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Flying over the Iraqi Blogodrome… · Global Voices
Salam Adil

…almost literally (I'm plane-blogging again).
I thought about this again and again and there is no other way to describe what passes for government in Iraq. Today I give you some snapshots of a failed state. And this is the subject that dominates the Iraqi blogs.
If you read only one blog this week read this
Brian has been getting emails from Qasem in Ramadi. He description of life for ordinary people caught in a battle between US troops and the people he calls ‘fighters’ is both compelling and shocking:
At 9:30 in the morning, the US troops tried to install more snipers by occupying more houses close to the core of the city, some fighters attacked them and tough fighting continued for 3 hours… US bullets damaged many houses because of their random shooting, this way hurt many families inside their houses and my family was harmed also when many bullets sparked fire in the kids room.. I heard their screams while 2 of my nephews run away from their burning bedroom. My brother and I ran upstairs to find out what kind of hurt we will find this time… my mind was full with images of a kid killed with sniper bullet in head or burned dead body of one of my nephews. I was scared too much and I lost control of my steps on the stairs. I found my brother broke down the door and crashed the window with his hands to get out the heavy smoke and he carried out his 5 year-old son Mustafa who was startled, to get him out of the burned room. The fire started to burn some blankets, I found my way to bring water and started extinguishing the fire. It was small fire cased by the bullets …this kind of bullets used by US troops is very harmful gun for human beings or the materials-it contains lead that will be like a hot liquid inside the bullet…if the bullet get inside the body will explode and crash the body from inside and melt bones & flesh ….and if the bullet attacked a car or furniture or wood, it will burn and melt it.
The streets were empty and the fighters succeeded to disapear as usual …but the US soldiers keep there machine guns working and pointing to our houses….
I know that US soldiers want to keep themselves alive till they see their families but we also need to be alive to take care our suffering families in our poor hard life in Iraq.
On top of this there is no electricity,no water, no phones and no security. But given all this trouble where would he rather be?
Now, IF I have the choice to live in Baghdad or Ramadi or Fallujah …I will choose the 2 last choices because the dangerous side is clear but in Baghda every thing is Dangerous even Police check points can arrest and kill the people for money or some thing else …….
Beyond Blogodrome
A new blog was spotted by Fayrouz on an important subject: Gay Rights in Iraq. The need is urgent:
An anti gay pogrom is taking place in Iraq. Gratuitous killings of gays are permitted under Iraqi law, and it is a fact that George W. Bush approved the wording of the Iraqi constitution that makes it so… That Bush-approved language for the Iraqi constitution making the indiscriminate killing of gays a legal activity is galling beyond all measure and beneath contempt.
And they have had some success:
Following two weeks of negotiations with Iraqi LGBT – UK, Sistani’s office agreed to remove the fatwa calling for the murder of gay men, but has curiously refused to remove the fatwa urging punishment for lesbianism.
Riot Starter of the blog Thought Riot has got her marketing right – go to every blogger and leave a little comment. Its subtle and it works. So I will let Zappy do the recommending for me…
I don't seem to know where she's blogging from, but who cares anyway, as long as its a good blog, she's taking politics to seriously.
I wish her the best.
Snapshots of a Failed State
There is a common theme flowing like a whisper through the Iraqi blogs. In a phrase: “Where is the government?”
Iraq The Model reports that Iraq's largest power station was forced to shut down because gunmen forced the employees and their families to leave. “I wonder how the government failed to protect those families who live in a relatively easy-to-protect isolated area around the station!” Mohammed writes.
“Where is the government?”
Meemo is feeling the strain these days: “even I know nothing is going fine, everything goin as bad as it can, even the the weather …, the situation over here is kinda unbairable, 'cause everything is forbidden right nowI […] they killed three young guys becasue they were wearing the pagan short pants ..”
“Where is the government?”
Even mobile phones can be a weapon used by criminals. Iraqi Screen describes how: “you might get threats of unknown persons warning you if you do not pay a ransom you will be kidnapped and cut in pieces, beside informing you to quit your job.”  And she asks ” Who is the real government? … I asked a high rank official in Baghdad police about legal procedures regarding such threats, he told me that police directorate had a huge pile of them but always impossible to verify and waste of time to follow up.”
“Where is the government?”
Zappy gets leaflets dropped in his street from the “Honorable Resistance” AKA “Zarqawi’s (sic):
Men are not allowed to grow goatees
Men are not allowed to wear Jeans
Men are not allowed to remove their facial hair
Woman are required to wear a “Juba” some kind of black gown that looks like a sack
Woman are not allowed to drive
Women are not allowed to leave their homes without a chaperon
Any one not obeying these rules will be shot. On that same day a young boy coming back from school was shot at the “Amal al Shabi” street.
One Question to the people responsible for providing security to that neighborhood “The Iraqi National Guards”, why are you not doing your F***ing Job!
“Where is the government?”
Ishtar's phone keeps ringing from friends asking what to do. Because two women were shot for driving a car and another three for wearing trousers. She laments, “it is really unbelievable, how the reconstruction campaign falls apart whenever it starts in Iraq while violence reconstruction campaign builds up in such a rapid speed and systematic way to maintain every body everywhere.”
“Where is the government?”
Mama treats a 10 year old boy for a decayed tooth but first she needs his parents approval..
He stepped from the chair in an attempt to leave, with his eyes full of tears, and said nothing.
-“Are you coming back with someone later? I asked.
-“no, I have no one”.
-“With whom do you live?”.
-“With my younger brother, he is Mongolian”.
-I grip his shaky hands … and asked him if he knew any one?
Few minutes later he pointed to a man, he was one of the servants” H”.
I sent for” H”, and told him that I need some one of Salih’ relatives … He said “I am his fathers’ cousin, I can stay with him because he has no One close…his older brother who was taking care of him was murdered 3 days ago”…
-why?
– He was a policeman…
-“Are you hungry, did you have your breakfast honey?” I asked Salih trying so hard to hold my tears.
– ” no I did not , the neighbors did not bring us any”. he said.
Just then I could not hold my tears any more, I took his little hands and took him to buy him something to eat. “let us buy something to eat, I am hungry too” ..
-” no, I will go home” said Salih pointing to a far cottage..
– I will take him to my place, bring him something to eat, and be right back”…said” H”.
But the boy ran away….
I sat in my room, wondering how could these children survive. How could they live alone, what do they do in the darkness every day? Where is our government, are they aware about that policeman's family….
“Where is the government?”
Neurotic Wife shouts the question out loud. She hears 6 or 7 big explosions outside the Green Zone and a bullet lands just under her room. Next day her colleague tells her she lost a cousin when gun men broke into his office and shot everyone inside; an uncle who rushed to the scene lost a leg in a car bomb explosion, another colleague gets a phone call from her daughter in Amiriya saying militias are shaving the heads of women found outside without a headscarf She writes:
And where is the darn government??? The government is deciding who takes the Defense ministry and who takes the Interior one….Wowwww!!!! People are getting killed left center and right all under the eyes of the government!!!
She asks you to imagine what it is like to be in a lawless country and a gang kidnaps your wife and daughter for ransom…
You get the money…you give it to them…and then you wait…a day…2 days…3….a week….2 bodies are found shot in the head in the garbage…Its your lovely wife and beautiful daughter…..Youve lost your family….Youve lost your hope…..
More and more stories like this happen everyday….More and more killings…More and more kidnappings…This is the plight of the Iraqis…But no one hears them.. […]
This current government is hopeless…As long as there are fanatic religeous people governing and having great popularity then forget it….As long as there are bin laden loyalists…Zarqawi criminals…Militias…so called mujahideen….There will no longer be Iraq….this place has literally become a hell hole….
“WHERE IS THE GOVERNMENT?”
But remember Iraqis are not helpless victims waiting to be killed. Meemo explains:
becareful all dudes dont show your hairy legs ‘casue that would send you to your death, its bullshit people I'm wearing now the shortest pants I have, its almost undrepants and I'm in the internet cafe right now, you know if I'm gonna die by a bullet its better than the how weather, i've been wearing short since I was a kid these motherf***ers wanna come now and control ma life, you are dreaming no one can control me no not even ____,
And finally
Asterism (thats me) picks up on a classic quote from  Michael Rubin, a former American administration official in Iraq:
‘The reconstruction obviously hasn't gone that well, but we have put together a lot of PowerPoint presentations about the problem.’
(via STLtoday)
With Powerpoint we will conquer the world!

author: Salam Adil


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Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis: Soufriere Hills Volcano activity · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Georgia Popplewell reports from St. Kitts that the dome of the Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat (sixty miles away) has collapsed and an ash eruption has caused flights in the vicinity to be cancelled, due to reduced visibility. She quotes an activity report from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (whose website seems to be temporarily unavailable).

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Thailand: No censorship for “Da Vinci Code” · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Andrew is happy that Thailand will not censor the movie “Da Vinci Code” after all. “Yesterday it was announced that the final ten minutes of the Da Vinci Code would not be cut. Hooray! This is a victory for common sense.”

author: Preetam Rai


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Trinidad and Tobago: Happy birthday, Sam Selvon · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Geoffrey Philp writes a birthday tribute to the late Trinidadian writer Samuel Selvon, one of the major figures in West Indian literature. “Comedy is a subversive art form. And comedy in the hands of Selvon obliterates class, color, and creed.”


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Zimbabwe: Remembering Murambatsvina · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Operation Drive Out Trash – One Year On –
Last year on 18th May the police in Harare began the systematic destruction of what were deemed to be illegal dwellings. In addition street vendors, even those trading legally, were arrested and fined, their wares and assets confiscated. All this was done under the guise of a clean-up operation for the cities, purportedly to reduce criminal activity. However most of the people affected were neither dirty nor criminal: most were victims of disastrous government policies and were trying by all means to eke out a living for their families. Operation Murambatsvina (which means clean out the trash) spread its stain indiscriminately across the country and in June the squatter camps of Killarney and Ngozi Mine were demolished, along with many suburban structures in this town
Photos by Sokwanele – This is Zimbabwe

author: Sokari Ekine


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Image from Ukraine: “Waterbottle Football” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

By Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine
These resourceful football fans in Ukraine's Carpathian Mountains are using a 2-liter bottle as a ball.
Dan's report on his trip to the Carpathians is here, more photos are here. Dan's other Ukrainian travel reports – including the one from Chernobyl – are here.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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The Movie “Da Vinci Code” in South East Asia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

As the movie “Da Vinci Code” starts its run across South East Asia, there have been protests and calls by Christian groups asking the governments to ban the movie. In Philippines, the capital City of Manila went ahead with the ban.
Yvette on her MySpace blog is disappointed with the decision
I can't hide my disappointment when I hear stupid things like this. Amidst all the bigger issues the Church could be undertaking in the Philippines – such as helping the poor or taking a stance on corruption rather than being a part of it – it chooses to make airwaves by banning a measly movie based on fiction with Tom Hanks sporting a bad haircut.
Lucia Lai in Malaysia is happy that the movie is being shown in Malaysia
In fact i am very happy that this movie was allowed to be shown, and i wished and wished that no church bodies or organisations would come out to say this movie should be banned. i want the movie to be shown and i want the world to see the reaction of christians.
In Thailand,  it was initially announced that the last 10 minutes of the movie would be censored because of protests by Thai Christian groups. Later the film authorities allowed the movie to be shown in its entirity.
Andrew Biggs in Thailand  says
Yesterday it was announced that the final ten minutes of the Da Vinci Code would not be cut. Hooray! This is a victory for common sense.
According to the Nation this morning, the movie company will hand out clarification messages with all tickets sold. This is a much better idea, isn’t it? We can educate people, and teach them to think for themselves, instead of banning something outright.
Update:  The blogger at Unspun: Deciphering Indonesia emailed us about the totally contrasting attitude in Indonesia where the Bishops Conference of Indonesia (KWI) is not asking for a ban.
The KWI’s decision is based on its assumption that Catholics in Indonesia are mature enough and that forbidding them to watch the movie would only increase their desire. One wonders what goes on in the minds of those of the Vatican.
You’d have thought that they had learned something about the Principle of Scarcity from the days when Adam and Eve were romping around Eden.


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Turkey is Typing…. · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Blogging is one of the ultimate expressions of free speech, although it has been questioned as one of the deadly sins (as it serves the writer's vanity): blogging and the conversation that it creates about free speech is paramount in our modern world.  This week an event in Turkey occurred that is bringing the discussion of free speech and expression to the forefront of all Turkish citizens.
Turkey, while the majority of its citizens are muslim, is a secular state.  The issue of veiling in public places has been a “hot topic” for decades.  Recently, a Turkish judge ruled that schoolteachers who veil would not be allowed to even walk to the school with their veils on (previously they were allowed to as long as they removed their veils before walking onto school grounds).  In response, a gunman entered the high court and began to shoot, resulting in the death of one of the high court judges.
The public outcry has been on two levels: the protest marches and the discussion of the resurgence of Kemalism versus the Islamic trends within the government.  The murders have sparked debate that verges on the edge of being shut down by the authorities, something that has happened many times in the past during times of unrest in Turkey.   Mavi Boncuk had this to say:
Using the clever guise of freedom of speech to deny freedom of speech is just despotism and ignorance. Similarly the recent murderous attack to Turkish Court system should not be used to curb the free expession of ideas as a basic tenets of free speech within well understood and lawful parameters.
Talk Turkey had this to say about Islam and Secularism:
I wonder about the fate of Islam if it was descended to the West and the Americas for example, instead of the muslim peoples of the Near, Middle, and ‘far-out-there’ East. Maybe Islam wasn't meant for the muslims. Just look at them – the current and still adopted ‘caretakers’ of Islam. Ever since they've been entrusted with the religion, they've allowed their ethnic, racial, cultural, and secular motivations, and hatred inclinations smothered with pride and prejudice, take hold of their religious and obvious insecurities. They have been hiding their own deficiencies under the guise of religious matrimony for too long. Instead of years spent distancing religion from the secularist state, maybe the efforts would have been wiser if secularism was removed from the religion.
This story is just beginning, it will be interesting to see where the debate takes us.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Afghan Whispers: Parliament Talk & Media · Global Voices
Farid Pouya

According to Yadashtayi az Gharb (Persian) (notes from the West) Mrs. Malai Joya, deputy in Afghan Parliament, talked about Mujahedeens in negative way in front of Mujahedeens deputies and others in Afghan Parliament (Loya Jigra). According to the blogger:
“She said there were people who sacrificed their lives when Afghanistan was occupied by invaders. She adds Many people who fought and survived the war are handicaps and can barely survive but Mujahedeens leaders became wealthy and have several hidden businesses in country or abroad. Some of them are involved with drug mafia and there is blood on their hands.”
Another blogger, Farasoye Niko Bad, shares same story with us (Persian). Blogger writes :
“When she talked about good Mujahedeens and criminal Mujahed. Many deputies started to insult her and threaten her to kill or even rape her. A Tooloo cameraman who tried to film this event gets beaten up by a deputy.”
Afghan Journalism blog talks about  how media reports Afghanistan & Pakistan relation related questions. The blogger says:
“Thursday's piece of reporting of Karzai's speech is the recent example of developing bad blood (though not deliberately) between people and governments of the two by disseminating half truth and misguiding information. To be brief, I wish to quote the Afghan President and let the readers decide what he said: During the reign of Taliban, a minister will wait for the whole day in offices of the Pakistani intelligence agencies to meet a (army) major.
This was the “negative” part of the speech which was picked by majority of news agencies and newspapers while the rest, which I wish to quote briefly, was set aside. It is: we are thankful today and will be thankful even after hundred years to our Pakistani brothers for the support and help they extended to us for 25 years. Pakistan is our brother country. I was as much grieved over the (October 8) earthquake in Pakistan that I felt the destruction had occurred in my own country (Afghanistan). To reduce the pain and grief of Pakistanis, we offered all possible help. We have only four helicopters, which were sent to Pakistan to help them.”

author: Farid Pouya


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Africa: Lacking self-reliance · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Africa Unchained  points to a feature on Ghana web which accuses Ghanaians (Sub Saharan Africans) of lacking self-reliance  and questions African leadership...”The question is, do our leaders have to sit down doing no brain search to find ways to get us out of spoon feeding by others, and feed ourselves?”


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Argentina: Ale Lago’s First EP · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale has posted the first album of Ale Lago, “published under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.5 AR license, so you’re free to copy, share and remix, as soon as you don’t do it for commerial purposes.”

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Armavia Rumors · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Oneworld Multimedia writes about rumors surrounding the Armavia plane crash near Sochi at the beginning of May.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Armenia: Bikers · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has more photos and posts on Armenian bikers, including an interview with the leader of a biker club, Norayr Martirosian.


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Bangladesh: Podcast of Tagore’s works · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bongo Vongo has a podcast of an english translation of Rabindranath Tagore's works.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Environment minister angry about leaks · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Barbados Free Press reports that environment minister Liz Thompson “was ‘in a state’ all last week trying to discover the identity of ‘Hummingbird’ — the Environment Ministry insider who has lately been talking to Barbados Free Press and other island media”, and posts a satirical poem on the subject.


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Belarus: A Band to Help Chernobyl Children · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog reports that a band called Thievery Corporation has released a new single on iTunes: the proceeds of the downloads of the song will go to the Chernobyl Children’s Project International.


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Belarus: Brief Blogosphere Update · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the Belarusian blogosphere's lack of interest in such important issues as the EU's initiatives to freeze Aleksandr Lukashenko's assets and boycott an Interpol conference in Minsk. Polina Smolova's very poor performance at this year's Eurovision Song Contest is widely discussed in Belarusian LiveJournals, however.


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Belarus: Off the MSM and Bloggers’ Radars · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog cites Google Trends and Technorati to show that Belarus has virtually disappeared “from the radars of mainstream media” and bloggers.


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Belarus: On Trial for Text-Messaging · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Iryna of TOL's Belarus Blog writes about an unprecedented (even for Belarus) trial: “We have become used to the fact that prominent academics and journalists are being sentenced to 15 days in prison for swearing or hooliganism, but last week a student was actually tried for sending a text message to another student.”


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Belarus: Soviet Pioneer Oranization’s Anniversary · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ivan Lenin of Rush-Mush marks the 84th anniversary of Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization by retelling one Belarusian bloggers’ story (in Russian) on how he got expelled from this Soviet youth organization “right before his 10th birthday.” TOL's Belarus Blog writes about the Belarusian blogosphere's reaction to the decision to withdraw The DaVinci Code.


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Bhutan: Debates and the Future · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bhutan Weblog on the constitution, orchestrated debates and hope for Bhutan's future.


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Brunei: Blog report from the Abode of Peace: Bloggers vs Borneo Bulletin · Global Voices
Maurina H

Aside from accounts of the impending exams, lunch and the random softball-related post? Nothing much really.
For the past few years, the blogging scene in this oil-rich country has not really delved into current affairs beyond their personal sphere. This may be caused by a lot of factors, perhaps it is the fear of displeasing possible readers by accidentally asking taboo questions, or the fear of making a bad impression on outsiders towards Brunei, or perhaps simply, a general disinterest in writing about anything serious. Whatever the reason, the general consensus is that, blogs are seen as an avenue for public rants about one's personal love/school/family life, not a place to have rife discussions about the country's progress, politics, education and economy.
Few outside the Bruneian blogosphere is aware that there is a certain tension between the bloggers and the local newspapers. Several, more up-front bloggers are known to openly criticise the sole local English newspaper, the Borneo Bulletin.
Ourlocalstyle.com, one of the more serious blogs maintained by a Mr. LSM, has a whole category dedicated to the paper's various forms of faux pas such as grammar and ridiculous headlines to name a few. However, he makes it clear to readers the following,
Contrary to what some might infer, I don’t hate the BB with a passion that leads me to pray that someday mutant rats will chew the building’s foundation until it collapses into the Earth’s magma. I am, however, dismayed when I see mistakes that my secondary school teacher had to correct. No publication, certainly not the national newspaper, should be making these mistakes.
The tension between bloggers and the local newspaper is not unfounded. A few months ago, the paper had published a front page article (available here) that had threatened local bloggers about the possibility of lawsuits unless the blog is properly registered with the Government Newspaper Act.
(Borneo Bulletin, 25/02/06)
The actual article itself was vague and based on unfounded theories by unquoted "relevant authorities" and "legal experts" rather than facts but it sparked an uproar with the local bloggers.
The issue was in the end resolved by a personal letter to a correspondent in the Prime Minister's Office (available here), and a thorough analysis of the Newspaper Act, Broadcasting Act and the Internet Code of Practice by local bloggers such as LSM assuring other bloggers that everything was alright and no authorisation by the government is needed in order to maintain a blog.
Following the incident, the Borneo Bulletin never issued an apology. However, the incident had considerably weakened their position as a credible source of information and has gained the reputation of being a tabloid rather than a proper newspaper among bloggers.
Ches had a post that addressed the matter and concluded with,
This (…) is an agreement with another blogger’s sentiment against lackadaisical journalism and overall reporter sloppiness.
Sheesh. Tabloid, indeed.
And most bloggers in Brunei agreed.

author: Maurina H


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Brazil: On Last Week’s Violence · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Andrew Comings last week's gang violence and the nature of the Brazilian penal code. Luís Afonso Assumpção recommends an article from FrontPage Magazine.


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Cambodia: Phnom Penh  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Stan at Khmer440 looks at the layout and architecture of Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital city. “In addition to good design enhancing its livability, P P has other plusses in that regard. The first is that it’s a low-rise city. Far superior on the psyche; it is human scale. You don’t feel minimized, pressured, cowed by your surroundings as you would in a skyscraper city; you feel relaxed and comfortable. This also keeps it from excessive crowding. When a city gets past a certain size or density, livability is in reverse proportion to each additional citizen added.”


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Cameroon: Reunification · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Scribbles from the Den commemorates the reunification of Cameroon and the advantages to both the English and French speaking regions.


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Camoes Literature Prize goes to Angolan writer Luandino Vieira · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Luandino Vieira, from Angola, has been chosen for the 2006 Edition of Camões Prize . The Portuguese language's most prestigious award was given to the Angolan writer Luandino Vieira. Born José Vieira Mateus da Graça, in 1935 in Portugal, he moved to Angola with his parents at the age of three. He became an Angolan citizen as a result of his participation in the country's national movement for liberation and chose the name ‘Luandino’ as an homage to the city of Luanda. His main books are “No antigamente, na vida – estórias”, “Luanda”, “A Vida verdadeira de Domingos Xavier” and “Nosso Musseque”. It's the second time an Angolan writer is awarded with the Camoes Prize – the first one was Pepetela, in 1997.

author: Jose Murilo


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Caribbean: A West Indian anthem? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Kyk-Over-Al links to a column in Guyana's Stabroek News criticising the new West Indian anthem adopted recently by CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), and the Caribbean Beat blog asks its readers how Caribbean leaders should have gone about choosing an anthem. “Via a competition, soliciting entries from the region's best composers and musicians? Or is there an existing song or piece of music meaningful enough to be adopted as a regional anthem?”


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Caribbean: Hurricane outlook  · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Over at the West Indies Cricket blog, Ryan Naraine cites the NOAA’s 2006 Atlantic hurricane season outlook,  which says there is “an 80% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 15% chance of a near-normal season, and only a 5% chance of a below-normal season.”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Central African Republic: Street protests against violence · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Congo Watch points to an IRIN report on the Central African Republic – 3000 people took to the streets on Friday 19th to protest against the continued violence especially in the North West where some 70,000 are displaced


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Central Asia: Religion & Politics · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia has a series of posts on religion's role in politics across Central Asia and in Azerbaijan.


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China: 2008 Olympics watch · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Today begins, proclaims blogger Lyn Jeffrey, Virtual China‘s official coverage leading up to the 2008 Beijing summer olympics.
“Yes, we're a bit late to the game,” says Jeffrey, “but our focus will, of course, be how 2008 plays out in virtual China, both in Chinese and in English. A few things we can already say for sure: There will be an explosion of blog posts written by foreign journalists and tourists, adding to the virtual view of China in non-Chinese languages; there will be an explosion of Chinese chatter on the BBS, much of it proud much of it even nationalistic…”

author: John Kennedy


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China: A multi-colored country? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Stories this week from China Herald blogger-journalist Fons Tuinstra include a public protest against the Cultural Revolution in downtown Shanghai, wage raises and indicators, a review of a book on leading Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo and a Dutch academic's thoughts on how best to describe politically today's China in colors:
“The choice is between red, orange and green. Red might be obvious, orange is the mixture of imperial yellow and communist red. Green is the mixture between red and the favorite color of the west: blue. In the end Landsberger picks the most boring color of all: brown, a mixture of yellow, red and blue. In the end it will end up being white, he ends in a somber tone: globalization will cause all color to disappear.”


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China: Foreign firms restricted · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Lehman Law intern Kevin Fisher at Chinablawger blogs on a law recently passed by the Chinese government which puts tight restrictions on foreign law firms operating in China. That non-Chinese cannot sit for the Chinese bar aside, he says, the new law is not too dissimilar from equivalent laws in other countries:
“To me, this seems like something of a natural process. As Chinese lawyers continue to grow in experience and competency, they will want their market back from foreigners. But Chinese law is in a tight spot. You can't just kick out foreign lawyers—their expertise and client base are too valuable. So I imagine that the Chinese government will start by slowly tightening the gray area that foreign lawyers have created for themselves. They will do this as much as they trust their own Chinese lawyers to pick up the slack. So the question is: how much faith do Chinese officials have in Chinese lawyers?”


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China: Legal reference lists · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Among several tips for better investing in China and a post—For Your Eyes Only—on the Ernst & Young estimation—since retracted—earlier this week of China's $900 billion in bad debts from Dan Harris at China Law Blog comes a list of even more Chinese law research guides.


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China: Pinyin’s persecuted past · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Pinyin, the alphabetized version of simplified Chinese which today makes learning of the language so much easier was not, as noted by Pinyin.info blogger Mark Swofford, embraced during the Cultural Revolution as a communication tool, but rather attacked as ideologically incorrect with all traces burnt in the street.


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China: World takeover screenplay · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Is the identity of China Confidential‘s ‘mysteriously’ anonymous Confidential Reporter soon to be revealed? And is a Da Vinci Code-style thriller about China's world domination plans and the bloggers who discover them soon to be made?


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Czech Republic: “The Great Czech MD Tussle” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lemuel of Deleted by Tomorrow writes about and posts a video of an incident that took place during a Czech Dentist Association conference two weeks before the general election: Miroslav Macek, former minister from an opposition party (Civic Democratic), smacked David Rath, health minister from the governing party (Social Democratic), on the head because of a “private affair.” “If these were civilised times they would have had a duel. But then if these were civilised times, there wouldn’t be a raving power-hungry Bolshevik demagogue Health minister and a pathetic clown wouldn’t have to be his main critic and I wouldn’t have to write this post,” writes Lemuel.


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Ethiopia: Disappearing blogs · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Ethiopia's blogosphere was awash with speculation and accusations today after all websites hosted by the popular Blogger platform disappeared from the country's computer screens.
Twenty-three of the 32 Ethiopian blogs tracked by Global Voices could not be accessed by Ethiopian internet users – who all rely on the state monopoly Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp for their connections.
Internet users outside Ethiopia (and in the capital's United Nations compound which has its own internet connection) had no problem clicking on the links.
Widely-read political blogs like Weichegud! ET Politics, and ethiopundit were caught up alongside purely cultural titles like I was just thinking….
At the time of writing, there was no official announcement from Ethiopian Telecoms to explain the disappearances. But the bloggers themselves were not slow to point the finger.
Seminawork, claimed the scoop by reporting that it had been blocked alongside all other websites with ‘blogspot’ in their URL. The Ethiopia-based blogger known as Ethio-Zagol reported:
Over the last two days, all blogspots blogs including http://www.seminawork.blogspot.com/ have been blocked in Ethiopia. Those who seek political quips fron weichegud or intelligent analysis form other bloggers can't access the sites via the telecom servers. In addition, the government has blocked Ethiopian Review, cyber ethiopia, quatero and Free our leaders websites. My sources told me this is done by tel. with the advise and help of the chinese.
All of the websites  mentioned in his post are well known for their anti-government commentary.
Ethiopian Politics, another Blogger blog invisible inside Ethiopia's borders, passed on the message in the post Breaking News – Government Blocks Blogs!:
According to Ethio Zagol all “blogspot” blogs have been blocked in Ethiopia including “the Ethiopian Review” and “Free our leaders” websites. Ethio Zagol further states that this was done by the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation with the advise and help of the Chinese government.
Meskel Square, which uses the MovableType platform on its own rented server, stopped short of accusations, but confirmed the mysterious disappearances in Blog gone:
Where have all of Ethiopia's Blogspot bloggers gone? … Is there a big conspiracy? Or is it just another day of dodgy ETC dial-up connections? How will we ever know?

author: Andrew Heavens


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France: Disposable immigrants · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Sotho comments on immigration chaos in the US and reports that France faces similar chaos with the enacting of a new law “Use them, abuse them, but at election time tell ‘em to go back “home” since they are occupying jobs that real nationals could be holding.”


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Francophone Africa: Bloggers On  Colonialism’s Enduring Influence · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

In recent weeks, several Francophone African bloggers have grappled with their countries’ colonial legacies and the power history has to shape the present and the future.  For them, independence is an illusion and in ways both psychological and material, Africa remains a colony of the old empires.
All stress the importance of honestly and soberly examining history, and the need for France to recognize its past wrongs if a new future is to be built.
Je suis simplement Gabonais takes France, Gabon's former colonial power, to task for its manipulation of post-independence politics to suit French national interests.  He reposts “Françafrique m'a tué” (“Françafrique killed me), an article primarily about Omar Bongo, president of Gabon since 1967, that also describes France's long history of manipulating Togolese politics for its benefit.  The article charges that after independence, in Gabon, as in other former colonies, France put in place officials who would assure that the natural resources and geopolitics of the country would always benefit the former colonial power.  Françafrique is a derogatory term for France's sphere of influence in Africa.
Pour un peu plus d'un million d'habitants, le Gabon dispose de richesses exceptionnelles : pétrole, uranium, bois, manganèse, lithium… Dès la pseudo-indépendance du 17 août 1960, la France signe des accords de coopération qui laissent à Paris le droit de s'accaparer les richesses minières du Gabon. Léon M'Ba président vassal de la françafrique n'hésite pas à promouvoir un article faisant du Gabon … un réservoir français de matières premières .
The law in question obliged the government of Gabon to keep France informed of all of its projects related to the exploitation of materials and strategic products outside of Gabon and required Gabon to give preference to France in all of its foreign sales.
The article also accuses the French government of being complicit in the assasination    or overthrow of democratically elected leaders, and of supporting dictators    friendly to French national interests.
En février 1964 Léon M'Ba est démis suite à un coup d'état. Mais le 19 février 1964, les parachutistes français rétablissent par un putsch Léon M'Ba, le président déchu, dans ses fonctions. Bongo est nommé aux affaires étrangères, puis au cabinet du président Léon Mba. Très vite Bongo est dans les petits papiers du seigneur des néocolonies françaises : Jacques Foccart, tandis que le président-général Charles de Gaulle le décrit comme un « type valable ».
A tel point que Jacques Foccart, conseiller de Charles de Gaulle, songe à lui pour succéder à Mba, miné par un cancer. Voilà comment, en1967, après le décès de Léon M'Ba, et suite à un bricolage constitutionnel, le «type valable» de 32 ans devient le plus jeune chef d'Etat du monde. C'est d'ailleurs à Paris, dans l'enceinte de l'ambassade du Gabon, que l'élu des Français prête serment.  Albert Bongo est une pure création néocoloniale mis en place à la tête du Gabon par Jacques Foccart sous la bénédiction du général de Gaulle pour assurer le relai militaire français dans la guerre du Biafra qui fera 1 à 2 millions de morts.
At which point Jacques Foccart, counselor to Charles de Gaulle, thought of him to succeed Mba, who was wasting away with cancer.  This is how, in 1967,    after the death of Léon M'Ba, and following some constitutional tinkering, the  32 year-old “stand up guy” became the youngest head of state in the world.     Moreover, it is in Paris, in the bowels of the Gabon embassy, that the swearing in ceremony of the French protege takes place.  Bongo is a purely neocolonial creation, put in power in Gabon by Jacques Foccart, with the blessing of General de Gaulle, to take over militarily for the French in the war of Biafra that would result in 1 to 2 million deaths.
Togo was, at various times, a colony of the Germans, the British, and the French.  When Germany lost its “Togoland” in 1914 during World War I, Togo was divided into two administrative entities, one British and one French.
In his blog, Kangni Alem, a Togolese writer, describes how some in Togo continue to set apart and glorify the German period of their colonial past.
Alem writes that the “history books of Togo are filled with the bloody facts” of German rule, giving by way of example the German practice of cutting off the thumbs of young fighters so they could no longer use their bow and arrow, and of the 25 lashings that would be given as punishment in honor of the Kaiser.
Even in light of its brutality, that history, Alem observes, has been subject to a revisionism, especially on the part of older generations. They feel nostalgia for the Germans who are remembered as a different kind of colonial master, better than the French and the English who were responsible for dividing Togo after the end of World War I.
Alem describes a recent Togolese piece written by Sami Tchak, “The German Bridge”, that was part of a collection of short stories called Latest Short Stories of Colonialism:
Sami Tchak y raconte l’histoire d’un vieux pont décati, vestige de la colonisation allemande dans la ville de Sokodé, que les habitants du coin n’ont de cesse de comparer au nouveau pont construit par les Français, l’avantage de la comparaison étant bien sûr au tas de rouille symbole de la vigueur et de la solidité allemandes. Dans la même ville de Sokodé, dit-on, au quartier Tchawanda, existe un cimetière allemand, où l’on peut voir, scellées dans le ciment, les chaînes des prisonniers enterrés sur place.
Alem wonders if this glorification of the German period of colonial rule does not come in part because Germany's loss in the war has made it easier to romanticize.
Jules  Ferry. From Wikipedia.
Kofi Yamgnane is the Vice President of the General Counsel of Finistère (a region in northwestern France) in charge of water management. He was involved in French politics for quite some time, holding positions in a variety of ministries, but decided to  return to his native Togo in 2005 to run for president.
In his blog, Yamgnane criticizes the tendency of some – especially certain members of parliament who are part of the UMP, a conservative, center-right French political party – to look at French colonial rule of Togo as an act of benevolence:
La colonisation n’a été ni un ballet rose, ni une promenade de santé ! Quand les dirigeants d’un pays décident de soumettre, de dominer et d’exploiter tout un peuple, cela ne peut pas se faire sans violences ni sans violations des droits humains les plus élémentaires. Il n’y a là aucune place pour un rôle positif !
Pour moi l’objectif principal des Français n’était pas d’éduquer les Togolais, malgré la mission civilisatrice mise en avant par Jules Ferry puis par tous les gouvernements de la troisième république, relayés par les manuels scolaires et la plupart des intellectuels d’avant 1939.Tout ce qui a été fait et que revendiquent les colonialistes d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, l’a été pour le seul bénéfice du colonisateur ; il en va ainsi des pistes, des ports, des hôpitaux et même des écoles, afin que l’indigène reste en permanence au service de son « patron ».
La colonisation n’est que le prolongement de l’esclavage : c’est l’esclavage transporté sur place !
Colonization was neither an orgy,  nor a stroll in the park. When the leaders of a country decide to oppress, dominate, and exploit an entire people, violence and the violation of fundamental human rights must be involved.  There is no room for a positive role!
For me the principal goal of the French was not to educate the Togolese, despite the “civilizing” mission previously established by Jules Ferry and then by all of the governments of the Third Republic, and disseminated by textbooks and the majority of intellectuals prior to 1939.  All that was done by the colonialists of yesterday and today, was done solely for the benefit of the colonizer; and it was to serve their interests that the roadways, the ports, the hospitals and even the schools came, all so that the native would permanently remain in the service of his “boss.” Colonization is nothing but an extension of slavery: it is imported slavery!
Yamgnane considers himself a “typical product” of this system, which has “cut [him] off a not insignificant part of [his] culture.”  He writes that it is imperative that France recognize this history, not because it should be a “prisoner” to it, but because it continues to have an impact on France and on the French people.  This is especially true now that France is becoming more and more a country not just of native French, but of immigrants, many of whom are from France's former colonies.  Past colonization and current immigration are fundamentally linked:
…personne ne demande à la France de se lever tous les matins en se battant la coulpe ! Il faut seulement qu’elle reconnaisse et assume son histoire, en l’inscrivant dans ses manuels scolaires et en l’enseignant aux générations présentes et à venir ! Quelle est la légitimité de la présence de tous ces métèques sur son territoire national ? C’est à elle de l’expliquer afin que les Arabes et les Noirs, les Vietnamiens, Cambodgiens, Laotiens, tous les ressortissants de « l’Empire français » qui se sont battus ici pour sortir la « mère-patrie » des griffes de l’Allemagne, marchent tête haute dans ce pays.
C’est la connaissance de cette histoire qui facilitera le « vivre-ensemble » de tous ceux dont le sort et le sang ont été historiquement mêlés !.
Aujourd’hui nous devons tous accepter l’existence d’une société multiculturelle et métissée. Les colonies ont débarqué dans la métropole. Nous ne sortirons de notre malaise que lorsque les enfants d’immigrés, nés en France, ne se diront plus seulement Algériens, Tunisiens ou Maliens, mais Français.
It is the recognition of this history that will facilitate a sense of community for all those whose fate and blood have been historically entangled.
Today we must all accept the existence of a multicultural and multiracial society.  The colonies have landed in the metropole.  We will not emerge from our troubles until the children of immigrants, born in France, no longer call themselves only Algerian, Tunisian or Malian, but French.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Haiti: Haitian Flag Remembered on May 18 · Global Voices
Alice Backer

On the occasion of Haitian Flag Day celebrated in both Haiti and the diaspora, AyitiCherieConnexion says  (Fr) “May 18, 1803, Catherine Flon sowed the first Haitian flag … to mark the ending of  colonisation. La Dessalinienne, the national anthem, was composed in 1904 with lyrics by Justin Lherisson and music by Nicolas Geffrard.” The blogger posts a link to a theme of the anthem. Radio Kiskeya reported on ceremonies to honor the Haitian Holiday at New York's City Hall and at the White House and said President Preval brought flowers  to  a Jean-Jacques Dessalines Monument amidst official ceremonies in Arcahaie, the flag's city of birth.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | RSS

author: Alice Backer


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Images from South Asia · Global Voices
Akshay

For my first post on Global Voices I decided to look beyond words and instead look at the subcontinent through the lens of another.  Photoblogs in South Asia are abuzz with the chatter of cameras and flickering of the flash; the result is an amazing array of images from Kerala in India to truck art in Pakistan. So without further ado here are some of the images.
Peter Dulvy with ace Indian athlete PT Usha, nicknamed the ‘Payyoli Express’ for her speed on the track. Photo Courtesy: Desmond Roberts
What happens when a runner, a photographer and a writer get together and decide to run over 600 km a month through the Indian state of Kerala ? The answer is …….a very entertaining blog. Peter Dulvy, Desmond Roberts and Rahul Noble Singh in their blog ‘Heels of Fire‘ are doing just that as they blaze through what National Geographic calls one of the ten paradises on earth. There are some great pictures too. They also have one fine website.
Dream-A-Dream is a Bangalore based NGO which helps children from underprivileged backgrounds, enabling them to enjoy a fun-filled childhood and access to a good education . Vivek takes his camera to one of the events organised by the NGO and documents the interaction between the children and the organisation's volunteers.  The set serves up many smiling images of hope. See this Flickr photoset for more pictures.
A Buddhist monk puts finishing touches to a Mandala painting
The Proceedings of The Athanasius Kircher Society points us to a nice time-lapse sequence of photographs of Buddhist monks creating a mandala sand painting over a period of 10 days – and then destroying it.
Mandalas are geometric designs symbolic of the universe, constructed from sand. They transmit positive energy to the environment and to the people who view them.  Mandala sand paintings were introduced by the Buddha himself and there are many different designs of mandala, each with a different lesson to teach.
They are also believed to affect purification and healing.
Last but not the least, BabaSteve brings us colourful truck art from Pakistan.  He adds,
“Pakistan is known for its artistically painted and decorated traffic vehicles, whether they are small autorickshaws, goods-hauling trucks, or buses used for public transportation. The magnficent art, couple with faces peering from windows, always provides a wonderful frame for photos begging to be taken.”

author: Akshay


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India: Reservations – Photographs and sarcasm · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The reservation issue in India is still burning. Photographs, opinions and some sarcasm.


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India: Stock Market Index on Trampoline · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Bombay Stock Exchange seems to have been jumping on a trampoline today. The ups and down of a single day captured at Don't Trust the Indian Media.


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Indonesia: Bali Weddings · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Many foreign couples go to Bali to get married attracted by the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. Indcoup warns that such a marriage may not be legal in the west. “You may think you’ve been married, but if you’ve only done the religious part, and the extremely complex bureaucratic procedures – including notification of your own country via your Consulate – ain’t been followed through exactly to the book then technically you ain’t married.”


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Indonesia: President Lets Off Former Leader · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Indi at indirani,net writes why he will not vote for Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono again. Many Indonesians are disappointed that the president dropped corruption charged against ailing former leader Suharto.


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Iran: Graffiti on the Wall! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

In Bombing the walls blog, we can discover new graffiti works on the wall. The Blogger, Bombing the walls,  invites us to discover his first work, Skate, a graffiti on the wall in Tehran.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: War Zone & University · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Abde Tavanche writes in his blog that AmirKabir University has become a war zone. Blogger says security forces & director of university want to stop students to choose their ( student) own council (Persian). According to blogger some people, who are not from university, started to chant slogans such as down with American council (they refer to student council).


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Iran: Women Pilots · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Noushin Najafi, photoblogger, has published a couple of Iranian woman pilot photos. Noushin says most of the women pilots after graduation will be attracted by foreigner airlines. Iran airline has employed only two women pilots after 1979 revolution.


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Jamaica: Missing generation · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Francis Wade thinks about the “missing generation” of middle-class Jamaicans who emigrated seeking better lives for their families, and suggests four reasons for expatriate Jamaicans to return to their homeland, as he himself did. “We probably should not be so ready to encourage our children to migrate, selling them on the idea that happiness lies across the border.”

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Jordan: Al Qaeda Member caught by Jordanians at Iraq · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

The General Intelligence Department of Jordan announced today that they caught a senior member of Al Qaeda at Iraq. Khalf wonders; while it is good to learn that the GID is working in Iraq to protect Jordan, it is not obvious what use it is to let the world know about this.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Kazakhstan: Language Realities · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Stavros writes about language realities in Kazakhstan, where both Russian and Kazakh are used.


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Kenya: Banking exclusions · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Bankelele comments on the opening of two new banks in Kenya that appear to have tribal and religious affiliations….”Banking is about inclusiveness (for a fee), not discrimination or controversy – and it is in the best interests of the banking sector if these banks are not licensed”

author: Sokari Ekine


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Kyrgyzstan: Roads · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Noting that blocking roads is becoming a common form of protest in Kyrgyzstan, The Golden Road to Samarqand writes about the country's road system.


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Lebanon:  Flags Raised · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Lebanon has become infected with World Cup fever spread from migrating satellites.


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Malaysia: Sarawak Elections · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Kenny Sia's blog reports on the winners and losers in Eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak's elections. The recent election saw the the opposition increase their number of seats.

author: Preetam Rai


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Martinique: Reaction to mtvU’s “Darfur is Dying” Game · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Martinique-based Le Blog de [Moi] reacts  to “Darfur is Dying,” an mtvU online simulation game  featuring a family attempting to flee Darfur. The game is designed to raise consciousness about the hardships in Darfur but the blogger is not pleased (Fr): “Where is the world going? I know we have to talk about Darfur but does the end justify the means? I ask myself… I ask you… Is the video arcade on domestic violence next? On rape? On the Shoah? (…) I mean, it's better to do something than nothing at all… apparently.”


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Mongolia: Opposition Interview · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Luke Distelhorst interviews the leader of the Resolute Reforms Civil Movement about mining and corruption in Mongolia.


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Montenegro: “It Looks Like Europe Has a New Country” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

This past Sunday,  55.4 percent of the voters of Montenegro, the smallest of the six former Yugoslav republics (population slightly over 600,000), decided in favor of independence – by a narrow margin of 0.4%, in a heavy turnout.
Below are some bloggers’ reactions to the May 21 referendum results.
Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros points out that the campaign has been peaceful – “by Balkan standards” – but that motivations and convictions of the leading pro- and anti-independence players aren't too hopeful:
Long-time readers of this blog already know my opinion of Montenegrin PM Djukanovic; I think he’s an amoral opportunist who is gunning for independence in large part to keep himself in power. That said, the pro-Union opposition isn’t exactly a band of plucky democrats; they’re dominated by Serb nationalists, many of whom used to be fellow travellers with Milosevic.
Doug Muir's first post-referendum entry begins this way:
It looks like Europe has a new country.
He continues by describing one heavy blow (though not the only one) that Serbia seems to be getting this year:
This is a huge blow for PM Kostunica. He staked a great deal on opposing the referendum, up to and including making vague but ominous threats as to what his government would do if it passed. Now it has. And while the departure of Montenegro won’t have much effect on the ground — the two countries have been de facto separate for a while now — psychologically, it’s a blow.
Viktor of Belgrade Blog doesn't expect major changes anytimes soon – with or without Montenegro's independence:
If Montenegro becomes a independent state – Serbia becomes independent too and we all go back to leading our everyday lives. If we stay together, the situation goes back to as it was before and we all go back to leading our everyday lives.
Come to think of it, it's actualy a win-win situation. We should have these referendums more often.
In short – good luck to all voting Montenegrins today, be calm, wise and stay out of trouble, and congratulations on whatever you may choose – because nothing will change either way, anyway.
Srdjan Kosutic also mentions Serbia's forthcoming independence as one of the results of the vote – and he's rather optimistic:
…to be honest, I’m really glad about their independence. Now, finally, Serbia is independent once again, after many years of God knows how many federations. Anyway, I wish good luck to Montenegro and even more I wish good luck to Serbia. Those two states have always been connected (somehow) and I believe that it will stay that way in the future. And, in like 5 years from now we’ll maybe join the EU, so, it will all be the same once again. Maybe I’ll even have both passports just for fun (and for the fact that they will maybe enter the EU sooner), since my mother is from Montenegro!
His one concern is Kosovo, however:
The sad thing in this whole issue is that Kosovo will profit the most from Montenegro’s independence, since the talks are already being made regarding the independence referendum in Kosovo. That is, unfortunately, the bad news.
Srdjan Cvijic of The TransAtlantic Assembly points out one aspect that often gets misrepresented in the mainstream media – “the mirage of ethnic difference”:
…foreign correspondents fall into the trap of perceiving the political division in Montenegro as ethnic division.
Brooke of Desperate Serbwife has been in Montenegro as an observer and she hopes the split would not turn Serbs and Montenegrins into enemies. She criticizes the ruling party in the Montenegrin government for starting the celebration when only very rough estimates were known – and explains why she is neutral on the issue of independence:
I have refrained from having an opinion on this because I know too many people on both sides – Montenegrins who want independence, and those who don't. Serbs who understand why Montenegrins would want independence and those who don't. It is an extremely touchy subject here and I can honestly say that I don't have an opinion about which would be better since I can see the logic in most people's arguments.
Rachel of Pustolovina: Adventure in Serbian does have a strong preference: she is against the independence of Montenegro – and here's why:
The only beer I like to drink here is made in Montenegro.  For that selfish, silly reason, I am hoping that they stay together. Yes I am lame, forming my decision about an entire people's self-determination based on my own need for good beer.
A commenter – Rachel's “Belgrade fan” – responds:
Don't worry everything stay the same. “Niksicko” [beer] also.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Montserrat volcano watch and West Indies cricket · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

A woman looks at the rear window of her car, broken by a flying rock from the nearby Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, on Saturday. Photo from the Trinidad Express website
Nearly eleven years ago, Montserrat’s long-dormant Soufriere Hills Volcano began erupting for the first time in the island's recorded history. A series of pyroclastic flows and sometimes violent eruptions of ash and gases covered much of the southern part of Montserrat, including the capital, Plymouth, rendering it uninhabitable. More than half the population fled, and those who remained were forced to relocate to the northern end of the small island (just one and a half times the size of Manhattan), out of the volcano's range. The volcano is still very much active, though in recent years it's been relatively quiet, with small ash eruptions and pyroclastic flows every six or nine months, and the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) keeps a close watch on Soufriere's rumblings.
Last Saturday morning, at about 6.00 a.m., the vulcanologists at the MVO noticed signs of increased activity, and at about 7.20 a.m. the lava dome that had been growing from the main peak collapsed, triggering a pyroclastic flow to the east and emitting a big cloud of ash. Global Voices Caribbean editor Georgia Popplewell, visiting St. Kitts, about sixty miles northwest of Montserrat, heard about the eruption in a casual conversation and posted a short summary of the volcano's recent activity, asking readers to leave comments with further news, and pointing out that regularly scheduled flights to airports in the vicinity had been cancelled or diverted because of the huge ash cloud above the central Leeward Islands. Not long after, the Caribbean Beat blog got in touch with the MVO by telephone — their website was temporarily down — and posted a report quoting the two press releases issued that day by Montserrat's Emergency Department, giving full details and emphasising that the island's population was in no danger.
In St. Vincent, 250 miles south, Abeni had the TV on, watching the One Day International cricket match then underway between India and the West Indies in Jamaica (the West Indies won!), and learned about the Soufriere Hills eruption from the “breaking news” tickertape. “They say when your neighbour's house is on fire you must wet yours. Living in St Vincent and the Grenadines under the shadow of an active volcano the saying rings even truer,” she remarked. And, with the next One Day International scheduled for Tuesday in St. Kitts — an important day in West Indies cricket history, since this will be the first first-class match ever played on the island — cricket fans began to worry about the impact of the eruption on the series. If the airports remained closed, how would the players and fans fly in? “This could have a major impact,” wrote the West Indies Cricket Blog.
Meanwhile, Karen Walrond was boarding a plane in Miami for a flight back home to Trinidad when the pilot announced a change of route, as she later reported on The Pan Collective. “ ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to take a bit of a scenic route to Trinidad today … we're going to head towards Haiti, and then towards Aruba and Bonaire and follow the north coast of Venezuela into Trinidad.  This is because of the eruption of the volcano in Montserrat this morning, which is spewing volcanic ash into the atmosphere.’ … Sure enough, a few hours later, we found ourselves flying past the ash cloud far in the distance.”
But the Soufriere Hills Volcano had calmed down again by evening, and Georgia Popplewell was able to report that the opening ceremony for the new Warner Park cricket stadium in St. Kitts had gone smoothly, with no official mention of a possible delay to the Tuesday match. “It looks like all systems go for the historic ODI,” remarked the West Indies Cricket Blog with relief.
The Soufriere Hills Volcano on Saturday 20 May. Photo from the Montserrat Volcano Observatory website


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Myanmar: Street Snacks and Latest Happenings · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Moemoe links to the recent  happenings in Myanmar along with a picture of snacks in a popular Yangoon market.


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Nicaragua: Protesting Sodomy Laws · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Dani Santo Domingo, writing from Costa Rica, says that protesters around Latin America stood outside Nicaraguan embassies in Argentina, Chile, México, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay to speak out against the country's anti-sodomy laws. He has posted pictures from most of the protests.

author: David Sasaki


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Nigeria: Democracy and voters · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Oro comments on the now debunked 3rd term project of President Obasanjo of Nigeria...”Now that we have successfully declared that Nigerians are interested in their own future and are willing to take that same future up by themselves, the onus of the sustainability of democratic growth depends on you and I.”


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Pan African consciousness: Malcolm remembered · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Afrika-aphukira remembers Malcolm X's birthday.  He writes that 41 years after the assassination, Pan-African consciousness is dead and asks “What happened to such a promising start? What can we do today to make pan-Africanism once again the ideological force that it once was?”


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Peru: Reactions to Presidential Debate · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Maxwell A. Cameron has written an excellent and thorough summary of the presidential debate between Alan Garcia and Ollanta Humala, concluding: “Garcia won on substance, while Humala won on style. The overall effect is unlikely to be decisive.” Gran Combo Club has a review [ES] of the reaction by Peru's media. Meanwhile, Boz is skeptical of Vladimiro Montesinos’ claim that “Ollanta Humala staged a fake military rebellion to help him escape the country.


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Riots in Sao Paulo: Prison cells and cell phones · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

One week has passed since the city of Sao Paulo was paralyzed by gang attacks and the blogosphere in Brazil is wildly spinning the many aspects of this unprecedented confrontation. Here, we will present an overview of the various narratives generated from the multifold and multicolored currents flowing through the ever more popular and impassioned personal journaling of Brazilians.
“Sao Paulo, with a population of 17 million and a land mass which spreads over 3,00 square miles is the world’s third largest city and the largest metropolis in South America. This most modern cosmopolitan city in Brazil, has often been compared to New York because of its attraction, which lies in ethic minority communities, upthrusting skyscrapers, and the outstanding cuisines that the city offers. Apart from the outstanding qualities that this city portrays, it is also considered a home to organized crime groups. The vile and evitable drama, which has really turned ugly, sparked up when around 700 members of the PCC  [First Command of the Capital] crime gang were moved from a low to a maximum-security prison to minimize the influence they have had over the years on other inmates. The PCC was formed years ago as a gang within the prison walls to protect the rights of prisoners. Today, they have spread immensely outside the prison system and formed organized crime gangs which deal in drugs, kidnapping and armed robbery in most crucial and economically vibrant Brazilian cities.”
São Paulo, Brazil on Fire – Negritu.de – Blog
“I believe I imagine civilization as a circle because I've grown up in Sao Paulo. In Rio de Janeiro, for example, there is a close contact between privilege and poverty which does not happen here. From an historical perspective, what differentiates São Paulo is its urban expansion model, which left the poor crowds on the margins of the city. It created a central privileged zone kept orderly by the control of public authorities and a periphery that was invisible. INVISIBLE… Until now!!!! The PCC attacks present a new reality, tearing down the illusion that Sao Paulo was different from other cities. The expansion of the privileged center grew to the poverty zones, crossing to the world beyond the bridge… Sao Paulo is exactly the same as the rest of the country, built upon a brutal inequality which concentrates and does not distribute wealth.”
PCC attack's (II) – Jaw of 1984
Video editing by Spyk
A week ago the whole country incredulously watched the images of the biggest Sao Paulo avenues completely empty at 7 pm  on a working Monday. The unimaginable shown on TV sparked reactions that reverberated at many levels of the ongoing political conversation. The main character of the present story — the PCC gang — immediately jumped right into the debate as another powerful voice to be dealt with. Although the novelty left the media and politicians speechless at first, the blogosphere was quick in identifying and tagging the political motivations in every new fact. One of the main pieces on this level of the debate would be the Statutes of the PCC, which have been referenced in many blogs:
“Article 16 (last one) – most important of all is that nobody will detain our fight because the Command's seed has spread to all prison systems in the state and we have structured ourselves outside also. Although suffering many sacrifices and many irreparable losses, we consolidated our position on the state level and we will surely fulfill our national presence in the long run. In connection with the CV (Red Command) we will start the revolution in the country from inside the prisons. Our military arm will bring terror to the ones in power, the oppressors and tyrants who use Taubaté Annex and Bangu I [high security prisons] in Rio de Janeiro as society's vengeance tool in fabricating monsters”..
PCC's Statute – Nude Moon – Blog
“Is PCC a leftie party? Well, if it is not yet, they've got plans to be, as they will try to elect two representatives in Ocotber. How nice, hum? As if it was not enough for us to deal with the PT [government party] gangs, now we will have a PCC congressional bench.”
Is PCC a leftie party? – Resistência
“Who would be interested in so much blood, fear and uncertainty right now? Who are the political beneficiaries of such tragic events? Everybody agrees that the recent events will seriously damage the main opposition candidate presidential campaign – Sao Paulo ex-governor Geraldo Alckmin… Many have already mentioned the PT connections with organized crime and international drug dealers. But, in spite of the extreme gravity of such charges, those denunciations were never looked into in a way that could clarify the facts.”
Sao Paulo under attack… from PT? – The Fire Throat
Then the visceral reaction from security forces in Sao Paulo started to be noticed, firstly under the radar, but soon generally acknowledged by the mainstream media and authorities. There were also strong speculations about a possible deal with the PCC as the only explanation for the way the attacks abruptly stopped after a meeting between its main leader, Marcos Camacho (aka Marcola) with his lawyer and three São Paulo government authorities on Sunday night.
“Attention please, friends!! I am asking everybody following this blog to help stop what is going on right now. The civil and military police, wounded by the PCC killings, are generating a Nazi-like state in our periphery. There are already more than 100 murdered ‘suspects’ and none of them are from PCC. I already have four dead colleagues, not to mention the ones in the hospital. None of them had any previous filings with the police and that's why I beg you to spread the word. People are dying with bullets in the back while delivering pizza, while going back home from work. The cowardly police tremble in front of real thieves but they are ready to kill someone who is simply going back home from work. It is a shame and, if they call this ‘duty’, it's time for us to react with concerned citizenship, showing them that we do not want this slaughter. MARTIAL LAW FOR INNOCENT POOR PERSONS DECREED.”
Attention – Ferrez
“This is what some policemen are doing in the periphery, in the poor neighborhoods in which they also live, where the abandonment of the law is more radical and more rooted than in the central areas of the city. In those dark alleys the police fulfill their vengeance by shooting the pizza boy, or the guy waiting for his fiancé in the bus station, or the unaware group of friends that chats in some dark crossing. Or even the motoboy who was fleeing frightened — who told him to run? He must have done something… Are these policemen aware that this truculent and arbitrary behavior contributes to and builds the prestige of the big gang leaders, who become the only alternative for protection in these communities?”
A voice of sanity – The dead
I am very afraid of this [killing of anonymous ‘suspects’]. I am more afraid of this than of any PCC, in any part of the world.
Urban Guerrilla / Dead in Battle – Nothing Simple is Ever Easy – Deinha in NY
“The order to stop the riots came from Marcola during the night of the meeting through a note which read: ‘We are making everybody aware that the facilities (prisons) under our control will be normalized at 9:00 am tomorrow, when our brothers (leaders) will be taking their sun bath in Venceslau (high security prison).’ Although the PCC leaders stayed in their cells without sun baths, the rebels obeyed and ended the biggest simultaneous prison rebellion in the country, which included 73 prisons in Sao Paulo state. On Monday at 4 pm there were still 20 prisons out of control and at 8 pm they were all at peace — a strong indicator that the deal really happened”.
Governor dealt with the bandits – President Lula's Friends
If there is one thing that was crystal clear to all in the aftermath of the riots is that PCC's power arises from its communication capabilities from within the prisons. The issue became spicier when a TV network showed what is supposed to be a cell phone interview with someone who presented himself as the PCC leader, Marcola, on Wednesday night. State authorities asserted that the interview was false and that it would be impossible for Marcola to talk to anybody as he is incommunicable in a high security jail.
Following the wave of unprecedented violence over the weekend in São Paulo – coordinated by inmates from inside the jails with their cell phones – the Brazilian mobile operators are under pressure by the government to block signals in prisons, reported Cellular News. Meanwhile, in a related article, the BBC, reports on “a row which has broken out over an interview which a journalist says he got with a gang leader – via mobile phone from a maximum security jail”.
Interview of PCC leader from jail by mobile phone – textually.org
“Marcola demonstrated great capability for communication and media manipulation on Wednesday night, when he gave a cell phone interview to the Bandeirantes TV network. Besides presumably overriding the closed Differentiated Disciplinar Regime [high security restrictions] in which he is imprisoned, he portrayed himself as defending the society, saying that the police are putting the population at risk by promoting a war to respond to PCC movements, “in a war where both parties have great fire power, the citizen who has nothing to do with both parties will loose”. Marcola said that the PCC attacks were a reaction to the bad treatment in prisons.”
Tropical Mob – Option Journal
It has been a tense week in Brazil. Everything started to feel and look quite different from what we used to expect as ‘normal’. São Paulo was so paralyzed by fear of the PCC's attacks that few noticed the official announcement of the members of the Brazilian soccer team that will play the World Cup in Germany. And the weekend brought a surprising interview with Sao Paulo ‘s governor Claudio Lembo — of the conservative opposition party PFL. His words sounded like a leftist manifesto. He was clearly pissed by his abandonment by those having a direct interest in his success. — the ex-governor and presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin and the ex-mayor of the attacked city of São Paulo and now gubernatorial candidate, José Serra.
“Brazil is a country of many defeats, social defeats. We have an evil bourgeois, a very perverse white minority. Their wallets will have to be opened to eradicate misery, to help to create more jobs, more education, more dialogue and equal opportunities for all. If we don't deal with the Brazilian mentality –especially of the white minority — we won't go anywhere.”
Cladio Lembo interview with Monica Bergamo, in Received by E-mail – blogless
When asked if his allies had supported him during the tense days, Claudio Lembo answered that Alckmin had called twice — “you know, phone calls are expensive“. Serra didn't call and neither did former president and main opposition leader Fernando Henrique, “he was in New York“. “President Lula called, and was very elegant with me. I talked a lot with the President and he gave me a lot of support“.
These days of chaos and violence in Brazil have revealed technology as a multi-edged sword. Demons as well as Saviors can be unleashed through the expansion of something as simple as a cell phone conversation. When long-standing grievances and inequities are combined with the new tools of communication and as people who have never talked to each other before hurl their passions at one another, and trigger each other into action, we who struggle for open systems will be challenged to create and make firm a commons that is both democratic and civil.
Important update [05/23/2006]: The blogger / writer Ferrez quoted in my last post is being threatened after denouncing police action in the periphery of São Paulo after the PCC attacks and riots. He was interviewed by Agência Carta Maior before fleeing the city this weekend because of death threats.
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South Asia: Men and Women Online · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Do men and women argue in different ways in online forums? Pickled Politics on gender, the way we argue and the differences. The comment space is especially interesting.


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South Korea: Don’t call me that! · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Hunjangûi Karûch'im‘s Antti Leppänen looks at updates to and blurring of Korea's complex set of terms of interpersonal address.


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Sri Lanka: Remembering Rajiv Gandhi’s Death · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Rajiv Gandhi, an Indian politician assasinated by the LTTE is remembered at Transcurrents.com.


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Sudan: Living in Southern limbo · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

The Passion of the Present points to two stories in Newsday on building new lives in post war southern Sudan.  No work and no school and little change.


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Syrian Blogsphere in a Week · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

This week the Syrian blogsphere was mostly busy discussing the latest developments in Syria. Last week the Syrian security forces initiated the largest crackdown on opposition figures and dissidents since President Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000.
Ammar Abdulhamid of Amarji has an interesting analysis of this escalation from the Syrian regime…
The Assad regime is simply upping the ante, then, and demonstrating its continued internal strength, while underscoring the failure of the international community, for all its criticisms, complaints, condemnations and resolutions, to produce any serious outcome on the ground. At the end of the day, the Assads are signaling, there is no one in Syria but them with whom the international community can deal.
Rime Allaf of Mosaic on the same issue…
This is not the first time Michel Kilo (who, like many Syrian activists, has done his share of time in jail … get this, for being associated with the Muslim Brothers, of all the pathetic charges!) has been included in the regime's latest harassment campaign, but he had usually been set free after a few hours. It looks different this time, as they seemed to be waiting for an excuse.
Joshua Landis of Syria Comment had a post about Michel Kilo, who was the first figure to be arrested in this last campaign, and probably was the most important Syrian Opposition figure.
Kilo was one of the most respected members of Syria's internal opposition and his arrest marks a new low for the regime in its present crackdown on dissidents and reformers. Michel Kilo had always been extremely careful to separate his opposition efforts from US backed plans to destabilize the regime. In fact, he had been so outspoken about keeping the US at arm's length that US based opposition leaders such as Farid Ghadry had gotten used to labeling Kilo a regime spy and apparatchik.
Abu Kareem from the Levantine Dreamhouse says Free Michel & Anwar & Mahmoud &…
The “crime” of those recently arrested is to have signed the recent Beirut-Damascus declaration penned by intellectuals from both countries. This is not a revolutionary memorandum authored by trigger happy radicals itching for a fight. It is for the most part a mild-mannered, balanced and reasoned declaration replete with politically correct pan-Arabist lingo. Yet the Baathist regime in its downward spiral back into the suffocating repression of the 1980s has found this declaration intolerable.
Away from politics, Ihsan of My Thoughts & Notes has an intersting observation of how Arab immigrants to where he lives [Canada] tend to change their Arab names there into western names…
the observation was that of all those Arabs….I'm the only one who keeps his/her name! I mean all of them, at least the ones that I have met or my friends have met or hang out with, have dropped their names and picked up new western names!
Yazan, has a post about The Rule of Majority, which was an open discussion with an Islamic blogger about the issue… and the demands of the Islamic Caliphate revival.
Abu Fares from Abufares Said, has a very interstin post about the restoration of an amzing quarter of Old Tartous [A Syrian City], which forms one building that dates back 330AD, with each era adding its own flavor to the place while keeping the old ones.
Just barely above street level the block is a mixed array of Byzantine and early Islamic architecture. In other words the foundations and the caves underneath the block date back to as early as 330 AD. Level one was completed and fortified by the Crusaders during their march to the “holy land “. The second level dates back to the Ottoman Empire over which the French added yet another plane during their occupation of Syria.
And also Ghalia from Cocktail posts about yet another hidden historic little know place: Bride Khan…
The Arabic name is Khan al-Arous and it has also another name; Khan al-Sultan, it was built in the 12th century as Sultan Salah Eddin al-Ayubi ordered to construct it on the way between Damascus and Homs, about 50 km to the north of Damascus to help pilgrimages and travelers passing there to rest in it.
Recently, it has been restored by the goverment.
And last but not least, Sara of Rollercoaster Journey writes about the importance of Mothers in Islam…
Here's a little something I thought I'd share with you guys. I believe it simply says it all about how in Islam we should take care of a woman before anything. Just to clear the misconceptions about women are not treated well in Islam.

author: Yazan Badran


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Thailand: Trouble in the South · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Andrew Biggs writes about a north Thai school teacher who became a victim of religious divide in the deep south of Thailand. Most of Thailand is Buddhist while the southern provinces close to Malaysia have sizeable Muslim population. Religion based violence has flared up often in these areas in recent past.


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The First Internet Party ever Held in Cambodia · Global Voices
Tharum Bun

A decade ago Cambodia connected to the world. During those years, not many people could spell and capture the term and the meaning of ‘the Internet’ well, except expatriates working in Phnom Penh offices and a few Cambodian staff in aid organizations. It was until recent years that more competitions of foreign Internet company brought about competitive and affordable price of the Intenret service to more local residents. Although this Southeast Asian country has the lowest Internet penetration in the region, the lively and amazingly use of the international network is remarkable.
Fool April has just been gone. In this May two most vibrant exhibitions of technology were held in the country. On May 15, 2006, the Chatter Party was organized for the first time for Cambodia webloggers and technology enthusiasts to meet face to face. An afternoon-long of the event featured fashion show, on stage jokes, lucky draw, friendly social talk, and games. The Internet party, as many called it, setup by a local web service firm in association with several commercial sponsors. There are times that many Cambodia webloggers have build virtual relationship with each others by the mean of commenting, emailing, and IRC chatroom. As everyone’s invited to the party, chances are that many of them can turn the virtual world into real as many of them have communicated with each others virtually. Kalyan has a series of photo of what’s going on. One among many exciting activities is exposure of weblogger. She wrote that: “participants writing their names, e-mails, phone numbers on the poster.”
About 200 people presented at the party after 1000 tickets were distributed. For some reasons, online communication is a potential business that has so far attracted such commercial sponsors.
Ratha Seth, a Cambodian weblogger who presented at the event, wrote in Khmer that: “participants talked about Internet related issues, and particularly sharing information and knowledge of the Internet with each other.”
And Soben added that: “in conclusion this Internet party is much better than the ICT Expo. They focused mostly on the Internet topics. Most participants are young people who usually meet virtually each on Cambodia chatroom.
It seems that young people, at any rate, quickly indulge things modern. Inclined in computing and technology, a high school boy began to blog in February this year. He is probably the youngest Cambodian weblogger. As of now Darachan is 15 years old.  And a girl, ‘Khmer-Cyberkid,’ 16,  started her online journal in late 2005. Believe it or not, they both write in English.

author: Tharum Bun


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The Kannada Context: Exclusive Identity and Other Stories · Global Voices
Sanket Patil

How do we begin diving into the world of blogs in Kannada language? Firstly more about Kannada here and the state in India where it's mostly spoken here.  Is there a better way to begin a round up of a small blog world than by linking to a thoughtful essay that explores the questions of identity? M.S. Sriram comes out with an engaging rebuttal against some, who define an exclusive Kannada identity and propagate a brand of “militant regionalism”. He chides a line of argument that relies on ad hominems using labels like “horanADa kannaDiga” (non-resident Kannadiga), “elite” and so on. We all are so familiar with this line of argument. Aren't we? He presents the futility of the search for the “pure breed” by a compelling set of examples and a nice little metaphor-
If we, taken over by extremist attitude, endeavour the search for the pure breed [Kannadigas], a sample of what we would miss could be: Masti, Bendre, Karnad, Chittala, Devudu, TaRaSu, Puttanna Kanagal, G V Iyer, C V Raman, Sir M Vishweshwariah, Rahul Dravid.. Thus, if we want to exclude them all, what will we be left with? The search for a Kannada identity is like peeling an onion. As we go on excluding the layers, what we will be left with are tears alone! [Translated]
The latter part of the essay in quite upbeat since Sriram does not find any reason to be unduly alarmed about the state of Kannada. He concludes the essay with flourish by quoting Isaac Bashevis Singer's Nobel banquet speech where Singer explains why he writes in a “dying language” (Yiddish). A must read!
On a related note, Kannada Sarathy has a set of complaints about people's outlook towards Kannada and Karnataka, especially in Bangalore, which are not invalid either. And he is not at all amused by the blatant negligence of Kannada by FM radio channels, and their “cosmopolitan” line of defense. Well, although I don't want to get into any of these, it's true that the concocted potion that the RJs serve as “cosmopolitan Kannada” (or whatever), is pesky.
Taluku Shrinivas exudes similar feelings, albeit poetically. He is nostalgic about the legacy and is not happy about “invaders”. However, he does realise that nostalgia won't take us too far, and we all have to unite and strengthen. Fair enough.
Shyam Kashyap thinks aloud about globalization, patriotism and the questions of identity. In the contemporary world you can get a “feel” of your country anywhere, because the symbols of our (pop) “culture” are accessible, especially when there is a huge diaspora. But still there is something very nice about the notion of nations and nationality, he believes.
Rujuvatu at Sampada, regularly records some of U R Ananthamurthy's thoughts. You can find the transcript of a radio interview of Ananthamurthy at Churumuri. The interview is in English.
Vinayak Pandit at Agaseya Angala shares his joy after watching eight of Kurosawa's movies. He has a detailed and meditative essay on them. He talks about Kurosawa's empathy towards Samurais, his theatrical sets, his stunning protagonists and his social sensibilities. Indeed. I can vividly recollect the high I had got due to watching Rashomon, when I was a young lad.
Jeevishivu writes a series of posts on Pier Paolo Pasolini's cinema. A nice series of posts on Pasolini's “poetry in motion”.
sRujana-kannaDiga has an excellent essay on mathematicians. He talks about mathematicians of yore who were passionate about abstractness and aesthetics: Hardy, Nash, Ramanujan! He says each one of them is an artistic masterpiece, and ponders how well art can capture them. Books, plays and movies about the mathematical geniuses often fall prey to populism, reducing them to mere mortals. He hopes the new movie on Ramanujan and Hardy by Dev Benegal will consider this caveat.
If you are a budding poet, then Hosa Chiguru welcomes you. You can publish your poems there, and check out others’ poems. And if you are looking for a place where you can find some critically acclaimed Kannda literature, kannadasaahithya.com is a great place. Great initiative; nice to see it growing at a steady pace.
Blogging in Kannada is fine, but can you program a computer in Kannada? Indeed, says Dr. Pavanaja. He had developed a version of Logo that supports programming in Kannada a few years ago.  It is a good language for young kids to learn programming. It only needs to be used. Incidentally, Dr. U.B. Pavanaja of VishwaKannada is a well known name in the Indic community.
Among other things, Vishwa Puta pays homage to Janab Naushad Ali. Tulasivana has a post on home, neighbourhood, narrow streets and memories. Nice. Like a lot of people are doing, Ismail urges you to look “beyond reservations”. Ahoratra gets poetic about Dose! Well, it's early morning and I am trying to catch up with a few deadlines. But the poem reminds of the Dose at Vidyarthi Bhavan! Pavvi narrates some anecdotes about late Kannada writer a na kru.
Sanjevani, a Kannada news paper claims to be the first Indian news paper to podcast. The podcasts are pretty good, actually. And there are very good podcasts at Sampada; interviews of Kannada litterateurs.
There are a few fake news blogs (inspired by The Onion, perhaps) that do quite a good job at satirizing news and newsmakers. The “news bureau” at Bogale-Ragale, for example, reports the “Bar-King News” of Manmohak Singh and Large Bush hatching a plot for the Third World War while having a good time in a Bangalore bar. They also report a story on how a scientist accidentally invented an “Aunty-Mosquito” software, while trying to invent a software against some women [aunties?] that constantly stalked him.

author: Sanket Patil


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The state of the argentinean blogosphere: Rosario, Santa Fe · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

Spanish Version of this article here.
Rosario is one of the biggest cities in Argentina, with Cordoba and Buenos Aires. For this reason, it's surprising to find that the city doesn't have a directory of blogs, although there are some of them operating as concentrators of initiatives related to this issue. The most interesting case is Dialogica, which besides being a blog with many updates per week, it gathers other initiatives related to the topic of education, such as Rosario Alternativo, Digicom Rosario, MediaLab Rosario , Tecnologías Digitales, Medline, Comunicación Audiovisual y Redacción I, among others. Dialogica also has a vlog and an images directory.
One of the most popular blogs in Rosario is s Contra las cuerdas, an excellent blog about music that although it's not too frequently updated, each text not only has a noticeable extension, but also the ability to raise polemic. Within the music topic, we can also find PlanetaX, the blog and website of a collective dedicated to experimental music.
Among the blogs dedicated to journalism and the media, we can find Periodismo por Periodistas. Among the personals, there's La frágil espiral descendente, which is rather focused on comics; Subdesarrollando, on technology; Nitrox, on cars; Nunca diré Nunca, and ¿Qué Pretende Usted de Mí?.
Among the blogs focused on humor and leisure, we find Blogged, featuring a provocative and politically incorrect kind of humor, and Leopoldo Jacinto, with many notes and pictures of girls.
To facilitate future notes on the argentinean provinces blogosphere, and because of the absence of directories where this information is easily available, I've created a wiki where anyone who has a blog in Argentina can add this information. You can find it here. Any help you can provide to facilitate the recollection of information will be greatly appreciated.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Trinidad and Tobago: HIV/AIDS memorial service · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Elspeth at Now Is Wow describes an HIV/AIDS candlelight memorial service held in Arima in east Trinidad, and explains why unexpected strong winds may have put out the lights but didn't dim the message. “The thing is to not give up.”


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Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering ancestors · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

At The Pan Collective, Trinidadian Attillah Springer describes the Ifa ancestral ceremony held yesterday on the third anniversary of her grandmother's death. “We sang for her. Cooked her favourite foods.  Cried a bit and missed her dry humour terribly.  And in the end the Iya cast the obi.  The offering is accepted.” And rain lilies blooming on his lawn remind Geoffrey Philp of the time his late father gave him a flower at his house in Jamaica. “The old devil laughed. And all I could do was laugh and tell him that I loved him.”


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United Arab Emirates: Eye on Dubai · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Dubai is making more headlines than Paris Hilton these days. And unsurprisingly, there's as much dirty linen as glittering party frocks hanging on the line, secretdubai said.


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Venezuela: Opposition Candidates Win Mayoral Races · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Miguel Octavio and Daniel Duquenal write about yesterday's mayoral elections in Carrizal and Nirgua, which Duquenal describes as “insignificant in the grand scheme of things, though very telling in illustrating the contradictions within Venezuelan politics.”


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Venezuela: Poet Elizabeth Schön · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guillermo Parra features Venezuelan poet Elizabeth Schön who he describes as “a writer who has often been overlooked in Venezuela, but whose work has maintained a consistent philosophical and technical rigor throughout her long career.”