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Colombia: Another Illegal Wire Tapping Scandal · Global Voices
Julián Ortega Martínez

Last weekend, Semana news magazine revealed that some agents at the Administrative Security Department (DAS for its Spanish initials), Colombia's “secret police,” had been illegally wire tapping politicians, journalists, magistrates, intellectuals, and —this time— even government officials close to President Álvaro Uribe, including his private and legal secretaries, and an official from his personal security staff. Even worse, according to the magazine, some of these agents allegedly had been “selling to the highest bidder,” namely guerrillas, paramilitaries or drug traffickers, the information obtained with the illegal phone bugging. Most of the recordings, the magazine says, were destroyed [es] between January 19-21. The story was echoed [es] early Saturday by other media as the magazine was hitting the stores.
On Sunday, agents from the Technical Investigation Corps (CTI for its Spanish initials) of the Attorney General's office raided DAS headquarters, causing a conflict [es] between both institutions. Later, the first high-rank DAS official was fired. Supreme Court issued a communiqué [es] demanding results from the Attorney General. Opposition accused the government for the tappings. A case of e-mail hacking has been denounced [es]. President Uribe denied it, claimed he is also a “victim,” and blamed it on a “mafia gang inside” the DAS. Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said he wanted the intelligence agency to be disbanded, but the government itself disagreed [es] with him.
Wire tappings (or ‘chuzadas’ as they are known colloquially in Colombian Spanish) are not new in President Uribe's administration. In May 2007, the same magazine published recordings of paramilitary bosses in jail talking about committing crimes, and later more illegal wire tappings, by an elite police intelligence unit, were learned. As a consequence, Uribe dismissed 14 police generals, making Gen. Óscar Naranjo the new (and current) national police director. In late 2008, leftist senator (and former M-19 guerilla fighter) Gustavo Petro denounced he and his party were being ‘shadowed’ by people from DAS since August and published two internal memoranda issued by a DAS section chief. Its director and the mid-rank official who ordered the ‘followings’ resigned. In both cases, the government denied any involvement.
Both Sentido Común and Charly write about Uribe's words on the scandal. Sentido Común [es] worries about our national security:
De corroborarse la reiterada tesis de Uribe sobre la existencia de una mafia al interior de su gobierno, se estaría evidenciando la impotencia gubernamental para controlar cabalmente los cuerpos secretos del Estado, situación que estaría exponiendo al país a un estado de indefensión en materia de seguridad en diferentes flancos y con la gravedad que implica la convivencia con organizaciones mafiosas, enquistadas dentro del propio Gobierno.
Meanwhile, Charly [es] seems quite distrustful of the government and asks who is behind all this:
No me como el cuento que funcionarios de mandos medios del DAS actúen solos y que el Gobierno sea víctima de un complot. Estamos ante escándalos de mayores proporciones que, sumado al caso de Noguera y al de la Dipol (que tumbó a varios generales) evidencian una crisis de la democracia, un atentado contra el pensamiento y la libre opinión en Colombia.
Valentina Díaz makes some questions [es] at Realidades Colombianas:
La presidencia de la república niega, el Director del Das hace lo mismo. Ninguno de los mandos ni jefes del servicio secreto a disposición del Presidente de la República ha ordenado  escuchar a un grupo selecto de  personas no adeptas a su gobierno. Pregunta: ¿Acaso, al interior del Das cada cual hace lo que se le viene en gana? ¿Se trata de gente desbocada y sin control superior?  “Según información que me han dado, hay conversaciones que están ahí y eso es muy grave”, dice el jefe del Das. En otras palabras, muchos saben de la intercepciones telefónicas, son dominio público, solo lo ignoran el presidente y el Jefe.
And Carmen Posada mocks President Uribe's “paranoia” [es]:
De acuerdo con Orwell, el Gran Hermano nos vigila todo el tiempo. Ya no podemos ni siquiera tirarnos un pedito sin que Uribe esté enterado, los que usamos la web ya no podremos siquiera mandarle un mensajito calentón al novio porque este degenerado va a pensar que estamos haciendo terrorismo virtual en mensajes cifrados.
No le creo ni media palabra a Uribe en el tema de las chuzadas de los teléfonos, no lecreo que no haya dado la orden aunque no exista una sola prueba de ello y no le creo porque el único interesado en seguir los pasos de la oposición es él que como buen estratega delirante es, además, paranoico.
I don't believe half a word that Uribe says regarding the phone bugging issue, I don't believe he didn't give the order no matter there's not even one evidence of it, and I don't believe him because the only one interested in following the opposition's steps is him, who is a good delirious strategist and, besides that,  paranoid.
But journalist Jaime Restrepo, on Atrabilioso [es], justifies the wire tappings because of the ongoing internal armed conflict, and attacks [es] some media outlets which also have published stories based on phone buggings:
En medio de un conflicto interno como el que vive Colombia, la investidura de político opositor, periodista o jurista es accesoria, pues en muchos casos son fachadas para ocultar acciones criminales en contra del Estado y por supuesto, contra la administración que lidera un bando en el conflicto.
En ese orden de ideas, mal haría el gobierno en renunciar a la potestad de investigar a aquellos ciudadanos que pueden desestabilizar al país mediante apoyos y manejo de información que beneficie al bando que intenta subvertir el orden y llegar al poder por una vía diferente a la democrática.
Pero aquí hay más de fondo: en Colombia, los grandes beneficiados de las interceptaciones telefónicas han sido los medios de comunicación: Noticias Uno y Semana, entre otros, han liderado la publicación de escándalos basados en grabaciones obtenidas mediante interceptaciones ilegales.
Amidst an internal [armed] conflict as the one happening in Colombia, the labels of opposition politician, journalist, or jurist is secondary, because in many cases they are just façades to hide criminal actions against the State and, of course, against the administration which leads one of the sides in the conflict.
Things being so, the government would be wrong if it relinquishes the legal authority to investigate those citizens who might destabilize the country through the support or use of information benefiting the side which tries to subvert the order and reach the power through a way other than the democratic one.
But there's something deeper down here: in Colombia, those that are benefit from phonebuggings is the media: Noticias Uno [a nightly weekend newscast] and Semana, among others, have been leaders in publishing scandals based on recordings obtained through illegal wiretappings.
Mr. Restrepo also questions the way Semana obtained the information from some DAS agents, how they are trusted by the magazine with apparently few or no evidence, and even some of the claims made in the article. He believes there are doubts and that it might be a “carefully prepared” set-up against the government.
French journalist Jacques Thomet, AFP's former editor-in-chief, compares [fr] the scandal in Colombia with François Mitterrand's France in the 90s:
Comme peuvent le constater en France ceux qui qualifient de fasciste le régime de Bogota, […] les médias disposent en Colombie d’une liberté d’expression supérieure à celle en vigueur …en France.
Sous le régime socialiste de François Mitterrand, plus de 3.000 écoutes illégales ont été réalisées dans mon pays contre des journalistes et autres personnalités de 1983 à 1986 par la cellule anti-terroriste créée par le président français dans les locaux mêmes de l’Elysée ! Le résultat ? La presse n’en a parlé qu’en 1993, Mitterrand a éjecté trois journalistes belges qui lui avaient posé la question, et les coupables n’ont été condamnés qu’à des amendes. (…) La république bananière, elle se trouve à Paris ou à Bogota ?
Under the François Mitterrand's socialist regime, more than 3,000 illegal phonebuggings were carried out in my country against journalists and other personalities between 1983 and 1986 by the anti-terrorist cell created by the president inside the Elysée itself! The result? The press only mentioned the issue in 1993, Mitterrand expelled three Belgian journalists who asked the question to him, and the guilty were just fined. […] The banana republic, is it located in París or in Bogotá?
But at the end, @ElReticente sums it up, with scepticism, disappointment, and anger on this tweet [es]:
And, in spite of some dismissals and the media frenzy, as in the other scandals it is likely nothing will happen after a few days or week, despite the fact that some people are comparing [es] this issue with Alberto Fujimori's regime in Peru back in the 1990s. Another scandal, another attack, another murder, or another controversy involving Uribe, FARC, the opposition, or anyone else, will hit the headlines and become the talk of the day in Colombia.

author: Julián Ortega Martínez


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Cuba: BTTR Four  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense wants us to remember “the BTTR Four”.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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D.R of Congo: Listen to Staff Benda Bilili · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jeremy writes about Staff Benda Bilili, a group of paraplegic street musicians who live in and around the grounds of the zoo in Kinshasa, Congo.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Egypt: Philip Rizk’s Four Days in Detention  · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

A day after publishing “Egypt: More activists and bloggers arrested” on Global Voices Online, news of  Philip Rizk's detention spread like wildfire around the world – and the blogger and activist was finally released.
Arabawy reported his release on Jaiku saying:
Later on, Rizk wrote his thoughts on the four days he spent behind bars on his new blog, after his old blog was closed by state security:
Today is the fourth day of freedom after my four day imprisonment. Every once in a while I am hit by the incomprehensible contrast between absolute freedom and absolute confinement. During those four long days I didn’t do much else but be interrogated, sleep or try to sleep.
Before I go into any other details I want to say shukran, thank you, really. I am overwhelmed by the response of family, friends and strangers all around the world during my imprisonment. As the stories started bombarding me after my release it was hard to take it all in. I have no words to express how grateful I am to so many. At one point one of my interrogators- they called him “Malek”- ended a session by saying, “the next time you will tell me about all these international relationships of yours,” I had no idea what he was referring to. I really believe that the pressure from so many places and people made a big difference in my quick release.
He also didn’t forget to mention Diaa, the other blogger who has been detained, and not released yet:
Diaa Gad is an Egyptian blogger who was taken the very same day I was. I had spoken to him for the first time a few days before Egyptian “state” security kidnapped both of us from difference places. Diaa had called to ask about details about our march to Gaza. As we knew our phones would be tapped I told him we could not gave any details over the phone and asked for us to meet the following day in person. He never called again but his name came up during interrogation- again with “Malek”- who asked me what I knew about Diaa and then proceeded to tell me word for word what I had said to him on the phone that day. Diaa does not have many of the luxuries that I have being bi-national and having lived abroad. At this point he is still in custody and his lawyer and family do not know his whereabouts. The campaign that was started for me needs to move to him and others. These sorts of actions are completely illegal and yet a common occurrence in Egypt. Currently there are thousands in Egyptian jails without trial. We need to stand up and reject these actions.
Zeinobia also comments on Diaa’s ongoing detention:
Diaa Eddin Gad is an Egyptian blogger from Gharbia in Delta. His blog “Sawt Ghadib” { an angry voice} expresses his views regarding Gaza,he refuses the attack on Gaza and supports the resistance , so what !!?? I can’t find a good reason for his detention. Why was he arrested ??
Now Philip is released but Diaa is still in detention.
Diaa is 100% Egyptian with no foreign passport and so he has no one to help him except God and us.
I hope that the Egyptian bloggers stand with Diaa in the same way like they stood with Philip,Diaa must return home again insh Allah.
In the meanwhile, you can follow the Prisoners for Gaza blog. It is a blog that is dedicated to keep an eye on news regarding Egyptians arrested or jailed due to their solidarity with Gaza.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Egypt: Police Crack Down on Student Demonstration · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

The 21st of February 1946 marks a shameful memory in the modern Egyptian history. On that day, hundreds of students demonstrating on the movable Abbas Bridge were either shot dead or drowned in the Nile, after British officials ordered to open fire, before finally deciding to open the bridge.
Since then, this day has been commemorated at the Egyptian Students National Day.
Zeinobia tells us more about the historical background during the British occupation for Egypt:
The National student day in Egypt marks the terrible  Abbas bridge incident where the British troops along with at that time the Egyptian police attacked hundreds of angry Cairo university and high school students. The students were on their way to present a memo to the king demanding the cancellation of 1936 Egyptian-Anglo treaty. The Abbas bridge was a movable one and in those old days ,it used to be opened so boats and barrages pass by. Most of the Students were on the Abbas bridge when the British forces had opened it, hundreds fell in to the Nile. Many of them had drowned. Despite the sadness of the day the Egyptian people proved its nobility when the men began to jump in to the Nile even those who were not engaged in the protest to save those fighting for their lives.
However this year, Egyptian students decided to celebrate in a different way. Several student movements and groups called for a demonstrations in university campuses demanding the following:
1. A real free education
2. Excluding the university police from universities
3. The cancellation of the current student list, and writing new one that secures more freedom to students
Zeinobia continues in a follow up post:
Anyhow back today, several students groups in the Cairo university decided to protest today on the occasion of the National day, most of these groups are political groups from the Faculty of Commerce. Among those groups are the 6th April Youth, the MB [Muslim Brotherhood], Kefaya, the Nasserists, the socialists and the newly group “My right” . “My right” I believe is heading the movement in the University today more than any other group.
“My right” movement defines itself in its official blog as independent movement that is not associated with any political force that cares for the University students’ rights and opinions.
“My right” today demands certain rights:
•	To reduce the fees of the university.
•	To kick out the University guard from the campus. “The guards are back with a bad court order :(“
The professors and teachers movement in the university aka “9 March” supports today’s stand and protests. It is not surprising to me ,in fact it is something normal.
Journalist Per Bjorklund, who was there and who has taken the photograph above, described the situation in his post “The students’ first demand: Kick state security out!“:
Students from a broad range of political currents – from Muslim Brotherhood to socialists, Nasserists and the “6 April movement” – demonstrated for several hours at Cairo University today, protesting security interventions on universities and rising tuition fees. Needless to say, the security presence outside the main gates was massive. The students were allowed to protest just outside the campus – surrounded by hundreds of riot police – only after they attempted to force open the locked gates.
On 22nd of February, demonstrations continued and spilled over to other universities too. At least one activist was  “kidnapped” – a term used by activists to denote that someone has been detained by authorities and whose whereabouts are not known, not even by their own families and lawyers. Hossam reports:
Another day of protests in the Egyptian universities, with Mansoura and Helwan coming under police siege from the early morning…
Police cracked down on Mansoura students, kidnapping an activist, by the name Motaz Adel, on his way out of the university following the protests. Another two students were picked up by the police in Alexandria…
For a full and detailed coverage of the first day, you can visit Tadamon masr blog [Ar].
You can follow blogs launched prior to the demonstration, some of which were monitoring the events with live blogging like, My right, Socialist students, A Socialist in Egypt, Resistance Students and Egyptian student national day.
Pictures can be found at Ahmed AbdelFatah blog, My right post, Sara Carr , and Bjorklund sets on Flickr.
And you can still find more updates on Hossam’s bookmarks, or the event's Jaiku channel.


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Egyptians on the verge of insanity · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Egyptians are struggling to maintain their sanity, faith, and stability.
No Limits No Rules asked his readers if they think the following scenarios are possible:
Those dreams toy with the minds of many Egyptians but when they sober up they laugh at how silly and juvenile their dreams were .. at the end of the day, they have to wake up or they will open their eyes to a nightmare;
He might wake up to the shocking news of a Cambodian or Indian investor acquiring the company of factory he works in, in a sale, merger, or business acquisition … show me how he will ever get his legal rights!
He might also wake up to find his home and half of his family – if not all of them – gone with the explosion of the hazardous gas valve in the stove.
He might never wake up and die of food poisoning after having a meal of expired meat that he has been looking forward to for years.
There is also the risk of drowning on a boat, burning on a train, or bleeding to death on the road.
Such nightmares are the natural consequences of dreaming too much of being a human being.
Per Bjorklund, of Egypt and Beyond quoted Al Badeel Newspaper's report:
According to a report presented to the people's assembly by independent MP Gamal Zahraan, 12,000 young men in Egypt committed suicide in the last 4 years. The main cause, according to Zahraan, is high levels of unemployment.
While there is no way for me to judge the scientific credibility of this report, the numbers – if they are correct – point to a horrifying trend: In 2005 there was around 1100 suicides, in 2006 the number had risen to 2300 and in 2007 to 3700. In 2008 the number had almost doubled again, making the total 12.000 for the last 4 years. It's not unlikely that this trend is related to the dramatic rise in food prices and increasing economic hardships for Egypt's poor during the last years. With the global depression about to hit the tourism industry and other sectors of the Egyptian economy, the future looks dark.
Mostafa Hussein wrote a post titled People don't commit suicide because they lost faith or a job where he argued mental health saying:
Mental health policies and practice are full of problems. An old law, incomplete and disconnected services, insufficient practitioners, lack of awareness, poor training, distortion by religious ideologies and lack of research and statistics.
Then he argued that:
because of the religious prohibition on killing oneself, it became a given that all Islamic nations report an unrealistically low rate of suicide. Claims that Islam protects from suicide prompts silent laughs from anyone who can think.
I am not saying that Islam (or religiosity) doesn't protect from mental illness. This is not the issue here. The problem is that the source of this is interpretations of the holy text. Not any scientific method.
These claims feed the vicious stigmatizing circle of mental illness being a result of lack of faith. With people associating mental illness with an unavoidable internal guilt that they can't deal with.
Mostafa disagrees with linking unemployment rates directly with the suicide rates saying:
Economics control life events and depression is caused by both vulnerability (genetic or familial) and stress (life events like jobs, divorce, etc..).
Yes, there is a link between economics and health (including mental health primarily). But linking economic hardships with suicide is what I disagree about.
After loosing his sanity, an Egyptian upper middle class man killed his wife, daughter, and son a month ago.
Zeinobia commented on the incident saying:
Sharif as I said is from a high middle class, he lived in the Gulf and returned back , as far as I read somewhere he worked for Jaguar Egypt. The family has four cars and there are Jewels in the flat found by the police. His family was shocked and could not believe the news that the calm quiet Sharif would do something like this. Sharif was a loving father and husband according to all people. As I implied Sharif killed his family after the financial crisis. Sharif decided to kill his family after his massive losses in the Egyptian stock market. According to the news sources he lost about one million Egyptian pound from his own money, of course I do not see why for one million Egyptian pound he would depress like this then go crazy and kill his family in this terrible way !!??
She concludes her post:
I think Sharif was suffering from greed and lack of faith, in the end he was led to depression. Needless to say most people in Egypt refuse to admit that it is not shame thing to go to a psychiatric.
I do not know if we are going to see more of these crimes because of the economic crisis or not. It is kind of a scary thing especially with the increase rate of violence and anger in Egypt.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Fiji: Samoan PM criticisizes Fiji’s government  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

Bloggers in Fiji and around the Pacific are remarking on recent comments by Samoa’s Prime Minister harshly criticizing Fiji’s military government.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said in an interview with Savali, the Samoan Government newspaper and reprinted in the Fiji Times, that he believed Fiji’s self appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has no intention of relinquishing power. He also called on the people of Fiji to reclaim its government.
The interview  makes Sailele Malielegaoi the first member of the Pacific Island Forum outside of New Zealand and Australia to so publicly censure Bainimarama for going back on his commitment made at a 2007 meeting that Fiji would hold an election in March 2009.
Bainimarama, the head of Fiji’s military, staged a coup in December 2006 to root out what he saw as a corrupt government whose agenda included implementing racial preference programs against the Indo-Fijian community that makes up nearly 40 percent of the country’s population. Bainimarama is currently attempting to modify the country’s constitution which grants political rights to certain indigenous Fijian institutions and alter the country’s election law that apportions seats in Parliament based on race.
Member states of the Pacific Island Forum recently gave Fiji a May 1 deadline to schedule elections in 2009 or possibly face suspension. The government has already indicated it will not adhere to outside demands and holding an election in 2009 is logistically impossible. Once Fiji’s political stakeholders agree to electoral reforms, a process that will begin in March, elections officials say an election could be held within 12 to 15 months. (Question: If elections have previously failed Fiji, why the rush to the polls before reforms can be made?)
Bainimarama’s 2006 coup was Fiji’s fourth since 1987. He told soldiers last month changing Fiji’s political culture could take between five to ten years.
As a side note, different bloggers (and commenters) pointed out that this political fracas is not the only thing that binds Sailele Malielegaoi of Samoa and Bainimarama of Fiji: Both are alummni of Marist Brothers High School in Suva.
Blogger reactions to the Samoan Prime Minister’s criticisms (and whom better follows the Marist Brothers’ motto of “modest in victory, gracious in defeat”) generally follow partisan lines.
Talking Fiji says the breach in diplomatic etiquette should be noted.
For Samoa, the time for diplomacy is now gone…
In the (usually very guarded) language of diplomacy, Frank was just insulted in the worst possible way by the Samoan PM.
Frank’s intergity as a leader was questioned along with his sanity.
Mr Malielegaoi’s comment in today’s Fiji Times that Frank’s outburst was the result of mental illness brought on by the ”full moon” is comic relief to an otherwise serious diplomatic affair.
It is also intended however to be the final swipe in this exchange (no response required).
Any tit-for-tat response by Frank will only serve to reinforce Mr Malielegaoi’s theory that the full moon is out in Fiji and Frank has indeed succumbed to the lunar cycle.
And it will be Mr Malielegaoi who will have the last laugh.
In the world of international and regional politics, Frank is a novice.
The blog at Solivakasama Worldwide Movement says the people in Fiji can retake their government.
Bloggers, we now have the Prime Minister of Samoa batting for the people of Fiji! Fa’afetai PM Sailele!  PM Tuilaepa Sailele has intentionally breached protocol by attacking Vore and his illegal junta out of concern for the people of Fiji! His statements no longer refers to him as interim PM, but refers to him by name! Vakaloloma ko ketepoka! SWM wishes to remind its bloggers of the saying ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’. Well that is what PM Sailele is – a true friend of Fiji! SWM salutes PM Sailele and asks other PM’s in the South Pacific Forum to publicly condemn the pig, Vore in the same way and stop all this bull shit in ‘clean up campaign.’ People, we need to take control of our destiny as encouraged by PM Sailele and reclaim back what is rightfully ours!!! YES, WE CAN!!! YES WE CAN!!! YES, WE CAN!!!
Crosbie Walsh, who runs the press criticism blog Fiji: The Way It Was, Is and Can Be, wonders if there’s anything more important Fiji's press and the international media could be covering.
Last week the media and the Interim Govenment's opponents squeezed all they could out of the “Teleni Affair.” This week it promises to be the “Tuilaepa Affair” with the SDL [former ruling party] and two anti-Government NGOs leading the charge. Be against the Interim Government by all means, but say what — realistically — you think should be done in the present situation. Perhaps like holding the IG to its commitment to an early meeting of the President's Political Dialogue Forum? Fortunately more helpful views are to be found in [former Minister of Commerce Mahendra] Chaudhry's comments, and in those of the Tongan PM Dr Feleti Sevele.
Surely there are more important things to attend to this week in Fiji than what the Samoan PM thinks of Bainimarama! Or vice versa!
New Zealand journalist David Robie, who blogs at Cafe Pacific, reflects on the future between the Pacific Island Forum and Fiji.
[The interview] is all fairly remarkable non “Pacific Way” stuff. It also signals a hardening of polarised positions against Fiji's Voreqe Bainimarama and increasing regional frustration.
David Farrar, who writes Kiwiblog in New Zealand, questions when Fiji’s regime will commit to a timetable for elections.
I have considerable sympathy for the purported goaals of the Commodore – a non racial constitution, a census, democratic elections. However the problem is he does indeed seem to have no intention of ever holding elections. If he wants sanctions to be lfited, he needs to spell out a time-frame and commit to it.

author: John Liebhardt


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Gulf: How things work  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Smile O Smile shares this joke on “how things work” in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Guyana: Mash 2009 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana Providence Stadium posts photos from this year's Mashramani celebrations.


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Haiti: Carnival History  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Real Hope for Haiti writes a detailed post about the island's Carnival traditions.


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India: Nominations for Indibloggies · Global Voices
Rezwan

The nominations for the Indian blogging award Indibloggies 2008 will continue till 6th of March 2009. The Indibloggies are publicly-chosen awards conferred on bloggers from India and the Indian Diaspora since 2003. The nomination form is located here.

author: Rezwan


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Indonesia: Tsunami museum · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A Tsunami Museum opened in Aceh, Indonesia last Monday to commemorate the 230,000 people who died in the 2004 Asian tsunami. But some have criticized the project since they want the government to prioritize the homeless tsunami refugees.

author: Mong Palatino


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Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 1) · Global Voices
Scilla Alecci

On the 20th of February, the 2008 Alpha Blogger Awards (ABA) [ja] were held in Tokyo. Sponsored by Pringles Chips, the event this year was attended by close to 80 people (including the team of GV Japan), awarding prizes to the twelve  posts from the Japanese blogosphere in 2008 that received the most votes on the ABA site. This is a remarkable difference from past editions, when it was the most popular bloggers (and not blog posts) that were competing.
And the winners of the 2008 Alpha Blogger Awards are…
1) The end of the Ono case: acquitted (大野事件の終焉：無罪確定), by blogger nana (なな): the last of many posts written by a doctor (a gynaecologist) who started their blog [ja] with the single goal to support the cause of a colleague, Doctor Kato, tried for the death of a patient [ja] who underwent a Caesarean section at Ono Hospital in Fukushima Prefecture in 2004.
無罪判決を聞いた時、涙がにじみました。
喜びの涙ではない、敢えてなぞれば安堵の涙に一番近かったと思います。
医師としての人生観を、根底から覆す事件でした。
私自身は、加藤先生とは全く面識もなく、福島県には縁もありません。
共通点は、ただ産婦人科医だということ、だけ。
しかし私だけではなく、産婦人科医だけではなく、全国の医師たちの心をあまりにも大きく揺さぶり、我が事のように必死に、真剣にさせた事件でした。
自分でも御し難いこの強烈な感情は、不思議ですらあります。
[…]
It has been a case that overturned my vision of life as a doctor from its very foundations.
Personally, I have never met doctor Kato nor have I anything to do with Fukushima Prefecture.
We have only one thing in common, we are both gynaecologists.
However, this was a case that shook not only my heart or those of my colleague gynaecologists, but the hearts of all doctors across the country, and we all [followed the case] frantically and earnestly as though we were all personally involved.
I myself am astonished by the strong emotions, so difficult to manage, that this case stirred in me.
[…]
2) 11 recommendations about pregnancy (妊娠の心得11か条), by lupo: the author gives advice to other fellow women about pregnancy and delivery. Here is a recap of the main points (refer to the original post for the explanation of each point).
１．	セックスをしたら妊娠します。
２．「この男の子供を産むためなら死んでもいい！」と思うような男の子供しか妊娠してはいけません。
３．妊娠しただけでは喜ばない。安易に他人に言わない。
４．神様から授かったら、それがどんな赤ちゃんでも、あなたの赤ちゃんです。
５．産む、産まないは自分たち夫婦で決めましょう。
６．かかりつけ医をもちましょう。
７．赤ちゃんは全ての運命をあなたに預けていることを忘れないで。
８．赤ちゃんが完全に元気であるか分かる方法はありません。
９．出産は出来うる限り安全な場所でしましょう。
10．下から産んでも、お腹から産んでも、あなたはお母さん。
11．妊娠・出産は一つとして同じものはありません。
3) My thoughts (思うこと), by manga artist Mayu Shinjo (新條まゆ): the author reflects on her experience in the manga industry and the difficult relationship between the artist and their editor. Explaining to her readers why she took the decision to quit her job at Shogakukan (小学館), she also tells us about the hardships of the profession and the compromises she had to make:
やはり、編集者と漫画家は対等な立場でありたいと思っています。
気持ち的には、漫画家は編集者に対して「お仕事をもらっている」と思っていたいし、
編集者は漫画家に対して「漫画を描いてくれている」と思っていてもらいたい。
そんな気持ちでずっとお仕事をさせていただいていました。
[…]
ただ、そんな状況が、「描いてといえば、描く作家」「注文通りの漫画を描く作家」ととらえられたとき、
その関係は崩壊します。
半年間コンビニにも行けず、月産１２０ページをこなし、睡眠時間の平均が３時間を割るような状況は当たり前ではないんです。
感謝しろとは言いません。そういう気持ちは、言われて持つべきものではないと思うので。
そんな関係のひずみを感じると、それはストレスになってしまいます。
やりたいことを我慢する必要があるのか。ネタもないのに身を削ってまで、新しい作品を発表しなきゃいけないのか。
4) Learning about the subprime problem with Yaruo (やる夫で学ぶサブプライム問題): in this post an anonymous blogger summed up threads featuring Yaruo, a funny ASCII art character, in which Yaruo explains in simple terms what the subprime issue consists of:
プライム層とは？
————————————————————————————————–
プライム層とは、ローン会社にとって優良顧客という意味。
つまり、確実に返済が見込める顧客のことです。
といっても、お金持ちに限るわけではありません。
きちんとした職業に就いていて、収入もそこそこある人ならばプライム層に該当します。
Of course the term does not refer exclusively to rich people.
Anybody who has a stable job and a fixed income can be considered part of the “prime class”.
84 名前：1[] 投稿日：2008/01/24(木) 22:06:06.55 ID:77WKU/rz0
＿＿＿_
／⌒　　⌒＼
／（ ●） 　（●）  ＼
／::⌒（__人__）⌒::＼　Hallooo.I’d like to apply
|　　　　　|r┬-|　　　　　   |　　for a home loan.
＼ 　　 　 `ー'´ 　 　     ／
5) Rebellion against the single-party-dictatorship! “Charta 08” demands full democratization (一党独裁に叛旗！全面的民主化求める「０８憲章」出現), by blogger gokenin168: as its title suggests, this is a post about Charter 08 drafted by Chinese intellectuals last December:
目下のところは、「０８憲章」という今回の大胆な行動に対し、中共政権がどこまで無茶をするか、といったところが焦点ではないかと。その次第によっては国際社会が動くかも知れませんから。
同時に「０８憲章」が中国国内の庶民レベルに浸透するかどうかも、まあポイントでしょうか。
……天下を引っくり返そうという檄文だというのに私のノリが悪くて申し訳ありません（笑）。大事件ではあるのですが、インテリ主導のままでは社会を揺るがす動きにはなりませんから。
それ故に、「０８憲章」がどのレベルまで浸透するかが一応のポイント。すでにある程度組織化され官民衝突も経験している労働者や農民が署名に続々と加わるようになったら、私も慌てて顔を洗いに行かなければならないでしょう。
At the same time, it is also important, perhaps, to see at what level the “08 Charter” will penetrate among common people in China.
… I’m sorry if my words don’t sound terribly enthusiastic (LOL), despite the fact that they say that this manifesto is one that aims to overthrow authority. No doubt that it is a big event, but the fact is it will not develop into a movement that shakes the [entire] society as long as it remains under the leadership of the intelligentsia.
For this reason, the level of penetration of the “08 Charter” is an important point. If more and more workers and farmers sign up, [I mean those people] who are to some degree already experiencing the organized collision between the government and the private sector, then I guess I'll panic and I’ll have to wash my face too, won’t I?
6) Letter to the people at Google by Osamu Higuchi (樋口理): in this letter (previously translated by GV Japan) Higuchi-san explains the cultural reasons why Google Street View [GSV] has drawn so much criticism among the Japanese people and, directly addressing his comments to Google, asks for the removal of some residential areas from GSV. (For a better understanding of the “Google Street View issue” in Japan, check out GV's special coverage page.)

author: Scilla Alecci


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Japan and South Korea: Cheap Won Draws Japanese Shoppers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jean Min from Ohmynews! reports about the drop in South Korean currency Won and its side effect of drawing Japanese tourists to Seoul for shopping.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Japan: Pop-culture mashup · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Edo from Pink Tentacle blogs a selection of pop-culture mashup posters by enfu.


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Jordan: 7iber.com Discusses Vital Issues For Jordan · Global Voices
Mohammad Azraq

For the last 10 days or so, 7iber.com has been discussing very important issues affecting Jordan, ranging from water scarcity, energy, unemployment and economics to the recent changes in the government. I decided to dedicate this round up to these pressing matters.
On the recent changes in the govenment, 7iber encourages people to take part in the dialogue about the viability of this cabinet restructure, and what it means for Jordan:
With the latest cabinet changes taking place this past week, we’ve been forced to wonder just what these changes actually mean for Jordan’s political landscape. While the tendency for the same family names to remain in the orbit of Jordanian politics, with a mismatch between those names and their ministerial portfolios, remains dominant, it only reminds us that in Jordan, the names are more important than the institutions.
Yes, the people may have no say in who becomes a minister, however, that does not mean they are rendered voiceless throughout this process.
This all begs the question of solutions.
What do you think about the constant changes in government? Is it done to appease families and centralize power or do you think it is part of a larger attempt to get work done? What solutions do you think need to happen in both the short-run (strengthening institutions) and the long-run (an elected-government?
Have your say here.
Ramsey Tesdell addresses the issues of water scarcity and unemployment, which are ever-increasing worries for Jordan:
Jordan’s lack of water poses a serious risk to the political stability of the country. The next wars will be fought over the dwindling water resources in the region and lands that have been inhabited for millennia may become uninhabitable. Jordan’s lack of employment also poses a problem for the stability of the state. Youth under 24 consist of 70% or more of the population and far outnumber the number of jobs available and the number of jobs being created.
Water and unemployment can be see as two important problems for Jordan, but at the same time they should be seen as opportunities. The government should entice the private sector to begin developing water saving technologies and begin installing them in urban areas. The state owned petrol company should start using the huge profit the company makes every year through its monopoly, and invest in technologies such as wind farms and solar panels.
In another post, he brings up a web forum run by Jordan Time‘s economic analyst Yusuf Mansour, which aims at looking at the impediments for building the foundations of a creative economy in the kingdom:
In a December 23rd column in the Jordan Times Newspaper, economist Yusuf Mansour asked a pretty basic question, “Can Jordan become a creative economy where young people’s ideas, those with the most creative minds in the world, can be translated into a powerful industry worth billions of dollars?” He then followed this column up with one describing the obstacles to the creative economy.
First off, the website was a brilliant idea. Finally, someone with a mainstream voice, decided to take advantage of all the social technology and new media technologies available to them, and put the community back into the discussion. For far too long, newspapers and the government in this country have tabled the most important aspect, the people. Kudos to the website and kudos to those contributing to the conversation online.
And in the latest post, Mansour asks how we go about building the creative economy. He developed a format to push the conversation forward. So how do we do it? Mansour thinks you need to 1. develop a creative demand, 2. provide more creative products, 3. develop creative resources (entrepreneurs, works, equipment) and 4. cross-pollinate disciplines and carry a more multidisciplinary focus.
While a creative economy seems like a great idea, it is subject to a long-term commitment. This isn’t like the ICT endeavor where you quickly train a couple thousand people how to set up databases and get certifications on this or that technology. Building a creative economy will require fundamental changes to the educational system, the political system, and will no doubt shake the current business and political elite. This resistance will and can be overcome, but it won’t happen easily nor will happen quickly. A sustained effort is required. It will take some time to develop the actors in the field to sustain a creative economy.

author: Mohammad Azraq


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Jordan: Blog About Jordan Day  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

March 12 will mark the second Blog about Jordan Day, announces Qwaider. Bloggers are being encouraged to blog about Jordan on that day.


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Jordan: Economic depression?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“I don’t know what is going on lately, but I feel that everyone around me are in a hibernation mood. Businesses are not moving. Everything is running very slowly. People are disappearing and communication channels are off!!” notes Sha3teely from Jordan.


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Jordan: Smoking Ban? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordan has announced a ban on smoking in public places, beginning March 1. “In this kind of country, I’m forced to wonder what exactly were lawmakers smoking when they dreamt up this policy?” remarks The Black Iris.


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Kuwait: Crowded Fair  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti Marzouq attends a fair and shares his observations and photographs in this post.


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Malaysia: Many are not satisfied with their sex lives · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Myhorng links to an article which shows that many Malaysians are not satisfied with their sex lives.


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Malaysia: Operation Valentine · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Malaysian police arrested 26 unmarried Muslim couples in hotel rooms during Operation Valentine to curb premarital sex. The crime of “khalwat,” or “close proximity” forbids unmarried Muslims to meet behind closed doors.


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Nepalese doctors in the Philippines · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Due to shortage of doctors in government hospitals, a province in the Philippines plans to import doctors from Nepal.


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Pakistan: Corrupt Traffic Police in Karachi · Global Voices
Rezwan

Kashif Aziz at Chowrangi posts a video showing corruption of traffic police in Karachi.


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Palestine: Canada Speaking Tour  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Palestinian blogger and journalist Laila El-Haddad starts a speaking tour in Canada on March 2.


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Philippines: Praise for “Milk” film · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Talinghagang Gala, a student leader in the Philippines, is happy for the Oscar victory of Sean Penn for his acting performance in the film “Milk.” He praises the progressive message of the film.


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Saudi Arabia: Nora Al Faiz Bio  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudiwoman's Weblog sheds light on Nora Al Faiz, who was appointed as the first female Saudi deputy minister recently.


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Singapore: Amended law to allow filming of “factual” political rallies · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Good news: Singapore to lift ban on party political films. The Films Act will be ‘liberalised’.
Bad news: Live film recordings of political events are allowed but the events being filmed must first be held in accordance with the law.
Martyn See summarizes the amended provisions of the law:
Allowed: “Wholly accurate” depictions of “actual” events, persons and situations.
Not Allowed: Fictional films about political events, persons or situations.
Questionable: Documentaries containing ex-political detainees’ accounts of mental and physical torture under ISA detentions. Dramas depicting political events, persons and situations.
Allowed: Recordings of events that are held according to the law.
Not Allowed: Recordings of protests, demonstrations, political gatherings or any act deemed to be illegal under the law. Does new law empowers police to arrest video cameramen on site?
Questionable: Recordings of events that may not be deemed illegal at the time of recording.
Martyn asks if this video will be deemed illegal under the new law:
Cherian George thinks the government is amending the law to eliminate civil disobedience in the country:
The amendments that have been tabled in Parliament aren't only about opening up space for free expression. The Government is also taking the opportunity to tighten the noose around civil disobedience.
Under the proposed amendments, recording of live events such as rallies will be allowed as long as the event itself “is held in accordance with the law”.
The amendments are also in response to the activities of activist Chee Soon Juan and his group which films political rallies and uploads them on the internet. For example, they uploaded this protest video against the Singapore government's involvement with the Myanmar Junta.
Yawning Bread criticizes the amendments and accuses the government of refusing to engage the public in an open and fair debate:
Videos of any protest or street event that is not licensed by the government will still land the filmmaker in trouble. And as everyone knows, the way the government issues licenses is extremely biased. Only their events get a go ahead. Therefore only their events will be legally allowed on film.
What does this show about the People's Action Party? It really shows that they have no confidence that they can win people over in a fair and open debate. This very silly move undermines the legitimacy of their own election victories, begging questions as to why they think they cannot afford to act fairly.
mollymeek warns that even individuals who use their mobile phones to film illegal rallies can be arrested under the new law:
If you just take out your mobile phone and film an “illegal” political event you see in the streets, maybe the police can catch you. In fact, maybe even if you just take out your phone, the police might be able to confiscate it because they suspect you of filming illegal events
If you catch state officials doing illegal stuff, you cannot film it to expose them. Of course, we trust the PAP never to have any corrupt people, but who knows what could happen?
Ganga is saddened by the amendments:
As a (second class) Singaporean, I am deeply saddened today to discover that my government is trying to enact changes to the law that will effectively give itself (too much) power in controlling the freedom of normal Singaporeans in using their camera-phones or video cameras to capture protests, acts of activism and such on film
Read a pdf copy of the Films Act of 2009.


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Singapore: Copyright Act and blogosphere · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

ringisei is worried that the Copyright Act is being used to “strangle” the blogosphere in Singapore.


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Trinidad & Tobago, Dominica: Carnival Photos  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

More photos from Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, this time from Trinidad Carnival Diary, and from Dominica's Carnival, courtesy Dominica Weekly.


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UAE: Dubail Out?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Grapeshisha discusses the impact of the global economic crisis on Dubai and Abu Dhabi.


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Ukraine: Politics on Twitter · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko has an official Twitter account now: there's a Twitter link on the righthand sidebar of his official website (UKR) (the Russian- and English-language pages haven't been updated yet, however). The president's tweets (UKR) mirror daily schedule announcements and latest news items that are featured on the official website as well.
Twitter user roxolanus wrote this about the launch of Yushchenko's Twitter “office”:
man, twitter's exploding in Ukraine after today's announcement that our President joined it @President_UA
And this, somewhat later:
well, times change quickly, guys, if even Ukrainian politicians turn to social media as a tool and announce it on the news
In between these two tweets, Kotusenko posted this comment about the president's social networking skills:
wondering why @President_UA does not want to subscribe to anybody in twitter. Nothing like what Obama did
At that time, 276 people were subscribed to the presidential Twitter, but the president was not following anyone yet. Now, a day or so later, however, Yushchenko's got 325 followers and is following 281 people.
Another prominent Ukrainian politician who seems to be on Twitter is former parliament speaker and former foreign minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk: even though a press service representative of Yatsenyuk's political movement has refused to confirm the authenticity of yatsenyuk Twitter account, this user has 714 followers right now, is subscribed to 662 people him/herself, and is also soliciting ideas (UKR) from people familiar with social networking sites, among other things.
The first tweet (UKR) of Twitter user yatsenyuk, posted on Jan. 12, 2009, reads:
I'm beginning to prepare for the elections
Ukraine's next presidential elections is expected to be held on Jan. 17, 2010. The snap parliamentary vote was first scheduled for Dec. 7, 2008, then re-scheduled for Dec. 14, and finally postponed to an unspecified date in 2009.
Following the launch of Yushchenko's Twitter account, Twitter user yatsenyuk wrote (UKR):
People who surround Victor Andriyovych [Yushchenko] do not understand the meaning of internet technologies correctly
Earlier this month, Yatsenyuk wrote (UKR) about the cancellation of his account:
Someone did a cruel prank on me. Account was suspended. So we had to prove to the support service that I am [actually] who I am. […]
There is, indeed, a number of Ukrainian political impersonators on Twitter, all of them very recent arrivals, whose first tweets were posted either today, or yesterday: yanukovich (former prime minister Victor Yanukovych), chernovetskiy (Kyiv mayor Leonid Chernovestsky), lytvyn (parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn), BYuT (The Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko), Ushenko (president Victor Yushchenko), Viktor_Baloga (head of Presidential Secretariat Victor Baloha).
Here is how Twitter user ruda_ganna reacted (UKR) to the launch of Yulia Tymoshenko's (fake) Twitter account yesterday:
[…] They're fighting for the electorate!!! […] Perhaps it'll make sense to create a virtual politician of my own, too?

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Vietnamese equivalent of the Christmas tree · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Jerome from Hanoi posts a picture of a fallen peach tree: the Vietnamese equivalent of the Christmas tree during the Lunar New Year


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Zimbabwe: How Mugabe Steals  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Denford Magora reveals how Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe amassed wealth during his tenure. I promised a few days ago to share with you information from impeccable sources on just how Robert Mugabe amassed a fortune during his tenure, “Few people know that, when Mugabe travels overseas, the Chief Secretary to the Cabinet goes to the Reserve Bank and asks for cash, hard cash, for the trip. It is given in US dollars. In the 1980s, the figure was US$50 000 per trip.”


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Arab Bloggers Rally Against the Judaization of Jerusalem · Global Voices
Anas Qtiesh

Jerusalem, Al Quds in Arabic, is a core issue in the Israeli Palestinian conflict. Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem under the ” Jerusalem Law” was vastly condemned by the UN and its related bodies. UN Security Council resolution 478 (passed in 1980) resulted in the moving of most foreign embassies out of Jerusalem.
Israeli Authorities are criticized for the ongoing policy to promote a Jewish majority and Judaize Jerusalem through evicting Arabs and demolishing their homes in East Jerusalem, claiming they don't have building permits and making it extremely difficult for an Arab residents to get a building permit. According to a World Bank report, the number of recorded building violations between 1996 and 2000 was four and half times higher in Jewish neighborhoods but four times fewer demolition orders were issued in West Jerusalem than in East Jerusalem.
The latest eviction act was met by an outrage from Arab bloggers. Khaled Alsoud from Jordan speaks out [ar] on the situation of Arabs in the city:
20000 ألف مقدسي فقدوا حقهم بالإقامة عبر سحب البطاقات الزرقاء من 6000 رب عائلة و12000منزل مهدد بالهدم من قبل الدولة الصهيونية و جدار الفصل العنصري الذي أخرج 151423 مقدسي خارج إطار مدينة القدس ومنع التواصل بكافة أشكاله مع المقدسيين الذين احتجزوا داخل المدينة، كما في القدس 23 حاجز صهيوني يقطع أوصال المدينة ويعيق \أو يمنع\ أهلها من التواصل فيما بينهم أو مع الآخرين خارج الجدار.
والآن وجهت دولة الاحتلال الصهيوني إنذارات لـ 88 عائلة”1500 مقدسي” بالإخلاء وذلك لهدم بيوتهم بحجة التراخيص، وإنشاء حديقة عامة مكان تلك البيوت وفي أخطر وأوسع عملية تهجير منذ حي المغاربة.
syriangavroche gives his analysis of the situation [ar]:
من الواضح أن كل هذه الأمور تجري بغية فرض أمر واقع قبيل أي جلسة مفاوضات مع الجانب الفلسطيني بخصوص القدس, فإفراغ القدس من سكانها العرب شكلاً و مضموناً هو إعادة بناء واقع جديد يمكن فرضه على الجانب الآخر و خصوصاً إن كان جانباً ضعيفاً مثل السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية.
Jafra brings back to memory [ar] the influential Arab literary figures that were assassinated by the Mossad such as Ghassan Kanafani, Wael Zuaiter and Naji Al Ali, emphasizing the importance of  knowledge and culture in fighting occupation:
الفكرة و القلم و العلم اهم من الاسوار العالية واهم و بنادق مصوبة و قناص ينتظر و طائرة تبحث عن هدف
She goes on to plead support for the Al Quds Capital of Arab Culture 2009 festivities:
انا الان و هم ايضا في القدس لا يدعونكم لمجزرة و لا لحرب او اعلان ثورة
هو مجرد دعوة لدعم هذا الحدث لجعله يليق بالقدس
Alghait from Syria asks [ar] Syrian bloggers to create a “Blog for Al Quds Week”:
من بين الضجيج العذب للمدونات السورية أدعو نفسي وإياكم أن نخصص أسبوع للتدوين من أجل القدس كما كان الأول للجولان
أدعو نفسي وإياكم أن نعمل لإخواننا كما عملنا لأنفسنا
ولتكن من المدونات السورية أولاً ..

author: Anas Qtiesh


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Aruba: Calling the Socialists  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Some Arubans are also affected because they invested in Stanford's company and are now, as we say in quaint Dutch, sitting with the baked pears”: Arubagirl examines her government's reaction to the Allen Stanford story and wonders where all the socialists have gone.


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Azerbaijan: Khodjali Anniversary · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan marks the 17th anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of civilians in the Azeri-inhabited town of Khodjali during the conflict with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. The blog says that such victims can be found in every war zone where people “become toys in hands of politicians and/or people full of endless hatred…”

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Thoughts on Khodjali · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following on from an earlier post, Sheki, Azerbaijan posts a photograph of a monument dedicated to those killed in the massacre of civilians in Khodjali, an Azeri inhabited town, during the Karabakh war. The blog notes that carnations have now become synonymous with grief and mourning in Azerbaijan and hopes that such violence does not happen again. Indeed, the blogger continues, it can only be hoped that such occurances  become a thing of the past in the 21st Century.


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China: Bush maize ad · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sunbin posted a photos showing an ad making use of Bush for selling maize.


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China: Reactions on the auction of stolen bronze relics · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translates Chinese netizens’ reactions on the auction of stolen bronze relics in France.


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Costa Rica: Radio Santa Clara Celebrates 25 Years · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Radio Santa Clara in northern Costa Rica is celebrating 25 years of programming writes Jaguar del Platanar [es].

author: Eduardo Avila


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Criminal Minds: The Egyptian Sexual Offender’s Profile · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Will Facebook groups, anti-harassment T-shirts, posts, articles, bloggers, and activists put an end to sexual harassment in Egypt? Wandering Scarab does not think so!
Upon reading Asser Yasser's story and the blogosphere's reaction to her post, Wandering Scarab wrote:
Lately, I've seen an increasing number of bloggers rallying against the rising rate of sexual harassment in Egypt. I have seen bloggers write astonishingly moving accounts of their experiences as well as others who've written about the subject in support of rape victims. But I have also seen Facebook groups dedicated to the case and ones that came up with more original ideas like t-shirts that display anti-rape slogans meant to discourage men from harassing women because they would not wish the same to happen to their mothers/sisters/wives etc.
I, wholeheartedly, support their efforts to end sexual harassment. However, I don't really think that change will happen soon enough, if at all.
In her initial profiling of the offender she said:
I believe we will see a whole lot more victims along with crimes of sharper intensity and greater frequency. In my humble opinion the problem is one of many layers. On the surface it would seem that sexual predators prey on women because they are sexually frustrated as with the Maadi case of sexual assaults. In reality however, sexual offenses are rarely about sex and more about power and dominance.
How does date rape happen?
There are sexual offenders who are sexually aroused by violent acts against women. And among those are cognitively challenged men who have a distorted sense of values. They believe women like to be raped or that women think of sexual harassment as a compliment. This is the kind of thinking that often leads to date rape.
As for the repeat offender, Wandering Scarab notes:
He often has difficulty establishing or maintaining relationships, particularly with women. He is introverted and likely has a variety of problems, both social and physical. But I think the most common type of sexual offender in Egypt is the one motivated by anger. His acts of sexual harassment are essentially emotional outbursts accompanied by a serious lack of self control. Usually, this is the most dangerous and violent sexual offender. He is the same guy that employs the most vulgar and colourful linguistic abilities, and the same one who falls under the influence of the mob mentality as in the infamous case of the Eid sexual harassment incidents. He is the guy who is not fearful of the consequences and is aware that the law and public perception works in his favour.
Desperate times call for desperate measures:
The average Egyptian man is abused every hour of every day by the political system in Egypt, which affects everything from the price of a gallon of milk to the ability to vote free and clear of oppression. The Egyptian public is politically, economically, and socially challenged. The politics of the few run the country and keep the majority in check. The standard of living is extremely low. The costs of bare essentials are skyrocketing while wages remain in the minimum. Without financial assistance, the average Egyptian man cannot build or maintain a family. He has no control over his future and finds very little value in attempting to make something of himself. Men deal with those issues differently. Some of them in productive ways; others use it to fuel their anger, and lash out.
Wandering Scarab does not find much sense in comparing the victim of a sexual crime to the offender's mother/sister/daughter/wife because:
In the eyes of a sexual offender, all women are targets, with the exception of his various female family members. He doesn't see them as women, rather he defines them by their role.
To add fuel to the harassment fire:
Victims of sexual crimes are often shunned by their male family members. Many are told that it is “their fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time” or “that they brought it on themselves by wearing inappropriate attire”.
The blogger tapped gently on religion saying:
Regardless of what our denomination is, we are taught at a young age that when people make mistakes, all is forgiven if we repent. I have personally met many men of that mindset. They believe it is fine to sexually assault a women if it means that in the end they will repent and everything will be forgiven.
As for the law and law enforcement:
Sadly, in Egypt, although there is a law (insufficient although it may seem) that punishes sexual offenders, that law is often not enforced. Police officers and other authority figures take complaints lightly and quite often aggressively discourage women from coming forward and proceeding with a complaint.
The root of the problem is:
Arab men in general, tend to believe that they are superior to women, whatever way they justify it, be it religious, social, or what have you. And I am not generalizing either. I realize that there are very decent men still living in Egypt. They think in a different way. They believe in equal rights and everything but there are very very few of them. Regrettably, the majority of Arab men fall in the other category.
And her final advice is:
It is in that light that I encourage women not to be victims. A Facebook group is a nice sentiment, and a t-shirt certainly would not hurt. But I believe that the best way to avoid rape is by arming oneself and learning to incapacitate a sexual offender. Survival is key, even if it means killing the assailant or permanently maiming him.


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Egypt: 10,000 days of Mubarak  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egypt marks its 10,000 day under Hosni Mubarak's rule. Mohaly briefs us about two books which discuss the occasion.


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Guadeloupe: Police “Blunder”? · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Amidst the confusion of the month-long social conflict in Guadeloupe, two nights of violence took place on February 17th and 18th.  Apart from acts of arson in shops and numerous burning roadblocks, the climax of these violent clashes has been the as-yet unsolved assassination of a man. Trikess, who blogs at Chien créole tells about the death of Jacques Bino [Fr], a Guadeloupean labor union leader who was killed late Tuesday night.
Numerous hypotheses have since been made to explain – or even attempt to solve – this case. Guadeloupean blogger Indiscrétions publishes an open letter about it [Fr]:
Le regretté Jacques BINO a été doublement victime. Il a été aussi victime de ces dysfonctionnements. Heureusement que des policiers ont aussi été blessés dans cette affaire. Heureusement qu'ils ne peuvent même pas être soupçonnés… sauf peut-être de non assistance à personne en danger
This is probably a reply to official statements made by the French Prime Minister and other state representatives, who declared on national TV that J. Bino had been murdered by young rioters who were staging a roadblock. (There has not yet been an official conclusion to the investigation.) Here is ChienCréole‘s opinion the day after the murder:
Cela dit s’il est vrai que certains jeunes se sont livrés à des actes de violence aveugle de nature à porter atteinte à la vie d’autrui, et même s’il est fort probable qu’un d’entre eux ait appuyé sur la gachette de l’arme qui a tué Jacques Bino, les conclusions des uns et des autres sont un peu trop rapides et légères en l’absence des conclusions de l’enquête.
In the context of the ongoing social unrest, the police forces seem eager to solve this murder as quickly as possible. Yet, instead of pacifying things, the investigation has been the cause of another very controversial episode, first told by Trikess and since relayed all over the blogosphere, Twitter and Facebook. In his post entitled, Arrest of a young man suspected of killing Jacques Bino [Fr], the blogger tells the story and posts pictures of both the young man who was arrested by the police and of his grandmother who had allegedly been roughed up by the policemen. He explains [Fr]:
Six policiers, l’arme au poing, s’engouffrent les premiers dans le petit appartement. Ils se précipitent sans hésitation dans la chambre tout de suite à gauche et tombent à bras raccourcis sur Patrice, que les détonations et les cris des policiers viennent de réveiller en sursaut.
On Saturday February 21st, the young man was released after being cleared by the hard drive of his PC [Fr] – and for the past week, the Guadeloupean (BworldConnection) and Martinican blogospheres (Montray kréyol) [Fr] have been expressing their concern about what they regard as an unjustified arrest.  Twitter and Facebook users have also been spreading this information along with the pictures, already stigmatizing the entire affair as a “blunder”.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Incredible India · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sunday Posts discusses the Indian tourism campaign ‘Incredible India’, a successful campaign and the need to do a lot more to attract tourism.


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Iraq: A different Baghdad  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Mosul-based Moma visited Baghdad – and wasn't happy with the changes in her old neighbourhood.


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Iraq: Blogger’s Birthday and Closed School  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Sunshine, from Iraq, celebrates her 17th birthday, in a war-torn Iraq. Also in this post, Sunshine tells us why her school was closed.


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Iraq: Predications and Politics · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iraqi Arab Woman Blues discusses ‘predictions’ she had made about the political situation in her country and others in the region – and how they proved to be correct.


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Jamaica, Guyana: Action or Reaction?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Active Voice [Jamaica] and Guyanese blogger C.D. Valere (writing at Baiganchoka) continue the discussion about recent attempts by the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission to “clean up” the airwaves.


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Jordan: Low Quality Photo Essay  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Roba Al Assi, from Jordan, features a web exclusive art photography collection in this post.


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Jordan: Oscar Predictions  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Hareega made some Oscar predictions here. Check out whether any of his guesses were right.


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Jordan: The Unborn Banned in Cinemas  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian Moey reports that The Unborn has been banned in his country's cinemas – because of its ‘violent’ content.


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Martinique: Violent clashes in Fort de France  · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

Martinican bloggers Imaniyé and Bondamanjak both note the recent degradation of the social conflict in Martinique, as clashes between the police and young people took place in the capital city of Fort-de-France, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.


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Morocco: Simply Delicious · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This week, the talk in the blogoma seems to be about all things edible.  Moroccan cuisine, widely considered one of the most complex and best in the world, is derived from Arab, Spanish, Turkish, Jewish, and native Amazigh culinary traditions and is well-known for its use of vegetables and spices.
The blogger behind A Moroccan Kitchen is well aware of that fact; the blog, run by the two Moroccan chefs of Riad Laaroussa in Fez, shares recipes from the riad's weekly menu:
Aujourd’hui il fait beau, c'est le moment pour faire une pique-nique : le soleil, la verdure, l'amour et la joie.
Alors suite à la demande d'un client du Riad Mr Francis on va faire la harira fassia
Then, following the request of a client of the Riad, Mr. Francis, we will make Fassi harira.
Liz Whitton, the Peace Corps volunteer behind Adventures of a Young Twentysomething, discusses in this post the consummate Moroccan tradition – Friday couscous:
Most Fridays are what I call “Cous Cous Friday.” I would love to eat cous cous every Friday but unfortunately, not many people in my town are consistent in their Friday lunch plans. One family is though: Abdou's in Azrou. Abdou owns my favorite rug shop and his mom's cous cous is one of the best. If I am in Azrou on Friday or just have a craving for cous cous, I head to Abdou’s for Friday lunch.
Friday is the Muslim holy day. The tradition of eating cous cous for Friday lunch is similar to the tradition of Christians (or maybe just Southerners) of eating a big Sunday lunch. I like this; it reminds me of home.
Even though it is culturally insensitive, I should mention that many volunteers (me included) compare women’s cous cous—no two are alike. Some women can make a good tagine but their cous cous misses the spot. In the last 18 months, I have only had 3 bad servings. That's not a bad percentage. When I am invited to return for cous cous at these 3 places, I try to reschedule for tea instead. So far, its worked.
The women in my host family make really good cous cous. Even though its time-consuming and labor-intensive, I have promised to learn. My expectations are not too high. I just want to learn the basics so I can share the magic of cous cous with my family in Florida. Time will tell.
She also shares photos of the delicacy:
Expat Emma of The Good Life in Morocco is also talking food this week.  In her post, she discusses the food coming out of her riad's kitchen:
I thought I would share with you some of the wonderful Moroccan and Berber food coming out of our kitchen. These are a number of Moroccan salads. Morocca salads are usually cooked. The first one is roasted aubergine with steemed carrots, garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs. The second salad is green peppers cooked with olives and chopped tomatoes, one of my favourites.
The second photo, of the green pepper, olive, and tomato salad, is below:

author: Jillian C. York


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Nepal: Strike Culture · Global Voices
Rezwan

Freedom In Bhutan discusses the strike cultures of Nepal and comments:”I wonder how illogical, non sensible and irresponsible have Nepalese grown to. I pray my countrymen Bhutanese will never call strike in any circumstances to put pressure on administration.”


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Nigeria: Who You Be?: Nigeria’s Bloggers Award · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Who You Be” is the 2009 Nigeria's Bloggers Award whose nominations started February 24th and will run until March 5th. The bloggers behind the award are four female Nigerian bloggers: Sting, Toluwa, Naijagirl and Geisha (a retired blogger). Who You Be has an official blog where nominations, voting and community building will take place.  The award is divided into Category A and B.  Category B has the usual award categories such as Best Personal Blog, Best Literary Blog, Best Fashion Blog, etc. Category B is a bit funny. Examples of this one are: Say What?! – Most confusing Blogger, Blogsville magician/Disappearing act Award – Blogger disappears for long periods without any explanation and FIRST!! – Always first on every blog.
Who You Be blog welcome message:
Welcome to the official blog page of the Naija Bloggers Award. This blog will serve as the official site where nominating, voting, interacting, and everything else will go down. The 2009 Naija Bloggers Award is Sting's baby, but she most definitely couldn't have done it without the help of Toluwa, Naijagirl, and the now retired Geisha.
We have come up with a whole bunch of award categories. However, we would like everyone to participate in this process and have as much fun as possible. We divided the award categories into two. Category A consists of the typical award categories, while Category B is not so typical.
Category A
Bloggers Choice Award – Naija Blogger of the Year
Best Personal Blog
Most inspiring Blogger
Best Student Blog
Best Religious Blog
……
Category B
I laugh in Japanese – Funniest Blogger
Celebutant – Most likely to become a celebrity off blogging
Drama King/Queen – (Over)dramatic blogger.
Hot and Sexy! – Blogger you think is hot in real life
Fire in my pants – Blogger you'd hook up with based solely on the content of their blog
Grandma/Grandpa Blogger – Seasoned blogging veteran who still updates frequently
Paparazzi Blogger – Always on blogsville
Here are the nomination and voting procedures:
Hello people,
Since this is the nomination round, you can nominate as many people as you like in each category. However when it's time to vote you can only vote for one person. Keep in mind that we are going to choose the top 5 nominees for each category. When u fill out the nomination survey, if the person you are nominating is not on the blogsville citizens list, please be nice enough to include the url. If you don't know the url, the name of the blogger will suffice.
Nominations are going to be for a week, so you have from today, February the 24th until Wednesday March 5th to nominate bloggers for Category A. After that we will announce the nominees for each category and voting for category A will begin.
In case you are wondering why the awards is divided into two parts, we have a lot of bloggers who are doing positive things in blogsville and they need to be recognized (seriously), this is where Category A comes in. That is not to say Category B is not to be taken seriously, but as you can see it's obviously so we can have fun.
Who You Be is also geared towards promoting new bloggers during the nomination period:
I would like to give newbie bloggers (6 months and under) a chance to be seen and heard. So if you qualify as a newbie and you are interested in putting up a post to introduce your blog, telling us why you started blogging and what you like or don't like about blogsville so far, please leave a comment with ur email address. The first three newbies to leave a comment indicating their interest will get to do it.
Nigerian bloggers are currently promoting and discussing Who You Be on their blogs. Miss Iyabo writes,
Na really “Who You Be???” …But how you sef go know if you never do stopover for Naija Bloggers’ Award’s website [Clix => Who You Be?] to sabi wetin dey!!!
To kick off the event, Nominations for Category A (Abeg the list too long for Miss Opeke to dey do secretary work of typing them all out…) opens today for the 2009 Naija Bloggers’ Award…remember to select who you’d like to nominate as your favorite blogger in each categories.
Ok, I know you are saying, “Wetin concern Mr. Agbero with overload…?”
Anyways, just go by and nominate like crazy…
Loy's opinion about the award:
Well, a good move from the ladies and should be commended. I think that the Nigerian blogging community is long overdue for an awards ceremony. The categories are quite ok, except that there’s none for Best Technology Blog, Best Rambling Blog, etc
Again, the announcement was very sudden (February 22, 2009), while nominations began February 24th. This perhaps didn’t give enough room for more bloggers to be part of it and also include other categories. I think there should be at least 2-4 weeks of publicity before nomination starts for these kind of awards.
Here’s a simple idea of what a Bloggers Award should look like. See SA Blog Awards 2008 and Bloggers Choice Awards 2008. However, it’ll be nice to see how the Naija Bloggers Award 2009 goes and I’ll be watching the progress in the next few days…


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Pakistan: Déjà vu 1971? · Global Voices
Rezwan

“Zardari is doing exactly what Bhutto had done in 1971 – eliminating all challenges that may come in his way to become another “Civilian Martial Law Administrator”, comments Teeth Maestro while discussing the recent “verdict that refuses to give the democratically elected government its right to function.”


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Pakistan: Sharif Brothers Declared Ineligible For Election Whilst Governor Rule Imposed · Global Voices
Teeth Maestro

The Supreme Court after prolonged hearing of Sharif brothers’ electoral eligibility case, finally declared today that the two leaders of Pakistan's most prominent political party Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz group have been deemed ineligible to have contested the elections a year back on 18th February 2008.  Although it must be noted that the merit of this decision was based on a certain case in which Nawaz Shairf was convicted of a crime in 1999, the in-famous plane hijacking case in which Nawaz Sharif the then Prime Minster of Pakistan did not permit the then Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf's plane from landing in Pakistan, it was after this tussle that the Pakistan Army over took the country at the behest of Pervez Musarraf and overthrew Nawaz Sharif's elected government and enforced a martial law on the country.
Immediately People in Pakistan reacted vehemently to this Supreme Court verdict and were seen to be rioting on the streets mostly in the province of Punjab. With the sitting Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif effectively ineligible to occupy this position, a two month governor rule was enforced allowing Salman Taseer full control of the province.
Though justice must be served across the board and one cannot expect the judiciary to be selective, If the Nawaz brothers are guilty then the Mr. Asif Ali Zardari must also come under the knife and open his billions of dollars of corruption cases, or even the mere fact that all elected parliamentarians in Pakistan need to have a basic Bachelors level higher education and Mr. Zardari cannot even produce a degree and merely suggests ‘to have been educated from ‘a business school in London’.
Farhan at the Guppu Blog starts off to say:
Just for the political revenges, they keep on holding a particular case as to be able to use it as a weapon against someone when needed. I ask a simple question; what took so long for the Supreme Court to pronounce the decision? Answer is simple likewise, that Supreme Court continued the hearing and pronounced the decision when Zardari wanted it to.
DeadPan Thoughts feels Justice needs to be served across the board:
Personally I do agree that people with marked and murky histories should not be allowed into our politics anyways, but if this is so then why were they allowed to run in the last election. Why were they accepted as the “Chief Minister of Punjab” and why are some politicians declared “unfit” while others enjoy the protection of various deals brokered outside Pakistan.
Omar Azam at Pak Times talks about how Nawaz Sharif was disqualified earlier but Shahbaz Sharif was allowed to serve as Chief Minister of Punjab for over a year:
On June 23, 2008, a full bench of the Lahore High Court disqualified PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif from contesting the election. However, the court had conditionally allowed PML-N President Mian Shahbaz Sharif to hold the office of the chief executive of the province.
Pakistan Policy Blog analyzes the overall political gravity of the situation:
Politically, the Sharifs and their faction of the Muslim League (PML-N) are isolated. Its major allies are those outside of parliament: the lawyers, Jamaat-i Islami, and Tehreek-e Insaaf. Zardari is politically secure. The Pakistani president has Musharraf-era constitutional powers (the hyper-presidency), a docile (though occasionally rebellious) prime minister, a healthy coalition in the center, a share in all provincial governments, a pliant Supreme Court, an army stuck in the barracks, and support of major Western governments.  An influx of foreign aid could bolster his hold on power.  Also, the PPP will likely be the largest party in the Senate after elections in March.  Zardari — if he makes the right deals — could get a constitutional amendment passed that would fall short of restoring the presidency to its original nominal status.  In short, Zardari could have his cake and eat it too.
While Pro-Pakistan questions the decision:
Shahbaz Sharif will have to step down from the position of Chief Minister of Punjab. This will also intensify their involvement in the upcoming Long March of Lawyers on 16th March, 2009. This will have major implications on the political scenario of the country
Derwaish from All Things Pakistan expresses dismay at this decision which might cause political instability:
Without going into merits of the decision, I think it will create more political instability and uncertainty which is the last thing we want to see in Pakistan.  It is rather unfortunate but the initial reactions and statements suggests that Pakistan might be heading towards the politics of confrontation and horse-trading of 1990's
Yasir Latif Hamdani from Pak Tea House is stumped:
I thought the PPP government and President Zardari were more astute than this.  By allowing this to go through,  they have called forth a flood vis a vis the Lawyer’s Movement and this time around it would be the civilian government of liberal and democratic PPP instead of the Military regime. I wonder who will gain from this?

author: Teeth Maestro


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Saudi Arabia: First Internet Crime Sentence Upheld · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Crossroads Arabia writes that the verdict has been upheld of the first Internet crime brought to court in Saudi Arabia, involving a man who hacked into a woman’s e-mail and tried to blackmail her with what he found there.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Syria: Violation of Terms of Service  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian Hosam Akras writes that WordPress has disabled a blog which lists Israel's “crimes against humanity” because it did not comply with its terms of service.


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Syrian Ambassador in Washington Lectures on Syrian-American Relations · Global Voices
Anas Qtiesh

Syrian Ambassador in Washington lectures university students on Syrian-American relations and asks them not to be overly optimistic in regards to the future of the relations since the Obama Adminstration hasn't set its course of action with Syria yet, reports [ar] Maurice Aaek.


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Taiwan: CECA, economic elixir or poison? · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

CECA? A new game console from Japan or another evil science project that is going to bring this world to an end? All wrong, but according to the Government, CECA is coming to save Taiwan's economy from drowning in global financial crisis and the greatest recession in 50 years. However, most people still have no idea what CECA is, and like all the other issues, it is quickly politicized as a new media battle ground set for the continuous fight between KMT, the ruling party, and DPP, the major opposition party.
CECA stands for Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which is all about cutting tariff and accelerating cross-strait commerce. DPP strongly opposes signing CECA with China and says that this is another big step torwards the tragic reunification with Communists China, while KMT denies the accusation and defends CECA with the reason of rescuing Taiwan's worse economic performance ever.
Bloggers again try to ask key questions and dig into the issue in their own capacity. Ashinakhan asks “What is the relation between CECA and ASEAN+3 ?”
有一個觀念我覺得政府一直沒有向人民澄清，郤已經透過媒體放話搞的滿城風雨，就是：
CECA到底和東協+3有什麼關係？
媒體一直試圖植入我們腦袋裡的想法，是：
不簽CECA，我們就會被東協+3邊緣化
我一直沒搞懂的部分是，不簽CECA，台灣會怎麼樣被邊緣化呢？簽了CECA，又可以怎麼樣不被邊緣化呢？這是天下雜誌的ＦＡＱ告訴我們的東西：
因此，政府目前主要希望CECA簽署，台灣商品可以自由進入中國，再轉至東協10+3的其它自由貿易區國家，享有同樣的競爭條件。
搞了半天，CECA並不等於我們和東協之間自動享有零關稅的待遇，而是因為得要利用中國與東協的FTA去搞轉口？好吧，如果台灣真的自己沒辦法和東協簽FTA（原因呢？），而同時這把如意算盤打得通，而且中國願意對台灣無私無我的奉獻，那也是一椿好事。
Therefore, right now the Government wants to sign CECA so that Taiwanese goods can enter China freely and then sell to the free trade zone inside countries listed in ASEAN+3 in order to share the same competitive conditions.
Round and round. So CECA does not equal to zero tariff between ASEAN+3 and us automatically, but it means that we can use the FTA between China and ASEAN to do entrepot trade. Alright, if Taiwan cannot sign FTA with ASEAN on our own(why?), and this method really works that China is willing to consecrate itself to Taiwan, why not?
Ashinakhan continues with another question:
可是，有沒有人聽過什麼叫Rule of Origin（原產地規則；RoO）？
東協之間的RoO要求是40%自製率才適用免稅。就我所知，中國和東協之間的FTA也適用同樣的規定。那麼，中國出口東協的商機，台灣滿打滿算也沒辦法吃超過四成。唯一能全額享受這個商機的辦法，就是把整個產業的根拔了，供應鏈全搬到中國去才能有競爭力。這樣能救台灣經濟？這樣能救台灣失業？我怕是台商加速西移，台灣的失業率以後都要從10%開始起跳！
The RoO inside ASEAN requires 40% of a product should be homemade. As far as I know, the rule is the same between China and ASEAN. So, the business opportunity of using China as a window to enter ASEAN market is never possible for Taiwan. The only way that one can benefit from this opportunity and to be competitive is to uproot the whole industry and move the supply chain to China. Is this the way to save Taiwan's economy? Is this the way to reduce Taiwan's unemployment rate? From my worrying perspective, Taiwanese businesses will move west(to China) faster and the unemployment rate will jump from 10%!
ChairmanCat writes:
近日在台灣政壇引起重大爭議的CECA, 到底要不要列入第三次江陳會的議題中，政府又不同調了。2月18日的新聞中，江丙坤說在第三次會談中不簽，但是到了2月24的新聞，高孔廉卻說CECA簽署可列入會談，顯然這個政策的推動，一方面要面對中國的壓力，另一方面反對黨又擺出不公投就反對到底的態度，顯然進退兩難了。
And he goes on denying what some people say that CECA is a purely economic issue:
如果是個純經濟的議題，就不用涉機政府對政府的談判，也沒有簽約不簽約的問題。但是台灣和中國的政府，都刻意迴避政治面的聯想，但是處理手法卻是處處見政治。台灣參與亞太區域經濟合作機制何以唯有透過中國﹖這是政治還是經濟﹖
Squidy argues the ignorance of most Taiwanese people on CECA:
今天看到一份報紙說在台大學堂裡 大多數學生並不清楚CECA是啥
但問到說贊不贊成簽CECA    幾乎一半人都舉手贊成
我倒想問問這些學生 你舉手是怎樣 不清楚CECA 就只會跟著舉手嗎
I want to ask these students what the hell are you raising your hands for? You know nothing about it but you are in favor of it?
“NewsTalk”, the official blog of Public Television Service(PTS)'s political commentary program, discusses this topic and update many clear introduction slides(zh).
GoodMind explains the core concept of CECA and then asks who is blocking Taiwan from the beginning:
中國政府無視自由貿易的精神，硬是阻撓台灣與他國簽訂FTA，不讓台灣參與區域性自由貿易組織，台灣面對這樣的艱難處境已經不是一天兩天了，藉著CECA事件甚囂塵上，實在應該把這本帳翻出來好好算一算。
Jack at Buycar feels puzzled:
我一直很不能理解，為什麼馬先生跟國民黨老是打這種『將自己的前途，賭在一個權柄操之在別人手上的政策上面』的算盤。
可是老太爺說了一句話讓我印象深刻：『現在台灣人想的就是救經濟，管它什麼名稱不名稱。』
But the Old Grandpa said something to me that impressed me hard: “Taiwanese want their economy be saved right now, and who cares about the names and titles?”
ShoeiCheng reminds us President Ma's campaigns before elected:
選前口號一大堆，什麼633、陸客每日三千、股市兩萬點…如今一一跳票，經濟學人（Economist）還點名台灣是世界經濟第一爛，政府也不用出來說聲抱歉之類的，好像全部推給金融海嘯就沒事了，反正做得再差，總會有「愛馬士」跳出來說幾句：「錢都被阿扁A走了」（阿就算他A一百億都追回來，是救得了馬政府的腦殘嗎？）「馬英九才上任沒多久」（大嬸，都快一年了好嗎？總統任期只有四年啊！），內閣完全不用重組、調動，也是沒在怕的，完全執政就是這麼好用，阿不然你是要怎樣？

author: Portnoy Zheng


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Taiwan: Google Map back to 1944 · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Kaishao introduces (zh) a new google map mashup presented by Center for Geographic Information Science, Academia Sinica. The map combines Google Map with the maps of several counties of Taiwan illustrated by U.S. Millitary information agency back in 1944.


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UAE: A great shame  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Before the boom, people would travel to South East Asia to get their sin fix and bring back AIDS. The only difference being the prostitutes are here, and all the nefarious enablers that goes with it. A great shame,” according to a UAE national, writes Secret Dubai Diary, which is blocked in the UAE.


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Uruguay: Gathering of Web Designers and Entrepreneurs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Martin will be attending Punta del Este 2009, an international gathering of entrepreneurs and web designers in Uruguay [es]


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Afghanistan: Rights Activist Selected as Young Global Leader · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Azar Balkhi reports that Fawzia Koofi, an outstanding human rights activist and the first female deputy speaker of the Afghanistan's parliament, was named “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Armenia: 1 March post-election clash anniversary · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

As the opposition prepares to mark the 1 March post-election clashes which left at least 10 dead, The Armenian Observer says tensions are increasing in the capital, Yerevan. Meanwhile, writing for the Frontline Club blog, Global Voices Online's Caucasus Editor comments on the release of two damning human rights reports days before the event.


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Armenia: Dollar Panic · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Observer reports that many in the country are rushing to change their local currency into dollars and limits have been introduced at currency exchanges.


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Bangladesh: Massacre Cannot be Justified · Global Voices
Rezwan

“What do you call it when a group of ‘disgruntled’ BDR soldiers [Bangladesh border guards] started their expression of grievances by open-firing on the commissioned army officers? Mutiny? Rebellion? Revolt? Uprising?” asks Kotha-Chilo. The blogger concludes the post with: “BDR soldiers – now I feel ‘disgruntled’ at your massacre. I wish I had a way to express my ‘disgruntled-ness’.”


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Bangladesh: Mutiny Is Over, But Question Remains · Global Voices
Rezwan

Yesterday it was a tensed day in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The 33-hour long mutiny and siege by aggrieved lower rank officers of paramilitary forces BDR  ended as they surrendered their arms  in the evening at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters. According to news paper reports seventeen BDR members (mostly army officers in command of the forces) and four civilians have been killed. Hostages were freed but 65-100 army officers and lower rank jawans are still missing and most of them are feared dead.
There has been many turn of events the whole day as the armed forces prepared an offensive to quell the mutiny. Tanks rolled in Dhaka city and people living near the BDR headquarters were evacuated. But after Prime Minister's televised speech the rebels finally surrendered avoiding bloody consequences. As usual there were many rumors around and the blogs and twitter messages played a crucial part in disseminating the information.
Here are some Twitter messages which show how the situation was all day:
PurpleRome It all started in Dhaka but now its spreading to the rest of the country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will address the nation in a while.
phpfour crowd rattled in shahbag…continuous gunshots heard near dhaka uni(versity)
mahmudur #bdr army high officials told doctors of dhaka medical college to be prepared for mass causalities to be happened in short time
seoexpertbd: The #BDR panic is still live and leaving office early now.
rajputro: 9 more bodies found from #bdr hq, one of which was of a little girl's :(
Check more Twitter messages here:
http://twitterfall.com/dhaka
http://twitterfall.com/BDR
Bloggers like BDfact were live blogging the prime Ministers’ speech. Unheard Voice Blog posted regular updates the whole day. Joruri Khobor rounded up Facebook status messages which described the situation.
Jessica Lim posted some photos in her blog and in Flickr despicting the horror people faced. Dhaka Daily Photo has more pictures.
Videos were posted in internet as soon as tanks rolled in the city. Here is one such:
Shahnaz at Dhaka Dweller provides some background of the rebellion of the BDR members and asks some questions:
And this is how the seeds of discontent were first sown. The masters considered them an elite class, far above the lowly serfs. There was great disparity between pay, benefits, working conditions and career advancement between the officers and rank and file, and issues of corruption practiced by senior officers. [..] Soldiers raised their grievances again and again with their officers, to no avail. Their Director General had promised to place the soldiers demands to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she inaugurated the BDR week events. But he must have forgotten his promise, for he only spoke on behalf of his officers on that august occasion. Disgruntled soldiers grumbled all night.
All Sector Commanders were assembled in the Darbar Hall the next morning when in the course of an argument between the soldiers and officers, weapons were drawn and fired. We do not know who fired first, but the results were the same. Soldiers and officers died. And innocent civilians were killed and wounded. Gunshots and heavy mortar firing were heard. Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the BDR complex.
In a democracy, in a people's republic, grievances should not be allowed to explode in this manner. This situation has caught the government unaware, but really, did the government (albeit newly elected), have absolutely no idea this was brewing? Could it not have been prevented?
Bloggers are debating issues like why BDR members resorted to killing the officers and especially, the controversial ‘who fired first’. Quoting a army officer who was present in the scene media reports [bn] that the BDR jawans fired first on the officers. But this blogger quoting his uncle who was also present there [bn] reveals that the BDR chief was involved in firing on a jawan during altercation and this had escalated the situation. The question remains who is telling the truth.
Atiqul Haque rounds up [bn] newspaper and citizen media reports of survivors. Some of the officers who were held hostage revealed shocking tales of brutality on them. The public sympathy shifted from the BDR mutineers to the army victims who were brutally executed. Bloggers like Dhrubo Hasan mourned the deaths. A commenter Nighat Tithi said:
খারাপ লাগছে মানুষের সহমর্মিতা পাবার জন্য তাদের মিথ্যাচার দেখে, শুরুতে টিভিতে একজন জোয়ান বলেছিলেন, মাত্র একজন অফিসার মারা গেছেন, তার নাম বলা যাবে না। অথচ বিদ্রোহের শুরুতেই ৭০ জন (প্রথম আলো'র সংবাদ অনুযায়ী) অফিসারকে গুলি করে মারা হয়েছে। শুধু তাই না, তাদের গুলির পাশাপাশি বেয়নেট নিয়ে খুচিয়ে আঘাত করে হয়েছে। এই কি স্বাধীন দেশের মানুষের নিজের ভাইয়ের প্রতি আচরন? এইসব তথ্য সম্পূর্ণ গোপন রাখা হয়েছিলো ! আহারে, মাত্র ১৭ জনের লাশ পাওয়া গেলো। বাকি লাশগুলোকে কি করা হয়েছে? তাদের কি দাফনও হবে না?
The government bowed to BDR's demand by giving them amnesty for the mutiny. Kamaluddin asks [bn] to whom the amnesty was given? Those who brutally killed officers and innocent civilians?
Unheard Voice Blog appeals to the government to declare Saturday, February 28 as the national day of mourning to honor the deceased servicemen and the innocent civilians and demanded justice for the victims.


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Bangladesh: Why The BDR Massacre? · Global Voices
Rezwan

Shada Kalo analyzes the motives behind the BDR (Border guards) mutiny in Bangladesh and discusses the intelligence and negotiation failures as the horror of massacre of army officers by the mutineers came to light today.


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Bermuda: Budget Response  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

From Bermuda, Vexed Bermoothes comments on the opposition's response to the government's 2009-10 Budget.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bolivia: Donations Other than Ambulances · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

With the recent crisis involving dengue fever throughout Bolivia, Carlos Gustavo Machicado of Guccio's [es] writes that there are more pressing health concerns in which donations other than ambulances are needed.


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China: From Red Guards to Cyber-vigilantism to where next? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Rebecca Mackinnon from Rconversation discusses the rise of Net power in China: “Will the Chinese people rise above cyber-vigilantism and use the Internet to build a just and fair society governed by accountable leaders?”


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China: Harnessing human search engines for government use · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a recent incident when netizens human flesh search two reporters who are critical towards corrupted practice of local government in constructing their government building.


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Colombia: Restrictions and Curfew in Medellín · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

In Medellín, Colombia, Juan David Escobar is critical about the new restrictions for male passengers on motorcycles and a city-wide curfew for bars outside of designated areas [es]. He points out that in spite of what the government has been saying over the past 10 years about the arrival of peace that violence, drug-trafficking and paramilitary violence never left the city.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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GCC: Currency Dilemma for Arab Gulf Consumers · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) hopes to achieve a monetary union, with a common currency, by 2010. Bloggers from the region, which groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, debate the merits of the union and more importantly what name they want for their new currency.
And although politicians and economists are yet ironing out the details of the union, the term Khaleeji, which is Arabic for “of the Gulf,” has been proposed for the joint currency. Another name which features high up on the list of choices, which so far includes around 14 proposed names, is Karam, which means generosity in Arabic.
Saudi Ibrahim, who is not pleased with a currency carrying the name Khaleeji, asks his readers to suggest better names for the common currency:
The blogger even jokes, suggesting a name:
He continues:
From Kuwait, Jandeef too isn't happy with both Karam and Khaleeji and notes:
At online forum Garaaam Assaf argues that the current global economic crunch offers the best opportunity to break free from having GCC currencies pegged to the US dollar:
The US’ accumulating debts leaves the American administration with two options:
1. Not repaying the debts
2. Continue with inflation, which will in turn, impact the currencies pegged to the US dollar and thereby create higher inflation.
In addition, GCC investments exceed $700 billion and it is natural that they are effected by what the dollar is experiencing. In my view, this could be a pressing excuse for a common GCC currency to be issued.
At the Ajman Tribe Forum Computer Eng is not keen on having Kuwait as part of the project, saying:
Al Saha reports that 14 names have so far been suggested for the common currency.
At Cyrrion, a blog of the Internet encyclopedia of world coins, Stefan Pernar admits his surprise that mainstream media did not pick up the news. He explains:
There is something that is not only new, but something that for the most part has been overlooked by the majority of the news outlets that at least I use to frequent. When GCC leaders concluded their 29th annual summit meeting in Muscat, Oman at the 31st of Dec 2008 with a final approval for the creation of a single currency for the six-nation economic bloc the I certainly did not hear about. Meet the Khaleeji. It is the upcoming common currency of the Gulf Cooperation Council scheduled to go live in 2010.

author: Amira Al Hussaini