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Bulgaria: Football Player Beats Up a Model · Global Voices
Ruslan Trad

Bulgaria is quite shocked at the news of a player for one of the country's biggest football clubs, CSKA, beating top model Kristin Vacheva.
Orlin Orlinov played for the Slavia team before joining CSKA. Slavia's coach said Orlinov had been causing problems in the past as well. Kristin Vacheva is a journalist and a top model, a famous person in Bulgaria. She was introduced to Orlin Orlinov at a night club in Sofia. On the night of March 20, she took Orlinov over to her home. And then he started beating her.
[…] “He dragged me to the floor. Everything was covered with blood […],”said Vacheva on bTV.
This case is making the tide of popular opinion in blogs and news sites in Bulgaria.
Blogger crossagency quoted from the story about the incident [BG]:
[…] In the morning I couldn't breath, I told him: “Please, I need a doctor.” I saw the key and I ran away. At the moment I got to the car, he started ringing me, he wrote messages. He said if I didn't pick up my phone it would get worse. I said to him: “You are crazy” – and he said, “Yes, but there is nothing you can do.” […]
Another blogger, sisko871, wrote [BG]:
[…] Katrin escaped from her torturer in the morning. “I decide to share, because there might be other girls who could make the same mistake and be battered by him the same way.” Orlinov admits that he has not raped Vacheva, but “just a little.” The prosecutor’s office is expected to charge the football player of CSKA for  assault and battery. […]
Novinkata wrote [BG]:
[…] The CSKA's forward Orlin Orlinov declared he had never hit model and reporter for TV MSAT Katrin Vacheva, who made a complaint about rape and battery. […]
Bulgarian blog Goli dumi posted a screenshot of a discussion between the athlete's supporters [BG]:
The society is divided. Some think it is a serious problem and others think it's just PR. For the past few days, most of the Bulgarian TV stations have been discussing this case.

author: Ruslan Trad


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China and Japan: Expo Osaka and Expo Shanghai · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Martin J Frid notices that the theme of Expo 2010 is loaded with a strong belief in “developmentalism” and “urbanism”. He then shares the experience of Expo Osaka in 1970 which helped setting up the global agenda of sustainable development.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Characters in leaders’ names made sensitive search terms on Google · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Beginning Wednesday and continuing today, Chinese Internet users have discovered that Google searches containing the Chinese characters for the surnames of China's top leaders (ie. the ‘hu’ [jintao] in carrot, ‘huluobo’) are resulting in a reset connection to the website. Isaac Mao has made a screencast showing how this works.

author: John Kennedy


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East Timor: Economic data · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Lost Boy questions the accuracy of some positive economic indicators cited by East Timor officials.

author: Mong Palatino


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Fashionalism in the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Andang Juan blogs on “fashionalism,” a term invented by a Filipino fashion designer from the words “fashion” and “nationalism,” as a means by which capitalists translate the abstract concept of nationalism into the logic of consumerism and profit.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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France: What would you do in The Game of Death? · Global Voices
Lester Bolicenni

A  controversial French documentary called “How far will TV go: The Game of Death” sparked worldwide scandal on March 17 by broadcasting an experiment of a fake TV game show in which contestants were led to torture other players by giving them electric shocks. Most of the 80 test subjects complied without complaint.
This scene above is taken directly from the documentary, which was broadcast on the French television network France 2.
The fake game show, “Xtreme Zone”, reproduces the situational conditions of a psychological experiment conducted by American psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. In this new television version, a “questioner” asks a series of questions to a “candidate” locked in a box. For each wrong answer, the candidate is given an electrical shock. The intensity increases for each question. Of course, the candidate is an actor and everything but the actual subject of the experiment (the questioner) is made-up.
The show ends when the questioner refuses to go further (“rebels”) or sends twice the ultimate shock of 460V (“obeys”). Then the on-site psychologists reveal the truth to the questioner and film the reaction.
A televised experiment
This is the first time the experiment was televised, but the Milgram experiment was previously reproduced in many different countries with variations – and also once in a fictional scene of a film from 1979 by Henri Verneuil, called I As In Icarius (watch in French or with English subtitles).
One of the scientists of the show, Jean-Leon Beauvois [fr], researcher and lecturer in social psychology, relates [fr] the experiment on a social science forum. He explains his reasons for collaborating:
[A reason] that pushed me to accept [participating in the show] is the integration of the proposed research project in a broader political television, giving rise to a documentary on the abuses of networks and the hazards of reality TV.
Reproducing the Milgram experiment, he has expected similar results:
For the show we expected  maximum obedience because we reproduced the Milgram situation in which 62.5% had received obedience. And indeed, 81% of our questioners choose to send the 460 volts electrical jolt twice.
He concludes, cautiously, that television is an institution where people are more prone to obey:
People do not need references like knowledge, science, etc… to obey a person who gives them immoral orders in an institutional context because they came to do what they were asked to do. they owe this predisposition to obedience to their education and the practice routine in their organizations.
Bloggers reactions
Unlike television viewers (the television ratings have been low so far) [fr], this transposition of the experiment on television has triggered many reactions from the blogosphere.
Many people have criticized the implementation of experience in the field of television. Andre Gunthert, historian and researcher in visual studies, refutes [fr] the previous analysis:
The Milgram experiment was about authority. However, its implementation on television does not prove the existence of an “authoritative” television, but rather a submission to the environnemental context. […] A television broadcast is a large machine in which the production process applies a certain pressure on the participant. It involves the mobilization of costly equipment, a team of several people, specially arranged premises reserved for that purpose, etc.. Struggling with the production once we have agreed to take part in it is hardly feasible, and would be like taking the controls of a Boeing after takeoff.
According to Virginia Spies [fr], semiotician and television expert, experimental conditions are distorted because it is primarily a game for the candidates, which would explain the differences in results:
Unlike the Milgram experiment, they do not recruit people by telling them it's a scientific experiment, but telling them they are candidates in a game show, which is totally different: Throughout the experiment, the candidates think that they are playing a game, which totally changes their perception of events.
“What would you do?”
However, this experiment will not remain without effect on viewers, as it makes each viewer reflect upon their own values, as Olivier Mauco on his blog Game in Society points out [fr]:
The great strength of this experience is that everyone may be one of the guinea pigs. The injunction “What would you do,” reinforced the proximity, not the empathy but the positioning. […] This is a moral debate because this debate is driven by relations between individual and a value system.
Many bloggers have wondered what would they do. But few dared to answer, like Jean-Marc Onkelix a Belgian viewer and blogger, who courageously expressed [fr] his doubts:
Would I have done any differently? Am I capable of committing, within the scope of any kind of authority, an act so irreparable, so far from my world view, so different from my morality? It's a duty for me to respect all individuals without discrimination, should I be one of the torturers? I confess I am tempted to say no, but in these cases, are all the necessary discernment, the vision of reality, still there? Are we ready to push back in spite of everyhting and risking our own interest to stay consistent with our morality?
If we take this poll as any indication [fr], it seems that a majority of Internet users think they are capable of resisting authority. It will be interesting to see whether the future will prove them right.

author: Lester Bolicenni


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India: Not A Culture Or An Idea, But An Experience · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sometimes people ask what India is – a country, an idea or a culture? According to Supriyo Chaudhuri “India is an experience. It is greater than the country, more diverse than just the idea and more dynamic than what is understood to be its culture;” as described in his blog The Sunday Posts.

author: Rezwan


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Japan: Human-faced dog · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Pink Tentacle has a feature story about the legend of human-faced dog in Japan.


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Myanmar: NLD Challenges Election Laws · Global Voices
tan

Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) has legally challenged the electoral laws which prohibits the party's leader Aung San Su Kyi from participating in the general election.

author: tan


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Myanmar: Why Is There No Backup Plan? · Global Voices
tan

Nyi Lynn Seck shared his thoughts on the political processes of Myanmar in the past, and wondered why there are no backup plans to continue with another person if one person cannot carry ahead anymore.


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Peru: Cries of Animal Abuse in Defense of Surfing Alpaca · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The video from the Peruvian television program Reporte Semanal that shows an alpaca named “Pisco” supposedly surfing, guided by its trainer, Domingo Pianezzi, himself a surfer, has been attracting a lot of attention.  This Reuters blog post has several photographs of the surfing alpaca. The stunt is especially interesting because the alpaca is an Andean animal from the South American camelid family and has a lot of hair necessary to withstand the low temperatures in the Andean mountains. Even though there is mention that before the arrival of the Spanish that the alpaca could also be found on the coastal wetlands, it is difficult to imagine these animals interacting with the ocean and with the high summer temperatures.
Those who have seen the video come away with the impression that the surfing alpaca is not very comfortable, and it even jumps into the water when fear takes over. This is different than other ‘surfing’ animals, such as dogs that appear to enjoy the experience even more. To judge for yourself, see the video [es].
Photo of Peruvian alpaca by Craft*ology and used under a Creative Commons license.
For many in the beginning, the surfing alpaca was something praiseworthy or something to proud of as Peruvians, as can be seen in the comments section of the story in the El Comercio newspaper [es]. However, there were also comments against this stunt from those who accuse the surfer of animal abuse. The same newspaper published another article where animal-rights activists express their concern for the well-being of the alpaca [es] because it was taken out of its natural habitat and was in contact with salt water. The alpaca's trainer describes the safety steps that are taken, such as plugging the animal's ears and rinsing it with freshwater after being in the ocean.
However, for many those measures do not appear to be enough. In the blogs, there are  many voices that are in disagreement with this “sporting practice.” For example, Roger Torres Pando writing in the blog Perú Antitaurino [es] writes:
Cabe señalar que este deportista,  profesor de surf para niños, está violando la Ley Nº 27265, Ley de Protección a los Animales Domésticos y a los Animales Silvestres mantenidos en Cautiverio, así como el Artículo 450-A del Código Civil. Entonces, ¿qué tipo de formación puede dar a las futuras  generaciones un señor que no respeta a los animales y con ello a la  naturaleza?, ¿acaso los padres antes de enseñarles a sus hijos a pararse  en una tabla no deberían enseñarles valores para ser mejores hombres?.  Desde acá exigimos a la Dirección de Flora y Fauna Silvestre y también a  la Policía Ecológica, rescatar a esta inocente alpaca de las garras  egoístas de este “deportista”.
The blogger RBC also was not in agreement and writes in his blog De Todo un Poco…y que Dios nos Coja Confesados [es] and asks Question: Who is more of an animal?:
A diferencia de un labrador retriever, una alpaca NO se lanza al mar a  nadar, sino observen sus patas dobladas sobre la tabla por el temor al  que está expuesto en el mar.  Pero Pianezzi dice que su mascota “se está  acostumbrando al agua”,…. si si como no. Sería interesante que  este entrenador haga surfismo en la cordillera de los andes y encima  calato…
In the blog Tecnología [es] the blogger writes:
nos preguntamos que sentirá la protagonista de esta nota, solo podemos  decir que se le ve mas echada en la tabla (como algunos principiantes)  que como todo un surf y solo atina a caerse de la tabla que a correr la ola.
The blogger from Interiorismo de Verdad [es] also reflects:
(refiriéndose al perro NdE) Creo que la amistad del ser humano con los animales es lo que debemos  cultivar y enseñar a los nuestros y creo que el entrenador de San Bartolo Domingo Pianezzi, ha desarrollado una gran amistad con su mascota  ala cual enseño a meterse ala playa con el y subirse a la tabla, como  una muestra de lo que el compañerismo logra es impresionante, … pero ahora que en las noticias sale con la novedad de la alpaca Pisco se  convertiria en su nuevo alumno de surf, creo que  ya lo esta realizando  solo para tener publicidad porque no me parece adecuado que este animal de un habitat diferente al de la costa tenga que habituarse al mar ser  trasquilado para evitar el calor de la costa, ya se lo imaginan?
In Facebook, there are two groups Pisco the Surfing Alpaca that appears to be in favor of the stunt and Surfing Alpaca? I would say animal abuse [es]. The second El Comercio article mentioned contains a polls with the question “Are you for or against the surfing alpaca?” At the time of publication there is 43% in favor and 57% against.

author: Juan Arellano


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Philippines: Earthquake near Manila · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was felt near Manila, Philippines. Earthquake is now a trending topic on twitter.


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Philippines: Online Campaigning · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Radulce blogs about online campaigning in the Philippines in the context of the 2010 Presidential Elections.


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Philippines: Post-earthquake reactions on Twitter · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A 6.1 intensity earthquake rocked Manila and nearby provinces a few hours ago. Twitterers continue to share their experience and observations.
Some basic information about the quake:
coffeewithamee: RT @juliusbabao: Philvolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)  Director Solidum: Earthquake in Metro Manila similar to Chile , but lesser in strength. 50 aftershocks recorded this pm.
alongcame_polly: @SarahTLV1 we had a 6.2 earthquake here in Manila earlier. it was kinda strong but quick.
nadine_joy: A strong earthquake struck manila philippines today at around 2:00 pm with a magnitude of 6.1!
jhoyml: 6.1 magnitude quake. Mindoro – epicenter. #earthquake
mllmartinez: The earthquake is already in the news with a magnitude of 6, wherein the epicenter is 100km southwest of Manila.
USGS_EQ_25: PRELIM: M6.1 05:29 3/25 13.7N 120.1E 106 km W of Batangas, Luzon, Philippines MINDORO, PHILIPPINES Z=72km US 2010ugaf 33f06
There were many people who didn’t feel and notice the quake
rachelmercado08: On my way home, I was wondering why there were lots of people in the park. I thought there was a celebrity or something. EARTHQUAKE pala
keikimi: Just got home, didn't feel the earthquake, I was in the car, sleeping. :D
leamusikera: i just woke up the earthquake earlier was a little scary. i hope it doesn't happen again. i'm so scare
roseannrelos: Effin’ earthquake! Everybody is talking about it! I can't relate, I really didn't felt it…'coz i'm sleeping during the thing! Lo
prettyshopper: Heard there was an earthquake. I was on the road, didn't feel it.
ohsnapitscelina: received 7 missed calls from my mom earlier who kept panicking about the earthquake. I didn't feel anything though..
Post-earthquake drill. Pic by Jena via @Butterflygurl07
How did some people react to the quake? Where were they when the quake struck the capital?
urprincesspeach: always wondered how i'd react when an earthquake strikes. Only to find out I would spend the whole duration figuring out if I'm just dizzy
avoiderdragon: says I was in the computer shop when the earthquake happened. It enhanced gameplay.
yesitsMafia: Oh yeah, I also felt the earthquake a while ago. I was trying to sleep but then it happened. Hahah
BirdBrand: Earthquake here in the NCR (National Capital Region) is weak. Nothing really to be alarmed about. People worry too much!
akpt14: i was in the library when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake shook manila and near cities 6 hours ago. that was so scary…. T_T
josramoy: i was at home when the earthquake happened this 1:35pm. really scary.
marchil: everybody all right? what i thought was a dizzy spell due to heat or might have been hunger was apparently a 6.1 magnitude earthquake
artsyava: Home from school. Still surprised over the earthquake that happened today. CSB had an earthquake drill but still classes resumed after
ohsheshot: That earthquake only gave me severe headache and mild heart attack!
ageofbrillig: DZMM reports quake scene at intl conference, “sandwiches were dancing”. Crowne Plaza, 4th floor.
Some funny reflections….
johnnnnnyboy: Funny scene @the office kanina: while all of us are preparing to go down for a scheduled FIRE DRILL, bigla namang nag EARTHQUAKE! Worse Hah
indigirltwitz: was about to have late lunch when the earthquake shook…i felt the shaking going on but my friends said i was just hungry.tsk tsk tsk.
and some serious afterthoughts
jhaeze07: thanks god that everything is still ok after that earthquake. lets just always pray for everybody. god bless everyone.
fredrockz: RT @webtw Just in case you thought you were in charge of ur life, mother nature just gave us a gentle reminder, ur not. #earthquake #manila
Jaynhus: Earthquake make us forget our problems at least for a second.
Below is a short video which shows the impact of the quake in an office located in the central business district
Everybody was tweeting the quake
ImmabeKaydee: during the earthquake, first thing to enter my mind : I have to tweet this! :P hahaha..adik? (addicted)
pamantiad: everybody's tweeting about the earthquake. I'm not sure if I should, too. :P
A different earthquake in Manila today when Hollywood pop star Justin Timberlake arrived in the country
dxxen: RT @joshua_yu: RT @kellyism: people at sofitel were running to go outside, not bec of earthquake but bec Justin Timberlake was at the poolside, teehee:)
kimbamheo: oh did you felt the earthquake? or is it just Timbaland, @jojoistheway and @jtimberlake goin to rock the house on Saturday?!? 0___0!
yvette_tan: There will be a much weaker earthquake on Saturday. This time due to lolas (grandmas) jumping up and down at the Tom Jones concert. :p RT @chockwit
Philippines, Earthquake, and Manila became top twitter trending topics of the day. At one point, it even “out-trended Justin Bieber
thepoledancer: RT @iamqueenn: it took an earthquake in the Philippines to knock @justinbieber off the trending topics on Twitter
tonyocruz: RT @1rgcruz: oh this is historic—justin bieber is compeletely boxed out of twitter trending by trends from the philippines


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Rabies epidemic in Bali, Indonesia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jotman writes about a rabies epidemic in Bali, Indonesia


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Russia: “Drugs and Hookers Scandal” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At The Daily Beast, author Michael Idov chronicles “Russia's amazing drugs and hookers scandal,” which involves opposition activist Ilya Yashin, political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin, and the Russian Newsweek‘s editor-in-chief Mikhail Fishman: “‘Let me get this straight,’ wrote Ilya Krasilschik, the editor of Afisha magazine, commenting on a Facebook status update after the scandal broke and summing up much of the popular sentiment. ‘You fight the regime, and in exchange the regime brings you free chicks and blow? Duly noted.'”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Sri Lanka: The Akon Controversy · Global Voices
Rezwan

Akon performing in a concert. Image from Flickr by Celso Tavares via Funchal. Used under a Creative Commons License
You might wonder what reactions can a music video cause? R&B singer-songwriter Akon's (born Aliaune Badara Akon Thiam) video Sexy Chick, which features a group of scantly clad women dancing at a pool party in front of a Buddha statue, caused much uproar in Sri Lanka. The statue in question is in the background for a few seconds and is out of focus and barely visible.
Akon was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on a concert tour next month. A couple of days ago approximately 200 people gathered outside the office of Maharaja, the broadcaster sponsoring the concert, and hurled stones injuring four people and damaging the building.
Online news portal Perambara reports:
Online opposition to the concert which started in the form of Facebook groups, has now grown to almost 13,000 in numbers, and is being supported by forwarded emails and blog posts. The verbal opposition took a violent twist on March 22, when the offices of Capital Maharaja came under attack by a mob. Placards left behind at the scene indicated that the attack was triggered by the proposed Akon concert.
This did not stop there and according to a news report some Buddhist monks approached the Sri Lankan government urging not to allow Akon to perform in Sri Lanka.  The Sri Lankan government turned down Akorn's visa request citing his: “controversial video images, offensive song lyrics and strong protests coming from various cultural, religious groups and organizations in the country”.
Akon issued a statement saying that he was not aware of the statue and did not mean to offend.
This has become a hot topic in the Sri Lankan blogosphere.
Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca finds the video annoying but criticizes the attacks:
If you want to defend Buddhism one might start by practicing it. Rather than chatting on Facebook or (allegedly) throwing stones, that involves a little sitting quietly by yourself.
Dee at A Collision of Ideas slams the death threat to Akon in Facebook and suggests:
Perhaps we need to be a little less angry, give it a chance and see what positives we can get out of it rather than killing him and embarrassing ourselves all together.
Kalana Senaratne at Groundviews names this the rise of Sinhala-Buddhist fundamentalism:
Surely, if one or two seconds caused such anger and hatred, things would have been much more serious if the entire music video featured a Buddha statue or a temple in it. More fundamentally, then, are these protesters who shout and scream and throw stones, including some monks, really ‘Buddhists’?
Perhaps as a nation, we have reached the stage where the kind of absurd protests that take place in the name Buddhism need to be critically analyzed. There is a great danger in not doing so, because obviously, the impression that is sent out by the silence of those who are disturbed by such protests is that of ‘acceptance’; acceptance of every barbaric thing done in the name of Buddhism, mostly by politicians who hide behind religions.
Going Global has this to say to the Akon haters in Sri Lanka:
All accusations these kill Akon groups level against him centre around a Buddha statue used in a video of his. Now i understand how that can be offensive; to have a couple of scantily clad ‘ho’s’ dancing around something you consider to be sacred, and if someone did that in a mosque I’d be pretty pissed off too.
But going berserk on the news that he is to perform in Sri Lanka and threatening to kill the guy is not going to help anyone. Least of all the Sri Lankans.
A Voice in Colombo asks “is it ok for producers of the music video, to use a Buddha statue in the backdrop of that video?” London, Lanka and Drums answers the question and wonders what God or Buddha would think about the matter.
The Puppeteer has this to say about the refusal of Akon's visa:
The Sri Lankan government seems to have developed a habit of refusing visas. Though this time around it might have been a precautionary measure, rather than an attempt to cover up their tracks.
However the blogger hopes that Akon will perform at a rescheduled date.


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Sri Lanka: The Economics Of Being A Rice Farmer · Global Voices
Rezwan

Rajaratarala at Perceptions blog discusses the challenging economics of the production cost of a rice farmer in Sri Lanka and the price they get for their produces.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Money Done · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I yawned last night when the news on all local TV stations reported that the police, famous for being loyal to our incorruptible leader, raided UDeCOTT offices, Sunway International’s offices and the home of Calder Hart, possibly looking for remnants of The Treasury”: This Beach Called Life says that Trinidad and Tobago is running on empty.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary III · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
As part of the BBC Superpower Season, the BBC's Azeri service approached Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor to participate in its own reflection on the power of the Internet. Locked into a bitter stalemate over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, BBC Azeri were specifically interested in how new and social media could bring the two warring sides together.
What follows is the final part three of the series, originally published yesterday in Azerbaijani, translated or using the original texts in English. It followed the first two parts already republished in English on Global Voices Online here and here.
The BBC Superpower season is in March. In these programs we discussed the power of Internet and the way it affects the lives of people.
The Internet has brought big changes to the lives of people starting from personal relations to business contacts. New media has opened up a new way not only for journalists. It has also inspired an audience and civil society towards free thought and social activism.
The wide use of social media has changed cultural and political values throughout the world. People are willing to communicate, participate and share their thoughts.
This new online project prepared by the Azeri service of the BBC within this Internet season is called Facebook diary.
Every day the participants of this project will follow social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and share their observations with readers of this site.
The first part of our Facebook diary is called Social media and conflict resolution.
As an observation, the main purpose of using Facebook is about the opportunities offered to users of social media as well as using it as a think-tank platform.
What opportunity does social media offer to peace activists from Armenia and Azerbaijan? Can new media tools change the current situation? What are the negative effects of social media in the light of nationalists using new media for an attack on the “enemy”?
Answers to these questions will be given by diarists writing on “Social media and conflict resolution” – Arzu Qeybullayeva from Azerbaijan and Onnik Krikorian from Armenia.
United we stand
When two youth activists Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada were arrested last summer, I realized something unique. While Emin and Adnan were from Azerbaijan, there was a wide support network that formed around them, including from Armenia. Even before the news of their arrest was covered by mainstream media, many blogs in both Armenia and Azerbaijan were already writing constant updates regarding the incident and updating their Twitter and Facebook statuses. It was an incredible feeling to see total strangers ask questions, post updates and provide moral support not only from across the border, but via social networks.
I was fortunate enough to see the passion — and sorrow — in the eyes of Armenian youth when talking about this incident during a training. They shared our frustration and disappointment, and it was sincere.
And this is how we are: ‘us’ Azerbaijanis and ‘them’ Armenians, but in essence we all are the same. We listen to similar pop or indie music, watch the same videos, share the same experience of studying abroad, and hopes for a better future.
I remember talking to my first Armenian friend whom I met during my exchange year in the US. We liked the same music, bands, and read similar books. My next encounter was several years later in grad school, where yet again we had so many similarities.
Years later, I even had the opportunity to work with an Armenian journalist, Onnik, and once again, we shared one very important value in common – breaking stereotypes through use of new social media such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter.
Onnik Krikorian is the Caucasus regional editor of Global Voices Online as well as a freelance journalist and photojournalist based in Yerevan, Armenia.
Reflections
A friend from Baku visiting Tbilisi rang me last night. It was a shock and not least because I'm usually used to speaking to her over Skype. It was a reality not lost on her too. “One day,” she said, “I hope to be able to ring you from my own home.” In fact, it was strange. Yes, it was her voice, but it was also somehow different speaking to her, like most people do, on a phone.
Skype is a wonderful tool which has opened up many possibilities, but it's a way to circumvent restrictions on communication rather than to finally remove them once and for all. The same is true with Facebook, blogs and Twitter. True, without them, I wouldn't be in touch with so many people in Azerbaijan, but it’s also not quite the same as that personal touch.
Of course, that too is happening when it can, but today I also heard another story from an Armenian friend in Yerevan. She's also in touch with people in Azerbaijan, meets with them when the opportunity arises, and even has a boyfriend in Baku. However, word travels, and recently some questions were asked in semi-official circles here.
Not by the government, but by those with enough prejudice and intolerance to disrupt her life if they really wanted to. Not surprisingly, she's worried, although she shouldn't have to be.
There is no law that prohibits citizens of Armenia from being in touch with those in Azerbaijan, and technically war was never declared between the two countries anyway. Regardless, in most democracies, much of society understands that it is governments that go to war and not people, who are sometimes merely cannon fodder and often simply a means to an end.
In a sense, this is why there has been so much negative propaganda perpetuated through official channels as well as by the local media. Political forces on all sides of the divide in both countries can easily manipulate people this way. It's also why social media has changed the ball game. Of course, it's also not without risks.
Indeed, matters such as online privacy and personal security need to be taken far more seriously by many people who have not only managed to use sites such as Facebook to their fullest, but have also become somewhat complacent. Let anyone on your Facebook page and you're effectively laying open not only yourself, but also many others, to prying eyes.
It’s why I’m incredibly careful with my own, although I have over 600 people there, but something else struck me while looking for ideas for today’s final entry. Not only are some Armenians and Azerbaijanis openly interacting there, but some are also doing the same on the pages of others from the “opposing side.”
Without any hostility or “flame wars,” I have to say, there really wasn't much to report at all. Instead, it was almost as if the whole region was at peace with itself.
Of course it's not, and the reality is far from the ideal of my own personal “Virtual Caucasus.” Moreover, we all know the risks, but have chosen to brush them aside. If positive change is to occur and if a genuine environment for peaceful coexistence is to emerge, it has to start first with people. And that is what I truly believe social media can help achieve.
Indeed, seemingly the impossible has already happened, and as a result of these new tools more so than the media, much of civil society, and certainly not the government.
In fact, even this series for BBC Azeri is the result of social media and also why I'm now sitting in Yerevan looking forward to meeting up with many friends from Azerbaijan, Georgia and elsewhere next month in Tbilisi. Suddenly, the Caucasus has become so much richer and diverse as a result. More importantly, there is hope.
It's what Arzu and I, as well as other friends and colleagues in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, have been striving to achieve all year. It's also why I think a fitting end to this series should be link to it. So, if you'd like to see the potential of new and social media in overcoming negative stereotypes and bringing people together, why not check out the following?
http://oneworld.am/diversity/
http://frontlineclub.com/blogs/onnikkrikorian/
http://cau.blogs.tol.org/category/diversity-project/
https://globalvoicesonline.org/-/world/central-asia-caucasus/
http://www.tol.org/client/special-report/21197-special-report-common-ground-in-the-caucasus.html
Incidentally, although most of the material is in English, some of it is also in Azerbaijani, again thanks to social media. While we might talk about one small set of tools, there are many others too, some of which allow collaborative translation. Indeed, volunteers translated parts of this material into many other languages, as did my sevgili in Baku.
Oh, didn't I mention? We met first through Facebook.
The original text in Azerbaijani is available on the BBC Azeri web site. Many thanks to Konul Khalilova for permission to post a version in English. The main collaboration between the BBC and Global Voices Online for the Superpower Season is here.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Barbados, Jamaica: Dancehall Show Cancelled  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados’ Boyce Voice blogs about “the On again, Off again, On again, Off again Show AKA Vybz Kartel Movado Show”, saying: “I feel for the event promoters…they were…bullied by the authorities”; while Barbados Free Press is proud of the “unequivocal message” delivered by the Prime Minister: “We the people of Barbados don’t want the violent dance hall culture of Jamaica in our country…”


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Bhutan: State Funding For Political Parties · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tshering Tobgay, the leader of opposition of the National Assembly of Bhutan, writes in his blog why it is dangerous to provide state funding for political parties.


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France : Literary blogs and Paris Book Fair  · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

At the Paris Salon du Livre – France's biggest annual book fair, the website atelier des médias (media workshops) hosted by Radio France Internationale (RFI) “flips through the literary blogs of a few guests of the media workshops”: Gangoueus LaRéus at Chez Gangeous, Liss Kihindou at Liss dans la vallée des livres, both based in France, and Kangni Alem from Togo [Fr].

author: Suzanne Lehn


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France/Spain: Blog censorship · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

The Quemando Iglesias [Burning Churches] blog reports [es] on the forced shut down of the zer  egin duzue jonekin [What they did to Jon?], a blog that had gathered support for the investigation of the death of the ETA militant Jon Anza, supposedly in the hands of the Spanish State Security Forces in Iparralde [North Basque Country, France].

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Global Pulse 2010: An invitation to talk to decision makers online · Global Voices
Lester Bolicenni

From March 29 to 31, Global Pulse 2010 aims to gather over 20.000 individuals and representatives of organisations in an online conversation dealing with topics ranging from human development to science and technologies.
The event is sponsored by US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the goal is to give world citizens an opportunity to voice opinions and share ideas for innovative solutions to social issues. According to USAID, the inspiration for the online event is a speech President Barack Obama gave in Cairo in June 2009 in which he said he would promote partnership with the rest of the world.
Ten topics of discussion
The event will start at 0 am (GMT) and will last 72 hours non-stop, and participants will be able to follow and comment in several live discussions simultaneously. All discussions will be led by featured opinion leaders, decision makers and NGO members, including Youssou N'Dour [fr], famous Senegalese singer, deeply engaged in the fight against malaria, Iqbal Z. Quadir, founder of Grameenphone in Bangladesh, and even Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices Online.
Participants from at least 128 countries will share and discuss on ten broad topics, listed here :
Innovative technology
Gathering thousands of people online at the same time could be tricky. Fortunately, the forum technology that will be used, IBM Jam, has been already been tested in previous events.
Bill Tipton took part in Habitat Jam – a three-day online event in 2005 to solicit ideas on urban sustainability. In a blog at the Global Dialogue Center he  shares his experience:
I know this can work from participating in such an event in 2005 […] Tens of thousands of individuals – including government and business leaders, NGOs and specialists — came together to discuss real issues and concerns facing  the world’s urban communities.
[…]
I still meet and work with people I met in that truly remarkable Jam and  expect to meet other extraordinary individuals in Global Pulse in 2010.
Participating
To  join the Global Pulse event, you only need a computer and internet access – and you also have to register in advance (for free). Before March 29, you can follow @globalpulse2010 on Twitter as well as the hashtag #gp2010. There is also a Facebook page with almost 700 fans, where suggestions have already been posted.
One idea by Oliver Mupila goes:
Query: Can Global Pulse suggest effective indicators for tracking the progress of grand corruption cases from referral to the investigating agencies, through to the Director of Prosecutions, onward to the courts and  progress while they are in court without compromising the individuals right to a fair trial/hearing or reputation before they are convicted? What is considered good practice in this area and are there any countries that do this particularly well? And why are news writers in Africa not in good books [of] the government?
According to Dr. Rajiv Shah, Adminsitrator of USAID, the online summit will gather “individuals who are not normally seated at the table with key  decision makers”. Could this be a move towards the future of democracy? It should at least be interesting to find out.


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India: How Indian Airlines Are Using Social Media · Global Voices
Rezwan

“I believe that Indian airlines are only scratching the surface of what’s possible with social media,” comments Gaurav Mishra at Gauravonomics while discussing how Indian Airlines are embracing social media.


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India: Twestival At 7 Cities · Global Voices
Rezwan

According to Blogadda, many Indian Twitterati engaged themselves yesterday in a Twitter festival dubbed ‘Twestival’ across seven cities of India simultaneously. Please check out http://twestival.blogadda.com for complete coverage of Twestival across the globe!


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Russia: One of the Top Bloggers Dies · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Dmitry Gorchev (aka LJ user dimkin), a writer and artist (some of his translations are here), died today in his house leaving about 13,000 readers mourn, openspace.ru reported. Gorchev was one of the first bloggers on RuNet with his Livejournal account registered in 2001.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Top Blogger’s Account Hacked · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Livejournal account of Igor Bigdanov (aka LJ user ibigdan), one of the top RuNet bloggers, has been hacked, Bigdanov reported. The most common version of the motives of the hack – commercial. This one and several similar attacks were allegedly carried out by the so called the “Brigade of Hell”, Vladimir Pribylovski argues.


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Russia: Website Closed By Police Order · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

20marta.ru, an opposition website dedicated to the “Day of Anger” held on March 20, was closed by police after just one day of functioning, kasparov.ru reported. According to the source, the police have sent the letter informing that the website is closed due to inciting anti-government sentiment.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Water Crisis · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidadian Keith Francis weighs in on the global water crisis, saying: “There's no sense complaining about WASA or the Government or the fact that we're in this situation.  The fact is that we are all in this situation together, so let's make the best of it.  Together.”


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Chile: Firsthand video account of Tsunami waves in Pichilemu · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

The force and unexpected nature of a tsunami wave can be seen in the following video. It shows a group of friends walking on the debris strewn beach of Pichilemu, a resort town in central Chile, observing the previous tsunami's damage when they get caught in the rapidly rising waters. Take note of the boat near the horizon and how it ends up meters from them.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Japan: A whale of a controversy · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Only a few days after “The Cove” was awarded the Oscar as best documentary drawing the attention of public and media around the world to the hunting of cetaceans issue, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd’s leader Peter Bethune was arrested in Tokyo [en], re-igniting the controversy between Japan and Australia – New Zealand.
The protest group activist is charged with trespassing, for boarding a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern ocean during February while attempting to make a citizen’s arrest of its captain for the sinking of the Sea Shepherd’s ship one month earlier (as previously reported for Global Voices by Kevin Rennie).
Ady Gil. By Flickr id: james975.
Although Japan’s whaling program is only authorised for scientific purposes and most of the Japanese people do not regard whale meat their favourite meal, the collision with the New Zealand anti-whaling vessel has roused some sentiment of nationalism [ja], though weak, in the country.
But ‘jingoistic’ sentiments are also evident in the announcement of Peter Bethune’s arrest on the Sea Shepherd official website.
The Japanese whaling ship Shonan Maru 2 arrived in Tokyo today with the first New Zealand prisoner of war to be transported to Japan as a political prisoner since World War II.As soon as his foot touched Japanese soil, Captain Bethune reestablished himself as a national hero in New Zealand and an international hero in Australia, France, Britain, the United States, and every other country whose citizens deplore the continued illegal whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet.
In Japan, some feel New Zealand and Australia’s anti-whaling activity as an attack on their country’s food culture and wonder why whale meat should be prohibited while cattle and pig meat is not[ja]. It highlights the contentious divide between slaughtering debatably intelligent versus non intelligent animals.
In some cases Japanese media increasingly rode the wave of polemic on the issue. James at Japan Probe posts about Japanese broadcaster NTV’s show ‘Bankisha’ reporting on the Sea Shepherd issue. In the first part of the show he says, attention is paid to analyzing Sea Shepherd’s funding sources and budget.
The second half of the clip is about Sea Shepherd’s next target: the bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean. It looks like many countries have teamed up to ban the fishing of the species, and since 80% of the catch is sold on the Japanese market, it is being interpreted as yet another attack on Japan’s cultural traditions.
Joining the reporters in the studio are an art director who does marketing for many of Japan’s famous brands and a legal scholar. The legal scholar points out how America used to kill whales for oil. He also thinks the American position towards Japanese whaling is influenced by an underlying hostility that the “white world” [白人社会] feels towards Japanese. The art director thinks that Japan needs to do a better job at presenting its case to the world, as so many people in other countries don’t understand why Japanese people eat whale meat.
2008-12-26 SS encounters Japanese whaling ship. By Flickr id:guano.
Masablog however does not agree with those who use food culture as a counter-argument deeming it as reductive.
何となく日本たたきのようにこの問題をとらえていたが、ちょっと違うみたいだなあ。
日本人の反論としてよくあるものに、じゃあアメリカ人は牛を食べるが、それと何が違うんだ？鯨を助けても牛の数が減るだけだ、というものがある。これに対しては、単に鯨は知能が高いからかわいそうだということではなく、殺すのに時間がかかるので人道的に問題があるという議論があるようだ。
Akki says he condemns the methods used by the animalist group.
私自身は捕鯨については賛成も否定もしませんが
（いまどきの高価な鯨を食べるようなお金もないですし）
彼らのやり方は、どう理由があろうがはなはだ迷惑な行為であり
危険であります。本当にケガ人が出たらどうするつもりなんだろう。
Stop Whaling. By Flickr id: alisonlongrigg.
Australian blogger Youngmarxist calls for an accurate revision of the IWC rules that would regulate whaling at international levels.
Reports are hitting the media about draft amendments to international whaling rules that are meant to bring Japan, and other whaling nations, back under the rule of the International Whaling Commission. The amendments in effect will allow nations that are already killing whales to keep on doing so with the approval of the IWC, provided that they limit the numbers of whales they catch. The exact limits are yet to be decided, and of course will only apply if the draft amendments pass.[…]
If this plan ends the ridiculous hypocrisy that is “scientific” whaling, so much the better. There is no reason that whales should be treated any differently to any other resource. Whales should be managed properly, so they aren’t recklessly driven extinct, but there’s no good moral reason to privilege the “rights” of whales over the right of humans to hunt them.

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan: Cherry Blossom Viewing 101 · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

Legonjapan made a video [en, ja] to explain the abc of Hanami, or flower viewing.
The animation teaches the related terms and the etiquette to follow during the parties, usually held under the pink flowers in full bloom (around the end of March or the beginning of April).


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Japan: Long life to bluefin tuna. The experts’ word. · Global Voices
apeescape

With 68 countries voting against, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species that regulates the international trade of wild animals and plants, rejected a ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, that was slated for listing on Appendix One, i.e. a complete ban.
Japan consumes nearly 80% of the bluefin tuna caught globally, being it an important ingredient in the traditional cuisine. So it was in the eye of the storm when the CITES negotiations kicked off, as the country's commitment was put to the test and the final resolution was to affect the local fisheries business in several developing countries.
more
In addition, the dispute came only a few days after the arrest of Sea Shepherd's activist and the Oscar-winning documentary “The Cove” drew the attention of the international community on the whaling issue.
Tuna auction. By Flickr id: merec0
When the ban proposal was rejected, while Japan's tuna importing policies were severely criticized abroad, national media focused on the positive results, without taking into consideration more complex issues such as the preservation of endangered species.
A clear example of Japanese media's biased reporting is the FUJI TV program titled “クロマグロ禁輸否決！「日本大逆転勝ち」の攻防” (“Bluefin tuna ban rejected! The story of how Japan scored a big upset victory” (see  clip ), where the commentator Ogura Tomoaki said that “If influential countries continue to exercise their power, we won't have anything left to eat. In a few decades, the population will increase to 9 billion people and we'll need to use any resources as much as we can”.
Nakanishi Junko, an Environmental Engineering Professor at AIST criticizes the way media reported on the CITES decision , saying it distracts attention from the real problem :
今回の取材の焦点は、資源量ではなく、畜養に移ったらしい。そう言えば、いくつかのところで、畜養の話しを耳にしたし、TVで映像も見た。なるほど。この変化は何を意味しているのだろうか？  まず、これは世論誘導があったのか、それとも皆の関心が自然とそちらに移ったか、どちらだろう。考えてみても分かる筈もないのだが、一定の世論誘導があったとしても、それが、この報道の変化の主要な動機ではなく、日本人が、環境問題に向き合うことを避けたいという気持ち、それを反映していると思う。  環境保護を第一に考える人は、禁輸があってもいいぐらいのことは考えるだろう。しかし、一般には、マスコミは、マグロを食べることを否定できない、否定されたくない。とすれば、資源を見ながら調整しなければならない。  しかし、環境問題となると、予防原則とか、ゼロリスクとかで考えてきた、したがって、そういう調整、マネージメントの問題として考えることは不得手。そこで、一挙に、人工的に可能というところに行くのではなかろうか。  畜養の方が、資源量を減らしているという指摘をする人もいるので、所詮、環境問題から逃れることができないのだが、これを環境問題として考えたくないという思想の現れだと、私には見えた。
Old man and tuna. By Flickr id: Focｘ　Photography
Matsuda Hiroyuki, a Professor of Environment and Information Sciences at Yokohama University takes the broad view that even an eventual ban by CITES does not mean the disappearance of tuna from Japan's dining table:
大西洋クロマグロが禁輸されても、トロが食えなくなるわけではない。マグロ消費量を抑えろと言うのは以前からの私の持論だ。何を騒いでいるのだろうか。今回の教訓は、国際漁業管理にとって、今までは日本が乱獲の主役だったが、今回は欧州漁業機関が乱獲を続けていたと言うこと、その欧州はワシントン条約とマグロ管理で正反対の主張をしていること（日本はそんなことはない）。結局、今後の水産資源管理は、ワシントン条約とその背後の環境団体の意向を無視できなくなったことがわかったと言うことだ。  前向きの話をすべきだ。それは、ワシントン条約では俎上に上らないかもしれない、他の先進国が直接獲らない、太平洋クロマグロの資源管理である。これを語る報道機関を、まだ知らない。最も大事な問題から目をそらすのは、残念である。
Bluefin tuna. By Flickr id: bzibble
Finally, Katsukawa Toshio, a Fisheries Professor at Mie University says the media is pandering to the public on emotional terms, and dismissing the real issues that is Japan's large responsibility to the inevitable extinction of the Atlantic bluefin — whether that is through overfishing, illegal fishing, supporting tuna ranching, not taking leadership, or harvesting immature bluefins.
日本政府はICCATの有効性を声高に主張したのに対して、欧米はICCATの規制には懐疑的であった。ICCATのレポートを見れば、どちらが正しいかは明らかだ。漁獲を15000t以下にすべきという科学者の勧告を無視して、2007年に29500tのTACを設定。報告された漁獲枠は34514tだが、実際には61000tの漁獲があったとICCAT自身が認めているのである。
これらの黒いマグロの温床となっているのは畜養である。産卵群をまとめて漁獲して、いけすにいれて、太らせてから日本に出荷する畜養が、地中海で広まっている（実は日本のクロマグロの養殖もほとんどが畜養なのだが、メディアはそのこともふれない）。漁獲枠が３万トンに対して、地中海の畜養イケスのキャパシティーは、６万トンといわれている。そもそも、漁獲枠など守る気がないのである。不正漁獲はマフィアのビジネスになっている。[…]
「ワシントン条約を妨害したから、日本の食文化が守られた」という、日本メディアの報道は事実に反している。タイセイヨウクロマグロは、持続性を考えれば、ほぼ禁漁に近い措置が必要になる水準まで減っている。ICCATがまともに規制をすれば、ほぼ禁漁になるし、今のままとり続ければ数年で魚は消えるだろう  […]
日本のメディアは、判断材料を国民に隠した上で、情緒的な表現で煽って、予め決められた結論へと誘導したのである。
Here is the trajectory of the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin population from a well-cited publication by the WWF (pdf). Even with the present recovery plan, we will see a continued decrease that will lead to alarming stock levels.
Compared to the Pacific bluefin harvest and the Southern bluefin harvest, Japan's catch levels of Atlantic bluefin (West Atlantic, East Atlantic, Mediterranean) are fairly low especially compared to the E.U. countries.

author: apeescape


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Liberia: Girl’s murder sparks violence · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

Ruthie Ackerman, founder of Rising Voices grantee Ceasefire Liberia, charts the source of recent violence in Lofa County, Liberia since the murder of a young girl in February.

author: Solana Larsen


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Pakistan: Earth Hour 2010 · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hina Safdar at Chowrangi urges Pakistanis to switch off lights in honor of earth hour tonight at 8:30 PM when hundreds of cities around the world will switch off the lights for 60 minutes.


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Paraguay: Rescuing Citizen Experiences Through the Use of Blogs · Global Voices
Belen Bogado

When Carlos Rodríguez leaves his home in Asunción, Paraguay, he always carries a video camera with him. As a journalist and blogger, he knows that there is news around every corner, waiting to be captured with his camera and then be broadcasted on the screens of thousands of internet users from all over the world, who are compelled to learn about Paraguayan reality.
After a long career in Paraguayan media working in radio, television and print, Rodriguez discovered the wonders how a blog can provide in a country where there is few existing mainstream media outlets that dominate public opinion. Rodríguez shares with us proudly that R.E.S.C.A.T.A.R. [es] was one of the first Paraguayan multimedia blogs to post video footage.
http://rescatar.blogspot.com/
Initially, RESCATAR was going to be financed by an NGO, with the aim to start a big network of local blogs, but when the project was halted, Rodriguez decided to make it his own and go forward with the project with his son’s assistance. During a phone interview, Rodriguez told us about his experience.
Global Voices: Why did you choose R.E.S.C.A.T.A.R. (to rescue in English) as the blog’s name?
Carlos Rodríguez: The acronym stands for: The Rescue of experiences of civil society to learn, spread, and increase results.
Our goal is to rescue civil society’s experiences and generate a debate based on them, because in Paraguay there are important things being done and many valuable experiences of the people, but no one finds out about them because they take place on a community level. Applying these experiences into other areas of the society can help solve the many problems that the country is going through.
GV: What is the difference between posting on a blog and writing on a mainstream media site?
CR: It’s a very life-giving experience. Every journalist dreams about being able to express their own point of view without the commercial harassment of the media. Writing on my blog I don’t have a commercial manager telling me, “be careful with what you are writing.”
Right now I’m writing an article questioning a deputy of the lower house of Congress …I don’t worry if the person I’m questioning is a politician, or even a big company…Here, we write against (President Fernando) Lugo, against the right or the center. One experiments without boundaries of any kind.
Now I get to write from a citizen perspective free from any political or sectarian interests. Just like any citizen who pays their taxes and suffers the local reality. It’s very different than what the mainstream media is doing.
GV: Do you think your blog collaborates with the Paraguayan society?
CR: I think that a blog collaborates. I only have a few readers, but there is a group of people who make the important decisions in Paraguay, and what I write reaches this small group of people who has the power of decision. I feel that my posts have somehow modified conduct.
Carlos Rodríguez
GV: How do you think it collaborates, any examples?
CR: I wrote very harsh assessments of ABC newspaper  (the largest distributed newspaper in the country,) because I ran into a case of distortion of information. ABC published the statements of the Bishop of Concepción (a department of Paraguay), where he allegedly criticized president Lugo for defending kidnappers in Paraguay. I followed that story because I noticed the information was distorted and posted about it on the blog.
A week later, ABC published another interview in which the Bishop questioned the previous publication, denying what had been published. But his questioning was hidden in the third paragraph of the story, so this time, I decided to write an article questioning not the journalist, but the owner of ABC for allowing this type of journalism.
I notice there are certain incoherent behaviors that change when people denounce them in a solid way. My medium is not a powerful medium, but I work with the power of reason. I’m not saying I’m indisputable, but I do make an effort so that what I say is solid.
GV: Would you say R.E.S.C.A.T.A.R. plays the role of a watchdog of Paraguayan press?
CR: We do somehow examine the press, Paraguay doesn’t have a watchdog of the press, this is very important in a country where the media don’t follow a code of ethics. Media request ethics from the rest, but they don’t have one, there is hypocrisy in the media.
GV: Who reads your blog more, Paraguayans or foreigners?
CR: Foreigners, Paraguayan readers are only about 35% of the total. Having fewer Paraguayan readers doesn’t bother me, there are few Paraguayan readers in general, this also happens with newspapers. I have a control system to know how many visitors I have, who is reading the blog, where and which institutions or entities are reading it, sometimes I receive visits from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain for instance, or universities from all over the world.
GV: Do you think citizen journalism blogs have a future in Paraguay?
CR: Yes they do, blogs must emerge and project themselves. Media concentration is in very few hands, a few business men are deciding which messages are sent to the people and they are capable of dominating the collective’s thinking. This concentration must be broken, the community radio stations that are being attacked by politicians today, are fundamental to get another vision of the national reality, and blogs are also a medium to break this concentration.

author: Belen Bogado


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Russia: Two Video Scandals · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

In Russia this week it has been hard to miss the two scandals that, at first, appear to have only one thing in common: both are centered around amateur videos published online. What they also share is, perhaps, the feeling of incredulity and disgust that the viewers are left with upon watching the videos, and, in many cases, the outrage.
One scandal involves opposition activist Ilya Yashin (LJ user yashin), political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin, and the Russian Newsweek‘s editor-in-chief Mikhail Fishman (LJ user mfishman): footage made with a hidden camera shows them allegedly attempting to bribe Moscow traffic police officers, and there is also a video of naked Fishman sitting next to a woman and sniffing white powder off a table. (For a succinct yet comprehensive English-language account of this video scandal, please see the March 23 text by author Michael Idov, published at The Daily Beast: Russia's Amazing Drugs and Hookers Scandal.)
The other scandal takes place in Irkutsk region, where high school students in the town of Shelekhov repeatedly beat up their 73-year-old female PE teacher and then posted the videos of these sparring matches on the web; the teacher reportedly had no memory of the beatings. (A short English-language Sky News item on this, with a video sampling, is here.)
Heated discussions that these two scandals have generated in the blogosphere and in other online venues are taking place on quite different orbits – which nevertheless do have one or two overlap points.
Below are some of the reactions (RUS) to a news item about the PE teacher incident, posted by users of Zavuch.info, a Russian teachers’ portal and social network:
Persikotik:
[…] I think the school's administration had to take some urgent steps to avoid a situation like this at the school – instead of being embarrassed to “wash dirty laundry in public.” And it is scary that such a video spent a few months on the web, as a tutorial for morons.
***
ann_dro_id:
If we don't stand up for one another, if we don't hold protest rallies, if we don't stand up for our right to defend our honor and dignity, they'll keep on pushing us around! Even drivers don't let themselves be mistreated [e.g., Vladivostok drivers’ protest in Dec. 2008]. These are the times when a being a teacher is turning into one of the most dangerous professions. […]
***
Gritsun Dmitry:
[…] where is it all going if a school employs a teacher who keeps being beaten but doesn't remember anything about it. I'm not saying that the age of 73 is a diagnosis, but memory loss does seem like a pathology. I'm not going to justify the students. Horrible!!!!
Nemiro Lyudmila:
[…] and what if there is no other PE teacher at the school? What then? Who is going to work on this job for such [a miserly pay]? Your suggestions???? Our school hasn't had new teachers right out of college in a million years. Not a single one. They work for a year and [then leave]. And we are SOCHI, no less!!! [Sochi is a Russian city on the Black Sea coast, which, among other things, is preparing to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.]
***
Viking
[…] We should keep up with the progress! Nothing scary is taking place. The young followers of the [Nashi and Walking Together pro-regime youth movements] are practicing techniques of fighting against pensioners’ rallies in the future, following instructions from the [ruling United Russia party]. [In Oct. 2009, Russian riot police used – during a drill – “water cannons, shock grenades, and tear gas” to disperse “a group of senior citizens that protested social injustice and blocked a federal highway.”]
***
Biokhimik:
[…] We should keep this situation under CONTROL. Where are the trade unions, where are the human rights activists? (I haven't just cursed, have I?) […]
And here is a selection of posts on the Yashin/Oreshkin/Fishman affair.
Opposition activist Marina Litvinovich – LJ user abstract2001:
The day before yesterday, a user with an eloquent nickname kanal911 registered an account on YouTube – in order to post this video:
In this video, Oreshkin, Yashin and Fishman are trying to bribe [traffic police officers].
In my opinion, the footage is real, was done by [traffic police officers] themselves. The only question is – are they videotaping everyone like this or just some, those who have been “pointed out” to them? […]
It is clear that due to the public movement against the police and [traffic police] these service have now gone on the offensive. And it's clear that the easiest way to fight the “oppositionists” is to catch them giving bribes themselves.
This, my friends, is exactly why whenever I write about the lawlessness of the cops and [traffic cops], I do this with clear conscience. And I've emphasized this multiple times – I do not just criticize those who give bribes, I call on you not to give bribes and I myself do not give bribes. I'll be honest – I stopped bribing [traffic police officers] after my trip to Beslan [a town in North Ossetia where the 2004 school hostage crisis took place], when I learned that the terrorists paid a bribe to pass one of the [traffic police] checkpoints. […]
Mikhail Fishman, editor-in-chief of the Russian Newsweek – LJ user mfishman:
[…] A special operation has been carried out against me. It has been thoroughly planned. It was based on provocations, deceit, editing and long-term shadowing, and law enforcement officials participated in it. Who exactly and on what grounds is a separate question. It was carried out a long time ago, and now it has turned into a campaign.
Those who organized this campaign have succeeded in some things. Namely, they've poured a dirty puddle around me – and around themselves: they've dragged many decent people into a mean and petty discussion of someone else's private life. In the language of political technologies this is called the lowering of the discussion level.
This is a result, but not the one that they were counting on. The point of it was different: to force me to alter the editorial direction of the magazine that I'm in charge of. […] This is a signal to all journalists: sit quietly.
I'm responding on behalf of our team: no, we will continue working the way we did before. Topics, stories, the principles and standards of our work will remain unchanged. […]
Olga Allenova, special correspondent for the Kommersant daily – LJ user allenova:
[…] And the most disgusting thing is that Fishman has nothing to respond to this with? File a lawsuit? Against whom? A statement has to be submitted to the prosecutor's office, of course. […] No one has canceled the right to private life in this country yet. […] And THIS can happen to any human rights activist, journalist, politician, even regardless of whether it's him or not featured in this footage. This can be done to anyone who, for some reason, displeases [a top aide to the Russian president and PM Vladislav Yuriyevich Surkov], for example. You are responsible for this, Vladislav Yuriyevich, aren't you? Or, to be more precise, your Young Guardists [members of the Young Guard of United Russia, the youth wing of the ruling United Russia party]? […] Who is the next one on your list? And aren't you afraid that eventually you'll find yourself on it, too?
Political activist Aleksey Navalny – LJ user navalny:
[…] Seriously though, I think that Yashin, Fishman […] should not leave it as it is. Instead, they should start a decisive campaign against those who ordered this crap. Because it's a total mess. Next thing you know, they'll install hidden cameras inside apartments.
I think a campaign for the European and U.S. entry visa ban for Surkov [and his associates] looks rather realistic. […]
[Sochi. Sukhumi. Skolkovo.] There many good places for recreation outside the EU.
It may work out, if we approach it seriously and don't drop it halfway, as is usually done by our human rights activists and liberal politicians.
The Young Guard has denied its involvement in the scandal, however:
[…] Finally, once more, for the idiots, in big and fat letters: “THE YOUNG GUARD DID NOT ORDER OR AUTHOR THE VIDEO ABOUT FISHMAN. WE DECISIVELY CONDEMN SUCH METHODS OF POLITICAL STRUGGLE. […]
Maxim Kononenko – LJ user mrparker:
[…] I'd also like to support Fishman. A [KGB] provocation against Yashin and Oreshkin – that's normal. Yashin is a politician. Oreshkin is a grant-eater and traitor. These people are screwing my state, and the state is screwing them in return. That's a genuine and mutual hatred.
But Misha Fishman is the creator of meanings. A very good one. And to fight such opponents is possible only using the same methods that these opponents are using – i.e., with meanings. A meaning vs a meaning. A text vs a text.
But definitely not whores with cocaine vs a text and a meaning. A meaning isn't equal to cocaine, and a text isn't equal to a whore.
But an image isn't equal to a meaning and a text, either. This is why I suggest that everyone who supports Fishman (and I hope that this would be every normal journalist, author or media professional) records [his/her] own video with white powder and post it on YouTube.
[…]
LJ user ma79 is one of the Russian bloggers who has responded to LJ user mrparker‘s call and posted a video of himself and “white powder”:
[…]
I wanted to wash my hair before shooting this video, but then decided it wouldn't be authentic that way.


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South Africa: The woman who spent 7 months in a male cell · Global Voices
Haute Haiku

Before she was acquitted of attempted robbery and hijacking in South Africa, Denise Abbah was imprisoned in a male cell for seven months as she waited for her trial. The prison officials mistook her for a transvestite. Ms Abbah is now seeking justice as she is suing the Department of Correctional  Services for damages amounting to R100 000.
According to IOL six years after her release Denise Abbah is ready for a fight with the department on the ordeal she went through. Denise is a  mother of five:
There is nothing manly about 36-year-old Durban mother Denise Abbah. She is quite pleasant and no one in their right mind would suggest she looks like a man
Yet she was thrown into a men's prison cell for seven months, which resulted in her being raped and sodomised, she claims.
Now, six years after her release, Abbah wants revenge:
“I have been in hiding. My life has been turned upside down. I cannot go anywhere without people picking on me, calling me a man,” says the Durban mother of five. […]
In papers filed in the Durban Magistrate's Court, she is suing for R100 000 in damages, although she is seeking further advice on how to increase her claim.
Abbah's alleged torture began in September 2002 when she was sent to jail to await trial for armed robbery, attempted murder and hijacking – she was later acquitted on these charges.
Denise had her name mistyped as “Denis” instead of Denise and thrown in a cell with men where she was raped multiple times.
Christina Engela writes on her blog Sour grapes- The Fruits of Ignorance:
On the blog Queerlife, the blogger asks if the prison official refused to believe that Abbah was menstruating why didn't they provide medical care? And is it right for Denise Abbah to undergo other medical exam for the government as a complete verification that she is a woman?:
When Abbah began to menstruate, the prison guards told her that this was “because of the operation”. Because, you know, people bleed after miraculously-healed-up-and-scarless operations all the goddamned time.
4a)  Believing that Abbah was bleeding, they did not attempt to provide medical care which, presumably, would have revealed that Abbah was cisgendered.
5) Now the government wants to subject Abbah to further humiliation by having her undergo gender testing to verify her claims, as though the above narrative (and the fact that she has borne five children, which should be readily legally verifiable) is not enough.
In what universe are any of the above things okay?
In “Judging a book by its cover” Helen G she describes Abbah's case as barbaric and a breach of human rights and gives a contrast of Nastaran Kolestani a trans woman imprisoned for eleven years in a men's cell :
For example, I’ve recently written about the trans woman prisoner referred to only as ‘B’ who was incarcerated in a cis men’s prison for five years; Nastaran Kolestani in the U.S.- held for 18 months before her case came to court – and a Spanish trans woman who was held in a cis men’s prison for eleven years – yes, eleven years – before she was granted the basic human rights that many of us take for granted.
But this is not about creating hierarchies of oppression – Ms Abbah’s treatment has been utterly barbaric: seven minutes would have been too long, let alone seven months – but to point out that comprehensive breaches of human rights are inflicted on trans women prisoners with almost sadistic cruelty over time periods of years, not months.

author: Haute Haiku


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The Virtual Choir: Technology, Collaboration and Music · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

music texture by karenthephotog CC-By
Composer Eric Whitacre , after seeing a Youtube video of a young soprano singing his song “Sleep” wondered: What if he could get people, regardless of where they were in the world, to record themselves signing all the other parts of his a capella choir piece?  So he did, and following, you will be able to see the various results of this great experiment of online collaboration with the Virtual Choir.
In How We Did It he explains not only the process for the last iteration of his project but also the preceding experiments in conforming a virtual choir. For the first time around, he asked singers to buy a specific music track and just sing along to the a capella (without instrumental accompaniment) recording. Scott Haines, whom he had met only once before, volunteered to edit the piece.  Here is the result:
Thrilled with the result, he decided to do it once again, but this time making it even more like an actual choral experience:
So this time, I made my own conductor track, filming it in complete silence, hearing the music only in my head. Then I watched the video and played in the piano accompaniment part to my conductor track… Then I offered the sheet music as a free download. As singers began posting their individual tracks, I called for ‘auditions’ for the soprano solo.
This next video shows the instructions Eric Whitacre posted for all participants. It includes recommendations on how to perform the piece, explanation about the recording dynamic and the conducting track where he directs the choir:
For the virtual choir, 128 people representing 12 different countries including Argentina, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore and Spain sent in the 243 tracks that compose the choral piece Lux Aurumque that Scott Haines once again helped produce.
This is what Mr. Whitacre wrote about the finished product:
When I saw the finished video for the first time I actually teared up. The intimacy of all the faces, the sound of the singing, the obvious poetic symbolism about our shared humanity and our need to connect; all of it completely overwhelmed me. And it must be said that a lot of the credit for it’s beauty should go to Scottie Haines, who spent untold hours editing and polishing the video. (BTW, Scottie and I have never met only met once in the ‘real world’, unlike 99% of the Virtual Choir, whom I’ve never ‘met’).
Lets hope the Virtual Choir continues growing strong!


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Dominican Republic: Opposition to Barrick Gold Mining Operations · Global Voices
Rocio Diaz

In 2009, the Dominican people stood up to fight against a cement factory that would be installed in the Los Haitises National Park. In 2010, it appears that another cause is mobilizing thousands of young people and adults – the presence of the mining consortium Barrick Gold in Cotuí, the head municipality in the province of Sánchez Ramírez, which is home to one of the largest gold mines in the world: Pueblo Viejo (Old Town), with estimated reserves of 24 million troy ounces of gold. Activists are concerned about the terms of the agreement with the Dominican State, as well as environmental impacts on the region.
Photo used with permission by NO A LA BARRICK, BATEALA DEL PAIS
The contemporary history of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine, which produces gold oxide at the top and gold sulfide at the bottom, begins in 1975 with Rosario Resources Corporation, a company that later passed into the hands of the Dominican State under the name Rosario Dominicana, and whose operations ceased permanently in 1999 because of economic and environmental factors. In 2002, the mine found a new leaseholder, the Canadian company Placer Dome, which signed a 33-year contract before being bought by another Canadian company, Barrick Gold, in 2006. Barrick Gold has been in the sights of the Dominicans some of the details about the signed contract were made public, a contract which was approved at the end of 2009 in Congress by the vast majority of legislators.
Marihal, of the blog Desde la República Dominicana [es], emphasizes the following details about the renegotiated contract:
La Barrick Gold es la empresa minera más grande del mundo, en materia de oro, y adquirió a la Placer Dome en el año 2006, esta última compañía tenía un contrato que firmó en el 2002 con el Gobierno dominicano donde se había establecido que el Estado dominicano iba a recibir un 25% de las utilidades, sin incluir los impuestos y otros beneficios que alcanzaban el 3.2%. Sorpresivamente, la Barrick Gold consigue unos cabilderos (…) que logran que el 25% que recibiría el Estado dominicano con la Placer Dome subiera a 28% con la Barrick Gold, pero siempre y cuando se recupere toda la inversión y que la tasa de retorno sea superior al 10 por ciento.
The renegotiation of the contract with the Dominican State when Barrick Gold acquired Placer Dome followed the movement of gold prices in the stock market, which has risen substantially since 2002 in response to successive food and financial crises – both of a global reach- until it reached a price of more than US$1000 an ounce, where it currently stands. The original contract signed with Placer Dome held the State's profits to the price of gold, which meant that the higher the price on the market, the greater the profits for the Stage. Geologist and blogger Osiris de León explains it this way [es]:
(…) como el precio del oro ha ido en ascenso rápido y ha superado los 1,000 dólares por onza, ello implicaría una participación del Estado en las Utilidades Netas (PUN) de US$194 millones por año, fruto de que la Barrick piensa producir en Pueblo Viejo un millón de onzas de oro anualmente, y al multiplicar 1,000,000 de onzas de oro por US$775, que es el diferencial entre el precio del oro en este momento (US$1,050/onza) y el costo de producción (US$275/onza), y luego multiplicarlo por el 25%, obtenemos unos 194 millones de dólares anuales para el Estado. Y la Barrick se niega a entregar tanto dinero.
Por tal razón la Barrick Gold ha obligado al Estado Dominicano a una renegociación del contrato original, a fin de que esa participación estatal del 25% de las utilidades netas sea llevada a cero, óigase bien, a cero, mientras ellos no hayan obtenido una tasa interna de retorno (TIR) de un 10% y hasta haber recuperado los US$2,585 millones invertidos para desarrollar el proyecto, y a partir de ahí pagar un 28.75% como PUN, con lo cual la Barrick le quita 194 millones de dólares anuales al pueblo dominicano, durante al menos los primeros 6 años de operación, lo que implicaría que durante esos 6 años el pobre pueblo dominicano dejaría de percibir unos 1,164 millones de dólares, a los precios de hoy.
(…) As the price of gold has been growing rapidly and has exceeded US$1,000 per ounce, that would mean State participation in net income (PUN) of US$194 million per year, resulting in that Barrick thinks Pueblo Viejo will produce one million ounces of gold annually, and multiplying 1,000,000 ounces of gold by US$ 775, which is the differential between the price of gold at the moment (US$1,050/ounce) and the production cost (US$ 275/oz) and then multiplied by 25%, we get about 194 million dollars annually for the State. And Barrick refuses to deliver that amount of money.
For this reason, Barrick Gold has forced the Dominican State to renegotiate the original contract, so that the state share of 25% of net profits will be brought to zero, pay attention, to zero, while they have not obtained a rate of return of 10% and until they had recovered the US$2,585 billion invested to develop the project, and thereafter pay a 28.75% as PUN, which means Barrick takes away the US$194 million annually from the Dominican people during at least the first 6 years of operation, implying that during those 6 years the Dominican people would stop earning of US$1,164 million at today's prices.
While some people believe that the contract leaves the Dominican Republic at a clear disadvantage, this is not the only reason for protest. There is concern about the effects that the operations of Barrick Gold will have on the environment, due to the bad reputation the consortium has on a global scale, which has not escaped the attention of Dominicans. Indeed, there have been public protests [es] and various groups have utilized groups on Facebook [es]. There is also a blog called Domincana Contaminada [es] (Contaminated Dominicana) dedicated to detailing cases in which Barrick Gold has been involved with environmental damages, such as Pascua Lama [es] in Chile and the pollution of Lake Cowal in Australia. The blog also provides details of the contract approved by Dominican lawmakers, forced evictions for area residents, and the work currently being performed by Barrick Gold in the readjustment of the mine, which has made headlines in recent days for the intoxication of over 300 workers for reasons still unexplained. While the company talks about food poisoning [es], others insist that the poisoning was due a a boiler explosion [es].
Barrick Gold has felt a lot of pressure in the Dominican Republic that it has seen the urgent need for a public relations program, which includes the publication of statements in paid advertisement spaces in national newspapers and on national television. Their representatives leave no doubt the benefits that their presence is having in Cotuí.
Despite the public relations efforts, people are continuing to protest. For Holy Week, there is a planned 4-day pilgrimage walk that will depart from Km. 9 of the Duarte Highway towards the mining installation in Cotuí. March organizers expect more than 10,000 people to walk the 105 kilometers to protest against Barrick Gold and to protect the environment in Cotuí, which has been damaged by the operations of Rosario Dominicana, as explained by Alexander Medina, who has 30 years of experience in the mining sector [es].
Una vez procesados los óxidos de oro, los sulfuros quedaron expuestos y la mina fue abandonada a su suerte, permitiendo que esta drenara hasta la Presa de Hatillo aguas ácidas del río Margajita, producidas por la mezcla del agua de lluvia y el mineral de los sulfuros de oro que quedó al descubierto. Otro impacto ambiental negativo legado por Rosario es la acumulación de metales pesados como el hierro, cobre y mercurio en el sitio de la vieja planta y en los lodos del lecho de los ríos Mejita y Margajita.
Paola Mejía Sandoval, of the group NO A LA BARRICK GOLD, BATEALA Y SACALA DEL PAIS [es] (No to Barrick Gold, bat them and kick them out of the country) summarizes the feelings from some Dominicans towards Barrick Gold:
Si no peleamos ahora por defender lo que es nuestro quizas manana dej de pertenecernos entonces, por que lucharemos??? nosotros debemos plantarnos en favor de nuestros ideales. NO A LA BARRICK GOLD EN REPUBLICA DOMINICANA.

author: Rocio Diaz


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Japan Government: On the Fall of the Employment System · Global Voices
apeescape

A think tank for Japan's Cabinet, the Economic and Social Research Institute (内閣府 経済社会総合研究所) (ESRI) published a study that quantified the present status of lifetime employment and seniority-based wage (i.e. the Japanese employment system). They used the data (1989-2008) from Basic Survey on Wage Structure (賃金構造基本統計調査) (BSWS) of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The empirical results and commentary indicate a rare rebuke of the traditional employment system by the Government.
The study is published here.
One of the results that they quantified was the “wage curve.” This is basically standardized median wages of workers according to the their age. ESRI showed that the wage curve “flattens out” gradually with time. This indicates that when young workers sacrifice some pay for a stable lifestyle in the future, they do not get as much value in the current state of affairs. The following is the graph: (please click to enlarge!)
Now the second result comes from data of the share of lifetime workers for a company. The data shows a significant declining trend in young lifetime workers. This indicates lower retention rates of young workers and older workers staying in their old jobs since it is too risky to find another job. In particular, we see a large dip at year 2004 for the large firms, as that was the year the Government made it possible to use temp. workers in the manufacturing industry. This indicates that the continuance of the status quo may be unsustainable. The following is the graph: (please click to enlarge!)
Blogger, author and business consultant Jo Shigeyuki thinks it is significant that the Government finally admitted to the “collapse” (崩壊) of Japan's employment system. But he is also disgusted with the apathy and the patchwork solutions (like a cap on temp. workers) shown in an attempt to fix the system. Below he warns against a possible misunderstanding of ESRI's results:
賃金カーブの低下を指して「中高年も賃下げされている」と屁理屈を述べる労働組合関係者がたまにいるが、中高年は賃下げされたのではなく逃げ切ったというのが正しい。90年頃、「若い間は辛抱辛抱」と言い聞かせて頑張った元若者は、20年近く経って、かつての上司・先輩より3割以上も給料が安い結果に終わったということだ。
バブル崩壊後に、年功ではなく働きに応じて支給する仕組みにシフトしておけば、彼の生涯賃金はもう少し多かったろうが、そういう努力を怠ったということで自己責任というしかない。
さて、このように身をもって日本型雇用の破綻ぶりを演じてくれている世代がいるのだから、20代は同じ轍を踏まないように気をつけないといけない。というわけで、働きを基準としている組織に自分で移るか、それが出来るよう準備しておくことをおススメする
After the bubble burst, if the former young workers were able to adapt to a system that is based more on performance, their lifetime wages may have been better. But it is only the responsibility of those who didn't take the initiative to build a better system for themselves.
Now that there is a whole generation[s] of workers who experienced the degeneration of Japan's employment system, the current 20-somethings need to be careful not to fall into the same trap. So I recommend people to change or get ready to change jobs with an organization that value work.
Blogger, economist Ikeda Nobuo hypothesizes about the reason the Japanese people in general have a tendency to avert risk instead of hedging. The Japanese employment system was just a product of corporations that value stability:
[…]私の仮説は17世紀以降の株式会社のような有限責任の制度が日本になかったことが一つの原因ではないか、というものです。近代資本主義の成功をもたらした最大の要因が株式会社制度だったのではないか[…]
西欧圏でも株式は投機の手段として批判され、また現実にバブルや恐慌の原因となってきました。しかし資本主義を批判したマルクスは、株式会社制度を「生産の社会化」を進める制度として高く評価しました。これによってリスクが社会全体に分散されたことが、西欧圏の比類ない成長をもたらしたのです。
ところが日本では、株式を「銘柄」と呼ぶことでもわかるように、商品相場のような投機の対象として扱われ、戦前にはその9割が先物で、リスクは非常に高かった。株式が企業のリスクを分散する有限責任制度として活用されず、経営者は会社に無限責任を負い、会社がつぶれたらしばしば自殺します。他方、家計にとっては超ハイリスクの株式とリスクゼロの預金しかないため、ほとんどの人は危ない株には手を出さず、リスクを分散するという考え方も知らない。
In the West, shares of a stock were criticized as methods of speculation, and a cause for bubbles and  financial panics. But when Karl Marx criticized capitalism, stock corporations were highly praised as a system for socializing the production process. Therefore, the risk was spread all over society as a key for unprecedented growth in the West.
However in Japan, joint-stock corporations were seen as brands and the commodity prices were looked at as tools for speculation; before the war, 90% of commodities were futures and the risk was very high. The shares of corporations weren't seen as tools for risk diversification and the companies held an infinite responsibility as they would kill themselves if something went wrong. For households, the only option was to hold extremely high risk stocks or no risk savings, so most of them chose the latter.
Blogger and MIT MBA student, Lilac reminds us of America a couple decades ago also faced similar problems of lowered competitiveness of certain firms (Kodak, Motorola, RCA). She ponders if it is better for large firms to reform itself or to collapse and start from scratch:
決して経営陣が技術を知らないバカなわけでも、技術者がツカえないわけでもないのだ。経営の舵取りを間違えただけで、これだけの技術と、研究者の努力が無駄になってしまう。大企業の組織を改変し、新しい技術に対応するように全体を変えていくのは、かくも難しいことなのだ。
「技術が優れてるから勝てる」わけではない、ということは、こうしてアメリカの企業たちは、日本企業やヨーロッパの企業に追いやられながら学んできていているのだ。
日本企業が、これらのアメリカ企業のように崩壊の一途をたどるか、IBMやGEがそうであったように再生するかは、今の経営の舵取りにかかっている。
It's not necessarily the case that better ideas and technology wins. The American firms have painfully learned a lesson from striving Japanese and European firms.
For Japanese firms to follow the path of Kodak et al. or the companies that successfully adapted to the conditions (GE, IBM), it all depends on a few decisions from the top that make or break a firm.
Blogger, IT worker elm200 proposes (facetiously) a solution that won't disrupt the vested interests that keep the status quo in Japan — to create an independent city that is the antithesis of the job conditions in Japan:
結局のところ、この国は現状維持を望む人が多いのだ。現状維持を望んでいる人々が多数派であるなら、どうして制度をいじる必要があるだろうか。一部の若者が騒いだところで、それより数が多い中高年や老人は現状に満足しているのだから、ガラパゴスだろうが鎖国だろうが、好きにさせてあげるのが一番だ。
好きにさせてあげるのだから、こちらにも一つくらいわがままを許してくれてもいいだろう。既得権益には何一つ接触しないので、疑り深い老人たちも何もいわないだろうし。
日本にシンガポールを作るのだ。
Because we're letting them be, it shouldn't be too bothersome of us to have just one selfish request. It won't touch upon the vested interests so the cynical old timers shouldn't have anything to say.
Let's build a Singapore in Japan.
Japan is in a gridlock. To reform the employment process, many people propose higher job mobility, which feeds entrepreneurism. Conversely, entrepreneurism is a decent indicator of job mobility. I wrote an article recently on entrepreneurship rates in Japan and found that it is very low relative to other countries.
Two interesting series that discuss the perils of employment currently in the media:


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Russia: Degrees and Dimensions of “Scandalous” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog comments on the recent bribes/coke/girls video scandal: “Also, catching them bribing cops is hardly scandalous. If they offered the cops bribes and the cops refused now that would be scandalous! Anyway, isn’t the more important issue not Yashin, Oreshkin, and Fishman giving bribes, but the cops taking them?”


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Teaching in the University of the Philippines · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

John Ryan Recabar of Going Against the Current blogs about his job as an instructor at the University of the Philippines.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Ukraine: Fire Destroys 20% of Hosting.ua Servers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Some 20% of the servers at Odessa-based Hosting.ua data center – one of the biggest in Ukraine – are reported to have been destroyed in a fire on March 27. UkrainianWatcher writes (UKR) that “tens of thousands of Ukrainian and a number of Russian sites are currently offline” and re-posts photos of the damaged building by an Odessa city forum user xcorwin. Habrahabr.ru user hosting reports (RUS) that “people are in panic, 10 hours have passed and there's no official info.” Twitter reactions (RUS, UKR) are here.


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University of the Philippines Controversies · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

The U.P. ISSUES, an alternative weblog that looks at the “view from the other side that never sees print in UP's official website,” posts commentaries, statements, and news reports on the controversial issues hounding the University of the Philippines, the country's premier state university.


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Afghanistan: Government websites review · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding reviews the Afghan governmental websites and finds that they are mostly moribund.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Afghanistan: Where all the donor money went · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nick Fielding analyzes the Afghan Finance Ministry's latest Donor Financial Review. The really interesting question is how much of all those billions is still in Afghanistan, he says.


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Africa: Will France Telecoms dominate East Africa? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Rebecca's advice for France Telecoms whose plans are to dominate the East African telecommunication market.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Azerbaijan: DOTCOM arrives in Baku · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Late last night, American participants of the U.S. State Department sponsored DOTCOM project to bring Armenian, Azerbaijani and American teenagers together to create socially conscious media arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, ahead of the Social Media for Social Change conference to be held on 9-10 April in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The DOTCOM: PH International blog posted video of their arrival and reunion with project participants in Azerbaijan. At the end of the week the American participants will also visit Armenia via Georgia before returning for the conference in Tbilisi.
In August last year, Global Voices Online interviewed DOTCOM Program Director Elizabeth Métraux on the initiative to bring teenagers from the U.S. together with those from two countries still effectively in a state of war to tackle social issues such as the environment, gender and human rights globally as well as at home.
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Incidentally, following last week's reporting for BBC Azeri on the role social media can play in conflict transformation (Part I, Part II, Part III), Global Voices Online's Caucasus editor will once again be working with Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blogger and regional analyst Arzu Geybullayeva when they co-present at the conference.
Until then, DOTCOM can be followed on its travels here.


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Bangladesh: Trial Of War Criminals Begin · Global Voices
Rezwan

After 40 years of independence of Bangladesh, the government has formed a tribunal to prosecute the war criminals of the country. An Ordinary Citizen writes about this long awaited trial.

author: Rezwan


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Bermuda: Political Power  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Politically, says 21 Square, “Bermuda is on the verge of either destruction or greatness.”


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Bhutan: Facing Power Shortage? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bhutan, a major producer of electricity in the sub-continent, exports surplus electricity to its neighbors. However, the country can face power shortage in recent years, opines Adhikari School of Thought.


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Chile: Curicó Province One Month After Earthquake · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

One month after the Chilean earthquake, Luis Alberto Cabello of the blog Vivimos la Noticia [es] takes a look at the Curicó province, one of the hardest hit areas. He highlights some of the dramatic stories that have emerged including the one of a 13-year-old boy who survived after withstanding 400 kg of bricks that fell on top of him.

author: Eduardo Avila