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Ukraine: Hutsul Wedding Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Stefan of Dykun offers his readers a break from Ukrainian politics: an annotated video of a Hutsul wedding. “The wedding was that of a cousin of a friend, Anna. Much of Anna's heritage is Hutsul. Hutsuls and their descedents have lived in their part of the Carpathians for some 500-600 years. The sign at the entrance to Anna's home village of Jabloniv boasts 450 yrs of settlement.”


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Ukraine: Sheshory Folk Festival · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Humble Observer reports on a trip to a folk music festival in Sheshory, a small town in West Ukraine's Transcarpathians: “Imagine Pete Seiger learns Ukrainian and plays with an instrument that you crank (no kidding) and you have something like what I was at last weekend.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Uzbekistan: Happy Uzbeks · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

James explores how to explain the happiness of Uzbekistan's citizens despite the host of problems they face. Could it be relatively equal income distribution?

author: Nathan Hamm


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Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes · Global Voices
Zimpundit

Zimbabwe's blogosphere has virtually been deflated by threats of new legislation allowing government to surreptitiously spy on people's cyber activities.  Their numerous voices have been silenced leaving a marked void in the chronicling of the one the world's worst crises.  Please keep this troubled nation's valiant bloggers in your minds and prayers.  A few bloggers still persist; here are some of the issues they have been reporting:
After an acrimonious split, Zimbabwe's opposition MDC is steeped in further controversy after a ghastly attack on Gertrude (Trudy) Stevenson.  Stevenson, who has aligned herself with Arthur Mutambara's “pro-senate” faction, is the MP for the Harare North constituency on an MDC ticket.  Zimpundit is sickened by the attack.
The Bearded Man posts and discusses headlines on Zimbabwe every day.
Carl at Because we're here boy no one else; just us shares his version of election-related developments.  These include; increased patrols by the airforce, the arrival of EU troops, a war threat by a presidential candiate if the elections don't go well, and relief organizations cutting back their operations in the country.
Meanwhile Fleurdafrique contempletes whether the elections will be just another historical event or if they will be democratic at all:
Should I sit here and say “well at least we’re having elections”? What’s the point of having them if it’s clear who’s running the show?
Somebody is clearly taking a piss.
Mike, the techblogger at Hacktivate makes an erudite yet succint point for the advantage of wireless in this post.
Dadennism at Country Boyi celebrates Ghana's final performance at the World Cup,
That out of Angola, Togo, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, the Black Stars reached this far was a truly outstanding achievement. This was Ghana’s first World Cup appearance as opposed to Brazil’s18th. And how can we be sure that the Samba boys didn’t invoke some Amazonian witch doctor to help out?
It cannot be denied that the Black Stars provided some of the most spectacular moments. We left an impression though we lacked a clinical finisher that would have made those instant turns in the box and incredible finishes.
We lost but we went down fighting. It never is too late to learn from mistakes. Step by step we shall get to the top, just watch out in 2010.
Jay's Idle Notes is irate at president Museveni for
how he micromanages everything and the way he is running the country like a personal homestead. He is convinced(actually tries to convince everyone) that nobody else has the the good of the country at heart and therefore he has to perform the thankless task of being in charge of everything-setting university tuition fees, deciding who builds where, offering land to investors (99 year leases and all) et cetera. What hubris!!
Inktus contemplates the prospects of e-governance for Uganda.
Lovely Amphibian has a few things to ponder in this post.

author: Zimpundit


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Zimbabwe: Mugabe’s speeches · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Zimpundit reports on two long speeches given by President Robert Mugabe to his supporters over the weekend, chastising them for corruption and bad behavior.

author: Luisetta Mudie


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Argentina: ArgenBlogs: New Blog Directory · Global Voices
David Sasaki

ArgenBlogs (ES) is a new directory of Argentina weblogs. So far, more than 144 blogs have registered (ES).

author: David Sasaki


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Argentina: My First PC Program and its Detractors · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Argentine government has relaunched its federal program MiPC [My First Personal Computer], or as Mariano Amartino refers to it (ES), MiPC Reloaded. The original incarnation of the program, which hoped to narrow the digital divide by distributing affordable computers nationwide, debuted last April where it was met with severe criticism (ES) by the blogging community due to the government's exclusive relationship with Intel and Microsoft. Longtime readers of Global Voices will remember that an almost identical situation took place in Chile, spawning the grassroots “My First PC, But For Real” campaign by Chilean bloggers.
This time around, however, Amartino says the program offers consumers more choices:
Los equipos pueden ser con procesadores AMD o con Intel; y con la opción de usar Windows Starter o Linux de Pixart… y con financiación de varios bancos. Esta vez, el plan, es un poco mejor y evita algunas críticas al primer plan Mi PC.. al menos es abierto en cuanto a Procesadores y OS (me dejaron jugar con Windows Starter y es realmente un desastre) y, los precios, que en efectivo son altos, cuando los mirás en forma de cuotas son accesibles y eso es lo importante.
Pablo M. Beca also sees the second version of the program as an improvement over the first:
Según las primeras noticias, este año vuelve nuevamente el programa MiPC, y esta vez con buenas noticias: se suman AMD y Linux. Supongo que habrán decidido incluírlos después de las numerosas críticas, muchas desde la comunidad open source que se hiceron escuchar. Microsoft e Intel habrán hecho una buena tajada el año pasado, ya que fueron muchísimos los adeptos a este programa. Aparte de la cantidad de publicidad estatal que tuvieron “gratis”, porqué la campaña lanzada por el gobierno fué contundente, y en todos los avisos aparecián los nombres de Intel y Microsoft. Creo que gracias a los procesadores AMD y Linux los costos de los equipos se reducirán considerablemente, siendo mucho más accesibles para más gente. Muchos podrán tener su primera compu y otros tantos podrían actualizar sus plataformas.
Luciano Kay from Santa Fe, Argentina is more conservative about the initial success of MiPC and the role the government played:
En el 2005 este programa se puso en marcha, computadoras se vendieron, aunque lo que no he visto fueron los Centros de Acceso y Entrenamiento públicos. De acuerdo a lo publicado por Carrier y Asoc. en su edición del 26 de mayo de su lista de correos, el plan Mi PC vendió aproximadamente unas 100 mil máquinas, mucho menos que las grandes cifras oficiales planteadas inicialmente. Lo interesante es que, más allá de la cantidad de PC vendidas, sólo alrededor de un 30% de ellas se vendieron con financiamiento del Estado, quedando en evidencia -continúa el análisis de Carrier y Asoc.- que el rol del Estado no es en absoluto definitorio para el éxito del plan (lean el comentario completo en la lista que está bueno).
Other bloggers criticize the technical aspects of both the Windows and Linux models. Fabio, for example, claims that:
Pixar Linux no es linux. Parafraseando a los linuxeros, esta distribución no sólo le falla a la GPL (ilegal) si no que es un desastre y ni siquiera se molestan en comentar que paquetes utilizan o en que se basan, le mienten al usuario, algo inaceptable para una distro de linux que, aunque se venda, no tiene porqué hacer esto.
Javier Salinas is just as critical of “Windows Starter,” a special distribution of the famous operating system which, according to Microsoft, “is designed to offer an affordable and easy-to-use entry point to the Windows family of products that is tailored to local markets, in local languages, and is compatible with a wide range of Windows-based applications and devices.”
El Starter realmenta apesta. Está tan tocado que hasta parece un milagro que eso “funcione”. No solo te rompe la paciencia lo de las tres aplicaciones simultáneas, sino que además hay cosas que son imposibles. Me cayó una notebook con St.Ed. y le tenía que armar un tunel ssh para conectar a un mysql remoto. Imposible. El túnel se hacía, el puerto remoto era alcanzable, pero la aplicación no accedía a la bdd.


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Armenia: Our Duty to Live · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian posts photos and and an interview with the program manager of the Our Duty to Live project in Vanadzor, Armenia. The project offers educational and social services to needy children in an area still recovering from the devastating 1988 earthquake.


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Armenia: Racist Fliers · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna reports on the appearance of racist fliers appearing in Yerevan urging people to “clean their city.” Onnik Krikorian adds that this is ironic considering the number of South Caucasus natives who have died at the hands of white supremacists in Russia.


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Armenia: Smoking on the Street · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna asks why men in Armenia consider it acceptable for women to chainsmoke in cafes, but lose all respect for women if they smoke on the street.


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Bahamas: A drug lord’s legacy · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

In light to recent rumours that notorious Colombian drug lord Carlos Lehder was seen partying at a Bahamian resort, Larry Smith discusses Lehder's “Bahamian legacy”: “The bottom line was that one of the world's biggest criminal enterprises, managed by one of the world's highest-profile crooks, was able to operate with impunity on a Bahamian resort island for years – while the government looked the other way.”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Barbados: School days · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jdid remembers his school days in Barbados, when his main worries were pitching marbles and avoiding “liks” from the teacher.


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Barbados: The government on blogs · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Titlayo sees a Barbados government minister's call for blogs to have a “framework of accountability”, as a sign that blogs are beginning to be taken seriously by “people in high places”.


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Bermuda: Paradox of plenty · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey's latest “Open Mike” topic is “the paradox of plenty”, tabled by contributor “Tiger Bay”: “Resource-rich countries, such as oil producers, often develop slower than less endowed countries. Quite simply, the wealth distorts good governance and decision making. . . .“


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Cameroon: Debt Cancelled by Canada · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Fojrega writes (Fr) that: “Canada's Minister of Finance announced tuesday that he was cancelling the USD 198.9 million debt that Cameroon owed Canada.” Cameroon fulfilled enough conditions to become the 12th country eligible for Canadian debt forgiveness including: “progress in economic reforms, especially corruption and improvement in the drawing up and implementation of budgets.”

author: Alice Backer


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China: corpses trade · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

OneManBandWidth discusses the good and the bad side of the news concerning the banning of trade and commercial use of corpses in China.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Journey to the West · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

There are some discussions about Spielberg’s plans to remake Journey to the West.  However, some worries that western director will turn the Monkey King into his Hollywood cousin, King Kong.  Peijin Chen puts up a report in Shanghaiist.


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China: KFC · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates Hu Jinghua's report in Financial and Economic Times concerning the recently debate about KFC's newly release adverstiment that adopted the image of Seven Swords in CCTV. The ad has stirred up strong discontent among Chinese culturati.


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China: Rock band · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Wonwon from Chinatimes puts up a review on the development of rock band music in mainland China in the past twenty years (zh).


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China: Text book · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen has a post in Danwei on the controversy over Chinese textbook revisions. He puts together various articles and discussions on the recent change of historical perspective.


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Colombia: Cyber-war · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Colombian blogger Bluelephant says (ES) that a group of Muslim cyber-criminals called “The Islamic Brigade” is carrying out selective attacks on weblogs with a pro-Israel political line: “They erase them and publish personal information about the authors. Among those affected are various friends from simply Bloom (e.g. http://kozure.blogspot.com, http://herut.blogspot.com, http://heruth.blogspot.com. My solidarity is with the affected bloggers. It's very important to denounce and emphatically reject these types of behavior in the blogosphere. Hopefully, the war won't take hold of the net.


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Czech Republic: Language Lesson · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jesse of Bored in Brno discusses the difference in the Czech usage of the words ‘far’ and ‘distant.’


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Ethiopia: Wolfowitz statement · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Ethioblog takes issue with recent “disheartening” comments from World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, who traveled to Ethiopia a few days ago. He calls them “guarded to the point of being empty even by diplomatic standards, contrast sharply with donor language just six months ago.”


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France: The Beginnings of Affirmative Action  · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Says (Fr) France-based Senegalese blogger Seckasysteme about the allegedly affirmative-action induced hiring and debut of Black French newsanchor Harry Roselmack on French national television: “Roselmack's (…) professional competence and the recognition he has earned from his peers is so obvious that even the detractors of affirmative action are starting to admit the need to favor the blooming of all the hidden and underexploited talents that exist among French minorities so shamefully relegated to our ghettos.”


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Guatemala: Returning Home Via the Web · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alfa notes that many Guatemalans living abroad use the internet (ES) to seek information about family members, recipes of favorite dishes, and photographs of their hometown. The post includes several websites catered to Guatemalans living abroad.


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Guyana: Mystery columnist · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyanese blog Demeraralighthouse  racks its brains to figure out the identity of the Kaieteur News columnist “Peeping Tom“.


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Haiti: NGOs Financing Violence · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to an article stating that (Fr): ” The violence in poor neighborhoods is financed by NGOs operating on the ground according to the Senator of the Ouest Department. Funds destined to development projects in those neighborhoods are being misused to those ends.”


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Haiti: Reporter Jacques Roche Killed a Year Ago · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Collectif Haiti de Provence points to an article stating (Fr):
“To commemorate the first anniversary of the killing of poet and journalist Jacques Roche this July 14, the organization SOS Journaliste organized a forum at Le Plaza Hotel on the theme Security of journalists, impunity and disarmament.”


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Hong Kong: Consumption tax · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The Hong Kong government plans to introduce consumption tax in Hong Kong. Ben Ng goes through the Japan experience in consumption tax and raises his voice against this tax item, calling it “candy poison”.


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India: Podcast on the block · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kamla Bhatt does a podcast on the block on accessing blogspot in India. She interviews four people and gets information on the timeline, events and work arounds.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Indonesia: Tsunami Alarm · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Indonesia's Economy Blog does not agree with the Science and Technology minister . The minister claims that giving warning tsunami warnings on radio is a bad idea.
UPDATE: Apparantly, the minister was misquoted. Pls check the comments on this post.

author: Preetam Rai


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Iran: Journal starts blogging · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Quds daily has launched its public relation's blog. Sabouhi, one of the journal bloggers says blog is like the third eye of a journalist and  journalists can write with more freedom in a blog (Fa).

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: No prayer with President · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Tehran Shahr reports from Tehran that Resalat Tunnel was inaugurated after 9 years in the presence of President Ahmadinejad, Mayor of Tehran and some conservatives’ personalities such as Mehdi Chamran, Abadgaran party's speaker. The blogger says all reporters were asked not to ask Ahmadinejad any questions. Tehran Shahr says Ahmadinejad starts to pray on a 12 meter carpet in the middle of tunnel but except Gholamhosein Elham, government's speaker, nobody followed him (FA).


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Iran: What democracy! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Tayebeh Beheshti, a teenage Hezbollah writes she does not understand why some Hezbollah members like to say we have democracy in Iran and we can say what we want! The blogger says it is clear that we do not have a western democracy in Iran and we can not say what we want (FA).


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Israeli Women Blog the War, in Russian · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Israeli blogosphere has a Russian-language corner: quite vocal, it is populated mainly by those who emigrated from the former Soviet states in the past few decades.
Below is a selection of posts about the war, written by Israeli women, in Russian.
LJ user gollitely (Lena Lagutina, Jerusalem) – July 14, 2006:
A dear childhood friend [LJ user] dzogaba, who specializes in making reality shows for television, has sent me an SMS, asking: “Are you having a war over there? For real?” So I'm sitting here and thinking how to respond. Meanwhile, my friends, shabat shalom from Jerusalem to all! For real.
LJ user pepel (Yelena Pepel) – July 19, 2006:
Very moving discussions are taking place in LJ regarding the photos of the girls signing missiles with “To Nasrullah from Israel with Love.” Incredible discussions, cave mentality, along the lines of “and you drink the blood of Christian infants […].” Seemingly normal people are fighting each other on both sides of the barricade.
But do you know that in Israel there is such an army profession as a military clown? It's a person who entertains children in bomb shelters. And there's also such a branch of child psychology as the psychology of stress. And a child on whose house fall Katyushas, who hears sirens ten times a day and has a class on “how to hide from missiles” at school, is taken to paint missiles, by psychologists. The missiles, which, by the way, aren't going to be used to bomb a specific Nasrullah – because these are artillery missiles. But children don't care. This is therapy. It'll just help them stutter less and sleep better at night – yes, until the first siren, but still – and not to hide under the table for 20 hours each day as the children of Sderot do.
By the way, they changed the missile alert code in Israel (“the scarlet dawn” – “shachar adom“), because of a request from a 4-year-old girl called Shachar (Dawn). The army has changed the missile alert code because a 4-year-old Shachar gets teased at the kindergarten – they call her name “a bad sign.”
Everyone has, of course, forgotten about bombs with flowers and words written in chalk: “On to Berlin!” Even though it's our – our common – history textbooks.
God willing, you won't find out what a war in your house is – the house that you have nowhere to go from. Nowhere to go because you don't have thousands of kilometers for retreat. And, God willing, YOUR army will listen to little girls’ requests. And there'll be a profession of a military clown in your army. […]
LJ user sestra-milo (A Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Nahariya and Haifa, originally from Ismail, Odesa region, Ukraine) – July 17, 2006:
A police car drove by, I went to the window to listen in. With crackles and coughs, in two languages (Russian is already like a state language!), they've allowed everyone to leave the shelters. And right at that very moment, there was an explosion.
LJ user sestra-milo – July 19, 2006:
Yesterday after the bombing, my satellite TV switched off. I called the tech support department.
- Hi, my TV's not working.
– How did it happen?
– We were being bombed, a missile hit a building next door, and now the TV picture is gone.
The girl on the other end of the line begins to stutter. Together, we try to push on various buttons, but the TV is not reacting, the screen is still static.
- Could you send a repairman? – I ask tenderly.
The girl falls silent.
[…]
In yesterday's attack on Nahariya, by the entrance to a shelter, a Russian guy was killed, my acquaintances’ friend, I've read an interview with them. His face seems familiar. I should call them, but I can no longer look at the phone – over ten phone calls since morning.
[…]
Three families left the building next door yesterday. I was watching them pack their suitcases from the balcony. The father was carrying the luggage, in no hurry, the mother was running very fast, covering herself with a bag. Then they led the kids out – an infant, a girl of 7 or so and a boy of about 13. Behind them ran an old mama. It looked especially wild with some man walking his dog in the background.
Only two families are left in the neighboring building – one of them is the family of Lebanese refugees with four children. These ones definitely have no place to go.
[…]
Ira and Andrey came for a visit yesterday, and I was drinking vodka with them, for the first time in many years, and I felt good. If I had known that vodka helps to relax so well, I would've been drunk every evening.
But I still didn't manage to get enough sleep: I woke from an explosion at 4 am.
When I was showing them the apartment, we heard a siren and headed for the shelter. Only later did I realize that I'm no longer in Haifa, that we don't have sirens, and the sound was coming out of the stupid TV.
Today at work, there was a siren without explosions and explosions without a siren.
[…]
LJ user nitsa – July 18, 2006:
I'm sitting on the balcony, looking gloomily in the direction of the Lebanese border. Danya takes a seat next to me.
[…]
The Gadyukins (a […] nickname [referring to a poisonous snake] of the neighbors downstairs, with whom we've had a rich history of [bad] relationship) are listening to the damn music again.
- Well, what can we do? They are fighting stress with music. These are difficult times.
– But they're difficult for us, too, and you have a headache!
– You have a headache? – asks a worried voice from the balkony below us.
– Yes, – Danya and I reply in unison, [startled].
– I'll turn it off now… You should have told me… It's just that I'm off to milium tomorrow… So I've relaxed.
– Oh, then leave the music on! – I tell him, leaning forward over the balcony rail. – You do have to relax! You're going … to Gaza, aren't you?
– To Gaza. It's time to pack for me anyways…
A multitude of useless thoughts rush through my head…
- I'm sorry for your dog… We lost our cat in December, – I say (it's hard to find something more idiotic to say).
– I know, – he says softly. – We have the same vet doctor.
- So! – He's looking at [Danya]. – You haven't been hitting the ball for so long, we are feeling somewhat uneasy!
[Danya] is embarrassed.
- Do play your ball, – [the neighbor] says. – But not too much. They found my mama has Hepatitis C, she needs to rest a lot, and she works hard…
– Let her get well, – I say, with the most genuine feeling.
Let his mother get well. Let him be all right. Even if we fight over idiotic trifles.
LJ user mishkofefer (Shushka, originally from Tver and Moscow) – July 18, 2006:
At last, my sister has moved in with us. She didn't want to leave but when a missile fell just one house away from her, I managed to talk her into [moving]. It turned out to be not so easy to leave Haifa – no trains or buses, the price for cabs has gone up three times. […] My mother keeps watching the news in all accessible languages, and yesterday I happened to watch the [Russian state-run channel] ORT news, too. Reminded me of my [Soviet] pioneer childhood, around 1980, “the Israeli aggression in Lebanon.” They are showing Beirut in ruins, are talking about evacuation of the Russian citizens. Not a word on the shelling of Israel, nothing on the fact that there are hundreds times more of the Russian citizens here. […]
LJ user pilka (Lena, Haifa) – July 17, 2006:
This is Lena-Pilka speaking, from the frontline Haifa.
And you thought I wouldn't write anymore?
Dream on!
Everyone here is migrating south, following the birds. On my way to work in the morning I saw some guys walking furtively with suitcases. I thought, damn, they've robbed someone! Wanted to call my husband, but looked closer and recognized our neighbors […].
The sirens wailed 4-5 times today. We didn't hear the first time, though, and went to the dining hall. And were surprised by how few people there were at the hospital.
And my husband was at home and kept running to the shelter with the little one periodically. […]
He says: He's running with the stroller during yet another siren alert, and suddenly – an explosion, a “boom” real close, the windows begin to shake. He thinks: “Well, the little one probably has poops up to her ears in the diaper.” But looks and sees that the kid is sitting and clapping her hands and laughing, like: “Bravo! […]” She liked it, you know.
[…]
Anyway, all's okay. Thank you to all for your support, and don't worry!
I'm off to watch the third Terminator with my husband. Life continues.
[…]


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Japan and South Korea: territory debate · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Gerry-Bevers invites open discussion concerning the Japan-South Korea territory debate surrounding “Dokdo/Takeshima” (an island between two countries) in Occidentalism.


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Japan: Japan football · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ampontan from Japundit blogs about ancient Japanese football game called “kemari”.


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Japan: weather forecast · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

“Japan is planning to implement a new program that provides forecasts of typhoons, storms, blizzards, droughts and other inclement weather 30 years in advance!” JP reports on this in Japundit.


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Kazakhstan: Infants & HIV · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Irene asks who is responsible for the negligence that led to the infection of six infants with HIV in a hospital in southern Kazakhstan.


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Kenya: Aching heads · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

“Something I think that headaches are a national disease in East Africa,” writes Video journalist. “You cannot go for two minutes on the streets without having some kind of headache relief fired to you.”


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Kenya: Job-search headache · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Afrofeminizta is on a job-hunt, sharpening her strategies and wondering how to outperform her competitors. “The search for a new job requires almost a whole separate strategy for handling the emotions it unleashes in you,” she muses.


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Kenya: Munyakei remembered · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Thinker's Room remembers David Munyakei, “the man who put his neck on the line to blow the whistle on the colossal theft that is the Goldenberg scandal”, who died Sunday evening after a short illness. The corruption racket is estimated to have cost Kenya U.S.$850 million in the early 1990s.


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Kurdistance: Lebanon’s Legacy? · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

While the world's media eye is focused on Lebanon, other potential conflicts are arising in the Middle East; but they are arising using Lebanon as the primary example for conflict justification.  The Counterrorism Blog says it best:
Turkey is currently making a lot of noise about launching a cross-border incursion into Iraq to engage the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in combat operations. On July 18, Professor Sedat Laciner published an article in the Turkish Weekly comparing the situation that Turkey faces from the PKK to the threat Israel faces from Hamas and Hizballah. After stating that Western countries have defended Israel's right to self-defense, Prof. Laciner asks, “But, does the right of self defence just belong to Israel in the Middle East? For example, doesn’t Turkey have such a right?”
Needless to say the Kurdish blogosphere is up in arms over the potential prospect of Turkey crossing the borders of Syria, Iraq and Iran to pursue Kurdish “terrorists” (you'll have to wait until Saturday on GV for the Turkish blogosphere response)—and as expected there is not a solid Kurdish opinion as to whether or not this is a good idea.
Roj Bash! put it thus:
Strangely, the situation is quite similar, concerning the casus belli, to the current Israeli attack against Lebanon : the former country, for it shelters Hebollah militias which attacked Israël, is now obliged to state in which camp it places itself.
If we only regard International rules, it is quite impossible to tolerate armed groups leading raids from its own soil against a neighbored country, without being considered as directly responsible and facing reprisals.
It is exactly the same problem in Southern Kurdistan. As so long as the PKK stays in Quandil Mountains and leads attacks in Turkey, de facto, the Region of Kurdistan, and then Iraq, could be officially considered as patronizing acts of war against its northern neighbours.
Soon or late, Lebanon will be obliged to adopt a clear position, against or the Hezbollah. But what will happen for Hewlêr ? The Israeli-Lebanese case is definitively an encouragement for a Turkish invasion.
Hiwa from Hiwa Hopes referred to the possible incursion of the Turks into Northern Iraq as Turkey's Second Blunder:
So if they want to go for another bitter pill [the first was when they denied the US the use of their occupied land which in deed is northern Kurdsitan anyways] and try to disturb the only safe part of Iraq which the Americans and their allies hope will become an example and a refuge place for the rest of the country, I doubt they will be greated with better expressions than the embassador's!
I have always said, we owe the Turks a war, they have been trying to make us fight them since they established the Ottoman empire. The PKK war against Turkey is definitely not the one they have been asking for and its toll was more on our civilians than the Turkish military! So I think if we pay them back what they owe us now is much better than future as we might have to fight Iran AND/OR Syria at the same time! At the moment its too dangerous for Iran and Syria to interfere in such a payback as the B52s might want to visit some places around Tehran and Shiraz while the Israeli F16 might want to visit Assad's Palace again which they did recently!
Erdogan is waffling without thinking about the figures which the US&UK have put into the almost failed war on Iraq. The billions and the loss of over 2500 US soldiers to make Iraq a laboratory for the Turks to eliminate their rebels! I dont think the US Vs Turkey friendship includes such deals! So I really encourage Mr Erdogan to keep his world like a Turkish warrier and go ahead with his invasion of southern Kurdistan. I am sure there will be Kurds going back VIA Turkey to fight the Turkish GREAT army!
Mizgin from Rasti blames the conflict in Lebanon solely on Iran, and cautions against any other conflicts in the region…then the announcement from the Turkish government came….to put it mildly she feels that the Turkish government is using this an opportunity to over-react to terrorism in the country…terrorism that is not supported by the Kurdish community at large.  She also questions the Kurdish diaspora's lack of voice on this issue:
Another question: Is there really a Kurdish diaspora? I ask that because I don't hear anything from the Kurdish Diaspora about what is happening to the Kurdish people under Turkish occupation and a de facto OHAL. There were protests during the Amed Serhildan, but what was that? Did everyone shoot their wad then, and now they're recovering their strength?
Just like people in Amed, I too wonder what in the hell a Kurdish life is worth. Where are the demonstrations for the Kurds?
In every single country where there is a Kurdish Diaspora population, there should be 24-hour protests in front of every Turkish embassy and every Turkish consulate. There should be 24-hour protests in front of the White House, the Congress and the State Department. There should be 24-hour protests in front of every residence of heads of government, legislative bodies and foreign ministries, in every country where there is a Kurdish population. This is easy to organize, with people committing to “standing guard” for certain periods of time, and then they are relieved when their replacements arrive. When the goons from the Turkish embassies come to take photos and harass, then it's time to notify the local media, get it on the news wires and trash Turkish image. They are very sensitive about that.
Rasti also comments on a documentary about PKK fighters:
I always find it so ironic that people get concerned about 14- or 15-year-olds fighting, but they never seem to get quite so excited if a 14- or 15-year-old Kurd is murdered by TSK, tortured by Turkish police, ethnically cleansed from their homes by Ozel Timler, or forced into prostitution or crime by circumstances, in order to help their displaced families survive in places where there is as much as 70% unemployment. . . like in Amed, for example. I also noticed a huge lack of interest in the detention and torture of 12-, 13-, 14-, and 15-year olds during the Amed Serhildan, and their placement in an adult prison as well as their being charged as adults. Everybody was pretty quiet on all of that.
Very ironic, isn't it?
If 12-year-olds are old enough to be treated as adults for the purpose of prosecution by the Ankara regime, then they're old enough to take up arms against the Ankara regime. They have the right of self-defense too.
Of course the possible advancement of Turkish troops is not the only topic of conversation in the Kurdish blogosphere.  Hiwa Hopes reminds us of the plight of Malak Ghorbany, sentenced to stoning in Iran.  From Holland to Kurdistan reports about Syrian attacks against its Kurdish population, information on the Kurdish population residing in Lebanon, and information on the plight of Kurdish women, especially the Northen Kurdistan population (Southeast Turkey).
And lastly, in last week's edition of Kurdistance, entitled “No Good News”, I reported what another blogger had said about the torture of a little boy in Iran for stealing a piece of bread.  A loyal Global Voices reader sent an email stating that the photos were a hoax and provided a link to a Snopes article about it.  This situation represents what is wonderful about the blogosphere: the quick reaction to false information.  Part of this situation I will gladly take the blame for as I did not research deeper into the posting myself.  The blogger who I reported on has since removed the article from his blog, however I would still like to point out (in his defense) that Iran does have a track record of aggression towards it's Kurdish population that can not be denied.  If you would like more information specifically on the Iranian Kurds I would like to direct you to a blog entitled East of Kurdistan that gathers news articles on that very issue.  And I would also like to thank my loyal readers who are always keeping me on my toes, I truly appreciate it.  Till next week….

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Mexico: AMLO vs. Al Gore · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Like many others, Wave Making compares this year's election in Mexico with the contested 2000 election in the United States. (Also available in Spanish) Ana Maria Salazar has another thorough summary of the day's news in Mexico.


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Moldova: Corruption and Middle Eastern Food · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peter Myers of Adventures in Moldova writes about corruption and Middle Eastern food in Moldova.


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Myanmar: Azarni Day · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous,  a Burmese living in Fiji remembers poems and songs on Myanmar's founding father on the  Martyr’s Day or Azarni Day as it is known in Myanmar.


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Nepal: Budget Blues · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas on the upcoming budget for Nepal. “It is easy to assume that the concerned officials of the government are aware of the emerging situation but, if they are not, it may create undesirable tension in the country.”


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Nigeria: Bout Malaria · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Taurean Minx gets sick, and discovers the nasty way about drug resistance among the various strains of malaria.


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Pakistan: Get by with a little help from my friends · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The ban on accessing blogspot blogs seems to have brought Pakistani and Indian bloggers a little closer. Help-Pakistan.com says “In light of the recent blogspot ban in India, the blogging community in Pakistan would like to present as a gift to the Indian blogging community a small script that can be inserted into their websites which converts all Blogspot links into a URL utilizing the proxy servers of pkblogs.com”


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Pakistan: Introducing Lahore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Lahore attempts to explain to an outsider the marvels of the city.


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Panama: Music: Gonzalo Horna · Global Voices
Leon Kadoch

Gonzalo Horna presents his blog to keep in touch with  his fans and to spread his music around the globe. What is very interesting about the panamanian songwriter, is the honest lyrics, rythms and mixture of rock-ballad-latin-and-acoustic elements in his music, delivering a new meaning to the rock scene in Panama.

author: Leon Kadoch


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Peru: 222 Megapixels of Machu Picchu · Global Voices
David Sasaki

J.Francisco Canaza points readers to a 222 megapixel photograph of Machu Picchu.


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Philippines: Preserving Heritage · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Ivan About Town is concerned about the state of ancestral homes in Philippines. Antique dealers are tearing down these houses to sell woodwork and other contents of these homes.


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Russia: Caterpillar Armor in Chechen Village · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates an article about Russian army's caterpillar armor now moving through a Chechen village.


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Russia: Youth Activism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about two trends in the Russian youth political activism.


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Singapore: Beancurd Brothers · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Sparklette compares tau huay, a local beancurd dessert, from two rival stalls located next to each other. The stalls are run by feuding brothers.


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Taiwan: human trafficking · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

David discusses about the US State Department downgraded Taiwan to its “tier two” watch list in its latest Trafficking in Persons Report in jujuflop. He hopes that the report can give pressure to improve the human rights of overseas migrants (brides, workers and maids).


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The Lusosphere reports on the 10 years of CPLP · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) celebrated its tenth anniversary last Monday, July 17th, in a summit that gathered its Heads of State in Guine-Bissau. It was created aiming at the solidarity of the Portuguese-speaking countries and the promotion of the Portuguese language in the international arena. Currently, Portuguese ranks eighth among the world's most commonly spoken languages and third among the western languages, after English and Castilian. The Lusosphere is reporting the event and commenting on the organizational role and its actual meaning. We sense a feeling that bloggers think that it should be performing in some different ways.
A Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP), cuja presidência actual é de São Tomé e Príncipe, vai reunir-se em Cimeira de amanhã e até ao dia 17. Espera-se que o papel dos indivíduos passe a figurar nas agendas das Cimeiras da CPLP. Dez anos depois, qual é o real papel da CPLP? E mais concretamente o que é a CPLP? Esta segunda pergunta pode parecer provocadora, mas impõe-se. Há tempos, durante um lançamento de uma obra de um angolano, por sinal alguém que já teve não só responsabilidades governativas como no governo de um Banco Central fazia esta mesma pergunta “CP… quê? Ah! Sim uma tal CPLP e uma tal Lusofonia”. Um desabafo que vale o que vale mas que não deixa de ser sintomático por ter vindo de quem veio.”
CPLP permanece falida, decrépita e inoperativa – Notícias Lusófonas
“Países tão desiguais reúnem-se por estes dias em Bissau. A cimeira como é hábito não trará novidades. Esta organização não tem a força política que devia como se viu na recente crise em Timor Lorossai. Para que serve esta organização se não é capaz de auxiliar os seus membros nos momentos decisivos?”
C.P.L.P. O que é? – De corpo e alma
A comunicação social portuguesa está inundada de declarações de fé sobre a enorme importância da CPLP. Pois, está bem. Mas, já agora, tente advinhar: entre participar na cimeira do G8 ou da CPLP, qual é que Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva escolheu?
Adivinhe – Bloguítica
“Esperemos que nos próximos 10 anos a CPLP não seja uma organização tão esfíngica como foi no primeiro decénio. A nomeação de Embaixadores da Boa Vontade, de que fazem parte vários ex-Chefes de Estado, também pode ser um bom contributo, no sentido de alçar a lusofonia. Ver-se-á, também, se o Parlamento lusófono a ser criado será frutífero. Em suma, e regressando ao essencial, muito do sucesso do projecto lusófono passa pelo interesse do Brasil. País que catapulta e dá mais visibilidade internacional à lusofonia. Sem ele, o projecto lusófono coxeia. Para já, é bom registar o interesse de Angola.”
Continua a faltar o Brasil – Tugir
Since its creation, by the Brazilian José Aparecido de Oliveira, the CPLP has never been given the means necessary to fulfill the goals declared in its founding statutes. One of its items says, “the CPLP embodies a new political project which has its roots in the Portuguese Language and the common historical bond of the Seven [Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tomé and Principe. East Timor entered later] who constitute a geographically discontinuous space but share a common language. This unity factor will provide the basis for an integrated action which will aggregate wider influence and stronger meaning”. Bloggers seems to agree that little has been done to achieve those goals, but the idea in itself still displays enough traction to fuel the debate about what could be done to make it work.
“A capital guineense acolhe, de 14 a 21 deste mês, as I Jornadas de Formação e Debates das Organizações Não Governamentais da Guiné-Bissau, tendo como pano de fundo a questão dos Direitos Humanos e o Desenvolvimento Comunitário… A realização das Jornadas na mesma altura da cimeira da CPLP tem a ver, segundo Jamel Handem, com o facto de os chefes de Estado e de Governo da organização lusófona “ignorarem a existência de uma sociedade representativa organizada e activa nos respectivos países”. Outra obra a lançar em Bissau é o livro “Cicatrizes de Mulher”, da jornalista portuguesa Sofia Branco (do jornal Público), obra que ganhou um prémio internacional ligado à problemática dos Direitos Humanos pela narração da experiência sobre mutilação genital feminina na Guiné-Bissau.”
“DIREITOS HUMANOS E DESENVOLVIMENTO COMUNITARIO” NA AGENDA DAS ONG – BISSAU-GUINE
“Acabo de ficar a saber, pelo Telejornal da RTP, que, reunidos em Bissau, os países da CPLP se comprometem a trabalhar pelo objectivo de erradicar a fome até 2015. Não fosse eu um ser frio, cínico e insensível e desatava a chorar. Assim, rio. Se lá estivesse, recusava assinar qualquer protocolo sabendo que jamais será cumprido. Mas, em boa verdade, eu não percebo nada sobre política internacional e de cooperação.”
De rir – Fado Falado
“E já repararam com a CPLP poderia criar um cartel, tipo OPEP, tal a quantidade de produtores e exportadores de petróleo e mais um de gás natural… (Angola, Brasil, Guiné-Equatorial, São Tomé e Príncipe, Timor-Leste e quase a Guiné-Bissau e Portugal, que está em prospecções on-shore, só para o petróleo; e Moçambique no gás). Se os dirigentes pensassem e melhor distribuíssem, os povos cplpianos estavam nas nuvens… A CPLP, a Lusofonidade e os seus cerca de 220 milhões de falantes mereciam mais consideração por parte de quem os governam; e mereciam, também, ser, periodicamente, ouvidos; mas parece que os estatutos cplpianos o não prevê… não convém, pois não?”
Os 10 anos da CPLP – Pululu
Em suma, e regressando ao essencial, muito do sucesso do projecto lusófono passa pelo interesse do Brasil. País que catapulta e dá mais visibilidade internacional à lusofonia. Sem ele, o projecto lusófono coxeia. Para já, é bom registar o interesse de Angola.
Continua a faltar o Brasil – Tugir
Although lacking the needed support from its current members, the CPLP has recently attracted the attention of some respectable international players, as it is the case of China. The role that the lusophone organization is about to play in East Timor's crisis was a hot topic on the agenda in Bissau, and has also been debated by Portuguese speaking bloggers. And, the interest of Equatorial Guinea in participating as an observer at the summit is an indicator of how this gathering can enlarge its international influence.
“A China – a futura superpotência? – tem vindo a alargar os seus tentáculos diplomaticamente astutos em direcção aos PALOP (Países de Língua Oficial Portuguesa), tocando todos os seus membros de diversas formas. Segundo um artigo editado esta semana pela Yale Global Revue, a China, em pouco mais de um ano, reduziu a dívida externa dos países africanos membros da CPLP, triplicou a ajuda a Timor-Leste, qualificou Portugal como parceiro estratégico e disponibilizou cerca de 8,2 milhões de dólares em empréstimos sem juros para os membros deste foro multilateral. A relação de países terceiros com a CPLP não é desconhecida, porém, como salienta o artigo, “os métodos chineses são bastante inovadores, atestando à crescente sofisticação da diplomacia chinesa”. Afirma ainda o artigo que a distinção e, por sua, a vez a força desta parceria, em detrimento das restantes, resulta do facto da “China não se relacionar apenas com cada membro bilateralmente mas, pelo contrário, com a CPLP como um todo”.
a Potência Chinesa e a CPLP – ego descentrico
“Encarada de uma certa forma benigna, a Guiné Equatorial é um pequeno país (500.000 habitantes e 28.000 Km2) que se sente desgarrado no meio de África, sem vizinhança próxima com quem se possa sentir aparentado, dado o seu historial de dependência de uma potência colonizadora e uma metrópole que nunca lhe prestou qualquer atenção. A descoberta de imensas jazidas de petróleo na plataforma continental em 1996 permitiu, com a sua extracção – a Guiné Equatorial já é o terceiro maior produtor da África ao sul do Sahara, depois da Nigéria e de Angola – que o país registasse taxas de crescimento económico perfeitamente mágicas (18,6% em 2005, segundo o CIA World Factbook). É esta espécie de emirato petrolífero (o sexto país mais rico do mundo em rendimento per capita, mas com a riqueza concentrada numa minoria), sem emir, sem areia, com um ditador e muita floresta tropical, ao mesmo tempo isolado no meio dos grupos anglófonos e francófonos predominantes em África, que se candidatou a membro, com o estatuto de observador, da CPLP.”
A GUINÉ QUE CEDEMOS À ESPANHA – Herdeiro de Aecio
“Espero que se saia daqui com uma ideia mais clara da situação de Timor-Leste, que se entenda melhor o que é Timor-Leste, quais as nossas fraquezas, os nossos desafios e os nossos insucessos, mas também as nossas potencialidades, a nossa força”, afirmou. Ana Pessoa, que representa na cimeira o chefe de Estado de Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmão, sublinhou ser necessário que a questão timorense não caia no esquecimento, sendo esse o propósito da análise da situação político-militar no país. Agastada com o “rude golpe” na democracia, provocado pelos confrontos militares que levaram à demissão do primeiro-ministro, Ana Pessoa lembrou que “é sempre bom que haja momentos em que todos se sentam e reflectem” num espaço de concertação, como a CPLP… Sobre a questão da Defesa e Segurança em Timor-Leste, Ana Pessoa afirmou que Díli está a pensar em apostar na cooperação nesse domínio com Angola, Brasil e Portugal, “contributos que, a nível da CPLP, serão insubstituíveis” para os Estados membros mais debilitados.
Ana Pessoa pede entendimento para Timor-Leste – Timor-Online
“E há, obviamente, Ramos Horta, Prémio Nobel da Paz, um político de ambições desmedidas, totalmente alinhado com a Austrália e os EUA e que, por essa razão, sabe não ter hoje o apoio do resto da região para a sua candidatura a Secretário-Geral da ONU. Foi ele o responsável pela passividade chocante da CPLP (Comunidade de Países de Língua Oficial Portuguesa) nesta crise. A tragédia de Ramos Horta é que nunca será um governante eleito pelo povo, pelos menos enquanto não afastar totalmente Mari Alkatiri. Para isso, é preciso transformar o conflito político num conflito jurídico, convertendo eventuais erros políticos em crimes e contar com o zelo de um Procurador-Geral para produzir a acusação. Daí que as organizações de direitos humanos, que tão alto ergueram a voz em defesa da democracia de Timor, tenham agora uma missão muito concreta a cumprir: conseguir bons advogados para Mari Alkatiri e financiar as despesas com a sua defesa… Timor não é o Haiti dos australianos, mas, se o vier a ser, a culpa não será dos timorenses. Uma coisa parece certa, Timor é a primeira vítima da nova guerra-fria, apenas emergente, entre os EUA e a China. O sofrimento vai continuar.”
BOAVENTURA DE SOUSA SANTOS: Timor, é só o começo – Espreitador
While international attention is brought to the CPLP summit, bloggers in Guinea Bissau are debating the conditions upon which locals were handling the novelties that an event like this brings to such a small and poor country. The point here seems to be more about how to avoid disrupting the daily life of the  city, about how to build an adequate infrastructure so that the event can be absorbed, and less about the cultural and political developments of the summit.
“Esta paralização por algumas horas da cidade Bissau é uma prova inequívoca que a nossa capital, em termos das vias do acesso, ainda não reúne as condições necessária para ter uma alternativa quando acolhemos os grandes eventos políticos e culturais no nosso país. Quando assumimos a organização de um evento de carácter da VI Cimeira da CPLP, devemos primeiro preocupar as alternativas nas vias de acesso a cidade. Não preocupar apenas com o acesso dos hóspedes e dos participantes no conclave. Nos próximos eventos, o governo deve pensar também nos cidadãos nacionais para não haver mais um retiro católico na cidade de Bissau.”
VI cimeira da CPLP causa pandimonio em Bissau – Senegâmbia
A declaração de guerra ao lixo, feita pela Câmara Municipal de Bissau, passou à fase dois, isto é, à da simples manutenção das operações mais básicas – a remoção do lixo do “salão de visitas”, apenas para “lusofonês” ver. E depois da cimeira, o que acontecerá? A recolha de lixo vai continuar? Vão alargá-la aos bairros periféricos? Vão continuar a reparar as estradas e ruas? Vai continuar a haver a inusitada iluminação pública? Estendê-la-ão às residências particulares? O excesso de zelo policial – a paranóia com a segurança é total – vai perdurar por mais quanto tempo? Perante este cenário, a maior indignação do simples cidadão é o dinheiro gasto em todo este processo: mais de 4,5 milhões de euros.
CPLP/Cimeira: Os danos colaterais de uma cimeira em Bissau – Africanidades
Lusophony as a global movement is still in its infancy. Its institutional layer has been framed by the CPLP in its timid performance for the last ten years. But there are other instances where the cultural exchange facilitated by the common language can yield interesting opportunities, and these are yet to be explored by the ‘ordinary citizen’. The connected conversation through the web can show some ways how these opportunities can flourish into real relationship.
“E já que fiz referência ao universo lusófono, há algumas lições que deveriam ser retiradas sobre o papel da CPLP no espaço lusófono. Esta organização tem, muito claramente, um espaço de intervenção privilegiado no que se refere à gestão de crises. Ora, os acontecimentos há alguns meses na Guiné-Bissau e, agora, em Timor-Leste demonstram a inadequação das suas estruturas perante situações de crise. A CPLP não tem capacidade de resposta preventiva, nem tem capacidade de resposta posterior. A meu ver, seria do interesse das partes envolvidas dotar a CPLP de capacidade de resposta a crises que possam ocorrer e que envolvam os seus Estados-membros. O que aconteceu na Guiné-Bissau e em Timor-Leste não foram episódios isolados. Haverá, seguramente, mais do mesmo.”
Bloco de Notas – Bloguítica
Dificilmente o espírito da CPLP estará nos palácios, nas ruas engalanadas e súbitamente limpas, nos centros de congressos ou nos hoteis onde os profissionais da política falam, sem chama e por isso inglóriamente da organização. O espírito real da CPLP passou hoje por Quelele, pela Mafalala, esteve em Água Izé, no Palmarejo, no Cazenga, em Jacarepaguá, em Comoro e, seguramente na Amadora!
CPLP 10 anos – kitanda
And it is the vitality of these spirited and diverse Lusophone voices that is very much present here at GlobalVoicesOnline.

author: Jose Murilo


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Este artículo también está disponible en español en el sitio Blogs de Bolivia
Commemorations and anniversaries were on the minds of a handful of Bolivian blogger this week. Twenty-six years ago on July 17th, politician and writer Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz (ES) was kidnapped and murdered by the dictatorship government of Luis Garcia Meza.  What he left behind was a legacy of defending the country and his name has been invoked by the recent MAS government.  The proposal for the Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz law calls for increased governmental transparency and investigations in the fortunes of past and present public servants.  Javier Rodríguez, the blogger at Diario de un Demente Frustrado (ES), provides homage to the man and includes one of his quotes, “No hay peor enemigo que una conciencia culpable.”(There is no worse enemy than a guilty conscious”)
A day earlier in the capital city of La Paz on the 16th of July, it celebrated the anniversary of its independence.  Throughout the city, parades, celebrations and various public events took place on the public holiday.  However, in Santa Cruz, which is located in the eastern part of the country and is one of the fastest growing cities in Bolivia and the home of many internal migrants, many still celebrated in their own way.  The blogger by the name of Ron del Día described his 16th of July in his post “Llegó La Paz a Santa Cruz (ES),” (La Paz Arrives to Santa Cruz) complete with usual events such as hymns, folkloric groups and music, as if he were in La Paz.  His entry was tainted by a commenter who chose to use racist and other demeaning language.
Rolando Lopez, a proud Paceño (resident of La Paz) and author of Rocko Weblog (ES) pieced together a homage to his hometown, with colorful descriptions of downtown scenes, as well as the sights and sounds of a famous corridor near the city center.
Mas abajo, en el centro mestizo de La Paz, la catedral de San Francisco es testigo de la unión de lo religioso y lo pagano, en plena calle empinada y empedrada se encuentra “la calle de las brujas”, el refugio alternativo de los médicos dubitativos, las parejas inseguras, los enfermos adoloridos y comerciantes ambiciosos buscan en ella hierbas que le pondrán remedio a sus males, acabarán con sus miedos o harán realidad sus aspiraciones.
La catedral de San Francisco no solo es testigo de la unión entre lo religioso y lo pagano, también es testigo del mestizaje en pleno donde el indio, gringo, blanco, negro y todos buscan el remedio alternativo contra los males o buscan también otros medios para el éxito. Los nombres de las plantas suenan a misterio: tojlolo, huayruru, curucuru, coa, huillca, lampaya, tillicoa, pupusa, tikacoa, entre otras que con ese halo de misterio también van cargadas de poderes ocultos que causan o liberan de lo males. Juntos con las hierbas, los fetos de animales son buenos para la suerte, la salud, el amor y el dinero.
Farther down, in the mestizo center of La Paz, the San Francisco Cathedral is testimony to the union of the religious and the pagan.  In the middle of the cobblestone road, one can find the “Witches’ Street,” the alternative refuge of the dubitative doctors, insecure couples, those in pain and ambitious vendors that all look for the herbs that will cure their ills, end their fears or make their dreams come true.
The San Francisco Cathedral is not only a testimony between the religious and the pagan, but also a testimony to the mixture where the Indian, foreigner, white, black and all look for an alternative medicine for the cure.  The names of the plants have a mysterious ring: tojlolo, huayruru, curucuru, coa, huillca, lampaya, tillicoa, pupusa, tikacoa , which also have hidden powers that can cause or free them from all ills.  In addition to herbs, the animal fetuses are also  good for luck, health, love and money.
This seemingly peaceful co-existence between the Roman Catholic Church and traditional pagan beliefs has become a topic of controversy in the debate over education in Bolivia.  The government is sending mixed messages whether religious teachings should be eliminated from the public schools.  President Evo Morales has self-professed himself to be Roman Catholic and respectful of the church.  However, a recent educational congress led by Bolivian Education Minister Felix Patzi (ES) has attracted a lot of criticism, as many of the participants are not directly involved in the educational system of Bolivia and are pushing for the elimination of any religious teachings.
Fabricio Loayza Puch, a Bolivian living in Japan, studied in a Catholic school.  Even though the majority of Bolivians are of the Christian faith, he believes that there should be no discrimination or preference of one faith over another.  He also fails to see the logic that a state that considers itself pluralistic to be in the business of teaching religion.   He also compares the system in Japan, where the majority of Japanese professes one faith, but the schools still do not include any religious teachings.  His blog is called El Pit (ES). Martin P. Gutierrez, Vitrina de Realidad Boliviana (ES), wonders about Morales’ rhetoric of “decolonizing” Bolivia’s educational system, coupled with his double-speak about not eliminating religious teachings from the school.  “Between these incongruencies,  exists the double talk, supporting one idea and at the same time, sending a Minister to do the opposite.” Finally, Bolivia Eclipse’s (ES) Briegel Busch believes that the country would gain a lot by the resignation of Minister Patzi because of this uneven and mixed messages.  However, the one bright spot, according to Busch, was when Patzi opposed the Bolivian Foreign Minister’s suggestion that schoolchildren should be given coca leaves for breakfast.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Ukraine: “Microscopic, Telescopic Views” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Adrian J. Erlinger of Leopolis writes on “microscopic, telescopic views” of the current political situation in Ukraine: “By the looks of mini-Maidan, the most progressive of the Ukrainian electorate have come down with a case of electoral fatigue.”


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Uzbekistan: Returning to Andijon · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net discusses the voluntary return of Uzbek refugees who had fled the country after last year's violence in Andijon.


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Venezuela: The Future of the Opposition · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guillermo Parra has translated an Op-Ed titled“The Future of the Opposition by Tal Cual columnist Oswaldo Barreto.


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Vietnam: Is Vietnam the next China? · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at itsthefinalword links to a post  that compares China's growth with that of Vietnam's.


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· Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana-Gyal wonders whether her nosy yet unfriendly new neighours — a group of men — might be in “purdah”.


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Algeria: Arab American Lobby · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Nouri Lumendifi says that this new crisis in Lebanon-Israel has opened a new opportunity for American politicians to attempt to win Jewish votes. He adds that the way that certain American polticians have been using this conflict to advance their own agendas at the expense of the Lebanese people is disgusting.

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Argentina: Blog and Book Presentation · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Leandro Zanoni, journalist, author, and blogger thanks the attendees who came to the presentation (ES) of his newest book, “Vivir en los Medios: Maradona off the record.”


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Armenia: Armenian Style Elections · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nessuna links to a video about elections the Armenian way. She reports that those who made the short film were instructed not to make anymore such videos if they wished to graduate from their university.


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Armenia: Lebanon Refugees · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Notes from Hareinik reports that Armenia is offering refuge to anyone fleeing Lebanon.


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Bahrain: Up and away · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Bahraini Rants the new superman movie: “… it was cool, but it brought about a lot of superhero movie talk.. Would it kill Superman to use his powers for a little personal betterment.. if you had superman’s powers, how would you use them? Would you go out and risk your life day in day out to save those in need?“


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Bangla blogs discuss the Levant, war and violence  · Global Voices
Aparna Ray

As the Israel-Lebanon conflict reaches alarming proportions, the heat can be felt as far as the Bangla blogosphere. While the bloggers here are unanimous in their denouncement of the escalating violence in the Levant, they are however, divided in their opinions about who should be held responsible for the current turn of events.
Suman  feels that Israel is clearly the aggressor and holds the US responsible for not exerting pressure on Israel to back out of Lebanon.
On the other hand, there are bloggers who see Israel as a nation whose existence is constantly threatened by its Arab neighbors.  Apbak revisits the pages of history and talks about how the dream of Israel, the ‘promised land’ was born. According to his views, when a nation is threatened from various sides by its neighbors it cannot be entirely blamed for its violent response to any provocation or threat.
Amar Toronto feels that the responsibility for the current escalation lies with the Hezbollah and partially with the Lebanese government who failed to comply with an UN resolution of disarming the group. As the debate continues, Tirondaj takes the conversation to a broader canvas. He talks about the link between violence across the globe and International politics and prays for solutions that can lead to peace.
Violence in any form ultimately preys on the innocent. Rezwan's beautiful translation of a poem by Leila Farjami talks of the atrocities of war and its claim on innocent lives.
Kill the innocent: They maybe terrorists.
don't be vulnerable,
don't be generous,
don't be sympathetic,
don't be compassionate,
don't give a damn!,
You may upset your narcissism
And believe in
“WAR IS PEACE,
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH”
~by Leila Farjami

author: Aparna Ray


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Barbados: Defending the right to blog · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

As a result of general comments made by a government minister about blogs and accountability, Barbados Free Press pre-emptively defends its right to exist: “Welcome to the new century – where ordinary people can now own a press on the internet. We can think of no more healthy development for democracy and for Barbados.“


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Barbados: Keeping the cotton at home · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Linda Thompkins reports on Exclusive Caribbean Cotton Inc's plans to process Barbados's home-grown Sea Island cotton — “one of the most valuable and pricey cotton varieties” — at home instead of exporting the raw material to the US.


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Bermuda: The roots of black homophobia · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

In light of the report that only 19% of black Bermudians supported a recent bid to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Limey wonders about the roots of black homophobia.


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Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador: Indian Interest · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Massimiliano Cali is surprised to read that, shortly after the nationalization of the natural gas sector, “the Bolivian government is set to approve a US$ 2.3bn bid by two Indian companies to extract of one of the world's largest untapped iron ore deposits.” Meanwhile, Boz notes that India also began free trade negotiations with Peru as well as trade agreements in Ecuador. Says Boz: “If this was the US, the anti-globalization crowd would be up in arms over the imperialist economic moves. With India, nothing to see here folks, just keep moving along.”


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Brazil: “The City of Racial Diversity” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Melo Bichuetti calls São Paulo “the city of racial diversity.”


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Cambodia: Death of a Pol Pot henchman · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Cambodia blog has a post on Ta Mok, one of the top killers during the Pol Pot regime. Ta Mok died in a hospital today. The blogger is disappointed that the killer did not pay for his crimes. “Why the world is so unfair for thousands of innocent people who were executed by Ta Mok? Who can bring an acceptable answer to us? The answer is God know!!”


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Cambodia: Respecting Local Culture · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Pisey at Cambodia Blog is urging the readers to explore the North East of Cambodia. “I would recommend you to come here if you are looking for a fantastic place for your tour. There a lot of places to discover: numbers of waterfall not just one, lakes, spending time in indigenous village if you want to study about them, walking in the forest…etc. ” The blogger also reminds the would be visitors to respect the culture of the local people one of which is “just drink at least a little bit of wine if they ask you to drink.”


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Captive Nations Week · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes about the Captive Nations Week and its relevance today.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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China: tropical storm · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Tropical Storm Bilis hit southern China over the weekend, killing over 200 people, flooding major cities, sweeping away houses and cutting railways, power and water supplies. There are more reports from China BBS than mainstream media, Lyn Jeffery in Virtual China has a summary of the netizen reports.


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Cuba: How many Cubans does it take to…? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Pac MacLaurin posts a photo of three Cuban store clerks and comments on the country's labour inefficiencies: “A friend of mine once told me that when he was working in Havana as a press photographer there were two people in the elevator of his hotel at all times. One person asked “What floor?” Then, the other person pressed the button.“


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Czech Republic: Renaming Brno Streets · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Jesse of Bored in Brno writes about renaming of streets in Brno.


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DRC: Police Repression at July 11th Demo · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog du Congolais writes (Fr):” Kinshasa, June 3oth Boulevard, Tuesday July 11th 2006. The Congolese police, trained and equipped by the European Union, unleashed itself against the 19 presidential candidates to the July 30 elections and the demonstrators of the Front to Defend the Congo (FDC) led by UDPS. Indeed, police repressed demonstrators with its legendary brutality thanks to tear gas, real bullets and grenades one of which severed the hands of demonstrator Didier Bongeya who caught the grenade sent his way hoping to propel it back to its sender.”


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Ecuador: Petrol Economics · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The Wolf Report has reached post number 10 in the series, “The Importance of Being Ecuador.”


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Ethiopia: Call to action · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Weichegud! calls for action urging the U.S. Congress to vote for the H.R. 5680 bill, “To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of security, human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia.”


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Ghana: Wireless initiative · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Timbuktu Chronicles notes the “Wireless Ghana” initiative, an affliate of the CUWIN project. The project's prime goal is to make Internet access in rural communites a reality, he writes.


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Hong Kong: Anson Chan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

After the July 1 rally, Anson Chan continued to promote democratic reform in Hong Kong. T-salon puts together her speech on discourses on Hong Kong's Democracy and Financial Times comment on her recent move.


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India: Censorship and the Government · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Aishwarya outlines the fundamental problem with the government blocking any site. “What matters is that our government believe they have a right/duty to protect us all from anti-national activities, and “anti-national” covers a wide range of activities and includes both terrorism and whatever offends us.”


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Indonesia: Merapi Fan · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Asri talks about her love for Mount Merapi.  Merapi located in Central Java, Indonesia is one of the most active volcano on the planet. The bloggers shares night time pictures of the volcano.


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Iran: Hypocrite! · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Andishe No says there are several reasons why he does not like Iranian President. The blogger considers Ahmadinejad's prayer (Namaz) in  the middle of  a tunnel with several cameras filming him, as a hypocrite act. The blogger criticizes Ahmadinejad's very costly visits in Provinces and his aggressive Foreign Policy (Fa).


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Iran: Speculations about Ganji · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Majid Mohammadi, a US based scholar says new wave of imaginative speculations about Ganji's agenda outside Iran reminded me of the literature and approach of Iranian security agents who connect and interrelate everything and everyone, without any evidence or empirical support, to disqualify whoever they do not like or reject any action they do disapprove.


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Iran: Writing for BBC about Lebanon · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kroush Alyani says contrary to what a Tehran based analyst writes for BBC without reading reliable sources about Lebanon conflict, people in Israel do not like this conflict and war on two fronts (Fa). The blogger who had lived in Lebanon  gives a link to several Israel based bloggers to prove his point.


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Iraq: Freedom! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Mama says, “freedom means free to kill,democracy means you have the right to leave the country.”


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Japan and South Korea: people’s tie · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In the political spectrum, Japan and South Korea are in conflict; however, Ampontan in Japundit points out that there are much cooperations and friendship among the Japanese and Korean.


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Japan: teacher’s genitals · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP in Japundit reports that a teacher at a public junior high school in Hokkaido was suspended for sending a photograph of his genitals to a male student using his cell phone.


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Japan: troop returned from Iraq · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Japanese troop returned from Iraq. Adamu in Mutantfrog says that Japan should just admit it didn’t accomplish anything in Iraq.


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Jordan: Jeresh Festival · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Due to the war in Lebanon and Palestine, Jeresh festival 2006 will be suspended until further notice, Ibrahim Owais said.


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Jordan: M.E. Podcasting · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Zeid Nasser report that this is, probably, the first business news podcast service in the Middle East. Also he points out that more Arab bloggers are podcasting now.


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Kenya: Stockbroking nightmare · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Girl in the Meadow has a few complaints about the performance of Kenyan stockbrokers.


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Korea: physical education · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Frog in a well traces the history of physcial education in Korea: “the school physical culture was militarized from the late 1930s onward“. The blogger introduces a scholarly paper “The Militarization of the Physical Education and the Forced Healthiness”, which relates the military culture at school with the colonial and post-colonial politics.


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Kyrgyzstan: Support for the Disabled · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia translates a Russian language post on the difficulties disabled Kyrgyz citizens have in receiving support and how NGOs are making up for inconsistency from the state.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Malaysia: Curious Penang People · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at malaysiandaily.com writes about the curiousity of people in Penang city. “Each time, there's a road accident on one side of the road, the other side of the road's traffic will be terribly affected. Every driver would slow down to view the accident scene. There are a few theories behind such behaviours. Some claim that Penangites are a caring lot. That's the reason they stop and have a look. While other parties seem to think that Penangites are heavy “4D” investors. The number plate of the vehicles involved in road accident is your passport to wealth”. 4D is a type of lottery popular in Malaysia and Singapore.


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Malaysia:  Insecure Men · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bunnywunny  blogs about a discussion she had with her hairsylisht. The hairstylist argues that  insecure men make the best boyfriends and lovers.


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Mexico: Exposition of Flickr Monterrey · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The first Photographic Exposition of Flickr Monterrey will be held this Saturday evening at Café 13 Lunas says Ocho Cuartos.


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Mexico: The Neverending Election · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Professor Matthew Shugart posts an excerpt of his interview with Mexico Watch on the Mexican elections. Professor Michelle Dion is skeptical of a “statistical analysis of the 2000 election votes in Mexico.” Mark in Mexico says that things aren't looking good for Lopez Obrador in the case of a recount. Finally, Goleech is worried about political intolerance both online and off (ES).


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Middle East: Reaction · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Black Looks “stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon against the wanton frenzy of destruction unleashed by Israel in yet another act of collective punishment.”


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Myanmar: Burglish Convertor · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Mayvelous is glad that some one took up the challenge to build a Buglish convertor. Burglish is burmese written phonetically in Latin script. The software converts the Latin script to Burmese alphabets.


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Pakistan: Another corner in Lahore · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Certain cities have so many stories to tell. Metroblogging Lahore on Garhi Shahu. “But who would have ever thought that an area that came up to accommodate a most learned man never kept his name, and a complete scoundrel managed to keep his name alive because he was a genuine ‘qabza group’ leader. Strange are the twists of fate that we see in Lahore, for every brick has a story to tell.”


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Pakistan: To Indian Bloggers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

iFaqeer reproduces a letter that went out from a Pakistani blogger to Indian bloggers on a discussion list.


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Romania: Targu Mures · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Owlspotting writes about his native town: “[…] my hometown of Targu Mures (also called Targu-Mures, Tirgu Mures and more recently Tirgu-Mures; the latter is the spelling used by city officials).”


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Serbia: Government Changes · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about changes in the Serbian government looming ahead: “So, elections in Serbia, probably this autumn, almost certainly by early next year.”


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Somalia: Ethiopian troops · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Voice of Somaliland Diaspora and Ethioblog  take note of a BBC news report that Ethiopian troops have been seen on Somali soil.


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Sri Lanka: Before we get censored · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Greenhornet.lk looks at neighbour India's blogspot block and reflects on lessons for those online in Sri Lanka. “Preservation of free speech should be the Sri Lankan Internet community’s number one priority in the coming months, since the loss of the tool itself is a far greater loss than ANYTHING that the tool may produce.”


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Taiwan: ghost month · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

July in the Chinese Lunar Calendar is the ghost month. In Taiwan, municipalities are searching for ways to reduce the air pollution from thousands of people burning ghost money at the same time. Micheal turton from A view from Taiwan suggests to introduce ghost credit cards.


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Tajikistan: News & Blog Roundup · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Vadim has a roundup of news and blog posts concerning Tajikistan.


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Ukraine: Old Faces, New Positions · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Abdymok updates Ukrainian ‘who is who in politics’ list – old names, new positions. He writes: “there is no point theorizing about coalition configurations and broad coalitions when criminals and political thugs [read: yanukovych, azarov, pyskun, kivalov, dziha, moroz, symonenko, etc.] are running the show.” And: “if the president decides to dissolve parliament, ukraine will split in two. if he does not, baboons will run the country.”


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Venezuela: Metro Line Number Four · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Caracas’ number four metro line is now in service. Oil Wars is a fan of the paint job. Huguito, who posted a couple dozen photos of the new line to his Flickr account, is happy that the stations are well marked (ES).


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Voices from Kazakhstan  · Global Voices
Leila Tanayeva

Welcome to our latest round-up of blog posts and online discussions that took place in the Kazakh blogosphere in the last two weeks.
The “Zhumbaktas” (“Enigma”) rock in Borovoe, a mountainous place with lakes between Astana and Kokshetau, is surrounded with legends. One of them is that a girl ended her life by jumping into the water from this high rock, and now it's the face of a girl from one side and an old woman from another. Blogger raxme remembers this legend when he tells about his trip in Northern Kazakhstan this summer (RU). He also notes that while Borovoe was a popular resort place in the Soviet times, now there are only Kazakh tourists and not many of them, though this place, if invested in, could have become a real gold min.
I wrote on Neweurasia that after the controversial media law was signed, the Kazakh Minister of Information promised to come up with the new policy of regulation of the Internet media, due to national security concerns. This promise comes after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting, where it was agreed to cooperate in international information security, and I discuss it in my entry on development of the Internet in Kazakhstan. Vadim of Central Asian Gateway launches a forum topic on whether Internet can promote regional integration (cooperation) in Central Asia with links to reading on Internet in Central Asian countries.
Returning to the SCO, James reports on the Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokaev's speech in a W.P. Carey Forum event for the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Tokaev denied the media claims of SCO being an anti-Western block, and defined it as a “unique organization with universal goals, and as especially useful for combating religious extremists because of its strong military component”, says James. Tokaev gave a usual “first economic, then political reforms” speech, which one diplomat called a “two words forward, one step back” development.
More on the internet: Kazakhstan launched its e-government project, in three languages, which provides information on different cases of interaction of people with the government – from going to school to starting your own business. However, you cannot yet fill in your tax declaration online, but only contact the relevant government bodies for information. Kazakh KUB blog (Club of Universal Security) finds in the news that the Government plans to open the Internet cafes (RU), where people can access the e-government for free. Currently there are 46 cafes, and they plan to open 460 more till the end of 2006, and 2.000 in total, to satisfy the needs of 50% of the Internet users in Kazakhstan (400.000 according to the CIA World Factbook).
It seems that Kazakhstan has to really think of its information policies, says Dumaem of the Russian analytical project Dumaem.ru with special section on Kazakhstan (RU). There is a lot of information on Russia in Kazakhstan, and most Russian TV channels work there, so Kazakhs tend to know a lot about Russia. Average Russian, though, does not get as much information about its neighbor, says Dumaem. The year of Kazakhstan in Russia, promoted so well in Kazakhstan, is not heard of in Russia. Dumaem thinks that Kazakhstan has to work on forming the positive image of itself in Russia. What Russians know about Kazakhstan is that:
“… в стране добывают нефть и отправляют ее во «вражеский» нефтепровод БТД, люди живут в бескрайних степях и передвигаются по ним на лошадях и верблюдах (видимо, кочуют до сих пор от скважины к скважине), выращивают коноплю, а в свободное от этих занятий время жестоко расправляются с неугодными оппозиционерами…”
“… Kazakhs get oil and send it to the “enemy's” BTC pipeline, people live in endless steppes and move around on horses and camels (probably, wander from well to well), grow cannabis and, in their free time, cruelly deal with the opposition…”
The Russian language Neweurasia Kazakhstan blog featured posts on children in Kazakhstan: Dumaem questions the future of Kazakh children taken away from their home country by adoptive international parents and our new contributor Irene is emotional about 6 little kids being infected with HIV in the South-Kazakhstani hospital. Irene is now scared to take her own cousins for regular blood test analysis since those infected children suffered just because of the doctors’ negligence.
В Казахстане в последние годы СПИД-центров и всевозможных НПО, борющихся против распространения ВИЧ и СПИДа, становится все больше и больше. Государство и международные организации выделяют все больше средств на борьбу с болезнью, которая по своим масштабам и темпам распространения давно стала эпидемией. Но сегодня мне показалось, что все их усилия – впустую. Что работа, которую они ведут, ведется не в том направлении. На мой взгляд, главную опасность представляют не группы риска. Главная опасность – в нас самих, в нашей вечной надежде на «авось пронесет» и «со мной и моими близкими такого не случится».
There are more and more AIDS-Centes and NGOs combating the spread of HIV and AIDS in Kazakhstan. The state and the international organizations provide more and more funding for fighting the disease, which, in its scale and the speed of spreading, became an epidemy long time ago. But today I thought that all their efforts are in vain. That their work goes in the wrong direction. In my view, the main danger comes not from the risk groups. It comes from ourselves, from our eternal hope that it will bypass us and not happen to us or our relatives.
While we question the children's future abroad or in Kazakhstan, foreign parents happily blog about adoption of Kazakh children from Karaganda. It's not so easy to adopt from Kazakhstan, says Harlow's Monkey blog, you have to be in the country for at least one month before adoption, you have to report to Kazakhstan every year, and you cannot adopt children younger than 6 months.
In the same review we found out from blogger Duane that he stayed in the same hotel with president Nazarbayev, who visited Croatia for holidays work. We also saw that Uzbek hip-hop videos are more conservative than Kazakh ones, well, surely, you can see more hips in the Kazakh music scene.
Rico of Neweurasia discusses the merger of two biggest pro-presidential parties, Otan and Asar. Even though not surprising for many, this step signifies “… a concrete move to create the overwhelming pro-presidential party that Nazarbaev has been hankering for since independence”, says Rico. He predicts consequences for Kazakh opposition saying that “they too are going to have to find common ground and a unified sense of purpose if they are too emerge as kind of constructive opposition”.
The Russian decree on voluntary resettlement of ethnic Russians from the countries of the former Soviet Union is being discussed in Kazakhstan. I state in my post on Neweurasia that, contrary to other Central Asian countries, Russians in Kazakhstan are not likely to leave soon. Thus, a decision to return to historical homeland is usually coupled with economic and security concerns. Eduard Poletaev, for instance, Kazakh political scientist and chief editor of  “The World of Eurasia” says that Kazakh Russians see themselves as living in Kazakhstan, but if the current balance of nationalism and language changes, Russians may surely consider leaving.
Kazis Togubaev calls the bloody clashes between the police and the residents of the Shanyrak district of Almaty “Shanyrak Mine that Imangali Tasmaganbetov (Almaty city mayor) put under the the Chair of the OSCE Chairmanship”. As reported on Neweurasia before (RUS), the authorities have a long-standing conflict with the residents of the poorest districts of Almaty on their allegedly illegal settlement. It's hard to believe that these pictures of the clashes, where one policeman was burned to death and people were shot at with rubber bullets (which was officially denied), are made in the same city of New York Times’ article on the changing face of Almaty. Such is the Western reporting on Central Asia, says Nathan.  The Kazakh reporting is that 15 policemen were hospitalized, but it is uknown how many residents of Shanyrak were, say people in Almaty Livejournal community. Bloggers of KUB write that when the people living in those districts bought the land, they were told that they have to bribe to do it, and the authorities at all levels were involved. 35 residents of Bakay did sue and win in the first instance court, but then the prosecutor's office interfered.
For some people, the event is meaningful:
Тем не менее определенный перелом в сознании людей: как шаныраковцев, так и ментов произошел… Менты же были уверены, что операция по сносу станет легкой прогулкой. а теперь они столкнулись с людьми, защищающими свои дома. Учитывая, что часть из них сама живет в похожих районах, нельзя объяснить их увольнения лишь страхом получить по башке…
There is a certain breakthrough in the minds of people from Shanyrak and policemen themselves. The policemen were sure that the operation on the demolition of the houses would be a piece of cake. Now they are encountered with people protecting their houses. Taking into account that some of them leave in the similar districts, you cannot explain their resignation (some of them resigned after the clashes) with just fear of being hit…

author: Leila Tanayeva


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Zimbabwe: Middle East lesson · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

“The past week's events in the Middle East,” writes Zimpundit, “have confirmed Zimbabweans’ fears that in eyes of the world some lives are intrinsically more valuable than others.”

author: Luisetta Mudie


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African Migrants in Australia · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

African Migrants takes note of a report that says African migrants who held a job before leaving their homeland in search of work are more likely to find employment on arrival in Australia.


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African Thatched Roofing · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

African Architecture showcases the possibilities inherent in traditional African thatched roofing in contemporary buildings.


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African Women: Call for Nominations · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

African Women posts a call for nominations for the African Women of Distinction book and video exhibition scheduled for December 2006. The aim, the announcement says, is to profile the stories and work of 20 women in Africa who embody the essence of leadership, determination, and innovation in addressing social, economic and political issues at local, national, and international levels.


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Argentina: The Mitsubishi Wanker · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guillermo gets a kick out of car model names and what they mean in Spanish. For example, there is the Mitsubishi Pajero (“Wanker”), the Nissan Moco (“Booger”), and the Mazda Laputa (“The Whore”).

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Apricot Republic · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Irina Petrosian discusses the omnipresence of apricots, apricot-related gossip, apricots as an indicator of inflation, and much more that has contributed to Armenia being referred to on occasion as an “apricot republic.”


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Barbados: Deputy PM and free speech · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press comes out strongly against Barbados Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley's call for “the curtailment of free speech” on radio call-in shows and blogs.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Belarus: KGB Letter · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog posts an approximate translation of a letter allegedly written by a group of Belarus KGB officers, which contains “revelations about what happened during the presidential elections and in its aftermath. Not a lot of new information – but the very attempt to drag attention to such anonymous source is interesting. Basically, while repeating the information that we already know (hey, we knew what Mr. Pavlichenko is doing), they are trying to whitewash KGB. What for?”


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Bermuda: The Premier on the bus · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Limey reports briefly on the public's mixed response — and often humorous — to Bermudian Premier Alex Scott's decision to ride the bus to work.


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Bloggers on Virtual India · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

Virtual India is a different place, and this week's developments in the virtual world clearly demonstrated and highlighted that geographical and IP address barriers can be circumvented and people can come together for a common cause. Bloggers of Indian origin from across the world came together and wrote, and wrote and wrote. Mainstream media across the world picked up on what the bloggers were writing, and I think that clearly demonstrated that bloggers are an effective force. It is another matter that some MSMs (in India) tried to get some viewership mileage from this entire experience.
Right to information, right to reading and writing on blogs, and right to use VOIP. Bloggers were writing and posting their thoughts in a fast and furious manner on these subjects. After a whirlwind trip of these various rights in this great inter- connected and virtual world, we take a much needed break and take a virtual tour of some wonderful wildlife images.
Blogs, VOIP, and Right to Information.
Blogs from blogspot and typepad and a bunch of websites were banned in India this past week. Desi Pundit, an aggregator of blogs on India has an exhaustive list of bloggers on this topic, the work arounds that many tech-savvy bloggers created for readers to access their blogs. The  sticky post outlines the entire episode. The ban has been lifted partially and over the weekend it is expected that all blogs will be accessible. The debate has now shifted to a new topic and a new set of questions about censorship. Again, Desi Pundit has a stick post on this set of new issues.
Sanat Mohanty has a post on Right To Information Act in India. He writes:
"Since the first of July, a concerted effort by Civic Society Organizations,   Non Government Organizations, individuals and a prominent TV news channel – NDTV   and leading national newspapers are coming together to launch a national campaign…"
Read to find out what else Sanat has to say on this subject.
Vishal has a post on Right To Information Act and he writes:
"Soon, appellants will be able to track the status of their Right To Information
      appeals right from registration to the   final ruling."
Karthik Rao Cavale writes:
"  Right to Information is a fundamental right. A right that the state denied us
      for 58 years…"
First it was the blogs and now it is Internet Telephony read Skype etc that the Indian ISPs want to ban, and Deponti is aggravated by this new development. She begins her post thus:
"Don't normally blog about such topics, but steam is coming from under my collar   on this issue."
Read on to find out what has got her aggravated and steaming under the collar.
Pictures. Kalyan Varma's wildlife picture of Vine Snake portrait made it to the final stage of the the BBC Wildlife competition. A passionate wildlife photographer cum geek, Kalyan's blog is a wonderful and fascinating repository of images of the wildlife, flora and fauna in Bangalore and other parts of India.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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Blogs are Improving Citizen Concerns · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

You’re riding on the highway at maximum speed (120 K/H), talking with a friend, calm. Suddenly a public bus passes you so fast that curiosity gets ahold of you: how fast is this bus is going? And the driver decides to follow the bus.
Carlos Verdugo (ES)  posts the experience: “We were literally between Tongoy and Los Vilos, at the maximum speed allowed, when a greased lightning was coming to our vehicle to pass us, and we ask Is a bird? No, is it a plane?, No. Is it superman? No, it's Ramos Cholele (a bus company in the region)”.
He continues describing that they followed the bus to discover the speed. 170 K/H. This is not the end of the story. They record it with mobile and post it, eliciting more than 60 comments sharing the concern. El Morroccotudo (ES), a weblog newspaper from the region posts it to.
So, various media outlets ask them for permission to use the video.
In the last few weeks, a house robbery inspired a man to build a blog (ES) for expressing his concern about the crime in Chile. Students coordinate national strikes by blogs and fotoblogs. Neighbourhoods that demand the release of a homeless man and for spread the information build a community blog and web page.  Last week, a bloggers campaigned for the victims of a flood in the south. Chile has 16 million citizens. So, for other countries these should be everyday responses, but for us it is a way of adjusting media to social concerns.
While the Chilean media have still been slow to adopt blogs and other technologies, citizens have started using them, and slowly blogs are starting to be the sources of information once occupied by the traditional media.

author: Rosario Lizana


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Brazil: Music: Bonde do Role · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Atari has a change of heart about the “funk light” band, Bonde do Role and their “party music that’s reasonably fun to dance to.”


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Brunei: Subsidies · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at bruneiresources blog looks at the various subsidies that a Brunei citizen enjoys in the Kingdom. The blogger also introduces a local cartoonist's blog at the end of the post.


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Colombia: ¡Feliz Día de Independencia! · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Bethany wishes Colombia a happy Independence Day. Harry Hutton celebrates the day with a rant against the American habit of taking credit for all world events.


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Costa Rica, Colombia: SoHo Magazine · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Cristian Cambronero has an entertaining meditation on the Colombian magazine SoHo (ES), which he describes as “Maxim with less beach.”


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Cuba: Fidel’s birthday concert · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Pan-African News Wire reproduces an article from Cuban news daily Granma, announcing plans for a  concert to celebrate Fidel Castro's 80th birthday celebrations on August 11-12 in Havana. The concert will feature several “top protest and ballad singers of Latin America” as well as South African star Miriam Makeba.


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East Timor:  Rumors of Australian Involvement · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Samantha at samanddaniel blog dispels rumours that Australia was involved in the unseating of former East Timorese Prime Minister. “I believe the recent trouble all comes down to the incompetence and inexperience of a new government left to fend for itself without adequate ongoing international support coupled with the arrogance of a PM and his Ministers who decided that the dismissal of nearly one third of their military personnel was not worth addressing.”


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Ethiopia: Funeral blues · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Lela Tensae gives a witty and detailed portrait of funeral rites among Ethiopians in the United States. “The worst type of funeral for me is when the deceased is in the age bracket of 65 to 80. The deceased probably was hiding during the Italian invasion or was titled by the Italians for being a banda but his relatives always claim him a ‘hero’ who fought the enemy bravely,” she writes.


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Ethiopia, Somalia: Potential bloodshed · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

On the appearance of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, Yebo Gogo writes: “I hope all parties will find a way to walk away before more blood is shed, but this has the potential to be a long, deadly conflict.”