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Nigeria: Discussing the Christmas spirit · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

With the Christmas holidays coming to an end, it is time to collect a few thoughts by Nigerian bloggers on this special season of the year. While some describe the important aspects of the holidays in Nigeria, others are critical of the excessive consumerism and partying, wondering if the real Christmas spirit hasn't been lost or corrupted, and others simply blame it on the bleak economy and send their wishes for better times.
Ojeladun Taiwo Abayomi describes the Christmas season's celebrations:
To many Nigerians, the Christmas period is a season of celebrations when loved ones reunite, communities engage in cultural activities and festivities, families remember their dead by means of memorial services, and many intending couples fix their marriage solemnisations in order to attract high turn-out. This is also a period when people catch a physical glimpse of old friends who they have not seen for quite a while and exchange of gifts, cook-outs, barbeques, etc mark such gatherings and reunions. In the spirit of the seasons, people go out of their way to do some home makeover, do shopping for new clothes, adorn their houses and surroundings with Christmas trees and lights, and literally burn out every savings they have made since the year began.
This is also a period of high social events like coronation ceremonies and chieftaincy conferment while money hunts in form of launchings/fund raising for different projects take the centre stage.
For Che Oyimnatumba of Which way Nigeria, traveling back home is an important part of the holidays:
At this period of the year, there is a massive movement of people to their homelands to celebrate Xmas and be with their ancestral spirits to welcome the New Year.
Nigerians are not left out in this exodus. A visit to any city in Nigeria will evidence this mass evacuation. The air ports, motor parks and donkey tracks, all full to the brim with people wanting to go home. The Nigerians in Diaspora are not left out. Many dish washers and mortuary attendants in Europe and America, are also home bound, to escape the high cost of living through the harsh winter.
Mike Blyth, a missionary doctor in the town of Jos, lists a few observations about Christmas in Nigeria and this is what he considers the main activity of the day:
Visiting is the main activity of the day after church. People go from house to house greeting each other, sitting for a while, and eating Christmas food: rice, beef stew, rice and beans, bean cakes, Coke, just about anything that is a little special. Families also take homemade food to each other’s homes in a gesture of friendship.
However, Ojeladun Taiwo Abayomi also finds a very negative side to the Christmas season:
In the midst of these celebrations, people find time as well to indulge in orgies and moral recklessness thereby leaving in the wake of the New Year, a high incidence of unwanted pregnancies and contraction of deadly diseases like the dreaded HIV/AIDS. In the name of this season, people engage in many nefarious activities just to be like others in terms of materialism hence, increased cases of armed robbery, abduction, burglary, fraud and all forms of petty thieving simply because, everybody wants to celebrate the season as a ‘big boy’ or a ‘big chick’.
And he wonders:
… are all these done in the spirit of Christmas? If so, what then is the meaning of Christmas? It is heart-rending to see that Christmas has been so bastardised that it has almost lost its original essence.
But in a different post, he points out at the economic hardship that people are facing in Nigeria:
Times like these try men's souls. Against our wills, we, the people, have been forced to a situation we are compelled to celebrate this season of goodwill in darkness because some faceless people have mismanaged the huge resources once allocated to boost electricity throughout the country.
Che Oyimnatumba of Which way Nigeria also wonders about the essence of Christmas:
Why this craze for Christmas? The cost of everything has doubled. Even the transport fare to the east will reach the Iroko top. Why can’t these bus owners help their brothers who want to go home? Is this commercialization the essence of Christmas? Why can’t the Pope for once, postpone Christmas?
Akin Akintayo, a British-Nigerian, complains about the consumerism of the Christmas season in his adoptive country:
One is almost driven to distraction about the way Christmas is so yoked to retailing to the complete exclusion of the Christmas story in the United Kingdom.
[…] Materialism has pervaded the atmosphere…
Meanwhile, laspapi posted three pictures of Christmas day in Lagos that show a different perspective of the holiday, and Ojeladun Taiwo Abayomi has a thought for the needy:
Christmas presents a great opportunity to explore God’s unfailing love. We should also think about those who our national policies hurt the most. Jesus Christ, who we are celebrating, cared for the poor all the days of his life.
[…]  Please spare a thought for the ordinary Nigerian beyond the season. Life is getting tougher by the day. Ordinary Nigerians watch as the opportunities elude them due to the selfishness of those who want everything for themselves.
And Adeola Aderounmu of Thy Glory O Nigeria…! posted a Christmas message of hope for his fellow Nigerians:
Merry Christmas Nigeria and Nigerians!
It’s another Christmas and my heart warm greetings to Nigerians all over the world. We have endured another long and tiring year so far. We have seen some breakthroughs this year for a few of our brothers, sisters and neighbours. We have also seen the failures that continue to impede the progress of many of us and thereby depriving us of that happiness that we sought.
[…]
As we approach 2009 many of us are keeping the dreams and hopes alive. That is the best way to go about it. Keeping it alive!
(Photo of a street Christmas tree in Ahaba by the United Nations Online Volunteers in Nigeria)


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Pakistan: Remembering Benazir Bhutto · Global Voices
Rezwan

Adil Najam at All Things Pakistan wonders if Benazir Bhutto had not been killed would things have been different for Pakistan?

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Rezwan


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Palestine: “In Gaza it’s 9/11 every hour, every minute, everywhere” · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

In this post, a Gazan blogger far from home, seeing the death and destruction taking place there, asks, “Who was born in bloodied Gaza today?” And an Italian human rights activist describes a woman searching for her husband in the morgue, who recognised the wedding ring on his hand – all that was left of him.
Laila El-Haddad, who blogs at Raising Yousuf and Noor, reports what her parents are going through in Gaza:
“There is a complete black out in Gaza now. The streets are still as death.”
I am speaking to my father, Moussa El-Haddad, a retired physician who lives in Gaza City, on Skype, from Durham, North Carolina in the United States, where I have been since mid 2006 – the month Gaza’s borders were hermetically sealed by Israel, and the blockade of the occupied territory further enforced. […] Explosions are audible in the background. They sound distant and dull over my laptop’s speakers, but linger like an echo in death’s valley. They evoke terrifying memories of my nights in Gaza only 2 years ago. Nights that till this day haunt my 4 year old son – who refuses to sleep on his own.
“Can you hear them? Our house is shaking. We are shaking from the inside out.”
“Laila – your mother, she is terrified” he adds.
She comes to the phone. “Hello, hello dear,” she mutters, her voice trembling. “I had to go to the bathroom. But I’m afraid to go alone. I wanted to perform wudu’ before prayer but I was scared. Remember days when we would go to the bathroom together because you were too afraid to go alone?” she laughs at the thought – it seems amusing to her now, that I was scared to find my death in a place of relief; that she is now terrified of the same seemingly ridiculous scenario.
Then Laila thinks of her baby daughter:
It is Noor’s one year old birthday January 1. She will turn one. I cannot help but think – who was born in bloodied Gaza today?
Egyptian-German Philip Rizk, who blogs at Tabula Gaza, has posted a conversation he had on Skype with a friend in Gaza, where he used to work:
All around us is death, death, no one is driving, in my life I have never seen anything lie this. I could not have imagined anything like this
The media can only cover 10 or 15 locations, but its everywhere, while you are sleeping the ground is shaking like in an earthquake.
everything has finished in the country..we have enough flour for 4 or 5 days.. others don't have any
you can wait 8 or 9 hours to get one bag of bread at the bakery.. when they do open
Gaza doesnt have anything in it, only death, that is the only thing that is left, any moment you await death, they started calling people , if they target your neighbors, a car passes by you, you are gone, its a war.
last time I left the house was last wednesday
[…]
i hear attacks in the background
half of our neighborhood is funerals
[…]
death will reach everyone, you won't find a house where death has not entered in gaza
till now they have not killed hamas leaders, or military,
maybe this is the last time we talk, you may find us dead next time, it is likely in 5 minutes the electricity will cut.
Canadian human rights activist Eva Bartlett, blogs at In Gaza:
From on the ground here, and from hearing the accounts from 1st-hand witnesses, I would disagree that Israel is “targeting Hamas targets”. […] Let me give you some personal examples of mass-bombing, indiscriminate bombing, and the targeting of civilians: 8 men, including a father (age 55), 6 of his sons (ages 15 to mid-20s), and one friend (age 15) who were targeted by a missile from an Israeli drone yesterday at 5 pm while they attempted to return scrap metal to a metal workshop.  This attack came one hour after an Israeli F-16 targeted the shop but hit the house next door, alleging the shop had missiles in it (it held oxygen tanks, for the work involved in a metal shop). The 8 dead were torn to pieces by the missile which targeted them. Yesterday also, 3 children were collecting firewood for cooking, as they have no cooking gas (because of Israel’s siege on Gaza, cooking gas being among the many banned materials which also include medicines, replacement parts for hospital equipment, building cement, and a very extensive list which I don’t have time to write at present but which is very well documented by the UN and other “objective” sources).  The youths, ages 13 and 14, were in a small patch of olive trees collecting wood when a missile from a drone targeted them, killing one and seriously injuring the other two who are now in critical condition.  It was between 11 am and noon. […] I am not sitting in a comfortable hotel room, I am visiting the sites, talking with the affected people.  I am not cushioned from this, my ears also ring from the explosions, and I haven’t slept well in three nights.  The explosions are extremely loud (that doesn’t suffice to describe it), and the drones and Apache helicopters and F-16s continue to circle over all areas of the Gaza Strip. I’d invite anyone who doubts the severity and seriousness of these ongoing attacks on Gaza to come here to witness this for yourself, to write your own balanced account, but of course that is impossible, because Gaza is under siege, all crossings are closed, and even the Free Gaza boat which brought me here was attacked this morning, rammed by Israeli naval vessels, and prevented from delivering needed medical supplies and bringing journalists to Gaza to report on the situation. I strongly disagree, and will never agree, that Israel is taking precautions to limit the number of civilian casualties.
Vittorio Arrigoni is an Italian human rights activist in Gaza who blogs at Guerrilla Radio:
Pare che non trovando più obbiettivi “sensibili”, l'aviazione e la marina militare si diletti nel bersagliare luoghi sacri, scuole e ospedali.
E’ un 11 settembre ad ogni ora, ogni minuto, da queste parti, e il domani è sempre una nuovo giorno di lutto, sempre uguale. Si avvertono gli elicotteri e gli aerei costantemente in volo, quando vedi il lampo, sei già spacciato, è troppo tardi per mettersi in salvo.
Non ci sono bunker antibombe in tutta la Striscia, nessun posto è al sicuro.
Non riesco a contattare più amici a Rafah, neanche quelli che abitano a  Nord di Gaza city, spero perchè le linee sono intasate. Ci spero. Sono 60 ore che non chiudo occhio, come me, tutti i gazawi.
Decine sono i dispersi, negli ospedali donne disperate cercano i mariti, i figli, da due giorni, spesso invano. E’ uno spettacolo macabro all'obitorio. Un infermiere mi ha detto che una donna palestinese dopo ore di ricerca fra i pezzi di cadaveri all'obitorio, ha riconosciuto suo marito da una mano amputata. Tutto quello che di suo marito è rimasto, e la fede ancora al dito dell'amore eterno che si erano ripromessi.

author: Ayesha Saldanha


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Serbia: Blogger Krugolina Borup Wins Disruption Prize · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

On Dec. 18, my post about Serbian blogger Krugolina Borup and her “Mother Courage” initiative was published on Global Voices. A few days later, Krugolina Borup (whose real name is Branka Stamenkovic) became the fifth laureate of the Disruption Prize, which Luna TBWA Agency has been awarding to individuals or organizations from Serbia for social liability and changing of social conventions.
B92's bloggers sincerely congratulated Krugolina on receiving this valued prize. One of them, MilutinM wrote:
[…] Why I am particularly glad that Branka and her initiative Mother Courage got the prize. Ten years ago, I took part in a meeting of East European scouting organizations in Warsaw. A guest of the meeting was former Polish minister of transition and municipalities. Then Poland had the biggest economy growth in Europe. The minister explained to us what the key reason for that was. “We attained success since we had explained to our citizens that the development of the country was also their problem. There will be development if every citizen makes an effort. No one can make it instead of them.” […]
[…] Branka's action is a proof that it is possible to change the society. As Ivan* in his lecture: this country has problems not just because someone makes problems but because we do nothing in order to prevent them. Krugolina didn't want to accept such situation and because of that she initiated her action. She deserves this prize. […]
* [Ivan Tasovac, director of Belgrade's Philharmonic orchestra and the first laureate of the Disruption Prize; he handed this year's prize to Krugolina.]
MilutinM also pointed out one more praise for Krugolina:
[…] Renault decided to present its car model Twinga to Kru [Krugolina] and her fellows in order for them to be able to visit maternity hospitals around Serbia. That's one more praise! […]
Many readers also congratulated Krugolina on her prize and commented on her initiative below MilutinM's post.
Kraljmajmuna:
Of course, I liked the action by KGB [Krugolina]. And, of course, I didn't agree with every one of her attitudes from the public discussion that she had with Dr. Stanojevic. But, she has moved a huge stone. […]
Msarski, B92's blogger commented:
[…] Sincere congratulations! This blog platform will become a respectable factor. We are on a good way. […]
Blau.punkt:
[…] Krugolina is an ideal example of an individual who initiates social changes. She deserves support and congratulations. […]
Thanks to Krugolina's initiative, a few positive things have so far been achieved on behalf of women who have just given birth. It's most important that the ministry of health has reacted positively. For example, the minister has promised to buy netlike panties for all maternity hospitals in Serbia immediately after he heard about the “Mother Courage” initiative and the first meeting with Branka Stamenkovic. Also, the minister ordered to directors of maternity hospitals to provide badges for medical staff that would have their names written on them, so that the women know who looks after them during their stay in maternity hospital and who is responsible for their health. An agreement on a questionnaire about the treatment of women by the medical staff of maternity hospitals has been reached and it will be conducted for the next six months. The minister also promised that the control in maternity hospitals will be better.

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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Southeast Asia: Controversies and tragedies of 2008 · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

In the previous post (Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008), I wrote about the major events that took place in Southeast Asia. In this article, I will highlight other stories which became controversial as well. Another objective is to gather and categorize the linkposts on the right side of the Global Voices, pertaining to the region.
Let’s start with a controversial topic: sex. Malaysian politicians were involved in sex scandals: a politician caught on videotape having sex in a hotel; and an ex-Cabinet Minister was accused of molesting a woman.
GV author Tharum from Cambodia wrote about the issue of using sex and women to promote products in TV. A Filipino lawmaker wants the BBC to apologize for a comedy show which depicted a Filipina maid “as an object of sexual ridicule.” Also in the Philippines, doctors in a hospital were caught laughing hysterically in an operating room while removing a can of cologne spray inside a patient’s bottom.
There were marriage issues too. A published article in Singapore drew criticism for announcing the discount rate for Vietnam brides. Cambodia has stopped processing documents for the marriage of its citizens to foreigners in a move to minimize the possibility of human trafficking.
The National Fatwa Council of Malaysia has ruled that the physical aspect of yoga is ok but the spiritual elements are forbidden. Geert Wilders’s film, Fitna, has provoked rallies in Indonesia because of its “anti-Islam message.”
Concerning urban development, some bloggers think Cambodia's capital has too many casinos. Street vendors were banned from Hanoi's thoroughfares. GV author Angshah discussed the opposition of Singapore homeowners to the construction of dormitories for foreign workers.
GV author Karlo wrote about the scandal on missing book donations in a Philippine province. Singapore’s new rules and taxes for cigarettes elicited some discussion in the blogosphere. Another controversy was the proposal to legalize organ trading in the country.
Singapore faced a security nightmare when a terrorist escaped from a high-security cell. Indonesia confronted the past by executing the Bali bombers. Meanwhile, bomb blasts have been reported in Myanmar this year.
Ferry disasters were reported in the Philippines. More than 700 died after a ship capsized in central Philippines last June. Scores of Myanmar migrants suffocated to death in a lorry while being smuggled in southern Thailand last April. More than 3,000 residents lost their homes due to fire accidents in Yangon and Mandalay last February.
Fire at Mandalay's YadanarPon Market in Myanmar. Photo via Aung Chan Lin blog.
Extraordinary
GV author Daniel discussed the plight of the Penan tribe, an indigenous group in East Malaysia. He also tackled the superstitions surrounding the vast jungles of Malaysia. And he also wrote about the scary Pontianak.
Thailand’s transvestite toilets became popular in the world. Thailand also experienced its first snowfall in history. Bangkok Freeze and Singapore Freeze were successful actions.
Showbiz personalities in Indonesia are entering the political arena. Due to high oil prices, water buffaloes are popular again in the fields of Laos and Thailand.
There is a wonderful project in Vientiane which helps the street kids of Laos by training them to be cooks. Apparently, “feather-boa bicycle bandits” have invaded Vietnam's city streets.
YouTube video of the Singapore Freeze
Media vs government
Several cases of press freedom violations have been reported in the region. GV author Caroline wrote about the arrest of two journalists in Vietnam whose only crime was to expose the corruption in a government agency. Another example: The Economist’s special report on Vietnam was censored by authorities.
Other disturbing news: Copies of The Burma Daily were confiscated in Cambodia. Harassment of journalists in Cambodia has not stopped. The website of the critical and independent paper The Irrawaddy was hacked.
A Vietnamese activist blogger faces tax fraud charges. A dissident Singapore blogger was arrested. Indonesia has blocked several websites.
Citizen media
Malaysian bloggers have become politicians; Malaysian politicians have become bloggers. Bloggers have warned of holding a strike as protest against dirty politics in Malaysia. Recognizing the power of blogging, the government said it wants to befriend bloggers.
Filipino bloggers supported the 2008 Blog Action Day against poverty. Catholic bishops in the Philippines have been preaching on YouTube. A Filipino migrant group in Hong Kong has set-up a blog to pressure the government to investigate the mysterious death of a Filipina worker. The Twitter Suu participatory media project aims to send millions of messages to Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi “to let her know she has worldwide support.” A senior citizen in Malaysia has been blogging his complaints against a consumer company in Malaysia.
Blogging has been recognized in Vietnam as a powerful tool of expression. Cambodia’s young bloggers were hailed as the country’s new intellectuals. In Myanmar, a veteran journalist criticized the behavior of many bloggers. An Australian blogger became famous/controversial in the Philippines when he exposed the decadent activities of his rich friends in Manila.
Kudos to the organizers of these events:  Sabah Bloggers Gathering 2008, Mindanao Bloggers Summit, Twitter Saigon, Philippine Blog Awards, Pesta Blogger, BarCamp Malaysia, BarCamp Cambodia, Wordcamp Philippines.
In behalf of all authors of the Southeast Asia Team of Global Voices, we wish everyone a Happy New Year!

author: Mong Palatino


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Syria: More on the Israeli Massacre in Palestine · Global Voices
Razan Ghazzawi

Diana Ghazzawi, a Gazan blogger who is now based in North America, shares with us her worries that she might not meet her relatives in Gaza one day, if they don't get lucky from the strategic Israeli shelling on the Gazans:
This is not about politics. It's not about specifics of the horrors that are occurring in the city whose name I, Diana Ghazzawi, carry with me. It's a tiny reflection. It's thinking about the fate that allowed some of my family to live fairly peacefully and freely in Kuwait and later North America, while my aunts, their husbands, and their children and grandchildren have lived their whole lives in Ghazza. It's me worrying about parking at the mall, while they worry about the death that's raining down upon them. How strange. How very strange. My aunts, my cousins, who I've never met. Who, God forbid, if they don't get lucky, I may never meet. I can't pretend I feel very close to them, as circumstances have kept us apart our whole lives. But when you see the sights I've been seeing, the sights my father has been watching, bringing news that his childhood haunts and sisters’ streets have been bombed, you realize it's not important that you have relatives there. When you hear voices that sound like your own, and faces that look like your own, and shock and anger that are an amplified version of your own, you realize that every Palestinian is your aunt, your uncle, and your cousin.
Vexedlevantin writes a panoramic post on the Gaza massacre, and the Arab role in it:
‘The largest incursion against Palestinians in decades’. Israel openly declared an all out war against a a legitimately elected government it prefers to name terrorist organization. Naturally, calling Israel a terrorist state is deemed anti-Semitic, but we'll just put that aside for the time being. In the very words of the Israeli ambassador to the UK, ‘Israel will go as far as needed to protect the security of its people’. That's practically a Carte Blanche. This operation is aimed at toppling an inconvenient neighbour with a more Abbas-like government. Over 350 people dead since the bombing raid and rising, yet the Israeli press has the nerve to counter that unfortunate statistic with the death of three Israeli's (one of whom is a Palestinian Israeli). Sure, the lives of three Israelis’ is worth 350 Palestinians. That's a ratio more suited to a Zionist sensibility. But despite it all, ‘every civilian casualty saddens us’ (an Israeli statement). Of course civilians are just unfortunately in the way and the job has to be done one way or the other. But thats fine. One expects a the most debased of moral values in Zionists.
Vexedlevantine stresses on the core problem that allowed Israel to launched such attacks on Gaza:
But what really boils me with rage is the divided stance, statement, or even opinion of Arab states. I am specifically referring to the governments. It's a miserable day (one of many) to be referred to as an Arab. Egyptian forces opened fire this morning on Gazans trying to flee. Mubarak is provided with a golden opportunity to shine here. Instead, the Egyptian/Israeli status Quo must be protected at any cost. Is it fair to point the finger so dramatically on the Egyptians though? wouldn't any other Arab governments behave in the same manner if placed in a similar predicament? Egypt and Saudi Arabia have clearly sanctioned this massacre just as they blessed the 2006 bombing of Lebanon. One has to wonder, shouldn't we just cut our losses, save ourselves and amputate that limb before the disease spreads any further? Shouldn't one address the source of the problem and cut whats fueling it? At least partly. But who's to carry out that task? the only way is for people to rise up in protest, pretty much as they are doing in many Arab capital cities as they protest against the onslaught right now, but instead protest against the impotence of their governments. Governments that pay lip service to Arabism, brotherhood, and Islamic values, rather than actively illustrate the sentiment they blag about.
Israeli has strategically chosen the timing of this aggression which nears the premiership elections. In addition to restore the faith of it's people in it's army's invincibility especially after the debacle of Lebanon '06. Israel would more than happy to have another go at Hizbollah, and is tempting the prospect. But Nasrallah isn't prepared to be dragged in to such worm whole. Syria has “dramatically” called off it's indirect peace talks. A cookie is in order here. Israel has clearly come to the conclusion that Syria is not willing to break it's ties with Iran nor Hizbollah, to hell with indirect negotiations.
Iran and Syria are not prepared to go further than condemnation for the time being. The ‘half men’ are a safe bet. We know which side of the fence they're on and its certainly not the Palestinians one. The cherry on the cake is Abbas and Mubarak's accusation of Hamas holding them responsible for everything. […]
Hamas is a by-product of Israeli foreign policy and occupation, just as much as Hizbollah was a by-product of Lebanon's civil war. So to preach a pseudo-rational rant on how Hamas has instigated this tragedy is absolutely pathetic and short-sighted.
Omar, blogging from Canada, calls our attention to the news headlines that concern Israel:
My customized Google page includes many newsfeeds among them Aljazeera and the BBC conveniently positioned one on top of the other. On a daily basis I compare the headlines of both feeds in terms of the information provided and the news stories covered. What I have always noticed is that when it comes to news concerning Israel the headlines are always contextually different. For example, on Saturday I woke up to the horrible news from Aljazeera of “271dead in an Israeli raid on Gaza” meanwhile just below, the BBC reported “Massive Israeli raids on Gaza.” While both headlines imply Gaza under attack, one doesn’t quantify the magnitude of the attack. AP on other hand reported that “Oil jumps above $39 as Israel-Gaza conflict widens.” Notice the use of the word conflict to imply two equals, and the misleading use of the word “widens”…but I digress.
I think it’s in times like these where alternative media resources like blogs really shine. If you’re looking for a great video coverage of the terror attacks against Gaza I suggest you visit The Real News Network. On the other hand blogs like International Solidarity Movement, In Gaza, as well as a blog to which I have a personal connection, Eva’s oPt. Eva is a friend of mine who is doing all she can to get the word across, I have never met a more dedicated person. She’s currently in Gaza and wrote to us after the rocket attack saying “please don't worry for me, worry for Palestinians.”
Uramium is mocking western media outlets for using the term “Israel's war on Hamas”, instead of “civilians”:
All the western media insists that the recent war is between
Israel and Hamas, and the planes that committed Air strikes yesterday had
targeted Hamas compounds, Also all the victims are from Hamas and other police
officers.
Here's the snapshot the blogger used to support his argument:
Both of Abu Kareem and Philip 1 linked to an article written by Shlomo Sand, Professor of History at Tel Aviv University. Here's an extract from the article cited:
Until about 1960 the complex origins of the Jewish people were more or less reluctantly acknowledged by Zionist historiography. But thereafter they were marginalised and finally erased from Israeli public memory. The Israeli forces who seized Jerusalem in 1967 believed themselves to be the direct descendents of the mythic kingdom of David rather than – God forbid – of Berber warriors or Khazar horsemen. The Jews claimed to constitute a specific ethnic group that had returned to Jerusalem, its capital, from 2,000 years of exile and wandering. […]
Research into the origins of populations now constitutes a legitimate and popular field in molecular biology and the male Y chromosome has been accorded honoured status in the frenzied search for the unique origin of the “chosen people”. The problem is that this historical fantasy has come to underpin the politics of identity of the state
of Israel. By validating an essentialist,
ethnocentric definition of Judaism it encourages a segregation that separates Jews from non-Jews – whether Arabs, Russian immigrants or foreign workers.
Sixty years after its foundation, Israel refuses to accept that it should exist for the sake of its citizens. For almost a quarter of the population, who are not regarded as Jews, this is not their state legally. At the same time, Israel presents itself as the homeland of Jews throughout the world, even if these are no longer persecuted refugees, but the full and equal citizens of other countries.

author: Razan Ghazzawi


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Syria: Myths about Israeli Attacks in Palestine · Global Voices
Razan Ghazzawi

Our coverage of Syrian bloggers reacting on the ongoing Israeli war in Palestine continues. Israel is still proceeding the attacks in Palestine for the forth day causing 385 civilian deaths and leaving 1700 injured.
Yaman Salahi, a Syrian blogger based in the US, has posted a note on his Facebook commenting on few myths “that appear to be circulating in American media about Israel's attacks on Gaza ” as he put it.
Here we share few extracts from the blogger's note.
1. Israel Wants Peace
It takes quite a bit of chutzpah to claim that Israel “wants peace” as Israeli fighter jets drop hundreds of tons of bombs on the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds [385 so far], destroying universities, hospitals, pharmacies, schools, homes, and social welfare offices. Rather than leading to peace, this claim actually only covers up for Israel's continued violence and intransigence. There has not been a single day in the past 60 years where there was not at least one Israeli gun pointed at a Palestinian, whether at the checkpoints that lace the West Bank, or on the battle field during Israel's frequent ground incursions into West Bank cities, or from the air as Israel drops bombs on Gaza. If that is what an aspiration for peace looks like, God save us from seeing an Israeli aspiration for war.
Entertaining the point is futile though, as it, too, is false. According to Haaretz, the Israeli government has been preparing for this attack on the people of Gaza since it signed a truce with Hamas six months ago. More disturbingly, the article implies that Israel's signing of a truce with Hamas was actually part of a long-term strategy to declare war on Gaza, a disingenuous move contrary to any claimed “desire for peace.”
On top of this, a Vanity Fair article published last April exposed the long-term conspiracy between the Israeli government, the Bush administration, and opportunistic elements of the Palestinian political faction Fatah to overthrow the government in Gaza, thereby derailing any hopes for a genuine peace process. […]
Yaman lists what he believes the second myth in the American mainstream media about Israel's war on Gaza:
2. Israel is Defending Itself From Rockets
Palestinians have basically no weapons that pose a significant threat to Israel as a political establishment, or to Israelis as citizens. That has been the case for decades. Israeli soldiers have not even set foot into Gaza yet because they are attacking safely at a distance via fighter jet. Gaza has no anti-aircraft defense systems, it has no weapons capable of defending from jet attacks. In other words they don't stand a chance, and it doesn't “remain to be seen’ who will be the military victor (aka, the most successful killer) after these attacks on Gaza come to a temporary end.
Nevertheless, Israeli PR will attempt to discuss “the horror of rockets raining down on southern Israel.” Let's be very clear about what these rockets are. There is a picture to the right from The Israel Project, an Israeli PR group. Notice these rockets are mostly intact, even after crashing into the ground. There is another picture below of the damage caused by one of these rockets. There is barely a hole in the ground. The idea that they actually pose a menacing threat worthy of a military response of ANY sort is comical. The American media has really dropped the ball on this one, allowing hysterical sensationalist and exaggerated propaganda claims from the Israeli government to go unquestioned.
I don't doubt that ordinary citizens are worried about these things falling from the sky, but let's face it, in Israel your are several times more likely to be involved in a domestic murder than to be a victim of one of these rocket attacks according to numbers from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2008, there have been over 300 cases related to murder or attempted murder in Israel. In the past 6 years, the projectiles coming from Gaza have caused less than two dozen deaths in Israel. […]
And the third myth according to Yaman is:
3. Israel is Liberating Gaza From Hamas
Israeli PR understands that it doesn't look so good when Israel invades and overthrows the democratically elected government of another people. That is why it is trying to frame itself as liberating Gaza from Hamas, as if Hamas–not Israel–was occupying Gaza and in Tom Segev's words, “holding Gaza residents hostage,” when, in fact, Hamas is a political party that was democratically elected by the people of Palestine in 2006. One absurd corollary of this myth is that Israel is only attacking Hamas, as if its bombs are not killing and wreaking havoc on all Palestinians in Gaza, and as if a schoolteacher who happens to have voted for Hamas is a legitimate military target who poses a threat to Israel.
Since 2006, Israel has been holding the people of Gaza hostage, having imposed an embargo and siege on the Gaza Strip that has created unbearable conditions for its residents. Palestinians in Gaza have reached a point of desperation, building tunnels across the border with Egypt to import necessary goods because Israel and Egypt keep the normal border routes closed as punishment of the Palestinians for the way they voted.
The notion that Hamas is a group of “thugs,” according to George Bush, that is keeping Gaza under its grasp against the will of the people of Gaza couldn't be further from the truth.
And finally, the fourth myth:
4. Hamas Is a Front Group for Iran
Because Iran has bogeyman status in the United States, Israeli PR plays up this line to claim that Israel is confronting a threat from Iran in Gaza. This plays into a long history of Israeli propaganda that presents Palestinians as everything but Palestinians: first they were part of a Soviet threat, then al-Qaeda, and now the current Iranian government.
Hamas is, first and foremost, an independent and grassroots Palestinian political movement that, interestingly, was once tacitly supported by Israel when it had wanted to undermine secular Palestinian groups. Like Israel, it uses violence for political ends, and frequently targets civilians, but on a notably smaller magnitude. Calling it “Iran-backed” implies that its agenda is controlled by Iran, which is a false claim. The Palestinian resistance to Israeli apartheid pre-dates whatever the bogeyman of the day is.


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Trinidad & Tobago: The Goings-On in Gaza · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Notes from Port of Spain examines the situation in Gaza: “In terms of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is a total waste of time and of life. It is a big step backwards.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Venezuela: Casting Doubt on the Cause of Bolivar’s Death · Global Voices
Laura Vidal

Every December 17th, all the countries that consider Símon Bolívar as its national hero commemorate the anniversary of his death.  In Venezuela, people place a flag outside their doors, while Bolivarian groups of intellectuals and academics around the country bring flowers to the statue of the Liberator located in every Bolívar Square.  Last December 2007, these commemorations of the anniversary were overshadowed when President Hugo Chávez began to cast doubts on the cause of Bolívar's death, which is believed to have been caused by tuberculosis.  However, Chávez claims that it was an act of poisoning and he ordered an investigation on the matter.  A year later, bloggers comment on the historical anniversary of Bolívar's death the the changes being seen in the history books.
Felix Tapia writes about how to determine the cause of death [es]:
Nuestra opinión es que la detección del ADN en la osamenta del Libertador, sobretodo si es el del Mycobacterium tuberculosis, podrá confirmar la muerte por tuberculosis. De lo contrario no se podrá confirmar el envenenamiento con este simple examen. Lo único viable sería confirmar trazas del veneno en los huesos, una vez estos sean confirmados como pertenecientes al Libertador, lo cual es bastante difícil pues no hay descendientes directos vivos de Bolívar.
Our opinion is that the detection of DNA in the bones of Bolivar, especially that of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis may confirm the death by tuberculosis. On the other hand, the test of poisoning cannot be proved by this simple test. The only viable thing would be to confirm the traces of the poison in the bones, once these are confirmed to be Bolivar’s, something very difficult since there are no living descendants.
The blog Megaresistencia [es] republishes an article from the newspaper about the case, which resulted in an interesting variety of comments, including some who are embarrassed that this is even a topic of discussion and others intrigued by the mystery of the possibility of an alternate death.
Corocoro Frito writes:
La gente común se pregunta: ¿Cuantos dólares va a costar esta investigación? Cuanto costó?:
.-El cambio de nombre a Venezuela.
.-El cambio de nombre de los ministerios.
.-El cambio de la moneda.
.-El cambio de los timbres fiscales
Cuantos dolares necesitados en los hospitales y escuelas se han gastado encosas no prioritarias?
The common people wonder how much this investigation is going to cost?
How much did the following things cost?
-The country’s name change
-The Ministries’ name change
-The change of the currency
-The change of the stamps
How much money needed in hospitals and schools have been spent on things that are not priorities?
El Blogo [es] created a humorous image (see the image in the post) that brought also a lot of discussion by some who support the decision:
Bolivariano writes:
Más alla de la retorica, creo que el presidente chavez tiene razon en desconfiar de la historia, y en este momento tiene la oportunidad y el poder para emprender una investigacion como esta, que no solo es criminalistica o cientifica, si no que tambien es una evaluacion e investigacion historica que seguramente puede revelar muchos mas detalles de la vida y muerte de el Libertador.
Beyond all the rhetoric, I think that the President is right not to trust history and now he has the opportunity and the power to begin a research like this, that is not only criminalistic or scientific, but also an evaluation and historical research that can surely reveal more details on Bolivar’s life and death.
Amarilis adds:
Si hoy en dia investigan el cómo murieron los egipcios, los noruegos, los dinosaurios, las especies estinguidas, por qué no pueden averiguar cómo murió uno de los hombres más visionarios e importantes de la historia de América.
If nowadays people investigate how did Egyptians died, as well as Norwegians, dinosaurs and extinguished species,  why can’t they investigate the real death of one of the most visionary and important men in America’s history?
Andrés of Venezuelan Compass [es] writes about the government's dependence on the Bolivar mystique and why this is so important to them:
Nadie negará a Bolívar en la historia, pero su memoria debe servir como fuente de inspiración, no de oráculo que otorga respuesta a todos los problemas del país.
La Bolívar-dependencia pone de manifiesto los visos militaristas, mesiánicos y de caudillismo que aún hoy asolan nuestra tierra. Ningún hombre tiene el poder de los dioses para saber qué es lo que le conviene siempre, en toda circunstancia (…) Máximo cuando esa divinidad está muerta. Esta es una de las grandes tragedias de nuestra nación.
No one would deny Bolivar's place in history, but his memory should serve as a source of inspiration, not as an oracle that provides an answer to all of the country's problems.
The Bolivar-dependency shows the military and messianic ideas that even today destroys our land. No man has the power of the gods to know what is convenient all the time, in every circumstance… even more when this “divinity” is dead. That is one of the main tragedies of our nation.
Finally, Ana Julia Jatar wants to look foward to the future and writes [es]:
No nos importan los problemas de hace casi 200 años, queremos soluciones a los de hoy.
We don’t care about the problems that took place almost 200 years ago. We want solutions to today’s problems.

author: Laura Vidal


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Azerbaijan: Day of Solidarity · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Sheki, Azerbaijan writes that 31 December is not only New Year's Eve, but also marks the Day of Solidarity in her country. The blogger says that while Azerbaijan posses an abundance of natural resources, a lack of solidarity gives way to negative traits among its people. Concluding that respect is the least people could show to each other, the blog wishes its readers a prosperous new year and posts a photograph of Independence Square in Baku.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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Azerbaijan: Historical Buildings · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

IN MUTATIONE FORTITUDO writes on the inauguration of a redesigned metro station in downtown Baku and decries the fact that the modern design does not sit well with the historical buildings in its vicinity. In a second entry, the same blog posts photographs of derelict buildings that will either be torn down or demolished rather than restored to their former glory.


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Bangladesh: Please accept the result · Global Voices
Rezwan

In the Middle of Nowhere writes an open letter to ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the chairperson of BNP, whose party lost significantly in the recent Bangladesh election: “Accept the results, Madam. Accept the result. Don’t follow the hated destructive path of the politics of rejection and exclusion.”


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Bangladesh: The reasons behind the change   · Global Voices
Rezwan

An Ordinary Citizen analyzes the reason behind the huge defeat of BNP led four party alliance in the recently concluded Bangladesh election.


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Bermuda, Grenada: Freedom of Information  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Bermudian blogger Vexed Bermoothes reports that Grenada is in the process of introducing a Freedom of Information Act and public sector integrity legislation, with additional plans to “establish a common code of practice and ethics for media.”


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Bhutan: The Next Data Hub · Global Voices
Rezwan

The New Horizon  analyzes the economical growth potential of Bhutan in the energy sector. The country has also the possibility of becoming a cyber hub of Asia with the help of increasing data centers being set up by the multinational companies.


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Chile: Creative Commons Licensed Album Nominated for Prize · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Creative Commons Chile [es] applauds the album by Antonio Díaz titled Minimental, which was recently nominated for the Qwartz Prize in France.  The highlight is that this album is licensed under Creative Commons.

author: Eduardo Avila


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Chile: Santa Claus the Bus Driver in Santiago · Global Voices
Eduardo Avila

Paloma Beytelman boarded a bus in Santiago, Chile to find the driver dressed as Santa Claus, who continues this tradition every year to entertain passengers [es].  She filmed a short interview with the driver and his wife, who accompanies him on this occasion.


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Cuba: Remembering José Silvestre White · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

AfriClassical profles José Silvestre White, an Afro-Cuban violinist who became a composer and professor after graduating from the Paris Conservatory.


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Egypt: The other side of Gaza’s story · Global Voices
Eman AbdElRahman

“Why aren’t you as an Arab lady writing about Gaza?”
“Where are your columns about Gaza?”
“Say the Israelis are wrong!”
The messages started to arrive soon after Israel’s bombardment of Gaza killed close to 300 Palestinians. Implicit was the pressure to toe the party line, Hamas is good, Israel is bad. Say it, say it! Or else you’re not Arab enough, you’re not Muslim enough, you’re not enough.
Mona El Tahawy, an Egyptian columnist based in New York, started her last article “Israel is the Opium of the People and Other Taboos”.
The last Iraeli attacks on Gaza not only had impact on the Palestinians or the Arabs but also by those living in Egypt who have witnessed a different story unfolding
The conflict that's been going on for the past 4 days in Ghaza is kind of horrific, with both sides sharing some the blame (Hamas for being its stupid and reckless self, and Israel doing it's own rendition of what the wrath of the old testament god would look like today). The Arab world decided that it will take a stand, and place the full blame on one party, and, here is the twist, it wasn't Israel or Hamas. They instead chose to blame Egypt. Sweet, huh?
“Blame Egypt: all the cool kids are doing it!”, Sandmonkey decided to title the above post.
Since Last Saturday, voices were raising against Egypt to open the borders unconditionally for all Palestinians, to stop verbal condemnation for the situation in Gaza and start taking an action.
Needless to say, that such voices were the first to accuse the Egyptian government with treason claiming that President Mubarak knew about the Israeli Attack beforehand; the thing that Livni, the Israeli foreign affairs minster,has denied herself on Al Jazeera news TV.
Furthermore, an Egyptian border officer was shot in his office by Hamas gunmen last Sunday.
Hizboallah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, conducted a speech about Gaza, asking Egyptians to go to the streets and stand against the regime, to force the regime to open the crossings unconditionally or else Egyptians will be accused of helping in Palestinian murder.
This caused a few Anti-Egyptian demonstrations to fire up in some Arab cities; resulting in theEgyptian consulate in Aden, as well Egyptian Embassies in Lebanon and Sudan being stormed by angry Gaza-supporting-protesters, who replaced the Egyptian flag by the Palestinian flag on the Consulate.
Tales of a Fattractive Egyptian Woman, wrote:
And I’m sick of the sudden “let’s blame Egypt” mentality, and not only by Hamas. I mean, good on you Arab leaders, for taking a united stand, but one against Egypt?! Storming the Egyptian Embassy in Yemen? Considering an Anti-Egypt protest in Johannesburg? Hamas killing an Egyptian border officer? Nasrallah asking Egyptians to revolt against their leaders for another country, when they aren’t even doing it for themselves?
I don’t know if y’all have realized this, but Egypt has signed an international agreement with Israel, violating it would mean war. And Egypt can’t open the borders except by agreement with the Palestinian authority, which, I’m sure you also haven’t noticed, were kicked out by Hamas!
Back to Mona El-Tahawy where she clearly points out:
It is difficult to criticize Palestinians when so many have died this weekend but the Hamas rulers of Gaza are just the latest of their leaders to fail them. For those of us who long to separate religion from politics, Hamas has given the truth to the fear that Islamists care more about facing down Israel than taking care of their people. The Palestinians of Gaza are victims equally of Hamas and Israel.
[…]
Yes, Israel’s occupation of Arab land angers Egyptians but there is absolutely no space in Egyptian media, culture or intellectual circles for discussing Israel as anything but an enemy. And neither is there an attempt to forge it.
And now Mubarak, old, tired and out of new ideas, is reaping a policy that plays all sides against each other in an attempt to make his regime indispensable.
But my question to Egyptians and others across the region incensed at Israel is where is their anger at the human rights violations, torture, and oppression in their respective countries? If such large crowds turned out onto Arab capitals every week, they could’ve toppled their dictators years ago!
Again, back to Sandmonkey’s post where he justified his words saying
Heading the charge are the Jordanians, the Lebanese and the Syrians- not to mention some of our own “oh-being-arab-is-so-awesome-we-wish-we-were-arab” self-hating dicks, and some gulfies. The rationale being that somehow, Egypt is not doing enough to support the Palestinian cause, and is to blame for the Gaza blockade. The rationale completely skips that
1) Egypt tends to honor it's international agreements, even if we don’t like it,
2) The coordination for opening the border happens between us and the Palestinian authority, which was overthrown by a nice bloody coup exacted by Hamas, and
3) Hamas is the kind of Islamist terrorist organization that we don’t really wish to legitimize or support, let alone give access to a part of our country that witnessed 3 separate terrorist attacks in the last 4 years, 2 of which targeting Israeli tourists.
On a different note, Tarek highlights another aspect of the story related to media in his post “The other Gaza”, where he started by mentioning the Late Egyptian president Abdel Nasser’s experience with media.
In the early fifties and sixties, the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser used the conflict to reach the hearts and minds of the people here in Egypt and in the whole Arab world as well. The Egyptian influence and Soft Power on all Arabs was at its best then. The wholes Arabs use to admire and look up to Egypt as leader country in the region, thanks to our media then, and for sure thanks to Abdel Nasser's speeches that made the best use of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. People across the whole Arab world loved Abdel Nasser and Egypt, although we lost the six days war in 1967, and a significant parts of our countries were occupied.
[…]
The following president of Egypt, Anwar El Sadat, fought in 1973 to liberate our occupied land, and he succeeded in getting it back.
Tarek further comments on the nowadays “Media Game”
And since then, people everywhere started learning how to play this game. Saudis, Libyans, Sudanese, Moroccans, etc. They all learned how to play that game very well. Even someone like Saddam Hussein was considered as a brave hero by some Arabs only because he cursed Israel once or twice. They all knew that “Israel is the opium of the people”. Political leaders learned very well that they are not supposed to focus on solving the conflict, getting the Palestinian rights back, or even show the whole world that we are deprived from our rights. They knew that it is useless to focus on such stuff. All they have to do is to give speeches and portray themselves as heroes and the ones who are sympathizing more with the Palestinians. And be all here, I mean everybody, including Egypt. We all stopped caring about solving the problem and now we are caring more to show everybody that we care about solving the problem.
Some nations now know how to play the game well, while other like Egypt for example are not that good in it nowadays. And though they all are useless and do not offer any real help to the Palestinians, the ones who are skilled less in the media game now, are the ones who are being blamed the most.
At the end, Zeinobia concludes it all saying that the main problem Arabs should be focusing on now is the  “Divide and conquer” policy playing out
It is true and we are seeing the division in front of us in the Arab world. I am so surprised with all these protests against Egypt and all these attacks against our embassies in all over the world where as no one thinks for a moment to protest and attack the Israeli Embassy !!??
It is strange thing that the main discussion or our main issue “Gaza” is being neglected where as the focus is on Egypt and its so-called treason.
We the Arabs did a great job for Israel as usual; we are divided as usual.

author: Eman AbdElRahman


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Fiji: Dispute over local jobs · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A government infrastructure project in Fiji was delayed after local residents demanded that workers in the project should come from the local community.


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Fiji: Offensive ads · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Oceanic writes about the debate over the culturally inappropriate ads in Fiji.


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From Britain to Morocco to Gaza · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Reda Blog on what connects Prince Edward's animal cruelty, the Moroccan police's crackdown on protesters, and the Gaza bombings:
Ainsi donc un prince (Edward de son nom) est sous le coup d’une enquête en Grande-Bretagne pour avoir supposément battu un chien. Je ne sais pas pourquoi mais j’ai sur le champs pensé en voyant les images de cette nouvelle à ce qui se passait sous d’autres cieux où ce ne sont pas les chiens qui reçoivent des coups de matraques mais plutôt des diplômés chômeurs. Ceci dit, il s’en trouvera sûrement des gens qui diront que ces derniers sont quand même chanceux de ne pas recevoir des missiles sur leurs têtes.

author: Jennifer Brea


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India: A Relationship Based On Fairness  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Supriyo Chaudhuri at Sunday posts has this to say to the winners of the Bangladesh election: “The Bangladeshi politicians must understand their responsibility and display their accountability to keep the mandate. India too, must abandon its big brother stance and make real concessions to build a relationship based on fairness, rather than expecting gifts of friendship and gratitude from the Bangladeshi government.”


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Iran: A new blog and military intervention in Gaza · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Flight Destination: Gaza is a new blog created by Iranian Islamists who ask Iranian government for a military intervention in Gaza. Several Islamists also  protested in Mehrabad airport against Iranian government ‘inaction’ regarding Gaza.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Two bloggers in jail · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian judicial authorities announced that Hossein Derakhshan was being held in prison in connection with his comments about key figures of the Shiite faith.In the same time several bloggers such as Freedomvatan reported  [fa] that Esmail Jafari, a journalist and blogger ‘was arrested by Iranian security agents’.


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Jamaica: Communing  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“We won’t be condemning the Palestinians or the Israelis…we won’t be contributing to the chaos on frontlines…[we] have decided that our approach will be to help bridge communities”: Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine has a very clear goal for 2009.


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Libya: “Gaza Burning!” Blogger solidarity with Palestine · Global Voices
Fozia Mohamed

Sitting at my favorite hairstylist, I kept dozing on and off. During one of the moments when I was ‘awake’ I feared that my reputation with the other ladies was seriously compromised and decided to watch what there was on the complimentary TV available in the waiting area.
What drew my attention was the blood and scenes of people crying. The sound was not on which is why I had not noticed the programme in the first place.  I upped the volume and drowned in breaking news from Occupied Territories. It was a Gaza special coverage from Al-Jazeera. The horror dawned on me and I realized that this had been going on for the last two days at least. I left the hairdresser soon after and headed straight back home all the while thinking how come I did not hear about this ? Yet this is what happens when you don't go online or watch TV for a few days: the world crashes.
The discussion on the Libyan blogs covered many angles but mainly focused on sadness and solidarity with the Palestinians, feelings of powerlessness- in addition to outrage, and infuriation at Israel's action and the joint Arab inaction.
The post title “Gaza Burning” is in black bold font from Tasnim ,who is usually more voluble in her commentary, and has only added a black poster to go with the statement.
Other bloggers seem to have lost their ability to speak and instead chose to post photos and cartoons of the utter chaos and the senseless cruelty perpetrated in Gaza of which they are witnessing all over the media.
“Isreal is striking Gaza- A New year blitz, Opss! Presents[sic]”, cries Naohama  as this air campaign coincides with the Islamic New Year and the  upcoming Gregorian new year.
Nasim Libya is asking “what else????” and the cartoon she has up refers to what is in store now for Gaza.
Bloggers Musa and Julia, a couple cycling the Mediterranean sound resigned to the inevitable.
“You may have wondered why I haven't posted anything about Ghaza.The reason is that it is an inescapable presence and source of pain shared by all to such an extent that the news are largely watched in a thick, loaded silence.”
[ref]
Libyan mom My Being Days encompasses the helplessness many are feeling.
“My thoughts are with you people of Gaza…
I feel sorry that I can not do much but pray for you…
I feel ashamed that as Arabs our leaders are not lifting a finger to help…”
On the other hand, when her mom calls her to switch Al-Jazeera on, White African takes her gloves off in order to “tell it like it is”.
“forgot about being politically correct, you cant with isreal, they just seem to have no human qualities what so ever, western news doesn't seem to help either, there coming up with titles such as ‘Israeli warplanes demolished dozens of Hamas security compounds across Gaza’ what complete utter lies, they put in the word ‘Hamas security compounds’ to make the reader excuse isreal for their actions.
truth is since opening the tv all I've seen is civilians, children on their way to SCHOOL, even a donkey amongst the dead, so what kind of security compound are they talking about.
and as for the Egyptian government, well frankly I'm disgusted by hussni mubarak, sorry excuse for a man…
first thing he decides to do is place tanks on the border to prevent ‘flocks’ of Palestinians entering into egypt!!.
you watch the other arab channels and all you see is musalsalat ‘soaps’, chat shows, music, concerts blah blah[..] [sic]”
Fragola informs us that the Libyan Red Crescent has undertaken a campaign for blood donations in order to help the wounded in Palestine.
Other bloggers wonder about how to talk about the news to their children when the children's channels are filled with heartbreaking poetry about Palestine.
Anglo Libyan is at loss to explain to his son the reality and he noticed that they figure it out anyway.
“the children are learning on their own from watching the news and not Arab news but mainly BBC News that there is a bad monster called “The Israeli Army” killing people that they kept under siege and treated worse that caged animals for over a year[sic]”

author: Fozia Mohamed


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Moroccan, Tunisian bloggers on the Gaza bombings: ‘Innocents pay the price’ · Global Voices
Jennifer Brea

Continuing the coverage of reactions to Israel's bombing of Gaza, translations of what bloggers in Morrocco and Tunisia have written about the recent violence.
From Tanger, Morocco, baraka reminds us that American bombs are being dropped on Gaza from American planes.  He criticizes Europe and the United States for their support of Israel, but finds the feeble response of some Arab governments even more deplorable:
…c'est le silence embarrassé des régimes arabes « modérés » qui apparaît dans le triste éclat de son indignité. Pendant que des enfants arabes meurent, des mosquées sont détruites et des hôpitaux ciblés, l'on assiste à un curieux spectacle. Celui du régime qui se veut le gardien des lieux saints et celui qui prétend incarner l'arabité se livrant à des contorsions lamentables. Les atermoiements égyptiens quant à l'ouverture du passage de Rafah resteront dans l'histoire comme un moment difficile à surpasser en matière de couardise.
From Tunisia, Hou-Hou Blog writes that Israel's propaganda machine and the unflinching support of its Western allies have created a situation where Israel will never be held accountable for any of its actions.
Les stratèges en relations publiques, i.e. propagande militaro-diplomatique, israéliens reprennent le même refrain que celui qu'ils ont martelé lors de la dernière guerre du Liban : ce n'est pas notre faute, nous on est gentils et on veut la paix, c'est eux les méchants qui nous lancent de roquettes et menacent notre sécurité. Et bla bla bla, on connait très bien la chanson. Et ça fonctionne assez bien, du moins en occident où le message est allègrement repris par les gouvernements occidentaux, et notamment canadien.
La rhétorique israélienne est efficace, surtout pour un pays qui a les moyens militaires et le support des décideurs de ce Monde pour faire ce qu'il veut sans rendre de comptes à quiconque…
The Israeli public relations strategists, i.e., the military-diplomatic propaganda, continue their old refrain, the one they pounded during the last Lebanese war: this is not our fault, we are nice and we want peace, it's they who are evil, the ones who launch rockets and threaten our security.  And bla bla bla, we know that song well.  And it works rather well, at least in the West where the message is gleefully taken up by Western governments, notably Canada.
Israel's rhetoric is effective, especially for a country which has the military means and the support of the decision-makers in this world to do whatever they want without being held accountable to anyone.
..Or, il suffit d'être un peu rationnel pour faire la part des choses. Simplement, enfermez des centaines de milliers de personnes en état de siège permanent, dans une petite bande de terre encerclée de toutes parts, coupez l'eau, la nourriture, les médicaments, le pétrole, et le financement, et laissez mijoter quelques mois…
Au début était le Blog echoes a similar sentiment:
Quelle fierté peut-on tirer alors du fait de bombarder à l'aide de chars, hélicoptères et autres avions de chasse une population civile entassée dans la plus grande prison au monde à ciel ouvert?
Kiffe Grave [Fr] notes that since 1967, United States has used its UN Security Council veto 39 times to prevent the passage of resolutions condemning Israel.
Not that Hamas is innocent in this, Hou-Hou writes.  There's blame enough for both sides, and as always, it's ordinary people who are made to suffer:
Il ne faut pas être naïf non plus. Les hommes du Hamas ne sont pas nés de la dernière pluie, le timing de l'arrêt “unilatéral” de la trêve coïncidant avec la campagne électorale en Israël, n'est certainement pas innocent. Politiquement, le Hamas n'avait pas le choix, il fallait qu'il provoque Israël, il fallait que ça bouge même si ça impliquait d'énormes sacrifices. De toute façon ils n'ont plus rien à perdre, à part leurs vies, et les vies des palestiniens on sait très bien ce que ça vaut. Encore une fois ce sont les innocents, les gens ordinaires qui payent cher le prix des guerres du pouvoir et des idéologies. La paix est morte et enterrée depuis longtemps.
Matoo responds in a comment:
Ce qui m'effraie dans cette “histoire” c'est qu'au bout de 60 ans de conflits, avec des meurtres, des attentats, des martyrs, des bonnes volontés et des pacifistes des deux côtés, on ne sait vraiment plus à quel saint se vouer. C'est comme si les “méchants” et les “gentils” étaient des deux côtés de la frontière, et qu'il est impossible de voir une issue favorable.


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Morocco: “We Are All Gaza” · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

Rabat is 2,393 miles away from Gaza as the crow flies, but that doesn't stop Moroccans from feeling a strong sense of solidarity with Palestinians.  As Israel's attacks against Gaza continue to worsen, Morocco's bloggers continue to speak out.
Hicham of Al Miraat, who has posted the image below, reminds us that we are all Gaza and makes this statement, in a separate post:
On ideological grounds I’m not a supporter of Hamas, but like it or not, these are the people who the Palestinians chose to lead them. After all, Hamas has always been cleaner than Fatah (its main political rival) and had a much better record in respecting the democratic process in Palestine since its inception. And this democratic choice was the natural result of years of Israeli systematic  humiliations, harassment, disdain for whomsoever claims leadership, and of course political assassinations and state terror.
When in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even during the 80’s, most of Palestinian militants were secular and mostly fighting a “conventional” war of liberation (i.e. not targeting civilians, and avoiding terror tactics -except the exceptions-), Israel responded with the same brutality and pushed the Palestinians little by little to the extreme.
Eatbees, an honorary member of the Moroccan blogosphere who is currently residing in the U.S., posts a devastating photo and remarks:
Like many, I feel sad about what’s been happening in Gaza over the past few days.
This sadness turns to anguish when I read the one-sided coverage in the American media, which never wavers from Israel’s “right to defend itself” and blames Hamas even for civilian casualties.
For the issues and arguments, I’ll defer to Palestinian leader Mustafa Barghouthi, who knows what he’s talking about.
It seems like the war will continue for many more days and weeks. I wish Israel a similar outcome to their 2006 adventure in Lebanon.
The View From Fez reports that Moroccan demonstrators were out in full force:
There have been two recent sets of demonstrations, each over very different issues. Yesterday Moroccans in the main cities staged sit-ins condemning the Israeli raids on Gaza. Both Moroccan and Palestinian flags were carried, as thousands of demonstrators expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Mohamed el Alami puts out a call for peace on his blog:
THE Palestinian population is severeley suffering. The Israelis killed mens ,womens,childrens….why do Israel is doing it? he cannot realize all his objectves because violence produce violence. Unfortuneteley the peace itisnt here now ,but yes war ,carnage,destruction ,disaster…
I hope that there will a cease fire ,because civilians are suffreing seriuoseley.
We need peace no war ,no violence no egoism.
Ghaza ,we are with you.
As Hicham reminds us:

author: Jillian C. York


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Myanmar: Nine activists arrested during peaceful march · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

It’s not a happy new year for nine members of the National League for Democracy who were arrested near the Parliament building in Rangoon, Myanmar on Tuesday while demanding for the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ashin Mettacara explains the “crime” committed by the activists:
“According to the source, eight men and one woman were arrested rounded up and shoved into trucks by plainclothes police officers approximately 3 p.m. as they marched in front of the old parliament building, holding a banner with the words “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” written on it.”
Photo from the blog of Ashin Mettacara
The Irrawaddy identifies the nine heroic activists: Tun Tun Win, Tun Tun Linn, Pyae Pyae Aung, Win Myint Maung, Min Thein, Kaung Htet Hlaing, Phyo Wai and Yeni Soe and Htet Htet Oo Wai.
Why did they march in the streets? Were they testing the “democratic space” in Myanmar? Probably they were motivated by a patriotic urge to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Burma Independence Day.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) issued a statement regarding the incident:
“Today, the National League for Democracy party held a ceremony to mark the 61st anniversary of Burma Independence Day at their headquarters.  After the event, nine NLD Youth members marched from NLD headquarters to Sanchaung Township, Rangoon, holding photographs and placards with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's image. They called for the release of all political prisoners, and demanded national reconciliation.
“When they arrived at the public square in Sanchaung Township, they were arrested by members of the Swan Arr Shin (People’s Power Force) the regime's hired thugs, and brutally beaten.  Their whereabouts are now unknown.”
Mizzima reports that National League for Democracy regularly conducts meetings on Tuesday to discuss the country’s political situation:
“The NLD regularly conducts meetings on Tuesday to discuss current and contemporary politics of Burma. Today's discussions were led by party executive member Khin Maung Swe, who was released recently after serving a long prison term.
“The eyewitness, who had also attended the meeting, said, security police, beat the peaceful protesters before taking them away to unknown location.”
Did the police really think the nine activists who marched in the streets pose a threat to the national security? Well, it’s not surprising if we take note that in recent months, other Burmese nationals were jailed even if they weren’t involved in any political activities. Remember the cyclone refugees who were arrested for complaining about their suffering?


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Myanmar: Pictures of fishing villages · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

dawn_109 went to the delta region of Myanmar, and posted pictures of fishing villages which were destroyed by a deadly cyclone last May.


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Myanmar: Political prisoner commits suicide · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A 35-year old political prisoner in Myanmar committed suicide after authorities refused to give him proper medical treatment.


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Pakistan: Top Ten Pakistani Bloggers · Global Voices
Rezwan

S A J Shiraji at Light Within blog lists his favorite top ten Pakistani bloggers.


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Russia: A Muslim Trade Union? · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia writes that Central Asian migrant workers in the Urals are considering forming a “Muslim trade union.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Tanzania: Visiting Mikumi National Park · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Pernille of Louder than Swahili describes going on a safari to Mikumi National Park, 5-6 hours drive from Dar es Salaam, including some pictures.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Thailand: Revenge of the reds · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The reds are already in the Parliament gates!
They are not communists. They are not armed rebels. They are anti-government protesters wearing red-shirts and carrying red banners. They are not the protesters who occupied Thailand’s airports last month.
Yellow is the color of the airport protesters; while the protesters who have camped outside the Parliament building last December 28 have chosen red as their protest color. The yellow protesters belong to the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). The red protesters belong to the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD).
The yellow protesters hate former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra. They have accused the two succeeding Thai prime ministers of being puppets of Thaksin. To force the removal of the elected government, they organized street actions last August. They occupied the airports last month. They achieved their goal when the court ruled that the ruling party was guilty of electoral fraud. They are supporting the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
The red protesters are supporters of Thaksin and the former ruling party. They believe the incumbent prime minister is illegitimate. They want to dissolve the Parliament; they want a new round of elections.
Both groups have claimed they support democracy. Both groups have denounced dictatorship. Both parties have mobilized thousands of their members to assert their demands.
The yellow protesters have already succeeded. Now, the red protesters are beginning to use the tactics of their yellow counterparts in order to undermine the current administration. When they were in the streets a few weeks ago, PAD members were called fascists by their critics. Today, PAD denounces the DAAD as “red-shirt gangsters.”
After three days of camping outside the Parliament building, the red protesters have dispersed peacefully. They were able to delay the inauguration speech of the new leader. The Parliament session was moved to another venue. The red protesters have vowed to return to the streets after the New Year’s festivities.
Pictures from schoenes-thailand
Andrew Walker of New Mandala uploads an article written by Jim Taylor who has interviewed some of the red protesters:
“The many villagers that I talked to expressed openly a bitter disappointment and profound sadness in what they see as the biased political leanings of the highest order in society. Most traditional Red supporters in the street were too fearful according to many informants to turn up at Parliament given the media warnings of police and army intervention.
“But, the Red campaign, as many rally goers told me, is much more than simply Thaksin now. The question is one of Thai democracy. Rural voters are no longer ignorant of what they can expect and should expect in resource allocation and political participation since Thaksin’s time and grasp well the concepts of true democracy and social equity.”
BangkokDan is disappointed that the red protesters are copying the tactics of the yellows:
“The red shirts, attempting to force Thailand’s new unelected government to dissolve the house for new elections, have a serious image problem. Their tactics look like a virtual carbon-copy of those used by the opposite yellow shirts.
“Even though, put simply, the aims of the yellows and reds are virtually the same. They just they want to put their own people into office. Tit for tat and tat for tit.
“By xeroxing the yellows they do themselves a great disservice. State your points, demonstrate some civilized anger. But insist on peaceful ways and patience. Sabotage only strengthens a doomed government. Rather sooner than later there will be elections and things fall into place.”
Jotman is worried that the political situation will worsen:
“It seems to me that confrontation between police and army units and red demonstrators is somewhat more likely than when the protesters wore yellow shirts.
“Whereas the red shirt mob is from out of town, the yellow shirt mob — whose heavy-handed tactics heralded in the new government — had been comprised of many Bangkok residents. It may seem simplistic to emphasize geography at a time like this, but if these protests lead to violence, regional loyalties will be accentuated. To say that these developments do not bode well for national unity would be an understatement.”
Thai Intelligent News Weblog notes that the red protesters have modified their slogans to show that they are more than just Thaksin supporters:
“Judging by previous red shirt gatherings, it is clear there is a strong Thaksin flavor to it. There used to be big video projections ready for Thaksin phone in or video tapes of Thaksin, and the red shirt used to carry a lot of banner about Thaksin. Come this time around, at the current gathering at Parliament house, a great deal have changed.
“Even the banners that the red shirt people, individually made them, bought to gathering, there are very few about Thaksin. What happened? Why the change? The best answer comes from a host of different people, mostly technocrats on the side of Democracy, who kept suggesting that the red shirt “could be much more effective if it cut down the Thaksin play and tuned up its message on Democracy.”
Because it relied on extralegal means to grab power, Thailand Jumped the Shark believes the government has little credibility:
“The Democrats have nobody to blame but themselves. They have no credibility. They could have taken a strong stand against the illegal tactics of the PAD. Instead, thet used the thuggish PAD tactics, the courts and the behind the scenes persuasiveness of the army to come to power. Now, they think the Reds should roll over for them, because they are cute Democrats with beautiful English accents and foreign degrees. Typical elitist mentality.
“Funny, when Abhisit was in the opposition, he called for a dissolution of parliament to end the impasse. I doubt you will be hearing that from Abhisit now.”
Via Twitter, Thailandreport gives updates:
…parliament meeting is moving to MoF
…there are some injuries now
…parliament meeting was postponed from yesterday to today. will it happen? red mob is still there.
…parliament meeting today was canceled due to red mobs


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Thailand: Text messages from the Prime Minister · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

On his first day in office, Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajiva sent SMS to his constituents. A sample of the text message: “I am your new PM. I would like to invite you to help pull our country pull of the crisis. If you are interested in receiving my messages, please send your five-digit postal code to 9191.”


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Trinidad & Tobago:  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“It is an interesting note on which to end this year. Going back in order to go forward, knowing what went to know what comes next”: Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer bids farewell to the Old Year and welcomes the new…


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Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Culture  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Minister of Culture Marlene Mc Donald has no doubts that Carnival 2009 will be a success even in the face of the global economic crisis”: Trinidad Carnival Diary is not so sure.


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Uganda: Being a journalist is unpredictable · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Daniel Kalinaki, an editor at the Ugandan daily The Monitor, explains that being a journalist in Uganda is an unpredictable profession: this week the paper has received a letter to “present ourselves at the Criminal Investigations Directorate to assist the police investigations that a story we published in the paper was prejudicial to national security”.


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South Korea: Frist Sun Ray of 2009 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler from Marmot's Hole took photos of the first sun ray of 2009 at Han River.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Angola: Reflections on Ncwala, an African New Year Ceremony · Global Voices
Paula Góes

In the last post of the year at Koluki blog [pt], we find a description of a national ritual of Swaziland, a country the Angolan blogger considers one of the most beautiful, friendly and warm in southern Africa. “The sacred Ncwala, or “first fruits ceremony” that is now underway in that country, takes place every year in late December/early January and aims to renew the strength for the King and the Swazi Nation for the following year.”

author: Paula Góes


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Bangladesh blogger on Gaza · Global Voices
Rezwan

Inspirations and Creative Thoughts, a blog of a Bangladeshi based in United States comments on the situation in Gaza: “Its our human obligation, as part of this human family to know about the suffering caused by injustice, specially when its done by those who we elect to represent us. The weapons sold and gifted to Israel comes from USA and by the money paid by US citizens who has nothing to do with Israel's unjust policy to Palestinians.”

author: Rezwan


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Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina Up Close · Global Voices
Rezwan

Tulip Siddiq was on the campaign trail of (ex-prime Minister) Sheikh Hasina, whose party Awami League achieved a landslide victory in the recently concluded Bangladesh parliamentary election. Read her blog to learn more about the campaign as she posts analysis, video and photos of the election.


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Bhutan: Challenges in 2009 · Global Voices
Rezwan

Whatever Matters!! lists ten challenges the Bhutanese government should tackle in 2009.


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Brazil: Best blogs in 2008 · Global Voices
Paula Góes

It is voting time at the second edition of Best Blogs Brazil 2008 prize and anybody can vote for their best blogs – in various categories – up to January 2004. The result will be announced during Campus Party Brasil in Sao Paulo. For a complete list of finalists, click here.


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Brazil: Uri Avnery’s open letter to Obama in Portuguese · Global Voices
Paula Góes

Idelber Avelar [pt] translates into Portuguese an open letter by veteran of Israel's 1948 war and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement Uri Avnery to Barack Obama. “The request to spread the word goes to everyone who wants a lasting peace in accordance with terms already recognized by the international community”, invites the blogger.


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Cuba: Bloggers Gather In Spite of the Challenges · Global Voices
Claudia Cadelo

In Cuba, connection to the internet is difficult and limited. In the civil population, only the foreign permanent residents in Cuba, journalists working for the official media, and high-ranking officials of public-private mixed companies have the right to have their own account: everyone passes through a filter prior to a review of “political conduct,” for those members of the Communist party or demonstrating through the use of the internet their ideological unconditionality.
Accounts also exist in institutional and labor centers, and they can have access to the Internet, but it is limited and all of the information utilized by the users is duly verified by a server. In these accounts, sites such as Gmail and Yahoo are blocked.  Doctors, artists, university students among others have access to the Intranet through their institutions, an internal Cuban network, and access to email with the domain .cu, and some have access to international recipients. These people can access their email from home or from work, depending on the position that they hold, and some are able to access the Internet through a proxy.
In hotels, one can access the Internet through public locations, where connection time costs between 5 and 8 CUC per hour, equivalent to 120 or 200 Cuban pesos, which is half of an average salary per month.
Under these conditions, bloggers in Cuba have special characteristics:
-They blog from blocked sites, such as the case of the bloggers of Desde Cuba [es], who can only see their own blogs through a proxy and they cannot administer their sites from Cuba, and their friends abroad are in charge of posting, making links and everything related to the administration of their blog.
-They blog from the WordPress or Blogger platforms, as in my case: generally, those who blog also do not have access either legal or illegal, but when it comes to it (a friend allows us to their house, a public space) we can administer the blog. What happens is that we do not have online time to administer, the connection is very slow, the time on the account is not enough or the access is sporadic. We also need someone abroad, that via email we can send the post, photos, links or anything else that we want to publish.
There are bloggers that do not have computers, and they work from a friend's house.  There are bloggers that have completely anonymous blogs and post through other bloggers in the country, who are sent posts by mail. Generally, we cannot read the comments, and in my case I have friends that bring me the blogs in other formats (flash memory, CDs) along with the comments, so I see my blog more or less 24 hours after each post, sometimes more.
In summary, we cannot participate in the comments, we cannot post every day, and frequently, we cannot administer our own blogs. In spite of these difficulties, the alternative Cuban blogosphere is growing: more and more there are blogs without pseudonyms, or with pseudonyms, but we all know who the blogger is, such as Pia Mc Habana [es], written by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo; and others that have made the jump from anonymous to open, such as Sin Evasión [es], the blog of Miriam Celaya.
For all of these reasons, Yoani Sánchez of Generación Y [es] decided to begin blogger meetings.  Unfortunately, the first meeting in Pinar del Río could not take place because the police summoned us to warn us of the consequences.  Reinaldo Escobar of Desde Aquí [es], Sanchez’ husband follows up with some questions about the meeting with the police, who said that the bloggers were “disqualified for any dialogue with the Cuban authorities.”
Since we are not interested in being jailed, but rather to keep posting, we changed the concept of “meeting” to “traveling gathering.”  And as Miriam Celaya of Sin Evasión [es] explains about the get-together that will alternate locations:
Porque de eso se trata: de un itinerario que nos comunique y nos una, de una vía permanente de intercambio de experiencias, de defender un fragmento del ciberespacio que nos pertenece a todos por derecho propio y que la voracidad e impotencia de las autoridades pretende disputarnos, tal como se demostró en la prohibición expresa a reunirnos en Pinar del Río, donde se celebraría la inauguración de este encuentro. Si alguien pensó que con semejante gorilada iban a impedir nuestro encuentro, ya debe haberse convencido de lo contrario.
That is what it is all about: a gathering where we can communicate with one another and something that unites us, a permanent path of an exchange of experiences, where we defend a piece of cyberspace that rightfully belongs to all of us.  The voracity and powerlessness of the authorities who try to contest us, as demonstrated when they prohibited us from gathering at Pinar del Río, which is where the gathering would take place. If someone thought that with such savageness that they would stop our gathering, they should have thought otherwise.
So far, the topics most discussed have been, naturally, the difficulty to post, access to technology, and blogger ethics. The most important aspect of these gatherings is the possibility of mutually helping one another, sharing information, getting to know one another, and learning from the diverse experiences that we have had trying to maintain our own blogs.  In addition, a Cuban blogging contest was launched called “Una Isla Virtual” (A Virtual Island), as Yoani Sánchez explains about the meeting [es]:
Once participantes, entre ellos siete autores de bitácoras, nos reunimos en lo que –lúdicamente– llamamos un “café blogger”. Comenzamos con el texto de Andrew Sullivan ¿Por qué bloggeo? y las preguntas superaron a las certidumbres obtenidas de nuestra breve experiencia en Internet.
Discutimos la convocatoria al concurso Una Isla virtual, cuyo premio gordo será la laptop que me gané en el certamen Bitacoras.com. Alguien sugirió la idea de invitar a todos los bloggers del mundo que quieran darse un saltico por el encuentro semanal que iremos realizando a lo largo de un año. A ellos les recomendamos también colaborar con manuales, libros y programas para este intercambio de conocimiento.
Eleven participants, including 7 authors of blogs, gathered at what we – brightly – are calling a “blogger coffee.” We started with the text by Andrew Sullivan, “Why Do I Blog?” and the questions surpassed the doubts collected over the course of our brief experience on the Internet.
We discussed the convocation for the contest A Virtual Island, whose grand prize will the laptop that I won at the Bitacoras.com competition. Someone suggested the idea to invite all the global bloggers that would like to visit our weekly gathering that will take place over the next year. We also recommended that they contribute with manuals, books and programs for this exchange of knowledge.
This is a list of the blogs and participant sites of the last gathering, as well as some of the resources collected and presentations [es] by some of the attendees:
-	Generación Y [es]
–	Desde Aquí [es]
–	Habanemia [es]
–	Sin Evasión [es]
–	Pia mc habana [es]
–	La Colmena [es]
–	El Blog de Dimas [es]
–	Octavocerco [es]
–	Convivencia [es]
–	Retazos [es]

author: Claudia Cadelo


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Guinea: History repeating? · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

A week after the passing of President Lansana Conté and the military coup led by Captain Moussa Camara that followed, Guinea's military rulers have named a banker named Kabine Komara as their prime minister. According to observers, the situation remains calm after the coup and Guineans in general appear to be hopeful of their new leader. However, for many bloggers, the recent developments have a clear déjà vu quality.
Zot in Guinea, a Peace Corps volunteer, wrote about the feeling of optimism towards the new leader:
Guineans are generally pretty happy with the whole thing. The new president isn’t from any of the three major ethnic groups, which has eased ethnic tensions, and, perhaps most importantly for the general public, the power has been much more consistent since he took over. Most Guineans want change, and figure any kind of change is good.
And there is reason to hope that there will be good change.
For Seckasysteme [Fr], the reaction of the Guinean people to the coup is due to amnesia:
Pris comme dans une amnésie collective, le peuple Guinéen si longtemps opprimé pleure Lansana Konté et fait acte d'allégeance au chef de la Junte militaire autopropulsé Président de la république de Guinée.
[…] C'est à croire que le peuple Guinéen est fataliste et qu'il s'accommode très bien de son asservissement et de la misère dans laquelle l'a si longtemps maintenu ses chefs d'état successifs.
[…] It's as if the Guinean people was fatalistic and accomodating very well to its own enslavement and misery, in which it has been kept for so long by successive heads of state.
Widely condemned by the international community as unconstitutional, Guinea’s military junta is promising democratic elections at the end of 2010, which seems too far away for most commentators. But Zot in Guinea argues that it's not realistic to expect elections too soon:
… you cannot possibly know how impossible fair elections would be in a country like Guinea. There is no registration of voters to speak of. There is no identification system. If they set up polls, nothing would prevent the wealthier candidate from paying people to vote repeatedly. The infrastructure to handle and election is just nonexistent in this country. And it can take a long time to put together. […] I’m not saying I think the coup is necessarily a good thing, especially since I don’t know much about the president himself, and it is impossible to know whether the military will actually organize elections. But Guinea has been spiralling downward for some time under not just bad leadership, but a lack of leadership, and hopefully things will be different now.
Naija Pikin, a blogger from Nigeria, is sceptical about the democratic prospects offered by the new military junta:
Lets not be deceived. Guineans are happy with the junta because they were frustrated with Lansana Conte's government which for 24 years suffocated them down with poverty and oppression. They yearned for fresh air. In stepped Camara. Lansana came into power in 1984 via a military coup.
Camara is only threading a farmiliar path. Seize power, the whole world will condemn you. You promise to conduct elections in the soonest possible time. The world relaxes its pressure. Two years time you conduct a ‘democratic’ election with you as the main or only candidate. You win a landslide.We know this song too well.
For Edward B. Rackley, an American scholar blogging about African affairs at Accross the divide, the coup in Guinea follows a familiar pattern:
With last week's passing of Guinea's senile dictator, Lansana Conté, and the military coup that followed, the country is marking no deviation from a well-rehearsed choreography, enacted repeatedly since independence from the French in 1958. The dance moves are economical, simple for new generations of political elites to learn.
A leader emerges, accedes power bolstered by populist rhetoric, buys off the military, installs single-party rule. Cronyism flourishes, rule of law evaporates, the military shores up the trappings of statehood. Decades pass; the population languishes. Leader then dies, military resumes control until a new leader-puppet is found. For nine million Guineans, the spectacle and squalor continue.
For Seckasysteme [Fr], once again history is repeating:
C'est à croire que l'histoire se répète pour le pauvre peuple Guinéen.
Des siècles d'esclavage et de colonisation, 27 longues années de Touréisme et 24 autres longues années de Kontéisme semblent ne pas suffire pour sortir le peuple Guinéen de l'obscurantisme, de la misère et de l'asservissement, pour le faire entrer dans la démocratie et la modernité.
Vraiment dommage que le débile Général n'ait pas emporté avec lui, sa dictature.
Centuries of slavery and colonisation, 27 long years of Touré and 24 long years of Conté don't seem to be enough to take Guinean people out of obscurantism, out of misery and enslavement, and to make it enter democracy and modernity.
It's really a shame that the General didn't take the dictatorship with him.
Africa News reports about the African Union's response:
The African Union (AU) has condemned the return of coups d’état to the continent, describing the phenomenon as “a very serious setback in the ongoing democratization process in Africa.
Abantu is a blogger that, like the AU, condemns the coup:
What is really wrong with us Africans? Cant we ever learn from past mistakes and take it upon ourselves to walk the democratic path on our own, or we are so used do disorder and dysfunction as the order of the day, the coups don't mean anything to us?
[…] The world should condemn this act by the Guinean military in the strongest terms possible and ensure that that bauxite producing state should return to a civilian democratic process because the military has no basis of interfering the management of political state affairs.
Neba Fuh of Voice of the Oppressed, a blogger from Cameroon, recently wrote about Guinea in a post titled “Military Coups In African Dictatorships: Liberation or Retrogression?“:
A country blessed with natural resources and its people caged by a dictator for over 24 years. Drowning in poverty for decades, the people are now holding tight to a ‘snake’ hoping that it can take them afloat.- A junior officer of the Military just seized power there after the death of the country's long time dictator- a move apparently welcomed by the populace.
Cameroun, Gabon, Congo, Egypt, Libya and many other African countries will one day have their ‘liberators’. They may come from barracks, who knows???
It will be called a ‘coup'; but the question all of us should ponder on is: In a country where all democratic methods to change a seasoned dictator have been barred or made impossible, is a military coup an act of patriotism or subversion?
For Sofa Jawaro of The sword of truth, a blogger from Gambia, it is important to give credit to the military junta for the sake of stability in a very volatile region:
…taking into consideration the timing of the coup, Conteh’s 24 year autocratic misrule, and endorsements by both a prominent regional player, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and constituents across the Guinean political landscape, it is imperative to give the situation the benefit of the doubt. That may be possible only by supporting the young military leaders to ensure that Guinea do away with its authoritarian past by reforming the fabrics of Guinean communities.
In a region that is already ravaged by bloody civil wars in Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Ivory Coast, low level insurgencies in the southern Senegalese region of Cassamance and northern Mali, isolating the military junta and suspension of aid could have an adverse impact on the sub-region. Guinea continues to be home to thousands of refugees from neighboring Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau


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Iran:  AIDS Doctors in Danger · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), criticizes Iran for trying Dr. Arash Alaei and Dr. Kamiar Alaei, two HIV/AIDS physicians on secret charges.Read more here.


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Iran: Journal became a victim in Gaza crisis · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Iranian authorities shut down, Kargozaran, a leading reformist journal. Several blogs and news sites reported that Kargozaran became a victim in Gaza's crisis. Kargozarn had published a statement of a student movement (Tahkim Vahdat) that “condemned both Israel and terrorist groups that take refuge in hospitals and schools”.


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Kenyan choir to perform at Obama’s inauguration · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

Kenyanpoet reports that a Kenyan choir will perform during the inauguration of the US president elect Barack Obama on January 20, and that “they have prepared a special repertoire of African choral music to remind Mr Obama of his African roots”.