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A “Robot” for Analyzing the Persian Blogosphere · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Arash Kamangir, is a very active Canada-based Iranian blogger who has contributed to several internet projects such as Balatarin, an Iranian version of Digg. He just launched an innovative project for analyzing the Persian blogosphere that provides valuable new information about Iranian blogs.
Q: Please tell us briefly about yourself, your blogs and your recent project. What is it all about? When did you start it, and what you mean when you say it is a robot?
I write under the name Arash Kamangir. That's because Kamangir means “Archer” in Persian, and Arash is a mystical Iranian archer who once saved Iran's integrity (the whole story is mentioned in Wikipedia). I have an English blog at kamangir.net and a Persian blog at persian.kamangir.net. There is also a photography blog at photo.kamangir.net.
I have given my recent project the Persian title KiBeKi, which almost means “What's up?” in Persian. It is a project I had been thinking about for a long time, but finally started writing the code for at the beginning of December. When I started the work I did it to satisfy my personal curiosity, but then as time passed it grew into a bigger project than I thought. In short, I am developing a piece of code which starts from a blog and works towards finding the connection pattern in the Persian blogosphere. I call it a robot because it's the name people have given to these pieces of code which crawl the web for information (Wikipedia).
Q: What are the results of your research so far?
I still have a lot of difficulties, some of which are caused by the huge number of Persian blogs the code succeeds in finding. The last figures indicate that KiBeKi has spotted 130,000 Internet sources, 16,000 of which are Persian blogs and have been thoroughly analyzed. The robot has also determined that 75,000 more of the sources are indeed Persian blogs but they await further processing. This is the result of a few days of free run, which I had to interrupt because my data structures were blowing up, thus decreasing the performance. I have since been heavily working on the technical side of the code.
As a very early result, I looked at the email services Persian bloggers tend to use. From the over 13,000 email addresses that KiBeKi has discovered in Persian blogs, more than 75% are a Yahoo! email address and 12% are in Gmail.
Also, looking at Persian blogging services, such as Blogfa and Persianblog, the statistics of the 16,000 blogs found so far indicates that Blogfa dominates the scene with about three fourths of the blogosphere. These are indeed early results and the code needs to be running for weeks and months to give us a more realistic picture.
Q: Did the findings/results of your robot surprise you?
Yes it did. First of all, I always had an idea of how populated the Persian blogosphere is, but still I am surprised by the number of people who are out there writing their experiences in their blogs. Also, the patterns were very interesting.
Q: What are the objectives of your research and how do you want to develop them?
First, I aim at finding the population of the Persian blogosphere and the connection pattern in there. This will only concern Persian blogs that exist, independent of their nature and frequency of update. Then, in the second phase, I'll work on determining the volume of activity of blogs through reading timestamps. This will give me a better understanding of the Persian blogosphere and will help reject dead blogs. Nevertheless, more than anything else, this is a preliminary step in helping other researchers.
Q: What is the added value of your project for other researchers?
I know that there are works done on patterns in the Persian blogosphere. People have worked on clusters and on the statistics of activity in the Persian blogosphere. But, KiBeKi, to my knowledge, is the first all-inclusive investigative tool which attempts at gathering information from the blogosphere to this extent. Therefore, I am looking for people who would be able to use the data I gather in their ongoing research. This is given that we work out a good way of protecting the privacy of bloggers of course.
Q: Do you know about similar projects?
On smaller scales and based on manual browsing yes, but not as an automated procedure. I have not done extensive research though.
Q: How do you evaluate Iranian blogs’ impact in Iranian society?
Big and even bigger. Not that every single Iranian reads blogs. But I am amazed how conveniently we cross the red lines put in place by the state to discuss issues of interest. There is a very long way to go, but this phenomenon is fantastic in that it offers a method to think together and freely discuss issues of mutual interest.
Q: Any ideas to share with the Global Voices audience?
One of my hobbies these days is to go inside the database of KiBeKi and look at random blogs. I am amazed how many fantastic Persian blogs are out there, most of which do not have the deserved readership. The Persian blogosphere has been initially shaped around a few famous blogs. This is gradually turning into a more scattered pattern of readership. I believe that anyone who wants to know about the Persian blogosphere has to refrain from restricting themselves to the “first-generation” blogs and must try to go deeper than that.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Armenia: Election Symbolism & Slogans · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Bekaisa posts an image of what looks like a badge designed and created for the pre-election campaign of former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian. The image of a clenched fists at an opposition rally has provoked an interesting discussion in English and Russian on the use of symbols and slogans for the presidential election in Armenia.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Vote Bribes · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Bekaisa posts an appeal to the Armenian government as well as the electorate demanding that the former not offer bribes in exchange for votes, and urging the latter not to accept financial incentives for their support. Instead she appeals to voters to protect their votes.


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Armenia/Turkey: Remembering Hrant Dink · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of ethnic Armenian newspaper editor and journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey. Marilisa Lorusso's blog remembers Dink by dedicating an albeit short post to him.


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Bahamas, USA: Obama’s Impact  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Mental Slavery puts in his two cents about “the implications of an Obama presidency on black people.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Barbados: Boys’ Club?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Last time I looked about half the population were women, so what’s going on here?” asks Barbados Free Press, on realising that “there's only one girl in government”.


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Bloggers discuss the sacking of the Governor of Bank of Tanzania · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

Tanzania’s president Jakaya Kikwete has sacked the governor of Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Daudi Ballali following an  audit of the central bank’s External Payments Arrears (EPA) account by an international audit firm Ernst and Young which revealed losses of over Sh133 billion through fraudulent transactions to 22 companies in 2005. Most of those companies were either phoney or tendered fake documents.
The decision to fire Ballali comes against the background of claims by the opposition camp in parliament from mid last year that large amounts of public funds were unaccounted for at EPA account in dubious deals.  Led by MP Dr Willibrod Slaa, the opposition legislators called for Ballali to resign to pave the way for proper investigation.
The news of Ballali’s termination can be spotted across a number of Swahili blogs. While the president’s decision to fire Ballali has been positively welcomed, some are of the opinion that due credits should go towards the opposition.
Ngurumo gives congratulations to the opposition camp MP, Dr. Slaa:
“Kwamba Rais Jakaya Kikwete amemfukuza kazi Gavana wa Benki, Daudi Balali, ni jambo la kutia moyo. Pongezi anazopata Rais Kikwete sasa anazistahili. Lakini sote tunajua kwamba Rais Kikwete amelazimika kuchukua hatua hizo, ingawa serikali ilikuwa inajua ‘matatizo’ ya Benki Kuu. Kama si Dk. Willibord Slaa (pichani) na wenzake kuibua hoja hiyo Bungeni na kushinikiza serikali ichukue hatua, uchunguzi usingefanyika, na hatua hii moja isingechukuliwa. Kwa sababu hiyo, wanaompongeza Rais Kikwete wasimsahau yule aliyemsukuma, Dk. Slaa. Haya yote yameonyesha kuwa serikali na watu wake ilijua ukweli wa tuhuma alizotoa Dk. Slaa, ndiyo maana hata Jaji Mark Bomani akawaonya waliotishia kumshitaki mtoa tuhuma, ambao waliishia kutoa vitisho lakini hadi leo hawajakanyaga mahakamani. Na sasa tayari ametangaza kuwa ana siri nyingine kubwa za wizi wa vigogo. Ndiyo maana nasema, katika hili la JK kuchukua hatua, shujaa ni Dk. Slaa.”
R. S. Miruko also congratulates the opposition:
“Gavana wa Benki Kuu ya Tanzania, Daud Balali ametemeshwa kibarua leo baada ya kubainika ubadhirifu wa Shilingi Bilioni 123 katika akaunti ya madeni ya nje. Bravo Chadema. Bravo Dk Slaa. Bravo JK”
Soliciting readers’s opinions, Muhidin Issa Michuzi posed a question about President’s decision in a post titled ‘panga la JK’ literary meaning ‘president JK’s matchette’. Some readers want the president to clean up every department:
“Naona baada ya benki kuu hilo mashete lielekezwe kwenye mabuzwagi…namaanisha mikataba yoote ambayo haijatulia na kwa kuanzia ni ile ya madini na hasahasa Buzwagi yenyewe”
Another reader is of the opinion that the sacking of the governor is too little too late taking into consideration the news that Ballali tendered his resignation in December 2007 that were denounced by the government : More questions than answers on Ballali”
“Hakuna Kitu, hakuna panga lolote lililotembea. Balali amejiuzulu toka Dec. 2 2007. Barua ipo. Wewe Raisi leo unakuja kutuambia kuwa umemfukuza kazi.Acha usanii sema umekubali kujiuzulu kwake. Mbona naibu Gavana wakati wa Balali hukumfukuza kazi?…”
Scepticism about the president’s steps is not on short supply. On Mjengwa’s blog, one reader congratulates the opposition but remains skeptic:
“wote tunajua ya kuwa:
1: Bila ya kelele za akina Zito na Slaa, huu uchunguzi usingefanyika
2: Watawala wetu walitumia nguvu zote mpaka wakazunguka mikoani kukanusha shutuma za akina Zito na Slaa
3: Pamoja na kelele zilizokuwa zinapigwa na wapinzani, na watawala kujua kuwa ni za kweli bado walikataa kufanya lolote mpaka pale waliposhinikizwa na wafadhili wa nje
4: Wahusika wa kashfa hii bado wapo kwenye nafasi zao na wanaendelea kufaidi matunda ya ufisadi wao
5: Balali katolewa kama sadaka tu. Haingii akilini ati pesa zote hizo zinapotea halafu all you can do ni kumfukuza mtu kazi.
6: MWISHO WA HII SINEMA ITAKUWA KAMA ZINGINE ZOTE. MAFISADI WATAENDELEA KUPETA WAKATI WANANCHI NDIO WANAZIDI KUWA NA MAISHA MABAYA”
Another hot topic across Swahili blogosphere is about an attack on journalists in Dar Es Salaam recently. Two local journalists, Saed Kubenea and Ndimara Tegambwage of the MwanaHalisi weekly Kiswahili tabloid were attacked with machetes and acid by a group of unknown assailants who raided their office.
Happy Katabazi has posted photos showing her with the victims of that attack.

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza


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Central Africa Republic: Prime Minister resigns · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

HDPT blog reports: “Prime Minister Elie Doté of the Central African Republic resigned, together with his government, on Friday 18 January 2008, following two weeks of strikes by unions and government workers over salary arrears.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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China: A melee in and out of the college · Global Voices
Bob Chen

A conflict
It was 4th, January. In China University of Political Science and Law,Beijing, what was going along in the 8 Lecture Hall was the last class of “Eco-Economy and Chinese population”, an elective course by Professor Yang Fan（杨帆）, who is quite a famous scholar on economics. But today, when he looked up from a pile of final-term thesis that were just handed in, he found the classroom abnormally clear. He soon realized many students must have played truant, which was not strange to him. But such a large scope of absence irritated him and drove him to take out the roll-call book,  and proclaim all the absentees would get flunk. He then locked the door.
A few minutes later, about 30 students who got messages from the classmates bustled up to the room, while all blocked outside. They pleaded Yang to let them in but received no response. At the moment, a boy gave a kick at the door, but when Yang furiously flung out to find the kicker, he had shied away.
With indignation, Prof. Yang returned to the rostrum. Out of a mixture of rage and sadness, he couldn’t help but start minutes of critical speech.
“学生像个学生是吗？没有是非是吗？这就是不懂是非，你白上了政法大学。……交完卷子就走，跟我耍 什么滑头啊，跟我？耍滑头算你聪明啊？你上课欺骗老师，算你聪明？你将来骗你爹妈？这从小就没教育好，从小骗他爹妈，结了婚骗他老婆，骗她丈夫，这不一样 吗？你以为这样你就能混得下去？我告诉你混不下去。……”
“Could that kind of student be called a student? Absolutely no moral sense. He must have wasted his time in a university of law！No sense of discipline at all! Handing in the paper and then slipping away? What a trick are you gonna play with me! Deceive teachers and so you are clever? What about cheating your parents later? What a lowbred guy! And what about cheating on wife or husband? I see nothing different. Don’t ever think of getting by like that! I tell you——you can’t!……”
It’s a criticism that lasted over 10 minutes. According to the video clip and the witnesses, Yang vented his fury towards the students’ misbehavior in storm. But the event had just started.
Exactly at the time Yang was scolding, a girl stood up and walked to the door. Prof. Yang immediately stopped her, inquiring: “I have not yet finished. Where are you going?”
“Don’t you think your speech boring?” the girl protested.
“It’s You the boring!” Yang rebuked in anger, “what’s your name?”
“I don’t take your course!” the girl showed no compromise, which further piqued Yang.
“F*** off, f*** off here!” Yang shouted. The girl innately answered, “why is it f*** off? Can’t I just go?”
The dispute was losing control. Yang turned to the students and asked them to “disclose” her name since the girl kept lips tight for her identity. However, he got no response. While the girl was snatching her way out of the classroom taking the chance, Yang grabbed her on the arm and dragged her back, meanwhile calling school guards. There was physical brawl during the course and soon guards hasted up and locked the girl in a room. She was later turned in to the police and not until midnight was the girl released.
The incidence was very soon reported on the campus net forum. Floods of indignation were directed to the professor and people railed against Yang’s rudeness and trample on students’ freedom. Those speaking for Yang or criticizing the undisciplined students were soon swept out. Yang tried to post the names of the truants on the website but the post was blocked.
The incident was updating. On 6th, January, Beijing Youth Newspaper covered it and Yang, who lost all his forts on the campus website, stated on the newspaper that he was unlucky to be under the siege because he was a responsible teacher.
He stated, “I had nothing to regret. What upset me the most was that so blamed the students were!” He grumbled about that the students were hard to control and took truancy and breaking rules for granted.
He commented during the interview(main idea):
That’s the teachers’ “dignity” today. The morality has been greatly challenged and teachers are afraid of educating students for that it would offend them. Getting credit as soon as possible has been the chief goal of many students.
He concluded the Chinese higher education was the worst part of the development since the Chinese economic reform (1978 改革开放).
His opinion soon got rebukes on the campus net. Students said he relied on the powerful media (newspaper) to propagandize his idea against the weak media (net).
A student named Hanfengheyu (汉风和雨) contradicted Yang Fan point by point.
此事起因是由于杨帆当天上课迟到，而本校又有最后一节课交完试卷就可以走的惯例，且杨帆最初对此也表示认同。……其在课堂上为泄私愤而不顾课堂秩序，不顾为师之尊，在课堂上以教育者之姿态教训在场学生，时间长达二十分钟。冲突引发之后，杨帆不顾为师之尊，出言不逊，威胁 学生
Yang Fan was himself late for the class on that day. Moreover, there was a tradition, admitted by Yang, that students could just go after handing in the paper since it’s the last class. What Yang did was just to vent his private rage and he ignored the class rules, chiding students as an educator for over 20 minutes. During the brawl, Yang put aside the reverence himself, abused and threatened the student.
A resignation
The matter was getting even more complicated when Xiao Han(萧瀚), Yang’s colleague, an associate professor of Law school in the university, posted his censure of Yang on his blog.
我觉得从这事的前因后果看，是教授的表现引发了那位女生对他的不满，而教授连用三个“滚”字，这样缺教养的语言不但侮辱人格，并且辱及师道。…… 学生固然要尊师，但师的言行必须要配得上这尊重。如果一个教师对学生动辄大发雷霆、漫无边 际地训斥——用手指着台下斥骂，教师自己首先解除了尊重学生的基本义务。
……学生逃课也不能是乱发火的理由，如果大学都不能逃课，那还算大学吗？如果一个教师的课没人听，以不及格相威胁，强行要求学生听课，作为教师， 这有尊严吗？……
教室也不是监狱，就连教堂里听布道的人都可以自 由进出，教室为什么就不可以？
……从制度意义上说，中国的教育，从 幼儿园到大学直到博士的教育，都是不存在的，有的只是养猪而已
I think it was the professor that first made the girl sick. He used 3 “f*** off”. Such a lowbred languege insulted not only her personality but also the principle of a teacher. ……Indeed, students must respect teachers, but a teacher had to firstly do things worth the reverence. A teacher who chided the students out of whimsicality and rage had already exempted himself from the respect.
……The truancy was not the reason of blowup. Is a college without truancy a college? If a teacher had to threaten the students by flunk to corner them to take his class, could he be qualified for the respect? Classrooms are not prisons. Even in churches people could leave during the sermon. Why couldn’t it be so in a class?
……In the sense of our system, the Chinese education from kindergarten to college and graduate are not existent. It was simply a method of rearing pigs.
Xiao furthermore cited again several facts against Yang
1.	Yang used to forcefully market his books and discs to the students, alleging the money gained was for his son who was studying abroad.
2.	Yang was himself often late for classes, and was absent for a few times.
Xiao Han’s post drove up a new tide of discussion. The incidence had since then gone beyond the campus through Xiao’s public blog. However, what might be out of Xiao’s prediction was that his comment received not merely supports but also criticisms, which condemned that Xiao hit a person when he was down. Some netizens commented Xiao tried to gain political profit by making stunts.And it was guessed that he pearl-harbored Yang because of the past rancor on academic dissention, as Xiao was recognized as a liberal scholar (classical liberalism, I mean), while Yang more or less represented left wing (Maoism, socialism). Xiao reacted to the opinions by an amazing decision on 11th: resignation from the university, for “bringing the university negative influence”.
A public discussion and opposing forces
His action fueled the matter. It evolved into a public topic, and the first focus lay on whether the professor’s behavior was high-handed or the students had performed too insulting. The battle field spread to crowded net forum like Mop.com, Tianya.cn, and thousands of blogs, including the ones of the two heroes, Yang and Xiao.
The comments below are cited from their blogs
讲坛之上大谈道德，下了讲坛，就粗暴的抓住异性的胳膊，这算什么？见义勇为吗？那个女孩，好像也不是什么歹徒的模样，用得着教授大动干戈吗？教授出手之前 是否想过，肢体冲突，是对个人尊严的侵犯，是一种不道德的行为？
Yang was voluble on talking about morality when at rostrum, but after that, he violently captured a female's arm. What is it? That girl was not a bit like a thug and did it deserve such a blowup? Before giving out your hand, Prof. Yang, have you realized your physical actionl was an insult against a person’s dignity, also an immoral behavior ?
Another comment read, however:
杨教授，支持你的行为。从你当天上课的视频，我看到你只是要学生怎样做人，我不明白有些人总是说你骂他，这里包括你的所谓同事（不学无术，哗众取宠的人）。可能他们有不可告人的目的。
几天来我看你的博客，你没有骂任何人，可你所谓的同事在网格利用博客骂你，在学生BBS上骂你，我不知道法大是否是这样的学风和教风。
Prof. Yang, I support you! From the video clip, I saw nothing but that you taught the students how to be a good person. I don’t know why there was always someone saying that you abused, including you colleagues (ignorant and blatant colleagues). Maybe they had untold purposes. I saw they abusing you on their blogs, your students scolding you on the net forum. I am not sure if that is the style of the university.
But a reader soon rebuked:
以点名来要求学生来听课，这本身就是一种意识行为的的强奸！……但是大学生就是不同了，他们都已经是成人了；第二，大学里本身就应是一个学习自由，精神开放的地方，不应是中学时代的应试教育 模式；最后，如果大学里的教师以点名的来强求学生上他的课，仅能说明此授课者水平太差，
To force the students to take class by roll-call was itself a rape over the free will. ……College students have been adults. Also, the college should have been a place of liberty and freedom of study, rather then the exam-preparation education of secondary schools. Finally, if a teacher had to force the students by roll-call, it simply indicated his inability on teaching.
听 到杨帆事件，我很震惊。震惊的不是学生的大胆，而是教授的粗鲁与无知。一个堂堂大学教授，为了阻止学生逃课，竟然要采用锁门这样恶心的法西斯手段！
What shocked me was the discourteousness and ignorance of the professor. A high-profile professor had to lock the door, by such a fascistic method, to resist truancy.
An opposite idea followed:
我也是一名教师，而且是中学女教师。我支持杨老师，虽然粗口等等确实有些过火，不过现代的年轻人实在是太应该好好教育了。我有的时候真的也想破口大骂。记 得我带的高一班军训的时候，男生张口闭口都是粗话，我真的觉得现在的孩子徒有其表，我们教育的责任实在是越来越重了，越来越艰难了。……因为计划生育的国策，当代孩子的家庭教育让人堪忧。师者，承受太多不解，支持杨帆！！！
I am a female teacher in high school and I side with Yang. Though dirty words might be somewhat over the top, I do think the young men today need more education. Sometimes I am eager to rail against them too. I remembered when my students were in military training, they didn’t let dirty words leave their tongue. I think the kids today are just specious. The education today is getting tougher. Because of the birth control policy, the family education commonly doesn't meet the expectation. Teachers suffer from so much misunderstanding. I am with you, Yang Fan！
A netizen contradicted Xiao’s idea that professors should be judged by popularity.
还选课少的老师就不是好老师呢，那当年黑格尔老先生的学生是少啊，他的师傅康德的更少，甚至一个教室最后只剩下一个学生，可人家俩师生楞是名传千古 呢，那些选修课轰动的老师呢？如今都哪儿去了？要按照法大SB学生的话，理工科老师还都水平不如文科老师了
A teacher that was favored by few students is not a good teacher? Alright, but what about Hegel? And his teacher Kant? They had few students to choose their courses. At one time, there remained only one student in Kant’s class. But that hurt none of their best-known prominence. And where are now those who used to be popular among students? According to the stupid students in the university, the science teachers would have nothing better than the arts teachers, since there must be fewer students in their classes.
A political problem?
The incidence gradually took a touch of political battle due to the resignation of Prof. Xiao. The quit was interpreted as for gaining sympathy. While some people also thought Yang tried to resort on the national power to assault on his opponent, since he posted Xiao’s valediction that referred to the 1989 political event on his blog to incur authority's concern. Whether truancy was the freedom of students also triggered a debate between the liberal and the left wing supporters.
Xiao Han’s supporters stated students have the right to vote by feet. They had the right to just leave a class to fight against the more powerful and senior teachers. While a great number of people thought it ridiculous. A netizen said:
我觉得最为“惊世骇俗”的表演就是“逃课是自由的象征”。……现在这种句式又被萧某复活，可惜复活的只是句式，逻辑上却是完全混乱。他在校内是主讲宪法的老师，一个主 讲宪法的老师却煽动学生无视基本的校规，并且逆向以身作则，不惜以身试法，谁能明白他的宪法理论究竟学到哪里去了？
The most astonishing thing I heard about was that “truancy is the symbol of liberty”. I thought this sentence pattern must have vanished for a long time. …… What a pity that it is just a revival of the pattern rather than the content as it has a twisted logic. Xiao teaches constitution in the school, but he instigated his students to ignore the basic disciplines, defying the law. Who could tell where his constitutional theories have gone?
The controversy is likely to go on. It was an unusual event that the voices were so disparate that one yell for liberty could be immediately followed by a moaning for the loss of rules. It might reflect the dilemma the universities in China faced today. On one hand the extension of student body reduced the education quality and the radical change of society stirred the quite campus, on the other hand the rules needed to restore students’ faith on higher education were despised because of the unsatisfactory educational environment and continuous negative news about the colleges. When the leading actors fade out the stage, the vicious cycle might have just started.
*The picture is from Southern Metropolis Daily

author: Bob Chen


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China: The Vagrants behind the Wall · Global Voices
Meng Zhang

Beijing, the host of 2008 Summer Olympics that has been prettified to be the highest honor and dream of the whole country, is trying to show every bright aspect of its stable and harmonious to the whole world, however, when you are almost convinced by the prosperous night scenes around the Forbidden City, you may never think behind some traditional Chinese-style walls, there is another totally different world.
Lao Humiao (老虎庙), a noted blogger and citizen journalist for his personal blog magazine–24hour, has published a series of reports on the homeless people who are living an unimaginably poor life in Beijing. Those shabby vagrants sleeping in their little box shelters are separated from the city's bustling and flourishing only by an exquisite gray wall:
正阳门东侧有一座老火车站，知道的人大概不会少，它为当年京奉铁路所用。火车站面西前门，脚下向南新修了一条宽路，路名不详，但宽是够宽。最近为了拆建前门外地区，彻底封死了前门正街，因而这里就成了内城通向外城的重要通道。这条街穿行而过的正是原先的前门外鲜鱼口一带。地产商为遮人耳目。在路旁修建起了花墙，用以遮挡工地，花墙上又假模假样地“镶嵌”了宝瓶、玉扇、八宝格子窗，窗里描绘着写意国画小品………
看起来很美的东西，却于花墙后暗藏着一个潜流社会，一个无人过问，也无人愿意过问的群体。这里就是我所说的京城头号盲流聚集地。
从花墙入口处走进，我来到了这个流浪者的天堂……
To the east of Zhengyangmen, there is an old railway station which used to be one part of Beijing-Shenyang railroad. A wide road is built before the station's front gate facing to the west. Although the name of the road is unclear by now, it is really wide enough. Recently, in order to renovate the area outside the Qianmen, the Qianmen Road is completely blocked. As a result, this road has become the important passageway between the inner and outer city. Where the road has passed through was formerly the area of Xianyukou. To hoodwink the public, the real estate businessman has built a tracery wall by the road to cover up the construction site. Treasured bottles, jade fans and eight-treasures lattice windows which are carved by traditional Chinese Painting essays are falsely “inlaid” on the wall…
It looks very beautiful, but behind it, there hidden an undercurrent society, which no one cares and no one wants to care. This is what I said the number one gathering place of the tramps in the capital.
Passing the entrance of the wall, I come to this vagrants’ paradise…
这样四不像的假造型实在令人作呕
Such fake style like nothing is so disgusting
流浪着居住的地方，是一些很奇怪的像似圈类的建筑，一格一格，正好一人一间。我数了数，三十只，好象是有人刻意搭建而成。
The shelters of the vagrants, one by one, are some strange structures like pigpens, and each box is lived by one person. I can see thirty ones altogether, which seem to be built deliberately by some people.
近看
Closer
尹氏，山东潍坊人，我说那是风筝之乡吧，他说做过，不多。老尹三十多岁，思维看起来很正常，甚至言语措辞有几分幽雅。我问他为什么不在家待着。他回答说：村里不给他地，没有地可种，又没有其它收入，不如出来谋生。我说是乞讨吗？他马上否定，不屑地说：我不乞讨，靠劳动生活。后来从谈话中我知道他是认为乞讨很难堪的，他的主要生活来源就是拣拾饮料瓶子。通常卖给回收站一只可得一角或者八分，视瓶子品牌的不同价钱不等。这样一天下来，最多卖到过十元钱，多的只卖四元，最少一次才卖了两元。我问他是不是可以攒点钱呢？尹说：那边卖了，这边就进了肚子，饿得跟不上趟，哪还能攒钱！
这是尹的家，是圈子里搭建的最漂亮，最讲究的房子
Yin Shi is a man from Weifang, Shandong Province. I asked him whether it was the town of kite. He said he used to do some, but not many. Old Yin is over thirty years old and seems very normal; actually his words are even a little tasteful. I asked why he didn't stay at hometown. He answered: his village wouldn't allot lands to him, so without farming or any other income, he chose to go outside to make a living. I said, “is it begging?” He denied immediately and said with disdain, “I don't beg and I live by working.” Later on I learned from the conversations that he thought begging was very embarrassing and his main life income was from the collection of scrap bottles which could be sold to the recycling station by 0.1 yuan or 0.08 yuan for each one. The price all depended on the brands of the bottles. In this way, each day he may earn four yuan or ten yuan at most, but once he only got two yuan a day. I asked  if he could save some money. Yin said, “it is impossible to save any money because the earning is even not enough for food!”
This is Yin's home which is the most beautiful and daintiest one among the box shelters.
尹和新疆来的哈萨克族青年艾丁坐在一起，叫我拍照，说是希望把他们的事情报道出去……他也许把我当了记者。
Yin sits with Ai Ding who is a young Kazakh form Xinjiang Province and let me take photographs for them, in the hope that I can report their conditions to the public…He might think I'm a reporter.
艾丁是被人骗来北京的，那人对他说，北京有一份烤羊肉的工作需要人做，而且专门要新疆来的。他就给那人缴了二千元押金，跟随来了北京，后来走散了，他才觉察是被那人骗来的，那人也并非走散，而是躲了他。艾丁立刻变成了穷光蛋。他开始在北京四处流浪混日子。去几家餐馆都说是包吃不包住。艾丁说他会拉面，会烤羊肉，还会炒菜……
艾丁在寒风里打着颤应我要求拍了照。
Ai Ding was deceived into coming to Beijing. A man told him there was a job of roasting mutton, and the employer only wanted someone from Xinjiang, so Ai Ding handed in two thousand yuan to the man as cash pledge and followed him to Beijing. Finally, when the cheater was gone with Ai Ding's money he realized he was deceived. Ai Ding suddenly became a poor wretch and began his vagrant life. He went to many restaurants, but all of them would only provide board without lodging. Ai Ding said he could cook hand-pulled noodles, roasting mutton and some dishes…
Ai Ding shaking in the cold wind allowed me to take a picture for him.
我憋不住还是问了艾丁为什么不去寻找有关单位？请求协助。你又不是前面那几位专门以乞讨为生的。艾丁告诉我说，他也找了新疆办事处，还找了公安局。新疆办事处说工作人员是维族人的天下，哈萨克族的人他们管不了，这样的事情太多！我听了十分震惊！我又问公安局怎么说？艾丁告诉我“公安局的更不理我，他们只说叫我到西客站去睡觉，一旦被人收容了就有可能送回新疆去。”
艾丁这回又要我给他拍照，并且随手从地窝子里拿出一面纸旗儿来，是国旗。艾丁把那面在北京的凛冽寒风里尤显鲜红的国旗郑重其事地举在胸前，我就拍下了这么一张2007年岁末最后的一帧照片。
I couldn't help asking Ai Ding why he didn't go to the relevant official units to ask for help. On earth he was not like some others who lived by begging. Ai Ding told me he had been to the Xinjiang Branch Office where the official said all their staff are Uygur, so they couldn't help the Kazakh like him otherwise they would have too much work to do. I was pretty shocked after hearing that! How about the Police Station? Ai Ding said, “it's worse, the police only asked me to sleep in the Beijing West Railway Station so that the relief institution may help me return Xinjiang.
Ai Ding asked me to take photos for him again and picked up a paper flag from the ground. It's a national flag. Ai Ding seriously raised that flag which is much redder in Beijing's piercingly cold air, and I took the last picture at the end of 2007.
According to Lao Humiao, all the vagrants of Qianmen are extremely lack of basic necessities to live through the winter and some of them are old and ill or even handicapped. Fortunately, a lot of bloggers and netizens who learned the story through Lao Humiao's blog have voluntarily sent a quantity of clothes and fund to the vagrant community and some of them even visited those homeless people by themselves:
在高大辉煌的前门楼子下，一场爱心营救行动正在积极和富有成效地进行着。
我先后接到约三十宗五十余次电话或者短信，其次还有无数个网上留言，一律没有透露身份姓名。
…
Under the splendid Qianmen Gate, a movement of loving care is efficiently carrying on. I have got thirty calls and fifty messages. In addition, there are also countless notes on the net. All the people didn't tell their names and identities.
…
Words on the picture: Wang Yuhai, the handicapped from Handan, is wearing a new military coat, which is bought by the netizen's contributions
However, with the Qianmen vagrants getting more and more attention from the public and Lao Humiao's continuous reporting, the Beijing regulators finally could not keep silent to such an ugly blot which was not far away from the Tiananmen Square. On January 9,  a group of officials of the relief institution and some policemen came to the Qianmen vagrant community. Lao Humiao described the situation in his blog:
……
9日中午前后，当最后几位前来看望部落的网友走后不久，崇文区救助站以及公安人员出现在了部落现场。他们对部落现场的流浪人员先是做了劝说：可以去救助站，在那里可以获得十日的居住条件，提供饮食，提供返乡车票。据我后来了解到，这样的条件提供政府约为每人支出二至三千元。不过现场的劝说以及看起来蛮是诱惑的条件诉求似乎只是一个过门儿，他们表现更多的则是很不耐烦。在一番程式化地向流浪人宣读处理办法后，行动就开始了。他们不由分说地拆毁了山东高密老尹的窝棚，留下了遍地狼籍。接续又拆毁了距离老尹西边百米之外的另外一个窝棚……
然而今天中午发生的事情叫我们非常困惑！既然是那样好的救助条件，为什么部落里的流浪人不愿意去呢？当老尹问到公安人员“带我去哪里”时，公安回答“给你找个吃饭的地儿！”本来还在犹豫的老尹一听那说话的强硬语气，立刻退却。当晚我去部落时老尹对我不无忧愁地说“去了还不找死？”显然老尹的顾虑是显多余了些，但又是谁给老尹以及更多个人民造成如此公安印象呢？
……
…
Around the noon of Jan. 9, soon after several netizens left the vagrant community, the officials of the Chongyang district relief institution and some policemen appeared. They firstly tried to persuade the present vagrants: It's OK to go to the relief institution where they can have 10-day free board and lodging and in the end a ticket to their hometown. Later I learned the government would pay two thousand to three thousand yuan for each person voluntarily going to the official relief institution. But on that day, the official's persuasion and the pretty attractive conditions seemed to be more like an interlude and what their behavior exposed was much impatience. After a series of formal announcement to the vagrants, they began to take actions. Allowing no arguments, the officials and the policemen tore down old Yin's box shelter, leaving a complete mess. Then they continued to break down another shelter hundreds meters away from old Yin's…
The things happening at noon really confused us! Since the relief conditions were so good, why weren't the vagrants willing to go? When old Yin asked the policeman “where do you take me to”, one of them replied, “a good place for you to eat!” Beaten by such a tough tone, old Yin who was primarily dubious about the official caring fell back right away. In that evening old Yin depressingly said to me, “I won't go there to seek death!” Obviously, his misgiving was a little  unnecessary, but it was who that made such a terrible police image in old Yin's and a lot of other people's mind?
…
Surprisingly but also fortunately, by Lao Humiao's latest report on Qianmen vagrant community on January 17, the police or the officials did not appear again. It seems everything has been back on the track. However, the life of Qianmen vagrants is never actually going well. The young Kazakh Ai Ding has been missing for days and in the bone-chilling winter some new members have joined the Qianmen vagrant community, which is separated from the capital of China by a wall.
Words on the picture: Soon after the old members of the vagrant community experienced the storm, the new one has joined in. He hasn't built up his own box shelter yet.
（说明：以下照片因相机日期设置有误，“07-01-17”应为“08-01-17”）
(P.S. The date is mistaken for the camera's time option. It should be “08-01-17” instead of “07-01-17”)

author: Meng Zhang


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Haiti: National Assembly Opens · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

HaitiAnalysis.com posts photos from the opening of the Haitian Parliament's National Assembly.


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Iran:Ashura in Photos · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Shia Muslims held ceremonies for Ashura,one of the holiest events in the Shia religious calendar. Vahid Gharai has published several photos of Ashura ceremony in Kerman, a city in central south of Iran.


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Iran:Kamran Ashtary’s Photos,a world not to miss · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamran Ashtary,photographer and designer has launched his own site. There are fascinating photos about Iran and Iranians in this site.Kamran and his wife,Tori Egherman,recently published “View from Iran” book.


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Kenya: Artists help to heal wounds · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sociolingo post an article about local Kenyan artists healing a wounded nation: “Politicians have plunged the country into chaos but local artistes can help to heal the wounds caused by an election gone awry and the resultant lawlessness and suffering.”


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Kenya: From ODM to Icarus · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

In “From ODM to Icarus” Bankelele writes: “If ODM’s goal is to grind the country to a halt, it may take a while. With tax collections significantly down, the pending Safaricom IPO which I thought will be an election winner could turn out to be a (one time) budget lifesaver – expected to yield over 30 billion shillings in Q2 of 2008.”


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Kenya: Mapping the dark and the light · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ethan Zuckerman blogs about Ushahidi: “One way to measure the continuing protest and unrest is to follow the story through Ushahidi, a citizen media site put together by friends of mine to allow Kenyans to post news about post-election unrest and violence. Each incident is added to a map, giving a visualization of the ways in which reactions to a rigged election have spread across the nation.”


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Puerto Rico: Sexual Politics · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Puerto Rican bloggers grapple with questions of feminism, reproductive rights, and gay marriage in this round up of posts.
The gay marriage debate has arrived in Puerto Rico, where Christian groups, assisted by United States hardliners against abortion and gay marriage, like the Alliance Defense Fund, are seeking an amendment to the Puerto Rican constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman only.
Edwin Vázquez, blogging at Cargas y Descargas fear this change to the constitution would “legitimize the persecution of homosexuals and hetrosexuals who cohabit”. In a post called “The Inquisition in Puerto Rico”  [es], he points to the numerous civil rights breaches committed by the Alliance Defense Fund and says:
No permitamos que gente de afuera venga a trastocar NUESTRA CONSTITUCIÓN. Eso es lo que nos espera en Puerto Rico. Casi veo a la mayoría de los legisladores reuniéndose con estos trogloditas. La línea está trazada y no hay lugar para la indiferencia. A luchar por nuestros derechos.
We cannot permit that people from the outside come here to subvert OUR CONSTITUTION. This is what awaits us in Puerto Rico. I see almost the majority of our legislators backing up these troglodytes. The line is drawn and there is no room for indifference. To the fight for our rights.
Nuyorican (New York + Puerto Rico) blogger Mamita Mala has been to the movies to see Juno, a film about a teenager who becomes pregnant out of wedlock.  A single mother, she reflects on an article she read  about how several recent films about unexpected pregnancy suggest not having an abortion leads to a happy ending:
Originally after seeing the movie, I thought about taking my 10 year old to see Juno. But suddenly I backtracked. My daughter and I have had candid discussions about sex and pregnancy and contraception but not about abortion. Am I ready for that?
Hey mom what’s an abortion? Have you ever had one?
Um yeah, and I thought of aborting you.
Of course I would never say that, at least not in that hard harsh way but just what sort of a message do I want to send to my daughter about such an issue? Especially in an age when an abortion is harder to get , especially for young women of color. Especially in a culture that already looks at it’s young woman as sex objects in one breath, and in the same breath expects them to keep their knees locked to a reggaeton beat.
At Tinta Digital, Eugenio Martínez Rodríguez wonders [es] whether new strands of feminism in Puerto Rico are actually less about female equality than female superiority. He asks whether there could be a campaign against this female version of “machismo”, without implying that women should not have equal rights. “What is the alternative? To do nothing?” he asks.

author: Solana Larsen


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Barbados: Elections · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Abeni, blogging from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, weighs in on the recently-held Barbados election.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Lara Hurt  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

West Indies Cricket Blog reports on Brian Lara's injury in the Carib Beer Series.


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Armenia: Pay-Per-Sachet · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Kyle’s Journey in Armenia reports that Peace Corps Volunteers and other expat workers in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, are delighted by the opening of the country's first ever Kenty Fried Chicken franchise. However, the blogger remarks, not everybody is happy that ketchup is sold by the sachet.


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Armenia: Presidential Election Monitor · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

My Armenia Election Monitor 2008 blog is now fully up and running and in cooperation with GV Author The Armenian Observer, it is anticipated that a weekly round up of discussion and debate in the Armenian, Russian and English language blogospheres will be made available through Global Voices Online. The Armenia Election Monitor 2008 will also include audio-visual photographic presentations of the pre-election campaign to date, the first of which deals with the return of former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, to active politics in time for next month's vote.


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Azerbaijan: Analyzing Black January · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Asking Tough Questions in Tough Places analyzes another blog post on the 18th anniversary of Black January in Azerbaijan.


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Azerbaijan: The Day the Soviet Union Died · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Window on Eurasia remembers the events and circumstances surrounding Black Friday, 20 January 1990, when Soviet troops went on the rampage in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. The blog says the event marked the end of the former Soviet Union.


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Bahrain: Say No to Plastic Bags  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A group of Bahrain bloggers have started an environmental campaign to warn of the dangers of plastic bags, writes Bint Battuta in Bahrain.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Brazil: How the media caused a yellow fever panic · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Luiz Carlos Azenha [pt] shows how the same media that promoted panic in Brazil recommending mass vaccination against yellow fever is now eager to blame the government. “Look at this cheeky maneuver by [newspaper] Estadão, where there is not a single line discussing the role of the media in spreading panic, for example with explicit texts calling ALL THE POPULATION TO GET VACCINATED”. Check also the debate in the comments section.

author: Paula Góes


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Brazil: No right to information · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“Where is the transparency?”, asks PE Body Count [pt] on learning that the Secretary of Social Defense in Pernambuco, Brazil has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press. “The attitude, in the most naive approach, may raise suspicion that there manipulation of the homicide rates and other statistics”.


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East Timor: The silence of the media · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Malai Azul [pt] tries to understand the silence of the media when it comes to East Timor's issues. “I am talking about Lusa Agency's work, or the lack of work, in East Timor. About their systematic silencing about what is going on in East Timor, in almost every level. About their lack of coverage of what happens in the country, how the East Timorese live, or survive”


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Egypt: Congrats Kim  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egypt's Ibn Al Dunya congratulates Egyptian American photographer Kim Badawi for winning the Arab Media & Society competition for best photography.


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Guine: Football, carnival and politics · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Jorge Rosmaninho [pt] describes the carnival atmosphere that has invaded the streets in Conakry, Guinea, because of the Cup of African Nations, which started today. Football is the order of the day. “These days, football makes us forget that there is a dispute between the President and the Prime Minister which may again damage the precarious stability of the country”.


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Iraq: Another New Flag? · Global Voices
Salam Adil

A proposal by the Iraqi Parliament to change the flag has started a heated debate among Iraqi bloggers this week. And there is more.. hear news from the front line of the Iraqi resistance, remembering the 1991 war, what happened when the army tried to demolish a bridge in Mosul and the low down on Iraqi satellite TV.
If you read no other post this week read this one:
Last of Iraqis has a chance meeting with members of the Iraqi resistance and reports an original view of recent events in Iraq that you will never read anywhere else. He says: “It's strange how a man can know so many things in few hours that he couldn't know through searching and asking for years.” Find out how Al-Qaeda rules the prisons, who are in the Awakening movement and what is really going  on. Before parting Last of Iraqi asks the question on everybody's mind:
“let's imagine that the occupation is gone and you have given the chance to select a president or the members of the government? Do you have someone in mind? Do you have someone that you really trust to take control?”
My two friends laughed and said” that's the sad truth….there is no one” but O answered “there are, they are the leaders of the clean and true resistance” ….. I laughed and said” don't imagine that they will keep their words, look at the history….no politician keeps his words after he wins… majority of them cares about their profit and benefits, so the true solution is in real democracy….which is something so close to impossible in Iraq”
Or this one:
A&E Iraq remembers 17th of January 1991:
oh God, that date, it took me back, to my third year in the primary school, when my mother rushed into our room, and took us in hers.
It was the first time I hear those sounds; those explosions which were enough to rack our small house, I still remember how scared my mother was and how my father tried to calm her down.
Those weeks never left my mind, the horror, the bad news, the color of the sky, the rockets and the darkness.
It was the start of the first Gulf War and A&E Iraq reflects on all the times and events that has gone on since then. He writes:
I can’t forgive the arrogant stupid leader who never thought of the consequences, I can’t forgive all the brothers who never tried to tap on our shoulders, or probably who were pleased that our country was destroyed.
And of course I will never forgive the savages cowboys who never showed mercy, never hesitate killing civilians and tried to respect humanity.
After 17 years, the world has been changed; the ones who were planning to wipe Baghdad from the map are talking about humanity, democracy and rebuilding Iraq!
All the Arabs who paid the bill to destroy the Iraq and kill as much as possible of its people are now against the invasion, and crying for the “assassination” of Saddam.
Breaking Bridges in Mosul:
Winter in Iraq's northern city of Mosul is hard at the best of times but with no fuel, no electricity and temperatures dropping to minus 9 Celsius, it can be unbearable. But to make matters worse the army had decided to explode the remains of a damaged bridge one night. Mama and her family had to spend the evening huddled together in one room with all the windows open so that they are not smashed by the shockwaves of the explosion. She writes:
we waited from 8:20 pm till 10 pm and nothing happened… I decided to take a risk and put my boy in his bed( it’s besides mine), “we can’t bear the cold for ever “I said… at 11pm a very loud explosion opened the bedroom’s windows ,we also heard the windows breaking down ,the very cold bluster carried dusts into inside.
Miriam who was just falling asleep started screaming. …we decided to go back to bed … But a louder explosion at 12 in the midnight terrified us and caused more damages to the windows and doors leaving the house so cold, dirty and leaving us astonished.
…Next day my daughters had to go to attend their exams after a horrible night ,my husband had to go to work too, but I took the day off and stayed home to try to clean in spite of the frostiness and the tiredness. When my husband returned home he told me that those soldiers were not experts and nothing happened to the bridge residue, only the neighborhood houses were damaged!!!!!!!!!!.
Changing Flags:
A new debate among Iraqi parliamentarians about modifying the Iraqi flag has sprung a heated exchange among bloggers.
Mix Max reports the details:
Today the parliament discussed … the recommendations (from the Kurds) to change the font to Kufi (Arabic font) and the color of the word “Allah Akbar” from green to yellow. The parliament also discussed a new legislation to make each star of the three centered in the Iraqi flag to represents Peace, Tolerance and Justice, instead of what has been perceived for decades as the three principles of Ba’ath party: Unity, Freedom and Socialism.
Konfused Kid considers the reasons for changing the flag:
I read the history of the Iraqi flag, it is apparently the most unstable flag of the Arab world, changing for four times, and each time, the change coincided with the installation of a new, radically different political system. I… With the realization that the Iraqi flag is not a sacred symbol as I expected it to be, I rationally concluded that, in order to entirely proclaim the beginning of a new chapter, then a new flag reflecting that change in Iraq must also be set in order.
and his own reasons against:
MOST IMPORTANTLY, Any flag, regardless of how beautiful or reflective it is, born under those miserable circumstances Iraq is passing through, will be first and foremost a representation of those conditions before anything else, and thus will be reviled, detached and despised by the very people it is supposed to rally.
And then goes on to propose his own alternatives:
since our envisioning for a new, better chapter of Iraq would be a better representation of its more overlooked constituents, we might tolerate a reflection of [the Kurds] 17% presence on the flag, but not, of course, in the center, what do you think this is? I think a better idea is to put you as footnotes, or margins
One of the interesting symbols I've seen in that site is the ‘Babylonian Sun’, this might be a good thing to put instead of the three stars… Look a bit too much like Egypt, but then again they all look alike, when I was in Syria I kept thinking why the hell are they hoisting our flag everywhere?!
Over on the Iraqi Blogodrome forum several bloggers had a heated discussion. Following are some chose quotes..
Marshmallow26:
It gets on my nerve every time I remember that the phrase “God is
great” will be yellow!!!
Chikitita:
I'm not so attached to the Iraqi flag actually, I've always thought the colours are way too tasteless, and I could not help smelling a rat when Allah Akbar was forcibly worked into it, but I agree yellow makes it even
tackier.
Laith:
Having the words “Allah Akbar” in the flag make it worthless to me.
the flag is a symbol that should represent the country, not represent
the beleives of the country. Most Iraqis Like “Grendizer“, dont you think we should have his picture in the flag too.
Khalid Jarrar:
a statement of [Allah Akbar] that doesnt belong to any religion in particular but to all religions, and its a beautiful sign that this country actually cares enough about God to at least, at least have his name in their flag, as a symbol, and the statement itself is very humbling
Konfused Kid:
I have no problem with Allahu Akbar, [but] it's not 7aram to
remove it from the flag, … all those things that I mentioned are
practical matters (Linda already said something about soccer fans not
stepping on it) which should be kept in consideration that's what I
meant. A good flag must be practical too
And Finally:
Mix Max gives us the the essential guide to Iraqi satellite TV. At the last count there were 28 channels out there. He writes:
One might ask the question: does such channels feed the separation of Iraqis taking into the consideration the ethnic and political crisis we have in Iraq? Some argue that this is the consequences of decades of dictatorship, which resulted now in a chaotic atmosphere, even in the media. Others argue that this democracy and every Iraqi have the right to express his opinion and point of view the way he or she sees suitable. But would that enlarge the gap between anarchy and freedom?

author: Salam Adil


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Iraq: Two Bloggers Tie the Knot · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Two Iraqi bloggers have tied the knot, reports Konfused Kid from Iraq.


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Jordan: Pension System · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Firas asks: Is the Jordanian pension system sustainable?


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Kuwait: Camel Meat · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Desert Girl from Kuwait is planning to make a camel meat meal.


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Kuwait: Saudis with Free Time · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A video showing some pranks Saudi youngsters were up to, posted by Mark from Kuwait, has raised concerns among some of his readers.


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Turkey: Dink on LGBT Issues · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

On the first anniversary of the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey, Unzipped: Gay Armenia remembers the slain newspaper editor and journalist speaking on Turkey-Armenia relations as well as family and gay issues.


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Turkey: Remembering Hrant Dink · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the murder of ethnic Armenian newspaper editor and journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey. Dink was shot outside the office of the Agos newspaper on 19 January 2007. A prolific advocate for civil, human and minority rights in Turkey, Dink was killed by 17-year-old Ogun Samast. His murder shocked the world and marked one of few times when Armenian, Turkish and other bloggers spoke about an event making headline news across the world with one voice.
A year on and the conversation in the blogosphere might be less, but many people the world over — and not least in Armenia and Turkey — remember Dink. A rare voice calling for reconciliation between Armenians and Turks, Dink's message and legacy is still remembered today. A week ago, Blogian posted information on Hrant Dink memorial events to be held the world over.
Internations Musings makes a short but to the point post consisting of just two photographs taken in Istanbul with the title “I believe darkness will one day reunite with light.” Rastî simply posts various quotes and photographs, including one from the Armenian Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian.
The brutality, the impunity, the violence of Hrant’s murder serves several political ends. First, it makes Turkey less interesting for Europe, which is exactly what some in the Turkish establishment want. Second, it scares away Armenians and other minorities in Turkey, from pursuing their civil and human rights. Third, it scares those bold Turks who are beginning to explore these complicated, sensitive subjects in earnest.
In London, Unzipped posts photographs, a video and an account of the event held outside Westminster Abbey. The event was organized by the Armenian community in England, but was also attended by representatives of the Turkish and Kurdish communities as well as others. the blogger also posts a poem by Mikael Nalbandyan which was distributed to those in attendance.
When the God of Liberty
Formed of earth this mortal frame,
Breathed the breath of life in me,
And a spirit I became,
Wrapped within my swaddling bands,
Bound and fettered helplessly,*
I stretched forth my infant hands
To embrace sweet Liberty.
All night long, until the dawn,
In my cradle bound I lay;
And my sobbing's ceaseless moan
Drove my mother's sleep away.
As I begged her, weeping loud,
To unbind and set me free;
From that very day I vowed
I would love thee, Liberty!
Across the ocean in the United States, Verbal Privilege posts an entry on the eve of a similar event in New York. The blogger mentions one of the most alarming aspects of Dink's assassination — the growth of ultra-nationalism and the involvement of individuals within government or the military in Turkey.
The teenage boy who shot Dink in the head is on trial, as are some of the nationalist agitators who handed him the gun and sent him to Istanbul. But those higher-up who may have abetted the murder or covered up for fellow police continue to enjoy impunity, despite widespread evidence of tampering with the investigation.
The same theme was taken up by Blogian a week ago. The Armenian blogger posts photographs of children making ultra-nationalist signs and a cartoon by Turkish-Norwegian designer Firuz Kutal.
The murderer, the cartoon suggests, could have been any teenager brainwashed by ultra-nationalist adults.  If you look closely, the murderer is making the “Grey Wolves sign” with his left hand, a gesture of fascist Turks who also use the sign in rallies denying the Armenian Genocide.
[…]
Once Turkish columnist Gökhan Özgün said a YouTube video honoring Hrant Dink’s assassination was worse than child pornography.  At that time I was puzzled with Özgün’s words. But after seeing the photos above I think I know what he felt.
Movement for a New Renaissance analyzes the rise of ultra-nationalism in Turkey.
Ceremonies have been held in Istanbul to mark the first anniversary of Hrant Dink's murder. Dink was a courageous Turkish-Armenian journalist who worked tirelessly to bridge the immense gap between Turks and Armenians. His writings on the Armenian Genocide, which Turkey denies ever happened, outraged Turkish nationalists and lead to Dink's conviction under a controversial Turkish law which bans “insulting Turkishness.” In the end, Dink's efforts to bring the Turkish people to their senses on the issue of the Armenian Genocide lead to his being gunned down by a Turkish nationalist.
The murder of Dink revealed deep fissures within the Turkish people. On the one hand, his murder shocked and angered many Turks, who spontaneously rallied in his support, chanting, “We are all Armenians!” On the other hand, many extreme nationalists seemed delighted at his death; after the arrest of the killer, 17-year-old Ogun Samast, video emerged of smiling police officers celebrating with him and giving him a Turkish flag.
[…]
The murder of Dink and subsequent events reveal how serious a problem extreme nationalism is in Turkey. […] But the rise of moderate and rational Turkish voices, illustrated by the rallies in ink's support, are a cause for hope.
In a wider context, extreme nationalism is a virus that significantly holds back the human race. […] If we are to survive the 21st Century, we must learn to see ourselves as humans first and foremost, with all other affiliations being secondary and well down the list.
While not agreeing with much of what Hrant Dink said or believed in, PoliGazette also comments on the issue of ultra-nationalism, but says that Turkey has changed as a result.
Today marks the one year anniversary of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink’s violent death. He was killed by an extreme nationalist, who murdered this hero of free speech because of his opinion on the Armenian issue.
[…]
His opinions and outspokenness made him an enemy of Turkish nationalists and of the Armenian Diaspora, because he basically told them to get a life (he wasn’t fond of the diaspora, which he considered to be obsessed and extreme).
[…]
Hrant Dink’s death could have accomplished what the murderer wanted to accomplish – silence Dink and everyone else who agree with him – but instead, his crime had the opposite effect: yes, Dink was murdered and that was horrible, but it made Turks more determined to protect and  expand the freedom of speech.
Many would disagree with the blogger on that last point, but the Turkish blogger at Erkan's Field Diary certainly symbolizes the shock and outrage which spread among many Turks by posting the text of an announcement detailing the memorial event held yesterday in Istanbul.
We, the citizens of this country,
do not want to get inured to
living in a dove's skittishness,
among unresolved assassinations.
As dignified crowds that do not breed
hatred from this inconceivable murder,
to illuminate the darkness
that creates assassins from babies,
to claim a bright future for our country,
to together carry the load of our deep grief,
as the victims and watchers of the Hrant Dink case […]
One of those attending the Istanbul rally was local Armenian blogger, The Armenian Observer, who posts an account of the day. Given that many Armenians here and in the Diaspora still do not quite comprehend Hrant Dink's message of peace and reconciliation, it is encouraging to read the words of one who now perhaps does.
Today I took part in a rally in Istanbul, marking the 1 year anniversary of Hran’t Dink’s tragic assasination. There was very little I understood, but the atmosphere was sad and angry. The wave of people – perhaps 80-100,000 was flowing like an endless river, blocking the street in front of the AGOS newspaper office. People were demanding justice and uncovering the true motives of the organizers of the assasination.
[…]
As an Armenian taking part in the rally, I was there only because Hrant Dink is Armenian, and was killed, from what I understood, exactly for his nationality.
However, for those thousands of people protesting in the street, he was much more then an Armenian. Yesterday I also I found out, that he is one of the symbols of Turkey’s future. Yesterday I also understood, that Turkey’s future is bright, if it could trigger such a major rally a year after the murder of the Armenian journalist, because people really care about what’s happening with their country and their citizens – regardless of their nationality.
Hrant Dink – brave man – farewell to you. Rest in peace.
In Memorium,
Hrant Dink 1954- 2007


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Afghanistan: How to produce opium · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bipasha Ray says that Intrepid Independent reporter Patrick Cockburn finds that Afghans are helping Iraqi farmers grow poppy and produce opium, as traditional crops of oranges and pomegranates prove to be insufficient to provide a living wage.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Avaaz Launches Free Fouad Petition · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Avaaz has launched a petition rallying for the release of jailed Saudi blogger Fouad Al Farhan, writes Esraa from Mideast Youth.


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Bahamas: Serving Justice  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

An episode of Law and Order causes Nicolette Bethel to reflect on justice in the Bahamas, particularly in the recent case of the Sea Hauler tragedy.


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Bangladesh: A healthy debate · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Unheard Voices on the loss of a space for a healthy debate in Bangladesh.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Cabinet Named  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As Barbados’ new Prime Minister names his Cabinet, Living in Barbados has some questions.


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Barbados: Time for change? · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

Barbadian bloggers have been among the most politically active in the Caribbean for some time now, and the general election in Barbados on 15 January triggered a major flood of commentary and analysis. The House of Assembly (established in the 17th century, soon after the island was first colonised by Britain) contains thirty seats, filled via first-past-the-post elections. Two major parties — the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) — competed for a majority. Both parties are basically centrist, with few ideological differences (so few that in 2006 the head of the DLP and sitting Leader of the Opposition crossed the floor and joined the then BLP government). The major issue in the election campaign, therefore, was whether the the country needed continuity of governance — under the BLP and Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who had governed for 14 years — or “change” and a fresh start, under the DLP and its leader, David Thompson.
The campaign was spiced with allegations of corruption against the BLP government. The popular and outspoken Barbados Free Press highlighted many of these in the days leading up to the polls — for instance, in posts on alleged illegal “commissions” on government spending and mismanagement at the state-owned company ECCI. Bajegirl at Cheese-on-bread suggested that the parties should reveal the sources of their campaign funds, and noted that party activists seemed “more desperate” than in previous campaigns:
There're allegations of wiretapping of DLP calls, DLP billboards being torn down (apparently they were erected illegally, so it's all par for the course), and even the disturbing report of death threats against UWI Lecturer Dr. Don Marshall.
Get your act together, people! No matter who wins on January 16 we still have to live on this blessed little rock.
“The electorate faces a tough decision,” said The Bajan Dream Project on election day:
The incumbent party, which has been in power for a little under fifteen years, has been the only government that many young Barbadians would have ever known. Old habits die hard and truthfully, this government has not performed too badly during its three terms insofar as employment and certain human development indicators are concerned. In addition, the ruling party ran a tough and convincing campaign that challenged Barbadians’ natural predilection for change, no doubt bolstered by an intensive media presence over the past three weeks.
On the other hand, a new and re-energized Democratic Labour Party is at its closest taste of victory. Its solid performance in opinion polls and its mainstreaming of accountability, transparency, poverty eradication and democracy struck a chord with a number of undecided voters, causing this election to be inevitably too close to call.
But, although the polls suggested a close race, the results on election night were decisive: the DLP won 20 of the 30 seats. “There will be a new government leading Barbados, and the new Prime Minister will be David Thompson,” wrote Living in Barbados, who also reported that:
While PM Owen Arthur and deputy PM Mia Mottley safely held their seats, the 12% swing to the Dems led to a slew of defeats, including for nine ministers…. Some are contending that the late public push by the Dems’ support of introducing integrity legislation was a cause of a late surge in support.
Barbados Free Press agreed that the proposed integrity legislation was a major factor:
Public apathy and cynicism all changed on January 3rd when David Thompson announced that the DLP would introduce Integrity Legislation and Freedom of Information laws within 100 days of forming a new government…. Would the DLP have declared a commitment to Integrity Legislation without the pressure from Barbados blogs?
The Bajan Dream Project, on the other hand, suggested that economic factors may have had much to do with the BLP's defeat:
For the past term Barbadians saw skyrocketing food costs next to severe overruns on capital works projects; closure of small, black enterprises next to competition from monopolistic conglomerates; exclusion from referenda on unpopular and unwanted policies such as the CSME next to a government that resisted criticism; dwindling hopes for housing next to large-scale land sale for multimillion-dollar condominium developments and the inefficiency of poverty relief next to elected officials who appeared to be far-removed from the plight.
And Amit at Pull! Push! suggested that “the DLP will come under intense scrutiny”:
especially with regards to economical performance issues. The D's asked the people for a change and they have said ‘yes’ (and very loudly based on the voting results). Any failures to deliver will, I think, result in a ‘I told you so’, kind of display from the BLP, and might make some people second guess themselves about putting the DLP in power.
On 16 January, as David Thompson was sworn in as prime minister, Caribbean Lionesse wondered what policy changes the new government might introduce, and speculated about the political future of Owen Arthur:
There have been signs and rumours of tension in the BLP camp in recent times…. Clearly, since the Arthurian leadership aura did not extend to the rest of the party to give them victory this time (as it did in 2003 and DEFINITELY in 1999) he is no longer useful to the party.
She suggested that former deputy PM Mia Mottley might soon find herself at the head of the BLP. And, in fact, as Barbados Underground reported, on 19 January Arthur announced he would step aside, making Mottley Barbados's first female Leader of the Opposition.
The following day, Prime Minister Thompson named the members of his new Cabinet. Bloggers had a lot to say about that too. “Only two female Ministers,” noted Caribbean Lionesse, “coming after Thompson said he wanted a stronger role for women in his new government.” Living in Barbados added: “The elections saw very few women candidates nominated by either party.”
The PM could have done something to redress that balance by naming some more women in his Cabinet, assuming that the talented individuals are there and willing to serve. If many women are not in the Cabinet, then he may need to do something very visible to show that women have an important decision making role in his government.
Meanwhile, Jdid at Doan Mind Me offered a highly original explanation for Owen Arthur's defeat. No Barbadian prime minister, he said, has ever been elected while married to a Barbadian spouse:
is it coincidence that Owen Arthur won three elections when he was married to a Jamaican but now that he divorced recently and married a Bajan lady he lost so badly? Hmmm. Wunnah can decide for wunnah selves but I think the facts are clear. Owen loss this election from the time he divorce the Jamaican lady and marry a Bajan. I feel he should have gone Guyanese but that is juss me.

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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Belize: Palacio Passes On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Belizean and The CAC Review acknowledge the passing of iconic musician Andy Palacio, who died of stroke-related complications at the age of 47.


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Bolivia: Confrontational Groups · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

There are approximately six “grupos de choque” or organizations involved in often violent confrontation.  Miguel Centellas of Pronto* breaks down the different groups.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Bolivia: Highway to Santa Cruz Closed Due to Rains · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Desde Yapacani [es] is currently stranded in the city of Cochabamba, Bolivia because a landslide has closed off the highway to Santa Cruz due to the heavy rains.


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Botswana: Making movies in Botswana · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mma Ramotswa post a news article about making movies and documentaries in Botswana: “Over the past 10 or 20 years, digital cameras and computer editing have dramatically opened up filmmaking possibilities in “remote” places. Things are looking up for drama films and documentaries made in Botswana.”


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Brazil: 25 years without Garrincha · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Brazil remembered this Sunday the 25th anniversary of Manuel Francisco dos Santos's death. Better known by the nickname “Garrincha“, he was an outstanding Brazilian football player who helped Brazil national team to win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. Marcos Tchôla [pt] finds rare videos to pay homage to him.


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Brazil: Discrepancy in the crime rates after media censorship · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Following yesterday's news that the Secretary of Social Defense (SDS) in Pernambuco, Brazil, has decided to stop providing information on violence and crime rates to the press, PE Body Count [pt] has noticed some discrepancy among the blog's and the official figures for the weekend: the bloggers have counted 48 deaths, the SDS only 26. The blog has published the names of every fatal victim of crime according to its count.


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Brazil: Journalism and Twitter · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Raquel Recuero  [pt] is surprised to discover that Twitter, a tool that she had not paid much attention to, has been widely used by both, journalists and candidates’ public relation teams, to cover the American elections. “It seems to me that, in a way, Twitter is taking up the job of “Breaking News” for bloggers, journalists, and users of the Internet in general. All these usage, more than drawing my attention, have been showing me that there is a whole range of new ways to use Twitter”.


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Brazil: Ten facts about yellow fever in Brazil · Global Voices
Paula Góes

“In the face of continuing misinformation on the current yellow fever situation in Brazil, I’ve dedicated some time to gather together a few facts about the crisis”, says Brazil Travel Blog gathering ten facts about yellow fever in Brazil based on reliable Brazilian sources. Read more on the quoted misinformation here.


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Cambodia: Mia Farrow in Cambodia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Munivong Boulevard complies the news on Mia Farrow's visit to Cambodia to protest against the killings in Darfur.

author: Preetam Rai


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Central Asia: Potential Water Wars · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Marat analyses potential conflicts in Central Asia that may arise in near – or not so near – future following the deficit of water resources in these countries.


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Chile: Microsoft Executive Insults Cyber-Activists · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

A Microsoft executive recently referred to some Chilean activists as “pelagatos,” which is an offensive slang term used in Chile. Luis Ramirez collects some reactions [es] and responses [en] to this reference and highlights the work of these activists from Liberación Digital, who are trying to monitor and become active participants in agreements between companies and the Chilean government.


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China: Suicide MM’s Blog  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated a series of discussions concerning a suicide note in Jiang Nan blog. The woman has committed suicide and died. But the story continues to reveal itself through the internet and generates effect.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: T-shirt with Chinese Character · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Alpar shows a t-shirt with Chinese characteristic, with slogans and pictures of eight prides and eight shames, harmonious society, city management teams’ violence (zh).


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Colombia: In Remembrance of Tomás Carrasquilla · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Piso Tres [es] remembers Colombian writer Tomás Carrasquilla on the anniversary of his birth nearly 150 years ago.  Several associated activities have been taking place in Medellín and Santo Domingo in Antioquia.


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Cuba: Elections & Ethanol  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Child of the Revolution is monitoring the Cuban parliamentary elections, while The Cuban Triangle  reports on “the economic collaboration between Cuba and Venezuela that resulted in an agreement yesterday for 76 projects with a $1.3 billion price tag.”


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Egypt: Free Kareem Campaign in French · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Free Kareem, a site launched to rally support for jailed Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabil Sulaiman, is now available in French here.


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Egypt: Google Blocking Kefaya?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobia from Egypt claims: “If you try to search for the Egyptian Movement for Change a.k.a Kefaya in Arabic or in English in Google , you will not find its official main website in the results whether in Arabic or in English now !! Well it seems that Kefaya became like the Chinese opposition Websites.”


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Egypt: Secrets on Video · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

From Egypt, videos which expose secrets and ugly truths. One of them, Hideous, attempts to shock the rich into action by contrasting their carefree lives with the poverty on the streets. Also, To H.E Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, a song and video respectfully dedicated to Egypt´s First Lady, reporting about a story of child abuse, police brutality and misery.
Walking daily down the streets in Egypt,  Nader G. EL-Attar  had been noticing for a while the relationship between the rich in his country and the poor, and most importantly the way these polarized classes interact with one another.  He talked about it with a friend, Rienne Gamal, and together they came up with the video “Hideous” which he posted on his facebook page, where he also has other videos.  On Hideous, a video you can view by clicking here, Nader G. EL-Attar and Rienne Gamal contrast two different lifestyles. On email, I asked what him what his motivation was to make this video. Nader wrote back:
…so what's found now is a group of rich people,whom wealth totally controls them…and poor people looking at those rich people and wondering,  “why are they leaving us alone…what have we done…?”  What is astonishing now is how upper class people now look at those people…the majority think that it's their fault that they are poor, as they are doing nothing except asking people for money…and [they are] not working, forgetting the fact that in this greedy, money seeking, globalised, capitalist world, there is no place for those people to work…where could an illiterate, poor guy work nowadays???
In the movie, colorful shots of shiny malls, restaurants, graduations, parties, luxurious buildings and beaches are followed by black and white images of people sleeping on the streets, children working and beggars sitting on corners, ignored by those passing by. The movie itself asks a question at the end: whether the “morally offensive” images are the ones at the beginning, showing the beautiful life, or whether it´s the images in the second half. Nader questions the role of the government and their blind eye to this problem:
…also I had this shot of 3 children pushing a garbage can…and at that point I wondered, where is our First lady??? with all her talks about children on the streets!!!!
Egyptian blogger and artist Ahmad Sherif also has something to say to the first lady. He decided to do so through a song and video he posted on YouTube, titled To To H.E Mrs Suzanne Mubarak/إلي سيدتي سوزان مبارك He writes on the video´s  description:
A true story about Egyptian Police Brutality, child abuse and misery. This song is dedicated to “H.E Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady. With all due respect.
English Translation of lyrics:  “Mrs Mubarak, I appeared with you on television. I was a tiny, happy and turbulent kid. You whispered to my ear some sweet words… those were the golden days of ‘Wafa and Amal’ (note: a Children Protection Program represented by Egypt's first lady).  Don't be angry about this song. I believe, Mrs Mubarak, it carries words of Freedom.  Once upon a time, there was a child called Shaaban. His mother had past away, his father was a lazy man and his two elder brothers were drug dealers in a gang.  I saw him with my bare eyes sucking the remains of a pomegranate (note: egyptian fruit) that a stray dog had grabbed in a pile of garbage.  My First Lady: how many millions of Shaabans live in Egypt? I have never seen him by your side, on television.  My First Lady, how many millions of Shaabans are picked up by police officers and abused in the police stations of his excellency your husband?  Chorus, in several language:  I want to be a child, I want to eat, I want a school, I want friends, I want to be loved, I don't want to be afraid, I want to play, I want a house etc.”
Ahmad Sherif has many other videos on his YouTube channel, many of them intended to be spread through cellphones. On Stop sarcasm about Niqab, start dialog, the video below, he speaks about the confusion in UK raised by women wearing Niqab, a veil which covers the face and entire body, and how it really should be a matter of choice. On Free Love : so what ?  Mubarak Egyptالحب : وماله ؟ / مبارك he wishes for Egypt to accept pre-marital sex as a way to decrease the incidence of sexual assault and rape in Cairo. Following, Stop sarcasm about Niqab.
Another video you might watch for further insight into the sometimes secret lives of women in modern Egypt, please follow this link to see To Feel Cold, a Creative Commons 51 minute long documentary by Hala Lotfy.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Ghana: Blogging the African Cup of Nations · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A blog focusing on the African Cup of Nations 2008: “I welcome you all to Ghana 2008 – the 26th African cup of Nations. Today, 20th of January, 2008(today) the city of Accra in Ghana came alive with the opening ceremony in preparedness for the opening game between Ghana and Guinea.”


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Ghana: Ghana 2008 Live Online · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigerian Football Fans blog has information about live coverage of African Cup of Nations Online: “If you are always online and still want to watch the game, i have just researched and come out with some online TV where you can watch the matches. Some are free and some you have to pay.”


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Guyana: Hearing Guyana Cry  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Signifyin’ Guyana posts a poem by Guyanese poet Balwant Bhagwandin in honour of Martin Luther King Day.


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HiperBarrio’s Citizen Journalists Bring Their Local Community Together · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The impetus for Rising Voices, a citizen media outreach project funded by a Knight Foundation News Challenge award, surged from the observation that the great majority of self-published bloggers, podcasters, and photographers featured everyday on Global Voices were highly educated, urban, and upper-middle class. While the growth of citizen media has allowed for an unprecedented level of global connectedness, that network of new voices has yet to expand beyond the wealthy neighborhoods of urban centers across the globe.
Until now. Thanks to the hard work of Rising Voices’ project coordinators, an international readership is discovering the local stories of previously unheard voices including young women in Dhaka, Bangladesh, motivated interns in Sierra Leone, and residents of the largely indigenous city of El Alto, Bolivia.
Rising Voices, however, is much more than an initiative to bring local voices to a global audience. We are also interested in the potential of citizen media to create more unity in already established local communities. With this in mind, the facilitators and participants of HiperBarrio recently organized a town hall meeting which brought together over 100 residents and community leaders from San Javier La Loma, a hillside community which endured the brunt of the violence during Medellín's Esobar era and the subsequent chaos that followed until as recently as 2002.
The event, which was to take place in La Loma's cancha acustica (the barrio's only public space), was moved to an auditorium in the local church when the afternoon's drizzling rain refused to let up. The Colombian digital magazine, equinoXio, published a four-part series about the unusual citizen media event with contributions from two of HiperBarrio's talented participants, Catalina and Julio Restrepo, as well as one of the facilitators, Alvaro Ramirez. Their articles, two of which have been translated from Spanish below, reveal how HiperBarrio has brought a sense of unified community to what was once one of Medellín's most violent and most divided neighborhoods.
Residents, local leaders, and special guests from La Loma and beyond gathered to experience the videos and photographs produced by HiperBarrio's citizen journalists.
“Satisfactions” by Catalina Restrepo
Six months ago the coordinator of the San Javier La Loma satellite library invited a group of its users to participate in a project aimed at rescuing the forgotten history of our neighborhood.
At the beginning, Alvaro Ramirez showed us how to create a blog using the site WordPress.com, and since then the group has grown wings which today allow us to be known in many countries around the world and be part of the worldwide project Global Voices.
Following the creation of our blogs, many trainers and workshop leaders have come to our neighborhood to teach us the tools in order to create audiovisual works (photography, video and audio), which we have used to tell the stories of the neighborhood he has seen grow up.
The satisfactions have been many:
Without any doubt a space of conversation has opened in La Loma, which has generated changes achieved by the young people who belong to HiperBarrio. We will continue in this project that has made us grow as people and we want to give our very best as members of a neighborhood and a city that needs more projects like this one.
“A Night Under the Stars” by Álvaro Ramírez Ospina
HiperBarrio's ‘night under the stars’ became a warm, cozy, and exciting encounter. We experienced some dramatic moments just two hours before the start as a persistent rain cooled the exposed hilltops of La Loma and the open plaza where we had planned to hold the event. The wind threatened to topple the giant screen where we were going to project video and the tree sculpture where we hung photographs and articles which the HiperBarrio participants have published over the past six months.
We were saved by the Father of the parish who kindly let us use the communal hall adjacent to the church. We quickly set up the chairs and audiovisual equipment in order to start an event which not only brought the presence of over a hundred children, youth, and adults of La Loma, but also some important guests from inside and outside the community such as Jorge Melguizo, the brand new Secretary of Civic Culture, Gloria Ines Palomino, the director of the Library Network of Medellin, the local magistrate, the pastor, and the new commander of the local police post who took the opportunity to introduce himself to the expectant community.
The event began with the projection of photographs of the community and surrounding area – with spontaneous snapshots of local residents, their houses, streets, and corners, as well as the previous vistas and landscapes of Medellin which can only be fully appreciated by those who come up to the privileged topography of La Loma.
Vista of Downtown Medellin from La Loma
Milthon Araque performed a theatrical piece titled Sweet Dreams, Lilo which delighted all of the children. Then it was time to show the video productions including The Paniagua Family, Full Moon Nights, Rayones, and the powerful story of Suso. Those valuable productions not only show the history, living culture, and heartbeat of La Loma; they also reveal the creative talent of the directors as they continue their path toward becoming genuine citizen journalists. After sharing their works with the gathered audience, the members of HiperBarrio took to the stage and eloquently highlighted the exciting and challenging experience of learning to use the new online tools which have enabled them to self-publish on their blogs, equinoXio digital magazine, and on YouTube. Each participant received a long-deserved applause from the audience.
Milthon Araque performing Sweet Dreams, Lilo to a delighted audience of children and children-at-heart.
It was a beautiful and rewarding evening. I can still hear the voices of the kids in the audience: “It's the home of Rosa! Look, look, they also took a picture of my grandpa! Uy! That's up near Primavera, it looks good …” The children of La Loma gave small shouts of enthusiasm. Others, smilingly, whispered their comments to neighbors. Seated on the floor in front of the elders in the communal hall, they experienced this unforgettable public presentation of HiperBarrio, which has been documenting the everyday life of friends, family, and neighbors for seven patient, continuous months. There hard work has been feverish and they are now reaping the fruits, thanks to the cooperation of many people, especially the Biblioteca Pública Piloto and the metropolitan area Network of Libraries.
HiperBarrio participants describe their experiences as citizen journalists.
Indeed, with the continued support of the local library system as well as the Secretariat of Culture, HiperBarrio is now looking to expand its mission to bring citizen media to more of the many peripheral communities which climb up the hillside outskirts of the downtown valley. The current batch of 20 or so citizen journalists based in La Loma and Santo Domingo will continue to document the stories and histories of their local communities. But, in just a few months’ time, they will hopefully be joined by new peers who will also document their local stories for a global audience.

author: David Sasaki


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Hong Kong: Copycat Design without Attribution · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sidekick is angry about local artist Lam Hoi-fung. Not because he has designed his poster by taking reference of Yue Minjin's artwork, but the fact that he refused to give attribution to Yue's work (zh).


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Hong Kong: Worker Union is Equal to Triad? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A district councilor Raymond Ho commented, in an internet video show, on a local artist Eason Chan's urge for the establishment of trade union for creative workers by saying that worker union is equal to triad society. Sidekick points out that local worker unions should demand an open apology from Raymond Ho (zh).


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India: The Sound of Language · Global Voices
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Iran:Ashura in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

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author: Fred Petrossian


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Kyrgyztsan: “I do not believe” campaign goes national · Global Voices
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Kyrgyztsan: Economic Freedom Index · Global Voices
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Mexico: Drug-Related Violence in Tijuana · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Violence between Mexican authorities and members of powerful drug cartels has been erupting all across the country leaving scores dead and a society that often feels helpless.  The Mexican government has attempted to curb this escalation in violence by dispatching federal police and soldiers to the areas most affected.  Police, the drug cartels and innocent victims are on the front lines of this battlefield. Even popular Mexican musicians are being caught up in the fray. Some Mexican bloggers are saddened by this brutal violence, and are often left wondering how to deal with its effects.   Franc Contreras, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera posts his report on his personal blog Mexico Monitor.
On January 17, the violence continued in Tijuana, located near the U.S.-Mexico border, where 6 kidnapped victims and 1 suspect were killed.  The blog Zacatekas [es] posts two videos from Mexican television with dramatic footage of the shoot-outs.  The video also shows how children had to be evacuated.  This violence was preceded by other incidents earlier in the week where several policemen were shot dead. Some news reports indicate that the members of the drug cartel were using rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.
Daniel Hernandez, a writer living in Mexico City, writes on his blog Intersections about the out-of-control violence in the country, but how it is affecting the border town especially hard.
Narco violence is climaxing in Mexico, in nearly every region of the country and across just about every demographic, children and popular musicians included. An addiction epidemic is also becoming evident. The news is grim, day after day. El Universal reported Saturday that in the previous 24 hours 15 more people had been killed in narco-related violence in five states. And this morning, the Tijuana daily Frontera is reporting briefly that the delegational police chief in La Mesa was kidnapped on Saturday night.
Rafa Saavedra of Cross Fader Network [es] and a resident of Tijuana published his answers to a questionnaire sent to him by El Universal newspaper for use in a story. His answers were not published in the daily, but Saavedra provides his thoughts on the violence.
Por una parte, es devastador porque este hecho nos toca de alguna forma a todos. Hasta quienes somos unos malditos optimistas y creemos en el esfuerzo de las autoridades, vimos live and direct como nuestro sueño de seguridad corría aprisa, asustado, con las manos en la cabeza, tapándose los oídos, sin saber ni tener idea de lo que está pasando. Justo como esos niños que vimos como loop en la televisión. Creo, el tiempo pondrá las cosas en su justa dimensión, que estamos ante otro parteaguas en la historia reciente de Tijuana.
On one hand, it is devastating because this event affects all of us in one way or another.  Even those of us who are damned optimists and believe in the effort of the authorities, are watching all of this live and direct.  We see how our dream of security is running hurriedly, scared, with our hands on our heads, covering our ears, and without having any idea what is happening.  Just as those children that we saw over and over on television.  I think that with time things will be put in its fair perspective and that we are facing a watershed in the recent memory of Tijuana.
Hernandez continues about the effects of the violence on the region.
Sucks for Tijuana, a city trying to enjoy its cultural and culinary renaissance. Now it seems my ancestral tierra is being defeated in spirit by a wild and bloody narco war — between the government and the cartels, between the cartels themselves — that claims many more victims than it does any readable successes or setbacks.
Finally, the blogger at Borderlandia is not very optimistic about the state of affairs in Mexico in regards to the narco-violence and writes, “The country is falling apart, little by little. the cities are sinking. The institutional leftovers are burning out.”


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Morocco: House Collapse  · Global Voices
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Morocco: Rise of Football Hooliganism  · Global Voices
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Amira Al Hussaini

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