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Montenegro: Hero’s Welcome for YouTube Star · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

YouTube star Ekrem Jevrić Gospoda was given a hero's welcome upon his arrival in his native Montenegro on July 11. His fame also grew when, allegedly unrelated to his status of YouTube star, he also took part in a photo-shoot for a renowned fashion brand.
At the Podgorica airport, Jevrić was greeted by local camp singer Purašević and “hundreds of fans and relatives,” while tens of entertainment portals and TV stations from the Balkans — including from Macedonia — reused a video from the event, also available on YouTube.
In the clip, apparently at a request of a female journalist, the singer-songwriter whose song about the daily grind ‘cursed’ working women because they can't take care of children, explains that “Women work. All our women work all over the Gray World,* women work,” and adds that he's not really bothered by that fact.
But, the man whose video currently has over 3.9 million views on YouTube, complained that he didn't make any money from that, because he's not paid per view, so “it's all for nothing, all for free, and maybe in the future, later we'll make something.”
In addition, a few weeks ago, numerous Balkan portals spread the news that Jevrić shows up in a menswear photo-shoot as a tailor.  One of them, SerbiaNet, also published [SER] an audio clip with an excerpt from a telephone interview [SER]. According to Jevrić:
I worked for a big and famous billionaire, with famous brands, called Dolce & Gabanna. I was standing in front of a pub [in my suit] and he was passing by and asked me “Are you an Italian?” I said “Excuse me, but I am not, but I am quite close to Italy.”
Then they said “Would you allow us to take photos of you and take your telephone number, and we'll call you in ten days if you are accepted.” And then they accepted me and offered 500 USD per day to work for them. I worked two days, and got a thousand dollars. A car would come to my house and take me there, and then take me back home by car, and so. They also told me that they might invite me again to work for them, and what do I know…
The interviewer also tried to provoke conservative Jevrić about the openly gay status of Dolce & Gabanna, but to his credit the singer-turned-model ignored the issue.
* Possibly this is a reference to the common South Slavic idiom “the White World,” meaning abroad, far away, used in folk stories.


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Poland: Realities of budget and taxes · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Edward Hugh of Poland Economy Watch writes about Poland's economy and its ability to meet both domestic and European demands.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia: Drowning in drunkenness · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Streetwise Professor discusses the consequences of drinking in Russia, not least as temperatures now reach high peaks and people go swimming under the influence.


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Russia: New Election Codex Project Discussed Online · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Transparent ballot boxes – one of the propositions of the new codex, photo by Rama
Last month, a Russian non-governmental election-monitoring organization, “Golos” (A Voice), published [RUS] an alternative Election Codex on the internet, that is designed to provide free, fair and transparent elections in Russia. It is one of a few recent examples of publicly developed draft bills that are promoted online.
Freedom and transparency of elections in Russia has taken a turn for the worse with the election of the second Russian president Vladimir Putin. The presidential election in 2000 and the Duma (parliament) election in 1999 were the last elections recognized by the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) [EN] as “consistent with internationally recognized democratic principles.” All further elections failed to meet both OSCE and Council of Europe requirements for democratic elections.
Under the guise of “managed democracy” [EN] and later “sovereign democracy” [EN] both election practices and the legal framework were transformed in order to put down the opposition and limit voter rights. Legal changes included the abandonment of governor elections in the Russian regions, raising the bar for entrance to the State Duma from 5 to 7 percent of the vote for political parties, tightening requirements for political parties, etc. As a result, the number of political parties shrank from several dozens to just seven [RUS] (and only four are currently represented in the State Duma).
At the end of 2008, a group of 31 non-partisan election experts, human right activists, political analysts and journalists led by Arkadiy Lyubarev got together to propose an alternative to the current electoral system. Realizing that neither the state nor the current political parties are interested in changing the system, “Golos” began a series of round table discussions in Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Samara, Kazan and other cities. The result of their work is a 141-pages long document [RUS] that was published on June 9th, 2010.
Among other things, new Election Codex proposes to:
A not so active discussion of the proposal online included both typical propaganda and some creative critique. Denis Dvornikov, an executive secretary of a pro-Kremlin astroturf NGO, Civic Control, described [RUS] the document in a cynical manner, calling it “an empty, populistic document… that is aimed to feed starving political technologists.”
Cynical, materialist explanations are common in Russian online debate. The meta-discourse behind it describes all civil rights organizations as “paid by the West”, or “pursuing their own commercial interests”, while any idealistic or humanistic motivation is disregarded.
Another political technologist Dmitri Sapegin, wrote about the utopianism of the Codex [RUS]:
Задал вопрос – если это проект, то КАК вы собираетесь проводить новый Кодекс через Госдуму? …Там же по вашим словам – сидят игроки на политическом поле, которым не нужны новые нормативные конструкции, задевающие их интересы. Мне ответили: «Наш проект – создание Кодекса. Пока. Дальше – посмотрим».
Livejournal user V_Martynov, however, criticized [RUS] the document from the position of federalism: the election codex gives very tight limits on the ability of regions to design their own legislative structures.
Nowadays, a project like Golos and the Election Codex can only be discussed and promoted online. Since no state-controlled TV or radio will give public exposure to it, and no political party will support it. Bloggers seem to have no interest (and trust) in it either.
One the one hand, lack of serious online discussion can be explained by the complexity of the topic, numerous technical details, and the overall low level of legal culture in the country. On the other hand, the more significant factors might be the apathy and lack of trust most Russian people feel towards elections, discredited by almost ten years of authorities abusing the system.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Russia: Priest’s Blog Hacked · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

While police denied to start investigation [RUS] of the hack attack of Maxim Sviridenkov's blog [EN], one more blog had been hacked [RUS]. This time the victim of “Hacker Hell” (alleged Bonn-based hacker Sergey Maksimov) is Yakov Krotov [EN], a priest and a publicist. Content of both his LJ-account and personal site krotov.info had been deleted.


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Rwanda: Paul Kagame Supporters Turn to Power of Twitter, Facebook and Blogs · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Supporters of the president Paul Kagame of Rwanda have turned to the power of Facebook, Twitter and blogs to help him win presidential election that will be held on 9 August 2010.
MyKagame is an online fan club for Paul Kagame. This is what the club is all about:
As a career statesman with a rich profile and long list of accomplishments, President Paul Kagame has a large following of admirers who look up to look up to him for guidance as Hero. This is their platform. The Fan Club is managed entirely by the president’s fans as a group with a common cause, purpose and direction.
As a fan of President Kagame, this August campaign is about you. Your voice counts. This is your platform to share thoughts and advise on issues to address during and after the presidential elections. Stand up for what you believe in, make Rwanda proud!
You may get involved in several ways:
Connecting with other supporters through Fan Club blogs.
Joining grassroots efforts to support the President’s campaign
Spreading the word about the Fan Club and our Hero’s agenda for Rwanda especially during the upcoming Presidential campaign.
Boosting morale of people who share our values and love Rwanda.
In addition to its website, the club has a blog.  Following are two recent posts on the blogs:
1. Rwanda's strides to build a regional ICT hub:
Rwanda has positioned itself as a regional hub for information and communication technology (ICT) with a robust ICT industry, including e-commerce, e-services, applications development, and automation. It is believed that ICT will be harnessed to generate wealth and be a key economic driver. As part of its policy goal to progressively transform Rwanda from a predominantly agriculture economy to a predominantly information-rich, knowledge-based economy (PIKE), the Government committed itself to the implementation of the envisaged four rolling NICI/ICT4D Plans over the 20 year life-span of Vision 2020 and the ICT4D Policy.
2. Our hero is cleared by NEC to contest:
As highly expected by the fans, President Paul Kagame was among the four candidates cleared yesterday by the The National Electoral Commission to contest in the August 09 poll.
NEC has accepted Kagame’s application for the race after the RPF returned as its flag bearer to run for the second and final term as provided for by in the constitution.
For this term, President Kagame has pledged to put leadership in the hands of the people. It will strengthen further the integration of the youth, women, vulnerable groups and the civil society. He also promises to fortify the means of disseminating information and consolidate the country’s security and sovereignty
There is a Facebook page called  Paul Kagame will win 2010 presidential elections. At the time of writing this post there were 3,408 followeres. Following are a few messages on its wall:
Moses Ndayisenga says:
May God bless Rwanda's paul kagame in his victory b'se he won 2010 election.VIVA KPAUL. OUR Mzee
Siriba AbdulKarim says:
May God be with you in leading Rwandans to their social welfare. Keep it up!
Sangano Gentle adds:
Yes our beloved PRESIDENt is gonna win 2010 ELECTION.no one like him.
There are two other Facebook pages for Kagame; PaulKagame with 6,327 followers and Paul Kagame with 8,169 followers (at the time of writing this post).
The latest message on PaulKagame page reads:
today co-chaired the meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development held in Geneva, Switzerland.
In his remarks said “… There
is no doubt, that using Broadband to unleash peoples’ full potential is an
economic imperative for attaining an inclusive and prosperous global economic
society…Leaders in governmen…t, business and civil society organizations must be accountable to achieve concrete results.”
A speech by Paul Kagame at the 16th Commemoration of The Genocide is the latest message on Paul Kagame page.
One of the topics on the page is about the administrator/creator of the page. There were fears that the administrator may have passed away without the knowledge of his followers:
Mukiza I have this feeling that the anonymous admin for this page may have silently met his or her creator without our knowledge.
For what explains the fact that this page has gone non-updated since august of 2009.
That is a hell of a long time for a live person to be that un-responsive.
If my worries are founded,then my sincere condolences are guaranteed.
The administrator joined the discussion explaining his silence:
Paul Kagame Still kicking, I'm afraid ;)
I recently moved cities and have been largely without the internet for the past 3 months as well as splitting up with my partner of over a year. I'm sorry for neglecting you, but I still check in whenever I can. Unfortunately even admins are human.
If anyone has any complaints all they have to do is make a topic and I'll see it.
As for the page, well it seems to take care of itself pretty much, or so it seems to me. But I'll do some spring cleaning.
But maybe I've grabbed the wrong end of the stick here, is this a coup? Would the community like me to step down? :)
~ The Administrator
Kagame supporters are also on the popular microblogging site, Twitter. There is paulkagame, which is private (196 followers) and PaulKagame with 964 followers.
The latest tweet on PaulKagame reads:
in Eastern Province yesterday, commended success of land distribution and agricultural surplus -pledged more government support
There is also Paul Kagame photostream on Flickr and Paul Kagame podcast and pK blogs on paulkagame.com
We will have to wait and see the overall impact of social media in the 2010 presidential election in Rwanda.
Paul Kagame

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Serbia: One Pair of Shoes, One Life · Global Voices
Sinisa Boljanovic

Although 15 years have passed since the Srebrenica massacre, general Ratko Mladic — Chief of Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb Army) — charged with genocide by the Hague Tribunal for the brutal deaths of more than 8000 Muslims in this Bosnian town on 11 July 1995, has not been arrested yet.
Despite the fact that Mladic retired in Serbia a few years later, and was seen in the stands of “Marakana” stadium in Belgrade during a football match of the Serbian national team in 2003, Serbian authorities claim they do not know if Mladic is hiding in Serbia. It obviously means that the power and security services are not able to perform their duties or they simply do not want to find and arrest him, in order not to arouse discontent among the many Serbs who consider Mladic a national hero. They genuinely think that his officers and soldiers, who conquered Srebrenica on July 11 — a town protected by Dutch UN-units —  separated women and children, and then killed almost all the men from the city and surroundings, got a fair revenge on the Muslims for the death of dozens of thousands of their compatriots, who had been massacred by Muslims in Bratunac and other places in Bosnia during the civil war and the Second World War.
To the contrary, there are also people in Serbia who consider that the “Srebrenica” case is the biggest national disgrace ever. Some of them are intellectuals, artists, and members of numerous civic movements such as Skart (the Reject), Centar za kulturnu dekontaminaciju (Center for cultural decontamination), and the Zene u crnom (Women in Black) from Belgrade. They cooperate with mothers from Srebrenica who lost their dearest in the massacre.
This year, on july 7, they held a meeting —  “One pair of shoes, one life” — in the center of the capital where they had collected 8372 pairs of shoes (according to them that is the official figure of victims) in order to erect a monument in Belgrade for the Srebrenica victims.
On the website bezimena.org, blogger Sonja re-publishes the organizers’ statement, which was issued on the eve of the rally, at the end of June. Here is an excerpt:
The Action was inspired by an international initiative in that women from Srebrenica participate. Just because of their participation and our desire to stick together with them, we are organizing this action, which is adapted to our political and ethical context. The action is participative and directed towards citizens of Serbia and it expects them to independently erect a permanent monument, which will be their own expression of responsibility and solidarity with the victims […]
[…]We are calling upon citizens to donate shoes and leave their messages in them for the victims’ families. It is necessary that you leave your own name or name of someone who gives shoes. Names of people who gave shoes and messages will be registered. The idea is that, when the monument is built, the donors’ names will be written on a commemorative plaque […]
Citizens may leave shoes and messages on the long poster, which has been laid out on the sidewalk along Knez Mihailo Street. The poster read: “Responsibility and solidarity – the Women in Black for Human Rights – the Women in Black against the war”.
Because of threats, which were sent to the organizers by extreme nationalist groups, special units of the Police were protecting the rally. On the eve of the event, Nasi (the Ours) — a movement of Serbian nationalists — issued an official statement cynically calling people to come to Knez Mihailo Street and, because of the economic crisis, take the shoes from the black band for their own use.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Svetlana Slapsak, an anthropologist and theoretician of culture,  said that this kind of moves by rightist groups were expected and that, because of that, every activity related to the process of confronting the past is important, while there is an appaulingly low level of public and civic responsibility in Serbia for those who have suffered the most. She thinks that authorities could also be considered morally responsible because they organize no similar public activities.
Stasa Zajovic, a lady from the Women in Black, coordinating the action, said:
Giving the shoes marks accepting the fact that genocide in Srebrenica happened as well as [expressing] sympathy and solidarity with the killed ones.
Further, she explained what the shoes as a symbol mean:
For me, the shoes are a footprint of the people who remained in Srebrenica and this footprint is very important in my life. The shoes are a symbol of the lifes extinguished and we want each shoe to get a space, because those who were killed are not only dead bones. They are people whose dreams, wishes, loves, and sorrows were killed. Also, the shoes are a symbol of movement.
Despite the presence of several dozen members of nationalist groups in the center of Belgrade at the same time as the Women in Black were making their humane gesture about genocide in Srebrenica by gathering the shoes, this symbolical performance, which was held shortly before the official ceremony in Potocari in commemoration of Srebrenica’s victims, ended without any incident.
President Boris Tadic attended the commemorative ceremony in Potocari
Every year, the ceremony in memory of more than 8000 victims of genocide in Srebrenica is held in the memorial complex of Potocari. This year, the president of the Republic of Serbia, Mr. Boris Tadic, attended the event. According to BBC Serbian, on occasion of this, he expressed his regret for the victims and added that Serbia would not stop looking for the perpetrators of war crimes, especially for Ratko Mladic.
This is a tragedy of the Bosniaks but also of all people who lived in former Yugoslavia. This page in history cannot be turned as long as those who are responsible for the crimes are free.
Earlier this year, the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted the Declaration about Srebrenica. On that occasion, the blog “Srebrenica-genocide” published the full text of the Declaration, and concluded:
…With this declaration, Serbia officially acknowledged that Serbs committed Genocide at Srebrenica in July 1995…
Although some intellectuals, lawyers, and ordinary people were expecting that the Declaration would define the crimes of Srebrenica as genocide, it did not happen. It is obvious that the key word (“genocide”) was intentionally omitted from the original text because there are very many people in Serbia who (as already stated) deny that a crime was committed in Srebrenica, but instead define it as a righteous revenge.
Also, a lot of people from Serbia and Republika Srpska (Republic of Srpska) are annoyed with the Serbian authorities, because they have never attended the ceremony in commemoration of the 3267 Serbian victims, who were brutally killed in Bratunac, in 1992 and 1993.
Anja Vujevic, a journalist, in an article published in Belgrade’s weekly “Pecat’’ on July 8, 2010, offered an explanation why the President of the Republic of Serbia does not want to visit Bratunac:
Tadic knows that no woman or child was buried in Potocari, in contrast to the Orthodox cemeteries in Bratunac, Srebrenica and Skelani. Then it is understandable that he does not want to visit Bratunac on July 12. What could he say to Milica Dimitrijevic whose sons, 5 years old Aleksandar and 10 years old Radisav, were killed in Bratunac on 16 January 1993, by the same people with whom, just a day before, he was standing [in Potocari] and whom he apologized to? What could he say to Cvetko Ristic who, as a 13 years old boy, lost all of his dearest: his father Novak (42), mother Ivanka (43), sister Mitra (18), and brother Misa? Or, what could he say to little Brana Vucetic who, as a nine-year-old boy, was brought to Oric's camp, and lost his father, mother and brother? How could he face the pain in the eyes of a misfortunate mother, Slavka Matic, who buried her daughters Snezana and Gordana, in the flower of their youth, or Ivanka Rankic, who is even now pressing a photo to her chest of the burnt body of her son Nenad, or Marija Jeremic who is still searching for bones of her son Marko, and lights candles for Radovan, and dreams that she will bury Marko next to him? How to look at Ana Mladenovic who cannot even remember her father Andjelko, but for her enitre life has lived with the knowledge that they cut off his head and then played football with it. What kind of justification could he offer to 76-year-old Dragomir Miladinovic from the small Kravica village Ježeštica, who since 18 years lives with a painful wound – without his sons Ratko and Djordje?

author: Sinisa Boljanovic


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South Africa: Writers record their work for Internet · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Four South African writers recorded their prose stories for the internet during the National Arts Festival. This was the final part of the CityBooks project focussing on Grahamstown and organised by the Dutch/Flemish organisation deBuren,” cueTV blog reports from Grahamstown, South Africa.


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

“The Carnival Band that makes the creates the most noise (read social chatter) gets the most attention”: Trinidad Carnival Diary says that using social media may translate into gaining an edge on the Carnival competition.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Trinidad & Tobago: Pantin Passes On  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Trinidad and Tobago News Blog mourns the death of economist Dennis Pantin.


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U.S.V.I.: Teen Killed  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Live De Life is saddened by an incident in which “a 14 year old tourist visiting on a Carnival cruise ship was killed from crossfire between two criminals” in St. Thomas.


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United Kingdom: Video Tagging to protest Nokia’s Actions in Iran · Global Voices
Fred Petrossian

It is an ongoing story in international media, that a joint venture of Siemens AG, the German conglomerate, and Nokia, the Finnish cell phone company, provided Iran's government with the necessary tools to enhance it surveillance of private communications. The European Parliament has strongly criticised them.
Last June marked the one year anniversary of the contested presidential elections and mass protests in Iran.  While the government is still firmly in power, new forms of protest continue to appear…
Reverse the Wave  is a blog by Ms.Deena DeNaro-Bickerstaffe, an artist who is using “video tagging” to protest Nokia's actions. Her self-stated goal is to “reverse the trend of duplicitous advertising” by financing projections of a “subvertisement” mimicking a Nokia advertisement in public places around the world.
Below are a few examples:
Video Tagging the Iranian Embassy – June 12 &13, 2010
Video tagging the UK Dept of Trade & Industry Building
Interview:Deena DeNaro speaks to Global Voices about the project, its goals and challenges.
When did you begin to get interested in Iran's protest movement? had you followed Iranian political affairs before the June 2009 election?
I didn’t get involved with the Iranian protest movement until making this “subvertisement”. I had been aware of the protests in Iran last summer, but was so busy working I had little time to read any newspapers or watch any television to find out more. Most of what I’d heard about the Iranian election and protests came from my radio alarm clock that is set to go off 2 hours before I have to get up. I just filed the stories in the back of my mind for later, and sort of smiled at the irony. From an American point of view, the notion of Iranians fighting for democracy seemed very ironic and I hoped that these events would wear some chinks in the armor of our own propaganda.
Was this a personal initiative or were other companies and/or NGOs involved?
Reverse the Wave came about as a response to the MoFilm competition [made-for-mobile films]. Someone in the Media & Broadcasting Department from a local university approached me to collaborate with them on a submission so we could develop a course that teaches students to make a film to an [advertising] client’s brief. We had a meeting and I went home to read each sponsor's brief. There were about 7 different companies putting out briefs, but the one that jumped out at me most was Nokia's because of how hypocritical their words seemed to be. There was a huge disparity between what they were saying about themselves in the competition brief, and the role that the sale of their technology had actually played in last year’s elections. To me, it felt like they were almost trying to cover up their actions with marketing. As someone who has worked in the business a long time, I took exception to that and felt I had to call them on their shit.
So as not to jeopardize the university’s relationship with MoFilm, I dissolved the collaboration with that professor and took this on as a personal project. No other organizations were involved in the production of the “subvertisement” and the projections in London were initiated by my producer. But we’d be open to working with any NGOs that might want to collaborate on future taggings (outdoor projections) or screenings.
Why did you tag the UK Department of Trade & Industry Building and the Car Phone Warehouse in London? Is there any relation to Iran or was it just to get attention?
My producer chose those two locations. The reasoning for targeting them was to bring awareness to both the people that created the rules governing trade deals and the people that buy and sell mobile phones. I’m not familiar with the neighborhoods of London, but my producer picked the Car Phone Warehouse in Ealing because there is a large Iranian population there.
Do you collaborate with Iranian artists or activists?
This was the first time I have collaborated with any Iranian artists or done anything involving Iranian culture. It has really opened up my eyes. Having lived in many countries, I like to think of myself as cosmopolitan, but those countries in which I lived were mostly western cultures. Researching this project was the first time I have ever been able to “put a face to the name” so to speak. I was surprised at how familiar the images of the protesters in Iran looked to me. Most people make the mistake of associating a citizen of a specific country with the dominant politics or cultural movements that country is known for. Even for a fairly educated American like myself, it was really surprising to think of Iranian’s wanting democracy. I mean with all the fuss going on in New York about the construction of the “Freedom Towers” how many New Yorkers do you think know that Borj-e Azadi means the same thing? Whether or not there’s a tinge of propaganda to why each is named so, we still have a lot more in common with each other than we are led to believe.
Also, I would have never been able to make this “subvertisement” if I hadn’t had help and input from Iranians. Aside from the fact that most of the documentary footage we used came directly from Iran, my casting was going nowhere until my [Iranian] assistant director came on board. She managed to get actors in such a short time, communicate what I was looking for, and tell me if what I had in mind was actually contrary to how things would be done in Iran. Her input into how the set should look was invaluable.
The best thing about collaborating on this project is that it has opened up a whole new world of art, literature, film and music for me. The worse thing is, I’ve become so intrigued by a country I will probably never get to visit.
It seems YouTube plays a central role in spreading word of your project, what about other social networking such as Facebook?
I’ve been trying to reach people in as many ways as possible, and YouTube is the best way of hosting the video in a highly trafficked area right now. We also have a website (currently populated by BlogSpot pages until we can find a proper web developer), a Facebook group anda Twitter hash tag (#ReverseTheWave).
Since this is truly a grass roots web 2.0 effort we started a PayPal account to accept donations for future projections around the world. We will also be looking into some crowd-funding efforts shortly with groups such as Trust Art.
We are currently looking for a web developer, and projectionists, producers or location managers in different cities. If anyone would like to get involved or have us bring Reverse the Wave to their city or town please contact us through deena [dot] de [at] mac [dot] com.

author: Fred Petrossian


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Venezuela: Actress Carolina Riveros Wins Award in France · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Blogacine, a Venezuelan blog about film, reports [es] that Carolina Riveros, a young Venezuelan actress, has just won one of the awards for best actress at the Second Festival Internacional de Cinema Latin du Pays de Caux [fr], in  Saint-Valery-en-Caux, France. She was recognized for her work in the Venezuelan film “La Clase.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Africa: Africa scores a goal when you stop HIV · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

“Africa Goal is an exciting and innovative project that harnesses the popularity of the football World Cup to address HIV and AIDS in the region of the World most effected by the epidemic,” writes Bev Clark at Kubatana blogs.


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Africa: Medical Investments in East Africa · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bankelele discusses medical investments in East Africa: “Kenya and the region’s population has been steadily growing (good or bad thing?) and with more people accessing formal medical care would that not be a growth opportunity?”


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Angola: Song of the year for Museke Online Music Awards  · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Kuma kwa kie by Angolan musician Yuri da Cunha is the inaugural winner of the contemporary African song of the year at the annual Museke Online Africa Music Awards.


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Argentina: Senate Approves Equal Marriage · Global Voices
Jorge Gobbi

The Argentinean Senate sanctioned a law that establishes equal rights to marry, without discriminating between heterosexual and homosexual couples, and with the same rights to adoption, among other issues.  With this measure, Argentina becomes the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage. The law was approved with the individual vote of Senators from different political parties; the parties gave the Senators the freedom to support or reject the law.
The topic was largely debated on Twitter, where the hashtag #matrimoniogay (gay marriage) became one of the trending topics on a worldwide scale for many hours. There we could see a large number of tweets about this issue. Many of them came from users of other Latin American countries, who also shared their position on this topic.  Here’s a brief selection of tweets from those in favor:
http://twitter.com/DiegoF/status/18605576901
A los creyentes: ya está, si dios permitió que se apruebe es porque no tiene problemas con el #matrimoniogay así que aflojen con el rezoless than a minute ago via webDiego FaurDiegoF
end of tweet
http://twitter.com/Agustiina/status/18605352980
Haber despertado con la noticia de la aprobación del #matrimoniogay me hace sentir orgullosa de vivir en un país que busca la igualdadless than a minute ago via webAgustinaAgustiina
end of tweet
http://twitter.com/politikaetc/status/18583950473
Que bonito! parabéns, Argentina. Grande exemplo pra América Latina. #matrimoniogayless than a minute ago via TweetDeckRaphael Nevespolitikaetc
end of tweet
http://twitter.com/rianxeiro/status/18605256626
¡Felicidades Argentina! a seguirle el paso a los vecinos… #matrimoniogay #argentina Perdieron el mundial pero la ganaron en igualdadless than a minute ago via TweetDeckJavier Alonsorianxeiro
end of tweet
http://twitter.com/naty_cali/status/18606948581
#matrimoniogay Vivimos en un país mejor que el de ayer.less than a minute ago via webNatalia Calistinaty_cali
end of tweet
On Twitter we can also see some condemnatory expressions against these equal rights –some arguments appealed to particular religious arguments– but in a smaller scale in comparison to the expressions of joy for the approval of the law. Here are some examples:
http://twitter.com/Greg0rio/status/18608991161
No tengo nada en contra de la union del mismo sexo, pero les recuerdo que Dios creo al hombre y a la mujer para que formen una familialess than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhoneGregorioGreg0rio
end of tweet
http://twitter.com/pedro493/statuses/18584433973
Argentina se convierte en el Primer Pais Latino y Suramericano en aprobar la Legalidad del Matrimonio Gay en un Codigo Civil… Que asco!less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®Pedro Luis Contreraspedro493
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Since the law was approved just hours ago, there are not many published blog entries on the topic, but you can read some positive reactions here: Es la gente, estúpido [es]; Artepolítica [es]; 100 Volando [es], y Hernán Haines [es].
With the initial sanction from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate's decision, a strong debate was sustained by members of organizations such as the Catholic Church who protested against egalitarian marriage and, based on particular religious beliefs, claimed the continuity of laws that implied discrimination. These groups gathered 50 to 60 thousand people in a manifestation that took place last July 13. You can read some opinions from this position, here: Argentavis [es] y Baradero Hoy [es]

author: Jorge Gobbi


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Baghdad: Interior Ministry raids beauty parlour  · Global Voices
Katharine Ganly

Iraqi LGBT reports on a raid on a Baghdad male beauty parlour, resulting in the arrest of five gay men. Iraqi media reported the parlour raided was used for prostitution; witnesses say this was not the case at all. Read more here.

author: Katharine Ganly


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Bangladesh: A DVD Featuring Bangladesh’s Cricket Success · Global Voices
Rezwan

Bangladesh Corporate Blog sees the opportunity to market a DVD featuring important successes of Bangladesh cricket which can provide an excellent collection for numerous cricket lovers in Bangladesh.

author: Rezwan


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Bermuda: Respect Yourself  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A politician says that he ripped up an official piece of correspondence in response to a perceived show of disrespect, prompting Vexed Bermoothes to comment: “I want them to know that if you disrespect the public, that is what you will get back in return.”


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Bhutan: Gay And Lesbian Pride · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sonam Ongmo writes about the Bhutanese society which is very accommodating and open to many things like Gay, Lesbian and Transgenders issues.


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Brazil: Death of an Old and Brave Newspaper · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

Brizola Neto says that one of the oldest Brazilian newspapers, Jornal do Brasil (JB) will cease its printed version and will only run online. The blogger adds that the almost-120-years-old newspaper was a brave opponent to the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985) and its disappearance will leave a gap in Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and in democracy.

author: Raphael Tsavkko Garcia


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Brazil: “Paulista” Separatism in a State with 42 Million Inhabitants · Global Voices
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia

A curious map of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, was featured on blog Strange Maps. The blogger gives some background on the “Paulista” separatist movements in that state, which he describes as the West’s Most Populous Sub-Nation.


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Caribbean: CRB Reviews  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Find new literary reviews from The Caribbean Review of Books, here.


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Caucasus: Blogs and Bullets · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.
Last week, on 8 July, a half-day conference, Blogs and Bullets: Evaluating the Impact of New Media on Conflict was held at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. Co-sponsored by George Washington University's Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, the first and last of three panels included Alec Ross, Senior Advisor for Innovation to the U.S. Secretary of State, Ethan Zuckerman, Global Voices co-founder and Senior Researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Marc Lynch, Director of the Institute of Middle East Studies at George Washington University, Colin Rule, Director of Online Dispute Resolution at eBay, and Adam Conner from Facebook.
Also present on the second panel were bloggers and journalists such as Global Voices’ Mialy Andriamananjar and Hamid Tehrani, Global Voices Caucasus Region Editor Onnik Krikorian, Raed Jarrar, Nasseem Tarawnah, and Golnaz Esfandiari. The panels were followed up by a private experts working group also involving Berkman and Global Voices’ Jillian York and representatives from the World Bank and the U.S. Department of State among others.
In a USIP report (draft) released at the conference, a team of scholars from GWU, in cooperation with scholars from Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and from Morningside Analytics, take a fresh theoretical, and empirical approach to answering this question.The report critically assesses both the “cyberutopian” and “cyberskeptic” perspectives, and proposes a new framework for assessing the role of new media in contentious politics.
Although largely centering on the use of new and social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter in countries such as Iran, the conference also examined their use in other areas in Madagascar and also in the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Indeed, as noted by Andriamananjar's Windows on the new World of SipaKV, the three examples also had much in common as well as some differences.
Onnik Krikorian […] reminded me that international community intervention do not always result in positive outcomes and two videobloggers are still in jail in Azerbaijan, despite efforts by Hillary Clinton, Amnesty International, etc.. to free them.
[…]
Many similarities may be drawn between the Iranian Revolution and the Malagasy use of twitter and facebook during “our” crisis, few twitterers finally (a couple hundred Iranian twitterers only!?), many retweets, many twitterers based abroad, many spreading false rumors, difficulty in self correcting the rapidfire rumors in realtime, difficulty in asserting who holds the majority of opinion based on online content especially in countries with exceedingly low internet penetration rate: whose opinion are you really reading? The majority is probably silent and has no access to internet.
[…]
As discussed during the event, social media are but tools and its landscape reflects the society at large. Occurrences of false identities, personal attacks etc… merely reflect the bigger malaise of our Malagasy society.
As it related to the Caucasus, however, Star-Tides noted the possibility for the positive use of new and social media tools such as Facebook.
[…]  An interesting insight that was shared by all was the need for trust to be established between users before interacting on a public space like Facebook. Golnaz Esfandiari, of Iran, talked of the danger that Iranians returning from abroad can be detained at Iranian airports, asked for their Facebook passwords, and interrogated about the friends they have made. Onnik Krikorian, of Armenia, noted that although security issues can be a problem, platforms like Facebook can also open up channels for interaction that don’t exist elsewhere. He enthusiastically related how Facebook had changed his life in the past eighteen months, enabling him to befriend and interact with Azeri’s, something almost impossible through human, political, or media channels.
The same theme was also picked up by Global Chaos who commented on Facebook's offering in the area of conflict resolution and transformation, http://peace.facebook.com.
Facebook has come up with a “Peace” initiative, tracking the number of “friend” connections between people from different conflicting sides: geographic, religious, and political. For example, they currently indicate the “geographic” connections between Israel and Palestine, Albania and Serbia, India and Pakistan, Greece and Turkey. A great idea! I cannot but support Krikorian's suggestion: would be lovely to see the connections between Armenia and Azerbaijan there, too!
Nevertheless, despite the possible advantages of social networking sites in crossing divides, virtually all panelists and attendees noted the importance of actual physical contact as well. Indeed, present at the event was The Young Georgians, which devoted a post to human communication between the three countries in the region after Global Voices’ Caucasus Editor invited him to meet an ethnic Azeri refugee from Armenia who recently made a guest post on his personal blog.
It was another hot Friday evening in Washington DC, full of people walking around the Dupont Circle who were going to bars, clubs and other places. There was a little meeting around a very little aluminum table in front of the circle. They were three, representing: Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. They did not eat but drink. One was a refugee from Armenia, another one was IDP from Abkhazia and third one just moved from London to Yerevan long time ago. They spoke about Caucasus. A lot. […] They spoke about its past, present and the future. Discussion and entire evening went smoothly and harmonically, they listened to each other expressed their opinion and gave suggestions. This does not happen that often, especially with representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan. Even though these countries are tiny and they are next to each other there is less interaction than it should be. […]
[…]
There are moments in life when you prefer to keep silent, to listen and realize how awesome that moments are, there are moments when you hear “enemies” speak, when you realize that it’s so easy to destroy all the stereotypes and speak with your foe, with a person you thought only bad things about. There are moments when after realizing all these you would love to speak to your “enemy” and hear what he/she says. There are moments when you dream of the moment when you have an opportunity to meet your “enemy” and shake his hand and listen to him/her, but you know that it has been almost 20 years since you last had such a moment.
Around the table were Zamira Abbasova, Onnik Krikorian and Me – Mirian Jugheli.
Interestingly, Abassova first made contact with Global Voices via email over eight months ago, remaining in contact via Facebook until finally meeting after the U.S. Institute of Peace event. Other meetings were also held between Global Voices and senior figures at the Eurasia Foundation, Internews and the World Bank, all of which are involved in cross-border or conflict-related new media projects. The latter, for example, has its own special coverage site on conflict, something which Global Voices’ Caucasus section will contribute to in the coming weeks and months.
Of course, such voices are arguably a minority in both societies and especially in terms of online activity, but new tools do at least offer them the possibility to make their views be known. Considering the current level of discussion and debate on the conflict, or even lack of it, such a development is therefore unprecedented. However, as Developing Lebanon summarized, there are also certain problems associated with the use of such tools unless strategies are formulated and impact is monitored and assessed as the situation both online and off naturally changes over time.
[…] Analysis of social media often provides a skewed opinion and set of information when one is limited only to like-minded bloggers who speak English. Additionally, problems arise when one considers pro-regime blogging, monopolization of positions, and dissolution of the border between cyber war and real war. […] Panelist Onnik Krikorian of Armenia warned that “ … people get too excited about tools, they add everyone [to facebook], which is dangerous. Krikorian highlighted cyber “flame wars” between internet users of Armenia and Azerbaijan, in response to an audience contribution regarding similar internet hostility in the South Caucasus, between Georgia and Abkhazia.
[…]
Overall, the benefits of social media were not forgotten or discredited. The panelists warned, however, against disproportionately looking to Twitter, Facebook, and the blogosphere as the be-all, end-all path to freedom, and allowing internet communication replacing direct community involvement.
Ultimately, most concluded, all of these new online tools are simply that — tools to be used when appropriate, as D.C. Foreign Policy Beat summarized.
Yes, hate groups can use it to spread hate. Bickering rivalries can use it to yell at each other as they would in person. Governments can use it to hunt down revolutionaries. NGOs and rights groups can use it to spread positive messages and connect people. And…must we forget…friends can use it to stay in touch across borders.
“We built a tool to make the world more open. By improving the tool as a whole, all of these groups will benefit,” said Adam Conner, a representative from Facebook.
This post is part of our special coverage Caucasus Conflict Voices.

author: Onnik Krikorian


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China: Green Dam-Youth Escort closed down · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

ESWN translated Beijing Times‘ news story about the shutting of Green Dam-Youth Escort  Software Project in the Beijing Huajie Building. Last year, the Chinese government insisted that all personal computers had to install the censor software.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Croatia: Police Breaks Up Peaceful Protest in Zagreb · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Croatian police earlier today broke up a peaceful protest against usurpation of public space in the center of Zagreb and arrested at least 11 civic activists. The Twitter feed with the street name #Varsavska is the main source of immediate info and photos.
Civic associations Right to the City and Green Action have been blocking the Varšavska [= Warsaw] street for months in order to prevent the demolition of this public space — a pedestrian zone — in order to build a ramp for the underground garage of a private ‘lifestyle centre’ [CRO] at the very center of Zagreb. Their work has been supported by thousands of citizens who would show up at numerous protests, and cultural events organized in the reclaimed public space.
This morning the Police arrested the core group of protesters to make way for construction crews to cut down the “undesirable” trees in this pedestrian zone. Protest participant tmedak tweeted [CRO]:
News from the police van: 11 persons arrested for passive resistance #Varsavska
He also posted a photo of the police moments before they started the “enforcement.” Other participants and witnesses used phone calls, Twitter, Twitpic and yFrog to share immediate info and photos from the event.
Croatian police deals with the protesters. Photo by Mario Mikic.
Twitter user topssy documented the event through photos:
Infopunkt published a video clip from the scene on YouTube
Twitter user krunovidic addressed [CRO] the selective use of force in this case:
I expect the police to do the same to the peasants when they block the roads next time, and use the same methods as with the crew of #Varsavska
Macedonian blogger Andrej also spread the news [MKD] and a link to a live video feed [CRO] using them as an example of how citizens should fight for their rights.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Cuba: A Different Kind of Prison?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Cuban Triangle wants to know: “Are the releases unconditional? Spanish officials and Church authorities say they are. We will know for sure in due course, as we’re beginning to see reports that some of the prisoners are saying they want to remain in Cuba.”


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Czech Republic: A story of right-wing populism · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Dr. Sean's Diary addresses the short history of the populist Czech Republican Party, summarizing a recent conference article he has written.


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Ghana: Do You Have a Spare Room For Ex-President Rawlings? · Global Voices
Mac-Jordan

I was a bit sad when I saw the bold headline at Modern Ghana website yesterday; “Rawlings Homeless”.  Jerry Rawlings is the former president of Ghana. I became totally shocked after reading just part of the story. In February, 2010 an intense fire described as “rapid and fast” razed to ashes the residence of former President Jerry Rawlings with nothing to salvage from the debris.
The fire was said to have started at about 0420GMT during a heavy rain characterized by intermittent power cuts. While no life was lost, the disaster left behind “the depressing spectacle” of the ruins of a house which firemen had tried in vain to salvage in three hours.
The fire burnt nearly every valuable item and by the time the fire service personnel were done putting out the inferno; everything was down to ashes except the concrete walls and pillars.
According to the Modern Ghana website Ghana's former president and his wife are homeless and urgently looking for an accomodation to rent in Accra.
It is also reported that the former president had to travel from a “small village house” at Tefle in the Volta Region to Ghana’s capital; Accra for meetings when the needs arise whiles his wife is currently putting up with her mother at the Nyaniba Estate residency; a situation which is affecting their marriage.
According to the former first lady, Nana Konadu; when their Ridge residence got burnt on February 14, 2010; government promised to find an alternative residential facility for them but 5 months later, that promise from government is far from being fulfilled.  She also complained that the Ridge residence might have been saved from the fire if the house had a constant flow of water because when the fire fighters arrived, they had little water in their tanks and thought they could get some more water from the house.
Let's look at the opinions of Ghanaian bloggers and their readers on this issue. Obed Nanayaw Sarpong does not understand why the former first family wants a new house from government:
Earlier last week, the former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings granted an interview to Joy fm in Accra in which she spoke widely about how her family life has been affected after they lost the ridge residence. I couldn't help laughing. I hated that my almost 5-month old prophecy that the former first family would demand a new residence from government, and the people of this country, was coming to pass. The rest, we all live to see.
As a country, we should wipe off the letters in the constitution that give those 3 or more houses plus cars etc to people who have served this country. My opinion is that if they love this country well enough like I do, they would allow those monies to be used in ensuring the people of this country get good and safe drinking water, a place to ‘ease’ themselves (if they get to eat at all), schools etc. Things they couldn't provide while they had access to the resources to do so!
Mike reacts to Obed’s post saying:
So they lost their Ridge residence? Why not live at their Adjiringanor house? What about the one off the Volta River near the Sogakope Bridge? They don't own those anymore?This is why I'm excited about Ghanaians blogging. Those that are full of crap will be noted. If Rawlings had a blog in 1978, 1979, we would have evidence of what drove him to power and what he stood for. The hypocrisy in some ranks has hurt the country and apparently is still crippling us.
Obed Nanayaw Sarpong responds to Mike's comment:
@Mike, they say the house is not completed–there is a 10m high wall around that residence. The wife says Mr. Rawlings lives at the Tefle residence and it's a challenge for them.
I get disappointed when these men and women shamelessly want to feed on us
Ghana’s Most Irreverent; Ato Kwamena Dadzie says, “Get a mortgage, Mr. Rawlings”:
Almost everything Mrs. Rawlings said in that interview seemed calculated to deceive Ghanaians into thinking that her family was in a very dire situation and to force the hand of government to do her bidding, knowing very well that she had rejected government offers of alternative accommodation. I foolishly fell for her trickery. I sat on radio and said government had no excuse for its failure to provide the Rawlings’s with alternative accommodation – five months after something (or someone) set their house on fire. I wasn’t alone. Others were also incensed and government had no choice than to come out to quickly rebut her claim that nothing had been done yet to provide her family with a home.”
With that, one question was foremost on many Ghanaian minds. “Ah, Rawlings paa,” one man asked. “After 19 years in power as a dictator, is he saying that he hasn’t built a house for himself?”
Ato advises Rawlings to go to Ghana Home Loans to get a mortgage:
That’s just about as far as we should go. It’s a good salary Rawlings gets. If his East Legon mansion is not fit for his royal revolutionary habitation, he should go to Ghana Home Loans and get a mortgage. Last time I checked, his son, Kimathi works with Fidelity Bank. They also offer mortgages. He should go and take one.
George Bush’s retirement home was not provided by the American government. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are living in their own homes. So is Kufuor. It’s not beyond Rawlings to move into his own place. He’s even lucky that his so called “village house” in Tefle is on the banks of a river. Gordon Brown would kill for that.
If you become president of this nation, take a monthly salary and several other perks that make it virtually unnecessary for you to use your own money and you can’t build a house of your own and you turn around expecting the state to provide you with accommodation upon retirement, then you are nothing but a big fool.
There were 40 readers who have left comments at the time of writing this post. Following are some of comments readers have left:
Banske considers Rawlings the most deceitful and laziest Ghanaian:
Hmmmmm!!!
Kwaku Baako says Rawlings is the luckiest Ghanaian and it's true and in addition I say he is the most deceitful and laziest Ghanaian. For those of you who continue to be fooled (if is real or pretense)by the rawlingses, now that their hypocritical acts are exposed,don't you agree that he is the worst personality to have surfaced on the Ghanaian political scene?
What is he doing with the money sitting his swiss account?shameful imbecile.
He who burns a house will be consumed by fire!!!!
Anna G says:
To me, it doesn't make sense at all for the little taxpayer’s money to be used to provide accommodation for ex- presidents. In the first place, where were they sleeping before they became presidents? Look at the ridiculous things that Kuffuor proposed that should be given to him when he became e- president. To me, they are all the same: selfish, because they know very well that the tax that is collected in this country is not enough. If our politicians and leaders continue to be this selfish, then I’m afraid Ghana's bad economy will never recover and we will continue to be a third world poor country.
Frank Anderson supports Ato's position:
Ato I couldn't help but absolutely agree with you.
I find no sense in using tax payer's money in building houses for ex presidents simply because they have once been heads of state. It sucks and pathetic. And this issue has dominated public discussion for weeks? Jesus Christ!!! It is the cliche of African leaders. Even young guys at the ages of 23yrs begin thinking or taking steps to build their own homes how much more a former president. The Rawlings’ should save themselves this embarrassement and complete their own home.
Kweku Diyifo says says this is self-deception:
When I first heard Mrs. Rawlings say on radio that they are looking for a place to rent, I asked myself, “What kind of self deception is this?” After staying in power for 20 years? After paying GHC90,000 import duty on two cars, instantly? After getting friends to pay for their children's education aboroad? The list goes endless. Many Ghanaians would even believe, and rightly so, that the Rawlings have more than the two mansions they have struggled to admit they have.
I know from my little experience in business that, with their kind of influence both home and abroad, it would take just a phone call for the Rawlingses to acquire a respectable and appropriate freehold residential accomodation anywhere in Ghana. If you have and say that you do not have, that's your own problem. But I, and many like me wont be fooled.
Sero summarizes the whole issue in one word:
….in one word,rubish

author: Mac-Jordan


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India: Is Media Misusing Its Freedom? – A New Contest · Global Voices
Rezwan

BlogAdda, in partnership with PringOO, is hosting a blog contest titled “Is Indian Media – Misusing its Freedom?” The details can be found here and the last date of entry is July 20, 2010.


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India: Opposing The Ban On The Veil · Global Voices
Rezwan

GreatBong at Random Thoughts Of A Demented Mind explains why he opposes the Burkah ban.


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India, Pakistan: Foreign Ministers Meet · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raza Rumi at Pak Tea House is optimistic about positive bilateral relations as Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet today.


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India: Rupee Gets A New Symbol · Global Voices
Rezwan

The Indian Rupee has now got a symbol and Aditya at Scribbler.in thinks that its a move forward. Soumyadip at Cutting The Chai informs that Rupee became a top trending topic on Twitter today.


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Jamaica: U.K. Losing Out?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Girl With a Purpose wonders whether Usain Bolt's refusal to compete in the U.K. because of its steep tax laws will make the country amend its existing tax regime.


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Kazakhstan: Kazakh blogs on national issues · Global Voices
Askhat Yerkimbay

Lately I have often seen posts  about national problems in Kazakh language blogs. I am going to review  some of them.
Ainash Esali in a  post titled “The government should have only one flag” [KAZ] says:
“An article with the title “Let’s not call for a bad omen  by multiplying flags” was published in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan,  on a special page for Parliament.  But the  problem is presented in fragments and smoothed over. Maybe it is  correct. Maybe this kind of problem should be solved without raising  alarm?!”
The issue concerns citizens who fly flags of other countries, not of  Kazakhstan.
The author of the blog Zhasakaz also pays  attention [KAZ] to this case, saying the following:
“How can one understand that in places such as Kulzhat  and Taskarasu, which are located close to China, our Uygur brothers fly a  flag that has nothing to do with the national symbols of Kazakhstan?  While we were reflecting on how we can preserve national unity and  harmony, and while thinking that there is a law that can stop those who  do such acts, the article “Let’s not call for a bad omen by multiplying  flags” appeared in the newspaper Egemen Kazakhstan on May 29.
The author of the blog Zhasakaz thinks that journalists should speak  up about the problem and refer to the existing law rather than  presenting this kind of problem in bits and fragments.
“Is it because there are not many analytical specialists  in the apparatus of the President or is it because speaking in fragments  has turned into some kind of ‘eastern art’? In my opinion, attention  should be paid to Article 170 of the Kazakh Constitution.”
Zhasakaz identifies the flying of a flag of another nation as a  violation of law and tries to explain that it is preventable.
The topic of national symbols is continued under the title “I will  not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” In this post, a story  about an old man who lifted a 1-tenge bill from the ground with care,  saying that “I will not let the emblem of my nation be trampled on.” The  blogger also notes [KAZ] that 1-tenge bills are found around bazaars, on sidewalks and  underground pavements, in buses and on stairs.
And Nurbergen Makym develops [KAZ] his thoughts around the question “Why don’t we live as in America  or Europe?” He comes to the following conclusion:
“Any value in society is formed by the middle class. The  reason that Kazakhstan is not developing is that there is no middle  class. In our society it is like when ‘district 13’ will be established.  Only this time, except for the rich who think they can become God, the  rest will be forced to solve their problems according to the law.”
Orken, who comments on the post, draws  readers’ attention to the preconditions of forming a middle class:  “Shangyrak is neither more nor less than district 13.” In Orken’s  blog [KAZ] there is also a post titled “Is my Gerei twin of Kuzma?”  It is devoted to the monument of Gerei and Zhanibek khans, opened in  Astana. “There are critics among us that compare it to the monument of  Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharski on the Red square in Moscow. Except for  the appearance and the clothes, the general composition is pretty much  the same.”
A reader with the name Elubek, commenting  on the same topic, thinks that “the monument was built so quickly  because the previous monument built for 600 million was useless.”
Burkit also notes [KAZ] in his own blog that the monument to Kulager was opened on the  road between Astana and Kokshetau.
Ashimoskemen notes that recently a  patriots’ forum was conducted in Pavlodar. The blogger who did not  understand why this forum was held, says [KAZ]:
“We made some noise and left. I apologize to organizers,  but I did not quite understand why I went there.”
If in such forums the pictures by Tarazkyzy were discussed [KAZ], maybe respect for the Kazakh language would increase. The  pictures of street writings that carry mistakes against the Kazakh  language in a post titled “Illiterate streets” on Tarazkyzy’s blog have  not left bloggers indifferent. Most of the commentators think that these  kinds of mistakes should be prevented.
Of course, there are plenty of other interesting topics. Inshallah,  we will review them in the future.
The picture is taken from the blog “The dove of my soul” by Tarazkyzy. This bilboard with spelling mistakes is on  the Merki disritct way in Zhambyl oblast.
Originally posted on neweurasia.net.

author: Askhat Yerkimbay


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Mexico: Interview with Migrant Worker from Michoacan · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Hugo Torres shares [es] his interview with Ricardo, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Michoacán who moved to the United States when he was 19. He asks Ricardo everything from what it's like to cross over to the United States, how much money he makes at his job, and what he thinks about racism and the Arizona SB 1017 immigration bill.  Before this interview, Torres wrote [es] a post on a decrease in the population of Michoacán due to migration to the United States.


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Morocco: The Complexities of Language · Global Voices
Jillian C. York

This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.
Charlotte is an anthropologist who, for the past year and a half, has been conducting field work in Morocco.  Her research is focused on (in her own words) “how the complexity of Moroccan society’s multilingualism plays out in daily life.”  Morocco is indeed a vastly multilingual country: Moroccans speak darija, the local dialect of Arabic, interspersed with French and Standard Arabic (Fus'ha).  In the North and parts of the South, some people still speak Spanish, a relic of Spain's colonial flirtations with the land.  Others speak Tamazight, Tashelheit, or Chleuh, Amazigh dialects oft-maligned by Morocco's Arabizing forces.  And English, too, is on the rise, taught in every public school across the country.
Recently, Charlotte blogged about a forthcoming essay she has written on her initial experiences with darija.  In the essay, she recalls an episode during which she was practicing darija words on flash cards, when her host-sister stepped in:
“See? There should be a long alif here in between the lam and the qaf,”[3] she corrected. “Like this.” She took the pen and added the alif’s long vertical stroke to the word on the card. I was confused, having just been taught how to spell the word in question that very afternoon. But Manal moved on to card number two. Again, she detected a spelling mistake, and added another missing alif. I looked on, slightly bewildered.
This continued with a few more cards. With each added alif, Manal sighed more deeply, and my bewilderment grew larger. Finally she turned to me. Incredulously, she demanded, “This is what they’re teaching you??”
Then suddenly it dawned on me: she must have assumed I was learning Fusha, or Modern Standard Arabic, rather than the Moroccan dialect. “Oh, wait!” I cried out eagerly, relieved to have identified the source of confusion. “These words are not Fusha, they’re Darija,” I explained, hoping that this clarified the situation.
But she simply looked at me, silently. The knot in her eyebrows showed no signs of disappearing. Then finally she exclaimed, with a mix of surprise and disgust, “You’re learning Darija? Why? Darija is bad, it’s no good!”
Charlotte then goes on to explain the differences between Standard Arabic (Fus'ha) and the Moroccan dialect:
In fact, the differences between Fusha and the Moroccan dialect are many. Fusha, or Modern Standard Arabic, is the contemporary version of Qur’anic Arabic. It is the lingua franca of the Arab world, but native language to none. As is true for all Arabophone countries, the language of daily communication in Morocco is a dialect – a form of Arabic weathered by the test of time, foreign influence, and the transformative process of linguistic evolution. Moroccans refer to their particular dialect as ‘Darija’, and its most noticeable departure from Fusha (aside from the addition of French and Berber loan words) is arguably its pronunciation. To the untrained (and even to the beginning student’s) ear, it often sounds as though speakers of Moroccan dialect have eliminated all vowels from their words – which would explain Manal’s diagnosis of a deplorable lack of alifs in my spelling.
In another post, Charlotte illustrates Moroccans’ tricky relationship with France and the French language by describing a patient at a Moroccan mental institution in which she has been conducting research:
To Nadia, Moroccan culture is the source of her illness. Her depression was born of suffocation; a case of asphyxiation by the insurmountable baric pressure of cultural mores and taboos. She spent a few years in France, and remembers it as a place of lightness and air, without a care in the world to weigh her down. The thick, winter blanket of sadness did not descend upon her until she returned to her native land, 15 years ago. I thus begin to wonder if her preference for speaking French might simply be driven by the need to breathe. Perhaps that speaking Arabic – a language indelibly linked to and thus bound by Moroccan standards of (expressive) propriety – feels to her like breathing air deprived of oxygen. Might French then be her escape hatch, a seam in the tightly spun fabric of moral codes? A helium balloon that lifts her high beyond the reach of Moroccan gender expectations?
Regardless of her feelings about Arabic, however, Nadia also speaks French, quite simply, because that is how she was trained. After an education at Morocco’s French schools, a medical degree, and a life lived in Morocco’s elite social circles, it is no surprise that Nadia is more easily able to express herself in French than Arabic.
This post is part of our special coverage Languages and the Internet.

author: Jillian C. York


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Paraguay: Tourism Websites for Each Department · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

The blog Camino al Paraguay lists [es] the travel and tourism websites of all the departments of Paraguay; each website provides important information for those who want to explore what that specific department has to offer.


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Philippines: Discrimination Against Filipinos in Baltimore Hospital · Global Voices
Karlo Mongaya

Four Filipina staffers of the Bon Secours Baltimore Health System in Baltimore City were recently fired from their jobs for speaking Filipino during their lunch break. Bloggers share their views on the issue.
The angry asian man believes that the hospital's English-only policy is an injustice.
I can understand a rule like this in trauma situations, where there are obvious concerns about communication. But the Bon Secours policy sounds way too broad, without clear guidelines to be fairly implemented or followed without incident. So you utter a non-English word on your snack break and you're fired? Just like that?
These employees weren't even properly informed or given documentation about the alleged violations. What did they say? What was the context? Nobody has any idea. The Virginia-based Migrant Heritage Commission has filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of the fired nurses.
Adarna's Attic sees the summary termination of the four Filipino workers as a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “a US federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on race, origin or social standing.”
Jose Manuel's Blog of Life is struck that the firing “happened in the middle of a supposed “‘nursing shortage.'”
If these nurses are such a scarce commodity so treasured, why were they fired so quickly? One wonders why new nursing graduates have trouble finding jobs. The Wife’s cousin had a business recruiting nurses in the Philippines, but she shut it down as hospitals no longer needed her services. Perhaps the medical industry is trying to increase the supply of nurses in order to hold down the cost of nurses wages. If so, that’s bad news for the fired nurses.
Meanwhile, Sarah Katrina Maramag takes a comprehensive look into the plight of overseas Filipino nurses and link this to the larger picture of the continuing exodus of Filipino professionals from the Philippines.

author: Karlo Mongaya


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Poland-Lithuania-Belarus: Grünwald 600 years · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Belarus Digest writes about celebrations of the 600th anniversary of the battle of Grünwald, when troops from Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus defeated the Order of the Teutonic knights – a major turn in the medieval regional balance of power.

author: Vilhelm Konnander


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Russia: Anna Chapman – the Most Popular Facebook User · Global Voices
Gregory Asmolov

German Klimenko, CEO of LiveInternet.ru, developed a new rating of Russian Facebook [RUS] users. According to it, the most popular Russian FB-user is Anna Chapman [EN], one of 10 Russian spies arrested in the U.S. and returned to Russia within spies’ exchange deal between Russia and U.S.

author: Gregory Asmolov


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Russia: Collection of Online Ideas · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Blogger fritzmorgen published [RUS] a collection of ideas gathered from various Russian bloggers. Most interesting ideas include: Russian laws put into Wiki-like engine [RUS], several implementations of ‘Taxi 2.0′ idea (collaborative taxi service), hostels that travel with the travellers [RUS], etc.

author: Alexey Sidorenko


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Sex Trafficking in Singapore · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Sex Trafficking is cited by a blogger as a major human rights issue in Singapore but the government is downplaying the problem.

author: Mong Palatino


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Singapore: Discrimination against obese health workers · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Ravi Philemon writes about the reported discrimination against overweight health workers in Singapore


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Singapore: Higher bus fares · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Blowin’ in the Wind compares the old and new bus fares in Singapore and notes that many commuters have to pay more today.


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Singapore: Political film removed from youtube · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Martyn See was ordered by Singapore's Media Development Authority to remove the political film he uploaded on youtube. The film was banned by the government but Singaporean netizens have already widely distributed it in many sites.


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Singaporeans hate mega churches? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Blogger Irreligious tries to understand why some people in Singapore are skeptical about the rise of mega churches or church groups with large congregations


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Slovenia: Presidential car stolen · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

Sleeping with Pengovsky reports that the official car of Slovenian President Danilo Türk has been stolen.


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Trinidad & Tobago: Eating Wisely  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“There is a need for subsidies…for better infrastructure for farmers, and for help with getting them to develop their markets. Farmers is folks too and if they aren’t feeling the love…is we to catch–and pay through the nose for their produce”: Lisa Allen-Agostini has a few suggestions “for encouraging people to eat well.”

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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Venezuela: Documents Reveal US Funding to Venezuelan Media · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

Eva Golinger writes: “US State Department documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence more than $4 million USD in funding to journalists and private media in Venezuela during the last three years. This funding is part of the more than $40 million USD international agencies are investing annually in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela in an attempt to provoke regime change.”

author: Silvia Viñas


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Vietnam: Flood in Hanoi · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Dan shares his experience during a recent flooding in Hanoi, Vietnam. Pictures of the flood are uploaded in VN Express.


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Xenophobic Singapore? · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

In a blogpost titled Xenophobic Singapore, blogger Freak Thoughts traces the history of the city state to remind Singaporeans not to discriminate against Chinese immigrants.


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Zimbabwe: Mugabe controls the media · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Bev Clark argues that Zimbabweans shouldn’t pay their TV or radio licences and why companies shouldn’t advertise on state-controlled media because of government control of the media.

author: Ndesanjo Macha


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Azerbaijan: Facebook shuts down Scary Azeri? · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Much to the astonishment of her many fans, Scary Azeri says that she thinks her Facebook fan page has possibly been shut down by the popular social networking site. The popular blogger, whose often unique posts have featured highly in Global Voices’ Caucasus section and who was interviewed by this site a year ago this month, is both surprised and confused by such a development as are many of her friends and loyal readers who can now only view a page not found message. At time of writing it is unclear whether this is a deliberate page removal or simply a technical glitch, but in comments left on her personal Facebook page, many fear the worst.


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Bahrain: Blogger Meet up?  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Bahraini blogger Mohammed Al Maskati appeals on Twitter: “Bahrain's bloggers of yesterday, tweeps of today.. You are now officially missed.. We should get together sometime for old time's sake.. Eh?”

author: Amira Al Hussaini


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Belarus-Georgia: Relations reawakened · Global Voices
Vilhelm Konnander

LJ user sukhumi1 discusses [RUS] a thaw in relations between Belarus and Georgia after an interview with Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, was sent on Belarusian state television earlier this week.


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Brazil: Call for the First Progressive Bloggers Meeting · Global Voices
Diego Casaes

Conceição Lemes in Viomundo calls on bloggers for the 1st Progressive Bloggers Meeting, to take place in São Paulo in 21-22 August [pt]. The meeting will gather bloggers from all over the country in order to share experiences on freedom of speech, politics, and democracy in the Brazilian society, in addition to offer workshops of social media tools.

author: Diego Casaes


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Brazil: Lusophone Countries United at the Theater Stage · Global Voices
Debora Baldelli

For the first time in Brazil, theater groups from East Timor and Sao Tome & Principe will present plays at the FESTLIP (Festival of Portuguese Language) [pt]. The festival taking place in Rio de Janeiro, also includes plays from all the other lusophone states: Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal and Brazil.

author: Debora Baldelli


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Brunei: Sultan makes surprise school visit · Global Voices
Senor Pablo

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan and Yang Di Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam paid a surprise visit to one of Brunei high schools in the capital, a day before His Majesty's 64th Birthday. The event at the Sixth Form Center at Katok (PTEK) was without pomp and ceremony. This is not the first time His Majesty has made a surprise school visit since it is part of the “working monarch's” agenda to get to know the students’ aspirations and their involvement in the school.  His Majesty also visited the PTE Meragang school last May, as blogged by Vance Tan.
According to a source, His Majesty was willing to come down to Pusat Tingkatan Enam Meragang spontaneously without any preparations so that he could speak to the students on a human level and show them his appreciation of their hard work and talent.
The Brunei Times carried a story of His Majesty's visit to PTEK  which inspired many students. Brunei tweets were also buzzing on the surprise visit.
A student/blogger that was lucky enough to have the opportunity to greet and meet His Majesty was Hanee504
Despite having only a day in between entertaining the Prime Minister of Malaysia and taking part in the celebration of His Majesty's own birthday, His Majesty touched down to PTE Katok yesterday and shook a wave of surprise to all of us.We've been expecting his visit since last week but of all the days, we totally didn't expect it would be the day before his birthday. It was indeed a huge gratitude to all of us. I had few conversations with him, got his signature and it was such a great honor!
Randomly notes that PTEK students appreciate the unexpected visit of His Majesty. Vance Tan, another student from a different district also learned about the royal visit and blogged about it .
Brunei Lifestyle echoes the sentiments of most Brunei citizens who feel lucky for having a monarch who is interested to know more about the aspirations and concerns of his subjects
I sincerely think that His Majesty is a far-sighted ruler with his many visions, all for the goodness and welfare of Brunei’s future.

author: Senor Pablo


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Cambodia: Oldest surviving cinema · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Cine Lux is the only surviving old cinema in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. tilmanbaumgaertel took photo of the historic building.


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Cameroon: Press fuels democracy · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Célestin Lingo shows the link betwee the press and the democratization process in Cameroon.


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Côte d’Ivoire: Blogger and Journalist Théophile Kouamouo Arrested with his Team since July 13th · Global Voices
Elia Varela Serra

On Tuesday July 13th, the blog of Le Nouveau Courrier [Fr], reported that they received an unexpected police visit after publishing that morning the first installment of an in-depth series that was to last the whole week on alleged corruption in the cocoa and coffee trade in Côte d'Ivoire (see original in French here).
[…] le journal a publié aujourd’hui, à sa une, un dossier exclusif au sujet de l’enquête sur les détournements dans la filière café-cacao titré : «  Le livre noir de la filière café-cacao, comment les barons ont pillé l’argent des planteurs ».
Le boom que ce dossier a créé au sein du lectorat ce matin a mis en branle les services du procureur de la République Tchimou Raymond. Sur instruction de celui-ci et sans aucun mandat de perquisition, des commissaires et lieutenants de la police criminelle ont débarqué à la rédaction de Le Nouveau Courrier avec pour mission, disent-ils, de récupérer le document de base ayant servi à la rédaction de l’article. Après avoir fouillé tous les ordinateurs de la rédaction, ils ont finalement emportés avec eux un ordinateur portable au lieu du fameux document.
The impact this report has had in the readership this morning has made public prosecutor Raymond Tchimou react. Under his orders and without a search warrant, criminal police officers have shown up at the Nouveau Courrier's offices with the goal, they said, to recover the source document used to write our article. After searching all the computers in the editorial offices, they finally left with a laptop instead of the famous document.
Following the unsuccessful search at Le Nouveau Courrier's offices, publisher Stéphane Guédé, managing editor Théophile Kouamouo and editor Saint Claver Oula were taken into police custody after refusing to reveal their sources.
The Nouveau Courrier is a new information daily that started publication in Côte d'Ivoire less than two months ago, on May 25th, with the intention of offering a fresh and in-depth perspective on current affairs. Managing editor Théophile Kouamouo is one of the first and most popular bloggers in Francophone Africa and the recipient, alongside his wife Nadine Tchaptchet-Kouamouo who is also a journalist, he's also been a recipient of a Rising Voices grant for his project Abidjan BlogCamps around blog trainings in Côte d'Ivoire. He is French citizen of Cameroonian origin and a former correspondent of the French daily Le Monde who has been based in Abidjan for over a decade, and is a well-respected journalist as well as a regular journalism lecturer in Côte d'Ivoire and elsewhere. A self-described serial web entrepreneur, one of his most successful internet endeavors has been the Ivorian blogging platform Ivoire-Blog.
Several bloggers and journalists have shown their support to Kouamouo and the rest of the Le Nouveau Courrier team through an online petition asking for their immediate release, as well as through Twitter and a Facebook group where they have shared updates about the case. Through that group we have learnt that the three journalists have been in police custody since Tuesday being, still pressured to reveal their sources, and that on Friday July 16th their case is to be heard by the judge. It seems they have being transferred to the MACA (Maison d'Arrêt Centrale D'Abidjan, Abidjan's Central Prison). Ivorian blogger Manasse Dehe, the creator of the Facebook group, wrote today:
il n'est plus question de les libérer , c'est là le problème. mais de trouver laquelle des fautes ils ont commis; c'est déjà décidé qu'ils doivent payer pr kkchose qu'ils n'ont pas fait. maintenant les …avocats luttent pour que ce qu'on va leur coller, soir la
plus petite des infractions : genre flagrant délit
Appelle le Président de la Republique à réagir sur ton mur ! Car lui qui est homme de Justice; il peut sortir les 03 journalistes du nouveau
courrier de cette souffrance qu'ils ne méritent pas !!!!
Saint-Clavier Oula in his cell today
This is the last update from Le Nouveau Courrier's Facebook page:
Théophile Kouamouo, Saint-Clavier Oula, Stéphane Bahi sont actuellement enfermés dans une cellule pleine à craquer. Attendant leur tour devant le juge. Oula est très affaibli. Il a commencé une grève de faim et refuse aussi de prende ses medicaments…
Since the news of their detention broke out on Tuesday, the journalists have been receiving numerous shows of support by colleagues and bloggers in Côte d'Ivoire and abroad.
Reporters Without Borders released a statement on Wednesday 14th saying that:
they had not seen such methods used by the authorities in Côte d’Ivoire for many years. The theft charge does not stand up. It should be borne in mind that protection of the confidentiality of sources is a fundamental principle of journalism, one that is particular appropriate for such a sensitive issue as corruption in the coffee and cocoa trade.
In the Facebook group some colleagues have pointed out that the first article in the official Code of Ethics for the Ivorian Journalist published by the Ministry of Communications (see original in French here) states the rights of journalists in Côte d'Ivoire:
Tout journaliste doit revendiquer les droits suivants :
Article 1 : La protection de ses sources d’information.
It also states the duties of the journalists, among them:
Article 8 : Ne jamais révéler les circonstances dans lesquelles le journaliste a connu les faits qu’il rapporte, et ce, pour la protection de l’auteur des informations qu’il a pu recueillir.
This morning the Ivorian newspaper association (Gepci) issued a statement [Fr] condemning the arrest as an attack to freedom of expression in Côte d'Ivoire:
Emprisonner des journalistes pour les contraindre à violer leur propre déontologie en livrant leur source d'information n'est pas acceptable. Surtout que la loi 2004-643 du 14 décembre 2004 portant régime juridique de la presse n'autorise plus qu'un journaliste soit privé de sa liberté pour des faits, en rapport direct avec l'exercice de son métier, tels que ceux reprochés aux responsables et aux journalistes du quotidien Le Nouveau Courrier.
The Ivorian citizen journalism portal Avenue225 [Fr], who has been following the affair since Tuesday, reported that the newspaper unions who have pledged to publish the rest of the investigative report on the coffee and cocoa business if they're not released today.

author: Elia Varela Serra


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Croatia: Official Zagreb Protest Blog · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

We don't give Varšavska is a blog in Croatian and English set up by the civic activists who object to usurpation of public space in Zagreb with latest information about mass arrests from the perspective of protesters.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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Croatia: Protests Continue Following Mass Arrests · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Protests in Zagreb continued in spite of the attempted crackdown on Thursday. Croatian state TV reported [CRO] that police arrested 142 protesters so far, including some who returned to the controversial construction site after being released from detention. Marcell Mars, one of protest leaders, scheduled [CRO] a rally and march to the seats of major political parties for Friday evening. Bloggers such as Mihela Hadrian call [CRO] for civic disobedience towards the “corrupt gang” of politicians who cater to war profiteers.


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Cuba: Looking In from the Outside  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Generation Y tells the story “a Communist Party member, academic, and specialist on issues relating to the United States, [who] had the dangerous idea of writing an article against corruption”, saying: “Those ousted eventually realize that those they used to consider the ‘enemy,’ could at some point prove to be people imbued with the original meaning of the word ‘revolution’.”


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Egypt: Let’s Tweet Mubarak to Death!  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“LET'S TWEET MUBARAK TO DEATH !!!” writes Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas on Twitter.


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Global: If God said ask me anything what would you ask him? · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

South African blogger Khaya Dlanga asked people on the “Internets” what they would ask God is he said they could ask him anything…here are the answers.


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Guinea-Bissau: The Role of Women · Global Voices
Sara Moreira

Blog Novas da Guiné Bissau [pt] shares a video preview of Fala di Mindjeris, a documentary about the women of that country. In a different blog, Paula da Costa, talks [pt] about their important role in that society and reports on a violent attack led by the military against three women last week.

author: Sara Moreira


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Guinea: Elections change media landscape · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Elections in Guinea are changing the media landscape in the country: “Since last month, the military-led Transitional National Council has passed two new laws decriminalizing defamation and created a new media regulatory body.”


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Haiti: Truth or Hoax?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“Yesterday, a french ‘official’ announced that France will finally pay Haiti back for the 90 million gold francs it forced Haitians to pay in compensation for French slave trade losses”: HaitiAnalysis.com wants to know if the promise of reparation is true or false.


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India, Bangladesh: Tackling Energy Crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Sowmya Suryanarayanan at Strategic Foresight Group discusses about the need to enhance energy security for both Bangladesh and India to tackle the looming energy crisis.

author: Rezwan


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India: Sports Tourism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Raja Basu at Potpourri opines that the Indian government should aggressively promote and brand India as a potential ‘Sports Tourism’ destination.


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Iraq: Covering up a Sex Scandal  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Omar, from Iraq the Model, compares a sex scandal cover up in Najaf to that in the Vatican.


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Jamaica: People’s Party  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

“I believe we need a party that is led by the PEOPLE, works on behalf of the PEOPLE and speaks in the voice of the PEOPLE”: Long Bench decides to take up the challenge.


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Jordan: Tweet the Foreign Minister  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

From Jordan, Khaled El Ahmad tweets: “Send us your Questions for #Jo Foreign Minister @NasserJudeh using #QFMJO He will answer them live on Sunday July 18th #Amman #Jo RT/Pls”


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North Korea: Amnesty International Reveals Crumbling Health Care · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A bleak picture of North Korea's disastrous health care system has revealed in Amnesty International's new a report “The Crumbling State of Health Care in North Korea” [Ko] disclosing a ‘dire’ situation where amputations are carried without anesthesia and hospitals suffer from a shortage of sterilized needles. English document available for download here.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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North Korea: Beauty Plays In the Psychological Warfare · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

A North Korean waitress who looks much alike South Korean actress has become a new celebrity in South Korea. A YouTube video of a North Korean college girl praising its regime’s generosity on her rich family has drawn several ten thousand views. North Korean defectors in South Korea are warning this as North Korea’s soft-core move.
A photo of North Korean waitress (left) and South Korean actress Kim Tae-hee(right)
This anonymous waitress debuted in South Korean blogosphere as Koreans who visited a North Korean restaurant in Cambodia noticed her look and uploaded photos of her in their sites. The waitress immediately got a reputation as ‘North Korean Kim Tae-hee’ by her appearance similar to South Korea’s top actress. Some Korean netizens have been calling her as the North Korean goddess or the reason to unify two Koreas. Even the North Korean state-run restaurant caught some of the attention deflected from her.
Serious politic bloggers, however, advice people to delve deeper than the skin-deep. A blogger NKinside commented in a post titled ‘For whom North Korean Kim Tae-hee works for?’ that these beautiful girls are exploited laborers working for North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jung Il’s good.
북한 식당은 해외에서 많이 운영되고 있다. 대표적으로 평양 옥류관을 들 수 있다. 평양, 개성, 금강산 등 북한 내에도 식당이 있지만, 북경, 상해, 캄보디아 등 해외에 많은 분점을 운영 중이다. 그리고 모두 미모의 아가씨들이 서빙을 보고 있는데, 이는 외화벌이를 위해 북한에서 파견된 아가씨들이다. 낮타임(12시반경) 밤타임(19시경) 하루 두번 무대에서 노래 공연도 이뤄진다. 옥류관의 정책으로 손님들의 사진 촬영, 기자들의 인터뷰 요청에 거절없이 호의적으로 응한다. 북한 아가씨들의 미모를 홍보하는 차원일 듯…힘들게 번 월급의 대부분이 김정일 주머니로 들어가고 있는 실정이다.
A screen shot image of the video from An Chi-yong's blog , now unavailable.
It is not North Korea’s first time to leverage the situation by the beauty card. A month ago, videos of a North Korean college student lauding its regime and showing off her affluent family and high living standard were posted on the YouTube site. This North Korean girl is from the PyongYang University of Education where only children of loyal families to the regime can enter. She bragged on that the regime has paid her new, bigger house and sneered at South Korea’s housing problem. This college girl got a nick name ‘North Korean Face college girl’ (‘face’ as in someone with good appearance) in South Korean blogosphere.
South Koreans’ immediate response to the video was mockery. A blogger Minazz99 pointed out a scene most other netizen were also laugh at, the Face girl using a American brand HP laptop and the Hangul, South Korean Word software, products from two countries that North Korean regime lashes out as the state enemy and the traitor government.
…북한의 얼짱여대생이 미제 노트북을 사용하는 장면을 두고 네티즌 사이에서 비판의 목소리가 거세지고 있답니다. 영상물을 접한 네티즌들은 미국을 철천지 원수라고 지칭하면서 노트북은 왜 미제껏을 쓰는지,,70년대 대남 선전용 홍보물처럼 진부한 내용과 흑색선전 뿐이다라는 지적의 목소리를 높이고 있다고 하네요.
A North Korean defector living in Seoul adds a professional insight to the incident. Jang Jin-sung wrote in his blog that since the reclusive North Korea controls individual’s outfit and hairstyle, only the secret agents who has to infiltrate South Korean society can dress South Korean-ish. Jang worked for North Korea’s governing Worker’s Party as a writer before he defected to South Korea in 2004. Jang analyzed this North Korean move as an attempt to soften its image after the Cheonan incident that killed 46 South Korean sailors.
동영상의 여주인공을 북극성 요원으로 보는 이유는 북한 일반 여성들에겐 불법이나 다름없는 그의 남다른 최신 헤어스타일이다. 폐쇄적인 북한에선 옷이나 머리도 개인의 사상적 표현으로 간주한다. 더욱이 강력한 통제사회에서 선전물에 등장하는 인물은 모든 면에서 엄격하게 전형화 된다…이런 이유로 북한에서 유일하게 남한 노래들만 전문적으로 연주하고 부르는 통전부 소속 ‘북극성’ 요원들만은 헤어스타일, 억양, 옷차림을 남한의 최신 유행에 맞춘다…아마도 통전부는 천안함 도발로 극대화된 저들의 공격적 이미지를 미모의 여성심리전을 통해 순화시키려고 한 것 같다.
While North Korean regime is testing the softer approach, bleak outlooks on North Korea economy and its health care are pouring nonstop. What the government should open is a war on hunger, not a psychological war on outer enemies.


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Pakistan: NEPRA And Concerns About Energy Crisis · Global Voices
Rezwan

Faisal Naqvi at Monsoon Frog explains in details the authority and activities of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) of Pakistan, which is a deterrent to solve energy problems in the country.