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Rwanda: Bloggers Discuss Presidential Election 2010 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Rwandan presidential election was held in Rwanda on 9 August 2010. Preliminary results released by the National Electoral Commission show that President Kagame has won by a landslide.
What does Kagame's victory mean to Rwanda? Was the election free and fair? What are the real challenges facing Rwanda now that the election is over? These are some of the issues that bloggers are discussing following the release of preliminary results.
Susan Thomson of Democracy Watch Rwanda 2010 says that that Kagame's re-election is not a surprise because the opposition was silenced:
As predicted by friends and foes alike, Paul Kagame has been re-elected by a landslide. This is no surprise as the opposition was silenced. Some critics assume that because Kagame and his RPF did not allow the opposition to register as formal political parties that the major crisis facing Rwanda is its weak political opposition. I have never thought this was a major consideration as there is very little chance of political power to pass democratically. The opposition is divided, has no meaningful or even distinct platform, and likely has little support among elites and peasant folks alike (we don't actually know because no one has asked Rwandans themselves what they think).
The real challenge for Rwanda, argues Susan, lies in the power struggle within the ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF):
The real issue now that the elections are over is the undeniable emergence of a power struggle within the ruling RPF. This has not been reported upon in any meaningful way. Partly, I'm sure, because critical academics and journalists have yet to interview the main actors. We are working with newspaper interviews, and Kagame's reaction to these public offerings in campaign speeches and during his monthly meeting with journalists based in Kigali.
What we do know is that since the RPF took power in 1994, it has continued to consolidate power in its own hands. We don't know the political intentions or power base of those that have fallen out with Kagame.
Most significant is Kagame's sidelining of much of the RPFs military elite. These include several senior officers who were in the bush with Kagame, and who arguably had a role in forming the then-rebel RPF. These include, among others, General Sam Kaka and General Frank Rusagara. In 2001, General Kayumba Nyamwasa also fell out with Kagame, as well, and in 2005 the head of external intelligence Colonel Patrick Karegeya was arrested on allegations of insubordination.
This much is widely known. The divisions with the RPF came to a head when General Kayumba fled into exile in South Africa. In addition, two other generals (Karake and Muhire) were arrested, accused of masterminding the grenade attacks that happened in the spring. In sum, most of the senior RPF military brass from 1994 have fled into exile or have been arrested (a few have retired and have been relieved of their duties).
The election results were a foregone conclusion. The question was how much was Kagame going to win by:
There was no discussion about who would win Rwanda’s 2010 Presidential election among Rwandan and foreign hacks as we drove through the eastern provinces yesterday afternoon. As we passed shuttered polling stations, the betting began. How much would President Paul Kagame win by?
By 5pm, we’d heard three preliminary results from three separate polling stations. The consensus in the car put the win at around 96%. I’ll admit, I went for a 90% Kagame win purely for pragmatic reasons. As far as I understand it, and please correct me if I’m wrong, the opposition parties need 5% of the vote each to secure government funds to stay in existence.
If the preliminary result of almost 93% for Kagame stands, I’m not sure what it will mean for the opposition, such as it is,
According to the preliminary results released by the National Electoral Commission, President Kagame won by 92.9 percent. The PSD candidate, Dr. Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo, has 4.9 %, Prosper Higiro from the Liberal party (PL) 1.5 % and the PPC candidate, Dr Alvera Mukabaramba 0.7 %. link
Graham Holliday looks at unreported issues around the election. He begins with the campaign period:
Campaign period
The crowds at the RPF campaign rallies were colossal. This show of strength was aimed at three audiences. To Rwandans, it emphasizes the strength and perceived popularity of the RPF. To foreign observers, it’s a fantastic piece of PR for the ruling party. In addition, and most importantly according to western diplomatic sources, this impressive show of support was directed at “enemies of Rwanda outside Rwanda”.
He then goes on to discuss what he calls “Rwanda PR machine melts down”:
It was just late 2009 when the head of a western NGO talked to me about how incredible Rwanda’s PR machine is. “How do they run their ship so tightly?”, she asked. Well, 2010 saw that ship all but sink. It’s unclear whether any amount of professional shoring up will stop the tide of bad press, at least in the short term. How did it happen and happen so quickly?
Grenade attacks, defections, assassinations, press freedom and repression of political opposition… they are regularly bundled into your average Rwanda story. There is no proof (that I know of) linking any of these events, but the portrayal by western media often leaves readers with the impression that some or all of these events can be linked and linked back to the government.
For example, the common narrative with the banning of Umuseso and Umuvugizi newspapers for six months is that this is a bad thing. However, I’m reliably told that both Umuseso and Umuvugizi regularly fabricated entire stories and made up quotes. Sure, the 6 month ban looks draconian, but it’s clear these papers were, at best, unprofessional.
Another case is Victoire Ingabire’s FDU-Inkingi Party party which was not allowed to register for the Presidential election. She has been held under house arrest and had her passport taken away. Western media outlets often portray this as blatant suppression without looking at some of the more damaging facts. Ingabire refuses to divulge how her party is financed and she is President of two somewhat dodgy Rwanda diaspora parties – the RDR and FDU.
The election was flawed and the country is fractured. Is Rwanda progressing or regressing?:
However, given that the elections have been marred by fundamental breaches of democratic principles, it is irritating and shocking that some sections of the international media are not yet sure whether Rwanda is progressing or regressing.
Paul Kagame has developed a cultivated an image that is almost impossible to criticize, notes Nkunda:
Paul Kagame has cultivated a certain image that is almost impossible to criticize. In a way, this image is responsible for corrupting democracy. Many of the Anglophone journalists and writers, who first came to Rwanda, did so under the protégé of the RPF. Kagame was always (and is still) media/PR conscious. He knew from the beginning that he would never win the battle without the latter’s help. Journalists were ushered to strategic locations where the worst crimes had been committed, and they were fed with a simplified and protected version of the Rwandan history—which glorified the Tutsi army while demonizing their opponents.
According to Nkunda, disputing the “protected version” of the Rwandan story is a crime:
In this story, the Hutu majority are wanton killers who (with no context) turned against their innocent Tutsi neighbors and butchered them for 100 days. The RPF is the army that fought to stop these killings. 16 years later, this story is still widely mimicked, and is used to justify Kagame’s despotism and to feign off any criticism.
It is important to note that serious questions have been raised on the story’s accuracy.  Counteracting the story remains the highest crime in Rwanda. For instance, it is illegal to question the story of President Habyarimana’s assassination, to claim (despite the overwhelming evidence) that the RPF was involved in serious crimes against humanity. Needless to say, it is in Kagame’s interest and that of the RPF elites that this story is protected and given credence.
It is therefore no wonder that the greatest enemy to the RPF establishment is anyone who dares refute or question the story.
Rwandan election took place against the backdrop of some unsettling events, observes Will Jones:
* Much of the opposition crumbled: Victoire Ingabire (remember her?) was arrested, and the Canadian avowed revisionist Peter Erlinder was sent in to be her lawyer, and was promptly arrested too. For a very interesting take on what the hell it is with Canadians and genocide denial, see here. Here she is adding her ever-mature voice to the debate (brink of collapse? Give me a break). Another party collapsed into internal infighting (allegedly the result of RPF interference). The registered opposition gamely ran a couple of rallies, but when Kigaliwire went along to this Liberal Party rally, everyone there said they were voting for Kagame anyway.
* People are dead: Andre Kagwa Rwisekera, deputy of the Democratic Green Party, was found by a river with his head nearly hacked off. Jean Leonard Rugambage, acting editor of the suspended newspaper Umuvuguzi, was shot dead in front of his home in Kigali. Paul Kagame blames foreign dissidents, as usual.
* At least one other is lucky not to be dead: Former General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa was shot near his Johannesburg home. I've blogged a bit about Kayumba before, but I'd rather leave comment on this and the other killings to another full post.
* Former RPF insider and now exiled dissident Patrick Karegyeya is now openly calling for violence. Kagame's response was less than confidence-inspiring: ‘those that want war, we will give war’
He also looks at international coverage of Rwandan election:
However, and interestingly, the international coverage is completely different. For a start, the guardian's coverage has been uniformly brilliant (kudos to Gavin Illsley for spotting this excellent piece  on Rwanda's Western PR firm) and detailed, which is itself new. In general, though, there is a critical tone to the journalism coming out of the international press which is completely new (see the New York Times, the Huffington Post, the Observer, and the Mail and Guardian  for details). More on why the wheels might be coming off the international charm offensive in a later post, but for a start, we might look to the brave new breed of critical blogs out there, such as Democracy Watch, Coloured Opinions, and Texas in Africa (this one is particular is great).
Final important thought: the ever-brilliant Jason Stearns points out that in Rwanda, as in many places, elections are a distraction from politics, not the thing itself.
Finally, according to Will Jones, the most important news of all concerning Rwanda is this: Rwanda has it's first ice-cream parlour!

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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South Africa: The Liberation of Afrikaans · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sean Jacobs writes about a new film by a South African filmmaker Dylan Valley called Afrikaaps, which focuses on the neglected roots of the Afrikaans language.

source: news-globalvoices

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


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South Korea : Lost in Translation, Especially During Vacations · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Translation is probably one of the most grueling and painstaking works in the world, but in South Korea, a country someone’s English ability functions as a powerful ladder to success, it is close to harrowing. When this phrase was made, lots of people nodded their heads in approval; ”Speaking English in front of Koreans is the hardest”. This gives a glimpse of Koreans who become quite self-conscious when they use English in front of fellow Korean, their judgmental folks. Many Koreans whom spent years of study and tremendous money on learning English pay rapt attention when anyone starts using English, listening very carefully but sneekly to people’s pronunciation and grammar. Some junior high schools kids who only have learn basic grammar often make a bold mistake of correcting other's right grammar.
The translators are the one who often get full blast of the English craziness and stress. Once a movie got released, angry responses are fired at the translator for butchering the flow of the movie by inappropriate or inaccurate translation. As Korea entered the summer vacation season, people who choose to download movies or barrow DVDs during their retreats have resumed venting their English-stress to some translators, randomly igniting a controversy here and there over the web.
Hong Joo-hee is a top-tier translator and 10 year business veteran, who translated ‘Transformer’, ‘Taken’, ‘Star Trek:the beginning’ and ‘Red Cliff’ in Korean, and she went under fire again recently for her previous works. Her translation was once praised as ‘strong, but sensitive’ before she lost touch with mainstream audience on the movie ‘Marie Antoinette’, where numerous out of context slangs and abbreviations (like the English words of OMG or LOL) indeed ruined the medieval and classical atmosphere of the movie. After the movie ‘Star Trek’, harsh criticism from SF fans were heap on Hong for failing to apply the exact terms on some weapons appeared in the movie, a mistake that would have gone unnoticed by non-SF enthusiasts. One SF fan blogger even talked trash to the translator saying ‘even though you can ruin other movie, wont you dare to butcher the ‘sacred SF film’.
A blogger Doremi, who has experience in the translation business commented that some translator’s arrogance made them lazy in search and study for more accurate translation, bashing hard on some translation work as ‘retarded’.
문제는 자기가 그 언어를 잘 한다는 자신감으로 인해 자기가 모르는 분야의 생소한 용어를 조사하고 공부할 생각을 안하고 자기가 아는 단어로 적당히 대체한다는 것이 아닐까 싶습니다. 글쎄요, 헐리우드식 블록버스터 영화라면 군대와 경찰이 자주 등장하니 그와 관련된 용어들, 예를 들면 계급이나 무기 등등에 대해서는 조사를 하는 것 그것이 번역자의 기본 마음가짐이라고 생각합니다.
An image of Hangul (한글, below) from Wikipedia
It is not the individual translator’s fault sometimes. Korean language, just like several other Asian languages, is very decorative and has totally irrelevant sentence structure to the English language. It is nonetheless the very nature of the language that adds much burden upon translators’ shoulders. To aggravate the already hostile situation, there is the honorific in Korean language that shift words, suffices and titles (sometimes require whole new sentences) according to the relation and status of person in conversation. This is so complex that even some young Koreans often get confused. And the translator is no exception. Several documentary films or history channels have struggled to get these honorifics right. Since some honorific may go out of use in current Korean language, the atmosphere they create is quite distinct, evoking very old-fashioned but gentle and solemn vibe. The blogger Jekyll10 pointed out that some archaic honorific which translators used indiscriminately was vexing. The blogger said it is wierd to watch ‘Haoche’, one of Korean obsolete honorifics which ends the sentence with ‘-so’, being used by a young male character in a movie ‘Leap Year’ where a blackberry appears.
근데 이 작품에서 나오는 남자들은 몽땅 다 소 타령이에요…노인들 대사는, 좋아요, 백 번 양보해서 노인들이라 하오체 섞었다고 치죠… 젊디 젊은 남자 주인공 ‘데클랜’은, 좀 툭툭하는 성격이라고 하오체 써도 되는 건가요… 지금 분명히 방금 막 ‘보스턴에서 온 아나’가 블랙베리 충전하려다가 구워 삶은 걸 본 것 같은데… 영화도 딱 기대한 만큼 아주 좋았는데 자막 때문에 좀 신경질이 났네요.
The blogger Bona98 who spend quite a time in video translation business went on translator’s defense. The blogger explained the difficulty the translation, especially the video translation.
아니, 왜 번역을 하다 말았어?? 실제로 저 문장은 제 이웃님들 중의 한 분이 제게 하셨던 말이에요…가장 큰 차이점은 영상 번역은 문서 번역과 달리 시간이 한정되어 있다는 점, 길이가 한정되어 있다는 점, 평소 사용하는 말투를 써야 한다는 점….미드나 영화 보시면 배우가 말 진짜 빨리 하잖아요. 하지만 최대 16글자씩 두 줄이라는 제한이 있어요 [띄어쓰기 포함]
…어쨋든 그리하여 간혼 내용의 흐름에 중요하지 않은 말들은 번역에서 빼버릴 수 밖에 없답니다…아무튼 그래서 업체나 방송국에서는 번역가라는 호칭 대신 ‘영상 번역 작가'라는 호칭을 사용해줘요. 아무래도 내용을 조합해서 창조해내는 직업이기 때문에 작가라는 호칭을 쓰는 것 같아요.
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If this situation were limited to the movie, it would have been just minor inconvenience. Sometimes this negligent distortion is done half-intentionally by local media. Some local media have been reporting foreign media’s response to local issues in a mildly modified and tuned manners. A blogger Myopy uses to cross-check the local media’s report on foreign press with the original news article. Below is the part where the blogger blames South Korea’s Chosun for adjusting the tone of the original article, worrying it can lead into serious misunderstanding on a politically sensitive issue.
(NYT Headliner) “U.S. Implicates North Korean Leader in Attack” (Chosun’s) Headliner : NYT “미국정보당국, 천안함 ‘김정일’명령 결론“ 헤드라인의 뉘앙스가 큰 차이를 보인다…본문기사를 보면 조선일보가 예전과 같이 소설수준의 인용을 하지는 않았다. 하지만 적절한 생략과 함축을 통해 원문의 뉘앙스를 조선일보 입맛에 맞게 전달하고 있다.
The distortion is not always limited to conservative, right-wing media. Other blogger have criticized a MBC (one of major TV networks) left-leaning investigative program ‘PD Notebook’ for distorting the interview translation.
The translation on other languages beside English and several other familiar languages like Japanese and Chinese, are the real death traps, since there are fewer, much fewer people who can detect the errors. A blogger Kates-isa, South Korean female student now studying in an Indonesian university, pointed out serious translation errors which have occurred in KBS’s (one of major TV networks) primetime news.
문제는 현지인 인터뷰 번역이다. 첫번째 인터뷰. 리나 루비스(부상자) : 2층 계단에서 내려오는 도중에 집이 무너져 내려서 오른쪽 다리가 부러졌어요. 하지만 원본을 들어보자. 원본 : ada di lantai 2 waktu lagi les,jadi eh turun waktu udah di anak tangga terakhir semua udah roboh. 번역 : 2층에서 레슨을 받고 있었어요, 그리고 내려와서 마지막 계단에 도착했을때 모든것이 무너졌어요. * 위 부상자의 오른쪽 다리는 절대 부러지지 않았다. 왜 멀쩡한 다리를 부러뜨리는걸까.
And the beauty of Korean language, the manifold vagueness can be a head-aching, harrowing problem for translators, because you can make a complete Korean sentence without clarifying ‘who’ have done what. It means sometimes translators have to add and cram some words taken from context and create a new sentence when translating from Korean to English. A blogger 2Kim, as part of a book review, elaborated on the delicate art of translation. The blogger explained that a sentence like this “(this is) the cassettes we ordered’’, in Korean language, you can put it as “(this is) cassettes which were ordered”, period.
영어든 한국어든, 주체를 뚜렷하게 밝히는 것이 부담스럽기는 마찬가지랍니다. 나쁜 내용을 얘기할 때는 더욱 그렇겠지요. 그런데 영어는 주어를 생략하면 문장이 성립이 안 된다는 약점(이럴 때는)이 있습니다…그러나 한국어는 (다행스럽게도) 주어를 쓰지 않아도 되는 말글입니다.
This loophole in linguistic structure has been used quite effectively in politics, especially in evading responsibilities.
The more fluent people became in English, the more pressures and complaints are added on translators. But it takes several of all nighters and tons of coffees till anyone to fully understand the painstaking art of translation and the enormous stress people are under as you watch the deadline creeping closer to you every second.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Trinidad & Tobago: Fan Mail · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Nicholas Laughlin discovers a fan letter written to his grandfather, who reportedly “did what is supposed to have been the first live radio commentary on a cricket match in the West Indies, during an inter-colonial tournament at the Queen's Park Oval.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Rock On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

B.C. Pires profiles Trinidadian rock guitarist Damon Homer.


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U.S.V.I.: Lionfish Threat  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As lionfish continue to pose a danger to coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands, News of St. John reports that the government's strategy to eliminating the threat is: “If you can't beat ‘em, eat ‘em.”


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Venezuela: Promoting Folk Art Through Blogs · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

In Venezuela, folk art is one of the most genuine expressions that communities have of their surrounding beauty. Art historian Ricardo Ruíz from the University of the Andes [es] refers to folk art as art that falls outside of academic conventions, and that is often considered “naif” or “rural” (.pdf format). Generally, folk art has been defined as rural art, and its examples, in many cases, were pre-Hispanic works. Folk art has often been thought as less important than other academic art because of its informal state. However, Ruíz considers that the phenomenon of folk art, especially in Venezuela, should be understood as expressions that mutate and move in distinct directions, which follows in the same direction in which the artists intended in regards to beauty, history, life, and death. And now, this art is appearing online, reaching an audience that was not previously possible for many folk artists.
Luis Acosta, one of these folk artists has created a blog as a way to promote other folk artists and published “A Guide to Artisans [es]” An example of one of the artists presented can be found in this video [es]. According to Acosta:
La mayoría de (estos artistas) no disponen de los recursos tecnológicos que provee internet para darse a conocer (…) Esta iniciativa es gratuita e independiente (y) está sustentada por el trabajo voluntario…
Another project in which Acosta, along with 10 other artists, have come together to present their works online for the public in exhibitions is Aravaney [es]. The collective is presented in this video:
On his own blog [es], Acosta shows his work and promotes the work of this fellow artists and artisans:
…me he dedicado al modelado en arcilla y a la pintura desde el año 1984 cuando vivia en caracas , mi ciudad natal, desde 1993 resido en valencia (Venezuela). La imaginería de las devociones religiosas populares de Venezuela , sus personajes típicos y figuras de nuestra historia, han sido los motivos de mi trabajo con la arcilla y la pintura durante estos años (…)  en esta página quiero mostrar ese trabajo y también el de otros creadores y artistas populares de mi país y del mundo…
I'll Give you the Moon and the Stars – by Luis Acosta and republished with permission.
From Caracas, Elgar Ramírez also promotes folk artists and their work through blogs. In his blog, Artesanía en Tapara [es], he shows art made with seeds, wood, and gourds.  Ramírez describes the purpose of the blog:
…es promover y difundir a artesanos que elaboran piezas únicas e irrepetibles, de excelente calidad, en tapara, semillas, madera… Y con la posibilidad de contactarlos directamente.
This photo album showcases the work of Yaritza Molina, who works with gourds in the community of Palo Negro in the Aragua state.
With these initiatives, folk art is now going down roads that had not explored previously. Pieces of art that showcase the aesthetic imagination of its people can now be seen by others around the world thanks to these technological advances, when previously it was only accessible by those living around the place where the art was made. This is one of the many ways that art and technology have worked together in the past several years. It is quite possible that these spaces will be beneficial for the spread of art and the vision of the surroundings that are little known, but that talk about life and the knowledge of a Venezuela that is not well-known outside of its borders.

author: Laura Vidal


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Argentina: Distribution of XO Computers in La Rioja · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

OLPC News notes that Argentine President Cristina Kirchner recently distributed approximately 2,000 XO computers to children in the province of La Rioja.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Azerbaijan: Reputation · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Scary Azeri recounts some personal stories of how people in Azerbaijan love to spread gossip. Also true for the other two countries making up the region, and especially Armenia, such an intrusion into the private lives of others is particularly relished when it comes to presumed relationships between men and women regardless of whether such gossip is true or not.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bangladesh: Ramadan Preparations And Inspirations · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sadiq Alam at Inspirations and Creative Thoughts writes about preparations for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and its inspirations.

author: Rezwan


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Cambodia: Benefit Concert for an art festival · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Samphors Sambo blogs about a concert for the benefit of the 2010 Cambodian Youth Arts Festival

author: Mong Palatino


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Cambodia,Thailand: Background on Preah Vihear Temple · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Mirror, a Cambodia-based paper, provides a historical background on the conflict over the ownership of Preah Vihear Temple. Cambodia and Thailand are disputing the ownership of the temple.


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China: Foreigners’ Chinese Tattoos · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

China Hush translated some Chinese character tattoos and advised that “if you don’t understand Chinese and ever were thinking about getting a tattoo of Chinese characters, the advice is to get a second opinion from your knowledgeable Chinese friend”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Same Old?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Following the release of 21 political prisoners, the Cuban government insists on reminding the dissidents and independent journalists that they will continue their repressive policies”: Laritza Diversent blogs about the summoning of “independent journalist Iván García for an interview.”


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Curacao: Experiencing Space  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I must admit that I thought it was a joke at first (and now I just feel very old indeed)”: Repeating Islands confirms that Curacao is gearing up to “be the home of the Caribbean Space Port called Space Experience Curaçao (SXC) [which] envisions realizing a commercial space line and space port at Curaçao International Airport.”


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Global: e-Waste – Recycle or Reuse? · Global Voices
Elena Ignatova

Today, numerous households and businesses are constantly creating great amounts of e-waste (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, or WEEE) and this presents environmental and health threats, as these devices are compiled of toxic substances.
‘WEEE-man’ at  London South Bank, by Flickr user polymer808, under Creative Commons Attribution License
According to StEP (Solving the e-Waste Problem),
E-waste is a term used to cover almost all types of electrical and electronic equipment that has or could enter the waste stream. Although e-waste is a general term, it can be often considered to cover TV’s, computers, mobile phones, white goods (fridges, washing machines, dryers etc.), home entertainment and stereo systems, toys, toasters, kettles – almost any household or business item with circuitry or electrical components with power or battery supply.
Rapid product innovations and replacement, especially in ICT and office equipment, combined with the lower prices for many electrical goods, are escalating the problem with e-waste.
e-Waste management can be divided into reuse or recycling of the old equipment.
Tony Roberts highlights the magnitude of the problem on his blog, Laptop Burns. He writes:
[…] We are creating a toxic time-bomb of over 20 billion items of eWaste that demands our urgent attention. The UN estimates that in 2009 that there were 4.6 billion mobile phones in use worldwide (http://bit.ly/qtwGU). According to World Bank World Development Indicators there were 2.6 billion radios in use in 2005 (http://bit.ly/1KW5U6) and 2 billion TVs (http://bit.ly/1KW5U6). Gartner Research shows that there are now over 1 billion computers in use worldwide (http://bit.ly/uxy68). These volumes are rising rapidly: we now produce and consume over 1 billion additional mobile phones every year. The size of this problem is unprecedented.
[…]
Fortunately there is no mystery about how to end eWaste. We must reduce the carbon footprint of mining and manufacture and reduce the toxics used in the production of EEE. We must agree a common policy framework internationally to promote reuse of working EEE, and recycle all of our own WEEE as well as outlawing the dumping and export of eWaste. And we must enforce the Polluter Pays Principle.
Haley Bowcock discusses reusing old equipment as an alternative to recycling:
[…] There is huge scope for reusing unwanted ICTs, as they are often replaced long before the end of their productive lives, due to rapid product innovation and consumer desires for the latest model. Unwanted ICTs, however, often end up in landfill or enter recycling chains. While there are environmental and human health benefits to safely the recycling end-of-life electronics, these are less pronounced for unwanted ICTs that are yet to reach the end of their productive lives. In fact, empirical research has indicated that reusing a computer is up to 20 times more energy efficient than recycling it.
So, reuse should be promoted and where shown to be the most beneficial waste management option, like with ICT equipment and many other unwanted consumer items, maximised. Fortunately, there are recent developments that suggest reuse may be getting the recognition it deserves. […]
She also links to a special report, Why Reuse is Better Than Recycling, by Computer Aid International, which lists several key findings and recommendations:
Key findings:
Recommendations:
To realise the many benefits of reuse, various stakeholders involved in the management of end-of-life ICTs (and other e-wastes) need to ensure the following:
In the post titled Where Do I Recycle My Old Electronics?, on the Sustainable Electronics Initiative blog, Aida Sefic Williams published a link to Electronic Take-Back and Donation Programs, and gave links to the websites where those who want to recycle could erase personal information from cell phones and computers.
What do you do with your old equipment?

author: Elena Ignatova


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Haiti: Wyclef’s Plans  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dessalines’ Children re-posts a video in which Wyclef Jean outlines “the main issues facing Haiti…how his presidential bid was inspired by Nelson Mandela and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, and why his lack of political experience might work to his advantage in office.”


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Honduras: Blog Community Site · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Honduras Blogs [en/es] is a new bilingual community site to promote and collect information about the work of Honduran and ex-pat bloggers.


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India: The State Of Online Career Networks · Global Voices
Rezwan

Parisista started an experiment to assess the state of affairs of the online career portal market in India and shares the results.


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Jamaica: Police Gangs?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

YardFlex.com reports that the police officer who was filmed via cell phone shooting an unarmed man is to be charged with murder; Active Voice comments: “In the United States many counties do not permit citizens to videotape police in public. I sincerely hope this will not be the recommendation of the committee investigating the killing of Ian Lloyd.”


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Japan: Blogger roll-call · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Yonasu shouts out [en] to a dozen of English writing bloggers, who used to be active in the Japanese blogosphere, but haven't posted anything in the last few months.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Jordan: An Ode to the White Plastic Chair  · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

“My dear white plastic chair: without you, the world wouldn’t be the same,”  Roba at And Far Away writes an ode to the ubiquitous white plastic chair, complete with photos to illustrate its presence in the world.

author: Katharine Ganly


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Lebanon: Hezbollah, STL and Jumblatt · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Friday Lunch Club quotes MP Walid Jumblatt as saying: “Jeffrey Feltman [former US ambassador to Lebanon] informed me, months ago, that the STL [Special Tribunal for Lebanon] was after Hezbollah…” adding that Jumblatt wondered “how can the STL be after justice, when a US official knows of its ‘secret’ decisions before they are made public by the court itself?”

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Once Upon a Time in Beirut · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Once Upon a Time in Beirut” is a sarcastic multi-lingual poem with alternating English, French and Arabic (Lebanese colloquial) lines written by Archangelus.


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Lebanon: Top Tweet · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Israel should publish a guidebook “How to start a war and blame others 101” #lebanese” was  the Darine Sabbagh's comment on the Lebanese border clash of August 3rd and which became a Top Tweet.


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Lebanon: Unique Summers · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Since the beginning of Summer 2010, the Israeli PR machine didn’t take a summer vacation, in fact they doubled the efforts […] to make sure that Lebanese Tourism, which is the living blood of Lebanon’s growth, doesn’t happen,” writes Lebanese Voices on a series of Israeli incursions and about the August 3rd border clashes with the Lebanese Army.


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Liberia: This is the reason I love Monrovia · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A beautiful picture of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia from Glenna Gordon:”There’s something about cloudy day cityscapes that makes me really love Monrovia.”


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Malaysia: Reflections on Independence Day · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Rungitom from Malaysia reflects on the meaning and significance of Independence Day.


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Nagorno Karabakh: Barcamp · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

517 Design [RU] posts photographs of the journey from Armenia to the breakaway territory of Nagorno Karabakh as well as from its first-ever BarCamp. Situated inside Azerbaijan, but mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians with no natural resources to speak of, the self-declared republic hopes to attract interest and investment in the IT sphere.


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Nigeria: Wedding dresses by Bridget Awosika · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Terence Sambo would love to draw your attention to the work of the Nigerian designer Bridget Awosika.


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Pakistan: Bloggers Leading By Example In Helping The Flood Victims · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dr. Awab Alvi at Teeth Maestro informs how some bloggers are engaging online and offline with local communities to collect donations and plan relief efforts for the flood victims of Pakistan.


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Paraguay: Speculation on Succession  · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

After Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo announced that he has cancer, blogger Enrique Ramón Galeano observed that many local newspapers were already speculating on presidential succession [es].


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Philippines: Software Freedom Day · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The website of Software Freedom Day Philippines was recently launched to mark the 6th year of the campaign for free and open source software in the country.


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Russia: Temporary LiveJournal Block in Ingushetia · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Kaloy Akhilgov (aka LJ user kaloy), a press secretary of the president of Ingushetia [EN], confirmed [RUS] the block of LiveJournal.com in the republic [RUS]. He later wrote [RUS] that the block had been removed. The first news about regional block of LiveJournal [RUS] appeared on July 23rd, 2010 but was later denounced.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: “Watchmen Intro” Parody About Police  · Global Voices
Vadim Isakov

Popular Russian political designer and cartoonist Egor Zhgun (aka LJ user zhgun) published [RUS] his parody of “Watchmen Intro” involving sketches of famous misdeeds conducted by the Russian police.

author: Vadim Isakov


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South Korea: Police Raided Google Korea In Street View Probe · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Korean Police raided Google Korea over privacy concerns with Google's Street View Korea Herald reported.


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Taiwan: Dear Premier Wu, Please Stop Calling People “Idiot” · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Enable talks about the recent case[zht] of Premier Wu Den Yih, who was sued by pro-independence group for publicly claiming that “only idiots would support Taiwan independence“. By citing the case of U.S. President Obama, the blog post criticizes Taiwanese politicians, entertainers and TV series for their usual usage of insulting words without knowing that such language choice has seriously harmed people who are mentally or physically challenged and created wrong stigma.

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Trinidad & Tobago: Pan Awards  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands blogs about the steelband fraternity's upcoming awards function, in which “forty-five awards will be handed out to deserving individuals, steelbands, and organizations…”


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Zimbabwe: Hard questions about xenophobia in Africa · Global Voices
Eremipagamo Amabebe

Chris Kabwato of Zimbabwe in Pictures responds to five “hard questions” about xenophobia in Africa. “Every society has to deal with its neighbours…” Kabwato writes. “I am not justifying xenophobia. Just don’t try to make black South Africans feel guilty all the time and not raise legitimate issues around foreigners and their place in their society.”

author: Eremipagamo Amabebe


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Afghan photo bloggers, beyond war and Wikileaks · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

By publishing photos of different aspects of their country, Afghan photo bloggers display an Afghanistan beyond war and Wikileaks.
Nasim Fekrat, an award-winning Afghan blogger, presents us with both the beautiful side of Afghanistan – the country's natural beauty – as well as its “ugly” side, the poverty.
Afghanistan’s Beauty
Band-e Amir Lake, photo copyright Nasim Fekrat (used with permission)
Nasim writes:
Band-e Amir was to become Afghanistan’s first national park in the 1960s, but due to the instability of the Kabul government at the time, this did not happen. In 2004, Band-e Amir was submitted for recognition as a World Heritage site. In 2008, Band-e Amir was finally declared Afghanistan’s first national park.
He also shows the struggle of the poor:
Grim picture of life, near the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, a rare archaeological site. Photo copyright Nasim Fekrat (used with permission)
The blogger says:
Many of the impoverished families living in the caves say they are too poor to live anywhere else even though the government insists that they are doing damage to an the area, near the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan, which is a rare archaeological site. All are refugees who fled areas of fighting during the Taliban era, and have now returned from the other parts of Afghanistan. The cave dwellers are all Hazara, who are religiously and ethnically distinct and survivors of intense persecution by the Taliban.
Asadollah Habibzadeh, a photo blogger and journalist, based in Herat in Afghanistan shares several photos from Herat.
Cartoon exhibition in Herat's library:
The photos take us on a journey into Afghanistan from the bee business in Herat to a womens conference in the city.

author: Fred Petrossian


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African Thinkers on the Origin and Relevance of Ethnic Identity  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Just as the inhabitants of Scandinavia and the Mediterranean countries must be considered as two extreme poles of the same anthropological reality, so should the Negroes of East and West Africa be considered as the two extremes in the reality of the Negro world. Cheikh Anta Diop
Ethnic identity has always been lurking in political discussions in Africa. Yet many African thinkers argue that ethnicity was never a prominent issue until colonization began. Whether ethnocentrism played a major role in the recent polls in many African countries is still being debated but it is certainly cause for concern for many intellectuals advocating for more democratic elections. Other argues that ethnicity might have been polarized by past and present political motivations but it is still a salient reality of the African continent that has to be accounted for in any regional analyses. Evan Lieberman, for instance, argues in his book Boundaries of Contagion that ethnic boundaries in South Africa impedes on the efficiency of HIV/AIDS policies when compared to Brazilian policies.
It goes without saying that ethnicity is a sensitive subject when discussing African policies. When attempting to tackle narratives about Africa, one would be remiss not to recall Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina‘s sarcastic rant in Granta magazine on “How to Write about Africa”:
In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book.
(In a follow up article, Wainaina explains the genesis and the fall out of his rant)
Binyavanga Wainaina by WhiteAfrican on Flickr under CreativeCommons License Attribution 2.0
While Binyavanga Wainaina warns against the pitfall of brushing braod strokes and pay attention to the regional specificities when writing or trying to understand political events in Africa, other writers suggest that ethnic identity is a marginal part of African history to start with and might have lost its relevance with the new generation. Kenyan blogger Andrew Maina reflects on the impact of ethnic identity, especially in the context of elections and the potential generational shift in the relevance of such concept:
Just what relevance, if any ethnic identity has in modernity, even in the life of a person of my generation [..] We Africans have already seen how high the price can be for entire communities caught up in the wrong ‘tribal block’ in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kenya in early 2008 and Rwanda in 1994 being the most graphic cases. Should the fact that you happen to be born to family with ambiguously relations to some fat old man in a suit, a house on a hill be the defining factor on how you vote ..] You mostly end up with a government full of mediocre individuals mostly either lining their pockets with tax money or simply failing to stand up for you when you actually need his assistance. Certainly, ethnicity should not be allowed to dictate some things yet the reality is it often does [..] Mostly the effects are negative, retrogressive, and or unappealing. Can things be different especially now, as I believe many African countries are set to witness a generational shift in leadership to a crop of leaders with no memory of colonialism? Perhaps yes, perhaps not.
African Writers: Raharimanana,  Mabanckou and Nimrod
Anna Gueye, blogger with Senegalese ties, explains that ethnic identities were not part of Africa's heritage until the arrival of colonization [fr]:
Les groupes ethniques sont en grande partie un héritage colonial, qui ont émergé comme des instruments pour contrôler les personnes et se partager leurs ressources [..] Les colons européens ont encouragé l'assimilation des Africains en groupes, par la création d'unités administratives qui ont ensuite été étiquetés en termes ethniques, comme cela s'est produit en Ouganda avec la classification obligatoire des populations locales en fonction de leur «tribu », comme cela s'est produit aussi au Rwanda. [..] Les Africains eux-mêmes ont participé à cette création de « tribus », pour ne pas complètement s’exclure du processus d’allocation des ressources par les colons. L'ethnicité a ainsi été promue et définie afin de « poursuivre l'avantage matériel », pour reprendre la description Crawford Young. Et ce n’est pas fini, les politiciens se maintiennent au pouvoir grâce à ce système
Ethnocentrism was a concern in the pre-electoral period in Guinea as Guinee50 pointed out [fr]:
C’est regrettable et inquiétant que tout problème politique dans ce pays, commence ou finit toujours par des passions ethnocentriques. Disons clairement que nous avons érigé l’ethnocentrisme en mode de vie [..] j'avoue que l'ethnocentrisme est le thème qui m'a beaucoup plus donné l'envie de m'exprimer en ligne pour dénoncer à ma manière les dérives communautaristes
In Madagascar, as elections are approaching, Achille52 bemoans the fact that his country seems to always trail behind on the path of democracy and development. He identifies ethnic identity as one of the reason why Madagascar is always falling behind [fr]:
Les candidats à n’importe élection utilisent deux armes principales, la première est la menace de la guerre tribale. « Ne choisissez pas untel, car il est betsimisaraka !! Ou ce gars est un Betsileo, et il va nuire à votre région !!« . Ce genre de discours est récurrent, et se trouve dans la bouche de tous les politiciens pour une seule raison, l’identité ethnique efface les efficacités du programme électoral. Les candidats n’ont plus besoin de développer les problèmes sociaux, et ce qu’ils comptent faire pour les résoudre.
In the end, African writers Eugène Ebodé (Cameroon) and  Jean-Luc Raharimanana  (Madagascar) believe that  Africa may need to redefine ethnicity and citizenry to move forward [fr]:
Pour que l'Afrique sorte de l'apitoiement et des clichés, il lui faut reconsidérer non pas ce que l'ethnie veut dire et recouvre, mais ce que la citoyenneté partagée révèle comme nouveaux enjeux, nouveaux comportements sociaux, éthiques et politique.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Bahamas: On the Caribbean  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“What is the Caribbean? is not an unanswerable question. But there isn’t — will never be — a single, definitive answer that can encompass the complications of the geographic region named for the Caribs of half a millennium ago, its history and its culture”: So writes Bahamian blogger Nicolette Bethel for The Caribbean Review of Books in her review of anthropologist Sidney Mintz's latest offering.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bhutan: Taxes On Cars And The Concept Of Equality · Global Voices
Rezwan

Dipika critically analyzes the recent increase of the customs duty and sales tax rates on motor vehicles in Bhutan and the concept of equality as a reason behind it.


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Brazil: New Forestry Code = The Right to Deforestation? · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.
Proposed changes to Brazil’s Forestry Code – progressive environment legislation that helps protect native Brazilian forests, including the Amazon – have been passed in a special vote by the Congress’s Special Committee on Forestry Law Changes, sparking fury among scientists and environmental NGOs and making this an increasingly important topic of discussion for Brazilians. The issue centers on whether the preserved areas obstruct agricultural development or not, while specialists warn that there will be an ecological catastrophe if the ecosystem is put at risk.
The text-base of the reform has many controversial points, such as the decrease in sizes of protected areas, called Permanent Preservation Areas (Área de Preservação Permanente (APPs) in Portuguese). This has been shown to have direct links with urban tragedies, as Raquel Rolnik, urbanist and special United Nations rapporteur on rights for adequate housing, points out in her blog [pt]:
Outra mudança foi a redução para 15m – e não 7,5m como estava previsto – das faixas de mata ciliar ao longo dos rios de menos de 5m de largura. O texto atual do código define esta área em 30m.
Nas áreas urbanas, as tragédias que vimos em abril deste ano no Rio de Janeiro e, agora, em Pernambuco e Alagoas, continuarão acontecendo se as matas das APP não forem pensadas de forma a preservar a qualidade e volume dos mananciais e assim prevenir inundações e enchentes e evitar riscos para a vida das pessoas. Além disso, como eu já falei aqui, as APP precisam ser pensadas em suas diversas funções e contextos – tanto rurais quanto urbanos.
The lack of riparian forests can cause landslides like those that occurred in Rio de Janeiro. See the video above by YouTube user 3333marcio1.
NGOs and environmental institutions have joined forces to set up the website SOS Florestas [pt] in order to call for a debate about the new forestry code. In partnership with Avaaz, they have also set up an online petition urging Brazilian MPs to reject any attempt to alter or weaken the code, which would “dramatically reduce the size of protected land and give complete amnesty to environmental crimes”. The target is 200,000 signatures, and there are already over 146,000.
They are arguing against a key point in the new forestry code bill: according to the new code, areas known as legal reserves – a percentage of native areas that must be left untouched by private business – will be reduced from 80% to 50% of the total area of properties in the Amazon rainforest. In the Atlantic forest the figure is already 20%. As CooperadaMente [pt] writes, each ecosystem has its own needs:
A função da Reserva Legal é de manter dentro de cada propriedade, uma percentagem mínima de vegetação nativa, que cumpre uma importante função ecológica como habitat para a biodiversidade e fornece diversos serviços ambientais como o estoque de produtos florestais, controle de pragas e incêndios, melhoria da produção de água; na proteção do solo e corpos d’água evitando erosão e assoreamento; e captação de carbono da atmosfera; (…)
A grande maioria das propriedades rurais brasileiras não possui as áreas de preservação permanente (APPs) e de reserva legal (RL), conforme determina o código florestal. O PL 6424 é uma tentativa de estimular os proprietários rurais a regularizarem sua situação perante o código florestal. A legislação brasileira atual já prevê, em alguns casos específicos, mecanismos de compensação, onde o proprietário compensa o dano ambiental causado em sua propriedade por meio de aquisição direta de uma área com vegetação nativa em região próxima à sua propriedade ou através de cotas de reserva florestal.
On the other hand, there are people who disagree with the argument that private business should maintain areas for preservation. Despite agreeing with the need for APPs, the agronomist Ciro Siqueira [pt] dismisses the need for farmers to keep Legal Reserves:
Função social de propriedade é produzir (…)
Quem tem que preservar florestas a bem social é o Estado. É para isso que existe o Estado. Produtores rurais privados têm que produzir alimentos da forma menos impactante possível, usando eficientemente recursos como adubos, herbicidas, mão de obra, conservando solo, etc. Esse ator econômico presta função social relevante ao fazer esse papel. Quem tem que preservar florestas socialmente importantes é o Estado. Caso haja propriedades em regiões ecologicamente importantes onde a preservação conflita com a produção, não deve haver produtores nessa região e o Estado deve removê-los completamente.
Deforested area cleared for soya crops in the Amazon rainforest, Santarem town, Pará State, Brazil. Photo: leoffreitas, available on Flickr with a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License
The text-base of the reform also provides for two other controversial points. One is amnesty for those who have already committed environmental crimes and would have been made to pay the government in the long-run – the amnesty will cost around R$10 billion (approximately US$ 5 billion) to the treasury. The second issue is exempting small properties – ranging from 20 to 44 hectares – from having any preserved areas at all. This could lead to large properties being falsely divided into small parts and registered as such in order to take advantage of the law.
Lou Gold, an American environmentalist based in the state of Acre in Brazil, analyzes how the Brazilian situation resembles that in other countries such as the US, where “development has already destroyed 90% of its original primary forestland”. Gold explains how an ad campaign in the US has influenced the effort to dilute Brazil's forestry code:
Unfortunately, an NGO-inspired ad campaign targeting US farm support for REDD payments in the energy (“climate change”) bill claimed that an end to tropical deforestation would mean more profits in the US. The ad stupidly said, “Farms Here, Forests There” and this was used in Brazil to mobilize support for WEAKENING the Forest code. Avoided Deforestation Partners scurried to produce a second report claiming that halting deforestation would also benefit Brazilian farmers but the damage was done. […]
I must caution readers not to think that loss of the primary Brazilian forest is somehow a result of unenlightened attitudes of Brazilians in comparison with North Americans. Here are the facts: Brazil has about 80% standing forest in the Amazon with about 30% with some level of fragmentation and 50% as relatively pristine. On the other hand, the U.S. has less than 10% of its historical primary forest standing and it still has not been able to pass a law ending the logging of old-growth trees. Actually, the comparable situation in Brazil is in the Atlantic Rainforest (near the economically developed population centers) which is also reduced to near 10%. In other words, development seems to have destroyed forests equally in BOTH places.
According to the SOS Floresta website, today the Atlantic forest covers less than 7% of its original area, whereas the Amazon Forest has 80% of native vegetation. Photo: Luiz Felipe Castro. Available on Flickr with a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons.
Curupira
The rapporteur of the bill by the Special Commission in the Lower House of Congress, the Brazilian Communist Party federal deputy Aldo Rebelo, has claimed that the new law will regulate areas that have already been devastated at the same time as it will forbid deforestation for five years to come. However, the new forestry code has been pushed by a bloc of Brazilian legislature known as the ‘ruralistas’ due to their ties to agribusiness, and praised by its leader, Democrat Party senator Kátia Abreu.
On the other hand, Mr. Rebelo came in for criticism by environmentalists and scholars, including the coordinator of the Program for Native People Studies at the University of Rio de Janeiro, Professor José Ribamar Bessa Freire. In his Taqui Pra Ti (TQPT) blog, Bessa wrote a story in which he “interviewed” Curupira, the supernatural guardian of the forest and woodlands, who “claimed” that Deputy Aldo Rebelo “assaulted me, hit my body with a club, ripped my shirt off, and tried to get rid of me following orders given by Senator Abreu”:
Curupira portrayed by the actor Erick Krominski in photo essay by Vini Manià. Used with permission.
TQPT – Doutor Curupira, o meritíssimo já encontrou com o Aldo lá na floresta? Porque se ele fala tanto, é porque deve ter andado por lá…
C – O Aldo é um urbanóide, nunca colocou o pé na floresta. Por isso, acha que a mata é hostil. É hostil lá pra ele e pras negas dele, não para os povos que fizeram da floresta sua morada. Aldo fala em ‘choças insalubres’, mas o arquiteto Severiano Porto elogia a construção de malocas, confessa que aprendeu arquitetura com os índios. Aldo desconsidera mudanças e revoluções ocorridas nas sociedades amazônicas, registradas pelos arqueólogos. Ignora a arte, a música, a literatura, os conhecimentos na área de botânica, zoologia, astronomia, medicina, produzidos pelos índios. Nem suspeita que os índios criaram um código florestal oral. Ele afirma que “a conquista da Amazônia se deu com a expedição de Pedro Teixeira (1637-1639)”, como se a história começasse com os portugueses. Ignora que a Amazônia foi ‘conquistada’ pelos índios, que 5.000 a.C já desenvolviam agricultura sofisticada, com a domesticação da mandioca e de outras plantas. Aldo vê o saci e o curupira como ‘folclore’, não como expressão de culturas vivas e refinadas.
TQPT – Se for aprovado, o projeto do Aldo prejudica todo mundo, até mesmo os descendentes dos ruralistas.
C – É o que estou dizendo há alguns milênios. Lembra o que aconteceu em Santa Catarina? Lá, o Governo reduziu as margens de mata ciliar ao longo dos rios e todo mundo viu a tragédia ocasionada pelas últimas chuvas. Se o projeto for aprovado, vai provocar impactos ambientais irreversíveis e a emissão de 25 bilhões a 31 bilhões de toneladas de gás carbônico só na Amazônia, segundo os especialistas. É preciso protestar. No Rio de Janeiro, nessa semana, já houve uma primeira manifestação de rua, com a participação de duzentos ativistas e lideranças de organizações ambientalistas. Nos outros países existem também curupiras. Eles vão boicotar o produto brasileiro em decorrência do desmatamento que o Código vai permitir.
C: Aldo is an urbanite – he has never set foot in the forest. That's why he thinks the forest is hostile. It is hostile to him and his lackeys, not to the people who have made it their home. Aldo talks about ‘unhealthy huts’, but the architect Severiano Porto praises the construction of malocas, and admits that he has learned more about architecture from the indigenous people. Aldo dismisses the changes and revolutions that have taken place in Amazonian society, as recorded by archaeologists. He ignores the art, music, literature and knowledge of botany, zoology, astronomy, medicine demonstrated by these people. He doesn’t realize that the indigenous people have already created an oral forestry code. He claims that “the conquest of the Amazon took place during Pedro Teixeira's expedition (1637-1639),” as if their history only started with the Portuguese. He dismisses the fact that the Amazon was ‘conquered’ by the indigenous people, who had developed sophisticated agricultural techniques by 5,000BC such as the domestication of manioc and other crops. Aldo sees the saci and Curupira as characters in folklore, not as expressions of living, sophisticated cultures.
TQPT: If approved, Aldo's project will harm everyone, including the descendants of the ruralistas.
C: I have been saying this for millennia. Do you remember what happened in Santa Catarina? There, the government reduced the riparian vegetation along rivers and everyone witnessed the tragedy caused by rains. If the bill is passed, according to experts it will cause irreversible environmental damage and result in the emission of 25 billion to 31 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the Amazon alone. We need to protest […]. There are Curupiras in other countries too. They will boycott Brazilian products as the result of the deforestation that will be allowed according to the code.
The amendment will be voted on by the Brazilian Congress, and if it is passed the President will veto it or sign it into law.
This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Egypt: Youth using social media to close the gap · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Thirty Egyptians, aged 18 to 28, joined hands to produce 10 social advertisements, aimed at social reform.
The project, aptly named Closing The Gap, consisted of three phases held in partnership between The Egyptian Life Center for Creativity and Culture jointly with Freedom House. Its primary phase included an intensive workshop that took place in July 2009. The goal of the workshop was to define the Egyptian context of social marketing, prior social issues that society needs to address through media, along with writing the ideas and storyboards of the ads.
Bikya Masr group blog reported:
The goal of “Closing The Gap” is to train a group of 30 young media activists with interests in new media and its potential role in society. The project served these interests by giving them a chance to represent their views on the usage of new and appropriate media to advocate progressive ideals.
Blogger Mahmoud Saber said:
“The editing  phase was  finalized by mid-April and the first screening will be hold during April” Mahmoud Saber, Documentary Movie maker  and the project technical coordinator said. A third production phase will finish early on May 2010.
On their Facebook page, The Egyptian Life Center for Creativity and Culture explained the uniqueness of this project:
“ The project is a unique experience for us all, it is the first time young people have the chance to express in filming material with total independence from authorities or business interests”, commented Bassam Bahgat, the project’s executive coordinator.
The participants of the project are a group of young Egyptian media activists from diverse backgrounds including media students and professionals. Miral Brinjy, television producer and project facilitator, expressed the purpose of this experience as to learn “how to utilize conventional and new means of communication and media to spread awareness about personal responsibility towards reforming society”
According to Mahmoud Saber's blog:
This project aims to produce 10 social ads and publicize them while networking media activists with other actors through workshops, raising the discussion on media social responsibility through a citizen centered approach. The project shall give way to a new approach to social reform.
He also shared samples of their work
Social Advertising : I'm Egyptian | إعلان إجتماعي : أنا مصري
Two social ads tackle sexual harassment; the first is a comparison between Egypt in the seventies and Egypt today
The second is titled:Social Ad : It's Not Your Right | إعلان إجتماعي : مش من حقك
This social ad is about holding on to hope:
And this one is about Internet Freedom in Egypt:

author: Marwa Rakha


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Gabon: Gabon’s press blossoms · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Elisabeth Moumba discusses the blossoming of Gabon's press: “Until 1990, Gabon had only two public television channels and two radio stations–RTG 1 and RTG 2, along with Radio Gabon and Radio II–with one private pro-government daily, L'Union, and one pan-African radio station, Africa N1.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Global: Ramadan Memes · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

A typical celebratory image
As Ramadan begins in nearly every country around the world, so do the congratulatory messages accompanying the holy month.  From postage stamps to presidential messages, Ramadan is officially online.  Even humor site someecards boasts an entire category of Ramadan cards.
Every year, web-savvy Muslims around the world share images with each other to celebrate Ramadan.  While most images of the sort are solemn, such as the one to the left, there is often plenty of humor to go around as well.
One old favorite making the rounds again this year is a poster, presumably for a student event, posted on Failblog.  The poster invites students to learn about Ramadan, “the month of fasting” at noontime, with food being served:
Blogger Moo, responsible for the “Mooslim lolcats” meme, has put together a humorous image to wish readers a happy Ramadan this year, in a post entitled “Ram a dan moo barracks”:
Another image making its way around Facebook this year incorporates the names of famous Muslims Tariq Ramadan, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and basketball star Kareem Abdul Jabbar:
For more funny Ramadan humor, in English and Arabic, check out this posting on jannah.org.

author: Jillian C. York


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Hungary: Budapest’s Subway · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about Budapest's subway and the politics of its long-term construction: “The Budapest metro is very old, yet still unfinished.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Hungary: Proposed Media Law Threatens Freedom of Expression · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the proposed new media law and wonders whether PM Viktor Orbán “doesn't understand democracy and has no idea of the meaning of the freedom of expression” – “or perhaps he understands them all too well and simply doesn't want them for Hungary.”


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Hungary: The New President · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum writes about the inauguration of Hungary's new president, Pal Schmitt; about Albert Wass, a Transylvanian-Hungarian author whose work Schmitt quoted in his inaugural speech; and about Schmitt's first few days in office: “Since his inauguration the not too sympathetic Hungarian public has been watching Schmitt's every move.”


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Hungary: Xenophobia, Homophobia, Crime · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Hungarian Spectrum posts an update on the investigation into a series attacks on and murders of Gypsies that took place over a year ago, and writes about several recent murders and the discussion of homosexuality-related issues that they have generated online.


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India: Oil Spill Near Mumbai Threatens Beaches And Mangrove Forests · Global Voices
Rezwan

If you thought that the recent oil spills in USA, Australia, Singapore or elsewhere were enough shock for the environment and the human beings then please be prepared for more trauma as India is suffering from another damaging oil spill.
Srinivasan Sampathkumar from Triplicane, Chennai informs about the latest oil spill near Mumbai Nhava Sheva port:
On 7th Aug 10, the container carrier MSC Chitra collided with MV Khalijia-III – 8 kms closer to Mumbai shore.
The Coast Guard sounded an alert over the oil spill off the coast as slick covered a large area, aggravating the situation was the falling of containers from Chitra, which is tilting precariously. MSC Chitra had on board around 1200 containers – 200 apprehended fallen into the sea – 32 of the containers had dangerous cargo, going by the manifests. MV Khalijia III was carrying about 26000 tonnes of oil which included diesel and lube oil to a small extent. The collision is reported to be due to technical and navigational error in MSC Chitra which is listing near the JNPT. Going by the reports, this vessel was attempting to berth when it struck the other vessel. Upon receipt of SOS, all crew members were saved. [..]
Indian Coast guard started spraying operations. Five ships have been deployed in the region. [..]
Though anti pollution operations were immediate, containment and recovery of oil spill is impeded by rocky surface, tidal and weather conditions.
The impact is already being felt at the coasts of Mumbai, with fishes and water creatures being found covered with oil. NDTV reports that the oil slick has entered the sensitive mangrove belt and it can damage the flora and fauna there. The shores filled with green mangroves are already coated with black oil.
Neeta Jadhav has been collecting water samples from different locations of South Mumbai to detect pollution and she finds:
The beautiful coastline is already under high anthropogenic pressure and now, MSC Chitra and Khalijia  have just added to the cause. The mixture of oil and water is known as ‘mousse’, an extremely sticky substance that clings to any marine body and surface that comes in contact with it. Unfortunately, many marine life forms get trapped in it, while some may swim into it because it resembles food. Wildlife other than fish and sea creatures, including mammals, reptiles, and birds that live in or near the ocean, are also poisoned by the oil waste.
About 500 tones of oil has already flown. Other than tones of fuel, diesel and lubricant oil, 31 containers have pesticide in them. We were worrying about the oil spill and now, containers of pesticide are bobbing off on the sea.
Mumbai Mangroves with Flamingoes. Image by Flickr user Havelgotastory4u. CC BY-NC-SA
Debolina Raja Gupta used to go to the Uran beach for its beauty and clean water. But after the oil spill she finds:
The Uran beach that was once blessed with clean and pristine water is now a mess – a garbage dump  to be precise. As the containers continue to spill goods from a different continent – tea, coffee, biscuits and many many more things – locals have not spared a minute to snatch the loot. And now, the same people who hauled all the loot are complaining of various problems, caused by the various chemicals.[..]
As the spill will continue to make its way in, environmentalists have said the entire mangroves will be charred and finished – I don’t want to see that happening ever. As there is no other barrier between our homes and the sea, apart from the mangroves, this will further lead to a massive flooding of the areas situated right next to the mangroves, that is, where I live now.
The Indian government has taken necessary steps but there is lot to be done. The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) has offered to clean up the mess left by oil spill with its patented homemade cocktail of bacteria called ‘Oil Zapper.’ The process, which uses bacteria to clean up the oil slick, could be used to neutralize the effect of the spill.
Debajyoti Dutta-Roy proposes some solutions to mitigate the disaster which includes:
From Times of India report, it may take 6 to 8 months to remove the ship from the shallow bed on which it is lying. Solution: An Underwater ROV can be placed to keep a watch on what is happening in and around the ship.[..]
How to solve the oil slick. Solution: Any oil slick will be maximum in the middle. So, the best thing would be to focus on the middle of the oil slick, which has the most concentration.
It may take months to contain the oil spill clean up the mess. But the worst part of the disaster is that these toxic substances can easily enter the human system and they will be passed on to the future generations. Will there ever be additional safety measures deployed in the shipping industry to prevent further oil spills?

author: Rezwan


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India: Perils Of Quota System For Minority Groups  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Ram Bansal at India In Peril blog opines that the long practiced system of reservations of government posts in India to select minority groups is actually affecting “quality of persons in positions of authority and hence the governance of the country.”


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India: The Khairlanji verdict · Global Voices
Rezwan

V. Venkatesan at Law and Other Things comments on a recent verdict of the Mumbai High Court on a brutal murder case: “the Khairlanji case has shaken the conscience of all right-thinking people, as the Judges refused to see any caste prejudice to the killing of Dalits by upper caste persons.”


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Iran: Hamed Saber is out of jail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Aftab News reported on 9th of August that Iranian photo-blogger, Hamed Saber, was released on bail.


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Iran:Political prisoners stopped hunger strike · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Sight and several other Iranian bloggers reported  [fa] that all political prisoners stopped their hunger strike after 15 days.


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Jamaica: Buju’s New Album · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Buju Banton’s new album will hit the stores the same day he hit[s] the courts…on September 13″: YardFlex.com reports.


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Jamaica: Dudus’ Defence  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Jamaica Salt notes that “after many many months, Christopher Coke finally gets himself a couple of defence lawyers.”


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Jamaica: Refugee Status · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Caribbean Camera reports on the case of “a gay man from Jamaica [who] has been granted refugee status in Canada on the basis of discrimination against him.”


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Japan: Incense · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Martin J Frid from Kurashi has written several articles on the culture and tradition of incense: where to buy incense?  ten virtues of incense and Japanese literature on incense.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Japan: Vintage Tokyo subway manner posters · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Pinktenctacle exhibits a collection of artistic manner posters  [en] that “appeared in the Tokyo subways between 1976 and 1982.”

author: Scilla Alecci


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Jordan: Honking Horns Mark School Result Announcement  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Celebrations mark the announcement of secondary school results, known as Tawjihi in many Arab countries. Naseem Al Tarawnah tweets the scene from Amman: “11:20pm. Amman. Honking horns & kids, riding on car windows, screaming. Either Tawjihi results are out or #JO just put a man on the moon.”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jordan: Leap in Twitter Users  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

On Arab Crunch, Gaith Saqer writes about the leap in Twitter users around the world.”The Middle-East Africa jumped 142 per cent to 5 million visitors” in the period from June 2009 to June 2010.


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Kenya: Safaricom introduces Twitter customer care · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Safaricom, a leading communications company in Kenya, has introduced Twitter customer care: “If you doubt that social media has already become an indispensable tool for communication and customer care here in Kenya, Safaricom’s recent activities on twitter should convince you otherwise…”


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Madagascar: FAO Warns of Locust Threat to Agriculture in the South West Region  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

On the blog of Organisation de la Presse Africaine, The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that $15 million USD is needed to mount a campaign on some 500,000 hectares of land threatened by locust plague [fr]. An average locust swarm consumes the equivalent amount of food as 2,500 people.


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Egypt: Know New Blogs  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Know New Blogs is a new meme started by  Egyptian Basma Aal at In Between the Lines.  “Know New Blogs is a way to explore new blogs that is about different topics from all over the world,” she writes. This month's meme focuses on Arab bloggers, and those writing about the Arab world.


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Nigeria: Musician writes song for BBC Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian musician Faze has written a song for BBC Africa titled Tomorrow’s Leaders. The song is about how to improve educational system in Nigeria.


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Portugal: Blogging Against Military Action · Global Voices
Manuela Tenreiro

Blog Anti-Nato Portugal [pt, es] denounces that the United States has denied making available, in the aid effort to Pakistan, the 19 helicopters destined to the war in Afghanistan. Bloggers cite a military high official, who in a press conference, confirmed that the decision was up to Washington and that the helicopters in the region are not available.

author: Manuela Tenreiro


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Russia: Anothr Kemerovo Blogger Charged With Libel  · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

A criminal case has been started against Alexander Sorokin (aka LJ user commentator40), Echo Moskvy reported [RUS]. He is charged with libel against Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleev [EN] for the post [RUS] in which he compares Russian regional governors to Latin American dictators. It is the second famous case [EN] of prosecuting a blogger in this region in 2010.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Saudi Arabia: Where Women are Dependents Forever and Ever · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Arabia is keeping up with the times, and blogger Eman Al Nafjan tells us how.
Did you know that Saudi Arabia has a service in place where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends a text message to a male guardian every time a “dependent” leaves the country?
And the male “guardians” are the fathers and husbands, or in their absence, brothers and the “dependents” refer to the wives, daughters and sisters.
Eman takes a break from her holiday to report:
I am currently on a family vacation in Italy but I had to post what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent my husband. Apparently they have a new service where they send the male guardian a text every time a “dependent” leaves the country. They don’t state which country the dependent left for but simply state that they did leave. My husband tells me he got the same text when I left for Germany.
She adds:
I am an adult woman that has been earning my own income for over a decade now but according to the Saudi government, I am a dependent till the day I die because of my gender.
This short post opened Pandora's Box, attracting 93 comments and counting. Comments range from support messages to those questioning religions to those from readers who share similar experiences.
Kha is surprised and writes:
My goodness. They send text messages? It’s amazing how a country can get with the times in terms of technology but be COMPLETELY behind in terms of gender and sex equality. Huh.
A reader who signed her name as Health Practitioner also shares her experience with travel saying:
I was travelling with my mother who is 60 that time and we discovered that the permission has expired, the officer told me, it is okay if the female above 50 she can travel without a permission!!!
what shocks me more; that lots of female doctors and Phd holders cannot travel to attend any conference or event without getting a permission from her male guardian who could be 21 years old but useless or younger than her..
for me, this is real tragedy when well-educated depended females cannot even visit a Saudi gov. office without their guardian not to mention travelling abroad..
And Om Lujain adds:
I think they each chose whatever age they want to as my mom is 54 and still needs permission from her younger brother (she is divorced) to travel, and still has to travel with a paper giving her permission from said younger brother.
And you are correct, it is a tragedy when a grown women cannot make her own decisions and must in essence beg her brother/son/father/husband for whatever she needs.
Meanwhile, Hala says that such resources used to track the women of Saudi Arabia should be better invested in developing the country's infrastructure. She writes:
To think of all the money and planning that go to follow up on women, while our infra-structure is messy and collapsing with the some rainfall, someone up there got their priorities mixed…
Fawad plays the devil's advocate and says he doesn't find an issue with sending a text message to the guardian:
its just a arrivals and departures,SMS servise.whats the big deal lol
But Kha doesn't take the comment lightly and retorts:
It is a big deal because it is basically a tracking system. Why shouldn’t someone be able to make decisions on their own without anyone knowing? Doesn’t a woman, or ANYONE, have a right to privacy? These text messages imply that these women are so helpless or dumb that the husbands need to keep a watchful eye. You know who you need to keep a watchful eye on? Children. Grown women who are professionals are NOT children. They should send text messages if a child leaves the country alone, not a grown woman!
And Jenna brings a new proposal to the table:
You know I also want a tracking system for my husband…everytime he talks to some strange woman or flirts with a woman… I want an SMS!
Meanwhile, Vicks throws yet another dimension into the fray, saying:
Interesting article !!! What amazes me is the fact that though most of the comments on this article suggest they dislike this idea (and many others alike)applied by the Saudi govt but they fail to show the slightest dissent to the authorities or show any form of protests ( where are the womens rights activists or the muslim rights groups in this case)……
Wouldnt at all be surprised that had any western govt did the same to muslim women in their countries,,,, the same people will be rallying outside chanting discrimination and islamophobia !!!!
And Ari calls for a revolution:
I am waiting for the day that these Saudi princesses of privilege actually DO something to set themselves free, rather than merely complaining all the time.
In the west, both women of privilege and social position as well as ordinary women and even men marched, protested, were arrested and imprisoned where many suffered abuse such as being force fed—all to get equality and the right to vote.
When Saudi women, as well as other Muslim women and men, are willing to pay the price for equality then they will get it. In the meantime, some will take vacations in the free world, while their less privileged sisters and brothers continue to suffer.
Until then, happy shopping!
For more reactions, please read the comments on the original post. Eman also writes a follow up post here.


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South Korea: Lax Safety Control Lead to Bus Explosion · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

South Koreans were enjoying summer retreats when they watched this horrific security camera footage of a bus explosion in the heart of Seoul; An ordinary bus that can be found in every corner of the city exploded with a loud bang and panicked passengers desperately jumped out of the bus and ran through the black smoke. 17 people were severely injured from this incident caused by the overheated gas tank due to recent scorching summer weather. People were shocked to see the bus they ride everyday blown up in a second. The fear is growing as the city is planning to replace almost the entire bus to the CNG(Compressed natural gas)model which exploded this week.
A blogger Natzrin saw the scene of the accident right after the explosion and witnessed the wreckage of the bus which his family used to ride. The blogger added that this horrible image will haunt him quite a while. The images on the left are screen capture images from the video footage uploaded in Qnahsladml’s blog.
퇴근해서 집에 도착하자마자 바깥에서 엄청난 폭발음이 들렸다…나중에 체육관에 가려고 집 밖으로 나가보니 버스가 폭발했더라…동생이 등교할 때 타고 다니던 버스가 폭발한 거라서 섬뜩했다. 가까이 가보니 버스의 창이란 창은 다 깨져서 도로 주변 상가까지 그 파편이 여기저기에 널려있었다. 그리고 버스 아래 부분이 폭발했는지 버스는 밑이 폭발해서 주저 앉은 채로 있었다…또 다시 잠재적 공포 중의 하나가 수면 위로 떠올라 당분간 머릿속을 어지럽힐 것 같다.
Many people in the internet have suspected of terror attacks the moment this bad news broke out as an one-liner news. Fortunately it was not and if it were, that would have been worst case scenario for Korea government. South Korean government will be hosting G-20 summit soon this year and it has been urging its people via social campaigns to act nice and gentle to foreign visitors during the summit season in order to leave good impression of Korea to foreign guests. A blogger Arirang approached the incident from this perspective.
이제 곧 G20 정상 회담이 개최된다. 이 일(버스 폭발)이 그때 일어났다면 테러로 오해했을 많은 가능성이 있으며 외국인들은 나중에 진실을 알지만 불안해 떨었을 것이다.
The shock people got from the video footage of the incident is intensifying every day as the news revealed that this very model, the clean CNG bus which emits much less greenhouse gases will soon be replacing almost all bus in city. The CNG buses, however had exploded 8 times here in Korea since 2005 including this week’s case but not much of safety check had been thoroughly executed yet. Many are suggesting over the web to place the gas tanks over the head of the bus to minimize the potential harm from the explosion. Currently the tanks are mostly installed under the floor of the vehicle and Joongang’s picture (first image) tells why several passengers got severely hurt around legs and ankles from the accident.
A Korean blogger Jotdding who is studying economics in a Japanese graduate school, compared Korean case with those of United States and Japan. In US, bus loads the gas tanks over the top of the bus and Japan is gradually exchanging the location of the gas tanks from the bottom to the top. The blogger went further on stressing there is never ‘too much’ in precaution, praising the ‘fussiness’(as in extreme alertness) that can be seen from Japanese people when it comes to safety issue.
이번 사고를 합하면 벌써 8번째라 하는데 그 동안 무슨 대책을 세워 왔는지 묻고 싶습니다…CGN 버스의 구조입니다. 이번 폭발한 가스통은 버스의 밑에 장착이 되어 있는데 미국은 이것이 버스 위에 장착이 되어있다고 하더군요. 가스통이 폭발할 때 수직으로 상승하면서 폭발하기 때문에 위에 장착되어 있으면 피해를 최소화할 수 있다고 합니다…일본은 우리가 생각하는 것에 비해 너무하다 싶을 정도로 설레발을 치곤 하지만, 그런 설레발이 안전함을 담보해 주는 것이 아닌가 하고 느낄 때도 있습니다.
The photos are from the from Qnahsladml’s blog
A netizen who introduced himself as former director of a CNG gas station posted a long article listing three fundamental problems of the CNG bus operation in Daum’s Agora site. This article recorded more than hundred thousand views just within few days. Three critical problems he mentioned are the understaffed CGN gas stations, the bus companies and gas station owner’s stinginess on safety check and lack of professionals in regional offices which oversee the bus transportation.
버스회사 오너들과 충전소 오너들은 버스 충전지연으로 버스가 정상 시간에 운행되지 못하는 것만 신경을 씁니다. 또한 안전점검하고 관리하는 직원들을 할일 없는 사람 취급을 합니다. 안전관리를 말만 외칠 뿐 현실적 인건 외면을 합니다. 모든 사고는 1차 관리만 잘 이루어지면 80% 이상은 막을 수 있다고 생각합니다.
One of largest bus driver’s associations, Korean Automobile and Transport Workers’ Federation issued a statement today urging the government department and regional offices to address issue seriously and threatened to even go on strikes. According to the federation, the government and regional office had been too consumed in making impressive statistics environmental-wise and hurriedly adopted more clean buses without taking precautionary measures. People safety, however is not the thing that can be compromised. A netizen ID: Haeorm from Daum’s Agora site reflected this view.
현재 서울시에서 굴러 다니는 대중교통 버스 차량 7천 558대 전량에 대해 연말까지로 하여 모두 CNG버스로 개량한다고 하는데, 공해 오존 문제로 고심하고 있는 市가 시내버스 전체를 무공해 버스로 대체하겠다는 복안에 대해 만류할 사람은 없겠지만도,그런 원대한 비전을 실천하기 전에라도 먼저, 빈발하는 CNG버스들의 폭발사고의 원인과 시스템 개선부터 선행하는 것이 일의 완급 순서가 아닐까.
Scorching weather which blamed for the accident has cooled down, but not people's anxiety over lax safety control.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Sri Lanka: Lessons Learned for Peace and Reconciliation Commission · Global Voices
Rezwan

Going Global discusses about the proceedings and efficacy of the 8 members strong ‘Lessons Learned for Peace and Reconciliation Commission’ appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to get a report on the lessons to be learnt from the events in Sri Lanka during the period from February 2002 to May 2009.


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Tanzania: Lil’ Kim rocks Tanzania · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Itchbay writes about Lil’ Kim's concert in Tanzania for an annual party called Fiesta organized by Tanzania’s leading media house, Clouds Media which owns a TV station and the biggest FM radio in Tanzania.


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Tanzania/Kenya: Tinga Tinga Tales in animation · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Hot Secrets writes about Tinga Tinga Tales, Tinga Tinga Tales, an African folk tales animation series:”The show’s images were hand-painted by Tanzanian artists, then computer animated in Homeboyz’s Nairobi studio before being shipped to the UK.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Ramadan  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Lifespan of a Chennette and Lily's Blog wish everyone Ramadan Mubarak!


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Tunisia: When the Singer Chants “Long Live Netanyahu”  · Global Voices
Lina Ben Mhenni

One of the many Facebook pages set up to denounce Sherif
The circulation of a video showing Tunisian singer Mohsen Sherif  yelling “Long live Bibi Netanyahu!” and inviting Jews to come in droves to Djerba Island for El Ghariba pilgrimage, has triggered a wave of anger and disappointment among Tunisians. In geek speak, the video circulated on Facebook has now created a buzz.
It is understood that Sherif, accompanied by other Tunisian musicians, were performing in Israel, which has no diplomatic ties with their country.
Soon enough, many Facebook groups were created to denounce Sherif's action. Among them is this group , which is calling for the withdrawal of the Tunisian nationality from the singer.
Bloggers were quick to react to the video too. However, they were divided in their opinion. Some bloggers such as stupidity zone start say that singers are free to yell whatever they want to. He wrote:
Ces derniers jours,une vague de haine envers deux artistes locales inonde le net Tunisien …ces deux artistes sont Mohsen Echrif et Noureddine El Kahléoui !!!
Alors le motif de cette campagne me semble absurde mais pour mes concitoyens c'est suffisant pour être traité de tous les noms …Mohsen Echrif dans un mariage organisé par des Juifs dis dans son micro je cite “Ya7ya Bibi Netanyéhou”
Zizou from Djerba wrote:
Pour moi, Le chanteur en question n'a fait que caresser tout le monde dans le sens du poil (son boulot en qlq sorte) puisqu'on peut voir clairement dans la vidéo qu'il faisait un peu de politique dans le but de raffermir les liens des tunes avec la Tunisie et de les convaincre de venir plus nombreux en Tunisie (leurs pays) pour le pèlerinage de la Ghriba.
On the other hand some bloggers considered what happened as an act of  normalization with Israel, and called for the government to react.  Bassam Bounenni wrote :
C'est dans cette ambiance que survient la diffusion sur la toile d'une vidéo du chanteur, Mohsen Cherif, scandant le slogan “Vive Ben Ali … Vive Netenyahu”. Les réactions officielles se font toujours attendre, en dépit d'une grande colère populaire qui s'est étendue au niveau des syndicats. Paradoxalement, les partis d'obédience nationaliste optent, là aussi, pour le mutisme. Laissant la grogne aux masses … virtuelles. Les mêmes masses qui se sont toujours tues quand la normalisation allaient de pair avec un choix gouvernemental ou est l'oeuvre, tout simplement, d'un membre du gouvernement.
The story may have started on the web but it is now preoccupying public opinion. National Tunisian journals are writing about it and people are discussing it on all occasions as Zizou from Djerba put it in his blog:
L'affaire est celle qui occupe l'opinion publique tunisienne en ce moment. Les discussions au boulot, a la plage et ailleurs tournent autour de cette bande de chanteurs tunisiens partis en Israel pour animer une soiree tunisienne. Meme si cette initiative peut surprendre, ce qui a choque une majorite de tunisien est le fait qu'un chanteur ( Mohsen Cherif) a prononce des viva pour le premier ministre israelien.
The case is still preoccupying Tunisians, who are asking how did the musicians travel to Israel and perform there.

author: Lina Ben Mhenni


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USA: Deconstructing Media Coverage of the “Ground Zero Mosque” · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The logo for Park51
For the past several months, one story has consistently held media attention in the United States.  The story is of a planned Islamic community center a few blocks away from the site of the attacks of September 11, 2001–a site dubbed “Ground Zero”–and has polarized opinion across the media spectrum.  The community center, to be called Park51 for its location, has been called controversial by some pundits and politicians, such as Sarah Palin, because of its proximity to “Ground Zero,” and has caused some to call for the center to be moved.  At the same time, numerous groups and individuals–including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg–have spoken out in support of Park51, reminding Americans of the history of Muslims in the U.S. and invoking the first amendment, which calls for the free exercise of religion.
Beyond the actual situation of the community center is the issue of media coverage.  For months, much of the American mainstream media have referred to Park51 as “the Ground Zero mosque,” implying implicitly that the project is to be built on the actual ground (it isn't) and that the center's sole purpose is as a mosque (also false–the center will include a mosque, along with a swimming pool, theatre, childcare center, and numerous other facets).
Bloggers have jumped in to comment on a number of aspects of the story, from the history of Muslims in New York to the Islamophobia inherent in many arguments against Park51.  Writing for Tabsir.net, one blogger discusses the media hype:
The current torrent of media hype about building a “mosque” near Ground  Zero is part of a deeper Islamophobic fervor in direct lineage with the  same unfriendly folks who have self-righteously hated Injuns, Negroes  and Jews and found verses in the King James Version of the Bible to back  up their hatred.  Today’s New York Times carries a story by Laurie Goodstein about  efforts across the country to stop construction of Islamic places of  worship.  If this is yet another tempest brewed in Tea Party forums, it  looks more like a lynch mob than a ladies aid society brunch.
Moroccan-American writer Laila Lalami would appear to concur; in a blog post, she expresses frustration with the media's exclusion of Muslims in dialogue about Park51:
Notice that, in setting up the two groups of proponents and opponents  of Park51, the Muslims who get mentioned are “former Muslims”, while  the people who bravely stand up for religious freedom include ministers  of every faith, except Islam.  Are we to believe that no Muslims,  whether ministers or not, are taking part in these interfaith groups,  even though the matter at hand is an Islamic community center?
I see this kind of silencing everywhere in our media.  Politicians  constantly talk about the need for “moderate Muslims” to step up, and  when they do, as Imam Feisal Abdel Rauf did when he tried to set up this  community center, it is the extremists among Muslims—both the religious  and the secular—who are given ample room to voice their opinions.   Enough.
At Arab-American blog KABOBfest, author Sana explains the role Muslims have played in the history of Manhattan:
Lower Manhattan is also the final resting place of Muslims and other   Africans, often slaves, who were forcibly resettled in New York when it   was still New Amsterdam.  The African Burial Ground, discovered in  1991, is six blocks away from  the proposed Muslim community center.  Scholars continue to debate the  religious identity of the hundreds  buried there, but the fact that some  of the dead wore shrouds and were  interred with strings of blue beads,  frequently used as Islamic  talismans, suggests Muslim were among the  enslaved people who helped  build Manhattan into a bustling city.
Of course, this history of Islam in lower Manhattan means little to   the families of 9/11 victims who are protesting the proposed center. Far   more troubling than their protest is how readily some political groups   have used this issue to advance their own anti-Muslim agendas.  Comments  by Lazio and Palin are mere drops in an ocean of right-wing  vitriol. In  one outright lie, the Web site of the National Republican  Trust has declared that the organizers of the mosque “intend to erect a  shrine to the 9/11 terrorists.”
Rhetoric that treats Muslim-Americans like hostile foreigners   fundamentally – and intentionally – skews the story of New York and its   Muslim community.
One tactic opponents of Park51 have used in arguing against is comparing Manhattan to Mecca, in that inside Mecca, no Christian or Jewish places of worship may be built.  Blogger Desert Peace debunks that particular argument:
First,  as far as I  know, Mecca has not a single Jewish inhabitant, so why  build a synagogue there?  To start a settlement enterprise there? To  teach Muslims Shulhan Aruch or  Chesronot Shas or other Talmudic  messages?
On the other  hand, New York is home to tens of thousands if not  hundreds of thousands of  Muslims. And the people in charge of the  project are American citizens who broke  no law, committed no crime and  hurt no body. Indeed, if New York Muslims were of  Hitler’s ilk, as the  hateful and provocative signs would have us believe, then  the Jewish  mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, who supports the project, ought  to  be a Nazi supporter.
Not all bloggers support the mosque, however, even within the Arab-American blogosphere.  Iraqi Mojo writes:
However, out of respect for conservative Americans and for the victims  of 9/11, and knowing that the money for the proposed project will likely  come from KSA and maybe other Wahhabi-infested kingdoms, I believe it would be unwise  for Muslims to insist on building a mosque near ground zero.  Having  said this, the actions of New Yorkers and mayor Bloomberg have already  shown that Americans are quite tolerant of Islam and Muslims.


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Zimbabwe: Is Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Proudly South Africa? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bev Clark wonders whether the Zimbabwean Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is Proudly South African: “I’ve just received a copy of the Prime Minister’s weekly newsletter and I note that its printed by Cape Press.”


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Africa: A blog about visual art in Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

ARTSPEAKAFRICA is a blog on contemporary visual art and culture in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.