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Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian blogger Dies in Prison · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Omid Reza Mir Sayafi,  a 29-year old Iranian blogger and journalist died in Evin Prison in Tehran on March 18. In December, he was sentenced to two and half years in prison for allegedly insulting religious leaders, and engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mir Sayafi was still awaiting an additional trial for insulting Islam.
According to the Human Rights activists in Iran website, Omid Reza suffered from deep depression in jail and was prescribed medications of which he apparently took too many. Dr. Hesam Firouzi, a jailed doctor and human rights activist says [fa] he urged prison authorities to send Omid Reza to a hospital outside prison but that prison doctors refused, and would not perform even basic tests.
A campaign has been launched in Facebook to “Hold Iran Responsible for Death of Blogger Mirsayafi in Prison”.
Blogger Mojtaba Saminejad says [fa] Omid Reza had communicated to him two days before his death that he would possibly be allowed to exit the prison in the coming days to visit a hospital. The blogger says he was led to expect better news than this.
In an interview [fa] with Human Rights activists in Iran a few days before going to prison, Omid Reza said his blog was a cultural blog and not intended to be insulting.
Here is a video once filmed by Omid Reza in Tehran. It is the funeral of Iranian archeologist and academic Parviz Varjavand.


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Pakistan: The Way Ahead · Global Voices
Rezwan

The whole Pakistan is overjoyed with the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and a happy end to the Lawyers’ Long March movement. Although apparently president Zardari is in back foot by giving the nod to to reinstate Chaudhry, it had prevented the possible chaos and anarchy if the protesters’ demands were not met.
But is it over? Adil Nazam at All Things Pakistan notes:
For some reason one has a sense that this story is not over yet. We have celebrated a reinstatement once before too. And from the PM’s speech it is not clear at all what the terms of the decision really are.
The blogger adds in a followup post:
The story is far from over. It has just taken the newest twist. It is a good twist. But we know much more is to follow. But what?
We do remember, of course, that he had been reinstated earlier too – by his peers in the Supreme Court. We also remember that promises and announcements are made by our political leaders to be broken. [..]
Tomorrow, we all have to start asking ourselves the question: What next?
The blogger goes on to make some predictions – what will happen next.
Shakir Lakhani  at Chowrangi requests not to expect too much from the judges:
The Pakistani people, most of whom are highly illiterate, will be tempted to believe that the situation in the country will change overnight. They expect immediate justice from the restored Chief Justice, forgetting that immediate justice is not possible. [..]
Unfortunately, the situation will remain the same for a long time. Our justice system gives every right to the defendant and it is up to the prosecution to prove guilt. And since the looters and bribe-takers (as well as smugglers and drug barons) have plenty of money to hire the best lawyers, it will take very long to convict them (if ever).
So for now it would be wise not to expect too much from the restored judges. They can’t change the system in a few days or even months.
Kamil Hamid writes at Teeth Maestro:
While celebration is in order, the civil society movement and Pakistanis in general must understand that it is crucial this be used as a beginning for a new era of activism and the drive for justice. Sitting back at this point, and allowing “appropriate parties” to handle matters would be nothing short of disastrous.
The blogger suggests what to do next:
We fight on. We watch the judiciary with a hawk-eye fastidiousness that we have failed to apply to our institutions and politicians in the past. We ensure that our heroes REMAIN heroes and do NOT use their popularity or power for personal gain.
We put our demands forward, using the restored judiciary and maintain that, short of valid, democratic reform, nothing can interfere with the constitution.
We must continue to take to the streets and protest, but this time about issues such as our identity being hijacked by people who claim that they act in our name by strapping bombs to themselves and blowing themselves up in areas where the most people can die. We need to demand that proper action be taken against the Swat insurgency, not in the form of peace deals or military action. [..]
The list could continue for all of us, but I feel that I have made my point clear:  that this can, must and will not be the end of the extraordinary movement we have built up.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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Qatar: www turns 20 · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The World Wide Web turned 20 on Friday. Mohamed Nanabhay, based in Doha, Qatar, reminisces on the occasion. Click on the link to see his interview with Al Jazeera.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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South Africa: Glad to be a girl is Best African Weblog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

South African blog, Glad to be a girl is the winner of the Best African Weblog award at the Ninth Annual Weblog Awards.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Asia: Migrant Workers Coming Home · Global Voices
Rezwan

South Asia is a populous region. Many South Asian immigrants or migrant workers travel to distant places around the world in search of a better education, job or better living conditions. However they have close ties to families and friends back home and their remittances play a major role in the economy of their respective countries. In recent times due to global recession and other factors we have seen that a reverse trend is in effect.
Prerna at I love life… so I explore recalls that even aeroplane models were presented at shrines to seek blessings from the Gods in hope of going abroad:
Back in the 70s and 80s, Indians had a huge craze for anything western. Migrating to the UK, Canada or the US was the ultimate dream for many. Opportunities to migrate to the West were so earnestly sought after that divine intervention was regularly sought to facilitate this ambition.
She notices a change now:
However, in recent years, things seem to be changing. The economic growth in the west has slowed down and that has led to  many immigrants re-evaluating their choice to move away from home. Over the past few years many NRIs  (non resident Indians) in western countries have decided to give up their immigrant status in their adopted countries and return to India.
Supriyo Chaudhuri at Sunday Posts tells about this reverse migration:
Recession, uncertainties and difficulties in the immigration process and emerging opportunities in India combined, have created a flow of reverse migration from the United States to India. There is a trickle added to this from the UK, and the dam has burst in Dubai. So, suddenly, Indian cities are full of returnees, with a bit of cash, trying to start a new life all over again.
Razib Ahmed at South Asia Blog gives an wider perspective of the whole region in the wake of the global recession:
The population of South Asia is almost 1.5 billion. Millions of families depend on the money sent by workers to their families. So, the first fear that we may have about the coming back of migrant workers from developed countries is the possibility of social unrest in 2009 in South Asia. The economies of these countries will surely suffer a lot. If migrant workers come back in large number then this can hurt the foreign exchange reserve’s health in some countries like Bangladesh. Unemployment will increase and so will poverty. There is no debate about the adverse impacts of this phenomenon.
We have seen the signs of the downturn already. Meandering Memos writes:
It was a bit of a rude awakening here when Malaysia recently canceled 55,000 visas for migrant Bangladeshi laborers.  The visas that were canceled had already been approved, but the workers had not yet traveled – they were scheduled to replace other workers when their jobs finished.  Now the Malaysian government says that with the downturn, it needs to save more jobs for Malaysians.
This trend will hurt Bangladesh badly because:
Manpower is a huge export for Bangladesh – many people say it is the country’s main export. The remittances that the workers send home are Bangladesh’s second-largest source of foreign exchange. The money – almost $10 billion dollars a year – is crucial in supporting families back in the villages and contributes to local economic development.
However these problems can be tackled by the South Asian countries if appropriate measures are taken. Razib Ahmed sees some hope:
The first positive thing that may happen is that many workers will come back and they will bring a lot of saved money. I mean that they will bring all their wealth and it can generate a lot of extra money in short term for all these economies. If the governments can handle this extra foreign exchange (channel in productive sectors) then it can help them to fight against the recession in a better way.
Most of these migrant workers hail from rural areas and after they come back to their own villages, some of them will surely try to start some ventures and this can contribute to the development of some villages. On the other hand, some highly educated people are coming back from Europe and North American countries and this can be a good blessing for some big cities in South Asia.
Supriyo Chaudhuri is also hopeful and comments:
India – which has once in a century opportunity of returning migrants, must take advantage of this to become a great nation. These people, educated and entrepreneurial, can turn the economy and bring a new dynamism into it. The country, however, must facilitate this.


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Thailand: PM meets exiled scholar and critic at Oxford · Global Voices
Markpeak

Giles/Ji Ungpakorn is Thai political science scholar who criticized Thai monarchy. Last month he wrote  the  ‘Red Siam’ Manifesto (see previous post) and then fled to UK to avoid the infamous Lèse majesté charge. He is half Thai-British, holding UK citizenship and graduated from Durham.
Abhisit Vejjajiva is the current Thailand's prime minister. He comes from elite class, born in Newcastle and Oxford educated. His Democrat party has been accused for supporting the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a royalist movement, to seize Bangkok airport last November/December. The Democrat party also has been accused for using Lèse majesté against their opponents for long long time in Thailand's modern history.
On 16th March 2009, Abhisit was invited to speech at St. John College, Oxford as a successful alumnus. Giles also attended and asked questions in the forum. So here is the video of that conversation by two leaders, both are UK graduated, of totally different mantra, in UK.
The full Abhisit's transcript and atmosphere report (including protest) is available from New Mandala (in English). The Thai translation is also available from Prachatai.
Here is conversation excerpt on the Lèse majesté issue:
Giles began by saying that he faced a lese majeste charge from the Abhisit government for writing an academic book, and there are several people in Thailand are also facing the same charge unjustifiably. He then went on to criticise Abhisit’s government for relying on the military intervention (in lobbying the faction of MPs to support them) to get into power, for having members of the cabinet that participated in the closing down of the airport, and for neglecting to charge the army general who ordered the Takbai massacre.
Below is the reply of Abhisit:
Abhisit responded to Giles by saying that the fact that he agreed to answer questions (like Giles’ questions) is a testament that he is a democratic politician, and he would be surprised if the people whom Giles admired when they were PM would accept such questions from the audience. He then argued that Giles’ facts were not right, a number of lese majeste charges were not made when his party is in power, it was made during the time when Thaksin or his followers ran the government. He also faced the lese majeste charge during Thaksin’s government but the police dropped the charge. He argued that people who are democrats must respect and not run away from the law, and he believes that Giles’ charge was legitimate because he made an allegation that the monarchy backed the coup
Abhisit also mentioned the meeting with the free-speech movement group Thai Netizen for the future resolution on Lèse majesté and Thai internet users.
He is the first prime minister to invite the group called Netizen to work out how best to deal with illegal content on the web.

author: Markpeak


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The Pope in Cameroon (2): Of Clerics, Corruption and Politics · Global Voices
George Esunge Fominyen

The visit of the head of the Roman Catholic Church to Cameroon this March 2009 has ignited some Cameroonian bloggers to point the search lights on the political effects (if any) of a Papal visit to country like this. Neba Fuh blogging at Voice of the Oppressed is one of them:
Two times before, Late Pope John Paul II  visited The Cameroons and the effect on the already impoverished populace  was nothing more than a religious euphoria at the expense of their personal financial contributions and  the public treasury. The unanswered questions of the Biya's repressive acts were still unanswered.
Aloysius Agendia, a journalist and ex-seminarian in a post entitled Pope Benedict XVI visit to AFRICA : Going beyond spiritual rhetoric seems to suggest that the Church should denounce acts by states and politicains that harm the people's interest instead of being clothed in diplomatic robes:
We understand the Church and the Vatican as a state, and as a religious body, though with political connotations, sometimes has to be diplomatic in its approach. In my opinion, true religion must not be indifferent to injustices, oppression, exploitation, colonialism in all its forms and other vices. The Catholic Church has done much and is still doing a lot but a lot more still has to be done.However, diplomacy though good in its own ways, must not be of too common usage in the Church because, a spade must be called a spade. In trying to always use “subtle” means to explain burning issues, the message is either lost or the meaning/importance, seriously minimized. Church leaders must not choose to dine only with those in power, the rich, and the powerful. They must not necessarily be with the opposition, but, they should stand beside the weak, the oppressed, the sick etc.
He is clear about what he expects from the Pope:
As a spiritual leader who represents hope, he must not only tell us to just keep waiting and hoping. We expect him to be courageous enough to tell those thwarting the hope of Cameroonians and Africans to at least, have some feelings for human beings and or their fellow citizens.
On the other hand, Voice of the Oppressed wonders if the clergy particularly in Cameroon has the moral high ground to demand change from those who govern the country when they themselves are not shinning examples:
What lessons can an already morally impoverished society learn from a bishop or priest who fathers children haphazardly in his community?
What lessons can that society learn from a priest who has numerous ‘girlfriends’ in his community, under the excuse that he is only as human as everybody else?
Or sponsored a girlfriend's trip abroad, away from his community, so she can bear him kids, and when he takes his vacation or study leave, he's welcome abroad by ‘his wife’ and ‘children'?
Or a Principal of a school,who is a priest, who embezzles school money through fake bills and accounting?
Or priests that have become predators to vulnerable children put at their disposal?
To Aloysius Agendia should Pope Benedict XVI of the perceived waywardness of Catholic prelates in Cameroon:
As the Holy Father visits Cameroon and Africa , he should note this. First and foremost, the Catholic Church and most of its (shepherds) in Cameroon in particular, need serious “redressing” or “overhauling”. The numerous stories about promiscuity, extravagance and gallivanting attitudes of some of our priests including some bishops, some even go as far as bearing children, others fornicating with their students, peoples’ wives, parishioners etc must be addressed…
This blogger belives if these issues of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church in Cameroon are not handled by the Pope then the visit would have no meaning to him:
Mortgaging the Church and its assets for “loans”, as if to sell Jesus Christ again for FCFA 950.000. 000 as Judas did for 30 pieces of silver. Tis follows using a famous Cathedral in Cameroon as a security for a loan taken by one of its bishop. The serious and terrifying cases of embezzlement among others, merit papal attention. These are issues which if the Pope fails to address even in private with his priests, then his mission to Cameroon, I must admit, must have fallen far belowexpectations, and why not, a non-starter.
Will the Pope dare? That may be the next point of interest of the Cameroonian blogosphere.
Note: Part 1 of this post is found here.

author: George Esunge Fominyen


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Zimbabwe: Business Environment Improving · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

There are signs that the business environment is changing slightly as the easing of restrictions allows free market forces to once again catalyse transactions, Sokwanele blog reports.


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Algeria: Mauritanian Arrested for Criticizing Government Online · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian The Moor Next Door writes about Abbass Ould Braham, a University of Nouakchott professor and writer for Taqadoumy — the leftist Mauritanian news website often cited here — who was arrested this Monday “after writing a lengthly piece accosting the junta.”


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Algeria: Scanned Manuscripts Online  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The Princeton Digital Library of Islamic Manuscripts has put a large number of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish scanned manuscripts online. Plenty of interesting stuff there, but one that particularly stood out for me was the untitled Treatise on ancient, alchemical and magical alphabets,” reports Algerian linguist Lameen Souag.


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Bahamas: Society of Fear?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Sidney Sweeting wonders what kind of society the Bahamas has become when “unifomed goons can force their way into our homes at night, terrorize us (or worse) and just leave without an explanation.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: Message to Liars  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Hussain Yousif has a message for liars: “Liars forget quickly.  Some of them lie and start building on that lie to the level they forget the starting point. And when you refer to
them, they will tell you another lie!” According to Yousif, the solution is: “You lie, we insult.”


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Bahrain: YouTube Filtering On The Way? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger The Dude believes that the Ministry of Culture and Information is planning to both block the torrent protocol, and to filter content on YouTube, and he is outraged: “Youtube is the world's biggest forum for self-expression. It nurtures creativity. It teaches. It entertains. Surely this is what the Ministry of Culture should be doing?”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bangladesh: Photos Of Dhaka At Night · Global Voices
Rezwan

Desherchobi posts a photo essay on the lives in Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh at night.


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Barbados: Nature Sanctuary Issue  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press believes that the Prime Minister's “million-dollar support” for the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary “is a ploy…there is no dispute that the Thompson DLP Government intends to develop the lands around Graeme Hall.”


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Barbados: Tourism’s Future  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A real need exists for tourism to have a clearer image and for it to be a beacon that pulls many parts of the economy along”: Living in Barbados wonders about the future of the island's tourism offering.


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China and U.S: View on China’s investment in US treasury · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sunbin sums up a Hong Kong government economic policy adviser, Sze Wing Ching's view on China's investment in U.S treasury.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China and U.S.A: Doing Business · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Elliot Ng from CNreview reports on a panel on Business in China in the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas.


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China and U.S.A: South China Sea Confrontation · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chris from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizen reaction on the confrontation between U.S and China navy in the South China Sea.


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China: Most Awesoon Bull Protest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

On February 20, 2009, the Anhai Town Government of Jinjiang city, Fujian province was besieged by dozens of ox. (via Ya, I Yee)


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Colombia: Against the Release of Guerrilla Fighters · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

Charly from Carlos Cuentero [es] and Alejogalvis from Censura20 [es] show their outrage for the release of two high profile FARC members from prison, who will become “promoters of peace”, according to the government. Charly says “it's a mockery for the victims of these criminals and those who have worked for years seeking peace through dissertation, academics, and dialogue.”

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Cuba: Travel Permit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I will sit in the crowded lobby of the mansion at 17th and K for only two reasons: to inconvenience them with my pigheadedness and to claim my rights.  To show them the visa document that authorizes my entry to many parts of the world, while ‘they’ curb my travel”: Generation Y is once more awaiting approval for a permit to travel out of Cuba.


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Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda: Migrant Vote  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The Caribbean migrant vote was a key factor in the recent Antigua and Barbuda general election. And with Dominica’s general elections just around the corner, the whole issue of the migrants vote will definitely raise some political eyebrows”: Dominica Weekly discusses the issue.


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Egypt: Petition for Gaza  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Chronicles urges her readers to sign an online international petition to the UN General Assembly to set up a special international penal court to try Israeli war crimes, notably in the Gaza Strip.


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Ethiopia: Funeral of Princess Medeferiash Work Abebe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Arefe writes about the funeral of Princes Medeferiash Work Abebe in Ethiopia, “The funeral of Princess Medeferiash Work Abebe, the wife of Crown Prince Asfawosen Haile Sellasie, has taken place at the Trinity Cathedral Church this afternoon in the presence of patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, dignitaries, members of the imperial family, the Rastafarian community and friends.”


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Guyana: The English are Coming  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“…plenty visitors from Engerland is here for cricket, and to be hospitable, we the people must speak in a way that they can understand”: Guyana-Gyal is practicing her English.


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Honduras: President Zelaya Wants Referendum · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve [es] catches a speech by Honduran President Mel Zelaya who said he would like a referendum to modify the Constitution allowing him to remain in power.  However, he writes that chances are slim that it would pass.

author: Eduardo Avila


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India’s Fritzl · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shantanu Dutta at Desicritics discusses about India's hidden incest crisis.


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Iran: New Year and Obama’s message · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranians celebrate Norouz (Nowruz) or New Year today and President Obama has sent a message of peace to Iranian people and leaders.Watch it here.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: When the Internet is Viewed through a Filter · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iran has a vital online community of around 60,000 active blogs and up to 20 million people connected to the internet. As the Iranian cyber world is dynamic, so is government filtering of what content is accessible to Iranian citizens.
Beyond pornography websites, Iranian authorities target many political and social blogs and websites, depriving many from receiving information and expressing their ideas. The Iranian government does not have well-defined red lines, and it changes its filtering policies often, “giving” or “taking” virtual lives at will.
Iranian internet users are met with this image if they attempt to access content that is filtered
In this post we will discuss several issues related to filtering and try to clarify some common misunderstandings.
- Astronomic numbers:
Iranian officials in 2006 reported that 10 million websites and blogs had been filtered and 90 percent of them contained “immoral” content. A few months ago, another report said 5 million websites and blogs had been blocked. A judiciary official also said at the end of last year, that an additional $5 million (US) will be invested in a new ‘filtering system’. Faced with these astonishing numbers, Bruce Etling from the Berkman Center's ‘Internet and Democracy Project’ blog at Harvard School of Law was not entirely pessimistic writing that the Iranian government claims are overblown, and that their own study shows that only a fraction of the Iranian blogosphere is blocked.
- Top filtering priorities:
The Iranian state's change of policy regarding Facebook and YouTube again shows the changing nature of its filtering policy. The reasons for this change of policy have not been announced and people are left to speculate. Some think the government became ‘more gentle and open’ because the presidential elections will are coming up in the summer. Others are more pessimistic and think security forces want to watch people's of the social networking websites to learn ‘who is who’ on the internet.
- What about English news sites?:
Iranians have access to most international news media such as the New York Times or Israeli news websites. It may be surprising for some to learn that anti-Bush and anti-Iraq war publications such as the Huffington Post or Informed Comment where many demands for the US government to engage with Iran have been filtered from the public for a long time.
- Are Islamist websites filtered too?
The answer is yes. Fatemeh Rajabi, is the wife of the Iranian government's spokesman and a strong supporter of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Still, her site/blog was filtered. She used to insult many other high-ranking Iranian politicians. Websites that favour the former president, Mohammad Khatami, such as Yari News, get filtered too.
- Who does the filtering?
An official filtering committee is composed of members of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Intelligence Ministry, National TV and Radio. Their orders are executed by the Iranian Ministry of  Telecommunication. It is rumoured that police forces, wish to send a member to this committee too.
- Testimonies and stories:


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Jamaica: Mind Games  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Jamaica, Girl With a Purpose wonders whether the English and Wales Cricket Board is playing “mind games” with the West Indies.


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Jamaica: V-Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeng News Magazine reports that Jamaica is an active part of the international V-Day 2009 campaign – “a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.”


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Japan: Tech Innovation Awards Contest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Masaru IKEDA from Asiajin introduces the 15 nominees of CNET Japan's Tech Innovation Awards Contest.


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Kenya: Get Kenyan Music at KenTunes · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kenyan Poet writes about KenTunes, an online music download site for Kenyan music.


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Martinique: Rhum Agricole  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In the history of Caribbean rums, Martinique has gained a place of its own…”: Repeating Islands’ Blog explains why.


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Morocco: Casanegra  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Morocco, Cinema and Movies reviews Casanegra, a Moroccan-Norwegian production in this post.


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Morocco: On Poverty  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A Moroccan About the world around him discusses poverty in his country in this post.”I discovered that indeed, twenty years ago, whole families in Morocco lived in caves; today, many more still do. It’s a reality most Moroccan city dwellers were unaware of,” he remarks.


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Poland: Roadworks in Warsaw · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Polandian writes that road construction in Warsaw is bringing the city to its knees.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Qatar: Thoughts on the Fourth Al Jazeera Forum  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

bint battuta in bahrain attended the Fourth Al Jazeera Forum in Doha, Qatar, and registers her impressions in this post.


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Russia: Demographics and Abortion · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian Policy Daily translates from an interview on Russia's demographics, quoting and citing Svetlana Rudneva, head of the “Family and Childhood” foundation.


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Russia: Photos of Moscow · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user victorprofessor (RUS) posts a series of breathtaking photos of Moscow that were taken from the roof of a not-yet-completed high-rise on Mosfilmovskaya Street.


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Russia: Xenophobia Updates · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moscow Through Brown Eyes, Window on Eurasia, and Eternal Remont write about xenophobic attitudes in Russia.


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Serbia: Dragan Markovic Palma and Anti-Discrimination Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan File writes about a Serbian politician who seems to think that “if it is enshrined in law that homosexuals can’t be discriminated against, straight men in Serbia are going to suddenly become gay and there will be a lot of unsatisfied Serbian women.”


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South Africa: Glad to be a Girl is Best African Weblog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The 2009 Bloggies has declared Glad to be a Girl the Best African Weblog. Glad to be a Girl is a blog by  a Johannesburg-based blogger who goes by the name of Phillygirl. Her profile reads: Sift through my insanity and revel in my genius! Modesty drips off me in buckets ;) Sarcasm is my weapon of choice. Christians, Muslims & Jews only believe in one more God than I do.
Other blogs that were nominated in the Best African Weblog category are Being Brazen (South Africa), Appfrica, West Africa Wins Always (Cote d'Ivoire) and Scarlett Lion (Liberia).
Phillygirl got the good news from White African's twitter stream. In a post titled, International Bloggebrity Coming Thru, she celebrates the good news:
OMG! I think I won. The official site hasn't yet been updated (slackers!) but, I've had heaps of hits, a comment on yesterday's post congratulating me on my award and I found this on @whiteafrican's twitter stream:
Could it be true? So I sadly can't seem to access Twitter's search tool but I did do some browsing online and found it on the Gossip Rocks Forum too. I think it might be true. YAY.
Wow. Still in shock. This is truly awesome. And yeah, I know, I'm not really the best African Blogger, or even the best South African Blogger, but hell yeah, I'll take what I can get :) Welcome to all the new readers who'll be hitting my site for the first time after this award, you're why the win (and even just being a finalist) is important. Exposure. That's what it's all about … the awards I mean, not why I blog in general.
Wow. Still in shock. This is truly awesome. And yeah, I know, I'm not really the best African Blogger, or even the best South African Blogger, but hell yeah, I'll take what I can get :)
In another post, Choosing an award reward, she asks for suggestions on how to treat herself:
Wow, yesterday was quite an awesome day :) Am still amazed by the award. But am thrilled with the support it has brought … since mostly what I was expecting was a bit of a backlash about how can I be the Best African Blog blah blah. But I'm grateful not to have read any of those posts yet. The back of my mind (the part that is trying to kill me) is still waiting for them tho, the other shoe, so to speak. But for now, it seems that South African's can't help but be happy for a fellow South African :) I got a wonderful mention on SA Rocks and a featured headline article on BizCommunity.
Updated 09h02: And I just found there is also a mention on News24 :) A friend of mine msged me to congratulate me after she'd read about it there! Unbelievable :)
Now how to celebrate. Since I missed the awards ceremony (being in Texas and all), and there is no award other than the prestige and status (and kajillion million new first-time visitors), I figure I need to treat myself somehow. I mean say what you like, it's still a pretty momentous thing and I feel I need to do something to acknowledge it for myself. So, do I go ahead and get that personalised number plate I was thinking of a while back (I was sure I'd mentioned this before on the blog but can't for the life of me find the post to link to!)? Anyhoo, I've been pondering the number plate for a while: GLD2BGR L(impopo). But it's a 2 & half grand expenditure … for something I don't really need. I mean it'd be cool and all, but do you see my issue? And having just had a brief browse online, Plates.co.za is still refering to Limpopo as Northern Province (and they're R2500, which is where I got the price from before) but the government website says it's only R1500 for a Limpopo Personalised Plate. I dunno.
In Bits and Bobs she discusses the “media hype”:
Okay so it's been an amazing few days :) After yesterday's “media hype” (haha!) it just continues … I was asked to be the first guest Top 10 reader on The Digital Edge for Monday's new episode and I was interviewed by a newspaper!
Other good things that have happened: my unique site hits went over 1000 yesterday :) Today I expect it'll start going back to normal tho.
Should she go for a tattoo or a personalized number plate to celebrate?:
Oh, and in response to yesterday's post, I'm glad the majority of you seem to agree with me that a personalised number plate is a waste of money ;) Maybe I should finally get that tattoo I've been thinking about. I've always sort of wanted one, but could never decide on what (or where really). I like the idea of getting something meaningful, as I've mentioned before, and I've been thinking about the Glad to be a Girl logo. I designed it and it's now been a meaningful part of my life for a little over 2 years … hmmm, somehow two years doesn't seem significant enough yet … maybe I'll wait for the 5 year mark ;) Hahahahahaha. We'll see.


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South Korea: Military Service · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ask a Korean! blogs about the Mechanics of Serving in the Korean Military.


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Sri Lanka: Where Are The Moderate Muslims? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Nazeeya Faarooq at Groundviews asks whether the moderate Muslims are becoming an endangered species.


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St. Lucia: Walcott’s School  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands’ Blog pays a visit to Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott's primary school in St. Lucia.


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Tanzania: Ride at your own risk · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In a post titled, “Flyovers In Dar? Ride At Your Own Risk…” Jaduong discusses the plan by the Tanzanian government to build flyovers in Dar-es Salaam.


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Tunisia: Gaza’s Closed Zone · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tunisian blogger Sami ben Gharbia [Ar] reviews Israeli-made Closed Zone, a 90 second new animated film on the closure of Gaza.


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Uganda: Mysterious Gorilla Death · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

An adult female gorilla in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda has died under mysterious circumstances. On the evening of March 6th, Kasongo was found dead on public land near the Bwindi Park headquarters in Buhoma.


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Ukraine: Adelaja Charged With Fraud · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian Policy Daily writes about fraud charges filed against the Embassy of God pastor Sunday Adelaja in Kyiv.


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Ukraine: From Dnipropetrovsk to Odesa · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

From Dnipropetrovsk to Odesa, the last installment of the Touring Ukraine's Economy travelogue, at Petro's Jotter: “Despite the inept politicians, lack of leadership, and rampant corruption, I remain in awe of this country and its people.”


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Ukraine, U.S.: NATO or “Our Own Reset Button” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A discussion of the current U.S. stance on Ukraine's NATO membership – at Ukrainiana.


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Armenia: Ruben Mangasaryan R.I.P. · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Mark Grigorian [RU] announces the death of his long-time colleague and friend, veteran local photojournalist Ruben Mangasarian. The journalist-blogger says Mangasarian was more than just a friend and remembers some of the stories the two worked on together.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Novruz · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Prohibited but celebrated discreetly during its years as a Soviet republic, Novruz is now one of the most anticipated holidays to be openly marked in Azerbaijan. Also observed in Afghanistan and Iran as well as by the Kurds in Turkey on the day of the vernal equinox, while the festival might be marked slightly differently in each, it remains distinct, as Universal Thoughts explains.
Novruz is a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring. It is believed to be Zoroastrian holiday […].
[…] the fact that Novruz transcends nationalities, cultures and religions is most remarkable. […] The fact that Shia Islam had adopted, nurtured and saved this great day, with all its traditions intact is most amazing. While Christianity had changed pagan holidays and made them their own, […] Islam could not and would not do that.
In Azerbaijan, a country with a Shi‘ite Muslim majority population, nine days holiday were declared instead of the normal five. Zehra's Daily yesterday explained the origins and signicance of Novruz.
[…] An origin of holiday Novruz also often connect with ancient religion of Azerbaijanians Zoroastrianism. Quite definitely, that Novruz it was marked and during pre-Islamic times and later. […] Holiday Novruz is connected with spring, the beginning of agricultural works, updating of the nature and approach of warm days. The importance of this period of year for a life of people since the most ancient times has generated set of customs and the ceremonies connected with magic actions, a cult of the nature and fertility, beliefs in the dying and reviving nature. […]
I realy like this holiday cause I feel that spring is coming :). Wish to all happy Novruz :)
Shekerbura traditional Novruz sweet pastry, Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook
However, preparations start long before yesterday when Novruz officially began as Sheki, Azerbaijan detailed last year.
Starting four weeks in advance of Novruz each Wednesday (Çərşənbə) we celebrate Wednesday of Wind, Wednesday of Water, Wednesday of Fire and Wednesday of Earth. Evening of 20th of March and 21st of March are actual Novruz celebration days. […]
We have many traditions connected with Novruz such as jumping over fire (to drop past year troubles into the fire), prepare special Novruz deserts (to energize the batteries of the body that get exhausted during cold winter) and visiting the families and relatives.
As with New Year, it is the eve of such days which are perhaps most important, and Sheki, Azerbaijan detailed most of the preceding special days in separate posts for this year's observance of Novruz. Towards the end of February, the blog introduced its readers to Water Tuesday.
[…] today…is first Tuesday when we “acknowledge” approach of Novruz in Azerbaijan and this Tuesday is “water” Tuesday as we call it here. […] today…is first Tuesday when we “acknowledge” approach of Novruz in Azerbaijan and this Tuesday is “water” Tuesday as we call it here.
The following week in March saw Fire Tuesday observed.
Fire…those who know the history of Zoroastrianism and know a bit about Azerbaijan might have heard that there is a zoroastrian pilgrimage in suburbs of Baku and that fire is somewhat sacred in this “odlar yurdu” i.e. land of fire i.e. Azerbaijan… […]
Fire is another sign of nature that is celebrated during Novruz. Fire means warmth and comfort…I hope there is more warmth and comfort in our homes and hearts than anything else…
The blog missed Wind Tuesday, but last week wrote about that day as well as the final Earth Tuesday before the holiday is actually observed.
Unfortunately last Tuesday I wasn’t able to write about wind Tuesday…I was thinking to write that they say that Baku means city of winds and this wind makes sometimes hot and humid summers a bit bearable but also makes winters much colder than thermometers show… […]
This Tuesday is evening of earth sign of nature…I guess the most important sign. I say the most important cause it was the first and main reason why people started to fight with each other…Earth said: “I will feed you and amaze you, all you need is to take care of me, love me and enjoy…but people thought that more they have of it better and started wars to occupy as much of it as possible in the meantime forgetting what they needed the earth for in the first place…”
[…]
This Tuesday evening is considered as the most festive…with candles on the table, dishes cooked and sweets prepared people are celebrating the awakening of earth…spring is coming and rejuvenating nature will bring hopes and love or hopes for love to everyone…
Gypsy Soul, a Peace Corps Volunteer blog, particularly enjoys the holiday.
[…] there is some exciting stuff happening in Azerbaijan right now. One thing is that it is Novruz! […] Novruz is, from what I understand, the biggest holiday in Azerbaijan. […] Last Tuesday kids went around to different houses and throw their hats in the house. Why might you ask? Because each house then fills the hats with pastries they made, candy, and fruit. Tons of fun! However my absolute favorite thing is the fire jumping! Yes, you heard right. Each Tuesday everyone builds a bonfire in their yard and everyone jumps it 3 times. […] Another neat thing about Norvuz is that everything is shut down for 9 days of holiday – i.e. no work. That is always fun, so starting tomorrow my days will be filled with guesting!
Photo: Novruz Sumani © ♥ Lala ♥, used by permission
Learning to Walk in Stilettos also noticed some of the same traditions, and especially those associated with food.
One tradition that I’m anxious to witness is the holiday table (because we all know I love food).  The table is set with a white cloth to represent purity and the table must have seven items beginning with the letter “s”…
Sumaq (sumac) – for the color of the sun at sunrise
Sumani (wheat sprouts) – sweetness, fertility, having many children
Sikke (coins) – good luck
Su (water) – purity, rebirth and health
Sabzi (vegetable) – purity and good fortune
Sud (milk) – health and natural beauty
Sarikok  (yellow ginger) – sweetness in life
Another tradition which I find interesting is ”papag atdi”, meaning hat throwing…this is similar to the American tradition of “trick or treat”.  Children visit their neighbors and leavetheir caps or a basket on the door step.  The children, knock then hide to see if they will be receive candy, nuts or treats.  We didn’t receive any papag atdiers last night and from my understanding this tradition is also supposed to occur on Wind Tuesday….bummer.  That would have been kind of fun although I honestly don’t know what I would have given out as treats…
There are many other traditions celebrated with Novruz including not locking doors.  On the first day of the NewYear houses are lit all night long because switching off lights is considered bad luck.  Novruz is also a time for renewing friendships.
The adventures from afar… says Novruz is the time to be in Azerbaijan.
Novruz has started, and will continue until the end of next week. Novruz is a celebration of spring as well. It is a time of renewal and symbolizes rebirth, awakening, cleanliness and newness. Semeni, a grass or sprouted wheat, is grown and placed as centerpieces around homes, restaurants, etc. I have come to really enjoy seeing the semeni around town because it makes me feel as though spring is truly here! Other things are done as well… washing your face in cold water on Tuesday (every Tuesday until the end of the celebration), jumping fires, treats are made and given  (Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura), and decorating/coloring eggs […].
Novruz is still going on… so I will update you on the events that I witness. Tomorrow I am supposed to go downtown to see some fire jumping and join in the Spring Equinox festivities.
Stitch Itch, another expat blog, was presented with some of those sweet pastries although could only recognize the Baklava. Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook not only identifies the second, Shekerbura, but also provides a handy illustrated step-by-step Novruz recipe.
If Samani is a green symbol of Novruz, two desserts, Pakhlava (baklava) and Shekerbura, are the spring holiday’s sweet symbols. No Novruz table is complete without these delicious nut filled delights.
[…]
Shekerbura is a sweet pastry filled with ground nuts and sugar. In Azerbaijan, making shekerbura usually involves a team-work. Relatives and neighbors get together at somebody’s house and all contribute to the making of this and other Novruz treats. Baked shekerbura is put on the table on a khoncha, a special holiday tray, filled with Novruz desserts, nuts, dried fruits and colored eggs.
Global Voices Online wishes those readers who celebrate Novruz happy holidays and a bountiful spring.


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Taiwan: Diplomatic Officer’s Blogposts Ignite Ethnic Controversy · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

In the history of Taiwanese's struggle to democracy, some scars seem never healed and when time comes, they bleed. “Ethnicity” is one of these scars. From the biological point of view, mainlanders who immigrated from Mainland China to Taiwan around 50 years ago and “Taiwanese” who too came from Mainland China 200 years ago belong to the same Han people. However, due to the divides and differences between social classes, language uses, political views toward China and reunification, historical complex, and constant arousal by media and elections, the two “ethnic” communities are under certain kind of tension which is hard to resolved till now. The latest example of the tension, according to Michael Turton, is:
A huge story last week was the revelation that Kuo Kuan-ying, an information officer in the Taiwan diplomatic service in Toronto appears to have an alter ego named Fan Lan-chin who is a raving mainlander bigot.
On March 11, the opposition party (Democratic Progressive Party, DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) accused Kuo of having written a number of articles defaming Taiwan and its people under the pen name. From Taipei Times:
In the articles, the author referred to the Taiwanese as taibazi (台巴子, “Taiwanese rednecks”) and wokou (倭寇, “Japanese pirates”). The author said “the imposition of martial law had been a benevolent act of the then government,” and that “[China] should spend many years suppressing [people in Taiwan] instead of granting any political freedom [to them] once it has taken Taiwan by force.” The author also called Taiwan a “ghost island.” Kuan said her allegation was based on the fact that one of the online articles about Taipei’s Jiancheng Circle market posted on Fan Lan-chin’ blog on July 25, 2006, was also published by Kuo in the Chinese-language China Times on Aug. 2, 2006. The article described feelings about the decline of the Jiancheng Circle, Taipei’s oldest food market. A phrase that read “we are high-class mainlanders” was mentioned in the article. Hsu said Kuo sent a statement to the GIO to explain himself, in which he said that he wrote the China Times article but not the others under the name Fan Lan-chin. Kuo was quoted by Hsu as saying the article he wrote was then posted on Fan Lan-chin’s blog. Kuo was also quoted by Hsu as conceding that he did write “we are high-class mainlanders” in the article, but saying that the phrase was meant as “an expression of self-depreciation.”
Since Kuo denied the authorship of other insulting articles, netizens started to figure his identity out on their own. Billy Pan uses “human flesh search engine” to affirm that Guo is Fan.
郭冠英在網路上用化名范蘭欽寫文章，自稱是高級外省人，高調地罵台灣人是台巴子，倭寇。被PTT鄉民和部落客揭發後，卻矢口否 認。……不敢捍衛自已的主張，是這群所謂的『高級外省人』(超惡劣的名詞，那難道有低級外省人嗎?或低級本省人嗎?)，還有馬冏團隊的特徵。巧言 令色，玩弄文字，前後不一。
東窗事發後，筆名『范蘭欽』的部落客馬上刪去了他所有的文章。這是個很笨的作法。因為，網友和 Google都備份下來了。打實體的『郭冠英』，虛擬的『范蘭欽』馬上刪文。……除了已經在新聞媒體上曝光的，有PTT網友指出曾為郭冠英輸入這 些文章的報導外，……根據某噗浪網友的比對，『范蘭欽』至少有 55 篇文章又以『郭才子』的筆名發表，有時是同一天，有時是郭才子早，有時是范蘭欽早。
水月清風 The Lotus Pool By Moonlight also finds that:
2.29的八卦版有人轉錄了一篇聯合報的社論「被掩蓋的真相…陳儀 是非魔痴228」，內容約略是陳儀屠殺出於不得已，錯在台灣刁民。本來鄉民大家酸一酸也就算了，但是現在是個google很好很強大的時代，鄉民不只發現 這篇文章的作者泛藍欽有許多奇文值得共賞外，更發現了，同一篇文章被刊登在郭冠英的Blog上。
However, 水月清風 The Lotus Pool By Moonlight argues that:
其實就言論自由的角度來說 范蘭欽的文章是沒有問題的 (雖然罵到很多台灣人，我覺得也很不爽) 但畢竟嘴巴長在他臉上，手生在他身上……
但這問題的癥結就是  范蘭欽背後的真實人物的身份？ 如果是政府的公務人員呢？ 而且又是坐領高薪從事新聞外交事務的官員呢？ 這就很有爭議跟責難的地方了。
Jostar2 thinks that:
今天，我把范蘭欽是不是就是郭冠英交給輿論（難道就是人肉搜索隊嗎？）處理。我關心的問題不在這兒；我關心的問題是身為外省族群的范蘭欽那種莫名其妙的優越感為何要公開地顯示出來、用以挑釁眼睛瞧不見的「對方」。
問題的嚴重性其實還出在對「台灣人」的認知：如果把外省人排除在外，根本沒把外省人視作是台灣人，問題才真正地嚴重。
Not everyone thinks that Kuo should be dismissed from office. aguai thinks that even a bastard has his right:
即便郭冠英是個親中深藍滿腦子大中國思想的人 我看不出來他有任何因為歧視辱罵台獨分子而被迫失去工作的正當性 他可以完全是一個大中國沙文主義的混帳  而我們應該誓死維護他混帳的權利 理論上來說 這才是所謂的民主吧
However, on traditional and social media as well as in political arena, Kuo's articles and his attitude have become the most convenient target for politicians and angry “country men” who are motivated to use even more insulting arguments to fight back. The issues of freedom of speech, ethnic controversy, and President Ma's awful governance are all mixed together in the debate this time. With the approaching of municipal election, what is sure is that more and more “accidents” like Kuo's event are on the way.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Hong Kong: Political Future · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Suzanne Pepper wrote a review on Hong Kong's political development since 1997 in China Elections and Governance.


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India: Gujarat Diamond Workers Suicide in the Face of Crisis · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Dreaming of Diamonds by Swamibu
On the following videos we can see and hear about the situation the Gujarat diamond polishers in India are facing. As the world recession and economic crisis affects their industry, thousands are laid off. Unable to feed their families, pay bills or send their children to school, they have to adjust to living hand to mouth, many are turning to suicide as  their last resort. The following video, in English and Hindi was uploaded by students of the IIM Ahmedabad as part of their Socio Cultural Environment of Business course explains the role the diamond polishers of Surat in Gujarat had in the industry, and how they've now been cut off the process, leaving formerly bustling factories empty of diamond polishers and replaced with embroidery industry, of which they know nothing about. Highly skilled specialized workers find themselves having to find jobs in different industries, earning much less than before. Their children, who used to attend private schools are now finding themselves barred from presenting exams due to lack of payment:
The situation in Surat is quite serious, as approximately 50% of the diamond cutters and polishers have been laid off.  The government is trying to get scholarships to the children of the workers so they can continue their studies. In an Hindustani Times blog, an editorial reads:
The impending crisis has another dimension in Surat — while laid-off workers around the world can usually depend on their families to help tide them over, most of the workers here have entire families in diamond polishing, and all risk losing their jobs or having pay cut drastically at the same time.
On Pragoti.org the number of suicides due to the diamond industry crisis is said to be 71:
Even as Modi’s trumpeteers are jumping in joy over the investment figures, at least 71 diamond polishers have committed suicide in Gujarat over the last few months following their laying off due to the global meltdown severely hitting the industry. Modi, who loves to present himself as a ‘common man’, refused to bail out the diamond workers who remained at the mercy of the shrewd traders…
… Apart from the 71 suicides across Gujarat, the situation among the diamond workers has become so grim that there was near stampede outside the Surat Diamond Association where forms for school fees exemption were being distributed.
Diamond polishing is an exact art, on which the rough stone is transformed intro the brilliant gems that grace jewelry all over the world. In the following video, part of the interactive online documentary “The Diamond Road” [caution, it seems the site has a trojan, reason why I'm not including a link], we see a young diamond polishing apprentice polishing his very first diamond after a three month unpaid apprenticeship:
If you would like to know more about the industry, Jobanputra, on the next videos, gives us a tour of the Sanghavi Diamond processing factory where we see and he explains the whole process from rough stone to gem. On the comprehensive four part video tour of the factory he explains how they follow best practices, don't hire children and ensure their diamonds come from reputable sources and are not “blood diamonds“:
Click to view part 2, part 3 and part 4 of the Diamond Manufacturing Process.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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India: On Electoral Process · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kartik Reddy at Read my thoughts ponders whether a change in the electoral process is required for India.


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Israel: Learning to Drive · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Brian of This Normal Life writes about the cultural differences between Israelis and Americans on the road and his son's new driving license. “But 17…that’s the year you transcend being a mere passenger to taking command of a 3,000 pound metal death machine and hurtling it through – and against – the most dangerous waters in the world: the Israeli highway. I’m so proud.”

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: New Book Celebrates Tel Aviv’s 100th Anniversary · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Tel Aviv Short Stories is a new book featuring the writings of Anglos-Israelis, Lisa Goldman reports. The publication celebrates Tel Aviv's 100th anniversary. You can see a promotional video of authors sharing excerpts from their stories here.


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Israel: Preparing for the Passover Holiday · Global Voices
Maya Norton

In Israel and around the Jewish world, families are preparing for the holiday of Passover. Baroness Tapuzina offers some tasty recipe suggestions.


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Israel: Venture Capitals Deal With Tough Questions  · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Daniel Cohen reflects on tough dilemmas facing Israeli venture capitals, including whether the CEO should be based in Israel or the United States. Check out his post to view a chart of the pros and cons of each location.


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Israel: Youth Obsessed with American Culture · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Read OneJerusalem's four-part series on Israeli youth's obsession with American culture to “find out what exactly it is about all of that junk from the States that makes young Israelis trade in their Arik Einstein for Hootie and the Blowfish.”


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Japan: Italian news commentary in Japanese · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Italian comedian and opinion-leader Beppe Grillo's blog [ja] is the only blog that is translated into Japanese (and English), presenting Italy from an unusual perspective. In his blog, he also hosts the translated version of journalist Marco Travaglio‘s weekly talks on the misdeeds of the current Italian government [it].

author: Scilla Alecci


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Russia: Attacks on Journalists · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes on two most recent attacks on journalists in Russia.


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Afghanistan: Buzkashi National Game · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nasim Fekrat tells about Buzkashi (“goat grabbing”), the national sport of Afghanistan.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Algeria: Qadhafi and Africa  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The Africans are increasingly disappointed with Qadhafi’s performance as AU President,” writes Algerian The Moor Next Door about the Libyan leader's ‘adventures’ in Africa.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Angola: Pope is greeted by the largest crowd of his African tour · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

The climax of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Angola was an open-air mass this Sunday, when nearly million people from various Angolan provinces and other African countries came to Luanda to hear the mass in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda. Benedict XVI has been welcomed in Angola by the largest crowd of his first African tour, with many people coming from all over the country and abroad to be blessed by him on the traditional Sunday noon blessing. After the Mass, the pope was due to visit a women's rights centre in Luanda.
Helder de Souza [pt] is impressed by the Angolan people's display of faith:
Deve ser da presença do Papa em Luanda. A força e o entusiasmo do povo angolano manifestados durante a visita do Santo Padre impressionam-me. São aos milhares e milhares, pelas ruas dos percursos de Bento XVI, a manifestarem a sua alegria e o seu agradecimento pela visita. Mas impressiona-me também a capacidade de organização dos angolanos. As pessoas estão vestidas de branco, usam bonés com a efígie do Papa, escuteiros aos milhares vindos de todo o país, mulheres de todas as províncias, como que a quererem dizer que Angola agradece, na pessoa do apóstolo, a paz que está a viver.
There were, unfortunately, some tragic causalities. On Saturday, two people died and several were injured when a stamped broke out at a stadium where thousands of youngsters waited to listen to the Pope. There are reports of more people injured in another stampede when the pope arrived on Friday. Before the Sunday Mass, Benedict offered his condolences to their families.
In his messages addressed to the nation over the 3-day visit, the pontiff has spoken out against corruption, called on Angola to ease poverty, urged African leaders to allow greater press freedom, condemned abortion and sexual violence against women in Africa and urged Catholics to shun witchcraft, a belief that has spread in the country over the last few years. Hilcelia Falcão has followed the news:
Até agora, nada de novas polêmicas. E o clima tem sido de festa entre os angolanos neste segundo dia de visita de Bento XVI.
Depois da chegada, ontem, no aeroporto, com o povo espremido para disputar espaço na concorrida passagem de Ratzinger por Luanda, recebeu as boas vindas do presidente José Eduardo dos Santos e discursou pedindo justiça social e o fim da corrupção. Exortou angolanos, praticantes do animismo, a abandonarem a feitiçaria. E foi só.
Na agenda de cerimônias religiosas, houve missa na Igreja de São Paulo, onde foi ovacionado pelos fiéis. À tarde, foi a vez do encontro com os jovens no Estádio dos Coqueiros, com direito a empurra-empurra e muita gente passando mal.
Preparations – Luanda is given a facelift
More than on the Pope's message itself, Angolan bloggers have been concerned with the make up given in record time to Luanda, just a few days before the arrival of the Pope. Afonso Loureiro takes pictures of the city behind the scenes and comments:
A torre que fica em frente ao antigo Hotel Katekero foi pintada de amarelo casca d’ovo e vermelho tijolo. Para receber o Papa, dizem. O contraste entre os dois edifícios é abissal, porque o hotel continua com o aspecto de que não vê obras de conservação há décadas. Parece que o Papa só precisa de ver o que está em frente e o Hotel fica fora de vista. É pena que sejam só obras de fachada.
Helena Araújo [pt] comments on the piece of news that the Pope decided to celebrate mass in a part of the city which was not initially on the plan and therefore had not been looked after:
Arranjaram-se as ruas de Luanda por onde o Papa ia passar.
Pintaram-se as fachadas das casas – ou as traseiras, nos casos em que era essa a parte da casa que se via da rua.
Distribuiu-se água, para o Papa não ver pelas ruas pessoas com baldes de água à cabeça.
O clero, que “é esperto, e já é esperto há muitos anos”, como me contaram a rir, resolveu que a missa solene havia de ser feita num dos bairros degradados da cidade.
À luz destes acontecimentos, atrevam-se agora a dizer que a presença da Igreja Católica em África não é positiva…
In light of these events, how dare you now to say that the presence of the Catholic Church in Africa is not good…
On the eve of Benedict XVI's arrival, the blogger at Menina de Angola [Girl from Angola, pt] also writes about how the Angolan capital has quickly changed:
“Se o trânsito de Luanda já é caótico normalmente, imagine com a Santidade por estas bandas. Várias ruas serão fechadas e todo o aparato de segurança vai estar de plantão. Dizem as más línguas que na ultima visita de um Papa em 1992, a guerra explodiu logo após a sua saída. Mas a gente sabe que isso é maldade do povo, não é?.
Enquanto a cidade se engalana para receber Bento XVI, outros bloguers nacionais vão deixando as suas opiniões acerca da igreja católica, nomeadamente em questões como a Sida e a presença do Papa na capital.”
“If the traffic in Luanda is usually chaotic, imagine with with the Holy Father around here. Several streets will be closed and the whole security apparatus will be on duty. Some people say that the last visit of a pope was in 1992, and the war broke out soon after his departure. But we know this is evil of the people to say that, don't we? While the city has been embellished to receive Pope Benedict XVI, other national bloggers start to pour in their opinions about the Catholic Church, particularly on issues such as AIDS and the presence of the Pope in the capital Luanda.
Regarding these issues, the blogger of the Parem o Mundo Quero Sair [Stop The World, I Want to Get Out] blog takes the opportunity to criticize some of the Vatican positions after very conservative remarks made by the Pope in the beginning of the trip that AIDS “cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems”:
“Na África subsaariana, cerca de 25 milhões de pessoas estão actualmente infectadas com o vírus do HIV – 70% do número total de doentes no mundo. O vírus afecta 5% da população adulta e já deixou órfãs cerca de 11 milhões de crianças, contudo este senhor resolve apregoar por terras africanas que o uso do preservativo agrava a propagação da doença. Para mim, a partir deste momento, o senhor Papa passa a ser responsável por umas quantas mortes que venham a acontecer futuramente, pois infelizmente, existem muitos católicos em terras africanas que não duvido, sigam à risca os conselhos de Sua Santidade”.
Eugénio Costa Almeida writes about the fact that Luanda was the only Angolan city to welcome the Pope:
“Apesar de ser uma visita a convite do Presidente Eduardo dos Santos, vai recordar os 527 anos da evangelização de Angola e o facto de, Angola ter sido o primeiro país subsaariano a ser evangelizado. Ora se o assunto principal é a celebração da evangelização porque é que o Papa só fica por Luanda e não se desloca a Mbanza Congo, a capital do Reino do Congo, cidade onde se iniciou a evangelização do território que deu Angola? Tal como não vai ao Santuário da Nª Senhora da Muxima nem ao da Senhora do Monte, no Lubango. E já nem falo a outras partes do país. Parece que continua a haver quem ache que Angola é só Luanda e o resto é só beleza paisagística e faunística ou coutada de minas…
Porque só saindo das capitais o Papa Bento XVI poderá fazer jus à visita papal: “Abraçar África nas suas Mil Diferenças”.
“Despite the fact that this is an invitation of President Eduardo dos Santos, [the Pope] will remember the 527 years of evangelicalism of Angola and the fact that Angola was the first African Sub-Saharan country to be evangelized. But if the heart of matter is a celebration of the evangelicalism, why will the Pope only come to Luanda and not go to Mbanza Congo, the capital of the Kingdom of Congo, where the evangelicalism of the area that gave way to Angola began? He is neither going to the Shrine of Our Lady of Muxima or the Lady of Monte in Lubango. And I don't even mention other parts of the country. It seems that there are still people who think that Angola is Luanda only and the rest are just beautiful fauna and landscapes, or mine-filled… because only out of the capital the Pope can do justice to the papal visit: “Embracing Africa in its thousands Differences.”
Regarding these issues, Vatican representative D. Angelo Becciu answered: “We need to understand that the Pope is old and can not go to other provinces in the country”.
After visiting Cameroom, Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Luanda on Friday March 20th for a 3-day visit ending his first African tour. He will return to Rome tomorrow morning. This was the first papal visit to Angola since 1992, when his predecessor John Paul II came and asked for the end of the civil war (1975-2002). Over 60% of Angolans are believed to be Catholic, a religion introduced in the country by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century.

author: Clara Onofre


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Bahrain: Poem to all Mothers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Jinan [Ar] dedicates a poem to all the mothers in Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain and the world on the occasion of Mother's Day.


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Bahrain: Poem to Daughter · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Bahrain, Randah Hamadah marks Mother's Day with a poem dedicated in the memory of her daughter Samar Al Ansari.


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Bahrain: Reading Twilight  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Hypnotic Verses from Bahrain is reading Twilight and shares her thoughts on the book in this post.


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Bangladesh: 1971 Genocide video · Global Voices
Rezwan

Mash at Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying  posts a rare video footage of the massacre by Pakistan army in a village near Dhaka, Bangladesh in late November of 1971. More such videos can be found at the Bangladesh Genocide Archive.

author: Rezwan


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Brazil: The snake blogger · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Amazonian blogger Altino Machado [pt] received an impromptu visitor last week: a snake came to see what he was blogging about. Check the pictures out.

author: Paula Góes


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Cambodia: Oil wealth · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

There are reports hinting of large oil and gas deposits in Cambodia. Will this create a vast oil wealth for Cambodia?

author: Mong Palatino


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Cambodia: Online music websites · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Piseth suggests a few websites which offer free Cambodian music downloads.


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Cambodia: Rising cases of acid attacks · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A report shows there has been an increase in acid attacks in Cambodia in recent years.


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Czechoslovakia: Tiresome narratives of Prague ’68 · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Dr. Sean's Diary reviews the second episode of BBC 2's series The Lost World of Communism, dealing with communist Czechoslovakia, and finds it rather basic and tiresome.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Egypt: Arab Youth on a Presidential Mission · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Egypt's first online radio – Radio Horytna - invites youth to apply for the position of President for any Arab country of their choice.
Shaymaa El Gammal wrote:
Maha ElEnany noted:
Mostafa Fathy explained more about the initiative saying:

author: Marwa Rakha


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Egypt: Cabinet Reshuffle  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobia, from Egypt, comments on recent changes in the Cabinet.


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Egypt: Free Kareem Tweets  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Free Kareem campaign, calling for the release of Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Suliaman, is now available on Twitter, announced the site. Click on the link for more information on Kareem.


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Egypt: Jaiku is now ‘useless · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Jaiku announced yesterday that they will support SMS to the US only …In short, Jaiku now is going to be pretty useless,” writes Moftasa, from Egypt.


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Egypt: Stop Oppressing Bloggers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists,
writes a letter to [Egyptian] President Hosni Mubarak condemning the state’s oppression against bloggers, noting Kareem amongst those abused by the government for their blogging,” reports Free Kareem, a site dedicated to campaigning for the release of jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman.


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Egypt: The Call for Prayer  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“One of the things that I miss the most when I travel is the call to prayer that I hear five times a day here,” writes Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, from Egypt.


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Hong Kong: Vindication of June 4 in Question · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

2009 is the 20th anniversary of June 4 Tiananmen Massacre. If there were reincarnation, people who had been killed then would be twenty years old this year. Some of them would probably become university students, who are usually regarded as conscience of the society. Sadly this year, at least two university student unions in Hong Kong want to distant themselves away from the “burden” of upholding the political stand in “Vindication of June 4″.
Yuen Yan wrote a citizen report in inmediahk.net about the City University of Hong Kong Students’ Union Council's decision to bar the Student Press for distributing pamphlets in the upcoming June 4 Candle night Vigil because the action would imply a political stand in support of the “Vindication of June 4″.
According to Yuen Yan's report, the Student Council has spent 5 to 6 hours in the budget meeting on the publication of “June 4 special issue”. Members opposed the distribution of pamphlet in the Candle night vigil; below is a summary of the members’ opinions:
1. 六四事件和城大學生無關係，尤其質疑編委在六四燭光晚會上公開派發特刊，是拿城大學生會會費，津貼學生以外的活動；
2. 編委出版的刊物無權到校外派發。評議員稱參與六四燭光集會是由城大學生會幹事會負責，編委會不可以參與當中活動；
3. 把《六四特刊》在燭光晚會上派發有可能煽動在場參與人士，引起混亂；
4. 建議在旺角街頭派發特刊，這樣比在六四燭光集會派更有意義；
5. 出版《六四特刊》會影響城大聲譽；
6. 六四燭光晚會是一個有政治立場的聚會，在六四燭光集會派發特刊等於支持平反六四。
After the discussion, a member proposed to cast an opinion vote and 9 out of the 10 attendees opposed the distribution of “June 4 special issue” and the student press was forced to withdraw this particular budget item in order to get their annual budget passed.
At the same time, the Hong Kong University Student Union will initiate a campus referendum vote on whether or not the Student Union should continue to uphold the stand of “vindication of June 4″. Galileo pointed out in the comment section of Yuen Yan's report:
但有點要留意係，同香港大學搞平反六四公投一樣，內地生比例現在已經夠高，未必過到。
Within a few hours, the discussion has spread through inmediahk.net, twitter, plurk and facebook. Sidekick re-tweeted my message and received more than a hundred responses in a few hours:
RT oiwan: 慢慢地，平反六四不再是共識了。。。香港真係恐怖：www.inmediahk.net/node/1002676
剛才未讀文章。單看 oiwan 那句，我即心酸得流起淚來…
其實現在應該要做的，不只是單單的平反，而是要有機會搵外人去跟雙方做truth & reconciliation。不過一定要在我們這一代要完成，否則歷史會習非成是，永遠無法撥亂反正，如西班牙佛朗哥死後…
其實我覺得最恐怖 (古怪) 的是, 內地當權者對六四是越來越開放的 (我覺得), 反而香港 (尤其是基層, 例如呢d 學校o既組織) 就越o黎越保守… 真係發神經!
最怕是，學生重視個人利益，並認同國家，最終令到他們有意無意的忽視、無視、甚至曲解這等「黑歷史」
叫佢地對住丁子霖講多一次！
有生之年，我們會看到嗎？這不是單單的平反，而係要查根究柢去了結。
六四是包袱還是傳承我們自己還要質疑？人權和自由和平等這些原則又是不是包袱？
所以，中共已經離全民洗腦又一步了……
我對呢種事情感覺好無力, 就好似一d 老人家,甚或自己既父母, 佢地對六四由始至終都係冇感覺, 但我一直認為, 社會起碼還有智識既人, 佢地正尋求一d 物質以外更重要既野, 自由, 人權等等…但當年死既係大學生, 現在話唔關佢地事既都係大學生…到底發生左咩事
如果六四距離太遠，2003年的沙士和七一大遊行理應是這一代最” 埋身”的政治經歷了，然而，在政的的大力過濾下，距離不夠七年的沙士竟也變成某些人口中的” 有人煽動”，還有人敢在說是”外國勢力
所以大家可以做好心理準備，六四將來會成為一個完全民間的活動，很缺錢，很少報導，但我們一定會為這件事拼死的做。
當, “平反六四” 只係30+ o既人做, 咁當d 人死鬼晒, 又或在社會各階層都不在其位時, 又點算呢?
教育? 香港大概已經不能起政治教育的地方吧, 甚至獨立思考的教育都做不來…. 但我地現在既討論, 最少就係我地做到的事, 我地的的確確更深刻咁記住啊
Below is a BBC live report on June 4 incident for refreshing our memory:

author: Oiwan Lam


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India’s First Digital Elections · Global Voices
Gaurav Mishra

This post is part of the Global Voices special coverage on the Elections in India 2009.
Politics in India is essentially local and India's voters elect their representatives based on small local and regional issues, instead of the big national issues. As a result, election rallies and door-to-door canvassing, supplemented by local hoardings and print ads in the vernacular languages have traditionally been at the core of election campaigning in India.
In 2004, the incumbent BJP broke away from this pattern with its aggressive nation-wide ‘India Shining’ campaign. It recruited advertising and PR agencies to manage its campaign, focused on the urban first time voter, advertised heavily on print and television, and allocated 5% of its campaign budget to an e-campaign, for revamping its campaign website, pushing out text messages, pre-recorded voice clips and emails to its database of 20 million email users and 20 million phone users, and offering campaign-related mobile ringtones for download (BBC/ BBC/ Rediff/ Hindu). The ‘India Shining’ campaign didn't work eventually, and Sonia Gandhi led Congress to a surprise victory, once again reaffirming the almost magical appeal of the Nehru-Gandhi family amongst India's voters. Many observers even attributed BJP's loss to its “elitist” ‘India Shining’ campaign (Live Mint).
In spite of its “failure”, BJP's India Shining campaign has set the pattern for all Indian election campaigns since then: spend 40-50% on print, 20% on outdoors, 15% on TV, 5%-10% on internet and mobile and the rest on radio, film theaters and on-ground activities (Live Mint).
What, then, has changed since 2004? For one, the demographic profile of India's electoral based has shifted. More than half of India's 1150 million population is younger than 25, 42 million new voters have entered the electorate since 2004, and, as a result of the newly delimited constituencies, the importance of urban votes has increased in the electoral collage. Not only that, the internet and mobile penetration in India has increased dramatically since 2004, from 26 million to 365 million for mobile, and from 16 million to 80 million for the internet. Even more importantly, shaken by the 11/26 Mumbai terrorist attack, and inspired by Barack Obama's success in the US elections, the young urban Indian is likely to step out to vote for the first time in India's recent electoral history. As a result, both BJP and Congress are targeting young, urban voters like never before. BJP and Congress, however, have adopted different tactic to appeal to this audience. While Congress is banking on the youthful appeal of Rahul Gandhi, the 39 year of scion of the Gandhi family, BJP has embarked on an aggressive 360 degree campaign, inspired by the Obama campaign (Chicago Tribune/ AFP/ Indian Express/ TOI/ Reuters).
While BJP's official website is nothing but a brochure, Lal Krishna Advani's website has several interesting features. To begin with, LK Advani's blog has been active since January 2009 and each of the ten odd posts have between 50 to 150 comments. Surprisingly, the Hindi version of LK Advani's blog has very few comments. The forum on LK Advani's website isn't much to look at, but it's doing well, with 6586 members, 2940 topics, and 9354 posts.
The Advani@Campus initiative seeks to build a grassroots volunteer campaign “to contact and mobilize young voters in thousands of college campuses across the country” (Telegraph/ DNA/ NDTV/ Indian Express). The focus on recruiting volunteers is reflected in a well-structured volunteer program. The tasks range from recruiting first time voters, promoting LK Advani's website and social media profiles, translating sections of the website, designing banner ads, and helping out with other campaign work. According to one report, BJP has recruited more than 7000 volunteers through the website (Business Standard).
Especially interesting is the Bloggers for Advani initiative run by Mallika Noorani. The initiative is coordinated through a Google Group (started based on a suggestion by yours truly), and encourages bloggers to display a Bloggers for Advani button and promote BJP's ideas on their blogs.
It seems that most of the social media initiatives on the Advani campaign are run by volunteers and encouraged by the campaign coordinators. In any case, it's difficult to identify which profiles or groups are official and which are unofficial. The official website links to a LK Advani Facebook page (with 390 supporters) and an Advani for PM Orkut group (with 960 members), but there are several other unofficial groups with similar memberships. The (official?) BJP Supporters Group on Orkut has 22,157 members. Similarly, there's confusion about whether the @BJP_ Twitter profile, which has 416 followers is indeed official.
A group which seems to work closely with the campaign team is the Friends of BJP group (Facebook/ Orkut), which includes several prominent professionals including Rajesh Jain and R K Mishra. Another unofficial website which is getting some traction is Join BJP.
Apart from these national level initiatives, several BJP leaders, including Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and V K Malhotra also have well-designed websites. Narendra Modi and V K Malhotra also have Twitter profiles.
The BJP is also running an aggressive online ad campaign, primarily with Google, with search ads across as many as 200,000 keywords, placement ads across 50,000 websites, and banner ads across 2,000 websites. With a billion searches every month, BJP's campaign is expected to recah 75% of India's internet users (Live Mint/ Economics Times).
BJP is also planning to send one billion SMSes to about 250 million cellphone users, who are not enrolled in the Do-Not-Call registry. Overall, telecom operators expect to make an additional revenue of $10 million from an extra traffic of 3-4 billion SMSes sent by all the political parties, apart from money from from multimedia messages, songs and wallpapers (Economic Times/ Indian Express/ Financial Express).
Last week, the BJP also released a detailed 30-page IT Vision document (PDF) with much fanfare. The document is partly a road map to reform and partly a pre-election populist pipe dream. It promises to give the highest priority to developing IT infrastructure and leveraging it for better governance and inclusive development. Specifically, it promises to match China on all IT-related parameters within 5 years. While many observers have dismissed the document as pre-election populism, others have pointed out that it is a testament to BJP's forward looking thinking that it believes that it can win an election by promising to transform India into an IT super-power.
The Indian National Congress, on the other hand, seems to be stuck in the web 1.0 era. Both the official Congress website and the Congress Media websites are online brochures. The Vote for Congress portal, which was supposed to revolutionize its online campaign by providing the Congress candidates a platform to blog (Hindu/ TOI), is still not up. None of the senior Congress leaders — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Manmohan Singh — have a website and, what's worse, their URLs are owned by cyber-squatters (Indian Express). The party does want to set up 600 internet kiosks across the country (Hindu) but without engaging interactive content, their effectiveness might be limited.
Shashi Tharoor — author and former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations — is perhaps the only Congress candidate to seriously leverage the web in his campaign, with presence on Facebook and Orkut (CIOL/ Sify). Former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna has a Twitter profile. Some of the younger Congress candidates like Priya Dutt, Milind Deora (Facebook) and Sachin Pilot also have well-designed websites, but aren't really active on social media.
Several other regional parties have either set up, or revamped, their websites, in the run up to the general elections. The CPI-M (Live Mint/ Hindu/ Economic Times/ Indian Express) and Samajvadi Party websites seem to be the most well-designed. However, none of these websites are using social media tools, beyond asking for donations and newsletter subscriptions.
Many observers have pointed out that the digital campaigns by BJP and other Indian political parties are amateurish in comparison to Barack Obama's social media campaign (CIOL/ Networked World) and they are right. BJP's digital campaign can hardly be compared to Obama'a campaign, in terms of ambition, execution or results. The campaign is hardly going to change the course of the election; the election will still be decided in India's small towns and villages. But, even if it “fails”, the campaign will set a precedent for all future elections in India, just like the ‘India Shining’ campaign did, five years ago.

author: Gaurav Mishra


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Jordan: Photographs from Damascus  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Ali Dahmash is back from Damascus, Syria, and shares photographs he has taken there in this post.


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Kazakhstan: Underdog Billionaires · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Slavasay reports that this year’s list of billionaires in the Forbes journal features only four representatives of Kazakhstan.


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Korea: Two American Journalists are detained in North Korea.  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Two American Journalists – a Korean American and Chinese American – are detained in North Korea after they tried to report on North Korean issues (It is known that they were interested in female North Korean defectors). Three days behind, the South Korean media started talking about this incident in public. Surprisingly, there are not many reactions to this scandal from bloggers and netizens. While media focuses on their detention in North Korea, netizens are more keen on how domestic and international media portray this scandal and how it will affect other political and diplomatic matters between North Korea and other countries.
1:
북한이 美 국적의 여기자 2명을 억류하고 있다고 한다.북한 미사일 발사와 관련하여 한국과 북한은 물론 미국과도 긴장관계를 조성하고 있는 북한이 이번에는 취재 기자를 억류함으로써 상황은 더욱 불안하게 전개되고 있다. 억류 경위에 대해서는 좀 더 자세한 정황을 알아봐야 하겠지만, 지금 상황에서 이런 일이 발생한 것은 간단한 문제가 아니다. 북한이 자기들의 미사일 발사 의지를 과시하고, 미국과의 타협점을 모색하기 위해 이 사건을 이용하려 하는 점을 간과해서는 안된다.이 건과 미사일 건은 분명 다르다.
2:
한국 언론들, 특히 보수지들은 마치 북한이 미국 여기자를 강제로 체포해서 억류하고 있는 양 사실관계를 호도하는 기사를 내보내고 있다. 여기자들은 가만히 있었는데 북한이 납치했다는 식으로 싸이코패스적 언어를 동원하고 있는데 대북관계 보도에서 중요한 것은 팩트에 기반해야 하지만 우리나라 언론들은 일본의 극우신문을 베껴대거나 소설쓰기를 주로 하는게 문제점이다. 미국측의 반응을 볼 때 이번 사건은 북한의 일방적 조치라기 보다는 여기자들이 북한에 밀입국했다가 발각돼 체포됐을 가능성이 높다.  언론에 보도된 미국측의 반응은 우리 언론과 달리 매우 신중한 입장이다.
국내언론의 호들갑과 왜곡 추측보도 남발
사건 개요에 대해 20일자 연합뉴스에 “투먼 부근 두만강가에서 잡혔다”고 보도하고 있으나 기사를 찬찬히 보면 인근 주민들이 “그랬을 거다”라는 말을 기정사실처럼 단정짓고 있는 추측보도에 지나지 않다. 개념상실 보수지인 헤럴드 경제는 유엔인권이사회가 마치 여기자 억류사태와 관련해 결의안을 채택하는 것인양 제목과 기사에서 교묘히 왜곡하고 있다.
미국측 반응
스티븐스 주한미대사 :  “정보 분명하지 않은 상황, 사실관계를 알아본 뒤 대처하겠다”
로버트우드 미국무부대변인 ” 모든 채널 동원해 정보수집하고 있다”
미 국무부 : 북측에 유감 표명. 평양주재 스웨덴 대사관통해 접촉시도
The US Reaction
American ambassador, Stevens: “We don’t have clear information. We will react after checking what happened.”
Representative of the US Military Affair Department, Robert Wood: “We collect information using all kinds of channels”
The US Military Affair Department: Expressing their regret to the side of the North Korean Government  and trying to contact the Swedish Embassy that is located in Pyongyang.
국내외 언론반응 – 외신과 극과 극
국내 보수단체 극우파들은 억류사태에 이념공격에 정치문제화하며 열심히 악플도배중
국내 보수지와 일부통신사 : 억류 이유 추측보도 남발하거나 억류이유 언급하지 않고 반북이데올로기에 치중돼 있음. “무슨 이유인지 알수 없으나 억류중”
미국등 외신들 : 여기자 억류 이유에 대한 보도가 중심임. “촬영 제재를 거부해 체포”
AP통신 -19일자  중국 국경 부근 조선족자치주 연길시에서 단둥시 근처 압록강으로 향하는 중에 천기원씨와 조우. (천기원 두리하나 탈북자 선교단체 대표와 전화통화 인용 보도)
천대표는 국경부근이 위험하므로 이들이 국경에 가는 것을 만류했다고 함.
CBS – 북한에 접근하지 말라는 경고를 무시했다.(역시 취재원은 천대표인 듯)
they ignored warnings to stop shooting footage of the reclusive country but a third managed to elude capture, news reports and an activist with ties to the reporters said Thursday.
AP Correspondence on the 19th – They met Cheon Ki-won in between Yanji, Ethnic Korean Autonomous Region near border of China and North Korea and the Yalu River in Dandong City. (The news talked with Cheon Ki-won who is the representative of the Christian Missionary Group for North Korean defectors). He encouraged them not to go to the border for their safety.
CBS – Those journalists disregarded the warning not to be close to North Korea (It seems that CBS contacted Mr. Cheon as well)
“ they ignored warnings to stop shooting footage of the reclusive country but a third managed to elude capture, news reports and an activist with ties to the reporters said Thursday.”
북은 “법대로” 언론들은 “북핵 미사일 등 협상사안과 연계
어쨌든 사태가 해결되길 바라지만 이번 사건은 북한측의 문제라기 보다는 이들 취재진의 겁없는 행동이 발단이 된듯 하네요. 북한 국경을 침범하는 등 취재진의 과실이 분명해진다면 해결이 매우 어려울 테고 미국측의 협상 노력도 만만하지는 않을 듯.
북측이 이번 건 해결을 두고 미사일 문제 북핵 협상과정에서 우위를 차지할 수도 있고 아예 무관한 사안으로 취급할 수도 있는데 유엔 북대사의 말을 빌자면 “법대로”라는 말에서 여타 외교적 사안과 무관하게 처리할 것이라는 분위기.
North Korea would be in an advantageous situation about negotiating North Korean nuclear missiles due to this scandal. Or they might treat this scandal completely separate. North Korean Representative of the UN said, “following the law.” It seems that they will deal with this separately from diplomatic issues.
3:
북한을 뜨거운 감자처럼 여기고 있는 중국이 어떻게 대응할지도 관심사. 들고 있기에는 너무 뜨겁고, 그렇다고 삼킬 수도 없고. 만일 북한이 두만강을 건너 기자들을 억류한 것이라면 문제는 심가해진다. 북한문제를 해결함에 있어서 중국의 도움을 간절히 기대하고 있는 미국. 미국의 쇠퇴를 틈타 동북아의 판도를 다시 짜기를 희망하는 중국. 두 나라가 이번 사건을 계기로… 자기들끼리 쑥덕쑥덕…오마이 갓. 암튼 우리나라로선 신경을 바싹 곤두세워야 할일이 하나 더 늘어난 셈이다.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kyrgyzstan: Annual ‘Tulip’ Protests · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Michael Hancock argues about the reasons of popular dissatisfaction with the authorities in Kyrgyzstan, where street protests have already become a tradition.


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Kyrgyzstan: The Opposition’s Smoking Gun · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Kyrgyz opposition figure Alikbek Djekshenkulov’s prize pistol is at the center of a murder trial, reports Elena.


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Kyrgyzstan: Who Died in the Burnt Car? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

A high-ranking Kyrgyzstani official has may have died in a horrible car wreck, reports Elena.


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Lao idioms · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Bryan, A Laotian American writer, identifies some of the popular Lao idioms.


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Laos: Blog of a coffee cooperative · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A blog was set-up by a coffee cooperative in southern Laos.


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Latvia: Nothing special, just crisis… · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Baltic reflects on the economic crisis in Latvia, departing from the slogan “Nothing special, just crisis” – a phrase uttered by the country's former finance minister, showing what many Latvians consider an alienated political élite.


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Malaysia unveils its second stimulus plan · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysia’s first stimulus plan last year was inadequate. So the government unveiled a second stimulus program this month. In his speech at the Parliament, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister defended the stimulus package:
The thrusts of the Stimulus Package are as follows:
– First : Reducing Unemployment and Increasing Employment Opportunities;
– Second : Easing the Burden of the Rakyat, in particular, the Vulnerable Groups;
– Third : Assisting the Private Sector in Facing the Crisis; and
– Fourth : Building Capacity for the Future.
He adds that “The Government is confident that the strategies and measures outlined in this Stimulus Package are comprehensive to prevent our economy from slipping into deep recession.”
We cannot depend on orthodox economic recovery policies. We must be bold in formulating innovative approaches to deal with the crisis. This is a very challenging time for all of us. We must be ready and strong to face the challenges ahead. We must draw upon our past experience to overcome the crisis.
myAsylum thinks the stimulus plan will not work:
Bailout sounds bad, but stimulus sounds positive, even though if analyzed, the RM 60B package doesn’t seem like it was designed to stimulate much of anything that can be construed as productive. Except maybe stimulate the public sector into growing even more bloated than it already is
E Contrario points out that the package does not address unemployment and poverty in Malaysia:
The package left out institutional reforms, made no mention in strengthening regulatory mechanism and improvement of economic governance.
As a result, we learn nothing from the crisis. We have not even embarked on any serious institutional reforms after we were hit by 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
The package has not addressed the crisis of massive unemployment and escalating poverty, especially urban poverty.
We are uncertain what will be mechanism to ensure funds injected into the economy can ‘trigger’ down to the bottom of the society. While uttering rhetorics against rampant neo-liberalism, the Government seems to blindly believe in the market to do the distribution.
Malaysian Economic Front hopes the stimulus will revive the economy in less than two years:
We must consider that government spending will never be able to restore or create demands to match for the demand of our goods before the economic downturn occurs. Due to the lower exports, our manufacturing sector will contract and capacity will be cut down to a sustainable levels Therefore plans must be laid to absorb retrenched workers from the affected sector.
When the stimulus was announced, it failed to inspire the stock market. Anil Netto notes that the stimulus plan is viewed as “belated official recognition that the country is being hard hit by the global economic and financial turbulence, with worse to come.” In a funny post, Art Harun instructs readers on how to earn from the stimulus.
Part of the stimulus involves scholarships for post-graduate studies. However, only few candidates are applying.
A member of Parliament  lists his economic proposals. Vijay also suggests the following:
- Barter trade to partially circumvent commodity speculators, for example we can exchange our palm oil with Saudi Arabia for their crude oil.
-  Unless you can prove that our country is in imminent danger of invasion, sell the scorpene submarines and other military hardware then use the proceeds to upgrade public transportation.
- Retrain a segment of fishermen to do fish farming, to stabilize the price of this diminishing resource, preserve marine ecosystems and save on diesel subsidies.
- Do away with internet provider monopoly, Streamyx service is so bad that businesses that rely on the wired world have had second thoughts about setting up shop here.
The thumbnail used was from the Flickr page of yinnxp


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Russia: Dealing with demographic decline · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Eternal Remont reports on how Russia tries to lure back emigrants to avert the country's seemingly unavoidable demographic decline.


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Russia: Opposition waking up to realities? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

The Ivanov Report departs from its principle of not commenting on Russia's democratic opposition, which he feels refuses the realities of Russian politics for futile protest. As Boris Nemtsov and other opposition leaders are now seeking public office, a change in the opposition's attitude to politics might be discerned.


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Saudi Arabia: Ordeals Facing Single Mothers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Saudi Arabia, Rasha writes about the ordeals divorced mothers face in her country.


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Tajikistan: A Slow Collapse or Not. · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust writes about Tajikistan’s social and economic problems, which have worsened dramatically against the bachground of the global economic crisis.


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Ukraine: Ternopil Regional Council Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Regional council election in the western Ukrainian region of Ternopil took place on March 15, following much political drama.
Ukrainian parliament set the date for the snap election on Dec. 18, 2008 (UKR). On March 3, 2009, 141 MPs from Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc (BYuT) and 147 MPs from Victor Yanukovych‘s Party of Regions voted to cancel the election. One of the parties running in the election – Oleh Tyahnybok‘s All-Ukrainian Union Svoboda (Freedom) – appealed the parliament's decision in court, and won the appeal on March 11. The next day, BYuT appealed the pro-election ruling, but lost on March 14, and, later that day, announced that it would not take part in the election. The Ternopil regional election commission, however, refused to take BYuT off the ballots.
Tyahnybok's Svoboda won the election (34.69%, 153,038 votes, 50 seats out of 120), presidential chief of staff Victor Baloha’s United Center Party came in second (14.2%, 63,143 votes, 20 seats), followed by Yanukovych's Party of Regions (9.8%, 41,303 votes, 14 seats) – and BYuT finished fourth (8.12%, 36,056 votes, 12 seats).
In the previous Ternopil Regional Council election (UKR), held in March 2006, BYuT won 34.49% of the votes, taking 54 seats, pro-presidential People's Union “Our Ukraine” had 31.27% of the votes and 48 seats, while neither the Party of Regions, nor Svoboda were represented in the Ternopil regional council then.
In a March 16 interview (UKR) with Ukrainska Pravda, Tyahnybok announced his plans to run for president of Ukraine in 2010.
Vakhtang Kipiani – LJ user vaxo, a Ukrainian journalist of Georgian descent, who ran (UKR) unsuccessfully for Ukrainian parliament in 2006 on Vitali Klitschko‘s Pora-PRP ticket – wrote this (UKR) about the results of the Ternopil regional council election:
I'm not going to congratulate anyone – because 34 percent for xenophobes and ultra-patriots isn't an event that fills one with joy. Inefficiency of corrupt and dishonest politicians who call themselves democrats always produces various dragons – from the red ones to brown.
I don't see anything dangerous about it, it's nothing but the symptoms of an illness, not the illness itself. A regional council, fortunately, isn't a place where the [“Protection of Ukrainians Program” – UKR] or whatever it's called can be carried out.
If the democratic, liberal right is missing in Ternopil region – this is when Tyahnybok's guys come to that spot. This was going to happen. And it has happened.
P.S. Ten percent of the [Party of Regions people] in the [fine Ternopil region] – that's [sick], too.
Below are a few comments (UKR) to Kipiani's post:
mykolap:
They've voted for those who are visible locally – it's all logical.
sunshine_ok:
That's true that this time local personalities have got the votes, not Yulia, or Vitya, or someone else. […]
And here is a similar observation (UKR) from LJ user ollko:
[…] In Ternopil region, Svoboda and United Center have basically done open list voting. There were no “outsiders” who [had paid to be included on the party lists]. Their people are known in districts and villages. This is one more explanation of the result they got. People are tired of brands and want specific individuals. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Ukraine: West turns its back on Kiev? · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Kiev Ukraine News Blog re-posts a Newsweek piece, which argues that the United States and the European Union are turning their backs on Ukraine, reverting the celebratory politics of an increasingly distant Orange revolution.


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Uzbekistan: Enemy of the Internet · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Yelena writes that Uzbekistan was called an ‘enemy of the Internet’ in recently published survey by Reporters Without Borders.


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Vietnam: Yahoo! 360 to close blog service · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

News about the decision to Yahoo! 360 to end its blog service has alarmed many Vietnamese. Yahoo! 360 is the most popular blog platform in Vietnam.


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Africa: Mixta Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Learn about Mixta Africa from Emeka, “Mixta Africa's philosophy is to build safe, decent housing at competitive, transparent prices, in the minimum time and to international quality standards.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Bahrain: A Mother’s Perspective · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Rick Beeman is an American living in Bahrain – and he asked his mother to write about her experience of visiting the country: “Here I am on the other side of the world for the first time in the Middle East… Bahrain so far has shown me some very beautiful architecture, some of the most gracious and friendly people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: Come back to where you belong · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini activist Esra'a argues why she chooses to stay home and work for her causes: “No government, no sole leader, no foreign interference will result in social change in any country of the Middle East – it comes from collective efforts. People like you. And if you’re living and working abroad simply for financial reasons and the opportunities it offers I suggest you come back to where you belong.”


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Bahrain: Internet Puzzle · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahrain blogger Hussain Yousif has a question: “As a provider, I know that deals for installing and configuring censorship solutions are held between the ISP’s and the providers. The providers are at most agents\resellers for an international provider. The new thing is that the “UNIFIED” solution is suggested by the government, bought by the ISPs, billed back to the government. The puzzle is: who owns the licenses?”


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Barbados: BNB & CLICO  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living in Barbados republishes a piece by a Bajan economist which suggests that the government's repurchasing of the Barbados National Bank may not be the best solution to the CLICO situation.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados: Impact on Tourism · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Although we applaud the current Minister of Tourism…for taking the bold step to restructure the Barbados Tourism Authority Board, what purpose will it serve if we have a tarnished brand to sell?”: Barbados Underground is concerned about the future of the island's tourism sector.


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Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Don’t Worry, Be Happy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“When a really uptight person marries another who is way laidback, we who attend the wedding always make the optimistic assumption that the uptight person will learn to relax a little bit – but it often pans out the other way around”: Barbados-based B.C. Pires thinks that “on that basis, West Indies coach John Dyson, whom we all hoped would instil discipline and rigorous concentration in the team, seems to have caught Don’t-Worry-Be-Happy from us.”


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Bermuda: It’s a Secret  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Every major government that I can think of publishes its accounting, auditing, and contracting standards.  Why is Bermuda hiding behind a bureaucratic wall? You can’t have accountability if the rules themselves are held secret!”: Vexed Bermoothes wonders “if Government [is] really serious about Public Access to Information.”