders is meant to symbolize Egypt and Mubarak's lead role in solving the Palestinian crisis.
Abou El Maaly Fayek, who blogs at Lokmet Eish, is surprised by what happened:
Can't imagine a newspaper like Al-Ahram putting itself in such an embarrassing situation! I can't imagine a junior journalist, a hobby writer, or even a blogger to put himself in such position, a position that can be described in a best case scenario as a silly one.
“The Inevitable Mubarak Photoshopping Contest”
As a result of Al Ahram‘s creative reporting, bloggers, both in Egypt and abroad, have taken the opportunity to demonstrate their artistic skills, using Photoshop to further doctor the image.  A Facebook group collected some of the images, while others are posted on blogs.
Blogger Egyptian Chronicles shares a slew of images, including the one below, and notes:
There is a rumor in the Facebook that the state security is currently  searching the man behind this , well they have have to search for the  man behind the photos which are far more hilarious !!
"The talks were like a balady wedding," reads the blogger's caption
Lebanese blogger Beirut Spring adds his own contribution to what he dubs “the inevitable Mubarak Photoshopping Contest”:
"Keep walking Mubarak" says the blogger
Blogger Sarah Carr of Inanities, suggested that perhaps other historical events had been misrepresented as well.  Here is an example:
"الطريق الى الفضاء" ("The road to space")

author: Jillian C. York


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Egypt: The Proposal  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Miss SunShine, from Egypt, writes about a marriage proposal here.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Egypt: The US, Sharia Courts and Hysteria  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Issandr El Amrani, from The Arabist, shares his thoughts on Islamophobia, Sharia courts and hysteria in this post.


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El Salvador: Aquaponics in El Salvador · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Colleen writes about Aquaponics, “the combination of freshwater fish aquaculture and hydroponic vegetable production” in El Salvador for her blog Locavore del Mundo where she covers local farms and food movements around the world.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Europe: “Mapping Stereotypes” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Via Dr Sean's Diary, “a series of maps of Europe mapping the (supposed) prejudices of various nations […] and, for some reason, also of gay men” by “Bulgarian visual artist, graphic designer and illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov.” Also, “What European Tribes Think About One Another” – at eXile.ru; a similar map of Europe as seen by Croatians (HRV); and by Ukrainians from Western Ukraine (UKR; via Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow).

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ghana: The Complete Boredom of Ghanaian Functions · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

According to Graham Ghanaian functions are boring: “Having attended Ghanaian functions in both London and Ghana, the experience has been the same. Firstly, the host seats you at a table with other people but does not introduce you to anyone on the table, as we would in my culture.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Hungary: AGRI Pipeline Project · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Hungarian Spectrum writes – here and here – about the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) natural gas pipeline project and Hungary's possible involvement in it.


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Hungary: “Roma Reports” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Roma reports” at Pestiside.hu: a video about a “Roma fashion show” recently held in Budapest; and a Romanian Roma music video that “seems to have… borrowed quite a bit” from a Hungarian Roma music video.


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Iran: Strike at Bazzar  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Part of Iran bazaar closed to protest VAT increase in last two days. Gold bazzar is on strike in Tehran and a film in You Tube “shows merchants in Iron bazzar are on strike”.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: The Art and Design of the ‘Green Movement’ · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

“Where is my Vote” is an exhibition of 150 political posters for the Green Movement in Iran that was on display at the School of Visual Arts in New York (August 30-September 25) by graphic artists from around the world (Yossi Lemel‘s creation above) in support of the protests in Iran that followed the 2009 presidential election. These designs will also be exhibited in Boston in November.
Cyber citizenship, blogging and courageous citizen photo-bloggers were a corner stone of this international artistic movement.
John Wyszniewski, Assistant Director of Communication at the School of Visul Arts in New York said to Global Voices by email:
Following the elections in Iran in the summer of 2009, an Iranian photographer who goes by the name of Green Bird urged graphic artists from all over the world to create posters in support the Green Movement in Iran. One of the artists he approached, Italian designer Andrea Rauch, volunteered to host all of the posters on the web site SocialDesignZine, the blog of the Association of Italian Graphic Designers, where Rauch serves as editor. Over 200 posters have been collected on the site and can be viewed.
Wyszniewski shares a text from one of Green Bird's emails:
And here is the text from one of Green Bird's original emails:
“How are you,my friend? I hope you are fine.I am so sad in these days.many people died in Iran(after Iran election).the boys and girls killed in last days.my tears go by.the present issue in Iran is an international one.And in my opinion the well-known artists of the world should join the cause.you are a Great Illustrator.I urgently ask you to design a poster in support of this cause.you are an Iranian in these days like me.you are like me then help me in this way (Green Movement).”
Green Bird in her emails shared his/her photos from Iranian protests with the outside world too.
Wyszniewski at the end says the main topics symbolizing ‘Green art’ are: “Unity, Desire for Freedom, Betrayal, Hope.”


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Iran:Derakhshan sentenced to 19.5 years in prison · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to [fa] Mashregh News Hossein Derakhshan, Iranian jailed blogger, was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison. Read more here.


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Iran:Facebook for Art · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian artists have launched Iran's first ever contemporary art competition on the social networking website, Facebook.


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Jamaica: Back to Court for Banton  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaican bloggers – nay, regional bloggers – have been following dancehall music icon Buju Banton‘s drug possession court case with great interest.  Yesterday, news broke that the jury was evenly divided on what his fate should be.  The judge has since declared a mistrial, which means that the singer will head back to court later this year.
On hearing the news, Girl With a Purpose admits that:
…a lot of Jamaicans, including myself, breathed a collective sigh of relief when the hung jury pronouncement was made, but we are still holding our breaths, slightly, until December.
The Wickedest Time says that even Banton himself seemed relieved:
It looks like the jurors can't decide because Buju Banton has to wait until December before he knows whether or not he will be charged in this massive drug case.
One good thing is that he may qualify for bail in the meantime.
Although, no one really knows what the outcome will be.. Buju seemed relieved when he heard about the new trial date!!
Repeating Islands reposts a mainstream media report confirming that the star's U.S. drug trial is the talk of Jamaica, “where islanders are debating his guilt or innocence on street corners, in offices, in letters to the editor and on social networking websites.”  There is no doubt the singer has mobilised strong support from his fan base – there is even a website that has been set up to advocate for his freedom.  Many conspiracy theories are floating around, including one claiming that Banton was set up by members of the international gay community as payback for his homophobic lyrics in past songs.  (Banton signed a pledge a few years ago to desist from singing such songs again).
Banton's music career has had its fair share of controversy, but this latest imbroglio has done little to sway the loyalty of his fans.  Annie Paul has been monitoring the Jamaican Twittersphere, which has been “on Buju watch”.  Paul reposts some tweeple's opinions, noting that “things have generally been downhill ever since Buju was forced to meet with gay rights groups in San Francisco last October.”  She adds:
I’ve never seen anything like this. As Buju Banton’s fate hangs in the balance the entire nation seems to be on tenterhooks. Will he be found guilty or innocent of conspiracy with intent to distribute five kilogrammes of cocaine? Radio stations are playing his songs and he is the trending topic everywhere you go. Last night i was at a surprise party for DJ Sanjay at the Mayfair Hotel and the subject inevitably came up. Everyone wanted him to be found innocent –whether he is or not–
On Twitter the person tweeting as Bruce Golding proclaimed:
@bruceJLP: #FreeBuju #TakeMe
Paul also links to a piece she published by Sarah Manley called “…the full has never been told”, explaining:
It’s full of insights into why Jamaicans feel so passionately about this mercurial, contentious singer.
Non-Jamaican bloggers, however, seem to be more willing/able to call a spade a spade.  Barbadian diaspora blogger Jdid writes:
Let me start by saying mi love Buju to the max. Ask anybody he is by far and aways my favorite dancehall/reggae singer.
And so seeing as I have so much respect and admiration for the man's work and find so much of it inspirational (one day things must get better) it is hard for me to say this and nuff people wont agree but say it I shall.
Buju ya deserve jail!
I aint arguing bout whether ya guilty or not or whether its fair for you to be in jail I just saying ya deserve jail. Why? Well ya show a real lack of common sense by getting yaself into this situation.
Ya was complacent and ya should know better. I mean first off ya well know that nuff people dey in America naa like you. Nuff a dem still vex bout Boom Bye Bye and complain ya homophobic and would like nothing better than to be rid of ya so ya shoulda walk easy and know ya place star. If I was you once I land in America I would be acting like a veritable choir boy.
Still, there is no mistaking where his loyalty lies, as Jdid rounds off his post by saying:
But even though I say ya deserve it cuhdear I still hope ya get off though. I mean nuff odda people do worse hat you an walk so dem could gi you a ease too. Free the Banton!
Karel Mc Intosh, editor of Trinidad and Tobago's online magazine Outlish, lists some of the things she's learned from Buju Banton, summing up the situation this way:
Dey shoulda never hurt Buju, but Buju shoulda never hurt himself.
…He's been an inspiration, and a voice not just for Jamaicans, but also for people all over the world, who seek upliftment, peace, and positive vibes.  This is why it pains me to see him this way… even if ‘he look for it’.
Let's hearken to the Buju of pre-December 2009, before his arrest. He was all about love, appreciation, and inspiration. Buju encouraged us to love ourselves, and accept nothing less than royal treatment. He taught us to ‘walk like a champion’. He made us believe we could fight oppression, and emerge victorious.
This is the Buju I love.
I'm like a woman who knows her man has done wrong, but still I refuse to disown him. It hurts to see Buju in this mess, albeit a situation he facilitated. However, I cling to his songs, which are so uplifting. I cling to the lyrics ‘I wanna rule my destiny’, ‘Jah Jah put an angel over me’, and ‘I know that the sun will come out tomorrow’. And amidst the clinging, I remember how easy it is to fall.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Kenya: Prison Literature in East Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kimani Wanjiru discusses prison literature in East Africa: “Maina wa Kinyatti perhaps has the highest number of books that vividly describe his harrowing experience. He has a collection of poems A Season of Blood: Poems from Kenyan Prison (1995)…”


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Kenya: Winners of Kenyan Conversations Competition · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

StoryMoja announces the winners of Kenyan Conversations Picture Prompt Writing Competition: “In 1st Position is The Gentleman’s Club Written by Clifton Gashagua (Ksh 2000/-, 2 Storymoja books and 1 complimentary festival pass to the Storymoja Hay Festival)


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Kuwait: Earthquake Question · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Kuwait, Mark asks: “Did anyone feel an earthquake around 2:25PM?” He adds: “Looks like an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit near a city called Kazerun in Southern Iran.”


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Mexico: Landslide in Oaxaca Buries 300 Homes · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Erwin from The Latin Americanist writes: “In a piece of breaking news hundreds of people are feared to be trapped in the Mexican state of Oaxaca as a result of a massive landslide during the overnight hours.”


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Moldova: Gagauz Yeri Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos from Gagauz Yeri – the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia – at Moldovarious.com.


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Morocco: Human Rights Activist Arrested for Buying Alcohol  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The well-known Moroccan activist Abdullah Zaazaa was arrested in his Casablanca neighborhood of Bouchentou, for buying alcohol during Ramadan,” writes Ursula Lindsey at The Arabist.


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Morocco: “Why Belle is a Peace Corps Volunteer” · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

A blog meme is making the rounds amongst female Peace Corps Volunteers in Morocco; though neither of the bloggers who posted the meme disclosed its origins, both women say that they relate to it.  The meme in question?  “Why Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, is actually a Peace Corps Morocco volunteer.”
Showing a video (below) from the film, the post (posted here by absolute uncertainty and here on the blog Hillary's Moroccan Adventure) enumerates 25 similarities between the character's life and the lives of female volunteers in the country.  Hillary explains:
If you ever wanted to understand what I go through as female Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco check out this clip from Beauty and the Beast.  What Belle experiences in this clip is my life in a nutshell here in Morocco.
“People scream “Bonjour!” at her from windowsills and alleyways,” reads example #2.  #15 describes a common occurrence in the Kingdom: “Belle goes on and on about how much she loves something, which basically requires the nice goat-man to give it to her. You often see this in Morocco.”


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Music: CD Brings together banned and censored musicians · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Listen to the Banned is a music CD bringing together musicians who have been banned, censored or imprisoned due to their music.  It features artists from Afghanistan, Cote D’Ivoire, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine,  Sudan, Turkey, Uyghuristan and  Zimbabwe. This project was put together by Freemuse, an international organization advocating freedom of expression for music, and Deeyah, a Pakistani-Norwegian musician who after years of suffering harassment for choosing music as her livelihood who has now dedicated herself to promote human rights and freedom of expression.
They've been using social networks to let people know about the CD and the stories behind each one of the musicians featured. Their website has each artist's bio. On  twitter, the reality of the album's title comes to the forefront: they post about musician's upcoming hearings,  attacks on some of the artists during concerts and reminders of efforts to free a musician from prison. On  Facebook they post updates and receive support from fans, and on YouTube they've posted samples of each of the musician's songs in the album.
Take for example Farhad Darya, who less than a week ago had a concert in Kabul for Afghan women celebrating the International Peace Day. That day, as the concert came to a close, a bomb went off in the parking lot and injured 13 people :
To millions of Afghans, Farhad Darya symbolized the return of music after the Taliban’s fall in 2001. The Taliban banned music, films, and television in Afghanistan during their rule from 1996 until they were overthrown in 2001. After the Taliban’s fall, one of the first voices heard on radio was Farhad Darya who has been one of the most influential musicians on the popular Afghan music scene since the mid -1980’s. He went into exile when the Taliban ruled the country, but remained popular with millions of Afghans.
Mahsa Vadat comes from Iran. When the Islamic Revolution in 1979 resulted in many restrictions for musicians. Since female musicians had to sign an agreement not to sing in public, she only performs outside Iran. Sadly, some things haven't improved much for women since:
Today in Iran, women can practice various musical forms but they cannot sing in public for mixed audiences. They can participate in for-women-only concerts, some of which the Ministry of Culture organises annually. Women can also sing in the company of a male singer or as part of a choir. Mahsa Vahdat refuses to perform for women only. Thus her concerts are held outside Iran.
Lapiro De Mbanga from Cameroon is currently in prison, charged with causing youth unrest when his song “Constipated Constitution” was unofficially used in protests:
Amid nationwide strikes and mass demonstrations, Lapiro composed the song “Constitution Constipée,” (Constipated Constitution), in which he describes the country’s president, Paul Biya, as “caught in the trap of networks that oblige him to stay in power even though he is tired.” The song became an unofficial anthem of the protests, and Lapiro was arrested and charged of inciting youth unrest. In September 2009, he was sentenced three years imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of 280 million CFA francs (640,000 US dollars) as compensation for damage caused during the riots.
From Zimbabwe comes Chiwoniso Maraire:
Originally a strong supporter of President Robert Mugabe’s land reforms in Zimbabwe, Chiwoniso Maraire started openly criticizing the lack of competence, the increasing corruption and lack of free speech. After experiencing uncivil interrogations by the police, she decided to leave Zimbabwe in 2007.
You can read more about the artists’ stories and hear samples of the music on Listentothebanned.com

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Nicaragua: Blogger Interviews Journalist About Covering Sexual Diversity · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Espacio Nica [es] published an interview with journalist Rafael Lara from El Nuevo Diario [es], where a blogger asks him about covering sexual diversity for the newspaper and as a journalist in general.


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Nigeria: Nigeria@50 – Why We Celebrate · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A YouTube video called “Why We Celebrate” about Nigeria's 50th Independence Anniversary.


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North Korea:Kim Jong-il Renominated As the North’s Leader · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il was renominated as the general-secretary of North’s ruling Worker’s Party in regime’s biggest convention in 30 years,  South Korea’s Yonhap reported itas breaking news. According to Yonhap, North’s state media KCTV announced “Kim was renominated as general-secretary amid a storm of applause by all the delegates to the convention.”

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Russia, Czech Republic: “The Velvet Surrender” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam's blog links to an investigative report by Gregory Feifer and Brian Whitmore, published in the New Republic (full text available to subscribers only, however), which examines “Russia's ambitious nuclear diplomacy and foreign policy with the Czech Republic.”


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Russia: Irkutsk-Moscow Train Travel Notes  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Derek of The Kalpak travels for four and a half days on a Russian train – and arrives in Moscow.


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Russia, Israel, Syria: Missile Agreement · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

FP's Passport writes about the 2007 Russian-Syrian missile agreement and the Israeli efforts “to dissuade the Russians on fulfilling their contract.”


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Russia: Moscow Mayor Luzhkov Fired · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Notes on the sacking of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov: before (The Moscow Diaries and FP's Passport) and after (A Good Treaty, The Russia Monitor, Robert Amsterdam, Russia! and Windows to Russia).


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Russia: Moscow Mayor’s Dismissal · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Today, the main topic of all discussions in the RuNet is the dismissal of Yuri Luzhkov, mayor of Moscow. While some bloggers (1 [RUS], 2 [RUS]) consider it a victory of the opposition, others say, nothing had changed [RUS] – mayor's team is on it's place. Zyalt posts [RUS] pictures of the last anti-mayor rally, and makarova_faina proposes [RUS] to dismiss another governor.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Pavlovsk During WWII · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

More on the history of the Pavlovsk Experiment Station – at Vaviblog.


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Saudi Arabia: Gay Saudi Diplomats  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Saudi Arabia, John Burgess at Crossroads Arabia has more on gay Saudi diplomats.


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Singapore: Minimum Wage Debate · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Should the Singapore government impose a minimum wage policy? Hong Kong’s recent decision to adopt a minimum wage policy has sparked a debate in Singapore as to whether the prosperous city state should also fix the minimum wage of workers.
Photo from the Flickr page of Maks Karochkin used under CC License Attribution 2.0 Generic
Lee Yi Shyan, the Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Manpower, cautions against it.
By investing in our human resources, by encouraging our companies to innovate and by helping our low-wage workers acquire new skills, we’re confident that we can grow as a whole, and grow inclusively. The concept of a minimum wage policy is appealing politically but its implementation is not without pitfalls.
Stephanie Chok, writing for The Online Citizen, believes it will benefit the working poor
The point, ultimately, is to equalize the labour market and increase not only the earning power but also the bargaining powers of the working poor – powers that were gradually eroded over the years. Ensuring they are paid a fair wage that reflects current living costs is just a step in this direction, but one that should be taken.
Lucky Tan responds to the argument that a minimum wage distorts the market and hurts employment creation
A minimum wage, if properly set, is the income required for decent living in Singapore. It only distorts the market and hurt the employment of workers when you have an economy dependent (on) low wages and many workers (are) currently employed below the minimum wage.
New Asia Republic offers these arguments against the proposed minimum wage policy
Surely, it appears that a minimum wage is what we need in Singapore to help the lower wage workers. Yet there is more than it meets the eye. Such an analysis based on an individual worker’s well being without consideration to the co-workers, employer, economy and consumer, is myopic
It is important to acknowledge every individual has a place and value in the society, regardless of profession, race, qualifications or family background. The value of each individual in the society is not for the State to determine but up to each individual’s ability to contribute and value add his/her firm in the economy.
My Little Corner suggests the implementation of “guidelines” to help workers
Singapore need not enact the Minimum Wage law. They can just issue guidelines on the Minimum Wage. The reason is quite simple. If you look at the objective, it's to determine the minimum wage needed to survive in Singapore. Therefore, it should be up to the employers to determine the job scope needed in order to justify hiring that person.
transitioning.org reminds policymakers that a minimum wage policy is already in place in numerous advanced countries in the world
Its still a profound mystery why a economic powerhouse country like ours has so much reservation implementing minimum wage policy to better protect its vulnerable rank and file workers. Most first world countries and even third world countries have minimum wage policy in place so that workers have access to reasonably decent wages when they put in their fair share of work.
According to Singapore Notes, the “minimum wage” seems to be in effect already
The reality is that minimum wage exists in Singapore. The minimum starting pay for a cabinet minister is $1.5 million, regardless of not being backed by a single ballot cast in his name, not possessing prior track record in political office, or inexperience in managing a budget for a national mega project. The minimum for a senior minister is $3 million. You know what the top dog pays himself. And there are the minimum wage levels for permanent secretaries, superscale officers and a whole catalogue of fat cat civil servants.
The Mind Game reviews the various viewpoints related to the issue
Personally, I think its unnecessary, if there are really other supply-demand considerations for other jobs, let the employers offer higher wages on their own. The purpose of the minimum wage is for the standard of living of a worker and not for the demands of the industry and market.
Yawning Bread is supportive of the workfare program of the Singapore government. Words of the Cze also supports the expansion of this program
putting in place a minimum wage is an effective and efficient method of intervening in the market to generate distributive social welfare, but only if there is a substantial lot of low-income workers languishing below the bar to be set. Otherwise it’s really an unnecessary distortion in the labour market.
Ravi Philemon asserts that living wage is the better policy proposal
By paying people a `living wage,’ we show respect for them and what they do. We enable them to give something back. They have the income to spend more, local businesses, professionals, schools and even religious organisations, benefit. We also benefit as a community because people who are able to meet their basic needs by working a 44-hour week have time and energy for their family, their faith community, and civic life.

author: Mong Palatino


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Slovenia: Ljubljana City Council Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky writes about the upcoming election to the Ljubljana city council (an earlier post on the mayoral race is here).


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South Africa: Do You Know Where Police Are Hiding? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Twitter account that exposes where police are hiding daily in South Africa!


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South Africa: Self-regulation amongst bloggers · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Read Guy Berger's analysis of self-regulation amongst bloggers in South Africa.


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South Korea: Broadcasting Power Struggle Bruises Korean Viewers · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

When two giants fight, it is usually an innocent bystander who gets most hurt. That is exactly what’s happening in South Korea’s broadcasting field, with Korean viewers being the bystanders. Some of the paid-advertisements on cable television will be aired as black screens starting from October. As two major broadcasting powers–the terrestrial networks and the cable ones–began waging a huge battle against each other, over the transmission of terrestrial contents in cable channels, Korean viewers will likely become the biggest victims.
In South Korea, the major three terrestrial channels (KBS, MBC and SBS) are more than just the prominent players in the broadcasting industry. The invincible brand names of KBS, MBC ,and SBS have a certain authority over the Korean public. These three channels operate and run themselves like an independent state; often they produce, program and transmit their own contents without getting other company’s help. The cable channels, however, are often treated as minor, unreliable and tawdry sources, although the sheer number of cable viewers surpasses 15 million and it is believed that 70 percent of Koreans watch programs via one of the SOs (system operators). People's underestimation on the cable may due to a constant interruption of ads during the running time, as most cable channels suffer from the shortage of revenue and depend heavily on ad sales.
The association of cable networks decided yesterday to remove the ads that come with terrestrial content, beginning next month. It is a preparatory step before the assocation totally cuts off  terrestrial contents from their channels, which is what they are threatening to do. The decision was a part of disgruntled reaction to last December's court decision which ruled in favor of the terrestrial networks over cable ones. The court judged the cable's transmission of terrestrial contents without paying for the cost as illegal. To outsiders, it may seem perfectly normal to buy contents before transmitting them, but it is much complicated than as it looks.
Though this issue is closely related to their everyday lives, lots of Koreans did not fully comprehend the meaning of the news at first, mainly due to all the jargon and professional terms used in new reports. Netizen: Son Su-chul made a quick summary of the controversy right below one news report for everyone to see: ‘No one has done right’. He later explained that the terrestrial networks want to continue taking advantage of the cable’s situation and passed the responsibility of improving the transmission quality onto the cable. But, at the same time, terrestrial networks began to look after their share of the contents.  The cable is blackmailing the terrestrial networks, saying they will dismiss them from their channels if they don’t allow them to use the content for free.
So, the bottom line is, till one of those broadcasting bullies back off from the standoff, Korean viewers have to install antennas or buy another cable package from another system operator to watch their favorite programs. The news provoked varied responses. In case of Jusk2, the blogger uploaded a video of how to make an antenna out of a metal coat hanger and added:
지상파 방송을 보기 위해서는 안테나 달아야 하는데. 지상파 방송측에서는 디지털 방송의 전파 커버리지가 80-90 % 넘었다고 하지만 제가 사는 곳을 포함해서 아직까지도 디지털 방송이 안나오는 것은 물론 대부분의 케이블 TV시청자들이 이런 상황을 잘 모르고 계시고 있어서 큰 문제가 될 것 같습니다.
Ys10310, who introduced herself as a helpless 35 year old housewife, expressed strong resistance toward a possible disadvantage this shift may bring. As a way of defending her rights as a consumer, she quickly downloaded the terms and agreements from her cable’s website, before the company makes any alternation.
상담원이 그런다. 지상파가 송출되지 않는 사태는 일어나지 않을 것이다. 그렇기 때문에 그에 대한 위약금 부분이나 해지 부분에 있어 누구의 책임 소재는 아직 정해진 바가 없다. 라는 것이다…우리를 볼모로 이러한 싸움을 한다는 것 자체가 너무 어이없고 황당하기 그지없다.
Many Koreans feel tired just by looking at this muddy stalemate. Blogger Kakdugi said that even though protecting the copyrights of terrestrials’ contents is totally understandable, the free promotional effect of the cable’s coverage is hard to ignore.
솔직히 광고 수익을 챙기면서, 지상파 방송사에 저작권료를 지불하지 않는 것도 문제는 있다. 어찌됐든 지상파 방송사에서 제작비를 들여서 만드는 프로그램이고…그런데 또 어떻게 생각하면, 케이블 TV에서 재방송을 보고, 전혀 보지 않고 있던 드라마에 관심을 가지거나, 그래서 본방송을 챙겨보는 경우도 많이 있긴 할 것이다…많은 사람들이 보고, 입에 오르내릴수록 시청률도 올라갈 것이고, 그렇게 시청률이 올라가게 되면 광고 수익도 조금 더 늘어날 것이기 때문이다…적절한 선에서 타협했으면 좋겠다.
A media-expert blogger like Medium focused on the pictures behind the scene. The cable at first was obliged to carry the terrestrial contents as a way of protecting the terrestrials from pure lucrative business of the cable television. And the win-win practice was kept solid till now before the market shares got shifted.
KBS2와 MBC, SBS 채널의 케이블TV 송출은 어떤 근거도 없이 지상파방송사와 케이블사업자 사이에 묵인되어 왔다. 양측 모두 혜택을 누릴 수 있기 때문이다. 지상파방송은 난시청 해소의 부담을 덜면서 시청권역을 확대하는 효과를 누릴 수 있었다. 소수의 난시청 가구를 위해 비용을 들이지 않아도 되었으며, 시청권역이 확대됨에 따라 간접적으로 광고수익이 증가하는 효과를 기대할 수 있었다. 케이블TV는 추가비용을 들이지 않고 양질의 프로그램을 확보할 수 있었다. 케이블 채널의 시청률은 1%만 넘으면 대단한 축에 드는데 비해, 지상파방송의 인기 프로그램은 시청률이 30%를 넘나든다. 최고의 인기 콘텐츠를 ‘공짜’로 확보할 수 있었던 것이다. 이러한 양측의 암묵적 거래(?)와 묵인은 일정한 조건 아래서 가능했다.
그런데, 뉴미디어가 등장하고 방송시장에 경쟁이 심화되면서 상황이 바뀌기 시작했다. 우선, 지상파방송의 경영상황이 점차 악화되기 시작했다. 광고매출이 정체되고 막대한 규모의 당기순손실이 발생하기도 했다. 2002년 매체광고시장 전체에서 37.7%를 차지했던 지상파방송은 2009년 23.0%까지 꾸준히 감소했다. 반면, 같은 기간 케이블TV는 3.6%에서 10.7%로 증가했고, 인터넷 광고는 2.9%에서 17.1%로 급격히 성장했다. 이렇게 어려워지는 살림에 프로그램을 그냥 갖다 쓰게 할 수는 없었다.
There is no sign of conflict dying out, and Korean people's frustration from the uncertainty is growing larger and larger.


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Tanzania: An Environmental Disaster of Choice · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An environmental disaster of choice: “…a proposed highway through Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, the last great wildlife sanctuary on our planet, home to wildebeests, zebras, lions, cheetahs, and too many more species to name — is no less urgent and every bit as heartbreaking.”


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Tanzania: The Party That Gagged Itself · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Elsie writes about election campaigns in Tanzania: “A couple of weeks ago CCM forbade its candidates from participating in political debates. This blanket ban covers presidential, parliamentary and local government candidates and includes private and public media as well as political rallies.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Film on the Amerindians · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands blogs about “one of the documentaries being screened at the  2010 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival…Tracy Assing’s new film The Amerindians.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: MATT’s Role  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I know in a democracy it is only right for everyone to have their say. Even in criticising you, MATT. But when the criticism becomes mere target practice, it’s time for us to grow up and look at MATT not as the enemy but as a vessel for all of us in media to get on board”: Lisa Allen-Agostini supports the new executive of the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago and is ready to roll up her sleeves.


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UK: Interview With Donald Newholm On ‘History of USSR’ Tetris Song · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Good Treaty interviews Donald Newholm of Pig With The Face Of A Boy about the band's popular song, “A Complete History of the Soviet Union As Told By A Humble Worker, Arranged To The Melody Of Tetris” (the YouTube video to this song has been viewed over 500,000 times).


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Africa: University of Texas Africa Conference 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jessica explains the focus of University of Texas Africa Conference 2010: “…this year we hope to take it a step further by putting scholars into conversation with activists and policy-makers who are actively involved in the actual political process.


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Argentina: Clarifying Myths about Tierra del Fuego · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

In Patria SI, Colonia NO, Gabriel Carol clarifies [es] five myths about Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago in the southernmost tip of Argentina. These myths include that Tierra del Fuego is unsafe, that it invests a lot of money in education, and that the region depends on its natural resources.


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Bahamas: Migratory Birds  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Bahamas is celebrating International Migratory Bird Month; Repeating Islands re-posts the details.


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Bahrain: Access to Political Societies Websites Blocked  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain has blocked access to countless websites, blogs and the websites of political societies, ahead of parliamentary elections. Mahmood Al Yousif comments on the development here.


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Bahrain: Human Rights Societies  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif gives us a sneak preview to what has been happening on the human rights societies scene recently.


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Bahrain: Who is Ali Abdulemam? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Hussain Yousif describes his jailed friend blogger Ali Abdulemam in this post. For more details on Ali's arrest, read this.


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Chile: 80 days later, Mapuche still on hunger strike · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Today marks 80 days of the Mapuche hunger strike over the Anti-terror law in Chile. Observatorio Ciudadano published a list [es] of demonstrations that will take place throughout Chile and in Italy to support the Mapuche on their hunger strike.


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China: Blind people’s footpath with Chinese character · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A collection of photos on the design of blind people's footpath in China has been circulated widely through sina micro-blog. All the paths lead the blinds to dangerous trap.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: Rainy Season Especially Strong This Year · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Albeiro Rodas writes that this year's rainy season”has been especially strong, according to the authorities.” He also writes about a landslide that took place yesterday and “covered the Medellín – Urabá Road in Manglar county, municipality of Giraldo. Thirty persons were reported missing when tons of mud and stones fall on the road.”


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Colombia: University of Antioquia Closed After Clash Between Students And Police · Global Voices
Cati Restrepo

The University of Antioquia, located in Medellín, Colombia, is known as one of the most prestigious public institutions of higher education in Colombia.  However for the people there, it’s also known to have various individuals that disturb the peace and disrupt the normal academic environment; they have gone so far as to say some of these individuals are armed, and in the riots in which students have confronted police, this has been said to mean Molotov cocktails.
The comments coming from media outlets say that the university has a serious problem with rebelliousness.  And once again those who study at the university are being stigmatized. A tweet from Journalists UdeA (@periodistasudea) says:
Están criminalizando la #udea. (?) Vienen para acá, a laUdea, buscando espacio. Profesora en la asamblea
The most recent disturbance caused the closing of the university on Wednesday, September 15. Meanwhile, the administration and faculty have had various meetings to decide the conditions under which the university will reopen.  The student and blogger, Blueandtanit writes about these riots [es]:
El  miércoles se llega el definitivo motivo de este post, primero, un grupo  de alrededor de 200 estudiantes se dirige e forma pacífica al bloque  administrativo (16), luego los administrativos se encierran con el  argumento ridículo de temer por sus vidas -como ya mencioné en párrafos y  en posts anteriores, si bien no comparto los viejos, parcializados y  desgastados mecanismos y motivos de protesta de la UdeA, esta claro que  no se trata de un grupo de ASESINOS- (…)
Luego de encerrarse,  al parecer por autorización del gobernador, es permitido el ingreso del [Escuadrón Móvil Antidisturbios]  ESMAD  (que, como ya mencioné, se encontraba a poca distancia, en la  portería), y se libra una batalla campal que los noticieros y otros  medios llamaron “intento de amotinamiento” “protesta violenta de los  estudiantes”… Pero que en realidad, como denunció la Personería de  Medellín, fueron medidas de choque injustificadas.
I definitely have reason to post about Wednesday. First, a group of around 200 students gathered peacefully at administration block 16.  Then the administration locked themselves in the building with the ridiculous argument that they were fearing for their lives – as mentioned in paragraphs before and other posts, although I don’t share the old, marginalized and worn down methods and reasons for protesting the UdeA, it’s clear that this wasn’t an attempt by a group of ASSASINS-(…)
After the lock-in, apparently by the authorization of the governor of Antioquia, ESMAD [Anti-Riot Mobile Unit] was deployed (which, as mentioned, they were found some distance away at the University entrance) and unleashed a pitched battle that the news programs and other media labeled “a revolt attempt“ “a violent student protest” … But in reality, as reported by the Personería [Civil Rights Group within the Attorney General’s Office] of Medellín, the measures used by the government were unwarranted.
Image from del blog Estudiantes U. de A. Used with permission.
In the blog Estudiantes U. de A. the events of the confrontation have been documented, such as the arrival of the police with photos and videos, plus the publishing of the minutes and communications of the student gathering. One of the posts titled “The university is in a state of shock and sadness…it was assaulted by the police [es],” has generated, at this moment, more than 90 comments, mainly from the students.  Meanwhile on Twitter, the most recent thoughts under the hashtag #UdeA express student concern over the closing of the University:
Deisy Rivera (@deisyra14):
Ya quiero ver la U abierta #udea
Todo  lo que hay (@todoloquehay):
Decimos que en la #UdeA el problema es de todo,  Estudiantes, Egresados, Profesores y gente que les duele la U en http://bit.ly/cVkF6U
Alejandro  Rua (@JandroRua):
Esperemos que en la reunion del martes el consejo  academico, dé el aval para la reapertura del Alma Mater lo mas pronto  posible #UdeA
Richard Ortega (@Richardarzt):
Y acá seguimos esperando que  dice el CS de la Udea esperemos que no cancelen semestre… al paso que  voy me graduaré para cuando cumpla 75!
Ma. Angelica Cruz (maangelicacruz):
#UdeA te extrañooo!!! :( .. Ya quiero volver a mi universidad!!!!
After the closing of the university on September 15, an event was created via Facebook called “Hora cero para volver a  estudiar [es]“[“Countdown to Studying Again”] in which the students proposed holding classes outside the University. The event came to an end on September 24 and some tweets were published about this:
De la Urbe (@Delaurbe):
Los estudiantes reciben clases simbólicas en la  calle para reclamar la apertura de la UdeA delaurbedigital.udea.edu.co/index.php/de-l… vía @AddThis
Periodistas UdeA (@periodistasudea):
Así se ve la Avenida del  Ferrocarril junto a la entrada a la #udea http://twitpic.com/2qxjh5
Blueandtanit (@blueandtanit)
@Plano_Online vea pues, ahora, según el consejo académico, uds y todos los que fuimos a  #horacero #udea somos de la asamblea #chismosos!
As of now, the problems at the University have not been resolved.  Owing to the University's closing, there will be an inevitable extension of the academic calendar and the main ones harmed by this extension will be the students.  The current situation doesn’t allow an accurate reading of the facts much more than there will be some economic losses caused by the closing, especially as the University has a financial responsibility toward the students, according to the majority of media coverage.  In addition, the photos and videos (as seen in this post) made the day of the confrontation were mainly published to the internet by student blogger/twitter users found in University buildings. This real-time version of the events has differed slightly from the graphic coverage in the media.
Related Links:
- Website of the University of Antioquia [es]
– Communications from the University Council of UdeA after the September riot [es]
– Announcement from University Council of UdeA – Countdown to Studying Again [es]

author: Cati Restrepo


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Guyana: Little Bit of Everything   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyanese diaspora blogger The Bohemian State says that her mix of ethnicity always left her torn, but “because of all these different MEs, I can understand all the different YOUs.”


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Haiti, Dominican Republic: The Presence of DR Troops  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Wadner Pierre says that “the decision of the Dominican government to send troops in Haiti proved the participation of the Dominican government in destabilizing Haiti peace”.


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Hungary: Citizens Protest Against Auchan Shopping Mall · Global Voices
Marietta Le

What is actually happening at the Dunakeszi marsh?
The story of the marsh at Dunakeszi keeps going on since the end of 2009. The controversy concerns the expansion plans of a shopping mall of Auchan Hungary over an area covered by a marsh protected by the law.
Greenfo, an environmental site, recently published an article [HUN] on the latest news in the case. After the re-examination carried out by Hungary's National Inspectorate for Environment, Nature and Water, the area of the future parking lot was divided into two halves, and the examinations continue only on one of them. The site also reported that the leaders of the “marsh defenders” – Márton Sarkadi and György Kriska – were summoned for a hearing and accused of defamation and libel because of a fake Auchan brochure published on a website [HUN] that had been launched to draw attention to the Dunakeszi marsh's case.
Later a video was leaked and published on several sites with an entrepreneur who started to cut the trees in the area still under examination, saying he is working on the orders from Auchan. Péter Pacsuta, blogging under the nickname Pacsker, also shared [HUN] the video on his blog GreenR [HUN], and got an e-mail from Auchan's PR company, stating they hadn't started and wouldn't start any work until the final official decision was made.
The inspectorate investigated the scene again this Tuesday, representatives of Auchan Hungary, of Dunakeszi's municipality and of NGOs attended the “event” [HUN], which was also published on Facebook.
photo courtesy of Simon Molnár from lightwalker.aminus3.com
The Facebook effect
From the very start, Facebook has been a very important tool among citizens defending the marsh. There is a group for saving the Dunakeszi marsh [HUN], and another one which calls citizens to boycott the shopping mall [HUN], they also used the hamster figures [HUN] of an Auchan commercial for a satirical piece [HUN].
Auchan Hungary is also very active in campaigning on Facebook [HUN]: they've started a page for environmentally conscious consuming, which fell into the same trap as Nestlé with Greenpeace's campaign.
Pacsker first tried to post [HUN] a link to Jin&Jang, the hamsters’ page, but was not able to do that. Later, he reported about the conscious consumer site of Auchan, shared a screenshot of the page, which got comments from the “marsh defenders” that were later deleted. Pacsker wrote:
Auchan couldn't stand publicity, being called to account, and the “truth” – so it stopped the wall of Auchan Hungary's page on Facebook. Since midday afternoon, censorship is continuous, but those users who are unsatisfied with the environmental policy of the company are there and if not for a special request, then they are expressing their displeasure in comments to Auchan's own posts. […]
The blogger effect
Bloggers of “Varacsk” asked some questions in their post [HUN] and asked their readers to write their opinion on Auchan's Facebook wall:
[…] I would like to ask only: is everything allowed here? We give money to the state, to inspectorates, to authorities, and everybody shuts up? Who will stop these? (I see in front of my eyes the people flicking off the thing, that it is only a marsh, come on… if it was not effaced, where would you park your car? Where would it stay while you are shopping for some superfluous things? Who cares that the Hungarian farmers are trimmed by this? Who cares that the child of my grandson won't have the possibility to drink clean water and breathe clean air? Haven't you seen? The cold cut is only 640 HUF [approx. 3.15 USD] per kilo! […]
Pacsker wrote a post [HUN] about the profit and deficit of Auchan, saying the results are like the results of the concept of karma:
[…] This is what Auchan has to come round to. Either it cooperates with environmental protection and so it can keep its profit, or, if it does not cooperate, then it would reach its own goal against itself, being chased away from this country. When they consider people stupid and set the cutting of willows with thick trunks to “extirpating of ragweed and upkeeping of the area,” then they are not only spitting the nature in the eye, but spitting on themselves as well. The snake bites its own tail. I hope Auchan understood the importance of the karma!”

author: Marietta Le


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Iraq: Inside a Hospital  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Inside Iraq reports in the daily carnage in Iraq from a hospital corridor.


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Iraq: The Endless Suffering of Iraqis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Faiza Al Arji describes the situation in Iraq, from health to agriculture, to education and the destroyed infrastructure.


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Iraq: The Little Boy Who Could Not See · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Layla Anwar writes about the “little boy who couldn't see.”


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Jamaica: Tweetup #2 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Stunner blogs about “the biggest tweetup in the history of Jamaica!”


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Japan: Earthquake warning via mobile phone · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Akky Akimoto from Asiajin introduced an earthquake early warning system via mobile phone network in Japan.


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Jordan: Introducing the Bitter Khalto  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Have you heard of the ‘bitter Khalto’ or an older woman you would call auntie out of respect? Jordanian Rand fills us in.


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Nigeria: On Kidnapping of Children · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

On kidnapping of children in Nigeria: “But even worse than that sad reality is that Nigeria is increasingly becoming a kidnapping capital. Nowhere else is this madness exemplified than in the reports of 15 young children that were kidnapped on September 27th, 2010.”


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Russia: “Web of Justice” · Global Voices
Yelena Osipova

The Court House – Figure of Justice, photo by Elliott Brown
Last week, Russia's foreign broadcaster – Russia Today TV (RT) – ran a report about Russian bloggers and how they, heroically, expose crimes and corruption in the system. Here are some excerpts from the related article posted online:
Desktops, laptops, phones and PDAs…. Internet in Russia is rapidly becoming much more available, and much more than just entertainment. For many, it has turned into a virtual speaker's corner, where their voice will not only be heard, but is guaranteed to echo across the country within hours.
There are vocal examples of how Internet users can help solve complicated problems. In one instance, a video of a man posted online led to his dismissal. The man, who was the head of the local government, was bullying children at school but remained unpunished until the video went viral.
Analysis followed:
“This doesn't mean that journalists are bad, and bloggers are better,” stressed Sergey Dorenko, editor in chief of Russian News Service. “Or that the only notion of free speech exists online. It's simply a matter of choice. We no longer want to watch someone else's rundown, we want to – and can – make our own. The Internet allows us to choose what we want to know about, at a speed print or TV media simply cannot compete with.
But then, there was this:
In another instance, one blogger managed to reach Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in order to help an orphan, Pasha Berezin. A master chess player, a math genius and guaranteed state benefits, Pasha is missing the start of the academic year due to the demands of a construction company that helps fund the school. “I want to be an IT specialist,” the boy told RT. “But the school said that if I want to study here and live in the residence halls, I have to study to be a builder.” Pasha's case was taken on by a charity organization, Murzik.
Its founder, German Pyatov, says what made a difference to his case was a message he posted online to the president. “After I posted my letter, someone from the president's office called and asked for details about this case,” Pyatov said. “I know they got in touch with Pasha's college, because almost immediately afterward, the college called and told Pasha to withdraw his application and basically get the hell out. They were scared that the authorities got involved. Then the media picked up the story, and the college was forced to stop its unlawful actions. They now allow Pasha to attend lectures, but still refuse to give him a room.”
This story was broadcast on September 20. The following day, another report about the great potential of the Russian blogosphere appeared on Russia Beyond the Headlines (online and print, in cooperation with several prominent foreign newspapers):
Opposition politics in Russia have become less about political figures or parties, and more about grassroots issues: Witness the car protests or the grassroots campaign against police corruption. The trickle-up effect (from blogosphere to mainstream media) is especially significant, as it shows how bloggers move further away from being the preserve of an urban, well-connected elite.
Seeing such reports, one cannot help but consider the source: both of these outlets are state-owned and are produced, primarily, in English, with the objective of “helping foreigners better understand Russia.” With this in mind, it seems such stories would serve Russia's public diplomacy well, especially given President Medvedev's attempts to demonstrate to the world that Russia can be en par with the West in terms of technological progress, as well as the social and economic transformations that accompany it.
Yet, Russian Internet freedom also seems to be a paradox that has caught the attention of many, lately. Earlier this month, Tangled Web tried addressing Russia's “virtual democracy”, referring to a recent report by the U.S. Institute of Peace – Blogs and Bullets – on the power of the new media:
From the outset, the report makes the point that the impact of new media on democracy is still unclear, as much of the evidence is still fragmentary and anecdotal. But one sentence, in the section on how new media can affect individuals, stuck with me: “new media could make citizens more passive, by leading them to confuse online rhetoric with substantial political action, diverting their attention away from productive activities.”
Cyberspace is remarkably free in Russia, especially compared with state-dominated broadcast and print media. And there is a lot of good grass-roots activism on the web in Russia. But rather than the Internet being democracy’s enabler, it could also be one of its biggest loopholes, allowing a parallel discourse and parallel process, one that’s lively and diverse, but ultimately a sham.
Here, one cannot but mention the 2010 report by OpenNet Initiative, whose Country Profile on Russia reads:
The absence of overt state-mandated Internet filtering in Russia has led some observers to conclude that the Russian Internet represents an open and uncontested space. In fact, the opposite is true. The Russian government actively competes in Russian cyberspace employing second- and third-generation strategies as a means to shape the national information space and promote pro-government political messages and strategies. This approach is consistent with the government’s strategic view of cyberspace that is articulated in strategies such as the doctrine of information security.
You can read more about these “alternative approaches” to Internet “management” in a separate chapter of the report, dedicated to the Russian cyberspace. In essence, however, they represent inconspicuous and, perhaps even, covert measures, that do not necessarily limit broader freedoms – to give a general sense of calm (i.e. there are no “firewalls” or certain website bans) – while taking over in instances where allowing too much freedom can have serious repercussions.
There were several other “news” pieces dealing with the issue, which are worthy of note:
- The Guardian had an optimistic article about “Russia's blogging revolution,” while pointing out examples of how it can, as well, be exploited by those in power for their own interests.
- The New York Times had a special video segment on the potential of Internet activism, and some of its possible consequences in Russia.
- The very same Russia Today TV ran a story about a failed attempt by a court in Far Eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur to block YouTube. That follows the much-discussed “new experiment” by the Kremlin: opening up the newly proposed Police reform bill for public review, online.
These, perhaps, do demonstrate signs of progress, which, most certainly, cannot be expected to arrive overnight. Nevertheless, they might as well be examples of what the Tangled Web referred to as “an old strand of thought in Russia, where the tsar was fundamentally decent and it was the corrupt mid-level officials who were to blame for everything.”
It should be mentioned, however, that democracy – real or virtual – proves itself, time and again, as being very relative. When even some of the more prominent Western democracies have major issues with Internet access and surveillance, perhaps Russia should not be judged as strictly? But then, why not, if the country has set that objective for itself?

author: Yelena Osipova


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South Africa: Winners of South Africa Blog Awards 2010  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The South African Blog Awards started in 2005 to showcase the best blogs in South Africa voted for by the public. Nominations for 2010 South African Blog Awards took place between 2–27 August 2010. The top ten nominees in each category entered into the public vote phase. The results were then passed onto judges who decided the category winner. The overall winner was chosen by the judges from the selection of category winners.
The winners were announced on 25 September 2010 at the annual awards ceremony at the One & Only hotel, Cape Town. The award for the Best 2010 South Africa Blog went to Watkykjy. The blog is in Afrikaans.
Below are the winners for 2010 SA Blog Awards in 25 categories:
Ogilvy Twitter Micro Blogger of the Year: Mandy Watson
The Ogily Best Media and Marketing Blog: CherryFlava
The Kulula Best Travel Blog: Gateway South Africa
The Old Mutual Best Green Blog: Sprig
The Evox Advanced Nutrition Best Sports Blog: Paddle Sweep
The UCT Graduate School of Business Best Blog: Memeburn
The Havana Club Rum Best Blog Design: Indie Berries
The Jameson Whisky Best Fashion Blog: Kim Gray
The Olmeca Edicion Black Best Music Blog: Don't Party
The Best Parenting Blog: Reluctant Mom
The Best Personal Blog: Indie Berries
The Best Company Blog: RLabs
The Most Controversial Blog: 2OceanVibe
The Best Indigenous Language Blog: Watkykjy
The Best Group Blog: RLabs
The Best South African Podcast/Video Blog: ZA News
The Best Science and Technology Blog: She's the Geek
The Best Food and Wine Blog: Simply Delicious
The RE/MAX Best New Blog: Simply Delicious
The Best Photographic Blog: www.guywithcamera.co.za
The Best Blog about Politics: Wonkie
The Best Overseas South African Blog: Pharside
The Exclus1ves Best Entertainment Blog: 2OceanVibe
Best Post on a SA Blog: Marketing District 9: The Web – A brainwavez.org Film Feature
Best TV/Radio Blog: The Big Breakfast Blog: East Coast Radio


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Sri Lanka: Being An Woman  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dee at Ranting In Colombo is frustrated with the fact that some “Sri Lankan males have no idea about what it is like to be a Sri Lankan female”.

author: Rezwan


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Trinidad & Tobago: Accepting Difference  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Globewriter, on learning of the suicide of a gay teen as a result of bullying, says: “I have heard from some here in the Caribbean that homophobia is part of the culture…If it is part of Caribbean culture  to tell a significant part of its population that it is morally repugnant and doesn’t count then the Caribbean is ignorant and needs to get educated quickly.”


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Brunei’s “national twitter account” · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

Through his twitter @BruneiTweet and blog Projek Brunei, he features the lives of young Bruneians, their thoughts and the vibrancy of local netizens.  He shares local stories to showcase the Bruneian life and the efforts of netizens to promote a wired community, educated, well informed and full of aspirations towards nation building.
BruneiTweet has already featured bloggers like Sarah – the Ukulele player,  to Izad Majid – the Educator and Ultimate Frisbee  Brunei Crew, and IzamRyan – a  Bruneian chartered accountant who currently resides in Singapore.
I interviewed him about his online projects and his other advocacies.
1. How did you come up with the idea of Brunei Tweet and ProjekBrunei?
I started @BruneiTweet on 22nd December 2009 and it definitely was not an overnight decision, in fact…it probably took me about 4 months to prepare! Along the way, one of the things I realised was that there was a missing piece in the Bruneian twitterverse. There wasn’t yet anyone I could follow or ask for help for general questions I had, e.g. for directions, for recommendations for the best nasi katok (rice in packets) , for information on coming events, etc. So, I did a quick SWOT analysis and decided to be part of the solution. In short, I started @BruneiTweet on 22nd December 2009, primarily to be that missing piece.
So, what do I do as @BruneiTweet? I primarily retweet (a lot of) people, helping them pass their tweets along to the masses. It is a simple idea, but over the last 9 months, I have helped people sell things, find places, provided directions, and announce various things, e.g.  information about sales, road accidents, bad weather, electricity outages, and sometimes, for urgent things like when specific blood donations are required for patients at the hospital.
I am also a sucker for reading people’s Twitter profiles and having a quick glance at their blogs. By April 2010, after reading lots of blogs and RTing a lot of tweets, I came to my next conclusion: I needed to start a website to tell the stories of the many Bruneians I was following. 140 characters on Twitter was no longer enough! So, again I did another SWOT analysis  and after a couple of  months of website development, etc – I launched www.projekbrunei.com on 19th June 2010.”
2. What was the response of your readers?
“Twitter: The first few months of tweeting as @BruneiTweet was c-r-a-z-y. There were mixed reactions to the whole notion of a ‘random’ tweeter following, mentioning and / or RTing them. But over time, familiarity has been established, and recently more and more tweeters have been making the first move, asking me for help with retweets. I dare say that many friendships have been formed as well! 8)
Website: The website on the other hand was launched six months after @BruneiTweet, so the initial readers were my ‘tweeps’. It is now September 2010, and I am honoured to say that there is now a strong number of local readers, plus the number of unique visitors from all over the world has been growing from strength to strength.”
Indeed, I found out responses from his Tweets are encouraging:
Jeremy Yeo: Thanks for the RT @BruneiTweet, you're doing a great job connecting our community! :)
Nawawi B: #FollowFriday @BruneiTweet -Probably the closest thing to the country's ‘official’ / national twitter account :-P #Brunei
Yvonne Lim: Keep up what ur doing. Heaps of thanks for starting BruneiTweet – definitely keeps the active internet-goers of Brunei connected
Joe JinYuh Chan: I think @bruneitweet's blog is excellent. Love its focus on è positive. Worth a visit.
3. Why do you think your blog / tweets appeal to your readers?
“I think one of the keys is that, since the start, this journey has been an interactive one. Those who have been following me from the start would remember the ‘Massive #FollowFriday ShoutOuts’, the frequent ‘Big Question’, and the “I am @BruneiTweet” limited edition t-shirt Twitter contests. Having the website has been complementary to this with the ‘#BuckleUpBrunei’ projek, the Fun Polls, and more recently, the CNN iReport.”
He recently received an invitation from CNNi to portray excellent examples of getting the local and overseas Netizens together.   His recent pictorial project on CNNi - ‘A day in the Life of Bruneian’- showcased what ordinary Bruneians do.
4. Tell us more about the CNN iReport initiative: ‘A Day in the Life of a Bruneian’.  What does your daily life look like?
“On 15th September 2010, I received a tweet from @CNNiReport; they wanted an iReport from Brunei. For those unfamiliar with the iReport, the idea is for people to submit stories, reports, photographs, audio and / or videos from their corner of the world of events, breaking news, travel hotspots, etc. I invited my tweeps to tweet me pictures of whatever they were experiencing throughout their day, and submitted a pictorial iReport called ‘A Day in the Life of a Bruneian’.
What does my daily life look like? Let me share with you how I go about deciding who to feature and what stories to tell on www.projekbrunei.com, and how long a write-up takes.  I usually take a quick look at people’s Twitter profiles and blogs, and more often than not, I have found that everyone has a story. In particular, I search for and try cover a variations of stories to showcase how truly diverse we are as Bruneians. I then make initial contact, and when I decide I have sufficient information after a few email exchanges, I start the write-up. Now, what my readers probably don’t realise is that this process of initial contact, emails, write-up, proof reading and picture editing collectively takes up about four hours at the very least. Yup, at least four hours of prep for every feature on my website. So the next time anyone reads any of the features, read sloooowly and feel free to add comments or ‘share’ it! 8)
The idea is that I will be putting together a special article called “A Day in the Life of a Bruneian” to showcase the best of Bruneian life and living. And as usual, this projek involves YOU! How? Tweet back photographs throughout your day of where you are, things that you see, what you are eating, etc to @BruneITweet.”
5. What are your future plans?
“In no particular order:
I intend to go beyond the two-dimensional interaction, and go ‘live’.
I intend to do more projek collaborations, particularly with local SMEs.
I intend to release a few more @BruneiTweet limited edition t-shirts.
My list of future plans go on and on really, but at the end of the day, I know that intentions don’t account for much. So, join me on this journey, keep me in check, and perhaps sometime next year we could do a follow-up on what we have achieved.”
Good luck BruneiTweet! :)

author: Senor Pablo


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Cameroon: Tale of 50-year old rape · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Victim's tale of rape in Cameroon: “First, she was told by her husband that no one would ever believe her. Much as it had petrified the 15 year old then when he had first said it after mounting off her and zipping his pants with a smirk on his face…”


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China: 7 Departments on censorship · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Isaac lists out in Twitter 7 government departments that are responsible for censorship in China.


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China and the U.S.A: Yuan’s value and stock market’s move · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

George Chen notices a coincidence happened before the China national day: Goldman Sachs chose the day to sell up to $2 billion-worth of shares of its stake in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the China currency bill by a vote of 348-79.


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Cuba: “En Practica”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

In the wake of massive public sector layoffs, how exactly are the rules for proposed self-employment going to work?  Generation Y says: “Like a repertoire of destitution and dependency, this enumeration of private work seems more in tune with a feudal village than a 21st century country”, while El Yuma is “hovering somewhere between hopeful and doubtful.”


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Ecuador: Police Strike Denounced as Attempt to Destabilize Country · Global Voices
Paulina Aguilera Muñoz

Tension. That is the word that summarizes the current situation in Ecuador. A police strike began today when a group of Ecuadorian policemen shut down Quito's international airport and the main regiment of the city in a protest against President Rafael Correa. The strike began at 8 this morning in the Nº1 Regiment in Quito against changes to the Public Service Law, which reduced benefits for various public entities. In an attempt to dialogue with the police, President Correa suffered a tear gas assault and is being treated at the Metropolitan Hospital in Quito.
Events are developing rapidly, with new information emerging from various sources since this morning. On Twitter, citizens report cases of roadblocks, assaults and bank robberies, while sharing their different views on the events. La Patilla  developed a comprehensive graphic summary where it also informs about Correa's words when he faced the police, telling them, “Kill me if you want.” Various social organizations and institutional websites [es] have announced their support for the President outside government buildings, according to reports from the independent media source  ALER [es]. Journalist Paúl Mena Erazo (@PaulMena) reports:
Partidarios del presidente Correa se concentran a las afueras del Palacio de Gobierno, en Quito. #policiaec
People on the streets supporting the government. Twitpic by user @ppviche used with his permission.
Reactions
Malm Ecuador (@mapucha) informs that:
El mercado central tomado, los aeropuertos cerrados y los cuarteles de policía tomados porq les quitaron los juguetes!!!
From Guayaquil, Fernando Astudillo (@ferastudillo) reports:
Llantas quemadas a lo ancho de varias vías de Guayaquil. Los estudiantes vuelven a sus casas. Anuncios de saqueos, caos.
Ricardo Landivar (@RL360):
bancos de guayaquil cerrados. Caos vehicular en calle balsamos y calles cercanas #policiaecuador
José Merino (@PPmerino) shares a speech by president Correa and other links with information:
#ecuador Discurso de Correa frente a soldados en rebelión http://ow.ly/2Mr74 y acá dos notas: http://ow.ly/2Mr86 http://ow.ly/2Mr8o
Manifestation outside Province Justice Court. TwitPic by user Iván Andrés Muñoz @ivandresi used with his permission.
Reactions refer to the police uprising as a “coup d'état,” although there are different unconfirmed versions because the Ecuadorian army [es] has remained calm. Meanwhile, a state of emergecy [es] has been declared.
Nicolas R. Muñoz (@nicolasrmunoz) tweets his opinion:
No soy partidario de Correa.. Pero un golpe de Estado no es la solución!! Este “antidoto” seria peor que el veneno
Raúl Vidal (@RaulVidalC) informs from Cuenca [es], one of the main cities in Ecuador:
La policia ya esta actuando en #Cuenca. estuvieron en la Feria Liber en donde hubo intento de saqueo #Ecuador
Juan Martinez (@Jamartinb) shares a call to keep calm:
No a intentos de golpe en #ecuador menos aun publicidad golpista   A mantener la calma. No al amarillismo
Luis Larrea (@lalarrea) says that,
Solo en Ecuador la policia se va de huelga y el Presidente agrava las cosas en vez de mejorarlas.  De Ripley!
Santiago Flores (@Santiaxo):
Ser  policia y actuar de esta manera, profesionalmente es  igual de grave que  ser un doctor ver a alguien muriendo y no hacer  nada…
Meanwhile, Twitter users and the media are reporting cases of looting in several cities sin the country:
RT @viottocnn: Hay reportes de saqueos en Quito y Guayaquil. Pte. permanece en el hospital #policiaec
Protests
Ecuadorians are uploading citizen videos on YouTube, showing different manifestations and protests:
Through Twitter, users have also spread images of the protests. Perfil [es] put together a set of images tweeted by citizens, and newspaper Hoy shares official photographs through  Flickr.
Solidarity Through Twitter
The government's party, Alianza País, has asked for solidarity in defending the government, responding to the request by assembly woman María Paula Romo. Juan Montalvo (@ECsinCensura) gives his opinion about the call to defend the government:
Ma  Paula Romo dicie q estas no son las formas de hacer las cosas: mientras  pide q la gente se enfrente a a policia a defender la rev taloka?
María Paula Romo (@mariapaularomo) denounced via Twitter that policemen entered the building that holds the National Assembly and,
Policias  golpearon a 2 asambleistas, una está desmayada y la están atendiendo.  Golpearon tambien a la gente d teleamazonas. Es inaceptable!
From Twitter, the Presidency of Ecuador (@Presidencia_Ec) announces:
Presidente continuará gobernando con una política de justicia y dignidad http://bit.ly/aG1hAz vía @elciudadano_ec
And on Facebook RADIO PÚBLICA DE ECUADOR informs [es]:
Gobierno argentino muestra su respaldo al gobierno ecuatoriano. ‘La cancillería argentina da testimonio de su confianza en la institucionalidad democrática del hermano país y en la autoridad política del Presidente constitucional, Rafael Correa, para encontrar el mejor encauzamiento en defensa de los altos intereses del pueblo y el gobierno ecuatorianos’.
The latest tweets report on an attempt to kidnap [es] or retain [es] President Rafael Correa by a group of policemen that are inside the hospital where the President is being treated. Journalists and citizens, like Estefani Espin (@estefaniespin), also reported that,
LOS MEDIOS PRIVADOS FUIMOS OBLIGADOS A DEJAR DE TRANSMITIR, SOLO EL CANAL DEL ESTADO ESTA EN CADENA NACIONAL.

author: Paulina Aguilera Muñoz


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Grenada: Blog Action Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blah Bloh Blog is ready for this year's Blog Action Day, saying: “The theme this year is WATER. Access to clean water is not just a human rights issue. It’s an environmental issue. An animal welfare issue. A sustainability issue.”


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Guyana: Women’s Plight  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Local news headlines tell the sad story of a young woman driven to suicide, allegedly because of a domestic dispute; The Guyana Groove concludes that “these are most certainly desperate times for women.”


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India: A Plebiscite In Kashmir · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raja Basu at Potpourri gives logic why the question of a plebiscite should not arise for deciding the fate of Kashmir.


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India: Live Blogging The Ayodhya Verdict · Global Voices
Rezwan

Offstumped is live blogging a controversial verdict on the Ayodhya issue, which has created much tension between the Hindus and Muslims of India and beyond.


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Jamaica: Tropical Storm Nicole  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Well, the trials and tribulations of Buju Banton have abruptly been ejected from the Jamaican imagination by a raging storm which brazenly breezed its way across the island when no one was looking”: Tropical Storm Nicole takes Active Voice by surprise.


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Japan: Pachinko, a legal gambling game · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

A blogger at  theJapaneseTutor.com shortly explains [en] what pachinko [en] is and why this gambling game is legal in Japan.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Jordanian Bloggers Promote Dialogue With U.S. · Global Voices
Betsy Fisher

Jordanian bloggers continued to contemplate the “Ground Zero Mosque” and Quran burning incidents in the United States by calling for greater dialogue with the US.  Jordanians discussed how Arabs and Muslims can best respond to the misconceptions of Muslims by U.S. citizens.  Many bloggers, like Natasha of Mental Mayhem, have posted the story of young Muslims who planted flowers at a church in Amman rather than respond in protest.
Jaraad, among others, circulated the video of a minister from Columbus, OH, who called for understanding and patience from both Muslims and Christians.
These bloggers blamed the American media for focusing on provocative figures.  Natasha wrote:
Sadly, for the US media this was a non-story. Who cared about a small, stable country like Jordan? Who cared about a handful of young Muslims delivering flowers when there were others demonstrating violently? Which one would get readers’ attention, violence or flowers? Sadly, the US media chose violence. Who can compete with death and blood? The sexier always wins…
The disappointing fact is that the US media failed twice in this case: first in blowing the story of the Florida priest out of proportion by giving this isolated, planned act (which never happened) more than its share of coverage, and bringing it to the attention of the global audience. The second was in ignoring acts of Muslim goodwill that would have clearly showed that while some Muslims might burn flags and effigies, there are others, like this group of young Jordanians, who would simply deliver flowers.
Jaraad, referring again to the Ohio minister, wrote:
She was very accurate of blaming the media accusing it of spreading fear among Americans.
But Jaraad also bemoaned the lack of respect for religious people in American politics.  He wrote about the interview of Christine O'Donnell, the conservative Delaware Tea Party for the Senate.
The mockery, in the video, on O’Donnell is that she didn’t believe humans are an evolution of monkeys so she is stupid. Bill Maher even wonders how such person “could be in the senate” . In another word, he can’t imagine that someone who believes in God could be in the senate…According to seculars you can’t be a scientist and believe in God.
Ali concludes that the best way forward is not through U.S. media, but through direct interaction with U.S. citizens to explain to them the rationality of Islam and the moderation of most Muslims.  He joined a group on Facebook called Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts.  Through this group, he has explained his viewpoint on Islam and Jordan to American individuals who are curious for answers.  For Ali, the purpose of this exercise is not to provide an alternative to U.S. media depictions.  Instead, it is a way to directly oppose negative images of Arabs and Muslims.
If you ever thought of changing the world. Well here is a very reasonable way to do so. All you gotta do is talk with a American and in your way turn his/her thoughts away from what the media are telling them and then you will be convinced that at least you changed one mind and you'll be more encouraged to change another and another.

author: Betsy Fisher


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Nepal: Political Gridlock Continues  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Today Nepal failed its ninth bid to elect a new prime minister. Anup Kaphle, for the Pulitzer Center on crisis reporting, notes the consequences of this political gridlock.


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Nigeria: Nigeria@50: What is there to celebrate? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian blogger Adeola Aderounmu says the country’s democracy is in a shambles and the N17bn for the independence celebrations is money ill-spent.


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Nigeria: This Bitch of a Life Tour · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

This Bitch of a Life Tour in Nigeria: ““Fela: This Bitch of a Life” is a moving account of Fela, told from the inside.  During his stay in Nigeria, Carlos will read from the book, discuss Fela and his times with Very Special Guests…”


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Pakistan: A Journalist Seeks Protection · Global Voices
Rezwan

Habib R. Sulemani, a Pakistani journalist, writes that he is in self confinement in his house for six months to avoid assassination attempts on him. He seeks protection of the government from the persons who are trying to kill him because of his writings on taboo subjects.


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Pakistan: Don’t Feed The Rumor Mill · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kalsoom at Chowrangi is furious after reading the rumors in the Pakistani and international media that the Pakistan army is considering options for an indirect intervention in Pakistan’s political sphere. “I think we need to stop feeding the rumor mill,” the blogger writes.


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Russia: Landscape and Trends of Online Transparency Initiatives · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Jaume Plensa Transparency by Anders Sandberg
For the past two years, one could witness the Russian blogosphere becoming more and more empowered by technology. Although the bloggers’ abilities are quite limited, they have already attracted attention of both the Russian and international media.
Until recently, the technological level of online transparency initiatives remained quite low. The majority of IT professionals were not eager to join civil society activists and their initiatives. The evidence of this can be seen on technology blogs (e.g., habrahabr.ru), where numerous “technocrats” fall for the traditionally cynical explanation of civic activity (the bottom line of the discourse can be described as “conspiracy of the West”).
In 2010, this seems to have changed. As technology is getting more and more accessible and easy to develop, more online initiatives appear and are planned to be launched in late 2010 and 2011.
Russian transparency projects can be divided into five main groups: 1. official and semi-official transparency websites (e.g., zakupki.gov.ru, rosspending.ru), 2. chaotic transparency communities (individual investigative bloggers and LJ communities), 3. online representation of civil activist NGOs (e.g., golos.org, publicverdict.ru), 4. next-generation social networks dedicated to transparency and civil rights activism (e.g., democrator.ru, taktaktak.ru), and a growing number of Ushahidi-based projects.
1. Official and semi-official transparency websites
Work on putting public procurement data online started in 2006 with the launch of zakupki.gov.ru, a catalog of major public expenses. Since then, a number of other official and semi-official websites have appeared (e.g., statetenders.ru, igz.hse.ru). All these websites have poor interface and a low level of data accessibility. These flaws and the lack of interactive functions lead to the emergence of LiveJournal communities dedicated to the analysis of the most bizarre deals.
In July 2010, Rosspending.ru was launched to solve the visualization issue. Ivan Begtin, the creator of the project and one of the Russian Gov 2.0 evangelists, took the data and presented it in a more user-friendly and understandable way. Despite the lack of social networking as well as Semantic Web functionality, the portal has been inspired by data.gov.uk and data.gov and is the best example of the Russian government data visualization so far.
2. Chaotic transparency communities and individual investigative bloggers
A number of non-institutionalized LiveJournal communities have taken up the watchdog functions that traditional Russian NGOs simply fear to conduct. GV has been covering their activity recently.
Individual investigative bloggers have probably had more impact than the LJ communities. The New Times called [RUS] eight most prominent investigative bloggers (Alexey Navalny, Alexey Dymovski, Alexander Malyutin and others) employees of a “self-made Ministry of the Interior”:
[…] общество провело черту между собой и милицией. В интернете обнаружились диссиденты в погонах, подменяющие собой Департамент собственной безопасности МВД, рассказывающие властям и согражданам о коррупции в органах и деградации службы. А блогеры стали искать и находить виновных в преступлениях, взяв на себя роль и уголовного розыска, и департамента экономической безопасности, и милиции общественного порядка. Пока власти рассуждают о реформе МВД, народ начал свою.
3. Online representation of offline NGOs
“Traditional NGOs” still struggle with new tools. This happens for several reasons: the lack of vision, resources, and external conditions. There is an exception, though – golos.org, which has introduced two online transparency tools – The Election Hotline [RUS] and the Fact Bank [RUS]. (GV wrote about Golos’ Election Hotline project here.)
4. Next-Generation Transparency Tools
So far there are only two projects in this category – democrator.ru and taktaktak.ru. Both were launched in 2010 and share social networking functionality (everyone can register, comment and take part in the site's activity) and issue-based structure.
Democrator.ru helps citizens to discuss and prepare petitions and official appeals to the authorities, and monitors the issues by publishing official responses from the authorities. Taktaktak.ru connects citizens and lawyers, facilitating discussion of various issues and search for possible solutions. Both projects are of a very high technological level and represent unique transparency solutions.
5. Ushahidi platforms
The first Ushahidi in the Russian language was installed in Kyrgyzstan and was initially called “aikol.kg.” Later the project transformed into save.kg. Altynbek Ismailov, a Bishkek-based IT specialist, wanted to start Ushahidi for reporting the “Osh massacre” events, but didn't have enough time so he implemented it for the Kyrgyz Constitution Referendum that followed the tragic events. After the success of the referendum monitoring, Ismailov with his team is planning not only to monitor the upcoming election but also to use Ushahidi for reporting all kinds of problems.
A month ago, Russian-Fires.ru (“Help Map”) was launched. The project's success brought to life numerous initiatives that are expected to start within the next few months. The topics of the planned projects include: observation of the upcoming Belarus election, reporting on the state of the highways, monitoring and fast response to civil rights violations (the so-called “Help Map 2.0″), monitoring in the city of Ufa, etc.
More technology = more transparency?
So, is Russia becoming a more transparent place then?
Blogger and journalist Igor Bogatyrev (aka LJ user Allan999), said in an interview to GV that in today's Russia, the progress of technology in transparency is accompanied by the progress in perfecting various techniques of surpassing the transparency measures. Not to mention the “grey” money, which is not registered in any public account (according to some estimates, the “grey area” accounts for half of the country's GDP). Grigoriy Melkonyants, deputy director of “Golos” Association, said that in the election field, corruption and fraud techniques have evolved so far that the transparency technology has a lot to catch up with.
More transparency initiatives that have appeared within the past year will neither eliminate corruption nor introduce the rule of law in the country. What they can do is to create an environment where information is efficiently verified, anti-corruption signals are distributed fast, and people from remote areas are united by transparency platforms and helping each other with no other mediator than a website.


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Russia: September 30 is Internet Day · Global Voices
Vadim Isakov

Russian online users celebrate Internet Day in the country on September 30. This day also traditionally marks the start of the voting process for the best Internet project in the country that will be determined by the most amount of votes by  the second half of November.

author: Vadim Isakov


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Should Bangladesh Send Troops To Afghanistan? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Members of the Bangladesh batallion of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Image via United Nations Photo in Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND
The Bangladesh Army has earned a reputation in contributing troops for different United Nation Peacekeeping Operations across the world since 1988. With 10,855 personnel deployed, Bangladesh is ranked first in the contribution of troops in various UN peacekeeping forces worldwide.
However recently the country received an extra-ordinary request for troops. Faheem Haider at Bangladesh Foreign Policy blog reports:
Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan forwarded on a request to Foreign Minister Dipu Moni that the government of Bangladesh send troops to help secure Afghanistan against Taliban advances.
The request was received in Bangladesh with mixed reactions, however, a threat of the Talibans made this issue more complicated. AFP quoted the statement of the Talibans in an website:
“(We) believe that the leader of Bangladesh has enough Islamic knowledge and political wit not to involve his people in the fight against Islam and against the Afghan people by sending a few hundred soldiers to Afghanistan,”
The public sentiment is generally against this move as seen in different newspaper op-eds. Former BBC correspondence in Bangladesh Ataus Samad thinks [bn] that this may create public outrage and invite unwanted enemies like Talibans to harm Bangladesh. Former army chief General M. Harun-or-Rashid notes [bn] that there is no UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, but NATO troops are operating there. Bangladesh is not a member of Nato, so it makes no sense to join NATO forces.
Bangladeshi netizen are also discussing this issue. Kazi Mamun opines [bn] that Bangladesh should consider what the Afghanistan government wants. He questions whether Bangladesh should refuse the offer and be blamed as siding with the radicals or send limited troops to support war and terror and Afghanistan's cause.
Dheebor at Somewhereinblog mentions [bn] that many European countries have started to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. He wonders why US is not asking India or Pakistan for more troops.
Gaurango Karmakar, commenting on a post by Mahasachib at Nagorikblog, says [bn]:
বাংলাদেশের সৈন্যদের যেহেতু কোনো কাজ নেই,তাই তারা সেখানে যেতে পারে। কিছু টাকা পয়সা আসলো। সৈন্য সামন্ত আফগান থেকে উঠিয়ে নেয়া হবে একটি মস্তবড় ভুল সিদ্ধান্ত।অন্ধ ধর্মীয় গুরুরা আবার মাথা চাড়া দিবে।সেই সুযোগ কাউকে আর দেয়া যায় না।
Lenin Haider comments on this post:
বাংলাদেশের ক্ষেত্রে মানুষের চিন্তা চেতনাকে ভাবতে হবে। আমার ধারনা আওয়ামীলীগ কোনোভাবেই সৈন্য পাঠাবে না আগামী ভোটের কথা চিন্তা করে। কারন তখন জামাত আর তালেবান সমর্থকরা ৫ম সংশোধনী ও আফগানে সৈন্য পাঠানোকে এক করে প্রপাগান্ডা ছড়াবে যে আওয়ামীলীগ যে ইসলামের বিরুদ্ধে তার প্রমাণ হিসেবে।
So it seems that it will be very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to keep the request of USA in sending the troops to Afghanistan. But ideologically Bangladesh supports the war against terror which is evident from its crackdown on radicals.


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Big Question  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Continuing his examination of the terms of the CLICO bailout, Afra Raymond asks the $57,000 question: “‘If the CL Financial group is insolvent, then how are we paying for all this?’”


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Vietnam: Blogger Pham Minh Hoang Charged with Attempt at Overthrowing the Government · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Reporters Without Borders reports that French-Vietnamese blogger Pham Minh Hoang was charged with “Activities aimed at overthrowing the government” and membership of a “terrorist organisation” (the banned opposition party Viet Tan). His wife opines that the reason for her husband’s arrests was his opposition to bauxite mining  [fr] by a Chinese company in the Lang Son region.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Bermuda: Sounding Off  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian bloggers have a lot to say about the former Attorney General's disparaging statements about the outgoing Premier.


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Bolivia After World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Digital citizen newspaper Ahora Bolivia [es] reports on the impact of the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia.

author: Silvia Viñas


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Brazil: Voters Push for Clean Elections via Internet · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Election day finally arrives on the 3rd of October for more than 135 million voters in Brazil, after a heated three  month period of electoral campaign. Many Brazilian citizens have  followed the motto “DIY: Clean Elections” by monitoring the tactics  adopted by supporters of the candidates for Presidential and General  elections. Today, the 1st of October, bloggers from all over the country  unite in a collective blogging initiative, expressing their  “netcitizenship” and demanding clean elections [pt]. The initiative is promoted by Eleitor2010 and represents the culmination of twelve weeks of the campaign during which Brazilians have taken a stand on social media and denounced more than eight hundred cases of electoral crimes [pt].
Photo from blog Voce Suja Minha Cidade, Eu Sujo seu Rosto (You dirty my city, I dirty your face)
Elections happen every two years in Brazil. This year, citizens are deciding who will be the next President of the Republic, as well as all 513 Chamber of Deputies seats and fifty-four of the Federal Senate seats, along with governorships and state legislatures of all 26 states and the Federal District.  A second round will be held on October 31 if a candidate for President  or Governor fails to achieve more than half of the valid votes.
Lula  da Silva was a charismatic Chief of State who served two four-year terms,  elected in 2002 and 2006, by majority vote. His successor candidate,  Dilma Roussef, is running ahead in the polls,  followed by social-democrat José Serra, and the former minister of  Environment Marina Silva. There are six other candidates for President.
Placa Porca (Dirty Board, pt) promotes art to denounce electoral crimes related to the garbage created by political ads in public spaces.
The  campaign strategies that candidates and their supporters have adopted  often left much to be desired from a legal standpoint. Several online initiatives have monitored the electoral campaign, such as Knight Center’s map of electoral censorship in Brazil, Placa Porca‘s map of artistic interventions on election posters in São Paulo and Eleitor2010. The doors have opened for what could be a new paradigm of participatory citizenship, where citizens make their voices heard concerning the way politics happen in Brazil. From political  propaganda in churches [pt] to bribed tweets [pt] and vote buying [pt] candidates often simply ignore how Brazilian law restricts campaigning, but some citizens do not let it go unchallenged.
Such  is the case of Deputy Chamber candidate Edmar Moreira, who has once  again brought an old story back into the spotlight. A Global Voices post from the beginning of 2009, gathered bloggers reactions to the fact  that Moreira, former Vice-President and Ethics Magistrate of the  Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, has a medieval-style castle in the state  of Minas Gerais, that the tax office does not know about. “Will he be investigated?” Apparently  not, as he is once again running for office in this year’s elections  even though “Mona Lisa Castle” still has not been declared at its full  value, and neither have pending cases against him been decided [pt].  The case was submitted to Eleitor2010, and netcitizens have confirmed  that also his son Leonardo Moreira, is running for State Deputy
A  candidatura desse indivíduo é uma vergonha e uma afronta a todos nos, e  se repararem bem, ele não declara este bem em sua inscrição.
Other candidates have been accused of organizing “showmicios”,  show-rallies, for the sake of entertainment. Too bad that the law  doesn’t approve candidates sponsorship for that kind of events before  the elections. A citizen report denounced Gony Arruda’s gathering in a Reggae Club [pt]
Só  que Gony Arruda é candidato a deputado estadual do Ceará pelo PSDB, e o  convite estampa bem grande o nome e o número do sujeito, o que  caracteriza showmício. Que estão acontecendo showmícios não é surpresa,  mas que cara de pau fazer isso assim, às claras no twitter e por email!
Screenshot from a video that testifies a buying vote scheme assembled in Rio Verde / Goiás, denounced on Eleitor2010
The  circulation of spam messages has been a recurrent electoral crime.  Citizens complain about how their personal information has gotten into  the hands of spammer candidates. Mainstream media [pt] covered the story of  students whose personal data had been taken out from ProUni, a governmental information system from the Ministry of Education and misused for online campaign. Ibrahim Cesar reported the incident and writes about his worries [pt]
Ora,  o que isso significa? O órgão governamental que controla o programa  cedeu meu endereço eletrônico para a campanha deste sujeito que não  merece ser eleito. Meus dados. Conseguem entender isso? O ProUNI tem  toda a minha informação financeira e de toda minha família. Para receber  o benefício você é obrigado a agregar centenas de certidões,  documentos, etc. Que outros usos podem fazer destes meus dados? Sinto-me  como se meus direitos civis não valessem nada para essa administração.
Though mainstream media has broadcasted some bizarre strategies adopted by the politicians to gain voters, social media has been a true cluster  for electoral crimes in Brazil. At the same time, social media has  also played a major role in providing expression spaces for citizen  participation in the processes of democracy.
A collaborative coverage of elections on the web will be brought by 48h Democracia [48h Democracy, pt]. They aim to bring video, news reports and bulletins from netcitizens of all over the country and give a different perspective of the elections from the mainstream media.

author: Sara Moreira