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Argentina: Borges’ Bday · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Yesterday was Jorge Luis Borges’ 107th birthday. With the help of YouTube, Julián Gallo pays homage. Don't forget about Jeff Barry's excellent “30 Days with Borges” series.


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Argentina: “Throw in the Towel” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Robert Wright on what a paper towel can teach you in Argentina.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: David Sasaki


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Armenia: Detained by the KGB · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian just returned from Lachin, the strategic town linking Karabakh with Armenia proper. His trip was cut short because he was detained by the KGB, which informed him his movements were restricted. The trip was not a loss though, as he is able to report on mine-clearing efforts in the region.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Boliiva: Film: Lo Más Bonito y Mis Mejores Años · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Ávila heads to the  Latin American film festival in Cochabamba to watchLo Más Bonito y Mis Mejores Años: “By far, this is the best Bolivian movie that I have seen, as it really captures life in Cochabamba and I recognize so much of what takes place within the film. The subtle humor within the dialogue really provided something extra.  I think this will be the one film that really attracts a lot of attention from Latin America.” Meanwhile, Jim Shultz has a word of advice for young documentary filmmakers on their way to Bolivia.


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Bolivia: Windows and Google in Quechua · Global Voices
David Sasaki

According to Choloblog (ES) the Windows operating system will be known as “T’uqu”, pressing “Kichana” will open a window and “Wuiskana” will close it. “KAH-lyah-ree”, meanwhile, is the phonetic pronunciation of the word which replaces “Start” in Windows’ familiar taskbar, says Prairie Weather. According to Global by Design and Eduardo Arcos Bolivian President Evo Morales will make an announcement with Microsoft officials in Sucre today that the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software have been localized in Quechua, an indigenous language spoken by some 10 million Andean residents. Jimmy Granado, however, takes a much more critical look at the announcement, questioning Evo Morales’ support of Microsoft over free and open source alternatives like Linux (ES): “I thought that Evo wold follow the steps of Hugo Chavez. Since, if you didn't know, in Venezuela the government uses Free Software, just like Brazil.” Finally, Newley Purnell takes a look at Google Quechua.


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Cambodia: A Cambodian Geek in Malaysia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at khmerak.com is in Malaysia to attend an e-media training at a Malaysian online journalism organisation. The blogger describes his first day in Malaysia.

author: Preetam Rai


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Caribbean: Exporting Carnival · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“. . . it's interesting how these festivals have echoed, in a small way, the evolution of their original model in Trinidad, as a vehicle of solidarity, an assertion of identity, a gesture of defiance in a hostile environment,” says Jeremy Taylor, writing about the Carnivals “exported” by the Caribbean to the likes of London and New York.

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Central Asia: Chinese Motives · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Sean Roberts discusses Chinese goals in Central Asia.


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Google in Brazil: Who Guards Orkut’s Playground? · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The Brazilian blogosphere is talking about Google  or more specifically about Orkut, its social network which has attracted a huge number of players. In order to understand Google's significance in South America's biggest country it must be realized that today of the 20 million Brazilians with access to the Internet , approximately 17 million are in Orkut. Indeed, it seems that the wholesale involvement of a society in a virtual space that has a peculiar (and loose) identity system is not providing good outcomes. Prosecutors in Brazil claim that there are users engaged in illegal activity on Orkut and they are going after Google because so far it has refused to hand over information about them.
O Ministério Público Federal (MPF) prepara duas ações contra a Google: uma civil (perda da representatividade e pagamento de indenização por danos morais coletivos) e outra criminal por proteção de criminosos (favorecimento pessoal) e desobediência. O inquérito policial foi instaurado há dois meses. Há cinco meses, o MPF aguarda o fornecimento dos dados de 27 perfis e criadores de comunidades do Orkut. A quebra do sigilo foi autorizada pela Justiça, mas nunca foi cumprida pelo Google Brasil, segundo afirmou o procurador da República no estado de São Paulo, Sérgio Gardenghi Suiama, que moverá as duas ações contra a empresa.
Orkut pode fechar o escritório do Google Brasil – undergoogle.com
A Comissão de Direitos Humanos e Minorias da Câmara envia hoje ao Congresso norte-americano um dossiê contendo denúncias de pornografia infantil e pedofilia na internet. O relatório será encaminhado pelo conselheiro da Embaixada dos Estados Unidos, Dennis Hearne. O relatório destaca o site de relacionamento Orkut, de propriedade da empresa norte-americana Google Inc., como local preferencial para a ação de pedófilos no Brasil. O documento foi elaborado, a pedido da comissão, pela organização não-governamental SaferNet Brasil, especializada em denúncias de ações criminosas desenvolvidas por meio da rede mundial de computadores. O dossiê apresenta fotos de páginas de pedofilia no Orkut e por isso não pode ser divulgado amplamente.
Direitos Humanos denuncia Orkut ao Congresso dos EUA –  Informática Jurídica e Direito da Informática LEFIS
The big media splash caused by the moves of Brazilian officials seemed disproportional at first, and the company's response was intended to keep the flames under control. Google attempted to cool the issue by asserting that local authorities have been making their demands to the Brazilian office, which is composed of sales people and not lawyers. The prosecutors did not buy it. Their dramatic response  was to level a $61 million (USD) fine and the possibility of having Google's Brazilian unit dissolved. But the company's stance of declining to hand over user information has raised its status among global network freedom advocates, and the attention captured by the issue signals an escalation of the latest dispute to pit the workings of a national legal system against the operations of the US global Internet giants.
O Google, historicamente, tem se negado a fornecer informações de seus usuários a justiça e este episódio levanta uma questão importante, até onde os dados dos usuários devem ou não ser ocultados dos órgãos públicos? O MP não tem intenção de aliviar nesta questão, portanto ou o Google cede, como já cedeu na China bloqueando dados indesejados ou sua existência no Brasil pode estar comprometida.
O Google anda tendo sérios problemas com a justiça brasileira – 1/2 Bit
O procurador da empresa Google Brasil, Durval Noronha, contestou hoje (23), em uma conferência por telefone, os números apresentados pela organização não-governamental SaferNet à respeito dos crimes contra os direitos humanos praticados no site de relacionamentos Orkut. “São números subjetivos, não auditados, e nós questionamos esses números apresentados”, afirmou o procurador.
Procurador da Google Brasil questiona pesquisa – Pernambuco.com
Mais uma vez, na disputa entre Google e Ministério Público de SP ficou evidente que a Google quer seguir as leis americanas e o MP, as brasileiras.O MP quer os IP's [espécie de RG do usuário] dos membros das comunidades acusados de pedofilia e outros crimes. A Google se nega fornecer esses dados.O detalhe é que essas informações sobre os IP's estão nos EUA, mais precisamente na Califórnia, local onde as leis e a cultura local protegem, de forma efetiva, o anonimato e a livre expressão na web.Por isso, o IP do usuário é um dado que dificilmente será divulgado. Vale lembrar que, ao contrário da Yahoo!, nem com pressão do governo chinês, a Google revelou dados de seus usuários. Preferiu censurar os resultados de suas buscas.O que o MP deveria fazer é se espelhar na rede social MySpace, que se tornou um lugar mais seguro depois que restringiu o acesso de menores e convocou diversos especialistas para monitorarem o site. Entregar dados de usuários é mais difícil. Agora, cá entre nós, esse papo de fechamento de escritório já é muito barulho.
Desse jeito nunca chegarão a um acordo! – Tudo na Net
Latest developments in the case seem to be leading to an open confrontation between the Internet giant and the Brazilian government, as company lawyers in the US start mentioning the possibility of closing Orkut in Brazil. That would be something interesting to watch, as this virtual environment has established itself as a cultural reference point in Brazilian awareness of the digital ecology. Bloggers are fast to react.
Google ameaça pôr fim ao Orkut no Brasil: a empresa, que está envolvida em uma série de processos judiciais, pode tomar a medida caso não seja possível coibir excessos dos usuários brasileiros ou não se chegar a um acordo com a Justiça do país. Para a direção do Google, seja qual for o resultado da atual disputa jurídica, a imagem do site pode sair irremediavelmente arranhada no Brasil, país que responde por entre 80% e 90% do total de usuários, de cerca de 20 milhões. Em conversa por telefone, a diretora jurídica do Google, Nicole Wong, disse que “nenhuma hipótese está descartada”, mas que a empresa “está muito feliz em prover esse serviço ao Brasil e gostaria muito de poder continuar a fazê-lo”.
Google ameaça pôr fim ao Orkut no Brasil – undergoogle.com
Toda essa “confusão” graças ao povinho que existe no Brasil. A cada dia que passa estou mais assustada e mais revoltada, talvez por pegar o metrô “abarrotado” de gente todos os dias, e ver como existe gente educada nesse país. Engraçado que o ser humano, não consegue esperar 2 minutos o próximo trem. Mas minha revolta com a educação brasileira (pelo menos paulistana) não tem a ver com o Google. Apesar que se pensar bem, até teria um vínculo. Anyway.
Google tira o Orkut do Brasil?? – Dona Fifi
E não é que eu acho que fiquei feliz com isso?! Aí todo mundo usaria o MySpace. Ou, se tudo desse certo mesmo, ninguém usaria mais nada e essa porra dessa moda ia pro saco. YAY! =D
Orkut CENSURADO?! – Blooooooooog
The big media attention to the case is in direct proportion to the scale of Brazilian participation in the virtual environment. It's really huge, and could provide an interesting laboratory on how to deal with digital identity on the web. But observers are quick to point out that Google's loose attention to Orkut development — especially the lack of proper controls in the subscription process — has had a decisive impact in the formation of the Brazilian user base. Everybody in the country knows that most of the users of social networks are kids, and most parents are not even aware that the site is not supposed to be allowed to people under 18. Who's to blame? Would Google pay such loose attention if the majority of users were in the US?
Milhões de crianças brasileiras acessam o site de relacionamentos Orkut sem que os pais saibam que ele é um local preferencial para a ação de pedófilos no Brasil, revelou a pesquisa divulgada hoje (22), em São Paulo, pela organização não-governamental SaferNet. O site, de propriedade da empresa norte-americana Google, “é um site adulto. Está dito nos termos e regras da Google. E, no entanto, sabemos que os pais, muitas vezes, não sabem disso”, disse Thiago Tavares, presidente da SaferNet.
Famílias precisam saber que site Orkut é apenas para maiores de 18 anos, alerta presidente de ONG – SaferNet Brasil
Enquanto no Brasil vivemos a polêmica do Google divulgar ou não divulgar os dados de certos usuários do orkut, acusados de pedofilia e racismo, temos uma situação oposta ocorrendo na Inglaterra. A Microsoft está trabalhando juntamente com a “UK Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre” para proteger os usuários do Windows Live Messenger. Os usuários do Windows Live Messenger na Inglaterra, poderão reportar diretamente para as autoridades possíveis pedófilos no chat. Será adicionado um ícone “report abuse” (reportar abuso) que ao ser clicado enviará um aviso para o serviço de polícia online.
Microsoft “lava as mãos” – Diogo Azevedo
There must be some common ground for a positive settlement. It seems obvious that some Brazilian officials lack understanding of the web global dynamics AND Google has made equivalent errors in not paying close attention to inappropriate membership and behaviors of Orkut users until now.  But the present ‘tug of war’ format of the debate will not help anybody. All sides should keep in mind that the case can be an opportunity bringing important insights about how to deal with identity in the web environment. Brazilians are ready (eager?) to explore these possibilities. It would be important also that Google Brazil's team should be prepared to think and move with respect for local cultural sensibilities while dealing with the implications created by such a huge experiment in social networking. It is obvious that ‘adsense’ sales people are not prepared to understand the deep issues that will keep emerging from the incredible digital laboratory spontaneously generated by social networking. Google's one-size-fits-all approach may just not fit everywhere, every time.
A Google Inc. diz que cumpriu todos os pedidos endereçados corretamente até hoje. A Folha apurou ainda que a empresa reluta em ceder dados de seus usuários, a não ser em acordo com a Justiça dos EUA, por temer que esses possam ter uso político. Precedentes citados são os de autoridades chinesas e iranianas, que já exigiram informações de dissidentes dos respectivos regimes.
Google ameaça fechar Orkut no Brasil – InfoNotícia
E voltando a velha novela “Porque não Investir em Pindorama”, o Ministério Público Federal pede o fechamento do Google no Brasil. Não resta duvida que o Google deve tomar uma postura mais séria em relação a crimes cometidos em suas páginas, até porque pedofilia (por exemplo) é crime em tanto em Mountain View quanto em Belo Horizonte. Mas será que não basta que se faça um termo de ajustamento de conduta, negociado, de forma a equalizar as leis locais com as da Matriz da empresa ?… Por outro lado… Se fosse na China todos os 85 acusados já teriam sido executados e a familia estaria pagando a bala pelo Google Checkout.
and Justice for All – Déjà Vu
Many lessons can be learned from the case. The fear factor raised by the story's treatment in the traditional media is worth mentioning. Natives of the Net are especially sensitive to those kinds of stories and signals that call for more and more control of Net freedoms. Again — in the midst of this confusing debate — the blogosphere seems to offer source of discourse for a deeper understanding of the diverse sides involved. The guys at Google — by the tone of a recent post in its Brazilian blog — seem to share the special place given to children in Brazilian culture.  This may be an historic opportunity of collaborating with the enthusiastic willingness of a country that  is anxious to relate in the digital environment. This is how Brazilians might want the famous Internet mogul to treat children playing in a space created by Google:
No piquenique de verão do Google, todo mundo pode agir como criança. O evento é sempre cheio de atrações especiais, prêmios e um delicioso churrasco. Realmente, é melhor do que um parque de diversões! Por isso, vários Googlers trazem a família para aproveitar a tarde no Amphiteatro Shoreline, em Mountain View, Califórnia. O tema deste ano foi “Alice no País das Maravilhas”, os participantes tinham que realizar uma escolha difícil: brincar nas xícaras dançantes do Chapeleiro Maluco, no pula-pula da Lagarta ou no torneio de Pôquer da Rainha de Copas.
Aventuras no país das maravilhas – Google Brasil Blog
Brazilians would most likely want to relate with a company which is so proud of its ability to create a safe fun environment for children as it does for its US customers.  17 million Brazilian Orkut users are an incredible opportunity. Maybe Google will be able to create a safe and fun environment here as well. Maybe the mutually shared  cultural concerns for our children will lead to a creative adjustment in the Orkut playground. We will be watching….

author: Jose Murilo


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Guatemala: Heavy Handed Army Activities · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Patrick of the Guatemala Solidarity Network gathers local reaction to “heavy handed Guatemalan army activity in Ixcan.


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Guyana: Wild garden · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Guyana-Gyal's mother likes a wild garden.


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Haiti: Travelling heavy · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Nightshift makes fun of Caribbean travellers’ legendary inability to travel light: “If successful, Mr. Lafargue will complete the feat first attempted by Jean-Jean Jean-Michel in 1976 when he tried traveling from New York to Haiti with a single bag only to be guilted by a ti-gran into adding one of her bags to his luggage after she had gone over the weight limit with her baggage.”


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India: Mudflap Art · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Autorickshaws in the sub-continent not only carry passengers, but social messages and mudflap art. A fascinating flickr set of mudflap art.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Jamaica: Better policing · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Gela relates an incident which paints the Jamaican police in a less than glowing light: “The police is one of the public sector groups who are currently agitating for more pay. I have no quarrel with that, but can we the taxpayers who are funding the salaries see some good service for this.”


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Jamaica, UK: Linton Kwesi Johnson · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Geoffrey Philp extends birthday greetings to Britain-based Jamaican dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson: “He became only the second living poet to be published in the Penguin Classics series. His poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Creole over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell.”


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Latin America: Friday Poll Numbers · Global Voices
David Sasaki

It's Friday ladies and gentlemen … time for Boz's poll numbers from across Latin America.


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Malaysia: How Un-Malaysian Are You? · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Malaysian blogger Kenny Sia put up a quiz that helps his readers answer how un-Malaysian they are. “Some say driving rudely is intrinsically Malaysian, but in Australia their drivers are a hundred times worse than Malaysian drivers. Similarly, your IC might say you're Malaysian, but when you listen to Britney Spears, eat McDonalds and can't speak more than two words of Malay, how Malaysian are you? It has come to a point where we gotta stop wondering “How Malaysian Am I?” and start wondering “How un-Malaysian Am I?” And exactly just how un-Malaysian are you?”


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Mexico: Contested Chiapas Elections · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Both Octavio Islas and “Enigma” (ES) are worried that Aguilar's refusal to accept defeat will encourage state-level political discord much like presidential candidate Lopez Obrador's refusal to accept defeat has split the entire country. Al Giordano says that the elections were submersed in a whirlpool of fraud, instigated by both sides. Dave Pentecost notes that Lopez Obrador, unsurprisingly, supports a vote by vote recount in the state election. Finally, Matthew Shugart crunches the numbers.


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Mexico: Oaxaca Protest Updates · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Mark in Mexico has another update of life in protest-engulfed Oaxaca as does Rochelle as does Atenco Somos Todos (ES). Molechocolate posts a video which suggests that the violence in Oaxaca could soon spread throughout all of Mexico. Finally, the one silver lining, Olganza says the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) have agreed to meet with the Secretary of Governance (ES) to discuss their demands which include the resignation of Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz.


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Mongolia: Eagle TV & the Dalai Lama · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Tom Terry, who runs Eagle TV, a television station in Mongolia owned by a Christian organization, writes about why he felt the station's news division had an obligation to cover the visit of the Dalai Lama to Mongolia from both philosophical and religious perspectives.


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Mongolia: Fast Food · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Alexa surveys Mongolia's fast food market.


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Nepal: Army and the Maoists · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

As the political scenario in Nepal changes, what role does the Army play in the integration of Maoist rebels. United We Blog! on the Army and the Maoists.


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Pakistan: Pishin and the fruits · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Shirazi on wonderful Pishin and fruits. “Until the middle of the 18 th century, when Quetta finally passed into the hands of Brahvi rulers, the history of Pishin is identical with the province of Kandahar. The earliest mention of Pishin is found in the ancient writing in which “Pishinorha” is described as a valley in an elevated part of the country and containing a barren level plain.”


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Philippines: Backpacking in Vietnam · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Heritage blogger Ivan Henares remembers his trip to the city of Hoi An in Vietnam and he recalls how the visit introduced him to the joy of backpacking.


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Russia: FSB in Ryazan · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean of Sean's Russia Blog remembers his unpleasant encounter with the Russian Federal Security Service in Ryazan.

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Russia, Lithuania: Oil Refinery Quarrel · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Copydude writes about no druzhba between Russia and Lithuania – all because of an oil refinery that used to belong to Yukos.


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Russia: Pyatigorsk Mayor and Reckless Driving · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

“Pyatigorsk Mayor Charged with Reckless Driving; Five People Dead,” reports Russia Blog.


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Russian-Language Blogs: Miscellanea (2) · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Victoria Shcherbina (LJ user saint-autere) reacts to the news of the August 22 TU-154 crash in eastern Ukraine, which killed all 170 people on board, by writing (RUS) about the death of her father – IL-86 navigator Valeriy Shcherbina – in a crash at Moscow's Sheremetyevo four years earlier, on July 28, 2002.
Her post has already received …
[…] Papa was gone. But he did have a premonition… On July 15, two weeks before the crash, on the 30th anniversary of [my parents’] wedding, when they were at a restaurant, he suddenly began speaking about it, about his death: what would need to be done, how he would like to see it. Mama interrupted him, but he managed to continue with this topic.
It's true that their equipment was on the verge [of collapse]. The crashed IL-86 RA-86060 was made in 1983 and had flown 18,370 hours – and this type of plane can be used for 20 years. Only the so-called human factor was capable of dealing with problems arising in the air, not vice versa, as is commonly believed. How many times he spoke of those problems! One of the scariest episodes happened during the flight over the ocean, from New York, USA, to Shannon, Ireland. It was a miracle that they reached their destination, they did it [manually], because the navigation broke down and they were going blind. He didn't worry for his life, but for the lives of 350 passengers behind him.
He used to say: “I'll go quickly… I'll crash… I'll be shown on TV… Your children will be proud of their heroic grandfather!” And this is what did happen.
He promised to bring mama a bouquet of exactly 30 flowers from Sochi, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their wedding. They must have been gladioli… Here, they aren't as beautiful, and they are expensive, too…
[…]
I was there, at the site of the air catastrophe, in the fall of 2002… I wanted to see it… By that time, I was prepared to see it. It is so close to the airport. The snow covered all the horror a little and only a modest cross stood over the dug-up part of the field and the forest. The ground still smelled of kerosene, and there were still torn pieces of metal underneath my feet. And above my head, very low, flew the planes… Up and down… I'll never be able to forget this.
Both crashed planes belonged to the St. Petersburg-based Pulkovo Airlines, a company saint-autere has no kind words about:
Do you know what a pilot's life is worth in our country? Because, it turns out, pilots are insured! The whole $3,000 received each family of the dead pilots, regardless of the number of people in these families. And do you know how much the company received for the plane – because it was insured as well? Two million dollars, which is twice as much as the plane's remaining cost. So it's a very profitable business to lose a plane! Well, they also had to pay the pilots’ salaries to the relatives, as [the law] requires, but it's incomparably less than the profit they received, isn't it!
A 28-year-old graduate of St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Equipment, saint-autere goes into a lengthy explanation of the technical issues neglected by Pulkovo Airlines, which may have led to the plane crash that killed her father. She also writes about the biased coverage of the tragedy and her futile attempts to restore justice.
***
LJ user nl (Norvezhskiy Lesnoy, whose blog is rated (RUS) by the Russian search engine Yandex as the 5th most-read blog) comments (RUS) on the coverage of the plane crash and the complex relationship between the mainstream media and bloggers:
[Radio Echo of Moscow], in a story on the TU-154 crash near Donetsk, quotes from this post, attributing to it like this: “as they write in blogs.” I remember how some seven years ago, NTV [people] would rather shoot themselves than cite Gazeta.ru as a source, using this formula instead: “as has been reported on the internet” – and Lyokha Andreyev suggested that in response, we should replace our links to NTV with this: “as some chick in the TV set reported…”
A discussion follows on how some LJ users’ nicknames are just too obscene, unpronounceable or don't make sense at all to be cited as sources by the “serious” media. Still, according to nl, it's really up to the journalists – and some do deserve praise:
[…] Stories on how it is inhumanly difficult to pronounce urls are as many years old as Sasha Plushchev's [LJ user plushev] recitations of the most [unpronounceable] site addresses on his [radio program] Echonet.
***
A 26-year-old Chechen journalist Elina Ersenoyeva was kidnapped in Grozny on August 17, in broad daylight, and is missing still. Russian online publication Gazeta.ru reported (RUS) that Ersenoyeva, a freelancer for the Chechen Society newspaper and a representative of an HIV/AIDS prevention project, could have been married to Shamil Basayev, allegedly killed by the federal forces in July.
Timur Aliev (LJ user timur_aliev), editor-in-chief of the print/online weekly Chechen Society (Chechenskoye Obshchestvo), writes on his blog (RUS) that the allegations of Ersenoyeva's ties to Basayev only aggravate the already difficult situation :
For the last few days I've been busy with Elina's case more than with anything else. At first, I was answering phone calls and meeting with journalists, telling them what I know about the kidnapping of this female journalist. Simultaneously, I was trying to give some advice to Elina's mother, Rita, who was also constantly calling me and stopping by at the office. The woman was catastrophically helpless – only on the fourth day it turned out that she hadn't yet reported the kidnapping to the [Ministry of Internal Affairs]. We've also helped her to write a letter to the prosecutor's office – she didn't know where it's located. Her husband, from whom she is divorced, was of little use, too – when Rita fainted in our newsroom and a thin intern and I barely managed to drag her to the couch in the office next door, he just stood there and [did nothing], while the girls were calling the ambulance, fanning her with a fan and pouring [a heart medicine] for her.
In general, both parents, instead of [persistently visiting various law enforcement officials], the [Federal Security Service], and getting the relatives involved, kept coming to us – help us, save us, recommend something, find a way for us to meet with [Ramzan Kadyrov]. I told them to visit Elina's primary place of work – the youth affairs committee – because Ramzan loves them, and they'll find a way for [the parents] to meet him. But they [the parents] were saying – no, they won't help.
It's been a couple days, though, since Rita stopped coming. On the first day I thought that maybe it's because the mobile connection was terrible – impossible to reach anyone by phone. Today, however, I received many calls, but not from Elina's mother.
Anyway, I was even more busy today than in the previous days. Reports have appeared that Elina is Basayev's widow. And everyone started contacting us for comments.
At first, it seemed funny to me – to imagine Elina in this role was difficult. She was spending all her time in her youth committee, and even Ramzan stopped by there pretty often, and sometimes Elina wrote something for us, and she attended UNICEF's seminars from the committee – and it seemed she wouldn't have the time to take walks in the mountains with Basayev.
Then I felt uneasy – when people are calling you about it, you turn into a person who has to provide some explanations. I re-direct all callers to [Elina's] mother and to her primary employers – like, what nonsense, please contact them for more details, I don't know anything – but they are still calling me.
What's going to happen tomorrow, I don't know.


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Singapore: Rod Steiger of South East Asia · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Enterprise Resilience Management Blog compares Singapore to Hollywood actor Rod Steiger. Steiger took on a wide variety of roles across genres making him the most connected actor. “Connectivity is also a good thing when talking about the global economy. The Rod Steiger of Southeast Asia is Singapore. That nation has worked hard to achieve that position. Singapore understands that the more roles you are involved in the better your chances are of staying on top; therefore, it plays an important role in finance, electronics, trade, and (increasingly) biotechnology.”


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South Asia: Travelling while Asian · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Pickled Politics on TWA (or Travelling While Asian) as an India bound flight was diverted to Amsterdam because of what appears to be racial profiling or paranoia.


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Sri Lanka: ICT For Peacebuilding and Switzerland · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

ICT for Peacebuilding has details of a conversation with Ambassador Daniel Stauffacher on exploring possibilities for collaboration and exploration in the theory and practice of ICT4Peace between the author's work in Sri Lanka and that of the ICT4Peace Foundation in Switzerland.


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Tajikistan: Visas · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Vadim writes about the difficulties Tajik citizens face in obtaining foreign visas.


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Thailand: Medical Tourism · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Lao Ocean Girl talks about the booming medical tourism industry in Thailand. “Not only are the facilities in Thailand first class, prices are cheap when compared to the West.  For example, when I had a filling done in southern California at a dinky clinic, it cost me $100 (for less than 10 minutes).  In Thailand, the same thing would cost $15-$40.  A root canal treatment for a molar would cost over $800 back home.  Here, it’s $200-$250.”


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Thailand: North Korean Refugees · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Bangkok Pundit replies to a comment that was posted on a forum and was critical of Thailand's role in handling refugees from North Korea. Earlier this week, Thai police raided and detained 175 North Koreans who were hiding in a church home in Bangkok.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Eco-friendly · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Is the eco-resort you plan on visiting really that eco-friendly? Karen Walrond shows you how to make sure.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Parliament TV · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“I'm wholly in favour of wasting a TV channel on this, because it will show just how absurdly tedious parliamentary affairs have become,” writes Jeremy Taylor, reporting on Trinidad & Tobago's newly launched Parliament Television.


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Ukraine: Chornovil Monument · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Stefan of Dykun strolls around Kyiv and walks into the opening ceremony of the monument to Vyacheslav Chornovil.


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Ukraine: Frustrating Ways of Doing Business · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Petro of Petro's Jotter has formulated Ukrainian Business Law Axioms #1 and #2.


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Nigeria: Solar-powered fish project · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

A fishing village in Nigeria uses solar powered driers to dry their fish, reports Black Looks: “Bishop Kodji, a small fishing and canoe carving island in the Atlantic Ocean off Nigeria’s sprawling commercial hub of Lagos, has become the first village to be electrified under the Lagos State government’s pilot solar energy project. Before setting up the project, the village, with a population of 5,000, had not known electricity since its existence.”

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Tanzania, Mali: NYT on the African Wikipedia · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Jikomboe (Swahili) on the New York Times article about African Languages Wikipedias: “How do you create an online encyclopedia when few native speakers have access to the Internet? What use is an encyclopedia when literacy rates among a language’s speakers can approach zero? (This is not a problem for Swahili.) And who should control the content of an encyclopedia in a local language if not enough native speakers are moved, or able, to contribute?”


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Nigeria: Pictures and Soyinka’s interview · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Nigeria in pictures and Wole Soyinka on the future of Nigeria inside Aderemi’s Notebook.


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China: Leading Bishop released · Global Voices
John Kennedy

Bishop An Shuxin of China's underground Catholic Church has been released after ten years in prison, blogs China Digital Times‘ Liu Yong.

author: John Kennedy


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China: Patron saint of activist-bloggers? · Global Voices
John Kennedy

How to describe twenty two-year old MSN Spaces blogger Zeng Jinyan? A threat to national security? An AIDS activist who brings support, joy and hope to countless AIDS orphans? A young wife radicalized after her husband was kidnapped by the state for over a month? Patron spokesblogger for otherwise voiceless victims of injustice within China's social justice circles? A post today [zh] tells that the 13 year-old daughter of mainland human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, following a recent stretch of house arrest, has slipped away from the twenty cops guarding her house.
Renowned liberal writer and blogger Yu Shicun posted the following ode to Zeng to his blog this week, lauding her bravery and actions against the backdrop of silent acquiescence from the majority of China's public intellectuals—a group in which Yu caustically includes himself—and the sentence yesterday of blind female reproductive rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng to four years in prison, about whom Zeng frequently writes:
——给金燕：我们时代的圣女
Jinyan, the Lady Saint of our Times
圣人之后执拗地从南方跑来
一不小心感染了西伯利亚的风寒
她被裹挟、咳嗽，读经救济
最后她原地不动地皈依
抚正自己的衣冠
代圣立言者们感动了自己
话未说完随风舞蹈
她孤苦无助地成全汉地的秘法
牛鬼蛇神们嫉妒得发狂
狂风卷扫看客如落叶
多少人称赞她的美，劝她停步
罪恶也偷袭她，求她改辙
她说：我只是做一个人
罪人审控无罪成为大地上的风景
无数的汉语将她和我们隔离
她看见艾滋病孩子的眼睛就赞美
看见盲人的神性暗自落泪
此刻，她拈花示众，笑如般若
看客们远远地为十二月欢呼
汉语的烈士！她只想过好日子
中国女性的好日子
努力学习英语
没有用英语表达的事情
很多人不知道它的发生
2006年8月14日北京


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Iran: Firing journalists · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Yasavoli, blogger & journalist talks about how in the State run Iran newspaper, journalists who are not supporters of Ahmadinejad, loosing their jobs. The blogger considers this firing of journalists as a quiet military coup in this newspaper [Fa].

author: Fred Petrossian


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Iran: Nuclear Crisis, Broken Satellite Dishes & Jailed Students · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

According to the media, Iran has delivered its formal response to the demand by world powers that it suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for a package of incentives. World media and bloggers, once more, are talking about the Iranian nuclear crisis and its outcome. Let's look at  a few Iranian blogs:
Hoping for dialogue
Dowdani thinks all problems and differences between Iran and world powers can be solved in a rational way and hopes that dialogue takes place between Iran and the world powers [Fa]. He adds
اختلاف‌هایی که همه را می‌توان به روی میز مذاکره کشاند و خرد انسانی را به خدمت پاسخیابی به آنها درآورد. یکی از آنها هم
Dowdani also says that the US has had other historic differences with Iran and the nuclear crisis is just a pretext for them.
Nedaye Emrouz says if sanctions are imposed on Iran, then country will be isolated, adding that Iran holds an important Lebanese Hezbollah card in its hands [Fa].
Irane Emrouz writes that  so far, G 5+1  have not made a declaration about the Iranian proposition, and that shows we can still hope that dialogue takes place [Fa]. Emrouz adds that sanctions still can be imposed, because Iran has not accepted suspending its uranium enrichment project as UN Security Council has asked.
The nuclear crisis  may be a reason behind the recent crackdown on satellite dishes to control information channels. After filtering the internet and closing down many journals, popular satellite dishes have become a new target. A couple of bloggers share with us their feelings and photos from this cat-and-mouse game.
You cannot watch what you wish for
Shabgard cannot understand why Iran should be different from the rest of the world. The blogger writes
!ای کاش سران مملکتی قبل از هر تصمیمی کمی فقط کمی به حقوق این ملت فکر می‌کردند.
Shabgard adds that in the streets you can find easily CDs to watch “bad” films (porno) and authorities do not bother to stop them [Fa].
Behesht has published several interesting photos to show what security agents did to satellite dishes in Pardisan, his neighbourhood. Behesht says ironically that fortunately, these brothers work one day per year to come destroying our dishes. They want to send us to paradise! For a couple of hours our area had become like Palestine and dishes were falling on our heads!
Lesser known Students targeted
Broken satellite dishes are only one sign of growing pressure on freedom in Iran. Student activists have become a target again and several werer arrested recently.
Anjomaniha says that in Ahvaz, Mehdi Makaremi was arrested, though there has been no news as to why he and nobody has been able to visit him [Fa]. Makaremi was collaborating with several local magazines in Khuzestan province.
Kuy writes that lesser known student activists have become a new  target for arrest [Fa]. Two other student activists, Derakhshandi and Abolfazle Jahandar (who is also a blogger), were arrested recently.


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Zimbabwe: Something extraodinary is going to happen · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Eddie Cross, the spokesperson for Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change believes that something extraodinary is going to happen in Zimbabwe to end Zanu PF's rule.


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African Women This Month · Global Voices
Sokari Ekine

Literature, music and blog redesigns are three of the themes in the African women's blogosphere this month.
Molara Wood and Mama's Junkyard have both redesigned their blogs.  Molara has  chosen to stick with blogger.com but takes on a new name, Wordsbody.  Mama's Junkyard ungrades to WordPress with a new colour scheme and layout….
No more light on dark. mamajunkyard’s has been tangoed! Orange is the new strawberry, wider width is the way to go and lowercase is how I like it. Add a few plugins like Gravatar and ELA and the geek in me comes out to play.
The site is cool and refreshing. Check out her new photoblog with strawberries and waffles for breakfast.
Naija to the Core has a great Tribute to Fela –  Felaversation
This is a tribute to the music, life and times of the Late Fela Anikulapo Kuti (Oct. 15, 1938 – Aug. 2, 1997)
Ironically, a talk is being held today at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos titled Felaversation which is designed to celebrate the fact that “Nigerian intellectuals have, at last, responded to the challenges posed by their counterparts from the West and Europe on the issue of articulating the epochal contribution of one of Africa's leading cultural icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti to world culture. “
It's taken them nearly 25 years to get there – could it be intellectual snobbery?
Keeping with the music theme, Nubian Soul pays homage to another of Nigeria's great muscians who she once had the pleasure of meeting.
His music has always appealled to me, possibly because of the use of the African talking drums and his dabbling in electronica.
The sound of those drums just make me want to get up and shake it. (which could be dangerous on soo many levels, cos I might scare the children lol).
It's a conversation, a movement, a rhythm, a language, spoken word, a heartbeat, a mouthpiece. It gives life to something inside you that just makes you want to move.
Growing up your parents were dancing to Sunny Ade and you were getting down with Fela – ahh the good old days of Lagos Life.
Molara Wood's new blog Wordsbody makes an excellent start with a piece on Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiong'o at the book reading of his new book, Wizard of Crow  in London.
Ngugi seemed to want to make the event a celebration of life and survival, bringing his family along to the event. Lucky for the audience, they got five Thiong'os for the price of one. Ngugi explained that his younger children had only been spared the attack because, as luck would have it, they had chosen to go and spend the night with a relative.
Cameroonian blogger, Rosemay Ekosso finds herself at odds with the Catholic church and organised religion of her childhood.  Priests fathering children and women (nuns) while essential to the running of the church are marginalised and not recognised as equal to men.  She goes on to discuss the Church's position on “regulising sexual”
The first point against this is that as they are themselves celibate, priests have no idea at all of what it means to be sexually active. If they have some idea, they shouldn’t. No one told them to stop having sex or children. They decided to do so themselves. All was well until the fourth century, when the madness started. In 306, the Council of Elvira, in Spain, decreed that a priest who sleeps with his wife the night before Mass will lose his job. It went downhill from there.
Ethiopian blog, CoffeeChilliSun
 writes a moving piece on her hopes, dreams and disappointments she feels for Ethiopia.
The poverty, hunger, corruption, oppression and lack of infrastructure seemed like the growing pains of young and budding nation, symptoms of a worry child that will come good. I had hope, always had hope, even when I discovered that more beggars and homeless were out on the streets, that the gap between the rich and the poor was widening, I always had hope. How can a country so beautiful and rich in history, culture and resources ever fail to make it at some point?
Mshairi on Pale is Beautiful, discusses skin tones and the values placed on lighter skinned black women over darker skinned ones.
What then is the problem with the rest of us? Why do we feel the need to make ourselves pale (or white as this can only be the true underlying need)? Not just with our skins but also with our hair? Reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X, I always laugh wryly at the section where Malcolm wanting to make his hair straight, applies lye, which begins to burn his scalp forcing him to dunk his head in the toilet bowl when he realises there is no water coming from the taps to wash off the lye (this was just as the Police burst in to arrest him).
Annie of Palava Soup writes about a documentary called The Long Journey of Clement Zulu which
“follows three men immediately after their release from Robben Island: Clement Zulu, Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim and James Mange.”
As Annie writes, not everyone that left Robben Island became President and this documents the lives of some of the other prisoners who suffered long incarcerations at the hand of successive apartheid governments in South Africa.
Prison destroyed my life,” said Clement Zulu. Do not get it twisted, these men were proud to have done what they did for their country. But when you step off that boat from Robben Island where do you go? Home? Where is that? Ebrahim Ebrahim was reunited with his family and immediately became an active member of the ANC again. He soon assumed a top position. Yet his relationship with his young daughter suffered. His relationships with his whole family suffered. “Sometimes I fight depression.” And why wouldn’t he when he spent his adult life behind bars?

author: Sokari Ekine


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Blogging the Week in Peru · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

Este artículo también está disponible es español.
These past few days, apart from the appointments of new government employees, it has been President Garcia's dogged persistence in fulfilling some of his campaign promises that has been making noise in the political section of the media. Perú Político deals with the topic in its customary weekly review: Weekly Chronicle (August 9-15). Their announcement (ES) of how they will be covering the upcoming regional and municipal elections throughout the country is also interesting. Let's hope that there are many participants.
Not all is well in the media however. In Zona de Noticias, a blog generally dedicated to literature, they echo the denouncement of a journalist in a Lima newspaper about the alleged misuse of power by certain media outlets that, in this case, became disinformation: Alberto Adrianzén: “Expreso y Correo promueven la sospecha y la soplonería”.
Switching to economics, a difference of criteria when it comes to tackling the subject of taxation of extra earnings by large foreign companies in the country is what Gran Combo Club presents in the post Falta de lógica económica. (Lack of Economic Logic):
¿Por qué el estado debe controlar un recurso “estratégico” como la energía? La historia de este tipo de razonamiento parece estar vinculada con las privatizaciones y compra de empresas antes estatales por capitales extranjeros, en particular de países como Chile, con el cual tenemos sentimientos de desconfianza. No sea que una vez que controlen económicamente nuestro salitre, ya no podamos ponerles impuestos y si lo hacemos invadan Lima. A partir de este razonamiento se justifica la intervención estatal y, curiosamente, esta justificación se hace en nombre de los más pobres, cosa que no es para nada cierta. Se está utilizando a los más pobres para justificar otra cosa….. Y si el tema es geopolítico, tendremos que ponernos a pensar qué tipo de relación queremos con nuestro vecino: ¿Cómo ganamos y perdemos más? ¿Con una política de cooperación o con una política de confrontación? ¿Conviene al país distraer recursos que pueden ser empleados en el crecimiento económico en una carrera armamentista?
Both points of view have their pros and cons of course. What is not an opinion, but rather established fact, is what Economía Petrolera (Petrol Economy) informs us in the post GLP, Calidad de vida y Pobreza (“GLP, Quality of life and Poverty”). In reading the post it becomes evident that, although this indicative statistic has improved, there is still much left to do.
El censo desarrollado el 2005 por el INEI nos trajo como resultado que un 50.6% de los hogares peruanos utilizan GLP para cocinar, cifra más que importante para la mejora de la calidad de vida en nuestro país. Representa un crecimiento de 7.3 puntos porcentuales al compararse con los resultados de la Encuesta Nacional de Hogares (ENAHO), del IV Trimestre del 2001. En el caso del Kerosene, igualmente es importante señalar que se reporta que sólo un 6.5% de los hogares lo utilizó el año 2005 para cocinar. Por el lado del consumo de leña para cocinar igualmente se reporta una disminución de 8.4 puntos porcentuales bajando de 41.0 a 32.6% en los últimos 4 años.
Another indicator of the quality level of life is education and this could be the generation of creating our own software. Tinta Fantasma describes how in Linedux, una distro peruana para la educación (“Linedux, a Peruvian distro for education”), about a distribution of Linux made in Peru and oriented towards education.
One topic related to our cultural patrimony was picked up by the blog Ciencia (“Science”) in the post Corona recuperada (“Corona recovered”), about the crown of the pre-Hispanic culture Moche, that was illegally unearthed, stolen, removed from the country and now recovered in a police plot. The post is in English and Spanish.
Not long ago another anniversary of the city of Arequipa was celebrated, and in a related note, Explorando Perú, a blog dedicated to chronicles of traveling through Peru, posted about the Cañón del Colca, one of our regions with greatest tourist attraction, in Cañonazos de altura (“Cannon shots at altitude”).
Los encantos del Colca son abundantes. Casas de piedra en Sibayo, extrañas formaciones rocosas en El Castillo de Callalli, iglesias magníficas en Yanque, Maca y Lari; retos de balsas y remos en un río poderoso, pedaleo o trekking intenso en los caminos de herradura que serpentean en las montañas; en fin, historia, magia y aventura al borde de la profundidad.
Another one of our tourist attractions is, undoubtedly, the food, and the blogger at El Urbanito (“The Urbanite”), in his personnel, self-assured, and sometimes irreverent style, posts about a dish that, from its humble origins, has been winning favor to now occupy an important place in any review of Peruvian food. The title of post says it all: Oda al Tacu Tacu (“Ode to the Tacu Tacu”).
… Más una visita a Otani es incompleta si no se acepta desafiar a un tacu tacu entero relleno con salsa de mariscos bañado en salsa de tamarindo. Para empezar, acometer semejante reto requiere -además de un estómago competente y de amplia capacidad- una preparación especial para no desmayar en el intento y acabar hasta el último vestigio del plato. Los mesurados pueden pedir una porción personal con la cual se sentirán más que satisfechos. Pero los amantes de las emociones extremas y las sensaciones placenteras deben acometer el full size.
From food let's go to football, that is, using a common phrase, the “passion of multitudes”. El Mundo redondo de Kike Giles is a new blog that deals with this sport and which, in the post La Chilena es Peruana (“The Chilean is Peruvian”), explains to us the origins of this move that is known by most of the world as “Chilena” and in our country as “Chalaca”.
But to many of us soccer does not get us passionate but rather fills us with rage. For them, I have selected this post from the blog La tv que me alimenta (“It's TV That Nourishes Me”): El humor peruano también está en YouTube (“Peruvian humor also is on YouTube”), and that the title doesn't explain itself, I will say that it includes links to two sites that compile videos of humor programs from Peruvian TV, with its defects and virtues.
To finish I want to make special mention of the blog Jóvenes de la Asociación Peruano China (APCH) (“Youths of Chinese Peruvian Association”), which collects data and information about that special mixture of two cultures that arose when the first Chinese immigrants arrived at our coasts, causing Chinese culture to now be an integral part of many aspects of what is considered Peruvian;, of which the most renowned is the popular “Chifa“. I won't specify any particular post but rather recommend that you visit and explore the blog, and will therefore have an idea of what I'm trying to say. A human group has exposed itself, not wanting to lose any of its cultural hertiage and continue to make new fusions in the most varied of senses.
With that said I bid adieu until the next week. With your permission …

author: Juan Arellano


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Africa: An inefficient method of allocating resources · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“It does not take advanced training in economics to know that corruption is an inefficient method of allocating resources …” says BusinessinAfrica report, Paiting Africa with the corruptor's brush, cited in Africa Unchained.


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Iran: Iranian second- rate citizens & Lebanon · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Irane Emrouz writes the Speaker of Iranian Parliament has said that Iran will construct all destroyed houses in Lebanon. The blogger adds in our country there are many second -rate citizens who are looking for their daily bread and now the authorities want to deprive them form their daily bread and do construction in another land [Fa].


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Iraq: Wearing t-shirt with Arabic script, in America, means you are a suspected terrorist · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

On a trip back from the Middle East, Iraqi blogger and activist Raed Jarrar was not allowed to board a flight at JFK airport because he was wearing a t-shirt that said “We will not be silent” in English and Arabic. Airport security forced him to change his t-shirt saying wearing it was like “going to a bank with a t-shirt reading ‘I am a robber.'”

author: Haitham Sabbah


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Kenya:  Emillion lies · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Foot-In-Mouth on “emillion lies.” Emilio is the name of Mwai Kibaki, the President of Kenya.


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Tanzania: Royalties for the first time · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

For the first time, Tanzania's musicians get their royalties, reports Tanzania's leading photoblogger, Issa Michuzi.


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What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — anti-terrorism law · Global Voices
Tim Muth

El Salvador has a legislative National Assembly where no party holds absolute sway.  While the majority of deputies are from parties which will work with the President Saca's ARENA party, the FMLN continues to have sufficient votes to block much legislation.  Recently, even though El Salvador has not suffered from al-Qaeda style terrorism, the National Assembly has been spending much time working on an anti-terrorism bill.
Rocío writes in her blog about a concern that “terrorism” is not well-defined(es) in the law.  Because terrorist acts under the law can be any conduct intended to provoke fear, alarm, or insecurity in the population, it may be subject to abuse.  Before such a law is adopted, Rocío believes the country needs to adopt measures to improve the judicial system in the country to protect jealously the human rights of its citizens.
Blogger Ixquic also makes several points about the proposed law in her post titled Parliamentary Terrorism(es).  First, Ixquic finds the need to point out that combatting terrorism is not inconsistent with international standards of human rights.  In fact, the United Nations and varioius international treaties expressly condemn terror.  So the creation of an anti-terrorism law is not, by itself, an act designed to impair the human rights of Salvadoran citizens.
Second, Ixquic wonders whether such a law is even needed.  The deputies seem to want to have a specialized law for every problem — but the crimes in the law are already crimes under the existing criminal code.  The only difference in the law is to impose higher penalties where the motive of the crime is to cause terror.
Third, Ixquic responds to the FMLN and other organizations which claim that the anti-terrorism law is actually aimed at stopping demonstrations against the government.  She reviewed the law's provisions and found nothing to support those statements.  The only provision against demonstrations outlaws those where the demonstrators come armed with weapons.
But Ixquic finds a greater incongruity.  Even though the country has a thousand laws and a thousand specialized institutions for every problem, none of them will be effective if the government does not put in place other essential measures to prevent, investigate and punish crimes of any type.  In her view, what the country needs much more urgently is an institute for forensic sciences and solid programs for the training of police and prosecutors.  Instead, she laments that the legislature has spent so much time and resources on a subject (terrorism) which does not touch the Salvadoran people.
And now for the first time, debates over laws like the anti-terrorism bill can be seen on television in El Salvador.    Jjmar, at the blog Hunnapuh(es), notes that the sessions of the legislature are being televised on a cable channel.  This is only a small step, since most people in El Salvador do not have cable,  but Jjmar notes that the people will now have a little more information when they go to elect deputies — and perhaps that is what those who opposed televising the proceedings feared most.

author: Tim Muth


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Afghanistan: President & Compromises · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Dialogue 3 says Hamid Karzai, Afghan President has done a lot of compromises with warlords and has lost his credibility among Afghans. According to the blogger poverty, corruption, and insecurity are dominating Afghan society and Afghan President is unable to solve them.


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Africa: Film focuses on skin tone · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Black Looks highlights a new film ‘A Girl Like Me’ that discusses the issue of skin tone amongst black people.

author: Andrew Heavens


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Africa: Music goes online · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

African Music Radio is a new online station that “that offers musicians ‘…the chance to promote their music and reach a broader market and audience more effectively’“. It was spotted by  Timbuktu Chronicles.


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Armenia: Dead Villages · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Onnik Krikorian has numerous new posts covering his recent visit to Lachin. Among them are ones on Ditsmayri and Herik, two dead villages in the region.


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Aruba: Waiting for Ernesto · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

“It's hot. It's humid. There is no blessed, cooling wind,” writes Arubagirl as the tropical disturbance known as Ernesto passes through the area, creating some dramatic wave activity that she photographs.


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Bangladesh: To the PM · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Black and Gray writes an open letter to the PM in Bangladesh. “A drowning man, we are told, grabs at a straw; you should take it as a mere saying, I daresay, in real life we do not come across any drowning man who has tried to do that in the waters and has come out alive.”


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Barbados: Development double standards · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

The Mulllins Bay Blog slams the double standard that allows wealthy developers to construct destructive barriers of dubious utility on the seashore, while “the few small home owners remaining in the area have to jump through hoops to get permission from “Coastal” to place a few rocks on the beach to stop their homes from falling into the sea.”


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Conflict With Gazprom · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Adrian J. Erlinger of Leopolis writes that the Russian Gazprom is now exerting pressure on Bosnia and Herzegovina.


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Brazil: Blogs Censored in the Electoral Process · Global Voices
Jose Murilo

The Brazilian blogosphere is protesting that a blog from Amapá state was inexplicably brought down by its ISP (uol.com.br) even after it complied with an order from the Electoral Justice system. The blog ‘Repiquete no Meio do Mundo‘ was forced to take off the picture of a wall painted with a caricature of the senate candidate José Sarney (a former Brazilian president), and the censored blogger's sister [also a blogger] is now facing the same pressure. Bloggers want to know why ‘Repiquete no Meio do Mundo‘ is down, and the protest is growing.


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Caribbean: Licensing sex workers · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados Free Press has some questions for the government officials who are considering licensing prostitutes (or is it “sex workers”) for the duration of next year's Cricket World Cup tournament.


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Central Asia: Borders 3 · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Ben Paarmann posts the third part of his series on the determination of borders in Central Asia.


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Chad: Oil companies kicked out · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

“It's not often that one gets to hear a government telling an oil multinational to get out” wrote Chippla's Weblog – Thoughts on Issues after Chad took the unprecedented decision to eject ChevronTexaco (of the US) and Petronas (of Malaysia) for alledgedly failing to pay tax.


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Chile: Political and personal · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Liz Henry returns to El Diario de Carolonline to find a developed cocktail of personal and political by the socialist, Chilean blogger.


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China: cultural history · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Mary Ann O'donnell writes a brief introduction of xin'an county and nine streets museum to show the cultural historical link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

author: Oiwan Lam


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China: Xinjiang Summertime · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Summer photos of Kongque River in Xinjiang from the opposite end of China.


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Cuba: Alicia Alonso on Fidel · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia is highly skeptical of comments made by Cuban ballet star Alicia Alonso about Fidel Castro.


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DRC: Election tension mounts · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Extra Extra is taking precautions as the Democratic Republic of Congo waits for the second round of its historic but troubled national elections. “For the time being, things are calm, but far from stable. Having unpacked, I'm now packing an emergency bag, just in case.”


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Ecuador, Peru: Discovery Kids on YouTube · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Christian Espinosa describes a nephew who prefers watching Discovery Kids (Lazy Town) on YouTube (ES) rather than the television or the program's own website. Bruno Ortiz has more links on Discovery Kids’ online presence (ES).


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Ethiopia: PM theorises on African development · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Guest blogger Gooch sharpened his satirical spear as he described a new book by Ethiopia's prime minister Meles Zenawi on Weichegud! ET Politics. “Here he is, running one of the poorest countries in the world, a country of 75 million people, a country in crisis, well on the way to becoming a failed state…and he finds the time to write a book on ‘African Development’.”


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Global Food Blog Report #29 · Global Voices
Melissa De León

#1: Maika's Blog on Haitian Food:
"Griot" (pronounced: greee-yo ) a popular Haitian original.  Which is fried pork shoulder accompanied with a spicy hot as habanero cole slaw like condiment called “Picklese” (s pronounced like a z).  And served with a side of fried flatten green plaintain "bunan passe" ( (like the u in "up"  bu-nun pay-zay) and red bean and rice. Read more…
#2: From Israel, Pickle Power :
That cucumbers preserved by pickling could liberate women from local strictures and lack of economic opportunity makes me delight once again in the power of plants, and, of course, in the power of women united by an idea. But I do wonder about the fate today of the Azka Pickle Cooperative.
Elsewhere on the pickle front, the NY Food Museum ( inspired in part by The FOOD Museum, yes…) is celebrating its 6th annual Pickle Day on September 17th, on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side. Read more and participate!
#3: From Venezuela, Apuntes de Cocina  on a guide to purchase Venezuelan-cut-meats in the US! Now there is no excuse :-)
#4: From China and Russia, Imagined-community  on Kombucha: Drink your culture live!
Kombucha Tea has been all the rage among organic foodies on the US West Coast for well over a year, and on Sunday I decided to try this tea made from a symbiosis of yeast and bacteria. Like many foods, Kombucha has led a truly transnational life. Kombucha’s first recorded use was in China, after which it migrated to Russia, and then later appeared in Eastern Europe (however, fermented Kombucha should not be confused with the unfermented Japanese Kombucha). Read more…
#5: From Lyon, France…Callaloo Soup pays a visit to the Farmer's Market:
We love this market. We actually have a market right on our street every Saturday morning, but we prefer to drive the 20 minutes or so to the Farmer's Market which is held every evening from 6:30 to 7:30. Part of the reason being of course that we don't want to wake up early on Saturday morning. The other reason is that we prefer to support the farmer's and not the resellers like we find at our local market. We came back with fresh tomatoes, green peppers, plums, grapes, nectarines, yoghurt, apple juice, raspberries….. yum!! Continue reading…
#6: From  Australia,  The Old Foodie on "How to Roast a Swan," a recipe to honor the birthday of  the “Mad King Ludwig II” of Bavaria.
Ludwig was also known as “The Swan King” for his great love of “The Monarch of the Lake”, and swan motifs are everywhere in his castles. We can be fairly sure he would never have eaten his favourite bird, but
earlier rich and royal folk certainly did. It was not enjoyed for its taste – which is said to be like “fishy mutton”, but because it was prestigious (certainly in England, all swans have officiallly belonged to the monarch since the twelfth century) and because it could be made into a spectacular centrepiece at the banquet. To do this of course required that the cooked swan be re-dressed in its plumage before being presented at table. In case you need to know how to do this, here is a recipe from the late fourteenth century “Le Menagier de Paris”. Read more…and get the recipe now!
#7: From Panama…If you are Nuts about Coconuts do not miss these posts on how to handle, open and create delicious recipes using this complete food. Read them in English or Spanish. While you are at there, take a moment to watch the videos!
MsAbc Mom writes about "Markets" in Panama:
This is the Seafood Market. I was very eager to go here to see all of the seafood. I was especially excited about checking out the langostinos or HUGE SHRIMP that I love to eat in Panama. This market also had an "interesting" odor (you can imagine!) but I loved it. As soon as I figured out that I need to tread carefully on the slick floors and neede to make sure I didn't let my clothes brush up against the fish, I fully enjoyed this experience. Read the complete post and admire the colorful photos now!
#8: From United Arab Emirates, a recipe to prepare tasty Sarkarapuratti "Fried Banana Chips with Molasses"
#9: From Canada, Cream Puffs in Venice  shares one of her treasured recipes…"My Mother's Lasagna"
As it happens, lasagna is a dish near and dear to my heart. When I was small, I had the pleasure of enjoying my grandmother's lasagna on a regular basis. Hearty and bold, my grandmother's lasagna featured a rich tomato sauce, tiny meatballs and chopped egg. A piece of Nonna's lasagna was a meal unto itself.
At a certain point, my grandmother stopped making lasagna as regularly. My mother, thank goodness, inherited the lasagna gene and began making it often. As with everything she makes, my mother's lasagna is flavourful and delicate. While not as rich or substantial as my grandmother's lasagna, my mother's has an airy quality to it that makes it unforgettable. It also makes it possible to have more than one piece at one sitting! Get the recipe now!
# 10: From India and Peru, Lima & Delhi writes about Corn and shares a simple yet delicious recipe to prepare "Fried Corn."
This incredibly simple dish tastes amazing. So if you are looking for something to munch on with your evening tea, try this out. I highly recommend it.
Have a TASTY week!

author: Melissa De León


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Hong Kong: Chinese wikimedia conference · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Last weekend (August 26-27), the Chinese wikimedia conference was held in Hong Kong. The two-day conference included a keynote address by Mr Jimmy Wales, founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Wikemedia Foundation, and other panels and sessions by noted speakers from the region. Topics included the content, technology, policy and social science issues around the Wikimedia project. Other invited speakers include Legislative Councilor Mr Sin Chung-Kai, Ms Christine Loh, etc.
Chihiro from inmediahk.net lists out local newspapers which chose to report and not to report on the conference, and tries to read into their nature: most of which have pro China government background (zh).
Yeahayeah blogs about his impression on the participants and his disappointment with the conference:
總括而言，見到的有幾類人：一是認為wiki之類的事物已把世界的屁股調上頭頂（反之亦然），甚至對免費的東西都閃出了business model光芒而激動不已；二是沉醉在wiki和相關技術有無限熱情的科技孩子；三是對百科全書的世界和維持百科全書秩序有高度要求甚至苛求的管理者。
He was particularly frustrated about the panel on censorship issue as the speakers were just explaining the absolute authority of China governemnt, in the end:
有個天真無邪只求wiki横掃中原的小朋友，提議不如把政治敏感的內容都刪掉…
Charles Mok, one of the speakers from Hong Kong, blogs some photos and links without much comments.
Chiao, from Taiwan, blogs some facts that he got from Jimmy Wales and his impression on Hong Kong Wikipedians:
HK Wikipedian is very, very young. High school kids, many of them.


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Hungary: Bridge-Naming Vote · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Henrik of Hungarian Accent writes about Stephen Colbert and the bridge-naming affair – and summarizes what Hungarian bloggers think about it.


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Hungary: Budapest Problems · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Vandorlo of Central Budapest Blog writes about what Budapesters find annoying about their city – and introduces a relevant Hungarian word that describes one of the problems.


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India: Flights and racial profiling · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

While racial profiling of some passengers may have contributed to their being detained in Amsterdam has bothered quite a few people. Dhoomketu writes about insensitive travellers and Govindraj remembers another flight journey where some passengers created quite a commotion.


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India: God of Encroachment · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Recursive Hypocrisy on the God of Encroachment in Chennai – Vinayaka. Where every few feet you stumble into a a tiny temple. Power and boundaries in a secular country defined by how many temples one can make.


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Iran: Unofficial media  · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

Koroush Ziaberi, a teenager blogger & journalist says that blogs can be considered as unofficial media for new generation [Fa]. The blogger considers this fact that  traditional media such as TV is not available for the Iranian young people to express themselves, gives a much important place to blogs as a media for the Iranian youth.


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Japan: 12 metre grilled chicken · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Lee in Tokyo times blogs about the competition between two towns, Kawamata and Hidakagawa, in producing over-sized snack. Kawamata residents recently produced a record breaking 12 metres 27 cm grilled chicken meat.


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Japan: kids park in Osaka · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

An englishman in Osaka shows a few pictures of kids park there. It seems there is no way that kids can find any fun there.


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Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan: Japan Visit · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Registan.net and neweurasia both comment on Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.


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Kenya: Thousands flock to see Obama · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Barack Obama, the USA's only black senator, is visiting his father's Kenyan homeland. “Everyone, and everything, from the man on the street, to livestock, to stray cats and dogs, to insects and grubs, to pond scum all the way down the politicians fell over (it/them)selves to see and shake the hand of the Senator“, reported tHiNkEr'S rOoM.


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Kenya: Wedding season hits Nairobi · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

AfroFeminista talks us through the travails of being single during the busy wedding season in Kenya's capital Nairobi. “Why do i feel on a subconscious level like my present experience is invalidated every time someone says they are getting married; having a baby or buying a house?“


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Kyrgyzstan: Afterthoughts on US Relations · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Yulia has thoughts on Kyrgyzstan's relations with the United States and President Kurmanbek Bakiev's foreign policy tendencies after an eventful summer in the bilateral relations between the US and Kyrgyzstan.


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Lebanon: Blogging Back to Normality · Global Voices
Moussa Bashir

This week the Lebanese blogosphere witnessed a sluggish move away from posts about destruction and death caused by the war to posts that reflect patriotic passions, politics and personal accounts. Photos of how ads, weddings and cartoons were affected by the war can also be found. Life in the blogosphere seems to be trying hard to go back to the way it was.
Graphics can convey messages more efficiently than words, in most cases to say the least. In the light of this, Ahmad posted images of some war inspired ads while  EDB has a photo of a wedding with the rubbles of Beirut’s suburbs as a backdrop. And then we also have  Mazen Kerbaj who uses his blog to post updates of drawings, comics and free improvised music with Beirut in mind.
If you like to see facts and data displayed in numbers then go to  Lazarus. He posted recent results of post-war opinion poll survey about public support for Hezbollah and compared them with the results from a similar opinion poll done two years ago. The comparison is quite interesting.
This week Anarchistian continues the story that she started of her friend“the terrorist” with a post about  a conversation they had while he was in his hospital bed recovering from injuries sustained from the war:
“Imagine.. Imagine.. I never imagined it myself.. that I will be a father. And I can’t leave. I will be there for him always, until he grows up. God willing. But do you blame me for doing what I did? I did not kill babies. I’m not a baby killer. No. I might’ve hurt some people, but they should understand, it’s our land. They killed our children. They want our land. They don’t want peace. They want to have it all for themselves, they want us to disappear. But we won’t. We won’t. Why don’t they want to let us live, too? We’re not terrorists. We love life, too. But we will also die for our beliefs, for our way of life, for our children. They should leave. That’s the only way there will be peace.”
The city of Beirut had its share of posts this week. Mirvet posted number of opinions, feelings and reflections about Beirut expressed by Lebanese bloggers in what she called Lebanese Whispers:
In these difficult times, the collective human psyche tends to clench up in an almost regressive state of extreme nationalism and social identity. I have never seen an overt celebration of Lebanon and a severe state of nostalgia and longing and belonging as I have seen since June 12. As we religiously reminisce about details and feelings and memories that we cherish and share, we might be mistaken to be living a sentimental bourgeois dream that only remains in our consciousness and that does not reflect the reality.
[…]Lebanon is and will remain the Levant of cultures, humanity, arts, love and our identity. It is heaven on earth but mostly it is the heaven in our hearts. Lebanon is my father. Tough, old and dignified. Beirut is my mother. Warm, ageless and beautiful.
She also has her own definition of  what the real Beirut is.
Jamal witnessed how the situation in Lebanon is  crashing back to normalcy.
Mustapha came to the defense of his home-city, Tripoli, which was accused of being a breeding ground for terrorists.
Politics also had its share in the Lebanese blogosphere this week. Some bloggers saw new internal divisions rising as a result of the war and others referred to old ones that were hidden, because of the war, making a comeback.
At July06WarOnLebanon Samer’s view of the situation goes like this:
Two recurrent motifs structure the debate on the future of Lebanon. The first is the series of opposition used to characterize the situation: Hong Kong or Hanoi, Paris or Mogadishu, Riviera or Citadel, International Community or Iran, etc. This series of opposition is grafted on the problem of the state-in-the-state, used to describe Hezbollah’s apparatus and monopoly on vital functions of the state.
Nadim Shehadi at Ms Levantine had this to say about the divisions:
[…]two competing projects have been running in parallel in Lebanon. One aims at building a Riviera, a Monaco of the eastern Mediterranean; the other a Citadel or bunker, at the frontline of confrontation with Israel and the United States.
Charles Malik discusses divisions within the “Future Movement” which heads the majority bloc in the Lebanese parliament:
Lots of bloviating about Lebanon is going on right now, and none of it matters.
There are no trends. There are few plans. The plans that are already in the works have not propelled far enough for them to become apparent enough to talk about.
There is a power vacuum, and many parties are trying to fill the void.
At the moment, some figures have increased their power, but that could be destroyed quickly.
For months I wrote about divisions within the Future Movement noting that three general strains exist: […]
Finally,  Sophia takes a hit at the thorny issue of the definition of terrorism and war on terror:
The problem is what do we do when the alleged terrorists are those who resist Israel and represent the majority of citizen in Arab countries? This is more than half the population in Lebanon for Hezbollah and more than half the population in Palestine for Hamas. Israel and the US are waging war on both organizations in the name of the ‘War on Terror’.
There are two logical possibilities here when so many people correspond to the definition of terrorists or terrorists supporters:
We are wrong and our definition of terrorism is not correct;
We are not wrong and our definition of terrorism is correct; […]
And  Pierre Tristam discusses the explosive issue of the hypocrisy involved in the States department’s investigation of whether Israel used cluster bombs to bomb South Lebanon.

author: Moussa Bashir


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Mayanmar: Myanmar Tycoons · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at Man Actually reads about someone from Myanmar winning one of the bids for a posh property in Singapore.  “Then.. My mind went busy to list the latest myanmar tycoons. Who could that be? There are no Bill Gates of Myanmar. No steel magnet. And no big corporate that worth the talk or to think. “


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Mexico: Oaxaca Updates · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Adirondack Base Camp writes: “My wife and daughter just arrived in Oaxaca and I’m concerned for their safety. Therefore I have started this page as a source of information and news regarding the current situation there as it develops.” Also, Ana Maria Salazar on allegations that armed groups have taken over what had been a teacher's strike.

author: David Sasaki


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Mexico: Recount Results and Analysis · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Eduardo Arcos has the freshly released numbers by the Electoral Tribunal following a partial recount of the July 2 vote. Despite a greater quantity of annulled votes, Mark in Mexico writes that “the 7 magistrates who have the final say in the July 2 presidential election, will, according to this report and others, uphold the victory of Felipe Calderón.” Finally, Ricardo Carreon wonders if Lopez Obrador realizes he can “still play a major role transforming the country without being the President.”


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Mexico: Using Your Cell Phone as a Credit Card · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Chilanga Banda says that, beginning next month, Mexicans will be able to use their cell phones to make “micro-purchases” for items less than $25 USD (ES).


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Nepal: On the interim draft constitution · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

Bahas on the features of the Nepali interim draft constitution. I like what it says about women. “Once the interim constitution becomes effective, women will enjoy equal property rights and all types of discrimination against women will end. Women will have right to participate by one third in each structure of the state on the principle of proportional inclusion. Any violence against women is subject to punishment.”


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Peru: Download Digital Journalism Presentations · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Presentations from the second annual Conference on Digital Journalism held on Friday, August 25 are now available for download (ES).


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Russia, Ukraine: News Roundup · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog summarizes the news: cathedral on fire; good citizen enriches himself by not robbing the state; Ukraine's former prime minister sentenced for money laundering in the United States; kids sexually abused at a Black Sea summer camp.


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South Africa: Racism ruins national debates · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

“South African whites either just assume you share their unashamedly racist views or hate you immediately for being one of those dreadful foreign liberals who ruined their sybaritic idyll” writes white Johannesburg-based journalist Jonathan Clayton on African Safari. He goes on to examine how racism is undermining key debates over Aids and crime.


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South Korea: more on English teachers · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Robert Koehler in Marmot's Hole translates some local news accusing the misbehaviour of English teachers in South Korea: Affairs with High School Students, Spreading Nude Photos on the Internet.
GI Korea blog also has some comments on the English teachers “scandal”.


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Sri Lanka: For a few Ministers more · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The number of Ministers in Sri Lanka appear to have gone up. Aachcharya discusses how the public will have to finance these extra Ministers and if it makes sense to have a Ministry for Youth Affairs and one for Youth Empowerment.


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St. Vincent & the Grenadines: A Vincentian Paris Hilton? · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Abeni is disturbed by an e-mail she receives featuring photos of a Vincentian woman “in various states of undress as well as engaged in some sexual acts”.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Port of Stain · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Walking through Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago's capital city, The Manicou expresses despair at the amount of litter in the streets, but has little hope that this will ever change.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Reviewing the draft constitution · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Jeremy Taylor parses Trinidad & Tobago's new draft constitution, and concludes that “there are some very strange things in this draft, which would have the effect of increasing the power of the country's political leader at the expense of the judiciary and the parliament.”


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Uganda: Lunch at the LRA peace talks · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Video journalist waited outside the venue where the Lord's Resistance Army and the Uganda government held their peace talks. “On the left of the conference is the lunch hall for the residents, and on the right the peace talks are held. Two worlds in one building, although they share lunch.“


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Ukraine: Maidan Now · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Robert Mayer of Publius Pundit visits Kyiv's Maidan, takes pictures and talks to its current inhabitants, nearly two years after the Orange Revolution.


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Venezuela, Bolivia: Books and Oil · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Katy of Caracas Chronicles translates an article by Bolivian author, Juan Claudio Lechín about “Bolivarian double standards” at a Bolivian Book Fair.


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Venezuela: Chavez’s Next Term · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Assuming that Hugo Chavez is victorious in December's presidential election, Oil Wars takes a look at what may lie ahead for Venezuela.


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Vietnam:  Social Dinners in Vietnam · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

The blogger at antidote to burnout talks about the dynamics of social dinners in Vietnam and links to another blog post on the same topic.

author: Preetam Rai


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Zimbabwe: Refugees suffer in South Africa · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

This is Zimbabwe highlighted the plight of Zimbabwean refugees who had been driven by thirst to steal water from a South African farm. “[The farmer's] anger began to change to empathy as he began to come across more and more wretched people that had died as a result of attacks by predatory animals and from thirst“.


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Africans in France: Riots’ First Anniversary · Global Voices
Alice Backer

Senegalese blogger Semett worries that (Fr) not much has changed for communities of color in France since last year's summer riots: “Despite the temporary emotions, we don't get the impression that anything has changed since. Our brothers and sisters continue to live in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. Whether it is workers’ homes, state-run housing or transitional housing, it seems unacceptable that a country such as France, which calls itself the home of human rights, could continue to provide housing that violates human dignity to its people.”

author: Alice Backer


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Albania: Greater, or Natural, Albania · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Our Man in Tirana writes about ‘Greater Albania’ or, as it was called in a recent interview by the political adviser to the Albanian Prime Minister, the  ‘Natural Albania': “Citing the example of Montenegro which chose to split from Serbia, Danaj suggested that Albanians in Macedonia and Montenegro should also have the right to choose whether to live as minorities in those countries or to join with Albania.”


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Argentina: Mundial de Tango · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Cintra acknowledges the “surprising fun of the Mundial de Tango.”


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Bahamas: Not so far from the Middle East · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Nicolette Bethel's analysis of an African-American commentator's views on white guilt and anti-Semitism prompts her to think about Israel's position in the Middle East: “We Bahamians should take heed. After all, there is not a huge difference between the plight of the Palestinian Arab or the young men who identify with him and the plight of the child of Haitian parentage growing up in today’s Bahamas.”

author: Georgia Popplewell


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Bangladesh: Coal and Human Lives · Global Voices
Neha Viswanathan

The energy crisis rears its ugly head, albeit in a different way. Rezwan on Coal, environment and people, pitted against each other in Bangladesh.

author: Neha Viswanathan


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Barbados: Political dads · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Barbados's opposition leader gets the chance to take a enviable swipe at the Prime Minister, who's apparently been cagey about the five year-old daughter he has with the woman he recently married. “Maybe it’s a low blow,” says Titlayo, “but you can’t say it isn’t a solid punch.”


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Belize: Caye Caulker · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Lee Vanderwalker posts some sepia-toned photos and a “technology timeline” of Caye Caulker, Belize.


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Bolivia: “Chicha and Internet Gardens” · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Ben Dangl survives the most dangerous road in the world to publish this update on his time in Cochabamba.


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Bolivia: Petrol and YouTube · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Jim Shultz announces the gas and oil brief from the Democracy Center while Miguel Buitrago takes a look at Bolivia's presence on YouTube.


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Bosnia & Herzegovina: Karadzic Sightings · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Balkan Ghost of Finding Karadzic visits Trebinje and Lastva in the Republika Srpska to investigate Radovan Karadzic sightings there: “While in the west we treat Karadzic sightings with alarm, they are commonplace around Trebinje. And even if the locals wanted to talk about it, the western press and local EUFOR soldiers would be the last they would want to assist with the new information.”

author: Veronica Khokhlova


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Cambodia:  Web Portal and Destructive People · Global Voices
Preetam Rai

Vutha in Cambodia is upset with people who are causing disruptions in a community web portal project. The project known as the Community Information Center Webportal Cambodia (CIC webportal) was inactive for a while and the blogger is helping it become active again. “Finally, I am not sure whether CIC portal will be running properly like before or not. If it wont work, it is very sad for me. Its datas stored are important for Cambodians to use and develop community. I appeal for all people who are Khmer, they should stop creating destructive ideas.”


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Chile: The Day that Pinochet Dies · Global Voices
David Sasaki

Publicist Roberto Arancibia is one of Chile's most popular bloggers. His affable tone and optimistic perspective are adept at parsing a variety of topics. Yet rarely does his blog, El Mundo Sigue Ahí (“The World's Still There”), delve into anything that would interest a political polemicist.
Last Wednesday, a few weeks before the 33rd anniversary of the coup that installed Pinochet as dictator, could therefore be viewed as an anomaly with the publication of “The Day that Pinochet Dies“:
A few days ago I read a post by Jorge Diaz (ES), which asked us what we were going to do the day that Pinochet died.
Just as I wrote in the comments, on September 11, 1973 I was 16 years old, studied philosophy at the University of Chile and I was the owner of the world. I was on forced vacation from university and had visited Chiloé as a guest of Papo, – what will come of him? – along with 4 companions from school. That morning, his mother woke us up to a large battery-powered radio, at full volume, which took over where we had slept. Get up, there is a coup in Santiago!? Of course, the news immediately replaced what had been our dreams and cured our slugishness from the previous day's curanto. Just like our dreams that Tuesday morning, many dreams were cut short that day, all over the country.


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China: chain effect on ipod maker’s legal action against journalists · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

In less than a week's time, Ipod subcontractor Foxconn's legal action against Mainland journalists turns into a global news story.
The story was first appeared in Donews BBS, picked up by mindmeters, then GVO's roundups. On the same date (Aug 24), Chinese citizen journalist websites inmediahk.net (from Hong Kong)(zh) and coolloud.org.tw (from Taiwan)(zh) followed up the news story and translated into English into a to-be-launched citizen journalist website (interlocals.net).
ESWN translates in details the journalist defence statement on Aug 26 and by Aug 28 the news turned global to slashdot.
Yesterday, the First Financial Daily issued an open letter to Foxconn, defending their editor and journalist against Foxconn's legal action in freezing the two individuals assests. The statement also said that such action would enrage the whole media circle. In fact, it has resulted in a series of chain effects within China internet community.
Non-violent Resistance criticized that FoxConn is not dumb, but downright vicious:
Words in the Chinese press circles are, that FoxConn, therefore Hon Hai, had deliberately picked the two journalists from China Business News to sue in a painstaking plot to harrass and intimidate media outlets and journalists. After all, China Business News was not the only newspaper that doggedly followed the iPod sweatshop story.
Sina.com has opened up a special page(zh) on the issue and  a blog for two journalists.
ESWN goes through the Reporter.com BBS (zh) and finds out that:
nine of the twenty listings from the top are about the FoxConn case with words like boycott,” “disgust,” “condemnation,” “paper tiger” for FoxConn and words like “admiration” and “victory” for the First Financial Daily reporters.
Keso extends the discussion to the lack of legal protection to mainland journalists:
一部《新闻法》，难产了20年，至今没能生下来。没有法律保护的“加强舆论监督”，基本上是一句废话，结果无非是变成“加强监督舆论”。富士康之所以如此有恃无恐，是因为法律明白无误地站在它那一边。


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China: Peking University · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Joel Martinsen from DAWEI reports that “Peking University,” which has endured since 1912, will eventually give way to “University of Beijing.” The school official claims that it is to make the university more grammatical correct.


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Cuba, Bahamas, USA: Moral authority · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Rick Lowe takes issue with the Cuban ambassador to the Bahamas's declaration that the US lacks the moral authority to criticise Cuba.


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Cuba: Sex tourism · Global Voices
Georgia Popplewell

Luis M. Garcia reports briefly on the Cuban government's irate response to “a Spanish academic who says as many as 200,000 Spaniards travel to Cuba every year to engage in what he politely termed turismo sexual.“


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DRC: Election results fragmented · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

The Head Heeb analyses the partial results from the Democratic Republic of Congo's National Assembly election which took place alongside the better-publicised presidential poll. It's already clear that the incoming parliament will be highly fragmented,” he concludes.


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Ethiopia: Floods and conflict take their toll · Global Voices
Andrew Heavens

Tobian Thinktank asks why Ethiopia's army is bothering with its military manoeuvres in Somalia while foreign troops are having to come into Ethiopia to help flood victims. We've people and villages getting swept away, lives being taken and destroyed by the hundreds and what is the Ethiopian army doing?


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Georgia: Gangster’s Paradise · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Carpetblogger reports on Batumi, the capital of the Georgian region of Ajaria, saying that autonomy was far from kind to the city.

author: Nathan Hamm


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Guyana: Election watch · Global Voices
Nicholas Laughlin

On Monday 28 August, an estimated 300,000 Guyanese turned out to vote in elections for the unicameral National Assembly. Elections in Guyana have historically been fraught with public anxiety and violence. The two leading parties, the People's Progressive Party (PPP/Civic) and the People's National Congress (PNC/Reform) have traditionally drawn their strength from Guyana's two main ethnic groups — respectively, Indian and African — and most Guyanese vote along ethnic lines. The ruling PPP/Civic has held power since the 1992 elections, widely considered the first relatively free and fair elections in almost thirty years.
More recently, the 1997 and 2001 elections were occasions for significant inter-ethnic violence, and — with the murder rate soaring, and after recent incidents such as the assassination of agriculture minister Satyadeo Sawh in April and the murder of five Kaieteur News employees earlier this month — many Guyanese have spent recent months fearing that this year's elections would bring a further round of bloodshed. “Stock up and lock up,” suggested Guyana-Gyal on the eve of the elections. “‘Cause tomorrow is Election Day and we don't know what them following days gon bring.” Except she detected “something new strumming in the air … humming on tv, on the radio, campaigns for peace, young folks in ads on tv, singing a line or two, asking for peace”. And MediaCritic of Living Guyana reported on election day that the capital city, Georgetown, “is a fortress … We hear that most stores are completely boarded up as if people in Guyana think that Hurricane Ernesto is coming their way.” He suggested that if the PPP/Civic won a clear majority “one major section of the country … ARE GOING TO CAUSE TROUBLE”.
What complicates this year's elections is the existence of a new “third” party, the Alliance for Change (AFC), founded by relatively young former members of the PPP/Civic and the PNC/Reform. Over the last fifteen years, a number of small parties have tried to break the two main parties’ hold on electoral power — most notably the Working People's Alliance (WPA), which chose to boycott this year's elections. But the AFC is the first “third” party in recent times that has seemed capable of making a decisive intervention in Guyanese politics, perhaps by attracting enough votes to cause a hung assembly and a coalition government. This would be the “Election of Elections”, predicted demeraralighthouse in late July, who went on to suggest in detail what the PPP/Civic and PNC/Reform election strategies might be. By the weekend before the elections, it seemed clear from opinion polls that the PPP would win at least a plurality, returning President Bharath Jagdeo to office. The question was whether his party could command a majority and form a government outright.
On election day itself, all seemed quiet, with schools and offices closed and a heavy police and military presence on the streets to maintain order. After Guyana-Gyal voted, she complained about the deep purple indelible ink used to stain voters’ fingers (to prevent duplicate voting). “Now me finger look like if gangrene and riga-mortis setting in.” Voter turnout was also unusually low. “The PNC and the AFC looks as though they have failed miserably to dethrone the PPP”, wrote MediaCritic.
The elections commission had promised early results — in previous elections, it took several days for votes from Guyana's more remote districts to be counted — but as of Tuesday evening, a day after polls closed, there was still no official announcement. Still, numbers of one kind or another, and of uncertain reliability, were slipping out. At the JahajeeDesiForum — “a community web site for the Indian Diaspora in the Caribbean” — an administrator posted poll numbers suggesting that the PPP/Civic had an absolute majority of votes, with 670 of 1,999 polling stations reporting. MediaCritic also began posting a regular Unofficial Elections Results Update, with information from “sources in the media”. Early on he suggested that the AFC had beat the PPP in their Region 6 stronghold (running along the eastern border with Suriname). Then he reported “a VERY CLOSE race with the PPP in front”. But by his 7.04 pm update, the numbers were “PPP = 77014, PNC = 45,562 … No figures for the AFC but they are not looking good”, suggesting “a HUGE lead for the PPP”. MediaCritic also marvelled that at least four of the smaller parties had got zero votes in the national elections, as of 8.28 pm — “Not even the presidential candidates voted for themselves!” It seemed unlikely that official results would be announced before Wednesday.

author: Nicholas Laughlin


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