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Pakistan: Baluchistan Quake  · Global Voices
Teeth Maestro

On Wednesday morning an earthquake shook the eastern section of Pakistan tipping the Richter Scale at a massive 6.5. The most devastated region was Ziarat, a remote location in Baluchistan. It resulted in more than 300 deaths, hundreds were injured and thousands were left homeless out in the open in the freezing winter cold.
Baithak notes that:
Pishin, Ziarat, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Loralai, Sibbi, Mastung are badly hit areas. According to the geological survey of Pakistan, the epicenter of the quake was in Chiltan mountains. Ziarat is the worst hit area.
As soon as the quake shook the region, a Wiki page on the quake was up and running, which is managed by a renowned blogger iFaqeer at Wiki Pakistan. The map of the affected region can be found at the CARE website.
Here is a video of the quake uploaded in YouTube by pakirajput:
Pakistaniat started with a chilling post sharing the facts of the incident:
Officials are saying there were two tremors, striking at about 0409 and then 0510 PST followed by at least three aftershocks.
Adnan shares his concern:
Things are not as good financially as they were in Oct 2005 but hopes are high and Insha Allah with help of (fellow) Pakistanis this disaster would be overcome. I can just hope all political parties, Lawyers, Army quit their personal differences for a moment and get ready to help victims. May Allah help us all and make us able to help others.
Changing up Pakistan shares a comment:
Today, yet another tragedy has occurred, this time on the brink of a harsh winter. Mohammed Hashim, a resident in Wam, one of the hardest hit villages, told the AFP, “We are doomed…We have nothing left to save our families from the cold in the night.”  [..] Many of the residents had spent “the day in a desperate search for loved ones or burying the dead in mass graves, as aftershocks nearly as big as the initial quake pounded the landscape, sending rocks spewing from nearby peaks and sparking fresh panic.”
Lahore Metblogs tells about aftershocks in the post titled nature’s wrath taints an October in blood again:
Rescue efforts have been initiated to save as many people trapped under the debris and landslides as possible with Pakistan Army taking the lead. Powerful aftershocks are being felt around Quetta, and the epicentre in Ziarat Valley, which also happens to be the most picturesque of all places in the province.
Islamabad Metblogs narrates Ziarat's Mayor's plea:
“There is great destruction. Not a single house is intact.”
Our duty to our brothers and sisters in Balochistan calls us. We did whatever we could for the victims of October 08, 2005 Earthquake and our efforts didn’t go in waste. We make an appeal to unite again and show a greater level of unity, enthusiasm and love for our Muslim brothers and sisters in pain.
While in my own blog I highlighted two relief efforts trying to help the devastated region: an appeal by the IDSP director and another relief effort by an educational institute FAST whose students stepped up with a FAST-Relief collection drive to immediately deliver relief goods into the region.
More efforts can be located at Wiki Pakistan Earthquake Page which has been set up for the cause.

author: Teeth Maestro


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Russia: Chinese Laborers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes that “ethnic Chinese working and living in the Russian Far East find their surrounding social and political scene far more congenial than do their co-ethnics living in Moscow or other cities in European Russia but are far less interested in remaining there permanently than the latter group.”

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Serbia: Belgrade Bus Drivers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Stories about Belgrade's eccentric public bus drivers – at Belgraded.


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Serbia: Courageous Mothers · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded contributes an article on what it's like to be a mother in Serbia to the Women's International Perspective, becoming “one of the rare men blogging there.” Showcased in the article is a Serbian blog called Majka Hrabrost (“Mother Courage”), whose author, Krugolina, blogs (SRP) about childbirth issues and has recently been “invited to have a chat with the Serbian Health Minister”: “It is a case of a simple citizen action that could actually help change the current poor state in Serbian maternity wards.”


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Serbia: The Lessons of Miladin Kovacevic’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgraded discusses Miladin Kovacevic's case and the lessons that can be found in it for Kovacevic himself and his victim, as well as for Serbia and the United States.


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Serbia: Underground Fashion · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“[…] In a dingy underground passage that connects two sides of one of Belgrade's main streets,” A Yankee-in-Belgrade discovers someone who could possibly become a promising fashion designer and posts a picture of this person's work: “Whoever created them should consider a career in fashion and literally move up, I think.”


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Slovakia: Google Now Translates From Slovak · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia reports that Google has added the Slovak language to their online translation service.


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South Africa: The Impact of Mobile Active ’08 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A video podcast shot at Mobile Active Conference in South Africa: “In the first interview, David Barnard, Executive Director of the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT) and organizer of MobileActive08, talks about the event and how it will impact activities at SANGONet.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sri Lanka: Tea industry in crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Serendipity reports that the Sri Lankan tea industry is in crisis because the international buyers of tea have stayed away from the auctions due to credit crunch.

author: Rezwan


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Online Info  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I always tell my friends to be careful what they write in cyberspace. One rule of thumb I use is to ask myself if what I post online I would tell to the world at large. If the answer is no, then I refrain from posting it”: Blogging from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Abeni believes that “the written word can come back to haunt you.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Building Walls  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

As the government of Trinidad and Tobago begins construction on a wall they say is part of a beautification project, but which many view as a tactic for hiding the squalor of a disadvantaged community, Attillah Springer says: “Build walls because, yes, this is what the nation needs.  More division.  Physical separation.  Make it so that we on the outside don’t have to deal with what’s on the inside.  Build it so that we can be even more suspicious and terrified of ourselves and know that them and us will love you for it.”


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Ukraine: “A Lawyer and a Ukrainian” Joke · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russia Blog shares a joke about “a lawyer and a Ukrainian.”


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Ukraine: Hryvnia Exchange Rate Cheating · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana posts and translates a TV news item on how some Kyiv banks are manipulating hryvnia exchange rate to earn some cash.


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Ukraine: Kyiv’s Churches · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pictures of Kyiv's churches – at Nash Holos.


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Ukraine: MPs Are Fighting, Hryvnia Is Sinking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana reports that while Ukrainian legislators are busy fighting, “the asking price for the U.S. dollar reached Hr. 7.0942, up from Hr. 6 last Friday” – and up from Hr. 4.7 in mid-September.


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Ukraine: Update on the Economy and Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Leopolis explains in detail the current economic and political situation in Ukraine: “The stakes are high: Ukraine's economic health, its image for international investors, and a risk of default. Just as the Ukrainian stock market has seen 75% of its value wiped away, the current political crisis may undo every gain made by the ‘orange revolution’.”


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U.S and South Korea: Currency Crisis and Korean Students in the US · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Yoon Jeong Kim writes on how the currency crisis affects Korean students life in the U.S at Ohmynews!

author: Oiwan Lam


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U.S and South Korea: Currency Swapping Plan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Andy Jackson from the Marmot's hole blogs about the U.S and South Korea currency swapping plan. The blogger finds it a win-win deal.


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U.S.: Ivanov for Obama · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Massachusetts-based Eugene Ivanov of Ivanov's Report explains why he is voting for Barack Obama.


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Vietnam: Ancient capital as UNESCO heritage site · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The ancient capital of Hoa Lu in the Ninh Binh province of Vietnam is being proposed as a possible UNESCO world heritage site.

author: Mong Palatino


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Zambia: Allegations of Vote Rigging · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Was there rigging in yesterday's Presidential election in Zambia?: “Meanwhile, allegations of vote rigging and administrative chaos have dominated Zambia's presidential by-election. Concerns of vote rigging reached fever pitch with opposition candidate Michael Sata pointing a finger at the police and the army.”


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Zambia: Photo of Main Opposition Candidate Voting · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Flickr photo of the main opposition candidate in the Presidential election in Zambia, Michael Satta, voting on October 30, 2008.


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Zambia: Zambia Election Website · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Cho posts a link to a website with election results in Zambia: “All the latest “unoffical” results can be found on the Zambia Election Results website.”


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Saudi Arabia: Appeal and Your Sentence is Doubled up!!  · Global Voices
Nermeen Edrees

Saudi Arabia has sentenced Egyptian doctor Raouf Amin to seven years in prison and 1,500 lashes. What for? For allegedly administering addictive drugs to a Saudi Princess during a medical treatment in the course of his duties at a Saudi hospital. Dr. Raouf has reportedly denied the charges that he was responsible for the “princess” getting addicted to sedatives.
Dr. Amin's wife tells us the story in the Doctors without Rights blog:
In his first trial Dr. Raouf Amin was sentenced to three years in prison and 700 lashes..however after his appeal, the sentence was doubled up; he will be whipped at the rate of 10-15 lashes a week during a 15-year jail sentence. The verdict was condemned not only by the human rights associations and civil entities, but also the ministry of interiors and the Egyptian Doctors Syndicate; Head of Doctors Syndicate Dr. Hamdy El Sayed stated to the AFP:
“We condemn this verdict in the strongest terms and we are making contact with officials in Cairo and Saudi Arabia, as well as [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak for them to intervene,” El-Sayyed told AFP.
“He did not have a fair trial; there was not even any adequate medical expert opinion. … This judgment is more about torture than justice and does not correspond with any kind of law, human rights or even Sharia (Islamic law)”
It would have been better to have sentenced him to death than to torture him this way. One thousand five hundred lashings and 15 years in prison is too harsh even for a murderer.”
Needless to mention that the Egyptian public opinion cannot comprehend it. Caricature artist Ashraf Hamdy angrily wonders:

author: Nermeen Edrees


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Armenia: Defense Spending · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

The Armenian Economist comments on the size of the Armenian military budget and notes that it pales into insignificance compared to that of Azerbaijan and Turkey, the country's traditional foes in the region. The blog wonders if it wouldn't be better to spend more on education and health care instead.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Armenia: Shootings · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Unidiana [RU] posts an eyewitness account of a shooting in a back yard that left at least one dead. The blogger notes the inaction of the police despite the presence of children. Kornelij Glas [RU] also comments on the incident.


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Armenia: Blogger Nominated · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

London-based Armenian blogger Mark Grigorian [RU] has been nominated for Reporters Without Borders’ award in this year's Deutsche Welle Best of Blogs (BoBs).


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Bangladesh: Right to Information Ordinance 2008 · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tahmina Shafique analyzes the strength and loopholes of the recently drafted Right to Information Ordinance 2008 in Bangladesh and opines that it may require many years before the act can be put to real use.


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Brazilian myths and haunts in the Lusosphere – Part 3 · Global Voices
Daniel Duende

To bring this series about Brazilian myths, legends and haunts as seen on the Lusosphere to a great close, we couldn't choose a better entity to speak about than  Saci Pererê. After being introduced to mythic beings like Cuca,  Boitatá and Curupira in the first article, and reading the intriguing narratives about Cabeça de Cuia and Caboclo D'Água, among others, in the second article of the series, now it's time to delve into the mysteries of the most famous being from Brazilian mythology. So important is he, that there's even a law proclaiming Saci Day on October 31th.
So, who or what is this Saci Pererê? This ingenious being, a specialist in mischief and trickery – either just for the fun of it or pure evil – has even been able to trick  the Blogosphere. Many are the distinct descriptions and origins attributed to him on the web. But, since we don't want to contribute to his mischievous plans, we will translate only two of the many descriptions we found.
The IFolclore website provides many descriptions [Pt] of Saci Pererê. Of them, this is the most enlightening:
“O Saci é uma entidade muito popular no folclore Brasileiro. No fim do século XVIII já se falava dele entre os negros, mestiços e Tupis-guarani, de onde se origina seu nome. Em muitas regiões do Brasil, o Saci é considerado um ser muito brincalhão, que esconde objetos da casa, assusta animais, assovia no ouvido das pessoas, desarruma cozinhas; enquanto que em outros lugares ele é visto como uma figura maléfica. É um negrinho de uma perna só que fuma um cachimbo e usa na cabeça uma carapuça vermelha que lhe dá poderes mágicos, entre eles, o de aparecer e desaparecer onde desejar. Tem uma mão furada e gosta de jogar objetos pequenos para o alto e deixa-los atravessa-la para pegar com a outra. Ele costuma assustar viajantes ou caçadores solitários que se aventuram por lugares ermos nos sertões ou matas, com um arrepiante assovio no ouvido, para em seguida aparecer numa nuvem de fumaça pedindo fogo para seu cachimbo. Ele gosta de esconder brinquedos de crianças, soltar animais dos currais, derramar sal que encontra nas cozinhas, e em noites de lua, monta um cavalo e sai campo afora em desembalada carreira fazendo grande alvoroço. Diz a crença popular que dentro dos redemoinhos de vento – fenômeno onde uma coluna de vento rodopia levantando areia e restos de vegetação e sai varrendo tudo que encontra a sua frente – existe um Saci.”
The Enciclopédia Mestiça website lists some of the possible origins of Saci, and relates him to some other enchanted beings and myths both in Brazil and  worldwide [Pt]:
“A representação clássica do Saci Pererê é a de um negro pequenino, de uma perna só, com uma toca vermelha na cabeça e um pito na boca. É dado a ele um temperamento irrequieto e está sempre fazendo traquinagens. Não se deve, porém, dizer que seja mau, antes que seja imprevisível e um tanto inconseqüente. Não há consenso sobre sua origem, se indígena ou negra; conforme a região foi sendo representado em diferentes nuances. É visto como um ser mestiço por alguns. Em 1917, Monteiro Lobato organizou uma pesquisa entre leitores do Estadinho, publicação vespertina do O Estado de São Paulo. No ano seguinte publico o livro Inquérito. Para Monteiro Lobato, o saci é fruto de influências indígenas, negras e portuguesas. Seu mito desenvolveu-se mais fortemente nas áreas sertanejas do Sudeste. Ele seria mais encontrado em locais com plantas. Pode ser um versão de Exu, o orixá que como ele possui um caráter de desorganizador-reorganizador e um comportamento imprevisível. Desde as primeiras missões jesuíticas, Exu é associado ao Diabo, da religião cristã. O Saci pode estar também ligado ao mito português do Matintaperera, ou Matintaperê,
[…]
No Amazonas houve o mito de uma entidade também com o nome de Matintapera, de duas pernas e sem carapuça, cujo poder vem de um colar; corresponderia ao Cambaí, em guarani, e ao Iaci, em tupi. Os negros o teriam associado a Ossaim, filho de Iemanjá e Oxalá, que possui uma única perna e cuida das plantas. Entre os países da bacia do Prata, houve o Iaci Iaterê, um ser de cabelos de fogo. No folclore haitiano há o Quibungo, de origem banto, um menino que sai à noite para perseguir pessoas. Outra personagem africana é o Gunocô, que protege as matas. Na Europa, havia também o mito dos duendes, pequenos seres campestres. Em 2003, foi fundada em São Luiz do Paraitinga, São Paulo, a Sociedade dos Observadores do Saci – Sosaci, que conseguiu aprovar, na capital paulista, o dia 31 de outubro como o dia do Saci.”
[…]
In the Amazon, there is a myth about some entity  called Matintapera too, who has two legs but no cap, and derives his powers from a necklace; he is connected to  Cambaí, in the Guarani language, and Iací, in the Tupi language. African-Brazilians would have associated him with Ossaim, the son of Iemanjá and Oxalá, who has only one leg and looks after plants. In the Prata basin's countries, there was the Iaci Iaterê, a being with flaming hair. In the Haitian folklore there is the Quibungo, from Bantu origins, who is a boy that goes out at night to chase people. Another character with African origins is the Gunocô, who protects the woods. In Europe, there was the myth of the Fairies, small woodland beings. In 2003, the Saci Watchers Society (Socaci) was founded in São Luiz do Paraitinga, in [the State of] São Paulo – it has managed to approve, in the São Paulo capital, the 31st day of October as Saci Day.”
And speaking about the Saci Watchers Society [Pt], the group's website aggregates many interesting articles [Pt] that are a great source of information for those who want to know more about  Saci.
One of the most frequently asked questions about  Saci is why he has just one leg. Among the many answers we've found on the web, the one brought to us by Uncle Cráudio from the legendary Casos Sobrenaturais blog is the most straightforward and enlightening [Pt]:
“[…] Com a chegada dos escravos negros trazidos pelos invasores portugueses, a lenda do saci miscigenou com o choque cultural. Passou a ser negro e perdeu uma perna.
[…]
Essa mudança não foi por acaso e tem um sentido mórbido. Era comum os escravos fugidos serem recapturados e torturados. Alguns chegavam a ser multilados.
Uma das formas de vingança que os negros escravos usavam era a psicológica. As escravas usadas como babás , para sacanear com os portugueses, costumavam contar histórias e cantigas de ninar cujo tema tinha como objetivo abaixar a estima e criar o medo nas crianças .
Na lenda do Saci especificamente, o mesmo se tornava o vingador dos escravos, fazendo tudo o que eles queriam mas não podiam fazer.”
[…]
This change wasn't brought about by sheer chance, and has a morbid meaning. It was common that run away slaves were re-captured and tortured. Some of them were mutilated.
One of the forms of vengeance used by the slaves was psychological. The slave ladies who were used as nannies,  used to tell stories and sing lullabies that aimed to frighten and lower the self-esteem of their master's children, in order to pull a mean prank on the Portuguese.
And specifically in the  Saci legend, he usually became the  slaves’ avenger, doing everything they wanted to but couldn't do.
Either as a guardian of the jungle or as a kind of demon, or only as a playful child entity, it's very important to know how to deal with Saci. Some say that you must be very careful about his pranks, and avoid walking around  places he usually haunts. Others say that the best way to deal with him is by capturing him before he causes you any harm. To those with such inclination, Uncle Cráudio, a great student of the arcane knowledge, offers a recipe for  imprisoning a Saci [Pt]:
“[…] O fato de ter uma perna só não é problema por que ele se movimenta através de redemoinhos de vento.
Boa parte de seus poderes estão no contato com o famoso gorro vermelho (herança da cultura européia). Com ele o Saci pode ficar invisível e se locomover.
[…]
Você precisa estar armado com uma peneira, uma garrafa, uma rolha, um rosário e cinquenta reais.
Assim que vir o redemoinho, jogue rapidamente a peneira em cima. Isso por si só já imobiliza o bicho.
Agora é fácil. Pegue o rosário e envolva a peneira. Com isso você vai poder abrir sem que ele fuja. ( A visão católica era que o Saci é um demônio. Assim ele deve temer os símbolos cristãos)
Próximo passo. Coloque a garrafa no centro. O bicho vai estar tão doido por causa do rosário que vai tentar se esconder lá dentro. Espere uns cinco minutos. Acho que é tempo suficiente.
Em seguida tampe a garrafa com a rolha e pronto!!!”
Most of his powers come from  contact with the red cap (originating from European culture). By wearing it, Saci can become invisible and move around.
[…]
You have to arm yourself with a sieve, a bottle, a cork, a rosary and fifty reais [Brazilian currency][…]
As soon as you see the whirlwind, immediately throw the sieve over it. This way, you'll immobilize the creature.
Now comes the easy part. Put the rosary around the edge of the sieve. This way you'll be able to keep Saci from escaping when you take away the sieve. (The Catholic point of view states that Saci is a demon, so he's likely to fear Christian symbols).
In the next step, put the bottle at the center [of the circle formed by the rosary]. The critter will be so confused by the rosary that he will try to hide inside the bottle. Wait for five minutes or so. It will be enough time.
Then, you just have to cork the bottle and, voilá!!!”
Saci Pererê is a very clever creature. He's almost managed to become the symbol of the Brazilian Soccer Team, as reported by Paulo Bicarato in his blog Alfarrábio [Pt]. Paulo tells us that some people didn't like this idea at all. But it comes as no surprise that a mysterious and playful being like Saci would find some resistance to his plans for worldwide popularity.
Even though  Saci Pererê is one of the most famous and important myths in Brazil, he is, at the same time, a very mysterious and mischievous being. There is more misinformation than knowledge about him – just the way he likes it. The Saci Watchers Society asks its members and readers to send reports of their encounters with Saci, or any information they come across about these beings, in an attempt to see through the pranks pulled by this myth. As always, we'll keep watching the myths on the Blogosphere, and report about any further discoveries they make.
More legends and haunts:
This post is part of a Global Voices series about ghosts, ghouls, myths and legends to coincide with Halloween, All Saints Day, and other spooky holidays in this season. Check out our special coverage page.
All the images used in this article are available at Sosaci's webpage, used under the gentle permission of the Saci.

author: Daniel Duende


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Cameroonian Bloggers Close-in on the US Presidential Elections   · Global Voices
George Esunge Fominyen

As the countdown to election day narrows, Cameroonian bloggers have also stepped up their postings on the issue. Dibussi Tande, who blogs at Scribbles from the Den is interviewed on the issue by Ngum Ngafor who blogs at Dulce Camer. One of the questions is how Cameroon could benefit from the next American Presidency.
Dibussi says:
“I don’t think that there is any specific benefit that Cameroon will derive from either a McCain or Obama presidency. America’s “Cameroon Policy” is fairly middle-of-the-road, and has not changed fundamentally since the first Bush presidency of the late 1980s and early 90s. The most common theme among US ambassadors to Cameroon, from Frances Cook in the 1990s to Janet Garvey today, has been the regular calls for more political freedoms in the country, for less corrupt and more accountable state institutions, and for the establishment of a truly democratic system that all Cameroonians can identify with.
Cameroon has so far failed to live up to these expectations but is still the beneficiary of substantial US aid because of realpolitik calculations that make her a key American partner in the region. For example, Cameroon’s strategic importance to the US has increased considerably in recent times thanks to its strategic location on the Oil-rich Gulf of Guinea. Those vital oil routes along the Atlantic coast must be kept safe even if it means giving suspect African regimes a wink and a nod or even a free pass…”
In these dying minutes of the campaign, The Chia Report managed by a US based former reporter of Cameroon's state broadcaster (CRTV), accuses the Republican party candidate John McCain of deploying “vile and dishonourable tactics of fear mongering”.
What is this fear about? Here's what The Chia Report thinks:
“This time around McCain camp, and Obama haters, are crystallizing fear in the minds of Americans by suggesting that Obama is a Muslim; that he pals around with terrorists; that he is a baby killer; that he is not American enough; not a patriot; he is a socialist…etc”
What seems to worry The Chia Report is that:
“Senator McCain’s brand of fear is against providing any hope for African-Americans because of the results that it will procure. But much more than that, it is a brand of fear that stokes the fire of hatred against Blacks by extremist groups that have been hiding away in the woods like Osama Bin Laden in the rocky mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is a fear that is for perpetrating the stereotype that African-Americans are good for nothing and cannot be trusted with anything big and meaningful; that African-Americans are to be a subservient bunch, good for the entertainment industry.”
Neba-Fuh, a Cameroonian blogger based in Sweden blogging at Voice of the Oppressed, comments on Democratic candidate Barack Obama being tagged as a socialist.
He has the following advice for Americans:
“In a system where the laissez- faire option has failed, Americans should feel  no sense of inferiority to try other options like Socialism in the short term, or stick to Mixed Economy in the long run. This will enhance the much needed regulation of the economy that is needed to avoid economic plunges such as the one we are facing now.   Socialism doesn't hamper freedom if well managed for a short period of time. The Founding Fathers never prescribed a system of economy as American! Socialism if well managed  is not a speed-break to freedom. A poor man is not free! Not being able to eat well or have a shelter or pay our bills isn't freeedom, and not being free is surely unAmerican I guess.”
Here is what he thinks would be the deciding factor when the voter drops in the ballot:
“On election day, the majority of the 90% of  American folks who will vote will surely not bother whether the policy that will make them feel  ‘American’ or ‘Free Again’ is called Socialism or whatever.
What will bother poverty-stricken Americans as they go to vote will be ‘how they will put food on their kitchen tables, pay their mortgages, pay tuition for their kids, buy fuel for their cars at an affordable price and feel ‘American’ again.”
However Americans choose to vote, could Cameroonians learn anything from these elections? Dibussi Tande thinks so:
“Yes, Cameroonians have a lot to learn from American politics especially with regards to establishing a legitimate, fair and transparent electoral process. Unlike the Cameroonian electoral system which has only a veneer of transparency, accountability and fairness, and is heavily skewed in favor of the incumbent and/or the party in power, the American system is a truly inclusive, transparent and democratic system at the service of its people.
True, the American electoral system has its own share of problems as the 2000 presidential elections clearly showed, but it remains the most open system in the world. Here is a system, (unlike the Cameroonian situation) where the civil service stays above the fray during elections, where the military keeps its distance, where the rules and regulations severely reduce the ability of those in power to use or divert state resources to promote the candidate(s) of their choice, and where there are never-ending efforts to improve the system and make it even more representative, etc. So the American political and/or electoral system is replete with lessons for any country, not just Cameroon, which aspires to create a viable and vibrant and legitimate democratic system”
Now, let's wait and see how the Cameroonian bloggosphere reacts to whoever wins this US Presidential election.

author: George Esunge Fominyen


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Georgia: Tbilisi favors McCain · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Cult of the Dead Fish says that Georgia's interest in a McCain victory in next week's U.S. presidential election is based on self-interest. The blog says that following the recent war with Russia, a Republican victory is more likely to increase U.S. support for the country.


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India: Media turning people neurotic · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sans Serif quotes Prof U.R. Anantha Murthy, a writer and thinker from Kannada, India and questions: “the Indian media’s role in whipping up ‘mass hysteria’ through its breathless coverage of the recent terror attacks and the arrest of the suspects behind them.”


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MV Doulos in East Timor · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

MV Doulos, the world’s oldest passenger ship and largest floating bookshop will visit East Timor next week.


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Nagorno Karabakh: Peace in Sight? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

My The Caucasian Knot examines the prospects for a framework peace agreement ahead of tomorrow's meeting between the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian presidents in Moscow. Although there is some optimism that the talks might yield such an agreement over the status of the disputed mainly Armenian populated territory of Nagorno Karabakh, stumbling blocks remain.


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Philippines: Dealing with office politics · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

My Daily Blog Diary from the Philippines writes about how to deal with office politics.


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Philippines: McCain will win · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Loy meets World from the Philippines believes US Senator John McCain will pull off the biggest upset in US presidential elections history.


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Reforming the Malaysian Judicial Services · Global Voices
Daniel Chandranayagam

The Malaysian judiciary has long been criticised of corruption, and also for being less-than expeditious in its process. Earlier this year, de facto Law Minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, promised to bring changes to Malaysia's legal system, beginning with the judiciary. While he was in office, Zaid set up a committee to get reforms underway.
However, Zaid resigned from his position in protest to the detentions without trial of a journalist, a blogger and an opposition MP, all of whom were detained within a one-day time frame. Now, it is unclear if judicial reforms will take place, or even if they do, how effective the reforms will be.
This comes hot on the heals of Tan Sri Zaki Azmi as the new Chief Justice of Malaysia. According to blogger Shamsul Iskandar:
Agak menyedihkan bagi seorang Perdana Menteri yang akan menghabiskan sisa-sisa perkhidmatannya pada Mac 2009 kerana masih lagi gagal untuk memahami dan memenuhi kehendak rakyat supaya badan penting seperti Badan Kehakiman ini ‘dibersihkan’ tanpa sebarang keraguan. Umum mengetahui bahawa sebelum Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi dilantik sebagai Hakim Mahkamah Persekutuan, beliau merupakan seorang tokoh korporat yang rapat dengan Parti Umno malah mengetuai salahsatu jawatankuasa di bawah parti berkenaan.
The need for judicial reform in Malaysia is considered crucial by many Malaysians. From the 1988 judicial crisis, which saw the sacking of six prominent judges by the Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, followed by what has been called as “two decades of judicial darkness“, including poison pen letters alleging judicial corruption in 1996 and culmination of the crisis in the recent “Lingam Tapes” scandal.
According to Screenshots, the Lingam tape purportedly shows a veteran lawyer, VK Lingam, in a phone conversation with current Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim, allegedly fixing the appointment of ‘friendly’ senior judges.
The outrage of the clip caused the government to form a Royal Commission of Inquiry into its contents. Most tellingly, the Commission found that the judicial appointments is open to manipulation by the Executive and private citizens, and that prominent personalities, including former Malaysian premier, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, were involved in an ”insidious movement” to fix the appointment of judges.
The Malaysian judiciary has not ever recovered from the Lingam scandal, and Malaysians looked with favour on Zaid's proposals on judicial reform. However, since his resignation and its aftermath, which included an open letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah on the detentions without trial, and now with the appointment of Tan Sri Zaki Azmi, things are not optimistic. Din Merican stated:
…I am aghast at this latest news coming out Kuala Lumpur today that the appointment of UMNO’s Zaki Tun Azmi as the new Chief Justice of our country has been accepted by Majlis Di Raja (Council of Rulers). Zaki is the pick of our reform minded Badawi government in its dying days, despite the fact that some 25,000 Malaysians had signed the petition appealing to our Duli Yang Maha Yang DiPertuan (our King) to stop this appointment.
This is no doubt a huge blow to judicial reform and one can only hope the Parliamentarians on both sides of the aisle will in good conscience and as provided under Article 127 of the Federal Constitution debate this appointment. As it is, Malaysia’s image abroad is severely impaired and with this latest development, political observers and analysts will wonder why Prime Minister Badawi who promised to push his reform agenda in his remaining months in office should be making such retrogressive move.
While Guansin says:
It is common knowledge that the Judiciary of Malaysia has rotten over the years, culminating in the Lingam tape scandal in 2007, much to the wrath of the rakyat of Malaysia. But reading the specifics of how some judges have rotten in the Judiciary would allow us to expose and shame the judges concerned. We should not just let them off easily.
Meanwhile, current politician and son of former premier, Tun Dr Mahathir, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, recently stated that Zaid’s efforts to make the judicial appointments system more transparent would not play much of a role in the nation’s progress, asserting that judicial reform issues, if not implemented, would not cause the nation to crumble, adding that Malaysians had lived all this while without them.
This, along with the appointment of Tan Sri Zaki, has caused much disquiet among netizens. Malik Imtiaz stated on his blog:
Matters of judicial competence and integrity impact across the board; they are neither race nor political-party specific. Bad or skewed decisions hurt the wider legal profession and the nation as a whole as much as the litigants involved. One of the biggest difficulties practicing law at the present is the lack of certainty in the law, in part for there being a slew of decisions that have been adjudged without due regard to principle or precedent. In becoming precedents themselves, these decisions have undermined the foundations of not only the legal system but also the system of commerce that it supports. Commerce being wholly dependent on the certainty that only an effectively functioning legal system can provide, the current state of affairs is anathema.
In addition, the public has recently been reminded of the slow and arduous journey of the Malaysian justice system, with the appeal of  human rights activist, Irene Fernandez beginning this month. The case is said to be Malaysia's longest-running case in Malaysia, littered with postponements, missing court documents and ‘incomprehensible’ judicial notes.
However, new Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi has begun his term with what has been described as a “hard-hitting” speech. He said that he will not hesitate to take stern and drastic action against errant judges, who have tarnished the image of the judiciary. According to news reports, Tan Sri Zaki is already planning reforms, with the blessing of the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has stepped back into his former position as the minister in charge of legal affairs, in replacement of Zaid Ibrahim. Nazri has done some good work with the legal affairs portfolio, like pushing forward the Witness Protection Bill. However, Zaid has stated that in his time he faced much opposition in Parliament. The jury is out if Nazri, together with Tan Sri Zaki, will be able to come through with effective judicial reforms.
[note: Tan Sri, Tun, Datuk Seri and Datuk are honourifics given to Malaysians]

author: Daniel Chandranayagam


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Russia: “Fierce Critics” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog traces the history of the phrase “fierce critic”: “This phrase has become a mantra; a verbal medal pinned on those who oppose the Russian government.  For them, getting “fierce critic” following your name is like winning an Oscar for dissidence.”


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Russia: “Lenin Jugend is 90” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog writes about the 90th anniversary of Komsomol, quoting a former functionary: “It was the best school for managers!” Dmitri Minaev of De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis, who has “never been in komsomol,” shares personal memories in an item of his own, and also comments on Sean's entry: “School for managers… Could be. Is this why I, an engineer and a natural enemy for all managers, can’t talk to a manager without wishing to give him a punch or two, in the hope that the increasing Brownian motion in the stuff that fills his skull might make him THINK?”


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Russia: “RIP Muslim Magomayev, Soviet Superstar” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Policy Association's Russia blog pays tribute to Muslim Magomayev, “the original Soviet mega-star” who “was many things: a quintessential dandy who also happened to be a People’s Artist of the USSR; a trained opera singer with a Sinatra’s showman touch; a brilliant scion of an family of artists and musicians in an ardently ‘class-less’ society; a globe trotting cosmopolitan performing at La Scala and to sell out crowds at the Paris Olympia whilst remaining a steadfast Soviet patriot who always came back; a consumate gentleman and a sex symbol in the officially sex-less Soviet Union; a ‘national treasure’ moving in the poshest echelons of Moscow society, without giving up his deep ties to his native Baku.”


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Russia, Ukraine, Somalia: Cargo Ship “Faina” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russian Navy Blog posts updates – here and here – on the capture of the MV Faina cargo ship by Somali pirates. At the time of the capture, the ship's crew consisted of 17 Ukrainian citizens, three Russian citizens and one citizen of Latvia; the ship's Russian captain died from a stroke on Sept. 28.


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Russia, U.S.: Election Coverage · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Russia Blog writes that, in addition to writing regularly on McCain/Palin and Obama/Biden, “Russian mainstream media also give a fair amount of coverage to minor party American presidential candidates, who, somehow, are left unnoticed in their own country.”


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Singapore: Advice for expatriates · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Lam Chun See from Singapore has a message for expatriates: “If you want to come to work and live in Singapore, you should adapt to our ways and not expect us to adapt to yours.”


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Southeast Asia: The Power of the Pontianak · Global Voices
Daniel Chandranayagam

One of the most enduring legends of South East Asia is the Pontianak, said to be a bone-white lady, with ruby-red eyes, who is borne from her death in birth-giving. The Pontianak, or sometimes called the “Kuntilanak”, lives in almost all of South East Asia, except the Indochina region. Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines have the blood-drinking ghoul in their folklore. According to the Chap Ayam Photographers’ blog:
“Pontianak” is one of the most famous, scariest and violent ghost in the Malaysian culture. Primarily, the Malays believe that it originates from a still born child, women who dies while giving birth, women who were killed by the pontianak or their spirits captured by them. The phrase “Pontianak” was believed from the acronym of “Perempuan Mati Beranak” in the Malay language, meaning the woman death by childbirth
The Joker explains further:
…Pontianak appearance can be deceiving. She would go out and fly during nighttime. She would look seductive and beautiful on the outside and would usually smell nice as well so that she can entice men. Once she lured in someone, the Pontianak would then turn into something hideous.
It’s not only men that are in danger from being victims of Pontianaks. Babies and women are not safe from Pontianaks. They are known to eat babies as well and would cause harm to pregnant women that might cause their miscarriage.
According to legend, the Pontianak usually haunts lonely roads or leafy areas. According to the “Gambar Hantu” (Ghost Picture) blog:
Hantu puntianak dikatakan sering menjelma sebagai wanita cantik yang berjalan seorang diri dijalan yang sunyi. Oleh itu, cerita ini kemungkinan bertujuan menghindari golongan wanita daripada diganggu oleh pemuda-pemuda yang takutkan puntianak ketika berjalan seorang diri di jalan yang sunyi.
Legend is that the Pontianak are afraid of sharp objects, as these can paralyse them, or cause them to turn into a beautiful woman. According to the Budak Jahat (Naughty Boy) blog:
Puntianak ini dikatakan mempunyai lubang dibelakang tengkuknya.
Sesiapa yang berjaya hidup ketika berjumpa puntianak dalam jelmaan wanita dan memasukkan paku ke dalam lubang ini dikatakan menjadikan puntianak tersebut kekal menjadi wanita cantik. Sekiranya paku itu dikeluarkan, ia akan kembali sebagai puntianak.
So inherent is the legend of the Pontianak in South East Asian culture that a city in Indonesia is named after the ghoul.
Pontianak according to the fairy tale is a name of a lady ghost, who has along hair. Because there were a lot Pontianak ghost at the ancient time, so the people named this city Pontianak.
Like the western world's ‘Dracula‘, the Eastern entertainment industry has immortalised the Pontianak legend on to the silver screen, with such gems as Dendam Pontianak (Pontianak's Revenge 1957), Sumpah Pontianak (Pontianak's Promise 1958), Pontianak Kembali (The Return of the Pontianak 1963), Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (the Pontianak Tuberose 2004) and Kuntilanak (2007). Some of these have spawned many sequels. A variation of the Pontianak has also appeared in Japanese Manga cartoons.
Sightings of the Pontianak has never ceased through the years. About two years ago, two young Singapore soldiers were caught on video getting spooked by a Pontianak (see video below).
More recently, the recording of what is said to be a Pontianak even made it into the Malaysian Malay language dailies. In April 2008, many flocked to the historical town of Malacca. According to Yik Yang Nicholas on April 15th 2008:
For the past fortnight, droves of people have gathered at a bridge near Jalan Pulau Gadong, Malacca, where the 50-second video-clip was purportedly filmed.
Many stayed up to the wee hours of the morning hoping to catch a glimpse of the spectre.
The video clip, circulated via mobile phone, shows a woman with long black hair and clad in a white cloth floating in midair while whimpering.
A receiver of the video clip told the Malay daily that he had heard many stories about the pontianak.
Still, there are sceptics. The most common theory debunking Pontianak sightings is explained on the G.H.O.S.T. Club blog:
The barn owl, white in colour, often mistaken as a ‘Pontianak’, commonly found in cemetries.
The images above are so easily mistaken for sights of the paranormal, that more often than not, people imagine they have witnessed a ghost rather than rationalize that it was probably just an owl. I mean, afterall, don't we prefer to say that we have seen a ghost, rather an an animal?
Still, the Pontianak lives on in the South East Asian imagination. Urban legends, like the following story, as related on the City That Never Sleeps blog, is one of the most famous stories around.
It seemed one late night on the old road to Genting Highlands, before the new road was opened, a couple, husband and wife were driving downwards heading home after having their holidays. After passing a tunnel, their car began to have some weird sounds. Curious, the husband decided to stop along the roadside to check on the engine. The road was deserted as it was late at night. The husband opened the bonnet of the car and began examining the engine with his torchlight.
While the husband was busy finding out what happened to his car, the wife sat quitely in the car waiting for him. Some 15 minutes passed by and the husband was still busy with the car. The wife just sat there patiently, she was beginning to wonder what took him so long. The eerie silence was a little too much for her as there was not a single sound at all.
Suddenly, she heard a loud motor sound coming towards her car. In need of help, she called out loudly to the motorcyclist, who happened to be a policeman. She was shocked as the policeman rushed to her with a panic frenzy, opened her car door, and ordered her to quickly jump onto his bike. The wife hesitated at first, but seeing the policeman was in a state of shock, she followed his instuctions obligingly.
Jumped onto his bike, she asked the policeman what was happening. He didn't reply her, but ordered her not to ever look back to her car. As they sped down the road, the woman took a peek at the side mirror of the motorcycle, and there she saw the most horrifying thing — a pontianak with long hair and dressed in white was sucking her husband dry in front of the car!
Ghosts ghouls myths and legends


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Ukraine: More on Political Chaos and the Economy · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Moscow Rules praises Mykhaylo Petechuk's text on Ukraine's economic situation posted on Mmd Russia Blog. Petechuk writes: “But we are skeptical about the real impact the IMF can have on three people who are competing with each other for the position of President in upcoming Presidential elections and a political class which is utterly self-obsessed. There is, therefore, every chance that Ukraine will bungle this tight window of opportunity the IMF offers and bring down upon itself total economic chaos, Russia 1998-style. We put this risk at 35% and rising every day.”


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Venezuela: The Launch of the Simón Bolívar Satellite · Global Voices
Luis Carlos Diaz

After three years in the making, the government of Venezuela placed a geostationary satellite into orbit.  Launched from China, the satellite will be used for telecommunications projects for the country and for Latin America. The Simón Bolivar satellite, named for the national liberator, will be in operation for 15 years and will serve for connectivity, telephone and television transmissions around the southern continent that have depended on the infrastructure of the United States.
For hours, Venezuelan bloggers watched the transmission on the state television channel, while the rocket was launched. They also watched President Hugo Chávez take advantage of the event to campaign politically for his candidates running for local mayors and governors in the November 23 elections. The satellite, as are all political events, is a symbol for discussion.
Yosmary de Rausseo [es] republished the official information, the launch videos, and accompanied the note with the following message, “Long live the Bolivarian Revolution and the advanced policies of Hugo Chávez.”
On his blog, Horacio of UnoConTodo [es] is reminded that the country still has a lot of social debts that have not been resolved and that it a “satellite for an elite” He also shows a photograph of a 5-year-old child searching for food in the garbage.
Guillermo Amador also writes about the changes that will tkae place in the country as a result of the satellite, and that soon there will be local names like Space Shuttle Arepa 3000, in reference to the music video of the band Los Amigos Invisibles.  Guillermo hopes that the satellite will be “run by the most prepared, and not by the most loyal and “committed [es] ” in the government so that it does not go to waste.
Romulo Rodriguez, an astronomy blogger [es], approved of the launch and wrote that Venezuelan technicians were trained to control the satellite.  He sees it as a positive thing that television signals will reach more people, even if they are state-run channels.
To end, humorist Laureano Márques, responded to the way that president Chávez used a scientific event for politics when he referred to his ideology and his candidates.
El Presidente afirmó: “¿Qué tiene que ver un satélite con el socialismo? Una empresa capitalista lanza un satélite para hacer dinero. Este es un acto de liberación e independencia (…) para construir el socialismo dentro de Venezuela y para cooperar con otros pueblos”, cosa que me parece extraordinaria.
Lástima que los chinos no piensen igual y hayan cobrado a Venezuela 241 millones de dólares, a los que se suman 165 millones por la construcción de las dos sedes terrestres de control.
Electores, el próximo 23 de noviembre, cuando estén solos con sus conciencias, recuerden que ahora, desde lo alto del espacio, el Libertador os contempla.
The President stated, “What does a satellite have to do with socialism?  A capitalistic company launches a satellite to make money. This is an act of liberation and independence (…) to construct socialism within Venezuela and to work together with other countries,” something that I think is great.
It is a shame that the Chinese do not think the same when they charged Venezuela 241 millions of dollars, which is added to the 165 million of dollars in the construction of the two ground control sites.
Voters, on November 23 (election day), when you are alone with your conscience, remember that now, from high up in space, the Liberator is watching you.

author: Luis Carlos Diaz


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Vietnam: Respect ‘bao ve’ · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

‘Bao Ve’ in Vietnam refers to “motorbike security, parking staff, or even valets.” The Comical Hat reminds us to be kind to ‘Bao Ve’.


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Angola: Hawkers face a hard life with dignity and courage · Global Voices
Clara Onofre

“She has to take her baby with her, while walking around Luanda selling various things. In Luanda, we call them “zungueiras“. Foto “Lady and her baby” by Jose Carlos Costa, published with the photographer's permission.
Around the streets of Luanda city, we see humble and determined eyed zungueiras. They walk around the city come rain or shine. Some of them carry their babies on their backs, at the same time they bear the weight of the goods they sell. It may be the sweet fruit, like sugar apples, scented mangoes, or hope-colour avocados, which these women insist on preserving, or ham and cheese sandwiches. Other goods, such as shoes, school books or fish, are also among the products these fighters and breadwinners choose to sell.
Jorge Ramos, from Jorginho em Angola [pt] blog, proves this by writing about the zungueiras from the beautiful Mussulo peninsula:
“As zungueiras são as milhares de angolanas que saem às ruas vendendo todo o tipo de mercadorias que carregam na cabeça mesmo. Essas zungueiras do Mussulo atendem a um público específico e oferecem produtos como roupas de praia, batas e peças inteiras de panos multicoloridos, ricamente estampados com figuras africanas e linhas geométricas, bem ao gosto do padrão daqui. Elas caminham o dia todo, sob o sol escaldante. É absolutamente incrível a capacidade das zungueiras em equilibrar sobre a cabeça balaios, sacos, cestos, bacias e sacolas onde transportam as mercadorias que vendem. Desafiando as leis da física, o frágil equilíbrio se impõe perante vários obstáculos que se interpõem ante elas nas ruas e calçadas além dos filhos pequenos, que carregam nas costas, atados por panos que amarram na frente à altura do peito. Milhares de zungueiras percorrem a cidade, o dia todo, de um ponto a outro de Luanda, arriscando-se muitas vezes em meio ao tumultuado trânsito.”
“Women in the “zunga” are those who survive from hawking goods. It is an alternative to hunger in a country where there are few jobs. But in Africa, even this is aesthetic, colourful”. Zungueiras, photo by wilsonbentos, published with the photographer's permission.
The hellish traffic that reigns over Luanda is the least of the evils these women face. The economic police who go around the city looking for law breakers are characterized by the harsh and austere tone in which they address the street vendors. The relationship between the economic police and zungueiras is far from friendly. Many hawkers complain about the way those individuals act, especially considering that the majority take their money and goods, which means for them humiliation and a hole in the family budget.
The government is trying to put an end to hawking and intends to build proper markets to house the zungueiras. If this goal is met, will Luanda be the same? The city will lose the colourfulness and the pleasure of watching the sway of these warrior women and the colorful bowls in which they carry their daily survival kits.
Filmmaker Marisol Kadiegi devotes a well deserved space to the zungueiras of Luanda and of other parts of the country on the Angola de Todos Nós blog [pt]:
“Elas saíram do Uíge, Malange, Benguela, enfim! De todas as províncias de Angola para na capital do país, tentarem uma vida melhor e em busca de sonhos, tentar ver seus filhos “doutores”. Castigadas pela guerra, herdaram da mamã quitandeira a arte de vender, da palavra “zunga” originária do kimbundo, ela se tornou andarilha, andante ou vagante. Essa dita senhora é a nossa zungueira, mulher batalhadora que muito antes do sol, se levanta para tratar da vida e conseguir alimento para o seu sustento. Assim como uma leoa, caça comida para seus filhos enquanto o “rei” leão descansa. A nossa vendedora que de porta em porta e nas ruas da cidade sai oferecendo o seu produto, fazendo do lamento um grito. Na maioria das vezes, levando o filho caçula nas costas, dá um kilape (crédito) às freguesas habituais e carrega no rosto um sorriso na esperança de um dia ver-se totalmente liberta da sua condição.
Vítima de violência da polícia e muitas vezes por parte dos próprios companheiros, a mulher zungueira é exemplo de dignidade.”
“They have left Uíge, Malange, Benguela, you name it! They came from all of the Angolan provinces to the country's capital to try for a better life and in search of their dreams, hoping to see their kids becoming “doctors”. Punished by the war, they have inherited from their greengrocer mothers the art of selling (sell from the kimbundo word “zunga”), they have become hikers, walkers and vagrants. Said ladies are our zungueiras, warrior women who get up before the sun to deal with life and pursue their living. Just like lionesses, they hunt for food for their kids while the “king” lion rests. Our street vendors, who knock on door after door and go about the city offering their products, make a shout from a lament. Most times, they carry their youngest kid on their backs, give kilape (credit) to their regular customers and wear a smile on their faces hoping that one day they will see themselves set completely free from this condition.
Victims of violence and police, and often from their own partners, the zungueira women are an example of dignity.”
“Women working”, photo by Jose Carlos Costa, published with the photographer's permission
Dignity and courage are two good adjectives to describe these women. Due to the lack of information and poverty, many Angolan women see themselves forced to fall into an ambulant life. Jorge Ramos tells us a little about the zungueiras‘ daily life:
“Quando cansam, param e se sentam nas calçadas onde amamentam seus bebés e tiram alguma fruta dos seus alforjes para se alimentarem. Às vezes é numa esquina movimentada, mas já vi uma zungueira em pleno centro da cidade parar num calçadão, baixar seu balaio de peixe salgado e ressequido e dar meio abacate para o filho pequeno que se lambuzava, bem na porta de uma moderna agência de um banco europeu, num belo contraste cultural. Idiossincrasias da globalização, que não comporta vertentes antropológicas nem aspectos humanistas em sua inexorável marcha, por isso nessa minha breve leitura contento-me em apenas analisar o episódio sob o prisma da plasticidade da cena e seu significado. Com as elevadas taxas de desemprego e o escasso acesso a uma formação escolar ou profissional ser zungueira é a actividade que mais absorve jovens angolanas pobres, geralmente mães solteiras, algumas recém saídas da adolescência.”
The photos above have been taken by Marcelo Frota, and are reproduced here with the photographer's permission. See his Flickr photostream and his Angola's album on Picasa.

author: Clara Onofre


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Armenia: Obama Supporters · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Although not a U.S. citizen, Blogian says that his mother has donated to Barack Obama's campaign. The blog also says that there are 3,000 registered ethnic Armenian voters in Colorado.


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Bahrain: Blogger Featured in Magazine Interview  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger and founder of Mideast Youth Esra'a Al Shafei, has been featured in Al Hasnaa magazine, a monthly Arabic magazine targeting modern Arab women.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Poland: How to Fight Illegal Sales of Games, Films & Music? · Global Voices
Sylwia Presley

Like any other country, Poland has a strong tradition of markets. Last century brought a slight shift in the value delivered by those markets, though. We can still find traditional markets selling food and antiques in any larger city. But the most popular ones are markets famous for availability of illegal games, films and music. Simply because it's cheaper.
Now, a Polish news site Gazeta.pl is posting an article (POL) about the challenges facing the authorities in that matter. Police struggle with identifying the sources and lowering the actual sales on those markets – but not because of some attractive prizes: very often producers of original software or publications encourage illegal sales to promote the brand/product and to force users to turn to the original producers for upgrades, follow-ups, enhancements. The article in Gazeta.pl has generated a huge discussion on its forums.
One of the Gazeta Forum users, Pawel, mentions (POL) that the problem is even more complex, since software can also be illegally downloaded from the Internet:
[…] Let me invite you to the market in Wroclaw on Sunday – I am standing just opposite those pirates who just stand there ‘with no shame’ and once police arrive, they are all gone, since everyone knew the police were coming. Nothing ever changes. And all those films, games, etc. can be downloaded from the web and burned on DVD. […]
Another person, fixumdyrdum2, is convinced (POL) that illegal copies from the market are much better than the purchased ones:
[…] Buying software results in software which is just as illegal as the [pirate copy], but with more difficult update options. I can easily buy a pirate copy after the software update, with the next [Service Pack]. […]
User p24 seems to touch upon (POL) the real reason for illegal software downloads – high prices:
I would regret spending 20PLZ on a program from the market and I wouldn't feel like walking there if I can download it for free from the web anytime. Maybe you cannot get everything, but quite a lot. This war cannot be won by police. Maybe only some battles. Unless the prices go down.
Let's not forget, as homo_googleticus mentions (POL), that we are talking about illegal behaviour here:
[…] As far as I can see, no one is calling a ‘pirate’ a THIEF and illegal sales STEALING. It becomes quite clear in the light of comments to this article. […]
RT-bloguje posted an insightful blog post (POL) on the topic where the conclusion is the same – if the price of the products were affordable, people would actually prefer original copies:
[…] Personally, I would be more than happy right now to pay for downloading films, music or books from the web if the form of payment were friendly and the prices not too high. If I could, for instance, receive films attached to magazines for an amount similar to the magazine price (or maybe even lower). Of course, I would pay more for a newer release. […]
Is it achievable? Time will show.

author: Sylwia Presley


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India: Are bomb blasts normal?  · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

India's northeastern state of Assam was rocked by a series of bomb blasts last Thursday which killed at least 76 people and injured hundreds. Even as the country is a constant state of high alert given the number of terrorist attacks in the country, more cities appear to be added to the list of those attacked by bomb blasts.
Pirates of the Dirac Sea writes on the blasts that came right after the festival of Diwali. While the state is used to a high level of conflict, the sheer scale and intensity of the blasts has shocked the people.
According to my friend when the blast occurred in Ganeshguri area near the car parking the 10 auto rickshaws standing there started burning simultaneously along with other vehicles. The flyover also got a big hole in it. The intensity was so high that many of the victims’ dead bodies were just a mixture of ashes, bones, teeth etc. One person from my district in Assam has been identified as a victim with some bones, teeth found on the spot and a gold ring which he used to wear.
Although an obscure religious extremist group -India Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the serial blasts, the theories of involvement of the terror outfits HUJI as well as the ULFA are not being ruled out.
Pirates of the Dirac Sea also complains about the inaction of the government against the suspects and comments on how peoples reacted:
Every time a bomb blast occurs, many people die and from the next day people forget about it and get busy with their daily lives.They have no other options as they have to get back to their work for their survival.
Varun's Vagaries writes on the usual rhetoric of cities being resilient and springing back to life:
We showed our resilience,the city started moving within a matter of hours, normalcy was resumed in a day. We moved on. I personally think this is nothing to be proud of. I am ASHAMED that the city life takes such hits so lightly. I'm ASHAMED the news channels will all move to cricket news withing minutes of that first BREAKING NEWS, I am ASHAMED to look at the TV, see the casualties and just move on, saying I can't do anything about it, and I am also ashamed that I have become so desensitized to human suffering.
Muslim India talks of the steady decline of law and order in Assam through decades of insurgency and ethnic conflict.:
Assam's steady descent into darkness has been happening over a period of time, with armed uprisings against the Indian state and Assam itself, with a proliferation of the ethnic divisions and communal divides over the past years. And none who have had association with violence and the politics of intimidation, hatred and confrontation — and that includes the Indian state which has tried to pit one group against another, politically and otherwise — can be absolved of responsibility.
Other than the sheer tragic nature of the attack, it has provoked a debate on religion and terrorism. At Daily Online Alochona, we find a link to an online discussion group talking on the prevalent discourse on terrorism.
Instead of vigorously denouncing all terrorists they are trying to shift the blame to the Hindu terrorists and defending the Muslim terrorists, as if they do not exist in India. Are they unaware of what's happening in Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Indonesia, as well as other Muslim countries in the world?
Maverick Thinking is sick of the coverage for the US elections in the media and feels anger at the increasing instances of terrorist attacks in the country:
Seems like every alternate day a new place is treated to bomb blasts. My blood couldn't help go boiling after seeing the pained pictures of the victims and their families, from the recent Assam serial blasts. How many cities have been hit with these serial blasts in the past 6 month? Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Assam…who's next?

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Iran: Cyrus the Great Day became a day of repression · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Gamron, an Iran based blogger, writes  [fa] that Iranian security forces repressed people who wanted to celebrate Cyrus the Great Day in Pasargad in Fars province. The blogger has published photos and films about this event.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Iran in photos · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

You can discover here Iran in several photos. From Qashqai Nomads to historical monuments.


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Iran:Petition to Release and Free Academics · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East has launched a petition to release and free academics:Esha Momeni and Prof. Mehdi Zakerian from Iran and Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh from Afghanistan.


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Japan: Chrétien, Aso, ALF · Global Voices
Chris Salzberg

mamachari at niwahacker.com remarks on the resemblance between Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and sitcom character ALF.

author: Chris Salzberg


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Jordan: A Visit to the Automobile Museum  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ali, from Jordan, visits the Automobile Museum, where he took a few pictures of cars which were owned by the late King Hussein.


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Jordan: Great win for Human Rights  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Qwaider from Jordan says the Global Network Initiative is a great win for human rights.


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Korea: Spreading propaganda leaflets to North Korea · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

Photo: Bbira Balloon
South Korean civil rights groups have infuriated North Korea by releasing “bbira” propaganda leaflets into the country by sea and by air. Activists have recently sent the leaflets using fishing boats and advertisement balloons. The leaflets contain information ranging from Kim Jong Il’s sickness, to his private life, and to calling on North Koreans to topple him [En].
The North Korean government has criticized the South Korean government’s attitude toward these groups and warns it will shut down the Kaesong industrial complex. The North Korean government even implied that those continual activities might lead them to take some instant and strict actions to South Korea.
The sudden tension and activities by those groups draw many opinions from netizens.
Many netizens share their memories about bbira and show concerns about new bbira era.
삐라. 우리 말이 아니다. 국어사전에 보면 ‘전단의 북한 말'로 되어있다. 그런데 요즈음 우리 언론에 이 삐라 이야기가 등장하고 있다.
어렸을 때 보았던 북한 삐라의 기억
어렸을 적에 삐라를 본 기억이 난다. 길을 가다가 주은 삐라에는 박정희 대통령이 톱스타 여배우를 껴안고 있는 그림이 그려져있었다. 워낙 오랜 세월이 지나 기억이 잘 나지는 않지만, 어린 눈에도 무척 조잡한 그림과 글귀가 있었던 것 같다. 아마도 북한에서 내려보낸 삐라였을 것이다. 세월이 지난 지금에도 그 때 보았던 삐라 기억이 나는 것을 보면, 그 때 보았던 삐라가 어린 가슴에 무척 놀라웠던 모양이다. 그런데 정말 오랜만에 삐라 이야기를 듣게되었다. 한 민간단체가 북한지역에 김정일 국방위원장을 비난하는 삐라를 살포하고 있어 남북간에 논란거리가 되고 있다는 것이다.[…]
북측의 격분, 도대체 어떤 삐라이길래…….
도대체 누가 제작하고 어떤 내용이 담겨있는 삐라이길래 북측이 이렇게 격분하며 민감하게 받아들이는 것일까.  언론에는 ‘민간단체'라고 보도되고 있지만, 삐라 살포를 주도하고 있는 곳은 자유북한운동연합 (대표:박상학)이라는 단체이다.
2005년부터 북한에 삐라 보내기를 해왔다고 밝히고 있는 이 단체는, 자신들이 삐라 살포활동을 하게 된 이유를 이렇게 설명하고 있다.
2000년 6월15일 김대중•김정일 상봉(남북정상회담)이후 상호 “체제에 대한 비난과 선전을 자제 한다”면서 대한민국정부는 1953년 7월 27일 정전 후 반세기에 걸쳐 DMZ 상에서 북한군인들에게 자유대한민국에 대한 체제의 우월성과 자유의 정신을 선전하던 대북 전광판과 대북방송을 일방적으로 해체하고 국방부 대북심리전단에서 꾸준히 해오던 애드벌룬에 의한 북한의 모든 지역에로 전단지, 유인물 보내기마저 포기하였기 때문이다.
정부가 안하니까 자신들이 나섰다는 이야기이다. 삐라의 내용은 보면 북한이 왜 그렇게 민감한 반응을 보이는지 어느 정도 알 법하다. 삐라는 김정일 위원장에게 9명의 부인이 있었다는 내용의 도표까지 싣고 있다. 이 도표 앞에는 ‘김정일은 과연 어떤 인간인가? 진실은 이렇습니다'라는 부분도 있다[Kr].
1960년대식 행동, 중단해야
이 삐라의 내용과 방식을 접하니, 수십년전 어렸을 때 보았던 삐라가 생각난다. 내용이나 표현에서 조잡하기 이를 데 없었던 삐라 말이다. 그런데 지금 그런 수준의 삐라를 다시 보게되다니, 더구나 그런 삐라가 우리 측에서 북측으로 보내지고 있다니. 그렇지 않아도 안좋은 남북관계에 악영향을 미치는 행동이다. 정부는 이들 단체의 행동을 제지시킬 마땅한 방법이 없어서 고민중이라고 한다. 이명박 정부로서도 이런 문제가 남북간에 논란거리가 되는 일이 부담스러울 것이다. 통일부가 삐라 살포행동의 자제를 요구하는 입장을 밝혔지만, 이들 단체가 당장 말을 들을 것 같지는 않다.
그러면 어떻게 해야 할까. 햇볕정책 지지하던 사람들이 말하면 또 ‘좌파'들이라고 더 반발할테니, 코드가 같은 사람들이 나서서 말리는 것이 낫지않을까. 이명박 정부가 책임지고, 또 대한민국 보수가 나서서 이들의 1960년대식 행동을 중단시키는 것이 마땅하다. 지금 세상이 어느 세상인가.
What I remember about bbira
I remember when I was kid, I saw a bbira. It was a painting showing South Korean President Park Chung Hee was hugging a topnotch actress. It was long time ago, and so I don’t remember well. What I remember is that the painting looked coarse to even a child’s perspective. It seems that North Korea spread it. The reason why I still remember is because I was so nervous at that moment. And after a long time I haven’t heard about bbira until now. Private organizations are spraying bbira to North Korea about criticizing the North Korea leader.[…]
Why North Korea is so mad about bbira…
Why is North Korea so upset about this bbira and what contents does it have? Media just indicates it as a ‘private organization.’ It is Fighters For Free North Korea (FFNK). The organization has sprayed bbira since 2005 and the representative explains why they started this activity.
“After the meeting between Kim Dae Joong (South Korean President) and Kim Jong Il (North Korean Leader) on the 15th of June, 2000, South Korea stopped making propaganda and broadcasting that have taught about freedom and superiority of political systems of the South Korean government toward North Korean soldiers in the demilitarized zone. In addition, South Korea also gave up leaflets and printed copies that they sprayed through advertising balloons since they did after the ceasefire agreement on the 27th of July, 1953.”
It means that they are doing this because the government doesn’t do it anymore. Looking at the contents of bbira, it is understandable why North Korea is so sensitive. Bbira even shows a table indicating that Kim Jong Il has 9 wives.[Kr] Above the table, it says ‘Is Kim Jong Il really a human? The truth is here.’
We should stop the activity of the 1960s style
Looking at the contents of bbira, I thought about bbira that I saw several decades ago. But now I see the bbira in the 1960s style and we spread them to North Korea. Our relations with North Korea are not good now and this will make it worse. The government said that they are also worried, but can’t find a way to stop them. The Lee government must not be comfortable with this because it causes worse relations between North Korea and South Korea. Even though the Ministry of Unification asked to restrain those organizations from these activities, I don’t think that those organizations will stop.
Then what do we have to do? The Lee government should take responsibility for this and should stop these 1960 style activities. What kind of world do we live now?
Not a few netizens are not happy about activities of those organizations.
삐라.. 참으로 오랜만에 들어보는 말인데, 어제 신문을 뒤적이다 의외의 기사를 보았다. 북한이 “남한측에서 대북전단(삐라) 살포를 중단하지 않으면 즉각 행동에 나서겠다” 고 했단다. 아니, 삐라는 북한이 주로 뿌리는거 아니었나? 초등학교 때만해도 삐라를 줏어다가 학교에 제출하면 학용품으로 바꿔주곤 했었던것 같은데, 그때 내눈에 띄지 않던 삐라가 얼마나 원망스러웠는데.. 이젠 우리나라가 뿌리는 구나..
점심을 먹으면서 동료들과 이야기를 했는데, 아마 삐라 뿐만 아니라 (북한에서 볼때) 간첩도 우리가 더 많이 보내고 있지 않나 하는 생각이 든다. 경제력이 월등하니 당연한건가.. 그런데, 이 글을 포스팅 하면서 찾아보니,삐라는 기독교단체에서 주로 보내나 보다. 참 하지 말라는 짓은 골라서 한다는 생각이 든다.
While I had lunch with my company colleagues, we said that maybe South Korea sends a larger number of spies to North Korea than North Korea does. It might be true because of the economic gap. With curiosity, I looked for other writings about this news. It seems that Christian groups are sending bbira [Kr]. Why do they do that?
Passive reaction from the South Korean government is also criticized by some netizens.
대북삐라(이하 대북전단)가 남북관계를 경색시키는데 한몫을 하고 있다.[…] 통일부와 현정부는 남과 북이 합의한 합의서들을 다시 봐야 한다. 이명박 정부가 남북관계에서 6.15공동선언과 10.4남북정상선언보다 중요시하는 1992년 채택된 남북기본합의서에도 남북 상호 비방ㆍ중상 금지 조항이 있다. […]북한이 제기하는 대북전단 살포 중단 요구는 남북 간의 합의사항에 기초한 것이다. 합의사항을 위배하고 있는 것은 남측당국이다.
언론에서는 북한과 남측 보수단체들의 틈바구니에서 오도가도 못하는 통일부의 처지에 대한 보도가 이어지고 있지만, 통일부는 사실상 자기 직무를 하지 않고 있는 것이다. 통일부는 대북전단을 살포하는 관련단체에 자제를 요청했다고 하지만, 그 이상도 그 이하도 아니다. 오히려 대북전단을 살포하는 보수단체들은 통일부에 대해 더 반발하고 있으며, 전단살포를 계속할 것이라는 입장을 취하고 있다. 촛불을 든 국민들은 모두 범법자로 만들고, 강경진압해온 당국이다.
그런데 이번에는 희안한 상황이다. 남북관계를 경색시키는 전단살포에 대해서 당국은 보수단체들 눈치보기에 여념이 없다.[…]
The media just says that the Ministry of Unification has hard time between North Korea and conservative groups in South Korea. However, the Ministry of Unification actually doesn’t do their duty. The Ministry of Unification said that they asked those groups not to spread bbira. But that’s all. Those conservative organizations are more strongly repulsing and insisting that they will continue spreading bbira. It was the government that treated people holding candles as criminals and forcefully suppressed them. But this time is different. The government is busy studying faces of those conservative organizations.[…]
And how about people who are in military service at present… ?
저 군인입니다…전쟁이 무섭습니다 ㅠㅠ
뭐…반쯤은 진담인 농담입니다. 한창 북한관련 뉴스로 꾸준히 화젯거리가 되고있는 북한 삐라 배포…
솔직히 말해서 그다지 보기 좋은 모습은 아닌듯. 북한이 한 민족이다 뭐다 하긴 하지만 솔직히 21세기를 살아온 저로써는 그다지 한민족이다 뭐다 한 생각이 전혀 들지도 않는게, 개인적으로 친척중에 이산가족이 있는것도 아니고, 통일이 될 경우 호황을 누릴 직종(건설업, 부동산 등등)에 종사 할 생각도 전혀 없는데 통일을 굳이 고집할 필요성을 느끼지 못하는 조금…아니 많이 이기적인 인간이기 때문입니다.
그러나
삐라 배포를 통해 민심선동이라니…이런건 분명 침략행위라고 봐도 무방 하지 않는가? 모순아닌가? 물론 수천만의 국민들이 사는 사람들의 의견이 하나 일수는 없겟으나, 한쪽에서는 평화 통일을 내세워 반미를 외치면서 한쪽에서는 삐라 배포같은 전략적 침략행위라니. 삐라 배포는 분명 국가 보안법에 위배되는 반국가 단체와의 통신 행위로써 불법이다. 삐라 관련 민간단체들이 내세우는 ‘북한 땅으로 제대로 갈 수 있을지 없을지 모를 원시적 방식으로, 학정에 시달리는 북한 동포들에 대한 연민을 담아 날려보내는 것들이니 정부가 상관할 바 아니다라는 헛소리따윈 집어 치워라. 한번 물어보고 싶다. 당신들이 그 연민을 날려보내는 행동으로 돌아오는 것들에 책임을 질 수 있는지. 제대로 갈 수 있을지 없을지 모를 원시적 방법은 실제로 성공해서 북한에 도달했으며, 그로인해 위 뉴스처럼 공격의사까지 밝혔는데, 실제로 핵무기라 서울 한가운데 떨어질지 어떻게 아는가. 하루빨리 각성하길… 당신들의 행동에 국가의 안보와 안전이 위협받고 있다는 사실을… 안그래도 김정일 건강 이상설때문에 군생활 늘어날까봐 조마조마한 실정인데…
Now all people talk about bbira… Honestly speaking, I don’t think that this is right. We all say North and South are brothers and sisters. But to me living in the 21 century, it is not so persuasive. I don’t have any relatives in North Korea and I am not planning to work in sectors (construction, real estate and so on) that are assumed to be popular after reunification. So I don’t feel that unification is necessary… maybe I am a selfish person.
However,
Demagogy through distributing bbira… Shouldn’t it be regarded as an act of aggression? Isn’t it contradiction? In one side, people are shouting anti-America and crying for peaceful unification and in other side, people are spreading bbira. Spreading bbira in that way is the illegal activity against the National Security Law. If the government lazily says that those organizations use primitive tactics that can’t guarantee those bbira to be able to reach North Korea and that they want to show their compassion to North Korean brothers and sisters who are suffered, it is nonsense. I would like to ask them, Can they take responsibility about their compassion? If those bbira will arrive in North Korean brothers and sisters’ hands, if the North Korean military will take actions at once, and if nuclear weapon will be dropped in the middle of Seoul… I hope that they realize what they do now. Due to their activities, the country is threatened in security and safety. I am nervous enough now that, because of the rumor of Kim Jong Il’s health, my military life can be extended.
Some netizens ask why North Korea is over-sensitive this time.
북한은 왜 삐라 살포에 민감한가?
북한이 우리의 탈북자 단체와 납북자 단체들이 살포한 전단에 민감한 반응을 보이고 있어 남북간에 새로운 쟁점으로 부각되고 있다. 이와 관련하여 국방부는 2005년 남북 군사회담에서 합의한 군사분계선 상에서의 전단살포 중지는 합의를 성실하게 지키고 있는데, 민간단체의 삐라 살포문제를 가지고 개성공단 사업과 개성.금강산 관광사업과 연계시키는 것은 적절치 못하다고 지적했다. 그렇다. 북한이 시비를 걸고 있는 민간단체들의 대북 삐라살포는 어제 오늘에 일어난 일이 아니다. 대북선교를 표방한 탈북자단체인 ‘기독 북한인연합’은 2003년부터 지금까지 무려 1천만장 정도의 전단을 북한에 살포해 왔고, ‘자유북한연합’은 2004년부터 매년 150만장의 삐라를 북한에 보내고 있다. […] 이들 민간단체들이 대북 삐라 살포에 드는 경비는 주로 재미 교포나 디펜스 포럼과 같은 미국 현지 단체의 후원금, 그리고 국내 민간단체들이 모금한 돈으로 충당하고 있다. 당국의 지원 없이 순수한 민간단체들이 모금한 돈으로 사용하고 있어 정부 당국으로서도 마땅히 제재할 방도가 없고, 단지 남북관계를 고려하여 자제를 당부하고 있는 정도다. 북한이 이같이 신경질적인 반응을 보이고 있는 것은, 민간단체들이 전단지에 김정일의 유일 지배체제 유지와 북한이 부르짖고 있는 선군정치를 위해 북한 주민들의 인권이 처참하게 유린되고 있고, 굶주림에 시달리고 있는 북한 주민들의 참상을 담고 있는데다가 1955-2000년까지 북한에 납치된 500여명의 납북자 실태와 600여명의 생존 국군포로문제, 김정일의 와병설에 대해서도 전파하는 등 북한의 아픈 곳을 찌르고 있기 때문이다. 그리고 이같은 전단 내용을 북한 주민들이 접하고 있기에 북한으로서는 북한의 처참한 현실이 주민들에게 생생하게 전파되어 반 김정일 분위가 확산되는 것을 막기 위해서 일 것이다.[…] 북한이 민간단체들이 알리는 내용이 사실이 아니라면 그렇게 민감하게 행동할 일이 아닐 것이다. 북한은 민간단체들의 전단 살포 문제를 가지고 떠들면 떠들수록 북한의 참상이 북한 주민들과 국제사회에 더욱 더 확산되어 나가게 될 것이라는 것도 함께 알아두어야 한다.
North Korea shows sensitive reactions about bbira that organizations that North Korean defectors and South Korean abductees lead spread and this issue becomes a significant point of relations between North and South Korea. Regarding this, the Ministry of National Defense pointed out that the government sincerely followed the agreement that North and South Korea had in 2005, but, due to activities of private organizations, that the North Korean government wants to close the Kaesong Industrial Zone and Mt. Keumkang Tourism is not appropriate. That’s true. Spraying bbira is not a new story. ‘ The North Korean Christian Association since 2003 has spread 10 million bbira to North Korea  and the Fighters For Free North Korea from 2004 sends 1.5 million bbira every year.[…] The expenses of bbira for those organizations are usually from Korean Americans, American organizations, such as Defense Forum, or domestic organizations. They don’t get any financial support from the government and therefore the government can’t block them forcefully. The reason why North Korea is so sensitive about the bbira is because it shows what’s happening to North Korea, such as humanitarian crisis, starving North Koreans, 500 abductees to North Korea between 1955 and 2000, 600 South Korean war prisoners, and Kim Jong Il’s illness. They are worried that these stories will be conveyed to North Korean people and might lead anti-Kim Jong Il atmosphere. […]If those stories are not true, North Korea doesn’t have to react so sensitively. The more North Korea talks about this scandal, the more stories about North Korea will be exposed to international society.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Lebanon: Floods after Rainfall · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“It’s becoming more like an annual ritual here! The ministry of transport and public works is as usual unprepared and obviously has been dealing with bad subcontractors,” writes Rami in this post with photos of the terrible traffic jams and flooding that followed the rain in Beirut.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Google labels Lebanese maps · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“It’s exciting that I can finally see the Maps of Lebanon, even the small village where I live got a label!” notes Elie El Khoury about Google Maps adding Lebanese maps with labels.


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Lebanon: Mathematicians took the role of Philosophers · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Mathematics is extracted from the physical world but refined by the human mind and then employed in the physical world in ways that are useful to the physical world … Mathematics lies in the human brain,” writes Lebanese Inner Circle, quoting Sir Michael F. Atiyah, renowned mathematician and Abel prize winner, in a post about Atiyah's lecture at the American University of Beirut.


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Lebanon: Stamps · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Fruit isn’t sectarian: there are no Maronite oranges, or Druze pears. So I can just see how fruit would have been a happy, happy choice for the Lebanese post office,” writes Diamond in Sunlight in the second of three posts about Lebanese stamps (post 1 and post 3), images included.


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Lebanon: The Bedouins · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“In the past, they see their glorious history, as it was them who made the Great Arab Revolt and fought the colonialist over centuries, and provided the revolutionaries with weapons wherever they were present. In the present, they only see marginalization and dependency,” notes Prof Rami Zurayk about the Bedouins of Lebanon.


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Lebanon: Valet Parking even at Airport · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

“Valet dude takes the car and parks it 2 meters away, they don't even let you park it yourself in some restaurants, they confiscate all parking spots by placing these yellow thingies, either you have to go park it back in your house or give it to them,” explains Liliane about the Lebanese laziness and dependency on valet parking.


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Macedonia: Use Facebook If You Want to Flirt With Politicians · Global Voices
Elena Ignatova

A few days ago, national newspaper “Vest” published a cover page article titled “Flirting with politicians online,” in which it said that if Macedonians wanted to speak with the politicians they could do that only on some of the social networking sites:
[…]
If you are not able to find Macedonian politicians in their offices, ministries or party headquarters, you will certainly find them on social networking websites. Many of them have their own profiles on Facebook – the world’s most famous social networking website. It is one of the most addictive social networking websites in the world and most of its users are young people, but there are also many other users of various profiles and ages.
Macedonian politicians, too, are not immune to the “Facebook virus.” Vice Prime Minister for European Affairs Ivica Bocevski is a member of this global social network, as well as Minister of the Interior Gordana Jankulovska, Minister of Information Society Ivo Ivanovski, former SDSM leader Radmila Shekerinska, Minister of Foreign Investments Vele Samak and his former colleague Gligor Tashkovik. The negotiator in the name dispute – Nikola Dimitrov – is also a Facebook user, the leader of DPA – Menduh Thaçi, former Minister of Interior Ljube Boshkoski, Macedonian ambassador to The Hague Shpresa Jusufi, former Minister of Environment and Physical Planning – Imer Aliu – from DPA, former Prime Minister Ljubcho Georgievski, the head of NSDP Tito Petkovski, and former MP Filip Petrovski, who is one of the most inventive Facebook users.
[…]
Some Macedonian bloggers re-published the article and let their readers comment on it. The media blog Komunikacii reacted (MKD) to the article, writing:
[…]
On the Antiblog of Filip Petrovski, who also posted the article, Gjurovski left this comment (MKD):
Most of the politicians’ “profiles,” “blogs,” “accounts” are updated by political servants, and any interaction with them is silly and absurd.
So, don’t fool yourself and don't get yourself worked up over anything because instead of Shekerinska or Brother Ljube on the other side there is some guy who is certainly laughing and saying to himself – “The idiots I have to deal with!” while doing his job.
On Kajmakot there were even some suggestions (MKD), inspired by the article, for the name dispute with Greece:
Maybe Macedonia 2.0 is not such a bad name suggestion? ;)

author: Elena Ignatova


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Russia: Bureaucracy and LJ Activism in St. Petersburg · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

This story (RUS) of bureaucracy, human suffering and online activism in St. Petersburg began when LJ user lassi_‘s mother hurt her leg in February 2006:
[…] She was taken by an ambulance to [City Hospital #26 on Kostyushko St.], where she spent all the time in the hallway. A room cost 2,500 rubles a day [roughly $100] then. Almost all hallways were packed with people. […]
By March 2008, LJ user lassi_‘s mother was bedridden – and in need of a costly surgery.
[…] As of now, there's a two-year waiting list for this surgery. The only chance for a pensioner is to get a “quota” from the state. […]
But obtaining this much-needed piece of paper from the state turned out to be not an easy task:
[…] Quotas are currently being issued in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region on Wednesdays, in the courtyard at 24 Rudnev St., from 10 AM till noon, at the Orthopedics and Traumatology Medical Center. My mother had made four attempts at getting through there, before she turned to me, because she “was afraid to disturb me.” She just tried to do it by herself. And failed. Here's why – people in wheelchairs and on crutches, as well as their relatives and friends, start coming to that courtyard to secure their place in the waiting line from 2:30 AM. […]
Needless to say, LJ user lassi_ decided to get involved and help her mother get the surgery certificate. Here's how it went:
[…] At 5 AM, dressed in my winter jacket, I didn't even make it into the first 30. People stood in darkness on crutches, in wheelchairs, everyone recognized each other […]. Cars were parked everywhere. People were helping each other, as if during the [Siege of Leningrad], letting strangers sit in their relatives’ cars to get warm […]. Cold, dark, no toilets, people could barely keep standing. […]
Mama replaced me at 8:30 AM. I was freezing to death by that time. Miraculously, she got her paper at 11:50 AM, ten minutes before the place closed. The fifth attempt was a success. […]
This ordeal has prompted LJ user lassi_ to get others, including the media, involved in drawing attention to the outrageous treatment of the disabled elderly people – all via her blog:
[…] Tell me – are there any medical professionals here who can give me links to relevant sites where I can write about it, or any journalists who can join me next Wednesday to do a story on this mess.
Yes, my mama has obtained the certificate she needed, but I'm aware of what it's like for other people to be standing there, those who were behind us… Flash mobs in LJ have always been a good thing. But maybe we could help for real, not just do it for fun? I'll go there on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, and will at least take hot tea for these people.
[…]
UP. 1 Mama said that coffee and tea won't help. People are afraid to drink them, because they are spending 8-9 hours before the office opens, in the freezing cold and without toilets, with nowhere to go. […]
The post quoted above appeared on Oct. 10. Five days later, on Oct. 15, LJ users nisovsky and lassi_ collaborated on a photo report from the Orthopedics and Traumatology Medical Center in St. Petersburg, posting it on LJ user nisovsky‘s blog on Oct. 19. The post (RUS) – titled “On Self-Respect” – has made it into the Top 30 at Yandex Blogs portal; below is a tiny part of the text accompanying the 16 photos of people waiting outside and inside the medical center:
[…] [photo of an elderly woman wiping her nose with a handkerchief]
Yershova Tamara Grigorievna. […] A surgeon with 40 years of work experience, 15 of them in ER. She is suffering from arthrose/arthritis of knees and spine. This is her third time in the waiting line. [She says]: “I've come at 10-15 minutes to 8 today. I'm somewhere in the fourties [on the waiting list] now. When I came here the first time, it was a bit too late and I decided against waiting; when I came the second time, they stopped seeing people when it was my turn – the surgeon closed the door right in front of my nose. After that I was forced to take a break – I got sick. It's insulting for me to be standing here. I worked in the Soviet times and couldn't imagine that anything like this was possible. Even during the [Siege of Leningrad] – and I am [a Siege survivor] – we were warm when we stood in line for bread: they were at least letting us inside the store. But I was 14 then – and life seemed more fun in general then.” […]
The story got picked up by a number of local media outlets. LJ user anonim_from_rus was one of the reporters who showed up at the medical center on Oct. 15, along with LJ users nisovsky and lassi_, and here's what he wrote (RUS) about the outcome of the publicity campaign:
[…] After a series of reports, the Center's administrators have kindly agreed to extend reception hours and even see patients twice a week, not once, as it used to be. […]

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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South Africa: Using Cell Phones To Combat AIDS · Global Voices
Juhie Bhatia

South Africa has found a new weapon in its fight against HIV/AIDS – cell phones. A new initiative will be sending free text messages daily to encourage South Africans to get tested and treated for the disease.
The project, called Project Masiluleke or Project M, was announced last week at the Pop!Tech 2008 conference in Maine, U.S.A. It takes advantage of the popularity of cell phones in South Africa, using them to fight the country's high rates of HIV and tuberculosis (TB). The first part of the project will send the general public approximately one million free text messages daily for a year, urging them to call HIV and TB call centers. These messages will be sent as part of “Please Call Me” messages, a type of text messaging widely used across Africa.
White African elaborates on the project and this technology:
“Gustav Praekelt – one of the most knowledgeable mobile phone specialists in Africa – is helping to run the program. It’s done using the 120 character free space in ‘Please Call Me’ SMS system that’s used in South Africa. They tack on messages to get people to come to get HIV treatment in private, so that they don’t have to worry about what stigma is attached to that treatment.”
Stigma, along with misinformation, are believed to be the main reasons why so few South Africans get tested and treated for HIV. Even though roughly 5.7 million people in South Africa are living with HIV, according to the project's organizers just 5 percent of the population has been tested for the virus. South Africa also has one of the highest numbers of TB cases, a common killer of people with HIV.
Project M was created to help combat both of these diseases. It grew out of the Pop!Tech Accelerator program and brings together an international coalition of partners, including iTeach, the Praekelt Foundation, frog design, Nokia Siemens Networks and the National Geographic Society. 3 Sheep points out that this project's use of cell phones shows how embedded they are in South African culture, adding:
“Many countries do not have an established hardwired infrastructure and are looking to the mobile network as means of mass communication…Previously other media, such as radio, would have been used for such work but the South African project demonstrates the importance of considering all channels for outreach.”
Though this is not the first of such projects in South Africa, organizers say it's the largest use ever of mobile phones for sending health information. And so far the project holds much promise. Early testing of this text messaging campaign helped triple the average daily call volume to the National AIDS Helpline in Johannesburg. If the project is successful post-launch, it's hoped that this model can be expanded across Africa.
ahellgeth, commenting on a post on African Globalization, believes that this project has a lot of potential.
“Using technology is a great way to get a strong message across to a mass amount of people. The use of text messages offer people to view the message over and over, compared to seeing the message on a commercial or a flyer one time. A text message usually sits in a phones mailbox for a couple of days, allowing that person to go back and view it. I think the message would truly stick with people allowing them to act on it…These texts are PSA’s [public service announcements] for cell phones.”
Dave, blogging on Design in Africa agrees that this project will likely be a success:
“An important issue is being addressed, a simple, easy to understand solution has been designed by combining the resources of stakeholders, there are measurable benefits for people and communities and the cost of the incoming message is free. Brilliant.”
But lablady, blogging on Wise Advice, finds it unsettling that technology has taken center-stage in the fight against HIV/AIDS. She says:
“At what point in time did society make it an easier, more obvious and appealing choice for an impoverished population in the grips of an HIV epidemic, to buy a cell phone rather than a condom? I find it paradoxical that technology has now become the default vehicle to initiate what would have been at one time, a grass roots blood testing and education campaign. Is it arrogant of me to wonder why an entire population acquired cell phones before they had access to a successful public health strategy for a preventable disease?”
Catherine Forsythe, blogging on DogReader, adds that these messages may eventually be seen as “health spam.”
“The question may be ‘how long will this methodology be effective?’ After an initial viewing, these public health messages may be deleted as quickly as the usual text spam.”
Project M certainly hopes not. Future phases of the project involve distributing at-home HIV testing kits, developing “virtual call centers,” and using text messages to provide personalized healthcare information for those being treated for AIDS.
Photo of Cell Phone Close Up by JonJon2k8 on Flickr.

author: Juhie Bhatia


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Taiwan: a look at rubbish · Global Voices
David Reid

Shan Ding Lu has compiled a photo essay about rubbish in Taiwan. He looks at how rubbish is collected and often recycled.

author: David Reid


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Taiwan: Hunger strike for referendum law change · Global Voices
David Reid

Claudia Jean writes about a hunger strike protest for amendment of the referendum law in Taiwan. Memories of Past Tense reports on the final night of the protest with photos.


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Nagorno Karabakh: Armenian Bloggers on Moscow Declaration · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Following Sunday's meeting between Russian President Dimitry Medvedev and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, Serge Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, the upbeat tone of the mainstream international media in reporting a declaration on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict signed by the three has not been echoed by Armenian bloggers. Indeed, if anything, most appear to consider the declaration, which reiterates existing verbal agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the 1994 ceasefire, to be simply for show.
Despite some initially cautious optimism regarding an agreement based on principles apparently discussed but not disclosed last year in Madrid, Unzipped simply described the declaration read out on Russian TV to be nothing more than empty words.
I am afraid I do not share excitement of number of news agencies which specifically mention that for the first time in 14-15 years, Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration”. So what? There were always meetings and discussions on various levels, including presidents, over the past decade but nothing came out of the negotiations, for real. The only reason that today Armenian and Azeri presidents signed under the “Declaration” is because this was a meeting initiated by Russia, and (taking into account current geopolitical situation in the region) Russia had to show that it achieved some kind of ‘breakthrough’ even if there is none.
The Armenian Observer also noted that expectations were high leading up to the meeting at the Mayendorf castle just outside of Moscow, but while saying that speculation over an imminent peace deal might still remain, it looks more like an attempt by Russia to prove something to the West.
It is also noteworthy, that this initiative of Russia’s Medvedev comes on the wake of presidential elections in the USA. Is Russia trying to prove somehing by this or just trying to use the opportunity to improve it’s image making use of inaction from the side of US?
The Armenia Blog also appears to agree.
Sounds like a waste of time to me, unless one side gives up. We all know it won't be Azerbaijan and we all know that Serzh has indicated that he would trade or willingly give up some lands altogether.
Probably a non-event, but we'll see.
Nevertheless,  the Yerevan Journal relays the general reaction from different sections of the population in Armenia to the news.
[…] Talk here ranges from the Dashnaks saying they’re ready to take even more territories in Azerbaijan if fighting resumes, to freedom fighters and die-hards saying they’re not about to give up even a handful of soil in the liberated territories, to the Armenian president stating that he won’t sign anything unless peace keepers are placed in the territories (once Armenians pull out), that Armenia retains a land corridor with Karabagh (Lachin), and that the citizens of Karabagh have the right to vote for their future. […]
Meanwhile, Real Armenia provides an unofficial translation into English of the declaration signed by the three presidents and read out by Medvedev. The World Politics Review blog seems to largely agree with the response from the Armenian blogosphere and considers the declaration as a publicity stunt.
Medvedev seems to be taking a page out of Nicolas Sarkozy's playbook here, where the important thing is to have one's picture taken at the center of a summit meeting many thought could not be arranged. No one really expects anyone to get results in this sort of slow motion standoff, so the image of wielding influence (getting the parties to the table) becomes worth more than the ability to actually influence the standoff itself.
That's all Russia has right now, but it's about all Russia needs right now, too.
Meanwhile, most other prominent Armenian bloggers seem to have ignored the event entirely. However, West of Igdir examines recent geopolitical moves in the region as well as past hopes for peace. The blogger says that a breakthrough is needed, but asks at what price?

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Aruba, U.S.A.: Battleground State?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Arubagirl makes a shopping trip to Florida, “a state that is a battleground in this election, as they call it,” and comes away asking: “Is this how an election is in the States? Where a 30 min INFOMERCIAL was the big news?  Oy.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Bangladesh: A documentary on child birth · Global Voices
Rezwan

In the beauty of all the Earth posts a documentary video on child birth in the rural Bangladesh. The bloggers says: “I hope you will find the time to view it and get a glimpse at what life in Bangladesh is like. I think you will also get a sense of why I so easily fell in love with the Bangladeshi people!”

author: Rezwan