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The Balkans: Human Rights and LGBT · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

A few days ago, the Serbian Ministry of Culture approved a little more than 2,000 EUR for the development of Queeria web portal. It is the first time that the Serbian government gives money to any LGBT movements. This act has drawn the attention of the public in Serbia, inspiring numerous public discussions of the issue.
Another Serbian gay web site – the Gay Straight Alliance – published an article (SRP) about the European Commission‘s assessment of the situation with gay population in the ex-Yugoslav republics.
SERBIA:
The report about Serbia's development says that violent attacks, hate speech and sexual discrimination are common. It also says that the government hasn't stopped discrimination. The report stresses that the anti-discrimination laws have not been adopted yet, while the protection against job discrimination and protection on occasion of unemployment is very weak. However, in the report there are no explicit examples about violent attacks, hate speech and threats affecting gay-related events in Serbia, such as [Eurovision] and a gay festival that took place in September. [ILGA-EUROPE] (the International Lesbian and Gay Association) called to the European Commission to continue the monitoring, especially of the rights of free gathering of gay population in Serbia.
MONTENEGRO:
[…] According to the report, there is homophobia in Montenegro. At the same time, there is no law protecting these people. The report says that Montenegro needs anti-discrimination measures that would cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Although there is freedom of association in Montenegro, fear of discrimination and stigmatization are the main obstacles that keep Montenegrin gays from getting organized. The fear is also the reason why this population is not active in fighting for its rights. […]
KOSOVO:
Although there are laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation, the report stresses very bad application of these laws. There is homophobia in the media and public opinion and many gays are not aware of the protection that these anti-discrimination laws could give them. As in Montenegro, the level of organizing of the gay population is very low. There is also the fear of discrimination and stigmatization and many don't dare take part in actions carried out by gay organizations. Because of fear, many cases of violence are not reported. Also, a lot of cases of violence were committed by state authorities.
CROATIA:
According to the Commission, Croatia is the only country in the region in which there has been development in regards to the European integration and protection of human rights. Croatia adopted an all-inclusive anti-discrimination law in July 2008. It will have a positive influence on gay rights. The law is in keeping with European standards, but the report underlines that its practical application is not sufficient. The degree of protection against discrimination is lower than in Europe. […]
MACEDONIA:
The report says that anti-discrimination law hasn't gone into effect yet and the current legislation is not in keeping with European standards. There are explicit examples of discrimination against queer population in the report as well as a recommendation that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity be included in the national strategy against discrimination.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA:
The report says that Bosnia & Herzegovina put an effort in order to improve the human rights situation. It also says that there is no all-inclusive anti-descrimination law and that the government formally and informally supports discrimination and violence against gay population. Also, there is job and employment discrimination, as well as disregard for the right of free association, and violence against some people because of their sexual orientation. Unfortunately, the report doesn't mention the brutal attack and violence during the [gay festival in Sarajevo]. ILGA-EUROPE asked that the Commission included this information in its report for 2009 since there was violence against participants during the festival, the offices of gay movements were attacked, death threats were made against activists and organizers of the festival and the police did not react.
Almost all Croatian media have recently published the news about signing of the petition against homosexuality.
According to the daily news section of Croatian website of Dnevnik.hr, on occasion of France's initiative in the United Nations (Croatia supported it) about global decriminalizion of homosexuality, representatives of a civil initiative “Sign the Declaration” organized signing of a petition against homosexual marriages and abortion, among other things. The petition could be signed in Catholic churches around Croatia on Dec. 7. The Serbian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox Church as well as the Islamic religious community supported this petition.
Reacting to this action, members of Croatian gay rights movements distributed leaflets with the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in front of Zagreb's Cathedral.
Sanja Juras, coordinator of the Lesbian group Kontra said:
The Church has distorted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the media and abused it in order to challenge the homosexuals’ right to have a family as well as women's right for an abortion.
Here are several comments by Croatian readers:
Tinta10 says:
All who support gays and besmirch the Church are miserable.
Starimladi:
It is no argument that the initiative is supported by all religious communities. Religious organizations think dogmatically. They exclude any logical thinking and researching. Professionals – psychologists, sociologists, doctors – should answer about health, illness and conception. Not dogmatists. They think that they are God's deputies and they believe only what they say is true. On behalf of God they made a lot of evils so that they don't have credibility.
Angell says:
[…] It shouldn't be bad toward homosexuals but it shouldn't support them. Homosexuality is illness which has to be treated. If people live according to the New Testament or the Ten Commandments, it will be the way it should be. […]

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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Fact or Fiction: Egyptian President Pardons Sexual Harasser · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

On October 24, a young woman made Egyptians proud when, in an unprecedented case, sexual harasser Sherif Gommaa was sentenced to three years behind bars, hard labor, and was also ordered to pay a 5,001 Egyptian pound fine to Noha Roshdy Saleh for groping her in the street.
On October 30, Noha made Egyptians angry when Al Masry Al Youm newspaper published an article saying that Noha's lawyer Naglaa El Emam – who also allegedly encouraged Arab youth to sexually harass Israeli women as a form of resistance – decided to appeal in favor of the harasser Sherif Gommaa after she found out that Noha was born in Jaffa and carries an Israeli passport. The lawyer also said that Noha had sued a French officer for harassing her a year and a half ago when she was in France.
Today, rumor has it that President Hosni Mubarak pardoned the convicted sexual harasser, Sherif Gomaa on the occasion of Eid Al Adha (Big Feast). Zeinobia wrote quoting and commenting on Al Youm 7 newspaper's announcement [Ar] saying:
It is not confirmed yet but I will try to find more reliable sources.
What kind of a social message you sending to the society here ?? To the young men in the streets ?? To harass as they want, yes they may go to jail but the President in feasts will pardon them !!??
Does the President want them to harass women and girls other than to harass his rule !!?
I do not know what to say , I am so angry. Why is he insisting on losing all connections to the people !!??
On the other hand Ayman Nour did not receive the Pardon he deserves for his medical condition and his position and I am not surprised !!??
If he is so kind and believes in giving second chances,why does not he pardon bloggers Mohamed Adel and Mossad Abu El-Fagr along with others “I apologize these two names are in my mind now but I am sure there are others like them who deserve to be pardoned”
Already I do not know why Mohamed Adel was detained in the first place so he could be pardoned !!?
Mubarak pardons a grope !!
I want this holiday to be nice away from all that frustrating news but it seems impossible in this country !!
Blogger Mohamed Hamdy investigated the news further and decided that it was fiction. He wrote on his page on Jaiku:
بعد الإشاعة التى أطلقتها الأستاذة نجلاء الإمام موكلة نهى رشدى السابقة، حول حصول المتهم فى القضية شريف جمعة جبريل، على عفو رئاسى من تنفيذ الحكم.. توصل اليوم السابع إلى أن محامى المتهم الأستاذ نبيه الوحش، تقدم بطلب لوقف تنفيذ العقوبة لإعادة المحاكمة. اليوم السابع اتصل بشقيق المتهم عادل جبريل وقال إنه فوجئ باتصال هاتفى من المحامية مساء اليوم، تخبره فيه بأنه تم الإفراج عن شقيقه فى العفو الرئاسى بمناسبة عيد الأضحى. وهو ما أكده الوحش فى اتصال هاتفى مع اليوم السابع، حيث اعتبر خروج المتهم ضمن العفو الرئاسى أمرا مستبعدا تماما. يذكر أن المحامية نجلاء الإمام قد أشاعت نبأ الإفراج عن المتهم فى العفو الرئاسى بمناسبة عيد الأضحى، بينما أكدت العديد من المصادر القانونية صعوبة حدوث العفو الرئاسى، قبل انقضاء نصف مدة الحبس على الأقل بحد أدنى تسعة شهور، وأكدت أن عدد الذين تم الإفراج عنهم 649

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Marwa Rakha


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Egypt: Call for Commemorating Saddam Hussein · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

On the second anniversary of the execution of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and in coordination with the Iraqi community in Cairo, five Egyptian political parties called for commemorating the late president.
After quoting Al Youm 7 newspaper, An Egyptian wrote:
Believe it or not they want to honor a psycho terrorist assassin like Saddam who thought of himself as a kind of prophet or a god. Imagine if one day one of these parties ruled Egypt, how are they going to rule? For sure their regime will follow the footsteps of Saddam – “the patriot hero” as they call him. What will other nations think of us when they read such a news? Where is state security police? Why didn't they arrest them? Guess whom these parties hate? They hate president Mubarak.
Mr. president I wish you longer years of ruling, you are much much better.
Voice of Egypt also commented on the same event saying:
Who are those people? Has anyone heard of them before? Why their voices were never heard in opposition but no wonder, why would they oppose to anything if they held a conference in honor and commemoration of a tyrant like Saddam Hussein? They call him a martyr, a hero, and an icon of tolerance. I wouldn't be surprised if they demand putting his statue in the middle of Ramsis Street. One has not heard of those parties organizing any conference discussing democracy, the emergency law, the detainees, or even the unavailable loaf of bread.
Gentlemen … heads of those parties … you are a disgrace!


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Greece: Riots in Athens Continue · Global Voices
Solana Larsen

For the past three days, the capital of Greece, Athens, has been rocked by demonstrations and rioting as thousands have taken to the streets in protest at the fatal shooting by a police officer of 15-year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos in the Athens district of Exarchia on December 6, 2008. The unrest quickly spread to Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city, and other parts of the country. Clashes have also taken place in parts of Cyprus.
In central Athens, protesters, including high school and university students and anarchists, have battled riot police, smashing shop windows, burning vehicles, throwing petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails and setting public buildings on fire. Mourners and protesters also clashed with police after Grigoropoulos’ funeral on Tuesday.
The disturbances are said to be the worst to hit Greece since the collapse of military rule in 1974, and point to widespread dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis which holds on to power by a one-seat majority. The main opposition party has called for early elections.
See the Wikipedia entry on the 2008 Greek riots for more information.
Twitter
Twitter users have been reporting on the events using the hashtag #griots. One Twitter user, “asteris” was sending updates from Thessaloniki in the early morning hours of December 10:
asteris: “#griots Thessaloniki report: A riot squad at Syntrivani fooling around across their parked van. Teargas leftovers for 2 blocks, stung some”
asteris: “#griots Thessaloniki report: The city is spookily quiet & deserted, like a videogame level before the nasties get the jump on you”
Photos
Indymedia Athens (some English) have extensive coverage from the front lines, including dramatic photos of streets on fire, and links to video with sounds of gunfire.
A citizen journalist using the moniker Teacher Dude's BBQ on his blog, Flickr profile, and NowPublic page, has uploaded numerous photos and posts, including of his own wounds after being beaten by the police for taken photos of a demonstration. He says:
I suffered a dislocated shoulder, fractured nose and multiple cuts and bruising for taking these photos of the Greek riot police during a peaceful demonstration on September 8th, 2007, Thessaloniki, Greece.
I was detained, placed in an unmarked van by the four plain clothes cops and taken to the central police station. Later I was released without charge, but in excruciating pain and covered in blood.
ThirdEye3 on Flickr has photos of protesters holding posters with a photoshopped image of a gun to protest the police shooting, and a photo set tagged #griots.
dkilim has photos of post-rioting devastation.
There are many more photos on the Flickr pages of tom.tziros, Λεωνίδας, and murplej@ne – under deconstruction (this photographer also has a blog at Trainstorming).
Videos
Sameer Padania from WITNESS’ human rights video website The HUB happens to be in Athens for a media conference and has uploaded more than a dozen brief videos of what he saw on the streets.
Videoonthecloud has uploaded a couple of videos to YouTube, including this one of police throwing a stone at a protester.
There are many more videos to be found on YouTube by searching for #griots.
Georgia Popplewell and Renata Avila contributed text and links for this post.

author: Solana Larsen


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Guadeloupe: Gas too expensive; the island is blocked! · Global Voices
Fabienne Flessel

After the general blackout in French Guiana, it's now the turn of the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe to wake up all numbed.
The butterfly shaped island linked by the bridges of “le Pont de la Gabarre” and “le Pont de l'Alliance” has been paralyzed on both sides: Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre. Gwada in Bienvenue sur Karukéra[Fr] tells about the main road blocks that drivers have to face to move around the island:
Depuis deux jours les routes principales sont bloquées. Des barrages ont été installés sur les axes et carrefours principaux: Montebello, Capesterre, Gourbeyre, Baillif, La Boucan… en Basse-Terre; La Jaille, La Voie Verte, Saint-Félix, Morne à l'Eau… en Grande -Terre….
Il n'est quasiment pas possible de circuler, sauf sur tout petits périmètres….
It all started on Monday (8/12) when the truck drivers, the bus drivers and the school bus drivers implemented their decision to block the main roads of the island as a way to protest against the price of gas. Just like in French Guiana earlier, Guadeloupeans are wondering why the price of household or professional gas hasn't been gone down, when news from outside the island relates the steady reduction in the price of oil per barrel.
On Thursday (04/12), after a decision from the Government influenced by the Guianese crisis, Guadeloupean people could fill their gas tank for 1.36 euros per liter instead of 1.51, but it didn't sound enough when compared to the 1 euro per liter price of unloaded gas in continental France today.
This, of course, raises the question of the way the price of gas is set up by the French Government.  To answer, Gwada explains here that the equation is a very complex one:
Il faut savoir….. Dans les DOM, le prix des carburants est fixé par arrêté préfectoral… Dans tout le département, il est le même, quelque soit la marque du distributeur, quelque soit le lieu de distribution. L'équation qui sert à fixer ce prix est complexe, et verrouillée par les distributeurs eux-même…. Pas de concurrence, sous le regard bienveillant de l'état….
To show their discontent and their misunderstanding, the professionals passed on the word to organize road blocks on Monday.  After the “Black Monday”, the Guadeloupean blogosphere and the media started reacting today to explain the reasons for this mobilization and to give tips on the most effective ways to move around the island and avoid the road blocks.  Géraldine en Guadeloupe in La Gwada bloquée tells about the difficulty to reach Jarry today:
Aujourd'hui, ils remettent ça accompagnés cette fois par les transporteurs. Et le blocage se durcit. Comme on peut le voir sur la carte, pas question d'aller plus loin que Jarry qui est complètement désert alors qu'il s'agit de la plus grosse zone économique de l'île
The obvious reason why Jarry is blocked is to make the mobilization more visible – but the least obvious one is that Jarry is the location of the port and the oil factories.  The ultimate goal is to put some pressure on “la SARA” – the ONLY oil refinery company in the French West Indies – which holds the monopoly on the oil business both in Guadeloupe and Martinique.  As Gwada explains above, this monopoly makes it the only partner for the prefect when it comes to establishing the price of gas. Guadeloupean politicians usually feel left out of these decisions and have chosen to support the mobilization and to be the spokespeople of their electorate on this issue.
Whatever the resolution to this conflict is, the demonstrators can be proud of the immediate echo their mobilization has had at the national level. This video [Fr] from LCI, one of the  main French news channels, shows that continental France cannot be oblivious to the protest in the overseas department. Mycho, in Critiqart Guadeloupe, who tries to keep up with the mobilization day by day, is waiting for the speech by Yves Jégo, the Secretary of State for French overseas departments, who is supposed to deliver a speech by video conference today, in the hope of suggesting a solution to the problem.

author: Fabienne Flessel


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Hello world! · Global Voices
site admin

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

author: site admin


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Hong Kong: FBI: 2009 Shennong Plan · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Maryanndonnell blogs about the upcoming Fat Bird Institution's performance in Hong Kong City Festival 2009.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Kazakhstan: Human Rights Watch Condemns the OSCE “Ugly Trade”  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Joshua Foust writes that just before the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in Helsinki, Kazakhstan – the OSCE's chairman-in-office in 2010, faced condemnation from Human Rights Watch over its human rights record.

author: Adil Nurmakov


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Kazakhstan: Krishnas Save Kazakhstan Farm  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Gumir reports that the Kazakhstan government withdrew its claim for demolition of the only Temple of the Krishna Society in Kazakhstan after 1,5 years of standoff.


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Lithuania: Christmas Gifts · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Top 10 Lithuanian gift ideas for Christmas – at Lithuanian Jotter.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Mexico: Disability Festival to Raise Awareness · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

The First Annual Disability Festival is currently taking place in Mexico City, and aims to provide awareness about various types of disabilities writes Dfinitivo [es].

author: Eduardo Avila


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Mongolia: Local singer’s John Lennon tribute · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Bilguun shares a tribute to John Lennon, a cover of Imagine by Naran, a Mongolian singer with powerful voice.


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Morocco: Reflections of Eid · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

It's been quite awhile since we last looked into the Moroccan blogosphere…so it's about time!  As the Eid al-Adha celebration has recently passed, bloggers are wishing each other well and sharing stories from the holiday.
The View From Fez reports that King Mohammed VI has pardoned 502 prisoners over the holiday.  In detail:
His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, has pardoned 502 prisoners for the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice or Eid al-Adha, being celebrated this week. According to a Justice Ministry press release, total pardon was granted to 15 inmates over their remaining prison term or seclusion, reduction of imprisonment term or seclusion to 299, commutating of life imprisonment to time term to 3, total pardon over the prison term or its remaining time to 29.
A royal pardon was granted to 15 inmates over their remaining prison term, while a reduced prison term was granted to 299 inmates, said the Moroccan Justice Ministry in a statement.
Asmaa Mouhib wishes her readers a happy Eid:
Demain, c’est la fête de Aïd Al-Adha. Mes meilleurs vœux de bonheur et de santé à tous les musulmans du monde en cette occasion !
Agharass also shares good cheer with readers:
Salamo aalaykom, chères agharassiennes, chers agharassiens. Je vous souhaite,à toutes et à tous, de passer un bon aid el ahdha avec joie et satisfaction d’avoir accompli notre devoir spirituel envers Allah. Mes meilleurs vœux à toutes et à tous.
Maryam of My Marrakesh gives thanks of a different kind…to the sheep which are sacrificed for the Eid al-Adha feast.  In a post called “A Shoukran [thank you] to Sheep,” she says:
So many of you have given your lives today.
On this holy day, this holy day of Aid.
Please know….
Your symbolism has not gone lost.
Your sacrifice has not gone forgotten
Including to those tender hearted.

author: Jillian C. York


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New Zealand: ‘Talkfest torpedoed’  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

A few right-of-center New Zealand bloggers have applauded the new Social Development Minister’s push to cancel a February summit planned by the Families Commission that would bring together 150 leaders and decision makers together at Auckland's Waipuna Lodge.
The problem: The cost, which was estimated at $200,000.
The Families Commission had been planning the summit for more than a year, when economic times were much brighter. But Paula Bennett, the Minister of the new National government, said that at a time when New Zealand’s economy was faltering, the proposed summit would be seen as wasteful.
BustedBlonde, who writes RoarPrawn, a blog that prides itself on “keeping watch for any evidence of corruption in our political sphere,” was escatic.
Paula Bennett might be part Maori but its clear she aint one for bullshit hui. She has given the Families Commission ( What the hell have they ever achieved????) a stern talking to about a big $200k talkfest they had planned. Its now not happening.
While we are at it, we here at Roarprawn reckon that Paula should disband the Commission and get the volunatry agencies to bid for the commisson money and give it to the ones with the best ideas. They voluntary agencies have the best networks, are at the coalface and know where the greatest need is.
From Keeping Stock said the decision shines brightly on the newly elected Minister:
Paula Bennett's Ministerial career is off to a great start with her “recommendation” to the Families Commission that it “reconsider” plans for a $200,000 summit in Auckland. The Commission has duly reconsidered, and pulled the plug!
It's interesting that the summit had been signed off by former Social Development Minister Ruth Dyson, who was only too happy to follow Labour's culture of “spend the taxpayers’ money and bugger the consequences.”. And who originally proposed the summit? Why, no other luminary than Rajen Prasad who, by sheer coincidence, has just eneterd Parliament from Labour's list, in its bid for rejuvenation!!
Lindsay Mitchell, who argues “the welfare state is unsustainable economically, socially and morally,” was also supportive of Bennett’s moves.
It was unclear yesterday what Paula Bennett intended to do about a families Commission Summit to be held in February 2009 at the cost of 200,000 so I didn't comment. Now it is clear she is pulling the plug on the affair. Well done. If National continues with this habit there will certainly be less to criticise. With the talkfest torpedoed she might as well go a step further and disband the Commission itself. Apart from preserving paper-producing jobs (of which there are hundreds more within MSD) I can think of no reason to persist with it.
Politics may also be at issue with criticism of the summit. New Zealand newspapers have pointed out the Families Commssion — responsible, among other things, for helping shape government policies serving the best interests of families — was initially a United Party initiative whose establishment was a condition of the “minor party's support agreement with the Labour Government after the 2002 election.” All that remains of the once solidly Christian party in Parliament is leader Peter Dunne, who became part of the newly elected National Government and has retained a portfolio of Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister for Health.
KiwiBlog was incredulous that the Families Commission had trouble finding suitable funding for the conference and had changed the agenda to focus more on economic issues.
So they were not going to attract their budgeted income for the conference, yet still go ahead with it. And more curious, there seemed to be no fixed reason for having the conference – they just changed it to whatever was topical.
Let’s stay with a few commenters in Kiwiblog.
From goodgod:
I notice the Families Commission also tried wailing that it was “well known” that the conference would take place over a year ago. As if that’s a valid reason to waste $200k. Well guess what, wastrells, your Labour friends are gone and it’s time to wake up.
Chfr opined:
…I also noticed that the bill for this event of $200 000 for 150 participants equates to $1333 odd per person, without flights as participants were being asked to pay for them themselves. Knowing the venue this seems a bit steep for a 2 day event so who was being paid to offer their advice.
Note to the new government…If a lay person needs a highly paid wallah to explain either the title or content of an event such as this then there is a good chance that this is a feel good waste of time and effort and someone just trying to justify either their own job or whole department and probably shouldn’t go ahead.

author: John Liebhardt


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Paraguay: Jesuit Ruins · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Osval visits the Jesuit ruins in Paraguay [es/en], where the Tupi-Guaraní indigenous groups were taught by the Roman Catholic group.


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Puerto Rico, Barbados, Guyana: Indigenous Rights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Voice of the Taino People Online reports that Damon Corrie, “the sometimes controversial Barbados born Indigenous Rights activist of Guyanese Arawak descent” is attending negotiations on the draft American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Russia: Aleksiy II · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Updates on the media and Russian blogosphere reports on the death of Aleksiy II, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia – at IZO. Stella Rock of OpenDemocracy.net writes about the late Patriarch's legacy. Window on Eurasia writes on Aleksiy II's legacy, too, and discusses the patriarch's potential successors.


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Slovenia: A Mosque for Ljubljana · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sleeping With Pengovsky writes that “the city of Ljubljana is one of the few (if not only) European capital with a substantial Muslim community and without a mosque” and highlights the political obstacles to building the mosque.


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South Asian Laborers Duped Again in Iraq · Global Voices
Bhumika Ghimire

After 12 Nepalese laborers had been kidnapped and murdered by Iraqi terrorist group Ansar al-Sunna in 2004, there was hope that officials in Iraq, United States and in Nepal would take steps to ensure the safety and security of those traveling to Iraq in search of work. Unfortunately, reports suggest that laborers from South Asia, including Nepal are still being duped in Iraq.
CNN’s Michael Ware reported on December 4 that a Kuwaiti company-Najlaa Catering Services, which is subcontractor for American military contractor Kellog Brown and Root (KBR), has been housing about 1,000 workers from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in a large warehouse in Baghdad. Some of the laborers are also from Africa. The windowless facility lacks running water and is severely overcrowded.
“But when they arrived in Baghdad, they said, Najlaa housed about 1,000 of them — 600 in the one-room warehouse — in the compound within the airport, surrounded by private security guards. Showers are there, but are useless because the taps are nonfunctional. Many have questions about their visas and status in Iraq. Legally unable to stay, they lack the money to return home.”
The predicament of these workers caught the attention of The Times (UK) blogger Deborah Haynes too, who says that along with the 1,000 in the warehouse, there are about 50 Nepalese “squatters” in Baghdad. They came to Iraq looking for work after paying agents hefty amounts, often taking out heavy loans.
“About 50 Nepalese men and a handful of Indians are living under the jumble of wooden planks and soiled carpets. Some of the shelters have scraps of tarpaulin over the top to keep out the rain but there is little protection from the winter chill. “We have no money, no food, no toilet, no water, no job,” said Ganesh Kumar Bhagat, 22.”
Noah Shachtman questions in his post in Wired Blog Network:
Anyone care to bet how much how much KBR was billing the U.S. military for these guys?
The story about these laborers is making rounds of international media, perhaps causing Nepalese officials some embarrassment. Three days after the reports by CNN and The Times, Nepalese Embassy in Riyadh,  Saudi Arabia hired a lawyer and has threatened to sue Kuwaiti companies.
“Lawyer Ayed Al-Subai'e, the lawyer acting on the embassy's behalf, has threatened that the concerned companies will be sued in American courts if the embassy's demands over the workers’ conditions are not met within the two-week period.”
The Kuwaiti company-Najlaa Catering Services, accused of warehousing the laborers in poor condition in Baghdad, has however denied any mistreatment of the workers.
“Najlaa International Catering Services said the workers, from South Asia, were being well cared for at airport housing facilities while awaiting assignments at work sites. “They are living in a decent environment, provided three meals a day, showers and latrine facilities,” Marwan Rezk, the general manager of Najlaa International Catering Services, said of the laborers.”
Despite steps taken by the United States military to safeguard their interests, laborers from outside Iraq-like these South Asians- are still being brought into the country by agents promising good paying jobs, who often fall into wrong hands and get duped.

author: Bhumika Ghimire


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Tajikistan: Aging Cars Resurrection · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Daniel McIntosh writes about Khujand’s cargo train station in the northern part of Tajikistan, where retired vehicles of the developed world are given a second life to later go on to become a family’s pride in one of Central Asia’s poorest countries.


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Thailand: Foreigner who stayed in the airport blockade · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Majority of foreigners stayed away from Bangkok airports when protesters used the facilities to stage their “final battle” against the “corrupt government” two weeks ago. But there was a foreigner who stayed inside the airport blockade.
Janus Putkonen from Finland joined members of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) for five days and nights. He slept and ate in the airport protest center. He witnessed 5 shootings and 3 grenade attacks. He was able to observe the daily activities of the protesters. Fortunately he had a video camera. Now he shares to the world what he had witnessed inside the blockade.
Last November 26, PAD occupied Bangkok’s two major airports to force the resignation of the country’s top leaders. They achieved their goal last week when Thailand’s top court ordered the dissolution of the ruling party which was found guilty of electoral fraud.
Janus narrates how he got to the airport:
“In 23.30 same evening I read from Bangkok Post that there were shootings in Suvarnabhumi (Airport), at 0.00 I made my decision, woke up my wife, and gear up my things. I live in middle Thailand, but that was no excuse (for) me not to drive my truck to Bangkok fast as I could, following a loud voice from my heart… I was there at 03.00 in the night. (The) only foreigner in protest barricades that first night at Suvarnabhumi.”
Janus was impressed by efficiency of the protesters who responded well after a grenade attack inside the airport.
Janus captured the counter-attack of PAD against the police forces who were trying to disperse the airport protesters. The police retreated.
What did Janus learn from Bangkok protesters:
“To win demonstrations, there is nothing to do with anarchy in those, but discipline and orders, tight plans and hierarchy. Those great Thai peoples from PAD just (taught) me a great lesson how to win political ground with huge demonstrators… Attack is always the best defense, also in demonstrations.”

author: Mong Palatino


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Thailand political crisis: Reactions from the region · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Anti-government protesters are no longer in the streets; they have also left the airport premises which they occupied for a week. But Thailand’s political crisis is still unresolved.
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) occupied Bangkok’s two major airports last November 26. They wanted the Prime Minister to resign whom they accused of being corrupt. A week ago, leaders of the ruling party were found guilty of electoral fraud by Thailand’s top court which led to the resignation of the Prime Minister.
What is now the situation in Thailand?
- Political parties are vying for dominance. They are going to choose a new Prime Minister in the next few days.
- The airport takeover has not only stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers; it has also disrupted Thailand’s tourism industry. Tourism officials estimate that Thailand will lose more than 2 million tourists in the next few months because of the backlash created by the crisis.
- Bangkok is quieter these days, even the shopping malls.
- Residents and visitors are starting to write about their experience and views of the airport takeover. Some are proposing solutions to the crisis.
- The man who was beaten by PAD supporters has been found.
- A blogger who criticizes the actions of PAD received a call from a reader who disagrees with his views. They decided to meet, talk, and drink beer.
- The latest edition of The Economist is banned in Thailand for containing an article which “insults” the King of Thailand.
Reactions from the region
Aaron from Singapore lambasts PAD:
“What the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) did in Bangkok was simply appalling, even by my liberal standards of democracy and human rights. I am all for freedom of speech and even civil disobedience, provided the situation warrants it, but to take a country hostage by seizing airports and disrupting the lives of millions of other people needlessly is simply inexcusable.
“To me, the PAD is like the bands of Somali pirates that hijack ships, or even the group of terrorists that attacked Mumbai…By virtue of their actions, the PAD has effectively disrupted the livelihoods of millions of other Thais, and if you are a poor Thai who depends on tourist dollars to survive, you are basically handed a slow death.”
Luis Teodoro from the Philippines analyzes the crisis:
“Thailand has been far from immune from crisis in its turbulent recent history, which has been peppered with military coups and political violence. The verdict so far is that political unrest will continue despite the king, Thailand being severely divided.”
Unspun from Indonesia notes that the video interview of ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra which was first aired on the internet showed Thaksin’s lack of trust in old media.
A Hiphop group from Vietnam was stranded in Bangkok during the airport takeover. Cambodia’s tourism industry is also suffering because of the crisis. About 1,500 passengers come to Cambodia through Bangkok everyday. Nye Noona, a Lao blogger, narrates her ordeal during the first day of the airport takeover.
Photos by Nye Noona


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Trinidad & Tobago: Waste Not · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“The next time you see your neighbor’s garbage scattered on the road don’t think of it as an unsightly mess but as an opportunity to get to know them better”: Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life gets trashy!


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Ukraine: Holodomor Politics · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Natalia Antonova shares her views on Holodomor – on her blog and at GlobalComment.


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Uzbekistan: Bulgarian president hunts in Uzbekistan  · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Akmal reports that after reports about Bulgarian president Georgi Purvanov's hunting for protected animals during his official visit to Uzbekistan, there have been severe debates online on the role of ethics in todays politics.


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Uzbekistan: Economic Model? · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Nathan reports that preisdent of Uzbekistan Islom Karimov in his recent public speech took a moment to heap praise upon himself for his wise economic policy decisions, while much of the population lives in poverty and hundreds of thousands of Uzbek people have left the country for seasonal jobs elsewhere.


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Western Sahara: Trouble with McDonald’s · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Nick Brooks of Sand and Dust reports that McDonald's recently came under fire in Morocco for not including the Western Sahara on its maps of the country.  The fast food giant caved to pressure.  Brooks shares his opinion.


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Afghanistan: Chafing Under Talibanization · Global Voices
Joshua Foust

All is not smooth sailing in Afghanistan, and Azar Balkhi explains why:
The Taliban insurgency is historically a predominantly Pashtun movement, still have very little influence among other Afghanistan minority ethnic groups like the Tajiks, Uzbek and Hazaras. It’s hard to keep others from one who believes that gun is jewel of men. If nobody ends the culture of Pashtun warlordism, in 50 years the entire country will become Taliban…
Now the new democratic constitution gives an equal right to women and men but Pashtun rulers avoid that and trying to keep women toward the back and make them think that they just belong to kitchen and inside home. Banning female voice from public data lines means they are no longer part of our society.
He also complains about U.S. Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad meddling in the country's politics.
یونس انتظار, on the other hand, notes a different struggle the country faces:
The 20th anniversary of the World AIDS Day in Afghanistan was celebrated in a situation that the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) has recorded 505 HIV positive cases of which 7 patients were died because of this disease while last year there were only around 250 positive cases.
Afghan health officials must deal with what is sometimes called a “closet culture,” which in risky behavior, such as unprotected sex or the sharing of heroin needles, is rarely if ever discussed. Silence leads to people not disclosing their status if they're even diagnosed, which leads to an environment ripe for rapid HIV infection.
But how can any of this be related to Talibanization? Sanjar explains that the problem is really one of institutions… more accurately, the lack of any:
I don’t believe Taliban are a social force with an agenda and connected with locality, instead I think Taliban are the harshest form of a resistance movement which is created when the country is in a political vacuum. Their arbitrary and cruel methods of compelling order is imposed when the society fails to find any workable agenda. Taliban are not a unique creation, political history is full of movements which emerged after the ascribed socio-political systems constantly failed, these movements such as Wahabis in early twenty century Arabia are cruel and despotic. Taliban emerged in 1994 after Mujahideen tyranny and failure of half a dozen governments before them. Taliban offered no better life than Mujaheeden, but they were more arbitrary and cruel while Mujahideen were simply corrupt and this is why I think Taliban managed to rule. Taliban are returning again; this time people know what they are expecting, there is no dream and no hope, nobody expect Taliban to be anything else than Taliban.
That is a bleak statement, but he argues it well. There are, however, always signs of hope: Tim Foxley sees great promise in the new Minister of the Interior.
The Afghan cabinet reshuffle last month saw the move of the efficient and corruption-free Hanif Atmar from the Education Ministry to the Ministry of Interior. His efforts will be resisted but this could prove a crucial boost to police reform efforts and attempts to tackle government corruption generally.
It can be expected there will be more discussions of Afghanistan's institutional challenges as a new wave of voter registration is opened up for the 2009 and 2010 elections.

author: Joshua Foust


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Argentina: Human Rights Declaration · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Efrain Espinoza of Artepolitica [es] reflects on the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of the Universal Human Rights and its role in Argentina.


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Argentina: Strange Case of Gerez Forgotten by the Public · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

In Argentina, Esteban Grinberg of De Todo Un Poco [es] writes that the disappearance and strange reappearance of Luis Gerez has been forgotten by the general public nearly 2 years after the original news broke.  Gerez testified against a former torturer, who had been elected to Congress.


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Armenia: Anti-Corruption Day · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Armenia: Higher Education & Sciences comments on how Tuesday's Anti-Corruption Day was marked in the country. However, the blog concludes that given the amount of corruption in the education system, such an event should be held daily rather than annually and ironically notes that a recent survey of university students names the law department as the most corrupt.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Australia rallies to “Stop the Clean Feed”  · Global Voices
John Liebhardt

The Australian blogosphere has largely come together to protest a government internet filtering scheme that will require Internet Service Providers to offer a “Clean-Feed” service to all homes, schools and public access points to the internet.
The filter is part of a $125.8 million (Australian) “cyber safety plan” that will work in two tiers. First, Australian ISPs would be required to block access to around 10,000 websites whose designation will be controlled by the same authority that rates films. However, the government has not yet released the list to the public, but maintains it contains only illegal content, like child pornography.
A second plan would require Australian ISPs to provide an additional optional filter that would further block material regarded as unsuitable for children.
The scheme, brought by Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy, has been unfavorably compared to Internet policies in Iran, China and Saudi Arabia and has met howls of criticism from voters. ISPs warn the filters will slow down the internet by nearly 90 percent and complain the scheme would entirely ignore peer-to-peer networks, where most illegal content is exchanged.
Despite the negative reactions, the government is pushing ahead with the plan, arguing filters will “provide greater protection to children from online pornography and violent websites.”
Public backlash continues to grow. Online advocacy groups have created anti-Clean Feed petitions and adverts and short films. Disapproval could culminate this weekend in “Stop the Clean Feed rallies”  scheduled at major cities around the country. The events, largely sponsored by Electronic Frontiers Australia, will include at least two Twitter Feeds. (The second, here.)
What do bloggers think?
An organizer for the Canberra rally, Nathanael Boehm, a web designer who works for the Australian government and writes privately at pureCaffeine, argues the Clean Feed is an information access issue.
The Internet Filter represents the first step in introducing censorship in Australia and takes away our freedom to access information we want. It gives the Government power to control the web and only let us see what they want us to see. The technical implementation is inefficient and ineffective and will slow the speed of Internet in Australia. It will reverse the positive impact the roll-out of the National Broadband Network, although that’s also a waste of money.
Do you really think an electronic nanny should replace the role of the parent in educating kids about the safe use of the web? Especially a technology that failed trials for accuracy of filtering? Do you trust the Government to be the custodians of a black list of sites that they think you shouldn’t be looking at? Sure, it might start off with just blocking extreme hardcore porn … but you know it won’t stop there.
They have no right to do this.
Margaret Simmons, writing in Crikey Blogs, maintains people are fighting the Clean Feed  because it’s a free speech issue fraught with technical difficulties.
This filtering comes in two tiers. One tier is compulsory; it will filter Child Pornography and other (undecided) illegal pages.
The second is an optional component for filtering pornography. An opt in, optional component is fine.
It’s the compulsory filter that is dangerous. In 2004 we passed a law saying we cannot discuss Euthanasia online. Will that be put on the compulsory filter?
What about drug information? Where does it stop? Who decides what is filtered out? The problem with me arguing this is that proponents of this will only stand up and shout “So your in favour of Child Pornography then?” or “Won’t someone think of the Children!?”
This an invalid argument. Instead of debating the issues people claim that if you are against this legislation you must want Child Porn.
The “Won’t someone think of the Children!?” argument is flawed. Since when did parents require the government to help them be parents? This is a condescending stance, tantamount to saying “We don’t think you are being good enough parents”. If parents took an active interest in what their child is doing then a lot of this would be unnecessary.
We should have complete and uncensored access to the internet. Anything illegal online is still illegal and should be handled by the law enforcement agencies.
The No Clean Feed rallies comes a few days after the UK-based pornography watchdog Internet Watch Foundation placed Wikipedia on a blacklist, causing 95 percent of internet users in Britain to be blocked from contributing to the site anonymously.
The offending image: A 1976 album cover of Virgin Killer by the German band the Scorpions.
OzAthiest sees the parallels in internet filtering gone wrong in both countries:
Here in Australia our government is considering having mandatory ISP filtering, unlike the UK where it is not compulsory. But as can be seen if something is considered child pornography then most operators will also consider it such, quite likely to avoid being seen as being soft on child pornography, it then becomes a matter of self censorship. Having seen the offending picture I can see how it could be considered child pornography, but then again I thought Bell Henson’s pictures were as well.
The problem with the ban is that now all users appear to wikipedia as one of six users (the six ISPs blocking the site), so if just one user gets banned then all users on that ISP will be banned from modifying wikipedia. This may seem a bit innocuous but think of the consequences.
One person complains to the watchdog (and in this case it was only one user), the site gets blacklisted, all users on those six ISPs (about 95% of home internet users) now appear as one of six users. Lets say six people, one on each of the six ISPs, purposefully get themselves banned by wikipedia, then just about every internet user can no longer edit anonymously. Then using an alternate ISP these nefarious gang of six edit various wikipedia sites, the rest of the populace now finds it difficult to correct these edits. These new entries come
I know I’m probably being a bit paranoid and ‘conspiracy theorist’ here, but it just shows how easy it could be, if mandatory filtering was in place, for a small group of people to wreck  havoc on the internet for everyone else. Worse still, in Australia you might not even know it had happened, as the government doesn’t have to expose which sites have been black-listed.
1984 anyone?
(Here’s a good discussion on how the UK government is overusing Clean Feed by blocking entire URLs instead of offending images.)
Lavartus Prodeo, who supports the cause but won’t be rallying under the Australian sun for a free internet, sets off an interesting dialogue regarding the efficacy of protest marches.
I was arguing in various activist communities as early as the mid 90s that the rally/march model had had its day. With all due respect to the organisers, no one sane would advise anyone to stand around for an hour in the middle of the day at the height of Brisbane summer. Shade in Brisbane square is about nil. There are actually serious health risks.
Surely net-savvy folk can find much more creative ways of making their point, and as I do recognise that it’s often worth gathering people together in physical space, whatever’s wrong with a night time vigil or sunset gathering on the grass? At best this rally will achieve a short grab on the news. Activists need to think much more innovatively, and also take into account the bloody climate!
From a commenter named Billie:
I will be attending the rally in Melbourne because – like it or lump it – people on the news mean a lot more to our moronic elected representatives then an email petition – although I signed that as well. Stephen Conroy presents as techno-savvy in person.
Finally, in Labor View from Bayside, Kevin Rennie argued nearly one month ago this internet censorship plan could doom the Rudd government.
Kevin Rudd and Stephen Conroy have to drop this scheme now or it will haunt them for years to come. It is incredibly unpopular with many of their own party members and supporters. Even anti-Labor commentators such as Andrew Bolt are against it!
In these dire economic times, save some money. The money would be better spent on the digital revolution in schools.
Sink this before it helps to sink the government’s credibility.


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Bahrain: Special Shaikh Sooka?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

What's a “special shaikh sooka?” asks Bint Battuta in Bahrain. To find out, check out her post here.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Bahrain: The Ignored Generation  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Ali Abdulemam, from Bahrain, wonders why politicians don't ask the young generation for their views on the issues they are facing.


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Bulgaria: Anti-Muslim Petition · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Veni Markovski writes about an online petition against Bulgarian Muslims.


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Cameroon: Africa meets Japan via the kimono · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Kamer Stories features Cameroon-born fashion designer Serge Mouangue, who created the brand WAFRICA that blends the traditional kimono with the classic African cotton fabric.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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China: Peace Keeping Force At Village Election?  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated Liu Jinlong's blog post and local media report about a village election escorted by armed peace keeping force.


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Cuba: Gabo in Havana · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Yohandry's Weblog (ES) and Havana Times blog about Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez's visit to Cuba “for the final days of the Havana Film Festival, an annual event that he rarely misses.”


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Cuba: Idealogical Monogamy  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“If concepts such as ‘sick’ have now been banished from the study of homosexuality, why does the adjective ‘counterrevolutionary’ continue to be used for those who think differently”: Yoani Sanchez puts the question to Mariela Castro Espin, the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education.


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Dominican Republic: Thoughts on the Local Film Industry · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Even though new technologies are making it easier to make movies, film in the Dominican Republic has a long way to go, writes Rocío Díaz of Monaco [es].


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Egypt: Free Hoder  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Elijah Zarwan, from Egypt, is lending his voice to the Free Hoder campaign, calling for the release of jailed Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan. “Hossein, if you read this when you get out (may it be soon), sorry for calling for the authorities to release you. I know you asked people not to do so. But I can’t sit on my hands while you’re in jail,” he writes.


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Egypt: Inanities on Homosexuality · Global Voices
Marwa Rakha

Sarah Carr, blogger and journalist addresses how a published feature titled “Honey, I’m homosexual” and online comments  perpetuate myths about homosexuality and, in doing so, contributes to the culture of intolerance in Egyptian society.
On her blog, Inanities, Sarah writes a post criticizing how the article dealt with homosexuality:
The tone is set from the angle of the article itself, with its focus on the closet gay men who, unable to resist their desires, break up marriages. While this angle isn’t necessarily problematic, its execution in the article is, as I hope to explain below.
Take for example this reference to Islam Online:
“But a wife with a homosexual spouse is no longer uncommon judging by the frequency of such cases and the scores of Arabic websites, including religion-based ones like IslamOnline, that discuss the issue openly.”
Then she wonders:
How has the author reached the conclusion that homosexual spouses “are no longer uncommon?” Has he conducted a study of the appearance of “such cases” on Arabic websites? Over what time period? If they are now no longer uncommon, when were they uncommon? Before the creation of Islam Online, for example? We are not told.
The article purports to use “scientific” and/or “expert” opinion to back up its assertions, which is what makes it dangerous rather than merely lazy journalism.
Quoting psychiatrist Mostafa Hussein she defends her point saying:
None of the so-called specialists interviewed seem aware of the fact that homosexuality was removed from diagnostic guidelines as a psychiatric pathology in 1973. Psychiatrist Mostafa Hussein, suggests that its replacement with “ego-dystonic homosexuality” was a political move.
Ego-dystonia is the compulsion to perform behavior in conflict with one’s ego, or one’s ideal self-image. The labeling of homosexuality as ego-dystonic is thus political because societal norms are clearly implicit in its categorization as such.
Homosexuality was removed entirely from the WHO diagnostic guidelines in 1987 i.e. it is no longer regarded as an illness by the international psychiatric community.
And yet the bulk of the contributions selected by the article’s author perpetuate the idea that homosexuality is “abnormal”, or a “disorder” requiring treatment without presenting the other side of the argument. While this may reflect attitudes in Egyptian society, it is an inaccurate, or incomplete, presentation of psychiatric approaches. Even worse, it neglects to present the sinister side of the treatments described in the article.
On the claims of “treating” homosexuality, Sarah writes:
“Treating homosexuality is a black spot in the history of clinical psychology and psychiatry,” says Mostafa. “The behavioral treatment, aversion therapy, is a cruel method that involves — as written in the article — trying to sexually arouse a person with photos of the opposite sex but what is not mentioned is the common use of electric shocks while viewing photos of nude men. Hence the name aversion therapy.
“Military forces in several countries in the 1970s would use such methods for their homosexual soldiers. In Egypt parents still panic about homosexual children and take them to get treatment from psychiatrists who claim that they can treat the condition.”
In addition to ignoring its sinister aspects, the article also fails to point out that such treatment, the attempt to “straighten” gay men, has largely been discredited as ineffective.
“Aversion therapy was used widely in the 70s in the US,” continues Mostafa. “It was later found ineffective. Modern psychological therapy for gay people acceptable by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association is called Gay Affirmative psychotherapy, which helps people with conflicting beliefs towards their sexual orientation to come to terms with it and accept it. I am not sure if it is practiced in Egypt.”
Zooming in on another major angle that was overlooked in the article, Sarah notes:
Why was this crucial point left out of the article? The fact that homosexuality is rejected in Egypt is no excuse for such an oversight. Efforts should have been made to find Egyptian psychiatrists who do not endorse the idea of homosexuality as a disorder in order to give some balance to the article. The exclusion of the role of societal norms in defining psychiatric attitudes towards homosexuality is inexcusable.
In a previous article that ran in Daily News Egypt, psychiatrist Nasser Loza’s says: “Is this still being debated? We're in 2006. Homosexuality is not a disease.”
Finally, Sarah concludes her post saying:
If you chose to run this story because you wanted a “fun” peek into the strange world of homosexual men and their “red underwear” then I suggest the pseudo-science should have been left out. Its inclusion is damaging.
Egyptian society’s rabid attitude towards homosexuality (which the media seems to do all in its power to stir up) results in incidents such as the Queen Boat case, when gay men were rounded up and tortured because they were gay or assumed to be gay, and in the persecution of a group of men living with HIV/AIDS convicted of “debauchery”.
“Honey, I’m homosexual” contributes to the myths surrounding gay men, encourages their exclusion/isolation and “backs up” its ideas with allegedly expert opinion.
Sarah Carr's disclaimer:
Note that the basis of my criticism of this article is not that its author, Daily News Egypt readers or Egyptian society should accept homosexuality. The author’s own attitude towards homosexuality should have been irrelevant, but alas was made all too clear in the moralistic and extremely subjective tone of the article.

author: Marwa Rakha


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Eritrea: Architecture in Asmara · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Sociolingo's Africa posts a few pictures of different buildings in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.


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Greece: Photos From Athens · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

piran café posts photos sent by a friend in Athens and writes: “This looks more like Beirut than the city that hosted the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.”


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Guyana: Flooding  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Living Guyana posts photos of the capital city, which has been inundated with flood waters.


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Haiti, U.S.A.: Relief Delay  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Haitian Blogger reports that storm victims are dying of starvation because of the delay in getting goods to the island: “The situation is that aid agencies are in control of foreign aid to Haiti and the Haitian government as usual, is being cut out of the picture and were not approached directly for assistance, making it difficult for coordinating the massive effort.”


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Iraq: Not in the Mood for Eid and Special Occasions · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Muslims around the world are marking Eid Al Adha, a religious festival which marks the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son to Allah and  the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Iraqi bloggers seem to be united and are in no mood for celebration.
Iraqi Layla Anwar says she doesn't find a reason for celebration. She writes:
You know something, I have stopped celebrating holidays, special occasions and the rest…
What I mean is that my festivities are kept to a strict minimum.
I don't do anything for the Eid, neither for Christmas. However, my family keeps the Eid tradition alive and I comply.
Baghdad Dentist  was out and about and updates us about Eid in Baghdad, where he writes about family visits and attending weddings, which are only marred by the fact that there is a war in the background. He adds:
.at about 6p.m. i went to the wedding party of our neighbour. it was a nice one.every one was dancing and laughing. i saw many boys and girls who grew up. my sister's family stayed,the next day we went to manny neighborhoods in baghdad just hanging over. at night we went to Al-Rubei'y street. i like it because the shops are great and its the only one without concrete barriers on pavements and the people their are more motivated than other where you find trush,concrete barriers,just like chaos!!.there were horrible traffic jams everywhere bcoz of the checkpoints.
Another blogger Faiza Al Arji discusses the spiritual significance of Eid. She says:
والان ابتسم على سذاجتي تلك , لم اكن افهم ما معنى هذه المناسبات روحيا , ما هو المغزى الروحي من وراء هذه الطقوس ..
بالنسبة لي الان صرت ارى الاعياد هي مناسبات للاستغفار وذكر الله وشكره على نعمه التي لا تعد ولا تحصى..
وهي مناسبات للتقرب الى الله والشعور بسعادة هذا القرب والأنس بالله
ولا
يهمني كثيرا الشكولاته ولا زيارة الصالون ولا الملابس الجديدة ولا زيارات
الناس والثرثرة والكلام الفارغ عن الدنيا ومكاسبها ومظاهرها او قال وقيل
عن فلان وفلانه ..
I now smile at how niave I was. I didn't understand the spiritual value of the occasion, and the spiritual reason behind the ritual. I now see Eid as an occasion to ask Allah for forgiveness, remember Him and thank Him for His blessings. Eid is a time to get closer to God and feel happy with this closeness. I don't care any more for the chocolate and visiting the hairdresser, or the new clothes or visiting people and gossiping.
Iraqi Signor, who lives in London, is also finding it difficult to fund joy in celebrations. He tells us about his childhood Eid experiences and then adds:
This was how I celebrated Eid more than a decade ago. Today, as hard as I try and as desperately as I search, I cannot find much happiness in such communal festivities. People always asked me why I never look happy whenever there's something to celebrate; my robotic response is something along the lines of “Who said I'm not happy? I am, but I'm not going to dance about it, am I?”
He further notes:
Eid is embarrassing; Christmas is cold and birthdays are, well, check the archive. True happiness needs no occasion and we should be forever grateful to be alive and to have one another.
Will Iraqis be celebrating Eid any time soon?


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Israel: Looking for Love? Start Blogging · Global Voices
Maya Norton

Hadassah Sabo has a suggestion for finding love online. “Attention single guys/girls! Get a blog and write on it. Write about your dating woes!” she opines. “You know why? People eventually start emailing you with suggestions for a shidduch [love match].”

author: Maya Norton


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Israel: Perceptions of Breastfeeding Throughout Jewish Tradition · Global Voices
Maya Norton

In “Breastfeeding and Judaism: Why Moses’ Mother Didn’t Put Bottles Into The Ark Of Bulrushes,” Hannah Katsman of the Green Prophet explains the importance of breastfeeding in Jewish law and tradition compared with its role in Israeli society today.


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Israel: Praying for Rain  · Global Voices
Maya Norton

The first hard rains of winter fell this week after months of waiting, causing all of Israel to breath a sigh of relief.
Yaakov Kirschen, author and illustrator of The Dry Bones Blog, pens:
“I took a cab home yesterday, and heavy with thoughts of the terror attack on Mumbai, the missiles out of Gaza, organized crime, the upcoming elections, [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert, and the spreading collapse of the world's economy I said to the driver “What do you think of the current situation?”
He said “We haven't had rain yet. It's the first of December and we haven't had rain yet!”
I knew exactly what he meant. He'd had enough of talking about the current situation.”
Adding proof to the idea that things are slow to change in the Middle East, Kirschen posts a “Golden Oldie” from 20 years ago.
In a post entitled “Interwoven Fate,” Lirun of East Med Sea Peace writes:
“Its dry right now in israel and palestine.. we have had two very dry winters and a third is slowly crackling its way into our region.. this affects everyone.. we all suffer from the shortage.”
Lirun remarks that the drought has brought people together to pray for rain, featuring a video of one such gathering.
Meanwhile, Nicky Blackburn of Israelity recalls bicycling around Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) where she notes the water has receded to a dangerous level. The Kinneret is Israel's largest source of drinking water. Blackburn posts:
“Where has the water gone? And it’s not that we’re seeing any signs of a wet winter to come. On the contrary, the weather in Israel right now resembles, well, a desert… So that’s why Rabbi Shlomo Didi of the Jordan Valley, Ian Clark – the priest of the Scottish church, and Muhammad Dahamshe, the Imam of Kfar Kana, got together to try to ease the situation with a little combined prayer.”
Blackburn quotes Shimon Kipnis, manager of a local hotel, who adds:
“We see how the shoreline is receding and that the water level is nearing the ‘black line.’ The purpose of this event was to unite all the religions and offer a joint prayer to the creator of the universe, that he bless us with a rainy season.”
“Finally… Rain!” exclaimed Israeli Mom yesterday.
“This morning, it was so nice waking up to thick gray clouds covering the sky. It wasn’t too cold, just cool enough to be nice, and everything had that nice scent of fresh rain. It was just a drizzle, so I put on my running shoes and went out for a glorious half an hour, enjoying the fresh colors of the trees and flowers, and even of the red earth on the trails behind our street. Lovely.”
There is nothing that unites us and reminds us of our humanity more than Mother Nature. We are grateful for the blessing of rain in this dry land.


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Korea as a Multi-Ethnic Country  · Global Voices
Hyejin Kim

A daily newspaper, Hankyoreh, which is categorized as a progressive newspaper (or sometimes left-wing) introduced a series of articles, ‘Multi-Culturalism is Our Future.’ [KR] Korea, where one culture and one ethnic group are emphasized, currently has a population with only 2 percent foreign residents –1 million population. The newspaper article brings a netizen's complaint and other responses following his (or her) opinion.
한겨레가 다문화가 우리의 미래랍니다. 다문화가 왜 우리의 미래가 되어야하는지 왜 다문화하지 않으면 않되는지. 다문화반대하는 사람들은 없는지 왜 반대하는지 토론하고 함께 고민해본적 있습니까?……한겨레 당신들은 일방적인 다문화선동의 앞쨉이들 입니다. 군사정권이 언론장악하고 권력장악하고 국민들에게 일방적으로 민주인사를 빨깽이로 여론몰이하는거와 뭐가다른가? 외국인문제 다문화문제 비판하는 사람들 일방적으로 제노포비아니 외국인혐오주의자니 국수주의자니 하며 매도하는 당신들……과거군사정권하고 뭐가 다르지?[…]
불체자추방이 왜 인권침해가 되는지 부터 좀 설명해주시죠. 다문화가 어떻게 우리의 미래가되지 않어면 않되는지도 설명 좀하시고 불체자옹호/다문화가….우리가난한서민에게 해가되지 않는다는것도 증명좀 해주시고 불체자.외국인노동자 범죄에 대해서/또 우리서민들 일자리문제에 외국인이 관련이 없는지
Please let me know why driving illegal foreigners out is to breach human rights? Please explain why multi-culturalism should be our future and please prove why illegal foreigners don't harm our poor citizens. Please say why those illegal foreigners are not going to affect our citizens’ jobs.
I introduce opinions following his writing.
물론 생각의 다양함이 있다는 것을 이해하려고 해도 답답한 마음을 지울 수 없다. 문화라는 것은 서로 교환되고 전파되는 것이다. 글쓴이는 단순히 불체자들의 위험성 때문에 반대하는 것 같은데…물론 그런 위험성은 어디에나 있다. 우리가 쇄국정책을 쓰지 않는 한…그래도 인터넷이든 여러방법으로 문화는 전파된다. 무서워서 문을 닫고 사느니 오히려 흡수하는 것이 더 안전하다…
다문화는 미래가 아닙니다… 엄연한 현실이죠. 폐쇄적이고 배타적인 역사는 존립하기 어려운것은 역사적 사실들이 증명하고 있지요… 님 글을 읽으면서 극우 파시스트가 떠오른게 아마 나만은 아닐것 같습니다만… 오히려 다문화 찬성자들보다 님같은 극우 파시스트들이 한 사회를 철저하게 파괴해왔다는것도 상기해주시기 바랍니다.
다문화 운동은 다른건 몰라도 외국인과 결혼한 농촌가정 때문에 꼭필요하겠죠,,뭐 무분별한 외국인 노동자 유입이나 불체자 문제 같은건 적절이 조절해야 겠지만요,,,
잉간아,,,우리나라가 한민족이라구 착각하지마라,,,,원래 다민족이야,,,그리구 울나라 사람,,세계각국에 이민 안간곳이 어디있니? 선진국들이..울나라 이민자들 받아주고 버려진 입양아들도 받아주고 그러는 판에….장가못간 농촌 노총각한테 시집온 동남아 젊은 며느리….각종 공사판 인부들,,,,다 포용해줘야 인간적이지 않겟니…넘 이기적으로 놀지말자.
다문화.. 지금 시대에 당연한 말아닙니까? 지금 우리나라가 다문화국가로 가고 있지만 들어오는 외국인들에게 한국의 문화만 일방적으로 교육시키는게 문제죠. 다문화로 진입하는데 있어서 한국사람들도 아니면 외국인 아내를 받아들이거나, 외국인노동자를 고용하는 데에서는 그 사람들의 국가에 대한 문화적 이해도 교육받아야 합니다. 제 개인적인 생각입니다
개인적으로 다문화는인정은할수있지만.권장은못하겠군요..남미처럼 메스티소같이되면 안되니까.불법체류자추방해야합니다.합법적으로일하는사람만이일해야합니다.법이고무줄입니까.
Foreign workers in Korea are sometimes regarded as people who weaken the locals’ job opportunities. The news articles and a netizens’ reactions raises a question whether it really causes job problems to the locals at present.
님 다문화가 현실이에요  가락시장 가보세요 말 통하는 중국교포 정도되면 고급인력에 속해요. 50%이상은 베트남이나,말 안통하는 사람들이에요!  어떻하실건데요  가락시장,중소기업,구인광고 내면 한국사람들 전화 한통없답니다. 이미 엄청남 규모의 외국인이 들어와 있어요 님들이 그렇게 주장하면 폭력이에요, 현실을 직시하시고,같이 살아갈수 있는 방법을 모색하는게 올바른 해결책입니다.  그리고 님 한국사람들은 원하시면 언제든 취업 가능해요 한국사람들이 일하러 온다면,두손들고 환영들 하실거에요  외국인 노동자 해고를 하더라고 한국사람 먼저 고용한답니다. 지금 한번 알아보세요,정말 환영할거에요.  저도 가락시장에 있지만,정말이지 일하러 오는 사람 없어요  아니 없는게 아니고,완전 전멸 이에요.  한국사람은요!   온다고 해도,며칠 하고는 다들 그만두죠. 저도 배울만큼 배웠고,이바닥에서 벌써 7년째네요 이제 봉급도 높은편이고,사는데 지장없어요.

author: Hyejin Kim


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Kuwait: Marzouq Goes to Hajj  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Marzouq performed Hajj, the pilgrimage Muslims perform to Mecca, at least once in their life time, if they have the means to do so.


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Middle East: Snapshots of Eid  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

For millions of Muslims around the world, Eid Al Adha was a time for celebrations, family gatherings and reflections on the occasion. Here's a snapshot of reactions from bloggers in Tunisia, Kuwait, Egypt and Turkey.
Unhappy with Eid decorations?  AquaBlue, from Tunisia, wishes her readers a Happy Eid, and adds:
Actually, every time an Islamic occasion approaches, and no matter in which part of the world I really am, I hear the same whining and complaining from Muslims about how dull, lame, and boring our occasions are… and of course I need not mention the really negative comments comparing the Muslim celebrating techniques to those of people of other faiths and religions.
She adds:
If you think Muslim celebrations are boring and their decorating styles are outdated or vulgar or whatever, then why don’t you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Instead of exposing the bad tastes of people, why don’t you share some better ideas and give them nice tips they can use? why don’t you teach people you know how to be better decorators, or advise people who are responsible for decorating malls how to do it the right way! If you’re a blogger, post lists of do’s and dont’s, share pics of good decoration examples, expose the good side for people to follow, the negative approach only helps people give up the whole thing.
From Turkey, Talk Turkey reflects on the occasion and how it is viewed by different religions. He writes:
Why is it that Abraham's convictions and the depth of his faith in God are never questioned as he gets ready to sacrifice one of his sons Isaac (in the Bible version)? And as the picture above by Caravaggio depicts, such a killing must be performed by slitting the boy's throat! I mean, weren't other methods of ‘humanely’ killing a human being invented at the time? Why is ‘The West’ silent when it comes to the bible's ‘sacrilegious’ content?
Anyway, in the Islamic version only the names of the innocent have been changed. Isaac is Ishmael (the ‘other’ son). But the story ends the same way. A ram is sacrificed instead when it is determined by God that Abraham had passed the test of his will and determination and love for God…
For Kuwaiti blogger Marzouq, from ZDistrict, Eid marks a special occasion as the blogger performed Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. He describes his preparations as follows:
There a lot of things I have memorized over the past couple of weeks, but I had a million questions and I even wrote down a lot of things. I’m going with my cousins who have been to Haj a few times so I won’t be too lost and the Hamlah (Pilgrimage Group) has a good reputation. Its physically and mentally exhausting but very satisfying, a responsibility for each Muslim to complete. I have even brought my camera with me to take some photos, but I wasn’t sure in the beginning so I asked and I was encouraged to take it.
In Egypt, Jessyz gives us a list of eight things to do to celebrate Eid, Egyptian style at Chocolate Mints in a Jar. Among them are:
Watch old plays on TV
Play with firecrackers
Call everyone after Eid prayers to say “Eid Mubarak” (Happy Eid), you could of course take it a step further and call before prayers to wake everyone up
Take a shower
And finally back to Kuwait, where Ansam too has a list which she shares with us as follows:
*New dress: check
*New shoes: check
*Tights (if it gets cold): check
*Clutch: check
*Makeup: check
*Eidiya (money): Not Yet LOL!!! I got so busy last week of work before Eid, so I am crossing my fingers that ATM machines will dispense crispy money (otherwise I will exchange with my dad/mom) heehee
*Lunch with family: check


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Nigeria: James Iroha Uchechukwu wins photography prize · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

African Loft reports that James Iroha Uchechukwu has won the Prince Claus prize for photography, and posts a slideshow of his work.


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Pakistan: Lessons to remember · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hassan Baig at Teeth Maestro reminds Pakistanis about the ten lessons they should learn.

author: Rezwan


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Palestine: Israeli Raid Ruins Lunchtime · Global Voices
Maya Norton

In an entry entitled, “The Israeli Army Raid on my Street Ruined my Shawarma,” Mo-ha-med of The Traveller Within posts about returning from shopping to find a road in his Ramallah neighborhood blocked. He complains, “By now, my shawarma was cold. Damn Occupation!”


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Palestine: Terrorist Dolls Not the Best Stocking Stuffer · Global Voices
Maya Norton

“What could be more enjoyable for your kids this year than a doll resembling an Al-Qaeda terrorist?” asks Palestinian-American blogger Nawal of Bloggin’ Banat.
“It comes fully accessorized too (which is awesome cause that’ll save you money during this financial crisis). It comes with hand grenades, a pistol, an assault rifle and the all too important rocket launcher (awesome, huh?). And just so you know, there’s a Nazi major figure also.  You know, just to even out the indignation.”
Fashioned after the classic Lego, dolls are made by BrickArms of Redmond, Washington (USA). The website features 10 military dolls, including US Marines and Nazis, as well as 31 different weapon packs.
The doll pictured above is known as “Mr. White,” and sells for $14 USD. Accompanying accessories are a headwrap, pistol, assault rifle, grenades, and bandoleer.
In case you were thinking of purchasing a doll for the holiday season, know that due to overwhelming demand, the majority of dolls are on back order. But never fear, the company's owner assures us, orders will resume shortly with new products in stock.


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Philippines: Official Skips Hearing to Watch Boxing Match · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Sugob ni Longino questions the priorities of Environment Secretary Lito Atienza who skipped the Philippine Senate budget hearings to watch the fight of Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Philippines: War in Mindanao · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

A Mindanao-born student explains that the number one reason for the unresolved conflict in the southern Philippines is the national government's disregard of the Moro people's right to self-determination.


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Russia: Kandinsky Prize Winner · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

IZO writes about Alexei Belyaev-Gintovt, the winner of the Kandinsky Prize.


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Russia: Nikolay Ozerov · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

De Rebus Antiquis Et Novis writes about Nikolay Ozerov, a legendary Soviet sportscaster and tennis champion.


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Russia: Profile of a Chechen Human Rights Lawyer · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

At OpenDemocracy.net, Anastasia Valeeva writes about a Chechen human rights lawyer who heads the “Memorial” office in Urus-Martan.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Differently-Abled  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I thought that not so long ago, children with disabilities were like dirty family secrets to be kept hidden away and far from curious eyes”: Abeni attends a Christmas programme at a School for Children with Special Needs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and comes away with the realization that “surely the barriers are breaking down…disability is not to be feared.”


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Taiwan: police evict Wild Strawberries · Global Voices
David Reid

In the early hours of this morning police forcibly evicted students from the Wild Strawberry movement [report also in Chinese (zh)] from Freedom Square in Taipei. The students had maintained a continuous protest there for over one month after an earlier protest at the Executive Yuan in response to police violence and human rights abuses during the visit of Chen Yunlin to Taiwan in early November. A group of Tibetan refugees who had been at the Square since Tuesday were also evicted.

author: David Reid


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Taiwan: The government could not wait to harvest wild strawberries · Global Voices
I-fan Lin

The forced eviction of Wild Strawberries Movement at the Freedom Square this morning (Dec 11), just a few hours after the International Human Rights Day, shows the Taiwan government's hypocrisy in the implementation of human rights .
On International Human Rights Day (12/10), Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou asked the Legislature to give endorsement to two international human rights documents (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) to help implement human rights protection in Taiwan. The speech was made in Asian Democracy and Human Rights Award, an annual event organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
However, four hours after the International Human Rights Day, police surrounded the protesters gathering in the Freedom Square and forced them to leave, including the  student sit-in (Wild Strawberry Movement) and Taiwan Friends of Tibet.
The students has protested  police brutality during Chen Yun-lin (陳雲林)'s visit to Taiwan and asked to revise the Parade and Assembly Law  since 11/6. More students advocated this protest and started sit-in in Hsinchu, Taichung, Chia-Yi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.
monika joined the sit-in and told her parents
老師們也都連署聲援學生的訴求，加入廣場上的靜坐，我們一起討論著人權的概念、討論甚麼叫做暴力、自由，我們對於台灣社會都有著美好圖像的期待。我們渴望一個自由、民主成熟的公民社會，這個社會人人可以理性和平地表達意見，人與人能夠互相尊重、聆聽不同的意見，前提就在於我們必須肯認言論自由作為憲法的最高價值在公民社會的落實。於是我們選擇坐在那裏，表達我們的意見，也渴望被理解、被聽見。
Photo courtesy of oj
These sit-in students called their protest as “Wild Strawberry Movement.” sabinasun went to the sit-in and was amazed by what she saw:
這回野草莓有許多結合科技和創意的表現，包括自寫自唱〈野草莓之歌〉，靈活運用網路科技做現場雙語即時轉播，豐富多樣的街頭劇場表演，把抗議當作遊戲，把口號變成體操，甚至把一個本來是負面意義的「草莓」以KUSO形式轉變為自我認同符碼等。這一代的養成雖像草莓般稚嫩，但看著學著解嚴後公民社會各式各樣的街頭組織和集體行動，也意外早熟地蔓生起來。
During students’ sit-in, other protesters joined them, including original inhabitants of Sanying Aboriginal Community who were forcibly moved away from their homes. When police arrived at the Freedom Square at 3am on 12/11, about 100 Tibetans from Taiwan Friends of Tibet were also there to protest about their legal identity.
wenli received a phone call soon after the policemen surrounded the protesters.
當我到達自由廣場時，第一批被驅離的圖博之友會人士，已經被全部載上警備車。警方刻意將這些大多不熟悉台北路況的圖博人，在深夜裡載往大湖公園或關渡等地「二次流亡」。圖博人沒有抵抗，只有懂得中文的人絕望地呼喊「馬英九總統，救救圖博」。後來在現場警察的說法：「如果不是你們（指野草莓）幫助他們，我們也不會去抬他們（指圖博人士）！」，也明示了野草莓運動與圖博訴求的結合，是今晨展開鎮壓行動的主因之一。
除了現場大約還有二三十名學生，以廣場地標草莓塔為中心，被數百名警察四面包圍之外，帳篷與物資堆積處已經被拆除，物資也散落一地。沒有被包圍住的學生，急迫地將重要的物資如發電機和電腦等等撤離到外圍路邊。而大部分的佈置物不是被卡車拖走，便是雜亂地堆積在一起等待清潔隊來處理。零星的學生一個個地將可用 的物資盡量地搶救出來。
Hundreds of policemen surrounded 20-30 students gathering around the Strawberry Tower, the landmark there. Beside them, tents and the shelters for supplies were torn down, and some supplies fell on the floor. Some students, who were not surrounded by the policemen, tried to move some important supplies, e.g. generators and computers, to roadside. Most decorations were brought away by trucks or left on the floor and waited for the cleaners. Some students tried their best to rescue useful materials.
Photo courtesy of action1106
Students who were brought away from the Freedom Square came back three hours later. Some Tibetans who were brought away also came back later, and Taiwan Friends of Tibet is trying to find others. wenli said,
或許政府可以將草莓塔化為一捆竹竿和布條堆積而成的瓦礫；或許警察可以將帳篷解體成鐵條和帆布的殘餘；或許這些物質上的損失，會成為現場指揮官升遷敘獎的依據；但是，野草莓運動本身沒有受到任何傷害，反而會因為這次卑劣的夜襲行為，而更加凝聚了運動的向心力。因為，人的精神和尊嚴，才是學生們運動的主體，而這是不可能通過物理手段加以損毀的。
附帶一提，警方驅離的理由之一，是以交通法規將 野草莓運動視為路障來處理。然而，幾個小時當中，真正行駛在廣場上的車輛，也只有警方清運的卡車而已。對這個在世界人權日結束後四小時，便扯下偽善面具， 露出猙獰面目的政權來說，人權不過是形同具文的兩個字而已。它可以用於光鮮亮麗的頒獎典禮上，卻不允許在公共的廣場上被呼喊。
To the government who took down its hypocritical mask and showed us its ferocious look four hours after the International Human Rights Day, human rights are only two words without any meaning. These two words are allowed to be used in a fabulous award ceremony but not allowed to be called out on a public square.

author: I-fan Lin


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The Difference Between Greece and Egypt  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian Chronicles compares between the situation in Egypt and in Greece and writes: “I mean the Greeks are mad about one teenage while from two weeks ago in successive four days four citizens were killed in Egypt from the Delta to Cairo to Aswan by the Police for no reason and we did not move a muscle.”


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Trinidad & Tobago: Artistry  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, the bookmann interviews Trinidadian wire artist Susan Dayal and reviews graphic artist Marlon Darbeau's most recent installation.


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UAE: The Best and Worst Airports  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Tom Gara, who lives in Abu Dhabi, UAE, took a trip which involved six flights in seven days. He lists the worst and best airports he travelled through in this post.


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Ukraine: New Coalition, New Speaker · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Foreign Notes writes about the Ukrainian PM's address to the nation and the parliament's newly-formed coalition and its newly-elected speaker.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Western Sahara: Controversy Over McDonald’s Maps · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

The Moroccan McDonald's franchise faced controversy last week after it released a children's “Happy Meal” toy which included a map of Morocco. The borders on the map separated Western Sahara from Morocco; the Western Sahara is a disputed territory between Morocco and the Algerian-backed Polisario Front. The controversy ended with the Moroccan franchise issuing an apology to the citizens of Morocco.
Although Moroccan bloggers were mute about the issue, the Western Saharan blogosphere and its friends commented on the story. Nick Brooks, whose blog Sand and Dust focuses primarily on the region, wrote of the apology:
I guess this is understandable – small considerations such as respect for international law and UN resolutions, and squeamishness about territorial aggression, occupation of neighbouring territories, and widespread human rights abuses obviously take a back seat when it comes to the important business of selling burgers and making lots of money.
Goufia, a diaspora blogger residing in Canada, calls for a boycott of McDonald's along with several other bloggers:
We learned from the press (01.12.08) that McDonalds Moroccan subsidiary has withdrawn some ‘Happy Meal’ toys including a map with the legally recognized borders between Western Sahara (WS) and Morocco, pretending to replace them with other toys with a map including WS inside Moroccan borders. This would mean a clear violation of International Law.As you are surely aware, WS is a Non-Self-Governing Territory as declared by the UN, militarily invaded and occupied by force by Morocco, whose sovereignty is recognized neither by UN nor by any country in the world. Morocco systematically violates human rights of Saharawi citizens, refusing to accept several UN resolutions and preventing their right to self-determination. This attitude of McDonalds Moroccan subsidiary discredits McDonalds image and reputation.We urge McDonalds to take the necessary actions to ensure that their Moroccan subsidiary respects and does not violate International Law on behalf of McDonalds…
French and Spanish text regarding the boycott can be found in the Sahara Resiste blog. A UN map of Morocco and Western Sahara can be found here.

author: Jillian C. York


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Zimbabwe: Human Rights Day in Bulawayo · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Women of Zimbabwe Arise writes about the commemoration of International Human Rights Day in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, which included a protest march for the release of abducted activists.


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Australia: Too many international students? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Andrew Norton writes about the debate in Australia on whether foreign students are displacing Australians in universities.


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Bahrain: What Economic Crisis? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahrain is distancing itself from the impact of the economic crisis rocking the world economies, writes blogger Khalid in this post [Ar].


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Bangladesh: Alliance Of Convenience · Global Voices
Rezwan

An Ordinary Citizen comments on the regrouped political alliances in Bangladesh targeting the general election at the end of the month: “these are alliance of convenience to grab the power rather than alliance of ideologies.”


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Barbados, Dominica: A First for Indigenous Communities · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Barbados Free Press reports on “a first in the history of the Americas” as Dominica issues a diplomatic passport to its indigenous Kalinago-Carib leader.


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Cambodia: Banned photos · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cambodia's Department of Cinema prevented organizers of a cultural event to show pictures of people collecting countryside rats, pictures of opposition party leader Sam Rainsy and a slideshow of evicted people marching to Phnom Penh to appeal to the Prime Minister.


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Chile: Alliance Between CNN and Network of Citizen Newspapers · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Juan Dominguez announces the alliance between the Network of Citizen Newspapers in Chile and the newly created CNN Chile [es], and part of this cooperation will include the contributions from citizen journalists to the television channel.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Chile: Pharmaceutical Companies Charged With Price-Fixing · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Several Chilean pharmaceutical companies have been charged with collusion for price-fixing of more than 200 products writes Tomás Dinges of Chile From Within.


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China: The Top Ten Most Popular Search Terms of 2008 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated Hecaitou's blog post on “the top ten most popular seach terms of 2008“.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Cuba: Damas March for Human Rights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Both Uncommon Sense and The Cuban Triangle report that the Damas de Blanco marched through Havana on Wednesday – without incident – to commemorate International Human Rights Day.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Dominica, U.S.A.: Economic Effects  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Dan at Dominica Weekly notices that the economic downturn is having a trickle-down effect on Dominicans who live abroad.


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Egypt: Natural Gas to Israel  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Zeinobia, from Egypt, continues to report on the court saga on exporting natural gas to Israel.


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Hong Kong: Pride Parade 2008 – Celebrate Love · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In this coming weekend (13 of December), a coalition of civic groups will organize a pride parade to celebrate diverse love expression. Although Hong Kong is a global city, to organize this parade is not easy at all, the government, public service sector and conservative Christian do not even try to hide their discrimination; at the same time, many progressive social service organizations do not consider sexual minorities as part of the social minority deprived from basic rights and equal opportunities and thus further marginalize the LGBT movement.
Rainbow not Gold Bauhinia
Earlier this week on December 7, a number of gay activists wrapped the Gold Bauhinia, a symbol of Hong Kong SAR, with a rainbow flag to deliver the theme of this year pride parade to the public. Below is a video showing their action and the theme song:
Cybercoffee, a citizen reporter from inmediahk.net and an organizer for the event tells the readers the meaning of the action:
我們今天跑到今紫荊廣場，在這個象徵主權的公共空間內，展示多元的愛情。六色的彩虹旗擁抱金紫荊，喻意香港從過去單一的（只有金色的）經濟價值，添上六色的尊重多元、擁抱差異的美麗色彩。
Marginalized movement
Choifung organized a series of feature report at inmediahk.net on the pride parade discussing the significance of LGBT movement in Hong Kong. In one of the articles, Yuk Tong (約瞳）points out that LGBT has been very marginalized in the society, as well as in the local social movement circle. In the past few years, gay and lesbian groups have been trying to fight for their rights in equal opportunity, in particular to social welfare protection, such as the rights for gay couple to apply for public housing and to be protected from family violence. However, their demand has been neglected or repressed by other civic organizations and Christian related welfare groups. The writer criticizes that:
以至有教徒政客，為了向上主表示忠貞，努力打壓性小眾權利，主動致電各方團體，要求在十二月八日的家暴條例修訂案中，不支持同性同居伴侶的修訂案得到通過，否則就是「鼓吹」同性婚姻云云。不少團體為怕開罪「米飯班主」，所以難怪同志運動跟其他的民生未能結連，因為他們之間，橫亘着一頭恐同大怪物在中間阻頭阻勢。
Discriminatory government and public sector
Even the Hong Kong government is discriminatory towards the LGBT, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong government have openly rejected the organizing committee to use a park in Wanchai as the destination of the parade. And it is even more outraging that the Department suggested the organizers to use a pet park located at the margin of the Wanchai area. Choi fung posts the detail of such discriminatory government act:
1. 貴署早前一直堅持以當天場地須預留給灣仔區議會後備之用為理由，但是灣仔區議會的活動於十二月六日已圓滿結束，場地已空置下來，然而貴署又以場地繁忙、要留給香港市民作球類活動之用，拒絕我們的申請。在此請問一聲，香港的同志不是香港市民嗎？香港的同志不應與其他的香港市民一樣，享有同等的福利、待遇嗎？
2. 貴署一直建議我們在灣仔海濱長廊花園及告士打道花園進行終點集會。然而，海濱花園長廊是狗花園…。此外，告士打道花園活動空間狹小，根本不適宜進行大型的集會活動，貴署的建議，不能不令我們有「請君入甕」的感覺，強烈感到有被侮辱的感覺。
Apart from the government, the Citi bus company also withdrew from renting of open top bus for the parade. The renting arrangement was made in December 5, but out of commercial consideration, in December 10, the bus company informed the organizer that the company would not rent out the bus. Choifung posts the details:
整件事是「有車不出租」、「有錢不賺」，只以「商業原因」不肯租讓，理由與解釋欠奉。這個因「歧視」而拒絕提供服務的模式不能夠更明顯。做為公共服務機構，我們認為這樣的服務與歧視態度是不可以接受的。
Support and Come out
In respond to such social marginalization, HKFS Social Movement Resource Center circulates a declaration to build a strong alliance for the LGBT movement and invites everyone to join in:
一、為了追求理想社會和美好生活，我們不論性別、不論性傾向選擇，都將義無反顧地投入同志運動。
二、我們不會姑息任何歧視同志的言行，必將迎頭痛擊。
三、性別不只是男女、性傾向不只是同異，在任何公共決策及人際溝通，我們都必須加入其他性別及性傾向的考慮。
四、同志值得驕傲，我們為同志感到自豪。更為全民的同志運動義不容辭。
2. We shouldn't withstand any form of discrimination and should fight act it;
3. Gender is not just male and female, sexual orientation is not just homosexual and heterosexual, no matter it is public policy or communication, we have to consider the existence of other gender and sexual orientation.
4. the LGBT should be proud, and we feel proud of them. We should be part of the LGBT movement.
Ken, a member of Hong Kong Rainbow, urges his gay brother to come out for making changes:
同志們，要麼一輩子活在別人的指指點點下，扭曲人性，委屈自我，要麼衝出衣櫃，磊落做人，愛得英勇！
無論如何，要知道，光坐著等，等這個社會改變（開明進步），等身邊的家人朋友準備好，接納我們作為同志，這一天是不會到來的。
社會之所以改變，家人朋友之所以能夠正面、全面地認識並接納同志，就是因為一個一個同志主動現身，增加社會大眾對這個弱勢社群的「能見度」！
In any case, if we sit here and wait for the society to change, to become enlightened, wait for our family and friends to get ready to accept us, this day will never come.
The reason why the society will change and our family and friends will understand and accept LGBT is because of our coming out, so that they can see this group of minorities!
Midnight Blue, a male sex worker organization, also wants to come out in the society with pride:
我們有男客，他可能是同志，也可能是衣櫃裏的男人， 「躲於失落裏，躲於黑暗不想掛念誰」。哥哥仔發揮出來的情慾輔導和心理治療，就是衝擊着社會對美感、對身體、對異性戀的尺度，與男客在進進退退之間，尋找另一類樂土。
為客人提供性服務時我們要盡心地做， 「驕傲愛上街」我們也要驕傲地去參與。無論你是賣的、買的，午夜藍作為黎明前的夜色，那種對光明、自由嚮往的夜色，呼籲大家一起邁向驕傲，在12 月13 日一同「驕傲愛上街」，賣出美麗新世界，嫖得快活性福園！
Say no to sex hierarchy
Ziteng, a woman sex worker organization points out that LGBT helps woman's liberation:
因為同志和性工作者的現身故事正企圖顛覆異性戀霸權中心所建構的社會秩序，只有當我們願意朝向彼此包容和尊重性多元的性權運動，我們才可以讓性少眾之間的差異能夠平等的現身，並將異性戀霸權所建構的二元區分的性論述 —男／女之分、同性戀／異性戀之分、好女人/壞女人之分 —逐漸模糊化。
Action for Reach, a supporting organization for woman sex workers, points out that sex hierarchy causes violence to sex worker and other sexual minorities:
「替天行道者」以道德之名，對性工作者與同志施暴，雖是個人極端行為，卻也是主流道德價值的扭曲延伸。你我若不態度鮮明地力斥其非，如同當上幫兇；若不停止對性之二分、對「非主流」的性之污名化，也就是一再確立了性階梯的基礎，無異是便利了「衛道之士」對性小眾之負面標籤以至連番追擊，合力將性小眾排在邊緣、壓在底下。
The organizing NGO coalition includes Women Coalition of HKSAR, Rainbow Hong Kong, Midnight Blue and HKFS Social Movement Resource Center, together with more than 30 human rights, AIDS concern and sexual minority groups. Event details can be found in the official Pride Parade Website.


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India: Betrayed By Own Democracy · Global Voices
Rezwan

“We feel betrayed by our own democracy,” comments an Indian Jew while sharing the pain of the loss of the Jewish community during the recent Mumbai terror attacks.


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India: Recession In Marriage Market · Global Voices
Rezwan

According to Über Desi the slowdown in the economy in many parts of the world is also affecting the marriages in India as demands for Non Resident Indian (NRI) grooms plunged.


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Iraq: Angry with Iraqis  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Layla Anwar is angry with Iraqis and here‘s why.


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Jamaica: Speaking Patois  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Iriegal explores the origins of Jamaican patois and links to a few examples of how to speak it.


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Jordan: Lost and Found  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lost something – or rather someone hid something from you – and you can't find it? K Sharif from Jordan tells us the story here.


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Jordan: Not So Stupid  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Have you created something only to be dissed by your boss as it being “stupid”? Qwaider, from Jordan, has more details here.


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Jordan: Praise for Peru’s Anti-Smoking Advertisement  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordan's Jazarah is full of praise for an anti-smoking advertisement in Peru, where 15,000 cigarette butts were glued to a panel.


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Jordan: Public Beach a Let Down  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

MommaBean, in Jordan, had visitors, whom she took to the Dead Sea's Amman Tourist Beach. Read her complaints here.


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Laos: Boun That Luang festival · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Nye Noona attended and was impressed by the Boun That Luang festival in Laos.

author: Mong Palatino


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Mexico: Shoeshiner Uses YouTube to Increase Business · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Editor's Note: The photograph taken by Issa Villarreal of a shoeshiner in Monterrey, Mexico, who is marketing himself via YouTube first appeared on the blog Ocho Cuartos [es]. She follows it up with an entry on her blog Issa [es] where she interviews the shoeshiner about his reasons for using citizen media to help his business. This is a translation and republished with permission.
It is easy to distinguish Juan Luna from other shoeshiners in downtown Monterrey, Mexico. His stand, located at the intersection of Escobedo and Padre Mier, has a sign inviting passers-by to search on YouTube and on Google for his video titled, “The Shoeshiner with Two Brushes.”
“It was my idea,” he explains while attending to one of his clients. “The idea was to promote myself to reach more people. Break free from old customs.”
Juan is ambidextrous: he takes a brush in each hand and shines a shoe with each one. He considers himself skillful and also innovative for the way that he works: he adds teflon to the polish so that water and dust slides off the shoes. That way, the protection can last 2 weeks and he still charges the same as the rest.
In his YouTube video, one can see how he uses two brushes, as well as his daily inspiration: a photograph of his family. This short clip – a minute in duration – has been online for six months and has already drawn 4,500 visits since May 2008.
He has ten years of experience as a shoeshiner. It was a few months ago, when he looked for a sponsor (a wedding company in Monterrey) to record and edit his video of his stand in the heart of the city, where he has been for a year.
“My clients encourage me because there are no other that shines with two brushes because I am ambidextrous. We are going to make other types of videos and not just the funny ones that are on YouTube,” said Juan.
“Clients have arrived because they saw me on the internet,” he explains when asked about the impact of publishing his video. “Someone recommended (the video) or they saw it by chance and they became curious to see him in person.”
“The best shoeshiner in the world” is his promotional slogan. He says he goes online once or twice a week. He also visits YouTube to watch funny videos.
Juan is not shy when it comes to talk about his strategy and about his confidence that he has with the digital media. “One of the reasons (for the video) is that everyone who appears on YouTube is that you never get to meet them,” he said, “and I am the only one that you can see in person and meet me.”


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Migrant Workers in the Gulf  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Nimr, from America-Palestinian Kabobfest, discusses the issue of migrant workers in the Gulf – and how their governments are not fending for their rights thanks to the millions of remittance payments they send back home every month.


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Modern Lao wedding · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

New Garden posts pictures and describes how a modern Laotian wedding is celebrated.