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Hindi Blogoshere: From freedom of speech to blog theft! · Global Voices
Amit Gupta

Time again for yet another update on the happenings of the Hindi Blogosphere. And this time we will start with something different, outer space for example. Ashish tells us about smaller sons of Sun, the asteroids & the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ashish elaborates further on the origin on these asteroids by giving the known theories that many have given, the stronger of them suggesting that perhaps these asteriods are the remains of an ancient planet between Mars and Jupiter which somehow disintegrated!! He also tells us about how stars are born out of a Nebula and about the Neutron Stars and Pulars.
But the theories don't only exist about creation and destruction of heavenly bodies, they very much exist for those living on this planet Earth and one of them is how Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose died, with his death still a mystery, Sanjay remembers the great patriot and contemplates on how and when Netaji actually died. Lokmanch also puts forth some new facts regarding Netaji, giving more room to existing and new theories.
On the other hand, there's no better outlet for theories than books, so Jitu shows us the new way of telling others what books you have. I'm, frankly, still not convinced with the idea and its possible use, but then I think the guys at Shelfari must've something in mind to get the concept moving around if its not just yet another Web 2.0 application sprung from a momentary brainstorm without much thinking going into it! ;)
Moving on, we find that Pankaj is trying to compare the opposition end in the Indian Parliament and in the United States Congress as he finds it very disturbing that while the opponents of the ruling party in US laud on actions of the ruling party and the president, the opponents here in India can mostly be found trying to find one fault or another in the actions of the ruling party without giving thinking whether the action they are opposing is good for the country or bad. And in the meantime, Ravi Ratlami found that someone stole the content of his blog and published it on his/her blog in his/her own name. Getting on the gun, Ravi immediately found out the culprit website and came to the conclusion that the whole website is about stealing other bloggers’ content and publishing that in their own name, quite probably in order to get better search rankings and benefit by displaying ads like Google AdSense etc. on the blogs! On the queue, Fursatiya published his “Blog 101: How to protect your content theft”!! ;) Time continued at its own pace and thus arrived India's 58th Republic Day and on that day Jitu thought about what we've given to the country. He wrote that its not the time to think what the country has given us but to sum up what we've done for the country because every country is identified by its citizens, their thoughts, their work and their will to do something. On the occasion of Republic Day, Sunil writes about the freedom of speech and expression and how ruling bodies of some countries have been curbing this freedom by taking strict actions against those who indulge in this practice! But thats not all that is to freedom of speech. Sanjay writes about this explaining the social responsibilities of those who want to excercise their right to freedom of speech and expression. But while some were thinking and writing about serious issues on the Republic Day, some like me and my friends were taking a break in the city of Ajmer which has a history dating back more than 1000 years. :)
But does the freedom of speech and expression gives the right to freedom of action? I would hardly think so. Looks like the season of theft is on, as another guy started a couple of websites by lifting content from blogs of many bloggers. He did attribute the content to their respective writers but did it without permission from a lot of them and that is indeed wrong given that almost all the bloggers, whose content was lifted, don't have a copy-left on their blogs’ content meaning that you can't just go around and copy their blog posts in whole publish them on your website. Justifying the action of theft, the offender came up on defensive saying that his motive is not profit and the websites publishing the stolen content have been created with the purpose of serving Hindi on internet! He asked for permission from several bloggers, some of them gave him the permission to publish their content freely or on some conditions, his action of publishing without waiting for an affirmative from the content owners is indeed unjust and is something that people need to understand, that you just cannot take away someone's work as and when you desire!!
After an year's waiting comes the next chapter from the keyboard of Jitu as he shares his experiences when he moved base from India to Kuwait as he continues with his story telling us the Visa problems he faced.
On the tech front, Jagdish on the other hand is reflecting some light on Windows Vista with his mirror. Debashish is not behind in informing us about the incompatibility problems between the newly released WordPress 2.1 and the popular tagging plugin Ultimate Tag Warrior.
And to end this update, we take a look at the narration of Mahabharat by GK Awadhiya as it reaches the Kunti-Karna dialogue as Kunti reveals herself to her eldest son before the greatest battle of the time since her eldest son Karna was going to fight against his five younger brothers since he owes to Duryodhana, cousin and arch-enemy of Pandavas.
Links courtsey: Narad

author: Amit Gupta


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India: Retired Husband · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Heartcrossings on the retired husband syndrome. “The women had always been aware of the mental distance and the loss of emotional closeness with their husbands but it turns out the men were too busy being workaholic to notice anything was missing. Like the article says, they can't imagine their 24/7 presence could be so repulsive to their wives that it makes them physically ill.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Indonesia: Anti-Chinese Violence in Indonesia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indonesia Matters points to a new book on Anti-Chinese violence that took place during the mid to late nineties in Indonesia.

author: Preetam Rai


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Indonesia: Delay in Official Relief Efforts · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun wonders what kept the trade minister from organising relief for the people affected by the floods in Jakarta. “Four days after the massive floods begin, nearly 200,000 made homeles, huge logistics problems regarding food and water distribution and the Minister is finally holding a meeting to get information? Did she have to wait until Monday?”


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Indonesia: Floods that Paralysed the Capital and its People · Global Voices
A. Fatih Syuhud

Indonesia again gets international media intention for yet another natural disaster. This time  the capital Jakarta has gone through the worst floods in five years. The floods paralysed everything – the business activities, its people movement and day-to-day government activities.
Picture from Rifle's Flickr Page
Around 340,000 of Jakarta's population were forced to flee, leaving almost everything but themselves. Around 200,000 are homeless.
Ferry Rahman makes a daily report on the messy situation in the capital right from the first day of torrential rain that led to the flood which up till now has killed 20 people.
In today's posting, he tells his activities in helping his aunt whose house is badly affected:
My mother was already there and the flood gone. Can't believe that a few days ago water covered 1/4 of the house. I could just imagine the damage it had done to it.
It was pretty sunny, the sun was up and..it was just another beautiful day. It rained only for a few minutes during the day, but it was a very sunny day!
I entered the house to check for any damages. Obviously lot's of her clothes and bed sheets were soaked wet and smelly. Also lots of kitchen utensils were submerged in the flood, we had them cleaned but some of them were beyond repair (they were too old to be of any use anyway) so we had to throw them away.
Even two of her beds had to be thrown out. Yup, two spring beds!
But those can be replaced. What surprised me the most were my cousins official documents, including her high school diploma, birth certificates, etc. They were all just wet and damaged. Don't know how those are gonna get replaced.
Guess in her panic she just…forgot about them and left the house.
So the four of us cleaned what ever could be cleaned until the afternoon. Knowing that we would have to come back and clean again if a flood would ever come again.
We went home shortly after that.
We turned on the TV to get some new info about the flood.
Now even companies are sending messages to their employees not to come to work tomorrow.
How to Help
Peduli (means care) posted some very valuable links to aid organisation's website and their accounts geared specifically to help the flood victims. The links and bank account are particularly beneficial for fellow Indonesians in other part of the city wanting to lend a helping hand.
Meanwhile, for those non-Indonesians or anyone who are staying outside Indonesia, I  recommend to extend their help through international aid organisation who they know best. Unspun recommendation is a good one.
Other bloggers talking about the floods
Javajive: Floods in Jakarta
Jakartass:  Jakarta floods leave the question: Who's to blame?
Mojomaru

author: A. Fatih Syuhud


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Iran:Iranian Female MP Supports the Bill to Reduce Female Student Numbers  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Azarmehr writes that some Iranian MPs want to reduce female student numbers in universities.The blogger writes The percentage of female to male students for the university entrance exam is now 60/40 in favour of girls. He adds “Fatemeh Ajorloo, one of the few female MPs, is one of the supporters of the bill. She says that if we allocate the university places according to the nature of the course and the physical ability required, then it is better for society as a whole. We should not refer to this bill as gender allocation, but gender limitation.”

author: Fred Petrossian


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Jamaica: Happy birthday, John Hearne · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp marks the birthday of Jamaican novelist John Hearne: “He had to tread carefully, I suspect, as a white Jamaican who did not sound Jamaican, in a society that was changing rapidly and in which the privileges, which a generation before a person in his situation would have taken for granted, were disappearing.“

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Jamaica: Paris-Brest-Paris qualifier · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Francis Wade completes an 125-mile bike ride in Jamaica as part of the qualification process of the Paris-Brest-Paris race.


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Jamaica: Police killings · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

In spite of the fact that five Jamaican policeman have been killed in as many weeks, bassChocolate finds it hard to empathise.


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Kazakhstan: Culture & the Internet · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZblog discusses what about the internet is and is not useful to people in Kazakhstan.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kazakhstan: Nation-Branding · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts wonders if one can speak of “pulling a Kazakhstan,” that is, performing successful but sloppy nation-branding. Registan.net has a related post discussing comments by a nation-branding specialist comparing Montreal to Kazakhstan, leading to a quite undiplomatic debate.


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Laos: Stir Fry Water Lily · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Food enthusiast Manivan Larprom has the recipe and video instructions for cooking the Thai/Lao dish of stir fried water lily.


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Libyan Bloggers  in a Week  · Global Voices
Fozia Mohamed

The past week has been quite interesting as Libyan bloggers discussed the relative merits of a parallel universal, virtual reality or a chance at a Second Life which you could enter anytime you want if you were bored with your current one.
This brings the movies Vanilla Sky or even the Matrix to my mind.
Highlander  who  started the conversation says:
” Articles are increasingly cropping out about Second Life and that means I can no longer keep silent about this phenomenon […] especially if the Swedish Embassy is opening an office now ! While the radical French politician Le Pen ideology has recently been greeted with protests and even violent demonstrations here […]
Politics and activism ? this is serious stuff so if you were thinking that this place is teaming with cybersex and all sorts of ‘fun’ then think again. The ‘greenies’ are here as well , so if you care for the environment and global warming then why don't you log on to ‘climate island’ and check what solutions they can offer. […] WOW, this means Second Life is NOT a fantasy world as we thought but a REAL one with all the attribute of this first life somewhere else. Online !”
One of the bloggers who shared their Second Life experience is Safia  from Safia Speaks, who reflects her dislikes as follows:
” Second Life is a money machine, nothing else, and even a bad one. Why “millions of users” would spend “hours” on that crap is a mystery to me. I´d rather invest in a REAL 3D-game, such as The Sims or America´s Army or Gears of War or any of those 3D walkers/shooters that are actually FUN to play and who don´t suck the money out of my bank account as hours go buy.”
The other hot topic on the table was the case of the 400 plus children infected with AIDS in  Benghazi, Libya. Here the debate was raging at AngloLibyan's blog. AngloLibyan presented the topic from another point of  view, namely that of the children. Because the outcry in the West and most of the world is for the Bulgarian medical staff ( with a nominal mention of the Palestinian doctor) while the other victims there and who are definitely innocent are totally out of the picture. He  is disappointed that the issue has turned into a political posturing  and a bullying by the West  bordering on blackmail  while children are loosing their life. He eloquently says:
” Are we going to see some sort of kind support from Europe towards these children? Europe announced recently that it has collected about 120 Million Euros to help treat the children but that the money will not be be given to the victims until the medics are released! Is this right?? So if the medics are still in Jail then Europe is saying let your children suffer and die, we are not helping them.”
Soad from My Enchanting Sereeb, takes another path, that of nostalgia and the Libya of the 60s-70s with stories of her sister ‘Duja and their childhood adventures.
” ‘Here, I know you like Usban, so I brought you this fresh Dowara.’ The bag was soft and warm”  [read the rest here] .
While Maysoon  a Libyan working mom, who recently returned to Libya is shocked at the how we drive here.
Leave alone those who actually drive with their babies in their laps behind the steering wheel!!???!!! And those who are driving and want to change lanes, and they think the street is theirs, and can move from lane to another without even looking?!! or those who park and decide to get out of the car without looking if there is a car coming their way. Believe me to drive in Libya you have to have 10 eyes (as Mom says) O Insha'Allah!”
Last but not least is White African  continues to entertain us with her stories about her Hajj experience here.

author: Fozia Mohamed


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Malaysia: Influential Blogs · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sabahan uses the blog ranking service at Technorati.com and comes up with a list of top 50 influential Malaysian blogs.


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Mexico: First Gay Civil Union · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“Megan la Mala” on Mexico's first legal same-sex civil union in the state of Coahuila.

author: David Sasaki


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Mexico: Oaxaca update · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Lots of blog postings centered on Oaxaca this morning including Boz's update on the anti-government protests that have persisted – albeit more calmly – throughout the winter. The Narco News Bulletin announces the new book by contributing writer Nancy Davies, who has covered the conflict from mid-June up until now. Finally, Oaxaca resident Mark in Mexico pulls out his Celsius to Fahrenheit converter and concludes, “Hot As Hell.”


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Moldova: Economy Getting Better? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mihai Moscovici doubts whether an average Moldovan would feel the reported growth of the country's economy.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Moldova: English Olympiad · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Adventures in Moldova posts essays that his Moldovan students wrote for the English Olympiad held at their school and explains why the kids shouldn't be blamed for their not-so-good English: “When taken as an aggregate, my school has some of the worst performance in English in the county and Moldova. This can't really be faulted on the students though, since the school went five years or more without a true specialist in English. The problem is that if you're a good English speaker, you probably don't want to waste your time working for peanuts in a village school. Until teachers are paid a decent wage, schools will get worse and worse.


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Moldova: Junior Judo Stars · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Adventures in Moldova writes about “two village kids from the poorest country in Europe” who did extremely well at the judo “Olympic Hopes” tournament in Kyiv, Ukraine: “In Eugen and Mihail's under-46 kg weight class, there were 34 boys. Our boys not only made our village proud, but they should make the entire country proud; Eugen was the only Moldovan in the entire tournament to win gold.”


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Much ado in Zimbabwe · Global Voices
Zimpundit

There was much ado in Zimbabwe over the last week.  Much ado about nothing, that is.  The biggest development in the beleagured nation's news was  Gideon Gono, the controversial governor of Zimbabwe's central bank delivered a much anticipated monetary statement last week.  Sadly, like everything else in the country, it was the incriminating rumours swirling around the governor that were the main fixture early last week when Gono delivered the statement. Gono, who has long been accused of meddling in non-monetary matters, is now stands accused of prying into print media, and targeting indigenous bankers while building and protecting his questionable legacy.
A clearly unimpressed Zimpundit surmized the policy statement thus:
Here’s what Gono did, or didin’t do in his policy. Lending rates; stagnant at 500%. Exchange rate; shunted at long outdated paltry rates, and nothing else. Correct me if I’m wrong, but last time checked the sum of nothing is, well, nothing. If anything, this last statement was notable because it was Gono’s thinly disguised concession to Zimbabwe free (sometimes called black) market.
What’s maddening about this is that common Zimbabweans already took fifty punches in their long famished stomachs as prices rocketed in anticipation of Gono’s nil statement. Zimbabwe has a jittery economy which overcorrects for any anticipated shocks. So while Gono, continues to protect his glass house legacy, millions are enduring untold suffering in Zimbabwe. On the streets, where Gono better not go, prices are up, hopelessness is rampant, and there are no jobs.
Indeed, the Zimbabwean situation from Sokwanele's vantage point is firmly in dire straits,
For the human face of things, consider the family torn apart by emigration: the father who has crossed the border illegally to try to earn an honest wage in Johannesburg, living in a crowded room that he is forced to share with too many others, constantly watching his back for police and immigration officials, and hampered in his bid to secure a reasonably paid job by his illegal status.
Or consider the grandmother, looking after her grandchildren whose parents – her own children – have died of AIDS. She is in her seventies, and has had her own time of child-rearing, when she was younger and more able to cope with the demands it inevitably brings. She is a widow herself, but now has four grandchildren living with her, aged from 12 years down to 18 months.
This is the real tragedy, and statistics and the few independent news reports reveal only inadequately the depth of personal suffering involved for the majority of Zimbabweans.  Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is being looted and pillaged by its rulers. They access fuel at the official price of $400-odd per litre, and run thriving businesses selling the same fuel back to the public or the industrial sector at five or six or seven times that amount.
Taurai at Kubatana has a fascinating post on the budding musical career of Raymond Majongwe, an outspoken critic of the Mugabe regime.
In the song “Of Passports & Visas” on Majongwe’s new music album called I Speak What I Like, the activist musician said he was trying to make sense of the Zimbabwe and British governments. They are opposed to one another but together they, “connive and agree” in denying him an opportunity to travel.
The title of Majongwe’s new album is clear enough to scare some Zimbabwean musicians who have censored themselves from being the voice of the voiceless. Some say that musicians in Zimbabwe do not generally sing what they like because they want to make sure that they stay on the “right side” of the regime. However, he praised musicians like Leonard Zhakata who, despite the current political challenges, have not minced their words and continued to record songs that reflect the views of the people. Some of Zhakata’s songs have allegedly been banned on state radio.

author: Zimpundit


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Nepal: Journalists, online media and newspapers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Even as United We Blog! has a post on journalists getting beaten up “Unruly activists had beaten journalists in Tankisinawari yesterday while collecting news about a peaceful rally. “, Nepali Voices points out that those who were online could have easily gotten ahead of the newspapers. “We concluded online media has every chance to topple newspaper in Nepal and that could have had already happened had Nepal’s online media understood the power of being online.”


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Poland: Crime Stats · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot and his readers discuss crime in Poland.


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Poland: Radek Sikorski is Out · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot and his readers are discussing the resignation of Poland's defense minister Radek Sikorski: “So it appears that the government will be losing the only internationally respected politician it has.”


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Saudi Arabia: C is for Corruption · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Why do citizen have to put up with poor services in the same time when a very large part of the (Saudi) national budget is supposedly directed at healthcare?, asks blogger Saudi Jeans.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Saudi Arabia: Jail and Lashes for Partying · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Or Does It Explode..reports that 20 people were sentenced to jail and lashes in Saudi Arabia for attending a party.


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Soviet History: A Syllabus · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

J. Otto Pohl has posted an “imaginary” syllabus for the Introduction to the History of the Soviet Union class. Here's why he is doing this: “Since I have never taught any courses all of the syllabi I have submitted for job applications along with my CV are purely imaginary. That is they only exist in paper form and have never been executed in a classroom setting. Since only one of the more than 100 institutions I have applied to has ever given me an interview I think that I am probably not providing the selection committees with what they want to read. […] I am going to start posting a few of them here in the hopes that maybe somebody can offer me some constructive criticism.”


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Syria: Al Assad Interview · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Joshua Landis, writing in Syria Comment, informs us that ABC News’ Diane Sawyer was back in Damascus where she interviewed President Bashar Al-Assad.


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Tajikistan: Toilet Training · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Elizabeth explains toilet training in Tajikistan.


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UAE: Student Vlogs  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Where can you find video logs, unusual commentary, rare links of articles you never came across, and really creative Arab students all at the same spot?,” asks Bahraini blogger  Esraa, who leads us to an interesting site by Arab Vloggers.


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USA, Colombia: “Nothing new for Plan Colombia 2” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“About an hour ago, the State Department released the broad outlines of its 2008 aid request. Its so-called “Function 150″ document gives us a rough, but pretty fair, estimate of what the Bush administration is asking Congress to give Colombia next year.” According to Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy, that amounts to “Nothing new for Plan Colombia 2.”


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Afghanistan: Aid Failures · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Joshua Foust takes a look at problems with the aid given to Afghanistan.


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Argentina: Buenos Aires Blog Roundup · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Among the many posts summarized in Alan Patrick's latest dispatch, we find Ken’s description of the dog walkers in Buenos Aires, yet another post about the prevalence of mullets in Buenos Aires, and Robert Wright's photographs of the capital's “Parisian-esque domes.”


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Armenia: Election Monitor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has another update on the upcoming Armenian parliamentary election, saying that managed “democracy” will be the order of the day until Armenian citizens feel they have a stake in their country's future.


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Bahrain: Disney Land Soon? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain may soon have its very own Disneyland on one of its islands, at the staggering cost of almost $8 billion, reports Mahmood Al Yousif.


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Bahrain: First Woman Commercial Pilot · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Maysaa Hazeem has been appointed as Bahrain's first female commercial pilot, reports Mahmood Al Yousif. He hopes this will be an inspiration for women who think sky is the limit.


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Caribbean, China, Taiwan: A joint policy · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

At the Caricom Blog, Sir Ronald Sanders makes the case for the Caribbean to pursue a “joint policy” towards China: “Belize, Haiti, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, and St Kitts/Nevis continue to recognise Taiwan while the rest of the Caricom countries have diplomatic relations with China. This division within Caricom has kept the development of a trade, aid and investment policy for China off the agenda of Caricom Heads of Government even though China is now involved with the region in a number of ways including as a lending member of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).“


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China: 80 years old AIDS activist detained · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Gao Yaojie, a 80 years old AIDS activist was detained in Beijing after receiving an invitation to attend 2007 the Annual Leadership Awards and Benefit, at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts on March 14, 2007. Zheng Jinyan has written a brief biography of Gao(zh).

author: Oiwan Lam


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China and Africa: How China is viewed in Africa? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jacky Peng posts a survey from International Herald Leader on African’s Views On China.


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China and South Korea: netizen war · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole blogs about the netizens’ war over Korean historical dramas  “Jumong” and “Taewang Sasingi.”


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China: confluence project  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Frank Yu from One billion users blogs about his experience of confluence project in China: The goal of the project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location.


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China: Disney sweatshop closed down · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chong translated a citizen report by Lung at interlocals.net on the closure of Disney's factory which is found having environmental and labour problems. However, about 800 workers were left unemployed and the factory failed to pay workers various compensations, a total of 4-5 million Yuan.


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China: I’m sorry, the government has killed your story · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Will from imagethief blogs about the difference between PR in China and in the West.


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Cuba: Two cookbooks · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

She'll get to Cuba eventually, but in the meantime, TriniFood of the Can Cook, Must Cook blog reviews two Cuban cookbooks.


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Egypt: Gay Spy in Custody · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Blogger Zeinobia discusses the case of an Egyptian spy, allegedly recruited by the Mossad and is now held in Egypt. To add spice to the story, she is convinced that the spy is gay.


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Egypt: Super Bowl Superheros? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Freedom for Egyptians is not at all enchanted with the Super Bowl.
“Anyway, the game was over and the trophy was about to be awarded to the winning team. The presenter said now the trophy goes to the “world’s champion Indianapolis Colts”. I looked at my friends and said did you hear what he has just said?” he writes.


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El Salvador: Ensuring Safe and Dependable Water · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim Muth has started another excellent series, this time on issues affecting El Salvador's supply of safe and dependable drinking water. So far, the first post introduces the issues and the second describes the importance of water in the words of Monseñor Eduardo Alas, Bishop of the Diocese of Chalatenango.


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Ethiopia: human rights abuses · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethiopian Life, Politics, Culture and Arts writes about the Ethiopian government's response to Amnesty International's report, “AI's report on torture at Maekelawi(which was first reported on this blog) has left the EPRDF machine confused and utterly discombobulated. The federal police flip-flopped twice in four hours over the issue.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Ghana: delayed funerals  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An American in Africa writes about the burial of a traditional chief, two years after he passed away: “Anyway, Ga Mantse died almost two years ago, but tribal chiefs are not buried until their succession is settled. This is a phenomenon we have encountered quite a few times since we moved here. Delayed funerals are not uncommon. We have no idea where the deceased hangs out while he waits and there is no polite way to ask.”


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Grenada: Prime Ministerial apology to China · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Ryan Patrick at the West Indies Cricket Blog posts the audio of the public apology offered by the Prime Minister of Grenada for the erroneous playing of the Taiwanese national anthem in place of the Chinese national anthem at a ceremony in Grenada.


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Guatemala: Skeptical of US Troop Deployment · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Noting the dubious track record of the US military program New Horizons and the upcoming elections, Patrick of the Guatemala Solidarity Network remains skeptical of the latest US troop deployment in San Marcos, Guatemala.


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Haiti: Political maturity · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Alice Backer views Haitian — indeed, Caribbean — supporters’ throwing their support behind a single candidate in a New York City Council election as a sign that the community is approaching political maturity.


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India: Remembering Zanskar · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

It Isn't remembers a trip to Zanskar. “As I write this, it would be winter in Zanskar. I imagine those people sitting in there around the stove during these long winter months, drinking chang and tea, maybe reading a book of scriptures, looking at the vast landscape of white sorrounding them, talking in mild tones, sharing old stories again, sometimes scolding a particularly annoying kid, sometimes worried about the dwindling supplies for cattle, sometimes worried about someone's illness.”


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Iran:Christiane Amnapour,CNN star journalist,in Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Mazyar Nazemi has published several photos of Christiane Amanpour,top CNN journalist,in Tehran.According to the blogger Amanopur was in Iran to make a documentary about Iranian nuclear project.The blogger adds Amanpour did not answer Iranian journalists’ questions and said she is not a political journalist[Fa].


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Iran:Two Iranian bloggers received Human Rights Watch award · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Human Rights Watch announced that Shahram Rafizadeh and Arash Sigarchi are two Iranian bloggers who received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett prize, an award that recognizes writers globally who have been victims of political persecution. There are 45 people,including seven Iranians, who received awards.


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Jamaica: Happy birthday, Bob Marley · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp marks Bob Marley's birthday by posting a poem written in tribute to the Jamaican reggae superstar.


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Japan: bathhouse art · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampotan blogs about Japan's bathhouse art, which constitutes a significant part in Japanese Art history.


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Japan: birth-giving machines · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Japan’s Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa recently called women “birth-giving machines” and got himself caught in trouble. More from Japan Probe


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Japan: “Re-assess” Whaling Ban · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Recently, Japan announced to host a special IWC – International Whale Commission – conference in February in order to “re-assess” the population of whales. The move has been met with outrage from activists and anti-whaling nations.
David weber from Japundit gives us more background on the whaling industry and debate.


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Kazakhstan: Farewell, Bazaar · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Michael Hancock bids a bittersweet farewell to the Shymkent bazaar.


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Mali: Malian cuisine · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sociolingo's Mali blog has a post about Malian cuisine: “The main foods eaten by a moderately well-off family living in Mali’s capital, Bamako, are rice, millet, sorghum, and beans, cooked as a sort of porridge, served with a meat or fish sauce. A common meal in southern Mali is called tô, a pudding made from pounded millet, served with a sauce of meat or vegetables. In the North, the Songhay and Touareg make thick doughy pancakes served with wild leaves. Tô is also popular in Burkina Faso.”


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Mexico: Ethanol Boom Inspires Protest and Hope · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As old as sin, I mean, alcohol
Today's hemispheric rundown of all things Latin American is a collection of posts all wrapped in the common husk of corn. That's right, the elongated staple of summer barbecues, movie matinees (in its popped form, of course), and taco tortillas is  basking in some rare media limelight thanks to every politician's new favorite buzz word, ethanol. Though its newfound popularity is firmly based in 21st century petrol politics, ethanol itself has been the intoxicating ingredient of diverse cocktails since Persian alchemists first came up with distillation (for which I am still indebted) around 800 AD. According to Wikipedia, “Dried residues on 9000-year-old pottery found in northern mainland China imply the use of alcoholic beverages even among Neolithic peoples.” And who said they didn't get down in the stone age?
Even though ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, was known for millennia throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, its production was mostly dependent on sugar, grains, and rice. Unbeknownst to the so-called “old world”, across the ocean throughout what would soon be called the Americas, corn was king. Called maize in much of the world, the spanish word maíz derives from the original Arawak term for the plant. Its seeds were brought back to Europe, and beyond, by the Spanish Conquistadores and, in testament to its popularity, eventually came to be called “corn,” the original English word for any cereal grain.
Corn and Globalization
If it is true that food is the frontrunner in the accelerating race of globalization, then corn is the culinary British East India Company. Called “mealies” throughout much of Africa, dried corn kernels are a key ingredient in Umngqusho, a favorite dish of the Xhosa people and former South African President Nelson Mandela. Genetically modified corn has also been at forefront of a debate over whether genetically altered foodstuffs present a solution to malnutrition in the developing world or a risk to the environment and food supply. The globalization of corn cultivation is apparent when looking at the top ten maize producers in 2005 (including China, Indonesia, Argentina, France, India, and South Africa).
Good News for Latin America?
The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) has put together a useful outline of how corn-based ethanol may provide Latin America with some much-needed relief from “Globalization’s Merciless Quest to Replace Fossil Fuel.” Just over a decade ago, the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) eliminated tariffs on U.S. shipments of corn to Mexico despite the heavy subsidization of American corn farmers by the US government. Corn farmers throughout Latin America weren't able to compete and, over the next decade, were squeezed out of the market. But here comes the silver lining. As COHA reports, “On the other hand, corn farmers who had grievously suffered from free trade agreements are now likely to benefit from Washington’s new ethanol obsession, since U.S. corn shipments will be heading for Midwest ethanol plants, rather than displacing foreign producers in their own local markets.”
Indeed, as Pablo Bachelet prophetically declares in the Miami Herald, “The Bush administration has a new theme to court Latin American nations: ethanol.” But while US diplomats hope to use Brazilian corn husks to compete with Hugo Chavez's policy-moving petro-dollars, the recent increase in the price of corn is causing (or, at least, adding to) political instability in Mexico.
Bad News for Latin America?
Marie Kennedy and Chris Tilly, two contributors to the Dollars & Sense weblog are currently based in the Central Mexican state of Tlaxcala. After reminding readers of the various social protests that swept throughout Mexico in the second half of 2006, they claim that:
In January 2007, all of these struggles have been heating up once again. Key Atenco leaders are getting out of jail. Activists are marching in Oaxaca city once again, and a major Triqui indigenous community in that state just declared itself autonomous from the state, federal, and “official” local governments. AMLO and allies across the country are gearing up what they call the Democratic National Convention, with the aim of building a new politics and writing a new Constitution. The Zapatistas unfurled an Encounter with the Peoples of the World, hosting 2000 delegates in their base communities. And across Mexico, the hot topic of the moment is … the price of tortillas.
According to Boz, “Mexico is in part responsible for this problem thanks to the duopoly that controls tortilla manufacturing. But whatever the reason, the increase in tortilla prices is creating both a political and a health problem in Mexico. It's not enough, as the New York Times suggests, to simply ask people to change their diets in Mexico. Corn tortillas are a staple of nutrition among the poor and the recent increases threaten to affect the diets of literally millions of Mexicans and affect the government of our neighbor.”
The almost-pro-market National Action Party of Mexico
The “Tortilla Protests” got so bad, in fact, that, as Mexico City-based, radio talk show host Ana Maria Salazar writes, “a so called “Tortilla Price Stabilization Agreement” was signed by the government and companies linked to the tortilla industry in order to fix a 8.50 peso price per kilo.” This was followed by widespread speculation that the corn supply would run out by the year's end to which Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez, the Secretary of Agriculture, responded “that the price hike of a kilo of tortillas was not due to a shortage of maize, rather it was due to price speculation. Likewise, Cardenas Jimenez said that there will be sufficient maize throughout the year with the Sinaloa harvest due in May [and] Ricardo Monreal, the PRD senator, presented the Attorney General´s office with a formal complaint against maize speculators who brought on the tortilla price hike.”
As could be expected, the “Tortilla Price Stabilization Agreement” wasn't agreed upon by all and didn't last for long. As “Enigma”, the prolific political blogger based in Mexico City, explains:
Para empezar, díganme sino fue extraño ver que el Presidente Calderón, quisiera controlar el precio del maíz con ayuda de sus colaboradores, digo chistoso ya que el PAN y el centro derecha de la clase política del país, cree en la libertad de mercado mas que los caballeros en la cruz templaría, pero ok, se entiende, fue una decisión mas política que económica y que la gente pedía a gritos; digo, que el maíz, alimento de la nación y del mexicano por excelencia histórica, suba 20% de su precio cundo, el salario mínimo sube no mas de un 4% al año, es una acción que viene a desajustar a todos los presupuestos quieran o no.
No solo eso, la meta inflacionaria parece que en este año no se alcanzara (menor a 4%) ya que este encarecimiento del maíz, viene a afectar directamente todos los balances en macro y micro economía que había desarrollado y proyectado el Banco de México.
Not only that, but it looks like – with the rise in corn prices – the goal of under 4% inflation won't be reached this year, which will directly affect all of the macro and microeconomic forecasts projected by the Bank of Mexico.
En fin, se salio a la defensa del salario y s fijo el precio en 8,50 el kilo para tortilla hecha de maíz de nixtamal.Una semana y media luego de la firma de este pacto, vemos que no ha sido respetado por todos, ya que no todos los grupos de productores de tortilla lo firmaron. Además, en una entrevista realizada por medios de comunicación (Televisa) se mostraba a un vendedor de expendio de tortilla (tortillería, pues) que vendía su kilo de producto en 9.50, un peso arriba del precio pactado por una sencilla, pero verdadera razón: “no hay regla que me prohíba vender a ese precio”, respondió.
Earned Income Versus Cost of Living
Of course, the root of the protests have little to do with corn itself, and everything to do with the widening gap between earned income and cost of living.
Mexico's National Chamber of Industrialized Corn Bulletin has been collecting numerous articles about the effects of the rise in corn costs, including this opinion piece by Aquiles Córdova of Milenio.
Es obvio, por tanto, que para los más necesitados sólo hay dos salidas verdaderamente justicieras: o se deja el precio de la tortilla al nivel de antes o se le incrementa su salario, su ingreso, en la misma proporción en que se encarecen los productos de primera necesidad.
Or as University of Massachusetts professors Marie Kennedy and Chris Tilly conclude from Tlaxcala:
Whatever happens next with tortilla prices, the issues of the widening gap between most Mexicans’ salaries and the cost of living, and the other widening gap between the rich and the rest, are not going away. These are some of the same issues that fueled the Zapatista rebellion, the street vendors’ protest in Atenco, the teachers’ strike in Oaxaca, and the wave of anger at the elite that has made AMLO’s protests much more than the sour grapes of a losing candidate. Calderón’s strategy—continued free market reforms sprinkled with crowd-pleasing tactical concessions like the tortilla pact … seems more likely to accelerate these trends than halt them. In the coming years, expect Mexican politics to heat up as hot as a tortilleria’s comal.


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Nepal: 198 methods of Non Violence · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy For Nepal on the 198 ways to exercise Non Violent action and protest. “Come out into the streets in humongous numbers. The crowds should be so large, curfew orders and police guns should become irrelevant. They should fall by the wayside. That happened in Birgunj recently. The police simply melted away.”


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Nepal: The Army and Democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

United We Blog! indicates at the brewing trouble in the Nepal Army. “No doubt Dilip Shumser Rana (pic) is a living symbol of the reactionary forces in Nepal who is still trying to play against democracy and freedom in the country. This man, a RANA, is also a burning example of how our political leadership failed to bring about reform in the Nepali Army.”


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Nigeria: Internet is a force for change · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Voices from Nigeria is a series of video shorts from Nigerian Kabissa members on how the internet has “been a force for change in their organisations,” Black Looks reports.


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Pakistan: A suicide bomber · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A suicide bomber at the Islamabad International Airport causes much alarm. Metroblogging Islamabad asks “Is this what our city has been reduced to? This will be our claim to fame; the capital of a Muslim state identified by the blood of innocents spilled by their own brethren in the name of faith or religion?”


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Peru: Animator Wins 25K in Contest · Global Voices
David Sasaki

La Nuez congratulates [ES] the Peruvian animator Jossie Malis who won US$ 25,000 for his grand prize winning short animation, “Bendito Machine.” According to AniBoom, “Malis's beautiful use of color and shadow-puppet imagery has been internationally praised in this indigenous art inspired tale of power, religion, sex and money.


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Russia: Conversation With Litvinenko’s Widow, Part 13-15 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

David McDuff has completed his translation of Marina Litvinenko's interview – part 13, part 14 and part 15 are now posted at A Step At A Time.


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Russia: Khodorkovsky in Chita · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Grigory Pasko follows Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to Chita and the preliminary detention center they are kept at; he writes about it at Khodorkovsky's lawyer's blog: “As of December 2006, SIZO-1 of the city of Chita held around 2000 suspects, accuseds, and convicts, which is three times more than the established limit of places. […] it has already been announced that the trial itself will take place inside the isolator – an unprecedented move clearly designed to ensure that a nominally ‘open’ trial will in fact be closed to the public, which will not be able to gain access into the high security facility.”


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Russia: Khodorkovsky · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As Mikhail Khodorkovsky is facing new charges, his lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, blogs about the situation. An anonymous guest-blogger, The Politechnologist, provides more analysis.


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Russia: Novgorod Demographics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

According to Copydude, Novgorod is a city where children's playgrounds look abandoned and prams are “an unusual sight.”


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South Africa: safety in darkest Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The world’s officially appointed jester writes about the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, “Will you be safe in the darkest Africa?”


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South Asia: unemployment, congregation, cricket, richest beggar and extra bed for bloggers · Global Voices
Rezwan

South Asia is one of the poorest regions in the world. Unemployment is one of the major problems for all the countries in this region. South Asia Biz writes a series on the employment situation in South Asia. The biz blog reviews online job portals from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Now we have more South Asian blogs in review:
Bangladesh:
Blogger News Network writes an article on the Biswa Ijtema, an annual global Islamic meet, on the banks of river Turag on the outskirts of the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. Around three million devotees attended the closing prayers this Sunday, many walking miles as traffic was suspended to give way. This is the second biggest Muslim congregation after hajj.
In less then a month of the state of emergency the traffic jams and chaos in Bangladesh had diminished. There are no demonstrations in the streets, traffic jams are more regulated, people have space to walk on the curbs as illegal encroachments were demolished. The government is cracking on corrupted ‘big fish’ political leaders and feudal political activities are suspended. Chhayalin comments that people thought these changes would be impossible some days ago. The caretaker government with the support of army could achieve it in days what an elected democratic government could not do in five years. Meanwhile Drishtipat Group Blog is vocal for rights of the thousands of detainees arrested without charge sheet. Bangladesh Watchdog posts a roadmap to achieve good governance in Bangladesh.
Bhutan:
Cricket is very popular in South Asia. Although its tough to play cricket in a high altitude, the mountainous Bhutan has no short of enthusiasm for this game. Ugyen Dorji of Bhutan cricket weblog compiles a two part history of Bhutan cricket (1,2).
The phallus is the integral part of Bhutanese paintings. For those who did not know this Ugeent of Kuzu Bhutan Weblog provides a Bhutanese perspective of Phallus.
India:
Imagine a world full of bloggers and you offer your extra bed to a fellow blogger who visits your city. And in return, when you travel to his/her city, you have a place to stay.
Sounds like fiction? No, its happening in India. Kiruba Shankar features  Extra Bed, a unique expansion of social networking service which should be a milestone for the world to follow.
Desh of Drishtikone features the richest beggar in Mumbai, India.
Nepal:
Fact or Fiction? Rakta Kunda, a new book on the 2001 Nepal Royal Palace Massacre has surfaced after the expulsion of King Gyanendra. The book describes the events through the eyes of one of the surviving witnesses, Queen Mother Ratna’s personal maid, identified in the book as Shanta. She says 2 man masked as Crown Prince Dipendra had fired the shots that led to the massacre. The Acorn suspects the new dispensation may not necessarily want the truth to be revealed.
On the wake of the Madhesi nationalism Counterpoint Blog contemplates what will happen if Nepal is divided.
Pakistan:
Aawab Alvi of All Things Pakistan cites example how blogs (or citizen journalists) are becoming source for mainstream media in Pakistan.
Light Within feats 10th of Moharram or Ashura, a Muslim festival.

author: Rezwan


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South Korea: naturalized Korean names · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kim, Lee, Park are the most popular Korean surnames chosen by foreigners who have taken up Korean nationality and choose to change their names. – more from Robert Koehler, Marmot's hole.


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South Korea: suicide rate · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tania Campbell from Ohmynews writes an citizen reports on South Korea's suicide rate which is highest among developed countries. The reporter focuses on the social pressure of minority groups, such as gay man, mentally sick people and students.


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Taiwan: corruption confession · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated an article by Lung Ying tai, the former minister of Culture Bureau, confessing her “corruption” crime, which is similar to Taipei city mayor Ma Ying-jeou's “corruption” case.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Panorama 2007 · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Caroline.neisha at the Caribbean Beat blog paints a picture in Trinidadian English of the semi-finals of the Panorama steel orchestra competition, which took place this past weekend under dramatically altered circumstances.


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Uganda: President under pressure · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Lovely Amphibian explains why it is hard to be a president in Uganda, “Our president is on pressure as we speak. If he’s not, well, he should be. What with the many barbs coming from all directions!”


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Ukraine: Grain Crisis · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Victor Yanukovych's government can't control the situation with grain again, writes Foreign Notes: “Quotas were applied from 31 st December 2006 and this has led to the scandalous situation described in newpapers across the world. ‘Ukraine's grain dumped into sea as quotas strangle exports,’ from FT is typical.


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Ukraine: Klyuev on RFE/RL · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

One of the less “media-shy” members of Victor Yanukovych's team, vice prime minister Andriy Klyuev, gives an interview to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Brussels, Foreign Notes reports.


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Ukraine: Salo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Greetings from Kiev posts a rather immodest picture of a pig and writes about the Ukrainians’ favorite food, salo.


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Ukraine: Yanukovych Popularity in Donbas · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes reports that roughly half of Donbas population supports Victor Yanukovych, despite the region being traditionally seen as the PM's stronghold.


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Venezuela: On Free Media · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Leftside criticizes those who claim that there are no free media in Venezuela.


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Armenia: Ads for Charity · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Armenia Blog explains that it is using advertisements on its site to help support Armenian charities.


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Armenia: Libertarian, Anarchist, and Socialist · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Armenian Libertarian-Socialist Movement is a new blog by Armenian anarchists in exile that analyzes the country's politics. Their first post explains what they are all about.


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Bahrain: Ministers too Could be Sued! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Silly Bahraini Girl encourages a blogger who is being sued in Bahrain to take the lead and sue ministers too. “By suing you, your good friend here has opened a can of worms and a door from which we can ask lots of questions about everything under the sun. If we bloggers and writers can be sued for voicing our opinions, then we too can sue them for not doing their jobs and for being the wrong people in the wrong job!” she writes.


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Bangladesh: Fun and Islam · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A bengali in TO on fun in Islam. “I asked one of my class mates, son of one muezzin, if he had watched the documentary. “We don't have TV.” He replied, “My dad says it's haram. He says the TV is evil.””


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Bolivia: Online Documentary · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“One musician and a small production crew went to Bolivia hoping to create something that could provide help for the poor of Bolivia In the end, the warm hearts and rich culture of the Bolivian people wound up giving them more then they could ever hope to give in return.” That is the description of Bolivian Rhapsody, a massive 184 mb documentary that is freely available for download at PodShow.com.


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Budapest: Porn Capital · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestcentric writes this about Budapest's current image: “Sure, Budapest now holds the dubious distinction of being Europe’s porn capital, (to be addressed at a later time), but its public face doesn’t need to show it.”


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Central Asia: US Aid · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net looks at the Bush administration's proposed budget for the 2008 fiscal year and says it shows the White House is dropping the ball on Central Asia.


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China: A far out tribe · Global Voices
John Kennedy

A lot can be said of the recent phenomenon in China of outdoor enthusiasts finding each other through forum-type websites, only meeting in person during the regularly-scheduled camping or hiking trips many of which bring out hundreds of their members, and where this movement overlaps with China's blogging movement.
For Cat989-based journalist-blogger Two Keqi(2可器), the great outdoors are never too far from his blog, and here's his post [zh] on a recent trip he took into the far-flung forests of Southwestern China's Guizhou province to get some offline time, and what he found there.
岜（这字可不念”巴”，读bia，第一声）沙苗族聚居于黔东南从江县，目前有2100多人。1949年以后，他们是被官方允许合法地保留持枪传统的唯一的一支少数民族部落，因此被称作”中国最后的枪手部落”。
岜沙被一对法国老夫妇”发现”于80年代初，自那以后，岜沙苗族逐渐突破与世隔绝的生存方式，以其独特的文化为外界所知。今天的岜沙基本上还没有进入传统游客的视野，但作为著名的黔东南线路上不容错过的一站，每年接待着为数不少的背包客。
我去那里的时候，虽是春节长假，但游客不算多，几乎是清一色的驴子。在即将进入岜沙的路口有一个售票处，几棵放倒的树桩剪住去路，桩后晃荡着几个孔武有力的汉子，发式装束怪异，端着土枪，或提着大砍刀，给人的第一印象正如网友所言：”老天，撞上土匪了！”。
这就是尚武的岜沙汉子，常年身挎腰刀，肩扛火枪，据说个个枪法如神 ，爬山上树如履平地，极善打猎。除刀和枪外，随身挂在腰间的还有旱烟袋、牛角、枪弹葫芦；穿着无领右开衫铜扣青布衣，直统大筒裤 ，青布裢。这种青布衣质感有点象我们穿的雨衣，亦有良好的防水功能，呈深蓝色，泛着晶莹的紫光。这种面料的制作工艺极其复杂，据说其防水功能来自于布料上的一层鸡蛋青。
这种衣着与侗族有几分类似，却与其他苗族部落大不相同。而其发式更是独一无二的：男子头部四周大部分头发被剃掉，仅留下中部盘发为鬏髻，象一根粗大的棍子从头顶排到后脑，称之为”户棍”，看上去与日武士的发型异曲同工――据说这也确曾吸引过日本学者到黔东南来寻根。
日本人是否是岜沙苗族的后代似乎没有定论，按照传说，岜沙苗人的祖上被认为是苗族的祖先蚩尤第三个儿子的后裔。当年蚩尤被黄帝打败，率领部落开始了向西南的千年长征。岜沙苗族的祖先就是大迁徙的先头部队——九黎部落的一支。他们开山劈路、鏖战熊罴，勇武之至。后来苗族内部发生征战，这部分苗族被打败后到处流浪，
大概1000多年前开始定居于现址。有一个未经考证的说法，说之所以岜沙人多数人姓”滚”，正是因为他们是被打败后滚出来的。
岜沙村寨掩蔽在森林里，进村以后满眼的参天古木，木制的吊脚楼散布其中。千百年来，岜沙苗族世世代代生活在这与世隔绝的森林中，衣食住行均取之于山林河谷。树于是成为岜沙人的图腾，其发式”户棍”既源于树形。人们对树的敬畏贯彻一生，他们每砍伐一棵树，必再种一棵；孩子生下来以后，父母也会种下一棵树，直到他死亡将此树制成棺木，并在下葬处再植一棵，代表他的生命又重新开始，因而在岜沙村只见满目树木却无坟冢。对树木的崇拜、珍惜和取用方式，使岜沙名副其实地成为被森林覆盖的地方（”岜沙”这两个字，在苗语的意思是”草木繁多的地方”）。
在林间一块空地上，岜沙男男女女邀请我们这些外地的客人一起跳芦笙舞。虽然岜沙汉子们看上去彪悍粗犷，其实古道热肠，对客人们一起照张相的要求总是有求必应。跳完芦笙舞，火枪队队长滚元亮领着枪手们给大家演示火枪齐射。这种枪又细又长，弧状的握把，但没有枪托，有点象19世纪早期欧洲列强用的那种。先跳一段舞，然后枪手们立定成一排，枪口朝天，噼噼吧吧一阵巨响，一股股白烟从枪口陡然喷出，然后散成一片，空气中弥漫着一股火药味。
放完枪以后，两个岜沙汉子走上来，其中一个就地蹲下，另一个右手提一把一尺多长的鎌刀，往盆子里沾一沾水，左手轻轻扶住他的头――这是要把他头上左右两侧长出来的头发剃掉，用这把大镰刀，在没有任何泡沫也没有打湿的情 况下。
在众人惊奇的注视下，镰刀娴熟地在头皮上游动，发出呲呲的声音，一片片头发脱落，露出白生生的头皮。不一刻，一根标准的”户棍”就呈现在众人眼前。
The crowd watching in amazement as the sickle adeptly whisked across the scalp, making just the faintest sound and patch after patch of hair dropped, revealing the white scalp underneath. In just a few seconds, a brand-new “family stick” appeared before the eyes of the audience.
Some Googling around shows that Two Keqi is not the first blogger to have blogged the Miao. Xitek user K6688 has an excellent assortment of photos of the arduous lives the Basha Miao live outside the reaches of modern society. Via Sinosplice.

author: John Kennedy


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China and Japan: Kokaryo · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kokaryo is one of the debates between China and Japan, and it also involves Taiwan. Mutantfrog translates an article written from a Chinese perspective on the Kokaryo issue.


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China: main theme T.V drama · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) last month announced rules requiring China's major television stations to broadcast only “main theme” television during prime time hours. Ming Dynasty 1566  is one of the main theme.
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated an interview with the T.V programme director, Zhang Li, from The Economic Observer  which tells the production process of the historical drama.


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China: why it is so difficult to get train ticket? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

As the lunar new year is approaching, the spring travel started. The central government announced earlier that the train ticket's price will remain the same. However, most of the tickets fall into the pocket of various ticket agents, and they sell the tickets to the black marketeers. Tianya club has a post explaining the situation (zh).


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El Salvador: Lost Economist · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ethel from San Salvador is now officially an economist. But where to from here? “I know I wanna make positive changes in my society, in my country, etc, etc, etc, that is why I joined and mostly why I've stayed in AIESEC. My real problem is that I haven't find what am I really good at? So how can I cause positive changes if I haven't find my biggest strength? and how do I find it?”


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Estonia: Ilves on Bronze Soldier · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa mentions the Estonian president's position on the Bronze Soldier scandal.


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Estonia: Observations · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa has moved to live in Estonia: “So we are finally here in our new home of Tartu, Estonia. I've been here many times before, but never to live. In the past my “home” in Estonia was in Tallinn. Now I will get used to living in Tartu, which is a university town, and largely devoid of the large crowds of wandering Brits in search of their next drink.” He posts two entries of observations of everyday life in Tartu and Estonia – here and here.


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Estonia: The Jewish Community · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about the history of Estonia's Jews.


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Georgia: Folk Dancing · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Cuttino's Georgian Life posts a video of Georgian folk dancing.


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Government Minister Suing Bahraini Blogger · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Google Search churns out nearly half a million entries in 0.04 seconds when you enter Bahrain and censorship in that white space we all run to when our memory fails us.
Scary? Not really, because so far the government's censorship efforts have not totally shut up all those who want to freely express their opinions. With all the country's newspapers implementing ridgid self-censorship, citizens have turned to blogs, which have mushroomed overnight. But with a system bent on ensuring that ‘thou shall not speak your mind unless we say it is OK’, even personal blogs have to be registered with the kingdom's Ministry of Information – a rule which is yet to be implemented.
With the war on personal blogs in full throttle, authorities are also minding the world wide web.  So far, online forums, the website of a local human rights organisation and that of a political society have been shut for breaking the rules of what many describe as being an oppressive Press and Publications Law. Also, three bloggers were detained briefly for operating a popular Arabic language online forum, which is still blocked in Bahrain.
Against this backdrop of repressive laws, one Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif has risen to the occasion everytime there was a stand off with authorities regarding freedom of expression, having decided to publicly call a spade a spade. He is one of a handful of bloggers who are actually brave enough to put not only their name but also their face and weight in a blog.
But this fame didn't come without a pricetag. Despite enjoying the Godfather of Bahraini Bloggers status, Mahmood's blog was also blocked by authorities for steering into murky topics I am too afraid to venture into as I am planning a trip back home soon.
His latest award for being an outspoken citizen is a summons to the Criminal Investigation Department this morning for “a chat”. It turns out that a minister has taken offence to an article he wrote and has complained to the police. Now Mahmood has to appear in front of the Public Prosecutor tomorrow morning!
“Well, a public figure has taken umbrage with what I have written against him, and rather than contacting me to complain, or even entered a public comment refuting what I have written, he went through the legal route and lodged a case against me with the police, which is fully his right of course; however, that is not going to change the subjectivity of calling someone “stupid” or any other adjective used to describe someone or change the fact of his performance in the previous Shura council nor the fact that he has had business cases levied against him at some point of his life,” writes Mahmood.
Will this shut him up?
“This action to me is nothing more than trying to shut his critics up by force of law – if any of these cases actually go to court in the first place – waste the courts’ time and efforts as they do have much more important cases going through them that take years, or at best terrorise his critics into submitting to never criticising him again! Well, this ain’t gonna work with me! I criticise to better this country as a concerned citizen, and shall continue to do so regardless of these frivolous cases.
“And why pick on me? Well, I am known! Hence, I am an easy target. I am sure I can bring out several comments and posts written by anonymous persons in the multitude of fora within and without Bahrain which he just could not touch; but Mahmood Al-Yousif, ah! he’s exposed! un-anonymous! known! and we have his full contact details, his family and his points of views, so let’s attack him! Let’s make an example of him!
“Further, I have suspected that ministers of the realm do not have the time of day to scratch an itch, let alone cruise websites and personal blogs routing through them with fine tooth combs looking for perceived libelous material against their exalted personalities. Judging by this incident, I know now that I am sorely mistaken. But as I have criticised other ministers over the lifetime of this blog, and none bothered to take me to court or lodge a complaint against me with the police, let me revise that assessment and not generalise but specify that maybe, actually in all probability, understand that only this particular minister is not being kept busy enough! Mr Prime Minister, can you give him more “portfolios” to fill his time? Please? Maybe then he would pay more attention to his job, better his ministry and staff to get them all (including himself) to provide the necessary services to the community with alacrity and expeditiously,” he explains.


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Hungary: Down With the Barriers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Since the riots last September, Kossuth ter – the square where parliament is situated – has been closed to the public. […] On Friday, the opposition party thought it would be a good idea to remove the barriers themselves,” writes The Hungary Years. Pestcentric also covers the initiative.


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Hungary: Euro 2012 Bid · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestcentric discovers that, due to the recent football scandals in Italy, Hungary (together with Croatia) may have a chance to win the bid to host Euro 2012: “Sure, Hungary has seasonal rioting, but it should be brought to the attention of those voting that there are no public holidays tied to a revolution in the summer months.”


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Hungary: Health Care System · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian prime minister recently compared the Hungarian and British health care systems. Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar responded with a mock comparison – and here's the first item: “In Hungary, the patients have to bring their own toilet rolls.”


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Hungary: Why Study English · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar points out that the Hungarian government is suggesting the wrong motivation for studying English: “[…] achieving the rather lofty (and therefore completely unmeasureable) objective of increasing the ‘mobility of upcoming Hungarian generations’ and improving ‘their options on the labor market.’ Think about the logic of that statement. If everybody, as the government wishes, learns English, then the mobility and options on the labour market remains exactly as they are now; we’ll just have higher qualified street-cleaners that are able to watch BBC World.”


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India: Brown men smiling · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ready. Shoot. Aim on why brown men can't smile. “While walking in the mall the other day I made another Indian guy completely freeze in his tracks and look at me in disbelief. I didn’t do anything outlandish. I smiled at him. “


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Israel: How to Quit Smoking · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Yael has come up with an ingenious way to quit smoking – by shocking herself with a 9-volt battery!


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Israel: Plagiarism  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Nathan tells us all we need to know about the different types of plagiarists  out there.


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Israel: Sex Scandals · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Allison Sommer is enjoying the public interest in a sex scandal – as “they are more entertaining, and less scary to discuss Haim Ramon and Moshe Katsav's troubles with women than growing threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Ahmedinejad.”


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Jordan: Children Live in Places You Can Never Imagine · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ad Blog Arabia gives us an insight into a wonderful campaign to provide children with better living conditions.


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Jordan: When It Snows in Amman · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

It snowed in Amman, Jordan and the snow melted the next day, writes Black Iris. “The morning of a snow fall, when it’s really bad outside and the driving conditions are impossible and the possibility of crashing a car or being run over has never been greater: they pack supermarkets and grocery stores and purchase enough food to feed a small army or possibly survive a nuclear holocaust,” she writes.


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Lebanon: Bush’s War · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Leila Abu Saba links a video of a Kuwaiti singer who makes fun of Bush's war.


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Mexico: Doing Business in Mexico · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ellen Fields of Mexico-in-English recommends the useful cross-cultural business blog, Business South of the Border.


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Moldova: “Wall Art” and Other Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Flickr user dittaeva, of Leikanger, Norway, traveled around Moldova with his brothers in the summer of 2006 and has photographed this mosaic on the way from the Chisinau airport to Colonita. The face on the wall appears to be that of poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.
More Moldova trip photos (254) by dittaeva are in this photoset.
There's also a separate collection from the war museum in Transnistria, a territory within Moldova that has been de facto independent since September 2, 1990, but whose “legal status continues to be an issue of contention.” Here's dittaeva‘s introduction to the set:
These are photos from the war museum in Bender, Transnistria, Moldova. I tried to cover more or less the whole exhibition. We were let in on request and had a friendly but serious guide speaking in russian, which Daria very professionally translated into english. I also have a small book from the mueseum at home.
Remember that Transnistria is ruled by a quasi-communist dictatorial regime, which know how to do propaganda (just take a look at www.pridnestrovie.net).
(A Wikipedia article on the war between Moldova and Transnistria is here.)


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Pakistan: More censorship · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

After Blogger, it's WordPress.com to be censored in Pakistan. “The heavy hand of the govt. strikes again. First they came for blogspot, but the teeming masses said nothing, and moved on to wordpress.com. Now they’ve come for wordpress – where will they go now? “


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Pakistan: Moving the mountains · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi has a post on porters – the people who carry the load up the mountains. “The agile, tireless, hardworking people, primarily from local communities, ferry massive loads of gear on their backs. Like the more familiar Sherpa people of the Himalaya, the Pakistani porters are respected among fraternity of mountain lovers as some of the best porters in the world. T”


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Pakistan: New Blogger and Censorship · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Moving to the new Blogger platform can make circumventing censorship a little harder. Teeth Maestro has an update. “a few contacts at Google since he has been interacting very closely with them for the past year and a half, probing the option if the blogspot back-end can remain on an unencrypted platform to be accessible from Pakistan, maybe not publicized but more as an underhand tweak to enable bloggers full access to the blogspot interface.”


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Press freedom watchdogs slam Maldives · Global Voices
Nihan Zafar

Major international press freedom watchdogs have recently slammed the Maldives for the Indian Ocean country’s bad record in press freedom.
Reporters without Borders (RSF) has criticized the Maldives for violations of press freedom in its 2007 annual report.
Information Minister, Mohamed Nasheed, who in May 2006 met members of an international mission of which Reporters Without Borders was a member, said the broadcast sector would shortly be liberalised and that laws to protect press freedom would be adopted before the end of the year. Unfortunately, the end of the state monopoly on radio and television has been postponed and the government had a draconian law on defamation adopted by decree. As a result, 38 requests made to the authorities to set up privately-owned radio and television stations have gone unanswered.
The government headed by the immovable Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978, has therefore failed to honour all its promises in relation to press freedom which were set out in the “road map” for democratic reform. Moreover, police continue to harass and sometimes imprison pro-opposition journalists.
English PEN has expressed concerns about state prosecutions against journalists working for Minivan Daily and Minivan News.
Minivan Daily journalist Fahala Saeed has been sentenced to life in April 2006 for drug-trafficking charges which is believed to have been fabricated. There are pending law suits against Minivan Daily editor Aminath Najeeb and sub-editor Nazim Sattar. Cartoonist Ahmed Abbas is in jail for comments he made to Minivan Daily.
Freedom in the World 2007 report by Freedom House characterized Maldives as “not free” and outlines some of the problems faced by journalists.
The penal code bans speech or actions that could “arouse people against the government,” while a 1968 law prohibits speech considered libelous, inimical to Islam, or a threat to national security. The law also allows authorities to shut newspapers and sanction journalists for articles containing unfounded criticism of the government. Moreover, regulations make editors responsible for the content of material they publish.
The South Asia Press Commission (SAPC) has also criticized the Maldives for barriers to press freedom and has described the country “a journalists’ prison” in its 2006 annual report.
In January 2007 Phillip Wellman, an American journalist working for Minivan News, was forced to leave the Maldives and blacklisted for two years.
Will Jordan, who is a journalist for Minivan News, discusses in his blog the level of repression in the Maldives.
For example, the authorities have intercepted phone calls, text messages, emails and other forms of communication. There is little reason to believe they are not still doing so, and we all are forced to behave as if they are. Conversations in cafes, restaurants and other public places are rarely confidential. There are many informants and others with an unhealthy interest in your daily business. Day-to-day movements, like those of our journalist, Phillip Wellman, in the two days before he was expelled, are noted. As another foreign journalist, Hari Kunzru of the Guardian newspaper has observed, anonymity is not an option.
The people who journalists speak to are instilled with fear. Until now, nobody has ever really asked the average citizen for their opinion. It has never mattered before – at least not on the simple basis that, as a Maldivian, they should be allowed to have a say. It has only mattered on the basis that they might be causing trouble.
Strongly held opinions tend to lead to problems in the Maldives, so few people dare speak to journalists and even fewer let you publish their names. Notoriety leads to trouble.
Faced with immense international pressure, the government has eased its restrictions to some extent. Four years ago, the level of repression was so intense that four cyber-dissidents were arrested for a dissident Internet newsletter and three of them received life sentences.  Three of them were later released, after an international outcry, while one person fled from police custody and sought asylum abroad. The detainees were not even given access to legal representation.
Critics believe government is talking about reform as part of a nicely packaged public relations exercise, while in reality the Maldives remains a prison for journalists.

author: Nihan Zafar


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Turkey is Typing…. · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Hrant Dink is still very much present in the Turkish blogosphere this week, and while I don't wish to present a case of Hrant Dink overload, part of today's post will feature a short follow-up and then we can have some fun.
Turkish Torque summarizes the future situation of Turkey by commenting on its present:
As the first month of the year is over, the road ahead looks like a tough one for Turkey. This is the year in which many Turkish leaders and decision makers may end up aging prematurely.
Domestically, the economy seems to be doing fine and actually, from an employer's point of view, it is one of the brightest stars over the Turkish landscape….
Politically, though, it's a whole different ball of wax.
Almost every foreign policy issue presents tough challenges to cope with, even further complicated by the two important elections ahead (Presidential in May, and General in November). The assassination of the Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink threw another monkey wrench into the equation that Turkey did not need at all. When it rains, it pours, as the saying goes.
Turkish-Armenian relations are obviously at an all-time low with the strong resurgence of the “Armenian genocide” issue in the aftermath of the Dink murder. Many observers expect the U.S. Congress to pass an “Armenian genocide resolution” this year.
Cyprus continues to bleed with no relief in sight….
Erkan, from Erkan's Field Diary reports on the scandal that is being caused in Turkey with the posing of pictures with the police and the gentleman accused of killing Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.  The implications of these photos (does this mean that the police were supporting this man's actions? what does this mean for Turkey's public face?) are still in discussion in Turkish and International circles.  For excellent commentaries on this, I refer you to The White Path for multiple articles on the current political situation. And Mavi Boncuk helps to continue the coverage by giving historical information posts on the Turkish-Armenian situation, including links to US documents on the subject.
Next week we will look more into the politics of Turkey, including information on the passing away of Ismail Cem and recent interviews with the man behind the movie Midnight Express.
And now to a bit of fun: In a recent post on Amerikan Turk, Murat awarded Phanja who blogs at The Need to Know, the Most Waste of Bandwidth Award:
Phanja is one who could not possibly have lived only in Turkey. Such excellent command of the English language normally requires one to be born and raised in the US. What's quite deficient though is the frequency of posts in her blog. I'd love to discuss her latest contribution, but you'd be more entertained by watching paint dry.. I think we're averaging one post every two to three months. Gets to be quite a disappointment every time I visit and search for life.. which consists primarily of occasional comments left by myself and others. I am selecting Phanja as January's recipient of the coveted “Waste of Bandwidth Award”.. A distinction which underscores the position of blogging within her list of priorities, and which is intended to get her off her tookus and typing..something..anything!. Hopefully this reaches her and we get to read an acceptance speech in a few weeks.
And her reply:
Oh oh, I got an award! I never got an award in my life! I didn't even make a list! I don't know whom to thank! Oh yeah actually, I do. So I dedicate this quarter's blog entry to Mr. AmerikanTurk, whose blog just has everything you can ask for, informing us of everything from skating championships to his family reunions. Okay, maybe a few things you wouldn't ask for too. That's the beauty of most blogs, I say, viva la too much information!
* For those who don't like clicking links, the abovementioned “award” is for “Waste of Bandwidth”. Wouldn't want to give a false impression like I actually did win some honor or something.
Once again, thanks for the interest, people (which there are apparently three of you, by the latest count). I'm alive and well enough. I kinda felt like writing about something a few days ago, now if I only could remember what it was.. Yeah, that's the way it usually happens. I just cannot sit and write stuff day after day, I first have to have something interesting -interesting to me at least- to say. And you know, life is always the same old, same old.
So, maybe, for some insane reason, you do want my take on things?
Top links for this week:
1. The Turkish Invasion- what happens when a Turk goes to Russia? Read to find out.
2. Interested in the latest fashion on the streets of Istanbul, Istanbul Street Style will fill you in.
3. New York Muhtari has a fabulous photoblog for you to visit.
4. And boy am I glad that the Carpetblogger has moved to Istanbul, because now I can cover her wit here.  Today we will close with her telling us a little bit about learning Turkish:
Turkish is hard because its grammar has no relation to Latin languages. But at least I am not starting from scratch. When faced with the insurmountable grammatical obstacles presented by Russian, I lamented the year I spent studying Azeri in Baku. That Azeri is going to come in quite handy now. As we are fond of saying, Azeri is basically Turkish with half as many words. “Cracker Turkish,” if you will.
It's hilarious to see the look on Turks’ faces when you tell them you lived in Azerbaijan. Sometimes, they simply cannot contain their amusement at the thought. It's like telling an American you spent a year learning English in Harlan County, Kentucky.
Last night at a party, an actual Turk confirmed the veracity of a Turkish/Azeri language anecdote I have used as cocktail chatter for years, always prefaced with the caveat that it's “probably apocryphal.” It's always satisfying to find out a rumor you spread turns out to be true.
Here goes: The pilot of Turkish Airlines plane full of Azeris announces he is preparing to land the plane. The passengers panic. Why? Because the verb in Azeri for “to land” is the same as “to crash.” I crack up every time I tell this. I'm not sure if it's funnier or not now that I know it's true.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Albania: More Election Posters · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Tirana posts more photos of election campaign posters: “Why bother with one poster when you can put up 20 or 30 or 50?”


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Albanian: Monument to the WWII Germans · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Tirana posts photos from the German WWII Memorial located in a park in the Albanian capital; an anonymous Albanian comments: “I find the nazi memorial insulting, to be honest. These people came to our country to kill and burn and we're raising them a memorial? My grandfather's house in Berat was burned to the ground by this “young angels”, as were many other historical houses in Berat and all over Albania. How about the village of Borova, that was wiped off the map, with everyone in the village killed and every house burned, will the government raise them a memorial? Maybe not, since they're only Albanians.”


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Bahrain: Blogger Released on Bail! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Illustrious Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif described a certain minister as ‘stupid.’ The minister lodged a case against the blogger, who was summoned by the CID yesterday.
Today, he went to the public prosecutor, where he was questioned again for three hours, in the presence of a  lawyer, and released on bail.
“It is worth noting that in Bahrain’s law, lawyers present are not allowed to interrupt the public prosecutor during questioning, at all, object to a question nor advise their clients not to answer a particular one! They just sit there until the end of the session at which time they are given the chance to register any complaints and make any demands like asking the prosecutor for a copy of the file and to release the defendant on his own recognizance or on bail, rather than rot in jail over the weekend for instance,” wrote Al Yousif.
“At the end of the 3 hours of questioning, he asked us to adjourn to the waiting room for him to deliberate. He did, and decided that this case should be regarded as a misdemeanor and set bail at BD500 (US$1,325).My lawyer insisted on paying that on my behalf and we walked out.”
“What comes next is that the file goes through to the general prosecutor’s office for them to decide whether to accept the case and go through with it to the courts, or refuse it and close the case. That all remains to be seen over the next few days. Unless of course, the plaintiff drops the defamation case against me, then although his case will be dropped, it is again up to the public prosecutor and in the interest of general public whether to go ahead with it or drop it,” explains Al Yousif.
Will this shut him up? And what is his advise to bloggers in his country?
“What’s next though? What is Mahmood Al-Yousif going to do? Am I going to change the direction of the blog, will I concentrate on non-political articles, will I stop criticising public officials and government performance, will I go underground, should I have refused to post bail and get thrown into prison for a few days in order to be a martyr for the cause? What’s next?,” he writes.
“Next is business as usual as far as I am concerned. One thing I would strongly urge Bahraini bloggers to do is go underground. It is not worth getting yourself known as that will only invite suits as I am experiencing now. They can never sue anonymous persons of course and they know it.”
Needless to say that Al Yousif's latest brush off with the authorities generated an outpour of support from around the world. Make sure to read the comments sections on his blog.
Fellow Blogger Lulu took the opportunity to mourn freedom of expression.
“Now, if I can call all my fellow people to observe 1 minute of silence in honor of the late freedom of speech, peace be upon her,” she notes.
Silly Bahraini Girl too rallied to the support of Al Yousif with an open letter:
“I really don't understand why he took offence from personal thoughts you wrote on your personal online journal, ie, your blog. If he didn't like it, I don't know why he didn't change the channel, I mean stop intruding on your very own cyberspace. After all, you didn't force him to come and read your blog, did you? He or whoever translated to him what you wrote, came according to his own accord..didn't he? So why are they complaining now?” she wonders.


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Bangladesh: Can Dr Yunus do it? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

He may have won the Nobel, but could he win the Bangladeshi elections? Journal of a Disturbed Mind on Dr Yunus contesting the elections. “He may find 300 honest and competent candidates, but will he find even 150 popular candidates from different seats to win the next election. Very difficult, no doubt. Because popularity is the X factor here, simon cowell would say.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Belarus: Groundhog/Hedgehog Day · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog writes about “Groundhog Day, Belarusian-Style”: “These days it seems that Belarusians are seeing their own version of this script being acted out by our politicians.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: U.S. Bosnian Serbs Deported · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Finding Karadzic thinks it's a bad idea for the U.S. to go ahead with deportation of 14,000 Bosnian Serb men who “may bear a connection to war crimes” – primarily because it “serves as a distraction in our efforts to catch the real bad guys. You know, the ones with outstanding indictments from the Hague whose criminal behavior leaves no doubt. Namely, Karadzic and Mladic.”


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Caribbean: Marlon Samuels and the bookie · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

B.art and life, Barbados Free Press and the West Indies Cricket blog weigh in on West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels’ conversation with an Indian bookie.


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Central Asia: Why It Matters · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Joshua Foust argues that Central Asia should be given more attention by Western policymakers.


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Egypt: Blogger Slams Fox News · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Tareq wrote to Fox News, complaining about what he claimed to be their impartiality.


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Egypt: No Sympathy for Anna Nichole Smith · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shows no sympathy to the news of Anna Nicole Smith's death.


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Georgia: Minority Youth · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Social Science in the Caucasus reports on the findings of research on minority youth in Georgia, including recommendations on integrating them into public life.


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Guyana: Marry for conversation · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

An encounter with a family friend reminds Guyana-Gyal about the adage about “marrying for conversation.”


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Haiti: What democracy? · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Ailleurs Vu D'ici reflects on democracy in Haiti (Fr): “Today, the institutional crisis in its different expressions reminds us that the rule of law is not just about more or less successful elections.”

author: Alice Backer


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Hong Kong: not meeting pan-dem · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Charles mok is one of the memeber in the Chief Executive election committee member, representing IT professional. He has nominated Alan Leong as a candidate. Today he revealed in his blog that Donald Tsang had arranged meeting will all the election committee members, except those who had nominated Leong.


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Hong Kong: Vagina Monologue · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The local version of “Vagina Monologue” was on show in Hong Kong. The title has been translated into “VV silent talk”. Lian at inmediahk.net criticized that the local version still refused to spell out the word “Vagina” loud, and it missed the whole point of the drama and against Eve Ensler's original intention (zh).


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India: Feminism, marrying trees and rituals · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A famous actress indulges in a little harmless piece of superstition that has some people in arms. Amardeep Singh explains. “Aishwarya Rai, who has been in the news lately because of her engagement to Abhishek Bachchan, has apparently been ritually married to not one but two trees before her real marriage”. Meanwhile Known Turf on five things feminism has done for the author.


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India: On Parzania, Gujarat and Hate · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims comment on the refusal of movie theatre owners to screen a movie. “So, Parzania would not be screened in Gujarat. Not anytime soon at least. It seems the entire state is being held hostage to a particular ideology and anyone protesting against it would be silenced. All sighs stifled and all pain concluded imaginary.”


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Iran:A Christian Video and Song · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

You can see and listen to a Christian song in FarsiPraise blog.


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Iran:You see what you want to see · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian Truth shares his opinion about “The Bush Policy on Iran”. The blogger says Those who travel to Iran often see what the want to see and reject the multitude of diverse beliefs, particularly those which run counter to their own perspective. An Iranian-American who wants to believe that Iranians are pro-American for the most part will completely discount the elements of Iran which are clearly pro-Iranian government. Or those elements will be discounted as “foreign” to the country, when they’re really not. On the other hand, those who have an anti-American perspective, will view Iranians as being hostile to Americans, moreso then they really are.


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Iraq: Another Quiet Day · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omar, at Iraq the Model, is in shock that it is quiet in Baghdad. He feels that there is something out of place but can't pin it down.


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Iraq: Free to Pay Restaurant! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Attawie attended a double-birthday celebration, in a Free to Pay restaurant. Her experience is described here.


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Iraq: Important Question · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Truth Teller  says a reader asked him why the US was being blamed for all the ills in Iraq. His answer is here.


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Iraq: No One Wants the Truth · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi blogger Rejected doubts the credibility of newspapers in the UAE. Read this to know why.


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Iraq: Saddam ‘Not Executed’ · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraq Pundit reports on a new book which claims that ex-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's double was hanged.


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Iraq: Sandwiched Between Saudi Arabia and Iran · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“We are sandwiched between Saudis lamenting sectarianism and the Shia threat, and Iranians raging war against America and Israel. Instead of finding a united cause to bring us together we became up for grabs for all,” writes Iraqi blogger Hala. She says the division tearing her people apart has taught her that they have “failed in the most important test….the test of Love.”


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Jamaica: Support for the Maroons · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Voice of the Taino People blog solicits support for the Jamaica Maroons.


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Japan: spring festival · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Weber from Japundit blogs a serie of photos on Japan's spring festival and the ritual in driving away demons.


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Japan: what’s wrong with Gaijin Hanzai Underground files · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Gaijin Hanzai Underground Files is a comic book in Japan about “foreign crime”. Many foreigners complained that the book has full of racial discrimination and distortion. Debito explains the details of the distortion.


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Jordan: Are Women Worse Drivers?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Black Iris is wondering whether Jordanian women are worse drivers. To take part in the debate, click here.