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East Africa: Is Kikwete the face of the region? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Is Kikwete (the President of Tanzania) the face of East Africa?,” asks African Affairs. He writes,
“Having taken to reading The East African of late,I couldn't help noticing something that has graced the front pages of the said newspaper in the past four or so issues.
If you are an ardent reader of the same, you may have noticed it too. The main picture on the front pages in these issues shows a ‘quixotic’ East African president with different people in each issue. This president is in the person of Mr. Kikwete of Tanzania.”


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Ethiopia: Yvonne Chaka Chaka sings under a fig tree · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The “Princess of Africa” sings a song by “Mama Africa” under a fig tree. According to Meskel Square, it could only happen in Ethiopia.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Guyana: Plantains · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana-Gyal writes an ode to plantains: “Roast it green, mash it up, season it up with salt and black peppa and chopped onions. Blend it ripe with nuts and milk. Fry it ripe with salt and let you teeth chew on that tough-outside-soft-inside, wrap you taste buds ‘round the salt and sweet, both two-gether. . . .“

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Hungary: Municipal Election · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Fistful of Euros writes about the municipal election in Hungary. Paul of Further Ramblings of a N.Irish Magyar writes about Budapest's new old mayor: “a political rarity in more ways than one.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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India: Ramdhan Special · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indian Muslims has a blog roundup for Ramdhan.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: The backstage and RamLila · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ram Lila, or the enactment of the Ramayana is ever popular during the festival of Navarathri. Trivial Matters has a wonderful photo post of the backstage wonders of the production. “In India we cherish this strong link between reality and fantasy first through theatre and now through film. All this age old mimicry of life somehow affects us and in return this mimicry is in itself a self-definition of the society we live in. This is the anthropology of theatre.”


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Interview with Paris Marashi, Iranian-American Vlogger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Thanks to Ethan Zuckerman, I discovered Paris Marashi's blog or vlog and her project in Iran. On Paris’ vlog we can read and watch very interesting things about Iranian daily life and even tradition.
Farid Pouya: Please tell us about your project and its objectives in Iran?
Paris Marashi: People always ask me what Iran is like. I really wanted to be able to share with people my experiences of what life is like there, as I was tired of how much of the mainstream media was concerned with political/nuclear issues. I wanted to show a real and personal perspective of Iran.
FP: What is the importance of vlogging for you? What is its added value?
PM: Vlogging immediately opened up the things I wanted to share about my life in Iran to the rest of the world. Today I do something; tonight I post it online; tomorrow someone watches it. It is fascinating how it opens up what you are doing to a global audience. Once something is uploaded on the Internet, or on your videoblog, it is at the hands of the world and available for them to see. This is so meaningful and powerful — and I am so grateful that there are these kinds of opportunities in the world for people to learn about each other.
FP: How do you see the importance of vlogging among Iranian bloggers or Iranian internet users in general?
PM: High speed Internet is extremely expensive in Iran. It costs around $500 per month for the highest speed internet available, although there is a varying price range depending on the speed. Even though lower speeds are available for cheaper, it is still very expensive for the people, businesses, universities that use it. Many companies still use dial up, or may have a separate modem at the 60k speed. I think as more Iranian people learn about vlogging, they will value it more and be more inclined to find ways to do it—especially as high speed internet prices decrease.
FP: How did you choose your topics to shoot your short films?
PM: Sometimes I would go somewhere, shoot video, come home, and think, Aha! This is what I am going to post!  Sometimes the video is just something really personal and something I feel people can relate to. Maybe I would think that the video says something that negates some specific stereotype that I feel some people may have about Iranians. Sometimes the videos just show something I find interesting, that I think others will be able to appreciate as well.
FP: You are an American-Iranian; did you feel a strong cultural difference in Iran?
PM: As I go back and forth between Iran and the US, I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to live and experience two different cultures. I can choose the customs I want to live with, the traditions I want to carry on. As time passes, I have noticed that I have a greater appreciation for certain Iranian formalities that really are such an important part of the culture. Take for example, this scenario:
I am sitting down talking to someone and my grandmother sits behind me. My back is now facing my grandmother… In this case I would either readjust myself or say, “Sorry my back is facing you.” My grandmother would then say, “A flower does not have a front or a back side”
Or, someone may say, “Your hair [skin, outfit, painting, etc.] looks beautiful!” Another may say in response, “Your eyes see my hair [skin, outfit, painting, etc.]  as beautiful.”
Someone says, “I will stop by later in the day” The other may say something like, “Ghadamet roo cheshmam,” or, “Your foot may rest on my eye.”
This really does signify the great respect and importance that Iranians place on their guests, from the way they are spoken to, to the amount of care, attention, value (and of course, tea, and fruit) they are given. The Persian customs are long-lived, intricate, and complex, as is the language. I think these expressions say a lot about the way people respect one another and how refined are the poetics of the language.
FP: Any projects for the future?
PM: With node101.org and a number of people in Iran, we are working on setting up a place where the Iranian community can come together to watch videoblogs, learn how to make videoblogs (as well as upload and post video), and provide a place for people to meet with other videobloggers in Iran.
This year I am also working towards my masters’ degree at NYU, after which I plan on going to Iran to do documentary work—I really hope that our work will be able to create an experience for a viewer that is eye-opening, educational, and engaging.
I will continue posting videos from Iran on my videoblog, http://thisiranianamericanlife.blogspot.com.
Thank you!

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Listen to the Iranian Underground Music · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kavian is a blogger with talent in music.Kavian's third demo album, “Evolutionary Skill” is out now and you can listen to it.


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Iran:looking at Ahmadinejad’s new notes · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Ahmadinejad,Iranian president says in his blog that today diplomacy has been turned to distrust and unfrankness. Rarely can we see two authorities or officials from two different states sit together and speak frankly to each other. They smile at each other while they try to impose themselves on the other side and secure only their own benefits. This will lead to nowhere. I do not know whether there are some who think this trend will bring peace, tranquility and equity to the world.


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Iraq: Rare testimony of abuse by the Iraqi Security Forces · Global Voices
Sameer Padania

Torture in Iraq, says the UN, is “out of control”, and “worse than it has been in the times of Saddam Hussein”.  So it was especially timely for Brian Conley at Alive In Baghdad to e-mail us to say that he had an interview  with a man who claims to have been beaten and abused by Iraqi security forces in Ramadi:
Click on the image to play video
The man in the video, referred to as “Majed”, talks of being arrested without charge by members of the Iraqi National Guard – now known as the New Iraqi Army – on 13 July 2006.  The abuses he alleges include arbitrary detention, persistent beating and kicking, and whipping with an electric cable.  He shows the camera the physical scars of his ordeal.
There are some questions about this case that the video interview doesn’t answer: did Majed make a complaint to any official authorities?  If he did complain, did the Iraqi Security Forces deny the allegations or agree to investigate them?  If the allegations are true, and the perpetrators are identified, is there any prospect that they will be punished?  What about the US officer whom Majed refers to?
Nonetheless the alleged maltreatment described in the interview should be enough to make us all sit up and take notice.
Majed's testimony also gives an insight into the unpredictability and insecurity of life in Iraq, and particularly in Ramadi, which lies about an hour west of Baghdad and is reported to be one of the cities most beset by violence in post-Saddam Iraq.  Brian Conley himself reported in June that large parts of Ramadi had become no-go areas.  Later that month, the American military adopted a new tactic to try and take back control of the town.  According to Majed, he was picked up by Iraqi soldiers just a couple of weeks later in what appears to have been part of a security “sweep”.
In the now-daily bulletins about their security situation, nothing is quite as simple as it seems for the residents of Iraq.  Riverbend wrote earlier this year about a Ministry of Defence announcement on Iraqi TV requesting that “civilians do not comply with the orders of the army or police on nightly patrols unless they are accompanied by coalition forces working in that area”.  Yet Majed alleges that in his case, the appearance of a US officer on the scene led merely to an order for the Iraqi soldiers to “continue” beating him up.  Elsewhere there have been claims that state security units need to be purged of militias who have infiltrated their ranks.  Depending on the city and region of the country, Iraqi police and security forces sometimes appear to use force beyond any bounds of accountability.
Building the capacity of the Iraqi military and police is a frequently stated priority of the Multi-National Coalition.  So, with a gradual transition to local and provincial responsibility for security underway across the country, how accountable are the Iraqi Security Forces?  The UN Report stated that:
“The inability of State institutions to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and to provide adequate protection to ordinary citizens […] risks polarizing Iraqi society to a previously unknown degree and result in a self-reinforcing pattern of sectarian confrontation.”
And when confrontation erupts, human rights violations like the ones alleged by Majed become part of a larger pattern of suffering and death.  The UN Mission in Iraq estimates that over 6,500 civilians died violently during July and August, at the hands of either security forces, militias, terrorist attacks or organised crime syndicates.  The bodies in the dilapidated Baghdad morgue give indications of an alarming degree of brutality, as they
“often bear signs of severe torture including acid-induced injuries and burns caused by chemical substances, missing skin, broken bones — back, hands and legs — missing eyes, missing teeth and wounds caused by power drills or nails.”
These ghastly injuries inflicted on the silent dead of Iraq’s war will be left to speak for themselves.  But with reports of over 13,000 people detained at present in Iraq, how many more testimonies like Majed's might eventually emerge?  And what can be done to prevent the same kind of stories from becoming a hallmark of Iraq’s future?
Author info: this post was co-written by Gavin Simpson
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author: Sameer Padania


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Jamaica: Can blogging effect change? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Presenting the results of his “Can blogging effect change” poll, Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp highlights some of the ways he's benefitted from blogging.


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Japan: Napster · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

JP in Japundit reports that Napster has formed a joint venture with Tower Records Japan to launch an online song distribution site in Japan. Members will be allowed to listen to and download an unlimited number of songs for a flat rate of 1,980 yen per month.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Japan: outlook service · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Want to look tidy and sharp? There is a new service in Japan that can help – JP in Japundit has the report.


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Kazakhstan: Ever Wandered? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts discusses Kazakhstan's television advertisements that recently ran in the United States promoting the country as a tourist destination.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Kazakhstan: Journalistic Ethics · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Danna has been researching journalistic ethics in Almaty, Kazakhstan and reports on the problem of objectivity.


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Kazakhstan: Transport Problems · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia, Leila reports on Kazakhstan's, particularly Almaty's, transportation problems.


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Kenya: blogger’s account of Kenyan parliament:Day 1 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Read a blogger's report on day 1 of Kenyan parliament. The report is posted in Mzalendo: Eye on Kenyan Parliament.


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Latvia: “Vote Smart” Video · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

All About Latvia posts a “vote smart” video, addressing the voters in the upcoming Saturday election.


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Lebanon: Men, Women and Post-War Issues · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The Lebanese blogosphere keeps growing day after day. Rampurple, who is a member of the Lebanese Blogger Forum and who maintains the Lebanese Aggregator in addition to her own blog states that the total number of Lebanese blogs in the aggregator have reached 287 so far. This makes the task of a round up of blogs even harder; nevertheless the following is a sampling of some of these blogs starting with the non political posts.
Maya@NYC and Ana Min Beirut are back with the male-female debate. Maya@NYC started the deliberation like this:
In the morning, the reflection in my bathroom mirror is just a façade. It carries nothing in it. Just shapes, colors, forms. I am not there. I am in someone’s mind, on someone’s thoughts, in someone’s heart. In someone’s eyes. There are men that look you in the eyes. They look at you intensely and make every effort to hear your laugh.
To which Ana Min Beirut replies:
For us men, that experience is much much less philosophical or existential if you want. Of course we do look at the mirror to size up the shape of that ever growing gut and we pat it in and out trying to make it disappear or we can just turn half-way so that the angle is such that we see no gut. Of course we do stand and flex those muscles and say to ourselves: “Damn, those muscles put that Schwarzenegger dude to shame”.
Murphy’s laws may be well known but Ahmad mentions some lesser known dictums of Murphy:
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
Perpetual Refugee is the Lebanese blogger who wrote about his experience while working in Israel. Perpetual Refugee stopped blogging for a while after the latest Israeli war against Lebanon. He returned to blogging this week with a post in which he says:
While bombs & rockets rained on the north, east, west and south, killing all in their path, I lobbed words. Emotions. Frustration. Trying to portray how an injustice was seen in the eyes of someone who was directly affected by it's consequences. In return, I was attacked. People were hurt by what I wrote. Not bothering to understand what it was I saw. Family members left homeless. Acquaintances killed. My country left in tatters. All because the rules of the ‘game’ changed. If conflicts were existent exclusively in blogs, made up of only words, then humanity would have evolved to it's full potential. But it's not the case. Bullets are the means in which we deal with conflicts. And innocent people die as a result.
[…] I'm committed to help in the rebuilding of my country. To bring hope to who I can. And in the meantime, I'll continue writing. And if the words ‘hurt’, try and remember what I wrote just a few months earlier. And try to understand what could have caused these lines on the screen. I don't apologize for what I write. To anyone. I'm back. Whether you like it or not.
Talking about the war, Sietske in Beiroet points to the panic in Lebanese homes after the war as a result of the shortage of maids:
Well, the Israelis may have bombed thousands of houses, damaged the Lebanese infrastructure beyond belief, created an oil spill from here all the way to Tripoli, and caused thousands and thousands of Lebanese and foreigners to run away, but nothing, and I repeat, nothing, was as disastrous, as what they did to the maids! The maids? Yes! The maids!
It’s Ramadan. Most blogs wish everyone well during this month. Jamal commemorates the occasion in his own way:
We're in Ramadan which means Kellaj season for me. Kellaj is basically a mixture of fat and sugar that's then deeply fried and deeply sweetened. Yummy. For others, however, it's “ask Jamal why isn't he fasting” month. While it's a clearly intrusive and inapropriate question, you have to be careful how to answer it because your answer might offend some Jesus freaks, Mohammad freaks, whatever, they would be offended in way that would make the 1400 years fight over the Caliphate look like a piece of Kellaj. They really want you to go to heaven. It's for your own good.
Jeha at Jeha’s Nail claims that the interactions among three types of Arabs is the reason why the Arab world is bleeding its best brains.
The importance of words and their meaning can not be overemphasized. And Sophia has compiled a short glossary of Zionist and Israeli terms. In addition to this she also comments on the concept of moderation in the Middle East with a post that starts with:
You kill a terrorist and you have another terrorist. This does not apply to moderates. Every time you kill a moderate you don't have another moderate but you rather contribute to the birth of a radical and a terrorist. Hassan Nasrallah is an exception to this rule. He is becoming a real moderate, I believe, and I will tell you why.
Finally, for today, Remarkz discusses the news that Israel is constructing infrastructure to draw water from Lebanese river. He is joined by Anarchorev who adds to this the issue of the take-over of the Lebanese town of Al-Ghajar:
[…]the Israelis continue to steal water from the Wazzani river and transport fertile soil from south Lebanon to Israel. But it doesn’t end there. Encouraged by the (political) battlefront that its under-the-table allies have opened in Lebanon, the Israelis have been finalizing their take-over of the Lebanese town of Al-Ghajar, half of which was handed to Israel during the drawing of the Blue Line.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Mexico: “Blog to be Wild” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Blog to be Wild [ES] describes itself [ES] as the “first series of lectures about the culture of online expression.” Various bloggers from Monterrey, Mexico will hold five tables of discussion at this month's International Book Fair of Monterrey about the various genres of weblogs as well as workshops [ES] on the benefits and tools of blogging.

author: David Sasaki


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Myanmar: Myanmar Blog Directory · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Myat Thura has a post on an effort by another Burmese blogger to create a Myammar Blog Directory.

author: Preetam Rai


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Nepal: Economy and democracy · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Democracy has quite a positive impact on the economy according to United We Blog! “Hotels not only in Thamel but also in the whole of Kathmandu are booked almost to their full capacity. Shop owners are busy dealing with their customers.”


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Pakistan: Just like the others · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

How different are Pakistanis from the rest of the world anyway? Why look at South Asians with so much suspicion? “Some time I am amazed by the fact that whenever the western world is looking for a terrorist he is from Pakistan or is suspected to be hiding in Pakistan. Moreover, I wonder that why these terrorists like this country and love to live in it after messing up with the world.” More at Metroblogging Islamabad.


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Peru: Fountain of Youth · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Is there a Peruvian fountain of youth? Alejandro won't say, but he does provide the daily diet of 107-year-old Rebeca Roa Alva: “The 107-year-old, quechua-speaking Rebeca Roa Alva eats lima beans, quinoa, kiwicha and amaranth and chews coca on a daily basis.”


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Philippines: Dengue outbreak in some provinces · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Next to malaria, dengue is an important tropical infectious disease which has claimed many lives in the Philippines. The Department of Health identified the dengue hotspots in the country: Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Central Visayas.
The government also issued an advisory on the symptoms of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever:
“Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever is an acute infectious viral disease usually affecting infants and young children. It is characterized by fever during the initial phase and other symptoms like headache, pain in the eye, joint pain, muscle pain, and other pain, followed by signs of bleeding such as  petechiae (red tiny spots on the skin),  nosebleeding and gumbleeding.”
While dengue cases continue to rise, the government claims the figure is lower compared to the previous year.
Parallel Universes complains about the “confusing conflicting dengue numbers” provided by the government’s health agency. The doctor-blogger also has important questions about the dengue situation in the country today:
“Does this indicate a serotype-shift in Dengue? Is it just an abnormally increased amount of rainfall this year contributing to more Aedes breeding grounds? Have people grown weary of cleaning their surroundings? Have community leaders been serious enough with their anti-dengue campaigns? How can we gauge the effectiveness of our anti-dengue measures? On the increased number of deaths from dengue this year, is it due to lack of facilities or medical expertise…or both?”
The dengue-express lanes in government hospitals was also discussed in the blog.
Inside PCIJ reports about the four simple steps devised by the government to fight dengue. A dengue vaccine is also being developed in Thailand, but the public has to wait another five years. The unreliability of official dengue data was also underscored:
“Official reports of dengue cases have been perceived to be inaccurate, according to a 2003 study for the International Vaccine Institute led by Denise de Roeck. The study focused on the views of policymakers on dengue fever in four Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines. Under-reporting and over-reporting were believed to occur, due to the lack of laboratory confirmation and the difficulty in diagnosing dengue.”
In another blog article of Inside PCIJ, the economic cost of dengue in the country was highlighted. Government is encouraged to undertake steps on how to save money from the dengue campaign. Fogging is discouraged but publicity-seeking politicians insist on adopting this method:
“Some Local Government Units continue to undertake unnecessary fogging. Fogging is a high-profile action, a way for politicians to garner publicity and reassure their constituents that they are fighting dengue, according to Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center. Yet fogging is only effective in areas hit by an epidemic, where there are large numbers of adult mosquitoes.”
Midlife Mysteries  questions the timing of  government ads on dengue and also the official statistics on dengue cases. The 4-step campaign vs. dengue was also scrutinized. She also observes one dengue preventive measure in schools:
“Wearing of long-sleeve shirts and long pants and using mosquito repellants are a must during the daytime; Many private schools are already implementing this. Let's set aside those short pants and skirts and allow our children to come to school with their legs safely covered.”
She also gives advice on what plants and other organic materials to buy in the fight against dengue:
“Plant eucalyptus or neem trees in your garden, burn citronella candles or use Citromintin aromatherapy burners and keep your surroundings clean.”
Bulatlat explains the government system in classifying areas with dengue cases. Code Red means that for the past four months, there is an upsurge of dengue cases and was higher than what health officials expected. Code Yellow stands for minimal reports in the area.
More data on dengue can be found in Medindia.

author: Mong Palatino


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Philippines: Regulating Billboards · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at kaLeiDosThoughts feels that advertising billboards should be regulated. Recent typhoon Milenyo caused several of these billboards to fall and one person was killed by a falling billboard.


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Russia, Estonia: Georgia Conflict · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Itching for Eestimaa writes about the conflict between Russia and Georgia and why it is relevant for Estonia.


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South Korea: culture and development · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

R. Elgin in Marmot's hole blogs about the Seoul city plan to build a five-story shopping mall in Isa-dong district (an old district near the palace. Elgin concludes that “the message from Seoul City Government seems simple: Money = Korean culture. “


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South Korea: international film fest · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jodi in Asia Pages introduces some films at this years’ Busan international film festival.


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South Korea: language and regional expert · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

There is a discussion among some English bloggers in Korean concerning whether one needs to know the language to be a regional expert. Robert Koehler picks up the discussion in Marmot's Hole.


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Sri Lanka: Expats and the LTTE · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Why does the expat community support the LTTE asks LankaWatch. “But in general a lot of expats tend to come off as being sympathetic to Tamil Tigers. Considering those who would venture out into a country with political instability are most often left leaning liberals, it is not surprising they would support a group that is anti organized government and are effectively underdogs fighting with their lives to make a political statement; similar to why some of us support the Palestinians against the mighty power of the Israel.”


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Marathon walkers · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Abeni reports that the “marathon walkers” from St. Vincent who were rejected by the Guiness Book of Records after walking for six days without sleep, have succeeded in topping their own feat by walking for seven days without sleep in Kingston, Jamaica.


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Tahiti: Mutiny on the Bounty · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

At his MySpace site, Jean Marc gives a history of the famous munity on the British ship Bounty (Fr), which took place just after the Bounty left Tahiti. He also has a slide show about the mutiny.

author: Jennifer Brea


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Tajikistan: Workers or Slaves · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Vadim reports on the use of child labor in cotton harvesting in Tajikistan.


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The Kannada Context: “Gandhigiri”, nADahabba and Everything Else · Global Voices
Sanket Patil

Gandhi Jayanti (Gandhi‘s Birth Anniversary) was observed yesterday in India and elsewhere. It was celebrated the most by the electronic media, of course. What was different this time, however, was that, a lot of them talked about “Gandhigiri”, the new phrase, and supposedly the newly revived way of life. Curiously, a mainstream Hindi movie, which proposes “Gandhigiri”, seems to have made a fairly big impact – Lage Raho Munnabhai. While, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the news channels juxtaposing the movie and Gandhi Jayanti, the narrow notions that the channels project is irritating. No doubt, sensationalism sells. But it does not last. It's a consummable and gets consumed very soon. So, what do you do to counter this? Simple. Wait for another sensational piece of news. Right?
Well, sarcasm aside, Sudarshan writes an outstanding review of the superhit Hindi movie, Lage Raho Munnabhai. The review puts light on the contemporary social and economical context in India and the world, and talks about how the movie raises some important questions and also hints at solutions in a healthy manner. In fact, much healthier a manner than its predecessor (Munnabhai MBBS). This review of the movie is much more intricate than a lot of other one-dimensional reviews that I have read about the same movie. There are many subtle hints in the movie, Sudarshan thinks, that do well. For example, some “Post Modernist” intellectuals always tend to draw a very simplistic and romanticised picture of Gandhi as a non-modern person who supported some superstitions. Here, “Gandhigiri” vehemently opposes kundalis (horoscopes) and such stuff.
He also talks about Ritvik Ghatak's movie Suvarna Rekha. It is a realistic movie that records the changes in the Gandhian values across different eras, without directly bringing in Gandhi anywhere in the screenplay.
Although Lage Raho Munnabhai is a good movie, Sudarshan warns, unless we are discerning enough about the subtle messages, we would fall prey to media driven sensationalism. As the media is already projecting, the Indian common man is ready to receive Gandhi only if he is adequately comically clad! That is not true. Sudarshan also feels that the movie could have depicted more of Gandhian forward looking ideas.
An epic ought to have eighteen kinds of descriptions. Or descriptions about eighteen fairly distinct and well defined entities.
ವಾರಿಧಿ ಪರ್ವತಂ ಪುರನಧೀಶ್ವರನುದ್ವಹನಂ ಕುಮಾರನಂ
ಭೋರುಹವೈರಿಮಿತ್ರರುದಯಂ ಋತುನಂದನಬುಕೇಳಿ ಕಾಂ
ತಾರತಿ ಚಿಂತೆ ಮಂತ್ರ ಚರ ಯಾನ ವಿರೋಧಿಜಯಂಗಳೆಂಬಿವಂ
ಸೂರಿಗಳಂಗಮೆಂದು ಕೃತಿಯೊಳ್ ಪದಿನೆಂಟಮನೆಯ್ದೆ ಬಣ್ಣಿಪರ್
(ಸೂಕ್ತಿ ಸುಧಾರ್ಣವಂ ೧-೭೬)
The above is a representative example. It says – oceans, mountains, cities, kings, chariots, children, sunrise, moonrise, seasons, watersport, romance, worries, dialogue, military intelligence, journeys, enemies, victory et al. All these are to be detailed through poetry for the perusal of the Pandits.
Murthy talks about an interesting classical gem. He goes further to explain how, for example, seasons are detailed in epics. He talks about how the “arrival of spring” (vasaMtAgamana) is expressed in poems, and how this remains a timeless notion with poets from all eras showing enthusiasm about the spring.
As september ends, Antarangi, who's situated in New Jersey, talks about the beginning of fall. An eventful september it was with the first week consumed by the World Kannada Conference (vishwa kannaDa sammELana) and the last one by the Dasara celebrations. It also reminds him that we are nearing the end of the year. End of september marks the end of the third quarter and there will be increased activity in Wall Street. Perhaps a lot of big and interesting things will happen in the US and the world, but the immediate need is to remember to start using his overcoat to protect himself from the cold.
Mala Rao maintains a nice blog called chitra-durga. Her posts are usually ruminations of some old poems or songs that get linked to a present incident. For example, she remembers some old movie songs and a shloka on the day of Saraswati Pooja during the Navaratris. By the way, Navaratri is the nADahabba (Festival of the Land) of Karnataka. Dasara celebrations here are very famous, specially the Mysore Dasara celebrations.
Manaswini says she can never compromise when the Kannada language is at stake. In other words, she will never follow Bangalore's legendary phrase, swalpa adjust mADkoLLi (adjust a little, please).
Phantom writes a poem expressing his displeasure about people forcing Hindi. Indeed. It is bizarre that people use the “national language” argument to force Hindi down others’ thorats. They also want Hindi to be used in banks and other business places. What is even more bizarre to me is – when someone champions regional languages, it is considered to be narrow and retrogressive; but when Hindi is being forced, we don't see much rebuttal.
Saraswathi writes a poetic plea to help in finding “a child that is lost”. The child is lost in the concrete jungle, or among those software machines, or in the various noises of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi et al.. She's talking about Kannada. A good poem actually.
Srinivasa talks in first person as a crow. A crow from Sollapur (Maharashtra) travelling to Bangalore. The crow does not need a ticket, is unbothered about the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, and has very simple and natural needs. Unlike we humans.
A few years ago, we used to have nice political satires presented in the colloquial tongues of rural Karnataka, in some Kannada weekly tabloids. I don't know if we still have them as I have stopped following these tabloid magazines for a while now. They all have becomes gossips galore. I stumbled upon a blog that does a good job at political satire – kAlachakra. We live in such times that almost anything seems unreal. So, just add a little bit of humour and vitriol to it and you get a nice satire. I don't even know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Heh.
majAvAni classifieds gives a catchy advertisement. They are looking for people. “An esteemed Protest Management Organisation is looking for fasting experts and experienced suicide experts. Interested candidates need apply along with 13 passport size photographs and a Police Certificate [translated]”. A very sharp, but absolutely necessary, ridicule about some political parties that survive on such gimmicks alone.
Birth, when eyes open
Death, when closed
Isn't blink the only journey? [Translated]
It's a translation to English from Kannada from Telugu. So, everything cannot be intact. Hopefully, you still get the idea. In fact, Sriram has a blog for “Poems that are not mine” (nannadallada kavite), that feature his translations of poems from several poets and several languages. Very good effort.
“Kannadiga” spends a day at the Registrar's office trying to register a site he has bought. His account uses uncany imagery and evokes humour and angst at the same time, and understandably so: the sweat due to numerous people there reminds him of the Vrushabhavati river; the people on the other side of the people look like Vajramuni, an old Kannada movie baddie.
Avi talks about the power of time, kAla. How a minute can change things. Indeed. Why are we so obsessed with the past? Why are we so nostalgic? Asks Sree. She would rather be intimate with the present.
The cool breeze that that blows gently
Would you saunter near my friend a while?
Not a surprise if she renders you cooler.
Soma writes a fairly mushy poem for his friend. The above is a translated excerpt. There is a Kannada Videos blog that has a lot of videos, mainly of Kannda movie songs. Venu has a few good poems on his blog.
That's about it for this time. See you soon. Goodbye!

author: Sanket Patil


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Uruguay, Argentina: Pulp Mills Controversy · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Remember those controversial paper mills on the Uruguay-Argentina border? According to Global Labor Strategies, the issue is far from settled: “The battle is often portrayed as a classic “jobs vs. environment” struggle only on a transnational scale. Uruguay needs jobs. Proponents argue that the direct and indirect jobs promised by the pulp and cellulose industry could help re-vitalize the region’s economy.  Opponents argue that the industry’s effect on local agriculture and tourism will offset any job gains.”


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Africa: Phil Collins, Keny Rogers, Madonna, and Rambo · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Why is Phil Collins so loved in Senegal? Why can't you go a day in Rwanda without hearing Kenny Rogers? And why are there dozens of Madonna and Rambo stickers on every public bus in Senegal?  Benn Loxo would like to know the answers.


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Africa:positive news coverage for Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

The European Union is funding a new media initiative to give Africa positive news coverage, reports Sociolingo.


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Armenia: Trouble for Diasporans · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian discusses the difficulties and discrimination many Armenian Diasporans face when living in Armenia.


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Bahamas: The meaning of blackface · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Bahamian Nicolette Bethel on the Kate-Moss-in-blackface issue: “…it is a symptom of the problem, and not the problem itself. Global racism is institutional, and it is far deeper and more immutable than the aesthetic choices made for a magazine cover suggest….“


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Bangladesh: Adulterated Muri or Puffed Rice · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Muri or puffed rice is a staple in Bangladesh. Rehan on food adulteration. “I am surprised that not much has been done in educating the consumers so a market for adulterated Muri or in that regard any other adulterated food items don’t exist in the first place. As for me, I was never aware of adulterated Muri but after watching the show I made sure the Muri I bought the other day for Iftar didn’t look superficially white, fluffy and had small pores.”


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Bolivia: A Day of International Solidarity · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Guest-blogger Gretchen Gordon describes the roots and objectives of “A Day of International Solidarity with Bolivia” to be held on October 17. The day is organized and sponsored by the newly created Bolivia Solidarity Network [ES].


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

This is the haze season in South East Asia. The cause of haze is the open burning of land by the farmers to clear it for agriculture. SaS in Brunei talks of some ideas to help reduce haze.


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Cameroon: Government Clamps Down on Separatist Activities · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

On the anniversary of the reunification of Anglophone and Francophone Cameroon, Fojrega (Fr) remembers Daniel Fonkoua, a member of the SCNC (an anglophone separatist group), who disappeared last September after state security forces raided his house. This anniversary, anglophone separatists hoisted their flag in several villages in the English-speaking region of Cameroon, despite heavy police presence. Radio stations were formally ordered not to report on SCNC activities and one journalist was allegedly tortured.


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China and Japan: cartoon warfare · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

As a celebration of National Day, the CCTV in China is now showing a 36 episodes 3-D Cartoon “Devil soldiers in Mao-er Mountain” (帽兒山的鬼子兵)in October. The cartoon was produced by a company in Heilongjiang and selected by the National boardcast bureau in Dongbei area (North east China) as one of the best cartoon production of the year (see press release on September 30, 2006).
The background of the cartoon is 1930s-40s (during WWII), in a village near a mountain (Mao-er) in Heilongjiang. The story is about the interaction between 3 Chinese kids and 5 Japanese soldiers.
The Chinese science fiction writer Han Song (韓松) comments that the image of Japanese soldiers in that cartoon is the stereotype Chinese imagination, it would certainly irritate millions of Japanese people.
这五个日本人的智商也都被设定得极低，比如，打雷了也不知道摘掉钢盔，还硬往大树下躲…总是占小便宜，又馋嘴，经常为了吃鸡钓鱼就上了小孩的当…
At the end of the cartoon, the lyrics of the song goes like this:
我气死鬼子兵，
我玩死鬼子兵，
我连耍带逗连打带踢，
我搞死鬼子兵！
Why showing this cartoon during the national day's month? When the country is preparing for the Olympic?
可能是为了报复日本人恶搞《红楼梦》，但两国的规格和层次不在一个档次上，我们是批判侵略者呀，又有中央政府做后台。国家广电总局已把《帽儿山的鬼子兵》评为2006年度第二批优秀国产动画片，推荐给全国所有孩子看。也没听说外交部发表意见。
There were no much discussion among Chinese blogsphere yet. But Xu Xiaoping (徐小平) has re-posted a commentary written by Rui Cheng Gang (芮成剛), CCTV international programme host, advising every Chinese, especially the youth, to read more about Japan (zh).
如果是一个美国人，从未来到过中国，没有中国朋友，而只是在媒体上看了一些有关中国的不良言论，就断言中国不好。我肯定不能接受．我会说：没有调查就没有发言权，你对中国人一无所知，你凭什么做这样的判断？
而我们对日本就了解吗？
How about us? Do we really understand Japan?


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China: Media literacy, meetings, Macau, memories and mooncakes · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Do Chinese police see bloggers as some sort of criminal element? Blogging undisturbed nearly requires a mastermind these days, and it's getting worse. Liu Di (刘荻), aka Stainless Steel Mouse, imprisoned in late 2002 for over a year for writings she'd posted on the internet, updated her blog late last month [zh] following six months of silence with examples of what she suspects are traps being set by authorities—just days and months prior to high-level government meetings in China—aimed at the kind of blogger that she used to be.
著名律师高智晟曾经接到过这样一个电话，他说：”今天有一个人打来电话，他把声音变了，就是那种变音的设备，咱们就不清楚他是谁了。他说高智晟，我的声音必须采取变音措施，如果不采取变音措施的话，公众都知道。我说这又是大人物，他哈哈一笑，他说我们坚决支持你，坚决支持你，他说：你持续的在骂我们，他来了这么一句，但是，你是我们的老朋友，你不知道我是谁，我知道你是谁。听这话也是体制内的。他说我关注你就是因为你持续的在骂我们。我说你在鼓励我继续骂。他说骂的好。”
几个月以后，高律师就被捕了。
无独有偶，不久之前发表的中国泛蓝联盟两名成员的对话也有如下内容：”估计两党有故意拿泛蓝在做什么试验！””也有抬举泛蓝的感觉，有意让泛蓝成为一个新的有味道的可以充当缓冲的黏合剂！””我听说的一个小道消息，胡的家宾就有国民党的说客。””团派，年轻，泛蓝；胡锦涛；反腐败，新文革；十七大，和谐社会，政治体制；你可以联想嘛？””胡要利用年轻人搞一次自己的新文革！””不要在意被利用，也不要在意被谁利用，只要可以推动一个体制的变化和文明。”
泛蓝将来的命运如何，我们还不得而知。
最近类似的事情还有”未来中国论坛”的”军中声音”，声明军队要发动政变，希望网友提供建立民主政府的具体举措和主张。
这几个例子都有一个共同之处：有些民运人士和网友在与魔鬼作交易。魔鬼象征这样一种力量：它是强大的，但又是未知的，是你所无法控制的；如果你要与这种力量打交道，你只能被它控制。
一个匿名电话，听说的小道消息，网上的几个帖子，不是来自”高层”，就是来自”军队”，貌似背后有强大的力量，但实际上你对它一无所知。如果你把自己的未来和希望完全寄托在这种靠不住的”力量”上，让这种力量来控制你，支配你，就等于是在与魔鬼作交易，把自己完全卖给对方了。
真的是与魔鬼作交易吗，其实也不尽然，那些人可能还不如魔鬼呢。从民间传说中我们可以得知：基督教中的魔鬼其实是一个言而有信的绅士，当魔鬼与人签订出卖灵魂的契约时，从来没有人怀疑过魔鬼的信用。但以上几个例子中，那种来自”高层”、”军方” 的力量其实什么也没有承诺，什么责任也不用负。就拿”军中声音”来说，其实他只说了”不排除今年六中全会期间采取行动宣布某省或地区暂时独立的可能性”，后来又说 “今年不行的话，明年还有两会、十七大，后年还有机会。”事实上他什么也没有承诺。而如果国内的网友听信了他的这些话，真的提供了什么”建立民主政府的具体举措和主张”的话，那么对不起，今后你的命运就不是自己所能掌控的了，至少定你个颠覆罪是没有问题的了。
这个网友可能还在盼望军事政变呢，但是对方没有承诺任何事。把自己的命运完全交到对方手里，对方出卖起你来是没商量的，据说高律师在被捕前，心里其实还是相信自己不会被捕的。从中共建政后的历史上来看，体制外力量企图利用或介入中共内斗的，从西单民主墙到八九**，再到最近的高智晟，无一有好结果。
Journalist-blogger Taras, just back from a reporting stint in Japan, also sees some peculiarity leading up to this weekend's Communist Party of China plenary session:
【共同社10月1日电】共同社1日获悉，日本首相安倍晋三将于8日访问北京，并于当天会晤中国国家主席胡锦涛和总理温家宝。据知情人士透露，中方已向日方传达了同意会晤的意向。安倍随后计划于9日访问韩国，并与卢武铉总统举行会晤。这是自2002年4月日本前首相小泉纯一郎访华以来，日本首相时隔约4年半访华。日中首脑会晤则是去年4月在雅加达以来的首次。
8日正值中国共产党第16届6中全会开幕。在党的最重要会议期间安排首脑会晤实属例外。由于日本前首相小泉多次参拜靖国神社，中国甚至拒绝在第三国举行日中首脑会谈。但随着安倍政权的诞生，日中关系有可能因此迎来转机。
The Chinese blogsphere is offline for the week-long National Day holiday says the China Web2.0 Review blogger, but has a nice surprise waiting for them in the launch of Feedsky, a Chinese version of Feedburner also playing a very active role in preparing for this year's Chinese Blogger Conference.
But what's the point of going on vacation if you don't blog about it? Hong Kong-based blogger Fred Yan spent his in Macau, where the opening competition in the casino industry has seen some interesting results:
澳门的永利在9月6日开业后，万人蜂拥而去，这其中怎么能够少了Fredyan的身影呢？终于在国庆日当天，找到时间，揣上钞票，坐上船直接杀奔永利。
进得大堂，果然气宇轩昂，金碧辉煌。对面的葡京一比照，简直一个是茶餐厅，一个是五星级会所。整栋永利的大楼里，高档奢侈品，像泰王宫殿一般的后花园，考究的食肆等等，给人的感觉就是档次高档。所以，尽管老字号的葡京送叉烧饭，也吸引不了我。
废话少说，直入赌场。人声鼎沸啊，Fredyan之心在此等场面刺激之下，怎能按捺的住？于是挥拳捋袖，好赌一把，结果……
另外提醒一句。永利目前正在招聘中国业务市场助理。对赌彩业有兴趣的人士，赶紧上他们的主页投简历！
October first, China's National Day, was grey and drizzly in Guangzhou from where blogger Nick Wong blogged a family story from China's Cultural Revolution days:
五十年代末，母亲在天津上中专。有一年国庆节，和两个同学在操场的单双杠旁边玩，那天恰是阴天，就说起每逢五一、十一，不是阴天，就是下雨。一个有点矮胖、平时爱说爱笑的女生忽然说：”人家都说，毛主席是王八变的，所以一到节日就下雨。”当时说过听过就算了，也没当回事。谁知过了两天，公安局来车将那个胖女生带走了。当时在场的总共就三个人，母亲清楚一定是那个”第三者”向上面报告的。而那个被带走的女生，母亲再也没有见过，不知她命运如何。
又是国庆节，又是阴天，至少那个人人自危的年代已经过去了。
Hung Huang, CEO of China Interactive Media Group and offspring of Communist Party of China elite, takes a break from blogging in Chinese to share her biggest problem this holiday week in “I Hate Mooncakes“.

author: John Kennedy


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DRC: UDPS of Benelux Won’t Support Bemba · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

On their blog, the UDPS of Benelux announces they will not support Jean-Pierre Bemba, incumbent Joseph Kabila's opponent in the October run-off election, even though they are staunchly anti-Kabila.


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Hong Kong: Minimum wage · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A citizen report at inmediahk.net on a demonstration for minimun wage in Hong Kong. Demand from demonstrators are HK$30 (US$3.5) per hour. While the existing fast food resturant (KFC) rate is HK$15 per hour (zh). More background information can be found at interlocals.net, the lowest hourly wage found in the market for cleaning ladies is HK$7 (US$1)per hour!


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India: On Ramanujan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kamla Bhatt has a podcast – on Mathematics and Ramanujan. “Professor Freeman Dyson talks about Srinivasa Iyengar Ramanujan, the famous Indian mathematician. Prof. Dyson studied under Prof. GH Hardy in Cambridge University, and worked on Ramanujan’s partition of numbers.”


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Iran:Taxi conversation in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran reports about an interesting conversation between one American,Iranian taxi driver and the other Iranian passengers. The blogger writes“ the driver asks they think we are terrorists, right?” “American passenger replied:They don’t know who you are”.“They don’t know the difference between Iran and Iraq. There are a lot of Iranians living in America, so maybe they will learn.”Click here to read all conversation.


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Jamaica: Rastafari influence · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp starts a survey: How has Rastafari — and Bob Marley — influences our lives?
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Kazakhstan: Car Culture · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Car culture is blossoming in Kazakhstan, as videos from Almaty at KZBlog show.


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Kazakhstan: Diaspora in Turkey · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Kazakhstan's diaspora in Turkey recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary there, and Özgecan of neweurasia reports on the celebration and the community's history.


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Kenya: the power of a lone voice · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Wangari was a lone voice in the wilderness but it saved Uhuru Park, via African Women's Blogs.


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Kurdistance · Global Voices
Deborah Ann Dilley

Welcome back to this week's edition of Kurdistance!
Hiwa gives us a wonderful link to a amatur video about the Kurdish community in Leeds, UK that is featured on the BBC. Hiwa also reports on an incident that has made headlines in Turkey. At a recent NATO seminar, an American lieutenant colonel used a map of the Middle East showing possible re-drawn borders in Iraq. On this particular map the Southeast of Turkey was included in the borders of a new country called “Free Kurdistan”. This has angered Turkish officals and an apology from US General Peter Pace had to be given to the Turkish Chief of Staff, General Yasar Buyukanit for the incident.
General Yasar Buyukanit has been a vocal opponent to all things Kurdish this week, as Rasti explains
“Which action of the military is undemocratic?” Buyukanit asked. “I am a soldier, and I am carrying out the duties given to me by laws. As soldiers, we have nothing to do with politics. However, if there are those who are disturbed by our assessments on security and regime, it is up to them.”
This is hilarious! The Turkish miltary has nothing to do with politics unless there's a coup in the works–whether hard or soft–and any duties given to the military by laws, are given to it by laws that were written by generals. If a country has a constitution written by generals, a constitution which serves to protect the state from the people, then that country is not a democracy. Therefore, every action the military undertakes according to such a constitution is, by its very nature, undemocratic.
Yasar Pasha is also worried about the Islamist threat, but he doesn't mention that is was the pashas who created the Islamist threat by their deal with the Islamists back in the early 1980's. Ostensibly this was to help contain the threat of Soviet expansion, the threat of Islamist expansion from Iran, and, especially, to counter the politicization of the Kurdish people. The pashas agreed to the Turkish-Islamist synthesis, believing that, through this means, they could control both the Islamist threat and Kurdish resistance. Plus it offered the potential to be a cheap way of combatting the PKK, so much so that Tansu Ciller admitted publicly that she had signed the order to give weapons to Turkish Hezbollah from military installations in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan.
Mizgin also writes about how the US PKK Coordinator is also on the board of Lockheed Martin, who recently arranged a very large arms shipment deal to the Turkish Military….a case of an obvious conflict of interest and a case detailing the emminent failure of the PKK ceasefire.
we read that US intentions toward the Kurdish people are moving in rhythm of the same song and dance that we all know so well. The “bad” Kurds remain “bad” Kurds, and the US has no interest in making a place at the table for those issues that “bad” Kurds face daily. Those issues include the recent increase in repression, especially as outlined in the new anti-terror law, the removal of America's allies, the Pashas, from the control of civil government, or an end to the Ankara regime's policy of equality through forced assimilation. Let's make it absolutely clear that this severe repression has been, and continues to be, actively assisted by the policies of the US government.
The joke is that the US has appointed a PKK coordinator in order to “counter PKK,” while ignoring gross human rights abuses perpetrated by Turkey, the eternal victim. Considering that both the Ankara regime and Washington have appointed two former generals to “counter the PKK,” there will be no effort on the part of either state to negotiate a peaceful solution to the dire situation of the Kurdish people. To complete the tirumvirate of evil against the Kurdish people, is Iraqi general, Amir Amed Hassun, a Sunni Arab.
Kurdish Aspect has been focusing this week on the tensions between the Turkish Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Northern Iraq over the status of the PKK and whether or not it is acceptable for the KRG to negotiate with the terrorist organization.
Why is it okay for Turkey to dialog with Hammas when Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel, and the U.S., and is banned in Jordan? However, it is not acceptable for Jalal Talabani, a Kurd and president of Iraq, to talk to PKK. In addition, Talabani’s dialog with PKK is nothing new. It was not long ago when former Turkish president, Turgut Özal, appealed for Talabani assistants to reach a deal with PKK in order to resolve the Kurdish issue. The cease fire of the 90’s was the direct result of those negotiations. Unfortunately Mr. Ozal passed away and those talks ended. In a short period of time, northern Kurdistan was again engulfed in violence.
However, the issue of the KRG's ability to negotiate with anyone is not an old one in Iraqi political spheres.
Roj Bash, is back up and running again with a four part (so far anyway) travelogue of a French speaking Kurd traveling back to Hawler in Southern Kurdistan/Northern Iraq. Unfortuately the author of these pieces is not listed on the blog entry itself (Roj Bash is a group blog). Topics covered in this travelouge include a trip to the Citadal and Bazar, a visit to the Ministry of Extra-Regional Affairs, and hanging out at a local park.
Vladimir on From Holland to Kurdistan reports about the latest news of a standard Kurdish language program being developed in the United States at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. This program is the first University program in the United States that has Kurdish language instruction. Vladimir also reports on a recent rash of Kurdish websites being hacked into by a Turkish group called Ayyildiz.
One could expect more attacks against Kurdish websites in the future. In Holland, one can get a one-year jail sentence for hacking websites. The Dutch website Zinloosgeweld.nl wanted to take legal steps, but since the Turkish hackers mostly operate from Turkey, this is fruitless. The only way you can prevent attacks, is by protecting and updating your website regularly.

author: Deborah Ann Dilley


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Kyrgyzstan: Political Season Starts Up · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia says that with summer over, the political season in Kyrgyzstan is firing back up.


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Laos: Fish Stuffed with Thai-Lao Herbs · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Thai-Lao food blogger Manivan Larprom video blogs on how to prepare fish stuffed in Thai and Lao herb.


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Malaysia: Space White Elephant · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Sensintrovert analyses a news report on Malaysian Prime Minister talking about Malaysia's space efforts. The blogger feels that there is too much hype in the media. “I am amazed of the media-hype when some ministers clicked on a mouse or had video conferencing. I guess that is why blogs=devil. FYI, as mentioned above, I have my video conferencing with my family almost every now and then.”


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Martinique: Aimé Césaire and Franz Fanon · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Le Blog de Moi (Fr) describes the debate over after which anticolonialism thinker to name Martinique's international airport: Aimé Césaire or Franz Fanon.  Fanon, although born in Martinque, is not well-known there. The balance has tipped in favor of Césaire who, still living, publically refused to meet with French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy in advance of his visit because of his support for “an active French presence overseas.”


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Myanmar: Historical Text from Myanmar · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Myat Thura links to sites that are hosting materials on Burmese history. One of the link points to a translation of a classic work on Burmese history called the Burmese Chronicle.


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Nepal: Peace In Limbo · Global Voices
Paramendra

The seven party alliance and the Maoists were to meet for their summit talks some time in September, but it did not happen. Prime Minister Girija Koirala asked for some extra time. Now the decisive talks are supposed to take place on October 8. Both sides have been posturing. The Maoists supremo Prachanda has vowed to lead street protests in the capital city with the goal of taking over state power if the peace talks fail. Koirala keeps hammering the point that the Maoists must disarm before the political issues can be resolved.
United We Blog has this:  Update on Peace Process: Today’s Political Developments:
“….. there are very few reasons to be hopeful about SPA coming in one voice regarding the most crucial issue: the monarchy. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is hell bent on giving space to monarchy, that is, saving the institution that the popular and historic April uprising clearly wanted to be abolished…… possible stand on interim constitution, formation of interim parliament and interim government, and to which extent the government and the party can be flexible in the talks with the Maoists……both sides gave thoughts on managing armies of both sides in three steps: First, both armies will be confined on barracks, second, verification and separation of Maoists armies from weapons and, third, integration of Maoist armies into Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Development Army.”
Samudaya has an audio transcript of an interview of the Maoist leaders Baburam Bhattarai.
Democracy For Nepal has been hard on both sides, but primarily on the seven party alliance for not having clarity of thought: Pramukh Dar, Don't Drag Your Feet: Not A Chicken Egg Situation, Interim Parliament: 300 Sounds Fine. It also reports on when the Deputy Prime Minister KP Oli was in New York City: The KP Oli Event. There are extensive video clips.
Madhesi: United We Stand has an article from Bindu Chaudhary about one of the most marginalized groups in the country, the Madhesi: Discrimination: Until When?
About 90 percent of the Terai districts, where 95.5 percent of the total Madheshi people live, have a large number of educationally deprived populations (compared to only about 13 percent in hills and mountains). Again, 50 percent of the Terai districts have ‘worst ranking’ for child literacy rates (compared to 29 percent in hills and mountain districts). Geographically, about 45 percent of the 20 Terai districts have the worst poverty ranking (as compared to 29 percent in hills and mountains). Also, 50 percent of Terai districts have ‘worst’ per capita budget allocation index (compared to about 17 percent of the hill districts). As if this was not enough, only 11.2 percent of Madheshi people are in the integrated index of governance with none in culture, academic and professional leadership. There is an undeclared ban on their recruitment in the Nepali Army, and they are in insignificant number in Nepal police.
Blogdai has a rare reprimand for the king:  Hey King: You Blew it!

author: Paramendra


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Russia, Georgia: Unfriendly Relationship · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Tbilisi, Georgia, spice seller: “I was taking some photos in the Tbilisi's market and this lady, instead trying to sell me something, she asked me a portrait.” – by tomaradze
Georgia (population approx. 4.4 million) arrested four Russian soldiers last week, charging them with espionage. Russia (population approx. 142.4 million) reacted by accusing Georgia of “state terrorism,” recalling its ambassador as well as other diplomats and their families, imposing a travel and postal ban, and threatening to adopt a bill that would prevent Georgians living in Russia (approx. 1 million) from sending money (approx. $300 million each year) back home. On Monday, Georgia handed over the alleged military intelligence officers to the OSCE, and they were later flown back to Russia. Today, Russian president Vladimir Putin advised Georgia not “to talk to Russia in the language of provocation and blackmail,” after which the Russian parliament passed a motion condemning the Georgian leadership.
LJ user plushev writes (RUS) that the current sanctions against Georgia aren't too different from the ban on Georgian wine and mineral water imposed by Russia in May 2006:
The Georgian story repeats itself: fake justifications for pressure. Aeroflot's flights are cancelled because Georgian air companies are bankrupt – that's original. Postal transactions are suspended because it sometimes happens that this money isn't paid in Georgia – amazing care for the Georgian population. Why is my biggest country in the world, the country that aspires to some [leading] role in this world, is acting like a [small doggie], afraid to say this out loud: “Guys, we're doing this to you because of this and that.” Who is it afraid of?
Here are some responses (RUS):
sashachist: […] The logic is simple: Georgian authorities [have done too many] of these provocations – at first, there was an intention to resolve the conflict in a friendly way, stop saying nonsense, Mr. Saakashvili, you are rificulous – do you remember how you blamed Gazprom for blowing up the gas pipe… et cetera […] The idea, of course, is to make the Georgian people understand that such a confrontation with Russia hurts not those they've elected – it hurts themselves, so that they were choosing the ones [needed by Russia] in the future. This logic is very simple and has every right to exist.
[…]
tson: Obviously, [they are afraid of] the other biggest country in the world.
[…]
woronin: If we pressure them for political reasons, we'll be violating international conventions […]. For example, politically-motivated embargo on products is in violation of the WTO norms, etc. Though China [doesn't seem to care about it], I think. Let someone try to get friendly with Taiwan…
wombatik: […] Terribly sorry for Borjomi. It was good for children's health. Though, if one stops being selfish, one feels even sorrier for people whose trips, work, contacts are being cancelled and interrupted.
But I don't get this one thing: why do we need this? Of course, it hurts when something that used to be “ours” suddenly [barks] something about independence and go off to be friends with a strong competitor. […]
Experts say that to us it's more important not to hurt Georgia, but to spit into America's soup one more time. My kid – a third-grader – asked me the other day if America is good or bad. Good, I say. Then I realize that the kid has had the time to hear things at school and on TV. So I say honestly, it's now a norm to dislike America. Why, asks the kid. I haven't been able to explain.
nesmeeva: This is called political correctness, Russian style %)
father_gorry: [Afraid of] the world community. It's so easy to tie the leash of someone else's opinion upon oneself, and it's so hard to take it off.
sara_phan: Don't remember who and where recalled how the USA announced the blockade of Cuba after the Carribean crisis. The situation is very similar: Americans also have military bases on Cuba, who doesn't know about Guantanamo! The aim of the blockade was to stifle Fidel's regime. I want to remind the hot heads that it all happened over 40 years ago, and Fidel is still there. Maybe it's not worth it to [repeat mistakes]?
Before last Wednesday, there was a totally real opposition to Saakashvili – but now it has unanimously supported the president.
[…]
Blogger Alex Exler is being sarcastic (RUS) about the alleged Russian spies’ ordeal:
Finally, the released officers have told us about the abuse they were through in Georgia. One feels like crying reading it. For something like this, the blockade is not enough – everything should be bombed to hell! I'm citing these mournful lines:
“I think that my rights were violated: I wasn't allowed to get in touch with the consul and the relatives, I wasn't given a lawyer. Besides, I wasn't shown the accusation papers. The investigator read the charges, and I refused to sign. Besides, there was talk about political accusations […], which I denied, and I didn't meet with anyone else before the trial,” – said Savva. – “I saw the lawyer in the evening of the second day (after detention), and I had a meeting with (Georgia's minister of internal affairs) Vano Merabishvili, who offered me a drink and a snack, but I refused.”
Aren't they evil or what? Offered him a drink only on the second day. And it's likely that they brought him the same wine that, thanks to Onishchenko, is teeming with pesticides. […]
Quite a number of readers disagree with Exler:
igMamont: I don't see the grounds for sarcasm. They showed off by detaining the servicemen – and got hit on the [head] for that. What would the United States do if Georgia detained CIA officers?
[…]
eImage: Alex, you are wrong. One thing is when cops are “abusing” someone like this, and it's a completely different matter when this is being done by an unfriendly state. It's more than mere abuse – it's humiliation of the state employees using fake reasons. They just wanted to humiliate the state of Russia. And it has to be punished. […]
The TV footage alone, of a Georgian embassy in Moscow employee hitting […] a protester who was already being held by the police – it says a lot. If they aren't shy [to do something like this] in Moscow, then what are they doing to our folk in Georgia? […]
Are we Russia or a “helpless and weak state,” as some Georgian officials say? Who cares about consuls and lawyers when the guys were facing 15 years for “terrorism”? And they would've gotten it, if Putin hadn't [woken up].
And he refused the drink because who knows what could have been put into it. You drink it and then sign everything. […]
The United States is brought up in the comments to this post, too. Here's one that differs somewhat from those cited earlier:
Yeretik: Oh and ah. I remember when the Russia-friendly Iraqis cut off the heads of the Russian diplomats – Russia's reaction then wasn't as brave. At first, when the heads were still in place, they [were trying to please the terrorists], and then they put the blame for what happened on the USA.
***
The United States features in some Russian bloggers’ Georgia-related posts for an entirely different reason, too: they are discussing the seemingly proverbial “stupidity” of Americans and their poor knowledge of geography, citing a Yahoo! Message Boards thread – “Anti-Georgia campaign heats up in Russia” – and the subsequent report (RUS) in a Russian online newspaper, according to which, “some Americans, on hearing about the blockade of Georgia, have demanded withdrawal of the Russian troops from the USA.”
It turns out, however, that much of the message board discussion took place in May 2005 and was meant as a joke; LJ user watertank compiles a list (RUS) of the bloggers who didn't recognize it as such:
[…] how a last year's joke can be turned into a fresh piece of world news :) […]
And at a forum frequented by the former Soviet citizens currently residing in the United States, one poster, formerly of Kyiv, Ukraine, reveals that the joke is pretty old:
- Did you hear it, CNN said thet russian invaded Georgia
– I hope they'll start from CNN headquarter
***
Moscow-based LJ user silna expresses her warm feelings for Georgia and its people (RUS):
You know what. I want to scream out loud here.
I LOVE GEORGIA!
Here.
I've never been there, I have only a few Georgian friends, but this land and this people are dear to me. […] And what's going on is hurting me. Yes, with my mind I understand why it is happening and what for, but my heart aches. And what can I do? Me, an apolitical Russian person, [not belonging to any party, not the one who runs the country]? I can only say something, and I'm saying it.
And here's more: I'll definitely go to Georgia one day, and will hug as many Georgians as possible, and I'll drink home-made wine there for all of us. For the dear ones. […]
This blogger also links to the travel reports and photos (RUS, part one and part two) from a recent trip to Georgia by LJ user semasongs (Aleksandr Semenov, Moscow).


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Russia: Moscow Photos · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

English Russia writes about and posts pictures of the changes taking place in Moscow: the demolition of the Rossiya Hotel and a photo comparison of a certain Moscow area. Two-Zero's diary has pictures of Moscow's new and old subway trains, as well as a couple of pictures taken during a rare flight over the megapolis and a series of late-summer Moscow shots.


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Russia: Ramzan Turns 30 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

David McDuff of A Step At A Time translates an article on Ramzan Kadyrov's 30th birthday.


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Russia: Relations With Georgia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time, The Accidental Russophile and Russia Blog discuss the ongoing Russia-Georgia crisis.


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Russia: Two Film Reviews · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Accidental Russophile reviews Railway Station for Two, a 1982 Soviet movie. Russia Blog reviews a recent sequel to the Russian film Bumer.


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Russia: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Water, Nightlife · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

White Sun of the Desert writes about Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk water problems and about a limo tour of the city.


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South Africa: interview with South African security contractor · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Someamongus interviews a South African security contractor in Iraq about the situation in Iraq and his thoughts on the new South African Anti-Mercernary Bill.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Sri Lanka: A few questions for Europe · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Love in the Age of World Domination has a few questions for Europe. “Why is it that when I say I am from Switzerland, you stare at me and inevitably follow up with “but what is your ethnicity? Is it not possible that a brown person can be from a European country?”


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Sri Lanka: Fudging the Talking · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Sri Lanka's Daily Papers has a roundup of the newspapers covering the go-ahead on talks between the government and LTTE.


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The Week that Was – Bolivian Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The Bolivian blog community continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  In addition to its own website, Blogs de Bolivia, where new blogs are added to the blogroll on an ongoing basis, there is a Yahoo! groups specifically for this community to communicate amongst themselves.  Another blog project was created in December of 2005 as a form of collaborative interaction, which has attracted the interest of many Bolivian bloggers.
El Punto de Vista (Point of View) is, according to its own description, a “participatory project that shows a view from one’s window.”  The site’s creator Patricia Vargas blogs at påt®i©iå, which is a blog devoted to art, urbanism and architecture.  The site invites anyone to send in pictures from one’s own window and sharing what they see on a daily basis.
Members of the Bolivian blog community have especially taken an active interest in this project, such as Javier Rodriguez, a blogger at Diario de un Demente Frustrado (ES), Ron Del Dia (ES) in Santa Cruz also provides images from various locations, and Toussant, a blogger at La Voz de La Inconciencia (ES).  However, the photos are not limited to views from Bolivian windows, as photos from Argentina, Peru and Romania also are included in the site.
Photo of Cochabamba, Bolivia, taken by Eduardo Avila and part of the El Punto de Vista project.
Recently, the site was featured in an article the Santa Cruz newspaper El Deber.  The coverage helped revive the project after a two month layoff and caused traffic to spike as a result of the mention in the newspaper and website.  This is only one example of a way that members of the Bolivian blog community have collaborated to produce a new and exciting project using these new social software technologies.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Trinidad & Tobago: “Please stand. . . for something” · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Click on the image to play video
On the day of the reading of Trinidad and Tobago's 2007 budget — which, from the talk on the streets, could include all manner of life-changing proposals — I figured this conceptual video by Trinidadian multimedia artist Elspeth Duncan would be a timely presentation. Says Elspeth:
This video was created from footage I shot of various protests taking place in Trinidad between late 2005 and early 2006. It represents the collective voice of the people at a time when the republic of Trinidad & Tobago is going through crisis and experiencing transformation on many levels. The statements (written in bold) below are from placards held and t-shirts worn within the video. The first few opening bars of music in the video are the first few bars of the national anthem of Trinidad & Tobago, for which it is always requested of us: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand.” The video takes this request a step further and calls for each of us, once and for all, to stand for something.
(Rest of music – Elspeth Duncan, from the CD Manzanilla) (…more)

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Trinidad & Tobago: The 2007 Budget · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Saucydiva offers an assessment of the budget presented today by Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister, with a special emphasis on its potential effects on the upcoming Carnival season.


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Venezuela: Photoblogging the Campaign Season · Global Voices
David Sasaki

A war of political photoblogging has emerged in Venezuela's blogosphere. Alek Boyd photographs supporters of opposition candidate Manuel Rosales and asks, “Did these Venezuelans agree to subsidize London's transport system?” Katy from Caracas Chronicles continues her documentation of government-funded campaigning. Finally, pro-government blogger Dan Burnett says that the Rosales opposition campaign has been dependent on recent public work projects.


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Vietnam: Visiting a remote Island · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at The Final Word in Saigon visits Con Dao, an island in the South China Sea. The blogger posts pictures and some observations from the island. “If I had to pick one adjective to use for Con Dao, it would be ‘rugged’, although that may be influenced by the wind and rain we experienced. The coastline, interior, and beaches were dramtic anyway, and it's always great to drive a motorbike along a windy coastal road whilst enjoying the views.”


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White face, painted black · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

What do you do when you don't want a real black woman on a magazine cover? Sokari has a suprise for you!


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Zambia: the incumbent wins · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A Village Idiot comments on the disputed Zambia's presidential election:”Sata’s insistence that he was robbed of the election seems more tied to his reliance on unreliable polling to gauge support for his campaign than any particular evidence of fraud.”


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Zimbabwe: cultural innovation  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Proud Dzambukira sees cultural innovation in the midst of political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe:
“Some might find it easy to condemn the recent move in Zimbabwe to pull “witch doctors” closer into the mainstream by allowing them to grant sick notes to ailing workers. The move follows  legislation passed this past July finally getting rid of colonial laws that illegalized the age old institutions of witchcraft on the premise that they were pagan and primitive superstitions.”


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Hong Kong: Flash mob rape and disney bomb threat · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

A 42 years old man's Internet messages inviting others to join him in a “flash mob rape” has resulted in Hong Kong's first conviction for outraging public decency through expressions on the world wide Web on September 20 and sentenced to 160 hours of community service yesterday (October 4).
Another case “disney bomb threat” is on the line. The 21 years old netizen was arrested on September 21.
In the internet, the opinions are very extreme. Some suggest harsh punishment, some say that the case is against freedom of expression, some try to differentiate between two cases.
Destiny expresses his opinion towards internet behavior:
「網路」並非虛擬不實，也不是完全自由，「網路」是切切實實的現實世界，也
要為自己的所作所為負上應有的責任，同樣也有法律的束縛。
Jackykit urges more restriction to save the morality in Hong Kong
什麼強姦快閃黨？什麼炸彈襲擊尼樂園？為何如此？因為別人看不到我，那麼什麼道德、什麼責任可以完全不理會，其實這只是冰山一角而已，但看來真正會理會此問題的網民不多，但幸好，社會還有一定空間去規管這一些人…
Amanda believes that there is a direct relation between speech act and actual sex crime
你話我阻礙言論自由都係咁話, 就係依d人諗嘢諗歪左,搞到咁多風化案
Ben ng thinks that the case opens the Pandora box of speech prosecution:
「快閃強姦黨」之類的網上吹水討論不可怕，以網上留言入罪相當可怕。以往只有死亡威脅或涉及中傷、私隱，苦主才會報警，不過警方一般都不會太重視，不了了之者多。這次性質不同，由政府積極提控，而且高調進行，以收殺一儆百之效。不少市民認為特區政府果斷打擊犯罪而拍手稱快之際，我卻擔心惡例一立，官方「網上警察」角色不斷加強。應知網上低俗言論是小惡，以言論及思想入罪是大惡。
Ben Ng's worries has some grounds because the “disney bomb threat” case is on the queue to be prosecuted. Diuman park tries to differentiate the two cases:
但迪迪尼主角不同，拘捕他的理由不是「違反公德」而是「企爆」，這就十分荒謬。要證明一個人犯了「企爆」，不能單憑一句「在座有冇人識整炸彈…..我想炸迪迪尼……唔該」就叫證據確鑿，還要有其他有力證據，例如他跟懂製炸彈的朋友聯絡、購買材料…
Charles mok urges  a balance between society's morality standard and internet culture. And he is against harsh punishment:
社會人士需要多了解網絡文化，網民也有必要反思自己言論行為對他人的影響。
雖然有人提議立法規管網絡言論，但這只屬反彈性質，其實有何可行之法可立？胡亂制定特別法例管制互聯網，反而會誤導市民問題已被他人解決，失望更大，而立法有可能箝制網絡發展和運作，也真的更有可能會妨礙言論自由，在執行上對全球化的互聯網也不會有效。現時法律並無分犯事的媒介，本身應已可以適用於互聯網。
我們社會急需更多更深入和具理論基礎的研究，了解網絡應用和發展除了在經濟活動以外對社會各方面全方位的影響，而非簡單港式民意調查，結果多數以簡單道德主導，忽略長遠及更深層影響，令社會發展失去方向。


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Argentina: Music: Bicicletas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Fernando Casale has posted two tracks from the release album by Argentine band Bicicletas.


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Bahrain: Just Bahraini! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

While the elections fever is getting high in Bahrain, Mahmood is promoting anti-sectarianism online. He created some logos and calls everyone to display them. He said: “It doesn’t matter if you are a Bahraini, Indian, Sudanese, Saudi, Kuwaiti or Plutonian. Show your support for us Bahrainis who want to live as a SINGLE nation away from sectarianism.”

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Blogging Tunisia: whisper! · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Roughly a year ago, the Tunisian weekly newspaper, Tunis Hebdo has published an article about the Tunisian Blogs [Fr] in which the author, Zouhour Harbaoui, shaped a frivolous image of the Tunisian Blogs as a matter of all and nothing. The reactions of the bloggers, whether on Tunis Hebdo online or on their blogs, were furious. While welcoming the first article on a national newspaper talking about them, bloggers were upset by the way the author treated their sphere. They accused the journalist of misunderstanding the new medium and not taking a deep look into the Tunisian blogsphere. Some of them even have asserts that blogging in Tunisia is an alternative to the national press and that the Tunisian blogs are filling the vacuum that the mainstream media have created.
One year later, what’s left of that positive self-perception that bloggers have maintained? Do they really represent an alternative to the print media? Do they offer a safe space in which they write freely and bypass strict state censorship? Are they concerned about the freedom of expression on the Web? Are they worried about Internet Filtering used by the Tunisian regime like Democlas’ sword that can fall down at any moment and blocks sites, blogs and all kinds of dissent information?
A lot of questions of ends and means are being asked at the moment on the Tunisian blogs and an unusual effort to find the answers to what it seems to be an existential question is being made. Even if it is certain that the atmosphere of fear is not helping the majority of bloggers raising their voice, a start of self-criticism is trying to patent fresh air to the debate that is taking place.
Commenting Affaire de microcosms [Fr] (a text that Houssein published following the article of Sameer Padania on Global Voices) Leilouta noted that few Tunisian bloggers deleted her from their blogroll [Fr] after she has posted a photoshopped picture of the Tunisian president Ben Ali. I asked her by mail if she can explain this action:
“Maybe they were part of Ben Ali’s family! Or they were addicted to my blog and just needed to go cold turkey to get on with their lives. Seriously, I think it’s understandable given the situation. Voicing opposing views or having fun with photoshop can cause ‘problems’ and it may not be worth the risk for everyone. I don’t think my pictures were risky but…not everyone reading has the same sense of humor I do.”
And what about blogging in Tunisia? Is it replacing journalism and print media? But if is not the case, what should the Tunisian bloggers do in order to become a credible alternative? On these questions she responded:
“From the blogs I am familiar with, and talking to my family and friends, I would have to say that they are not replacing our ‘journalism’ and print media at all. There are encouraging signs and talented bloggers out there however, too often people who voice a view different from the mainstream are hammered. Maybe it is our nature or culture to go along with everyone.  For blogging to be a credible medium for change we need a gateway to discuss all viewpoints that is constructive and informative. It needs to build a reputation that is open-minded and fair, because we all know how important our reputations are to us.“
I also asked her about the journey towards democracy and freedom and if she thinks that blogging is a powerful medium to help the process of democratizing Tunisia. And she gives me this answer, not without her touch of humor:
“Hey, Tunisia is a democracy, we vote!   I think blogging is a great medium to help ‘improve’ our democracy. Democracy depends on an informed, literate, knowledgeable population. Personally I have learned so much about the world since I started blogging. I have heard the stories and opinions of regular people like myself that I never saw on US or Tunisian TV, or in any newspaper. As my husband says…These are Gutenberg times for us all.“
In another comment, this time on the post of Infinity “La blogosphère tunisienne .. et la dissidence ..” [Fr], Nasnoussa criticized the double-standard applied on the Tunisian blogs when it comes to speaking about the victims of oppression in the country. She mentioned the case of the youngsters of Kef (who were condemned for downloading an mp3 criticizing the brutality of the Tunisian police) and noticed that Tunisians bloggers have shown more support for Ingrid Betancourt than for the youngsters. I also asked her by email about this attitude and if there is any allergic behavior, on the blogsphère, towards politics, a kind of politicophobia. She gives me this answer:
“Depoliticization, as far national politics is concerned, is a fact among mainstream Tunisians. One would expect that this trend would not affect Tunisian bloggers since many of them have an educational level superior to that of the rest of the population that should have enabled them to develop a less narrow-minded focus in politics for example. A cursory look at the Tunisian blogsphere, however, will reveal that it hardly ever deals with topics pertaining to national politics. Those bloggers who do talk about political issues will most probably analyze what is happening in the international arena without ever mentioning what goes on in their own country. Put crudely, many Tunisian bloggers (with no intention to make hasty generalizations) have a finger in every pie but their country’s. This apathy vis-à-vis Tunisian politics is mostly explained by a fear of the regime. This regime has shown on numerous occasions that it would brook no dissent and tolerate no opposition to its policies. A number of internet users that were deemed subversive by the government were put in jail for expressing their opinions and this has unfortunately acted as an enormous deterrent.
Besides, self-censorship is rife in Tunisia. We were conditioned since our childhood to watch our actions and beware of what we say. We were taught notions of civil liberties and human rights from elementary school to university level. We are unfortunately aware that what we learnt on those school benches starkly contrasts with reality. I do acknowledge the ruthlessness of the regime as far as its dealing with dissent is concerned; however, I feel that at times this fear is unjustified. The regime will only be more comforted in its tyranny if we carry on showing our excessive fear. A first SUBTLE step is necessary to overcome the “politicophobia” that has plagued the Tunisian blogosphere.”
Big Trap Boy [Fr] has used the M. Night Shyamalan's “The Village” as metaphor to describe the relationship between Tunisian blogs and politics. In “The Village”, the population has made a pact with strange creatures in the woods: They never leave the village; red color is evil; they don't talk about “certain things”. Based on that metaphor, Big Trap Boy writes the following in a very clever way:
“Who wants to take the risk venturing into the woods inhabited by those we don't speak of on the blogsphere? Who wants to carry “the bad color” which attracts these creatures? And who wants to wake up the next morning and find a “404 Error – File Not Found” on his blog?”
“I think that much of this fear and this politicophobia is based on myths that can easily be surmounted if the concerned parties, within the blogsphere, show a bit of comprehension and moderation. (…) It is certain the Tunisian blogsphere is still searching itself.”
The Quest of its “raison d’être” has made it obvious the search of definition of what blogging is, and what the role and duty of bloggers are. Concerning Astrubal [Fr], I quote his words:
“A true blogger cannot conceive his activity without being committed to defend the tool that he's using. Blogging is initially a state of mind, an attitude and the intransigence towards all those trying to harm the two amazing tools we own: expression and the Internet.”
Learning from other people's experience, debating and comparing the journey of the Tunisian blogsphere with the Egyptian one or with the huge Weblogestan was also one of the methods used recently by Tunisian bloggers to build a sort of self-awareness and to provide profound insight into the questions confronting them.
In this way Infinity has republished on her blog the Aljazeera documentary on Egyptian bloggers [Fr] (mudawinoun is the Arabic term for bloggers, it implies documenting and testifying) and a recent one on the Moroccan blogger, questioning herself and her visitors about the content of the Tunisian Blogs and if they represent an alternative to the national media and promising to “get more involved” with this kind of issues.
But in the meantime Houssein, who maintains the Tunisian Blogs aggregator  in addition to his own blog, has criticized the attitude of various journalists and bloggers [Fr] who often:
“praise the blogs as being the ultimate space for freedom, political militancy, dissidence and subversive ideas. (…) and who evoke the case of the Iranians Bloggers, the Chinese, and recently the Egyptian blogsphère as the Fifth Estate, citizen journalism, cyberdissidence, cyberactivism. (…) Reading them, it is not doubted any more that the next great revolution will be cybernetic, or will not be.”
Referring to The Law of Large numbers, Houssein believes that the rate of 3 or 4 Tunisian political blogs among 300 or 400 others, sounds reasonable and it does fit with what he called “the international virtual standards” And concluded:
“So please, spare us the speeches about the Iranian and the Egyptian blogsphere. It is just a question of large numbers. The day we’ll get thousands of Tunisian blogs, there will be a few political and militant blogs among theme.”
So let's assume that this is true. Just for the sake of argument. What we have witnessed until now is that the mainstream and traditional media suffered from the growth and power of blogs when they did not respond. The same is even truer for the last one: blogs can also be damaged and grow weaker when they don’t respond to the needs of their community. The risk of waiting for the Godot of the large numbers may be much greater than the risk of giving up free speech, rights and justice.
In his ‘We the media’ Gillmor said that “ in country after country where free speech is not given, the blogsphere matters in far more serious ways. This is the stuff of actual revolutions.” (p. 140)
And that is actually what we are witnessing in the past few days and weeks on the Tunisian blogsphere: more and more of new, young and fresh voices are rising; going well beyond the limits, crossing the red lines of the apolitical incorrectness. And even if they are neither criticizing openly and frontally the Tunisian regime, nor using their blog for advocacy, they are describing Tunisia's myriad problems in a debate that is meant to evolve.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Bolivia: “Empty Grottos on Jungle Road to Santa Cruz” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ben Djangle continues his telling and descriptive chronicles from a country in chaos: Bolivia.


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Caucasus & Central Asia: Press Freedom · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

At neweurasia, Neil rounds up news on press freedom from all over the Caucasus and Central Asia.


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Congolese Blogger on Darfur · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

At Forum Realisance (Fr), Congolese blogger Musengeshi Katata takes France, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, Christianity, radical Islam and the black African elite to task for the conflict in Darfur: “Darfur is not only a new battlefield between Christianity and Islam; it is also offers a poignant indictment of the black race, unaware of how dangerous weakness in the face of these two predatory cultures and religions can be.  The conflict shows black Africa how stagnation and traditionalism without economic, social and scientific development leads to misery and serves all the world's crooks and bandits.” On the international dimension of the conflict: “They say that when two mice fight in the proverbial milk, another reaps the cheese.”


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Cuba: The dengue problem · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The video above appeared on YouTube on September 29, 2006, with no accompanying information but the tags “cuba” and “dengue“. Linked earlier this week by The Real Cuba, it appears to support what blogger Marc Masferrer wrote last Friday:
Everyone in Havana and other cities has seen the clouds of insecticides used to attack the disease-carrying mosquitos that spread dengue, and heard exhortations from temporary dictator Raúl Castro and other government officials about the importance of stamping out the epidemic.
“But,” Masferrer continued, “there has been no information released by the government detailing how widespread the epidemic really is.” The international and independent Cuban press, he wrote, have reported “anywhere from 4,000 to 35,000 people infected, and anywhere from 40 to 700 dead,” and two Cuban independent journalists reporting on the epidemic were detained and threatened by the police. Masferrer also reproduced a CubaNet article stating that health workers had been warned not to release information about the dengue epidemic. The Medicina Cubana blog reported even earlier last week that the director of a Cuban hospital may have succumbed to the disease.
This Monday, however, Orlando, a Cuban based in California, links to a short entry in the Spanish-language blog Estancia Cubana reporting that the Cuban government has finally admitted that they may have a dengue fever problem on their hands. In the same post, Orlando reproduces a Latin American Times article written in 2002 — “the last time that Cuba entered into the battle of the vectors” — and asks: “Has anything changed? With the exception of a couple of names this story could have been written today.”
The video below, posted on YouTube on October 1, 2006 and entitled “Fumigacion en Cienfuegos”, claims (ES) to have been taken en route to the city of Trinidad and to show “the fumigation of cars against the dengue mosquito [Aedes aegypti]. We had to leave the car shut for five minutes. . . . They stopped us once more after this to fumigate again.”


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India: Dengue and Chikungunya · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The Mosquitoe menace in India continues, posing greater risk to public health says Sepia Mutiny. “In recent weeks, what is fast looking like an epidemic of dengue fever has been spreading in different parts of India. Delhi is over 600 reported cases, with 16 fatalities; Kerala has over 700 cases; Gujarat, 200; West Bengal, 300.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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India: Mohammed Afzal and the State · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Gaurav Bhatnagar on the case of Mohammed Afzal – “But it is beyond my comprehension that we are witnessing widespread protests in Kashmir supporting Afzal. How can any case be made for defending a terrorist?”


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India: Regional Party · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Karnataka, which saw a statewide strike recently might benefit from a regional party. Argumentation Crisis has more. “What Karnataka needs is a strong regional party. A party that is based on strong regional sentiments. Since the dravida ethnicity isn't too popular here, perhaps language is the trump card.”


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Jordan: In Criticising Qatar! · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

As a Jordanian who claims to love his country and wish all success for its citizens in their hopes and aspirations, I felt angry by Qatar's refusal to vote for prince Zeid as a potential successor for Mr Kofi Annan as Secretary General of the UN. I thought this attitude was both unhonorable and a stab in the back. However, I think the Jordanian propaganda that followed the event was pathetic and shameful. More from Batir Wardam.


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Kenya: defending youth linguistic creativity · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Defending the use of Sheng among the youth in Kenya, Greamhouze notes,
“Through Sheng we accurately express our thoughts and ideas.The conception that the youth must speak in English or pure Swahili to get anywhere is colonial/political old guard inherent aptitude. Its true Kenyan youths do not read and if we are to adopt a reading culture through Sheng, so be it. Write about Che Guevara to the youth in sheng and there will be more of his T-shirts in the streets. My point is, knowledge gained in whatever language is not inferior.


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Kenya: gifted Kenyan artist · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African Painters writes about Tobias Butama, “His work as an artist has been clearly documented in the Library of the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. and extensively at home in Nairobi, Kenya.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Capital Osh? · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia reports that a Kyrgyz politician has proposed moving the country's capital to the southern city of Osh, and she pronounces the idea utterly foolish.


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Kyrgyzstan: The Kochkor Rodeo · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Peace Corps Volunteer Trent Milan reports on working with a mullah to organize a rodeo on Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan. Working with him to put on the event is Vista 360 (background here), a Wyoming NGO that helps facilitate exchange between cowboy cultures around the world.


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Mexico: Abductions in Oaxaca · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Nancy Davies says that a law student and possibly two others were reportedly “snatched from the streets by plainclothes thugs.


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Mexico: No End to Oaxacan Conflict in Sight · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mark in Mexico has four posts in as many days about the continued political and social strife in Oaxaca. The post titles are telling: Father of 3 decapitated at APPO roadblock. President Fox and his cabinet draw the line. Guerrillas raising their ugly heads. The striking teachers and APPO refuse to negotiate.


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Morocco: First woman governor in Morocco · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

In a further sign of the progress Morocco is making in gender reform, for the first time ever since Morocco's independence in 1956, a woman has been nominated governor of a district. Samir has the details.


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Namibia: anti-corruption song contest · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Museke writes about Anti-Corruption Song Contest in Namibia,
“This is a worthy effort to make use of music in educating the populace about an issue that is paramount in African societies today – corruption.”


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Nepal: Extradition and India · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Netbook on the dynamics of affairs between Nepal and India, on extradition and Maoist motives. “Deferring to Maoist wishes, Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula has called off his visit to India. All those non-Nepali-speaking Muslims we are told the country is rife with may now loosen up a bit.”


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Pakistan: Hiking and Islamabad · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Metroblogging Islamabad on why the city has much to offer to hikers. “. Although many of the residents take advantage of this opportunity and regularly hike up and down trail-3 or at the most go bush walking, yet most of the youth are reluctant to explore more of it. There are many other tracks distributed in the Margalla hills waiting to be pitched.”


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Palestine: Internal fighting · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

I've often said that those who are protesting in Gaza, the ones we read about in the paper and see on tv, are not protesting bcause they are hungry-they are Fatah shabeeba hooligans and other members of security forces loyal to Dahalan and co., dispatched as part of “organized anachry”, and protesting under the guise of desperation for their own political ends; And rest assured, mr. slimy shells out an handesome sum to anyone willing to take part in a protest “against the government”. They want a return to the days of payoffs and patronage, Laila El-Haddad said.


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Peru: Across the Andes to Huaraz · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Having already bicycled through all of Central America and a good portion of South America, David of A Ride for the Climate explains the concept of horse-assisted bike touring as he crossed Peru’s highest mountain range.


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Poland: Czech Flag Faux Pas · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Warsaw Station reports on how Polish foreign ministry welcomed the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov with a Czech flag.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Romania: Csikszereda Happenings · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Csikszereda Musings writes about this year's small potatoes and other happenings in the Romanian town of Csikszereda.


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Russia: 13 Years Ago · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog marks the 13th anniversary of “Boris Yeltsin’s military suppression of the Supreme Soviet”: “Despite what anyone says about Putin, even poor Russians prefer Russia now than what it was when Yeltsin was lobbing shells at the White House. Plus Putin has made it acceptable to appreciate the good things that came out of the Soviet system without being shamed and without it meaning you necessarily want the USSR’s return.”


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Serbia: “Aphorisms” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dictionary of the Serbian Mess translates some pretty hilarious political statements. Here's one: “This government unites the nation. Everybody is against it. – Zoran Stanojevic.”


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Serbia: “Constitution-schmonstitution” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade Blog writes about “the new constitution draft being accepted by Serbian assembly” tonight – something “that even the citizens of Serbia know about it yet.”