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Russia: BBC Radio Off Russian FM · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

As the parliamentary and presidential elections draw near, the BBC's Russian-language broadcasts have been chased out of Russian FM radio. Vilhelm Konnander has more on it.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia: Betting on the Next President · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The British are betting on who's going to be the next Russian president, Eternal Remont reports.

source: news-globalvoices

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


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Russia: Down’s Syndrome Association · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Maaskva: Nashimi Glazami translates the first part of an interview with Marina Tsarkova, one of the co-founders of Russia's Down's Syndrome Association.


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Russia: Photos From St. Pete and Vyborg · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Megan Case posts more pictures of St. Petersburg, and of Vyborg, and writes this about her trip to this formerly Finnish town: “…while St. Petersburg has been getting cleaner and shinier and better by leaps and bounds, Vyborg still looks dirty and run-down. I can’t really understand it, since that place gets tons of tourism, both domestic and international – and a lot of Finnish euros go there. They have a lot of really special architecture and it’s just going to hell. With a bit of paint, it could really be a historical fantasy village.”


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Russia: Speaking Russian Properly · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Megan Case writes about a somewhat annoying initiative to get everyone to speak Russian “properly.”


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Russia: Xenophobia and Violence · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

There are 48 comments so far to a post on xenophobia and violence in Russia, over at Sean's Russia Blog. One commenter writes: “It seems to me that the Kremlin gave a green light to the ‘ultra-nationlist’ tendencies of some ethnic Russians by the way it dealt with Georgia and Estonia […]. If the gov’t is telling you its ok to despise people from these Georgia and Estonia, why stop there? Why not lump all foreigners together and treat them like scum.”


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Syria Bans Anonymous Speech Online · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syria bans anonymous speech online, reports Elijah Zarwan.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Tajikistan: New legislation · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

At neweurasia, Madina lists several of the new laws and regulations that were stipulated by the Tajik government recently. Many of them are absurd and remind Madina of an 18th-century caliphate.

author: Ben Paarmann


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Trinidad & Tobago: Marketing 101 · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“People Don't Like Marketing and Advertising. They like products, they like services, and given half a chance they will find the products and services that they want without being beaten to death by wasted time on commercials on radio and television”, says KnowProSE.com – but don't shoot him, he's just the messenger.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Tourism Park  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Haveworld posts photos from some of Trinidad and Tobago's popular tourist attractions.


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Turkey: wordpress.com ban inspires firestorm of criticism · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Matthew Mullenweg, founding developer of the popular WordPress blogging platform, has received a letter from the lawyers acting on behalf of a Turkish Islamic-creationist, Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya, claiming to be responsible for the blanket ban on blogs hosted on the wordpress.com blogging platform in Turkey. On August 17th, 2007, the Turkish Fatih Second Civil Court of First Instance blocked access to all wordpress.com blogs in response to a suit filed by Adnan Oktar’s lawyers on the grounds that blogs hosted on the platform published allegedly defamatory and “unlawful” statements about their client. The Court’s decision resulted in Turkish Internet users being unable to access more than one millions weblogs hosted wordpress.com.
We have applied to you to remove the unlawful statements regarding my client  Mr. Adnan Oktar (…) in your blogs. The number of our attempts to inform and  warn you regarding these defamation blogs must have been at least twenty, many  times through your support page, a couple of times to your legal department  and we even sent a regular mail to Mr. Matt Mullenweg. Most of our attempts  were unanswered. So we have become obliged to apply to Turkish judicial courts  to stop this defamation executed through your services. By the decision of  Fatih 2nd Civil Court of First Instance, number 2007/195, access to  WordPress.com has been blocked in Turkey.
It has also been reported by Monsters and Critics that the court ordered Turk Telecom (Turk Telekomunikasyon) to block few specific websites. But, when the authors of those sites moved the allegedly defamatory content to other blogs hosted on the wordpress.com domain “we applied to the court to order that all websites of WordPress be blocked,” kerim Kalkan, a lawyer for Adnan Oktar, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
Adnan Oktar’s lawyers are accusing Edip Yuksel, a Turkish writer and rival of their client, of using wordpress.com blogs to publish “slander” about Adnan Oktar. They are asking wordpress.com to dismiss all of the blogs responsible for the alleged defamatory content:
Since Edip Yuksel and his crime organization could easily start new blogs in  your site, they had even launched a campaign in opening defamation blogs  regarding my client and had explicitly expressed this organized endeavor in  his defamation blogs: “In order to make people hear our voice, let everyone  start new blogs from websites such as http://blogcu.com or  http://wordpress.com and let them copy the posts on those blogs and paste them  to their own. You can start several at once, if possible. Please remember that  the name you will give to the blogs, should be related to Adnan Oktar or Harun  Yahya in order to find them quickly through Google search. If the names are  already taken, you can solve this problem by using characters such as “_”  (Adnan_Oktar) or numbers such as AdnanOktar100, Adnan_Oktar_50.”
we demand you to remove and prohibit any blogs in your site that contain my  client’s name adnan oktar or his pen name harun yahya or various combination  of these 4 names.
In an article entitled “Shooting the messenger” posted on The Guardian's Comment is Free blog, Ali Eteraz expressed the belief that “WordPress is caught up in a long-standing political and cultural battle between two competing Muslim groups,” adding that “the ban should be seen as the first sign of the kind of censorship that an Islamist Turkish government is willing to accept.” Some commentators, however, seem more sceptical about Ali Eteraz's conclusion: “The author is simply trying to malign the government. It's not the fault of the Turkish government that the court has passed this order. Censorship in Turkey existed before the AK party came into power. To say that banning a blog is part of an ‘Islamic censorship’ is completely ridiculous,” said nadeem.
The case has caught the attention of the Turkish media and already made it to the front page of one of the top newspapers in the country. On the Turkish Blogsphere, and espacially within the wordpress.com community, two posts by WordPress founding developer Matthew Mullenweg (Blocked in Turkey and Why We’re Blocked in Turkey: Adnan Oktar) kicked off a storm of comments and reactions. One of these comments addressed the consequences of the censorship policy for Turkey:
I hope that some Turkish offical reads the comments here and takes note of a  few facts:
Ban one blog site= lots of publicity that presents Turkey with a very negative  image
Ban one blog site= internal problems become international public news (If they  are not familiar with the items that are enclosed with […] I would like to  point out that is other blogs who have picked up the story and it is spreading  over the web.)
Ban one blog site= places questions about Turkish attitudes about human rights
Ban one blog site= based on the wishes of a man who is being prosecuted for  the same type of crime, leaves a question on who is running the country- the  officials or the criminals?
Ali Eteraz noted that a  Canadian blogger is planning a blogger’s revenge plan of action, “for those who are really upset”:
I put out a call for all bloggers, on all platforms, to make silly jokes and  bad puns and hey, some defamatory statements about anal-retentitiveness while  we’re at it about the apparently both well-connected and thin-skinned ADNAN  OKTAR or his pen name HARUN YAHYA.
This will cause Turkey either to extend the ban to ALL blogging platforms,  including mainstream newspapers such as the Guardian and the New York Times,  or to drop their block against WordPress. Such legal actions have to be asserted in all cases, or they must be dropped.
Digital inspiration is providing this work-around to bypass the ban on wordpress.com in Turkey:
To bypass the government ban, WordPress.com bloggers and blog readers in  Turkey can configure the internet connection settings of their web browser and  point the DNS server to that of OpenDNS instead of using the default DNS  server of the Turk Telecom ISP.
Another user is presenting Phantomix, a new “working FreeWare Tool for bypassing censorhip” configured to use the Tor and Privoxy softwares.
A blogger Kylapasha from Islamabad has designed a badge to show Pakistani support for Turkish Bloggers:
When the Pakistani block happened, some nice folks made banners to put on  their blogs. So I decided to return the favour. I’ve made a few, feel free to  download and use them.

author: sami ben gharbia


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UAE: 100 Children by 2015 · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Secret Dubai reports about a UAE citizen who hopes to have 100 children by 2015 in this post.


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Will Sudan Always be Africa’s Largest Country? · Global Voices
SudaneseDrima

As the Sudanese blogosphere continues to grow, we're increasingly witnessing more activity and hearing more diverse voices coming from it. Allow me to take you into its recent conversations.
Ayman Elkhidir, a Sudanese blogger residing in Dubai is on a holiday in Sudan at the moment. He blogs a post expressing his disdain towards the people's driving habits there:
People in Sudan drive like they were riding their camels and donkeys a hundred years ago. There are absolutely no traffic rules. Priority at intersections is decided by who has a stronger guts. Even traffic lights, when found, are badly designed that if you follow them, you’ll definitely crash. To make that clear, imagine that both opposite lights for those going forwards and those turning left are green at the same time. So if you’re turning left or making a U turn, you should be prepared for the cars coming from the opposite side coz their way is clear as well.
A new Sudanese blogger named SudanEase, talks about the recent floods in Sudan:
this August’s rain season in Sudan this year has turned out to be disasterous to the people of Sudan and the goverment who have droughted their own resources on several insignifcant issues such as the installment of a new currency. With limited resources and standing mostly alone to face this predicament the nation is failing to resist nature at its worst. The goverment helpless and under heavy criticism were forced to turn a blind eye.  Up till now 67,731 houses were wrecked by the rains, of which 31,540 were damaged beyond repair.
Kizzie came up with a random thought about the possible separation of South Sudan:
In about 4 years, the Sudan will no longer be Africa's largest country.
Daana  found it saddening:
I just read Kizzie's Random Thought, and it saddened me. Is that really where we are heading? Isn't there any hope at all?? Not even a glimpse? I don't think that we ever gave this country a chance to survive. From the time of British colonialism policies of separating the two parts of the country were strongly implemented, and ever since that time we have been distracted from working together to working against each other. Why didn't anybody try to give this country a chance to be?
After celebrating his one year blogging anniversary, Black Kush tells us of the news of Sami El-Hajj's possible release from the Guantanamo prison:
August 15, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Washington has asked Khartoum for guarantees that detained Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Haj will not leave Sudan before it releases him from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, his brother Asim al-Haj said on Wednesday.
Little.Miss.Dalu puts the spotlight on the construction of a large dam in Sudan known as the Meroe Dam and the loss it will cause to archaeological treasures from the days of the ancient Nubian Civilization:
The Meroe Dam already poses a humanitarian crisis. It will displace more than 50,000 people who live along this isolated region of the Nile, growing dates and herding sheep and goats. But the project is also creating a cultural heritage disaster largely ignored by the international media, UNESCO, and private preservation groups. Thousands–perhaps tens of thousands–of ancient sites are likely to vanish underwater as early as next year without even cursory examination.
She's not happy about it:
I pretty much am too frustrated/sad/helpless to make any intelligent commentary on this. :( As someone who is known to swear like a drunken sailor, I can't help but read the title of this article as “Damning the Sudan.”

author: SudaneseDrima


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Yemen: Hadhramout’s History  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omar Barsawad from Yemen links to an article which celebrates Hadhramout's history.


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Yemen: Shiites,Gaddafi and Saudi Arabia · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Yemen's Shiites (Shiayan Yaman) is an Iranian blog covering events in Yemen.The blogger says[Fa] Muammar Gaddafi,the leader of Libya, proposed his help to Malak al-Huthi, Shiite rebel leader,in order to block Saudi Arabia's influence in Yemen.According to the blogger al-Huti has refused any colloboration with Gaddafi.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Why a few African nations still support Mugabe  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Koudou of Agoravox gives a brief review of the history of Zimbabwe that may explain why some African nations still support the Mugabe regime (fr).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Afghanistan: Fear of kidnapping  · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Õnne Pärl says that although she has usually not been overly cautious while walking through Kabul, she is now alarmed by the frequent kidnappings of foreigners in Afghanistan.


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Anguilla: Good Governance · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Corruption-free Anguilla understands, first-hand, the importance of good governance.


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Bahamas: Customer Service from Customs?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is well known that 50% to 60% of the Bahamas Government Revenue is from Customs/Import duty.”  Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com wonders why this does not translate into better customer service.


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Bangladesh: Disability and access · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Voice of South on ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities in Bangladesh

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Students, clashes and a curfew · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Following the trouble at the Dhaka university, a curfew is announced in Bangladesh. More as Rezwan tracks the developments.


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Barbados: Air Traffic Control  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press is concerned about air traffic safety at Grantley Adams International Airport.


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Barbados: Embracing Africa · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados is the venue for an African Diaspora conference that starts tomorrow –  Caribbean Comment is all for the region forging links with Africa, but says: “Whatever we in the Caribbean may want to try, we will need to remember that African countries also have their own agendas.”


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Belize: Safe After Dean  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It was like nothing I have ever experienced. I always thought that a hurricane would be loud, but it was almost deafening at times.”  Belize-y Livin’ recounts her experience of Hurricane Dean as it hit Belize, complete with photos of the damage.


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Blogging for democracy around the world · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Antony Loewenstein is a Sydney-based freelance journalist, author and blogger. He is currently writing a book on “Democracy and Blogging” and recently traveled to Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and China to meet with bloggers.
Q: Would you introduce yourself and your new book project?
As a journalist and author in Australia, I have long been interested in the ways in which blogging challenges the long-held arrogance of the mainstream media. Why should self-described “experts” be any more respected than average citizens? Over the years, I've seen far too many journalistic insiders who see their role as little more than promoting the current power elite, rather than doing their job, which is challenging the status-quo. Blogs can achieve this.
My last book was about Israel and Palestine, My Israel Question, and I became fascinated in voices in various nations around the world, often in countries where state-media has traditionally been the only authority. Frankly, writing about Israel/Palestine is also physically and emotionally draining – hate mail and death threats are not uncommon – and the chance to embrace a different subject appealed greatly.
So, my new book project (due for release in late 2008) is about the internet in repressive regimes, the ways in which the web has changed debate around the world, how Western multinationals are now assisting governments in filtering the net and how Western stereotypes about the non-Western world are finally being challenged. I've recently travelled to Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and China and spoken to various writers, bloggers, online trouble-makers, politicians and dissidents.
The most demonised nation on the planet
Q: You have been in Iran and you talked with bloggers. Did you learn something that you did not know before? Any surprises?
Iran is probably the most demonised nation on the planet at the moment. Before I arrived, I expected a scared population, people afraid to express their true opinions. Although I discovered this in part, I also sensed speaking to bloggers that many were actively fighting against the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his increasingly unhinged social policies. Of course, such individuals may only be a vocal minority, but much of the Western media rarely even portrays Iranians as more than religious fundamentalists.
I met many bloggers who were Westernised, urbane, sophisticated, atheist, internet junkies, drinkers, hip-hoppers, smokers and liberal. Again, many Iranians are the complete opposite of these attributes – indeed, I was told that the mullahs are now actively grooming conservative bloggers in Qom to serve their agenda – but Iranian society was far more complex than I perhaps expected.
Internet filtering is rampant in Iran and getting worse ( my Guardian article expands on this issue.) Most bloggers I met saw these developments as challenges, but when, for example, numerous keywords are routinely blocked – from ‘teen’ to ‘cock’, ‘Asian’ to ‘woman’ – it's clear that the internet is challenging authoritarian rule like no other technology in history.
An essential source of expression
Q: How do you evaluate the Iranian blogosphere's influence in society?
It's very hard to say. There is no question that internet usage in Iran is massive and there are an estimated one million Iranian blogs in existence, but do they really affect society? I believe that they do. I saw some of the major papers talking about blog posts, even quoting from them (including the most conservative of publications.) The mullahs have recognised that blogging isn't just a fad, it's here to stay. For some Iranian women I met, it was their only way to express dissatisfaction with the government's crackdown on their freedoms, including dress-code, public behaviour etc.
Blogs aren't going to start a revolution, but they've already lit a powerful fire within the country. For a young population desperate to engage with the world, and a state-media that blames the US, Israel and Jews for every conceivable problem, blogs will continue to be an essential source of expression.
Q: You have been in Saudi Arabia, too. Would you tell me about their blogsphere? Is there any basis for comparaison between the Saudi blogosphere and the Iranian one?
In many ways, Saudi Arabia makes Iran seem very liberal. The Kingdom is a far more conservative place. Women can't drive, work in shops, or drive. As a Westerner, it was virtually impossible for me to speak to Saudi women. But when it comes to the internet, the Saudis don't imprison bloggers and censor lightly compared to the Islamic republic ( my Guardian article expands on these points further.)
I met a number of Saudi bloggers, including Saudi Jeans, who told me about the frustration of seeing their society moving so slowly towards political reform. The Iranian blogging scene is far more advanced than Saudi Arabia, and is far more integrated into society (though not in government bureaucracy, where the wheels move very slowly, indeed.)
Democracy is under threat
Q: Can democray be served by blogs?
Democracy is unquestionably under threat across the world, in both the Western and non-Western world. In countries like Britain, the US and Australia, governments went to war in Iraq against the will of the people, continue to maintain troops there against the wishes of the people and would probably fight another war – perhaps against Iran in the next years – against the desires of the population. This isn't democracy; it's deluded authoritarianism dressed up as tough foreign policy.
Blogs have certainly democratised the political process, and allowed “average” citizens the chance to engage. In my country, Australia, the internet is being actively used by all major political parties in the run-up to the forthcoming federal election.
In countries like Iran, China and Egypt, the internet is threatening the rule of undemocratic governments, and bloggers are often paying a very high price for simply challenging, say, police brutality. Blogs can't bring democracy on their own, but they can certainly allow a far greater number of people into the process. This is only a bad thing for those not wanting to give up the levers of power.
Q: Do you have any ideas for how Global Voices could become more efficient in creating a bridge between different communities?
Global Voices is already doing a wonderful job in revealing the world. To read about bloggers in countries like Palestine, Fiji and Iraq, to name just a few, makes us all more understanding people. I'd love GV to further assist citizens in poor countries to get access to the web and have a voice. This is the duty of all of us who are privileged enough to use technology every day.
Photo by: Antony Lowenstein, of the wall of the US Embassy in Tehran.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: “Voluntourists” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Bosnia Vault links to a piece on “voluntourists” in Srebrenica.


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Cameroon: Summit Magazine changing the media landscape · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Dibussi discusses the second issue of the Cameroonian magazine, Summit Magazine: “Unlike the maiden issue which focused exclusively on people, the second issue diversifies considerably with articles on tourist attractions such as village of Bakingili at the foot of Mount Fako and the legendary Menchum falls. It has also a health column written by renowned cardiologist Dr. WallyMuna,and a literary page with a review of Chimamannda Ngozi Adichie's award-winning Half of a Yellow Sun.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Cayman Islands: Hurricane Wisdom  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from the Cayman Islands, Mad Bull has been through his fair share of hurricanes and shares this piece of advice: “…if your house is in good condition, stay inside, nuh man! No, for some reason, it seems that people feel they have to go outside during these powerful killer storms!”


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China: Anyone Actually Going to Beijing Olympic ? · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jeremy Goldkorn from DANWEI blogs an email newsletter by Access Asia, an independent research firm based in Shanghai, which posted a substantial question about 2008 Beijing Olympic: Given the prices and conditions, anyone actually going to Beijing Olympic?

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Colluded Pricing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kenneth Tan from Shanghaiist has put together some blog posts on the business behavior of colluded pricing in China.


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China: Dangerous Toy Issue · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Fons from China Herald commented on Mattel's self-victimization of the China exported dangerous Toy. It is the corporate social responsibility to ensure the safety of workers and consumers.


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China: Newspapers Frontpage · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ah Q weekly posted 5 different local newspapers’ front page. Just look at the layout of covering stories, they are all the same! The blogger jokingly said that all the 5 newspapers had shared one editor (zh).


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China: Struggle Against Land Expropriation  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Minjian has posted a very detailed report on the struggle against land expropriation in Zhejiang Lungchuen district in 2004 (zh). The report has very detailed description of the interest involved and the process of how rural villagers organized together.


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China: Web2.0 listing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Kuangfeng has posted a list of new Web2.0 websites in China (zh), which including: consumer maps, investors’ information nexus, friending, drawing and chatting tools, QA platform.


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Cuba: Visit to Cuba  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“In the end, despite all of Cuba's festering sores, I embraced the country like no other before.  It was an odd feeling…I knew I could never live in the country, but yet, I was sincerely heartbroken to say goodbye.”  American Katie Mustard shares her impressions of Cuba.


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Czech Rebublic: “Imaginary Migrants” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr. Sean's Diary writes about the Czech Republic's immigration policies and the president's “imaginary migrants and imaginary Muslims.”


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Czech Rebublic, Slovakia: Tax Systems · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dr Sean's Diary compares the tax systems of Slovakia and the Czech Republic.


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Estonia: Russia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Yet another blog battle is raging in the comments section of Edward Lucas’ post on the Russo-Estonian relations.


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Guyana: Rainmaker · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Guyana-Gyal wants to be a rainmaker…


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India: Orkut and the death of a teenager · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

The online Indian community is rattled by the recent death of 16-year old Adnan Patrawala of Mumbai. Apparently Adnan was lured by his friends on Orkut and was later found murdered. Is Orkut responsible for the murder of this young teenager? Orkut has millions of users in India. Police investigations reveal that the plot to kill Adnan was planned on Orkut and mainstream media is pointing fingers at Orkut and holding the social site somehow responsible for this unfortunate murder of Adnan.
Tapan Shah in his post Orkut and Media, points out that technology cannot be held responsible for the death of Adnan. He writes:
Other media, it seems fails to accept Internet as a legitimate media. I see this mentality time and again displayed by the mainstream media (television and newspapers -vernacular as well as english both) to either raise an issue or just blame the technology, whenever something wrong happens in the society?…For god sake, Internet is just a medium, it is no killer.”
Vivek of The Red Pencil writes:
This incident sure to cause a reverberation in the online community. As teachers and educators we have a responsibility to help protect our students again such act. The correct response would be a blanket ban on sites like Orkut and Facebook in schools, I can see this as a very likely knee-jerk response to this event.
A better approach would be continuing education about the possible consequences of undiscretionary online behaviour, much like the talk students get (or should get) today about sex education. Students have to be told, with examples like this unfortunate incident involving Adnan, that dangers exist and like one would not share personal information with a stranger or accept food from someone you didn’t know similar behaviours were inappropriate even when the other were a virtual entity at a computer screen miles from home.
Vani of A Whimsical Mind wonders about the unfortunate murder of Adnan and writes:
What is it that lures a youngster to meet strangers over the internet ? its possibly the fast life that they love to lead or probably the sudden adrenalin rush on meeting strangers ? Well whom do we blame ? is it the advanced technology we blame , easy money ? , the website for no regulations or is it the parents who have no clue what their children are upto.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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India: Photographs from a temple · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Photographs from a temple at Prabhu n Ferrari. “Tiruvalam is around 25 kms from Vellore. There is a very famous Sivan temple there called as ‘Vilvanatheeswarar Devasthanam’. “


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Israel: Apartment Change  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Israel, blogger Yaeli updates us on the problems she is encountering changing apartments and how she has to fit that into a busy schedule, which includes rescuing cats.


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Israel: Biased Media  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Israel, Aussie Dave writes about he terms as another example of bias in mainstream media in this post.


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Israel: New Blogger on the Block · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Danya Ruttenberg, from Israel, introduces us to a new blogger on the block – Rabbi Alan Abrams.


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Jamaica: Media Emergency?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I am a big supporter of the media and their freedom of speech. I do believe in the public’s right to know. However, I don’t know that the media has some emergency rights giving them free reign over the roads.”  Beyondbee wonders what constitutes a “media emergency”.


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Jamaica: Only Kindess Matters · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“A friend of mine saw the hunger in my eyes after the hurricane…and she gave me what she had, two starburst in an easy to open mini pack.”  Nuff Conscious Ramblings And Perspectives never underestimates an act of kindness, while Yardflex.com says: “Solidarity in its best form is what the aftermath of this hurricane has brought to Jamaican communities. Each one is now being encouraged to lend a helping hand to others in need following the storm.”


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Jamaica: Visionary?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Chronicles from a Caribbean Cubicle explores the elements that make vision statements work…or not.


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Kenya: New Women’s Bank · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bankelele writes about a new Women's bank in Kenya: “Women’s Bank: They may not have been able to get special seats in Parliament, but women can count on having their own bank when the Kenya Women's finance trust converts to a commercial bank, probably in 2008. Having a women’s only bank is a long running proposal to address some of the challenges women face as borrowers and bank customers.”


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Korea and China: Olympic and Human Right · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Colin Moore from Ohmynews! reported on a 444 days protest at the Seoul city center organized by Justice for North Korea (JFNK) with the aim of protesting the repatriation of North Korean refugees by Chinese authorities.


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Kuwait: Jailed Blogger Released · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Following a local and regional outcry, jailed Kuwaiti blogger Bashar Al-Sayegh was released in Kuwait earlier today. While some bloggers celebrated the release, others warned that it could be a signal of more restrictions which could curtail freedom of speech in Kuwait. Another blogger expresses his disgust with men in uniform who break the law and posts videos of policemen physically assaulting Asian workers in the oil-rich country.
Al-Sayegh was arrested following a comment made by an anonymous commentator, insulting the Kuwaiti head of state Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah on an online forum (Ar) he operates.
Jassim Al-Qames, who is Al Sayegh's colleague and a photographer in newspaper,  Al Jarida, was also detained with Al-Sayegh for taking pictures of his arrest. He was later released but alleges to having been roughed up by the arresting officers.
News of Al-Sayegh's release and the arrest of the person who originally made the comments spread on blogs as soon as the blogger was set free.
Kuwaiti online newsite Al Aan carried the above picture, which shows supporters carrying Al-Sayegh on their shoulders.
Writing on his forum, Al-Sayegh pledges to continue blogging (Ar):
لا أعلم .. موقفكم ..
لا توجد كلمة .. او مجموعة حروف ..
تعبر عن مشاعري تجاهكم ..
لن أنسى موقفكم .. فهذا دين في رقبتي ..
ولن استطيع رد الدين سوى بالاستمرار ..
استمرار موقع الأمة ومنتدى الأمة ..
والاستمرار في نهجنا الذي بدأناه معا ..
شكرا لجميع المدونات والمواقع الالكترونية ..
والصحف اليومية التي تبنت القضية ..
شكرا لجمعيات النفع العام ..
I don't know.. but your stance..
There is no word .. or a group of letters..
Which can express my feelings towards you all..
I will never forget your stance besides me..I am indebted to you forever..
And I will never be able to repay this debt except by continuing..
Continuing with Al Ommah site and forum..
And continuing with the steps we took together..
Thanks to all the blogs and online sites..
And the daily newspapers which supported me..
Thanks to all the civil societies..
Kuwaiti blogger Jandeef  isn't impressed with the detention and argues that Kuwaiti police may not always respect the laws and constitution when it comes to handling people. He posts the following two videos which clearly show policemen in uniform, physically assaulting Asian workers in Kuwait.
Blurted by The Aggressor suggests  that Al Sayegh's arrest was meant to send a message to the blogging community in Kuwait.
(T)his may just as equally be a message from the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry to the Kuwaiti blogging community, informing us that the Ministry is keeping us in check, and is monitoring our comments and activities, both online and-quite possible-offline as well. If that's the case, then shouldn't they be able to differentiate between an administrator and an anonymous commenter? Seriously….c'mon, seriously!?
Kiwi Nomad too shares similar feelings and notes:
Hopefully the message is getting through that the State (In)Security Police need to toe the line and uphold the laws of the State… For Bashar and Jassem's sakes I hope the publicity of their experiences produces reform. It is worth noting that this is only one of many unpublicised cases. Bravo guys for standing up and not being intimated.
The Ultimate, however, takes another direction and dedicates a poem to Al Sayegh.
The Grim Reaper is waiting
Scythe in hand
While the country is celebrating
Bashar is free
Who’s next
To pay the debts!
When will it be my turn!
When will it be yours!
It’s all just a matter of time
And time has mercy on no one
Will this nightmare ever
Be over
I wonder


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Kyrgyzstan: Alaa-Chu · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Tom Toomey tells the story of Chynara, a Kyrgyz teacher who freed her niece out of the hands of bride kidnappers.


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Kyrgyzstan: Free trade effects · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Ben Maritz says that the flood of cheap Chinese imports into Kyrgyzstan is at least partly responsible for the decimation of the Central Asian country's industrial base.


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Kyrgyzstan: Naryn · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Ivar Dale takes his readers on a trip to Naryn, on which he meets characters that each tell their story of life in Kyrgyzstan's highest, coldest and poorest region.


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Nepal: Madhesi Women · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Kathmandu Speaks on the changing roles of Madhesi women. “Participants of the historic convention, the first of its kind for the Madhesi women, expressed their longing for peace and freedom in the 17-point charter which mainly called for an end to violence…”


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Nigeria: Chevron to face trial over murder in the Niger Delta · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Black Looks reporting about the trial of the oil giant, Chevron: “After waiting 8 years, Chevron oil company is finally being brought to trial in the US over the murder of villagers in the Niger Delta in 1998 and 1999.”


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Nigeria: Investing in the future · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Oro writes an update about Ajengule Project in Nigeria: “This was followed by the ICT Capacity Building component of the program which was anchored by Korean Internet Volunteers (who were sent by the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunities and Promotion, to help PIN on the project). The first training segment was laced with courtesy visits, media exposure and cultural exchange.”


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Nigeria: Mountains of garbage · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigeria Health Watch: “Things have never been this bad. Our epileptic industrialisation is leaving problems we cannot cope with. If I told my son that as early as 1970s a refuse disposal van drove past our neighborhood in the campus of the University of Nigeria Nsukka collecting refuse, and that the Estate Department would come round once a month to cut the hedges…he would think I am a clown.”


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Russia: August 1991 · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes about the missed opportunities of the August 1991 coup, which out an end to the Soviet Union.


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Russia: Blogger on Trial for Writing Fiction · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Dmitry Shirinkin (a Perm-based LJ user tetraox) faces trial for having written on his blog that he had purchased a gun and was going to kill a few dozen people in one of the city’s colleges.
According to Shirinkin, the text – posted on April 21, but made private on April 22 – was a work of fiction, “inspired” by the Virginia Tech shooting. According to the prosecutor's office, however, Shirinkin has violated Article 207 of the Russian Criminal Code by “distributing false information on a planned terrorist act.” The trial is likely to take place in September; if convicted, the Russian blogger may receive a three-year prison sentence.
A concerned reader (LJ user rassty) asks (RUS) Shirinkin:
I wonder how the LJ community is going to keep you from being destroyed? And by the way, do you have a good lawyer – or a court-appointed one?
Shirinkin replies:
The lawyer's good, an old friend, a colleague from the legal community. Experienced, respected. Has been working at this particular court a lot.
[…]
There's no way for LJ to help me. LJ is a virtual thing, unfortunately( I'll have to work it out on my own(
Anton Nossik – LJ user dolboeb, a representative of the company that oversees LiveJournal's Russian segment – is not too optimistic (RUS) about the direction that Vladimir Putin's Russia is moving in:
[…] Though, of course, it's good that it is all still happening in Perm, not in Moscow. But [the Commander's footsteps] are getting louder.
LJ user pavel_kireev, in a comment to Anton Nossik's post, writes that the government is beginning to tighten the screws on Russia's internet users:
How good I felt on the web in 2001… In 2003, I felt safe but knew that it wasn't going to last. And now, freedom has ended…
LJ user denbor argues (RUS) the details of Shirinkin's case with LJ user zemsky, also in the comments section of Nossik's post:
denbor:
You've confused the terms. He's not being tried for LJ. LJ is nothing but a technical means through which he distributed false information on a terrorist act in the making. This is what real freedom is about. He was free to do what he did, and the prosecution was free to apply legal means to him. Why is everyone so upset? The law enforcement officials have not violated any laws. Any clever lawyer would tell you that they were using the article appropriately. All within the legal framework. […]
zemsky:
Only a mass medium can be used to distribute information. A newspaper, for example. Or a phone call. And it was clear right away that this was a work of fiction. And it wasn't the author who distributed false information, but that other person, the one who had turned him in. […]
denbor:
Quote: “And LJ is a tool for expressing all kinds of nonsense.”
An interesting definition. But it appears that we'll have to get used to the idea that the internet is also a mass medium, and the one that's even more efficient than TV, radio or newspapers […]. […] And he hasn't been imprisoned yet, right? His case is just being considered in court. If he proves that this was nothing but a work of fiction, great. The main thing is to get the people to understand that they will be held responsible for their words. Unfortunately, people in Russia aren't used to this – or have gotten unused in the 15 years of anarchy.
Anton Nossik concludes (RUS):
The main thing is to get the people to understand that they will be held responsible for their words. Unfortunately, people in Russia aren't used to this – or have gotten unused in the 15 years of anarchy.
Priceless words.
We've spent 15 years without censorship, without Criminal Code articles for “anti-Soviet agitation” and “distributing false information that defames the regime.”
Now we're getting back there.
And of course, there are those who like it.
The only thing that's not clear is why they were sitting online, waiting for this event, instead of appealing to the North Korean embassy, asking for political asylum.


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Russia: Intermarriages · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Of the more than 60,000 marriages in Moscow in the first half of 2007, a quarter were between native Muscovites – “typically an ethnic Russian woman – and a citizen of a neighboring country – more often than not a man from Azerbaijan or Central Asia.” Window on Eurasia attempts to explain this trend.


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Russia: Nashi, BBC, and the Upcoming Elections · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Mark MacKinnon writes about the recent BBC ban and the Nashi movement's summer camps: “Both the Kremlin's bolstering of “patriotic” youth movements and its crackdown on non-state media outlets are moves directed at heading off any kind of Orange Revolution-inspired uprising in Russia around December's Duma elections and/or next year's presidential vote.”


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Serbia: Kosovo Roma · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Peshas Gypsy Gitan Blog writes about the plight of the Roma of Kosovo.


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Sierra Leone: Early election results in Sierra Leone · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Results to be announced soon. Here are the early results: “93% of the of polling stations have reported their results
APC (All People’s Congress) is ahead at 44%, SLPP (Sierra Leone People’s Party) follows close behind at 38%. This is not a huge surprise I guess; everyone expected these two parties to get the most votes.”


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South Korea: Ideology of Ethnic Purity · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole introduced Lee Hun-beom's article which traces the history of migration in Korea. The article challenged the belief of ethnic Purity in Korea.


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Syria: Iraqi Refugee Crisis · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Alive in Baghdad brings us yet another heartbreaking story about the suffering of Iraqi refugees in Syria and suggests ways of helping them in this post.


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Syria: Through the Bloggers’ Cameras · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Hovic and Abd are two friends from Aleppo in northern Syria. They are also among the finest photo bloggers on the blogsphere. Hovic and Abd‘s Blogs, named, Syria Looks and Syria Winks, are online show rooms of Syria.
Here is a journey through some of their most amazing collections.
The Dead Cities.
They both boast an outstanding collection of photos of these gorgeous little-known historical sites.
Whether it is Surkania‘s Byzantine ruins.
Or Sinkhar‘s ruins.
Crusader Castles.
They also have an impressive collection of all the amazing crusader castles in Syria.
Like Margat Castle.
Or the famous Krak des Chevaliers, which is considered one of the most important preserved medieval military architectures in the world.
Churches and Mosques.
An amazing collection from the many monasteries scattered in the mountainous deserts of Syria, like the impressive Mar Mousa Monastery [St. Moses the Ethiopian Monastery]
And of course the ornaments of the Omayyad Mosque.
Their collections not only cover history, but also nature, culture, and the urbanities of Syrian cities.
Going through their right hand tag-bar, is like flipping through an amazing journey through the streets, mountains, coasts and deserts of Syria.

author: Yazan Badran


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Taiwan: The Gentrification of Shih-Da night market · Global Voices
Leonard Chien

author: Leonard Chien


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Tajikistan: Infrastructure development · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Ian at Beyond the River says that Chinese infrastructure development in Tajikistan is more likely to win the hearts and minds of the local population.


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Tanzania: Buy a calendar to support a school · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Support the School of St. Jude in Arusha, Tanzania, by ordering their 2008 calendar: “A School of St Jude calendar is the perfect gift for that person for whom it is impossible to buy anything – Aunty Madge has enough Body Shop loofahs! And this is a great way to help the school grow as all profits will go towards the school's running costs and you will be helping to spread the word with an attractive and practical gift.”


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Tanzania: How to shoot yourself in the foot · Global Voices
J. Nambiza Tungaraza

How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot is the lesson Tanzania's parliament is delivering, at least for the time being, after its decision to suspend a Member of Parliament for Kigoma North, Zitto Kabwe, has turned into a mini victory for the opposition. Zitto, who keeps a blog, was suspended for allegedly lying to the parliament and humiliating the Energy and Minerals Minister, Nazir Karamagi.
Tabling a private motion, Zitto Kabwe, proposed a set up of a parliamentary committee to investigate a mining deal signed between Tanzania's government and Buzwagi mines at a time when the government is reviewing mining contracts, policies and laws to make them more favourable to Tanzanians. Most people are not entirely convinced that the suspension was fair and Zitto Kabwe is milking all he can from his four months suspension. Opposition party CHADEMA led peaceful demonstrations to Jangwani grounds where thousands waited for Zitto Kabwe's speech.
In the Swahili blogosphere, Maggid Mjengwa promptly tells us about Zitto's suspension immediately after local television stations broke the news, while Muhiddin Michuzi posts a photo of newspapers decorated with Zitto's story straight from a news stand.
Regardless of who is right and who is wrong in the whole saga, one comment at Chemi's blog probably sums up the majority of opinions in those posts:
Bunge limempandisha chati Zitto pasipo kujua na mwishowe najua watajilaumu sana. Wajue ya kwamba Zitto anafanya kazi… Kila alifanyalo Zitto hulenga pahala fulani najua mtego wake sasa umenasa. Serikali lazima ijifunze kitu kwa kila kinachotolewa maamuzi na si kukurupuka tu.
The parliament has elevated Zitto without knowing and when they realise in the end they will only blame themselves. They should know that Zitto is working. .. and he does everything with an aim and now he has got them. The government must learn something in each decision and stop rushing in making decisions.
THIRTY DAYS ULTIMUTUM TO THE GOVERMNENT
Elsewhere in the Swahili blogosphere, the news of workers’ demonstrations organised by the TRADE Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) in Dar Es Salaam dominated. Recently public workers took to the streets to demand higher wages.
Charahani breaks the news:
Katika kuonyesha kweli wamekereka na ahadi wanazodai hazitekelezeki wafanyakazi mkoani Dar es Salaam, wamempa siku 30 Katibu Mkuu wa Shirikisho la Vyama vya Wafanyakazi nchini (Tucta), Nestory Ngulla, kufikisha malalamiko yao kwa Rais Jakaya Kikwete na kurejeshewa majibu, kuhusu nyongeza duni ya mishahara, ili kuepusha hatua nyingine watakazotumia kudai mishahara.
To show their frustrations over unfulfiled promises workers in Dar Es Salaam have given the secretary general of TRADE Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) Nestory Ngulla, thirty days to present their demands to President Jakaya Kikwete and come back with response in order to avoid other measures they may use to demand their rightful wages.
Ngurumo seems to be more than pleased with the demonstrations:
Haijapata kutokea. Terehe 11.Agosti.2007 iliandika historia mpya Tanzania. Wafanyakazi wameandamana na kuilaani serikali ya awamu ya nne kwa kuwadhalilisha, kuwasahau na kuwafanya watumwa katika nchi yao. Ujumbe wao ulifikishwa kwa maandamano, nyimbo, mabango na hotuba kali.
It has never happened before. A New history was written on 11th August 2007 in Tanzania. Workers held a peaceful demonstration to protest against the fourth phase government for making them live as slaves in their own country. Their message was carried home through songs, placards and fiery speeches.
Maggid Mjengwa posts a photo of the demonstration and briefly looks at the lessons learned:
Tuna jifunza mengi sana kutokana na hili.
Sasa nchi ndiyo inakimbia kwa kasi kubwa kuelekea katika capitalism ilhali watu hawaja andaliwa kukabiliana na machungu yake. Tofauti za kipato kama bango linavyosema kuhusu wabunge, ni common kabisa katika nchi za capitalists. Hata hivyo serikali zao zinakuwa karibu na wale wasio nacho kujaribu kupunguza makali ya maisha mfano kupitia affordable social security systems na hata monthly allowances for the unemployed.
Serikali ya JMK inaonyesha ukomavu kiasi fulani kwa kukubali watu waandamane na waseme yaliyo moyoni. … Kupitia maandamano kama haya matatizo yatajulikana, yatajadiliwa na baadhi yakatatuliwa. Tuwe viongozi bora tuwape watu uhuru wa kujieleza…
We are learning a lot from this.
Our country is running so fast towards capitalism while the people are not well prepared to deal with pangs of capitalism. Income inequality between common man and parliamentarians as one of the placards says is a common thing in capitalist countries. But their governments at least try to ease the pain through social security systems and even doles for the unemployed.
JMK's (President Kikwete's) government has shown maturity to some extent for allowing people to demonstrate publicly and to say what they feel… through a demonstration like this problems will be exposed, discussed and some will be solved. Let us be good leaders and give the people a right to express themselves…
Muhiddin Issa Michuzi also has some photos of the demonstrations.

author: J. Nambiza Tungaraza


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Tanzania: suspension of opposition member of parliament · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Ned discusses the suspension of a popular opposition MP in Tanzania: “Following a decision to turn down Hon. Zitto Kabwe’ private motion to form a select committee to probe among other things Hon. Nazir Karamagi’s (Minister for Energy & Mineral) decision to sign a mining development agreement (MDA) with the Barrick Gold in London, England this past February, the parliament (through the speaker) suspended Hon. Kabwe from attending two consecutive sessions as of this past Tuesday.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Faith and Tolerance · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Caribbean Free Radio refers to an article by Nilanjana S. Roy to make a point about tolerance – religious and otherwise – and puts in her two cents’ worth about Trinidad & Tobago's 2007/2008 Budget.


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UAE: online forum administrator sentenced to prison · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

Earlier this month, on August 8th, Mohamed Rashed al-Shohhi, an online forum administrator in the Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah (UAE) has been sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of nearly US$ 13,600 (Dh50,000) for content deemed defamatory published by anonymous on the popular forum board he moderated majan.net (suspended).
It has also been reported that the department of e-government services managed to access the forum’s control panel looking for registrants email addresses. And it seems that this has led to the arrest, on August 19th, of a forum registrant, Khaled El Asli.


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Ukraine: Bukovyna’s New Romanians · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Edward Lucas writes about Bukovyna's demographic trends: “A Ukrainian TV channel reports that 50,000 people in the western region of Chernovtsy now hold Romanian passports.”


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Afghanistan: Western military involved in organised crime? · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

The editor of a satirical Afghan magazine thinks that Western troops are involved in drug trafficking and the smuggling of Afghan rugs. Is that merely satirical? Sanjar thinks there's a lot of truth in the allegations.


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Africa: Leave Africa alone · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Communist Socks and Boots lashes out against One Laptop Per Child: “It based on the wrong assumption that kids will take it with them to hunt, or use it in their clay-wall classes. Or that they will need easy translation from English to local languages.”


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Africa: the “soon-to-be” presidents’ sons.   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Fodé-Moussa Keita links to an article that presents sons of African presidents who are groomed to take over the presidency (fr).


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Algeria: Chicken Differences · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian Chef Zadi tears apart a chicken recipe and provides an alternative here.


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Argentina: Videos Por Vos · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Mariano Amartino of Denken Über [ES] talks about the Argentine video sharing platform Videos Por Vos and its attempt to compete with YouTube.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Armenia: Bad sports organisation · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Nareg on Life in Armenia is unhappy with the way a football game played during 4th Pan-Armenian Games was being organised.


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Armenia: Intra-ethnic relations · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Onnik Krikorian notes that the recent fist fights between Armenian basketball teams from around the world show that divisions and animosity exists between different Armenian groups.


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Bahamas: Government Responsibility? · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Sidney Sweeting, writing at WeblogBahamas.com, thinks Bahamians need to understand “where their own responsibilities end and the Government's responsibility begins or vice versa.”


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Bahrain: Facebook Trouble · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini Rants points to Facebook problems in this post.


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Bangladesh: under curfew · Global Voices
Rezwan

Civil unrest began in Bangladesh on the 20th of August when a petty dispute broke out concerning comments passed by armed forces personnel during a soccer match at a university gymnasium ground. An army camp has occupied part of the ground since the declaration of a state of emergency on January 11, 2007. The Raising Voices: Rising citizen Journalism blog has the background on this dispute. Ershad Ahmed posts some pictures of the Dhaka University Gymnasium field where it all started.
Then it got worse. By evening, the university area had turned into a battle zone, with intermittent fights between police and students and over 100 students injured. The students demanded an apology and the withdrawal of the army camp from the university.
The student riots continued into the night and the day after. The unrest then started spreading from Dhaka University to other educational institutions and elsewhere in the city. Several vehicles were set afire by mobs, including an army jeep, and scores of people were injured. The 3rd world view has details of the second day protests.
The students won a moral victory when, later that day, the chief of the government apologized, the army camp was withdrawn and an official investigation of the army person involved in the incident was launched.
However, the situation did not die down there. By the third day the violence had spread outside Dhaka. Day-long clashes between students-police and army across the country left at least three dead and more than a thousand injured. Of the dead, two were in Rajshahi and one in Chittagong. A CNN video shows the intensity of the protests. Dhaka Blog notes that “small shop owners, footpath peddlers and hawkers joined in the riots.”
Details are fuzzy at this moment about what prompted this massive outrage. Drishtipat blog asked the big question: “what are they protesters protesting about when all of the demands have been met?” It discusses some possibilities:
We have often talked about here the labour unrest, the disconnect of the government with the real people, the inflation– add this to the years of neglect of public interest by previous governments, such massive unrest was predicted but it wasn’t seen to be coming this quickly.
Some commenters on the Drishtipat post suggested that the unrest was being masterminded by corrupt politicians who are in jail. Another commenter noted that “a premature end to Caretaker (Interim) Government will bring grave danger for the country”.
The Government clamped down on the unrest by declaring a curfew from 8 PM yesterday (August 22) for an indefinite period. It appealed to the the citizenry to maintain calm and discipline and refrain from disorderly acts, and cautioned that stern action would be taken against troublemakers. All universities were declared closed for an indefinite period, with students being given a few hours to vacate the dormitories. Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed has blamed “evil forces” for the spread of countrywide violence since Monday. Addabaj asks [bn] “who are the evil forces?”. He reminds readers that the unrest would not have occurred if the army and police had not shown excess.
The imposing of the curfew was a serious disruption to the lives of common citizens. People had little time to return home after closing their businesses. With the limited public transport available, hundreds of thousands of people were left stranded and many had to walk home.
The crackdown began in the night. Bangladesh was virtually cut off from rest of the world. Bangladesh Watchdog reports:
the authority……switched off mobile phone network, all internet traffic has been routed through state telecom, imposed blanket media censorship, arrests and raids of suspects of the “evil force” as well as pro-democracy activists.
The army arrested scores of journalists including blogger-journalist Biplob Rahman [bn] while they were returning home during curfew.  Twelve of them including Biplob Rahman were later released. Third Eye Blog asks [bn] “why the security forces detained them when it was announced that people with job ID can get back home?”
E-Bangladesh started updating the situation via podcasts in regular intervals via its correspondent on the ground. Excerpts from a transcript:
* The army and police are now on with a house to house raid inside the campus with a list of student leaders and teachers to be detained. A large number of university teachers have left their university residences for safe locations outside the campus.
* Businesses & houses owned by cabinet members of the interim government came under attack in Dhaka.
With the media self-censoring, bloggers took on the task of informing the world about the situation. Bangla blogging platforms like Somewhere In “Bandh Bhanger Awaaj” [bn] and Sachalayatan [bn] were buzzing with posts and comments without fear.
The internet access almost died down at around midnight and the number of posts decreased in Bangladeshi Blogosphere. With the mobile networks down, people who were stranded could not communicate with home. The flow of information was severely restricted.
Mobile networks and internet went live again this morning, but the TV and radio channels are keeping mum. Online newspapers are not updating. The 3rd world view summarizes some of the latest updates from bloggers. Journalist Arafatul Islam says [bn]:
* The internet connections were out from 1:30AM at night. Limited connections were live at around 9:30 AM. Some say BTTB servers (state controlled internet gate away) were down. Some say the link to submarine cable was snapped. Some say ISPs ceased to serve their client on Government's instructions.
* Today even Rickshaws are not allowed. Journalists, employees or businessmen are not allowed to commute. So almost everyone is preferring to stay at home.
Journalist Faisal writes [bn] that the Curfew has been relaxed from 4PM to 7PM today (Bangladesh time).
In the Gang Naira points to another worrying reality:
What's really bothering me is the impediment to the flood relief work, as it is we're not being able to reach every one.
For more details and updates on the news the blogs quoted above can be a good start.

author: Rezwan


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Barbados: Chinese Labour · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Our government has obviously made some agreements with the Chinese, but Bajans are still in the dark as to what has been promised and agreed to by whom.” Barbados Free Press tackles the controversial issue of immigrant labour on the island.


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Barbados: Face and Fix It! · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Cheese-on-bread! lists what she considers to be a few of Barbados’ pressing concerns and wonders whether her fellow Bajans have what it takes to face and fix them.


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Benin: Let’s open ourselves to China. · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

China ‘s new focus on investing in Africa has been well documented. However, Eloi Goutchili thinks that Africa should also embrace the Chinese influence on culture (Fr). Goutchili advocates the practical application of Senghor's theory: the need for Africa to open itself to the whole world  and not only the western world.


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Bolivia: The Latest in Blogs · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Actualidad Boliviana [ES] continues its broad overview of what Bolivian bloggers are talking about in its weekly summary.


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Cambodia: Illegal Logging · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Details are sketchy points to news stories talking about illegal logging in Cambodia and the efforts to threaten journalists into keeping quiet about the logging.

author: Preetam Rai


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Central Asia: Amusement parks · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

You kind of always wanted to visit the ubiquitous amusement parks in Central Asia and the Caucasus, but just never dared to go inside, right? Joshua Kucera takes you on a photo tour.


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Central Asia: Clan-tastic · Global Voices
Ben Paarmann

Christine Quirk looks at how clans shape political behaviour and in how far they make it difficult to enfranchise groups who might have different viewpoints or are far down on the clan power structure.


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Cuba: Obama’s Viewpoints · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Bloggings by Boz takes a closer look at U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's statements regarding policy towards Cuba.


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Egypt: Blogging for Civil and Religious Freedoms · Global Voices
D B Shobrawy

The struggle for personal freedoms is ongoing in Egypt and the nation's bloggers continue to demand the liberty of citizens. Whether it be religious freedom or freedom from the wrath of a brutal police state, Egypt is speaking out against the inhumane treatment of her citizens this week. Plus a veteran blogger gives us a rare look into the inner workings of Egypt's most historic remaining cities.
The Shaha Boy
Egyptian police torture is certainly not a new headline however each individual case carries its own unique and shocking details. One particular case is catching the attention of numerous bloggers across Egypt. It is that of the “Shaha Boy”. First brought to our attention by Wael Abbas (post in Arabic), it was later translated by IRC President (with graphic pictures of the victim)…
I was shocked to see this news at Wael Abbas. For several days now I wondered who will have the power to translate this atrocity. Especially while viewing the horrible crimes committed on the body of the, now deceased, 12 year old.
This innocent boy entered the police station alive and left it as a dead body with all the signs of torture and pain.
Sadly deaths resulting from police torture have become more common in the last 6 months, police rarely release any official statements and the families are left empty handed to deal with their loss. This time the death of a 12 year old proved too shocking and the police released their version of events in response to the inevitable fallout.
The official report said that Mohamed Mamdouh did not have any signs of torture on his body, and that the cause of his death was due to heart failure.
However, his body suffered from burns, fractures, serious injuries from electric shock to his buttocks and his testicles.
Zeinobia is following up on this case for us – the boy's body has been exhumed and an investigation has been launched by an independent panel…
More updates I knew today , yesterday a panel of forensic doctors and experts came and digged the body of the boy from the cemetery according to the D.A orders, this is an independent panel , already the primary inspection of the body showed various injuries in various parts from the body that do not go along with the official forensic report the interior ministry is insisting on according to the newspapers and the Websites today.
Let's hope that the attention given to cases of police torture in Egypt bring about a drastic change before others lose their lives.
Baha'i Rights
One of the most impending hurdles for religious freedom has been Egypt's ID card system and its requirement of religious affiliation. The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights leads the charge for equal recognition for Egypt's Baha'i residents.
Thus far, Baha’is remain prevented by the government from being issued the new ID cards, and are only in possession of the old paper documents. The only option given to them, as instructed by the Ministry of Interior, is that they must lie on the application form regarding their religious affiliation in order to obtain ID documents. They are given only three choices (Muslim Christian or Jew). The application form clearly states that any false statements made by the applicant will be punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines.
Life in Luxor
Big Pharaoh's recent return documents, among other things, include life in Egypt's southern city of Luxor…
The city is terribly boring. It lacks the major attractions and nightlife found in Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada. After work, smoking shisha in a cafe and walking along the Nile courniche is what I usually do until I fall asleep. I try to submerge myself in work as much as possible just to keep myself busy.
Follow Big Pharaoh's return and the Egyptian Blogosphere's fight for freedom every week with me here on Global Voices.

author: D B Shobrawy


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Egypt: Cultureligious Curse · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The Big Pharaoh from Egypt describes  the outlawed practice of female circumcision as a ‘cultureligious curse.’

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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El Salvador: Idiosyncrasy and Culture · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

El Salvador Post [ES] is a new blog that takes “a snapshot of the Salvadorean idiosyncrasy and culture (if any, you decide.”


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Environment: A sampling of Voices from South Africa  · Global Voices
Juliana Rotich

This time on this short edition, we will take a quick trip to South Africa where there is a vibrant blogosphere, to hear from three bloggers. One reminding us about Blog Action Day for the environment, another on bringing up eco-friendly children and another blogger shares their opinion of environmental consultants in South Africa.
The blog noodle was here from South Africa posts a reminder that on October 15th,
…bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future. Go on, do your bit!
In an entry in the blog My digital life Fermit says that ‘ Environmental Consultants are Selling Out South Africa’.
The practise of environmental impact assessment’s used to mean something. It used to only be partaken by those with a love for the natural environment and a background in nature conservation, in other words people who sole purpose was to make sure our environments were never degraded or compromised.
In recent years however this trade has turned into a multi-million Rand industry where qualifications, credentials and ethics are as scarce as Dodo’s. Just about anybody looking for a change in career path has cottoned on to becoming an environmental consultant many of whom do not even know the name of one single flower or plant of South Africa, yet they are happily processing EIA applications for developers and charging fortunes for it.
Urban Sprout shares thoughts on ‘rearing tomorrows eco-friendly children’, saying
I fervently believe that it’s the little things we do, in the way we bring up our children that will affect the bigger picture – whether there is a planet to leave our children tomorrow.

author: Juliana Rotich


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Former Soviet Union: A 1945 Book · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scraps of Moscow feels “sort of funny using new media to post photos of old media” and writes about a 1945 book on the still-friendly Allies – or, the “soon-to-be Cold-War foes.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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France: Light punishment for racist comments by a high-school teacher.  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Titophe on his blog Racisme et Histoire is worried that the French National Board of Education only reprimanded a high-school teacher for racist comments directed at a student of African descent (Fr).


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Guyana: Georgetown is flooded · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“This is the Demerara Cricket Club ground behind that wall – an enclosed wading pool with the slightest rain fall..it must now be a veritable lake,” writes Flickr user Chennette, a Trinidadian living in Guyana, in the caption to the image above:
I woke up this morning to find water up to my gate. It's all over town, many people on ground floors have water. It's not that high in some areas, like Queenstown for example, but I am not driving out there when I can't tell where the canals end and the road begins. Not to mention unknowingly stumbling upon feet rather than inches of water…It's not yet the floods of December 2004-January 2005, but I am thinking of that…
This evening Chennette reports via FlickrMail that “the water hasn't really taken over the city completely, and it has receded in many areas, but that area of Queenstown hasn't changed at all. At all. What I am not looking forward to is the night time rains.”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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India: Fascinating Ramanujan · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Ramanujan, the mathematician continues to fascinate people. Hawkeye on why this might be.


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India: On Facebook · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

confused of calcutta on the kneejerk reactions to Facebook.


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Iran:Iranian-American Scholar Freed · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

View from Iran writes that Haleh Esfandiari,Iranian-American scholar,is free now.The blogger says that Esfandiari's mother had to put up her house as bail. This is the case time and time again. It is one way that the regime retains control over its middle class population. The family's financial security is held hostage.Esfandiari has been in jail for several months without having access to lawyer or medical treatment.She was accused of acting agiants “national security”.She is 67 years old.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iraq: Mobile Blogging · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Morbid Smile from Iraq has caught up with the mobile blogging bug.


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Iraq: The Aging GreenZone  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Neurotic Iraq Wife keeps us abreast with developments in the Green Zone, Baghdad.


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Iraqi Student in India  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

An American drama teacher in India writes about her encounter with a new Iraqi student, who hopes to stage a play.


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Israeli Journalist ‘Terrorises’ Ajram  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram was ‘terrorised’ by an Israeli journalist in Jordan, notes Naseem Tarawnah.


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Japan: 30-Million-Yen Platinum Gundam · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe wrote on the unveiled of a 30 milllion yen (about USD262,000) by a jewelry store in Fukuoka.


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Japan: Asia’ partnership of Democracies · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Japan Observer commented on Abe's scheme in creating a “broader Asia’ partnership of democracies”. The project would include India, the U.S. and Australia, but leave out China: whether on a regional or a global scale, an organization of democracies suffers from the simple problem that it is wholly unclear to me what a “democratic” foreign policy is. No democracy conducts a purely democratic foreign policy; realpolitik in some form or another is unavoidable.


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Japan: Street Art · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

PingMag interviewed Motokazu Terai, the director of KOMPOSITION on Shibuya streets’ graffiti


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Korea: Relation With Islam · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from the Marmot's Hole looked into the historical ties between the Islamic and Korean civilizations since the Unified Silla period (668-935).


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Kuwait: Sponsorship System · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kiwi Nomad, who lives in Kuwait, links to an article which discusses the ‘sponsorship’ system in the Arabian Gulf.


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Lebanon: Make Falafel, Not War · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

Writing about Beirut's new farmers’ market, Dove's Eye View posts about a Lebanese chef's vision to make falafel and not war.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Lebanon: Upcoming Presidential Elections · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The Lebanese constitution stipulates that the parliament should convene and elect a new president within a period of at least a month before the end of the tenure of the presiding president. The term of the current President Emille Lahoud will be over in November of this year. Therefore, it is only expectable that the elections should be the topic of discussion of many of the blogs in the Lebanese blogosphere.
Last week, it was hinted in the media that the commander of the Lebanese armed forces General Michael Suleiman could be a candidate for the presidency. But for this to happen the constitution would have to be amended since General Suleiman is currently serving in what is classified as a Category One public service job. The constitution states that public servants in such a category cannot run for presidency. To be eligible, they must have resigned or retired and had nothing to do with their job for at least a period of two years.
The following selection of blog posts discuss the candidates in the upcoming presidential election, the foreign intervention in this election, comment on the proposed constitutional amendments and other stuff of the sort.
What does the constitution say about the presidential powers, on electing a president and on amending the constitution. Blacksmiths of Lebanon posted the articles of the constitution regarding electing a president and the presidential powers.
Beirut to Beltway posted the constitutional articles on how the constitution can be amended and added:
Here's what the constitution says about amending the constitution! In short, it cannot be done without a draft law submitted by the cabinet. It also cannot be discussed or vote on “except when a majority of two thirds of the members lawfully composing the Chamber are present.”
For Lebanonesque, the next president has already been chosen, without elections, and the Maronite Patriarch is to blame:
The powers-that-be have decided General Michel Suleiman/Sleiman will be the next president of Lebanon. OK Lebanese, the goose is cooked. The Maronite Patriarch seems to have made another huge blunder but who’s counting. Most Lebanese will grumble while the rest will say those dangerous words: “this time, it’s different” (from Lahoud and Aoun).
Tears for Lebanon also reports that General Suleiman is going to be the next president from what is being said by most people:
With my ear to the ground and listening to what is being said around me most people are thinking that Suleiman is going to be the next president of Lebanon. It's funny how this guy just slipped in while every one was looking some place else. From what I am hearing most people think that he stands on middle ground, and he will not rock the boat.
One controversial issue involved in the upcoming election is the quorum necessary for the parliamentary session to legally elect a president. The argument is whether a two third is necessary or an absolute majority (51 per cent) is sufficient. On this Streets of Beirut  says:
Do we need to read the constitution in order to know what is the required quorum to elect a president for Lebanon? The answer is no. All we need to do is to figure out the routing that would take Lebanon through the hardest possible path and then we extract the answer. Indeed, every phase the country went through has been a hard one resulting from a sparking of differences in opinion between constituencies.
Bob’s Blog states his reasons for opposing the General’s candidacy:
Personally I am against his candidacy. I think one general every decade is more than enough! And after our experience with General Lahoud I will need at least two or three decades before I could even consider a former general as the president of Lebanon.
What are the chances of General Michael Suleiman becoming our next president?
On the one hand, Lebanon Update sees General Suleiman’s chances to become the next president diminishing:
How fast the pace of change in Lebanon: last week it seemed that army commander Michel Suleiman was destined to become the new president. Since yesterday, however, opposition against his candidacy has increased so much that his chances are becoming less and less.
While, on the other hand, Beirut Spring sees that the General’s chance are actually increasing especially since the USA administration seems to be opening up to him:
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the director of the US state department’s office of Levant affairs told Alhayat that the US “doesn’t mind” changing the Lebanese constitution and that what matters are “the qualities” of the candidate. She even said that the candidate shouldn’t have “a strong link” with Hezbollah, a step down from “no links at all” which meets Suleiman halfway.
Finally, and on a different note, The Inner Circle reports that despite all the political deadlocks Lebanon still has a vibrant summer nightlife and so asks:
Are Lebanese fed up with politics?
Well, it’s the talk of the town, and no better time than today, where politicians feel the public may not be helping their so-called leaders with the current situation, you hardly hear enthusiasm for people to rebel or fight for a cause via each medias outlet by the use of emotional patriotism, and funny enough, it’s only then, when Lebanese society blooms.
More on the upcoming Lebanese presidential election next week. Take care and see you.


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Malawi: Moving on Despite the Politics of Section 65 · Global Voices
Steve Sharra

The phenomenal story of 19 year-old Malawian blogger William Kamkwamba continues to attract attention from around the globe. William began making headlines after his appearance at the TEDGlobal 2007 conference in , in June, where he talked about how he built a windmill using locally available resources in a remote part of  where the easiest means of energy is fuel, wood, kerosene and candlelight.
Earlier he had dropped out of school after his parents were unable to afford his tuition fees. After achieving fame through the efforts of Malawian bloggers who first wrote about the story following a news item in a Malawian newspaper, and after hitting BoingBoing.net, Digg, Reddit, and Metafilter, William has now been featured on My Hero.
As videos from the TEDGlobal 2007 conference become available online, William’s speech at the conference can now be accessed through the conference’s website, on Youtube, on his blog, and also as a download. William has also been writing about how he is making use of the money people have been donating through his blog, using some of it for home supplies, as well as preparing to go back to school:
When planting season comes, I will use some of the funds to buy seed, fertilizer and urea for my family's crops of maize, ground nuts and beans.
I have also opened a bank account and put funds in so that my family is now prepared for medical, food or other needs and/or emergencies.  I have started saving for the rest of private secondary school, boarding and university, too.
Still in the tech realm, Clement Nyirenda has had plenty of tech news to report about on his blog. Clement announces a campaign by bloggers around the world to unite against all forms of abuse, by blogging against this vice on September 27, 2007. Clement announces that the campaign is being driven by Blogcatalog. Clement also informs his readers that his blog is now viewable in ten major languages, by use of a free widget, from Google Translator Widget Blog. This makes Clement’s blog now readable in Arabic, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, French and Korean. The other piece of news Clement has for his readers is the forthcoming launch, on August 29, 2007 of MyLiveSearch, which Clement says technology enthusiasts have been waiting with bated breath for.
For Clement’s African readers and others interested in ’s technological solutions, the most exciting news is perhaps what Clement announces as the invention of a new, low cost computer that runs on solar energy.
Inveneo points out that over 2 billion people in the developing world live in rural and remote communities that lack basic access to information and communication technologies–telephony, computing, Internet access. In response to this need, Inveneo, a non-profit social enterprise, creates and sells highly affordable and sustainable ICTs that are specifically designed for organizations–governments,NGOs,private enterprises–that serve rural communities with vital services that include education, health care,economic development,relief and telecentres. This is great stuff! You can visit their site and make a paypal donation. Theirs is indeed a great cause.
Clement reports that the computer is already available in , for US$941, which the government there says is tax-free. Clement expresses excitement about this innovation, while also observing that the cost is too high for ordinary people in rural areas, the main target of the gadget. Clement ends his post by inviting the company, UK-based Inveneo Inc, to  where he says it will be most welcome.
Moving on from the world of technology, the political atmosphere in  has been hyper-charged for the past two months. No two terms have so dominated Malawian discourse in the last decade as have “Section 65” and “Budget.” Section 65 refers to the section in the Constitution of Malawi which forbids members of parliament from moving away from the party that sponsored them into parliament to another party also represented in parliament without a by-election.
President Bingu wa Mutharika, who himself left the party that sponsored him to win the presidency and started his own party, asked the courts to clarify the section, in the hope that the courts would rule in his favor as well as that of more than 60 members of parliament who also left their own parties to join the president in his new party.
The courts ruled on June 15 that Section 65 was indeed valid, and tension has been the order of the day in  since then. The opposition has demanded that the constitution be followed, and have tied their demand to a refusal to debate and pass the national budget, which has restricted government spending.
Peter Qeko Jere comments on the impasse and writes on his blog about the need for government to go on and spend money even without parliament’s authorization:
Government need to spend money this time on all necessary services that will directly benefit the poor Malawians because this is about saving lives. When it comes to this process, we don’t play games because Malawians have the right to life and no one has the right to create a situations that would lead to many death just because they don’t want the budget. Life is life and we don’t play jokes with it. We only live once on this planet. Even those in opposition knows that we live once and that they should not do something sick this time around that will lead to death of many innocent Malawians as it happened in 2002 when they sold all the maize.
Austin Madinga finds confusing messages coming from the United Democratic Front (UDF), President Mutharika’s former party now consigned to opposition ranks. Madinga writes that the party released a statement calling on ’s bilateral donors to withdraw aid, and when finally parliament started debating the budget, the same UDF praised the Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe for maintaining donor confidence, citing the importance of donor money for :
This statement is in stark contrast to a press statement from UDF that called on donors to pull the plug on aid.
My question is which is which? I believe in both instances it was UDF speaking. Please make up your mind, you are confusing us!
Also expressing his opinions about the political situation in  is M’Malawi KuTheba, who switches back and forth between Chichewa, ’s national language, and English, commenting on the budget debacle:
p/s: I pray soon or later the budget impasse kumudziku will be sorted out. Koma munthu mmodzi yemwe sindikumunvetsa ndiye ndi JZU, the guy only lost three mps to DPP but why all the fuss, mwina itamavuta UDF ndikhoza kumvetsa.
I pray soon or later the budget impasse back home will be sorted out. However the one person I fail to understand is JZU (John Zenasi Ungapake, president of opposition MCP—editor), the guy only lost three mps to DPP but why all the fuss, if it were UDF making such a fuss I would understand.
As for Malawi Politics, he hides little about what he thinks of current Malawian politicians, wondering why most of them are still active, having been recycled from the Malawi Congress Party:
Why does the young generation refuse to get involved?. To serve requires sacrifice. A lot of our brothers are in the diaspora building a future for themselves and their kids. There are a lot of them out there but I will give a brief Wikipedia biography of just two that I know personally.
He goes on to mention Professor Paul Tiyambe Zeleza and Professor Tiyanjana Maluwa, two Malawian scholars based in US universities with highly coveted achievements, as some of the people who could steer Malawi’s politics in a different direction if they were in Malawi. He also mentions Jimmy Koreia Mpatsa as an outstanding Malawian touted for having resuscitated ’s national flag carrier, Air Malawi. He ends his post by inviting readers to suggest more names of young Malawian achievers who should be encouraged to take over politics from the old guard:
It is the intention of Malawi Politics to encourage our readers and contributors to bring up fresh names to this dialogue. Our generation should not so easily concede to the old Gladiators. Their time came and went. Africa and  is looking for economic freedom and fresh ideas.
Moving on to another topic of interest for Malawians, Victor Kaonga, a Global Voices author, writes about the dilapidated conditions at his former secondary school, Rumphi. Victor visited the school recently and took pictures that leave no doubt as to the state of disrepair the school has fallen into. Victor issues a call for alumni of not only   but also other institutions of learning in  to link up with their former schools so as to create meaningful relationships.
May be a more strategic plan is needed to revive and maintain the campus-alumni relationship so that it is more mutually beneficially than the commonly parasitic which obviously lends itself to no progress at all. But the fact remains that alumni play a crucial role in offering among others resource, inspiration and expertise to their former institutions. This is probably where we could rescue the apparent embarrassing mother institutions.

author: Steve Sharra


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Namibia: Digital tools for development · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Gerard writes about LearnLink Project in Namibia: “I will simply start with LearnLink, especially their LearnLink Project: NAMIBIA that saw Ed's Net see the day of light.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Nepal: Legal Process and Money · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Legal News From Nepal comments on the escalating prices for legal processes.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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New Caledonia:  Miss New Caledonia pageant is soon  · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Caledosphere informs us that the Miss New Caledonia contest is fast approaching. The  Miss New Caledonia blog has been recently updated for the occasion with photos of the contestants (Fr).

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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Pakistan: The Rickshaw · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

All Things Pakistan on the iconic rickshaw, a fixture on the streets of South Asia.


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Peru: Remembering Pisco · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Alejandro García takes a break from discussing food on his blog Peru Food to remember the city of Pisco, which was recently destroyed in the August earthquake.


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Philippines: Ninoy Aquino’s Last Words · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

On the death anniversary of Philipino Leader Ninoy Aquino, Or Awesome Planet posts the text of last unread speech of the leader. Ninoy Aquino returned from exile to Philippines only to be assassinated at the airport.


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Russia: Baseball · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Accidental Russophile writes about baseball in Russia: “Let's not pretend that baseball (or even it's ancient cousin, lapta) is very popular in Russia. It isn't.”


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Russia: Communist Youth League and Just Russia · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean's Russia Blog writes about the current political preferences of Russia's Communist Youth League.


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Russia: “Mama, We’re In Hell!” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The short entry below (RUS), by LJ user smitrich, has been one of the most popular ones in the Russian blogosphere this week:
A friend was on a Helsinki-Moscow train and got stuck in the railway traffic jam, caused by [the crash in Novgorod region].
The train was re-routed through [Pskov] region. They traveled for [one day and one night]. In the compartment next door, a girl aged 20 or so, [dressed like a rich person], who must have never been outside of Moscow on anything but a plane, began to panic. She was breathing heavily, looked out of the window, horrified, and kept calling her mama on the phone.
- Oh, what taxi! A taxi to where?! I don't know where we are, mama! There are some fences here! And cow barns! Mama, we're in hell! We're in hell, mama!
This story has received 469 comments so far; here are a few of them, translated from Russian:
val_bregitsky:
The Pepsi generation has grown up…
vitus_wagner:
Ah, what Pepsi? It's [Denis Fonvizin's Mitrofanushka], […], “Why study geography when you can get anywhere by carrier?” Only this is a female version.
walker_07:
It wouldn't hurt to take many of the adult, male writers from Moscow on a ride along this road.
hamsterin:
:):):)
When my friends went on a car trip to St. Pete, their kid started begging them to take him “back to Russia” about 50 km from the [MKAD beltway].
andrey_larin:
Is it possible to build and maintain cow barns and pigsties in a way that they wouldn't remind one of hell? ;)
mephistoua:
Ten percent of Russia's population live in Moscow… and the other 90 percent work for [Moscow].
lastalaika:
Why don't you try to move to Moscow and work there? First, get an education – so that they hired you, and then learn to get up at 5 am – to get to the other end of the city on time, and then we'll talk.
mf_amber:
[…] In [Kursk] region, an average farmer's salary is 4.500 rubles [$180 a month].
7,000 rubles a month [$280] is considered a very decent salary.
10,000 rubles [$400] is a crazy amount of money for a village.
The region's population is 1.2 million people, 800,000 of them or so live near [the city] Kursk, the region's territory is close to that of Belgium. […]
This is where Russia is, basically. And Moscow is far away somewhere.
ulis_aka_janek:
[…] It's reminded me of how I was on a commuter train from [Smolensk] one winter. As the train was leaving the station […], all you could see were two or three little lamps in the houses at a distance and darkness for the next half an hour…
“Here's where it'd be scary to live – no one to get an ambulance to arrive,” – my relatives told me.
Let this discovery of the Province be a lesson for this [spoiled girl] – she'll at least know that many people in Russia live in similar conditions, in cow barns and barracks, and they don't have the time for fireworks of live butterflies and toilets made of gold… many have never seen hot water leaking out of their taps… many have to carry their cold water from [an outdoor tap]… […]
snilus:
I got my daughter to read this blog, explained to her about the girl's glossy-plastic world and why she was horrified by the landscape many people are used to, and why there've been so many comments.
My daughter listened to it all and said: “I wish I could spend some time living like this girl, mama!”
My daughter is 11.
[…]


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Saudi Arabia: Health and Saudisation · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Saudi Jeans shares his moment in the limelight in this post – about the Saudisation (localisation) of the health sector.


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South Africa: Creepy confession · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Crimexposouthafrica writes about Juan Uys, the man who was leading the campaign to turn away tourists: “After months of having denied it, Uys told the Cape Times he had been behind the Crimexposouthafrica.net website that urged tourists not to visit the country until the government acted to curb crime.”


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South Africa: Who will follow Google to South Africa? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Vinny expects more Internet companies to move to South Africa in the near future: “South African Internet usage has grown 120% in the past year, and it won’t be long until you see eBay, Yahoo & the others follow Google & Amazon’s recent foray (Amazon’s Cape Town office built EC2) into South Africa.”


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South Korea: A Girl’s Suicide  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt from Gust of popular feeling looked into the suicide of a 16-year-old girl, Lee Eun-ji. The cause was believed to be cyber bullying by superjunior fans. However, Matt pointed another factor: the T.V program's framing of her image in weight loss.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Syria: Ambassador’s Summer Holiday · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Syria's Ambassador to the USA Mr. Imad Mustapha, takes some time off from Washington DC, hops on a plane back to Syria and spends his summer holiday with his family water-parachuting in Latakia's Cote d'Azure. He writes about his time here.

author: Yazan Badran


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Syria: How Do You Feel? · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Abu Fares shares his feelings with this clip that he shot in an art exhibition in Venice.


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Syria: Journalists Arrested in Occupied Golan · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

“Two Syrian journalists have been arrested by Israeli Occupation Forces.
Ata Farahat and Yousef Shams – correspondents for Al Watan – have been detained on unknown charges. They are Syrians, working on Syrian territory,” Sasa reports.


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Syria: On Expatriates · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Medaad [AR] brings up the topic of an expat's sense of belonging.
“Maybe we forgot that most of us are expats in our own countries, as is the case for most of our Arab people. And maybe we forgot that expats don't eat with golden spoons, that they also have their own problems and struggles with everyday life. So what is the standard that specifies one's belonging before the other?”


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Syria: On PM Maliki’s Visit · Global Voices
Yazan Badran

Sasa from The Syria News Wire reports that Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki praises Syria's cooperation, during his three-day visit to Damascus this week. “He says Syria's co-operation is helping to stabilise Iraq. The US accuses Damascus of the exact opposite.”


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Taiwan: The Internet Is Subverting Local Government Power · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated an article from China Times which argued that the Internet is challenging the traditional definition of journalism as well as the local politicians’ sense of splendid isolation.