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Israel: Sderot Update · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Despite the fact that the number of Qassams being fired at Israel is decreasing (due to the IAF strikes against terrorist positions), they have not entirely stopped, with one already being fired today, causing some crop damage in an open field near Sderot,” writes  Aussie Dave from Israel.


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Israel: Shrinking Gap · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Last month the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot carried a small item that the U.S. restaurant chain Hooters plans to open its first branch in Israel this summer. That was followed by a piece indicating that a Tel Aviv radio station is in negotiations to bring the Howard Stern Show to the Israeli airwaves. Now, regular readers know that I am not one of those who pine away for the “good old days” in Israel when all the women were strong and the men were good looking. I like the comforts of modernity and in general the ever-shrinking gap between Israel and North America, both in terms of distance and culture, is a good thing.
But this may be going too far,” writes  Brian Blum from Israel.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Jamaica: Castleton Gardens · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I believe that as a citizen of Jamaica I should know as much of the island as I can.”  Stunner takes a photographic tour of Jamaica's Castleton Gardens.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Japan: Declining Language Skills · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

Ampontan has translated an interview by Nishinippon Shimbun with Mieno Yasushi, the former governer of the Bank of Japan, on the topic of “the state of contemporary Japanese education and how the Japanese language […] is commonly discussed by the people who use it every day.” Of his experience with Japanese university students, Meino expresses the view that: “They had little ability to express themselves or to communicate. I suspected that education in the Japanese language and composition had gone astray.”

author: Chris Salzberg


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Japan: Pretty Boy Factory · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Marie Mockett from Japundit introduces the business of pretty boy factory in Japan: The company is run somewhat like the old studio system of Hollywood; young kids are coached in singing, dancing and acting classes.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Kazakhstan: Sustainable Shymkent · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia, Daniel writes about plans for sustainable growth planning in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kuwait: Open Bank Accounts for Domestic Workers  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“DOMESTIC LABOUR MUST BE ALLOWED TO HAVE BANK ACCOUNTS!!!!!!!
This helps with incriminating the sponsors that do not pay, and may even clear the names of those accused of not paying,” writes SWS from Kuwait.


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Kuwait: Shooting Range  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“On Tuesday a friend and I went to the shooting range on at the 6th ring road, it’s called Almayaden shooting range. I loved how clean, organized, and safety oriented the place is,” writes Weld El-ma6aba from Kuwait.


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Lebanon: What’s Next? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“What's next?” asks Lebanese blogger Jamal Ghosn. “Of course there is no uniform answer to this question in Lebanon, so we will answer this according to each of the various Lebanese factions,” he writes.


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Libya: School Results In  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Libyan Khadija Teri proudly announces the school results of her children – who all passed with flying colours.


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Madagascar, France: Expulsion of French Citizens Raises Concerns about Government’s Authoritarianism · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Two French citizens, Christian Chadefaux and Father Urfer, who both lived for decades in Madagascar, were declared persona non grata by the Malagasy government last month. These decisions came a few days after the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France who made the expulsion of illegal immigrants one of his priorities. Coincidence ? Malagasy bloggers weigh in on the sudden authoritarian stance of the Malagasy government and wonder whether these decisions are some kind of retribution for the way some Malagasy citizens were expelled from France.
Barijoana is not thrilled with the government's decision about father Urfer:
Lorsqu'on vit au quotidien la fameuse mondialisation, une expulsion, ça a toujours des aspects totalitaires. Mais là, c'est un peu le bouquet. Après Christian Chadefaux, 40 ans à Madagascar, voilà que Sylvain Urfer se voit refuser un titre de séjour après avoir passé 33 ans à Madagascar. Du grand n'importe quoi, en tout cas symptomatique du fait que l'on sort de la dictature molle pour passer à quelque chose de plus marqué. De Sarkozy et de Ravalomanana, théruféraires et opposants ont dit qu'ils partageaient le fait d'être de la même génération, leur américanophilie, leur culture du résultat, leur fascination pour l'argent…
In the comment section, Rajiosy feels that the expelling of the two french citizens is fair game when you see how Malagasy are treated in France.
pour beaucoup de malgaches dont je fais partie, ancien de St-Michel de surcroît et ancien élève du père “non renouvelé” et non pas “expulsé”, il y a un vieux compte à régler avec les Français de Mada et leur comment dire ? supériorité naturelle ? magistère ? arrogance ? Alors un ou deux petits non renouvellements arbitraires et autres coups de pied au culte – on en a l'habitude ici en France – ça fait du bien… ça n'arrive pas qu'aux autres finalement. la colonie c'est fini.
To which barijaona replies:
Médites sur cette phrase : L'imitation est la forme la plus sincère de la flatterie
Tu veux flatter Le Pen ? Libre à toi.
Just renaud  took the sarcastic route to denounce the new turn authoritarian  aspect of the government:
Force est pourtant de constater, que malgré les quelques foyers de tensions ici et là, et les tentatives de regroupement des membres de l’opposition de la place, l’Etat est loin de vaciller, et poursuit sur un rythme de Sénateur, sa route vers le développement rapide et durable. Mieux, ou pire, selon les considérations, l’administration Ravalomanana prie tout ceux qui voudrait se mettre en travers du chemin vers le développement, à se terrer. Qu’importe, les étrangers aussi sont avertis. N’ont-il d’ailleurs pas été sommé de ne jamais s’immiscer dans les affaires nationales ?
In the midst of  the current tension with respect to xenophobia and ethnic origins, Tomavana reminds us the words of outgoing US ambassador, James McGee, who urges Malagasy of all origins to commit to the future of the country:
[mg] Tsy maninona na avy aiza na avy aiza fihavian’ny razanareo, na Indonezia, na Afrika, na Indy, na Sina. Tsy maninona na tanindrana na avy any anivontany ianareo: samy manana ny toeranareo amin’ny hoavin’ity firenena ity ianareo.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Malawian bloggers mourn First Lady · Global Voices
Victor Kaonga

Malawian bloggers join the rest of the nation in sending sincere condolences to the State President on the loss of First Lady Madamme Ethel Mutharika, who passed away Monday 28 May, 2007. Her death is a big blow to Malawi as a nation. The burial is scheduled for Saturday 9 June at the president's Ndatha Farm in Thyolo, Southern Malawi.
Mlauzi, who blogs on Afrika Aphukira, says the First Lady was charitable and will be greatly missed:
Mrs. Mutharika founded the Ethel Mutharika Foundation that was helping poor Malawians and orphaned children, an important intervention at a critical time for Malawi just recovering from severe food shortages, and still reeling from HIV/AIDS. She will be sorely missed. May your soul rest in peace, Mde First Lady.
Kondwani Munthali, who covered the state president's functions several times and was once a master of ceremonies, describes his personal encounters with the First Couple:
I knew Madame Ethel Mutharika just like many ordinary Malawians did. … Though she never  directly participated in politics. Later, we saw her in Area 18 at her  relations and funerals and various church events. Just like her husband Bingu,  Malawi's First Lady was a dedicated Christian. She was a woman of faith,  strong one for that matter. In her pain and suffering, she smiled, reached out  to her women empowerment projects, did her farming…
Yet she smiled  and her family opted to spare Malawians that pain and remained strong in  discharging their duties. President Bingu wa Mutharika has carried his own  family burden and that of the State without affecting the other. In many cases  he sacrificed the love of his life for the burderns of the State.
As I became  privileged to cover the President, the more I realised how the President relied  on the first lady.
One day at a public event, as a Master of Ceremony, I  stood up to stop a particular group dancing, the President nodded in agreement,  the First Lady disagreed as the crowds were cheering…
In a post titled Malawi in a state of mourning, another Malawian blogger, Clement Nthambazale, prays for the president:
I wish the president divine strength and that the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
While Cryton Chikoko in UK goes a bit controversial in his prayers as he offers his sympathies to the president:
As the saying goes, “behind any successful man there is a woman” I wish Mutharika the divine strength not only to bear the loss of his longtime wife but also not to slacken from his good agenda of developing the country.
Zikomo Friday also extends condolences to the president Bingu wa Mutharika. And a senior journalist Joe Mlenga visited the home district of  the president this week on an assignment. In a post describing the impressive district hospital there, he devotes some space to imagining the pain in the president's life at the loss of his wife.
I can only imagine how President Bingu wa Mutharika is feeling at this hour, having lost his wife of over 40 years, Ethel. I feel for the man, for I have lost family members, relations and very close friends. At that hour the world seems upside down and it sometimes takes years for one to heal inside. Ethel Mutharika was a dignified lady, quiet and really fit the mould of First Lady. I pray that Bingu will face the loss with courage and not feel all is lost. Otherwise he may withdraw from normal life and Malawi will as a nation be affected gravely. God is on your side Bingu, carry on, and may the Lord Jehovah grant you peace.
Peter Jere, a Malawian theologian based in South Africa, commends several opposition politicians for being available and supporting Mutharika at this trying time. He further contends that the death of Mrs Mutharika has united Malawians and expresses the wish that this could be genuine and permananent change:
Some have suggested that this whole unity prevailing in our country now is  temporal (God forbid!). They are saying that these politicians are behaving like  this now because they too are married men and know that it’s not a game or  zamasewera when mkazi (wife) dies pakhomo (in the home). They know that mawa (tomorrow) it may be themselves  going through the same painful experience hence a need for them to behave now.  They probably have realized that maliro (death) sees no tribe, colour, status, richness  but just invade your home and leaves you heart broken.
And finally Ndagha wishes that there is calm and peace as this is first time in Malawi to have a funeral for a First Lady.

author: Victor Kaonga


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Morocco: US-Iran Hostage Crisis Relived  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The Iranian government has arrested and jailed a fourth person with dual Iranian and American citizenships. His name is Ali Shakeri and he is a California businessman and founding member of UCI's Center for Citizen Peacebuilding. I am starting to put more credence in the theory that is floating around, and which one of my readers emailed me about: That Iran would like to trade these four Iranian American prisoners for the five Iranian diplomats abducted in Iraq in January,” explains Moroccan blogger Laila Lalami.


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Pakistan: The Candidate · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

the olive ream uses the usual sarcasm to portray a candidate for the US president. “As soon as possible after taking office, I will commence buying for the United Domains Of Heaven other pacified countries’ bombs, mines, large ammunition, rockets, tanks, armored vehicles, artillery and other metal weapons of war that have become obsolete or unnecessary to melt them down and to use the metal to cast Heavenly coins to promote the peace and building Heaven on Earth.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Palestine: Peace Index  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The United States is among the least peaceful nations in the world, ranking 96th between Yemen and Iran, according to an index of 121 countries.
According to the Global Peace Index, created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Norway is the most peaceful nation and Iraq is the least, just after Israel and Sudan. The survey places Israel at the bottom end of the scale – 119th,” writes Palestinian blogger Haitham Sabbah.


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Philippines: Interesting election results · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

As expected, the Opposition continues to dominate the Senate race. It’s a stinging defeat for President Gloria Arroyo’s party. However, most of the winners in the local elections belong to the Administration’s coalition.
Election results yielded interesting surprises: A rebel soldier is poised to become a senator, many showbiz candidates lost in the elections, a world boxing champion was knocked-out in the polls, a priest defeated wealthy and powerful opponents and leftwing groups are able to maintain their seats in Congress despite the active campaigning of the military against them.
Atheista is impressed over Father Ed Panlilio’s victory as governor in the home province of the president. Panlilio is the first priest to win in the elections in modern Philippine history.
“I am absolutely in awe of his courage. I admire his intellectual prowess. Most importantly, I appreciate his conscious effort to keep his interviews as secular as possible.”
But Out of my mind cautions the public over the implications of the priest’s success:
“I have nothing against Panlilio personally. I just do not think that electing a priest is a sign of maturity in our political processes and systems. When we have to resort to extreme measures, when our alternatives become so limited that we have to turn to our religious leaders for secular needs, then we are seriously in trouble.”
The Third Opinion believes Isabela (northeastern part of the Philippines) Governor Grace Padaca, a former radio broadcaster who ran and won as governor in 2004, will never resort to cheating just to defeat again a powerful family in her province:
“How can an ordinary woman with no logistics and power compared to the much powerful opponent, with a “disability” at that, can do to cheat. It just doesn’t makes sense at all for me.”
Scattered Dots compares the electoral victory of both Panlilio and Padaca:
“There are many similarities between the two victories. First, both are highly competent yet selfless leaders on a moral crusade against corruption. Second, both faced powerful political clans with firmly entrenched political machinery and unlimited resources. Third, both ran a quixotic campaign that mobilized support of the upper and middle class. Fourth, their supporters were vigilant in guarding the votes which prevented cheating from taking away their victory. Their success should inspire other provinces to break away from patronage politics, to destroy political dynasties and to encourage more qualified individuals to run for public office.”
The Bystander is amazed over the victory of a detained soldier who led a failed mutiny in 2003:
“The biggest surprise of the season is detained Navy Captain Antonio Trillanes IV who might yet get a Senate seat if the votes in his favor continue to pour in. His possible victory is seen as a surprise because he practically was not able to conduct a campaign sortie, banking heavily on paid TV advertisements which are few and far between.”
But Phoenix’ Eyrie is not happy over this development:
“But more than a million people still voted for a clear-as-day rebel. I told them, so now we're telling our kids its ok to resort to such extreme measures just to air our grievances? That one can break the law and not only get away with it but be rewarded handsomely as well? If it was a statement against Gloria, then there were better ways to make one than legitimize rebellion, lawlessness, violence and a disdain for our Constitution.”
Manny Pacquiao News Tracker has this to say on the defeat of boxing hero Manny Pacquiao in the elections:
“From a lessons learned aspect, this experience have given the PacMan a glimpse on how dirty politics is and the people you supposedly trust will be the ones to betray you. May this make the Pacquiao wiser in the years to come.”
Election results are not yet final since canvassing is yet to be finished in some provinces of Mindanao, located in southern Philippines. Manila Bay Watch uploads a letter written by a Muslim professor in response to news reports that cheating is rampant in the Muslim region of the country:
“Once again, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or ARMM is in the headlines as it reasserts its notoriety as the number one “cheating field” in the Philippine electoral terrain. So what else is new? As repeatedly observed and reported, cheating is done before, during and after election proper. Our most creative and entrepreneurial spirit comes to the fore during election. As a Muslim, I am shamed by all these.”
Crooning the Night Away observes how elections were conducted in the province of Maguindanao, a bailiwick of the administration. Blog @awbholdings.com notes how a good election officer was eaten by the system in the recent elections.
Janette Toral pens her ideas on how blogging was maximized in the 2007 elections. She also has proposals on how to prepare for the 2010 elections. In retrospect does not expect too much that winning politicians will perform better.
Midlife Mysteries blogs about the conduct of elections in Quezon City:
“Over-all, at least in our small part of the Philippines, people seem to have voted wisely and really given thought to picking their candidates this time around.”
Goodbye Blue Monday gives a verdict on the state of Philippine elections:
“Truly, much like the democracy that it represents, this year's elections is another freakshow, with schools being burned down leaving a teacher dead, mayors being shot, showbiz celebrities and boxing heroes running for public posts, towns with less than 10,000 residents turning up 20,000 voters… the list goes on.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Poland: More on Teletubby’s Sexuality · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The beatroot writes more on Tinky Winky's alleged sexual orientation.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Poor Pig, Forgive Ignorant Human Beings. · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

“Poor Pig, Forgive Ignorant Human Beings.” [ko] After a pig was sacrificed by the I-Cheon residentianls’ demonstration in Korea, animal-rights organizations prayed for the repose of its soul on the 27 th and individuals have had single-person-demonstrations.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Serbia: Passports in Kosovo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

One Missionary in Kosovo writes about passports options available to the residents of Kosovo.


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Serbia: Smoking Still Allowed · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The debate on whether smoking should be banned in public places in Serbia is on, Belgrade 2.0 reports.


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Serbia: War Criminals and Public Opinion · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Tijana of The nEUrosis writes on public support for war criminals in Serbia.


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Slovenia: A Few Links · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Glory of Carniola posts a new Best of the Slobs roundup of Slovenia-related blogs.


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Slovenia: Idealizing Europe · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Marko Bucik describes how Slovenians idealize Western Europe: “Mostly, Europe is used of course as a benchmark and something we have to uphold as saint. Of course, Western Europe to be precise, not to be confused with Romania or similar savage places where corruption reigns…”


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Sri Lanka: Used Book Stores · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

cerno on going to second hand book stores in Colombo. “That old book smell is still there (mingling with insense that fails to kill the aroma of old pages. Some of the stalls/shops are just intimidating heap of books. Others are neatly arrange labyrinths of narrow shelving. Most occupy the spectrum between the two. Check out the lables on the shelves in the shops that have them. A little eccentric at times but I suppose it must reflect the content.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Impinging on Press Freedom?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The government of Trinidad and Tobago has produced a draft constitutional reform document with a clause that may require media houses to apply for a license to operate. Karel Mc Intosh is concerned about this latest threat to Caribbean press freedom.


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Uganda: political heroes and the challenges of development work · Global Voices
Rebekah Heacock

“What benchmark do Ugandans use to determine their heroes?”
Dennis Matanda has long been the devil's advocate of the Ugandan blogosphere, calling for a return to colonialism and raising the possibility of a “violent end” to the current regime.  Recently he published the first half of a two-part series on why Idi Amin is the “Greatest Ugandan who ever lived.”  In his quest for a Ugandan hero, Dennis rejects current president Yoweri Museveni and former leader Milton Obote in favor of Amin based on the following reasoning:
i) He was able to build the International Conference Center from Government Resources
ii) He had the balls to make unpopular decisions in terms of the Indians in 1972
iii) He gave Uganda a bad name in the International Press
iv) He went against Israel and lost [French Jet – Hijacked Passengers]
v) He made the Scottish Skirt Look Good!
vi) He did not eat any of his kids
vii) He took French TV around his country on a tourism drive
viii) Yoweri Museveni, about 20 years later, did exactly the same thing
ix) He did not actually kill over 500,000 Ugandans in those 8 years
x) He was the star of the film: The Last King of Scotland
Similarly inspired by The Last King of Scotland, the fictional story of Amin's personal doctor, Joshi is also seized with Amin fever:
I still think of Idi Amin as a merciless brute (or is that what the West wants me to think?), but he has had me since before the movie saluting around the house. I do mini marches in the corridors and in the kitchen. And best believe it isn't the slick cut salute of the American Marines, or the Royal Marines, it the one used by the gallant forces of the UPDF and Uganda Police.
Though Dennis and Joshi are presumably joking about their affection for the brutal dictator, other Ugandan bloggers are seriously battling with the recent trend towards positive reevaluation of past political figures.
The May 1 death of Brigadier Nobel Mayombo, the former Ugandan Chief of Military Intelligence (CMI), sparked a number of conspiracy theories and an intense argument over his legacy.  As CMI, Mayombo was responsible for establishing “safe houses” around Kampala.  Ostensibly intended to detain terror suspects, the safe houses have become infamous as torture centers for political prisoners.  Despite accusations of personal involvement in the torture and interrogation of a number of prisoners, Mayombo has been venerated by most Ugandans after his death.
Moses Odokonyero describes the media reaction to Mayombo's death:
The New Vision comforted itself by portraying its late board chairman as an impeccably white angel. Not so with Andrew Mwenda and Timothy Kalyegira, two of Uganda’s most controversial journalists, both of the Daily Monitor.
“History will make its statement on Noble, and I hope it will show that he was a good man, who served a bad regime,” wrote Mwenda, currently a Knight Fellow at Stanford University, a childhood friend of Mayombo. “As I reflected on the death of this icon of our times, a disturbing question hangs over my conscience: how did this intelligent and charming guy get drawn into service of a regime that is increasingly repressive, corrupt, nepotistic and violent?”
For his part, Timothy Kalyegira could not understand why everybody was praising the late Mayombo as a brilliant and intelligent man. Did he get a first-class degree at university? Did he develop a new doctrine that is being used to train young army officers? What benchmark do Ugandans use to determine their heroes?“
Minega fears this benchmark may be too forgiving.  Using Mao and Amin as worrying examples, he rejects the idea that the actions of political figures should be reassessed after their deaths and wonders:
So how far will this ‘subjective’ evaluation of history's brutes take us? Will Hitler be rehabilitated as a guy who just got ‘a little carried away'? Will Pol Pot become a pop icon and be used to advertise coca-cola?
The hazards of development work
Two bloggers in Uganda are wrestling with the harder aspects of their jobs in the aid and development field.  Attacks on World Food Programme staff in Karamoja and Pader have left Be Silent wondering how to give help:
How does God want his people to be helped? Do they need the help? Yes they do.  Do they know they need it? That I do not know especially if they are treating the people who give them help in such a way.
Probably next month I will be going to these places to carry out some work.  Before today I was so excited about the whole experience not forgetting the allowances but now am thinking of going to Mbarara, Tororo and making sure all the other places are taken care of by my colleague.
In Hoima, a Peace Corps Volunteer struggles with being an outsider in a Ugandan community, what he calls the lion in the cage effect:
It is almost as if we're here for the amusement of the adult and children both. Is the white man eating, sleeping, reading, or crying? Let's look in his bared windows and find out. I must be more entertaining than the local drunkards because even they stop whatever it is that they do to watch me walk past.

author: Rebekah Heacock


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Africa: appropriate technologies for activists · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sokari Ekine's notes from the conference on mobile activism in Africa, which took place in Kenya recently: “The afternoon session was a musical chairs of Geek Dating with 10 “products” on new technologies that would be appropriate for activists. All the software are open source…”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: introducing AfricanLoft · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Grandiose Parlor introduces AfricanLoft: “AfricanLoft is best seen than described; those who have being there seem to like it. In short, it’s a multi-channel, multi-author, multimedia and multi-dimensional site. And the good thing is that the site is not about me, but you.”


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Bahrain: An Expat Minister of Labour? · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

The first topic of conversation in Bahrain these days seems to be the weather. Summer has just arrived in full force, with the temperature currently at 44°C (110°F). TechZ is enjoying what little unpredictability he can find in the weather:
…today was a surprising day… It was dark out at 7AM today morning…it had drizzled lightly the prior night and all throughout the night as well. It was a tad dusty, but the cooler atmosphere was very welcome. Humidity is a killer though, and it reared its ugly head in our island desert, making working for those of us who don’t do a typical office/desk job, rather cumbersome.
Eventually, it got sunny, but didn’t turn 50°C/120°F hot during the day, a day's reprieve then for many of us, but I’m sure it’ll be back to blistering heat ASAP.
LuLu, on the other hand, has decided that she personally is at fault for Bahrain's power problems:
Here is my issue these days: I need my electricity. I need it so I don't melt during the day. I need it so I can get on the internet and blog. I need it so I don't read books in candle light. Unfortunately, I haven't been getting much electricity since I got back to Bahrain. In fact, now I'm being told by the Minister of Electricity that it's my fault! Or at least, I am 90% of the problem!
Under the influence of the heat, I actually started to believe that it's my fault. In fact, since the miracle of electricity finally came back to our house (after two days of lighting candles, harassing the ministry, and invoking souls of ancestors), I have been thinking of how it is my, LuLu's, own fault that our government can't provide us with electricity.
Mahmood also has something to say on the topic of electricity usage. But forget lights and air-conditioning, Farah Mattar is preoccupied with a rather more important home comfort:
When one has a large dependence on an everyday object, it is very difficult to have to deal with the sudden malfunction of this thing. Many of you might be familiar with the feeling of having your car break down for the first time, after years of safely delivering you to and from your destinations. You feel betrayed. “Hey, I thought we were friends…” you may mumble at your engine, through the smoke as passing vehicles smugly looked over at your misery, glad that it wasn’t them.
Well, there are degrees of importance in the roles of our daily inanimate partners. For example, your AC, your shower, your hairdryer, your car, your telephone, your microwave…and last but not least your bed, they all have different percentages of love, dependence, whatever. I mean, you can pie-chart it and the biggest chunk always goes to Mr. Bed.
Farah may need her bed over everything else, but the Bedouin of the region retain a culture with different priorities. Hasan Hujairi, watching TV in Japan, has found himself nostalgic for a culture that is not his own:
I was watching a segment on television today about Bedouins in the Hijaz region in Saudi Arabia. Even though Bahrain does not have a Bedouin identity, there is this untouchable something about this identity that I can strongly identify with; shedding light on a collective (and possibly more noble) previous self of us as human beings.
He was reminded of a family visit to some Bedouin in Kuwait:
After being treated to a genuine walima (feast), we talked to the patriarch of the family (who still has vivid memories of life in the deserts of Arabia). I was a spoilt kid when it came to eating; I refused to eat with my hands – as traditionally done in the Middle East. That is, until that day. … The patriarch of that Bedouin family told in Arabic, “Ya Waladi, lat koon badawi bil kaamil, wala Hadhari bil kamil.” (which translates to, “My son, don’t be a complete Bedouin and don’t be a complete urbanite). Years later, thinking back over that small meeting, I realize what the old man was trying to say; move on in life but never forget where you come from.
Experiencing more than nostalgia, Cradle of Humanity is lamenting a great loss:
I can see it through the glass walls of my office. There it lies, still blue, nonetheless. Every other day, I also track any visible changes to some of Bahrain’s biggest forthcoming projects: Bahrain Financial Harbour through the left wall, Bahrain Bay through the right.
Admiring eyes surround the Financial Harbour, anticipating businessmen, clients who envy us the privileged view. Once and again I looked at the massive structure by the shore, fixing my gaze I tried to so hard to admire it. I never could. … Maybe I could have had some passion towards our new skyscrapers; maybe I could have seen them as national symbols, if only they did not despoil the sea, if only they did not exterminate precious fish species. … Fighting tears in my eyes I hear the concerned voice of a colleague: “Why do you look, if it bothers you so much?”.
I do not know. Maybe look because I care. I look because for years when I was away I dreamed of when the moment comes and I can once again see those very shores and inhale the sea breeze. I look because like a lover, passion drives me to visit, once again, the beloved.
Nido also has something to say about Bahrain's relationship to the sea:
Protection of our sea resources, not to mention other natural resources such as agricultural land and the atmosphere, even if it magically happens overnight tomorrow, is obviously unfortunately too little too late. A lot of the coasts and the coral reefs have already been destroyed, and once these resources are destroyed it is pretty much impossible to recover them. However, trying to salvage what remains is better than nothing. This is especially crucial in a small island that has for all its history depended on the sea as its primary source of income.
Just like Cradle of Humanity and Nido, Mahmood loves his country, but he wonders if the government has the right approach to instilling this love in all its citizens, judging from the apparently excessive response by the security forces to some opposition gatherings:
I’m not sure what the Ministry of the Interior wants to achieve by its continuous excessive use of force.
If this is their idea of instilling love for the country, they failed; if it is their intention to protect public and private property, they failed, their habitual use of tear gas and rubber bullets and other “crowd control” measures probably damage more properties than demonstrators do; if they want to live up to the “security” label in their name, they failed, you do not provide security by adopting terror tactics; if they want to cow people and dissuade them from talking about or participating in political activities, they failed.
Silly Bahraini Girl has a silly question for the Minister of Labour, who has criticised young Bahrainis, alleging they are too lazy for the workplace:
Since Bahrainis are under qualified to do the jobs of expats and since it takes three to four Bahrainis to do the job of one foreigner (four to do the job of an American and three to do the job of a European to be more precise and to quote our esteemed minister more accurately) why shouldn't we hire a foreign Labour Minister to replace Mr Al Alawi?
Concerned Citizen X also has a question for the authorities. He wonders why there is no enforcement of some laws such as for wearing seatbelts, and against using a handheld mobile when driving, except for the last ten days of every month:
… These are ‘cash cows’, and they have been milking them for such a loooooooong time, its pure profit being harvested at their discretion; income generated through non-application of existing Traffic laws which generate lots of income for the Traffic Directorate. … the cows are allowed to graze and every so often, they are herded back into the barn, plugged into the suction gizmos and the white gold just flows, milked till they quench their thirst, always leaving more for later.
Our final post is another on politicians by Mahmood, who is less than impressed by the zeal of an MP, apparently taking his role as a guardian of the public services extremely seriously:
And we thought that parliamentary work, and being elected, is simple. Hah! No way José! Look at what is expected of you:
You get calls at all hours of the night, even when a concerned citizen spies a drunk public sector worker and expects you to take care of the situation, as you should. So into that brandspankynewlexus you get – with a Don Quixote refrain playing at the back of your mind and race – not stopping at those frivolous red lights, you’re an MP, a representative of the people now – to get to the scene of the crime and have a proper foot-stomping-fist-banging-lung-gutting fit and demand – as is your complete and full right – that the accused submit a blood sample for analysis to determine the quantity he has purportedly imbibed and thus, determine there and then, as a judge, jury and executioner that he be thrown out and as a head of a committee tasked with finding out the transgressions of that public sector, you can now allay any self-guilt and not suffer any insomnia for executing your job as best you could.
Phew! Better get some rest – more from Bahrain in a week!

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Bahrain: Housemaid Interview  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Migrant Rights posted an interview with an Indonesian housemaid in Bahrain – who hasn't returned home of seen her 10-year-old son for nine years.


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Brueni: Extending Retirement Age · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Old Man's Blog in Brunei prefers people retiring from work later. “Extending retirement age means that everyone work longer, save more, and have more once they retire. Everyone should be more concerned about this. I know retirement is a long way off, but really, it would affect us all.”

author: Preetam Rai


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D.R. of Congo: Missionary Blogs as Security Situation Worsens along Congolese-Rwandan Border · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Kakaluigi [Fr] is blogging several times daily about the deteriorating security situation in Bukavu. He posts information about an attack on a village at Kabare, on the road to Walungu, Thursday night and an attack on Wednesday night in Sud-Kivu.  The archbishop of Bukavu is warning that of a new Hutu-Tutsi war along the Congolese-Rwandan border if the situation is not brought under control.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Kenya: SMS and politics in Kenya · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

assidous on SMS and politics in Kenya: “This is an SMS that landed in my cellphone yesterday. I thought i would share it out. It came in Kikuyu and i took time to translate it for you:
TRANSLATION: Hi, how is your day? May the Lord protect you from the devilish things like – disease, thieves, witches, fleas, ticks, lice, bedbugs, weevils and most of all from the ODM party!”


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Liberia: The Trial of Charles Taylor blog · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The Trial of Charles Taylor blog is a joint project of the Open Society Institute, the International Senior Lawyers Project and the Open Society Justice Initiative: “This site will provide news and expert analysis — updated daily — throughout the trial of Charles Taylor. It is intended as the primary resource for all those interested in the trial, with a particular emphasis on reaching West African audiences.”


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Malaysia: Not Marrying a Kadazandusun · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Blogger Jewelle, hailing from the  Kadazandusun ethnic group in the island of Borneo writes why she was younger she wished her future husband would be a  a non- Kadazandusun person.


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Monem is free · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Egyptian blogger and Journalist Abdel Monem Mahmoud, is free. Monem  “arrived to his home in Alexandria less than two hours ago after being released from police custody,” said a statement published on the Brothers English website accompanied with recent photos of Monem smiling between his father and friends.
“I just talked to Monem over the phone, state security finally released him at 2am sat the 2nd of June after interrogating him for hours about blogs and bloggers. I’m sure we’ll know more details later from Monem himself, “wrote  Alaa Abd El Fattah on Freemonem campaign blog.
Yesterday, Freemonem campaign team was concerned about Monem's safety when he almost disappeared following his release from the Tora Prison in Cairo.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Nigeria: writing from the Diaspora · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Adeola Aderounmu discusses the reasons why Nigerians in the Diaspora write about life back home: “Over the years, the concept of writing from abroad has increased tremendously. One major aspect of these writings is the act of criticising the government.  There are many internet sites that are dedicated to news and stories about Nigeria and there are several others that accept contributory articles from Nigerians abroad. Substantial numbers of these sites are operated by Nigerians living in the Diaspora.  The emergence and spread of blog writing has availed much. Blogs are provided by many ISPs and your location is not a factor. You can write from anywhere in the world, even from your bedroom.”


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South Korea: Migrant Worker’ Life Story · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A Burmese migrant worker in Seoul, Aung Tin Htun, told his life story at MWTV's english blog. His story touched upon political suppression in Burma, factory life in Seoul, communication problem, etc.


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Uganda: donor-inspired drama · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Richard M Kavuma, one of nine African reporters blogging from the G8 Summit in Germany, argues that the aid conditions set by the G8 are doing little to stop corruption. He uses the latest anti-corruption probe in Uganda to make his case: “I’m not giving any credence to this latest anti-corruption probe until one or two of the accused are actually convicted and locked away. Short of that, it feels like yet another round of donor-inspired drama.”


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China: Disgruntled students tear up campus · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Another search on Chinese video sharing site Tudou for the word protest today brings this video uploaded May 24 and entitled ‘Xinhua Adult Education Institute, Students Cheated, Protest!’ in which students can be seen blocking a road and traffic backed up into the background:
Which led to this video of a smashed-up police station:
A search on Google for the school's name and ‘students cheated’ brings this account of the protest, dated May 27, copied from elsewhere and posted anonymously:
本人是安徽新华电脑学院合肥 大学部 06届 数字媒体专业学生
自己二零零七年五月二十二日晚十二点开始。
到现在。本学院因为学校无法对现我们来校时所对我们发出的承诺。而发生大型爆动。场面之大。很难想像。
先把爆动的原因说一下。
我们来校之间。学校对我们讲的是。我们所拿的为江苏大学毕业证。现在无没对现。给我们的是新华学院成教院（相当于中专毕业证）的毕业证。 这是一点。。
二：我们所选择的数字媒体专业只招收1300人。现在学校多招收了。学校无法给多招收的学校发放数字媒体专业证书。学校在没有经过学生的同意下。甚至没有通知学样。私下的把学生的专业修改。
新华骗了我们。骗了我们大家。
所为才会有今天的大型爆动发生。
下面我把今天下午二点到现在的情况向大家介绍一下。
今天下下午二点十五分时。由本学院数字媒体专业。05 06 届学生为首。派每班带班长为代表想同学校协商解决。但是学校没有一个人出面。
二点二十分左右。在学校无人出面的情况下。全数字媒体（下称数媒）专业学校。走出学校。在学校门口的路上（合肥的主要交通要道）举行示威。
拦下所有在此路上过往的车俩。造成交通堵塞。车龙长达数十公理。
下午四点半左右。安徽新华 总院长到场/还是无法解决问题。
在合一区学生代表的会议上。被一女人用矿泉水瓶砸了。
学校对学生们的欺骗行为极其恶劣，数百名学生十分愤怒，暴动时间已进行了十几小时了
晚上六点左右。一保安动手打了一学生。学生愤怒起来。学校大门被拆，保卫科也被砸毁，
当地出动将近百名警察仍不见起色，学校所有的保安不知去向/
现在时间为晚上七点五十分。学生的爆动还在继续中。
由于现场的照像机还在始用之中。
现在无法提供第一手的照片资料给大家。
爆动还在继续我会第一时间为大家提供第一次现场资料。
请大家急时关注
{转者言:我也是和他一个院区的,目睹了第一现场.中午我会把图片发上来..现在所有暴动人员已经举行了大型签名,他们拉着布条正在向市府广场出发…………待续}
现在新华集团把很多媒体都收买了 各大媒体不给报道
记得我来到新华的第一天，我就说了一句，新华这里根本就不算是一个学校，早知道是这样的，我还不如去上电脑培训班呢，别的不 …
作者：si cheng    2007-6-1 8:25:00
A look through the Google results for the name of the school and ‘students have been cheated’ brings back 167,000 results, but going through the first two pages thereof shows bbs postings mentioning the incident have been deleted off China.com (NASDAQ: CHINA), the Phoenix TV BBS, a Nanjing BBS, a consumer group website, a MOP forum—one of the biggest in China, Yahoo! China's bbs, Dahe,
a Chinese education forum and shouxian bbs.
Then in the order in which they appeared on Google, here are some of the eyewitness reports which have not or will not be deleted. First in line—a blog! Little Cloud's, which dated May 27 confirms what the anonymous writer wrote above, that students had blocked off a road by 3 pm on the 22nd, saying police, journalists and several local tv crews arrived at the scene shortly after, but claiming that Xinhua had leaned on its connections to get the story killed:
此后日渐变黑，各方情绪都很激动。出现了老师打学生的事情后，形势一度出现混乱。最后到晚上6点多钟时，愤怒的学生推倒了校方拦堵他们的铁门并和门卫发生冲突。在校方一再劝诱下，和公安的疏导下，学生逐渐返回学校，一直到晚上7点半，公路才勉强通车。
截至07年5月23日晚8时至9时左右,**进一步升级!合肥市领导以及省领导陆续到达新华电脑学院位于肥东县龙塘镇的学院!至此,市里已派出数百名防暴警察至此,而且出动119救火车,据本人判断,出动119并不是怕出火灾,可能是想用高压水枪来冲散人群!
至晚9点半左右,全校学生晚自习放学,更大的**开始了,学校里的门,窗等全部被砸,消防器材也不能幸免!位于顶层的水塔也被从楼上推下!学校里一片狼籍!
从晚9点半左右开始的**整整持续了近4个小时左右!学院领导全部在办公室开会,讨论对策,但无能为力!至此安徽省教育厅厅长也到达学院,并在晚12时左右向同学们发表讲话!(由于本人未到讲话地,没能听见内容!但上午上课前在学校到处都可看见通知,具体内容是要求每班派两个代表去多功能厅说对学院的要求等)
More at the 9158 bbs from user aqzhangyu, writing just after noon on May 24:
今天中午我才知道，我们数字媒体专业毕业后拿的毕业证上面是“计算机应用专业”！我们这个专业的学生要罢课，太气人了！这个计算机应用证根本就没用，外面根本就不认可这个专业，因为其他大专学校的学生都可以拿这个证书，而且我们数字媒体专业的学费比其他专业的学费贵了几千块钱呢！（除网工专业）新华又欺骗了我们！
当初我们来新华的时候，告诉我们毕业证拿的是江苏大学的毕业证，可是，等成考了，却告诉我们拿的是新华成教院的证书，当时就气死了！
总的来说，新华就是一个靠骗人进来的监狱，我们女生停水，一天24小时就给2个小时的电，食堂的饭菜贵的要死不说，还特难吃~
就是为了不发大专毕业证引起的第2次爆动  其后果比第一次更严重  学校大门被推倒，学校被砸烂。暴动还在进行中。
爆动一事闹的沸沸扬扬，但一波未停一波又起。5月23日（即爆动的第二天）下午3点左右，新华数字媒体与艺术设计专业的学生齐聚在学校的大门前，将交通繁忙的合巢公路拦腰切断，现场混乱不堪。
据笔者了解到，学生拦路事件的起因可能是因为个别专业的毕业证书与新华承诺的不符，导致学生们的不满，找领导解决，但似乎被拒绝，因而促成不满情绪的高涨，才做出堵路的行为。
但具体原因现在笔者也正在调查，外面流传的有两种情况:
第一种：
在学生入学时，校方答应毕业后颁发江苏大学的专科毕业证，但在成人高考前，校方突然告诉学生，说这两个专业的学生（前面提到的专业）毕业后改拿新华学院颁发的毕业证书，当时学生们就进行过一次小规模的抗议，因校方的调解，才使抗议行为没有恶化。但临近毕业了，校方告诉他们，说毕业后他们拿不到专业毕业证，而是拿：计算机应用证书，学生们似乎对此证书不感兴趣，因而导致事情恶化。
第二种：
前面的大致与第一种情况相同，但后来毕业证书又有所差异，传言说他们拿不到大专文凭，只能混个中专文凭，这下学生们急了，好不容易交了几万块钱，就混个中专文凭，说什么也不行呀，因而就以堵塞公路进行维护自身利益。希望得到有关部门的关注。
以上两种情况笔者也没有得到证实，所以先将文章发表出来，收集更准确的信息，请知情的同学提供真实的情况！
A thread at the Netease education forum started by user qwf1986520 on May 25 tells roughly the same story, adding some details such the power being turned on just before midnight on the 22nd in the 30 degree weather, that around 2000 students spent 4 hours blocking the road on the afternoon of the 23rd starting at 1pm and that roughly 1000 students were blocked halfway during a march to city hall on the 24th. Five hundred allegedly began a silent seated protest and shortly after police began hitting students. Towards the end it's mentioned that mention of the story is being censored online and in traditional media.
网上几乎找不到次此事件的报到。如百度、51空间、博客、个人网页，上传的图片视频全部被删。可见新华的后台如此之硬。！！！
自教育局得到的确切消息：新华成教院至少有5项体制是不合法的。
小道消息：（可信程度达75%）新华的后台最大的股东之一的后面是江泽民的妹妹江泽惠。而江泽惠本人曾经在合肥呆过一段时间。后因不知何事，调回北京。相信江泽惠本人和新华有着密切的关联。！！
以上是报道的事件。
事件的处理结果：于25日出来了~~结果是上诉的两个专业：
1：可以继续读下去，但是所学的专业，证书将不会有。而是其他专业的证书。但是校方赔偿3000元。
2：立即退学，校方将退还剩余学费（按实际情况收费）（注：此项完全合理，在这不多诉）。没有证书。
3：两年制大专将转成一年制，学费退回60%。（没有大专证）
Accompanying aqzhangyu's report at the 9158 bbs was a post from user zhaiweiwei6636 which showed these photos:

author: John Kennedy


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Russia, Georgia: Visas, Wine and the WTO · Global Voices
Lyndon

I've translated a post by cyxymu, apropos of Russia easing some of the visa restrictions on Georgians (possibly related to Georgia's role in Russia's WTO accession). Having a visa regime is an unusual situation between Russia and a former Soviet republic that's a CIS member; however, it's been the situation – with occasional talk of easing the requirement – for Georgians and Russians since around 2000, and has been an element of Russia's support for the secessionist areas of Georgia as well as – more recently – a representation of increased tensions between the two countries. Now it looks like Russia will apparently allow certain categories of Georgians to receive visas:
Only a naive person could believe that the Russian authorities decided to loosen the visa blockade of Georgia just out of kindness. No, with this action they wanted to sweeten the arrival of the delegation from Russia to negotiate Russia's WTO accession. The blockade is the stick, and the issuance of visas to certain groups of Georgian citizens is a small carrot.
However, Georgia, I think, will continue to insist on the legalization of all border checkpoints on the Russo-Georgian border. Recently Russia has illegally opened checkpoints on the [River] Psou and at the Roksk tunnel, which Georgia has declared closed some time ago. And Georgia demands that Georgian customs officers occupy these checkpoints.
One other disagreement is the Russian ban on the import of Georgian Borzhomi [mineral water] and Georgian wines, based on trumped-up reasons. How can Georgia agree to Russia's WTO accession without the resolution of these problems? I don't think Georgia will agree.
I of course do not intend to suggest that WTO membership is so necessary to the Russian people, but it is necessary for the oligarchs, and therefore for Putin, and he pressures Georgia to admit Russia to the WTO because his oligarchs are losing nearly a billion dollars a year.
Cyxymu is the most widely read and commented on blog about Abkhazia that I've seen. It's written, I believe, by a refugee (or, rather, internally displaced person) from the conflict.  The blog's full title is “Memories of Sukhumi, the war, and pain,” which gives you some idea of its focus, although recently the author has written a bit about the conflict in South Ossetia as well. It often has photos of Sukhumi and other places in Abkhazia, along with reminiscences from the blog's author or others in the comments section, and it has a consistent community of readers/commenters who guarantee a lively dialogue and often add their own very interesting information about goings-on in Abkhazia.
Tbilisi, Georgia, August 13, 2006 – photo by Lyndon Allin

author: Lyndon


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Russia: Schools in Chechnya · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

LJ user kunstkamera (journalist Yulia Vishnevetskaya) visited Chechnya last month, wrote a magazine article (RUS) about the trip and posted photos on her blog. Amazing photos – as always (see here, here, here, and here for kunstkamera‘s earlier work).
Chechen journalist and blogger Timur Aliev (LJ user timur_aliev) commented on kunstkamera‘s 44 photos of Chechnya's rural schools:
great shots again… thank You… this indeed is the real Chechnya…
LJ user safiullin didn't seem convinced, however:
It's okay. In Russia, almost any village school looks like this. There are places that are even worse. And there's never been any war there.
To which timur_aliev responded:
but this doesn't make it any less outrageous…
Here's part of what kunstkamera wrote (RUS) about Chechnya's schools (the post contains some more photos):
[…]
In four days, we've seen 22 schools in four mountainous districts. That's a lot. As a result, most schools have merged in my mind into one cold space with white-blue walls, embellished with numerous portraits of Kadyrov as well as his aphorisms. Who is hanging all this? “Well, try not to!” – is the school principals’ reply. But it's still not clear why even those building that have been restored after the war have this impenetrably Soviet look about them: what does it take to, say, paint the walls some other color? Some of these schools were exemplary, reconstructed and with playgrounds, and others were really gloomy, with barely any life left in them. At most, the main complaint was the lack of staff: “If we could provide accommodation, teachers would be coming here,” we were told at the [regional government's education department]. “They say Kadyrov has brought Russian teachers to his native [Tsentoroi], pays them 15,000 [rubles a month, or about $600], provides guards for them, and they work. And our budget allows 2-3 thousand [rubles a month, or roughly $100].” It often happens that one teacher holds lessons in two classes simultaneously: gives an assignment to one group of students – and walks over to the other. In almost all schools the foreign language taught is Arabic. As a rule, the teacher of Arabic also teaches extracurricular classes on the Quran and ethics classes, during which he tells students about Chechen traditions. In one of the schools in [Vedeno] district, an imam made a stove with his own hands. In some Chechen schools, there are psychologists – and as a rule, they are truly involved with the children.
[…]
These is, perhaps, all that differentiates [Chechen schools] from the average Russian ones. Though, the situation in different localities is not the same and much depends on the condition of the village and the villagers’ eagerness to build new life there. In the village of Ushkaloi, for instance, the school is squeezed into the teacher's small house, and in a neighboring village, just a few kilometers away, there's a huge building equipped with a dozen of computers – but there's no one to study there: most of the residents left for the plain with their children. The school's principal, a tired elderly woman with fatigue in her eyes, tells us how a female student of her school was killed by shrapnel, and how they had classes inside army tents, and how she, the principal, was taken away to be shot and the kids followed her – “They were crying, tearing at my skirt, and I was telling them: Don't be afraid, dyadya [“an uncle” – but also “a man” – if you're talking to a child] will show you the fireworks now.” Everyone was let go only thanks to some commander's good will.
[…]
We are trying to get the principal tell us how it is possible to help this school. “We don't need anything. Put up a metal fence, because our wooden one keeps being overturned by cows.”
[…]
For me, the smell of Chechnya is the smell of burning garbage. It feels as if there's a permanent [subbotnik] going on in this republic.
That day, at almost every school, they were telling us: “We've let the children go to a subbotnik.” But they somehow forgot about it in the village of Gansolchu, and the children were studying as usual. They in general pay more attention to private life here, rather than to the state affairs. The principal's whole family is here, in one way or another: his wife and his elder son teach math here, the younger son studies here, the daughter is finishing the 11th grade and will sooner or later end up here [teaching] as well. Instead of the scary electrical bell, they have a rather pleasant-sounding little bell. The school's layout also emphasizes family atmosphere: two tiny buildings, a teachers’ room in one and two classrooms in the other, each divided into two. The guard lives here as well, he's the owner of these two little houses. “It costs 3,000 [rubles a month, $120] in rent, this money should be paid by [the local government's education department], but they haven't paid in two years already. But he's not going to throw us out, because then he'd lose his job as a guard – and that's 2,000 [rubles a month, $80],” says the school's principal, Zelimkhan Jabaev.
The school's old building, like the majority of the houses in this villages, is completely destroyed. In 2002, after the elderly principal and the school's guard were killed one night, 16 families left Gansolchu all at once. Soon, the rest of the residents left, too. The village stood empty for eight months. During that time, the houses that had been left intact by their owners, were destroyed as well. Some think that the army was shooting at the empty village, to prevent anyone from returning, others believe that soldiers have just dissembled the houses to have construction materials. “There was an old man here, he really didn't want to leave, was the last one to go, was crying,” says the principal's wife Esita. “Then he found the rest of us on the plain and tried to convince us to return. He was a very good person, everyone liked him to be their guest. We lived in [Gudermes] district. Everyone was homesick there, only women had jobs. And then Akhmad Kadyrov promised to help return to the mountains. This old man gathered everyone, we went to the administration and asked a battalion for protection of the village. And so we went back. This old man, when he saw that his house had been destroyed, had a heart attack and died two days later.”
[…]
“When we returned, we at first used to follow the cattle – we were afraid of landmines,” the Gansolchu school principal continues. All schoolchildren in Chechnya have been taught anti-landmine rules – in every school, there are posters with dogs and hedgehogs that keep away from unknown objects. But they still don't venture far into the forest, they even gather firewood close to home. And when they go to gather cheremsha [wild garlic, ramsons], they go in groups – if one person gets hurt on a landmine, the others will carry him out.
There are 72 students in this school – classes take place in three shifts. There are no teachers of chemistry, physics and Russian. Other teachers teach these subjects. “How is that possible? They aren't familiar with the subject, are they?” – “It's okay, they'll read the textbook and then retell it to the children.” The principal teaches informatics on the only computer that the school has, and he also teaches labor and PE classes. He teaches boys of up to the 6th grade agricultural skills, and from the 7th to the 9th – construction, and the oldest ones he teaches driving his own car. No foreign language classes. “We used to have the teacher of Arabic, but he was arrested. Then he was let go, but chose not return here.” […] Above the stove, there's a mirror, and above it, a moving sign: “Teacher! Look at yourself. Smile! And go to class.”
[…]


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Thailand: Thai Internet Censorship · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

FACT – Freedom Against Censorship Thailand has a post on the mechanism of internet censorship in Thailand.


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Add your citizen media event to the Global Voices calendar! · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

One of the best kept secrets of this website is a calendar of local and world events, bloggers meetings and conferences.
This month is busy with meetings in South Africa, Tanzania, and the G8 Summit in Germany. Got any ideas for new blog projects? There's just one week to go before Rising Voices and J-Lab grant proposals are due. Scroll ahead in the calendar to see more events.
Bloggers, we want to know where you're going and what you'll be blogging. Event organisers, send us information about your conferences, unconferences, barcamps, and blogger meet-ups. Make sure to include links, dates, and location of events…
Use this form (addressed to managing editors) for your suggestions. Many thanks for your tips, links, and ideas (so you know it, we reserve the right to keep some things off the calendar).

author: Solana Larsen


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Afghanistan: Heroes of Afghanistan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

SunLeaf discusses some non-Afghan champions of Afghanistan.


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Afghanistan: Tourism in Nursitan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghanistanica examines the prospects for tourism in Afghanistan's Nuristan province and finds them quite good if one happens to be an elite airborne soldier.


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An amateur comedy of the partition of Africa · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Racisme et Histoire: Le Tabou posts a video of a comic amateur representation of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 [Fr], which partitioned Africa among the major European powers.  “This absurd cutting up [of Africa] does not reflect the reality and the diversity of the African people.  The challenge is enormous.  Without national coherence, how can democracy be put in place?”


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Argentina: Buenos Aires Election Analysis · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Regarding the Jefe de Gobierno (mayoral) election in Buenos Aires, Leandro Zanoni of eBlog [ES] provides his own analysis picking the winners, the losers, and the best campaign.  He writes that the big winner was, “Mauricio Macri, obtaining more than 45% of the votes (more than Filmus and Telerman combined).  He definitely positions himself as the face of the opposition to the government for the elections in October and in 2011.”

author: Eduardo Avila


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Argentina: Problems with Broadband Leads to Experiment · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Marcos Sader of Defmay [ES], a blog from Cordoba, Argentina, has been having trouble with his internet service provided by Fibertel.  Fed up with the runaround given by the company, he has decided to try a little experiment by organizing other Fibertel users and see if, collectively, they can make a difference.


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Bahrain: Broadband Penetration  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif  shares his thoughts  on broadband penetration in Bahrain.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: Letter to King · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Abu Rasool links  to a Human Rights Watch letter addressed to His Majesty King Hamad of Bahrain about abuses allegedly committed by security forces in his country.


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Bangladesh: Citizenship and Religion · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

a bengali in TO attends a talk on Canadian Muslims and Citizenship, and is rather impressed. “The official title of the talk was Canadian Muslims And Citizenship – Roles and Responsibility. Dr Ramadan started with his observations that now Western Muslims seem to be categorizing themselves into two generalizations – the invisible “I am a Muslim but not practicing” or the “super angry, agitated and isolation-minded Muslim”.”


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Bermuda: Facebook  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Tom Q finally sets up his Facebook profile and learns that he's in good company – the Premier of Bermuda is on there too.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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China: Ten points on threat · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Positive solution listed out 10 reasons why China is / isn't a threat. He personally don't believes that China is a threat: “It’s too early to say”.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Dominica: Keeping the Faith?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Most fundamentally religious countries show a huge contradiction between what is supposedly believed and practised.”  Caribbean Man thinks that the result of blind faith “for the Caribbean and a small place like Dominica is a resigned fatalism…an intellectual laziness.”


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D.R. of Congo: Bring an end to the impunity enjoyed by our politicians · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Bana Congo calls on the Congolese people to “rise up” and bring an end to impunity, publishing a list of Congolese politicians and their “crimes” [Fr].  Some readers praised the list and offered their own additions. One reader called the idea naive, writing “this list could be published and engraved in gold lettering in the public square, and you would accomplish nothing!”


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D.R. of Congo: More Violence in Eastern Congo · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Kakaluigi continues blogging about the worsening security situation in eastern Congo along the Rwandan border, writing about an attack at Kaniola [Fr] in which a girl less than ten years old was raped and a pregnant woman eviscerated.  MP Vicky Katumwa of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) is calling for immediate action.  She says that the recent violence is not a communal conflict among the people of Kivu; rather the attacks are perpetrated by the FDLR and the Interhamwe, the Hutu militia that carried out the mass killings of Tutsis during the Rwandan genocide.


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Egypt: A Dog’s Destiny  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Maryanne Stroud Gabbani, who blogs from Egypt, writes about how authorities are dealing with stray animals.


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Egypt: Silence Over Sexual Harassment  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“We are still with the sexual harassment problem in Egypt. It seems that it is a real problem in Egypt no one wants to speak about,” writes Egyptian blogger Zeinobia.


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Estonia: Varbla Cemetery · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa is on the road again, this time visiting his wife's great-grandparents’ graves in Varbla: “Anna learned of her impending deportation — for being the wife of a Estonian Liberation War veteran — and hid in the forests with her youngest daughter for enough time that they stopped looking for her. So she did not get sent to Siberia, fortunately. However, when Martin returned in the mid-1950s, he was a changed man, and the two were never able to put their family back together. Anna died in 1957. They are buried in separate plots in the cemetery.”


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Former Soviet Union: “Collapse” Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Watch a selection of photos “that seem to best capture ‘the collapse'” of the USSR – and suggest your own – at Darkness at Noon.


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Francophone Morocco: Blogging for the Maghreb Arab Union · Global Voices
Hamza Daoui

When Morocco and Tunisia gained independence in 1956, the idea for an economic union of the Maghreb countries was born.  It took more than thirty years before the five Maghreb states – Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia – came together for the first Maghreb summit.  In 1989, they signed an agreement to form a Maghreb Union.
Since then, however, due to rivalries between Morocco and Algeria and the Western Sahara conflict, union meetings have been on hold.  A conference was scheduled for 2005, but was canceled when Morocco refused to attend due to Algeria's support for the Polisario and Saharan independence.
Although the countries of the Maghreb have not been able to pull together, the bloggers of the Maghreb have.  On May 15, Tunisian blogger Big Trap Boy (fr) posted an invitation to blog for the Maghreb:
Ce blog est en campagne pour rassembler les bloggeurs maghrébins autour d'une action qui vise à demander une intégration réelle des pays du Maghreb ainsi que le dépassement des conflits qui bloquent ce processus. Notre rendez-vous est pris pour le 1er Juin, chacun écrira une note pour le Grand Maghreb. Il s'agit d'une initiative citoyenne qui sera peut-être le premier pas que les politiciens n'ont pas pu faire. On demande à voir des projets et non plus à entendre des discours. Le Maghreb a beaucoup plus à nous offrir que le terrorisme international.
Vous êtes tous invités à nous rejoindre.
This blog is campaigning to gather the Maghrebian bloggers around an action which aims at demanding a real integration of Maghreb countries as well as going beyond the conflicts which block this process. The date is set for June 1; each one of us will write a note for the Grand Maghreb.  This is a citizen initiative which will perhaps be that first step that the politicians could not take.  We want to see projects, not hear speeches. The Maghreb has more to offer than international terrorism.
You all are invited to join us.
Today, many bloggers throughout the Maghreb have honored Big Trap Boy‘s request, posting their own personal opinions about the Maghreb Union.  Here is a sampling of what Morocco's bloggers have to say:
Lady Zee (fr):
Les initiateurs souhaitent réussir là où les politiciens ont échoué; à savoir, renouer le dialogue entre ces pays, dépasser les incompréhensions et les conflits, et s’unir. Un projet ambitieux, certes, mais qui mérite d’être salué.
The organizers wish to succeed where politicians have failed; that is, to join again the dialogue between these countries, to pass over misunderstandings and conflicts, and to unite themselves.  An ambitious project, certainly, but one which deserves to be greeted.
Open Door (fr):
Je me rappelle qu’au primaire, on nous parlait souvent d’union de Maghreb, et de synergie entre les 5 pays voisins d’Afrique du nord : l’Algérie, la Lybie, le Maroc, la Mauritanie, et la Tunisie.
On n’arrêtait pas de nous vanter les mérites d’une éventuelle coopération entre les cinq pays, d’une stratégie économique commune, d’une politique commune, d’intérêts communs, de visions partagées . On mettait beaucoup d’espoir sur nos dirigeants, et on l’attendait beaucoup ce premier pas, celui qui nous mènera vers cette union tant désirée.
Une quinzaine d’année plus tard, on vit toujours la même situation, si ce n’est pire. Des conflits éclatent entre des frères voisins, des faux problèmes, des tensions se sentent de parts et d’autres. On entend toujours la même chanson, en boucle, les même promesses, les mêmes paroles dans le vent, les mêmes mensonges !
I remember in primary school, they told us about the Maghreb union, and the synergy between the five countries of North Africa: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia.They didn't stop telling us about the merits of a possible cooperation between the five countries, of a common economic strategy, of a common policy, common interests, shared visions.  We put a lot of hope on our leaders and awaited the first step that would carry us toward this much-desired union.
Some fifteen years later, we still live in this same situation, or even worse.  Conflicts erupt between nearby brothers, false problems, tensions from all sides.  We always hear the same song, [playing] in a loop, the same promises, the same words in the wind, the same lies!
Red@blog (fr):
Si on essaye de comparer l’émergence de l’UE avec celle de l’UMA, on se rend compte que les bases ne sont pas vraiment les mêmes. L’Europe venait de sortir d’une guerre qui avait laissé des séquelles assez profondes alors que l’Afrique du Nord bien qu’ayant vécu le colonialisme (à différents degrés) ne sentait pas le besoin de se regrouper pour ne plus vivre le passé. Il y a eu quelques épisodes plus ou moins disgracieux entre le Maroc et l’Algérie mais cela se vivait plus comme une conséquence de la Guerre froide que comme une réelle confrontation entre deux pays voisins.
If one tries to compare the emergence of the EU with that of the UMA (Maghreb Arab Union), one realizes that the [underlying situation is] not really the same.  Europe had just completed a war which had left rather major after-effects whereas North Africa, although having lived through colonialism (of varying degrees), didn't feel the need to reunite or live in the past anymore.  There were some more or less ungainly episodes between Morocco and Algeria but they were lived more like a consequence of the Cold War than like a real confrontation between two close countries.
Moi, ma famille et mes centres d'intérêt  (fr):
La discorde n'arrange rien, unissons-nous ! Nous avons tout les ingrédients : Langues, religions, cultures, … manque plus que la volonté politique .. Lah ihdihom 3lina had les politiciens ou safi ;-)
Tous par un Maghreb uni !
Discord doesn't help anything, let's unite!  We have all the ingredients: languages, religions, cultures, …all we lack is political will.  God make the politicians follow the right way to lead us – and enough ;-)All for a unified Maghreb!
Stupeur! Un nouveau départ! (fr):
Milliards et milliards sont les pertes de chaque pays d’entre nous lors du change de devises, pour aller à un pays voisin de dois absolument passer par une autre monnaie convertible.
Un investisseur perdrait plus de 5% de son capital au change s’il voulait investir dans un pays maghrébin, sans parler des complications administratives.
Each of us loses billions and billions every time we exchange currencies; to go to a neighboring country we have to change to a convertible currency.An investor would lose more than 5% of his capital [to the cost of] exchange if he wanted to invest in a Maghrebian country, not to mention the administrative complications.
There are many different opinions across the blogoma – some for the Maghreb Union and some against.  Some who believe that we are ready for a union, others who believe it will take time.  Yet, the bloggers have turned out to be more unified than the Maghreb itself:
Aujourd’hui je blogue pour ce grand Maghreb, le Maghreb des maghrébins : maures, arabes, séfarades, berbères, et tant d’autres imazighern : Les hommes libres du nord de l’Afrique
Today I blog for the grand Maghreb, the Maghreb of Maghrebians: Moors, Arabs, Sephardi, Berbers, and many other Amazigh: The free people of North Africa.
(Murmures [fr])

author: Hamza Daoui


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Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Foiled Terrorist Attack at JFK · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We hear the news yesterday, take down we flags and hang we heads instead in shame and grief, stop this rain and let we tears rain down instead.”  Guyana-Gyal reacts to the news of three of her countrymen being involved in the foiled terror attack at JFK airport, while Jeremy Taylor thinks the whole affair “sounds to me like another of George Bush's scare stories.”


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Haiti: Protecting Journalists · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Haiti has lost a good journalist and an ever better man.”  In the wake of the recent death of Haitian journalist Francois Latour, Haiti Innovation calls on the government to protect the freedom of the press.


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Hong Kong and China: June 4, 18 Years Later · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

For 18 years, Hong Kong people have been insisting to join the candle night vigil in Victoria Park in memory of June 4 Massacre in 1989. This year, probably more people would come out to rescue the history.
The controversy lies in the commentary of Ma Lik, the Chair person of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), a pro China political party in Hong Kong. He tried to argue that June 4 is not a massacre in term of scale and that Hong Kong people need more patriot education to fasten the democratization process.
At the Eve of June 4 Eighteenth Year Memorial, Human Rights Watch issued a statement against China’s government’s failure to account for the massacre of June 4, 1989, which would eventually defy Olympic gloss.
Seechuen was surprised how quick and how much the truth had been distorted in the past few years. However, he still thanked Ma Lik so that June 4 photos could reappear in mainstream newspapers:
感謝馬力（當然還得感謝記者），又有機會在報章頭版看到這張圖片。
從八九到現在，我看到，是非真是可以被顛倒。時間、權力與金錢所能夠扭曲的，遠多於我的想像，也遠快於我的估量。
Horizon devoted this song (from youtube), with his collection of photos to the mothers who could not find their children in the Tiananmen Square:
Mininoise blogs about a song by Cui Jian, “The last gun shot”. He remembers the song because of this line: “Because my sickness is feeling nothing”.
我知道，
人會因為害怕太痛，把感覺隔絕起來；
用一堵圍牆，把它監禁。
感覺總又想逃獄，挑戰灰厚深牆。
可惡！
「你逃出來就算了，快給我滾！」
依吔依吔喊叫，
會是最好的止痛劑。
上星期起我把歌帶在身上，
從耳筒直插大腦沒天沒地的不斷重播。
其實，在最初的那幾年，
我已在慢慢地染上了一個病。
而且，一直沒有痊癒。
The feelings, however, want to escape and challenge the wall.
Damn it!
“Why don't you just escape? Get the hell out of here!”
Crying Yeeyeeyaayaa
Would be the best pain killer
Last week, I brought the song with me,
The ear phones connected directly to my brain, and the song ran continuously.
Well, in the first few years,
I have already infected with a disease
And it has never been cured.
Duimanpark pointed out that Hong Kong people's attitude towards June 4 is out of genuine patriotism:
是的，八九年之前，勢利的香港人都不太願意承認自己是中國人，因為當時祖國代表窮與落後，縱使香港人心知要在九七年回到這位滿身泥濘的母親的身邊，香港人還是消極地逃避著。
八九年四月至六月，局劫動盪，這幾個月給數百萬香港人上了一課活生生的「國民教育」。香港人心中的頻率與中國接通了，領略到「血濃於水」四字的真諦，他們忽爾脫下銅臭的外衣，出錢出力地為那弱不禁風的民主幼苗悉心灌溉。
仍記得六四屠城之後的一兩天，我在中學校園與其他師生唱著「義勇軍進行曲」，這也是我首次認識這支歌。
From April to June, the political turmoil had given millions of Hong Kong people a lived “national education”. The pulse of Hong Kong people was connected with China, and experienced the meaning of “Blood is thicker than water”, they took down the money minded attitude, and cultivated the sprawl of democracy with their hearts.
I still remember that one or two days after the June 4 Massacre, our school was singing the national anthem, that was the first time I got to know of the song.


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Hong Kong: Imprisonment for 4 letter word · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The merged railway company has some new regulations, such as speaking four letter word in the carte may end up in 6 months imprisonment. As the definition would include a single word f–k in expression, Kursk points out that such law would be a criminal law that affects the largest number of population (zh).


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India: On Dirty Gold, Tamil Muslims and Orkut · Global Voices
JJ Rajendran

Gold and diamonds are symbols of purity and love, but Desi Italiana from Passtheroti has arguments to believe why gold, the “Indian Passion” is dirty and why diamonds “forever” are sodden with blood. While reasoning with women and their love for gold, she points out why gold pollutes. She also talks about blood diamonds and India's mammoth stake at polishing them.
[.]From 1991 to 2002,  that took place alongside  as well. Both civil wars were partially funded by “;” that is, diamonds from these two countries which were used finance the civil war. This spawned a whole industry of middlemen, smugglers, and so on, especially after the .One of the stops that smugglers made was in India.[..]
The oldest communities are those of southern India and north-eastern Sri Lanka, when it comes to the Tamil language. At present there are huge number of Tamil emigrant communities scattered around the world, especially in central Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, and Mauritius. And PK Balachandran from TW News has reports on Tamil speaking Muslims from India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia finding common ground, re-establishing ties weakened for 400 years now.  Ancient histroy of their immigration, is also described.
[.]The Portuguese introduced the “cartaz” or a permit system, which in effect, prevented Muslims from using many ports in South and South East Asia. In Sri Lanka, they were driven away from the prosperous Western coast. Under Dutch rule, they were not given government contracts.[..]
Roshan from his blog is having the last laugh at the deprived state of IT education in the rural areas, and the cause for ill-favored action due to communities in the mega virtual hangouts of Orkut, towards cyber café owners. While Orkut has been having its share of trouble in India, Asif Khan from Itsmaklife writes of how he made friends through orkut who not only tipped him to bring an umbrella, but fed his Indian food hungry soul with his favorite dish Dhal, all the way in Japan
[.]I found Gautam on orkut before coming over to Japan. I contacted him via scrapbook. He was more than happy to hear from me and told me to bring an umbrella. This advice was really of great value as it rained just the next day of my arrival.[..]

author: JJ Rajendran


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India: On movie reviews and the “straight” taste · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

typos, gravity and other mishaps doesn't quite take to a movie review in a newspaper. “This is a generalisation. The derogatory tone it takes also implies that homosexual men do not have good taste – well, not Mr. Kamath's taste. With what conviction can Mr. Kamath assert that only women and homosexual men would like a film that he himself has taken great pains to criticize on a public forum? Assuming that the film is, in fact, as poorly made as Mr. Kamath decrees, are we to understand that women and homosexual men do not possess the discernment to make that judgement?”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Indonesia: Making Life Harder for Counterfeiters · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Unspun met someone who knows how to get even with counterfeiters in Indonesia.


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Israel: 40 years of Occupation · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Israeli blogger Desert Peace talks about Palestinians under siege in the West Bank – after 40 years of occupation.


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Israel: Blogging the Conflict  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Aussie Dave from Israel continues to update us on the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.


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Israel: Mind Boggling Solution  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“The big news today is the announcement that the Israeli Defense Ministry has decided to take a pass on one of the only fully deployed/fielded solutions available today against the ongoing kassam/ketyusha threat faced by Israel in the south and north.  Instead they have decided in favor of an unproven solution being developed by the Israeli company Raphael that will only be availible in 2011!
“It boggles the mind!” writes David Bogner from Israel, in his award winning blog Treppenwitz.


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Jamaica: Just Say ‘No’ · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Lyrical violence has slowly spread throughout the dancehall, resulting in feuds that incite fans and ruin dances.”  Jamaican Veiw reports that certain DJs have refused to play songs that promote violence.


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Jordan: Number of Iraqi Refugees · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Want to know the real number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan? Konfused Iraqi Kid says a report has been commission and the results will be out soon.


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Kazakhstan: Extraditing Aliev · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

With Rakhat Aliev, the son-in-law of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev, having been arrested in Austria and released on bail awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan to face kidnapping and other criminal charges, Bonnie Boyd examines some of the possible outcomes of his extradition hearing and what they might mean for relations between Kazakhstan and the EU.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kazakhstan: So Long, Mr. Vassilenko… · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

neweurasia reports on a notable departure from Kazakhstan's embassy to the United States. Embassy spokesman Roman Vassilenko, whom the post's author calls Kazakhstan's “most useful person in Washington, DC,” will be moving on to a new post in Kazakhstan along with the ambassador.


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Kuwait: Parties, Art and Telecom  · Global Voices
Abdullatif AlOmar

With Yemenis in Kuwait celebrating their Unification Day, Kuwaiti bloggers are out in full force checking out art exhibitions, the telecoms situation, wedding parties and book censorship, to name a few.
Our first stop is with The Stallion, who  covers how Yemenis in Kuwait marked their Unification Day.
Since the 22nd was on a Tuesday the organizers decided to have the event on Thursday the 24th! Many of you might be wondering what this celebration is for, well the 22nd of May commemorates the day when the unification of North and South Yemen occurred! There is a large population of Yemeni citizens in Kuwait so every year at this time they have a celebration!
Athbi over at moodless checks out a friend's art exhibition.
Yesterday I took some pictures for Bader Almansoor's exhibition which I wrote about a few days ago. I picked some pictures of it since most of the exhibition was not done yet (last second changes!). I will leave you with pictures and I hope I see you at the opening tonight at 7pm at the Arts society in Hawali. (Click on the images for larger pictures.)
KtheKuwaiti explains a new service from one of the telecommunications companies in Kuwait and why he thinks that most people wouldn't need it in the first place.
MTC has finally launched the Blackberry service in Kuwait (after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE). Their Ad campaign was a bit unnecessary as those who know what Blackberry is already want the service. And those who don’t know what it is probably don’t want it.
Qias over at io81 talks about what he considers a bad business practice from the same company.
I have always got these weird SMS asking me to send back the letter R if I’m interested in the latest dairy of Halema Boland (a Kuwaiti TV presenter), who the hell cares! anyways this is not the matter, so i just ignore these messages hoping others wont reach my mobile anymore, most probably MTC is selling my information to all of these service companies.
Zdistrict goes to another soical event – this time it's a Milcha (wedding party attended by men only).
This was an event I was looking forward to going to and it's always nice going to them. This time I had to stay the whole time since the milcha is for a good friend and lots of people I know were there. I have to say that it was nice seeing some old faces and saying hello.
ChillNite is amazed with an expression English newspapers in Kuwait are using.
The newspaper headlines in Kuwait amaze me everyday! This time its Daily Star Kuwait online edition. The headline is ‘State bans sale of White Weapons’ read it here [LINK]
WTF are white weapons? According to the news article they are Daggers, Swords and other sharp metal objects. Damn now I cant buy kitchen knives no more in Kuwait, nor can I buy nails and hammer.
Q over at kuwaitism wonders .. What's up with the National Symbol.
A friend of mine today told me about an issue that bothered his dad, and that is the numerous versions of the Kuwait national symbol, so I came back and checked out what’s available online, and I was surprised!!
All the symbols have been found online, through the various government websites
Aseel over at Brahat Mubrak talks about an episode of Dewaniya (a talk show) she watched on TV .
حقيقة لا املك خلفية كافية ووافية عن الموضوع ولكني أسمع بالجدل الدائر هنا وهناك عنه
I turned on the TV by chance after I came home on Monday night and I caught the last part of the program. It was about the Ministry of Information's  censorship on books.
I heard a university student calling for unlimited freedom and the abolishment of censorship on books. Then he spoke about the College of Sharia (Islamic law) and that their books contained derogatory terms about other Islamic sects. He said such books should be banned.
Well, if you wanted absolute freedom why don't you want the Sharia college books? Or is it only when freedom touches your sect that you shelf your secularism and operate the religious voice?
Kuwait is not that advanced of a country to have neutral thought – be it religious or otherwise. So don't ask for what is not attainable and don't contradict your ideas.
The columnist Ahmad AlDeyeen said that book censorship is not under any tribal or political pressure but under laws and regulations. This is not a definitive answer and since did we abide to regulations? To be precise, since when have our laws and regulations not been broken for tribal and political gains?
I liked a phrase he said:  “We need to distinguish between book pornography and the book on the sexual culture.”
I wish that extremists would understand.
One of the Ministry of Information officials whose name I don't remember said: “We can't do anything, if people want to abolish the censorship on books, tell them to talk to their Parliament members, to pressure the government.” Wow, now that's a new management way. If this is how our management thinks and this is the way they run work, then that is why I see that we are going backwards and we wonder where the problem is.
Abdullah Alkhalf, Secretary General of the Association of Authors, said it was normal to have books with images of Prophets Moses and Abraham in the past. Now, it is banned.
He says this and he is the Secretary General of the Association of Authors.  We have a problem in society –  that is ignorance of the difference between modernity and westernization. Do they think that following the West in some areas where it's agreed upon between Muslims is modernity?
I don't understand their problem but when such ignorance effects a person from the educated class, it's bad.
People who act like devote Muslims talk about secular people as devil worshippers and secular people talk about Islamists as if they are cavemen. When will the idea of accepting others emerge in Kuwait? And when the idea of coexistence flow in our blood so we become like the advanced countries?
Secular people mix up between Islam and people acting like Muslims and block their ears
and then say we don't want suppression, oppression and being run over. They want freedom. Those pretending to be Muslims, we know their problem in thinking and understanding. What is the the problem with secular people in Kuwait? I don't know! Anyone listening to them would think Kuwait is one of Taliban caves.
Kuwaiti Liberal over at Jibla Square writes an eulogy about one of Kuwait's finest oil ministers.
Kuwait bid farewell to Dr. Humod Abdullah AlRaqba who died of age of 57.  He contributed to serve Kuwait in all of fields of responsibility that he was given. He was Oil Minister when the last burning oil field that the Saddam's regime in Iraq blew up when he was driven out of Kuwait in a ceremony attended by the late Amir Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah.

author: Abdullatif AlOmar


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Kyrgyzstan: Joining Russia · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Non Pon reports on the debate over Kyrgyzstan joining a confederation with Russia, an idea proposed by former Prime Minister Feliks Kulov.


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Lebanon: Explosion Rocks Beirut Suburb  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“An explosion has been reported in the Sid el Baucherieh suburb of Beirut, next to the Mar Ta2la church. The exact time of the explosion was 8:15 pm, coinciding with a meeting of security officials at the Prime Minister's offices in the Saraya.
The number of wounded has been increased from 7 to 10!” reports  Blacksmith Jade from Lebanon. Moussa Bachir and Abu Kais also report on the incident.


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Lebanon: The Special Tribunal and The Fighting · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

This week, most Lebanese bloggers discussed the forming of the special tribunal for Lebanon at the United Nations and the continuing war between the Lebanese Army and the Fateh al Islam militants/terrorists. The first is the special tribunal of an international character that was passed under UNSCR 1757 to try those responsible for the terrorist crime that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and others. Some bloggers see this as the beginning of a new era in Lebanese history. The second is the fighting that started three weeks when a group of Fateh al Islam militants/terrorists attacked and killed Lebanese soldiers, some of whom were not on duty, and hid in the Nahr al Bared Palestinian refugee camp. What followed was that the army enforced a blockade on the camp and engaged the militants in fierce fighting that is still going on today. Some of the bloggers report on their visits to the refugee camps.
So what did some of the bloggers say about these two events?
On the special tribunal
Laure Ghorayeb posted a series of her drawings about the tribunal. This one here is titled “la femme du martyr” or “the martyr's wife”:
Independence05 wrote about the days and hours before the voting in the United Nations on the resolution concerning the special tribunal:
On the social level, those last 10 days were not busy at night as it is usually. Malls, movie theatres and restaurants had no waiting lines, empty parkings and innocent traffic jams. Lebanese are not afraid as much as they are sick of the situation. Delivery and DVDs are the Lebanese’s best friend those last few days. There are always exceptions of those who go out and party whatever the situation is, but these people are rare.
Perpetual Refugee took another approach. He began by a flashback, describing his impressions and personal experiences in Lebanon during the past decade, and then drew parallels with today in light of the tribunal:
Some things haven’t changed that much since then. Assad. The son. Is still stealing our angels and replacing them with demons. While Hariri. The son. Continues with the ambitious (and flawed) plans to bring back heaven to our holy land. We tasted it. A sampler really. If only for a brief moment. We tasted it. Then the flaws became apparent. […]
Today, we edge closer to that taste of heaven. It’s seasoned with a tablespoon of justice. A gallon of revenge. And a flash of a middle finger. Today Hariri, the son edged one past Assad, the son. Today, while we prepare for a taste of heaven, we prepare for a taste of hell. And in the name of the fathers. We continue our march. Towards our intertwined destinies.
From Beirut to Beltway argued that many battles were fought to establish the tribunal. And cautions that many more battles are expected. He argued that Saad Hariri and March 14 (pro government group) will make a mistake if they decide to stop now and start a new phase with the opposition:
LBC viewers Thursday night who watched Saad Hariri's interview with Marcel Ghanem saw a victorious Saad Hariri, inarticulate as ever, extending an olive branch to Hizbullah. Saad, perhaps asked by the Saudis to give Iran a chance, decided Hizbullah was no longer an Iranian tool—but almost a victim, like all other Lebanese, of an Assad regime plot to destroy Lebanon. The son of Rafik Hariri said it was not normal for him not to be meeting with Nasrallah “in a country like Lebanon”, calling for “turning a new page”. He also called for dialogue between the Future movement and Hizbullah, in a way reminiscent of the calls for dialogue Hizbullah made after they thought they won the Lebanese street, thinking they could impose their way. In fact, the difference between Saad and Hassan Thursday night was little. If you substituted “Syrian” with “American” or “Israeli”, you'll get nearly the same discourse, and the same disregard for state institutions.
If Saad cannot articulate his thoughts, and is verbally stuck between the Saudis and Jumblatt, Nasrallah, he must know, has no genuine interest in the state's institutions. For that, Saad Hariri and his March 14 are foolish to pause the fight and pretend they could turn a new page as if nothing had happened, as if the cabinet were not still under siege, and Hizbullah not casting doubt over the army's operation to (partially) root out terrorism.
Other blogs like Beirut Spring and Jamal's Propaganda also posted about the tribunal, but these were mentioned in the GVO roundups during the week.
On the fighting:
Laure Ghorayeb also posted a series of drawing on Nahr el Bared, of which the one posted here is called “Nahr el Bared 21”.
Land and People used sarcasm to suggest that poverty is a possible cause for the instability and unrest that is spreading around the country:
Half the Lebanese people are poor […] (this is confirmed by Oxfam study posted earlier and by the findings of the UN survey). The Lebanese government is unimpressed, and the minimum wages have been frozen since 1996, but not the prices of basic commodities. The worst regions: South Lebanon, Bekaa and North Lebanon. No surprise if most of the ‘turbulence’ in Lebanon originate from these regions. Could this be linked to the events in Nahr el Bared? Noooo of course not. In Nahr el Bared, it is just Palestinians trying once more to destroy Lebanon. Ask any Lebanese. Especially (but not exclusively) those aligned with the government.
Lebanese Renaissance also pointed out the widening rift between the rich and poor in Lebanon and declared that it was unacceptable. Although he did not relate this topic to the fighting going on:
I took a look at the people around me and the cars, and I just got angry. Here we have people starving in Lebanon, and people not able to pay their bills or even afford electricity, and then you have THOSE people. This just goes to show you the level of social inequality going on in the country. The widening gap between the rich and the poor of Lebanon, which is of course totally unacceptable, by my standards or any person with a conscience.
Sietske in Beiroet, on one of her visits to the north, wrote about the surreal normality of life just a few kilometres away from the fighting despite the backdrop of sounds from artillery fires:
One thing that never ceases to amaze me about war is how life behind the front line goes on as if there is no war. Less than 3 kilometers always from the camp, which is now completely off limits to journalists, you cannot even reach the northern entrance anymore, people are going about their daily business. Under the cracking of the cannons (shells make an odd cracking sound when they are launched, like lightning strikes) kids play soccer in the streets, friends lounge on an assortment of benches in the garden while playing cards and smoking argileh, cars are being repaired in the garage and the baker bakes his bread.
Remarkz addressed several questions raised due to the recent wave of violence taking place. Among them, is the question of the impact that the fighting in the north had on the Lebanese political groups.
The most interesting aspect of all this is how government, the opposition and even somewhat neutral ‘bystanders’ in the presses, blogs etc. are just working the problem through the ethical dilemma they face: Should we back the Lebanese army? or should we voice our concerns against the Palestinian civilians? Should we accuse the US of fomenting trouble, and wanting to find a pretext in order to either send more aid or just build a military base?
Michael Totten wrote that Al Qaeda’s coming to Lebanon was inevitable for these reasons among others:
Fatah al-Islam terrorists in the Palestinian Nahr al-Bared refugee camp (which is an urban ghetto in Tripoli, not a tent city) are, reportedly, mostly not Palestinian. No one has suffered more from Lebanon’s worst fighting since the civil war ended than the Palestinian civilians of Nahr al-Bared. After decades as second-class non-citizens living in dejection and squalor, they are now human shields in a battle between foreign terrorists and the host country. […]
Lebanon is a weak and divided country. It is also, by far, and despite Hezbollah’s presence, the most liberal and democratic of all Arab countries. More than two thirds of the people who live there (Christians, Shias, and Druze) are considered infidels fit for slaughter by the salafist groups. A large percentage of Sunnis, in Beirut especially, are irreligious and bourgeois and modern. I, for one, am surprised it took Al Qaeda so long to move on them.
Anecdotes from a Banana Republic also visited the north and reported on the protest and her conversation with the displaced among other things:
A little girl and her friends came over to tell us that “their” camp is much nicer than this one, as if apologizing for a messy house to unexpected visitors. “My camp is beautiful. Not like this,” she said, waving her hand dismissively at her surroundings.
Finally Blacksmiths of Lebanon is still posting images and updates on the fighting and other matters.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Malaysia: Mongolian Model’s Father Sues Malaysian Government · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The high-profile case of murder of a Mongolian woman took a strange turn when the father of the victim sued the three defendants. Blogger bigdogdotcom comments “These three people are at this point of time, the “accused” aka “defendants”. They have not been found guilty yet. So why is the father suing people who have not been found guilty yet? Has the father pass his own personal judgment when the trial has not even started yet? Is this another drama in the making?”


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Mexico: Nery Castillo Debuts for National Team · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Footballer Nery Castillo has had the opportunity to suit up for three different national teams: his native-born Mexico, Uruguay or Greece, where he has resided for the past seven years. Rumors flew about his father was controlling his future and that the different teams were bidding for his services. However, all of this speculation came to an end, when he played his first game with the Mexican National Team.  Chilanga Banda [ES] thought it was worth the wait, “one shows his abilities and for my tastes and the opinions of many, not many players on the National Team has the same (abilities).”


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Moldova: “Last Bell” Ceremony · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peter Myers of Doi Ani de Zile: Adventures in Moldova posts a moving and detailed account of the “last bell” ceremony, which marked the end of his second – and final – school year in Moldova: “I got through the speech well, although my voice stuck in my throat numerous times. When I finished, students blitzed me with dozens of flowers. In total, I received at least 40 flowers, enough to fill both a vase and a five-liter bucket when I got them home.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova