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Trinidad & Tobago: Mapping Woodford Square  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Free Paper designs a map of Port of Spain's Woodford Square – check out the flickr photoset here.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tragedy at Sea  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian diaspora blogger Further Thoughts is a relative of the two researchers whose bodies were recovered at sea after an incident this past weekend: “I am so thankful for the outpouring of support.  I always felt that those simple words – ‘I’m sorry’, or ‘my condolences’ meant so little, were so utterly inadequate.  I was wrong.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Two-year old toddler in solitary confinement in a Zimbabwe prison · Global Voices
Denford Magora

Update: According to the Associated Press Nigel Mutemagau was released on January 14, but his parents remain in prison.
Two year old Nigel Mutemagau (previously identified as Nigel Mupfuranhehwe, but that is his mother's maiden surname) is being kept in solitary confinement in Zimbabwe’s most notorious prison, the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Nigel was abducted together with his mother and father nearly three months ago by Zimbabwe's secret police, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and their whereabouts were unknown until 24 December 2008 when they appeared in court in Harare, together with Jestina Mukoko and other abducted activists.
Nigel's parents are facing charges of recruiting “bandits” to topple Robert Mugabe’s government, the same charges Jestina Mukoko is facing. These allegations have been widely dismissed as baseless. Recently the South African president, who is also the Chairman of SADC, said of the allegations, “We never believed that.”
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison,  where two year old Nigel is being kept in solitary confinement, is notorious for its atrocious conditions even during Zimbabwe’s better days. Now however, the conditions are much worse. Prison authorities do not have enough food to feed the inmates. They are struggling to make ends meet, much like the rest of Zimbabwe’s public sector. Against this background, the prison authorities say that they have been given instructions not to allow food to be brought to the inmates (including to children) from the outside. No visits from relatives are allowed for these particular prisoners, including for 2 year old Nigel. Even lawyers struggle to gain access and when they do, there is always a state official present.
More disturbing, however, are reports from lawyers that Nigel has been beaten in prison to get his mother to confess to the charges. The lawyers say the child needs medical attention.
In a press release also published on the This Is Zimbabwe blog, the same lawyers give a detailed timeline of the events surrounding their efforts to get the abductees released. These efforts have so far been in vain. In that timeline, the date 30 December 2008 says:
In the afternoon, lawyers attend at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison with the medical team. They find that their clients are not being held as ordered in the Prison Hospital, but are being kept in solitary confinement in the Maximum Security Prison. They have now been joined by the final confirmed abductee, Violet Mupfuranhehwe and her son, two-year-old Nigel Mutemagau, who are now also to be held in solitary confinement at the Maximum Security Prison.
Nigel’s plight has been largely ignored by the mainstream media and attention is focused very much on Jestina Mukoko, the most famous of the jailed activists. Social media has been especially active on the case of Jestina Mukoko, with most Zimbabwean blogs putting up a badge during her disappearance, providing phone numbers where people could call in and give any information on her whereabouts. Several Facebook groups calling for her release have also been created (the most popular of which currently has 2,242 members). Sokwanele has been especially active  in encouraging readers to phone Jestina’s local police station to ask them what they were doing about finding her.
Nigel’s plight, however, has been largely a footnote. In my blog, I wrote:
A boy just like the sweet little kid above is imprisoned right now in one of Zimbabwe's most brutal and notorious prisons. […]
Imprisoning a two year old in a maximum security prison together with murderers and rapists and some of the worst kinds of people on earth boggles the mind. I do not know how the government of Robert Mugabe is justifying this cruelity to itself, but I am more shocked at our own reaction, our silence and complicity in all this.
Where is our sense of outrage, Zimbabwe? Where is our humanity? In all the hundreds of thousands of column inches written about the Jestina Mukoko abduction and trial, this toddler is but a footnote in only a handful of them. He lies there on the cold floor of one Zimbabwe's most notorious prisons every day and night, forgotten by a world that is screaming very loudly for a 50 plus year old woman (Jestina) to be freed.
As a result, I have started a petition on my own blog to be handed over to the Attorney General of Zimbabwe on Friday this week, calling for the child to be released and for him to get medical attention as well as access to Child Welfare agents.
In the post with the petition I state:
I ask that we at least do something: Please leave your name in the comments section of this article (below). Just your name. We will put all the names together and present them to Mr Tomana, the Attorney General of Zimbabwe, asking that the child be given access to Child Welfare agents immeditely and freed from that prison.
I have also posted an alert on Facebook, where the Zimbabwean community (especially those outside the country) is especially active. I am hopeful. There is no justification whatsoever for keeping a child that young in jail, let alone in solitary confinement. The idea is basically to publicise the plight of this helpless child so much that the authorities will be shamed into action.
The Attorney General of Zimbabwe has the power to get the child released. Even if the release is attached to stringent bail conditions for the mother, it is better than leaving the toddler where he is now. Like I said, I am hopeful. There are other influential political players in Zimbabwe who have started to also take note of this and I am sure come Friday, we may well see some progress.

author: Denford Magora


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Brunei: A New Education System · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

I initially thought that with the commencement of school term this week,  blogs will post about the return of heavy traffic on the roads. However, in reality, some blogs were debating about the new education system being implemented in the country: the SPN 21,  an acronym for Sistem Pendidikan Negara Abad ke-21 or the 21 Century National Education System. The system that will come into force by 2011,  is now being implemented in stages.
Brunei Lifestyle attended a briefing on the new education system and shared with the readers on what it is all about:
- As from this year, secondary classes is now known as Year instead of Form, so Form 1 is Year 7;
– PMB, the Penilaian Menengah Bawah – the public exam for Form 3 will be scrapped as from 2011;
– At the end of Year 8, students who achieved an overall result (academic and extra-curricular activities and projects) of 70% and above will have an option to do their ‘O’-level in four instead of five years;
– Gifted students have the chance to be sent to Singapore to go to specialized schools there to do their ‘O’-levels.
– After Year 10 or 11, students can go to a specialized stream such as Art & Design, Nursing or Vocational;
– Students will be encouraged to develop their creativity and interest;
– Reading will be emphasized as from Year 1.
– There will be no repeaters, subject to the students achieving an 80% and above for their school attendance.
The blogger is of the view that
Some are confident about the system while others said they are not ready as some of the subjects offered in the new system are specialized such as music and design. Others said that promoting the students to proceed to the following year will make the students lazier as they know they will still be promoted.
A local teacher, Cigu Maisarah posted her views on SPN 21: it is either a challenge or a burden.
SPN21 ini memang menyusahkan guru. Sebahagian daripada jumlah peratus daripada jumlah markah yang terkumpul daripada kerja rumah, projek, ujian bagi setiap subjek akan disatukan dengan peratus markah dari peperiksaan akhir tahun.
However, she is also of the view that
Dengan adanya sistem sedemikian, anak-anak yang cenderung dalam bidang akademik dapat meneruskan ke tahap yang lebih tinggi.
Cheng Ho sees the SPN21 as an important milestone for Brunei education system and
is confident that the 21st Century National Education System (SPN21) is the answer for ensuring a better future for the students of Brunei Darussalam as the SPN21 has all the ingredients for preparing the students to meet the new global challenges.
I tend to agree with Cheng Ho as the SPN 21 marks the dawn of a new  era for education in Brunei that allows students to specialise their education after Year 10.  It will also provide the students with a global edge especially in entering the global labour market.

author: Senor Pablo


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A Project named “Send Love to Iran” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

BriAnna Olson is an American artist who uses “Send Love to Iran” as an attempt to see the Islamic Republic of Iran through the eyes of a contemporary American artist. The project had its unlikely beginnings at the foot of the World Trade Center on the 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when BriAnna stood with a sign that read “Unconditional Love is Global Security”. BriAnna recently went to Tehran with fellow multimedia artist, Michael Pope. They met with many artists, curators, and even clerics. Much of their experience was chronicled and transmitted live online, creating a place for themselves in the world of Citizen Media.
Below, is their video film from Mellat Park in northern Tehran:
Mellat Park // Northern Tehran from brianna olson on Vimeo.
BriAnna Olson shares her experiences with the project in an interview with Global Voices.
Q: Why did you chose “Send Love to Iran” as your project, and what does it mean?
The project began on what was essentially a dare – a stranger, an American woman, chastised me for holding a sign reading “Unconditional Love is Global Security”. It was the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and I was standing silently at the foot of the World Trade Center site amongst protesters, mourners and passersby. This woman instantly pointed an angry finger at Iran, was citing World Wars and told me I should go there and “…see what love you feel over there”. Since this woman was a seemingly educated member of the American upper-middle class, I was fascinated by her thought process. For one, she had interpreted a philosophical statement as something offensive and had clearly taken it personally. For two, her immediate reference of Iran gave me the feeling she was a consumer of exclusively mainstream media. And for three, she behaved as if she knew more about Iran than I did, but I was convinced she'd never actually been there.
Also, let me say, I started out knowing very, very little about Iran. I'm very American, raised in a small Christian Protestant town and am half-Cuban / half-Caucasian. My school curriculum taught me nothing about the Middle East or Asian history so I really came into this project with almost a blank slate.
I decided that I would take the woman's advice and go to Iran, but that I'd make a project out of it and let the world keep tabs on my findings. I wanted an innocuous name for the project. Also, being an adamant believer in ‘you get what you give’, I wanted to announce that my intentions were based in humanity and I was not going to go to Iran to “fix” anything.
Q: Iran has not been an easy place for Iranian artists. Recently a gallery was shut down, accused of exposing immoral photos. You met with Iranian artists and visited art galleries and a museum. How do Iranian artists express themselves and face challenges?
Yes, I just discussed this incident via email with a gallery owner from Tehran. I'm not condoning the government's actions, but the issue was that the gallery had not gone through a permit procedure – a technicality that is often overlooked, but the government clamped down on because they did not get to approve, and there were religious sayings on the artworks.
Generally, Iranian galleries police themselves – anything that might be deemed ‘immoral’ would be kept in the backroom and not on display. This generally keeps everyone happy. Some artwork is ‘for export only'… meaning it is shipped out of the country to places like Dubai or Istanbul for exhibition, or it's distributed online.
I think that there is more of an appreciation for private life in Tehran, for obvious reasons, and I do believe most artists do get to fully express themselves in private venues such as homes, private collections, or private galleries. That is of course, barring social taboos that might prevent any artist anywhere in the world from fully expressing themselves.
The real challenge is making that art visible to the public, which I believe is a crucial function of art and creative expression. The internet can provide a great venue and though the government has placed a number of blocks on various websites, there will always be people that can get around them. And there are many, many alternatives to YouTube and MySpace.
I think an interesting side-effect of government control is that it has forced Iranian artists to take their voices onto a global platform, which benefits everyone, really.
Q: You have a blog, Send my Love to Iran, where you publish photos and video clips. How do people (American and non-American) answer to your posts. Do Iranian artists use citizen media to express their ideas and expose their works?
Americans and non-Americans have responded differently to the project since its conception. Non-Americans usually showed no hesitation and would say something to the effect of “I'd love to go to Iran – I'm jealous” and American's responded with “Are you crazy? Why would you want to do that?”. The thought of traveling to Iran seems very threatening to many Americans (blame it on the whole “Death to America” thing). But since being back, I think many who've heard my story have softened their view of the country. We had a great big “Show & Tell” with a group of about 60 artists in Boston and after seeing many pictures and hearing many stories, everyone was very celebratory. It's as if we could only make a case that Iran ‘isn't so bad’ after returning safely.
All in all, I think people really appreciate the alternate information source and different perspective on Iran.
As for citizen media, LifeGoesoninTehran.com is a great photoblog by an Iranian artist living in Tehran. Really, another great perspective by someone that also lived in California for years. I think there should be more blogs like this, and possibly there are in Farsi (I don't speak Persian). I'd love it if there were more visible and consistent citizen media coming from Iranian artists, but I think there is still an element of paranoia and an avoidance of any kind of governmental attention.
Q: Many Westerners go to Iran and say that the country they visit is different than what Western media shows. Did you have same feeling? Do you think citizen media can fill the gap?
Yes, by the time we made it to our hotel it was clear that our impression of Iran was inaccurate. I think not only is there a Western bias, but also, the private nature of Iranian lifestyle is antithetical to ‘media broadcast’.
And, yes, I believe citizen media can fill the gap. If there were more of a willingness to share from the hearts and minds of Iranians, in simple blog or livejournal form, I believe someone might be able to curate and translate those thoughts for a more accurate portrait of modern Iran.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Angola: With Ebola Around the Corner, Borders Are Closed · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

Due to a new outbreak of the ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Angolan government has decided to shut down the border the two countries share, in an attempt to prevent the deadly virus entering the nation's territory. Thus, the constant migratory movement between Lunda Norte (a province in the northeast of the country) and DR Congo has been summarily suspended. It should be noted that the province of Lunda Norte is a gold mining area, a magnet for migrant workers. Nelo de Carvalho [pt] writes at Blog do Nelo Ativado about the border restrictions and the challenges the government faces:
“Dizer que as fronteiras devem ser fechadas temporáriamente e que ninguém deve entrar e sair para fora do país, usando aquela direcção ou região fronteiriça. Nem mesmo o mosquito da dengue e se entrar, deve ser perseguido. É estratégia que qualquer infante usaria nas suas horas de brincadeira de soldado ou guerrilheiro, ou até de general. Por isso, não temos autoridade nem competência para dar palpites. A não ser desejar sorte e torcer para que tudo saia bem. Neste início de ano, aos angolanos desejamos sorte, com ébola ou sem ébola”.
According to the Angolan Secretary of Health, the government is preparing to inform the public about the plan put in place to prevent infection by this powerful virus. These measures will be implemented, in addition to Lunda Norte, in the Moxico, Malanje, Uige and Lunda Sul provinces. It is believed there have been about 40 cases of ebola, with over 10 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last two months.
Two years ago, also coming from DR Congo, namely from the Western Kasai province, the virus caused the death of about 180 people. The Lampeirota blog lamments this situation:
“De vez em quando a doença é falada. É costume meu não ficar a pensar no assunto, escudada na ideia de que é improvável que ela me apanhe a jeito.
É incorrecto. Hoje já não podemos ter certezas dessas. Tudo chega a todo o lado, rapidamente.
Lamento muito por aquela gente que está a defrontar-se com tal inimigo.
Não é a morte que me assusta. É o caminho até ela”
This [way of thinking] is wrong. Today we can no longer be sure of things like this. It reaches everywhere, quickly.
I am very sorry for those people who are facing this enemy.
It is not death that scares me. It is the road towards it “
According to the WHO representative in Angola, Diosdado Nsue-Micawg, it is suspected that the handling of dead monkeys in the forests of DR Congo is the basis of the reappearance of the disease. Although fortunately there are no cases of Ebola in Angola, the health secretary says the country is prepared to deal with any eventuality because of its experience with Marburg haemorrhagic fever, a less dangerous virus similar to ebola.
This is the fourth time that the ebola virus has broken out in DR Congo, since the first in 1976. The highly infectious disease causes fever, vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding. In 2005 329 people died from Marburg in Angola's northern town of Uige, close to the border with DR Congo.
Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of the RNA filovirus that causes Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. Photo courtesy CDC/Cynthia Goldsmith. By Flickr user hukuzatuna

author: Clara Onofre


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Anguilla, St. Kitts: Financial Confidentiality  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I always thought my correspondence with my bank was supposed to be private”: Corruption-free Anguilla discovers that not every bank is necessarily meeting its confidentiality obligations.


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Azerbaijan: Tea · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan introduces its readers to the tea ceremony in Azerbaijan. The blog says that the country might be one of the world's highest per capita consumers of tea and examines the tradition of how the drink is served. It also looks at the cultural role of tea-houses in Azerbaijan.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Bahrain: Role of Web 2.0 in Gaza War  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Global Voices Online‘s Jillian York speaks to Bahraini Esra'a at Mideast Youth on the role of Web 2.0/social networking sites in reporting the current conflict in Gaza.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bangladesh: Power from Human · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhaboghure Jhor (Vagrant Storm) has a brilliant idea to solve the power problem in Bangladesh using surplus population: “We will mount thousands of cycle in a building and generators will be connected with them. So instead of moving forward the paddlers will rotate the shaft of the generator by cycling and produce power.”

author: Rezwan


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Bhutan: Change In Politics Leads To Change In Culture · Global Voices
Rezwan

Freedom in Bhutan informs that the change in politics in Bhutan has brought changes in protectionist policies related to culture such as ‘One Nation One People’ and Driglam Namzha (dress and language etiquette).


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Brazil: “Lightness, harmony and joy in the Middle East” · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Brazilian photographer and designer Marcos Pacheco [pt] has uploaded amazing pictures of Jordan. “The result of my trip through Jordan, near Gaza, where once again there is now deadly war, is in these image. I hope you like “Jordan” the visual essay. There are lightness, harmony and joy in the Middle East, I saw them.” Via VioMundo twitter.

author: Paula Góes


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Cambodia: Liberation Day or Invasion Day?  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

On January 7, 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia was ousted from power. The Communist regime was accused of ordering the mass slaughter of more than 1 million Cambodians. Last week the Cambodian government marked the 30th year of the downfall of the Khmer Rouge. But opinion is divided whether this day should be celebrated as Liberation Day or Invasion Day since Vietnam, which helped in removing the Khmer Rouge, occupied Cambodia until 1988.
Prime Minister Hun Sen insists January 7, 1979 was a victory over genocide. He criticizes those who refuse to honor the occasion:
“This is the truth of history that even those unwise groups and extremist groups must acknowledge this truth. If you dare not acknowledge the truth, you are not a human being, you are a real animal. This is the truth. If we didn’t have the 7th January 1979, we will not have today.”
But Sophan Seng explains why not all Cambodians are joining the government in the celebration:
“To celebrate this day is not significantly representing Cambodians as the whole nation. It is only celebrated by the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), which has been in power since the day of January 7, 1979.
“It has not been generally accepted by the Cambodian people. Whatever theme each celebration expects to achieve, those themes still belong to the CPP, and it is truly reminding Cambodian people of the brutality, the foreign invasion and the nonstop division among Cambodian nationals.”
Modern Progressive Khmer mentions Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia after January 7, 1979:
“January 7th did in fact stop the killing, but Cambodia was not free. Vietnam occupied Cambodia; therefore, by definition Cambodia was not liberated. This is why the word “liberation” has a major semantic problem. One cannot call oneself a liberated being if one is not free to determine one’s destiny. Liberation could not be further from the truth. The world knows that Cambodia was under Vietnam’s control from the day it invaded Cambodia until it was pressured to withdraw.”
The opposition believes the true day of liberation came on Oct. 23, 1991 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed. Opposition lawmaker Sam Rainsy raises another point:
“Celebrating January 7 without having in mind a broader historical perspective, is playing into the hands of the current Phnom Penh regime whose only raison d'être was to “free” the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge with communist Vietnam's decisive but not unselfish help.”
The Son of the Empire provides an initial roundup of views about the issue. Khmerization uploads pictures of the government-led celebration of the event last week.

author: Mong Palatino


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Central America: Panama and Honduras Free Trade Agreement · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The recent Panama-Honduras Free Trade Agreement went into effect on January 9 and will help facilitate 80% of the trade between the two Central American nations writes Honduras News.

author: Eduardo Avila


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China: Blogging for Change · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Although  Bullog.cn, one of the most influential independent blog hosting platform in China, has been shut down under the pretext of internet cleaning of smut, a number of prominent bloggers declared that they would continue to speak. A few days ago, Sohu, a commercial blog hosting company, hosted a blogger dinner, in which a number of prominent bloggers took off from the official topic “how blogging has changed our lives” to discuss the role of bloggers / public intellectuals in social and political transformation.  Blackeyequeen has posted the transcript of a round table by a number of prominent bloggers in China. It is a very significant conversation and record on political bloggers’ aspiration for changes and China blog culture. Below is a selective translation of the transcript.
We must Blog
刘晓原:有条件的网友要多开博客
博客是个好东西，我开过20多个博客，现在经常使用的还有十多个。08年我的博客关注社会事件和法制案件。最后杨佳案虽然让我失望，但是参与至少还算留下了一些痕迹。我为杨佳案写过140多篇博客。我还关注过汶川地震能否预测的问题，关注过那些死难的教师，为此我还给教育部写过信。如果没有博客，我想发表一个观点，就得去找媒体记者。但是博客改变了这一程序，现在是媒体记者主动找我。所以，我希望有条件的网友多开博客，把你的观点通过博客表达出来。
Blogging is great, I have opened more than 20 blogs, and more than a dozen of them are still active. In 2008, my blogs concern about social and legal issue. Although I was disappointed by the Yang Jia case, my writings leave traces of the incident. I have written more than 140 blog post for Yang Jia. I also concern about Wenchuan earthquake, whether or not it is predictable and the teachers who had killed in the disaster and I wrote to the education ministry on this. If blogs didn't exist, I have to talk to journalists to express my idea. But a blog changes the process, now the journalists approach me. That's why I wish netizens with resources can open more blogs and express your own opinion.
艾未未：在偶然的机会，我开了博客，那时候我都不会用电脑打字……杨佳的母亲王静梅，一个很老实的人，试着开过一个博客，但是后来关了……可见，博客是个了不起的东西。一个人的文字，竟然使人感到如此恐惧。一个人一生中最强大的武器，就是博客。人类从猴子演变到人以后，博客我们遇到的最好的东西。这也是中国在实现公民社会和民主化之前，自我形成的一种民间形态，它是松散的。它总有一天会把我们带到一个美好的世界。所有坚持写博客的人都是我最尊敬的人。
叶匡政：博客正在使文化事件和社会事件的边缘越来越模糊
我在06年10月开始写博客。博客改变了我的生活，之前我一直写诗，但现在却开始写文章了，有时候一个星期写十篇。博客正在使文化事件和社会事件的边缘越来越模糊。比如报纸想让我写年终文化总结，我就问他们，你说周正龙事件究竟是文化事件还是社会事件？其实，我们过去经典的知识空间，在博客时代发生了转变。前一段时间，我看到一个美国人提出的概念非常好，他说，博客迎来了2.0版本的公共知识分子的时代。西方的学术分科在西方不超过三百年的历史。中国没有美国格林威治村的时代，那时代的知识分子只对公众发言。我觉得博客是虚拟的美国格林威治村，但博客里弥漫的精神还是波西米亚风格。
过去，时评是新闻的一个门类，博客如果再过十年，也许会成为一个经典作品。我认为网络时代对知识分子的改变是巨大的，它改变了知识分子只面对同行的状态。比如艾未未老师。
I started blogging in Oct 2006. Blogging changed my life. I used to write poems and now I write article as well. Sometimes I write up to 10 articles in a week. A blog blurs the boundary between cultural and social incident. For example, when the newspapers asked me to write a year-end round up on culture, I asked them whether Zhou Shenglong's fake tiger incident is a cultural or social incident. Our knowledge has been transformed in the blog era. I came across some ideas from an American who said blogging has opened the era of 2.0 public intellectual. The division of academic discipline only have 300 years of history in the West. Chinese haven't experienced the Greenwich Village era in the U.S, when intellectuals only spoke to the public. Blogs are like a virtual Greenwich Village, but the spirit is filled with Bohemian style.
In the past, commentary is a category of news, maybe in a decade, blogs can become classic. The internet era has brought enormous change to the intellectuals, the intellectuals are no longer speaking to each others. Ai Weiwei is a good example.
加藤嘉一：博客是一个中国特色的东西
说博客改变中国是有一定道理的。博客是一个中国特色的东西。我在日本，在我所呆过的澳大利亚、美国，绝对不会发生这样的情况，我从一个老外的角度去说，在中国，各种思想都处在一个无序的状态，用日本话说，媒体、博主、读者都处在一种三位一体的碰撞中。它是为中国带来巨大变革的一个重要因素。
在中国实名博客比较多，日本比较少。这跟日本人的国民信仰有关系。中国的老百姓希望通过博客这个平台来提升自我，无论是知名度，还是思考能力。这在我看来是很新鲜的。虽然日本的因特网发展比中国要好。在日本，没有人通过博客去参与重大事件。
It is reasonable to say that blogging has changed China. On the other hand, blogging is something with Chinese characteristic. I speak from the perspective of a foreigner who come from Japan and have been to Australia and the U.S, no where else resemble what's happening here. In China, ideas don't have an order, in Japanese term, media, blogger and readers are clashing with each others. It is a crucial factor to bring change to China.
In China, there are more real name bloggers than in Japan. This is related to Japanese national belief. While in China, people want to elevate themselves via the blog platform, in terms of fame and thought. This is very new to me. Although the development of the internet in Japan is much more advance than China, but we don't participate in social incident via blogging.
吴怀尧：博客写作要“情欲信而辞欲巧”
博客的真正意义是自由，没有对错。博客有一种“毛泽东上井冈山”的意义。当然博客，我们还远远没有意识到它的价值。电视和纸媒还是一种人为的灌输，但是博客给了我们交流的空间。对在现实生活中缺少交流的博主们来说，博客带给他们一个寻找同类项的机会。
博客还带来了一种世俗化的东西，对于我个人来说，还有名利，很多人知道你在做什么事情，并且认可你。当你找到了一个志同道合的人，这是很难得的。
我有时候随便点到一个博客，肯定有一句话可以让我吃惊。但是被展现的博客终究是少的，那么，拿到话语权的人，你是不是可以替另外一些人发言？这也是我向艾老师致敬的一个原因。
关于知识分子的博客，公共知识分子的心是蒙尘的。我曾经是财经时报的封面报道记者，所以我对传统媒体比较了解，他们在采访的时候，只判断这个人是不是有名气。那些真正有想法的人，因为沉默，所以被埋没。而那些三流的人，因为会折腾，获得了名气，传媒就会采访它，所以形成了一种恶性循环。所以，这就是我为什么在2008年为什么做怀尧访谈录的原因。我的采访标准就是，你对这个国家对这个社会有没有贡献。
搜狐博客是一个令人尊敬的博客，它有一些让你会觉得人文关怀的东西在。它关注人、人的生活、人的命运。这也是我为什么跟搜狐合作做“怀尧访谈录”的原因，因为我终究是在跟搜狐背后的人交往，我很荣幸能遇到有才华有想法的编辑们。
牛博网被关闭，让我们反思，如何在写作中做到“情于达而辞于巧”。在这方面，叶匡政老师应该很有心得。
The value of blogging is freedom, regardless of right or wrong. The meaning of a blog is similar to “Chairman Mao on Jinggangshan”. Most of us are not aware of its value. T.V and newspapers are one-sided indoctrination, while blogging gives us space to exchange. For bloggers who don't have much opportunity to exchange, blogging gives them a chance.
Blogging also brings something secular, for me, it is fame and fortune, many people know what you are doing and recognize your effort. It is very precious to find like-minded people.
Quite often I am surprised by what i read in others’ blogs. However, not so many bloggers have visibility, for those who have the discursive power, can they speak for others? This is the very reason why I respect Ai Weiwei so much.
As for intellectual blogger, the heart of public intellectual is covered with dust. I used to be a reporter in a financial magazine, and I know about the traditional media. When they interview a person, they make the judgment based on whether this person is famous or not. Those people with brilliant idea have been buried. Those third rated people, as they know how to zhe-teng (toss), they gain fame and the traditional media will interview them. This is a vicious circle. That's why in 2008, I published the Huai-yao interview, my criteria for the interview is based on whether or not the person has genuine contribution to the country and society.
Sohu blog is respectable, it contains humanitarian content. It concerns about human, people's life and fate. That's why I work with Sohu in the “Huai-yao Interview” project. I am honored to work with the talented editors.
The shut down of Bullog.cn gives us some reflections. How can we write with sophistication in order to deliver our message and feeling? Ye Kuang-zheng should be very experienced in this.
Resist against brain damage commentary
马少华：我们处于大众批评社会的时代
我原来是在新闻媒体做评论工作的，现在在中国人民大学教新闻评论。我个人的博客，用来和学生交流。我的博客是在06年建立的，这得益于赵牧老兄的鼓舞。
两年前，我结束了在北京青年报的时评写作。后来写作的意识越来越淡，但是表达的意志还很强烈。朋友和同学提出的问题，对我教学方面的成长有很多贡献。我在做职务写作的时候，都没有叶匡政一周写十篇这样的冲动，何况搜狐博客并不开稿费。
几周前，同学也问我对叶匡政这篇脑残文章发表看法。我也发表了一些看法。我觉得，在搜狐文化传媒博客群，我看到了除职业写作者之外，各个学科背景的人都在进行一种批评社会的写作。
Originally, I was a commentary writer in news media. Now I teach in Renmin University on news commentary. My blog is to facilitate my exchange with students. Questions raised by students and friends help me to improve my teaching. However, even when I was paid for my writing, I didn't have the impulse like Ye Kuang-shen to write 10 articles in a week, not to mention that I don't gain any profit in the Sohu blog.
A few weeks ago, some students asked me to comment on the article on “brain-damage” written by Ye Kuang-she, I have expressed my opinion. My feeling is that among the Sohu bloggers, apart from the occupational writers, many people with different disciplines are writing social critique.
叶匡政：脑残的概念是日本传来的。现在的年轻人创造了很多词。它们是时髦的。我就把这个概念引入到了时评当中，现在大部分时评是脑残体，这与年轻人创造的新词汇与异曲同工之妙。有时候我们进行工具性的探讨，会更容易普及一些。时评，在中国，将有可能成为一种经典文体。我只想通过这个对时评的本体进行探讨。我希望每年会有评论性的协会，来评出每年一个的经典系列。
刘新征：无专业背景的时评存在的价值在哪里
我经常跟编辑说，少推一些单纯的时政评论性文章。我想跟马老师交流，我刚才在发言中，也提到对社会各个阶层人的信息化，如果这些信息化都完成了，那么时评人的作用还体现在哪里？有医疗事件，我们找医生来评论，作为时评作者，即非当事人，又没有专业背景，那么时评继续存在的价值在哪里？
I often tell editors to push less simple current affair commentaries to the front page. Ma Shaohua also pointed out that with the penetration of information technology to different social strata, the function of commentary writers is in question. When there is a medical incident, we have doctors writing commentary, while the current affair commentators are without such professional background, what is then the value of commentary?
马少华：我先谈谈对叶匡政文章的看法。所谓脑残，自身又在从事这份写作，这是有冲突的。他对网络时评一个非常高的评价，他在中国文章史的框架下，来谈论时评的价值。叶匡政的判断，还需要验证，但是我作为一个老师，对他表示感谢，他增强了人的信心。从写诗歌到时评，除叶匡政外，这样的人在八十年代也有一位，叫邵燕祥。后来还有沙叶新等。叶匡政的激烈言论和风格给相对封闭的写作群体带来的冲击是值得欢迎的，甭管他的文章伤害了哪些人，甭管这些文章在逻辑上有哪些矛盾，时评界需要这样的冲击。在社会的各个领域各个学科背景下的人，只要参与写作，都是对这个文体的贡献。
Role of intellectual
王晓阳：知识分子的天职就是批评
我是“搜狐汉奸”王晓阳。我的博客自我介绍就是 “汉奸，经爱国贼认证”。现在，白痴、爱国贼们已经把汉奸给弄成一个半褒半贬的词语了。只要白痴、爱国贼还像现在这么多，我就准备继续汉奸下去，帮白痴、爱国贼一把，直到把汉奸这个词弄成完全的褒义。
我写博客，主要目的是发泄和意淫。我在自我说明中说了，工作中说鬼话屁话官话，博客上说点人话。这是真的。直到今天，我依然在工作中说鬼话屁话官话，去拍马屁挣钱，因为我得生存。但是在博客上，我说的都是真话。
刚才大家都说到时评的批评功能。我认为，知识分子的天职就是批评。老爷们说往东，我们就要立刻指出往东的害处；老爷们说往西，那我们就要立刻说往西的弊病；老爷说往南，我们同样说往南有什么毛病。也就是说，为了批评而批评。
今天很荣幸，见到很多令我尊重的很多博主。比如马少华老师。刚才我出卖了马老师，他跟我聊天说一会可能要先走。他话音刚落，我就立刻去出卖他，告诉幸知说赶快逮住马老师发言。我对少华老师非常尊重，这是一种带着批评的尊重。我认为，时评首先应该抱着干预社会、改变社会的目的去做。而少华老师有点沉迷于象牙塔，过于玩弄时评的技巧。我很希望马老师带出一批勇于改变社会的学生来。
关于马少华与叶匡政关于时评脑残的争论，我欣赏马少华的一句话，他说我欢迎你的攻击。马老师的这句话，反映出他的性格，其中也含有比较隐蔽的反击力量。我认为，人人都要尊重别人的话语权。欢迎攻击，这是一种胸怀。
还有一个就是艾未未老师。艾老师是当代艺术家，我对当代艺术有着很深的偏见，可能与我见到的所谓当代艺术大多以“做怪”为创造手段有关。多数艺术家上梁山为的是招安，蔡国强张艺谋就美滋滋地携手被招安了，抛弃了伪装。
很多人，包括我在内，了解艾未未老师，并不是因为他的当代艺术，而是因为他关于杨佳的那些博文。艾老师观点犀利，文笔精妙，我是佩服得不行。还有一点，我想强调，在座的可能大多数跟我一样，出身草根，而艾未未老师不是。以他的出身，完全可以像大多数衙内一样，相互勾结，在体制内谋取金钱、地位等等，但他却是跳离体制，主动投身草根，为良心呼吁，这是令人感动的一种境界。
I am “Chinese traitor in Sohu” Wang Xiaoyang. My self introduction in my blog is “Traitor, certified by patriotic thief”. Now, the idiots, patriotic thieves have turned “traitor” into a semi-prasing term. As long as so many idiots and patriotic thieves exist, I will continue to act as traitor, helping the idiots and patriotic thieves to turn the word to a praise.
My reason to blog is to express frustration and indecent thought. I have explained, in my daily work I speak in ghost language, fart in official tongue, while in my blog I will speak human language. I really mean it. Up till now, I still speak in ghost language and fart in official tongue. I flatter to make a living. But in my blog, I speak the truth.
Just now, everyone is discussing about the function of commentary. In my opinion, the duty of intellectual is to criticize. When the lords say go east, we have to point out the danger of going east. When the lords say go west, we have to point out the problem of going west; When the lords say go south, we still talk about the negative side of the south. We criticize for the sake of criticism.
Today, I am honored to meet so many respectable bloggers. For example Ma Shaohua. I just betrayed him, he told me that he might have to leave early and I betrayed him immediately by telling the organizer to grab him to speak first. I respect Shaohua very much, and my respect come along side with my criticism. In my opinion, the objective of commentary is to intervene and change society, while Shaohua is a bit obsessed with the ivory tower and focuses too much on the technique of commentary. I hope Ma can encourage his student to act on the direction of changing the society.
Concerning the debate between Ma Shaohua and Ye Kuangshen on brain-damage, I appreciate the Ma's saying that “I welcome your attack”. It reflects his character and his will to fight back. Everyone should respect others’ right to speak, should welcome attack. This a kind of open-mindedness.
As for Ai Weiwei, he is a contemporary artist, and I have very deep prejudice against contemporary art, probably because i have seen too many “obscured” style. Most of the artists are at Liang Shan to wait for reckon from the government, Cai Guoqiang and Zhang Yimu have merrily been reckoned and abandoned their hypocritical dresses.
Many of us, including myself, get to understand Ai Weiwei, not because of contemporary art, but due to his blog post about Yang Jia. Ai's opinion is very strong and his writing style is brilliant. It is hard not to look up on him. I want to stress that most of the people here, like myself, are from the grassroots. Ai Weiwei is not. His family background could have given him relation for gaining status and monetary interest. But he chooses to detach from the system, join the grassroots and speak his conscience. This is really touching.
I also respect lawyer Liu Xiaoyuang very much. His writing is not as good as Ai Weiwei, but he has very good insight and he is very hardworking, the 140 posts to speak on behalf of Yang Jia reflects a lofty state of mind. He also earns my utmost respect.
I still want to stress that criticism is the duty of intellectual. There are many different types of bloggers, entertainment, finance, sport, current affair, etc. In China, the most valuable bloggers are the political blogger, I don't need to explain the reason.
Politics is like air, no one can be escaped from that. Under the current situation, intellectuals who don't care about politics are shameless. Thank you.
艾未未：人拿知识作为竞争手段是很羞耻的
现代艺术是现代文化的一部分，现代文化最大的特征是自由化、个人化和个人的觉悟，在这点上，现代艺术是不可能被批评掉的。对于批评本身，我的看法是有人谈比没人谈好。我觉得刚才提到的是整个现象，而不光是中国艺术家、文化人丧失立场、丧失觉悟引起的反应。
中国与知识有关的人，最重要的一个特征就是寻求真实、寻求真理。我们怎么看待我们自己的身份，这种意识形态对我们人的生存状态、品质有什么影响？中国有知识的人，由于教育，仅把知识作为个人财富或名誉积累的一种手段，人拿知识作为竞争手段的时候，确实是很羞耻的一件事。
如果一个拥有知识的人在大的伦理或是是非面前不能够发表自己的看法，确实是一个民族或是一个国家的悲剧。有了互联网、博客以后我相信人们才逐渐习惯于这种表达。因为这种表达的权利在很长一段时间丧失了。
刚才的专业人士和时评人争论，让我想起一百年前的“问题”还是“主义”之争。说老实话，由于我们都脱离不了时政，所以时政我们都卷进去了，因此我们都热衷于谈些抽象的时政概念，或者说这方面我们是非常不专业的，但是生活的每一天、每一件事都是不可躲避的，所以说完全的专业化也是不存在的。
中国所有的专业都是被政治所影响的专业，我们也看到三鹿的问题并不是专业医生能解决的问题，地震的问题也不并是建筑师能解决的问题。在今天死去孩子的数字、名字仍然是作为国家的机密在保护，不能公布。我们就想到如果死去的人名字都不能公布，这是什么问题，我们不关心这样的问题那还有什么专业性的问题，如果我们不能说豆腐渣这几个字是什么意思，那我们真的遇到一个寸步难行的问题。所以尽管有许多歪路但我们还是要走下去。在真正的路走出来之前，我们就是一直在各种歪路上穿来穿去的一些人。
Modern art is part of modern culture. The character of modern culture is liberalization, individualization and self-reflectiveness. That's why we cannot negate modern culture totally. On the subject of criticism, it is good to have the discussion. What have been mentioned just now is an overall phenomena, it is not just a reaction to Chinese artists and the lack of self-reflectiveness and political positioning among cultural elites.
In China, people who are dealing with knowledge should seek the truth. How do we look at our own identity and how does such idea affects our existence and character? However, many people with knowledge, because of the existing education, only regards knowledge as a tool to compete with others for personal wealth and fame, this is really shameful.
If intellectuals withhold their opinion in major ethical issue, it would be a tragedy for the nation and its people. With the help of the internet and blog, I think people would slowly get used to such kind of expression. We have been deprived of the right of expression for a long time.
The debate between professional and commentators reminds me of the debate happened a hundred years ago over “problem” or “ideology”. We can't escape from current social issue and politics, we are all part of it, that's why we are eager to discuss the abstracted political concept. Maybe we are not very professional in our discussion, however, we cannot escape from our life and all the happenings. And we can't be professional in all aspects.
All the professionals in China are affected by politics. We see that the poisonous milk problem of Sanlu cannot be solved by professional doctors, the earthquake problem also cannot be solved by architects. Today, the death toll of children and their names in the earthquake are still national secret, cannot be disclosed. If we cannot even disclose the name of the dead, what is the issue at stake? It is not related to professional issue. If we cannot discuss what's behind “Soy pulp construction”, we cannot move forward. Although our paths have been blocked, we still need to go on, before we walk our way out, we will continue to explore all the possible tracks.
张天蔚：我的博客很杂乱，博客对我来说是一个私人空间，我没有雄心通过博客影响社会。我的博客没有什么固定的风格，如果我的博客被推荐，我会有被吓到的感觉。刚才刘新征提到“没有专业背景的时评家写作有什么意义”的问题，我作为一个专业的时评人，每天都在写着叶匡政说的脑残文体。《北京青年报》的四个评论人，也都没有专业的背景。
最近两三年以来，具有专业背景的时评人确实十分活跃，对于绝大多数老百姓来说，社会发生的许多事情对每个人生活都有影响，从常识角度，每个人都生活在社会里，无论是经济事件还是法律事件对你的生活都有直接的影响，每个人都会做出基于你的常识、经验、感情的判断。西方有所谓意见领袖这种概念，这种意见领袖有可能是基于专业背景的，也有可能是基于受众最普遍的情感。如果你的评论真的能够传达出在这件事上绝大多数老百姓心中的感受，那就还是有价值的。
我想解释下脑残文体，我在《北京青年报》写时评已经写了七、八年了，可能是坚持这个文体时间最长的人之一了，发在报纸评论版头条的社论真的是非常困难。时评对语言的包装跟形成别扭的表达方式跟言论空间有非常大的关系。公开发表在平面的时评从不会批评说“党”，所有对党的讨论会转换成政府，政府这个词还不行就会转换成“行政权利”。经过长期的摧残之后，可能这个人就真的脑残了。
In the past two to three years, those commentators with professional background are really active. To most people, everything in the society will affect each of their life. Our common sense tells us, every member of the society will be affected by economic and legal incident, and everyone will react according to their common sense, experience and emotion. In the West, they have the idea of opinion leaders. This probably because of their professional background or probably based on the reaction of general public. If your commentary can reflect the feeling of ordinary people, that commentary would be valuable.
I want to talk about the brain-damage genre. I have been writing commentary at Beijing Youth Daily for 7-8 years, probably I am the most determined person sticking to this genre. It is very difficult to get commentary published on the front page headline. Commentary is very much framed by language, expression and space for free speech. Commentary on printed media cannot criticize “party”, all discussion would be automatically changed to the term “government”. If the term government becomes too sensitive, then we would change that into “administrative right”. After a long period of repressive environment, the person would probably become brain damaged.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Colombia: No Smoking in Closed Public Spaces in Bogotá · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

It's been more than a month since a law went into effect that prohibited smoking in closed public spaces in Bogotá, Colombia and Diana of La Urbi y El Orbe [es] is pleased.  However, she laments an incident when a smoker killed a bar manager who asked him to extinguish his cigarette.


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Colombia: President Uribe to Receive US Medal of Freedom · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Outgoing U.S. president George W. Bush plans to award Colombian president Álvaro Uribe with the Medal of Freedom.  Adam Isacson of Plan Colombia and Beyond criticizes the selection and wishes that, “a U.S. government would someday offer similar recogntion to Colombia’s thousands of other heroes. The country has no shortage of honest officials, non-governmental watchdogs, social-movement leaders and others who dream of living in a democracy under a strong rule of law.”


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Comparing Illinois governor Blagojevic and his Nigerian counterparts · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Grandiose Parlor draws a parallel between the impeachment of the Illinois State Governor (U.S) Rod Blagojevic over corruption charges, with Nigerian governors: “while the two are corrupt – well, maybe not in equal measures-, the political system in the state of Illinois is able to self-correct, promptly”. The blog also quotes a recent editorial by the Nigerian Guardian.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Costa Rica: Cancelling the Palmares Festival · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Fusil de Chispas [es] asks whether the famous Palmares Festival in Costa Rica should be cancelled because of national mourning for the victims of the recent earthquake.


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Costa Rica: Taking Advantage of Disasters to Make Money · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

During the recent earthquake in Costa Rica, a helicopter company charged 1700 dollars to rescue trapped tourists.  Juan Carlos Hidalgo writes that at first he was disgusted by high fee, but then he said if it wasn't for the company then the tourists would still be trapped [es].


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Crab Stamps from the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

A set of newly issued Philippine stamps depicts recently discovered crabs from the resort island of Panglao.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Cuba, Chile: Official Visit  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Chilean President is scheduled to make a trip to Havana, during which she has declined to meet with a group of dissidents and former political prisoners.  Child of the Revolution is disheartened by the news, saying: “Given Ms Bachelet’s experiences under the Pinochet dictatorship and her long-held commitment to democratic values in Latin America, the decision to travel to Cuba is of concern, and her decision to snub the dissidents is well, disappointing, to say the least.”


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Egypt: Airport Policeman Captured Throwing Bag at Toddler  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Award winning Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas posted a video taken by a tourist at an airport in Egypt, where a policeman is seen throwing a bag at a crowd and hitting a toddler.
The video, taken by an American tourist, is posted here on YouTube:
In an email to Abbas, the tourist writes:
Egyptian police at the port of departure was on a power trip and threw a bag landing on a newborn baby
The officers quickly moved the mother outside with the baby before most of the crown knew what happened
This is just one of many instances of police incompetence and brutality I saw in the 10 days I was there
This is a regime that must not be supported by any country, particularly the US who has used it as their playground for unconstitutional torture
Tourism is the only way that ordinary Egyptians have a chance to make a living, so please support that industry, but the government should be sanctioned and more by Western Powers
Please make your friends aware of the poor conditions the Egyptian people are being held in due to the Military Government
Writing at Egyptian Chronicles, Zeinobia adds:
Look the government can open airports with billions of dollars and still can’t fail to impress the people whether inside or outside with these sort of people in charge. I won’t speak about the Egyptians because we are already third degree citizens in our own country but what about the tourists ?? do you think them blind of what is going on!!? No they do not!!
Open clean multi billion airports won’t enhance the image of Egypt but it is rather the treatment of its citizens by the authorities.


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Global: Online Petitions Launched in Action for Gaza · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Once relegated to the realm of paper and signatures, the petition has gained new meaning, with sites like Petition Online allowing anyone to create one.  As Israel's attacks on Gaza rage on, bloggers opposed to Israel's actions are using blogs and social media to circulate petitions for a number of specific causes.  Others have thought up other innovative ways to make a difference online.
jews sans frontieres, a self-proclaimed “anti-zionist blog,” has posted a petition for sanctions against Israel:
I don't know what this might achieve except maybe to expose the zionist leanings of the UK government which ought to be well known anyway. It's a petition to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (did I mention that he's an honorary patron of the Jewish National Fund?) to introduce sanctions against Israel instead of vetoing UN resolutions and selling Israel arms. It's actually on the PM's own website so I don't know how long it will last. Here's the wording and the number of signatories so far:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Introduce sanctions against Israel. More details
Submitted by Thomas Chant – Deadline to sign up by: 27 January 2009 – Signatures: 9,440
Two American blogs, themcglynn.com and theliberal.net, have also posted a petition, a peace request for President-Elect Obama.  The conclusion reads:
You have spoken out on so many important matters: on plans to save the environment, on plans for the economy, on plans to generate employment, most of all on plans for building and sustaining hope. On your website, you have listed the priorities of your agenda once you take office. During your campaign, you stressed the importance of diplomacy, the need to talk and not make war. Surely, this begins now. And it begins with a plea for peace right now, this very minute.
I wonder, therefore — why this silence? Why have you not spoken out in the name of peace as yet? President-Elect Obama, your voice is heard around the world. So is your silence. Please speak now. Please ask for peace.
You can do it. Yes, you can.
Window into Palestine also has a call to stop the massacre in Gaza:
As of this morning, more than 500,000 petitions have been sent!
Please add your voice to the thousands who are demanding: Stop the massacre in Gaza!
Please help get the word out – pass this message along, post it on local bulleting boards & Indymedia,
Sign the Petition Online Now -
http://www.iacenter.org/gazapetition
Twitter user wfisrael is encouraging Twitter users to sign a petition to withdraw from Israel:
Sabbah Blog takes a more inventive approach, encouraging readers to call the “war criminals” of Israel:
After the successful email campaign, it's time to move to the next level: calling some of the war criminals.
Objectives of this campaign are as follows:
1. Bombard their phone/mobile/fax lines with anti-war, anti-Zionist messages. This can be in the form of calls, faxes or even sms's;
2. Waste the time of these war criminals as much as possible. Some of them are doing nothing else but jumping on the TV screens to spread lies and hatred. They justify killing Palestinian children and civilians;
3. Directly delivering to them the message that we are disgusted by what they are doing and they should stop now;
4. Show them the magnitude of support that Palestinians have after the world witnessed their war crimes in Gaza.
He then lists phone numbers of a number of Israeli officials, including Mark Regev, International Media Adviser to the Prime Minister.

author: Jillian C. York


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India: Who Will Be The Next Prime Minister? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Indian Elections 2009 has some tips on the probable candidates for the post of Prime Minister of India.


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Iran: Two men were stoned to death · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Varesh, an Iran based blogger, says[fa] that Iranian authorities did not keep their promises to stop stoning and two men who had been convicted of adultery were stoned in December.


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Iran: “Ultrasurf is an alternative for Freegate” · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Several Iranian bloggers say Freegate, a software utility that enables surfers from mainland China, Iran, among others, to view websites banned by their government, is not anymore free. They say Ultrasurf is an alternative.


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Iran:Revolutionary Guards and blogging · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Harvard Berkman Center's Internet and Democracy Project blog writes that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards has announced a project to launch 10000 blogs.


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Jordan: Help needed in sending aid to Gaza  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Ali Dahmash says more volunteers are needed to help with organising parcels of aid to Gaza. “Donations are still coming from Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yesterday we unloaded 3 trucks that arrived from Dubai and there are still 25 on the way. The whole process is complicated and I never knew it needed all that logistics and details to organize the donations,” he admits.


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Morocco: The Amazigh People · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

From Warp to Weft shares information about the Amazigh New Year, Yennayer, and of the Amazigh (Berber) people of Morocco.


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Morocco: The Mendacity of Hope · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

A Moroccan About the World Around Him analyzes the actions of US President-Elect Barack Obama in regard to Israel's attacks on Gaza.


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Pakistan: Gentrification in Pakistan · Global Voices
Rezwan

All Things Pakistan tells all about gentrification in Pakistan.


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Palestine: “I don’t have guns or weapons. I struggle by telling the truth” · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In this roundups of blogs from Gaza, we hear how an ambulance driver deals with his fear, the effect of the warning announcements made by the IDF on local TV and radio stations – and how the possibility of leaving Gaza is the only thing giving an NGO worker the strength to go on.
Australian activist Sharyn Lock writes at Tales to Tell:
Tonight, Tuesday, just before I came on shift, I caught a ride with S that turned unexpectedly into the pickup of the body of a resistance fighter. This was in fact the first time in all these days since I began riding with the ambulances, that I saw a fighter in my ambulance. Since it was just the two of us I helped to haul what was left of him – which didn’t involve a head or the top of his torso – onto the stretcher. I was glad of the darkness that blurred the details, though it also made me very aware that our every move in this apparently empty wasteland was probably being observed. […] Later on into the night, medic E asks me more specifically what I had felt when seeing the shaheed resistance guy. […] He begins to talk to me about his own feelings. He is 36, has been a medic for ten years. He has a wife and four children. He says he has never seen anything as bad as these days, in that time. And he says a lot of the time he is very frightened. Sometimes so frightened, if the area is dangerous, that he almost can’t bring himself to continue to drive towards the call-out location. He describes a call-out during the night that we had both been on (perhaps thinking I had observed this hesitation) saying that he first thought he couldn’t do it; he had to stop, talk himself through his fear, and then continue with the collection, expecting a rocket to blow him apart at any moment. It seems that with the drone surveillance technology, they really can send rockets with your name on.
[…]
Tonight, we collect two men carrying a little girl of 13 months. She is still warm, but EB finds no pulse. If I understood correctly, she has had breathing difficulties since she was born, and in the rocket attack that just happened, her mother held her so tight she wasn’t able to get enough air. I ask to clarify this story several times because I want to think I’ve misunderstood.
Prof. Said Abdelwahed, who teaches English at Al-Azhar University, writes at Moments of Gaza:
A medical doctor told me that hundreds of the injured will never recover and return to normal life! I saw a video of a 15 years old girl with legs mutilated from over knees, and another one with one leg remaining, and others … Health situation is deteriorating with the limited capacities of surgery operation rooms and poor available facilities. Some 60-70 doctors from the Arab countries and some European ones, in support of the Palestinian surgeons, is a help but it is still that some injured cannot be treated in Gaza no matter what. … Also, 13 paramedics lost their lives while on duty; many ambulances were shot at when they wanted to save injured and evacuate dead bodies! It's all exclamation marks!
We have been reading the posts of Safa Joudeh (whom you can learn more about here) at the group blog Lamentations-Gaza; some of her diary entries have also been posted on Syria Comment:
The IDF have infiltrated the air waves of local radio stations and TV channels.  As we watch the news all of a sudden the screen goes black and an IDF message appears: “You will witness the unleashing of our wrath!!’.  We turn off the TV and turn to the radio, moments later the broadcasting is interrupted and a harsh voice comes through the speakers: “Leave your area and gather in the center of your town! We are warning you for your own safety! This is the IDF”. Where are people supposed to go? Those in the center of the city such as my family are already being bombarded, and each home is already accommodating at least 1 or 2 families that have fled their areas.  UNRWA shelters are already full and the streets aren’t safe.  So we are people are being forewarned when in reality, they have no option but to stay put.  Many people feel that it would be more merciful not to be warned of the imminent deaths.
[…]
In my home we are taking in as many of our relatives, who live in more dangerous areas, as we can.  At mealtime, several people gather in a couple of circles at 2 tables to eat, as others wait their turn.  We eat in 3 shifts.  When its time to sleep, some people sleep on couches, others in chairs and others on blankets on the floor. During the last 16 days, along with the entire people of Gaza we have learned how to live with the most minimal aspect of comfort, and have experienced the hardships of an impoverished life to their fullest.  When the power lines were fixed 2 days ago, electricity and running water were restored to our homes for 6 hours a day.  The moment the power came on in our neighborhood, you could hear the cries of happiness and celebration coming from every apartment and house within hearing, despite the ongoing bombardment.
Mohammed Ali, who works for the NGO Oxfam, writes on the Oxfam blog from his home in Gaza City:
This morning I heard people chanting outside, I wondered what it was, and then, the lights came on – the electricity had come back on, hurrah! I immediately turned on the television, charged my phone, checked emails. For a moment, I felt somewhat liberated. These things that we often take for granted have become so precious of late. We have no clean water left. Our water tank is empty. My father could not turn away the increasing amount of people knocking at our door with empty jerry cans in hand. He did not realise how much water he had given out until it was too late. Shops are running out of clean water; we were not able to find any in our neighbourhood. We can use the untreated water but we should really boil it first to avoid getting sick, but we face another obstacle; we have very little gas left. We will just have to drink the unsterilised water so that we can save the rest of the gas for cooking food. By the way, if you have never cooked with a gas burner, I can tell you, it makes the food taste of gasoline, the coffee taste of gasoline, we now even smell of gasoline. […] I applied for a scholarship in the UK several months ago. I was expecting to find out in early January whether or not my application was successful. I have been waiting impatiently for days. […] The possibility of going to the UK is giving me the hope I need to live. My wife thinks I am crazy, as I talk to her as if we are definitely going; I describe the friends we will have, the restaurants we will go to, the walks around the parks…at least if I die, I will die with a little hope, the hope that I will have the chance to live a better life, even if for now it is but a dream.
Adham Khalil from Jabaliya Camp, who blogs at Free Free Palestine, has posted an article, originally published at the Electronic Intifada, compiled from his own text messages and phone calls:
Most of the time we don't have any electricity in my house. So when the power comes for an hour or two the whole family is busy. We charge our mobiles, pump water, bake bread. But I have seen so many horrible things on TV that sometimes I wish we could stay without power. So far, my own family is okay but I feel shy to speak about my family. I don't think like that. Everyone in Gaza is my family. We are suffering collectively as we are being punished and forgotten collectively, and we are dying. […] It is not true to say this is a war between Hamas and Israel. I am an eyewitness in Gaza and though you may think that Gaza is a country and Hamas is a great and powerful army, these are lies. The Palestinian factions do not own tanks, warplanes, or warships. They have homemade rockets, simple weapons. They cannot do anything against Israel's great and powerful army. We are living under complete siege with daily killings and our houses destroyed. Hamas and other Palestinian factions are trying to defend Palestinians from the continuing massacres, invasions and air strikes. The Israeli occupation and actions in Gaza are terrorist actions, as are many of their actions and policies dating back to their ethnic cleansing campaign in 1948. I don't have any guns or weapons. I struggle by simply telling the truth.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Palestine: Prank Calling the IDF  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Along with missiles and bombs, Palestinians in Gaza are being bombarded with flyers, asking them to rat out Hamas militants and flee their homes.
Palestinian Jordanian Ali Dahmash wonders where can Gazans flee to. He writes:
On Saturday Israel threw flyers over civilians in Rafah in the south of the Gaza strip. The flyers warned Palestinians to flee their homes. I was wondering where those civilians can flee to. They have no shelters, their only shelters are UN schools, Hospitals, Mosques & Churches that already have been bombed. Israel also bombed the airport more than 6 years ago which is not accessible, the sea is blocked by Israeli battleships and the land borders have been blocked for 2 years now both by Israel and Egypt.
Simply Israel message was “We are coming to kill you!!”
Writing at American-Palestinian group blog KABOBfest, Will notes:
I have not made up mind as to whether the fliers and automated phone calls Israel's military uses to communicate with Gazans are for PR or Psychological Operations purposes. One thing is for sure, they are not to help any Palestinians.
He further adds:
Such communications feed the myth that the Israeli army is humane. The internet stinks from all the forums and discussion boards where pro-Israeli drones claim the flyers and calls are actually helpful, or that they show how far the IDF would go to prevent civilian casualties.
If anything, they only remind Gazans of the callous and ruthless nature of the Israeli regime and the utter and complete disregard it has had for the fate of the Palestinians.
One of the flyers, pictured above and obtained from Electronic Intifada, addresses the inhabitants of Gaza as follows:
“Assume responsibility for your fate! The throwers of rockets and the terrorist are a danger to you and your family. If you wish to provide assistance and help to your families and brothers in Gaza, all you need to do is call the number below to inform is about the location of rocket launchers and the terrorist gangs who have made of you hostages to their operations. The prevention of disaster is now in your hands.”
Upon learning of the flyer, Palestinian Haitham Sabbah also takes action into his own hands and initiates a campaign urging his readers to blitz the emails and phone numbers in the flyers asking Gazans to become informants with messages:
So, what can be done? Simply, I encourage everyone to call above mentioned number (from your land line, mobile phone, Skype, etc.) and say in Hebrew “Atem Poshim, tafsiku laharog palestinayim, Palestien Meshuchreret, Aza meshuchreret.”
The above is an oral Hebrew translation of: “You are Criminals. Stop Killing Palestinians. Free Palestine. Free Gaza.”
Alternatively, use the above mentioned email and attach one of the following photos or album link to show them the result of their war crimes in Gaza.
Meanwhile, an editor at the Palestinian Electronic Intifada took the challenge literally and actually called the number on the flyer – speaking in Arabic to an operative who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim.
Here's a transcript of part of the conversation from Electronic Intifada:
EI: Ok, let's talk … let me give you some of the information and then we'll talk some more. Do you have a pen?
Israeli officer: Yes. I have a pen and I'm writing.
EI I want to give you names of the biggest terrorist organizations, not just in Gaza, but in all Palestine.
Israeli officer: Ok, let's see
EI: Ok, the first one …
Israeli officer: You mean to tell me they're all from Hamas?
EI: All of them are people … you'll see. The first one, his name is Ehud Barak [Israeli minister of defense].
Israeli officer: Ehud Barak? By God there's no one like you …
EI: Second, Gabi Ashkenazi [Israeli army chief of staff]
Israeli officer: Do you know him?
To listen to the podcast, in Arabic, click here:
[display_podcast]
Checkpoint Jerusalem‘s Dion Nissenbaum observes that listening to the phone conversation opens “an interesting window into the minds of the callers on both sides.”


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Palestine: Sameh Habeeb Podcast on Gaza · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Gaza, Sameh Habeeb discusses the latest developments in Gaza in this podcast which appears in Alive in Gaza.


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Russia-Georgia: Tblisi selling out energy supply · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

FP Passport notes that Georgia is selling part of a hydroelectric plant – supplying nearly half the country's energy – to Russia, amidst the gas crisis between Moscow and Kiev.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Spain: Global Voices Lingua Partner Nominated for Web Award · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Many of the Global Voices Lingua sites have been partnering with other media websites to exchange RSS headlines as a way to reach more readers in more languages.  The recent collaboration between Global Voices in Spanish and the Spain-based Periodismo Ciudadano [es] (Citizen Journalism) has been mutually beneficial.
Recently, Periodismo Ciudadano was nominated in the 3rd annual Las Mejores Miradas [es] competition sponsored by TVE (Spanish television) in the category of “Best Internet Project.”
Other projects nominated include Soitu [es], Rockola [es], Vertele [es]. and Minube [es].
On their website, Periodismo Ciudadano  describes itself as striving be the “reference point” for citizen journalism in the Hispanic world.  The founders and collaborators of the site have been involved in various journalism, online media and telecommunications projects:
Periodismo Ciudadano es un lugar para el debate. Desde estás páginas ofreceremos toda la información y recursos que existen sobre periodismo ciudadano, noticias de medios ciudadanos y blogs que tratan estos temas. Es un proyecto abierto a todos los que deseen participar enviando noticias, enlaces, comentando, dialogando o debatiendo sobre esta nueva forma de hacer periodismo.
Periodismo Ciudadano is a place for discussion. In these pages, we offer all of the information and resources that exist regarding citizen journalism, news about citizen media and blogs about these topics.  It is a project open to everyone that would like to participate by sending news, links, comments, discussion or debate about this new way of journalism
Voting for the competition is currently taking place on Tras La 2 website through the end of January [es].  Winners will be awarded in March.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Football Fever  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni believes that skill is more important than size when it comes to football.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Syria: Mideast Youth in Arabic  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mideast Youth has launched an Arabic website, writes Rima, from Syria.


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The beauty of Sudan in pictures · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Memoirs of a Sudanese breath has been posting a series of pictures of Sudan under the title “Beauty of Sudan“: battling women, traveling by donkey or camel in rural areas, a gula water container, landscapes, public transportation vehicles, and more landscapes.


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The Killing Continues in DR Congo’s Wildlife Parks · Global Voices
Samuel Maina

Reportedly, the fighting in North Kivu province of DR Congo has quieted down a little. Sporadic fighting however continues to claim lives. On WildlifeDirect blogs, there are reports of two incidents inside DR Congo's wildlife Parks in which people have been killed.
Paula Kahumbu gives an analysis of various (mainstream) news items – on the Gorilla Protection blog – that reported clashes between National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) rebels and Mai Mai militia loyal to the government in the village of Mabenga, about 90 kilometers north of the regional capital, Goma which left 6 people dead. Mabenga had been earmarked for the construction of a base for Virunga National Park rangers but is currently being used by the CNDP as their military base.
The six dead are reported to be Mai-mai militia. The CNDP – whose leader Laurent Nkunda is said to be facing resistance from within his ranks – did not report any casualties from their side.
Meanwhile, across the hills on Mount Tshiaberimu, a ranger working for the Gorilla Organization project in the mountain finally succumbed to injuries sustained during a Mai-mai attack that was reported in the Tshiaberimu blog on 9 January 2009. The Ranger, Safari Kakule (pictured) was fatally hit by rebel fire as he and other rangers defended their base from the brutal attack.
RIP Safari.

author: Samuel Maina


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Trinidad & Tobago: Clear the Way for Carnival  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

To get into gear for Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, Caribbean Free Radio posts the first in a series of podcasts with rapso group 3 Canal.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Dangerous Trees?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As trees surrounding Trinidad's Piarco International Airport are cut down for security purposes, Francomenz and Notes from Port of Spain put in their two cents.


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Two South African inventions · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Cape Town Daily Photo highlights two South African inventions, the dolos and the kreepy krauler.


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Ukraine: Parliament starts gas control commission · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

What's up, Ukraine? notes that the Ukrainian parliament has founded a temporary investigation commission to follow developments of the current gas crisis.


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U.S. Virgin Islands: Students to Attend Inauguration  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

News of St. John reports that “three students from the Gifft Hill School will be on hand when Barack Obama takes the oath of President next Tuesday.”


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Armenia: Hate, Lies & Ignorance · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

After Armenia last month endorsed the UN statement against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the prevalent homophobia in society has resulted in strong criticism of the move from unexpected quarters. One of the most prolific bloggers on LGBT rights in the country and its Diaspora, as well as the South Caucasus in general, voices his concern.
In particular, while the government defends its move on the basis of human rights protection, one significant civil society activist and mother of the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Armenia particularly irks the blogger with her statement that homosexuality is a threat to the country's development.
Unzipped: Gay Armenia responds in an extended post.
I was expecting negative reactions and attacks towards government for their signature. But I was not expecting this attack to come from […] Karine Danielyan, head of the association “For Sustainable Human Development”, whom I’ve always respected and regarded as an intelligent person.
She called homosexuality a “disease” and a “threat to the national security”. She has doctoral degree. She’s been working for years with UN agencies, other international organisations. […] She is not a random person whom journalists stopped in the street and asked a question about sexual orientation or gay rights.
[…] Number of gay people is not (and will not be) increasing, Dr. Danielyan. It’s just when the level of tolerance towards minorities increases in the society, they become more visible, they start living without hiding who they are, without living a double life which you presumably [are] more comfortable with.
[…]
[…] I would suggest all funding organisations which support Dr. Karine Danielyan’s NGO to withdraw or freeze their support conditional to her passing equality training. Dr. Danielyan urgently needs one.
The blogger also notes that despite the fact that some of Armenia's most important cultural icons were gay, Danielyan went on to accuse homosexuality of threatening local culture and society. The blog responds to other inaccuracies made during the press conference as well as conspiracy theories about plans to destroy not only Armenia, but also the world.
There was another person at the media club. Infamous ex-environmentalist Khachik Stamboltsyan. I am afraid, commenting his statements would be a complete waste of time as this guy turned itself into a clinical case full of manias. According to him, masons and gays together are in a plot to destroy the earth… […] I will stop here. It’s totally ludicrous.
The full extended post is here.


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Barbados: Facing the Nation  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Underground reacts to the Prime Minister's first formal interaction with the national media: “We applaud the Prime Minister for making himself available to the PEOPLE, our hope now is for the local media personnel to…[exercise] different strategies to source more meaningful information…”


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Bermuda, U.S.A.: The Audacity of Marketing?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is co-sponsoring a party in Washington, DC over the inaugural weekend, which is costing Bermudian taxpayers $75,000.  Vexed Bermoothes is not happy about it, saying: “This has little to do with marketing Bermuda tourism…this is about marketing the Premier.”


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Bolivia: Convincing Others to Vote “No” on New Constitution · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Bolivians will head to the polls on January 25 to decide whether or not to approve the draft of the new Constitution.  With ten days go, early polling indicates that the “Yes” side will emerge victorious, partly because it has the full weight of the national government led by President Evo Morales and his MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) party. However, the opposition, led by the governors of 4 states, as well as some other unlikely opponents, are doing everything they can to convince others to vote “No.”
One argument used is that supporters of the draft Constitution are doing so blindly, without knowing the full document in detail.  Other opponents are resorting to the use of religion to appeal to a very religious country.  Some ads have said, “Choose God, Vote No.”  Ads by some Evangelical groups say that the new Constitution will legalize abortion, as well as allow for marriage between homosexuals.  This angered some bloggers, like Erika Pinto of Alkolica [es] who writes:
Viendo el spot de estas iglesias evangelistas, se me paran los pelos, apelan a todos los temores y taras humanas para lograr su proposito.
Another blogger, Mario Durán of Palabras Libres [es] writes that these ads and this strategy is playing right into the hands of Morales:
La oposicion cómo una muestra de su enanismo intelectual sigue con la estrategia de usar la fe cristiana contra Evo y la nueva CPE . El resultado es previsible, para el pueblo de Bolivia no será difícil elegir entre Evo y la iglesia.
There is a misconception that all indigenous communities, laborers, and other groups typically allied with the government are fully behind the “Yes” campaign.  Miguel Centellas of Pronto* focuses on some of these groups that are backing the “No” vote, including the landless movement (MST) because of their opinion that the new document does not do enough to end large landholdings, but also:
Somewhat less surprising, perhaps, is an indigenous “No” campaign headed by Savina Cuéllar, Chuquisaca’s indigenous female prefect. But her movement is joined by Alejo Véliz, Rufo Calle, Marcial Fabricano, and Víctor Hugo Cárdenas (Bolivia’s first indigenous vice president & founder of the katarista MRTKL). The inclusion of Véliz isn’t surprising, since he broke w/ Evo a long time ago (both co-founded the ASP-IPSP, the organization that went on to become MAS). But the inclusion of Fabricano (an important figure in the lowland indigenous movement) is. As is Calle, currently the executive secretary of the CSUTCB (the country’s largest indigenous organization). The group pretends to be organizing indigenous (and other “popular”) social movements not (or no longer) aligned w/ MAS. But the ideological differences between a “radical” like Véliz (a former member of Bolivia’s Communist Party) who thinks the draft CPE doesn’t go far enough & a “pluralist” like Cárdenas (Goni’s running mate in 1993) who thinks it goes too far. So it’s unclear how successful such a movement is likely to be. But it does show that Evo’s list of enemies extends well beyond the “elite.”
The new draft Constitution contains 411 articles, and Boris Miranda of Ventarrón [es] criticizes his fellow journalists that try to prove supporters of the “Yes” vote had not even read the full document.
Since the full Constitution is so lengthy, many in the country have not even read it to make up their own minds.  Renzo Colanzi of Mientras Estás Aquí [es], a supporter of the “No” vote is frustrated and no longer has patience for convincing others.  He writes about a friend, who said he was voting “Yes” because the opposition never bothered to tell him why he should vote against the document:
En primer lugar pensé que este amigo, era un reflejo de una gran parte de la población que está esperando que venga alguien y le diga que hacer respecto a la CPE, que no ha leído ni siquiera la carátula de ésta y no tiene ni la más miserable intención de hacerlo. Gente que espera que una propaganda de 30 segundos pasada en horario de mayor audiencia, durante el deportivo, el noticiero o la novela, con una canción le indiquen como decidir lo que gobernara por muchos años su destino.
En general los bolivianos actuamos de esa manera; no nos informamos, esperamos que venga alguien a resolvernos la vida (el vecino, otros países, el pata e lana). Y dada esta actitud de princesa en apuro, merecemos que el gobierno “ad eternum” del presidente Morales gane el 25. Yo por mi parte decidí no explicar nada más a nadie, si alguien tiene alguna duda sobre su voto lo máximo que hago es otorgar una copia digital por email, cada quien sabrá como mejor decide su voto.
In the first place, I thought this friend was a reflection of a large part of the population who is waiting for someone to tell them about the CPE (Constitution), who has not even read the cover and doesn't have the least intention of doing so. People who wait for a 30-second commercial aired at a time with a lot of viewers, during sports programming, news, or a soap opera, with a song will tell them how to decide how their future will be governed for the next years.
In general, Bolivianas act this way; we do not inform ourselves, we wait for someone to come to resolve our lives (the neighbor, other countries). And due to this diva-like attitude, we deserve that the “ad eternum” government of President Morales wins on the 25th. I decided not to explain anything to anyone anymore, if someone has questions about their vote the most that I will do is pass them a digital copy via email, each person knows best how to decide their vote.


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Chile: Wine from the Itata Valley · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Contenidos Locales [es] introduces us to Susana Navarrete, who writes, “There is nothing like Chilean wine,”and adds information about the Itata Valley in the Bío Bío region of Chile where the wine is produced.


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China: Farewell, Bullog · Global Voices
Bob Chen

In Associate Press’ report, Bullog is said to be an “edgy blog hosting site”, accommodating scores of social and political activists. It looks like a gun powder barrel in this way.  However, in the mind of millions of Chinese netizens, Bullog is far more than that, and its forced closing, whether temporary or permanent, is not only a sign of intensifying media crackdown in China, but a tragic end that breaks many's hope to the country.
It's quite emotionally charged. We are sad.
Bullog aggregates a group of shining bloggers, who are indeed influencing China with their opinions. Lian Yue 连岳, for example, is a columnist, also a public intellectual who has advocated the Xiamen PX protest in which people gathered and walked to silently protest a chemical project. He, with his witty insight into daily life, corresponds with readers on things from the most homely triviality to topics that more or less bear political significance.
If Lian-Yue belongs to the moderate, then, Ran Yunfei 冉云飞, on the other hand, is one of those progressive bloggers.
Ran might be the blogger who matches the word “edgy” the best. Calling himself a “bandit”, he has often fearlessly confronted injustice in the degenerating society. This is well illustrated in his many bold articles, like “It is a national shame to have such a government”, “How autarchy is made”, and his “weekly news commentary of Mr. Ran”. Though furious at times, he is patient. His motto is a persistent appeal: “a step every day, no hurry.” Where is the destination he is stepping to, if any? Only he knows.
He railed, criticized and impugned, calling out what people wish to but dare not say; But it's not hard to predict that such plain opinions are ill tolerated.  A few weeks before the bullog was shut down, Bullog was forced to remove him.
Luo Yonghao 罗永浩, the owner of Bullog, a guy intimately called “Corpulent Luo” by people, used to be an English teacher. I first know him because of his witty, cool and trenchant remarks that are compiled by some of his students and uploaded online. It seems that what he hates the most is 装B (pretend to be cool), and therefore he must be an unaffected and straightforward man. Later, he resigned from the institute and opened the Bullog.
And there are young writer Han Han, artist Ai, cynic and ironist ProState In Flame, independent blogger Bei Feng and many more. They, men of personalities, men of faith, together shape Bullog into a place of ideas exchange and sincere opinions, with true debates, though it has at times gone a little bit over-exited.
And it is making its way to be a public forum for free discussions and popular opinions. Such is rare, for that it might be thought compatible with neither cultural tradition nor the authoritarian circumstance. But it thrives, and as a collective blog, it opens a new gateway to see the China for many Chinese.
Bullog is rooted in people, hence we are actually affected by it, thanks partly to the “benevolent Great Firewall” (the national censorship network) that tolerates it for so long as two years. Thus it is more influential in spreading liberalism and democratic thinkings than various overseas democratic websites which are banned out of the Chinese internet. And it is associated closely with the current society that it doesn't give up any chance to present its ideas on what are happening on this land.
Bullog used to be a host of the blog named “I don't support Beijing Olympics”, when the government was preparing the Game at any cost; It has questioned why Yangjia, the man killed 6 cops，is sentenced to death without proper legal procedure; It organized a team to deliver relief to the struck areas when in March the earthquake claimed over 80000; it spreads Charter 08, a statement supporting a notable political reform…. All could be intolerable by those determined to shut it down.
Let the comment of scholar Xiao Han to conclude why Bullog matters:
2.  牛博网聚集了国内很多重要思考者，他们理性、严肃，有时犀利、尖锐，是当代中国社会心理中十分重要的清醒剂。牛博网同时也深具社会担当的能力，尤其在汶川大地震中，他们出了许多值得称道的救灾之力。
Bullog aggregates many important thinkers in China, who are reasonable, serious, and sometimes incisive and trenchant. They are a very critical cure to keep the modern Chinese society clear-headed. Meanwhile, Bullog takes a good share of the social responsibility it should have. Particularly, in Si-chuan Earthquake, they contributed a great deal to the relief effort.
The Bullog is shut down when an antismut campaign is sweeping across the Chinese internet. But on none of the shut-down lists revealed to the public could Bullog be found. It was assassinated.
Luo Yonghao, the host of Bullog, tells what has happened to the website:
2009年1月9日下午3时许，收到一封来自万网客服的邮件，内容如下：
您好！
北京市通管局下发北京市政府新闻办公室通知：www.bullog.cn站点大量登载时政类有害信息，已要求该网站整改，但该网站仍未采取有效整改措施。
The Beijing Communication Administration now passes on the statement from Beijing Information Office: because Bullog.cn carries a great deal of harmful political and topical information, it has been ordered to make adjustment. But the website makes no change.
That's the reason it is closed. No more explanation, sorry.
Luo goes on:
早晨醒来发现一口气睡了八个多小时，很久没连续这么睡过了，本来想给黄斌打个幼稚电话吹牛逼说我在牛博被关闭的当天夜里美美地睡足了八个小时，又怕这小子接电话的时候假装还没睡醒就比我更牛逼了，只好算了。拿起设成了静音的手机一看，有一大堆陌生人和老朋友的安慰短信，陌生人的一律回了个“谢谢”，老朋友的一律回了个“行了行了！都第四次了还这么大惊小怪的，该干嘛干嘛去。”
高高兴兴地牛逼完了起床后，我又陷入了深深的忧虑和自责：没了牛博，从今天开始，人民看什么？！你要是不重开牛博，人民会答应吗？！你倒是睡得舒坦了，你有没有想过睡不着的人民怎么办？！怎么办？！！怎么办？！！！
But after getting up in a joy, I threw myself into deep worry and self-reproach: without Bullog, henceforth, what can people read? If you don't reopen Bullog, would people agree? You have a sound sleep, indeed, but have you considered those sleepless people? What to do??What to do?!
我在“怎么办”的回声中，带着浓浓的社会责任感毅然打开电脑，到百度和google的博客搜索里看了看网友的言论，发现关心牛博的朋友们的帖子里充斥着“哭泣”、“悲伤”、“悲愤”、“想哭”、“郁闷”、“痛心”、“祭牛博”、“黯然”、“泣告”、“伤感”、“so sad”之类的字眼
牛博肯定会重开，这个不用担心，实在不行我就开一个海外的牛博国际，国内换个名字再开一个，可以叫驴博网。这已经说过很多次了。我个人不会有事，我只不过是办了一个让删帖就删帖，让删评论就删评论，让删整个博客就删整个博客的网站而已，不可能出什么事，大家不用自己吓唬自己了。
Song Shinan 宋石男，one of the bullog bloggers, moaned with indignation
关吧，关得了这个春节，关不了整个春天。
Shut it down, just shut it down, you can close it for this Spring Festival, but not the entire spring.
Among the domestic meida, Southern Metro Daily(南方都市报) is the only paper that dares to report the closing of Bullog.cn
The history of Bullog in Wiki records the its growth and tribulation.
2007年8月18日，博客“北京奥运我不支持”关闭。
2007年10月19日（中共十七大期间）下午2:00，网站被强制关闭。
2008年11月24日，钱列宪博客被关闭，
2008年12月24日，冉云飞博客被关闭，此前冉云飞坚持每日发帖（日拱一卒，不期速成）。
009年1月9日下午，牛博网中国国内服务器被关闭，牛博国际目前也无法登陆，部分人士认为此次关闭牛博可能与近日的大规模整顿网络有关，也因为该网某些作者参与了Charter 08的联名签署，标志着中国政治气候向左转。
2008年4月19日 BULLOG同志的家日PV访问首次突破百万。
2008年5月，汶川大地震后，BULLOG同志在短期内募集到上百万赈灾资金。交给父亲罗永浩同志亲自带队前往灾区赈灾。
But its achievement is amazing:
2008.04.19 Daily page view of Bullog exceed one million
2008.05 After Si-chuan earthquake, Bullog collected over one million on relief fund. Luo led the team himself to the disaster area for relief effort.
In Telescope 望远镜, Feng37 summarized a list of netizens’ reactions to the closing. The title of one post, ridiculing the so-called anti-vulgar campaign that erased Bullog, reads:
为牛博网默哀，为了这高贵的低俗

author: Bob Chen


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