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Kazakhstan: Artpologist Project Presentation · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Daniel reports on the presentation of an artistic project, completed by him and a number of Kazakhstani artists, called “Transformation of Space in Almaty”.


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Kazakhstan: New Pipeline, a Putin’s Victory · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine reports that Vladimir Putin won another round in the European pipeline war, as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan signed a final agreement agreeing to build a new natural gas pipeline to Europe. Meanwhile Washington is bickering over who will lead American policy on the issue.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kyrgyzstan: Christmas Cheer  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Steve LeVine says that the Kyrgyzs are turning to a can't miss tourist grabber — Santa Claus — after a Swedish consultancy bureau stated that Kygyz mountains are the best possible destination where Santa can live.


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Kyrgyzstan: Teaching finance · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bboyd reacts on the predicted unemployment catastrophe among young people in the developing countries, and gives some recommendations for the aid organizations on how to fight it.


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Madagascar elections: a warning for the current regime? · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

(photo credit to Harinjaka)
The final results of the municipal elections for Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, were handed out last week. The independent candidate, Andry Rajoelina, won against the candidate of the presidential party, Hery Rafalimanana, in an upset many bloggers perceive as a warning for the current president.
The mayor of Antananarivo is a rather important position in the Malagasy political scene that is often a springboard for higher political aspirations. Indeed, the current president is himself a former mayor of Antananarivo.
Andry Rajoelina, also known as TGV, is a successful young entrepreneur who made his career in the media and communication business.
The unique features of his campaign platform were highlighted by Malagasy blogger, Hery [Mg]:
“Nifantoka be tamin'ny tanora ny fampielezan-keviny na dia hoe eo koa aza ny zavatra hafa izay nampanantenainy […] Fanorenana toerana azo ilalaovana sy ivelaran'ny sain'ny ankizy, Famitomboana ny toerana hanaovan'ny tanora fanatanjahan-tena sy hianlana voly, Fanomezana “COURS” maimaim-poana ho an'ny mpianatra rehetra manala fanadinana, na CEPE, na BEPC, na BACCALAUREAT izany, Fanafaingana ny fahazoana taratasy isan-karazany”
Harinjaka tells us why one young voter has made up her mind:
“J’ai voté pour TGV dit-elle parce qu’il est jeune. Nous avons besoin d’enseigner une leçon au régime actuelle et de montrer que nous ne sommes pas aveuglément derrière elle”
Not everyone is convinced by Rajoelina's youthful charisma. Thenonrequired sounds skeptical and wished for a more concrete agenda [Fr]:
“Troupe de hira gasy, rangée de mannequins, buffet, 500 invités, entrée au milieu des photographes… Pfff… Ouaip… Pourquoi pas…? Mais à part cela? Et bien à part cela rien! Pas de programme précis mais des formules creuses :
# Je n’ai pas peur.”
# “Il est impensable qu’à notre époque on vive encore dans l’arbitraire et
l’abus de pouvoir”
# “Tout le monde a le droit de gagner son pain”
# “On doit aider la jeunesse à réaliser ses ambitions”
Mialy explains that the city of Antananarivo can be unforgiving at times:
“Fidèle, à ses moments et à sa manière, mais impitoyablement sévère quand elle l’a décidé. Ces derniers mois ont révélé une grogne en sourdine, il fallait la voir venir : Antananarivo était en froid avec la « Tim-mania”
Jentilisa and Barijaoana give their take on the reasons why the TIM party lost the elections.
Barijaoana quizzed a few voters on the reason for their change of hearts:
“Si on les chatouille un peu plus, ils évoquent surtout le verrouillage pas vraiment subtil du pays : mélange entre intérêts privés et publics favorisé par l'accession des Tiko & Magro boys aux postes étatiques, mainmise sur les échelons administratifs intermédiaires, embrigadement plus ou moins volontaire des fonctionnaires au TIM Education ou au TIM Santé, refus du débat. Par sa seule candidature, Andry TGV a réussi à devenir l'icône glamour des fautes de gouvernance du régime Ravalomanana”
Jentilisa outlines a few more reasons for the Presidential party’s defeat:
“Efa be no nametraka tamin’ny mpanadihady fa tsy mba fanaon’Antananarivo loatra izany mifidy ny antoko eo amin’ny fitondrana izany ka mbola hifidy ny Ben’ny tanàna avy amin’io antoko io ihany[..]Mihevitena manko ny sasany fa rehefa ao anatin’ny antoko dia tsimatimanota, ary misy mpiaro hatrany na inona na inona ataony[..] Fahatelo manaraka izany indray dia ny safidy kandidà narotsaka. Tsy tao anatin’ny fanomanana ve fa mety ho olona manam-pahaizana manokana momba ny serasera no hifaninana aminy ka olona votsa vava no narotsaka?”

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Nigeria: On Nollywood · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ashimole analyses Nigerian movies: The new generation actors may be smiling to the bank with a fat pay cheque but the public are not getting value for money. It is eyesore and mind twisting when these nollywood films attempt westernized thriller/action film or war film. I doubt if they employ the services of a military consultant.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nigeria: The Untouchables · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Adeola writes about the Nigerian Untouchables: They told us that only one man named Umar was a little corrupt compared to the other 35 governors we have in Nigeria. It was to justify his choice as the anointed one.


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Russia: “Espionage Obsessed State” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

James of Robert Amsterdam's blog posts a translation of a Russian article on “the social reality of an espionage obsessed state.” The article's last line is: “Having lost vigilance, Russia may not only not notice the beginning of a new cold war, but may even fail to notice its transition into a hot phase.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Kozlovsky’s Forced Conscription · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam's blog follows the story of a Russian youth movement leader's forced conscription to army – here, here and here.


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Russia: More on Putin the Person of the Year · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Further discussion of Time Magazine's Person of the Year pick – at Sean's Russia Blog (27 comments) and Scraps of Moscow (22 comments).


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Russia: “Nashi” and Feminism · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Natalia Antonova writes about Nashi pro-Putin youth movement – and about feminism in the former Soviet Union: “So is there feminism in Russia today? Yes. Only in many instances, it doesn’t go by that name. And perhaps never will. Is there feminism among Nashi members? I don’t believe the members of Nashi would define themselves thus. ‘Feminism’ is a politically loaded term, and the politics associated with it are the opposite of what Nashi members subscribe to.”


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Russia: Robert Amsterdam’s Alternative Person of the Year · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Amsterdam insists that “TIME’s choice is a great thing for Russia and her people, as we can all take a much closer look now at what is going on (and what’s going wrong) in this great nation.” He also picks his blog's own Person of the Year: The Russian Journalist.


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Russia: Time Magazine’s “Successful Ploy” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Perspectives on the New Russia writes that Time Magazine's decision to name Vladimir Putin its Person of the Year is “a successful ploy serving the interests of both political and media elites on both side of the Russia-US divide. Whether it serves the interests of the Russian people or the American people is a question that I will leave you to decide.”


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Serbia: Kosovo Roma · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Romantic writes about about Kosovo's Roma and a new blog about this minority group.


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South Korea: Sexual Minorities Neglected · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Cho Eunseok from newcham translated an article about sexual minorities’ previous encounter with the newly elected president Lee Myung-Bak.

author: Oiwan Lam


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South Korea: The Bulldozer Triumphant · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt blogs about the demolition of Dongdaemun Stadium, a place for street vendors who previously were relocated from the old Cheonggye expressway (the present Cheonggyecheon).


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South Korea: Thoughts on Lee Myung-bak · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole blogs his thoughts on the new president, Lee Myung-bak: There’s just something about him that says, “I’m going to get shit done.”


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Suso, Gratitude, and Human Dignity · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Originally published on Rising Voices.
Every neighborhood has it's own local set of celebrities who become either famous or infamous for their talents, idiosyncrasies, and personal histories. They are the living and breathing incarnations of the archetypical characters who make up the novels and movies we so love. Think of Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird, Aureliano José from One Hundred Years of Solitude, or Katerina Ivanovna Verkhovtseva from The Brothers Karamazov.
In San Javier La Loma, a hillside working class community on the outskirts of Medellín, one of the most well-known local celebrities, “Filthy Suso”, had, until recently, also been one of the most enigmatic. Thanks to the work of HiperBarrio, a citizen journalism outreach project of Rising Voices, the story of “Filthy Suso” is now known both locally and internationally. Led by Yuliana Isabel Paniagua Cano, Catalina Restrepo Martínez, and Gabriel Jaime Venegas, the collective of new citizen journalists created both a video and article about “Filthy Suso’, La Loma's local collector of recyclables. Below are both the video and text, translated from the original Spanish versions. It is worth noting that HiperBarrio's article on Suso was also published on the front page of the weekly local newspaper, Conexion.
Just like the other towns of Antioquia, La Loma has its own set of typical personalities, those who are remembered by each generation. The young people call him “Filthy Suso.” For adults who have seen him in the street since they were small children, those who are older than 40 years, call him the son of “Pachito.”
His true name, in fact, is Manuel Salvador, the youngest son of Mr. Francisco Pizarro and Mrs. Esperanza Sierra.  He was born on October 26, 1929 in the Municipality of Armenia, Antioquia.
At 78 years of age, he is still a hardworking man and feels useful.  From a very young age he learned how to plough and graze farmland, and pick coffee. Long ago he was a bricklayer, a job that he learned as an apprentice. Currently he mixes his farm life with collecting cans and bottles for recycling because he has no other source of income.  In one day, he can earn between 500 and 1000 pesos (USD 2.50 to USD 5.00). We did not dare ask him what he spends his money on.
Ever since he arrived with his parents and his older brother to La Loma, Suso he has lived in an adobe house located near Mrs. Blanca Tejada, or as she is locally known, “Blanca Curra.”
A while ago, he transformed what was once the wood-burning kitchen and turned it into his bedroom, and ever since then the house began to fall apart. Four of the six bedrooms are without a roof.  Long ago, Public Works cut his electricity and water.  The toilets do not
work and the little water that he has either falls from the sky during rainstorms or is given to him in tubs by neighbors so that he can bathe, wash his clothes, and drink.  This means that SIBSEN, the national welfare system, classifies him as ‘level 2′, which is rather paradoxical given his scant resources.
Suso arranges things around his house on a daily basis so that he doesn't get wet. More water falls inside than outside his house.  His things get wet in the front hallway and in his room, where he places a small padlock so that he is not robbed. They have already taken everything of value including his tools, pots, and pans. Ever since, he prefers to leave his national identity card at a neighbor's house while he is out making a living.
His appearance reflects the years that have passed, poverty and abandonment.  He his half-blind, unable to see out of his left eye. In spite of this difficulty, he still has a desire to work. He has more dignity than many people that we know.  He feels useful and says he is happy and he will only go to a nursing home when he is at least 190 years old.
We can affirm that there are people who are so poor that the only thing they have is money.  However, Suso has his neighbors who understand that the greatest poverty is to not have anyone in the world, a lack of love, a gesture of affection. Or, to wake up in the morning without knowing if anyone is concerned if you are dead or alive.
While Suso has some family, they barely come around, and it is as if he did not have them. However, many good-hearted people give him food to eat, take care of him when he is sick and keep him company.
Usually he wakes up very early to pick coffee and graze the land, harvesting bananas and whatever else the earth offers.  On Saturdays, he collects the recyclables, because on these days the trash cart picks up the garbage.
He goes to mass every Sundays at 6 pm, without fail, and ever since the San Vincente Ferrer parish was founded in 1961.  His parents donated the land for its construction, in a place where now three of La Loma's most recognizable institutions exist, including El Liceo Loma Hermosa and La Montaña library.
Seventeen classes of students have graduated since 1985, the date when El Liceo Loma Hermosa was founded.  The majority of La Loma's residents have received sacrament there. Since April 1, 1961, 5,789 people have been baptized. They also make up the thousands of users of the neighboring La Montaña satellite library of the Pilot Public Library of Medellín for Latin America, which has provided services in La Loma since 1961 thanks to the community's own initiative.
It is ironic that in the three public sites where the community gathers, socializes and takes advantage of cultural, religious, educational events, could have all been Suso's inheritance.
Suso, my neighbor, your neighbor, the neighbor of all of us, needs, at least, a house without leaks, with running water and electricity and basic public services.  It's time for La Loma and its leaders to wake up and thank the family from which he descends for everything they have done for the neighborhood by donating the land.
There is no shortage of sympathy; all that is needed is to find the best way to improve the living conditions for a man, who is owed so much, who represents the actions of his parents, and because he is old and deserves dignity.
If we lose our ability to be amazed, to ask questions, to solve problems, and to learn new things, then after living for 40 years in our house, we may discover that there is a huge tree in front of our house.
What a surprise! We assumed that the streets, the parks, the schools, the churches, the social associations, the libraries are all part of nature. The people also become part of the landscape.  It seems as if they have always been here.
Without realizing it, we have prejudices against everyone else.  We do not always know how certain people get to where they are.
Translation by Eduardo Ávila and David Sasaki.

author: David Sasaki


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Tajiksitan: Parliament against witches · Global Voices
Vadim Sadonshoev

Tajikistan is trying to put a spell on witchcraft and fortune-telling. Actually, this comes as a no-surprise to many Tajiks after all those strange laws that have been passed one after another by our parliament. The bill on witchery is also part of the “Cultural Revolution” in Tajikistan, started earlier this year by President Rahmon.
As distinct from the foreigners’ indignation, it does not seem strange to most Tajiks, who think that it is good to have charlatans punished. There are about 5,000 people in Tajikistan (one against nearly 150 citizens) registered at the Center of folk medicine as “healers” — most of them are involved in sorcery and fortune-telling and make lots of money.
There are a lot of links in the blogosphere to the news articles about crackdown on witchcraft, but few of them commented on that. Here are some of them:
Ian at Beyond the River ironically says:
“This much-needed crackdown comes at a time when they’re having a hard time getting electricity in the capital city of the country. Harry Potter issued a statement through his spokesperson condemning this latest infringement of the Tajik government against the human rights of sorcerers and other religious group.
Jan at Chess, Goddess and Everything thinks that it will be impossible to stop people from doing something they’ve been doing for thousands of years, long before Islam:
This reminds me of the communists’ attempts in Russia and China to stamp out organized religion. All it did was go underground. Supression never works in the long run.
David from Hoolavoo.com is wondering whether living in Tajikistan is that bad as it is reported in the news:
Thank God, somebody is finally taking a stand against sorcery in our modern times. Now, it’s not all bad, because they’ve also taken away lavish weddings and the government takes an interest in the cars and cellphones of the young and spoiled.
Ashr501 is extremely surprised to learn about crackdown on sorcery in Tajikistan:
It really scares me that – whenever I finish writing a story that has grown in my head – this sort of thing always seems to happen.
Matt Philip categorizes the story about the bill against witchcraft as “Extraordinarily Odd”:
So far it seems they’re right on track to a brilliant, bright future with all the main social problems any society experiences having been safely and efficiently identified and quarantined. How excellent.
Tom Gross is wondering whether Tajikistan remains to be “the last bastion of witchery”. The amateur scientist is probably the only person in the blogosphere who sees a good reason behind the decision of the parliament:
…this legislation, while it may seem like an oppressive anti-free speech measure, is really just a case of the government cracking down on what is essentially a spiritual robbery.
Cross-posted from neweurasia.

author: Vadim Sadonshoev


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Thailand: Meeting Abhisit · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Bugle meets Abhisit Vejjiva, the leader of Democracy Party and if his party wins the elections, the next prime minister of Thailand.

author: Preetam Rai


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Ukraine, France: Prank Protest at Charles de Gaulle · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine writes about the brief arrest of two Ukrainian journalists at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris – for what seems like an exhausted transit passengers’ prank.


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Ukraine: New Government · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Orange Ukraine writes about priorities of Yulia Tymoshenko's cabinet and about the transfer of power from the old government to the new.


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Ukraine: PM Tymoshenko, Pro & Con · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kiev Blogger believes “Tymoshenko as PM is probably the worst thing that could happen to Ukraine at the moment”: “The only positive thing about it (and it's only positive from a very strategic point of view), is that Ukraine really does have real political competition, backed up by the competition of strong business structures. And in my books this beats dictatorship any day.”


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Ukraine, Russia: On Tymoshenko, Yanukovych and Putin · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about Yulia Tymoshenko's TV address and Viktor Yanukovych's “shadow opposition government” – as well as Vladimir Putin's misrepresentation of Ukraine's Russophone population in his Time Magazine interview and a subsequent reaction of the head of Donetsk region, who “emphasized that the Russian-speaking population of his oblast, which comprise over 80% of the total, has not experienced any such pressure. ‘I don't have any examples of this,’ he declared.”


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Bahrain: Riot Police Burn House · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Hayathoo (Ar) was at the heart of riots in Bahrain. This video shows youth being attacked by riot police, who also burned a house in the area.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Chile: A Gathering of Entrepreneurial Minds · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

Photo by Luis Ramirez and used under a Creative Commons license.
Webprendedor [es] was the first conference of its kind in Chile that gathered entrepreneurs and their projects. Some of the questions that were addressed included: What are some of the projects using web 2.0 tools?  What are some of the difficulties of running a project of this kind in Chile?  The conference was held in the Santiago Library, with approximately 300 people in attendance.  Luis Ramirez explains the mood of the conference [es]:
Algo que siempre sorprende de esta clase de eventos es la pasión que colocan los emprendedores, especialmente los que ya han tenido que pasar por las fases iniciales de creación de su empresa. Ellos comunican de manera eufórica que hay que a atreverse a cruzar las barreras o como uno de ellos dijos (en inglés) BE BOLD (ser audaz, tal como el lema de mi blog). Me llamó mucho la atención algo que venía escuchando hace tiempo: cada vez impresionan menos los buenos planes de negocio e impresionan más las ideas que se creen con convicción. Oskar, el sueco que vino a Chile a fundar Needish fue la máxima prueba de ese punto.
Something that always surprises me in these events is the passion that the entrepreneurs display, especially those that have had to pass through initial phases during the creation of their company.  They communicate in an euphoric manner that one must dare to cross through many barriers or as one of them said (in English) BE BOLD (which is also the slogan of my blog). Something else that caught my attention which I have been hearing for quite awhile: Business plans impress less and ideas coupled with conviction impress more.  Oskar, the Swede, who came to Chile to establish Needish [es] was an extreme example of this point.
The first speaker was Tim Delhas, who spoke about what it is like to be an entrepreneur and to work on web. 2.0 projects.  Richard Bou of La Ideoteca [es] posts about the tips that he learned from Tim's lecture.  Some of them were suggestions on how to be bold and ambitious, and that an entrepreneur need to have 4 things very clear: the market, the opportunity, the differing characteristics between the two, and the team to make it possible.  Richard also summarized other presentations and what he got out of them.
Cristian Sepulveda [es] presented his talk, “Corfo te amo, te odio.” (Corfo, I love you, I hate you).  He explains his relationship with Corfo [es], an organization that supports web 2.0 innovations.  In addition, he spoke about how to deal, how to move, and what to expect when asking for economic support in order to start a project with CORFO. He had already been through this process when he asked for support for his project Meeting [es], which is an online project to conduct meetings, classes and seminars.
As referenced earlier by Ramirez, Oskar Hjertonsoon from Needish spoke about how to present web 2.0 initiatives to investors and what to expect from his own experience.  Oskar is one of the founders of the Needish platform and which has received support from Wenceslao Casares, founder of Patagon.  To see his presentation, click here.
Other presentations were given by Paolo Colonnello [es] from Blue Company, who explained about the Bligoo platform.  This program (developed in Chile) has started to generate profit.  Paolo wrote his thoughts on the conference:
La conferencia de ayer me dejo muy satisfecho, es la primera vez que nos encontramos los emprendedores de la Web Chilena. Unos 300 entusiastas llenamos el auditorio de la Biblioteca de Santiago y por más de cuatro horas estuvimos conversando y exponiendo de distintos proyectos y aprendiendo mutuamente. La orientación de las charlas no fue tecnica sino que la visión de negocio, cuidado de clientes, financiamiento y emprendimiento. La organización a cargo de Nico Orellana fue impecable.
Yesterday's conference left me fulfilled, as it was the first time that Web entrepreneurs in Chile had met.  Around 300 enthusiasts filled the auditorium in the Santiago library and for four hours, we talked and presented about different projects.  We learned from one another.  The point of the lectures were not very technical, but rather focused on business vision, customer care, on financial and entrepreneurial matters. Nico Orellana's organization of the conference was perfect.
Another topic that gathers interest is how to make money from blogs and pages.  Javier Yranzo [es] from Grey Chile [es] spoke about adwords and adsense.
The conference concluded with the presentation of Leo Prieto [es] (see interview with Global Voices here), founder of Zetacorp Networks [es]. He spoke about the world of web 2.0 and his experience with Fayerwayer [es], one of the most successful technology blogs in Latin America. To see his presentation click here.
How was the conference organized?  One of the lecturers, Oskar from Needish wrote how he was invited to participate in this event [es]:
Un día aparece Nicolás Orellana en mi vida (no hace falta llorar), con la visión del sitio Webprendedor como un lugar para fomentar el negocio… ¡de otros sitios Web! Algo que entendía hace rato ya, se consolidó en mí como algo clave hoy en la conferencia organizada por Nicolás (y otros importantes emprendedores chilenos, ej. www.meeting.cl): Uno puede crear negocio solo pero un negocio necesita una industria para vivir. La industria tendremos que crear juntos (ahora, si pueden llorar) y yo prometo que Needish – en caso de éxito – prestará futuros recursos para soportar eventos y actividades para fomentar la innovación en Chile
One day, Nicolas Orellana appeared in my life (there is no need to cry) with the vision of the site Webprendedor as a place to promote the business…….of other web sites!  Something that I have known for awhile now, but was reinforced today at the conference organized by Nicolás (and other important Chilean entrepreneurs, i.e. www.meeting.cl) that one can create a business but only a business needs industry to be able to survive.  In industry, we need to create together (now, we can cry) and I promise that Needish, in the case of being successful, will lend future resources to be able to support events and activities to support innovation in Chile.
Photos of the conference here

author: Rosario Lizana


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China: Zuola on how citizen media should work · Global Voices
John Kennedy

A fist-chop in the throat and surveillance by secret police seems to have put a swift end to the career of China's most popular investigative blogger Zhou “Zuola” Shuguang, but judging from his post earlier this month ‘Zhou Shuguang's understanding of citizen reporters and citizen media’, if you were to ask him: “is citizen journalism dead?”, you'd stand a very good chance of being told that bloggers like him can and must “do journalism”, and why. Throw in the way he coldly describes personal accounts as sample specimens below, in addition to making a few criticisms and judgments, and you might just leave seeing citizen media as both an art and a science:
我想，我是最有资格说公民记者与公民新闻的，因为，我在用我纯朴的动机在实践我对个人媒体的理解，我记录我认为新奇的、有趣的事情，我认为不对的、需要改善的事情。至于我为什么不颂扬那些”美好的”，我每次都用这样的回答：”消息（广告、资讯或情报）的价值在于不确定性和新奇特点。比如，你知道周曙光是男的，狗是会咬人的，然后告诉我这类已知消息，你这条消息对我有价值吗？”所以，我不说废话，只说有（吸引眼球）价值的话，只说愿意负责的话。
一个星期前，有新加坡的新闻学者对我进行电话访问，对我做一个研究。我们讨论一段时间后，她被我一句话弄得大声尖叫起来，她惊讶我把”新闻”二字解构了。我先不如我如何解构”新闻”，我先从最近人们对我的批评说起。
在《沈阳市民讨论蚁力神》的简短视频后面，有人如此评论：
你的新闻能力很幼稚。
你在故意把老百姓的态度向政府头上引导。你说”我觉得政府也得负责”、”赵本山也得负责”这些话，就是非常不中立的态度，这样做 新闻是很失败的。
赵本山是该骂，但是骂他的话不能从记者嘴里说出来，不带任何感情色彩的报道，才叫真正的新闻工作者
我幸好没承认过我是”记者”，所以我不必遵守记者的行为准则。我只是一个BLOGGER，一个到辽宁旅游的旅游者。我反问了这个留言者一句：”当事人说的话算不算新闻？”
好了，我泄密吧，那天我就是这一句话让新加坡的郑佳雯尖叫起来。
Your eye for news is pretty childish.
You're deliberately directing people to take positions against the government. When you say things like, “I think government should also take responsibility”, “Zhao Benshan should take responsibility too”, this is an extremely un-neutral position. News done like this is quite a failure.
Zhao Benshan deserves to be cussed out, but that cussing cannot come from the mouth of a reporter; it's when one's reports contain no emotion or coloring that one can truly be called a media worker.
Fortunately, I haven't confessed to being a “reporter”, and so I'm under no obligation to abide by the journalist's code of conduct. I'm just a blogger, who traveled to Liaoning as a tourist. I replied to this commenter with just one question: “does what the concerned parties have to say count as news or not?”
So, I might as well spit it out, the other day it was that exact same line that made the scholar from Singapore scream.
是这样的，郑佳雯在跟我讲”专业媒体”和”专业新闻工作者”的特点，好让我知道与”个人媒介”和”公民记者”的区别，她跟我说，专业新闻工作者是这样的：
1. 报道中的观点要平衡；
2. 观点要客观，有观点要引用他人观点，借被采访者之口说出来，然后对观点进行取舍，从而体现媒体的观点，媒体从来都是这样么做的，根本未曾客观，没有哪个媒体能得罪广告大客户和所属政党；
3. 报道要真实，不能像纽约时报的那个总是用”据不愿意透露姓名的官员透露”的手法来制造假新闻的贾森·布莱尔一样造假；
1. Keep a balance views in reporting;
2. Keep views objective: those with views must cite others’ views, speaking through what interviewees say, and then from there take or leave said point of view, thus forming the media's view, as media has all along done. If there were no objectivity, then there would also never be any media offending larger advertising clients or political parties;
3. Keep reporting truthful, not using “according to officials who wish to remain unnamed” to tell lies like the New York Times and their Jayson Blair.
但我的的BLOG如果也算是新闻的话，我经常做一些专业媒体所不容许的方式：
1. 放到BLOG上的照片有自己的脸，在重庆发布了有自己的脸的自拍照片，在厦门也发布了在事件现场的自拍照片，在沈阳也在视频中露脸，甚至在视频中添加了音乐，让记者们觉得我很荒诞，不像一个严肃的记者；
2. 不客观，我总是只报道我能接触到的人和事，我不去报道那些我接触不到的官员，我的角度只能从平民老百姓的角度去了解事件，没有刻意去平衡观点，这世界的观点冲突不是我能平衡的，比如，党员和傻逼就是多，社会本来就黑暗，我能在报道中”平衡”地说聪明人和傻瓜一样多吗？显然刻意平衡是愚蠢的作法；
3. 明目张胆地收受当事人提供的路费，胆大妄为地接受当事人提供的食宿；
1. I put photos of my own face on my blog; I did that with pictures from Chongqing, as well as from the scene in Xiamen, as well in video I shot in Shenyang, to which I even added music, leaving readers feeling I'm quite absurd;
2. I'm not objective; I always only report on the people and stories I encounter, and I don't report on officials whom I'm unable to be in contact with. My angle as I come to understand events can only be an angle as that of ordinary, common citizens, and I don't go to painstaking lengths to keep reports balanced. The clashes between points of view in this world are not ones that I am able to bring balance to. For example, there are just as many officials as there are stupid c***s, and society has always been a shady place. Am I able to say with “balance” in my reports that there are just smart people as there are idiots? Obviously, going to lengths for balance is a foolish approach;
3. I brazenly accept travel reimbursement offered by those directly involved, as well as recklessly accept the food and accommodation they provide;
在所有专业媒体的新闻准则中，我的网络日志中的多媒体记录资料（文字、照片、视频、录音）只满足了真实性和时效性，其它的要求我都没满足。
所以，我认为，作为个人性质的记录，不需要刻意平衡观点，不需要客观，不需要独立。只需要真实，只需要记录者交待自己在所报道事件中的角色或者位置，要为自己的言论负责。
回到那个关键的问题上来，当事人说的话算不算新闻？我当然说算。但这种新闻是不符合客观报道、平衡观点的要求的，我个人认为这的的确确是新闻，或者说，我们不用考虑他是不是新闻，只用考虑当事人说的话能不能当成消息来源和新闻线索。
从几年前的孙志刚事件，到最牛钉子户到厦门反PX再到正龙拍虎，这些网民参与推动社会民主进程的事件，加上我以前讨论过《公民记者是否应该收取当事人的费用》，我的结论是：
So in my opinion, personal media reporting doesn't need to strive for balanced viewpoints, and doesn't need to be objective, or independent. It only need be accurate, with the reporter stating his or her role in the reporting of any event, and taking responsibility for his or her own words.
Back to the topic above, does what the people directly involved have to say count as news? Of course, I'd say it counts. While this kind of news doesn't meet requirements for objectivity or balance, I do personally feel that it definitely is news, or at least, we don't need to consider whether or it it is news, but instead whether or not those involved can serve as sources of information or news tips.
From the Sun Zhigang incident a few years back to the Chongqing Nailhouse to Xiamen's opposition even on to Zhou Zhenglong and his tiger photos, these being incidents where netizens took part in pushing society further down the course to democracy, in addition to what I discussed in ‘Should citizen reporters charge the people they report on?’, my conclusion is:
在旧的常识里，新闻工作者和受众在政治和社会活动中仅仅扮演旁观者，网络个人媒体（BLOG）、公民新闻、公民记者出现后，个人媒体和读者变成直接参与政治和社会进程，这是非常重要的变化，这应该成为一种新的常识。
至于什么是公民记者，我觉得不用拿记者的专业来说事，只要他的新闻报道不是职务行为，只要他提供的消息是他愿意负责的消息，他的消息无论多么的新奇，多么离谱，都是可靠的新闻和线索。
当然，如果某个个人媒体一枝独秀，也可能形成意见领袖，但由于BLOGGER的多样性，绝对不会被某个BLOGGER形成话语霸权。每个 BLOGGER都是可能成为某个公众事件中新闻提供者，所以每个BLOGGER都可能成为”公民记者”，正如每一个人都可能成为新闻当事人，只是新闻当事人不一定能像BLOGGER有一个传播平台。新闻当事人和公民记者的区别就在于，公民记者是拥有BLOG这个信息传播平台的新闻当事人。
如果你不喜欢公民记者四个字，那换”平民记录者”、”市民记录者”、”草民记录者”或”刁民记录者”吧。
As for what a citizen reporter is, I don't think the professionalism of a journalist applies. Just as long as his news reports aren't done in a professional capacity, as long he is willing to vouch for the information he provides, no matter how novel or far-out his news is, it's all still reliable news and leads.
Of course, if one person's personal media stands out from the rest, there is the possibility for it to become an opinion leader. But with the diversity among bloggers, there is no possibility for any one blogger's hegemony over discourse. Every blogger stands the chance to become a news provider for any public incident, and that's why all bloggers are potential “citizen bloggers.” The same way anyone could become the subject of news itself, only that those in the news aren't necessarily in possession of their own broadcast platform, as bloggers are. The difference between those in the news and citizen reporters is that citizen reporters are people in the news who also have their own information dissemination platform: a blog.
If you don't like this term citizen reporter, [then make up your own…civilian recorder, city beat note-taker, grassroots, muckraker, etc.]
至于什么是公民新闻，那就是由未审查的、独立的、不客观的、多样性的公民记录者提供的新闻，只有观点的多样性，才能更接近客观。
说到个人媒体和公民记者，人们常常会把我和老虎庙、翟明磊相提并论，并通常会给他们更多的赞扬。诚然，他们的文采比我好，感情比我丰富，使命感比我强，做事比我严肃认真。而我是用一种娱乐的风格跟他们做同样的事。这些不说，翟明磊以前是《南方周末》的记者，他当然比我更专业，他的文章肯定符合”客观””中立””观点平衡”，老虎庙是做文字工作的，他的文采也很好，很煽情。可是他们俩的文章我就是不爱读，为啥？我读不出惊喜，读不出新鲜，他们的笔调在报纸上看多了。翟明磊现在的BLOG上的文字和他以前发在南方周末的文章没啥区别，他还是按报纸的要求和风格在写东西，追求他的客观、独立、代表民意，避免文章中出现自己的影子和观点。
我一看翟明磊的壹报我就烦啊：说啥”铁骨铮铮，一人独立，欣然在野，哭歌民意”，这人太标榜了吧？还代表民意呢，三个代表也说是代表民意啊。民意这东西，自古以来，无人能代表民意，却有无数人在强奸民意。我只相信有足够多的采样才能统计出民意，我相信每个人未经确认只能代表自己。翟明磊帮助龙泉农民土地斗争，顶多获得龙泉农民的授权，所以他顶多代表龙泉农民，不能代表龙泉官员，更不能代表本公子。
Speaking of personal media and citizen reporters, people often see me, Tiger Temple and Zhai Minglei in the same light, and tend to give the two of them more praise. To be sure, they're both better writers than I am, and have more passion than I do, a much stronger sense of purpose; they're also much stricter and more serious in their work. Whereas I use more of an entertainment style approach in doing the same thing they do. It almost doesn't need to be said, that Zhai Minglei used to be a reporter for Southern Weekly, so of course he's more professional than I am, and his writing definitely bears “objectivity”, “neutrality” and “balanced views”. Tiger Temple is a writer by trade, and his writing style is great, very moving. Yet I'm not that interested in reading what they write. Why is that? I get no surprise from reading their work, no fresh feeling. I see enough of their writing style in the newspapers. There is no real difference between what's now on Zhai Minglei's blog and what he used to write at Southern Weekly; he still adheres to a newspaper's standards and style when he writes, seeking for objectivity in his work, independence, representation of what the masses believe, seeking to prevent any shadow of himself or his points of view from appearing in his writings.
Every time I read Zhai Minglei's 1bao [zh], I get annoyed. What is “firm and unyielding, myself and independent, eager opposition, crying out public opinion”…this guy thinks too much of himself, no? He even represents public opinion, but so didn't Jiang Zemin? This thing, public opinion, since time immemorial hasn't been represented by anyone; rather, public opinion has been screwed by countless people. I believe that only with sufficient sampling can public opinion be calculated, just as I believe that everyone unable to affirm that can only thus represent themselves. Zhai Minglei helped the Longquan peasants in their land struggle, and obtained their utmost authorization, as so was able to represent at most the peasants of Longquan, but not the government officials of Longquan, and he definitely does not represent me.
翟明磊和张世和（老虎庙）的文章我不爱读，他们抒情或煽情，说什么”难忘””感伤”，喜欢用叹号，喜欢强调意义，可我这种喜欢快速阅读的人只想尽快的知道事情的六个要素：时间、地点、人物、起因、发展、结局。事件的意义由读者自己来判断就好，作者都代表所有人用辩证法把话说得滴水不漏了，读者想参与互动的热情都没有了。我现在是一看他的新BLOG是说猫啊狗的我就略过不看了。我们都是畜生，在猫狗面前，我们并不显得有多高尚，有啥意义可挖掘？
他们的读者大都是熟悉的媒体圈的朋友，我的读者大都是陌生的同龄人。虽然我的文章写得没他们好，但我的BLOG比他们的BLOG弄得好，留言比他们的BLOG多，各种硬件技术和网络技术的运用比他们熟练，我被采访报道比他们多，批评者和赞赏者都很多，这就证明，我的文章的传播效果比翟明磊和张世和的文章好得多。也证明，客观和观点平衡是不必要的，还证明，数字时代的民主社会需要人们了解新闻行业和技术(A democratic society in the digital age needs people who understand both journalism and technology)－－Rich Gordon。
我想批评他们什么呢，我批评的是：没有人能未经确认（确认过程就是指投票啦）代表他人。张世和的西部各省考察只代表他所接触的人的看法和他自己的看法，只是我对这个世界形成看法的统计过程中的一个采样标本；翟明磊的龙泉土地斗争也只代表他所接触的人的看法和他自己的看法，他的看法又给我形成世界观的统计过程多了一个采样标本。假如我还能获得更多的标本，我对这个世界的看法就更接近真实和客观。所以，他们那种试图去代表和”未经确认获得代表权”的作法是被我批评的。
与本文主题相关的结论就是：
1. 每一个”公民记者”都只是这个世界上的统计过程中的一个采样标本。
2. 推动公民新闻就是推动人们拿尽可能多的采样标本来还原世界真实面貌的统计过程。
3. 采样标本只需要做到真实，不需要客观和平衡。
4. 社会不是一两个媒体就能改良的，需要无数的采样标本来普及常识–只有自己代表自己和只有自己才能救自己的常识。
5. 如果你也想像我一样天马行空，那么，有空就写BLOG表达你的想法吧，你能找到朋友的。
My conclusions on the main topic of this post are:
1. Every “citizen reporter” is only just a sample specimen within a worldwide statistical process.
2. Furthering the cause of citizen media is to further people in taking as many sample specimens as possible in the statistical process of restoring the appearance of what's true in this world.
3. Sample specimens only need be true, and not objective or balanced.
4. Society is not something that a blog or two can change for the better; this requires countless sample specimens serving to popularize common sense—only by speaking for one's self can one save one's own common sense.
5. If like me you have your own unconstrained style, well, then, if you have the time, get a blog and express yourself. You'll find your friends.

author: John Kennedy


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Philippines: Longest Christmas season in the world · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Hubpages explains how Christmas is celebrated in the Philippines:
“In this archipelago of 7,107 islands, the celebration of Christmas season begins on the 16th of December and ends on the first Sunday of January which is the Feast of the Epiphany (The Three Kings). It is quite different from the other countries of the world. Christmas is the longest of the Philippine festivities stretching for over three weeks. This makes the Filipino Christmas celebration one of the longest Christmas season in the world. A rich tradition which dates back to the Spanish period.”
But for many Filipinos, the Christmas season begins on September. Tutubi Travel writes:
“Christmas celebration in the Philippines is reputedly the longest in the world when, come the first day of September, (when the “ber” months of the calendar starts), some radio stations start playing Christmas carols. This will continue until a few days before November when Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day triumvirate will rule but immediately revert to Christmas songs.
Baywalk – Manila (Christmas)  From the wanderer2007‘s Flickr Page
The Silver Lining of my Cloud says Christmas in the Philippines ends on February:
“Seems like Filipinos really love festivities! Christmas fever starts as soon as the month with “ber” comes (September) and ends until Valentines Day. It really is a long stretch.”
Hubpages blogs about the various Filipino Christmas symbols and traditions like the Parol or Christmas lantern, Monito Monita (Kris Kringle or exchange gifts), Dawn Masses or Simbang Gabi and Christmas caroling. Echoes of Life uploads the lyrics of the most famous carol song in the Philippines
Teacher Sol misses Christmas in the Philippines, especially the caroling.
“Our Christmas in my country is not complete without music, and the season is celebrated by Filipinos through caroling. In every neighborhood, a group of kids would form together as amateur carolers and visit houses every night. Rae would gladly give them candies or as reward for singing Christmas songs. They even sang out of tune but that was ok. They were creative in using tin cans, plastic containers, and bamboos as their musical instruments. Now I miss the pleasing noise that these carolers made!”
Filipinocultured suggests ten ways to celebrate Christmas in the Philippines. Ajay’s Writings on the Wall and This Garden of Eden have fond memories of Filipino Christmas traditions. A Catholic Bishop writing in his blog, Viewpoints, emphasizes the true meaning of Christmas.
The Fickle Minded writes what other overseas Filipinos are feeling these days:
“I suddenly miss Christmas in the Philippines. I miss the colorful and beautiful decorations and Christmas lights. I miss Christmas parties and exchange gifts. I miss Christmas shopping and carefully choosing each gift for my friends and loved-ones. I miss personally wrapping my gifts and writing messages on the gift cards. Most of all, I miss spending Christmas with my family. It's been years since the last time my family celebrated Christmas together.”
Baratillo @ Cubao on traffic during Christmas time:
Christmas in the Philippines must be the worst time to drive or travel. Combine the volume of commuters traveling, an increase in disposable income, the mall owners predatory instinct working on over drive, and the war between politicians on who says what cannot and cannot be done on the road … and you get quite stressed if not downright mean spirited. Appointments are missed and friends cannot go to parties because of traffic jams. And drivers lose money and patience as they try parking lots that increase their fare two or even three fold. There is a special place in hell for people who decide to increase parking fees during the Christmas season or people who play juvenile games over traffic laws.
Atomic Girl muses on Christmas attitudes:
“I honestly do not believe in the philosophy that you have to be extra kind or extra gracious or extra loving during special occasions like Christmas. I mean, really. If you really wanted to do something, why wait for the season just to do it? Apologies to those who believe in it but I just don't.”
No Way I’m Gonna Blog About That has some thoughts on the Christmas spirit:
“For some reason, I'm suspecting that Christmas spirit is probably inversely proportional with the amount of decorations and whatnots that we put in the season. I know, simplistic, and it sounds a lot like a line from a high school formal theme writing; but it's a thought.”
Careerclub Philippines reminds employees why December is a bad month to resign in the Philippines:
“I find it very stupid to resign during this month. December is the most glorious days for regular employees. Aside from getting their 13th month pay, they’ll also get some freebies from employers that include stuffs for the holiday season. On top of that, some companies would also offer bonuses to their regular employees. Others are also giving gift certificates to their employees aside from the bonuses.”
A Nice Time thinks the Philippines becomes a war zone every time Filipinos welcome the New Year:
“If you ever intended to sleep through the New Year, forget it, this is the sound effects for any number of war films and there is no volume control. Steven Spielberg could have sent a sound recorder here for New Year’s Eve and had enough sound effects for six openings of Saving Private Ryan.”
Bikoy feels guilty for attending too many Christmas parties:
“It feels quite sinful, how I’ve been overeating and drinking night after night after night, knowing well how millions of other people in this country have barely anything to eat. If Christmas is a time for joy and merry-making, it is indeed and ironically also a time that awfully reminds us of how tragically disproportionate the concentration of wealth and opportunities are in our society.”
New Philippine Revolution disagrees with surveys showing Filipinos feel optimistic in celebrating the Christmas this year.
“For all I know, prices of commodities have increased substantially since last week. People are feeling this. And I don't think that government is capable enough of explaining why people are not buying enough stuff for their noche buena feasts. A year ago, 2,000 pesos is a lot. Now, it's a pittance. I really don't know what to be thankful for except perhaps that we are still alive despite the horrendous performance of this government.”
An old Christmas tradition is being revived: Pastores de Naga.
“The Los Pastores portrays the story of the shepherds’ search for the baby Jesus that Spanish missionaries in the 16th century used to teach Catholicism in new Spanish colonies.”
How do you say Merry Christmas in different languages?

author: Mong Palatino


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TBCS interns talk about the development of Sierra Leone · Global Voices
Rezwan

Originally posted on Rising Voices.
The Think Build Change Salone (TBCS) initiative seeks to help rebuild post-civil war Sierra Leone by providing training to young people placed at paid internship positions with local non-profit organizations so that they may gain work experience and contribute to development projects.
The person behind this project, Vickie (AKA “Nasratha”) explains the challenges she faced and how she was able to overcome them:
“One of the biggest challenges I knew I would face with the internship program was the placement of interns with local organizations. Inexperienced students are primarily seen as a liability in any professional work environment but I also knew that offering to pay the student’s stipend would remove some of the anti-intern feeling.
…I never did get the list I wanted so I had to return to the internet in search of local NGOs. I made visits to several offices that had been closed for over two or three years and no one had bothered to put down the sign.”
Edward Komba Chaka (23) is a 2nd year pre-med student at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS). He was placed in a National HIV/AIDS Control Program (NACP) at Connaught Hospital, Freetown. He explains his work experiences in the post “HIV is a Virus, not a moral issue”. He shares some catchy slogans to prevent aids.
Noah Dauda (25) a third year student of Financial Services at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and Alhassan Conteh, 22, a first year student of DES Institute of Business & Management were paired up to research the implementation of micro-finance in Freetown. Noah shares the state of development and background of micro-lending programs in Sierra Leone:
“Sierra Leone has experienced a high rate of failure of developmental projects over years. These failures did not begin with the onset of civil war. It must be noted that, the near absence of development for many years, declining per capita incomes, increasing competition from a rising population for limited resources and poor governance have contributed greatly to the erosion of civil society and the emergence of conditions that facilitated open conflict. It is this reality that the past government has been trying to combat with its National Action Plan for Poverty Alleviation, its programme of macro-economic reform supported by international development agencies and its policies of support for the private sector.”
He describes the traditional Osusu credit system and posts pictures of some traders who are using microfinance.
Noah Suluku (21) and Daniella Wilson (19), two Secondary School students, were placed on independent projects to highlight the lives of street children in different areas of the city. Noah writes:
“There are two categories (of street children). The first category is defined as children who stay with their parents /guardians at home but who go on to the street each morning to socialize or to earn money for themselves and sometime they return home in the evening. The second category is children who have abandoned their home and are permanently on the street living and working on the street. They are not under any parental care. Both categories are vulnerable to child abuse and child right violation.”
He noted some miseries and experience of those street children. He also posted some pictures of those underprivileged children.
Kadi Yata Kandeh (26) is a brilliant third year student of Nutrition & Dietetics at Fourah Bay College. She writes about her experience in the Conference on the Status of the Implementation of TRC- Truth & Reconciliation Commission Recommendations where she acted as a member of Technical Committee in Planning:
“It was an educative program, it gave me the opportunity to know about various civil society organizations and interact with so many. What interested me were the discussions between the civil society groups on various topics.”
Lastly we read an update from Emmanuel Joseph (24), a student of NJala University who worked as an intern in Peace and Development Corp Program, a project under National commission for social action (NaCSA). He lists the experiences gathered during his trips to the eastern, northern and southern Provinces of Sierra Leone and concludes with:
My documentary visit to the provinces have actually increase my understand(ing) of the provinces and how decentralizing work is being complemented by council and how working condition is like and the challenges of the different kind of bosses that one may encounter during work. Amazing among my discovery of Sierra Leone is that my country is a beautiful country and such build my interest of working in Sierra Leone to aid in developing my country.

author: Rezwan


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Thailand: Coverage of Thai Elections · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Pundit will be live-blogging the Thai elections.


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Caribbean: Christmas Traditions  · Global Voices
Karel McIntosh

All over the world, people get together with friends and family to celebrate Christmas. They exchange gifts, and invite one another to their homes for parties, lunches or dinners, signifying the trademark Christmas message of peace and goodwill. In the Caribbean, this message is no different, and whether they’re based at home in the region or abroad, Caribbean people find a way to add their special touch to the festivities. Speaking with Caribbean bloggers, Francis Wade, Geoffrey Philp, Afrobella, Abeni, Bajegirl, and TriniGourmet, I get the sense that the festivities among the various nationalities share similarities, but also have unique celebrations.
For example, in St Vincent and the Grenadines, there is the Nine Mornings Festival. Abeni explains:
For nine days before Christmas (excluding Sundays), we get up in the wee hours of the morning and participate in church services, fetes, go to the beach and/or head into Kingstown where there are organised competitions in the form of singing, recitals, and other fun competitions. There is also a carol competition hosted by the National Broadcasting Corporation that attracts thousands. The format is such that you sing a traditional song and then do your own creation to the tune of any popular song. There are also string bands playing music on the streets, Police bands playing music in communities throughout the island, community singing and the lighting of the Christmas tree. However, serenading is dying though.
Generally, music plays a huge role in making Christmas, well, Christmas. Throughout the region, one can hear traditional carols, many of which originate from America. However, in Jamaica, Christmas carols are sung to a reggae beat. In Trinidad and Tobago, Christmas music belies the country’s Spanish heritage with Parang, indigenous music that has Latin rhythms and is sung in Spanish, filling the airwaves. Soca parang is also another spinoff from the Parang genre, with an extensive playlist in existence.
“In Trinidad, Christmas is the time when the Spanish cultural influences really come to the fore,” says Trinigourmet:
Through the traditional tunes (parang) or foods (pastelles), several of the Spanish influences help to make a Trini Christmas unique, especially amongst the English speaking Caribbean islands.
The cuisine at this time of year makes for a great feast. A typical Vincentian Christmas dinner will have sorrel, ginger beer, ham, green peas (if one can afford the going price), baked chicken, mutton (curried or stewed), beef, rice, pies, salads, and black cake (a rich, fruity, alcoholic concoction). Sorrel is a staple Christmas drink throughout the Caribbean. And according to Abeni, “Christmas is not Christmas without a bottle of locally made Black wine”.
Other countries have similarly grand feasts, but each has its own specialty. In Barbados, you’ll hear about jug-jug (a dish made from ham, guinea corn flour and peas). In Trinidad, pastelles and ponche de crème.
As expected, Christmas is a time of excitement with increased social events and parties.
“In Jamaica, people say it’s our Carnival,” says Francis Wade:
We also have a few traditions like Christmas morning market, and Jonkonnu (a little like Ole Mas).  The Christmas spirit starts to set in from late October going into November. Tourists from the more temperate areas love the Caribbean as a warm alternative to the winter season, but you might hear a few locals talk of it being “cool” or “cold”. This “cool” is a sure sign that Christmas is coming. The Christmas breeze starts with a cool wind from the North…
Abeni agrees, describing the nights as getting “cooler”, with longer days. Bajegirl notices “a special breeze that blows at this time of year, but for sure the nights get a lot cooler”.
In St Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni shares the telltale signs that Christmas is coming:
Barrels from North America start rolling in, people start talking about plans to fly to Trinidad for bargain hunting, the nights get cooler and the days longer, carols play on the radio, stores begin to entice us with offers, banks and other financial institutions promote Christmas loans, the string bands begin to make their music on the streets of Kingstown, and the place just gets busier.  It's a joyous time for the most part. It's very community-oriented with people still taking time out to spend time with neighbours. Lately, we have been lighting up our homes in a big way – so much so that there are competitions for the best lit house.
In Barbados, Christmas is a time for family, says Bajegirl:
The major town centres are all lit up and people drive around to admire each others’ decorations. It’s also a time for food and parties, with popular dishes such as jug-jug, sweet potato pie and ham on all menus.  Late night shopping in Bridgetown begins and everywhere people are painting and cleaning their homes.  The thing is we try to be patriotic and wait till December 1, since our Independence Day is November 30th, but the stores put up their Christmas decorations mid-November, and carols begin playing around that time too, so you can never begin sprucing up your home early enough.
Jamaican Francis Wade says that a key part of a Caribbean Christmas is that members of the diaspora “come back to visit and spend time, so the social scene is quite active.”  After living abroad himself for nearly twenty years, he feels that in the US there is less of a connection between people who aren’t family, and that the social side of the Christmas festivities is small compared to the Caribbean.
Like anywhere else, Christmas is a high profit generating period for businesses. Caribbean people are known for their love of shopping, which is seen by some as one of the effects of the Americanisation of Caribbean Christmas celebrations. Nevertheless, Abeni feels that “we have still retained the warmth and goodwill for the most part”, but Trinigourmet notes that in addition to the traditional songs of American origin, there are Santa Claus and “snow–themed” decors, which are “definitely not indigenous in origin”.
Caribbean-born bloggers (such as Geoffrey Philp) learn to integrate the culture of their adopted home with that of their homeland:
When I first came to America, I couldn't get into the Christmas spirit and I didn't know why. It wasn't that there wasn't any rum cake and sorrel or any of the traditional Jamaican dishes; it was the music. The feeling continued for a few more years until one year our church incorporated the song, “The Virgin Mary had a Baby Boy” and that did it for me. It finally felt like Christmas.
The Christmas feeling in my home is quite different from the Christmases I had in Jamaica. Home has become for me a metaphor for the important relationships in my life. So it doesn't matter where I am. As long as I am surrounded my wife, children and extended family, I am a happy man. That said, I will confess that I will always miss the hills that surround Mona Heights where I grew up and the physical aspects of being in Kingston when the cool Christmas breeze came tumbling down the hillsides.
According to Afrobella – a Trinidadian living in Miami – Christmas abroad isn’t nearly as festive:
I grew up in a big family, so when the season hit, it seemed like the air was filled with parang music and who wasn’t helping to paint the house or put up the Christmas tree had to help make pastelles, ponche de crème, or sorrel.  Now I live with my American husband abroad, and we’re learning how to blend our traditions. My husband seems to enjoy traditional parang, like Daisy Voisin, but Americans don’t get the subtleties of Sprangalang’s “Bring Drinks,” for example.  I enjoy my Christmases abroad a lot as well, but I definitely still believe that Trini Christmas is the best!
Her fellow Caribbean bloggers may or may not agree, but either way, Christmas in in the Caribbean is definitely special.

author: Karel McIntosh


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Angola: Welcome to Cuban doctors · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Orlando Castro [pt] welcomes the Cuban doctors that will work in Huambo, an Angolan province with a population of over 2 million people and a doctor for every 40,183 patients. “People need doctors, no matter what nationality they have (…) If Cubans, instead of Portuguese for example, are available, there should be no reservations about it”.

author: Paula Góes


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Bahamas: Go Slow?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com wonders if the island's air traffic controllers are on a go-slow.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bahrain: The debt owed to the Indians of the Gulf · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

This is the second post from Bahrain this week; the first covered various celebrations, and demonstrations. In this post we'll be examining the official population statistics, hearing about a frustrating experience in Saudi Arabia, seeing what role graffiti can play in political mobilisation, and acknowledging the debt owed to South Asians in the Gulf.
We start with a photo of some flamingoes by Yagoob, taken in the south of the island:
Photo credit: Yagoob
Not adding up
Last week we mentioned a ‘misunderstanding’ regarding the size of Bahrain's population; this time we have LuLu questioning the government's population statistics:
So recently the government made an interesting non-announcement in parliament. Apparently, according to a statement by the Central [dis]Informatics Organization (CIO) to parliament, Bahrain's population finally reached a million. Hurrah! Now, setting aside the question as to why we remain in the dark when it comes to official statistical figures of the CIO, something just doesn't add up…
If we go back to 2001, the official statistics were as follows:
Total population = 650,604
Bahraini = 405,667				Non-Bahraini = 244,937
Total population growth rate of 2.7% 	Bahraini population growth rate: 2.5%
[Note that the Middle East growth rate was 3.62 in 2001]
Fast forward to 2007:
Total Population = 1,046,814
Bahraini = 529,446				Non-Bahraini = 517,368
Total population growth rate = 10.1% 	Bahraini population growth rate = 5.1%
[…] This can only mean one thing. Yes. God created 60,000 Bahrainis just like he created Adam and Eve, for no such number can possibly be born here by accident. Otherwise, we may actually have to believe that the government is lying when it says it is not naturalizing all the people we see mushrooming around us. Either way, even this number does not make much sense if we consider that the CIO itself had declared the 2006 population growth figure of 2.6%.
Fill ‘em up!
Gardens of Sand is doing some calculations of her own – trying to work out if she should see the proverbial glass as half-empty or half-full:
Great professors:
half full – the label summed it up, who knew learning can be immensely enjoyable?
half empty- my instructors asked me what and where Bahrain is, then proceeded to sarcastically tell me that it must be a great place to live followed by his surprise that Bahraini women are allowed to drive?!!! Even the educated are ignorant!
In the neighbourhood
Bahraini women are indeed allowed to drive – but of course Saudi women are not. Soul Search writes about a recent shopping trip to Saudi Arabia that left her feeling distinctly unimpressed:
We decided to do a little Eid shopping in our friendly neighbor the K of SA. The overpowering stench of stupidity did not leave my nostrils since the second we set foot on the causeway. Here are 5 reasons why I will not be travelling across the causeway unless I absolutely had to:
1. You can't have a decent two hour shopping spree without having the whole shop shut down on you for prayers. Don't they realize that people should be given the freedom to worship and not have worship shoved down their throats 5 times a day?
2. Store managers get jumpy and nervous and would rather kick you out of their shop as soon as they can, than to have the religious police close down their shops!
3. If you thought traffic in Bahrain was a nightmare, think again. Many of our neighborly drivers prefer to jump a red light or claim your lane as their own at any time they choose.
4. There are absolutely no changing rooms for ladies in any retail outlets, even my 5 year old daughter was not allowed to try on her clothes anywhere, because “she's a female”. Outrageous!
5. It hurts me to see how women are totally inferior to men on many a level. They are treated in a humiliating way, that I would not be able to take if (God forbid) I had to ever live there!!
The bare facts
Another blogger went shopping before Eid; CeCe is working out what clothes make her feel comfortable:
Ever since I wore the Hijab 6 months ago, I wear with it the Abaya wherever I go. It made my life simple and way easier. But since Eid is coming, my friend suggested I wear something “different”. I just came back from shopping for Eid. I bought me a long skirt with a cute shirt and jacket to go along. I tried putting the whole outfit together (with the Hijab) and walked around the shop. It felt like I was walking around naked!
Fighting back
Still in the arena of issues affecting women, Khalid discusses sexual harassment:
With gratitude
Hafez Bucheery is thinking about the development of the Gulf societies in general; he writes about the role South Asians, specifically Indians, have played over the years:
The writing on the wall
Rayyash examines the significance of ‘wall journalism':
We end with another photo of the flamingoes. More from Bahrain next week!
Photo credit: Yagoob

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Barbados: Election Date · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“For most Barbadians who have not become completely apathetic, this general election will be one of the most interesting since Independence in 1966″: Barbados Underground reports that the island's Prime Minister has set a date for elections.


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Brazil: 2007 in posts · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Idelber [pt] goes on holidays and leaves his readers with a collection of links to 2007 posts that are well worth a second helping. “We will be back on January 07 [2008], with a piece of news about a unmissable book”.


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Brazil: The future is open source · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Sérgio Amadeu [pt] publishes a picture of a GNU/Linux computing class, with a difference: there students are middle age learners. “I have learned a lot with this research, which has changed my concepts about learning and about the capacity to dream and project a better world”.


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D.R. of Congo: The Batwa people · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

AfricaBeat on the Batwa from the Democratic Republic of Congo: “The Batwa people were traditionally hunter-gatherers.  In Eastern Congo, they lived off what the forest provided, until prolonged warfare and the creation of national parks ended their way of life.”


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Morocco: Seeing stars in Marrakesh · Global Voices
Lydia Beyoud

It's been a star-struck week in the French-speaking Moroccan bloggosphere, famous international figures being a primary focus of discussion. Several bloggers wrote about the happenings at the seventh edition of the International Marrakesh Film Festival, most notably on the reception there of American director Martin Scorcese and some famous Egyptian film stars.
Scorcese, a beloved American filmmaker for many cinemaphiles throughout the world, has shown an interest in discovering and promoting awareness of Moroccan culture abroad since the days of Nass al Ghiwane and the filming of his 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ in various locations throughout Morocco.
Moroccan blogger and festival attendee Le Baroude offers insight into Scorcese's reception and his own general impressions of the festival, including Scorsese's not-to-be-missed “Cinema Lessons. [FR]”
Je ne pouvais toutefois pas manquer la « Leçon de cinéma » donnée par Martin Scorcese samedi, qui restera probablement comme l’un des meilleurs moments de l’histoire des festivals de Marrakech.
Ecouter Scorcese commenter des séquences tirées de ses films est une expérience fascinante. Cet homme respire le génie et exhale un charisme impressionnant. Ceci-dit, nous étions tous tellement ébahis de voir le maître en chair et en os (c’est Scorcese m…) qu’on aurait crié au génie même s’il s’était contenté de nous donner la recette du tiramisu de sa maman. Cependant, Scorcese a été véritablement brillant et captivant. On se dit que les festivals de cinéma n’existent que pour permettre à ce genre d’instants voir le jours.
Cette septième édition marque un nouveau saut qualitatif pour le festival : l’organisation est plus maîtrisée, la programmation plus intéressante, les artistes marocains sont traités avec plus de considération, etc… le festival gagne en maturité. C’est moins le Festival du tourisme marocain et plus le Festival du Film.
I just couldn't miss the “Lesson in Cinema” speech that Scorcese gave on Saturday, which will probably remain one of the greatest moments in the history of the Marrakesh festivals. Listening to Scorsese's commentary on some sequences from his films is a fascinating experience. This man breathes genius and exhales an impressive charisma. That said, we were so dumbstruck at seeing the master himself in flesh and blood (it's Scorcese, holy s***) that we would have called him a genius even if he had just been happy with giving us his mother's tiramisu recipe. However, Scorcese was truly brilliant and captivating. They say that film festivals only exist for these kinds of moments to see the light of day.
Blogger R. Naim also mentioned this lesson and wrote about Scorcese's personal connections with Morocco [FR]:
De sa relation particulière avec le Royaume du Maroc, le metteur en scène américain estime qu'il y était attaché avant même d'y avoir tourné La dernière Tentation du Christ. Un attachement profond puisque à travers sa caméra, le Maroc ira jusqu'à se transformer en Tibet dans Kundun. Chose étrange, mais accidentelle peut-être: ces deux productions tournées au Maroc sont les deux seules oeuvres considérées comme spirituelles par Scorsese. Cette impression est renforcée par son amour de la musique de Nass El Ghiwane, découverte dans Al Hal. Une musique qu'il a finalement utilisée, en accompagnement sonore, dans La dernière Tentation du Christ.
La leçon de cinéma de Martin Scorsese à Marrakech était donc unique mais, à coup sûr, elle risque d'influencer des générations de futurs cinéastes marocains, présents dans cette salle ce jour-là.
As for his particular relationship with the Moroccan Kingdom, the American director believes that he became attached to it even before having filmed The Last Temptation of Christ there. A deep connection since, through his camera, Morocco would go all the way to being transformed into Tibet in [another of Scorcese's films] Kundun. Something quite bizarre but perhaps accidental: these two productions filmed in Morocco are the only two works consider spiritual by Scorcese. This impression is reinforced by his love for the music of Nass El Ghiwane, discovered in Al Hal. A music which he finally used as background accompaniment, in The Last Temptation of Christ.Martin Scorcese's lesson in cinema in Marrakesh was therefore unique but, for sure, is very likely to influence generations of future Moroccan filmmakers, present that day in the auditorium.
Egyptian film received high accolades when the Marrakesh Film Festival celebrated one hundred years of Egyptian cinema: University professor and blogger R. Naim begins his post on the subject with a lesson in second language learning in Morocco [FR]:
Quelle est la deuxième langue parlée par les Marocains? Le français, faux. L'anglais? Encore faux. La bonne réponse est le dialecte égyptien ! Cette réalité linguistique, somme toute anecdotique, est là pour nous illustrer un fait indéniable: les Marocains adorent le cinéma égyptien, connaissent les films et les acteurs du Nil. Ils peuvent même réciter par coeur les répliques de quelques scènes cultes. Les spectateurs se souviennent, évidemment, des films populaires de Adel Imam et de Faten Hamama. Les plus cinéphiles d'entre eux citent avec enthousiasme les films de Youssef Chahine, Salah Abou Seif ou encore Shadi Abdessalam.
Cette histoire d'amour a vu son apothéose hier au Palais des Congrès à l'occasion de l'hommage rendu par le festival International du Film de Marrakech au cinéma égyptien qui fête son centième anniversaire. 1907, en effet, constitue la date du premier film entièrement égyptien, un documentaire court montrant une visite du Khédive Abbas Hilmi II en Alexandrie. Un siècle plus tard, la famille du cinéma marocain accueille en grandes pompes les stars du 7ème art égyptien et les invite à défiler sur le tapis rouge marrakchi : Nour Al-Sharif, Ezzat Elalayli, Youssra, Boussi, Lebleba, Ahmed Rateb, Elham Shaheen, Waheed Hamed… Que du beau monde !
La tendresse et l'émotion étaient perceptibles chez ceux qui applaudissaient mais également chez ceux qui étaient applaudis. Les vedettes égyptiennes, impressionnés par l'accueil, pouvaient sentir et toucher l'amour du public qui régnait dans le Palais des Congrès. Les spectateurs marocains, eux, étaient aux anges. Ils pouvaient enfin contempler, en chair et en os, les héros et les héroïnes qui ont bercé et continuent à bercer leur imagination.
What is the second language spoken by Moroccans? French? Wrong. English? Still wrong. The correct answer is the Egyptian dialect! This linguistic reality, entirely based on anecdote, illustrates for us an undeniable fact: Moroccans adores Egyptian cinema, are familiar with its films and the actors from the Nile. They can even recite by heart the lines from certain scenes which have cult followings.” “This love story saw its apotheosis yesterday at the Palais des Congrès during an hommage given by the International Marrakesh Film Festival to Egyptian cinema which is celebrating its one-hundredth anniversary. 1907 is in fact the date of the first entirely Egyptian film, a short documentary showing a visit by Khédive Abbas Hilmi II to Alexandria. A century later, the Moroccan cinema family welcomes with great pomp and circumstance the stars of the seventh Egyptian art and invited them to take a walk down the marrakshi red carpet: Nour Al-Sharif, Ezzat Elalayli, Youssra, Boussi, Lebleba, Ahmed Rateb, Elham Shaheen, Waheed Hamed… all the stars of Egyptian cinema!The tenderness and emotion were evident from those who applauded but also from those being applauded. The Egyptian stars, impressed by their welcome, could feel and touch the public's love which reigned over the Palais des Congrès. The Moroccan spectators where themselves in seventh heaven. They could finally contemplate, in flesh and bone, the heros and heroines who nourished and continue to nourish their imagination.
In another post, Le Baroude also gives an insider's perspective on some of the more “behind-the-scenes” aspects of the festival. He wrote about the hunt for coveted color-coded invitations giving access to the highest levels of “VIPage” at the festival, and the depths to which some people sink in order to obtain them [FR].
Avant l’inauguration du festival, le Saint-graal s’appelle « accréditation ». Dans le jargon des festivals, les accréditations désignent ces petits bouts de plastique qu’on porte fièrement autour du cou, et qui donnent accès au palais du Festival.
Mais attention, toutes les accréditations ne se valent pas, et la couleur de la vôtre indique votre rang dans la hiérarchie festivalière. A Marrakech, c’est jaune pour la presse , gris pour les techniciens, bleu pour les professionnels, violet pour les officiels (la classe), blanc pour les « invités »… cette dernière espèce d’accréditation donne surtout droit à se faire discret et à parler poliment aux milliers d’agents de sécurité qui encadrent le Palais des Congrès.
Mais quelque soit la couleur du bout de plastique qui se balance à votre cou, de nombreuses portes resteront fermées devant vous sans la pierre philosophale : le carton d’invitation frappé de l’étoile du festival, vous enjoignant de porter un costume sombre et une cravate, et vous priant d’honorer de votre présence tel ou tel événement.
Certaines personnes ne reculent devant aucune bassesse pour obtenir un de ces précieux cartons. On les voit, comme des pénitents mexicains, se traîner sur les genoux devant le palais des congrès, les cheveux hirsutes et le visage couvert de cendres, accrochés aux basques d’un membre de l’organisation. Ce dernier, épuisé par le stress accumulé depuis le début du festival, apitoyé par tant de détresse, lâche parfois une invitation à l’intention du pénitent, avec dans les yeux ce mélange de compassion et de dédain que devait avoir le Calife Haroun Errachid quand il jetait des pièces d’argent à la foule de Bagdad.
Before the festival's inauguration , the holy grail is called “accreditation.” In festival jargon, the accreditations designate these little pieces of plastic which people wear proudly around their necks, and that give access to the Palais du Festival.But watch out, not all accreditations are worth something, and the color of yours indicates your rank in the festival hierarchy. In Marrakesh, it's yellow for the press, gray for technicians, blue for professionals, violet for the officials (high class), white for the “guests”, this last being a kind of accreditation which above all gives you the right to be discreet and speak politely to the thousands of security guards who surround the Palais des Congrès. But no matter what the color of plastic hanging around your neck, numerous doors will remain closed before you without the philosopher's stone: the invitation card embossed with the festival star, inviting you to wear a dark suit and a tie, and requesting that you honor such or such an event with your presence.Some people don't refrain from sinking to any level in order to obtain one of these precious cards. You see them, like penitent Mexicans, dragging themselves along on their knees in from of the Palais des Congrès, with shaggy hair and ash-stained face, clutching the ankles of some member of the festival organization. The latter, worn out by accumulated stress since the beginning of the festival, pitying such a distressful display, sometimes drops them an invitation to whatever event the penitent is requesting, the same mix of compassion and disdain in their eyes that the Caliph Haroun Errashid must have had when he threw gold coins to the throngs in Baghdad.

author: Lydia Beyoud


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Grenada: Down By The River · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

If you're looking for Free Spirit she'll be down by the river…


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Japan: Economics of the “Illegal” Download · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Following on recent moves by the government to regulate the Internet, plans for regulation in other areas of online communication have been moving ahead apace in Japan. On December 10th, the Japanese government requested mobile companies NTT Docomo, KDDI, Softbank and Willcom to strictly filter web content for minors [ja], filtering which would block access to forums, chat rooms, and social networks for users under the age of 18 and potentially put an end to popular youth-oriented web services.
Meanwhile, on December 18th, the Private Music and Video Recording Subcommittee of Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs convened a meeting at which they pushed for a ban on private downloads of material designated as illegal. While reproduction of copyrighted material for personal use has up until now been considered legal (only uploads being illegal), the subcommittee has pressed for this policy, expressed in article 30 of Japan's Copyright Law, to be revised to outlaw downloads as well [ja].
The decision to push ahead with the outlaw of personal downloads openly goes against opinions expressed in a record-setting 7500 comments submitted by citizens, who reportedly opposed changes to article 30 in large numbers. Economist and blogger Ikeda Nobuo commented on the implications of this fact in two entries posted on December 22nd. In the first post, he writes:
先日、開催された私的録音録画小委員会の第15回会合において、文化庁から「パブリックコメント等の反対意見を踏まえた上でも、違法複製物からの複製は30条の適用除外とするのは不可避」との発言がなされたとのことについては、すでに報道等もなされているとおりです。
中間答申について行われたパブリックコメントで利用者等から多くの反対の意見が出され、全体としてみても反対意見が多数を占めることになりました。しかし、パブリックコメントで出された疑問点について答えることもなく、かつ、この結論にいたった経緯や議論の透明性が欠如している、明らかに民意を無視した改正作業が行われようとしています。
The following entry posted shortly thereafter delves deeper into the economics of the “illegal download”:
まず基本的な問題は、日本レコード協会などのいう「違法着うたによる被害が深刻だ」という今回の改正の前提とされる事実が、今まで一度も定量的に証明されたことがないということだ。ダウンロードして試聴して、CDを買うケースもあるだろうし、コンサートに行くケースもあるし、アルバムを買う（あるいは有料ダウンロードする）ケースもある。この場合、消費者も音楽家も利益を得る。他方、買うつもりだった人が違法ダウンロードで代替した場合は、レコード会社は機会損失をこうむる。したがってレコ協の主張が成立するためには、
違法ダウンロードによる音楽家と企業の機会損失＞音楽が広く聞かれることによる消費者の効用と音楽家の利益(*)
という不等式が成り立つことを実証データで証明しなければならない。しかし前にも書いたように、経済学の実証研究では、これは証明されていないのである。特に、(*)式の両辺に音楽家が入っていることに注意してほしい。彼らにとっては、利益と損失のどちらが大きいかは先験的にはわからない。実証研究でも示されているように、マイナーな音楽家にとっては利益のほうが大きい可能性が高い。
First, the basic problem is that the premise for the current revision, the fact, as stated by the Recording Industry Association of Japan and so on, that “the injury from illegal song ringtones is serious”, has up to now not even once been proven quantitatively. There would seem to be cases of people who download [music], have a listen to it, and then buy a CD, cases of people who then go to a concert, and cases of people who then buy the album (or pay to download it). In such cases, both the consumer and the musician make a profit. On the other hand, when the person intending to buy [the music] is substituted for someone downloading [the music] illegally, the record company loses an opportunity. Therefore in order for the Record Industry Association to make its claim, the inequality:
Loss of opportunities to musicians and corporations due to illegal downloads  [is greater than] Benefits to consumers and profits to musicians due to music being listened to more widely (*)
must be substantiated with actual data. However, as I wrote earlier, this has not been proven by experimental studies in economics. In particular, note that musicians are included in both sides of equation (*). For these musicians, whether profits are greater or losses are greater is a priori unknown. As experimental research has shown, there is a high possibility that for minor artists, profits are greater.
今回の改正では、「情を知って」という条件や刑事罰は課さないという妥協もはかられているが、小倉秀夫氏も指摘するように、文化庁のねらいは、従来の違法複製機器を売る業者を取り締まることから一歩進んで、個人の私的複製も取り締まることにある。したがって単なる違法化では個人の自宅に踏み込むこともできないので、刑事罰を課して警察が強制捜査する方向に強化されるおそれが強い。
こうした違法化が社会的に与える萎縮効果は、実際の被害よりもはるかに大きいというのが、最近の行動経済学の教えるところだ。それは世界の証券市場の1.4％にすぎないサブプライムローンが、全世界をゆるがす金融危機に発展したことでもわかる。「ダウンロード違法化」と聞いただけで、コンプライアンスにうるさい企業は、オフィスからYouTubeなどへのアクセスをブロックするだろう。そしてこういう新しいビジネスの市場が萎縮することによって、新しい企業も出てこなくなる。
文化庁はこれまでも、同じような失敗を繰り返してきた。検索のインデックスをつけることを著作権法違反としたため、日本に検索サーバを置くことはできない。世界でも先駆的なP2PソフトウェアWinnyの開発者を逮捕したことで、日本のP2P技術は致命的な打撃を受けた。こうした萎縮効果による機会損失は、Googleの時価総額だけを考えても20兆円。日本のレコード業界全体の売り上げの40年分だ。こうした経済効果を計算に入れれば、(*)式の不等号は、むしろ左辺＜＜右辺になっていると考えられる。
当ブログで何度も書いてきたように、日本経済が長期衰退に入った最大の原因は、90年代に退場すべきだったゾンビ企業に多額の国費を投入して延命する一方、過剰規制によってイノベーションや起業家精神を殺してきたことにある。著作権の過剰保護が情報産業のボトルネックになっているという認識は、経済財政諮問会議にも経産省にも、知的財産戦略本部にさえある。そういう日本経済についての視野もITの知識もなく、声の大きい業界団体（それは天下り先でもある）の話ばかり聞いて権利強化を急ぐ文化庁に著作権法を所管させていていいのか、という問題もシンポジウムでは考えたい。
For those who are interested, the symposium which Ikeda-san mentions is to be held on December 26th at room 201 of the Graduate School of Film Producing in Shibuya, Tokyo (map [ja]), from 18:30 to 20:00 (doors open at 18:00), and will feature a number of speakers including Ikeda-san himself. People interested in attending should send an email to MIAU (Movement for the Internet Active Users) at info AT miau.jp (with name, affiliation, and contact details) before midnight of December 25th. The talk will be in Japanese only.

author: Chris Salzberg


text:
Jordan: Views on Wearing the Hijab · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I'm not Anti-Hijab or Anti-Hijabi or anything. But I really find it weird that some ladies are so keen on wearing it, while they live up to nothing that it represents,” writes Qwaider, from Jordan.


text:
Korea: Why the Internet didn’t Influence the Presidential Election This Time · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

The presidential election of the Republic of Korea was held on the 19th of December. While the election ended in the predicted result to many, it shocked others. In particular, the results of the election showed that some active netizens’ opinions didn’t influence this election compared to the last presidential election. After the election, netizens are busy analyzing the result of the presidential election, and the roles and influence of the internet.
A netizen questions why the internet didn’t influence the presidential election this time.
인터넷이 대선에 영향을 미치지 못한 이유
대선이 끝나고 가장 흥미를 끌었던 것 중 하나가 인터넷 포탈 사이트의 대선 영향력이었다. …각자의 논리와 의견으로 논객들의 지지는 정치방과 자유방에 넘쳐났다. 그 중 몇몇의 논객들은 문국현 후보에 대한 지지가 많았던 것도 사실이다. 반대로 이명박 후보나 이회창 후보 지지자들은 꼬릿말이나 토막 글을 통해 아고라를 도배한 경우도 있었다. 또 다른 논객들은 정동영 지지를 선언을 하고 자신의 생각을 인터넷에 풀어 의사 표명을 했다.
하루에도 수십만명이 다녀가는 아고라의 논객들의 논리들이 이번 대선에 큰 영향을 미치지 못했다는 것이다. 수 많은 시간을 투자해서 저마다의 생각과 의견을 역설했지만 정작 표로는 옮겨가지 못했다는 사실이다. 2002년 노무현 지지자 모임인 노사모와 지지자들은 인터넷에서 막강한 힘을 발휘하여 노무현 대통령을 만들어 내는 일등 공신 역할을 했다. 지난 대선과 이번 대선의 차이점이 과연 어디에서 온 것일까.
나는 여기서 크게 두 가지를 말하고 싶다. 그 첫째는 한나라 당의 온라인 상 선거법 위반 법을 만들어 논의 장을 촉소시키고 위축시킨 일이다. 경선부터 선관위는 계속 인터넷에 재갈을 물려 얼어붙게 만들었다. 때로는 일부 논객이나 동영상을 올린 사람들이 검찰 수사를 받아야 하는 사태도 일어났다. 이런 사건을 볼 때 당연히 대선 기간동안 인터넷은 그 영향력을 발휘하는데 한계를 들어낼 수밖에 없었다…
두 번째는 노무현 대통령처럼 눈길을 끄는 후보들이 없었다는 것이다. 이번 대선에서 가장 아고라에 많이 거론된 인물들을 나열에 보면 문국현, 정동영,이명박,이회창,허경영 정도였다. 그 중 문국현 후보를 지지하는 작문의 글이 가장 많이 올라왔다. 물론 앞에서 말한 것들 중 이명박 후보나 이회창 후보을 지지하는 사람들의 토막글이나 꼬릿말이 결코 적지 않았다. 정동영 후보 지지 글 역시 많았다. 이런 상황에서 보면 문국현 후보가 선전을 했어야 했다. 그런데 6퍼센트를 넘지 못했고 허경영 후보 역시 온라인 상에서 시끌시끌하게 만든 후보 중에 한 명이었는데 10만 표도 나오지 않았다.
문 후보 표의 한계는 너무 늦게 정치 선언을 했다는 것이 원인이다. 그의 이미지는 결코 나쁘지 않았다. 누가 뭐라해도 경력이나 살아온 과정으로 볼 때 네티즌들의 눈길을 잡을만 했다. 그런데 정치 선언이 너무 늦다보니 기존 정치 벽에 부딪혀 그 이미지를 활용하지 못했다. 적어도 고 건 씨가 정치 행보를 할 때나 정운찬 씨가 대선을 놓고 저울질 할 때 대선 참여 선언을 했다면 아주 양상이 달났을 것이다. 고 건 씨나 정운찬 씨가 결국 중도에 포기를 했고 그 선에서 그들을 지지했던 대다수의 표를 잡고 여론조사에서도 높게 나온 지지율로 유리한 단일화 가능성으로 만들 수 있었다. 정치는 타이밍이 중요하다고 말하지만 너무 오랫동안 뜸을 들인 결과가 오늘의 표심이 된 것이다.
정 후보는 반듯한 이미지가 오히려 독이 되었다. 산전수전 다 겪은 백전노장의 모습 보다는 귀공자 스타일이 강해 유권자의 눈길을 잡지 못했다….그뿐만 아니라 그가 걸어 온 길이 너무나 평범하다(고생을 하지 않았다)는 단점이 있다. 앵커를 거쳐 최다 득표 국회의원 그리고 여당의 당 의장 통일부 장관까지 거치는 동안 강력한 이미지를 심어주지 못했다…
이런 두 가지 근거로 볼 때 찻잔 속에 태풍이었다. 인터넷 안에서만 태풍이 불었지 결코 세상으로 나가지 못했다. 인터넷에서 일어났던 지지자들의 힘은 밖으로 나가 2002년 노사모나 노무현 대통령 지지자들처럼 자발적인 힘으로 만들어 냈어야 했다. …
One of the most interesting things after the presidential election was the influence of the presidential election by the internet portal sites… What I felt was that compared to 2002, opinions to support each candidate were more various. Their support, based on their own theories and opinions, filled internet sites: politics rooms and freedom rooms. It is true that there were many supporters for Moon Kook Hyun. On the contrary, supporters of Lee Myung Bak and Lee Hoe Chang just used opinions of posts. Others announced support for Chung Dong Young and expressed their opinions.
However, theories and opinions of netizens who used Agora (internet section which several hundred thousand netizens use every day) didn’t influence the election. Even though they invested so much time to show their thoughts and to emphasize their opinions, it didn’t influence voting. In 2002, Nosamo, the club to support Roh Moo Hyun, and his supporters made use of the power of the internet well, making it the most significant means to make Roh Moo Hyun the president. What is the difference between this election and the last election?
I would like to point out two things. The first is that the Grand National Party made a new election regulation, so that opinion places became limited. The National Election Commission froze the freedom of the internet. Sometimes, people who expressed their opinions and video clips had to be investigated. Therefore, the Internet had limitations on exerting influence during the election period…
Second, there were no candidates as noticeable as Roh Moo Hyun. Ranking who was mentioned in Agora the most, it was Moon Kook Hyun, Chung Dong Young, Lee Myung Bak, Lee Hoe Chang, and Heo Kyung Young. Moon Kook Hyun had posts to support him the most…. Therefore, Moon Kook Hyun was supposed to be supported the most. But his votes weren’t more than 6 percent. Heo Kyung Young got a lot of attention, but couldn’t get more than one hundred thousand votes.
The limitation of Moon Kook Hyun was that he had the political announcement way too late. His image was not bad. His career and background could grasp netizens’ attentions enough. But his political announcement was way too late to make use of his image…. Chung Young Dong has a straight image. It rather gave him disadvantages.  His noble style could not grab voters’ attentions…. In addition, his path was way too common (didn’t go through hardships). Through careers as TV news host, the most voted National Assemblyman, and the Minister of Unification, he didn’t implant any strong image….
Based on these two reasons, it was like a thunderstorm in a tea cup. There was a thunderstorm on the internet, but it has never come out. The power of internet supporters should have had to make their own like Roh Moo Hyun’s supporters in 2002….
It is commonly said that the reason why the conservative party took power again after 10 years is is complaints about the poor government and unstable economy. Many netizens reflect on the continual criticism from media the since Roh Moo Hyun took over the government.
이명박 당선자가 대통령이 되면서 한 말이 있죠. “이제 경제는 반드시 꼭 살리겠습니다. 열심히 하겠습니다.”
전 궁금합니다. 도대체 얼마나 경제가 안좋길래 그렇게 사람들이 경제에 목말라 하는지 궁금합니다.지금까지 대한민국이 살아오면서 보수정당 지배하에 정말로 경기가 좋아서 쓸 돈도 많고 돈도 잘 모이고 있다 라고 생각이 든 시기가 있을까요? 왜 항상 우리나라는 경제가 안좋다 안좋다 불평만 하는 건지 모르겠습니다.
1970년대를 지나면서 우리나라는 고성장을 합니다. 그래서 끼니 떼우기도 바빳던 국민들은 이제 끼니 걱정은 안하게 되었습니다. (국민소득 100불 -> 1900불).전두환, 노태우를 지나면서 1980년대에는 산업사회로 완전히 접어들게 됩니다. (국민소득 2000불 -> 7000불). 하지만 문민정부에 들어서면서 IMF 라는 큰 타격을 맞았습니다. 국민소득이 노태우정부 임기말로 돌아간 것입니다.(12000불->7000불). 하지만 김대중정부가 수습에 들어갔고 그결과 김대중정부의 임기 말에 12000불까지 도래하게 됩니다.
자이제 마지막 노무현 정부는 어떨까요? 곧 20000불 시대에 돌입한다고 합니다. 증시는 노무현 임기초 1000포인트 밑을 하회하던 것이 임기중에 2000포인트를 일순간 돌파하고 지금은 1900포인트에서 움직입니다. 무역수준은 대한민국 역사상 최대의 무역흑자를 기록하면서 외환보유가 사상 최고입니다.(2400억불) 그외에 국가신용등급 A1(사상최고)를 기록하기도 했죠.
그런데 왜 우리는 못사냐구요? 왜 체감경기는 나아지지 않았을까요? 저도 궁금합니다. 하지만 생각해 봅시다. 우리가 지금까지 50년의 역사중 산업사회로 넘어가는 70년대를 제외한 남은 약 25년의 시간중 정말 경기가 괜찮아서 살기가 참 편해졌다. 라고 생각한 시간이 얼마나 될까요?
서울에서 여기저기 다닐때 택시를 장거리 이용하는 사람이 얼마나 됩니까? 재래시장에서 제사용품 모두 장만하는 사람이 예전처럼 많습니까? 내수 경제는 이미 크게 변하고 있습니다. 정보화 시대를 맞고 소모품도 기업화된 유통업체들이 들어오면서 크게 변했습니다. 변화에 따라가지 않고 그대로 하던일 묵묵히 하던사람들이 느끼는 경제는 당연히 그들에게서 등돌리고 있다고 느낄 수 밖에 없습니다. 인터넷 쇼핑으로 편해진 소비자에게 재래시장에서 물건사라는 것과 편리해진 대중교통 대신에 비싼 택시를 이용하라는 것은 말이 안되죠. 그런데 왜 택시기사랑 재래시장에 가서 요즘 경기가 어떠세요 라고 묻는 언론을 보면 참으로 한심할 뿐입니다.
중산층을 기준으로 얘기 했을 때, 과연 우리나라 중산층에 사는 사람들의 삶이 어떠할까요?
개개인마다 핸드폰을 들고다니며 한달에 4인가족기준 100달러(10만원)이상을 통신요금으로 사용하고,
한 가구마다 차가 있으며 서서히 외제차도 들어오고 있습니다.사람들이 명품과 브랜드상품을 찾고 있으며 실제로 소비도 하고 있습니다.집집마다 TV는 물론 컴퓨터와 초고속 인터넷은 당연히 써야 하는 것이고…
지금 이것이 우리나라 현실입니다. 우리나라 사람들은 5억을 적은 돈으로 봅니다. 이는 현재 급속도로 올라버린 부동산 가격때문일 것입니다. 5억이면 서울에 아파트 하나 사버리면 바닥나버리는 돈이니까요. 하지만 우리나라 부동산 가격은 지금 정상적이지 않다는 것을 누구나 다 알 것입니다.
지금 지방에 아파트 미분양 사태가 속속들이 일어나는 것은 뉴스를 통해 매번 공개가 됩니다.
가격은 올라도 실거래수가 줄어들었다는 이야기는 이미 몇해전부터 나왔습니다.
드디어 수요와 공급이 맞지 않아 거래가 줄어들고 버블의 마지막 단계에 와버린 것입니다.
노무현 정부는 이런 사태를 우려해 집값상승에 제동을 많이 걸었습니다. 다행히 어느정도의 효과가 있었기에 최근들어 집값상승이 서서히 완화되고 있는 것입니다.
과연 이런 상황에서 노무현 정부가 도대체 무엇을 잘못 했는지 콕집어 말해 줄 사람이 있냐 하는 것입니다.
역사상 최고의 무역흑자와 투자환경조성, 남북한 화해무드 정착, 부동산 제동 등의 여러가지 업적을 남겼는데도….왜 이렇게 비난 받는지 전 도무지 이해가 가지 않습니다.
이제 이명박 당선자를 두고 보겠습니다…..
하지만 그저 경쟁과 실패한 이론인 아담스미스의 보이지않는 손을 믿으며
새로운 세계의 경제 패러다임에서 멀어질까봐 참으로 두렵습니다.
Since the 1970s, our country has been growing fast. People who were busy managing to live don’t have to worry about it so much anymore. (per capita income $100 $1,900). After Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo, we stepped into industrial society in the 1980s (income $2,000$7,000). But entering the civilian government, we faced the IMF. The GDP went back to the late government of Roh Tae Woo ($12,0007,000). But when the Kim Dae Joong government started controlling, it became $12,000 in his late government.
Then how about the Roh Moo Hyun government? We will reach $20,000 soon. In the early government of Roh Moo Hyun, the stock market was under 1,000 points. But during his government, it broke 2,000 points and now it’s about 1,900 points.
For the first time in the history of the Republic of Korea, the profit of trade is recorded the highest and foreign currency reserves are also the highest (US$240 billion). In addition, Korean credit is recorded A1 (the highest in history of the Repbulic of Korea). But why do we live poorly? Why does confidence not get better? I am wondering too. But think about it. During 25 years, except for the 1970s when we had just entered industrial society, among 50 years, how long have we thought that the economy gets better?
How many people use taxis to move around Seoul for long distance travel? Are still a lot of people using ancestors; worshiping goods in wet markets? The domestic economy has changed so much. Welcoming the IT period, consumption goods have changed so much since enterprised distributors entered. People who haven’t changed the jobs they have done without catching up with changes can’t help but feel that the economy is turning against them. It doesn’t make sense to force people who are comfortable with internet shopping and use convenient public transportation to purchase products in wet markets and to use expensive taxis. I don’t understand why the media always ask about current economy to taxi drivers or sellers at wet markets.
When we talk about the standard of the middle class, how about their lives? Each individual has his or her celluar phone. Every month, the middle class of four family members uses US 100dollars (100,000 won) for communication fee. Every household has a car and foreign cars gradually appear. People look for expensive and brand products, and consume money for them. Every house has TV, computer, and high speed internet….
This is the reality of our place. We think that 5 hundred million won is not a lot. It is because of the rapid increase of real estate. That money can be used up to purchase an apartment in Seoul. But everyone knows the price of the real estate here is not normal.
In the countryside, there are quite a lot of unsold apartments, the news talks about. Even though the price has gone up, the number selling has been lessening since several years ago. In the end, we face the last step, bubble, in which supply and demand don’t match. Being concerned about it, the Roh government tried to control the increase of housing price. Unfortunately, there has been effective gradually and the increase of the housing fee will go down. Looking at these situations, nobody can say what the Roh government has done wrong.
I really don’t understand why he is criticized even though he has achieved the highest profit of the trade and investing environment, settled down the reconciliation mood between North and South Korea, and contried real estate.
Let’s see Lee Myung Bak… But I am afraid that we might be far away from the economy paradigm of the new world that believe competition and Adam Smith’s invisible hand, which was a failed theory.
Or some netizens compare the achievement of the Roh Government based on domestic and overseas media.
조중동과 해외 언론은 왜 항상 반대?
비슷한 시기.. 한국경제는 2군데로 나눠서 운영한 것이 아닌데  해외 언론과 국내 굴지 언론사들은 큰 시각차이를 보인다. 해외 언론이 보이지도 않는 동방의 작은 나라에게 잘 보이고 싶어서 아부라도 떨었을까?
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<3대 악재 닥치면 내년 성장 1.9%로 추락> (조선일보 2006. 10,30.자)
< 위기 맞은 경제, 위기의식이 없다> (중앙일보 2006, 4.28.자)
< 현 정부 임기 중 경기회복 어려워> (동아일보 2006. 12.8.자)
< 환란 때와 '환율하락-경상수지 악화' 닮았네…> (동아일보2006.12.14.자)
“한국경제가 여전히 성장견인력을 잃지 않은 채 탄력을 유지하고 있다”(2006. 11.30.자 미국 월스트리트 저널)
< 회복하고 있는 한국에 대한 큰 기대> (영국 파이낸셜타임즈 2006. 1.16.자)
< 원화강세는 원화만이 아시아의 성장을 반영하기 때문>(월스트리트 저널 2006. 2.7.자)
< 서울로 향해, 미래를 몰래 훔쳐보라>(영국 더 데일리 텔레그래프 2006. 1.26.자)
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참여 정부시대에 들어서 경제 엉망 되었다고 하는 사람들이 봐 주어야 할 경제 성적표들이 있다.
종합주가지수 – 2003년 500선에서 3배가 넘는 1,800선 돌파
수출 –            고유가와 원화가치 상승(환율하락)에도 불구,  세계 11번째로 수출 3,000억 달러 돌파
경상수지 –    612억 달러 흑자(2003∼2006)
외환보유액 – 2,439억 달러. 참여정부 들어 2배로 증가. 일본, 중국, 러시아,  대만에 이어 세계 5위
경제성장률 – 참여정부 4년간 평균 4.3%로 OECD 30개국 가운데 9위
언론 자유지수 – 03년 이후 상승 2005, 2006년 아시아 1위, 2007년 아시아 2위…
이번에 한국경제가 금새라도 살아날 것처럼 이야기 하는 조중동과는 달리, 영국의 가디언지는 다른 논평을 한다. 한반도 긴장증대로 외국투자 감소 예상 같은…
왜 해외에서 보는 눈과 국내의 거대 언론은 늘 다른 평가를 내리는가? 국내 언론! 좀 솔직해졌음 좋겠다. 아마도 그럴 생각 없겠지만………
Similar time… the Korean economy is not managed in two separate divisions, but domestic and overseas media have different perspectives. Do you think that overseas media try to suck up to a small country in the east?
With three disheartening factors, economic growth will go down to 1.9% (Chosun Newspaper 2006. 10. 30)
Economy in crisis, there is no consciousness of crisis (Joong-ang Newspaper 2006.4.28)
During the current government, it is difficult to recover the economy (Dong-a Newspaper  2006. 12. 8)
Similarities between economy crisis, and ‘fall in exchange rates-aggravation of a current account… (Dong-a Newspaper 2006.12.14)
The Korean economy is not losing the pulling capacity of growth and maintains flexibility (2006. 11.30 Wallstreet Journal)
Big expectations about the recovery of Korea (Financial Times, U.K. 2006. 1.16)
The reason of the strong tone of won currency is because the Korean currency reflects the growth of Asia (Wallstreet Journal 2006. 2.7)
Toward Seoul, steal a glance at the future (The Daily Telegraph, U.K. 2006. 1.26)
There are economic results that I would like to show to people who emphasize that the current government destroyed the economy.
The composite price index of stocks – surplus of more than 1,800 points compared to 500 points in 2003.
Export – regardless of high oil price and increase of the value of the Korean currency (fall of exchange rates), as the 11th ranking country, it generated exports more than 300 billion dollars
Balance of current account  – surplus of 61.2 billion dollars (2003-2006)
The amount of foreign currency reserves – 243 billion dollars. Two times increased under the current government. The 5th ranking after Japan, China, Russia, and Taiwan.
Economic growth – 4.3 % during four years of the current government. The ninth ranking among OECD 30 nations.
Index of media freedom – improvement since 2003. The first ranking of Asian nations in 2005 and 2006, and the second ranking in 2007.
Compared that Cho-Joong-Dong analyze that the Korean economy will be alive soon, the Gaurdian in the U.K. has a different comment, in which foreign investments will decrease due to increase in tension of the Korean peninsula. Why are domestic and foreign media diffenret? Domestic media! I hope that they are more honest! Maybe they are not willing to do so….

author: Hyejin Kim


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