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Philippines: When a City is Not a City · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Sixteen new cities were reverted back into towns after the Philippine Supreme Court recently declared unconstitutional the cityhood laws converting these municipalities into cities.
Among the affected include three cities in Luzon: Batac City in Ilocos Norte, Tabuk City in Kalinga, and Tayabas City in Quezon. Another three are in Cebu: Bogo City, Carcar City and Naga City. Catbalogan City and Borongan City are in Samar, Baybay City in Leyte, and Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental. Meanwhile, the remaining six are in Mindanao: Tandag City in Surigao del Sur, Lamitan City in Basilan, Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur, Mati City in Davao Oriental, Cabadbaran City in Agusan del Norte, and El Salvador City in Misamis Oriental.
The said cities, the court ruled, did not meet the requirements for cityhood (Read the Supreme Court decision online here). Homeward Bound explains:
Just recently, Local Government officials of Alabel were quite confident that our municipality’s income and land area would already ensure its cityhood in accordance with the requisites stated in the Local Government Code of the Philippines… What they missed, as did officials of the sixteen cities, was the amendment to Section 450, which… raised the local income requirement from P 20 M to P 100 M for the last two years.
Residents of the affected areas are saddened by this development. Kalinga Tambayan lamented:
Tabuk had already started to build a city and yet this League of Cities are the thorns and obstacles for the people of Tabuk to achieve a peaceful and successful life. We have already our Urban master plan, we have engineers, architects, contractors and workers, but we don’t have the budget to continue the implementation if we lost our cityhood.
Meanwhile, officials of the voided cities are up in arms. Apart from removing the term “city” to the name of their offices, plans, services, and projects requiring larger budgets not available to municipalities will have to be scuttled. Residents of the affected localities will have to adapt to this development, as Third Wave shared in this brief anecdote:
[A] friend who come from one of the 16 listed rants about the calendars he will distribute as tokens of his business.
It bears the XXXXXX City as address… How would he explain that his city is now history?
Officials of older cities are happy though, Maasin City News Blog observed. In fact, the League of Cities petitioned the Supreme Court to reverse the status of the new cities:
While those who are affected are dismayed with the decision made by the Supreme Court, Mayors of those unaffected cities rejoice because the IRA (Internal Revenue Allocation) that should be given to those new cities will be shared back by them.
Homeward Bound adds:
As I see it, it’s a game of IRA. City Mayors are happy that the sixteens cities were reverted back to municipality status because they have fewer co-sharers of their IRA. Each year, the law provides that 23% of the National Governement will be shared among cities. Since there are only fewer cities compared to municipalities, each city will receive bigger IRA than towns.
Anyhow, Cebuano Expat will still continue calling Bogo, one of the affected towns, a city:
I know Bogo City has been proud it has become a city so this is also a blow to the city's pride. I feel the blow myself and I will continue to call it a city. Representative Eduardo Gullas told his constituents not to concern themselves with the ruling as it is not final.  There will be filings for a reconsideration and I suspect changes in the laws will be pushed through just in case they lose the reconsideration as well.
Jake agrees with the Supreme Court decision:
dapat lang na ibalik sa municipalities ang mga new cities na yan. pinaliliit lang nila ang mga budget na para dapat sa talagang cities.
But for Bong Wenceslao of Rebelmind:
The argument for finding a way short of forcing the new cities to revert to the status of a municipality becomes more compelling if one considers that many of the new cities are more urbanized than some of the “old cities.” Bogo and Carcar are centers of commerce in their areas—and are better off than some cities in Negros.
This observation, however, can also be said of some of the voided cities, as Aileen notes:
i didn’t even know that el salvador in misamis oriental is now a city. it’s near cagayan de oro, my hometown. we used to go there often, and i don’t think it is fit to be called a city yet.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Romania: A Quick Primer on Nov. 30 Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Csíkszereda Musings writes about the upcoming Nov. 30 parliamentary election and “the shifting allegiances in Romanian politics”: “The other two major parties were allies four years ago, but now seem to hate each other's guts.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: The Crisis and Constitutional Changes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam writes about “the uses and expediency” of Beslan in 2004 and the current financial crisis for Russia's leaders: “[…] an opportunity to pass measures to further consolidate authority.”


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Sleepless and stranded in Thailand · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

According to initial estimates, there are 100,000 stranded passengers in Thailand after anti-government protesters led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) forced the shutdown of Bangkok’s two major airports. The protesters would not leave the airport premises; they want Thailand’s Prime Minister to resign first.
Protesters have overtaken two airports this week: Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thailand’s new airport) and Don Mueang International Airport.
The main casualty is Thailand’s tourism industry. This is a peak season and Thailand is one of Asia’s major transport hubs. The travel plans of hundreds of thousands of tourists all over the world have been affected.
Most stranded passengers are not trapped inside the airports; they are likely staying at hotels in central Bangkok. Many hotels are providing free accommodation for overstaying tourists. For those who are staying in the airports, their situation is not good. Andrew Wood of Bangkok’s Chaophya Park Hotel & Resort reveals:
“Bangkok based tour operators visiting the airport since early this morning report that the hygiene situation at the airport is quickly deteriorating with limited toilets and washrooms. Food outlets also are struggling to keep up with demand with food supplies dwindling. This is likely to become critical if PAD supporters block supply routes.”
What are the views of some of the stranded passengers, Bangkok residents and the now world infamous protesters?
Richard Hosier who visited Thailand with his family is very angry:
“I am stuck here in Thailand with my wife and children after choosing to holiday here. We can't get home so I like to say thank you to the kind people of Thailand who try to help us and thanks to the PAD who show once again that their actions are designed to hold hostage the Kingdom of Thailand in order to achieve their un-democratic demands.”
Kenny is not that mad at the protests:
“I am safe and the protests are quite localized around the airports in Bangkok. While many tourists are starting to scramble and are a bit peeved about the airport delays, most people seem more discouraged about the unseasonal rain at the beaches.”
Go East Young Woman discourages friends from visiting Thailand today:
“It’s not so much dangerous right now as potentially dangerous, but it’s very inconvenient to be a tourist in Thailand right now. Both Bangkok airports are closed. Many people are stranded there. The PAD doesn’t seem to be taking hostages or anything like that, but a situation like that could easily turn volatile. I wouldn’t risk my safety there unless I had to. The mob keeps protesting in new areas all the time, so even if the airports are cleared and opened again, until the situation is resolved, who knows what they will decide to block next?
“No one seems to be targeting foreigners or tourists for violence, but there is still a risk of being caught in the crossfire of a violent situation between Thais if things go bad.
“Personally, I am trying to avoid public areas with a lot of people at the moment, especially government areas.”
Tuesdaynight will escape Thailand through other routes:
“We are currently on the island of Lanta and having a great time, all things considered. We were supposed to leave for home tonight, but Bangkok’s airport has not reopened and there are no signs it will do so for a while.
“We are going to make our way to Singapore by way of Langkawi and then KL. Hopefully, we’ll he home by the 1st.”
You Tube video of PAD protest at Bangkok's airport
Since many airlines use Thailand as a transit point, passengers from nearby countries are also stranded. For example, a family extended their stay in Cambodia because their flights were canceled. Some Americans missed the Thanksgiving Day celebrations in the United States.
Brunei Lifestyle mentions the case of haj pilgrims who were trapped in Thailand:
“I was touched when I read that Thai haj pilgrims are now stranded at the Bangkok’s international airport. The report said that hundreds of Thai Muslims are now spending their third nights, fourth if tonight they are still there.
“The rest of the haj pilgrims have chosen to stay at the airport but they have to make it to Mecca by next week, 2 December which is the cut-off date for the haj this season. What touches me was when they said that the pilgrimage is a test of faith but the airport chaos is already the test.
“Some of them have saved all their lives for this once in a lifetime pilgrimage. Many of those stranded are elderly and frail but still hoping to be able to perform the haj this year. I wish they would all be able to make it to the holy land and have a safe journey.”
The Malaysian government has sent military aircrafts to rescue its citizens. The Daily Brunei Resources has canceled a family trip to Bangkok next week. Friends of Ranoadidas from Brunei couldn’t travel to Thailand as well.
Tweets
Via Twitter, Kofty saw some stranded passengers:
“Meanwhile, I get my new shirts, 5 double French cuff, 5 button down. I see a few stranded tourists on Silom, but nothing else. All quiet.”
Again from Twitter, ChrisSanderson heard that stranded passengers were given some compensation:
“Apparently the government is giving Bangkok stranded tourist 2000 baht a day each to help out, present ticket at airport to collect cash”
Bad luck airport
My Thai Friend notes that the new airport has encountered problems even during its construction. Apparently, one of the reasons cited by the 2006 coup plotters was the poor construction of the new airport:
“There were lots of problems involving the construction, budget and Thai superstition. In fact back in September 2005 a total of 99 Buddhist monks were dispatched to the airport to help rid it of evil spirits following the “sighting” of ghosts by the construction workers.
“Problems with the runway and taxiways were discovered which eventually led to major reconstruction work. This combined with the airports inability to handle increasing traffic flow also led to the re-opening of Don Mueang for some domestic flights.”
Letter from PAD
Much has been written about the plight of the stranded passengers; but what about the condition of the protesters who have occupied the airports for several days already. Chuck Kuhn writes:
“Despite the rising tensions, during the day, the main terminal building had an air of festivity about it. Many parents brought their children, stalls have been set up selling bright yellow alliance banners, flags and rattles, and all the food is free, much of it donated by wealthy supporters among Bangkok's business community. One stall was even giving fresh clothes to those who have been there for the duration.
“People give to us because they believe in our cause,” said Pluem Rodkaew, 33, who was handing out toiletries. “We have enough food and water to stay here for months.”
A letter from the protesters was distributed to the passengers to clarify their mission. Excerpts from the letter:
“I’d like to stress here that the PAD’s policy is to use ONLY peaceful means and we have proved our intention by using only reason for the last six months.
“The aim of the PAD is to rebuild a country based on integrity, honesty, freedom from corruption and fairness for all Thais.
“We are not being paid to be here to use violence to get our way. We are not here to support a handful of corrupt politicians serving only one man who wants to divide our country. But we are here by choice, we are here to share an ideal, we are here to realize our goal which is to rebuild our country into a better place for the 60-odd million citizens. It’s actually not a question of “winning or losing” — it’s the reality of achieving what is good and right for our country — Thailand.”
Alexisthetiny does not want to accept an apology from PAD:
“I don’t care that you now have a big ole sign at Suvarnabhumi Airport saying that you’re sorry for all inconvenience caused but you only want the current PM to step down. You haven’t just inconvenienced everyone, you’ve acted like absolute CHILDREN and have disrupted everyone’s plans. You’ve pretty much put a big fat dent in your country’s economy, but I’m guessing you could care less. Let’s just say, you haven’t very much in the way of global sympathy any more. Take your bloody protest somewhere else and let the rest of the world get on with their lives. I mean, seriously, NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE is amused. Apology NOT accepted.”
While there is tension at the airports, central Bangkok seems quiet these days. Aaron Escobar observes:
“Oddly enough, life seems to be going on entirely as normal here in the city. The streets are calmer than usual – less traffic, less people out and about – but that’s about it. We continue to go to school and work every day, ride the BTS, and enjoy living downtown. It’s a strange feeling, knowing that something critical to the county’s future is happening just on the outskirts of the city, but having absolutely no effect on our daily life.
“I wonder when all this is going to end? Technically, I suppose I’m stranded in Bangkok, but if Bangkok is home, does that really count as stranded?”
Urban Pilgrim adds:
“Despite the turmoil though, life in Bangkok continues as usual. There are no yellow-clad PAD demonstrators on the streets. Nor are there groups of red-shirted pro-government demonstrators. One unaware of the crisis would not find evidence of it in daily life.”
Sovereign Myth analyzes that the goals of PAD’s will weaken the democracy in Thailand:
“Sections of the PAD leadership effectively wish to replace the imperfect but majoritarian electoral democracy currently in place with one that returns Thailand to the “semi-democracy” of the 1980s, although one reconfigured as more virtuous and wise. This is the only solution some elitist liberals and conservatives can envisage in the face of the electoral strength of the pro-Thaksin forces.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Slovenia: New Government · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Posts on Slovenia's new government – at Sleeping With Pengovsky, Kosmopolito, and Borut Peterlin's blog.


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The Balkans: Tragic Legacy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Cafe Turco writes on the inaccuracies in Resolution 819 film and posts a translation of Hasan Nuhanović's article that challenges “the veracity of some scenes.” Srebrenica Genocide Blog writes on a recent exhumation of “50 complete and 883 partial human remains of Srebrenica genocide victims” and links to a documentary by a Serbian journalist, who “filmed the Srebrenica genocide unfolding, and then […] attempted to cover up the evidence.” Belgraded reports that “Serbia and Croatia [are suing] each other over genocide” and hosts a ‘genocidal state’ vs ‘genocidal nation’ discussion. Amila Bosnae hosts a discussion on dealing with the past in the post-war Balkans. Greater Surbiton exposes former Belgrade Jewish community president's views on the Holocaust in Serbia.


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Ukraine: “orange revolution” vs “Orange Revolution” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A note on the difference between “orange revolution” and “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine – at Leopolis: “The former represents the current state of politics: disappointment, disillusionment, distrust, financial crisis, brawls in parliament, corruption, broken promises. There is no reason to celebrate the ‘orange revolution.’ But the latter recalls an amorphous historical, emotional and spiritual point in space that has passed. It can only be recalled through memory or via the end product of the photographer's eye. The Orange Revolution is to be reckoned with over the long term.”


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Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan: Calling Attention to Tragedy  · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes: “Kyiv’s efforts to call attention to Stalin’s terror famine on the 75th anniversary of that tragedy and especially its moves to gain international recognition of it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people has generated much criticism by Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev on down as well as from numerous Moscow commentators. But one of the most intriguing consequences of the Ukrainian discussion of the famine has so far passed largely unremarked: What Kyiv has been doing has prompted some in both the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan, whose peoples suffered greatly from the same Kremlin-organized famine, to ask why Moscow and Astana have not paid equal attention to this tragedy.”


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Afghanistan: Explosion in Kabul · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Baktash Siawash, Afghan journalist and blogger, wrote that “a suicide bomber killed four Afghans in a blast near Afghanistan's parliament in Kabul on Sunday”.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Albania: Health Care and Bribery · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belatedly, a link to Albanian Blogger‘s report on the arrest of a well-known oncology surgeon on bribery charges: “For the public, including myself, the event hopefully will serve to bring some much needed attention to this plague of our society in a sphere where all of us are vulnerable – our health security. Let’s hope that something good will come out of this.”


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Belarus: The Identity Debate · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Andrei Khrapavitski writes about the ongoing public debate on “Belarusian identity.”


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Blogging Positively: Live Chat about HIV/AIDS on December 3  · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Rising Voices  and Global Voices are holding a live online chat for bloggers and activists on Wednesday, December 3, 2008 (3pm Nairobi time) on how to use citizen media to help improve awareness and information about the AIDS epidemic. The chat will be facilitated by Kenyan bloggers Serina Kalande and Daudi Were.
Everyone is welcome.
Local Times: New York 07:00 |  Buenos Aires 10:00 |  London 12:00 | Johannesburg, Beirut 14:00 |  Nairobi, Moscow 15:00 |  New Delhi 17:30 | Tokyo 21:00 |  Hong Kong 20:00 | Sydney 23:00
Chatroom: http://www.worknets.org/chat/
The chat will start out focusing on two Rising Voices grantee projects, REPACTED in Nakuru, Kenya and AIDS Rights Congo based in Brazzaville. We will learn how both organizations have implemented blogging and video outreach programs to spread awareness about their initiatives in AIDS prevention and advocating for the rights of HIV-positive individuals.
Other discussion topics include: What are the factors to weigh when HIV-positive bloggers go public about their status? How can blogging support networks form online? What about online forums? What are other new media tools, such as mapping mashups, that can be used effectively?
If there are other topics that you would like to discuss during the chat, please add comments below.

author: Solana Larsen


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Brazil under flood: Bloggers form solidarity networks · Global Voices
Paula Góes

(All links go to websites in Portuguese)
There has been three months of intermittent rain in Santa Catarina and there are now nearly 79,000 displaced people and 110 deaths. Of a population of 5.9 million, 1.5 million people have been directly or indirectly affected by the floods. There are 12 cities in a state of emergency. The rain is expected to continue over the coming week, which not only hinders relief and rescue operations in areas hit by floods, but also jeopardizes the logistics of food and medicine distribution.
Photo taken on November 24 in Itajaí by flickr user magrufloriano and posted at the flickr group SOS Santa Catarina whose aim is to promote and spread news about aid campaigns. See his full coverage set.
This is not the first flood in Santa Catarina, but it is the first very serious disaster in Brazil in the age of the Internet. Alexandre Gonçalves says it won't make the rain stop, but at least social networking sites and blogs have provided real-time information and become ‘helplines’ to support people affected by the tragedy. He explains:
Primeiro, porque aumentaram as opções para a população suprir sua necessidade por informação. Em outros tempos, dados oficiais da Defesa Civil, só pelo rádio ou pela TV. Agora, é só acessar o site e conferir os boletins mais recentes. Também fica mais fácil acompanhar o noticiário, sem esperar pelo plantão na TV nem pelo jornal do dia seguinte. E segundo, como era de esperar, muitos internautas se mobilizaram para prestar serviço, trocar informações, expressar opiniões, publicar vídeos e fotos sobre a tragédia (veja, por exemplo, o resultado de uma busca por “enchente, chuva, santa catarina” no BlogSearch). Em Blumenau, cidade mais atingida pelas enchentes, onde rádios e TVs tiveram cortes de energia e ficaram fora do ar, um grupo de blogueiros se reuniu num blog coletivo para publicar notícias sobre os estragos na cidade. Os blogueiros e outros moradores de Blumenau também passaram a postar sobre a situação no Twitter – veja o que já foi publicado. Foi lá que vi o link para o vídeo abaixo, que mostra desmoronamento na rua Hermann Huscher.
(Video by YouTube user carolanton)
The collective blog mentioned above is Notícias de Blumenau [Blumenau News], aka Alles Blau, put online by a dozen bloggers on November 24. Apart from providing updates, helping to find lost people and promoting information about donations needed in various shelters, the blog has  also been selling t-Shirts to raise funds:
Buscamos parceiros para produzir essas peças gratuitamente ou a preço de custo, para reverter a receita líquida em doações para a Defesa Civil de Santa Catarina.
Guilherme Valadares from Papo de Homem [Man's Talk] has just started a solidarity blog meme. Every blogger should donate R$100.00 (about US$43.00), post a picture of the receipt and link to three other blogs, who should in turn do the meme too. Here is how it works:
1. Fez seu post, doa R$100 – deixa de ser mão de vaca, é R$100 mesmo, imagina se fosse você que tivesse perdido tudo. Se o seu amigo for universitário quebrado e chorão, aí sim deixa doar R$50. Só não deixa ficar de fora.
2. Chama mais 3. Se eles fizerem corpo mole, pode chamar os caras de imbecis. Todo mundo tem grana pro bar, pra balada, pra comprar porcaria. Não adianta vir com papo de biba.
3. Linka o Alles Blau, que vai catalogar todos os participantes.
Conta para Doação
Banco do Brasil
Agência: 3582-3
Conta Corrente: 80.000-7
Fundo Estadual da Defesa Civil para Doações
In all, and not only from bloggers, the state has received over R$3.5 million (approximately US$1.5 million) in donations. Domingos Secco, who had been asking around for blog mobilization, joins the meme and says that R$100 is worth more than a thousand words:
Tem horas que a saída é botar a mão no bolso e ajudar as pessoas que precisam. Falar, orientar, criticar, rezar, tudo isso fica em segundo plano, pois milhares de pessoas precisam de suporte material. Para quem está à distância, como eu, a única força de ajudar a tantos irmãos é fazendo uma doação monetária. Sim, existem outras formas como envio de alimentos prontos, roupas, material de construção, etc. Realmente a situação é crítica.
Citizen Media 3: Mainstrean Media 0
The mobilization to help the victims of the disaster in Santa Catarina started with Twitter on Saturday November 22 with local residents themselves giving updates of everything happening nearby. Volunteers and victims used the tool to frenetically exchange messages and catch up on the #blumenau channel. Guilherme Felitti writes at Digital Age 2.0 about how the tool has been well explored in recent tragedies in Brazil and India, and how it worked as a direct information channel in both cases, with real time content produced by those affected by the tragedy and not just by a reporter who arrived too late to experience the commotion:
Enquanto a mídia local se organizava na cobertura, o Twitter demonstrava os principais problemas enfrentados pelos moradores pelo excesso de água acumulado em avenidas da cidade. Não demorou muito até que viessem os relatos mais contundentes, sejam em vídeos publicados no YouTube de barrancos desabando (maior causa de mortes, diz a Defesa Civil do Estado) seja em fotos publicadas no Flickr das ruas completamente tomadas pela lama (as que ilustram esse post, por exemplo). Blogs, sejam criados apenas para cobrir a tragédia, como o ótimo AllesBlau (“tudo bem”, em alemão), focado em publicar histórias de residentes e agregar conteúdos amadores encontrados por serviços colaborativos, ou tradicionais, entraram na roda com o principal propósito de espalhar informações sobre a situação da região como forma de sensibilização da opinião pública.
Blog do Kalel criticizes the media coverage (first being slow to pick up the issue or give it due importance and then sensationalizing it) and highlights the work done by other bloggers to report fairly and quickly on the news without sensationalism. He says they are actually changing the way journalism is done in Brazil:
O blog Poracaso, sediado em Jaraguá do Sul, uma das cidades mais atingidas em Santa Catarina, além de produzir uma cobertura mais intensa do que a das redes oficiais de TV, iniciou uma campanha de solidariedade e conseguiu em poucas horas, durante o dia de ontem, mobilizar dezenas de voluntários. Os cidadãos-repórteres também ajudam autoridades a avaliar o risco de pontes e outros locais atingidos pelas águas. Câmaras portáteis e aparelhos celulares permitem fazer imagens de qualidade suficiente para publicação na internet, mas alguns moradores conseguem produzir vídeos com qualidade para transmissão pela TV, oferecendo alternativas interessantes e variadas para os editores. Em alguns casos, as imagens só podem ser captadas por quem mora ou estava passando pelo local, pois todo o Sul do Brasil tinha até ontem várias comunidades isoladas pelas enchentes. Se a chamada grande imprensa relutou até aqui em assumir oficialmente uma relação de parceria com seus leitores e telespectadores, a tecnologia e os acontecimentos acabam de produzir uma mudança radical no modo de fazer jornalismo.
Carlos Castilho from Observatório da Imprensa [Press Observatory] underlines the main differences between the less agile traditional media and the more to-the-point citizen media coverage:
Os deslizes e escorregões de repórteres durante coberturas de grandes tragédias são inevitáveis, dada a tensão e a emoção envolvidas no trabalho dos jornalistas. Mas os erros servem também para mostrar o tipo de cultura e de valores que orienta o comportamento dos repórteres e apresentadores. É nesta questão que fica claríssima a diferença de enfoques entre os profissionais da mídia convencional e os blogs produzidos por amadores e free lancers. Enquanto os primeiros estavam preocupados com a sua apresentação, ou seja, na imagem projetada para o público, os blogueiros estavam mergulhados na tarefa de prestar serviços aos atingidos por aquela que já é considerada a pior enchente de Blumenau, uma cidade periodicamente afetada por inundações do rio Itajaí-Açu.
There are also Blog dos Desabrigados [Blog of the Displaced, pt] with a search system where people can find where their friends or relatives are being sheltered; a volunteer support network set up at Arca de Noé [Noah's Ark, pt] blog, where people can send photos and videos, and provide first hand news on the situation. Designer Rodrigo Muller has contributed the poster below, which has made it to posts on many blogs:
Give what you can spare to those who need it most, by Rodrigo Muller

author: Paula Góes


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Central & Eastern Europe: Obituaries · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas re-posts The Economist‘s obits of Mieczyslaw Rakowski, a Polish Communist journalist and politician, who died on Nov. 8, and of Boris Fyodorov, a Russian economic reformer, who died on Nov. 20. Borut Peterlin notes the death of Vilko Filač, the “cameraman of Emir Kusturica’s best movies.”


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China: Taxi Driver Strike, Union and Street Democracy  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Taxi drivers from around the country have been in strike for a month. The first protest appeared in Chongqin in November 3, then it spread to Hainan, Gansu, Yunnan, Shandong, Qingdao, Jinan, Fujian, Shantou, Wubei, Shaanxi and etc.
Tomorrow (1 of December), it is likely that Guangzhou will have another Taxi driver strike, and a campaign letter has been circulating around. Beifeng scanned the letter and put it up on his blog; chong posted a backup copy at inmediahk.net:
Letter calling for strike
倡議書
全廣州市出租車駕駛員朋友們：
受世界金融風暴影響，廣州出租行業面臨巨大的生存考驗，近段時間出租車司機叫苦連天。現在市面上存在很多異地出租和私家小汽車同我們正規出租車争食的現象，廣州市政府和交委管理無力，不能給我們一個良好的營運環境。公司承包費用太貴，我們身上的擔子太重了，重加上各方面對我們的出租車的欺壓，違章還要停場，這些種種，把我們的司機朋友都快壓跨了。所以，現在倡議全市出租車司機朋友在２００８年１２月１日上午８點３０分到廣園路廣州市交委和東風路廣州市政府聚集，向交委和市委提出我們的要求，希望能得到滿意的答覆。希望各位司機朋友積極參與，為我們這個行業的發展，也為了你個人的利益。
不參加聚集的司機朋友，我也希望你在１２月日不要開車上路營運，因為我們聚集的司機可能有過激行為，會給你帶來不必要損失。
倡議人：
２００８年１１月２７日
（希望收到傳單的司機朋友互相知照，掏幾塊錢複印幾份，再分發出去，致謝！）
To all taxi driver friends in Guangzhou city:
Affected by the global financial crisis, the taxi industry in Guangzhou is going through a survival crisis. Recently taxi drivers have been suffering because of the vicious competition from private cabs from other provinces. However, the Guangzhou city government and the Transportation committee fail to control the situation and improve our business environment. The contract fee from taxi company is too high, our burden is too heavy. We are oppressed by many regulation, any violation would lead to suspension of our driving license. All these together have make our Taxi driver friends suffocated. Therefore, now we advocate Taxi driver friends to visit the Guangzhou city transportation committee at Guangyuen Road and Guangzhou city government at Dongfeng Road on 1 of December at 8:30am. We will put forward our demand to the government and committee and expect a satisfactory response. Wish all of our Taxi driver friends will participate for the sake of Taxi business and for the sake of our own interest.
If you decide not to join the action, I wish you not to drive the cab on that day because some of the drivers may have radical action and may cause you damage.
Campaigner:
(name covered)
27 of Nov, 2008
(For those who have received this pamphlet, please tell your Taxi driver friends. Please donate a few dollars for photocopying and distribute it around. Thank you!)
Timeline for the nationwide Taxi driver strikes
Early in Nov 23, there was a confrontation between a Taxi and a private vehicle in Guangzhou, which leaded to a temporary blocking of a major express road by more than a hundred Taxis. This episode was connected to the nation-wide taxi drivers strike. Xin Lijian draws a simple timeline of the strikes in November:
11月3日 重庆市出租车司机举行全城大罢工
11月8日 湖北荆州数百出租车因加气难停运
11月10日 三亚出租车因租金过高等问题罢运
11月10日 甘肃永登上百辆出租集体罢运
11月19日 重庆永川出租车停运
11月20日 广东汕头出租车停运
11月24日 陕西周至县100多辆出租车停运
Taxi driver union needed
The blogger also points out that the fundamental problem is due to the middle rank exploitation by the Taxi company:
中国的出租车行业的准入机制早已为这一系列的事情埋下了隐患。出租车本身可以做为私人经营的行业，通过行政审批的过程，最后变成出租车公司来“代理出租车经营业务”，这样就为公司剥削司机提供了先天条件。而这一衍生的“出租车公司”，一直拥着垄断利润的最高层；而出租车司机俨然成为这个垄断利益链的最底层。出租车司机除要交纳一定的公司费用之外，还要承担市场的风险，如油价、客源、交通处罚、车辆损耗等。还有个人的基本保障问题，合法权益问题。这个问题长期以来存在的矛盾，最终得到集体性的暴发，也是意料之中的事情。
In order to deal with the problem the All China Federation of Trade Unions suggested Taxi drivers to organize union to negotiate with Taxi company. However lakeside guest house points out that an effective union should be directly elected by Taxi drivers, or else the conflicts cannot be solved:
如果我们想切实地保障工人们的权益，那么，最有效的办法是支持工人们通过民主选举，建立属于自己的、拥有公信力的自治组织，如此，工人们与政府、企业之间才有可能进行更为平等、直接、尖锐的谈判、交涉，并达到最后的妥协，从而以和平的方式解决相应的问题。
Street Democracy
Collective negotiation is of course a form of democratic practice, however, Beifeng quotes from a Singapore newspapers which pointed out that the Taxi driver strike as a form of street democracy should also be recognized:
如何面对群体性事件频繁发生的状况，特别是面对以往贴了负面标签的“街头民主”行动，政府需要有适应事件与学习处理的过程。《联合早报》的评论认为：“从政府层面而言，如何摆脱对街头民主的固有观念，鼓励和帮助公民社会的发展，将是一个新的课题，也是一个必经的政治转型过程。”评论乐观地估计：“这次出租车罢工事件以及政府的处理方法可以说是一个转折点。它表明街头民主在中国也可以是一种民意表达的渠道，同样可以通过对话和协商的形式得到和平解决。”

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
Croatia: Creator of Anti-PM Facebook Group Arrested · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Svetlana Gladkova reports on Profy on the arrest (and the subsequent release) of a Croatian man who created a Facebook group (HRV) “I bet I will find 5,000 people who do not like [Croatia's PM Ivo Sanader].” The group now has over 9,000 members.


text:
Czech Republic: Notes on Prague · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Notes on a visit to Prague – at Dr. Sean's Diary, here and here.


text:
Czech Republic, USA: “Growing Up ‘Cesky’” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

An interview with a Czech-American woman on her experiences of growing up “in the midst of the 2 cultures (Czech and American)” and other issues – at Czechmatediary, in four installments: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.


text:
Hungary, Czech Republic: Romaphobia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Hungarian Spectrum reports on the murder of a 14-year-old girl in a Hungarian village, which led to an anti-Roma rally. The Reference Frame is unhappy with Al Jazeera's story on discrimination against the Czech Republic's Roma children in their access to education.


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Israel: In the army – and Muslim? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Mo-ha-med describes meeting Ossama – Arab, Muslim, and a soldier in the Israeli army.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


text:
Korea: The Birth of Internet Netizen Legend · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A new Hong Gil Dong [EN] emerged on the Internet of Korea! A netizen who is just known as “Minerva” started writing his economic analysis in Agora—a Netizens’ panel— in a major portal site, Daum from 2007. He predicted the collapse of Leman Brothers, sudden jump in the foreign exchange rate, and fluctuations of real estate business. His syndrome is explosive and he is more popular and trusted than the government. The government reacts sensitively to the unknown netizen and tries to find who he is under the pretext of having conversations with him.
He became an Internet Legend.
Who is Minerva? It is a question by not just the government, but the netizens.
아고라 미네르바는 포털 사이트 다음의 아고라에서 활동하는 인터넷 유명 논객이다. 리먼 브러더스의 부실과 환율 폭등 등, 대한민국 경제의 변동 추이를 정확히 예견하여 주목을 받았다. 그의 영향력을 인식한 기획재정부는 그에게 정부의 방침을 설명하거나 자료를 제공하는 등 소통하는 방안을 검토 중이라고 밝혔다.[…] 자신을 ‘고구마 파는 늙은이’라고 칭하며 본인의 신원에 대해 밝히는 것을 꺼리면서 직업이나 경력 등에 대한 정보는 알려진 바 없었으나 정보당국은 포털 사이트 다음을 통해서 알아본 결과 나이는 50대 초반이고 증권사에 다녔으며 해외에서 생활한 경험이 있는 사람이라고 파악했다.[2] 정보 당국의 이 같은 조사에 대해 대해 논란이 일어나기도 했다. 이후 미네르바는 “국가가 침묵을 명령했으니 글쓰기를 멈추겠다. 경제 예측을 하는 것을 불법사유라고 하다니…‘조국’과 ‘한민족’이라는 이름으로 포장된 애국심을 갖고 공동체 의식 속에 살아 온 것이 얼마나 가증스런 기만인지 깨닫는 계기가 됐다”는 글을 남겼다.
Minerva’s prediction and sensitive reactions of the government seem to bring more attention.
[…]'미네르바'는 올 7월에 있어던 미국 서브프라임 사태의 불똥이 한국에 옮겨붙을 것도 예측 했었다고 하네요..전 그것까지는 몰랐었는데.. 암튼 미네르바 뿐만 아니라 다른 여러 사이버 논객들이 경제 위기와 관련한 글들을 올리면서 정부 정책을 비판하는 사례가 많아지니까 현재 강만수장관 뿐만 아니라 다른 많은 정부 관료들이 상당히 고심 중이라고 하네요..
Despite the government pressure, his popularity is ballooning and his writing circulates everywhere. People who even didn’t know about him search for him after the government reaction.
미네르바 님의 글은 어디가서 볼수있나요? 아고라에서 미네님 글을 검색해도 없네요 부탁합니다. 모음집이면 더 좋구요.
Netizens exchange their information and even made a web-café that collected all his writing. Some of them made his writing as an internet book.
요새같은 경제불황에 정부에 의지하지말고 본인이 정보를 얻는게 힘인것같요. 다음 아고라에서 경제예측으로 유명했던 미네르바님의 주옥같은 글을 모아놓은 카페입니다. 10분이라도 읽어보시는걸 추천해드려요~
Netizens explain why his writing appeals to many people.
‘신드롬'까지 일으키며 정계를 비롯한 사회 전반적인 파장을 몰고 온 ‘미네르바'라는 필명의 논객이 쓴 글 모음입니다. 이 논객의 글을 신뢰하느냐 마느냐의 문제는 개인적인 판단에 따른 것이므로 제가 왈가왈부 할 성격의 요점이 아닐 것입니다. 다만, 우리 사회가 이렇듯 단절되고 소통이 이루어지지 않았던 것의 원인이 ‘나와 다른 것은 배척한다'라는 정신에 입각한 것이었음을 감안해야 함은 필연적임을 누차 강조해도 과하지 않습니다. 따라서 의견이 같고 다르고의 문제를 떠나 ‘미네르바'라는 논객이 어째서 신드롬을 일으킨 것인지, 정부의 말은 불신하면서 일개 네티즌의 말에는 귀를 기울이는 웃지 못할 상황이 왜 벌어지는 것인지 반드시 확인해야 합니다.어려운 경제 용어에 대해서 전혀 모르는 제가 봐도, 그저 ‘믿음'과 ‘확신'만을 바라는 정부보단 훨씬 논리적임을 느낄 수 있었습니다. 읽어 보시면 신드롬에 대해 어느 정도 이해를 하시리라 봅니다.
Netizens criticize how the government responds to this syndrome.
제가 알기론 요즘 ‘미네르바'나 ‘김광수'등 사이버 논객들이 정부의 정책에 대해서 신랄하게 비판하기도 해서 정부 정책 신뢰도에 큰 영향을 끼치고 있다 보니까..기획재정부가 외국 언론의 한국에 대한 부정적 보도에 대응할려고 외신 대변인 제도를 부활하기로 결정 하면서, 사이버 경제 논객인 ‘미네르바'와 김광수경제연구소의 ‘김광수'등에게 정부 방침을 설명하거나 자료를 제공하는 등 일련의 소통(?)을 하려고 찾는 거래요. 아무래도 이들 논객들이 올린 글들은 평균 조회소도 5만건을 넘어서고 1천건 이상의 댓글들이 달리기도 하는 등 사이버에서 상당한 영향을 미치고 있기 때문에 더욱 그런 것 같은데요. 과연 이렇게 하는게 적절한 방법인지 잘 모르겠네요..재정부는 적절한 비판은 귀담아 들어도, 잘못된 통계를 인용한다거나 근겅벗이 비판할 경우에는 정부 입장을 설명할 필요가 있다고 말했다는데..강만수 기획재정부 장관은 사이버 논객들이 재정부와 똑같은 생각을 하고 같은 방향을 바라보는 것을 원하는 건가요.. 비판적인 시각 따위는 아예 뿌리뽑고 싶은 걸까요? 그리고 ‘미네르바'는 자신의 직업을 고구마 파는 늙은이로 소개하기도 하는 등 언론의 노출을 바라지 않는 것 같았는데, 재정부가 이렇게 사이버 논객들을 찾아내서 자신들의 정책을 설명하고 어쩌고 하게되면 과연 그들이 자유로운 의사 표현을 할 수 있을까요? 여러모로 많이 생각해봐야 할 문제인 것 같습니다..;;
There are concerns about this sudden syndrome.
이 모든 소동의 중심에는 정부와 주류를형성하는 관료, 학자들이 일차적으로 책임이있다. 막말로 그들이 잘했으면은, 조금이라도 방향을 제대로 말했으면, 미네르바란 인물이 애초부터 나올일은 없었을것이며, 신원조회, 검찰조사 협박 이런류의 뭐라 표현해야할지 모를정도로 구린 대응을 하지 않았으면 아마 나같은 애들은 미네르바란 이름도 몰랐을거다.
오죽 혼란스러우며, 믿고기댈대가없으면은 온라인의 한 논객에 온국민이 열광하나. 집권자들이 보기엔 두려울것이다. 이해는간다. 아무튼 그들이 자초한거며, 이건 그 하나의 입을 막는다고 해결될일이 절대로 아닌, 자기들 스스로해결해야 할 문제다. 단 하나 걱정되는건, 이제 이 상황에서 적절한 예측과 호소력이있으면은 엄청난 파워를가지게된다는걸 본의아니게(?) 미네르바가 증명해준거다. 다행히 그는 순수한 의도였던것 같지만 이런 좋은 기회를 화려한말빨, 적당한 지식으로 무장한 놈들이 이용하지말란법은 없다. 그리고, 그때는정말 정부가 두려워하는 상황이 벌어질수도 있을거다.
세기말보다 더한 종말론적인 분위기가 퍼져간다. U.S.에서는 이미 NYU의 한 비관론적 성향을 가진 교수가 큰 주목을 받았는데, 한국에선 IT강국답게(?) 인터넷포탈싸이트 익명논객이 그런 각광을 받고있다. 어찌됐든, 인터넷의 한 논객의 말이 이런 파워를 지니는것은 분명히 건강하지 못한 위험한 상황이고, 이 책임은 글 서두에 말했듯 정부, 주류 학계에 있다고본다.
Now, things are chaotic. People are excited at a disputant in the Internet because they don’t know whom they have to trust. Therefore, the authority would be afraid of this reaction. I understand. But this is what the government caused. Blocking one person’s mouth will not solve these problems. The government should find a better way. What I am worried at present is that the Minerva symptom proved if you make predictions and have convincing power, you can have enormous power. Fortunately, his intention was pure. But people who have bad intentions and have knowledge could make use of this kind of chance later. Then if it happens, it will be a really scary moment for the government to control.
Negative atmosphere is spreading over now. A professor who has pessimistic views at NYU in the US has been receiving attention recently. Now in Korea fitting for the characteristic as an IT country, an unknown netizen on an Internet portal site gets the attention. Anyway, the fact that a netizen could obtain such a power is very dangerous and the government and major scholars should take the responsibility.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kosovo: Haradinaj’s Profile; Discussion at LSE · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Popkitchen posts a critique of a Vanity Fair profile of Ramush Haradinaj, a former guerrilla leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and former prime minister of Kosovo, and writes about a recent discussion on Kosovo's independence held at the London School of Economics.


text:
Lao: Traditional Wedding · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Amphone posts images from a traditional Lao wedding in the US.

author: Preetam Rai


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Macedonia: “The First (!?) Macedonian Webcomics” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Filip Stojanovski of Razvigor :-) reports that “[a]t last an independent Macedonian artist has started publishing a genuine webcomics [MKD].”


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Japan: Mainichi’s Wikipedia Slip-up · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Ignoring the fact that Wikipedia timestamps are in GMT and not JST (Japan Standard Time), on the 18th of November the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun published an article entitled, “Attack on the former vice-Director's home: crime announced on the Internet six hours earlier… hinting at the crime?” (元次官宅襲撃：事件６時間前にネット書き込み…犯行示唆) where a Wikipedia contributor (“Popons”) was erroneously identified [en] as involved in the attempted murder [en] of Yasuko Yoshihara, wife of former vice health minister Kenji Yoshihara, following on the murders of former vice health minister Takehiko Yamaguchi and his wife Michiko.
Mainichi's mistake, however, was promptly identified by 2-channelers:
758 ：無党派さん：2008/11/19(水) 02:52:53 ID:lqKwKi4w
>>754
wikipedia:社会保険庁長官 の変更履歴　　　（毎日はこれを見て誤報に至る）
てか、これ大誤報だろ。この変更時間ってGMTのはずだから、
実際は午後9時27分じゃないのか。
The news immediately roused reaction among some bloggers. One of them, Hiroyuki Fujishiro [藤代裕之] at Gatonews, stressing how factually incorrect news was taken to be correct by other media, remarked on the newspaper's responsibility as author of the original report:
誤報やネットへのリテラシー不足よりも問題なのはその取材手法です。すでに消されてウェブ魚拓に残っている毎日の記事元次官宅襲撃：事件６時間前にネット書き込み…犯行示唆に『アクセスの記録などから書き込みがなされたパソコンが特定できるとみられ、捜査本部は慎重に調べている』という文面があります。これは、毎日報道「ネットに犯行示唆」は誤報という産経新聞の記事の『書き込みの内容は、参考情報として、捜査当局にも伝えていたという』で明らかなように、記者がウィキペディアの書き込みを見つけて警察に伝えて記事にしたものです。
[…]
あいまいな記事の書き方はマスメディアにも警察にもメリットがあります。マスメディアは「捜査本部は調べている」とまるで情報主体が警察にあるように書くことで責任を回避できますし、警察は情報の非対称を利用して記者をコントロールすることが出来ます。
The next day, Mainichi published few lines where they apologized [jp] “for reporting that the edit on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia was a pre-announcement of the crime while, instead, the edit time was p.m., after the crime had already been committed, and not before.” However this attracted even more criticism by many bloggers, who harshly blamed the newspaper, because in the apology there is no mention to Popons, the editor who was irresponsibly accused of being directly involved in the stabbing, as id: Britty [ja], for example, pointed out:
ウェブ魚拓を見ると、その「犯行予告」なるものを投稿した投稿者のログイン名が掲載されている。上記のお詫び記事ではそのことについては言及がない。時刻表記を取り違えたことだけを「お詫びして訂正」している。ほんとうに詫びるべきは、不用意に特定投稿者の名前を掲載したこと、そのことでその方に迷惑をかけたことなのではないであろうか。
While the few lines by Mainichi seemed shallow to many [jp], at his personal page, the Wikipedia user Popons expressed his heartfelt apologies for what happened:
私の書き込みが社会保険庁長官の件で、ご遺族の方々、捜査関係者の方々にたいへんなご迷惑をおかけしましたことを反省いたしております。先ほどのニュースで知りました。申し訳ございませんでした。大変申し訳ございませんでした。特にご遺族の方々、申し訳ございませんでした。私は北陸在住でプロバイダもそちらのものです。 ただいま、地元警察のほうへ、連絡し、謝罪の電話をいたしました。申し訳ございませんでした。–Popons 2008年11月18日 (火) 21:35 (UTC)

author: Scilla Alecci


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Moldova, CEE: Rural Bus Stops; Hammer & Sickle @ Flickr · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photos of rural bus stops in Moldova – at Scraps of Moscow. A link to a Hammer and Sickle group on Flickr – at LimbicNutrition Weblog.


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Nigeria: Hundreds of deaths in post-election riots · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in the violence that erupted in Jos, Plateau State, Central Nigeria on Friday November 28th over a disputed local election.
(Photo by citizen journalism portal Sahara Reporters)
Saralynn, a missionary based in Jos, described the situation on Saturday:
I fled my house today.
David woke me up at about 06:45 to tell me he thought there was trouble. I'd heard the sirens in my sleep and realised with a start that I also heard gunshots. And the sirens were going on and on–one after another. There were local elections here yesterday, and the governor had deployed troops to keep the peace. But that was yesterday. […]
My parents’ driver/gardener came around 08:45 […]. He told us of youths on the streets, of burning tires, of soldiers, of people out with knives and big sticks.
Jeremy Weate of Naijablog reported that blogger Talatu-Carmen was locked-down in the family compound with a hundred other people. He also copied a letter sent by Zamani's farms in Jos to their customers about the situation in the city:
Two of our delivery staff — Audu, our head driver, and Ado, our delivery assistant — had their houses burnt down and lost all of their belongings. This afternoon I spent driving all around Jos looking for their families in some of the refugee camps set up around the town after people were evacuated from their area by the army. We finally found them, and brought them back to my compound. So we currently have about 25 refugees in the house.  [..]
Moving around in Jos is not easy, and we are not sure when the situation will return to normal. Today we couldn't get to the farm (30km away from the house) because many of the roads were blocked and parts of Jos are under 24 hour curfew. Fortunately everything is normal at the farm and so far there have not been any incidents of violence in the rural areas around Jos. But it is impossible to get some items like onions and potatoes that we source locally because no one is coming in to Jos with these items. Everything in Jos — shops, markets, banks, etc.– are all closed and the city is virtually deserted. All the inhabitants are locked in their homes.
Adeola Aderounmu of the blog Thy Glory O Nigeria…! thinks that “in Nigeria the politicians over the years have continued to blend politics and religion” and that Nigerian politics are a “winner takes all game”. Because of that, he thinks there will not be a punishment for the perpetrators of the riot killings:
In Jos-Nigeria, hundreds of people may have lost their lives because of an election that took the dimension of religious inclination. You can imagine that ignorance remains a weapon that has been used to send innocent people to their early graves. The perpetrators of these evil acts will never be found. They will never be brought to book. In Nigeria, this type of killing usually comes with the backings of some wicked politicians. The perpetrators enjoy privileged protection or anonymity and they will be unleashed again to do the same harm in the future. This is why religious riots or political riots associated with religion remains recurring incidents in Nigeria.
Naija Pundit of My Nigeria, on the other hand, doesn't think that the riots have a religious root:
PDP and ANPP are secular parties which do contain religious fundamentalists in them, but those elements are the exception rather than the norm when it comes time to set party policies and activities.
What is going on in Jos right now is all about the perceived politics of disenfranchisement, and not religion.
[…]
So Nigerian papers say the strife was as a result of what is being perceived as a stolen election, but the BBC takes that, twists it around, and turns it into a story of Christians vs. Muslims, obviously a story that will garner more interest in the West, but one that sets religious relations back immensely across the board.
[…]
The wonders of western media… I guess next time there is economic beef going down in the UK, Nigerian media should say it is a race war between the white anglo-saxons and their former subjects from the continent or the island…
Osize Omoluabi of Mootbox points out that “like every conflict in Nigeria, all parties involved can not seem to agree on the nature of the conflict”:
Some believe it is just a bunch of mean spirited thugs being used by a few godfathers to achieve political goals. Others claim it is an all out religious /ethnic violence. I will stick to what a wise old man told me ten years ago, he said, “when it comes to sectarian violence in Nigeria, in the end, all violence in Nigeria is driven by Economics”.
And he concludes:
As the unrest in Jos unfolds it is especially useful to keep in mind that Christians and Muslims live side by side in Jos and this arrangement has remained this way since these religions where introduced to the region. It is even more interesting that once this unrest passes, life will return to normal and these groups will go about their business and worship like nothing happened.
[…] It is noteworthy that if all parties involved, providing infrastructure for the government, building community and developing grass root ties for the different religious organizations, the city of Jos would not have been in its present state.  Why can’t we all get along? Because there isn’t enough to go around.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Poland: A Racist Country? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Discussions on whether Poland is a “racist country” – at the POLSKI blog, Raf Uzar, and Eternal Remont.


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Russia: Moscow’s “VIP Taxi” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Photo reports from inside Moscow's “VIP Taxi” – at Two-Zero's Diary, here and here.


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Russia, Ukraine: Party News · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Ivanov Report writes about last week's 10th Congress of the ruling United Russia party: “The victors have suddenly realized that as the ‘leading political force of the country’, it's their job to deal with the crisis and face its inevitably negative political and social consequences.” Taras Kuzio reports that president Victor Yushchenko has been elected head of Our Ukraine party: “This is like deciding to jump from dry land on to the sinking Titanic.”


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Russia: Yevgeny Kolesov and Politkovskaya Trial · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Coalson of RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about “the open-again, closed-again, open-again trial of three men allegedly involved in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya” and the role that former juror Yevgeny Kolesov has played in it.


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Thailand: Free Ride to PAD · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Thailand Jumped the Shark wonders why “the foreign embassies and the international community have given the PAD a free ride, considering the PAD has broken multiple Thai and international terrorism laws and international travel treaties.” PAD, the opposition party leading the current protests in Bangkok has blockaded the main airports of Bangkok.


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The Baltics, India: “The Dangers of Turning a Minority into an Underclass” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Lithuania-based Andrei Khrapavitski of Belarusan American Blog reflects on the events in Mumbai and suggests there might be a “lesson for the Baltics” there: “I know any status comparisons of Muslims in India to a Russian minority in Latvia or Estonia would be more than far-fetched, nevertheless I can see how volatile a relationship between a majority and a large minority can become if the latter is openly and methodically disfranchised by the former.”


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Ukraine: “No Other Home: The Crimean Tatars” – in Romania and Online · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Maria Sonevytsky of My Simferopol Home announces the upcoming exhibition of the “No Other Home: The Crimean Tatars” project in Bucharest, Romania, in mid-December, and links to a related story on Crimean Tatars, complete with photos and audio, published in the online magazine Triple Canopy.


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Ukraine: Ruthenians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Some background and a translation of an Izvestiya piece on Ukraine's Ruthenians – at Robert Amsterdam's blog.


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Ukraine: Taras Kuzio on Yushchenko · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Taras Kuzio analyzes “the achievements and failures and unfulfilled expectations of the last four years” in Ukraine – here and here, and also writes that president Yushchenko “had over-focused on the issue [of Holodomor] to the detriment of contemporary political and economic concerns.”


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Waxal: First African Blog Award for Journalists · Global Voices
Norbert Bousigue

The first Waxal Blogging Africa Awards have been just launched! All African bloggers who work as journalists can submit their blogs. The deadline is the 7th of December 2008. The individual winners – one for an English blog, one for a French blog – and one for a blogging organization, will be rewarded with a cash prize, and all the best blogs will be promoted by the organizers through various channels.
Panos Institute of West Africa [fr], one of eight institutes of the global Panos network, an independent institution that promotes new media and communication in developing countries, took this initiative, in partnership with Highway Africa, Rhodes University and SABC – and Global Voices.
Here is the call for nominations to the awards:
WAXAL (pronounced WA-HAL) means “speak” in Wolof (Senegalese language) and the word captures the essence of the evolution of the worldwide web as a platform for conversation and for the raising of marginalized voices.
For this first edition, the WAXAL Awards will seek to recognize the production of blogs by people working as journalists (from all kind of media: print, online, radio, TV) and by African organizations working to favour the production of alternative information and citizen expression.
To this end the awards are in the following category:
1.  Best French-speaking Journalist Blog
2.  Best English-speaking Journalist Blog
3.  Best Citizen Journalist Blog produced by an African Organization
The first and second categories will recognize individual journalist blogs, whereas the third category will reward  individual organization's blogs. For this last category, the blog content can be in French or English. It’s envisaged to include other languages, notably African languages, in next editions of the blog contest. Apart from promoting blogs, this contest will help understand, among others, issues related to journalists’ use of blog in Africa. Internet users can vote online for the 5 Best Blogs in each category. A bilingual panel of judges composed of media professionals will select the winners.
Who can participate?
For the first two categories, the WAXAL Awards is open to any African citizen who owns his own blog, but works as journalist in any kind of media organ, online or conventional (print media, radio, TV) or who works as freelance journalist. The blog submitted should be the journalist own blog, instead of the blog of the media organ for which he/she works.
For the third category, blogs should have been produced by African organization, with the aim to produce alternative, citizen information, raise marginalized communities voices. Blogs just reporting on an organization’s activities are excluded.

author: Norbert Bousigue


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World AIDS Day: Blogging Positively · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

This year marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, which takes place every year on December 1. Though the impact of HIV and AIDS is felt by millions of people globally every day, this particular day can help bring much-needed attention to the disease.
The theme for this year's World AIDS Day is “Lead – Empower – Deliver,” highlighting the political leadership required to truly combat the disease. While the global percentage of adults living with HIV has leveled off since 2000, 33 million people are still living with the virus and there are nearly 7,500 new infections each day. Rates of new HIV infections are also rising in many countries, such as China, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Russia, and Vietnam. AIDS is also taking its toll — 2 million people died of the disease last year.
Blogs from around the world are putting faces to these statistics, sharing stories of caring for those with HIV/AIDS, how the disease impacts people's daily lives, and the stigma that accompanies the disease. These first-hand accounts show both the progress that has been made in fighting this disease, and how much work still needs to be done.
In Poz For Life 20-year-old Russell blogs from Australia about being HIV positive in hopes that it will encourage others to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and to play it safe. In his first post he recalls being tested for HIV and the awful waiting period before receiving the results. Here is how he found out he was HIV positive:
“I got there [the doctor's office] around 10:30am and went straight in, it was like they where waiting for me ready to take my soul and toss it out the 4th story. I went into his office and I sat down, then I hear ‘Russell am sorry to say but the test for HIV is positive.’ I froze for a few seconds and just looked amazed. What felt like a lifetime of silence was around 30 seconds. I said ‘I was thinking it might come back that way.’ I can't believe that I said that, really the first words out of my mouth was I thought it might come back that way.”
The AZUR Development organization's blog AIDS Rights Congo, a Rising Voices project, advocates for the rights of HIV-positive people. Their posts show the discrimination and stigma faced by those living with the virus in Congo. One post talks about the life of “Bernadette,” a young woman who is a clothing vendor at the Tié-Tié market in Pointe-Noire. Her life changes when her friend at the market divulges Bernadette's HIV positive status.
“At the market, her neighbors immediately desert their tables; which even attract the attention of those responsible for managing the market, who, conscious of the fact that having a table at the market is a difficult thing, are surprised to find empty tables around her. The situation has put everyone on alert, and those passing from far away can hear the neighbor’s gossip on the fact that she is a woman infected with HIV. However there are no outward signs that Bernadette is sick, one cannot read it on her face. The illness is not at an advanced stage and she is not on ARV [Antiretroviral] treatment. She is simply a normal young woman.
In a setback, traumatized by the situation, she stops her little shop.”
Juan Carlos,  a 29-year-old from Ecuador, blogs about coping with being HIV positive. In one post he talks about the importance of balance and the benefits of talking to someone about what you're going through.
Hay mucha gente seropositiva que obvia la ayuda de los psicólogos a lo largo de sus vidas. Personalmente, si hay alguien que escuche o lea esto… yo creo que siempre es bueno conversar con un psicólogo cada cierto tiempo, hace que los días más sombríos se vuelvan más claros y nos ayuda a sobre llevar mejor nuestra vida con este virus y nuestros demás problemas.
Pinoy Poz, who lives in Quezon City in the Philippines, blogs about living with HIV and the difficulties of disclosing his HIV status. He came out about being gay at the age of 21, but nine years later went “back in the closet” after finding out he was HIV positive. In this post he talks about how telling people he's HIV positive hasn't been as bad as he feared, but it's still hard.
“Honestly, I’ve been too chicken to tell some of my other contacts myself. And when I say contacts, I mean… okay, sexual contacts. So I did the next best thing. I backtracked through my sexual contacts up to more than a year ago, and had a friend contact them anonymously, to advise them to get tested for HIV. The reactions varied from asking who the sender was, replying to the anonymous number that they’d just gotten tested, sending foul messages to their alleged stalker, or most commonly, assuming that they did get the message, not replying. But I felt that was as decent a warning as I could manage.”
There are anecdotes similar to these posts from all over the world. This Global Voices Google map of HIV-positive bloggers highlights more voices of openly HIV-positive bloggers and caretakers, and other citizen media related to HIV/AIDS. So take a look and read their amazing stories. The map is embeddable, so you can add it to your Web site or blog. Though it is being launched in conjunction with World AIDS Day, the map will continue to be updated throughout the year.
Photo of AIDS Ribbon In Tree by ttfnrob.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Afghanistan: Obama’s New Policy for Kabul · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Azar Balkhi reflects on the U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and cites a private Afghan newspaper, which has said it would be “unwise” if the new American administration to keep on supporting President Hamed Karzai as a legacy of George Bush.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Argentina: Building Preservation Law Set to Expire · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Rodrigo Ruiz Ciancia of Basta de Demoler [es], a blog dedicated to the preservation of historical buildings in Buenos Aires, writes about a Preservation Law that is set to expire in mid-December, which would leave approximately 3,600 buildings unprotected.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Armenia: World AIDS Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

To mark World AIDS Day, Unzipped: Gay Armenia looks back at the year and posts links to blog posts and stories regarding HIV/AIDS in Armenia. The blog also posts details of events being staged in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and promises updates later in the day.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: World AIDS Day Events · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Pink Armenia, a local NGO campaigning for LGBT rights as well as the prevention of sexually-transmitted diseases and infections, posts details of events to be staged in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, in cooperation with other NGOs to mark World AIDS Day. The schedule includes a public march, the distribution of free condoms, radio broadcasts and a concert by three punk bands accompanied by video presentations.


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Bangladesh: Risk of HIV/AIDS · Global Voices
Rezwan

An Ordinary Citizen describes the scenario of HIV/AIDS awareness in his country: “Bangladesh is vulnerable to HIV/AIDS for its poor regulation, poverty, lack of adequate health support, illiteracy, lack of health education, lack of awareness about HIV/AIDS etc.”

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Happy Independence · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbadian bloggers (Cheese-on-bread!, Barbados Photo Blog and The Bajan Reporter) give shout-outs to the land of their birth on the occasion of the island's 42nd anniversary of Independence.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Ethnicity and Statehood · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

On Bosnia and Herzegovina's Republic Day, Nov. 25, Amila Bosnae hosted a discussion on ethnicity and statehood.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Refugees United” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Amila Bosnae writes about Refugees United, an international NGO which, she hopes, will help her and other refugees from all over the world get back in touch with lost family and friends.


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Central America: Women, Technology and Education · Global Voices
Renata Avila

A campaign called Take Back the Tech aims to reclaim “Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to End Violence Against Women,” as well as continuing the battle against AIDS.  This is one of the many initiatives across the globe that are encouraging women not to be afraid of technologies and through education [es] on how to use it to improve their lives.  Today more than ever, it is important for women and girls to use technologies to improve their lives, especially in Central America.
Women in this region often make the headlines, but not for the reasons that one would like to read in the news. Instead, their news are about gender violence, extreme poverty, lack of opportunities, malnutrition, high mortality rates even gendercide. In spite of this, there are amazing women from all the region, who write primarily about technology and who try to make a difference in the lives of women.
Sweetsakura [es] not only is a software expert, she is also a supporter of free software, sharing information and tips on her blog about software, hardware and Ubuntu from El Salvador.
From Honduras, Librecaos [es]shares with her community the importance of software in local languages and celebrates that they finally have Ubuntu, an operative system, localized in Miskito, an indigenous language of Central America. She commemorated the recent International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and recalled some experiences:
En esto días recuerdo más cuando empezaba a trabajar y me tocada hacer transcripciones de cassetes, todos eran talleres con mujeres hablando sobre sus experiencias, no podía evitar conmocionarme al oir como sus esposos las golpeaban, oirlas llorar cuando aseguraban que podían trabajar porque “No tenian permiso de su marido”, o peor escuchar como las usaban como si fueran muqueñas para sexo, y luego las dejaban.
During these days, I begin to recall the time when I started to work and when I had to transcribe cassettes of workshops where women spoke about their experiences, and I could not help but be moved when I heard how their husbands hit them, heard them cry when they were not able to work because “they did not have permission from her husband,” or worse hear how they were used as dolls for sex, and later they were left.
Vinculación [es] by Ivonne Aldana from Guatemala, is quite impressive. She discusses new inventions, new models and designs, ICT clusters and the importance of development scientists. La Piensa Libre [es], from Costa Rica writes with charm about technology, among other important issues, since it cannot be isolated from society, the environment and others.
Women literacy and improving education for girls can contribute to solve major problems by providing access to reproductive health information to prevent diseases, for example. Hopefully Central American women will increase in number of users of technology, producers and policy makers!

author: Renata Avila


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China: AIDS blogger Li-xiang’s unextraordinary life · Global Voices
Bob Chen

Li-xiang is a patient, but also more than a patient. He filmed in 2004 a documentary called “our life” about how AIDS patients live, and founded an AID-care NGO named Red-wood, which reaches out to comfort AIDS patients and train health-care volunteers. Outside his sickroom, he is more a social worker than a patient in need of care. As he said
对我来说，每天的工作就是做能够帮助艾滋病毒感染者的工作，以及减少大众对艾滋病的误解和歧视的工作，大部分时间都是在围着艾滋病打转转，像任何一个社会 工作者那样。
Now about 30, he contracted AIDS in a blood donation when he was only a high school student. He started blogging in 2005, writing about his life, ideas, and occasionally HIV treatment. He faces the disease with an open mind and never grudges talking about it, and his optimism cheers up many of his fellow patients.
He writes about AIDS treatment and discusses with netizens, many of them fellow patients, the prospect of overcoming the fatal disease; for example, he has entries called “Li-xiang: my point on AIDS medicine”, and “Li-xiang: relationship between anti-virus cure and CD4.” Also, he scolds the quake that swindles fake medicine to anxious patients. Moreover, he deliberated on a trade-off between people’s privacy and a preventive measure against AIDS that have to make any lurking disease open.
以提供救治为首要核心的战略，是否要转移到以预防为核心的战略？还是努力救治，也努力预防？过去以救治为首要核心的战略和实施是否也只是杯水车薪？全世界6000万艾滋病相关的工作者，是否真的有效救治了4000万艾滋病感染者和病人？在艾滋病面前，我们是否需要牺牲人权来进行普遍的强制 检测，才能更有效的控制艾滋病的流行？这样是否值得？——李想
He has been a celebrity. His deeds were widely reported. Southern Weekend, an influential periodical, dedicated one page to him after his documentary was finished. He was said to be so busy that even on bed he has to pick up phone calls to tell his ideas about where the NGO Red-woods should be going for next step. And pictures show that he was planting trees with the Belgium Princess Mathilde in an AIDS-related activity.
(From Li-xiang's blog)
But in all these reports and pictures, one thing remains, that Li-xiang has never shown his face to the camera. The reason he does that, is because he also wants a life of dignity, and tries not to let his parents and friends worry too much about him.
Self
Li-xiang, though with the aura as an extraordinary man, is in nature a common person, who just happened to run into a misfortune. He likes to talk about himself in most daily-life details.
我喜欢打游戏，除了空当接龙还喜欢打CS，不过打的很差。每天不超过30分钟的游戏有助于调节你的生活和心情。
He talks about what he dislikes:
我最讨厌自己的事情是，我生病时，有人到病房探视。我得像祥林嫂一样的重复治疗的情况。更令人懊恼的是，少数人并不是为这个来的。
Visitor will usually leave one or two comments.
终于又看到你发博文了,身体好了吗,一定注意啊,虽然首都医疗条件好,但还是得靠自身抵抗力强才好,依靠药物副作用太多.真心祝你一切都好! 周愿
Beautiful girls
Li-xiang confessed he loves beautiful girls. He also has a girlfriend named Wu, translated as “Dance”.
稍微了解我的人，都知道这样的传闻，李想喜欢美女。
有人向我求证的时候，我也会直接和直爽的说，是的，我喜欢美女。
幸甚至哉，我认识好几个这样的美女。当然不用说，其中有一个是我的女朋友。呵呵。如果连美女都不喜欢、不欣赏了，生活哪里还有什么希望？
But some netizens left on his blog unfriendly comments on his love of beauty.
这个叫李想的博主真是非常之不要脸了 自己明知道自己的情况 还找什么美女做女朋友 这不是明摆想坑害人家吗？鄙视这样的人！！！！！！请为他人多考虑下吧    新浪网友
But the remark met rebuttal from other netizens very soon.
李想.不要跟这些没道德与良知的人计较,人生有许多的不公平.你这么善良,聪明.却因为输血而感染.这不是你的过错,很痛心这个世上还有这些恶毒而狭碍的 人.他们不知道欣赏美同样也是一种善.他们不知道人与人之间除了肉体,还有精神的爱.他们的无知与偏执,他们空洞的精神,是无法理解你的,  新浪网友
Sometimes Li-xiang would disappear for a while. He explained to those care about him:
有一阵没有写日记，也好一阵没在博客上写文章了。不想说所有的原因都是因为忙碌，也有一些其他的原因，有时候有些低落，有时候有些茫然。是的，我不像你想像的那样有着铜像一样的坚强。我只是一个普通人，希望梦想有天终会实现。
Though his blog enhances his popularity, he still takes it as a simple platform for communication, and a window to look at the world.
我只是一个平常的俗人，博客只是一个看世界的角度，我不是一个顾影自怜自怨自艾或者要证明自己是多么无辜的病人，我的心理非常健康。更多的时间，我并不会扮演病人的角色。我似乎已经离开了病人，也离开了公众，成了两边都很熟悉的一个中间的人。
This is Li-xiang life, plain, easy but active. As he said, “Now, though a lot of people think I am greatly unfortunate, I am, however, feeling like having the most meaningful life ever”.

author: Bob Chen


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China: Guangzhou Taxi Driver Strike · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Localgd posted photos showing Guangzhou Taxi driver strike.


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Cuba: Eye on the Prize  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y is thrilled about her win in the Best of Blogs contest, but says: “We still lack that which is the most coveted prize: the right to dialogue, dissent and to dye ourselves in the political colors of our choosing within our Island.”


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Czech Republic: Christmas Markets and Apples · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A quick tour of Prague's Christmas markets – at My Czech Republic Blog. Christmas apples from the Czech Republic – with “an imprint of a real Bethlehem comet on [their] skin” – at Czechmatediary.


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East Timor: New Airlines  · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Diligence informs readers of a new airline that connects Australia and East Timor.


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Environment: Dirty Dealings and Water Masses · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

African bloggers are highlighting water related issues, from the politics in South Africa that led to suspension of a water quality expert, new devices for collecting and cleaning water, to the ‘scramble for fish’ the East African lake region.
CC licenced photo by Julien Harneis on flickr.
We start with South Africa where the blog Urbansprout highlights the suspension Dr. Anthony Turton . Dr Turton is a researcher who was set to deliver a presentation at the conference “Science Real and Relevant” in Pretoria. He was barred from delivering the presentation, and later suspended by The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The blogger includes the presumed reason for his suspension as communicated by the CSIR, but also looks at the content of Dr. Turton's paper[pdf on environment.co.za], noting…
Taking a brief look at Dr Turton's paper, he argues that a lack of investment in science, engineering and technology (SET) since the early 1990's, the termination of important research projects and the shift to a contract driven income model has had a “catastrophic effect” on our national scientific capacity to deal with the technical challenges our water quality is facing.
There is also the question of academic freedom of scientists to present their findings. Urbansprout quotes a science journalist reacting to news of Dr. Turton's suspension.
Science journalist and former Journalism head of department of the University of Stellenbosch, Dr George Claassen asserted that the withdrawal of the presentation by the CSIR was an “absolute disgrace”. “This is a very serious encroachment on academic freedom and the right of scientists to announce their results, no matter how bad those results are for our view of things,” he commented. Claassen noted that academic and research freedom was protected under Section 16 of the constitution, which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
Urbansprout provides the link for an online petition in support of Dr. Turton and concludes:
Turton's report highlighted that South Africa could be headed for a water supply and water quality crisis that could negatively impact on the economic growth and development of the country, as well as lead to social unrest. The findings conflicted starkly with recent government assurances that South Africa was not facing a water crisis similar to the one prevailing in the electricity-supply sector.
A previous post on Urbansprout gives more information about the water crisis in South Africa, which is characterized by sewage seeping from municipal treatment works to rivers. The water from the rivers feeds into the local tap water system.
A WaterMill is described on the BLDG blog as a device that “uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.” Rory of The Carbon Smart blog links to  the BLDG post, and considers ‘micro devices’ like the WaterMill, and whether this could be a source of clean drinking water for urban areas. He writes:
Discussion about the WaterMill — a small-scale dehumidifier that collects and cleans water from the air — leads to conjecture not only about how much of our drinking water could come from the air, but also about whether the urban microclimate could be significantly altered by installing thousands of these low-energy devices. Could we do away with a significant number of energy-sapping air conditioners by making our environment more comfortable through a combination of better building design, appropriate clothing, vegetating the landscape and reducing the ambient humidity with thousands of WaterMills?
In East Africa, the Kenyan blog Kenvironews highlights a piece by Namhla Matshanda of the African Security Analysis Programme. The piece looks at the conflict over Migingo island in Lake Victoria, which is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. The piece warns:
The so-called ‘scramble for fish’ in Lake Victoria is turning out to be a source of conflict between nations bordering the lake and could potentially threaten regional stability. In the past month alone there have been several incidents around the lake that have heightened tensions between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. It is now apparent that the main source of these incidents is the lack of a clearly delimited and demarcated border between the three countries sharing Lake Victoria.
Since 2003, a number of Kenyan fishermen have been arrested and their boats and equipment confiscated by either Tanzanian or Ugandan authorities for “illegally crossing the common borders.” The latest incident happened when about 400 Kenyan fishermen were kicked out of Migingo island by Ugandan authorities. Migingo is claimed by both Uganda and Kenya. This incident has exacerbated the already strained relations between the two countries. The Kenyan fishermen have appealed to their political leaders to intervene, some even threatening violence.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Fiji bloggers denounce military expenditures · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

A few Fiji bloggers have sharply criticized the country’s military government for allowing the armed forces to overspend its allocated funds in the past fiscal year by more than 50 percent.
The hubbub came after self-appointed Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama introduced a new $1.75 billion budget Friday, November 21 that included an increase for military spending for 2007 to more than $68.7 million, up from the $43 million the armed forces has been allocated. Bainimarama, who came to power in a military-lead December 2006 coup, did not directly address military finances, instead concentrated on business incentives he hopes will jump start the country’s stagnating economy, like offering 13 years of tax free status for companies opening businesses on eight different islands and cutting corporate taxes from 32 to 28 percent over the next two years.
Soon after the budget became public, however, local media began reporting that during the previous five years, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces overspent its earmarks by $118 million. A military spokesman explained the country’s armed forces overshot its 2007 finances because they learned “members of the ousted government had requested for military intervention” from an outside power.
“The budget allocation Frank has presented has proven to us all where his real concerns lie, argues Rajnalu, writing at Raw Fiji News:
The Good book says, “Where your treasure is,there your heart will be also”.
If you therefore follow the money, you will see that his heart is closely tied to his own security and not yours, Fiji.
He has piled the treasures up at Nabua so Nabua can keep him safe.
How sad!!
……………………………………………….
As long as there is true wisdom, honesty and the sense of stability displayed by leaders, the people will naturally rise to the occasion and change their own situations, for the better.
Until you do that, Frank, you will not live to see such a wonder of a sight when people rally behind a true leader and change the course of their lives and their nation.
All that Frank sees now is a revolt in the horizon.
…………………………………………
Until Fiji breaks it’s silence over the this political, economic and social fracas, everything that is coming out of Nabua and out of the interim government, Fiji deserves!
There is a place and time for ’silence’, but now is not the time.
Soli Vakasama wonders where the money is going to come from:
It comes as no surprise the Military are the biggest benefactors of the budget because the illegal regime cannot remain in power without their support. [Former Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry] Chand and [Current architect of Building a Better Fiji plan John] Samy are caught in a vicious cycle because they need to keep the military happy or it will turn against them. The main question is how are they going to pay for this budget? More and more people are going to be lose their jobs by the 1st quarter next year and it will become more bleaker during the 2nd quarter then progressively worse going into the 3rd and 4th quarter.
…
Whilst we want this illegal regime to collapse and a lawful government restored, we need to be conscious of the international influences involved at the same time who will exploit our situation and who these illegal bastards will veiw as saviours.
From a commenter called EnufDictatorship:
So the Efen Military gets the increase for capital projects while they think of reducing the civil service by 10%?…what kind of capital projects? filling their armoury with more guns and ammunitions to destruct the UNARMED citizens of Fiji?
Will they reduce the military by 10% as well? By the looks of it NOT!
Poor children of Fiji and their education, which will just coast on the average bcos the funds are diverted to adults who can and will use their guns to kill them!
And u’re so right SV…where are the monies coming from?
Finally, gdevreal, writing at Fiji Board Exiles points out that the budget allocations are illegal because they weren't approved by tax payers.
Military blood money blew budget by $50 million of taxpayer money without approval by any legitimate decisionmaking body.
So it is not just the increase in military budget, but also the amount by which they illegally exceed that budget. This is the BLOOD MONEY the regime uses to rape the People of their democracy. So isn't it wonderful that the police and army facilities are neat and clean. It covers up the FILTH of their mentality as they run paradise, industry, and the hopes and dreams of the People into the ground.

author: John Liebhardt


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Former Yugoslavia: “Black Wave” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Popkitchen writes about the Yugoslav “black wave” film of the 1960s.


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Guatemala: Typical Food at the Stand of Doña Mela · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

If one wanted to eat some typical food in Guatemala, where would you go?  Guate 360 [es] would recommend the stand of Doña Mela, located in the Central Market, who has been serving delicious meals for the past 50 years.


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Guyana: Gang Members Killed  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living Guyana blogs about the latest developments in the “Fineman Gang” crime story, here and here.


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India: Perspectives On The Mubai Attack · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kiruba Shankar compiles a list of some recommended perspectives by renowned Indian writers on the recent terror attacks in Mumbai.


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India: Poets on Mumbai Terror · Global Voices
JJ Rajendran

Nothing articulates your heart like a poem. Sometimes the complex composition of a poem simplifies complex issues of life, sometimes it helps you come in terms with your surroundings. Poets from India are saddened by the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. You will find them asking questions in their poetry and sometime they are even answering them for us. Here are a few snippets of their expressions.
A 12-year-old girl from Bangalore sets her thoughts on fire. Soon after the tragic news of the hostages at Nariman House being killed was aired, Lavanya shut herself in her room for about 15 minutes and later handed her dad Anand Krishna with a poem titled ‘The city that never slept, slept’.
[…]More lives are lost,
More battles fought.
The war was raging on,
The guns just fire everywhere,
Victory goes to no one.
The terrorists may be killed,
But the void of the lost loved one is never filled.
The roads are empty, there is no sound.
Mumbai, the city that never slept,
Slept long, deep and sound.[.]
Vivek Sharma at Desicritics used metaphors from epic Indian Tales to describe the Mumbai terror in his poem, “Mumbai burns”:
[.]Did you see the sobbing reporter describe how the Taj of Mumbai burns?
How many will Asuras (devils) cause to die before O Vishnu as avataar returns?
The fanatic bullet hunts gazelles everywhere that nostalgia mourns.
Where is the machine crafted that chokes our unfinished yearns? […]
Teal titles her poem ‘Battle without a cause’ at ~ Spero ergo sum ~. She ultimately longs for peace. But her never ending questions are opaque:
[…]Has the power at center gone completely callous
focused on nothing, but creating chaos, raucous?
How many more to die, how many more to lose
Until they get the backbone to act, and set loose
The act of retribution, against these evil minions
Who, despite education and well bringing, act heinous
How dare you take away something that god has given?
How can you walk on, like nothing ever happened?[…]
Sandhya Ramachandran cannot smile in peace anymore. She finds no place to go and hide from terror in her poem, “Why can’t I smile in peace?”
[…]I seem to have no streets
to run and play and fall!
There is no place to cycle
no place to hide and crawl
I am a little kid of seven
with her book and toys and doll
Why can't I smile in peace
It is my world too, after all![.]
Ashq, a 28 year old engineer from Rajasthan wants to know when all this will end.  He titles his Hindi poem, “Aakhir kab tak?” (Untill when?).
-ये सपने नहीं जानते ,
किसी हिन्दू को न मुस्लमान को ,
न ये जानतें है हिंदुस्तान को , न पाकिस्तान को ,
फिर क्यों उन्हें ही चुकाना पड़ता है हर बार इस क़र्ज़ को ,
क्यों भूल जाते है वो ‘कायर’ मानवता के अपने फ़र्ज़ को ,
क्यों आतंक को हमेशा जेहाद कहा जाता है ,
क्यों धरम को इस तरह नंगा नचाया जाता है I
Shreya Tiwari from Mumbai is calling every Indian to come together and join hands against terror in his Untitled Hindi poem.
- आगे आओ मिलकर हाथ मिलायेंगे ,
भारत को फिर से आजाद कराएँगे ।
समझो बस इस  धरती को अपनी माता ,
समझो सबको अपना ही भाई – भ्राता ।
नही ज़रूरत मुझको तख्तो  ताजों की ,
नही ज़रूरत स्वागत की और बाजों की ।
मुझे ज़रूरत सबकी देश सुरक्षा  में ,
मै मांगू बलिदान देश की रक्षा में ।
बोलो क्या मै ऐसे ही चिल्लाऊंगा  ,
दो ज़बाब क्या ऐसे ही मै गाऊंगा ।
इंतज़ार है मुझको देश के पुत्तर का  ,
इंतज़ार है मुझको सबके उत्तर का ।
If you would like to share a poem, please add it in the comment section.

author: JJ Rajendran


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India: Will Mumbai Be The Same Again? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Straying Around asks whether Mumbai will be the same again after the terrorists attacks. Rajesh Jain at Emergic lists the reasons why this time is different and there is no going back to ‘business as usual’ .


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Indonesia: Healthcare System and HIV Treatment · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Elizabeth, an epidemiologist and advisor to governments on health issues, writes that inspite of funding, the healthcare administration in Indonesia is not able to help people deal with HIV.


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Israel: Mourning Mumbai  · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Israel continues to stand by the victims and survivors of the terror in Mumbai. Awash with deep sympathies, the blogosphere's sentiments speak for themselves in mourning the loss of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, along with six other Israelis.
Reactions fell into three predominant camps with bloggers asking the questions:
Here are their responses.
The Jewish Response to Terrorism and Tragedy–
Rabbi Yonah of Jewlicious writes:
“I am heartbroken. The Jewish world weeps over the brutal murders of Jews, Indians, and others in Mumbai. News of the tragedy spread around the globe in minutes. We are all truly connected.
The response to the tragedy cannot be depression, but hard work. The way for us to avenge the blood of the murdered is to erect pillars of loving kindness and charity.”
Rav Eliyahu of A Dwelling Place for G-D in the Lower Worlds in an entry entitled “The Torah Response to Terrorism” echoes Rabbi Yonah, saying:
“The world is faced with terror all around it – now so, perhaps – more than ever. How should we react? What is the Torah response to terrorism?! …The response is a clear one. Continue to grow! Continue to do good. Do even more good!”
Leiv Esther joins the consensus on the Jewish response to tragedy:
“It is always hard to hear of Jews being hurt in any way. The Jewish response to any difficulty is to increase in our efforts to bring unity amongst Jews and goodness and kindness to the world.”
On an entry entitled “Muslims Mourn Mumbai Massacre,” Daniel Lubetsky points out that for the first time, Islamic nations have publicly condemned this terrorist act. In his Peaceworks blog, he posts:
“…a sample (by no means exhaustive) compilation of some of the Arab and Muslim nations and organizations across the world – from Saudi Arabia to the Arab League – who condemned the tragic and barbaric terrorist acts in Mumbai.  Everyone can always do better, but the below can be shared whenever you are asked “Why are Muslims not condemning terrorism?”
Even blogs devoted to unrelated themes join in. Israeli Kitchen blogs:
“A candle for the victims of the Mumbai massacre. May G-d comfort their families and avenge their spilled blood.”
Why Jews Were Targeted
In a post analyzing why Jews (who were by coincidence also Israeli) were specifically targeted, Israellycool establishes a thesis that the terrorists’ goal is to “establish a global Islamic Caliphate and impose Sharia law on societies currently based on Judeo-Christian principles.” He writes:
“It is no coincidence that the terrorists target Jews. Evil will always target Jews because we represent G-d in the world. It was true with the Nazis, and it is true with Islamic terrorism, the new Nazism. We have the task to be a light unto the nations, and even when though we may not always be completely successful, we have not done such a bad job. Especially when you look at the amazing work performed by a Jewish organization such as Chabad.”
In conclusion, he proposes a worldwide war on terrorism by ordinary people asking us to support Israel and all global democracies and promote the message that those who support terrorism will never able to live as free people, self-ruling people in their own state.
Treppenwitz's David Bogner concurs with Israellycool and expands on his argument that Jews were specifically hunted down and killed in the Mumbai massacres. Bogner explains:
“Mumbai is a city of over 18 million people, yet there are only about five thousand Jews living there.  And of those, only a few dozen are identifiably Jewish outside of the synagogue.
Heck, the entire country of India – with a staggering population of over 1.1 billion people – has only about 15 thousand Jews!  I'm not so good at math, but I think that if you try to express the Jewish population as a percentage of the overall Indian population, you're going to end up with a lot of zeros to the right of the decimal point.
So isn't it weird that nobody seems to be talking about how statistically odd it is that this Muslim terror group sought out and attacked an unremarkable home containing one of India's only identifiably orthodox Jewish families.
Apparently the breaking news from Mumbai has demonstrated anew that targeting Jews is not unusual… even when just finding Jews in India to attack is harder than finding Samoans in Iceland. ”
A Rediff News report quotes the doctors’ reactions to the Jewish hostages murders in a story entitled, “Doctors Shocked at Hostages’ Torture,” writing:
“Of all the bodies, the Israeli victims bore the maximum torture marks. It was clear that they were killed on the 26th itself. It was obvious that they were tied up and tortured before they were killed. It was so bad that I do not want to go over the details even in my head again,” he said.
Corroborating the doctors’ claims about torture was the information that the Intelligence Bureau had about the terror plan. “During his interrogation, Ajmal Kamal said they were specifically asked to target the foreigners, especially the Israelis,” an IB source said.”
Jameel of The Muqata expresses his anger at Israel for their criticism of Indian security's slow response.
“Hypocrisy rules in Israel today as IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldier Gilad Shalit remains a hostage in Gaza — a terrorist state created by Israel, and Israel's only stated way of freeing him, is the release of hundreds of murderous terrorists…
Yet my anger at Israel is displaced only by my sorrow and condolences for the families of the Jews murdered in Mumbai this past week.”
Where Do We Go From Here?–
In our blackest moments, we ask ourselves, “Where do we go from here? What good can come of this?” There is no one answer– we must grieve and learn from it in our own ways– but Israeli bloggers have some suggestions.
Of like minds, both This is Israel and Jewlicious’ CK post entries headed, “We Are All Chabad” and “We Are All Chabadniks,” commenting on how events such as these unite us as a worldwide Jewish family.
Yael of Aliyah! Step-By-Step reflects that for the first time since she was a child, the terror in Mumbai stirred her to fully celebrate Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath:
“It just really felt to me like the right thing to do, the best way to honour their memory and all the other lives lost, criminally lost. In large part because by celebrating Shabbat as a Jew I was carrying on one of the very things the terrorists were fighting to wipe out. By celebrating Shabbat, which is symbolically in essence the celebration of the miracle of life and love and goodness and commitment for a better future, it is absolute defiance and rejection and maybe a tiny countering of the evil that so obviously exists in this world.”
And in “A Light In To the Darkness,” Israellycool reminds us that: “When the world was witness to the worst of humanity, it was also witness to the best,” citing the rescue of the Holtzberg's two-year old son by his Indian nanny, Sandra Samuel, who saved him at the last possible moment.
(Samuel returned with the family to Israel today, where the Israeli government is considering bestowing upon her the title of “Righteous Gentile,” one of the nation's highest awards that is given to those who risk their own lives to save Jewish ones.)
.
How We Can Help–
So how can we help? Chabad has established the Chabad of Mumbai Relief Fund to aid with the reconstruction of the Chabad center there and help support the Holtzberg's young child. The Jewish Agency of Israel will also help the families of those lost through the Fund for the Victims of Terror.
Let us remember the names of those who perished in the Chabad House last week and they shall represent our mourning for all the victims of Mumbai. May their memories serve as a blessing and a lesson to us all.
(Alternate spellings may be due to the transliteration of the names from Hebrew to English. Further names are pending release.)
Lastly, in a section of their website called, “What Can I Do?” Chabad urges us to honor the memories of those lost by committing to do mitzvot (good deeds) in their name. Over 950 have been pledged so far.
Further Reading–
This article is a continuation of “Israel: Sending Help and Sympathy to Mumbai” and is part of Global Voices Online's ongoing coverage of the Terror in Mumbai.

author: Maya Norton


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Jamaica, Bermuda: Quotes on Mumbai  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“There is a lot to be said about the shocking series of events in Mumbai that finally–too late–drew to a bloody and violent close”: Jamaican blogger Annie Paul may eventually get around to articulating her own feelings about the attacks, but for now, she posts “a collage of quotes from a range of sources, all from the blogosphere…”; A Bermudian's View also weighs in.


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Jamaica: World AIDS Day  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Today is World Aids Day, and as a region with a relatively high number of people living with HIV/AIDS, you would think that bloggers Caribbean-wide would be very outspoken about the issue – but Jamaica is the only regional territory whose blogosphere – as a unit – seems to be adding its voice to the global discussion.
Stunner recognizes the occasion as “a day when the world pays even more attention to the ruthless killer. A killer disease that knows no bounds and respects no life, man, woman, father, mother, child, it kills indiscriminately”:
HIV/AIDS has made such an impact on our world's societies, since it first manifested itself and it still continues to claim many lives despite the desperate attempts of our leading researchers.
But even worse is that there are a lot of persons living with this infection and don't even know. This is also so true of our tiny island Jamaica and many of our neighboring Caribbean islands. Despite the many AIDS campaign and effort to curb the rate of infection, this malady continues to grow like an unstoppable monster.
On learning that “AIDS is the second leading cause of death for youths between the ages of 15 and 24″ in Jamaica, Iriegal‘s main concern is the young people.  In another post, she writes:
I feel that more education needs to be given to the school children at an early age. Not talking about sex is not going to have it go away.
At the same time, she feels torn over her country's newly adopted National AIDS/HIV Workplace Policy:
The policy it seems will enable countries to screen employees for the virus as a means of preventing the spread of the disease. There is also support for many who have already contracted the disease.
I don't know how I feel about this. Is it and invasion of privacy? Aids still has so many bad stigmas to it. I can imagine and employer who finds out his employee has AIDS or HIV POSITIVE might use this as a means to have them fired or (with the current homophobic atmosphere on the island) place them in danger.
What happens when the investigations turn to the schools? I fear for the young children who already have the virus. Being ostracized is the least of their concerns.
Jamaica Salt is a tad more optimistic and believes that Jamaican celebrities have a key part to play in education and HIV/AIDS awareness:
It is being reported how there has been a thirty per cent decrease in the number of new AIDS cases being reported which is certainly good news and reflects the huge work that has gone into raising awareness.
I think that in particular the drive to include dancehall artists and promoters for music events in bringing home this message is a good idea.  I went to a concert which which was giving away free condoms and had an information stall and there were artists there too talking on this issue.  It is with getting these high profile and influential guys and girls to do something useful with their fame.
Meanwhile, Life, Unscripted, on the Rock has a few ideas about “what can you and I do to fight the far greater epidemic of fear, ignorance, and prejudice against HIV/AIDS, and persons living with the disease”, while Stunner reiterates the steps everyone can take to help protect themselves “from ever contracting the disease”, adding:
We are all affected by this disease in some way or the other as it is a worldwide disease and not limited to any nationality or ethnic group. So let us always protect ourselves from this killer disease. Also HIV/AIDS does not discriminate, so neither should we, and as such we should treat people living with this disease as a fellow human beings.