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Israel: Bloggers Back the Struggle for Workers’ Rights · Global Voices
Carmel L. Vaisman

One of the issues Israeli bloggers truly care about and campaign for is workers’ rights. In recent years, several emerging workers unions from less expected sectors such as café waiters, security personnel and journalists, have blogged as part of their struggle and were able to create a vibrant discussion and rally support in the blogosphere.
At present, two topics are stirring up the Hebrew blogosphere: supporting the academic staff of the Open University that has been on strike for five weeks and counting, and boycotting AMPM drugstores (the “seven eleven” of Tel Aviv) for their workers’ rights infringements.
The Open University is the biggest Israeli university with 42,000 students nationwide and a staff of 1300 academic personnel. As traditional media abandoned this dispute after two weeks of strike, over 30 Israeli bloggers took it upon themselves to keep this struggle on the agenda and the discussion alive.
Keren Fite, PhD in English literature, writes on her blog:
“For 13 years I was led by the notion there is no choice: that the Open University has its unique economic constraints and it can only hire me when enough students register for my course.  Due to these constraints I often get notified about my course's opening only a week before the semester starts, and until than I am left wondering if I will have a salary for the next few months. Due to the same constraints I'm fired and re hired (or not) at the end of every semester.
But the university doesn't care about my constraints: I'm not entitled to call in sick or any other basic social rights for that matter, and when I was pregnant the university refused to renew my contract for the next semester.
At present, when I am on strike, the university doesn't respect my right to strike, to say no to these disgracing employment conditions. Since the beginning of the strike I've been getting threatening emails, demanding to know if I am striking de facto and later notifying me that they will not be paying my salary if I'm on strike. In other words, they know they are my main source of income and they're waiting for me to be hungry enough to break the strike.
Thus, the Open University that stands for making higher education accessible, denies me of the access to fair employment and the right to economical well being.”
Labyrinth, an Open University student writes on her blog:
“It is possible that my graduation will be postponed, that my grades will drop or that in a month from today I will not breathe under the pressure of catching up the missed lessons. But it is possible that my teachers will be able to breathe a bit between a lesson and an exam, because their salary will be a bit fairer. I might also be able to recommend my teachers to other students knowing that they have a steady job and will be there for sure the next semester. And it is also possible that the academic staff union will open the door for other strong and worthy unions in many private colleges that suffer the same consequences.
So maybe one day when I'll be in their place (yes, I'm considering this…) I will be happy i paid the price for this strike since I'll be paid back decently for my work”.
And Tomer Reznik adds on his blog:
“As I was wondering how I can write an interesting post about a struggle for the obvious (collective agreement, job security etc), it suddenly came to me: the fact that the academic staff has to fight for the obvious is the whole point here. The open university must meet their demands immediately and stop treating them as if they were temporary contractor workers!”
Limor64, a member of the academic staff of the Open University for 11 years, notes:
“We don't want to be the University's shock absorbers anymore. The Open University is a successful enterprise but its success is on the expense of its human resource.
We're not getting paid for 5 weeks now, the future of this semester is unclear but we look into the future hoping for a secure and rewarding workplace. Organized labor is so important nowadays on a global scale, since both employers and governments make the workers pay the price for the current economical crisis”.
In addition to these blogging efforts, various Facebook solidarity groups were created and Roy Chicky Arad, a journalist-blogger involved in counter-culture activity, has organized a guerilla poetry reading titled “the closed university” that was held on May 12 in front of the private residence of the Open University's president.
In the past few days a new viral bloggers campaign emerged, promoting a boycott on AMPM drugstore chain, on account of severe right infringements of their workers, mostly of Jewish-Ethiopian ethnicity.
Blogger Sharon Gefen who initiated the boycott, writes:
“I ignored their overpricing or the fact that their increasing presence forces the closing of favorite family-owned drugstores, but workers rights infringements isn't’ something I can live with. Say, if the cashier is a few minutes late to her shift, she pays a fine of 150nis. If she cannot make it to her shift she's fined with 450nis, which is more than double the money she earns for that shift. Enough is enough. I'd rather buy my cigarettes (and milk, and bread and tampons etc.) someplace else, so that everyone will feel ‘it's good to live in this city’ as the AMPM slogan states, even if they are AMPM workers”.

author: Carmel L. Vaisman


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MENA: Introducing, “The Circumventer” · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

Alexandra Sandels, from MENASSAT, writes her interview with Walid Al-Saqaf, a Sweden-based Yemeni Internet expert, regarding the launch of his new program Al-Kasir (means the circumventer in Arabic) – during a summit on blogging in Cairo which was entitled “Blogging for the Future“.
Al-Kasir, which is currently available in its Beta test version, is a new software aiming to circumvent web censorship in the Middle East and beyond, where it allows Internet users to access blocked websites.
You can also read Esra'a's post on Mideast Youth on why Al-Kasir is different from other similar tools, and how it’s beneficial to users in the Middle East.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Morocco: When Arabs Rock · Global Voices
Hisham Almiraat

Usually at this time of the year in Morocco, a series of festivals and cultural events that mark the eminence of the summer begin. They are annual gatherings that attract a growing number of artists, local and international alike.
This year is no exception.
Rock God by Bring Back Buck in Flickr
The music scene seems to be flourishing with a plethora of local Rap, Rock, Fusion and even Heavy Metal music bands already jostling around for an audience.
Moroccan Board, a news portal aimed at Moroccan Americans and covering a wide range of issues related to Morocco, describes the growing popularity of the Hip Hop genre in the kingdom, and conducts an interview with Moroccan American rapper,  RS-LOU:
Moroccan Hip Hop as a music genre has gained much popularity among the youth in recent years in Morocco.  You now have recognizable names such as Casa Crew, H-Kayen, AlFaress, Fnaire, and the list goes on.  There is also a group of artists that operates from outside of Morocco.  RS-LOU is such example.
Blogging on the Huffington Post, Mohsin Mohi-Ud Din, a musician and activist currently conducting a Fullbright Project in Tangier, northern Morocco, finds out that “Arabs do Rock” and  explains how he got himself into an unusual setting:
I witnessed a crazy show by the Moroccan Metal band called WANTED in the Cinema Rif. The place was packed. Young Arabs wearing crazy hoodies and Korn and AC/DC t-shirts, rocking out.
The young Arab rock fans here are no different from the routy, bored, confused teen rockers in America. Yet, there is something really cool and special about seeing a girl wearing the conservative head covering (Hijab) who throws up the universal Metal/Rock sign with her hands!
It is worth mentioning that the Heavy Metal scene in Morocco has been decimated back in 2003 when a court in Casablanca jailed 14 musicians on charges of Satanism and offending Islam. The move prompted protests from human rights groups and forced the authorities to drop the charges. It seems that the Metal scene is only now beginning to recover with a new generation of Moroccan youth tuning to Heavy Metal again.
Earlier this year, a documentary unambiguously called “I Love Hip Hop in Morocco,”  set the tone for the days and years ahead, as the blog From Warp to Weft points out:
Featuring Moroccan Hip Hop artists like DJ Key, H-Kayne, Fnaïre, MC Bigg, Brownfingaz, Mot de Passe, FatiShow, this film delves into the “thoughts and dreams of the true future of the Arab world– it's youth.”
Postscript: by the time this post was submitted, news agengies reported that at least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded on Saturday night, 23 April, during a music concert in Rabat at the Mawazine Music Festival, after a wire fence collapsed.

author: Hisham Almiraat


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Nepal Has A New Prime Minister · Global Voices
Rezwan

United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal reports that Madhav Nepal, a moderate Communist Leader is the new Prime Minister of Nepal.

author: Rezwan


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“Obama” as President of Indonesia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

“Obama” presents himself as President of Indonesia through a YouTube video. The clip features an Obama impersonator. The presidential election in Indonesia will be held on July.

author: Mong Palatino


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Palestine: Art From Rubble · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Adham Khalil writes about Shireen Shamia, an art teacher in the Gaza Strip, who has made art from the rubble of her house.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Palestine: Palestinian Christians Want Freedom Too · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Fadi Abu Sada, a Palestinian Christian, hopes that the Pope's recent visit to the Holy Land will help Christians worldwide understand that Palestinian Christians suffer from the same occupation that all Palestinians suffer from.


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Paraguay: Celebrating Independence Day in the United States · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Muna Annahas celebrated Paraguayan Independence Day with fellow ex-pats living in the Seattle, Washington area with typical foods and music.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Brazil: Petroleum, elections and poverty matters · Global Voices
Thiana Biondo

On Friday 15th of May, the Brazilian Congress launched an investigation into the giant state-run oil company Petrobras. The initiative was started by government leaders of the opposition PSDB party. They set up what Brazilians call a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI is the abbreviation in Portuguese) to scrutinize supposed irregularities in the company.
Meanwhile, on the same Friday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva left for a nine-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India and China (the latter the biggest Brazilian oil business partner,  which is going to lend 10 billion dollars to Brazil) to hold negotiations to attract investment in Petrobras, focused in particular on a specific project: the  “pre-salt”.
Some bloggers do agree with the Senators, who set up the inquiry. They argue that the company has not been properly run. However, there are others who only see it as a political issue and even more as an attempt to damage the company’s image in the long-term and thus, gain popular approval for the privatization of the whole of Petrobras.
In Casa do Noca [pt], Lukas reminds us that the same PSDB party tried to privatize Petrobras and to slowly change the nation’s identification with the company, even changing its name to Petobrax, as he writes in his post with the heading: “Petrobrax vem aí?” “Is Petrobrax coming?”
É um absurdo total a criação da CPI da Petrobras. Não acreditava que tivessem essa audácia globalizante. Mas a reflexão e a memória sempre ajudam. E lembrei: esse PSDB que trabalhou e aprovou a CPI é o mesmo PSDB que DOOU o patrimônio do Brasil.
E não é só isso. Esse PSDB, (…)é o mesmo que criou a Lei 9.478, que truncou a administração da Petrobras e deu enormes prejuizos à empresa. Mas ainda existe salvação para o INTERESSE NACIONAL.
Fora a tentativa de criação da Petrobrax feita pela administração profissional tucana (…)
Propiciou a terceirização irresponsável na empresa, para ganhos de alguns e multiplicação de acidentes de trabalho, com múltiplas mortes e agressões ao meio ambiente, culminando até com afundamento de plataforma.
Fica claro e evidente que não há nenhum interesse por parte da oposição em investigar a Petrobras, pois se assim fosse poderia ter esperado até a audiência pública, no entanto aproveitaram a ausência de praticamente todos os Senadores para instalar a CPI.. Trata-se de uma atitude completamente anti-Republicana. Defendemos sim que seja investigado a fundo todas as denúncias de irregularidades, porém não podemos aceitar que se arme um teatro, um palanque político-eleitoral que possa desestabilizar a Petrobras.(…)
Na verdade, pensando bem, para quem já tentou privatizar e destruir esta empresa pública, talvez há de tratar de opção ideológica destruí-la. Ademais, não interesse o quanto Brasil possa quebrar, tem gente que sonharia em governar sob os escombros deste País em construção.
Senators Sérgio Guerra and Tasso Jereissati, with PSDB Senate Leader, Arthur Virgílio. Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ABr
In Claudio Henrique’s [pt] opinion this CPI comes at the wrong time and it is going to harm the company:
Para a Petrobras o baque é ainda maior. Se não bastasse a crise, a estatal ainda passa por momentos de descobertas e investimentos mais ambiciosos, pois a natureza tem sido generosa com a matéria-prima no País. Uma investigação destas proporções pode afugentar investidores e até mesmo adiar obras estratégicas para o poder Executivo, tais como o PAC.
Mas o epicentro de todos os passos são as eleições de 2010. A tática dos tucanos e seguidores é enfraquecer Lula e seu legado, minando assim quaisquer chances de alavancar a possível candidatura apoiada pelo governo petista (lê-se Dilma Rousseff ). Prova-se tal argumento ao ver o desempenho da oposição durante os anos em que se posicionou contra as políticas do Planalto, marcada pela indiferença e até mesmo fraqueza. Mas esta conquista de uma inicial CPI pode mudar a história até o pleito.
But, the main point of all of these steps [taken by opposition leaders] is the 2010 elections. The Toucans and their followers’ tactic is to weaken Lula and his legacy, and so undermine the potential chance of a boost to the candidature of a person supported by the PT government (to be read as Dilma Rousseff). In support of such an argument, we see the opposition leaders’ effort throughout the years in which they have taken sides against the Planalto (official work place of Brazilian President) policies, highlighted by indifference and weakness.
As the Journalist Alon Feuerwerker [pt] does not fail to point out on his blog it is an attempt by the opposition to break the power that Petrobras has over Lulas’ government and its ability to influence the next election.
Ora, nada como uma CPI para neutralizar, ou pelo menos constranger, os movimentos eleitorais da empresa ao longo do processo sucessório do ano que vem. Qualquer candidato gostaria de ter com ele o poder de fogo da Petrobras. Em que aspectos? Por exemplo, junto aos fornecedores da empresa. Não sendo possível tê-la com você, então que se limite a ação dela a favor do adversário.
"Maintenance". From Plunk Plak Zum, published with permission
According to the Congress website [pt], the accusations against the company administration are: fraudulent evidence in bids for petroleum exploration; overpricing in refinery construction; misuse of money from petroleum royalties; misuse of marketing projects budgets; and most discussed, the use of accounting procedures that allow the company to save money in tax payments – the press has published the figure of R$ 4.3 billion (US$1.9 billion), but the company has said that it was R$1.14 billion (US$ 550 million). The company changed to accounting that operates an exchange rate variation taxation system at the end of 2008 with retroactive effect. However, this change should have been made before the beginning of the tax year (April).
A CPI porá em confronto Petrobras e Receita Federal, onde serão apurados possíveis jogos fiscais que renderam à estatal compensações (…)
O entusiasmo com os bons resultados que a Petrobras vem demonstrando não podem encobrir possíveis problemas administrativos e fiscais que possam haver, nem barrar a investigação desses indícios. Se for preciso parar tudo para enxugar a máquina, que parem. Isso é uma decisão mais segura. Afinal, com problemas nada pode andar direito nesse país. Como ex-metalúrgico Lula deveria lembrar-se disso.
Toinho Passira [pt] points out a series of problems in the company:
A caixa preta da maior empresa brasileira, quando aberta exalará um mau cheiro insuportável de desmando, corrupção, uso de dinheiro público para eleições, custos publicitários superfaturados e desnecessários, má gestão do governo nos negócios da empresa, e roubo puro e simples, como o fez o Victor Martins irmão do Ministro Franklin Martin, que não deve ser o único.
In January of 2009, the first 100% Brazilian made oil platform went on stream of the Rio de Janeiro coast. According to the Government it will be capable of producing 180,000 barrels of oil and 6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, when operating to its full capacity.Photo: Petrobras/ABr
For Luiz Carlos Azenha the real issue is, in fact, another point.
O problema, portanto, não é se a Petrobras deve ou não ser investigada. É como fazê-lo. Já existem todas as instâncias necessárias à investigação da Petrobras, tanto da parte do governo, quanto da oposição, quanto da sociedade. A empresa pode ser investigada pelo Ministério Público, pelo Tribunal de Contas, pela Polícia Federal e nas diversas comissões do Parlamento. Não há dúvida: a Petrobras deve satisfações ao Congresso, pode e deve ser denunciada na tribuna e precisa responder a todos os questionamentos que recebe.
(…)
Em tese, uma CPI não deveria assustar ninguém. Mas não falamos em tese. Falamos no Brasil. E falamos a partir de exemplos concretos: qual foi a utilidade das CPIs recentes, além de gerar uma enxurrada de manchetes, 95% das quais baseadas em fofocas, meias-verdades, distorções e mentiras? Tomemos como exemplo a CPI das Escutas Telefônicas Clandestinas. Qual foi a serventia, além de torrar dinheiro público com a defesa dos interesses do banqueiro Daniel Dantas?
Azenha has also linked from his blog to the video produced by the Clarín newspaper, in which a specialist discusses why Brazil can walk towards  oil self-sufficiency while Argentina cannot. Brazil's neighbor privatized its no longer stated-owned oil company in the '90s, during Carlos Menem's government. Worth a visit for readers of Spanish.
In September last year, the first symbolic extraction of petrol from the pre-salt layer in the Jubarte field, off the Espirito Santo State coast, took place. On 1st May 2009, the Lula government participated in another major event in the pre-salt layer located in the Tupi field, Santos Basin. There are great expectations about those recent discoveries of petroleum. For many, it will be the best chance for Brazil to solve its main problem. On 12th of May 2009, visiting Cubatão City – where the first refinery of Brazil was created, Lula da Silva said that pre-salt wealth is going to eradicate poverty in Brazil and be the main investment source of education in the country. Popular entities have also created a group discussion about pre-salt wealth issues, and they have even set up a petition, as we can see published on the Notícias da América Latina e Caribe website [pt]:
O abaixo-assinado deverá reunir 1,3 milhões de assinaturas para ser referendado como projeto de iniciativa popular. As entidades acreditam, no entanto, que o resultado principal deve ser a instalação de um debate na sociedade sobre a questão do petróleo no Brasil.(…)
As entidades ainda exigem medidas como o fim da exportação do petróleo cru, com investimento na indústria petroquímica; a mensuração do tamanho da riqueza do pré-sal; e um fundo social soberano de investimento voltado para as necessidades do povo brasileiro (educação, saúde, reforma agrária, trabalho e renda, etc); e redução do uso do petróleo e avanço nas pesquisas de nova matriz energética.
View of Rocinha Slum: the largest in the country. Photo: Alicia Nijdam/Creative Commons
Even though the pre-salt petroleum hasn’t been exploited yet, so far, the “country of the future” has managed to change, a little,  its shameful social inequality index. Analyzing data released last year by the Applied Economic Research Institute (IPEA), Professor Marcelus Fonseca [pt] reminds us that there are some commitments on the national agenda, although whether the nation will be able to meet them in the short term is uncertain.
“A conclusao e de que o enorme grau de desigualdade na distribuicao de renda constitui-se como o principal determinante de pobreza no pais. As politicas de combate a pobreza adotadas pelo Governo ainda nao sao eficazes. Se mantiver o ritmo atual, o Brasil so deve cumprir em 2019 o compromisso de reduzir a pobreza pela metade, e nao em 2015, prazo fixado pela Cupula do Milenio das Nacoes Unidas”
Disclosing material from Campinas University (UNICAMP), Manuel Alves Fiho publishes an article on the Portal Eco Debate website, where he has interviewed Professor Waldir Quadros [pt]. According to Quadros:
“A estrutura social brasileira experimentou uma fase de melhoria entre os anos de 2004 e 2008. Nesse período, um número significativo de pessoas trocou a condição de miséria pela de pobreza ou deixou a situação de pobreza para se inserir na baixa classe média. (…) Não é possível dizer, como defendem alguns, que o Brasil transformou-se em um país de classe media.”
The vast dry zone in Northeastern Brazil, which is not in the urban center, but also has problems of wealth distribution. Photo: Maria Hsu/Creative Commons
As per Quadros’ conclusion, it is undeniable that the country, in one way or another, has tried to promote equality. Nevertheless, using logic to put the pieces of this puzzle together, the question is: will this money reach everybody? Or, how far is the economic plan connected to the social problems? Yet the Plano Real, a set of measures taken to stabilize the Brazilian economy in early 1994, has given stability to the currency ever since, has halted inflation and has opened the gates of social improvement, the way to achieve a better distribution of wealth is the question that Brazil most needs to consider. Dafne Melo [pt] raises some questions:
Lúcia Stumpf, presidente da União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE), avalia que as medidas tomadas por Lula para conter a crise são “insuficientes” e não tocam na grande contradição do governo que é sua política macroeconômica, com a manutenção de altos juros e alto superávit primário (pagamento dos juros da divida).
Essas medidas, avalia, estão centradas apenas em setores da elite econômica, sem que nada tenha sido pensado para o conjunto da classe trabalhadora.

author: Thiana Biondo


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Russia: “A Popular Blogger” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In the Cyrillic sector of the LiveJournal universe, the number of readers – “friends” – subscribed to a blog is one of the factors that determines its popularity (or “authority”). Bloggers who have at least a thousand “friends” are called tysyachniki (from the Russian word tysyacha, “a thousand”), and, depending on the quality of the blog's content, this is a status that is cool in some cases and dubious in others, as there are numerous ways to inflate the quantity of “friends” artificially.
LiveJournal.com and Blogs.Yandex.ru offer blog ranking services that assess, among other factors, the number of sources linking to a particular blog, as well as the number of comments generated and the number of “friends.” The results often differ: LJ drugoi, for example, is the highest-ranking blogger according to both rankings, but LiveJournal ascribes 32,682 readers to this blog, while Yandex currently lists 31,834. LJ user e_grishkovets (Russian writer Evgeny Grishkovets) ranks third in the LiveJournal ranking, but is #12 on Yandex, if you look at the number of readers; if, however, you search this ranking by blog “authority,” LJ user e_grishkovets comes up 106th.
Complex quantitative analysis aside, popularity means different things to different people, in blogging as in real life. Below is a very short humorous take (RUS) on some of the implications of being a “popular” blogger, posted by LJ user burtin – who has 815 friends, but, for some reason, does not show up in either of the rankings mentioned above:
- You're a popular blogger, aren't you? – asks my friend [LJ user] dochka_rosy.
– Yes, I am, – I purr in reply, pleased.
– Then ask them [readers/”friends”]: is any of them selling [Beskid] skis [“heavy-duty Soviet tourist skis for mountain skiing manufactured in Mukacheve,” Ukraine]?
So here I am, asking this.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Armenia: Nationalist Revisionism, Deception · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unzipped comments on the the appearance of election campaign posters for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) ahead of this weekend's municipal vote in Yerevan. The blog notes that the party appears to be pushing its position on relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey to voters and even uses photographs of key Armenian icons for that purpose even though several of those depicted are instead better known for their opposition to the party's nationalist agenda.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Pork in a Christian village · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

27 Months in Azerbaijan pays a visit to the Christian village of Nic in Azerbaijan to partake in eating the best pork available in the largely Moslem country. Meanwhile, Post-Soviet Euphoria or Sins against Democracy? notes that the prohibition on eating pork exists in both the Bible and the Koran.


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China: Korea Former President’s Suicide, Chinese Reactions · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reactions on the news of Korea former president's Roh Moo Hyun's sudden death.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: New development on Deng Yujiao’s murder case · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A concern group has been formed in Beijing to give support to Deng Yujiao, a nail beautician who stabbed a government official when defending herself from sexual assault. Joe Martinsen from DANWEI translated two statements, one by the government, one by Deng's lawyers, which gave very different story of Deng's case.


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Cuba: “Cubans Can Connect”  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I’m coming to believe that the influence of the Internet on our reality is bigger than I thought”: When it comes to limitations imposed on Cubans having online access, Generation Y says: “We need to make the most of the situation, now they are saying ‘Cubans can connect’, and take it as a public commitment.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Fiji: Reaction to detention of alleged bloggers · Global Voices
Michael Hartsell

Global Voices previously reported that Fiji police detained and seized the laptops of three people who had been named as bloggers behind the anti-government site Raw Fiji News.
The three lawyers, among others, had recently been named by the pro-government site Real Fiji News. While police confirmed the detentions and laptop seizures, a spokesman would not say why the three men were hauled in. All three have been released, but no word as yet on their laptops.
Regardless of the reasons behind the detentions – or the veracity of the claims the men actually blog for Raw Fiji News – let’s begin with why Real Fiji News named names.
In its post that claims lawyer Richard Naidu allegedly blogs for the anti-government site, Real Fiji News attacks the Raw Fiji News blog.
They have destroyed lives of people who they call ‘Coup Apologists’ they have lied about the state of the economy, they have lied about business deals, lied about money gained under false pretenses, lies about uprisings of Fijians, lied about the Military, lied about the Government. It is so easy to hide behind a blog site and spew out lie after lie.  This site has KEPT YOU UPDATED WITH THE TRUTH, and we have proven time and time again that Raw Fiji’s only intention is to incite violence and unrest in the country and all done at the hands of some of our legal profession.
A reader called Boo Boo writing in Real Fiji News after the detentions had been announced.
What they thought was informative and intelligent has backfired not only on themselves, but on the entire country in more ways than one. Their opinions and comments have been read by many who would have loved to have visited Fiji some day, but won’t because they now view Fiji in a negative light. These potential visitors will not come here now! Thanks to these folks. The gaping hole in our economy that was once our tourism industry is their legacy. This has affected thousands of hotel workers and their families. Leave alone the world economic crisis, these bloggers have done their bit for Fiji. Well done, bastards!
Fiji Girl says the government is barking up the wrong tree by detaining the three men.
So the illegal regime and Real Fiji News think that Richard Naidu, Jon Apted and Tevita Fa are bloggers?
Talk about not being able to see one’s own nose!  Real Fiji News especially should know by now that REAL bloggers, like yours truly, are not the movers and shakers of the movement.  Like the faceless drones behind Real Fiji News, we are commentators, observers – voyeurs, if you will – and, since the death of our media freedom, ersatz reporters.
People like Richard Naidu, Jon Apted, Tevita Fa, Dorsami Naidu, Shamima Ali, Virisila Buadromo are too busy out there DOING the good deeds to have the time or inclination to then write about them and spend countless hours bitching online about the illegal regime.  Like we bloggers do.  They have better ways to spend their time.
We bloggers have our duty – I like to think an important one – in bringing down this illegal regime through channelling information, fuelling support and keeping the debate alive. But, like the Judean People’s Front, we ain’t necessarily where the action is.
It must have been quite a bitch-slap to the face after they hauled in the real lawyers, accused of blogging, up to camp to find that suddenly every blog site reported their detention.
TeeJay for a Free Fiji argues the detentions prove that bloggers are rattling the regime.
News that the Illegal Regime have hauled in, and since released, two lawyers suspected of being behind the Raw Fiji blog site, indicates that the blogs are having an impact.
Whatever the status of the involvement of Richard Naidu and Jon Apted is irrelevant to the fact that the Illegal Regime will have NO success in stopping bloggers.
To the brave and wonderful people inside Fiji who are blogging away, may God bless you for your efforts in the curent climate within the country. Keep it up, because it is working!! Even though a small percentage of Fijians will see the blogs, the key is for those who do, they need to pass on the information to as many people as possible.
Meanwhile, those of us outside Fiji are with you all the way, thinking of you every day, right behind you, doing what we can to assist, no matter how small that may be.
Raw Fiji News lets the police wonder if they had the wrong people.
What does the Fiji military police know about technology?
If their computer experts think they’re such gurus at tracking down bloggers like us, then perhaps coming down to our side of the woods will solve their problem.
But their problem is that they’re all banned from travelling to our turf cause they are coup aliens marked with “restricted from entering our soil”.
Sorry guys, Richard Naidu and Jon Apted are the wrong people!
Don’t waste your time hauling people randomly or closing internet cafes, etc,etc – we will continue to blog on telling it like it is!
From New Zealand, the blogger behind Fiji: The Way It Is, Was and Can Be – previously critical of some of Fiji’s anti-government blogs – tells the government to let the bloggers keep writing.
Justice needs to be seen to be done. Blanket clamp-downs convey the wrong message, and deprive Government of the feedback, advice and opinions it needs to achieve its longer-term goals. In today's Fiji, unrestrained opposition and totally gagged opposition are both equally unhealthy and equally dangerous.

author: Michael Hartsell


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Guyana, Barbados: Illegal Immigration  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

When it comes to the issue of illegal immigrants in Barbados, Guyanese blogger Imran Khan says: “What is wong is wrong”, adding in another post: “I’m interested in learning what, specifically, President Bharrat Jagdeo is accusing the Barbadians of being ‘un-CARICOM-like’ about?”


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Haiti: Flooding Claims Lives · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands reports that “at least 11 people died…in Haiti after torrential rains triggered floods throughout the nation.”


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India: Cyclone Aila Strikes · Global Voices
Rezwan

Scores of people were killed and many injured in India and Bangladesh as cyclone Aila made a downfall in the region earlier today. Sukanya at Notes from wherever I happen to be… writes from Kolkata: “trapped as we were at work…while Aila created havoc. [..] Uprooted posts, torn wires and hoardings by the wayside and a marked absence of public buses and autos…we were the lucky ones. Many weren't so.”


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India: Saving Lives With Paper · Global Voices
Rezwan

Anuradha Parekh at The Better India  writes about the struggles of the  poverty ridden Sahariya tribe in Madhya Pradesh, India. A local NGO called TARA (Technology and Action for Rural Advancement) came to their rescue by teaching them how to make handmade papers and that has changed the lives of these Sahariya women.


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Jamaica: And now for the Bad News · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Former PM Edward Seaga was never accused of being a ray of sunshine when he was an active politician”: Jamaica and the World reports that Seaga's analysis of the island's economic situation leaves the current administration with “no soft options. No easy answers. No exit.”


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Jamaica: Calabash & Language · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Annie Paul blogs about Jamaica's Calabash Literary Festival, at which some folks were offended by the colourful language in authors’ readings: “Does shielding young ears from words like pussy, bombaclaat, pumpum and other such words ensure a more sensitive, ethical adult? Especially when they can see for themselves the hypocritical, unjust society we live in?”


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Japan: A brief review of the eco-technologies · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

In mid May the Japanese Government has launched a stimulus package to boost the demand for energy efficient household appliances with a new eco-points system, details of which will be made clear in the next month after the Diet's approval of the supplementary budget for this fiscal year.
The aim seems [en] to be in the wake of  the recent attempt to re-launch the image of Japan, home of the Kyoto Protocol, as ‘the’ country of technology which is also environmentally friendly. Also perhaps to mark the differences from the near competitor, China.
Actually, the ‘ecological trend’ itself is not a new phenomenon. For the last few years, in fact, many venture companies have been trying to develop new technologies as well as ‘eco friendly’ materials to use in the everyday life.
While it would not be possible to cover all of the eco-technologies, here are several interesting, new prospects that have been gaining momentum in the past year.
Se-goiken explains  the details of some materials developed by Japanese companies (names of which have yet to be revealed), an initiative taken also in many other countries that have been trying to reduce the waste of precious resources.
まずはバナナシャツ。
廃棄物として捨てられるバナナの茎、その数年間10億トンもあり、
そのバナナの繊維と綿をミックスすることで新繊維を生み出すことに成功した。
主にシャツやズポンがすでに開発され、春にはジーンズも発売される。
[…]
次は竹。
ベンチャー企業が、竹から繊維を開発するということに成功した。
竹林は成長が早い為、環境への負担が少なく、CO2の吸収量も高い為、
竹林を数多く育てることがそのままエコに繋がるとのこと。
またコスト的にも綿の1/20 程で購入できるメリットがあるようだ。[…]
今回紹介したような技術革命が進んで行けば、日本の将来も暗くはない。
Blogger earthfuroshiki introduces  a new way of generating energy. An alternative power source, whose first practical utilizations started in 2006 by the now 27 yo President of the venture company of the venture company Soundpower Corporation (音力発電) [ja].
それは「振動によって発電する」という技術
橋や改札などの車や人の行き来が激しく、振動が多い場所にこの発電方式を利用して振動をエネルギーに変えるというもの。
実際に『首都高五色桜大橋のイルミネーション』にこの技術が利用されています。昼間に振動によって蓄えたエネルギーを使って日没後から24時まで橋をライトアップしています。
振動が生じる場所にこの技術を用いれば原理的に発電することが可能なので
キーボードのタイプで発電、物の移動による発電など、地産地消ならぬ個産個消も可能と期待も高まっているようです。
*Here is a video [ja] by TV-Tokyo that explains how the invention works.
Skyliving (A garden on the roof). By flickr user: pict u re.
Lastly, consultant Shimo3781 introduces us to a trend quite common nowadays in the building industry which aims to increase the number of green areas in the cities yet also produce power savings.
温暖化対策の一環として屋上緑化が叫ばれている。
方策の一つとして屋上に芝生を植えたり庭園を設置するものが多い。
ただし土を使う屋上緑化は重量に耐えるだけの建物の強度が必要だ。
[…]
今日紹介するのはＮＴＴ都市開発所有のアーバンネット三田ビルだ。
ここでは屋上緑化にサツマイモを植えた。[…]
エコと野菜の一石二鳥だ。
コンクリートの表面温度が５５度のとき、サツマイモの葉に覆われた部分は２８度だったというから効果は抜群だ。
ビル内の温度を抑えられるから冷房代が安く抑えられる。
屋上緑化の方法も今後益々多様化していくだろう。

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Shunsuke Nakamura to rejoin Yokohama Marinos? · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Ryota welcomes the news that soccer star Shunsuke Nakamura might be coming home from Celtic to his old stomping grounds of Yokohama F. Marinos, calling him “a treasure of Japan“. Occhan is excited about the possibilities for the city of Yokohama. Blogger No.5 gives the back story.

author: Tomomi Sasaki


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Kenya: Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem dies in car accident · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Firoze Manji reports the death of Pan-African activist and Direct of Justice Africa, Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem: Tajudeen Abdul Raheem tragically died in car accident this morning in Nairobi. We mourn the loss of this Pan African activist.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Kenya: First Open-Source Awards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

First Open-Source Awards in Kenya will take place this week in Nairobi: “The Linux Professional Association of Kenya and ICT Consumers Association of Kenya will be hosting Kenya’s first-ever open source awards at the end of this month.”


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Kenya: Notes from Mobile Banking Conference · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

White African blogs about the Fletcher Mobile Banking Conference he is attending in Nairobi, Kenya.


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Lebanon: Hummus Nation · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Hummus Nation is a new Lebanese blog in Arabic that satirizes Lebanese politics, life and issues. “Hummus” is a popular dish in the Middle East.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Lebanese Elections 2009 · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Lebanese Elections 2009 is a blog by Deen Sharp, a freelance journalist based in Beirut, dedicated to covering the Lebanese general elections for parliament that will take place on June 7, 2009.


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Lebanon: Maxime Chaya Reaches the North Pole · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The Lebanese adventurer, Maxime Chaya, whose exploits include climbing Mount Everest, reaching the South and North poles to plant the Lebanese flag, blogs about his quests and posts beautiful photos on his live blog The Three Poles.


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Lebanon: Porn-oriented Ads · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Maya's Amalgam is a new blog by Maya Zankoul, a graphic designer, in which she uses drawings and cartoons to make witty comments about her daily observations and experiences in Lebanon, like this one about billboard ads which she calls “street porn”.


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Malawi elections: Upending the pundits’ predictions · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

With the elections over and the incumbent president Bingu wa Mutharika sworn in for his second and last term, Malawian bloggers (Mabloga) are awed by two developments that went against the predictions of many, especially the punditry. First was the suggestion that the presidential contest would be very close. It wasn't. Second was the perception that Malawians would once again vote on regional and ethnic lines. They did not. Other fascinating aspects of the elections being discussed by the “Mabloga” include the role that Internet radio played in informing Diaspora Malawians on events as they unfolded, and what the new parliament might look like, what with a good number of the newly-elected members of parliament boasting university professorial and international civil service careers, long term PhDs, and other post-graduate qualifications.
The blog Chingwe's Hole reacts to both disproved predictions, then goes through a list of six aspects that make the May 2009 elections historic. According to Chingwe's Hole, key structures of Malawi's institutions performed well. And in marking the probable end of the political career of the 77 year-old leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), John Tembo, these elections also ended the era of the nationalist generation that has ruled Malawi since 1964, a point also made by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza. Tembo is reported to have already been put forward as the MCP's candidate in the next elections in 2014, according to Chris Banda on the Internet forum Malawitalk. Chingwe's Hole's third aspect is that the voting pattern was driven by substantive matters of development, over personalities, and more poignantly for many bloggers as well, over ethnicity, Chingwe's Hole's fourth and fifth historical aspects of these elections. The last aspect deals with how the punditry overestimated the strength of the main challenger, John Tembo, in his party's alliance with the United Democratic Front (UDF). On this point Chingwe's Hole unleashes pointed criticism:
And finally the  elections have exposed the vacuity of some of the political punditry in Malawi. Our most cited political pundits simply do not know what they are talking about… They kept analsising  politics along the same old lines  and seemed to base their views based only on whim srather than research and reflection. Listening to our oft cited “political analysts” the coalition was supposed to be a formidable force;  the elections would be a a”close call”; Bingu had made a fatal mistake chosing a Southern as running mate;  the economy growth had not benefitted the majority etc . . .
As one of the pundits who predicted a strong showing for the MCP/UDF alliance and its candidate John Tembo, Boniface Dulani makes a confession mid-way through the vote counting when it is becoming apparent that Bingu wa Mutharika is defying expectations:
I must confess I did not expect the margin of victory that appears to be emerging from the election results as currently being announced. For all intents and purposes, Mutharika appears to be headed for a strong landslide performance. While Bingu is performing strongly in the northern region as predicted, he has also performed just as strongly in the central region and the southern region.
For Greenwell Matchaya, the incumbent's victory across the entire nation might be the beginning of the end of politics of ethnicity:
In the first place, the size of Bingu’s victory in the presence of a seemingly powerful opposition alliance is the first I have ever heard of in Africa. Furthermore, the fact that there were no any reported cases of rigging, makes his win even more credible and even more and more wonderful. Bingu’s party, the DPP, won the presidential election with roughly 2,730,630 votes while the MCP/UDF alliance scooped circa 1,270,057, almost 200,000 votes below half of Bingu’s votes [. . . ]The strong message arising from these figures is that Bingu was voted into power by the entire nation, raising postulates about whether good leadership styles could obliterate the tribal cancer that many of us thought was out to consume our political and everyday lives.
Clement Nyirenda also remarks on how the punditry got it wrong, and finds the voting pattern for the incumbent president's win epochal:
[. . . the pundits thought that John Tembo would garner more votes from the Southern region while beating Mutharika comprehensively in the Central Region, MCP’s stronghold. Mutharika was expected to carry the day in the less populous Northern Region.
At the end of everything, the pundits have been proved wrong because Dr. Mutharika was proclaimed the winner with more than 6o% of the vote. Since the advent of multiparty democracy, I have never seen a presidential candidate getting votes from all the corners of the country like this.
And words of awe continue with Cryton Chikoko, who writes in the third person with the alias “Rambler”:
Rambler has to confess he was not expecting Malawians to vote on merit. Admittedly Rambler wrongly thought that just like in the previous elections regionalism will rule the day. The 2009 elections have come to him as a pleasant surprise. A fresh breath in our politics.
Victor Kaonga pays tribute to the role that radio stations played in informing listeners of the results during the long breaks waiting for the Malawi Electoral Commission. On Malawian Internet listserv forums, appreciation for the role of radio stations has especially focused on Zodiak Broadcasting Station, which broadcasts across Malawi, and recently started streaming live on the Internet. Listserv discussions have also widely debated what parliament might look like, given the large number of highly educated Malawians who have been elected to parliament, a topic also discussed by Chingwe's Hole. On the Internet forum Nyasanet, the question of who will be chosen to fill cabinet posts is being debated on the basis of the intelligentsia voted into the legislature, which is being likened to an academic symposium. Blogger Kondwani Munthali  has already provided his dream cabinet list.

author: Steve Sharra


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Malawi: Malawi Elections 2009 Photostream · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Malawi Elections 2009 Flickr photostream from African Elections Project (Malawi).


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Nepal: India’s Role In Recent Changes In Politics · Global Voices
Rezwan

Neil’s Nepal posts an article by Bishnu Pathak, PhD which discusses the role of India in the recent political changes in Nepal.


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Pakistan: Don’t Wear Western Clothes In Peshawar! · Global Voices
Rezwan

Chowrangi informs that “the men of Peshawar have been told to stop wearing the shirt and trousers and wear the shalwar kurta (Pakistan national dress) instead. This is to prevent any crazy Taliban type from attacking those who wear Western clothes (this has happened a few times in the past).”


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Pakistan: Healing The Wounds Of The Past · Global Voices
Rezwan

Action For A Progressive Pakistan apologizes to Bangladeshis for the atrocities committed by Pakistan army in 1971 and criticizes the Pakistan government: “We find it unconscionable that the Pakistani state has steadfastly refused to acknowledge these atrocities for the past 38 years, leave alone hold those responsible for them accountable as suggested by its own Chief Justice in the State commissioned inquiry.”


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Russia: North Ossetia’s Superstitious Law Enforcement · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user liza-valieva – North Ossetian journalist Liza Valieva – writes (RUS) about an incident that could have prompted a lighthearted reaction had it not occurred in North Ossetia, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation, whose people have seen much violence since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including the Sept. 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis:
Terrorists have succeeded in achieving their goal: filling the people with fear. And in Ossetia, the record-setter in acts of terror, this isn't hard to do.
A schoolgirl's nightmare has caused panic in the law enforcement establishment. The girl said there'd be an explosion in a school on May 15. She explained that she had seen a dream in which coffins were being carried out of a school building.
As a result, “law enforcement officials have taken precautions. For the second day in a row, the school is being checked for explosives, with cynologists of North Ossetia's ministry of the interior involved in this work. The school is being guarded by the local police officers; police has been stationed at a kindergarten located near the school as well. Many parents refuse to bring their children to the kindergarten, fearing for their lives. So far, no explosives have been found inside the school.” [In the original post, this paragraph contains a link to this news item (RUS) on the incident, published by Regnum news agency on May 14.]
Absurd. Would've been funny if it hadn't been so sad.
When the first blast took place in Ossetia at the central market, I was a university student. Nearly everyone in our group had the same dream then, in which the university exploded and we were trying to rescue ourselves in panic, seeing a sea of dead bodies, dismembered by the blast, and blood. But no one came to check the university building because of our dreams then. Though interior ministry officers and cynologists were indeed checking the buildings, but for a different reason: student pranksters were calling to say that the university had been mined.
People have grown so superstitious that they take dreams seriously. It's okay when people act this way, but the superstition of the law enforcement is surprising. Then again, it's good that they are reacting to the slightest of signals.
Here is one of the comments to this post – and Liza Valieva's response:
glazastikk:
You know, Liza, this isn't even funny. One can be practically 100-percent sure that they had known about the terror in Beslan in advance, and about other acts of terror as well. Terror has been and possibly remains convenient. So this alarm caused by a 15-year-old girl's dream – it's absurd. Are they trying to prove that they are on high alert? […]
liza_valieva:
Of course, it's not funny. I was being sarcastic. The dream story is totally absurd. If our law enforcement officials are so prepared to [promptly react to the slightest threat], how come the number of acts of terror in North Ossetia isn't diminishing? For some reason, they are just totally incapable of foreseeing the real acts of terror. […]


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Sri Lanka: LTTE Confirms Prabhakaran’s Death · Global Voices
Rezwan

Vijay Sappani at Desicritics posts a press release of LTTE, which admits that the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead.


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Sudan: Government requires journalists to be registered · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Sudanese government wants journalists to be registered; “The Sudanese government started a move last week to issue a law on journalist to require them to register themselves with the government media regulator so that the government would monitor them if they misuse there power as journalist.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Where’s the Integrity? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Transparency and good governance have been popular topics in the Caribbean blogosphere of late, thanks to stories on financial impropriety, concerns over massive spending of taxpayers’ dollars and anxiety over freedom of the press.
The latest debacle over integrity (or lack thereof?) comes from Trinidad and Tobago, where, in the last few weeks, a second attempt to establish an Integrity Commission has come to a crashing halt amidst revelations that the Chair of the Commission, a Catholic priest, had committed acts of plagiarism in his weekly column for a local newspaper.  To add insult to injury, Fr. Charles claims that he drew this act to the attention of President Richards, whose job it is to appoint members of the Commission, and was told it was “okay” – this decision allegedly from a man who spent years at the helm of the University of the West Indies.  Father Charles has since resigned from his post, citing Canon Law as the primary reason for his withdrawal.
To add even more fuel to the fire, the journalist who drew attention to the plagiarism in the first place, has been fired from his post at Newsday, supposedly in retaliation for his actions – and even though the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago appears to have remained silent on the issue, bloggers certainly have not, even posting their views on Twitter.
B.C. Pires, a Trinidadian journalist-turned bogger who now resides in Barbados, has been following developments from the outset.  As early as May 7, he published a letter he wrote to local media houses:
My colleague Kevin Baldeosingh quite responsibly brought to national attention the use by putative Integrity Commission Chair, Henry Charles, of arguments and language copied from (1) an op-ed piece in the New York Times of 9 December; and (2) a column by Darin Belousek published in the National Catholic Weekly on 30 March.
I invite citizens to locate on the Net and compare a column written by David Brooks in the New York Times on 7 May, 2006, called, “Marshmallows and Public Policy” with one titled, “The Marshmallow Test” published a week later in the Guardian under the byline of the good Henry Charles.
If once is mistake and twice, habit, would three times be standard operational procedure? What does this reveal about the integrity of Mr Charles? As with governments, do countries get Integrity Commissions they deserve?
Fellow blogger This Beach Called Life backs up B.C.'s position in a post from the same date:
Somehow I don’t feel a self-confessed, under-pressure, serial plagiarist should be allowed to even come within 1000-feet of a member of the Integrity Commission much less chair it.
If Kevin Baldeosingh didn’t point out the plagiarism to The Father would he have confessed? That is the big question but the answer seems horribly obvious. And as Kevin Baldeosingh said ‘I found the apology unconvincing and I would have let the matter  rest there, except I am now wondering what will happen when, as chairman of The Integrity Commission, Mr. Charles, finds himself under pressures rather more intense that writing a weekly newspaper column.’  Please note the inverted commas and thus no plagiarism.
B.C. Pires, himself no stranger to being fired from mainstream media gigs, continued to keep a close eye on the situation, eventually posting this blog entry once he noticed that “Newsday has not run my erstwhile newspaper and still Humanist Association colleague Kevin Baldeosingh’s column for the last two Fridays.  I suspect there is a connection to Kevin having done Trinidad & Tobago and the world a favour by uncovering the hypocrisy of our own plagiarizing priest/wannabe Integrity Commission Chair, the good Henry ‘Hey, I Completely Forgot About Copying That David Brooks Column’ Charles.”  He then goes on to publish the third column of Baldeosingh's that had failed to appear in print.
Other bloggers soon rallied to Baldeosingh's cause once it was confirmed that the journalist had indeed been fired.  Pires writes:
And so after two weeks of suspense – literally, too, just leaving him dangling, not using columns he dutifully supplied, without the common decency of an explanation – the Trinidadian newspaper, Newsday, has sacked Kevin Baldeosingh, easily its best writer and the only semi-public figure to have displayed any integrity in the whole Integrity Commission bullshit affair; and you have to take your hat off to Trinidad; nowhere else would have the gumption to publicly punish someone for doing the right thing.
And now, in a plot twist Albert Camus might have rejected for his novella, The Stranger, Kevin, the open atheist, is being punished for revealing the hypocrisy of a priest his own newspaper would have hushed up.
Shame on Newsday, shame on the priest – how he sleeps at night, the Devil alone knows – and shame on Trinidad & Tobago for penalizing the only person in the whole shebang that did the right thing and protecting the scoundrels who let us down.
This Beach Called Life says:
This blog supports Kevin Baldeosingh because this blog…
* …believes in integrity
* …is against hypocrisy
* …supports people of intelligence and honesty
* …is against cover ups, regardless of imaginary heavenly or social affiliation
* …is against any newspaper that tried to hide vital truths from the public since that newspaper’s opinions are now tarnished beyond shine
* …understands people who hide vital truths from the public is part of the real problem
Caribbean Free Radio adds:
The more important point…is that Baldeosingh was dismissed from his job for doing—regardless of where he happened to be doing it—what journalists are supposed to do, i.e. investigate a matter of public interest and present the information to the public.
Finally, journalist/blogger Attillah Springer, who admits she is not a Baldeosingh fan, is big enough to see the bigger picture:
I get no joy from the news that Newsday hasn’t run Kevin Baldeosingh’s column for the past three weeks, leading to speculation that he has been fired. You attack one, you attack all. And when the neighbour house on fire, Jah know you better start wetting your own. Or so it is in my book.
It’s not just about free speech. It is about undermining investigative journalism. Intimidating other journalists who might want to put God out of their thoughts and try to expose some injustice. It is a warning to others to not step out of line. Who wins, then? Who wins when voices are silenced? Who wins when a priest can get away with lifting some copy from another writer but teenagers are on trial for buying copies of exams?  Who wins when a journalist gets fired from a newspaper for daring to challenge a holy man even as children’s jhandis are under threat at Barrackpore West? We have lost track of reality.  We have lost a vital voice in our national conversation. We have lost our sense of perspective. Nobody wins.


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Africa: Most African Countries Do Not Recognise Africa Day · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in Ethiopia. Public events have taken place in different parts of the world to honour this day. Bloggers and twitter users have also remembered this day by writing posts and tweets related to Africa Day 2009.
We are learning from Zambia Watchdog that only four countries in the SADC region recognise Africa Day as a public holiday:
Looking back, it seems like the unity demonstrated by Africans as they fought against colonialism and imperialistic dominance is no longer there. In some parts of the continent, leaders are so self-centred that continental issues have been relegated to the very bottom.
Is it not a shame that to this day, few African countries recognise Africa Day? Is it not a shame that very few countries on the continent have set aside this day as a public holiday? And what lessons does this teach the future generation?
Looking at the calendars of the 14-members of SADC, only four countries – Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe recognise Africa Day as a public holiday. In the SADC region, it is only Namibia which has made the singing of the AU anthem a permanent feature at public gatherings and in schools.
Jason Von Berg blogs about Africa Day related events that took place in South Africa:
So in celebration of Africa Day, there’s a whole host of things happening in South Africa. The annual Africa Day concert took place at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg…
Now speaking of music videos, here is another Africa Day-focused one, in which Namibian artist Gazza has teamed up with SA star Zola on a song called “Hold On”. The song is sponsored by UNICEF and Standard Bank Namibia and it calls on all Africans to unite against the atrocities and conflicts that damages the African image…
The best way to celebrate Africa Day is through hard work, writes the Root Cause:
Being an African, and a part of a new generation of South Africans, I am forced to look north towards the rest of the continent, and wonder if it will ever rise out of the misery and sadness that keeps it from really being a part of the world community.
But at the same time I have this terrible problem of being an optimist by nature; I have this faith that this is Africa’s century. A time to be nurtured from within. Really making a go for it!
The Irish Aid supported Africa Day celebrations in Ireland. Culch.ie writes about events in Dublin:
On Sunday coming, 24th May, from 12pm til 8pm, Africa Day are having a FREE outdoor event in Iveagh Gardens in Dublin 2. There is a huge variety of entertainment on offer here for kids as well as adults
There is a Flickr stream of Africa Day 2009 photos in Ireland:
Bock posts “Africa Day Limerick”:
They’re crazy, these Africans.   What a shame they have to put up with Irish weather.
What a shame that any of us have to put up with Irish weather where it rains all the time.
Never mind though.
Africans have failed to learn key lessons about taking care of themselves, argues Angela Kintu in her post about Africa Day:
Africa has had a few tough decades with interference from our not-so-neighbourly neighbouring continents. And while the neighbours appear to be trying to make up for the bad times, conspiracy theories abound on how they are now colonising our minds since they no longer have legal access to our bodies. Maybe, maybe not. What is clear is that we have failed to learn key lessons about taking care of ourselves. We can be like penguins in a hole, looking up with our mouths open, waiting for someone to throw us a free fish.
In the twittersphere, the Irish Aid created a special Africa Day page.
Below are tweets that one finds on twitter about Africa Day:
NeoAid: There's more Africa than what usually makes headlines (poverty/AIDS/war/famine) – See Africa Differently this #africaday http://ow.ly/94cS
tsepeaces: Happy Africa Day! #africaday
NeoAid: If you happen to be in Ireland for #africaday, check out Irish Aid's celebrations at http://ow.ly/94aT or follow them @AfricaDay
neoaidcom: If you happen to be in Ireland for #africaday, check out Irish Aid's celebrations at http://ow.ly/94ay or follow them @AfricaDay
paoladm: #africaday hello a f r i c a ,http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/culture/africaday/
NeoAid: Happy Africa Day everybody! http://ow.ly/94ak #africaday
neoaidcom: Happy Africa Day everybody! http://ow.ly/949K #africaday
loopyginee: RT @Devcrossing: RT @mulumba Happy Africa Day ma peoples! #africaday- And to you too!!!
micknsk: RT @negrita How good and how pleasant it would be/Before God and man/To see the unification of all Africans. Africa Unite #africaday


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Armenia: Yerevan sails into election week · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Responding to a tweet sent out an hour earlier, Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor photographs and comments on the appearance of what might be the latest obstacle placed in the way of the Armenian opposition ahead of this weekend's municipal election — a replica of a 13th century ship.


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Bahrain: Just Six Months For Manslaughter? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Bahraini blogger Yagoob is frustrated about the light sentences handed down in Bahraini courts.


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China and Hong Kong: June 4th protest T-shirt design · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Every year on the Sunday before the anniversary of June 4th Incident (Tiananmen Square, 1989), people in Hong Kong would demonstrate to call for justice. This year, the 20th anniversary rally will be on May 31st. Moreover, on the evening of June 4th, there will be a candle night vigil where people will collectively remember those who had given their lives for democracy. Usually, the hosting organization, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, designs a standardized T-shirt for the activities. This year, there are some subtle changes, as netizens have already started to design their own protest T-shirt and shared with one another via online platform: such as Foncept. Below is a selection of netizens’ DIY June 4th protest T-shirt designs:
The logo is designed by Kar Chun:
頂部為天安門，天安門內為“1989”，表明地點與時間;天安門與兩撇形成“六”，下部為“四”，且下部形成古漢字“囧”，囧在網意為：鬱悶，悲傷，無奈。原意為：光明。 整個標識體現：六四事件雖然是一次失敗的運動，但在某種含義上，象徵著新一代青年追求光明，嚮往民主的思想，這一次的運動，對日後我國的民主發展有著重要的作用。
The four Chinese characters are “vindication” and “mincing to death”; the designer egg sandwich said:
八九民運六四事件當中最為無情的最為觸目的應該是一部一部的坦克車轆死中國人。
This one, designed by Tai creative design, combines the characters “June 4th” with “Peace”.
Egg, on the other hand, embeds “June 4th” into the upside down character of “condolence”.
Zi Sun uses the scripture of Goddess of Democracy, which was collectively created by Beijing arts students in 1989, in his design.
Both Joel and Z!NG use the most impactive and symbolic photo showing a Beijing citizen trying to stop the tank from entering the Tiananmen Square with bare hand for their designs.
The designer Vicky explains that the design represents “students”, “red book”, “death” and “June 4th”.


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China: Should journalists be tried for bribery? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David Bandurski from China Media Project looked into into the trial of Fu Hua, a journalist, who was charged with bribery for accepting 5,000 yuan in exchange for a list of sources for a story about construction problems at an airport in Jilin Province. As David Bandurski pointed out the case has significant implications for press freedom in China.


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China: Yingde Mass Incident · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN compared the official version and forum citizen report on the Yingde mass incident – a protest against government corruption and exploitation of overseas Chinese refugees from Vietnam who settled in Yingde in 1970s.


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Cuba: Antúnez Arrested · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Former Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis García Pérez ‘Antúnez’ and six other anti-government activists were arrested in Havana…”: Uncommon Sense has the details.


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Dominica: Emancipation of the Mind  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If we as a people are to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, we must first establish a new sense of self and engage in a critical transformation of the mind”: Dominica Weekly wishes everyone a happy African Liberation Day.


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Guadeloupe: Analysis of the Unrest  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Repeating Islands reports that “The Council of Hemispheric Affairs has just posted their analysis of the unrest that plagued Guadeloupe and other French Overseas Territories earlier this year.”


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India: Violence In Gurudwara · Global Voices
Rezwan

Amardeep at Sepia Mutiny discusses the backgrounds of the recent violence at a Sikh Gurdwara in Vienna, Austria and the subsequent Sikh sectarian violence in Punjab, India.


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Iran: Facebook is accessible again · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian news sites and blogs report that Facebook is not anymore filtered in Iran. Senoghteh says  [fa] that national and international protest forced Iranian government to make Facebook available again.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Japan: Ministry of Health posts YouTube video · Global Voices
Tomomi Sasaki

Kotori Piyopiyo praises the progressiveness of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for posting a video on YouTube and observes with irony that they have turned off the embedding function. The video introduces preventive measures for swine flu.


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Malaysia: Is The New PM a Market Reformer?  · Global Voices
Jude Chia

Are we expecting a gradual political revolution with new leadership in Malaysia? Najib does not only embrace social media technology to improve citizen engagement, he ventures a step further where none of his predecessors had attempted before to introduce selective liberalization on financial and service sectors recently. That includes removal of 30% Bumiputra (ethnic Malay) equity requirement in those sectors in order to promote greater competition. Now is the crucial time where critics will scrutinize this unprecedented move and people will be eager to know the level of impact and transformation expected on overall economy.
Tony Fernandes acknowledges that it is a start that should lead to greater transformation:
The removal of NEP¹ requirements for 27 service sub-sectors represents a great start. […] But I hope more importantly, that the entire domestic economy is reformed. […] My wish is that Datuk Seri Najib does a Margaret Thatcher. At present, there is too much vested interest, conflict and red tape that kill creativity, discourage innovation and provide little incentive for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses.
M. Bakri Musa offers similar conclusion that it is merely a beginning but not a total solution, he reasons that:
For Najib to have an excellent and comprehensive solution would require him to address the more difficult underlying issue of what prompted the instituting of quotas in the first place […] Ameliorate it and Najib would be able to liberalize not only the whole service sector but also the entire economy, if not every facet of Malaysian life. That would bring his “1Malaysia” aspiration that much closer.
Chua Soi Lek also acknowledges this is a positive move and ethnic Malays should not think their rights have been compromised:
I am sure this will attract more investment and also attract more professionals and technology into the country and hopefully it will be a boost to the service sector. […] The Bumiputra special rights are entrenched in the constitution. Nobody can take that away. So, a review of the NEP should not be construed by some Bumiputra as a challenge to their special rights as this is enshrined in the constitution.
Malaysia-Finance says the move is highly commendable and will attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) to the service sector:
While the country may not see an immediate benefit, the cumulative goodwill will ensure a more competitive landscape for Malaysia in attracting foreign investments.[…] The move is very crucial in moving our reliance on services to at least 60 percent, and which would then lessen our reliance on electronics exports and commodities.
However, not all are in the consensus that this move will lead to greater changes on the existing policies. Tony Pua thinks it is nothing more than official announcement for policies that are already in place and questions its supposedly impact:
Deputy Minister for International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has officially confirmed that it's all just hot air, no more, no less. […] Mukhriz not only stated his intent to “defend and promote” the New Economic Policy, he said that the recent liberalization measures announced by Najib was a move to synchronize what was already happening in the service industry. […] So it was all pretty much a public relations sham. These sectors were in reality already unimpeded by ownership restriction constraints. Hence what Najib announced will have very, very little real impact on the industry, if any at all.
Straight Talk confirms this view with this assessment:
I said that some of the initial reactions are too emotional and knee-jerk. Some of these sectors are already quite open even before the liberalization. Take computer and related services as an example, this sub-sector is already quite liberalized since the implementation of MSC² status. […] But as usual, a number of parties, analysts and stakeholders are trumpeting compliments of the PM's move.
So given the level of skepticism and general acknowledgement that more need to be done, Najib will need more time to prove that he is indeed a market reformer.

author: Jude Chia


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Malaysia: Yuna Changes the Face of Indie Music · Global Voices
Syafique Shuib

The independent music scene in Malaysia is blossoming. In recent years, more and more independent musicians and bands are gaining in popularity thanks to social networking websites such as YouTube and MySpace.
Meet Yuna. You might think Yuna as a typical Malaysian youth, but one check in her diary (or should it be her MySpace calendar?), she has a list full of upcoming performances and she has her debut EP to promote, which is produced under her own recording label, Yuna Room Records. She is the talk of the blogosphere for not only producing great music but also her wholesome image. She causes a stir, in a positive way, in the indie music scene for wearing the tudung, a scarf worn around the head by women in Malaysia. It conceals the hair but not the face. This is similar to the hijab, worn by Muslim women elsewhere, especially the Middle East.
Nat Nat gives the inside scoop on Yuna’s rise to stardom:
Fairly unknown by the rest of the population at first, she then gain widespread attention after her debut track from her demo, Dan Sebenarnya were played at one of the top radio stations in Malaysia. Soon after, majority of the radio stations began to play her song. She has officially become mainstream.
Lin Loves tries to give an objective view on Yuna’s music:
She’s really a great singer, even the guy over the counter said so, and I was really lucky to get like the last copy in the store. You know the first time I listened to her I was like, “Hey this girl is fantastic, I love her voice and her music.” Then I stepped back and wondered if I’m judging her based on the fact that she dons the hijab and I know that there is a great, great possibility that i am biased. So I tried being as objective as possible and I think she great.
Indra is surprised by Yuna’s image but loves Yuna’s Norah Jones-like voice:
I checked out her profile on Myspace and what surprised me was, she wears tudung! She is so unique, with a Norah Jones-like voice I know she can go far (like I know, I just can feel it). Pretty calming, the songs of Yuna's. Try and listen to her songs, her English accent during singing and talking was so different. If she speaks, she sounds so Malay-ish, but when she sings, well that's when she jumbles up her accent and it really make her sounds like an English woman.
The Baju Kurung Adventure salutes Yuna's image and can serve as an inspiration to all:
[Yuna] is an indie singer/songwriter who just launched an EP. Tell you the truth all her songs were really great. Never seen her ‘live’ neither, but I have downloaded her songs and watched her on YouTube and to make my grin bigger, she wears hijab, which is very rare for indie girls, an inspiration. Besides, hijab or not, she is very talented. That's what count most.
Yuna is also well-liked by other races in the country. Tragic. Fairy. Tales. is shocked to find out Yuna's ethnicity:
My sister recommended this new indie singer to me Yuna. I was shocked when I knew she was Malay.  (It’s not that I'm racist) Well, I must admit that she did have a great voice even though she's not exactly the prettiest chick and she's not exactly what I expect her to look like. In my opinion, our local music scene need more singers like her.
Her song is so infectious that some bloggers decide to use it as a background music to keep their readers entertained. Boundless Promise writes:
You know the song you've listening here in my blog. It calls Deeper Conversation performed by Indie singer, YUNA. Seriously, she is so talented and all her songs and her voice were like SUPERB!!! And she wrote and composed them all by herself. She's 22 and wearing tudung and currently performing in London.
Will there be a time in the future where people will only be talking about Yuna's music, not her image?

author: Syafique Shuib


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Maldives: Controversy Regarding Presidential Arrest Warrant · Global Voices
Rezwan

Mohamed Nasheed discusses the recent decision by the President of Maldives to arrest certain politicians in the country. Some Maldivians were disappointed by this decision and there are unconfirmed reports that former President and Opposition Leader Mamoun Abdul Gayoom may be on the list.

author: Rezwan


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Myanmar: Junta leader is “mentally insane” · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

For conducting an “unjustified trial” against Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi, a blogger uploads an article which caricatures the junta leader Than Shwe as “mentally insane.” Suu Kyi is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.

author: Mong Palatino


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Pakistan: Naming Practice · Global Voices
Rezwan

“The way a society names its cities and places says a lot about its cultural history and social values,” writes Pervaiz Munir Alvi at Doodh Patti while discussing the naming practice in Pakistan.


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Palestine: Israeli Armed Police Disrupt Literature Festival  · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

The Palestine Festival of Literature is a traveling cultural roadshow touring across the West Bank, in Palestine, from May 23 to 28.
It aims to bring writers and artists from around the world to Palestinian audiences, to initiate and organize cultural festivals with international and local participation. Also, workshops with students in Palestinian academic institutions in co-operation with Palestinian academics are being organized on the sidelines.
According to the event's organizers:
Because of the difficulties Palestinians face under military occupation in traveling around their own country, the Festival will travel to its audiences. It will tour to Ramallah, to Jenin, to al-Khalil/Hebron and to Bethlehem. To celebrate its year as Cultural Capital of the Arab World, the festival will begin and end in Jerusalem. And for those audiences that we can't reach, we're running several ways to connect with the festival: from author blogs to daily videos to twitter updates you can check them all out on our Connect page.
However, the festival opening didn't start as smooth as expected and the first night was shut down by armed Israeli police.
Palfest first tweet about Israel harassment to the festival
Dan-Chyi Chua, from China, who took part in the festival wrote under the title “Reality Check or How to hold a festival under occupation” the detailed story of how the Israeli security forces came with guns and closed the ceremony down. She also adds her personal thoughts on this experience:
It is not a bad idea – to say the very least – to arrive in the West Bank, to set aside the ideals, causes and perceptions that we have packed along with our luggage on this trip, and instead listen to the stories of the people here. The voices of the Palestinian people are already sufficiently subdued, without outsiders coming to further drown it out.
Deborah Moggach reads at the new venue
Egyptian novelist, Ahdaf Soueif, who also participated in the festival, concluding her powerful blog post with this phrase:
Today, my friends, we saw the clearest example of our mission: to confront the culture of power with the power of culture.
English PEN World Atlas, echoing Ahdaf Soueif's Culture vs. Power quote, shared a video from the opening night.
Needless to say that it was not so long before people from all around the globe started tweeting about the event.
Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions from Twitter:
Twitter reactions to palfest

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Singapore: Annual reading initiative · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The National Library Board of Singapore launched READ! Singapore 2009, a nationwide reading initiative that aims to promote a culture of reading among Singaporeans


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South Korea: Lee Myung-bak’s Political Revenge Killed Roh Moo-hyun · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Oh Yeon-ho from Ohmynews International pointed out that the present president Lee Myung-bak's political revenge has leaded to Roh Moo-hyun's death.


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Sri Lanka: Trivias About Some Well Known Bloggers · Global Voices
Rezwan

London, Lanka and Drums posts little known facts about some well known Sri Lankan bloggers.


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Suicide cases in Singapore · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Reports show that suicide is one of the top causes of death among Singapore youth.


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Taiwan: Comparisons of Chen and Roh · Global Voices
David Reid

Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyung tragically commited suicide over the weekend. Some have made comparisons between Roh and former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian who is currently in detention on charges of corruption. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato asks if both men were subject to character assassination by the judiciary and media.

author: David Reid


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Trinidad & Tobago: Is It Art?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Trinidad and Tobago, the bookmann reviews the exhibition of the 2009 graduating class of Visual Arts Unit of The University of the West Indies.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Summit Spend · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago's The Undisputed Truth links to a story which, to him, “highlights how the Summit [of the Americas] is a total waste of money.”


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Venezuela: Keeping the Internet as a Priority · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

When the Venezuelan government emitted Decree No. 6649, it raised red flags within the online community concerned about the possible effects to education, research and other fields important to development. The decree seeks to eliminate “luxuries” or “superfluous expenses” among the public expenditure, among which includes the Internet.
As a result, the online campaign Internet Prioritaria [es] was created with the opinion that Internet is a basic need.  According to the group's statement,  “the decree violates the public policies of the Venezuelan state, since Internet was declared a priority in Decree No. 825 and the State has made efforts to use Internet for the benefit of efficiency in public administration, health and education.”
In addition, this community’s concern is to maintain research and educational programs that is made possible because of the Internet, “we must guarantee that the sustainability of university projects based on information technologies is not affected by budget cuts.”
Among their objectives, Internet Prioritaria wants to maintain the status of Internet use as a priority, to develop technologies associated with Internet use that could be helpful in the public sector, and to support research on information technologies. Also, the group proposes to place the use of these technologies in the discussion around Venezuelan media so there could be a deep dialogue on the weight of Internet in development, as well as the importance of digital literacy.
The campaign has been active using Facebook [es] and Twitter. In its first 45 hours, the group reached 205 members. In Twitter, the tag #internetlujo [es] (internet luxury) is used to continue the campaign. Numerous blogs and other digital spaces have also joined in. The discussion in the Venezuela blogosphere could be seen from two different points of view, since while some argue that this new decree is an attempt to curtail freedom of speech, others consider this kind of campaign as trying to raise an alarm where there is no urgency. Here are some examples:
In her blog Signos Bajo la Luna [es], Holanda Castro makes a list of some of the bloggers that have published about the subject and also writes about the reason behind the decree, in her opinion:
Es paradójico. Mi país se erigió como paladín del Software Libre y de la Apropiación Social de Internet, hace años, antes de que otros lo hicieran. Con un revolucionario Decreto presidencial -no por el partido, sino por lo que realmente significa la palabra revolución- decía en el 2000 que era (¿y acaso no lo es ahora?) prioritaria la sistematización de procesos de la administración pública a través de Internet.
Luego de pasar años en la clandestinidad, soñando con un “otro mundo es posible”, al llegar al poder l@s revolucionari@s se dan cuenta de que eso del poder no es como parece. Porque el poder no se comparte, o dejaría de serlo, no se cuestiona, o se debilitaría, no se discute, porque es infalible. Eso, hasta los surrealistas lo saben y sufrieron.
It’s paradoxical. My country emerged as a hero of open-source software hero and of social ownership of Internet years before some others did. With a very revolutionary presidential decree –and not because of the political party, but because it was really revolutionary- it was said in the year 2000 that systematization process in the public sector through Internet was a priority (…and isn’t it still?)
After years in secrecy, dreaming about how “a new world was possible” the revolutionaries came to power, and thus, they realized that this thing called power is not as it seems. Power is not to be shared or it would stop being power. Power is not questioned, because it would become weak; it shouldn’t be discussed, because it is infallible. Even the surrealists knew that, and they suffered from it.
Francisco Palm, on the other hand, discusses from other point of view and thinks that there is a misinterpretation of the new decree [es]:
El problema es la lectura tendenciosa del decreto 6649, porque poco les falta para decir que el gobierno está prohibiendo Internet, de hecho el correo que se está difundiendo tiene por Asunto “Limitan Internet en las Universidades”.
En el decreto 6649 se indica con claridad que la finalidad es “optimizar la racionalización del gasto en el sector público”. Yo creo entender que la palabra “optimización” (ya que doy clases de técnicas de optimización) no quiere decir que se prohíba o se elimine, sino que incluso en el caso de una actividad muy razonable y necesaria se requiere depurar la implementación de dicha actividad “haciendo el mejor uso de recursos escasos”.
La “campaña” debería estar dada en términos de INFORMAR y establecer claramente que es lo que eventualmente puede hacer de Internet un gasto suntuario, hablar de como la organización social puede ayudar a generar propuestas más “solidarias” (en el sentido económico que le damos en Venezuela).
The main problem is this tendentious reading of the decree 6649. They’re almost saying that the government is banning the Internet. In fact, the email that has been circling around has as subject “Limiting Internet in the Universities”
The decree says clearly that the main goal is to “optimize savings in the public sector.” I believe I understand the meaning of this word since I teach different techniques to optimize. This does not mean that (the Internet) is going to be banned or eliminated; it means that it is necessary to purge this activity, even if it is a very reasonable and necessary activity, “using limited resources in a better way.”
The campaign should be devoted to INFORM and to point out clearly what are the elements that could make Internet a sumptuary expense. They should talk about how social organization can help to generate more “solidarity” in their proposals (in the economic sense we give to this word in Venezuela).
The idea of cyber-activism is something the blog Enigmas Press [es] believes is essentialfor public debate on such an issue:
Hay momentos que nos involucran a todos. No importa que partido tomar. Y es aquí donde entra el activismo-blog, ya sea un blog de cocina, de deportes, de chistes.
There are moments that involve us all. It doesn’t matter the side you want to take. It is here where blogs and activism enters; whether it is as a blog on cooking, on sports or jokes.

author: Laura Vidal


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Argentina: Clarín Media Group Forces Removal of Videos · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

The media group Clarín [es] is considered to be the most important in Argentina and whose holdings include the newspaper Clarín. In recent months, it has implemented a policy of demanding that YouTube close the accounts of any user that does not remove content produced by one of its companies, such as Channel 13 in Buenos Aires or the cable news channel TN.  Recently, this policy has caused more repercussions when Clarín started to pressure for the closure of YouTube accounts belonging to bloggers, who used portions of news materials, even though they did so on a non-profit basis or for use in the creation of their own compilations.
The blog Mundo Perverso [es] recounts how Clarín was able to close his YouTube account on two occasions, and now has threatened to close a third account. For now, the account remains active, but Diego F. was forced to delete the videos in question. He writes:
Este blog no tiene fines de lucro, no hay publicidad ni uso monetario del material que se publica, el cual tiene como finalidad informar a la ciudadanía de cuestiones estrictamente políticas. Ninguna empresa privada tiene el derecho a censurar declaraciones de funcionarios públicos, y esto que está pasando debería preocuparnos a todos porque a todos nos afecta: nos están tratando de robar la voz.
Other blogs like Registro Mundo [es] and Banya08 [es] were also sent warning e-mails instructing them to remove the videos in question.
In the next few days, a group of Argentine bloggers will release a statement condemning the policy of the closing of YouTube accounts by the request of Artear SA, the audio-visual division of the media group, and that freedom of speech and the circulation of information about public affairs are guaranteed.
Mundo Perverso [es] has compiled a long list of blogs that have expressed solidarity with him. The blog La Barbarie [es] agrees that the proceedings from the Clarín group are not justified, and that this constitutes a case of censorship, as does lawyer and law professor Gustavo Arballo of Saber Derecho [es] who writes:
Mas alla del tema hay que ponerlo en su real dimensión: es censura. Estamos acostumbrados a identificar la “censura” con algo que hace el Estado contra un gran medio. Pero la naturaleza de la censura es más amplia y en este caso estamos ante una censura de un particular grande (que abusa de su posición dominante) a un particular chico.
The two blogs point to Article 28 in the Law 11723 [es] that  establishes that “general interest news can be used, transmitted or retransmitted; but when they are published in their original version it is necessary to cite the source.”  This was something that was respected in the case of the videos published on YouTube and was objected to by the Clarín Group.

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Bangladesh: Cyclone Aila Relief Efforts · Global Voices
Rezwan

The death toll from the destruction of cyclone Aila, which wreaked havoc in India and Bangladesh, is rising and more than 150 people had died in Bangladesh alone. The tidal waves caused by the storm has made hundreds of thousands homeless. BRAC blog writes about the cyclone Aila relief efforts.


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Bangladesh, India: No To Tipaimukh Dam · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Project is being constructed near the confluence of Barak and Tuivai rivers, in Manipur, India and within 100km of Bangladesh border. Costing Rs 6,351 crore ($1.35 billion) the 164 meter high dam will have a firm generation capacity of 401.25MW of electricity.
Map courtesy http://www.somewhereinblog.net/blog/Abid_Jaljala/28950257
While Hydroelectric projects are typically considered greener than other power generation options in short term, it has significant long-term impact to the environment like changes in the ecosystem, destroying nearby settlements and changing habitat conditions of people, fish and wildlife. Especially in the densely populated countries like India and Bangladesh, where rivers are lifelines, projects like Tipaimukh will create adverse effect to a huge number of population and their habitats.
No wonder right from the start this project faced protests from potentially affected people in India, and from the downstream neighbor Bangladesh. The people of Manipur have been fighting legally to stop the project but have so far been unsuccessful. The Indian government is going ahead with the plan. The Sinlung Indigenous People Human Rights Organisation (SIPHRO) of India said that “the process for choosing it (the project premises) ignored both the indigenous people and the recommendations of the WCD (World Commission on Dams)”.
From Bangladesh journalist and blogger Dhibor says:
এই বাঁধ তৈরির কি অজুহাত হিসেবে বলা হচ্ছে, আসামের বন্যা নিয়ন্ত্রন এবং জল বিদ্যুত উৎপাদন করে, উঃ পুর্ব ভারতের মানুষদের প্রভুত কল্যাণে এই বাধ নির্মিত হবে। পাঠকদের জ্ঞাতার্থে জানাচ্ছি যে, আন্তর্জাতিক পানি আইন অনুসারে, ভাটির দেশের পুর্ণ সম্মতি ছাড়া এবং পরিবেশের ক্ষতি করে কোন দেশই একতরফাভাবে নদী শাসন করতে পারবে না। তবে পরিতাপের বিষয় হলো, আন্তর্জাতিক আইন মানতে কোন দেশ বাধ্য নয়। এখানে জোর যার মুল্লুক তার হিসেবেই এই আইন প্রযোজ্য। ভারতের তুলনায় আমাদের অর্থনৈতিক-সামরিক বা খুটির জোর অল্প বলে, আমাদের মার খেয়ে যেতেই হচ্ছে।
উঃ পুর্ব ভারতের অধিবাসিদের নাকের সামনে টিপাইমুখি বাধের মুলো ঝুলিয়ে রাখা হলেও, তারা পঃ বঙ্গের অধিবাসিদের মত ভোলেননি। তাই এই বাধের বিরুদ্ধে সেখানে তীব্র প্রতিবাদ হচ্ছে। মনিপুরের ২০টি প্রভাবশালি সামাজিক রাজনৈতিক সংগঠন, “একশন কমিটি এগেইনস্ট টিপাইমুখ ড্যাম” এর ব্যানারে রাজপথে নেমেছেন। কারণ এতে উঃপুর্ব ভারতের লাভের চেয়ে লোকসানটাই বেশি হবে। আর প্রভুত ক্ষতি হবে পরিবেশের।
Residents of the North Eastern parts of India were pampered with many baits of the Tipaimukh dam project, but they kept their cool. About 20 influential socio-political organizations in Manipur have united in the banner of “Action Committee against Tipaimukh Project” and are protesting against the project. The reason – this dam will bring more miseries to those people than the profits pledged. And there will be severe damage to the environment.”
From India Namdingpou Kamei at E-Pao lists the losses and destruction this dam will bring to the local people.
# A total area of land 286.20 sq. km will be submerged forever.
# Barak waterfalls and Zeilad Lake, which are connected with the history of the Zeliangrong people, will be forever underwater and all folklores and legends will have no monuments’ proof and it will become a make up story for the next generation.
# More than, 40,000 people will be rendered landless.
# Eight villages situated at the Barak Valley will be completely underwater.
# More than 90 villages mostly of Tamenglong district will be adversely affected.
# About 27,242 hectares of cultivable land will be lost. [..]
The Indian government has offered the Manipur state 10% free electricity (i.e. 40 MW) from the project in exchange of above.
The Hmar indigenous population of North East India fears that:
if the government plows ahead with its proposed dam “thousands of outsiders” will come to settle in the area and as a result the Hmars will be exposed to changes like never before to new culture, economy and politics.
Dr. Soibam Ibotombi of Dept. of Earth Sciences, Manipur University says that the dam will be a geo-tectonic blunder of international dimensions:
The site selected for Tipaimukh project is one of the most active in the entire world, recording at least two major earthquakes of 8+ in the Reichter Scale during the past 50 years. The proposed Tipaimukh HEP is envisaged for construction in one of the most geologically unstable area as the proposed Tipaimukh dam axis falls on a ‘fault line’ potentially active and possible epicenter for major earthquakes.
At BanglaPraxis the impact of Tipaimukh dam in Bangladesh has been discussed.
Paribartan Bangla writes [bn] that several campaigns are ongoing in Sylhet, Bangladesh protesting the Tipaimukh dam. The blogger describes:
এই বাঁধ নির্মিত হলে সিলেট, সুনামগঞ্জ, মৌলভীবাজার, হবিগঞ্জ, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, কিশোরগঞ্জ, নেত্রকোনা, নরসিংদী ও নারায়ণগঞ্জ জেলাসহ দেশের সমগ্র উত্তর-পূর্বাঞ্চলে মারাত্মক পরিবেশ ও আর্থিক বিপর্যয় নেমে আসবে। কৃষি, মৎস্য, জীববৈচিত্র্য হুমকির মুখে পড়বে। বর্ষাকালে প্রবল বন্যা আর শীতকালে পানির জন্য হাহাকার দেখা দিবে।
No to Tipaimukh Dam
Blogger Agami calls other bloggers [bn] to engage in online and offline campaigns to stop the project. A Facebook group has already been created by the bloggers. An online petition has been launched by the “Action Committee against Tipaimukh Project”.
Anandomoye writes [bn]:
উন্নত দেশগুলো যখন স্বল্প ও দীর্ঘমেয়াদি কুফলের কথা বিবেচনা করে বাঁধের মতো অবকাঠামো নির্মাণের মাধ্যমে প্রকৃতিকে নিয়ন্ত্রণের দুর্বুদ্ধি থেকে পিছিয়ে আসছে, সেখানে ভারতের এমন একটি বাঁধ নির্মাণের প্রস্তুতি আরো গভীর পর্যালোচনার দাবি রাখে।


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