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Iraq: What is going on? · Global Voices
Salam Adil

Its been a while since my last post and I have had time to rest, take stock and come to some picture of what is happening. And what is happening? is the question on everybody's mind. The problem with blogs, like most of the news media, is that they all present small strips of information but without the thread linking them together. This is why blog aggregators provide such a vital function. We pull strings across diverse opinions. So this post is about what is going on. But it's not all heavy politics – if you read to the end find out what Iraqis who know really think of India.
If you read no other blog post this week read this.
My heartfelt condolences go out to Sunshine and her family who lost two relatives to violence in Iraq this week. The first was 25-year-old, who was murdered while driving his car. The other, a 13-year-old girl, died when a lorry exploded in front of her house, leaving her parents in a critical condition.
With all the news of killing and violence in Iraq, Sunshine responds against the view that Iraqis are killing each other. She writes:
Of course that is not true, Sunnites and Shiites have been living together for ages, they marry each other, I have relatives married Shiites women\men, if that was true, that means my parents’ uncle should kill his wife,my mom’s uncle should kill his wife, some of my parents’ cousins should kill their wives\husbands !!!!!!!! and I should kill my two best friends, that is ridiculous… I’ve talked about that in many posts and said that in many interviews, and I will keep saying that till the people in the world start to realize that Iraqis (Sunnites and Shiites) live in Iraq for more than 1400 years, they are MUSLIMS and IRAQIS.
We go shopping together, if we need any help, we ask our neighbors to help us, because we are all Iraqis, no matter what are our religion, nor creeds, I didn’t know what are Shiites and Sunnites until I was 12 years old, and lately it appears that there are more creeds, Shafee and Hanafy !!!!!! and other creeds, I don’t know which one I belong to, and I don’t even want to know, those names are not important, we all believe in the same god, and say the same prayers, no matter how do we stand and those formals if we put our hand together when we pray or not !!!!!! what’s important is what is there inside our hearts.
So , NO we don’t kill each other, the terrorists who kill Shiites are the same who kill Sunnites, it is impossible that Good Iraqis kill each other, no matter what is their religions nor creeds …
What is happening..
The irony is not lost on me. The U.S. President promises a new plan to stabilise Iraq, yet Baghdad sees the worst violence in years. And the worst of this is currently being carried out by Sunni militants yet America in turn repeatedly reprimands Iran for trying to destabilise Iraq. At a glance the situation seems confusing. To add to this some bloggers have changed their minds on opposing US troops presence in Iraq. One such example is No Pain No Gain:
If US troops sought to withdraw from Iraq 2 years ago, I would have certainly agreed to it but demanding the withdrawal as of now is not a good idea. … Two years ago the violence occurred mainly between terrorists, insurgents against the average Iraqi civilian for the sake of killing 1 or 2 American soldiers. [Now] these attacks are morever caused by Iraqi militias against other Iraqis to gain certain parts of region they wish to make Sunni or Shia. … This is certainly not the best time for foreign troops to withdraw because it leaves Iraq with a very weak biased government along with its national forces.
While one blogger claims credit for Bush's new plan. Alaa writes: “Well, I am tempted to say it. It may sound vain and distasteful. But, really, this new strategy, haven’t I suggested something of the sort three years ago? It would have been much easier then, but as they say, better late than never.”
Mohammed gives his overview of a city between Malikis plan and Bush's strategy
From the above and from more that we heard we could see that there are different opinions even among members of a single bloc but I also see that a majority supports the new strategy while opposition is coming from extremists who realize that they will be the next target for the government and allied forces.
A new blog, Al-Ghad tries to make sense of the American policy and in a well studied analysis comes up with an old strategy, Blood For Oil:
Bush was desperate, and could face censure if the Iraqi crisis aggravated. Winning the battle for Iraq’s oil, could offer him a way out. For this to succeed, however, he must find a way to divert attention from the delicate secret oil negotiations, as once this is exposed to Iraqi and world opinion, it could very well end up like the previous attempt in 2003. So it is not beyond Bush and his consultants to use a spectacular execution online of a former head of Iraq, as the most convenient exit strategy.
It concludes:
The Iraqi people should not leave their fate to an illegitimate Parliament acting under the control of the foreign occupation forces. They should take their destiny in their own hands. They should unite, and resist the tricks of the occupation in fomenting sectarian strive, which is foreign to our country.
So, what about the new oil policy? Baghdad Connect fills us in..
the US-drafted Production-Sharing Agreements (PSAs) for the Oil sector selectively favor Shell, BP and Exxonmobil who are set to take up to 75% of the total profits until they had covered their initial drilling costs. Bear in mind Iraqi’s wells are already dug-in holes and the drilling costs should only include debottlenecking – In the past Iraq had carried out post-wars debottlenecking for the Oil up & down-stream sectors at 25% costs of the total profits!!
Hala_S agrees that the policy is about oil but comes to a different conclusion:
I want this horrifying hybrid of a government to succeed and the 21,000 extra troops to take control. All I dream of which is no different to the millions of Iraqis is damage control force.
Let them take this cursed oil and drink it to the last drop, let them leave the house unfurnished it doesn’t matter anymore.
What matter most is our blood and it is much thicker than oil.
All that is left for me, is to ask what you, the reader, thinks. Is Bush's new strategy all about securing Iraq, is it the last throes of a dying presidency or is it all about oil?
And finally…
What do Iraqis really think about India? Their opinion may come as a bit of a surprise for some of the sub-continent's authors here at Global Voices. Neurotic Wife visits India on a well-earned holiday with ‘Hubby’. Among some wonderful descriptions of Mumbai traffic and one of the less hygienic toilets, she has some interesting insight:
India, that country with its rich history and culture showed me one thing, and one thing only, with all the shocking poverty that I saw in my own eyes, India with its many different sects and religions, India is indeed the best example of democracy. … you wonder, how a nation so large, with almost everyone living in dire conditions are living in such harmony. Why? How come? How come they dont kill each other, how come they dont kidnap and ask for ransoms? How come? Its a simple question, with an even simpler answer. Indians all live in harmony because they themselves as people believe in Peace. Indians, I found out are such loving and friendly people
and, at Delhi airport, she bumps into an Iraqi sports team touring India:
The coach immediately looked at me and said, you left the whole world, the whole wide world, and you didnt find a better place to go to but India????And dont forget this is a man, who lives in baghdad, a man who gets showered with bombs and mortars on a daily basis. A man, who lives by the sounds of suicide attacks. I asked, ok, between India, and baghdad, where would you choose. He laughed and said, even if they give me millions, I will never come and live here.

author: Salam Adil


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Jamaica: We Media Miami · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Miami-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp regrets he didn't have the chance to spend more time at the We Media Miami conference, but is pleased that he still had the opportunity to meet several of the attendees, including a few Global Voices members like Alice Backer, who analyses one of the early sessions at her personal blog.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Martinique: Babe in Total Control of Herself · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Le Blog de [Moi] writes (Fr): “If being a witch is being a woman who is able to say ‘no’ but also to say ‘yes’ sometimes … than yes I am a witch. And I spend my life running into nothing but witches because  this definition perfectly fits the majority of my girlfriends. And I encourage all women to become witches too. Because what I call witch is a woman in total control of herself.”

author: Alice Backer


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Martinique: Is a Local Referendum on Potential Same-Sex Marriage Law Feasible?  · Global Voices
Alice Backer

A local  Martiniquan gay rights site claims that Raymond Occolier, a local official known for past homophobic statements, has announced that he will hold a local referendum if a same-sex marriage law passes in mainland France.  Le Blog de [Moi] (Fr) responds, after protracted analysis of relevant laws, that “none of the cited local entities… is [legally] competent to organize such a referendum.”


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Senegal: Historic Landmarks in Danger on Gorée · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Blog Politique du Senegal posts (Fr) pictures of Goree including certain “endangered historical landmarks.”


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South Korea: fire at immigration detention center  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt from Gusts Of Popular Feeling blogs the details of the fire accident in Yeosu during the weekend, which killed 9 foreigners (8 were Chinese). He criticised the Ministry of Justice's excuse for the poor condition in the immigration center: Any massive increase in the number of foreigners in detainment centers due to immigration violations has always been due to the Justice Ministry's decision to periodically arrest large numbers of people, so such an excuse for poor detainment conditions is pathetic.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Africa: Africa must fix itself · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

African must fix itself, China and the West wont do it, via Africa Unchained.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Africa: defining the African Diaspora · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A thought-provoking piece at Black Looks on defining the African Diaspora, “Then there is the latter group, whose relationship, I am finding, is astonishingly schizophrenic. I talk here of a specific class of Africans living abroad. The educated ones who on the surface are proponents of a “pro-Africa” sort of image. We are the ones who want the world to know that Africa is not one country, that there’s more to it than you see on National Geographic etc. I think it’s fashionable in certain circles.”


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Arabisc: Jordanian MPs Having a Ball! · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Batir Wardam doesn't mince his words when he says that Jordan's Members of Parliament are in for a great weekend. After all, for a few hours of work, they enjoy the perks of being amongst the highest paid civil servants in Jordan.
Wardan isn't pleased that a date for the next parliamentary elections is yet to be set.
To add insult to injury, Jordanian MPs not only seem to want to stay longer in their elected posts.. but also want to enjoy more perks and power. Being a member of the esteemed Parliament is surely not enough – not when there is a new law which guarantees you can have it all. All of it.
Wow! This is mind boggling indeed and it sure takes a Super MP to be able to juggle all those tasks. But as far as the carrot and the stick policy goes, Jordanian MPs sure have a lucrative carrot dangled in front of them. Wardam insists that it is money and not love which makes the world go round for them.
A higher salary would mean more responsibilities and a greater work load. Not necessarily, sighs Wardam.
Don't you now want to become an MP in Jordan? I am off to pack my bags!

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Armenia: Election Blogging · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Center for Regional Development/Transparency International Armenia Election Monitor 2007 blog announces plans to spur election blogging in Armenia.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Bangladesh: An open letter to the country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Drishtipat has Dr Yunus's open letter to the country. “Dr. Yunus sends an open letter to the public asking for their opinion on his entering politics. You can send the letter directly to him and also can post a copy at the comment section below for us to see.”

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Bangladesh: Can the power of one save the nation? · Global Voices
Rezwan

The hottest topic in Bangladesh now is that the Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus has expressed his intention to start a political party and run for the next election. In an open letter he has asked the people to provide their support and feedback to him and suggest how he can organize the party from the grass root.
Salam Dhaka says this move of Dr. Yunus will draw a new equation in Bangladesh politics, which is battered by bitter political acrimony between the major parties and their devastating political moves. Some people welcomed his entry and wished he can be successful like Dr. Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia. Trivuz comments that he has the ability to break the tradition of nominating corrupted musclemen or business persons for election and winning by spending millions of black money. So people will have an option to support credible and competent politicians under his leadership. However there are also apprehensions whether he can do well in Politics. Journalist Shiblee Noman, while answering Yunus's letter, questions his experience in politics and warns that if he thinks he is the savior of Bangladesh then he is wrong. In democracy the power comes from the grass root, what people wants. So the question is whether Yunus is really being wanted by the public as a politician or the notion is imposed.
Addafication thinks that not a good man but a good system can save the country:
Dr.Yunus has an important role to play in Bangladesh society. But it is not in politics. His role is best fulfilled as part of the civil society, to strengthen it in lieu with politics which has to be strengthened by politicians, not civilians merely because they might be bigger achievers. No country is led simply by its most prolific achiever. We dont have to be too. And no country's problems can be solved by one man's initiative, or even two or three. It is the institutions that have to be cleansed.
Bangladesh is back to normalcy after the declaration of the state of emergency on the 11th of January. There is an operation of the security forces going on against corruption and and many powerful ex-members of parliaments, ex-ministers and business tycoons are behind the bars under the new state of emergency act. The general people are delighted by the prospect of cleansing the political arena. Drishtipat blog confirms The Economist magazine's latest assertion on Bangladesh ‘Everybody but the politicians are happy’. People are excited with the performance of the new caretaker government and are even calling it a ‘A silent revolution by the people of Bangladesh’. The 3rd world view analyses the mass mail going round in the mail boxes of Bangladeshis urging for a referendum to make the interim government stay for four years to help them clean the house.
However, if your only tool is hammer, all your problem can look like nails. People are questioning the caretaker goverment's drive for cleaning up slums and forcefully evicting these people and breaking illegal roadside structures which were used by poor businessmen as small shops. The problem is that they are not providing any alternative place for the slum dwellers or compensate the small businesses atleast for now.
Addabaz blog is supporting the clean up drive whereas Drishtipat group blog is vocal about the evicted people's rights.

author: Rezwan


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Bermuda: A black caucus · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Christian S. Dunleavy ponders the logic of re-establishing a black caucus within Bermuda's opposition party.


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Caribbean: China or Taiwan revisited · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“CARICOM countries would benefit more from a trade, aid and investment treaty with China that is collectively negotiated and that takes full account of the peculiar development needs of each of them,” writes Sir Ronald Sanders in an article continuing the discussion of the relative benefits, for Caribbean territories, of aligning themselves with Taiwan or China.


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Central Asia: Microfinance · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Private Sector Development Blog reports on Central Asia's dynamic microfinance industry.


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China: don’t shit · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chiao blogs a photo taken outside a Beijing bar which listed out various regulations, including: don't shit in our tiolet but U can pee…


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China: freedom and liberal · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Li Yinhe comments that the word “自由” (liberal and freedom) is too negative in China because of various political campaign agains “liberalism”. She hopes people can slowly make it a positive term (zh).


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China: Open Letter to Sina.com  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In the weekend, some lawyers-bloggers got together for a joint letter to sina.com complaining about their editorial policy which has violated bloggers’ freedom of speech. ESWN has translated the letter into English.


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China: rescuing cats · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Ai wei wei blogs about a rescuing cats action in Tianjian. More than 400 cats were rescued from the hand of illegal cat trader (zh). Some of the photos can be found here.


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Egypt: Sand Monkey Alive and Kicking · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Egyptian blogger Sand Monkey is not dead.. but is stealing his neighour's wifi connection to blog! Desperate times call for desperate measures.


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Gambia: solar-powered internet shops · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Sociolingo writes about solar powered internet shops in Gambia, “These multi-services shops, which are wireless and solar-powered, provide an affordable range of services for those at the lower end of the economic ladder.”


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Hong Kong: Li Ka-Shing · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Asia Sentinel has an article reporting about Asia’s richest tycoons Li Ka-Shing's business strategy in Hong Kong and China: His flagship companies Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong are big, top-tier and world famous, owned by investors around the globe… Less well-known is that the Hutch empire is also one of the cheapest outfits you’d ever want to do business with – but the secret is becoming increasingly less “best kept”.


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Hungary: Terror and the Fence · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestcentric reports: “The big news now in Hungary is that there may be a big terror plot being planned against the parliament building, which is why the fence […] needs to be kept in place until March 15th. March 16th is apparently the day when terrorists hibernate for the summer, so after that things will be okay.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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India: Conservativeness and Kerala · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Dog's Own Country on conservativeness and Kerala. “The picture the media in Kerala, which I guess reflects the mentality of the people and what they like to read, gave any corruptible youth in Kerala (oh yeah they are so corruptible in Kerala, especially after their training in school and college for politicking and staging strikes) the impression that in the “West” people were all loose and without morals; and we are the only sane, moral and decent people in this world.”


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Indonesia: Virus Samples at a Price · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Slashdot.com is hosting a discussion on Indonesia's decision to sell the Avian Flu virus  samples to a biotech company rather that passing it freely to the World Health Organization. Notes the original poster “They feel slighted when they give away such samples, but then cannot afford the patented vaccines.”

author: Preetam Rai


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Iran:Music for Peace · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Amin Rasooli,a creative  blogger and musician, has composed “The future of ground”, a piece of music for peace.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran:Oil,Britain and Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Forever Under Construction talks about an exhibition of images partly inspired by Emily Johns, British artist and publisher, recent peace delegation to Iran, in May 2006.According to the blogger, images dealing with the complex relationship between Iran, oil, and Britain. The work weaves together the larger international dynamics, the mutual cultural influence, and more intimate personal connections of Iranian-British relations.


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Jamaica: The role of the Caribbean artist · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Prompted by a blog post which raised the question of why black actress Thandie Newton didn't get better roles, Geoffrey Philp considers the role of the Caribbean artist and his/her audience: “An artist needs time and space to think through a creative problem, which means a certain amount of aesthetic distance, but also needs the support of the community to eat, drink, be a part of, in order to draw the images and sounds that are a necessary part of creation in order to make his/her work relevant to the community.“


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Japan: anti whaling · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe blogs about the anti-whaling action with a youtube video taken from the perspectives of Japanese whalers.


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Japan: Study time vs. TV time · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

James from Japan Probe blogs about the pollling result on Japanese's student's study and T.V time.


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Kazakhstan: Products of a Workshop · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

A workshop on blogging took place in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan last weekend, and Leila Tanayeva summarizes the posts the participants wrote at neweurasia.


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Kazakhstan: Profile of a Silversmith · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

News From The Caravan profiles Serzhan Bashirov, a Kazakh silversmith who is currently in the United States to exhibit his work.


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Kuwait: Men Scared of Strong Women · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Kuwaiti blogger Desert Girl tells us how men are afraid of her because of her strong personality, her sense of loss at the death of Anna Nicole Smith and her favourite holiday – Valentine.


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Kuwait: Richard III Returns to Life  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A new Arabic version of Richard III is being staged by a Kuwaiti troupe at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 8 – 17 February 2007, says Kuwait blogger Mama Fusla. Set in the contemporary Arab world, this production of Richard III unfolds within the hothouse, feudal atmosphere of desert palaces in an oil-rich kingdom, she writes.


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Latvia, Russia: “Borderlands” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Marginalia continues to muse over the issues inherent in Latvia's border dispute with Russia.


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Lebanon: Hip Hop and Public Diplomacy · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Want to learn more about the relationship between hip hop and public diplomacy? Read what Lebanese blogger Abu Aardvark has to say about it here.


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Lebanon: Know Thy Neighbour · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger Ms Levantine gives us a brief outline of the history of Shia in Lebanon here.


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Lebanon: We Want the Truth · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Lebanese blogger EDB wants to know the truth and is calling for an international tribunal to “try the drug dealers who supplied Anna Nicole (Smith) with a lethal overdose.”


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Nepal: On anon blogging · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Nepali Voices on anonymity in the Nepali blogosphere. “For SNS, anonymity provides sincerity. When Zade began blogging, she was afraid of revealing identity in the internet because she was a ‘girl’ but nevertheless for her also being anonymity gave the ‘total freedom’ in ‘expressing herself’.”


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Recife, Brazil: Trumpeting 100 Years of Frevo, and Musical Innovation on the Eve of Carnival · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

Recife is the capital city of the state of Pernambuco in the northeast of Brazil. The pulse of Carnival has been growing in a crescendo in recent days, justly honoring it's fame of being among the three cities with the hottest festivals, along with Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Recife is also known as the capital of Frevo, a rhythmic and musical movement which was born here and is celebrating 100 years since its recognition as a new style. Now, on its centennial it is being officially recognized as National Cultural Heritage by the government. With only five days to go before the main Carnival festivities, Frevo's anniversary party attracted artists from all over Brazil. Many stages dispersed throughout Recife's charming old downtown zone were kept busy with crews and musicians setting up equipment, rehearsing and performing.
Hoje, 09 de fevereiro, o Frevo comemora 100 anos. No século XIX era conhecido como marcha carnavalesca, mas em 1907 na edição do Jornal Pequeno, periódico da época, recebeu o nome de Frevo. O nome foi uma corruptela da palavra ferver que o povo simples, com seu português gostoso que não macaqueia a sintaxe lusíada – como escreveu Manuel Bandeira em seu Evocação ao Recife – falava “frever”. Daí para frevo foi um passo… Hoje, quando completa 100 anos, o frevo recebe o título do Patrimônio Cultural e Material do Brasil. Volta, por iniciativa oficial, a se mostrar para todos os brasileiros. Para os pernambucanos o frevo não é apenas patrimônio, é legado de identidade.
Série Carvanal de Pernambuco: Frevo de Bloco – Notícias do Planalto
Como praticamente todos os gêneros musicais consolidados no Brasil, o frevo nasceu da confluência das culturas européia e afro-brasileira. Historiadores pernambucanos asseguram que, antes de o termo frevo aparecer no Jornal Pequeno do Recife, ele já dava os primeiros trinados e bailados numa simbiose de polcas, modinhas, dobrados e maxixes e jogos pastoris (formação de pau e corda) pelas ruas da capital pernambucana. As bandas de música (civil ou militar) da época ajudaram a dar a conformação sonora ao que se conhece hoje do frevo, uma massa musical destacada pelos metais. Sobre o frevo-de-rua, a versão instrumental do gênero, o maestro Guerra-Peixe disse uma vez ser “a única música popular que não admite o compositor de orelha”. Era uma referência à exigência técnica dessa música e um destaque aos maestros que comandavam as trupes “frevísticas”.
Ferveção Centenária em Carta Maior via Luis Hipólito's Blog
A música nasceu do dobrado entoado pelas bandas militares que acompanhavam os blocos de carnaval (na época chamados de clubes), e a dança foi criada espontâneamente, no meio da rua, pelo próprio povo.. a partir de movimentos de capoeira. Com o tempo, os músicos foram acelerando a batida para acompanhar os passos do capoeira, e os “passistas” foram desenvolvendo seus passos também para acompanhar os músicos. Esse entrosamento serviu para se criar essa dança linda que temos hoje em dia. O mais interessante é que a capoeira, nessa época, era proibida no país… mas em Recife, durante o carnaval, era feita uma certa “vista grossa”. Talvez por isso que essa dança é tão forte no coração e na alma do povo pernambucano. Quem nunca foi em Pernambuco não entende muito bem o frevo… para muitos é só uma dança folclórica com as sombrinhas e as pessoas com roupas coloridas. O frevo é preciso sentir.. é preciso viver.. é uma coisa que entra no sangue e fica lá, pelo resto da vida.
100 anos de frevo – Destino: 63ºN 10ºE
There are some interesting reports of bloggers being caught by the waves of music and dance celebrations echoing along the streets of Recife in these last days. I've witnessed it myself, and tried to capture some movements of a big frevo group on the ‘February 9′ celebrations with my little point-and-shoot camera.
Depois de uma semana de pouco sono, a chegada em Recife foi demais. Sol, sol e sol todos os dias, a água do mar verde e quente e tome cerveja. Um pouco da Feira de Música (comentários sobre a feira virão depois) e tome música. A cidade transpira cultura de uma forma inexplicável… Apenas para constar, todos os shows do Recife Antigo são gratuitos, são 5 palcos (que eu tenha visto), sendo que o maior comporta shows para até 100 mil pessoas e todos com qualidade impecável de som… Esse clima aconchegante é a cara desse carnaval. O tempo todo de sorrisos no rosto, festa, alegria mesmo. Não tem área vip, camarote, pulseirinha, enfim, todos brincando juntos na rua, melhor impossível… Na sexta aconteceu um show histórico (na verdade dois) pra comemorar o centenário do Frevo (que ainda comemore mais muitos centenários!!). Primeiro grandes nomes da música brasileira como Gilberto Gil, Ney Matogrosso, Maria Rita, Alceu Valença, Elba Ramalho, Vanessa da Mata, Lenine, Luiz Melodia etc, acompanhados pela Spok Frevo Orquestra interpretaram os grandes frevos da história. A multidão que acompanhou o show estava em estado de graça, se divertindo e celebrando o ritmo que embala suas festas constantemente… Na terra do frevo tem espaço pro samba, eletronico, rock, reggae, enfim, todos são bem recebidos. Mas passando despretensiosamente pela Rua da Moeda, dei de cara no Naná Vasconcellos ensaiando com os Maracatus. Deviam ser uns 300 tambores, uma coisa incrivel, forte.
Quero poder contar pessoalmente – Antológico
After my strange exhausted Thursday travel day, I jerked awake to the sound of a HUGE frevo brass band. The sun was streaming in my window, hot and bright. The band was UNBELIEVABLY loud. (and good! This one had a really tight brass section. Harmonies and everything!) I looked at my clock – it said 6:00. Could I possibly have slept through an entire day – could it be 6pm? There couldn´t be a huge 120-decibel frevo band on the street at 6am, could there? Turned out, there could be. Frevo alarm clock, 6am. The whole pousada woke up. The whole TOWN woke up. There is TONS going on in Recife. There are giant stages set up all over the city and about a zillion maracatu rehearsals & parades. Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of frevo (to the day) and there was a huge frevo show. The last giant multi-nacao show is tonight! Tomorrow the parades start.
hit the ground running in Recife – samba kat's Rio Stories
Right in the middle of this effervescent cultural gathering there also was the ‘Feira Música Brasil‘ [Musica Brazil Trade Show], promoted by the Brazilian Independent Music Association, the Ministry of Culture in partnership with a Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), and Pernambuco's state government. In times when the mainstream music industry is at odds with the digital ‘menace’ and with its own customers, the goal of the event was to gather everyone interested in debating and exploring the music potential as an economy for all — business opportunity, income, job and foreign currency generator, as well as a vector for the development of the country. Funny as it seems, there were no representatives of the major five recording companies operating in Brazil. Maybe they were too busy thinking what to do about Steve Jobs manifesto, which asks for the end of DRM restrictions in music files sold online.
“Esta feira é um projeto piloto. Vai permitir a integração do setor com os desdobramentos tecnológicos que estão impactando a música, tais como a Internet, o iPod e outros equipamentos. Esses momentos de transformação tecnológica são estratégicos, e a promoção desta feira é um ponto de referência e interação dessas duas coisas” frisou Gil
Lançada oficialmente a Feira Música Brasil 2007, promovida pelo Ministério da Cultura e BNDES – Site do BNDES
A idéia era agrupar todos os envolvidos na indústria, mas tem gente grande que ficará de fora. As cinco maiores gravadoras do país (as multinacionais Sony BMG, Universal, EMI e Warner, além da Som Livre) não estarão em Recife entre hoje e domingo. “Elas [grandes gravadoras] foram convidadas”, afirma Carlos de Andrade, presidente da ABMI. “Nos reunimos com presidentes das multinacionais, até insistimos na participação deles. Mas eles não acreditam na feira. Têm a postura “Quem faz a indústria sou eu. Vocês estão brincando de discos. Não converso com garotos”. Essa é a atitude deles.” O presidente da Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD), Paulo Rosa, diz que ficou sabendo da existência da feira “por reportagens de jornais”. “E depois recebemos um convite do MinC que chegou em cima da hora, no dia 2 de fevereiro. Além disso, não participamos em momento algum da concepção desse evento. Mas não houve recusa da nossa parte. Ainda nem respondi ao convite. Vou responder agradecendo, mas tenho outros compromissos.”
Feira Música Brasil começa em meio a polêmica entre grandes e pequenos – in Folha de S. Paulo via AnandRaoBR.com
Mauricio Bussab, da Tratore, bateu na tecla da distribuição digital. “Nos EUA, esse formato já representa 20% do mercado. No Brasil ainda é de apenas 1%. Para isso, ele propôs a redução imediata dos preços praticados por quem vende downloads no Brasil. “É preciso entender que o preço final de uma faixa não pode ser o preço de um disco inteiro dividido pelo número de músicas, porque a cabeça de quem compra só uma música via internet não é a mesma de quem compra um disco”. Bussab apresentou uma experiência da Tratore, segundo ele bem-sucedida, de venda de faixas a R$ 0,30. “Nós triplicamos o nosso faturamento, pois muito mais gente se dispôs a comprar”. Bussab também insistiu na necessidade de uma maior organização da indústria de entretenimento do país, que hoje anda manca, dependendo fundamentalmente de patrocínios e isenções fiscais. “A maior gravadora do país atualmente é a Petrobrás, que está financiando a maioria dos projetos de cultura. Não podemos ficar dependentes disso”.
Amplificando Experiências – Viajandão
From many virtual corners in the Brazilian blogosphere, just as in a ‘second life’ Recife, Frevo is buzzing through some streams, downloadable cds, podcasts and videocasts. The chance to be in contact with so many music sources in this digital exchange reflects directly on music quality. Having felt the effects of the generous availability of musical information on the web, many Brazilians want to learn about empowering the next new generation of artists to get in direct touch with their audience, and find new ways to create value from their work. Maybe mainstream management was too busy discussing what do about DRM to be here feeling the pulse of Recife. But they should have come. They too might have felt inspired.
O frevo de bloco é um dos mais contagiantes ritmos do carnaval de Pernambuco. O Hino do Elefante, que você leitor pode ouvir abaixo, é um ícone desses frevos de bloco. Não importa onde você esteja: em Recife, em Olinda ou no interior, quando os clarins anunciam o Hino do Elefante, os foliões se agitam, e todos, pernambucanos ou não, entoam a letra efusiva e pulam se esprememendo pelas ladeiras de Olinda. Fiquem com a letra e com a música.
Hino Do Elefante De Olinda / Olinda's Elephant Hymn
Clídio Nigro / Clóvis Vieira
Ao som dos clarins de Momo
O Elefante exaltando a suas tradições
O povo aclama com todo ardor
E também seu esplendor
Olinda esse meu canto
Foi inspirado em teu louvor
Entre confetes e serpentinas
Venho te oferecer
Com alegria o meu amor
Olinda! Quero cantar a ti esta canção
Teus coqueirais, o teu sol, o teu mar
Faz vibrar meu coração, de amor a sonhar
Em Olinda sem igual
Salve o teu Carnaval!
Série Carvanal de Pernambuco: Frevo de Bloco – Notícias do Planalto
Olinda's Elephant Hymn
Clídio Nigro / Clóvis Vieira
To the sound of Momo's bugles
The Elephant exalting its traditions
Is acclaimed by the people with ardor
And also its splendor
Olinda this chant of mine
Was inspired to praise you
Among ‘confetes’ and ‘serpentinas’
That I come to offer
With joy my love to you
Olinda! I want to sing this song to you
Your palm trees, your sun and your sea
Makes my heart pulse, dreaming of love
With no equal as in Olinda
Hails to your Carnival!
Série Carvanal de Pernambuco: Frevo de Bloco – Notícias do Planalto
This is a small Loronix celebration for Frevo 100 year’s anniversary. The word Frevo has its origins from the word Ferver – free translated as boil, in English. If you never had the chance to see a Frevo performance, take a look at YouTube, there are several ones. A Frevo performance is very difficult and seems to me that you need to be an athlete to make such complex movements. Frevo is still very popular in Brazilian Northeast region, if you are planning to spend your Carnaval there, you should probably see several performances. This is Zacarrias e Sua Orquestra – Frevo 40 Graus (1961), for RCA Victor. Maestro Zaccarias seems to be the master of mixing Brazilian rhythms with orchestra arrangements. He makes with Frevo this time on this nice set with single tracks on each side; Zaccarias connects all the tunes, ideal if you are planning to play Frevo on your Carnaval Party.
Zaccarias e Sua Orquestra – Frevo 40 Graus (1961) – 100th Frevo Anniversary Celebration – Loronix
Dois nomes têm sido apontados como os principais responsáveis pela renovação e maior visibilidade nacional dada ao frevo nos últimos anos. São eles: Maestro Spok, no comando da SpokFrevo Orquestra, e Antônio Carlos Nóbrega, que há muito tem se dedicado à pesquisa das mais diversas manifestações culturais brasileiras. Em 1996, [o Maestro Spok] montou, junto com outros 18 talentosos músicos, a Orquestra de Frevo de Recife, formada para acompanhar shows da turnê Na Pancada do Ganzá, de Antônio Nóbrega. Em 2003, o grupo ressurge com o atual nome, SpokFrevo Orquestra, incrementando frevos tradicionais com novos arranjos e abrindo espaço para solos dos instrumentistas e improvisações, com clara influência jazzística, ou, como ele mesmo resume, “tocando com liberdade de expressão”. Sobre as afinidades entre frevo e jazz, o maestro explica: “Para mim, o jazz deixou de ser americano há muito tempo. Então eu uso a expressão jazzístico no sentido de uma música feita com liberdade de expressão, com improvisação. Se você faz um forró com liberdade de expressão, então ele é jazzístico. Mas quem toca na Orquestra são músicos pernambucanos, que são influenciados por músicas do mundo inteiro, mas que de forma alguma querem perder sua alma, que é de Pernambuco”.
Frevo Renovação – O Povo via Brasilian Music Treasure Hunt
February has begun, and in Brazil this means Carnival is coming!! To feel the mood, nothing better than a video featuring Spock Frevo Orquestra, showing the group's high intensity and all the joy that comes from Frevo, as well as some beautiful images of Recife, one of the cities where this style was born.
Miscelanea Playlist – 13 – Miscelanea Vanguardiosa Podcast
Sempre gostei de trabalhar com design gráfico e publicidade, mas meu tesão mesmo sempre foi a música e ao longo do tempo o que era apenas um prazer, ficar escutando bandas dos mais longínquos cantos do Brasil e do Mundo, acabou virando algo maior… Aos poucos durante esse Feira da Música do Brasil fui conhecendo pessoas novas, estreitando amizades e conseguindo ganhar um respeito e reconhecimento por parte de pessoas que não imaginavam quem eu realmente era, pessoas essas que são, produtores, donos de selos, músicos de bandas reconhecidas e de outras que estão no caminho ainda. Mas todos respeitam uns aos outros porque sabem o quanto é difícil essa estrada, e respeitam quem realmente quer tentar viver disso. Vamos ver onde isso tudo vai acabar, mas estou muito feliz com o rumo que todas essas mudanças estão indo.
Mudanças estão por vir – quiseraeu

author: Jose Murilo


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Russia: Ethnic Rights Activist Assaulted · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time reports on the beating of an ethnic rights activist in Russia’s Mari El Republic.


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Russia: Kaliningrad’s Prussian Castle · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude reports on the plans to rebuild Kaliningrad's old Prussian castle, which was “firebombed by the RAF in 1944″ and “then levelled in 1969 to build the ill-conceived ‘House Of Soviets‘.”


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Russia: Subway Lezginka · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A month ago, YouTube user KABARDINEC (‘a Kabardian‘) posted three rather odd videos of two inspired young men dancing Lezginka at a subway station (here and here) and inside a train car (here), presumably in Moscow. Lezginka's origins are said to be in the ethnically diverse Republic of Dagestan, but variations of this beautiful folk dance are very popular throughout the Caucasus region.
LJ user ingushetiya_ru (Ingushetia) shared the subway train video with the blog's readers:
Below are some of the responses, translated from Russian:
andreykrot: Cool!
[…]
Anonymous: An idiocy.
barkoff_k: Which subway? In Moscow?..
ingushetiya_ru: Probably.
barkoff_k: Professional dancers they are. But could've been beaten up.
ingushetiya_ru: Or they could've beaten someone.
procol_harum: Why do it on the subway? It can only cause annoyance.
ingushetiya_ru: As you see, people were happy and supportive, they were applauding.
croomm: Cool ) Thanks )
[…]
Anonymous: The blackassed are getting really bold! Jerks, go back to your [villages]!
ingushetiya_ru: Go back to the dying out [Russian] villages, [anonymous].
maxim_dubrovin: [This is uncivilized.] Lezginka belongs in a concert hall, not on a subway train where there's a danger of thumping off pensioners’ feet.
ingushetiya_ru: You don't seem to know how to dance Lezginka properly. No danger to thump off anyone's feet. These guys are professionals.
maxim_dubrovin: Of course, I don't mean the dancers’ feet, but the feet of those who are seated. They don't sit there to see a concert, and they are free to place their legs as they see fit, instead of hiding them away.
janna: Great job, guys! Do you see how the elderly [passengers] are applauding, and the young ones don't understand what's going on. How can you not fall in love with guys like these?
dont_worry88: It's fun ))) Beautiful!!!!


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Serbia: A Comment on Kosovo · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Estavisti writes about Kosovo – as well as the U.S.: “It’s important to realise that the bombing of Serbia set the stage for the present US doctrine – ‘we can do whatever the fuck we like, whenever the fuck we like, to whomsoever we fucking choose’.”


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Serbia: A Rocky Balboa Statue · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Pestcentric wishes good luck to a village in Serbia that hopes to solve its (many) problems by erecting a statue of Rocky Balboa.


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Serbia: Emir/Nemanja Kusturica · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Belgrade 2.0 writes about Emir Kusturica, the Serbian filmmaker who has been awarded with France’s Order of the Knight of Arts and Literature of the first degree. Kusturica's name, by the way, is no longer Emir, but Nemanja: the name change occured after his baptism.


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South Korea: Healthy cup noodles · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt from Occidentalism blogs about a newly launched cup noodle in South Korea: MSG-free, low-sodium and un-fried noodles.


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South Korea: Korea US FTA Round 7 · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Jamie from Two Koreas blogs about the background, debating points in the most recent Korea US FTA negotiation.


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Sri Lanka: Ethics of comment moderation · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Indi.ca writes on the ethics of comment moderation. “There is some law of numbers in the world. In science you call it random error, in email it’s spam, in politics it’s terrorism, and in blogging it’s the combo of spam and trolls. For every 100 people you get 1 crazy.”


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Syria: Passport Renewal Not Fun · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian blogger Bassam shares his experiences in renewing his passport. “Although I was offered to have an intelligence agent go with me to make things go “smooth”, but being stubborn and adventurous I figured I’d do it by myself,” he writes.


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Syria: The Difference between Saudi Arabia and Iran · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Syrian blogger Mustafa Hamido briefly sums up the similarities and differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia.


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Thailand: Thaksin in Australia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Macam Macam says former Thai prime minister Thaksin may be looking to make Sydney his new home.


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The Puerto Rican dilemma · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Roberto Hernandez contemplates the large question of Puerto Rico's future: “Obviously the solution is not to be found in any of the ones offered by the current agendas.“


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Touring Libyan Blogs · Global Voices
Fozia Mohamed

The discussion continues from last week again on AngloLibyan who has brought up the topic of the Libyan AIDS stricken children as an offshoot of the previous week’s discussion about the Libyan AIDS stricken children.
Anglo Libyan highlighted  this time the double standards carried out and the possibility of miscarriage of justice  from the Bulgarian side. This is exemplified by the case of Michael Shields.
“Michael is a young English man who in 2005 was accused by the Bulgarian authorities of the attempted murder of a Bulgarian man who received severe head injuries. Michael Sheilds who was only 18 at the time was asleep when this crime happened as witnesses confirmed yet the police arrested him at his hotel, charged him with the crime and was sentenced to 15 years in a Bulgarian prison, after the sentencing another English man, Graham Sankey admitted to committing this crime and announced that he was prepared to co-operate with the Bulgarians and that Michael Shields should be freed. Surprisingly the Bulgarians refused this confession and insisted that they have the guilty man.[sic]”
Basically don’t throw stones at others if your own door is made of glass.
A.Adam from Flying Birds is complaining on the other hand about the LTT service
which seems to be suffering from a lot of errors lately.
“Error 691: The computer you are dialing in to cannot establish a Dial-Up Networking connection. Check your password, and then try again. I tired my best check my username passwords all my tries were useless [sic]”.
Apparently there is a way to resume service after this message is displayed  despite the general un-helpful reaction of the employee he contacted. Check his post and what the commenters said for more.
Maysoon has posted the photos from the excursions that her mother and aunt have arranged recently for their children to get to know Libya (Tripoli in this case).
“Mom has some other ideas for those who left Libya, lived abroad, and now returned and their parents are being too protective, she is planning something for them, and yah for girls only, boys do not seem to face these kinds of problems (will keep you posted for those who want to join).”
Click here to see her report.
Another very interesting topic which I noticed taking place in Libya and which I was glad blogger Libyano brought up is the ‘no plastic bags at bakeries campaign’.
“I was happy the other day when I was at the bakery near our house and I saw the new campaign against plastic bags took effect. It is held by the Environment General Authority and The Secretariat Of Health & Evironment aiming to stop using the plastic bags in the bakeries and replace them with paper bags or other alternatives. This will limit the carcinogenic effect of the plastic bags on the food especially the hot bread and will try to lower the number of plastic bags being used daily which are causing two environmental problems [sic]”
The readers were giving feedback on their various experiences at the bakeries and how some of them were still using the traditional Libyan ‘guffa’ or basket to buy bread.
Meanwhile, Highlander made a post about everyone’s favourite radio station in Libya, namely Allibya FM and the type of programs it broadcast, including a ‘dear aunt agony’ one. One particular hot topic drawing many respondents and callers  and whose reply she was surprised to hear was relevant to a young man’s dilemma, i.e to listen to his parents and marry his brother’s widow or to marry his love?
Very touching and stay tuned (no pun intended :P) for some more Libyan bloggers and stories next week.

author: Fozia Mohamed


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Trinidad & Tobago: Goat Racing · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“Goats are traditionally kept for their milk and meat and renowned for their cussedness and indiscriminate palate, but not in the tiny Tobago village of Buccoo,” writes Robert Frische, in his report on goat racing in Tobago.


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Turkmenistan: Continuing Transition · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Though Turkmenistan voted yesterday, Sean Roberts says that the transition is far from finished and he outlines some of the problems facing the president.


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Ukraine: Street Children · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Scenes from the Sidewalk writes about Ukraine's approximately 200,000 street children: how they become what they are and where they live.


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Ukraine: Utility Bills to Double · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Kyiv's mayor will not profit as much as he must have been expecting, reports Ukrainiana: “Kyivites’ utility bills will double, the Kyiv City Council ruled Thursday, overturning the 340 percent hike championed by Mayor Chernovetsky.”


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Vietnam: Prime Minister paricipates in a Chat · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi has a post on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung participating in an online chat with the public. The primeminister took on questions on topics such as press freedom, the Vietnam War and government seizure of farmers’ land for development.”


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Afghanistan: Eradication · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Joshua Foust says it is a bad sign for drug eradication efforts in Afghanistan that the US is sending its former ambassador to Colombia to head its Kabul embassy.


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Africa: defining the African Diaspora · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A thought-provoking piece at Black Looks on defining the African Diaspora, “Then there is the latter group, whose relationship, I am finding, is astonishingly schizophrenic. I talk here of a specific class of Africans living abroad. The educated ones who on the surface are proponents of a “pro-Africa” sort of image. We are the ones who want the world to know that Africa is not one country, that there’s more to it than you see on National Geographic etc. I think it’s fashionable in certain circles.”


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Armenia: Election Blogging · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Mary Joyce writes about her excitment about the Election Blogging Guide coming to Armenia and the importance of blogging. In the comments, Zarcha translates the post into Armenian.


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Armenia: Family Size · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

The Armenian Economist discusses changes in preferences for family size in Armenia.


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Bangladesh: Responding to the Doc · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Dr Yunus's open letter gets some responses. “There should be a “bi-cameral house” in the legislative body, like that of India or UK but with slightly a different model. There should be a lower house and an upper house in the Jatiyo Sangsad.”


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Brazil: “New Airport crisis unfolding for Carnaval” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

As Carnaval approaches, an airport crisis could be looming, warns Sao Paulo resident Ricardo Carreón.

author: David Sasaki


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Brunei: Brunein National Anthem and Flag · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Daily Brunei Resources posts the history of Brunei's national anthem and flag.


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China: Li Yinhe fires back · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Peijin Chen from Shanghaiist translates a post from Southern Metropolis entitled “A China This Big Cannot Tolerate Even One Li Yinhe?”  The article is not only about Li, but also about freedom of speech.


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Colombia, Latin America: TeleSur Goes Creative Commons · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Colombian lawyer and blogger Carolina Botero notes that the multi-government-funded cable news network, TeleSur has decided to publish all of its content with a Creative Commons license [ES]. “Will this decision serve to distribute content especially on the internet? I imagine that only time will tell.”


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Cuba: Arriving in Miami · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Marta Darby remembers arriving in the US from Cuba with her family in 1961, on the day before Valentine's Day: “Back then, in early 1961, Cubans would still go to the airport to greet other arriving exiles. I remember being oh-so-tired and happy.  I remember seeing my dad on the other side of the customs counter and not being allowed to go to him.  I remember that he and my brother were yelling directions to my mother: “Ask for 3!  Ask for 3!”. . . . I remember the cheering and clapping when we finally made it through customs.“


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Cuba: Soyinka in Havana · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jesús Risquet reports on Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka's attendance at the 16th International Book Fair in Havana, Cuba.


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Cuba: The untamable Internet · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Marc Masferrer has news for Cuban Communications Minister Ramiro Valdés, who said recently that “The wild colt of new technologies can and must be controlled”: “What Valdes either doesn't know, or chooses to ignore, is that the Internet is not built to be controlled, with easy access points for censors.“


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El Salvador: ANDA and the Perla scandal · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Tim Muth continues his “Water for El Salvador” series by taking a look at the country's water utility including the 1990's corruption scandal which just recently brought about the extradition of Carlos Perla who now awaits charges for embezzlement.


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Enter the Global Voices Valentine’s Day poetry contest! · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

HERE AT Global Voices we're in love with lots of things: blogging, international friendships, foreign languages, free wi-fi. And there are even some of us on the GV team who don't consider Valentine's Day a cheesy occasion viewed positively only by Americans, florists, chocolatiers and the CEOs of greeting card companies.
So, when — on soliciting suggestions for a way to mark Valentine's Day in these pages — our co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon mentioned a poetry contest she ran on her blog a couple of years ago, we fell so deeply in love with the idea that we decided to steal it for ourselves.
So if you're in the mood for love, or even if you view Valentine's Day (or love) with a jaundiced eye (as we all know, some of the best poetry is born of distress), please take part in our Valentine's Day poetry contest.
CONTEST RULES
- Entries must be in some sort of verse, not necessarily rhyming
- Entries must be no more than 30 lines long
- Entries must in some way have to do with 1) love/Valentine's Day and 2) blogging/citizen media, and have some sort of “regional flavour” (we'll leave it up to you to decide what that means)
- Entries may be submitted in any language, though submissions NOT in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Farsi or Mandarin Chinese MUST be accompanied by an English translation
- Entries are open to anyone anywhere in the world, including Global Voices editors, authors and advisory board members
- Entries must be the original work of the entrant and should not have been previously published elsewhere before February 1, 2007
- Entries  and will be moderated according to the guidelines governing all other comments received at Global Voices (ie no hate speech, obscenities etc). Feel free to send in as many as you wish, but please submit only one poem per comment box
- Entries must be posted  on Wednesday 14 February, 2007 to be considered for the contest (please provide a genuine email address)
The winning entries will be showcased on the Global Voices web site.
So what are you waiting on? In some parts of the world it's already Valentine's Day, so get cracking on that haiku/limerick/ghazal/madrigal/sonnet/ode/gangsta rap/elegy about the wonders/joys/perils of love!
UPDATE: The contest is now closed!
Image: A costume component from the “Heart that Sings” section of “The Sacred Heart”, Peter Minshall's 2006 presentation for the Trinidad & Tobago carnival. Courtesy caribbeanfreephoto.


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Haiti, France: Benefit for Haitian Schools · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Collectif Haiti de Provence posts (Fr) pictures of a benefit for Haitian Schools held in France.


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Honduras: Cervezas · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Changes in Heineken's global supply chain inspire “Don Godo” of Honduras Living to put together a guide of “vital info.” That is, descriptions of the four major domestic beers available in Honduras.


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Hong Kong: academic freedom · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Chong from interlocals writes about the recent scandal about the education department's intervention into academic freedom, by giving pressure to the president of Hong Kong Institute of Education to stop outspoken professors from criticizing the government education policy. A group of university teachers released a statement to call for public hearing and investigation.


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India: Mergers, Acquisitions and Technology · Global Voices
Kamla Bhatt

Merger and acquisitions and technology dominated the topic of conversations in India. Just in the past couple of week Indian companies have been involved in multi-billion dollar deals, which is an usual situation for Indian companies. For many years Indian companies were stymied by stringent government rules that prevented them from competing at a global level.
Dominating the news for this week is the acquisition of Hutch Essar India's fourth largest mobile provider for about $19 billion by Britain's Vodafone.  Om Malik of Gigaom writes:
Vodafone historically has been one of the worst telecom operators when it comes to mergers and acquisitions – bad deals, ill-timed exits and overpaying are part of company's legacy. By putting a valuation of close to $19 billion for Hutch Essar, the third largest mobile company in India, with about 24 million mobile subscribers, the British giant has ensured that legacy remains unchanged.
The big new prior to the Hutch Essar acquisition was the Tata acquisition of the Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus for about $12 billion. This was the first time in the history of corporate India that such a deal was executed. Understandably there was a lot of euphoria. But, Dhiraj Nayyar sounds a cautious note when he writes:
Can India possibly claim to be superpower, the new emperor, just because some of it's corporates are taking over firms abroad. Corporate might hasn't turned into well-being for the majority of the people who still languish in poverty, illiteracy, hunger: basically dismal human conditions. Even possessing a few nuclear weapons doesn't change this fact. And if half a country's population cannot read, feed or cloth itself, what does that say about the empire? Even the American empire seems hollow when it is estimated that one in six people in the US is functionally illiterate, a large number of them live in poverty, where poverty is often a function of race, and where hurricanes like Katrina leave the mighty government fumbling for solutions.
Here is a different perspective on the Tata-Corus deal from Govindaraj Ethiraj, an Indian journalist, who happened to be at the BBC office  morewhen the Tata-Corus deal was announced. Here is what he writes about how India is being perceived not only in newsrooms in the UK, but also in Germany.
I happened to be in London the day Tata's bid for Corus became public. I also happened to visiting some journalist-friends at the BBC's White City offices where BBC World is headquartered. Even as I was sitting in the now fully digital newsroom, the tickers began firing more and more takes on the possible deal. The BBC producers quickly realised that this was now the big story of the day. Not just for the Asia editions but also global bulletins.
Being a journalist from India and all that, they felt I might be able to provide some insights. So, I was asked, first, if this bid was for real. Second, they asked, what would now happen to Corus ? Yes, I said to the first, but I didn't know what to say to the second question. I mean, no one has ever asked me that one before. Its always been, what will happen to some poor unsuspecting Indian company. Not because of a takeover, because we've ensured that we don't really allow those but because of competition that we've fortunately allowed.
So there is India Inc, whose image outside is getting more and more menacing, so to speak. I was in Bavaria, Germany before I visited London and a German journalist friend mentioned how there was concern amongst some workers in local engineering firms particularly after Indian companies (like Bharat Forge, M&M) began snapping up assets here.
From the multi-billion merger deals we switch to technology. Yahoo! India went local and made its content available in seven different languages. However this move by Yahoo does not appear to have gone down well some some bloggers. Inje Peenu of Ginger and Mango writes:
Yahoo India launched a beta version of their Malayalam (an Indian Language) portal and what do they do to fill their pages? Lift content just straight from small web magazines and blogs without asking a word or adequately compensating for those. What a shame!
It looks like photoblogging has caught on in rural India. Kuffir of BlogBharti writes about one such photoblogging project in India.

author: Kamla Bhatt


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India: The Qutub Minar · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Twilight Fairy goes to the Qutub Minar and takes some wonderful photographs. ” I rushed around, clicking pictures feverishly, trying to gauge for spots which would be a little higher and might be the recipient of some last dying rays of the sun. I took some quick shots of the 72.5 m high towering minaret – the tallest brick minaret in the world. “


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Iran:Demonstration against Nestle in Tehran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Kamangir reports that Basij members protested in front of Nestle branch in Tehran.He adds one of the slogans was “to save Al-Aqsa Mosque, we do not eat Nestle.” We can see a few photos of this demonstration here.One of the slogans in photo is “Nestle Chocolate, Zionists’ Bullets”.


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Jamaica: Reggae and the Grammys · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbadian blogger Titilayo adds her two cents to the debate over whether the reggae category at the Grammy awards should be split in two.


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Jamaica, USA: On privacy · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“The irony is that the American achievement of new community and the Jamaican devolution into isolation is fueled by the same source: the Internet,” writes Jamaican novelist Marlon James. “Through the internet Americans have found a new way to interact while Jamaicans have found a new way to cut off from community, perhaps to build what they have always wanted instead of the what they have always been subjected to.”


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Jordan: Warm Welcome for Russian President · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Jordanian blogger Firas extends a warm welcome to visiting Russian president Vladimir Putin and gives him some advice – such as : “If you are walking in Wast El Balad (downtown) try not to make an eye contact with a policeman and smile in his face (I got IDed for that, for real!)”


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KABOBfest: Is Iran to be Blamed for Increasing Casulties in Iraq? · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Arab American blogger Fayyad gives us his two cents on Iran's role in Iraq here.


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Kazakhstan: Presidential Vodka · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

KZBlog reports that Kazakhstan's president now has a vodka dedicated to him.


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Kenya: remembering Robert Ouko · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

You missed This writes about the 15th anniversary of Robert Ouko‘s murder, “You see the list of people who have died to stop the truth over the Ouko murder ever coming out is rather lengthy and includes several clear cases of poisoning. For example former police commissioner Philip Kilonzo who worked hard to sell a ridiculous suicide theory to Superintendent John Troon was lured away from his beer under the pretext of viewing a cow that somebody wanted to sell to him. When he came back to his drink and sipped I briefly, witnesses say that he made a comment about the drink having some strange taste. Moments later he was dead. No investigations have ever been carried out and nobody has been brought to book over this murder to date.”


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Kyrgyzstan: Jibbing · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Elena Skochilo has photos of skiers and snowboarders who took part in a recent “jibfest” in Kyrgyzstan (RUS). Don't know what jibbing is? Azamat explains.


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Laos: Touristy Town · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The Lao Cook is disappointed that a lovely Lao town is now turning into a tourist trap. “”Theres not much to say about the food scene, hardly authentic either unless you like Pancakes, Pasta and Pizza, or reclining on low chairs sipping beer in front of T.V. Sets. When I asked a local why there wasnt any restaurants, she told me that the visitors were only interested in the three P´s.”


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Lebanon: Sectarianism and Peace Groups  · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

The fears of sectarian strife may be the reason why a good number of bloggers wrote about sectarianism this week. However, as one may expect, bloggers do not agree on how to define or confront this issue. While some see that it is blown out of proportion, or that ignoring it may bring calamity, others think that it is a blessing and a Lebanese exceptionality. Nevertheless, many anti–sectarian youth peace groups have popped–up in Beirut in an attempt to save Lebanon from the seemingly inevitable future of a civil war or violence such as those occurring in neighboring countries in the region. Lebanese blogs touched upon these topics, and others like building or restoring bridges (literally), best photo awards, jokes and dissent in the March 14 coalition. Here is a sample of posts that I have collected:
How much do the various Lebanese groups or sects know about each other? Very little, it seems. This, according to Abu Ali is the root of hatred and even war:
A dear friend of mine told me recently: “I wish the Shi’a would start acting as true Lebanese, so that we can get on with our lives and build our nation”. I asked her what she knew about the Shi’a and about the South, and she innocently responded with a list of prejudiced stereotypes, which included a Shi’a penchant for self-flagellation. Our conversation confirmed to me again how little the Lebanese know about each other. This is not to be brushed aside lightly: ignorance breeds the fear and mistrust necessary to fuel sectarian hatred and civil wars. […]
In a country in which the political system is exclusively sectarian, we grow up to be ignorant (and therefore suspicious) of each other.
[I prepared] a “short” document on the Shi’a and on Jabal Amel, the mountain of the Shi’a of South Lebanon….
Sectarian and other forms of identification always takes precedant over the Lebanese identity according to Walid Moukarzil, and this, he declares, is the source of our troubles:
The trouble with the Lebanon is that there are no Lebanese in the Lebanon. The day the Lebanese arrive in Lebanon the trouble will end.
As for Sophia, sectarianism is just a cover up used to subdue and terrorize moderate and progressive voices in the Middle East:
sectarianism is never the cause of what is happening in Lebanon, in Iraq, and even in Gaza. It is only a mean to achieve something else, it is a mean to terrorise people in their own communities by silencing the voices of moderation and reason so the incompetence, corruption and the theft of our rulers go unnoticed. Every time an extremist slogan is shouted, there are ten moderate voices unheard.
Bech discusses the irony of anti–sectarian individuals who support sectarian leaders and the hypocrisy and/or inadequacy of some of the new groups which fight sectarianism:
Funny how Lebanese don't lack creativity to come up with solidarity movements, petitions to sign, political stands, etc. that glorifies their independence of affiliation. The “non-aligned” movement is the most interesting of all, because in reality, it slides inadvertently towards one side (the government, 14th of March).
Sietske in Beirut lists and defines some of the new peace groups that have recently declared their presence Beirut:
What I find much more fascinating though, is the number of Lebanese movements that are showing their discontent with the current political players. They are popping up like mushrooms. Are the Lebanese finally politicizing? A short line-up:…
The March 14 block (pro–government/anti–Syrian) may be facing dissent as MFL points out to Rafi Madayan who declares his break up with them and accused them of exploiting the martyrs of March 14 as well as destroying the dreams of the Lebanese youth.
Lebanese has an article about the efforts and financial aid provided by the USA as well as Iran to rebuild some of the ninety bridges destroyed or damaged by Israel during its offensive last summer.
On the lighter side, here is a joke about politicians, thieves and programmers from Ahmad:
One politician, One thief & One Programmer died & went straight to hell.
Politician said “I miss my country. I want to call my country and see how everybody is doing there.” She called and talked for about 5 minutes, then she asked “Well, devil how much do I need to pay for the call????
The devil says “Five million dollars”.
The Politician wrote him a cheque and went to sit back on her chair.
Thief was so jealous, he starts screaming, “My turn! I wanna call the my group members, I want to see how everybody is doing there too” He called and talked for about 2 minutes, then he asked “Well, devil how much do I need to pay for the call????
The devil says “Ten million dollars”.
With a smug look on his face, he made a cheque and went to sit back on his chair.
Programmer was even more jealous & starts screaming, “I want to call my IT friends too”, He called other IT person and he talked for twenty hours about various technologies and Project Managers, he talked & talked & talked, then he asked “Well, devil how much do I need to pay for the call????
The devil says “Twenty dollars”.
Programmer is stunned & says “Twenty dollars??? Only ??”
Devil says “Calling hell to hell is local”
Finally, finkployd posts some of the photos the won in the 2006 World Press Photo Contest especially those pictures that were taken during and after the Israeli July–August bombing of Lebanon.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Local government supports anti-bullfighting movement in Medellín, Colombia · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

This year has marked a sea change in the city of Medellín, Colombia regarding animal rights. The local government has been supporting the annual bullfighting festivities for years, but this year, for the first time, the mayor has dedicated a portion of the bullfighting budget (roughly $6,700 USD) to support the anti-bullfighting movement.
Blogger Jorge Montoya in his weekly radio show, has invited several personalities to discuss the anti-bullfighting movement in the city of Medellín: Mauricio Gómez from the animal welfare group, Defenzoores; Julián Vélez, a Bullfighting journalist for El Colombiano and Jorge Melguizo, Secretary for the Municipal Offices of Culture.
Julián Vélez covers the bullfighting beat at El Colombiano and supports the bullfighting festival as a generator of economic benefits for the city as well as a source of jobs that result from the annual festival which takes place during January and February. He insists that bullfighting has won fans in the last few years and that La Macarena bullring is fuller this year than ever, despite contradicting claims by detractors.
When asked if he would support a bullfight that would not require the death of the bull, but rather be focused on music, traditions, and other parts of the festival, he answered that he would not support it, that the most exciting time of the bullfight are the last three steps leading to the animal´s death. He argues that these animals are raised and reared for the bullring and that a properly performed bullfight does not hurt the animal too much if one takes into account the endorphins, adrenaline and other chemicals that flood the bull´s body. He underlined that the bulls are well taken care of, that they live like kings for the 4 years prior to the fight, that animals are not prodded or harrassed before going out to the ring, and that any practices that make the animal suffer before the moment when the bullfighter and bull face off are not supported by the fans.
Secretary of Culture for the City Jorgue Melguizo also gave his reasons to support this anti-bullfighting movement, based on the program “Medellin, the most educated one”. The mayorship has given out 15 000 000 (about $6,700) to support the movement against bullfighting, backing the initiative where the population is being educated on different points of view, so the citizens themselves can form their own opinions. He doubts that any fans of bullfights will change his or her point of view due to this campaign, but that those who haven´t made a decision will be able to study opposing arguments and then define their position as for or against the fights. The secretary did mention that they will continue to support the bullfights, but that wanted to reserve a part of the bullfighting budget for this educational opportunity. They have received many emails from around the world congratulating the Medellin mayorship for their support of the movement against bullfights. Melguizo also notes that this initiative has really put them on a map they were previously unaware of: the worldwide animal protection groups on the internet. As a side note, he comments on his surprise on the great numbers of youth who are walking under this animal rights banner with solid ideas, organization and the urge to be part of this education initiative.
Mauricio Gómez from Defenzoores exposed the different steps in the animal´s torture, starting from the flags attached to the animal to distinguish it´s house to the final moment of death, which usually takes between 15 and 20 minutes. He commented that although the bull is raised to fight, it isn´t trained, whereas bullfighters are trained and armed before facing the bull, making the competition more than a little uneven. In comparison he brought up the recortadores of other countries, that face the bull without any weapons, jumping and doing acrobatics around the bull without killing it as an option to the torturing of bulls.
Defenzoores took the city in celebration on Thursday morning with a festival against bullfights, where they showed videos, gave out t-shirts, brochures and talked to the community about the bullfights and why they are against them. This anti bullfighting celebration will take place these following weeks around the city: they´ve even included a religious aspect to part of their programmed activities. They will ask for the Virgin of the Macarena´s forgiveness, since it is her image that is paraded into the ring before every fight. The other events will take place in popular nightspots throughout the city.
According to Mauricio, this is the first time in the history of all 8 countries with bullfighting traditions where the government has supported the anti bullfighting movement, and they have many reasons to celebrate and share their energy and point of view with the rest of the city.

author: Juliana Rincón Parra


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Mexico, Canada: “Nationalism is a Disease” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Juan – a Mexican native and Canadian resident – of the Bloggie-nominated site Global Culture tackles nationalism, identity, and why he writes in English. “My years in Mexico were great, but were mostly about survival in the sense that there was little time for any activities that would not contribute directly to advancing as an individual. The migrant experience taught me two things: 1) the survival skills are very useful when faced with the challenge of starting from zero in a new country; 2) there is more to life than surviving, but all those things will only appear once you have the basics under control.”


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Mexico: History of Spanish Via Podcast · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Spanish-speakers and lovers of language should check out Incendio en el Jardín de la casa, a podcast series by Octavio Isaac Rojas Orduña about the history of the Spanish language.


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Mexico: “Latin Americans Will Earn Less” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Citing a recent study by ECA International, Alfredo Sánchez of the business blog Olganza writes that real salaries in Latin America are forecasted to increase less in 2007 [ES] compared to the rest of the world. Writes Sanchez, “the five countries where real salaries will increase the most are all Asian: India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Thailand.


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Moldova: Questions on the Law · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Law in Moldova poses law-related questions to Moldova's president Voronin: “Does the President care about the country's image that exist among its own citizens? It seems from the words of Mr. Voronin that he is concerned only about the image of Moldova beyond its borders…”


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Namibia: mobile phones base stations powered by wind and solar · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mohammed Njie posts an article from the BBC about the world's first mobile phone base station powered by wind and the sun's rays in Namibia: MTC has been using base stations powered with just solar energy but will turn to the wind for the first time for the trial in the village of Dordabis, 40 kilometres east of the capital city Windhoek.


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Nepal: Restructuring Nepal · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Madhesh.com on movements and restructuring Nepal. “think the level of positive changes due to the instrument of violence, fear and exploitation of emotional fire has already reached an optimum level and the discrepancies among regions and races have been well identified by now.”


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Nigeria: the census debate goes on · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bloggers are still debating Nigeria's last year's census, “Last year’s census is still causing arguments here, with all sorts of wild claims flying around. One of the big problems has been the announcement that Kano state has a slightly larger population than Lagos state, when obviously there are more people in Lagos!”


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Pakistan: Organized Love · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Wayward Mind writes on Organized Love. “Now a days love reigns supreme; it’s everywhere, on the idiot box, on radio shows, trashy songs and exploitative marketing and urbania is drifting away in an oscular hysteria. It appears that Cupid has shaken hands with the prophets of neo-liberalism.”


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Panama: Cupido Must Die! · Global Voices
David Sasaki

There is no shortage of anti-Valentine sentiment in the air as Cupid's Hallmark-enclosed arrow comes our way. For the more cyberactive of cupid curmudgeons, there is even a website, explains Rob Riviera: “Find out more about the “Cupido Must Die!” movement and how you too can participate by visiting the Cupido Must Die website. In just a few days since its conception many members of the Panamanian blogosphere have expressed their sentiments via Cupido, and if you feel identified I suggest you join us in our protest as well.”


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Poland’s Pulse: Healthcare Bingo, Alcohol Curfews, Red Pig  · Global Voices
Jordan & Maria Seidel

Photo by Embe at warsawdaily
A week of intermittent snowfall broke a dry spell, drawing kids outdoors for some winter games. It will be a short-lived affair as the winter has been a let-down for some with warmer temperatures and, as Our Man in Gdansk suggests, indoor games are sure to be in fashion soon. One such game is a perennial favorite but with a twist from Poland, get your chips out for “Health Care Bingo.”
Here I present a cut-out-and-paste version of office bingo to help you while away the hours of talking heads talking about why the Polish health service is in a jock. You have to choose just three of the following commonly proferred explanations of why the Polish health service is in a jock.
What happens when local authorities get to plan, but not pay for a highway to connect Helsinki and Warsaw? BINGO! An offer they can't refuse plus irreversible damage to numerous forests. But when the chips are down, bloggers become clicktivists. Varpho has set up a petition and encourages all to take action now:
By signing the list below you are protesting against routing Via Baltica through unique nature areas, such as the Augustów Forest along with the Rospuda River Valley, the Biebrza National Park and the Knyszyn Forest, and thus you are expressing your disapproval for the Białystok option of this road.
One refused offer however was greeted by collective sighs of relief by bloggers as a former Polish PM declined a top post at one of Poland's largest banks. Interestingly, the decision was announced on the former politican's personal blog (in Polish). According to Polish Matters, the news couldn't come soon enough as the whole idea seemed, literally, wrong-headed:
It's enough to say that Marcinkiewicz, a high school Physics teacher before his 9-month stint as Polish prime minister last year, had no experience in either banking or management.
Hold on though, experience doesn't always lead to wise decisions, according to the beatroot. Not only appearing wrong-headed, but donning a bad hair day icon, a Polish mayor decided to proclaim an alcohol curfew in one of Poland's hottest tourist spots.
You expect this kind of thing from the British, but a Pole banning drinking? Is the mayor of Sopot limbering up for a career in Brussels, perhaps?
Warsaw not to worry, boo provides some blogging about sans-curfew and trendy night spots, complete with a token cummunist pub, endearingly called The Red Pig. I wonder, do they serve Red Bull?
Staying with the educational angle, although a little textual bull, or embellishment, might implicate itself here, The Real Warsaw provides a post and response on life in Poland, by a USA student and an ex-pat resident of Poland. Watch this thread as opinions are exaggerated on both sides. Highlight for me: Buy real estate in Poland right now!
That’s the Poland blogopshere update! Until next time – Do widzenia i powodzenia!

author: Jordan & Maria Seidel


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Puerto Rico: Congress on Educational Blogs · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The First Congress of Puerto Rican Educational Blogs took place on February 8-9, 2007. Here's the Congress blog (ES).

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Russia: Pancake Week · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Turkish Invasion writes about the celebration of the Pancake Week in Russia: “For the Russians Maslenitsa is like a carnival for the Italians, especially because the initial sense of festivals is the same: the Italian word “carnival” (carne-vale) means “farewell the beef!”, and Maslenitsa that precedes the Great Lent, in old time was called “Myasopust” because it was forbidden to eat meat during this week.”


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Slovenia: Euro-Tracking · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Via EuroBillTracker, The Glory of Carniola tracks his 20-euro bill from Slovenia to Italy, where it was printed. A reader is disappointed his bill's origin isn't as exotic.


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Slovenia: Preseren Day · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

The Glory of Carniola writes about Preseren Day and the Slovenes of Alexandria.


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South Africa: 2007 blog awards · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

It is time to select the best from the South African blogosphere: “As you already know – the SA blog awards showcase the very best of South African independent web publishing in various categories.New categories for this year include: Best SA Music blog: Best weblog about news of a musical nature, Best GLBT blog – Best SA gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered blog and Best SA podcast: The best independently produced video or audio podcast in SA.”


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South Korea: Android to Get Plastic Surgery · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Matt comments on the news “Android to Get Plastic Surgery”, relating the plastic surgery culture to the suicide of an actress Jeong Da-bin.

author: Oiwan Lam


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South Korea: Selective Abortions  · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Asiapages discusses about the practice of selective abortions in favor of male babies in South Korea.


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Syria: You Know You’re an Engineer When.. · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Are you an engineer or do you know one? Syrian blogger Omar has a hilarious insight into the lives of engineers here.


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UAE: Oil Spy and Sex Expert?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

UAE-based blogger Cowboy Media links to news reports on an oil spy in Qatar and a sex expert in Saudi Arabia.


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Ukraine: Protesting Hate Speech · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

A Step At A Time reports on the protest against hate speech initiated by the Ukrainian Gay and Lesbian Center “Our World” following the homophobic remarks made by Leonid Grach, a Communist MP.


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Uruguay: Pizza & Faina · Global Voices
David Sasaki

“In Uruguay pizza is not round, and slices are not triangular, well now [it] is getting more common, but when I was a kid, round pizzas could only be seen in movies.” Gabo of From Uruguay explains why.


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Venezuela: Chávez starts talking green · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Leftside and The Latin Americanist give some analysis to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's recent enthusiasm for environmentalism.


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Venezuela: Commemorating a Coup · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Just back from a ten-day trip to Colombia and the United States, Daniel Duquenal returns to Venezuela and is infuriated by a parade commemorating “the February 4th coup attempt by Chavez and his pals against a duly democratically elected government.”


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Zimbabwe: the breaking point · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Blogging about Zimbabwe, Ethan Zuckerman asks, “What is the breaking point?”: Gono, who is either the most incompetent central banker in the world today or the most sinister and corrupt, has responded by illegalizing inflation. Betwen March and June, anyone who raises prices for goods or services, will be subject to arrest. The predictable result of this action will be a full shutdown of the Zimbabwean economy – if you can’t make a profit selling bread, why would you continue making it and selling it at a loss?

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Iran: Flickr users vs. The State · Global Voices
sami ben gharbia

One of the censorship nightmares experienced by web-connected citizens living in countries engaging in Internet filtering is to find out that they can no longer access their favorite sites. Unfortunately, this is what is happening to the Flickr.com community in Iran and in the United Arab Emirates, where, a few weeks ago — and for the third time — the Internet service provider, Etisalat, decided to ban access to Flickr after the UAE Flickr community fought so hard to get it back.
However, and while repressive regimes are particularly effective in building substantial Internet filtering systems and at creating an atmosphere of fear in which people censor themselves, there are amazing individuals who are making a difference. In the asymmetrical battle — individual vs. State — taking place between two parties with vastly different resources, a few freedom-loving people have been taking on the sophisticated state censorship machine, armed with nothing but their passion and creativity. One of these people is the young Iranian Hamed Saber, Flickr fan and very talented photographer. One month ago he launched a Firefox extension called Access Flickr!, that enabled his fellow citizens to circumvent the flickr.com filter. I recently discovered this fascinating extension on flickr.com, where Hamed Saber presented it and invited the UAE Flickr community to try it for their country.
I'm aware that the existence of this extension does not mean very much to the large majority of average internet users who don't know that the Web is not that big blue e on the desktop screen. But what I certainly know is that this tool does matter to those who want to take back the web and get back the magic of Flickr. So, I couldn’t wait to talk with Hamed by e-mail about his initiative and the hole that such technique might open in the firewall of digital censorship:
Sami Ben Gharbia: Why did you set up the Firefox extension Access Flickr!?
Hamed Saber: As I said in the extension home page, in my country (Iran), unfortunately, flickr.com is banned. I'm a fan of that photo-archive website, so I wrote this extension just to help my dear friends who can not access flickr.com from Iran.
SBG: What purpose does Access Flickr! serve?
HS: I think all human beings have the right to choose what is good and what is bad for themselves. The “Big Brother” theory is not logical and ethical to me. Yes! Of course. I don't want to say that parental control should not be happening just because of freedom and information access rights! No! I mean NO ONE has the right to censor ANY THING for me and for others without our permission! We can decide what is good and what is bad for us, better than those!
SBG: Do you think that it is helping people (Iranian and others) getting access to flickr.com?
HS: Yes. It helps all Flickr members (and viewers) who want to access this great website in Iran, UAE, China and other regions in which this site is blocked there. Of course if they try to block this extension, they can do it, but then I'll develop another bypassing way.
SBG: Are you aware of any other initiatives like yours using Firefox extension as tool to bypass censorship?
HS: No, I didn't hear or read anything about (if any).
SBG: Can you provide us with some technical details about how this extension works? Is it a sort of proxy like TOR?
HS: It is so simple! Not sophisticated and powerful like TOR! This extension just substitutes some parameters in HTTP request header before sending it, and after receiving the response, again it substitutes some other parameters in the HTTP response header. The source code is not encoded, and the extension is open source, anyone can read the simple source code!
SBG: When did you release the first version of Access Flickr!?
HS: The first releases (versions 1.0 and 1.1) were not published, and I just sent them to my friends for testing, but the first published version was 1.2 which was released on Jan 12, 2007.
SBG: Does Access Flickr! use a built-in proxy IP or does it bypass the local DNS server query by resolving directly flickr’s DNS?
HS: No, not at all! It just substitutes the HTTP headers with some constant parameters which are not blocked yet! I mean everywhere I found that flickr was blocked, the firewall blocks *.flickr.com, or in UAE just www.flickr.com!
Some friends in UAE are using other URLs such as www3.flickr.com with tweaking the Yahoo! login page redirector URL, but this trick is not working in Iran, because they banned *.flickr.com, so even if the user uses an IP address for connecting, he/she can neither see the images nor CSS or JS files. But this extension substitutes all those host parameters with alternatives, plus substituting the passed cookies with proper ones.
SBG: You said that the extension is open source and that anyone can read the simple source code. Is it possible then to tweak the code for other censored websites in other repressive countries? If yes, where can we find the code?
HS: No, it is not always possible for tweaking and reusing it. It depends on the site. For example orkut.com is blocked in Iran too. But this trick won't work for it because Google web servers are obligated to response to true host requests, and if you ask them for some other host parameter, they respond you with a direct HTTP header. The source is included inside the extension file. You can check the development zone of Mozilla.org for learning how to check and use it.
SBG: Proxies are usually slowing down the internet connectivity, is this also the case with this extension, I mean does the requested webpage needs more time to be displayed?
HS: No, not at all! The speed is like the time you are not filtered!
Thus, thanks to such bypass techniques, the decision taken in October 2006 by the Iranian government to ban high-speed internet turned ridiculous since it won’t slow down the connection to flickr.com. As one commentator -among numerous of others who had welcomed the extension- has said “Now, it's the time for just sitting at the front of  your PC/Notebook with a cup of coffee and browse Flickr as easy as drinking the Coffee!”.The amazing thing about this technique is that it does not require any advanced technical knowledge of proxy server configurations. Users are able to use it without having to go through a complicated installation process. “Just install the extension and restart your browser.” (see the animation below).
SBG: So thank you Hamed for your gift to the passionate Flickr community and may this genius idea inspire other developers to make more breaches in the dam of the Internet filtering.

author: sami ben gharbia


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Africa: reading Chinua Achebe · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Enanga's Pov on reading Chinua Achebe, “One of them was Chinua Achebe’s essay, An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Never have I, on reading something, agreed with someone so strongly that it brought the tears to my eyes. Never have I admired a writer more.”


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Africa: Toko Blaze Live Video · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Arkayog posts (Fr) a video of a performance by Ivoiro-Cameroonian French reggae artist Toko Blaze who — if you aren't yet confused — was born in Niger.

author: Alice Backer


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Algeria: War on Terrorism · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

The war on terrorism in Algeria continues, writes Algerian blogger Nouri. “The Interior Ministry released a statement in early February stating that al-Qaeda in Algeria would be eradicated (as is often the terminology used for defeating “terrorist” groups); this has clearly not been the case; sporadic acts of violence against police and military personnel have gone on over the past several years,” he adds.

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Armenia: Artists and the State · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sassna Dzrer publishes a press release from Armenian artists criticizing the Armenian government for limiting freedom of artistic expression.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Armenia: Election Monitor · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has another roundup of Armenian parliamentary election news that covers media restrictions and party recruitment at CRD/TI Election Monitor 2007.


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Armenia: Soldiers at the Court · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian reports seeing soldiers manning security at Armenia's Constitutional Court and says that for a country that is supposed to be heading toward democracy, it sends the wrong message.


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Bahrain: Brother Held Ransom · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif reports a human rights tragedy in Bahrain – where the police are holding a man ransom, until his brother surrenders himself.


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Bangladesh: Valentine’s in the country · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Reflections on what Valentine's Day is in Bangladesh at Unheard Voices. “Bangladeshis by their own admission have a reputation of being extremely emotional, but quite prudent about showing affection in public — a stark opposite of their western counterparts.”

author: Neha Viswanathan