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Kenya: Dear Kofi Annan… · Global Voices
Rebecca Wanjiku

Kofi Annan is an undisputed mediator and a peace maker. When the party leaders in Kenya started hiding behind the constitution to derail the talks, Annan declared that the constititution will not be used to deny Kenyans peace.
Yes, the contentious post of Prime Minister was agreed on, but the hardliners have taken their positions and none wants to compromise. Annan has threatened to quit, and has suspended talks until President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga meet and soften the positions.
Upon receiving the quit threats,  wheremadnessresides decided to write a letter to Annan:
“Dear Kofi Annan:
There's a rumour that you're thinking of leaving Kenya. That you're fed up with our leaders and their madness. That you're up to here and beyond with all this nonsense.
I can certainly understand why you would be sorely tempted. But please please please don't. Leave Kenya that is. You can't anyway. You promised, remember?
Last Friday but one you looked straight through the camera and right at me and said you weren't going to go anywhere until a comprehensive solution had been arrived at. You said that anyone who thought they could frustrate you into leaving was deluded.
Remember that?”
Kumekucha thinks Kenya's solution lies in power sharing:
In order to achieve normalcy in Kenya, Annan and the international community are in agreement with the ODM in its quest for an immediate political settlement arising out of the disputed December 2007 election before deeper negotiations and agreements can be reached on the issue of constitution review. That immediate political settlement is: POWER SHARING.
…..A power-sharing deal has been imminent for the last two weeks but it appears the antagonist cannot reach an agreement on the extent of powers of the proposed office of the Prime Minister. ODM has announced it will accept nothing short of an executive prime minister and that whatever deal is agreed upon, it must be entrenched into the constitution.
Kenya Imagine has published a lengthy post, giving the recipe for constitutional change and power sharing. The article goes into great detail, giving historical perspectives and comparing with American politics and how they have handled such issues:
The threat of violence works in strange ways, its wonders to perform. Assuming that the ODM is not going to wear a balaclava and walk into the boardroom of government with a shotgun, I propose that certain exceptions be made for them, as follows:  First, the president should allow the ODM to nominate their own people to the government. If they want to nominate Raila Odinga, William Ole Ntimama, or William Ruto, that is fine. Ministers appointed should be subject to some kind of enforceable doctrine of collective responsibility to forestall the impunity witnessed when some the ODM members were incorporated in the last government.
While they should not condone illegalities, they should be supportive of the government in a functional, visible way. They should also be subject to the performance contracts like everyone else.  Given that some cabinet positions have already been taken, the ODM should be allowed to nominate CEOs and Chairmen for some state corporations, subject to qualifications of said applicants. Once appointed, they should be subject to the performance contracts already in place. The ODM has complained of marginalization. Appointing CEOs is spreading the bread, distribution of resources, and is in the national interest.
Kenyan Pundit had predicted that the current sent up of talks is not meant to go far and that Kenyans had a choice of wrestling their fate from the two leaders:
It is increasingly seeming like my worst fears will be confirmed, and the Annan mediation talks will become a long road to nowhere.
Frustrated as we are, I think it is important for us as Kenyans to keep trying to find ways to wrest the fate of our country from these two power-hungry individuals. You can play your part by doing what you can to support the peace building initiatives and aid effortsthat I have listed below. These efforts are more tangible than signing petitions, wearing bands, etc.
Lets demonstrate that there is a better way to do things and that unlike our leaders, we as Kenyans are ready to do the HARD work necessary to rebuild our country…talk is cheap. I also encourage you to circulate this list widely, especially to people in Kenya who are in position to do something but might not necessarily access my blog…some of these initiatives just need a show of support.
Mwananchi Mkenya has taken issues seriously and is now evaluating the concept of democracy within the party and wondering whether democracy is being undercut:
While PNU never, and ODM-K now offers me no hope, I continue to wrestle with my relationship to ODM.  On one hand they are making amazing contributions to democracy in the country.  PNU needs strong opponents and to be challenged on their crap.   They have shown remarkable resolve in standing up to PNU oligarchs, have built a truly impressive national machinery, and provided Kenyans with a much needed space to articulate the need for true democracy.
But on the other hand ODM is  seriously undercutting the future of democracy in the country.  My frustrations with them are in not working hard enough to avoid targeting one ethnic group.  In my view ODM has been too comfortable framing the issues plaguing the country as those of ethnicity and not those of class.
While considering the happenings in Kenya, Ken Opalo feels that the political class has let Africa down:
The political class has failed Africa. The political class has failed Kenya. The political class has failed me, personally. Why haven’t we produced more Mandelas and less Mobutus? Why do we keep churning out leaders who do not have any sense of what true leadership is about? Leaders who are willing to do whatever they can to improve the situation of Africans? When will they know that politics should never be an end in itself? That political competition is a means to an end and that politics should be used to serve the interest of the African people and not to enrich a few people?
As Achebe put it in the early 1980s, [replacing Nigeria with Africa] The trouble with Africa is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the African character. There is nothing wrong with the African land or climate or water or air or anything else. The African problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.
Regarding the regional and international influence, Morgan writes about the threat by the US to intevene as well as actions taken by regional leaders’ whose countries depend partly on Kenya for economic prospertity:
The Longer the situation is in flux then the problems could not only escalate but even spread. There have been persistent reports of Ugandan Troops along the border with Kenya and keeping a wary eye on its Neighbor. 25% of Uganda’s GDP moves through Kenya. Rwanda has about the same number and for Burundi it rises to 33%. So its not only Kenyans that are suffering.
For Several Years the US has Praised Kenya for being a beacon of Stability in a region where Fighting seems to be a daily norm. Tensions in the Horn of Africa are rising again. Somalia still remains in a perpetual state of anarchy as well. So there was considerable pleasure when Kenya had a Peaceful Change of Government several years ago.

author: Rebecca Wanjiku


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Korea: Companies that check how many times you go to the toilet  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Companies that check how many times you go to the toilet … What do you think? The post has received interesting responses.
화장실가는걸 체크하는 회사.
이렇게 까지 하면 회사 어떻게 다니나요 ;;;;;;;
Companies that check how many times you go to the toilet
Do I have to stay at this company?
돈준만큼 확실히 부려먹어야죠. 그게 자본주의 유능한 사업가죠. 그렇게 해야만 세계일류기업이 되겠죠? 1원이라도 낭비하지 않고….그리고, 일하는 사람 입장에서 싫으면 다니지 말고 나가라는 것인데 어쩌겠습니까? 회사 만들 능력없고 채용해준 것만으로도 고마워하는 입장에서 인권을 어떻게 찾겠어요? 업주를 위해 목숨을 바쳐야죠.
인간로봇입니다.인간성이 자꾸만 상실하는 사회에 살고 있습니다.
저건 분명히 지탄 받아야 할 억압이지만 근무 중에 수시로 들락 거리는것도 고쳐야 할 태도중 하나라고 봅니다. 괜히 주변 분위귀까지 들썩이죠.
뭔지 잘은 모르지만, 위와 같은 상황이 발생한 원인을 요약하면 두가지로 압축될수 있습니다. -> 첫째 : 너무나 잦은 근무지 이탈로 인하여, 윗선에서의 지적상황이 많았던 불가피한 상황. -> 둘째 : 근로자와 사용자와의 관계는 근로계약을 체결한 계약상의 관계일뿐, 타인의 인권을 제약할수 없는 동등한 인격체라는 사실을 무시하고, 근로자들를 마치 자기들의 노예(?)인양 부려먹으로는 윗선의 이상성격.
담배는 꿈도 못꾸겠군.ㅡ,.ㅡ
솔직히 오죽하면 저러겠냐..화장실간다하고 계속 땡땡이치니 사장도 오죽하면 저러겠나 싶다. 주로 여자들 많은 회사가 저런문제가 많이 발생하는듯
왜 여기서 여자를 걸고 넘어지시는지 ?
당연하지..당신이 일 안하고 화장실에 앉아 시간 때울지 누가 알겠냐고..당신은 하수인이고 사장은 당신을 먹여살리는 주인이야..
아니지요. 직원이 일을 열심히 해서 사장을 먹여살리는 거지요. 사장 및 경영팀의 역활은 직원이 하는 일을 최대한 효울적일수 있도록 서포트해주는거구요 ^^
너무한다
일열심히 하는사람에겐 별로 신경쓸필요가 없는규제라고 생각합니다..회사를위해서 열심히 일하는길이 곧 나자신이 잘되는길인데도 불구하고 많은 사람들의 마인드는 회사의 눈치를 보면서 생활하다니…쩝~이러니 위와같은 규제가 있다고 생각됩니다..회사입장에서는 이렇게 까지 하는이유는 닭이먼저냐 달걀이먼저냐를 따지기 이전에 본인스스로 나를위해서 열심히 일하는 자세와 마인드를 갖는다면 당장 내인생이 하루하루가 바뀔것입니다…
저렇게 하는 회사도 문제지만…왜 저렇게까지 할까?에 대해서 의문을 가지는 분은 아무도 없군요……여러분 자신도 한번 돌아보시길……

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Hyejin Kim


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Malawi: Competition in the mobile phone industry · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Austin Madinga writes about competition in the mobile phone industry in Malawi: “In the past few years, Malawians have witnessed cut throat competition between mobile phone operators Celtel Malawi and TNM Limited in terms of marketing, promotions and roll out of value added services. Users have also joined in with accusations and counter accusations flying around that copycat tactics are employed by the two when rolling out services and promotions.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Pakistan: The Jinnah Way · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pak Tea House takes a closer look at Jinnah and history – to serve as a lesson for contemporary parliamentarians in Pakistan.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Pakistan: Urban Development · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Lahore Nama on the skewed urban development agenda in Pakistan.


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Paraguay: The Craft of Goat Cheese · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The making of goat cheese is an artisan craft in Paraguay.  A new blog called Quesos de Cabra – Caprísimo [es] highlights this process and how it is marketed in the city of Loma Grande.

author: Eduardo Avila


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South Africa: Racist Black Journalists? · Global Voices
Muhammad Karim

The president of the ANC, Jacob Zuma, was back in the news last Friday… this time for supporting a move by the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) to exclude White journalists from covering an off-the-record briefing by Jacob Zuma.
The blogosphere has erupted with all sorts of positions on this matter, here are a few…
From Guy Berger
The Forum of Black Journalists is welcome to choose whoever it likes to attend its meetings. Black, white or blue. It’s a free country.
But no journalists, of whatever hue, should be in the business of organising off-the-record briefings with political leaders.
Wasn’t anything learnt from the infamous 2003 Bulelani Ngcuka briefing that caused enormous damage to the image of journalists as politically independent players beyond manipulation? And that was an occasion not even initiated by the media.
And anyway, why would any journalist act to encourage secret information flows as a first-choice engagement with a source? Especially in regard to a public politician who may be the next South African president.
Shame also goes to Jacob Zuma for speaking to the FBJ on confidential terms of engagement; he could have as easily advised that he had nothing to hide, and that anyone present was free to report his remarks.
Just what was the point of the FBJ tying the hands of the journalists who attended? A bad bid to try to “sex-up” the character of the event?
My Digital Life
My issue is that I think the white journalists that were expelled showed a brilliant example to us whites as to how to deal with these “forums”. A lot of people have spoken out about these forums but nothing to date has been done about them, until now. Good on the journalist that were expelled and even better on the black journalist that left the meeting with them. There really should be no place for this type of organization in this country. Let’s call a spade a spade what happened there was nothing less than racism in action!
Andrew La Grange
When you hear of these things, these corruptions of democracy one is left to ask who is running this country? When there are so many clever, able, educated and passionate young black leaders, why is it that the dof, cruel and incompetent have wrestled power away from the minds of rationalism in the ANC.
A part of me wants to blame Mbeki for his paranoia and centralisation, and when I think about it deeply this truly seems the greatest cause.
But which Irvin Khoza, the man in charge of running soccer in this country, using the word kaffir without shame, we have definitely entered a dark day in the racial politics of our country; where men and women are excluded from an address because of the colour of their skin, and a leader of the country’s largest sports program can chide a black man with the word kaffir.
Breaking News
The editor's forum said in their statement that such exclusion has no place in South Africa today and certainly not in a forum that represents journalists.
Sanef said it respects the FBJ’s right to organise and associate as it sees fit, provided this does not undermine the open society and democratic values of our constitution and country.
“Our democracy came after a hard-fought struggle at several levels including the media and every effort should be made to protect it,” Sanef stated.
Yesterday newsrooms across the country received the invite from FBJ stating that black journalists are invited to an inaugural luncheon discussion (imbizo) with the ANC president.
The invite further stated it was important to note that all the imbizo’s are “strictly closed discussions not for publication”. But they offer an opportunity for black journalists “to engage on a variety of burning issues with the guests”.
ONC Today
The media was instrumental is getting this country to where it is today. There were white journalists who risked their lives and even paid the ultimate price to give this country its democracy. What were these black journalists discussing, closeted together with Zuma, that they didn’t want white journalists to hear???
Michael Trapido
“Racists are the last people who should be judging the morality of others. The conduct of these journalists was reprehensible and, in my opinion, they have waived the right to report on anything political. In order to assist those who did not arrange the function or its racist composition, I would merely ask whether they walked out once they had learned of its racist nature.
By accepting that there is a place for racism in South Africa you are, by your disgusting conduct, confirming that whites-only schools, Afrikaans-only clubs and any other exclusivity is appropriate. Far worse, your conduct itself is all the proof that separatists need for a new whites-only state.”
The Wild Frontier
Zuma’s attendance is slightly more complex. On the face of it, his presence endorses racial exclusivity.
But Zuma has been willing to talk to journalists of all races — and has even turned down interview request by certain black journalists.
Zuma has publicly expressed an open reconciliatory and non-racist attitude to social issues and he should be taken at face value on this.
He went so far as to grant an interview to a highly critical “white” reporter from the BBC recently in which he was subjected to the harshest possible questioning.
What is totally unacceptable is that a professional working journalist be prevented from executing their craft because of their race.
Commentary.co.za
My take on this is slightly different. Yes, the FBJ is indeed racist and bad. But its members are also exercising an important freedom that is, and should be, constitutionally protected: the freedom to associate. I’m one of those people who thinks that freedom of association (like freedom of speech) is sufficiently important that it should be protected even when it is used by bad people to promote bad ideas. I even think that explicit hate groups should be legally protected, provided they don’t engage in acts of violence.
It seems racism is poking it's ugly head up again in the media world of South Africa… this time, however, it's in reverse.  Let's hope we can resolve this issue or at least learn from it in future.

author: Muhammad Karim


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Russia: Middle Class · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the Russian middle class.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Unaffordable Health Care · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about the Russians who can't afford medical care.


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Serbia: “Ray of Light in Tough Times” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade 2.0 posts a selection of photoshopped Kosovo-related parodies and writes: “If there’s one thing I always appreciated about Serbia and it’s turbulent times, it’s the people’s strenght to find something humorous in all that, no matter how bad the times are. It was like that during the sanctions, during the protests, during the bombing, during the Milosevic – there are probably hundreds of (mostly intern and untranslatable) jokes on these subjects.”


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Sierra Leone: Aschobi Designs · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Switsalone introduces the person behind Aschobi Designs in Sierra Leone: “Adama Kargbo is a 24yr old Sierra Leonean-American recent graduate of Parsons School of Design (Paris, France). She has recently returned to Sierra Leone from New York City to launch her first collection; ASCHOBI DESIGNS. This collection gives a modern twist to vintage 1960s African couture. Although she could have launched her collection anywhere, Adama chose her ancestral home as the birth place of ASCHOBI because of her unshakeable conviction in the rebirth and redevelopment of this country.”


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Sierra Leone: Binkolo Growth Center · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Paul writes about an industrial project in Sierra Leone: “Binkolo Growth Centre is a small industrial project near Makeni where the manufacture of small farm implements, tailoring, carpentry and blacksmithing takes place, and includes the use of disabled people. I am assisting with the expansion of the centre to include food processing of local cassava and palm oil products. One of the Makeni City Councilors is the manager of the Binkolo Growth Centre and I think this project has good prospects for success.”


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Somalia/USA: Somali elders for Obama · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Royale Somali blogs about Somali elders supporting Obama in Ohio: “I heard that a lot of Somali elders in Ohio who are also American citizens would be going to caucus for Obama , dressed like that notorious photo. Ohio has a large Somali community around 20 Thousand.”


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Sri Lanka: LTTE on Facebook? · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Tamilnet.tv on fake profiles of LTTE members on Facebook, and the LTTE's threats to those violate the diktat.


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Sri Lanka: NGOs and Markets · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

A Voice in Colombo on the market for NGOs working on human rights issues in Sri Lanka.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Land Lover · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It's time for us to concentrate more on growing what we eat even though far too many of us consider farming as something that the educated should steer away from”: Blogging from St. Vincent, Abeni advocates going back to the land.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Thailand: Thaksin’s Passport · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Pundit looks the issues surrounding former Thai prime minister Thaksin's diplomatic passport. Thaksin is set to return to Thailand from his exile after he was overthrown in a coup back in 2006.

author: Preetam Rai


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Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica: RIP Manno & Gibbs · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Beat Blog mourns the passing of two sons of the Caribbean soil – Haitian footballer Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon and Jamaican record producer, Joel “Joe” Gibbs.


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Ukraine: Tymoshenko’s Illness · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's illness and other problems.


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Vietnam: Hanoi in Winter · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Experience the winter in Hanoi and neighboring places with Vietnamese God.


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Argentina: Concern Over Cartoneros · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Buenos Aires government is worried about the activity of the ‘cartoneros,’ who are members of the informal economy and rummage through garbage to salvage cardboard that can be sold for recycling.  Gabriela Arca of Grito Argentino [es] writes about some of the government's reasons for concern.


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Armenia: LGBT Blog · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts details of a new blog established by the Armenian Gay & Lesbian Association of New York. The blog, AGLA NY, is at http://aglany.wordpress.com.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Political Turncoat · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped is dismayed by the acceptance of a position from Orinats Yerkir party leader and presidential candidate, Artur Baghdasarian, from the prime minister and president-elect, Serge Sargsyan. The move, ostensibly made in order to defuse tension in the country, gives credence to claims from the opposition that Baghdasarian was working with the authorities all along, the blog says.


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Armenia: Politically Motivated Arrests · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped provides its readers with a list of what it considers politically motivated arrests of people associated with former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, following last week's disputed presidential election in Armenia.


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Bangladesh: Likability and the Elections · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Addafication from Bangladesh on the issue of likability in the US elections.


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Barbados, Jamaica: Political Accountability · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living in Barbados thinks that the arrest of a former Jamaican Minister implicated in the Cuban lightbulb scandal “should shed light on what kind of government Bruce Golding is leading and what kind of democratic country Jamaica really is.”


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Barbados: Joe’s River · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Keltruth Corp. blogs about the level of pollution at Joe's River, which runs through Barbados’ last remaining rain forest.


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Bolivia: Relief for Flooding Victims · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Many residents from other Bolivian cities are chipping in to provide relief for the victims of the flooding in the Beni region.  Kevin of Travieso [es] writes about the cooperation with a local Santa Cruz radio station to collect supplies.


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Brazil: Following up the Democratic Primaries · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

‘Biscoito Fino e a Massa‘ is closely following the Texas Democratic Primary polls [PT], and reports about Obama's surge toward nomination. He also tries hard to explain the primary's rules in the state, and mention past local cases of electoral mess and misconduct like the ‘gerrymandering’ in 2003. The blog will do real time Portuguese coverage of next Tuesday's democratic primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island, starting at 20:00 Brasilia time.

author: Jose Murilo


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Argentina: Direct Taxes and Digital Rights · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

In Argentina, the proposal of the Member of the Parliament from the official party, Claudio Morgado, is called “New Law for Music”.  Article 21 of the new proposal states:
To create the Culture Development Fund, which will be under the administration of an entity formed by the National Institute of Music, National Institute of Film and Audiovisual arts, National Theater Institute and entities of collective management. The fund will be created by the sum amount collected by the implementation of a direct tax to every object that permits the storage, recording and reproduction of music and images.
In a very quick fashion, many Argentinean blogs started to cover the topic. The proposal was very similar to the direct tax that today is applied in Spain, and by which any media that allows to store or copy the contents must pay a percentage of its value as a “compensation” to the creators of works with copyrights.  It is, in theory, a form to fight “piracy” and the loss of income by musicians, discographies and institutions that collect copyrights.In his blog, Denken Uber [es], Mariano Amartino thinks otherwise:
Bienvenida la idea de que ahora la piratería va a estar protegida legalmente porque, si me cobran un impuesto para “compensar, de alguna manera, los derechos intelectuales (fonográfico, de producción,etc,) de los autores, quienes se verían perjudicados por las reproducciones impagas de sus obras” esto implica que tengo el DERECHO de reproducir sus obras porque el cánon es la compensación que ellos reclaman.
Welcome the idea that now piracy will be legally protected because, if I pay a direct tax to ‘compensate, somehow, the intellectual rights (photographic, production, etc.) of the authors, who would be affected by unpaid reproductions of their work’  this means that I have the RIGHT to reproduce their work because the tax is the compensation they claim.
There's also a page about this topic, No al canon [es], administered by Fabio Baccaglioni, from Fabio.com.ar [es]. There's a compilation of resources on the topic, and also a list of a large number of entries and articles published in blogs and newspapers.  The repercussion of this topic in the Internet was such, that the M.P. Morgado called a meeting, where he invited many bloggers and journalists.According to Vanina Berghella, from La Propaladora [es], in that meeting “Morgado said he was against the payment of a tax that increases the price of digital objects” and he stated that such proposal had been added to the law project after the suggestion of the Independent Musicians Union as a strategy to finance a “Institute of Music”.Also, Mariano Amartino and Fabio Baccaglioni summarized what happened in the meeting. The famous Article 21 disappeared from the proposal, without notice. But Amartino stated that the discussion about the tax had not been abandoned and that organizations that collect copyrights in Argentina and discographies plan to introduce the direct tax in a future law.  For now, the project to implement a canon in Argentina seems to be halted. It's not a minor fact: in a country where buying any kind of hardware or information storage device is expensive, the implementation of this tax would have added more costs. It also would transfer to the whole society the obligation to maintain the discographies business and institutions that collect copyrights. The case of discographies it's particularly interesting: the victims of terrible business decisions in regards to to the Internet, instead of assuming their mistakes and understanding that times have changed, are trying to preserve the model, at the expense of those who buy technology.  For those who want to know more about the topic, there's a long list of links at No al Canon.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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China: Baby Coming · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Imagethief's baby is coming next week!

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Chongqing’s Pride · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Zhang Xiaozhou's soccer game report has hurt Chongqing citizens’ pride. Students, representatives of people congress, and newspapers editors protested against the report and demanded the authority to punish the reporter. Blogger Wen yunchao commented that Chongqing people were over sensitive (zh). Zhao Mu criticized that the Chongqing local newspapers were usually indifferent to social and political problem while outraged by a light hearted report (zh).


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China: Country with the world’s biggest income gap · Global Voices
George Sun

According to the latest Outlook Weekly, the Gini coefficient of China is growing up to 0.47, which is above the international warning line and much higher than that of most developing countries. It means the income gap between urban and rural residents is getting wider. Chenyuan26 [zh] thinks that the reason behind it is more about the shortcomings of current political system and social management in China.

author: George Sun


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China: Is ‘inadequate national virtue’ an excuse? · Global Voices
George Sun

In a new published book entitled Lu Xun & Hu Shi: Two Chinese Intellectuals in the 20th Century the author made a thorough analysis about the mutual relation between the process of democratization  and  Chinese  national  virtue. This book and its theme raised a lot discussion online. Blogger bbcjy wrote[zh] on Feb 27, that democratization and national virtue can be the impetus of each other so the ‘inadequate national virtue’  is not an excuse for not carrying out the political reform.


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Czech Republic: Foreign Minister · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Czech Daily Word writes about the Czech foreign minister, whose full title is “His Serene Highness The Prince of Schwarzenberg, Count of Sulz, Princely Landgrave in Klettgau and Duke of Krummau.”


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East Asia: Intangible Cultural Heritage · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampontan has a very elaborated post on debate and discussion about the registration of intangible cultural heritage at UNESCO among China, Japan and South Korea.


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Ecuador: Google Maps and Flooding · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Christian Espinosa of Cobertura Digital [es] writes about the new Google maps mashup that provides locations of the heaviest flooding around Ecuador.


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Fiji: Heart-Shaped Island · Global Voices
May Hnin Phyu

The gang at Paradise Failed discovers Tavarua, a heart-shaped island among Fiji group; “…this freak of nature is called Tavarua, otherwise well-known amongst surfers as “Cloudbreak” for its perfect wave form. And, unfortunately, due to its luxurious nature is inaccessible by your average income earner.”

author: May Hnin Phyu


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India: Blogging and Memories · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Route 79 ponders on the point of blogging, and reproduces a wonderful letter from a person who lived in the same area of London who shares his memories.


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India: Hazrat Nizamuddin · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims Blog on the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi.


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Iran:Persian Art · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kourosh Ziabari talks about the importance of Persian miniature, painting and architecture.The blogger also gives a link to Iranian great painter, Mahmoud Farshchian, where we can watch his great paintings.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Israel: Ashkelon is ‘on the map’ · Global Voices
Gilad Lotan

Missiles have fallen in the city of Ashkelon, one directly hitting a residential building, and another very close to a public school. This is a substantial shift as Ashkelon, a major city in Israel, had been off-limits to the Gazan missile attacks until recently. The attack, caught the city's residents by surprise, as it has yet to install its “color red” missile attack warning systems.
On Wednesday this week, a harsh qassam missile attack hit the south of Israel, killing a 47-year-old student, father of four, at the Sapir College campus. In response, IDF escalated its attacks on targets in Gaza, in which  four Palestinian children were killed. This led to rocket launches, hitting the city of Ashkelon. Many worried bloggers from Ashkelon react, describing their experiences with terror and fear, within this deteriorating situation that seems ever more hopeless:
reaction1:
Ashkelon… Today this city is on the map. But not because of an impressive accomplishment, but because of Grad missiles that Hamas sent over as presents. A Grad rocket fell in my neighborhood (I heard its whistling as it passed my house, right before the explosion), and 4-5 more around town. But this is peanuts for our prime minister. And our mayor is too busy dealing with the sexual harassment case, that I'm doubtful if he can improve on anything.
So what are we doing? Maybe we'll just stay in our houses and live in fear. Maybe we will move from Ashkelon to another place, where within 5 years we'll realize that rockets also fall in Tel Aviv, where our honorable aristocrats live.
Did we not learn from past generations? The powerful Israel, with this amazingly shiny army, peer brotherhood – all this destroyed. Youth turning against each other, while the saying ‘to die for our country’ is considered from an ancient time, passed onto us only by stories from our grandfather, who now also says ‘damn it'!
reaction2:
Here, Abu Mazn, our moderate partner, is not opposed to resuming the armed struggle against Israel. This hopeless situation seems to have no resolution. While it is easy to say that the government does not do anything and that this is an outrage, there is not much that can be done against such simple weapons. True, there exists a laser system that intercepts, but it does not promise 100 per cent success. When 100 rockets are launched per day, or even per week, it is only a matter of time before one causes severe damage.
reaction3:
Until this didn't reach us, I had not thought much about Sderot.
Every day there is talk about qassam missiles falling there; death, injury and anxiety. All that did not really get to me.
But now I understand it. I comprehend the fear and terror that lingers there, and our country that does not take them into consideration. Why should it do something for Ashkelon? A death here, or death there. Not to worry, only a person's life.
reaction4:
It tears me apart, cuts and forms a scab. I am torn after reading this(Israeli student killed by a qassam missile).
First Sderot, then Ashkelon and soon Ashdod (where I live). As I am a political science major, people constantly ask me “what should be done against the Qassam missiles? How do we make peace?”
I always answer “its not that simple…” and change the topic.
The more I learn about this topic, the more I realize that I do not understand anything. So many layers and complexities which are keeping me from formulating a solid political stance. On the one hand, I was raised in a Russian home, preaching that Lieberman (strong right wing anti-arab views) needs to manage the country. But on the other hand, aggression only places the rest of the world against us. Receiving 40 qassam missiles per day as a routine is not acceptable.
The only thing I do know is that our leadership is extremely defective, rotten and must be changed!
I will finish with hope for the residents of Ashkelon and Sderot, that these terrible days will soon come to an end, and we will wake up from this nightmare.
reaction5:
They did not help Sderot. What about us?!
First of all, I am from Ashkelon, and this is frightening. I just got back home. Difficult to write. Only half an hour ago a qassam missle hit. I was in practice and went outside to find a friend. She cried. Was very stressed. Then we heard two little blasts and she started crying. Then there was a powerful ‘BoooooooM'! Really powerful, as if in the school. We immediately ran to the sports hall. Everyone was worried. Missiles fell close to where I live.
Tomorrow I am not going to school.
reaction6:
The south is red, not from flowers.
I cannot comprehend it.
Every 10 minutes at least, there is a siren sounding. At first, I was one of those who laughed at all the worried people. How did I become one of them?
Qassam missiles are falling without stop in the past couple of days. Two fell in my settlement today. One close. Yesterday another fell close, very very close.
Why do people only notice this issue when it reaches Ashkelon? What about us?
We are not a city so we are not important?
I'm dying to get out of here. This is becoming very frightening.
Sad for me to think that yesterday I was not even aware of the situation, and now am baffled at how it was allowed to reach this point.
Here are links to our previous posts covering this topic:
Israel: Two Sderot Kids Severely Injured by Hamas Missiles
Israel: Israeli Bloggers Respond to Crisis in Palestine
Israel: Rockets Hit Sderot, Flame the Israeli Blogosphere
Israel: Sderot's Invisible Wounds

author: Gilad Lotan


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Jamaica: Service Culture?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Jamaica is just not ready to do business the way business is done on an international level. Our people still believe that to give service is to be servile”: Jamaican Lifestyle explains.


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Japan: Poisoned Dumpling Blame Game · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe has a poll about the poisoned dumpling scandal between Japan and China. Most believe that they were contaminated in China.


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Japan: Tokyo’s Mobile Food Bars · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ryoko from pingmag has a feature story on Tokyo's mobile food bars.


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Kenya: Thank you Annan and team · Global Voices
Rebecca Wanjiku

After the deal was announced, a caller to a local radio station was ecstatic and invited Kofi Annan and team to “nyama choma” (barbeque), another caller offered him two beers and another pronounced that Annan was the best angel God had sent to the people of Kenya.
The level of excitement in the streets of Nairobi and Kisumu demonstrated that the worst is over, and that Kenya will possibly not tilt over the edge like it did in the last two months.
The deal was finally brokered, it will force constitutional amendments but in the end, Kenyans knew that their fate is in their hands. It is a new begining for a nation that has been saved from following the legacy of failed states in Africa.
The details of the deal and the “behind the scenes” details are being discussed in the major towns. The Kenyan blogosphere also paints a similiar picture.
When the news broke,  Lovely money wrote a “thank you” note to Kofi Annan and his team:
On behalf of hopeful Kenyans, I would sincerely like to thank you for your hard efforts and patience that you have demonstrated.
Last but not least, the sustained efforts of Graca Michel and Benjamin Mkapa cannot be ignored. Asanteni sana.
LostwhiteKenyan felt the political development was like a new year's gift and decided to showcase the happiness and the dance moves online:
In order to celebrate this fabulous day when our leaders finally made a decision to bring peace back to Kenya, I am extremely excited to be able to bring you a full programme of entertainment for your viewing pleasure to help you all join in our merriment ………
We shall start with a little dance from yours truly….
Political articles witnessed the jubilations in Kenya:
Kenyans cheered and danced as they witnessed the opposition leader Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki signing a power-sharing agreement in Nairobi.
Supporters of Mr. Odinga’s party, the Orange Democratic Movement, celebrated in Kisumu, Kenya, after the signing. The agreement was reached only after Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, negotiated directly with Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga.
The post by Kumekucha  gives an idea of how people's lives had come to “almost” a halt as a result of the violence and subsequesnt slow pace of the talks:
It is like the whole country has been holding it’s breath since December 30th 2007 and everybody started breathing again a few hours ago when a breakthrough in the the Anan peace talks was finally announced.
“We have a deal,” Anan said capturing the drama and suspense of the moment.
Wild celebrations were noted in many parts of the country including areas like Migori where or man on the ground reports, Kenyans went crazy with jubilation. As I wrote his, I still don’t have a reaction from the Rift Valley. No reports of celebrations there, at least not yet.
For  Wheremadnessresides it was time to wish each other a “happy new year” because it will be time to proceed with normal business for many Kenyans:
Everybody in my parts is wishing everybody a Happy New Year.
Happy New Year. Today is when 2008 begins for us.
I read from Oyunga Pala that Dr Frank Njenga, probably Kenya's most reknown pyschiatrist, had listed ‘not being able to stop talking about politics’ as one of the symptoms of post-election trauma in Kenya.
One Nairobian witnessed the jubilation and has a request to the international media- to extend their coverage:
An almost euphoric celebration greeted the wider Kenya due to this recent development that will bring to an end two months of tension and violence.
It is my sincere hope that the International press the likes of Al Jazeera, CNN, BBC, SKY News will now feature this joyous news on a 15 minute basis to highlight that Kenyans are not just about machettes but co-existence , perseverance,  resilience, agreement, peace, love and unity. Dont just sell the negative!
With the deal reached, it will now be time to heal the wounds and start the reconstruction process.

author: Rebecca Wanjiku


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Russia: Election Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A roundup on Russia's upcoming presidential election: Mark MacKinnon writes on the 72 percent “target” for Medvedev; Megan Case writes about the reasons NOT to vote; Robert Amsterdam writes about betting on the Russian election, writer Victor Erofeyev's pro-Putin and pro-Medvedev op-ed in the New York Times, and more election miscellanea.


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Russia: Feb. 29, “Not An Everyday Day” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about “February 29 in Russian history. Not an everyday day.”


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Russia: Prince Harry and Local “Elite’s Offspring” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about the Russians’ reaction to the news of Prince Harry's military service in Afghanistan.


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Serbia, Kosovo: Lack of Trust · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Anarchist writes at length about “the utter lack of inter-ethnic dialogue between Serbs and Albanians” in Kosovo.


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Serbia, Kosovo, U.S.: Diaspora Serbs · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Reluctant Dragon and Gray Falcon offer two different perspectives on what it feels like being a Serb in the United States following Kosovo's declaration of independence.


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Serbia: Window For Slovenian Embassy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

East Ethnia reposts a photo of a new window presented to the Slovenian embassy by “the students of Belgrade.”


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Sri Lanka: Refugees in India · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

groundviews on the fate of refugees who leave Sri Lanka and flee to India.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Chinese “Pow”   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Chinese community in the Caribbean is small, but…the region’s culture would be poorer without them”: Trinidadian blogger Can Cook, Must Cook examines the influence the Chinese have had on Caribbean food and posts a recipe for one of her favourite delicacies.


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Africa: Soccer Management blog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Global Netsports plans to use its blog to promote African players: “We will use this space to have a conversation with you on our journey to represent and promote career needs of African soccer players and coaches.  We hope  to use this space to talk about what we love the most, soccer; its development on the continent, share our knowledge about soccer management industry…”


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Russia: “An Echo of Moscow” · Global Voices
Lyndon

An Echo of Moscow
by Roman Gruzov
c. December 3, 2007
The city before the elections
In late November it was cold in [Nizhny Novgorod], and the people handing out United Russia fliers on the streets were bundled up in scarves against the chill. Nizhny covered in snow feels oppressive to a person unused to the Russian provinces. The industrial areas which die out towards the evening and the touching wooden downtown, restored in some places and lop-sided and half-abandoned in others, seemed like some sort of different, unknown, incomprehensible and thus not entirely safe country. There were campaign banners on every corner, so the word “Putin” was always visible from several angles at once.
I stopped a car on the banks of the Oka and thought about those banners and about why they seemed different in Nizhny than at home. To be honest, I always paid attention only to the most odious images. For instance, on the corner of Liteiny and Nevsky, on the building where the editorial offices of Afisha used to be, there's a gigantic group photo that covers up the entire facade, with the caption “Putin's Petersburg.” The second lady from the left has such a ghoulish smirk that it looks like she's promoting the next of the “Dozor” vampire movies and not the Presidential line. Not far away, a poster on a pillar reads, “You are in Putin's plan,” and my gaze has been stopping on that pillar for a month, too, but only because it's odd – he's not in my plans, but I am in his. In Nizhny the quantity of these pictures is something qualitatively different, perhaps because based on the way the locals look, it's hard to understand what they have to do with these banners.
I was picked up by a green Moskvich with a driver of indeterminate age wearing yellow wraparound shades and a shabby sheepskin coat. The radio was bellowing frightfully, and I thought the speaker's voice sounded familiar. But as we drove alongside the still unfrozen river, I had a moment of doubt – the rhetoric of the person shouting from the ragged car speakers about jackals and foreign embassies was just too coarse. I thought, “Could it be Zhirik?”
The driver turned the volume up louder – louder than was proper, so much louder that it became unpleasant to be in the car. After a couple of minutes I was sure that it really was the President speaking – the radio was picking up the TV broadcast from Channel One. I felt uneasy – at any other time I would have asked the driver to turn it down, but I kept quiet. The voice coming from the radio was too insistent, the city too incomprehensible, and the driver's murky gaze from behind his yellow glasses too unpredictable. I had absolutely no desire to argue with him about politics – practically for the first time in the last seventeen years I decided that it would be better to hold my tongue. It was unpleasant, strange and somehow radically new, all at the same time – to be driven around a dark, cold city, listening to the stadium responding to the speechmaker, and to feel that you are living an a new, different time, a time when if you don't know your interlocutor's mindset it's better to stay silent. And we did stay silent – we drove along and listened as various not-so-picky people made speeches at the stadium. Then the driver drew his hand out of his tattered cuff and sharply turned off the radio. It got quiet. Then he said:
“Those assholes!”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, opened the window and spat angrily into the frosty evening.
In Moscow the next day I learned that many of my friends had been through something similar during the past few days, and that for almost all of them the feeling of a qualitative shift was surprisingly connected with something trivial – not with the Luzhniki rally, but with some silly story. One friend's kid got sick from paint fumes, because they were painting the school starting first thing in the morning, rushing to beautify it in time for the elections. Another got into a fight with drunken teenagers on the street, and at the police station noticed they had “I'm for Putin” scarves around their necks. And in response I told everyone how to my own surprise I had been afraid to ask the driver to turn down the radio.
When I returned to St. Petersburg a day later, there were heavy trucks with barred windows parked by the train station. There were more police on Nevsky than there were pedestrians, and the farther I went the more men in uniform surrounded me. Closer to Palace Square, when the police turned into riot troops, I realized that it was because of the dissenters. There was no march whatsoever – a dozen or so pensioners stood by watching the hundreds of soldiers who had secured the square. Then they came up to me, looked at my press card, and put me in a police bus.
“You have a laptop in your bag,” said a calm, mustachioed officer, “and today only journalists accredited by the Main Internal Affairs Directorate [ГУВД] are allowed to be here.  Let's take a ride to the precinct, and we'll take a look at what you've got in your computer.”
In the new era this was normal, and I climbed into the dark freight box of the truck without a fight. Inside were about six dejected Tajiks, a gray-haired old man with a hearing aid and teary eyes, and a radical who looked like a sad demon with horns of hairsprayed dreads. They drove us around the city for a long time, and tears flowed down the old man's cheeks from the wind blowing through the cracks in the truck. It was unpleasant to see, so we looked out through the cracks – at the police, roaming about on Nevsky among billboards showing “Putin's Petersburg,” and at the people avoiding the billboards and the policemen. Everyone was silent, but this time I knew for sure what everyone else was thinking. And after three more hours or so they photographed us and let us go – all but the radical, who didn't want to hold a number up to his chest for the camera. My number was 809.
“Assholes,” said the Tajiks, stepping out into the fresh air.
“Assholes,” I agreed.
The old man said nothing.

author: Lyndon


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Armenia: Censorship Concerns · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Blogian makes another post raising concerns about censorship and freedom of speech following the declaration of a state of emergency in Armenia. The blog already notes that various online media outlets are limiting or ceasing reporting on events in Armenia as a result, but wonders how blogs will be affected. As Blogian is based outside Armenia, however, it offers it space to anyone inside the republic who wishes to get information out.


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Armenia: Opposition Protest Dispersed · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped carries photographs, video and updates on the situation in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, after this morning's dispersal by police of an ongoing overnight unsanctioned protest demonstration in support of former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, who disputes the outcome of the 19 February presidential election in Armenia. My Armenia Election Monitor 2008 and The Armenian Observer will also carry constant updates during the day.


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Armenia: Riots · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer updates its readers on the latest developments in the confrontation between the opposition and authorities in the Armenian capital. The blog reports that molotov cocktails are being used and police are firing into the air.


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Armenia: State of Emergency & Bloggers · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Now that a state of emergency has been declared in the Republic of Armenia following today’s clashes between police and supporters of former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, Blogian wonders whether bloggers will be affected.


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Armenia: Turning Point? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

American-Armenian Raffi N at Life in Armenia says that the local broadcast media is not informing the public well on today's riots in Yerevan, but welcomes events if only because the blogger believes that it marks a turning point for civil society in Armenia.


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Barbados: News on Crime  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Keltruth Corp. analyses the crime situation in Barbados.


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Brad Will, one night more at the barricade · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

DPadua, from imaginarios.net/fluxos[PT], highlights in his blog[PT] the release of the movie “Brad Will, uma noite mais nas barricadas” [“Brad Will, one night more at the barricade”, PT],  about the IndyMedia cameraman that was shot by the paramilitary in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006. Brad's camera kept recording the scene as he fell, and then the same camera was taken to many places, recording the reality of many other people that, like Brad, are fighting for freedom and respect for human rigths, and risking life and limb, in places not shown by regular television.

author: Daniel Duende


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Brazil: Whose, and what kind of party, was Campus Party 2008? · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

Campus Party[pt], a huge yearly meeting of the Internet-kin taking place in Spain[es] for more than 10 years now, finally had its first Brazilian edition in the week of February 10th, in São Paulo. More than three thousand bloggers, gamers, modders, free-software and free-culture activists, robot-loving, digital-camera-totting, soda-guzzling and/or healthy/junkie food devouring people and other diverse kinds of geeks, as well as some people and journalists curious to see them, flocked to the Biennial Pavilion at Ibirapuera Park, connected their laptops/desktops (if they brought one) to the impressive 5 gigabit connection offered by a big local telecom and got together to do whatever they liked to do.
Campuseros waiting – almost – in line outside the pavilion for their time to come inside and look for their places in the camping and the worktables (photo by Pattoli)
Campusero in his tent, posing with his laptop. Those who did not bring their own computers to the event had a very hard time getting access to the impressive 5.5gigabit connection brought by Telefonica. (photo by campuspartybr)
But the modders and the gamers never had any problem bringing their incredible machines (photo by patricianardelli)
That was Campus Party Brasil 2008, or at least that was a way to describe it. But Sergio Amadeu[pt], one of the event's Brazilian coordinators, free-software hardcore activist and a social scientist, who happens to be a blogger too, had a different way to describe it[pt]:
“O que é o Campus Party? Podemos dizer é um encontro presencial das comunidades que habitam a Internet. É um espaço incomum onde comunidades, que dificilmente estariam juntas, reuniram-se nesta semana para trocar idéias, fazer novos amigos e conhecer os avanços das tecnologias. O mais interessante é que neste Campus Party Brasil, conseguimos reunir entretenimento com aprendizagem em uma programação com mais de trezentos conteúdos. Trata-se de um momento típico da cibercultura, pós-industrial. As pessoas estão se divertindo enquanto ensinam, aprendem e compartilham conhecimento.”
“What is the Campus Party? We can say it's a real-world meeting of the internet-bound communities. It's an unusual place where communities that would hardly meet face to face could get together to share ideas, make new friends and acknowledge new technological advancements. The most interesting is that in this Campus Party Brasil we managed to join entertainment and learning in a grid of activities with more than three hundred different contents. It's a typical cyberculture moment, post-industrial. People are having fun as they teach, learn and share knowledge.”
Besides, Ariel Foina, who happens to be a social scientist studying the Internet and a blogger, too, had even another “interface” with the event[pt]:
“[…]tudo parece uma salada de multiculturalismo, um simulacro de diversidade legitimosa. Na abertura tivemos um “robo” que fala português com sotaque, um músico que depois transvirou-se em ministro, uma mesa que tem sons e cores, e uma bateria de escola de samba como plumas-pra-espanhol-ver na cabeça.  Deixando de ser antropologo e voltando a ser sociologo…  Cheguei à conclusão que o evento todo é uma grande navegação-em-carne-e-osso na internet. Se alguém tinha alguma duvida de que a rede era feita por pessoas, agora não tem mais.  E assim como na Internet, o fenômeno mais marcante do evento é o ruido no canal de comunicação. Qualquer canal… se parar pra conversar com alguem, se parar pra ouvir uma palestra, vai haver barulhos e ruídos e etc ao fundo, todo o tempo e o tempo todo.”
“[…] everything looks like a big multicultural mixture, a simulacrum of legitimistic diversity. In the opening ceremony we had a robot that speaks Portuguese with a funny accent, a musician that later transmogrified in a state minister, a table with sounds and colors and the drummers core of a ‘samba-school’ with feathers and adornments to catch Spanish hearts in their heads. Leaving behind the anthropologist in me and going back to the sociologist… I've come to the conclusion that the whole event is a huge real-life-websurfing. If someone doubted the web was made of people, this doubt can stand no more. As in the Internet, the most impressive phenomena in the event is the noise at the communication channel. Every channel… if you stop to talk with someone, if you stand to listen to a talk, there will be rumble and noise and such things in the background, all the time.”
But Ariel ends his post with a complaint (or maybe a call to action):
“me resta perguntar: depois de censurarem o YouTube no backbone, ilegalizarem o P2P, censurarem a venda do CS.. ninguem vai propor NENHUMA AÇÃO POLÍTICA?”
“all that is left to me is asking: after they blocked YouTube in the [event's] backbone, forbade the P2P, censored the sales of Counter-Strike.. will no one propose ANY KIND OF POLITICAL ACTION [here]?”
Michael Lent, too, blogs about the “noise” at Campus Party and in the internet, and makes some remarks about the excess talk brought by the absolute freedom to speak[pt]:
“Saí de lá com vontade de fazer um post contando as minhas impressões a respeito do debate e do Campus Party em geral. Hoje de manhã cheguei a escrever um texto longo, mas apaguei pois achei que teria pouco a acrescentar face ao tanto de conteúdo que já está sendo produzido por aí. Olhei o BlueBus, passei no Flickr, no Radinho. Em todos lugares, lá estavam, impressões e mais impressões em todos os formatos e sobre o evento. Pensei, ‘pra que mais uma?'”
“I left [the Campus Party] willing to write a post telling all my impressions about the debates and Campus Party as a whole. I even wrote a big text this morning, but deleted it as I've found out I would have little to say in face of all the content that was being produced everywhere [about it]. I took a look at BlueBus, glanced at Flickr, the Radinho. Everywhere, there were so many impressions and posts in all formats about the event. I've said to myself, ‘why doing more of it?'”
In fact, there are so many points of view about what Campus Party 2008 was, with 300 journalists and more than twice that number of bloggers around the event, that it was impossible to track even all the tendencies in the blogosphere about it, not to mention all the significant posts. So, all we can do is keep navigating the Brazilian silicon seas and do some conversation and image/video sightseeing on the aftermath of the event.  Tiago Dória, another famous Brazilian blogger, begins his great (and rather optimistic) post[pt] about the event highlighting that Campus Party was above all a meeting of people that only knew each other virtually before that:
“A imprensa menos especializada está chamando a Campus Party de “o maior encontro de entretenimento eletrônico do país” ou “carnaval dos nerds”. Balela!  Para quem esteve os 6 dias lá, acredito que tenha sido o maior encontro no Brasil da geração que está crescendo junto com a internet, acostumada com ferramentas colaborativas, a geração “faça você mesmo”, ou “geração 2.0″, se preferir.  Aquele cara que ficou famoso com um blog, a cantora que foi descoberta graças ao seu perfil na MySpace, a menina que conquistou um programa na TV devido ao seu fotolog, o pessoal que cria diversas versões para um jogo por conta própria, o cara que hackeou o Orkut, todos estavam lá presentes, em carne e osso.”
“The un-specialized press is dubbing the Campus Party ‘the biggest electronic entertainment meeting in the country’ or ‘the nerd carnival’. Bullshit! For those who were there for the whole 6 days, i believe [the event] was the greatest Brazilian meeting of the generation that is growing up with the internet, used to collaborative tools, the ‘do it yourself’ generation, or ‘2.0 generation’, if you so prefer. That guy who became famous for his blog, the singer that was discovered through her MySpace profile, the girl who got her own TV show due to her fotolog, the people who create many versions of the same game on their own, the guy who hacked Orkut, they were all there, in flesh and bone.”
Creativity, inventiveness and exchange of ideas, experiences and, why not, idle geeky chat were in fact the bread and butter of Campus Party (photo by vivoandando)
On the other hand, and in a sourer note, Gravataí Merengue from Imprensa Marrom was chastising free-software hardcore activists (and, apparently, Sergio Amadeu) for their participation in a mainstream event sponsored by Telefonica, the Spanish telecom that owns the monopoly to the São Paulo state landlines and almost owns the state's Internet market, in his post “Campus Party: an awful party for the digital inclusion“[pt]:
“Sim, péssima. Horrível. Catastrófica, eu diria – e sem exagero. Porque simplesmente não poderia ser pior.  Foi ótima para o “modding”, excelente para os “gamers”, seguramente um evento e tanto para “bloggers” e, por que não?, houve sim bons debates sobre Inclusão Digital e Software Livre.  Mas então por que foi péssima? Simples (e vexatório para os arautos pseudo-antimonopolistas do “SL”): a festa foi patrocinada pela Telefonica, empresa que detém o monopólio (sim, MONOPÓLIO!) da telefonia fixa no Estado de São Paulo.  E não se trata de “mais uma, dentre tantos patrocinadores”, mas sim A PRINCIPAL PATROCINADORA. Infelizmente, não consegui saber quanto cada empresa forneceu de dinheiro e outros benefícios. Uma pena. Seria interessante saber quanto um “messias anti-monopolista” cobra para deixar de lado suas convicções.  Ainda não descobri. Mas, sinceramente, acredito que não deva ser muita coisa. Em primeiro lugar, porque esses messias são em geral arrogantes e acham que não há problema em receber dinheiro oriundo de uma empresa monopolista.  Além disso, eles simplesmente não são caros porque não são caros, ué. Preço de ocasião!”
“Yes, awful. Terrible. Catastrophic, I'd say – with no exaggerations. Simply because it couldn't be worse. [Campus Party] was great for the modding, excellent for the gamers, surely a great event for the blogger and, why not?, there were great debates about Digital Inclusion and Free Software taking place there. Why was it awful then? Simple (and shameful to the anti-monopolist paragons of the free software): the party was sponsored by Telefonica, the company that holds the monopoly (yes, the MONOPOLY) of the São Paulo state landlines. And it's not “one more between many sponsors”, but THE MAIN SPONSOR [of the event]. Sadly, i couldn't ascertain how much the company provided in money and other benefits. Sad thing. It would be great to know how much it costs to make an ‘anti-monopoly messiah’ forget all his convictions. I still don't know [how much money it was]. But, sincerely, I believe it wasn't that much. First of all, because these messiahs are in general very arrogant and believe there is no problem in receiving money from a monopolist company. More than that, they simply aren't that expensive because… they aren't expensive, dammit. Discount prices!”
Until now, as far as I know, no “messiah” said anything about Gravatai's post. But maybe Gravatai's point wasn't about free software or messiahs, or even about Telefonica or monopoly, but about lack of communication and transparency. How much did the company pay for the event, and why? Can hardcore anti-monopoly activists be safely at such events, and even be paid for it, and still sleep lightly at night? How does the activism and the old economy fit together (or not) in these times? No one has answered Gravatai's questions up to now, and among his empty provocations these questions stand as a very important point in the whole new-media/new-economy conversation.
Going back into the conversation about Campus Party, and to close this already-too-long article, let's quote some points blogged by ideiadigital in his post about the event:
“Inicialmente eu me inscrevi na área de criatividade, mas o primeiro dia, e parte do segundo, foram suficientes para eu perceber que ali não haveria o networking que eu procurava e nem mesmo as novidades interessantes que me levaram de BH a SP.  […]  O pessoal da organização pisou na bola com a criatividade, quem quer saber de Secondlife? MaryMoon?? Queremos falar de cores, de tipografia, de intervenções artísticas, queremos algo que nos faça re-pensar nossa posição no mundo e o que fazemos profissionalmente.  […]  quando as palestras se mostraram fracas, e o espaço a elas péssimo, sem divisórias e microfones que gritavam cada vez mais alto, atrapalhando todo mundo, o pessoal se tocou que o ponto forte de eventos como esse é o networking, a possibilidade de conhecer, conversar e trocar cartão de visita [this is so old, a gente troca é url!] com outras pessoas, e porque não fechar negócios, decobrir sócios, parceiros de trabalho, etc…?  […]  Houveram muitos erros de organização, descontamos porque foi o primeiro Campus-party fora da Espanha, em 2009 tenho certeza de que será melhor. Acredito que um evento como esse não é feito para palestras, mas sim para networking. Todas as propostas de conferência foram batidas por desconferências, com raras excessões. Num mundo de pontas como a internet, uma só ponta falando para um monte de gente não cola, o que queremos, e o que funciona, são várias pontas trocando informação, trocando conhecimento, e isso só ocorre nas desconferências da vida!”
“Initially I was signed into the creativity area, but the first day, and part of the second one, were enough for me to realize that the networking and the novelty I was looking for, and that made me come all the way from my state to Sao Paulo, wouldn't be found there. […] The organization crew screwed it up on ‘creativity’ area. Who wants to know about SecondLife? and Marimoon?? We want to talk about colors, typography, artistic interventions, we want to do something that makes us re-think our place in the world and what we do as professionals. […] when the official talks proved to be weak, and the environment for them worse still, with no acoustic divides and microphones shouting louder and louder, confusing everyone, then we realized that the strong point in events like this is networking, the chance to know, talk and exchange business cards (this is so old, we exchange URL!) with other people, and, why not, make business, discover new business partners, etc…? […]There were many mistakes in the organization [of the event], but we can accept that because that was the first Campus Party outside Spain. I'm sure the 2009 edition will be better. I believe an event like this is not made of conferences, but of networking. All the conference proposals were beaten by the dis-conferences, with rare exceptions. In a world of peers like the Internet, one peer speaking alone to all the others wouldn't do. What we do want, and what works, are the various peers exchanging information, sharing knowledge, and that only happens at dis-conferences!”
Public act against the ‘Azeredo bill‘ and the outlawing of the sales of the game Counter-Strike, at Campus Party (photo by campuspartybr)
There was a lot of talk on the “clash between the traditional media and the bloggers” at Campus Party too, but many bloggers (myself included) agree with Inagaki when he says:
“Quando soube de todas as queremelas e embates entre jornalistas versus blogueiros na Campus Party, que reverberaram em posts escritos por nomes como Henrique Martin, Michel Lent, Lalai, Ana Brambilla, Francisco Madureira, Gabriel Tonobohn, Edney Souza, Will Publi, Daniel Duende, Renata Honorato, Jonny Ken e Mr. Manson, meu primeiro pensamento foi: qual a razão de ser de tantos tiroteios trocados pra lá e pra cá por pessoas que compartilham a mesmíssima atividade de disseminar informações e trabalhar com comunicação?
[…]
Eu sinceramente já não tenho o menor saco para entrar em polêmicas que não têm razão de ser. Creio piamente que a tendência, em um futuro a curto prazo, está na convergência de mídias. Do mesmo modo que veículos tradicionais como o New York Times e a revista Newsweek contrataram blogueiros como Markos Moulitsas e Brian Stelter, tenho a convicção de que o mesmo ocorrerá por aqui, da mesma maneira que jornalistas consagrados como Ricardo Noblat e Luis Nassif seguiram a via inversa e revitalizaram suas carreiras criando blogs de ótima qualidade. Há espaço para todos, e eu só posso imputar ao gosto que as multidões nutrem por polêmicas inócuas todos esses embates maniqueístas digladiando duas atividades como o jornalismo e a blogagem que, muito longe de serem antagônicas, complementam-se uma à outra (vide os ótimos blogs do IDG Now e do RadarCultura na Campus Party).”
“When I acknowledged all the conflicts and clashes between journalists and bloggers at Campus Party, that reverberated on posts written by bloggers like Henrique Martin, Michel Lent, Lalai, Ana Brambilla, Francisco Madureira, Gabriel Tonobohn, Edney Souza, Will Publi, Daniel Duende, Renata Honorato, Jonny Ken e Mr. Manson, my first thought was: what's the reason of so much fire coming to and fro between people that share the very same activity of disseminating information and working with communication? […] Sincerely I don't have the patience anymore to take part in discussions that have no reason to exist. I deeply believe that the trend, in a very short-term future, is the convergence of the medias. In the same way that traditional media big players like NY Times and the Newsweek magazine hired bloggers like Markos Moulitsas and Brian Stelter, i am sure the same will happen here, in the same way that respected journalists like Ricardo Noblat and Luis Nassif followed the reverse way and added new life to their careers by creating high quality blogs. There is a place for everyone, and i can only credit on the taste of the crowds for meaningless polemics all these maniqueist clashes between two activities like journalism and blogging that, far from being antagonistic, complement on each other (like in the great blogs from IDG Now and RadarCultura on Campus Party).”
A blogger wearing a dinosaur costume playing with a journalist inside the ‘traditional media aquarium’. Can you feel the tension? Can you see the clash? I don't. (photo by Fernando Cavalcanti)
That was Campus Party Brasil 2008, and it was a lot more, and maybe sometimes a little less, than all that is being spoken and written about it. Some liked it, some despised it. Above all, Campus Party Brasil was very different from its European counterpart, and was an experience. An experience on how to do a Campus Party, and how not to do it, and about what can be done at such an event. Most of all, Campus Party Brasil was worth for the conversations that happened there, and in the aftermath, and what it says about us and the Brazilian blogosphere and internet. Beautiful, Vain, Ugly or Uncomfortable, it was a reflection of our digital and real faces. We should reflect on that.
People say that an image says more than a thousand words. Great pictures of Campus Party Brasil can be found at Flickr if you search  for campuspartybr or campus party 2008.


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China: No more free lunch, even at here? · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Easy, convenient; enormous collection of resources, and a platform upon which users share what they love directly with one another — the P2P (peer-to-peer) technology brew the power to upgrade the internet to the next generation, the conventional portal website, the collective dormitory, to the more luxury and individual apartment, and surely has it found its place in China’s growing online industry.
Xunlei (meaning thunderbolt) Co Ltd, a Shenzhen based networking company, has played a leading role of the P2P industry since 2006. Accordingly, over 100 million Chinese internet users have been used to turning on their computers along with this tiny software, a few MB large, to drag down sea of online resources to the hardware, and in an exceeding speed. However, due to the limited constraint, if not an aid, the pirate videos and music take the majority of the exchanged content, which is exactly the reason on 15, Feb that Motion Pictures Association, on behalf of its six member companies such as Paramount and Sony, filed civil complaints in Shanghai against Xunlei over copyright infringement.
It immediately arrested the attention of millions of Chinese internet users, who more or less have enjoyed the free musics, videos, and downloading. As a recent official report indicates, more than half Chinese users surf online for entertainment. That’s why blogger Kang Guoping  explained people’s concern over the incident as this:
We are all worrying that once the foreigners win the lawsuit, they would be interested in going deeper, one after another, so that much of our entertainment would be gone.
Guilty or Not, is it important?
At the very beginning, the controversy weirdly went beyond the lawsuit itself, partly due to the sensitive terms U.S (MPA, U.S based) and China (Xunlei, China based), and the aftereffect of thetrade conflict between the two powers.
The essay “Xunlei sued becasue of being too powerful” commented:
The same as the fidget brought to America by China’s leaping economy, the growing internet industry here again upset Uncle Sam. Being the leader of P2P industry in China, Xunlei is the most vulnerable target under the attack from America. The series of trade conflicts these years has extended to the internet.
The writer yelled at the end of his article: “Being the Chinese netizens with conscience, we support Xunlei to win the case with both feet. We have to guard our national interest!”
Another widely circulated essay by Liu Xingliang, a famous IT blogger, moreover unreservedly called the legal action “A 2nd Burning of the Imperial Palace.”
Tool Theory and the Story of Baidu
A more credible argument based its point on that Xunlei is but a platform provider, without the ability to discern and prohibit the rampant piracy going upon the platform.  Zhou Xinning argued in his blog:
I stand against piracy. But it’s notable why Xunlei was sued just being a downloading tool? If a thief steals with a pincher, then who are you going to prosecute? The pincher-maker or the thief? The pincher is nothing but a tool.  It is the linked third-party websites that provide piracy, while Xunlei itself has done nothing to violate the copyrights, but to supply information service. The software company has helped internet users to quickly download what they desire for, and a tool can hardly recognize, predict and control the legitimacy of those videos.
In the announcement of MPA, it also admits that Xunlei “facilitates”, rather than makes the “pirate films hosted on various systems spread across the internet”.
The amazing downloading speed brought by Xunlei indeed makes people addictive. Once you are to download certain resources,  either sofware, video or music, Xunlei would automatically find you various source-points available（5 to 60), then simultaneously driving down the desired stuff to you.
Moreover, once you have downloaded the desired stuff, you, will also be added to be a new node of the source-points, which therefore grow exponentially. During the course, Xunlei “seems” to have just indexed the material.
And it is the “Tool Theory”, exactly, that helped Baidu, the leading search engine in China beat on court the 7 international record labels, Universal, Sony BMG, and Warner included, which sued it for aiding piracy in 2007. And two of the companies have even turned around after the sentence, seeking cooperation with Baidu. It’s not likely to be wise to fight against the rooted habits of Chinese users who have taken the music downloading (free!) as their No.1 usage of the internet, according to an investigation.  That's also why experts interpreted that the movie companies sued Xunlei this time just for a chip for future cooperation deal.
Lunch should cost
“How awesome is nationalism！” In 18 Feb, reviewing some comments above, the blogger Liu Huafang at last exclaimed in his article “Prize Xunlei for being sued?“.
Should Xunlei be regarded as legal because it’s a domestic enterprise? So terrible is nationalism, that it can confuse right and wrong. Is it so hard to just make it the way it is? Should a man, who saw his wife out of red-light district, tell that she was doing good to GDP?
And Zhan Keli commented:
If Xunlei just performed like a P2P provider, I believe no one would sue it. But on its homepage and the desktop of the software, you can clearly discover alluring information such as “Here you can find Moive A, here Movie B!”  And they might say, “Fine, there is nothing to do with me if you download pirate stuff, since I only tell about their information. But as we cooperate with Google, we can send you a free searching button, and once you click it, you’ll get what you desire for.
He struck back the  “thief and pincher analogy”:
Of course, I would catch the thief rather than the pincher-maker. But what if the maker sends a note that teaches you how to steal along with the pincher? Should he be caught?
To testify, I entered the Xunlei homepage, and immediately found movies, music and sitcoms indexed in apple-pie order, headlines, descriptions and user comments attached. You can search out desired movies, from the very old to quite lately, National Treasure 2 and 1st Blood 4 for example, and download them, or, you can watch them online, but have to first install Xunlei Kankan, a specific software.
A more in-depth analyse was given by Justso. He slashed Xunlei on both its business mode and technological core.  He first derided the saying that MPA members sued Xunlei for future cooperation.
99% material running on Xunlei’s platform is pirate. Cooperate to help distribute legal copies? Once the pirates were swept out, 99% clients of Xunlei would vanish.
In Baidu vs. record labels, the judgement favored Baidu because of the law standard adopted. But Justso said, even under such a standard, the Xunlei one year ago must have to be illegal.
Xunlei adopted its special P2P protocol of transmission, a patent it developed, and thus all XUnlei downloading should be conducted by Xunlei software. It doesn't have openness at all, and cannot apply the reason Baidu has used to debate, as the latter uses http protocol.
Then, Justso revealed Xunlei’s recent project to avoid copyright-related litigations. Obviously, he stated, Xunlei tried to copy Baidu’s success. It built a new search engine called Gougou.
Before the Gougou was constructed, Xunlei is an indefinite provider of pirates, but along with the occurrence of Gougou, the web page from which you download turn into the search results of Gougou, and the protocol of all the resources has also changed into http and ftp, both the public protocols. The links are directed to unknown downloading stations, which have apparently nothing to do with Xunlei.
And Xunlei, in addition, provides blog service. The users can set up blogs first to issue the resources.
As Justso pointed out, after searching out results on Gougou, I can find http links directed to a great many little, distributed websites. And beside the link, a Copyright Protection Statement is attached, which allow the copyright owners to demand Xunlei to remove the illegal stuff. But it also allowed the resource providers to “anti-demand”, to recover the removed material, if they allege to have the right. And Xunlei clearly declare it would take no responsibility if any side tells lie.
As bloggers said, Xunlei forces the copyright owners to face numerous download stations, itself staying aside. The difficulty of right-claim actions would be huge.
Justso elaborated on Xunlei’s plan:
Xunlei imitates Baidu to distribute the files and URLs to thousands of little websites, but meanwhile expects to control these websites, forcing them to collaborate, and at the next step forces the copyright owners to give up litigations and to work together.
By this method, Xunlei convenes the power and traffic of P2P ,Bt, and piracy.
The future
Why is Xunlei prospering? Justso explained:
“Since the establishment of Xunlei, not many download stations have not been shut down for several times and turned into underground. Download tools and sharing softwares have gone through this too. E-donkey, wareZ, and MovieZ have also been shut down or sued in Europe and U.S. But for every time Xunlei escaped this, and as the only survivor, it developed another large group of users.
He concluded, many foreign investors favor Xunlei particularly for its ability on both technology and the local government's protection.
That’s why observers said Xunlei was sued in Shanghai rather than Shenzhen, for that the place matters.
Who will win the game ultimately? The rooted, native magnate or the international labels?
Born with the original sin of spreading piracy, would P2P finally find its way out? As the fire has burned to right outside the door, China seems to be no longer their paradise. No one can tell who will win, particularly that at the eve of Olympics, the country is facing a choice of fame and its industry.
as Zhao Keli said:
Chinese enterprises have to be not only powerful, but to be able to win the respect of users and opponents as well.
Could that be reached?
(Blog quotes all translated from Chinese and bloggers quoted all native Chinese. The rest part original)

author: Bob Chen


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Cuba: Human Rights Treaty  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuba has signed two United Nations treaties on human rights, but Child of the Revolution wonders whether the move will make any difference.


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Dominica: Going Geo-Thermal?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Steve's Dominica says the choice between investing in an oil refinery or geo-thermal energy on the Nature Island is a no-brainer.


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Fidel here and there · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

O Escriba blogs[PT] about the shocking difference between the covers of the Brazilian Veja magazine and the North-American New Yorker magazine about the end of Fidel Castro's long term on Cuba's government, and links to Luiz Carlos Azenha's blog post about the same subject[PT], that quotes the verbatim of the New Yorker's article on Castro.


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Myanmar: Ancient Buddhist Site in Danger · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The South East Asian Archaeology Newsblog points to a ancient site in Burma that might be in danger due to mining work.


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Singapore: Hello Kitty Online · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Hello Kitty fan miuki looks at the new online game announced by Sanrio.


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Thailand: Thaksin’s PR · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Real Life Thailand writes Thaksin, the former prime minister of Thailand, is “one of the best media manipulators of all time“.


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Total lunar eclipse inspires vloggers · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Videos from different countries show the total lunar eclipse, just in case you missed it or wish to relive the moment.The only total lunar eclipse we'll see in 2008 and the last one until Dec 21st 2010 took place this past February 20th.
A lunar eclipse is an event that happens when the full moon passes through the Earth´s shadow, and a total lunar eclipse means that it passes through the darkest part of the shadow, known as the umbra. According to the NASA, the 3 hour and 26 minute eclipse was “visible from South America and most of North America (on Feb. 20) as well as Western Europe, Africa, and western Asia (on Feb. 21).”
A tour in YouTube shows us many different takes on the eclipse:
From Belize, user  bassimpact uploaded the following video with music by flutist Pablo Collado [es] :
From Argentina, user KrrAinagotable posted this video with subtitles, explaining the process and images from his window, as well as adding some footage taken from the TV in different areas of Argentina.
From Capetown in South Africa Finn Gregory  has a time lapse video showing the eclipse as seen from there.
From Mexico, user holatabasco posted a video where street noise accompanies the pinprick image of a slowly disappearing moon.
And to roundup, user pookeo1 uploaded this last video with images from different places in the world including the US, Canada, Czech Republic, Brazil and Germany.
Photo Lunar Eclipse South America taken by henriquetyds

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Trinidad & Tobago: “No” to Violent Music · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Keith in Trinidad admires the example being set by a young radio DJ who is calling for the local entertainment industry to take a stand against violent music after the recent murder of a schoolboy by one of his classmates.


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Uganda: Things I wished I knew… · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Things Rebekah wished she knew when she lived in Kampala: “This is something I would have appreciated when I dropped 80,000/= at Aristoc on a novel that took me 12 hours to read.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Uganda: Uganda’s Calling · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Uganda's Calling blog: “Uganda Calling is a non-profit organization that is helping to end the 20-year long war in Northern Uganda through the means of connecting with outreach programs in the country, as well as creating awareness and fundraising in schools, towns, and communities.”


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Ukraine: Kuchma’s Daughter Pays £80,000,000 for a London House? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes and The Real Estalker report on a piece of property in London that was allegedly acquired by ex-president Leonid Kuchma's daughter Olena Franchuk for £80,000,000.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Afghanistan: Aid Workers Targeted · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

SunLeaf reports on the killings of an American aid worker and her Afghan colleague in Kandahar, Aghanistan, and says that this is yet another worrisome development for the aid community in Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Civilian Casualties Grow · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Afghanistanica states that the issue of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is a highly contentious issue, citing the results of an opinion poll, according to which 29 per cent of Afghans said the international troops were doing a bad job.


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Afghanistan: The Perils of Afghan Exclusion · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

SunLeaf opines that Afghanistan is increasingly becoming an appealing “commodity” of the world politics, whereby the least visible face is that of an Afghan and the least talked about topic is the priorities of Afghans.


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Afghanistan: War, Cost and Impact · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

The tribes in Afghanistan are growing restless. As security measures across the south and far east are faltering, promises of Kabul and NATO remain empty. Joshua Foust reflects why has it come to this.


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Central Asia: European Parliament drafts resolution on Central Asia · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Adam Kesher reviews the European Parliament’s draft resolution on the EU Strategy in Central Asia, which was adopted last summer emphasising that EU aid and cooperation must build on concrete benchmarks for each country developed within the framework of future dialogues on human rights and democracy.


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China: ‘Political accident’ derived from a photo · Global Voices
George Sun

Wang Lili, a 52-year-old journalist working at Tongzhou Times for 4 years, got fired by his company merely because of a picture he shot and published in which the sheriff of Tongzhou is making a work report in People's Congress. According to bloggerQian Liexian[zh], the official statement about Wang's dismissal is: “His photo distorted the spirit of congress and made the speaker acting like pleading guilty, which generated a very bad political effect.” Wang Lili hitherto hasn't found his job.


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China: The truth of Nanjie Village  · Global Voices
George Sun

Nanjie Village, a small village in Henan Province and once the so-called ‘red billionaire village’ and ‘Republic of Chairman Mao’, is recently revealed by Chinese media that it is totally a phoney.   Changping[zh] compares it with the fake tiger photo last year arguing that it indicates the bankruptcy of planned economic system and the extreme left ideology.


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Guyana: Land of Fear · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living Guyana remembers the days before Guyana was a “land of fear”.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Haiti: Political Autonomy · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

HaitiAnalysis.com posts an interview with Haitian political activist Patrick Elie.


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Iran:No Internet for the Election Day · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir reports that the Ministry of Communication is considering complete blackout of the Internet in Iran for the day of the Parliamentary Elections.


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Iran:Rap music and Iranian mythology · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Here you can watch and listen to a fabulous persian rap song by Taham,from Shahnameh.The song talks about Rostam and Sohrab,two mythic figures created 1000 years ago by Ferdowsi.


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Iran:Students protest in Shiraz University · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Bachehayehkhat says[Fa] that students in Shiraz University in Iran continue their strike and protest movement.They ask for better conditions in dormitory and restaurant and they want Mohammad Hadi Sadeghi,conservative president of Shiraz University resigns.Watch this video film.


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Kazakhstan: Blood Donor Center Opening · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kamneed provides an extensive and informative photo-post on the opening of the City Blood Donor Center in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan.


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Kazakhstan: Helicopter Crash, Governor Aboard · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

KZBlog reports that on February 28th, a Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations helicopter crashed in Kyzylorda oblast. Five passengers were killed and thirteen others, including the regional governor were injured.


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Kyrgyzstan: Electrification of railroads · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Asel writes that a Chinese company starts electrification of the Kyrgyzstan's railroads system.