text:
Serbia: Debate on Media Depiction of Kosovo Children · Global Voices
Ljubisa Bojic

B92 news have reported on the journalist association's reaction to the alleged mistreatment of children from Kosovo and Metohia (in further text K&M) during a talk show on national TV. Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) claims that the so-called public service TV tried to manipulate citizens in a Goebbels manner and mobilize them to support a constitution draft in the upcoming referendum. The bill is supposed to protect K&M by stating that the region is an indivisible part of Serbia, which gives a boost to the Serbian side in the ongoing negotiations to determine the future status of K&M. They say the talk show host Natasa Miljkovic should be denied membership in the journalists’ association because she used the finest of human emotions to fulfill political goals. State TV CEO Aleksandar Tijanic said that the filming took place before the referendum was announced. He also said that the association was trying to implement censorship so they could not depict the lives of K&M children. B92 news website (SRP) received a record number of comments in a very short time. The debate turns out to be not only about children but also about double standards and the priorities of the media that prevent ordinary citizens from knowing about the lives of their compatriots in the country's remote corners:
Tanja:
I was really stunned when I spotted all the kids around in the TV studio, it brings out special feelings in most of the viewers. […]
Jovan:
I couldn’t sleep all night. The journalist was really uncompassionate. I think the children were misused. We should help them, but this is not the way. […]
Nenad P.:
[…] She leads children into crying and then she asks them to promise they would not cry… shame on her!!! […] Why would one make a small girl talk about the death of her father and then make her promise she would not cry when talking about hurtful issues… [Journalist] feels in full control of ruthless reality. She carries on with sick games with children not lifting the pedagogic smile off her face. […]
Srbin:
[…] The show's hostess, Natasa Miljkovic, was unbearable! She is not up to the challenge of talking to those poor kids: instead of making the atmosphere more comfortable, she annoyed them additionally. She was unnatural and without compassion. Aside the topic of the dialogue, misuse and other issues, but the children were upset and irritated. You could see that from an airplane. The one who couldn’t see that, shouldn’t come close to any child! Sorry for the tough words, but what I saw was actually annoying.
David:
I have seen the show. Terrible. The so-called journalist asking all the time: Are you afraid right now, what can happen to you now, what can happen during our walk now? Defeating. She used to be a sympathetic journalist[…]. I couldn’t believe she would dump so low and become such a servant of the authorities.
Sasa:
[…] She asked a 9-year-old girl: “What, that is the only topic you talk with your girlfriends?” (referring to her late father whose grave she can’t pay a visit to), or when she smiles shortly, fixes her hair and grumbles: “And, when was the last time you cried”? Or “Wait, you don’t play with guns”. […]
Kosovka Devojka:
I would like to pass impressions of my friends and other parents. We all live in [K&M]. Our children are raised here. Despite that, nobody I spoke to yesterday had any praise for that program. The title is more than offensive and humiliating. […] The journalist is not up to the challenge, the way she behaves is unprofessional and terrible, not only she is a lousy talk show hostess, she also does not know how to handle kids. We believe those children were misused and additionally traumatized. All left is a sour sensation after all. […] Shame on you!
Andrea:
[…] [Aleksandar] Tijanic, stated the show was filmed few months ago [before the referendum campaign]. If so, why the show was not broadcast a few months ago? Why was it filmed six years after [the NATO] bombing and the withdrawal of our forces from K&M. […]
Tanja:
I absolutely agree that the media membership card of […] Natasa Miljkovic should be taken away. I live in [K&M], I know how children live, but it is disgusting to name the show “Kosovo Serbian Kiddies” [in diminutive]. It is inadmissible to hassle our offspring the way she did. I hope the parents will sue the national television because of clear mistreatment. […]
Sksk:
The big professional miss was the show’s setting. If the author-journalist [Natasa Miljkovic] headed to [K&M] to make the show, all the imperfections noted by NUNS would fall off. […]
Brend:
To be honest, I didn’t know how [K&M] children live. Simply, no mainstream media would bring me pictures or sounds of what’s going on there. Until last night. I can only thank the so-called public service TV. […] I would like to thank to the other media, too. But I will do that when they stop bombarding us only with stories showing “how foreigners react” or “who tells us to do what” […]
Stanisa Ognjanovic:
For many of us who don’t know people from [K&M], it is highly significant to hear their voices so we could understand what future might bring us.
Djole:
Bravo for RTS [Radio Television of Serbia]! How freely they can show victims of other nationalities and, on the other hand, we can’t show our children because, according to NUNS, our children are not victims, they are part of [Slobodan Milosevic] conspiracy. The show was shocking. It is a disgrace no other channel could deal with this sort of topic.
Danilo:
[…] Is it a disgrace to show how kids live in the 21st century? It is real dishonor they can’t move a step away from their own village or district, scared of being targeted by Albanian terrorists?! […]
Milanko:
[…] I have got one question for the so-called independent media associations. Why don’t you react when the Serbian media broadcast those Srebrenica documentaries, showing Muslim children asked where their parents would be or Albanian children telling how they lived during Serbian ruling in [K&M]? How come those [NUNS] people say spree of [Albanian and Srebrenica children confessions] is confrontation with the past and not manipulation? What is the difference?
Ana:
I would advise independent associations to take a look at BBC, they would see that this way of dealing with children at TV shows is implemented all the time. I would recommend RTS officials to send out the video to televisions abroad. Another advise is public service TV team visiting [K&M] and filming more documentaries concerning how inhabitants of the region live, if the journalists make it and survive, of course. Serbian citizens don’t get daily reports from [K&M] and that has to change. We have the right to know what happens there. Most of the people don’t know how refugees not only from K&M but also from Croatia and Bosnia suffer…
Stefan:
Media associations, leave it to us, common people, to sympathize with the poor children and their lives. Somebody is scared to play freely outdoors or to head to school without military escort today […], in the 21st century. Today, in the middle of Europe, our children are often affected by power cuts, they study with the light from a petrol lamp and use wood to heat the room. […]
Zoki:
Not so long ago I have seen a documentary on Sundans channel […]. It was announced the video would depict suffering of Serbian and Albanian children in [K&M]. Instead, Albanian children only were questioned directly on the topic of war in the region. With tears in their eyes kids tried to explain their feelings. I don’t see what’s wrong with showing young Serbian pupils suffering too. The worst thing is, they still do have to endure.
To je bol, a ne politika:
[…] This kind of propaganda should be directed to the West. People in [K&M] are victims of scary terror. Those not letting the voice of the suffering people out should be ashamed. [We need our story exposed internationally, now or never.]
Vesna:
You should see one TV show made by the Belgian national television. A Belgian journalist takes a small girl by the hand to Srebrenica [where the well-known massacre happened]. At the scene, they both talk to the children about how it was, what they remember, if they are sorry for all the people massacred and if they are still afraid something similar could take place. Nobody here, in the democratic countries of Holland and Belgium, […] reacted. […]
BN:
[…] I don’t understand some people complaining they have to pay public service TV tax and watch old partisan WWII movies. When they broadcast something unique like this, they still complain… The show was great. The journalist had a tough time, of course, dealing with the crying children vowing about the freedom they miss all the time. […]
Sanja:
[…] As soon as the national TV shows the suffering of Serbian kids, a bunch of Europeans and quasi-intellectuals vow in their defense. Where are they when there is a need for sending food and toys? […] Ask Native North-American Indians and their children living in reservations what they think about western democracy and permanent solution of the ethnic and children problems. Their life irresistibly reminds of the stories we heard during the show.
Dragisha:
Would media associations complain if the children in question were Sudanese? Of course, they wouldn’t. There are two main issues about last night's show. First, the terrible incompetence of the journalist. Second, the goal of the program was not to inform viewers about the situation in K&M province, it was to mobilize masses for the upcoming referendum. The second issue would have been eliminated if the children had been Sudanese. Problem number one would stay unchanged because Natasa [Miljkovic] is truly awful.

author: Ljubisa Bojic


text:
Singapore: Group blog by MPs · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Han at the legal janitor links to a new group blog run by Singapore members of parliament. The blog is called P65 blogs and it features reflection by 12 MPs who were born after the year 1965.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Preetam Rai


text:
Slovenia: Parking Habits · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Glory of Carniola posts a note with a funny exchange on some Slovenians’ parking habits.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Sudan: photos from Darfur · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Before a patrol the South Africans in Sector 6 do an organised and structured final inspection before going. Sector 6 is currently still the most dangerous sector in Darfur,” writes Werner Klokow, a South African soldier with the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, Sudan, who keeps a photoblog.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


text:
Tajikistan: Election Update · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

James of neweurasia posts an update on Tajikistan's presidential election.

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Tajikistan: Emulating Uzbekistan · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Alexander Sadikov says that Tajikistan's president is emulating Uzbekistan's by not only creating loyal political parties, but also by reforming existing ones to create an impression of multiparty democracy.


text:
Ukraine: News Summary · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dan McMinn of Orange Ukraine sums up the news of the past ten days.


text:
US secret detentions: from hotel room to squalid prison cell · Global Voices
Gavin Simpson

When President George W. Bush confirmed in a speech last month that the CIA has been operating a programme of secret detentions on foreign territory, it was portrayed by the United States Government as part of its efforts to “bring terrorists to justice”.
Yet this programme, along with the controversial new Military Commissions Act now awaiting the President's signature into law, has been heavily criticised on human rights grounds by everyone from jurists to academics to Senators to bloggers.  Secret detentions actually deny prisoners any access to justice, making them vulnerable to torture and disappearance.  As a recently published report for the Council of Europe revealed, hundreds of suspects have become trapped in a “global spider’s web” of illegal abductions, detentions and transfers.
And yet, despite widely-publicised revelations in media such as the Washington Post and ABC News going back nearly a year, exact details of where and how terrorist suspects are held in practice have proven difficult to come by.  Most of us are familiar with images of the US-run facility at Guantanamo Bay, but we don’t really know what goes on away from the public glare.
Now, in this piece of video footage newly uploaded to blip, you can walk through a place where a man suspected of involvement in terrorism was secretly detained:
For those of you protesting “but it’s a hotel room!”, you’re absolutely right – an apparently normal, comfortable suite in a high-end hotel in Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia.  But it was in this room that a German citizen, Khaled El-Masri, who has never faced any criminal charges, was kept incommunicado for 23 days in January 2004.  It was here that he was tightly guarded by intelligence agents – even on his visits to the bathroom – refused legal or consular help, interrogated continuously about Islamic extremism, and threatened with a gun to his head when he tried to leave.
From this hotel room, El-Masri was handed over to the CIA and flown to Afghanistan, where he would spend the next four months in a squalid prison cell.
When El-Masri’s story was first reported in the New York Times last year, questions sprung up around the nature and extent to which intelligence agencies from various countries were involved.  One popular explanation is that he was picked up as a result of a CIA mistake, which the Macedonians and Germans were drawn into.  In December 2005, El-Masri filed a US lawsuit against the former Director of the CIA, which is due to be argued on appeal by the ACLU next month.  Meanwhile a German Parliament inquiry is looking into whether the German secret services played a role – in spite of a government claim that it didn’t even know of the case until after El-Masri was returned home.
While many of the larger European nations have been able to engage in a systematic cover-up of their role as US “partners in crime”, Macedonia’s involvement now appears to have been laid bare.  Along with the Macedonian Government’s predictable public denials have come private admissions from former officials that they held El-Masri on behalf of the CIA.  Macedonian journalist Aleksandr Bozinowski, writing in Vreme, has reflected concerns that the level of ‘control’ exercised by foreign intelligence agencies over national security issues sometimes “brings into question Macedonia's sovereignty”.
In any case, believe it or not, the discovery of this hotel room provided a major piece in the jigsaw of this US-led operation.  Journalists investigating for German TV channel ZDF’s “Frontal 21″ news show took El-Masri’s hand-drawn memory of the room (shown at this ACLU link as the third of three detention sketches) along to Skopje and found a match.  El-Masri then postively identified several aspects of the hotel from its website.
Anyone who wants to know more can read Khaled El-Masri’s detailed statement to the US courts online.  His moving and compelling video testimony also features in the 2006 WITNESS documentary “Outlawed”, which is a must-see film in these troubled times.  We’d be happy to hear your comments on that film or on any other aspects of this post right here on the new Human Rights Video Hub.
El-Masri went on to suffer a deeply traumatic ordeal of rendition, torture, forced-feeding and other outrages to his dignity – most of which took place in the more typical surroundings of a “small, filthy, concrete cell” in Afghanistan.  But no less significant was his detention in this mundane, unremarkable hotel room in Macedonia; for it shows us that hidden, silent, secret human rights abuses are not only going on behind barbed wire.

author: Gavin Simpson


text:
Venezuela: Book Review: Venezuela in Debt by Jose Guerra · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Miguel Octavio reviews the book “Venezuela in Debt” by Jose Guerra, which according to Octavio, “draws parallels to the Presidency of Carlos Andres Perez (CAP) to that of Hugo Chavez, exploring the contradictions and similarities between the two periods.”

author: David Sasaki


text:
Venezuela: Caracas, a Photo Tour · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“Putto” offers an interesting photo tour of Caracas on Flickr.


text:
Voices from Kazakhstan  · Global Voices
Leila Tanayeva

After a break in voicing the Kazakh bloggers, caused by neweurasia team doing outreach in Central Asia, we present you the newest roundup of online conversations in Kazakhstan. Several major news attracted media attention to Kazakhstan recently: the President of the country Nazarbayev visited the White House, Sasha Baron Cohen announced release of his new film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” and Government financed Hollywood-style film “Nomad” came out on big screens.
While media paid unusual amount of attention to otherwise rarely reported on country, mostly concentrating on Kazakhstan's bid for OSCE chairmanship, “Nomad” being an answer to Borat, Nazarbayev wanting to speak to Bush about ban on Borat film in the United States, the English language-blogs writing on Kazakhstan did extensive and knowledgeable blogging on these issues: see Registan.net, Sean R. Roberts, KZblog, LJ user tropical_rat for more reading.
What did Kazakhstan Russian-language bloggers think about it? Business as usual, not much hysteria about Borat, and not much meaning into Nazarbayev's visit to Washington either. LJ user adam_kesher could not resist posting about the perception of the President's visit by American online media (RU):
Грубо говоря, у США есть две причины не раздражать Казахстан – нефть и безопасность, и две вещи, которые раздражают их самих – коррупция, сдерживающая полноценный рост, и авторитаризм, безграничность и безнаказанность которого привела уже к двум политическим убийствам.
Roughly speaking, the United States have two reasons not to annoy Kazakhstan – oil and security, and two things that annoy themselves – corruption that prevents growth, and authoriarianism, which is so unlimited and unpunished, that it led to two political murders.
More than anything, the visit is an image-boosting event, writes adam_kesher, though it is reported that Condoleeza Rice spread memo to OSCE-members’ embassies in the US on not giving in  to Kazakhstan's lobbying for OSCE chairmanship.more
LJ user razglaz  generated yet another discussion on Borat and how people, not the state should react to him, in Kazakhstan's Livejournal community (RU). LJ user gaisa   shared his idea: a Kazakh living in the US or Britain should sue Cohen saying that because of his show people starting treating him like a pedophile, homophob and anti-Semite, which caused damage to his business. Kazakh Goverment should finance the lawyer in his case. LJ user tson  poses a question in 101almatinec LJ community (RU): where does freedom of speech end and political correctness begin and what happens when they collide? In response, dorovskih  remembers “The People vs. Larry Flynt” film about freedom of speech and says that in his opinion all Americans do realize that Borat is an imaginable character, even if they do not know anything about Kazakhstan. The more ridiculous Borat is, the more obvious it becomes that Kazakhstan does not have any relation to his character. LJ user zmej_tugarin observes that Kazakhs never like to hear jokes about themselves.
As for “Nomad”, Kazakh bloggers did not regard the release of long-awaited film as the state's response to Borat, as it was rightly noted by several English-language blogs. Since it is the first multimillion dollar film project for Kazakhstan, it seems that everyone in the country has an opinion on it. megakhuimyak summarizes the diversity of opinions in his post into four main questions Kazakhs usually have about this film: where did the 40 million dollars go if the film looks like it costed five; why are Kazakhs played by Americans and Mexicans; the film is a dull propaganda of Nazarbayev; and – the dialogues in the film are idiotic. He answers that management did not steal more than 20% of the money, which is ok, and that inviting foreign actors was expensive but worth it as we do not have our own actors on that level; and yes, it is a propaganda and it does represent national idea, and the President is right to send his message through the film as we do need PR; and the meaning of the dialogues got all lost in translation to Russian and English.
Among other topics for blogging in the last month were blogs themselves: several bloggers who were present at the blogging conference in Almaty 13-15 September reported on it, see Leila‘s post on neweurasia for bunch of blog links covering the conference and a new blog by Askar from Regional Center for Media Support (RU). Askar's blog covers journalism in Kazakhstan, his last post reporting on a press-conference with KNB (Committee for National Security), who instructed the journalists on how to report on the course of criminal case against the Head of the Northern unit of police Kanat Toigambaev (RU).
It's worth noting other journalism related blogs: KIMEP students now create their own blogs within Frederick Emrich's course on New Information Technologies, International Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and they are all in English. This time we recommend Danna who interviewed several journalists in Almaty and wrote her analysis of journalists’ ethics, Diana Kaliyeva's review of online journalism in Kazakhstan, and Diana Kudaibergenova, who announces that she wrote an article in a student newspaper on discussion of premarital sexual relations in modern Kazakhstan.

author: Leila Tanayeva


text:
A Groundnut Western? · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Senegal is considering building a rail line that would pass through Casamance, inspiring Blog Politique du Senegal (Fr) to imagine a new kind of Western involving a train heist and a wagon car complete with saloon girls, an upright piano, poker and a bar brawl, with the Movement of Democratic Forces in the Casamance (MFDC) in the role of the Mexican bandits and the Senegalese army, the American calvary.

author: Jennifer Brea


text:
Africa: Association for African Medicinal Plant Standards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Good news for the future of African traditional medicine: The Economist reports on the launching of Association for African Medicinal Plants Standards (AAMPS), via Timbuktu Chronicles.


text:
Africa: renaming of an airport · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Chippla discusses the politics of naming public facilities: I have never been a fan of the naming of places or public facilities after individuals. In Nigeria, this appears to be the norm. What is even more perplexing about this is when such places or facilities are named after living individuals—a practice I find appalling. For instance, Olusgeun Obasanjo Way and IBB (Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida) Golf and Country Club in the capital city of Abuja are named after living Nigerian presidents.


text:
Africa: roundup from the Horn of Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is happening in the Horn of Africa?: meanwhile in Somalia…


text:
Africa: songs from Lesotho · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Perhaps you have never listened to the music from Lesotho. iLud has two tracks for you.


text:
Air Collision in Brazil Triggers Strong Words of Blame · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

It's been a week since the collision of an Embraer Legacy 600 jet with GOL Airlines 737-800 Flight 1907 which plunged into the Amazon jungle Friday, killing all 154 people aboard in Brazil's worst air disaster. Some peculiar facts about the accident are turning the case into a battle of words about responsibilities in the Brazilian blogosphere, and the usual media sensationalism on these kinds of stories is fueling the heated debate.
As specialists affirm that the crash involved airplanes equipped with some of the most modern navigation tools available, and Brazilian air traffic system had just gone through a four-year, $121.5 million modernization which renders the capability of separating high-altitude traffic in 1,000-foot increments, the conjecture of a possible human failure of the Americans piloting the Brazilian-made aircraft naturally emerged. But what seems to have triggered the national animosity in this case was the odd presence of a New York Times reporter in the Legacy, and his determined attempt to defend the pilots through his blog, and also in the NYTimes.
Esta segunda-feira, dia 2 de Outubro, Mr. Sharkey redigiu um post, a que chamou “Astonished to Be Alive” e, no dia seguinte, um outro que intitulou “Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living” (e onde deixa o link para o artigo que publicou no The New York Times relatanto o acidente entre o Boing 737 da Gol e a aeronave “Legacy” onde seguia), razão pela qual sabemos que, além de ter sobrevivido e estar vivo, além de aparecer na TV e continuar a escrever para o seu jornal, Mr. Sharkey continua a não descurar o seu blog e também não se encontra impedido de aceder à internet. Leio o que escreveu. Leio também o que os leitores que por lá passaram deixaram escrito na caixa de comentários. E é aqui, precisamente aqui que a perplexidade inevitavelmente me atinge, quando descubro os inúmeros apelos que lá foram deixados por diversos jornalistas brasileiros, explicando o desespero óbvio de quem tenta compreender o inexplicável, como é o caso dos familiares das vítimas e, ao limite, de todo um país que acaba de ser confrontado com o pior acidente de aviação de toda a sua história…Correndo os 111 comentários lá deixados, até então, tropeçamos em pedidos de jornais como a Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo, o Jornal do Brasil… e por aí vai! Ao que é dado a perceber, Mr. Sharkey ignorou-os a todos sem excepção, honra feita (claro!), e tal como se lê na BBC, ao programa Today, da rede NBC, e ao World News, da ABC. Sabe, Mr. Sharkey?! Parafraseando o seu post, apetece-me dizer-lhe que… «astonished» estou eu!!!
Astonished – Ferro com Fogo é Faísca
…o repórter do “New York Times” Joe Sharkey, que estava a bordo do Legacy no momento da colisão, chegou a afirmar em entrevista à rede CNN que considera o controle de tráfego aéreo brasileiro “péssimo”. (uol, 05out) Devemos então, por conta dessa declaração, admitir que a vida toda, todas as dezenas de vôos que passam por cima da selva amazônica todos os dias, há pelo menos 3 décadas, tiveram mesmo foi sorte de nunca terem dado um com o focinho no outro nem uma única vez antes desta, é isso?
Sorte, nada mais que isso – É o seguinte… tá bem?
The more acrimonious posts seem to be generated by the semi dormant anti-US sentiment always ready to be triggered and magnified in such cases. The real problem appears when influential voices from traditional media fuel speculations not fully supported by verified facts. But on the other side of things, Americans have got to get accustomed to the way their country is perceived  nowadays by the rest of the world. The image of the human rights crusader is no more.
Vira e mexe aparece um americano idiota querendo dar uma de dono da razão xingando o Brasil. “O controle da segurança do tráfego aéreo no Brasil é péssimo” disse Joe Sharkey (jornalista do New York Times que estava no jato que bateu no avião da Gol) sobre o lamentável acidente que ocorreu com o voô 1907 na Amazônia.
Bom é o deles né?!
agradecimentos ao rebola na rede.
Americano idiota diz que “Controle do tráfego aéreo no Brasil é PÉSSIMO!!!” – Canto Redondo
Eu ainda acho que está história não condiz com a verdade, parece-me que o cara está tentando levantar bandeiras a favor dos pilotos americanos lá nos Estados Unidos, por que se depender daqui eles estão f*didos. Até agora, para mim, a versão mais próxima do que pode ter acontecido, foi dita pela Alexandre Garcia no Bom Dia Brasil: “…enquanto o vôo 1907 seguia seu padrão, em uma aerovia percorrida todos os dias, um norte-americano, piloto do Legacy, pode ter se rendido à vontade de testar o avião recém retirado da fábrica, julgando a Amazônia um deserto também no ar. Como o controle de terra exigia manter-se no nível padrão, ele teria desligado o transponder que o identificaria e atingiu o boeing justo na empenagem, que controla a direção e a profundidade. Os danos na ponta da asa e do estabilizador do Legacy testemunham que poderia estar manobrando inclinado…”
Joe Sharkey fala sobre a colisão – Sedentário e Hiperativo
A ExcelAire, empresa americana proprietária do Legacy que se chocou com o Boeing da Gol no dia 29 de setembro, quer retirar os pilotos Joseph Lepore e Jan Paladino do Brasil o mais rápido possível. Até a secretária de Estado Condoleezza Rice está sendo acionada para levar os funcionários da empresa de volta aos Estados Unidos. E se fosse o contrário: Se um brasileiro derrubasse um avião no espaço aéreo americano apenas com um passageiro, ele voltaria para o Brasil? E se fossem 2 brasileiros derrubando um avião com 154 pessoas a bordo? O que iria contecer com eles? Estariam presos, incomunicavéis, algemados, sofrendo todo tipo de agressão e humilhação. Seriam considerados TERRORISTAS.
Condollezza Rice tenta retirar pilotos do Lagacy do Brasil – TouroLouco
Apart from the strong anti-US reactions in the blogosphere and the media, some bloggers call for a more balanced approach. And, as always, bloggers offer some interesting new perspectives.
O que vemos agora é um jogo de empurra-empurra para ver em quem cola a culpa! Sabe-se que um acidente aéreo é uma seqüência de falhas e erros! Não podemos embarcar nesta teoria de jogá-la simplesmente nos pilotos americanos… Peço que esta crucificação que está em curso não prejudique a categoria de aviadores brasileiros que viajam para os Estados Unidos. Erros independem de nacionalidade… Nesta vila, todas as casas tem teto de vidro!
Silvio Sanchez in O Caso Gol-Legacy – Blog do Nassif
Os portalões estão dando notícias sobre a queda do vôo 1907 da Gol, que caiu no Mato Grosso, com um mapinha tosco. Mas o que eles não sabem é que com o Google Maps dá para ter uma idéia exata de onde o avião caiu. OBS: o ClicRBS publicou as coordenadas da cidade: “As coordenadas da cidade são 10.220278 de latitude, 54.982778 de longitude.”
Mais sobre a queda do avião da Gol – Bender Blog
A Embraer, que recebia apenas três consultas mensais de interessados em comprar o jatinho Legacy, recebeu nove consultas só nesta semana. Segundo um consultor, o acidente que matou 155 pessoas num Boeing da Gol pode reforçar a imagem de segurança do aparelho, “literalmente um jato que derrubou um Boeing”.
Legacy-literalmente um jato que derrubou um Boeing – Fora Apedeuta
Nevertheless, old grievances and disputes always find ways to come back…
“It is amazing (and good) that you´re all safe and sound. Well, well, well… who would say that a Brazilian airplane would survive and a Boeing… American…would not. Needless to say,  it is a good time to remind American people that it was SANTOS DUMONT – a Brazilian – who invented the airplane, not the Wright Brothers…ok? By the way, you could have been more sensitive to the victims´suffering. Shame on the US.”
Comentário de Paulo – in Ê Povinho Bunda – Liberal, Libertário, Libertino

author: Jose Murilo


text:
Argentina: First International Festival of Design · Global Voices
David Sasaki

The city government weblog, Blog Pasa en Buenos Aires previews the first International Festival of Design [ES] taking place in “El Dorrego” from Oct. 12 to 29. Entrance is free and more information is available on the website of the Metropolitan Center of Design [ES].


text:
Argentina, UK: Tensions rise over Falklands debate · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Erwin Cifuentes gets readers up to date on a conflict forgotten by just about the entire world … except Argentina and the United Kindgdom.


text:
Bangladesh: The veil in UK · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mezba comments on Straw's take on the veil, and explores the import of the hijab within the religion.

author: Neha Viswanathan


text:
Barbados: USA eats crow · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Will Mr. Barbados give up that new Oriental girlfriend and go back with the rich man’s daughter?” asks a cheeky Barbados Free Press, contemplating the USA's attempts to woo back Caribbean nations who have been accepting gifts from China.

author: Georgia Popplewell


text:
Belarus: New Detention and Demolition of the Old · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog reports on the detention of a young activist on murder charges. Also, there's an entry on demolition of old buildings in Minsk.


text:
Brazil: Tecno Brega · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alexandre at Critical World Blog looks at Brazilian Tecno Brega as a way to “build markets on top of social commons.”


text:
Cayman Islands: Roll over policy · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Mighty Afroditee's child's caregiver falls victim to Cayman Islands’ government's newly implemented “roll over policy”, which limits the length of time expatriates can stay in the country.


text:
China: internet watermelons · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates a Beijing Times article about how a watermelon grower skipped the local market and set up an virtual watermelon stand on the Internet instead.

author: Oiwan Lam


text:
China: no more adultery on TV during prime time? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Shang peijin in Shanghaiist reports that the State Administration for Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) is thinking about limiting the number of family dramas involving adultery themes during prime time television hours.


text:
Colombia: “Operación Dragón,” 2 years later · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Adam Isacson describes “Operación Dragón”, who was involved, who was affected, and where it stands now: “It has been two years now, and the Operación Dragón case has not moved at all within Colombia's justice system. The files are probably on somebody's desk at the attorney-general's office, but Operación Dragón hasn't even entered the formal investigation stage. Berenice says taht the authorities claim not to believe them: ‘they think we dreamed it up.'”


text:
Congo-Brazzaville: Corruption Wall of Shame · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Les Nouveaux Riches Congolais (Fr), part critique, part satire, uses its blog as a wall of shame for those in Congo-Brazzaville who have allegedly gotten rich through unscrupulous or illegal means.  The site also includes a creative reinterpration of key articles of the constitution: “ARTICLE 47: Public goods are sacred and inalienable.  All citizens, except for me, my wife, my sons, daughter, nieces and nephews, brothers, sisters, cousins, distant relatives, apparatchicks of the PCT and other obscure servants on a list that will be established through a presidential decree, must respect them.”


text:
Congolese Political Activists Accuses Congolese and Belgium Governments of Wiretapping · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

At the UDPS Liege blog (Fr), Samy Musampa Batena Babo of the Congolese political party Union for Democracy and Social Progress alledges that the Belgian and Congolese governments have been tapping his phone.


text:
Cuba, Czech Republic: Solidarity · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia reads with interest a statement from intellectual and ormer Czech leader Vaclav Havel expressing solidarity with Cuban dissidents.


text:
Guyana-Gyal: Yin and Yang · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

After reading another newspaper editorial fraught with pessimism, Guyana-Gyal wishes there were more people like her friend, who “understand that along with tears is laughs; with the dark, light; problems, solutions; sick, heal. That is what I wish we could hear, again, again.“


text:
Guyana: Skin deep? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana Providence Stadium's field reporter waxes cynical about the cosmetic enhancements being made to Guyana's capital city ahead of the 2007 Cricket World Cup: “In Guyana these days as soon as you plant trees to beautify the place, the people dig them up and plant them in their own yards.“


text:
India: Children and their Mothers · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Mad Momma writes a wonderful post on coping with her own actions and loving her child. “I slapped my son an hour ago. Not once. But six times in a white hot rage. This after being brought up by parents who even 25 years ago knew that you don't hit a child. A toddler. I have no excuse. A few reasons maybe, but nothing to excuse my behaviour.”


text:
Iran:Designs and Empire · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Legomahi, presents a new collection of designs. The blogger says the designs are inspired by Sassanid Empire.

author: Fred Petrossian


text:
Iran:My sweet little terrorist song · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

You can read lyrics and listen to English songs of 127 band from Iran. In my sweet little terrorist lyric, we read  “legally I'm nobody , when I cross the border
I'm somebody mean my international rights are in some poiticians thought,I'm just a dream as I turn to this microphone and scream I just wanna watch Dylan playin’ live
I won't fly into Pentagon alive “.


text:
Jamaica: Colin Channer · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

An interview with Jamaican writer Colin Channer is the latest in Geoffrey Philp's 5 Questions series.


text:
Jamaica: Opposition blunder · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Xamayca outlines the details surrounding an incident involving an accusation of corruption made by Jamaica's leader of the opposition against the ruling party.


text:
Japan: mid autumn festival · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ryoko in Pingmag shows us how Japanese celebrate their mid autumn festival.
David Weber in Japundi also shows us some Japanese style artistic lanterns.


text:
Kangi Alem on American Empire · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Togolese writer Kangi Alem discusses (Fr) Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States and the dark side of America's international role. Alem calls the U.S. “a highly original form of democracy that imposes itself with arms, bombs and artillery” and says that “the hegemonic pretentions of the American Empire put the survival of the human race itself in danger.”


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Split over PM · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts analyzes whether or not a split in Kyrgyzstan's opposition over the Prime Minister is exactly what it seems to be.


text:
Kyrgyzstan: Thoughts on the President’s Strategy · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Mirsulzhan Namazaliev gives his thoughts on the Kyrgyz president's strategies for the country's development over the next decade.


text:
Mexico, Spain: Video Blogging · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Alfredo, who maintains the weblog “Mexicans in Spain” introduces Roger Casas-Alatriste [ES], a Mexican national living in Madrid and working on the online video platform MobuzzTV [ES].


text:
Pakistan: Power station of the Past · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

How some places of importance are reduced to nothing. Light Within on Gogera “It is reduced to a shabby and sleepy suburb of Okara today. Town still boasts its importance when it was important British power centre and district headquarters from 1852 to 1865 and the part played by the resilient people of the area during War of Independence in 1857.”


text:
Russia, Georgia: Crisis Continues · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As the confrontation between Georgia and Russia continues, so does the discussion of it in the Russian blogosphere. Below are some of the exchanges, translated from Russian.
LJ user plushev writes:
I don't even remember when nearly everyone was writing on one subject. Beslan, perhaps. Was there anything like this after Beslan? […]
What follows is a selection of Georgia-related quotes from plushev‘s LJ friends’ journals: one blogger worries about president Putin's mental health, a few others crave Georgian food (Moscow authorities have shut down several Georgian restaurants), there are mentions of sculptor Zurab Tsereteli and writer Boris Akunin (Grigoriy Chkhartishvili), both of whom are Georgia-born, and both, as of today, are reportedly under investigation for tax evasion and fraud. LJ user cook (Sergei Parkhomenko) shares this “I'm Georgian” (“Ya gruzin”) solidarity badge:
LJ user individuumus adopts the image for his userpic:
LJ user alisezus gets someone to add a Georgian flag to hers:
She writes:
You see, I don't care about Saakashvili's regime at all, but I do care about the fact that ethnic cleansing is taking place in Moscow and its excuse is the fight against Saakashvili's regime. […] Yes, I am for the Georgians who are being abused in Russia.
In the comments to plushev‘s LJ roundup, bloggers discuss the seeming hopelessness of the situation – and wonder if they as bloggers can change anything:
_ko_alla: Do you think this can stop the shame that's taking place now? Our officials will read it – and it'll move them and they'll change their minds?
We write about it, discuss it among each other, but what's the use…
plushev: Do you mean you'd like the LJ to have a direct impact?
_ko_alla: Wouldn't you like it? :-))
Seriously, though, the only result of all these discussions is the possibility to find people who share your beliefs. To see that the nonsense of the authorities isn't absolute and that normal people still exist…
thespinningone: Right.. =\ Intelligentsia will, of course, sympathize and voice discontent, but the masses are either indifferent to this anti-Georgian state policy, or they [approve of it], imho…
_ko_alla: Exactly: it's not just the official position that's frightening, but the opinion of the majority as well […].
Those labelled “the minority” seem pretty vocal, however, and pretty inventive in their dissent. LJ user o-b-vinitel writes:
If there's a need to hide a Georgian family from the [Federal Security Service], I can help.
Georgian cuisine, again, seems like a good weapon in the current situation. LJ user kmaka writes:
I'm on my way to buy ingredients for khachapuri. Kharcho, lobio and chakhokhbili are in my plans, too.
Very ashamed [because of the situation]. Disgusting jackals.
If someone needs it – there's a Georgian cuisine chapter here [in Russian].
LJ user mash-ka has similar intentions:
my personal
protest.
tonight
i won't be lazy and will cook
khachapurrrrrrrrrri and satsivi.
my personal protest action, damn it.
***
In an earlier post, LJ user plushev points out the sad irony present in the ways the Russian authorities are dealing with the crisis – and the ways in which they are fighting organized crime:
The latest events demonstrate vividly that it's very easy to overcome ethnic criminal groups: all it takes is to [have a fight] at the highest level with the countries from which members [of these groups] originate. But according to this logic, Russian criminals are absolutely safe – to [break up] with oneself isn't a trivial task. But on the other hand, our own bandits are quite bearable, because they are a lot more pleasant and are easier to understand. And above all, they are a lot more spiritual.
Comments reveal that while for some criminal situation in Russia is an abstract topic, for others it's personal – and very painful:
hetribadi: Russian criminals will be overcome when Muslims become the majority in Russia. Then it'll be possible to say that all the trouble is caused by Russians.
frolin: I think that it's all very well. If you get a new playground for kids in your backyard because of the geopolitical confrontations – will you be upset?
plushev: Of course, I will. I've always assumed that children's playgrounds are to be built on my taxes, that are being ripped off me regularly once a month, and now it turns out that in addition to this, there should also be a geopolitical confrontation. I'm all for being happy about it, but only if they eliminate the income tax.
[…]
plushev: [Nature abhors a vacuum], as we know. One criminal entity will undoubtedly be replaced by another, mono- or multiethnic. So quantitatively nothing whatsoever is going to change, no matter how many [punitive] actions they stage to show off. Until the system that protects these criminal entities is destroyed. [This very system] is now chasing the Georgian bandits around – who but not [this system] knows better where to look for them. They are just unlucky, that's it.
[…]
timoha67: No matter what, it's easier to live next to our own bandits… They are, in one way or another, “the guys from the [same neighborhood]” who went to the same school with you, who grew up in the same culture with you… And it's possible to come to an agreement with them…
plushev: Aha, tell it to my papa, who was killed at the request of one Russian bastard by the twenty other Russian bastards.
sluza: You serious?
plushev: [Yes.]
timoha67: There are enough bastards everywhere…
plushev: But you promised it'd be easier to come to an agreement with them. So I decided to find out where they do come to agreements, thought you'd know.


text:
Russia: “Ruled by Lunatics” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Russian Dilettante thinks “the Kremlin has gone mad”: “This hunt for people with Georgian last names the Kremlin is leading is beyond belief. (Clearly it is ethnic Georgians who are targeted regardless of nationality — not just “illegal immigrants.”) I have a feeling this country is ruled by lunatics. Not just cynics but asylum types. I haven't had this feeling of trouble descending since August 1991 — when it all ended well…”


text:
Russia: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Street Names · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

White Sun of the Desert writes about Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk street names and monuments inherited from the Soviet times.


text:
South Korea: foreign actors deported · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

South Korean immigration authorities have handed down deportation orders for actors David Anselmo and Clinton Morgan, both of whom appeared in blockbuster “The Host,” for violating Article 20 of Korea’s immigration law. Robert Koehler's advice is: next time you engage in activities outside of your visa status in Korea, make sure you’re married to the American ambassador.


text:
South Korea, Taiwan and China: Scandal in Beijing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The concert, Scandal in Beijing, by Korean pop star Kangta and Taiwanese singer Vanness Wu at the National People's congress hall last month has irritated some conservative netizen.  According to Robert Koehler in Marmot's Hole, the netizens were a bit upset at the government for allowing the artists to turn China’s august legislative chamber into a “nightclub.”


text:
Sri Lanka: Business in the country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Mahoshada discusses the viability of doing business in Sri Lanka. “Conditions for conducting business in Sri Lanka have deteriorated markedly during the last year; this according to the World Bank’s annual publication Doing Business 2007, which provides a comprehensive international comparison of business conditions. “


text:
Sudan: helping Darfur · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What is Africa doing to help Darfur?, asks Grandiose Parlor: It is a shame that the best Africa leaders can muster is some 7,000 ill-equipped troops that are expected to to police an area half the size of Nigeria! [Darfur=493 180 sq. km , Nigeria= 923,768 sq. km] This is a huge shame.


text:
Tahitian Ballet · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Part kitsch, part grande spectacle, La danse tahitienne (Fr) calls Tahitian ballet “a cultural revolution somewhere between Bollywood and Cirque du Soleil.”


text:
Tajikistan: Election Assessment · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Alexander Sadikov discusses the OSCE's assessment of the environment in which Tajikistan's presidential election will take place.


text:
The State of the Argentinean Blogosphere: Blogs About Journalism and the Media · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

Original version in spanish here
To find information about the media is not usually, at least not in Argentina, an easy task. For many particular reasons – economic, political, or pure convenience – there are very few places to find information about facts related to journalistic issues such as dismissals, mergers and other business events. Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised by the recent appearance of blogs specializing in publishing information about the media that is rarely known by the general public, aside from exhibiting an uncommon critical sense in mass journalism. These blogs also have another particularity: they're signed under a pseudonym, and the journalists who write them have a certain degree of anonimity. Why do they keep these blogs? Three bloggers explain their interest for the media, and the lack of debate about the state of journalism in Argentina. They are: Papipo, from “Del Medio“; Samurai Jack, from “Barra de Seriales“; and Periodista Oscuro, from “Solo un oscuro periodista“.
Acording to Papino, “blogs are tools that come in handy to journalists that are typically unemployed and can't talk or write about what they want, when they want and how they want to. There is no critic or selfcritic even when superficial of the media. In my case, I found in a blog the necessary channel to digest my opinions about the office, something that at my paid job and with my true identity I couldn't be able to do”. On the other side, Periodista Oscuro affirms one of the causes of his blog is that “there is no space within the media to criticize one's work. It's possible in a writing office to criticize the competition or journalists from other media, but it's implicitly forbidden to do it about the media company you're working at. It's an environment that should encourage debate and discussion but instead a climate of unquestionable authoritary hierarchy is established”.
Where the three bloggers coincide is the progressive loss of quality in Argentinean journalism. “There's a generalized cultural decline, a labor impoverishment, and a careless style. Among other things, because there are no editors or correctors”, says Samurai Jack.
And why inform about the media, then? “The information about the media should be greater because the media has to be very transparent in its procedures, capitals, etc”, says Papipo. “In Europe and the USA, there's a long tradition of journalistic ethics that in Latin America in general and in Argentina in particular not only is not practiced, but it's unthinkable: for instance, the difussion of declarations of assets and the ombudsman are usual issues that were never done here”. And Samurai Jack adds: “Carlos Abrevaya said once that the media are the reading books of the citizen, then it's vital for the citizen to know who are the authors and whose interests do they defend”.
Of course, the fact that producing his blog under a pseudonym can be sometimes a subject of debate, but it's clearly justifiable for those interviewed: “I can't openly write against the media I work at. Simply because I'd get kicked out”, says journalist Periodista Oscuro. And Papino adds: “without a pseudonym I couldn't write 90 percent of what I write. Still, there are many others who write using their full name about the media and never make a straight, profound critic on other media and colleagues because it's clear that they fear losing their source of work or making enemies with potential working partners or critics of their work”.
In these blogs, many times we find specific information about certain issues related to the media, such as articles with mistaken information or terrible edition, or dismissals, or curious details. Such emphasis on the specifics won't make the reader lose sight of the more structural character of the relation between the media's quality impoverishment and the financial needs of the companies? Papipo answers: “At least my blog tries to include the anecdote, the reflection and the critic. If I don't contextualize or go to a macro analysis of the decisions it's my fault or lack of time to elaborate more on the articles. I make a blog, not a media that tries to be a reference point or a paradigm. People are not stupid and when they find information criticizing journalism usually they're astonished, but more than anything, it confirms their suspicions about certain media and journalists they mistrust”. And Samurai Jack reinforces the idea of a participating audience: “Readers, people, the Internet consumer, are active subjects. We write for the percentage of people connected in a world where there are people with no running water. I mean, I don't think they need to be told that the media people are powerful and manage us or that journalists are those guys who make things in the spaces the publicity leaves free”.
To cite some good examples of Internet journalism, I'll mention Periodismo.com, Diario sobre diarios, and Trabajos Practicos. Also, La Vaca (Papipo), Puto el que Lee and Arbitrario (Samurai Jack) and Eduardo Fabregat's and Sebastian Hacher‘s blogs. To name some poorer examples, Periodista Oscuro and Samurai Jack point at Bloc de Periodista, from Dario Gallo, executive editor of Noticias magazine. Papipo, who's had several polemics with other journalists who keep blogs, prefers to refer to the kind of contents he's not interested in, without saying names: “I don't like blogs that publish gazettes without a minimal critical analysis of the information or the onanists in which all posts are selfreferential and there's no feedback. I won't give names because I'd create polemics and would be accused of seeking traffic”.

author: Jorge Gobbi


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Different strokes · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“While the rest of us are lining up for visas, being groped by security guards, having our fingerprints taken and our eyeballs photographed (not to mention having our phone numbers, credit card numbers and meal preferences sent ahead to Homeland Security if we're crossing the Atlantic), US citizens are still swanning around the world without even a passport,” writes Trinidad blogger Jeremy Taylor. “Can anyone explain to me why getting a passport to travel with is such a big deal for Americans?”


text:
Trinidad & Tobago: Mousepads for bandwidth · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Taran Rampersad takes the mickey out of two quotes relating to technology from the budget speech read this week by Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister.


text:
Ukraine: Help Sought to Save an Ailing Teen · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petro Rondiak and his wife Ola are looking for ways to save a 14-year-old Ukrainian girl diagnosed with leukemia: “It is clear that Tania will not get the required treatment in Ukraine. Ola and I are looking for a western hospital (USA? Germany?) to provide pro bono medical care for Tania. If anyone has any contacts or any information regarding physicians, hospitals, or charitable foundations that we can contact on Tania's behalf we would greatly appreciate it. Please leave a comment on this post.”


text:
Ukraine: Tariffs and Coal Mines · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about the communal services prices situation and translates an article about Ukrainian coal mines.


text:
Venezuela: Its Own Playboy · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Venezuela became the fourth Latin American country to claim its own version of Playboy on Tuesday. The Venezuelan model, Jennifer Rodriguez, adorns the first issue's cover says Huguito [ES].


text:
Cambodia: Censorship · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Arie, an American living in Cambodia comments on the censorship in the country.


text:
Cambodia: Rumours of a Coup · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Details are Sketchy downplays the rumours of a coup in Cambodia due to the extensive hold the ruling party has on almost every aspect of Cambodian state. “Indeed, the situations in Cambodia and Thailand are massively different. The ruling CPP has governed Cambodia with an iron fist for the better part of 30 years. It controls the military, the national police and every state-run apparatus in the country, from the Ministry of Interior down to the local block captain.”


text:
Congolese Writer Alain Mabanckou on André Schwarz-Bart · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Alain Mabanckou, a novelist and poet from Congo-Brazzaville now living in California, pays tribute (Fr) to Polish-Jewish writer André Schwarz-Bart, author of Le Dernier de justes who passed away last weekend.  Schwarz-Bart, who grew up in France during the German occupation, lived in Guadeloupe with his wife, writer Simone Schwarz-Bart.


text:
E-Commerce Comes to Cameroon · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Le Blog de PKJ Agency (Fr) writes about a possible new e-commerce business set to launch in Cameroon in the coming months.


text:
Fiji: Fijian Fashion · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Wendy at Babasiga blog introduces the various dresses that the Fijian women wear.


text:
Indonesia: International Potluck · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Students from South-East and rest of Asia are increasing going to China to learn Mandarin. Christina, an Indonesian student in Fuzhou, Southern China throws a potluck party to welcome her new classmates from all over Asia and beyond.


text:
Philippines: Photographer’s Haven in Manila · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Senor Enrique in Philippines blogs about a project to turn a busy Manila Street into a photographer's haven. “Only a couple of months ago I posted an entry about an initiative by Jaime Chua along with the Hidalgo Business Organization to gentryfy R. Hidalgo Street — to relocate the street vendors that clog the entire strip and turn it into a photographers’ haven — a sprawling pedestrian’s promenade and at the same time promote the local photo industry, as well as attract a new wave of photography enthusiasts. It is now a reality!”


text:
Singapore:Mid Autumn Lantern Festival · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Singapore blogger anonnymousxwrites visits and posts images from the Lantern Carnival at a park in Singapore. The mid-autumn festival is a Chinese traditional festival that is celebrated by hanging colorful lanterns and exchanging moon cakes.


text:
Surf in Chile · Global Voices
Rosario Lizana

In Chile summer is coming and the surfers don’t mind. They just surf all year long up and down Chile's 2,880 miles of coastline. A community of passionate surfers share videos, experiences and their lifestyle.  Chilesurf (ES), is not only a blog of Chilean news, waves, beaches and championships, but also a movement that takes care of the beaches known as “Ecosurfers.”
Alrededor de 25 personas entre niños, jóvenes y adultos se reunieron en el sector de la playa identificado como el más afectado por basura “Las Urracas” en el marco del día Mundial de Limpieza de las Playas. En este sector se realizo una limpieza de las diferentes áreas de esta playa. Entre las más contaminadas se encuentran partes como los bordes de paredes cerca donde viven algunos indigentes. Vidrio, Plásticos entre algúnas cosas se recolectaron después de más de una hora de limpieza se logro sacar aproximadamente 200 kilos de basura. Luego disfrutamos de una convivencia (asadito playero de pescado) que sirvió tratar temas afines al medio ambiente y entregarle nombre a nuestra organización.
In a preview post, he wrote about the best surfers in an international championship in Maitencillo.
Other independent surfers include rianvanu (ES)  who shares videos (ES) of Chilean beaches and “surfchicas” (ES) a portal of Chilean woman that surf, and they are proudly the first female portal to cover the topic.

author: Rosario Lizana


text:
Tahitian Classic Cinema · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Tahiti: Littérature, Musique et… (Fr) offers a primer on classic Tahitian cinema.


text:
Taiwan: Global Voices in Chinese Podcasting · Global Voices
Portnoy Zheng

Swpave records a podcast featuring headlines and hot blogging topics for the last week gathered from HEMiDEMi(a social bookmarking service in Taiwan, just like a combination of del.icio.us and digg.com) along with 6 stories from Global Voices Online in Chinese for the last week. He says the making of this podcast took him about one and a half hour…however it was fun and vivid when recording short stories from GVO in Chinese.

author: Portnoy Zheng


text:
Africa: rice and neo-colonialism · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What has rice got to do with neo-colonialism in Africa? Mining Exploration has the answer:
“Africa is home to 8% of the world’s oil reserves, which has prompted Beijing to spend billions of dollars to secure drilling rights in Nigeria, Sudan and Angola and to negotiate exploration contracts with Chad, Gabon, Mauritania, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia and the Republic of the Congo. The continent now accounts for 25% of China’s oil imports.
In addition, the Chinese are also key investors in the copper industry in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And they are buying timber in Mozambique, Liberia, Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.”


text:
China and Taiwan: media star map · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translates an articles written by Chang Shi-kuo on the transition of Chinese media as represented by a star map.


text:
China: bilingual photo blog · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei's blog is now turning into a bilingual photo blog, run by a team. The blog's propaganda statement is here.


text:
China: celebrating national day · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Absurd fool at interlocals.net reports about the politics of consumption during the national day holiday; Joel Martinsen in DANWEI translates a blog post on “National day in the age of angry youth”.


text:
China: Fifty-three things you may not know · Global Voices
John Kennedy

As if learning Chinese wasn't hard enough, did you know that all bloggers in China are security encryption experts?
‘An effective way to visit Wikipedia’ [zh]—which is blocked in China—from Bokee blogger KangKang:
现在，维基媒体提供了通过HTTPS协议安全上维基网站的方法。使用下面的连接：
* 中文维基百科https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/zh/wiki/
* 中文维基新闻https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikinews/zh/wiki/
* 英文维基百科https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/
如果访问其他语言版本，将上述URL中的zh, en换成相应的语言代码；如果访问其他计划，将上述URL中的wikipedia,wikinews替换为相应项目的名称。例如：
* 维基共享 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ -> https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikimedia/commons/wiki/
特殊情况：
* 维基文库公共入口 http://wikisource.org/wiki/ -> https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/wikisource/wiki/
这种访问方法的问题是跨项目和跨语言连接不能工作。部分解决的方法，是在用户页的自定义配置文件中加入Template:SSLFixupjs。方法如下：
* 进入 Special:Mypage/monobook.js。你可以在沙箱或者自己的用户页写 [[Special:Mypage/monobook.js]]然后保存，通过生成的链接（如果之前没有编辑过，一般是红字）进入编辑。
* 在编辑框输入{{Subst:SSLFixupjs|100}}，然后保存。
* 当页面重新显示后，Mozilla/Firefox用户点重新加载（或ctrl-r），IE/Opera用户点ctrl-f5, Safari用户点cmd-r，Konqueror用户点ctrl-r。这一步骤可以刷新页面，强行加载新的js文件。之后，就可以使用了。
这个方法的特点：
* 只能用于登陆用户，IP用户不能使用。
* 如果你采用其他方法访问维基，所添加的代码不会起任何作用。
* 如果你通过这个方法去访问跨项目和跨语言链接，你在其它项目上也应该有一个用户名并且按照将刚才的模板所生成的代码复制到该项目相应的配置文件，否则你在哪个项目就不能使用这个功能。另外，目前维基文库上的这个模板稍有点不同，请不要直接复制生成的代码，而是使用{{Subst: SSLFixupjs|100}}这种方法。
网页代理
现在很多网站都提供了代理服务，即在页面的文本框中输入URL就可以通过该网站访问请求的URL。
由于网页代理的不稳定性，这里只是列出一些通过页面代理服务访问维基百科的例子。
* http://webwarper.net/ww/~av/zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/
* http://anonymouse.ws/cgi-bin/anon-www.cgi/http://zh.wikipedia.org
对网页加载过程中若出现任何对话框，请点击接受或OK按钮，某些连接可能不能保持cookies或接受css，因此可能无法登录/创建帐号或页面显示不完美。
One hundred and one other tips here [zh], and if you have time check out secure Gmail at https://mail.google.com/mail.
Special interests aren't getting any special treatment whatsoever, says a post [zh] from Daniel Wu at Blogbus, looking at a government move to see lobbying groups in China to grow and work without shady funding, ostensibly on their own merit:
新华网北京10月4日的一则电文说：执政党在鼓励市场竞争的同时，将采取措施抑制和防范”特殊利益集团”，以免损害公众利益、破坏社会和谐。报道援引社科院陆学艺研究员的话说：今后将主要靠制度和民主程序协调利益关系、调控利益矛盾，让各利益主体在同一平台博弈的基础上达成共识。记者最后说：”特殊利益集团”的形成发展同商业贿赂存在着密切关系，正在开展的打击商业贿赂行动也表明对可能形成”特殊利益集团”的戒备。
这则电文可看出：当权者正试图防止改革堕入权贵资本主义的泥潭。尽管电文只提出要”防止某些政府部门及一些官员成为'特殊利益集团'的代理人”，但联系最近局势，不难感受到最高层对党与政府内特殊利益集团坐大，甚至与核心分庭抗礼的忧心愤怒。电文中点名的几大垄断行业背后，某些现任与前任党政高层被认为是重要的既得利益者。换言之，十三届二中全会提出的”人民内部利益集团的矛盾”已漫延到执政党上层，可能对胡温主导的”和谐社会主义”政纲造成重大威胁。由此，我们认为：
1、当局明年秋季前要重点打击的是”狭隘的、排他性”的”特殊利益集团”，而不是”人民内部利益集团”。不应误读为高层不再容忍”利益集团”的存在与合法活动（包括合法的院外活动）。
2、尽管商业贿赂与院外活动间并没有必然、本质的联系，但打击商业贿赂必将连带打击当前院外活动中存在的某些不良现象与作风。不排除短期”矫枉过正”的可能。
3、这将使正在蹒跚学步的中国院外活动面临新的舆论与监管压力，但也同时获得新的健康发展动力。”靠制度和民主程序协调利益关系、调控利益矛盾”亦有可能为中国院外活动获得制度地位提供重大机遇。
Funding isn't the issue for eBay in Asia, says Sina blogger Shang Jin, but incompatible local attitudes towards doing business:
ebay的撤退和泛东亚商业之迥然
昨天ebay台湾关门了，目前就剩下3个员工了，而且还不是ebay的人，按照王建硕说法，这三人还都是Kijiji的兄弟。
这不仅仅是ebay卖掉自己，或者谁谁打跑外国竞争对手，然后成功上市的商业问题。这是一个互联网商业时代非常具有研究参考的话题，ebay曾经用互联网交互方式的革新，用了10年，推广出了c2c的商业模式，而且彻底赢得了全球性的胜利，但是往b2c，b2b深入的时候，这种全球化的问题来了。台湾地区的撤退，甚至包括大陆ebay被淘宝追着打，其实都是很值得深入思考的问题。亚洲式的本地商业文化，尤其是消费者对于商品的认同，以及商业文化中的信任问题，大大的与欧洲不同，ebay可以在德国垄断式的存在，也说明了美国式的商业在欧洲如何可行。却在东亚泛儒家政治文化圈并不适用。除了商业文化上的不同，社会结构和人与人之间交互方式，即便在互联网的界面上，亚洲都是不同的。
So just what are these local attitudes? Here's a fun little piece [zh] blogger Ayok borrowed from Sina.com entitled ‘A New Fifty Chinese Characteristics as Seen in Foreigners’ Eyes‘:
１.百姓收入是欧美的几十分之一 ,房价却要赶超欧美
２.房子可以是自己的,但土地永远是国家的!最近补充了一下:”房子是土地的一部分”!
３.国际长途,从国内打到国外的价格是国外打到国内价格的10倍以上!此谓支持民族工业—尊敬的”中国移动”!
４.成天叫嚣”中华民族的伟大复兴”,”教育兴国”,”教育是根本”…..,但go-vern-ment教育经费投入之少与非洲穷国乌干达看齐,百姓自掏教育经费投入之多全球之冠!此谓社会主义优越性!
５.公务员的薪水不拿全国的平均水平,而是平均水平的3倍以上,此谓”高薪养廉”
６.全国公务员不交一分钱”养老金”,而退休后的养老金是全国其他人民的3倍以上。邻国蠢一狼3个月没缴”养老金”，全国中央电视台作为丑闻天天放！此谓”三步笑百步”了
７.出租私房要向派出所每月交费!–（类似B社会的保护费?）
８.禁止收看外国的电视节目!- （比塔利班的禁止收看电视可能要仁慈一点）
９.在国内旅游也需要\”签证\”-（去香港需要过境签证,去深圳需要边防检查证）
１０.反对执政party就要坐牢–（我看谁敢在大街上喊一句:打倒…）
１１.上市公司搞诈骗,股民受损失,但国家法院不受理此类赔偿!–（因为无法可依）
１２.禁止用自己买下的房子来作公司办公室–（上海市已经文规定,也就是说,你没有真正支配自己财产的权利）
１３.去网吧上网要出示身份证.
１４.黄色刊物属于非法,但性用品商店到处都是.
１５.摩托车的行驶证（牌照）价格比摩托车本身高上好几倍.
１６.在国外能够浏览的互联网内容在该国可能就无法浏览-（不是你的电脑故障）
１７.电话打得越多越贵,没打电话也要你付钱–（托中国电信的福手机双向收费）
１８.医疗事故其实是由医院来裁决的–（法院参照医院所属的上级部门的鉴定报告来判决）
１９.赌博是非法的,但彩票满天飞,是合法的.
２０.该国法官说的最多的一句话就是:”因还没有这方面的相关法律> “
２１.军队是属于某个政party的,不是国家的.
２２.人民是不能直接参与投票选举领袖的.
２３.一个国家可以有2种制度-（当然,也是被迫的,很不情愿的）
２４.每个公司中都有一个叫作party支部书记的职位–（当然,它是不负责公司业务的）
２５.该国中有个叫作”离休干部”的阶层,可以享受高于普通公民的待遇.
２６.该国的领导人喜欢在公共场合卖弄蹩脚的英文.
２７.新闻媒体是由某个政party投资的,但用的却是纳税人的钱-（新闻是我们party的喉舌名言）
２８.人民是不能随意改变居住地的–（户口制度）
２９.该国的货币是不能在世界上流通的.
３０.每对夫妇只允许生一个孩子
３１.该国的公民习惯于谎言,不愿意接受真相.
３２.该国每100个go-vern-ment官员中就有100个贪污犯–（当然,贪污数目大小有所不同拉）
３３.party内行政警告处分可以用来代替刑事处分.
３４.”失业”在该国被称之为”下岗”.
３５.该国资源丰富,但却很多不能用–（因为都被污染了）
３６.该国没有商业电视台 ,但电视广告却比国外台多好几倍.
３７.让老百姓知道的越少越好,这是该国的”既定国策”
３８.该国人口中有30%以上的文盲或准文盲.
３９.该国的法制中有”坦白从宽,抗拒从严”的政策-（不过最近几年好象没脸提了）
４０.在该国,开一个小酒吧需要100道审批,开一个公司需要1000道审批.
４１.该国是目前世界上唯一的发展中的社会主义国家 ,它的最终目标是实现Communist主义–（是不是很伟大呀…哈）
４２.该国家家都有大彩电,是不是很羡慕?不过那是用来接收party的指示的.
４３.当地人会把非本地人称作为”外来盲流”.
４４.该国的执政party垄断很多产业,他们称之为”民族产业”–（电信,交通,媒体,水电煤,…）
４５在该国,你能很便宜地买到世界各地的名牌货–（不过都是假货…哈）
４６.该国历史上曾经是鸦片的最大消费国,现在更是进化成为世界上最大的香烟消费国–（吸烟人口占总人口的比例世界第一）
４７.很多外国公司把次品卖给该国,因为该国的产品比次品还次.
４８.该国的公民好象个个都想消灭JP,但他们却经常拿自己的大半积蓄去买JP货哎这样何时才能消灭JP哟..哈）
４９.该国的公民（大多数）认为就是要爱……………
５０.该国的公民（大多数）看了这个帖子只能无奈的笑笑.

author: John Kennedy


text:
China: internationalization of movie · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Feng Xiao-kang's latest movie “the Banquet” is aiming at the international market, with many international stars, such as Zhang Ziyi. However, local responses of the movie have been rather negative. Lu Na in mindmeters comments that Feng has lost his style in the process of internationalization. Instead of taking advantage of his distinctive grassroots style, he believes that capital can buy his way to Hollywood.


text:
China: web design · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lyn Jeffery compares English and Chinese web design in Virtual China.


text:
Haze in South East Asia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Singapore, parts of Malaysia and Indonesia are hit by haze arising from illegal bush fires in Indonesia. These fires are started by farmers during the dry season to clear land for agriculture. The haze is more severe this year with Singapore already issuing a health warning.
Hazy afternoon in Singapore
The same view on haze free days
Enda Nasution links to bloggers in neighbouring countries who are complaining about the haze. The blogger says that Indoneisan media remains quiet over the issue.
Some have accused that Malaysian plantation owning companies in Indonesia might also be responsible for the haze , blogger KTemoc takes the Indonesian government to task for being lax in its enforcement.
The fact is that in those areas responsible for the burning, there is little enforcement activities because of massive corruption by the regional authorities. Indonesia must be held accountable regardless of whether the parties directly involved in the burning are Malaysian owned plantations in Indonesia. The enforcement agencies are not Malaysian owned, and they have failed ‘due diligence’ in preventing local hazardous activities that cause health problems to neighbouring countries.
Blogger Anakmerdeka in Malaysia describes the haze in a Malaysian city and says that dogs might have figured out how to get fresh air.
You can smell the haze in Seremban. The haze right at this moment in Seremban is really awful.You can actually smell it! It makes my throat feel scratchy. It also gets indoors through window openings.
My poor Buddyboy got nowhere to hide, he has resorted to parking himself between the back of his kennel and the hedge and lying low with his brown nose wedged underneath. Maybe he is smarter than most of us, the air at the lowest point is probably the freshest you can get right now.
Some bloggers like Asylum60 are finding humour in the haze situation. The blogger writes a posts titled “Top 5 Upsides of Haze Problem“. One of the upsides according to the blogger is
Upside No. 5 – “Malaysian Haze – almost like late autumn in England”
… minus the cold, minus the cleaner air, and oh yeah, minus England. Hmm.. a pint of bitter and some chips would be nice right around now…
Meanwhile, Howsy looks to haze problem as a blogging muse.
Bloggers, are your suffering from blogger's block? No ideas to blog about? Felt bored and frustrated with the haze? Well, worry not, coz it's time to dig up your old posts on the haze and post it again in your blog when it happens. I'm doing it right now.

author: Preetam Rai


text:
Kenya: Nairobi International Trade Fair · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Kenyan blogger attends the Nairobi International Trade Fair, “Things have changed. First of all this show is not exclusively about agriculture. Today I learnt how to get online using the Safaricom service GPRS service called The Edge without any wires using Bluetooth. I learnt about the Nairobi Stock Exchange and signed up with a couple of share traders. I sat in and messed about in the Volvo SUV XC-90. I learnt about Kenya’s efforts in Eco Tourism, drank some camel milk, checked the electoral roll to see if my registration last month is reflected, found out about holiday destinations in Mozambique etc. etc. etc.” He posts some photos from the trade fair.


text:
Let’s Go Save the Poor Congolese · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

At his blog, Alain Mabanckou, a Congolese writer living in California, gives a rather comic account of a conversation he had with his landlady after she sees a story on television about “the poor Congolese” (or maybe they were Africans from some other country whose “president has a long name”) who have “illness, famine, and many wives, and who are always fighting each other.”  She tells Mabanckou that their president (whoever he is) is really a villan and that “something really should be done…the Americans should go and clean up things over there.”


text:
Nigeria: if you can walk, you can dance · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

If you can walk, you can dance. Watch these videos of Nigerian kids celebrating birthday party.


text:
Nigeria: Jay Z in Nigeria · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Is Jay Z ripping off Nigerians? My Random Thoughts Daily writes, “Even when he played Wembley a couple of weeks ago the maximum ticket price was about £60. Why are Nigerians being ripped off in this way? I guess the CEO needs to get paid?”


text:
Russia: Anna Politkovskaya’s Murder · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist famous for her critical coverage of Chechnya and Vladimir Putin's policies, was shot to death in Moscow Saturday. Russian-language blogs are awash in speculation on who might be behind the murder.
Anton Nossik (LJ user dolboeb, aka “the Guru of Russian Internet“) points (RUS) at Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechnya's prime minister, without naming him; the Russian Yandex Blogs portal currently lists this post as the third most popular one in the Russian blogosphere:
The name of the contractor is absolutely obvious – it's just enough to know some widely available facts.
I'll cite them here, for the public record.
Fact number one. While Chechnya's prime minister [Sergei Abramov] was closely working on investigating the issue of who, how and where extorts money in Chechnya for “rebuilding the republic,” he kept getting attacked. The last attack – a car crash – was the fifth one, if I remember correctly. And the most successful one. Abramov was out of the game.
Fact number two: An hour and a half before her death, Anna Politkovskaya told about her latest investigations in an interview to the Caucasus Knot. She was investigating – surprise! – the same mechanisms of money extortion, corruption and stealing of state funds that Abramov had been looking for in his time (and, to his misfortune, kept finding). Politkovskaya had the misfortune to declare publicly that she had the documents at her disposal that would allow her to recreate the whole corrupted scheme of financing the “Chechen national projects.” The journalist's fate was decided.
Fact number three: of course, if there had only been an interview with the Caucasus Knot, Politkovskaya would have been alive now. Unfortunately, somewhat earlier, she managed to tell about it in an interview with Radio Liberty. And it's likely that the people whose plans could've been disrupted by her investigation had their own sources of information, which allowed them to know the current interests and creative plans of the deceased.
What has to be noted is the […] recklessness that accompanied the contractor's decision to tie the long-awaited “fact of liquidation” to the happy state holiday [Vladimir Putin's birthday]. I have no doubts he'll be allowed to get away with Politkovskaya, just as his father was forgiven for the jihad he had declared against Russia. Because there are plenty of false directions in which the investigation could be diverted. […] As for the actual hit man, I think the casting for the role of his corpse has already begun in the morgues of Chechnya's hospitals.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


text:
Turkey: Insulting Turkishness · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Confronting old Greek and Turkish historical tensions crosses the Atlantic as Amerikan Turk illustrates.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


text:
Turkey is Typing: Food Blogs · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Welcome to the Turkish food blogs edition. Today I would like to cover what I see is the top 10 of Turkish Food blogs in Turkish and English. As of today I have discovered 72 blogs devoted to the wonders of Turkish food, (I am working on compiling a list here) but I suspect that I have only found the tip of this iceberg.
1. Winning the award for the “Most Popular” site is Portakal Agaci [TR] (Orange Tree).  This site is an amazing resource as it not only focuses on giving fantastic recipes, but meal planning as well. Although this site is in Turkish, its usefulness is not lost on the English speaker.
2. The award for the “Best Group Food Blog” goes to Mutfaktakiler [TR] (Those that are in the Kitchen), which is about to celebrate its one year anniversary. The blog is in Turkish, however the author's sites are dual language.
3. There is a three-way tie for “Best Dual Language Food Blog”, our first winner is Yogurtland: excellent translations of everything and wonderful tips about different Turkish foods:
Most of you who has been reading this site might have realized that we, Turks, do not use a lot of spices but usually include another taste-enhancer in our dishes: red pepper paste. Very easy to make, this red pepper paste can be used in nearly every casserole you can think of. You can surely buy it from a Middle Eastern Store or online, but if you have a chance to buy these type of red peppers, I’d suggest trying making them home.
4. Second in our list of “Best Dual Language” is Ober Kedi (Glutton Cat) the focus of this blog is more on food tips than recipes, although I drool each time I look at her deep fried fishrecipe.
5. Binnur's Turkish Cookbook is the third on our list of “Best Dual Language Food Blog”. Binnur's Cookbook definitely gets my vote for the best organized and functional of the food blogs with categories on all food types and meal planning ideas.
6. Winner for the “Most Innovative Use of Technology” goes to Devletsah  [TR] which podcasts all of the directions to the recipes it uses.
7. “Best Photography” goes to Evcini  [TR] (House Genie), while the majority of the food blogs do their own photos and are of a great quality, Evcini takes my vote for tops.
8. The award for “Best Coverage of Other Food Blogs” goes to Cafe Fernando who focuses on some of the amazing work other bloggers have been doing as well as discussing the history and culture surrounding his culinary exploits. I highly recommend his post “five things to eat before you die”.
9. “Best Explanation of Turkish Food Culture” goes to Zen in the Kitchen which has been through several encarnations….from a food class, to a book, to a Turkish language blog and now to an English language blog. I recommend her post explaining what makes a Turkish breakfast unique.
10. “Best Sweets Site” goes to Pastaci [TR] (The Baker), just a quick glance at this wonderful site and you will understand why I had to include this one on the list.
There is our list of the top ten Turkish food blogs, please visit my new site Turkish Blog Count for a more extensive list.
And keeping with our theme of offering interesting links each week, I bring you our runner's up.
1. Ekmek Kokusu [TR] (The Smell of Bread), an excellent site focusing on bread recipes.
2. Caysaati  [TR] (Teatime), another sweet site.
3. Yemek Gunlugun [TR] (My Daily Food), is an excellent site with complete meal plans.


text:
Afghanistan: Pakistan & Security · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Afghan Warrior says that Pakistan must do more to control its territory so that the security situation in Afghanistan can improve.

author: Nathan Hamm


text:
Argentina: Blogs and Politics at the City Legislature · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Blogs and politics will intersect today at the City Legislature of Buenos Aires, where a debate is scheduled at 7 p.m. about “the right to information and new technologies [ES].


text:
Armenia: monochromosis armeniaca · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Nareg discusses a phenomenon in Armenian fashion he calls monochromosis armeniaca.


text:
Armenia: Return to Ararat · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Christian Garbis spent the weekend on the plains of Ararat, and reports on the perseverance of a successful farmer, his surrogate father in Armenia, who works the land there.


text:
Armenia: Time to Realign · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Burnell of Blogrel says that Armenia should move away from thinking of Russia as the best export market for its products.


text:
Bangladesh blog buzz · Global Voices
Rezwan

The latest happenings in Bangladeshi blogs around the world:
* Politics: A recent study published in the Daily Star depicts that there are 53% undecided voters making the prediction of the coming 2007 election very uncertain. Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations with an Optimist says this is because the voters have lost all faith in the politicians. He has an interesting analysis of the major parties’ chances.
* Living: Share the Magic on the burning issues of Bangladesh at present.
* Human rights: Zubair of Unheard Voices – Drishtipat group blog laments on the horrors of abuses of domestic helps and seeks ways to help them and start an awareness campaign.
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury's farcical trial in Bangladesh has created much controversy. Sepia Mutiny has a round up of world reactions. However Mr. Chowdhury is still a free man and the local press is surprisingly silent over the issue.
* Violence: Nazim Farhan Chowdhury of Conversations with an Optimist criticizes the violent nature of the recent protests and police brutalities in Bangladesh. He accuses the leaderships for this situation and asks whether Bangladeshis can find again the wisdom of Gandhi and Islam to resort to peaceful means in solving problems.
* Corruption: Mohammad Farhan Husain of Had I been in Voyager 1!!! is tormented by a news article of corruption in Biman, the national carrier of the Bangladesh which had a good reputation.
* Food: Siddiqua Kabir's “Ranna Khadyo Pushti” is the most popular cook book of Bangladesh. Many Bangladeshi expats have a copy of the book in their shelves. Ihtisham Kabir of Back to Bangladesh blog praises this book saying that it is equally helpful in home and abroad.
He also posts some photos of the mouth watering foods of Iftar sold during Ramadan time in Dhaka streets.
* Travel: Sanjoy Kumar has some fabulous photos from his recent tour to Rangamati and Bandarban, two beautiful tourist attractions of Bangladesh.
* Fashion: There is a saying that ‘cloth makes a man’. Andrew Morris of Morris the Pen analyzes Bangladeshi men by their fashion.
* Technology: Asif of Unheard Voices – Drishtipat group blog informs that the Bengali Wikipedia crossed 10000 entry and Bangla has become only the 2nd language from the South Asia to achieve the feat.

author: Rezwan


text:
Belarus: Blogosphere Digest · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

TOL's Belarus Blog posts a Belarusian blogosphere digest.


text:
Cayman Islands: Cruising for bruising · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

In the caption to this photo, Flickr user George Chang touches upon one of the dilemmas facing small tourist economies:
There are 6 cruise ships that you can see in this picture. They are anchored off of George Town in Grand Cayman, BWI [196 km²]. These ships actually do a lot of damage to the reefs with their anchors and chains. However, they are also a large revenue generator for the island.


text:
Chile: What Language Does the Internet Speak? · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Writing from Santiago, Rosario Lizana cites a recent study by the Spanish newspaper, El Pais, which found that 45% of all web pages on the internet are written in English while only 4.6% are written in Spanish. The reports suggests the creation of an governmental “Agency of Linguistic Coordination” to multiply the amount of online content in Spanish. Juan Pablo Tapia [ES] comments that, according to Sifry's latest “State of the Blogosphere,” only 3% of weblogs are written in Spanish.

author: David Sasaki


text:
Colombia: Naked Reflections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Naked Reflections [ES] is a Colombian weblog that deals with a lot more than just skin. blogsColombia describes [ES] the Medellín based project as “a subtle blog, feminine and with all the candor of a complex and sensitive woman. An unequalled hostess, Lully takes her audience for a journey across her ideas, sentiments, and experiences with a sense of freedom and love for life which encourages its exploration with body and mind. It is a sincere and spontaneous journey which incites you to keep reading and keep exploring.”